324opml.opml

NA-324-2011-07-24 Credits
  Cut, Cap, Duck & Cover
  Executive Producers: James FreeHollowBooks.com, Brian Doerr, James Howard, Christian Winter
  Associate Executive Producers: Kenneth Myklebust, Steve Thompson, Chad Laston
  Executive Producers and 324 Club members:
  333 Club Members: James FreeHollowBooks.com, Brian Doerr, James Howard, Christian Winter
  Become a member of the 325 Club, support the show here
  PR
    atfleaks.com
      http://atfleaks.com
      forwards to No agenda not in the list. I know it¹s not that big a deal just want it to count in the record attempt.
    11.11.11
      Saturday: 111 days until 11.11.11.
      Sent from my iPad
    obomber.me
      i was listening to an old na show the other day and heard a british guy say obamas name like obomber. so i got obomber.me very fitting as he loves to drop bombs
      -Tyler
    nakedhostility.com
      I haven't donated to the show, but you can consider this a sort of left-handed contribution. Until I figure out what to do with this domain, it redirects to http://noagendashow.com.
      http://nakedhostility.com
      :)
      --
      Rich in Ohio
    adamisinlove.com
      As promised www.Adamsinlove.com is now forwarding to noagendashow.com
      Itm
      Joe
      Ciao'
    howmanytroopsarehome.com
      Hi Adam, Just want to say love the show and also think it's super important what You and John are doing.
      I forwarded http://www.howmanytroopsarehome.com to you guys. I wanted to do a counter showing how many troops we have actually brought home as deadlines draw nearer, but don't have the time. If you or any producers want to do something with it that would be great.
      Also thought this clip from Celebrity Rehab about marijuana withdrawals and his offer of meds to deal with it was pretty creepy, I watched after hearing you guys talk about it and it was mind blowing how many times he offers meds...
      Thanks so much for all You, John and both your families do. You guys really are doing an incredible service. Hope You and Miss Micky are enjoying the open road.
      Sincerely, In the Morning,
      Eddie J . Keating
      Human Resource
    HotPockets Producers
      Chad Laston $200
        Micky,
        It was good to meet both you and Adam last night! Glad I decided to make the trek. My information is below:
        Chad Laston f/ Cape Canaveral Florida.
        Donation: $200 toward my knighthood.
        Love the show and all the tedious hours of watching ugly people on C-Span that you both endure. No Agenda is my primary source for news information topics and you provide the means to further research the stories with your awesome show notes!
        I'd like a formal Dedouching and I would like to Donate my Karma to Adam and Micky for the rest of the Hotpockets2008 tour. Safe journey to you both and keep trying to get JCD to make a stop on the tour!
        I think by donating my Karma it will provide even greater karma in the long run. : )
        Thanks again,
        ~Chad~
      Nico & Ellen de Haan
        Living a primal lifeststyle podcast
      Sir Andrew Greene and his girl Amanda
      GitmoSlave
      Katie Heummer - SC Lucifer Shill
    One Day in Gitmo Nation
      Any chance of a PR mention for RynoTheBearded? He's started recording the audiobook of One Day in Gitmo Nation and he's doing an awesome job. You can download the episodes from his Twitter page... @RynoTheBearded
  Knighthoods: Sir James FreeHollowBooks.com, Sir Christian Winter
  Art By: Nick the Rat
  ShowNotes Archive of links and Assets (clips etc) 324.nashownotes.com
  New: Directory Archive of Shownotes (includes all audio and video assets used) nashownotes.com
  The No Agenda News Network- noagendanewsnetwork.com
NA-324-2011-07-24 Shownotes
  Definitely
    Trains Good, Planes Bad (Whoo Hoo!)
      Derailed bullet train coaches fall off bridge in east China
        WENZHOU, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Two coaches of a bullet train fell off a bridge after derailing in east China's Zhejiang Province late Saturday, local fire fighting sources said.
        The details of casualties are unknown at the moment.
    CIA vs MI6
      Coulson Clearance
        Hi Adam,
        Andy Coulson's clearance could have only been done by one organisation. In the UK all Home Office Government security is carried out by the Defence Vetting Agency (DVA). Foreign office and SIS (aka MI6) use the Foreign and Commonwealth Office vetting system.
    Words Matter
      Obama from Audacity of Hope
        Hey Adam:
        I just picked up The Audacity of Hope to read, and in the introduction, on page 10, I found something interesting. Here's a piece of it:
        "They (his constituents from when he ran for senator) believed that anyone willing to work should be able to find a job that paid a living wage. They believed people shouldn't have to file bankruptcy just because they got sick . They believed that every child should have a genuinely good education and that those same children should be able to go to college even if their parents weren't rich. ... And when they got old, they wanted to be able to retire with some DIGNITY AND RESPECT".
        Sound familiar? It reminded me of that clip y'all like to play from the speech he gave on the whitehouse lawn a couple of weeks ago.
        Though you'd find it interesting.
        Sean Lambert
      Buck Stops Here
        Adam, It's supposedly a poker term from the frontier days. It has nothing
        to do with our slang word for the US Dollar. Here is a folk etymology of
        the term, since most Etymologists and lexicographers consider this phrase
        "Origin Unknown":
        'The saying "the buck stops here" derives from the slang expression "pass
        the buck" which means passing the responsibility on to someone else. The
        latter expression is said to have originated with the game of poker, in
        which a marker or counter, frequently in frontier days a knife with a
        buckhorn handle, was used to indicate the person whose turn it was to deal.
        If the player did not wish to deal he could pass the responsibility by
        passing the "buck," as the counter came to be called, to the next player.'
        http://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm
        Harry Pilgrim
    Greek Tragedy
      Paul Sarbanes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        Paul Spyros Sarbanes (Greek: ‘Ý‘±¦ç‘ª‘ø¦Ç ‘£¦Ä¦ç¦Å‘ø¦Ç ‘£‘±¦Å‘º¦Ä‘¨‘‡‘…¦Ç Pavlos Spyros Sarbánes) (born February 3, 1933), a Democrat, is a former United States Senator who represented the state of Maryland. Sarbanes was the longest-serving senator in Maryland history, having served from 1977 until 2007. He did not seek re-election in 2006, when he was succeeded by fellow Democrat Ben Cardin. Sarbanes was known for his low-key style[citation needed], often shunning the limelight over his 30-year Senate career. In 2002 Sarbanes co-sponsored the Sarbanes--Oxley Act, which put his name in the headlines.
    Oslo Fal$e Flag
      News from The Associated Press
        In the wake of Norway's terrorist attack, the European police agency is setting up a task force of more than 50 experts to help northern European countries investigate non-Islamic terror threats, its spokesman told The Associated Press on Saturday.
      Producer Report
        I was watching CNN and they had on a person identified as "Ian Dutton" and "American Pilot" (whatever that means) whom they were interviewing by phone. He alledgedly is on Oslo on a hotel just on the back side of the Ministry of Oil in Oslo where the front of building was subject to the blast. The CNN reported was talking to him and he spent some time droning on and on about the blast and how the back of the building and the top of the building were "warped" from the blast and trying to sensationalize how powerful it was, blah, blah, blah.
        Then he said something that caught me ear; he went into a 30 second soliloquy about the dust rising up from the explosion site, and whsat it must be made of ("glass and concrete in a fine dust" or something to that effect and "how much it's like what he saw when the towers fell" and "how bad it is to breathe" and "the long term effects" which struck me as very weird for someone describing a blast that occurred really close to him and is theorizing about the long term effects to freakin' dust while what is essentially a search and rescue operation was underway.
        I thought this was a little weird and while trying to find out more about what was happening, I checked out the BBC online info; his name actually appears in BBC blog as well at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14254705 which I find weird - like someone is trolling to get media attention *or* being pushed as a "witness". His quote there was "The streams of ambulances remind me of the scenes from around my home on September 11 2001." Wow, what bad luck this guy has, he's in a city and there is a major catastrophe within miles twice in less than 10 years!
        I did some fast searching online and found numerous references to an apparent Manhattan, SOHO-based guy by this name so it does seem to suggest some lower Manhattan connection - some links to mentions in the Village Voice at http://www.villagevoice.com/related/to/Ian+Dutton/
        I'm not trying to discredit him but I find the odds that he is close by when two of the most major terrorist attacks in the last decade happen to be almost incomprehensibly small. "Yeah baby, I was flying some international routes and just landed in Oslo and barely made it to my hotel when the blast happened; now that area really well. You know, 5 minutes before, I drove right through there; just send shivers up my spine baby. Yeah, I was there for 911 as well baby; the things I've seen, the hurt, the pain, its really hard carrying that around" (he didn't actually say that but it would great to use on a chick in a bar).
        From listening to your show, I cast a jaundiced "ear" towards the inclusion of things as obviously bullshit like tweets, or emails, or facebook postings (which is all just shitty, lazy journalism) but also towards unverified "witnesses" - I have expect people to shout out "Baba Booey" at any point because that stuff in the past has shown up just how lazy the media and supposed journalists are.
        Keep up the good work; I've only been listening for a couple of months (but I've run through a lot of the shows for this year so far) and I appreciate what John and yourself are doing; enough that I've already donated and will donate more.
        Thanks.
        --
        Chris Herzog
        mailto:chris.herzog@gmail.com
      They Don't See Through Us: Anders Behring Breivik Massacres over 80 People in Norway
        My thoughts: Seems the media has to make it known he's blond. So what?! When a brunette or a redhead commits murder, is their hair color mentioned? Jeez! Who cares that he's blond? I guess it's their way of saying it wasn't a foreigner. Why don't they just say that?
      More from Kenneth
        Hi again!
        This is getting interesting now.
        84 kids has been confirmed dead at the gun spree, 7 in the bombing.
        The gunman was caught, and is a right wing extremist (lone wolf!) that looks
        suspiciously like you, Adam :P
        I've been down there today, the whole place has been sealed off, and the
        King's Guard is watching every roadblock. Windows are shattered as far away
        as 3-400 meters. Must have been quite a heavy bomb, we heard the boom, and
        the shockwave blew our balcony door open. I live about 1km away from the
        blast. It's been confirmed that the guy bought 6 tons of fertilizer earlier
        this year, however, bomb experts say that he probably only used 500kg making
        the bomb. Might there be more coming?
        This is looking more like a combo of Oklahoma and Waco, than any al-Quaida
        attack. Many terrorist groups have claimed responsibility, but this is
        probably just to try to steal the "glory".
        It is too soon to get any real intel about this situation here, it's all a
        bit chaotic, and as you can imagine, we are all in a bit of a shock here.
        A fun thing to note though; Our tv station TV2 had a reporter at Utøya named
        Gadaffi :P I just couldn't stop myself from giggling. They kept saying "Over
        to you, Gadaffi" all the time.
        Also, the director genreal of WHO, former prime minister Gro Harlem
        Bruntland was at the site of the shooting a mere hours before it happened,
        giving a speech to the youth attending.
        I apologize for not being able to contribute too much with info right now,
        but I'll be keeping a watchful eye for the aftermath. Having followed your
        show since about episode 95, I know what to look for :)
        PS: You will find a 227,11$ donation from me, marking the date 22nd of july
        2011. We'll need your show here in Gitmo Nation Viking Fjord more than ever.
        Enjoy your trip, and start planning Hot Pockets Europe :) No de-douching
        please, since I should have done this ages ago, but a bit of karma could
        come in handy.
        -Kenneth
      Oslo Magic Numbers: 7/22/2011, 7+22+2+0+1+1 = 33 (no corn syrup's feed)
        Oslo Magic Numbers: 7/22/2011, 7+22+2+0+1+1 = 33
        (using life path number formula)
      BBC News - As it happened: Norway attacks
        1558: Ian Dutton in Oslo
        I'm looking down at the explosion site from an adjacent tower hotel. The streams of ambulances remind me of the scenes from around my home on September 11 2001.
      A Few Whoops, But Not Much Holler - Page 1 - News - New York - Village Voice
        Still, those who weathered the cold insisted that even this small act of opposition was meaningful. "We need to remind the public that 51 percent is not a mandate," said Ian Dutton, an airline pilot from Manhattan, who said he'd gotten snowed in Montreal and missed his flight to D.C. "We can't afford to sit back and let Bush have his honeymoon."
      Norway horror: Police said gunman killed 80 at summer camp after Oslo blast that killed 7 - Page 2 - chicagotribune.com
        Ian Dutton, who was in a nearby hotel, said people "just covered in rubble" were walking through "a fog of debris."
        "It wasn't any sort of a panic," he said, "It was really just people in disbelief and shock, especially in a such as safe and open country as Norway. You don't even think something like that is possible."
      [VIDEO] Blast witness: 'The explosion was immense' - CNN.com
        The scene after a bomb exploded in the center of Oslo on Friday reminded New Yorker Ian Dutton of what he witnessed after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
      A goth pilot swoops into Haiti, airlifts troops in, wounded out
        In the wake of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake, many desperately wish they could do something more than just "write a check" to help. Soho's Ian Dutton, a member of Community Board 2, answered the call in a big way when, over the past weekend, he flew more than 100 U.S. troops down to Port-au-Prince to help in the crisis, then evacuated more than 80 Haitians on his return trip to the States.
        Dutton is known locally as vice chairperson of C.B. 2's Transportation Committee, on which he's a vocal advocate for creating more bike lanes. Wearing another hat, he's a magenta-haired, goth activist, who joined a lawsuit against New York City's cabaret laws that limit dancing.
      Anders Behring Breivik - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        Anders Behring Breivik (born 13 February 1979[citation needed]) is a Norwegian citizen. and the is the suspected perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, although it is yet unknown if he acted alone.[1][2][3] On 22 July 2011, he allegedly approached a Labour Party youth camp on Utˆ½ya island, posing as a police officer, and then opening fire on the adolescents present, reportedly killing at least 80.[4] He has also been linked with the bomb blasts which had taken place approximately two hours earlier in Oslo. He was arrested on Utˆ½ya, and is currently in police custody. Following his apprehension, Breivik was characterized by officials as being a right-wing extremist.[5]
      [VIDEO] Oslo Police Conducted Bombing Exercise Days Before Terrorist Blast :
        According to the translated version of an Aftenposten report, "Anti-terror police fired explosive charges at a training center in Oslo, two hundred meters from the Opera, but forgot to notify the public."
        The exercise occurred on Wednesday and revolved around anti-terror units attacking a disused building at the edge of Bjˆ½rvika pier with bombs and firearms.
        "The men lowered themselves down from the roof and in through the window that had just been blown out, while they fired hand their weapons," states the report, noting that the exercise was "dramatic," produced "violent bangs," and was watched by spectators at the nearby Opera House.
      aangirfan: NORWAY ATTACKS - INSIDE JOB - SUSPECT ANDERS BREIVIK
        On the evening of the 21 July 2011, TV2 in Norway had a short segment reporting on uniformed men, with black uniforms and automatic weapons, sweeping the exact surroundings of the building hit in the bombing.
      Ian Dutton (darkpilot) on Twitter
      Norway terror translated article
    Haiti
      Clinton foundation offers $1m for Haiti (WT news feed)
        Clinton foundation offers $1m for Haiti
        "My foundation is going to make a grant of $1.25 million to the Haitian Ministry of Education to insure that 10,000 more children will be able to attend primary school, and get a big meal every day while they are there," Clinton said at a ceremony in which he was...
      UN rights officials raise concerns over Haiti mayor removing homeless from stadium parking lot (WT news feed)
        UN rights officials raise concerns over Haiti mayor removing homeless from stadium parking lot
        United Nations officials say a Haitian mayor's closure of a camp that housed several hundred families displaced by last year's earthquake ignores their rights to adequate housing.
      Haiti launches 260-mln-USD public housing plan (WT news feed)
        Haiti launches 260-mln-USD public housing plan
        Martelly said that the country plans to provide partially subsidized public housing, instead of free houses, for all the victims of the January 2010 earthquake, which killed more than 250,000 people and left over 1.6 million homeless.
    Vaccine$
      Dyslexia
      New Alzheimer's Drug May Be Safer Than Thought. (WT news feed)
        New Alzheimer's Drug May Be Safer Than Thought.
        Early studies of the drug, bapineuzumab, raised a red flag when some patients developed troublesome brain swelling that can lead to headache, loss of coordination, weakness, disorientation, memory loss, and hallucinations.
    DADT
      U.S. military's ban on gays to end on September 20 | Reuters
        Still, repeal will not give partners of gays and lesbians in the military all the same benefits as heterosexual spouses, such as medical care, travel and housing allowances.
        Pentagon officials pointed to U.S. laws constricting their ability to treat same-sex and heterosexual couples equally.
        The American Civil Liberties Union praised the move but warned it would seek justice for service members discharged in the past, who only get half the separation pay given to "honorably" discharged members of the military.
      US Code 10 G 654
      DADTCert
      Bill Text - 111th Congress (2009-2010) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
      Statement by the President on Certification of Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell | The White House
      Getting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Done | The White House
        Today, in accordance with this law, I signed the certification that will end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" once and for all. The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also have certified that the military is ready for the repeal. Sixty days from now, on September 20th, the repeal will be complete and gay men and women will be able to serve their country openly.
      Obama Certifies End to Military's Gay Ban - FoxNews.com
        On Capitol Hill, the certification was met by some resistance from lawmakers on the right. The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., has called the Pentagon's repeal assessment flawed and wants to review the assessments from each individual service.
    2TTH
      Chinese Billionaires
        BEIJING, July 22 (UPI) -- Unnatural deaths, including homicides, claimed the lives of 53 billionaires on mainland China since 2003, a survey said Friday.
        The survey, conducted by the New Culture News and reported by China Daily, said 15 billionaires were slain, 17 committed suicide, seven died in accidents and 14 were executed by the state.
        Ninteen others died of disease, the survey found.
        The report did not say how many billionaires China currently has, but quoted the 2011 GroupM Knowledge-Hurun Wealth Report as saying the country currently has about 60,000 people with net worth of 100 million yuan ($15.5 million) or more.
        Forbes Magazine reported this year there are 115 Chinese worth at least $1 billion in U.S. dollars.
      La Toya Jackson: Michael's death was a conspiracy -- The Joy Behar Show - CNN.com Blogs
        Here's a sneak peek at tonight's interview with La Toya Jackson. In her new book, "Starting Over," she theorizes that her brother Michael's death was part of a mass conspiracy and he was actually murdered by people wishing to gain control of his music catalog. What do YOU think really happened? Please feel free to comment below.
      Iran nuclear scientist shot dead in Tehran - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
        Several Iranian nuclear scientists have been murdered in recent years in attacks that Iran has blamed on the U.S. and Israel, which both accuse Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability under the cover of its civilian atomic energy program. Iran denies the accusations and says its program has entirely peaceful aims.
    Weinhouse
      Everything about The 27s (The Forever 27 Club)-|-The27Club.net
        Depending on your preference, The 27s is a pop culture phenomenon, a weird curse, or a statistical anomaly. Excess and tragedy are the stuff of music legend, but it is only with hindsight that deeper patterns emerge. None of these is more striking than the deaths at age 27 of some of the greatest musicians of our time.
        More famous musicians have died at the age of 27 than any other age. More than three dozen rockers, from Delta bluesmaster Robert Johnson to Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain.
        The 27s also include crooner Jesse Belvin ("Earth Angel," "Goodnight My Love"), Rudy Lewis of the Drifters, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Malcolm Hale of Spanky And Our Gang, Alan Wilson from Canned Heat, Arlester Christian of Dyke And the Blazers, Jim Morrison, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of the Grateful Dead, Pete Ham of Badfinger, Gary Thain of Uriah Heep and Keef Hartley Band, Roger Lee Durham of Bloodstone, Helmut Kˆllen of Triumvirat, Chris Bell of Big Star, D. Boon of Minutemen, Pete de Freitas of Echo & the Bunnymen, Mia Zapata of the Gits, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Kristin Pfaff of Hole, Raymond "Freaky Tah" Rogers of Lost Boyz, Sean McCabe of Ink & Dagger, Jeremy Michael Ward of De Facto and The Mars Volta, Bryan Ottoson of American Head Charge, and Valentin Elizalde.
      27 Club - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        The impetus for the club's creation were the deaths of Jones, Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison.[1] Cobain, who died in 1994, was later added by some. With the exception of Joplin, there is controversy surrounding their deaths. According to the book Heavier Than Heaven, when Cobain died, his sister claimed that as a kid he would talk about how he wanted to join the 27 Club.[2] On the fifteenth anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, National Public Radio's Robert Smith said, "The deaths of these rock stars at the age of 27 really changed the way we look at rock music."[3] The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll details the history of the phenomenon.
      The 27 Club Movie
      "Reg Traviss is using Amy Winehouse?
      Amy Winehouse: New Album Out This Year | SPIN.com
        "The album will be six months at the most," Winehouse told London's Metro this week at the premiere of horror flick Psychosis, directed by her new boyfriend Reg Traviss. "It's going to be very much the same as my second album, where there's a lot of jukebox stuff... I just can't wait to have some new songs [to perform] on stage."
        It's been nearly four years since Winehouse's career-making, Mark Ronson-produced Back to Black was released, beginning a stretch that ranged from amazing highs (five wins on Grammy night in 2008) to some horrific lows (the singer's very public battles with substance abuse, her destructive marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil). Read more in SPIN's July 2007 cover story.
      Soul Singer Amy Winehouse Dies at 27 - Bloomberg
        Her death at 27 adds her name to a list of other singer- songwriters who died at the same age: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain, among them.
    Magic Numbers
      Brad Pitt 'offers millions' for Chilean miners story | Film | guardian.co.uk
        Brad Pitt's production company is hoping to win screen rights to the story of the 33 Chilean miners rescued from a collapsed mine shaft last month after 69 days underground, according to local media.
        Pitt's Plan B firm, which has helped bring movies such as Kick-Ass and Eat, Pray, Love to the big screen, has made a multimillion-dollar offer, according to the Chilean daily newspaper el Mercurio, which quoted a lawyer for the men, Edgardo Reinoso. The aim is to produce a movie which recreates the miners' desperate period beneath the earth, as well as their dramatic rescue.
      Derailed bullet train coaches fall off bridge in east China
        WENZHOU, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Two coaches of a bullet train fell off a bridge after derailing in east China's Zhejiang Province late Saturday, local fire fighting sources said.
        The details of casualties are unknown at the moment.
      Train collision in China kills 33, injures 190 | General Headlines | Comcast.net
        A Chinese bullet train crashed into another high-speed train that had stalled after being struck by lightning Saturday in eastern China, causing four carriages to fall off a viaduct and killing at least 33 people and injuring 190 others, state media reported.
    Ministry of Truth
      US State Department Bars Audit of Security Contractor Plans in Iraq
        The US is laying the groundwork for what amounts to a mercenary army in Iraq of unprecedented size--but the State Department is withholding information about it from a top watchdog, Wired reports. "Our audit of the program is making no progress," says Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. The State Department holds that the 5,500-strong army of contractors, set to take over and provide security after the US military leaves, doesn't fall within Bowen's jurisdiction.
      BLACKFIVE: State Department war lords
        By January 2012, the State Department will do something it's never done before: command a mercenary army the size of a heavy combat brigade. That's the plan to provide security for its diplomats in Iraq once the U.S. military withdraws. And no one outside State knows anything more, as the department has gone to war with its independent government watchdog to keep its plan a secret.
    Bidoversitée
      Overpopulation: Perpetual growth is the creed of a cancer cell, not a sustainable human society - latimes.com
        Notice that we didn't mention climate change above, or the exploding population/consumption levels that are triggering it -- the two major factors threatening humanity's future. Sure, if you're not too far from the Western wildfires or Midwestern floodplains, the conversation might have turned to the crazy weather that is finally forcing some media to actually talk about climate change in the context of daily events.
        But population? Get out. Way too inconvenient a truth. Take National Public Radio, for example. Of NPR's sparse record of population pieces, just one or two actually address unsustainable population growth.
      Sea-level rises are slowing, tidal gauge records show | The Australian
        ONE of Australia's foremost experts on the relationship between climate change and sea levels has written a peer-reviewed paper concluding that rises in sea levels are "decelerating".
        The analysis, by NSW principal coastal specialist Phil Watson, calls into question one of the key criteria for large-scale inundation around the Australian coast by 2100 -- the assumption of an accelerating rise in sea levels because of climate change.
      Choose Light Foods for Energy, Nutrition During Hot Weather 5/31/02
        "At one time, it was said that warm foods 'stick to your ribs,' and that's probably true," Procter said. "Warm foods (such as soup) actually help us generate the extra heat we need to keep us warmer in the winter.
        "But in the summer, we want to eat lighter foods. We still need calories, and in fact we may be more active in the summertime than we have been in the winter. But we don't need the additional warmth that may be built in."
    The Fix is In!
      Victoire Pisa Wins Dubai World Cup for Japan | BloodHorse.com
        There were tears of joy everywhere at Meydan Racecourse for earthquake ravaged Japan after Victoire Pisa scored a stunning upset over Transcend to give the nation a one-two finish in the $10 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (UAE-I) March 26.
    Real News
      Former Rep. Anthony Weiner in therapy; wants to convince Huma Abedin's boss Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that 'I'm cured' - NYPOST.com
        Forget his wife -- Anthony Weiner has an even bigger problem on his hands: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
        The horndog ex-House member from Queens is telling friends that while he's finally started therapy for his sex addiction, the really hard part of his "recovery" will be getting his wife's boss to believe he's through with his naughty habits.
        "My problem is that I have three women I have to convince that I'm cured: Huma, her mother -- and Hillary," Weiner, 46, told a friend recently.
      Singer Amy Winehouse Found Dead - FoxNews.com
        Amy Winehouse, whose beehive hairdo, exaggerated cat-eye makeup and singular voice made her one of the best known female British singers of this century but who apparently was unable to overcome longstanding problems with drugs and alcohol, died Saturday at age 27.
    Agenda 21
      USDA Attacks Rural America with Smart Meters | Farm Wars
        And just what is one of the first things that Secretary Vilsack, as Chair of the Council going to do? Attack rural America with Smart Meters.
        Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined Administration officials today to announce initiatives aimed at modernizing the nation's electric grid, including USDA's goal to invest $250 million in smart grid equipment deployment in rural America over the next 12 months.
    Bank$ters
      PayPal joins London police bid to financially starve "illegal" websites
        MasterCard and Visa are already on board this initiative, originally unveiled in March. The process works like this: IFPI submits allegedly infringing websites to the City of London police department's Economic Crime Directorate. Once the division has "verified the evidence," it passes the information on to MasterCard, Visa, and now PayPal.
      Audit: Fed gave $16 trillion in emergency loans | The Raw Story
        The audit also found that the Fed mostly outsourced its lending operations to the very financial institutions which sparked the crisis to begin with, and that they delegated contracts largely on a no-bid basis. The GAO report recommends new policies that would eliminate such conflicts of interest, and suggests that in the future the Fed should keep better records of their emergency decision-making process.
        The Fed agreed to "strongly consider" the recommendations, but as it is not a government-run institution it cannot be forced to do so by lawmakers. The seven-member board of governors and the Fed chairman are, however, appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate.
      Banks Pay Back TARP Funds by. . .Borrowing From Treasury | Daniel Gross - Yahoo! Finance
        Most of the big banks have repaid the government funds they received under the Capital Purchase Program (CPP), the pillar of TARP under which Treasury bought preferred shares in the nation's banks. Enough so that, combined with dividends and sales of warrants, Treasury has declared that taxpayers have earned a profit on the CPP. Thus far, $245 billion has gone out, and $255 billion in repayments, interest and warrants has come back, yielding a profit to taxpayers of $10 billion. And there's several billion more where that came from.
      Cyprus benefits from Greek economic crisis, but faces challenges as well - People's Daily Online
        Cyprus is benefiting from the Greek economic crisis through the transfer of billions of euros by Greek depositors who fear their country's economy might turn worse.
        Cypriot Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis, just back from a short visit to Athens, confirmed on Sunday that large amounts of money was deposited in banks operating in Cyprus by depositors who either try to avoid higher taxation or are concerned about a collapse of the Greek economy.
      Carbon Tax
        Carbon Tax - Koozzoo News
      EU asks states to give citizens access to bank accounts regardless of residency, income - The Washington Post
        EU states should now enter talks with their banks to ensure that all citizens can open a basic account, without overdrafts and at affordable fees, the Commission said. At the moment, too many people are being denied access to banking services because they cannot fulfill requirements linked to identity checks, residency, proof of income or credit history, it said, adding that normal safeguards against money laundering and other types of fraud would still apply.
        If individual governments don't make enough progress within a year, the Commission may set binding rules on basic bank accounts, Barnier warned.
        The consumer protection panel of the U.K.'s banking regulator, the Financial Services Authority, said it was disappointed that the Commission did not impose binding regulation immediately.
    Unted $tates of EURO-pe
      The euro crisis will give Germany the empire it's always dreamed of -- Telegraph Blogs
        This advice was finally being taken yesterday -- and it is almost impossible to overestimate the importance of the decision which European leaders seemed last night to be reaching. By authorising a huge expansion in the bail-out fund that is propping up the EU's peripheral members (largely in order to stop the contagion spreading to Italy and Spain), the eurozone has taken the decisive step to becoming a fiscal union. So long as the settlement is accepted by national parliaments, yesterday will come to be seen as the witching hour after which Europe will cease to be, except vestigially, a collection of nation states. It will have one economic government, one currency, one foreign policy. This integration will be so complete that taxpayers in the more prosperous countries will be expected to pay for the welfare systems and pension plans of failing EU states.
      EU May Accept Greek Default as Crisis Fight Intensifies - Bloomberg
        Haiku Herman's eyes bugging out
    Elite$
      Embryos involving the genes of animals mixed with humans have been produced secretively for the past three years | Mail Online
        Scientists have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos in British laboratories.
        The hybrids have been produced secretively over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases.
        The revelation comes just a day after a committee of scientists warned of a nightmare 'Planet of the Apes' scenario in which work on human-animal creations goes too far.
      Oprah Won't Publicly Support Obama in 2012 Election | PopEater.com
        Oprah Winfrey's daily talk show ratings dropped in 2008 after her highly publicized political rally for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. An October 2008 Gallup poll before the rallies but after Oprah's public endorsement of Obama found that Oprah's favorable ratings had fallen from 74 to 66 percent while her unfavorable ratings jumped from 17 to 26 percent. Then came news that Oprah's TV ratings showed that her daytime audience, which was nearly 9 million at its height in 2004-05, had fallen to 7.3 million.
        As much as Oprah may still love President Obama and may support him behind the scenes, do not expect to see the same public support you saw in 2008. As my source puts it, "Helping a friend keep the most important job in the world is great, but making sure her OWN network thrives is now her priority."
      Wendi Deng - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        Wendi Deng Murdoch (simplified Chinese:born December 8, 1968) is the third wife of News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, she is leading her husband's Chinese media investments.
        In 1988 she was sponsored by an American family for a student visa to the United States of America. She studied economics at Cal State Northridge and is a graduate of the Yale School of Management where she currently serves on the board of advisors.[2] Her first work experience in the media was with Fox TV. After Fox TV, she was offered an internship at Star TV, Hong Kong, part of News Corporation. Deng met Rupert Murdoch in Hong Kong in 1997 when she was 29 years old and Murdoch was 66.
    Gitmo Nation
      Pr0n Free Swedish Hotels
      Blackfish: The robotic jet ski that can see underwater when patrolling harbours for terrorists | Mail Online
        Protecting moored ships from terrorists has proved a heavy load on the mind of naval commanders over the last decade.
        Now scientists may have found the answer - a robotic jet ski that can see underwater and travel at speeds of up to 40mph.
        The Blackfish craft is 10ft-long and can either be remote-controlled from a distance of up to one kilometre away or travel on pre-programmed routes.
      Tasers shelved by Charlotte, N.C., police after second suspect dies - Sacramento Living - Sacramento Food and Wine, Home, Health | Sacramento Bee
        -Mecklenburg Police Department is taking all of its Tasers off the streets for as many as 45 days, after a suspect died when he was shocked by an officer's X26 Taser at a Lynx light rail station.
        Police say Lareko Williams,
    Squirrel
      The omnipotence of Al Qaeda and meaninglessness of "Terrorism" - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
        Terrorism specialists said that even if the authorities ultimately ruled out Islamic terrorism as the cause of Friday's assaults, other kinds of groups or individuals were mimicking Al Qaeda's brutality and multiple attacks.
        "If it does turn out to be someone with more political motivations, it shows these groups are learning from what they see from Al Qaeda," said Brian Fishman, a counterterrorism researcher at the New America Foundation in Washington.
    VIDEO
      [VIDEO] - Newsnight - IMF's Christine Lagarde on 'game changing' Greek bailout
        Mishal Husain asked International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde if what has been agreed is effectively a Greek default.
      [VIDEO] Obama says he's not willing to end the drug war-|-Raw Replay
        "Much is being asked of our generation," a doctoral student named Steve told the president at a town hall event in Maryland. "So, when are our economic perspectives going to be addressed? For example, when is the war on drugs in society going to be abandoned and be replaced by a more sophisticated and cost effective program of rehabilitation such as the one in Portugal?"
      [VIDEO] Senate Session, Coburn goofing 3:18:00
        Report Video Issue
        PROGRAM SEGMENT
        Senate Session, Part 2
        CUT CAP AND BALANCE ACT OF 2011MOTION TO PROCEEDContinued
        Jul 21, 2011
        Coburn, Thomas "Tom" A. M.D.U.S. Senator
        [R] Oklahoma, United States
        Length: 31 minutes, 31 seconds
      [VIDEO] Credit agencies warn GOP of 'death spiral' - Marin Cogan - POLITICO.com
        Members who attended the meeting later countered that the tone of the discussion was not nearly as apocalyptic as the phrase initially made it sound. According to sources inside the room, the "death spiral" term was also used in reference to the collapse of Lehmann Brothers in September 2008 as a historical example.
  Trains Good, Planes Bad (Whoo Hoo!)
    Derailed bullet train coaches fall off bridge in east China
      WENZHOU, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Two coaches of a bullet train fell off a bridge after derailing in east China's Zhejiang Province late Saturday, local fire fighting sources said.
      The details of casualties are unknown at the moment.
  CIA vs MI6
    Coulson Clearance
      Hi Adam,
      Andy Coulson's clearance could have only been done by one organisation. In the UK all Home Office Government security is carried out by the Defence Vetting Agency (DVA). Foreign office and SIS (aka MI6) use the Foreign and Commonwealth Office vetting system.
  Words Matter
    Obama from Audacity of Hope
      Hey Adam:
      I just picked up The Audacity of Hope to read, and in the introduction, on page 10, I found something interesting. Here's a piece of it:
      "They (his constituents from when he ran for senator) believed that anyone willing to work should be able to find a job that paid a living wage. They believed people shouldn't have to file bankruptcy just because they got sick . They believed that every child should have a genuinely good education and that those same children should be able to go to college even if their parents weren't rich. ... And when they got old, they wanted to be able to retire with some DIGNITY AND RESPECT".
      Sound familiar? It reminded me of that clip y'all like to play from the speech he gave on the whitehouse lawn a couple of weeks ago.
      Though you'd find it interesting.
      Sean Lambert
    Buck Stops Here
      Adam, It's supposedly a poker term from the frontier days. It has nothing
      to do with our slang word for the US Dollar. Here is a folk etymology of
      the term, since most Etymologists and lexicographers consider this phrase
      "Origin Unknown":
      'The saying "the buck stops here" derives from the slang expression "pass
      the buck" which means passing the responsibility on to someone else. The
      latter expression is said to have originated with the game of poker, in
      which a marker or counter, frequently in frontier days a knife with a
      buckhorn handle, was used to indicate the person whose turn it was to deal.
      If the player did not wish to deal he could pass the responsibility by
      passing the "buck," as the counter came to be called, to the next player.'
      http://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm
      Harry Pilgrim
  Greek Tragedy
    Paul Sarbanes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Paul Spyros Sarbanes (Greek: ‘Ý‘±¦ç‘ª‘ø¦Ç ‘£¦Ä¦ç¦Å‘ø¦Ç ‘£‘±¦Å‘º¦Ä‘¨‘‡‘…¦Ç Pavlos Spyros Sarbánes) (born February 3, 1933), a Democrat, is a former United States Senator who represented the state of Maryland. Sarbanes was the longest-serving senator in Maryland history, having served from 1977 until 2007. He did not seek re-election in 2006, when he was succeeded by fellow Democrat Ben Cardin. Sarbanes was known for his low-key style[citation needed], often shunning the limelight over his 30-year Senate career. In 2002 Sarbanes co-sponsored the Sarbanes--Oxley Act, which put his name in the headlines.
  Oslo Fal$e Flag
    News from The Associated Press
      In the wake of Norway's terrorist attack, the European police agency is setting up a task force of more than 50 experts to help northern European countries investigate non-Islamic terror threats, its spokesman told The Associated Press on Saturday.
    Producer Report
      I was watching CNN and they had on a person identified as "Ian Dutton" and "American Pilot" (whatever that means) whom they were interviewing by phone. He alledgedly is on Oslo on a hotel just on the back side of the Ministry of Oil in Oslo where the front of building was subject to the blast. The CNN reported was talking to him and he spent some time droning on and on about the blast and how the back of the building and the top of the building were "warped" from the blast and trying to sensationalize how powerful it was, blah, blah, blah.
      Then he said something that caught me ear; he went into a 30 second soliloquy about the dust rising up from the explosion site, and whsat it must be made of ("glass and concrete in a fine dust" or something to that effect and "how much it's like what he saw when the towers fell" and "how bad it is to breathe" and "the long term effects" which struck me as very weird for someone describing a blast that occurred really close to him and is theorizing about the long term effects to freakin' dust while what is essentially a search and rescue operation was underway.
      I thought this was a little weird and while trying to find out more about what was happening, I checked out the BBC online info; his name actually appears in BBC blog as well at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14254705 which I find weird - like someone is trolling to get media attention *or* being pushed as a "witness". His quote there was "The streams of ambulances remind me of the scenes from around my home on September 11 2001." Wow, what bad luck this guy has, he's in a city and there is a major catastrophe within miles twice in less than 10 years!
      I did some fast searching online and found numerous references to an apparent Manhattan, SOHO-based guy by this name so it does seem to suggest some lower Manhattan connection - some links to mentions in the Village Voice at http://www.villagevoice.com/related/to/Ian+Dutton/
      I'm not trying to discredit him but I find the odds that he is close by when two of the most major terrorist attacks in the last decade happen to be almost incomprehensibly small. "Yeah baby, I was flying some international routes and just landed in Oslo and barely made it to my hotel when the blast happened; now that area really well. You know, 5 minutes before, I drove right through there; just send shivers up my spine baby. Yeah, I was there for 911 as well baby; the things I've seen, the hurt, the pain, its really hard carrying that around" (he didn't actually say that but it would great to use on a chick in a bar).
      From listening to your show, I cast a jaundiced "ear" towards the inclusion of things as obviously bullshit like tweets, or emails, or facebook postings (which is all just shitty, lazy journalism) but also towards unverified "witnesses" - I have expect people to shout out "Baba Booey" at any point because that stuff in the past has shown up just how lazy the media and supposed journalists are.
      Keep up the good work; I've only been listening for a couple of months (but I've run through a lot of the shows for this year so far) and I appreciate what John and yourself are doing; enough that I've already donated and will donate more.
      Thanks.
      --
      Chris Herzog
      mailto:chris.herzog@gmail.com
    They Don't See Through Us: Anders Behring Breivik Massacres over 80 People in Norway
      My thoughts: Seems the media has to make it known he's blond. So what?! When a brunette or a redhead commits murder, is their hair color mentioned? Jeez! Who cares that he's blond? I guess it's their way of saying it wasn't a foreigner. Why don't they just say that?
    More from Kenneth
      Hi again!
      This is getting interesting now.
      84 kids has been confirmed dead at the gun spree, 7 in the bombing.
      The gunman was caught, and is a right wing extremist (lone wolf!) that looks
      suspiciously like you, Adam :P
      I've been down there today, the whole place has been sealed off, and the
      King's Guard is watching every roadblock. Windows are shattered as far away
      as 3-400 meters. Must have been quite a heavy bomb, we heard the boom, and
      the shockwave blew our balcony door open. I live about 1km away from the
      blast. It's been confirmed that the guy bought 6 tons of fertilizer earlier
      this year, however, bomb experts say that he probably only used 500kg making
      the bomb. Might there be more coming?
      This is looking more like a combo of Oklahoma and Waco, than any al-Quaida
      attack. Many terrorist groups have claimed responsibility, but this is
      probably just to try to steal the "glory".
      It is too soon to get any real intel about this situation here, it's all a
      bit chaotic, and as you can imagine, we are all in a bit of a shock here.
      A fun thing to note though; Our tv station TV2 had a reporter at Utøya named
      Gadaffi :P I just couldn't stop myself from giggling. They kept saying "Over
      to you, Gadaffi" all the time.
      Also, the director genreal of WHO, former prime minister Gro Harlem
      Bruntland was at the site of the shooting a mere hours before it happened,
      giving a speech to the youth attending.
      I apologize for not being able to contribute too much with info right now,
      but I'll be keeping a watchful eye for the aftermath. Having followed your
      show since about episode 95, I know what to look for :)
      PS: You will find a 227,11$ donation from me, marking the date 22nd of july
      2011. We'll need your show here in Gitmo Nation Viking Fjord more than ever.
      Enjoy your trip, and start planning Hot Pockets Europe :) No de-douching
      please, since I should have done this ages ago, but a bit of karma could
      come in handy.
      -Kenneth
    Oslo Magic Numbers: 7/22/2011, 7+22+2+0+1+1 = 33 (no corn syrup's feed)
      Oslo Magic Numbers: 7/22/2011, 7+22+2+0+1+1 = 33
      (using life path number formula)
    BBC News - As it happened: Norway attacks
      1558: Ian Dutton in Oslo
      I'm looking down at the explosion site from an adjacent tower hotel. The streams of ambulances remind me of the scenes from around my home on September 11 2001.
    A Few Whoops, But Not Much Holler - Page 1 - News - New York - Village Voice
      Still, those who weathered the cold insisted that even this small act of opposition was meaningful. "We need to remind the public that 51 percent is not a mandate," said Ian Dutton, an airline pilot from Manhattan, who said he'd gotten snowed in Montreal and missed his flight to D.C. "We can't afford to sit back and let Bush have his honeymoon."
    Norway horror: Police said gunman killed 80 at summer camp after Oslo blast that killed 7 - Page 2 - chicagotribune.com
      Ian Dutton, who was in a nearby hotel, said people "just covered in rubble" were walking through "a fog of debris."
      "It wasn't any sort of a panic," he said, "It was really just people in disbelief and shock, especially in a such as safe and open country as Norway. You don't even think something like that is possible."
    [VIDEO] Blast witness: 'The explosion was immense' - CNN.com
      The scene after a bomb exploded in the center of Oslo on Friday reminded New Yorker Ian Dutton of what he witnessed after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
    A goth pilot swoops into Haiti, airlifts troops in, wounded out
      In the wake of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake, many desperately wish they could do something more than just "write a check" to help. Soho's Ian Dutton, a member of Community Board 2, answered the call in a big way when, over the past weekend, he flew more than 100 U.S. troops down to Port-au-Prince to help in the crisis, then evacuated more than 80 Haitians on his return trip to the States.
      Dutton is known locally as vice chairperson of C.B. 2's Transportation Committee, on which he's a vocal advocate for creating more bike lanes. Wearing another hat, he's a magenta-haired, goth activist, who joined a lawsuit against New York City's cabaret laws that limit dancing.
    Anders Behring Breivik - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Anders Behring Breivik (born 13 February 1979[citation needed]) is a Norwegian citizen. and the is the suspected perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, although it is yet unknown if he acted alone.[1][2][3] On 22 July 2011, he allegedly approached a Labour Party youth camp on Utˆ½ya island, posing as a police officer, and then opening fire on the adolescents present, reportedly killing at least 80.[4] He has also been linked with the bomb blasts which had taken place approximately two hours earlier in Oslo. He was arrested on Utˆ½ya, and is currently in police custody. Following his apprehension, Breivik was characterized by officials as being a right-wing extremist.[5]
    [VIDEO] Oslo Police Conducted Bombing Exercise Days Before Terrorist Blast :
      According to the translated version of an Aftenposten report, "Anti-terror police fired explosive charges at a training center in Oslo, two hundred meters from the Opera, but forgot to notify the public."
      The exercise occurred on Wednesday and revolved around anti-terror units attacking a disused building at the edge of Bjˆ½rvika pier with bombs and firearms.
      "The men lowered themselves down from the roof and in through the window that had just been blown out, while they fired hand their weapons," states the report, noting that the exercise was "dramatic," produced "violent bangs," and was watched by spectators at the nearby Opera House.
    aangirfan: NORWAY ATTACKS - INSIDE JOB - SUSPECT ANDERS BREIVIK
      On the evening of the 21 July 2011, TV2 in Norway had a short segment reporting on uniformed men, with black uniforms and automatic weapons, sweeping the exact surroundings of the building hit in the bombing.
    Ian Dutton (darkpilot) on Twitter
    Norway terror translated article
  Haiti
    Clinton foundation offers $1m for Haiti (WT news feed)
      Clinton foundation offers $1m for Haiti
      "My foundation is going to make a grant of $1.25 million to the Haitian Ministry of Education to insure that 10,000 more children will be able to attend primary school, and get a big meal every day while they are there," Clinton said at a ceremony in which he was...
    UN rights officials raise concerns over Haiti mayor removing homeless from stadium parking lot (WT news feed)
      UN rights officials raise concerns over Haiti mayor removing homeless from stadium parking lot
      United Nations officials say a Haitian mayor's closure of a camp that housed several hundred families displaced by last year's earthquake ignores their rights to adequate housing.
    Haiti launches 260-mln-USD public housing plan (WT news feed)
      Haiti launches 260-mln-USD public housing plan
      Martelly said that the country plans to provide partially subsidized public housing, instead of free houses, for all the victims of the January 2010 earthquake, which killed more than 250,000 people and left over 1.6 million homeless.
  Vaccine$
    Dyslexia
    New Alzheimer's Drug May Be Safer Than Thought. (WT news feed)
      New Alzheimer's Drug May Be Safer Than Thought.
      Early studies of the drug, bapineuzumab, raised a red flag when some patients developed troublesome brain swelling that can lead to headache, loss of coordination, weakness, disorientation, memory loss, and hallucinations.
  DADT
    U.S. military's ban on gays to end on September 20 | Reuters
      Still, repeal will not give partners of gays and lesbians in the military all the same benefits as heterosexual spouses, such as medical care, travel and housing allowances.
      Pentagon officials pointed to U.S. laws constricting their ability to treat same-sex and heterosexual couples equally.
      The American Civil Liberties Union praised the move but warned it would seek justice for service members discharged in the past, who only get half the separation pay given to "honorably" discharged members of the military.
    US Code 10 G 654
    DADTCert
    Bill Text - 111th Congress (2009-2010) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
    Statement by the President on Certification of Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell | The White House
    Getting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Done | The White House
      Today, in accordance with this law, I signed the certification that will end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" once and for all. The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also have certified that the military is ready for the repeal. Sixty days from now, on September 20th, the repeal will be complete and gay men and women will be able to serve their country openly.
    Obama Certifies End to Military's Gay Ban - FoxNews.com
      On Capitol Hill, the certification was met by some resistance from lawmakers on the right. The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., has called the Pentagon's repeal assessment flawed and wants to review the assessments from each individual service.
  2TTH
    Chinese Billionaires
      BEIJING, July 22 (UPI) -- Unnatural deaths, including homicides, claimed the lives of 53 billionaires on mainland China since 2003, a survey said Friday.
      The survey, conducted by the New Culture News and reported by China Daily, said 15 billionaires were slain, 17 committed suicide, seven died in accidents and 14 were executed by the state.
      Ninteen others died of disease, the survey found.
      The report did not say how many billionaires China currently has, but quoted the 2011 GroupM Knowledge-Hurun Wealth Report as saying the country currently has about 60,000 people with net worth of 100 million yuan ($15.5 million) or more.
      Forbes Magazine reported this year there are 115 Chinese worth at least $1 billion in U.S. dollars.
    La Toya Jackson: Michael's death was a conspiracy -- The Joy Behar Show - CNN.com Blogs
      Here's a sneak peek at tonight's interview with La Toya Jackson. In her new book, "Starting Over," she theorizes that her brother Michael's death was part of a mass conspiracy and he was actually murdered by people wishing to gain control of his music catalog. What do YOU think really happened? Please feel free to comment below.
    Iran nuclear scientist shot dead in Tehran - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
      Several Iranian nuclear scientists have been murdered in recent years in attacks that Iran has blamed on the U.S. and Israel, which both accuse Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability under the cover of its civilian atomic energy program. Iran denies the accusations and says its program has entirely peaceful aims.
  Weinhouse
    Everything about The 27s (The Forever 27 Club)-|-The27Club.net
      Depending on your preference, The 27s is a pop culture phenomenon, a weird curse, or a statistical anomaly. Excess and tragedy are the stuff of music legend, but it is only with hindsight that deeper patterns emerge. None of these is more striking than the deaths at age 27 of some of the greatest musicians of our time.
      More famous musicians have died at the age of 27 than any other age. More than three dozen rockers, from Delta bluesmaster Robert Johnson to Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain.
      The 27s also include crooner Jesse Belvin ("Earth Angel," "Goodnight My Love"), Rudy Lewis of the Drifters, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Malcolm Hale of Spanky And Our Gang, Alan Wilson from Canned Heat, Arlester Christian of Dyke And the Blazers, Jim Morrison, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of the Grateful Dead, Pete Ham of Badfinger, Gary Thain of Uriah Heep and Keef Hartley Band, Roger Lee Durham of Bloodstone, Helmut Kˆllen of Triumvirat, Chris Bell of Big Star, D. Boon of Minutemen, Pete de Freitas of Echo & the Bunnymen, Mia Zapata of the Gits, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Kristin Pfaff of Hole, Raymond "Freaky Tah" Rogers of Lost Boyz, Sean McCabe of Ink & Dagger, Jeremy Michael Ward of De Facto and The Mars Volta, Bryan Ottoson of American Head Charge, and Valentin Elizalde.
    27 Club - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      The impetus for the club's creation were the deaths of Jones, Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison.[1] Cobain, who died in 1994, was later added by some. With the exception of Joplin, there is controversy surrounding their deaths. According to the book Heavier Than Heaven, when Cobain died, his sister claimed that as a kid he would talk about how he wanted to join the 27 Club.[2] On the fifteenth anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, National Public Radio's Robert Smith said, "The deaths of these rock stars at the age of 27 really changed the way we look at rock music."[3] The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll details the history of the phenomenon.
    The 27 Club Movie
    "Reg Traviss is using Amy Winehouse?
    Amy Winehouse: New Album Out This Year | SPIN.com
      "The album will be six months at the most," Winehouse told London's Metro this week at the premiere of horror flick Psychosis, directed by her new boyfriend Reg Traviss. "It's going to be very much the same as my second album, where there's a lot of jukebox stuff... I just can't wait to have some new songs [to perform] on stage."
      It's been nearly four years since Winehouse's career-making, Mark Ronson-produced Back to Black was released, beginning a stretch that ranged from amazing highs (five wins on Grammy night in 2008) to some horrific lows (the singer's very public battles with substance abuse, her destructive marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil). Read more in SPIN's July 2007 cover story.
    Soul Singer Amy Winehouse Dies at 27 - Bloomberg
      Her death at 27 adds her name to a list of other singer- songwriters who died at the same age: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain, among them.
  Magic Numbers
    Brad Pitt 'offers millions' for Chilean miners story | Film | guardian.co.uk
      Brad Pitt's production company is hoping to win screen rights to the story of the 33 Chilean miners rescued from a collapsed mine shaft last month after 69 days underground, according to local media.
      Pitt's Plan B firm, which has helped bring movies such as Kick-Ass and Eat, Pray, Love to the big screen, has made a multimillion-dollar offer, according to the Chilean daily newspaper el Mercurio, which quoted a lawyer for the men, Edgardo Reinoso. The aim is to produce a movie which recreates the miners' desperate period beneath the earth, as well as their dramatic rescue.
    Derailed bullet train coaches fall off bridge in east China
      WENZHOU, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Two coaches of a bullet train fell off a bridge after derailing in east China's Zhejiang Province late Saturday, local fire fighting sources said.
      The details of casualties are unknown at the moment.
    Train collision in China kills 33, injures 190 | General Headlines | Comcast.net
      A Chinese bullet train crashed into another high-speed train that had stalled after being struck by lightning Saturday in eastern China, causing four carriages to fall off a viaduct and killing at least 33 people and injuring 190 others, state media reported.
  Ministry of Truth
    US State Department Bars Audit of Security Contractor Plans in Iraq
      The US is laying the groundwork for what amounts to a mercenary army in Iraq of unprecedented size--but the State Department is withholding information about it from a top watchdog, Wired reports. "Our audit of the program is making no progress," says Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. The State Department holds that the 5,500-strong army of contractors, set to take over and provide security after the US military leaves, doesn't fall within Bowen's jurisdiction.
    BLACKFIVE: State Department war lords
      By January 2012, the State Department will do something it's never done before: command a mercenary army the size of a heavy combat brigade. That's the plan to provide security for its diplomats in Iraq once the U.S. military withdraws. And no one outside State knows anything more, as the department has gone to war with its independent government watchdog to keep its plan a secret.
  Bidoversitée
    Overpopulation: Perpetual growth is the creed of a cancer cell, not a sustainable human society - latimes.com
      Notice that we didn't mention climate change above, or the exploding population/consumption levels that are triggering it -- the two major factors threatening humanity's future. Sure, if you're not too far from the Western wildfires or Midwestern floodplains, the conversation might have turned to the crazy weather that is finally forcing some media to actually talk about climate change in the context of daily events.
      But population? Get out. Way too inconvenient a truth. Take National Public Radio, for example. Of NPR's sparse record of population pieces, just one or two actually address unsustainable population growth.
    Sea-level rises are slowing, tidal gauge records show | The Australian
      ONE of Australia's foremost experts on the relationship between climate change and sea levels has written a peer-reviewed paper concluding that rises in sea levels are "decelerating".
      The analysis, by NSW principal coastal specialist Phil Watson, calls into question one of the key criteria for large-scale inundation around the Australian coast by 2100 -- the assumption of an accelerating rise in sea levels because of climate change.
    Choose Light Foods for Energy, Nutrition During Hot Weather 5/31/02
      "At one time, it was said that warm foods 'stick to your ribs,' and that's probably true," Procter said. "Warm foods (such as soup) actually help us generate the extra heat we need to keep us warmer in the winter.
      "But in the summer, we want to eat lighter foods. We still need calories, and in fact we may be more active in the summertime than we have been in the winter. But we don't need the additional warmth that may be built in."
  The Fix is In!
    Victoire Pisa Wins Dubai World Cup for Japan | BloodHorse.com
      There were tears of joy everywhere at Meydan Racecourse for earthquake ravaged Japan after Victoire Pisa scored a stunning upset over Transcend to give the nation a one-two finish in the $10 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (UAE-I) March 26.
  Real News
    Former Rep. Anthony Weiner in therapy; wants to convince Huma Abedin's boss Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that 'I'm cured' - NYPOST.com
      Forget his wife -- Anthony Weiner has an even bigger problem on his hands: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
      The horndog ex-House member from Queens is telling friends that while he's finally started therapy for his sex addiction, the really hard part of his "recovery" will be getting his wife's boss to believe he's through with his naughty habits.
      "My problem is that I have three women I have to convince that I'm cured: Huma, her mother -- and Hillary," Weiner, 46, told a friend recently.
    Singer Amy Winehouse Found Dead - FoxNews.com
      Amy Winehouse, whose beehive hairdo, exaggerated cat-eye makeup and singular voice made her one of the best known female British singers of this century but who apparently was unable to overcome longstanding problems with drugs and alcohol, died Saturday at age 27.
  Agenda 21
    USDA Attacks Rural America with Smart Meters | Farm Wars
      And just what is one of the first things that Secretary Vilsack, as Chair of the Council going to do? Attack rural America with Smart Meters.
      Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined Administration officials today to announce initiatives aimed at modernizing the nation's electric grid, including USDA's goal to invest $250 million in smart grid equipment deployment in rural America over the next 12 months.
  Bank$ters
    PayPal joins London police bid to financially starve "illegal" websites
      MasterCard and Visa are already on board this initiative, originally unveiled in March. The process works like this: IFPI submits allegedly infringing websites to the City of London police department's Economic Crime Directorate. Once the division has "verified the evidence," it passes the information on to MasterCard, Visa, and now PayPal.
    Audit: Fed gave $16 trillion in emergency loans | The Raw Story
      The audit also found that the Fed mostly outsourced its lending operations to the very financial institutions which sparked the crisis to begin with, and that they delegated contracts largely on a no-bid basis. The GAO report recommends new policies that would eliminate such conflicts of interest, and suggests that in the future the Fed should keep better records of their emergency decision-making process.
      The Fed agreed to "strongly consider" the recommendations, but as it is not a government-run institution it cannot be forced to do so by lawmakers. The seven-member board of governors and the Fed chairman are, however, appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate.
    Banks Pay Back TARP Funds by. . .Borrowing From Treasury | Daniel Gross - Yahoo! Finance
      Most of the big banks have repaid the government funds they received under the Capital Purchase Program (CPP), the pillar of TARP under which Treasury bought preferred shares in the nation's banks. Enough so that, combined with dividends and sales of warrants, Treasury has declared that taxpayers have earned a profit on the CPP. Thus far, $245 billion has gone out, and $255 billion in repayments, interest and warrants has come back, yielding a profit to taxpayers of $10 billion. And there's several billion more where that came from.
    Cyprus benefits from Greek economic crisis, but faces challenges as well - People's Daily Online
      Cyprus is benefiting from the Greek economic crisis through the transfer of billions of euros by Greek depositors who fear their country's economy might turn worse.
      Cypriot Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis, just back from a short visit to Athens, confirmed on Sunday that large amounts of money was deposited in banks operating in Cyprus by depositors who either try to avoid higher taxation or are concerned about a collapse of the Greek economy.
    Carbon Tax
      Carbon Tax - Koozzoo News
    EU asks states to give citizens access to bank accounts regardless of residency, income - The Washington Post
      EU states should now enter talks with their banks to ensure that all citizens can open a basic account, without overdrafts and at affordable fees, the Commission said. At the moment, too many people are being denied access to banking services because they cannot fulfill requirements linked to identity checks, residency, proof of income or credit history, it said, adding that normal safeguards against money laundering and other types of fraud would still apply.
      If individual governments don't make enough progress within a year, the Commission may set binding rules on basic bank accounts, Barnier warned.
      The consumer protection panel of the U.K.'s banking regulator, the Financial Services Authority, said it was disappointed that the Commission did not impose binding regulation immediately.
  Unted $tates of EURO-pe
    The euro crisis will give Germany the empire it's always dreamed of -- Telegraph Blogs
      This advice was finally being taken yesterday -- and it is almost impossible to overestimate the importance of the decision which European leaders seemed last night to be reaching. By authorising a huge expansion in the bail-out fund that is propping up the EU's peripheral members (largely in order to stop the contagion spreading to Italy and Spain), the eurozone has taken the decisive step to becoming a fiscal union. So long as the settlement is accepted by national parliaments, yesterday will come to be seen as the witching hour after which Europe will cease to be, except vestigially, a collection of nation states. It will have one economic government, one currency, one foreign policy. This integration will be so complete that taxpayers in the more prosperous countries will be expected to pay for the welfare systems and pension plans of failing EU states.
    EU May Accept Greek Default as Crisis Fight Intensifies - Bloomberg
      Haiku Herman's eyes bugging out
  Elite$
    Embryos involving the genes of animals mixed with humans have been produced secretively for the past three years | Mail Online
      Scientists have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos in British laboratories.
      The hybrids have been produced secretively over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases.
      The revelation comes just a day after a committee of scientists warned of a nightmare 'Planet of the Apes' scenario in which work on human-animal creations goes too far.
    Oprah Won't Publicly Support Obama in 2012 Election | PopEater.com
      Oprah Winfrey's daily talk show ratings dropped in 2008 after her highly publicized political rally for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. An October 2008 Gallup poll before the rallies but after Oprah's public endorsement of Obama found that Oprah's favorable ratings had fallen from 74 to 66 percent while her unfavorable ratings jumped from 17 to 26 percent. Then came news that Oprah's TV ratings showed that her daytime audience, which was nearly 9 million at its height in 2004-05, had fallen to 7.3 million.
      As much as Oprah may still love President Obama and may support him behind the scenes, do not expect to see the same public support you saw in 2008. As my source puts it, "Helping a friend keep the most important job in the world is great, but making sure her OWN network thrives is now her priority."
    Wendi Deng - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Wendi Deng Murdoch (simplified Chinese:born December 8, 1968) is the third wife of News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, she is leading her husband's Chinese media investments.
      In 1988 she was sponsored by an American family for a student visa to the United States of America. She studied economics at Cal State Northridge and is a graduate of the Yale School of Management where she currently serves on the board of advisors.[2] Her first work experience in the media was with Fox TV. After Fox TV, she was offered an internship at Star TV, Hong Kong, part of News Corporation. Deng met Rupert Murdoch in Hong Kong in 1997 when she was 29 years old and Murdoch was 66.
  Gitmo Nation
    Pr0n Free Swedish Hotels
    Blackfish: The robotic jet ski that can see underwater when patrolling harbours for terrorists | Mail Online
      Protecting moored ships from terrorists has proved a heavy load on the mind of naval commanders over the last decade.
      Now scientists may have found the answer - a robotic jet ski that can see underwater and travel at speeds of up to 40mph.
      The Blackfish craft is 10ft-long and can either be remote-controlled from a distance of up to one kilometre away or travel on pre-programmed routes.
    Tasers shelved by Charlotte, N.C., police after second suspect dies - Sacramento Living - Sacramento Food and Wine, Home, Health | Sacramento Bee
      -Mecklenburg Police Department is taking all of its Tasers off the streets for as many as 45 days, after a suspect died when he was shocked by an officer's X26 Taser at a Lynx light rail station.
      Police say Lareko Williams,
  Squirrel
    The omnipotence of Al Qaeda and meaninglessness of "Terrorism" - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
      Terrorism specialists said that even if the authorities ultimately ruled out Islamic terrorism as the cause of Friday's assaults, other kinds of groups or individuals were mimicking Al Qaeda's brutality and multiple attacks.
      "If it does turn out to be someone with more political motivations, it shows these groups are learning from what they see from Al Qaeda," said Brian Fishman, a counterterrorism researcher at the New America Foundation in Washington.
  VIDEO
    [VIDEO] - Newsnight - IMF's Christine Lagarde on 'game changing' Greek bailout
      Mishal Husain asked International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde if what has been agreed is effectively a Greek default.
    [VIDEO] Obama says he's not willing to end the drug war-|-Raw Replay
      "Much is being asked of our generation," a doctoral student named Steve told the president at a town hall event in Maryland. "So, when are our economic perspectives going to be addressed? For example, when is the war on drugs in society going to be abandoned and be replaced by a more sophisticated and cost effective program of rehabilitation such as the one in Portugal?"
    [VIDEO] Senate Session, Coburn goofing 3:18:00
      Report Video Issue
      PROGRAM SEGMENT
      Senate Session, Part 2
      CUT CAP AND BALANCE ACT OF 2011MOTION TO PROCEEDContinued
      Jul 21, 2011
      Coburn, Thomas "Tom" A. M.D.U.S. Senator
      [R] Oklahoma, United States
      Length: 31 minutes, 31 seconds
    [VIDEO] Credit agencies warn GOP of 'death spiral' - Marin Cogan - POLITICO.com
      Members who attended the meeting later countered that the tone of the discussion was not nearly as apocalyptic as the phrase initially made it sound. According to sources inside the room, the "death spiral" term was also used in reference to the collapse of Lehmann Brothers in September 2008 as a historical example.