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'Green News Report' - September 22, 2011
TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport VIA SMART PHONE: Stitcher Radio! IN TODAY'S VERY SCARY RADIO REPORT: Superbugs are on the rise! And Monsanto is helping!; Extreme drought and climate change affecting power plants in the US!; PLUS: It's 'Dirty Air Week' in the U.S. House, the scariest place of all!!! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report! Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...
'Green News Report' - September 20, 2011
TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport VIA SMART PHONE: Stitcher Radio! IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: The President fights back; the EPA doesn't --- for now, anyway; Shell Oil one step closer to drilling in the Arctic; Massive anti-nuke protests in Japan; PLUS: Australia's prime minister faces the global warming fight head on ... All that and more in today's Green News Report! Listen online here, or Download MP3 (
suzie-q ★ 14 
Geithner pumps up Zombie Banks on a global level
Geithner’s European Junket counterpunch September 17-18, 2011 by MIKE WHITNEY On Thursday–exactly 3 years after Lehman Brothers defaulted igniting the greatest financial crisis in 70 years–the world’s most powerful central banks launched a massive intervention to staunch a liquidity squeeze in the eurozone that threatened to wreak havoc on the EU banking system. The European Central Bank –actin
Sarah Palin Biography ‘The Rogue’ Draws Early Fire From Critics
Wall Street Journal September 15, 2011 Sarah Palin is getting a lot of attention lately and she hasn’t even officially declared she’s running for anything. She’s the subject of a new biography called “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin” by Joe McGinniss, who famously (or infamously depending on your point of view) moved in next door to the Palin family in Wasilla, Alaska while he was w
What Is Perry Made Of?
SOURCE
Officials Chase Unconfirmed al-Qaida Bomb Threat
A police officer stands guard in New York's Times Square as the ABC news ticker displays news of an al-Qaida terror threat, Friday, Sept. 9, 2011. Just days before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. counterterrorism officials are chasing a credible but unconfirmed al-Qaida threat to use a car bomb on bridges or tunnels in New York City or Washington. It is the first "activ
altmuslim ★ 9
Perceptions of Muslims: What’s pork got to do with it?
In 2004, I was working in Washington, D.C. with the largest Muslim civil rights organization in America when I received a telephone call from a distressed American Muslim woman. She reported standing outside her home in Maryland when a car filled with teenage boys sped by but not before throwing a ham sandwich at her. She was calling to report this as a bias incident. Like Jews, Muslims are religi
US-Pakistan relations: Tragedy of two countries
An unassuming Iraqi peasant sitting down to a meal, some Afghan shopkeeper pulling down his shutters and some Pakhtun elder leading a jirga are caught in a circle of death along with New York firefighters and Pentagon janitors. On the shores of the United States there has been much commemoration, the date having become an iconised day of mourning to invest meaning in two confusing wars. On Pakista
Movie "Fordson": New English-speaking patriots
On a personal level, the most surprising aspect of Rashid Ghazi's new documentary, "Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football," is that he managed to keep it a secret and even managed the time to make it. An old friend, he personally funded and directed this portrait of a week in the life of a tightly-knit Detroit community at the beginning of their 2009 school year. A husband, a father, and tireless exec
Remembering 9/11: A familiar yet unique story
I was walking west through Midtown Manhattan’s urban canyons and admiring the cloudless September day when I met a small, disparate group of distressed pedestrians looking skyward. They told me a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. It was such a clear day, but could it have been an accident? Minutes later when I came to Madison Avenue, I found people lining both the sidewalks. They were
The US economy: Lessons from the last caliphate
The U.S. Postal Service is a mess, drowning in debt and nearly done in like Hosni Mubarak by social media. One of its own plans to rescue itself calls for the elimination of 220,000 jobs, which is like shoving the entire population of Reno, Nevada, into a job market already overfull and desperate. Little wonder the country waits so eagerly for President Obama’s jobs plan. Except that what ails u
Uncommon alliances: Muslim and Jew, left and right
In October, the Dutch Senate will consider the ban on ritual slaughter enacted by the parliament’s lower house in June 2011. Self-described as “an institution that pays little heed to ideas which happen to be fashionable at the time,” the Senate has no one party that holds a majority. It will therefore be interesting to see whether it is able to protect religious freedom or succumb to the pressure
(title unknown) ★ 7
“African rulers, hypocrisy, greed and myopia” by Nkwazi Mhango
Before being booted out of power, Libyan tyrant, Muammar Gadaffi, lived a deceptive life by sleeping in the tent as symbol of simplicity and likeness with common Libyans. Before falling from grace, no common citizen had ever peeped in the mansions of his children despite being built and kept by the taxes of the common man and woman. Common people were not allowed to get close to these highly guard
Byts and Bytes
Canadian Senator Talks Race Relations The Economist: How To Build A Religion Truthdig: The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Recalls Obama’s Fall From Grace Breaking Brown: barack obama doesn’t like black people (and that includes troy davis) “To All” – A message from Troy Anthony Davis
9/11: Ten Years After
“Today I do not honor terrorism, reinforce fear or plot revenge. No. I pause today to commit to less violence and more peace. I choose today to be a part of the healing instead of part of the destruction. I remember today that peace begins within and love is an action.” Wayne Hicks
Jasmine Revolution: An African Revolution Not For Black Africans
One of the illusions that Europeans and Arabs alike have successfully perpetrated for over a century, is that the northern part of Africa is not apart of the African continent. I have had discussions and arguments with so-called “highly educated people”… those with more than one grouping of letters behind their names, who are not aware that Egypt for example is in Africa. This includes Black Peop
town called dobson ★ 2
Will the GOP come out against math?
The current crop of Republican candidates have come out against basic science recently following the trend of dumbing down America. Breaking it down, they have stated they believe the Earth is only 6000 years old, hence they do not believe in Geology. GOP candidates stated they don’t believe burning fossil fuels leads to climate change, hence they do not believe in Chemistry. GOP candidates have
the angry black woman ★ 8
RIP Troy Davis Time of death 11:08pm
I have a lot of black men in my life that I love. My husband, my sons, my nephews, my friends…I’m crying right now so this may be scattered. Any of the men I love could be Troy Davis. My husband’s first brush with the law was at 13 when a cop beat him up. Didn’t arrest him. Didn’t even tell him why he hit him. He was playing with friends one minute & being beaten the next. Think about that fo
Foodstamps 101
So I’ve seen more than a few posts lately from people who are in positions where food is scarce and so is money. And I’ve been in more than a few financially insecure situations myself, so I’m going to talk to you about poverty in America & making it work when you’re broke as hell in the United States. First off, apply for food stamps. Yes, even if you don’t have any children. If anyone tells
Check your BC, peeps!
Several brands of birth control pills are being recalled because they, uh, don’t work right. The brands included are: Cyclafem 7/7/7 Cyclafem 1/35 Emoquette Gildess FE 1.5/30 Gildess FE 1/20 Orsythia Previfem Tri-Previfem Basically, they’re labelled wrong, so you can still get pregnant even if you are taking them correctly. Jesus. I’m a little WTF over some of the media on this, like: The error
My Thoughts On The Latest #YesGayYA Developments
I meant to post this yesterday, but work things got in the way. Then the ever-wonderful Cleolinda posted the long, long post I was going to write and said everything I was going to say. So I’ll keep mine short. I suggest you click over to Cleolinda’s blog for the full story. Seriously. A few days ago Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith wrote a guest post for the Genreville blog over at Publish
Dear White Privileged People: This Post Is Not About Your Needs
One of the great things about the internet is how it lets people do things like exchange information. In many ways it has replaced things like the Green Book or word of mouth for transmitting info about places where stopping for more than gas (or stopping at all) wouldn’t be safe, where hotels will be welcoming, & where to avoid after certain times/at certain points of the year. Folks pass ar
pickled politics ★ 8
I’m working on a new project
It wouldn’t have escaped your notice that I’ve been blogging a lot less here lately. This isn’t just because running Liberal Conspiracy is a full time job – it is because I’ve been working on another big project. Eons ago, long before I got into blogging, writing or anything to do with the media, I worked at a technology start-up. I joined straight after university and the ‘dotcom boom’ was in ful
Police pays out £20k for wrongful arrest of ‘terrorist’
The Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police has paid £20,000 in compensation to Rizwaan Sabir for his wrongful arrest and seven days’ detention under the Terrorism Act 2000 in May 2008. Mr Sabir – currently a PhD student at the University of Strathclyde researching domestic UK counter-terrorism policy – was arrested after downloading an edited version of the ‘The Al-Qaeda Training Manual’ from
James Delingpole’s blogging
Yesterday evening I may have given the impression to some people on Twitter that James Delingpole’s blogging for the Telegraph was shit and repeatedly wrong. Now, the first part of that is obviously true. More intelligent ppl than me have pointed out to me that the second accusation may get me into trouble. So, before my ass gets sued, a clarification. Delingpole writes comment and doesn’t know m
EDL leader agrees with Breivik’s opinions, threatens Britain’s entire Muslim population
The English Defence League’s leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka “Tommy Robinson”) recently gave an interview to the Norwegian media and made the following dubious statements about the mass murdering Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik: “We share some of his opinions, and his fear, but not what he did in Norway 22 July. I do not think he is insane. I think that his approach was insane…Breivik dared
Sikh school opens in Birmingham. Bad idea?
The Guardian reports that one opened this week: The school, which will have compulsory Punjabi lessons for all pupils, has been a labour of love and duty for Birmingham’s 200,000-strong Sikh community. Sikhs as old as 90 and as young as five have helped strip floorboards and paint, says principal-designate Ranjit Singh Dhanda. He says that one of the core concepts of the Sikh faith is Daswand – do
green & white ★ 9
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bastard.logic ★ 9
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amygdala ★ 2
The Terrorists Won
THE TERRORISTS WON.This is the price we paid. Read The Rest Scale: 5 out of 5.Read more posts at Amygdala!
Barely Alive
BARELY ALIVEI'm officially back in major depression at the moment. Severe clinical depression. Yes, a flare-up of my lifelong problem, and part of being bipolar, combined with severe panic disorders, anxiety disorders, and a mild degree of agoraphobia. We'll hope the current bout of overwhelming pain, triggered by certain events, is a passing trend.But right now I'm highly dysfunctional
newspirates/from the quarterdeck ★ 1
Violence in Afghanistan 09/03/2011
S. AFGHANISTAN – A soldier serving with the ISAF was killed by an insurgent attack. Details and the nationality of the solider were not provided. It gave no other details. AFGHANISTAN – Afghan and foreign troops claim to have killed 21 Taliban insurgents during raids around the country over the past 24 hours. BALKH – Combined Afghan and ISAF troops killed an unarmed female civilian during a night
american leftist ★ 16
Celebrate Perpetual War on 9/11: Conclusion
Back in August, I ran into someone who told me that they were planning to go to New York City for the 9/11 memorial. A relative of someone they knew had been killed in the attacks. A few days ago, I ran into him again, and he told me about his vacation. I was surprised when he said that he had travelled around the East Coast and Ohio Valley, but hadn't gone to New York City. He proceeded to ex
Eurocentrism
UPDATE: Upon looking into the issue further, I discovered that Feministing provided an excellent explanation of the evils of the ban when it first took effect in April: I am so tired of having to read the qualifier from mostly white Western feminists before any discussion of the veil ban that the veil is sexist but . . . In the context of global patriarchy doesn’t this qualifier belong in front o
Home Invasions
From CNN yesterday, a story that Anderson Cooper has covered extensively on his show this week: Witnesses began describing the final moments of and futile attempts to save a Connecticut mother and her two daughters inside their burning home, opening the trial Monday for one of the men who authorities claim is responsible for their murders.Prosecutors declined to give an opening statement to start
US Approved Content on Al Jazeera
From a US diplomatic cable released by wikileaks, describing communications between the public affairs office of the US embassy in Doha and then Al Jazeera Managing Editor Wadah Khanifar on October 18, 2005: ¶7. (C) PAO raised the question of an Al Jazeera website piece published in the last week, listed under the heading Special Coverage, and containing Live Testimony Concerning Tal Afar. The si
The Hinkiness of Bill Keller
UPDATE: Was there any doubt that Bill Keller adores Christopher Hitchens? Bullies that give their thuggery an intellectual gloss, like Paul Wolfowitz as well, make him swoon. I'd love to hear what Hitchens privately thinks of Keller. I can't imagine that it's very flattering.INITIAL POST: Krugman concisely condemns Keller's self-absorbed rationalization for his mistaken support for the invasion
ips inter press service earth alert: confronting climate change ★ 22
No Birds Sing in Monoculture "Forests"
Artificial single-species forests are expanding fast in countries of the developing South, fuelled by low production costs and incentives from governments, and causing severe social and environmental impacts, warned experts from around the world who met this week in the Uruguayan capital.
Drylands Not a Lost Cause, U.N. Summit Declares
"If this was a meeting about climate change, I am pretty sure that the room would have been more crowded," Luc Gnacadja, executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), commented at a press conference Tuesday.
Indian Activists Bring Anti-Coal Campaign to World Bank
As leaders from two of the world's largest financial institutions, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, met for annual meetings here Tuesday, a delegation of activists from India called on the World Bank to follow through with its proposal to dramatically cut funding for coal-burning power stations.
CLIMATE CHANGE-BRAZIL: Farmers "Have Good Reason to Worry"
Bananas are harvested where apples used to grow; cassava, a traditional crop, is disappearing from the Northeast; and the southeast is losing the fragrance of good coffee. This is the science fiction of a new distribution of crops in Brazil, South America's agricultural powerhouse.
Inheriting the Whirlwind of Extreme Events
The dramatic increase in extreme weather that has affected hundreds of millions across the planet is one of the clearest signs that burning billions of tonnes fossil fuels has seriously and permanently disrupted the global climate, experts say.
INDIA: 'Women Make Good Business Sense'
Harish Hande believes that involving women in design, manufacture and sales pays dividends in any business, but especially in those making products that women ultimately use.
world truth today ★ 18
Major Terrorism Drill “Operation Mountain Guardian” In Denver Near Elenin Alignment Dates
A major terrorism drill has been scheduled four days before a supposed Elenin Alignment as world leaders plan recess and Obama joins NASA in Denver. A sign at Union Station In Denver Indicating DHS Drill Set To Take Place The Intel Hub September 21, 2011 On Friday September 23rd, a large scale terrorism drill involving 81 agencies will take place in Denver, Colorado. The drill, made possible by a
Two Underground Cities Destroyed On 8-23-2011?
TWO HUGE underground cities were destroyed on August 23rd—which may be seen by historians as the critical moment in which the war was won. 80 different countries have now formed an alliance against the Old World Order/Nazi-esque cabal. From DAVID WILCOCK, Friday, 16 September 2011. “On Wednesday, September 14th, 2011, I interviewed one of the most interesting and controversial figures on Earth. Th
obsolete ★ 26
What did you say your name was again?
Another old link for a Friday, but who cares? Here's Aidan Moffatt, formerly of Arab Strap, tearing into Adele's ubiquitous Someone Like You.
Mr Cameron goes to New York.
Yes, it's that time of year again. In what seems more and more choreographed with each passing twelve months, it's that bizarre version of musical chairs played out at the United Nations general assembly: Mahmoud Ahmadenijad takes the opportunity given to him to say something vaguely outrageous in front of the planet's dignitaries and television cameras, and out walk those who have somehow found
Simply grateful for small mercies.
For the past few days, the main body of political journalists, having travelled to the mean streets of Birmingham for the Liberal Democrat conference with their reports pre-written on the splits, mutinous motions and Tory-bashing about to unfold have instead been almost dumbfounded by the level of unity and calmness shown by the majority of the delegates. There they were expecting blood to be spi
If you read nothing else today...
then make sure it's this superb post on OurKingdom by Justin Baidoo-Hackman.(Apologies again for the beyond crap blogging. Must get back into the habit properly tomorrow.)
The Hollywood Left has done it again!
Via Angry Mob:
nolanchart.com ★ 48
Notes on the Economy - Sept 19 - 23
by Bill Gee: A quick break from my busy schedule to comment on the current financial meltdown.
The government can't make a job you don't pay for!
by Mark Vogl: President Obama must be given credit for being a die hard socialist, but our economy is stagnant because of it!
Warren Buffett is a Poor, Blind, Sad, Old Man or Worse
by Paul Benedict: In allowing himself to be the point man for "the Buffet Rule" Warren Buffet is either blinded by prejudice and guilt, or even worse, like all of his class, he is a sell out.
Can World Government be Obama's End Goal?
by Kevin Roeten: All the administration's goals can be directed towards one thing.
Why Obama's Love Affair with Planned Parenthood?
by Kevin Roeten: Why has the president pandered so much to Planned Parenthood?
Giving Money to the Poor and Helping the Poor -- Two Entirely Different Things
by Richard in Japan: Do you give money to panhandlers? Youre not doing them any favors! Putting money in a beggar's cup is possibly the WORST way to help the poor.
infrastructurist ★ 47
What’s It Like to Get Stuck in a Train?
As the world’s population continues its inexorable toward cities, and as public-transit ridership continues to rise, there’s a common experience that’s bonding all urban commuters: Getting stuck in a train. It’s one of those unique modern constructs that few of Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Please Welcome the World’s First 3-D Printed Car
• 3D printing is now a reality, and the world’s first printed car has just arrived. (SmartPlanet) • Criticism is being fired at a new art project called Nowhereisland. The project involves finding an Arctic island that has recently been exposed Read more ›
Rush-Hour Read: How Automation Leads to More Aviation Accidents
After every airplane crash, investigators hunting for the cause look at all the evidence to try to discover what went wrong. Often it’s mechanical, weather, or human error that causes the crash. For the third category, authorities are increasingly finding Read more ›
Shovel-Ready Series: The 5 Bridges Obama Should Build Now
Today, President Obama will visit a bridge in Cincinnati (that’s in dire need of repair, as many U.S. bridges are) as a backdrop to the public push for his new jobs bill, which includes $50 billion in spending on highways, Read more ›
The Daily Dig: A Chinese City Disappears Overnight
• A city in China the size of L.A. “disappears” overnight due to re-zoning laws. (NPR) • More space is needed in the U.S. detainee facility in Afghanistan. The U.S. is planning an expansion from 3,500 beds to 5,500 and Read more ›
Are Lawsuits the Final Nail in the Coffin for California High-Speed Rail?
California’s high-speed rail project is fast becoming the “Waiting for Godot” of modern transportation. There’ve been the fights over planned routes, the disputes over the actual costs, the hubbub over the ridership estimates, and even charges that the body running Read more ›
obsidian wings ★ 15
Education Friday open thread
Two related articles from the NYTimes. This tells the story of two charter schools, one for underprivileged students, the other one of those high powered ones, and their attempt to teach students 'character' with the title "What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?", while this tells the adventures of Clifford Levy (or more importantly, his children) when he took up the post of N
September 11, Iraq, and the nature of courage
by Doctor Science Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Suffering leads to the Dark Side. -- Yoda As I've said, my emotional reaction to September 11 was full of fear and grief. Now, it has often seemed to me -- and to many others -- that in the years after that day much of the American people went crazy with fear. In particular, th
Your sports Friday open thread
by liberal japonicus The Guardian observes, in a piece about Cheryl Cole concert in Afghanistan, has this: The X Factor is becoming almost like America's NFL, whose relationship with the military has become so weirdly symbiotic that flypasts before each game come as standard, the league's flagship show has been broadcast from a military base, and forces recruiters set up shop outside stad
The New World's Post-Apocalyptic Landscape
by Doctor Science I'm gathering up a bunch of threads that came up in the Methos on September 11 post and answering them here. The question, "Were New World populations significantly reduced by Old World diseases introduced after 1492?" is currently considered settled by historians, and the answer is "Yes". If this startles you, it *is* a paradigm shift from what you probably grew up learning -
Methos and me on September 11th
by Doctor Science The Tower, by Pamela Colman Smith, from the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Unsourced description from Wikipedia:Chaos ----- Sudden change ----- Impact ----- Hard times Crisis ----- Revelation ----- Disruption ----- Realizing the truth Disillusion ----- Crash ----- Burst ----- Uncomfortable experience Downfall ----- Ruin ----- Ego blow ----- Explosive transformation One of the mos
Das Glühkatzchen
by liberal japonicus Hartmut can correct that German, I hope, but this Guardian story about genetically manipulated cats that glow in the dark had me singing 'Shine little glowpuss, glimmer, glimmer', which led me to the wikipedia entry for that song, which is originally from the German operetta Lysistrata by Paul Lincke.
texas liberal ★ 46
Fall Is Here—Please Enjoy All Seasons Of The Year
(Blogger’s Note 9/23/11 –I made this post last year and have updated it just a bit for this year. It looks to me like it took some work, so why not use it again? Thanks for reading Texas Liberal. I hope you enjoy all seasons of the year.) September 22 is the first day of fall. (Above–The 1890 painting Autumn Rain by Julian Alden Weir.) What exactly is fall? Here is a definition. From that defint
Republican Presidential Debate Crowd Boos A Soldier Serving In Iraq—Rick Santorum Says Dumbest Thing Ever
Here is what we have learned from the Republicans running for President in 2012— * The chief of the Federal Reserve should be roughed up if he visits Texas according to Texas Governor Rick Perry. * Texas-sized use of the death penalty is a cause for cheering. * Letting the uninsured die is a cause for cheering. * Booing soldiers serving in Iraq is okay if they happen to be gay. The Republicans are
New Phone App Will Help Americans See The Amount Of Forced Labor In What We Buy
A new phone app will help Americans see how much forced labor was involved to make the things we use each day. From CNN-– “Was your smartphone made in a sweatshop? Were those diapers made by slaves? Were children in another country forced to put that stitching in your designer jeans? Consumers will be able to find out after the debut Thursday of a new app and website that measure the forced labor
KTRH 740 Host Michael Berry Says Senator Lindsey Graham “Gayer than Hell..”—We Are All Free To Express Ourselves
Here is what former Houston City Councilmember and KTRH 740 AM radio host Michael Berry had to say on his Facebook page today about Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham– “Lindsay Grahamnesty is on Fox right now. Acting gayer than hell as usual. He grates on my nerves. Liberal Lindsay. Squish.” I’m appreciative of people like Mr. Berry who tell us exactly who and what they are. There w
Here is what former Houston City Councilmember and KTRH AM 740 radio host Michae...
Here is what former Houston City Councilmember and KTRH AM 740 radio host Michael Berry had this to say on his Facebook page this evening about Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham— “Lindsay Grahamnesty is on Fox right now. Acting gayer than hell as usual. He grates on my nerves. Liberal Lindsay. Squish.” Here are what some of the Facebook fans of Mr. Berry had to say about this commen
New Phone App To Track Forced Labor In The Things We Buy
A new phone app will help Americans see how much forced labor was involved to make the things we use each day. From CNN-– “Was your smartphone made in a sweatshop? Were those diapers made by slaves? Were children in another country forced to put that stitching in your designer jeans? Consumers will be able to find out after the debut Thursday of a new app and website that measure the forced labor
in these times ★ 10
Two Heads of One Political Monster
By now, probably everyone reading this is already sick of America's quadrennial political spectacle—the one in which politicians and media outlets ask us to believe that there remain vast differences between our two political parties. It's like cheaply staged pornography on a red and blue set, with words like "polarization," "socialist," and "extremist" compri
Donald Rumsfeld’s Ugly Suits
For the first time since the Bush administration stripped "war on terror" detainees of due process rights and redefined interrogation techniques to include torture, a federal appellate court has ruled against a high-level U.S. official in an anti-torture case. That means former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld could become the first Bush-era official held liable for torture. Donald Vance and Nath
A New Model to Bank On
Jim Houser, co-owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic in Portland, Ore., saw an opportunity to increase his sales of "plug-in" electrical charging kits for the locally popular Prius hybrid cars. But when he talked with his bank about a loan for enlarging his shop, which employs 14 full- and part-time workers, he got the distinct sense "that it would be a waste of time to formally apply for a loan." "Credi
The Other Media Crisis: Irrelevance
Why bother, anymore, railing against government ineptitude or exposing corporate corruption? These days, it feels like shaking your fist at the cosmos. There's been much gnashing of teeth about the crisis in journalism--shrinking news staffs, closing newspapers, the rise of unreliable blogs, etc. But there's another crisis we should be more worried about: the structural disconnect between the pres
Corporations Are Not People
Corporations, in the Supreme Court-sanctioned guise of people, hold our democracy in thrall. Their vast wealth underwrites the campaigns of federal and state legislators. Dependent for their political survival on corporate largess, most politicians are pushed into becoming servile apologists or eager shills. The Supreme Court began endowing corporations with the rights of people in 1886 with Santa
University of Hypocrisy
In the firmament of celebrated Americana, there is Mom, apple pie, football and beer—but there most certainly is not marijuana. As it relates to drugs, this bizarre culture has us implicitly accepting that people will inevitably use mind-altering substances. But through our statutes, we allow law-abiding citizens to use only one recreational substance—alcohol—that just happens to be way more hazar
craig murray ★ 39
Why?
Even the most serious minded attempt to explain curved space and black holes leaves me vaguely puzzled. And I had never understood Einstein’s contention – presuming that he made it – that nothing could move faster than light. Why? It appeared to me more of a theological statement than a measaured fact. Why? Of course, I can see it has ramifications for our observation of the universe, but wh
Palestinian Torment
Peculiarly enough, if I thought that the Palestinian attempt to gain recognition at the UN would succeed, I would probably oppose it. I don’t think the “two state solution”, where the Palestinians are overcrowded, walled in, divided up and deprived of economic viability and of water, is any solution at all. I remain firmly in favour of a single secular non-racist state in which all the current i
Banned By the BBC
It is a year since I wrote a detailed post about my being banned by the BBC. At the time I wrote that article, I had genuinely forgotten that, during the last of my (once frequent) BBC News appearances, 10 Downing St had called and demanded I was taken off. I just came across this account, which I wrote at the time it happened. (The point about vehicle excise duty is that at the time those Briti
PFI Disaster
There is an excellent article in the Daily Telegraph about the PFI disaster, about which I have been warning from since I started blogging. The public sector will be crippled for a generation by the need to shovel enormous amounts of taxpayers’ money directly into the financiers’ profits – that super profit, in addition to a normal builders’ profit, being split between banks and construction comp
Parvan Prison Guantanamo
Any Americans who thought their country was hard up for cash because of Obama’s deep welfare cuts can be happy to know that the USA still has huge amounts of money to spare. $100 million of US taxpayers’ cash is being spent on building a new Guantanamo for 2,000 political prisoners near Baghram airport, Afghanistan. Baghram was of course already a notorious torture black site for the CIA, and the
Political Planning
The Daily Telegraph yesterday published satellite images of Dale Farm from 1999 to 2011. These clearly show that, contrary to propaganda spewed on all media, the site has neither expanded nor used up any green fields. You find them at 14.15 on that long Daily Telegraph blog post. I am fascinated by the campaign to use respect for planning law as the justification for racist bile. Planning law i
finance
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