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Thomas Paine

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

Saturday, October 15, 2011

15 October - Weekend News Picks

Посещение телекомплекса «Russia Today». С глав...Image via Wikipedia

 

 

Truth News Radio Australia shared a link.

Government says PressTV and RussiaToday are the enemy
www.youtube.com
Very relevant since UK is going to shut down PressTV on SKY! The Broadcasting Board of Governors is a bipartisan board comprised of nine members. Eight are a...

Oppose Congress's Iran War & Oil Embargo Legislation

Congress has introduced new proposals that would endorse Israeli military strikes against Iran, impose a virtual oil embargo on the country, and bring the U.S. policy on Iran even closer to the disastrous policies carried out against Iraq leading up to the 2003 invasion.
H.Res.271, which was reintroduced by Rep. Louie Gohmert and endorsed by 42 House Republicans, green lights military action against Iran by Israel and threatens to exacerbate regional instability, endanger Iran's indigenous human rights and democracy movement, and potentially drag the U.S. into a disastrous new war in the region.
H.R.1905 would impose an oil embargo on Iran that would punish ordinary Iranians, raise the price of gas and threaten the U.S. economic recovery, and fracture the unity of the international community regarding how to approach Iran. The toll of such measures can be massive, as evidenced by the oil embargo on Iraq that was estimated by UNICEF to have contributed to the deaths of half a million Iraqi children and which failed to topple Saddam Hussein.

Politics of Perception ( A blind man could see the need for this information years ago )

Oct. 11, 2011 Markey argues for cuts to nuclear weapons budget in order to fund vital programs
www.youtube.com
TODAY, Lt. General Robert G. Gard, one of the nation's leading experts on nuclear nonproliferation and national security issues, along with leading health, s...
Truth News Radio Australia shared a link.

MORE WAR? Obama to order troops deep into Africa in "advisory" role
reddirtreport.com
OKLAHOMA CITY – Uganda. It’s a country most Americans know little about. Even this reporter knew only a little bit about this small Central African nation until recent months.

Royal Navy Finds 61 Bombs On Nudist Beach | Disinformation
www.disinfo.com
Via the Telegraph: Experts were called in after 26 bombs — including two submarine depth charges and at least six 10lb mortar bombs — were washed up on Leysdown Beach last month. And last week, during a two day search of the beach, on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent — the Navy found another 61 bombs, ta...

Switzerland’s Anti-PowerPoint Party | Disinformation
www.disinfo.com
The best up-and-coming political force may be Switzerland's Anti-PowerPoint Party. The Party is fighting the use of PowerPoint presentations in business,
2011 Nobel Prize: Dark Energy feat. Sean Carroll
www.youtube.com
Guest narrator Sean Carroll of Caltech describes dark energy and the acceleration of the universe, the discovery of which was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in...
The Big Fix Official Trailer
www.youtube.com
Official Trailer for "The Big Fix" a Green Planet Production by Josh and Rebecca Tickell

The Bix Fix, by Josh and Rebecca Tickell, re-opens some of the most persistent questions about last year's oil spill. How BP was able to exert so much control over the crisis as it unfolded? What were the long-term health consequences of using a toxic chemical, Corexit, to break up the oil and drive it underwater? Rebecca Tickell herself had a serious reaction to the chemical after being out on the open water – and as it turned out so did the doctor she consulted in an Alabama beach town. She still has health problems. "The most shocking thing to me was the disregard with which the people of the Gulf region were dealt," Tickell said.
 
NEW ORLEANS (CN) - A federal judge has dismissed claims brought by a group of 66 fishermen, oilmen and property owners who sought damages from the vessels that responded first to the Deepwater Horizon rig after an explosion caused it to catch fire. The plaintiffs alleged that the force of the water sprayed on the Deepwater Horizon by the responding vessels ultimately caused the oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico and caused the rig to sink.
Courthouse News Service
www.courthousenews.com
NEW ORLEANS (CN) - A federal judge has dismissed claims brought by a group of 66 fishermen, oilmen and property owners who sought damages from the vessels that responded first to the Deepwater Horizon rig after an explosion caused it to catch fire. The plaintiffs alleged that the force of t...
A simple swim in the Gulf of Mexico has complicated Steven Aguinaga's life in ways he could have never imagined. In July 2010, Aguinaga, now 33-years-old, had gone on a vacation with is wife and some friends to Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After he and his close friend Merrick Vallian went swimming in the Gulf, they both became extremely sick from what Aguinaga believes were chemicals in BP's oil and dispersants from the largest marine oil spill in US history that began in April 2010.
Dangerous allegations in the Gulf of Mexico
www.aljazeera.comGulf of Mexico residents accuse BP and their security company of harassment.

JIT found possible operating lapses on Macondo rig, panel told - Oil & Gas Journal
www.ogj.com
The joint investigation by the two federal entities responsible for offshore safety enforcement and environmental protection found that numerous system deficiencies and acts of omission by Transocean Ltd. and the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig’s crew reduced opportunities to limit the April 2...
 
During a wide-ranging House Natural Resources Committee hearing examining the 2010 Gulf spill, two Democratic members brushed aside BP Vice President Raymond Dempsey‘s assertion that the company is voluntarily taking steps to boost the safety of its offshore drilling operations beyond what federal regulations require.
Fuel Fix » U.S. will let BP bid on Gulf leases again
www.fuelfix.com
U.S. will let BP bid on Gulf leases again
The Republican chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday questioned whether federal regulators had played politics in the timing of its enforcement action against three companies involved in the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and overreached its statutory authority in going after contractors Transocean and Halliburton as well as BP.

Oil regulator denies delaying charges against BP, Transocean and Halliburton
www.nola.com
Bromwich says he had been frustrated by the delays, necessitated by efforts by agency staff to do their work responsibly

BP oil disaster documentary rakes over big questions about the spill
www.guardian.co.uk
Suzanne Goldenberg: The Big Fix raises concerns over Obama administration's use of toxic chemical Corexit and BP's leverage in the crisis
Real Coastal Warriors shared a link.

Petition STOP Moby Solangi's "Dolphin Circus" In The Gulf
www.ipetitions.com
This is petition for STOP Moby Solangi's "Dolphin Circus" In The Gulf. Join the movement! Sign now!

Bob Chapman : America is the most corrupt country in the world | Bob Chapman The International Forec
bobchapman.blogspot.com
Tracking Bob Chapman The International Forecaster,Gold and Silver Forecast ,Investment banks wall street ,the economy the dollar gold silver coins bullions shares and stocks

WATCH: Herman Cain Shoots Back At SimCity Report
www.huffingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON -- On Friday, Herman Cain responded to The Huffington Post's analysis of the similarities between his "999" economic plan and the default tax rate in "SimCity 4," saying he did not get the idea from the video game. In a video aired Friday night on "The Rachel Maddow Show," a reporter aske...

The UFCW Blog: UFCW STANDS WITH MEDICAL CANNABIS RETAIL WORKERS
ufcw.blogspot.com
It seems to me that the most effective means of stopping misguided prosecutions (prosecutions not intended by a legislature) would be to discuss the matter with Californis's US Senators. It might be a good idea to first talk to the California legislators who sponsored the State law and get them to ...
 
How to spread the globalchange | 15th october: #United we will re-invent the world
www.15october.net

Saturday, October 15: Occupy Wall Street, Occupy the planet!
www.redgreenandblue.org
Here we go... the Occupy Wall Street movement has called for a global day of action on Saturday, October 15th. Find out what's going on locally wherever you live at Occupy Together. Technology gives amazing tools for organizers! A sampling of big events: New York This morning's eviction fear...
NYPD White Shirt KO's a Female Protester Today 10/14/11
www.youtube.com
NYPD White Shirt punch the lights out of a female protester, another White shirt pushes him away saving her from a beatdown.

Run over!
politics.salon.com
Updated: NYPD officer drives over National Lawyers Guild observer with scooter, then arrests him
"NYPD spokesman Frank Hannefy explained the controversial decision to arrest Occupy Wall Street protesters while leaving the people who had brought the nation’s economy to the brink of Armageddon unmolested. 'As far as soulless individuals pillaging the country for their personal gain, that’s none of our business,' he said. 'But we’ll be damned if we’re going to let people march on newly seeded grass." 
Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Maine, propose about $60 billion in cuts to federal employees' wages and benefits. This would be on top of $60 billion in cuts already contributed by federal employees through a two-year pay freeze. Meanwhile, the two senators have proposed a paltry $11 billion reduction to the $320 billion spent each year on government service contractors. And they've left in place a policy that lets government contractors charge taxpayers nearly $700,000 for each contractor employee.
Two Senators Target Federal Workers' Pay, Benefits -- WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswi
www.prnewswire.com
 
Breaking: Wrong People Arrested on Wall Street – Boing Boing
www.boingboing.net
Boing Boing partner, Boing Boing Video host and executive producer. Xeni.net, Twitter, Google+. Email: xeni@xeni.net. Upcoming speaking engagements include: Shorenstein 25th anniversary event on politics and the media, Harvard.

Occupy Cleveland Protesters Needed Tents, So Who Supplies Them? The Cleveland Police. | MyFDL
my.firedoglake.com
Rain was in the forecast. The Occupy Cleveland protesters had no tents, because the City of Cleveland had not permitted them. So the protesters sent out a cry for help.

Wall Photos

Wall Street sit-in goes global Saturday For an October revolution, dress warm. That's the word going out - politely - on the Web to rally street protests on Saturday around the globe from New Zealand to Alaska via London, Frankfurt, Washington and, of course, New York, where the past month's Occupy Wall Street movement has inspired a worldwide yell of anger at banks and financiers. How many will...See More


Occupy Wall St protest in Australia | Top Stories | BigPond News
www.bigpondnews.com
Demonstrators plan to camp outside the Reserve Bank in Sydney as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Clemency For Leonard Peltier

grant clemency to Native American activist Leonard Peltier without delay.
wwws.whitehouse.gov
‎10th Circuit Court of Appeals:
The Failure Of Supply Side Economics
Public Values - The Right starts to listen as economic system shown as failure
www.publicvalues.ca
Three decades of supply-side policies have produced the very problems they were meant to fix.
Private Enterprise Prisons: The Immigrant Story

Public Values - For-profit immigrant detention centres face frequent inhumane treatment lawsuits
www.publicvalues.ca
Outsourcing of immigration enforcement allows governments to abandon accountability.

Real Coastal Warriors
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will undertake a multiyear effort to remove more than 1,200 miles of natural-gas plastic pipeline that has been linked to numerous failures nationwide, including two explosions in Northern California in the past six weeks, the company said Friday.

PG&E to replace 1,200 miles of gas pipe
www.sfgate.com
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will undertake a multiyear effort to remove more than 1,200 miles of natural-gas plastic pipeline that has been linked to numerous failures nationwide, including two explosions in Northern...
Real Coastal Warriors added 11 new photos to the album The Fragile State of Our Environment - October 14, 2011.
The Fragile State of Our Environment - October 14, 2011


Dead seal count approaches 100
www.boston.com
Federal officials say the number of dead harbor seals found on beaches in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts in the past several weeks is nearing 100, yet the cause remains a mystery.
Gulf Oil Spill Media Blackout - Gassed In The Gulf By BP
www.youtube.com
Combined news coverage of the ongoing (still in October of 2011) BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico
the fish looked like they were trying to jump out of the water
Real Coastal Warriors
‎"We're seeing dead porpoises, we're seeing shrimp with no eyes that's still alive, we're seeing fish with tumors the size of golf balls in them, we're seeing fish with oil all over the gills, we're seeing shrimp with oil all over the gills," says Blanchard. "It's hard for me to think that everything is going to be alright."

Longtime seafood businessman says he's closing shop
www.fox8live.com
A Grand Isle shrimp processor says he can't afford to keep his business open because of the oil spill.
 
October 13, 2011 BP dumping their garbage Absorbent pads
This came off of a skimmer that works on Horn Island everyday,So it bad enough that BP has dump their Oil and Corexit into the Gulf now they are throwing their bagged mess into the sound.The bag is marked with a black marker with R5 wrote on it.

Real Coastal Warriors
The Aquarium of the Pacific will host an art exhibit beginning in mid October featuring aerial photos that capture the aftermath of the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Photographer Daniel Beltrá shot the photos during May and June 2010 on assignment for Greenpeace off the coast of Louisiana. An exhibit featuring Beltrá’s work, SPILL: Images from the Gulf, will be on display at the Aquarium in Long Beach from October 13, 2011, through January 15, 2012.
Long Beach Post: Aquarium of the Pacific Presents Gulf SPILL Photos
www.lbpost.com
The Aquarium of the Pacific presents SPILL, a series of images created by internationally renowned environmental photographer Daniel Beltrá, who documented the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico for Greenpeace in May and June of last year.
Real Coastal Warriors
‎"Some News Is So Big, It Needs It's Own Page" - Huffington Post

Gulf Oil Spill
www.huffingtonpost.com
Big News on Gulf Oil Spill . Includes blogs, news, and community conversations about Gulf Oil Spill

Real Coastal Warriors shared a page: Earthrace Conservation South Island, New Zealand.

Earthrace Conservation South Island, New Zealand
Earthrace Conservation (ECO) - what we're about: "A world where our oceans, and all life within them and dependent on them, are no longer under threat from illegal, inhumane or destructive human behaviours". Earthrace Conservation Organisation (ECO) aims to identify marine conservation issues, and intervene where and when necessary to protect and defend threatened marine ecosystems world-wide. Through direct action and education, and by involving local communities, governments and businesses, it will encourage respect and guardianship of our oceans and all animals that depend on them. ECO will galvanize a global movement to speak out for the preservation of marine life everywhere. Page: ‎203 
Real Coastal Warriors
In this ad from ExxonMobil, company geologist Erik Oswald believes natural gas drilling is safe. He says, "When we design any [fracking] well, the groundwater is protected by multiple layers of steel and cement." But reports show that hydraulic fracturing operations in the past have proven themselves to be environmentally destructive and dangerous. Celebrity activists like Deepak Chopra and Mark Ruffalo have spoken out against fracking and Steven Colbert found humor in a drilling company's PR efforts on his show.
( Both the 'Water' and 'Energy' files in the Topical Index outline information which paint hydrofracking as horrifying for everyone. )

Corporate Greenwashing And Other Questionable 'Green' Ads (VIDEOS)
www.huffingtonpost.com
Maintaining effective public relations and a positive image with the public are important parts of doing business. But for some companies, this task can prove quite difficult when their products and services clash with public and environmental safety.

Lingering Worries About Health and Seafood in Louisiana - Video - TIME.com
www.time.com
A year after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, fishing families in Bayou Pointe-au-Chien, Louisiana still worry about health effects and seafood contamination
 
Study: Gulf Seafood Unsafe for Pregnant Women and Children?
healthland.time.comIs Gulf seafood safe to eat? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light following the BP oil spill that dumped nearly 5 million barrels of crude off the coast of Louisiana last year, but now an environmental watchdog group says the agency's standards are "based on outdated science" ...
Rotkin-Ellman noted "six major flaws" in the FDA's assessment of PAHs in Gulf seafood: "assuming everyone weighs 80 kg (176 lbs), underestimating how much seafood Gulf residents eat, ignoring the cancer risk from naphthalene [a common PAH] contamination, failing to address the increased vulnerability of pregnant women and children, allowing for a high level of cancer risk, and assuming that the contamination will only last five years."
Vibrio vulnificus is mainly found in oysters from the Gulf of Mexico, where warm waters provide the ideal growing conditions for it during the summer months. The presence of Vibrio vulnificus in oysters has long been a public health concern, as well as a source of friction between the oyster industry and the federal government. The bacterium causes an average of 32 illnesses each year, and about half of those cases are fatal.

Overreaching on Oyster Safety?
www.foodsafetynews.com
The government and seafood industry must work together to reduce illnesses from Vibrio vulnificus - a naturally occurring but potentially fatal bacterium found in Gulf Coast oysters - says the Government Accountability Office.
 
Unsafe levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood were allowed by the FDA after the BP oil spill in 2010, according to a new study. PAHs are chemicals found in oil, industrial pollution and urban run-off that can cause cancer, birth defects, neurological delays and liver damage.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Unsafe Levels in Seafood Allowed By FDA, Study Says | ThirdAge
www.thirdage.com
Unsafe levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in seafood were allowed by the FDA after the BP oil spill in 2010, a new study says.
Real Coastal Warriors
Michael Bromwich, head of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, says the maximum civil penalty for a violation offshore should be “well into the six figures” per day, per incident. The maximum fine was $35,000 per day at the time of the Gulf blowout. Bromwich called that amount “trivial” for profitable companies spending up to $1 million a day leasing an offshore rig.
 
Real Coastal Warriors
Under the Clean Water Act, BP can be fined from $1,000 to $4,300 per barrel leaked after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. That could add up to fines of between $5 billion and $20 billion.

Oil-fines bill advances in House
www.houmatoday.com
Louisiana congressmen are pushing for action on a bill that would dedicate 80 percent of BP’s spill-fine money to restoration and recovery in the Gulf Coast.
 
History-making litigation: Deepwater Horizon cases flood Gulf Coast courtrooms - Houston Business Jo
www.bizjournals.com
LONDON: BP posted a loss of $4.914 billion for 2010 Tuesday, the oil-giant’s first annual shortfall since 1992, and raised its estimate of costs arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to $40.9 billion.
BP posts $4.9 billion annual loss, says first since 1992
www.bayoubuzz.com
Lee County considers lawsuit against BP over oil spill
www.naplesnews.com
Lee County will soon decide whether to hire a law firm to sue oil company BP for losses incurred due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, Commissioner Frank Mann reported on Friday.

Day after citing 3 companies for Gulf spill, offshore safety chief says stiffer fines needed
www.washingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON — The head of the offshore drilling safety agency is telling Congress current fines for offshore violations need to be much stiffer.
HOUSTON —The U.S. government broke precedent by issuing citations to contractors Halliburton Co. and Transocean Ltd. in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, along with rig operator BP PLC. While now facing greater scrutiny from regulators, contractors in the oil-service industry have considerable liability protection to fight the citations and any subsequent fines, legal experts say. They also have enough market muscle to strengthen liability protection in their contracts with oil companies.
Breaking Precedent: Oil Firms Face Liability Protection Challenges
gcaptain.com
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Real Coastal Warriors
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas released a long-promised jobs and energy proposal Friday that resembles a wish list for the oil and gas industry, promising new drilling across much of the country, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as well as a curtailing of environmental regulations and “dismantling” the Environmental Protection Agency. 
 
Real Coastal Warriors
AUCKLAND: The Forest and Bird Conservation Organization, in a recent press release, said the hundreds of dead birds found along the Bay of Plenty coastline as a result of the Rena oil spill represent just a fraction of the affected wildlife.
New Zealand wildlife deeply affected by Rena oil spill - Bikya Masr : Bikya Masr
bikyamasr.com
AUCKLAND: The Forest and Bird Conservation Organization, in a recent press release, said the hundreds of dead birds found along the Bay of Plenty coastline as a result of the Rena oil spill represent just a fraction of the affected wildlife.
 

Perry Promises Increased Drilling and Decreased Regulation
www.nytimes.com
Gov. Rick Perry’s long-promised plan vows increased drilling and decreased regulation.

Oct. 14, 2011: Markey: GOP coal ash bill ignores science, public health concerns
www.youtube.com
Floor Statement -- Debate on Amendments Markey Amendment on Public Participation H.R. 2273, "Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act" October 14, 2011
Real Coastal Warriors
It is difficult to think of a mass mortality that has lasted as long, has involved so many animals, and has taken down so many calves. Determining the health of the Gulf’s bottlenose dolphins is a matter of urgency. As I’ve written before, the dolphins that make their homes in the Gulf’s coastal waters and estuaries represent about three dozen separate communities, some smaller than 100 animals ...See More

The Dolphin Die-Off Continues | Michael Jasny's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC
switchboard.nrdc.org
More than one year after the Deepwater Horizon was capped, biologists in the Gulf of Mexico are trying to determine what has happened to the dolphins—which continue to turn up dead in alarmingly high numbers along the coast, from Louisiana...

Police said the protesters, numbering more than 5,000, including 2000 women have blocked all roads leading to the plant and prevented nearly 700 scientists and over 5000 contract workers from reporting to work. They also said that the anti-nuclear committee members were blocked the employees and workers from both entry points ways of the plant. Which roads are only the ways to reach the nuclear plant. More than 5,000 people including 2,000 women sat on a blockade were blocked the each roads. Hence scientists, employees could not enter the nuclear plant.
Anti-nuke protesters prevent staff from entering plant, beaten up by cops - The Times of India
timesofindia.indiatimes.com

UTMB plans to halt prison health care in funding dispute
www.chron.com
 GALVESTON - The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is preparing to stop providing medical services to the state prison system unless it gets more money. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is shopping for other hospitals to take UTMB's place when its interim contract with the Galv...
Deep brain stimulation surgery
www.abc.net.au
This brain surgery is used for illnesses such as depression and severe obsessive compulsive disorder. It has also been used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, according to researchers only 10 to 15% of Parkinson's patients are appropriate candidates for this treatment.
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