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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, December 17, 2011

17 December - News Notes

American Civil Liberties UnionImage via Wikipedia
Iran Twitter FlagImage by People's Open Graphics via Flickr
Iran ElectionsImage by bioxid via Flickr
English: A page from American Civil Liberties ...Image via Wikipedia
LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 17:  Clark County Republic...Image by Getty Images via @daylife

 

War tensions around Syria rose alarmingly Thursday night, Dec. 15, when Turkey's top military council convened "to review the armed forces' preparedness for war" in response to the deployment of Syrian missiles, some tipped with chemical warheads, on their common border. debkafile's military sources report the meeting was led by Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
 
rt.com
While the families of US soldiers rejoice this week at the end of operations in Iraq, Thursday night’s debate of potential Republican candidates revealed that just about everyone vying for the GOP nod wants to wage more war.

Ron Paul’s stunning antiwar performance: Iran talk recalls Iraq, ‘a useless war that killed 1 million Iraqis’ and 8000 Americans

I see that Reuters is characterizing Ron Paul's anti-war outcry in the Republican debate last night as an outburst and is saying that his views could alienate Republicans. Well I found his performance riveting. It was a great moral stand and establishes Ron Paul as the Gene McCarthy of this battle, the antiwar outlier.
Who else is condemning the use of drones? Who else is condemning the Patriot Act? Who else is talking about our endless wars? Who else is condemning the runup to an Iran war? Who else is saying that terrorists attack us because we're bombing their countries?

( In fact, there is a shortage of proof of terrorists. One might surmise that denying trial protects the state from admitting its wrong at least as much as it hides guilt. The list of Guantanamo suspects released without due process and the need to imprison without review guarantees only dual sided one thing : wrongful imprisonment and real offenders will never be singled out. )

In less than 24 hours Congress could vote to change the Internet forever

Individuals and corporations both large and small are stepping up to fight back against the draconian SOPA legislation and the Senate’s sister legislation, the PROTECT IP Act.
However, there is a significant lobby that is pushing back against the tide of freedom and liberty in an attempt to severely restrict the internet.
As the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) pointed out in a Congressional hearing, SOPA will restrict non-infringing online content right along with the infringing content the bill is supposedly aimed at combating.
“By contemplating an order that effectively bars others from gaining access to both infringing and non-infringing content, the proposed statute goes beyond appropriate First Amendment free speech protections,” the ACLU said.
The wildly restrictive SOPA legislation would essentially make it impossible for some of the largest websites on the internet to operate in any way that is remotely familiar to the climate we have known.
Any social media website that allows users to freely post content could be shut down at any time if any infringing content is posted on the site.

 

 

We know from your comments here and elsewhere that you have intelligent and engaging things to say about the state of the Internet in Canada. The fight against warrantless online spying is heating up in the media—don't forget to visit http://openmedia.ca/letter
 
, and send a letter to the editor of a paper in your area.
openmedia.ca
Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper is a great way to have your voice heard by your fellow Canadians. As the federal government tries to ram a set of invasive, warrantless, and cost

Obama Gives the Thumbs-Up on Detention of Domestic Terror Suspects as New World Order Set to Gain Ground

‎'A young man calling himself Yehudi Tzadik - 'righteous Jew' - picked up a rock and rolled it around in his hand, as if considering pitching it at a police car parked nearby.... 'The state of Israel has lost its moral code. It has forgotten what is at the heart of the Jewish nation.
readersupportednews.org
‎... We are reminding them,' said Tzadik, who gave his real name only as David.... A spate of attacks this week by Jewish right-wing extremists has called into question Israel's definition of the word 'terrorist'...' Sheera Frenkel, McClatchy DC
 
The U.S. military’s fast-approaching Dec. 31 exit from Iraq, which has no way to defend its airspace, puts Israel in a better place strategically to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iraq has yet to assemble a force of jet fighters, and since the shortest route for Israeli strike fighters to Iran is through Iraqi airspace, observers conclude that the U.S. exit makes the Jewish state’s mission planning a lot easier.
 
 
www.truth-out.org
 
Animal rights activists filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday to challenge the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), a law they say has violated their First Amendment rights and allows the government to label peaceful protesters as "terrorists."
rt.com
The battle for the future of the Internet continues as US Congress debates the 'Stop Online Piracy Act.' Programmer and net activist Aaron Swartz says the law tramples over the way the Internet works and is contrary to basic freedom of speech issues.
 
The US military is doing its best to downplay the effect of Pakistani blockade on US and NATO supplies bound for Afghanistan. You can see Pentagon spokespersons almost every day using a variation of the same theme: ‘Oh it doesn’t affect us’, or ‘we’ve made arrangements’ or ‘important supplies don’t go through that route.’
 
www.alternet.org
 
Thanks in part to Rand, the United States is one of the most uncaring nations in the industrialized world

Engineered virus which hacks and controls brain: Do you mind?

Today, an average computer user cannot even keep the machine secured. So what will the world look like when hacking your mind becomes as easy as infecting your machine with a computer virus?
­Human knowledge on DNA nanotechnology and bio-molecular computing increases exponentially with every passing year. Thus, protecting your own brain from security breaches could become the highest priority challenge of the 21st century.

 

‎"The religious beliefs of a minority should not deny individuals the right to end their lives in the manner of their own choosing."
www.project-syndicate.org
 
Last month, an expert panel of the Royal Society of Canada released a report on decision-making at the end of life. The report provides a strong argument for allowing doctors to help their patients to die, provided that the patients are competent and freely request such assistance.
 
rt.com
More damage is being dished out to the US intelligence community as sources in Iran admit to hacking the CIA’s lost drone and bringing it down with not much more than computer navigating know-how.
 
Why are arms manufacturers hardly ever held accountable for the effects of their sales? Read the article and tell us what you think:
http://aje.me/vFEL1l
 
aje.me
The negative impact of arms manufacture calls for a closer look at corporate social responsibility.
 
 
‎"Gov. Scott Walker has collected more than three times the cash of his recall opponents — about half of it from out of state — giving the embattled governor a substantial head start in what looks to be a long and bitter election.

According to campaign finance documents released Thursday, Walker raised $5.1 million since July 2011. Much of that has come during the past month, a period in which the governor has been able to take advantage of a state law that allows him to raise unlimited funds. He has received more than 18,000 donations since Nov. 1."
host.madison.com
Gov. Scott Walker has collected more than three times the cash of his recall opponents — about half of it
 
As Governor Scott Walker’s new policies restricting protest in the Wisconsin capitol take effect in advance of the anniversary of 2011's historic labor uprisings, the controversial governor has enlisted a new spokesperson to sell the rules, a 28-year old protégé of Karl Rove and new political appointee of the governor.
www.prwatch.org
 
As Governor Scott Walker’s new policies restricting protest in the Wisconsin capitol take effect in advance of the anniversary of 2011's historic labor uprisings, the controversial governor has enlisted a new spokesperson to sell the rules, a 28-year old protégé of Karl Rove and new political appoin...
 

Occupy Portland Outsmarts Police, Creating Blueprint for Other Occupations

Because of the lack of organization in a crowd of protesters, light infantry cops firing tear gas, etc. has little effect because it just serves to disorganize a group that relies upon disorganization in the first place. All it really does is disorganize the riot cops, who then resort to brutality.
The lack of weaponry on the part of the protesters grants them the luxury of opposing riot cops at close quarters, or remaining at long range in a refusal to engage the heavy infantry riot police at all. They have the advantage of the retreat, they can quickly move away, or in any direction, and the heavy infantry riot cops lack the swiftness to respond.
So far, all the occupations have, in a grave tactical error, agreed to engage the riot cops when they march in to clear parks. This has been a show of bravado that has the tactical benefits of providing media coverage of the brutal methods of police and the benefit of draining the resources of the oppressor by forcing them to incur the expense of arresting and prosecuting people for trivial offenses

 

‎'Take, for example, what happened to Robin Sanders in Illinois. She was driving home when an officer pulled her over for having a loud muffler. But instead of sending her off with a warning, the officer arrested Sanders, and she was taken right to jail.
readersupportednews.org
‎'That's when I found out [that] I had a warrant for failure to appear in Macoupin County. And I didn't know what it was about.' Sanders owed $730 on a medical bill. She says she didn't even know a collection agency had filed a lawsuit against her. [...]' Marie Diamond, ThinkProgress
 
John Atcheson: "The real power in our economic and political system resides with us, the 99%, if we have but the wit, wisdom and courage to seize it."
www.commondreams.org
 
If you want to know why the middle class disappeared and where they went, look no further than your local Walmart. People walked in for the low prices, and walked out with a pile of cheap stuff, but in a figurative sense, they left their wages, jobs, and dignity on the cutting room floor of the Hou...
 
www.truth-out.org
 
Dina Rasor: There has been a flurry of articles in the defense press Tuesday about an internal Department of Defense (DoD) report on how the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon's newest attempt to buy a fighter jet, is skating toward potential mechanical and monetary disaster.
 

Helping Families Afford Decent Housing


 

General Motors to produce new Chevy Impala at plant in Oshawa, Ont.

‎"The Gangjeong base resistance is a grassroots movement that goes well beyond militarization and the severe threats it entails. Human rights, the environment and free speech are also at stake. Though small and remote, Gangjeong village should be viewed as an important battleground for all who believe in social justice worldwide." - Noam Chomsky
www.truth-out.org
 
They have huddled together in their makeshift camp through rain, snow and even typhoons - occupying government-claimed land and defying authorities with their art, protest songs, candle-lit vigils and handmade signs. This occupy movement had been in the making for four years before the occupation.
 
rt.com
The WTO has officially welcomed Russia as its newest member at a ceremony in Geneva. Ratification scheduled for next summer will put the final dot in the long running story.
 
Has the time come to finish the drone war? Read the article and tell us what you think:
http://aje.me/w4CV1w
 
aje.me
As civilian deaths in Pakistan mount from the US drone war, legal groups work to raise awareness - and impose justice.
 
 
RT shared a link.
rt.com
Russian strategic missiles may target American anti-ballistic missile shield facilities in Europe, the commander of the Russian missile troops has warned.
Ted Rall in today's Chimp: "Dexter Filkins called it 'the forever war': a post-9/11 syndrome that drives the United States to shoot and bomb the citizens of Muslim nations without end. You can't end a forever war. What if you had to sit down and get serious about taking care of the problems faced by regular, boring, American people?"
The Daily Chimp for Friday, 16 December 2011 | The Smirking Chimp
‎'This is our moment in history. From marriage equality to investing in public education, from sensible financial regulations to environmental protections, we must decide what kind of people we are and what kind of nation we are going to build.
readersupportednews.org
All across the Commonwealth and the country, people want to create a better future for their children and their grandchildren. They want an America in which every kid has the opportunity to succeed.' Elizabeth Warren, Blue Mass Group

Would you want a strip mine in the middle of your community? Usibelli Coal wants to tear up Alaska's beautiful Matanuska-Susitna Valley and expose over 100 nearby families to pollution and runoff.

SIGN and SHARE this petition to save this gorgeous region of Alaska and its people.
www.thepetitionsite.com
 

 

‎'The first piece of debris that could be identified as washing up on the West Coast from the March 11 tsunami in Japan - a large black float - was found on a Neah Bay beach two weeks ago, Seattle oceanographers Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Jim Ingraham said Tuesday night....
readersupportednews.org
The black floats are...not something that has been seen on Eastern Pacific beaches before...The floats are included in masses of black blobs supporting huge rafts of debris that include fishing boats, houses and possibly human bodies...' Arwyn Rice, Peninsula Daily News
 
A new report by The National Academy of Engineering concludes that the safety issues and regulatory oversight problems that led to BP's 2010 catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have not been remedied, and that leaves communities vulnerable to another major oil spill along the Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coasts.
insurancenewsnet.com
Insurance News - National Academy of Engineering Finds Critical Offshore Drilling Safety Problems
 
There is a general media frenzy going on regarding the gulf coast claims even now after almost 2 years have passed since the tragic event. Especially those directly affected by the oil spill need constant reliable information about what is going on in the field of the BP oil spill claims. Luckily now both individuals and business owners can have access to such a platform that displays the plain truth about the GCCF and the BP Claims through BPlaims.cc website.
www.webwire.com
 
There is a general media frenzy going on regarding the gulf coast claims even now after almost 2 years have passed since the tragic event. Especially those directly affected by the oil spi..
 
NEW ORLEANS — Cameron International, the maker of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer that failed to stop last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has agreed to pay $250 million to BP under a legal settlement, BP said Friday.
www.kirotv.com
 
Cameron International, the maker of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer that failed to stop last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has agreed to pay $250 million to BP under a legal settlement, BP said Friday.
 
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Don't think that because BP is moving from cleanup to restoration with a $1 billion pledge that the southern U.S. coast is clean, wildlife officials said.
www.upi.com
 
Don't think that because BP is moving from cleanup to restoration with a $1 billion pledge that the southern U.S. coast is clean, wildlife officials said.
 
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