What Adam Curry is reading

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  VIDEO: Drivers hit with large bills
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    Source: BBC News - Home
    Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:58
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  Riot police clashes video: Students protest school cuts in Italy
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    Source: Dprogram.net
    Sun, 07 Oct 2012 09:51
    October 7th, 2012
    (RussiaToday) '' Hundreds of students in Milan clashed with police during protests against cuts to education in Italy. Students carrying shields and wearing motorcycle helmets threw eggs and oranges at police in riot gear. At one point, dozens of riot police charged the protesters, hitting them repeatedly with batons and forcing them away from regional government offices. Protesters also gathered in Rome on Friday to voice their anger at the Italian government and European Union austerity measures, which they claim are affecting the right to education, and impoverishing public schools.
    Related posts:
    In Greece, It's The Police Vs The Riot PoliceBlue On Blue: Greek Police Face Off With Riot Police In Athens (PHOTOS)Canadian Protestors Strip Nude As They Clash With Riot PoliceMadrid Spain Riot Police In Running Street Battles With ProtestorsAthens Riot Rage: Protesters Throw Firebombs, Police Shoot Tear GasPolice Beat Young Teenage Girls At Madrid Spain #25s ProtestWatch: Violent Clashes Erupt At #29s Madrid Spain BailoutItaly Investigating Moody's For Falsifying Figures, Market ManipulationTags: clashes, italy, riot police, students protest school cuts, videoThis entry was posted on Sunday, October 7th, 2012 at 1:36 am and is filed under Dictatorship, Economic Crisis, Education/Mind Control, Fascism, Film/Video, Italy, 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.
  Maddow Tears Down Right's Jobs Report Conspiracy Theories: A 'Controlling Dictatorial Impulse'. (video)
    Link to Article
    Source: WT news feed
    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:35
    video
    On Friday, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow compared some conservatives' discomfort with and dismissal of recent polling date to Iran's new, government-approved ''Iranternet.'' In both cases, she explained to viewers, there is a ''controlling dictatorial impulse'' at play when a group '-- be it certain partisan conservatives or the repressive Iranian government '-- seeks to ignore, discredit, reject, or actively hide information that does not fit its agenda.
    RELATED: Jack Welch Doubles Down On Allegation September Jobs Report Was Falsified: 'I Wasn't Kidding'
    In the case of these conservatives, said Maddow, there is an ongoing and concerted effort to create an alternate reality, of sports, whenever information presented through mainstream outlets makes the group uncomfortable. This can take form in, say, the creation of a ''fantasy electorate'' from which to extract preferable polling results, or the establishment of a far-right conservative response to Wikipedia should the information presented on the online, community-edited encyclopedia make certain people ''uncomfortable.'' For example, viddy this entry on dinosaurs, via Conservapedia, ''The Trustworthy Encyclopedia:''
    Creation science asserts that the biblical account, that dinosaurs were created on day 6 of creation[3] approximately 6,000 years ago, along with other land animals, and therefore co-existed with humans, thus debunking the Theory of Evolution and the beliefs of evolutionary scientists about the age and creation of the earth.
    Creation science shows that dinosaurs lived in harmony with other animals, (probably including in the Garden of Eden) eating only plants[4]; that pairs of each dinosaur kind were taken onto Noah's Ark during the Great Flood and were preserved from drowning[5]; that many of the fossilized dinosaur bones originated during the mass killing of the Flood[6]; and that possibly some descendants of those dinosaurs taken aboard the Ark are still around today.[7] At least 300 distinct genera of dinosaur have been identified.[8]
    Archaeological, fossil, and documentary evidence supports the logical conclusion that dinosaurs co-existed with mankind until at least relatively recent times.[citation needed]
    But conspiracy theories are by no means restricted to right-wing ideologues, Maddow pointed out. Take, for example the lefty theory that George W. Bushwore a hidden listening advice during his debate with then-candidate John Kerry. And, today, there's the theory going around that Mitt Romney cheated during Wednesday's debate in Denver by sneaking in a crib sheet. And, really, who can argue with grainy, slow-motion YouTube videos? That is, after all, how I learned which politicians are actually lizard people.
    Maddow got to the crux of the problem with such theories by asking what, exactly, we are to learn to take away from them. How is Obama supposed to approach the next debate if this theory is true? With cheat notes of his own? By accusing Romney of undermining the debate rules? The accusation that Romney won the debate by cheating, Maddow said, is not only factually untrue, it also does not do Obama any favors and won't help him prepare or perform better in the future.
    But back to the right. The most recent conspiracy theory floating around now comes courtesy of Jack Welch who, as Maddow noted, is a minority owner of MSNBC's parent company, Tweeted that the new jobs numbers had been manipulated by the ''Chicago guys'' in the White House. Reps. Allen West and Paul Broun, Fox News' Eric Bolling, radio host Laura Ingraham, and others also turned to Twitter to express their doubts about the veracity of the September jobs report. The right is, Maddow said, essentially building its own ''Irantranet'' because the facts did not sit well with them and so they had to create a new, alternate reality in which the White House is tampering with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to present the public with false information, with a lie.
    Check it out, via MSNBC:
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  Kenneth Krause Responds to Jennifer Livingston; Man Who 'Bullied' TV Anchor 'Regrets' Parts of Email (video)
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    Source: WT news feed
    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:02
  Senior American Spy: The US Is Turning Into Cold War Germany
    Link to Article
    Source: Dprogram.net
    Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:35
    October 5th, 2012
    (WashingtonsBlog) '' A senior American spy familiar with America's domestic spy program warns that the United States is quickly turning into a totalitarian state.
    e End of Privacy Rights
    There was a time when we the people could expect privacy in our homes, in our conversations, in our every day lives. As you'll see in this video, your right to privacy has ended. Vast amounts of what you would assume to be your private information is being recorded and stored in computer banks.
    If you found this video beneficial, helpful, interesting, and/or eye-opening, please share it with everyone you know. Help us get the word out. Also, please visit our website and join our mailing list to be notified every time we create another video.
    Background here and here.
    Greg Adams of We The People Foundation sent us this outstanding video. It's the first of three videos which that group is releasing.
    Source:Washington's Blog
    Related posts:
    Germany: Facebook must destroy facial recognition databaseSenior Senator Warns CISPA Will Create A Cyber Industrial ComplexCold Hard Facts On Gun Bans: ''The Cost Of Liberty Can Be Measured In the Loss of Life''Michigan authorities force farmers to massacre baby pigs cold bloodMoody's Puts Germany On Warning For Credit Rating DowngradeGermany Has 'Reached Its Limit' On Greek Bailout AidSenior U.S. intelligence official: Israel won't strike Iran before NovemberReport: Five Senior Goldman Sachs Execs Gave $130K To 'Obama Victory Fund' WHILE Eric Holder Was Deciding Whether To File Criminal ChargesTags: american spy, US is turning into cold war germanyThis entry was posted on Friday, October 5th, 2012 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Dictatorship, Education/Mind Control, Fascism, Germany, 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.
  Video Remarks for the Budapest Cyber Conference
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    Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:57
    I am delighted to be able to send greetings to all of you as you come together to tackle the full range of cyber policy issues. As I said last year when we launched our International Strategy for Cyberspace, the issues you're working on represent a new foreign policy imperative for the United States. That's why we are building an environment in which norms of responsible behavior guide states' actions, sustain partnerships, and support the rule of law in cyberspace. Within the last six months, the United States has launched new whole-of-government cyber dialogues with Brazil, India, South Africa, and many of our closest allies and like-minded partners. We have also had productive conversations with Russia and China, and we are working with key international and multilateral partners to find common ground; and we are supporting capacity building in the developing world by partnering with allies to deliver a range of programs. I am particularly pleased that you will be examining how nongovernmental actors can help harness the power of the internet to promote more inclusive government and greater democratic values.
    As you look for new solutions and continue these conversations from Budapest to Seoul and beyond, consider the United States a partner every step of the way.
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  Remarks With Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Yerlan Idrissov After Their Meeting-NEW SILK ROAD
    Link to Article
    Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:16
    The video below is available with closed captioning on YouTube
    SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon, everyone. I am delighted to welcome a very well known figure here to the State Department and to have this opportunity to greet him as Foreign Minister. But before I turn to the issues that bring us together today, let me say a few words about a subject that I know is on many people's minds.There are continuing questions about what exactly happened in Benghazi on that night three weeks ago. And we will not rest until we answer those questions and until we track down the terrorists who killed our people. Active efforts are also underway to determine who was responsible and bring them to justice.
    We have already formed an Accountability Review Board to examine this attack and to explore how we can prevent anything like this from happening in the future. The board is beginning its work this week under the leadership of Ambassador Thomas Pickering. The board's mandate is to determine whether our security systems and procedures in Benghazi were appropriate in light of the threat environment, whether those systems and procedures were properly implemented, and any lessons that may be relevant to our work around the world.
    The men and women who serve this country as diplomats deserve no less than a full and accurate accounting, wherever that leads. And I am committed to seeking that for them and for those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.
    No one wants to determine what happened that night in Benghazi more than the President and I do. No one is more committed to ensuring it doesn't happen again. And nobody will hold this Department more accountable than we hold ourselves, because we served with and we knew the four men we lost. They are not just names or profiles to us. They are our colleagues and our friends.
    In our initial reviews over the past two weeks, we have worked closely with other agencies, and we have learned a number of things. We will continue to learn more in the days to come. We are committed to a process that is as transparent as possible while balancing the needs of the investigations underway. It will take time before we have a complete understanding of what actually did happen. But still, I am asking the board to move as quickly as possible without sacrificing diligence and accuracy. In the interim, we will continue to provide as much accurate information as we can to the public and to the Congress.
    As I've been saying for four years, our diplomats and development experts are on the front lines, just like our troops. And the entire United States Government needs to work together to protect them. We will not retreat. We will keep leading, and we will stay engaged everywhere in the world, including in those hard places where America's interests and security are at stake. That is the best way to honor those whom we have lost.
    Now let me say again what a pleasure it is to welcome Foreign Minister Idrissov here to Washington in his new capacity. He served here for five years as Kazakhstan's Ambassador, so we already know him as a friend and partner. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Foreign Minister for Kazakhstan's strong statements in support of the United States and the duty to protect diplomats following the Benghazi attack.
    Today we discussed the many ways our nations are enhancing our cooperation through our Strategic Partnership Dialogue. As a critical link in the Northern Distribution Network, Kazakhstan is part of our efforts to supply and support our troops in Afghanistan. And Kazakhstan is looking forward to a future of greater regional cooperation and economic integration after the security transition ends in 2014. They have pledged to support the Afghan National Security Forces. They are focusing on infrastructure projects and training Afghan officials.
    Kazakhstan has also embraced the Vision for a New Silk Road that will strengthen the region's economic ties, where goods and people can move freely throughout the region. I thanked the Minister for everything that Kazakhstan is doing to promote stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
    We discussed Kazakhstan's program of economic and democratic reforms at home. Kazakhstan is working to strengthen its institutions, including its newly elected parliament. And I assured the Foreign Minister that the United States will continue to support this path toward becoming a modern democracy.
    At the same time, I did express the importance of continuing to strengthen space for the development of civil society. A strong civil society is essential to an effective democracy, and we urge that all human rights be protected. In this regard, I did express concern over a new religion law, and made the point that its implementation should not restrict the right of people to worship peacefully.
    Finally, we talked about our partnership on nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament, and security. I thanked the Foreign Minister for Kazakhstan's work with the IAEA to establish an international nuclear fuel bank. And we discussed our shared commitment to seeing Iran come into full compliance with its UN Security Council and Nonproliferation Treaty obligations.
    Our nations have enjoyed more than 20 years of diplomatic relations. And as we enter this third decade of partnership, I look forward to seeing new ways and new opportunities for our countries to work together.
    Thank you so much, Minister.
    FOREIGN MINISTER IDRISSOV: Thank you, Madam Secretary, for your kind words. I'm really happy to see friends in the room. Jill, we had the tradition of having breakfast together, and I think it's my turn now, and I invite you to Kazakhstan for the next breakfast we have.
    Madam Secretary, dear friends, it's a lucky coincidence for me to have the opportunity to end my five year tour in Washington, DC, and to start my new job as Foreign Minister for Kazakhstan by having a meeting with an outstanding statesman, outstanding diplomat, Secretary Clinton. I'm not yet seasoned as she is. Therefore my statement will be very brief. Over the years of Kazakhstan's young independence, our nations have built a relationship which is robust, dynamic, and broad, covering vast areas ranging from nuclear nonproliferation to energy partnership, nation building, and regional security.
    I will try to do my best to make sure that our relations go from strength to strength to the benefit of our nations, our region, and the entire world.
    Thank you, Madam Secretary.
    SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much.
    FOREIGN MINISTER IDRISSOV: Thank you.
    MS. NULAND: We'll take three questions today. Let's start with CBS. Margaret Brennan, please.
    QUESTION: Thank you. Madam Secretary, were their multiple requests for increased security in Tripoli and Benghazi, and can you address whether Washington or your office rejected those requests?
    SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me start by cautioning everyone against seizing on any single statement or piece of information to draw final conclusions. It's essential that we go through all of the information and the entire context so that we can get a full and complete accurate understanding of what happened. I take this responsibility very seriously, and I believe that our diplomats, our leaders, and the American people deserve a rigorous, serious, careful process.
    Now, we are already working with Congress and the relevant committees, and we will continue to respond to questions and requests in a cooperative way. As a former member of Congress, I deeply understand as well as anyone the important role that Congress is playing and should play in this effort. I am aware, too, that many people are eager for answers. So am I, Margaret, and no one wants the answers more than we do here at the Department. And now based on the reviews so far, we're developing a better understanding of what happened, but we have a lot of work to do to give complete and accurate responses to all the questions and statements that are swirling out there.
    So we have to keep working through lots of documents and talking to scores of individuals before we have a definitive accounting. Over the course of this review, there will naturally be a number of statements made, some of which will be borne out, and some of which will not. So let's establish all the facts before we jump to any conclusions, and let's do so so that we can get to the bottom of what did happen.
    So I'm asking the board to move as quickly as possible without sacrificing accuracy. In the interim, we will provide as much accurate information to the Congress and the public along the way. I think it's really very important for us to do this in a rigorous, careful way, because I have observed over the course of many years, as a lawyer, as someone in public life, that at the beginning of any kind of inquiry or investigation, there's going to be different perspectives, different points of view, people trying to present what they believe applies to a certain set of circumstances. But I've also seen how important it is to get everything lined up and analyzed, and that is what we are doing, and we're doing it as expeditiously as possible, and we'll certainly keep you, the Congress, and the public informed.
    MS. NULAND: Next one. Alexey Berezin from Khabar TV, please.
    QUESTION: We know that a Strategic Partnership between the United States and Kazakhstan is going on, so my question is about the future, about the perspectives of this partnership. So please comment on this one.
    SECRETARY CLINTON: Let me say how pleased we are that this Strategic Partnership has already produced results. We are working across a broad range of issues together, and I think it speaks, as the Minister said, to both countries' desire to deepen and strengthen our relationship. We view Kazakhstan as not just a regional presence but a global leader. Certainly when it comes to nonproliferation, there are few countries that can match Kazakhstan's experience and credibility when talking about nonproliferation. We are very grateful for the role that Kazakhstan is taking on with respect to Afghanistan, and I have been privileged, as you know, to visit Kazakhstan, both as First Lady and as Secretary, and to have seen the remarkable developments in such a short period of time in this new '' this old nation but new, modern country.
    So we think that our strategic partnership reflects where we are today and where we hope to be tomorrow. Minister?
    FOREIGN MINISTER IDRISSOV: Madam Secretary was so eloquent, there is very little that I have to add. I fully subscribe to what Madam Secretary said. Let me highlight another aspect of our cooperation and our vision is to focus on the region. The region requires so much attention that we have to segment our efforts so that our efforts are successful. Our long-term goal, which is shared by our partners in the West, in the South, to the East, and to the Northeast '' to turn our space into a genuine platform for cooperation, a genuine space for win-win scenarios.
    So this is the goal we'll be driving ourselves by, and we will continue to count on the very strong shoulder of our American friends.
    SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.
    MS. NULAND: Last one today. Special friend to Kazakhstan '' (laughter) '' Jill Dougherty of CNN.
    QUESTION: (Inaudible), sir, it was very nice of you to say that.
    Secretary Clinton, I wanted to ask you about Iran. Today, we are seeing some uprisings '' the people obviously very much hurting, very frustrated about the fall of their currency. I know you've said many times you do not want to hurt them, but can you now, at this point, prevent that? And is the ultimate goal to bring down the economy, if that's what it takes, in order to stop Iran's nuclear program?
    And in our tradition of just adding another question '' but this just happened '' the attack on the Turkish border. Turks killed and now there is serious mulling over by the Turks some type of unilateral military action. What's your opinion on that?
    SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Jill, first with respect to Iran, our goal has been and remains to persuade the Iranian regime to negotiate seriously in good faith with the international community over its nuclear program, to fulfill its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency and to the United Nations, and to do so expeditiously. We have always said that we had a dual-track approach to this, and one track was trying to put pressure on the Iranian Government to come to the negotiating table and to do just as I have described: to reach a peaceful resolution of the many legitimate questions that surround their nuclear program and ambitions.
    I think the Iranian Government deserves responsibility for what is going on inside Iran. And that is who should be held accountable. And I think that they have made their own government decisions, having nothing to do with the sanctions that have had an impact on the economic conditions inside the country. And of course, the sanctions have had an impact as well, but those could be remedied in short order if the Iranian Government were willing to work with the P-5+1 and the rest of the international community in a sincere manner.
    With respect to what happened on the Turkey-Syria border, we are outraged that the Syrians have been shooting across the border. We are very regretful about the loss of life that has occurred on the Turkish side. We are working with our Turkish friends. I will be speaking with the Foreign Minister later to discuss what the best way forward would be.
    But this also comes down to a regime that is causing untold suffering to its own people, solely driven by their desire to stay in power, aided and abetted by nations like Iran that are standing firmly beside the Assad regime regardless of the damage, the loss of life, the violence that is happening both inside of Syria and now increasingly across Syria's borders with their neighbors.
    It's a very, very dangerous situation. And all responsible nations need to band together to persuade the Assad regime to have a ceasefire, quit assaulting their own people, and begin the process of a political transition. So this is an issue that we are seized with and deeply concerned by and will continue working on.
    Thank you all.
    MS. NULAND: Thank you all very much.
  Turkish Prime Minister "Not interested In War BUT Not Far From It Either"
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    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:26
  Price Of Gas Jumps 16 Cents A Gallon OVER NIGHT In California
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:26
  "Friday We Learned That The Unemployment Rate Is Now At Its Lowest Level Since I Took Office"
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:02
  Income Wealth Gap Widest In Over 4 Decades "Corporate Profits At Highest Levels In 60 Years"
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 13:45
  The Most Popular Cell Phones ALL Contain Toxic Metals
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:50
  Drinking Too Much Alcohol Can Change Your DNA
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:50
  UK Extradited RADICAL Cleric To US
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:49
  Syrian Rebels Shoot Down Helicopter
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:48
  Americans Travel To Pakistan To Protest US Drone Strikes
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:48
  Jack Welch Says "I Should Have Put A Question Mark" On The Tweet That Questioned Obama's Honesty
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    Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:47
  Drone Strike In Yemen Kills 5 AL QAEDA Militants (And How Many Others?)
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    Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:11
  BREAKING! Turkish Parliament Approves Military Action Outside It's Borders
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    Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:44
  Deadly Meningitis Outbreak Link To Steroid Injections
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    Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:28
  The Drug War Has Been A Huge Success! For Drug War Profiteers
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    Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:27
The Spectre Of Obama's America - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 12:10
  In 2008, Focus on the Family penned (pdf) a ''Letter From 2012 in Obama's America.'' Fred Clarke scores their predictions:
  Focus on the Family made 34 specific, detailed predictions about what would happen in ''Obama's America.'' They came up 0-for-34. Well, let's be generous '-- we'll give them half credit for prediction No. 10. That one correctly foresaw the repeal of ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' '-- but then also incorrectly predicted a host of disastrous consequences of that repeal. Obama did repeal DADT, but Christians have not been expelled from the military and the Pentagon isn't paying ''special bonuses'' to LGBT recruits.
  Some of their other predictions:
  The Boy Scouts and private Christian schools were not forced to disband by the Supreme Court; adoption agencies remain in business; religious broadcasters still broadcast; churches are not being compelled to host gay weddings or to hire lesbian clergy; Christian tribal gatherings are still permitted ''at the pole'' in public high schools; the Pledge of Allegiance and private gun ownership have not been outlawed.
  Libby Anne detects a pattern:
  The whole purpose of this letter ... was to scare evangelicals out of voting for Obama at any cost. And today, they're doing the same thing. If you vote for Obama, they say, every manner of horrible awful no good very bad thing will happen. Your freedoms will disappear. They will take your guns, they will ban homeschooling, they will send your grandma to death panels.
  But this is getting old. See, leaders on the Right do this every election year. Every election is ''the most important election of all time,'' and every election year they warn that our freedoms as Americans are on the line. Every election year they predict catastrophe if they lose the election.
'Alles biologisch kost zes keer zo veel land'
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 12:06
  Door: Mac van Dinther '' 07/10/12, 13:11
  Louise Fresco
  We zijn vervreemd geraakt van de voedselproductie, zegt Louise Fresco, we oordelen erover zonder kennis. 'De ambachtelijke bakker gaat de wereld niet voeden.'
  De wereld lijkt aan eten ten onder te gaan. Regenwouden worden gekapt voor soja, de veestapel is een van de belangrijkste veroorzakers van het broeikaseffect, monocultuur bedreigt de biodiversiteit en het is de vraag hoe we al die jonge Indirs en Chinezen voeden die straks massaal naar de McDonald's gaan.
  Volgens Louise Fresco is er geen werkelijke reden voor paniek. De aarde kan genoeg produceren om iedereen te voeden. De landbouw is een succesverhaal, schrijft zij in haar vrijdag verschenen boek Hamburgers in het paradijs.
  Natuurlijk wordt er nog honger geleden op de wereld, maar dat is een gevolg van falend beleid en armoede. Daar staan talloze zegeningen van de moderne landbouw tegenover. Meer mensen zijn beter gevoed dan ooit tevoren. De landbouw heeft de grootste bevolkingsgroei in de geschiedenis van de mensheid mogelijk gemaakt. Het merendeel van de bevolking is vrijgesteld van de dagelijkse zorg voor voedsel en kan zich aan andere dingen wijden. 'Hoe je het ook wendt of keert, dat is nogal een triomf.'
  En er zit nog rek in het systeem voor een paar miljard monden extra. 'We moeten de komende jaren ongelofelijk veel meer voedsel produceren. Maar we kunnen het. Tenzij er een wereldoorlog uitbreekt of een gigantische epidemie, voorzie ik geen onoverkomelijke problemen in onze voedselvoorziening.'
  Dat is een optimistische boodschap. Veel van uw collega's zien het somberder in. Simpel voorbeeld: nu wordt tweederde van het landbouwareaal ingezet voor de vleesproductie. De vraag naar vlees verdubbelt de komende veertig jaar. Dan hebben we anderhalve aarde nodig.'Dat is een denkfout. Om te beginnen: er is veel land op aarde dat niet geschikt is voor akkerbouw. Denk aan de pampa's van Argentini, de Mongoolse steppen. De koeien die daar lopen zetten voor ons onverteerbaar gras om in hoogwaardig voedsel. Er is geen andere en betere manier om dat te doen. Die gebieden worden nu heel extensief beweid. Ook kippen en varkens zitten in grote delen van de wereld nog op lage productieniveaus. Er valt nog veel winst te halen met verbeterde voeropname en efficiency.
  'Wat veevoer betreft: de productiviteit van een graanakker in China ligt ongeveer 40 procent hoger dan in India. En in China ligt het weer 40 procent lager dan bij ons. Ook daar zit dus nog veel ruimte voor verbetering. Dan heb ik het niet over genetische modificatie, maar met de huidige technieken.
  'Het probleem met doemscenario's is dat ze uitgaan van business as usual. Maar je kunt nooit vanuit je huidige situatie lineair de toekomst voorspellen. In 1894 voorspelde The Times dat in 1950 de straten van Londen onder 3 meter paardenmest zouden liggen. Toen kon nog niemand bedenken dat er een heel andere oplossing voorhanden was, namelijk de auto. Als je nu vijftig jaar terugkijkt, mis je de hele internetrevolutie.'
  Biodiversiteit is ook een stokpaardje van doemdenkers. Het belang daarvan wordt overschat, volgens u.'Wat ik zeg, is dat er geen directe relatie is tussen diversiteit in het ecosysteem en voedselzekerheid. Het feit dat wij voor ons voedsel afhankelijk zijn van maar dertig gewassen wil niet zeggen dat ons voedsel daardoor onveiliger is.'
  Als bijen uitsterven, is dat vervelend - maar geen ramp, schrijft u. Fruit is lekker, maar niet noodzakelijk.'Bijensterfte wordt door doemdenkers aangehaald als symbool voor de ondergang van ons voedselsysteem. Gesuggereerd wordt dat er zonder bijen helemaal geen bevruchting meer plaatsvindt. Dat is onjuist. De meeste voedselgewassen zijn niet afhankelijk van bijen. Bestuiving kan een probleem zijn voor de tuinbouw, maar niet voor onze basiscalorien. Als je het hebt over voedselzekerheid kun je niet zeggen dat het niet bestuiven van de appelboom daar een aantasting van is.'
  Wat u betreft moeten we juist meer intensiveren in plaats van minder.'In Nederland geven we land terug aan de natuur. Drenthe was vroeger een landbouwprovincie, nu is het een en al natuur. Dat is mogelijk gemaakt door de intensieve landbouw waardoor we minder grond nodig hebben voor ons voedsel. Overigens denk ik dat in Nederland de grenzen van de intensivering wel zijn bereikt.'U bent geen voorstander van de oplossingen die critici aandragen. 'Biologisch' is volgens u geen garantie voor 'duurzaam'.
  'Hoe sympathiek de gedachte ook is: als we al ons voedsel biologisch willen telen, hebben we veel meer land nodig. Niet zo'n beetje, naar schatting wel zes keer zo veel.'
  Ambachtelijk geproduceerd eten, eten uit eigen regio, eten van het seizoen: volgens u zijn het speeltjes van verwende westerlingen.'Zo hard bedoel ik het niet. Ik vind dat die bewegingen krediet verdienen omdat ze voedsel weer op de agenda hebben gezet. Wat ik zeg, is dat ze geen oplossing bieden voor het wereldvoedselprobleem.'Het is een illusie te denken dat we Nederland kunnen voeden met voedsel uit de omgeving. Mondialisering is een feit als je zo divers wilt eten als wij nu doen. De ambachtelijke bakker gaat de wereld niet voeden. Bewegingen als slowfood en biologisch zijn een voorhoede, maar ze bieden geen realistisch alternatief. De echte verandering moet toch uit de mainstreamvoedsel-productie komen.'
  Louise Fresco (1952, Meppel) is een autoriteit op voedings- gebied. Ze studeerde cum laude af aan Wageningen Universiteit, bekleedde hoge posten bij de VN-landbouworganisatie FAO, reisde de hele wereld rond en is sinds 2006 hoogleraar aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam.
  Ze heeft verscheidene publicaties op haar naam, waaronder drie romans. 'Hamburgers in het paradijs' wordt gepresenteerd als haar magnum opus. In 465 pagina's schrijft ze de menselijke voedselgeschiedenis van de (fictieve) vlucht uit het paradijs tot nu en hoe het verder moet.
  Lees het hele interview in de Volkskrant van dit weekend.
Rare Photos of Vladimir Putin
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 12:03
  Tags:Vladimir PutinThe president is a public profession. It is only on rare occasions that the head of state spends his workday without any photo sessions or the replication of his photos in the mass media. But some photographs for some or other reasons do not become part of the public domain. RIA Novosti offers its users a selection of such photos of Vladimir Putin on October 7, the birthday of Russia's incumbent president.
The Rumble 2012: Bill O'Reilly vs Jon Stewart
  Link to Article
  Source: GeenStijl
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 11:51
  Vannacht alleen tegen betaling live te zien maar nu (zo lang het nog duurt) nog steeds op de youtubes: het debat tussen Jon Stewart en O'Reilly. Oftewel: Anderhalf uur ranten tussen de links-joodse Mark Twain van stonerskanaal Comedy Central versus de conservatieve pappa bear van het immer gebalanceerde FoxNews. Meer vids staan hier. Torrents om te downloadendaar. Al Gore heeft tenslotte niet voor jan lul het internet uitgevonden. Brusselmans | 07-10-12 | 13:13 | Link | Het Internet was uitgevonden voor Porno.Dankjewel Al Gore.
  ZDEV | 07-10-12 | 13:16Al Gore is toch de baas van het KNMI en erevoorzitter van GroenLinks?
  Ik wil Dan Quayle terug!
  Reinaert | 07-10-12 | 13:17Was er maar zoveel interesse in de media voor "rumbles" in Brussel. Voor onze welvaart heel wat belangrijker dan wat er aan de overkant van de plas gebeurt (een 3e keer komen ze ons echt niet meer bevrijden).
  kapotte_stofzuiger | 07-10-12 | 13:17Not intrested.
  Glas Koning | 07-10-12 | 13:20Kijk, Van Rompuy, Schulz, Verhofstadt: Dit soort stukjes show rond de democratie, hoe groot de farce ook wezen moge, maakt het nou, dat een Amerikaan zich Amerikaan voelt, maar een Europeaan zich slechts een benadeelde Duitser, Ier, Nederlander, Brit, Fransman, Spanjaard, Griek, Portugees, Italiaan, Oostenrijker, Fin, Zweed, Pool of (C)(C)n van die andere 14 voelt.
  ZKH E(C)nOog | 07-10-12 | 13:21En dan moeten wij het doen met het zuurlinksche gerochel van Freek de Jonge aan de vooravond van de verkiezingen.
  Cuyahoga | 07-10-12 | 13:22Stewart for president :)
  Freakster1986 | 07-10-12 | 13:23Het is nog wat vroeg voor Bier en Chips, maar ok. *Plop*
  Botte Hork | 07-10-12 | 13:23@Cuyahoga | 07-10-12 | 13:22
  En als het dan nog zijn laatste rochel was...
  ZKH E(C)nOog | 07-10-12 | 13:24pirateproxy.net...
  (c)ZWITSUL | 07-10-12 | 13:26@ZDEV | 07-10-12 | 13:16Internet is geboren uit de nucleaire wapenwedloop en groot geworden op porno.
  Godsammekraken | 07-10-12 | 13:29@ (c)ZWITSUL | 07-10-12 | 13:26
  ben je is behulpzaam .. :)
  (c)ZWITSUL | 07-10-12 | 13:30Mark twain heeft toch een spreekverbod van GU?
  necrosis | 07-10-12 | 13:30@ZKH E(C)nOog | 07-10-12 | 13:21Breng die Eurofielen nou niet op ideen....
  necrosis | 07-10-12 | 13:32O'reilly is het bewijs dat het eind der tijden nabij is.
  pius | 07-10-12 | 13:38Anderhalve cent die twee
  Tobi | 07-10-12 | 13:40Sinds wanneer heeft Al Gore het internet uitgevonden, volgens mij werd dat gedaan door Bert Brussen of Francisco van jole....
  necrosis | 07-10-12 | 13:40@necrosis | 07-10-12 | 13:32
  Maakt nou niet zo veel meer uit. Ze zouden er toch 50 jaar te laat mee zijn, om Europeanen bij elkaar te betrekken en zich voor elkaar te laten interesseren.
  Mede met dank aan de eeuwig zwijgzame MSM, die naast afdeling Den Haag, twee hoofdafdelingen in Washington DC en Tel-Aviv hebben staan.Zo nu en dan ontspoort er eens een reporter, per ongeluk, in (C)(C)n van onze buurlanden. Op de rest van de planeet gebeurt er verder niets, tenzij er weer eens een enorme ramp is, waar zakken met hulpgeld door gevuld kunnen worden.
  Dus nee, ik ben niet bang, dat ik ze nog tijdig op ideen breng. Daarnaast laat de democratische structuur van de Europese Commissie, die onverkozenheid, dat toch niet toe.
  ZKH E(C)nOog | 07-10-12 | 13:44Hadden ze Jon Steward niet even een een opstapje kunnen geven?
  Jackie Chiles | 07-10-12 | 13:47Zo te zien heeft Gore ook Divx uitgevonden, geen beter kwaliteit te vinden?
  Roeieber | 07-10-12 | 13:47Ik ben overigens benieuwd wie E.D. Hill zou doen.Ik sla even over....
  necrosis | 07-10-12 | 13:48Reageer ookJe bent ingelogd als: (Uitloggen)
  Probeer trouwens eens de totaal officieuze niet-ondersteunde third-party GeenStijl extension die compleet niet door ons ondersteund wordt en volledig op eigen risico is.
  Je bent niet ingelogd, klik hier om dat wel te doen: login of doe een CookieSync.
Afghan cleric offers cash for death of film producer
  Link to Article
  Source: The Daily Star >> Live News
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 11:45
  KABUL: An Afghan cleric has offered rewards totalling $400,000 for anyone killing the producer of a US-made anti-Islam film and a French cartoonist who drew caricatures of the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
  "I have offered $300,000 to anyone who kills the anti-Islam film producer and $100,000 for killing the French cartoonist," Mir Faroq Husaini, a prominent cleric in the western province of Herat, told AFP Sunday.
  Husaini said he had first announced the reward during a sermon on Friday in a large mosque in the city.
  "I will sell all my properties, including my lands in Herat, to collect the money," he said.
  Afghanistan is a devoutly Muslim nation and perceived insults to religion are taken seriously, often with violent consequences.
  The "Innocence of Muslims", a crudely made film that mocks Islam, triggered violent protests in at least 20 countries including Afghanistan after excerpts were posted online last month.
  Immediately after the film gained notoriety, French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons caricaturing the Muslim prophet.
  A Pakistani government minister last month placed a $100,000 bounty on the head of the maker of the film.
  Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour also called on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda to join the hunt and help accomplish the "noble deed".
Bachmann synagogue visit inspires Yom Kippur walkout
  Link to Article
  Source: JAFB*
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:58
  From the Times of Israel
  Chicago rabbi apologizes following appearance by controversial congressman
  WASHINGTON (JTA) '-- Congregants at a Chicago synagogue walked out of Yom Kippur services when the rabbi acknowledged the presence of US Rep. Michele Bachmann.
  ''I am aware of the fact that our congregation's policy in regards to public officials clearly caused pain to some members of our community on the most precious day of reconciliation on the Jewish calendar,'' Anshe Emet Rabbi Michael Siegel told the Chicago Tribune. ''That we regret deeply.''
  Siegel had greeted Bachmann, a Republican from Minnesota, during the service last week, citing what he said was a custom of the Lakeview synagogue to recognize public officials. The synagogue is affiliated with Judaism's Conservative movement.
  A number of congregants walked out, and one, Gary Sircus, contributed to the campaign of Bachmann's opponent, Jim Graves.
  ''Even though I do not vote in Minnesota, please do everything in your power to take away this evil woman's soapbox,'' Sircus wrote to Graves.
  Bachmann, who was a candidate in the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, is stridently pro-Israel, but deeply conservative on social and economic issues, making a focus her opposition to gay marriage.
  Graves, a hotel magnate, has proven unexpectedly competitive in the congressional race.
  It's not clear why Bachmann was at Anshe Emet.
  . Bookmark the
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Nederlandse omgekomen bij auto-ongeval in VS
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:53
  07/10/12, 12:26 '' bron: ANP
  (C) Thinkstock. Zicht op de brug bij Newport
  Een auto-ongeluk in de Amerikaanse staat Rhode Island heeft aan drie vrouwen, onder wie een 39-jarige Nederlandse, het leven gekost. De auto belandde door nog onbekende oorzaak op de kop in het water.
  De bestuurster is vermoedelijk per ongeluk van de pier afgereden bij de scheepswerven van de stad Newport, citeerde de Amerikaanse krant Providence Journal de politie. De autoriteiten gaan vooralsnog niet uit van een misdrijf. De andere twee inzittenden kwamen uit de Verenigde Staten en uit Groot-Brittanni.
Komt er vandaag een einde aan het bewind van Hugo Chavez?
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:52
  Door: Redactie '' 07/10/12, 10:21
  (C) afp. Militairen lopen langs een verkiezingsposter van Hugo Chavez.
  Zijn de dagen voor Hugo Chavez als president van Venezuela geteld? Dat is de vraag die het Zuid-Amerikaanse land in zijn greep houdt nu de Venezolanen naar de stembus gaan in de spannendste verkiezingen in jaren. Bijna 19 miljoen kiezers kunnen vandaag hun stem uitbrengen.
  De onder armen populaire linkse populist en president Hugo Chvez verwacht weer te worden herkozen. Hij zal dan aan het einde van zijn volgende ambtstermijn in 2019 20 jaar lang geregeerd hebben over het olierijke Venezuela. Maar zijn tijd lijkt voorbij. Het land verkeert ondanks de olieprijzen in een diepe crisis en de 58-jarige Chvez heeft net een worsteling van een jaar met kanker achter de rug.
  PersconferentieGisterenavond gaf Chavez nog een op het laatste moment ingelaste persconferentie, maar op lastige vragen wilde hij geen antwoord geven. Zo wilde hij niet ingaan op de vraag wat hij zou gaan doen als hij zou verliezen. Chavez verwees daarbij naar de Venezolaanse wet die het kandidaten verbiedt in de laatste twee dagen voor de verkiezingen politieke uitspraken te doen.
  Chavez' tegenstander, de 40-jarige Henrique Capriles, is mede daarom al sinds dinsdag niet in het openbaar verdwenen. Wel reageerde hij in een tweet op Chavez' langdradige antwoorden tijdens de persconferentie: 'Sommige mensen gaan ook op dit moment nog door met dezelfde onzin als altijd, dezelfde oude verhalen, met als enige verschil dat ze nu een afscheid inluiden'.
  VerbijsteringCapriles bezweert dat Chvez' autoritaire bewind nu meer dan genoeg is geweest. Er heerst ook onder de armen groeiende verbijstering over het falen van de economie, het gebrek aan rechtshandhaving, de aftakeling van de infrastructuur en het geregeld uitvallen van de stroomvoorziening.
  De campagne was niet eerlijk omdat Chvez het hele staatsapparaat en media tot zijn beschikking heeft. Maar de goed georganiseerde verkiezingen zelf zijn volgens waarnemers relatief eerlijk, zij het dat het voor veel ambtenaren geen geheime stemming wordt en hun werkgever straks weet op wie ze stemden.
  Chvez leidt in peilingen, maar zijn centrumrechtse uitdager Capriles maakt kans te winnen.
Turkey strikes back at Syria after Erdogan warning
  Link to Article
  Source: Reuters: World News
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:52
  1 of 16. A mobile missile launcher is positioned at a military base on the Turkish-Syrian border at Suruc in Sanliurfa province, October 6, 2012.
  Credit: Reuters/Murad Sezer
  By Daren Butler
  ISTANBUL | Sun Oct 7, 2012 6:37am EDT
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey returned fire after Syrian mortar bombs landed in a field in southern Turkey on Saturday, the day after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned Syria that Turkey would not shy away from war if provoked.
  It was the fourth day of Turkish retaliation for firing by Syrian forces that killed five Turkish civilians on Wednesday.
  The exchanges are the most serious cross-border violence in Syria's conflict, which began as a democracy uprising but has evolved into a civil war with sectarian overtones. They highlight how the crisis could destabilize the region.
  NATO member Turkey was once an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but turned against him after his violent response to an uprising in which, according to the United Nations, more than 30,000 people have died.
  Turkey has nearly 100,000 Syrian refugees in camps on its territory, has allowed rebel leaders sanctuary and has led calls for Assad to quit. Its armed forces are far larger than Syria's.
  Erdogan said on Friday his country did not want war but warned Syria not to make a "fatal mistake" by testing its resolve. Damascus has said its fire hit Turkey accidentally.
  Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday that parliament's authorization of possible cross-border military action was designed as a deterrent.
  "From now on, if there is an attack on Turkey it will be silenced," he said in an interview with state broadcaster TRT.
  Western powers have backed fellow NATO member Turkey over Syria but have shown little appetite for the kind of intervention that helped topple Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. Turkish calls for a safe zone in Syria would require a no-fly zone that NATO states are unwilling to police.
  'VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE'
  Davutoglu said international mediator on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi would come to Turkey before Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Ankara within the next 10 days.
  Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby in a newspaper interview called Brahimi's Syria mission "virtually impossible." Asked about the efforts of the Egypt-Saudi-Turkey-Iran quartet to solve the crisis, Elaraby said: "The solution must comprise Iran. The important thing is that matters get moving."
  The 18-month-old Syrian revolt increasingly pits a Sunni Muslim opposition against Assad's Alawite minority, an offshoot of the Shi'ite Islam that dominates in Iran, whose government backs Assad's government.
  Rebels in the Syrian city of Aleppo said government troops tried to storm the Sakhour district on Saturday but were pushed back after heavy clashes. Activists across Syria said there was fighting in several cities and towns including the central city of Homs and in Damascus countryside.
  The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 60 people, including 36 government soldiers, were killed in clashes across the country on Saturday.
  Syrian rebel forces are riven by divisions but Syrian government forces appear to lack the numbers to land a knockout blow and permanently hold rebellious areas.
  U.S. President Barack Obama on September 25 accused Iran of helping keep Assad in power but has refused to arm Syria's rebels, partly for fear some of those fighting Assad's rule are Islamist radicals equally hostile to the West.
  U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta expressed renewed worry on Saturday that the hostilities in Syria could spread.
  "Whether or not that conflict begins to extend into the neighboring countries such as Turkey remains to be seen. But obviously the fact that there are now exchanges fired between these two countries raises additional concerns that this conflict could broaden," Panetta told a news conference in Lima with Peru's defense minister.
  Iran on Saturday called for the immediate release of Iranians held captive by Syrian rebels and said it would hold the rebels and their supporters responsible for their lives.
  Syrian rebels seized a busload of 48 Iranians in early August on suspicion of being military personnel. Tehran says they were pilgrims visiting a Shi'ite shrine in Damascus.
  MORTARS LAND IN TURKEY
  At least three rounds fired from Syria landed inside Turkey's Yayladagi district on Saturday, the office of the governor of the Turkish province of Hatay said.
  It said the fire appeared to have been aimed by Syrian forces at rebels along the border. There were no casualties. Turkish border troops fired back mortars in response.
  There were two similar incidents in Hatay on Friday, when Erdogan issued his warning.
  "Those who attempt to test Turkey's deterrence, its decisiveness, its capacity, I say here they are making a fatal mistake," he said in a bellicose speech to a crowd in Istanbul.
  "We are not interested in war, but we're not far from war either. This nation has come to where it is today having gone through intercontinental wars," he said.
  Turkish artillery bombarded Syrian military targets on Wednesday and Thursday, killing several Syrian soldiers after Syria's initial fatal bombardment. The U.N. Security Council condemned the original Syrian attack.
  Russia, a staunch ally of Syria, said it received assurances from Damascus the strike on Turkey was an accident but Erdogan dismissed them, saying Syrian fire had repeatedly hit Turkey.
  Wednesday's Syrian strike on the town of Akcakale was of a different magnitude to previous incidents, a Turkish official told Reuters.
  "Wednesday was different. There were five or six rounds into the same place. That's why we responded a couple of times, to warn and deter. To tell the (Syrian) military to leave. We think they've got the message and have pulled back from the area."
  Syria has since ordered its warplanes and helicopters not to go within 10 km (six miles) of the Turkish border and artillery units not to fire shells close to the border, according to Turkish broadcaster NTV. Syria has not confirmed this.
  Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency said a large number of Turkish troops had been sent to the Oncupinar border area of Kilis province.
  (Additional reporting by Shaimaa Fayed in Cairo, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, and David Alexander in Lima; editing by Andrew Roche and Will Dunham)
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Just say no to URL stubs
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:50
  I was told by Mahroof Ali today on Twitter that I ought to use post title stubs in my URLs.
  This is kind of the standard advice in SEO circles. A URL like this:
  /articles/how-to-eat-a-cheeseburger
  is considered better than a URL like this:
  /posts/1234
  And from the perspective of the Googlebot, it probably is.
  From the perspective of human beings, I think it is pretty horrible. Firstly, not every post can be adequately summarised with a bunch of ASCII characters with hyphens between them. What about just a photo post, without a title? Even my ''formatted titles'' are a bit of a bad hack I might turn off.
  Other than SEO, there's no particularly good reason why people should prefer a long URL with the title in than one that just has a unique identifier. The title is also not immutable on posts. That is, I can change a title, or even remove a title, after publication. Should I change the URLs? Well, no. URLs, once announced, should stay the same. Okay then, I'll have URLs that are inaccurate.
  If I have a post called ''I like kittens'' and the URL stub says it is a post called ''I just had my laptop repaired'', surely Google should punish me for being an evil keyword-stuffing bad guy? No thanks.
  I consider titles-in-URLs a horrible and ugly monstrosity. I'm happy to take the SEO hit to not participate in such ugliness. Microformats rightly prioritise humans first, machines second.
  Note, I don't deny that titles-in-URLs has SEO benefits. I'm not some kind of SEO denialist or something: it works. I just choose not to do it because it is ugly.
  This site is the work of Tom Morris, a British programmer, Wikipedia admin and Semantic Web dork.Email: tom@tommorris.org
  Spatio-temporally linked facets of me exist elsewhere on the web:Github '' my codePinboard '' my bookmarksFacebook '' for vigorous poking
Largest cities in the United States by population by decade
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:47
  This entry tracks and ranks the population of the largest cities in the United States by decade, starting with the 1790 Census. For 1790 through 1990, tables are taken from "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990."[1] For year 2000 rankings, data from the Census Bureau's tally of "Cities with 100,000 or More Population Ranked by Selected Subject" is used.[2] For further research on year 2000 urban population, the County and City Data Book might be instructive.[3]
  Philadelphia had been the most populous city in the United States prior to any census count being undertaken. When the first US census count was done in 1790, New York had slightly edged Philadelphia as the most populous city in the country (though Philadelphia still had the larger metropolitan population in 1790). The source population numbers for this list come from the United States Census Bureau.[4]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York33,131New York ranked as the nation's most populous city at the time of the first census count.[1]2PhiladelphiaPennsylvania28,522Philadelphia has remained on the top 10 list of largest American cities throughout its history.3BostonMassachusetts18,3204CharlestonSouth Carolina16,3595BaltimoreMaryland13,503Existed as a township at the time. Now an independent city.6Northern Liberties TownshipPennsylvania9,913Township now absorbed in Philadelphia. See Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.7SalemMassachusetts7,921Listed as a town in 1790 census. Presently a city.8NewportRhode Island6,716Listed as a town in 1790 census. Presently a city.9ProvidenceRhode Island6,380Listed as a town in 1790 census. Now a city.10MarbleheadMassachusetts5,661Still a town as of 2006.District of SouthwarkPennsylvania5,661Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality; it is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.*Salem, Newport, and Marblehead are all far smaller than the largest 275 cities listed in List of United States cities by population in 2010, so exact ranking is unavailable.
  Source data for population is available from the Census Bureau.[5]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York60,5152PhiladelphiaPennsylvania41,2203BaltimoreMaryland26,5144BostonMassachusetts24,9375CharlestonSouth Carolina18,8246Northern LibertiesPennsylvania10,718Now a neighborhood in Philadelphia.7District of SouthwarkPennsylvania9,621Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality. It is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.8SalemMassachusetts9,457Listed as a town. Today, Salem is a city.9ProvidenceRhode Island7,614Last appearance in top ten. Drops to 11th by 1810.10NorfolkVirginia6,926Listed as a borough. Now an independent city.A list of the 46 largest cities from the 1810 census is available from the Census Bureau and the source of this information.[6]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York96,3732PhiladelphiaPennsylvania53,7223BaltimoreMaryland46,5554BostonMassachusetts33,7875CharlestonSouth Carolina24,7116Northern LibertiesPennsylvania19,874Listed as a district. It is now a neighborhood of Philadelphia.7New OrleansLouisiana17,242First entry in the top 10 list not located in one of the original 13 colonies.8District of SouthwarkPennsylvania13,707Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality. It is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.9SalemMassachusetts12,613Listed as a town. Today, Salem is a city.10AlbanyNew York State10,762A list of the 61 largest cities from the 1820 census is available from the Census Bureau and the source of this information.[7]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York123,706New York was the first city to surpass 100,000 people in population.2PhiladelphiaPennsylvania63,8023BaltimoreMaryland62,7384BostonMassachusetts43,2985New OrleansLouisiana27,1766CharlestonSouth Carolina24,7807Northern LibertiesPennsylvania19,678Listed as a district (now a neighborhood of Philadelphia).8SouthwarkPennsylvania14,713Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality. It is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.9WashingtonDistrict of Columbia13,247Washington is the capital of the United States. First appearance in the top 10. Would disappear from the list by next census and not appear on top 10 till 1950.10SalemMassachusetts12,731Listed as a town in 1820 census. Today, Salem is a city.Source data for population is available from the Census Bureau.[8]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York202,5892BaltimoreMaryland80,620Baltimore is the second city to rank number two.3PhiladelphiaPennsylvania80,4624BostonMassachusetts61,3925New OrleansLouisiana46,0826CharlestonSouth Carolina30,2897Northern LibertiesPennsylvania28,872Now a neighborhood in Philadelphia.8CincinnatiOhio24,831Listed as a town. First appearance on top 10 from a Midwestern state.9AlbanyNew York24,20910District of SouthwarkPennsylvania20,581Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality; it is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.Source data for population is available from the Census Bureau.[9]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York312,7102BaltimoreMaryland102,313Baltimore is likely the second city to surpass the 100,000 population mark.3New OrleansLouisiana102,193New Orleans' rapid growth shows the increasing importance of Mississippi River trade.4PhiladelphiaPennsylvania93,6655BostonMassachusetts93,3836CincinnatiOhio46,338Listed as a town.7BrooklynNew York36,233At this time, Brooklyn was a city.8Northern LibertiesPennsylvania34,474Now a neighborhood in Philadelphia.9AlbanyNew York33,72110CharlestonSouth Carolina29,261Charleston lost population between the 1830 and 1840 censuses. Last appearance in the top 10.By 1850, the United States was in the midst of the First Industrial Revolution. A list of the hundred largest cities from the 1850 census is available from the Census Bureau and the source of this information.[10]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York515,5472BaltimoreMaryland169,0543BostonMassachusetts136,8814PhiladelphiaPennsylvania121,3765New OrleansLouisiana116,3756CincinnatiOhio115,4357BrooklynNew York96,8388St. LouisMissouri77,860First Top 10 appearance of any city west of the Mississippi River.9District of Spring GardenPennsylvania58,894Now a neighborhood of Philadelphia.10AlbanyNew York50,763Last appearance in the top 10.1860 was the eve of the American Civil War. A list of the hundred largest cities is available from the Census Bureau.[11] This was the eighth United States Census.
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York813,6692PhiladelphiaPennsylvania565,529The large jump in population between the seventh and eighth censuses is due to the 1854 Act of Consolidation, which merged the County and City of Philadelphia into a single government entity and abolished all other local governments.3BrooklynNew York266,6614BaltimoreMaryland212,4185BostonMassachusetts177,8406New OrleansLouisiana168,6757CincinnatiOhio161,0448St. LouisMissouri160,7739ChicagoIllinois112,172First appearance in the top 10. In the previous census, it was the 24th largest American city with a population of 29,963. Chicago would be one of the world's fastest growing cities in its infancy.10BuffaloNew York81,129First appearance in the top 10. Would disappear from list by next census and not re-appear until 1900.A list of the hundred largest cities is available from the Census Bureau.[12] This was the ninth United States Census.
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York942,2922PhiladelphiaPennsylvania674,0223BrooklynNew York396,0994St. LouisMissouri310,8645ChicagoIllinois298,977Census was taken one year before the Great Chicago Fire, which burned down a large portion of the city, and the city rebuilt itself.6BaltimoreMaryland267,3547BostonMassachusetts250,5268CincinnatiOhio216,2399New OrleansLouisiana191,41810San FranciscoCalifornia149,473First west coast city in the Top 10. Its population boom began after 1848 with the Gold Rush and continuing with silver discoveries such as the Comstock Lode in 1859.The Census bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in the United States during this year.[13]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York1,206,299This marks the first time the population of a U.S. city exceeds 1 million.2PhiladelphiaPennsylvania847,1703BrooklynNew York566,6634ChicagoIllinois503,185Great Chicago Fire destroyed a third of the city in 1871.5BostonMassachusetts362,8396St. LouisMissouri350,518The city of St. Louis seceded from St. Louis County in 1876.7BaltimoreMaryland332,3138CincinnatiOhio255,1399San FranciscoCalifornia233,95910New OrleansLouisiana216,090Last appearance in the top 10.The 1890 Census was the Eleventh. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.[14]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York1,515,301This is the last census before New York was consolidated into The Five Boroughs. At this point, the city is coterminous with New York County (the Borough of Manhattan), which included what is now Bronx County (the Borough of The Bronx).2ChicagoIllinois1,099,850Chicago overtakes Philadelphia as the nation's second most populous city and likely becomes the second city in the nation to surpass the 1 million mark.3PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,046,9644BrooklynNew York806,343This is the last census where the City of Brooklyn is independent. It would be absorbed into New York City.5St. LouisMissouri451,7706BostonMassachusetts448,4777BaltimoreMaryland434,4398San FranciscoCalifornia298,9979CincinnatiOhio296,90810ClevelandOhio261,353First appearance in the top 10.The 1900 Census was the Twelfth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.[15]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York3,437,202This is the first census after the creation of The Five Boroughs.2ChicagoIllinois1,698,5753PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,293,6974St. LouisMissouri575,2385BostonMassachusetts560,8926BaltimoreMaryland508,9577ClevelandOhio381,7688BuffaloNew York352,387Re-appearance in the top 10 (last 1860).9San FranciscoCalifornia342,782Last appearance in the top 10 and before the 1906 earthquake and fire.10CincinnatiOhio325,902Last appearance in the top 10.The 1910 Census was the Thirteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.[16]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York4,766,883Much of the population of New York City was in Manhattan, more or less the part of the city that was New York City until 1898, at this time. However, the other boroughs began to grow rapidly as the Interborough Rapid Transit system and other mass transit franchises built what is today the New York Subway.2ChicagoIllinois2,185,2833PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,549,0084St. LouisMissouri687,0295BostonMassachusetts670,5856ClevelandOhio560,6637BaltimoreMaryland558,4858PittsburghPennsylvania533,905Pittsburgh entered the Top 10 after annexing the neighboring city of Allegheny in 1907. This is now the city's North Side.9DetroitMichigan465,766First appearance in the top 10.10BuffaloNew York423,715Last appearance in the top 10.The 1920 Census was the Fourteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.[17]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York5,620,0482ChicagoIllinois2,701,7053PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,823,7794DetroitMichigan993,078The rise of the automobile industry in the Detroit area propelled its growth substantially between 1910 and 1920, doubling its population in only 10 years.5ClevelandOhio796,8416St. LouisMissouri772,8977BostonMassachusetts748,0608BaltimoreMaryland733,8269PittsburghPennsylvania588,34310Los AngelesCalifornia576,673Los Angeles makes the top ten for the first time.The 1930 Census was the Fifteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.[18]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York6,930,4462ChicagoIllinois3,376,4383PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,950,9614DetroitMichigan1,568,6625Los AngelesCalifornia1,238,048First West Coast city to make the Top 5.6ClevelandOhio900,4297St. LouisMissouri821,9608BaltimoreMaryland804,8749BostonMassachusetts781,18810PittsburghPennsylvania669,817Four of the ten cities here would have their first ever population drop in 1940. Though slight, they would presage a precipitous decline that started in 1950. The 1940 Census was the Sixteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.[19]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York7,457,9952ChicagoIllinois3,396,8083PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,931,334First ever population drop for Philadelphia.4DetroitMichigan1,623,4525Los AngelesCalifornia1,504,2776ClevelandOhio878,336First ever population drop for Cleveland.7BaltimoreMaryland859,1008St. LouisMissouri816,048First ever population drop for St. Louis.9BostonMassachusetts770,816First ever population drop for Boston.10PittsburghPennsylvania671,659Last appearance in the top 10.1950 was a watershed year for many cities in the United States. Many cities in the country peaked in population, and began a slow decline caused by suburbanization associated with pollution, congestion, and increased crime rates, while the improved infrastructure of the Eisenhower Interstate System more easily facilitated car commutes and so-called white flight of the middle class. The G.I. Bill made available low interest loans for returning World War II veterans seeking more commodious housing in the suburbs. Although populations within city limits dropped in many American cities, the metropolitan populations of most cities continued to increase greatly.
  The source document for these numbers is available from the United States Census Bureau.[20]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York7,891,9572ChicagoIllinois3,620,962Population peaked this census.3PhiladelphiaPennsylvania2,071,605Population peaked this census.4Los AngelesCalifornia1,970,358Los Angeles is one of the few cities to have nearly continuous growth since 1950.5DetroitMichigan1,849,568Population peaked. As of 2006, Detroit is the only city in the United States to have a population grow beyond 1 million and then fall below 1 million.6BaltimoreMaryland949,708Population peaked this census..7ClevelandOhio914,808Population peaked this census.8St. LouisMissouri856,796Population peaked this census.9WashingtonDistrict of Columbia802,178Population peaked this census. Re-appearance in the top 10 (last in 1820).10BostonMassachusetts801,444Population peaked this census. Last appearance in top 10.The 1960 Census was the Eighteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.[21]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York7,781,984First ever population drop for New York City.2ChicagoIllinois3,550,404First ever population drop for Chicago.3Los AngelesCalifornia2,479,0154PhiladelphiaPennsylvania2,002,5125DetroitMichigan1,670,1446BaltimoreMaryland939,0247HoustonTexas938,219First appearance in the top 10.8ClevelandOhio876,0509WashingtonDistrict of Columbia763,95610St. LouisMissouri750,026Last appearance in the top 10. First time the population of the 10th largest city is less than the decade before.The 1970 Census was the Nineteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.[22]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York7,894,8622ChicagoIllinois3,366,9573Los AngelesCalifornia2,816,0614PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,948,6095DetroitMichigan1,511,4826HoustonTexas1,232,802First city in Texas to surpass 1 million.7BaltimoreMaryland905,7598DallasTexas844,401First appearance in top 10.9WashingtonDistrict of Columbia756,510Last appearance on top 10.10ClevelandOhio750,903Last appearance on top 10. Cleveland is notably smaller by population and larger by area, therefore less dense than it was in 1920.By 1980, the trends towards suburbanization started in the 1950s continued. City population continues to grow in the west and south.[23]
  For a more complete ranking, see the source material from the Census Bureau.[24]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York7,071,639New York City experiences the largest loss of people within a city in American history when it loses nearly 900,000 people in only a ten year span. The city experienced severe financial strains and near bankruptcy of the local government during the 1970s until it was bailed out by the federal government.2ChicagoIllinois3,005,072Chicago is still ranked the second most populous city in the United States. During the 1980s, Los Angeles would become the nation's second most populous city.3Los AngelesCalifornia2,966,8504PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,688,2105HoustonTexas1,595,1386DetroitMichigan1,203,3397DallasTexas904,0788San DiegoCalifornia875,538First appearance in the top 10.9PhoenixArizona789,704First appearance in the top 10.10BaltimoreMaryland786,775Last appearance in the top 10.By 1990, trends had continued that started during the 1970s: Western and southern cities continued to grow in size and population, and northeastern cities generally lost population.[25]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York7,322,564New York City gained population during the 1980s after heavy losses in the 1970s.2Los AngelesCalifornia3,485,398Los Angeles becomes the nation's second largest city.3ChicagoIllinois2,783,7264HoustonTexas1,630,553Houston jumps just slightly ahead of Philadelphia, becoming the nation's fourth largest city.5PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,585,5776San DiegoCalifornia1,110,549San Diego is the 2nd California city to pass the 1 million mark.7DetroitMichigan1,027,9748DallasTexas1,006,877Dallas is the 2nd city in Texas to pass the 1 million mark.9PhoenixArizona983,40310San AntonioTexas935,933First appearance in top 10.The 2000 census was the most detailed to date. The Census Bureau provides a list of all cities with populations over 100,000.[26][27]
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York8,008,278New York City surpasses its previous population peak and surpasses the 8 million mark for the first time.2Los AngelesCalifornia3,694,820Los Angeles surpasses Chicago's peak population, but growth is noticeably slower than previous decades.3ChicagoIllinois2,896,016Chicago gained population during the 1990s.4HoustonTexas1,953,6315PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,517,5506PhoenixArizona1,321,045First city in Arizona to surpass 1 million.7San DiegoCalifornia1,223,4008DallasTexas1,188,5809San AntonioTexas1,144,646San Antonio is the 3rd city in Texas to surpass the 1 million mark.10DetroitMichigan951,270Detroit's last appearance in the top 10, ranked #18 in 2010 census.The United States has dozens of major cities. It also has eleven of the world's 55 global cities, with three American cities in the highest ranked category of "alpha" global city: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
  The figures below are for populations within the city limits, which are of various sizes for each city. Not included are the population of suburban areas. Notable is that several of the country's ten largest cities are located in the Sun Belt region of the south and west; but none of those cities have a density rate in the double-digits of the thousands, instead getting their population boost from obtaining large swaths of land. A different ranking is evident when considering U.S. metro area populations which count both city and suburban populations. The ten most populous cities, are based on the 2010 census data.
  RankCityStatePopulationNotes1New YorkNew York8,175,1332Los AngelesCalifornia3,792,6213ChicagoIllinois2,695,598Population loss after gain in 2000 census4HoustonTexas2,099,451First city in Texas to surpass the 2 million mark5PhiladelphiaPennsylvania1,526,006First population gain since 19506PhoenixArizona1,445,6327San AntonioTexas1,327,4078San DiegoCalifornia1,307,4029DallasTexas1,197,81610San JoseCalifornia945,942First appearance in top 10For a more extensive list of present population estimates see List of United States cities by population.
  [edit]See also[edit]References^Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. Chapter 8: "Suburbs Into Neighborhoods: The Rise and Fall of Municipal Annexation."[edit]External links
Alert (PrivCo Exclusive): SPOTIFY's Just-Closed Full-Year Financials Obtained By PrivCo Reveal Rapid Revenue Growth, But "Unsustainable" Business Model: Revenues Up 151% to $244M, Yet Cost Of Sales Up 98%, Net Losses Ballooned 60% to -$59M: "Something Mus
  Link to Article
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:43
  Click Here To See Spotify's FULL FINANCIALS And Private Company Report
  October 5, 2012 1:15 am EST '' Popular online music service Spotify's (PrivCo Private Company Ticker: SPOTFYP) financials show that the bigger the company gets, the bigger its losses. PrivCo has exclusively obtained privately-held Spotify's just-closed full year financials, and while Spotify's revenue growth is impressive, its overall financial results are alarming. While Spotify's revenues grew 151% in 2011 to $244 Million ('‚¬187.8M), over 2010, Spotify was unable to generate any material improvements to its cost of sales margin. In fact, virtually every new dollar of revenue went directly to music companies as royalty payments, evidencing the fact that the more members Spotify adds, the more money the company loses. This is a clear indication that the online licensing fee/royalty model is increasingly restricting Spotify's ability to generate sustainable margins using its freemium model. In almost a one-for-one scenario, every dollar Spotify is generating immediately exits the company due to licensing fees as members listen to music and ring up Spotify's music royalty tab. In addition, in 2011, Spotify's 311 employees grew salary costs 173% year over year, outpacing revenue growth, and adding to the red flags that this business model needs to address. With 98 cents of every dollar of revenue going to pay music royalties, this leaves only 2 cents on the dollar to cover ALL other operating costs, from all payroll, overhead, office rent, sales, marketing, data server costs, and so on, which is mathematically impossible.
  PrivCo Founder and CEO Sam Hamadeh said today in a statement, "Spotify's 2011 results indicate that drastic changes must be be made quickly to its business model in order to generate growth while actually improving operating margins so that break-even, let alone profitability, is somewhere, anywhere, on the horizon. Either the online music royalty payment model to artists and music companies needs to change, which is highly unlikely in the near term given that digital royalties are record companies only growing revenue stream, or Spotify needs to ASAP introduce a tiered subscription system, as opposed to its current flat monthly fee model, which is clearly a broken business model. As currently designed, Spotify's business model is unsustainable. Spotify's heaviest users will have to pay, for example, for a "Spotify Platinum" level for $25/month with more song plays allowed. No matter how we slice the math, it is patently clear that something must change soon on Spotify's business model if the company is to survive."
  Click Here To See Spotify's FULL FINANCIALS And Private Company Report
  Key Financial Data Points On Spotify (PrivCo Private Company Ticker: SPOTFYP)
  Revenue (2011): $244.54M ('‚¬187.8M)
  Revenue (2010): $96.15M ('‚¬73.9M)
  Revenue Breakdown (2011): 84% Subscriptions, 15% Advertisements, 2% Other
  1 Year Revenue Growth Rate (2010 to 2011): 151%
  Key Backers: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Digital Sky Technologies, Creandum, Northzone Ventures, Li Ka-Shing, Wellington Partners, Sean Parker, The Founders Fund, Accel Partners
  Employees (2011):311
  Click Here To See Spotify's FULL FINANCIALS And Private Company Report
  For Accurate Financial Data On Over 57,000 Privately-Held Companies, Obtain a PrivCo Subscription
How Big Companies Use Plain English to Rob You Blind
  Link to Article
  Source: Conscious Life News
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:02
  Posted by Alcyone_Featured_, EconomySunday, October 7th, 2012By Mark Karlin, Interview | Truthout
  David Cay Johnston believes that the facts speak for themselves: the government has helped rig the economy to favor corporations and the super-rich. Johnston has his bonafides: he is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times financial reporter and has a several blockbuster books under his belt exposing an economy tiltet toward the super wealthy. His latest expose is ''The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use Plain English to Rob You Blind'' To get a copy, just click here. Make a minimum donation and support progressive writers and Truthout.
  Mark Karlin: This post-dates your new book, ''Fine Print,'' but I can't help but asking your quick take analysis of the Romney 47 percent statement, which appeared not just personally revealing, but so misleading and factually challenged.
  Cay Johnston: Romney conflated totally unrelated facts, an example of the remarkably shallow thinking that explains why his campaign is going so badly.
  First, the 47 percent figure is bogus. In 2010, the last year for which we have the official IRS data, 41 percent of people who filed a tax return paid no federal income tax. In 2009 it was 42 percent. The 47 percent figure comes from adding to the tax return data another 10 million plus households who are so poor they are not even required to file an income tax return.
  Now that is a lot higher than the 25 percent rate of a decade ago.
  Why the change? First, there is the downturn in the economy. Wages in 2010 were back at the level of 1999 in real terms. Every 34th person with a job in 2008 went all of 2009 and 2010 with no work '' none. And over those two years another three million people came of working age. No work, no pay, no income tax. Less work, less pay, greater chance of being below the thresholds for paying income taxes, which began in 1913 on what were called ''surplus'' incomes, meaning amounts above the basic cost of living.
  Second, the Republicans sponsored a $1,000 per child tax credit that means a married couple with two children does not pay income taxes until they make about $44,000. More than 60 percent of Americans report less than $44,000 of income.
  And, by the way, 1,470 people made more than $1 million in 2009 and paid no income tax, while 954 million-dollar-plus earners paid none in 2010. One serious estimate puts the figure for 2012 at 7,000 untaxed million-dollar plus earners.
  What Romney muddled was that nearly all of the people who did not pay federal income tax were working at low wages, many with children, or were retired after a lifetime of working. Then there are college students, who we expect to pay significant income taxes in the future.
  And among those not paying taxes are people who are totally disabled, from soldiers maimed in the Middle East wars to my 60 year old brother, a ditch digger and manual laborer whose decades of work made it possible for people to get to work when a fallen tree blocked the road or debris clogged a culvert during a rainstorm until his body was so busted up he cannot even stand up straight.
  Mark Karlin: A few years back, BuzzFlash had you out to speak in Chicago about your book ''Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich''and Cheat Everybody Else.'' Then you followed up with ''Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill).'' Now, this September, you released ''The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use Plain English to Rob You Blind.'' How do the three books complement each other in showing an economic system rigged in favor of corporations and the wealthiest in US society?
  Cay Johnston: ''Perfectly Legal'' showed how the super-rich '' from the $250 million Romney class of wealth to people who literally make 20 times that much in a year '' game the tax system, in some cases legally paying nothing in federal income taxes.
  ''Free Lunch'' revealed subsidies that go to all sorts of corporations, some of which derive all of their profits from taxpayers. The government, by the way, does not collect data on either rich nontaxpayers or most of the giveaways to corporations.
  The Fine Print is about how big companies rig the rules of commerce to escape the rigors of competitive markets, artificially inflate prices, provide poor quality services compared to other modern countries and literally put lives at risk for profit by seeking weak regulations or exemptions from safety rules.
  This is not stuff you can find by doing a Google search. It is original reporting and analysis that took me four years of digging and then finding people whose encounters with these practices give life what would otherwise by dry material.
  Get Robert Cay Johnston's ''The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use Plain English to Rob You Blind'' with a minimum contribution to Truthout. Click here.
  Mark Karlin: In your author's note to ''Fine Print,'' you ask ''How have all of us consumers ended up paying to many extra charges on electric, phone and other bills?'' That's something everybody asks when they get their monthly statements. What's the answer?
  Cay Johnston: Monopoly utilities figured out that if they added many moving parts to your electric, phone and other bills they could raise this line item and then that one and later another and it made it easier to jack up prices. One electric utility has a bill with 26 separate charges. If there were just two '' a flat fee for connecting to the grid and a variable fee for how much juice you used '' it would be easy to spot price increases. Instead they get lost in the clutter.
  Mark Karlin: Personally, I laugh when I get credit card ''fine print'' notices that comes in light weight paper, in typeface so small that you need a microscope to read them. What's hidden in those credit card legal notices of terms?
  Cay Johnston: You give up your right to sue in the event things go badly. Your credit card company can make you pay half the cost of a private arbitration and it can force you to attend arbitration hearings far from where you live. Typically they also retain the right to cut your credit line without notice for any reason. However, this is one area where things have gotten a bit better with an end to practices such as two-cycle billing that made you keep paying interest for a month after you paid your debt in full or raising interest rates after you ran up charges.
  Mark Karlin: One of your examples of the outrageous ripping off of ordinary working stiffs is how corporations in some states are allowed to keep state income taxes on behalf of their workers (Chapter 22). That's a nice financial heist. How does that happen?
  Cay Johnston: The state gives the companies a tax credit equal to the state income taxes owed by workers. The workers are treated as having paid their taxes and are not told that they are actually paying taxes to their employer, a perfect scam that is also perfectly legal. More than 2,700 companies '' basically every big brand name you know '' gets these deals in 19 states and unless people speak up I expect they will soon be in most states, potentially 44 of them.
  Mark Karlin: You write at the end of Chapter 2 that ''Citizens United is to the expansion of corporate power what the big bang was to the beginning of its existence '' it is the whole universe.'' Can you expand on that?
  Cay Johnston: When the Constitution was adopted America had six corporations '' six. By the end of 1799 America had a little more than 200. Today we have almost six million corporations, but just 8,800 of them own 90 percent of all corporate assets.
  When our nation began, corporations were tightly controlled. They were allowed to exist for a single purpose and typically for no more than 20 years. Each corporation had to prove it provided a societal benefit '-- and hiring workers did not count because that was a necessity, not a purpose.
  Giving corporations political rights was never even imagined by the Framers and Chief Justice Rehnquist, a serious conservative, warned against doing so. Yet the radical justices Roberts, Justices Scalia and Thomas, who claim they apply the original intent of the Framers in deciding cases, were in the majority which gave corporations political rights in Citizens United.
  Given their resources '' those 8,800 companies own $70 trillion of assets, twenty times the annual federal budget '' their wealth gives them unlimited and overwhelming power to shape politics to their liking.
  Mark Karlin: What are ''profits upkeep commissions''?
  Cay Johnston: Oh how I wish I had thought up that phrase, which Dennis Wyatt, the editor of the Manteca Bulletin, invented to describe the anti-consumer bias of the California Public Utilities Commission. State utility commissions are supposed to balance the interests of customers and utility investors by being ''just and reasonable'' to both, but The Fine Print documents a costly pro-utility tilt in the past few decades.
  Mark Karlin: Can you tell us about the case of Bob Manning in your chapter ''Please Die Soon.'' What does his story reveal about all our vulnerabilities?
  Cay Johnston: Bob Manning, paralyzed from the neck down in a fall at work, and I met when he was fighting to get paid his workers compensation benefits in 1997. He fell in 1962, some 35 years earlier.
  Like many people hurt on the job, his employer and its workers compensation insurance carrier cheated him and in his case ignored more than 30 orders to pay. They claimed his wife had a legal duty to care for him so they did not have to pay for nurses.
  Worse, the insurer refused to pay his millions of dollars in hospital bills, which the taxpayers then paid through Medicare. In other words, the insurer profited and you paid its expenses.
  After a Warren Buffett insurance company was paid to take over Manning's care it sent a nurse to see how it could save money. The nurse asked him to die. Seriously. She pointed to his bedroom wall and asked ''why don't you have a DNR?'' meaning an order to refuse medical treatment the next time he had an emergency condition, an order known as Do Not Resuscitate.
  New York State insurance regulators, by the way, pronounced the original insurer sound and said they had no record of any failure to pay claims, despite my 1997 front page story in The New York Times.
  Related posts:
  America For Sale: Senator Bernie Sanders Exposes the 26 Billionaires Who Are Buying the 2012 ElectionFor Your Weekend Viewing Pleasure: 'The Corporation' [full movie and review]
Soooo'.... you got wasted (31 Photos)
  Link to Article
  Source: theCHIVE
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 09:56
  October 7, 2012 | In: College, FAIL, Funny, Owned, WTF
  Follow Mac on Tapiture
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  Are you wasted? Get your shit together and send your photos to macthechive [at] gmail [dot] com.
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Syria: The Grenades on Turkey are NATO Ammunition
  Link to Article
  Source: Set You Free News
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 09:55
  NATO Ammunition was used to attack Turkish border town. FSA responsible.
  By Jerry Dandridge | Syria News
  This is a translation of the recent blog post by the German Blog ''Alles Schall und Rauch'' about the allegedly attack of a Turkish border town by the Syrian Arab Army. It seems that NATO ammunition was used in this attack.
  This implies, that the Syrian Arab Army (the Syrian government) cannot be responsible for this attack because the Syrian Arab Army does not own these NATO ammunition. In addition, as several reports in recent months have already confirmed, the Western-backed radicals, terrorists and religious fanatics are supplied by several powers with weapons, money, and ammunition.
  NATO ammunition is partly included in this supply for these fighters. This was already confirmed by recent pictures of seized weapon depots in Syria, but also by some Turkish reports. The translation of this article is below. Syria: The Grenades on Turkey are NATO Ammunition It's just like it is so often reported to me, the NATO countries provide the terrorists of Al-CIAda (Al Qaeda) either directly or indirectly via the friendly Gulf States with weapons and ammunition that will be used against themselves later. This is what happened during the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and now at the bombardment of the Turkish border town from Syria.
  Terrorists in Syria are firing 120mm mortar shells:
  The Turkish daily ''Yurt'' writes in its latest issue, which the grenades, which were fired at the Turkish border village Ak§akale, come from the NATO stocks. Thus, it is clear, not the Syrian military has fired them, because it has not such ammunition, but the terrorists themselves did, that were hired by NATO. Again, a staged provocation, in order to have a reason (pretext) for going to war against Syria.According to the chief editor of the Turkish daily ''Yurt'', Mr. Merdan Yanardag, the newspaper has received reliable information that Turkey has supplied the grenades to the so-called ''Free Syrian Army'' (FSA), which later killed five civilians in the Turkish border town of Ak§akale and numerous people were injured.
  ''This information confirms, that the wrong policies of the Erdogan government are behind the bombardment of the city with mortar shells, which has cost the lives of five Turks,'' wrote Yanardag.
  That means in plain text, that Erdogan is a traitor and a murderer of his own people! He is a puppet of the U.S. and conducts its criminal policy of a ''regime change'' in Syria.
  I have investigated the matter and I have researched by the inscription of the mortars, 120 AE HE-TNT, of who produces them. In fact, it is NATO ammunition. According to Jane's Defence Weekly, this ammunition is produced by various defense firms in Europe, such as the Spanish Explosivos Alaveses SA (EXPAL), which is part of the Maxam Defence Group.
  The Turkish daily ''Yurt'' has already confirmed by documents and videos in July, how the Turkish Intelligence is involved in terror attacks in Syria, but also confirmed, how training camps (for the terrorists) are established by the Turkish government near the city of YayladaÄŸÄ±, near the Syrian border, in order to smuggle the terrorists from there into Syria.
  In one of these videos, the Turkish daily showed how a lot of Turkish terrorists, who spoke Turkish, have attacked a police station in the Syrian village of al-Sha'abaniya.
  The Turkish newspaper also has quoted some of inhabitants of this region, these inhabitants said that the armed terrorists, who are hosted in these camps, have crossed the border (to Syria) in order to carry out terror attacks and massacre at the Syrian civilian population; they were not stopped by the Turkish border guards.
  Locals have stressed, that the district of YayladaÄŸÄ± is a refuge area for thousands of terrorists, while the Turkish (Erdogan) government is doing nothing to protect the Turkish citizens from these people. The region forms the southern part of Turkey, bordering to Syria.
  This means, that the Erdogan government is operating state terrorism against its neighbor Syria, but also against their own citizens.
New York Times Concedes that It Is Unknown Whether Syrian Artillery Came from Rebels or Government
  Link to Article
  Source: Washington's Blog
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 09:52
  The Turkish-Syrian Skirmish Is Being Taken Out Of ContextThe mainstream American press has trumpeted for days the claim that Turkey is ''retaliating'' for artillery fire coming from Syrian government forces on the Syrian-Turkish border near the town of Ak§akale.
  Because Turkey is a member of Nato (for 50 years), a declaration of war by Turkey could well drag Nato into a conflict.
  The Turkish people don't like the turn of events '... thousands of Turks took to the the streets in Ankara and Istanbul after Turkey's parliament approved military operations against targets in Syria following the mortar attacks.
  The New York Times concedes:
  It was unknown whether the mortar shells were fired by Syrian government forces or rebels fighting to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The Turkish response seemed to assume that the Syrian government was responsible.
  Many alternative news sources claim that this was a ''false flag'' attack to justify a Turkish attack on Syria.
  Indeed, before the mortar attacks, Russia warned of such a possibility:
  Russia expresses its concerns about the tense situation on the Syria-Turkey border and warns both to avoid tension.
  ***
  Russia has urged restraint between Turkeyand Syria so as to avoid possible cross-border conflicts while telling world powers that they should not seek ways to intervene in the Syrian war.
  Both Syrian and Turkish authorities ''should exercise maximum restraint'' since radical members of the Syrian opposition might deliberately provoke cross-border conflicts for their own benefits, Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said yesterday. The diplomat said Moscow has been worrying about the situation on the Syria-Turkey border'... Turkey has sent a diplomatic note to Syria over the mortar bomb that hit the southeastern province of Ak§akale on Sept. 28.
  And false flag attacks have been planned to bring about regime change in Syria for 50 years (and the neocons planned regime change in Syria 20 years ago.)
  But another possibility is that Syrian army forces were shooting at Syrian rebels near Ak§akale and accidentally fired mortar a tad bit too far '... across the border into Turkey.
  Indeed, Turkey has been sheltering and training Syrian rebels, and Ak§akale is a key Syrian rebel supply route, which has seen numerous skirmishes in recent months.
  Turkey has also been testing Syrian air defenses by sending its fighter jets into Syrian air space, and has threatened intervention for quite a while.
  Moreover, in March, the Brookings Institute called for a multi-front assault on Syria to effect regime change, which includes attacks from Turkey. In its report entitled ''Assessing Options for Regime Change'', Brookings argued (page 6):
  In addition, Israel's intelligence services have a strong knowledge of Syria, as well as assets within the Syrian regime that could be used to subvert the regime's power base and press for Asad's removal. Israel could posture forces on or near the Golan Heights and, in so doing, might divert regime forces from suppressing the opposition. This posture may conjure fears in the Asad regime of a multi-front war, particularly if Turkey is willing to do the same on its border and if the Syrian opposition is being fed a steady diet of arms and training. Such a mobilization could perhaps persuade Syria's military leadership to oust Asad in order to preserve itself. Advocates argue this additional pressure could tip the balance against Asad inside Syria, if other forces were aligned properly.
  The bottom line is that we don't know whether the recent mortar attacks near Ak§akale were a false flag attack by the Syrian rebels to justify war by Turkey against the Asad regime or an attempt by Syrian government troops to hit rebels gone too far, and accidentally ending up in Turkey.
  One thing is for sure: this incident can't be taken in a vacuum, especially since a large proportion of the rebel fighters are Al Qaeda.
The Night I Saved Chris Brown's Soul from Rihanna. (Illuminati Happenings in West Hollywood)
  Link to Article
  Source: hollywoodilluminatidotcom
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 09:23
  Rihanna & Chris Brown Exposed! (How to Exorcise the Rihanna Demon from One's Soul)
  Dear Chris Brown,
  Seeing how you have once again fallen to Rihanna's Demonic Temptations, I do not wish to hear, see nor speak to you for at least a good six months. I only have one thing to say to you Mr. Brown'...'...Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents.
  There is back story on Chris Brown and Rihanna. I would say that after Rihanna attempted to stage the murder of Chris Brown in Hancock Park (An Area Directly Below Hollywood) before she became possessed, enraged and beat herself up that Rihanna has refused to let Chris Brown out of her clutches.
  Even when Chris Brown was in a Virginia State Jail, Rihanna was harassing his parents.
  After Chris Brown got released and took a place in West Hollywood, Rihanna started making death threats and actually became more heavily involved in the Illuminati at this time.
  After Rihanna's 5th degree Illuminati Initiation, which is actually higher than both Jay-Z and Beyonce, she got the power of procession & became big headed'....drunk with Lucifer's wine. All of her human-ness was castrated out of her soul. The girl is evil.
  What is the Illuminati Ritual for a living human to posses another living human? It is a very guarded secret by the Illuminati but I can tell you that it involves the invoking of demons, to act as an aid in the training of Out of Body Travel, that enables one to ''at-will'' rip their soul away from its fleshy house.
  This Illuminati Ritual can only take place between April and September because anything after September and before April is considered the ''dead zone'' by the Illuminati meaning that one's energy can not be controlled due to the Sun being further away from the Earth around these months and of course in the lower Hemisphere of the Earth, this ritual time frame is reversed.
  Now there are only about 30 black people that live in West Hollywood and after Rihanna stated up her demonic attacks on Chris Brown he was waking up with screaming fits and even had cases of levitation. In fact, Chris Brown was actually about to be dragged to court by his neighbors for disturbing the peace, when in reality his problems were all due to his involvement with Rihanna.
  Since Chris Brown is back seeing Rihanna, which he never really stopped even after I warned him about that girl, I feel that our confidentiality agreement is null & void.
  I had to go to Chris Brown's place, when he was still living in West Hollywood and down the block from me, on about five occasions to aid him with exorcising Rihanna.
  Anyone that follows Chris Brown and Rihanna you will see that Rihanna is and has always been the aggressor in that cluster fuck of drama, which they call a relationship. Rihanna has always said, ''If I cant have Chris Brown then no one can have him'' and in public she has always harassed the model girl that Chris Brown was dating.
  Anyone that follows Rihanna on twitter, which I do not, can clearly see that Rihanna was enraged when Chris Brown started dating other women.
  When ever you have an occult trained witch like Rihanna wrapped up in that much jealously, anger and rage at a person, the victim of the occult trained witch will fall victim to bad luck and possession'...maybe even death.
  The reason why husbands and wives should never go to bed angry at one another is because at night, while they sleep, it is possible for the soul, still angry from the events earlier, to travel out of the body and induce psychic or even physical harm onto their spouse.
  So, if an untrained person can inflict physical harm onto a spouse simply from going to bed upset, what in the hell can an Illuminati Trained Witch like Rihanna do? This bitch does damage!One night Rihanna even levitated Chris Brown off of his bed via her possession techniques. I was over at Chris Brown's home because he had issues with sleeping for months and he suspected that it was either Rhianna, Jay Z or the CIA sending someone into his home to drug him up.
  It was so fucking freaky in April of 2012, to see this dude levitating like a Beyonce Video and then seeing his eyes take on the shade & form of Rihanna's Eyes, which are demon like and yell, '' I LOVE RIHANNA!'' ''I LOVE RIHANNA!'' ''HER PUSSY IS SO GOOD AND JUCIY!'' I mean it was a fucking mess. I never seen shit like that in my life.
  I quickly used a Santeria Cuban/Puerto Rican technique of exorcism which involved the placing of a jar of water onto his head and commanding the unclean demon aka Rihanna out of his body.
  Why did I use water? Because according to Latino-Indian (tradition of Cubans and Puerto Ricans before Spain and Africans arrived) and even Native American Culture, the unclean spirit or demon can not travel or break free of water.
  If a person ever has demonic issues with a Ouija Board, the first thing that I advise the person to do is to place the Ouija Board into a pool or bucket of water, because it will trap the spirit which is attached to the Ouija Board. Water can trap demonic energy and contain it, which is why people around Hollywood always call upon ''The Rain Man''.
  I told Chris Brown to leave this demonic girl alone because being a black man from The Southern US, as we both are, it is very difficult to be anywhere in the U.S. and having to live a public life but being that he is of a certain demographic, Rhianna could easily have the Hollywood PD aka Illuminati Hit Men for Hire, kill him as her sacrifice and the public would simply say, ''he had it coming.'' Chris Brown was in a very dangerous position.
  But Chris Brown doesn't listen because Rihanna got him with that Illuminati Pussy. I also recall telling Chris Brown to get rid of his dogs because of the whole Michael Vick Madness but he didn't listen to that either and as a result, Chris Brown was basically run out of West Hollywood.
  Now after Chris Brown moved from West Hollywood, Rihanna had not been to NYC in a minute. But once she found out that Chris Brown was in NYC, Rihanna waited for Beyonce and Jay-Z to go France and leave NYC because Beyonce & Rihanna got bad blood, even though they both drink blood.
  Once Rihanna saw that Beyonce was no longer in NYC, Rihanna went to NYC and from what I understand, she was walking around and looking for Chris Brown. Some reports say that Rihanna simply looked like she was in a daze but she isn't really in a daze and looked like that because she was talking to her demon guides and trying to zero in on Chris Brown.
  What happened once Rihanna got to NYC? Chris Brown and Drake got in the bar fight, bottles were hitting people and the bar was closed down. Rihanna brings bullshit every where that she goes.
  The thing that gets me; was the fact that Rhianna not only slept with Drake and Chris Brown but she even slept with them AT THE SAME TIME. Three-somes and gang-bangs was going on with those three. Drake tries to play himself off but Rihanna got him trapped also.
  Drake can make what ever comments that he wants to at award shows but I know what Drake does with Lil Wayne and Rihanna.
  So, Rihanna already knows that she is high up in the Illuminati. She got the Occult Isis Tattoo and she even got an eagle carrying a gun tattoo. Those tats, which Rhianna now has on her body, are significant and she only gets them to intimidate people that know about the Illuminati.
  Having that Eagle Tat with the gun simply means that she can have a person killed and she gets the energy aka #1 hit records or fame, by feeding off of the person's energy.
  Rihanna can make mid night booty calls to Ashton Kutcher's crib (Pre-Mila Days) but if Chris Brown sees another girl, then she starts up with her craziness.
  This is why I do not like Rihanna. Rihanna has even threatened me, but she never threatens law suits, instead she threatens with black magick. She had the nerve to tell me that I was a bad influence on Chris Brown when he was living in West Hollywood because I tried to keep her ass away. I told her that I knew how to make ''spirit bottles'' and I could catch her demon soul one night and bury her at Malibu Beach. This is exactly how you get the legends about Genies in a Bottles.
  When you are dealing with the Rihanna Entity, you have no choice but to fight this girl via spiritual means.
  Do not be surprised if Chris Brown ends up dead'...it could happen. I may be right back on here discussing yet another Illuminati Blood Sacrifice.
Why the Iranian currency's latest moves matter - The Tell
  Link to Article
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 09:21
  The Iranian rial /quotes/zigman/4872314/sampledUSDIRR has received an unusual amount of attention this week because it plunged against the U.S. dollar, was getting hard to price, and then caused protests and a response from riot police. Read: Iran rial sinks on sanctions, down 80% in past year.
  While the rial isn't traded in global currency markets and isn't used for any international payments, the latest moves and the reaction of the Iranian public provide some pretty big clues about what may come next for the country that for many ranks as the #1 geopolitical risk.
  ''The plunging rial is really just a symptom of the economic collapse under way there,'' said Win Thin, global head of emerging markets strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. There's a shortage of dollars in Iran, and this stems from the international sanctions against the country and its nuclear program '-- which have proven successful so far in squeezing the Iranian economy, they said in a note.
  Most of the sanctions relate to oil, Iran's biggest export by a mile, and the banking system.
  While a lot of macroeconomic data for Iran is not available, Thin pointed out a few key figures.
  '' ''Inflation spiked to 27% year-over-year in July, and has surely gotten worse in light of food shortages and the plunging rial.''
  '' GDP rose 6% in 2010 due to high oil prices, slowed in 2011 to around 2% and ''is likely to stagnate in 2012.''
  '' Unemployment in Iran was around 15% at the end of 2011, with youth unemployment seen near 25%, according to the International Monetary Fund.
  In fact, Iranian monthly inflation appears to have reached 70%, qualifying as hyperinflation, according to Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at John Hopkins University. That puts Iran in some dubious company, as some of the most recent cases of hyperinflation were in North Korea and Zimbabwe. Read: Hyperinflation has arrived in Iran.
  ''If sanctions are tightened further, Iran's fundamentals will continue to deteriorate,'' Thin said.
  ''It is impossible to predict Iran's political path ahead, but a free-falling currency amidst deteriorating economic fundamentals is simply unsustainable,'' Thin said. ''Rising social unrest may not lead to regime change, but one can hope that the leaders will take a step back from confrontation and take a step instead towards some reform.''
  On the upside, Thin notes that Israel for now has backed away from the threat of a military attack on Iran.
  ''Tightening sanctions and also giving them more time to work should be seen as a viable policy, and is the tack that the U.S. is taking,'' he said. '' We believe an attack on Iran would very likely strengthen the position of the hardliners in Iran and blunt any recent progress by moderates there in regaining a measure of influence. Protests against rising inflation and shortages have sprung up this past week, and could signal a weakening of public support for the country's rulers.''
  For the rest of the world, reform in Iran that leads to an easing of sanction ''would likely lead to lower oil prices'' '-- but it's impossible to say how much, Thin said. Read: Oil futures rise above $90 after big selloff.
  Iran isn't the only big Middle East oil producer whose currency fluctuations are signaling heightened political risk. The 12-month forward rate on the Saudi Arabian riyal '' the gap between how many riyals traders expect a dollar will be able to buy a year from now versus today '' has been hovering just above zero for the past two weeks, reports Business Insider. That means traders are expecting the riyal to drop against the U.S. dollar, an unusual and unsettling outlook given tSaudi Arabia typically runs a large trade surplus. See: Middle East tensions and the SAR 12 month forward rate.
  '' Deborah Levine
  Follow The Tell blog on Twitter @thetellblog
  Follow Deborah on Twitter @dlevineMW
Fraudecontrole mag, ook zonder verdenking - voorpagina
  Link to Article
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 09:17
  Auteur: Jacqueline Steenwijk | vrijdag 05 oktober 2012 | 06:11 | Laatst bijgewerkt op: vrijdag 05 oktober 2012 | 13:18
  ANP
  DEN HAAG - Ouderenbonden, advocaten en belangenverenigingen zijn verbijsterd over twee vergaande wetten die in alle stilte deze week door de Eerste Kamer zijn aangenomen. De eerste wet regelt dat de overheid voortaan bij miljoenen Nederlanders het huis binnen mag treden om eventuele fraude op te sporen.
  Op grond van de tweede wet verliest iemand die voor de tweede keer fraudeert tot maximaal vijf jaar zijn complete inkomen.
  Iedereen met een uitkeringBeide wetten gaan gelden voor iedereen die een vorm van uitkering geniet, zoals bijstand, WW- of een AOW-uitkering. Maar ook voor iedere ouder die kinderbijslag of een toeslag op de kinderopvang ontvangt. "Dit is buitenproportioneel", zegt een woordvoerder van ANBO, de bond voor 50-plussers. "Bizar", zegt een woordvoerder van Ouders & CO. "Wat heeft de overheid in mijn huis te zoeken, alleen omdat ik kinderen heb?"
  Voorheen mocht de overheid alleen een huisbezoek afleggen als er een verdenking was van fraude. Op grond van de nieuwe wet is dat vanaf 2013 niet meer nodig. Iedereen die uitkering of kinderbijslag ontvangt, moet de controleurs binnen laten. Wie dat weigert, krijgt een sanctie opgelegd zoals een korting of tijdelijke stopzetting van de uitkering of toeslag.
  Harder aangepaktTegelijkertijd wordt fraude vanaf volgend jaar nog harder aangepakt. Bij fraude volgt 100 procent boete. Wie binnen vijf jaar n"g eens fraudeert, krijgt 150 procent boete en de uitbetaling van de uitkering wordt voor maximaal vijf jaar geheel stopgezet. Dit tot het fraudebedrag en de boete betaald zijn. Alleen voor de bijstand geldt een kortere termijn. Die kan maximaal drie maanden op nul worden gezet.
  Waar werkenden met schulden nog een stukje inkomen mogen houden om van te leven, de zogeheten beslagvrije voet, moeten fraudeurs straks hun complete uitkering inleveren om de schuld terug te betalen. Om te overleven, moeten deze fraudeurs maar gaan werken voor hun geld, stelden de bewindslieden van Sociale Zaken eerder dit jaar in antwoord op Kamervragen.
  SolidariteitVolgens het kabinet zijn de wetten nodig om de solidariteit voor sociale uitkeringen te behouden. Ouderenbonden en advocaten vrezen het ergste. "Veel ouderen hebben alleen maar een AOW-uitkering. Als je die op nul cent zet, hebben ze niets meer om van te leven", zegt een woordvoerder van de ANBO.
  "De overheid degradeert mensen tot dakloosheid. Je neemt iemand zijn bestaanszekerheid af als je zijn uitkering op nul zet. Dit is het einde van ons sociaal zekerheidssysteem", zegt Marc van Hoof, advocaat voor de Bijstandsbond.
  (C) Gelderlander 2012, op dit artikel rust copyright.
California Gas Stations Shut as Oil Refiners Ration Supplies.
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 03:20
  Gasoline station owners in the Los Angeles area including Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) are beginning to shut pumps as the state's oil refiners started rationing supplies and spot prices surged to a record.
  Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) stopped selling gasoline on the spot, or wholesale, market in Southern California and is allocating deliveries to customers. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) is also rationing fuel to U.S. West Coast terminal customers. Costco's outlet in Simi Valley, 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, ran out of regular gasoline yesterday and was selling premium fuel at the price of regular.
  The gasoline shortage ''feels like a hurricane to me, but it's the West Coast,'' Jeff Cole, Costco's vice president of gasoline, said by telephone yesterday. ''We're obviously extremely disheartened that we are unable to do this, and we're pulling fuel from all corners of California to fix this.''
  Spot gasoline in Los Angeles has surged $1 a gallon this week to a record $1.45 a gallon premium versus gasoline futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That's the highest level for the fuel since at least November 2007, when Bloomberg began publishing prices there. On an outright basis, the fuel has jumped to $4.3929 a gallon.
  Prices JumpGasoline at the pump gained 8.3 cents to $4.315 a gallon in California yesterday, according to AAA.com, 53.1 cents more than the national average of $3.784. In Los Angeles the price was $4.347. Gasoline futures for November delivery on the Nymex rose 14.34 cents to settle at $2.9429 a gallon, after falling yesterday to a 10-week low. Retail price movements tend to lag behind those of futures.
  ''Product supply in California has tightened, especially in Southern California, due to refinery outages,'' Bill Day, a Valero spokesman at the company's headquarters in San Antonio, said by e-mail.
  Exxon's Torrance refinery is restoring operations after losing power Oct. 1. Phillips 66 (PSX) is scheduled to perform work on gasoline-making units at its two California refineries this month, two people with knowledge of the schedules said. A Chevron Corp. (CVX) pipeline that delivers crude to Northern California refineries was also shut last month due to elevated levels of chloride in the oil.
  San FranciscoSpot California-blend gasoline, or Carbob, in San Francisco surged 30 cents to $1.40 a gallon over futures, also the highest level since at least 2007, at 4:03 p.m. New York time.
  Low-P, a gasoline station in Calabasas, California, 30 miles west of Los Angeles, stopped selling unleaded gasoline Oct. 2 and ran out of high-octane and medium-octane fuel yesterday, John Ravi, the station's owner, said by phone yesterday. Ravi said he posted an ''Out of Gasoline'' sign on each pump and took down the prices outside his shop.
  ''I can get gas, but it's going to cost me $4.90 a gallon, and I can't sell it here for $5,'' Ravi said. ''If you come here right now, I've got some diesel left. That's all. My market is open, but no gas.''
  ''We're going to start shutting pumps Friday,'' Sam Krikorian, owner of Quality Auto Repair in North Hollywood, said by phone yesterday. ''Gas is costing me almost $4.75 a gallon with taxes. There's no sense in staying open. The profit margins are so low it's not worth it.''
  'Squeeze is On'''The squeeze is on, and people are doing desperate things,'' Bob van der Valk, an independent petroleum industry analyst in Terry, Montana, said by e-mail yesterday. ''The mom- and-pop gas stations are having to close down from either not being able to obtain gasoline from their regular distributor or cannot afford the break-even price of almost $5 per gallon.''
  Costco is working on a plan to alert its members as gasoline runs out at the company's stores ''so customers don't have to guess where to go,'' Cole said. The company will sell whatever premium gasoline it has stored for regular gasoline prices wherever supplies run out, he said.
  ''Costco is a membership warehouse club with a relationship based on trust,'' he said. ''We're not delivering what the members asked us to deliver, and that's not acceptable to us. So we're doing whatever we can to fix it.''
  Short-Term ProblemVan der Valk called the price surge a ''a short-term problem.'' Wholesale costs should start falling as Exxon's refinery returns to normal operations and other plants finish maintenance.
  The California Independent Oil Marketers Association, a Sacramento-based group that represents wholesale and retail fuel marketers, asked the state yesterday to expedite a waiver that would allow refiners to produce and sell winter-grade fuel, Jay McKeeman, a spokesman for the association, said by telephone yesterday.
  ''Everybody is concerned about what might happen,'' he said. ''The real question is: How long is this going to last and what can the state do?''
  California's summer-blend fuel requirements are in effect in Southern California until Oct. 31. The Reid Vapor Pressure, or RVP, limits are lifted in other areas of the state as early as Sept. 30.
  The state Air Resources Board and Energy Commission are evaluating fuel supplies and haven't decided on the waiver, Dave Clegern, a spokesman for the air board in Sacramento, said by e- mail.
  'Losing Money'The independent gas station owners are typically the first to run out of fuel and shut their pumps when spot prices surge because they often lack long-term contracts to buy from fuel suppliers at set prices, McKeeman said.
  Jim Li said yesterday that he may stop selling gasoline at his independent station, Best Auto Care, in San Francisco. He's charging $4.59 a gallon for the fuel, ''and I'm still losing money,'' he said.
  Wholesale prices are ''going up so quick that there's not even any margin to make any money at all,'' he said by telephone.
  California-grade, or CARB, diesel in Los Angeles climbed 0.5 cent to 16.5 cents a gallon above heating oil futures on the Nymex. The fuel in San Francisco was unchanged at a premium of 17 cents a gallon versus futures.
  Jet fuel in Los Angeles increased 0.37 cent to a premium of 11.25 cents a gallon against futures, the highest since Sept. 19.
  To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Doan in San Francisco at ldoan6@bloomberg.net; Joshua Falk in New York at jfalk19@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
  Enlarge imageCalifornia Gas Stations Begin to Shut on Record-High Spot PricesJustin Sullivan/Getty Images
  A gas delivery in San Anselmo, California.
  A gas delivery in San Anselmo, California. Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Barack and Michelle Obama move to Hawaii after White House -- already shopping for house.
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 01:19
  [ Click above to embiggen: Iolani Palace is no doubt where Barack and Michelle Obama would like to live, but it's not available to them as it's a museum now. Instead, the Obamas are using Chicago proxy-buyers to purchase a $35 million oceanfront estate for them in the most posh area of Oahu, where they coincidentally vacation frequently already. Move-in date is scheduled for January 2013 ]
  UPDATE: Just found out that the asking price of the house they are looking at is most likely $35 million. Bobby Titcomb, the Hawaiian native who brings Obama ''fish and poi'' (that's code for ''weed and coke'') to the White House is most likely involved in the purchase of the estate on Oahu that the Obamas will most likely be moving into in January. Possibly watching Titcomb's movements will give more clues as to which house, exactly, Obama will move to in January 2013.
  UPDATE #2: Found it! Here's the only property that matches all the clues we've been given. It is on the market for $35 million, which matches what Mrs. Robinson has been saying about the ''$35 million house she'd be living in soon''. This estate was also featured on TV's remake of Hawaii 5-O recently. Do you see how that's a little in-joke that Obama would like'...the ''O'' in the show's name, like the ''O'' he's used as his personal emblem since 2008? A man who named his dog BO, after his own initials, would love to own a house that was featured in an ''O'' show, like after his last name. This is a photo of the house as featured on TV and in Honolulu Magazine so you can see a little inside. The link above has more pics of the house that Barack Obama will soon be living in as an ex-president.
  UPDATE #3 '' Weird coincidence, but Drudge Report is right now running stories about the shootings that happen just blocks from the Obamas' house here in Chicago in the area of Hyde Park. The whole city has gotten MUCH more dangerous in the last four years. This jives with what Mrs. Robinson told friends here in Chicago about her not moving back to Chicago and about the Obama's Hyde Park house going on the market soon.
  ************************************
  Barack and Michelle Obama will be moving to Hawaii in January of 2013 and preparations are now being made to purchase an estate in close proximity to land owned by the University of Hawaii, where the Obama presidential library and ''political center'' will be located.
  Here in Chicago, it's pretty obvious that Michelle does not want to move back to this city and its winters (for any reason) and Michelle's mother, who's been living in the White House with her daughter and her family, will be happily making the move to Hawaii as well.
  I have a friend whose family knows Michelle's mother; they have been crystal clear that the elderly Mrs. Robinson regularly says that she'll be in Hawaii next year permanently with her daughter and granddaughters. There is neither talk of returning to Chicago to live nor of living in the White House for another four years '-- instead, there's a sense of ''it was fun while it lasted'' coming from Mrs. Robinson in her talks with her Chicago friends.
  Democrats are already working to locate an acceptable property in Hawaii for the Obamas to live; this land and its complex of buildings must be ready to move-into in January and must meet all the requirements the Secret Service demands since the Obamas will be granted continued protection, by law, for nine years after Barack leaves office. The Reagans, Clintons, and second Bush family all had their post-presidential homes purchased quietly on the side by friends when their times in office were coming to an end. The Obamas are doing the same thing now.
  They are not talking about building a complex on vacant land because there is not time for that. They will need a place to live come January, and they are not returning to their home in Chicago that was purchased with the help of convicted felon Tony Rezko. Chicago served its purpose in Obama's life and moving back here provides him no additional benefits. As a former president, he'd always be the second most powerful man in a town where the Mayor of Chicago is essentially a feudal king. In Hawaii, the Obamas will hold court as a new royal family on the islands.
  Back in 2009, the University of Chicago showed interest in obtaining the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum (and Political Action Center) but all of that cooled when Chicago lost its ill-fated bid for the Olympics; those plans included the construction of parking garages and other support buildings that would have been centered around a temporary stadium that was meant to be demolished and replaced with the Obama Library Building. Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the President, purchased large tracts of tenement land near the proposed sites of all this construction hoping to cash in with a huge windfall when first the Olympics and then the Obama Library were supposed to be there. But neither of these things is coming to Chicago now.
  The University of Hawaii will host the Library, Musuem, and ''Political Action Center''. Most likely, it will be called the Obama Center, like the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Just like the Carters, the Obamas want to live as close to the Library complex as possible so Barack can hold court there, give speeches, and walk through a replica of his Oval Office to relive past glories (which is what Jimmy Carter does on a regular basis, FYI). This is pretty common for former presidents, actually. Both of the Bush families moved close to where their respective presidential libraries were built and the Reagans before them had a post-presidency life in close proximity to Ronald Reagan's library.
  The Clintons are anomalous for not moving back to Arkansas and living in New York state instead. The Obamas will resume the tradition of the former president living in a new home purchased quietly by friends and allies in the last days of his presidency to be occupied immediately after he leaves office and begins the construction of his post-presidential office and archives of his administration.
  I'm not familiar with the real estate process in Hawaii, but I bet some of you who are industrious could start to look at transactions and available estates and note those that meet the following criteria for the Obamas' new home:
  * must have gorgeous ocean views and a private beach
  * must be easily accessible via a short drive from an airfield, as Obama will want to travel a lot to give speeches in Jimmy Carter fashion after he leaves office
  * must contain a main house with at least six bedrooms (one for Barack, one for Michelle, one for Mrs. Robinson, and one for each of the daughters); ideally the estate will have a separate in-law suite for Mrs. Robinson as she'd like some privacy I've been told
  * must contain outbuildings for the secret service to occupy (as they will maintain a command center there for the family's protection for nine years after he leaves office)
  * must not have any close neighbors (or if it's adjacent to another property, there must be high fences and some kind of barrier between the properties)
  * must be easily accessible to a location where the University of Hawaii can maintain the Obama Library and Obama himself can work in his Obama Center
  That last one is the big clue to where you will find a spot for their new home'...since Barack Obama will want to be able to commute easily to the ''Obama Center'', wherever that is built. He's a young-for-an-ex-president man, so he's got a good 40 years ahead of him to make use of that Obama Center when it's built'...and I imagine he wouldn't want to drive any further to it every day than Jimmy Carter does to the Carter Center in Atlanta.
  Where's a good location that the University of Hawaii would want to build his library, so that it becomes a tourist attraction for Hawaii and also afford the University the Prestige of having it on a campus? The University will be picking up a lot of the cost of the Library's construction as private fundraising for this project has thus far been anemic. In Chicago, Penny Pritzker has already started making soft calls to inquire if people would be willing to be generous to the Obama presidential library project and she's gotten mostly polite declines (and some hang-ups). Someone who works for Penny told me that.
  Figure out where the University of Hawaii could build this, and you'll figure out the radius of a 20-30 minute drive (at most) for where the Obamas will have their next home starting in January of 2013.
  Also keep an eye on architect Frank Gehry's activities. The Pritzker family funded the Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park in Chicago, which Gehry designed. He's the architect that designs buildings to look like crumpled paper that has been wadded up into a ball and placed on a pedestal. The idea for the Obama Library building is for it to resemble the US Constitution as crumpled into a ball during Obama's term in office. Frank Gehry will design it, Penny Pritzker will spearhead the fundraising for it, and the Obamas will be living very close to where it will be built in Hawaii.
  The clues are there'...now we just need to figure out where this will be.
  It's a place I doubt I'd ever want to visit, but it's not sitting well with Chicagoans here on the ground that it's not being built in Illinois because without the Chicago political machine Obama would not have gotten to where he is. But now that he's there, and will be leaving the White House soon'...there's no more need for Chicago or Chicagoans.
  Hawaii, here they come!
  ***********************
  READ PART TWO '' Who is funding the purchase of this $35 million estate and how can the Obamas afford it?
  READ PART THREE '-- Celebrate National Empty Chair Day in Barack and Michelle's new $35 million beachfront estate
  READ PART FOUR '' Why isn't OWS angry over this $35 million sweetheart gift from rich bankers?
  (C) 2012, Kevin DuJan. All rights reserved.
  Kevin DuJanGay conservative political analyst, essayist, author and radio and TV commentator on politics, pop culture, LGBTQ issues, and current events. To email Kevin directly with a comment or complaint about this or any article, do so at: HillBuzz@gmail.com
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Why does Apple's calendar look so out of date?
  Link to Article
  Source: Culture | guardian.co.uk
  Sun, 07 Oct 2012 00:24
  'Naff': the stitching effect on the iCal was said to have been based on the interior decor of a Gulfstream jet.
  According to the Pew Internet surveys, which are probably the best guide we have to internet use in the US, a quarter of all American adults now have a tablet computer. Most of those tablets are AppleiPads, and, although the preponderance of iPads seems to be diminishing as Google, Samsung and Amazon get their tablet acts together, the iPad remains the dominant product in that market. To date, Apple has sold more than 80 million of them, and my guess is that by Christmas Day that figure will be nudging 100 million.
  Pause for thought. Before the iPad, there was no tablet market. And, indeed, for quite a long time after it launched, it was effectively an iPad-only market. Not surprisingly, therefore, it was a product that inspired a mixture of admiration and envy in Apple's competitors: admiration of the elegance and innovation embodied in its design, and envy at Apple's profit margins and its ability to deliver such a complex product in huge volumes.
  Recently, however, rumblings of dissent have been heard from the design community. For example, this: "iCal looks like John Wayne's daily ledger for Indian-killing sprees, a heinous mash of leather-bound schlock and 21st-century date-keeping," writes one critic under the heading, "Ugh. God. Why Is Apple Making Everything Look Like an Ugly Wild West?" "Who ever owned a calendar that looked like this? What is this appropriating? If I upgrade to iCal Pro will it come with animated beaded tassels? I don't want my calendar to look like anything, I want graceful, minimal windows that put my schedule at the fore. I don't want a pair of homeless shelter moccasins."
  Or consider this, from Wired magazine, claiming that Apple's iPhone app, Find My Friends, "includes astonishingly ugly, faux stitched leather that wastes screen space. On the new iCal for the Macintosh, things are odder yet: When you page forward, the sheet for the previous month rips off and floats away, an animation so artless you'd swear it was designed personally by Bill Gates."
  Ouch! What Apple's designers are being accused of, it turns out, is the grave sin of skeuomorphism. Now there's a conversation-stopper if ever I saw one. A skeuomorph is, according to the OED, a 'š"derivative object that retains ornamental design cues to a structure that was necessary in the original". Skeuomorphs, explains the anthropologist Nicholas Gessler, "are material metaphors. They are informational attributes of artifacts which help us find a path through unfamiliar territory. They help us map the new onto an existing cognitive structure, and in so doing, give us a starting point from which we may evolve additional alternative solutions."
  Quite so. Perhaps this is why iPad note-taking apps offer skeuomorphs of yellow legal pads, squared paper, ring-binders, etc. Or why iCal's leather stitching was (allegedly) based on a texture of the interior decor in Steve Jobs's Gulfstream jet. I mean to say, how naff can one get? A Gulfstream!
  The most striking thing about this burgeoning debate is that it's just the latest outbreak of a row that's as old as industrial design '' the argument about form versus function. Digital artefacts can effortlessly slip the surly bounds of analogue materials: a digital calendar, for example, can encompass a thousand years, and have a separate slot for every minute of the day. A note-taking or word-processing program doesn't have to work with "pages" '' it can be like the huge rolls of paper on which PG Wodehouse used to type his novels; or like the index cards on which Nabokov composed his. And so on.
  Skeuomorphism stems from the suspicion '' or fear? '' that consumers coming fresh to the infinite possibilities of digital technology might be intimidated or confused by them. Most of us have an instinctive understanding of what a calendar looks like and how it works. So, if our tablet computer mimics the analogue artefact, then we know what to do with it without having to read a manual or adjust our mindsets. Skeuomorphism works, even if it offends purists.
  Besides, this is a show that is perpetually moving on. Once upon a time, word-processing software had to mimic typewriters, because that's what early users of computers were familiar with. But most of Facebook's 900 million users have never seen a typewriter, so skeuomorphic representations would be pointless in their case. The interesting problem will come in 10 years' time when designers will be disdaining the new computer interfaces that mimic the apps-centric interfaces of 2012. The French have a phrase for this: plus §a change.
Hannity and Rove Join the Job Report Truther Brigade
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:13
  Scarce already has a running list of "jobs report truthers" here, which includes Fox's Stuart Varney, the Fox News Channel, Jack Welch and Rick Santelli. Think Progress is keeping track and is now up to 11 conservatives who think the job numbers are a conspiracy. They can now add Fox's Sean Hannity and Karl Rove to the mix.
  Republicans loved this number as long as it was a talking point for them to pummel the Obama administration over. Now that it takes that away from them, it must be some conspiracy theory as to how these numbers are arrived at. And you've just gotta' love someone from the Bush administration that started two wars off of the books, busted the budget with tax cuts for their rich buddies, crashed the economy and pretended we weren't in a recession for a full year until they finally had no choice going on the air and screaming about the economic conditions for the working class.
  Fox also conveniently forgets to mention that Rove is running a Super PAC which is working to get Mitt Romney elected, but that's just par for the course for GOPTV. And what segment with Hannity and Rove would be complete without a little race baiting thrown in for good measure. Hannity took the opportunity to agree with raving maniac John Sununu and call President Obama "lazy" at the end of the segment.
NY Times: Jack Dorsey role at Twitter reduced because he's ''difficult'' and indecisive
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:11
  Nick Bilton has a nice profile of Dick Costolo today in the New York Times. But perhaps the most intriguing passages, for me, had to do with his characterizations of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
  Dorsey, as CEO of Square and his product role at Twitter, has seen his reputation morph into Steve Jobs-like adoration among Silicon Valley geekdom. He is this year's entrepreneurial golden boy.
  Earlier this year, Business Insider hinted that Dorsey was spending a bit less time at Twitter, but not why. In this post by Owen Thomas, this seemed to be more driven by the fact that Costolo has a firmer hand on the tiller and Dorsey's need to recalibrate his time at Square vs. Twitter:
  ''We haven't gotten details yet, but we understand the ratio has shifted decisively in Square's favor.
  We think this makes sense. At Twitter, he has a strong CEO in Dick Costolo, who has steadied the ship after a long stretch of turmoil.''
  Bilton's source give a different take: Employees at Twitter are happy to see less of Dorsey. Why? Bilton writes:
  ''Mr. Dorsey's role has since been reduced after employees complained that he was difficult to work with and repeatedly changed his mind about product directions. He no longer has anyone directly reporting to him, although he is still involved in strategic decisions.''
  Also, while there is an emerging cult-of-personality cresting around Dorsey, in the Bilton story, Costolo notes that in meetings, Dorsey shows little sign of being a force:
  ''Mr. Costolo says he looks to Mr. Dorsey for ideas and sometimes has to pull them out of him. Although Mr. Dorsey is a regular on the media circuit, appearing on CNN, as well as ''Charlie Rose'' and other programs, he tends to be quiet in meetings.
  'Dick does a good job of saying ''Jack, what do you think?'' ' says Michael Sippey, director of consumer product at Twitter. Mr. Sippey works with Mr. Dorsey to make sure that new features are 'Twittery.'
  As an aside, let's put ''Twittery'' on the list for most gag-inducing terms of the year.
  Beyond giving Dorsey a knock, Bilton echoes recent Twitter leaks that revenue forecasts are rosy, and ahead of projections, though no word on those pesky expenses.
  Finally, on the obligatory IPO mention, Bilton says insiders have a goal of 2014, as he writes:
  ''On paper, Twitter is valued at close to $10 billion. That means the most likely exit strategy for its initial backers '-- notably Charles River Ventures, Benchmark Capital,Union Square Ventures and Mr. Costolo himself '-- would be to take the company public.''
  I would tweak that to say ''most desired exit strategy.'' Personally, I think the most likely exit for Twitter is an acquisition. The market no longer has the stomach for consumer-facing, ad-driven social IPOs. At this point, a Twitter IPO seems more like fantasy than reality.
  Chris O'Brien (426 Posts)Chris O'Brien is a business and technology columnist at the San Jose Mercury News.
Intelligence officials angered by Obama administration cover up of intelligence on Iranian, al Qaeda surge in Egypt and Libya | Washington Free Beacon
  Link to Article
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 20:53
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Congress to probe security flaws for Libya diplomats - CBS News
  Link to Article
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 20:49
  Updated 10:43 PM ET
  (CBS News) WASHINGTON - CBS News has learned that congressional investigators have issued a subpoena to a former top security official at the US mission in Libya. The official is Lt. Col. Andy Wood, a Utah National Guard Army Green Beret who headed up a Special Forces "Site Security Team" in Libya.
  Lt. Col. Andy Wood led a 16-member Special Forces site security team responsible for protecting U.S. personnel in Libya.
  /CBS News/Andy WoodsThe subpoena compels Lt. Col. Wood to appear at a House Oversight Committee hearing next week that will examine security decisions leading up to the Sept. 11 Muslim extremist terror assault on the U.S. compound at Benghazi. U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three of his colleagues were killed in the attack.Libya consulate: Was security added or taken away?FBI team examines site of deadly Libya attack
  Lt. Col. Wood has told CBS News and congressional investigators that his 16-member team and a six-member State Department elite force called a Mobile Security Deployment team left Libya in August, just one month before the Benghazi assault. Wood says that's despite the fact that US officials in Libya wanted security increased, not decreased.
  Wood says he met daily with Stevens and that security was a constant challenge. There were 13 threats or attacks on western diplomats and officials in Libya in the six months leading up to the September 11 attack.
  A senior State Department official told CBS News that half of the 13 incidents before September 11 were fairly minor or routine in nature, and that the Benghazi attack was so lethal and overwhelming, that a diplomatic post would not be able to repel it.
  Wood, whose team arrived in February, says he and fellow security officials were very worried about the chaos on the ground. He says they tried to communicate the danger to State Department officials in Washington, D.C., but that the officials denied requests to enhance security.
  "We tried to illustrate...to show them how dangerous and how volatile and just unpredictable that whole environment was over there. So to decrease security in the face of that really is... it's just unbelievable," Wood said.
  The State Department official says there was a "constant conversation" between security details in Libya and officials in Washington D.C.
  Sources critical of what they view as a security drawdown say three Mobile Security Deployment teams left Libya between February and August in addition to the 16-member Site Security Team on loan from the military. That's 34 highly-trained security personnel moved out over a six month period.
  One State Department source told CBS News the security teams weren't "pulled," that their mission was simply over.
  Also scheduled to appear at next week's hearing are: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Libya's former U.S. Regional Security Officer Eric Nordstrom, and State Department official Charlene Lamb.
Sylvie doet 'stunt' op televisie
  Link to Article
  Source: Telegraaf.nl - prive
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 20:46
  za 06 okt 2012, 22:03
  van onze redactieAMSTERDAM - FOTO'S - Sylvie en Rafael van der Vaart waren zaterdagavond te gast in het Duitse familieprogramma Wetten, das....? Sylvie was niet te beroerd om een stunt uit te voeren...
  Sylvie, die er overigens piekfijn uitzag in een kort rood jurkje, waagde zich zaterdagavond aan touwlopen. Aan de hand van manlief Rafael wist ze op haar hoge hakken enkele stappen te zetten op een dun touw.
  De Van der Vaartjes stapten ook nog op een tandem waar een caravan aan bevestigd was. En die kregen ze zelfs in beweging!
  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
Walmart Strike: Dozens Of LA Workers Walk Off The Job In First-Ever Strike Against Retailer
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 20:43
  For the first time in Walmart's 50-year history, workers at multiple stores have gone on strike, even though their jobs are not protected by a labor union.
  More than 70 Los Angeles Walmart workers from nine stores walked off the job Thursday, workers and labor organizers told The Huffington Post.
  About 250 workers and supporters protested outside the Pico Rivera Walmart store, carrying signs that read, "On Strike for the Freedom to Speak Out" and "Walmart Strike Against Retaliation." The workers said their complaints about working conditions and low pay have been met with threats, suspensions and terminations.
  The strikers said they plan to return to work Friday. Some of the workers will speak at LA City Hall Friday to relay Walmart's response to the strike. The strike was coordinated by OUR Walmart, a labor group backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) that defends Walmart workers' rights.
  Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman told HuffPost that the protest was insignificant and claimed that less than five workers walked off the job. "This rally is just the latest publicity stunt by the UFCW to seek media attention in order to further their political agenda and financial objectives," he said. "Our stores in the community are staffed up and open for business as usual today. This event is not a factor," he added.
  Walmart workers have recently filed more than 20 charges of unfair labor practices across the country with the National Labor Relation Board, according to Dan Schlademan, director of Making Change at Walmart, the campaign behind OUR Walmart. The charges, mostly filed in recent weeks, allege that workers have either been fired or had their hours reduced after activity with OUR Walmart. Workers also allege that they have been told not to talk to OUR Walmart organizers and that doing so could shut down stores, leaving employees without a job, Schlademan told HuffPost.
  One of the charges was filed on behalf of Monique Velasquez, a Pico Rivera Walmart employee who participated in the strike Thursday. Velasquez told HuffPost that after becoming active with OUR Walmart, her hours were cut from 30 hours a week to eight. "I'm striking because I was retaliated against for speaking out," she said. Valesquez, a single mother of five children, said that with eight hours worth of pay, she "can't even pay one bill. It's very, very hard." She said that about 30 of her coworkers scheduled to work Thursday at the Pico Rivera store walked off the job with her.
  "Anyone who goes against management, you're pretty much putting a target on your back. They intimidate you by cutting hours or picking on you in any way they can," Valesquez said.
  On the same day as the strike, about 80 foreign Walmart workers gathered in downtown LA to launch the UNI Walmart Global Union Alliance, Schlademan said. While Walmart in the U.S. remains free of labor unions, the retailer's workers elsewhere in the world are largely unionized.
  Foreign Walmart workers met with LA workers to discuss how to effectively organize and advocate for better working conditions (see photos below). The unionized foreign workers were from Latin America, Africa, the U.K. and Canada.
  The global alliance and strike come after a series of actions taken against Walmart. In June, thousands of Angelenos marched in what was touted as the largest anti-Walmart protest in history. Subsequently, hundreds of people participated in anti-Walmart marches in Ellewood, Ill., Dallas, San Diego and elsewhere.
  Earlier this month, about 30 Southern California warehouse workers who load goods for delivery to Walmart went on an unprecedented 15-day strike. Kicking off the strike, they staged a six-day, 50-mile march, or "pilgrimage," to draw attention to the poor working conditions that they say they can no longer tolerate.
  "There is something really happening here. What we're seeing is that people are learning that they can stand up," Schlademan said. "This isn't the end of something. It's just the beginning," he said.
  Photo credit: OUR Walmart & UNI
  Earlier on HuffPost:
Ron Paul: ''What I Fear The Most Is A False Flag '' Something Happening Where One Of Our Ships Goes Down, Or There A Plane Goes Down, And Of Course It HAD To Be The Iranians, You Know, For Sure, For Certain''
  Link to Article
  Source: Washington's Blog
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:56
  Will a False Flag Be the Start of An Iran War?Ron Paul said recently (at 28:00):
  What I fear the most is a false flag '' something happening where one of our ships goes down, or there a plane goes down, and of course it HAD to be the Iranians, you know, for sure, for certain.
  (Paul previously warned of a ''Gulf of Tonkin type incident'' in Iran.)
  Paul joins numerous other high-level government officials who have warned that a false flag may be launched against Iran to start a war:
  The highly influential Brookings Institution wrote a report in 2009 called ''Which Path to Persia?'' which states (pages 84-85):It would be far more preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provocation as justification for the airstrikes before launching them. Clearly, the more outrageous, the more deadly, and the more unprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be.Of course, it would be very difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of the world recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would have some possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope that Tehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtly, which could then be portrayed as an unprovoked act of Iranian aggression.)
  A number of very high-level former intelligence officers '' including several that personally briefed presidents every day on matters of national security '' stated that better communications between the U.S. and Iran were needed to ''reduce the danger of '... covert, false-flag attack''One of America's top constitutional and military law experts '' Jonathan Turley '' writes:
  Many critics have argued that there is a concerted effort to push the United States into a war with Iran by supporters of Israel. Patrick Clawson, director of research for the highly influential pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) think tank, seemed intent to prove those rumors true this week in comments as a luncheon on ''How to Build US-Israeli Coordination on Preventing an Iranian Nuclear Breakout.'' Clawson casually discusses how to create a false flag operation to push the U.S. into war to overcome any reluctance by the public. We have been discussing how many leaders like Senator Joe Lieberman had begun to use the same rhetoric that led to the last two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and how the suggest timing of an attack has been tied to the presidential election.
  In his remarks, Clawson helpfully lists a series of historical events used to push the country into war like the Gulf of Tonkin incident that gave us the Vietnam War. Clawson expressed his frustration in acknowledging that it is ''[v]ery hard for me to see how the United States President can get us to war with Iran.'' However, there is hope. Clawson explains that the ''traditional way'' to get the country into a war is through false flags or manufactured incidents where Americans are killed. Thus, he observes, ''we are in the game of using covert means against the Iranians, we could get nastier about it. So, if in fact the Iranians aren't going to compromise, it would be best if somebody else started the war.''
  The fact that one of the leading analysis for the WINEP would feel comfortable in making such comments is itself quite chilling. It indicates that such discussions have become sufficiently regular that it has creeped into public discussion. It is a measure of the secret pressure building to push this country into a third major war despite our crippling economic conditions and losses in military personnel. The assumption in Washington is that neither Romney nor Obama could oppose such a war. Even if Obama does not publicly support Israel, the assumption is that political allies of Israel in Washington can guarantee that we would offer extensive military loans and intelligence. Even if there is a delay in such military loans and support, the assumption is that Israel can go to war with the understanding that the United States will cover a significant portion of the costs. Moreover, in his remarkably candid remarks, Clawson shows how the U.S. can easily be forced into direct combat by pushing Iran to simply kill some Americans or sink a few of our ships. Then members would be clamoring for revenge. Notably, the Israelis have been ratcheting up the war rhetoric in pushing Iran, which predictably has now reserved the right to engage in a preemptive strike not just against Israeli but U.S. interests. We would then, again, find ourselves in a war without any public debate or collective decision.
  While Clawson adds a passing caveat that he is not advocating such an approach, his remarks are clearly designed to show how the group can get the United States into a war for Israel if only we can get Iran to kill some of our citizens or soldiers. Those people are of course expendable props in Clawson's realpolitik.
  By the way, Clawson has been enlisted to give his insightful analysis at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He is also a member of the National Defense University's Institute for National Strategic Studies. The World Bank connection is particularly interesting given the history with Paul Wolfowitz who pushed the U.S. into two disastrous wars in the Bush Administration and was rewarded with being made the head of the World Bank.
  It is the callous disconnect that is most chilling in these remarks. Thousands of U.S. soldiers have died or have been crippled for life in these wars that have left the country near bankruptcy (and increasingly hostile ''allies'' in Afghanistan and Iraq). Those casualties and costs, however, appear immaterial in the discussion of supporting Israel in a war against Iran.
  And false flags have long been planned against Syria.
iPhone 5 so far: One road warrior's two-week test
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:54
  The iPhone 5 doesn't exactly have busy CNET reporter Brooke Crothers pining away for his 4S. But there have been one or two issues.
  iPhone 5: holds up well after a couple of weeks' use -- with some gotchas.
  (Credit: Apple )Two weeks in, I've got a better feel for the iPhone 5, both good and bad.
  After upgrading from the iPhone 4S to the 5 two weeks ago yesterday, I've been on the road -- bouncing between the east and west coasts. That's plenty of opportunity to test the iPhone 5's mettle.
  The good, the bad, the meh:
  Wi-Fi: This was the first gotcha. After arriving at my destination in Philadelphia, a Wi-Fi network I needed to access didn't take -- despite working fine with a host of other devices, including an iPhone 3GS and an iPad 2. As it turns out, this wasn't an iPhone 5 problem but an iOS 6 thing. And it affected my Retina iPad -- upgraded to iOS 6 -- too. The problem was fixed via some weird router firmware acrobatics. Upshot: Lots of frustration.Battery: No complaints here, as my expectations weren't terribly high. I agree with CNET Reviews' take on battery life: no worse than the 4S. Maybe even a little better, considering the fact that I was using the iPhone 5 on Verizon's 4G LTE network in suburban Philadelphia constantly. On average, I would say battery life was between a little less than a day and a day and a half, depending on how much I was leaning on Verizon's network and not Wi-Fi. Upshot: Unchanged from 4S.4G/LTE: Which brings us to LTE. The iPhone 5 is Apple's first phone on Verizon's 4G LTE network. Let me begin by saying that Verizon's 4G network has the same problems with flaky connections that any 3G network has. For example, I'm sitting smack dab in the middle of an LTE area in Los Angeles as I write this and I get decent 3G speeds (download about 3.8 Mbps, upload 0.45 Mbps) but not 4G. Of course, I can get rocking LTE speeds in plenty of other places. For example, in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Friday I recorded download speeds up to 40Mbps and uploads of about 9Mbps. And the faster speeds are the rule not the exception. Upshot: Fast, with some exceptions.Screen: The extra half-inch of diagonal size on the phone's Retina 4-inch screen is the rough equivalent (proportionately) of upgrading from a 17-inch desktop display to a 20-inch-class screen. It's not huge but it's extra screen real estate the iPhone desperately needed. In fact, I found myself using the iPhone 5 in lieu of the iPad. In other words, with the 4S I had little tolerance for Web browsing. With the 5, that tolerance threshold is lowered, i.e., I didn't feel the need to always reach for the iPad's 9.7-inch screen. But more to the point, it gets you closer to the big-screen benefits of the 4.8 inch Samsung Galaxy S3. Would I prefer an iPhone with a slightly larger display? Yeah, though the 4.8 incher on the Galaxy S3 makes that phone a little too big for my tastes.But does that mean Apple needs to haul out an iPhone 6 sooner rather than later? If there's a growing demand for big-screen phones like the S3 and HTC One X+ then maybe it does. And let me add that I take back what I said before about small smartphones with necessarily small screens being better/more handy than large-screen ones. I was wrong. Upshot: The iPhone was in dire need of a bigger screen.
  Design: Apple nailed the the physical redesign. As I said before, Apple stretched out the 4S just enough to allow for a bigger screen, while making the iPhone lighter and easier to hold. It instantly and completely obsoletes the 4/4S. Which really wasn't that hard to do since the 4/4S was getting long in the tooth. I still feel the change every time I pick it up. Upshot: Great physical design.Speed: It's fast. Period. The combo of the new A6 processor and LTE delivers. And as for its ability to process data -- irrespective of connection speeds -- I've never found myself saying, hey, this thing is slow. Upshot: Did I say it's fast?Drop test: I knocked (inadvertently) the iPhone pretty hard into another hard surface. I couldn't find any scratches or physical damage. And everything seems to be intact internally. I did panic for a second when I tapped the top of the phone (right under the rear camera) to see if anything was loose and heard a rattling noise. But that fear was laid to rest when I went to an Apple store and tapped the same spot on four iPhone 5s and heard the exact same noise in each one. Upshot: Took a hard knock in stride.Camera: I'm going to withhold detailed commentary on the camera until I get a better feel for what it can do. Suffice to say, there's almost no need anymore to use my small 14MP Kodak M580. If Apple (or another smartphone supplier) figures out how to fit optical zoom into a slim smartphone then -- for me at least -- a separate camera becomes all together unnecessary. The iPhone 5 takes good photos, though Apple should try to push the envelope more on camera tech, I think. Upshot: More later.Finally, let me say that the comments above only scratch the surface of everyday iPhone usage scenarios. So, I won't pretend to cover all of the pros and cons of the iPhone 5. Constructive comments below are welcome.
  iPhone 5.
  (Credit: Apple )
TOTALE PANIEK BIJ OM OM VAATSTRA-ZAAK
  Link to Article
  Source: Klokkenluideronline
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:33
  VANDAAG WORDT IN HET NIEUWS GEBRACHT DAT 'DNA-ONDERZOEK VOORSPOEDIG VERLOOPT' * EN DAT OP DE DAG VAN DE DEFINITIEVE EXPOSURE VAN DEMMINK * DAT DOET DENKEN AAN DE FRISO-CHRONOLOGIE: DAG VAN LAWINE-ONGELUK WERD VAATSTRA-ONDERZOEK HEROPEND
  Het begint er steeds meer op te lijken dat Joris Demmink een cruciale rol heeft gespeeld bij de moord op Marianne Vaatstra. Lees de recente publicatie hierover in het Katholiek Nieuwsblad. Hier de totale paniek bij het OM in beeld. De link Demmink-Vaatstra was overigens voor deze site en JDTV destijds de reden de lustmoord te gaan onderzoeken samen met een speciaal team waarvan Wim Dankbaar ook deel uitmaakte [JDTV afl. 59]. In deze serie video's is de hele gang van zaken reeds onthuld. De link met Friso is afkomstig van de verklaring van de 'supergetuige' waarvan de definitieve geloofwaardigheid nog moet worden vastgesteld. De verklaring van deze voormalige advocate lijkt inmiddels opnieuw van YouTube te zijn verwijderd.
Obama's Chummy Press Corps Offers David 'Axe' Axelrod Their Advice for Obama's Next Debate
  Link to Article
  Source: Tim Graham's blog
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:30
  Neil Munro of the Daily Caller was attacked by journalists for asking President Obama a question out of turn -- because Obama wasn't offering a turn. He expects to speak without taking questions. On Thursday, Munro once again found himself surrounded by amateur Obama advisers thinly disguised as objective journalists after Obama lost the debate in Denver.
  Munro noted several reporters on the 11:15 a.m. phone conference promptly offered questions that bordered on advice. "Axe, I'm not sure you can hear me, David," said NBC's Andrea Mitchell, "I'm wondering whether the president, whether you have rethought the strategy of not bringing up either women's issues, or the 47 percent or some of the other issues that have worked so well for you in your campaign advertising and in your stump speech?" Other transcripts without the reporter names identified seconded that emotion:
  "Do you think that the President missed an opportunity to make the points he made today in Denver, and presumably will in Wisconsin, on that stage in front of a much wider audience?" said a reporter during the event, which took place at 1:15 p.m. MDT, aboard Air Force One...
  "Is the president going to be tougher next time? Are we going to see a different -- Axe talked about sort of a shift and looking at strategies. Is he going to be a little bit tougher next time?"
  "Was the decision not to mention either Bain or 47 percent a deliberate one? Or was it just a case where time ran out and he might well have raised it had there been another 10 minutes?"
  "You said some weeks ago that one of Mitt Romney's strengths as a debater was his willingness to lie with ease. Was the President adequately prepared to call him out on that last night?"
  "But did [Obama] go too far, the steadiness, his not being aggressive? Was that an over-compensation perhaps?"
  Axelrod said, as he did on television, they would be "holding Romney accountable." No one in the media seems to be holding Obama accountable -- which is why Obama must have appeared shocked that Romney would do so on stage.
  Earlier: Reporter/manservant Mark Leibovich of the New York Times lauds Obama's hot dog consumption and basketball chatter, and tweets to Axelrod "You ate your tweeties today, Axe. Impressed."
Thread: Tinkering with distributed outlines in World Outline
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:27
  I'm finally starting to get my head around this World Outline thing. One important aspect that I'd not grasped is that outlines (and portions of outlines) can live anywhere. They don't live inside World Outline, World Outline simply helps manage them and knows how to render them. At first I thought outlines had to be completely managed within World Outline, but it turns out they can be included withing any section of any outline via any web-accessible URL. That's big, right?
  To test this I converted a list of books I've read recently to OPML and dropped it in my Dropbox Public folder. A quick right-click on the file gets me the Dropbox public URL for that file (in this case, https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11319/opml/Books.opml). Then, in OPML Editor I tell a node (any node I choose) to "include" the OPML document located at that Public Dropbox URL. Boom! My list of books is rendered nicely as part of the larger document. To make it easy to find, I set the Domain of this new "Books" node to http://books.baty.net and there it is. Now I just edit my local OPML document any time and it's automatically updated on the web anywhere it has been included. My explanation makes it sound a little confusing, but it's actually quite simple - once you get it.
  This is really fun.
Did French music site Deezer just raise $130M from Warner parent group? The facts
  Link to Article
  Source: VentureBeat » Jolie O’Dell
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:23
  Parisian daily Le Figaro is today reporting that Deezer, the popular France-based music site, has raised a huge '‚¬100 million ($130 million) round of funding from Access Industries, Warner Music Group's parent company.
  We've reached out to Deezer reps and are waiting for confirmation of the funding; however, we already know enough about the company and the alleged investor to say this trumor sounds pretty reliable.
  First of all, Deezer is throwing a huge bash in London this coming Tuesday, ostensibly to celebrate its first anniversary in the UK and to announce new funding, as well. The funding details were hinted at but not fully revealed in an invitation sent to press.
  Also, the company is in the middle of an aggressive 200-country rollout; it currently counts 91 territories in its lineup of markets. That expansion alone would require an extra financial push in excess of Deezer's current subscriptions revenue. The company has also announced a string of licensing agreements with record labels and music festival sponsorships '-- meaning even more expenditures depleting Deezer's overall warchest.
  French paper Les Echoes reported Deezer was hunting for a big round '-- between '‚¬50 million and '‚¬100 million '-- as long ago as February. At that time, no specific potential investors were named.
  Access Industries, the rumored investor, has significant media and telecom holdings, including Warner Music Group, which Access bought in May 2011 for $3.3 billion cash. Other entertainment and telecom holdings include UK pay television service Pop Up TV, UK-based mobile messaging service Acision, mobile Scandinavian broadband service net1, Russian TV production company Amedia, and Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey's Icon Group, based in Los Angeles.
  Deezer previously took a couple modest rounds of $6.8 million in 2007 and $12.5 million in 2008. Recent years have brought integrations with Facebook and Orange to help to boost the service's subscription numbers. Currently, the site claims 26 million users, 6 million unique monthly visitors, and more than 1.5 million paying monthy subscribers to the its premium services.
  top image courtesy of olly, Shutterstock
Michael Jackson's funeral delayed because Janet wanted her $40K burial deposit back, says new book
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:11
  When Michael Jackson's mother Katherine was ''abducted'' from the home she shares with her grandchildren and held against her will in Arizona by some of her kids in July, it exposed all the greed and backstabbing that has consumed the family since MJ's 2009 death. And in a new book, Untouchable, author Randall Sullivan further blows open the doors on what exactly went down in the hours after the King of Pop overdosed on the painkiller propofol '' and how the singer's own flesh and blood has been after his millions ever since.Paris Jackson rocks t-shirts with dad's face & other famous musicians
  In an excerpt of the book obtained by Vanity Fair for its November issue, Sullivan reveals that mere hours after Michael's death at his rented chateau in Los Angeles' Holmby Hills, his older sister LaToya showed up with her boyfriend Jeffre Phillips and demanded to be allowed in. ''We're family and we should have access to the house,'' they reportedly claimed.
  [Related: Jackson family dispute: What is really going on?]
  Not long after the two were granted entry into Michael's abode, which he shared with his three children, his mother also showed up and called Grace Rwaramba, the recently-fired nanny of Prince, 15, Paris, 14, and Blanket, 10. According to Rwaramba, Katherine said, ''Grace, the children are crying. They are asking about you. They can't believe their father died.'' Then, without missing a beat, she added, ''Grace, you remember Michael used to hide cash at the house? I'm here. Where can it be?''
  Who's who: The Michael Jackson family tree
  Michael apparently used to put his money in black garbage bags, which he then hid under the carpets at his home. Ronald Williams, who handled security at the Holmby Hills residence, tells Sullivan that he saw LaToya and her boyfriend stuffing black garbage bags into duffel bags at the house, which LaToya denies (she says nearly all the money was gone by the time she arrived at her brother's mansion).
  The next morning after Michael's death, his younger sister Janet showed up at his house, moving van in tow '' and a few hours later, it left with LaToya's boyfriend behind the wheel. Katherine, Janet, and LaToya ''camped out for most of the week,'' Williams tells Sullivan, adding that the trio came and went ''whenever they felt like it.''
  Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston: Vanity Fair's classic nude portraits
  Prince, Paris, and Blanket. (WireImage)When it came time to bury their beloved cash cow, the scheming over money did not cease. According to Sullivan's book, Michael was not laid to rest until September 2009 (he died on June 25) because Janet would not allow it until his estate repaid her the $40,000 cemetery deposit that she had ponied up to secure him a spot at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California.
  [Related: Paris Jackson remembers dad Michael on third anniversary of his death]
  As for the July incident with Katherine, which left Michael's three children without supervision for about two weeks before a judge appointed their cousin TJ as their new guardian, that too had to do with money. Untouchable reveals that Janet arranged for her 82-year-old mother to be checked out by a physician before she traveled to Albuquerque to watch her sons' Unity Tour '' but she lied to the elderly woman and told her the unknown doctor was an associate of her own '... but he was actually Dr. Allen Metzger, who was a defense witness at the trial of the man convicted of manslaughter in Michael's death, Dr. Conrad Murray.
  All seven of Tom Cruise's Vanity Fair covers
  Dr. Metzger told Katherine that her blood pressure was a bit high and advised her not to make the road trip to Albuquerque. Instead, she and her oldest daughter Rebbie headed to the airport, where she soon realized she had been booked for a flight to Tucson. When Katherine arrived at the Miraval Resort & Spa there, Janet greeted her. According to the excerpt in Vanity Fair, five of her children, including Janet, Rebbie, Jermaine, and Randy, ''were attempting to gain a conservatorship over her, possibly by demonstrating her incompetence to serve as guardian of Michael's children. They hoped to gain control of their brother's fortune, which would follow Prince, Paris, and Blanket wherever they went.''
  Although Katherine's representatives cooperated with Sullivan on his book, the rest of the Jackson family has yet to comment on his claims.
  Suri Cruise's 20 most-fashionable moments
  The November issue of Vanity Fair will hit newsstands nationally on October 9.
  More Celebrity Features on Yahoo!:
  Follow omg! on Twitter
BREAKING: CIA Turns On Obama '' Indicating Significant Cover-Up
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 18:59
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American Airlines: 'Gunk' from spilled drinks partly to blame for loose seats - Travel on NBCNews.com
  Link to Article
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:38
  21 hrs.
  Kari Huus, NBC News
  American Airlines has grounded dozens of airplanes for a second time this week due to loose passenger seats, causing nearly 100 flight cancellations on Thursday and Friday. It said it was quickly resolving the problem, which the company indicated was caused by an array of factors, including the ''gunk'' from drinks that get spilled.
  "We have identified the issue and our maintenance teams are securing an FAA-approved locking mechanism to make sure no seat can be dislodged,'' company spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said in a statement. ''All of our (Boeing) 757s will be back in service by Saturday."
  She said the seat issue caused the company to cancel 50 flights on Thursday and 45 on Friday.
  American first grounded the 48 Boeing 757 aircraft it operates on Monday for inspection after seats came loose on three flights, two of which made emergency landings as a result.
  The airline re-grounded the airplanes '-- nearly half of its Boeing 757s '-- for maintenance on Thursday, less than a day after it said it had made all necessary repairs to fix the problem.
  Huguely's statement did not provide detail as to what caused the seat problem, but another company spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said multiple ''contributing factors'' led to the problem.
  ''There are a lot of contributing factors '-- normal wear and tear, gunk that can affect the locking-pin mechanism '-- whether its debris or sodas,'' she said.
  But she said ''gunk'' was not the primary cause. ''There were some installation issues '-- a lot of contributing factors.''
  The company is installing mechanical ties to keep these seats in place on the 48 jets with this type of seat, as a backup in case the locking pin mechanism fails.
  The remainder of American Airlines' aircraft, which have different types of seats, remained in service.
  "The fundamental design of this seat is not as robust as some of the latest designs," David L. Campbell, American's vice president of safety, said in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor. He said the airline had used the same seats for 20 years without incident until now.
  The seats in the Boeing aircraft are not designed by Boeing, the company said.
  ''The seats are buyer-furnished equipment and we install them for the airlines initially,'' company spokesman Tom Brabant told NBC News. ''The airline is responsible for maintaining them after that.''
  The manufacturer of the seats in question is Weber Aircraft LLC, the company spokesperson said.
  The Gainesville, Texas, company did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
  The Federal Aviation Administration began investigating on Saturday, when flight AA685 from Boston to Miami diverted to New York's JFK Airport because a seat became dislodged.
  "The FAA is aware of American's decision to conduct further inspections on certain Boeing 757s and concurs with this step,'' the FAA said in a statement. ''Our safety investigation continues and we'll take additional action as appropriate."
  American's parent company, Dallas-based AMR Corp., filed for bankruptcy in November.
  American is currently involved in tense negotiations with its pilots.
  The number of delayed and canceled American flights has surged in the past month.
  The company has blamed the pilots for intentionally causing delays by calling in sick in droves and making frivolous mechanical complaints.
  The Allied Pilots Association, which represents 10,000 American pilots, denies these charges.
  ''Failure to place a mechanical discrepancy in the maintenance logbook can result in a revocation of a pilot's license by the Federal Aviation Administration, not to mention the fact that it could result in a serious safety risk,'' said APA President Keith Wilson in a Sept. 28 statement on the union's website.
BBC Enviromental zealot Richard Black quits BBC - rumour of serious complaints
  Link to Article
  Source: robertleather news feed
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:35
  31 August 2012Last updated at07:16 ETThis is my last entry for this page - I'm leaving the BBC to work, initially, on ocean conservation issues.
  While this page will no longer be updated, it will stay here for reference.
  I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog down the years - I've enjoyed writing it, and have appreciated your comments.
  To keep up to date with news and views about the environment, I hope you'll keep reading the science and environment pages of the BBC News website, and my science correspondent colleagues Jonathan Amos and David Shukman.
Gas Stations Close as Prices Jump 19 Cents Overnight
  Link to Article
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 16:45
  KTLA LOS ANGELES (KTLA) '-- Gas prices seem to be climbing by the second, setting unwanted records, angering drivers and even causing closures at some pumps.
  Gas prices shot up 19.2 cents overnight Thursday. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in L.A. County was $4.58 on Friday, the highest figure since 2008.
  In Orange County, the average is up 20 cents to $4.53, while in the Inland Empire, it's up to $4.48. In Ventura County, the average price per gallon is $4.54.The price increases could continue for weeks and the average might even break the $5 mark, according to experts.
  Refinery and pipeline mishaps, along with the state's strict pollution limits are all, in part, to blame. They've sent wholesale prices soaring to all-time highs this week.
  One of the disruptions involved a power outage on Monday at the Exxon Mobil plant in Torrance, which normally produces 150 millions barrels of gas per day.
  Additionally, Chevron's Richmond plant, the largest refinery in Northern California, has been running at reduced capacity since a fire Aug. 6.
  At the same time, California refineries have dropped production in recent weeks in anticipation of switching over to a ''winter blend'' of gasoline, which emits more pollutants, next month.
  But California's summer-blend fuel requirements are in effect in Southern California until Oct. 31.
  Because of the spike in wholesale prices, some gas station owners have stopped making purchases to fill their underground tanks.
  Mom-and-pop stations are really feeling the squeeze. They've had to shut down because they can't get gas from their regular distributor, or they can't afford it.
  And at least 12 Costco gas stations, including those in Marina del Rey, Tustin and Inglewood, have run out of gasoline.
  The Costco in Simi Valley ran out of regular fuel on Thursday and was selling premium fuel at regular prices.
  Costco is an independent gas provider, so it has to find gas on the open market.
  Costco's CEO said Friday morning that he expects to have gasoline back in their tanks soon, but probably not in time for the weekend.
  Valero Energy Corp. stopped selling gasoline on the wholesale market in Southern California and is allocating deliveries to customers.
  Exxon Mobil Corp. is also rationing fuel to U.S. West Coast terminal customers.
  Gas prices in California should continue to rise as retail prices catch up with wholesale prices, analysts say.
  ''Wholesale prices have gone up $1 a gallon in the last week alone, and retail prices have only followed for 30 cents,'' Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, told the Daily News.
  He said that means there's still room for gas prices to climb, and he expects that's exactly what they will do.
  Gas prices have already surpassed $5 a gallon at a few filling stations in California, according to GasBuddy.com.
  The average price per gallon in California is already well above the record high national average price of $4.114 a gallon, which was set in 2008 when oil prices rose to $140 a barrel.
  And it's likely that California's record average price of $4.61 per gallon, set in June 2008, will be broken, according to Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service.
  Analysts expect that the surge in California gas prices will retreat sometime in October, though it's impossible to say exactly when.
  Relief could come more quickly if the state's refineries are allowed to switch to the cheaper winter-grade fuel before the end of October.
  The California Independent Oil Marketers Association, which represents wholesale and retail fuel marketers, asked the state Thursday to expedite a waiver allowing for the switch.
Ransomware Malware Virus Removal Instructions Guide by Britec - YouTube
  Link to Article
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:21
The Jobs Report Truthers
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:03
  Friday morning's collective freakout by conservatives over the latest jobs report which pushed the unemployment figure down to 7.8% was almost as bewildering as it was unsurprising. This is what these people do now when confronted with unpleasant realities. Stuart Varney at Fox Buisness News hinted at a conspiracy, saying "Oh how convenient ... five weeks before the election."
  And then there was Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric with this widely retweeted and ridiculed tweet as soon as the numbers came out:
  That tweet by Welch really seemed to get the ball rolling on this craziness, though CNBC's Rick Santelli had already taken the ball and gladly run with it too. Watch his antics here this morning, as he treated the report like a joke, the numbers a complete fiction. Santelli was later even more explicit, though he said he couldn't prove the numbers were fudged, "they are what they are".
'Justitiebaas had contact met pooier van jongetjes'
  Link to Article
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 13:41
  'Justitiebaas had contact met pooier van jongetjes' - AD.nl
  bewaarDoor: redactie6-10-12 - 08:00 bron: Algemeen DagbladJoris Demmink (C) Ilya van Marle.De topman bij het ministerie van Justitie heeft verschillende keren contact gehad met een pooier van minderjarige jongens. Dat verklaren meerdere getuigen in het AD. Ook zeggen ze hem met minderjarige jongens uit de nabijheid van deze pooier te hebben gezien. Een van de getuigen beweert dat de Justitietopman meerdere keren een Arabisch uitziend jongetje meenam.
  Secretaris-generaal Joris Demmink (64) gaat over twee weken met pensioen. De afgelopen 10 jaar was hij de hoogste ambtenaar van het ministerie van Veiligheid en Justitie. Sinds 1982 bekleedt hij daar topfuncties die onkreukbaarheid vereisen.
  Al jaren circuleren geruchten dat Demmink ontucht zou plegen met minderjarigen. Vorig jaar deden twee Turkse mannen aangifte tegen hem. Ze zeggen als tiener door Demmink te zijn misbruikt. Na een Rijksrechercheonderzoek besloot het Openbaar Ministerie geen vervolging in te stellen. Tot in de Amerikaanse senaat zijn hierover vragen gesteld.
  SeksslavenMeerdere ooggetuigen stellen nu dat Demmink begin jaren '80 contact had met crimineel Dick Willard. In de Haagse Schilderswijk stond Willard bekend als pooier van minderjarige jongens. Hij werd in 1991 vermoord door twee van zijn voormalige 'seksslaven'.
  'Willard pochte over zijn klanten,' zegt de 62-jarige Nico van Empel. 'Ook over deze Demmink. Hij zei dat het een heel hoge ome was.'
  De topman van Justitie zou ook zijn geobserveerd door leden van een Haagse hasjbende. Hun leider verklaart: 'Mijn mensen zagen jongens bij hem in de auto stappen. Het ging om jongens van niet ouder dan 15 jaar."
  Demmink ontkent Dick Willard te hebben gekend. Zijn advocaat Harro Knijff schrijft: 'Ten aanzien van alle vragen over Dick Willard geldt dat deze persoon de heer Demmink volslagen onbekend is. De heer Demmink heeft mitsdien dan ook geen enkel contact met betrokkene gehad.'
  Knijff dreigt met juridische stappen tegen deze krant. Twee Haagse getuigen zeggen hun verhaal onder ede te willen herhalen.
  SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVERENRapporteer een fout in het artikel aan onze redactieMeer overgerelateerd nieuwsMeer over(C) 2012 De Persgroep Digital. Alle rechten voorbehouden.Lees de gebruiksvoorwaarden. - Privacy
  Volg het nieuws op onze zustersite in Belgi www.hln.be.
Blackwater Founder's Mercenary Army Abandoned in Somali Desert
  Link to Article
  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:59
  Last year it was revealed that Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince had been put in chargeof building a mercenary army in northern Somalia, with funding from the United Arab Emirates and a goal of attacking the various pirate factions along the Somali coast.
  It apparently seemed like a good idea at the time, but the United Arab Emirates has gotten sick of throwing money at the operation and pulled the plug. Now, the hundreds of mercenaries are sitting on a secret desert base with potentially millions of dollars in heavy weapons illegally smuggled into Somalia and nothing to do.
  The decision apparently came after an April incident when the fighters attacked and killed a South African trainer. The corporation put in charge of the mission, the shadowy Sterling Corporate Services, insisted at the time that it was an isolated incident, but quickly withdrew its trainers, leaving the recruits stranded on a base in the Puntland desert.
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The Pope. The Queen. The paedophile ring of power.
  Link to Article
  Source: the tap
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:57
  TAP BLOG had 20,000 readers of Savile child abuse posts in the last 24 hours. Many of the details were sent in by readers a while back, especially Gordon Logan, and WASP. Here WASP reminds us of some of the material he sent in earlier. Many of the links get 'deactivated' by hands unseen. Research them while they're live, if you are interested.The Pope, The Queen And The Pedophile Ring Of Power Exposed ! {Bill Maloney}Hi Tap, so The Paedo. Stuff is with us again. Gordon & I have given some remarkable informational Links w/r/t this Particular Subject I sent you loads of links & information on this Stuff Last Year,a lot of which Related to Savile, I stated he was a SMOM & A Jewish Catholic, which fits in with the Normal Patten for these Types."It is significant that Savile was both a Knight of The Garter, & A Papal Knight, which probably means he was a Jesuit. This is yet another The Knight of Malta who had been involved in spreading the Doctrine of Rome. The Jesuits make great use of jews as their front men, to deflect any adverse publicity. Those who dismiss the fact that the ultimate hidden hand are the Jesuits have lost the Plot."I was going to have had a rest from Blogging for a couple of weeks, but with the Abduction of 5 year old April Jones, I can't do that as it is important for your readers to realise just how Big This Subject is, & how HIGH IT GOES, so it's Time The Main Media Spotlighted Paedophila, with all those involved, not just the Lowly Individuals, who are Couriers for The Elite, as well as users,who The Media Delight in Targeting, which is just like the Proverbial Floating Ice Burg, where most of it, 7/8 you don't see. The Chap they have arrested, who is under suspicion of having carried this out, might not even be aware of what he has been involved in, if he has been MK'edThis is not a subject I am Interested in, as I have previously stated The Video "The Pope The Queen & The Paedophile Ring," initially citing Savile, which I Posted, & has been Deactivated, on your Site, so ( I have included another Link as a reserve, in case the one just put up also is neutralised). Several other Posts sent of a Similar Nature have also disappeared. David Icke put some of this stuff on his site so I will give you this information again, as there were some very interesting Links., though some I will have to look out again. This would suggest there is some of this information, that is not appreciated by some. You commented Tap, on several occasions - "Horrible Subject, But WASP, Keeps Sending Posts On It."THIS WAS DELETED, & contains some quite important LinksHi Tap, I am sending you these to add to your paedo reference library.If grown ups don't do anything at all about these perverted activities by bringing them to the Light of Day nothing will ever be done to stop it. I feel it is the responsibility of everyone using the internet capable of finding this stuff to bring it to the General Publics attention, it is in a totally different League to the Totally Adult & Consenting Adult Stuff the Politicians keep harping on about, as a diversionary tactic no doubt. Dick Shaver and the Hollow Earth Insiders, relating to activities byLord Graville Jenner(Labour Peer), Lord Kaufman(Labour Peer),Lord Britton(Leon, former home sec when Maggie was in power)GORDON BROWN(PRIME MINISTER of the UK), Anthony Charles Lynton Blair(Tony Blair,former PM of the UK),Edward Heath(former PM of the UK),Lord Robertson(Former head of NATO),Lord Hardie,Lord McAlpine,Micheal Portilo(former MP Kensington & Chelsea.Some Missing Bits in here MEDIA ARTICLES & numerous `Perceptions' note: email below is from a long-time (intermittent) contributor. However, subject matter - a mass killing of school-children by a pedophile reputed Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 15:01:55 EST Please distribute this to individuals and News Groups VOMIT UK 02/04 Burns Victims Of Masonic Ill Treatment 10 January 2004 The unlawful sectioning of George Farquhar by the Royal Edinburgh Hospital on the basis that he accused Cullen on his Website of a Masonic cover-up of paedophiles in Scotland's high society calls for the removal of Dr Chrichton from the medical register and the removal from the bench of Sheriff Lothian. The same abuse of power and of the corruption of the psychiatric process by Carstairs State Hospital to silence Mr Arnold McCardle calls for similar penalties against the psychiatrists and judges involved in the McCardle case. Carstairs also has another paedophile friendly "doctor" who is being investigated for using Public Petitions Team Support Public Petitions Committee Parliamentary Headquarters THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT - SUBMISSION OF PUBLIC PETITIONS PE652 & PE685 In support of evidence submitted with the Public Petitions Committee in relation to the above petitions PE652 and PE685, please find enclosed a copy of an article of serious significance by Marcello Mega that appeared in the News of the World on Sunday, 28 December 2003. It further bolsters my earlier submitted News of the World article by Marcello Mega of 9 November 2003, along with an article that appeared in the Herald on Wednesday, 13 November 2003. I apologise if I appear overly pushy with this supplication, but I am sure the entire PPC will appreciate the enormity of it, especially in the light of Lord Burton's revelations in the News of the World. The "New of the World Investigates" article by Marcello Mega, published on 28 December 2003, is typed out verbatim below The inquiry into the Dunblane massacre was a massive cover-up, a top Scots Freemason has sensationally claimed. Former Grand Master Lord Burton says that Lord Cullen's official probe suppressed crucial information to protect high-profile legal figures. He says they may belong to a secretive "Super-Mason" group called The Speculative Society. Some had links to the Queen Victoria School where gunman Thomas Hamilton was allowed to roam free before the 1996 atrocity. [ DUNBLANE SCHOOL KILLINGS ] And Lord Burton revealed that he was bullied and threatened by other peers when he tried to raise his concerns in the House of Lords. Last night the 79 year-old aristocrat said: "There's no escaping the fact that there's something sinister about the whole affair." He was prompted into action after reading in the News of the World last month that police are investigating claims that pupils at QVS were regularly taken away and sexually abused. The Cullen Inquiry failed to investigate why suspected paedophile Hamilton was allowed to wander around the school whenever he liked, running camps and using the Former housemaster Glenn Harrison told us how he even found Hamilton, 43, creeping around the dormitories at night. He said Hamilton, who murdered 16 pupils and a teacher at Dunblane Primary School in 1996, had close links to a top cop. Glenn said he was aghast that he was never called to give evidence at the Cullen Inquiry. He said: "I was one of the people who was making a fuss about Hamilton long before he killed those children, but no one wanted to listen." Now Lord Burton has contacted him at his new home in the Shetland Islands, saying he believes Glenn wasn't called to give evidence to avoid the embarrassment of top legal names being dragged The QVS is for schoolchildren of the military services and has long-standing links to high office; its current patron is the Duke of Edinburgh. Whoever holds the position of secretary of State for Scotland becomes president and Scotland's second-most senior judge, the Lord Justice-Clerk, becomes a commissioner. ...................................Campaigners were determined to reveal the membership amid concerns, many expressed by senior lawyers who are not members, of the disproportionate influence the Spec is said to wield. One legal figure who has long been suspicious of the Spec said: "Members laugh off the suspicions and say it's just a debating club. But, given that the members are picked as undergrads and almost without exception go on to reach the pinnacle of their careers, you have to think either that those making the selection are very astute at spotting potential, or that membership gives you a big leg up in life. I know which option I favour." I will be much obliged if you could respond at your earliest convenience. Please also keep me abreast of any progress with PE652, which was heard over two months ago, and of any proposed date for the hearing of PE685. Publisher: VOMIT UK Group Fax/Phone 020 7727 5300 Tony Blair: Jail Him Or Shoot Him? One more damage limitation exercise coming up! I don't understand the seasoned hacks of the British media feigning shock and surprise at Browns attempts to gloss over the facts of the governments crimes against peace, and all the war crimes committed therin... What where they expecting? A complete and total admission of the truth! "Saddam was sitting on top of the second largest oil reserves in the world at a time of spiralling prices, already on his knees from ten years of backbreaking UN sanctions, the yanks decided to jump in and take the lot as it would be cheaper and easier than invading Saudi Arabia. Well over 90% of the British population thought it was wrong, not to mention illegal, so we told them we were liberating Iraq's human rights abuse victims instead, which shut some of them up, but the smarter ones wanted to know why we weren't liberating our friends in Indonesia and China first because they're governments were far worse. That's when we decided to tell them Saddam wanted to kill us all and he was only 45 minutes away from wiping us off the face of the planet. They knew we were lying, as Mister Kim proves, if we thought for a second Saddam had any real WMD's we wouldn't have touched him with a barge pole, but it all turned out okay. Sure, a few hundred thousand innocents died, and even as we speak small boys are being raped in the ass for throwing stones at tanks, but I've killed more than that with a single NHS cutback, and kids get raped all the time. Look on the plus side... G Dubya's paymasters got all the multi-billion dollar contracts, the gas guzzling SUV drivers of middle america got cheap oil, and I got a badge!" I'm not in the slightest bit interested in the pre-determined findings of yet another whitewash. There's a famous psychological experiment called the Milgram experiment which measures just how far an individual is prepared to go when told to do things by an authority figure. Some people are prepared to go all the way, giving innocent people electric shocks just because their boss is telling them to. With George Bush, Tony Blair went even further, leaving the room to justify it all to the entire nation with lie, after lie, after lie. Then returning to the room and murdering over 100,000 innocent human beings. We cannot progress as a society until all the MP's who voted for the illegal Iraq war have either been locked up, or executed, whichever is the sooner. Until then what moral authority does a policeman have for arresting a kid for stealing a mars bar, all the while international war criminals roam free after butchering over 100,000 innocent unarmed civilians, purely because they had something they wanted, and refused to pay for? And what country are we living in when those exact same war criminals not only roam free, but also create the laws which those policemen enforce upon the rest of us?The Horror! The Horror! Is it true Peter Mandelson's a paedophile?What happened to the brazilian bum boy he had shipped in from south america? And was the boy of correct age when Mandy first met him? He's certainly very 'paedo-like' in his mannerisms. It would come as no surprise to me if the rumours are true.I've seen him celebrating his new appointment on TV, parading his dog up and down the road in a bizarre fashion, and I mean that quite literally, as he was wearing pedal-pushers at the time!But then again, there's always that billion to one chance where you'd think it'd be him, but it's not...I hope Tony Blair doesn't think he can squirm out of the protection of elite paedo sex rings allegations on any technicalities like he did with the hoax Mirror photos. It was an interesting split in the usual US/UK alliance on that one, with the US not only admitting everything, but also being honest enough to say the truth was far worse than anyone imagined, and the UK claiming there was no Iraqi abuse, and the fact that a few piccies were shown to be hoaxed means all the substantiated allegations were too. It would be a very grave tragedy to all the children whose lives have been, and are continuing to be, destroyed by the horrors of institutionalised abuse, should Tony Blair resort to such underhand tactics.I don't think that anyone who thinks that a woman of Margaret Hodges character should be allowed to work with children should be allowed to pick and choose ministers. I believe their judgement is fundamentally flawed.Mandy's £400,000 mortgage fraud should have been the end of him. Sneaking him back in again only to see him leave in disgrace yet again over his passports for cash scandal was just plain silly. Bringing him back for a third time is downright suicide.On the subject of dodgy £400,000 windfalls, it's strange that when David Selwood wins a generous £74,000 lump sum, plus £400,000 benefits package over the next ten years, after being caught masturbating to child porn. Both the BBC and Childline gloss over the true horror of events (apparently at least five of the images where at the worst end of the scale - despite that BBC report), and the news bulletins were reporting that Mark Oaten, the local Lib/Dem councillor for Winchester, the town within which the convicted paedophile judge roams free, joining the chorus for a crackdown on people getting pissed at the weekends!With all the things directly affecting the lives and welfare of his constituents (powerful paedos on the loose being just one), why is it that the only thing Mark Oaten considers worth ranting and raving about, is the problem of people getting a bit merry now and then? It does beg the question, is Mark Oaten a paedophile too?Although depressingly, such bizarre coverups are becoming increasingly common, for it was only a few weeks ago that the same mainstream media were once again glossing over David Selwood's last court appearance, by flooding everyone with headlines of soccer yob firemen whose holiday antics had been decided to be of greater public concern than the very real horror of paedo's in power. Even David Blunkett himself hurled all his weight behind that particular media bandwagon with his pledges to 'nail' the fireman concerned, stoking the flames still further, ensuring an even greater distraction for peoples attentions than the altogether more disturbing horrors of state run paedo sex rings.I think if Charles Kennedy can accept the resignation of Jenny Tonge for her comments on suicide bombers, then there's no doubt he can accept the resignation of Mark Oaten for the far graver crime of ignoring the paedophile menace on his own doorstep, and in doing so, publicly ask why Tony Blair doggedly refuses to do likewise with the likes of Margaret Hodge, Colin Inglis, and the God knows how many other monsters Blair insists on nurturing within his tyranical regime of terror.At time of writing, it's interesting to note that as countless thousands of innocent children in the UK are forced to experience first hand the true horror of state run paedo sex rings, the lead story on the news and in most of the papers is "Computer games kill" and calls for new laws to 'protect us' from the freedom of playing them. Apparently the imaginary risk of being killed by a computer game is of far greater public interest than the very real risk of children, or any of us for that matter, being abused by paedos in power!.......................Tony Blair: Paedo Lover! Newsgroups: alt.politics.bush, alt.impeach.bush, alt.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.usa.republican, alt.politics.gw-bush, talk.politics.misc Subject: Re: Brit's Chickening out, who needs them.On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 17:08:38 -0500, "Daniel Romsfeld" wrote or quoted :There seems to be some news about Britain needing UN approval. I say let them go, our boys will fight better without a bunch of lispy talking Brits around anyways!There is news the support only came because the US was blackmailing Blair over a pedophilia scandal involving a coverup for Lord Robertson.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Exclusive to Propaganda Matrix.com by Mike James in Frankfurt: March 11 2003NATO boss and Blair government insider Lord Robertson has threatened to sue Scotland's leading independent newspaper over internet allegations that he not only used his influence as a Freemason to procure a gun licence for child killer Thomas Hamilton, but was also a member of a clandestine paedophile ring reportedly set up by Hamilton for the British elite.On 13 March 1996, Hamilton, armed with four hand-guns, opened fire on a junior school class, killing 16 children and one teacher before turning the gun on himself, shattering forever the idyllic 13th century Scottish town of Dunblane.The controversy is certain to topple the Blair government, which has already issued a D-Notice to gag the press from revealing the names of known paedophiles within the British executive, including at least two senior ministers; and the case highlights the government's antipathy toward the Sunday Herald and its brand of independent journalism that has, among other things, exposed the role played by the domestic security agency, MI5, in helping the IRA to carry out terrorist atrocities. ...........................This is only a small number of Links, there are dozens of them, so why haven't we heard about them in the media? MUCH MORE TO FOLLOW IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS SO MOTE IT BE. REGARDS ............. WASP
The unemployment truthers are not helping Romney
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:52
  So the unemployment rate truthers are in a panic this morning. Some conservatives are angrily claiming that the new Labor Department stats finding unemployment below eight percent were cooked to help Obama win reelection.
  The Tweet from former General Electric CEO Jack Welch is gaining the most attention: ''Unbelievable jobs numbers...these Chicago guys will do anything...can't debate so change numbers.'' The refrain has been picked up by conservative Republicans in Congress and CNBC contributors. Fox News's homepage blares: ''Jobless rate dips under 8 percent, but...IS THE NUMBER REAL?''
  Ezra Klein debunks the whole thing, as if it needs debunking. But it's also worth noting that it's hard to see how the unemployment truthers are helping Mitt Romney here. By launching into a full blown angry panic about improving jobs numbers, they only draw attention to, and reinforce, the idea that the economy is, in fact, improving '-- and, worse, that the prospect of economic improvement is terrible news for Romney's presidential prospects.
  Here is Romney policy director Lanhee Chen, trying to get a sane message out about the new employment numbers, but finding his efforts cluttered up by his questioner's insistence that he endorse unemployment trutherism. Chen distances the campaign from it:
  This is the latest manifestation of what Jonathan Bernstein has called the closed conservative information feedback loop. There were the poll truthers, who told us that any Obama lead simply must be the result a liberal media conspiracy to rig all the polls to create a false sense of an inevitable Obama victory. Only Rasmussen and Gallup are telling the truth. Oh, wait '-- Gallup shows Obama ahead now. So those numbers can't possibly be true, either.
  Then there was the release of the Drudge race-baiting tape of six-year-old Obama comments. Some on the far right were convinced this would badly damage the president, because they think swing voters are prone to seeing Obama as they do. But these voters probably don't find the idea that Obama is secretly committed to widespread racial revenge too convincing. Indeed, this, too, was an unhelpful distraction for the Romney camp, which properly downplayed the tape's news value.
  This latest '-- unemployment trutherism '-- strikes me as having the potential to be a bit more damaging to Romney. It's very likely that these claims are now going to break through to the nightly news, drawing still more attention to the dropping unemployment rate.
  Of course, there's always the danger that news outlets will cover this stuff in a he-said-she-said manner, reporting on the assertions of the unemployment truthers without calling them out, thus injecting them into the discourse. But that seems unlikely. This is really out there stuff, and hopefully the networks will say so outright. If so, it's hard to see how it's helpful to Romney for undecided voters to be treated to the sight of fury and panic about improving economic news among those who want him to be elected president.
Daily Press Briefing - October 5, 2012
  Link to Article
  Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:52
  1:03 p.m. EDT
  MR. TONER: Good afternoon, everyone. Happy Friday.
  QUESTION: Welcome back, Mark. Good to see you.
  MR. TONER: Thank you.
  QUESTION: So let's start with Libya, and a couple of things on that. One is there's this report about email exchange regarding an airplane that the post apparently wanted to keep, and they were denied. Is that '' one, is that accurate? And second of all, they're talking about the plane is a DC-3, and I mean '' a DC-3? Really? The DC-3 was '' they were made in the '40s, and I'm just wondering if that's the best available there is. And then secondly '' or thirdly, rather, there was talk about there being a plane on standby in Tripoli that actually flew to Benghazi the night of the 11th, and I'm wondering '' what kind of plane was that?
  MR. TONER: Thanks for the questions, Matt. Look, I'm very hesitant to get drawn into this whole line of questions too deeply, because as the Secretary said, as Toria has said countless times over the last several days, we do have an ARB up and running now. They did meet again today. They are meeting regularly going forward. And it's really their mission to get to the bottom of the events of 9/11 and to do a comprehensive report that answers a lot of these questions.
  That said, in response to this particular story, my understanding is that '' and I can't speak to the make and model of the plane, I think it was a DC-3 '' but this plane was in Iraq at the time and moved to support Libya early on, when there are no '' when there was no commercial airline service into Libya. This is a very common practice in places where there's no commercial airline service. When commercial service was subsequently established, we then moved that asset back to other State Department business, I believe back to Iraq in this case. But we essentially '' we use our aircraft when there's no commercial flights available.
  In regard to your second question, again, I think some U.S. officials have alluded to the fact that there was a plane that was sent into Benghazi the night of 9/11. I don't want to get into too many details; again, I don't want to stray too far into what is the purview of the ARB.
  QUESTION: Whose plane is this DC-3?
  MR. TONER: I believe it's a State Department asset.
  QUESTION: Okay. And it was moved back to Iraq to ''
  MR. TONER: I think it was Iraq.
  QUESTION: Because ''
  MR. TONER: ''Reassigned to other State Department business'' is what I have in front of me. It was taken from Iraq at the time.
  QUESTION: Can you check that, where it went to?
  MR. TONER: Sure, I can.
  QUESTION: Because I believe that there is commercial airline service in Iraq.
  MR. TONER: I'll look into it.
  QUESTION: So do you have any reason to believe that if this DC-3 had been kept in Libya, the situation would have been any different on the 11th than it was?
  MR. TONER: Again, I don't want to be put in a position here where I'm commenting on events leading up to 9/11 in what is rightly the purview of the ARB. All I can say is that ''
  QUESTION: What was it doing in Libya at the time?
  MR. TONER: Well again, it was there simply to provide support in the absence of commercial ''
  QUESTION: Yeah. But was it ferrying '' was it ferrying four flights a day --
  MR. TONER: Precisely. It was bringing '' no, I don't know how many flights ''
  QUESTION: -- to Benghazi security --
  MR. TONER: I don't know how many flights a day it took. I don't have that kind of detail.
  QUESTION: -- weapons and ammunition to ''
  MR. TONER: I don't have that kind of detail. But essentially '' sure, go ahead.
  QUESTION: '' to the consulate in Benghazi? I mean, was that what it was doing?
  MR. TONER: I don't have that level of detail. It was meant to take personnel from '' most likely from between Tripoli and Benghazi, but also elsewhere.
  QUESTION: But '' and also elsewhere in Libya?
  MR. TONER: Yeah. I don't have that level of detail, but it was there in the absence of a commercial airline service. So yes, it was there to take them from point A to B.
  QUESTION: Well, was it taking things that would not be normally taken on a commercial aircraft?
  MR. TONER: Again, I don't have that detail.
  QUESTION: Was it taking materiel in addition to people?
  MR. TONER: I don't have that detail.
  QUESTION: And do you know when it was removed from Libya and reassigned to other business?
  MR. TONER: I don't have that date. I can look into that.
  QUESTION: Welcome back, Mark.
  MR. TONER: Thanks.
  QUESTION: It's good to see you behind the podium.
  MR. TONER: Thanks. At least you in solidarity shaved your head; I appreciate that. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: I wanted to '' exactly. We should have our picture taken together.
  MR. TONER: That's right.
  QUESTION: Anyway, I wanted to ask you as a follow-up to my question the other day on cooperation with the Libyans. Now, pre-Qadhafi, or during the Qadhafi time, they had like military intelligence and they had like a national police. Do they have anything like this now? Do you coordinate or the FBI coordinates with the military intelligence with the '' coordinates with the national police, or with all of the above?
  MR. TONER: I mean, those are valid questions, Said. I don't want to get into the middle of what the FBI is doing in conducting its investigation, other than that, obviously we have ongoing contacts with the Government of Libya and have been working and coordinating closely with them. But as to who they're talking to about some of the '' this investigation, I really don't want to comment.
  QUESTION: I guess my question is: Do you have like a competent counter-security services that can provide that kind of cooperation in Libya?
  MR. TONER: Well again, I think '' obviously, there is a new government structure emerging in Libya. It's obviously been a period of transition for it, and we've talked a lot about the security services in Libya and about their efforts to consolidate and to put in place a real security infrastructure in the wake of the civil war there. So that's a process that's still ongoing, but certainly we do have, we believe, reliable counterparts within the Libyan Government.
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  MR. TONER: Yeah, go ahead.
  QUESTION: The arrests at the airport in Turkey of people who may or may not have been involved?
  MR. TONER: I really can't confirm those. I can say that we have been in contact with the Turkish Government on this issue. But obviously, the FBI is the one who has the lead on this investigation, and so really it's up to them to comment on it when '' at an appropriate time.
  QUESTION: With what '' you have been in contact with the Turkish Government about this issue to what end?
  MR. TONER: I don't have any details beyond that. And as I said, it's '' because it's an FBI-led investigation, it's really up to them to comment on it.
  QUESTION: Are you just trying to confirm '' figure out what happened?
  MR. TONER: Well, again, I think we're '' we're obviously, as we would be with our close partners, the Turks, in contact with them following these reported arrests.
  QUESTION: Can I go back to the plane --
  MR. TONER: Yeah, sure.
  QUESTION: -- for a second? Do you know how many other 50 to 60 year old aircraft the State Department is flying around the world using '' to shuttle stuff back and forth in countries --
  QUESTION: Seventy.
  QUESTION: Seventy-year old. Sorry. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: It's a great airplane.
  MR. TONER: Look, obviously we clearly have a lot of --
  QUESTION: I'm sure '' I know the DC-3 has a lot of fans.
  MR. TONER: -- vintage aircraft enthusiasts in the room here today.
  QUESTION: I know it has a lot of fans. I know it's used '' I know they're still used.
  MR. TONER: Look Matt, it's a legitimate '' What I can legitimately look into is --
  QUESTION: But how many you '' do you have in your fleet?
  MR. TONER: -- is I can get a look into whether I can get an answer to you as to how many aircraft we have.
  QUESTION: No, no, I want to know about '' yeah, how many aircraft you have --
  MR. TONER: -- and what those aircraft are --
  QUESTION: -- how many of them were built before the Second World War and how many of them might be relatively newer.
  MR. TONER: I can't tell you I'll have that for you today, but I'll look into it.
  QUESTION: All right. And then just one other thing on this which has come up apparently: There have been some complaints or some suggestions that you guys waited until '' waited for weeks to ask DOD to go '' to move in support of the FBI team that was on the ground in Tripoli to get them to Benghazi. One, is that true? And two, can't the FBI ask for these things themselves?
  MR. TONER: First of all, look, it's not true. I don't want to get into a he said/she said with anonymous sources quoted in news reports. I can assure you that we have been working very closely with the Department of Defense, with the FBI, within the interagency, to the fullest extent possible to cooperate in the investigation on this attack. And obviously we all share the same goal: bringing the perpetrators to justice. We've supported the FBI's efforts to investigate this crime every step of the way. We've worked to help to get them into Benghazi, because we all recognize, obviously, that their travel there is essential to any successful investigation.
  QUESTION: So --
  QUESTION: You began the response by saying, ''It's not true.'' What's not true?
  MR. TONER: The first part, that there was some kind of delay in our asking.
  QUESTION: But you waited for weeks?
  QUESTION: Well, did you, in fact, make such a request at some point?
  MR. TONER: Again, I '' we were working with the Government of Libya to obtain permission for the FBI team and the DOD support team to travel there. We did seek overflight for them, permission as well as for the landing of the aircraft, and we worked to get them the appropriate visas. So we've been working through all these permutations.
  QUESTION: No, I understand. But I'm talking about the --
  MR. TONER: Right.
  QUESTION: -- asking the Pentagon to help the FBI. Because I just don't '' I mean, if it's correct that you did, in fact, do that or you had to, I'm not sure I understand why the FBI '' the FBI is grown up. It can ask itself, can't it?
  MR. TONER: And we've been cooperating with '' we've been cooperating --
  QUESTION: But is there some rule that says that the State Department has to ask on behalf of the FBI; the FBI can't pick up the phone and say, ''Hey'' --
  MR. TONER: Not that I'm aware of. And in this case, we've all been working together. So the reason I said it's not true is because we have been working productively together with DOD and FBI.
  QUESTION: Presumably, it would have been more to your liking had the FBI team been able to get to Benghazi sooner '' more quickly; is that correct?
  MR. TONER: Obviously, I think all of us wanted to see '' wanted to see this. And we talked about the other day '' Toria, and indeed I, was quoted as saying that there's been challenges in getting access to the site.
  QUESTION: No, I understand. But you would have preferred that they had gotten there sooner than they actually did, correct?
  MR. TONER: Of course. Of course.
  QUESTION: So '' but the reason '' the reason that they didn't get there quickly, is that '' who is responsible for that not being the case? Is it the State Department not making a request to DOD until three weeks after the FBI got there? Or is there some other reason that it was '' there was a holdup from the Libyan end? I just don't understand the process here --
  MR. TONER: And again, I don't --
  QUESTION: '' because I really, frankly, don't understand why it is that the FBI can't man up itself and ask the Pentagon for help, unless there's some kind of bureaucratic intergovernmental process --
  MR. TONER: -- and my answer, without getting too much into specific detail, is that, as we've said, there have been challenges to gaining access to the site. We've been working diligently with the Government of Libya to overcome those challenges.
  QUESTION: I'll stop after this --
  MR. TONER: Yep.
  QUESTION: But those challenges that you talk to, are those from inside the U.S. Government itself? Are they internal challenges or are they external challenges?
  MR. TONER: I'm just going to say challenges.
  QUESTION: On the extradition, change topics?
  MR. TONER: Yeah. We done? Great.
  QUESTION: Okay. I just '' I have a quick question on --
  MR. TONER: Extradition. Are you talking about ''
  QUESTION: Abu Hamza al-Masri.
  MR. TONER: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Yeah. Abu Hamza al-Masri, Abdul Bary '' Adel Abdul Bary and the others. I know that the extradition orders were --
  MR. TONER: You say those much better than I can.
  QUESTION: -- in '99 and back in 2004, 2006. But what are the specific charges? Do we have specific charges, because it's not there?
  MR. TONER: You're talking about the embassy statement --
  QUESTION: Yes.
  MR. TONER: -- that came out?
  QUESTION: Yeah. As you know, they are '' obviously, they are on their way or in --
  MR. TONER: Well, again, my understanding '' as you stated, and obviously, as our embassy in London put out, that we are pleased that the UK judicial authorities approved the extraditions of these individuals to the United States to face prosecution in U.S. courts on terrorism charges. And indeed, these individuals are being transferred to the United States. Obviously, this ends a period of lengthy litigation through UK courts as well as through the European Court of Human Rights, and also speaks to the strength of the law enforcement relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
  In terms of the details of the prosecution, I think I'm going to have to refer you to the Department of Justice.
  QUESTION: So these guys are accused '' these individuals are accused of conducting different terrorist acts at different intervals, right? Not --
  MR. TONER: That's my understanding. But again, for the specific details, I refer you to DOJ.
  Sure, Goyal.
  QUESTION: Talking about terrorism, this week State Department designated al-Sharia as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. My question is that, one, if they have any connection with the Haqqani Network or any other terrorist groups in South Asia; and second, last month at State Department designated also this Haqqani Network, and now Pakistani Government and the military is after them going after them every day to get them out. One, if U.S. is playing --
  MR. TONER: I'm sorry. Who's going after them every day?
  QUESTION: The Pakistani military against those Haqqani terrorists inside Pakistan. What role do you think U.S. is playing along with the Pakistani military or Pakistani Government?
  MR. TONER: In answer to your first question, as you did note, you're talking about the designation of Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen.
  QUESTION: Yes.
  MR. TONER: No. That's correct. We did amend al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's designations '' sorry for the legalese '' under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and under Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224 to include this new alias, which is Ansar al-Sharia. So they're obviously '' in answer, I think, to your first question '' there is a connection to AQAP. Clearly, this subgroup, if you will, has been '' taken responsibility for multiple attacks against Yemeni forces, including an attack in May 2012, that killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers in a suicide bombing during a parade '' I think we're all familiar with that '' as well as in March 2012, a series of attacks and armed assaults by these individuals in Southern Yemen that killed 100 people.
  Now, switching back to your next '' oh, sure. Go ahead.
  QUESTION: Just one interjection here: Can you say on the record what was said in the announcement when it came out that this Ansar al-Sharia is simply a rebranding of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and it has nothing to do with the Ansar al-Sharia group in Libya that may or may not have been behind the Benghazi attack?
  MR. TONER: Right. In fact, yes. It's a fair point. While the two groups obviously share a name, they're wholly separate entities. Ansar al-Sharia is a general term that means supporter of Sharias. Many of you know better than I, and it's a name being used by '' increasingly by groups across the Middle East. So no, there is no connection between the two. Thank you.
  Sorry. You had a Haqqani Network question?
  QUESTION: Right.
  MR. TONER: You're talking about cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan?
  QUESTION: Right now, after U.S. designated Haqqani Network as also a '' as an FTO, and now Pakistani Government for the first time, including Pakistani military, is going after those terrorists inside Pakistan and also, of course, they have had many, many bombings against innocent people inside Pakistan. So what role do you think now U.S. is playing? Are U.S. helping the Pakistani military now to go after those terrorists?
  MR. TONER: Well, of course, you talked about the FTO designations and the fact that previously to that we had designations on much if not all the senior leadership of the Haqqani Network. So I mean, we already had a robust package of sanctions in place to try to choke off the financing for this network. And obviously, as you correctly pointed out, this is something we've been urging the Pakistanis to do for some time, which is to put the squeeze on them internally and to recognize that this group is, in fact, a threat to them internally. And so we continue to cooperate productively with the Pakistani Government on the counterterrorism front. I think I'll leave it there, though.
  Yeah, in the back.
  QUESTION: I just wanted to ''
  MR. TONER: Oh. In the back, and then I'll go back to you.
  QUESTION: Thank you. I've a question regarding Afghanistan about the new security agreement, which has been discussed last week between Foreign Minister in Afghanistan and Madam Clinton. What's your U.S. expectation and how much it's going to be effective or useful for security in Afghanistan?
  MR. TONER: You're talking specifically about the ''
  QUESTION: New agreement security.
  MR. TONER: The BSA, so-called? The bilateral security agreement?
  QUESTION: Yes.
  MR. TONER: Right. Well, as you noted, we did obviously have Foreign Minister Rassoul here earlier this week, and the Secretary met with him. And they did discuss, obviously, our mutual commitment to implementing the strategic partnership agreement, as well as our support for Afghan-led reconciliation and the importance of regional cooperation to Afghanistan's future security and development. We did talk about the '' I think what they announced this week was the '' their negotiator for the bilateral security agreement, which was Ambassador Hakimi, obviously, on the Afghan side as well as Deputy SRAP Ambassador Jim Warlick. These negotiations obviously haven't begun yet, but we expect they're going to begin in the near future. And as expressed in the strategic partnership agreement, once these negotiations begin, we expect them to be completed within a year. So obviously, we expect this to reinforce our overall efforts as we move towards 2014 to increase Afghan security lead as well as train up Afghan forces and build a more enduring partnership with Afghanistan.
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  MR. TONER: Yeah. Sure. Go ahead.
  QUESTION: Just on Egypt, yesterday that Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs issued a letter to Secretary Clinton regarding Egypt aid. And she asked in the question was Jim Jordan, the head of the Republican Study Group '' it was a serious question about the relation between the Administration and Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi in Egypt. How do you respond to the letter, and does it mean that the discussions in Congress regarding the aid to Egypt, relations with Egypt, is stumbling, or what?
  MR. TONER: Well, I think we talked in the past week or so about the next tranche of aid to Egypt and the Congressional notification that went out and our commitment to work and consult with Congress going forward, because we very strongly believe that this assistance is in Egypt's long-term interest. I haven't seen the letter, so I'll refrain from commenting. I'll look into it and see if we have a response.
  Yeah. Go ahead, Dmitry.
  QUESTION: Mark --
  MR. TONER: Yeah.
  QUESTION: (Inaudible) Georgia, according to press reports from Tbilisi, Secretary Clinton spoke on the phone yesterday to both President Saakashvili and Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the coalition which won the parliamentary elections in Georgia. I was wondering if you could read those conversations out.
  MR. TONER: Sure. I can, and I apologize if you didn't receive that. We did send it out last night to a number of folks. And I apologize, you weren't on that list, Dmitry. We'll remedy that in the future. But I can say that, very quickly, that Secretary Clinton did have separate phone conversations yesterday afternoon Washington time with Georgian President Saakashvili as well as Georgian Dream Coalition Leader Ivanishvili discussing with both Georgia's '' discussing with both Georgia's historic October 1st parliamentary elections. The Secretary praised President Saakashvili for presiding over open and competitive elections and for his statesman-like response to the results.
  She also congratulated Ivanishvili on his coalition's victory, and she praised the citizens of Georgia for actively participating in this historic and peaceful election. The Secretary thanked Ivanishvili for his pledge to work with his political opponents as well as underscored the importance of continued respect for rule of law and democratic norms.
  QUESTION: And a short follow-up, Mr. Ivanishvili said, I think a couple of days ago, after meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Tbilisi, Norland, that he would pay his first visit abroad to the United States point A and point B that he got formal invitation from you guys to travel here to Washington, D.C. I was wondering if you can confirm this or saying anything --
  MR. TONER: I can't at this point. I'll look into it. But I don't think it was raised in the context of yesterday's phone call.
  Yeah, go ahead.
  QUESTION:Syria?
  MR. TONER: Yeah. Syria.
  QUESTION: Yes. Mark, are you aware that Syrian rebels threatened to start killing 48 Iranian pilgrims '' Iranian Shiite pilgrims? Are you aware of that?
  MR. TONER: I'm not. I haven't seen those reports. No.
  QUESTION: Okay. But would you '' when you become aware of that, do you consider that as a terrorist act and you would condemn it?
  MR. TONER: Well, I think would condemn any violent threat of that nature by either side '' an overt threat like that. But I'm not aware of the actual threat, so until I see it, I'm going to refrain from commenting.
  QUESTION: Apparently, there's been another incident of shelling into Turkey. Are you up on that?
  MR. TONER: I'm not. I wasn't aware that there was a new incident of shelling.
  QUESTION: Yeah. Just like '' less than an hour ago.
  MR. TONER: Okay. No. I mean, I think our comment will remain similar to what we said in the last couple days, which is that we stand by Turkey. We think that their responses thus far has been appropriate and reflects, I think, the desire to let Syria know that '' the deterrence that they face.
  QUESTION: Can we stick with --
  QUESTION: A follow-up on --
  QUESTION: Sorry.
  MR. TONER: Yeah. Go ahead, finish.
  QUESTION: Can we finish briefly with the Syria-Turkey stuff for a second? Or was that your question?
  MR. TONER: I think we're still there. But go ahead, Arshad.
  QUESTION: So, I mean, speaking of sort of violent threats --
  MR. TONER: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Prime Minister Erdogan made a fairly belligerent speech today in which he said that Turkey was, quote, ''not far from war with Syria'' and in which he warned the Assad Government that it would be making a fatal mistake if it picked a fight with Turkey. Do you think that '' I mean, I understand you want to stick with your Turkish ally, but do you think that they have now done enough in terms of shelling to make their point? And if you were to see additional Turkish shelling back into Syria that that might be excessive?
  MR. TONER: Well, Arshad, I am aware of news reports about those comments. All I can go '' all I can do is stress the fact that we believe that the Turkish parliament's troop authorization has strengthened deterrence and sends a clear message to the Syrian Government. And let's make no mistake that this was Syrian shells that initiated this whole incident and that it's certainly not inappropriate for Turkey to act in this way when they've had their sovereignty so flagrantly violated.
  QUESTION: I guess the only question that I have has to do with '' I mean, yesterday Toria made a point of saying that she thought that the response thus far had been appropriate and proportional '' or proportionate.
  MR. TONER: That was the word I was searching for. Thank you.
  QUESTION: Yeah, and that was after two days of Turkish response. If the reports that we have of a third day are indeed correct, is it still proportionate?
  MR. TONER: Again, I haven't seen those latest reports about additional shelling. I know that Syria did come out and apologize for the first round, but this is inexcusable actions on the part of Syria's, and it's Syria that has brought us to this juncture and has escalated the situation. So again, I just would reiterate that we believe Turkey thus far has been both measured and proportional in its response.
  QUESTION: So Mark, the fact that the Security Council was able to come together and issue a statement, is that like a breakthrough for the first time on the Syrian crisis at least in terms of cooperating with Russia?
  MR. TONER: Well, again, Said, I think it reinforces what I was just trying to express, which is that this is obviously an act by Syria, by Syrian armed forces, that is seen by the entire Security Council as egregious.
  QUESTION: Okay. Now would you support a Russian effort in the Security Council, I think, today to introduce some sort of a statement condemning the attacks in Aleppo that killed maybe dozen --
  MR. TONER: I'm not aware of that statement. Look, we have '' I think I'll just say that we have condemned escalating violence on the part of both sides in this war. But let's be very clear that the preponderance of violence rests on the shoulders of the Syrian Government.
  Yeah.
  QUESTION: Why do you say that Syria apologized? I mean, they didn't.
  MR. TONER: I thought they did. I thought they said that --
  QUESTION: They said they were sorry that they were dead, but they didn't (inaudible).
  MR. TONER: Well, I think you're right. They didn't apologize. Well, again, I'm going back but I thought they said something to the effect '' but look, let's be very clear here. I'm not trying to say that Syrian Government is in any way not culpable. They, in fact, have started this situation; we stand very strongly with Turkey.
  QUESTION: No. They are saying they are not. I mean, but, I mean --
  MR. TONER: So '' yeah. But I would refer you to the Syrian Government.
  QUESTION: They are saying that want to investigate who did the shelling. You are saying that they '' you are confirming that they did the shelling '' the government, correct?
  MR. TONER: Yes. Yeah, I don't think there's any question.
  Yeah, go ahead.
  QUESTION: Going back to Abu Hamza for a second --
  MR. TONER: Sure.
  QUESTION: Where are he and the four other men going to be taken?
  MR. TONER: I just don't have that level of detail right now. Again, I'd refer you to the Department of Justice.
  QUESTION: Can I ask on Venezuela?
  MR. TONER: Are we done with Syria?
  QUESTION: (Inaudible) post today that the Syrian Free Army, they took control of a defense facility near Damascus that have missiles and they shot two airplanes '' warplanes from the government. Had you --
  MR. TONER: I've seen all those reports. We've heard of clashes and heavy fighting in and around Damascus, including, as you've stated, that the rebels have taken this airbase near the city. So, obviously, while we can't confirm the veracity of these reports, it does appear to show that the rebels are continuing to get stronger and continue to take the fight to the heart of the Syrian regime.
  QUESTION: But do you have anything to say about the timing of this success, after Turkey --
  MR. TONER: Oh, look, I would just say that this speaks, again, to the increased ability, as I said, of the Free Syrian Army to strike at the Syrian Government.
  QUESTION: Is there news about the Mujahideen help '' joining forces with the Free Syrian Army. Is this something you would condone, you encourage?
  MR. TONER: I just don't have any information on that. We've been very clear about the fear that the violence that extremist groups will take advantage of the situation and seek to exploit the situation in Syria.
  Yeah, go ahead. Oh, yeah. Hey (inaudible).
  QUESTION: Hi. I just wanted a clarification on the email '' just one more question about that. Officials on the ground obviously requested it because they believed that they needed it to be able to perform whatever duties the DC-3 was performing. Was it then the State Department's assessment that Libya was now stable enough to be able to switch to a commercial airliner?
  MR. TONER: I think I'll just stay with exactly what I just said, which was that we provide these kinds of services in places where there isn't a commercial airline service in place. And once that service is available, then we '' our employees rely on commercial airlines. So all the other questions, I really don't want to step into what I think is the purview of the ARB --
  QUESTION: Well, this --
  MR. TONER: -- to look into all these kinds of questions.
  QUESTION: So the ARB is going to be looking at that assessment, then?
  MR. TONER: Again, I'm not going to sit here and delineate or define what the ARB is going to do or not going to do. I think they're looking at all of this, the '' from several months before or however long before they determine up until the events and after to get a good assessment of what happened. And we'll wait for their report.
  QUESTION: But the officials did request it because they believed they needed it; correct?
  MR. TONER: Again, it was provided in the absence of commercial airline services.
  QUESTION: One --
  MR. TONER: Sure.
  QUESTION: Burmese President Thein Sein told the United Nations that if the wish and will of the people of Burma is there as president for Aung San Suu Kyi, then he will accept her as the president of Burma. My question is that these are the very same people, 20 years ago when she won the democratic election in a landslide, and they rejected her and put her in jail for 20 years. What has changed now? These very same people now are saying that if people want, they will put her as president.
  MR. TONER: Sure. Without going on too long about the changes that have occurred in Burma, I think it's fair to say that there have been significant changes there. We've been very clear and measured in our response to those changes. And as Burma continues to move in a democratic direction, we're going to respond accordingly.
  QUESTION: And the U.S. will support that?
  MR. TONER: I just said we're going to respond accordingly as they move in a democratic fashion.
  QUESTION: Thanks.
  MR. TONER: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Do you have any comment on the protests in Jordan by Islamists calling for King Abdullah to accelerate democratic reforms?
  MR. TONER: Yeah. I don't have a specific comment on some of these demonstrations. I can say that we support King Abdullah's efforts. We also encourage the Jordanian Government to take all necessary measures to ensure a free and fair election, and would just reiterate that Jordan does remain an important strategic partner and ally of the United States.
  QUESTION: The Islamists argue that the laws that were passed last July are essentially designed to constrain their influence by gerrymandering parliamentary districts to their disfavor. Do you believe that's right?
  MR. TONER: Again, this is an internal Jordanian matter. I think I would just say that we believe that his taking action to dissolve the parliament and calling for an early election is in line with his commitment to foster a more inclusive political process and a more inclusive democracy and a more representative democracy in Jordan.
  QUESTION: Does that mean '' a more representative democracy in Jordan, does that mean that Jordanians of Palestinian origin should have sort of equal rights and representation with the Jordanians?
  MR. TONER: Again, this is something for the Jordanian people and the Jordanian Government to work through, but we think that the King is being responsive.
  QUESTION: Can I ask about Venezuela, please?
  MR. TONER: Yeah, sure.
  QUESTION: This weekend is the elections.
  MR. TONER: Mm-hmm.
  QUESTION: And I wondered if you knew whether any American observers have been allowed to go in and observe or monitor the elections happening. And --
  MR. TONER: That's a good question.
  QUESTION: -- this --
  MR. TONER: I don't think so, no.
  QUESTION: No?
  MR. TONER: No.
  QUESTION: And there's '' I wonder '' there are also '' the elections '' the polling suggests that actually it's very close and Chavez might lose. And so there's fears that this could lead to some kind of unrest and upheaval in Venezuela. I wondered if you could talk to that, please, if you're watching this, what's going --
  MR. TONER: I mean, obviously, we're watching events in Venezuela very closely. Our principal priority is that the Venezuelan people have a voice in deciding their next leader, and that the elections on October 7th are free and fair. We've repeatedly emphasized how free and fair elections are a fundamental democratic principle and that the domestic electoral observer missions are critical, as you just mentioned, to impartially assessing those elections. But on the eve of these elections, I guess our message is that we want to see free and fair elections and we want to see the Venezuelan people have the right to choose their leader in a free and fair manner --
  QUESTION: Do you --
  MR. TONER: -- and transparently.
  QUESTION: Do you know if it '' sorry. Do you know if any observers asked to go in and were denied or if they never asked at all?
  MR. TONER: I'll ask. I'll take the question. I don't know.
  QUESTION: Okay.
  QUESTION:India?
  MR. TONER: Yeah, Goyal.
  QUESTION: India.
  MR. TONER: Sure.
  QUESTION: Indian Foreign Minister Krishna was '' or he visited the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. And if anybody was there with him from the State Department or '' what he's asking again now that full and fair investigation on this Sikh temple. Any thoughts?
  MR. TONER: I don't know if any State Department officials were with him on that visit. I do know that, obviously, the Secretary talked with him about our '' about this tragedy and expressed our deepest condolences. And I do know that there's an investigation underway, and we'll await the results of that '' wait for the results of that.
  QUESTION: Thank you, sir.
  MR. TONER: Yeah. That it, guys?
  QUESTION: No. I got one more.
  MR. TONER: Okay.
  QUESTION: Do you have anything on the detention of this Cuban blogger?
  MR. TONER: I do, indeed, have something on that, yeah, just dig it out. I think I do. Yes, I do. Hold on, Matt. Yeah. You're talking about Yoani Sanchez?
  QUESTION: Mr. Sanchez.
  MR. TONER: Yeah. No, we're very deeply disturbed by the Cuban Government's repeated use of arbitrary detention to silence critics, disrupt peaceful assembly, and certainly to impede independent journalism. The media reports that we've seen, that Cuban human rights advocates, including the Sakharov Prize laureate Guillermo Farinas, being detained in Villa Clara, Cuba are accurate. But the U.S. interests section in Havana also confirms that the Cuban Government has released all detainees in Villa Clara.
  But as you note, Yoani Sanchez and her husband and another colleague continue to be detained after having been detained in a separate incident in Bayamo, Cuba. And we understand that Ms. Sanchez and these other detainees were en route to the trial of Angel Carromero, who's a Spaniard who the Cuban Government is prosecuting for his alleged role in the deaths of Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero in the July 22nd car crash.
  But just speaking broadly, it's very clear that human rights conditions in Cuba remain poor. The Cuban Government continues to limit fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, including members '' for members of the press.
  QUESTION: Any update on Mr. Tice?
  MR. TONER: No. I don't have any other updates.
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  QUESTION: William Hershkovitz?
  MR. TONER: Thank you. Yes. I don't think I have something on him.
  QUESTION: On who?
  MR. TONER: This is a gentleman '' well, it's a U.S. citizen who was killed earlier today in Eilat, Israel, William Hershkovitz. I don't have a great deal of information. I can tell you that the Embassy in Tel Aviv has been in contact with his family and is providing appropriate consular assistance. We express our condolences to the families of all the victims of this tragedy. For specific questions about the event and the investigation, I would refer you to Israeli authorities.
  Thanks.
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  MR. TONER: Thanks, guys.
  (The briefing was concluded at 1:41 p.m.)
Comedian Lewis Black On The Presidential Debate
  Link to Article
  Source: The Daily Bail
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:53
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There's a friggin' cellphone in the most recent Entertainment Weekly
  Link to Article
  Source: Hack a Day
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:45
  posted Oct 5th 2012 1:01pm by Mike Szczysfiled under: android hacks, cellphones hacks
  Hackaday readers were stumbling over each other to send in a link about this Android cellphone inside of an Entertainment Weekly magazine. Thanks to all who sent it in, and keep them coming. We'd rather get too many tips than none at all!
  The first thing we should address is the discomfort you will feel while watching the video after the break. If you've got any experience tearing open electronics to see what's inside you will be physically uncomfortable watching this pair bumble through it. It makes us want to do some MST3K-style overdubbing of the video, but their content ownership claim in the description makes us sure we'd get an immediate take-down notice if we did so.
  At any rate, what we have here is some really cool tech you almost certainly will not be able to get your hands on. In the image above you can see the small LCD screen to the right. It comes to life when the page is opened thanks to the sliding switch being pointed to in the image. A few television show promos will play before the device starts scrolling items from the CW Twitter feed. When the hardware is pulled out of the pages there's some interesting tinkering to be done. Shorting the contacts on the keyboard overlay (about 8 minutes into the video) brings up an Asian-language menu which is pretty obviously Android.
  This is not the first time the magazine has done something like this. CBS embedded video a few years back but we're pretty sure that one didn't use the full guts of a cellphone. It's just too bad these issues are so rare (only 1000 are available in two cities) as we had a lot of fun hacking that Esquire issue with the epaper in it.
Jenny McCarthy Opens Up On Drug-Addled, Lesbian Adventures Of Yesteryear
  Link to Article
  Source: Radar Online
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:43
  FameFlynet Inc.
  By Radar Staff
  Move over Lindsay Lohan!
  Jenny McCarthy dishes her dirt by the shovel in her new memoir Bad Habits: Confessions of a Recovering Catholic, opening up about her experiences ranging from lesbian orgies to opiate withdrawals.
  PHOTOS: Celebs Who Posed For Playboy
  The Chicago native, who first appeared in Playboy as Miss October 1993, said her fellow bunnies devoured drugs (such as Ecstasy and Vicodin) by the cartload and on one occasion in Hawaii, it turned into a full-blown exhibition of erotica.
  ''Holding up drugs in front of a group of Playmates was like holding up an arm to a cannibal tribe,'' the 39-year-old Chicago native wrote. ''We jumped on the box fighting to get as many little white capsules as possible. Instead of saving some for later, we all pounded at least five at once.''
  PHOTOS: Bikini Clad Jenny McCarthy's Day At The Beach
  ''It was incredibly intense '... so much so that we all began to express love for one another by making out with each other.''
  Jenny, the ex of A-lister Jim Carrey, said she turned ''into a stoner and mushroom expert,'' but eventually her experimentation went awry, and she was left ''detoxing from Vicodin.''
  RELATED STORIES:
  Jim Carrey Flaunts His Abs And New Much Younger Girlfriend On Beach DateJenny McCarthy & Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher Call It QuitsPlayboy Perfect! Jenny McCarthy Shows Off Her Bombshell Bikini Body
  Jenny McCarthy On Son Seeing Playboy Shoot 'He Can Find A Lot Worse On The Internet'
Baa Baa Barack O'Unemployment
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:37
  For the record my children in this Obama Department of Labor now CRIMINAL manipulation of job data to influence the United States elections as featured in the following headlines:Lowest since Jan. '09...SEPT. EMPLOYMENT: +114,000...Total employment 'highest one-month jump in 29 years'...Welch: Obama manipulating numbers after debate performance...BLS economists donate to Obama campaign...Rate Plummets to 4.3% -- For Govt Workers...Part-timers surge to 8.6 million...Report met with suspicion...ROMNEY: Rate more like 11%...OBAMA: Can't turn back now...
  Let us take a quote from FactCheck.org to bring some reality into this:
  O'Malley also falsely claimed that there was ''record unemployment'' under Bush. Not true. The rate hit nearly 25 percent during the Great Depression and topped 10 percent for months under Ronald Reagan. Bush's worst month was 7.8 percent.
  If you need to have this explained to you, Barack Obama has spent years bashing President George W. Bush in the economic collapse, and yet the real statitics point out that THE WORST unemployment under Bush43 was 7.8%Barack Obama is now calling the horrendous Bush43 numbers as wonderfully successful numbers for his regime.
  For the reality in this, America has around 10% inflation due to Obama manipulations in suppressing grain prices after a record drought.Unemployment is in the 23% range yet in real numbers.Interest rates which Mr. Obama is illegally manipulating for his record debt spending should be at 35% and not the rob the retirees rate of .Oblivion percent.
  If Mr. Obama was not criminally in National Socialist fashion manipulating all these numbers, his numbers would surpass the Carter misery index.
  The reality is, those people including Mr. Obama, Mr. Biden, Mr. Axelrod, Mr. Plouffe, Ms. Jarrett and the entire Department of Labor have been involved in the criminal manipulation of these numbers. The fact is Obama should be charged for being an idiot too, as who in their left leaning ficking mind brags on an unemployment number that 4 years ago was the scorched earth number of George W. Bush.
  That is how idiotic this all is. Obama picked the same number which is the number he smeared Bush43 on.
  As all things in Obama numbers, by magic we will find out in the next 4 weeks that somehow there was a mistake, an addition error or some other gremlin in the works.
  Just in August we had Obama again at the podium bragging how great things were and it was all a lie.
  Obama's Real Unemployment Rate Is In Double Digits - Investors.comnews.investors.com/.../080312-621034-real-unemployment-much-hi...Aug 3, 2012 '' No sooner had the numbers come out than President Obama was standing at a podium before the cameras, claiming credit for the job growth ... Remember the last time the dog ate Obama's homework was he was blaming hurricanes for numbers dropping in unemployment.It is literally impossible for people to be employed at the Obama numbers as construction starts and road repairs are not at spring hiring levels. I would not doubt that Obama somehow has figured out how to say children going to school are now employed as they are being paid by college loans he is handing out.
  The main point in this as Mano Romney stated is business is not hiring employees as that Obamacare mandate is coming due in January 2013 and they are not going to be stuck with that bill, and are going to horde what profits they have to plan for the next 4 abyss years if Obama steals the election again.
  It is past time for Mitt Romney to literally state, that there will be a full investigation by a Special Prosecutor of these Obama manipulations if he and the GOP are elected in this cycle. That would make a Newt Gingrich type nationalization of the elections for the GOP and would provide a reason for voters to turn out for their Mormon leader.
  19%: the True Unemployment Number - Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall ...open.salon.com/content.php?cid=3584714Sep 25, 2012 '' How easy it is to forget that these are real people and we are dest'... ... the Obama administration is lying about unemployment numbers, but the ...I warned you children that Obama has allot of little nuance surprises in that little ledger book he pulls plays from like hostage taking. This is going right on schedule and was planned exactly for the Friday after the First Debate.There is more to come in this, and it is sinister.
  agtG 291YY
Lady Gaga tapped for LennonOno Grant for Peace by Yoko Ono - NY Daily News
  Link to Article
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:34
  LONDON '-- Music superstar Lady Gaga will share a peace prize in memory of John Lennon to honor her work campaigning for equality for gay, lesbian and transgender people.
  The American singer has been chosen along with four others '-- including Russian punk band Pussy Riot and the late writer Christopher Hitchens '-- to receive the biennial LennonOno Grant For Peace.
  Gaga is expected to accept the award and a donation from Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Oct. 9 '-- the birthday of John Lennon and his son, Sean.
  Ono said in a statement Friday that while Gaga is ''one of the biggest living artists of our time'' she is also an activist whose album ''Born This Way'' altered ''the mental map of the world.''
Richard Branson's "Plan B" for Capitalism
  Link to Article
  Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:25
  By, Chris RossiniEmail | TwitterNot so long ago, Richard Branson was deserving of some cheers. The high profile businessman wrote that it's time to end the War on Drugs.
  But alas, the excitement turns out to be short-lived.
  The Economist tells us about:
  Richard Branson's big idea for building a better version of capitalism.
  Ok...A couple of things right off the bat.First, this implies that what we have now is capitalism. We do not. Sure, there are small pockets that exist, but for the most part, government has its hands involved down to the amount of water allowed in each toilet bowl.
  Second, a capitalistic world is not "built". In fact, the exact opposite is true. When you remove the "builders," the "coercive regulators," the "bureaucrats," what you're leftwith is liberty and capitalism.
  Markets, prices, exchanges, and contracts are made voluntarily. The only thing that the "builders" do is interfere (while lining their pockets in the process).
  Branson likes that idea, and he'll have some crony "builders" help him along:
  The idea is to form a small group of business leaders who will campaign for reforms to make capitalism more oriented to the long term and socially more responsible...
  A consultation exercise is already under way to find which reforms are ripe to be pushed through. Proper accounting for environmental impact, an end to quarterly reporting of results and the phasing-out of fossil-fuel subsidies are likely to be near the top of the list.
  Ah yes, you're a chump if you're not in the "environmental impact" game.Private property? Markets & prices? Supply & Demand? Those are fringe concepts. You're not going to get a photo-op with Al Gore, or a posh fundraiser by talking about "private property".
  One reason to be optimistic is that many of these reforms have strong support from the generation of leaders now rising to the top of the corporate world, who are often deeply unhappy with the practices and norms bequeathed by their elders...
  The fact that such thinking is "rising to the top of the corporate world" bodes very badly for the rest of us. No longer is the primary drive a desire to satisfy our most urgent wants as consumers. Instead, resources are allocated to the wishes and values of elitists.This is not a Plan B for Capitalism.
  It's a Plan A for Fascism.
Janet Jackson Converts to Islam to Marry Qatari Billionaire '' Halal ''Abda'' Cha-Ching
  Link to Article
  Source: Debbie Schlussel
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:22
  By Debbie Schlussel
  Maybe she should change her name to Hamida Jackson. Or halal Gold Digger.
  Janet Jackson has converted to Islam, just like her Farrakhan acolyte bro, Jermaine Jackson (father to Jermajesty), in order to marry her Qatari billionaire fiancee, Wissam Al Mana. Now, she will know what it's like to be treated like an ''abda''''a slave''since that's how they look at Black people in the Muslim world. Yes, even the Jacksons.
  Most White Muslims refer to Blacks''yes, even Black Muslims''as ''abeed.'' Literally it means ''slaves'' in Arabic, but it's derogatory and the Arabic version of the N-word. ''Abed'' is the singular version of the word, and ''abda'' is the female version of the word. There is tremendous racism against Black people in the Islamic world, which is why they continue to slaughter Blacks in Sudan. First, the Sudanese Arab Muslims raped, tortured, and slaughtered the Black Christians, and then''when there were almost no Christians left, they began to rape, torture, and slaughter the Black Muslims of Sudan (and, when Muslims were being murdered, George Clooney and Angelina Jolie suddenly got concerned).
  Hmmm . . . I wonder if the consistently hypocritical ''Islamic modesty'' will apply to Janet''er, ''Miss Jackson if you're nasty,'' which the religion and people she's marrying into certainly are. She's already gotten a lot of practice wearing a hijab, as the photos above and below show (and don't forget that her late brother Michael loved wearing the Muslim full ninja, the burqa). Also, will she be the only wife? Well, now that her music career has been over for several decades and her lawsuit to get Michael Jackson's money away from his kids and into her pockets isn't going anywhere, a chick's gotta find a way to keep herself in style. And if ya can't beat the jihad, join 'em''that's the ticket, right? File under, Hypocritical Gold-Digger Women We'd Like to See in a Burqa.
  Janet Jackson and her fianc(C) Wissam Al Mana are reportedly planning to get married in Doha, Qatar in 2013.
  The couple hope to tie the knot in Doha where the billionaire was born and are making arrangements for the ceremony to take place in 2013.
  Janet and Wissam will be wedded in a Muslim ceremony. A renown [DS: sic] Turkish author, Adnan Oktar (aka Harun Yahya), is also making the claim that the 46-year-old Janet Jackson has converted to Islam '-- as did her brother, Michael Jackson '-- and is choosing to keep her new religion a secret from her fans.
  According to an insider the wedding will be ''one of the biggest, most memorable extravaganzas in recent history''.
  The source added to National Enquirer magazine: ''They have tentatively set a late 2013 wedding date. But they are still working out the details and the exact day.''
  They will reportedly spend $3 million to fly in their 500 wedding guests from all over the world, while Wissam wants to give all attendees a $10,000 Rolex watch each as a thank you for attending.
  The insider added: ''Wissam is going to splash big when he marries Janet. It's going to be the wedding of the century.''
  Janet and Wissam allegedly got engaged last year after Wissam, a billionaire whose family has extensive reaches in the real estate and media spheres, proposed to her with a stunning 15 carat diamond ring. The couple met in December of 2009 after Janet gave a special performance in the Middle East and the rest, so it seems, is history. The couple was supposedly shooting for a 2011 wedding, but they ultimately tempered their excitement and chose to hold off for a couple of years so they could have time to plan the festivities.
  Janet has been dating Wissam '' who is almost a decade younger than her '' since summer 2010.
  Hey, I wonder how her song, ''Twenty Foreplay,'' goes over in Greater Savagestan. Praise allah. Islam just got the most used piece of equipment in the Jackson gym to ''revert'' to Islam.
  Well, now, she can revise one of her hit songs to reflect her new religion, ''The No Pleasure Principle.''
  Michael Jackson, Burqa Style . . .
WALL STREET INSIDER On Latest Obama Jobs Report: '' Absolute Rubbish''
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 20:18
  }rÆ²];",È–/mKrVeT`@LvN8/{WSe}3WÉŽ1D"qtÜ>>s^=blW<;~*F^?:;b}zj&Kx<0z}PpW}#qoÜØ¯fi6fÔž}#"0P8o5N#%=6F]>05/`bqcVs4F7j0Y8;'j ij@~4rN?{|~ÌtO.$&!Ê¥V*0@W!0 x‘Ö'4AWNNOYfV=!zL·P~85w$vj0åŒ¥!<ó�Œ®L {[e$~[~U5nk(''ƒddq2* ;]Ù¯K0tt gC?e Q#5lj%+`5);}A>CvÖ¨5+DLa9vx!ê(C)8MKtx@0F2fX]i ~&1H0%-%Cnp%DJ#9K$&?Þ§,Eq8-f aÕ(C)2Ý¯MDfI D*ræ±Ÿ}N0?J"ÖŽ]Ûƒeß¬5r*ZWH>ß¯ys$Pzv3(F0RPD5ÛŸrLrd?>nKt%$Ë–\`42S,_G`:>Õ§#\azÍvX0B:'Äª,MÛ´.VS=(tVGDØ‹~Ê}ªjVKÔµHoYnw)$nVB"jr KÖžTz;gE}ÚX*`h=z-Ý–_C'q:J Ô¨( zP$<@Qg[#Pk#8ÚGvLÕi=;1s$5;QsÜ° _Ê 0|TijfD8 g6 Ï/@$AEyê²+2k%eUÏƒW2USLÌ—poÅ–ÖmRvÝº?V..vÛ´N/,y*pZvi6`wn`nQÒ‡xk?hF8]?eJ]L]|qPg3u�±Gcîž·8~!.5+w~{?|%@{]bij-zNV$[&A5[>>r5M'ÔŸ^lpO_{uíž‡E:08p-_Xe@1 _CZyMz}<> ")@ Æ¶/G[>r Ç¹M3dLmÍ¥OnÍƒy6yA%[1ÒŸÞÝºFN<[0B#Ïª+W%hß¨Vhj*-k^ß"L)Z}k6 E_==4V31YZ/Wí–žÓ°VZUxb{]B,TO<@ Ws(oLhglzÙŒ!A4`3m{TTy@;GivaAg3]4nGy<8(0#}Y!Ç¨Zb+%$w u0ev+%mjKE~(utroVjTx<(0' 3R:Ô¾J?>ÍsUK]8Ó½$g]Pé‚(C)<=Ax*PSt'>>`gV_[h4:UË>>ZuLgæ''L@`P[ha>qo"Q8e@LSF&ndg&m!^KS 'Mu-hn{MnÏ¯W&Ú­Ö) oxgÆƒÍ®k½q]×µ&NvDÇ±g iËƒWV` >+jÓ" eA.@' *cz>l{)mM7n]V/`>{NN=:c/NzÏ¨ARCYNÔ,L'Ù‰lFÅ‰?&/||}n3@TCNqÝšP\B^_MÏ'!3vD2]Î—hh4nØŠUYV ?))`h(JÎcRicEGF3]d()?nD[dFUfZ[8{lÄ|gR+P(Ü½VW/xpHs{.9".[+YrUÊ'*b?zÐ2-V}}hX^~W_Ì–H~CA ,5!mUÆ¸hN@'&O'wq+wOWaFo_jAMgYiPe:F[V hd#ó� §iuo:<&j@ X _9{yW{ÆHTgkwX*^\a9!}wj.M/Ð…Æ‚1Ê† )ig[Xflk{y@xW[zZÔ�Ì²,m r!$\xOÎ'ÆŠÇ�,;zummUWÖ'6Gf YPX@E njSs42i}zmZQpcA Õ‰f-AOz[5 ()9H5s=@%3#*/i0Ç@oz½LØ›W+ CÙ'^7 |e4NDÖdPGH+?/TX8Mu$D#K5[# r ui ,LpQ2R4.Q}EÒ½1G"RPALJFP"DÆ²ÔŸdp[F_,+mzfY=(-Óc?U"P1X)yU04=99#*+2waÇ²e"5Z+FDb7~AwÞ­6]jÕ']VwPÛ•@lÍ';#\
Meet The Conservatives Who Think Today's Job Numbers Are A Conspiracy
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:59
  The Bureau of Labor Statistics released an unexpectedly strong monthly jobs report on Friday, finding a dramatic drop in unemployment to 7.8 percent and revised the number of jobs added in July and August up from initial estimates. While for most Americans, the growing economy is good news, conservatives immediately expressed their skepticism in the jobs report's credibility.
  1) Minutes after the report was released, Jack Welch, who famously cooked General Electric's accounting books when he was CEO, accused President Obama of manipulating the numbers to distract from his debate performance:
  2) Conn Carroll, a senior writer at the Washington Examiner, doesn't think the problem is the BLS, but a widespread conspiracy of Democrats lying about their unemployment:
  3) Former Rumsfeld Chief of Staff Keith Urbahn questioned the timing:
  4) Stuart Varney on Fox News claims the drop in unemployment five weeks before the election is too ''convenient'':
  5) Also on Fox News, Charles Payne ''guarantees'' that unemployment rate will be revised back up to above 8 percent after the election:
  6) Fox News' Eric Bolling:7) Rep. Allen West (R-FL) may be the first elected official to weigh in:
  8) Americans for Limited Government released a statement claiming the numbers are plainly false:
  Either the Federal Reserve, which has its fingers on the pulse of every element of the economy, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics manufacturing survey report are grievously wrong or the number used to calculate the unemployment rate are wrong, or worse manipulated. Given that these numbers conveniently meet Obama's campaign promises one month before the election, the conclusions are obvious.
  9) CNBC's Rick Santelli questioned the unemployment drop:
  I told you they'd get it under 8 percent '-- they did! You can let America decide how they got there!
  10) Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham tweeted that the jobs report is ''propaganda'':
  11) Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) notes that he's ''not enough of an economist'' to opine on the numbers before saying that he wouldn't put ''anything past'' the Obama administration.
  Full Transcript of McCain:
  Q: We just had a Republican Congressman on who believes the same thing. What's your opinion? What do you make of this number, and given what you see in your own backyard, does it ring true?
  MCCAIN: Well, I think that it's pretty significant that for the first time in nearly four years of this administration that we've gotten down to below 8%. They're the same ones that when we passed the stimulus package back in 2009 that said the unemployment rate would go at least to 6%, and probably lower. And when we passed Obama care they said the same thing. But I think it is some good news for Americans. I think that a lot of families are still hurt very, very badly. Depending on how you count it, 23 million people are still out of work. A lot of this data is people who are part-time unemployment. But I can't '-- frankly, I'm not enough of an economist to question exactly what those numbers are. Our discussion about the WARN act that just took place where there are blatant violations of the law '-- I wouldn't put anything past this administration, the same one that trotted out our ambassador to the United Nations 5 days after an al Qaeda affiliated act of terror took place in Libya to tell the American people that it was a spontaneous demonstration caused by a video and I'm not making that up.
  UpdateA McCain spokesperson denies that the senator was questioning the numbers: ''He was taking about the WARN Act and Libya,'' Brian Rogers told TPM. ''And so when he said 'I wouldn't put anything past the administration,' he was not referring to the BLS numbers.'' ''He's not questioning the BLS numbers in any way.''
Washington Post Tech Article Highlights How Consultants are Hurting Bloggers
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:58
  When I started our year end C&L fundraiser I wrote a post called : Democratic and Progressive Groups Now Advertise on Cheap Google Ads
  It used to be that progressive groups, presidential and congressional campaigns, think tanks and the like would buy first party ads on all of our sites. That funding stream is crucial to our survival, but in the last two years many have switched their buys, including prominent groups that claim to support progressive media. It's frustrating on many levels, but the simplest reason they should buy first party ads again is because we are the only sites that carry a distinct progressive message. Also, we reach vast audiences on a daily basis that these groups need to support them in these troubled times. We often promote progressive causes of these groups when possible, but nowadays it's not reciprocated. I hope that changes.You've seen the amount of money flowing into the market during this election season. There's no reason for them to shortchange some of the people most responsible for turning the tide against conservative rule.
  I was contacted a few days ago by Craig Timberg of the WaPo who was doing an article about online advertising. I explained to him what was happening and after he interview a few others for his story, he turned out an excellent article yesterday.
  Web sites lose to Google, AOL in race for Obama, Romney campaign ads
  More money is going into online ads than ever before, with estimates topping $100 million. But much of this bounty is being distributed through advertising exchanges, such as AOL's Advertising.com or Google AdSense, that serve as middlemen, bypassing the direct buys that long have been key sources of revenue for Web publications. The ad exchanges have given campaigns greater precision in targeting voters '-- 30-something women in swing states who visit parenting Web sites, for example. But the exchanges also take a cut of every buy, leaving less for politically oriented sites in what once was their most lucrative season. They say the trend threatens to starve a diffuse ecosystem of online publications that nurture political conversation.--Surging spending on online ads has spawned a new generation of campaign consultants, skilled in new targeting tools and less inclined to spend money on Web sites merely because they support a partisan message. They are increasingly mimicking the tactics of commercial advertisers, which often aim ads not at particular sites but at certain kinds of users and whatever they happen to reading at the time.
  He goes on to explain the adverse a bit more and then gets a quote from Zac Moffatt, digital director for Mitt Romney's campaign:
  This is made possible by cookies '-- bits of code created by Web browsers '-- that show advertisers basic demographic information on users and track them from site to site. Zac Moffatt, digital director for Mitt Romney's campaign, said most of its online ads are bought that way.''We're not buying a site. We're buying an audience,'' Moffatt said. ''The power of the Internet is targeting.''
  This is happening from both sides of the aisle, but let me say that his excuse is absolute crap. Who do they think their audience is? It's us, morons. Our readers and others like us are the most knowledgeable and can become great activist assets for any campaign or targeted meme so it behooves these super consultants to make sure to include our sites into their mix. We also draw in a huge audience that reaches all types of new readers and interested people who are drawn here from so many other sources.
  As you can see by the insane spending that's been going on this election cycle, they have more than enough money to appeal to like minded voters as well as fishing around for what they believe are phantom neutral people. I'd like to see if they have a real break down on how effective their audience building is going. Don't expect any data because these consultants don't want to have their words challenged.
  And by the way, what are these supposed Super PACS doing with their money? There are plenty of left leaning groups that could be advertising across the blogosphere. What's their excuse? I'm writing about this because I wanted you to know what's been happening. If nobody does then nothing will change. I was quoted in Craig's article saying this.
  But the overall move away from direct ad buying has extended to unions, political action committees and campaigns at the state and local levels, depriving political sites of revenue they had expected. Ads that come through exchanges often pay between 5 percent and 20 percent of the price charged when sites sell ads directly.
  ''We're talking $100 million on a campaign. Are you telling me there's not $100,000 to spread around?'' said John Amato, founder of the left-leaning CrooksandLiars.com. ''We're here. Hey, don't forget us.'' He blogged about the issue last month in a post titled, ''Democratic and Progressive Groups Now Advertise on Cheap Google Ads.''
  It's not only happening to the left by the way.
  Ire runs particularly high against Google, which runs the largest of the ad networks. It has moved more aggressively into political markets in recent years, creating separate teams catering to Republicans and Democrats.''As long as they continue to dominate, and as long as they continue to drive down the price, they will put free press out of business,'' said Alex Treadway, senior vice president of sales for the Daily Caller, a right-of-center news and commentary site. ''As a player in the market, it's hard to compete.''
  We all know how political consultants have screwed up the Democratic party since Clinton and now it's happening to revenues that affect all online media, which includes The NY Times, NPR, WaPo, LA Times and all the rest. It's a nation wide problem. Shrinking revenues crippled the MSM by the way.
  It's not like it was years ago when the blogosphere first began. Sites like Crooksandliars.com, Daily Kos, Down With Tyranny, Hullaballoo and many others are quoted in all major publications, including magazines like the New Yorker, Time and Esquire.
  Most every cable news networks and Comedy Central shows have used our work to create whole segments for their hosts to opine about. (This also includes all political talk radio as well.)
  As we forecast years ago, the news media would have to change their format to be more like bloggers to survive in the future and that's finally happened and now every one of them pumps their new blogs nonstop. We're the main stream way to do news now. I'm not bitter at all. I believe that some of these newbie consultants don't even realize what they are doing to the online media and campaigns are very busy...campaigning. But what's up with the Super PACS?
  If you're sick of Google and consultants taking over the world then I'd suggest in the future that all readers should make a mental note and when unions, political action committees and campaigns at the state and local levels, or whoever ask you to help out make sure to tell them to support the blogosphere or you're not interested. It'll make a big difference.
  Any consultant or media reporter who wants to chat about this can contact me via email John@crooksandliars.com or advertising@crooksandliars.com and we can discuss it.Oh and can you spare a dime? hehe
EC2 Instance Types Pricing
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:53
  Written by Eric Anderson// October 4, 2012//No Comment//Blog//
  This is the second in a series of blogs where we will share some of our best AWS tips and tricks. This second piece is on EC2 instance types and pricing.
  Recently at the local Austin DevOps Meet-up, I talked about the CopperEgg EC2 infrastructure, that is the back end of our server monitoring product. Of particular interest was the piece on a few common EC2 gotchas. One of the things I talked about is a spreadsheet we use to compare different EC2 instance sizes together to optimize the right fit for our needs.
  We commonly need to adjust our infrastructure. So there are frequent questions, like ''We need more memory, which size do we upgrade to from a c1.xlarge?'' So, we put a spreadsheet together to help us remember some of the qualities of the different instances. It helps us translate the hourly cost to a monthly cost, and show the reserved instance cost as well.
  Some things you can learn from it are interesting facts like:
  A t1.micro has the cheapest cost per CPU, but has horrid CPU stealA cg1.4xlarge has the most expensive cost per GB memoryThe cheapest cost per CPU system (that is NOT a micro) is a cc2.8xlarge.So, we decided to share the spreadsheet (we had many requests for it). We keep this pretty up-to-date, so if you see something missing, let us know.
  Here's our list of favorite instance sizes:
  c1.xlarge: great compute, but still cost effective to have them spread across several zones.hi1.4xlarge: the ephemeral storage is INSANELY fast. We've seen massive IO on these, and great compute. Hint: use 'hvm' instead of 'pv' (paravirtualized) or you will have instances crashing a lot.cc2.8xlarge: lots of compute, and 10gbit networking make this compute workhorses cost effective for heavy compute applications.t1.micro: for test systems'...and nothing more!Here's a link to the Google doc with the details. We hope you find this useful.
  A sneak peek:
Solid Jobs Report Spawns Crackpot 'Job Truthers' Movement
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:50
  Benjy Sarlin October 5, 2012, 10:17 AMThis post has been updated.
  The economy added 114,000 jobs in September and unemployment declined to 7.8 percent. Not great numbers, but paired with major upward revisions to previous monthly reports and taken in the context of a slowly recovering economy, the report was viewed as good news for America.
  Unless, of course, you were hoping for bad news. And apparently quite a few of President Obama's critics were '-- so much so that they suggested the Bureau of Labor Statistics was part of a vast conspiracy.
  The leader of the ''job truther'' movement: former GE CEO Jack Welch.
  ''Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers,'' he said on Twitter.
  He had some friends in Congress too. Rep. Allen West (R-FL) tweeted ''I agree with former GE CEO Jack Welch, Chicago style politics is at work here.'' He added on Facebook that the jobs report was ''Orwellian to say the least and representative of Saul Alinsky tactics from the book 'Rules for Radicals.'''
  FOX News' Stuart Varney apparently sensed where his audience was going. Within minutes of their release he told viewers that ''there is widespread mistrust of this report and these numbers.''
  ''How convenient the rate drops below 8% [for the] first time in 43 months, five weeks before the election,'' he added later.
  CNBC host Jim Carmer said he was pilloried by viewers for defending the BLS report's integrity.
  ''This is very hot. You believe the number, you must be a card-carrying Communist,'' he joked on the air.
  Betsey Stevenson, a former chief economist at the Department of Labor under President Obama, said in a phone interview with TPM that the conspiracy theories were misguided in just about every way possible. For starters, the Bureau of Labor Statistics isn't currently run by a political appointee. For most of Obama's term, the commissioner was a holdover appointed by President Bush. The current acting commissioner John Gavin is a career BLS economist, not an Obama appointee.
  The underlying data behind the BLS reports is also publicly released and used by analysts across the private sector and academia, meaning a conspiracy would have to survive scrutiny from trained economists of all political stripes.
  Nor is there much time to cook the books at the top level if they wanted to.
  ''I worked for Secretary Hilda Solis and she didn't know the job numbers until 8 a.m. on the day,'' Stevenson said. ''Which made my job very difficult, because I had to help her figure out what she was going to say when they were released.'' The BLS releases the numbers publicly at 8:30 a.m. ET.
  But conspiracy theorists are out in full force. Conn Carroll, a columnist at the Washington Examiner, noted that the Household Survey, which is used to calculate the unemployment rate, was more positive than the raw jobs numbers, which come from a survey of employers, and suggested that the true conspirators were unemployed Democrats:
  Justin Wolfers, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, told TPM these kinds of fluctuations between the survey and payroll numbers were common.
  ''It's not unusual '-- the household survey is a noisy measure, there's no doubt about it, and that's why most analysts rely more on the payroll survey,'' he said.
  Update: The conspiracy crowd may need to expand their theory to the private sector. The consensus from market analysts the day before the report was a 110,000 job gain. The private ADP survey, released earlier this week, found that US businesses added 162,000 jobs.
  Update II: Add radio host Laura Ingraham to the mix.
  Update III: CNBC host Rick Santelli criticized Welch for his tweet, but added that it was a common concern.
  Update IV: Here's FOX News' homepage as of 12:10 PM ET:
  The headline on the post itself refers to a ''campaign firestorm'' and flags Jack Welch's tweet. It then goes on to cite mainstream economists who suggest that the unemployment rate drop may be a statistical outlier, not a conspiracy.
  Update V: Allen West took to CNBC to say Obama ''absolutely'' is cooking the books.
  Update VI: A White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, told reporters the conspiracy theories around the BLS were unfounded:
  ''They're utter nonsense. Anybody, any serious person who has any familiarity with how these numbers are tabulated understands that these are career employees at the Bureau of Labor Statistics that are responsible for compiling and analyzing these numbers and they do that on their own.''
  Update VII: Romney campaign policy director Lanhee Chen told Fox Business that they would adress the BLS report without delving into speculation over its validity.
  Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Justin Wolfers' academic affiliation. TPM regrets the error.
  2012, 2012 presidential campaign, JobsBenjy SarlinBenjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
Study finds rise in gay characters on network TV
  Link to Article
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:33
  NEW YORK (AP) '-- The number of gay and bisexual characters on scripted broadcast network TV is at its highest-ever level in the season ahead, according to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The total on cable television is also going up.The 17th-annual "Where We Are on TV" report released Friday by GLAAD found that 4.4 percent of actors appearing regularly on prime-time network drama and comedy series during the 2012-13 season will portray lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters. This is up from 2.9 percent in 2011, which saw a dip in what had been a growing annual trend.
  The study reviewed 97 scripted TV programs scheduled to air in the upcoming season on the broadcast networks, counting a total of 701 series regular characters. The study found that 31 of them are LGBT characters.
  ABC has the highest amount with 10 out of 194, or 5.2 percent, of their regular characters identified as LGBT.
  After leading last year, Fox ranks second with six LGBT characters out of 118 total series regulars, or 5.1 percent.
  CBS was saluted as the most-improved network, with four out of 142 LGBT series regulars, or 2.8 percent, up from 0.7 percent last year. Among CBS's new fall series is "Partners," a comedy about two childhood friends and business partners, one of whom is gay and in a relationship. The network's lineup represents "an authentic and conscious effort by CBS to improve its diversity," the study said.
  Regular gay and lesbian characters on what the study termed "mainstream" cable television has also risen this season to 35, up from 29 last season.
  Among those networks, Showtime leads with 12 LGBT characters. The study also cited HBO, FX, Adult Swim, ABC Family, MTV, Syfy and TeenNick.
  The HBO drama "True Blood" remains cable's most inclusive series, featuring six LGBT characters.
  On broadcast TV, male LGBT characters continue to outweigh female characters, 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent, the study found.
  Compared to last year, African-American representation has grown from 9.9 percent to 12 percent, while Hispanic representation has decreased from 5.6 percent to 4.1 percent.
  "It is vital for networks to weave complex and diverse story lines of LGBT people in the different programs they air," said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. "More and more Americans have come to accept their LGBT family members, friends, co-workers and peers, and as audiences tune into their favorite programs, they expect to see the same diversity of people they encounter in their daily lives."
  ___
  Online:
  http://www.glaad.org/whereweareontv12
Facebook lets people pay to give posts priority
  Link to Article
  Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:54
  Fresh from passing the billion-member mark, Facebook was letting members in the United States pay seven dollars each to have personal posts given priority in feeds seen by their friends.
  Fresh from passing the billion-member mark, Facebook was letting members in the United States pay seven dollars each to have personal posts given priority in feeds seen by their friends.
  "When you promote a post - whether it's wedding photos, a garage sale, or big news - you bump it higher in news feeds so your friends and subscribers are more likely to notice it," Facebook's Abhishek Doshi said in a blog post.
  The world's leading social network said the US testing of promoted posts is an expansion of trials rolled out in more than 20 countries since starting in New Zealand in May.
  "Every day, news feed delivers your posts to your friends," Doshi said.
  "Sometimes a friend might not notice your post, especially if a lot of their friends have been posting recently and your story isn't near the top of their feed."
  Twitter has claimed success generating revenue from "promoted tweets" at the globally popular one-to-many text messaging service.
  Facebook on Thursday celebrated eclipsing the billion-member mark, touting its mission to make the world more social while investors wondered how the service would cash in on its popularity.
  Facebook shares slid about 1.6 percent to $21.60 in after-market trading on the Nasdaq.
  The company launched a hotly anticipated public offering in May, but has seen its opening share price of $38 tumble.
  Analysts are divided on whether Facebook can leverage its massive user base for advertising and other revenues and still remain loyal to Zuckerberg's goal of making it a service to connect the world.
  Of particular concern was how Facebook planned to make money from members shifting to accessing the service on smartphones or tablet computers.
  Interviewed on NBC television's "Today" show, Zuckerberg said the company was moving forward despite some rough patches.
  "We're obviously in a tough cycle now and that doesn't help morale, but at the same time, you know, people here are focused on the things that they're building," he said.
  (c) 2012 AFP
Google to discontinue Feedburner?
  Link to Article
  Source: TheCandyman's news feed
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:33
  As part of its latest round of ''spring cleaning,'' Google just announced that it is shuttering AdSense for Feeds. The service, which allows publishers to earn a bit of extra revenue by adding Google's ads to their RSS feeds, will be retired on October 2 and will close on December 3. Given that Feedburner has long been expected to be on one of Google's next spring cleaning lists, it doesn't come as a surprise that the company is now shutting down the only way it was actually making money from the product.
  RSS, as a mainstream consumer technology, is mostly dead today (though it still provides a lot of the backend plumbing for many web and mobile apps). Google itself is barely investing in Google Reader anymore and, as far as we know, pulled virtually all of the Reader team into other projects a long time ago. Instead, Google '' just like most Internet users '' is now betting that people are getting their news from personalized news readers like Zite and Flipboard (both of which at least partly rely on RSS, of course), or from social networks like Twitter, Facebook and its own Google+.
  FeedBurner, which Google acquired for a rumored $100 million in 2007, has long suffered neglect at Google's hands. The service never even received the visual refresh virtually every other Google product got. The FeedBurner blog was shuttered not too long ago. So was the Twitter account. There isn't even an official Google+ FeedBurner account. The last time there were issues with FeedBurner's stats, it took whatever is left of the team five days to restore them. Just last week, as our own Romain Dillet reported, Google announced it was going to shut down the FeedBurner API. Also, as Barry Schwartz notes on Search Engine Roundtable, nobody is taking care of the service's forums anymore and Google even let its FeedBurner domain name for Japan expire.
  Many publishers (including TechCrunch) rely on the service to publish their RSS feeds. It's time to reconsider this as the writing is clearly on the wall. There are virtually no alternatives to FeedBurner, though publishers can obviously just manage their own feeds.
  Whenever Google decides to drive the final nail in the service's coffin, it will hopefully make it easy for publishers to switch away, but it will probably be a pretty painful process.
  Image credit: Glen Van Etten on Flickr.
  FeedBurner is a feed management service launched in February 2004 by co-founders Dick Costolo, Eric Lunt, Steve Olechowski and Matt Strobe. It is headquartered in Chicago and was acquired by Google in June 2007 for $100 million. Previously, they received funding from Mobius Venture Capital, Portage Venture Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Union Square Ventures. FeedBurner has proven to be a successful and innovative service that allows blog owners and podcasters to share and track their feeds...
  '†' Learn more
Spotify causes podcasting revival in Sweden
  Link to Article
  Source: TheCandyman's news feed
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:23
  The podcast has unexpectedly emerged as the year's top streaming entertainment format in Sweden. Hundreds of thousands Swedes now listen to podcast shows like Filip & Fredrik, Alex & Sigge, Str¶mstedt & Berg, Hannah & Amanda, and Luuk & Lokko on a weekly basis.
  It began in November 2010, when entertainment duo Filip & Fredrik started a podcast as side project. Since then they have produced one 45- to 60-minute episode per week, and built an audience that now exceeds 100,000 loyal listeners. In August, they celebrated their 100th episode with a live show in Berwaldhallen, a classical music hall in Stockholm that seats 1,300 people. The event was sold out, with additional listeners tuning in to the live stream on filipochfredrik.com. Last week it was announced that the podcast will become available through Spotify, in addition to iTunes and the website. This might be a bigger deal than it seems at first glance.
  The current model'--iTunes and web streaming'--only solves distribution for podcast creators. If they want to make money they have to work with sponsors, which they might not have either the skill or the time to do. There's no money 'inside' the ecosystem.
  Enter the Spotify deal. What it means is that Filip & Fredrik have signed a deal with a record label that will make all their episodes available on Spotify. Every episode will be split up into ten tracks, which each will generate royalty for each play. Say you get 1/2 cent per play, then you would make 0,005 USD x 10 tracks x 100 000 plays x 52 weeks = 260 000 USD per year. That just might be a business model.
  What's interesting here is that all players in the value chain make money. And it's all happening 'inside' the ecosystem '' there's no extra cost for the consumer. A new ecosystem for streamed audio entertainment might be taking shape.
  With a way for podcasters to earn money on their creative work (without having to worry about sponsor deals), more time and effort can be devoted to develop the podcast into its own entertainment format. 'Pod labels' could scout and sign innovative and popular acts, build up catalogues, and be the enabling link between new ideas and getting them to the market. The breakdown of the podcast episode into tracks also opens up new opportunities, e.g. collections and repackaging of content, and making the consumption experience and distribution more social.
  All digital media formats tend to mimic their physical equivalent at first, until they find their unique benefits and opportunities. Blogs started as personal diaries on the web, but when they found a business model and could be commercialized, the format got professionalized and can now be the foundation of trusted news sites. Which leaves me with a thought: what if the podcast as a medium is where the blog was 6-7 years ago?
  Sweden is a small market. What if you could do this in bigger markets, or develop formats that works on a global scale. Could it be a business? It's definitely a development I will keep an eye on'--something tells me that this is not the last podcast record deal (pod deal?) we're going to see.
LAGARDE'S LIST: The fallout continues as ex-interior minister Tzanis hangs himself
  Link to Article
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:15
  One of the 36 Greek luminaries being investigated on the basis of Lagarde's List of 2000 Greek tax evaders, was found dead yesterday. Leonidas Tzanis (left) a former Pasok deputy interior minister in the Costas Simitis' government, took his own life at his home in Volos. He was already being investigated by Greece's SDOE until for financial irregularities, and suspicious acquisition of wealth.
  First elected in 1993, Tzanis served as an MP until 2007, and was deputy Minister of the Interior from February 1999 to October 2001. He was 57 years old. The prominent PASOK MP served as chairman of the parliamentary committee assigned to investigate the case of the Floisvos Casino. A celebrated scandal from 1995, the Floisvos affair was dominated by charges of impropriety against Tourism Minister Dionysios Livanos. The tender, during which Livanos had been accused of favouring one bidder in reurn for money, was subsequently cancelled.
  The Government spokesman denying impropriety in the case was'....Evangelos Venizelos.
  The Slog raised several questions about the mystery of Lagarde's List earlier in the week. The list was handed to Antonis Samaras by Evangelos Venizelos last Tuesday, following which John Sbokos '' ex Secretary to the Directorate of Armament '' was immediately arrested by the SDOE.
  As an arms minister, Sbokos played a central role in the corrupt purchase of German submarines. Lagarde's List has international ramifications because it is thought that prominent German politicians will be implicated by the testimony of those now being brought to justice.
  Earlier at The Slog: Yet another Tory Chairman turns out to be a dit dodgy
  About these adsLike this:Be the first to like this.
Geheime basis op de maan?
  Link to Article
  Source: Een andere kijk op nieuws @infomagnl » Nieuws items
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:05
  Geplaatst @ 5 oktober 2012Op 15 september filmde iemand die zich op YouTube r3alw0rld noemt door zijn telescoop een UFO-vloot die lijkt te vertrekken van de maan. De gebruikte camera was een Canon EOS 600Di. De UFO's lijken uit een krater te komen en er eerst even boven te hangen om vervolgens te vertrekken. Op YouTube en op het internet in het algemeen is er heel wat te vinden over vermeende maanbasissen, maar dit zou dan de eerste keer zijn dat we er ook daadwerkelijk activiteit zouden zien. Of zien we iets anders?
  Eerder dit jaar op 7 april plaatste r3alw0rld ook al een video, maar toen leek het of er UFO's landen op de maan. De laatste lijkt zich echter te bedenken. Misschien zijn lunchpakket vergeten? Interessant aan die laatste UFO is echter wel dat deze een hoek van 90 graden maakt. Toch best opvallend. Wat u?
  via Geheime basis op de maan? '' Grenswetenschap.
'žGriekenland komt eind november in geldnood''
  Link to Article
  Source: Een andere kijk op nieuws @infomagnl » Nieuws items
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:04
  Geplaatst @ 5 oktober 2012
  Zonder nieuwe hulpleningen komt Griekenland eind november in geldnood. Dat zei de Griekse premier Antonis Samaras in een vrijdag gepubliceerd interview met de Duitse krant Handelsblatt.,,Liquiditeit is van levensbelang, daarom is de volgende tranche van de hulpkredieten zo belangrijk", stelde Samaras. Op de vraag hoe lang zijn land het nog zonder nieuwe hulpleningen kan uithouden, antwoordde hij: ,,Tot eind november, dan is de schatkist leeg".
  Vertegenwoordigers van de EU, het IMF en de ECB proberen momenteel te bepalen of Griekenland voldoet aan de voorwaarden voor het volgende deel van de beloofde hulpleningen. De voorzitter van de eurogroep, Jean-Claude Juncker, liet vorige maand al weten dat het definitieve oordeel daarover niet voor midden oktober zal worden genomen.
Obama's Teleprompter Fails During Family Dinner (ONION)
  Link to Article
  Source: The Daily Bail
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:51
  From the The Onion:
  Wicked satire.
  'He would write his conversations himself but he's just too busy.'
  Officials say the President's home teleprompter is simply a tool to make sure pillow talk with Michelle or conversations with his mother-in-law go smoothly.
  Related, and true story:
  Obama Teleprompter Quits, Will Still Write Comedy, Just In Hollywood...
Sexy Chefette
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:49
  So like I'm sitting here making coffee cake, right. You know for the Tiger Lily and myself when we rendezvous and I got to thinking about things in experiments and stuff. You know I experiment on the Tiger Lily in forcing them to eat the things I make and they are really tolerant of my oddities as I get off on cooking, cake pans with slide off lids, things stainless steel and cast iron, compared to porn, dope, booze and sports.
  Any way, so I'm baking this German coffee cake of my own invention which I have mentioned and today I was using my beat to hell food processor.Now do not think I just have beat to hell stuff, but I use my beat to hell one to save my good one, and to not use my brand new one, so I always have spares.Is something about me, in I like in most things to have a main one, a back up one and a back up one to the back up one........helps when one designs things for lunar shots or for Mars landings as then you tend to not go tits up in being a cosmonaut or being suicide mission to Mars.
  So I put these bread crusts in the processor and it really makes a hell of a racket. This pleases me as I just purchased a Jack Apple one for the Tiger Lily to play with which is quiet like hers is.
  You know Jack Apple, he is that Jacques Pepin or whatever his name is. Super nice guy from France and super great chef like the Tiger Lily in whatever they cook looks like something from a magazine cover, and mine sort of looks like what the farm wife churns out for the threshing crew.
  I digress.......
  So I put in the bread crusts, like three of them. Put them into the oven to dry out, and then I put in like a quarter cup of butter and about a cup of brown sugar. I sort of eye ball things as I do not like walking eight feet for a measuring cup. I do pretty good eyeballing things like Roy Underhill.Damn sight better than them Home Depot wood cutters who cut boards like a fricking half inch longer and shorter than they should be.........have a damn tape measure and radial arm saw and still can't get the fricking job done.
  So I digress........
  So I mix this up in the food processor and............
  Sorry had to go turn off the strawberry jam and check the coffee cake.
  So I mix up this mess, and Lord God that food processor is just like Lydian Basti.......you know the buxom gal on Create with Gram from Italy who is the best thing of imports to America in she makes stuff look edible too.
  So this is streussel, that topping you put on coffee cake, and of course I made a monstrous amount and put it on the cake and will soon see how things blow there, but I was thinking about Martha the school cook who could turn government rations into deserts to delight and she made great coffee cake.....even if it tasted of powdered eggs and powdered milk.
  Her's though is dryer than mine, whiter too. Not that this is about race, as mine is about olive oil and not corn oil, so it is a bit more swarthy, but along with the garden huckleberry sauce I make, it usually turns out great, with a zip lock butter cream frosting decoration on top.You just cut a tip off the bag and squeeze out a design..........makes you look like a pastry chef and pretty things always taste better than ugly things.
  Where was I?
  Oh yeah so I did the rhubarb cake stuff too in chopping the rhubarb as the Tiger Lily likes rhubarb cake, and I got that just about done, and I did the streussel topping and then I chopped up some strawberries in my wing ding processor.
  Odd things about food processors is they do not chop things without the blade. Mine has a clutch gear slip after making cream cheese, powdered sugar wedding mints, so I just figured it was slipping until I stuck my finger in there, and there was no blade.Sure you are not to be sticking your fingers into machine with blades, but they do have that auto cut off, but I suppose if it did not cut off it would cut my fingers off or make really crimson strawberries.
  You can make this fruit sauce easy, as most groceries have piles of rotting fruit they can not sell, and I put allot of it to good use, and with a cup of sugar to a cup or two of fruit and some stove top cooking time, you get something that will last in a sealed jar for a coons age. Nothing racist in that either as am talking about raccoons.
  So I really like food processors. Lydia uses her's for noodle dough and would really like to try that sometime in a processor which worked better. Mine might come out of it's slipping, but it really makes allot of noise. My baby goat really does not appreciate the overture it makes, but I like using crap that holds together so I can look at my pretty stuff and be glad I have a back up for it.
  If you give something to people, you should give something you lust after really and not some junk, as God does not like junk. It is allot like seeing a need for a good deed and not doing it, which is a sin.You know things like that always convict the poor good people into thinking you are lecturing at them, and then they go out and get killed trying to save some crack head.
  No, see this is more about the Wall Street Insider putting up the cash for this blog, Ulstermans, The American Thinker, to put it on the radio, as that would be a good deed for America, but he sees it, and instead dumps money into Wisconsin trying to bust unions in buying it, and pretty soon you got Obama skinheads capping Sikh's.Those Sikh's really have no lead capacity as that skinhead for Obama socialism was using a 9 mm. That is really a poor choice for someone who was in the military. I don't know if it was like Gabby Giffords shooter was supposed to be serving up rubber bullets and the BATF mole didn't get the rubber tree, but you know it would all be much more civilized if they left those Wisconsin Cheeseheads alone and just gave the money to Irish folks like Ulsterman and your darling me.
  You know Ulsterman is not going to shoot any batman gathering up, because he knows what it is like to be distracted in the market as a pretty girl walks by and an operative sprays his food with Nancy Pelosi ass fat giving him food poisoning.Well was not spraying to say, but like an injection is the protocol, but just the same, if Ulsterman was uber wealthy you know he would not go terrorist like Obama. Some people can handle money, and some people just need plastic forks at Obama events.
  You know if Obama would just serve watermelon and fried chicken at events, they would not have a need to disarm his backers of forks and knives...........Of course, there was that one time that guinea hen ......or was that a turkey wishbone was used to kill that one terrorist..........two stories I must be mixing up in the guinea hen was a leg bone in Africa and the turkey wish bone was in the Ukraine.......hard to keep track of this stuff.
  Time to check the cakes........
  OK rhubarb is done, burned my knuckle.........coffee cake looks great, but is still soft in the middle in jello jiggle.........so will be a few.
  So a food processor by Hamilton Beach is a really nice thing, and HB should send me a million dollars for this advertisement, but then Rush Limbaugh owes me 11 million plus interest and the Wall Street Insider has that big Obama debt........any event I like cooking and making things as my things are so much better than the things usually around.
  Think I will stop there.
  agtG
The Free Press -- Independent News Media from Columbus, Ohio
  Link to Article
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:44
  DepartmentsWho owns Scytl? George Soros isn½t in the voting machines, but the intelligence community isby Gerry BelloSeptember 18, 2012
  Editor½s Note: This is the first in a series of investigative articles documenting who owns the electronic hardware and software used in the U.S. voting process. Our goal is simple: To reveal the man behind the curtain and expose the vulnerability of non-transparent, faith-based voting. ~ Bob Fitrakis, Editor.Various far-right conspiracy researchers have been alleging for some months that George Soros somehow secretly will control the outcome of the 2012 Presidential election. The Free Press's exhaustive research can find not a single tangible link between George Soros and any manufacturer of voting equipment. Our research did find links much more frightening.The Free Press widely reported the various dirty tricks employed by Karl Rove and company to apparently outright steal the election for George W. Bush in Ohio, and thus the nation, in 2004. Since then, a witness in our case has died in a mysterious plane crash, and all the players in the DRE (Direct Reporting Electronic) voting machine game have shifted seats in a gigantic game of musical chairs.
  The Soros Allegations revolve around the entry of Barcelona based Scytl into the US elections market. Scytl was formed as a start up out of the Autonomous University of Barcelona to leverage existing concepts in modern cryptography (public key cryptography, digital signatures and zero-knowledge proofs) to ensure a secure and verifiable voting system in paperless remote environments including the internet and over wireless carriers. Scytl's scheme is intended to provide the voter with both privacy and verification that their vote was recorded as intended. Scytl's start up funding comes from three European venture capital firms, Balderton Capital, Nauta Capital, and Spinnaker SCR (a subsidiary of Riva y Garcia, which is described as an independent financial group). None of these are connected to George Soros. Balderton Capital is the London based spinoff of Benchmark Capital Investments which has no overtly political connections that our research could determine at this time. Nauta Capital and Spinnaker SCR are a different matter.
  Nauta Capital was founded by 8 executives of the European management consulting firm Cluster Consulting. Cluster Consulting was purchased by Diamond Consulting (NYSE: DPTI) to form Diamond Cluster consulting. Diamond Cluster was subsequently purchased by Mercer Management Consulting and its Europe division spun off. The principles of the original Cluster Consulting used their profits from these mergers to fund Nauta. Two of the principals, Jordi Vinas and Charles Ferrar Roqueta, also have board positions at Spinnaker SCR and/or Riva y Garcia, keeping this coterie's control of Scytl very close. All of Nauta's partners have a strong background in the telecommunications business. In 2010, Scytl purchased a 100% interest in SOE software, an up and coming player in the American elections market with their Clarity Software Suite which is used in 525 jurisdictions in 19 states. SOE has a strategic partnership with ES & S, the major marketer of electronic voting systems in the US. ES & S was sued by the US DOJ in 2009 on anti-trust grounds after purchasing Diebold's elections division, Premier Election Solutions. ES & S subsequently sold Premier to rival manufacturer Dominion. Bob Urosevich, founder of ES & S, was also President of Diebold. In 2006 Urosevich was listed as managing director of Scytl Americas, although his name has subsequently been removed from their website.
  The director of Nauta's American operations is Dominic Endicott, who went from Cluster Consulting to Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) where he oversaw wireless practice. He then rejoined his former colleagues from Cluster Consulting at Nauta. In his capacity as a Nauta partner Endicott also sits on the board of CarrierIQ.
  Booz Allen Hamilton is majority owned by the Bush family friendly firm Carlyle Group. A long time government contractor, Booz Allen½s current and former management team has included some of the leading lights of the intelligence community such as:
  ½ James Woolsey (director of the CIA 1993-1995),
  ½ Michael McConnell (Director of the NSA 1992-1996 and Director of National Intelligence 2007-2009)
  ½ Dov Zakheim (Comptroller of the Pentagon and part owner of Landmark Aviation, a support company for the extraordinary rendition flights)
  ½ George Little (Director of Media Relations, CIA 2007-2011)
  ½ James Clapper (Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency 1992-1995 and the current Director of National Intelligence)
  ½ Keith Hall (Director of the National Reconnaissance Office 1997-2001)
  Booz Allen was heavily involved as a sub-contractor in Projects TrailBlazer and PioneerGroundbreaker, which were NSA warrantless wiretap programs that spied on US Citizens in the wake of 9/11. These programs, along with Echelon, Carnivore, Thinthread and StellarWind were designed as an end run around FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) and the 4th amendment. The programs relied heavily on cooperation from private industry, including most telecom and wireless providers, a community where Endicott has vast experience having ½worked with nearly all American mobile operators and is a well-known expert in wireless industry in USA,½ according to Nauta's website.
  Booz Allen also has a finger in the electronic voting industry, being the providers of the first DRE voting scheme for use by overseas voters in 2000. In the end, the $6.2 million program allowed 84 service members to vote. Booz Allen applied for and was granted a US patent (7,729,991 applied for 3/20/01 granted 6/1/10) for another electronic voting system and voter registration system over a network. This system bears a passing similarity to Scytl's scheme, although without the verification of voter intent by the voter.
  Endicott's board tenure at CarrierIQ is also not without controversy around privacy concerns. Researcher Trevor Eckhart discovered in November of 2011 that CarrierIQ's software, installed on smartphones made by Apple, HTC, NEC and Samsung and used by the carriers AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, logs the location, phones call times and destination (pen-register), texts, internet searches and keystrokes for the mobile service provider without end user knowledge or opt-in, possibly in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The FBI denied a FOIA request for training manuals and documents relating to CarrierIQ's software on the basis of a pending law enforcement proceeding. The FBI could make this claim this if it is using CarrierIQ for domestic surveillance of American citizens.
  Scytl's allegedly secure voting method would be completely undermined by CarrierIQ's software. Interestingly Scytl seems to be set to market and deploy mobile phone voting applications for iPhone and Android in the 2014 election cycle. Scytl's end user verification of voter intent is completely useless in conjunction with all DRE voting machines currently in use. With direct internet and wireless reporting, targeted man-in-the-middle attacks against certain precincts could tip election results without leaving the evidence traces of 2004 which allowed the Free Press to raise serious questions as to whether the United States of America was subjected to its second coup in as many elections.
  Revised 9/30/2012
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  Will the GOP steal America's 2012 election? September 6, 2012 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
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Mexico Sets Precedent by Using Scytl's Internet Voting Technology in Latin America's First Binding Online Election
  Link to Article
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:43
  BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scytl, the leading provider of secure election technology worldwide, announced today the successful use of its Internet voting solution during the election of the Governor of Mexico City, held on July 1. By allowing the Mexican citizens residing abroad to vote online, Mexico has become the first country in Latin America to allow Internet voting in binding political elections.
  ''It was easy, convenient and fast and I would strongly recommend it for the future''
  With the aim of fostering voter participation but also cutting costs, the Electoral Institute of Mexico City (IEDF) decided to implement Internet voting as an additional channel to postal voting during the election for Governor. The voters interested in trying the new voting system had to register online beforehand to get their voting credentials that would allow them to vote during the 4-day online election period from June 28 to July 1. By the closing of the Election Day polls, over 20% of the votes cast in this election by overseas voters were cast online in this first ever usage of Internet voting in Latin America.
  ''We are very pleased with the results of this first experience with Internet voting in a binding election which was an outstanding success'', said N(C)stor Vargas, Election Commissioner at the IEDF. ''Scytl's technology worked flawlessly and their team showed great professionalism throughout the project''.
  The online voting authentication system was based on credentials that voters could obtain through an innovative system that was also provided by Scytl. This technology, by preventing the sending of sensitive information online in clear text and therefore keeping potential attackers from gaining access to the information, reinforced the security of the authentication process. Once authenticated, voters were smoothly guided through the voting process that allowed them to choose their candidate for Governor, review their vote prior to casting their ballot and obtain a special ''counted-as-cast'' verification slip that informed them that their ballot was recorded by the system. This verification slip could also be used by the voters to validate, after the counting was completed, whether their cast ballot was included in the final count, thus enhancing the validation and transparency of the voting process.
  ''I would have never been able to participate in this important election if it had not been for the Internet voting system implemented by the IEDF'', said Jaime G., an overseas voter who used the system. ''It was easy, convenient and fast and I would strongly recommend it for the future''.
  Scytl's Internet voting software was audited prior to the start of the project by Telef"nica Security Engineering from Mexico who determined that the technology was compliant with the security standards established by the IEDF. In addition, election observers as well as leaders of Mexican communities abroad, representatives of political parties, public institutions and of State Election Management Bodies who observed the election process praised the efficiency and transparency of the implemented system.
  The speed with which the results were published also set a precedent in the country as it took the IEDF only 10 minutes to process the electronic votes. Electronic votes were tallied using Scytl's unique process that decrypts online votes and breaks the correlation between the vote and the voter after the initial voter authentication, protecting voter privacy at all times.
  ''We are very proud to have provided our Internet voting technology to the IEDF that has set a milestone in Latin America's election history,'' said Pere Valles, Scytl's CEO. ''The high level of voter satisfaction after the closing of the polls reinforces our commitment to ensuring full voter enfranchisement through innovation.''
  Mexico's use of Scytl's internet voting platform follows the successful usage of the same technology in France earlier this summer when French citizens residing abroad used Scytl's online voting solution to directly elect 11 members of the national parliament in an election where over 55% of expat voters chose to cast their ballots online rather than vote by mail or in-person.
  ABOUT SCYTL
  Scytl is a leading provider of state-of-the-art election technology to governments worldwide in countries that include the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, South Africa, Bosnia-Herzegovina, United Arab Emirates, India and Australia. Scytl is based in Barcelona with offices in Baltimore, Tampa, Toronto, New Delhi, Athens, Kiev and London. Scytl is a portfolio company of leading international VC funds Nauta Capital, Balderton Capital and Spinnaker SCR. More information is available at www.scytl.com.
Obama's 2008 Dry Hump
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:39
  A Lame Cherry exclusive........
  From the desk of the Tiger Lily.
  The evidence appears in this world, that Barack Hussein Obama's bastard brother, one Ted Baillieu of Australia was the wet hump for the Obama dry hump election theft in Illinois. Yes in Victoria State, Australia, there was a most interesting coup taking place upon the Obama protocols of knocking down opponents in smears, until an Allen Keyes shows up to wipe out easily.
  The interesting part of this is, is that in 2006, Ted Baillieu of the notable wealthy aristocrats of the Baron Ballieus of England, was involved with an election using the Spanish vote counting firm of Scytl, which is about to steal the election for B. Hussein Obama in America, depending on how the software is manipulated.
  Victoria Election 2006. The Poll Vault Election Weblog. Australian ...www.abc.net.au/elections/vic/2006/weblog/But the Herald Sun's editorial maintains Mr Baillieu performed well: ...... the machines, designed by Hewlett-Packard and Spain's Scytl Secure Electronic Voting, ...Scytls founder, who was a codes genius, happened to die in a car accident which no one in his company or the world cared about, just as this Australian election was on the burner.Now Michelle Malkin and others just can not see in Mockingbird how it is in passive aggresive, that we have Scytl's founder, the Bill Gates programmer of Spanish Europe, hoping to create real democratic free elections, just happens to die in a car crash, just when his voting software seems to be having problems in rigging elections.
  What it all appears like is this Spaniard, just happened to figure out that someone had figured out how to rig his thinking evolving voting program to flip votes like SOE in America, and if one controlled those machines, they could "elect" any person they chose, as in Barack Hussein Obama.See what Jack Cashill could not figure out in 10 million GOP votes disappearing in 2008 and ending up for Obama, revealed itself in Michigan fights songs appearing in electronic voting machines as hackers were playing that theme every time a vote was cast.Sort of like Harry Reid getting Sharron Angle votes in Nevada, but who really cares about evidence when it is Michelle Malkin looking all pretty and telling other twerps appearing on websites that "all is well" even with corpses laying about.
  Steve Jobs croaks and the world stands still. Dr. Andru Riera dies in a car crash and no one even cares, including his own company in bring it up. Yet this guy is the one who is the source of all the election thefts for the past 5 years.......or his associates running this worldwide vote counting apparatus which has been proven now to flip votes, change votes and is open to hacking and program switching.
  What must be examined in this is the way this Baillieu just happened to have the same interesting rise as Barack Obama, in being connected to the aristocracy, opponents ruined until a straw man was set up, and the same electronic voting software shows up to give a win to another world liberal.
  The entire mass of Scytl is genius, in Riera was making software which evolved in gaming programs. The software is "human" in process and it is something which is being refined as liberals across the western globe are installed. Mexico was the latest victim in this drama.
  Mexico Sets Precedent by Using Scytl's Internet Voting Technology ...www.businesswire.com/.../Mexico-Sets-Precedent-Scytl's-Internet-Vo...Aug 9, 2012 '' Mexico uses Scytl's Internet Voting Technology in Latin America's First ... Voters registered from 951 cities in 98 countries around the world. ...use of its Internet voting solution during the election of the Governor of Mexico City, ...Imagine though in this urban based vote counting by electronics, against rural areas marking hard ballots, that a state like New York actually might vote for Republicans overwhelmingly and then say California comes along and goes for liberals.People would see red flags in this, unless of course the software would be pre programmed in self regulating in recognizing trends and would automatically "learn" to adjust to the trends.
  You can remember the John Kerry electioneering in which polls showed him trouncing George Bush in the exits, and the Bush camp was stunned, but this was Kerry's people trying to influence western states to not vote for Bush.
  See you can set trends with Scytl and do it to the election polls which are conditioning voters in what to expect, so when election day takes place, the results match what the pollsters are brainwashing the masses to believe.
  Ask yourself what are the odds of two men, on opposite sides of the globe, both rising to power in the same ways, both connected to the same ruling classes in Europe, and both winning elections using electronic software.
  The entire protocol of Scytl can be set up to match vote for vote rural votes which always go toward Conservatives by the more populated urban areas which trend to liberals in welfare and sin vote groups. That is how a Harry Reid with unions and other machinations can steal a Nevada election from Sharron Angle in making it "Al Franken" close, when the Rovians are intent on implementing the policies they can profit off of from Barack Marxist Obama.
  The cartel figured out correctly that their timetable can subvert the west for this feudal state, but using electronic vote fraud, and the beauty of it is, the elections are LAW and if anyone challenges them, then there is sweet Michelle Malkin telling all the Mockingbird line, and little chirpers on sites like Ulsterman trolling about in comments on how all of this Scytl is legitimate, so when the Obama elections go robbery, the stunned just accept it, and those who question it are branded crazy or criminal subversives.
  There are numerous cases showing this Scytl and SOE being absolutely not fool proof and nations should not put their futures in the balance, and yet out of nowhere they are, and the reason is this is the power elite backing both sides and the media to cover all of this up, as they have the outcomes exactly as they intended.
  They are not going to Alex Jones cancel the elections as that line was planted for years to condition the public, but instead rig the elections so people accept the overthrow in being told that is what the "majority" had voted in.
  Free elections ceased in these United States in 2008 on a national scale, and are disappearing on the local scale as fast as nations like Mexico are rigged to go socialist.
  They have this in the bag and that means they own you. You are in the American gulag and they are using your rights to build that cell around you so you accept the jail they created and you think you voted for.
  nuff said
  agtG 235
@adamcurry Video Shows Man's Final Moments As He Is Killed By U.S Police Officer Who Mocks Him As He Pleads For Help http://t.co/08cA7JIB
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:38
  Latest Tyranny/Police State- Deputy Reportedly Punched Homeless Man, Filed False Report: Investigation- Philly Cop Allegedly Raped Unconscious Woman In The Back Of His Police Car- Life in a Box: Inhumane and Unsafe Extreme Isolation in New York's Prisons- Philly officer who sucker-punched woman will be fired- Cop Tickets Woman For Not Disclosing HIV Status- Cop Caught Sexting Underage Girl He Ticketed, Keeps Job- Second Woman Testifies HPD Officer Used Badge To Rape Her- Chicago cop held on $100,000 bail, accused of having sex with prisoner
  Anonymous17379Piece of shit cops. I don't care what he did he didn't deserve to beg for help and then just die after being mocked. this is disgusting. what happened to innocent until proven guilty.... Wake up people. Cops are being groomed, to be the next SS.Anonymous69171[Post deleted: See comment policy]Anonymous67197total bs instead of crying derick derick like some movie they should of ben calling ems, i mean it aint like they had to run and find a pay phone!Anonymous216167Well i think these marranos need to go watch the movie End of Watch and see what can happen to them as well fn putos.Anonymous6691wtg pigAnonymous7587Despicable, abhorrent behavior. This scumbag deserves to be on death row for this. If he ends up in prison I hope he gets the same treatment as the man he murdered. This makes me sick.Comments 1 - 6 of 6Page 1 of 1FAIR USE NOTICEThis site contains copyrighted material the use of which in some cases has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available for the purposes of news reporting, education, research, comment, and criticism, which constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (found at the U.S. Copyright Office) and other applicable intellectual property laws. It is our policy to remove material from public view that we believe in good faith to be copyrighted material that has been illegally copied and distributed by any of our members or users.
Daily Morning Awesomeness (30 Photos)
  Link to Article
  Source: theCHIVE
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:34
  October 5, 2012 | In: Awesome, Funny, Morning Awesomeness
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President Sharpton
  Link to Article
  Source: FrontPage Magazine
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:33
  To those who have been willing to see Barack Obama for the man he is, the newly released video of the racialist stupidities he spewed for 40 minutes in a 2007 speech in Virginia is not the least bit surprising. The video only confirms what has long been obvious'--that the President is a bitter, angry man who views the United States as a profoundly racist nation'--hence the need to ''fundamentally transform'' it, as he says, ''brick by brick, block by block.'' Only such a man'--an America-hater to his core'--could have willfully allied himself for years with the likes of Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Jeremiah Wright, Derrick Bell, and Van Jones, to name just a few.
  Obama is also a man whose stock in trade is, as the godfather of community organizing, Saul Alinsky, put it, to ''rub raw the resentments of the people.'' Toward that end, Obama has relentlessly pitted women against men, poor against rich, nonwhite against white'--all to gain political currency for himself and his agendas. What is new in this latest video, however, is the cadence'--which bears a striking resemblance to the seething, vengeful combativeness of yet another America-hating racial arsonist, Al Sharpton. Ultimately, there is not dime's worth of difference between these two men, in terms of their politics, goals, and worldviews. Obama and Sharpton are ideological mirror images of one another, differing only in their style, their packaging. Consider, for a moment, where they stand, respectively, on virtually any important issue you can name.
  Sharpton applauded the passage of Obamacare, though the new legislation was not nearly transformational enough for Sharpton's taste. ''I happen to advocate and have for a long time, single-payer plan,'' says Sharpton. That position is indistinguishable from that of Obama, who has likewise stated: ''I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer, universal health care plan.''
  In January 2012, Obama issued an edict mandating that the health insurance plans provided by religious hospitals, schools, and charities offer ''free'' contraception, abortifacient pills, and sterilization services'--even if doing so violated their moral codes and the teachings of their churches. Sharpton supported Obama's decision. Like Obama, Sharpton believes abortion should always be legal.
  Also like Obama, Sharpton firmly believes that human industrial activity causes global warming, and thus he favors a cap on carbon dioxide emissions'--precisely what Obama has proposed.
  Like Obama, Sharpton favors ''comprehensive immigration reform'' with a path to citizenship for illegals currently residing in the United States.
  Like Obama, Sharpton views ever-escalating infusions of cash as the key to improving America's public education system. From listening to Obama and Sharpton, one would never know that American taxpayers already spend some $600 billion annually on public schools.
  Just as Obama opposes school voucher programs, so does Sharpton, saying: ''I think that the moneys ought to be applied to public schools and not any form of privatization and I consider vouchers part of a gradual step toward privatization.''
  Obama's denunciations of tax cuts for ''millionaires,'' ''billionaires,'' and ''corporate jet owners'' are by now the stuff of legend. Sharpton, likewise, has railed against tax cuts for ''the rich'' and for ''billionaires,'' lest such cuts result in a situation where ''grandmothers'' can no longer ''afford their prescription drugs.''
  Like Obama, Sharpton also supports increases in capital gains taxes and inheritance taxes.
  Like Obama, Sharpton blames corporate ''greed'' and ''deregulation'' for the housing crisis, rather than the government-mandated policies (which Obama and Sharpton both approved) that, in the name of ''social justice,'' forced private-sector banks to abandon common-sense lending practices.
  Obama's devotion to redistribution, class envy, and socialist economics is longstanding and easily easily demonstrable. Sharpton's economic leanings can scarcely be differentiated from Obama's. It is not insignificant that in 1998 Sharpton was a featured speaker at the Socialist Scholars Conference in New York'--part of the same series of Conferences as those Obama had attended at least twice during his time in New York in the 1980s.
  Like Obama, Sharpton opposes voter ID laws as racist, calling them ''a slap in the face'' not only to democracy, but ''to all those who sacrificed so dearly in order to secure our liberties.''
  Like Obama, Sharpton favors affirmative action (i.e., racial preference) programs in academia, employment, and government contracting.
  Like Obama, Sharpton favors massive increases in taxpayer funding for childcare programs and housing assistance.
  Like Obama, Sharpton supports gay marriage.
  With regard to national security, Sharpton opposesexpenditures on missile defense technology. Obama, for his part, boasted in a 2008 campaign ad: ''I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems. I will not weaponize space.''
  Obama and Sharpton alike oppose the use of military tribunals to adjudicate terrorism cases. In fact, Obama's first act as U.S. President was to order their swift suspension. It was not until April 2011 that Obama reversed his position and decided to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (and four co-conspirators) in a military tribunal. But Obama did not make this move because he had experienced a change of heart. He did it to avoid political suicide, as the policy of trying terrorists in civilian courts was proving to be immensely unpopular with the American public.
  Sharpton has long viewed the American criminal-justice system as discriminatory. His condemnations of racism in policing and sentencing are legion. Obama's views are no different. Indeed, the President has complained that ''the criminal-justice system is not color-blind'' and ''does not work for all people equally.'' He laments that ''African-Americans and whites, for the same crime '... are arrested at very different rates, are convicted at very different rates, receive very different sentences.'' And he charges that ''certain sentences '... are based less on the kind of crime you commit than on what you look like and where you come from.'' All of these charges are demonstrably false, but no matter'--their purpose is not to instruct, but to further ''rub raw'' the racial resentments of people.
  As regards their views on Israel and the Jewish people, the similarities between Sharpton and Obama are numerous enough to fill a book. Obama, for his part, has repeatedly snubbed Israel and undermined its security interests, causing Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren to lament: ''Israel's ties with the United States are in their worst crisis since 1975 '... a crisis of historic proportions.'' Obama's recent decision not to meet personally with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu during the latter's visit to New York has a noteworthy parallel with Sharpton: Exactly eleven years ago, Sharpton likewise made headlines for choosing, in that case, to cancel a scheduled meeting with Jewish victims of terrorism, and electing instead to have lunch with Yasser Arafat, the most prolific Jew-killer since Adolf Hitler. And just last week, Sharpton'--already infamous for the role he played in fomenting deadly anti-Semitic riots and boycotts in New York during the 1990s'--delivered the keynote address at the annual banquet of CAIR, a notoriously anti-Semitic, anti-Israel outgrowth of the Islamic Association for Palestine, which was established by a senior Hamas operative.
  Obama's former green jobs czar, Van Jones, once explained that he (Jones) had decided, somewhere along the way, to ''forgo the cheap satisfaction of the radical pose for the deep satisfaction of radical ends.'' In other words, rather than present himself as the militant, America-hating radical that he actually was, he would put on a suit and tie, present himself as a reasonable moderate, and quietly infiltrate the political system for the purpose of transforming it from within. Barack Obama made precisely the same choice, most likely in the mid-1980s. He packaged himself very differently than Sharpton did, thereby making himself politically marketable to the American public in a way that Sharpton never could. But Obama's view of the world, and the nature of his agendas, are utterly indistinguishable from Sharpton's. Thus it is hardly surprising that Obama has called Sharpton ''a voice for the voiceless and '... dispossessed,'' and has praised Sharpton's ''commitment to fight injustice and inequality '... across America.'' That pretty much says it all.
  Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here.
Romney Rising, Europe Panicking
  Link to Article
  Source: FrontPage Magazine
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:28
  The European hope for an Obama second term is now flagging after Barack Obama's disastrous debate performance Wednesday night against Mitt Romney.
  As in the United States, Obama's debate performance is being ruthlessly panned by European leaders, diplomats and media, many of whom were not only hopeful, but confident that Obama would easily win re-election.
  Instead, that certainty has now been replaced by heightened angst, best expressed by the French paper, Le Monde, which wrote on its front page, ''Where did the favorite go?: Obama fails his first televised debate against an incisive Romney.''
  That Obama failure, according to European media accounts, is rooted in the President's shocking lack of style, substance and commanding presence, a critique shared across both sides of the European media's political spectrum.
  In Britain, for example, the conservative Daily Telegraph wrote that Romney was ''stunningly on top of his argument with a faultless command of detail and a confident fluency that made Barack Obama seem hesitant, defensive and occasionally evasive.''
  For its part, the liberal Guardian said Romney came off as ''energetic and self-assured,'' in contrast to the ''sullen, grumpy and disengaged'' Obama.'' Meanwhile the liberal German news magazine Der Speigel bemoaned the fact the ''sullen and listless Obama'' could not best the ''smiling and energetic'' Romney.
  The net effect, according to Der Speigel, was to render Obama ''something of a Dud President,'' causing a ''negative effect on his candidacy'' and thus placing his re-election efforts on ''shaky ground.''
  That electoral prospect, however, has engendered deep alarm in many European Union countries, led by right and left-centered governments, eager to keep their relationship with the Obama administration intact as they work to prevent the EU from fiscally imploding.
  As one European financial analyst said, ''The Europeans have a general uneasiness about a Romney presidency. It's not because they don't like him, but'...There's a general tendency to stick to what you know and what you have been working with.''
  Romney certainly didn't endear himself to EU leaders, in particular the Spanish, when he singled Spain out in the presidential debate as the poster child for the euro-debt crisis, when he said, ''Spain spends 42 percent of its total economy on government. We're now spending 42 percent of our economy on government. I don't want to go down the path to Spain.''
  Not surprisingly, that pointed observation hurt Spanish sensibilities, leading the country's main daily, El Pais, to write, ''Spain has never been mentioned in a presidential debate as a symbol of failure. What happened last night makes history. And not in a good way.''
  To be fair, it's hard to paint Spain in a positive light when the country is faced with record unemployment at 25 percent and reportedly on the verge of needing a bailout from the EU.
  Moreover, it's understandable why Romney wouldn't want the United States to go down the same path as the EU, drowning in a sea of debt by giving unsustainable bailouts to welfare-state nations, such as Spain and Greece, in order to prevent them from going bankrupt.
  Moreover, those recipient countries of EU largesse have had to impose harsh new spending cuts, tax increases and economic reforms to meet EU deficit targets, efforts which have hit their citizens with wage cuts and fewer services, prompting waves of anti-austerity protests.
  Not surprisingly, those protests have signaled a coming EU economic meltdown, one which the Obama administration has been working feverishly to prevent prior to the November election lest it affect the US economy and imperil Obama's reelection chances.
  Administration officials have pressured EU countries to support Obama's policy initiatives, evidenced most openly at the G8 meeting in May in which one European leader said, ''It was like all of the G8 apart from Russia and Japan were expected to be part of the Obama re-election campaign.''
  One EU official was even more direct when he revealed, ''The Obama administration doesn't want anything on a macroeconomic scale that is going to rock the global economy before November 6.''
  To that end, Greece, which has been dependent since 2010 on billions of euro rescue loan packages as well as largesse from and the International Monetary Fund, now has a reported debt of $25 billion, double what that nation had previously claimed.
  The European Commission wants a final decision on the next Greek bailout to take place at the next EU summit in mid-October, while Germany insists that it can't be done until sometime in November '-- after the US Presidential election.
  Yet, regardless of who wins that election, it's unlikely that the EU will hold any longstanding objection to a Romney presidency.
  As one diplomat in Brussels said, ''Even though we have a natural predilection for Democratic presidents, we'll embrace the next US president whoever he is. We just have to deal with it.''
  Europe is right to be considering the possible eventualities. At this point, the election is anyone's game.
  Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here.
Is Anders Behring Breivik the Nordic Che Guevara?
  Link to Article
  Source: FrontPage Magazine
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:26
  In a provocative essay at the website Gates of Vienna, I once asked whether the mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik could be labeled the ''Nordic Muhammad.'' The first pair of forensic psychiatrists who evaluated Breivik compared his self-image to religious literature. He claimed to be a ''perfect'' man worthy of emulation. John L. Esposito, one of the most pro-Islamic writers in the Western world, states that Muhammad can be seen as the ''living Koran.'' He is viewed by Muslims as a perfect man worthy of emulation, almost like Breivik imagined himself to be.
  Yet, fortunately for us, Breivik did not found a new religion. Perhaps a more appropriate question to ask is whether Breivik, with his sadistic cruelty and bloodthirstiness, is a Nordic equivalent of Che Guevara.
  On page 1164 of his confused manifesto, Breivik quoted the Marxist leader Fidel Castro, who ruled Cuba for more than half a century: ''I began the revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I would do it with 10 or 15 individuals with absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and a plan of action.'' Mr. Castro represents a violent totalitarian ideology, but although he is a revolutionary Socialist he has not been blamed by the mass media for inspiring Breivik. That is reserved for so-called ''Islamophobes.''
  On April 23 2012, during the trial in Oslo, Breivik compared himself to the Marxist militants and revolutionary Socialists Fidel Castro and Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara. The latter has become a popular icon of rebellion and anti-capitalism among segments of the political Left throughout the Western world, his image decorating posters and t-shirts and used to sell everything from coffee mugs to key chains. ABB claimed that his alleged Knights Templar militant network had as much legitimacy as these Marxists did in their violent struggle to overthrow the ruling regimes.
  This was, as usual, not emphasized much by journalists with Socialist sympathies. The Socialist Left Party, part of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's coalition government, have resisted calls for a boycott of the Communist dictatorship in Cuba, but at the same time wanted to boycott goods from democratic Israel. Much the same may be said about the Labor Party's intimate and powerful partner, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).
  When Breivik greeted the court several times with a clenched fist, the press described this as a ''right-wing extremist salute,'' without mentioning that virtually the same gesture has been used by the Black Panthers and modern Socialist rulers such as Hugo Chavez in Latin America or the Marxist terrorist Carlos the Jackal.
  Peter Neumann, the Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation in London, claims that Breivik has changed our view of ''lone wolf'' terrorists radicalized by the Internet. The historian Nikolai Brandal, however, labels him a ''hybrid terrorist'' who sought inspiration from many different sources. During his court testimony, Brandal found it noteworthy that Breivik employs the term ''urban guerrilla'' for his style of warfare. This term was popularized in the 1960s, partly by the revolutionary international Socialist Che Guevara.
  Che Guevara played a major role in the cooperation between Fidel Castro's Communist-ruled Cuba and the Soviet Union, thereby contributing to the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 that almost triggered a full-scale intercontinental nuclear war between the two superpowers of the era, the USA and the Soviet Union.
  Che actually regretted that it didn't come to nuclear war, proclaiming that ''If the nuclear missiles had remained [in Cuba] we would have fired them against the heart of the U.S. including New York City. The victory of Socialism is well worth millions of atomic victims!'' He also said some extremely negative things about black people as well as homosexuals, statements that are usually covered up by his left-wing cheerleaders today.
  The writer Rub(C)n Palma, who was originally born and raised in Chile but has lived in Denmark for the past four decades, has looked into some little-quoted, but well-documented, material about Che Guevara.
Rechtbank behandelt belastingzaak Moszkowicz
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:25
  05/10/12, 09:08 '' bron: ANP
  (C) ANP. Moszkowicz wordt er onder meer van beticht grote sommen cash van clinten te hebben aangenomen.
  De belastingkamer van de rechtbank in Haarlem behandelt vrijdag de zaak van de fiscus tegen advocaat Bram Moszkowicz. De Belastingdienst verdenkt Moszkowicz van het ontduiken van belastingen. De dienst heeft hypothecair beslag gelegd op het pand van Moszkowicz Advocaten aan de Herengracht in Amsterdam.
  Het ochtendgedeelte van de zitting in Haarlem speelt zich achter gesloten deuren af. 's Middags behandelt de rechtbank de boete die de Belastingdienst aan Moszkowicz heeft opgelegd.
  Behalve in de belastingzaak is de vermaarde strafpleiter momenteel ook verwikkeld in meerdere tuchtzaken, die de deken van de Amsterdamse Orde van Advocaten tegen hem aanhangig heeft gemaakt.
  Moszkowicz wordt er onder meer van beticht grote sommen cash van clinten te hebben aangenomen, zonder daarvan melding te maken bij de deken. Moszkowicz zegt zo'n melding als een schending van zijn beroepsgeheim te zien. Deken Germ Kemper vindt Moszkowicz ongeschikt voor het vak van advocaat.
Facebook adds unclicked 'likes'
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:21
  4 October 2012Last updated at14:52 ETFacebook "likes" are being added to webpages even if a user has not clicked a like button, or even visited the page in question, the company has admitted.
  A US security researcher found that simply sending a web address to a friend using Facebook's private messaging function would add two likes to that page.
  Leaving a comment on a story within Facebook also adds to the tally.
  The site told the BBC that no private information had been exposed.
  The revelations coincided with the news that the network has surpassed one billion monthly active monthly users.
  "Many websites that use Facebook's 'like' or 'recommend' buttons also carry a counter next to them," the site explained.
  "This counter reflects the number of times people have clicked those buttons and also the number of times people have shared that page's link on Facebook.
  "When the count is increased via page shares, no user information is exchanged.
  "We did recently find a bug with our social plug-ins where at times the count for the Share or Like goes up by two, and we are working on fix to solve the issue now."
  'Like fraud'The site explained that the figure represented how many times an item was shared - not how often users had clicked "like" on the page.
  However, the number appears next to the word "like" and the site's distinctive thumbs up icon.
  The system means that users who may be sharing pages to highlight negative content - such as campaigners - are inadvertently making the page appear more popular.
  Continue reading the main storyIn its documentation explaining the function of the Like button, Facebook explains the four actions that add +1 to the like tally. They are:
  The number of likes of the web pageThe number of shares of this page (this includes copy/pasting a link back to Facebook)The number of likes and comments on stories on Facebook about this pageThe number of inbox messages containing the web address as an attachment.Source: Facebook
  In documentation relating to the function of the like button, Facebook details four criteria which cause the likes number to increase - only one of which involves clicking the like button.
  Facebook stressed that the added likes were anonymous, and would not appear on the user's timeline.
  The site also said that its figure of 1.13 trillion likes - which was publicised as part of its announcement of having one billion active users - was not affected.
  But researcher Ashkan Soltani, writing in the Wall Street Journal, argued that inflating the numbers in this way raises the prospect of "like fraud".
  He quoted an online commenter who pointed out that "if [you're] visiting an online store and you see a lot of likes under the product then this might cloud your judgement".
  One expert told the BBC the findings were "disturbing".
  "Something intended for one purpose is being used for something completely different," said Prof Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey.
  "What else is being done automatically that we don't know about?"
London's Youtube offices are interesting to say the least (20 Photos)
  Link to Article
  Source: theCHIVE
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:18
  October 5, 2012 | In: Architecture, Awesome, Interesting, Travel
  Follow Bob on Tapiture
  1
  The YouTube Offices as imagined by the PENSON Group has a ''back of stage look with some cool detailing and a film-set look and feel.'' The floor has a YouTube Walk of Fame with content selected by the company and broadcast on a series of screens, a cinema room with velvet curtains and padded seats and The Creator Space (a studio which Goddard says will host YouTube film-makers when they get a certain number of hits) are just a few of the highlights characterizing the YouTube Offices in London.2
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Australia unveils colossal telescope
  Link to Article
  Source: The Daily Star >> Live News
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:17
  SYDNEY: Australia on Friday unveiled a colossal radio telescope that will allow astronomers to detect distant galaxies and explore the depths of the universe with unprecedented precision.
  The Australian SKA Pathfinder telescope, at the remote Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in the Western Australian desert, is made up of 36 antennas, each 12 metres (40 feet) in diameter.
  The Aus$140 million (US$140 million) facility can survey the sky much faster than existing telescopes, with the antennae sensitive to faint radiation from the Milky Way, giving it the ability to detect distant galaxies.
  The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's ASKAP director Brian Boyle said studying the radio waves would tell astronomers unique details about the cosmos.
  "They can tell about the gas from which stars were formed and about exotic objects -- pulsars and quasars -- that really push the boundaries of our knowledge of the physical laws in the universe," he said.
  "Radio-astronomy also gives us an insight into the very beginnings of the universe."
  Science Minister Chris Evans said the telescope was a major step forward for innovation in Australia.
  "This will be 50 years worth of scientific research performed in Australia, providing world-leading scientific knowledge about our galaxies," he said.
  "It will be the world's most powerful radio astronomy telescope and has huge capabilities way beyond anything that currently exists," Evans told ABC radio.
  The telescope is part of Australia's contribution to the broader US$2.5 billion SKA project, jointly hosted with South Africa and New Zealand, which will have far greater capabilities.
  That project will use a forest of antennae, spread across remote terrain, to pick up radio signals from cosmic phenomena that cannot be detected by optical telescopes.
  It will be 50 times more powerful than current radio telescopes and will explore exploding stars, black holes, dark energy and traces of the universe's origins some 14 billion years ago.
  Boyle said the ASKAP telescope will see more than 350 researchers from over 130 institutions undertaking 10 survey science projects.
  "There's one project to carry out a census of all the local galaxies within a few billion light years of us and that will give us the most accurate map of the mass around us... and how the Milky Way was formed," he said.
  "There's another project to study all the magnetic fields in the universe to look at whether or not cosmic magnetism played a vital role in the formation of stars and galaxies."
  The search for extraterrestrial life was a secondary objective.
  "It's almost a parallel activity to all the survey work that's being done," Boyle told reporters.
Sekstape Hulk Hogan uitgelekt
  Link to Article
  Source: Telegraaf.nl - prive
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:16
  vr 05 okt 2012, 09:41
  van onze redactieAMSTERDAM - Hulk Hogan (59) speelt de hoofdrol in zijn eigen sektape.
  Hulk (echte naam Terry Gene Bollea) deelt in de pikante video de lakens met Heather Clem, de ex van Hulks beste vriend. Dat meldt de Amerikaanse website Gawker, die 60 seconden van de video online heeft gezet.
  In maart werd al bekend dat de worstelaar een sekstape had gemaakt en dat het werd aangeboden aan de media. Hulk liet weten er alles aan te doen om verspreiding van het filmpje te voorkomen. Het is nog niet bekend of hij nu juridische stappen gaat ondernemen tegen de persoon die de tape heeft laten uitlekken.
  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
TSA Reinstates Approval To Film Policy After Backlash
  Link to Article
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:13
  Admission that flyers can film checkpoints reappears on TSA website
  (SteveWatson) '' Earlier this week, the TSA removed from its website all references to the right to film and photograph at checkpoints, just hours after it was announced that a national campaign was underway to encourage Americans to opt out and film TSA procedures.
  Following a backlash from supporters of the campaign, scheduled to take full effect around Thanksgiving week in November, the approval to film section has now reappeared on the federal agency's website.
  In a page revision noted to have taken place on October 3rd, the section regarding photography has been re-added to the newly designed TSA website. It reads:
  TSA does not prohibit the public, passengers or press from photographing, videotaping or filming at security checkpoints, as long as the screening process is not interfered with or slowed down. We do ask you to not film or take pictures of the monitors. While the TSA does not prohibit photographs at screening locations, local laws, state statutes, or local ordinances might.
  Taking photographs may also prompt airport police or a TSA official to ask what your purpose is. It is recommended that you contact the TSA Contact Center to contact the Customer Support Manager at the airport to determine its specific policy. Or, if you are a member of the press, you should contact the TSA Office of Public Affairs.
  As we reported earlier in the week, when attempting to visit the old URL for photography guidelines, cached here, visitors to the TSA website were met with a 404 page.
  On its blog, the TSA claims that the disappearance of the photography approval page was only temporary and was due to the agency's website redesign.
  '''...it has been perceived that we rescinded our photo policy. Our photo policy has not changed and is located here as well as on our blog'' Blogger Bob Burns notes.
  It is, of course, at your own discretion whether or not you believe the TSA.
  Although the TSA has contradicted its own policy by placing signs at checkpoints ordering people not to film, as well as attempting to intimidate and even accuse people of being terrorists for doing so, filming federal employees or police is not illegal in the United States, as a First Court of Appeals ruling confirmed last year.
  Special Comment From Alex Jones
  There is an organized move on behalf of governments and corporations to bully the First Amendment out of existence.
  This is why Infowars is pioneering a new civil rights movement that is not based around race, sex or any other minority issue. The fact that our rights are being violated and characterized as suspicious and terroristic threatens the freedom of every individual, no matter from what race, gender or creed they originate.
  We are being systematically intimidated out of expressing our right to free speech as part of the advancement towards a new dark age of tyranny.
  We are calling on like-minded people to join us in the Opt Out and Film campaign, with the understanding that you will in all likelihood face official oppression for doing so.
  The TSA is a federal agency stuffed full of liars, thieves and petty tyrants who like to harass and terrorize innocent Americans who refuse to comply with degrading treatment and who refuse to partake in obedience training.
  The risk of being harassed or even arrested for legally exercising your First Amendment right is significant. However, the risk of not exercising this right is far greater. The risk of not exposing tyranny and allowing it to breed is unthinkable.
  Use it or lose it. The First Amendment is under attack across the board and unless we re-assert our right to speak up when our basic human dignity is being eviscerated by uniformed goons on a daily basis, not only at airports but also subways, highways, political events, music concerts and even high school prom nights, we can kiss our liberty goodbye.
  Source: Infowars
  Related posts:
  Federal Judge Reinstates Unconstitutional NDAATSA Backlash Prompts Move Away From Pat DownsUS Foreign policy is Isreali policy '' Ryan DawsonAl-Qaeda urges Muslims: Kill US diplomats over anti-Islam filmPakistan Orders YouTube Shutdown Over Blasphemous Anti-Islam FilmAhmadinejad: Anti-Islam film an Israeli ployTSA Says Bizarre New Policy ''Business As Usual''Bilderberg Backlash: Will 'Occupy' Protest Smash the Record?
Military Police Used for Crowd Control in South Carolina
  Link to Article
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:12
  (KurtNimmo) '' As part of the expanding effort to merge police and military operations '' and make Posse Comitatus irrelevant '' police in Columbia, South Carolina, will use military police to control revelers after a football game this weekend.
  ''Columbia police are preparing for the big crowds expected after the Georgia-South Carolina football game Saturday night,'' WISTV reports. ''Officials say campus police, Richland County sheriff's deputies, the South Carolina Highway Patrol and Fort Jackson's military police will help with crowd control after the game.''
  In addition to the military, officialdom in Columbia plan to establish Fourth Amendment busting DUI checkpoints, barricades, and an observation tower ''to keep the crowd under control'' and ''ensure order.''
  As Brandon Tuberville writes for Activist Post, the effort is ''nothing more than a conditioning exercise designed to acclimate the American people to the sight of US Military troops acting as police and to see it as an ordinary event.''
  In June, Capt. William Geddes of the U.S. Army Reserve in Missouri admitted that it is against federal law for [soldiers] to do police patrols.''
  ''Perhaps someone should remind Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Raymond T. Odierno that it is illegal for troops to conduct law enforcement domestically,'' Paul Joseph Watson wrote on June 27. ''In a recent Foreign Affairs piece, a publication of the Council on Foreign Relations, Odierno suggested that the army be 'transitioned' into a more 'flexible force' by deploying in situations normally reserved for domestic law enforcement officials.''
  Increasingly, police are working with the military to conduct domestic law enforcement operations. ''Indeed, the Army and other branches of the military have already been deployed domestically for precisely that purpose on innumerable occasions,'' Watson notes.
  He cites the following instances:
  Military Police were tasked with conducting crowd control at the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Photographs showed MPs detaining a man who had run on the track.
  In March of the same year, U.S. Army troops were dispatched to patrol the streets of Samson, Alabama, after a murder spree.
  In December 2008, the Marine Corps Air and Ground Combat Center dispatched troops to work with police on checkpoints in San Bernardino County, California.
  In April 2009, we reported on the deployment of 400 National Guard Combat Support Battalion troops to ''maintain public order'' at the Boston Marathon.
  In the same month we highlighted how uniformed soldiers were involved in handling a car wreck in El Paso, Texas, during which a local ABC news reporter and his cameraman were arrested simply for something they routinely do every day as part of their job '' filming traffic incidents.
  These are just a handful of the incidents we have documented over the last few years where the military has been illegally involved in domestic law enforcement.
  Back in 2008 the Washington Post reported how 20,000 U.S. troops returning from Iraq would be stationed inside America under Northcom for purposes of ''domestic security'' from September 2011 onwards.
  Source: Infowars
  Related posts:
  Know Thine Enemy: Crowd Control Tactics of the RegimeAmericans Acclimated to Presence of Military on the StreetsImage Shows Military Spraying Over Florida CityPosse Comitatus is now Irrelevant: US Military Allegedly assisting Police by using DronesArmored Military Vehicles To Patrol Wisconsin NeighborhoodsMinneapolis Military Drills Based Around ''Confrontation Scenarios''Police Using Military Drones To Spy On Americans Without A WarrantUS Military and Local Police Working Together on American Streets
Open Thread | Crooks and Liars
  Link to Article
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:10
  Sure, i'm disappointed that President Obama didn't rip Flip a new one, but then again, i'm not surprised. There has never been such a dirty rotten liar as romney, ever in the history of presidential debates. An honest gentleman who limits himself to facts and civil behavior has little recourse when faced with an honor-less scoundrel but to let the facts and his honesty and civility speak for themselves.
  Next time i hope the President is ready to 'set the record straight' with each and every lie, deflection and denial from the flip flop man. He does not need to call romney a liar, a deflector, or a flip flopper - we all now know these things already - he just needs to set the record straight each and every time romney pulls one of these dirt-bag tricks. If he needs to make a "romney tricks" crib list ahead of time, so be it.
  And i don't think Kerry is a suitable surrogate to practice with. He needs someone who can act and react just like romney. Kerry isn't the guy for that.
Updating our built-in apps for Windows 8 - Building Windows 8 - Site Home
  Link to Article
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 07:45
  We're super excited to be approaching general availability (GA) of Windows 8 and Windows RT. With thousands of new apps in the Store, there are a lot to choose from and tens of thousands of developers have been very busy around the world creating new apps. Across Microsoft we've been busy since August adding new features and improving the apps that come with Windows and will be updating these apps before GA. We'll introduce new features, improve performance, and increase reliability. This post is authored by Gabriel Aul on our program management team and details some of the updates you will see starting in the next day or so as the updates enter the Store.--Steven
  As we get close to the general availability (GA) of Windows 8, there are many things that the Windows team and other teams at Microsoft have been doing to get ready. Of course, the most important thing has been working with PC makers to help them ready the wave of amazing Windows 8 PCs that will soon be available. Some of these have been announced already and more announcements are to come. With Windows 8, we also introduced a new Store for Windows 8 apps, as well as a number of new apps that are included with Windows. We already have thousands of apps in the Windows Store, even before GA, and we're working with developers from around the world to bring more in every day. The Windows Store represents an unprecedented opportunity for developers to reach hundreds of millions of customers, and we're very pleased to see the exciting things that are showing up every day.
  Of course, we are also taking advantage of the integrated way that we can deliver updates to apps through the Windows Store. Leading up to GA for Windows 8, we will be releasing updates for many of the apps that were included with the release to manufacturing (RTM) build of Windows 8 that was delivered to PC makers and to MSDN and TechNet subscribers in August. Naturally, these app updates will also be available to PC makers to include by default with their PCs shipping in the future, but for those of you who have already installed Windows 8 RTM, it is super easy to get the updates from the Store app. The Store tile will notify you when updates are available, and you can open it and click the updates link in the top right corner to see the list and install the ones you want.
  The Bing app will be the first one out, available tomorrow, and more updates will roll out up until Oct 26th. You will be notified of Windows Store updates just as you have come to expect, with a count of available updates on the Store tile. You can easily choose to install the updates at a convenient time:
  Across the board, you'll see performance and reliability improvements in the apps, but there are some great new capabilities as well. Here are some highlights of the changes you'll see:
  SkyDrive
  Search within SkyDriveRename and move folders and filesNew first-run experienceCustom sort order
  Mail, Calendar, People, and Messaging
  Conversation view of your inboxComplete IMAP account supportAccepting and declining invitations in emailCapturing and updating your account pictureImproved searchSearch for a contact within the Messaging app
  Photos
  Crop and rotate photosNew auto-curated collage slideshowsView photos and videos on network locations in your Pictures Library such as Windows Home Server, network shares, and HomeGroupsMove through photos in your Pictures Library even when you open them from the desktop
  Maps
  Bird's eye view3,000+ indoor venue mapsDriving directions hintsImproved navigation and layoutImproved customization, including custom pushpins and roaming optionsIntegration with Bing and Travel apps
  Bing
  Richer search results for local content and imagesBing rewards integrationUse zoom on your search results to see related queriesUse the file picker to select an image from Bing to use on your lock screen or in your other apps
  Finance
  Additional news and magazine contentMore market exchanges enabledFinance videos
  News
  Additional news content from partners such as The New York Times and The Wall Street JournalEnhanced article reader, including font customization, zoom, pagination, and moreImproved offline reading experienceNews videosSlideshows
  Sports
  Additional news and magazine contentSports videosSlideshowsNew soccer leagues, including MLS, J. League, and Brazilian League
  Travel
  Additional news and magazine contentImproved flight search and new flight progress indicatorImproved hotel listing pageInteractive 360-degree panoramas (gyroscope supported)
  Weather
  Improved default location usabilityHourly weather forecasts, up to 10 daysDay & evening high/low temperatures
  Video
  Purchasing in local currenciesClosed captioningSearch by actor or director
  Music
  Expanded music servicesRich "Now Playing" experienceDiscover more music with SmartDJ
  Games
  Exciting new gamesIn-game purchasingInvites and turn notificationsWe are excited to get these updated apps out to all of the people who have been using Windows 8 so far, and to have them ready for the Windows 8 launch for people buying new PCs or upgrading their existing PCs.
  -- Gabriel Aul
Georgia poll winner asks supporters to end vote-rigging protests
  Link to Article
  Source: Reuters: World News
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:17
  Georgian Dream coalition supporters gather near the local election commission office in Zugdidi, about 350 km (217 miles) west of Tbilisii, October 4, 2012.
  Credit: Reuters/Irakli Gedenidze
  By Margarita Antidze
  TBILISI | Thu Oct 4, 2012 8:36pm EDT
  TBILISI (Reuters) - The winner of Georgia's parliamentary election urged his supporters on Thursday to end street protests against alleged vote rigging by rivals allied to President Mikheil Saakashvili.
  The billionaire leader of the Georgian Dream coalition sought to calm tensions after his supporters protested outside local election commission offices and were accused by their opponents of making threats to officials.
  "I'd like to ask you to stop all street protests," Bidzina Ivanishvili said in comments to reporters.
  "You should understand that we are not in opposition anymore and we should move into buildings, courts and the parliament and clarify everything there."
  Any post-election violence would damage Georgian Dream's image even before it takes power, especially as it has accused Saakashvili of heavy-handed tactics against the opposition and using force against protests during his nine-year rule.
  Washington ally Saakashvili conceded his party lost Monday's poll before the final results were announced, raising hopes of a peaceful transition of power in the volatile Caucasus state.
  Those hopes have been threatened by the protests by hundreds of Georgian Dream supporters angered by alleged voting irregularities in at least 10 districts outside the capital Tbilisi where candidates from Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) won.
  Western governments have welcomed Saakashvili's acceptance that his party had lost an election which some had feared could ignite unrest in a country that is a conduit for Russian energy supplies to Europe.
  But Saakashvili's UNM accused Georgian Dream supporters of trying to intimidate election officials in districts where the UNM won by a narrow margin. In some areas, Georgian Dream wants an election runoff between the top candidates.
  AWKWARD COHABITATION
  "Such actions by the Georgian Dream represent an attack on the democratic process and on the right of the people to express their will," the UNM said in a statement.
  It urged international observers to ensure Georgian Dream does not "discredit the freest and fairest elections held in Georgia in its history."
  Ivanishvili, 56, plans to be prime minister, a post that would make him Georgia's most powerful official when reforms weakening the head of state take effect after a presidential election expected sometime in 2013.
  A political novice who made his business fortune mainly in Russia, Ivanishvili has acknowledged his six-party coalition is fragile and that he faces a difficult balancing act between the West and Russia, which welcomed his election triumph.
  Ivanishvili says he wants to mend ties with Moscow and denies Saakashvili's accusations he is a Russian stooge.
  He has repeatedly called for calm since the election, as has Saakashvili whose final term ends next year, setting up an awkward period of political cohabitation with Ivanishvili.
  Saakashvili, a strong U.S. ally, sought NATO membership for Georgia and fought a brief war in 2008 with Russia, whose leaders portray him as unbalanced.
  The Central Election Commission and local campaign groups called for Georgian Dream to refrain from violence and settle their complaints through the courts.
  "Everyone has the right to appeal but this must be done in accordance with the law," European Union Ambassador Philip Dimitrov told reporters.
  Georgia's electoral system allocates 77 of the 150 parliament seats according to party lists and the other 73 according to victories in individual constituencies.
  With ballots from 99.95 percent of polling stations counted under the party list system, Georgian Dream had 54.88 percent and Saakashvili's United National Movement had 40.39 percent of the votes, the Central Election Commission said.
  In individual races Georgian Dream won 39 seats against 34 seats for the UNM.
  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Georgian Dream coalition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili on Thursday.
  The State Department said Clinton discussed the parliamentary elections, praising Saakashvili for conceding his party lost and congratulating Ivanishvili on his coalition's victory.
  (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
  Link thisShare thisDigg thisEmailReprints
Georgia poll winner asks supporters to end vote-rigging protests
  Link to Article
  Source: Reuters: World News
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:17
  Georgian Dream coalition supporters gather near the local election commission office in Zugdidi, about 350 km (217 miles) west of Tbilisii, October 4, 2012.
  Credit: Reuters/Irakli Gedenidze
  By Margarita Antidze
  TBILISI | Thu Oct 4, 2012 8:36pm EDT
  TBILISI (Reuters) - The winner of Georgia's parliamentary election urged his supporters on Thursday to end street protests against alleged vote rigging by rivals allied to President Mikheil Saakashvili.
  The billionaire leader of the Georgian Dream coalition sought to calm tensions after his supporters protested outside local election commission offices and were accused by their opponents of making threats to officials.
  "I'd like to ask you to stop all street protests," Bidzina Ivanishvili said in comments to reporters.
  "You should understand that we are not in opposition anymore and we should move into buildings, courts and the parliament and clarify everything there."
  Any post-election violence would damage Georgian Dream's image even before it takes power, especially as it has accused Saakashvili of heavy-handed tactics against the opposition and using force against protests during his nine-year rule.
  Washington ally Saakashvili conceded his party lost Monday's poll before the final results were announced, raising hopes of a peaceful transition of power in the volatile Caucasus state.
  Those hopes have been threatened by the protests by hundreds of Georgian Dream supporters angered by alleged voting irregularities in at least 10 districts outside the capital Tbilisi where candidates from Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) won.
  Western governments have welcomed Saakashvili's acceptance that his party had lost an election which some had feared could ignite unrest in a country that is a conduit for Russian energy supplies to Europe.
  But Saakashvili's UNM accused Georgian Dream supporters of trying to intimidate election officials in districts where the UNM won by a narrow margin. In some areas, Georgian Dream wants an election runoff between the top candidates.
  AWKWARD COHABITATION
  "Such actions by the Georgian Dream represent an attack on the democratic process and on the right of the people to express their will," the UNM said in a statement.
  It urged international observers to ensure Georgian Dream does not "discredit the freest and fairest elections held in Georgia in its history."
  Ivanishvili, 56, plans to be prime minister, a post that would make him Georgia's most powerful official when reforms weakening the head of state take effect after a presidential election expected sometime in 2013.
  A political novice who made his business fortune mainly in Russia, Ivanishvili has acknowledged his six-party coalition is fragile and that he faces a difficult balancing act between the West and Russia, which welcomed his election triumph.
  Ivanishvili says he wants to mend ties with Moscow and denies Saakashvili's accusations he is a Russian stooge.
  He has repeatedly called for calm since the election, as has Saakashvili whose final term ends next year, setting up an awkward period of political cohabitation with Ivanishvili.
  Saakashvili, a strong U.S. ally, sought NATO membership for Georgia and fought a brief war in 2008 with Russia, whose leaders portray him as unbalanced.
  The Central Election Commission and local campaign groups called for Georgian Dream to refrain from violence and settle their complaints through the courts.
  "Everyone has the right to appeal but this must be done in accordance with the law," European Union Ambassador Philip Dimitrov told reporters.
  Georgia's electoral system allocates 77 of the 150 parliament seats according to party lists and the other 73 according to victories in individual constituencies.
  With ballots from 99.95 percent of polling stations counted under the party list system, Georgian Dream had 54.88 percent and Saakashvili's United National Movement had 40.39 percent of the votes, the Central Election Commission said.
  In individual races Georgian Dream won 39 seats against 34 seats for the UNM.
  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Georgian Dream coalition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili on Thursday.
  The State Department said Clinton discussed the parliamentary elections, praising Saakashvili for conceding his party lost and congratulating Ivanishvili on his coalition's victory.
  (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
  Link thisShare thisDigg thisEmailReprints
only in holland and germany
  Link to Article
  Source: clogwog → noagenda
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:04
  Back to posts Viewed times October 5, 2012 EditDeleteTagsAutopost http://www.jut-en-jul.nl/ Tweet 0 responsesLikeComment
Ohio family says video shows neighbor mocking disabled daughter's walk
  Link to Article
  Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:01
  A family of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who has cerebral palsy turned over video to prosecutors that they say shows a neighbor and his son making fun of their daughter by mimicking her walk, Fox8.com reported.
  "I would never do that."
  - William Bailey
  Hope Holcomb's family is seeking charges to be filed against their feuding neighbor, William Bailey. Hope told the station that she is afraid to leave her home because she is bullied by Bailey and his 9-year-old son.
  The video was shot last week by Hope's grandmother at a bus stop, and shows what appears to be both Bailey and his son each walking with a pronounced limp.
  Bailey, for his part, declined to talk on camera, but told The New York Daily News that he was injured on the job and was suffering from bruised ribs and twisted back when the video was shot.
  "I would never do that," he told the paper. "I wasn't out to make this kid look bad."
  His wife told Fox8.com that this is all part of an ongoing dispute and that Hope's family has called her son names.
  Both families, who live next door to each other, have filed complaints with the prosecutor's office, the report said.
  Many in the community, which is south of Canton, are rallying behind Hope and her family.
  "We are getting somewhere with it, so that is good because now other families have a voice," Mike Knight, Hope's father, said.
  The prosecutor says she will review all the reports and meet with the families next week to determine what, if any, charges should be filed.
  Click for more from Fox8.com
  Click for more from The New York Daily News
The New & Improved TSA.gov
  Link to Article
  Source: The TSA Blog
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:28
  If you've been to TSA.gov in the last few days, you've probably noticed that we have a new look! If not, be sure to check it out. But'... while you're taking it for a test drive, please be aware that content is still being migrated to our new page; therefore, there may be a few things you may not be able to locate. So, please excuse this minor disruption during construction and thank you for your patience.On a related note, it has been perceived that we rescinded our photo policy. Our photo policy has not changed and is located here as well as on our blog
  If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us byclicking here.
Daily Press Briefing - October 4, 2012
  Link to Article
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:25
  12:47 p.m. EDT
  MS. NULAND: All right, everybody. It's Thursday. Are you freezing, Jill? You're --
  QUESTION: I'm always freezing in here.
  MS. NULAND: We should give pashminas for your personal chair there.
  QUESTION: I know. I have to do that.
  MS. NULAND: All right. I have nothing at the top except to advise you that Mr. Mark Toner will be at the podium tomorrow, so '' by popular demand. Let's go to what's on your minds.
  QUESTION: Not because you're taking a long weekend? (Laughter.) That's the joy of being a Deputy, Mark. (Laughter.)
  Let's start with Libya. Do you have '' is there some State Department-related explanation as to why the FBI team has not gone to Benghazi yet?
  MS. NULAND: I don't have anything for you on that set of issues at all today. If and when we do, we will share it, but otherwise I'm going to have to send you to the FBI today.
  QUESTION: So there is no State Department-related reason, or you're just saying they haven't given you anything to say, so you're not going to say anything?
  MS. NULAND: Let's go with that, Matt.
  QUESTION: Okay.
  MS. NULAND: Okay?
  QUESTION: So any question about Libya, you're going to say you don't have anything on?
  MS. NULAND: Well, you can try any of seven or eight other things if you'd like --
  QUESTION: No, that was '' no, no. That was the only one I had.
  MS. NULAND: -- but with regard to the FBI's mission, I don't have anything for you today, okay?
  Please.
  QUESTION: I have a quick follow-up on that.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Now you said yesterday or the day before that you are working, cooperating with the Libyans together, that the FBI is doing that. How are they doing that? Do they talk to their counterpart? Do they talk to their own ministry of justice or whatever they call it? Or do they conduct independent investigations and then they compared notes?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I think you're asking me to get into how the FBI is doing its work and how it's doing it with the Libyans, so I'm going to send you to the FBI.
  QUESTION: Okay. I'm saying that under these conditions, how does a, let's say, a foreign power '' the United States of America '' work with a local domestic police effort in this case?
  MS. NULAND: Well, speaking historically, speaking from previous efforts of this kind, as you know, the FBI has to investigate whenever we have death of Americans. There are any number of ways to work together. You can have parallel investigations that are then compared; you can have joint investigation; you can have a fusion cell. There are any number of ways it can work. With regard to how they're working it in this particular case, I'm going to let you talk to them.
  QUESTION: And lastly '' I know you addressed this issue the day before '' does the FBI work under the auspices of the State Department?
  MS. NULAND: The Department of Justice.
  QUESTION: Wait, wait. So they're not under Chief '' the team that's there is not under Chief of Mission authority?
  MS. NULAND: When we dispatch teams from Washington or anywhere else, they go on temporary duty. Obviously, they work for that temporary time under the larger rules that apply to temporary duty personnel under --
  QUESTION: Right. So they are under Chief of Mission authority?
  MS. NULAND: They are as temporary duty personnel, and those rules are somewhat different, as you know.
  QUESTION: Well, no, hold on a second. How are they somewhat different? Do they not come under Chief of Mission authority?
  MS. NULAND: They are the responsibility of the Chief of Mission, but they are on a temporary duty mission, which is different than what the rest of the Embassy is involved in.
  QUESTION: Right. But in terms of travel and any kind of internal movement they might make, they are under Chief of Mission authority; correct?
  MS. NULAND: It depends on the situation. There are circumstances where, for example, our DOD colleagues may come in. They're '' obviously the post knows that they're coming. They may provide for themselves. There are all kinds of ways this can work. And I don't want to get into the specifics from the podium.
  Jo.
  QUESTION: I wonder how concerned the State Department is about another report yesterday that more documents were found inside the compound, some of which apparently pertain to personnel issues and things like that. I mean, that surely is a State Department '' of State Department concern.
  MS. NULAND: Well, presumably, you're talking about the reporting from The Washington Post --
  QUESTION: Yes.
  MS. NULAND: -- yesterday. If you take a look at those things that were found, they were all unclassified documents. Some of them were, for example, the evacuation instructions for personnel. So clearly, these were things that were in use at the time of the attack, and frankly, none of us was surprised to see them at the site.
  Please, Jill.
  QUESTION: On the 10th, we have this hearing on the subject. Now, the committee says that they have two people who are '' who have given them information that they '' the request was made for more help, security help, and it wasn't given. Has the State Department '' do you have any comment about that? And any State Department '' any definition of who from the State Department will be participating in that hearing?
  MS. NULAND: Well, as the Secretary said yesterday, it is our intention, it has been our practice to date to work fully cooperatively with the Congress to meet all of the requests that they have to the best of our ability. We plan to do that. We will make those two individuals available to the Congress.
  With regard to the precise hearing on the 10th and how that's going to work, we will make them available, but we'll have to see how the whole thing works out. We're still talking to them about it.
  QUESTION: So those '' of the two people who come from the State Department '' in other words, to describe them as whistleblowers that the committee will have is not correct?
  MS. NULAND: My understanding of the two individuals that were precisely requested, one of them is our Deputy Assistant Secretary of Diplomatic Security. She was in the direct chain of command on the night of the events. The other I am not familiar with personally, but I understand he's a regional security officer who was also involved.
  QUESTION: Can I go back to the documents that were --
  MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm.
  QUESTION: -- just found? I mean, you said that they were not classified. So can you just go over, review, like what happens in a situation like that or what happened that night, that '' so you got rid of all this classified material, but sensitive-but-unclassified material is considered not necessary to destroy in the chaos that was going on?
  MS. NULAND: Well, again, we are going to have a full review of all of this. The ARB is reviewing; the FBI is investigating. So I'm not going to get into the details of precisely what happened that night. That's, as we've agreed, not what we're going to do here until we have all the facts.
  But as we said at the time, we evacuated all of the personnel '' all of the American personnel from Benghazi that night. And as we also said at the time, we don't have any reason to believe that classified material were compromised.
  QUESTION: But I mean '' okay, but you have a lot of stuff that is marked '' and we all have talked about it in previous stories or whatever '' sensitive but unclassified. And our understanding is that not only did it have information about movements of personnel in Benghazi, which I guess would be moot, but also about personnel and their '' Foreign Service Nationals and their names and phone numbers. And people on the ground there are very concerned now that this type of information got out, and possibly extremists on the ground now know that they worked for the U.S. Embassy. I mean, this was a very big concern in Iraq, for instance.
  MS. NULAND: Well, as we were clear on the record '' I think Mark was clear on the record yesterday '' that we have had some challenges securing the site. We are continuing to talk to the Libyan side about that. But this was not, based on what we've seen, any kind of breach of classified information.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Can I just '' you said '' this is on the same subject '' before we get onto Turkey and Syria, I'm sure.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: But just '' you said the FBI is investigating. I don't understand how they're investigating. I mean, if they were investigating, surely they would've come upon these documents themselves, right? I mean, they '' it's like they've shown up --
  MS. NULAND: Matt, my point was that they are conducting an investigation --
  QUESTION: Are they?
  MS. NULAND: -- of the circumstances of the attack.
  QUESTION: And they can do that without actually going to the site?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I'm going to let you talk to them about the particulars, and --
  QUESTION: Well, I just don't understand how you can say affirmatively the FBI is investigating when reporters are strolling around picking up whatever '' whether the information is sensitive or a schedule that doesn't mean anything after the schedule is over, I don't understand how you can say there's really an investigation going on.
  MS. NULAND: I'm going to --
  QUESTION: I guess I'll go to the FBI and ask them that as long as you can assure me that there's no State Department-related reason why the FBI is not in Benghazi already.
  MS. NULAND: Again, I don't have anything particular from this podium to say about their investigation today.
  Anne.
  QUESTION: Well, sort of related, I mean, that '' you said a few moments ago that these were primarily things that were in use the night of the attack. That's mostly the case, based on the stuff that was found. But you also said that you were not '' none of you here were surprised to find that at the site. It seems surprising to a layman, I think, that three weeks later, the stuff would be lying around, that somebody '' I mean, leave the FBI out of it for a minute '' hadn't gone in and picked it up. Right? I mean, it was three weeks later, and it was lying around in plain sight?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I think I made clear earlier that we have had some challenges with regard to security of the site. We've been working with the Libyan side on that. There have been no Americans at the site. So we will continue to work on that, but I don't have anything further -
  QUESTION: Was it the Libyans' responsibility to have cleaned it up, then?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I don't think I'm going to get into any further details about either what happened on the night or what happened on the '' in the aftermath until we've had a chance to have a full picture of the thing come forward.
  QUESTION: Is it --
  QUESTION: Just one more on Libya?
  MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm.
  QUESTION: Can you clear up '' is it your understanding that the Libyans have arrested or detained certain individuals? Because now it seems kind of unclear whether actually there are people in custody and whether the FBI has had access to them.
  MS. NULAND: They've made some public statements to that effect. There have been some contradictory statements. So I'm not going to speak for them. I'm going to let you talk to them.
  QUESTION: But, I mean, is it your understanding that people are in custody?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I am not, we are not, in the middle of their investigative process. I'm going to let you speak to them.
  QUESTION: Can I just say '' as you said, you say you've had some challenges in securing the site. Isn't that a bit of an understatement?
  MS. NULAND: That's --
  QUESTION: Hasn't it been a colossal failure to '' securing the site, whether it's your fault or the Libyans' fault? I mean, ''had some challenges'' doesn't seem to really address the scape of the fact '' the scope of the fact that the site hasn't been secured at all. That's not a challenge.
  MS. NULAND: It's been challenging, as I said.
  Andy.
  QUESTION: Just a point on sort of procedure. Has the ARB actually started its work today?
  MS. NULAND: Yes, indeed. The ARB had its first meeting, or is having its first meeting, today. They are all here in the building, meeting with some of our folks, beginning to get some of the documents that they will need to study, et cetera.
  QUESTION: And is this a '' does it sort of meet every day? I mean, is it sort of a permanent standing committee until the work is done or is it sort of periodic that they convene?
  MS. NULAND: I think one of the things that they are talking about among themselves today is how the work schedule will go. They'll obviously have a lot of papers to read through. Then they'll have to come back together periodically to compare notes about where they are. How they choose to do that, whether it's always on site or whether it's a mix of things, I think we'll have to see going forward.
  QUESTION: Do they get to call witnesses? Is that how it works?
  MS. NULAND: They can call folks to talk to them, absolutely, yes.
  QUESTION: And do you think it may be a plan at some point to actually visit Benghazi?
  MS. NULAND: I don't have any information about that. I would guess that, like the FBI, they're not going to be sharing a lot of their working methods until they're finished.
  QUESTION: Can we go back to the consulate property for a moment? The Post story indicated that apparently it was owned by a private family which had minimal security on hand. And if the Libyan Government is supposed to be providing that security, has this building talked with it about trying to increase the security at the facility, even though there aren't Americans there (1) to protect whatever evidence might still be there; (2) to protect whatever material that may not be germane to the investigation, but certainly that the U.S. Government would want to obtain at some point?
  Has there been any discussion between the two governments about boosting that security? Because it doesn't seem as if the family that owns the property is doing enough, if this '' if they could just say, ''Well, sure, come on in,'' to any one of us who want to go in there.
  MS. NULAND: Beyond saying what I said, which is that we've had some challenges, I'm not going to get into the details of our conversations with the Libyan Government or with anybody else with regard to the details of site post-the attack.
  QUESTION: Do you feel that the Libyans are doing enough --
  MS. NULAND: I think I --
  QUESTION: -- to try to maintain the --
  MS. NULAND: I think I said there were challenges. I think that's where I'm going to stick.
  QUESTION: Can I check on the --
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: -- status of the building? Because I actually had some questions about this very early on, and I should've clarified it earlier. I believe the very first background briefing we had after the events of September 11, the word was used that the State Department had acquired the property. So it doesn't belong to '' can I ask you whether it belongs to the State Department or whether it was leased? I suppose that's a simple question.
  MS. NULAND: My understanding is it was leased, which is '' it was a long-term lease, which we do frequently when we are in a posture of deciding about our permanent presence, which we hadn't decided with regard to Benghazi.
  QUESTION: And is this usual for diplomatic compounds? I mean, does the State Department actually physically buy them or lease them usually around the world?
  MS. NULAND: I think I just said that when we're in a posture of deciding what we're going to do in terms of our permanent presence, it is sometimes the case that we lease properties. In general, when we are in a permanent-built embassy facility, it's property that we have either leased from the government and built the building ourselves which we own, or some combination. But it's different in every circumstance.
  Jill.
  QUESTION: Just a procedural thing on that hearing on the 10th. I know that a couple of senators have weighed in and said, hey, where are those documents that we've been asking for. With the ARB, will they have to compile all the documents and then release, or will there be releases as we go along?
  MS. NULAND: I think I'm going to stay where the Secretary was yesterday, which is that we are going to work with the Congress. Obviously, we cooperate fully with the ARB. To the degree that there's need for us to cooperate with the FBI, we do that as well. These processes will go in parallel. But I just can't speak to how it's going to proceed precisely.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Did any State Department officials attend the funerals of Glen Doherty or Tyrone Woods?
  MS. NULAND: I don't know the answer to that. They may have had personal friends who were invited. My understanding is that these were private family services. As you know, the public service --
  QUESTION: It was --
  MS. NULAND: -- the memorial service was attended at Andrews by the President.
  QUESTION: It was not on the Secretary's public schedule, but is it customary, in the Administration's view, for officials to attend these sort of events?
  MS. NULAND: Again, it depends on the family's wishes. It depends on whether there were invitations issued. As you know, our --
  QUESTION: Were there invitations issued?
  MS. NULAND: Can you let me finish my sentence? I can't speak to whether invitations were issued. I would speak to the family about that. But as you know, we did honor our fallen at a ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base, where the President attended, the Secretary attended, other members of the Cabinet, Secretary Panetta was there, Tom Donilon was there. And it was very moving, for those of you who had a chance to join us.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Is it reasonable to expect the Libyans in their current state of government to be able to either assist in this investigation or protect the Embassy? And can you tell me what steps specifically the State Department is taking to both secure the facility and work with the Libyans?
  MS. NULAND: On your last question, this is the third time that one's come around this time. We are working with the Libyans on all of these questions, but I'm not going to get into the details of the conversation. Obviously, with regard to our larger diplomatic presence, under the Vienna Convention, one expects the support of the host government for security. We have had that support. We will obviously be looking in the context of the ARB, in the context of the FBI investigation, as the Secretary said yesterday, as to what we can learn from this experience, whether there were, in fact, appropriate steps taken with regard '' against the environment that we had at the time.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Victoria, are you having right now some specific talks with the Libyan authorities to help them build some effective security institutions?
  MS. NULAND: I think we spoke to this after the Secretary saw President Magariaf up at the UN General Assembly. I think I mentioned that Assistant Secretary Beth Jones was there to follow up earlier this week. Yes, we did, first of all, right after Qadhafi fell, offer a number of U.S. assistance programs to help the Libyans deal with the aftermath of the Qadhafi regime, chemical weapons, MANPADS, their efforts to integrate militias. We have re-offered some of those things that the Libyans have not yet taken up. We have a lot of experience in transitional governments around the world, from Kosovo to Afghanistan, helping new democracies deal with the aftermath of the kinds of weapons that have been found in Libya, et cetera. And we are ready and eager to do more as the Libyan Government '' new government gets on its feet and decides what it needs from the international community.
  QUESTION: But right now, do you have some U.S. experts on the ground helping and advising the Libyans right now?
  MS. NULAND: We have had '' as we have reported over the last six months or so, we've had a very large effort on the MANPAD side and we've had some five to six thousand MANPADS recovered and destroyed in Libya. We've also had some advisory efforts from the Embassy. As you know, we're still in restricted staff, so I can't speak to what's exactly going on today. But we're obviously committed to those programs and willing to do even more.
  QUESTION: I have one more '' this is semi-related.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: And that's just recognizing that the circumstances in Libya are and were essentially unique, are you aware of any other diplomatic facility that was protected essentially '' that the host government's protection force was a militia, not like a '' I mean, I think we all '' all of us who were there remember these guys who were quite impressive, but it wasn't like they were all wearing natty uniforms or anything.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. I mean, I want to --
  QUESTION: Where it's kind of an irregular force.
  MS. NULAND: I mean, I suppose it depends how you define the term, Matt, and we would have to get some more facts. But my understanding is that in the Iraq context in the early days, when we had PRTs and particularly up in Kirkuk, we used local forces as our exterior perimeter. We've certainly had those kinds of arrangements in the past. I can't say definitely one way or the other.
  QUESTION: Well '' but I mean, but those local forces were actually attached to an authority, as opposed to this one, which is kind of '' it's got an informal link, if '' at best, no?
  MS. NULAND: Well, I '' suffice to say, without getting into too many details, as we said at the time, we were working with the Libyan Government with regard --
  QUESTION: No, I understand that.
  MS. NULAND: -- to the forces that would be provided. So there were obviously links between the Libyan Government and those forces that were provided.
  Please, in the back. Still on Libya?
  QUESTION: No, change of topic.
  QUESTION: On Libya.
  MS. NULAND: Libya? Yeah.
  QUESTION: Victoria, there are some TV news reports from Turkey, they said two individuals from Libya, while they're entering Turkey, Istanbul, arrested by Turkish officials. And Turkish officials are questioning them '' two individuals related with the attacks in Benghazi. Do you have anything on that '' two people?
  MS. NULAND: I don't have anything for you on that. I'll send you to the Turkish side.
  QUESTION: No? Okay, thank you.
  QUESTION: Can I talk Turkey?
  MS. NULAND: Yep.
  QUESTION: The Turkish parliament has --
  QUESTION: Did she just say she wanted to talk Turkey?
  QUESTION: I said I wanted to talk Turkey.
  MS. NULAND: She wants to talk Turkey. Yep.
  QUESTION: Stay on Turkey. How about that? The Turkish parliament has authorized the government to use force when needed in Syria. I wonder if you're cautioning Turkey against escalating this any further.
  QUESTION: Well, first of all, let me reiterate what the Secretary said last night when she spoke to Foreign Minister Davutoglu on the phone, that the United States sends its deepest condolences to the Turkish victims of the artillery attack from Syria yesterday. The Secretary also used that opportunity to condemn the Syrian attack and to pledge U.S. support for our ally, Turkey. I think you also saw that the North Atlantic Council issued a statement last night in support of Turkey's sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemned the flagrant violations of international law, after consulting under Article 4 last night.
  Our understanding is that the Turks have responded. The Turkish parliament has also given the government the capacity to respond again if there are future such violations of Turkish sovereignty. As was clear last night in the unanimous support that Turkey had from the North Atlantic Council, from our perspective the response that Turkey made was appropriate. It also was designed to strengthen the deterrent effect, so that these kinds of things don't happen again, and it was proportional.
  QUESTION: Is there evidence suggesting that Syria, indeed, was responsible for the shelling that led to the killing of this women and her four children yesterday? Have you seen any physical proof of this?
  MS. NULAND: We don't have any reason to challenge the Turkish military and the Turkish Government's assertions that this was artillery fired by Syrian regime forces. And certainly any information we have about the placement of those forces is consistent with what the Turks are saying.
  QUESTION: I think the Syrians actually acknowledged by apologizing. They issued an apology.
  MS. NULAND: Turks '' that's '' Said is right, that the Syrians have apologized.
  QUESTION: My question to you: Do you expect this to escalate, and what would be the role of the United States in this case?
  MS. NULAND: Well, our '' obviously our fervent hope and expectation is that there will not be further violations of Turkish sovereignty, and that was the '' what all of our messages were designed to do.
  QUESTION: So do you expect that the Syrian apology to be sufficient and that this is actually an acknowledgement on their part that they will not accelerate from their side?
  MS. NULAND: I obviously don't have a crystal ball, but the intent in sending a very strong message was to deter future such aggression.
  QUESTION: The NAC was very quick to say unanimously this was a provocative act by Syria. Now there are ongoing discussions at the Security Council, and it seems, once again, Russia is taking Syria's side and is trying to water down a resolution that would condemn this action. What is happening with this at the UN Security Council? What is your understanding at this point?
  MS. NULAND: Well, given the fact that the UN is still convened and working on its own statement, I'm not going to get into the middle of that room for you. We, the United States, as the Secretary pledged to Foreign Minister Davutoglu yesterday, support a very strong statement that makes clear who is responsible and holds them to account.
  QUESTION: Isn't it troubling that, yet again, Russia is seemingly standing in the way of something that would seem to be a pretty obvious thing to do for the Security Council?
  MS. NULAND: For us, this is a no-brainer. Other countries are going to have to make their own decisions.
  QUESTION: I'm just wondering if you could tell us if '' when the Secretary had her phone call with the Foreign Minister if he then told her that this response was underway, or did that occur before the Turks launched their attack, or was it already happening when they talked.
  MS. NULAND: I can't speak precisely, but my understanding is that the Turks were already in the process of responding when the phone call happened.
  QUESTION: Okay. So they hadn't given you any prior signal?
  MS. NULAND: Suffice to say that Turkey had made clear to us, they had made clear to Syria, they had made clear to everybody else, that if their territory was violated that they intended to respond. So it wasn't a surprise, if you want to put it that way.
  QUESTION: And is it safe to say '' you said that the assessment is that their '' this was response was proportional, appropriate, and so on. Is it the Secretary's message or the Administration's message to the Turks that they should continue to have proportional and appropriate responses to this, I mean, i.e., don't widen it out unnecessarily?
  MS. NULAND: The message is to the Syrian side, that it needs to stop.
  Please. Are you still on Syria? No. Anything else on Syria?
  QUESTION: No.
  MS. NULAND: Okay. Moving on.
  QUESTION: Yeah. One of the press releases that you issued yesterday after --
  MS. NULAND: What country are we on?
  QUESTION: This is about the United Nations. A press release issued yesterday said that you had reaffirmed the importance of respect for the rights of peaceful association and assembly as essential components of democracy with the United Nations Human Rights Council. The day before that, at least 12 people were arrested in front of the White House, who were protesting the HHS mandate. And also in 2010, people were arrested who were protesting outside the White House. How does the Administration defend these arrests to the Human Rights Council of the UN with regards to that press release?
  MS. NULAND: I'm not going to speak to the security posture at the White House or whether those folks had permits and the means that they took. I'm going to send you to the White House on that.
  QUESTION: Were those, though, acts of peaceful association and assembly?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I can't speak to what the security posture was at the White House, what the circumstances were. There are any number of possible explanations for the security decisions that were made there. They are made there. I'm going to send you to the White House.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Can I ask about Jordan please?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: The King has just dissolved parliament just as we were coming through.
  MS. NULAND: I didn't see that, Jo.
  QUESTION: And called snap elections.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: I wondered if you could speak to that, what '' whether there had been any indication '' obviously not '' but whether there was any concerns about the strains that the Jordanians are coming under with all the regional tensions that are going on at the moment.
  MS. NULAND: Well obviously, it's within the King's constitutional mandate to do that, so he's obviously made his decision there. Let me see if we have any further comment on this, but I frankly didn't see it before coming down.
  QUESTION: I have a '' I don't know if you'll know anything about this '' about a priest from Indiana who's missing in Greece. His family believes he was abducted and likely killed, and says that the priest had requested help from the U.S. Embassy in Athens but was denied.
  MS. NULAND: This is an American for whom we actually have a Privacy Act waiver.
  QUESTION: Lovely.
  QUESTION: Stunning.
  QUESTION: Shocking.
  MS. NULAND: So we can confirm that U.S. citizen Christiaan Kappes has been reported missing in Athens. We obviously have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad. Our Embassy in Athens is in contact with his family and is also working very closely with Greek authorities to try to locate him. As you know, in cases of missing Americans like this, U.S. consular officers check local hospitals, we check hotels, we check airports, we even work with local authorities to check prisons. So all of those things are ongoing, but we have not yet located him. We'll let you know if we have more to share.
  QUESTION: And nothing about a request for help that was denied?
  MS. NULAND: Here's what I have on that: There's a little bit of confusion here. Mr. Kappes visited the Embassy on October 1st. He did not, himself, request safe haven. While a consular officer was on the phone with one of his family members discussing options to ensure his safety, Mr. Kappes himself got up and departed the Embassy, and we don't know where he went. And ''
  QUESTION: Safety about what? I mean, why would he be unsafe?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I can't speak to the conversation that went down between the consular officer and Mr. Kappes. He himself came in. Some conversation ensued. He himself did not ask for safe haven. We contacted his family; presumably, since he was sitting there at that moment, it was with his knowledge, with his participation. What I have was that in that conversation, we were discussing options to ensure his safety, but in the middle of it, he got up and left. That's what I have.
  QUESTION: But you can't say what about '' what was it about his safety that concerned you?
  MS. NULAND: I just don't have any other information, Elise.
  QUESTION: Sorry can you '' what's the spelling of the last name?
  MS. NULAND: K-A-P-P-E-S. First name has two As, C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-A-N, Christiaan Kappes.
  QUESTION: Victoria, Iraq?
  MS. NULAND: Yep.
  QUESTION: I was talking to an Iraqi official about the incident of bringing the Iranian cargo airplane, for instance, and he told me the following: That they are cooperating '' but they have requested from you, time and time again, for logistical support, equipment, and so on, to be able to do that, and actually, it has fallen on deaf ears. Could you tell us '' and he said that the Embassy has actually made a case before the Administration, but nothing has come of it. Could you tell us about the current status in a situation like this, when the Iraqis ask for aid and equipment to conduct activities that you request them, and that is not delivered?
  MS. NULAND: Well first, Said, let me say that, as you know, we're fully supportive of the Iraqis asking these Iranian flights to come down, be inspected, et cetera. I can't speak to what you're asserting, which is that we've been asked for help and we haven't provided it. Let me check on that. It doesn't sound right to me. Okay?
  QUESTION: Continuing with Iraq: September was probably one of the bloodiest months of all time. Tell us about the status of your diplomatic operations in Iraq and the status of the confirmation of Mr. Beecroft.
  MS. NULAND: Mr. Beecroft was confirmed as Ambassador a couple of weeks ago, so he is '' my understanding is he's back in Iraq, fully empowered, with --
  QUESTION: Is he in Iraq?
  MS. NULAND: My understanding is he was taking a couple days off with his family in California, but then was headed back to Iraq. I think he's probably arrived there. Ambassador Beecroft, we call him now. Yeah.
  QUESTION: You called him that before, too. He was the Ambassador in Jordan.
  MS. NULAND: Yes, of course. So, Dima.
  QUESTION: Can I ''
  QUESTION: Sorry.
  MS. NULAND: Still on Iraq?
  QUESTION: This might be on the same thing.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah, go ahead.
  QUESTION: So go. Let him go.
  MS. NULAND: On '' it's Dima, so it's going to be Russia. What's up?
  QUESTION: No, no, no, it's not.
  MS. NULAND: It's not? Okay, there we go.
  QUESTION: It's actually not, not today. The civil unrest in- it looks like the situation in Kyrgyzstan is getting tense again, and according to the State Department's daily schedule, Secretary Blake spoken earlier today with Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Otorbayev. What was his message, and how do you assess the current situation in Kyrgyzstan?
  MS. NULAND: Dima, I'm going to say I don't have anything on Kyrgyzstan today. Let me take that one and we'll get back to you.
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  QUESTION: On Russia? Taxes?
  QUESTION: It's close by.
  QUESTION: Russia taxes?
  QUESTION: Russia ''
  QUESTION: -- spy, secret agent.
  QUESTION: Yes, go for it.
  QUESTION: Go ahead.
  MS. NULAND: Department of Justice?
  QUESTION: No.
  MS. NULAND: Keep going. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: You're aware of this case? It's like Password. (Laughter.) Are you aware of this case; I guess it's in Houston?
  MS. NULAND: If we're talking about the same thing, we're talking about the indictments that were handed down by the Department of Justice yesterday?
  QUESTION: Yes, I believe so. Yes, and this guy is appearing in court today. Anyway, the Russian, I realize, and please don't give me the spiel about it's under investigations, it's in the court, blah, blah, and you can't talk about it, because what I'm '' the question I'm asking doesn't have anything to do with that.
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: The Russians are complaining that they weren't notified, that this guy '' they didn't know anything about it, this guy that was arrested. My question is this: Since he is a naturalized American citizen born in Kazakhstan during the Soviet time, is there any requirement for you all to notify the successor government of his former homeland that he's been arrested? And '' that's one.
  And then two, are you are of any conversations between you and the Russians after this '' since yesterday about this case in terms of consular access, that kind of stuff?
  MS. NULAND: Well, first let me just set the background here. The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday indicted 13 individuals and entities for their roles in criminal violations of U.S. export control laws; 8 were Americans, 3 were Russian citizens; and they also took action against the U.S. firm A-r-c Electronics, Arc Electronics, and a Russian-based firm, Apex. These criminal cases involved the export of sensitive U.S. commodities to Russian entities in knowing violation of U.S. export laws. Department of Justice has the lead.
  I don't know which of the individuals you're talking about, Matt. But if in fact he --
  QUESTION: Well, maybe my information is bad. But do you have '' but do you know if '' if three of them are, in fact, Russian citizens, do you know if there was any consular notification?
  MS. NULAND: I will check. But generally, at the time of the unsealing, we notify with regard to citizens, but I will check on the precise timing of that. With regard to your specific question about whether a naturalized American is considered an American, yes, a naturalized American is considered an American so we don't notify the country of birth.
  QUESTION: Toria, and on '' sorry, just on that, just a follow-up, and maybe you won't '' the Russian Foreign Minister is also saying that Washington has told it that these charges are criminal, as you said, and not related to intelligence or espionage. Is that your assessment in the case?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah, the Department of Justice put out a press release that was pretty full yesterday. I would refer you to that. They did cite links to the Russian military and intelligence agencies in that indictment. It is an indictment at this stage, and the case will proceed.
  QUESTION: Toria.
  MS. NULAND: Please.
  QUESTION: My understanding is the Russian Government is also asking for consular access to those --
  MS. NULAND: To the three?
  QUESTION: To the three Russian/U.S. citizens.
  MS. NULAND: Right.
  QUESTION: And in light of what you just said about naturalized citizens and stuff, are you going to grant this request?
  MS. NULAND: If they are naturalized Americans, we consider them Americans, as we do for anybody who's taken U.S. citizenship.
  QUESTION: So it's not --
  MS. NULAND: If they are Russian citizens, then obviously we receive the consular request and we do our best to meet our obligations.
  QUESTION: And those three that you mentioned, do you know if they hold dual citizenship or just '' what are the --
  MS. NULAND: If they are dual citizens, we consider them Americans. If they are not American citizens in any way, then they would be listed here as Russian citizens.
  QUESTION: Can '' wait, wait. If they're dual citizens, there's no consular notification requirement? I'm going to remember that the next time someone gets busted in Iran and you guys start complaining.
  QUESTION: Yeah, yeah.
  QUESTION: I don't think that's correct. Maybe you could check that. And also --
  MS. NULAND: I don't think there's consular notification; however, if the Russian side wants to visit them and they want to be visited, generally, we allow if they are dual citizens. That's generally the way that goes.
  QUESTION: But would you --
  MS. NULAND: But it's up to the people involved.
  QUESTION: Well, would you expect the Iranians to notify you if a dual Iranian-American was arrested?
  MS. NULAND: Generally, the way this goes on our side is we request access and we are not even told whether they are incarcerated, let alone doing what we do, which is to ask the individual whether they want to receive a consular visit.
  QUESTION: Can you '' and this '' on this case '' and I apologize if my information was bad at the beginning. But these three that you say '' you said initially are Russian citizens --
  MS. NULAND: Right.
  QUESTION: -- they are not dual citizens? They are just flat-out Russians?
  MS. NULAND: I've got flat-out Russians. That's what's in the DOJ press release.
  QUESTION: Okay. And then I have one that's unrelated to any of this, which is '' I don't think you've going to have. Is there anything new on Mr. Tice?
  MS. NULAND: There is not.
  All right. Thanks, everybody.
  (The briefing was concluded at 1:26 p.m.)
  DPB # 171
Ann Coulter: At The End Of That Debate, Michelle Wanted To Go Home With Mitt
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:16
  Ann Coulter visited Fox & Friends this morning to offer her special brand of insight into the presidential debate last night. But Coulter never seems to pass up an opportunity for an inflammatory, attention-getting sound bite, no matter how childish or mean-spirited. And it's always welcome on Fox News. Today's Coulterism was, "You could see at the end of that debate, (Obama) knew that, anniversary or not, Michelle wanted to go home with Mitt."
  Coulter was dressed as though she were off to a cocktail party '' at 7:30 in the morning. She offered up her latest nugget after being asked, ''How much did Romney win and how much did the president lose?'' She answered that it was ''some of both.'' Then she added,
  (Obama) was very, very bad last night. He looked depressed, he looked anemic. Those big ears poking out'... You could see at the end of that debate, he knew that anniversary or not, Michelle wanted to go home with Mitt.
  To the credit of the curvy couch crew, the joke fell somewhat flat, though co-host Gretchen Carlson emitted what sounded like a half-chuckle, half-guffaw. But can you imagine the right-wing hissy fit if, say, Michael Moore said such a thing about Ann Romney?
  I don't ordinarily like to give Coulter the kind of attention she hounds after with these kinds of remarks. But I think it's important to recognize and highlight that this is the kind of discourse that is routinely offered on Fox News. Even if it's not fully appreciated by the hosts, it gets a friendly platform and without challenge.
  It's a safe bet Coulter will be back on Fox News soon and once again presented as a credible, mainstream analyst.
Camera Incident in Puerto Rico: Not TSA
  Link to Article
  Source: The TSA Blog
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:14
  A story has been in the news this week about a passenger who alleged that a TSA officer confiscated his camera and deleted the footage. While TSA understands it's hard at times to distinguish our officers from law enforcement or other officials, the person who took the camera from the passenger in Puerto Rico was not a TSA employee. TSA did not tamper with the camera or erase any of its content. Additionally, the individual that appears in the video being circulated is not a TSA employee.For your review, our photo policy is located on our blog as well as at TSA.gov. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us byclicking here.
2012 Presidential Candidates (P2012)
  Link to Article
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:19
  President Obama is seeking re-election to a second term in 2012. A large crowd of Republican candidates are competing for the GOP nomination. Plus there are LOTS of third party and independent P2012 hopefuls. So, if a person is running --regardless of party, ballot status, or chances of winning -- we have him or her listed below. Incumbent party first, following by the main opposition party, then the third party candidates, and finally the independent and write-in hopefuls.
  LEGEND:BOLD = Announced Candidate (or Filed an Exploratory Committee)Italics = Possible Candidate
  REPUBLICAN PARTY:
  THIRD PARTY andINDEPENDENT CANDIDATES:(Note: Parties with ballot status in at least one state -- based on either 2008 status or preliminary 2012 status -- listed first, then all others under the INDEPENDENT & WRITE-IN CANDIDATES header).
  **CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE BALLOT ACCESS CHART FOR THIRD PARTY & INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES**
  AMERICA'S PARTY / AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY:
  AMERICAN THIRD POSITION PARTY:
  CONSTITUTION PARTY:
  GREEN PARTY:
  JUSTICE PARTY:
  NOTE: ALSO NOMINEE OF THE INDEPENDENCE PARTY OF CONNECTICUT and NATURAL LAW PARTY OF MICHIGAN.
  LIBERTARIAN PARTY:
  OBJECTIVIST PARTY:
  PARTY OF SOCIALISM AND LIBERATION (PSL):
  NOTE: THE PSL MAY ALSO USE SURROGATE PSL NOMINEES IN SOME STATES, WHERE NEEDED FOR BALLOT ACCESS PURPOSES, AS LINDSAY (AGE 27) AND OSORIO (AGE 26 & FOREIGN BORN) ARE NOT CONSTITUTIONALLY QUALIFIED TO SERVE IF ELECTED.
  PEACE & FREEDOM PARTY:
  PROHIBITION PARTY:
  REFORM PARTY USA:
  SOCIALIST PARTY USA (SP-USA) / LIBERTY UNION PARTY:
  SOCIALIST EQUALITY PARTY:
  SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTY (SWP):
  NOTE: THE SWP MAY ALSO USE A SURROGATE VP NOMINEE IN SOME STATES, WHERE NEEDED FOR BALLOT ACCESS PURPOSES, AS MAURA DeLUCA (AGE 33) IS NOT CONSTITUTIONALLY QUALIFIED TO SERVE IF ELECTED.
  INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES WITH BALLOT STATUS IN AT LEAST ONE STATE:
  Jeff Boss (Independent-New Jersey)
  Jim Carlson (Grassroots-Minnesota)- No Campaign Website
  Will Christensen (Independent American / Oregon Constitution-Utah)
  Richard Duncan (Independent-Ohio)- No Campaign Website
  Jerry Litzel (Independent-Iowa)- No Campaign Website
  Dean Morstad (Independent-Minnesota)
  Jill Reed (Twelve Visions-Wyoming)
  Randall Terry (Independent-West Virginia)
  Sheila "Samm" Tittle (We The People-Virginia)
  Barbara Dale Washer (Mississippi Reform-Mississippi)- No Campaign Website
  INDEPENDENT, OTHER & WRITE-IN CANDIDATES WITHOUT BALLOT STATUS IN ANY STATES:
  Dorothy "Doc" Adams (Independent-Texas)Avery Ayers (Independent-Texas)Jeff Block (Independent-Georgia)Tiffany Briscoe (Independent-Maryland)Whence Brown (Independent-Washington)Darryl Bryant (Write In-Georgia)Robert "Naked Cowboy" Burck (Independent-New York)Lester Byerley Jr. (Tea-New Jersey)President Emperor Caesar (Independent-Florida)Hal Chad Carrington-Hayes (Independent-Arizona)Jerry Carroll (Independent-California)Joseph Charles (Independent-Texas)Paul Chehade (Independent-Florida)Liza Dawn Cherricks (Independent-Delaware)Santa Claus (Write In-Nevada)Todd Clayton Jr. (Constitutionalist-Washington)Douglas Clement (Independent-Missouri)Floyd Conover (Independent-Tennessee)James Cooper (Michigan)Don Cordell (Write In-California)Sanford Cramer III (Independent-California)Christopher Dardzinski (Write In-Michigan)Fred Donald Dickson Jr. (Write In-Maryland)Michael Doname (Independent-New York)Jim Duensing (Boston Tea Party-Nevada)Stephen Durham (Freedom Socialist Party-New York)Michael David Elder (Independent-Texas)John "Green" Ferguson (Eco Green Party-Texas)Ronald Gascon (Write In-Pennsylvania)Jackie Gouge (Independent-Texas)Mark B. Graham (Citizens-West Virginia)Ken Grammer (Independent-Virginia)J. Paul Hadd (Write In-Pennsylvania)Bob Hall (Independent-Illinois)William Harney (Independent-Florida)Rutherford Bert Hayes (Independent-Arkansas)Craig Hermann (Independent-Florida)RaeDeen Heupel (Independent-Montana)Thaddaus Hill (Madisonian Federalist-Texas)Darrell Hillis (Independent-Tennessee)John Hoelzel Jr. (Independent-Texas)Samuel Hoff (Independent-Delaware)Brian Holland (National Socialist Movement-Virginia)"Mad Mike" Hughes (Independent-California)Darrell Hykes (Independent-Georgia)Michael Jenkins (Write In-Texas)Ronald D. Jones (Independent-Florida)Terry Jones (Independent-Florida)Scott Keller (Independent-Florida)Nelson Keyton (Independent-Virginia)Tollefsen Kristen (Independent-Virginia)Gott Johan Josephe Lally (Independent-Vermont)Temperance Alesha Lance-Council (Anti-Hypocrisy-California)Jerry Lanser (Independent-Colorado)David Larson (American Independent-California)Robert Lee (Independent-Virginia)Brad Lefler (Independent-Ohio)Michael "Lev" Levinson (Independent-Florida)Sophia the Logos (Independent-Virginia)Love-22 (Write In-California)Ed Maddox (Independent-South Dakota)James McCall (Independent-Ohio)Richard McCormick (Kis-Washington)Ron McCune (Independent-Florida)David McFadden (Independent-Ohio)J.L. Mealer (Independent-Arizona)Albert Morzuch (Independent-Florida)Bill Nees (Write In-Georgia)John Parmele Jr. (Independent-Virginia)Mark Pimentel (Independent-Florida)Matthew David Pinnavaia (Independent-California)Samuel "Uncle Sam" Powell (Independent-District of Columbia)Rajesh Raghavan (Independent-Maryland)Arthur Rakowitz (Independent Party-Texas)Luis Ramos Jr. (Write In-New York)Rich Reed (Independent-Kansas)John Karl Reiman (Independent-California)"Mad Max" Riekse (Citizens-Michigan)Platt Robertson (Write In-Nevada)Billy Roper (Nationalist-Arkansas)Paul Rosenberger (Independent-California)Laurie Roth (Independent-Washington)Dan Rozelle (Independent-Indiana)Donald Sauter (Independent-Delaware)Francis Savarirayan (Independent-Illinois)"Average Joe" Schriner (Independent-Ohio)Larry Schuetter (United Third Party-California)Stephen Shadden (Independent-Oklahoma)William Shaw (Independent-Illinois)James Dee Shinn (Independent-West Virginia)Montgomery Blair Sibley (Write In-District of Columbia)Jeff Siggins (Write In-Delaware)Charles Smith (Write In-Pennsylvania)David Jon Sponheim (America's Third Party-Washington)Scott Allen Meek Stephens (Independent-New York)Vincent Stieber Jr. (Ohio)Charles Tolbert (Independent-Florida)Anthony Tubbs (Independent-Louisiana)Douglas "Dutch" Van Raam (Independent-Arizona)Da Vid (Light Party-California)George Washington Williams (Independent-Ohio)Andrew Wildman (Independent-Louisiana)Jerry Wilson (Write In-Tennessee)Michael "Doc" Witort (Independent-Illinois)Danny Woodring (Write In-Florida)
  OTHER P2012 RESOURCES:
  New Hampshire Political Library - This site contains just about anything you could ever want to know about the influential New Hampshire Presidential primary -- including a directory of every candidate who ever ran in the NH primary. Maintained by the New Hampshire State Library, Franklin Pierce College, University of New Hampshire, St. Anselm College, the New Hampshire State Archives and the New Hampshire Historical Society.
  C-SPAN: Road to the White House - Information, links and some streaming video events from one of the nation's leading sources of raw political television coverage. Covers the various likely Presidential candidates. Constantly updated.
  Ballot Access News - This respected publication -- founded in 1985 by Libertarian activist Richard Winger -- tracks the attempts of third party and independent candidates for various offices to secure ballot access in the 50 states. The site also tracks changes in the law, court challenges and other interesting tidbits of third party news you usually won't find elsewhere. Use this page to stay current on which third party and independent candidates will and won't appear on your state's general election ballot in November 2008
  Democracy in Action: P2012 - A great site has lots of detailed information on the 2012 Presidential contest. Published by Eric Appleman of GWU. Eric has been covering the White House races starting with the 2000 elections. Very useful, well balanced. A great resource.
  Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Dave Leip prepared this very informative site, which provides historic voting results from the Presidential general elections of 1860-2008. Covers the vote totals for the major party nominees and the top 2-3 third party nominees in each race. Colorful maps and graphs, too.
  PollingReport.com - Why bother reinventing the wheel and writing our own poll tracking page when this excellent page already exists. To follow the trends in all of the latest polls in the White House race, simply visit this site.
  Commission on Presidential Debates - Established by leaders of the two major parties to ensure that debates remain a permanent part of every general election, this nonprofit and bipartisan organization sponsored all the general election Presidential debates since 1988. Their controversial and restrictive participation rules largely exclude third party candidates (even the major ones) from participating in these nationally televised debates.
  VicePresidents.com - No one pays much attention to Vice Presidents -- or, at least, they didn't used to -- except for these guys. History, trivia, quotes, bios, and more.
  4President.org - An online museum of Presidential campaign brochures, bumper stickers and key speches from 1960 through the 2008 campaign. A great site for political junkies.
  The Living Room Candidate - The American Museum of the Moving Image presents this great online museum of Presidential campaign TV commercials. The ads, which cover every election since 1952 (Ike vs. Stevenson), are an amazing resource.
Al-Qaeda blamed for Europe-wide forest fires
  Link to Article
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:13
  "One should note that setting fires to forests in the countries of the European Union is a new tendency in al-Qaeda's strategy of a 'thousand cuts'," Alexander Bortnikov said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti, at a meeting of heads of security agencies.
  "This method allows (al-Qaeda) to inflict significant economic and moral damage without serious preliminary preparations, technical equipment or significant expenses."
  In linking al-Qaeda to the deadly wildfires, Mr Bortnikov pointed to calls to launch a "forest jihad" by various extremist websites which he said also publish detailed instructions about how and where to best carry out arson.
  He said it was very difficult for special services to find and prosecute such arsonists.
  Deadly fires have swept through forest land in EU countries such as Portugal and Spain over the past few months, killing scores of people and forcing thousands to evacuate.
  In its continuing campaign against the West, al-Qaeda has vowed to "bleed the enemy to death" by resorting to inexpensive, low-scale attacks it refers to as a "strategy of a thousand cuts".
  Source: AFP
Social media fails the '47 percent' video taper
  Link to Article
  Source: CJR
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:46
  When Mother Jonespremiered the now-infamous 47 percent video on September 17, it received two million views in 24 hours and rapidly changed the discourse surrounding the campaign. The next morning, some outlets were already asking, ''Is Mitt Romney over?''
  But why did the source of the video go to a news outlet like Mother Jones, instead of distributing it independently? The last decade, after all, has seen a rise in citizen and crowd-sourced journalism. The source tried; a Buzzfeed chronology shows repeated attempts to distribute the material starting two weeks after the May 17 fundraiser. But the story didn't go viral until David Corn, Washington bureau chief at Mother Jones, convinced the source to give him the whole tape, portions of which were used in Corn's Sept. 17 story.
  That four-month process would suggest that civilians can act as civic watchdogs, chronicling events of huge news value, but that journalists are still needed to verify and contextualize the findings before they break as news.
  ''Primarily, the source wanted some distance from the clips and was trying not to include identifying features, and that made it harder for these things to be widely noticed and accepted,'' said Corn. ''I was able to authenticate it and figure out where it had happened. And then we put in out under the banner of Mother Jones and David Corn.''
  There are two reasons why the involvement of a bigger media outlet was necessary, said Mark Glasser, host of PBS's Media Shift: exposure and protection.
  ''The reasons people end up turning to more traditional media when it comes to these kinds of things is that they want wider distribution,'' Glasser said. ''Unless you're part of some wider organization or you have a million Twitter followers, it's going to be hard to get noticed for something.''
  Glasser added, ''Also as an individual, you would want to tie yourself to someone who has some legal resources versus going it alone and posting it. That's something that citizen journalists and bloggers find much more difficult to deal with'--being taken to court, legal issues. Whether they're in the right or wrong, they could find themselves in a very expensive legal situation.''
  Corn did not confirm whether or not Mother Jones is offering his source legal protection, but he did say that he promised anonymity. ''The person was a little worried about putting out a video and getting caught up in a firestorm and getting revealed as the source,'' he said.
  The long gap between the source's first post on YouTube, and the decision to link up with a mainstream publication, suggests the source struggled to find the balance between enough transparency to seem genuine and enough mystery to maintain anonymity.
  Darrell West, Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution, told CJR that those concerns give bigger news organizations the advantage. ''Certainly it's possible for individuals to distribute video tapes, but the problem is there's so much information out there, it's hard for amateurs to gain the audience that news organizations have,'' he said. ''It really suggests the continuing role that news organizations play.''
Chile, Dutch and others vie for nuclear treaty top job
  Link to Article
  Source: Reuters: World News
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:43
  By Fredrik Dahl
  VIENNA | Thu Oct 4, 2012 7:15am EDT
  VIENNA (Reuters) - Chile, the Philippines and the Netherlands are among countries lobbying for their candidates to head an international body set up to monitor a planned global ban on nuclear weapon tests, diplomats said on Thursday.
  Senior officials from Burkina Faso and Mongolia are also seeking the job as executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in a vote expected later this month.
  "It is quite open. There are five good candidates" with nuclear and disarmament experience, one European diplomat said about the campaign to succeed Tibor Toth, an Hungarian who now holds the post. Another envoy in Vienna predicted a close race.
  The successful candidate will take over at a potentially important time for the future of the treaty, with proponents hoping the United States will finally ratify it and give it a much-needed momentum towards becoming international law.
  It is one of eight countries - together with China, India, Pakistan, Israel, Iran, North Korea and Egypt - whose approval is needed for the pact that was negotiated in the 1990s and has so far been ratified by 157 states to take effect.
  U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week called on them to ratify it, saying they were "failing to live up to your responsibility" as a member of the international community.
  "There is a direct link between ending nuclear testing and eradicating nuclear weapons," he said.
  The United States and China are two of the world's five officially recognized nuclear weapons states, together with Britain, Russia and France.
  NUCLEAR TESTS
  India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel are also outside the separate nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the 1970 pact to prevent the spread of nuclear arms. Iran is part of the NPT but the West accuses it of seeking to develop a capability to build atomic bombs. Tehran denies the charge.
  Proponents say U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), rejected by lawmakers in 1999, could encourage others to follow.
  The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama - who seeks a second term next month - said last year it was preparing a push for approval, arguing the country no longer needs to conduct atom tests but does need to stop others from doing so.
  More than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out between 1945 and 1996, when the CTBT opened for signature, most of them by the United States and the then Soviet Union.
  Since then, only India, Pakistan and North Korea have conducted such blasts, supporting the view by its supporters that the treaty has already had a major impact.
  At the time of the U.S. Senate vote on the CTBT 13 years ago, opponents argued that a permanent end to testing could erode the reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The United States last carried out a nuclear test two decades ago.
  The Arms Control Association, a Washington-based research and advocacy group, said nuclear testing was a "dangerous and unnecessary vestige" of the Cold War. But, "without positive action on the CTBT, however, the risk that one or more states could resume nuclear testing will only grow", it added.
  The CTBTO has a verification regime to detect any nuclear blasts, including more than 280 monitoring facilities across the globe - a system that helped track radioactive particles from Japan's Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011.
  His successor is due to be picked at an October 22-23 meeting in Vienna of the more than 180 states which have signed the CTBT. In the absence of a consensus, a vote will take place.
  (Editing by Alison Williams)
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Democracy Now! Holds Shadow Debate Tonight With 3rd Parties
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:42
  One of the reasons we have so little to choose from in presidential elections is because both parties and the media cooperate in keeping out third party candidates. We haven't seen much informed, skeptical commentary since the old days when "Strange Bedfellows" Al Franken and Arianna Huffington covered the presidential debates on Comedy Central, so hats off to Amy Goodman and Democracy Now!
  As President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney square off in their first debate tonight, Democracy Now! will broadcast live from Denver with a special expanded presidential debate from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. ET. We will air the Obama/Romney debate, pausing after questions to include equal time responses from two presidential contenders who were shut out of the official debate: Jill Stein of the Green Party and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party.
  Stream our special 3-hour show on the Democracy Now! livestream or tune in on television on Link TV (DISHNetwork Channel 9410 or DirecTV Channel 375) or on Free Speech TV (DISH Network Channel 9415 or DirecTV Channel 348).
  Click here to see all of our coverage of Election 2012.Join the discussion on our Facebook page, on Google+ or on Twitter #ExpandTheVote.
Romney Stronger, But Debate Too Dry, Wonky for Stupid Undecided Voters to Comprehend
  Link to Article
  Source: Debbie Schlussel
  Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:36
  By Debbie Schlussel
  I found tonight's Presidential debate extremely boring. There were no one-liners or zingers, and there was nothing particularly memorable. Yes, Romney was markedly stronger overall and Obama was weak, off-key, and consistently on the defensive. But I'm not sure it was the ''mega-rout'' that Republicans are claiming. The thing is, while Romney will probably get a slight, ephemeral bounce from this, it probably went right over the heads of the undecided voters, at whom the debate is aimed and whose votes both candidates are trying to sew up.
  Remember, these are stupid people. After 3.75 years of Obama and 2-plus years of heavy Romney campaigning (after a lot of Romney campaigning before he lost to loser John McCain), they are so clueless that they still aren't sure for whom they are voting to this point. Do you really think people this unintelligent have any idea what Simpson-Bowles or Dodd-Frank are? Come on. Most of the people already die-hard voters for Obama don't know what those things are. The undecided definitely don't know. And the dry, wonkish, boring discussion of them and regulation and taxes was way, way, way over their heads. Although the boring tenor did convince me that Obama was indeed a professor.
  And while some tell me this debate was supposed to be strictly about the economy, I thought I heard moderator Jim Lehrer say that it was about domestic issues. And education and defense spending were mentioned. Not mentioned was a key economic and national security issue on which Obama and Romney both agree . . . and on which they are both dead wrong: immigration. Funny, huh? And, yet, both of them want amnesty for all illegal aliens in our midst, which will be an economic (worse than ObamaCare) and national security disaster. I liked Romney's comments about not cutting defense and about being a businessman. On education, Obama missed an easy response to Romney's ''Massachusetts' schools are number one'' line (that Romney hasn't been governor for some time and how were the schools when he was gov?). And he just was ill-prepared and uncomfortable.
  As for Sesame Street and PBS, Romney won't ever cut PBS, despite his claims. Big Bird won't have to worry about packing his bags anytime soon. Paul Ryan not only wouldn't cut that, but he didn't even have the cojones to cut the House Gym. Nice line. But talk is cheap.
  The ObamaCare issue was kind of comical. Mitt Romney saying his version was good because he had Republican support? Huh? So, socialism and statism is okay, so long as Republicans vote for it? They both sound (and are) alike on this issue, and, again, it went over the undecideds' heads.
  Frankly, the debate would have been better . . . if ''The Family Guy's'' Stewie Griffin were moderating it. Sadly, we had Jim Lehrer, who debated the debaters, making it even duller.
  Don't expect any bounce from this to last for Romney beyond next week. And we start all over again with the Ryan-Biden debate soon enough.
  Do you think the debate performance tonight by Romney will help him in the polls, despite bias? Yes or no? And why?