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  ELIZABETH WARREN vs SCOTT BROWN Massachusetts Senate Debate
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  Pakistan Declares Friday "Day of Love For The Prophet Mohammad"
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  Threat Of Mass Shooting At School Has Authorities Parents & Students On Edge
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  Rapid Warming Leads To Record Melting Of Arctic Ice
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  Man Take Hostage In Pittsburgh Office Building Says He Has Bombs In Duffel Bags
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  Family Of Border Guard Killed With Gun From Fast And Furious Operation Respond To New Report
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  AMISH ON AMISH HATE CRIME
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  "What Susan Rice Did To Us Was Let Down Our Allies & Embolden Our Enemies" Congressman Pete King
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  "We're NOT Here To Escalate Anything" CNN: This Is A Major Of Force! US- Iranian War Games
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  Judge Orders SUPPORT ISRAEL Ad Campaign Posters Displayed In New York Subway
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  "The Kind Of Advice Romney Was Getting That Night From Rich Imbecilic Lazy-Minded & Hateful Fat Cats
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  Top Dept Of Justice Officials Resign After Fast & Furious Report Released
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  Romney Releases Tax Return, Clinton Visits 'The Daily Show,' and More
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    Source: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines
    Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:10
    Romney Releases Tax Return, Clinton Visits 'The Daily Show,' and MorePosted on Sep 21, 2012The Full Return: Mitt Romney clearly wants everyone to stop talking about secretly videotaped comments he made denigrating 47 percent of Americans at a fundraiser back in May. How else to explain why he would choose to, finally, release more tax returns? The 2011 documents, released Friday, show that Romney paid about $1.9 million in taxes on an income of roughly $13.7 million last year, meaning he was taxed at the low rate of 14.1 percent. In 2010, documents showed he paid an even lower rate, 13.9 percent. In short, Romney made an exorbitant amount of money in 2011, but still paid lower taxes than many hardworking Americans who earned way, way less. (Read more)
    What About Reid's Source? For weeks now, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been hammering Mitt Romney on his tax returns, claiming the Republican presidential nominee wouldn't release them because a reliable source had told the Nevada senator that they would show Romney paid zero income taxes the past decade. However, documents released Friday disclosed that Romney paid an average rate of 13.66 percent for a period of about 20 years. That clearly indicates that Reid's alleged source was wrong. (Read more)
    Obama Chides Challenger: During a speech Friday at a campaign stop in Virginia, President Obama mocked Mitt Romney for the Republican's controversial ''47 percent'' remark. ''I don't see a lot of victims in this crowd today. I see a lot of hardworking Virginians,'' the president said. Obama also hit back at Romney for the comment during an appearance Tuesday on David Letterman's show and at a forum Thursday sponsored by the Spanish-language network Univision. (Read more)
    Cain Disses Romney: Herman Cain, the man with the 9-9-9 plan, claimed Friday that he would be leading President Obama if he were the Republican presidential nominee. He explained: ''The reason is quite simple: I have some depth to my ideas.'' Like, for example, his 9-9-9 plan, which may or may not have been lifted from a video game. (Read more)
    Clinton Stops by 'Daily Show': Bill Clinton visited with Jon Stewart on Thursday night, discussing among other things his Democratic National Convention speech and criticizing Mitt Romney for his lack of specific policies. (Read more)
    Ryan Booed: It's not just Mitt'--Romney's running mate Paul Ryan appears to be having a tough time of it as well. The GOP's vice presidential nominee was met by a chorus of boos at AARP's annual conference Friday after telling the crowd he would repeal Obamacare. (Read more)
    Akin, McCaskill Debate: The Missouri Senate race has garnered increased attention in the wake of the Republican candidate's controversial remarks about ''legitimate rape'' and pregnancy. During the first debate between Todd Akin and Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill, the Republican candidate deflected questions about the comment, claiming he has ''answered this question repeatedly.'' McCaskill, however, pounced on Akin's statements, saying they are proof that her challenger is a ''fringe'' candidate. ''This election's going to be quite a contrast for Missourians,'' McCaskill said. ''But not because we're at opposite ends. I'm right in the middle. It's just he is so far out on the fringe, and that's where the contrast comes.'' McCaskill's chances of being re-elected have improved significantly since Akin spoke of ''legitimate rape,'' and polls now show the Missouri senator with a solid lead. (Read more)
    Swing State Movement: The latest polls reveal that Obama leads in every swing state with the exception of Florida. Swing states leaning toward the president include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado, North Carolina and Michigan. One poll also indicates that Arizona might be in play for Obama as well. (Read more)
    Video of the Day: ''Saturday Night Live's'' prime-time show ''SNL Weekend Update Thursday'' featured a sketch that mocked ''Fox & Friends'' and also Mitt Romney for his ''47 percent'' remark'--two things that clearly deserve to be made fun of.
    '--Posted by Tracy Bloom.
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http://t.co/hBc6zZDa @adamcurry:"Yeah, I have to figure out how/where to take the test here."-N3QZC
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Mitt Romney Says, ''I Am The Confidence Fairy!''
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  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sun, 23 Sep 2012 07:13
  I've coined a few successful turns of phrase over the years, but none, I think, as successful as the confidence fairy '-- a term I used to refer to the belief that things like austerity in the face of depression would actually be expansionary, because of '... CONFIDENCE.
  In its original usage, the phrase was aimed at people like Jean-Claude Trichet, who preached the wonders of expansionary austerity. But reading Matt O'Brien on Romney's Boca Moment, I suddenly realized that it has a domestic application too.
  As O'Brien notes, here's how Romney described his economic strategy:
  If it looks like I'm going to win, the markets will be happy. If it looks like the president's going to win, the markets should not be terribly happy. It depends of course which markets you're talking about, which types of commodities and so forth, but my own view is that if we win on November 6th, there will be a great deal of optimism about the future of this country. We'll see capital come back and we'll see '-- without actually doing anything '-- we'll actually get a boost in the economy.
  [Emphasis added]
  In effect, Romney was saying, ''I am the confidence fairy!''
  So, how's it going? The perceived odds of a Romney win have dropped sharply in the past few weeks:
  So has the stock market tanked? Well, no '-- sort of the opposite:
  Hmm. So maybe Romney can't revive the economy just through his personal awesomeness?
Philippe Dauman, the Man Who Would Be Redstone
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  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sun, 23 Sep 2012 06:57
  FROM up in the carob trees come the strains of great movie themes: the sad hum of ''Love Story,'' the creepy lull of ''Rosemary's Baby,'' the jazzy screech of ''Chinatown.'' Below, just outside the grand entrance of the building where Adolph Zukor and Cecil B. DeMille once did business, Sumner M. Redstone's retinue sips Champagne in the hot afternoon sun.
  Roughly 100 have gathered on this June day on the Hollywood lot of Paramount Pictures to celebrate the studio's centennial. And what a century it's been '-- a run stretching from silent greats like ''Wings'' and Billy Wilder noirs like ''Sunset Boulevard'' all the way to ''Forrest Gump'' and ''Braveheart.''
  Employees, friends, movie-industry luminaries: all have come to pay homage. Mr. Redstone's daughter, Shari, is here, too. At times, her public feuds with her father, one of the most powerful media moguls of the age, seemed straight out of a movie '-- one titled, say, ''Daddy Dearest.'' Absent is Mr. Redstone's son, Brent, who fell out with his father several years ago, contending that he was being cut out of the family business.
  Mr. Redstone, lord of the Viacom empire, enters slowly. He is 89, and on this day so heavy with Hollywood history, it is remarkable to think that when he was born Sumner Rothstein to a modest family in Boston, the first feature talkie, ''The Jazz Singer,'' hadn't been made. He wears a dark suit and flashy tie and looks frail but bursting with accomplishment.
  At his side is Philippe P. Dauman, 58, his figurative heir and the dauphin of Viacom '-- ''the son Sumner wishes he had,'' as one executive close to the company puts it. This is the man who would be Redstone.
  It is an emotional moment for two men not known for displays of emotion, at least not the warm, teary kind. Two decades ago, in an epic struggle for control of Paramount, Mr. Redstone and Mr. Dauman beat back A-listers like Barry Diller and John C. Malone and walked away with their prize.
  Mr. Dauman tells the crowd that Mr. Redstone ''transformed my life.'' He goes on: ''We shed a lot of blood, sweat and tears in a very long process.''
  Then, he echoes a toast Mr. Redstone gave when the $9.75 billion takeover of Paramount was sealed: ''Here's to us who won.''
  By all accounts, Mr. Dauman has won. A polished and slender man who wears Herm¨s cuff links and looks formal even at his most casual, he has never attracted the adulation or the attention given to some of the company's past creative minds, people like Tom Freston and Judy McGrath, both formerly of MTV. And Mr. Dauman has often been obscured by Mr. Redstone's long shadow. Yet Mr. Dauman's rewards have been extraordinary. In 2010, he was paid $84.5 million in cash and stock, making him the nation's highest-paid corporate executive. Last year, he received $43 million.
  Today, working from a 52nd-floor corner office high above Times Square, he sits at the center of one of the world's most powerful media companies, with holdings like the cable channels MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and VH1.
  Yet some industry executives call Mr. Dauman ''the last man standing'' '-- the one who managed to stay in his master's good graces even as Mr. Redstone drove out executive after executive. Mr. Redstone is famous for his outbursts involving top executives and stars '-- including a public falling-out with Tom Cruise in 2006. Through it all, Mr. Dauman has not only survived but prospered '-- and, as C.E.O., has improved Mr. Redstone's beloved company.
  Viacom's earnings per share have more than doubled since Mr. Dauman became chief in 2006. But now Mr. Dauman, a lawyer and deal maker not known for his creative acumen, faces his biggest test. He must steer a slimmer, reorganized Viacom, which has been depleted of some of the creative talent of its early days and, according to some analysts, has been too reliant on the same old hits.
  Ratings and revenue have lagged at Nickelodeon, Viacom's most lucrative cable channel. That led to a 7 percent drop in domestic advertising revenue and a 14 percent decline in overall revenue at the company, to $3.2 billion in the quarter ended June 30. It falls on Mr. Dauman to oversee Viacom as it tries to bring viewers back to Nickelodeon and to find new shows to replace aging franchises like ''Dora the Explorer'' and ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' on Nickelodeon and ''South Park'' on Comedy Central. Last month, MTV said the coming sixth season of ''Jersey Shore'' would be its last.
  Of even greater interest is his relationship with Mr. Redstone. Indeed, the question of who will inherit the House of Redstone is foremost on many insiders' minds. Mr. Dauman is an executor of his will and, while it's not often discussed, he is named in that will as Mr. Redstone's successor. Unless Mr. Redstone changes his mind, that means Mr. Dauman could one day oversee an empire that includes Viacom, the CBS Corporation and National Amusements, the movie theater operator and holding company for the Redstone family's shares in Viacom and CBS.
  ''I can't say what will happen after I'm gone '-- which will be never,'' Mr. Redstone said in a phone interview. ''But everyone understands, I think, that Philippe will be my successor.''
  Carl Folta, a longtime Redstone family spokesman, later said that ''whoever becomes chairman of both public companies would ultimately, as Mr. Redstone has said many times, be decided by the boards of those companies.''On this sunny June day at Paramount, the Redstone family is all smiles. Then, as Mr. Dauman helps his mentor into a leather chair in the shade, the music from the speakers in the carob trees changes again, raising some eyebrows.
  It is the theme from ''The Godfather.''
  SHORTLY after Mr. Dauman became C.E.O., he declared that one of the core values of Viacom was ''civility.'' That proclamation didn't sit well with some at the company, which had brought to the world, among other treasures, ''Beavis and Butthead.''
  While Viacom has always been seen as Mr. Redstone's, it was built in part on the creative risks of homegrown programmers like Mr. Freston and Ms. McGrath at MTV and Brown Johnson at Nickelodeon. In a creative environment, ''you need a little bit of anarchy flying around,'' one former Viacom executive says. (Like many executives interviewed for this article, this person requested anonymity because of the company's strict nondisclosure agreements.) A Viacom spokesman says Mr. Dauman was referring to a civil work environment, and not the creative process.
  The creative brass had to deal with a chief executive who, like Mr. Redstone, Viacom's executive chairman, had a legal background, rather than an executive like Mr. Freston, who rose through the programming ranks.
  Cyma Zarghami, president of the Nickelodeon Group, says Mr. Dauman is ''not interested in hearing pitches'' and does not see ideas for shows until they're greenlighted.
  But the adjustment has been bumpy at times. In an early meeting with Comedy Central, Mr. Dauman asked why the channel needed both ''The Daily Show With Jon Stewart'' and ''The Colbert Report,'' according to a person briefed on the meeting.
  Mr. Dauman declines to comment on specifics but says he generally likes to play devil's advocate. ''I like to have fulsome discussions on every topic,'' he says. ''What happens if you lose this show? What would you do? We have to look at every hypothesis.''
  Doug Herzog, president of the Viacom Entertainment Group, which oversees Comedy Central, Spike TV and TV Land, says they've spoken only hypothetically about what would happen if Mr. Colbert or Mr. Stewart decided to depart. ''The truth is we want them both, always.'' Mr. Herzog says. ''Outside Philippe, they're two of the most important guys in the building.''
  Whatever the case, creative types haven't always accepted Mr. Dauman as one of their own. In 2007, he said at an investor conference that a distribution deal between Paramount and Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks studio was ''completely immaterial'' to Viacom's financial success. The comment prompted furor in the industry and drew terse rebukes from Mr. Spielberg's partners, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, who interpreted it as Mr. Dauman saying Mr. Spielberg was immaterial. Paramount's distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation expires later this year. (''I like Jeffrey, but we can do it on our own,'' Mr. Redstone says.)
  Still, such gaffes are rare for Mr. Dauman, who is so articulate and cautious that even off-the-cuff conversations seem to flow in the fully formed lingua franca of corporate America. While other chief executives at major media companies demand quotation approval when skittishly speaking to journalists, Mr. Dauman can talk for hours, never missing a beat or losing his cool.
  Mr. Redstone has always focused on Viacom's share price, and even creative types in the company say Mr. Dauman should, too. Viacom's stock regularly outperforms that of peers like the News Corporation and Time Warner.
  ''It's not Philippe's job to have great talent relationships,'' said Brad Grey, the chairman and chief executive of Paramount Pictures and a former talent agent. ''His job is to build the business, and he has. Just look at the stock price.''
  That price has risen about 60 percent since September 2006, driven by stock buybacks and Mr. Dauman's push into new areas like digital syndication deals with streaming services like Netflix and his aggressive plan to spread Viacom's offerings globally. ''Geordie Shore,'' the ''Jersey Shore'' of Britain, is a top-rated cable series there. Colors, a Hindi-language entertainment channel, is one of India's top-rated pay-TV channels.
  PHILIPPE DAUMAN first encountered Mr. Redstone in 1986, as a young lawyer at Shearman & Sterling in New York. Mr. Redstone was a Boston-based investor in Viacom '-- then pronounced VEE-ah-com '-- and needed legal help with securities filings. Mr. Dauman ran contracts to his Carlyle Hotel suite. Before long, Mr. Redstone said he wanted to work only with him.
  What Mr. Redstone recognized was perhaps a younger version of himself '-- a brilliant lawyer who appeared to want to win at all costs. Mr. Redstone took to calling him every morning at 5.
  People love to tell the story about how, in his less powerful years, Philippe Dauman (pronounced du-MAWN) went by Phil Dauman (pronounced DOW-man). Critics chuckle that he is faux French.
  In reality, his French background is as bona fide as Mr. Redstone's working-class roots. That is, it is both authentic and fundamental to who he is. His first language was French, and he is on the board of Lafarge, the French construction materials giant.
  Born to immigrant parents in New York, Philippe Pierre Dauman attended Lyc(C)e Fran§ais, an academy on the Upper East Side. His father, Henri, was a Life magazine photographer who took photos of Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy and Brigitte Bardot.
  Philippe skipped first and second grades '-- a move that, like Mr. Redstone's experience in a tough boyhood neighborhood, made him adept at standing up to bullies.
  ''I go to third grade and I'm scared to death,'' Mr. Dauman recalls. ''I'm just 6 years old and the kids are so much bigger than me.''
  At 13, he scored a 1,600, then a perfect score, on his SATs. He entered Yale at 16, a foot smaller than everyone else. (That's when he started to go by ''Phil,'' since a foreign-sounding name just made it harder to fit in.) He graduated in 1974, the same year as Jeffrey L. Bewkes, the Time Warner C.E.O. But Mr. Bewkes, with his Connecticut charm, ran with the A-list at Yale, whereas Mr. Dauman didn't quite fit in.
  After Mr. Dauman graduated from Columbia Law School, he and his wife, Debbie, lived in Paris for a couple of years before they had their sons, Philippe and Alexandre. Philippe Dauman Jr. works in strategy at Google, which is now defending itself against a $1 billion lawsuit from Viacom that contends YouTube used unauthorized clips of ''The Daily Show'' and ''The Colbert Report.''
  ''It's the one job on the planet we know he didn't get because of pull,'' the elder Mr. Dauman jokes.
  After Mr. Redstone gained control of Viacom in 1987 in a hostile takeover, he rewarded Mr. Dauman with a seat on the board. In 1993, Mr. Dauman, then a partner, quit Shearman & Sterling and became Viacom's general counsel.
  Then came other corporate battles, including Mr. Redstone's fight for Paramount and, in 2000, his $39 billion acquisition of CBS. Other acquisitions, like that of Blockbuster in 1994, didn't fare as well.
  ''He's always motivated himself by fighting the fight,'' Thomas E. Dooley, Viacom's chief operating officer, says of Mr. Redstone. ''It's like 'Apocalypse Now.' He loves the smell of napalm in the morning.''
  Mr. Redstone still talks as if he's at war. He praises Mr. Dauman for his handling of a carriage fee dispute with DirecTV in July. After the satellite provider pulled Viacom's channels, Mr. Dauman managed to negotiate a better, more lucrative deal for Viacom.
  ''I would not want to be at the other end of a debate with him,'' says Frederic V. Salerno, a Viacom director, of Mr. Dauman. ''He has staying power and can outlast mere human beings in sticking to the cogent points of his position.''
  Though Mr. Redstone and Mr. Dauman tend to engender fear in opponents, it's hard not to get sentimental about their decades-long bromance. When asked about the other, each gushes with admiration and hyperbole typically reserved for familial relationships or personal publicists.
  ''I've called Philippe my mentor, and he says 'No, Sumner, you're my mentor,' '' Mr. Redstone says. Mr. Dauman is the first person Mr. Redstone thanked in his autobiography, ''A Passion to Win.''
  ''I would never think of overruling Philippe,'' Mr. Redstone says.
  Mr. Dauman says: ''We pretty much hit it off right away. He's the smartest person I've ever met.''
  Mr. Grey at Paramount says, ''It's almost a paternal relationship.''
  And yet industry wisdom holds that Sumner Redstone eventually tires of his top managers. He pushed out the chief executives Mel Karmazin, Frank Biondi and Tom Freston.
  ''None of those were light decisions'' for Mr. Redstone, Mr. Dauman said. He declined to discuss his predecessors but added, ''It's not a popularity contest or whether someone is nice or is not nice in terms of being effective in running the company.''
  Mr. Redstone even reluctantly ousted Mr. Dauman as deputy chairman in 1999 to make room for Mr. Karmazin after Viacom's merger with CBS. Mr. Dauman left with $150 million in severance and securities and started a private equity firm.
  He stayed on the Viacom board and in frequent contact with Mr. Redstone. In 2006, Mr. Dauman returned to the company to replace Mr. Freston as C.E.O.
  The closeness of Mr. Dauman and Mr. Redstone baffles some outsiders. Mr. Karmazin used to turn down Mr. Redstone's dinner invitations. But Philippe and Debbie Dauman often dine with Mr. Redstone at E. Baldi, a restaurant near Mr. Redstone's $14.5 million home in the Beverly Park gated community here.
  Redstone lore floats around Viacom's executive offices like mythology associated with a J. J. Abrams Paramount film. At Beverly Hills restaurants, Mr. Redstone has been known to roll up a piece of bread and lob it at the waiter if his food doesn't arrive promptly, according to several dining companions. (But Mr. Dauman says he's a ''very, very generous tipper.'')
  Mr. Dooley lets out a belly laugh over breakfast at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel when he recalls a business trip to Europe in the late 1990s. Going to a meeting, Mr. Redstone reached for his cellphone only to find he'd grabbed the TV remote control instead. Mr. Dooley and Mr. Dauman joked with him and told him to try to make a call.
  ''He went into a rage and threw the remote against the window,'' Mr. Dooley says. ''If you can laugh it off, he's quite hilarious to be around.''Then there was the time Mr. Redstone yelled at Mr. Dauman and Mr. Dooley so loudly that one of his teeth came loose and flew across the room. Mr. Dooley accidentally stepped on it, drawing even more spittle and rage, according to an executive briefed on the meeting.
  Mr. Redstone says, ''I'm not a patient person, and neither is Philippe.''
  In many ways, Mr. Dauman is the serene superego that keeps Mr. Redstone's unbridled id swimming. ''Philippe is the counterbalance, an intellectual foil, to Sumner,'' says Mr. Dooley.
  IT was a famous ousting that cemented Mr. Dauman's place atop Viacom. It was widely reported at the time that Mr. Redstone dismissed Mr. Dauman's predecessor, Mr. Freston, after eight months on the job for losing an acquisition of Myspace to the News Corporation, run by the longtime Redstone rival Rupert Murdoch. In truth, it was more complicated.
  Mr. Redstone says he felt as if the company needed a different direction. He and Mr. Freston had clashed on several decisions before the Myspace deal. ''It was a crying session for both of us when I said, 'Tom, look you've been great, but the board and I have decided Philippe would be the best man to lead the company,' '' Mr. Redstone says. Mr. Freston declined to comment.
  On the day Mr. Freston left, several hundred employees rushed to the Viacom lobby to say goodbye. Mr. Freston's office d(C)cor of dark blinds, hemp chairs and a surround-sound system loaded with Jamaican music and jazz promptly made way for Mr. Dauman's sparse distingu(C) furnishings of white, taupe and heavy wood.
  Then, last year, Judy McGrath, the chairwoman and C.E.O. of MTV Networks and a popular personality in the industry, was squeezed out as Mr. Dauman prepared to revamp the division. The revamping was part of a larger effort to tighten control and slim operations. The newly formed unit, Viacom Media Networks, includes the company's cable channels, whose top executives report directly to him. Ms. McGrath was offered a corporate role but turned it down.
  Mr. Dauman says the revamping was also meant to lessen Viacom's dependence on a single creative force. ''I want this company to not be dependent on any one individual or group of individuals but have a life of its own,'' he says.
  A former Viacom executive says of Ms. McGrath, ''There's not a quantitative or administration bone in her body, but she was the mother hen in a creative sense.''
  Mr. Dauman has a picture of himself with Ms. McGrath and Jon Bon Jovi framed in his office. ''She had a great career with us and helped move the company forward,'' he says. Ms. McGrath declined to comment.
  The revamping cut costs and helped the company continue to increase investment in original programming even in lean economic years; Viacom has gone from 13,000 to 10,000 employees and from $2 billion to $3 billion spent on original programming since Mr. Dauman took over in 2006. But the revamping also solidified his control and cemented a company culture shift.
  Mr. Dauman's biggest test yet as C.E.O. may be Nickelodeon, whose ratings improved slightly in August after a monthslong plunge.
  The problems at Nickelodeon have put Viacom's new corporate structure and Mr. Dauman's leadership under a microscope. ''I've been doing this for 17 years and I'm not sure I've ever seen a major network so steady for so long and a leader in a genre for so long and then collapse so suddenly,'' says Doug Mitchelson, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities. ''If the ratings don't come back, I do think people are going to start to question Philippe's ability to execute and create.''
  On a recent tour of Nickelodeon's animation studio in Burbank, Mr. Dauman watched animators put the final touches on an episode of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' remake that will start on Sept. 29 on Nickelodeon. Mr. Dauman echoed one of the turtles' morals as his own: ''See? Anger is destructive,'' he said.
  But a couple months after that tour, Mr. Dauman replaced the studio's president, Brown Johnson, a 20-year Nickelodeon veteran.
  Mr. Dauman says Nickelodeon's ratings decline is partly a result of changes at Nielsen and that he expects the situation to turn around. ''We're going to have about 50 percent more original programming than the same quarter last year and a lot of great new shows,'' he says, ''so I think you'll will see improvement in the very short term.''
  BUT others say a lack of brand-defining programming at some Viacom channels is a result of a risk-averse culture.
  ''They're milking existing assets and carefully buying back shares so they won't disappoint Mr. Redstone and short-term investors,'' says Todd Juenger, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.
  He pointed to MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central as relying on still-popular but aging franchises. Other brands like Spike have faltered in ratings, while BET has recently had ratings highs.
  Paramount, meanwhile, has increased profitability by homing in on franchises like ''Transformers'' and the much-lower-budget ''Paranormal Activity.'' Coming movies include ''G.I. Joe,'' ''Star Trek'' and ''Top Gun'' sequels. Paramount releases no more than 15 movies a year, significantly less than some competitors.
  The investor-focused approach keeps Wall Street bullish on Viacom but raises questions about whether creative executives feel comfortable throwing audacious ideas against the wall.
  ''You have people who are fearful of their jobs and their livelihood, and the chances of someone taking a chance in that scenario are very small,'' Mr. Juenger, the analyst, says. Or, as a media executive close to Viacom puts it: ''The sense over there is, 'I like the private plane and I don't want to get fired.' ''
  Mr. Dauman says he has never ''capriciously'' fired anyone.
  GIVEN Mr. Redstone's age, it's little wonder that his health is a source of speculation. The Wall Street Journal read the tea leaves when rumors circulated that Mr. Redstone would not attend Viacom's annual shareholder meeting in New York last March. He attended the meeting.
  ''I hope you're doing half as well at his age,'' Mr. Dauman joked to an editor from The Journal afterward.
  Mr. Redstone is physically weak and often too strong-willed to acknowledge when he needs assistance. But in an interview, his mind and stubbornness were as sharp as ever. He often jokes that he will never die, saying he's prolonged his life by eating ''every antioxidant known to man'' and sunbathing two hours daily to soak up vitamin D.
  Mr. Redstone says the terms of his family trust, which would divide his estate among his children, grandchildren and other trustees including Mr. Dauman, are confidential. But he adds that ''Philippe would play an enormous part in the way my estate is run.''
  Although the boards of CBS and Viacom would ultimately vote on who assumed Mr. Redstone's role as chairman, Mr. Dauman's ascent means he someday might be senior to both the CBS chief executive, Leslie Moonves, and Mr. Redstone's daughter, Shari, president of National Amusements and vice chairman of CBS and Viacom, who clashed with her father several years ago over corporate governance. (Mr. Redstone says his family is harmonious again.)
  ''It's a weird waiting game, and it's all anyone talks about,'' one prominent entertainment executive says of how things may eventually play out.
  One Viacom executive predicts: ''There will be an epic battle, and Philippe will win.''
  Mr. Dauman declines to discuss the subject. ''I don't think it will be dramatic, but to spend my time speculating is an exercise in futility,'' he says. ''I've been involved in estate planning but then you live your life. It's like you write your will and then you put it away and forget about it.''
  He and Mr. Moonves have lunch occasionally, but by most accounts are not close. (In an e-mail, Mr. Moonves said: ''I like him. And I know that we're both rooting for each other's companies.'')
  Mr. Dauman may not have the natural cool of Mr. Freston or Ms. McGrath, but he works hard to be approachable and personable with employees, and to spread his giddy enthusiasm for the stardust the job brings. At a recent town hall meeting outside Viacom's offices in Santa Monica, food trucks provided free In-N-Out burgers and fries. Mr. Dauman danced with employees in a flash mob to the tune of LMFAO's ''Party Rock Anthem.''
  Still, the memory of the circumstances under which he landed the job lingers. At the MTV Movie Awards in June, Mr. Dauman, in bluejeans and a black blazer, strolled with Debbie, in a sequined dress and black boots, onto the red carpet, trailing Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron.
  ''Who's that?'' a photographer asked as a swarm of paparazzi snapped Mr. Dauman's picture. A fellow photographer responded: ''That's the guy who took over when Sumner fired Tom Freston.''
I have no way of confirming if this is true
  Link to Article
  Source: the tap
  Sun, 23 Sep 2012 06:45
  MORE ON THE POP MUSIC SLEAZEI can go along with what Dr Ahmed said about the T Stokes article, i nursed my father in law up to the time of his death, he had been a police superintendant in London, and although he did not say much while working, towards the end of his life and while senile, he thought i was his secretary or something as he would tell me all about the investigations into pop music and pervert DJs etc. which at that time was stilll going on.
  I remember one day they used the mayoral car to do the shopping, it was not used much and it over heated right by this guy Tony Stokes place in central London. My father in law the mayor and a conservative cabinet minister, went in for a cup of tea while the car cooled down outside with the bonnet up.
  The discussion quickly came onto the whole pop music thing. Tony Stokes if he is still alive ? his job was to combat Soviet propaganda, and they were blackmailing several big pop names to push forward certain agendas, such as socialism, homosexuality and multiculturalism, and Stokes was documenting all this in a hush-hush way for our people to diffuse. Pop singer ***** ****** had been a rent boy with a list of pop people and names of big players in the gay scene, but not just gays, the programme "Ready Steady go" also targeted young girls only too quick to drop their knickers for the pop performers who feasted on them, and one of the young men on the prog would sell drugs ouside the studio, and was into the gay mod scene, which was why the programme was wound up. One of the most debauched of all performers even more than ***** **** was ***** **** who in real life was a real promiscous racist hater who would sleep with anything, men women young boys even, and who claimed to have had a 1000 partners, his death from an AIDS related ilness recently had so many cheers on facebook they had to keep being removed.
  My father in law like Stokes was involved in the buildup to the court cases which they tried to keep out of the media spotlight, the pop music scene is debauched and sleazy, talented kids who wont sleep around generally do not get into the bigtime, almost all of the low life impressarios were jews, from Poland just before W W II, now settled in the East End, and they had links to the US jews such as Bruce Springstein who knew about but was not involved in the reports.thankyou Mandi Ferguson.
Makes the voter ID debate a bit dumb. @THErealDVORAK @adamcurry http://t.co/y5GyYEhR
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Sun, 23 Sep 2012 06:44
  A Florida intelligence officer admitted that undercover police were mingling with the public, using their smartphones to take videos and photos to spy on ''suspicious'' citizens. Then the undetected cops could determine a person's name by checking the image against a facial recognition database. That is precisely what happened at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, according to a report from the National Journal.
  An undercover cop can often be spotted in a crowd due to wearing an earpiece or talking into a microphone hidden under his or her sleeve. But by using smartphones and tablets loaded with specialized apps, these same undercover officers mingled with demonstrators, took photos and transmitted ''real-time video of protesters as they moved about the streets.'' Sgt. Dale Moushon, with the Intelligence Unit of the St. Petersburg Police Department, told the National Journal, ''Everyone has a phone, so officers blend in easier.''
  He also pointed to an instance in which an officer was preparing to take a picture of a suspicious person so staff could use facial-recognition software to identify the person. Instead, the person happened to pull out a document that included his identifying information that was then captured in real-time by the officer's live video feed. ''That saved us a lot of time,'' Moushon said.
  The live video from smartphones fed into the 2012 RNC surveillance system which also included 94 ''high-definition cameras connected via a wireless network. 31 are fixed-point and about 63 surveillance cameras have pan/tilt/zoom capabilities that can be remotely aimed and zoomed in to 20x optical." Each CCTV included a geographic tag. All video captured from those cameras will be stored for four years. It's also becoming more common for networked computers with artificial intelligence, behavioral recognition software, to monitor the public for abnormal behavior. Tampa local web developer Jon Gales was the watcher watching the watchers as the system was installed. Gales then mapped the high definition CCTV cameras and created a mobile app called RNCCTV.
  The FCC granted special permission to test the ''interoperable network that used technology from several private companies'' in Tampa. The National Journal reported that this surveillance network ''was part of an effort to eventually develop a similar $7 billion National Public Safety Broadband Network for everyday use across the country.'' This ''next-generation broadband network'' can send ''highly secure, encrypted voice, video, and data communications, as well as an evidence-quality, permanent recording of all data collected.'' The ACLU questioned if this new National Public Safety Broadband Network is actually a "tool for a domestic secret police?"
  Admitting to infiltrating the protesters and planning to run a smartphone photo against facial recognition is a big deal. The FBI started rolling out a $1 billion face recognition project, but even social media like Facebook is in the facial recognition ballgame. The EFF warned us that many Americans are in face recognition databases right now even if they don't know it. If you've never done anything ''wrong,'' don't attend protests, don't have a passport, and can't imagine being in a face recognition database, then stop to think about your driver's license. If you have one, then yes your face is most likely in a database. Or it soon will be.
  ''Preventing terrorists from obtaining state-issued identification documents is critical to securing America against terrorism,'' according to the Department of Homeland Security. ''As the 9/11 Commission noted, 'For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons'.'' Verifying a person's identity is the purpose behind secure driver's licenses, also called REAL ID. In theory, it will prevent fraud and identity theft. All states are supposed to comply with REAL ID by January 15, 2013.
  There are 18 REAL ID benchmarks, some which you might be aware, but DMVs ask people not to smile and show their teeth for the ''facial image capture.'' That is because the image must be compatible with facial recognition software. These photos are fed into facial recognition databases used by law enforcement agencies. This happened in March 2011 in Florida where, for example, an undercover cop planned to take a picture of a protester and use face recognition to determine the ''suspicious'' person's identity.
  The ACLU previously embraced "reverse surveillance" and released a ''stealthy'' Android app called Police Tape so citizens can secretly record the cops. ''It also speaks to the notion that, anywhere, any time '-- whether it's by a police department's security camera or a motorist's cell phone '-- everyone can be recorded.'' The New Jersey ACLU said, "Police often videotape civilians and civilians have a constitutionally protected right to videotape police. When people know they're being watched, they tend to behave well."
  So in Tampa, was turnabout fair or foul play? While citizens may be able to record the police, the majority of us don't have handy access to facial recognition databases at our fingertips to verify a cop's identity. According to the ACLU, ''We shouldn't just accept that undercover police will infiltrate peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights, photograph them, and use face recognition or other techniques to identity them. We must not come to accept the existence of a secret police in our society.''
Questions Now Turn To WHY Obama White House LIED About Muslim Embassy Attacks'...
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Sun, 23 Sep 2012 04:37
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Syrian National Council Crumbles as Assad Warns Again Against Foreign Meddling
  Link to Article
  Source: TARPLEY.net
  Sun, 23 Sep 2012 04:35
  Webster G. Tarpley, Ph.D.PressTVSeptember 21, 2012
  [download video] [download audio]
  PressTV has interviewed Mr. Webster Griffin Tarpley, author and historian from Washington about the Syrian crisis. What follows is an approximate transcript of the interview.
  Press TV: About President Assad setting a neutral tone as far as Lakhdar Brahimi's mission goes. Do you believe that that is telling as far as the experience gained from the mission of the previous UN Arab League envoy?
  Tarpley: Well, the experience with Kofi Annan of course was a great disappointment although it was clear from the very beginning that Kofi Annan was an imperialist operative, a kind of a British imperial civil servant who would not really be able to bring any positive outcome because he was not willing to condemn the aggressors.
  And the aggressors in this case means NATO, the United States, the British, the Israelis, the death squads that they had deployed; Saudi Arabia, Qatar'... we had been paying for these forces and really Kofi Annan didn't have a moral equivalency, he had a playing field that was slanted in favor of the forces that I just said.
  I would point out that the stance of Assad has been fundamentally conciliatory from the beginning. Let's not forget that in February there was a referendum, which abolished the monopoly of the Baath Party of President Assad. So now there is an open political field. And then there were elections in May, which were the freest that Syria has ever had. The US State Department didn't like them said they were bordering on the ridiculous. But you now have opposition forces: you've got 170 from the Baath Party and its allies, which are Communists, nationalists, all kinds of different people; you have about 70 or 80 people who are non-Partisan they're not representing any party; and then there are a few that are actually in an opposition front '' 5 or 6 in that group. So it is politically open.
  The secret of course is that the paymasters of the Syrian National Council don't want a peaceful solution, that's not what they're getting paid for. The goal is to have a pretext to attack; to have a pretext to intervene. And if you have a peaceful solution that would be good for the people of Syria, but not good for the imperialists who insist on destroying Syria because it would weaken Iran, it would weaken Hezbollah, it would shift the strategic situation in the Middle East. So there it is.
  Press TV:Are you saying at this point there is not much of a chance for a dialogue being held between the Syrian government and not only the national opposition, but this external opposition if I may call it that?
  Tarpley: There is an internal, national, peaceful reasonable opposition.
  The outside opposition I think is hopeless and it's not just me '' Remember, Ghalioun was the head of the Syrian National Council then they ousted him. Their meetings generally generate into brawls. They just had Basma Kodmani who represented the Syrian National Council at the Bilderburger Group here near Washington at the beginning of June '' She's quit her post as the spokes person for the Syrian National Council. So they are constantly falling apart.
  The only thing that keeps them together is the money they get from the Saudis and the backing that they get from NATO on the Diplomatic front. So not much chance of a dialogue with them.
Short lines, great service, wrong color phones
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sun, 23 Sep 2012 04:35
  Customers wait to purchase the Apple iPhone 5 outside the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City.
  Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
  I never considered myself the type to stand in line for an iPhone, but I did it today. I told myself it was for professional reasons, but admit a little part of me really did want to see how it felt to take part in this mass ritual of modern consumerism. I didn't go to an Apple Store, mind you'--I'm not a masochist'--but to a small AT&T outlet on New York's Upper West Side. I arrived shortly after it opened at 9 a.m., having tried two other stores first, and was heartened to find only about a dozen people queued up along the sidewalk.
  As I took my place at the back of the line, a nice woman named Crystal came up and asked what size and color I preferred. "Thirty-two gigabytes, in black, please," I said. She replied, "How about 16 gigabytes in white?" As I mulled this unexpected counter-offer, she added that she was sorry, but that was all the store had in stock, and there was no telling how long it would be before reinforcements arrived. I acquiesced, and she offered me a donut.
  The next customer to join the line, a 19-year-old computer science major at Columbia, turned out to be in the same boat. He too resigned himself to 16 gigabytes in white, even though that amounted to a memory downgrade from his old iPhone 4. "I guess I'll just use the old one like an iPod," he mused. I asked him why he was so eager to get the new phone, and he told me he's working on developing apps for iOS. The middle-aged gentleman in front of me, already the owner of the year-old iPhone 4S, had no such excuse. "I just like to have the newest one," he said, a little abashed.
  The line shrunk at a steady pace, and by 10:15 I was walking out of the store with my new, white, 16-gigabyte iPhone 5. "Congratulations," the store manager said warmly, as though I had just achieved something. I stepped out onto Broadway with my gleaming gadget in hand, torn between the desire to wave it in people's faces and stow it in some deep recess where no one's grubby mitts could get at it. I settled for FaceTiming my dad, because I could. He sounded duly impressed by my purchase, if a little surprised that I had settled for a version that had no more memory than the old phone I'd been nursing for many years. I mumbled something about the cloud.
  An hour or so later, I happened by the store again and asked Crystal how many customers had agreed to buy the 16GB in white rather than wait for their preferred model. "All of them," she said. "Everyone."
Setting up and programming your UV-5R Ham Radio Weblog PD0AC
  Link to Article
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 18:41
  So far, the Baofeng UV-5R seems to be a steal of a deal. Not without its flaws though, and one of them is the cryptic and incomplete manual. This article will teach you how to set up the UV-5R, and how to program frequencies into the memory by hand. These instructions are a small part of the ''UV-5R Manual For Dummies'', which is being created as we speak and will be posted on this blog later.
  Setting up the UV-5R
  Charge the battery. According to the manual this will take about 5 hours, but don't be surprised when the LED switches to green after just a few hours '' contrary to what the manual says, some batteries appear to be (partly) charged.
  Please be aware that a Li-Ion battery will be at full strength only after you depleted and charged it at least three times in a row. After these three cycles you can charge the battery any time you want. There's no memory effect to deal with.
  Reset the UV-5R. This will make your life much easier when you want to program frequencies into the memory. Switch on the UV-5R, press the Menu button, type '40', and press the Menu button again. The display will show ''Reset All''. Press Menu again. The display will show ''Source?'' Press the Menu button once more to confirm your choice. Do this quickly, you have only once second or so. All that weird factory memory data is deleted now, and defaults are restored.
  How the menu system works
  Pressing the Menu button the first time will display the menu items. There are 40 items in total. Pressing the Up or Down button scrolls through all the items. If you know where to go, typing the item number on the keypad will often be faster.
  Press the Menu button once more to switch to the parameter menu. Pressing the Up and Down buttons allows you to browse through all the options. After selecting one of the options, press the Menu button again to confirm and save your choice. You can exit the menu at any time by pressing the Exit button. Waiting a few seconds will do the trick, too.
  Set the channel spacing
  Select Menu 1 (Step, channel spacing)Options: 2.5KHz, 5KHz, 6.25KHz, 10KHz, 12.5KHz, 25KHz.Default: 2.5KHzWhat channel spacing you need differs from country to country. Check your band plans. In Europe for example, 12.5KHz would be fine on VHF, and 6.25KHz on UHF would make it possible to use the UV-5R on PMR channels (the EU equivalent of FRS).
  Note: You have to program the channel spacing twice: once for VHF, once for UHF. Press the Band key to switch from VHF to UHF and back.
  Programming Example 1: storing simplex frequencies
  Switch to VFO ASelect VHF or UHF by using the Band keySelect the frequency you want to storePress Menu, type '27', and press Menu againSelect an empty memory position (000 '' 127) by using the Up or Down keyPress Menu again to store the frequencyPress the Exit key to leave the menu.Programming example 2: storing repeater frequencies
  Switch to VFO ASelect VHF or UHF by using the Band keySelect the receive frequency you want to storePress Menu, type '27', and press Menu againSelect an empty memory position (000 '' 127) by using the Up or Down keyPress Menu to store the receive frequencyPress the Exit keySelect the transmit frequencyPress Menu, type '27', and press Menu againPress Menu once more.Switch to memory mode by pressing the VFO/M key and test your work. These simple examples do not cover possible sub audio requirements.
  April 7, 2012 - Posted by Hans | Amateur Radio, HAM Gear, HAM Radio | Baofeng UV-5R, Manual, programming, setup
HSMM-MESH
  Link to Article
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 18:21
  HSMM-MESH
  Written by Jim Kinter, K5KTF Monday, 18 January 2010 23:34HSMM-MESH' is a high speed, self discovering, self configuring, fault tolerant, wireless computer network that can run for days from a fully charged car battery, or indefinitely with the addition of a modest solar array or other supplemental power source. The focus is on emergency communications.
  In its current form it is built using the Linksys WRT54GL wireless router and operates on channels 1-6 of the 2.4GHz ISM band, which overlaps with the upper portion of the 13cm amateur radio band. Other platforms and bands may be supported as development resources permit.
  OLSR is used for auto linking of the mesh node radios.
  OpenWRT firmware tools are used for firmware development.
  HSMM-MESH' is currently being designed, developed and deployed as an amateur radio broadband communications system and being used in and around Austin, and Plano Texas, as well as other sites.
  Glenn KD5MFW, David AD5OO, Bob WB5AOH and Rick NG5V are the gents spearheading the efforts, while yours truly, Jim K5KTF keeps the website up and running to provide information about the project. There is a distributed development community with significant activity in the Dallas/Plano area and interest growing elsewhere.
  If you have questions, our forums would be a great place to research and ask questions. You will need to register and login to post to them.
  Last Updated on Thursday, 22 December 2011 12:15 If you are new to the web site, take a moment to learn a bit about how our firmware works.
  Last Updated on Sunday, 07 August 2011 10:21 Written by Rick Kirchhof, NG5V Wednesday, 28 December 2011 09:40Hamcom 2011 was held in Plano, TX. It was also the ARRL national convention. We had a prominent display there and several presentations. They were exceedingly well attended. Look in the HSMM Files area for specifics. The ARRL is cranking up a get involved with ham radio push and shot quite a bit of video while at Hamcom. They have released a promo to their web site and to YouTube. HSMM-MESH is prominently featured.
  See the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlDwVhx7miQ
  Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 December 2011 09:54 Written by David Rivenburg, AD5OO Saturday, 13 February 2010 14:18In order to gain benefit from this system you must be fluent in TCP/IP networking or be a highly motivated self-starter who can independently acquire that fluency. At this stage there are relatively few developers and users, and they are already stretched thin with their current contributions. While we have made the system as easy to use as possible, it can still be a complex system and we cannot offer any basic network training. As our user and developer base grows we may collectively be able to offer such support but at this time you are responsible for your own education in the fundamentals of computer networking.
  HSMM-MESH' is not a fully mature, time tested, finished product. However, its basic functionality is proven and it is quite useful in its current state. It provides a network infrastructure upon which numerous applications can be built. This project is in its infancy and requires contributions from its users and developers before it will be suitable for a wider audience. If you have a specific application in mind, hop on board and help us grow the capabilities of the mesh.
  HSMM-MESH' is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It may or may not be suitable for your application. You will be better served by changing your application to fit the mesh than the other way around. Using a mesh node is relatively easy. Setting up its internal structure and services to create the mesh is not easy, but it is very easy to break if not done correctly. While it is essential to have an understanding of general networking principles to use the mesh effectively, the mesh is not a conventional network. You will have to learn some new ways of thinking about networking. I strongly recommend reading the HSMM-MESH Design Philosophy article for an overview of how the system is designed.
  All that being said, this is a new way to HAVE FUN with ham radio! For $60 you will not be able to find a more capable radio than that contained in a WRT54G. If you have grown weary of the colossally slow pace of digital communications with HF and VHF radio, give HSMM-MESH' a try!
  Unfortunately, all this needs to be said as well:
  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE TRADEMARK HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TRADEMARK OWNERS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
  Last Updated on Thursday, 22 September 2011 22:14 Written by Administrator Tuesday, 23 February 2010 21:49Are you an HSMM-MESH' experimenter?
  We have a mail list for people assisting in the development of HSMM-MESH'. It was formed as the original developers launched the project. If you want to share your user experiences, help/get help from other users, or submit ideas and requests to
  Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 July 2011 21:23Read more... Written by Rick Kirchhof, NG5V Saturday, 30 January 2010 23:35Here are examples of how to make stand alone mounts for a mesh node. The white pole is an Omni antenna. The enclosure is a plastic sprinkler controller box from a major home improvement chain store.
  Last Updated on Sunday, 28 February 2010 19:55
Ontsnapte giraf zet Italiaans dorpje urenlang op stelten
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 15:28
  22/09/12, 15:42 '' bron: BBC.com
  In het kleine Italiaanse stadje Imola is gisteren een giraf ontsnapt uit een circus. Het dier zorgde urenlang voor verkeerschaos in het centrum.
  Nadat het dier urenlang het dorpje doorkruiste met de politie op de hielen, slaagden de agenten erin het dier neer te schieten met een verdovend middel. De ontsnapte was vijf meter hoog, woog bijna 900 kilo en veroorzaakte het schade aan verschillende auto's op de weg met zijn hoeven. Het dier overleed na afloop aan een hartstilstand. De giraf reisde mee met het Rinaldo Orfei circus.
  De bewoners van het stadje wisten niet wat ze overkwam, ze keken met open mond naar de bijzondere achtervolging. Toen de giraf even stopte om bloemen te inspecteren, besefte een oude tuinierster niet dat er enkele meters boven haar hoofd een gigantisch beest aan het snuffelen was.
Thread: Un-Web 2.0
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:22
  You've heard of unconferences. They take the idea of a conference and flip it around. Instead of having speakers on stage, the speakers are in what used to be called the audience.
  The term has been hijacked to mean something much softer, that the planning of the conference is deferred to the day of the conference. But the speeches are still speeches. The audience asks questions. The experts are on stage. Zzzz.
  But the original concept, pioneered at BloggerCon and the term coined by Len Pryor, was deeply disruptive. And it mirrored what blogging was doing to journalism.
  Un-Web 2.0 is to Web 2.0 as BloggerCon was to RegularOldCon. And as blogging is to journalism. The source and the destination become one. :-)
  So Web 2.0 was nice, as training wheels for the next steps in the future web. A two-way medium. The people who pioneered Web 2.0 are to be congratulated and thanked. But now it's time to Un it. :-)
  Because Web 2.0, while it started out as a freedom-inspiring thing, has been coalescing to being a dangerous form of locking-in the user's data so it can be applied to a corporate business model. We all know the dangers of this. It robs platforms of their openness. It makes moving data around impossible. And it makes creating hybrid systems impossible. It's not a very web-like direction for something that's inspired by the web.
  If the Web is Small Pieces Loosely Joined, Web 2.0 is Small Pieces Trapped In A Silo.
  Hat-tip to David Weinberger for the term.
  In Un-Web 2.0 you get full control of your data, and the services just get pointers to it, or copies of it. The originals live with you. Pointers are much preferable to copies because then you can keep updating the content after it has been incorporated in someone else's content tree.
  Food for thought. :-)
Links to comment pages
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's development work
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:20
  We now have a direct way to get to the stand-alone comment page, without going through the feed or comment index.
  It was really simple to do once I got a chance to relax about it.
  Here's a screen shot of the comments on this post.
  Note how the user names, pointed to by the red arrows, are blue. They link to the comments page. The permalink is still to the right of the name. That's how you point to the version of the comment on the original page.
  That's it. It's pretty much what you'd expect (which is why it works).
Thread: Comments on Costolo talk
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:17
  I didn't catch the whole of Dick Costolo's talk with Emily Bell at ONA, but I did get to hear the part about developers and APIs. I think this part also relates indirectly to journalists who use Twitter.
  1. Twitter will provide a way for users to download their history of posts to Twitter.
  2. Think of 140 characters as a caption. This is consistent with what they're doing. People who argue that 140 characters is some kind of sacred limit are wrong. They should listen to what Costolo says.
  I think this the right move, not just for Twitter but for everyone.
  But it has implications that some journalists might not see. It means that there is no reason why Twitter couldn't host entire news articles. I am sure they will be doing that, probably fairly soon. I suspect this ability will not be open to everyone, and they will want favorable terms for those it permits to use this feature. Presumably there will be a revenue-share on ads placed on these articles.
  Also play what-if -- what if Twitter acquires a news organization. Just because they say they are not a news org today does not say anything about the future. Twitter made all kinds of promises to developers that were broken, in total, within a couple of years.
  3. Emily Bell did a great interview. The audience questions were also right on.
  I thought Emily Bell did a masterful job of raising these questions to Costolo, but in a disarmingly friendly way. To Costolo's credit he didn't always take the bait. He stuck with the idea that they are a tech company providing a platform, and are not going to cross into content. But he didn't exactly say that.
  If I were a betting man, I'd bet that before too long Twitter will be competing with its top content providers, the same way it's now competing with its top developers. Only they'll have to tread more carefully there, assuming the journalists and bloggers still have their own mechanisms to get news out. That's why this is such a dangerous situation. As we rely more and more on Twitter, our websites become less-used conduits for distribution of ideas and news.
  Obviously I believe Twitter is today a totally inadequate platform for independent journalists or bloggers and it's going in the wrong direction. They score points for not turning over tweets to governments, but they have an awful track record of tiliting the playing field to favor their partners and even personal friends. This is a very sloppily run platform for both development and journalism. People either don't know the history or are choosing to ignore it, presumably because building their own platforms seems difficult, expensive, or unlikely to succeed. However, the longer you wait the harder it will become, not easier.
  Monocultures don't work very well for news.
Proof Positive - In My Opinion
  Link to Article
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:06
Watch what happens when Guns are banned in Australia
  Link to Article
  Source: Set You Free News
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 04:35
  by TheAwakenedMedia
  ''Laws that forbid the carrying of arms'... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.
  Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.''
  ~Thomas Jefferson
Romney releases 2011 tax return along with summaries of filings since 1990 | World news
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sat, 22 Sep 2012 04:33
  Mitt Romney also released a doctor's letter that describes him as 'a vigorous man who takes excellent care of his physical health'. Photograph: Chris Zuppa/Corbis
  Mitt Romney bowed to sustained pressure from the Democrats on Friday by releasing a summary of his tax returns for the last two decades.
  The summary shows that, contrary to suspicions voiced by the Democrats that he was hiding his returns because he had paid no taxes some years, he and his wife Ann paid federal and state income tax every year since 1990.
  Their average federal tax rate over that period was 20.2% and at no time dropped below 13.6%, according to the summary prepared by his accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
  But it will not satisfy the Democrats who will focus on many remaining unanswered questions. They will continue to press him to release his full tax returns going back at least five years, question him over his use of offshore tax havens and investigate further Bain Capital, the investment company where he made his fortune.
  Brad Woodhouse, a Democratic national committee spokesman, wrote on Twitter: "Summaries? What is Romney hiding? This isn't just abt rates '-- how about Swiss Bank Accts, Bermuda Shell Cos and Caymans Investments?"
  Romney, as he promised earlier this year he would do, also released Friday his tax return for 2011 in which he paid $1.9m, a tax rate of 14.1% on an income of $13.7m, mainly from investments. The top rate of income tax is 35% but Romney's income is mainly from investments, which attracts a 15% rate.
  The couple paid more than $4m, about 30% of their income, to charity. They also, unusually, limited the amount they could claim as a tax deduction on charitable givings.
  In August, Romney said he had paid at least 13% in taxes in each of the last 10 years. His campaign team said his tax bill for 2011 would have been higher but, in order to comply with the 13% comment, the Romneys limited the amount they could have deducted from the charitable contributions.
  Earlier this year, he released his tax returns for 2010, mainly as a result of criticism from Republican opponents during the hard-fought primary season that he had not released any. At the time, he promised he would release his 2011 returns too.
  The rates paid by the Romneys, who have an estimated fortune of more than $200m, are much lower than many low- or middle-income families.
  He had repeatedly refused to follow the convention set by previous White House challengers in releasing multiple tax returns, including his own father George, who released 12 years' worth during the 1968 Republican presidential campaign. Obama has also released 12 years' worth of tax returns.
  Publication of some of his tax details comes at the end of a week which has been the candidate's worst period on the campaign trail, dominated by the release of a secret video of a speech behind-closed-doors in Florida in May.
  In the speech, he portrayed 47% of the American population as freeloaders, dependent on federal government help, who pay no tax and who vote for Barack Obama.
  The senate majority leader Harry Reid, in an interview in July, said he had heard from a source that the reason Romney refused to release his tax returns was because he had not paid any for a decade. An ad paid for by the Obama campaign also questioned whether he had paid any taxes at all.
  Discussing his tax returns in January, Romney said: "I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more. I don't think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes."
  Romney's running-mate, Paul Ryan, released his 2011 tax return earlier this year, paying $65,000 on $323,416 in income, a 15% rate.
  A doctor's letter released by the Romney campaign alongside his tax return confirms he is in good health. It records the usual details about his diet, heart rate and tablets to lower his cholesterol and low-dosage aspirin in hopes of reducing the chance of a heart attack.
  But the doctor goes beyond that to make what almost sounds like a political broadcast.
  "He has shown the ability to be engaged in multiple, varied, simultaneous activities requiring complex mental, social, emotional and leadership skills."
  The doctor, Randall Gaz, goes on to say: "He is a vigorous man who takes excellent care of his physical health. He has reserves of strength, energy and stamina that provide him with the ability to meet unexpected demands. There are no physical impairments that should interfere with his rigorous and demanding political career as the next president of the United States."
  Ryan's doctor, Timothy Kronquist, said the candidate's overall health was excellent. "You have practised important preventive lifestyle choices to include regular vigorous aerobic and strength-building exercises, a heart healthy diet, smoking abstinence and infrequent alcohol use."
Outline: comments.scripting.com
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:51
  A comment *and* a blog post
  Anton Zuiker
  Brian Hendrickson
  Dave Winer
  An open note to Doc
  Matt Terenzio
  A new feature sneak
  Anton Zuiker
  pensato
  Maps, Tweetie and dBASE
  Andrew Shell
  cori
  pensato
  Ted C. Howard
  Kyle Shank
  A day of construction
  Dave Winer
  Un-Web 2.0
  Doc Searls
  Dave Winer
  Ted C. Howard
  Kyle Shank
  Worknotes and OPML Comments
  Jake Savin
  Dave Winer
  Jury duty, voting and Romney
  Joshua
  Dear Green Button People
  Nestor Subkhanberdin
  Amyloo
  Joshua
  pensato
  Kyle Shank
  Dave Winer
  I feel a little like a kid
  Dave Winer
  Anton Zuiker
  View button on Comment workspace
  Patrick
  Dave Winer
  Jeff Bundy
  Grant
  cori
  River with JSON-encoded OPML
  cori
  Dave Winer
  River2 is source-aware
  Dave Winer
  Tech discussion of comments feed
  Dody Gunawinata
  Andrew Shell
  cori
  Dave Winer
  Kyle Shank
  Newspapers and blogging
  Mark
  pensato
  cori
  Mark May
  Michael K
  JÅrg Kantel
  Amyloo
  Anton Zuiker
  Andrew Shell
  Michael Sullivan
  Grant
  Kyle Shank
  Brian Hendrickson
  Dave Winer
  Jeff Bundy
  To OWS -- please use the web
  pensato
  Michael Sullivan
  Whole post to Scripting feed
  Dave Winer
  Kyle Shank
  German in World Outlines
  Nestor Subkhanberdin
  I don't think this is Kansas
  J. Boyle
  Kyle Shank
  Adam Curry
  A question about class warfare
  Dave Winer
  cori
  YouTube in the developing world
  Michael K
  cori
  Patrick
  Dave Winer
  Amyloo
  A message to Republicans: Enough
  Dave Winer
  Why a second term for Obama
  Patrick
  Blogging in transition
  pensato
  jhmiii
  Joris van Lier
  rex
  Anton Zuiker
  Simon Cahuk
  Adam Curry
  Patrick
  Grant
  Mike Lopez
  Jeff Bundy
  Kyle Shank
  Andrew Shell
  Dave Winer
  Michael Sullivan
  To TechCrunch hackathoners
  Dave Winer
  scripting.com in transition
  Dave Winer
  James Petry
  Witting with Greenwald
  James Burgos
  Do you see a green button on this page
  Patrick
  John Johnston
  Dave Winer
  Mark Cross
  JÅrg Kantel
  Michael K
  John Loughlin
  A test of outline comments
  Steve Harf
  Doc Searls
  dweinberger
  Beau Simensen
  Grant
  Jack Baty
  Mauro Del Rio
  Andy Sylvester
  Cameron Bales
  Paul Blasman
  Nestor Subkhanberdin
  typesend
  Dave Saunders
  Joris van Lier
  kebno
  Bryan Price
  Malcolm Knapp
  pensato
  Tom Small
  Joshua
  rubywhite
  Jeff Shafer
  Sam Davyson
  Rex Hammock
  pborenstein
  Mark Cross
  wetwebwork
  Michael Sullivan
  Johnny Sagan aka Snowy Wilderness
  James Petry
  Frank McPherson
  Rich Brown
  jhmiii
  Richard Manuel
  Norbert
  Mark Lucas
  Hanan Cohen
  paulmwatson
  Mark Groen
  Yo
  Raymond Brown
  Tibet Sprague
  Andy Kern
  Dave Luebbert
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  SeventiesRobot
  Michael Fraase
  Phil
  bowerbird
  josemi
  K Welch
  Joonas
  Geoff Jones
  smonev
  imp
  Kim
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  Don Hodges
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  Deepak Gupta
  Roy
  Vitor Conceicao
  $bill
  Kay Schneitz
  Erez
  Jim Jarrett
  Henri Asseily
  Amyloo
  Russell Gum
  rex
  J. Bruce Hughes
  Brian Hendrickson
  Jeff Bundy
  cori
  Tim Madden
  Andrew Shell
  Anton Zuiker
  Kyle Shank
  Mark May
  Ted C. Howard
  Adam Curry
  Bull Mancuso
  Dave Winer
  OPML comments
  Dave Winer
Daily Afternoon Randomness in HQ (41 Photos)
  Link to Article
  Source: theCHIVE
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:47
  September 21, 2012 | In: DAR, High-Res, Random
  Follow John on Tapiture
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  I know the D.A.R. tee is one of our most elusive Chive shirts, and I know y'all would like us to make more than we do so we're launching Men's and Women's sizes of the D.A.R.RIGHT HERE.As always, I apologize for looking like a drunk magician in this photo.
  7
  And thanks to Chiver Yannick Jean for sending me this shirt, I'll wear my Scarlett Letter with pride8
  9
  Meet Tova and her awesome smile. Say hello to Tova on her Twitter Machine.10
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  Our NASA Chivette took this photo the evening before Space Shuttle Endeavor's final launch'...39
  Many of the employees at NASA are Chivers. Over the past two years, they have always gone out of their way to support the Chive Nation; NASA has opened their doors to my family at Johnson Space Center in Houston to do things we're probably not s'posed to do. True Chivers for sure.40
  Today at 11:47am, the Endeavor flew right over theCHIVE office on its final voyage before being retired at the California Science Center. On behalf of everybody here at theCHIVE, and all the generations of dreamers, thanks for the inspiration to reach for something greater than our own selves.We'll return to the Johnson Space Center in November and we look forward to raising a glass with our NASA Chivers again soon.
  41
  Sexy Chivers
  Subscribe to theCHIVEMonthly Most PopularAwesome Random Posts
CyanogenMod 10 Nightlies rolling out for T-Mobile Galaxy Note
  Link to Article
  Source: Android Community
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:15
  Samsung's Galaxy Note is a pretty cool phablet if we do say so ourselves. Even American Airlines thinks so, since they'll be using them throughout their fleet. There's some good news for CyanogenMod fans that own T-Mobile Galaxy Notes: CyanogenMod 10 Nightlies have begun rolling out.
  It's only been a week since a custom Jelly Bean build showed up for the AT&T and International versions of the Galaxy Note, and now CyanogenMod 10 Nightly builds are available for T-Mobile's version of the device. Your path to a CMified Galaxy Note starts at their website, where you can directly download the 160MB .zip file that contains everything you need.
  Of course, we already know that the Galaxy Note II is right around the corner, and it will include Jelly Bean right out of the box. However, if you'll be stuck on the original Galaxy Note for a while, the CyanogenMod 10 Nightly will give your device a modified Jelly Bean interface until you're able to upgrade again.
  If you're curious about the Galaxy Note II, it has a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a 1280 x 720 resolution, a 1.6 GHz Samsung Exynos quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB storage, an 8 MP rear camera and 1.9 MP front camera, and a massive 3100 mAh battery. You can already pre-order it on US Cellular too.
  [via Android Police]
Automated home brewing system has an insanely professional controller
  Link to Article
  Source: Hack a Day
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:41
  posted Sep 21st 2012 2:01pm by Mike Szczysfiled under: beer hacks
  So you know how on Breaking Bad, the chemist [Gale Boetticher] sets up an impressive rig to brew the best cup of coffee? Well what do you think of a group of engineers taking on beer as their side project? This rig, which we do think is pretty insane, is the result of embedded system engineers developing an automated brewing system.
  [Ben_B] started from humble beginnings. He built a PID controlled smoker much like the one we saw last Monday. From there he ground out several iterations of brewing hardware, adding a bit of automation at each step along the way. But things really took off when the events department at his company, National Instruments, took notice. They put the team on the task of assembling professional grade control hardware for the unit. And of course while we're spending the company dime why not chrome those boiling vessels at the same time. The finished project was shown off at a trade show to help promote the company.
  The post thread linked at the top has shots of the complicated mounting and wiring that went into the controller. We're not sure how much intervention is actually necessary during a session. But with all the sensors, pumps, valves, filters, and whatnot we wouldn't be surprised if all you need to do is pitch some yeast into what comes out of it.
VIDEO - Strippers, Keynes And The National Debt
  Link to Article
  Source: The Daily Bail
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:29
  Global Debt Bomb - The Economic Striptease Song
  This is safe to watch. The pasties do remain in place, and upon closer inspection they are actually gold coins.
  Take a second to check out the lyrics printed below - Keynes, QE, bailouts, assets marked to fantasy, etc. - the comedian knows the issues pretty well.
  Outstanding work by comedian Dominic Frisby...
  From the original '... 'Sex Bomb', by Guendogdu, Mustafa, Rennalls, Errol, sung by Tom Jones, published by Universal.
  DEBT BOMB(Lyrics by Dominic Frisby)
  Aw, aw baby, yeah, ooh yeah, huh, listen to this
  Mortgages, cars, consumer shiteGovernment spending all through the nightPensions and healthcare and welfare rightsEducation , wars to fight
  Run up a deficit, ignore the factsBlame someone else, put up taxI can't deny we had a crackBut now we gotta pay it back
  Debt bomb, debt bomb, you're a debt bomb uh huThe addiction to credit just goes on and on and on '' give it to meDebt bomb, debt bomb, you're a debt bombA bail-out ooh you're turn me on
  You know what you're doing to me don't you. ha ha,I know you do
  If you can't afford it don't be ill at ease '' noSpend it anyway, you've got voters to appeaseTake the prudent savers and just give them a squeezeThat's the economics of Keynes
  Quantitative easing, zero interest ratesSteal from the future, hide the bad mistakesWe gotta keep those asset prices highDon't matter if the credit's dry
  Debt bomb, debt bomb, you're a debt bomb uh huTry to pay the debt off with inflationDebt bomb, debt bomb, you're a debt bombMalinvestment ooh you're turn me on
  A boom brought about by credit will always bustYou've then got two choices, decide you mustAbandon the addiction, the credit lustOr the currency collapses , it just turns to worthless dust
  Debt bomb, debt bomb, you're a debt bomb uh huDestroy the country's money, anything to carry onDebt bomb, debt bomb, you're a debt bombBubbles ooh you're turn me on
  Screenshot...
Ron Paul: Foreign aid leads to 'more trouble, more debt' | Video | Fox News
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:28
  This transcript is automatically generatedHill on the hill and now.
  There will be held.
  Welcome everybody I'm Neil Cavuto -- thoughts on top of a secretary of state with a tin cup out and not too many politicians.
  Willing to throw any coins in Hillary Clinton lobbying congress today to keep the money flowing to the Middle East but she is facing new resistance.
  From Republicans -- a whole lot of Democrats.
  Whose day.
  They've had it was pouring good money after bad in the Middle East images like these certainly do not help do that.
  So Ron Paul is as long before this close this -- and close it now congress and -- have you.
  Thank you Leo good to be reviewed there are many more in your camp.
  And I'm wondering having heard this before when there's a dust up the violence and certainly this -- Quite a dust up but it dates and other words the resistance to lending money.
  -- and and we go back to lending money.
  You can.
  Community congressman.
  Now -- I lost that last sentence or two will this idea that.
  Dad's opposes many are in congress to giving more money to Middle East in the end they come around to do so what do you make it.
  Now -- they've been doing after a long time and now probably do it again but the people are waking up and enough putting up with its -- easily.
  There is -- day there is a good bit of the truth to this argument that.
  Foreign aid is small compared to a lot of other expenditures.
  But the principal as he's going to attack and it represents intervention overseas that is unnecessary and eventually leads to trouble.
  So it's a good target.
  I hope it does -- good for quite frankly I think they'll capitulate.
  And they'll give all the -- may try to -- friends.
  And yes I think it leads to no more than more trouble in more debt.
  And the principal us trying to influence the world and around the world and changed world.
  -- producing ninety burning many of sending it over there it's failing and we gotta give up on it.
  Now the argument against doing that but but they'd like to John McCain and others and we'll talk to me including Eric Cantor who we're gonna talk to a little bit later Simpson and -- is you can't.
  Not give money you can't just divorce yourself from this region what do you say -- that.
  Well I say why not it's gonna happen if we.
  I you know run out of money when people don't trust this and we have a currency crisis it's going to hit on.
  They have to realize it doesn't do any good what good was at forty billion dollars or so -- we gave to Mubarak in Egypt.
  It finally fell apart there's chaos there now so I would say it was a bad investment from the beginning.
  And they say well we have to do this for Israel.
  That Israel is worse off when these things end and they might argue in the short run.
  Well we don't prop up these governments you know it's going to be harmful to all our policies in the Middle East.
  But it is going to hand.
  It causes the terrible cause of the overthrow his parents if we can't always control of the people who take over.
  So we bought the government Mubarak and now there's a new government whether it's Libya.
  Or Egypt or what it might be like in Syria later on it will be the Al hi does it would take over.
  So we don't benefit Israel doesn't benefit the taxpayer doesn't benefit.
  It's a foolish policy and it will come to an end the sooner the better.
  All right then the other argument you hear congress it is that we stepped out China steps in -- steps and Baltimore detriment all to embolden ran into -- sinister moves toward us.
  I think I they're smarter than that -- I won't do it but they do.
  I think.
  And the Soviets and Russians had their fill on it when they were in Afghanistan.
  I mean they were stung badly and he allies up and laughed and and went through the disintegration of the empire.
  China doesn't have a history of doing this they're more like capitalists you know they actually sell us stuff save money invest in -- and invest in these countries.
  So they do not have the same characteristic that we have had for a hundred years.
  -- putting troops overseas in occupying country.
  In picking and choosing dictators.
  So I think it's a possibility.
  But unlikely if they did it would feel for them and it's -- for us -- feel for them as well.
  But -- let them of the burden and the problems and complications rather than have the American people suffer from the consequences.
  Do.
  In the end congress and they just hate us the design of these extremists.
  We we had a template and have a president is -- to more moderating approach to reach out to the Muslim world after a president who.
  Who did not this president's as and no matter how you slice it and no matter the administration.
  Invariably the same we hate you America response.
  But -- You know I think actually.
  We on the Republican -- have lost some ground because.
  We have been overly aggressive with our presence over there and Obama who I do not believe for a minute.
  Anywhere approaches my position of non aggressive as a non occupation.
  But.
  And he had -- taken a different tone he's gonna benefit this politically as not being you know both throw -- But I got my my position generally has been that didn't have.
  Very many years I've been here in Washington policies especially foreign policy it's really never changes from party to party there strategy a general endorsement.
  All of you know us being involved this thing going on for a long long time.
  And I've been working hard to -- and train just attitude try to have a much more pro American foreign policy and deal with our budget deficits.
  And convince people that it's not in our national self interest to have this position that we try to dictate the world.
  -- their leader should be included dictator should be in that we can buy her friend's latest possible.
  And there is a little veto as you reminded me we don't have the money to buy health anyway but that's the separatists -- have Ron Paul thank you very much.
  --
Ron Paul End the Fed Goes Viral: Thousands Will Protest At Every Federal Reserve This Weekend
  Link to Article
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:25
  See Also: (Fox) '' Video: Ron Paul '' Foreign aid leads to 'more trouble, more debt' '' View More Here
  (PolicyMic) '' On Saturday, September 22, there are going to be protests outside every Federal Reserve bank in the country (details of the event are here). There will be streamed speeches from libertarian heavyweights Stefan Molyneux and Walter Block, music, and general opposition to the Fed, central banking, and fiat currency.
  This is perhaps the single largest organized protest of the Fed in American history, and like the libertarianism behind this ''Let Us Coin Together'' event, it is decentralized and grassroots. And with Congressman Ron Paul's Audit the Fed bill passing in the House, Senator Harry Reid's blocking of the bill in the Senate, and the Fed's recent QE3 announcement, it couldn't have come at a better time.
  The Federal Reserve is the key driver behind so many problems America faces. The Fed attempts to establish interest rates (the price of money) and regulate the money supply. But this is dangerous because a central bank lacks the profit-and-loss price mechanism of the market that is so essential to rational economic calculation and sends the wrong signals (prices) to the rest of the economy. Money, like any other good, is subject to the law of supply and demand, and only the coordination of the pricing mechanism can determine the right amount of money in the economy.
  By allowing interest rates to be regulated by political consideration rather than the market, the Fed produces boom-and-bust cycles, not real growth. Capital comes not from a printing press, but from production and savings. From the extraction of raw materials to the purchase of the final product at the register, every step must pass the profit-and-loss test. This is how capital and real, steady economic growth, is created.
  And beyond the nuts-and-bolts economic case against a monopoly cartel being in charge of half of every economic transaction in the country, the Fed is the greatest enabler of the growth of government power. When governments borrow money, interest rates go up. But because this is politically unpopular, the Fed is there to liquidate and mask this borrowing, further incentivizing governments to expand. Without the Fed as a backstop, governments would have to face up to reality and live within their means.
  Governments (especially the Leviathan in D.C.) are then able to fund foreign wars, bailouts, and a massive welfare state without direct taxes, masking the cost of these actions by devaluing the dollar and giving the illusion of prosperity. Eventually, the middle class and poor are destroyed as wealth is funneled upwards to the politically-favored industries that receive the new paper money first.
  This is why the issue of the Fed is much more important than who will occupy the White House next year. Whether President Obama is reelected or former Governor Romney wins, the Fed will continue to keep interest rates near zero until 2015 and buy up $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities a month for the unforeseeable future in a vain attempt to stimulate the economy and re-inflate a bubble.
  Cartelization, corporatism, and pyramiding debt are the legacies of the Fed and other central banks, and thankfully more and more Americans are realizing this. If you happen to be near any of the cities holding anti-Fed protests this weekend (I will be in San Francisco!), I highly recommend going, learning, and experiencing what is undoubtedly just one more example of an intellectual, grassroots revolution brewing in America.
  Source: Policy Mic
  Related posts:
  Ron Paul Is Hosting A Hearing On Ending The Federal Reserve Right NowStockman: Our Problem is the Federal ReserveFederal Reserve To Crash Markets Before Launching QE3?Jackals of Jekyll Island '' Federal Reserve AuditBrandon Raub: Persecuted for Telling the Truth About the Federal Reserve$9,000,000,000,000 MISSING From The Federal Reserve '' Audit the FEDHow Long Will the Dollar Remain the World's Reserve Currency? '' Ron PaulRon Paul: How Long Will the Dollar Remain the World's Reserve Currency?
Massive Spike in US Air Traffic Due To NDAA Drone Deployment?
  Link to Article
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:21
  September 21st, 2012
  (HigginsBlog) '' Myself an others are seeing a massive uptick in air traffic and reports of this are coming in from all across the nation. Is the NDAA drone deployment to blame?
  I am personally seeing an unusual amount of air traffic near my house (photos and videos below). In addition to pictures of the numerous c130s I have posted online I have also nearly non-stop flights of single and double propeller small air craft, blimps, and groups of helicopters flying very low around my neighborhood.
  Others are also reporting massive uptick in air traffic nationwide. It is very possible it is due to pilot testing for the massive NDAA drone deployment.
  The legislation passed earlier this year called for testing of automated air traffic and evasion capabilities to be built into the drones. The FAA is required to test these plans and outline and implementation plan to deploy over 30,000 automated drones into US airspace over the next few years.
  For more on that see:
  Despite promises the 2012 NDAA did not apply to military operations on U.S. soil or against American Citizens, a massive military drone deployment into U.S airspace has been approved by Congress.Despite all of the concerns regarding the language of the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) for fiscal year 2012 our beloved politicians once again turned a deaf to the American people and the atrocious bill was pushed into law.
  NDAA TROJAN UNLEASHED '' MASSIVE US DRONE DEPLOYMENT OVER US SKIES
  We now learn that of the NDAA is being interpreted as authorization to deploy military drones (unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs) into United States airspace in the latest escalation of U.S. military actions in the War of Terror. To support the deployment a massive overhaul of the FAA control system is underway.
  The Congressional Record makes it clear the act will deploy military drones controlled by NASA and the DOJ under authorization contained with the 2012 NDAA. The deployment of the military drones will be rolled out following the establishment test ranges to develop the system needed to integrate military drones into the U.S Airspace System.
  Read Entire Article
  Here is a sample of what I have documented over my house.
  Note I am not outside all the time. These are just things I have videotaped or recorded during the random times I go outside to smoke a cigarette because I don't smoke in my house.
  Also, apologies for the crappy footage and lack of zoom.
  In addition to the civilian aircraft there has also been military aircraft including entire groups of Chinooks and Fighter Jets.
  Helicopters flying around my neighborhoodQuite unusual up until a few weeks ago.
  Don't know what this is about this is the third or fourth time in the last 2 weeks helicopters flying over my neighborhood
  More military jets flying toward the Middle EastMilitary C130 cargo jets continue flying out over the Atlantic Ocean toward the Middle East. Where are they going?
  C130s continue flying out over the AtlanticNumerous military flight keep flying out over the Atlantic. I have been posting numerous photos so I decided to take videos. I have also seen groups of black hawks, Chinooks, and even fighter jets.
  Military's New Spy Blimp Flying Over My NeighborhoodThe newly unveiled military spy blimp has been sighted numerous times flying around Ocean County NJ. Here it is flying over my neighborhood.
  Some of my Flickr UploadsI have uploaded these to my Flickr account.
  Military c-130 jet flying over my house and out over the Atlantic toward the middle east. Haven't seen them at all until the last few weeks. Now they fly in groups everyday.
  Do I even have to explain?
  Twin prop aircraft been flying overhead all day
  More aircraft flying over my house
  C-130s second one in same number of minutes. 3rd one overhead right now.
  Another c-130 between the tree and the flag pole
  What are you seeing? Let me know!Post a comment, because everyone I talk says they are seeing similar things.
  Family members report hearing constant booms near a military base and have also seen the spy blimp. Others report more and more activity near them.
  If you have photos or videos post links.
  Source: Higgins Blog
  Related posts:
  $176 million US Navy Spy Drone Crashes On Mission Over MarylandDrone Used To Spy On Miami PartygoersFAA Releases Thousands of Pages of Drone RecordsNullify-NDAA Petition and Report given to NC Senator Phil BergerSurveillance Drone Industry Prepares Propaganda BlitzHelp Repeal The NDAA '' Start A Local PANDA ChapterNDAA unconstitutional: Federal judge bans Obama from indefinitely detaining AmericansDeath From Above: Navy Drone Logo Features Grim ReaperTags: NDAA drone deployment, US air trafficThis entry was posted on Friday, September 21st, 2012 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Dictatorship, Education/Mind Control, Fascism, Film/Video, Martial Law/Police State, NWO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Italy Upholds Verdict Against 23 CIA Agents For Kidnapping And Torture
  Link to Article
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:20
  (RussiaToday) '' Italy's highest criminal court upheld the guilty verdict of 23 Americans in for kidnapping and torturing in connection with the CIA's extraordinary rendition program.
  Italy's highest criminal court upheld the guilty verdict of 23 Americans in connection with the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. The CIA agents that abducted an Egyptian terror suspect from a Milan street may now face extradition.
  ­Twenty-two CIA officers and one US Air Force officers were ordered to serve jail time in Italy for the illegal kidnapping of Egyptian terror suspect cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr from a Milan street in 2003. Nasr was transported to Egypt by the CIA as part of their extraordinary rendition program, where he was allegedly tortured for seven months.
  The trial has been ongoing for three-and-a-half years, and the Americans charged have never been in Italian custody. Convicted in absentia, the Italian court ordered the Americans to serve prison sentences of seven to nine years.
  The decision to uphold the guilty verdict by the Italian Court of Cassations on Wednesday marks the conclusion of the first trial anywhere in the world concerning the CIA's controversial rendition program under President George W. Bush, under which terror suspects were abducted and flown to countries around the world where torture was allowed.
  Defense lawyer for the Americans Alessia Sorgato said that the guilty verdict might open the door to possible extradition requests by the Italian government.
  ''It went badly. It went very badly,'' she told the Associated Press. ''Now they will ask for extradition.''
  Sorgato also added that this was the final appeal for the Americans.
  ''You have to mark that this decision is the last one. We cannot do anything more for them,'' she said.
  Although it is unknown if the Americans will be extradited to serve their sentences, they face the possibility of arrest if they ever travel to the European Union.
  ­
  Human rights activists praise decisionUS and international human rights groups praised the decision to uphold the verdict. Milan Prosecutor Armando Spataro told AP that the decision recognized that extraordinary rendition ''is incompatible with democracy,'' and that extradition based on the verdict was now warranted.
  An Amnesty International expert on counter-terrorism and human rights, Julia Hall, echoed Spataro's comments, saying ''This important decision is another step towards accountability for violations that took place during the US rendition operations'...The High Court has recognized that blanket claims of state secrecy cannot be used to shield the government from accountability for human rights violations.''
  ''Though legal questions remain, such as the validity of trials in absentia, American officials would be wise to heed the Italian court's message that those who violate the law will be called to answer,'' Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU Human Rights Program, said in statement.
  Among those convicted was Robert Seldon Lady, Milan's CIA chief, whose sentence was hiked from seven to nine years on appeal. Complicating extradition matters is the fact that not all of the defendants are known; several of the names charged may be CIA aliases.
  A spokeswoman for the Italian Ministry of Justice said that Justice Minister Paola Severino would consider an extradition request from the General Prosecutor's office. ''Once that arrives, the minister will make a decision, according to what is prescribed by the law,'' the spokeswoman said, as reported by the New York Times.
  The CIA has not commented on the matter.
  Source: RT ''
  Related posts:
  The Rise Of The American Gestapo '' Kidnapping, Beating, Sexual Assualt, And TortureItaly Investigating Moody's For Falsifying Figures, Market ManipulationFederal Court Upholds The Herding Of Demonstrators Into 'Free Speech Zones'In Order To Be Saved, Spain And Italy Must First Be DestroyedHuman Rights Watch: Widespread CIA Torture Cover-up RevealedEU Calls For Disclosure Of CIA Torture Sites In EuropePadilla Asks SCOTUS to Reinstate Torture Suit Against Rumsfeld, PanettaFederal Court Upholds Free Speech Zone Roundup: David Knight Reports
Who's Jacky Talking About? '' September 21, 2012
  Link to Article
  Source: Jacky Jasper's Diary of a Hollywood Street King
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:20
  by Jacky Jasper
  The singer at the center of this 'Who's Jacky Talking About?' was recently revealed to have had a secret affair with a woman who once served as his manager. He would claim his decision to mix business with pleasure didn't lead him to ultimately fired the woman, but even his wife Claudinette would agree, that's far from being the truth.
  Our mystery man's marriage was also rocked by another affair which led him to live a lovechild scare, sparked by a former group member of his. Just ask Wendy Williams, who our blind item once explained '' when visiting the baby, he discovered the child looked nothing like him.
  He's a man who once launched a charity aimed at helping the victims of a Haitian natural disaster. That's before he and his gangsta buddy were caught stealing money from the charity. I would tell you to ask Jimmy Henchman, but he's locked-up '' where he's penning his own memoir.
  Word from the Big Apple is pointing to our mystery man as one who's being faced with financial hardship. That's exactly why sources say he decided to throw Lauryn Hill under the bus, in his recently released read.
  Can you guess who I'm talking about?
  Please Share This Article -Other HSK Articles:
economic_hitman: I just launched my new website. Please take a look: http://t.co/yAiT6xRd
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / economic_hitman
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:42
  We are living in an era of tremendous change and upheaval. Times of crisis are times of great opportunity. Recognize that We the People are the solution. We are waking up and coming together.
  This is a time that requires commitment and courage. A time to soar to new heights. Through your actions and communications, you can inspire business leaders, political leaders, students and teachers, housewives and husbands '' everyone '' to manifest a world our children and grandchildren will want to inherit.
  As the Dalai Lama told a group of us he invited to his home in India: ''It is important to pray for peace. But you must also take actions to make that happen. Every single day.''
  Making a better world is the most satisfying and joyful thing you can possibly do. I look forward to doing it with you!
  -John Perkins
@adamcurry http://t.co/s5AoCunq
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:42
  The iPhone's unrivaled popularity has unfortunately made it a common target among thieves; Apple's gadgets are far and away the most common items taken from unsuspecting victims in New York City. With the high profile release of iPhone 5 the NYPD is stepping up efforts to cut down on stolen devices. Today, officers have been dispersed to a number of Apple, AT&T, and Verizon retail locations to collect signups for the department's Operation I.D. program.
  Sign up at any NYC-based Apple Store
  The NYPD hopes that by amassing a large database of owner contact information (and each device's unique serial number), it will make selling stolen tech a much harder affair. And should criminals be apprehended with stolen property on hand, it would theoretically improve the odds of each product getting back to its rightful owner.
  Another resource to combat theft
  The Operation I.D. program has been around for some time and extends beyond electronics to various other personal belongings like bikes. Still, it's nice to see the NYPD taking such an active approach in preventing iDevice larceny. Sadly, I know all too well the feeling of having a brand new Apple product snatched away. It was shortly after the release of the new iPad when someone took off running with my $829 tablet. I was able to recover it with the help of New York's finest, but not before the iPad took a good thrashing. So while Operation I.D. in no way guarantees you'll be reunited with a stolen device, it's another useful tool to combine with resources like Find My iPhone. And seeing as it's free, if you're a New Yorker, it couldn't hurt to sign up.
iOS 6 Maps: an explanation from Apple (parody)
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:07
Apple Map Mess Overshadows Release of iPhone 5
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:03
  ''Inaccurate'' and ''ridden with glitches'' aren't words that typically come to mind when talking about Apple products. But on Friday, as millions raced to be among the first to get their hands on the new iPhone 5, thousands of iPhone users flooded social networks with harsh criticisms of Apple's new Maps application.
  ''It's a complete failure,'' interface designer Jeffrey Jorgensen told the Associated Press. Jorgensen works for a San Francisco-based startup that began using Apple Maps months ago. ''It's slower, its directions are poorer and its location data doesn't seem to be accurate. All around, it's not quite there yet,'' he said.
  Apple rolled out its new operating system iOS6 on Wednesday, two days ahead of the iPhone 5 release. With the upgrade, previous iPhone users gained access to new features including a panoramic camera and the Maps app.
  Previously, Google Maps came standard on each iPhone handset. With iOS6, Apple ditched Google's program completely in lieu of a new Apple designed Maps.
  At a preview event earlier this month, the Apple team described the switch as an ''all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and an amazing new flyover view.''
  Apple Maps users, on the other hand, described a starkly different experience including misinformation and a lack of public transportation options.
  ''Searches for an in-town destination sometimes return results for an entirely different city,'' wrote John Paczkowski in his most recent post for the tech blog All Things Digital. ''It occasionally mistakes farms for airports; some of its Dali-esque flyover imagery is lousy; and it places gas stations in utterly untenable locations ,'' he wrote Thursday.
  One disgruntled user launched a Tumblr blog to chronicle the various, and sometimes humorous, app errors. Others took to Twitter using the phrase #Mapocalypse to tag the flaws.
  ''Steve Jobs would be turning in his grave over this maps fiasco,'' tweeted Jenny Gorman of Manchester, England in response to the glitches she found.
  ''Def. will be getting an #iPhone5, but not this month. Just can't tolerate the iChaos and iLines. Not to mention the iOS6 #mapocalypse,'' tweeted Michael Markoswsi of Pennsylvania.
  Apple, however, downplayed the criticisms. In a statement released Thursday, Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told the tech magazine Wired, that users should be patient.
  ''We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it,'' said Muller. ''Maps is a cloud-based solution and the more people use it, the better it will get. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.''
  Google is reportedly already working on an iPhone friendly version of its Google Maps application to be added to the iTunes App Store. The new app would have to be approved by Apple, but it could deny it on the grounds that it directly competes with an already existing iPhone functionality.
FBI Files Reveal Robin Gibb's Alleged Shocking Drug-Fueled Death Threats Against His Wife
  Link to Article
  Source: Radar Online
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:02
  Inset: WENN
  By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter
  Late Bee Gees legend Robin Gibb had a shocking past that was buried deep in FBI files until his death earlier this year, and RadarOnline.com has learned that drug-induced delusions sparked the singer's alleged blackmail and murder plot.
  The Saturday Night Fever musician first came under FBI scrutiny in the early 1980s for allegedly threatening and trying to blackmail the lawyers representing his then-wife, Molly Hullis, the New York Post reported, when the files were released to them through a Freedom of Information Act request after Gibbs lost his battle with colon cancer at age 62 in May.
  PHOTOS: Robin Gibb Through The Years
  London law firm Haymon & Walters first reported Gibb to federal agents after it ''received numerous threatening telegrams" allegedly from the Bee Gee, including a telegram ranting: "What you have done is just about the limit. I warned and warned you.
  "The situation is now very serious. Know [sic] one walks all over me... I have had enough," he allegedly wrote, claiming he had taken out a contract on his wife's life. "It is now a question of time."
  PHOTOS: Hollywood's Dirtiest Divorces
  Now the Mail Online has revealed more details on Gibb's state of mind during the dark period of his life when he battled an addiction to amphetamine methedrine and barely ate or slept.
  The diet of potent uppers and downers led Gibb to believe that his estranged wife, whom he married in 1968 after a whirlwind romance, was involved in a plot to try to steal his millions, leading him to break into her house with a private detective when she was away in New York.
  PHOTOS: The Costliest Celebrity Divorces
  Thirty years later, Molly and Robin's divorce and custody battle remain one of the dirtiest in rock 'n roll history packed with jealousy, deceit, money and dark secrets.
  Their volatile relationship began in a burst of violence when within weeks of falling for each other in 1967, the couple was on a train that crashed in south-east London, killing 49 people. Robin pulled Molly out of their derailed carriage through a smashed window and they were married a few weeks later.
  PHOTOS: The Hottest Divorcees in Bikinis
  Gibb and his brothers were soon catapulted to the top of the pop charts and while the band toured around the world, both his marriage and his mental health suffered due to his rampant drug-taking and womanizing.
  "Robin was an odd person anyway, but when he was on pills, which he was for most of the time I knew him during his first marriage, he could say or do anything," his former manager Chris Hutchins told the Mail Online.
  PHOTOS: Celebs Who Died Young
  "He was always seeking a treatment for his drug addiction. He'd work through the night, never going to bed. Night and day meant nothing to him. He took uppers to keep him awake and downers to put him to sleep.
  "His house at the time was a beautiful Georgian place near Harrods. One time, I noticed handprints on the walls, about 8 feet up. Obviously, some very strange sexual adventures had been going on," Hutchins recalled.
  PHOTOS: Stars Who Died In Bizarre Ways
  The marriage imploded in May 1980, when Molly tracked him down to a New York hotel room and told him it was over. Despite his infidelities with hundreds of women, Robin believed that she had actually been cheating on him and became obsessed that one of her attorneys was planning a cunning sting operation that would make him go public with his suspicions and then sue him for libel.
  To prove his fantasy, Gibb stole a cache of papers from Hullis' house and handed them over to the British police and FBI, then hastily arranged a press call on a Concorde flight to Miami.
  PHOTOS: Celebrity Death Threats
  Molly passionately denied the claims and police '-- powerless to act over the burglary because it was still technically the marital home '-- found the so-called "bombshell evidence" contained no proof of his allegations that he was being set up.
  On March 23, 1981, the FBI decided to close out its investigation into Gibb because Hullis and her lawyers did not want to press charges.
  PHOTOS: Hollywood's Power Couples
  He eventually lost the custody battle for children Spencer, 6, and Melissa, 4, and would not see them for a further six years.
  After his divorce from Molly was finalized, he married second wife Dwina Murphy, a druid priestess who had a sexual drive as rampant as his own and encouraged him to give up drink and drugs.
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  Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson Sentenced After 'No Contest' Plea For Domestic Battery ChargesChad 'Ochocinco' Johnson's Desperate Attempt To Garner Sympathy After Wife Beating Will Backfire, Says ExpertDr. Paul Nassif Being Investigated Over Adrienne Maloof's Child Abuse Allegations According To Court PapersAdrienne Maloof Takes Out Restraining Order Against Paul Nassif, Claims He Choked Their Son
Wall Street Insider Message Confirmed By'...Rahm Emanuel?
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:49
  }rÆ¶TgÒŽ@GIKb8>rS)UhA NUáž—Sun~:?%_rZNm6XkÕ�O8xÅ·:4V{e>_>f{vWÌ¨eM^Æ´qÇµt:Njj/k7Ø–Õ¥jVOÇ›^OV~NÇ‚'"km^G?/gÐ%Z"ntbySZBxb+y"H9o}-'�7=}~0'/xžL Xo8<g| }U4N>ntZvT.-&8-VEv M-lE #8'‹£wgÒ(C)dg>ZPJ=Z]-/@+t_{yqÕº;BØµMz(B!m2V5eXh0Ca+Md]k$@\s54V=2"7LB5)Êš: '8YZU-+a}}{nfO;J0|tË±3PE L ÐšÍ...n2f5.q^DM.|B/>XmTM 3,,BPEPi/ ~Mx!Q7z0@y ]TAlL@B*"9Ú†U U}ipaQ0De9Qk s~e*$@ V"Q1A8 IYqfXoVÍŠt%SÐ¹_QTn'qFWl@3Ð@(.na(txc0D-wë·(C)fÛ--GÉ�8 :k;
To The Old Man'...
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:48
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Electoral College Tie Possibility - Business Insider
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 20:53
  The worst thing that can possibly happen the day after the election isn't a win for your candidate's opponent.
  It's a tie.
  And it's actually politically possible. It's even quite plausible.
  There are a handful of swing states in play at the moment, including Nevada, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and Colorado. Any combination of these will lead to an outright win and an outright loss for each campaign, which has to hit 270 electoral votes to grab the White House.
  Except one scenario.
  It's the night of Election Day, and, as predicted, Pennsylvania is called for Obama relatively quickly, and North Carolina '-- where, let's say the Obama campaign pulled out in October, is summarily called for Romney.
  But, after shifting around resources and coughing up a swing state to reallocate resources, Romney outperforms expectations in adopted home New Hampshire. Florida '-- while still very close '-- is leaning Republican.
  Obama, who needs some good news, picks up Virginia in the early evening. But then, there's a shift. The Midwest Republican turnout was high, and Ohio and Iowa are called for Romney, but Obama keeps Wisconsin.
  Now, the western states are phoning in the results, and after a blistering air war in Nevada, it looks like Romney is going to win it. Still, a tight race in Colorado has Obama in the lead.
  By midnight, all the races are called. Romney has picked up North Carolina, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, Ohio, and Nevada '-- all well within his reach. Obama has scored Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Colorado and Virginia. It's settled.
  Neither of the candidates have hit 270. They're tied at 269.
  What the hell happens now? It goes to Congress. The incoming House of Representatives holds a special session where each state delegation gets a single vote. California's 55 member House delegation gets together and picks which candidate they will give their one vote to, just as Wyoming's single House Representative picks who gets his state's vote.
  The House votes in January until one candidate gets 26 votes, an outright majority of the fifty states.
  So nobody in the country knows who the president is going to be until the House meets and votes after 1:00 PM on January 6th, two weeks before the man is due to be sworn in.
  But here's the scariest possibility.
  Let's say that after a drubbing on the presidential level, the house races are an abject catastrophe, and a many are still too close to call the morning after '-- six have already entered automatic recount mode, and attorneys for another four races have already filed court papers.
  Now, House delegations with an outright, non-threatened one-party majority '-- the New Yorks, the Alaskas '-- would bring the total of Obama 14, Romney 20. But let's say several tossup house races and seats make it so that states with a split majority, like Iowa, Florida, and North Carolina shift to the left. When a dozen specific final races are called for Democrats '-- presumably after being caught up in months of litigation and recounts '-- the state delegations from a number of crucial swing states are split, with some a hair for the Democrats.
  Democratic DelegationsRepublican DelegationsAZ CA CO CT DE FL HI IA IL ME MD MA MI MN NH NJ NM NY NC NV RI WA VT WIAL AK AR GA ID IN KS KY LA MS MO MT NE ND OH OK PA SC SD TN TX UT VA WY WV Final tally? 25-25. To select the President, someone has to give. And with congress as entrenched as it is right now, and with the stakes as high as they are, there isn't a President, and there will not be a President.
  That's where the Veep comes in. At the same time that the House is hashing out who the President will be, the Senate is deciding who is the Vice President. And at the same time, they're selecting the President '-- if the house is deadlocked, the Constitution states that the elected Vice President takes office on January 21st.
  The Senate takes a normal vote, majority rules, without any of the delegation nonsense. But what if there's a tie in the Senate? According to the constitution, the Vice President cannot vote this time. They too may literally be deadlocked, and the Speaker of the House '-- assuming someone has been elected to that post, and that the House Majority isn't still at stake '-- would be sworn in in that event.
  While certainly not likely, all of this Tom Clancy-esque political drama is within the realm of possible, if not a little improbable when it comes to the house delegate voting.
  So on Wednesday November 7th, if we have a President, those with sour grapes should at least take comfort in the fact that hey, it could be worse.
Mike's Tax Notes
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:31
  I've been spouting off a bit lately on politics and I keep making the same arguments to people, one at a time, on Twitter and Facebook. I'm aggregating some of them here so I can point to it later.
  First, I've recently said I won't vote for a Republican again unless the candidate explicitly approves of gay rights and is pro choice.
  That doesn't mean I support all (or most, or even many) of the core beliefs of Democrats. I'm with them on the social rights stuff, and I've made it clear that those issues matter enough to me that I'll hold my nose and vote for a Democrat, or not vote at all.
  But this tax stuff is just ridiculous.
  1. The Tax Base.
  Wealthy Americans pay almost all the taxes in the U.S. Only about half of Americans pay federal income tax at all.
  A lot more pay payroll and state and local taxes, but it's a specious argument to say that it's the same thing.
  If you don't know what specious means, look it up. Don't just glance over it because it's the core issue.
  The federal budget is financed with debt and with the income tax. Payroll taxes are used to pay social security and unemployment.
  When only a fraction of the population pays taxes democracy will break down. See''A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.''
  This isn't revolutionary France, where the poor were incensed over being taxed. The argument now has assumed that only the wealthy pay the big taxes. The discussion is just that they should pay more.
  2. The Rich Don't Pay Enough.
  This is a complicated argument that ends up boiling down to sound bites. Warren Buffett made it all worse by confusing all kinds of stuff.
  I wrote about it here.
  The super rich don't pay much in taxes. But the sort of rich really get crushed. Mostly because the super rich and the poor/middle class team up to screw them bad.
  People with relatively large incomes (think $500k or $1m/year) pay lots of taxes '' 35% of their 2012 income, for example.
  Everyone's running around now saying that the rich don't really pay that rate, though. Again, Warren Buffet really added fuel to this fire when he said he paid a lower rate than his secretary.
  But that's because he's super rich. The super rich are super cool with higher taxes, because they don't rely on income each year. They already have tons of money, so even a higher capital gains rate isn't much of a bother. Just don't say ''wealth tax'' to them, they'll freak out fast if you do.
  And there's a huge gaping hole in the tax code that allows private equity types to take their income as capital gains, which usually means a 15% rate. This is the carried interest exception and it stinks.
  That single exception allows people like Mitt Romney and Warren Buffet to pay a very low tax rate on massive amounts of income.
  Buffet could have come out explicitly against just that, but instead he more generally said we need to tax the rich more.
  When in fact the high income earners are already taxed way too high relative to everyone else.
  That's why people like me don't bother with normal income any longer. The government takes too much of it, it's not even worth earning.
  I make almost all my money on carried interest via CrunchFund. And I'm telling you right now that it's undertaxed. It should be taxed at normal income tax rates.
  And I'm ok with it if the carried interest exemption goes away (as are lots of VCs who understand how odd it is).
  Why? Because it's more fair. And also because I have stored wealth, which the government can't touch without implementing a wealth tax or through inflation. A wealth tax won't happen any time soon. Inflation already is.
  3. Inflation.
  The biggest threat to my wealth is, simply, inflation. Inflation eats economies, kills wealth, and rewards debtors.
  The biggest debtor is the U.S. government. Which is why they secretly don't mind a little inflation.
  The only way to pay the vast amount of debt we have is through inflation. It doesn't matter if you close the carried interest exemption, or if you tax the high income types into the middle class. That might seem fair but it doesn't solve the tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities we have as a country.
  The only way to fix it, other than inflation, is to lower spending. And that means crushing entitlements. Even defense spending isn't enough to make a real dent in things.
  No matter what happens to the rich in this country, one thing is clear '' entitlement programs as we know them are going to end. Either because we won't be a functioning country any more, or because government will finally be forced to change them.
  Update:Kill The Rich! It Feels Good!
  Like this:Be the first to like this.
Go fix something this weekend (21 Photos)
  Link to Article
  Source: theCHIVE
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:28
  Thank you for visiting theCHIVE.com - Probably the Best Site in the World. theCHIVE is home to the best funny, viral and interesting photos from around the world. Content published contains original photos, awesomeness, rumors, nicotine, speculation, beautiful girls, funny pictures, assumptions, opinions, ugly people, and factual information. Postings may contain erroneous or inaccurate information. theCHIVE would be nothing without you, our loyal Chivers.
  Copyright (C) 2012 Resignation Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Eva Longoria poedelnaakt
  Link to Article
  Source: Telegraaf.nl - prive
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:27
  vr 21 sep 2012, 19:01
  van onze redactieAMSTERDAM - FOTO - Actrice Eva Longoria geeft zich letterlijk bloot in het boek Asleep at the Chateau.
  Asleep at the Chteau is een boek met daarin foto's van verschillende sterren die voor fotograaf Jork Weissmann hebben geposeerd in het luxe hotel Chateu Marmont in Hollywood.
  Eva zei volmondig 'ja' toen haar werd gevraagd om naakt te poseren voor het boek. Op de pikante foto ligt de Desperate Housewives-actrice naakt in bed met haar rug naar de fotograaf toe en showt haar achterwerk.
  Klik hier voor de foto.
  Naast Eva hebben ook Orlando Bloom, Justin Theroux en Usher meegewerkt aan het boek.
  Proefabonnement,10 weken '‚¬ 30,-!(C) 1996-2012 Telegraaf Media Nederland | Landelijke Media B.V., Amsterdam.Alle rechten voorbehouden.e-mail: redactie-i@telegraaf.nlPrivacy | Cookies | Disclaimer
Microsoft Services Agreement Changes - Your Data Is Ours Including Your Voice
  Link to Article
  Source: It's Not News Yet
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:25
  13.1. United States. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) the United States, you are contracting with Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052, US. The laws of the state where you live govern the interpretation of this agreement, claims for breach of it, and all other claims (including consumer protection, unfair competition, and tort claims), regardless of conflict of law principles. You and we irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state or federal courts in King County, Washington, for all disputes arising out of or relating to this agreement or the services that are heard in court (not arbitration and not small claims court).
  13.2. North or South America outside the United States. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) North or South America outside the United States, you are contracting with Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052, US. Washington state law governs the interpretation of this agreement and applies to claims for breach of it, regardless of choice of law principles. All other claims, including claims regarding consumer protection laws, unfair competition laws, and in tort, will be subject to the laws of the country to which we direct your services.
  13.3. Europe. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) Europe, you are contracting with Microsoft Luxembourg S. .r.l., 20 Rue Eugene Ruppert, Immeuble Laccolith, 1st Floor, L-2543 Luxembourg and the laws of Luxembourg govern the interpretation of this agreement and apply to claims for breach of it, regardless of conflict of laws principles, unless you live in or your business is headquartered in Spain, in which case the laws of Spain govern the interpretation of this agreement. All other claims, including claims regarding consumer protection laws, unfair competition laws, and in tort, will be subject to the laws of the country to which we direct your service. With respect to jurisdiction, you and Microsoft may choose the country to which we direct your service for all disputes arising out of or relating to this agreement, or in the alternative, you may choose the responsible court in Luxembourg. If you are accessing the services within Germany, the Germany agreement (http://g.msn.de/0TO_/dede) applies to you.
  13.4. Middle East or Africa. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) the Middle East or Africa, you are contracting with Microsoft Luxembourg S. .r.l., 20 Rue Eugene Ruppert, Immeuble Laccolith, 1st Floor, L-2543 Luxembourg, and the laws of Luxembourg govern the interpretation of this agreement and apply to claims for breach of it, regardless of conflict of laws principles. All other claims, including claims regarding consumer protection laws, unfair competition laws, and in tort, will be subject to the laws of the country to which we direct your services. You and we irrevocably agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the Luxembourg courts for all disputes arising out of or relating to this agreement.
  13.5. Asia or the South Pacific, unless your country is specifically called out. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) Asia or the South Pacific, you are contracting with Microsoft Regional Sales Corp., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Nevada, US, with a branch in Singapore, having its principal place of business at 438B Alexandra Road, #04-09/12, Block B, Alexandra Technopark, Singapore, 119968, and Washington state law governs this agreement, regardless of conflict of laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this agreement, including any question regarding its existence, validity, or termination, will be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration in Singapore in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC), which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this clause. The Tribunal will consist of one arbitrator to be appointed by the Chairman of SIAC. The language of arbitration will be English. The decision of the arbitrator will be final, binding, and incontestable, and it may be used as a basis for judgment in any country or region.
  13.6. Japan. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) Japan, you are contracting with Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd (MSKK), Shinagawa Grand Central Tower, 2-16-3 Konan Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0075. The laws of Japan govern this agreement and any matters arising out of or relating to it. You and we irrevocably agree to the exclusive original jurisdiction and venue of the Tokyo District Court for all disputes arising out of or relating to this agreement.
  13.7. China. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) China, you are contracting with Shanghai MSN Network Communications Technology Company Limited, Suite B, 8th Floor, Building Ding, No. 555, Dongchuan Road, Minxing District, Shanghai, PRC, for your use of MSN, Bing, or Windows Live Messenger; PRC law governs this agreement as it relates to your use of the services under this agreement operated by Shanghai MSN Network Communications Technology Company Limited. For your use of MSN, Bing, or Windows Live Messenger under this agreement, any dispute arising out of or in connection with this agreement, including any question regarding the existence, validity or termination of this agreement will be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration in Hong Kong under the auspices of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (''HKIAC'') in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, which are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this clause. For such arbitration, there will be one arbitrator, who will be appointed by HKIAC in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The language of arbitration will be English. The decision of the arbitrator will be final, binding, and incontestable and may be used as a basis for judgment in China or elsewhere. For your use of all other services under this agreement, you are contracting with Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052, US. As to those services, Washington state law governs this agreement, regardless of conflict of laws principles. The jurisdiction of the state or federal courts in King County, Washington, US, is non-exclusive.
  13.8. Republic of Korea. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) the Republic of Korea, you are contracting with Microsoft Korea, Inc., 6th Floor, POSCO Center, 892 Daechi-Dong, Kangnam-Gu, Seoul, 135-777, Korea, and the laws of the Republic of Korea govern this agreement. You and we irrevocably agree to exclusive original jurisdiction and venue of the Seoul District Court for all disputes arising out of or relating to this agreement.
  13.9. Taiwan. If you live in (or, if you are a business, you are headquartered in) Taiwan, you are contracting with Microsoft Taiwan Corp., 8F, No 7 Sungren Road, Shinyi Chiu, Taipei, Taiwan 110, and the laws of Taiwan govern this agreement. You and we irrevocably designate the Taipei District Court as the court of first instance having jurisdiction over any disputes arising out of or relating to this agreement.
Troika review of Greece delayed until after the US election, RTRS '' ForexLive (blog)
  Link to Article
  Source: News 1 Stop
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:21
  Reuters is citing a European official saying the EU-IMF review of the Greek debt situation is set to be delayed until after the US election.
  It's a bizarre headline because the US has stayed out of the Greek imbroglio and it looked like a deal was close before the Troika decided to take a week-long break today:
  ''The Obama administration doesn't want anything on a macroeconomic scale that is going to rock the global economy before Nov. 6,'' a senior EU official told Reuters.
  They say that several sources in German said the White House doesn't want any surprises before the election.
  The only conclusion I can draw is that it sounds like they're thinking of pulling the plug or maybe that the terms are so harsh that they'll bring down the Greek government.
  The article hints that if the report says Greece will need a third bailout, it could destabilize Europe.
  ''As far as European leaders are concerned, they don't want Romney, so they're probably willing to do anything to help Obama's chances,'' said the source, an EU official involved in finding solutions to the debt crisis.
  The full story is now on the web.
Smartphone Makers Can't Afford to Mess up Mapping
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:17
  The new iPhone 5 has triggered many reviewers and gadget fans to ask what features really matter on a smartphone. The reaction to Apple's upgraded iPhone software, released yesterday to existing iPhone owners, has now provided some firm evidence of one function a phone maker can't afford to screw up: Maps.
  The new software, iOS6, sees Apple deliver on its promise to dump the Google's Maps app that has been the iPhone's default since its debut in 2007 (see ''Apple Charts New Course on Mobile Maps''). But Apple's replacement has disappointed many users. People living outside the US seem to have been hit hardest, suffering problems such as one of Tokyo's largest railway stations disappearing, large towns such as Antwerp in Belgium relocating, and Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, even disappearing altogether. Many people have also reported problems with directions given by the app, such as their offering a route to the wrong place.
  The iOS maps use data from the Open Street Map project, a free resource made by volunteers who map out roads and other features, and by licensing data from other companies such as GPS manufacturer TomTom. But either Apple hasn't pulled together enough information to match Google's maps, or hasn't been able to combine those sources smoothly enough.
  The photo-real 3-D imagery that makes it possible to fly your view point around a city's skyline from all angles, technology acquired when Apple bought C3 in 2011 (see Ultra-Sharp 3-D Maps), has also disappointed. The views are impressive when it works, but when it doesn't the results are strange, like when this bridge in Boston collapses into wrinkles like a piece of cloth.
  It all adds up to a significant problem for Apple, and one that has people comparing them unfavorably with Google, the company that the maps switch was supposed to set at a safe distance.
  Both Apple and Google now face tough decisions.
  Apple surely knew it had work still to do on its maps, but now has to figure out how to fix them faster while fighting the bad publicity. Google must decide whether to release an independent version of its maps app into the iTunes store, which would likely be extremely popular, or to let iPhone users sweat and perhaps convince some people to switch to Android phones.
  Thanks to Apple's giant experiment, though, both companies now know for sure just how much smartphone users rely on their mapping apps.
One Bad Apple Spoils the Ride
  Link to Article
  Source: Technology Review RSS Feeds
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:12
  After my sons downloaded iOS6 on everybody's iPhone or iPod Touch two nights ago'--giving us Apple Maps'--the mayhem began. My boys entered ''Reading Memorial High School''--their school in the Boston suburb of the same name--to see what it would give for directions. They got excellent directions. ... to ''Wakefield Memorial High School'' in the next town.
  This morning I texted my wife to check in. She was headed to a meeting in Lawrence, Massachusetts, once a mighty mill city, now one of the state's most troubled and blighted urban areas. Came the reply: ''OK. Just got to Lawrence somehow. New maps on the iPhone f'd up the directions.''
  She had entered the proper destination address in Lawrence. Despite her having written ''Lawrence'' as the municipal destination, Apple proposed to send her to a similar address'... in Methuen, several miles away. But we're not some place in the developing world. This is the Boston region.
  Taking the train in to work today, I noticed the conductor managed to navigate successfully to the proper station'--North Station'--in the correct city: Boston. Hasn't gotten around to his iOS6 download, I presume.
  This disaster (see ''Smartphone Makers Can't Afford to Mess Up Mapping'') is still unfolding. It's worse than just being a bad service. Given the ubiquity of these devices, it's not hard to imagine people getting sent down Class 4 unmaintained roads in rural areas and getting stuck in ditches. Others may be getting directed the wrong-way on one-way streets and posing a danger of head-on collisions. It's only a matter of time before anecdotes like these will start emerging.
  Apple is in full spin mode. Trudy Miller, an Apple spokeswoman, released this statement yesterday: ''Customers around the world are upgrading to iOS 6 with over 200 new features including Apple Maps, our first map service. We are excited to offer this service with innovative new features like Flyover, turn by turn navigation, and Siri integration. We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it. Maps is a cloud-based solution and the more people use it, the better it will get. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.''
  It's not clear that they get it. I'm not really sure I want my family to keep using it. It's nuts that a service that used to work well (when it was Google Maps) suddenly become not only ineffective'--but actually counterproductive, even dangerous. So much so that this debacle might warrant re-asking the question of why the software industry has to meet virtually no standard, no bar of accuracy, no guarantee of reliability--on what tens or hundreds of millions of people increasingly rely on.
Photo Gallery: Secretary Clinton in Africa
  Link to Article
  Source: White House.gov Blog Feed
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:10
  Department of StateSeptember 21, 201211:20 AM EDT
  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hugs a camper while participating in a Camp GLOW event for girls at the Lilongwe Girls Secondary School in Lilongwe, Malawi, Aug. 5, 2012. Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is a week-long program run by the Peace Corps to educate young village girls on family health issues and income generation ideas so they can share that knowledge with their communities at home. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
  Click here to view the gallery
  In early August, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton embarked on an 11-day, nine country trip through Africa. She worked to strengthen alliances and advance the pillars of President Obama's strategy for sub-Saharan Africa: supporting democratic institutions, spurring economic growth, advancing peace and security, and promoting opportunity and development. As she said to a group of African students in Dakar: ''We want to advance your aspirations and our shared values'...we want this to be our mutual mission. That is the work we are called to do in the 21st century.''
  In addition to the speech that framed the trip in Senegal, she met President Sall and other national leaders and spoke about how Senegal's strong democratic institutions are a model for other nations.
  She then traveled east to the world's youngest country, South Sudan, where she and President Kiir discussed security, oil and economic opportunity.
  From Juba, the Secretary headed south to Uganda to meet with President Museveni and discuss the importance of democratic institutions and human rights. She pledged U.S. support in the fight against HIV/AIDS and for greater regional security. Additionally, she watched a demonstration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at a Ugandan military base.
  She then traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to meet with President Kibaki, Prime Minister Odinga, and other government officials and reaffirm a commitment for transparent, credible and peaceful national elections in 2013. To underscore U.S. support for completing the political transition in Somalia, Secretary Clinton met with President Sheikh Sharif and other signatories to the Roadmap to End the Transition.
  After Nairobi she traveled to Malawi to visit President Banda and discuss economic and political governance and reform. She also visited a facility that helps dairy farmers produce more milk and raise their incomes, as well as a leadership academy for girls.
  In South Africa, Secretary Clinton visited former President Mandela at his home in Qunu, in the Eastern Cape Province. From there she doubled back to Pretoria to participate in the U.S.-South Africa Strategic Dialogue, focusing on issues that are important to the people of both countries. She then flew west to Cape Town where she delivered a speech at the University of Western Cape that focused on South Africa's growing role in the region and around the world. She also recounted a moving story about Nelson Mandela, which can be viewed here.
  From South Africa, Secretary Clinton turned north to Ghana to attend the funeral of late President John Atta Mills, followed by a stop in Benin to meet with President Boni Yayi.
  Click here to view the gallery
  Related Topics: Foreign Policy
Celebrating the Next Generation of LGBT Leaders
  Link to Article
  Source: White House.gov Blog Feed
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:10
  Posted by Gautam Raghavan on September 21, 2012 at 10:48 AM EDT
  On Wednesday, the Vice President and Dr. Biden hosted an ''End of Summer BBQ'' at the Vice President's Residence with emerging young leaders of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. They were joined by senior Obama Administration officials, leaders of national LGBT organizations, and campus and community leaders from all over the country.
  Guests at the event represented tremendous diversity and talent within the LGBT community. They included students and community organizers, advocates and artists, and veterans '' all committed to the pursuit of equality, justice, and dignity for LGBT people.
  Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden speak at a reception with emerging young leaders of the LGBT community at the Naval Observatory Residence in Washington, D.C., September 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
  In welcoming guests to the Residence, Dr. Biden took a moment to acknowledge the one-year anniversary of the repeal of ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' and thanked all our brave young men and women in uniform '' and their families '' for their service. In his remarks, the Vice President spoke to his own commitment to civil rights, and paid tribute to the many advocates and heroes who have helped pave the way towards a more perfect union.
  While at the Residence, guests also had the opportunity to view several panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which were provided by The NAMES Project Foundation. Earlier this year, a section of the Quilt was put on display in the East Wing of the White House and Dr. Biden also viewed several panels of the Quilt at the National Building Museum.
  Gautam Raghavan is an Associate Director of Public Engagement
@adamcurry http://t.co/A2roTgt7
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:08
  Apple's mobile devices have been targeted by thieves since the iPod debuted years ago. As the iPhone 5 goes on sale, New York City police are taking a proactive step towards protecting customers.
  Today, Gothamist reports that NYC police will be at the 5th Avenue Apple Store asking iPhone 5 buyers to register their device's serial number. It's a part of the Operation I.D. program, which involves registering the device's number and the owner's name and address with the police department. If your precious gets stolen, having that information in place could drastically reduce recovery time.
  So if you see the Thin Blue Line at the Apple Store, let them help you out. It could save aggravation in the future.
  [Via Ars Technica]
  Share
Web Sites with Embedded Command Lines: You got your Command Line in my Internet
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:03
  Eight years ago I wrote a post called Opportunity: Windows is completely missing the TextMode boat. The language is dated...
  I assume we all realize that there are literally millions of Windows machines from 95 to XP that exist only to allow more than one Telnet/ProcommPlus/Terminal window at a time, so end-users can interact with remote systems.
  ...but the point is there.
  I'm just saying that my Tab,Tab,Tab,Enter will beat your Click,Tab,Alt-F,O,Click,Double-Click, more often than not and I will take the Pepsi Challenge otherwise.
  Command Lines are faster than Graphical User Interfaces. Command Lines and all the things we string together within them are DSLs (Domain Specific Languages) for Getting Stuff Done'.
  How often have you seen (or worse yet, written) a graphical interface to express or build something like that could be more tersely expressed as "/^[a-z0-9_-]{3,16}$/"?
  Other than the Address Bar, the Command Line isn't something you see a lot on the web...yet. We have been seeing more and more sites embracing hotkeys, though.
  We've seen Google products embracing Vi's "hjkl" cursor movement and nearly everyone popping up hotkey help by pressing "?". I use the Twitter website and its hotkeys more than a 3rd party Twitter client.
  Related Reading:The Web is the new Terminal: Are you using the Web's Keyboard Shortcuts and Hotkeys?
  While we all love bash, zsh, PowerShell and many other shells, it's interesting to me that the command line is infiltrating the web itself.
  Command Lines on the WebSearch engines have been the obvious place for Web Command Lines to pop up. Google and Bing each allow us to use their search boxes as Calculators. Google even supports Bacon Numbering!
  Perhaps the first example I saw of a "Web Command Line" was the Rails Day submission YubNub in 2005 by Jonathan Aquino. Futz.Me is another example that uses URLs as its command line. DuckDuckGo - the little search engine that could - is fast becoming the search engine for the hardcore command liners. DDG supports what they call "Bang Syntax." Make any query and add a !keyword and you're taking to a custom search. There's the obvious ones like !g for Google but also !code, !csharp and hundreds more. You can even extend DuckDuckGo and Submit your own Bang command!
  Jeff talked about the Address Bar as Command Line in 2009 but I think the command line is starting to go even father than the address bar. Why not embed the concept of a command line in the website itself?
  Moving from simple search to more complex navigational schemes, GitHub recently announced their Command Bar, which is a fantastic example of a Web Command Line. It supports an easily learned series of chained commands so I can quickly jump to any user, any project, any issue and more.
  It's funny how we, the makers of the web, prefer to spend time managing the Web from the command line. The Windows Azure Team spent a lot of time recently updating the Management Portal with amazing new features and a nice new HTML5 website, but I've ended up managing my Cloud applications with the Azure Command Line in cmd.exe or PowerShell.
  For me, it's simply faster, clearer and more obvious.
  scott@hanselmac:~$ npm install azurenpm http GET https://registry.npmjs.org/azure...bunch of GETS...scott@hanselmac:~$ azureinfo: _ _____ _ ___ ___info: /_\ |_ / | | | _ \ __|info: _ ___/ _ \__/ /| |_| | / _|___ _ _info: (___ /_/ \_\/___|\___/|_|_\___| _____)info: (_______ _ _) _ ______ _)_ _ info: (______________ _ ) (___ _ _)info: info: Windows Azure: Microsoft's Cloud Platforminfo: info: Tool version 0.6.0...bunch of help stuff...HTTP itself becomes friendly and fun at the command line with tools like HTTPie that allow me to almost write HTTP on the command line!
  Firefox 16's Beta Channel recently added a Firefox Command Line. You can explore your DOM, HTTP response, cookies, elements, everything all from a simple command line. Why click an element when you know you want to "inspect #mainbar"?
  Learning sites like TryRuby, TryF#, Codecademy, PexForFun, and dozens more embed textboxes as command lines, and surprisingly users don't freak out when they see them. I must say I still remember the first day I saw TryRuby in a browser. I was blown away.
  Luke Lowrey went so far as to make "NetBash" a command line for admins to manage websites! It's all web-based but pops up almost Quake-style as an overlay within your browser. Brilliant. NetBash is on GitHub.
  What sites have you seen with embedded Command Lines? What web-based tools or sites have used a Command Line and DSL in a way that surprised you?
  Sponsor: Thanks to DevExpress for sponsoring this week's feed. Multi-channel experiences made easy: Discover DXTREME. Delight your users with apps designed expressly for their device. DXTREME, multi-channel tools build stunning apps across devices & optimize for the best of each platform, from Win8 to the iPhone. And, the powerful HTML5, CSS and JavaScript tools in DXTREME also build interactive web apps.
Apple Creates New Job Category: Professional, Like, Line-Waiters
  Link to Article
  Source: News 1 Stop
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:02
  zerohedge.comSeptember 21, 2012
  Some have argued that iPhone 5 will single-handedly save the world's economy (as we 'discussed' here) and indeed it seems an entire new category of employment has been created thanks to the pathetic desperation of so many needing the new 'old' iPhone. As Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports, among the thousands of people expected to wait for hours outside of Apple's stores today, at least a couple hundred of them will be paid just to stand there. TaskRabbit appears to be the pre-emptive winner in 'arranging' these 'waiting-in-line' deals as one 'queuer' stated ''I am a professional line waiter.''
  Of course, the conspiracist would wonder aloud whether these crowd-fillers and line-waiters are indirectly 'purchased' to create more buzz by the demigod itself. Nevertheless, what an inspiration these Americans are: ''I've done other waiting-in-line things. I think it's going to end up being, like, my specialty.''
  Tags: domestic news, economics, technology
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Death toll rises in Pakistan video protests - Central & South Asia
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:59
  Reports say more than 17 people have died as demonstrations against an anti-Islam video erupted across Pakistan, a day after protesters tried to storm the US embassy in the capital, Islamabad.
  Tens of thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets across the country after the government called an impromptu public holiday to let people protest under the banner of "Love the Prophet Day".
  In Karachi, armed protesters among a group of 15,000 fired on police, killing two officers, as at least 10 protesters died in the violence. The crowd also burned six cinemas, two banks, a KFC and five police vehicles.
  Crowds armed with clubs and bamboo poles converged on the Firdaus picture house, "smashing it up and setting furniture ablaze", according to Gohar Ali, a police officer.
  Witnesses said a separate rampaging crowd stormed the Shama cinema, notorious locally for showing films considered to be pornographic.
  In the Pakistani city of Peshawar, police fired on rioters who were torching a cinema. Mohammad Amir, a driver for a Pakistani television station, was killed when police bullets hit his vehicle at the scene, said Kashif Mahmood, a reporter for ARY TV.
  At least four protesters and one police officer were killed in the northwestern city, along with 40 injured and two cinemas and two shops torched.
  In the capital Islamabad, some 19 protesters and eight police were injured. And in Lahore, at least five protesters were wounded.
  Police on alert
  "They do not want this anti-Islam video to be supported by the United States," said Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad.
  "Despite the fact that the American president has said that they have got nothing to do with it, the people here are very angry."
  "The people want the government to be able to launch a protest, and they are saying they will not go home unless they get to the US embassy."
  In Karachi, police told AFP news agency they had been on maximum alert and that bomb-disposal squads were sweeping planned locations of protests.
  "All the entry and exit points of the city are heavily guarded. Helicopters are on stand-by for aerial surveillance," Fayyaz Laghari, provincial police chief, said.
  "We have deployed our maximum police force to the sensitive parts of the city to ensure security during protest rallies today."
  All the major political parties and religious groups had announced protests for Friday, as did many trade and transport organisations.
  The previous day, the US embassy became the latest target of protesters angry at the YouTube video. The total number of protesters touched 5,000 with the arrival of protesters carrying the flags of anti-American Islamist groups.
  At least 50 people were injured as police fired tear gas and live rounds towards the crowds.
  US launches PR blitz
  Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the US state department, said: "So there's a lot of concern that there could be real blowback against the US."
  "The US has been very concerned about the prospect for demonstrations across Pakistan because of what has happened between the two countries in the past year."
  Our correspondent continued: "Pakistan is one of those countries where anti-American sentiment is already quite high and certainly having this video - said to be the genesis for so many of these demonstrations across the region - doesn't help the US cause."
  Against this tense backdrop, the US has bought time on Pakistani television stations to run a series of ads in an effort to assuage Muslim feelings of hurt.
  The US hopes the ad would show that the country had no involvement with the controversial internet video.
  The US embassy in Islamabad spent about $70,000 to run the announcement, which features clips of US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and underscores US respect for religion, declaring the US government had nothing to do with the video.
  Obama is shown saying: "Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others."
  Clinton then says: "Let me state very clearly, the United States has absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its contents. America's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation."
  Addressing a media briefing on the ad campaign, Victoria Nuland, state department spokeswoman, said the aim was "to make sure that the Pakistani people hear the president's messages and the secretary's messages".
  "In order to ensure we reached the largest number of Pakistanis, some 90 million as I understand it in this case withthese spots, it was the judgment that this was the best way to do it."
  The announcement aired as the US asked its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Pakistan.
  'Feelings of dignity'
  Meanwhile, the US closed its diplomatic missions across Indonesia due to continuing demonstrations over the anti-Islam film.
  Protests also occurred on Friday by Sunni and Shia groups in Lebanon, where the Hezbollah movement organised a large rally in the city of Baalbek.
  Elsewhere, some 10,000 Bangladeshis marched in Dhaka, 3,000 Iraqis took to the streets in the southern city of Basra, 2,000 Sri Lankans rallied in the capital Colombo and scattered demonstrations occurred in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
  In Libya, rival demonstrations occurred by an anti-militia "Save Benghazi" group, and by the Salafi group Ansar Sharia, widely accused of being behind the attack on the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city.
  Police cracked down on any planned rallies in the Tunisian capital, while some 200 Moroccans protested in Rabat's twin city of Sale.
  In France, authorities had also outlawed any public demonstrations on Friday against the Muhammad cartoons.
  But the German cities of Hannover, Munster and Freiburg had rallies by Muslims showing support for Muhammad.
  Reporting from the city of Freiburg, Germany, Nick Spicer said, "Several hundred came to express their feelings of dignity and love for the Prophet".
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Barack Obama Begs Forgiveness From Muslims '' Followed By 17 Deaths In Pakistan And Counting'...
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:57
  }rÆ²RaÜÒ‰@-9=Y|-Ê—R frRu@%r,\E;\Ê‹\|_.4|Å£>&j4Z_]5Ñ›Nhzo.U2Í²xjfhFÉ¤u1TZÎ...9ÙƒS^r` cb?SFyQ9U&n(X)wc%co44IY6~qD5ÒªV+72&~Mh@#6IÌ>>e!K:M^m]Aß�f!DFiJ} yQf^8\6"*2O39$;m BHN}/|M sKeSE$YJN`-z/lgM;M0tX8(N?QUrU&!DU+Ê 7y|9$pdQ m/[ Ob/RU6pr<".dUSG6;[2"??8lT'?RÍ•d^HbEX,f"2,$]L^D[%B N[u/@^0p'}S'"|Ó�"uÐ4<Í@*ZrHgÓ‰ef9Ì[ZJlY[dZNr—/?ËNCb7 9R>TÒŒÆ±c+IA+lXy~uEMMi9r>TÄ ypV2v3Æ‹V`:vhR7`Ò–Ko&*S;'¬®d^[*988yÍš(ì†‚gÔ¶32&Ê‹sUW2LÐŸuS/%`QyÈšCf^6%@5WDÓŒY;-fijcbvcVÊva6 dß�mMoA,nÍ•jR\.+5 ^3ZsU7S4S*zZ).X%-n3aBQT|56* 3nÌu"7$<‚^)t_"<+O5pM!zQ q~r2wrŸ#n l98T.EU Þ§Q@k!&g\}$[~Xx%iK|bÉ iEfQ3,#rØ½;PÐ�Ð}ÝªJGj%ÅCG8Æ°d$Má´%`QqVZÉ�SWUG}4*ÒY.KGG{4zGBf^Ò£5GWEZ)e']VB6jpXÒŒ%>UÏŸGgÎ'7rPbQf{.Ku^w%sZM^@{Z#,'R7k:!hzBEÈ'[2Zß‹<@+jÉ0[A:ÕMtqnw3-*E+Î--Ç£e2 PM×�_&4toê§–:'sIoy9&+IX&a)As.d|:R?5;Ê¶m?7nR{`MO0wu0Ä†QC#7K\e'skÇ'[U ZAxN4fG2YH&@$a&{`SÕ¼ mljmEMA}X*00_Ó"2mgJ#~F]yG%@lcÜ¶UHmi,0=QtÖ±}=Xu7OVzd Ø¬ngxÙµZAhh B}iPY)(1[11[O]J$r41H_rHoxBj?$kT30O_}>F.;}y?|eB{wGivWÆBiF(Ïs]g%@!4uD}lc"_&J| !ENZk,^hÌgj9kAc;V1LHVlk[|Æ'[yn{7B9-.i {fi c?D?B\VtERŠFE0n"2h)k:;mMqbLq8p!J6 8!Ü—6NIkFVh6LqI<ØƒVÛƒ=sÝ±~!%}S;NÍ®MX `ZsÖ'\erqSÚŸ Ê¨j;nÌ--Ñ·Q5fl%sb aJCKÊ§<_Lz1|@Î®Y [".Xh±`)MYew4H , 2TgD 7Ç—-0\|6l%Êƒ+o)xdZrWÑ†jE|HY)4Bi%:vVT>Qw^D%Q89XK[0+"Snq+QÕEue]p[sè';;ey6 'igzR,tVb[E9+}k%clE+Ú²`Ø·HWEN\Td;Y)R]DAjJ(jÏ'ÄnrD É†›oJjO("ê¯QwrD"8zI]w5N_)2{h}$Ý—_d;VELsL1umMÖµfÚ...n65/2V+"AN~0YqDÌ...,$3/Szzo\# lJ@t:c^)vW, DdE I#"ÉI)TJn>IbsËá‚'<6aom_3æ¥'(ZÜ—"59&EDI`IEYzB Î¸9a, A`ZXB|hn#{!pÛž(Å¶_OY*; }$Bç Ù¯o<\4[k"-ksxV`7TwÇ—ÏŸ]7&@:"`YMLSl9RvO#I:*GNOYF.\v0B{Y+ QAAAY^-;pu=m9iutw`R6m6t]J%h}GÅ‚3k+D2'Ap|1+-2PnS> $aI]v(BEQ7:ah`Ku"/,K eDÈƒ9fP3Pé¯]Q?$\+T:0 . r v -}EdY4P0tÑ­`M$pÞ­xSUJ=Ð®3[ Yy\zbE$!7(PJRNdtRs]OÎ'48]<^SRAU} GKcXKL8x'yXÈ...Uç--‰N4:^v".1æ·KAI2o*7/Ë‚"Ñ'CBÐž#$oÅ(C)ZAs~}Ca/C E7'` =XÚ�Ö…F2=ß�?yFpd5l8@2[Ð·^,$W+ ,](>I<2/1 x-R`!efGXB& J'A[t3thM~h+|Z-gEoK%,lPß'mhd'Ú'Î'HnU.[#d+Ö¨vqeÍ‹V8:ÔŸçŸµ ^ 6k`l<Ê"Cw7-N +_9k,)_#9f{.shH >Jm\`+(ß *+a[ mYBx#Cv6zhÙ·cÞ·f=&2|=+Y3TÏŠwEg2Û¸ wÈHIÚ²o|WVm\xy1xI=XSÇ' `Qe}lTkqefyF9P@(pK&Bec]x?BgEmYQ"1;[!^7*&J_*`Nw^rs_QN45?FY*½PD}c%Ik_
  }rÆ²RaÜÒ‰@-9=Y|-Ê—R frRu@%r,\E;\Ê‹\|_.4|Å£>&j4Z_]5Ñ›Nhzo.U2Í²xjfhFÉ¤u1TZÎ...9ÙƒS^r` cb?SFyQ9U&n(X)wc%co44IY6~qD5ÒªV+72&~Mh@#6IÌ>>e!K:M^m]Aß�f!DFiJ} yQf^8\6"*2O39$;m BHN}/|M sKeSE$YJN`-z/lgM;M0tX8(N?QUrU&!DU+Ê 7y|9$pdQ m/[ Ob/RU6pr<".dUSG6;[2"??8lT'?RÍ•d^HbEX,f"2,$]L^D[%B N[u/@^0p'}S'"|Ó�"uÐ4<Í@*ZrHgÓ‰ef9Ì[ZJlY[dZNr—/?ËNCb7 9R>TÒŒÆ±c+IA+lXy~uEMMi9r>TÄ ypV2v3Æ‹V`:vhR7`Ò–Ko&*S;'¬®d^[*988yÍš(ì†‚gÔ¶32&Ê‹sUW2LÐŸuS/%`QyÈšCf^6%@5WDÓŒY;-fijcbvcVÊva6 dß�mMoA,nÍ•jR\.+5 ^3ZsU7S4S*zZ).X%-n3aBQT|56* 3nÌu"7$<‚^)t_"<+O5pM!zQ q~r2wrŸ#n l98T.EU Þ§Q@k!&g\}$[~Xx%iK|bÉ iEfQ3,#rØ½;PÐ�Ð}ÝªJGj%ÅCG8Æ°d$Má´%`QqVZÉ�SWUG}4*ÒY.KGG{4zGBf^Ò£5GWEZ)e']VB6jpXÒŒ%>UÏŸGgÎ'7rPbQf{.Ku^w%sZM^@{Z#,'R7k:!hzBEÈ'[2Zß‹<@+jÉ0[A:ÕMtqnw3-*E+Î--Ç£e2 PM×�_&4toê§–:'sIoy9&+IX&a)As.d|:R?5;Ê¶m?7nR{`MO0wu0Ä†QC#7K\e'skÇ'[U ZAxN4fG2YH&@$a&{`SÕ¼ mljmEMA}X*00_Ó"2mgJ#~F]yG%@lcÜ¶UHmi,0=QtÖ±}=Xu7OVzd Ø¬ngxÙµZAhh B}iPY)(1[11[O]J$r41H_rHoxBj?$kT30O_}>F.;}y?|eB{wGivWÆBiF(Ïs]g%@!4uD}lc"_&J| !ENZk,^hÌgj9kAc;V1LHVlk[|Æ'[yn{7B9-.i {fi c?D?B\VtERŠFE0n"2h)k:;mMqbLq8p!J6 8!Ü—6NIkFVh6LqI<ØƒVÛƒ=sÝ±~!%}S;NÍ®MX `ZsÖ'\erqSÚŸ Ê¨j;nÌ--Ñ·Q5fl%sb aJCKÊ§<_Lz1|@Î®Y [".Xh±`)MYew4H , 2TgD 7Ç—-0\|6l%Êƒ+o)xdZrWÑ†jE|HY)4Bi%:vVT>Qw^D%Q89XK[0+"Snq+QÕEue]p[sè';;ey6 'igzR,tVb[E9+}k%clE+Ú²`Ø·HWEN\Td;Y)R]DAjJ(jÏ'ÄnrD É†›oJjO("ê¯QwrD"8zI]w5N_)2{h}$Ý—_d;VELsL1umMÖµfÚ...n65/2V+"AN~0YqDÌ...,$3/Szzo\# lJ@t:c^)vW, DdE I#"ÉI)TJn>IbsËá‚'<6aom_3æ¥'(ZÜ—"59&EDI`IEYzB Î¸9a, A`ZXB|hn#{!pÛž(Å¶_OY*; }$Bç Ù¯o<\4[k"-ksxV`7TwÇ—ÏŸ]7&@:"`YMLSl9RvO#I:*GNOYF.\v0B{Y+ QAAAY^-;pu=m9iutw`R6m6t]J%h}GÅ‚3k+D2'Ap|1+-2PnS> $aI]v(BEQ7:ah`Ku"/,K eDÈƒ9fP3Pé¯]Q?$\+T:0 . r v -}EdY4P0tÑ­`M$pÞ­xSUJ=Ð®3[ Yy\zbE$!7(PJRNdtRs]OÎ'48]<^SRAU} GKcXKL8x'yXÈ...Uç--‰N4:^v".1æ·KAI2o*7/Ë‚"Ñ'CBÐž#$oÅ(C)ZAs~}Ca/C E7'` =XÚ�Ö…F2=ß�?yFpd5l8@2[Ð·^,$W+ ,](>I<2/1 x-R`!efGXB& J'A[t3thM~h+|Z-gEoK%,lPß'mhd'Ú'Î'HnU.[#d+Ö¨vqeÍ‹V8:ÔŸçŸµ ^ 6k`l<Ê"Cw7-N +_9k,)_#9f{.shH >Jm\`+(ß *+a[ mYBx#Cv6zhÙ·cÞ·f=&2|=+Y3TÏŠwEg2Û¸ wÈHIÚ²o|WVm\xy1xI=XSÇ' `Qe}lTkqefyF9P@(pK&Bec]x?BgEmYQ"1;[!^7*&J_*`Nw^rs_QN45?FY*½PD}c%Ik_
3 Killed, Dozens Injured in Pakistan 'Innocence' Riots
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:59
  At least three people were killed and dozens injured on Friday in clashes between Pakistani police and protesters over a film that has sparked riots across the Islamic world.
  Angry demonstrators set fire to two cinemas in the northwestern city of Peshawar, DawnNews reported.
  Western diplomatic missions throughout the Muslim world have stepped up security arrangements, some closing down in anticipation of massive protests after Friday prayers.
  The Innocence of Muslims, an amateurish U.S.-produced video that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad, has sparked widespread protests across the Middle East and North Africa, some of which have turned violent. U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stephens and three embassy staff were killed during an attack on the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi earlier this month.
  ''An attack upon the Holy Prophet is an attack on the whole 1.5 billion Muslims. Therefore, this is something unacceptable,'' Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said.
  Pakistan has declared Friday a ''Day of Love for the Prophet Mohammad.''
  Meanwhile, a U.S. actress who appeared in the film has sued its producer for fraud and slander, claiming the script she was given made no mention of the Prophet Muhammad.
  Filing her lawsuit in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Cindy Lee Garcia said she was duped into acting in the "vile and reprehensible" film, which she had been told was a "historical Arabian Desert adventure film."
Kelsey Who? Camille Grammer Steps Out With Hunky Greek Boyfriend
  Link to Article
  Source: Radar Online
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:54
  NPG
  By Radar Staff
  A day after her ex-husband Kelsey Grammerstormed out of an interview at the very sight of her, Camille Grammer was spotted leaving a Malibu, California nail salon with her hunky beau Dimitri Charalambopoulos, and we've got the pics for you on RadarOnline.com.
  As we previously reported, Kelsey was scheduled to appear on Piers Morgan Tonight Wednesday, but he "saw a photo of his ex wife Camille in the open to [the] show" and abruptly left the building, Morgan tweeted of the Boss star, adding he felt the move was "shockingly unprofessional."
  Grammer's reaction to Camille's name coming up came as a surprise, as he joked about his lack of a sex life during their marriage in an interview with Conan O'Brien last week, saying he "hadn't had sex for a decade" prior to meeting current spouse Kayte Walsh.
  PHOTOS: Kelsey Grammer Takes Girlfriend Kayte Shopping
  Camille told Star magazine of Dimitri earlier this year, "He's Greek and he's all man," a dig likely aimed at Kelsey, who she said fancied walking around in women's underwear.
  PHOTOS: Kelsey Grammer & Girlfriend Get Engaged
  Kelsey has repeatedly made his animosity toward Camille public, telling Morgan himself that Camille only married him for his fame; and that he got her a spot on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as a "parting gift" in their split, as she always craved the limelight.
  Meanwhile, the third season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills premieres November 5, and on Thursday, Bravo released a sneak peek.
  RELATED STORIES:
  PHOTOS: Camille Grammer Strips Down And Shows Off Her Bikini Body
  Kelsey Grammer: I 'Hadn't Had Sex For A Decade' During Marriage To Camille
  Camille Grammer Selling Her Sprawling Malibu Estate: Take A Peek Inside!
  Camille Grammer Reacts To Kelsey's Interview, Says 'I Wish Him No Ill Will'
Pakistan explodes in protest; 13 killed
  Link to Article
  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:53
  Source:TelegraphNine people were killed in Karachi, including a police officer who was shot, as demonstrations provided cover for arsonists and looters who attacked shops and restaurants.
  A protester and a driver with a TV news channel were killed by police gunfire in the north-western city of Peshawar, where four people died amid attacks on cinemas and government offices.
  Pakistan said it summoned the most senior US diplomat in Islamabad to protest against a YouTube trailer for an anti-Islam film made by a small group of extremists in the United States.
  Read More...
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Rep. Maxine Waters Cleared By House Ethics Committee : The Two-Way : NPR.
  Link to Article
  Source: DaDenMan news feed
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:51
  EnlargeChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesRep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and her husband Sidney Williams at the Capitol Hill hearing today where it was announced that she's been cleared.
  Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesRep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and her husband Sidney Williams at the Capitol Hill hearing today where it was announced that she's been cleared.
  After an investigation that lasted two years, the House Ethics Committee has cleared Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of charges that she tried to influence regulators when a bank that her husband owns stock in went looking for a federal bailout in 2008.
  Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte, acting chairman of the ethics panel, announced the decision this morning.
  According to The Associated Press, while Waters was cleared, the committee said that "her chief of staff, Mikael Moore, did take actions in Congress in an attempt to help the bank and violated standards of conduct. Moore likely will receive a letter admonishing him for his conduct. but will not face more severe punishment, such as a reprimand, by the full House."
  Moore has said he did not violate House rules. Waters, a Californian, also vigorously defended her actions, as we reported back in 2010.
  The AP adds that "Goodlatte said the committee was convinced that when Waters asked for a meeting at the Treasury Department to discuss financial help for minority banks, she believed she did so on behalf of all minority banks '-- not just OneUnited, where her husband owns stock. Goodlatte said the committee agreed with Waters' assertion."
  USA Today's On Politics blog notes that the committee's investigation itself was "marred by scandal. ... The Waters case was headed for the equivalent of an 'ethics trial' in November 2010, but the public hearing was canceled when the committee discovered that evidence in the case had been mishandled by staff. The committee suspended two attorneys and hired an independent investigator to review its own handling of the Waters case."
Cartulize system restored to the way it was on 9/7/12.
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Jones's SOPML work feed.
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:46
Held Dear In U.S., Free Speech Perplexing Abroad :NPR
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:30
  EnlargeJack Guez /AFP/GettyArab-Israeli men protest a video mocking the Prophet Muhammad,in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday.
  Jack Guez /AFP/GettyArab-Israeli men protest a video mocking theProphet Muhammad, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel,on Thursday.
  The French government announced Wednesday that it will prohibitdemonstrations planned for Saturday to protest the anti-Muslimvideo that has sparked violence in Muslim countries around theworld.
  The decision came after a French satirical magazine published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
  Most Americans consider freedom of expression universal and self-evident. But France'sdecision to ban Saturday's demonstration underscores how U.S.notions of free speech are actually quite unique, even amongdemocratic countries.
  While even racially and religiously offensive material isprotected in the United States, hate speech or speech that incitesracial hatred is illegal in Britain, France, the Netherlands,Germany, Denmark, Belgium and other European countries. In much ofEurope, Holocaust denial is specifically criminalized.
  Noah Feldman, professor of international law at Harvard LawSchool, talks with All Things Considered host RobertSiegel about what constitutes protected speech in the U.S., and howthose views are understood '-- and misunderstood '-- aroundthe world.
  Interview HighlightsOn what kinds of speech arenot protected under U.S. law
  "You might think that an American standing in front of a crowdshould be free to say whatever he wishes. And yet, the courts havealways said that if it's probable and immediate and imminent thatthere will be violence, the police can come and shut that persondown ...
  "We've developed standards for the prohibition of incitingspeech that require a high degree of proximity, and a high degreeof confidence, that there will be violence that emerges."
  On how many people abroad are perplexed by U.S.protections for freedom of expression
  "I had conversations with highly educated Tunisians '--people high in the government '-- who were genuinely astonishedto discover that, under U.S. law, we couldn't ban speech like thatprecisely because any incitement that might occur is distant intime, distant in place and not at all certain to occur. ...
  "And it's actually a problem when people elsewhere actuallythink, including reasonable people, that the United Statesgovernment must be complicit in something like the anti-Muslim filmbecause we haven't prohibited it."
  On how U.S. notions of protected speech differ fromthose of other countries
  "In the U.S., we value the liberty of the speaker much morehighly than either the dignity of the person who feels insulted orthe state's interest in trying to avoid violent protest. ...
  "What's most distinctive from our perspective is that we thinkthat if your feelings are hurt, then that's your problem. We don'tbelieve that you ought to be protected from the hurly-burly ofpolitical insult. And that's a very deeply ingrained Americannotion. ...
  "And because we're concerned not to allow what's called theheckler's veto, where the fact that one particular group or personwill make a fuss, means that we will prohibit the speech, we'vetended to be extremely permissive, and that does make us verydifferent from other countries."
  On the cultural disconnect between the U.S. and othercountries on the issue of free speech
  "It is a deep cycle of misunderstanding, and it should bepossible both for us to say these are our values, we believe infree speech while we condemn the substance; it should also bepossible for them, of course, to protest in a peaceful fashion. Itdoesn't forgive the violence by any stretch of theimagination."
  On whether an increasingly connected world requiresrethinking the "immediate" threat of violence
  "And so the question is whether the physical distance [betweenthe speech and the potential violence abroad] really matters. Ithink probability [of violence] would have to be just as high as ifyou're facing a crowd, and that would be difficult toobtain in practice.
  "But the idea that under some conditions we do want tolimit speech because of what's about to happen '-- and is verylikely to happen '-- is familiar to our law. And one couldimagine that, under some circumstances, that might apply here,especially as technology brings such conversations closer andcloser ...
  "[Supreme Court Justice Stephen] Breyer, a couple of years ago,said publicly that perhaps we needed to think twice about that inan increasingly globalized world, and he was roundly criticized.But one might think that he was, in some sense, prescient. We mayhave to actually reconsider what counts as incitement in this dayand age."
Fresh lease of life for airships
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Technology
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:07
  21 September 2012Lastupdated at06:59 ETBy JuliaLeonardBBC News"There's a certainexcitement in this breakthrough but at the same time it's not ahappy history."
  Historian John Swinfield is cautiously optimistic about aBedfordshire firm making a success of modern-day airshipengineering.
  He knows how volatile the industry has been, beset by heavy lossof life and UK firms left out of business.
  But firm Hybrid Air Vehicles Limited's success brings up to datea near century of history, with the new designs taking shape closeto Cardington where, in 1918, two giant hangars housed the originalflying machines.
  Baed in nearby Cranfield, the firm has designed a 400ft (122m)long "lighter-than-air" hybrid vehicle for the US Army, in acontract worth half a billion pounds. Their success could result inhundreds of jobs being created.
  After years of working on the technology behind it, the first ofthree planned vehicles was assembled and sailed in August in NewJersey, in the US, ironically the location where the infamousairship Hindenburg went down in 1937.
  Continue reading the main story''Start QuoteMany of the workers were women who would sewor stitch the balloon so they were really ahead of theirtime''
  End QuoteJohn SwinfieldAuthor and historianSky ocean linersExperts say it is a landmark moment forEngland which boasts a rich but concentrated history of airshipengineering.
  Mr Swinfield, also an author, said: "They were the ocean linersof the sky in the early 20th Century but they were expensive andthose brave enough to try discovered it's not easy toexperiment.
  "The industry was very volatile from around 1914 or 1915 thenwent into decline at around 1920 - Britain was bankrupt."
  It was engineers in Germany and the US who went on to makeinitial success of airships.
  The Graf Zeppelin operated from 1928 to 1937 and the Americansbuilt two aircraft carriers, although "both ended in disaster",according to Mr Swinfield.
  Britain built small airships carrying up to three people inWorld War I - Pulham St Mary in Norfolk was one of the UK's firstmain airship stations.
  Bigger vehicles were developed in the 1920s, including the R100designed by Sir Barnes Wallis and built in East Yorkshire.
  The government-funded R101 was also built at a cost of£1.5m, equivalent to £80,445,087 according to the BankEngland's Inflation Calculator.
  Mr Swinfield said: "The R100's balloon covered five acres, ithad a steel frame as high as a cathedral and as long as a footballpitch.
  "It provided employment for a huge number of people, 200 wouldwork on an airship at any one time.
  "Interestingly, many of the workers were women who would sew orstitch the balloon so they were really ahead of their time."
  'Secretive' industryBoth sailed in 1930 but the R101 crashed in France leaving sixout of 54 survivors, stunting the progress of the R100 which hadsuccessfully sailed to Montreal and was eventually scrapped.
  Mr Swinfield said: "Many experts say the R101 was insufficientlytested and should not have sailed - combined with foul weather itbrought about a catastrophe.
  "After that the Hindenburg disaster killed world airshipengineering and it became a taboo area.
  "Developers have been up against real prejudice, that's why it'staken half a century to make any progress here and any work beingdone is very secretive.
  Continue reading the main storyLandmark moments in airship history1783: First manned flight by Francois Pilatrre de Rozier1867: Henri Giffard attached steam driven winch to hisballoon1896: Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin eponymous airship1931: Airship 101 maiden voyage, crashes killing 481937: Hindenburg Zeppelin crashes at New Jersey"Until they finally roll a ship out ofthe shed it's very much kept under wraps."
  Engineers at Hybrid Air Vehicles Limited agree.
  Filled with helium, their new vehicle will be used as a pilotedcargo carrier or unpiloted "unblinking stare" for surveillance bythe US Army, according to the firm.
  Expansion plansNick Allman, programme director, said a team of nearly 100people worked on it and this could rise to 500 or more with plansfor to expand to other UK sites after "serious interest" frompotential customers in Canada, the US, Brazil, the Middle East andAustralia.
  He said: "Aerospace engineering programmes normally take a longtime - this one is unusual because we've completed it in two yearsand built all 30,000 components from scratch.
  "We've completely focused on doing something no one else hasdone before."
  Dr Mary Stopes-Roe who lives in Moseley, Birmingham, and is thedaughter of Sir Barnes Wallis who built the R100 and died in 1979,said her father would have supported the plans.
  She said: "He would also have been doubtful but that's onlybecause he was a scientist and would have done calculations untilreams and reams of paper were covered.
  "But he'd welcome any attempt to bring airships back intouse."
  Mr Swinfield, whose book is published next month, said such"behemoths" have exciting potential.
  "They could be used to fly personnel in and out of inhospitableareas or humanitarian disaster areas," he said.
  "It's also a much more green mode of transport than regularair-borne planes.
  "I don't think there'll be transatlantic trips but maybe as faras Europe - it gets kind of dangerous beyond that."
BreakingNews: Vodafone business and personal customers suffer BlackBerry outage across Europe, Middle East and Africa - @Telegraph http://t.co/csA9TdnA
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / BreakingNews
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:59
  The problems began at around 8AM. All internet services,including web browsing, email and the BBM instant messengerapplication were cut off, for both corporate and consumerBlackBerry users.
  "Blackberry/RIM have confirmed that they are experiencing issueswith services such as BBM, email and internet and that they areworking to fix this," Vodafone told customers.
  "Customers wanting more information should contact Blackberrydirectly."
  Vodafone's spokeswoman said that repairs were expected to takeeffect "very soon".
  A BlackBerry spokeman apologised for the problems. "All relevantsupport teams are working to resolve the issue," he said.
  "We apologize to any customers who may be affected.
  The failure is the latest blow to RIM, which is struggling tocompete in the smartphone market against Apple, and handsets basedon Google and Microsoft's software. It echoes on a smaller scale amajor failure across all netowrks in Europe last year, whenBlackBerry owners were unable to acess internetservices for almost a week.
m.guardian.co.uk
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:58
  French embassies and schools around the worldhave been put on high alert in fear of a backlash after a magazinepublished cartoons mocking the prophet Muhammad and Muslims.
  Paris has ordered special security measures atofficial buildings, including diplomatic and consularrepresentations, and instructed those in 20 particularly sensitivecountries to close on Friday, the Islamic prayer day.
  Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister saidhe was "concerned" at the possibility of hostile reactions to thecaricatures published in the satirical magazine CharlieHebdo.
  The cartoons, some of which feature Muhammad,come amid continuing protests by Muslims around the globe over ananti-Islam film, Innocence of Muslims.
  The offices of Charlie Hebdo were firebombed lastNovember after it published an edition entitled Charia Hebdo,supposedly guest-edited by Muhammad.
  On Wednesday, France's prime minister, Jean-MarcAyrault, said in a statement: "In the current climate, the primeminister wishes to stress his disapproval of all excesses and callson everyone to behave responsibly."
  Questioned on RTL radio, he added: "We are in acountry where the freedom of expression is guaranteed, along withthe freedom to caricature."
  Shortly afterwards there were calls for protestsagainst the caricatures and the film in Marseille, Toulouse, Lyonand Paris. Ayrault said a request had been made for policeauthorisation to hold the demonstration in Paris on Saturday, butthat it would be refused. On Sunday, police arrested more than 100people who had gathered to protest against Innocence of Muslimsnear the US embassy in the French capital.
  An Afghan suicide bombing linked to protestsabout the film killed 12 people on Tuesday.
  All 75,000 copies of Charlie Hebdo sold outaccording to the magazine, whose editors are planning to print moreon Friday. The magazine's website was unavailable all of Wednesdayafter it was apparently hacked and closed down.
  According to L'Express magazine an unnamedassociation had begun legal proceedings against Charlie Hebdo forincitement to hatred. Dalil Boubakeur, the senior cleric at Paris'sbiggest mosque, appealed for France's four million Muslims toremain calm.
  "It is with astonishment, sadness and concernthat I have learned that this publication is risking increasing thecurrent outrage across the Muslim world," he said."I would appealto them not to pour oil on the fire."
  The publication of the caricatures, on the frontcover, as well as on the inside and back pages of Charlie Hebdobrought widespread condemnation.
  Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, of Al-Azhar University inCairo, the highest authority in Sunni Islam, said in a statementthat "inciting hatred in the name of freedom was to be totallyrejected".
  Essam el-Erian, the acting head of Egypt's MuslimBrotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, said the French judiciaryshould deal with the issue as firmly as it had handled the caseagainst the magazine that published topless pictures of the Duchessof Cambridge. "If the case of Kate is a matter of privacy, then thecartoons are an insult to a whole people. The beliefs of othersmust be respected," he told Reuters.
  Mahmoud Ghozlan, a spokesman for the MuslimBrotherhood, said French law should deal with insults against Islamin the same way as it deals with Holocaust denial. "If anyonedoubts the Holocaust happened, they are imprisoned, yet if anyoneinsults the prophet, his companions or Islam, the most [France]does is to apologise in two words. It is not fair or logical," hesaid.
  Richard Prasquier, president of theRepresentative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, said hedisapproved of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons after the killings in therow over the film.
  "It is in consideration of those deaths that Idisapprove of Charlie Hebdo's initiative," he said in a statement."To publish caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in these times, inthe name of freedom, is an irresponsible kind of panache."
  Andr(C) Vingt-Trois, the Roman Catholicarchbishop of Paris, told French radio the cartoons would "provokerevulsion among many Muslim believers, who will feel their faithhas been insulted". He added: "You cannot say anything in the nameof freedom of expression".
  Outside Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices, themagazine's editor, St(C)phane Charbonnier, was unrepentant anddenied he was being deliberately provocative. Charbonnier, who drewthis week's front page, and two of his fellow cartoonists, havebeen under police protection since the firebomb attack.
  "The freedom of the press, is that aprovocation?" Charbonnier said. "I'm not asking strict Muslims toread Charlie Hebdo, just like I wouldn't go to a mosque to listento speeches that go against everything I believe."
  Earlier he had told French journalists the latestcaricatures would shock "only those who will want to beshocked".
  Richard Malka, the magazine's lawyer, added: "Weare in a secular country '... the tradition of caricaturingreligion goes back more than a century."
  And France's interior minister Manuel Valls, whomet Muslim leaders on Wednesday, said caricature was a "fundamentalright" of freedom of expression. He added that protests that causedpublic order issues or were aimed a "sowing hatred" would not betolerated.
  Announcing the security measures, Fabius said hewas "against all provocation".
  On Wednesday evening, Egyptian authoritiesannounced they would be ordering French schools and culturalcentres to close on Thursday to head off potential trouble.
  In September 2005, the Danish newspaperJyllands-Posten caused an international storm by publishing 12cartoons depicting Muhammad. The ensuing protests across the worldresulted in more than 100 reported deaths. The Danish embassy inPakistan was bombed, and Danish embassies in Syria, Lebanon andIran were set alight.
  One of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, who usesthe name Tignous, defended the drawings. "It's just a drawing," hesaid. "It's not a provocation."
Cartoons about Muhammad
  Link to Article
  Source: Richard Stallman's Political Notes
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:57
  Each political note has its own anchor in case you want to linkto it.
  My intention is to make links only to publicly accessible,stable URLs. If you find a link to a page that requiressubscription, please report that as you would report any otherbroken link.
  Some sites have paper tiger paywalls that can be defeated bydeleting a cookie. I don't post links to those sites because itwould be too complex to tell users what to do to avoid having toidentify themselves.
  21September 2012 (Cartoons aboutMuhammad)A French Magazine has published cartoons about Muhammad, andlots of intolerant Muslims are expected to go nuts.
  I have not seen these cartoons (I hope I can find a copy onFriday), but I doubt they represent hatred. They are probably kindand gentle compared with what my latestpolitical cartoon says about Romney and Obama. If Muslims didnot let these caricatures get their goat, people would laugh atthem and forget them.
  The main thing currently inciting hatred against Muslims istheir own intolerance. However, most people would hold no grudgeagainst Muslims if Muslims learn to practice tolerance fordisagreement.
  Note how the French censorship law that prohibits denial ofHitler's murder of Jews is being cited as an excuse to advocatefurther censorship. That law violates freedom of expression, whichmakes it an injustice in its own right. Now we see it threatens tocreate more injustice. All laws prohibiting the expression ofcertain views on some issue must be repealed.
  Meanwhile, look at the Jesus & Mo cartoons '-- nohatred, but lots of fun.
  21 September 2012 (Urgent:No fracking near Arches National Park)US citizens: tell theBureau of Land Management: no fracking near Arches NationalPark.
  21September 2012 (Damage to coralreefs)Overfishing and agricultural runoff damage coral reefs byencouragingalgae to replace coral.
  21September 2012 (New lawin Jordan threatens websites)A new law in Jordan threatens websites that post usercomments.
  21 September2012 (The killing ofRachel Corrie)The Israeli state excused the killing of Rachel Corrie by acceptinginconsistent testimony (probably lies) and by defining everyone inthe area as an "enemy".
  This goes a little further than Obama, who only defines every adult male as an "enemy".
  21September 2012 (Fossilfuel companies promoting Romney)The fossil fuel companies are spending heavily to promote Romney even though Obama is givingthem most of what they want.
  Partly this is because they don't like EPA regulations. Butpartly it is meant to push Obama further into obedience.
  21September 2012 (Urgent:Oppose Dirty Air/Water Act)US citizens: call your congresscritter to oppose the DirtyAir/Water Act. Also send a message through this page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  21 September2012 (Oslo agreement)The Palestinian Authority is considering scrapping the Osloagreement, which has served to allow Israel to prevent a peace agreement.
  21September 2012 (Chicago'steachers union strike ends)Chicago's teachers union ended the strike and claims victory.
  I can't tell from this article whether it is a real victory forlabor.
  21September 2012 (Obama's treatmentof Haiti)Obama's treatment of Haiti demonstrates that you shouldn't judge a person by race.
  21September 2012 (Honesty of USelections)Jimmy Carter said that Venezuela's elections in 2006 were themost honest he has seen, while the US is farbehind.
  21September 2012 (Lessons from CIAanalysis)A CIA analysis of the mistaken belief that Saddam Hussein wasdeveloping weapons of mass destruction might have lessons aboutIran today.
  21 September2012 (Shared Sacrifice)New Comic, SharedSacrifice.
  21September 2012 (Record low Arcticsea ice)Arctic sea ice reached a record low of this year, 18% smaller than the previous record low in 2007.
  The volume of ice has decreased even more because the ice is nowthinner than ever before. Some scientists say that the Arctic couldbe ice-free in summer in just 5 years. If so, it would lead tofurther warming (since open water absorbs sunlight unlike ice thatreflects it). This could lead to release of tremendous amounts ofstored methane, which could force a lot more warming, which couldkill a large fraction of humanity.
  This disaster is not necessarily inevitable. If we try hard, wemight be able to avoid it.
  Anyone arguing for extending airports or highways now isproposing to let the disaster happen '-- which a most unwiseinvestment.
  20 September2012 (September 11)A responseto an inquiry about the September 11 note. (September 2012)
  20September 2012 (On-line Education)On-lineeducation is using a flawed Creative Commons license.
  20September 2012 (Fisherydisasters declared on four coasts)The US has declared fishery disasters on four coasts.
  This should demonstrate that we must do more to protect fishstocks from disaster. This means
  More marine reserves where large fish and coral will remainplentiful.Stricter limits on catch, reducing the catch to the amount thatwe know will keep fish stocks up, rather than trying smalllimits.Banning destructive methods such as bottom trawling.Cutting down the CO2 emissions that are making the ocean acid.[Link to pol note that explains all the bad things that cando]20September 2012 (Urgent: NO WarWith Iran!)US citizens:
  Phone your congresscritter and say, "No war with Iran".
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  20 September2012 (Urgent: US Citizens)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support Rep. KeithEllison's bill for a small tax on sales of stocks, bonds andderivatives.
  A secondary benefit of this tax would be to damp out rapidfluctuations caused by computerized trading. (This goal was Tobin'sreason to propose the tax.)
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  20September 2012 (Cut Off Funding ForWar)Congressman Kucinich voted to cut offfunding for war.
  20 September 2012(TheUS Diet)The US diet, with added sugar and fat, causes diabetes. Itmay also cause Alzheimer's disease.
  20 September 2012(Fuel)A misguided policy of selling auto fuel with 15% ethanol, whichcan ruin a small engine, has made it necessary for the EPA toimpose an impractical regulation about minimum sales that will makemany purchasers unable to buy what they need.
  This Republican congressman's rant about the "free market" isinvalid. Environmental protection regulations are necessary '--and these regulations seem like a rational choice, given that the15% ethanol fuel is being sold.
  The root of this problem is using ethanol made from growing cornin fuel for automobiles. This would be fine if there were plenty ofcorn, but nowadays the shortage, caused by global heating, meansthat billions of people are bidding up the price.
  We need to burn less fossil fuel, but replacing it with ethanolmade instead of food is nuts
  20 September2012 (Tired Of Facebook)Some kids are getting tired of Facebook.
  The author does not care how Facebook (or other companies) abusehis privacy; he does not mind how the iBad restricts him, let alonehow the workers producing Apple products are treated. But even hefinds Facebook unpleasant. I hope others, if they don't learn to beconcerned about the important issues, at least follow him thatfar.
  20September 2012 (IsraeliAnd Egyptian Border Fences)21 would-be refugees were trapped between the Israeli andEgyptian border fences. Here's how the Israeli army made the problem disappear.
  20 September 2012(JillStein)Jill Stein joined the Occupy Wall Street protest.
  20 September 2012(iThings)Production of iThings continues to oppress workers,notwithstanding Apple's attempts to pretend it has changed theconditions.
  20 September 2012(Bahrain)Bahrain has made trivial "reforms" but remains the enemy of human rights.
  20 September 2012(CellPhones)Cell phones for thugs infiltrating protesters can mean cells for protesters.
  It's only natural that the thugs beat up a journalist who triedto follow one of these infiltrators. That's what thugs do.
  20 September 2012(Putin)Putin has kicked out USAid for supporting an organization thatpublicized dishonesty in the elections.
  20 September2012 (Aaron Swartz)Aaron Swartz faces 50 years in prison if convicted of crimesthat amount to violating JSTOR's terms of service.
  I've heard that the Injustice Department, which he filled withformer RIAA heavies, is pushing hard to get Swartz, which is whythey don't care that JSTOR has no complaint against him.
  If Obama wins this, people could be imprisoned for registeringfor Spotify with inaccurate information, or for lending someoneelse the music they "bought" from iTunes. Perhaps that is Obama'slong-term goal.
  20 September2012 (Mass Protests)UriAvnery comments on mass protests in the West Bank against thePalestinian Authority.
  20 September2012 (Charity Workers)Charity workers have been in prison in Haiti for months fornot having a permit.
  20 September2012 (Surveillance)William Binney went public about NSA spying on all Americansafter working privately inside the NSA won him an FBI raid on his home.
  Here is a video in which he explains more [35 meg OggTheora].
  Sworn Declaration of Whistleblower William Binney on NSADomestic Surveillance Capabilities.
  Working within the system for reform occasionally works, but itdepends on outside pressure that gives the rulers a reason to wantto change. More often, the idea that you're working within thesystem to reduce the harm it does is merely an excuse to overlookthe harm you are doing by not fighting against it.
  20 September2012 (US Prosecutors)US prosecutors work hand in glove with sleazy collection agencies.
  19September 2012 (Who are "the goodguys"?)Should we consider the US and the West "the good guys"?
  In the Cold War, the US was far less bad than the RussianEmpire, and mostly deserved to be considered the good guys evendespite the horrible things (such as overthrowing governments andarranging death squads) that it did in many countries, just becausethe Russian Empire was such tyranny.
  However, as the US moves toward tyranny, I don't see that itdeserves to be considered "the good guys". China and Russia todayare much worse, but the US may come to rival them in time.
  19September 2012 (Obamaregime's response justifies worst fears)The Obama regime's response to the injunction against imprisonment without trialshows that the plaintiffs' worst fears are justified.
  19 September2012 (USenvironmental regulations)The US bases environmental regulations on an underestimated figure for the harm done by CO2emissions.
  19 September 2012 (Urgent:Stop exceptions to air pollution rules for PVC factories)US citizens: tell the EPA not to make unexplained exceptions to its rules onair pollution from PVC factories.
  19September 2012 (Argentinato attack farmers' rights)Argentina plans to attack farmers' rights in order to encourage GMOs.
  The use of the term ''intellectualproperty'' shows the twisted thinking underlying thisplan.
  Glyphosate, a.k.a. "Roundup", has harmful effects, and weeds are developing resistance fast in the US.
  19 September2012 (Israel's claimsagainst Iran)Israel has been claiming for 20 years that Iran was just about to develop nuclearweapons.
  The IAEA report referred to in the last paragraph does notfactually support the belief that Iran is now developing nuclearweapons.
  I don't believe Iran would go to this much trouble if it werenot related to making nuclear weapons. But the facts seem to fitthe view that Iran wants to develop the capability but not actuallybuild any yet.
  19 September 2012 (Obama'ssystem of punishment on mere accusation)Obama's unofficial system of punishment on mere accusation doesn't goas far as the official punishment systems of some other countries,but it is unjust nonetheless.
  19 September 2012 (Fromhis own mouth: Romney doesn't care about the poor)Romney, not knowing he was on camera, said that half the US population is dependent on the government and hedoesn't care about them.
  He also claimed that these people pay no income tax, but 2/3 ofthem pay social security tax which adds up to more than Romney's own tax rate.
  Meanwhile, many big and successful companies pay little or notax despite their high incomes.
  19September 2012 (USsuspends joint missions with Karzai's men)So many of Karzai's men have shot Americans that things finallysnapped: the US has mostly suspended joint missions with them.
  Panetta misrepresents the situation when he calls this the "lastgasp of the weakened Taliban." I wish that were true, because theTaliban are loathsome fanatics, but it isn't true. There is no signthat the Taliban have been weakened militarily &mdash theirattacks increased this year. The attacks by Karzai's men occur inaddition, not instead.
  19September 2012 (Urgent:Protect water supplies)US citizens: Call on Obama to regulate fracking effectively to protect watersupplies.
  Of course, we don't dare keep depending on these fossilfuels.
  18September 2012 (EU "unitarypatent" proposal)The EU "unitary patent" proposal threatens to impose software patents on most of the EU.
  18 September2012 (US ban onMujahedin-e Khalq)It looks like Iraq is cooperating with a push to remove the Mujahedin-e Khalq from the US list of arbitrarily bannedorganizations. (I think People's Mujahideen Organisation ofIran is another name for that.)
  The Mujahedin-e Khalq are accused of working with Israel tokill Iranian scientists involved in nuclear weapons research. Iam not convinced that is a horrible thing to do; I regard it aslow-intensity continuation of a long-existing war. Whether theorganization should be considered terrorist, I don't know. However,it is clear that what the US government says about this or anyother organization is a political decision. It is unlikely thatyour bowling league will be designated as "terrorist" and banned,but Obama could do it if he really wants to.
  To ban any organization without a trial is tyranny.
  18September 2012 (Obamainsists on imprisonment without trial)The Obama regime condemned the court ruling against imprisonment without trialon the grounds that it might require release of some people alreadyimprisoned without trial.
  Shame on you, Obama, and shame on the US if we do not stamp outthis tyranny.
  A court in Afghanistan ruled against imprisonment without trial, too.
  18September 2012 (Romneybuilt his business with gov't help)Romney's business was started using US government funds that had been delivered to El Salvadorfor repression, then extracted by the corrupt ruling elite.
  So Romney didn't build his engine of job destruction alone. Hedid it with government help.
  18September 2012 (Mysteriousform of kidney disease)A peculiar kidney disease is becoming common in three specific regions, and nobody canfigure out why.
  18September 2012 (Oppositioncandidates)In Belarus, where opposition candidates are arrested, those who talk of boycotting elections are punished.
  Australia punished Albert Langer for urging people to vote in such a way that their ballots could notcount for two major parties that are mostly sellouts tobusiness.
  18September 2012 (Shell's"containment dome" breaks)Shell's experimental "containment dome", meant to deal with future oil well leaks in the Arctic Ocean,broke when tested.
  Maybe next year Shell will make it work well enough not tobreak, but that doesn't mean it would really do its job.
  18September 2012 (Thugwho shoved Ian Tomlinson punished)The thug who shoved Ian Tomlinson has been punished '--by being fired.
  18September 2012 (Urgent:Support Occupy Movement)US citizens: supportthe Occupy Movement.
  18September 2012 (Chicagomayor threatens to jail teachers)Chicago Mayor Emanuel says he will sue to stop the teachers' strike, effectively threatening tojail the teachers.
  It's a favorite right-wing tactic to demonize whichever workersthey haven't yet cut the pay of.
  18September 2012 (Freedomof speech in US threatened)Freedom of speech is threatened in the US for Muslims and anti-Muslims, by both Republicans andDemocrats.
  18September 2012 (Urgent:Clemency for Terrance Williams)Everyone: sign this petition for clemency for Terrance Williams.
  I think he ought to have a new trial.
  18September 2012 (Violencetoward anything that "insults")Stirring up violence towards anything that "insults" Islam is apolitical tool of Islamist extremists.
  18September 2012 (Iran'srevolutionary guards in Syria)Iran's revolutionary guards are in Syria fightingfor Assad.
  18September 2012 (Occupy WallStreet returns)Occupy Wall Street has returned to protests.
  Have the thugs returned to violent attacks on protesters and journalists? Since they musthave considered their past practice a success, and none have beenpunished for these crimes, I expect them to continue.
  18September 2012 (Netanyahutrying to pressure US)Netanyahu is trying to pressure the US government to commititself to war with Iran.
  18September 2012 (Possible entrapment)A man in Chicago was arrested for trying to set off a government-supplied dummy bomb.
  This raises the issue: to what extent did the government lead him into committing a crimethat he otherwise would never have attempted?
  18September 2012 (Danger of nuclearpower)Whistleblower Richard Perkins says the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission is covering up the danger that a nuclear power plant inSouth Carolina could have a meltdown if a dam breaks and floods it.
  Thirty thousand people protested to block loading nuclear fuel into a reactor in India.
  Some argue for nuclear power as a way to prevent global heating.But this is a dangerous bet. If civilization collapses, all thedirty used nuclear fuel rods, stored in a manner that requiresfrequent high-tech maintenance, will leak into the environment.
  18September 2012 (Killing ofUS ambassador to Libya)The killing of the US ambassador to Libya may have been done bya militia linked to al Qa'ida.
  If true '-- the US or the Libyan government could be lying'-- this reflects the fact that various militias thatparticipated in the revolution against Gaddafi remain armed, andpursuing their own agendas, including in some cases Islamistextremism.
  US surveillance drones are flying over Libya now, probably withthe state's approval. What does this imply?
  Such groups are not like the army of a state. The army of astate is limited by the state's funding for the troops, trainingand arms. Killing some of the troops makes the remaining armysmaller and (unless it was victorious) weaker in spirit. But theseunderground groups are limited mainly by how much they can recruit.The drone attacks seem to make them stronger, especially throughthe resentment generated when they kill civilians.
  How the US government talks about drone attacks while claiming it doesn't.
  18September 2012 (Massive protest inMadrid)A massive protest in Madrid demanded a referendum on austerity.
  18September 2012 (Copyright overnew stories)Germany is proposing to establish a kind of copyright over news stories inbulk.
  18September 2012 (Using ITU toend net neutrality)Major ISPs want to use the ITU to get rid of network neutrality.
  17 September2012 (Internet Music)InternetMusic
  17September 2012 (Somein Taliban ready to negotiate with US)Some in the Taliban want to make an accommodation with the US, but don't trustKarzai to run an election.
  Since his last election was a sham, I can't blame them.
  17 September2012 (UK's newenvironment minister)The UK's new environment minister has no credentials except thesupport of a prominent global heating denier.
  The current government says it plans to be the "greenest ever"but has taken every opportunity to sabotage renewable energy andboost fossil fuels. I concluded long ago that its actions show usits true goals. Now this is confirmed.
  17 September2012 (Economic growth)Arguingthat continued economic growth is now impossible and peoplemust prepare for society on a broad scale to collapse.
  Although economic growth has, in the past, meant increased useof resources that are now scarce, that is not the only way aneconomic recovery for American workers can occur. Directing the UStowards constructing renewable energy in the way it was oncedirected towards fighting World War II could provide jobs formillions while reducing our resource usage.
  17September 2012 (UK's plan forsecret courts)The UN criticized the UK's plan for secret courts.
  Protecting torturers is not merely an accidental byproduct ofthis plan. It is the motive for the plan. The servile UK governmentwill go to any lengths to help Obama protect US torturers.
  17September 2012 (Urgent:Repeal law that prohibits protests)US citizens: call onCongress to repeal the law that prohibits nearly all protestsat many public events.
  17 September 2012 (Urgent:Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support theWhistleblower Protection Enhancement Act.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  17September 2012 (GMOs at"natural foods" store chains)Major "natural foods" store chains have stopped trying to resist GMOs.
  17September 2012 (Googlepressured to take down video)The White House seems to have pressured Google in vague terms totake down the anti-Muslim video that fanatics are using as an excuse toprovoke violence.
  I am not surprised that the video has been blocked in India.India has very restrictive censorship policies, on and off theInternet.
  17September 2012 (TerryWilliams faces execution)Terry Williams faces execution for killing the men who rapedhim repeatedly in church.
  The death penalty is always wrong, but commuting it to lifeimprisonment in this case seems insufficient.
  17 September2012 (Pictures ofCanadian pennies)Responding to broad public condemnation, the Canadian governmentdropped its plan to charge a musician for using pictures of pennies on a recordcover.
  The mint spreads gratuitous confusion by describing itscopyright policy as ''intellectualproperty policy'', mixing up copyright with a severalother unrelated laws.
  17September 2012 (Droughtaffecting electric power plants)Drought due to global heating is blocking the operation of electric power plants.
  Solar and wind power are not affected by these problems.
  Charging farms more for water is also vitally necessary toprevent wasteful use. This has been recognized for decades, butagribusiness interests have prevented it.
  17September 2012 (CIAhelped Gaddafi torture Libyan dissidents)Former anti-Gaddafi Libyan dissidents describe how the CIA tortured them before handing them over to Gaddafi'storturers.
  Since Obama has gone all-out to protect US torturers so far, hewill surely protect the perpetrators of this torture too, whiledoing everything possible to prevent the accusations from beinginvestigated in court.
  In effect, Obama is complicit in the torture he covers up.
  17 September 2012(Hadopi)Hadopi, the unjust French law that punishes people when they are accused of file-sharing.
  17September 2012 (Confessionsof a former Republican)A former Republican (of the non-theocratic variant) explains what heused to believe, and how he found out that much of it wasbaloney.
  17September 2012 (Urgent:Raise issue of global heating)US citizens: call for raising the issue of global heating in thepresidential debates.
  16 September2012 (War on Dissentin Wisconsin)Wisconsin has carried the War on Dissent to new lengths,arresting peoplecarrying hand-held signs in the capitol building.
  16September 2012 (Lobbying"fire experts" shut down)A lobbying group of "fire experts" was shut down after it wasexposed as a front forthe companies that make toxic fire-retardant chemicals.
  The idea of artificially stopping fires from starting is not abad one, and it isn't self-evident whether these chemicals do moreor less harm than the fires they prevent. On the other hand, somehighly flammable materials such as polyurethane could be banned inconsumer products instead of treated with toxins.
  16September 2012 (Prosecutingonly the whistleblower)Nobody in the US will be prosecuted for torture except the whistleblower John Kiriakou who told us aboutit.
  As a patriotic American, brought up to love freedom, I feel thesame disgust for the US government today as I feel for othergovernments that torture and oppress.
  16September 2012 (Impressionof "balance" in journalism)The impression of "balance": a Washington Post columnist says itbothers him to criticize Romney more than he criticizes Obama.Someone taught him a decent journalist is supposed to criticize both candidates equally.
  I think a decent citizen should criticize Obama and Romneyequally for the right-wing policies they agree on.
  16 September 2012 (FormerMexican president protected from lawsuit)The US will protect former Mexican president Zedillo from alawsuit by victims of a massacre carried out by paramilitariesduring his presidency.
  16September 2012 (Punishmentwithout trial coming to US)Thanks to Obama, punishment without trial is coming to the US, "justified" bythe illegitimate goal of stopping people from sharing.
  17September 2012 (Urgent:Support striking Walmart workers)US citizens: support strikingWalmart workers.
  16 September 2012 (Urgent:Tell Apple to treat workers ethically)Everyone: call onApple to treat its workers ethically.
  This would not beenough to make Apple computer products acceptable touse.
  16September 2012 (Florida voter purge)Florida's Republican rulers plan to resume a hasty purge of supposedly ineligible voters,giving them too little time to challenge the exclusion.
  16September 2012 (Japan toclose nuclear power plants)Japan has announced a plan to close all nuclear power plants in 30 years and expand renewableenergy.
  16September 2012 (Fossil fuelcompanies buying ads)Fossil fuel companies are buying lots of ads to push Obama to give them all they want.
  16September 2012 (Protestsagainst US embassies)Arguing that the protests against US embassies are more due toUS policies (such as drone assassinations) and fanaticalorganizers than to a video.
  16September 2012 (Urgent: No war withIran)US citizens: Phone your congresscritter to say "No war withIran". Then send a message through this page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  16 September 2012 (Urgent:Call for hearings on voter suppression)US citizens: call on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings onRepublican voter suppression.
  16September 2012 (Arcticsea ice sets new record low)Arctic sea ice sets a new record low, just half the area that was usual in the 1970s.
  But this understates the loss, because it is also much thinnerthan it used to be. In volume, it is now far less than half.
  16 September2012 (UK to deportTamil refugees)The UK plans to deport Tamil refugees to Sri Lanka despiteevidence they are likely to be tortured there.
  16September 2012 (Repression ofgays in Malaysia)Repressive Malaysia is extending repression of gays.
  16September 2012 (WashingtonPost "debate" about energy sources)Brought to You by...Big Oil? The Washington Post presented abiased "debate" about energy sources, concealing the fact that itwas sponsored byfossil fuel companies.
  16September 2012 (Dutchcourt endangers journalists)A Dutch court put journalists and web site operators in dangerby fining a site for a link to an unauthorized copy of aphoto.
  16September 2012 (Intel chipwith secret features)Intel has designed a chip with secret features so that only Windows can run on it.
  16September 2012 (The House GOPbudget)House GOP Budget Would Cost States Ten Times More Than ExpandingMedicaid.
  16September 2012 (Politicalopposition to Chicago's teachers)Republican Romney and Chicago's Democrat mayor both oppose Chicago's teachers, and Obama doesn't support them.
  16September 2012 (How Romney helpedMonsanto)How Romney helpedMonsanto become the menacing giant that it is today.
  16September 2012 (Bain Capitalmethods)If Romney applies the Bain Capital methods to the 50 states.
  16September 2012 (Protestsagainst TPP negotiations)Protests against the TPP negotiations.
  16September 2012 (Networkingrebellion in Arab uprisings)Networking Rebellion: Digital Policing and Revolt in the ArabUprisings.
  16September 2012 (UCDavis to pay pepper-sprayed protesters)UC Davis will pay compensation to the protesters who were pepper sprayed bythugs.
  16September 2012 (Cruelty ofBahrain's king)Zainab Al-Khawaja protested even with a cast on her leg, whichhad been broken by Bahraini thugs in a previous protest. So now she isin prison.
  Her father was raped in prison while recovering from the manyoperations needed to repair all the bones that the thugs broke.
  The US government continues supporting Bahrain's cruel king, aspart of the race for who gets to roast our planet fastest.
  16September 2012 (Surveillanceof Americans' stored email)Senator Leahy has proposed an amendmentto fill the gap in Americans' rights against surveillance of theirstored email.
  This ought to ban the existing universal NSA snooping, but I suspect that point will be ignored.
  16September 2012 (UK thugs faceprosecution)High-ranking UK thugs may face prosecution for lying about the events of a disaster in which 96 sports fansdied, falsely blaming the victims.
  15 September2012 (Apple censorship)Apple censorship is not always aimed at its direct commercialadvantage. Naomi Wolf's book "Vagina" is presented on iTunes with a censored title.
  15September 2012 (US arm sales toBahrain)Calling onClinton to apply the law and suspend US arms sales toBahrain.
  15 September 2012 (Urgent:Confront candidates about Corporations United)US citizens: signup to confront candidates about public funding of elections andreversing the Corporations United decision (note that I call it bywhat it really was).
  15September 2012 (Violenceand extremism of Syrian rebels)Some Syrians who didn't like Assad are repelled by the violence and extremism of the rebels.
  I doubt we can tell how many Syrians feel this way, how manysupport the rebels, and how many supported Assad all along.However, I think the disapproval of the rebels might result inAssad's keeping power.
  15September 2012 (Secretwatermarks on screenshots)World of Warcraft screenshots have secret watermarks identifying who made them.
  15September 2012 (Censorshipof "child pornography")Rick Falvinge joins me in demanding an end to the censorship of "child pornography", and points out that if inthe US you observe the rape of a child, making a video or photo touse as evidence would subject you to a greater penalty than therapist.
  The article does not mention that it's common practice forteenagers to exchange nude photos with their lovers, and they allpotentially could be imprisoned for this. A substantial fraction ofthem are actually prosecuted.
  15September 2012 (Fragmentarysea ice near North Pole)Just 350 miles from the North Pole, sea ice is only fragmentary.This means that satellites overestimate the amount of ice that remains.
  15September 2012 (Cambodianjournalist murdered)A Cambodian journalist who reported on deforestation has been murdered.
  15September 2012 (Sustainabledevelopment)Sustainable development must aim at wellbeing, not at economic growth.
  This is all the more so given that economic growth under theempire of business tends to benefit only the rich.
  15 September2012 (Loss of frogspecies in Asia)Thousands of species of frogs in Asia may be wiped out by human activity before science discovers theirexistence.
  15September 2012 (UKgov't to push for use of fracked gas)The UK government is planning to break its own laws by pushing for extended use offracked gas rather than renewable energy.
  15September 2012 (Libya's newgovernment)How will Libya's new government deal with violent Islamists?
  15September 2012 (Catalansmarch for separation from Spain)A million Catalans marched in favor of separating Catalunyafrom Spain.
  Their grievances are fueled by the effects of austerity.Catalans are making a mistake blaming the poor in Andaluc­aand Extremadura; they should join together to fight their commonenemies: Rajoy and the banksters.
  Meanwhile, this shows a way for a country to exit the euro zone.It can split into regions, each of which will need a new currencysince it will be outside the EU. But instead of making a newcurrency for each region, they could share a single new currency,just as Ecuador and the US share the dollar. Then the regions couldreunite.
  15September 2012 (UK lawallows arbitrary imprisonment)One of many tyrannical laws in the UK allows border agents toarrest people arbitrarily and imprison them for refusing to answer a question.
  The plans to revise the law affect other secondary nasty points,but apparently there is no plan to change the law's principalattack against the rights of Englishmen: forcing people toincriminate themselves.
  15September 2012 (Trapped by Apple"ecosystem")An iThing user writes about being trapped by the Apple "ecosystem".
  It is not impossible to break loose: you can stop, and youshould stop. However, is is a considerable inconvenience to breakloose from this pernicious system, and that makes Apple culpablefor creating it.
  15September 2012 (ColombianGeneral Motors worker strikes)Colombian General Motors worker Jorge Parra is on hunger-strikeagain, after GM refused to help the workers who were fired after they were injured on the job.
  15September 2012 (Pakistanparties against drones)Pakistan Parties Uniting Against Drones.
  15September 2012 (UScontinues imprisonment without trial)The US continues imprisonment without trial. Prisoner Adnan Abd-ul-Latif died in Guantanamo, where he was held merelyfor being Yemeni.
  15September 2012 (All-out Mideast war)U.S. strike on Iran could lead to all-out Mideast war, experts say.
  15September 2012 (Eventhugs protest austerity in Greece)Even the thugs are protesting against austerity in Greece.
  Fortunately for Greece, the long-term disaster of privatizationhas proceeded slowly. There may be some government activities thatcould safely be privatized, because the public would be able to usethem through a competitive market; but I expect that the mainprivatization will be for the things that ought to be run by thestate.
  15September 2012 (Unjust USlaws harm human rights)Unjust US laws have harmed Tunisians' human rights, in Guantanamo and in Tunisia.
  15September 2012 (Googlecensors video in Libya and Egypt)Google has blocked access in Libya and Egypt to the video that Muslimfanatics are offended by.
  15September 2012 (HomeAffordable Modification Program)Big Banks failed to properly implement the Home Affordable ModificationProgram, resulting in 800,000 foreclosures that should havebeen avoided.
  15September 2012 (USimprisonment without trial blocked)Judge Katherine B. Forrest issued a permanent injunction against the imprisonment withouttrial authorized by the National "Defense" Authorization Act.
  While it is good that this injustice has been blocked, thegrounds for blocking it are too specific: that the grounds statedfor imprisoning people were too vague. Even given a very clear andprecise criterion, imprisonment without trial is tyranny. For theUS to be the Land of Liberty, it must respect the most basic humanright: no punishment without a fair trial.
  15September 2012 (Studentsforced to build iThings at Foxconn)Foxconn closed schools and forced the students to work buildingiThings.
  15September 2012 (FederalReserve can help the economy)Republicans Admit Federal Reserve Can Help The Economy, But PreferIt Wouldn't.
  Increased government spending is a much better way to promoteemployment in the US, but Republicans have been able to block thatsince 2010.
  15September 2012 (High-income taxcuts)New Study Finds High-Income Tax Cuts Don't Stimulate EconomicGrowth. In recent history, that is.
  15September 2012 (Warrantlesswiretapping in the US)The House of Representatives voted for 5 more years of warrantless wiretapping of Americans'international communications.
  Note that the NSA in fact intercepts nearly all the digital communications in the US, buthas redefined the word "intercept" to pretend this isn't so.
  15 September 2012 (Urgent:Discourage defense of imprisonment without trial)US citizens: call onObama and your senators not to defend imprisonment withouttrial, which a judge found unconstitutional.
  In the two messages, I replaced "indefinite detention" with"imprisonment without trial". Why mince words?
  15September 2012 (Agent Orange Corn)"Agent OrangeCorn" One Step Closer to Approval
  15September 2012 (Recent organicfood study)Stanford scientists who published an analysis of studiescomparing organic and conventional foods worked in a lab funded byorganizations with their own private interests in theissue.
  This does not necessarily invalidate the conclusion: thatorganic food was not better in nutritional value. But it castsdoubt on whether we can trust the scientists who published thestudy.
  The first announcement of the study that I saw said that itacknowledged that organic foods could be better in avoidingpesticides and drug-resistant bacteria. So I am surprised by thearticles criticizing the study for denying that.
  15 September 2012 (Urgent:Student loan cancelation when student dies)US citizens: callon Citibank to cancel student loans when a student dies.
  15September 2012 (Urgent:Petition against the TPP)US citizens: sign thispetition against the TPP.
  15September 2012 (Mobattack on US consulate in Banghazi)A mob attack on the US consulate in Banghazi provided theopportunity for someone to fire a rocket that killed the US ambassador.
  If I saw the movie that the mob was angry at, I might disagreewith parts of it. I'm not interested in seeing it, because whateveropinion I might have of the film itself is irrelevant to theimportant issue at stake. We must defend the freedom to state thoseviews, or any views, whether we agree with them or not.
  Censorship is an injustice. Whether it is done by a state suchas Turkey, a company such as Apple or Facebook, or a mob of peoplewho think one has no right to offend them, it is an injustice. Nomatter how powerful are the forces of censorship, we must nevergrant them legitimacy.
  15September 2012 (Conditions inFoxconn factory)An undercover journalist reports on the horrible conditions inthe Foxconn factory that makes iThings: still horrible in 2012.
  15September 2012 (Anti-governmentweb sites in Vietnam)Vietnam plans to prosecute publishers of anti-government web sites.
  15September 2012 (Thesecret negotiations of the TPP)Protesters and legislators condemned the secret negotiations of the TPP.
  The articles spread confusion when they use the term"intellectual property". The draft treaty probably does it too.
  15September 2012 (Mob attackat US embassy in Egypt)Romney condemned the US embassy in Egypt for responding to mobattack by condemning the film that the mob was angry at. But he wasmistaken. It turns out that the embassy anticipated the attacks by condemning the film.
  To my mind, that makes the embassy's action even worse.Surrender before you're even attacked?
  15 September 2012 (Urgent:Stop use of conflict minerals in Nintendo)US citizens: tell Nintendo torefuse to buy conflict minerals mined by brutal Africanmilitias.
  15September 2012 (Urgent:Ban trade in polar bear parts)US citizens: call on Obama to ban trade in polar bear parts.
  15September 2012 (US childrenliving in poverty)1/5 of children in the US are living in poverty.
  When you cut everything that can help the non-rich, you get morepoverty.
  15September 2012 (NATO troops inAfghanistan)Most Americans and most Europeans want to remove lots of theNATO troops from Afghanistan immediately.
  15September 2012 (Paul Ryan's votingrecord)Paul Ryan voted repeatedly against paying for the treatment of illnessescaused by breathing the toxic air of the burning World TradeCenter.
  14September 2012 (Banksdownplay productive investment)Today's banks, focused on financial schemes to grab more moneyfrom other investors, downplay productive investment.
  14September 2012 (Surveillancecameras in UK schools)Many UK schools have put surveillance cameras in toilets and changing rooms.
  14September 2012 (Results ofBush's invasion of Iraq)Ten years ago, an article foretold what theresults would be if Bush invaded Iraq. Few of those whosupported the decision have admitted it was wrong.
  Perhaps that is because it was worse than just a mistake. It wasa crime, and those responsible do not want to feel that they arecriminals.
  14September 2012 (Caravan for Peace)The Caravan for Peace has toured the US protestingagainst the destructive War on Drugs.
  13September 2012 (Nonprofit sharingof songs)The record companies have been victorious in their lawsuits for hundreds of thousands ofdollars for nonprofit sharing of songs.
  We must demand that our congressional representatives supportlegalization of sharing.
  13September 2012 (MonitorUS for voter disenfranchisement)Other countries should monitor the US election to see ifRepublicans will win via disenfranchisement.
  13September 2012 (No Child LeftBehind)The multipleswindles of No Child Left Behind.
  13September 2012 (AT&Ts "Internetfreedom")AT&T claims that "Internet freedom" means abolishing all regulation of ISPs and phone companies. It wantsto force people to switch from telephone service to Internetservice, and abolish "common carrier" status so it can arbitrarilycut people off.
  13 September2012 (US Navy sonartesting range)The US Navy got court approval to risk causing the extinction of North Atlantic right whales, by setting up asonar testing range next to the place they give birth to theiryoung.
  13September 2012 (Chicago teacherson strike)Chicago teachers have gone on strike because the city is planning to fire them if they teach in schools wherestudents do badly (because they are poor).
  Greg Palast explains how the scheme works.
  13September 2012 (WhiteHouse prepares stand-in for CISPA)White House Preparing Executive Order As A Stand-In ForCISPA.
  Ensuring that companies that run crucial infrastructure maintaingood computer security is a legitimate goal, and parts of the planmay be unproblematical. But it needs to be done in a way thatdoesn't trample the public's freedom.
  13 September 2012 (Twitterloses appeal to protect personal data)Twitter seems to have lost its appeal to protect personal data of a protester in New York City.
  I agree that tweets, which are published, cannot be the objectof privacy. However, I've read in other articles that theinformation in question includes IP addresses and othernon-published data.
  13September 2012 (Assangethreatens to sue SXSW)Julian Assange threatened to sue SXSW if it broadcast a film that presented him in a bad light.
  I have not seen the film, and I have no opinion about it, buteven if it were an out-and-out lie and deserved a libel suit, thisadvance threat seems harsh and aggressive.
  However, this is a secondary issue compared with the heroic workof Wikileaks and has no effect on the need to protect Assange fromUS persecution.
  13 September2012 (Egyptians attackUS embassy)Egyptians attacked the US embassy, enraged about a videomade in the US which insults Muhammad.
  The embassy concededtoo much to these would-be censors.
  Another example of dangerous surrender occurred in the UK.
  People have as much right to express anti-Muslim views as theyhave to be Muslims. Censorship threats by arrogant Muslims whocan't bear criticism must be resisted with not the slightest hintof an apology.
  13September 2012 (Suicidebomber kills teenagers in Kabul)A suicide bomber in Kabul killed and injured teenagers who sold trinkets outside NATOheadquarters.
  Whatever may have been the bomber's originally intended target,he surely knew when he pushed the button who the victims wouldactually be. He could instead have walked away.
  I wonder whether Afghans will feel the same disgust at theTaliban that they feel towards the US for killing civilians.
  13 September2012 (Marijuanaprohibition in UK)Prohibition of marijuana in the UK is fueling violence amongproducers, so a chief of thugs proposes '... more prohibition.
  13 September 2012 (Accusationsof massacre in Venezuela retracted)It appears that there was no massacre in the jungle in Venezuela. The group that made theaccusation retracted it.
  12 September2012 (Urgent: SupportReal Debate)US citizens: sign thispetition for presidential debate to include other realcandidates.
  12September 2012 (Urgent: OpposeAttacking Iran)Everyone: signthis petition to the US and Israel, saying not to attackIran.
  12September 2012 (11 yearsof US war in Afghanistan)11 yearsafter Dubya invaded Afghanistan, the US is still at war there,still killing, still dying, still propping up a corrupt governmentthat treats women with contempt.
  Meanwhile, the Taliban get their funds from US "ally" SaudiArabia.
  12September 2012 (Web site"surveywalls")Instead of asking people to pay for access, websites might inthe future ask visitors to answer a survey question.
  There are many kinds of questions I would not mind answering tovisit a web site. However, I would not mind paying money, either,in principle. My objection to today's paywalls is that paying wouldrequire me to identify myself. My concern about possible future"surveywalls" is likewise about the details.
  If I could answer the survey question without running nonfreesoftware (including nonfree Javascript code), and without its beingtied to my identity or to my other browsing, I would be willing toanswer, supposing the question itself were not objectionable.
  12September 2012 (Romney'sposition on health care)Did Romney intentionally misrepresent his position on healthcare to mislead undecided voters?
  I have no proof, but I think it is plausible that he did.
  12September 2012 (Lawsuitsover voter suppression laws)The outcome of the US election may be determined by lawsuitsover Republican voter suppression laws.
  12September 2012 (Dubyaignored warnings about attacks)Dubya ignored many warnings about the Sep 2001 attacks and isstillcovering up what they were.
  12 September2012 (Romney's PACs)Romney's PACs get millions from Chinese casinos, and from dummy corporations runby cartoon characters.
  12September 2012 (Ablogpost that damages children's brains)"This blogpost will cause lasting damage to children'sbrains".
  12September 2012 (Toxicsubstances in cleaning products)Many cleaning products contain toxic substances that can cause asthmaor cancer.
  12September 2012 (South Sudan's thugs)South Sudan is a new country, but its thugs have alreadybeat upa human rights activist.
  12September 2012 (Legitimizingtyranny in Sri Lanka)Legitimizingtyranny in Sri Lanka.
  12September 2012 (The leaked iThingUDIDs)The leaked list of iThing UDIDs originated from a company. This does not necessarily prove itwas not obtained from the FBI.
  That list is personal information about people who did nothingto deserve mistreatment. (They did something very foolish by usingApple devices, but they shouldn't be punished for that.) Thecrackersreduced the wrong by limiting the information in what they leaked,but it was nonetheless somewhat wrong.
  However, the more important wrong was collecting the data in thefirst place. When we consider how to prevent future wrongs, weshould focus on that kind.
  12September 2012 (AIDS in Zimbabweprison)An HIV-infected political prisoner in Zimbabwe is campaigning for prisoners to have access to the medicines thatsave their lives by preventing AIDS.
  12September 2012 (Austrianmountain peak without ice cap)Climbers in an Austrian mountain peak found it without an ice cap for the first time.
  12September 2012 (Globalheating a public health issue)Global heating should be presented as a public health issue.
  12September 2012 (Taxes andregulations)Econometric evidence that taxes and regulations are not the obstacle to US economic recovery.
  12September 2012 (Kochbrothers criticize crony capitalism)Even the Koch brothers can criticize crony capitalism. So let's stop them from practicingit.
  12 September 2012(JunkDNA)The claim that 80% of human DNA is functional was based on a laxcriterion for "functional". Some of that 80% might nonetheless be junk.
  11 September 2012 (Todaywe commemorate the September 11 attacks)Today we commemorate the September 11 attacks, which killedPresident Allende of Chile and installed Pinochet's murderousmilitary dictatorship. More than 3,000 dissidents were killed or"disappeared" by the Pinochet regime. The USA operated adestabilization campaign in Chile, and the September 11 attacks were part of that campaign.
  I also support a newinvestigation of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US.
  11 September2012 (September 11investigations)A study reports that the apparent grains of microthermite indust from the World Trade Center could be a mixture of kaolin andepoxy, both common in paint.
  Also, the iron microspheres can form in a fire at a temperaturemuch lower than theusual burning point of iron.
  This undercuts the practical evidence cited for the claim thatthe World Trade Center was knocked down by thermite planted in thebuildings.
  I still support the demand for an honest, impartialinvestigation with full subpoena power. The weakened and thencorruptedinvestigation that Bush allowed was not sufficient to establishthe truth and demonstrate it to the public.
  11September 2012 (Carbon tradingsystem)The UN's global carbon trading system, set up to encourageinvestment in emissions reduction in poor countries, is on the edge of collapsing.
  11 September2012 (Salmon farms andpesticides)Salmon farms, like plant farms, need ever increasing amounts oftoxic pesticides. These pesticides are dumped straight into the ocean.
  11September 2012 (Talibanleaders want to negotiate)Taliban leaders want to negotiate, according to former Taliban leaders.
  11September 2012 (Journalistsface charges of terrorism)44 journalists face charges of terrorism in Turkey for criticizing the state in various ways.
  The saddest thing is that US dissidents are getting similar treatment.
  11September 2012 (Breakingthe Chains of Consumerism)Americathe Possible: Breaking the Chains of Consumerism.
  11September 2012 (Garbagemagnates discourage composting)Garbage magnates are lobbying to discourage composting recycling.
  Apparently I am not the only one who's non compost mentis.
  10 September2012 (Nature reserves)Existing nature reserves fall far short of what is needed toprevent a mass extinction later this century.
  10September 2012 (Iraqivice president sentenced to death)Iraq's vice president, a Sunni and now in exile in Turkey, wassentenced to death in absentia.
  I won't say it is impossible that he's guilty of orderingkillings, but it is clear that the trial is political and theverdict is meaningless. Several major Iraqi political parties were(maybe still are) connected with militias which participated in thesectarian warfare a few years ago. It would be good to punish allthose involved, but trying to execute only the Sunni politicalleader looks more like a further act in that warfare.
  10September 2012 (Over 90%of Caribbean coral dead)Caribbean coral reefs are over 90% dead, and what's left is threatened.
  10September 2012 (Warrantlesssurveillance of Americans)Laura Poitras' new documentary shows how much the NSA is spying on every American.
  Congress could stop this, if it cared about human rights.
  Ask your candidates for congresscritter and senator where theystand on warrantless surveillance of Americans.
  10September 2012 (Privatized watercompanies)Privatized water companies are giving US homeowners unjustified and incredible bills.
  10September 2012 (Arctic drilling byShell)Greenpeace says Shell was reckless in its rushed and incomplete testing to a crucialcomponent it wants to use for undersea Arctic drilling.
  10September 2012 (Chargedwith mass murder, shielded by US)The US shielded Bolivia'sex-president from extradition on charges of mass murder.
  10September 2012 (Not the FinancialTimes)Not the FinancialTimes.
  10 September2012 (ComparingiTunes to Monsanto)ComparingiTunes to Monsanto.
  10 September2012 (Programmed toimpose poverty)Thesis: how the US is programmed to impose poverty, how austerity helps,and why the unemployment figures are not meaningful anymore.
  10September 2012 (Wind-powergenerators)Wind-power generators kill hundreds of thousands of birds in theUS, but that's insignificant because buildings, power lines and cats killhundreds of millions of birds.
  10September 2012 (Urgent:Oppose UK Internet filtering)UK citizens: opposedefault-on UK Internet filtering.
  10September 2012 (WellsFargo forecloses unmortgaged home)Wells Fargo foreclosed a home that had no mortgage, and a retired couplelost all their possessions.
  The reason this can occur is that courts don't bother to insistthe banks provide valid proof of the mortgage they claim to beforeclosing.
  10September 2012 (Labourpressured to move further right)Pressure for Labour in the UK to imitate Obama and move evenfurther to the right.
  10September 2012 (Democratsendorse War on Sharing)The Democratic Party platform endorses the War on Sharing, using the propaganda term "intellectualproperty".
  The use of that term by the government is a method of framingthe copyright issue so as to support the War on Sharing. Using thatterm helps their cause, so please don't.
  10September 2012 (Cell phone securityrisk)Jacob Appelbaum explains how much of a securityrisk a cell phone is.
  10September 2012 (Slaughter ofelephants)US-fundedAfrican armies are now joining in the slaughter ofelephants.
  10September 2012 (Republicanand Democratic conventions)The Republican and Democratic conventions have turned intodisplaysrun on corporate sponsorship.
  10September 2012 (Prosecuting TonyBlair)We are astep closer to seeing Tony B'liar prosecuted for the crime ofaggressive war, but there is a long way to go.
  10September 2012 (Vastsubsidies, tax breaks for the 1%)Subsidies and tax breaks for the 1% are vast compared withsocial welfare programs for the 99%.
  Thanks to these, the owners of major US companies can't honestlyclaim to have built those companies. We the taxpayers built themtoo. (And the workers surely helped.)
  The richest Americans and big business are creating hardly any jobs inthe US, even though they have plenty of money. So it is nosurprise that giving them more money, with tax cuts, doesn't leadto any more jobs.
  That article accepts one erroneous but widely believed point:that innovative startups create substantial numbers of jobs. As anIntel executive pointed out a couple of years ago, such companiesonly provide substantial numbers of jobs when they ramp upproduction, and nowadays they don't do that in the US.
  Other kinds of new businesses, such as restaurants and stores,can add up to large numbers of jobs, simply because there can belarge numbers of these businesses.
  09September 2012 (Urgent:Support US Conservation Programs)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to call for continuedfunding for US conservation programs. Also send a message throughthis page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  I called for increased efforts to stop global heating.
  09September 2012 (911 Investigation)We need a new 911investigation.
  09September 2012 (FBI's newfacial recognition system)The FBI has a new facial recognition system, and there is littleto stop them from trying to put in a photo of everyone in the country.
  09September 2012 (Repression in Tibet)China continues repression in Tibet, arresting monks and confiscating computers.
  A girl who made a solitary protest was imprisonedfor 3 years. Beating and injuring her was not enough to satisfythe thugs.
  Chinesewho want human rights face repression too.
  09September 2012 (Justice forNigerian journalist)A Nigerian journalist who was attacked may get justice.
  09September 2012 (Obama,Romney, Stein on energy policy)Comparing Obama, Romney and Stein on energy policy.
  09September 2012 (Prematuredismissal of organic food)Arguing against thepremature dismissal of organic food.
  The advocates of organic food often adopt a simplistic "naturalis good" platform which is not justifiable. But that doesn't meanthat it it does not sometimes address real problems. Ecologicaldamage, resistant bacteria and efficient resource usage are allimportant issues. Avoiding monoculture and domination by giantagribusinesses is important too. Many of the practices of organicfarming may be necessary to address these problems.
  09September 2012 (Romneyadvocates more military spending)Romney advocates more government spending, in the name of jobs, as long as it's military spending.
  Strange that he wants to cut the other government spending, thatcreates more jobs per dollar and does some real good for society inthe process.
  09September 2012 (Romney wantsInternet filtering)Romney wants Internet filtering software installed in all computers.
  Note how he uses works that some find disgusting as an excusefor something even more disgusting.
  09 September 2012 (Kochbrothers endorse tax breaks for oil companies)The Koch brothers' political front endorses tax breaks for oilcompanies, but opposes them for wind power.
  09September 2012 (Unemploymentbenefits)Half of America's unemployed people are not gettingunemployment benefits.
  09September 2012 (Insurancecompanies want car tracking)Car insurance companies want to install computer systems in cars to track where and how they drive.
  The whole idea of insurance is that you pay based on an estimateof what your accidents are likely to cost. With more information,they can make a better prediction. This is not inherently bad, butthere are some kinds of information that companies should not beable to use for this.
  I think it is legitimate to charge based on a person's style ofdriving, and to collect data to determine what that style is. Forinstance, how you typically brake is not sensitive for otherreasons, so there's no reason to stop that from being measured.
  However, the insurance company must not be able to collect anyinformation about where or when you drive, because nobody should beallowed to collect that sort of information about you. It is toosensitive and amounts to a surveillance society.
  09September 2012 (Cuttingsocial security benefits)"Raising the retirement age" is the euphemism for cuttingsocial security benefits.
  With longer life spans, it makes sense to ask people to retirelater '-- if there is work that we need them to do. However, ina society with high unemployment, it is absurd to claim that peopleshould be required to keep working longer even though they can'tfind a job.
  09September 2012 (Torture by US gov't)The New York Times won't dare to call torture torture, when the USgovernment does it.
  This is a double standard. After World War II, the US executed Japanese soldiers who applied this kind of torture toUS prisoners of war.
  I oppose capital punishment, but anyone who commits torturedeserves to be punished, and the US has the duty to punish itstorturers.
  09September 2012 (Romneyunafraid of fact-checkers)Why Romney is not afraid of fact-checkers.
  Paul Ryan's lies are mere "overreaching" which calls for a"course correction".
  09September 2012 (Sharingcopies of published work)One author sells his ebooks to libraries without DRM or EULA.And also permits a certain amount of copying.
  This doesn't go as far as it should '-- readers should befree to share copies of any published work '-- but it is atleast no worse than a printed book.
  08September 2012 (Man'sphone memory stolen by DC thugs)The ACLU is suing the Washington DC thug department for stealing aman's phone memory.
  08September 2012 (US repressionof mass protest)The political conventions demonstrate the US success in repressing mass protest.
  What's left of US democracy is an election between tworight-wing parties in which businesses can spend as much as theywish to make lies appear true.
  Can we do anything with this shred of democracy? Only if we canthwart the attempt by the rich to buy victory for their flunkies.Who is not their flunky? If they are buying lots of attack adsagainst someone, that's a hint. If the target is progressive, votefor him.
  08September 2012 (CNNresponse in re Bahrain documentary)Glenn Greenwald dissects CNN's response to his article about burying AmberLyon's documentary.
  08September 2012 (Computerizedordering systems)Restaurants are starting to replace waiters with computerized orderingsystems.
  How million poor Americans work as waiters? Will the USgovernment do anything for them when half of them are out ofwork?
  08September 2012 (Urgent:Obama's assassination policy)US citizens: tellObama to stop his assassination policy.
  08September 2012 (Personalizedmarketing)Americans, unless they resist, will be the subjects in anexperiment in massive personalized marketing.
  Not me, though. I almost never use the systems that givecompanies personal information about customers.
  08September 2012 (Urgent:Oppose fracking in Yellowstone)US citizens: oppose fracking in Yellowstone National Park.
  08 September 2012 (Urgent:Negotiate clean energy policy with China)Everyone: call on the EU to negotiate with China over clean energypolicy.
  08September 2012 (Obama'sguidelines for assassinations)Obama stated his own guidelines for drone assassinations.
  Given the US practice of claiming that any adult male that getskilled was an enemy combatant, point 4 seems to be mere windowdressing. However, in the absence of any legal procedure, theycould all be empty words.
  08September 2012 (TPPthreatens free speech and health care)Amnesty International warns that the TPP threatens free speech and health care.
  08September 2012 (Sanctionsagainst Iran affect medicine)US sanctions against Iran supposedly do not affect medicine, buthere is howthey do so in practice.
  08September 2012 (BradleyManning supporters protest)Supporters of Bradley Manning protested at Obamacampaign headquarters in 34 US cities.
  08September 2012 (USstudents forced to carry RFIDs)Some schools in the US are forcing students to carry RFIDs allthe time so as to track them around the school.
  They are being trained to live in subjection in prison.
  08September 2012 (Rimsha Masihgranted bail)Rimsha Masih was granted bail but her lawyer says Muslim fanatics will try to murder her.
  08September 2012 (The sex-toyvibrator)The history of the sex-toy vibrator: it was invented for doctors togive their patients orgasms.
  The idea that there is something wrong with a woman if shedoesn't have an orgasm in sex with a man seems so strange to methat I can hardly believe anyone thought that. If I can't give awoman pleasure, I might feel inadequate, or perhaps justdisappointed, but it would never occur to me to think that this wasa flaw in her.
  08 September2012 (Haqqani network)The US designated the Haqqani network as a "terrorist organization".
  That might be an accurate designation, but terrorism is a crime,and it is an injustice to declare an organization guilty of a crimewithout a fair trial to prove it.
  08 September2012 (Evidence againstAssad's men)Human Rights Watch says that evidence points to Assad's men asthe perpetrators of the massacre of Daraya.
  08September 2012 (Hunger in America)18 million Americans can't get enough food.
  It will be even harder in a few years as global heating reducesagricultural productivity and drives up food prices.
  08 September 2012 (DefenseMinister reportedly opposes attack on Iran)Israel's defense minister reportedly now opposes attacking Iran.
  If this is true, Israel will not attack unless Netanyahu pullsoff a really clever trick. This is good, because such a war wouldbe a disaster for everyone.
  08September 2012 (Discriminationin Indian schools)Almost 2/3 of Indian school children from lower castes have beensubject to explicit discrimination in school.
  08September 2012 (Urgent:Toughen rules on fracking)US citizens: tell the Bureau of Land Management that its proposed rules onfracking need to be tougher.
  07 September2012 (Plans for newHonduran city)Honduras plans to create a city with separate laws to be writtento suit foreign investors.
  Now it is clear what Obama hoped to gain by supporting thecoup.
  07September 2012 (Purveyorof global heating denial at DNC)An architect of multiple levels of front groups, designed to letoil companies spread denial of global heating while denying it'sdone with their funds, is now getting closely involved with the Democratic National Convention.
  07 September2012 (Black Americansand gov't IDs)The NAACP President explains why Black Americans (and poorAmericans generally) are likely not to have up-to-date government IDs with their currentaddresses.
  07September 2012 (Urgent:No extension on Arctic drilling)US citizens: TellPresident Obama and Secretary Salazar: don't give Shell anextension on its Arctic drilling window.
  07September 2012 (CNNsuppresses Arab Spring documentary)Amber Lyon made an award-winning documentary in Bahrain for CNN,as part of a larger program about the Arab Spring. CNN suppressedit after one showing, fired her, and is now making threats to silence her.
  If you watch the video on YouTube, don't do it through the siteitself: that requires running nonfree software (either Flash, ornonfree Javascript from YouTube itself). You can download thevideos from YouTube and watch them using free software, such asyoutube-dl.
  07September 2012 (US tortureof Libyan dissidents)Human Rights Watch announces its report about US torture ofLibyan dissidents for Gaddafi.
  Here's thereport itself.
  07September 2012 (Democrats planto sell us out)Democrats have started talking as if they were defendingAmericans from Republicans and business-friendly plans, but theytoo plan to sell us out.
  The Democratic Party's claims to have resisted the banksters,defended American workers, and resisted global heating turn out tome more false than true.
  The overall strategy of the two-party system is to push the USever further towards right-wingcruelty.
  Individual Democratic candidates may deserve support, especiallyif they oppose such things as free exploitation treaties. But notthe Democratic Party in general, and not Obama.
  07September 2012 (Affectof global heating on New England)Global heating is changing the forests in New England, and theseas around New England. Industries have already been wiped out,and morewill follow.
  07September 2012 (Democratsendorse war against Internet)The Democratic Party supports "internet freedom", but itendorses the copyright lobby's war against the Internet at thesame time.
  07September 2012 (Strikingminers in South Africa)Striking miners in South Africa are demanding a big raise, and heartlessly resisting when the bosses beg themto be reasonable and go back to work. Management would like us tobelieve that a raise for these low-paid and dangerous jobs would bea "dangerous precedent".
  I think the company can afford to pay these workersdecently.
  07 September2012 (Republicans'"small government")Republicans want "small government" except, mysteriously,for themilitary.
  07September 2012 (US taxexceptions for stadiums)The US gives billions in tax exemptions for construction of stadiums.
  07September 2012 (Lies aboutKeystone XL pipeline)Supporters of the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline continue to lie about how many jobs it would create.
  Of course, the bigger and deeper error would be to judge thepipeline by a secondary issue such as jobs working on it, andignore the tremendous boost it would give to global heating. Thearticles that claim the pipeline is good because of the imaginaryjobs are not only false, they are also distraction.
  07 September2012 (Torture ofLibyan dissidents)Human Rights Watch says that the CIA tortured Libyan dissidents by waterboarding before handingthem over to Gaddafi's men.
  I think Obama will protect these torturers too.
  07September 2012 (Americanmobile phone users' privacy)American mobile phone users are demonstrating they are starting to care about privacy.
  If they had the option of mobile phones that wouldn't track themeverywhere, they might choose those. But no such phones exist, andit is simply impossible to prevent the localization done by celltowers.
  The way not to be tracked is to reject portable phones.
  07 September 2012 (Urgent:Stop support of US Chamber of Commerce)US citizens: call on IBM,Google, Pepsico and Microsoft to stop supporting the US Chamberof Commerce
  07September 2012 (Urgent:Don't allow fracking in New York)US citizens: tell New York Governor Cuomo that he won't get public supportif he allows fracking in New York State.
  07September 2012 (VeryUrgent: Oppose plans for "clean" Internet)EU citizens: comment to oppose plans for a "clean" Internet,where "clean" means "no sharing".
  Here's the consultation itself.
  Here's where to submit a comment.
  Rather than only opposing unjust proposals, how about demandinga right not to be disconnected from the Internet without a trial,and a ban on Digital Restrictions Management? I don't know if thisis possible '-- because of the short time available, I haveasked to post this without waiting to get a copy of thosepages.
  07September 2012 (Urgent:Remind Obama about GMO labeling)US citizens: Ask MichelleObama to remind the president to carry out his promise andsupport labeling requirements for GMOs.
  07September 2012 (Excuse to extendHeathrow)The UK government, throwing the Earth's climate to the winds, islooking for an excuse to support extending Heathrowairport.
  07September 2012 (Lifesentences for activists in Bahrain)Bahrain Court Upholds Life Sentences for Activists.
  07September 2012 (US drone strike inYemen)It appears a US drone killed 13 civilians in Yemen. The victims' families are rather angryat the US government.
  07September 2012 (Iran'sbreakout capacity reduced)IAEA Report Shows Iran Reduced Its Breakout Capacity.
  07September 2012 (Sanctions againstIran)In Iran, sanctions take toll on the sick.
  07September 2012 (TPPcould make medicines unaffordable)How the TPP could make life-saving medicines prohibitively expensive in some countries.
  The US already has these bad policies, and it needs to changethem. Therefore, the Big Pharma lobby wants to give selloutpoliticians such as Obama and Romney an excuse in the form of atreaty.
  07September 2012 (Affectof bottom-trawling sea floor)Bottom-trawling affects the sea floor as much as plowing affects the land.
  07September 2012 (Melting ofglaciers in Patagonia)Glaciers in Patagonia are meltingfaster since 2000.
  07September 2012 (Deforestationin tropical regions)Deforestation in tropical regions reducesrain there.
  07September 2012 (Warrantrequired for text messages)A court in Rhode Island ruled that a thug should have had a warrant to look at someone's textmessages in her phone.
  But this will probably be appealed.
  07September 2012 (ACLUcalls on Apple to get rid of UDID)The ACLU calls on Apple to get rid of the UDID unique identifying number.
  I agree. However, every mobile phone has another unique IDnumber that it transmits to the phone system every time. Which isone of the reasons I don't have a mobile phone.
  07September 2012 (Pakistanpunishes Save the Children)Pakistan has punished Save the Children, claiming that the CIA used that organization to find Osama binLaden.
  It is valid to criticize Afridi (and his US employers) on thegrounds that, by setting up a phony vaccination scheme, they putthe vaccination mission in peril. Eliminating polio forever was(and is) far more important than finding bin Laden. If the USwanted to prosecute someone with lots of blood on his hands, Dubyais easy to find.
  However, it is clear that Pakistan did not put Afridi in prisonfor endangering the elimination of polio '-- because Pakistanis now going the US one worse by attacking that projectoutright.
  Through these actions, Pakistan in effect declares bin Laden anational hero, which implies endorsement of what he did. Even if hewas a lesser criminal than Dubya, he was still very bad.
  06September 2012 (Pakistan's blasphemylaw)Thousands of people have faced prosecution under Pakistan'sblasphemy law. Some due to ludicrous reasons, and others forexercising their freedom of expression.
  The article asserts that the words these people are accused ofsaying cannot be published because it would be blasphemy. That maybe true in Pakistan, but The Guardian is published in the UK. Itherefore beg the Guardian to publish this information.
  If someone emails me this information, I will post it here.
  06September 2012 (Samsung joins Apple)Samsung joins Apple in being accused of mistreating workers in China.
  06September 2012 (Gambling addiction)Addicted gamblers are not hoping to win, just to prolong the sensation of playing.
  If they could manage to get the same sensation from playing agame that doesn't cost money, they might be home free.
  06September 2012 (Speculation on food)Deregulation has encouraged speculation on food, which can causepricerises that can drive millions around the world into hunger.
  "Free trade" treaties also do this; they subject peasants inmany countries to very efficient mechanized competition, resultingin reduced production and increased poverty.
  06September 2012 (Who reallyowns an Apple phone?)An Apple patent suggests a plan to restrict users of phones based on where they arelocated.
  The article says that this poses the question of who really ownsthe phone. I'm glad they are starting to ask it. In fact, withnonfree software, you never really own it.
  06September 2012 (Urgent:Colorado's voter-suppression plan)US citizens: callon the Attorney General to take action against Colorado'svoter-suppression plan.
  05September 2012 (On-line music"sales")On-line music "sales" are in many cases not sales at all.
  05 September2012 (More fraud inBarclay's Bank)More fraud in Barclay's Bank.
  05 September2012 ("Organic" food)A study finds that "organic" food is no better than any otherfood, in terms of nutrition, but it reduces exposure to pesticides and antibiotic-resistantbacteria.
  This is what common sense would have suggested, and it showswhat society ought to aim for in regard to farming.
  05September 2012 (Listidentifying owners of iThings)A group called AntiSec claims to have found and leaked an FBI list identifying theowners of 12 million iThings based on a unique ID code in eachdevice.
  The FBI says that it never had the list.
  Neither source is guaranteed reliable, but I think that on thispoint it is more plausible that the FBI is lying. If AntiSec hadgot the info somewhere else, it would have had no evidentmotivation to claim it came from the FBI. By contrast, the FBIwould have a clear motivation to deny the facts. Another point isthat the FBI (like municipal thugs) is habituated to lying, sinceit expects people to assume its statements are honest.
  05September 2012 ("Felonious"spying by NY Thug Department)In a leaked Stratfor email, an FBI agent speaks of "felonious"spying by the New York Thug Department.
  05September 2012 (Destroying land forgas)Destroying precious land (and poisoning precious water) forgas.
  05September 2012 (Psychologicalmanipulation at Apple Stores)Apple store staff are taught twisted psychological manipulation.
  The mere practice of referring to service staff as "geniuses" isdishonest already.
  05September 2012 (Seashoreparking lots becoming ocean)As global heating makes the oceans rise, the parking lots atAssateague National Seashore's beach keep turning into ocean.
  05September 2012 (Ustream censorshiprobots)Censorship robots in Ustream cut off the live stream of the Hugo awards ceremony.
  This is ironic because an activity concerned with futuretechnology was the occasion to show how evil technology can be.
  Ustream does harm to society even when it doesn't censor,because it requires viewers to run nonfree software. It isfundamentally bad. Once I found out there was a plan to stream myspeech through Ustream, and I insisted they not do it.
  If you are connected with an event that is going to dostreaming, I can put you in touch with people that can teach youhow to do it using Ogg Theora, with free software. Then nobody cancensor it.
  05September 2012 (Smugglingof endangered wildlife)Smugglers of endangered wildlife are using the Internet insneaky ways.
  I strongly support cracking down on this trade, but that doesnot require abolishing privacy on the Internet. The merchandise hasto be delivered physically, so the sellers are vulnerable tostings.
  04September 2012 (Urgent:Petition the Democratic Convention)US citizens: callon the Democratic Convention to support clean energy and peace,and cut military funding.
  04September 2012 (FormerMooney recalls brainwashing)A former Moonie tells how he was recruitedand brainwashed.
  04September 2012 (PakistaniMuslim clerics defend girl)Leading Pakistani Muslim clerics came to the defense of the girlwho was falsely accused of burning pages from a Qur'an.
  This demonstrates a commitment to truth and rejection of lies.However, honesty of application does not justify censorship, suchas the prohibition of blasphemy. Even people who really do burnQur'ans must not be imprisoned, let alone killed, for that. If youdon't like their doing so, buy a copy of some book they admire andburn that in response.
  04September 2012 (Palestinianprisoners on hunger strike)Three Palestinian prisoners, imprisoned without trial, have beenon hunger strike for months to protest Israel's breaking the agreement that settled the previousmassive hunger strike.
  03September 2012 (Israel's Dead Seamining)Israel's mining of minerals from the Dead Sea is a crime under international law.
  03 September 2012 (Urgent:Scrutinize substance of what Paul Ryan says)US citizens: sign this petition for media attention to the substance of whatPaul Ryan says.
  03September 2012 (Workersin Colombia end hunger strike)Workers in Colombia ended their hunger strike after gaining anagreement to submit their disputewith General Motors to arbitration.
  03September 2012 (US offensesagainst human rights)Many Americans let the replacement of Dubya by Obama silencetheir criticism of the same offensesagainst human rights.
  03September 2012 (Republicanschange position on secret money)The Republicans are getting so much secret money that they havechanged their position to oppose requirements to disclose donations.
  03September 2012 (MassachusettsRight to Know Act passes)Massachusetts has passed a law to make it harder to cheat temporary employees.
  03September 2012 (Excuse todrive Christians out)Extremist Muslim cleric accused of framing the retarded Christian girl to create an excuse toscare all the Christians out of the neighborhood.
  03September 2012 (Tony Blair's warcrimes)Attempting acitizen's arrest of Tony B'liar for his war crimes.
  The UK has the responsibility to prosecute B'liar, just as theUS has the responsibility to prosecute Dubya. They launched a warbased on lies which killed uncounted hundreds of thousands ofIraqis, as well as around 4500 Americans.
  03September 2012 (Murders ofSouth African miners)South Africa has temporarily dropped murder charges againststriking miners, who were charged with the deaths of their fellowprotesters actually killed by the thugs.
  03 September2012 (Afghan torturersunpunished)The Afghan government fails to punish its torturers.
  With the US as an example, why would it?
  03September 2012 (Israelisettlers in the West Bank)The Israeli state forced settlers to leave one "outpost", butthey moved to another (state-supported) colony in the West Bank.
  03September 2012 (Mexican iris scandatabase)Mexico is creating a database with iris scans and fingerprints of all citizens.
  03 September2012 (US recession)By cutting military spending instead of civilian aid programs,the US would save 300,000 jobs.
  However, this is a choice between bad and worse. The US shouldnot cut spending at all now, because the way to get out ofa recession is through deficit spending. The time to reduce thenational debt is when things are going well.
  03September 2012 (Demolitionof Palestinian homes)Israel has driven around 160,000 Palestinians from their homes,mostly by demolishing their homes.
  2011 was the worst year ever for this.
  03September 2012 (UK lawcriminalizes the homeless)The UK law that makes squatting a crime "criminalizes the homeless".
  The government which passed this law showed it is the enemy ofthe 99%.
  03September 2012 (Shellnow permitted to drill Arctic)Shell was given permission to start drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
  03September 2012 (Tutucalls for prosecution of Bush and Blair)Desmond Tutu called for prosecution of Dubya and Bl'iar for thecrime of starting a war based on lies.
  Hooray, Tutu!
  03 September2012 (Police spying)Police forces in Europe defy parliamentary oversight into theirspying on opposition groups.
  03September 2012 (Paul Ryan onmilitary spending)In 2011, Paul Ryan supported big military spending cuts.Now he wants military spending increases.
  03September 2012 (Globalheating deniers in the press)The press should stop giving global heating deniers the same respect that itgives climate scientists.
  03September 2012 (Japanesecharges against Paul Watson)Paul Watson of Sea Shepard describes the bogus Japanese chargesagainst him, and says that Sea Shepard will continue its activitywhether he can get to the ships or not.
  03 September2012 (Unjust killingsin Pakistan)A Pakistani lawyers says, if the US can kill Pakistani civilianswith drone missiles, why shouldn't they execute a girl forblasphemy? What's the difference, he asks?
  Of course, we can see plenty of specific differences, but he'sright that there is a great similarity between one unjust killingand another. So what is his twisted point? To take revenge on theUS by killing this girl?
  03September 2012 (Osama bin Laden'sdeath)A member of the team that killed Osama bin Laden said, in hisbook, that the team had orders to arrest bin Laden if he was notarmed, but shot him instead. This was followed by a public lie to justifythe shooting.
  When I first heard about the raid, I was skeptical that the manshot was really Osama bin Laden. After all, the US government ishardly an honest and reliable source about such things. However,since nobody is claiming that he wasn't Osama bin Laden, I supposehe was.
  Nonetheless, the really important point is that his death madeno real difference. It did not hurt al Qa'ida, for instance.
  03September 2012 (Internetsurveillance)Internet surveillance is getting so cheap that companies might start recording all their network traffic.
  03September 2012 (JordanianInternet censorship law)Jordanians protest a proposed law that would filter Internet access.
  03September 2012 (Romneypioneered debt creation)Romney was a pioneer in creating debt and saddling companieswith it. Now his hypocritical campaign pretends to be against debt,as an excuse for an economic revolution bringing poor-countrysuffering to most Americans.
  Here is Matt Taibi's description of Romney'scareer.
  03September 2012 (Melting Arctic ice)Melting Arctic ice means even worse weatherdisasters are coming in Europe and the US.
  03September 2012 (Newcampaign for corporate immunity)Obama's government launched a new campaignfor corporate immunity.
  03September 2012 (Iran'suranium enrichment program)Hidden in the IAEA report on Iran: evidence that its uraniumenrichment program is not aimed at making bombs.
  03September 2012 (Selectivefactchecking)Factchecking the Minnows and Letting the Whales Swim Away.
  03September 2012 (Internetdomains and addresses)Letting the US manage the Internet domains and addresses is bad,but theother options are worse.
  03 September 2012(Urgent: ITU)US citizens: oppose a plan to make the ITU the primary standards committeefor the Internet.
  02September 2012 (Repressionof new Tunisian regime)Tunisian political cartoonist Z says that the new regimerepresses him like the old one.
  Furthermore, it has convinced Facebook to censor him, whichshows that it was a mistake using Facebook at all.
  02September 2012 (Movementagainst license plate cameras)As license plate cameras spread around the US, a movement toresist is beginning, and New Hampshire has limited the use of them.
  02 September2012 (Miners chargedwith killing)Miners in South Africa were charged with killing after some of them were shot by thugs.
  02September 2012 (Imprisonmentof dissidents in Eritrea)Eritrea has imprisoned dissidents since 2001, and several journalists have died in prison.
  02September 2012 (Urgent:US environmental education)US citizens: support continuing the US environmental education program.
  02September 2012 (Microrobotsto repair coral reefs)Microrobots are being designed to repair coral reefs.
  This might deal with the effects of bottom trawling, but theworst long-term threat to coral is from acidification of the oceandue to CO2 emissions from human activity. I don't thinkrobotic repair can do that. What we need is to stop theCO2 emissions.
  02September 2012 (Epilogue tothe World We Knew)We AreWriting the Epilogue to the World We Knew
  02September 2012 (Most new USjobs are low wage)Most new US jobs are low-wage jobs.
  (I take issue with the article's assumption that the recessionhas ended.)
  02 September2012 (Obama protectsUS torturers)Obama has quashed the last two possible criminal cases against UStorturers.
  Persistently over 4 years he has acted to make sure that no USgovernment torturers will face justice, in the US or elsewhere,even those that tortured prisoners to death.
  Don't vote for torture. Jill Stein for president!
  02September 2012 (Early voting inOhio)A federal court restored early voting in Ohio.
  02 September 2012 (Urgent:Help state-authorized marijuana dispensaries)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to cosponsor three bills to help state-authorized medicalmarijuana dispensaries.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  01September 2012 (Angolanpresident's re-election)The Angolan president seems to have got himself re-elected bystopping lots of people from voting, and making the rest feelit was useless.
  01September 2012 (Large wildfire inSpain)Spain has a large wildfire due to heat and drought.
  Global heating is making Spain drier and hotter, meaning therewill be more of these and worse.
  01 September 2012 (Urgent:Stop commercial advertising by schools)US citizens: signthis petition against commercial advertising by schools.
  01 September 2012 (Urgent:Stop Arctic drilling exception for Shell)US citizens: call on Secretary of the Interior Salazar not to give Shell anyspecial exception regarding Arctic drilling.
  01September 2012 (Arcticsea ice reaches new record low)This week, Arctic sea ice reached a new record low, and itwill keep melting for several weeks more. The RepublicanNational Convention was partly shut down by a hurricane, but theystill deny the problem.
  Decades from now, as the disaster unfolds, many of them willkeep denying what is happening.
  Meanwhile, Obama is no solution. He talks little about global heating, and as for actions, he"expedited" the planet-roaster pipeline.
  01 September2012 (Kasparov's arrest)Kasparov describes how he was arrested while talking tojournalists, and callsfor the West to impose financial sanctions on Putin'sgovernment.
  01September 2012 (Marijuana sales toadults)Some US states are on track to vote to legalize marijuana sales to adults.
  01September 2012 (UN warnsGaza will not be livable)The siege of Gaza has relaxed somewhat, but the UN warns itwill not be livable in 2020.
  Part of the action needed, however, is to reduce the birth rate.Having such a "young population" is the result of human activity,not a natural characteristic.
  01September 2012 (Methaneunder Antarctic ice sheet)The Antarctic ice sheet may cover billions of tons of methane.
  01September 2012 (Worldswealthiest woman complains)Poor people should work harder and stop complaining, says theworld's wealthiest woman.
  I think she should pay more taxes.
  01September 2012 (Petition topardon Peter Sunde)Over 100,000 signed the petition to pardon Peter Sunde,associated with The Pirate Bay.
  Here is Sunde's description of the charges against him.
  01September 2012 (Worst Liesin Paul Ryan's Speech)6 Worst Lies In Paul Ryan's Speech.
  The corporate media mysteriously decline to pounce on Ryan'slies.
  01September 2012 (Texas voter-IDlaw overturned)A voter-ID law in Texas has been overturned.
  01September 2012 (USnational debt's interest burden)The US national debt's interest burden is the lowest it has been since World War II.
  01September 2012 (Ecuadorprotects another whistleblower)Ecuador has protected another political whistleblower, this one from Belarus.
  01September 2012 (Colombia-USLabor Action Plan)Colombia-US Labor Action Plan led only to "cosmetic changes".
  Since the real purpose of "free trade" treaties is to helpbusiness at the expense of everyone else, it is not a surprise thatthe provisions about improved rights for labor are mere windowdressing, that meant to take arguments away from the opposition inorder to gain votes, and not intended truly to help workers inColombia. Why then bother to implement them once the blow hasfallen?
  01September 2012 (Hondurastorn apart by US War on Drugs)Militarizing the Police and Killing Natives: How the US Drug War IsRipping Honduras Apart.
  01September 2012 (Weakendorsement of Internet freedom)The Republican Party has endorsed Internet freedom, but it mustbe a rather weak stand since the MPAA does not object to it.
  01September 2012 (Suspensionof Belo Monte Dam overturned)Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Overturns Suspension of Belo MonteDam.
  01September 2012 (Urgent:Limit NSA surveillance of Americans)US citizens: call on your congresscritter and senator to limit NSAsurveillance of Americans.
  31 August2012 (Urgent: EPAregulation of coal ash)US citizens: tell your senators to support EPA regulation of coal ash fromcoal-fired power plants.
  31 August2012 (The "database ofruin")Big data and combining data means companies are developing the"database of ruin", which can find out enough secrets to ruinnearly anyone.
  See also Cory Doctorow's story, Scroogled.
  31 August2012 (Paper money withRFIDs)Work is being done on making paper money with RFIDs.
  It's dangerous because governments could track who gets andspends what money. Also dangerous because thieves could track whohas money in his purse, or in a hidden pocket.
  31August 2012 (Muslimfanatics threaten retarded child)Muslim fanatics out for blood threaten mob violence against the retarded child accused ofburning pages of a Qur'an.
  Of course, it would be equally unacceptable to punish a mentallycompetent adult for this. The right to offend anyone about anythingis a central part of freedom of speech.
  31August 2012 (Stuxnet-typeviruses in Middle East)Reportedly every country in the Middle East now has Stuxnet-type attackviruses.
  31August 2012 (Reincorporatingto duck taxes)Corporations that already duck the US income tax are nonethelessreincorporating in other countriesthat allow them to pay less.
  The US should make sure that proper taxes are paid on USbusiness activity and prevent the accounting tricks used toattribute the profit to anywhere else.
  31August 2012 (Urgent:Environmental education in US schools)US citizens: call on Obama to defend environmental education in USschools.
  31August 2012 (Urgent:Free the members of Pussy Riot)Everyone: writeto Putin demanding he free the members of Pussy Riot.
  31August 2012 (Bankemployees fired for minor crimes)US bank employees are being fired for minor crimes committed many years ago. However, the gross fraudcommitted by the banksters goes unprosecuted, so banks don't haveto fire them.
  31August 2012 (Criminalminers kill Yanomami people)Criminal miners from Brazil killed around 80 Yanomami who did not want their land to bemined.
  The international mining companies operating in India, Peru,Canada and other countries can kill more people, but they constructa legal excuse so that they can claim not to be "criminal".
  31 August2012 (Koch brothersswitch loopholes)After a judge closed one loophole about identifying theirdonors, the Koch brothers switched to a slightly differentloophole.
  31August 2012 (Flaws inObama's new fuel standards)Although Obama's new fuel efficiency standards are a stepforward, they don't go far enough. Here are some flaws.
  31 August 2012(USwar profiteers)US military contractors have been cutting jobs even as their contracts increased.
  31August 2012 (Florida'santi-voter-registration law)Florida's Republican anti-voter-registration law bites the dust.
  31August 2012 (False claims aboutabstinence)The Republican Party platform advocates abstinence-only sex noneducation and falsely claims that itprevents pregnancy.
  31 August2012 (Workersforced attend Romney rally)Murray Energy forced workers to take a day without pay and attend a Romneycampaign rally.
  31August 2012 (Protestersblock Keystone construction)Protesters blocked construction of the Keystone XLplanet-roaster pipeline for a day by chaining themselves to a truck.
  31 August2012 ("UrbanInfrastructure Bank" scheme)The "Urban Infrastructure Bank" is a desperate scheme toindirectly privatize parts of US cities' infrastructure.
  The attraction of these schemes is short-term: the cities arenot getting enough funds from the state and federal governments andcan't maintain their infrastructure. However, as Chicago hasalready learned from its privatization of parking meters, the long-term effects are tomake the problem worse.
  31 August2012 (Chile's version ofDMCA)Chile's version of the DMCA protects against false copyright claims by requiring a court toapprove an order to take down material.
  31August 2012 (Urgent: Stopsupport for ALEC)US citizens: call on Duke Energy to stop supporting ALEC.
  31 August 2012 (Urgent:Thank Obama)US citizens: thank Obama for increased car mileage standards.
  Obama doesn't do 10% of what's needed to prevent disaster, andseems to be in favor of increased drilling which means increasedemissions. However, that is more reason to express appreciationwhen he does something.
  31 August 2012(Urgent: Medicaid)US citizens: tellGovernor Perry and 11 other governors to allow the expansion ofMedicaid in their states.
  31 August2012 (Carbon-tradingmarkets)Carbon-trading markets in Europe and Australia will be linked.
  In theory, cap-and-trade systems like these should workefficiently to reduce emissions. In practice, the systems caneasily have flaws that cause them not to achieve their goals at all. Thus I think we shouldinstitute a real tax on fossil fuels, rather thancap-and-trade.
  30 August 2012(Twitter)Twitter has appealed a court ruling that it must turn overa protester's personal info.
  I have some criticisms of Twitter in other areas, but no onecould do more to protect its users' from government searches.However, what is needed is better laws: laws that recognize thatthe user is entitled to challenge searches of her data stored in acompany's server.
  30August 2012 (MassachusettsSenator Brown)Massachusetts Senator Brown was the crucial swing vote to weakenUS financial reform, and got paid off for this by Morgan Stanley.
  30 August2012 (Rachel Corrie'sParents)Rachel Corrie's parents and other activists will protest fordivestment from Caterpillar, which provides bulldozers to Israelwhich are used for demolishing Palestinians' homes.
  30 August 2012(400Civilians)It looks like Assad's men murdered 400 civilians going house to house in Daraya, near Damascus.
  30 August 2012(WestNile Virus)The US is having its biggest ever outbreak of West Nile Virus,in its hottest year on record, and the trail points straightat global heating.
  30 August2012 (IllegalVoter-suppression)Some of today's top Republican campaign figures participated inan illegal voter-suppression operation in 2004, but were not punished.
  30 August 2012(Albany, New York)Thousands protested in Albany, New York, to oppose fracking in the state.
  30 August 2012(The TPP)The TPP sets out to attack Internet freedom in the name of thetwisted cult of "free trade".
  The EFF gave the details.
  The TPP would also to kill thousands, perhaps millions of poorpeople, through increased patent powers and other monopolies over drugs.
  30 August2012 (Arrrested A SecondTime)An Austin man who campaigns against harassment of photographersby the thugs was arrested a second time for filming their actions in public.
  30August 2012 (South Korea'sSupreme Court)South Korea's Supreme Court decided that it is unconstitutionalto require web sites to demand users' real names
  30 August 2012(Israeli Schools)After a mob of Jewish teenagers beat an Arab teenager nearly todeath, Israeli schools are barely starting to confront ingrained hatred.
  30 August 2012(TheUS Soldiers)The US soldiers in Afghanistan were warned that burning Qur'answas a bad idea, that it was likely to make many Afghans feel offended.
  I mention this to correct an earlier note in which I supposedthat wasn't so.
  I disagree with Greenwald's equating of an act that some tookoffense at with a killing.
  30 August 2012(TheIsraeli Army)Amnesty International: Rachel Corrie Verdict Highlights Impunityfor Israeli Military.
  The Israeli army in Gaza was totally accustomed to killingcivilians, often children, and lying about that too.
  29 August2012 (Tutu protestspresence of B'liar)Desmond Tutu cancelled his attendance in an event to protestthe presence of Tony B'liar in it.
  29 August2012 (Obama's health carelaw)Doctors are traveling around the US on a bus to argue in favorof Obama's health care law.
  The law is a step forward, but fails to do the whole job becauseit is a compromise with the medical insurance industry, whichnow wants to abolish it.
  Americans should abolish the private medical insurance industrybefore it abolishes our lives.
  29August 2012 (Administrativesubpoenas)We Don't Need No Stinking Warrant: The Disturbing, Unchecked Riseof the Administrative Subpoena.
  29 August2012 (Alternativecurrencies in Spain)Alternativecurrencies are springing up in Spain to help people cope withpunishing right-wing economic policies.
  29 August2012 (Iran callsfor nuclear disarmament)Iran, leading a meeting of the unaligned states, reiterates thecall for total nuclear disarmament.
  29August 2012 (Romney'scampaign dismisses fact checkers)Romney's campaign says only Obama's campaign should heed fact checkers.
  29August 2012 (Wind andsolar power on Orkey Islands)The Orkney Islands are on the verge of generating a surplus of electricity from windand solar power.
  29August 2012 (Franceopens investigation on Arafat)France has opened an investigation into the possible murder of Yasser Arafat.
  29 August2012 (Israel'sdecision on Rachel Corrie)Human Rights Watch rebukes Israel's decision on RachelCorrie.
  29August 2012 (Proposed wealth taxin UK)The Lib Dem leader proposes a wealth tax to reduce austerity in the UK.
  29 August 2012(Putin's spending)What Putin does with the money he extracts from Russia.
  29 August 2012(Microfinance)Microfinance can help the poor, but can also exploitthem.
  When someone told me she worked with microfinance, I asked herif they were visible to the naked eye.
  29August 2012 (Californiabill deregulates phone, TV, Internet)A bill passed by the California legislature would totallyderegulate phone service, cable TV service and Internet service inthe state.
  29August 2012 (Bombardmentof Aleppo by Assad's forces)Satellite photos show the extent of the bombardment of Aleppo by Assad's forces.
  29August 2012 (Low wage prisonworkers)A Vermont man's lawsuit against being forced to work while inpre-trial detention was broughtback to life on appeal.
  However, the bigger threat to Americans' way of life comes fromrequiring convicted prisoners to work for low wages, competing withfree workers.
  29August 2012 (RachelCorrie's parents lose lawsuit)Rachel Corrie's parents lost their lawsuit over her killing by an Israeli bulldozerdriver.
  29 August2012 (US troops punished)US troops that carelessly burned Qur'ans, and others that made avideo of urinating on corpses, were punished administratively.
  I think this is, for once, the just response. There is nothinginherently wrong in those actions, and the burning of Qur'ans wasnot intentional anyway, but I'm pretty sure all soldiers wereordered (for good reason) not to do these things, and they had nogrounds to disobey.
  29August 2012 (Textsfrom former Israeli occupation soldiers)Moretexts from former Israeli occupation soldiers.
  29August 2012 (Urgent:Ask NY Times to pay attention)Everyone: ask the NewYork Times to pay attention to the basic questions about JulianAssange's extradition.
  29 August2012 (US drugged prisoners)The US interrogated prisoners while under the effect of mind-altering drugs, and whatever they saidis presumed true unless they prove it false.
  29August 2012 (Twitter appealscourt order)Twitter has appealed a court order to give private information about a user account thought to beused by an Occupy protester.
  29August 2012 (Schoolsupplies to Palestine blocked)Israel blocked a hundred activists from bringing school supplies toPalestine from Jordan.
  29 August2012 (India's weakdemocracy)How the history of India since independence gave rise to theweaknessof its democracy and human rights.
  29August 2012 (Effect ofmarijuana on intelligence)A study shows that use of marijuana by teenagers permanentlyreduces their intelligence, but that adults are not affected.
  29 August 2012 (Urgent:Ask political parties to endorse Internet freedom)US citizens: sign thispetition for the Democratic and Republican parties to endorseInternet freedom.
  27August 2012 (Manblocked from flying because of shirt)Delta Airlines blocked a man from flying because his shirt setoff fears in unidentified racist passengers.
  Ironically, the shirt's message criticized precisely theseirrational fears.
  27 August2012 (Dictator'sPractical Internet Guide)The Dictator's Practical Internet Guide.
  27August 2012 (Worldmay be forced into vegetarianism)Population growth and water scarcity may force most of theworld into vegetarianism.
  Limiting yourself to a small amount of meat is good for yourhealth, but rather than being forced to go all the way, we shouldarrange to limit population growth.
  27August 2012 (Israelisoldiers describe abuse of children)30 Israeli soldiers describe how they repeatedly and systematically subjected Palestinian children toabuse to squeeze confessions out of them, or make them rat ontheir families.
  27 August2012 (US Judgeappears to work for RIAA)One US judge appears to continue to work for the RIAA.
  27August 2012 (Touristsconvicted of blasphemy in Sri Lanka)French tourists were convicted of blasphemy in Sri Lanka forsimulating the act of kissing a Buddha statue.
  Like all laws against offending someone, this law is pureinjustice. It is also a ludicrous travesty of what the Buddhasaid.
  If the Buddha could be reincarnated (impossible, according toBuddhism, since he attained nirvana), he would tell the authoritiesand people of Sri Lanka that their attachment to his statue and hisrelics is an obstacle to their spiritual progress, and they shouldtry to overcome it through meditation and benevolence. But theBuddhists of Sri Lanka would not listen.
  Rich families there vie for the prestige of sponsoring aceremony to adore his tooth, permanently enshrined in the Temple ofthe Tooth. Thus they convert his tranquil wisdom (albeit based onthe then-general assumption that reincarnation occurs, for whichthere is no evidence) into competitive folly.
  I wonder if they would sentence someone for teaching Dr.Ambedkar's thoroughly rational version of Buddhism.
  27 August2012 (US-backedrepression in Guatemala)Mining companies dispossessed indigenous people in Guatemalathanks to a US-backed coup, then took advantage of US-backedrepression, and then imposed a "reformed" mining law to let them take what theywant.
  Guatemala's president should be in prison for the repression heled. With him as president, the country is little better thanAssad's regime in Syria.
  27August 2012 (US border licenseplate scans)The US scans all car license plates at the border and gives all the data to a private organization, including timesand places.
  The border is a special case, and maybe it is legitimate for acountry to record the licenses of all cars that cross the border.It is certainly not legitimate to show all those licenses to aprivate organization. Meanwhile, this method is wastingopportunities to block car theft.
  The appropriate US agency should have a list of stolen cars'license numbers, and check for those plates at border crossings'-- while the car is still there.
  27August 2012 (Ohio votinginconveniences)The head of Ohio Republicans admitted that Ohio votinginconveniences are meant to stop Blacks from voting.
  27August 2012 (Paul Ryanpainted as a good Catholic)The US corporate press paints Paul Ryan as a good Catholicfortrying to oppress the poor and help the rich.
  27August 2012 (USthugs to get face-recognition software)The FBI plans to give US thug departments software to access a database of over 12 million photos for facerecognition purposes.
  27 August 2012(Leaked TPP draft)A leaked draft shows that TPP is planned to impose a regime ofpunishment by accusation without trial, and Internet filtering.
  "Free trade" treaties are meant to weaken democracy, by givingbusinesses more power than governments. They should all be torn up,for that reason. However, it's normal for these treaties to haveadditional requirements that directly attack the citizens,especially when the US gets involved. That is an additional reasonto tear up these treaties.
  27August 2012 (Anothermassacre of civilians in Syria)Assad's men seem to have committed anothermassacre of civilians.
  Syrian rebels attacked the old city of Aleppo, destroyingbuildings almost a thousand years old in the combat.
  The war crimes of the rebels, which include ethnic cleansing aswell as killings, are a serious problem: they compel many Syrians,who might welcome a secular state with human rights, to supportAssad instead.
  27August 2012 (Romneyproposes "energy independence")Romney proposes "energy independence" for North America byextracting fossil fuels everywhere possible and never mind thedamage.
  The downside is that thanks to global heating North America willcease to be food-independent, and there will be none available toimport either.
  27August 2012 (Urgent:Support EU sanctions against Putin's cronies)Everyone: support EU sanctions against Putin's cronies.
  27 August2012 (South Africa's miners)South Africa's president Zuma faces intense criticism fortaking the mining company's side against striking miners.
  The article places the emphasis on the possible effects onZuma's political career, but what's really important is decentlabor conditions for the miners.
  27August 2012 (UKpromises not to invade Ecuadorian embassy)Correa says that the UK has promised not to invade theEcuadorian embassy.
  27August 2012 (Hotwater from Illinois electric plants)Electric plants in Illinois are discharging water that is almostboiling, due to the unusual heat ofthe water they use for cooling. The result is almost to boilthe fish.
  It will be far worse in 20 years. These plants may have to shutdown.
  27August 2012 (Americansconfused about gov't policies)Americans are deeply confused about what government policiesthey want, givingcontradictory-seeming answers to slightly different pollquestions.
  27 August2012 (Facts aboutPaul Ryan covered up)The corporate media keep up the impression that Paul Ryan pays careful attention to budgetdetails by covering up the facts.
  27August 2012 (DemocraticConvention workers)At the Democratic Convention in anti-union North Carolina,sanitation workers are being driven into the ground with mandatoryovertime.
  27 August2012 (Urgent:Don't let BP off the hook)US citizens: callon the US government not to let BP off the hook.
  27August 2012 (Brain-computerinterfaces)Malware can use brain-computer interfaces to extract secrets from the user.
  27August 2012 (Studentdenied degree for saying "hell")A fascist-minded principal denied valedictorian Kaitlin Nootbaarher high school degree because she said "hell" in herspeech.
  27August 2012 (Editors ofstudent paper quit)The editors of the University of Georgia student paper have quitafter corporate staff were put in charge of them and pressured themto avoid writing about "bad news".
  Don't they understand? This is was simply intended to preparethem for professional journalism.
  26 August2012 (Conception as aresult of rape)The claim that women can't conceive as a result of rape datesback at least to the 13th century, and appeals to politicians whose views are still in the 13th century.
  Scientific information about rape and pregnancy.
  26August 2012 (Obamaready to be even more right-wing)Obama announces he is ready to be even more right-wing as a "compromise" with Republicans.
  He's already too right-wing for me to vote for.
  26 August2012 (Garry Kasparov freed)Garry Kasparov was freed after a court dismissed charges that he participated in an illegalprotest.
  However, Putin stands convicted of leading a state that declaresprotests illegal.
  26August 2012 (NY thugsfire randomly on the street)New York thugs fired randomly at people on the street while chasing an armedkiller.
  The killer pulled out his gun but did not fire it. Perhaps didthat in order to get killed ("suicide by cop"). It isunderstandable that the thugs shot him, but hitting 9 other peoplemeans they must have fired all around.
  26August 2012 (Arcticoil drilling platform occupied)Greenpeace has occupied a Russian Arctic oil drillingplatform.
  26 August2012 (Imprisonedwithout trial in Iran)Iranian newspaper publishers and writers have been imprisoned without trial for over a year.
  26August 2012 (Urgent:Campaign against arbitrary eviction)Everyone: support Amnesty International's campaign against arbitraryeviction from slums in Africa.
  26August 2012 (Urgent: Right toprotest)US citizens: callon the mayors of cities hosting the Democratic and Republicanconventions to respect the right to protest.
  26August 2012 (Urgent:Reinstate early voting in Ohio)Everyone: call on Ohio to reinstate early voting, to help all votersparticipate.
  26August 2012 (Urgent:Reward for leaking TPP draft text)Everyone: donate to the reward for leaking the TPP draft text toWikileaks.
  26 August2012 (Haiti makesVodou religion illegal)Haiti's new constitution made the Vodou religion illegal.Participants in a ceremony were recently jailed, though it is not clear whether that is mainly abouttheir religion or instead for their political sentiments. Ofcourse, it's a shameful act either way.
  26 August 2012 (Urgent:Enforce net neutrality rules against AT&T)US citizens: call on the FCC to enforce net neutrality rules againstAT&T.
  The issue is about banning a protocol set up by Apple, availableonly through nonfree software that (for your freedom's sake) youshould never use, which runs only on the malicious iThings whichyou should reject also. But that doesn't affect this issue. IfAT&T can arbitrarily ban one protocol, it can arbitrarily banany protocol.
  26August 2012 (Urgent:Insist on coverage of TPP plans)US citizens: callthe major news media to insist they cover the TPP plans forNafta on Steroids.
  26 August2012 (NY Thugs spy6 years, find nothing)The New York Thug Department has systematically infiltratedMuslim neighborhoods and mosques for 6 years, finding absolutely zero sign of terrorism.
  26August 2012 (Civiliancasualties from drone attacks)A new analysis estimates that around 3/4 of the casualties from US drone attacks in Pakistan arecivilians.
  26August 2012 (US-supervisedHonduran troops)Residents of Ahuas tell how the US-supervised Honduran troopsshot and killed without warning, brutalized people in the town,and refused to help rescue the wounded. And then they tried tocover it up in several ways.
  25August 2012 (Urgent:Block drilling in the Arctic)US citizens: callon Obama to block drilling in the Arctic.
  25 August2012 (Freedom of thepress in Ecuador)On Ecuador and freedom of the press.
  25August 2012 (Londonteen harassed by thugs 4 years)A teenager in London has been harassed for 4 years, includingnumerous arrests over false charges, because of hostility bythe thugs.
  Racial prejudice may be the reason it started, but I think itdeveloped into a personal prejudice against him.
  25 August2012 (Setback in LAlawsuit against FBI)LA Muslims who sued about FBI surveillance suffered a setback,thanks to the law that allows the government to say the magic words "national security" and quash any lawsuit.
  25August 2012 (Owner anduser control over software)Cory Doctorow: between the owner of a computer and its currentuser, whoshould have what control?
  My view is that in the case of a long-term lease, the person whohas obtained the computer by lease should have full control overthe software, just as if he were the owner.
  25 August 2012 (UNESCOopposes barriers to information diffusion)UNESCO opposes creation of new barriers to diffusion ofinformation.
  Although this article means to oppose those barriers, itunwittingly lends them support by using the term "intellectualproperty", which refers to other unrelated issues at the sametime. Please don't use that term.
  25August 2012 (Minoritygroups' schools shortchanged)A loophole allows US cities to spend less on minority groupstudents' schools.
  25August 2012 (Urgent: Rejectdeficit cuts)US citizens: sign the campaign to reject deficit cuts andinstead makethe rich support rebuilding America.
  25August 2012 (Privatizationof child welfare protection)Privatizing child welfare protection in Nebraska led to horrible mistreatment of children.
  Privatization of any state function is bad unless it gives thepublic a competitive market. The kind of privatization where thestate gives the contract to one company should always be avoided,because the way the company profits is by shafting the state, thepublic, its workers, or all three.
  25August 2012 (Romneywould allow drilling in Federal land)Romney wants to let states allow oil companies to drill in Federalland.
  25 August2012 (Paul Ryan'sforeign policy record)Paul Ryan's lousy foreign policy record.
  25August 2012 (Big Oil's temporaryvictory)Big Oil's temporary victory in Iraq depends on illegal contracts and repressing the oil unions.
  25August 2012 (ITU planto take control of Internet)The ITU plan to take control of the Internet represents anattack on freedom for all users, and serves the interests ofthe dictatorships (and the phony democracies).
  The article mentions the term "intellectual property", but basedon the substance, I think that is inaccurate: I think that what ismeant here is copyright enforcement. Referring to this as"intellectual property" is a biased and confusing practice'-- please don't repeat it.
  25August 2012 (Privatization of USwater)Privatization of US water supplies exploits thefinancial crisis to create hardship for Americans.
  25 August2012 (US remains a bully evenwithout Dubya)Getting Rid of Dubya Wasn't Enough. The US Remains aBully.
  Alas, I don't see any sign that reduced US power will lead to abetter world order. Rising powers such as India and China are nobetter (India keeps getting worse). And Russia is turning into aovert dictatorship.
  24 August2012 (Danger ofIsraeli attack on Iran)An Israeli attack on the Iranian uranium enrichment plant inBushehr would killthousands, perhaps eventually hundreds of thousands.
  The leader of Kadima, an Israeli centrist party not particularlyin favor of peace, condemned Netanyahu's threats to attack Iran as rash andirresponsible.
  24August 2012 (Invitationto test Arafat's remains)The PalestinianAuthority has invited Swiss investigators to test Arafat'sremains for radioactive polonium.
  24August 2012 ("Made InPalestinian Territories" label)South Africarequires labels "Made In Palestinian Territories" for goodsmade in factories in Israeli colonies.
  24August 2012 (Role of gov't inpeoples lives)Missing in the US election is a debate about what role thegovernment should play in people's lives. Neither theDemocratic Party nor the media are interested in it.
  24 August2012 (Sweden'sactions in Assange case)Questions AboutSweden's Actions in Assange Case.
  24 August2012 (Corporatepropaganda for children)Corporate propaganda in the form of "educational"books for children.
  24 August 2012("WeBuilt This," say Republicans)WeBuilt This, Except That It Was Mostly Publicly Financed and It'sPublicly Owned and Supported.
  Perhaps these Republicans were misled by the name Tampa BayTimes Forum. US cities nowadays consider everything to be for sale,even the names of public buildings. I think that some company musthave bought permission to put its name on that building. The namemight give the appearance that it was a private building, privatelyconstructed.
  24 August2012 (Sentenced forrude email in UK)The lack of freedom of speech in the UK is demonstrated bysentencing someone for sending a rude email.
  The message was rude but made no threat. It only expressed anattitude of disapproval and rebuke. I have no opinion about whetherthat attitude was justified, but freedom of speech includes theright to say such things (and even harsher) about anyone.
  24August 2012 (UK lawto help companies pay less taxes)The UK has adopted a law to facilitate moving money into tax havens.
  I guess the government thinks that companies pay too much taxesand wants to increase government deficits.
  24August 2012 (Dissidentslogans written on court web site)Anonymous wrote dissident slogans on the web site of the court that imprisoned Pussy Riot.
  Writing a slogan on the wall of a nasty institution is part ofopposition, and this is its virtual equivalent. It is legitimate,and should be legal. Please don't call this an "attack" or"hijacking" because that is propaganda for those who don't wantdemocracy or opposition in the virtual world.
  24 August2012 (Mugabe'spublic support in Zimbabwe)Strangely, Mugabe has started to gain some public support in Zimbabwe.
  24 August2012 (Fightingover use of land in Kenya)Farmers and herders in Kenya are fightingover use of land.
  Such conflicts have gone on for a long time, even in the US (seethe movie, Shane). But they are likely to get worse in the futurein Africa, since population growth makes the existing supplyinsufficient just as global heating reduces what is available.
  24 August2012 (US trying toprosecute Assange)US is trying to prosecute Assange, Australiancables reveal.
  24 August2012 (US on wrongside of media cold war)The media cold war: states vs users of the Internet.
  The US attempts to kick Wikileaks off the net and prosecuteAssange put it on the wrong side.
  24 August 2012 (Urgent:Stop corporate sponsorships of political conventions)US citizens: signthis petition for the Republican and Democratic conventions tostop accepting corporate sponsorships.
  23August 2012 (Urgent:Make candidates face global heating)US citizens: call on Jim Lehrer to raise the issue of global heating in thepresidential debate.
  23 August 2012(NewComic)New, non-political comic(in Spanish).
  22August 2012 (Lack ofserious debate on real issues)Serious debate about real issues has almost vanished from the USpolitical campaigns, thanks to a twisted and corrupted press.
  22 August2012 (One third ofUS workers are temps)1/3 of US workers are temps, with no social safety net.
  This is why we need to disconnect medical care and otherbenefits from employment.
  22August 2012 (Over 1000 Tibetansarrested)China has arrested over 1000 Tibetans involved in a movement to preserve Tibetan culture. Some of them have beendisappeared.
  22August 2012 (Thinning Antarcticice shelf)A thinning Antarctic ice shelf indicates the human-induced global heating over the past 50 years.
  22 August2012 (Tony Nicklinson dies)Tony Nicklinson, who was unable to get permission for anyone tohelp him die, died of pneumonia.
  Maybe his rejection of food since the court verdict, about 5days before, contributed to his illness. It is also possible thathe refused some treatment that could have cured it. Still, it seemslike amazing luck to develop a fatal illness so soon.
  22August 2012 (Anotherobstacle to democracy in Russia)In addition to Putin's tyranny, Russia will soon face anotherobstacle to democracy: the WTO.
  22August 2012 (Novartis patentlawsuit)If Novartis wins a lawsuit about Indian patent law, variousgeneric drugs from India will be blocked and lots of people in many poor countries will die. They will havebeen murdered by the World Trade Organization, and the treatiesthat set it up. Their funerals should be protests to abolishit.
  The person in the article who criticizes the pharma companiesfor spending too much on research is mistaken. Actually they spendonly a tiny fraction of their funds on research, and farmoreonmarketing.
  22August 2012 (Patenttroll shell companies)Intellectual Ventures, the giant patent troll, operates over a thousand shell companies to disguise the fact that ithas tens of thousands of patents.
  22August 2012 (Republicanplatform for abortion ban)The Republican Party is likely to approve a platform calling forbanning abortion in all circumstances.
  22August 2012 (Smartcards used asID cards)China and North Korea are adopting smartcards as ID cards torecordeverywhere a person goes.
  22August 2012 (Skinny Jeans andworld hunger)Are Your Skinny Jeans Starving the World?
  22August 2012 (Kucinich on USinterventions)Dennis Kucinich: the US seems to have learned nothing from 10years of interventions that have created moreenemies and inspired terrorists.
  I disagree about the intervention in Libya; that one wasjustified and didn't have this effect. (Libya still has conflicts,but few want to go back to Gaddafi and few blame the US.) Theintervention in Afghanistan might have gone well if Dubya hadn'tinvaded Iraq, but it is hard to be sure. However, Kucinich'soverall point remains valid.
  22 August2012 (Veryurgent: Ban use of diesel for fracking)US citizens: tell the EPA to ban use of diesel fuel for fracking.
  22 August 2012(ToddAkin)Todd Akin, the Republican candidate who said that real rapedoesn't make women pregnant (as an excuse to ban abortions evenafter rape), has refused to quit even after Romney said he should.
  This provides an opportunity to reelect a senator who supportsabortion and contraception rights.
  22 August 2012(Admiration heaped on tyrant)World leaders state their fulsome admiration of the Ethiopiantyrant who just died.
  Apparently in their view arresting the political opposition doesnot make him unworthy of admiration.
  22 August 2012(UShomes taken to build pipelines)Oil companies are taking US homes to buildpipelines.
  This is because the Supreme Court ruled that eminent domain canbe used for companies.
  22 August 2012 (Apple)Apple gets rich by paying very little taxes.
  I think products DRM should be subject to a special punitive taxrate of 1000%.
  22 August2012 (LA's Smog Pollution)LA's smog pollution is 2% of what it was in the 1960s, even with more cars. This is entirely due to governmentintervention.
  22 August 2012(Butterflies)Butterflies in Massachusetts are moving north dueto global warming.
  Some that used to inhabit the northern part of the state are nowhardly present at all
  22 August 2012(Guantanamo)The US bans Guantanamo prisoners from telling their lawyershow they were tortured.
  The US says that knowledge of CIA torture techniques would causethe US "exceptionally grave damage". Indeed the US would receivelots of well-deserved condemnation.
  A large fraction of the prisoners in Guantanamo are acknowledgedto be innocent, but still can't get out. The men being tried areaccused of real crimes, so they deserve real trials.
  22 August 2012 (Protests in Togo)Thousands protest in Togo accusing the government of ensuringits reelection bygerrymandering districts.
  21 August2012 (Campaignapps collect private data)Obama and Romney campaign mobile phone apps slurp down loads ofpersonal data.
  21August 2012 (Trans fat amountson labels)Labeling that states the amount of trans fats in food has pushedUS food manufacturers to reduce its use. But they fought to prevent this.
  21 August 2012(Assange)If Assange had sex with a sleeping woman, the morning after theyhad sex and then slept together, was that rape? MP George Galloway says no.
  Waking up your lover with sex is a tradition that has givenpleasure to many, and prohibiting it by designating it as rape isabsurd. If that's what the law says in some country, that law isabsurd.
  On the other hand, waking up someone with sex who is not yourlover (or has recently been disinclined to have sex with you) isproperly considered rape. Thus, the conclusion depends oncircumstances.
  The circumstances described for Assange are borderline, but thecouple were lovers at the time. Their last interaction, a few hoursbefore, was to have sex. Based on the circumstances described inthe article, I agree with George Galloway's conclusion. I don'tknow whether that description fits what happened, of course.
  I agree with him also that the empire's crimes are a biggerissue than this one. However, there is no need to make thatcomparison. Handing Assange to the US is one thing; investigatingthe sexual accusations is another.
  If the two issues are to be tied to one single decision '--if the only choices are to permit both or prevent both '-- thatwould raise the question of which issue is more important, whichissue should be the basis for the choice.
  However, tying the two issues together is in itself incorrect.The UK and Sweden want to do that because, for them, the sexualaccusations are only an excuse to deliver Assange to the US, butthere is no valid reason to tie them. The two issues ought to bekept separate, so that each one can be handled on its ownmerits.
  That's what Ecuador is doing: protecting Assange from the US,while offering to cooperate with Sweden in regard to the sexualaccusations.
  21August 2012 (Policehunting other Pussy Riot members)The Russian Police are hunting for the other members of Pussy Riot. That is, the oneswho didn't participate in the song for which three members havebeen sentenced to prison.
  21August 2012 (Israeli lawsagainst protests)Israeli laws and punishments against protests resemble Russia's.
  21August 2012 (PaulRyan sponsored anti-abortion bill)Paul Ryan sponsored a bill to declare that fetuses are persons, which would havebanned abortion and some kinds of birth control.
  21August 2012 (Housing inpost-quake Haiti)Years After Haiti Quake, Safe Housing Is a Dream for Many.
  21 August2012 (Paul Ryan'sFairy-Tale Budget Plan)Paul Ryan's Fairy-Tale Budget Plan, according to Reagan'sdirector of the Office of Management and Budget.
  21August 2012 (Burma doesnot have freedom of press)Burma's abolition of advance censorship does not in fact mean freedom of the press.
  21 August2012 (Israelisoldiers attack protesters)Palestinians in Kufr Qaddoum held a peaceful protest against thetheft of a third of their land and the siege of their village.Israeli soldiers attacked them and journalists; somejournalists had broken bones.
  21 August2012 (Thwarted fromstudying West Bank)Four women from Gaza, who want to study in the West Bank, won acourt victory in Israel, so the military invented a "security reason" which is too vague to answer.
  21August 2012 (Violenceagainst Palestinian persons)Israeli "settlers" in Palestinian territory threw amolotov cocktail at a taxi carrying a Palestinian family.
  Violence against Palestinian persons extends thelong-established practice of violence against their farms andhouses.
  21August 2012 (DrivingPalestinians off their land)Israeli "settlers" cut downPalestinians' olive trees near an "illegal" settlement thatthey wish to expand.
  All the settlements are illegal by international standards, butthe ones that were built without permission from the Israeligovernment are called "illegal".
  Other illegal settlers stole Palestinian land to build achicken farm.
  Other "settlers" used an electric pump to flood Palestinian farmlandwhile simultaneously emptying a well.
  This is especially nasty given that the "settlers" have takenfor themselves a disproportionate share of the water resources of the WestBank.
  It is even worse in Gaza: inhabitants spend 30% oftheir income on drinking water.
  21August 2012 (UnitedChurch of Canada joins boycott)The United Church of Canada joined the boycott ofproducts made in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.In response it was subject to the usual barrage of fallaciouscriticism.
  21August 2012 (Somecompanies pay CEOs more than taxes)Some companies pay more to their CEOs than they pay in taxes.
  20 August2012 (Burma stepstowards free press)Burma has ended its official system of advance censorship of newsstories.
  This does not necessarily imply freedom of the press, but it isan important step forward.
  20 August2012 (Ohio electioncommissioners fired)Republicans in Ohio fired Democratic election commissioners fornot following orders to vote against allowing early voting onthe weekend.
  Voter suppression is the general strategy of Republicans in thiselection, and it shows their intent to force themselves on thecountry.
  20August 2012 (Romney mayhave violated ethics laws)Report: Romney May Have Violated Ethics Laws Through Company Linkedto Paul Ryan's Brother.
  19August 2012 (Attacks onPalestinians)The US listed attacks on Palestinians as "terrorism". These attacksare becoming more frequent, and Israel does almost nothing todiscourage them.
  19 August2012 (Freedom to burnbooks)All the Christians living in a suburb of Islamabad were chasedout, after a girl was accused of burning a copy of the Qur'an.
  The accusation sounds so implausible that it must surely be alie. However, ethically it would make no difference if theaccusation were true. There is nothing wrong with your burning anybook, as long as it's yours and it's not rare. You have the rightto burn a copy of the Qur'an, or even FreeSoftware, Free Society, if you wish '-- and anyone whotries to stop you is an enemy of freedom.
  19August 2012 (Frenchthugs arrest masked protesters)French thugs arrested protesters supporting Pussy Riot, because they werewearing balaclavas as Pussy Riot does.
  This demonstrates that the law against wearing face coverings inpublic, which Sarkozy pretended was aimed at a handful of Muslimwomen, was really an attack on everyone's rights.
  With face recognition surveillance, the only way to have anyprivacy will be to wear a mask. More masked protests are needed todemand this freedom.
  19August 2012 (Hottest month in USrecords)July2012 set a US record for the hottest month ever (sincerecord-keeping began).
  19 August2012 (Use ofunregulated customer data)US businesses use unregulated data to decide who is a desirablecustomer, and this could result in big discrimination.
  19 August2012 (War onWhistleblowers)Assange, speaking from a balcony in the Ecuadorian embassy,called on the US to end its war on whistleblowers.
  This war has been described by several political notes.
  19August 2012 (Obamarequests more money for teachers)Obama asked Congress to spend money to help localities hire more teachers.
  Stimulating the economy like this is a good idea. I wish it werenot such a rare thing from Obama.
  19August 2012 (Russianchurches are props for tyranny)In Russia, churches have been converted into props for tyranny,but the head of the Orthodox Church was eager for the job.
  So are the leaders of many US churches.
  19August 2012 (Urgent:Reinstate Glass-Steagall act)US citizens: signthis petition to reinstate the Glass-Steagall act.
  19August 2012 (Arcticsummer sea ice getting thinner)Arctic summer sea ice is not only retreating, it is gettingthinner, so fast that in 10 years itmight be totally gone.
  This is extremely dangerous since that will cause the ArcticOcean to absorb a lot more heat from the sun in the summer.
  19August 2012 (Perceptionof Romney, Ryan and Obama)Supporters of Romney, Ryan and Obama have convinced themselvesof a fundamentally false picture ofthese people's lives and politics.
  19August 2012 (Obamafavors imprisonment without trial)Obama has appealed the court decision banning imprisonment without trialin the US. By doing so he has declared in favor of imprisonmentwithout trial.
  19August 2012 (Planet-roasterpipeline)Construction of the planet-roaster pipeline started in Texas andwas met with protests.
  19August 2012 (NPRpresenters protesting banks fired)NPR has fired several radio presenters for protesting against banks,but it is happy to let one large bank underwrite the Planet Moneyshow, whose host makes a business of giving speeches to banks.
  These two policies might seem contradictory if viewed in ethicalterms. However, if viewed in terms of selling out, they fittogether perfectly.
  19August 2012 (VA too eager todiagnose PTSD)The US Veterans Administration is too eager to diagnose PTSD,applyingthat label to many other kinds of problems includingdepression. This leads to giving veterans the wrong therapy, andmaking their problems worse.
  19 August2012 (Urgent: ThankEcuador)Everyone: thankEcuador for giving asylum to Julian Assange.
  19August 2012 (Studentprotests spreading in Chile)Student protests are spreading in Chile as students occupy more schools.
  19 August2012 (Phony copyrighttrolls)Copyright trolls, who threaten lots of people with lawsuitsunless they pay a medium-size sum for possibly real copyrightinfringement, have inspired a phony copyright troll whoseactivities are pure fraud.
  The funniest part is, this is not very different from what thereal copyright trolls have done. Some of them have been shut downby courts for abusing the legal system.
  19August 2012 (Right to Remain SpiedOn)You Have the Right to Remain Spied On.
  19 August2012 (US gov'twhistleblowers threatened)Increased monitoring of US government employees through theircomputer threatens to punish whistleblowers, or worse, to maketheir activities impossible.
  19 August2012 (Top 100 UScorporate air polluters)The top 100 US corporations for air pollution.
  Koch Industries is in 5th place.
  19 August2012 (West Nilevirus outbreak in Texas)The current outbreak of West Nile virus in Texas will recuroften in the future since global heating helps the mosquitos.
  18August 2012 (Siouxtribes to buy back Black Hills)The Sioux tribes plan to use some of their settlement money forthe US theft of the Black Hills to buy back parts of it.
  18August 2012 (Former eagle scoutsprotest)Former eagle scouts returned their scouting medals to protestthe anti-gay stance of the Boy Scouts, but the organization is unmoved.
  18August 2012 (Urgent:Stop forced child labor in Uzbekistan)US citizens: call on the clothingstore company Zara to stop using cotton picked by forced childlabor in Uzbekistan.
  18 August2012 (Newlydiscovered cold-water corals)Shell's drilling in the Arctic could damage newly discoveredcold-water corals that can take centuries to recover if they are smashed.
  18 August2012 (Censorship inPakistan extended)Pakistan has extended its Internet censorship to blocking political scandal.
  The previous censorship, of sex and criticism of religion, isalso an injustice and in no way excusable.
  18August 2012 (BainCapital moving US factory to China)Bain Capital is moving a profitable car parts factory in the USto China so it can pay workers less.
  If these workers had had guts, they would have gone on strikeand told the company to ask Romney to train their replacements.
  Romney is fibbing when he claims to have disassociated himself from Bain in 1999.However, it makes no great difference that Romney is no longerrunning Bain. He built this monster and set it in motion, so he'sresponsible for what it continues to do, no matter who is at thecontrols now.
  Romney is profiting from behavior that the US economic systemwas set up to encourage. The system is to blame '-- and Romneyis also to blame. So are the politicians who set up or preserve thesystem, including nearly all Republicans and many Democrats. Ingeneral, when a system leaves you vulnerable to mistreatment, thatdoesn't excuse the people who take advantage of it.
  18 August 2012(TimeWars)Time Wars: how precarious employment, misuse of technology anddomination by the rich have turned all time into work and crushedcreativity.
  18 August2012 (Big data racialdiscrimination)Big data means racial discrimination can be disguised as"personalization".
  One way you can resist such monitoring of you is by not identifying yourselfin your purchases and other activities.
  18August 2012 (Women of PussyRiot sentenced)The women of Pussy Riot were sentenced to 2 years in prison.
  Hundreds of supporters protesting outside the courtroom werearrested.
  Other Russian dissidents are accused of obviously bogus crimes too. It is misguided to arguethat some of these people are really innocent of the crime ofprotesting, since it would not be bad if they were "guilty".Prosecuting protesters, whether in Russia, the UK or the US, onlyproves the state is guilty.
  17 August2012 (Privatizationof public services)Privatization of public services is a recipe for inefficiency,failure, and even oppression.
  No public service should ever be privatized unless the result isto offer competition directly to citizens.
  17 August 2012(Unusual weather)An unusually hot summer in Greenland may be linked to the unusuallycold and wet summer in the UK. As well as to the droughts andstorms in the US.
  17 August 2012(Paying the rent)DeadWoman Working: the greatest hope for working-class Americans isto keep paying the rent.
  17August 2012 (Tyrannical gov'tpersecution)Nabeel Rajab, already in prison for criticizing Bahrain'sgovernment, was sentenced to three years in prison for an "illegal demonstration".
  Obama shamelessly continues propping up Bahrain's tyrannical government.
  The US has committed acts of persecution and aggression for along time, so it is appropriate that Julian Assange has beengranted political asylum for fear of oppression by the US.
  17August 2012 (US teenslisten to music via YouTube)US teenagers mostly listen to music via YouTube.
  This makes it even more unfortunate that the YouTube site cannotbe accessed in HTML5 without running nonfree Javascript code fromthe site.
  17August 2012 (Opposition to GMOlabeling)Large companies that own "natural" or organic food brands arefundingthe opposition to the GMO labeling ballot initiative inCalifornia. Along with many other big food companies.
  17August 2012 (American citiesneglected)The USprefers failed reconstruction of nations it has destroyed toreconstruction of American cities that have been pushed intopoverty.
  Another possible cause is that it was easier for corruptinterests allied with Dubya to divert money in Iraq than in theUS.
  17August 2012 (Thugdelivering eviction notice shot)A man in Texas shot the thug who came to deliver an evictionnotice.
  17August 2012 (Romneyon Paul Ryan's poorhouse budget)Romney is trying to distance himself from Paul Ryan's poorhousebudget, but not long ago he was praising it.
  Romney's advisors said that whatever Romney said during theprimary campaign, afterwards he could erase the slate and start over.
  17August 2012 (Journaliston trial for insult in Egypt)Egypt's government is putting a journalist on trial for insulting the president.
  That change is effectively a confession of failure to respectfreedom of expression.
  17August 2012 (Ethiopiarepressing Muslim protesters)Ethiopia is repressing Muslim protesters who objected to state interferencein their mosques.
  The Ethiopian government represses anyone in Ethiopia that getsin its way, and has the backing of the US in doing so.
  17August 2012 (SouthAfrican thugs kill striking miners)South African thugs shot and killed striking miners. Some say the miners attackedfirst, but that seems unlikely a priori.
  17 August 2012(TonyNicklinson)Tony Nicklinson lost his lawsuit demanding not to punish people for helping him todie.
  The judge may be right that this is beyond the authority of acourt, but Nicklinson deserves to be helped somehow.
  He has the right to travel, and the right to travel toSwitzerland since he does not need a visa to go there. Does thestate pretend to deny him this right merely because he might use itto avail himself of the services of Dignitas?
  17 August2012 (Euro not in trouble)The Euro is not in trouble. Europeansare.
  17 August2012 (Julian AssangeAsylum)JulianAssange Asylum: Ecuador is Right to Stand Up to the US.
  17 August 2012(Prostitution)Clothing designer Zahia Dahar was a prostitute for a while, andone of her customers when she was 17 faces prosecution.
  The term "child prostitution" calls to mind the troubled girlsand boys, in their early teens or even younger, who are lured andpushed into prostitution. Treating them that way deservesprosecution.
  However, there is no reason to prosecute the customers of peoplelike Ms Dahar, who chose their path and are not under anyone'sthumb.
  17August 2012 (GoldmanSachs will not be prosecuted)The US "Justice Department" will not prosecuteGoldman Sachs for swindling its clients.
  17August 2012 (Paul Ryan's campaignfunds)Paul Ryan has faced no difficult races for Congress, but he hasaccepted millions incampaign funds from corporations that want service fromhim.
  17August 2012 (Applewants to control home appliances)Apple envisions making iThings control all the appliances in the home.
  17 August2012 (Abuses of Big Pharma)The abuses of Big Pharma can make people sick, but thefines they agree to pay are tiny compared to their profits, sothey don't stop.
  17 August2012 (Olympic gamesponsors sin-washing)What Olympic games sponsors buy is sin-washing.
  17August 2012 (Mistakeof choosing lesser of two evils)Why it is often amistake to vote for the lesser of two evil candidates.
  17 August2012 (US deployingsurveillance cameras)The US is deploying the same sort of cameras that China used toidentify and intimidate protesters through facerecognition.
  We should avoid exaggerating what Trapwire surveillance does,but no exaggeration is needed to show the US is turning into asurveillance state that represses dissidents.
  17August 2012 (Islamistsattack Pakistan air force base)Islamists in Pakistan attacked an air force base.
  17 August2012 (Australia'sinvolvement in Iraq)Australian politicians call for an independent investigationinto why Australia joined in Bush's conquest of Iraq.
  17August 2012 (People's phone GPSlocations)A US court ruled that the government doesn't need a search warrant to collect people's phoneGPS locations.
  A warrant should be required for the phone company even totake note of a phone's location, except when the user asksfor it.
  17August 2012 (Urgent: SaveSocial Security)US citizens: sign this petition to save Social Security.
  17August 2012 (Urgent:Reverse Corporations United decision)US citizens: sign up for thecampaign for a constitutional amendment to reverse the CorporationsUnited decision (to call it what it really is).
  Here's acomparison of various bills proposing constitutional amendmentsrelated to corporations' power and regulation of campaignspending.
  17 August 2012 (Urgent:Reinstate workers fired for objecting to mockery)Everyone: call onHyatt Hotels to reinstate two workers who were apparently firedfor objecting when their coworkers mocked them with pasted-upphotos.
  Nobody should have 5 children '-- even 3 puts too much of aburden on the Earth '-- but that doesn't excuse what Hyattdid.
  17August 2012 (Asylum for JulianAssange)The UK has threatened to invade theEcuadorian embassy to capture Julian Assange. In defiantresponse, Ecuadorformally granted him asylum.
  That the UK would threaten to take things to this level provesconclusively that this is a scheme to hand Assange to the US. CraigMurray's private sources say the US ordered the UK prime minister to do this.
  The UK could get Assange without violating treaties or startinga war by breaking off diplomatic relations with Ecuador and shutting theembassy.
  17 August2012 (Militaryspending cuts exaggerated)The usual figure cites for the sequester's reductions inmilitary spending increases is exaggerated by 100 billion.
  Too bad '-- the US needs to cut more.
  17August 2012 (Republicansin Florida want voter purge)Republicans in Florida want last-minute voter purge.
  Non-citizens are not entitled to vote in the US, and there isnothing wrong in principle with making sure they don't. However, weknow from experience what Republicans are really up to. They willget a long list of names of non-citizens, lots of them Hispanic,and exclude all voters whose names resemble those, including lotsof Hispanic US citizens who are entitled to vote.
  17 August2012 (Romneyagainst welfare recipients)Romney wants to force those lazy, greedy welfare recipients (mostly single mothers,nowadays) to work. But not the lazy and greedy banksters, ofcourse.
  Since Romney and friends have shipped all the jobs to China,what work would there be for these women to do? He'd have to sendthem to China too.
  17August 2012 (Belo Monte Damsuspended)Belo Monte Dam Suspended by Brazilian Appeals Court.
  17 August2012 (Paul Ryan oneconomic stimulus)Paul Ryan argued against economic stimulus and clean energyprograms, but he was happy to spend the money after he lost.
  16August 2012 (Rootwormsresistant to GMO corn toxin)Rootworms have developed resistance to BT toxin made by GMOcorn, and this is joining with the drought to destroy the US corn crop.
  Farmers had better go back to crop rotation, and integrated pestmanagement.
  16 August2012 (Corrupt uniontied to Paul Ryan)Paul Ryan's family company is closely tied to a corrupt unionthat supported Ryan's candidacy and punished members who objected to this.
  16 August2012 (Polandinvestigating CIA torturers)Poland is investigating the CIA torturers who operated asecret US prison.
  16August 2012 (Civiliantrial for officer in Mexico)Mexico's Supreme Court has ordered a civilian trial for theofficer accused of covering up the killing of a civilian prisoner.
  16August 2012 (Egypt's militarybacks down)Egypt's military has backed down from the confrontation with the new president by giving up on theconstitutional changes that it tried to impose a few monthsago.
  16August 2012 (Lawto block war without consent of Congress)Rep. Kucinich has proposed a law to block the use of NATO as an excuse for the US to engage in war withoutconsent of Congress.
  16August 2012 (Urgent:Preregister for anti-TPP protest)US citizens: preregister now to participate in an anti-TPP protest inLeesberg, Virginia, on Sep 9.
  Please do NOT use Google Docs to inform Public Citizen that youhave registered '-- that requires running nonfree software.Instead, please tell Public Citizen some other way.
  16 August2012 (Investigationof raid in Honduras)An independent investigation reports contradictions in the official story about the raid in Hondurasthat shot passengers on a ferry.
  Here's the full report.
  The US is withholding some funds for Honduras based on accusations thatits new thug chief operated a death squad before.
  16August 2012 (UNinvestigation of massacres Syria)A UN investigation holds Assad's army and Shabiha militia responsible formassacres and torture of prisoners.
  The investigation also says that rebels have killedprisoners.
  16August 2012 (Hostage taking inLebanon)The Syrian civil war is leading to hostage taking in Lebanon.
  16 August2012 (Spanish mayorleading resistance)A Spanish mayor is leading resistance to the right-wing's cruel policies.
  16August 2012 (Attackon protest in favor of Pussy Riot)Putin's thugs attacked a small protest in favor of Pussy Riot and then arrested some ofthe protesters.
  It seems thugs are the same in Moscow and New York City.
  16 August2012 ("Self-reliant" PaulRyan)"Self-reliant" Paul Ryan got a college education using Social Securitybenefits at a publicly funded university. Yet he wants to denythe same help to future Americans.
  16August 2012 (Urgent:Prohibit fracking in national forests)US citizens: tell the Forest Service not to allow fracking in nationalforests.
  16August 2012 (Urgent:Preservation of a free Internet)US citizens: sign thispetition to the Democratic and Republican parties to adoptpreservation of a free Internet in their platforms.
  16 August2012 (Storage ofused nuclear fuel rods)A US court ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to stop assuming that it is safe to store used fuel rods along withthe reactors and that this will only be a temporarystopgap.
  However, it is a long way from there to any practical effect,such as denying licenses to old or new power reactors.
  In the absence of a permanent solution, perhaps we should startmoving and/or converting the used fuel rods to a kind of storagethat is safer than pools next to reactors. The Fukushimameltdowns demonstrated that that is a very bad place for them.
  16August 2012 (Googleuses threats to shut down sites)Google has shut down YouTube download helper sites, by technicalmeans and by threatening to sue them.
  Streaming anything from YouTube requires running nonfreesoftware, which for your freedom's sake you should refuse to do. Toview a recording on YouTube without running nonfree software, youneed to download the recording. There are free software scripts todo this. Whether the sites that are now being attacked can be usedwithout running nonfree software, I do not know.
  15 August2012 (Idealizedview of soldiers and war)The US military-entertainment-industrial complex reinforces anidealized view of soldiers and war that facilitates war.
  It also helps the arms spending lobby.
  15August 2012 (Highschools as marketing platforms)Most US high schools have turned themselves into exclusivemarketing platforms for either Coca Cola Company or Pepsico. Nowstudies find that selling junk food in school promotes obesity.
  15August 2012 (Censorshipof racist advertisements)Racist advertisements calling Palestinians "savages" facecensorshippressure.
  In certain periods in the past, Palestinians committed plenty ofacts of savagery. In recent years those are more commonly carriedout by Israelis, as Gush Shalom ably documents. These ads areclearly mistaken. Nonetheless, I defend people's right to expressthat political view (or any other). There is no place forcensorship in a free society. Progressive views face censorship tooin the US, and we must continue to fight against it.
  15August 2012 (Victory overtobacco pushers)Australia has won a victory over tobacco pushers: cigarettes will have to be sold in plain packages to reducemarketing (especially to teenagers).
  Note how the tobacco companies tried to use the vague, almostmeaningless term "intellectualproperty" to argue that the state must compensate them if itdoes anything to limit their ability to market tobacco. This termis harmful and we must reject it.
  Slashing value from famous brands ought to be adopted as a goalin itself, because those brands' marketing power and theoutsourcing system they support facilitates many abuses. We mustreject the idea of logos or trademarks as investment vehicles, andreturn them to their original purpose: identification so thatpurchasers can know what they are buying.
  15August 2012 (High school inChile occupied)Students in Santiago Chile have occupied high schools todemand improvements in public education.
  15August 2012 (Fracking pipeline inNYC)Protesting a fracking pipeline in New York City.
  15August 2012 (Malaysiatightens Internet censorship)Malaysia is tightening Internet censorship through a law topunish Internet cafes if their customers say anythingdissident.
  15August 2012 (MainstreamUS media praising Paul Ryan)Mainstream US media are praising Paul Ryan as a great expert onthe budget, and pretending that there isa problem that needs a drastic "solution" such as heproposes.
  15August 2012 (Noncombatantsattacked in Afghanistan)Suicide bombers attacked noncombatants in Afghanistan.
  15August 2012 (Mississippisending students to prison)Schools in Meridian, Mississippi, are sending students to prisonfor wearing the wrong clothing.
  These schools are clearly prisons, and the only thing thestudents could learn from them is resistance. They should protestby wearing prison uniforms to school.
  15 August2012 (Banks win by default)When banks sue people over credit card debts, most of the timethey have no proof they are owed any money; but they win by default.
  15 August2012 (Slavery inMauritania)Mauritania still practices slavery, and the slaves are so downtrodden that they will lie to avoid being freed.
  15 August2012 (EU rules forhandling of e-waste)The EU has adopted strictnew rules for handling of e-waste.
  I don't know whether the rules are good ones, but the goal isimportant.
  15 August2012 (Superstition cankill)Superstition can kill: children in the UK accused of witchcraftby credulous relatives have suffered abuse that sometimes is deadly.
  14August 2012 (Tripwiresurveillance system)There are claims that a system called Tripwire is in use in theUS to carry out widespread surveillance via TV cameras and license plate recognizers.
  14August 2012 (Nonsectarian Syrianrebels)Interviews with some nonsectarian Syrian rebels.
  Unfortunately, their existence does not make the Islamistfanatics not exist.
  14August 2012 (Israel might attackIran)Israel might attack Iran before the US presidential electionfiguring that Obama would notdare refuse to join in.
  US voters don't want war with Iran. But it's not the votersObama is concerned about, it's the rich people who demand war andmight threaten to use their money against him.
  14August 2012 (Personalized storeprices)How personalized store prices can hurt customers.
  I don't have any store "loyalty cards", but occasionally I useother people's numbers.
  14 August2012 (Brainwashingtreatment for Manning)A three-star general explicitlyordered brainwashing treatment for Bradley Manning.
  This demonstrates that the repeated official claims that thistreatment was for Manning's own protection were not merely absurdand false. They were deliberate lies told by a cruel and arrogantstate that takes pride in its callousness. We have no proof thatthe orders came from even higher up, but Obama surely heard theworld criticism of this brainwashing for a long time withoutstopping it.
  Do the US government and US army have enough courage andintegrity to prosecute those responsible? I'd applaud if they do,but I don't expect it.
  I do not expect Manning's judge to dismiss the charges. The flawof all military trials is command influence: the judge is anofficer whose future career is under the control of the armycommand. In this case, the judge's own superiors (up to Obama)ordered the prosecution of Manning, and his brainwashing. He knowswhat verdict they want, and he knows what will happen to him if hedoes not deliver it. To refuse would take considerable courage.
  I use the term "brainwashing" because what the US did to Manningresembles what North Korean captors did to US GIs during the Korean Warto break their will.
  14August 2012 (Mutationsin butterflies in Fukushima)Radiation from the Fukushima meltdown is causing mutations inbutterfliesliving near the reactors.
  14August 2012 (Temperatureswings give parasites advantage)Greater temperature swings, caused by global heating, can giveparasites an advantage over some of the animals they live in.
  14August 2012 (Facebook virtualtown square)Facebook wants to present itself as a virtual town square '... a censored one.
  14 August2012 (Pseudo-copyrightfor broadcasting)WIPO is once again pushing a treaty to create a newpseudo-copyright for broadcasting, that would give broadcasters amonopoly over the works that are transmitted.
  As usual, the US is the bad guy.
  14 August2012 (Urgent: Airtime for Jill Stein)US citizens:
  Tell Colbert, Maddow & Stewart that Jill Stein deserves airtime. You can send email to
  14August 2012 (Urgent:Social Security and Medicare)US citizens: askObama and Congress to commit to no cuts in Social Security orMedicare.
  14August 2012 (South Korea censorscritics)South Korea has censored several critics of the state; some even face criminalcharges for criticizing the government.
  14August 2012 (Vermontsingle-payer health care system)Vermont voted to set up a single-payer health care system, butit needs US government waivers to start before 5 years from now,and the medical/financial interests are campaigning to prevent it.
  14August 2012 (Urgent:Pressure Russia on human rights)US citizens: call on Clinton to pressure Russia on human rights.
  14August 2012 (Subwayfires workers trying to unionize)Subway is firing workers in Oakland for trying to unionize.
  14August 2012 (Impunity ofthugs and prison guards)Thugs' unions and prison guards' unions have lobbied effectivelyfor enabling their members to abuse more people.
  I would say that the unions are not the root of the problem, butrather a manifestation of it. The root is in the impunity thesepeople have, together with their incentives to commit abuse. TheNew York City thugs behave like an occupying army, not justtowards minority groups but towards protesters and the press.
  13 August2012 (UK workerssecretly blacklisted)Thousands of UK workers have been secretly blacklisted for years ordecades.
  13 August2012 (Florida thugsstrip-search driver)Florida thugs pulled a driver out of her car and strip-searchedher by the side of the road.
  No matter what anyone had claimed she had done, it could notjustify this.
  13 August 2012(Louisiana schools)Thanks to school vouchers, Louisiana pays schools to teach that humansand dinosaurs lived at the same time, that slavery was kind, andthat the great depression wasn't very bad.
  13August 2012 (Plans to deactivateHadopi)The French government plans to deactivate Hadopi, the law topunish people with Internet disconnection. This is a step forward, but not enough.That unjust law must be abolished.
  13 August2012 (Pussy Riot'sdefiant closing speech)Yekaterina Samutsevich of Pussy Riot made a closing speechdefiantly explaining how Putin has used the Russian Orthodox Church for politicalpurposes.
  There is a long history of this; the tsars did it starting inthe 1700s.
  13 August2012 (Romney'sconnection to death squads)Romney founded BainCapital with money from rich Central Americans who alsoinvested in death squads.
  13August 2012 (Egypt'spresident confronts army's power)Egypt's president confronted the army's power by replacing two generals and revoking the army's constitutionalalteration.
  13August 2012 (Slapon wrist for former Israeli soldier)A former Israeli soldier will spend 45 days in jail for killing two Palestinian women in Gaza who were waving whiteflags.
  That seems like a slap on the wrist to me.
  13August 2012 (Urgent: Death ofhoney bees)US citizens: tell theEPA once more that it should treat the death of honey bees asan emergency.
  13August 2012 (90journalists imprisoned in Turkey)90 journalists are in prison in Turkey.
  13 August2012 (Imprisonmentwithout trial protest)A protest inDallas against imprisonment without trial.
  13 August2012 (Islamistrulers of Northern Mali)The barbaric Islamist rulers of Northern Mali are using amputation as a punishment.
  In the south, 60,000 people rallied for peace and reconciliation. But I thinkthat is a misguided goal, if it is possible instead to defeat thosebarbarians.
  13August 2012 (Imprisonedfor protesting in Belarus)Belarus has imprisoned two journalists for protesting the imprisonment oftheir colleague.
  13 August2012 (Imprisonedfor blogging in Vietnam)A Vietnamese blogger has been imprisoned, explicitly because ofwhat he said in his blog.
  13 August2012 (TSA racial profiling)Supposed TSA "behavioral detection" turns out to be just plain old racialprofiling.
  Even worse, it focuses on issues that have nothing to do withthe safety of flights. In effect, this article admits that theTSA's main activity is an unwarranted fishing expedition, withsafety of flights as a mere excuse.
  12 August2012 (Ecuadorianscharged for protesting)Amnesty International says that indigenous leaders in Ecuadorface false criminal charges for protesting against mines in their territory.
  12August 2012 (Barrier toinnovation in US)The barrier to innovation in the US is that established companies prefer rent-seeking rather thaninnovation, and buy laws accordingly.
  12August 2012 (Melting Arctic Oceanice)A new satellite shows that Arctic Ocean ice is melting faster than predicted.
  12August 2012 (Karzai's corruptgovernment)Afghans in Karzai's government's uniform have carried outtwo attacks on government forces in two days.
  In one case, the attack was led by the commander of a unit.
  We've known for years that Karzai's corrupt government cannotinspire loyalty, except in exchange for money, so its army wouldnever be able to fight very hard. Now it is becoming clear that hissoldiers are likely to fight for the enemy.
  12 August2012 (Paul Ryan's tax plan)Under Paul Ryan's tax plan, Romney's tax rate would drop to under 1%.
  That would be another reason to call the super rich "the1%".
  12 August2012 (Americanswithout health coverage)Americans without health coverage sometimes must choose to dieof cancer rather than accept expensive treatment. A doctor recountsan example.
  With such advanced lung cancer, the best medical care possibletoday might not have extended this man's life for very long.However, even one extra year would have been a very good thing forhis daughter.
  12 August 2012(PaulRyan)Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, is a global heating denier in the pay of the Koch brothers.
  He used to call himself a Randian, and he wants to destroyMedicare and Social Security. He also wants to raise taxes on the middle class and cut them for the rich.
  This is known as class warfare. Sad to say, Obama is not on ourside, merely less enthusiastic about attacking us.
  12August 2012 (OccupyWall Street calls for protests)Occupy Wall Street calls for protests against the two Plutocratic National Convention and the Repelican NationalConvention.
  12August 2012 (Civic resistance inSpain)In Spain, one method of resistance to the policies of poverty isto take food from supermarkets and give it to the poor.
  Many other forms of civic resistance are described '-- evenpolice who refused to act like thugs.
  12August 2012 (US drought willcause hunger)With the US drought, millions will go hungry around the world.
  This is the beginning of problems that will only get worse asglobal heating batters farm output around the world.
  Oxfam calls for an end to the diversion of food crops to make fuel.
  That is an inefficient way to make fuel, anyway. It uses lots ofpetroleum to replace petroleum.
  12 August 2012(Ohio voting hours)Ohio has expanded voting hours in generally Republican areas and reducedthem in generally Democratic areas.
  12August 2012 (New Mexicotrying to obstruct votes)New Mexico is trying to stop many people from voting, and also obstruct voterregistration.
  12August 2012 (Votes of homelessAmericans)Homeless Americans (their number is increasing) facedifficulties in registering to vote.
  I disagree with the article's claim that local elections aremore important than national ones. Back when Cambridge had rentcontrol, I voted in local elections for candidates who were infavor of it. Ever since Cambridge rent control was abolished byvoters outside Cambridge, I have never heard of a single localissue that would affect anything important.
  However, that might be different for homeless people.
  12August 2012 (Lives thatare sacred to Republicans)Republicans believe life is sacred, for fetuses and wealthy people. The others are welcome to die.
  12August 2012 (Israel'sphony peace-negotiation demands)Israel is trying to bribe and threaten the Palestinian Authority into dropping itsbid for statehood.
  The peace negotiations that Israel demands are phony, sinceIsrael demands impossible terms and thus ensures they make no progress. Ineffect, they are an excuse to let Israel do whatever it wants toPalestinians.
  11August 2012 (Investigationof Oswaldo Pay's death)US Senate voted to demand an investigation of the car crashthat killed Oswaldo Pay, even though the survivors, who arehis supporters, say it was an accident and no other car wasinvolved.
  11August 2012 (Urgent:Urge Obama campaign to drop cynical ad)US citizens: urge the Obamacampaign to drop its cynical pro-coal ad.
  11August 2012 (US corporatemedia distortion)Senator Reid said someone had told him Romney paid no taxes foryears, but that he (Reid) had no way to tell whether that was true,and Romney should release his tax returns to show the truth.
  The US corporate media are distorting this, and accusing Reid of acting like Joe McCarthy.
  11August 2012 (TEPCO'sresponse to Fukishima meltdown)TEPCO has released video of discussions held about how torespond to the Fukishima meltdown, but most of itis without sound, not showing what the people said.
  11August 2012 (Implanted hormonalIUDs)1/4 of US pregnancies are due to failure of contraception.Implanted hormonal IUDs have the potential toput an end to this failure, but the US government has notapproved them for women with no children.
  11August 2012 (Marijuanadecriminalization)Chilean senators propose decriminalizing cultivation of marijuana for personal use.
  Uruguay's President Mujica has formally proposed legalizing marijuana with the state as the distributor.
  11 August2012 (GM won'tnegotiate with workers)GM won't negotiate with the Colombian workers, injured by theirwork, who were fired without compensation.
  11August 2012 (Brunt of sanctionson Iran)Americans who are interested in foreign affairs generallyhave no wish for a war with Iran.
  So why are Obama and Romney speaking talking tough? Because theyare paid to. The influence of the "fat cats" referred to in thearticle does not come from conversation with thee candidates.
  The brunt of the sanctions falls on ordinary Iranians, but they don't have enough influence on theIranian government to alter its policy on such an issue '--even if they wanted to surrender to foreign pressure.
  10 August 2012(LendInk shut down)LendInk, which connected users to practice the limited "lending"allowed by the Amazon Swindle and the Barnes & Noble Shnook,was shut down by a campaign of intimidation aimed at its hosting provider.
  I would not endorse or support the use of LendInk, because touse it you'd first need to be a user of those freedom-trampling products.That's what you must not do. Something like LendInk was hardlyenough to make the Swindle or Shnook ethically acceptable, soclosing LendInk doesn't make them substantially worse than theywere.
  However, I mention this to underline how nasty those companiesare. These products are the enemy of your freedom, and you shouldfight them until they are dead.
  10 August 2012 (Urgent:Maintain promise in 2011 budget agreement)US citizens: tell the Senate, stick to the Pentagon cuts agreed on in the2011 budget agreement.
  10 August2012 (Bradley Manningtrial)Bradley Manning's lawyer has asked for dismissal of all charges, on the grounds that he was illegallypunished through humiliating treatment before his trial.
  I don't expect the judge will do it, though.
  10 August2012 (Goldman Sachswon't be prosecuted)The US government won't prosecute Goldman Sachs for misleading(effectively swindling) its customers.
  If laws don't protect customers from such lies, is the USplanning to change them? Obviously not.
  10 August2012 (EU gov'tswant mechanism to censor)EU governments want to set up an informal, extralegal mechanismto censor unwanted opinions without even a trial.
  Freedom of speech means freedom to express any and all views.Even hatred has a place in our thoughts '-- for instance,that's what governments that practice censorship deserve.
  10August 2012 (Urgent: Pollutionfrom cement)US citizens: call on the EPA not to postpone or weaken its standards forpollution from cement.
  10August 2012 (Urgent:Free the members of Pussy Riot)US citizens: Call on Russia to free the members of Pussy Riot.
  10 August2012 (Doctorcharged with waterboarding)A doctor has been charged with waterboarding his daughter.
  When will Bush's torturers be charged?
  10 August2012 (Healthfulness-basedfood labeling)A simple system of food labeling based on healthfulness turnedout to be quite effective at moving people towards better eating.
  I dispute what the article says about "illusion of control". Itis not an illusion; it is real control. To have control does notrequire being immune to anyone else's influence (that would beimpossible anyway, in a society). Looked at from the other side,saying things that influence people does not mean trampling theirfreedom.
  This note doesn't deprive you of any freedom, but it may (or maynot) influence you.
  10 August2012 (Antibioticresistance of Gonorrhea)Gonorrhea has developed resistance to all but one antibiotic. Resistance to that one issurely on the way.
  I think Christian theocrats will rejoice at this. They will behappy that thousands will be killed as long as it might make somepeople scared to have sex. If gonorrhea did not exist, they wouldwant to invent it.
  10August 2012 (Urgent:Call on Romney to identify his "bundlers")US citizens: signthis petition calling on Romney to identify those who play animportant role in his fundraising '-- the "bundlers".
  10 August 2012 (Urgent:Ask safe-seat Democrats to help other Democrats)US citizens: sign thispetition to safe-seat Democrats asking them to help otherDemocrats win in Congress.
  10August 2012 (Internet censorshipin Cuba)Cuban exiles plan to light fireworks to protest Internetcensorship in Cuba.
  10 August2012 (Urgent:Visit your congresscritter)US citizens: visit your congresscritter during the Augustrecess, and ask for a $10 minimum wage.
  10August 2012 (Secret CIA prisonin Romania)Time for Romania to Face the Truth over Secret CIA Prison.
  10August 2012 (Agent Orangedepot in Vietnam)TheUS will start cleaning up an Agent Orange depot in Vietnam.
  10August 2012 (Obama'sassassination policy)People are trying to challenge Obama's assassination policy through theUK.
  10August 2012 (Plan toreduce paying employment in UK)Another plan to reduce paying employment in the UK: running call centers inside prisons.
  I have nothing against hiring prisoners, as long as it isn't anexcuse to reduce workers' wages. If they paid these prisoners whatthe workers make on the outside, I would not criticize it.
  10August 2012 (Urgent: Fire EdDeMarco now!)US citizens: Phone the White House at 202-456-1111 and say,"Fire Ed DeMarco now!"
  Ed DeMarco is head of Fannie Mae, and is blocking mortgagerelief for US homeowners for the sake of the banksters.
  10August 2012 (Lawsuitagainst illegal wiretapping)The last lawsuit against Bush's illegal warrantless wiretappingscheme has been dismissed.
  10August 2012 (Searchwarrant for network server data)A billproposed in Congress would require the government to get asearch warrant to examine users' data stored in networkservices.
  I think this bill is a good idea, but let's not use the nebulousterm "cloud" to describe these network servers.
  10August 2012 (Palm-oilplantation displaces people)Indigenous people in the Philippines were kicked off their lands for a palm-oil plantation.
  The Philippine government appears to be too corrupt to enforceits laws against companies. Sad to say, the same is true nowadaysof the US government against the banksters and oil companies. Evenarmssmugglers pay a fine to avoid actual prosecution.
  10August 2012 (Marylandsurveillance system)The ACLU warns that Maryland has set up an integrated system torecord license plate scans indefinitely, and explains why this is dangerous.
  A similar system in the UK has already been used to sabotagedemocracy by pre-emptively arresting dissidents believed to be onthe way to a protest. The US already persecutes dissidents as"terrorists", so we can be sure the US will abuse this system.
  10August 2012 (Denyingeducation to pregnant students)A school in Louisiana illegally forces female students to take pregnancy tests, andexpels them if they are pregnant.
  I think schools should help and encourage students to usecontraception and abortion, but punishing someone with a denial ofeducation only makes a repeat of the problem more likely.
  10August 2012 (Urgent:Block tar sands pipeline project)Everyone: Call on the premier of British Columbia to block the tar sandspipeline project that would run to the Pacific Ocean.
  Tar sands pipelines carry fluids more corrosive than ordinary petroleum; when the pipelinesleak, companies claim it isn't their fault.
  This is not to mention the worst pollution these pipelines wouldgive us: lots more CO2 in the air.
  10August 2012 (Urgent:Stop cutting down rainforests for paper)Everyone: Tell Kentucky Fried Chicken you don't like its use of papermade by cutting down rainforests in Sumatra.
  10 August 2012 (Urgent:Call on Romney to release more tax returns)US citizens: signthis petition calling on Romney to release more taxreturns.
  10 August2012 (Half of Manilaflooded)Half of Manila has been flooded; almost a million people have been driven from their homes.
  Is this linked to global heating? We don't specifically know,but it is the sort of event that global heating is making far morelikely in many regions. Also, global heating increases the amountof rain that storms can deliver.
  10August 2012 (Peru's exploitativemining)Peru's exploitative mining, which threatens to permanentlypoison water supplies, could be corrected by proper government mining regulations.
  The US needs stricter regulations too, on mining and oil extraction.
  10August 2012 (Balineselanguage and gamelan music)The Balinese language and Balinese gamelan music are threatened by the effects of mass tourism.
  If you want to go to the beach, go to one nearby. Traveling toBali is a total waste, for that.
  10August 2012 (White-supremacistgroups)The Wisconsin massacre shooter was a neo-Nazi, and was connectedwith white-supremacist groups that have grown fast in recent years.
  I would guess that the tremendous increase in poverty andsuffering in the US is partly responsible for this. People arenaturally angry at the events.
  When they don't grasp who is really responsible (the 1% and thepoliticians they have bought), perhaps because of propaganda thattries to discourage this awareness, or when they feel that blamingthe true culprits is useless because they are strong enough tocrush protests, some may place the blame on convenient vulnerablescapegoats such as immigrants. The harsh anti-immigrant laws in some states are another aspect ofthis.
  10August 2012 (Newsurveillance system in New York)New York City, working with another enemy of your freedom(Microsoft), has installed a new system of total surveillance. Everything caught by the cameras isrecorded and accessible, so it is easy to backtrack and see whereany car has been. Probably any pedestrian, too.
  They say they will keep license plate data for 5 years, unlessthey feel like keeping it longer.
  Note the deceptive description, "The purpose is to fightterrorism but we can use it for anything".
  For "terrorism", read "dissent". Dissidents in the US are often accused of "terrorism". You canbet this will be used against dissidents if they dare to protest.The New York Thug Department, which runs this system, systematically practices violence against dissidents.
  New York City has a long history of oppressive surveillance.Taxicabs in New York transmit the passengers' photos by radio tothe thugs, so I never take taxicabs there. By contrast, car servicecars only store passengers' photos; that system is tolerable since,if you don't attack the driver (something I never do), the photosare ignored.
  Hotels in New York City demand photo IDs to report to the thugs.I refuse to stay in them '-- you should too.
  10August 2012 (Peacefulprotesters in Oman sentenced)Dissidents in Oman were sentenced to prison for a peaceful protest.
  09August 2012 (US state ethicscommissions)Most US state ethics commissions powerless and underfunded, sothey can't do their job, supposing they even try.
  09 August 2012(Social Security)As the US shreds the safety net, poverty for old people will become common once again.
  Before Social Security, a large fraction of old people in the USwere poor, even though most of them were healthy (because those whogot sick just died).
  09August 2012 (Aquifers beingemptied fast)Around the world, humans are emptying aquifers fast. This will cause major problems in a fewdecades, even as many areas become much hotter and more arid.
  09 August2012 (War on the Suffering)In the US, one forbidden painkiller pill can ruin your life.
  And the War on the Suffering keeps on escalating. I dread whatwill happen next time I need surgery.
  09 August2012 (Risks ofundersea oil drilling)Oil companies are not acknowledging to their stockholders the risks of underseaoil drilling.
  09August 2012 (Republicanswant to frighten workers)Republicans want military contractors to frighten all their workers with layoffs, though in fact theplanned reduction in military spending increases would affect onlya fraction of them.
  Military spending is less efficient at creating jobs that other kinds of governmentspending, so diverting the planned increase in militaryspending to other uses would help the US make more jobs.
  09 August2012 (Stepping awayfrom War on Drugs)Colombia has taken one step away from the War on Drugs,decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs and treating addiction as a public health issue rather than acrime.
  09 August 2012(LSDexperiments)Experiments with LSD in the 1960s, before the US cracked down,enabledmany scientists and engineers to make important advances,solving problems that had stymied them.
  09August 2012 (Lifesentence for anti-gov't t-shirts)A Gambian dissident has been sentencedto life in prison for anti-government t-shirts.
  This is a step or two beyond Putin, but he'll get there.
  09 August2012 (Record heat in theUS)Record heat in the US is damaging highways, railroads, and airports.
  James Hansen's latest study ties global heating to some recent droughts and heat waves.
  This study did not cover the current year's US droughts, butthey are most likely part of the general long-term trend. However,as long as the oil companies purchase the silence of the politicians and the media, Americans seemunwilling to open their eyes.
  An increase in temperatures, even temporarily, holds back economic growth in poor countries. So far, heatingdoes not affect economic growth in rich countries, even thoughextreme weather events cause damage. It may be that economic growthin rich countries is determined more by other factors.
  Of course, economic growth is not guaranteed to benefit mostpeople. The US has had plenty of economic growth since 1980, butthe benefits have gone almost entirely to the well-off.
  The government's refusal to recognize that things are changing(and will get even worse) is part and parcel of the shut eyes thatare letting society continue towards the coming train wreck.
  09August 2012 (Handcuffed, shotand killed)Thugs in Arkansas apparently shot a handcuffed man in the headand killed him. Then they said he had shot himself.
  Thugs are so accustomed to lying with impunity that they expecteven the most incredible lies to stand up. Horribly, they might beright, until we as a society learn to doubt whatever they say.
  09 August2012 (Obama's War onLeakers)Obama's War on Leakers (read "whistleblowers") is going toabsurdextremes.
  Those extremes may be funny, but the general climate of fear andsecrecy is no laughing matter.
  09 August2012 (Mexicans wantto end War on Drugs)A campaign to endthe War on Drugs has massive support in Mexico.
  09 August2012 ("Islamic"militants in the Sinai)Egypt's army is fighting with "Islamic" militants in the Sinai.
  The mentality of these militants, attacking Muslims in areligious activity, must be rather twisted.
  09 August2012 ("Extremepornography" censorship law)A Briton has avoided conviction under a censorship law against "extremepornography".
  The "extreme pornography" law is censorship for censorship'ssake, banning ideas that someone found disgusting. Though some of theacts it prohibits depicting would do bodily harm this law is notconcerned with whether anyone is harmed, since even animation isbanned. Meanwhile, movies show much worse bodily harm all the time.Somehow brutality and even murder are ok, but combining them withsex makes them bad. (I don't enjoy watching even fictional bodilyharm, but that is no excuse for censoring it.)
  09August 2012 (UKprisoners replace regular workers)Low-paid prisoners have replaced regular workers in a call center in the UK.
  This is a recipe for unemployment, which will encourage crimeand more imprisonment, leading towards where the US is.
  09 August2012 (Urgent: Protectwolves)US citizens: tell Obama, please don't end protection for wolves.
  09 August2012 (Honduranjournalist seeks asylum)A Honduran journalist who has faced attacks asked for asylum inthe US embassy.
  Since the US backs the coup-installed government that unleashedthe violence, that is a strange choice of place to ask. I expectthe US will tell him that everything is fine in Honduras and hedoesn't have a case for asylum.
  09 August 2012 (States'Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act)The States' Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Actwould stop the US government from interfering with medical marijuanalegal under state law.
  It is a brilliant idea to link this with "states' rights".Republicans will surely oppose this bill, but doing so willembarrass them.
  08August 2012 (Urgent: ThankHouse Democrats)US citizens: thankthe House Democrats who have committed to end Bush's tax cutsfor the rich and protect Medicare, Medicaid and SocialSecurity.
  08August 2012 (Turkish repressionof Kurds)Turkish repression of Kurds has killed 500 Kurdish children since 1988.
  The latest one was killed by a tear gas cartridge shot to hishead. This does not happen by accident; it is murder, becauseshooters are trained to fire tear gas away from people, and theyare skilled enough to do it when they try. Israeli troops havekilled Palestinians this way.
  8 August 2012 (Sectarian conflict inSyria)Support from Saudi Arabia and Qatar has turned the Syrian civilwar into the sectarian conflict that Assad always said it was.
  This article argues that the only hope for a non-oppressiveSyria, rather than a choice between oppressive systems, would be innegotiations.
  8 August 2012 (Religious discriminationin Egypt)Egypt's president must take action against religiousdiscrimination and occasional persecution that Christians face.
  8 August 2012(Digitalsurveillance)Western companies have sold total digital surveillance to theobvious tyrannies, but we are not safe anywhere from this surveillance.
  8 August 2012 ("Study" on voter IDlaws)A Republican study claiming to show a need for voter ID laws waswritten by a fraudster who just got out of prison.
  8 August 2012 (Bus bombed byTaliban)The Taliban bombed a bus full of workers headed for Kabul.
  Will this violence turn Afghanis against the Taliban? It wouldif they were logical and even-handed, but I suspect they arenot.
  8 August 2012(Privatization of nature)The Great Impostors: In the Name of Saving Natural World,GovernmentsAre Privatizing It.
  Is it ok to destroy a meadow (or a wetland) if you createanother? Maybe in theory, but in practice it's no so easy to makethem.
  What happens if the new one doesn't come out right, or isn'treally as good as the other because some species fail to thrive.Will the company paid to do the work recognize the failure and paydamages? Or will it say, "We did what we agreed to do, so don'tblame us"? Or will it try to cover up the shortfall in results?That's what I expect, given the low level of honesty in businessestoday. That's what happens with lots of carbon compensationprograms; they plant trees that would absorb carbon someday, ifthey thrive and if global heating doesn't kill them.
  Which means that this whole idea is a fraud.
  8 August 2012(Baidu employees arrested)Employees of Baidu were arrested for censoring the site for privatecompanies.
  Chinese might have trouble understanding how censorship could beforbidden.
  8 August 2012(GlobalHeating)Global heating and its effects on rainfall are projected toeliminate 7 million jobs in the US by 2050.
  It will get worse after that.
  8 August 2012 (For-profit hospitalchain)A large for-profit hospital chain performed dangerous heartoperations on patients that didn't need them.
  08 August2012 (Food lobbyfights GMO labeling)Fighting California's GMOlabeling initiative is the food lobby's highest priority.
  When business considers it so important to keep us in the dark,that means it would be a great victory to pass this initiative.
  08August 2012 (Sufferingcaused by drug prohibition)The US finds it feasible to continue the prohibition of drugsbecause most of the suffering caused by prohibition falls on othercountries.
  However, the suffering imposed on the US is considerable too,with on the order of a million Americans in prison for drugoffenses. And prohibition does cause a substantial amount of corruption of thugs in the US.
  08 August2012 (Urgent:Investigate Rupert Murdoch)US citizens: sign this petition to investigate Rupert Murdoch.
  08August 2012 (Global arms tradetreaty)The US spiked the global arms trade treaty, but Amnesty Internationalwill continue to campaign for one.
  08 August2012 (Gov'tsupport made Arpanet possible)Someone who participated in the start of developing the Arpanet(which turned into the Internet) explains why government supportwas the only way to get it going.
  For the most part, he is right that the subsequent participationof companies was useful for extending the Internet to more people.However, when what they develop is proprietary software, itleadssystematically to abuse.
  07 August2012 (Apple iCloudservice back door)Apple's iCloud service includes a back door that can be used toattack and wipe computers connected to it.
  The story describes several other bad practices, but this onetakes the cake. (Please don't refer to the attacker as a "hacker";that is derogatory to ushackers. I'd call him a cracker, or perhaps just ahooligan.)
  7 August 2012(NewYork Police)New York thugs beat up and arrested a press photographer whocovered an arrest.
  It's not enough to sue the city. These thugs must be prosecutedand sent to prison; nothing less will end their reign of terror.Laws that protect them must be changed.
  7 August 2012(The USSenate)The US Senate may punish Ecuador for not overriding the legaldecision against a "US" oil company.
  7 August 2012 (Egypt)Egypt demands the release of an Egyptian Guantanamo detainee.
  7 August 2012 (Illinois)Illinois has passed a law banning employers from asking for jobapplicants' or employees social networking passwords.
  7 August 2012 (YouTube)YouTube automatically took down NASA's post of its own videofor supposed copyright infringement.
  YouTube does this to lots of users. The idea of automaticallydetecting copyright infringement is absurd. Similarity can bedetected, but determining the legal implications of that requiresboth intelligence and more facts.
  7 August2012 (Standard CharteredBank)Standard Chartered Bank ran a specialized group, designed tohelp Iran violate trade sanctions, for nearly a decade.
  7 August 2012 (Syria)Ethnic cleansing by Islamists in Syria has motivated someSyrians to support Assad again.
  The rebels shoot and torture prisoners.
  7 August2012 (UK's Right-WingGovernment)The UK's right-wing government has instituted compulsory unpaidwork programs; people are ordered to work for no pay (except theirunemployment benefits). A court rejected a challenge to this on human rights grounds.
  Unpaid work programs will not help unemployed Britons find jobs,because (thanks to the government's policies) there are few jobs tobe found. On the contrary, as unpaid workers replace paid staff,there will be fewer paid jobs available, thus more unemployment.Business will pay less wages, and workers will have lessincome.
  Could that be the real motive for these unpaid workprograms?
  7 August2012 (The VietnameseGovernment)The mother of a Vietnamese political prisoner set herself on fire and died.
  This takes place as the US enjoys Vietnam's military cooperationand invites companies to exploit Vietnamese workers.
  The Vietnamese government has a policy of complete submission toWestern commercial demands '-- almost "Whatever you say, sir!"If the US government said it would cut off trade unless theseprisoners are freed, Vietnam would probably free them
  7 August 2012(PowerNeeds)Existing renewable energy technology could provide all of theUS's power needs.
  It's just a question of spending the money to do it.
  7 August 2012(UNResolution)The US almost agreed with Russia on a UN resolution on Syria,then pulled back.
  I am not sure what outsiders ought to do now in regard to Syria.Assad is a murderous secular tyrant, and al Qa'ida would be amurderous theocratic tyrant (even worse). Globally, Islamicextremism is a bigger threat to human rights than Assad. Is there away Syria can become a democratic state that respects humanrights?
  7 August 2012 (Israel)Militants possibly from Gaza attacked Egyptian soldiers, thenstole armored vehicles to crash Israel's border fence.
  Hamas condemned the attack, following its usual practice: Hamaswants a truce with Israel and an end to the siege. It is Israelthat doesn't want this.
  7 August 2012 (Libya)Aid workers and the ICRC have been attacked in Libya.
  7 August2012 (Old Nuclear PowerPlants)It is very tempting to keep running old nuclear power plants.The construction costs were already spent, so it's all gravy now,right? No.
  These plants are slowly decaying, increasing the chance of a disastrous accident.
  The techniques described in this article might be of some use,but the question is whether we want to bet on them against adisaster.
  7 August 2012(USEconomy)The US economy is working fine, for the banksters and WallStreet, because it's not working for the rest of us.
  7 August 2012 (Airlines)Airlines collect large amounts of information about theirpassengers, including everything they buy with the credit card thatthey used to pay for the flight. And they hand it all to Big Brother.
  7 August 2012(Palestine)Organizers of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees inPalestine face persecution including imprisonment without trial.
  7 August 2012 (US Women)Obamacare gives most US women birth control coverage without aco-pay, but it isn't free '-- they have to pay for the insurance.
  7 August 2012(MedicalStudy)The US funded a medical study using prisoners in China whoprobably were not given a real option to say no.
  7 August 2012 (Apple)Apple wants to collect users' fingerprints.
  The iThings are known for surveillance features '-- somedelivered by Apple, and others delivered by apps. You'd be a foolto trust this; but then, you'd be a fool to use an iThing.
  7 August2012 (Spain's PublicBroadcasting)Spain's public broadcasting is firing journalists that criticize the government.
  06 August2012 (Urgent: TellAdidas to pay workers)US citizens: Tell Adidas topay the laid-off workers in Indonesia their back salary.
  06 August2012 (NBC greedwashingshow)NBC broadcast a two-hour greedwashing show which did nothing but praise JP Morgan Chase for giving tocharity.
  06August 2012 (Recording electricityuse)Plans for reducing electric consumption at peak hours wouldrecord all your electricity use, for the state or crackers to access later.
  06August 2012 (What might Romneybe hiding?)Assuming that Romney didn't give false figures on his taxreturns, what might he be hiding? An income tax expert describessome possibilities.
  The article ends with the absurd claim that "no one shouldbegrudge Mr. Romney or his family the wealth they have earned".What Romney did to get this money hardly counts as earningit; it was an attack on Americans that a democracy would havestopped him from doing.
  06August 2012 (Computerizedvoting machines)It's amazing how bad computerized voting machines can be.Here is a study of a machine that was used in New Jersey (andmaybe elsewhere).
  06 August2012 (Provable liefrom Romney campaign)A flat-out provable lie from the Romney campaign.
  06 August2012 (Unionizing achicken packing plant)What it took to unionize a chicken packing plant inAlabama.
  06August 2012 (Newapproach to fighting global heating)A new approach to fighting global heating through US state courts.
  06 August 2012(Protests)As US and Canadian governors met to consider how to keep theausterity lid on people and extract more fossil fuels, activistsprotested outside.
  Protests in London targeted the sweatshops of Olympic gamessponsor Adidas.
  Here's more information about the campaign.
  06August 2012 (Wozniakwarning about "cloud computing")Wozniak is warning people about the danger of the careless attitude induced by the vague term"cloud computing".
  06 August 2012(Fire in Oklahoma)Drought and intense heat created a tremendous fire inOklahoma.
  06 August2012 (Endangeredspecies in UK islands)Many species are endangered in islands that belong to the UK. And this is before theextinction that global heating will cause.
  06 August 2012(Psychopaths)Aside from the 1% who are richest and have too much politicalpower, around 1% of humanity are psychopaths. There is a lot ofoverlap between the two groups. How should humanitydeal with the 1% who are psychopaths?
  According to The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson, there is noclear sharp line between psychopaths and non-psychopaths. Thecondition is defined in terms of a group of characteristics, andpeople who have enough of them are diagnosed as psychopaths. Thismeans that there are lots people on the borderline, perhapsnumbering more than those who are clearly psychopaths. This wouldcomplicate the issue.
  06 August 2012(The ITU)How the ITU's control over the Internet would turn it into asystem designed only for accessing large commercial services that pay.
  06August 2012 (Lobbyisthired as Senate committee staff)A Lockheed lobbyist resigned and was hired as staff for the Senate Armed Services Committee.
  This ought to be illegal. Congress should not be allowed to hireanyone who has been a lobbyist, or in certain other relationshipswith a company, within the past 10 years.
  06August 2012 (Urgent:Support bill against warrantless spying)US citizens: phone your senators to supportSenator Merkley's bill (S. 3515) to end warrantless US spyingon Americans.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  06 August2012 (Butterfly indanger of extinction)The world's largest butterfly is now in danger of extinction dueto cutting the rain forest in New Guinea for palm oilplantations.
  I'd expect thousands of other species that live in that regionare also endangered.
  06 August2012 (Hold mediapundits accountable)Idea: hold media pundits accountable by pointing out where they were wrong before.
  06August 2012 (US isdemocracy in form, not substance)The US is a democracy in form, but in substance it doesn't do whatpeople want.
  This is because the government is controlled by the rich. Its'not the same rich people for every issue; those interested inkeeping medical care expensive are not the same ones that want thestate to buy lots of weapons. But it's the same problem in bothcases.
  06August 2012 (Walmartwill sell GMO corn to humans)Walmart says it will sell GMO corn tohumans.
  Walmart is surely spending money to try to defeat California'sinitiative for GMO labeling. You can help the initiative by (1)contributing to the campaign in favor and (2) not buying fromWalmart.
  06August 2012 (Childrensold into slavery in India)Thousands of children in India are sold into slavery each yearby their parents, who have no way to feed them.
  The children are promised a salary, then kept locked up foryears and not paid.
  The root problem is that poor people in India are havingchildren they cannot support. India needs to reduce the birth rate;will fewer children, India would be able to provide welfare fundsto give their families a decent life.
  06 August2012 (Exposure toteargas in Bahrain)Physicians for Human Rights says that Bahrain is exposingprotesters (and people in their homes) to unprecedented levels ofteargas, which is making people sick.
  Here is the Physicians for Human Rights report.
  06 August2012 (Urgent: Call onRomney)US citizens: Call on Romney to insist that Bain Capital refrain fromshipping more jobs to China.
  06August 2012 (Urgent: Marriageequality)US citizens: call on theDemocratic Party to adopt marriage equality in itsplatform.
  06 August 2012(Urgent: Farm bill)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to say that the farm bill should preserve protections for wildlife, as theSenate has done.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  06August 2012 (USproposes to help pollute Australia)The US proposes to finance gas export facilities in the Great Barrier Reef, and a big coal mine that could alsopollute it.
  It seems strange for the US to finance anything in Australia,but these things should not be built at all.
  In addition to contributing to the destruction of civilization,they would also threaten sea turtles, which might offer a legal basis to block the projects.
  06August 2012 (Tunisiaconsiders law against mockery)Tunisia is considering a law to imprison people for mocking the "sanctity of religion". Maybe this means even SaintiGNUcius will be banned there.
  06August 2012 (Jordanrestricts funds for human rights)Jordan has joined the countries that restrict foreign funding for human rights groups.
  Many countries that violate human rights don't want human rightsdefenders to get help from anywhere else. Putin is doing something like this in Russia, and Israel is considering doing likewise.
  06 August2012 (Most secretiveUS administration)Obama's is the most secretive US administration ever.
  06 August 2012(Activists)Subpoenaed Portland activists declare they will refuse tocooperate with a federal McCarthy-style grand jury investigation.
  Meanwhile, a former political prisoner in Cuba was arrested again, for no stated reason.
  06 August2012 (Special interestswin)Special interests win in Senate panel's attempt at tax reform.
  06 August2012 (RIM will givekeys to Indian gov't)RIM says it will give the Indian government the keys to break the encryption in even corporate Blackberry systems.
  Formerly RIM said that was impossible because the companies hadcontrol of these systems. I wonder what has changed. In any case, Iexpect companies not to trust blackberries any more.
  06August 2012 (Shafilea Ahmed'sparents)Shafilea Ahmed's parents have been sentenced to life imprisonment. They murdered her because she wanted to livelike a Westerner, instead of marrying the Pakistani they wanted tofoist on her.
  06 August2012 (Goldman Sachsprisons)New York plans to privatize prisonsin cooperation with Goldman Sachs.
  It would make more sense to let the thieves go to work forGoldman.
  06August 2012 (Universal music wantsEMI)Universal music wants to buy EMI, which would increase theconcentrationof large music companies.
  A few years ago there were five of those; now I think there arethree, which means this would reduce it to just two.
  That they have even a ghost of a chance of being allowed to dothis shows that US antitrust laws are too weak. Companies that areamong the ten largest in any market should not be allowed to merge'-- period.
  06August 2012 (Censorshipon social networking sites)Social networking sites frequently suspend or censor legitimateusers, and most of them don't have enough clout to get their accounts back, I have asuggestion. Don't use centralized network services for jobs that wecan do with distributed systems.
  06August 2012 (Romney would cutwind power)Romney would eliminate subsidies for wind power. I presume he would maintainall the subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear power, as any goodplanet burner would.
  Subsidies for solar power have encouraged the installation of lots of capacity in Europe. The US ought tohave them too. It's the beginning of what we need to avoiddisaster, and even though not enough by itself, it could lead tomore steps.
  06August 2012 (Reductionof deforestation in Brazil)Brazil has succeeded in further reducing deforestation, but the data do not show what effectthe recent weakening of the forest protection law will have.
  06 August 2012(TenBillion)"Ten Billion" is either a warning of where we are taking theEarth, or a cry of despair about the coming disaster.
  To avoid this, we need to stop politicians from being paid to deny the danger.
  05 August2012 (EU's airline carbontax)A group of subservient governments in the Planet Burner Blocpropose to replace the EU's airline carbon tax with "voluntary caps". The advantage of these caps, in their view,is that they would not apply until 2020, which gives the airlines 8years to look for a way to avoid really making any concession eventhen.
  EU, stick to your guns! Americans must do all possible topressure Obama to stop opposing carbon taxes. This tax alone won'tavoid disaster, but the battle over this tax is crucial because apositive outcome for this carbon tax could lead to more.
  05 August2012 (Steve Dorklandaffair)On the SteveDorkland affair.
  05August 2012 (Olympic gamesWiFi repression)Olympic games WiFi repression bans even setting up a personal hotspot.
  05 August2012 (Urgent: Protectwhales)US citizens: call on the US not toset off explosions in the Atlantic that are likely to damagewhales' hearing.
  05August 2012 (Gore Vidal on PATRIOT Act)WhatGore Vidal wrote after the Bush regime imposed the PAT RIOT Acton the US.
  Things have not gone exactly has he feared '-- there was anelection in 2004, although Bush appears to have rigged it in Ohio.
  However, he was mostly right.
  05August 2012 (Urgent:Tell eBay to stop supporting ALEC)Everyone: phone eBay to say, stop supporting ALEC.
  04August 2012 (Sexist insultsfrom strangers)Sofia Peeters' film demonstrates the sexist insults womenreceive from strangers as they walk down the street.
  When I see a woman I don't know, and find her pretty, or sexy,or both, the last thing I would think of is to insult her; the ideais so strange that it makes no sense to me. (I could dream ofchatting her up and asking her to go out with me, but I would notexpect success so I don't try. I might attempt to find a way togive her a compliment.) I can't understand why these men would wantto insult women who have never done anything bad to them. However,the facts can't be denied, and these men's behavior is nasty.
  However, being nasty must not be a crime. There are other waysto teach men to act better.
  04 August2012 (Pussy Riot showtrial)Most defense witnesses were disallowed in the Pussy Riot show trial. The defendants arebeing deprived of sleep and food.
  04 August2012 (GM employeesstart hunger strike)Colombian employees of General Motors have started a hungerstrike at the US embassy in Bogot to protest the firing of employees who were on sick leave.
  The Free Exploitation Treaty between the US and Colombia hasprovisions to protect unions in Colombia, but they were notintended to really function.
  Senator Robledo, a candidate for president, aims to cancel theFree Exploitation Treaty. He says it is designed to promotemonopoly.
  04 August2012 (Bahraini protesters)Bahraini protesters, violently repressed by the state, areturning towards violence in return.
  Maddeningly, the US implores the protesters to remain nonviolentwhen attacked, while doing nothing to stop the regime's attacks. Bynow most Bahrainis must hate the US.
  That might be a long-term vicious US strategy, designed togenerate an excuse for supporting Bahraini government repression inthe long term. US officials have said, of people imprisoned inGuantanamo on false accusations, "By now they hate us so much thatif we let them out they would seek revenge, so we can never letthem out." The same officials could easily say, a few years fromnow, "By now the Bahrainis hate us so much that we can't ever letthem get control of their country."
  Neither argument is ethically valid.
  04 August2012 (Gaza's soleelectric plant damaged)Gaza's sole electric plant was damaged by Israeli bombs in 2006and Israelwill not allow it to be repaired.
  04 August2012 (Arming of humanrights abusers)Calling on the US Congress to stop the arming of human rightsabusers.
  04August 2012 (Assangeright to fear US prosecution)Julian Assange is right to fear US prosecution, says his lawyer.
  04August 2012 (Oil pipeline leakin Nigeria)An oil pipeline leak in Nigeria seems to be due to corrosion,but Shell claims itwas sabotage. Shell always claims it is sabotage.
  Given the terrible harm that Shell's oil extraction has done to the people who livethere, I cannot blame them for sabotaging oil pipelines. But itseems Shell is lying about them.
  04 August2012 (Urgent: MakeTSA obey court ruling)US citizens: sign this petition calling on Obama to make the TSA obey thecourt ruling and hold public hearings on body scanners.
  04August 2012 (Bugs in tradingsoftware)A stock broker company may have destroyed itself through bugs in its automated tradingsoftware.
  04 August 2012 (Urgent:Ask for pledge against Assange extradition)Everyone: sign this petition asking the UK to pledge not to let Swedenextradite Assange to the US.
  04 August2012 (Urgent: Thanksenators)US citizens: thank the senatorsthat stood up for privacy against the Cybersecurity Bill.
  04August 2012 (Defeat ofCybersecurity bill)The Cybersecurity bill was defeated in the Senate, but onlybecause some senators opposed it for reasons other than support for Americans' privacy rights.
  How the Cybersecurity Act was a surveillance bill indisguise.
  04August 2012 (UScorporate media slant on "pink slime")US consumers' disgust forced an end to the use of "pink slime"(fat processed with ammonia) in meat labeled as "ground beef", butthe US corporate media grasped at straws tosupport the meat industry against this pressure.
  04August 2012 (US drone attackson Pakistan)Pakistan's ambassador to the UK says that US drone attacksundermine democracy in Pakistan.
  04August 2012 (Demandingcharges against killer thugs)The family of Simon Rigg, killed by UK thugs, demand criminal charges against the thugs.
  The thugs' lies hurt the feelings of Rigg's family, but worsethan that, they attempted to maintain the thugs' impunity to maraudthrough society.
  04 August2012 (Defense's costin patent lawsuits)Congress is considering a bill to make patent holders pay thedefense's cost, in the IT field, if the court rules the suit is frivolous.
  This would be a small step in the right direction but would notcome near eliminating the problem of software patents. The mostimportant thing is not to let this distract us from demanding afull solution.
  04 August 2012(3Dprinters)Do 3D Printers Make Prohibitions Impossible?
  I am concerned states will try to ban 3d printers or requirethem to contain DRM software.
  04 August2012 (Scientology'sjail-in-an-office)Scientology's jail-in-an-office for punishing executives.
  Some have been locked up for years.
  03 August2012 (Anti-NDAA,anti-SOPA candidates)Anti-NDAA,anti-SOPA Candidates Running for Congress.
  03August 2012 (Urgent:Insurance coverage for contraception)US citizens: tell your congresscritter to oppose the new attempt toundermine insurance coverage for contraception.
  03August 2012 (JillStein and Cheri Honkala arrested)Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, the Green Party candidates forpresident and vice president, were arrested in a sit-inprotest against Fannie Mae.
  The protest was because this US government mortgage lendingagency dishonestly supports foreclosures that could have beenavoided.
  03 August 2012(GMOreviews)Monsanto's QuietCoup: Will Congress Limit Scope and Time for GMO Reviews?
  03August 2012 (UC Davispepper-spraying thug)A thug at UC Davis, who fired pepper spray at protesters whowere sitting on the ground, has been fired.
  A committee of thugs tried to justify this attack.
  03August 2012 (Italy criminalizesinsults)Italy criminalizes insults, and a court ruled it is a crime totell someone, "You don't have the balls."
  Whether this particular statement should be a crime is a minordetail of a larger wrong. Insults must not be a crime.
  03August 2012 (Threat todemocracy in Latin America)Pretendingthat the threat to democracy in Latin America is not US-sponsoredcoups but rather elected and popular leftist leaders.
  03August 2012 (Kenyanthugs shut down photo exhibit)Thugs in Kenya shut down an exhibit of photos that makes politicians uncomfortable.
  03August 2012 (Craigslistexclusive rights)Craigslist makes users sign away exclusive rights to their ads,meaning they are not allowed to post the same ad anywhere else.
  It might be difficult for the same person to advertise a similarthing anywhere else, ever.
  I suggest refusing to accept those conditions and goingelsewhere.
  03August 2012 (Effectof global heating on Greenland )Global heating is damaging homes and hunting grounds inGreenland, but now there is an opportunity for mining that could poison the Greenlanders' land, water andsociety.
  03 August 2012("Neogreens")Business-friendly "neogreens" repackage the comfortable but doubtful message that technology willsave us, so we need not take any strong measures to limitglobal heating.
  I disagree with the article's suggestion too, however. We needto take measures at the level of entire countries if we are to alter our current path todisaster.
  03August 2012 (Arcticsea ice melting at record level)Arctic sea ice is melting at a record level, and a studydetermined that the long-term decrease in sea ice is mainly due to human activity.
  03August 2012 (Europe's carbonemission tax)The US is considering a law to forbid "American" airlines to pay Europe's carbon emissiontax.
  If the US passes this law, Europe should respond that "American"airlines are welcome to stop flying to Europe if they won't pay thetax. However, Americans should not net things go so far. This is agreat opportunity to condemn the politicians who have sold theirsupport to the airlines, and bring global heating front andcenter.
  03 August2012 (Band inFinland supports sharing)A well-known band in Finland told people how to get around filters that block access to thePirate Bay.
  It is too bad that they repeated the propaganda term "piracy",and that they suggested that "selling music with little friction"would make things ok. I don't think it ok to make people identifythemselves to get a copy of a record, or to make them sign licensecontracts for copies, or force them to use nonfree software, asmusic-screaming services such as Spotify do. Out, out, damnedSpotify!
  03August 2012 (Cybercrimecost estimates not fact-based)US estimates of the cost of cybercrime are not based on facts.
  I'm sure a lot of the supposed cost comes from when Chinese spyon trade secrets of "US" companies. For Americans in the 99%, thisis not a loss for us. The idea that we Americans should care aboutthe success of "US" companies is based on the suppositions that"US" manufacturing companies would employ Americans and pay taxesto the US government and states. Neither one is true any more. Whyshould we care whether the company that manufactures goods in Chinais "American" or "Chinese"?
  03August 2012 (Internetfiltering can't be justified)The new French government has decided not to implement a lawthat provides for filtering the Internet '-- administratively, without acourt decision.
  However, even a court decision can't justify filtering theInternet.
  03August 2012 (Extension ofDubya's tax cuts)The Senate and the House disagree about whether to extendpart or all of Dubya's misguided tax cuts.
  If they continue to disagree, those tax cuts will expireentirely, which is the best thing to do with them. However, I fearboth parties are sufficiently controlled by the rich that they willfind some compromise. Perhaps Republicans in the House willpractice obstructionism and the Democrats will surrender to it asthey generally do.
  Over The Last Nine Years, Bush Tax Cuts Have Delivered $1 Million In Tax Breaks To The Average Millionaire.
  03 August2012 (Keeping inflationlow)The Federal Reserve is aiming to keep inflation low, which isgood for creditors (mostly the rich) and bad for debtors (most Americans).
  For the past few years, the Federal Reserve set interests ratesvery low with the aim of boosting business. It may have increasedthe profits of some business, but if so, that did most Americans nogood; the business owners pocketed it. Only deficit spending canget America back to work. The deficit will be somewhat less if weraise taxes on the rich and on businesses.
  03August 2012 (Urgent:Ask EPA to keep Shell accountable)US citizens: phonethe EPA say, don't let Shell get away with disregardingenvironmental safety regulations in order to imperil the Arctic andour atmosphere.
  02August 2012 (Freedomof information law overridden)The UK government overrode its freedom of information law toconceal a discussion between Dubya and B'liar about invadingIraq.
  02 August2012 (Purpose ofIsraeli checkpoints)An Israeli soldier explains that the purpose of checkpoints,often plopped down on roads in Palestine, is to be unpredictable, so that Palestinians cannot predict whatthey need to do in order to carry out their lives.
  It hurts the soldiers in their humanity, but it hurts thePalestinians much more.
  02 August2012 (Palestinian economy)Trying to help Palestinians through "positive investment" isfutile because Israel systematically prevents the Palestinian economy from succeeding. Thus, theonly way to make a Palestinian economy possible is by puttingpressure on Israel.
  02 August2012 (Humanitarian aidfor West Bank)Europeanpressure for Israel to stop blocking humanitarian aid projectsin the majority of the West Bank territory. Israel's handling ofArea C qualifies as ethnic cleansing because it is meant to oppressPalestinians to the point where they will flee.
  Israel's attacks against domestic political opposition andinternational aid organizations are both symptoms of the same disease.
  In Silwan, adjoining the old city of Jerusalem (and, I suspect,illegally annexed by Israel to Jerusalem), Israel uses everypretext to destroy houses and confiscate land. The inhabitantsresist stubbornly.
  02August 2012 (Israeli andPalestinian water)Each Israeli "settler" (colonist) gets 70 timesas much water a Palestinian.
  02 August2012 (Avoid drawingirrational lessons)Avoid drawing irrational lessons from the Aurora shootings:being in a movie theater is less dangerous than driving to one.
  02August 2012 (Policeprovocateur in Anaheim protests)Comparison of videos reveals a police provocateur in Anaheimprotests.
  02August 2012 (Statements aboutNSA abuses)Senator Wyden was given permission by executive agencies to makeshort cryptic statements about NSA abuses, but not to tell us any details.
  If he did, he would lose his security clearance.
  02August 2012 (US farmer's ethanolquota)US Farmers Urge Obama Administration to SuspendEthanol Quota Amid Drought
  The use of corn to make ethanol has always been foolish and harmful.
  02 August2012 (US-fundedprojects in Afghanistan)New US-funded projects in Afghanistan, intended to build supportfor Karzai's government, have mostly not even got started.
  I doubt they would achieve the intended result even if they werecompleted. It takes more than an electric grid to convince peopleto be loyal to a corrupt state.
  02 August 2012(Sanctions on Iran)The US Senate is considering harsher sanctions on Iran, buttheir effect would fall mainly on the Iranian people, not on the tyrannical regime.
  If the US were serious about uranium negotiations, it wouldoffer to terminate the existing sanctions in exchange for sufficient commitments about nuclear fuel enrichment.
  02 August2012 (Floods anddroughts in North Korea)North Korea's agriculture has been repeatedly devastated byfloods and droughts.
  Is this global heating at work? The fact that extreme weatherbecame common in the 90s suggests so.
  02August 2012 (Twitter accountsuspension)Twitter has not fully explained why it suspended Guy Adams'account.
  Although Twitter seems to be fairly well committed to freedom ofspeech and to privacy, it is strange for questions about whathundreds of millions of people in general can say to be decided bya company. It makes a difference that there are so many users. IfTwitter had 100,000 users, I would see no harm in its making andenforcing whatever rules it might prefer.
  02 August2012 (US media focuseson distortion)The US media discuss Romney's distorted version of an Obamaquote withoutcaring what Obama really said.
  02 August 2012(Freedom of speech)The Twitter user who insulted athlete Daley went on to makereal threats. I think those threats justify legal actionagainst him, in a way that mere opinion would not.
  I disagree with the article on one important background point.The article suggests that limits to freedom of speech are valid asa matter of law, as if any limits that some government chose toimpose would therefore be valid.
  I think that the limits on freedom of speech are an ethicalquestion. The UK government restricts freedom of speech too muchalready, which is why it was so plausible to think the state wastrying to go even further.
  02 August2012 (Questions for Romney)10 questions to ask Romney about his own foreign policy.
  I too wonder why Obama is so popular outside the US. Peopledon't seem to be aware that he supports torture, assassination andright-wing economic policies. Of course, Romney would be worse. Weneed Jill Stein for president.
  01August 2012 (Urgent:Tell Romney About The Occupation)US citizens: sign this petition telling Romney the basic facts of theoccupation of Palestine.
  01August 2012 (Urgent: Support WindPower)US citizens: support offshore wind power in the Atlantic.
  01August 2012 (Urgent: OpposeAbortion Ban)US citizens: oppose the abortion ban for Washington DC that would threatenwomen's lives.
  01 August2012 (Urgent: Oppose CISPA)US citizens: tell yoursenators to amend the cybersecurity bill and vote againstit.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  01 August2012 (New spying program)The Biggest New Spying Program You've Probably Never HeardOf.
  01 August2012 (Arms beingsent to Syrian rebels)Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are sending arms to Syrian rebels.
  Christians in Syria are fighting for Assad, because theyfear persecution by Islamist rebels.
  01 August2012 (Obama's "License toKill")Congress Wants to See Obama's "License to Kill"; but if they getit, they won't be allowed to show it to you.
  01 August2012 (Romney onArab Spring revolutions)Romney calls the Arab Spring revolutions' governments enemies.
  01August 2012 (SenateIntelligence Committee plans)The Senate Intelligence Committee plans to attack whistleblowers and journalism.
  01August 2012 (Predatoryprivatization)Predatory privatization takes advantage of governments withbudget problems to do permanentdamage to the state and the people.
  01 August2012 (The harm doneby Justice Roberts)Americans: Don't forget all the harm that JusticeRoberts has done.
  Then there's Scalia.
  01August 2012 (Bigger snow andrainfalls)Global heating is causing bigger snow and rainfalls.
  01 August2012 (Chineseopposition to pollution)Chinese opposition to pollution is turning nationalist, since one polluting business is owned by aJapanese company.
  Corporations have no loyalty to countries. Whether a company isJapanese, Chinese, or American makes no difference to how it wouldtry to treat us.
  01August 2012 (South Africanjournalists)South Africa is investigating journalists who are trying to cover a giant arms sale scandal.
  01 August2012 (Malaysiandissident cartoonist)A Malaysian court endorsed the arrest of a dissident cartoonist.
  Malaysia does not respect freedom of speech, or religiousfreedom (Muslims are forbidden to stop being Muslims).
  01 August2012 (Journalistsprosecuted in Turkey)Many journalists have been prosecuted in Turkey for writing about human rights violations by the state.
  01August 2012 (Russian protestblogger)A Russian protest blogger faces criminal charges that areapparentlyfabricated for political reasons.
  01August 2012 (Twitterreinstates journalist's account)Twitter reinstated the journalist's account, but will it own upto the deeper implications of this event?
  01 August2012 (Olympic gamesathletes)Olympic games athletes complain, "I am an investment vehicle and you're notletting my investors profit."
  Why should we care about a dispute among the investors in theOlympics? All of them profiting at public expense, while imposingsurveillance and harsh laws. Let's cancel the whole thing.
  01August 2012 (Urgent:Support Shareholder Protection Act)US citizens: phone your senators to support the ShareholderProtection Act, which would require large companies to haveshareholders vote on any political activity. Also send them emailthrough this page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  01 August2012 (Canadiangov't report on Greenpeace)A Canadian government report labeled Greenpeace as radical anddangerous.
  Actually it is the Canadian government which is radical, and itsplans are very dangerous. The collaboration of the US government inthe planet-roaster pipeline makes the plan even more dangerous.
  01 August 2012(USdesensitized)Practices such as torture, assassination and mass surveillance,that still seemed outrageous in US politics just a decade ago, havebecomeaccepted.
  01 August2012 (Avoiding topicof global heating)Marchof Folly: The Debate We're Not Having and What it Costs Us
  I take issue with one final point. If we stumble foolishly intoworld disaster, only some of us will deserve it, but we will allget it.
  01 August2012 (Married women inGaza)Most married women in Gaza suffer violence from their husbands,and most of them don't dare ask for help because they might be killed.
  01 August2012 (Argentinalooks to censor Internet)Add Argentina To The List Of Countries Looking To Censor The Internet (For The Children, OfCourse).
  01 August2012 (UK hits new lowin human rights)The UK hits a new low in human rights as a teenager is arrested for expressing a harsh opinion on Twitter.
  01August 2012 (Al Qa'ida fightersin Syria)Interviews with al Qa'ida fighters in Syria.
  They could be worse than Assad.
  01August 2012 (Apple censorsiTunes ebooks)Apple censors iTunes ebooks '-- banningall mention of Amazon.
  People should not do business with Amazon, which mistreatsauthors, publishers, its workers, and its customers. Ms Lisle'spresupposition that the goal of success is all that matters is notadmirable.
  However, that doesn't justify censorship.
  Of course, publishing in iTunes was already bad for otherreasons, such as DRM, and requiring users to use nonfreesoftware.
  01August 2012 (SocialSecurity, Medicare and Medicaid)Rich executives are reportedly planning to push Congress to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid inDecember.
  01August 2012 (Urgent:Stop presenting war as a sport)Everyone: callon NBC to stop presenting war as a sport and start showing whatwar does to real people.
  01August 2012 (Campaign toencourage breastfeeding)Bloomberg has a campaign to encourage breastfeeding by makingmothers explicitly ask for baby formula in hospitals.
  The claim that this tramples the mothers' freedom seems mistakento me, since they can still get the formula if they ask.
  01 August2012 (Twitterblocks journalist's account)Twitter blocked a journalist's account, apparently forcriticizing NBC's coverage of the Olympics, at the request of NBC. Twitter's false excuse is no excuse.
  This journalist was criticizing a minor problem of convenience,and ignoring the bigger wrongs of the Olympics, but that doesn't excuse censoringhim.
  01August 2012 (Urgent:Oppose CISPA's surveillance provisions)US citizens: opposeCISPA's surveillance provisions in the senate.
  01 August 2012(USchurches)The US gives churches many kinds of preferential treatment.
  01August 2012 (Bloombergsues to keep NY wages low)Bloomberg Sues to Keep NY Wages Low.
  31July 2012 (Urgent:Oppose Indiscriminate Use of Antibiotics)US citizens: ask Trader Joe's to take a stand against indiscriminate use ofantibiotics in cattle.
  31 July2012 (Why NSA can't betrusted)Why The NSA Can't Be Trusted to Run U.S. CybersecurityPrograms.
  The NSA director was being deceptive in claiming that the NSAdoesn't collect files on Americans. This according to whistleblowerWilliam Binney, who quit because he saw the NSA wanted to spy on "everybody in the country".
  31 July 2012 (Austerity)Austero-EroticFantasies For The Elites, Terror For Everyone Else
  31 July2012 (Tank manufacturer'slobby)The Pentagon wants to stop production of Abrams tanks for someyears, but the manufacturer's lobby is so strong that this can't be done.
  This is a clear example of corporate domination of thestate.
  31July 2012 (Frackerscorrupting professors)Frackers are corrupting professors to conclude academically that fracking issafe.
  31July 2012 (Banksters hijackmicrofinance)BankstersHijack Microfinance.
  31 July 2012(Privatization)Privatization: TheBig Joke That Isn't Funny.
  31 July 2012(For-profit colleges)AtFor-Profit Colleges, It's All About Profits, Not Students.
  31 July2012 (London thugsarrest bicycle riders)London thugs besieged a monthly group of bicycle riders forhours, then arrested them all.
  31 July 2012(Romania's election)Romania's election to remove the president from office becausethe total number of votes was insufficient.
  An acquaintance in Romania told me that the number of voters inRomania has decreased greatly due to emigration since the lastcensus, which meant that the referendum needed considerably morethan half the current number of voters to be valid.
  31 July 2012(Sportsdrinks)Sports drinks are "solutions" to a fictitious problem invented by the companies that sellthem.
  Studies found there's no need to drink before you exercise; itis better to drink as much as your thirst suggests. And water isbetter for you than the sports drinks with their calories.
  31 July 2012("Wellness programs")US medical insurance companies foist excessive"wellness programs" on customers.
  Of course, some amount of checkups and preventive medicine isuseful and effective. The right amount of this is not zero. Butthere's no need for it to be monthly.
  The part of the article's argument that I don't follow is whythey would rather spend money this way than on needed medicalprocedures.
  31July 2012 (Rich Americans'evaded taxes)The money that rich Americans have evaded taxes on would cover thewhole national debt.
  31July 2012 (People who don't useFacebook)People who don't use Facebook may face suspicion and accusations.
  31 July2012 (Hoax New York Timesop-ed)A hoax New York Times op-ed defending Wikileaks is reported tobe partly the work of Wikileaks itself.
  I think such hoaxes are fun, but Wikileaks and its leadersshould steer clear of participating in them.
  31 July2012 (Urgent:Stand with the City of Oakland)US citizens: stand withthe city of Oakland in demanding that Goldman Sachs stopsqueezing money out of Oakland or forfeit Oakland's business.
  The banksters' bailouts and tolerated frauds means that the ideaof private companies in a free market does not apply to them. Ifthey can go to the state to demand money and the state dare notrefuse, this should work the other way, too.
  31 July2012 (Pirate Bay ordered topay)The money the Pirate Bay defendants were ordered to pay themusic factories to "compensate artists" won'tgo to any artists. Only to the war on sharing.
  31 July 2012(Olympian dishonesty)Olympian dishonesty: bringing in soldiers to fill empty seats, just to avoidembarrassment.
  31 July2012 (New study byglobal heating skeptic)A new study, led by one of the few climate scientists who wasskeptical about global heating, found 1.5C of heating since 1800, with human activity as theapparent cause.
  31July 2012 (Washington's lawto punish sites)Washington's law to punish sites that contain ads for childprostitutes (even without knowing that that's what they are) hasbeen blocked as possibly unconstitutional.
  Punishing web sites is weak as well as unjust. At most it wouldmake the pimps find another way to advertise. If a state reallywants to put a stop to child prostitution, a few undercoverinvestigators pretending to be clients could actually do it.
  29 July 2012(Tigerfarms)Do tiger farms hurt or help conservation of tigers?
  Tiger poaching is organized crime. If poaching a tiger ischeaper than raising a tiger, the poaching will continue. If thepoaching is fought strongly enough to make it more expensive,everyone will decide to raise tigers instead. But I don't know howfar away that point is.
  I wonder whether fake tiger wine can be made convincing. Whywould a criminal use a real tiger if it is cheaper to use afake?
  29 July 2012(Privatized US prisons)Privatized US prisons hire illegal immigrants for a dollar a day.
  29July 2012 (Wealth in offshoretax havens)US statistics show the top 1% have an increasing share of thenational income, but show no increase in their share of the totalwealth. How can that be? Because they put their increasedwealth into offshore tax havens.
  29 July 2012(Syrian War ofLies and Hypocrisy)SyrianWar of Lies and Hypocrisy
  29July 2012 (Google's methodsof surveillance)A summary of Google's methods of surveillance, or at leasta few hundred of them.
  29 July 2012(Urgent: Exposepolitical spending)US citizens: tellthe SEC to expose publicly traded corporations' politicalspending.
  29 July 2012(USpoverty rate)As the US poverty rate approaches the highest since 1965 (whenLBJ's social programs started to reduce it), Republicans are tryingtheir best to make poverty even harder tosurvive.
  29July 2012 (Arizona's "showyour papers" law)Racistmotivation behind Arizona's "show your papers" lawrevealed.
  29July 2012 (Fallibility of humanmemory)Jurors in a New Jersey trial will hear testimony about thefallibilityof human memory.
  If you believe you saw your brother, you wouldn't make a mistakeabout that. But if you saw a stranger, and believe he is someoneyou later came to know, you have a good chance of beingmistaken.
  29 July 2012(Greenland melting)Greenland melting events have occurred every 150 years or so,but with temperatures high enough to feel warm to a human,Greenland sees lots of melting every year.
  29 July 2012(Drought in US midwest)The drought in the US midwest has got worse and spread.
  Global heating created the likelihood for the lack of rain, andcontributed to the strength of the heat.
  29 July 2012(Elephant poaching)10 African countries have accepted aid to fight poaching (of elephants, mainly).
  Can elephants survive reasonably well in the wild de-tusked? Ifthey can, systematically removing live elephants' tusks might be away to make poaching unprofitable.
  29July 2012 (Captain Wilson ofSea Shepherd)Captain Wilson of Sea Shepherd has fled to avoid extradition to Japan.
  29 July2012 (Persecution of PussyRiot)In Russia, any women who are musicians can become Pussy Riot,and the intense persecution of three of them is making Russiansrecognize what a tyrant Putin is.
  29 July 2012(Swiss branch of HSBC)HSBC has a Swiss branch whose business seems to consist ofhelping rich in the UK evade taxes.
  29July 2012 (Harassmentby animal rights campaigners)Harassment by animal rights campaigners is starting to interfere with breeding lab animals in the UK.
  I defend their right to stand for their views, but I disagreewith their views. I support biological and medical research usinganimals, as long as it isn't wasteful.
  29 July 2012(Dam engineersarrested in Brazil)Tribal governments in Brazil arrested dam engineers for failing to carry out commitments not to block the tribes' rivertraffic.
  29 July 2012(Haitian familieskilled for land)Haitian families, ordered to leave their land with compensationinadequate to buy other land, foughtback with stones against thugs sent to evict them.
  The bodies of the children who were shot by the thugs cannot befound. Since the thugs tried to deny having killed anyone, Isuppose they disposed of the bodies secretly.
  29July 2012 (Urgent:Take ICBMs off immediate firing alert)US citizens: call on Obama to work with Russia to take ICBMs off immediatefiring alert.
  29 July 2012(Corningcomplains of too much tax)Corning complained that it was paying too much US taxes, whileits taxes amounted to zero.
  29July 2012 (Gov't aid andprivate assistance)John Scalzi, self-made man, writes about how government aid aswell as private assistance was vital for him to make a success of his life.
  29July 2012 (Norway followslegal procedure)A minister in Norway explains the decision to prosecute Breivik,right-wing extremist, for his murders through the normal legal procedure rather than making an exception of him(such as assassination or military kangaroo courts a la US).
  29 July 2012(Violentmovies)Violent movies don't make most people violent, but they shapethe expression of some people's insanity in a violent direction.
  29 July2012 (Abolition of SuperPACs)A Super PAC has been set up to attack politicians who oppose the abolition of Super PACs.
  Super PACs are the result of the Supreme Court's Corporations United decision and the way to thoroughly overridethat is with a constitutional amendment.
  29July 2012 (The homeless in SanFrancisco)A surprising secondary consequence of San Francisco'spersecution of the homeless: they use BART escalators as toilets, and shit gums up theworks.
  This inconvenience to BART riders must be added to the muchgreater problems imposed on the homeless by a city that wants tochase them out. But then, most of them wouldn't be homeless if ourcountry were run to benefit everyone. The people now homeless wouldbe better off, and so would the local merchants who regard them asunsightly inconveniences to business. Only the 1% would haveless.
  29 July 2012(Referendums tolegalize marijuana)Three states will vote in November on referendums to legalizemarijuana. In Colorado the measure has so much support it can hardly lose.
  29July 2012 (Ayn Rand's Lord ofthe Rings)AynRand's version of Lord of the Rings.
  29July 2012 (Urgent:Support Student Loan Forgiveness Act)US citizens: sign this petition calling on Democratic leaders to support theStudent Loan Forgiveness Act.
  29 July2012 (Syrian rebels inAleppo)Interviews with Syrian rebels in Aleppo, and with a capturedShabiha member.
  29 July2012 (Working whilepregnant)Working while 8 months pregnant hurts the baby as much as smoking.
  Will Republicans with their "family values" try to prosecutewomen who work that late in pregnancy?
  Will they support providing these mothers-to-be with aid so theycan do without from working that late in pregnancy?
  29 July2012 (Obama threatensanarchists)Obama is using the FBI and grand juries to threaten anarchistsin the Occupy Wall Street movement.
  29 July2012 (Ozone layerendangered)Increased storms due to global heating endangers the ozone layerin temperate zones, includingthe US for example. Destroying the ozone later causes more skincancer, and can also damage crops.
  Since global heating means drought will more often cause cropfailures, this will mean a double blow to US agriculture. Causedprincipally by US government policies.
  29 July 2012(Anti-pollutionprotests in China)Anti-pollution protests in China forced cancellation of a pipeline to carry industrial waste.
  Chinese are following the path of the US, where the middle classin 1970 recognized that pollution was doing great harm and thatclean air and water were worth quite a lot of expense.
  Meanwhile, in Italy, a huge steel plant in Taranto was shut downbecause its pollution was found to kill many people in the city. Paradoxically, workersthere demand reopening the plant even as it continues to poisontheir city.
  I think this reflects the fear that Italians feel due to theeuro crisis, which was inherent in the system behind theeuro.
  29 July2012 (Movement tooverthrow Bashir regime)A popular protestmovement is trying to overthrow the regime of "President"Bashir.
  This regime has repeatedly visited violence on Sudan.
  29 July 2012(Attacks onjournalists in Mexico)In Mexico, attacks on journalists are hardly ever prosecuted.
  29July 2012 (Romney advocateswar with Iran)Romney is advocating war with Iran.
  I don't think this is a matter of seeking votes from Jews. MostUS Jewish voters are not eager for war and will not like this.Rather, Romney seeks money from rich right-wing Jews.
  29July 2012 (Political ads onUS network TV)Major network TV stations in the 50 largest US markets will haveto identify the purchasers of political ads on line starting nextweek.
  I wonder if the plutocrats will make this ineffective by routingall the money through shadowy organizations.
  29July 2012 (London'shydrogen-powered buses)London's hydrogen-powered fuel-cell buses have been taken out of service for the Olympics.
  This might be security theater or it might be simple irrationalfear.
  29July 2012 (Gadgets that can'tbe repaired)Making gadgets that can't be repaired causes e-waste and oppresses their users.
  29 July2012 (Courtrestrains biometric database)Israel's supreme court restrained a "pilot project" meant to pave the way for a biometricdatabase.
  29 July2012 (Plans todemolish Palestinian villages)Israel plans to demolish 8 Palestinian villages to create a newmilitary training ground.
  Here's more information.
  Israel has no right to dispossess the inhabitants of occupiedterritory under this or any pretext.
  29July 2012 (Urgent:Oppose automatic approval of GMOs)US citizens: oppose theMonsanto rider requiring automatic approval of GMOs.
  29July 2012 (Urgent:Petition for progressive budget)US citizens: sign this petition for a progressive budget.
  29 July2012 (Urgent: RemoveBachmann)US citizens: call on Boehner to remove bigoted Bachmann from the HouseIntelligence Committee.
  She hasn't got enough of it to qualify anyway.
  28 July2012 (Urgent:Keystone and global heating)US citizens: filea comment saying that environmental review of the Keystone XLplanet burner pipeline should take account of its contribution toglobal heating.
  28 July 2012 (Zionism)Uri Avnery: Zionismcan't resolve its contradictions because it ceased to makesense once its goal, to create Israel, was achieved.
  28 July 2012(Arrests ofnetwork users in China)China arrested many network users for online fraud, but it'spossible that some of them were only criticizing thestate.
  It is common for states to lump dissent and political oppositiontogether with some other kind of crime, including "terrorism". Eventhe US does this.
  28 July 2012(Conviction for a joke)Paul Chambers won an appeal against his conviction for a jokethat was treated by the state as a threat to bomb an airport.
  Chambers should not have been prosecuted, but he was foolish'-- to conduct a private conversation in the equivalent of anewspaper. If you are going to post something in a public place,write it for publication. When you want to have a privateconversation, do it privately, not in Twitter.
  28 July 2012(Labeling GMO foods)California's proposition for labeling GMO foods pits grassrootsactivists against powerful food companies and store companies,and more.
  28 July2012 (Write in his ownblood)HuaYong tried to write in his own blood to commemorate themassacre at Tiananmen Square, and was sent to a labor camp.
  28 July 2012(Warmest July-June)The year from July 2011 thru June 2012 is the warmest July-June year ever in the US.
  28 July 2012(War onDrugs)The "War on Drugs" has conclusively failed to make drugs less available, but itcontinues to do tremendous harm in the US and other countries.
  28 July2012 (WIPO workingon treaty for monopoly)WIPO is working a treaty for a new monopoly, similar to copyright but different,that would be handed out to actors in movies but they would give itto the movie companies.
  28 July2012 ("Stand your ground"laws)A study estimates that "stand your ground" laws in 14 stateslead to an extra 500 to 700 gun killings annually, but without deterring any kind ofcrime.
  28 July 2012(Facebook asksfor email addresses)Facebook asks its users to provide their entire list of other people's email addresses.
  This by itself is surveillance of those other people, butFacebook uses it to go further and try to guess the relationshipsof people who are not Facebook users.
  That information must be worth some money to companies. It issurely worth money to the secret police of any country that isn'tdemocratic enough.
  However, principal wrong here is not that Facebook can guesswhich non-users know you or me. It is that Facebook collectsinformation from its users about whether they know you or me.
  I think we can formulate the principle that any social networkthat asks its members for information about other people isabusive.
  28 July2012 (Facebooktells users to rat on friends)Facebook makes a practice of telling users to rat on theirfriends who use aliases.
  I think we can formulate the principle that any social networkthat asks its members for information about other people isabusive.
  28July 2012 (Helping gov't dosurveillance)Human rights groups filed a complaint against a French company accused of helpingAssad do surveillance on the Internet.
  When will we prosecute the companies that help the US spy on theInternet?
  28 July2012 (A bill toharass women in Michigan)The Michigan senate is considering a bill to harass women whoget abortions (or miscarriages) by requiring them to cremate fetuses and have funerals for them.
  27 July 2012 (Urgent:Tell Secretary of Agriculture to address global heating)US citizens: sign thispetition telling the Secretary of Agriculture to stop dodgingquestions about global heating.
  Here's more information.
  27 July 2012(Lives saved byextending Medicaid)States that extend Medicaid save lives.
  Extrapolating these statistics, doing so for the whole US wouldsave around 25000 lives a year.
  27July 2012 (Military coverupof corruption)More information about the military coverup of corruption at a hospital inAfghanistan.
  What makes this important is that such coverups could be acommon occurrence.
  27July 2012 (Vietnamesevillagers protesting)A thousand Vietnamese villagers are protesting at a governmentbuilding, demanding return of their land.
  The government of Vietnam is a really nasty tyranny. For anyoneto dare protest is unusual.
  27 July2012 (Republican's "jobspackage")Senior economists say the Republicans' "jobs package" will donothing to create jobs, but will make people sick.
  27July 2012 (Usingcontact lenses with iris scanners)Contact lenses can be used in iris scanners to impersonate people.
  I am not going to try to impersonate anyone this way, but Imight be willing to let my irises be scanned if I could make surethis could not be used to recognize me on the street.
  If only I could overcome my terror of anything's touching my eyeso as to insert them.
  The possibility of impersonation might be enough to detergovernments from demanding and using iris scans, but this is wouldonly win one battle against surveillance; it would not win thewar.
  27July 2012 (Recordingactivities of thugs)The Washington DC thug chief established a surprisingly proper policy about dealing with citizens thatrecord the activities of the thugs.
  The next day, a citizen in Washington saw thugs beating upsomeone on the street and began to make a recording. A thug grabbedhis phone and stole his memory card.
  I suppose these thugs will fabricate some false defense and willall testify to it.
  Explicit orders are evidently not enough to stop thugs fromattacking possible witnesses to their crimes and lies. The only wayto stop them is to punish them for their lies and abuses. Whencurrent laws make it hard to convict them, we must change thoselaws.
  27 July 2012(Mexicans protestslanted TV news)Thousands of protesters surround the studios of a TV channelshown by documents to have sold slanted coverage to the winning presidentialcandidate.
  27July 2012 (Cuba invites USto negotiations)Cuba's president Raul Castro invited the US to negotiationswithout preconditions.
  The US responded by criticizing Cuba for unjustly arrestingdissidents, disregarding the fact that this injustice is alsopracticed in the US.
  Meanwhile, Castro defended Gaddafi and Assad.
  27 July 2012(Government secrecy)J. William Leonard, who was in charge of government secrecy forDubya, says the government's system of secrecy is "dysfunctional".
  The article shows how right he is. Meanwhile, the US governmentstill refuses to declassify the memos published by Wikileaks. Itcan't succeed in denying that they are accurate, since it admitsthis by prosecuting Bradley Manning.
  27 July2012 (Murders ofColombian union organizers)Obama declared that Colombia had taken required steps to protectunion organizers, but Colombian unionists say it's false, and thatmurders of union organizers there are increasing.
  In effect, Obama treated these requirements as an excuse to getan unjust treaty ratified, not as a real goal.
  All "free trade" treaties since the one that created the WTOattack democracy and therefore must be abolished in order to restore democracy.
  The world-wide boycott of CocaCola Company started because of its use of paramilitaryterrorists to murder union organizers. The most recent murder wasthis year.
  27July 2012 (Laundering moneythrough ALEC)State legislators ask companies to pay for their travel bylaundering the money through ALEC.
  27 July2012 (Adidas code ofconduct)Adidas signed a contract promising to apply a code of conduct toits suppliers, and then hoped to forget it. But the University ofWisconsin-Madison has gone to court toinsist.
  27 July2012 (Olympic Gamessurveillance systems)The Olympic Games leavesurveillance systems in their wake, time and again, and thisthreatens to occur in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
  27July 2012 (Norway's responseto terrorism)Comparing Norway's response to terrorism with the US's response.
  The September 11 attacks, even if not arranged partly by theBush regime, gave Dubya an opportunity to attack Americans' freedomin a way he clearly wanted to do.
  27July 2012 (Catholicextremists in Northern Ireland)Catholic extremists say they will renew their sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
  I have never understood why people who claim to be progressivesympathize with these people. Why should the Catholic minority havepower there anyway?
  27 July 2012(Israel'scolonization accelerating)Israel's colonization of Palestinian territory is accelerating;the numbers have doubled in the past 12 years.
  27 July2012 (Apparentplans to extradite Assange)Ecuadorian officials say that both the UK and Sweden have beenunwilling to guarantee that Julian Assange would not be handedover to the US.
  The UK could insist Sweden not send Assange to the US, andrefuses to do so. This is more confirmation that they plan exactlythat. The quoted statements from UK officials, which pretend toreassure while refusing to confront the issue, demonstrate badfaith.
  27 July2012 (IMF's devastatingadvice)Joseph Stiglitz warns Mozambique not to follow the IMF's devastatingadvice.
  27 July 2012(US dronesendangering air traffic)The UN says US drones in Somalia are endangering air traffic andviolating the US arms embargo.
  27 July2012 (Al Qa'idaworming into Syrian rebels)Al Qa'ida is worming its way into the Syrian rebels, joiningAssad in trying to make the conflict a sectarian one.
  27 July2012 (Homeless femaleveterans)The US has 55,000 homeless female veterans.
  I would guess there are half a million homeless male veterans.Whichever the sex, this is a symptom of the US' failure to care forpeople who are weak, hurt or unlucky.
  27 July2012 (Judge to aidAssange's asylum request)Judge Garzon's task will be to aid Assange's asylum request.
  27 July2012 (New YorkThugs violated human rights)The study of the New York Thug Department concludes that itviolated international human rights standards, and calls for thestate to prosecute thugs.
  27July 2012 (NewYork Thugs' attacks on Occupy protesters)An extensive study accuses the New York Thug Department ofpersistently attacking Occupy Wall Street protesters andjournalists with unjustified force and bogus arrests.
  In effect, these thugs understood that their mission was torepress democracy.
  27 July 2012(Extortion in Europe)It's not a crisis in Europe, it's extortion.
  27 July 2012(Angry Syrians game)This is to correct the previous political note about the Angry Syrians game.
  I presumed initially that the game was proprietary, because theApple Store does not allow any free software. However, thedeveloper has released it as free software. I corrected the note toreflect this.
  26 July2012 (Skypechanged to allow easier snooping)Microsoft has changed Skype to make it easier for states to snoop on users.
  26July 2012 (Boycott anddivestment movement)Arguing thatthe boycott and divestment movement should target the Moroccanoccupation of Western Sahara as well as the Israeli occupation ofPalestine.
  26July 2012 (Right to protest inAustralia)A court in Australia ruled in favor of the right to protest in aprivatizedformer public space, but only because video proved the thugswere lying.
  If the thugs are not punished, they might attack another protestand hope there will be no video to contradict them that time.
  26 July2012 (Loss of Arctic seaice)Loss of Arctic sea ice "70% man-made" '-- at least.
  26 July 2012(Barclaysbanksters endorse Romney)Although Obama bows down to the banksters most of the time,Barclays banksters endorse Romney with their cash.
  26 July2012 (Investigationinto Afghan corruption)A US general blocked an investigation into Afghan corruption because theofficial in control of it was his personal friend.
  26 July 2012(Spain's gov'tplans to ban abortion)Spain's right-wing government plans to ban abortion '-- even of malformed fetuses.
  Many Spanish women will be able to go to France or Portugal toget an abortion, but since a quarter of the country is unemployed,they may have to go there by hitchhiking.
  Women forced to bear malformed fetuses should save them to givethem to the deputies responsible during their publicappearances.
  26July 2012 (Political ads fromBig Pharma)Big Pharma and the medical insurance companies are paying forlarge ad campaigns against senators that support Obama's healthcare plan.
  In the case of Big Pharma, this is interesting because Obama gottheir "support" by giving them what they wanted at the outset.
  As for the medical insurance companies, it is interesting isthat even the requirement for people to buy insurance from them isnot enough to make them accept being required to cover peopledespite pre-existing conditions.
  The US should abolish the private insurance business by adoptinga Canadian-style national health care system, and applaud as thosebusiness lose everything.
  26July 2012 (Innocent,tortured and imprisoned in Chicago)Chicago thugs systematically tortured people into making falseconfessions. Some spent many years in prison for crimes they did not commit.
  The city has paid $50 million in settlements to them. Some ofthe thugs are in prison.
  26 July 2012(Facebookapps)Facebook apps have access to the user's information '-- andthe user's ffiends' information, too. Thus, if you make the mistakeof using Facebook, even if you let a company access your data,any of your ffiends can give the company access to yourdata.
  (Although Facebook uses the term "friends", that is an abuse oflanguage; a user's "friends" are often not really friends, andbeing "friends" on Facebook is not the way to treat a friendanyway. Therefore I propose the replacement term "ffiends",replacing the "r" with the "f" of Facebook.)
  26 July2012 (IFPI aimsto impose Internet filtering)The major record companies' anti-listener attack organization,the IFPI, aims to impose Internet filtering around the world.
  26 July 2012(Waron music fans)Rich UK music stars demand a more aggressive war on music fans.
  The reason these people have a financial interest in the matteris that they are among the few artists who profit substantiallyfrom the current system. In fact, they are already rich, but notsatisfied. The musicians that we ought to support more won't getmuch from this war.
  I think this calls for a boycott of those stars' music products.Would someone like to work on organizing and promoting theboycott?
  26July 2012 (Urgent:Call for network neutrality law in EU)Citizens of the EU: call for a network neutrality law in the EU rather than yet anotherconsultation.
  26 July2012 (Removal ofspent fuel in Fukushima)About 500 days after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, workers arestarting to remove some of the spent fuel from the storagepools.
  Another earthquake and tsunami could happen at any time, so itis crucial to make sure that the systems now in use to preventfurther disaster are protected from them. Also that these systemsare redundant and that plenty of fuel is available to generateelectricity. I don't know if this has been considered.
  26 July2012 (Audit of FederalReserve)The House of Representatives passed a bill to publish an audit of the Federal Reserve annually.
  Unless there is some unobvious problem with this, it seems likea good idea to me.
  26 July2012 (A Nasty TSA "PilotProgram")A Nasty TSA "Pilot Program".
  On July 24 I flew out of Logan Airport and encountered a TSA"pilot program" which seems to consist of asking every travellerquestions about the purpose of travel. We were warned that if wedid not answer we would be subjected to "extra securitychecks".
  The information I was asked for is public knowledge '-- Iwas travelling to give speeches '-- so I did not refuse toanswer. However, after the TSA agents felt me up (I refuse to gothrough X-ray scanners because they are potentially dangerous), I askedwhat the "extra security checks" consist of. I was told they wouldfeel me up (as had just happened anyway) and look through my handbaggage.
  In other words, the TSA is going to pressure Americans intogiving information about their activities on pain of beingharassed.
  26 July2012 (Effective bankregulation)In the 1930s, during a previous great drought exacerbated by thebanks, the US took effective action, with programs to helpfarmers protect the soil and to regulate the banks.
  When today's business-subservient officials try to pretend thatthe only solution would be a rain dance, they are trying todistract us from the government's failure to regulate the banks andstop global heating.
  26 July2012 (Mass mediabias against Glass-Steagall)A retired former Citigroup CEO advocated on CBS TV the breakupof the big banks and restoration ofthe Glass-Steagall Act.
  That the hosts of the show treated this as radical and shocking,inviting him repeatedly to pull back to a position more approved byWall Street, bespeaks their own bias.
  26July 2012 (NSA spying on entirecountry)NSA Whistleblowers: They're Spyingon 'the Entire Country'.
  26 July2012 (Lies aboutdevelopment of the Internet)The latest right-wingBig Lie is that the Internet was developed by privatecompanies.
  I was there too. The ARPANET was so called because it was fundedby ARPA (part of the Department of Defense). The MIT AI Lab wasfunded, in the 1970s, mainly by ARPA. This included my work, suchas the development of the original Emacs editor, infrastructurethat helped many other projects both public and private.
  Many of the hackers at the AI Lab were bothered by this funding,but it seemed to me that funding from corporations was likely tohave more harmful result.
  Note that the Wall Street Journal and Faux News, which are bothspreading this lie, are both owned by Rupert Murdoch's company.
  The larger lie, that business executives are personally 100%responsible for the success of their businesses, is false becausethey depended on the society around them. But that's only thesecondary falsehood. The primary one is that the workers surelymade some contribution.
  The right-wing denies both contributions to excuse the policy itwants: for the executives and owners to take essentially all theincome, giving a pittance to the workers and nothing tosociety.
  26 July 2012(Peruvianpolitical party Movadef)An Maoist political party, Movadef, challenges the pro-corporate policy of the government ofPeru.
  Opposition says it will morph into a guerrilla movement, but Ithink this is calumny. A political party is unlikely to start aviolent conflict. The state might start one, though.
  The government of Peru declared an emergency in order torepress people who want to protect their water supply from aninternational mining company that the government supports. IfMovadef organizes people for nonviolent resistance to mines,crushing them with violence would be the natural next move for thestate. Then it might find the people respond with violence. Butthere is no reason why they would have to use tactics like those ofShining Path.
  26 July2012 (Judge to joinAssange defense team)Judge Garzon will join Assange's defense team.
  One thing not clear in this article is what case Garzon mightwork on. Assange has already made all the possible appeals in theUK, and as I understand it, that means there is no case left. IfEcuador grants him asylum, there may never be one.
  26July 2012 (UK budget cutsdeepen recession)The UK's ridiculous budget cuts have resulted in the deepening recession predicted by everyone whose eyes were notclosed.
  26July 2012 (Arms trade treatygutted by US)It looks like the US has effectively gutted the arms trade treaty.
  This is easy to do in a negotiation based on unanimous consent.The only check against it is for some state to say, "You haveruined this, so we will cancel it entirely rather than pretend itis not ruined."
  26 July 2012(Free Syrian Armygaining control)The Free Syrian Army, expanded by Syrian refugees returning, nowcontrols someregions of Syria.
  This means that military support to the rebels could befeasible.
  However, it is split by fundamental divisions, including thatbetween secularists and Islamist extremists.
  26 July 2012(WorldBank goal)The new head of the World Bank sets the goal of eliminating abject poverty in the world.
  It is a noble goal and deserves cooperation, but I fear that thegovernments that control the World Bank will not permit it.
  26 July 2012(Onlineabuse)Abuse online may repel us, but it shouldn't be a crime.
  26 July2012 (Greenland icesheet melting faster)The Greenland ice sheet melted faster this month than ever before.
  26 July 2012(Urgent: IncreaseUS minimum wage)US citizens: call for an increase in the US minimum wage.
  26 July2012 (US right-wingChristians in Africa)US right-wing Christians are working in Africa to promote attacks against homosexuals and abortion rights.
  26 July2012 (Bus bombing inBulgaria)Claims that Hezbollah (backed by Iran) carried out the busbombing in Bulgaria rest on supposed similarity to a 1994 bombingin Argentina. However, the assertions about that bombing arequestionable, making the comparison inconclusive.
  It's not impossible that Iran is responsible. That tyrannicalregime is guilty of numerous atrocities, as well as blatant liesand injustice, against people in Iran and elsewhere.
  But there are others in the world that are equally unscrupulous,and the West has a long history of pinning the responsibility forbombings on suspects chosen for political reasons. Consider forinstance the Pan Am flight bombed over Lockerbie in Scotland: aLibyan man was convicted and imprisoned of this, but alwaysmaintained he was innocent; other evidence suggests Hafez al-Assad(father of the current tyrant of Syria) was responsible, and thewest blamed Gaddafi for political reasons and fabricated evidence.
  26 July2012 (Afghan gov'tthug defects to Taliban)A unit commander in the Afghan government thugs defected to the Taliban with some of the men in his unit.
  26 July2012 (Bedouinprotester arrested in Tel Aviv)Of 2000 peaceful protesters in Tel Aviv, thugsselected one to arrest, apparently because he was aBedouin.
  26 July2012 (Occupation ofPalestine)A committee hand-picked by Netanyahu reached the absurdconclusion that there is no occupation of Palestine. Is thispreparationfor a huge annexation?
  The committee's report pulls the rug from under the government's claim that the45-year-long occupation is "temporary" and that oppressive measuresare for "security".
  26July 2012 (Urgent:Two constitutional amendments to support)US citizens: phone your senators to support two constitutional amendments: one to say that human rights donot apply to corporations, another to allow regulation of campaignspending.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  26 July2012 (EU to offerIsrael increased access)Shortly after EU foreign ministers rebuked Israel's occupationpolicies, murmuring about possible sanctions, they are about tooffer Israel increasedaccess to European markets.
  26July 2012 (100-year-oldPalestinian building demolished)Israel demolished a 100-year-old Palestinian building inJerusalem on thegrounds it was built without a permit.
  Of course, Israel never gives Palestinians permits to build. This demolitioncompounds the injustice, and reveals the true aim of the occupationpolicies: slow ethnic cleansing.
  Indeed, that's what Israel has achieved in a large part of the West Bank (the part under direct Israelicontrol).
  26 July2012 (Urgent: Bansale of assault weapons)US citizens: sign thispetition to Obama and Romney to ban the sale of assault weapons(i.e., rapid-fire repeating rifles).
  26 July2012 (Freedom to protest inUK)An alliance of activist groups say that the thugs have systematically damaged the freedom to protest in theUK.
  They condemn the unjust thug tactics, including persistentspying on dissidents, pre-emptive arrests, and besiegingprotests.
  The article does not mention the law against "aggravatedtrespass", whose purpose was simply to criminalize many kinds ofprotests, but that too plays a part in the destruction of democracyin the UK.
  26 July 2012(Syrian rebelsnear Turkish border)A journalist reports on a visit to Syrian rebels near the Turkishborder.
  26July 2012 (Accusing Iranwithout evidence)The US and Israel blame Iran for the suicideattack in Bulgaria, but offer no evidence for theaccusation
  26 July 2012(US andIran)The US and Iran might stumble into a hot war.
  25 July 2012(Soleimani Niaimprisoned in Iran)Soleimani Nia has been imprisoned in Iran, not for doinganything, but for refusing to put his technical skills at the disposal of thetyrants.
  25 July2012 (Olympics LaborCampaign)Olympics Labor Campaign Aims for Sweat-Free Games</>.
  25 July2012 (Anaheimprotests over killing by thugs)Anaheim residents continue their protest over a killing bythugs, despite renewed violence by the thugs.
  A 5-year-old was hit in the eye with a "rubber" bullet (I thinkthey are steel coated by rubber). A thug dog bit some of theprotesters, and the thugs said it got loose by accident. You can'ttrust what thugs say about what happened at a protest; they havepracticed lying so much that it looks natural.
  25 July 2012(India worst for women)India is judged the worst of the G20 countries to be a woman in.
  25 July 2012(Ethanol subsidies)Ethanol Subsidies: Even Stupider Than We Thought.
  25July 2012 (US phone andemail surveillance)US courts approve tens of thousands of phone and email surveillance requests ayear, based on very weak criteria, and the targets are almost neverinformed they were surveilled.
  25 July 2012(Book printed indisappearing ink)A book printed in disappearing ink teaches people what's wrongwith ebooks today.
  25 July2012 (Urgent: Oppose HR4078)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to oppose the LetReckless Corporations Do Whatever They Want Act, HR4078.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  25 July 2012(Nationalize Banks)Don't Regulate the Banks, NationalizeThem.
  24 July2012 (Stay ofexecution for being retarded)A Georgia man got a stay of execution at the last minute forbeing retarded.
  The death penalty is wrong in general, and should be abolished, but for the life of me I can't understandwhy anyone thinks that mental retardation makes any difference tothe issue.
  24 July 2012(Bradley Manning trial)The US government accuses Bradley Manning of releasing realdiplomatic cables but refuses in court to acknowledge them as real.
  24 July2012 (Human rights inRussia)Russian human rights activists are considering defying Putin's new restrictions.
  24July 2012 (Urgent:Stop attacks on marijuana dispensaries)US citizens: tell Attorney GeneralHolder to stop attacking state-authorized medical marijuanadispensaries.
  24July 2012 (Assadthreatens to use chemical weapons)Assad threatened to use chemical and biological weapons if Syriafaces "external aggression".
  Since Assad also says that the rebels are "external aggression",this does not rule out using chemical weapons against rebels.
  It seems clear that the rebels are almost entirely Syrians, butthey do seem to have received arms from Islamic extremist states such as SaudiArabia.
  24 July 2012(Murdoch staffaccused of bribery)Staff at several Murdoch newspapers are accused of bribing officials to get information.
  23July 2012 (Urgent:Petition on behalf of Senal Edamaruku)Everyone: sign this petition on behalf of Sanal Edamaruku.
  23 July 2012(Turning vacantlots into gardens)Turning vacant lots into gardens reduces violence as well as producing fresh local food.
  23July 2012 (Systems thatcommit atrocities)A system that commits atrocities is generally supported andimplemented by careerists whose goal is only personal successwithin the system.
  23 July 2012(Obama is King John)Some referred to Dubya as King George, but Obama is KingJohn.
  23 July 2012(Cuban dissidentOswaldo Pay dead)Cuban dissident Oswaldo Pay died in a car crash.
  Pay attempted to invoke a clause in the Cubanconstitution which allows a certain number of citizens to demand areferendum. His petition was for a referendum to establish certainbasic human rights. Although he submitted far more than therequired number of signatures, the state never held thereferendum.
  He appreciated some of the achievements of the Cuban revolution,and did not seek to turn Cuba into a US-dominated tyranny such asit was before Castro.
  23 July2012 (Your CorporateDemocracy)Your Corporate Democracy, according to The Invisible Hand.
  23 July 2012(Yes Men tackle Shell)The Yes Men tackle Shell and drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
  23 July2012 (Urgent:Stop loophole in Volcker Rule)US citizens: tell Congressnot to make a loophole in the Volcker Rule.
  23 July2012 (UK thugsspied on peaceful dissidents)Documents show that UK thugs did massive spying on peaceful dissidents at theGlastonbury festival in 2009.
  23 July2012 (Cargill palm oilsource)Cargill buys palm oil grown in plantations made by chopping down forests where Orangutans live.
  23July 2012 (US expandsfailing War on Drugs)USExpands Failing Drug War to Africa.
  23 July 2012(Dolphin deathsin Gulf of Mexico)The Big Spill combined with weather to kill lots of dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico.
  23July 2012 (Globalheating helps spread infectious bacteria)Global heating has enabled bacteria that infect humans tospread in the ocean into temperate areas.
  23 July2012 (WWF's deals withbusiness)Is the WWF too close withindustry?
  This is a tricky issue, because both sides could be sincerelytrying to serve the same cause. WWF leaders surely think its dealswith business are inadequate, yet they could believe (perhapsrightly) that these are the best deals it can get and better thanno deal.
  At least, they are better in the short term. They leave out thequestion of whether endorsing a company that has gone part waytowards protecting wildlife is undermining the goal. If a companydoes only a quarter of what it ought to do, maybe it should getonly a quarter approval.
  23July 2012 (Funders ofright-wing attack ads)Many well-known US companies fund right-wing attack ads. Take alook, and don't buy from them.
  23 July 2012(Buyingopposition to gun control)Gun interests have spent almost $100 million to buy congressional opposition to guncontrol, since the late 90s.
  23 July2012 (Money forvoting against DISCLOSE act)Some Republicans who voted against the DISCLOSE act got amillion or more in campaign help from unidentifiedcompanies.
  23 July2012 (Copyrightstarves Wikipedia for photos)Copyright is starving Wikipedia for photos.
  23 July 2012(Guerrilla warspreading in Syria)Guerrilla war is spreading in Syria's cities.
  23 July 2012(US drought continues)The US drought continues and will probably lead to very high food prices next winter. I hope this wakes up Americans tothe danger we are causing.
  23July 2012 (Journalistsarrested in Japan)Journalists in Japan have been arrested for publishing how to copy a DVD.
  23 July2012 (Cost of globalheating)A 2009 UN study estimated that global heating killed 300,000people per year and its effects cost $125 billion per year.
  I expect they have both gone up tremendously since then.
  23 July 2012(Systemic effectsof deregulation)The Liebor scandal, like many others, results from the systemiceffects of deregulation.
  The article argues for breaking up the large banks andprivatizing some. I agree, but since part of the problem comes fromcomplexity, we need to simplify the system also. The obvious way todo that is to ban most kinds of derivatives.
  23 July2012 (Rape victim facesjail)Savannah Dietrich believed her rapists were being let offlightly in court, so she posted a statement about this and now faces jail herself.
  Dietrich felt ashamed of having been raped, and afraid someonewould find out. That makes no moral sense '-- she was thevictim, not the perpetrator. She ought to feel somewhat foolish fordrinking too much, but I don't think it was about that. Because ofthis unjustified shame, she suffered a second time, gratuitously.Who taught her to feel this way? Anyway, at least she has overcomethis and is no longer ashamed to have been attacked.
  23July 2012 (Extending years ofdementia)Modern medicine, together with the obsession to use it to thelast gasp, implies years of dementia for a considerable fraction of thepopulation. The victim suffers for some years, and when he is toodemented to notice any more, it is the relatives' turn tosuffer.
  A change in the perspective of doctors would improve things, asthe article makes clear. They should stop encouraging people to beton unlikely chances and to grasp for more "life" even if it'sdemented. But most important would be a change in the perspectiveof the relatives.
  When my father was demented, I visited him once. He was stillable to recognize me, just barely, and have very limitedconversation, but he would not remember the visit the next day. Iconcluded that my father was really dead, even though his corpsecould still walk and talk a little. Visiting him was a pointlesssacrifice; like any dead person, he was beyond the possibility ofdoing anything for him. So I decided not to see him again. If askedto take care of his corpse every day, I would have flatlyrefused.
  Why do many people go to such lengths to care for a dementedparent who is hardly even aware of them? There is unwillingness toface the facts of loss: they don't recognize that their sacrificeis pointless, because they can't bring themselves to accept thatthe person they loved is dead. The breathing, defecating "living"corpse superficially resembles that parent, and looks so lifelikethat they can believe that person is still alive. (This calls tomind the ancient Egyptian mummification of corpses.) Even when theystart to recognize that the labor is pointless, they have troublefeeling completely certain.
  I am sorry for their loss, because anyone's death is a greatloss, but they need to face the facts and stop clinging to thecorpse. It's not a disloyalty to recognize that someone you lovedis dead, and not a disloyalty to let the corpse be buried. You canremember the deceased, and honor that memory, in other ways.
  23 July2012 (Shortage ofschool places in London)London faces a shortage of school places due to population growth.
  Instead of planning for growth, the government should plan todiscourage births.
  23 July 2012(Assets in tax havens)Tax havens may store 13 trillion dollars in assets.
  This leads to underestimates of economic inequality. The taxloss to debtor countries could be enough to get them out ofdebt.
  23 July 2012(TEPCO subcontractor)A TEPCO subcontractor told workers to cover their radiationdosimiters with lead so as to falsely report their exposure.
  What is amazing is that some of them obeyed this order, whichmeans they risked damage to their health. They must have felt veryintimidated by the employer.
  23 July2012 (BP's latest adcampaign)BP's latest advertising campaign presents it as the "spirit of the Gulf [of Mexico]".
  Maybe this signifies that food in the Gulf Coast today containsa little toxic something from a BP oil well.
  23 July 2012(Universal health care)A right-wing American moved to Canada and learned to appreciateuniversal health care.
  I must denounce her opposition to abortion. While abortion is nopleasure, it does less harm on the average (to the woman or theworld) than having a baby. And if you have a baby today, it willreach adulthood in a world probably entering disaster.
  23 July2012 (War on Drugsdriving spread of HIV)The War on Drugs is driving the spread of HIV.
  23July 2012 (US needs better guncontrol)The Colorado shooting spree demonstrates that the US needs bettergun control.
  This is not so much to prevent shooting sprees like this one,since they amount to few deaths in the US (less than 100 a year, Ithink). Rather, it is to prevent all the other shootings, whichkill some 30,000 people a year in the US (based on the statisticsin this article). Stricter gun control laws could put a dent inthat.
  23July 2012 (Danger of Shell'sdrilling plans)One of Shell's Arctic drilling ships came loose from its anchorin harbor, and drifted ontothe beach. Following the normal behavior pattern of those thatthink they enjoy impunity, Shell seems to have subsequently triedto deny part of the events.
  This accident may not indicate Shell was particularly careless;such accidents do happen with ships. Either way, it shows thatShell's drilling plans are dangerous. Shell should not be allowedto drill in the Arctic Ocean, and neither should any othercompany.
  Meanwhile, every ship can be put out of action due to accidents,especially in bad sea conditions. Thus, having just oneship to deal with oil spills, even if it is properly equipped andtotally up to spec, is inherently inadequate.
  (That's even assuming that we had reliable methods for dealingwith spills from undersea oil wells, which we do not.)
  23 July 2012(Bank fraudenabled by regulators)Massive fraud by banks was enabled by promotion of theregulators who were supposed to stop it.
  Lie-bor and other scams too have resulted in a wave of lawsuits and criminal investigations. But we must look beyondthe specific crimes and correct the conditions that bred them.
  23 July2012 (Victory achieved byvoting)Miners in West Virginia revolted in 1920 against a corporate-statealliance that enslaved them and worked them to death.
  The miners had every moral right to kill the "gun thugs" who hadkilled so many of them, and to resist the state's forces when thosecame to support the corporations. This conclusion simply appliesthe principles stated in the US Declaration of Independence.
  However, what achieved victory '-- for a few decades '--was not shooting, but voting for candidates who wereenthusiastically on the side of the many against the rich.Candidates determined to defeat oppression rather than make excusesfor it. Candidates nothing like Romney or Obama.
  23July 2012 (Cruelty in US borderpatrol)Gratuitous cruelty is rampant in the US border patrol. Thesethugs regularlytorture illegal immigrants, sometimes to death, and enjoy totalimpunity.
  The true spirit of cruelty is the destruction of the waterbottles that No More Deaths leaves so that border crossers won'tdie of thirst.
  I don't criticize the policy of not allowing everyone into theUS (or whatever country). That is not the issue here.
  23 July 2012(Fossil fuel industry)The fossil fuel companies are the world's public enemy number one.
  The present .8C of global heating has a bigger effect than waspredicted, casting doubt on whether 2C of heating would causedisaster. But the world is on track to burn enough CO2 to reach 2Cof heating in just 16 years.
  This means I might actually survive to be caught up in thedisaster of global heating. And if you are young, you will almostsurely see that disaster, unless you manage to defeat the fossilfuel industry soon.
  23July 2012 (Iceberg fromGreenland glacier)Iceberg Twice Manhattan's Size Breaks Off GreenlandGlacier.
  This ice was floating,so its subsequent melting won't change sea level. But the fasterflow of the glacier will add to sea level rise.
  23 July2012 (Romney's lack ofhonesty)Romney's contradictory statements about his role in Bain reflecta general lack of honesty in US financial circles, includingcontempt for reports to the SEC.
  In claiming to be adevout Mormon, Romney demonstrates another form ofhypocrisy.
  23 July2012 (Federal spendingmyths)Four federal spending myths that Republicans spread.
  Namely, that the current US deficit is a big problem, thatmilitary spending has been cut, that government health insurance ismore expensive than private insurance, and that Obama's health carebill will cause a big budgetary problem.
  The problem with Obama's health care bill is that it isn't goingto save a lot of money. It would take a national health program todo that.
  23 July2012 (Republicansvote to cut OHSA funding)Republicans voted to cut funding for OHSA and block new programs for safety in additional work areas.
  23July 2012 (Lost Iraqreconstruction funds)SIGIR estimates that 6 to 8 billion in funds for Iraqreconstruction were lost to waste, fraud and abuse due to careless accounting.
  Lots more were wasted in other ways, such as building projectsthat were ill-conceived and never functioned.
  23 July 2012(Canada's globalheating reputation)A Canadian senate report concluded, in effect, that Canadamust do more to gain a reputation for concern about globalheating in order to succeed in selling all its extreme oil andbringing about a global heating disaster.
  22 July2012 (Urgent: OpposeMountaintop Removal)US citizens: call for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining inAppalachia.
  High levels of toxins have been found in the water in the vicinityof mountaintop removal mines.
  22 July 2012 (Urgent:Support Protection Against Intrusive Species)US citizens: call your congresscritter to support HR5864, to increase protection against intrusive species thatcan be damaging.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  22 July2012 (Mountaintop RemovalToxins)A government study found lots of toxic chemicals in the vicinity ofmountaintop-removal coal mining.
  The people who live in these areas gain next to nothing from themining (since it employs few people), and they are fighting to stop it.
  Someone should tell Orem that companies are not citizens, noteven under the Corporations United decision. And they don't want to becitizens. Rather, they want the rights of citizens without theduties.
  22 July2012 (HSBCallowed trade sanctions violation)HSBC knowingly kept open the bank accounts suspected of moneylaundering and that violated trade sanctions.
  One can question whether a bank should be allowed to close anaccount because it "looks suspicious", but violating the tradesanctions is more clear cut. It is clear that HSBC sought theincome from these accounts.
  22 July2012 (Correapardons journalists for libel)After President Correa got convictions of Ecuadorian journalistsfor printing false accusations against him, he pardonedthem.
  The pardons do not justify laws that make libel a crime, but itdoes mean that Correa personally is not the demon that thecorporate media claim.
  21 July2012 (Prostitutesafraid to carry condoms)Across the US, thugs make prostitutes afraid to carry condoms.
  We ended the prohibition of alcohol, which was unjust andharmful. The prohibition of prostitution is likewise unjust andharmful, and must be repealed. If you don't like prostitution,nobody forces you to do it.
  21July 2012 (Solution to mortgagecrisis)A localgovernment solution to the mortgage crisis makes the bankstersvery worried.
  21 July 2012(Libya's militias)Libya held an election, but can its government restrain theviolent militias?
  21 July2012 (Anti-HIV drugs inAfrica)Anti-HIV drugs in Africa cost much less than was previously estimated, and they reducethe rate of new infections too.
  21July 2012 (Urgent:Oppose "3 strikes" law in Massachusetts)Citizens of Massachusetts: askGovernor Patrick to oppose the "3 strikes" law.
  21 July2012 (Urgent:Improve cybersecurity bill)US citizens: call your senators to support further privacyrights protections in the cybersecurity bill, but to oppose thebill unless it is improved.
  Also sign thispetition.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  21 July 2012(UK riot murder trial)The ban on showing a BBC program about the riots was to avoidprejudicing a murdertrial, which has now ended.
  The judge in this trial accused a very high thug official oflying in court.
  Thugs are accustomed to bearing false witness against others. Iwonder if any of them will be prosecuted for this.
  21 July2012 (Murder ofenvironmental activists)When environmental activists in the Philippines are murdered,the state looks the other way.
  21 July2012 (Shell can'thandle Arctic oil spills)Shell was unable to get its act together to prepare a ship to try to dealwith Arctic Ocean oil spills.
  This is not to mention that the ship would only be able to dothis job in the most favorable conditions.
  21July 2012 (New Yorkenvironmental official)New York State's environmental official in charge of fracking(and all mining) says that CO2 emissions are "beneficial".
  21July 2012 (Huge profits andminimum wage)Big Corporations Are Making Huge Profits While Keeping Their Employees Stuck At Minimum Wage.
  21July 2012 (US citizenskilled by US drones)Relatives of US citizens killed by US drones have sued the government.
  21 July2012 (Pussy Riot deniedbail)Putin's repressive judges denied bail to the three protest musicians in the band PussyRiot.
  21July 2012 (New Senatecybersecurity bill)The new Senate cybersecurity bill is less dangerous than the oldone, but might still have nasty effects, such as allowing ISPs to block TOR.
  21July 2012 (Obamagoes beyond prosecuting whistleblowers)Obama's response to whistleblowers goes far beyond prosecutingthem. It is accompanied by many strict measures to prevent anyone from showing the public whatthe government is doing.
  21 July2012 (Thug's violentbackground concealed)London thugs went to great efforts to conceal Harwood'sbackground of unjustified violence. In fact, they played games to keep him on the thug force despite beingpunished for that.
  21July 2012 (Welfarerecipients denied right)Welfare recipients in the UK are supposed to be allowed torecord when they are tested for fitness to work, but they are beingdenied this right based on absurd excuses.
  This fits with the perverse nature of the entire activity. Whatdifference does it make if someone is theoretically able to work,when there are no jobs available? Would it be better if he got oneof those jobs and left someone else jobless instead?
  These tests are evidently meant as an excuse to crush the poor,and the company carrying out the tests is simply taking account ofthat real mission when it judges people to harshly and denies themthe right to record.
  21 July2012 (US navy's biofuelproject)Republicans want to kill the US navy's biofuel project.
  Unlike some biofuel projects, this one uses waste and algae, notcrops. It is a useful approach, and subsidizing it in the earlydays could be the way to get production started.
  That alone does not prove this project is well-designed, or evenhonest. But I can't see who in Washington we could trust on thatquestion. Any politician that opposes the plan is most likely doingso in order to help the oil companies.
  21 July 2012(How the LiborLies were possible)How the Libor Lies were possible: banks say what interest rate they would borrow at, but are notrequired to borrow at that rate.
  This sounds just like what enabled JP Morgan to cheat Californiaon electric rates: it said it would sell electricity for a certain price, then avoidedactually doing so.
  In other words, these systems assume banksters are honest. Whatsuckers!
  21 July 2012(Syrian rebels gaining)Syrian rebels are gaining military strength, and territory.
  21 July2012 (Self-immolation inIsrael)Moshe Silman set himself on fire in Tel Aviv to protest the government policies that left him unable to affordboth his rent and his medical bills.
  21July 2012 (Berlin socialcenter occupied)Retired people in Berlin have occupiedtheir social center, which the local authority has sold to adeveloper.
  21 July2012 (CBS global heatingdenier)CBS's "weatherexpert" is a global heating denier.
  21July 2012 (Regulation of facerecognition)The EFF calls for regulation of face recognition, such asrequiring a court order for its use.
  21July 2012 (Republicanvoter-suppression)Up to 10 million poor US voters could be disenfranchised byRepublican voter-suppression.
  The ID office that opens only 4 days a year demonstrates themalicious spirit of these laws. Disenfranchising the poor is theirpurpose, not a byproduct, as a Pennsylvania Republican admitted.
  21 July2012 (Secret GPStracking of car renters)A European car rental company was fined for secret GPS tracking of its customers.
  This is a small first step, but more is needed. Many (all?) GMcars have built-in cell phones by which they can be tracked. Ithink Zipcar tracks everywhere the car goes (can someone find outfor certain)?
  21 July 2012("Palestinian Gandhi")Western pundits and media bemoan the lack of a "PalestinianGandhi" but disregard the prisoners who mount hunger strikes.
  20 July2012 (Urgent:Support FDA whistleblowers)US citizens: phone your congresscritter in support of the FDAwhistleblowers who told Congress that the FDA was ignoring evidencethat certain drugs were dangerous.
  For more information: whistleblowers.org, but I can't recommend you sign your namethere, since it requires nonfree Javascript to work.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  20July 2012 (Urgent:Visas for two Afghan Peace Volunteers)US citizens: callon the State Department to grant visas to two Afghan PeaceVolunteers.
  Moreinfo.
  20 July2012 (Lie detectortests for sex offenders)The UK will require sex offenders to take "lie detector" tests.
  "Lie detectors" don't really detect lies; they detect anxiety.It looks like all the reported benefits of performing these testscome from the convicts' expectation that the tests will work.
  It might be a useful practice nonetheless.
  20 July2012 (Urgent: Arms Tradetreaty)US citizens: tell the US government to stop obstructing the arms tradetreaty.
  20July 2012 (Urgent:Remove cap on social security tax)US citizens: sign this petition to remove the cap on social securitytax.
  20July 2012 (Urgent:Petition against targeted killings)US citizens: sign the ACLU's petition against illegal targeted killings.
  20 July2012 (Chargesagainst John Brennan dropped)John Brennan, who strippedto protest the TSA's naked body scanners, had his chargesdropped. The judge ruled this was legitimate political speech underOregon law. I don't know whether the same would apply in the restof the US.
  20 July2012 (Broadcasteraccused of insurrection)A Cambodian broadcaster who supported protests has been accused of "insurrection".
  20 July2012 (US drought gettingworse)The US drought is getting worse, which means an agricultural disaster.
  In a few decades, this sort of drought will be normal, so USagricultural production will go way down.
  20 July2012 (Protestleaders charged with "terrorism")Ecuador has brought absurd charges against 24 indigenous protest leaders '--most commonly "terrorism".
  It is disappointing to find Ecuador following the US lead.
  20 July 2012(EFF challenges USAP AT RIOT act)The EFF is challenging the constitutionality of the secrecy part of the U SAP AT RIOTact's massive FBI surveillance provisions.
  20July 2012 ("If you havenothing to hide...")Debunking The Dangerous "If You Have Nothing To Hide, You HaveNothing To Fear".
  I can add an additional point: the state denies that thisargument is valid when applied to the state's own activities
  20 July2012 (Indianworkers released from Bahrain)Bahrain has allowed 100 Indian workers to leave after 6 years ofbeing effectively detained for quitting their jobs.
  India should refuse to allow Indian citizens to work in Bahrainuntil it changes the law that forbids foreign workers from quittingand going home.
  20 July2012 (Evidence inTremseh suggests battle)Evidence on the ground in Tremseh suggest a battle between the Syrian army and rebels, not a massacre ofcivilians.
  However, the fact that UN observers were kept out of the areafor a considerable time after the events means the possibility of acover-up can't be ruled out.
  20 July2012 (Civiliancasualties from drone attacks)The New America Foundation publishes an inaccurate list ofcasualties from drone attacks, one which omits civilian casualties.
  20 July2012 (Indianfisherman fired at by US navy)An Indian fisherman on the boat that the USNS Rappahannock firedat says he knows what sort of warnings US navy ships give, andthere was none this time.
  20 July2012 (13 billion dollarsspent)The US national security complex cost only 13 billion dollarslast year, but managed to label 26 milliondocuments "top secret".
  20July 2012 (UK gov't spendingcuts dangerous)Even the IMF says that the UK government's spending cuts aredangerous.
  So who are they making the cuts for?
  20 July2012 (Regulationon use of face recognition)Senator Franken calls for regulation of the use of face recognition.
  I agree.
  20 July2012 (Nokia's sell-out a bigloss)Nokia's sell-out to Microsoft has turned into a big loss.
  This is good, but we need to get Apple too. And then we need toget the Android devices that can't be rooted.
  20 July 2012(UK thugacquitted of manslaughter)The thug who apparently killed Ian Tomlinson, a passerby at aprotest that was besieged, was acquitted. This jury seems to have had some doubt about whetherTomlinson's death was caused by the attack. Other thugs supportedhis testimony.
  Since thugs generally lie for each other, the testimony of athug about what happened at a protest is always worthless. Otherpeople sometimes lie, but they are rarely habituated to lying likea thug.
  20 July 2012(US drought andrising food prices)The US drought (probably related to global heating) has pushedfood prices to a level comparable with 2008, but the real problem is worse than that.
  Making biofuel by growing crops that compete with food is anabsurd waste, and the practice should be ended immediately.
  Most Americans should also eat less meat, both to reduce theburden on the Earth and for their health.
  20 July 2012(UK accused ofwithholding evidence)Lawyers for torture victims accuse the UK of withholding evidence about it.
  The US does this too, but has done it so long and so thoroughly that it no longer makes news.
  For the first time, one of Dubya's torture supporters facesconsequences: embarrassmenthe might not care about.
  This is not enough. Torture is a heinous crime, and everyone whois responsible for US official torture policies, from Dubya ondown, ought to be prosecuted.
  20 July2012 (Prohibition ofmarijuana)Another treaty that must be abolished is the one that requiresprohibition of marijuana.
  20July 2012 (US demonizes singleparents)While civilized and kind countries enable single parents to getby, the US demonizesthem.
  Meanwhile, the malign Christian interference with US real sexeducation, birth control, and abortion increases the number ofsingle parents. US cruelty gets women coming and going, as itwere.
  19 July 2012 (Urgent:Tell Congress to decline Hollywood payoffs)US citizens: tell Congress to stop accepting payoffs fromHollywood in the form of movie cameos and stop supporting the nastylaws Hollywood wants.
  19 July2012 (Urgent: India'sforests)Citizens of India: tell the Prime Minister to stop giving awayIndia's forests to be cutdown for coal mining.
  19 July2012 (Russia adoptslaw to shut web sites)Russia adopted a law to shut web sites if they are "harmful to children". I think the site does not get a trialbefore it is shut.
  Of course, they won't shut the web sites that do harm largenumbers of children, by selling them toys and candy. But they mightstretch this to shut political web sites.
  This is not as bad as SOPA, which was rejected in the US, but itis still unacceptable.
  19July 2012 (Beneficiaries of US"food aid")The main beneficiaries of US "food aid" programs are three giant agribusiness companies. I am not convinced that itis bad to give hungry people food, as opposed to giving them cashto buy food. The local elites would try to divert the cash; isthere an effective solution to prevent this?
  Nor is it necessarily bad for the state to support farmers bybuying their surplus for use as aid. (The surplus could be cheap,if the government looks for a good price, but this program seems topay a high price.) However, that is only a good thing when itsupports many small farms. Supporting big companies is not a validgoal.
  The US could certainly buy the food for aid in a way thatsupports farmers rather than the largest companies.
  19July 2012 (Food banksspringing up in UK)The UK government is hurting the poor so badly that food banks have sprung up in many cities.
  19July 2012 (Mexicanpresidential election)The winner in Mexico's presidential election was accused ofmoney laundering for his campaign.
  There is already evidence he bought favorable TV news coverage.
  19 July2012 (US families mademiserable)US families '-- those that are not broke '-- are mademiserable by all their possessions, especially the piles of toysthat are used for a short time and then ignored.
  19 July2012 (Romneylied about conflict of interest)It is clear that Romney lied in a required financial disclosureform when he asserted he was no longer involved in Bain "in any way".
  President Clinton lied about an event of no public significance,not speaking under penalties of perjury, and he was impeached forthis. Romney lied about a conflict of interest. Prosecute him!
  19 July 2012(Apple censors game)Apple censored a game for the iThings called AngrySyrians, which is a political parody of Angry Birds.
  If Apple had accepted the game, it would have been unethicalbecause it would have been proprietary. But Apple doesn't mindthat. Rather, Apple said it was "defamatory or offensive" '--to the dictator Assad, apparently.
  19 July 2012(Militias in Libya)The government of Libya has held an election, but militias continue to rampage around the country, arbitrarilyarresting, then torturing and even killing prisoners.
  19July 2012 (Political crisis inRomania)A political crisis in Romania: the EU accused the prime ministerof an unconstitutional power grab, an attempt to change the rules forremoving the president from office.
  If the IMF-imposed austerity program was "effective", thatprobably means it was effective for making people suffer. Indeed, afriend in Romania says that the president, when his party was inpower, cut pensions, cut education, cut medicine (and that 12000doctors have left the country), taught religion in schools, andstole lots of money. However, he says that the prime minister'sparty is corrupt too.
  I hope Romania does break its deal with the IMF. IMF "rescues" oppress the people of the country they are madewith.
  19 July2012 (JP Morgancheated California citizens)JP Morgan cheated the citizens of California by getting paid not to generate electricity.
  The system was stupidly designed, just waiting to be targeted bya clever cheat. But that does not excuse the cheats.
  19July 2012 (Wikileaks creditcard payments)Wikileaks has found a way to receive credit card payments,thanks to a special contracts set up by the French creditcard processing system that say no merchant can be arbitrarilycut off.
  The whole world needs to establish such rights as a matter oflaw. However, it's possible that the US will bully Visa andMastercard into breaking their contracts with Carte Bleu.
  19 July 2012(Publicspaces)The Rise and Fall andRise of Great Public Spaces.
  19July 2012 (Bomb in Bulgariahit civilians)A bomb exploded in a bus filled with Israeli tourists inBulgaria, apparently meant for murder of civilians.
  The Iranian regime has carried out plenty of atrocities (mostlyagainst Iranians, but some against Israelis), so it might beresponsible. Nonetheless, it is would be a mistake to jump to ahurried conclusion about responsibility for this bombing.
  Meanwhile, this wrong should not distract us from the muchlarger wrong of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and thesiege of Gaza.
  19July 2012 (UK courtin favor of preemptive arrests)In an astounding blow against human rights, a UK court ruled infavor of preemptive arrests of potential protesters.
  Apparently the thugs are allowed to make advance plans to arrestanyone "preventively" without any court approval, let alonecharges.
  This is a sad day for human rights in the UK.
  19 July 2012(Syrian rebel attack)A Syrian rebel attack killed two of Assad's principalhenchmen.
  I don't think their death is any loss to the world, but I worryabout where the rebels got their arms '-- and what that willmean if the rebels win.
  19July 2012 (Anti-sharinggroup refused to pay artist)An anti-sharing group used a musician's work commercially andpersistently resisted paying him.
  This group no doubt says that sharing music is theft because themusicians don't get any money. (Not mentioning that in most casesthey wouldn't get any money if you bought their records.)
  19July 2012 (Urgent: Pardon forPeter Sunde)Everyone: support Peter Sunde's petition for a pardon.
  19July 2012 (AT&T attacksnetwork neutrality)AT&T attacks network neutrality by trying to charge specially for use of a particular communicationsapplication.
  The FCC's network neutrality code is too weak, and anyway itmakes a special exception to be even weaker for cell phonenetworks. True network neutrality means ISPs should not monitor orfilter your traffic unless it breaks the network.
  19 July 2012(Iraq's Cybercrimes Law)Human Rights Watch: Iraq's Cybercrimes Law Violates Free Speech.
  This shows what sort of freedom Dubya gave Iraq.
  19 July 2012(Saudi web site editor)A Saudi web site editor faces charges for allowing public debate.
  19July 2012 (Doctor visitingPakistan shot)A doctor who was visiting Pakistan to give polio vaccination wasshot, apparently by an Islamist fanatic.
  The Pakistani Taliban are effectively holding thousands ofchildren of their own people hostage to demand an end to droneattacks. Whatever one thinks of these drone attacks, and the US'policies that may amount to war crimes, it can't justify this.
  Christian fanatics in Britain are denying other children access to vaccination. They make theridiculous claim that their students don't have sex.
  19 July2012 (Web site privacypolicies)For typical Americans, actually reading privacy policies of websites they use in a year would take 76 work days.
  It is not a problem for me. I almost never read any of theseprivacy policies, because even when they seem to say the companywon't do something, it has a subtle loophole. Meanwhile, the USgovernment can collect all the data with the U SAP AT RIOT act. SoI just assume every privacy policy says, "We will use your data inways you don't like."
  I maintain my privacy by generally not giving any personalinformation to web sites I visit.
  The main exception is when I want to identify myself to thepublic, such as by posting a comment. I don't want privacy for thecomment I post.
  18 July 2012(Urgent: Reducemilitary spending)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support amendments toreduce military spending '-- such as Barbara Lee's amendment'-- then vote against the spending bill.
  You can also support a somewhat weaker amendment to reducemilitary spending through this page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  18 July2012 (Israel right-wingpolicies)For decades, Israel's governments have used the occupation and"security" as cover for right-wing policies that impoverish mostIsraelis.
  They don't suffer as much as Palestinians, but still, it showsthat the occupation of Palestine by Israel is accompanied by theoccupation of Israel by the rich.
  The Israeli wall was supposedly for the sake of "security", but if security had been the real goal, Israelcould have built it on the frontier. Court cases and other evidenceprove its real goal was annexation all along.
  18 July 2012(Israelilaws)Israelis were arrested for painting over (erasing) racist "price tag" threats againstPalestinians.
  The occupation and its effects are turning the Israeligovernment into systematic dishonesty, twisting laws into tools forpolitical bias.
  There are some exceptions, though. Nathan-Zada should have beenprosecuted for murder, not lynched, and the prosecution of thosewho lynched him is the right thing to do, even though perhaps it isbeing done for the wrong reasons.
  18July 2012 (Israeli soldierslock up Hebron)Israeli soldiers locked up the market of Hebron and used percussion grenades to push the people around in it, andinside homes as well.
  18 July 2012(Israelimprisonment without trial)Israel announced it will release the speaker of the Palestinian parliament fromimprisonment without trial.
  However, another member of parliament was just arrested.
  18July 2012 (Israel breaks promiseto US)Israel promised the US 10 years ago to demolish the unauthorizedsettlement "outpost" of Givat Sal'it, but now it is planning to extend it instead.
  I think this is one reflection of the general fact that Obama ismore subservient to the Israeli government than Dubya was. Dubyacould openly say no to Israel; Obama does not dare.
  The government has also restored financial subsidies to some ofthese colonies that it had pledged to withdraw.
  18July 2012 (Urgent:Call on EPA to be firm with Shell)US citizens: call on the EPA not to make an exception to airpollution rules for Shell'sdrilling in Arctic waters.
  Apparently Shell has been lying to the EPA for 2 years, planningto get an exception at the last minute.
  18 July2012 (Israel breakspromises)Israel makes deals but doesn't keep them. It promised to allowfamily visits for prisoners from Gaza, but it only allows them for25 prisoners, "experimentally".
  And they can't see their children.
  18 July2012 (Links toOlympic Committee web site)The 2012 Olympic Committee's web site claims that you're notallowed to link to their site if you say something unkind aboutthem. This has inspired lots of creative defiance.
  It is unfortunate that the writers of this site use the sloppyterm "intellectual property" to describe this.
  The Olympics impose a wide range of harmful policies, which iswhy I urge people in Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul to organize againstholding the 2020 Olympics there.
  Some (not all) of these policies concern one of the dozen-oddunrelated laws that some people speak of as "intellectualproperty"; but it is misleading to lump them together usingthat term. For instance, this link policy is not based on any ofthose laws. (Or any existing law, for that matter.)
  The only thing these policies have in common is theOlympics.
  18July 2012 (Talk of West Bankannexation)Israeli politicians are talking about annexation of the West Bank.
  A government-sponsored report even denies that theWest Bank is occupied by Israel and that Palestinians have aright to their land.
  What would then happen to Palestinians? Would they be givenIsraeli citizenship, or exiled from their homes?
  Perhaps thisarticle shows the answer: Israeli soldiers have joined openlyin the practice of destroying Palestinian farms, which formerly thecolonists in the "settlements" did (though the state did nothing tostop them).
  And when the UN provides tents to Palestinian families whosehouses Israel has demolished, Israelcalls this "illegal construction".
  Israelis were arrested for painting over (erasing) racistslogans threatening violence against Palestinians.
  For the sake of kicking Palestinians out of the West Bank, theIsraeli government is converting rule of law into rule of thebully.
  The European Parliament condemned this and warned sanctions mayfollow.
  What a contrast with Obama.
  18 July 2012(US Waron Drugs)The War on Drugs has crushed millions of people's lives butfailed to block the entry of illegal drugs; however, American drugusers are mostly switching to prescription drugs, rendering the Waron Drugs irrelevant as well as ineffective.
  I'm afraid this will mean a War on the Hurt. Americans whosuffer from pain already sometimes have trouble getting medicine to treat it, thanks to the firstcampaign against the Hurt. It will get worse. Meanwhile, those whosuffer from chronic pain will meet with systematic suspicion. TheUS government already practices torture; why not torture themtoo?
  A person can decide not to use cocaine and heroin, but nobodycan decide not to get injured. Nobody can decide not to needsurgery. Nobody can decide not to develop a chronic pain condition.We Americans must organize now to block the War on the Hurt beforeit tortures us.
  18 July2012 (Indianfishermen attacked by US navy)Indian fishermen, whose boat a US naval ship fired at, say theywere given no warning.
  18July 2012 (Urgent: TellVerizon To Respect)In the US: tell Verizon to respect users' freedom of speech,notcensor them.
  18 July 2012(Urgent: US Citizens)US citizens: Tell the NOAA not to allow an oil survey that wouldbe done using airguns in the sea, which would injure whaleswith their loud noises.
  We can't afford to burn that oil anyway, so there is no pointlooking for it.
  18 July 2012(Urgent: Release Rikhawi, al-Barqand Safadi)Call on Israel to release Akram Rikhawi, Samer al-Barq andHassan Safadi, who are on hunger strike against imprisonment without trial.
  18 July 2012(Cruelty To The Poor)Republicans '-- including state governors '-- attackObama for giving states more leeway to provide aid to poor families.
  This demonstrates that the Republicans' goal is to be cruel tothe poor, and their arguments about states' rights are just anexcuse.
  18 July 2012(The Gates Foundation)The Gates Foundation is funding the development of patented GMOsfor Africa, which would make Africanfarmers dependent, if they could afford them at all.
  18 July 2012(Bush/BlairIraq war memo)A UK minister plans to veto a court decision in favor ofpublishing one of the memos where Dubya and B'liar talked about attacking Iraq.
  18 July 2012(BBCprogram on riots banned)A judge banned a BBC program which presents rioters' ownstatements and did not say why.
  18 July 2012(Government spendingmyths)Four Biggest Government Spending Myths Debunked.
  18 July 2012 (French overtime tax)France will restore the tax on companies that have workers workovertime, to push them to hire more employees instead.
  I think this policy makes sense. The fact that Sarkozy cancelledit is also suggestive that it was a good policy before, since hisgoal was to help companies and weaken workers.
  18 July2012 (Creationism in UKschools)The UK government approved three schools that plan to teach creationism.
  18 July 2012(YouthIn Malian)Youth in Malian towns ruled by Islamist extremists are starting counter-rebellions.
  18 July2012 (Banks and drugtraffickers)HSBC admits letting Mexican drug traffickers launder billions of dollars.
  I've read that many banks do this, because that's the only waythey can get enough money to stay afloat. Thus, if we end the Waron Drugs, as we need to do, we will take the banksters down a pegtoo.
  18 July 2012(EUto push for "open access")The European Union will push for "open access" scientific publishing.
  I hope that they don't omit the crucial requirement of allowingredistribution and reuse of scholarly articles. That was part ofthe definition of "open access" in the Budapest Open AccessInitiative, but more recent discussion often forgets this pointsince the word "access" encourages focusing on the secondaryquestion of who can get the articles from the publisher's ownsite.
  18 July 2012(UK:Squatting)Now that squatting in abandoned buildings is a crime in the UK,young people who reject a life of rent and debt are trying to squat onland and farm it.
  18 July2012 (US: Small MilitaryBases)The US is setting up dozens of small military bases around theworld, each one prepared to expand in a hurry.
  They are supposed to prepare for the wars that they mightprovoke.
  18 July2012 (Romney Campaign AdCensored)A Romney campaign ad was censored by a bogus copyright claim.
  18 July 2012 (Apps and web sitesaddictive)Apps and web sites are designed to be addictive '-- societyshould recognize this as a problem to be corrected.
  The problem goes deeper than he recognizes, since nonfreesoftware is part of it.
  18 July 2012 (Technology)Technology as such is not the cause of widespread poverty andunemployment in developed countries. Rather, the rich set politicalpolicies that took advantage of technological changes to divert wealth and power to the rich.
  18 July 2012(SyrianRebels)Syrian rebels have taken parts of Damascus and are holdingthem against Assad's army.
  This makes it clear that the rebels have received lots of armsfrom outside. I wonder which rebel faction they are '--Salafists supported by Saudi Arabia?
  18 July 2012(Cut Military Spending)The American public want to cut military spending.
  Republican politicians, however, are horrified by the idea. Isthat because of the money they get from the military-industrialcomplex that a general, subsequently a Republican president, warnedus about?
  18 July 2012 (Police )The Brand Police are crawling over London, and may even restrict theclothing that spectators wear.
  I think the people who wear clothes with commercial messages (oreven prominent brand insignia) are suckers, and their doing soincreases the power of these brands, which is socially harmful.However, banning some of this in one place for branding reasons ishardly the way to oppose the power of brands.
  18 July 2012(Abortion Rights)Terms such as "abortion" and "morning after pill" play into thehands of the opponents of abortion rights.
  I think the point is valid, but the article doesn't suggest analternative to "abortion". (It sometimes uses the term "developmentprevention", which could be seen as an implicit suggestion of thatterm, but that doesn't seem like a very good term.) Anysuggestions?
  I also agree with the point that the "consumer frame" is noteffective for defending people's rights.
  18 July 2012 (New York thugsconfiscate condoms)New York thugs confiscate condemns from prostitutes, andprosecutors cite them as evidence. This has the effect ofpressuring prostitutes to risk getting and transmitting HIV.
  Prostitution ought to be legalized anyway. There is no excusefor banning it, and the ban only does harm.
  18 July 2012 (Your Email)ACLU: Your Boss Shouldn't Read Your Email.
  I should add, neither should the state (whether it is your bossor not).
  18 July 2012 (Article)Democrats are hypocrites on outsourcing.
  However, Romney says he wants to make it even worse.
  The first article's specific points are valid and well stated,but I disagree with some background assumptions. For instance, thearticle equates "capitalism" to the present system in whichbusiness dominates government (i.e., the empire of themegacorporations). The US in the 60s and 70s was capitalist, butbusiness did not dominate government as it does now. As a result,many laws were passed to do what the people wanted over theopposition of big business. That was democracy at work, which iswhat we now lack.
  Thus, what I seek is not "an alternative to capitalism" butrather restoration of democracy (along with capitalism).
  This is why I support Jill Stein for president.
  18 July 2012 (Barclays)A former Barclays executive says former CEO Diamond (who was ina lesser executive role at the time) ordered him to falsify the Libor information, and that Diamondsaid he was asked by the Bank of England.
  18 July 2012 (Activists)Greenpeace activists protesting Shell's dangerous plans to drillfor oil in the Arctic Ocean have shut down Shell gas stationsin London and Edinburgh.
  18 July 2012(Modified Mosquitos)Genetically modified mosquitos, whose children do not develop toadulthood (because they can't get tetracycline), could wipe out dengue fever.
  I think the approach is basically legitimate, and if the use ofthe antibiotic tetracycline in livestock might enable a few ofthese modified mosquitos to survive one generation, that can beprevented through something that is necessary anyway: to ban thewidespread use of antibiotics in livestock.
  However, the company should be required to release any and allinformation about these mosquitos that is considered relevant topublic health.
  18 July 2012 (TEPCO)2/3 of the citizens who asked to speak in a meeting in Sendai(damaged by the tsunami) opposed nuclear power. Of the 9 chosen tospeak, one was anemployee of TEPCO.
  Such coincidences happen, but I wonder what fraction of thespeakers reflected the general attitude of the applicants.
  18 July 2012(Protest in Tokyo)Over 100,000 protested in Tokyo against restarting nuclearreactors.
  Tens of thousands protest weekly outside the home of Japan's prime minister.
  18 July 2012 (UK flood defense budgetcut)UK budget cuts included planned flood defenses; the result ismillions in damage that was avoidable.
  The budget cuts were a misguided policy in general, since theyhave caused worse recession, and the jobs that were not done areoften important (as in this case).
  17 July2012 (EPEAT does notcover Apple iThings)Although Apple has joined EPEAT again, it does not cover the iThings '-- onlythe Macintosh.
  17July 2012 (Kindness encourageskindness)Kindness releases oxytocin, which feels good and encourageskindness.
  This suggests that my proposal for making it easy to sendvoluntary small payments to artists will work well.
  17July 2012 (US involvement withHonduras)The US gets more and more involved with the coup-installed regime inHonduras, supposedly for the "war on drugs", and now that regimeplans to follow Mexico's bloody path.
  According to http://quotha.net/node/2292,there is no need for US government to hunt narcotraffickers atnight in the countryside. It need only look at the elites behindthe coup-installed government.
  17July 2012 (FDA spied on itsscientists)The FDA systematically spied on its scientists who were complaining to Congress about abuses in the FDA.
  17July 2012 (US presidentialdebates rigged)Jill Stein debated Romney once, and did very well. But she won'tbe in the presidential debates, because they have been rigged bythe Republican and Democratic parties to excludeall other candidates.
  17 July2012 (Corporatemedia coverage of Keystone)In the corporate media, supporters of the Keystone XL pipelineare more visible than the critics.
  The reason surely has something to do with the ads from the oilcompanies.
  17 July 2012(Tracking devices)"It's not my phone, it's my tracker."
  This is part of why I refuse to carry one.
  17July 2012 (Israel wants toblock UN agency)Israel wants to block the UN agency that helps Palestinians construct village facilities in the areaswhere Israel doesn't want them to have any such.
  17 July2012 (Tuaregrebels' overtures to Mali gov't)Secular Tuareg rebels are making overtures to the government ofMali by saying they only want internal autonomy.
  17July 2012 (UKthugs forcibly remove man from his home)A UK man forcibly removed from his home by thugs, apparentlyacting without legal authorization, has launched a private prosecutionagainst them.
  17 July2012 (Murder chargesfor suicide attempt)Bei Bei Shuai, who faces murder charges from theocraticofficials for trying to commit suicide while pregnant, faces afurther injustice: prosecutors are tryingto punish her lawyer for requesting funds for her defense.
  17 July 2012(US military in Africa)Who Decided? How Did the U.S. Military Get Into Africa.
  16July 2012 (Urgent: Oppose "IPattach(C)" bill)US citizens: if your congresscritter is on the House JudiciaryCommittee, tell him that Lamar Smith's "IP attach(C)" bill isa bad thing.
  "Intellectual property" spreads confusion by lumping together adozen unrelated laws. Tobe "for intellectual property" or "against intellectual property"is a foolish overgeneralization, and this bill is based onprecisely such a foolish position.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  16 July2012 (Pirate Baycharged under US orders)Peter Sunde explains how Sweden pressed charges against thePirate Bay under the orders of the US, and then he was convicted of"crimes" that were not crimes, by judges with corrupt ties to the copyright industry.
  I am not sure whether advertising-supported unauthorizedredistribution ought to be legal; I think of it as a borderlinecase. However, legal nonsense like this is intolerable. Swedesshould demand that their government respect the rights of thecitizens of Sweden.
  If that means declaring independence from the WTO, so much thebetter. The WTO is a murderous organization and must be destroyed.
  The dishonesty and subservience to the US in this case givesmore reason to think that Sweden plans similar dishonesty withJulian Assange as well.
  16 July2012 (NRA threatensads against senators)NRA threatens to use unidentified political ads against senators who vote to limitunidentified political ads.
  By explicitly endorsing the Corporations United decision[spelling intentional], the NRA has set itself against the vastmajority of Americans.
  16 July 2012(Pfizer fundingHeatland Institute)Pfizer stubbornly continues funding the Heatland institute[spelling intentional] even though it pretends that tobacco is not dangerous.
  16July 2012 (Tremseh oppositionfighters)The people killed in Tremseh, Syria, may have been opposition fighters rather than civilians.
  16 July2012 (Chicago publicschools)Rahm Emanuel is using Chicago's budget shortfall as an opportunity to privatizepublic schools and destroy the teachers' union.
  16 July2012 (Spain taxingpoor to reduce deficit)The Spanish government, under pressure for deficit reductionwhen what Spain needs is the opposite, felt compelled to raisetaxes. So it raised the value-added tax, which falls mainly on the poor,rather than the income tax on the rich.
  16July 2012 (ALEC pushescigarette marketing)ALEC, the US corporate lobbying organization, is pressuring some other countries not to take steps againstcigarette marketing.
  If the WTO indeed opposes these plans, that is yet another waythat the WTO is a murderer and one of hundreds of reasons it mustbe terminated.
  As for whether this plan would reduce smoking, that is a goodquestion, but we should not trust anything the tobacco companies(or their stooges) say about the question. On the contrary, if theyseriously object to the plan, that suggests it might be effective.If they really believed it would backfire and help them, they wouldnot really try to block it.
  16July 2012 (UK thugs fabricatetestimony)UK thugs fabricated testimony to justify arresting and holding Rizwaan Sabir, a graduate student, fordocuments he had obtained for his research (he was studying alQa'ida).
  Thugs will be thugs, but the crucial point is that the chargethey tried to frame Sabir on is an unjust law which effectivelymakes it a crime to be suspect.
  16 July 2012(Overpopulation)A scientist's 90-minute theatrical presentation focuses on thedamage that having 10 billion humans on Earth is likely to do.
  We need to prevent this from happening. One method that willhelp is by paying women under 25 to get sterilized.
  16 July2012 (Problem of "IPAttach(C) Act")The fundamental problem of the "IP Attach(C) Act" is thatit is based on the confusion embodied in the term "intellectualproperty".
  However, its details are bad too.
  16 July 2012(Adaptivemonitoring of chat sites)Facebook and other chat sites use adaptive monitoring to try to stop adults from meetingteenagers for sex.
  Normal teenagers don't use the net to talk with adult strangers.They mostly talk with people they know. Thus, the teenagersthat an adult could pick up in a network chat are disturbed(probably due to family problems) and would like to meet adultstrangers, one way or another.
  It hurts to live in a disfunctional family. I am not saying weshouldn't care about these teenagers' well-being, but rather thathelping them requires addressing these family problems. Evenbetter, preventing them '-- for instance, correcting theright-wing government policies that cause material problems, andtherefore stress, for many US families would help a lot. Reducingthe hysteria about the danger of the Internet might help too.
  Attempts to stop these teenagers from meeting someone to have asexual adventure with are misguided since they don't address theunderlying problem. They probably won't even be effective: if thoseteenagers can't flirt with adults in one way, they will do anotherway.
  16July 2012 (Brown Lloyd Jamesadvised Assad)Wikileaks reveals that the US PR firm Brown Lloyd Jamescontinued offering Assad advice about improving his image through at least May 2011.
  15 July2012 (Global Arms TradeTreaty)Will the NRA Kill a Global Arms Trade Treaty?
  15 July 2012(Danger ofsolar storms)A powerful solar storm in 1921 destroyed substantial parts ofthe world's telephone networks. No subsequent storm has been sopowerful, but there will surely be another someday.
  If a similar storm occurred now, it could destroy large parts ofthe power grid, destruction that would take a long time toreconstruct. Furthermore, nuclear power plants whose electronicsare damaged by the storm could have meltdowns when their backupgenerators run out of fuel.
  For more information.
  15July 2012 (Access tocongressional reports)New Legislation Would Give Public Full Access to Congressional Reports.
  15 July 2012(The guise of"protecting children")Citing the goal of "protecting children" (which shuts off thebrain of many adults), Washington and Tennessee have laws making ita crime for a site to let users publish an advertisement forprostitution that "depicts a minor" (whetherthe site knows this or not).
  This law would require the same sort of massive vetting for alluser-posted material that China recently imposed on online video.
  If states want to put an end to advertisement of childprostitution, there is no need to smash the Internet '-- a fewundercover agents could easily arrest the pimps.
  15 July2012 (Prosecution forinsults)Even "free" countries prosecute "insulting" the head of state.
  Freedom of speech includes the freedom to insult anyone.
  15July 2012 (Facebook "privacysettlement")The Facebook "privacy settlement" about using its users' facesin ads is so weakly written that it may not really allow users to opt out.
  However, some public interest groups that approve it will getsubstantial funds (substantial for them, not for Facebook).
  15 July2012 (Witnesses inTremseh were attacked)Witnesses in Tremseh say they were attacked by the Syrian army and the Shabiha thugs.
  15 July 2012(Verizon's censorship)Freedom = Censorship? That's what Verizonsays.
  15 July 2012(Charge for charging)Stores in some US states will be allowed to charge extra for credit card purchases.
  I hope this encourages more people to use cash.
  15July 2012 (Afghanleaders killed by suicide bomber)A suicide bomber attacked a wedding party in Afghanistan,killing a member of parliament as well as officers and politicians.
  I suppose relatives and other invitees were killed too.
  15July 2012 (Fakephotos and videos from Syrian opposition)The Syrian opposition generates fake photos and videos ofsupposed atrocities.
  15July 2012 (Urgent:Health care for raped US soldiers)US citizens: tell the senate to make military health care cover abortionsfor soldiers that are raped.
  15 July2012 (Syrian oppositionsources)The people most quoted on behalf of the Syrian opposition havelong-standing close relationships with Western institutionsthat have sought for years to get rid of Assad.
  15July 2012 (Imprisoned forinsulting king)Oman has imprisoned bloggers for insulting the king.
  15 July2012 (Applereverses decision to drop EPEAT)Apple reversed its decision to drop the environmental standard EPEAT. The article does not make itclear whether Apple will stop gluing the batteries into iThings. Igather that EPEAT requires this, but I can't tell whether Apple hasdecided to comply with the requirement or whether EPEAT has made anexception for Apple.
  15 July 2012(TheDISCLOSE Act)The DISCLOSE Act's delicate balance: protecting private citizens' anonymity whileinforming the public about election money laundering.
  15July 2012 (Cheney raisingfunds for Romney)Cheney hosted a fund-raising event for Romney, but reporterswere forbidden to photograph them together '-- Romney hopes toblock the fact that they are associating from reaching mostAmericans' attention.
  It would be honest to take separate photos of the two of them atthe even and publish them side by side, along with the news that aphoto of the two together was banned.
  And maybe someone who was there defied this order and took sucha photo anyway.
  15July 2012 (Florida'svoter-suppression laws)Sabu Williams tried to register voters in Florida on behalf ofthe NAACP, and was threatened with prosecution under Florida's voter suppressionlaws.
  15 July2012 (Judgeordered to stop extortion racket)An Alabama judge ordered an end to the practice of jailing poor people for not paying fees in his town.
  They were charged additional fees for being jailed, which meantthat they might never get out. The judge said that you could callit "debtor's prison" but it really is an extortion racket.
  15 July2012 ("Sequestration" forspending)Progressive organizations and others oppose the "sequestration" for spending on civilianprograms.
  This is the cut that was agreed on as part of the law that setup the supercommittee, because the supercommittee did not reach anagreement. Since Republicans have already proposed to overturn themilitary cuts, there is no reason to stand by the other cuts.
  There is no reason to undo the "sequestration" for militaryspending, because that has increased tremendously in the past 6 years.
  15 July2012 (Ethiopianjournalists and dissidents)Ethiopian journalists and opposition figures were sentenced tolife in prison for ''conspiringwith rebels''.
  This reminds me of the US government's accusation that BradleyManning "aided the enemy" by informing us about what our governmentwas doing.
  The Ethiopian government acts as a proxy army for the US and hasfull US government support. No wonder they use the same forms ofdishonesty.
  15 July 2012(Honduran thugsunder DEA command)The US State Department says that the May 11 killers in Honduraswere the responsibility of the Honduran thugs and mercenariesinvolved, and that the DEA agents were only their "advisors".However, the US ambassador there said that those Hondurans underdirect DEA command. ''Theybasically work for the DEA.''
  The government in Honduras was installed by a military coup andrepresses journalists and dissidents.
  The presence of the DEA in Honduras is fishy in the first place,since, according to thesewriters, the main narcotraffickers are the elites that arebehind the new government.
  Naturally the regime has the full support of the US, which mayhave helped organize the coup in the first place. A state like thishas no moral legitimacy.
  15 July2012 (Control of northernMali)Secular Tuareg rebels couldn't stand rule by al Qa'ida, andsplit with them, but al Qa'ida defeated them and took total control of northernMali.
  15 July 2012(German ban oncircumcising babies)Muslims and Christians are lobbying to overturn a German court decision that circumcision of babies violatestheir rights.
  I tend to agree that it is better to let them grow up and decidefor themselves, but I don't have a strong position on theissue.
  15July 2012 (UK gov'tplans to wipe out habeas corpus)The UK government plans to wipe out habeas corpus with secret courts, so that anyone could be arrested and jailed atlength, and not told why.
  15July 2012 (Tanksand helicopters used against Tremseh)UN monitors confirm Syria used tanks and helicopters against thetown of Tremseh just before a massacre in the town.
  They saw this from a distance, but the Syrian army did not allowthem to enter the town to investigate the massacre.
  14 July2012 (Urgent:Romney's income tax returns)Ask Romney: what are you hiding in the incometax returns you have not released?
  Here's background on the apparent conflict between what Romney says tothe public and what he said in testimony.
  14 July 2012(Response to Emily)Response toEmily -- the NPR music intern.
  14 July 2012(Mexico'smilitarized war on drugs)Mexico's militarized war on drugs has resulted in more violence.
  14July 2012 (Facebook politicalmessages)Facebook sends political messages as coming from people who have clicked Like buttons.
  Facebook recently settled a lawsuit, promising to stop a verysimilar practice involving ads, but these political messages arenot considered "ads" and Facebook continues to send them.
  14 July 2012(Suedfor libel)A science writer who was sued for libel writes about his experience.
  14July 2012 (Classaction suit against copyright trolls)A class action suit targets copyright trolls.
  14July 2012 (Urgent: SupportDISCLOSE act)US citizens: sign thisemergency petition to the senate to support the DISCLOSEact.
  14July 2012 (US secretassassination policy)US officials try to justify secret assassination policy. Hereare refutations oftheir arguments.
  14July 2012 (Urgent:Regulations against business abuses)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support regulationsagainst business abuses. Also sign thispetition.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  14 July2012 (San Onofre nuclearplant)The wear in the San Onofre nuclear power plant is much worse thanwe previously knew.
  14 July 2012(Pushing rejectedACTA provisions)The European Commission bureaucrats seem inclined to push therejected ACTA provisions in the proposed treaty with Canada.
  The current Canadian government is a complete sellout tobusiness, and inclined to harm the public interest in severaldifferent areas including copyright.
  14July 2012 (Foreign''investment'' in Haiti)Foreign "investment" to Haiti does no good for Haitians; it isan investment inextraction.
  Part II.
  14 July 2012(YasharKhameneh)Iranian exile Yashar Khameneh posted text and drawings thatcriticize a historical Imam. Thugs in Iran took his father hostage,and threatento execute him unless Yashar Khameneh takes down the page.
  It is a good thing that Khameneh cannot do that. I hope hisfather is not killed, but if the thugs gained their goal throughthis threat, that would be a defeat for freedom in Iran.
  The basic principle for dealing with hostage-takers is not togive them what they want. President Reagan betrayed his country byselling arms to Iran in exchange for release of hostages inLebanon. Naturally, the effect was to encourage them to take morehostages. Taking down this page would have a similar effect.
  14July 2012 (Wall Street's crimesin 2008)Wall Street's crimes in 2008 may be impossible to punish due tothe statute of limitations, if the SEC does not actsoon.
  Of course, the failure to prosecute them so far was Dubya'schoice and then Obama's choice.
  14 July2012 (Global fightfor natural resources)Global Fight for Natural Resources 'Has Only JustBegun,' say Experts.
  I wish we could change US laws so that businesses have anincentive to hire workers to replace some material resources.
  14 July2012 (Visa payments toWikileaks)More information about the Iceland court case about Visa payments to Wikileaks.
  For Datacell, this is not just a business issue (though thecutoff of payment from its other customers caused damage to thebusiness). The head of Datacell supports Wikileaks as an ethicalcause, which is why he did not solve his own problem by abandoningWikileaks.
  14July 2012 (Mexico's governmentsigns ACTA)Mexico's government signed ACTA even though its senate already voted to oppose it.
  I got mail from a Mexican saying that the president hopes thatthe new senators, to be elected, will ratify ACTA even though thepresent senators oppose it.
  13 July2012 (Another bankstercrime)Another bankster crime: charging higher interest rates to minority groups.
  13July 2012 (US citizens barredfrom voting)Almost 6 million US citizens can't vote because of felony convictions. A substantialfraction of these people were imprisoned for possession of smallamounts of drugs. Members of minority groups are much more likelyto be arrested and charged for this. Thus, one byproduct of the"War on Drugs" is to systematically disenfranchise people fromminority groups.
  13 July 2012(Thugs in Madridshoot protesters)Thugs in Madrid shot protesters at random with rubber bullets,injuring children and journalists as well as protesters.
  13 July2012 (PayPal: copyrightenforcer)PayPal has appointed itself a copyright enforcer by imposing restrictive conditions on sites it can pay.
  We need online payments from which nobody can be excluded underany conditions, just as nobody can be excluded from use ofcash.
  13 July 2012(TestingArafat's body for polonium)The US and France are trying to pressure the PalestinianAuthority into not exhuming Yasser Arafat's body to test for poloniumpoisoning.
  13July 2012 (Congresswants to prosecute journalists)Congress wants to prosecute journalists who publish leaks.
  Iraq's new censorship law carries life imprisonment as a penaltyfor vaguely defined crimes.
  13July 2012 (Internet censorshipin Oman)Indian Internet censorship restricts users in Oman too. They are also restricted by Oman'sInternet censorship.
  13 July2012 (Mobile phone users'privacy)Mobile phone users don't know how much information the phonescollect, nor how vulnerable they are to its being collected by or transmitted toothers.
  13 July 2012(AustralianInternet surveillance)Australia plans total Internet surveillance a la NSA, and perhaps imprisoningpeople that don't hand over encryption keys (as in the UK). Falkvingesuggests that the UK could imprison you for having photos orastronomical data, if the state chooses to claim they containsteganographic messages and demand you provide the key to extract them.
  13July 2012 (US appetite forelephant tusks)Illegal Ivory Bust Shows Growing U.S. Appetite for Elephant Tusks.
  13 July2012 (Pointlessrestrictions on abortion)Many US states have imposed pointless restrictions on abortionfor the sole purpose of making abortion difficult.
  Right-wingers often make the absurd claim that Liberalregulations on business are meant to interfere with business(rather than protect workers, customers and the environment). Whywould they imagine such dishonesty? Because that's the way they dothings.
  13July 2012 (Seasonalfire fighters get health insurance)Obama has extended health insurance to seasonal fire fighters.
  This step, in itself, is a good thing, but what we really needis universal health care not connected with employment. Obamadidn't dare speak in favor of that.
  Meanwhile, Republicans are trying again to repeal Obama's health care law, which is a step in the wrongdirection.
  13 July2012 (Processing ofpayments to Wikileaks)A court in Iceland ordered the local Visa and Mastercardprocessing company to resumeprocessing payments to Wikileaks, but it is not clear whetherthis will result in allowing people to actually send money toWikileaks.
  13 July 2012(Urgent: Requesttext of TPP draft)US citizens: phone your senators and ask them to send you a copyof the draft TPP text. Also send them mail through thispage.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  13 July 2012(Bradley Manning trial)A charge against Bradley Manning is being interpreted with alooser criterion than the same charge against prisoners inGuantanamo.
  13July 2012 (Deforestation in theAmazon)The deforestation that has already occurred in the Amazon isexpected to cause the extinction of a number of species of animalsbecause their habitat is now insufficient.
  Worse, in a few decades the rain will be insufficient, andwhat's left of the forest will burn up just as the dead pineforests in the western US are burning now. (These trees are deadbecause global heating has allowed pine borers to survive whereformerly they could not.)
  13 July2012 (Obamaattacking marijuana dispensaries)Obama is attacking state-approved medical marijuana dispensaries just as Bushdid.
  12 July 2012(Austerity in Spain)The Pain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain (Folk).
  12 July 2012(OlympicGames)The Olympic Games are a publicly subsidized corporate-controlledlockdown, but with major changesthey could be something more.
  12July 2012 (Urgent: Prosecutebanksters)Everyone: Call on the EU to prosecute the banksters for lying forLibor.
  12 July 2012(''Our terrorists'')The Mujahideen-e Khalq get very different treatment from alQa'ida, because the USapparently considers them ''our terrorists.''
  As stated before, to label a group as "terrorist" and ban it byadministrative fiat is an attack on freedom of association. Ifthere is evidence that a group is planning terrorism, put it ontrial!
  12July 2012 (Urgent:Romney's tax returns)US citizens: Sign this petition calling on Romney to publish his taxreturns.
  12July 2012 (China requirespre-censorship)China requires Internet sites to pre-censor all videos.
  12 July2012 (Urgent:Don't let Israel attack Iran)US citizens: sign this petition to Obama not to let Israel attack Iran.
  12 July 2012(Urgent: Supportmedicare for all)US citizens: tellDemocrats to support medicare for all.
  12July 2012 (US to deployintrusive lasers)The US is about to deploy lasers that can detect tiny amounts of various substances, such as tracesof explosives, traces of marijuana, or traces of hormones in yourbody.
  I suspect these can also identify and track people by thespectrum of chemicals around them.
  12 July2012 (Lamar Smithbeing sneaky with SOPA)Lamar Smith tried to sneak one provision of SOPA into another law.
  The provision would involve putting dedicated personnel USembassies to pressure other countries in favor of "intellectualproperty". Or perhaps only in favor of copyright '-- by usingthe vague term "intellectual property", the article fails to saywhat range of issues this job would cover. However, we can tell itincludes some bad things.
  12 July2012 (Geithnerknew about Libor manipulation)Geithner, the "banksters' man in Washington", knew about themanipulation of Libor in 2008 and did nothing.
  45% of US mortgages are tied to the Libor rate, and weretherefore affected directly by this manipulation.
  12 July 2012(Record-breakingdrought in Texas)NOAA: the record-breaking drought in Texas last year can only bedue to global heating.
  12 July2012 (Obama andCongress support Big Pharma)Obama and Congress give full support to Big Pharma's patents against life-saving compulsory licenses in poorcountries.
  12July 2012 (Wifi networkswithout passwords)US court ruled that people operating wifi networks withoutpasswords are not responsible for others' copyright infringement.
  However, I fear that the unofficial persecution arranged by Obama will not pay attention to rights likethese.
  12 July2012 (Cause of 2010 oilspill)A 2010 oil spill, the most expensive pipeline rupture in UShistory and not cleaned up yet, was due to a company policy of disregarding safety. This demonstrates thatUS regulation of pipelines is too weak to depend on. The same willsurely be true for the Keystone XL pipeline.
  If the individuals responsible were prosecuted and imprisoned,including executives that pushed for cost savings and didn't insiston maintaining safety standards, this sort of accident would nothappen.
  12July 2012 (Religiontaught with Texas public funds)Americans United for Separation of Church and State reports howcharter schools in Texas use public funds to teachreligion.
  12July 2012 (Seattle thugsattack dissidents)Seattle thugs broke down the door of some dissidents' apartment'-- without asking them to open it '-- and seized booklets thatsaid "anarchist", as well as a hoodie. It seems they did not findthe goggles and gas masks they were looking for, but if they had,so what? These things are not useful for hurting anyone. What theyare good for is protesting despite state attempts to crushdemocracy. A state that treats these as suspect treats the peopleas an enemy.
  12 July2012 (Science cuts inCanada)The science cuts in Canada include agencies that measureglobal heating and water pollution '-- the perfect gift foroil companies.
  12 July2012 (Chevronrefused to evacuate workers)Chevron refused to evacuate workers from a marine gas drillingplatform, keeping them on board until the explosion they expectedkilled some of them.
  12 July2012 (Portugal doctorsstrike)Portugal Doctors Strike over Budget Cuts.
  12July 2012 (Another nail inACTA's coffin)Another nail in ACTA's coffin: Bulgaria suspended ratification.
  12 July2012 (Russiaadopts Internet censorship law)Russia has adopted a law for Internet filtering, using''childpornography'' as an excuse.
  "Child pornography" is an ideal excuse for censorship, which isnastier than works someone might want to censor. Here is aninterview with a blogger about the danger of this scheme.
  Russian Wikipedia blacked out its site as a protest.
  12July 2012 (Urgent:Oppose extradition of Richard O'Dwyer)Everyone: contact the UK home Secretary, Theresa May, to opposethe extradition of Richard O'Dwyer.
  email: mayt@parliament.ukUK phone: 020 7219 5206
  The US wants to prosecute O'Dwyer for running a site withlinks to copyright-infringing torrents.
  12 July 2012(Coal minersprotesting in Madrid)Thousands of coal miners are protesting in Madrid against plans to shut the mines.
  Someone in Spain told me that the miners demand is notnecessarily to keep the mines running (which seems like a waste)'-- some other kind of work for their towns would satisfy themtoo. However, the Spanish state is determined to dump more peopleinto poverty so that the banksters won't lose anything.
  12 July2012 (Syrian diplomatdefects)A Syrian diplomat has defected.
  He is a Sunni, so this tends to confirm the sectarian form thatSyrian opposition has taken.
  12 July 2012(Israeli armyreligious extremists)Religious extremists in the Israeli army, encouraged for yearsby the state, implicitly threaten mutiny if the state tries to undo theextremists' colonies in the West Bank.
  12July 2012 (MelyndaGates to champion access to birth control)Melynda Gates decided to champion access to birth control.
  This is a truly worthy cause. I have more respect for her thanfor the Gates foundation in general, whose "philanthropy" includes"donating" Windows licenses.
  12 July 2012(Biotechindustry ''helping'' teachers)The biotech industry is "helping" US science teachers teach childrenthat GMOs do not raise any issue to be concerned about.
  12July 2012 (Irish and Argentineeconomies)Bankster economists describe Ireland as having brilliantprospects and Argentina as a disaster zone '-- the exact opposite of thetruth.
  Argentina has blocked its citizens from getting foreigncurrency, or taking it out of Argentina. This is a pain for myfriends, but it might make the country less vulnerable to beingemptied out by the rich.
  12July 2012 (Urgent: ProhibitPebble Mine)Tell the EPA to heed its scientific assessment and not allowthe Pebble Mine.
  12 July 2012(Verizon claims''editorial freedom'')Verizon claims that arbitrarily blocking or discriminating between network sites isits "editorial freedom".
  The current US Supreme Court is so twisted it might evenagree.
  12July 2012 (Urgent:Land and Water Conservation Fund)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support continuedfunding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Also send amessage through this page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  12July 2012 (Palestinianchildren attacked)Both Israelisoldiers and "settlers" have recently attacked Palestinianchildren.
  12July 2012 (Leadersof The Freedom Theater imprisoned)Leaders of The Freedom Theater have been imprisoned without charges by Israel and by the PalestinianAuthority.
  12 July 2012(Israeli military rule)Under Israeli military rule, all Palestinian political partiesare illegal and carrying a Palestinian flag is illegal. Arrested Palestinians have trouble seeing a lawyer and may not geta trial.
  The Palestinian Authority cooperates with Israel to arrestPalestinians thousands of times a year. In effect, it is a securitysubcontractor for the occupation.
  12July 2012 (SneakingSOPA through in bits & pieces)Lamar Smith Looking To Sneak Through SOPA In Bits & Pieces,Starting With Expanding Hollywood's Global Police Force.
  12 July2012 (Americanpardoned for criticizing king)Thailand has pardoned an American who was convicted of criticizing the king, hoping we will forget thatthis law is still in effect and other people remain in prison.
  12 July2012 (Warrantlesswiretapping is a crime)The NSA's warrantless wiretapping is a crime, not a state secret.
  12 July 2012 (Taliban)A Taliban leader says that "al Qa'ida is a plague" and that theTaliban will have to negotiate in order to have some political power inAfghanistan.
  He represents one viewpoint within the Taliban; others are morerejectionist.
  One interesting side point in the article is that the USassassination of Taliban leaders has brought about theirreplacement with new leaders who are more radical. This could bebecause they are younger and have less experience and maturity.Thus, it could be that the US's tactics make a negotiated solutionimpossible.
  Part of the US government may have wanted this result so as toassure it could continue fighting in Afghanistan forever.
  12 July 2012(Distrust in TV news)Americans are learning notto trust TV news.
  I hope they also learn not to trust TV political ads.
  11 July 2012 (Urgent:Remove loophole for feeding antibiotics to cattle)US citizens: tell the FDA to get rid of the "preventive"loophole for feeding antibiotics to cattle.
  With that loophole, the FDA's proposed regulation would fail todo the job.
  11July 2012 (Urgent:Support mortgage relief in Massachusetts)Massachusetts homeowners: phone Senator Brown to supportmortgage relief. Also sign thispetition.
  I can't sign it since I am not a homeowner.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  11July 2012 (New Yorkthugs arrest couple for dancing)New York thugs who felt in the mood to hurt someone arrested acouple for dancing in the subway. They were attacked, handcuffed,and charged with "impeding the flow of traffic" although there wasjust about nobody around to impede.
  To be fair to the thugs, one of the couple also began to recordwhat the thugs were doing and saying. Thugs go crazy when peopleexercise their rights.
  11 July2012 (Mujicaproposes to legalize marijuana)Uruguay's President Mujica proposes to legalize marijuana.
  He does not propose to end prohibition on the other commonillegal drugs, but at least this is a start towards ending thefutile and devastating "War on Drugs".
  11July 2012 (USofficials representing foreign organization)The US officials campaigning to remove the Mujaheddin-e Khalqfrom the official "terrorist list" may be breaking US law byrepresenting a foreign organization without registering as its agents.
  11July 2012 (US tactic ofattacking rescuers)The US tactic of firing a drone bomb against the rescuers whoaid the victims of the first bomb has been categorized by a UN official as a war crime.
  This tactic was practiced by al Qa'ida in Iraq; I guess the UScopied it from them.
  11 July 2012(Assange extradition)Swedish prosecutors are unable to explain why theywon't question Assange in London.
  11 July 2012(Paid maternity leave)Families can't "Have It All", but paid maternity leave, deniedonly by theUS and a few poor countries, would help them get closer.
  11July 2012 (Extremeweather linked to global heating)Climate scientists have been able to link some recent extremeweather events directly to global heating.
  11 July2012 (Spain to further hurtpoor)Spain has been ordered to lay out a clear plan to impose furthersuffering on the poor, in order to get money to bail out the banksters.
  It ought to wipe out the banksters in order to help the poor.Bankrupting a few banks and compensating the insured depositorswould be a great victory.
  11July 2012 (UKpolicies could turn middle class against poor)UK policies threaten to turn the squeezed middle class againstthe poor.
  I think that is no surprise to those who craft these policies:the banksters and their political servants. They must be chucklingover the idea that two groups of victims will turn on each other,rather than unite and evict the banksters from the City ofLondon.
  11 July 2012(Mahmoud Sarsak free)Mahmoud Sarsak was freed from imprisonment without trial and is back in Gaza.
  Israeli claims that Sarsak is part of Islamic Jihad. That isirrelevant to the issue, because imprisonment without trial by astate is more dangerous to human rights than anything anunderground group could possibly do. If he has helped commit actsof civil violence, or war crimes, Israel could try him for those.However, Israel's own war crimes need to be prosecuted too.
  11 July2012 (Excuse tostrip away basic human right)The UK has made "intellectual property" an excuse to strip awaya basic human right '-- against self-incrimination.
  "Intellectual property" is a generalization about laws that havenothing in common, in practice '-- except when laws like thiscreate something bad that they have in common. Making policy interms of "intellectual property", like using that term in yourthoughts, tends to lead to bad results and this is a primeexample.
  11 July 2012(Nonfree mobilephone applications)Many nonfree mobile phone applications show ads that collect information about the user.
  The article calls these apps "free", but it must meangratis, since free programs would be fixed by their usersnot to do malicious things like this.
  11July 2012 (Urgent:Employee's right to vote)Everyone: Tell American Airlines, stop squashing your employees' right to vote.
  11 July2012 (Black lungdisease in US coal miners)US coal miners are getting black lung disease again, and evenyounger than before, thanks to a widespread disregard for safety standards.
  Republicans are blocking corrective action.
  Dust safety standards are not the only ones that coal mines disregard.
  11July 2012 (Urgent: Regulatesoot emissions)US citizens: call on the EPA to regulate soot emissions, which cause asthmaand sometimes death.
  11July 2012 (Bahrainidissident imprisoned for ''insult'')A Bahraini dissident has been imprisoned for ''insulting'' people in a political message.
  The US has supported the Bahraini state through a year ofrepression.
  11 July 2012(Power plantschanging vegetation)Nitrogen compounds from power plants are changing the vegetationin Rocky Mountain National Park, which will be irreversible if some species become locally extinct.
  This can kill the trout, too.
  11 July 2012(Cost of F-35 fighter)The cost of the F-35 fighter has almost doubled since the project was started, but USpoliticians haven't the guts to cancel it.
  US military power is so far above the rest of the world thatthis project would be misuse of the funds even at the originalprice. And that's not to raise the question of whether US militarypower is a good thing or a bad thing.
  11July 2012 (Big Musicthreatened startups)How Big Music Threatened Startups and Killed Innovation.
  11 July2012 (''Freetrade'' treaty comparable to ACTA)The European Commission is trying to use a freeexploitation treaty with Canada to impose on Europe conditionscomparable to ACTA.
  The article is unnecessarily vague through use of the term"intellectual property enforcement". That term refers to a dozen orso unrelatedlaws, and ACTA was only concerned with two of them (copyrightand trademark). So what are they trying to put in this treaty?Provisions about copyright and trademark? Provisions about severalof those laws? About all of them? It would have been so easy tomake the article clear, if only Geist had not fallen for thechicness of "intellectual property".
  Of course, Europe should reject this treaty too. Will theEuropean Parliament have a chance to vote on it?
  But this is not the only reason. This treaty will be bad because''freetrade'' treaties undermine democracy.
  11 July2012 (8000 Kashmirisdisappeared)Indian soldiers disappeared 8000 Kashmiris, sometimes for noreason except to collect a bounty from the government. Parvez Imroztraced them to unmarked graves.
  India also practices imprisonment without trial, much like theUS, as well as torture that goes as far as cutting off people'slimbs. All this rather than permit the referendum India promisedKashmir at the time of independence.
  11July 2012 ($150 million spenton lobbying)The UK banks spent around $150 million on lobbying last year.What laws did they buy?
  11July 2012 (Canadianscientists will march)Canadian scientists will march in Ottawa to protest the government's ideological attacks on environmentalprotection and research.
  10July 2012 (Oceanacidification due to CO2)Ocean acidification due to CO2 is hurting sea lifefaster than expected because the CO2 is concentrated in the upper levels of the ocean.
  2000 scientists warn that urgent action is needed to save coral.
  A large fraction of sea life depends on coral reefs, andmillions of people depend on them for food. The loss of these reefswould lead to massive extinction as well as lots of humandeaths.
  10 July2012 (England groundwaterlow)Despite heavy rain, groundwater in parts of England is stilllower than normal, and another dry winter could cause drought again.
  10 July 2012(UK considersdestroying plutonium)The UK is considering destroying plutonium in nuclear reactors.
  These reactors resemble the former proposed breeder reactors inusing liquid sodium instead of water as a coolant. This seems verydangerous to me. Liquid sodium is highly reactive. If pipes breakand it escapes, it can cause a lot more damage, and make areas ofthe reactor inaccessible for chemical reasons.
  10 July2012 (Touristresort hotels suck up water)Tourist resort hotels in certain places are sucking up water,leaving local people in scarcity.
  10 July 2012(Libyanelection)The less Islamist candidate has won the Libyan election, but thenpublicly denied that his party is secular.
  10July 2012 (Woman publiclymurdered by Taliban)Taliban publicly murdered a woman they accused of adultery in a town very near Kabul. However,Karzai's government doesn't care much about women's rights either.To prolong the war in hope of preventing this oppression is futile,and does more harm than good.
  Perhaps the only way to prevent the oppression of women inAfghanistan is to give them a way to sterilize themselves so thatthey can't be used to make more women.
  It might do some good to arm Afghan women so they can kill menwho oppress women.
  10 July2012 (Afghanistan aidpledges)Afghanistan aid pledges hide rehashed promises and familiar corruption fears.
  10July 2012 (Money funneledfor campaign ads)US companies secretly funnel millions of dollars through tax-exempt organizations that use the money forcampaign ads that pretend not to be campaign ads.
  09 July2012 (Imprisonment forlibel)Putin is considering imprisonment for libel, a injustice found in many countriesincluding France.
  09July 2012 (US must respond toLibor fraud)The US must respond to the Lie-bor fraud by reregulating andsplitting up the big banks '-- so they can't collude to dothis again.
  09 July2012 (Suffering,pain & death in Haiti)Foreigninvestment means more suffering, pain & death in Haiti.
  If Haiti were an Arab country, its citizens would know how tomake the foreigners get out.
  09July 2012 (Miningcompany in Peru may poison water)The people of Cajamarca condemn President Humala of Peru forusing a "state of emergency" to support a foreign mining company that threatens to poison theirwater.
  09 July 2012(USstudent loans)Education in the US is a lifetimeinvestment '-- for whoever provides student loans.
  09 July2012 (Gov'trequests for phone tracking data)US cell phone companies receive over a million government requests per year for cell phonetracking data.
  09July 2012 (Scientologistswant censorship)Scientologists want to get statements critical of Scientology taken down by reporting themas abuse.
  09 July 2012(Global heating trends)Global heating is visible in long term trends: the fire seasonin the western US is 78 days longer thanit was in 1986.
  The smoke from these fires is highly toxic, so they will killpeople over coming years through disease, in addition to the peoplewho die fighting these fires.
  09 July2012 (Urgent:Support Voter Empowerment Act)US citizens: support the Voter Empowerment Act.
  Here's more information about it.
  09 July2012 (Divestmentfrom Israeli occupation)Jewish Voice for Peace reports on progress in the campaign for divestment from companies that are associated withthe Israeli occupation of Palestine.
  09July 2012 (Censorshipin the name of ''protecting children'')In the name of "protecting children", Orange blocks accessto all blogs.
  This concept of "protecting children" is fundamentallymisguided. What children really need protection from is abuse andpoverty.
  09July 2012 (Bachelor's degreerequirement)The requirement for a bachelor's degree for many jobs in the UShas turned into a system of squeezing moneyout of the poor.
  This article announces an ebook, but if you consider buying it,first think about whether it is ethical.
  09 July 2012(SuleimanAbdallah tortured by US)An interview with the lawyer for Suleiman Abdallah, who washanded over to the US in Africa for 5 years of torture in Afghanistan.
  The new CIA base in Mogadishu is suspected of being a secretprison.
  09 July 2012(March againstNATO supply routes)Thousands have marched in Pakistan against use of Pakistan for shipping supplies to NATO inAfghanistan.
  09 July 2012(Voter IDlaws)Voter ID Laws Could Block Thousands From Voting.
  09 July 2012(Growing movementagainst Walmart)A strong movement against Walmart is developing in the US.
  09July 2012 (US courtvalidates decision to limit CO2)A US court validated the EPA's decision to limit CO2pollution and rejected the denialists' arguments.
  09July 2012 (Morsi defies Egypt'sgenerals)Morsi defied Egypt's generals by ordering parliament to reconvene.
  9 July 2012 (Italian thugs falsifyevidence)Some Italian thugs have been convicted of falsifying evidence to protect their colleaguesfrom jail for their attack on sleeping protesters in Genoa.
  9 July 2012 (The USPTO)The USPTO helps mislead Congress for the sake of Big Pharma.
  9 July 2012 (Endocrinedisruptors)Endocrine disruptors are present in many products, and can cause horrible birth defects.
  How peculiar that Republicans are not interested in protectingfetuses from this.
  9 July 2012 (Christian Fanatics)Christian fanatics are trying to push into Texas regulationssome abortion restrictions that they failed to pass as legislation.
  The term "fanatics" is justified because they are happy to killwomen for their irrational campaign to ensure more people areborn.
  9 July 2012(Journatic)A very quiet company called Journatic farms out local newspaperarticles in the US to workers in the Philippines, who hardly writeEnglish.
  They can't interview anyone, they can can only rehash pressreleases.
  Journatic appears to be the journalistic equivalent ofWalmart.
  9 July 2012 (US Banks involved inLibor manipulation)Big US banks are also involved in the Libormanipulation crime.
  9 July 2012(Urgent: Call On China)US citizens (and maybe everyone else): call on China not topersecute Chen Kegui and other relatives of Chen Guancheng.
  9 July 2012(Abandoned Walmart recycled)Abandoned Walmart Recycled As PublicLibrary.
  08 July2012 (Illegal toxins inclothing)Due to insufficient practical inspection, clothing often containsillegal toxic chemicals.
  What we need is more frequent inspection; and manufacturersshould be taxed to pay for it.
  08 July 2012(Debtcollection)How international debt collection, food speculation and globalheating are spreading povertyaround the world.
  08July 2012 (Urgent:Support Massachusetts voting reform)Citizens of Massachusetts: support ACLU-endorsed voting and registration reform.
  08 July2012 (Phoning Internetcompanies)Many Internet companies show their contempt for users by givingthem no way to phone and talk to a human being.
  08 July2012 (New York PublicLibrary)New York City proposes to turn its star research library into abig Internet cafe.
  08 July 2012(Libyan elections)Libya's elections were held successfully in nearly all the country, but armedopposition groups in Benghazi prevented some voting in a complaintabout the distribution of seats in parliament.
  It would be interesting to evaluate the system against usualobjective criteria for allocating seats, to see who is right onthat question.
  08 July2012 (Assassination ofArafat)Uri Avnery: Sharon had Arafat poisoned because Arafatcould have led Palestine to make peace with Israel.
  The Israeli state deserves to be punished for thisassassination, and the ideal punishment would be to compel it toend the occupation of Palestine and make peace.
  08July 2012 (Barclaysinterest-rate fixing)A whistleblower says that Barclays Bank's executives must have been told about interest-rate fixing.
  The UK public responds by moving money to smaller institutions.
  However, the response that is needed is to prosecute everyonewho played any part, as well as the banks themselves. The resultingopportunity must be used to weaken them and take away theirpolitical power.
  08 July2012 (Women's rights indanger)Women's rights are in danger around the world, as supposednon-right-wing world leaders failed to stand up against religious extremists.
  08July 2012 (England's drought andfloods)England's drought has been ended by very heavy rains, causingwidespread flooding.
  This isn't the first flooding episode in the past month ortwo.
  It is nice to have water available, but keep in mind that globalheating is predicted to produce, in some areas, both droughts andfloods.
  08July 2012 (Farmersdriven off their land for biofuel)Companies are driving Guatemalan farmers off their land to growsugar cane for biofuel.
  This demonstrates that the government of Guatemala has betrayedits people. However, it also shows the absurdity of growing cropsfor biofuel.
  Biofuel is a valid approach only if it can be made without theuse of farmland or farm inputs.
  08July 2012 (Appledisregards environmental standards)Apple has begun disregarding environmental standards for recyclability.
  08 July 2012(Facebook phonemessages to India)It appears Facebook spontaneously sends phone messages to peoplein India who have had no connection with Facebook. This user is trying to find out why.
  8 July 2012 (Texas)Texas Republicans oppose teaching critical thinking, because that could leadstudents to question their "fixed beliefs".
  8 July 2012(War OnWorkers)Republicans' war on workers includes ending Federal unemployment benefits.
  8 July2012 (Governments AndCriminals)With thousands of expendable surveillance drones the size ofmaple seeds, governments and criminals will be able to observejust about everything people do.
  8 July 2012 (5 Ways)5 Ways Republicans Have Sabotaged Job Growth.
  A true and courageous Democrat would have made the Republicanspay for this, but what we have is Obama, who is more of aRepublican himself.
  8 July 2012 (EU)The EU is considering a directive to permit some use of "orphanworks", but as this article explains, the details are badlydesigned and it willdo more harm than good.
  The article ends by describing it as a "missed opportunity",which seems inexplicably weak as a summary of the article'sspecific points.
  8 July 2012(USPolicy on Iran)US trade sanctions against Iran have nothing to do with uraniumnegotiations, since a nuclear agreement with Iran would not end the sanctions.
  Is it rational to use trade sanctions to achieve regime changein Iran? Iran is ruled by a peculiar tyranny that allows a littlelimited democracy. (That's what the US seems to be headingtowards.)
  A few years ago, many Iranians wanted to change their brutalregime. They protested but their protests were brutally crushed,much like those in the US last year. Can hurting them withsanctions enable them to succeed? That is not plausible. Inaddition, since these sanctions are imposed by the US, they couldeasily lead many Iranians to direct their anger at the US insteadof at the Iranian regime.
  US policy on Iran is simply stupid, in terms of US interests orstated US goals. It only makes sense in terms of the Israeli hawks'lobby.
  08July 2012 (Guatemalansoppose privatization of education)Despite the attack on a student occupation protest, Guatemalanscontinue to oppose privatization of education.
  08 July 2012(HouseFarm Bill)House Farm Bill Would Kick Millions Of People Off Food Stamps.
  08 July 2012(Deep drought in US)A deep drought has destroyed much of the US wheat crop and may destroy the corn crop too.
  I suspect this is a consequence of global heating. Of course,global heating by itself does not directly cause a drought in anygiven year, but it makes droughts more likely in many areas. Italso makes floods more likely in many areas.
  08July 2012 (Pre-emptive arrestsin Burma)Burma has arrested student leaders pre-emptively because protests mightoccur.
  07 July2012 (Urgent: Regulatefracking)US citizens: call on the Bureau of Land Management to regulate fracking astightly as possible.
  In my message I pointed out that fracking causes forest fires(by way of global heating).
  07July 2012 (Consequencesof treating fetus as person)The consequences of treating a fetus as a person in Ireland.
  07July 2012 (Urgent: Stop globalheating)US citizens: phone your congresscritter and call for action tostop global heating. Also send mail using this page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  07 July2012 (Urgent:Call on Cuomo to stop fracking)Everyone: write to New York Governor Cuomo and call on him not to allowfracking.
  07 July2012 (Facebookcensors human rights group)Facebook deleted a statement by a human rights group, then said that wasa mistake.
  That Facebook invited the group to post the statement again'-- instead of undoing the deletion '-- demonstratesarrogance.
  However, the problem here goes deeper. It is not good for humanrights groups (or anyone's) statements to be posted using aplatform where statements are censored.
  07July 2012 (Dehumanizing enemysoldiers)A video shows US troops in Afghanistan singing before launching a bomb at possible Talibanfighters.
  It seems there was good reason to think those men were fighters;digging in the middle of a road is not a very common activity fornoncombatants. However, singing before killing people (even enemysoldiers) indicates dehumanisation of them, and that is not a goodthing.
  07 July 2012(Urgent: DCanti-fracking protests)In the US: participate in anti-fracking protests in DC.
  07 July2012 (India thwarts BigPharma)India has adopted a policy of distributinggeneric drugs, thwarting Big Pharma.
  07 July 2012(Continued highunemployment in US)Republicans and Democrats argue over who is responsible for continued high unemployment in theUS.
  They both are. It takes more than just time to address theunemployment problem. It takes appropriate policies, such asgovernment spending to stimulate the economy, and protectingworkers' rights. Moving spending from the military field (where itgenerates proportionally fewer jobs) to other fields alsohelps.
  Obama did stimulate the economy in 2008, and it helped. However,Republicans in Congress blocked further stimulus after that, and in2011 Obama joined them by adopting the twisted goal of deficitreduction. Thus, the wrong started among the Republicans but coversboth.
  07 July2012 (UKconsiders prosecuting bank traders)The UK is considering prosecution of the bank traders thatmanipulated interest rates.
  I hope they will look for evidence that higher management knewabout this practice.
  07 July 2012(Troops sent to Mali)Neighboring countries are sending 5000 troops to Mali tofight the Islamist rebellion in the north.
  That rebellion ought to be defeated, but this intervention islikely to fail unless it is maintains the support of theinhabitants of that region. That will not be easy.
  07 July2012 (Mother arrested inArizona)A mother in Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested for giving a tiny amount of beer to her child.
  07 July 2012(Ciscorouters)Cisco says it is undoing its attempt to push users into remote management of their routers.
  However, if the firmware in a router can be updated, that meansit is software installed on your computer and you should replace itwith free software.
  Does anyone know whether the current CISCO routers can be usedwith software loads that are free?
  07 July 2012(Urgent: Preventhuman trafficking)US citizens: tellthe Senate to pass a law to prevent human trafficking ofemployees for US contractors.
  Also phone your senators' offices.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  07July 2012 (Californiaprohibits fraudulent foreclosures)California has prohibited fraudulent and abusive foreclosures.
  7 July 2012 (GPS)Drones that use GPS to navigate can be hijackedby spoofing GPS transmissions.
  This won't protect people's human rights if governments startusing drones to surveil everyone's movements. We have to hope ithelps to prevent that.
  7 July 2012 (Earthquakes)Carbon capture and storage causes small earthquakes. Even thoughthese are mostly harmless, they might let the carbon back into the atmosphere.
  7 July 2012(USCorporate Media)US corporate media are bending over backwards not to talk aboutglobal heating when covering the giant fires.
  7 July 2012(Louisiana Legislators)Louisiana legislators want to provide state money to Christian schools, but not to Islamic schools.
  No religion should get state funds of any kind, not directly andnot indirectly.
  7 July 2012(USInitiatives)US initiatives to declare fetuses "persons" have failed.
  7July 2012 (US Officials AndCongresscritters)US officials including congresscritters got special discount mortgages from Countrywide.
  7 July 2012(Ron Paul And Rand Paul)Ron Paul and Rand Paul launched an initiative against governmentnetwork neutrality regulations, and condemning campaigns in thename of the public domain.
  We could have honest Internet access without such regulations ifall Americans could choose between many ISPs. However, the only waymost US Internet users could have a choice between many competingISPs would be through government regulation.
  Meanwhile, the idea that the government should be less involvedin copyright issues is absurd. Copyright on published works is afederal law. Whatever copyright policies the US has will inevitablybe chosen by the US government, except when it invites someinternational organization to deny the US the choice.
  7 July 2012(UN Human RightsCouncil)The UN Human Rights Council resolved that human rights shouldapply on the Internet the same as off the Internet.
  India's government showed its true allegiance by voting againstthis.
  7 July 2012 (US Law)US law allows patents on drugs to be extended simply by doing anexperiment on some other possible use of the drug.
  Please don't fall into the bad habit of describing what patentsdo as "protection" '-- that ispropaganda in favor of patents.
  7 July 2012(SELEX And Intracom)SELEX (Italian) and Intracom (Greek) worked around tradesanctions to finish a network project in Syria, according to Wilileaks documents.
  06 July2012 (Genetically modifiedfoods)Genetic engineering scientists report on the dangers, lack oftesting, and ineffectiveness of genetically modified foods.
  Most scientists in this field have a direct financial interestin the success of GMOs, and therefore cannot be relied on tohonestly evaluate their possible drawbacks. Contrast this withglobal heating: few climate scientists would profit individually byending global heating, but some global heating deniers have beenpaid by oil companies.
  In addition to possible biological effects, GMOs covered bypatents spread legal pollution.
  06July 2012 (Bahraini thugsattack activist)Bahraini thugs attacked Zainab al-Khawaja with tear gas canisters and stun bombs, injuring her.
  This trick has been used by Israeli thugs to injure nonviolent protesters, but it is just as deceitful whenanyone else does it.
  6 July 2012 (Delhi Police)Delhi police came to arrest rationalist leader Sanal Edamarukufor criticizing the Catholic Church.
  6 July 2012(Apple And Motorola)Judge Posner threw out a patent case between Apple and Motorola,and recognizes that patents in software (and other fields) areoften abused and might be a mistaken policy.
  6 July 2012 (Angola)Angola is holding an election, and arresting large numbers of protesters.
  6 July 2012 (Recordings)TEPCO shareholders are suing to demand that TEPCO preserverecordings of videoconferences in which it discussed the Fukushima meltdown.
  It is amazing that TEPCO was able to stymie the Japanesegovernment investigations on such absurd grounds as privacy of thepeople working for TEPCO. I wonder if that conceals anotherscandal.
  6 July 2012 (Washington)Washington's Militarized Mindset.
  6 July2012 (New York City'sElectric Company)New York City's electric company locked out its workers duringthe heat wave, demandinggivebacks.
  If you live in New York City and you're unemployed, why notoffer to join them on the picket line?
  6 July 2012(SyrianGenerals)Two Syrian generals defected from the regime.
  6 July 2012(Wikileaks Publishes)Wikileaks Publishes the 'SyrianFiles'.
  I am hearted to see that Wikileaks is again fulfilling itsmission.
  6 July 2012(Fukushima Disaster)An expert panel concluded that the Fukushima disaster was theresult of "collusion" between the government, the regulators, and TEPCO.
  More aboutthis. The report is quite scathing.
  6 July 2012 (Uri Avnery)Uri Avnery warned that Israel might assassinateArafat.
  06July 2012 (US gov't nutty overWikileaks)A US official told Birgitta J"nsd"ttir that the UShas no wish to prosecute her or question her "involuntarily", butthere is evidence suggesting this is not true.
  Evidence that the US is lookingto prosecute Julian Assange and others in Wikileaks.
  The US Army admits it is investigatingthe Bradley Manning Support Group.
  This group was formed after Bradley Manning was arrested toprovide him with moral and legal support. Since when is that acrime?
  06July 2012 (USdrone aircraft for spying on Americans)The US urgently needs to regulate the use of drone aircraft for spying on Americans.
  06 July 2012 (Self-contradictoryclaims of weapons tests in Iran)The claims that Iran is testing components of nuclear weapons atParchin are self-contradictory and make no sense.
  This looks disturbingly like the lies the Bushmen told in orderto justify the conquest of Iraq.
  06July 2012 (Mexicanpresidential election)In Mexico's presidential election, over 1/4 of the voters say they encountered coercion orvote-buying.
  05 July2012 (Right toresell proprietary software)The EU's highest court ruled that purchasers of proprietarysoftware have a right to resell their copies.
  This does not make proprietary software acceptable. Softwareusers deserve the right to change the program and to redistributecopies. However, I wonder if the court would make the same decisionabout the EULAs of ebooks. That would be a major victory. I alsowonder whether the court would allow publishers to make a monkeyout of that decision by means of DRM.
  05July 2012 (New York thugs'''wanted'' flyer)New York thugs printed up a "wanted" flyer about some peoplethat often videotape the thugs searching passersby for being Black.
  05 July2012 (MittRomney's shady financial tactics)5 Shady Financial Tactics Employed By Mitt Romney.
  05July 2012 (Accusations fromBarclays Bank)Barclays Bank accuses the former Labour government officials ofasking it to lie to manipulate interest rates. Those officials deny this.
  We cannot count on banksters or ministers to tell the truth, sothese conflicting statements are more reason for the most thoroughpossible inquiry. But which kind of inquiry is that?
  Maybe both. Maybe there should be a quick parliamentary inquiryinto manipulation of the libor rate, and a longer and broaderjudge-led inquiry into the banksters in general.
  05July 2012 (Chinesemetal plant stopped by protesters)Mass protests in the Chinese city of Shifang put an end to ametals plant project that they feared would poison them.
  Will Americans have the strength to protest in such numbersagainst the Keystone XL pipeline, that is likely to poison peoplewho live near it, then help fry our planet?
  05July 2012 (Comeback of marxismin Europe)As capitalism veers towards fascism, marxism is experiencing acomeback in Europe.
  The article creates a phony appearance of irony by saying thatthe workers are keeping capitalism afloat. Actually the governmentsthat serve the banksters are doing this, by exploiting theworkers.
  We must not forget the lessons of communist tyranny, that the"dictatorship of the proletariat" turned out to be the corruptdictatorship of the party leaders; however, if we firmly insist ondemocracy, a marxist perspective might help put an end tofascism.
  05July 2012 (Deregulation ofphone service)US phone companies have convinced (paid?) 20 statesto deregulate phone service.
  Now in some places you can't get a phone line, or perhaps wouldhave to pay a thousand dollars a year for one.
  05 July 2012(Hope ofrestoring democracy in US)Michael Luick-Thrams has emigrated to Germany from the USbecause he sees no hope of restoring democracy in the US.
  05 July2012 (Florida lifeguardsfired)6 beach lifeguards were fired in Florida because they said theywould save a drowning person outside the area which their job covers.
  Any lifeguard who obeyed the policy would have to spend the restof his life thinking about how he let someone drown. Perhaps thiscompany should add "psychopath" to the job requirements.
  The argument about liability is ridiculous; there is no reasonto hold the company liable if a lifeguard tries and fails to savesomeone that wasn't the company's responsibility. However, if useof a subcontractors to hire lifeguards creates this problem, thatis a good reason to ban the use of subcontractors to hirelifeguards.
  05 July2012 (Argentina's baby-theftring)Argentina is prosecuting the leaders of the army's baby-theft ring, whichtook the babies of female dissidents that they murdered, and gavethem to right-wing families.
  Only some 20% of these babies have been identified.
  05 July 2012(JuneUS heat wave)Some climate scientists warn that the June US heat wave is apicture of the future.
  What used to be "extreme" still doesn't happen most of the time,but it is no longer unusual. It is becoming part of "normal".
  In 20 years, these events will be frequent, and far worse eventswill no longer be unusual.
  Of course, global heating doesn't explain why a heat wavehappened at the end of June this year, or why it did not happen oneweek earlier or later. That is the randomness of the weather.Rather, global heating skews the probabilities so that heat waves happen more often.
  The crucial question is not, "Was this event caused directly byglobal heating?" but rather, "Of the last 10 weather-relateddisasters (floods, droughts, fires, big storms), what fraction ofthe damage probably wouldn't have occurred without globalheating?"
  05July 2012 (E-readers spyingand reporting)Many e-readers spy on their users and report.
  05July 2012 (Notes on USindependence day)Some notes on US independenceday.
  Thinking about the US, in which elections are more or lesslegally for sale to companies, I have to wonder whether anythingbut a moving dead body remains of the United States of America.
  05July 2012 (Defected Syrian TVnews anchor)A Syrian TV news anchor has defected and said that his job was to report falsehoods.
  05 July2012 (French deficitreduction)Rather than shafting the non-rich, France plans to tax the rich andthe corporations to reduce its deficit.
  If you're going to reduce a deficit, this is the right way.However, the time for a state to reduce its deficit is when theeconomy is growing, as President Clinton did (he gave the US abudget surplus). A recession calls for deficit spending.
  Alas, the Euro mechanism doesn't allow deficit spending when itis needed.
  05 July 2012(Fightingnational ID cards again)Americans must fight once again against national ID cards.
  05July 2012 (Censorshipand disinformation in Tunisia)The National Body for the Reform of Information andCommunication, in Tunisia, has given up, saying that the state has taken up censorship anddisinformation once again.
  05 July2012 (Nuclearreactors restarting in Japan)The Japanese government is restarting nuclear reactors eventhough 70%of Japanese say no.
  In this regard, it has come to resemble the US government, whichpractices numerous right-wing policies that most Americansoppose.
  05 July2012 (State of emergency inPeru)Peru declared a state of emergency in regions where local peopleare fighting against potentially toxic mining projects.
  If people could rely on their governments to prevent these minesfrom poisoning water supplies, there would be no need to oppose themines. But few governments are strong enough, and honest enough, tostop the mines from risking other people's lives and health.
  05 July2012 (Coverage of birthcontrol)Attempts to use US courts to limit required coverage of birthcontrol have been defeated.
  05 July 2012(Jailed for being poor)Poor people in the US are directed by courts into decades ofpunishment as a result of debts they cannot pay.
  05 July 2012(Twitter subpoena)Why the Twitter subpoena decision disrespects civil liberties.
  05 July 2012(ACTArejected)The European Parliament rejected ACTA, which is now effectively dead.
  ACTA was an attempt to impose nasty restrictions on Europe andother countries in the name of ''freetrade'', which is a swindlein general.
  This is an important victory, but it's a defensive victory. Thepeople have not gained ground, only avoided losing ground.
  Moreover, one defensive victory does not mean the threat isgone. The US continues to negotiate the TPP, which is far worse than ACTA, with other governmentsthat want to give business increased control over theircountries.
  Defense is not enough. We need to roll back the existing "freetrade" treaties that the empire of the megacorporations is basedon. We need to deny businesses the chance to argue, "If youregulate us, we will move."
  05 July2012 (Soybean-fed farmedfish)Feeding soybeans to farmed fish shares the harmfuleffects of feeding them to farmed animals.
  05 July2012 (Urgent: Blockgiant mine in Alaska)US citizens: call on the EPA to block a giant proposed mine in Alaska frompolluting surrounding waterways with toxic waste.
  05July 2012 (Urgent: Protectbluefin tuna)US citizens: call on the NOAA to protect bluefin tuna fully andcarefully.
  05 July2012 (Universalback door in Cisco routers)Recent Cisco routers have a universal back door allowing Cisco to forcibly change the software. The back dooris active even if the user says "no" to "auto-upgrade".
  That's in addition to spying on users and threatening torestrict them.
  There are routers that can run free software. Replacing thesoftware is the way to be safe from this.
  05 July2012 (Stress of jobinsecurity)For Americans who still have jobs, the stress of job insecurityis making them sick.
  05 July 2012(Send bankers to jail)Joseph Stiglitz says, ''Send bankersto jail.''
  05July 2012 (Planned obsolescenceof iBad)Apple practices planned obsolescence for the iBad '-- injust two years.
  05July 2012 (Guns sent from US toMexico)Did the US intentionally permit guns to be sold and brought toMexico? Maybe not. Another report says that, thanks to Arizona's weak gunlaws, nothing could be done.
  05 July 2012 (Urgent:Free Palestinians imprisoned without trial)Everyone: call on Israel to free Palestinians imprisoned withouttrial.
  05 July 2012(Twitter musthand over user's data)A New York court ruled Twitter must hand over most of MalcolmHarris' data without a search warrant.
  05 July 2012(Denied asylum in UK)Baljit Singh, a Sikh from Afghanistan, was denied asylum in theUK and deported to Afghanistan. There he was imprisoned, in effect for being a Sikh rather than aMuslim.
  05July 2012 (Israel wantsannexation wall)Israel wants to build the annexation wall through agricultural terraces in use since Roman times.
  04July 2012 (Israel violateschild rights)Israel arrests one or two Palestinian children every day, andtreats them very harshly, violating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  Israel also threatens therelatives of Palestinians prisoners. The Bush forces did thatin Iraq.
  Former Israeli soldiers talk about the cruelty they inflicted onhelpless Palestinians, or that others in theirunits inflicted.
  The Israeli Border Patrol is reputed to be the cruelest of thecruel. One officer kicked aPalestinian boy who was being held by another officer.
  04July 2012 (Israel releasesfive prisoners)Israel has released five members of the PalestinianParliament from prison.
  However, 22 of them remain imprisoned.
  04 July 2012(How Israeldenies access to water)How Israel denies Palestinians access to most of the West Bank's scarce water.
  04 July2012 (Israel militaryacademy)Israel plans to build a military academy in disputed Palestinian land near the Mount of Olives.
  04 July 2012(Urgent: Stopdemolition of Susiya)Everyone: call on the government of Israel not to demolish thePalestinian village of Susiya.
  More about the repeated expulsions of these people from their homes.
  04 July 2012(US and Iranplaying brinkmanship)The US and Iran are playing brinkmanship for war.
  What the US has not done is offer Iran real concessions (such aslifting of oil sanctions) if Iran makes a real concession on uranium enrichment.
  04July 2012 (GlaxoSmithKlinefined for bribing doctors)GlaxoSmithKline has been fined for bribing doctors to prescribe its products.
  Will the individuals responsible be prosecuted?
  04 July 2012(Arafat was poisoned)Yasser Arafat was poisoned with radioactivepolonium.
  03July 2012 (Urgent:Health insurance for fire fighters)US citizens: call on Congress to give health insurance to the people fighting the giant fires in theWest.
  03 July2012 (Loch Nessmonster disproves evolution)US schools cite the imaginary Loch Ness monster to disproveevolution '-- and the state of Louisiana pays for it.
  I guess one myth deserves another.
  03July 2012 (Facebook lawsuitsettlement)Facebook settled a lawsuit by promising users will be able toreject use of their names and photos in ads shown to other users.
  However, since this is "opt-out", by default users will still beexploited.
  03 July2012 (Palestinianprisoners hunger strike)Several Palestinians imprisoned without trial in Israel are onhunger strike, and some of them are nearing death.
  03 July2012 (Nocompensation for Fukushima evacuees)The Japanese legal system ensures that those who had to evacuatedue to the Fukushima meltdowns will not becompensated.
  03July 2012 (Urgent: Keystone XLpipeline)Everyone: Tell Clinton that amending the old, inadequateenvironmental impact statement for the Keystone XL pipeline isnot adequate.
  Sad to say, Obama is not just failing to confront the issue ofglobal heating, he is going all-out to pour tar sand oil on thefire.
  03July 2012 (Japan nuclearemergency drill)The Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization planned a nuclearemergency drill, but excluded serious scenarios such as a meltdownbecause they might make thepublic worry.
  This attitude '-- the public shouldn't worry about nuclearpower '-- seems to prepare the road for accidents to occur.
  (The planned drill was never held; the article doesn't saywhy.)
  03 July 2012(Urgent: Call onAlabama Public TV)US citizens: call on Alabama Public TV not to broadcast right wingdisinformation.
  03 July2012 (Prediction ofpeak oil proves false)The prediction of peak oil has proved false, because high oilprices have made available so much inefficient oil that burning it is disaster.
  03 July 2012(Theburning planet)Why aren't we all looking for ways to escape from the burningplanet while the "authorities" do nothing?
  Unfortunately, it is because none of us can escape. There is noway to save yourself from catastrophe on your own. Even a groupcan't do much.
  We are all in one boat and we know it. Either we solve thisproblem together or the catastrophe will hit us all. The onlyactions that have a chance of success are those that could stripaway the dominion of the fossil fuel companies over ourgovernments. Any of those is a long shot too. Perhaps Americansneed set themselves on fire near the White House; it could sparkoff a revolt, as in Tunisia.
  03 July 2012(ALEC's tax exemption)Cancel ALEC's tax exemption, says the a former IRS enforcer of tax exemptions.
  03 July 2012(Facebook email)Facebook has automatically pushed users' @facebook.com emailaddresses (which they never asked for) into the contact lists in other people's phones.
  The lesson here is that it is a fundamental mistake to trust acompany such as Facebook to give anyone data about you. It willgive them the data it wants them to have, not the data you want togive them.
  03 July 2012(Threat of Delhiwaste incinerator)A waste incinerator in Delhi that generates electricitythreatens to end the livelihoods of 400 workers that manually sortgarbage.
  The horrible life of picking through garbage is better than whatthey had in rural India. Indeed, one of them manages to supportseveral children on his small income.
  Perhaps India needs a one-child-per-family law.
  03July 2012 (Canada'sgov't attacks environmental protection)Canada's government is attacking environmental protectionalong a broad front.
  It resembles what Republicans have tried to do in the USCongress.
  03 July 2012(Record-hightemperatures in June)Many cities in the US had record high temperatures, and it's only June.
  03July 2012 (Banks swindle peoplefrom UK)The banks swindled around $30,000 per person from the UK, while doing very little tosupport the economy that they parasitize. The taxes they paid in adecade were wiped out by the cost of bailing them out.
  I agree that the UK's goal must be how to stop them from doingthis in the future. (The same goes for the US, except that ourofficials are so quietly servile that they don't intend to thinkabout it.) When banksters say, "If you regulate us, we will moveelsewhere," the response should be, "How soon can you be gone?"
  03 July2012 (Systematictorture by Assad regime)Human Rights Watch concludes that Assad's regime in Syriasystematically practices torture.
  If we can make Syria stop, maybe we can make the US stop.
  03July 2012 (Illinois banssale of shark fin)Illinois has banned the sale of shark fin, in an attempt to protect sharks. Several other US states have bannedit too, notably Hawaii which has a significant Chinesepopulation.
  Shark fin isn't exactly a "delicacy"; that word implies thatpeople appreciate it for the sensation of eating it. Rather, it isa form of conspicuous consumption; when you hold a banquet, youserve shark's fin soup to show you were willing to spend thatmuch.
  To end the killing of sharks for their fins we need more actionto change this part of Chinese culture. In principle, anything elseequally expensive could do the job '-- it is not crucial thatit depend on a scarce resource from scarce animals.
  03 July2012 (Leatherback seaturtles)Global heating threatens leatherback sea turtles, which arealreadyendangered.
  03 July 2012(Web sites shutdown in Sri Lanka)Sri Lanka's tyrannical president shut down two web sitesfor criticizing the government.
  It looks like the murder of a famous editor was not enough to convince SriLankans to stop resisting.
  03July 2012 (Declarationof Internet Freedom insufficient)The Declaration of Internet Freedom is well-intentioned butinsufficiently specific.
  03July 2012 (Apple's disregardfor workers)Apple persists in disregarding the widespread blatant abuse of the workers that build its products.
  02July 2012 (Sweatshops good forFoxconn)Sweatshops are good for Foxconn (and for Apple), but not for workers.
  2 July 2012 (Attacks)Personal attacks against Julian Assange are used to distractattention from the heroic achievementsof Wikileaks.
  Ironically, this article itself exaggerates criticism of Assangeby stating that the allegations against him consist of "rape"'-- they do not.
  2 July 2012(European Countries)Many European countries signed an agreement for unlimited bankbailouts.
  That means the banksters can take the wildest risks, knowingthat the profits will be theirs but the losses will fall on thepublic.
  2 July 2012(Inequality In The US)What the Anglos did to the Amerindians in the 1800s, the 1% arenow doing to allAmericans.
  Some Outrageous Facts about Inequality(in the US).
  2 July 2012 (GMO Crops)A bill in Congress would allow planting GMO crops if approvals are appealed in court.
  2 July 2012(Israeli Coalition)The last broadened Israeli coalition includes a party thatopposes attacking Iran. Mofaz, leader of Kadima, says that makingpeace with Palestine is more important than Iran.
  2 July 2012 (US Law)The TPP would restrict US law to the point it can be considereda corporate coup d'etat.
  2 July 2012(Back-door Subsidies)Back-door subsidies from the US and states to big banks.
  They prey on the the poor, the unemployed, the foreclosed.
  2 July 2012 (Hong Kong)Hundreds of thousands protested for democracy in Hong Kong, asanother nondemocratically selected executive was sworn in by the president of China.
  2 July 2012 (Radiation)US research into the effects of radiation on humans and otherlife is corrupted by coming from the agency that supports nuclearpower. And the US government is surreptitiously raising variousstandards for how much radiationis acceptable.
  When a research contract at MIT studies the "difficulties ingainingthe broad social acceptance" ofnuclear power, I'd say that goes beyond the bounds of whatuniversities should do. The project's abstract clearly shows that the goal is to convince the publicto accept nuclear power.
  2 July 2012 (Barclays)How the Barclays bank fraud worked '-- and how thepsychology of power enabled traders to "seduce" other staff intogiving false data to state regulators.
  It is clear that each of the participants was consciouslyparticipating in fraud. Every single one should be prosecuted.
  The UK set up a special court to try the large number of riotersand their small thefts. Maybe it needs a special court toexpeditiously try all the banksters who committed these frauds.
  More broadly, this suggests lessons for laws and regulationsabout how banks operate: structure them so that opportunities forsuch fraud do not arise.
  2 July 2012 (Human Rights)The US is the world's defender of the right to sell arms tostates that violate human rights.
  Thus, the US does occasionally defend rights!
  2 July 2012(SwissVillage)The Swiss village of Guttannen is threatened by mudslides dueto global heating.
  2 July 2012 (Accusations)Sea Shepherd's statement about bogus accusations from Costa Ricaagainst Watson, the head of Sea Shepherd.
  2 July 2012 (UN Troops)UN troops tried to invade the State University of Haiti, butstudents closed thegates on them.
  The reasons the troops gave make no sense, so maybe they werenot the real reasons.
  2 July 2012 (Los Angeles)10,000 protested Wal-Mart in Los Angeles.
  2 July 2012 (Israel)Thousands continued protests in Israel against running theeconomy only for the rich.
  02July 2012 (US gov't secretlyoffered loans)The US government secretly offered loan guarantees for construction ofnew nuclear power plants.
  02July 2012 (Protesting Arcticoil drilling)Lucy Lawless talks about risking 3 years in prison by peacefullyprotesting against Shell's oil drilling in the Arctic.
  Now the US Coast Guard has established a "no protest"exclusion zone around a Shell oil rig in the Arctic.
  Obama is determined to make sure that nothing can divert theEarth from the road to disaster. We need a president who works forhuman beings, not for the oil companies.
  Jill Stein forpresident!
  02 July2012 (WIPO setting upcensorship)WIPO is setting up a treaty to give actors and musicianssomething like a copyright only stronger.
  It carries DMCA-like rules to censor software.
  I agree with the writer on the substance, but must point thatthe article suffers from using "intellectual property" and"copyright" interchangeably.
  It is nearly impossible to use the term ''intellectualproperty'' without falling into error, and it is misguidedto try, since its use plays into the hands of those who wouldimpose treaties like this.
  02 July 2012(President Carterrebukes US gov't)President Carter rebukes the US government for turning againsthuman rights.
  02 July 2012(UK policy ofpunishing unemployed)The UK has a policy of rather brutally pushing people onunemployment benefit to look for work, which goes as far asrequiring them to work for no pay. It seems that the real goal is excuses to cutoff people's unemployment benefit.
  It is obvious a priori that a scheme to push unemployed peopleto seek work when the problem is a lack of jobs can't be a seriousattempt to address the problem. Now we can see what it is reallymeant to do.
  02July 2012 (Old shrinesdestroyed in Mali)Islamist extremists in Mali destroyed old shrines belonging to a different Islamic sect.
  02July 2012 (Dishonest UK banksbeing sued)Dishonest UK banks are being sued by the stockbroker company Charles Schwab.
  02 July 2012(EU recognizes''smart meters'' threat)The EU recognizes that "smart meters" for electricity usage canbe a threat to privacy.
  02July 2012 (SouthCarolina bans municipal broadband)South Carolina joins other states in banning cities from providing municipal broadband.
  The state government is working for companies against the peopleof the state.
  01July 2012 (Urgent:Call on Bahrain to drop charges)Everyone: Call on Bahrain to drop charges against the 11-year-old "protester" who faces imprisonment.
  01 July2012 (Onlineactivists challenge Beijing)Online activists risk torture to challenge Beijing.
  01 July 2012(Australia's carbon tax)Global heating deniers say they will repeal Australia's carbon tax because it would be "awrecking ball through the economy".
  Before they use the term "wrecking ball", they should look atwhat global heating is doing to the US now, then imagine it twiceas bad in 20 years. Then they should remember last year'sfloods.
  01July 2012 (UK railroadrenationalization)Labour proposes to gradually renationalize the UK railroads so as to knock fairs down.
  The privatization was a handout to business, and never servedthe public interest. Although in some cases there are competingtrain companies for the same journey, the effective competition isnot enough to result in benefit to the passengers.
  If B'liar hadn't been a right-winger in disguise, he would havenationalized the railroads.
  01 July2012 (TPP: America'sfire-sale)The TPP would be America's fire-sale toforeign companies. It would be just as bad for the people inall the othercountries that sign it.
  01July 2012 (Apple's otherChinese suppliers)Working conditions at Apple's other Chinese suppliers are evenworse than in Foxconn.
  01 July2012 (Why Scalia shouldresign)Why Scalia should resign from theSupreme Court.
  He might be impeached if Congress were not on the same payrollas him.
  01 July2012 (Repression ofPalestinians)Uri Avnery: Thugs in Tel Aviv violently attacked protestersbecause years of repression of Palestinians has trainedthem that way.
  01 July2012 (Urgent:Investigate Rupert Murdoch)US citizens: call on Senator Rockefeller to hold hearings toinvestigate Rupert Murdoch for briberyand wiretapping.
  01 July2012 (Forests cleared inSumatra)Fires have been set in Sumatra to clear out forests for palm oil plantations.
  There are some commodities whose importation needs to be limitedor even banned because their production or extraction causes somuch harm.
  01 July2012 (Fracking and globalheating)The debate about fracking mostly ignores what it will do to global heating.
  01 July 2012(LargeUS fires)The large US fires are the result of several effects of globalheating all working together.
  Record hurricanes, record heat, record fires: this is whatglobal heating looks like '-- in the early stages.
  Next year might not be as bad. In 10 years, every year will beworse than this.
  Meanwhile, Obama and Romney pretend special nothing ishappening. Obama visited Colorado Springs and was reportedly shocked by the devastation of the fire, butapparently said nothing about global heating.
  Jill Stein forPresident.
  01 July2012 (Putin's threatsbackfire)Threatening the band Pussy Riot with imprisonment is backfiringagainst Putin.
  01 July2012 (Urgent:Protest Romney fund-raiser)In Southampton,New York: protest the Romney fund-raiser set up by the Kochbrothers.
  01 July2012 (Londonerswill protest Olympic Games)Londoners will march to protest the Olympic Games, then hold "family-friendlyPeople's Games".
  If you live in Madrid, Tokyo or Istanbul, organize now toprevent your city from holding the Olympic Games in 2020. Don'twait for the decision to be made.
  01 July2012 (Urgent:Stop aid to thugs of Honduras)US citizens: call your congresscritter to stop aid to themilitary and thugs of Honduras, and to suspend operations at theSchool of the Americas. Also send a message via this page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641and 888-355-3588.
  01July 2012 (Cisco''smart'' router back door)New Cisco "smart" routers seem to have a back door for Cisco toremotely install "upgrades". Users were freaked that Cisco seemedto say it would monitor users' connections.
  Cisco says that was an erroneous statement, but even if this istrue, that doesn't make it rational to use these routers. Thesoftware in these routers is nonfree, and if Cisco can remotelychange it, we cannot overlook it.
  Each note starts with a date and a brief topic in parentheses.That text is also a link to that note.For instance, if the note starts with "20 July 2003 (Iraq)" thenyou can link to it with"http://www.stallman.org/notes/may-aug-03.html#20 July 2003(Iraq)".
  Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article ispermitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
Long queues for iPhone 5 rollout despite glitches
  Link to Article
  Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:53
  Apple's iPhone 5 hitstores around the world on Friday, with long queues of devoteesundeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints aboutthe smartphone's new mapping system.
  The lines of eager fans outside stores looked set to make thelatest iPhone another commercial success for the trend-setting UStech giant, with Apple saying it had received more than two millionorders online.
  Australians were the first to get their hands on the device. InSydney faithful fans filmed the experience on their iPhones andiPads as staff inside clapped and cheered when the doors opened at8:00 am (2200 GMT Thursday).
  Companies looking for publicity took advantage of the mediaglare accompanying the launch, with the first dozen or so in thequeue wearing promotional T-shirts or carrying advertisingmaterials.
  "Seven of us are here from our company, since midday Tuesday,"said Todd Foot, 24, who was first in the line and works for anorganisation that reviews mobile phones.
  The same was true at Apple's store on London's Regent Street,where at the head of the queue, Richard Wheatcroft and George Hornecamped out for a full seven nights to promote their bakery, staffedby victims of domestic violence.
  "We decided to buy four iPhones and auction them off. Anythingraised will go towards the bakery," Wheatcroft told AFP. "We'rejust putting them on eBay now and then we're going to get somesleep."
  Compared to the iPhone 4S, Apple's new smartphone boasts abigger screen, stronger battery and faster connection to the latest4G networks.
  It is lighter and slimmer, and its operating system iOS 6contains tweaks designed to improve the user's experience.
  But many analysts say Apple has fallen short as other companiessuch as Samsung improve rival offerings powered by Google's Androidoperating system.
  "Unless Apple ups its device innovation game, we may be seeingApple's iOS empire approaching its zenith," Tony Costa of ForresterResearch said.
  Apple has also been hit by a barrage of criticism after itditched Google's maps application in favour of an inhouse systemthat is reportedly riddled with errors.
  Many users have protested that the new maps misplace somelandmarks and leave others off altogether.
  The new maps are included in the iOS 6 system, which comespre-installed on the new iPhone and became available for downloadby existing iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users on Wednesday.
  But enthusiasm among early-bird shoppers was undimmed as storesopened in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Germany and Britain.The phone was due to go on sale in the United States and Canadalater Friday.
  Ryoho Yamashita, a 23-year-old student, had queued sincemidnight at a Softbank store in Tokyo and said there had been acelebratory atmosphere among those waiting.
  "It's like a festival that I enjoy every year," he said,brandishing his new phone.
  In Hong Kong, grey-marketeers pounced on anyone who emerged fromthe city's official Apple store, offering a premium in the hope ofre-selling it for even more given shortages of the covetedphone.
  In Singapore, staff at an Apple reseller were turning peopleaway, having run out of phones within hours of opening.
  Meanwhile in Munich, southern Germany, 17-year-old schoolboyBenjamin Scholtysik arrived with 10,000 euros ($13,000) in hispocket, having camped overnight with three friends.
  "I had to have it, because it's new," said Scholtysik, who wasbuying a total of 14 new iPhones for his friends and said he waspassing down his now out-of-date iPhone 4 to his mother.
  In France, Apple's flagship Paris store was doing a roaringtrade as a threatened strike by workers over a pay dispute failedto materialise.
  Apple, whose shares soared past US$700 in anticipation of thelaunch, says the iPhone 5 will be available in 100 countries by theend of the year.
  Samsung says it is considering adding the new iPhone to a patentinfringement case as part of a long-running global legal battlebetween the rival electronics giants.
  "Our company considers adding Apple's iPhone 5 to the (patentinfringement) case... but we cannot say when," a Samsung spokesmantold AFP.
  "Our decision will be made after our company has analysed theiPhone 5 to see what aspects of its device constitute patentinfringement."
  Some analysts have tipped Apple to sell 10 million unitsglobally in the opening days and 50 million before the end of 2012,giving a small but welcome boost to the US economy.
  (c) 2012 AFP
Italian police 'track mafia with Facebook'
  Link to Article
  Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:53
  Facebook, accessed in Manila. Italian police aremaking use of Facebook to identify criminal networks and even tocatch gangsters who cannot resist posting updates while on the run,L'Espresso weekly reported on Friday.
  Italian police aremaking use of Facebook to identify criminal networks and even tocatch gangsters who cannot resist posting updates while on the run,L'Espresso weekly reported on Friday.
  "For us it is an important tool," Alessandro Giuliano, head ofpolice detectives in Milan, was quoted as saying.
  "It shows the interlinkages between people. The photographicmaterial is also a starting point for investigations."
  The report gave examples of mafia members using the network tomake extortion demands, send death threats and organise home deliveries of drugs, as well as to demonstratethe clout of their social circle.
  "It allows us to better understand how they operate," Giulianosaid.
  Antonello Ardituro, an anti-mafia prosecutor in Naples, said:"Facebook allows you to spread messages in a simpleand direct way."
  Following an attempt on his life, one suspected mafia memberposted a Facebook update: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.Show no mercy."
  The man's profile revealed he was a fan of the film "Scarface"with Al Pacino and showed a photo of his birthday cake with twochocolate guns.
  Police also follow the movements of suspected gangsters withFacebook.
  An alleged contract killer who kept checking his Facebookprofile was nabbed after police tracked the Internet key hewas using to log on.
  A leading boss was caught when he posted two photos on hisgirlfriend's Facebook page that showed he was in Marbella onsouthern Spanish coast.
  Another man was caught in Venezuela where he was trying toorganise drug shipments to Europe through the social network usinga fake profile.
  (c) 2012 AFP
Lady Gaga Told To Lose Weight: New Costumes Ordered For Live Show!
  Link to Article
  Source: Radar Online
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:51
  Splash News
  By JonBoon - RadarReporter
  LadyGaga is now literally too big for her boots! TheBorn This Way singer has been told by her record label tolose weight after they were forced to order better-fittingoutfits for the remainder of her world tour, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.
  Executives at the Universal Music Group saw recent pictures ofthe 26-year-old singer bulging out of her corset and suspenders andhad to gently tell their star they were ordering a new wardrobe for the Born This Way Ball.
  PHOTOS: Lady Gaga Piles On The Pounds
  She was also asked to lay off her favorite foods '' pizzaand pasta!
  As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the Italian food junkieadmitted in an interview Wednesday that she has gained 25 poundsrecently, explaining: "I love eating!"
  ''The tight, skimpy outfits weren't doing anythingfor Gaga's new fuller figure, so Universal ordered more flattering andbetter fitting costumes for the rest of the tour,'' a sourcerevealed.
  ''No one likes to criticize someone who has put on weight,but she has been showing some serious muffin top, especially whenwearing tight suspenders.
  PHOTOS: Lady Gaga's Crazy Sky-High Heels!
  ''It just wasn't a good look and was gettingunnecessary criticism, so they moved fast to nip it in the bud.
  ''Gaga has an incredible appetite for Italian food, whichstems largely from her roots. It's very easy on tour to gethooked on a diet of pizza and pasta because they are comfort foods- and when you are away from home you always long for somethingthat reminds you of where you came from.
  ''She loves to eat, but because of her tiny frame it showsif she doesn't work out as much as normal. Executives toldher to quit gorging on her favorite foods.
  PHOTOS: Lady Gaga's 10 Most Outrageous Looks
  ''But despite the weight gain, Gaga won't give upwearing the meat dress that has become a focal part of the live show.
  ''Gaga would rather starve to death than lose thatdress,'' the source divulged.
  Gaga has always been open about her hard parting habits, havingonce claimed she follows ''the drunk diet'... I live mylife as I want to.'' She recently told radio station SiriusFM. ''I like to drink whiskey and stuff while I amworking,'' admitting that she regularly works out when she ishung over.
  PHOTOS: Lady Gaga& Taylor Kinney Cozy Up
  Gaga's liquid appetite is most likely to blame for her recentweight gain, explained nutritionist Majid Ali.''Alcohol sugars can only be stored as fats. Whereas mostsugars can be used as fuel and whatever is left over isstored,'' he revealed.
  ''So all that drinking adds up as fat pretty quickly, nomatter what the rest of her diet is like.''
  RELATED STORIES:
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Self-described 'child prostitute' connects Jerry Sandusky toPoly Prep sex abuse scandal and coach Phil Foglietta News
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:41
  Patrick Smith/GettyImagesJerry Sandusky, convicted on 45 counts of sexual abuse ofminors, is now connected to the Poly Prep sex abuse scandal afteran email from a self-described 'child prostitute.'
  A Philadelphia man who claims to have been paid to have sex withformer Poly Prep football coach PhilFoglietta in 1979 as part of an alleged pedophile ring thatincluded JerrySandusky sent an email to several Poly Prep officials on Monday- including current headmaster David Harman - detailing theexplosive allegation.
  Greg Bucceroni, 48, also sent the email to Kevin Mulhearn, theOrangeburg, N.Y., attorney who represents 12 men who sued theschool, alleging Poly Prep officials knew that Foglietta was asexual predator but covered it up for decades in order to protectthe elite institution's reputation and fund-raising efforts.
  Bucceroni says he was a teenager when he said he met Fogliettaat a Second Mile fund-raiser near State College, Pa. The SecondMile organization, which helped at-risk youths, was founded in 1977by Sandusky, the former Penn State football coach who was convictedon 45 counts of sexual abuse of minors in June. Sandusky, who isscheduled to be sentenced next month, is expected to spend the restof his life in prison.
  In the email to Poly Prep, Bucceroni said he was "a childprostitute" and was associated with a pedophile ring that includedSandusky, Foglietta, now-deceased Philadelphia businessman EdSavitz and former Wharton School of Business professor LawrenceScott Ward, who is serving a lengthy prison sentence fortrafficking in child porn and smuggling photos and videos ofhimself having sex with a teenage Brazilian boy.
  "(Between) 1977-1980 I was a child prostitute associated with atri-state (NYC-NJ-PA) pedophile ring. (During the) summer of 1979 Iwas brought to the State College area by Ed Savitz for the purposeof child prostitution with Jerry Sandusky at a Second Milefundraiser," Bucceroni wrote in the email. "Due to timeconstraints, Sandusky became unavailable and I was introduced toPhil Foglietta by Ed Savitz & Jerry Sandusky. Foglietta wasintroduced to us as Coach Phil who coached youth football in NYC.Foglietta agreed to pay $200.00 for child sex and followed us backto a Philadelphia hotel, myself (sic)ad another child prostitutethen engaged coach Phil in child sex."
  A spokeswoman for the school said Poly Prep had no comment onBucceroni's email.
  In a series of interviews, Bucceroni told the Daily News thatSavitz and Sandusky knew each other through Second Mile, politicalfund-raising and sports events.
  Bucceroni said his stepfather completed paperwork for the boy,then 16, to be enrolled in Second Mile in 1980 and that Bucceroniand Savitz delivered it to Sandusky, but that an altercationbetween Bucceroni and Savitz that same year destroyed any chancesof him being accepted.
  Bucceroni claims to have been abused by Savitz over severalyears in the late '70s. Savitz was charged with multiple counts ofsexual abuse in 1992 in the horrific case, but died of AIDS beforehis trial was to begin in 1993. More than 2,500 photos of Savitz'salleged victims were seized by authorities who raided his homes,including an apartment near Philadelphia's posh RittenhouseSquare.
  Lynne Abraham, the former Philadelphia district attorney whoprosecuted the Savitz case, told The News that she was unaware ofany connection between Savitz, Sandusky and Ward.
  "I know nothing about this," she said.
  At a hearing on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block- who is overseeing the Poly Prep sexual abuse lawsuit filed by 10former students and two day campers - urged the plaintiffs and theschool's lawyers to reach a settlement. A source familiar with thecase said no settlement has yet been reached, but that there havebeen several settlement conferences before a magistrate judge.
  The lawsuit filed by Mulhearn in 2009, which seeks $20 millionfor each of the plaintiffs who say they were assaulted byFoglietta, claims that Foglietta may have abused hundreds of otherboys. According to the suit, a plaintiff identified as John Doe IIIsays he found hundreds of photos of naked boys, apparently takenwith a Kodak Instamatic in Foglietta's apartment, when he opened adresser drawer in the coach's bedroom in 1971.
  Foglietta died in 1998. According to a source familiar with thecoach, he claimed that he had been offered a job on severaloccasions to serve on Joe Paterno's Penn State football staff atPenn State. But Foglietta chose to stay at the Dyker Heights schoolbecause, according to the source, "he wanted to be big fish in asmall pond."
  Mulhearn declined to comment Bucceroni's email.
  Bucceroni told The News that he was contacted by authorities onWednesday to discuss Foglietta, and in the email to Poly Prep, hesays that he has cooperated with the FBI and U.S. PostalInspectors.
  With Michael O'Keeffe
HEMA STRING HOOFDDOEK!
  Link to Article
  Source: GeenStijl
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:32
  Dus de HEMA verkoopt hoofddoekjes. NOU EN?! Waarschijnlijkverkopen ze ook dildo's. En steunkousen. Gezellig naast deJip en Janneke spulletjes, die zelfs Mxima wil hebben. DeHEMA verkoopt lles, als het maar verkoopt. Een jaar of zesgeleden had de HEMA ook al zo'n goeie marketingactie. HeelNederland was boos omdat ze strings verkochten. Voor kinderen.Strings moesten VERBOTEN worden! Strings zouden meisjesseksualiseren. Zieke geesten. Het idiote aan Nederland toen(C)n nu is dat er w(C)l een nationale verontwaardigingontstond over het feit dat een string een meisje zou seksualiseren,maar dat we zwijgen over hetzelfde effect dat de hoofddoek op eenzesjarige heeft. Alsof een man die een mens zonder piemeltjeongeacht haar leeftijd als sexobject ziet, niet opeens op scherpstaat als er een hoofddoekje voorbij loopt.
  De verhoofddoekisering van winkelketens is een feit. Eerst kwamende klanten. Toen het personeel. Je kunt nergens meer geholpen kuntworden door hoofddoekvrij personeel. Ben ik de enige die openlijkdurft toe te geven dat ik er niet van gediend ben om geconfronteerdte worden met hoofddoekjes die mijn geld innemen? Ben ik de enigedie zegt dat ls het ff mogelijk is, ik die gehoofddoektecassi¨re mijdt? En ja, ben ik de enige die dus durft toe tegeven dat ik de gehoofddoekte mens discrimineer? Waar niets mis meeis: de bierbuikende Harleyrijdende mens mijd ik ook. Evenals deanorexia junk. En dat ik de vrouw met kinderen die op mijn padkomt, snel voorbijloop, durf ik ook toe te geven. Ik wens niet doorhoofddoekjes geholpen te worden '' een reden waardoor iktegenwoordig de Albert Heijn boycot. Ik ben verbannen naar debiowinkel, waar graatmagere bleekneuzen me ervan proberen teovertuigen dat hun producten gezond zijn. Soit. En sinds zelfs deBijenkorf gehoofddoekt personeel in dienst heeft, kan ik nietanders zeggen dan dat ik geld overhoud.
  Het leven wordt me moeilijk gemaakt door de verhoofddoekiseringvan de samenleving. In de HEMA kwam ik toch al nooit.Topmarketingactie '' ik zal er geen hoofddoek om kopen. Nee,dan liever strings. Strings zitten top. Never leave homewithout.
  Ebru Umar | 21-09-12 | 12:29 | Link | Staat dat niet raar, zo'n string op je hoofd?
  rara | 21-09-12 | 12:31Kleren maken de man
  Getson | 21-09-12 | 12:32Krijgen we via de BTW toch nog tax binnen, hoor Geert aljuichen. Tsja.
  rechtvaardigerechter | 21-09-12 | 12:32Discrimineer? Apart, discrimineer ik die lelijkekassi¨res ook als ik achter in de rij van die ene mooiesta?
  roze_bril | 21-09-12 | 12:33"..hoofddoekjes die mijn geld innemen..". Als je daar bezwaartegen hebt wordt het tijd om te emigreren.*gaat koffer pakken*
  Godsammekraken | 21-09-12 | 12:33Staat dat niet raar, zo'n hoofddoek op je flamoes?
  DYRR | 21-09-12 | 12:33Verkopen ze ook andere religieuze uitingen, zoals keppeltjes? ofrozenkransen? Of houten kruizen.
  Of ben ik weer confuus, want volgens de fifa zijn hoofddoekeneen cultuuruiting, maar in Nederland weer religieus.
  Ik ben het gezeur zo zat van die puberende godsdienst. Hougewoon op en kap eens met zeiken en jezelf op te dringen.
  Trouwens Ebru Emar, jij mag wel zeggen dat je mensen methoofddoeken mijdt, alleen ik niet als blanke man van middelbareleeftijd.
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:33Goh, Hema is een filiaal begonnen in Marokko?
  neemjemoederindemali | 21-09-12 | 12:33Bah, die foto van Tom staal had voor mij niet gehoeven.
  manmanman | 21-09-12 | 12:34Het boeit mij geen fuck of iemand een hoofddoek achter detoonbank draagt, als 'ie maar vriendelijk is. Blijft nog wel eenslastig in Nederland, service-gerichtheid.
  Jeoh | 21-09-12 | 12:34Hollandse Eenheidsdenken Maatschappij Amsterdam
  Godsammekraken | 21-09-12 | 12:35Omdat hoofddoekjes een teken zijn van oppressie, een uiting vaneen pre-middeleeuwse rite die wij misschien liever niet meer inonze 21e eeuwse samenleving terug zien?
  Jopie2009 | 21-09-12 | 12:35Hier in een normaal land nog nooit een hoofddoek achter de kassagezien.En dat wil ik graag zo houden.
  James Lastig | 21-09-12 | 12:35Haha Ebru - ik heb ze ook al gespot in de Bijenkorf bij mij inRoffa. Schande!! Een grove schande!! Haha, grappie.
  AshleyJ"Ash"Williams | 21-09-12 | 12:37Het sexualiseren van kinderen is veel ingrijpender dan hetverkopen van hoofddoeken. Dat is toch wel te begrijpen?
  Einde van de Domheid | 21-09-12 | 12:37@AshleyJ"Ash"Williams | 21-09-12 | 12:37 | + 0 -Dat je Rotterdam Roffa noemt, dat is pas een schande.
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:37Lekker racistisch stukje weer
  jeweetzalluf | 21-09-12 | 12:38James Lastig
  Lekker vertrekken. Goed reis!!
  Skunk57 | 21-09-12 | 12:39Net als die AH to go's. Het lijkt gvd wel of ik een winkelhartje Mekka inloop.Waar zijn al die leuke frisse Hollandse meiden gebleven?
  de Bree | 21-09-12 | 12:39Op mijn werk loopt tegenwoordig ook zo'n middeleeuwsetroglodiet rond.Was voor de vakantie nog een vlotte meid om te zien, sociaalgezellig, gewoon normaal.Is blijkbaar in de zomervakantie door haar broers en neefjesomgekat, en komt nu als symbool van vrouwonderdrukking inbedoe¯nengewaad en met kopvod terug.
  Walgelijk om te zien, ze praat niet meer tegen mij, ik niet meertegen haar, want we weten het allebei, weet je.Ze zal hier ook wel niet meer lang werken, en terecht, ik kotservan om mijn dag te beginnen met beelden van middeleeuwsevrouwonderdrukking, opzouten naar de woestijn, daar hebben dielappen stof misschien nog een funktie.
  Cuyahoga | 21-09-12 | 12:39@Einde van de Domheid | 21-09-12 | 12:37 | + 0 -Dat sexualiseren zit dus allemaal in je hoofd, daarom heb ikmijzelf geconditioneerd om extra hitsig te worden als ik vrouwen inburka zie rondlopen. Dat zal ze leren.
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:39OK het kopvod zit nu *in* het assortiment. Dan is het eenkwestie van tijd dat de rookworst er *uit* gaat.
  Godsammekraken | 21-09-12 | 12:40Welja joh! Ga die achterlijke uitingen van vrouwenonderdrukkingeven faciliteren! Doei HEMA!Schrijf mij maar af als klant.
  doenormaal! | 21-09-12 | 12:40Rare jongens die Hema; begin dit jaar werd een medewerksterontslagen omdat zij een hoofddoek droeg www.nu.nl... nu gaan zehoofddoeken verkopen.Het zou overigens geinig zijn als de HEMA de BTW op hoofddoekenstiekem verhoogd naar 51% en het verschil, 30%, doneert aan dePVV.
  Niemands Knegt | 21-09-12 | 12:43@Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:39Ben je ook een fan van burkake?
  rara | 21-09-12 | 12:43Voor mij is een hoofddoek het equivalent van een button metvolgende tekst:"Mijn God is de beste, derhalve ben ik moreel superieur. Niet meeeens? HEL!!!"Is niet zo'n sympathiek gebaar naar de buitenwereld.Nog los gezien van het feit dat religie nog niet de schijn van eengeloofwaardig argument in zich heeft. Wist u dat een 'echte moslim'gelooft dat Mohammed op een vliegend paard naar de hemel isgevlogen. Ik herhaal; een vliegend paard. en.wikipedia.org...
  SjakkieBaggen | 21-09-12 | 12:43@AshleyJ"Ash"Williams | 21-09-12 | 12:37 | + 0 -Dat je Rotterdam Roffa noemt, dat is pas een schande.Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:37 | + 0 -Haha ik dacht hetzelfde.Tenzij hij nog onder de 20 is dan mag het van mij wel.Ik hou trouwens ook niet zo van hoofddoekjes.Bij oudere moslima's kan ik het nog wel hebben maar bij van diemooie jonge meiden van een jaar of 19 niet, tenzij ze het doen omniet uitgescholden te worden door hun soortgenoten.Kan daar niet eens een studie/onderzoek naar gedaan worden of isdie er al en zo ja link aub.Groetjes uit Roffa.
  MBeen | 21-09-12 | 12:44Is gewoon marktwerking in combinatie met vrijheid vanmeningsuiting. Wat is daar mis mee in Allah's naam.
  Praktiseer wat je preekt immers.
  pius | 21-09-12 | 12:45@Kaas de Vies 12:37Te multiculti zeker? En wat weet jij er nou van? De huisnar die mijeven gaat vertellen wat ik behoor te schrijvon. Kus.
  AshleyJ"Ash"Williams | 21-09-12 | 12:46@pius | 21-09-12 | 12:45 | + 0 -Dan is investeren in clusterbommen en mijnen door onzepensioenfondsen voor de gazastrook dat ook.
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:46@AshleyJ"Ash"Williams | 21-09-12 | 12:46 | + 0 -Inderdaad. Bedankt voor de duiding.
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:47Hang die hoofddoekjes maar op een rek tussen de HEMA (Unox)varkensrookworsten en HEMA wijn.
  Lekker halal, lol.
  neutron | 21-09-12 | 12:47Vorige week was ik in Almere Haven, zag daar meisjes van nietouder dan 9 jaar ingepakt als een pinguin. Alleen het gezicht waste zien, verder helemaal bedekt in het zwart alsog het ninja'swaren.-Mijn hart huilde voor deze meisjes. Men zegt dat het vrijheid vangeloof is om een hoofddoek te dragen. Het gaat de vrije man/vrouwniet of iemand een hoofddoek wil dragen, als je hem wilt dragen,dan mag je deze dragen. Het gaat erom dat GEEN hoofddoek in de ogenvan deze cultuur FOUT is. En dan is het geen vrijheid meermensen...
  Tomonic | 21-09-12 | 12:48Zoals een hond nooit vrijwillig een halsband omdoet, zo wordtook een moslim-vrouw vaak door haar omgeving gedwongen eenhoofddoek te dragen. Denk dat het ongepast is om zoiets onwaardigsen onderdrukkend in je assortiment op te nemen. Denk dat ik de HEMAmaar eens een tijdje ga boycotten.
  Libertinowitz | 21-09-12 | 12:48@Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:46
  Uiteraard. Slechts een enorme hypocriet heeft daar bezwaartegen. Of diegenen die elke maand een aanmerkelijk deel van hetpensioengeld terugstorten vanuit ethische overwegingen.
  En dat zijn er enorm veel natuurlijk.
  pius | 21-09-12 | 12:49Lieve Ebru... ik probeer me het voor te stellen. (laatste driezinnen).
  meneer Q | 21-09-12 | 12:50Het interesseert me echt helemaal niets.. je pakt mijn geld,wenst me een fijne dag en klaar zijn we met elkaar. Nog zoiets, zitbij een klant, zegt ie: :geen personeel te krijgen".. ja, dan vindje er 1 en dan heeft ie zijn hele armen onder de plakplaatjes.Waarop ik zei: wellicht tijd om je wereldbeeld wat te updaten?Kruis, doek, metalhead.. het zal me een worst zijn hoe je er bijloopt. Vrienden zal ik niet worden met zo'n turkse, en dat is geendiscriminatie, nee, wer verschillen gewoon teveel. Laat mij, laatik jou. Maarten Roozendaal heeft daar een mooi nummer over, Red mijniet.. aanrader.
  bovenste_plank | 21-09-12 | 12:50ik ga alleen bij zo'n gehoofddoekte kassiere staan wanneer ikeen mand vol heb met varkensvlees, paling en drank. anders reken ikaf via de hanscanner.
  gooi en smijtwerker | 21-09-12 | 12:51Ten eerste, lekker boeiend, handel is handel.ten tweede, laat iedereen lekker zelf bepalen wat ze willen dragen,het boiet me werkelijk geen fuck, ook niet als het gedwongen isdoor man,geloof of omgeving, zolang ze mij niet lastig vallen,best.Ten derde. weer zo'n zielige column om te laten zien hoe verdomdeprogressief je bent, Ebru?
  captainobvious | 21-09-12 | 12:51zo wordt ook een moslim-vrouw vaak door haar omgeving gedwongeneen hoofddoek te dragen.@Libertinowitz | 21-09-12 | 12:48 |kun je deze bewering even staven met iets meer danonderbuikgevoelens?
  B-100 | 21-09-12 | 12:51@B-100 | 21-09-12 | 12:51 | + 0 -Sociale druk is altijd vrij groot bij de streng religieuzen.
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:52Nee Ebruutje, ook ik mijd hoofddoeken bij de kassa's.En waarom?Omdat een hoofddoek zegt dat de vrouw in kwestie er niet opvertrouwt dat ik haar met respect zal behandelen.Zij zegt tegen de hele wereld dat ze haar uiterlijk moet verstoppenomdat anders ik mij niet zal beheersen en haar zal 'onteren' dooronreine gedachten.Haar hoofddoek zegt dus niet iets over haar,Ze zegt daarmee iets over mij.En zij kent mij niet eens.Dat voel ik iedere keer als een diepe belediging.En daarvoor breng ik geen ambassadeurs om, maar de emotie is evensterk.Daarom ga ik -als ik keuze heb- naar een kassa zonderhoofddoek.
  Alteidt Glijck | 21-09-12 | 12:53Mooie foto.--Lekker racistisch stukje weer--jeweetzalluf | 21-09-12 | 12:38Ze overdrijft lichtelijk, niets meer dan dat.Maarre, hoe zit jouw hoofddoekje van de HEMA? Voel je je al eenstuk zediger? Al een klacht ingediend bij het management dat degeur van varkenrookworst je neus beledigt?
  dedeurs | 21-09-12 | 12:53Ik kies altijd de mooiste cassiere, hoofddoek of niet.
  John McClane | 21-09-12 | 12:53Hier in het oosten is het, helaas, ook al algemeen gebruik.Laatst op de plaatselijke kermis, zit daar zo'n clubje meidenuitgedost(allemaal) met een doekje. Pure provocatie. Man man, watkots ik op zulke lui. Hoewel, vanuit mijn ideologie zal iedereenmogen dragen wat hij/zij wil. Maar mag ik dan ook aub vinden dat ikhet verafschuw??
  leef!! | 21-09-12 | 12:53Ik zie het al voor me. Binnenkort in de winkel. De nieuwe LEGOkraan, om homo's aan op te hangen.Of een DIY-kit voor besnijdenissen. Dat is toch allemaalgeweldig?
  Maar zwarte piet moet dan weer een regenboogpiet zijn, enalsjeblieft geen kruis op de mijter van Sinterklaas, stel je voorjoh.
  Echt mensen zijn gewoon gestoord. Denkt dan niemand meer na?
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:54@Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:52 |jij kent niet zoveel moslims he
  B-100 | 21-09-12 | 12:54Hmm, 50 jaar geleden verkocht de HEMA ook hoofddoeken. Whatsnew?
  Komkom | 21-09-12 | 12:54Mensen die zeggen dat ze het hen niet boeit omdat het hen nietraakt zullen het over niet al te lange tijd wel boeien.Kortzichtigheid en het hoofd afwenden zijn een vorm van luiheid enlafheid.
  de Bree | 21-09-12 | 12:55Moest ineens aan (C)(C)n van de beste Fokke &Sukke's ooit denken. (relevant in 2009 met de kopvoddentax)
  www.nrcnext.nl...
  Trombonez | 21-09-12 | 12:56@Komkom | 21-09-12 | 12:54 | + 0 -Wat nieuw is dat door 20 jaar getreiter en weg met ons mentaliteiteen grens opgezocht moet worden. Tot hier en niet verder. Daarom isiedereen zo over de zeik. Door de zelf gecreerde polarisatie wordthet er niet beter op.
  Het is altijd eenrichtingsverkeer geweest, en de mensen hebbener geen zin in.
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:57Lieve Ebru... regelmatig kwam een leuk meisje, met prachtigzwart krullend haar, langs om de plaatselijke krant te brengen.Werkend in de voortuin begroette ik haar 'n keer. Haar moeder, dieook in de buurt was, zag dat ik haar begroette. Nu komt ze ooklangs; helemaal ingepakt en ze durft niet meer op of om te kijken.Ik heb echt medelijden met haar.
  meneer Q | 21-09-12 | 12:57@B-100 | 21-09-12 | 12:54 | + 0 -Dat is een algemeen voldongen feit.www.google.nl...
  www.google.nl...
  Het maakt niet zo veel uit wie en wie ik niet ken, mijn krachtligt toch meer in het observeren en analyseren dan socialevaardigheden.
  Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:59i.chzbgr.com...
  rara | 21-09-12 | 12:59@Alteidt Glijck | 21-09-12 | 12:53
  Fatsoensrakker.
  pius | 21-09-12 | 12:59Nee hoor je bent niet de enige, als ik een winkel met eenhoofddoek zie, ben ik weg.
  LostSandWich | 21-09-12 | 13:00Ze verkopen ook wel theedoeken en prullenbakdeksels, ik zie hetverschil niet.
  Elraad | 21-09-12 | 13:01Bah, die foto van Tom staal had voor mij niet gehoeven.manmanman | 21-09-12 | 12:34 | + 5 -
  Hij heeft ook nog eens een verschil in beenlengte van zo'n 3centimeter.
  marshmallow | 21-09-12 | 13:02Het is altijd eenrichtingsverkeer geweest, en de mensen hebbener geen zin in.Kaas de Vies | 21-09-12 | 12:57
  Daar heeft u een punt.
  Komkom | 21-09-12 | 13:02Leuk om te weten dat Ebru niet met zo'n grote witte onderbroekrondloopt. Hoofddoekjes vind ik vaak retegeil. Ik wil graag wetenwat eronder zit, dus die kopvodden bereiken bij mij precies hettegenovergestelde als waarvoor ze bedoeld zijn.
  Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:03"Goedendag, graag (C)(C)n hoofddoek met Jip en Jannekemotief en een halal rookworst...met mosterd graag, lekker!"
  Grote stamper | 21-09-12 | 13:03Op de doe-het-zelf afdeling liggen nog geen mesjes om dehoofddoekjesdraagsters te ontclitoriseren?
  de Bree | 21-09-12 | 13:04wel kudt dat ik nooit bij de Hema kom, een boycot gaat dus geenmoer helpen.
  neemjemoederindemali | 21-09-12 | 13:04Ik heb iets tegen hoofddoekjes. Ze blijven altijd in mijnpiercings hangen.
  nu even niet | 21-09-12 | 13:06Ik geef mijn geld uit waar ik het prettig vind.En daar zie je dus geen kopvodden.Ik ga op mijn werk ook niet rondlopen met mijn kul uit mijn broekomdat ik zo van neuqon hou, dus ik eis van anderen ook dat ze meniet lastig vallen met hun hobbies.
  vetkleppert | 21-09-12 | 13:06Als ik hoofdoeken zie ,krijg ik kotsneigingen en waar kan je datbeter doen dan bij HEMA, ik spuug op die dingen als ik er 1zie.
  LostSandWich | 21-09-12 | 13:06Er is overigens eerder wel eens iets verstandigs gezegd over derelatie tussen een kinderstring en een hoofddoek:dit land is de wraak van de voorvaderenals een beeldenstorm razen zij in ons voortmaar het bestaat zoals ook het verbandtussen kinderstring en boerka bestaattussen karnemelk en comazuipen: hol en bolschuiven wij onze eeuwen ineen
  Einde van de Domheid | 21-09-12 | 13:06Waar zijn al die leuke frisse Hollandse meiden gebleven?de Bree | 21-09-12 | 12:39 | + 8In de provinciale AH-to-go: blozende blonde paardestaarten.
  meneer Q | 21-09-12 | 12:57 | + 1Idem dito hier in Drenthe.
  Synecdoche | 21-09-12 | 13:08@Einde van de Domheid | 21-09-12 | 13:06Uit de koker van Bolland en Bolland of toch Fluitsma?
  de Bree | 21-09-12 | 13:08Vroeger zaten vrouwen onder de plak, tegenwoordig onder eendoek.Maar volgens mij is de echte reden van het dragen van zo`n doek dathet haar niet gaat klitten als ze een facial krijgen van mo en zijnvrienden !(iedere man heeft wel eens een plakkende haarklit in badgehad !)
  Mr aarsch | 21-09-12 | 13:08En toch elk jaar 2 maanden op vakantie gaan naar Turkije.Wat een Lul verhaal Ebru.
  PoederBus | 21-09-12 | 13:08@neutron | 21-09-12 | 12:47Maar dat doen ze niet.Ze hangen goed in het zicht.
  pics.lockerz.com...
  La Vie En Rose | 21-09-12 | 13:09Als in een streek voornamelijk schizofrene nymfomanes woondenzou ik ook kledingregels afdwingen op straat, er moet wel belastingbinnenkomen.
  BlakeMiddle | 21-09-12 | 13:09@Kaas de VriesWat je bedoelt is dat mensen niet kunnen denken in concepten.Daarom behandelt men zaken die binnen hetzelfde concept vallenverschillend, in plaats van 1 lijn te trekken.Ben het met je eens, 95% vd wereldbevolking is dwaas/idioot.
  The Thinker in ME | 21-09-12 | 13:09Hoofddoekjes mogen anders niet naar buiten van hun achterlijkeman/broer/neef.
  Kirth Gersen | 21-09-12 | 13:10Iemand met een waarlijk seculiere levensbeschouwing guntanderen, ook religieuzen, hun plek in deze maatschappij.Je bent een xenofoob wanneer je niet met een hoofddoek wilt wordengeconfronteerd en er bezwaar tegen maakt dat grote Nederlandsewinkelketens halal-producten verkopen.
  Ahleen | 21-09-12 | 13:10Is dit een vervroegde VrijMiBeau of zo?
  Knoopsgat | 21-09-12 | 13:10En als er alleen cassieres zijn met hoofddoek bij de AH, dan kanje toch gewoon een paar hamlappen in de halal koelvak leggen?
  MartFart | 21-09-12 | 13:10In het verleden heb ik weleens gesteld dat ik geen bezwaar tegenhoofdoekpersoneel heb. Maar het is gewoon een onbeschofte engªnante vertoning. Zodra je bij de Appie aan de kassa staaten de hoofddoekmevrouw zegt je geen goedemiddag, kijkt je niet aanen gooit je wisselgeld op het plankje ipv op je uitgestoken hand.Dat geeft een erg onaangenaam gevoel, vandaar dat ik dus diekassa's of die winkels aan mij voorbij laat gaan.
  V.O.C. FTW | 21-09-12 | 13:11@Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:03
  Tuurlijk joh, heb ik ook. Dat hele hooddoekjes gedoe is in wezen(C)(C)n grote opgeilactie, gewoon een taqqija-lapje.Binnenkort ook in de betere sexshops te verkrijgen.
  kl¶n | 21-09-12 | 13:11@SjakkieBaggen | 21-09-12 | 12:43
  Nog meer grapjurkspul:´The Scientific Miracles of the Qur'an´:www.missionislam.com...
  Ayatollah Oink-Oink | 21-09-12 | 13:11"Ben ik de enige die openlijk durft toe te geven dat ik er nietvan gediend ben om geconfronteerd te worden met hoofddoekjes diemijn geld innemen?"
  Nee, je bent niet de enige. Maar het verschil is, dat wij danvoor rasismus uitgemaakt worden, ook al ben jij net zo goedNederlander als wij.Dus bedankt, Ebru, dat jij het woord wil doen.
  ZKH E(C)nOog | 21-09-12 | 13:11Hema. Dat is toch die winkel met brede gangpaden die ze danhelemaal volzetten met rekken, zodat kinderwagens en rolstoelenwegblijven. Kom ik dus niet.
  nu even niet | 21-09-12 | 13:12Ebru is hypocriet als ze zegt dat ze meiden met een hoofddoekontwijkt. Waarom ga je er wel mee aan tafel zitten..zie volgendfilmpje: www.youtube.com...
  Moslim87 | 21-09-12 | 13:13Discrimineren=onderscheid maken. Dat moet. Is biologischbepaald. Is inherent aan het bestaan. Ik vind zwarte auto's mooierdan roze. Als iemand een Harley rijdende bierbuik wil zijn moettiedat doen. Of een sneue hipster met dito bril.Waar het mis gaat, is als iemand iets moet doen van een ander(religie, kaste, politieke stroming of andere manipulatievekracht). Dan is het tegennatuurlijk en dient het in ieder gevalvrij besproken te kunnen worden. Dat de hema het verkoopt is nietzo'n punt, dat een vrouw het draagt wel.
  HoerenSloep | 21-09-12 | 13:13@Einde van de Domheid | 21-09-12 | 12:37
  Het hoofddoekje wordt doorgaans gedragen vanaf de eersteongesteldheid. Kinderen met doek zijn dus (fysiek) rijp.Als dat geen seksualiseren van kinderen is, hoe wil je het dannoemen?
  ZKH E(C)nOog | 21-09-12 | 13:13Hahahaha..., dus daar koop ik dus niks meer......
  Opruier | 21-09-12 | 13:14Ahleen | 21-09-12 | 13:10Xenofoob. Zozo, heb je een moeilijk woordje geleerd.Halalvlees moet zsm verboden worden, want er gaat verschrikkelijkdierenleed aan vooraf.
  Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:14Waarom zijn lelijke mensen altijd zo jaloers enverbitterd???
  PoederBus | 21-09-12 | 13:14Herkenbaar deze column. In een winkel wil ik gewoon spullenkopen, en niet geconfronteerd worden met personeel dat dmvMiddeleeuwse kledingstukken hun woestijn-geloof uitdraagt.
  ddude | 21-09-12 | 13:14@Moslim87 | 21-09-12 | 13:13Ontwijken bij de kassa is wat anders dan inhoudelijke meningenuitwisselen om de luisteraars wat bij te brengen, dombo.
  de Bree | 21-09-12 | 13:15Gaat lekker zo....overal wordt de sharia omarmd.Vrijheid van meningsuiting wordt te grabbel gegooid door die EUsukkel.Obama neemt het ook voor die religekken op.Het wordt allochtoon mag niet meer gebruikt worden.Vouwonderdrukkende hoofddoekjes liggen in de schappen van ons eigenHema.Naast de rookworst.Oei.....is die wel halal??
  Schietmijmaarlek | 21-09-12 | 13:17ZKH E(C)nOog | 21-09-12 | 13:13Een kinderstring is walgelijk en waarschijnlijk bedacht door eenMartijnaanhanger. Niet vergelijkbaar met onderdrukkende vodden.
  Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:18Haha, ik doe het ook, de hoofddoekmeisjes mijden! Niet om heteen of ander, maar als ze strak in de leer zijn dan groeten ze me (man ) niet en kijken ze me niet in de ogen. Gewoonweg bot!Dus loop ik altijd door naar een hoofddoekloos vrouwmens, omdat dekans op een flirt dan tenminste nog aanwezig is.Meisjes met hoofddoekjes werken wel harder.
  T2000 | 21-09-12 | 13:18Ahleen | 21-09-12 | 13:10
  Ach, je doet eens wat terug h¨.De moslimwereld is tenslotte xenofoob 3.0
  kl¶n | 21-09-12 | 13:18kleren raken de man
  John Doorzon | 21-09-12 | 13:19Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:14 | + 0 -Hypocriete, en inderdaad xenofobe nonsens om halalvlees teverbieden (waar het beest een paar minuten van z'n leven lijdt, watmaakt het in vredesnaam uit...), terwijl de foie gras gezellig inde schappen blijft.
  Suubi Musajja | 21-09-12 | 13:20kl¶n | 21-09-12 | 13:18 | + 0 -Topredenering. Zo kom je er wel.
  Suubi Musajja | 21-09-12 | 13:21Ik ga tegenwoordig naar een Turkse groenteboer, Marokkaansebakker en visboer waar het vrouwelijke personeel geen hoofddoekdraagt. Gewoon leuk personeel en kwalitatief erg goedeproducten.
  En wat de Hema doet zal me verder een Hemaworst zijn.
  La Vie En Rose | 21-09-12 | 13:21Tja al die ketens gaan op hoofddoekjes bliebmiepen over omdat zegoedkoop personeel zijn moslima die haar school afmaakt is eenunicum
  Freek6720 | 21-09-12 | 13:22Suubi Musajja | 21-09-12 | 13:21
  Dank je, ben de beroerste niet.Voor wat hoort wat.
  kl¶n | 21-09-12 | 13:22Mijn oma kocht ze al bij de hema, van die plastieke doorzichtigemet twee reepjes onder de kin, tegen de regen.
  John Doorzon | 21-09-12 | 13:22Je bent zeker niet de enige, Ebru: Ik weiger ook winkels in tegaan waar hooddoeken rondlopen. Scheelt een stuk in je portemonee,het ruikt frisser en je hoort weer eens behoorlijk Nederlands.
  Arhedis-Varkenjaab | 21-09-12 | 13:23kl¶n | 21-09-12 | 13:11Ik zeg ook regelmatig tegen de mooie exemplaren dat ze er lekkeruitzien met het vodje. Voor mijn eigen veiligheid kijk ik vaak welof er geen broer, neef of andere onderdrukker in de buurt is.
  Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:23@Suubi Musajja | 21-09-12 | 13:20
  Zeiken over halalvlees staat hoog in de categorie hypocriet alsje niet biologisch eet inderdaad.
  Dat snapt zelfs een plofkip.
  pius | 21-09-12 | 13:23La Vie En Rose | 21-09-12 | 13:21 | + 0 -Heerlijk
  Suubi Musajja | 21-09-12 | 13:23En daar is de gefrustreerde Ebru Umar weer met haar eeuwigehoofddoek-mantra... zo vermoeiend...
  Vasilis | 21-09-12 | 13:24...en ik maar denken dat ik de enige was.
  Fopspeen | 21-09-12 | 13:24Ik vind dat vrouwen die perse een hoofddoekje dragen met namezichzelf te kort doen, terwijl het eigenlijke probleem hun doortestosteron aangedreven ongeremde hitsige seksueel gefrustreerdebroertjes, neefjes, ooms en vaders zijn.Laat ze daar eens wat aan doen...
  Graaisnaaiert | 21-09-12 | 13:24@Ahleen | 21-09-12 | 13:10
  Fobie is een irreele angst.
  Zolang er uit de contreien van behoofddoekte mensen enmannelijke aanhang onopvallende guerrilla-strijders voort komen dieje bovengemiddeld bestelen, beroven, anderszins overvallen, ouderenaftroggelen en zelfs (zelfmoord)aanslagen plegen (tot nu toegelukkig nog niet in Nederland), wens ik liever te spreken vangezonde argwaan.
  Een gezonde argwaan, daar is niets mis mee. En als diebehoofddoekte mensen en hun mannelijke aanhang uit die argwaan zonewensen te stijgen, zullen ze zelf hun eigen guerrilla moetenaanpakken. Tot die tijd vereenzelvig ik ze met elkaar uitlijfsbehoud.
  Succes.
  ZKH E(C)nOog | 21-09-12 | 13:25pius | 21-09-12 | 13:23 | + 1 -Exact. Sowieso lijkt me het beter om op de kwaliteit van het levendan op die van de dood van het beest te letten. Zo'n koe loopt tochwat langer rond in de wei dan dat hij in de loop van hetspijkerpistool kijkt...
  Suubi Musajja | 21-09-12 | 13:26@Moslim87 | 21-09-12 | 13:13Dat was een uitzending van 'Het Gesprek', waar de interviewer vante voren niet wist wie de gast was en de gast niet wie deinterviewer was.
  Dat telt niet.
  La Vie En Rose | 21-09-12 | 13:26Ondertussen slopen ze de boel in Pakistan...Een hoofddoekje dragen is heeeeeeel halal, wat wij ervan vindenmaakt geen zak uit, ongelovigen hebben niks te willen.
  Terpen-tijn | 21-09-12 | 13:26Suubi Musajja | 21-09-12 | 13:20Toe maar. Jij gaat mij uitleggen wat hypocriet is. Als jij niet inNederland zou wonen, maar in Arabierenland, dan mag jij geen eigenmening hebben. Dus ken je plek.
  Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:26@pius | 21-09-12 | 13:23Al het eten is biologisch van oorsprong, zelfs die plofkip vanje.
  rara | 21-09-12 | 13:27' Ben ik de enige die openlijk durft toe te geven dat ik er nietvan gediend ben om geconfronteerd te worden met hoofddoekjes diemijn geld innemen? Ben ik de enige die zegt dat ls het ffmogelijk is, ik die gehoofddoekte cassi¨re mijdt? '-Nee, je bent niet de enige.
  (c)ZWITSUL | 21-09-12 | 13:27Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:23
  Ahja, gevaar en erotiek, opwindende combi
  kl¶n | 21-09-12 | 13:27@Suubi Musajja | 21-09-12 | 13:20Aankomen met een klassieke 'tu coque', dat is werkelijklachwekkend. Heb je nooit leren discussiren?
  rara | 21-09-12 | 13:28Strohond | 21-09-12 | 13:14 |Kijk eens diep in je hart, waarom wil je nu zo graag dat ritueleslacht verboden wordt, vanwege het dierenleed of omdat jereligieuzen wilt laten voelen dat hun leefregels onzinnigzijn?We moeten iedereen zoveel mogelijk vrij laten in zijn keuzes.Hoofddoekje, halal-vlees (wat boeit mij die kippen), lekker bierdrinken of een pilletje slikken. Het zal me jeuken, van mij mag hetallemaal.
  Ahleen | 21-09-12 | 13:28@rara | 21-09-12 | 13:27
  Je weet wat ik bedoel mistbrenger.
  pius | 21-09-12 | 13:29Kwaad moet je van binnenuit bestrijden. Dus of ik ga directeurof klachtenco¶rinator of PR vrouw van de HEMA worden of ikbekeer me tot moslima en ga heel hard publiekelijk klagen over mijnsituatie als onderdrukte vrouw. Iemand moet het toch doen!
  doenormaal! | 21-09-12 | 13:29@pius | 21-09-12 | 13:29Dat weet ik niet, want die term is te vaag om enige betekenis tehebben. De enige die mist brengt ben jij, doordat je vage termenzonder concrete betekenis gebruikt.
  rara | 21-09-12 | 13:32Reageer ookJe bent ingelogd als: (Uitloggen)
  Probeer trouwens eens de totaal officieuze niet-ondersteundethird-party GeenStijl extension die compleet niet door onsondersteund wordt en volledig op eigen risico is.
  Je bent niet ingelogd, klik hierom dat wel te doen: login of doe een CookieSync.
@adamcurry oh hi adam! **
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:28
  Sorry, could not extract content. A link to the original article is below.
iPhone 5 finally hits the streets. Join CNET's live coverage
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:25
  CNET reporters will take to Apple stores in NewYork, Paris and San Francisco for the public debut of the iPhone5.
  Media circus: Hours before the iPhone 5goes on sale, the facade of Apple's 5th Avenue store in Manhattanis obscured by a giant black cloak. Much of the view is alsoblocked by a row of satellite trucks parked in front.
  (Credit: GregSandoval/CNET)What can you say about a device that has been written about asmuch as the iPhone 5, other than to note that it's finallyhere and lots of people across the globe seem to want it?
  The smartphones, which are thinner, lighter, and faster thanprevious versions, are due to go on sale at 8 a.m. local time inmultiple countries (readCNET's review).
  CNET reporters and photographers will report from Apple'sflagship Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue, which is expected to seelong lines that include a group of about 15 protesters fromOccupy Wall Street. .
  We'll cover similar events at Apple's Grand Central store in NewYork and other Apple stores in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Calif.,and Paris.
  The iPhone will also go on sale this morning at Target,Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Radio Shack. Retail outlets of AT&T,Verizon and Sprint will also sell the device.
  For a final check of the prices: Apple is selling unlocked 16GB,32GB and 64GB models for $649, $749 and $849 respectively. With atwo-year contract from a participating carrier, the same models gofor $199, $299 and $399.
  In the United States, Apple is supposed to have the weather onits side. The forecast for much of the country is dry with moderatetemperatures. Perfect shopping and line sitting weather.
  Check in often as we'll be updating this blog regularly.
  7:05 a.m. ET, NYC Fifth Ave. store: Here we go.The line is building fast at Apple's flagship store in Manhattan.When I got here 90 minutes ago, the end of the line barely went aquarter of the way down 58th street away from 5th ave. If you knowthe area, then you know that's barely past the entrance to FAOSchwarz. Now, the line is all the way down the block.
  7:12 a.m. ET, NYC Fifth Ave. store: There is alot of police. I don't remember seeing this many at previous Appleproduct releases here. Is that because about 13 members of Occupy Wall Street began camping out two nights ago? They werehere protesting Apple's labor practices but I don't see them inline. They may be out of view.
  Members of the New York City PoliceDepartment patrolled near the Cube at the iPhone 5 launch thismorning.
  (Credit: GregSandoval/CNET)
How I learned to stop worrying and embrace the atom
  Link to Article
  Source: Atomic Insights
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:16
  Fukushima 'crisis' changed my mind onnuclear power
  By MICHAEL RADCLIFFE
  Like millions of other people in Japan, I watched the events ofMarch 2011 unfurl with shock and trepidation. The massiveearthquake, the terrible tsunami and then what seemed to be adreadful nuclear disaster.
  Yet now I wonder at my naivety, because the nuclear accident atthe Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant triggered in me a critical reviewof everything I thought I knew about radiation and nuclear power. Iam now firmly pronuclear, and not despite the Fukushima accident,but because of it.
  Let's look objectively at what happened. There was a majorearthquake, unprecedented in scale, followed by a 15-20-metertsunami that flooded a large nuclear power plant. The equipmentdesigned to provide power to the cooling systems in case ofaccident was flooded, and human error was also a factor. As aresult, full or partial meltdown occurred in three separatereactors. It was pretty much a worst-case scenario.
  Yet, not one person was killed by radiation, and nobody has beenharmed, though two workmen, who have since been released fromhospital, were reported to have received ''radiation exposureto the legs.'' Overall, not much of a ''disaster,''especially compared to a genuine industrial catastrophe like Bhopalin India in 1984, where more than 10,000 people died and 500,000were injured.
  Some media sources were reporting the Fukushima accident to bethe worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, if not ever. Myresponse to that is to say, well, if that is the worst nucleardisaster ever, we should immediately start the construction oflarge numbers of new nuclear power plants.
  Nor, according to mainstream science, are there likely to be anylong-term health consequences due to radiation from Fukushima. Infact, a resident living anywhere in the prefecture, even within theevacuation zone, is likely to have received less radiation in 2011than people living in areas of high natural background radiationaround the world, such as parts of Iran and India. Yet those placeshave not reported any ill health effects; on the contrary, localhot springs in those areas, high in natural radiation, arefrequented by tourists for their supposed health benefits.Wade Allison is an emeritus professor of physics at OxfordUniversity. He has shown that the risk of getting cancer fromradiation is so low that it literally cannot be measured at lessthan 100 millisieverts of radiation exposure a year, yet areas ofFukushima with just 5 millisieverts of exposure a year are subjectto expensive ''decontamination'' efforts.
  Other experts have said that at worst, using the mostpessimistic of theoretical assumptions, living close to theFukushima plant may raise the risk of cancer in your lifetime by afraction of 1 percent. In contrast, and as an example of the skewedperceptions of risk many people have, living in a major citysubjects people to a very real and measurable reduction in lifeexpectancy due to air pollution; but surprisingly, nobody isadvocating the evacuation of Tokyo in the light of this.
  In the case of Chernobyl, where explosions blew off the lid ofthe nuclear reactor and dumped large amounts of radioactivematerials straight into the atmosphere, the United NationsScientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR)reported that about 50 plant workers died directly from radiation,there was a ''dramatic'' jump in thyroid cancers amonglocals exposed at a young age, and an increase in cataract problemsand leukemia among cleanup workers. However, for the rest of thegeneral population, the psychological reactions to the accidentwere judged to be the most serious problem.
  In the case of Three Mile Island, there were no reported healtheffects from radiation at all, regardless of what you may haveheard. And while UNSCEAR is not due to release a formal assessmentof the Fukushima accident until September, they are likely toreport that the actual health effects, minimal at most, areconsiderably outweighed by the psychological damage caused by thefear of radiation.
  Yet so underreported is the scientific consensus in the Japanesemedia that the average person could be forgiven for having noknowledge at all of this very prosaic reality. On the contrary,barely a day goes by, even now, 16 months after the tsunami andnuclear accident, without some exaggerated and dire report ofleaking water pipes, contaminated food or ''radioactive''debris.
  An astounding example of the skewed coverage of Fukushima couldbe observed last year during the ''contaminated beef''scare. An NHK special broadcast featured a lengthy and worrisomeintroduction, footage from cattle farms in Fukushima, anexamination of flaws in the inspection system, shrill announcementsof becquerels in the hundreds and thousands, interviews with cryingsupermarket managers who had inadvertently sold the meat, and clipsof young mothers fearfully clutching their babies and wonderingabout the safety of their families. Finally there was a 15-secondclip of a university professor calmly stating that you would haveto eat a kilo of that beef a day in order for the radiation to haveany measurable effect upon your health.
  It is that contrast '-- between 45 minutes of fear-mongeringand 15 seconds of calm science '-- that tells you all you needto know about the nuclear ''crisis'' in Japan.
  It is a crisis that some elements within the media and a vocalminority of the public seem determined should continue. Indeed, astime has passed since the accident, and as the situation at theplant itself has not worsened, the antinuclear lobby seems offendedrather than mollified.
  When in December last year the Japanese government, on soundengineering advice, declared the reactors in a state of coldshutdown, the response from some was hardly relief; in fact, italmost seemed to be anger: How dare the crisis be over? AnEnglish-language editorial on the Mainichi website accused thegovernment of ''fudging the rules'' about cold shutdown,and concluded by declaring that the shutdown is ''merely theresult of officials lowering their own hurdles.'' Itcontinued, ''It reminds me of the time during World War IIwhen the Imperial Japanese Army headquarters called the Japanesearmy's retreat a 'shift in position' ''.
  One might be tempted to suggest that the hyperbole of such anassertion might ''live in infamy.'' That a majornewspaper was so desperate to keep alive an imagined nuclear crisisthat they compared it to Japan's hopeless fight in the SecondWorld War shows us merely that some media elements are absurdly yettragically invested in the continuation of the''crisis.'' After all, fear sells more newspapers thancalm scientific statistics.
  The relatively minor effects of the Fukushima accident canreally be appreciated when compared to the hideous healthconsequences of the use of other major energy sources. Every yearthousands of people are killed in coal mining accidents in Chinaalone, and the burning of coal and oil kills hundreds of thousandsof people worldwide annually through the release of air pollutants.Compared to those numbers, is it really possible that people choosenot to support nuclear energy, when Fukushima radiation has killedno one at all?
  The real tragedy of the Fukushima accident is that many normalpeople have been whipped into a fever pitch of extraordinaryapprehension about nuclear power, which in turn is putting pressureon the government, against all scientific and economic advice, tokeep Japan's nuclear power plants idle and even shut down theindustry forever.
  The result of such a decision would truly be a disaster. AlreadyJapan has spent ¥4.3 trillion more this year on fossil fuels,opening up old mothballed ''thermal'' plants anddrastically expanding gas infrastructure to make up the shortfallof power production. Massive amounts of carbon dioxide have beenreleased unnecessarily into the atmosphere, making a mockery ofJapan's once-genuine claim to be a world leader in the fightagainst climate change.
  Add to this the constant threat of blackouts, electricity pricehikes and the likelihood of people dying unnecessarily fromheatstroke, and Japan really is on the verge of becoming a countrythat someone might choose to fly from. I might become a''flyjin'' myself.
  Michael Radcliffe is a lecturer at Yokohama City University.
  This article is reprinted with permission from Japan Times. Theoriginal was published on July 24, 2012. How I learned to stop worrying and embrace theatom
Verband narcolepsie en griepvaccin aangetoond Het laatste nieuws uit Nederland leest u op Telegraaf.nl[binnenland]
  Link to Article
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:36
  AMSTERDAM - Na twee jaar Europeesonderzoek is definitief aangetoond dat er in Zweden en Finlandverband is tussen de vaccinatie tegen de Mexicaanse griep in 2009waarin het middel Pandremix zat en het ontstaan van de slaapziektenarcolepsie. In deze landen is deze ziekte als gevolg van hetverhoogde risico vaker opgetreden bij kinderen tussen 5 en 19 jaaroud.
  Dat betekent niet dat bewezen is dat de narcolepsie is ontstaand""r het middel. Alleen dat het bij jonge kinderen indeze Scandinavische landen vaker voorkwam na de vaccinatie.
  Voor ons land, dat deels ook Pandremix gebruikte, is de ziektenarcolepsie niet vaker vastgesteld dan 'normaal', zostaat in het gisteren gepubliceerde Europese rapport vangezondheidswaakhond ECDC te lezen. 'žMaar dat komt doordat wijniet zoveel kinderen hebben gevaccineerd. In Zweden en Finlandhebben ze lle kinderen gevaccineerd, dus is het logisch datwe dit in Nederland niet vaker hebben kunnen constateren'',verklaart neuroloog Hans Hamburger van het SlaapWaakCentrum van hetSlotervaartziekenhuis.
  Narcolepsie is een ernstige slaap/waakstoornis en dezepatinten hebben onbedwingbare slaapaanvallen overdag. Uit hetrapport blijk dat in ons land na de vaccinatieronde in 2009 bij 21kinderen tussen de 0 en 18 jaar deze ziekte is vastgesteld. Dertiengevaccineerde volwassenen kregen ook de diagnose narcolepsie.
  De onderzoekers adviseren om ook buiten Europa onderzoek tedoen, waar nauwelijks media-aandacht was voor de meldingen over deziekte. 'žMet name landen als Canada en Brazili zoudenmoeten gaan kijken. Zij gebruikten destijds AS03-adjuvansArepanrix, een vaccin dat zeer op Pandemrix lijkt.''
  Meer dan 31 miljoen mensen hebben in 47 landen hebben deinenting met Pandemrix gekregen. Zeker 247 volwassenen en kinderenontwikkelden daarna de ernstige chronische ziekte. Pandemrix zitniet in het reguliere vaccin dat wordt gebruikt tegen griep en isalleen ingezet tegen de Mexicaanse griep destijds.
A new feature sneak
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's development work
  Fri, 21 Sep 2012 04:08
  Tomorrow I'm going to write up a new featurethat's now "out in the wild."
  Verybriefly, every OPML Comment now has a dual life.
  1. It's a comment (of course).
  2. It's a blog post.
  If you're subscribed to the feedof comments from scripting.com, you have already seen this, if youclicked on a link to a comment. If you look at the RSS source,you'll see the <guid> element for each item points to thepost.
  More in the morning about what this means, andnext directions.
Britain finds itself bollocks-free at last
  Link to Article
  Source: A diary of deception and distortion
  Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:58
  If the Prime Ministerdoesn't call a referendum on the EU now, he will become alaughing stock
  While a thousand other more distracting things were goingon, two days ago a meeting between 11 EU foreign ministers inWarsaw (not including the UK) demanded ' a new future forEurope'. The Ministers called for a single, electedhead of state for Europe, and a new defence policy'....under thecontrol of a new pan-EU foreign ministry which ''couldeventually involve a European army''.
  In a direct insult to Great Britain, the Group of 11 declaredthat, in order to ''prevent one single member state from beingable to obstruct initiatives'', it was essential to put an endto existing national vetos over foreign and defence policy. Beunder no illusions: as Bruno Waterfield wrote in today's Daily Telegraph, 'this would givethe EU the power to impose a decision on Britain if it wassupported by a majority of other countries'.
  The move was led via aggressive lobbying from Berlin.
  The plan, which far beyond Germany has the strong support ofFrance, Italy, Spain, Poland, Holland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark,Luxembourg and Portugal, means that a British referendum on EUmembership must now be an inevitability.
  ''For Europe to be a truly strong actor and global leaderit needs a strong institutional setup,'' said Germany'sHerr Westerwelle, and Sikorski of Poland, ''It needs adirectly elected president who personally appoints the members ofhis 'European government'.''
  Or 'hers', of course.
  The Gang of Eleven also insisted that changes to Europeantreaties should in future be approved ''by a super-qualifiedmajority of the EU member states''.
  In a statement reminiscent of the Roman pervert Caligula, aForeign Office robot suggested that ''this is onecontribution to the debate, which is just starting. The UnitedKingdom will play a full and active role in that debate.''Except that the UK wasn't at the meeting where all thisinsisting took place: it played an empty and inactive role in theinsistence. Whatever a wrist can become when it is even more thanlimp, this FO response qualifies for the description. My God, whatconsistent plonkers they have been over the last 85 years.
  What, we wonder, will Dave Cameo make of this? Very probably,nothing.
  Britain is being frozen out of Europe, and must now thereforedivorce Europe. We have little or nothing to fear from this move,beyond a relatively short period of difficult adjustment. But thecurrent Prime Minister is not the man to lead us through thatperiod, because he is a man of straw '' a feeble apparatchikblowing helplessly in the piss and wind of the incompetenttechnocrats with which he surrounds himself'....and whoever lastgave him a large cheque.
  Nor is the blond blunderbuss formerly known as Boris Johnson. Heis a classicist thug with little or no awareness of what real Britsthink, or indeed how the nature of exporting to Asia has changedsince the Empire was lost, and Boxer rebellions were no more.
  As for Ed Miliband, well: would you appoint the Deputy Head ofthe Languages Department as head of marketing for UKplc? No, andneither would I.
  The sorrow and shame of all this is that '' just as we needroot-and-branch change in our political model '' so too do weurgently require radical change in our export direction, and acomplete restructuring of Britain's manufacturing andagricultural balance.
  I'm bound to observe that while you wouldn't startfrom here, you also wouldn't give the task to a useless bunchof onanistic coke-heads.
  We are still by far the best and most dependable ally the UShas. So tonight, America, you should be very afraid indeed.
  Like this:Be the first to likethis.
SHOCKING AUDIO: Paris Hilton Blasts Gays Who Have Sex With Strangers: 'Most Of Them Probably Have AIDS'
  Link to Article
  Source: Radar Online
  Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:48
  By AmberGoodhand - Radar NewsEditor
  & DavidPerel - Executive VicePresident/Managing Editor Radar
  ParisHilton has been caught on tape making homophobic andderogatory statements about gay men who have random sex withstrangers even stating "most of them probably have AIDS."RadarOnline.com has obtained the bombshell exclusive audio, whichyou can listen to below.
  PHOTOS: Celebrity Racist Rants
  When RadarOnline.com reached out to Paris about the explosiveaudiotape and spokesperson for Hilton said:
  "Paris Hilton's comments were to express that it isdangerous for anyone to have unprotected sex that could lead to alife threatening disease. The conversation became heated, after aclose gayfriend told her in a cab ride, a story about a gay man whohas AIDS and is knowingly having unprotected sex. He also discusseda website that encourages random sex by gay men with strangers. Asshe was being shown the website her comments were in reference tothose people promoting themselves on the site. The cab driver whorecorded this, only provided a portion of the conversation. It wasnot her intent to make any derogatory comments about all gays.Paris Hilton is a huge supporter of the gay community and wouldnever purposefully make any negative statements aboutanyone's sexual orientation.''
  On the audio Paris says at one point, Gay guys are the horniestpeople in the world. They're disgusting. Dude, most of themprobably have AIDS."
  The heiress was in Manhattan for New York Fashion Week and in the early morning hours of Friday,September 7, Paris remarks were caught on tape by a cab driver,when her pal, who is an openly gay male model, is heard in theaudio clip describing Grindr, an app that gay men use to locateother gay men for hookups.
  PHOTOS: Stars' Most Embarassing Moments
  The male friend says: "Say I log into Grindr, someone that's onGrindr can be in that building and it tells you all the locationsof where they are and you can be like, 'Yo, you wanna f**k?' and hemight be on like, the sixth floor," the pal says.
  "Ewww. Eww. To get f**ked? Gay guys are the horniest people inthe world," Paris is heard saying in the exclusive audio inresponse.
  "They're disgusting. Dude, most of them probably have AIDS."
  MEL AUDIO TAPE #1: Mel's Racist Rant
  The driver who recorded the conversation told Radar: "I couldn'tbelieve what was coming out of Paris' mouth and the way she wastalking about gay men."
  Nearly halfway into the 50-second clip, Paris is heard sayingshe'd be afraid to be a gay man and again throws the AIDS card into the mix.
  MEL AUDIO TAPE #3: Another Mel Gibson Slur Caught On Tape In CrazedRage
  "I would be so scared if I were a gay guy," Paris says.
  "You'll like, die of AIDS."
  Warning: Tape Contains Graphic Language andContent.
  The copyright to this tape is owned by RadarOnline.com.Any reproduction without written permission is strictlyprohibited.
  RELATED STORIES:
  Watch Out Karrueche! Paris Hilton Has The Hots For ChrisBrown
  MEL AUDIO TAPE #5: Mel Gibson Completely Loses It: 'B*tch, C*nt,Wh*re, Gold Digger!'
  MEL AUDIO TAPE #6: The Tape That Could Destroy Mel: "No One WillBelieve You", He Says After She Charges: "You Hit The Baby"
  MEL AUDIO TAPE #7: Mel Gibson's Twisted Rant Includes Jealous RageOver Timothy Dalton
Gold Is Money
  Link to Article
  Source: ZapLog - externe links
  Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:45
  What Do the Experts Say?Deutsche Bank analysts Daniel Brebner and Xiao Fu havejust released a new report saying that gold is money (via Business Insider):
  While it is included in the commodities basket it is in fact amedium of exchange and one that is officially recognised (if notpublically used as such). We see gold as an officiallyrecognised form of money for one primary reason: it is widelyheld by most of the world's larger central banks as acomponent of reserves.
  ***
  We would go further however, and argue that gold could becharacterised as 'good' money as opposed to'bad' money which would be represented by manyof today's fiat currencies. In describing gold as suchwe refer to Gresham's Law '' when a governmentovervalues one type of money and undervalues another, theundervalued money (good) will leave the country or disappearfrom circulation into hoards, while the overvalued money(bad) will flood into circulation.
  ***
  In our view the ideal medium of exchange must balance theparadox of representing value while having little intrinsic valueitself. There are very few media which can do this. Fiat currenciesphysically have no use other than that which is prescribed to themby government and accepted by the public. That fiat currencies costlittle to produce is of a secondary concern and we believe, quiteirrelevant to the primary purpose.
  Gold is neither production good nor consumption good. Jewellerywe see as a form of storage or hoarding (the people of Portugalhave all but exhausted their personal gold stores '' hoardedin the form of jewellery '' having converted them to survivethe crisis). If gold did have a meaningful commercial usewe believe that it would make the metal less attractive as a mediumof exchange as the value of the metal in whatever market it wasused in could periodically interfere with its medium-of-exchangerole'...
  Other characteristics are important of course in fulfilling therequirements for 'good' money: indestructibility,divisibility, transportability and universal acceptability.
  They are not alone '...
  World Bank president Robert Zoellick pointed out in 2010:
  Although textbooks may view gold as the old money, markets areusing gold as an alternative monetary assettoday.
  Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said in 2009:
  Gold prices that jumped above $1,000 an ounce this week aresignaling that investors are buying metals to hedge againstdeclines in currencies, former Federal Reserve Chairman AlanGreenspan said.
  The gains are ''strictly a monetaryphenomenon,'' Greenspan said today at an investmentconference in New York. Rising prices of precious metals and othercommodities are ''an indication of a very early stageof an endeavor to move away from paper currencies,''he said'...
  ''What is fascinating is the extent to which goldstill holds reign over the financial system as the ultimate sourceof payment,'' Greenspan said.
  And we noted in 2010:
  Alan Greenspan told the Council of Foreign Relations lastweek:
  Fiat money has no place to go but gold.
  Greenspan also said that supply and demand explanations treatinggold like other commodities ''simply don't panout.''
  Greenspan also spoke of how, during World War II, the Alliesgoing into North Africa found gold was insisted on in the paymentof bribes, and said:
  If all currencies are moving up or down together, the questionis: relative to what? Gold is the canary in the coal mine. Itsignals problems with respect to currency markets. Central banksshould pay attention to it.
  Former chief Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg wrote in March:
  The best currency may be physical gold'...
  Phoenix Capital Research argues that central banks are themselvesloading up on gold because they know that the entire fiat moneyscam will soon collapse.
  Indeed, it is fiat currency '' and not gold '' which is in abubble.
  As Bond king Bill Gross said recently:
  Gold can't be reproduced. It could certainly betaken out of the ground in an increasing rate but there's alimiting amount of gold.
  And there has been an unlimited amount of paper money over thepast 20 to 30 years and now '' in this period of central bankexpansion where it's QE1 or QE2, or whetherit's the LTROs of the ECB or this potential new program'... then central banks are at their leisure to basically printmoney.
  Gold is a fixed commodity that has a considerable store of valuethat paper money has not'....
  When a central bank starts writing checks and printing money inthe trillions of dollars, it's best to have somethingtangible that can't be reproduced, such as gold.
  Forget Theory '... Are People Actually Accepting Goldas Money?But forget all the theory. Are people actually acceptinggold as money?
  Utah has declared gold coins to be money.
  CNN reported in February:
  A growing number of states are seeking shiny new currencies madeof silver and gold.
  Worried that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. dollar are on thebrink of collapse, lawmakers from 13 states, including Minnesota,Tennessee, Iowa, South Carolina and Georgia, are seeking approvalfrom their state governments to either issue their own alternativecurrency or explore it as an option.
  ***
  Unlike individual communities, which are allowed to create theirown currency '-- as long as it is easily distinguishable fromU.S. dollars '-- the Constitution bans states from printingtheir own paper money or issuing their own currency. But it allowsthe states to make ''gold and silver Coin a Tender in Paymentof Debts.''
  Financial Times reported in 2010:
  Intercontinental Exchange, the US futures exchange group, hasfollowed rival CME Group by allowing itsEuropean clearing house to accept gold bullion as collateral fortransactions.
  JP Morgan accepts gold bullion ascollateral.
  So does Donald Trump.
  China is paying for oil with gold. India isprobably doing so as well.
  And central banks are considering allowing banks to hold gold asa risk-free, tier 1 asset.
  Caveats: Be careful with unallocatedaccounts, accounts held by big banks, paper forms of gold and tungsten (see this, this, this and this).
  Finally, note that FDR was not the only leader to confiscategold. In the Yuan dynasty six centuries earlier ''in an attempt to prop up its fiat currency and prevent runawayinflation '' the Chinese government attempted to prohibit all transactions in or possession of silveror gold, which had to be turned over to the government. China has outlawed possession of silver several times since, andhas just lifted the most recent ban.
Exclusive: Facebook to charge merchants to run Offers
  Link to Article
  Source: Reuters: Technology News
  Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:44
  1 of 2. A Facebook logo on a computerscreen is seen through a magnifying glass in Bern in this filephoto illustration taken May 19, 2012. Facebook Inc said it willstart charging businesses to run Offers on its social network,turning a previously free service into a potential revenuegenerator at a time when Wall Street is demanding new sources ofgrowth and profit from the company.
  Credit: Reuters/Thomas Hodel/File
  By Alistair Barr and Alexei Oreskovic
  SAN FRANCISCO | Thu Sep 20, 2012 9:25am EDT
  SANFRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said it will startcharging businesses to run Offers on its social network, turning apreviously free service into a potential revenue generator at atime when Wall Street is demanding new sources of growth and profitfrom the company.
  Facebook launched Facebook Offers earlier this year, lettingretailers and other local merchants send deals to their Facebookfans. Users claim the offers from their News Feeds and redeem thevouchers at stores to get discounts.
  The service has been free, but in coming weeks Facebook willrequire merchants to pay at least $5 on related ads to promote eachFacebook Offer to a targeted audience of fans and friends of fans.The cost will vary based on the size of a company's Facebookpages.
  Since Facebook went public in May, the company has been underpressure from Wall Street to show how it can turn its giant socialnetwork into a money machine. Facebook shares have lost about 40percent of their value since the IPO.
  The commerce potential of Facebook, known as f-commerce, has yetto materialize, partly because retailers have been able to feast ona host of free tools on the social network to attractcustomers.
  Tying Facebook Offers to a paid ad service suggests the companyis working to change this.
  "We think this aligns incentives nicely," said Gokul Rajaram,director of product management for Facebook's advertising and Pagesbusinesses. "The best results on Facebook Offers will come fromorganic distribution plus paid distribution."
  In the past, some Facebook Offers have not been relevant to allusers, partly because some people saw deals in their News Feedsfrom merchants located far away from where they live, Rajaramadded.
  "The requirement to pay for related ads will focus merchants onwho and where they want the offer to reach," he said.
  Facebook is also expanding Offers to online-only businesses, headded. Before, the service was available only to merchants withphysical locations.
  Facebook is also adding barcodes for offers, so customers canredeem offers more easily. The barcodes work globally, Rajaramnoted.
  The executive declined to disclose how many Facebook Offers havebeen run so far, how many merchants have taken part, or how manydeals have been claimed and redeemed by consumers.
  However, he said Facebook is "very happy" with the success ofits Offers business.
  "That's why we're expanding and investing more in it," Rajaramsaid.
  (Reporting by Alistair Barr and Alexei Oreskovic; Editing byPhil Berlowitz)
  Link thisShare thisDigg thisEmailReprints
EXCLUSIVE: Obama Homeland Security Brass Spent Day B/f 9/11 Golfing w ''Resigned'' Sexual Harasser Suzy Barr
  Link to Article
  Source: Debbie Schlussel
  Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:36
  By Debbie Schlussel
  While other federal law enforcement agencies spent the daybefore 9/11 monitoring terrorist threats and what turned out to bethe beginnings of coordinated Muslim attacks against our embassiesaround the world, top Homeland Security Investigators spent the daygolfing, drinking, and partying with the ''resigned,''scandalized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officialSuzanne Barr, who is accused of sexually harassing dozens of maleICE agents. Yup. She's BAAAAACK!
  DHS Chief Janet Napolitano & Flamboyant ICE Chief John(Moron) Morton: Their Favorite Sexually Harassing GalPal Suzy Barris Back!
  ICE Agents are aghast that Barr''the ''former''top Homeland Security official, who ''resigned'' under fire after I broke thestory of her sexual harassment of male agents''isapparently back in power, welcomed by Barack Obama's topHomeland Security Officials. On September 10th, only a week afterBarr allegedly resigned as Chief of Staff of Immigration andCustoms Enforcement (ICE), she was welcomed by ICE Director John''Moron'' Morton to an ICE Foundation golf fundraiser,making several top ICE officials wonder if she is truly out of theICE picture. The event was attended by all of the top officials ofHomeland Security Investigations (HSI), as it is sponsored by allof ICE's top contractors.
  At last week's ICE golf outing, sources say Barr arrivedand was warmly greeted by ICE Chief Morton, as if she had neverresigned. The sources also say that ICE agents in attendance, someof whom are potential witnesses against Barr in the supposed ICEOffice of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigation of hersexual harassment, felt intimidated by her presence and that shelorded herself over them in the company and presence of ICE'stop officials and contractors. The agents found it ironic that Barrwas welcome at the ''2012 ICE Foundation Charity Golf Tournament to Help FightChild Exploitation,'' when she was involved inillegal adult exploitation of subordinates at ICE, according to anongoing federal lawsuit by New York's topHomeland Security cop and several affidavits from other ICEagents. They say that corporatesponsorships''which ran $1,000 to sponsor a hole and alsoincluded a foursome to golf''included an ICE official in eachfoursome and that Barr was in a foursome as if she were still anICE official. (It's also strange to use the term''foursome'' in connection with Barr, given the manycomplaints about her sexual harassment of male ICE agents,especially since some allegations claim that several agentsacquiesced to her demands and that their careers were advancedaccordingly.)
  ICE Agents (& Suzy ''Stripper Pole'' Barr)Golf @ ICE Foundation Golf Tournament on the Eve of 9/11The sources say that Barr imbibed alcohol from the early morningstart of the event and that she arrived and left with officials ofthe Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), one of HomelandSecurity's largest contractors, which houses many detainedillegal aliens awaiting deportation. But federal law specificallyprohibits government officials from taking jobs with contractorsuntil after a one-to-two-year ''cooling off'' period, aslaid out in Chapter 18 of the United States Code Section207. Given this, Barr's fraternization with CCAofficials was entirely inappropriate. And Barr's closefraternization with a powerful ICE contractor intimidated many ofthe agents in attendance, according to the shocked sources.
  The sources also say that Barr was also welcomed byAngela Zutavern, who heads the ICEFoundation, a top official of Booz Allen HamiltonInc., a large ICE contractor. Ms. Zutavern has not yet responded toinquiries for this story.
  As I've previously pointed out on this site, there is avery incestuous and unduly opaque relationshipbetween top ICE contractors, ICE officials, and the ICEFoundation, even though the latter is ostensibly aprivate charity meant to help fallen agents' families, amongother missions. Some ICE agents say the ICE Foundation does goodthings and is to be lauded and supported. But the amount of moneydonated by ICE contractors to the foundation isn't disclosed,and there is at least the appearance of massive conflicts ofinterest, if not actual ones (which is also likely). Again,corporate sponsorships to the golf tournament were $1,000 per hole(which included a golfing foursome with an ICE official) or $125per single golfer. The event took place at Westfields Golf Club, a private clubin Clifton, Virginia, built by golf pro Fred Couples. The proceedsfrom the same golf tournament, last year, went to buy computers for''ICE International partners'' in the VirtualGlobal TaskForce (whatever that means) against child pornography and sextourism (which has very little to do with immigration and customsenforcement laws, by the way).
  Regardless of the ICE Foundation and what it does, ICE agentsare wondering why a woman who resigned in the wake of a publicscandal involving sexual harassment is proudly showing herface''and worse, that she is welcomed by ICE's chief,John Morton''to this event, just days after she allegedly leftthe agency. If Barr were truly gone from ICE and persona non grataat the agency, she'd have been barred from the event (and theevent would not have been Barred). But she's stillrunning the show, apparently. That's how it appears to agentswho were at the event and stunned to see her there.
  The fish rots from the head down. And in this case, the rottenfish heads are several: Barack Obama, his Homeland Security chief,Janet Napolitano, and his ICE Director, John Morton.
  Will the stink be fumigated on election day? Unless thathappens, Suzy Barr is having the last laugh . . . and she stillholds power over ICE.
  ''We're From the Govt &We're Here to . . . Sexually Harass You''
  Artwork by David Lunde/Lundesigns
Obama official: Benghazi was a terrorist attack | The Cable
  Link to Article
  Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:35
  The Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate inBenghazi was in fact "a terrorist attack" and the U.S. government hasindications that members of al Qaeda were directly involved, a top Obamaadministration official said Wednesday morning.
  "I would say yes, they werekilled in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy," Matt Olsen, the director of theNational Counterterrorism Center, said Wednesday at a hearing of the SenateHomeland Security Committee, in response to questioning from Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT) about the attackthat killed Ambassador Chris Stevensand three other Americans.
  As for who wasresponsible, Olsen said it appears there were attackers from a number ofdifferent militant groups that operate in and around Benghazi, and said thereare already signs of al Qaeda involvement.
  "We are looking atindications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections toal Qaeda or al Qaeda's affiliates; in particular, al Qaeda in the IslamicMaghreb," he said.
  The U.S. government just isn't sure yet whether theterrorist attack was pre-planned or whether it was an example of terrorists takingadvantage of protests against an anti-Islam film, Olsen said.
  "It appears that individualswho were certainly well-armed seized on the opportunity presented as the eventsunfolded that evening and into the morning hours of September 12th. We do know thata number of militants in the area, as I mentioned, are well-armed and maintainthose arms. What we don't have at this point is specific intelligence thatthere was a significant advanced planning or coordination for this attack," hesaid.
  His statements gofurther than those of the White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, whosaid last week that the protests inCairo and Benghazi were a reaction to the video and not a pre-planned attack.Today, Carney didn't repeat the assertion that the video was solely to blame,but he said again that there is no evidence the Benghazi attack was pre-planned.
  "What I can tell you isthat, as I said last week, as ... our ambassador to the United Nations said onSunday and as I said the other day, based on what we know now and knew at thetime, we have no evidence of a preplanned or premeditated attack," Carney saidWednesday. "It is a simple fact that there are in post-revolution, post-warLibya armed groups; there are bad actors hostile to the government, hostile tothe West, hostile to the United States. And as has been the case in othercountries in the region, it is certainly conceivable that these groups takeadvantage of and exploit situations that develop, when they develop, to protestagainst or attack either Westerners, Americans, Western sites, or Americansites."
  Committee rankingRepublican Susan Collins (R-ME)declared at the hearing that she believes the attacks were planned well inadvance and she referenced information she had received from U.S. intelligenceofficials behind closed doors.
  "First, I will tell you that based on the briefings I have had,I've come to the opposite conclusion and agree with the president of Libya thatthis was a premeditated, planned attack that was associated with the date of9/11, the anniversary of 9/11," she said. "I just don't think that people cometo protests equipped with RPGs and other heavy weapons. And the reports ofcomplicity -- and they are many -- with the Libyan guards who were assigned toguard the consulate also suggest to me that this was premeditated."
  Collins said she was concerned by the lack of security at theBenghazi consulate, especially since there had been an attack on the mission inJune and a more serious attack on the British ambassador's convoy as well.Olsen said the U.S. government was aware of the danger but not of impendingattack that killed the four Americans.
  "So there were reports detailing thoseattacks and detailing generally the threat that was faced to U.S. and Westernindividuals and interests in Eastern Libya from, again, armed militants as wellas elements connected to al Qaeda," he said. "There was no specificintelligence regarding an imminent attack prior to September 11th on our postin Benghazi."
Obama Flip-Flops On Middle East Embassy Attacks '' Now Admits It WAS A Terrorist Attack Against America
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:34
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