What Adam Curry is reading

Gunfire and moments of fear as a rural Oregon school tests its readiness | OregonLive.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 20:36
  HALFWAY -- Two masked men wearing hoodies and wielding handguns burst into the Pine Eagle Charter School in this tiny rural community on Friday. Students were at home for an in-service day, so the gunmen headed into a meeting room full of teachers and opened fire.Someone figured out in a few seconds that the bullets were not drawing blood because they were blanks and the exercise was a drill, designed to test Pine Eagle's preparation for an assault by "active shooters" who were, in reality, members of the school staff. But those few seconds left everybody plenty scared.
  Principal Cammie DeCastro said it became clear very quickly just how many of the school's 15 teachers would have survived. The answer: "Not many," she said.
  Elementary teacher Morgan Gover, 31, said only two teachers would have lived to tell the tale. She admitted being scared, and also acknowledged she would have been among the casualties, having taken several fake direct hits from the shooters.
  "I'll tell you, the whole situation was horrible," she said. "I got a couple in the front and a couple in the back."
  The surprised staff had received training from the Union County Sheriff's Office on active shooter scenarios. They had been told they had some options, such as not rushing out of their classrooms when gunfire erupted, and locking and barricading their doors.
  They weren't expecting a drill like this, and they were caught by surprise when the two men entered and began firing.
  "There was some commotion," DeCastro said.
  The goal of the drill was to learn how people would react, so better emergency plans could be made, she said.
  It was a wake-up for many of the teachers.
  "It was shocking," said elementary teacher Dollie Beck, 54.
  Surprisingly, the drill made Beck aware that she would not have recognized the sounds of gunfire. "I would have blown it off as kids' sounds in the hall," she said.
  The drill has since prompted her to keep her classroom door locked and to think of windows as escape routes, she said. But the biggest insight for her was the reminder that she is in charge of the youngsters in her classroom, and would have to remain calm in an emergency.
  "Emotion begets emotion," she said.
  Gover said before the drill, she was comfortable she had a plan to deal with such a situation. What she learned was, her plan wasn't much good. "It heightened my awareness about what's around me," she said.
  Halfway, population 288, is the eastern Oregon ranching town that became world-famous 13 years ago as the globe's first "Internet city." The city council changed Halfway's name to Half.com in return for $73,000 from a Philadelphia-based Internet bazaar of the same name that sold books, CDs, movies and the like on-line at half price.
  The town got its old name back a year later when the on-line bazaar was sold to eBay. Now Halfway is back in the real world, where people sometimes enter schools and open fire.
  DeCastro has heard some criticisms of the drill from townsfolk, but is convinced it was valuable. "For us not to know how we were going to respond is leaving us open," she said.
  Beck and Gover agree.
  "I'm in charge of a pile of kids," said Gover. "It made me analyze as a teacher what my role is for these babies."
  The district's Safety Committee and the School Board now will critically evaluate policies and procedures and decide what to do next, said DeCastro.
  Armed teachers is one possible outcome, she said. Or the district may get armed and trained volunteers from the community to watch over the school in shifts, she said. Tougher doors and better locks are other options.
  Gover said the teachers tend to favor having one or two armed teachers in the building at all times.
  "We are so remote," Gover said, "we are going to have to take care of ourselves."
  But thinking about active shooter scenarios is hard, she said.
  "We are tender-hearted people who give hugs all day. We don't think like that."
  -- Richard Cockle
Martha Stewart's Match.com Dating Profile Revealed! - UsMagazine.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 20:10
  Go ahead, leave Martha Stewart a "wink" on Match.com! As recently teased on TODAY, the once-divorced homemaking mogul, 71, is looking for love -- and has dipped her famous toes in the online dating pool, with her recently created Match.com profile now revealed.
  Wearing an unbuttoned white shirt, Stewart -- whose screen name is "thegoodlonglife" -- gives a serene, close-mouthed smile for her profile shot. Looking for men aged 55-70 in the NYC area, the doyenne gets the obvious out in the open first. "You may recognize me from my pictures. Yes, it's really me," she writes.
  PHOTOS: Celeb foodies
  Plugging her new book, Living the Good Long Life, the author and TV star explains of her leap into online dating: "I was reminded how central good relationships are to happiness and longevity. Also, I've always been a big believer that technology, if used well, can enhance one's life. So here I am, looking to enhance my dating life."
  (The multimillionaire divorced Andrew Stewart, father to her daughter Alexis, now 47, back in 1987 after 26 years together. Her ex boyfriends include actor Sir Anthony Hopkins and computer exec Charles Simonyl.)
  PHOTOS: Hottest Hollywood hookups
  Calling herself "Curious about everything. Love learning. An adventurous spirit," Stewart muses, "I'm told that I'm a specific person, and that the efficiency of online dating might be a good way for me to find that needle in the haystack." While she says she loves "to be surprised," the entrepreneur describes her ideal man:
  "Someone who's intelligent, established, and curious; and who relishes adventure and new experiences as much as I do. Someone who can teach me new things. A lover of animals, grandchildren, and the outdoors. Young at heart."
  PHOTOS: Odd couples
  Recently telling Matt Lauer she still hasn't "found the next Mr. Right," Stewart said she initially "started to laugh" while signing up for Match.com. "It was, like, impossible."
The Twitter Account to Watch If You're Worried About Climate Change
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: New on MIT Technology Review
  Wed, 01 May 2013 20:07
  The planet's rising atmospheric CO2 levels may hit a symbolic milestone this month.
  The Keeling Curve
  This May, the folks behind a Twitter account started four months ago are preparing to tweet an event that the planet has not seen in an estimated four million years.
  That's when the concentration of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere could hit or exceed 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time. Yesterday's daily average stands at 399.50, and May is the peak time of CO2 levels every year in the Northern Hemisphere. And of course, with climate change, the peak has been rising every year.
  These measurements are being made at the famous Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, where in 1958, a scientist named Charles Keeling began documenting the fluctuating patterns of atmospheric CO2. With data collected far from major land masses, the ''Keeling curve'' is the longest unbroken record of globally rising CO2 concentrations. Alongside the U.S. government, researchers with the Scripps Institution of Oceanagraphy now run the Mauna Loa observatory and @Keeling_curve.
  While Twitter is great and all, the most important inventions of our time will come from the those people who commercialize technologies capable of slowing the march to 500 ppm, or, less probably, bringing levels back down to 320 ppm, as it was when Keeling first began his studies
  As MIT Technology Review's publisher Jason Pontin wrote in October in his essay, ''Why We Can't Solve Big Problems,'' there are still large economic and political hurdles that block progress towards renewable energy technologies that can compete on price with fossil fuels. At the moment, these technologies don't exist. What's needed to get there is both research funding and some kind of price on carbon. So while talking about 400 ppm is a symbolic milestone, here's hoping the negotiators at the U.N. climate talks being held in Bonn, Germany are paying attention.
Oregon Teachers Traumatized by Unannounced Shooter Drill
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Wed, 01 May 2013 19:50
  (DailySheeple) '' Panic erupted on Friday at Pine Eagle Charter school in rural Oregon when two masked men carrying handguns burst into a teachers' lounge and opened fire.
  After the initial chaos, the terrified teachers realized the guns were firing blanks and that they were the subject of an unannounced shooter drill.
  The little school in Halfway, Oregon was having an in-service day, so the children were at home at the time of the drill. The terrifying action has drawn criticism from many but Principal Cammie DeCastro has defended it, saying, ''For us not to know how we were going to respond is leaving us open''.
  Principal Cammie DeCastro said it became clear very quickly just how many of the school's 15 teachers would have survived. The answer: ''Not many,'' she said.
  Elementary teacher Morgan Gover, 31, said only two teachers would have lived to tell the tale. She admitted being scared, and also acknowledged she would have been among the casualties, having taken several fake direct hits from the shooters.
  ''I'll tell you, the whole situation was horrible,'' she said. ''I got a couple in the front and a couple in the back.''
  The surprised staff had received training from the Union County Sheriff's Office on active shooter scenarios. They had been told they had some options, such as not rushing out of their classrooms when gunfire erupted, and locking and barricading their doors.
  They weren't expecting a drill like this, and they were caught by surp
  rise when the two men entered and began firing.
  ''There was some commotion,'' DeCastro said.
  The goal of the drill was to learn how people would react, so better emergency plans could be made, she said. (source)
  In light of the fear-mongering by the mainstream media after the Sandy Hook school shooting last December, some people feel that this ''drill'' increases fearfulness.
  The school administration plans to take what they've learned from the drill to better prepare.
  The district's Safety Committee and the School Board now will critically evaluate policies and procedures and decide what to do next, said DeCastro.
  Armed teachers is one possible outcome, she said. Or the district may get armed and trained volunteers from the community to watch over the school in shifts, she said. Tougher doors and better locks are other options.
  Had one of the teachers in that lounge already taken the time to prepare, the unannounced drill could have had tragic results.
  Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
U.S. Mint Sales of Gold Coins Jump to Highest in Three Years
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
  Wed, 01 May 2013 15:58
  The public is not buying into the MSM fear mongering about gold, such as this Business Insider doozy:No One Can Call Gold A Safe Haven Ever Again
  In April, sales of gold coins by the U.S. Mint rose to the highest since December 2009.April sales totaled 209,500 ounces, up from 62,000 ounces in March, data on the mint's website show.
  The amount for December 2009 was 231,500 ounces. Silver-coin sales rose to 4.2 million ounces from 3.36 million in March.
  ''People are flocking to buy physical gold,'' Todd Dutkevitch, a senior account executive at Los Angeles-based American Bullion Inc., said in a phone interview with Bloomberg news. ''The price drop has made it possible for many retail buyers to add gold.''
Americans Warned: Home Schoolers Stripped of Rights
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: News 1 Stop
  Wed, 01 May 2013 15:55
  Dale Hurdspreadlibertynews.comMay 1, 2013
  Recently, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said that home schooling is not a parent's right. It is a statement some are saying should frighten American parents.
  Nations like Germany and Sweden show that when governments take away home schooling rights, it's a slippery slope to no parental rights.America the Refuge or Not
  The Romeike family came to the United States from Germany five years ago hoping to find refuge. They wanted to home-school their children in freedom and a federal judge granted them asylum.
  But now the Obama administration has been trying to deport them, arguing that home schooling is not a right. The case is currently before a federal appeals court.
  Uwe and Hannelore Romeike began home schooling in Germany because they didn't want their children exposed to things like witchcraft and graphic sex education that are taught in German schools.
  ''There were stories where [school children] were encouraged to ask the devil for help instead of God and actually the devil would help (in the story),'' Uwe said.Read more
  This article was posted: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 1:28 pm
  Tags: big brother, domestic news
Unemployment in Spain reaches 27%
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Richard Stallman's Political Notes
  Wed, 01 May 2013 15:38
  Each political note has its own anchor in case you want to link to it.
  My intention is to make links only to publicly accessible, stable URLs. If you find a link to a page that requires subscription, please report that as you would report any other broken link.
  Some sites have paper tiger paywalls that can be defeated by deleting a cookie. I don't post links to those sites because it would be too complex to tell users what to do to avoid having to identify themselves.
  01 May 2013 (Urgent: Repeal the sequester)US citizens: call on Congress to repeal the sequester.
  01 May 2013 (Demolition of Palestinian homes)The Israeli army continues demolishing Palestinian homes.
  Demolitions have made 355 Palestinians homeless since the start of this year.
  01 May 2013 (Austerity in Greece)Austerity in Greece has made sales fall by 30%. This means tax revenues have fallen too.
  This demonstrates the futility of trying to satisfy the euro-zone limit on national budget deficits through spending cuts. The effect of the cuts is to make the economy smaller, and the deficit bigger.
  What Greece needs is to increase government spending. If that requires leaving the euro, it must leave the euro.
  01 May 2013 (Workers in Bangladesh need support)Workers in Bangladesh need our support as they organize for decent wages and working conditions.
  What they get from the US is just the opposite. I am sure it is no coincidence that the Bangladeshi government attacked unions (and therefore Bangladeshi workers) with non-union "export processing zones" at the time "American" companies started outsourcing production (and therefore ceasing to be American). The US government helped them outsource, so I expect it helped pressure the Bangladeshi government into attacking workers.
  I think we also should make western outsourcer companies legally responsible for any injuries to the workers of their suppliers, and require them to declare all suppliers (including subcontractors) in advance. That will help end the practice where a subcontractor folds when there is a disaster, or shuts down owing workers back pay.
  01 May 2013 (Over-testing in schools)How to End Over-Testing in Schools: Kids Should Answer Only Half the Questions.
  30 April 2013 (Imprisonment of Tymoshenko a political ploy)The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the imprisonment of Ukraine's former prime minister Tymoshenko was a political ploy, and that her trial was unfair.
  30 April 2013 (Some strains of tuberculosis resistant to all drugs)Some strains of tuberculosis has developed resistance to all available drugs, and in today's insane political situation nobody is developing new ones.
  30 April 2013 (Rate of honeybee death in US greater this past winter)The rate of honeybee death in the US was even greater this past winter, and this year there were barely enough honeybees left to pollinate California's almond crop. Next year there won't be enough. And that doesn't count the wild bee species, which are even more important for many crops.
  It is time to try whatever drastic measures might help.
  30 April 2013 (Right-wing Americans hate environment)Right-wing Americans hate the environment so much that they will make a sacrifice to avoid protecting it.
  30 April 2013 (Protecting waste-treatment plants from floods)Another cost of adapting to global heating effects in the next few decades: protecting waste-treatment plants from floods.
  Beyond a few decades, some of these plants may need to be rebuilt on higher ground, along with the cities they serve. But there will not be money to do that, with agriculture collapsing and the seas mostly barren due to acidification.
  30 April 2013 (Obama said not clear which side used chemical weapons in Syria)Obama said it is not clear which side used chemical weapons in Syria.
  I don't think it is a crucial question. There is plenty of reason to help a secular rebellion against Assad; what's missing is a plausible plan for how to do it, and without that, it is hard to do anything.
  30 April 2013 (Obama will try to close Guantanamo prison)Obama says he will try again to close the Guantanamo prison.
  We should support the effort.
  30 April 2013 (Bill to deny too big to fail bailouts)A bill to deny "too big to fail" banks another bailout is getting support even from conservatives.
  One group we know will not support it is the banksters, so ultimately the question will be whether they can buy Congress again.
  30 April 2013 (Scientific experiments with psychedelic drug)Scientific experiments with psychedelic drugs are getting started.
  30 April 2013 (Uranium mine near Grand Canyon)Environmentalists are suing to block a uranium mine a few miles from the Grand Canyon. The mine could poison local water supplies.
  30 April 2013 (Global heating threatens koalas)Global heating threatens the survival of wild koalas.
  30 April 2013 (Corrupt Mexican officials)Corrupt Mexican officials, and their relatives, threaten abuse of power in order to demand favors '-- but now they get caught.
  30 April 2013 (UK gov't makes people fill out bogus online personality test)The UK government made unemployed people fill out a bogus online personality test, giving them scores that had nothing to do with their answers, and threatening to punish them if they didn't do it.
  The article does not say, but I suspect that the survey may have required running nonfree Javascript software.
  30 April 2013 (Prison guards block Chen Guangcheng's nephew from medical treatment)Chen Guangcheng's imprisoned nephew has appendicitis and prison guards are blocking him from effective treatment.
  30 April 2013 (India imposes total surveillance on Internet and telephones)India has imposed total surveillance on the Internet and telephones.
  Agents will be able to listen to anything, with no restraints. I expect they will do some listening for private purposes; would you expect thugs in India to be more honest or scrupulous than thugs in the US?
  Terrorism is a real threat in India, but it is a small threat compared with the violence of the Indian state itself.
  30 April 2013 (US cities punish victims of domestic violence)Many US cities punish victims of domestic violence with eviction.
  The same "blame the victim" attitude can be seen in laws that punish the homeless and in condemning people for being on welfare.
  30 April 2013 (Google Now)Google Now shows how much information Google has about you '-- which, for people that actually use Google services, is far too much.
  30 April 2013 (Victims sue contractors who organized torture at Abu Ghraib)The civilian contractors who organized torture at Abu Ghraib were never investigated, but victims are suing them.
  30 April 2013 (US Seeks to punish companies that do not wiretap chat services)The US is looking at ways to punish companies that run chat services and are not set up for real-time wiretapping.
  30 April 2013 (Japan's "foreign aid")Much of Japan's "foreign aid" takes the form of loans, and the debt repayments exceed the value of the "aid".
  29 April 2013 (FBI continues interrogating after requests for lawyer)Dzhokhar Tsarnaev repeatedly said he wanted a lawyer, but the FBI kept interrogating him anyway.
  In other words, the Obama regime is using him as an excuse to attack the rights of every suspect. That includes you!
  29 April 2013 (21 Guantanamo prisoners being force-fed)21 Guantanamo prisoners are now being force-fed, a form of torture that amounts to a very slow death.
  29 April 2013 (Pollution killing trees and maybe people too)Pollution from China seems to be killing trees in Japan, and maybe people too.
  29 April 2013 (Insanity to close hospitals)"It's insanity to kill your father with a kitchen knife. It's also insanity to close hospitals, fire therapists, and leave families to face mental illness on their own."
  29 April 2013 (No plans for adapting to effects of global heating)Half the countries of Europe have no plans for adapting to the effects of global heating.
  For a few decades, increasingly heroic measures could cope with these effects, but then it simply won't be possible any more.
  29 April 2013 (UK cuddles up to Gulf States)UK Cuddles up to Gulf States '-- ignoring their cruelty to sell them more arms.
  29 April 2013 (Courts refuse to permit friend to help Marie Fleming die)Marie Fleming, incapacitated by multiple sclerosis, asked Irish courts to permit her mate to help her die, but they refused her.
  29 April 2013 (Whistleblower investigated as if he were a tax cheater)UK tax officials investigated a whistleblower about special tax deal given to Goldman Sachs as if he were a tax cheater.
  This is reminiscent of Obama's war on whistleblowers, and shows how much the state has sold out to businesses such as Goldman Sachs.
  Such deals may have excused big companies from lots of tax; they are now being investigated.
  29 April 2013 (US perception of gun violence)In the US, gun violence is only considered shocking when the victims are wealthy whites.
  29 April 2013 (Hamas's abuses)In some Muslim countries, the dress police attack women. In Gaza they are attacking young men.
  The Israeli siege of Gaza gave Hamas its power there, and it will be hard to defend human rights in Gaza from Hamas's abuses as long as the siege continues to be the principal injustice to Gazans.
  29 April 2013 (Untested chemicals in products)Thousands of chemicals are now used in products all around us, and several are associated with various kinds of toxicity, but manufacturers lobby against testing them.
  29 April 2013 (Trademarks)Trademarks: the Good, the Bad And the Ugly.
  29 April 2013 (EU to ban neonicotinoid pesticides)The EU will ban neonicotinoid pesticides for two years.
  These pesticides accumulate in the soil; I hope two years' ban will be long enough to verify the effect.
  29 April 2013 (Guatemalan genocide trial)From Amnesty International: Guatemala: Scrapping genocide trial would strengthen impunity.
  29 April 2013 (The Poverty Creation Industry)It's Time to Shine a Light on the Poverty Creation Industry.
  29 April 2013 (Facebook Home ads)The ads for Facebook Home invite people to disconnect from their families and coworkers, effectively inviting people to have no relationships more substantial than a Facebook contact.
  It is ironic that I, saying this, was a pioneer in using the computer at the dinner table. But the reason I did so was that people were having conversations around me which I was unable to understand, due to my hearing problems. I didn't choose to ignore them; that much was forced on me, giving me the choice to either hide that fact and be bored, or acknowledge it and do something useful. There was also the option of asking them to speak loud and slowly so I could hear, but that was so obviously burdensome to them that I couldn't do it very often.
  29 April 2013 (Icelandic Pirate Party)The Icelandic Pirate Party has entered parliament.
  29 April 2013 (Dubai thugs torture visitors)Dubai thugs tortured three visitors to make them sign confessions they could not read.
  Dubai is one of the countries I would refuse to visit.
  29 April 2013 (Islamists attacking Libya)Islamists kicked out of Mali are attacking Libya.
  29 April 2013 (Facebook-funded privacy bashing)Facebook-Funded "Child Protection" Event Turns Into Privacy Bashing.
  The article refers to "online child abuse", which appears to be nonsense. Such a thing isn't even a possibility without some unusual I/O devices that may not exist anywhere, and that even the most personal of computers don't generally have.
  29 April 2013 (Iraq bans ten TV channels)Iraq has banned 10 TV channels including al-Jazeera.
  This happens as a violent uprising is going on, in which 180 people have been killed. I am surprised to see no other information about it.
  29 April 2013 (American opinion of Congress)Americans are recognizing that Congress obeys the rich, and only 15% of Americans have a favorable opinion of Congress.
  29 April 2013 (Rampage of thugs in Buenos Aires)Thugs in Buenos Aires rampaged when workers in a hospital blocked the demolition of a hospital building.
  I read elsewhere that one of the reasons for the demolition of that building is that it had dangerous asbestos. Perhaps the demolition was necessary, but that was no reason for thugs to attack.
  29 April 2013 (What mining and extraction companies pay to gov'ts)The US Chamber of Commerce is fighting to preserve the secrecy of what mining and extraction companies that are nominally American pay to other governments.
  29 April 2013 (Curveballs of austerity)Meet the Curveballs of austerity, who falsify "economic research" to justify the policy that the plutocrats wanted to apply anyway.
  28 April 2013 (Hoax tweet on Associated Press account)A hoax tweet on an Associated Press account demonstrates the fragility of globalized systems optimized for speed and for efficiency in the usual case, but not for reliability.
  28 April 2013 (Urgent: Block mountaintop removal coal mining)US citizens: call on Obama and the EPA to block mountaintop removal coal mining under the Clean Water Act.
  28 April 2013 (NY thug commissioner pushes for total surveillance)New York's thug commissioner Kelly is pushing for total surveillance, using the Boston bombings as an excuse for total contempt for privacy. The proper conclusion from the Boston bombings is that there is no need for more state surveillance. Meanwhile, Commissioner Kelly himself is responsible for plenty of human rights violations.
  28 April 2013 (Cancer drug price gouging)Leading cancer specialists condemn drug companies for price gouging.
  The price gouging is made possible by patents. Patents should not be allowed on medicines needed to treat major illness. Most new drugs that save lives come from government-funded research, not from drug company investments.
  28 April 2013 (Convicted of insulting president)Turkish editor Ali Ornek was convicted of "insulting the president" for accusing the president of corruption.
  I don't know whether the Turkish president is corrupt, but if he fails to defend the right of Turks to make that accusation, we should treat the accusation as true.
  28 April 2013 (Draconian censorship law)Kuwait is considering a draconian censorship law.
  28 April 2013 (Court ducks issue of religious censorship)The Tunisian Supreme Court has ducked the issue of religious censorship, allowing Jabeur Mejri to remain imprisoned for publishing cartoons about Mohammed.
  28 April 2013 (Law to punish journalists that publish secrets)South Africa is on the verge of passing a law to punish journalists that publish secrets.
  28 April 2013 (Urgent: Call on Governor to veto bill to ban abortions)Everyone: call on Arkansas Governor Dalrymple to veto the bill to ban abortions.
  28 April 2013 (Support for Manning not tolerated)The San Francisco Gay Pride Parade's leadership says that expressions of support for Bradley Manning "will not be tolerated"; they are too busy supporting sleazy corporations that give money.
  Greenwald shows in detail how the parade has been converted from an expression of real dissent into a bulwark of the establishment.
  28 April 2013 (Bangladeshis arrested for ignoring warnings about collapse)The Bangladeshis responsible for ignoring warnings that the factory might collapse have been arrested.
  Meanwhile, protesters campaign to pressure Western companies to take responsibility for outsourcing work to circumstances such as these.
  28 April 2013 (Urgent: Make nuclear reactor companies responsible for damages)Everyone: sign this petition to make nuclear reactor companies responsible for damages they cause.
  28 April 2013 (Law that helps ranchers take indigenous land)Indigenous people protested at Brazil's congress against a proposed law that would help ranchers take their land.
  28 April 2013 (Vendors banned from selling local traditional food)Brazilians are angry because the football world cup matches will ban local street vendors from selling local traditional food on the street outside the stadium.
  This is part of the sports-industrial complex has converted the biggest sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, into engines of business power.
  28 April 2013 (Arrested for writing graffiti condemning president)Hong Kong arrested a man for writing graffiti condemning the President of China. This has stimulated various sorts of opposition and resistance.
  The virtual equivalent of writing graffiti on a company's advertisement, which is modifying the company's web site, is referred to by Western governments as a "cyber attack" and penalized heavily.
  We must establish clearly in our own country that graffiti is not a crime, so we can condemn other countries for prosecuting it.
  28 April 2013 (Make copyright law less harsh)An citizen initiative in Finland proposes to make copyright law less harsh.
  28 April 2013 (Filters on the Internet)The European Parliament considers yet again a proposal for filters on the Internet.
  28 April 2013 (Urgent: Block Pebble Mine from polluting Bristol Bay)US citizens: call on the EPA to block Pebble Mine from polluting Bristol Bay and ruining a major salmon fishery.
  28 April 2013 (Japanese PM trying to deny Japan's aggression in WWII)The Prime Minister of Japan is trying to deny Japan's aggression in World War II.
  When will the US admit that it launched a war of aggression against Iraq?
  28 April 2013 (Little news coverage of Texas explosion)There was not much coverage of the Texas explosion, and much of that coverage was erroneous.
  That's what I expected, a week ago.
  28 April 2013 (Use of Boston bombings as excuse to attack rule of law)US media and politicians together are using the Boston bombings as an excuse to attack rule of law in the US.
  28 April 2013 (Urgent: Support Employment Non-Discrimination Act)US citizens: call on your legislators to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which would forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
  28 April 2013 (Privacy rights under threat)Privacy rights are under threat in the European Parliament.
  28 April 2013 (Importance of encrypting data)It is important to encrypt data that is sensitive: in the US, it can be the only way to protect your data from the government.
  Especially if you are a journalist, whistleblower, or possible target of a witch hunt.
  Of course, the worst thing you can do is get into the habit of storing your mail or your writing on a company's server.
  28 April 2013 (The harm of surveillance)Why and how surveillance is harmful.
  28 April 2013 (Feeding the poor)Poor Kids: Let Them Eat (and Empty) Trash Cans.
  Lots of perfectly good food is thrown away in the US, and taking it from the trash is a useful thing to do. But poor people (children or not) should not have to depend on this. The statement by this Republican jerk reflects the true spirit of today's Republican Party, and a lot of the Democratic Party too.
  28 April 2013 (Monsanto's Roundup linked to cancer, autism, Parkinson's)Study: Monsanto's Roundup Herbicide Linked to Cancer, Autism, Parkinson's.
  28 April 2013 (Senate Committee approves law requiring warrants for email)Law Requiring Warrants for E-Mail Wins Senate Committee Approval.
  28 April 2013 (Dangerous, low-paid work)In the US and Bangladesh, dangerous work is often low-paid work, and workplace safety doesn't cost a lot.
  Millions in the US face avoidable danger at work, and the lack of a union makes workers scared to report safety violations.
  28 April 2013 (Important programs Congress has not rescued from cuts)12 important programs that Congress has not rescued from across-the-board spending cuts.
  Those cuts will also have a cumulative effect, setting back the whole economy and increasing unemployment.
  28 April 2013 (Zuckerberg's political spending group)Zuckerberg's political spending group, supposedly dedicated to immigration reform, is actually funding anti-environment causes. These include drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
  28 April 2013 (Burma uses repression to extract and export fossil fuels)Burma is moving towards democracy, but also practicing repression to extract and export fossil fuels.
  We need to leave around 80% of the known fossil fuel reserves unused to avoid global disaster, so it is pointless to open up more of them.
  27 April 2013 (Haiti's government steps up evictions)Haiti's government has stepped up the evictions of thousands of destitute refugees who have nowhere to go.
  27 April 2013 (Saudi Arabia imprisons founder of human rights defense group)Saudi Arabia has imprisoned the founder of a human rights defense group.
  27 April 2013 (Toxic benzene found in Lake Conway)Toxic benzene from the Arkansas tar sands oil spill has been found in Lake Conway, but Exxon continues to say it is not there.
  With today's "balance" journalism, which mentions both "sides" and doesn't try to find out what's true, this sort of denial is effective even against well-established truth, and oil companies have lots of practice at it.
  27 April 2013 (US filmmaker in Venezuela arrested)A US filmmaker in Venezuela has been arrested and accused of transferring US funds to the opposition as a destabilization campaign.
  If his journalism is innocent, as it seems to be from this article, these charges might still be true. Or they might false. In any case, it is wrong to call such actions "terrorism".
  Stretching the term "terrorism" when accusing people is practiced by many countries including the US.
  27 April 2013 (UK Labour party weakness)The UK Labour party demonstrates its weakness of spirit by offering tax reductions for companies that pay a living wage, rather than penalizing the companies that fail to do so, or requiring companies to do so.
  27 April 2013 (Schools shut down because of threat from another continent)Schools attended by 3,000 children in Kentucky were shut down because of a threat posted on the Internet from another continent.
  27 April 2013 (Wild daffodils threatened)The remaining wild daffodils in Britain are threatened by hybridization with cultivated daffodil varieties.
  This shows how GMO salmon can threaten wild salmon.
  27 April 2013 (Morality innate tendency to help and support)Human morality is the intelligent superstructure of our innate tendency to help and support each other, which we share with various other social animals including apes.
  27 April 2013 (Nanomaterials in food)Artificial nanomaterials in food could be very useful '-- but we had better test the safety of each kind. I am not a technophobe on principle, and I suppose many of them will prove to be safe, but there will surely be some that are not.
  Meanwhile, the general thrust of food technology in recent decades has been to make food that is more habit-forming, leading to widespread obesity. If nanomaterials provide a way to extend this, I think that is likely to occur.
  27 April 2013 (DataCell wins lawsuit against VISA)DataCell (which accepted payments for Wikileaks) won its lawsuit against VISA. The court ordered VISA to resume payments to DataCell or face a fine of over a million dollars a year.
  I think the US government won't give up now. Maybe the CIA will secretly pay the fine.
  27 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose removal of protections for gray wolves)US citizens: call on the Secretary of the Interior not to negate the partial recovery of wolves in the US by removing protection from them.
  27 April 2013 (Urgent: Reject any cuts in Social Security)US citizens: call on the Senate to reject any cuts in Social Security, including indirect cuts such as "chained CPI".
  27 April 2013 (San Francisco Gay Pride Parade to honor Bradley Manning)Bradley Manning will be honored in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. Later: the parade's governing commondreams said that this announcement was premature, and that the committee had vetoed the selection of Manning.
  27 April 2013 (Venezuelan president threatens to prosecute opposition candidate)Venezuelan president Maduro has threatened to prosecute opposition candidate Capriles over protests that allegedly turned violent.
  It is not at all implausible that the Venezuelan opposition would conspire with the US to overthrow the government. They did it before, and Obama has supported successful overthrows of governments in Honduras and Paraguay. On the other hand, if there is no evidence that Capriles did anything beyond call for protests, there is no grounds to prosecute him.
  27 April 2013 (Companies get immunity for wiretapping)The Obama regime is giving companies immunity for otherwise illegal wiretapping without court authority.
  27 April 2013 (Protest often needs to be rude)Protest often needs to be rude to have any effect.
  27 April 2013 (Facebook censors political satire)Facebook has censored political satire aimed at the UK unemployment agency and its associated organizations, apparently at the request of a target of the satire.
  27 April 2013 (Slavery)Slavery is banned, but it survives in many guises that are effectively comparable to the explicit slavery of the past.
  27 April 2013 (Seattle and San Francisco divest from fossil fuel companies)Seattle and San Francisco have divested from fossil fuel companies.
  27 April 2013 (US involvement in ouster of Paraguay's president)The US was involved in the ouster of Paraguay's President Lugo, and in the violence that provided the excuse for ousting him.
  27 April 2013 (Protesters violently arrested for stepping off the curb)Protesters at the opening of the Bush presidential library were violently arrested for stepping off the curb.
  27 April 2013 (Dubya's legacy)Let George W. Bush Discuss His Legacy However He Likes'... from the Hague.
  27 April 2013 (Israeli border guards authorized to search visitors' email)Israeli border guards were given official authorization to demand to search visitors' email.
  Supposedly this is to be done in cases of suspected terrorism, but naturally it's already applied to political activists.
  27 April 2013 (13 US workers die at their jobs per day)13 US workers die at their jobs per day.
  Two days of this equals the number of major casualties in the Boston bombings.
  27 April 2013 (Urgent: Tell your senators to oppose CISPA)US citizens: tell your senators to oppose CISPA.
  27 April 2013 (Unemployment in Spain reaches 27%)Unemployment in Spain has reached 27%, and more cuts are planned, so it will increase.
  27 April 2013 (Without evidence, US claims poison gas was used in Syria)If the US claims poison gas was used in Syria, it should show the evidence.
  There have been false claims of this sort about various countries in the past.
  26 April 2013 (US needs true universal health care)The wounded from Boston illustrate that the US needs true universal health care.
  26 April 2013 (Karzai imposed Islamic censorship)Karzai has imposed Islamic censorship on Afghan TV, like Taliban Lite.
  26 April 2013 (Corporations pretend)Why corporations pretend to be "American" part of the time, and "foreign" part of the time.
  26 April 2013 (Students walk out)Hundreds of Chicago Students Walk Out of Standardized Test.
  26 April 2013 ("Monoculture of the Mind")Tackling "Monoculture of the Mind".
  26 April 2013 (Fertilizer damages soil microbes)Nitrogenous fertilizer damages soil microbes that provide useful nitrogen, forming a sort of addiction.
  26 April 2013 (Bayer and Syngenta lobby against limiting pesticides and saving bees)Bayer and Syngenta Lobby Furiously Against EU Efforts to Limit Pesticides and Save Bees.
  26 April 2013 (Whole world is a battlefield)Under the Obama regime, the whole world is a battlefield.
  The Bush regime ran secret prisons in various countries; now the Obama regime interrogates people in secret prisons run by other countries.
  26 April 2013 (US law distorts term "weapons of mass destruction")US law distorts the term "weapons of mass destruction" by applying it to grenades and small bombs.
  No wonder Dubya thought Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He surely had grenades.
  26 April 2013 (Imprisoned for watching fantasy beings having sex)A man in New Zealand was imprisoned for watching a video of fantasy beings' (elves, pixies, etc) having sex.
  The excuses given for this amount to punishment of thoughtcrime.
  26 April 2013 (Urgent: Support decent wage)Everyone: support Chicago retail workers demanding a decent wage.
  26 April 2013 (CIA destabilization campaign)On the CIA's destabilization campaign against Guatemala.
  26 April 2013 (ISPs trying to hush up surveillance bill)UK ISPs are trying to hush up the proposed Internet surveillance bill.
  26 April 2013 (Protest against Chinese official's extravagant banquets)A Chinese official was protested for his extravagant banquets, and then was fired for them.
  China has a strong tradition of conspicuous consumption. The reason Chinese are wiping out the world's sharks to serve shark's fin soup at banquets is not that shark's fin tastes particularly good, but in order to show how much they are willing to spend.
  It won't be easy to change this behavior pattern, but it would be good to do so.
  26 April 2013 (Criticism of NYT editor Jill Abramson)Criticism of NYT editor Jill Abramson is a good illustration of sexist criteria.
  26 April 2013 (The loud lies of Canada's minister of natural resources)Canada's minister of natural resources hopes to drown out James Hansen's warnings with loud lies.
  26 April 2013 (Urgent: Fix the filibuster)US citizens: call on senators to fix the filibuster when they get a chance in 2 years.
  26 April 2013 (Labeling of products made in Israel's colonies)13 EU countries will require special labeling of products made in Israel's colonies in Palestinian territory.
  26 April 2013 (Bahrain bars UN official)Bahrain has barred a UN official who was supposed to investigate repression of protesters.
  26 April 2013 (Mass killing in factory in Bangladesh)Another instance of mass killing in a factory in Bangladesh.
  While the place and time of this collapse was an accident, at a larger scale it is no accident that factories in Bangladesh kill large number of workers. US (and European) companies have resisted the application of safety standards (and labour standards) to their suppliers. They lobbied for the system of globalization which encourages such arrangements.
  In other words, this was part of the same broad practice of business-arranged weak regulation that led to the Texas chemical explosion and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
  26 April 2013 (Urgent: Support raising the minimum wage)US citizens: phone your senators to support raising the minimum wage. Also sign this petition.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  26 April 2013 (Israel destroys solar and wind power installations)Israel is trying to force Palestinians into exile by destroying the solar and wind power installations funded by European governments.
  26 April 2013 (Two Chinese local officials die in prison)Two Chinese local officials have died while prisoners of the anti-corruption police. One was apparently beaten to death.
  26 April 2013 (Public police scanners)Will the Boston Bombings Kill the Public Police Scanner?
  26 April 2013 (Urgent: Rebuke Charles Schwab)US citizens: rebuke Charles Schwab for sticking a forced arbitration clause in its customer agreements.
  26 April 2013 (Urgent: Support the STOP Act)US citizens: support the STOP Act, which would reform how the US military handles accusations of sexual assault.
  26 April 2013 (Israeli forces destroy olive trees in Susiya)Israeli forces destroyed 1,000 olive trees belonging to the Palestinian town of Susiya, which Israel intends to destroy.
  25 April 2013 (Urgent: Block Monsanto's patent grab)Everyone: urge European countries to block Monsanto's patent grab over many non-GMO plant varieties.
  25 April 2013 (Egyptian conscientious objectors)Egyptian conscientious objectors face severe repression; they are permanently barred from working, studying and travel. They protested in Cairo and expressed their solidarity with Israeli draft resister Natan Blanc.
  25 April 2013 (Mines take water and leave towns with none)Chileans protest that Pinochet's privatization of water has enabled mines to take water and leave towns with none.
  25 April 2013 (Attacks motivated by resentment for US violence and torture)Over and over, attacks against US civilians have been motivated by resentment for US violence and torture against other civilians.
  These small retaliatory attacks can hardly intimidate a great country, but the attackers represent the feelings of tens of millions of others. However, the real reason the US should cease its torture and violence against civilians is that they are wrong. As Carl Schurz said,
  My country, right or wrong.When right, to be kept right.When wrong, to be set right.
  The US policy of endless war needs to be set right, not drummed up.
  25 April 2013 (Malawi submitted to IMF austerity)Western governments admire Malawi's new president because she submitted to IMF austerity, bringing the usual suffering.
  25 April 2013 (Burma freed hundreds of political prisoners)Burma has freed hundreds of political prisoners, but 300 more remain in prison.
  Just like Burma, the US holds political prisoners (such as John Kiriakou) but says they are simply criminals.
  25 April 2013 (Blame poor for consequences of their poverty)Conservatives are clever in finding excuses to blame the poor for the consequences of their poverty.
  25 April 2013 (Patents obstruct scientific research)In human medicine, patents directly obstruct scientific research.
  A simple solution is to exempt research from patent law.
  25 April 2013 (Lessons from Japan about economy)Lessons from Japan about how a country can put its economy in gear again.
  25 April 2013 (Canada human rights abuses)A UN human rights review of Canada is an opportunity to challenge the human rights abuses of its mining companies.
  The restrictions on protests in Montreal should be addressed as well.
  As for the treaties that are being used to force mines on El Salvador and Costa Rica, those are forms of industrial colonization, like other free exploitation treaties, must be cancelled.
  25 April 2013 (Protesting on a coal ship)Greenpeace activists are protesting on a coal ship.
  25 April 2013 (12 years for virtual graffiti)An alleged member of LulzSec could be imprisoned for 12 years for virtual graffiti.
  Governments have taken advantage of a technological change to reframe "drawing a critical slogan on a wall" as "attacking and defacing", and punish it with years in prison. That's the War on Democracy for you.
  24 April 2013 (People turning to food banks in UK)Austerity in the UK is good for the banks'...and for the food banks, too.
  24 April 2013 (EPA has power to block mountaintop removal mining)The EPA has the power to block mountaintop removal mining.
  24 April 2013 (US cluster munitions)US Cluster Munitions: 277 Million Boston Bombings.
  24 April 2013 (US Green Party appoints shadow cabinet)The US Green Party has appointed a shadow cabinet, borrowing a traditional opposition practice from the UK.
  24 April 2013 (TSA backs down from exercising common sense)The TSA has backed down on exercising a little common sense.
  24 April 2013 (Over a million comments about Keystone XL)Over a million comments were filed in the public comment request about the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline. Most of them were opposed.
  Thanks to those of you who filed comments.
  24 April 2013 (Libel reform law adopted in UK)The libel reform law has been adopted in the UK, eliminating most of the abuses that attracted people from around the world to go there to sue.
  24 April 2013 (Judge says some witnesses lied in stop-and-frisk trial)The judge in the case considering the New York thugs' practice of searching people on the street without any basis for suspicion (other than the victim's racial background) says some witnesses have lied.
  Given that many thugs were witnesses, I would expect as much.
  24 April 2013 (Urgent: Support EPA plan to reduce exhaust pollution)US citizens: support the EPA's plan to reduce motor vehicle exhaust pollution and thus prevent around 23,000 children from developing respiratory problems.
  24 April 2013 (Effects of drone bombing in Yemen)Yemeni journalist Farea Al-Muslimi will testify in the Senate Judiciary Committee about the effects of drone bombing in Yemen: terrorizing the farmers, helping al Qa'ida recruit using martyrs, and closing all ears to anything favorable about America.
  24 April 2013 (Resistance against abstinence-only sex miseducation)Katelyn Campbell launched resistance against abstinence-only sex miseducation in her high school, and stood up to intimidation from the principal.
  24 April 2013 (Imprisonment and torture of Shaker Aamer)UK participation in the imprisonment and torture of Shaker Aamer is being investigated for possible prosecution.
  24 April 2013 (Mayor wants less freedom)New York Mayor Bloomberg wants less freedom in the US.
  24 April 2013 (Israel arrests Palestinian teenagers and children)Israel arrests large numbers of Palestinian teenagers, and even children as young as nine, and often tortures them to get false confessions or compel them to become informers.
  24 April 2013 (Manhunt for Tsarnaev vs constitutional rights)The manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev vs Americans' constitutional rights.
  24 April 2013 (EPA rubbished State Department's statements about Keystone XL)The EPA rubbished the State Department's environmental impact statement about the Keystone XL pipeline.
  24 April 2013 (Chinese fleeing from air pollution)Chinese are starting to flee Beijing because of the health-damaging air pollution.
  24 April 2013 (Apple exploits app developers)Apple exploits the app developers mercilessly, aside from a few stars whose role is to give a misleading impression of what developers can expect.
  I can't sympathize much with those app developers, since they are making proprietary software. They all deserve to fail. However, that doesn't excuse the way Apple treats them.
  24 April 2013 (Liu Xiaobo's wife shouts "I'm not free" at brother's trial)Liu Xiaobo's wife, held under house arrest for two years with no criminal charges and no trial, had a chance to shout "I'm not free" to onlookers when attending a the trial of her brother.
  This could never happen in the US. When the US holds people prisoner without charges or trial, it keeps them isolated in Guantanamo and declares that everything they say is "classified".
  When the UK imprisoned people without charges, even their names were secret, but now it keeps them under almost-house-arrest instead.
  23 April 2013 (Facebook teams up with data brokers)How Facebook Teams Up With Data Brokers.
  23 April 2013 (Only governments can save our planet)George Monbiot: This faith in the markets is misplaced: only governments can save our living planet.
  23 April 2013 (Urgent: Reject CISPA)US citizens: call on your senators to reject CISPA.
  23 April 2013 (Urgent: Reject Boston bombings as excuse to attack civil liberties)US citizens: reject use of the Boston bombings as an excuse to attack our civil liberties.
  23 April 2013 (Why did US use a drone)Yemeni writer Farea al-Muslimi asks why the US used a drone to kill a man in his home village, an area fully under government control, where it would have been easy to arrest him.
  23 April 2013 (Blocking food and medicine to Iranians)US sanctions have made it impossible to send aid to help Iranians made homeless by earthquakes.
  The sanctions are not supposed to block food and medicine, but the UK is blocking Shell from paying a debt by shipping food or medicine to Iran.
  This shows that the blocking of food and medicine is an intended result, and US claims to the contrary are dishonest.
  In principle, economic sanctions can be legitimate, but their main effect now is to give Iranians a reason to rally behind their government.
  23 April 2013 (Accusation Assad using chemical weapons)There are accusations that Assad is using chemical weapons.
  I would not put it past him; at the same time, I would not put it past Israel to make false accusations against Assad. Thus, at this point I don't have a basis to either believe or disbelieve these accusations.
  23 April 2013 (Phony bomb detectors)A UK businessman has been convicted of selling phony "bomb detectors" to Iraq, preying on superstition and paving the way with kickbacks.
  23 April 2013 (Interview with Tim DeChristopher)An interview with Tim DeChristopher, who heroically stopped an illegal auction of oil drilling rights, then was convicted after a dishonest trial designed to suppress the facts.
  23 April 2013 (Thugs want ISPs to block Tor)Japanese thugs want ISPs to block use of Tor in some vaguely defined circumstances.
  23 April 2013 (Man shoots dying wife in hospice)Elwood Osman shot his wife, Mildred, who was dying in a hospice, and then killed himself.
  People speculate that he killed her at her request, and then killed himself so he would not have to live without her, or so that he would not face a murder trial. We can't be sure of that, but it's clear that current cruel laws can put people in that horrible position.
  22 April 2013 (We don't know if Boston bombings were terrorism)We don't know whether the Boston bombings were terrorism, because we don't know the motive. But people seem to assume that they were.
  The use of bombs might be part of the reason. We expect terrorists to use bombs, and crazed killers to use guns. It appears that the older Tsernaev brother supported Islamist extremism, but we don't know whether that was the motive for the bombings.
  22 April 2013 (Austerity Isn't The Answer)Global Elites May Finally Realize Austerity Isn't The Answer.
  22 April 2013 (Anti-abortionists imperil women's lives)Anti-abortionists imperil women's lives in America, and elsewhere too.
  22 April 2013 (Microsoft becoming patent extortionist)Microsoft is becoming a patent extortionist.
  22 April 2013 (Urgent: Condemn Nestle's attempt to patent fennel)Everyone: condemn Nestle's attempt to patent the traditional use of fennel as a treatment for stomach upset.
  22 April 2013 (Cuts in safety inspections)A long history of cutting safety inspections has given the US a series of fatal industrial explosions.
  22 April 2013 (Plutocrats win election in Paraguay)The plutocrats' candidate won the presidential election in Paraguay, based partly on buying votes.
  Lack of political understanding may have contributed. The woman who voted for Lugo, then was disappointed because congress would not pass his program, should have blamed congress not Lugo.
  22 April 2013 (Wildfire near LA)It's only April, but there's already a wildfire near LA.
  22 April 2013 (Obama plans to break disarmament pledge)Obama plans to break a pledge by "upgrading" nuclear bombs in Europe so that they effectively become new weapons.
  22 April 2013 (Temptation to ruin 2014 Boston Marathon with crushing security)We must protect the 2014 Boston Marathon from the temptation to ruin it with crushing security.
  The New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square has been ruined by crushing security, so it is mainly attended by tourists who don't know what it will be like.
  22 April 2013 (Simple solution for euro-austerity gov'ts)Now that the "economic" argument for austerity is known to be false, here's a simple solution euro-austerity governments could adopt.
  22 April 2013 (Plans to privatize Spain's hospitals)Spain's government plans to privatize many public hospitals and treatment centers.
  Most people would be unable to use them.
  22 April 2013 (Number of Guantanamo prisoners on hunger strike)The US now admits that half of the prisoners in Guantanamo are on hunger strike. The true number might be more.
  22 April 2013 (Egypt's justice minister resigns)Egypt's justice minister has resigned, objecting to a bill that threatens to undermine the independence of the judiciary.
  22 April 2013 (Boston events cited as justification for increased surveillance)Events in Boston are being cited to justify increased surveillance in Germany.
  The conclusion to draw from the Boston bombings is that our system dealt with them effectively. We don't need any more surveillance or security measures, and we should avoid damaging overreactions (such as shutting down whole cities for a manhunt).
  The crucial point is that the level of terrorist violence in the US is so low already that no additional measures are needed or even useful.
  Terrorist violence in the US is such a tiny fraction of all the violent death and injury in the US that it's the wrong place to focus, if your aim is to reduce violent death and injury.
  The insidious psychological effect of terrorism does not result directly from terrorism. It results from a panicky overreaction to the events. We can curb this effect by maintaining a sense of proportion.
  If you want to reduce murder in the US, enact gun control. (Bonus: with better gun control, maybe the Tsarnaev brothers would not have had guns.) If you want to reduce other violent deaths, enforce safety regulations on chemical plants, mines, oil drilling platforms, and so on.
  We need to redirect the public discussion away from the useless focus on the few casualties of terrorism, and onto reducing the big causes of avoidable deaths and injuries.
  22 April 2013 (Russia commits dissidents to psychiatric hospitals)Russia is resuming the Soviet practice of committing dissidents to psychiatric hospitals.
  22 April 2013 (Human rights lawyer prosecuted for "offending the judiciary")A Saudi human rights lawyer is being prosecuted for "offending the judiciary".
  Any law against "offending" something, no matter what that something is, is an offense against freedom of speech. Most of the world's countries seem to have such laws; freedom of speech is in bad shape.
  22 April 2013 (Israel to evict 30,000 bedouin from desert)Israel is planning to evict 30,000 bedouin from their homes in the desert.
  22 April 2013 (America's moral authority)America Cannot Assert Moral Authority While Guantnamo Remains Open.
  22 April 2013 (Federal banking regulators)Federal banking regulators have the authority to break up the big banks. Of course, they don't do this because the banksters might be displeased.
  22 April 2013 (Overreaction to the Boston bombings)Americans overreact to the Boston bombings while underreacting to everyday gun violence.
  The shutdown of Boston, which was the biggest overreaction, also protected Dzhokar Tsarnaev from being caught all day.
  21 April 2013 (Shaker Aamer)The US says Shaker Aamer can be released from Guantanamo, but only to Saudi Arabia which can be counted on to imprison him again.
  He could testify to US and UK torture practices, and both governments would like to bury his testimony by burying him.
  21 April 2013 (Economists guesses presented as certainties)Economists present their conclusions as certainties, but they are often guessing.
  21 April 2013 (Agricultural land-grab in Europe)The agricultural land-grab is not limited to Africa. It affects Europe too.
  21 April 2013 (Mobile phone companies profit from customer location data)Mobile phone companies are now marketing data about where phone users live and where they go.
  Count me out.
  (The word "monetize" properly means "to put something into use as money". Using to mean "profit from" is disgusting, and deserves our condemnation too.)
  21 April 2013 (Urgent: Mandatory labeling of GMOs in foods)US citizens: call for mandatory labeling of GMOs in foods.
  21 April 2013 (US bullying for stricter copyright enforcement)Estonians are fighting back against US bullying for stricter copyright enforcement.
  21 April 2013 (Barriers to health care as a human right)Greed, Fear and Other Barriers to Health Care as a Human Right.
  21 April 2013 (Why Sandra Steingraber decided to go to jail)Sandra Steingraber explains why she decided to go to jail rather than pay a fine, after her protest against an underground gas storage company that could pollute her area's water.
  21 April 2013 (Price of staple foods)The price of staple foods is likely to double by 2050, and many people will starve.
  21 April 2013 (Congress and Obama gut the STOCK act)Congress and Obama have quietly gutted the STOCK act, passed with fanfare a year ago to stop insider trading by congresscritters.
  21 April 2013 (Israelis and Palestinians mourn together)Uri Avnery reports on a meeting of Israelis and Palestinians, to mourn their dead together.
  21 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose offering BP a cheap settlement)US citizens: tell the US government not to offer BP a cheap settlement for the Big Spill.
  21 April 2013 (US looking at providing military equipment to Syrian rebels)The US is looking at providing military equipment to Syrian rebels.
  There is no sign of how they would provide aid to secular rebels and avoid helping Islamists conquer Syria.
  20 April 2013 (Miranda Rights of Boston Bombings Suspect)ACLU Statement on Miranda Rights of Boston Bombings Suspect.
  20 April 2013 (Raped? Take Money, And Shut Up!)Raped? Take Money, And Shut Up! Says Indian Police.
  I think the repressive nature of Indian culture is partly responsible for the amount of rape there. Ironically, this means Hollywood might be a good influence.
  20 April 2013 (Protests in Spain)Spaniards are protesting near the homes of deputies from the ruling austerity party, and they want the protests banned.
  20 April 2013 (Photo contest banned)In Belarus, even a photo contest is now banned.
  20 April 2013 (Every Day We Put the State on Trial)Ai Weiwei: Every Day We Put the State on Trial.
  20 April 2013 (DMCA censorship)Cory Doctorow's novel "Homeland", about fighting censorship, is the latest victim of DMCA censorship.
  20 April 2013 (Under repressive control)"Trusted" has become a newspeak word for "under repressive control".
  20 April 2013 (Unionize US grocery stores and warehouses)US workers are cooperating with European unions to help unionize US grocery stores and warehouses belonging to a European company.
  20 April 2013 (Non-Christian student faces persecution)Jordan Anderson, non-Christian student, faces persistent persecution for trying to end religious indoctrination in his school in South Carolina.
  20 April 2013 (Privatization scheme in El Salvador)U.S. Helps Push Privatization Scheme in El Salvador.
  20 April 2013 (US ignores homeless families)The US ignores homeless families '-- hundreds of thousands.
  20 April 2013 (Portable phones are weapons)Thugs' latest excuse for arresting photographers: they claim that portable phones are weapons (or could be weapons).
  20 April 2013 (Undermining the rights of the accused)Accused murderer Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been captured. Now he should get a fair trial so that justice is done. But that is in doubt, because the US is taking advantage of this opportunity to continue undermining the rights of the accused.
  Americans, "the accused" means you! Nowadays just about every Internet user commits felonies (thanks to the CFAA), and even if you don't, you could still be falsely accused.
  20 April 2013 (World Bank called on to uphold human rights)Human Rights Watch calls on the World Bank to make sure it stops supporting projects that trample human rights.
  20 April 2013 (Mexico blocked from fracking)Mexico wants to do fracking, but it is blocked by the lack of available water.
  20 April 2013 (Cost of pollution and nonrenewable resources)Of the world's top 20 industrial sectors, none would be profitable if it had to pay for its pollution and nonrenewable resources.
  I share the writer's distaste for trying to squeeze something really important into the framing of mere economics, so I've chosen a way to state his point without doing that.
  20 April 2013 (Peabody Energy cheating workers out of medical care)Peabody Energy placed its workers' pension responsibilities in a new spin-off company that was designed to go bankrupt.
  Some of these ex-miners will die because they are cheated out of medical care. I think it is fair to say that Peabody's executives and lawyers will have murdered those men.
  20 April 2013 (Advertising masquerading as news)Google pushes back against advertising masquerading as news.
  20 April 2013 (Psychoactive drugs tested on kids)New psychoactive drugs are synthesized and tested on kids who hardly care about the risks.
  It is a shame that many kids are so foolhardy as to take drugs whose harmful effects are unknown. However, prohibition is also to blame; without that, they could take something of known composition and strength, which probably would do them no harm.
  20 April 2013 (Fatal outbreak of measles in the UK)Many UK parents did not let their children get vaccinated for measles, and the result is an outbreak that has become fatal.
  20 April 2013 (Allegations that Gaddafi funded Sarkozy's campaign)Investigating allegations that Gaddafi funded Sarkozy's election campaign.
  20 April 2013 (Former Pakistani military dictator faces trial)Former Pakistani military dictator Musharraf faces trial for when he arrested the country's judges.
  I'd expect that to be a crime of some kind, but calling it "terrorism" seems to be stretching the word, which is a dangerous practice.
  20 April 2013 (Coral reefs in Belize saved from oil drilling)Belize's coral reefs, the second largest in the world, have been saved from oil drilling by a court which ruled that the drillers' environmental impact statements really did need to be studied.
  This victory may help coral indirectly, too, by slightly restraining our pumping CO2 into the air, which threatens to kill all coral by making the ocean too acidic for it to live.
  20 April 2013 (Dentist demands copyright on reviews)After a dentist demanded a patient assign copyright on any reviews he writes about the dentist, the patient fought back.
  There's another way around this. Someone else can interview the patient, then write the review.
  20 April 2013 (Boston bombs helping take away civil liberties)Reports are that the Boston bombings were carried out by a team of two brothers. Whether it was terrorism is a matter of their motivation, but their motivation may not be a crucial detail.
  For several years, the FBI has run sting operations trying to catch and incriminate anyone who expresses interest in terrorism. Several groups of incompetent daydreamers have been tried and imprisoned, but these stings have never caught anyone who could really have committed any violence.
  We now see that those who are capable of real violence are also smart enough not to blab about it. In other words, the stings enable the FBI to look like it's doing something, but don't achieve anything. There is no point in recruiting numerous informers in the US Muslim community, making everyone in them feel suspect, in order to imprison daydreamers.
  The entire city of Boston has been shut down today, including the subway, but the state has not stated any reason for this. Apparently people are expected not to question even drastic orders. This reaction is the diametrical opposite of "Keep calm and carry on". It gives any terrorist the power to do enormous economic damage, far exceeding what he could achieve directly with weapons.
  The Boston bombs are already helping to take away Americans' civil liberties: they were cited (irrationally) as a justification for CISPA.
  20 April 2013 (Illegality of drone death squad)How Obama's lies about the drone death squad were necessary to disguise its illegality under US law.
  20 April 2013 (Bankana republic)I propose a name for a country whose main industry is financial services to foreigners who are evading taxes or some other form of responsibility:
  A bankana republic.
  20 April 2013 (Developers want to build on nightingale habitat)Developers hope to build houses on the hill where 2% of all the nightingales remaining in Britain now live.
  20 April 2013 (Argentine president to impose control over judges)Argentine president Fernndez plans to impose indirect political control over judges by having them run for office backed by political parties.
  Some states in the US have elected judges, and people say this means that people and companies with political influence (or the money to sway an election) get the court decisions they want.
  20 April 2013 (CIA-controlled militias in Afghanistan)Karzai says he wants to rein in CIA-controlled militias fighting in Afghanistan after one called for an air strike that killed a bunch of children.
  This explains why his order for Afghan forces not to call in air strikes was ignored: this militia isn't really part of the Afghan forces.
  An army at war kills civilians from time to time even making all due efforts to avoid it. (I don't know enough details to have any idea whether this militia unit took due care.) The people will accept these unavoidable casualties if they believe the fight is their fight and that defeat would be much worse.
  20 April 2013 (Fossil fuel reserves)Fossil fuel share prices face big losses because highly-valued reserves of fossil fuels must not be extracted and burnt as the owners would like.
  3/4 of fossil fuel reserves belong to governments, and the governments which have large amounts of it oppose action to curb global heating.
  19 April 2013 (Denying life-saving abortion)A woman in El Salvador may be killed by the state through denying her a life-saving abortion.
  This killing is being planned in order to preserve the "life" of a four-month fetus which is so defective it couldn't possibly live anyway.
  This shows the murderous irrationality of religion, Christianity in particular.
  19 April 2013 (Quoting foreign media is prohibited)A new step in Chinese censorship: quoting foreign media is prohibited.
  19 April 2013 (Urgent: Support same-sex marriage)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support same-sex marriage. Also sign this petition.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  19 April 2013 (Urgent: CO2 emission standards)US citizens: call on Obama to have the EPA issue CO2 emission standards for new and old coal-fired power plants.
  19 April 2013 (Congress trying to destroy USPS to get union)Congress is trying to destroy the US Postal Service to get at its union.
  19 April 2013 (Bahrain distracts the world from its repression)Bahrain is hosting an automobile race to create a positive image and distract the world from its repression.
  19 April 2013 (Drug regulation)Government regulation of recreational drugs fails to recognize that some drugs provide pleasure to their users.
  Some drugs really are dangerous, but governments that wish to repress exaggerate the danger of other drugs.
  19 April 2013 (Protection for Net neutrality)Over 80 European organisations demanded protection for Net neutrality.
  They take the concept of net neutrality seriously '-- no filters or blocking of sites.
  19 April 2013 (Egypt in limbo)Egypt in Dangerous State of Limbo.
  19 April 2013 (Two-state solution is being eliminated)Kerry acknowledges that the possibility of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is being eliminated.
  Unless he acknowledges and condemns the cause of this '-- the Israeli land-grab in Palestine '-- he's wasting his time.
  19 April 2013 (Putin taking control of social network)Putin is taking control of the Russian social network VKontakte while persecuting its founder.
  19 April 2013 (Wikileaks evidence ignored)In the Chagos Islanders' lawsuit to get their islands back, UK judges have found an excuse to ignore the evidence of the relevant Wikileaks cable, while the UK government refuses to testify to the truth.
  19 April 2013 (Money from gun lobbyists)Nearly all the senators who blocked US gun control had received money from gun lobbyists.
  19 April 2013 (Urgent: Join the march against Monsanto on May 25)World wide: join the March against Monsanto on May 25. There will be protests in cities around the world.
  It looks like the individual city pages are on Facebook. If you get involved with this, please urge your city to put its page somewhere else, It is ironic and sad to support one monster corporation by protesting another.
  19 April 2013 (Texas fertilizer plant not inspected in five years)The Texas fertilizer plant that exploded, probably accidentally, had not been inspected in five years.
  The infrequency of inspection reflects the political power of business, which does not want annoying things like inspections because it does not want to follow annoying safety rules designed to prevent problems such as explosions.
  I am going to make a prediction. My prediction is that this explosion will get much less media and political attention than the Boston explosions, even though the number of killed and the number of injured are considerably greater in Texas.
  The reason I expect this is that attention to the Boston explosions tends to encourage increased ineffective security measures against ordinary people, and increased surveillance of everything we do, whereas attention to the Texas explosion would encourage increased effective security measures against businesses. The powers behind the media and the politicians want the former and don't want the latter.
  Ammonium nitrate has caused bigger explosions before.
  Meanwhile, a suicide bomber in Baghdad killed 26 people. It wasn't the only bombing in Iraq this week.
  19 April 2013 (Interview with Robert McChesney)Can Capitalism Tolerate a Democratic Internet? An Interview With Media Expert Robert McChesney.
  19 April 2013 (Senators' fear of the NRA)Gun control advocates won't win until senators fear them as much as they fear the NRA.
  19 April 2013 (Threat of WIPO Broadcasting Treaty)WIPO continues threatening to issue a treaty creating new and absurd monopolies for broadcasters.
  19 April 2013 (House of representatives approves CISPA)The privacy-threatening bill CISPA was approved by the house of representatives.
  Here the EFF explains why the bill is bad. Obama has threatened to veto it, but with this margin, that won't be enough. So the battle is now in the senate.
  18 April 2013 (Law to protect libel threats )A last-minute amendment to the UK's libel reform law could protect the ability of corporations to bully opposition with libel threats.
  18 April 2013 (Paralysed man begs court to let him die)Paul Lamb, paralysed for 23 years, begs a UK court to let a doctor help him die.
  18 April 2013 (Sydney University cancelled talk by Dalai Lama)Sydney University cancelled a talk by the Dalai Lama, apparently pandering to China.
  18 April 2013 (Supreme Courts blocks lawsuit against Shell)The Supreme Court blocked a US lawsuit against Shell for carrying out torture and murder in Nigeria.
  18 April 2013 (Supreme Court shields US companies from lawsuits)The Supreme Court shielded US companies in many cases from lawsuits over their crimes committed abroad.
  18 April 2013 (Mississippi temporarily blocked from closing its abortion clinic)A Federal Judge on Monday Temporarily Blocked Mississippi from Revoking the License of the State's Only Abortion Clinic.
  18 April 2013 (UK gov't spyware)Suing the UK government over spyware which it has made available to governments that respect human rights even less than it does.
  18 April 2013 (Refuting bogus claims that US needs higher birthrate)Refuting bogus right-wing claims that the US needs a higher birthrate.
  Given the high US level of resource usage per capita, higher than any other large country, any US population growth is a bad thing. In general, if you have no children, that helps civilization survive.
  18 April 2013 (IRS will correct its manuals)The IRS will correct its manuals that say it can get people's emails without a warrant.
  18 April 2013 (Amendment added to CISPA fails to fix threat to privacy)An amendment added to CISPA fails to fix its threat to privacy.
  18 April 2013 (Suggestions for how to heal trauma)If you are feeling mentally traumatized as a result of the Boston bombings, here are some suggestions for how to heal the trauma (or prevent one from developing).
  18 April 2013 (Thatcherism)Burying Thatcher is not enough; we need to bury thatcherism.
  18 April 2013 (Compassion for victims of bombs)Imagine offering as much compassion to a victim of US bombs as to a US victim of bombs.
  18 April 2013 (CO2 emission continues rising)Despite great investments in renewable energy, CO2 emission continues rising at 2% a year. This is because governments continue encouraging fossil fuel prospecting and extraction, and have done nothing serious to discourage its use.
  18 April 2013 (Environmental consultations in Canada)The Canadian government didn't abolish environmental consultations. Instead it set up a number of hoops to jump through before you're allowed to answer.
  18 April 2013 (Oligopoly)US law understands the danger of a monopoly, but fails to recognize that an oligopoly is almost as bad.
  18 April 2013 (Baghdad Burning blogger returns)The Baghdad Burning blogger returns after 6 years of absence.
  18 April 2013 (Effort to strip protection from forest on Sumatra)A mining company is working with the Indonesian government to strip protection from a large area of forest on Sumatra.
  18 April 2013 (Rigged ability-to-work tests for disabled people in UK)The company that handled privatized ability-to-work tests for disabled people in the UK, and rigged them in various ways to falsely say that people were able to work, has apologized but says it wasn't really responsible for anything.
  I don't think this rigging was the company's own decision. Politicians must have requested it.
  18 April 2013 (Surveillance drones in Ivory Coast)Surveillance drones may replace peacekeepers in Ivory Coast.
  18 April 2013 (Urgent: Raise the minimum wage)US citizens: call on Congress to raise the minimum wage.
  17 April 2013 (Keep Calm and Carry On)Bruce Schneier reminds us: the best reaction to an act of violence is Keep Calm and Carry On.
  17 April 2013 (Thatcher's mean legacy)Thatcher's Mean Legacy: The Queen Mother of Global Austerity and Financialization.
  How Thatcher made British trade unions weak while launching massive privatizations, based on a naive view of public finance.
  By allowing tenants to buy apartments in public housing, she brought about the current shortage of public housing in the UK.
  17 April 2013 (Italy blocking sites linking to torrents)Italy is blocking from DNS the names of many sites that link to unauthorized torrents, although in some cases this is a tiny part of what the site does.
  17 April 2013 (Land degradation)Severe land degradation affects 168 countries (nearly all of them).
  17 April 2013 (More diplomacy with Iran)Former US officials say the US needs to use more diplomacy with Iran, not more pressure.
  17 April 2013 (IRS spending less on auditing business)The IRS is spending less on auditing business tax returns and focusing on ordinary people.
  17 April 2013 (Progress too slow to limit global warming)Clean Energy Progress Too Slow to Limit Global Warming, Warns IEA.
  17 April 2013 (Corporate tax evasion)A bill in Congress would curb corporate tax evasion.
  17 April 2013 (Urgent: Keep interest on student loans down)US citizens: sign this petition to keep the interest on student loans down.
  17 April 2013 (Parents boycott high-stakes testing of their children)Some parents in New York City are boycotting high-stakes testing of their children.
  17 April 2013 (America's highest officials responsible for torture of prisoners)The Constitution Project's report on "rendition" concludes that America's highest officials were responsible for the torture of prisoners.
  Dubya must face trial!
  17 April 2013 (Conclusion of influential economics paper based on programming error)An influential economics paper, which argued that debt levels above 90% of GDP cause a slowdown in growth, based its conclusion on a programming error. As well as other errors.
  17 April 2013 (How US mainstream media defines Social Security cuts)US mainstream media are trying to define Social Security cuts as the "center".
  Perhaps they define "center" as "midway between most Americans and right-wing loonies".
  17 April 2013 (Maintaining our sense of proportion)The Boston Bombing Produces Familiar and Revealing Reactions.
  Every time a person dies, it is a loss, but we should not lose our sense of proportion. About a hundred people died yesterday from car accidents in the US, and each of those deaths was as much of a loss as each of the three who were killed at the Boston Marathon, or the 42 who were killed by bombs in Iraq. Each day approximately 200,000 people die.
  Every time a person dies, it is a tragedy that in a just world would not have happened. If you knew any of those people, I respect your grief. However, most of us did not know any of them, so we have no reason to be feel emotionally overcome. And we dare not allow that to happen '-- because if we do, politicians will take advantage of our weakness to swipe our civil liberties. (Last time, in 2001, we got the PAT RIOT act.)
  That attack is coming, and we don't have much time. Rather than psyching ourselves into dwelling on grief, we must focus and prepare to defend ourselves. An easy first step would be to join the ACLU.
  For your personal well-being, I suggest avoiding video coverage of the bombing. There were people who lived thousands of miles away from the Sep 2001 attacks, who watched the repeated broadcasts of recordings of the attacks and were lastingly traumatized into feeling inordinate fear.
  17 April 2013 (Empathy for people in Iraq and Syria)After the Boston bombings, can Americans feel more empathy for people in Iraq and Syria?
  17 April 2013 (Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition)Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families calls for abolishing toxic chemicals from our homes and workplaces.
  17 April 2013 (Prosecution of hacktivists)When everyone's guilty of some felony, hacktivists are the ones who get prosecuted, because the state finds them inconvenient.
  17 April 2013 (Walmart lobbying procures corporate welfare system)Walmart lobbying procured a strange corporate welfare system in New York State.
  17 April 2013 (US public transport system)Our Public Transportation System Is a Sweatshop on Wheels.
  17 April 2013 (Corporations not entitled to human rights under Pennsylvania law)A Pennsylvania court ruled that corporations are not entitled to privacy (or any human rights) under Pennsylvania law.
  17 April 2013 (Second half of interview with Jeremy Grantham)The second half of the interview with Jeremy Grantham, including pointing out the disastrous flaw in capitalism as practiced today.
  17 April 2013 (European Parliament's carbon trading scheme)The European Parliament rejected a plan to make its carbon trading scheme start doing its job.
  17 April 2013 (New category of asylum)Australia is asked to define a new category of asylum for refugees from the effects of climate change.
  17 April 2013 (Alexey Navalny almost certain to be found guilty)Alexey Navalny is almost certain to be found guilty. His judge has only once found a suspect not guilty, and that verdict was overturned on appeal.
  Whether he is in fact guilty is a side issue, since the crime he is accused of is nothing compared to what Putin is guilty of.
  17 April 2013 (Result of indoor smoking bans)Indoor smoking bans have resulted in big reductions in hospitalizations for asthma. Evidently second-hand smoke has a big effect.
  17 April 2013 (Marketing to children)As Marketing to Children Intensifies, What Can Society Do?
  One thing you should consider doing is not having children. You could spare yourself a lot of grief, and avoid becoming a puppet of money.
  In addition, since we do not wish there were zero children, it is good to organize to restrict marketing to children. And if you do have children, push back against the marketers and teach them to do the same.
  17 April 2013 (Urgent: Protect blue whales)US citizens: call on the US Navy to allow ships to pass by Pt Mugu Naval Air Station, so that they won't collide with and kill endangered blue whales.
  17 April 2013 (US senators propose tighter sanctions on Iran)US senators are proposing even tighter sanctions on Iran, explicitly in the name of "regime change".
  A few years ago, lots of Iranians wanted regime change, and were imprisoned and even shot for it. That doesn't imply they will support this. And since these sanctions are largely aimed at other countries that buy Iranian oil, they will spark a trade war.
  17 April 2013 (UN report on child well-being ranks US in bottom four)The US is number 26 (out of 29) in child well-being.
  16 April 2013 (Censorship in Sudan)Sudan is back to its own censorship.
  16 April 2013 (Urgent: Cut military budget)US citizens: sign this petition to cut the military budget rather than Social Security and veterans' benefits.
  Since the US needs deficit spending now, any cut in the Pentagon should be matched by spending increases in useful activities such as renewable energy.
  16 April 2013 (Montana doctor testifies in defense of assisted suicide)Dr Kress could not refuse when his patients implored him to help them kill themselves. So he testified in the Montana state legislature against a move to make this help illegal.
  16 April 2013 (Obama's nominee for EPA Administrator)Obama's nominee for EPA Administrator is responsible for a tremendous increase in the limits for radioactive material in drinking water after a nuclear accident.
  If that level exposure were to continue, a large fraction of exposed people would eventually get cancer. Depending on the cause of the radioactivity, it might decay rather than persist.
  It may be that a better cleanup is more than the country could afford. If so, it might be a reason not to run nuclear reactors.
  16 April 2013 (Urgent: Close tax loopholes used for tax shelters)US citizens: call on Congress and Obama to close tax loopholes used for tax shelters.
  16 April 2013 (Urgent: Support tax on financial trades)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support a tax on financial trades. Also sign this petition.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  16 April 2013 (Guantanamo prisoners denied safe drinking water)Guantanamo prisoners say the US is denying them access to safe drinking water; judge responds, incredibly, that he has no jurisdiction.
  16 April 2013 (Israeli army decides its attacks were not war crimes)The Israeli army decided, naturally, that its attacks that killed Gaza civilians were not war crimes. Human Rights Watch says the Israeli army was too quick to reach that conclusion.
  15 April 2013 (Fazil convicted for insulting Islam)Turkey convicted itself of disrespect for human rights by convicting Fazil Say of "insulting Islam".
  Freedom of speech includes the right to mock or condemn any person, any institution, or any belief '... even the Church of Emacs. Mocking religions is essential to keep their potentially dangerous power in check.
  Three cheers for Fazil Say, and shame on Turkey.
  15 April 2013 (Debtor's prison)Debtor's prison operates in Ohio today; poor people are often jailed because of small fines they can't pay.
  15 April 2013 (Richest 200 more wealth than poorest half)The richest 200 people have more wealth than the poorest half of humanity. And it is getting worse.
  15 April 2013 (Cutting unemployment benefits)The UK's "employment minister" announced success for a campaign to pressure unemployed people in London to go back to work, by cutting unemployment benefits.
  Given the high unemployment rate, anyone that has got a job got it at the expense of someone else, so that they will be replaced in the benefit rolls by others.
  It makes sense that people who work should get more money that those who don't. You should not lose money by working. However, the decent way to implement this is by boosting wages, not by cutting benefits for the unemployed.
  15 April 2013 (Anonymous heroes)How Anonymous Have Become Digital Culture's Protest Heroes.
  15 April 2013 (Antarctic ice melt sets record rate)Some Antarctic ice melts every summer. Recently the rate of melting has set a record, with data going back a millennium.
  15 April 2013 (Force feeding in Guantanamo)Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel talks about his force feeding in Guantanamo, where he is in prison without trial for no reason.
  15 April 2013 (Interview about global heating)An interview with Jeremy Grantham about global heating and related issues.
  15 April 2013 (Fiscal crisis partly caused by cocaine)Was the fiscal crisis partly caused by cocaine?
  Even if it was a factor, I pin the main blame on subservient governments that permitted banks to engage in abusive practices.
  15 April 2013 (Narrow election win in Venezuela)Chavez's vice president Nicolas Maduro narrowly won the election in Venezuela.
  15 April 2013 (Environmental prize for Azzam Alwash)An environmental prize for Azzam Alwash, who led the Marsh Arabs to rebuild the marshes that Saddam destroyed.
  It is relevant to mention that Bush I called on the Marsh Arabs to rebel, which they did, and then abandoned them after Saddam defeated them.
  15 April 2013 (Sex segregation)Universities in the UK are ending their connivance at sex segregation in Muslim activities.
  This may seem like a small issue, but it is vitally important. Islam is full of unjust rules, and has a strong current of absolutism. If Muslims in the West are able to impose one of these rules, that success will encourage them to try to impose another. Conversely, Islam's possibility of adapting to exist within secular society depends on learning to accept that it cannot impose rules. The imposition of rules will strengthen the absolutist side, while the failure to impose them will strengthen the tolerant side.
  15 April 2013 (Canonisation of wicked woman)MP George Galloway campaigns against the "canonisation of this wicked woman" (Thatcher).
  Hear, hear!
  15 April 2013 (Caste discrimination)Dalits living in the UK have asked for a ban on caste discrimination.
  15 April 2013 (Urgent: Stop supporting Obama's proposed cuts)US citizens: tell Democratic Party organizations to stop supporting Obama's proposed cuts in Social Security and Medicaid.
  14 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose CISPA)US citizens: call your congresscritter and say, "Vote against CISPA."
  The ACLU agrees.
  The vote can be in a couple of days, so call now.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  15 April 2013 (Data collected about students)Some US states collect data about all students, and give the data to companies which use it for marketing purposes. This is supposedly to help the students, but it must be a twisted definition of "help", like "help companies give you personalized ads". If they really mean it as help, they should make it optional for each student.
  15 April 2013 (Urgent: Support the last abortion provider in Mississippi)Everyone: speak up in support of the last abortion provider in Mississippi.
  15 April 2013 (Imprisonment for posting photo of graffiti in Canada)Threatened with imprisonment in Canada for posting a photo of anti-thug graffiti.
  15 April 2013 (Sanctification of dead right-wing leaders)When right-wing political leaders die, their supporters aim to sanctify them. To stop this, we must trumpet the evil those leaders committed.
  15 April 2013 (DMCA takedown notices posted by Google)Google posts DMCA takedown notices it receives from movie studios, and the movie studios send takedown notices to demand deletion of those takedown notices.
  15 April 2013 (Unoccupied homes in London)In some parts of London, all the houses are owned by super-rich as investments; nobody lives there any more.
  The article suggests that second homes (not someone's primary residence) are charged lower taxes in London. If so, that is partly responsible for the problem. The wise policy is to charge higher taxes for second homes. However, the UK may be too much under the thumb of the plutocracy for wise policies to be allowed.
  15 April 2013 (Obama's attacks on human rights and the non-rich)Obama's persistent attack on human rights and the non-rich: a long list.
  15 April 2013 (Microsoft gets big tax cut)The Washington legislature gave Microsoft a big tax cut, so now dance clubs are being squeezed to make up for it.
  Every legislator who voted for the tax cut is a sell-out, and deserves to get booted out. Can someone post a list of them and send me the URL?
  15 April 2013 (Florida to imprison man for his involuntary parole violation)Florida intends to imprison Frank Steese for parole violation, notwithstanding the fact that his violation was involuntary '-- he was in prison in another state for a murder he was later proved innocent of.
  Even if he had been in prison and guilty, isn't that a good enough excuse for a parole violation? What if he had been kidnaped?
  15 April 2013 (Guantanamo prisoner describes injuries)Shaker Aamer, prisoner in Guantanamo although he was "cleared for release" in 2007, describes his injuries, and says prisoners will soon die from their hunger strikes.
  15 April 2013 (Pressure in China to marry and have children)The pressure in China to marry and have children is so strong that gays often form phony marriages to push off the pressure.
  This is why the one-child-per-family policy was necessary, and it is necessary still. However, it might be wise to construct an escape route: a way to satisfy parents' demand for a grandchild with some sort of substitute. Maybe one child could be adopted by various sets of parents in parallel.
  14 April 2013 ("Investor-state" lawsuits)2012 set a record for "investor-state" lawsuits, in which a company sues a country for having a law that interferes with whatever the company wants to do.
  These are one of the big injustices of many "free trade" treaties, and one of the reasons they should be abolished. This mechanism was used to stop Uruguay from requiring plain paper packages for cigarettes, and is now being used against Australia.
  In other words, "investor-state" can kill.
  14 April 2013 (Teacher suspended)A teacher was suspended for giving students an assignment to pretend they were in Nazi Germany and write an essay arguing that Jews are evil.
  If the aim was to stretch their imagination, rather than to inculcate anti-semitism, it would have been more effective to ask them to imagine that they are in 2013 living in Afghanistan or Colombia and write an essay arguing that the US is evil.
  14 April 2013 (Thugs in South Africa torture suspects)Thugs in South Africa systematically torture suspects.
  To cover it up, they destroy the victims' medical records and steal their security camera recordings.
  It's a great way to get confessions, if you don't care whether they are true.
  14 April 2013 (The US bullies Spain)The US is bullying Spain into escalating the War on Sharing.
  14 April 2013 (Thatcher's funeral)2000 celebrated Thatcher's death in London.
  Thugs threatened to arrest protesters at Thatcher's funeral if they "cause distress", even by so much as turning their backs at the procession.
  Thatcher's ideological heirs are causing plenty of distress in the UK today, but they are safe from arrest because they are using devastating deeds rather than mere words and gestures.
  14 April 2013 (US-Colombia free trade treaty)The US-Colombia free trade treaty includes provisions that supposedly were going to improve labor rights in Colombia, but death threats against union organizers keep going strong.
  14 April 2013 (Two Americas)Martin Luther King Jr. told us about the "two Americas". Since his day, the disparity has grown.
  14 April 2013 (Pinochet's Regime)Thatcher's support was very useful for Pinochet's murderous regime, and others.
  I'm totally in favor of remembering and condemning what Thatcher did; I disagree only with the idea that her mere death is enough to celebrate. I will celebrate when her wrongdoing is ended.
  14 April 2013 (Nuclear power plant near airport)The UK is expanding an airport near a nuclear power plant. What could go wrong?
  14 April 2013 (Mainstream media coverage of opinion on social security cuts)Only a right-wing fringe of Americans want to cut social security and medicare, but mainstream media say this is the "middle".
  14 April 2013 (Thatcher's rule increased poverty and unemployment)Thatcher's rule increased the UK's poverty and unemployment.
  Her ideological successors are now increasing them further.
  14 April 2013 (Guantanamo hunger strike)When guards came to punish hunger strikers, Guantanamo prisoners resisted.
  14 April 2013 (BBC omits Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead from top 20 broadcast)When the BBC played the top 20 pop songs this week, it took the unusual step of omitting one: Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead, which people are buying to celebrate Thatcher's death.
  The article is mistaken when it says that Thatcher was not responsible for what's wrong with Britain today. The right-wing policies of the UK's major parties are outgrowths of her position.
  14 April 2013 (A US bill that would give Israel permission to discriminate)A bill in Congress would give Israel the unique permission to discriminate among Americans.
  14 April 2013 (Millions face starvation due to global heating)Millions face starvation as world warms, say scientists.
  More information about the problem.
  14 April 2013 (Russian opposition leader faces trial)Russian opposition leader faces a trial designed to punish him for his activism.
  Compare the case of US whistleblower John Kiriakou.
  14 April 2013 (Gaza bans journalists from working for Israeli newspapers)Gaza has banned journalists from working for Israeli newspapers.
  This is not only a violation of human rights, it is also self-defeating to prevent Israelis from getting information about what their occupation policies do.
  14 April 2013 (Virginia imposes new requirements on abortion clinics)Virginia has imposed expensive and pointless building requirements on abortion clinics, only to try to shut them down of course.
  14 April 2013 (Data on breast cancer genes)Researchers seek information from people about their breast cancer genetic studies, to try to replace a secret data base.
  It is sad that they offer, as a reward, a device that is defective by design.
  14 April 2013 (Abortion rights progress in Obama's budget proposals)Obama's budget proposals include small steps forward in regard to abortion rights.
  14 April 2013 (Fix the CFAA)Fix The CFAA - Warning: before you follow that link, disable Javascript! Otherwise the page you get to will run Javascript code from Facebook. We can't tell what that code does, but it is clearly not free software.
  14 April 2013 (Monsanto exerts power over Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)Monsanto is exerting power over the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
  14 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose Keystone XL pipeline)US citizens: submit a comment to the State Department saying not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
  14 April 2013 (Guantanamo defense attorney's emails)The US admits giving Guantanamo defense attorneys' emails to prosecutors.
  This is a consequence of the way the system for military kangaroo courts was set up. In an ordinary trial in an ordinary court, it could not have happened.
  14 April 2013 (Proposed bill to allow companies to demand employee's passwords)A proposed amendment bill in Washington State would allow companies to demand employee's passwords so as to search private communications.
  14 April 2013 (Urgent: Disclosure of political spending by publicly traded corporations)US citizens: call on the SEC to require publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending.
  14 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose letting Koch brothers take over Tribune newspapers)Everyone: urge Tribune Company's owners not to let the Koch brothers take over their newspapers.
  14 April 2013 (Urgent: Support the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act)US citizens: ask your congresscritter to cosponsor H.R. 1523, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act, by which the federal government would respect decisions by states to legalize marijuana.
  13 April 2013 (Derivatives take precedence)When a US bank fails, its debt for derivatives takes precedence over depositors, thanks to a law procured by the banksters.
  13 April 2013 (Aid to Haiti given to US companies)US "aid" for Haiti's reconstruction after the earthquake was given to US companies and little was spent on needed real work in Haiti. Few Haitians were hired.
  13 April 2013 (Urgent: Reject the Keystone XL)US citizens: help give Obama a million reasons to reject the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
  13 April 2013 (Obama's Grand Sell-out.)Jill Stein comments on Obama's Grand Sell-out.
  13 April 2013 (Urgent: Thatcher's legacy, support Green party)UK citizens: if you hate Thatcher's legacy, protest the parties that have extended it (Tory, Labour, Lib Dems). Support the Green Party.
  13 April 2013 (3D-films)3D films may be losing their novelty appeal.
  I mention this as an occasion for another point. I get the impression that most people wish for the visceral impact of movies on a large screen (and 3D would be a part of this).
  I feel the impact too, but I dislike it. For me, it feels that something is trying to push my emotional buttons, and I resent it.
  13 April 2013 (Farmers will lose their livelihoods)Synthetic artemisinin means thousands of artemisia farmers will lose their livelihoods.
  The Act V campaign is planning to undertake the elimination of malaria within less than a decade. If this succeeds, artemisinin will no longer be needed; thus, artemisia farming was perhaps heading for failure in any case. Of course, we do not want to preserve malaria to keep those farmers employed.
  However, the issue is different with spices and fragrances. There is no reason to hope or aim for an end to the demand for vanillin. If vat production leads to an end of farming, it will be a big stroke of technological unemployment, coming at the same time as many other such strokes (for instance, millions of commercial drivers). If we develop vat meat that doesn't involve growing and killing animals and uses less fossil fuel, that great advance could put tens of millions of farmers out of work, perhaps hundreds.
  In the US, the true number of unemployed has skyrocketed in 30 years. We have the same number of working Americans as in 1979 although the population is much larger.
  We need to change the economic system so that not having a job no longer means living in poverty.
  13 April 2013 (Carbon-neutral by 2025)Copenhagen plans to become carbon-neutral by 2025.
  13 April 2013 (Imprisonment and death of Sergei Magnitsky)The US has identified 18 Russian officials connected with the imprisonment and death of Sergei Magnitsky.
  I am all in favor of this, but I think sanctions against US officials involved in imprisonment without trial and torture (in Guantanamo and in secret prisons) would be more to the point.
  13 April 2013 (Very Urgent: Reduce military spending)Worldwide: support protests on April 15 to reduce military spending.
  13 April 2013 (Thatcher's role in Apartheid)How Thatcher helped sustain Apartheid.
  13 April 2013 (Urgent: Protect wild bison of Montana)US citizens: stand up for protecting the wild bison of Montana.
  13 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose coal-mining concessions on public lands)US citizens: call on Interior Secretary Jewell to stop offering coal-mining concessions on public lands.
  13 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose removal of key part of libel reform)UK citizens: MP Edward Garnier is trying to remove a key part of libel reform that would limit libel lawsuit threats by companies against critics. Write to your MP to oppose this.
  13 April 2013 (Lessons from Obama administration's drone lies)Three Key Lessons from the Obama Administration's Drone Lies.
  13 April 2013 (Guantanamo defense lawyers' emails secretly accessed)Gitmo Defense Lawyers Say Somebody Has Been Accessing Their Emails.
  13 April 2013 (Morsi responds to leaks about torture and killing of prisoners)Morsi responded to leaks about military torture and killing of prisoners with exaggerated support for the military.
  13 April 2013 (Children killed by Obama's drone attacks)Two Obamas, Two Classes of Children.
  13 April 2013 (Corporate crime)US media hardly mention corporate crime, although it does far more harm than all street crime combined.
  12 April 2013 (Ag Gag bill introduced in North Carolina)As Butterball turkey farm staff in North Carolina plead guilty to cruelty to animals, legislators have introduced an Ag Gag bill to make sure no one else can be exposed.
  12 April 2013 (Editor of pro-opposition paper in Bangladesh arrested)Bangladesh Police Arrest Acting Editor of Pro-Opposition Paper.
  12 April 2013 (Exxon gets TV networks to censor satirical ad)Exxon got TV networks to censor a satirical critical ad.
  12 April 2013 (CFAA won't deter foreign crackers)US legislators are trying to keep the CFAA a threat to us all by pretending they could use it to punish foreign crackers. However, that's nonsense.
  12 April 2013 (Cyprus economy)Cyprus will have to endure a 25% decrease in its economy and a "bailout" or leave the euro.
  12 April 2013 (Monsanto's toxic history)Monsanto's toxic history and political influence.
  12 April 2013 (Urgent: Support Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  12 April 2013 (Egypt's army told soldiers to shoot protesters)Egypt's army told soldiers to shoot protesters in Suez.
  12 April 2013 (Russia blocks Wikipedia pages)Russia blocks Wikipedia pages for absurd reasons.
  12 April 2013 (Israeli occupation)A visit to one of the regular protests in Budrus against the Israeli occupation.
  12 April 2013 (Apple's censorship outsourced)Apple's censorship has been outsourced to other agents, who have to second guess to make sure they are never less strict than Apple itself. It's the same with China's censorship.
  It is unacceptable for a platform to control what apps people can install. For human rights' sake, this should be illegal.
  12 April 2013 (Obama sent treasury secretary to argue against austerity in Europe)Obama supposedly sent his new treasury secretary, who supported austerity in the US, to argue in Europe against austerity.
  Obama endorses austerity (i.e., "balancing the budget"), which is surely why he chose a treasury secretary who also endorses it. I doubt either of them intended to argue seriously against austerity in Europe.
  12 April 2013 (Thugs in Ukraine torture prisoners)Thugs in Ukraine frequently torture prisoners and are not even investigated.
  12 April 2013 (Chomsky: In Gaza, Dignity Is the Battleground.)Chomsky: In Gaza, Dignity Is the Battleground.
  12 April 2013 (Liberals who supported Obama now see mistake)The Liberals who supported Obama pretending he was a Liberal are now seeing what a mistake they made.
  I hope they learn the lesson: vote for someone who really supports our views, not a lesser evil that gets more evil each time. We need a president prepared to defeat the plutocracy, not someone who will soften its fist slightly.
  12 April 2013 (Apple outsources its censorship)Apple's censorship has been outsourced to other agents, who have to second guess to make sure they are never less strict than Apple itself. It's the same with China's censorship.
  It is unacceptable for a platform to control what apps people can install. For human rights' sake, this should be illegal.
  12 April 2013 (Calls for armed guards for polio vaccinators)Calls for armed guards for polio vaccinators in Pakistan and Nigeria.
  12 April 2013 (Egyptian Army attacks wounded protesters in hospitals)The Egyptian Army attacked wounded protesters in hospitals, and had doctors operate on them without anesthetic.
  12 April 2013 (Obama administration to privatize poultry inspection)Obama Administration Caves to Poultry Industry By Proceeding With Privatized Inspection.
  This means more food-borne infections in the US.
  12 April 2013 (Oklahoma grandmother bike-locks self to KXL pipeline machinery)'Time to Rise Up': Oklahoma Grandmother Bike-Locks Herself to KXL Pipeline Machinery.
  12 April 2013 (Mandatory drug tests)Laws demanding drug tests for large classes of people are spreading across the US.
  The War on Drugs is a harmful policy in general, and this is one of the ways that harm is manifested. Even for people who do safety-critical jobs, drug testing is the wrong solution.
  12 April 2013 (Obama's pick for Secretary of Energy)Obama's pick for the Secretary of Energy is a crony of oil and gas companies, and in particular with tar sands companies.
  It has been clear for a year that Obama intends to approve the planet-roaster pipeline, and is trying to create a framework of deception so he can pretend it is not wrong.
  11 April 2013 (Urgent: Call on Secretary of State Kerry about Keystone XL)US citizens: call on Secretary of State Kerry to recognize what the Arkansas tar sands oil spill implies about the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
  11 April 2013 (Same-sex marriage)Uruguay has legalized same-sex marriage.
  I think same-sex couples deserve the same rights as different-sex couples, but rather than doing this in the form of the system called marriage, with its limitation to couples and its assumptions of sexual monogamy, it would be better to replace it with civil partnership that carries the rights and responsibilities that serve a social purpose. People could then call themselves "married" if they want to.
  11 April 2013 (Bradley Manning's trial)The judge in Bradley Manning's trial ruled prosecutors have to prove that he had reason to believe that his leaks would harm the US and help enemies.
  Does exposing US injustices (such as wars of aggression) harm the US, or help the US? In the short term, it can thwart with US government activities and aims '-- unjust ones, that is, which deserve to be thwarted. You might call that harm.
  In the long term, however, leaks may discourage the US from launching further wars of aggression, which would benefit the US both directly (not wasting US lives and money) and indirectly (less inspiration of hatred and terrorism against the US). It would also benefit the rest of the world.
  11 April 2013 (Planet roaster pipeline)Oil companies are lobbying state governments to pass resolutions in favor of the Keystone XL planet roaster pipeline.
  11 April 2013 (Mexico's murder rate)Mexico's current murder rate is not high in historic terms.
  11 April 2013 (Additional austerity)The EU has demanded additional austerity measures from 13 countries, including France.
  11 April 2013 (Thatcher's agenda)The UK government has extended Thatcher's agenda, but there is no focus for opposition.
  11 April 2013 (Students protest)Newark Students Walk Out To Protest Privatization Plans And Budget Cuts.
  11 April 2013 (Social Security Petition)2 million Americans signed the petition calling on Obama not to cut Social Security.
  Obama won't care; he listens to the plutocrats, not the people. (And he won't run for reelection.) However, other politicians may be impressed.
  11 April 2013 (IRS reads emails without warrant)The IRS claims the power to read people's emails without a warrant.
  It is proper, of course, to investigate tax evaders, but it has to be done with respect to the constitutional rights of suspects.
  11 April 2013 (Monsanto bullying states)Monsanto is bullying states by threatening unjustified lawsuits if they require labeling of genetically engineered foods.
  11 April 2013 (Digital textbooks that spy on students)A horrifying article: US college students are provided with digital textbooks that they read through proprietary software that reports what pages they read and when.
  I presume that these textbooks are stored in encrypted formats and can't be read except with that spy system. It may be impossible to read the books, impossible to study at those colleges, without using proprietary software. Which implies that you must not go to them if you value your freedom.
  The worst part is that these students have become accustomed to being watched all the time. They do not feel indignant when they find out how much they are being watched.
  11 April 2013 (Urgent: Keep plants safe from patents)Everyone: call on European governments to keep plants and plant breeding safe from patents.
  11 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose genetically engineered salmon)In the US: Call on national supermarket chains to promise not to sell genetically engineered salmon.
  11 April 2013 (3G wireless modems have back door)3G wireless modems have a back door, and can be reprogrammed remotely with additional tracking functionality.
  Of course, whenever the device is in use, the phone network knows roughly where the device is, just as it knows roughly where a non-GPS phone is.
  11 April 2013 (Urgent: Unblock libel reform bill)UK citizens: call or write to your MP to insist on unblocking the libel reform bill.
  11 April 2013 (Little Rock thugs arresting and killing for no reason)Thugs in Little Rock Arkansas have been arresting and killing people for no reason, and lying to excuse it. Now they are getting exposed, and investigated for a "pattern of misconduct".
  11 April 2013 (People killed, tortured and disappeared by Egypt's military)Egypt's military killed, tortured and disappeared people during the protests that pushed out Mubarak.
  The victims included protesters as well as people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  11 April 2013 (China arrests people for posting statements about bird flu)China has arrested people for posting statements about bird flu.
  Whether they were false statements, or embarrassing truths, we have no way of knowing.
  11 April 2013 (Leaked documents show Obama lied about drone attack criteria)Leaked documents show Obama has been lying about the criteria for making drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  11 April 2013 (Urgent: Meeting with representatives of Bangladeshi workers)Everyone: Tell famous US marketing companies to meet with representatives of the Bangladeshi workers that make what they sell.
  11 April 2013 (Sales of Monsanto herbicide)Monsanto Claims to Ditch Herbicide While Selling More of It.
  11 April 2013 (Threat of 20 years in prison for drunken rowdiness)A man who got drunk on an airplane and started picking fights faces the threat of 20 years in prison.
  This illustrates the tendency of US laws to disproportionate punishments. His conduct should be a crime, but it is absurd to threaten a rowdy drunk with more than 6 months in jail.
  11 April 2013 (Global heating will make winter sports disappear)Winter sports champions warn Obama that global heating will make those sports disappear.
  This is a minor problem compared with all the other things that are likely to disappear, such as polar bears, coastal land, coral reefs and reliable US wheat production, but if it gets the attention of some people with an inordinate fondness for sports, that's good.
  11 April 2013 (Bill proposed by NRA senators)NRA senators proposed a bill that makes it easier for people with serious mental illness to buy guns.
  11 April 2013 (Gaza's broken down garbage trucks)Half of Gaza's garbage collection trucks are broken down because Israel won't let spare parts or new trucks through.
  10 April 2013 (Urgent: Warn your Democratic congresscritter and senators)US citizens: if you have a Democratic congresscritter or senators, phone and say, "If you vote to cut entitlement programs, I will support a Progressive primary challenge against you."
  Here's more about the issue.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  10 April 2013 (BPA threatens health of fetuses)The French health agency says that BPA in food and in cash register paper is a real health threat to the health of fetuses.
  Society should take steps to eliminate this threat. However, in some US states the women could be prosecuted for eating such food or for working as a sales clerk.
  10 April 2013 (Farmers to fight Monsanto)Farmers world-wide are organizing to fight Monsanto.
  10 April 2013 (Tracking of people's food purchases)Health insurance is taking steps towards tracking people's food purchases.
  10 April 2013 (Phony scientific journals)"Open access" has given way to phony scientific journals that will publish anything to get the author's fee. Some use other tricks and frauds as well.
  10 April 2013 (Articles in today's "journalism" sponsored by companies)In today's "journalism", companies sponsor articles, not just the ads.
  10 April 2013 (Chicago subsidizes private "charter" schools)Chicago is closing public schools saying it can't afford to run then, but it has money to start government-subsidized private "charter" schools.
  Perhaps Chicago does need to have fewer schools in total, but the replacement of public schools with charter schools is another thing entirely. I think corrupt politicians have found an excuse for union-busting and profiteering.
  10 April 2013 (Thugs with video cameras)Some cities now direct their thugs to wear video cameras all the time, and trigger them when dealing with the public.
  In some ways, this is a good thing. It might even compel thugs to start acting like police officers. But there are also dangers that need to be addressed.
  10 April 2013 (Urgent: State-by-state legalization of marijuana)US citizens: Call on the Attorney General not to interfere with the state-by-state legalization of marijuana.
  10 April 2013 (Obama reinforces his right-wing credentials)Obama reinforced his right-wing credentials by eulogizing Margaret Thatcher, the UK prime minister who attacked unions and imposed privatization. In US terms, she combined the worst of Reagan and the worst of Clinton.
  She inspired admiration for her courage, and occasionally turned it to a good use, such as meeting the Argentine dictators' invasion of the Falkland Islands with a counterattack.
  However, courage doesn't redeem injustice. Her main triumph was her defeat of British workers the British public. This led to B'liar's right-wing takeover of the former Labour party, so that even when the Tories lost power, the damage they had done was not corrected.
  People across Britain are having parties to celebrate Thatcher's death. As in the case of Steve Jobs, another man who did great harm to the world, I will not celebrate her personal end. (I think that truly occurred some years ago, when she developed dementia.) Any person's death is a loss, even when the person has done great wrong, and since her dirty work is even now being extended, there is nothing to celebrate in the UK today.
  I will celebrate when the UK gets rid of her bad works, which include today's Labour Party as well as today's Conservative Party.
  10 April 2013 (Washington's stance on CO2 emissions)If Washington takes as long to change its mind on CO2 emissions as it did on gay rights, Washington will be sunk.
  10 April 2013 (Budget cuts and kids with lead poisoning)As Budget Cuts Hamper Safety Measures, Over 500,000 U.S. Kids Now Have Lead Poisoning.
  Nonetheless, lead poisoning is much less than it was in the 1970s.
  10 April 2013 (Agricultural runoff in US rivers)About a third of US rivers contaminated with agricultural runoff. One quarter have fish with elevated mercury levels.
  10 April 2013 (Paroled prisoner put back in prison for writing about prison)Paroled prisoner Daniel McGowan, convicted of arson against tree farms, was put back in prison as a punishment for writing about how he was treated in prison.
  McGowan's crimes were substantial, but that doesn't alter the point at hand.
  These crimes caused only property damage. The crime that the oil industry is now committing, by keeping civilization stuck on the track to global heating disaster, will kill millions, maybe even billions. That's a different issue, but I mention it for comparison purposes.
  09 April 2013 (Corporate Betrayal of America)The Corporate Betrayal of America.
  09 April 2013 (Use of nonprofits to buy support from congresscritters)Nonprofit organizations associated with congressional caucuses are used by companies to buy support from congresscritters.
  09 April 2013 (US employers took advantage of recession)US employers took advantage of this recession to make everyone work harder.
  09 April 2013 (Urgent: Protect black bears in Louisiana)US citizens: sign this petition to preserve protection on black bears in Louisiana.
  09 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose social security cuts)US citizens: sign this petition too, for Obama to take social security cuts out of his budget.
  This is in addition to phoning the White House, which has more effect than signing a petition.
  The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.
  09 April 2013 (Corruption of public intellectuals)How public intellectuals are corrupted into looking the other way and denying the political injustice they can't fail to see.
  09 April 2013 (America's segregated cities)Law and Disorder: the Destructive Dynamic of America's Segregated Cities.
  09 April 2013 (Urgent: Comment on the danger of Keystone XL pipeline)US citizens: submit a public comment about the danger of the Keystone XL pipeline.
  09 April 2013 (What the US cites as justification for war)The US cites women's rights as a justification for war, some of the time, while also supporting misogynist religious extremists some of the time.
  I think the article errs in saying that US supported the Taliban's conquest of Afghanistan. From what I read, the US supported other factions at the time, but they ware all rather Islamist and right-wing, including some that were almost as bad.
  But this does not invalidate the overall point of the article.
  09 April 2013 (UK sends kidnaped children to prison)Children who are effectively kidnaped and enslaved and forced to do illegal jobs in the UK are sent to prison, rather than rescued.
  The cases where they are forced to grow marijuana will disappear if marijuana is legalized, as it ought to be, but the general problem will continue with other sorts of activities, including some that really should be illegal.
  09 April 2013 (Portugal's gov't to hit the poor again)Portugal's government resolves to hit the poor again, rather than the rich.
  09 April 2013 (Roundup-ready GMO crops and the decline of monarch butterflies)Roundup-ready GMO crops led to increased pesticide use, and nearly wiped out milkweed, resulting in the precipitous decline of monarch butterflies.
  The monarch population is now about 6% of what it was in 1996, and it's going to be hit even more by planned GMO crops. Meanwhile, global heating will kill the trees where they spend the winter.
  08 April 2013 (Activism in China)Test Case of President Xi Jinping s Commitment to Fighting Corruption.
  China Rights Review 'Shrouded in Secrecy,' Activists Pressured.
  08 April 2013 (The DMCA's ban on breaking DRM)Public Knowledge asks Congress to make a small change in the DMCA's ban on breaking DRM.
  Digital Restrictions Management means technology products perverted to work against their users. Instead of banning the people from breaking these digital handcuffs, a just government would ban companies from imposing them. So it is a shame that opposition to this fundamentally unjust law is timid and calls for only small changes in it. That is a strategy for making little progress. The way to win, in the long term, is by condemning what is wrong.
  Consider, for comparison, the campaign for same-sex marriage.
  They did not campaign for tiny changes; they campaigned for what they really wanted, and after a long fight it seems they are going to win. Whether or not you agree with that campaign, it demonstrates something about how to campaign to change a law that seems firmly implanted.
  Please support our campaign to eliminate DRM.
  08 April 2013 (Obama set on passing a gun control law)Obama wants to pass some sort of gun control law, no matter how weak. This means he will have to accept whatever Conservatives will let him have.
  If he were a Progressive, and focusing on the long term, he would make the Republicans vote against a strong bill and use that to get them voted out in 2014.
  08 April 2013 (Urgent: Allow reporters full access to Mayflower, Arkansas)US citizens: sign this petition to allow reporters full access to Mayflower, Arkansas.
  08 April 2013 (Political intelligence industry)Public Citizen: Time to Open the Books on the Political Intelligence Industry.
  08 April 2013 (Republican Party scapegoats)The Republican Party is being compelled by its political interest to abandon same-sex marriage as a scapegoat, but it will just create another.
  08 April 2013 (John Kerry to make show of resuming "peace process")Kerry is going to make a show of trying to resume the Israel-Palestine "peace process".
  Palestinians show no interest because they have long recognized that these "negotiations" are, for Israel, nothing more than cover for the continuing land-grab. They would respond to a real offer from Israel, but they won't get one.
  07 April 2013 (Naming the Dead project to identify people killed by US drones)The Bureau Investigates will try to identify all the people killed by US drone attacks.
  07 April 2013 (Google's deal with Universal)Google has made a deal with Universal (the music factory) in which Google promises to disregard all DMCA counter-notices.
  07 April 2013 (Google challenges validity of PAT RIOT Act secret search)Google is challenging in court the validity of a PAT RIOT Act secret search.
  07 April 2013 (Israeli columnist says children should be taught to resist occupation)Israeli columnist Amira wrote that Palestinian schools should teach children how to resist occupation, and received lots of hate mail.
  07 April 2013 (USA Today tells Americans "We're feeling rich")USA Today told Americans that "We're feeling rich" due to the high stock prices.
  07 April 2013 (Urgent: Stop CISPA)US citizens: phone the White House and call on Obama to promise to veto CISPA. Also sign this petition, if you haven't.
  The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.
  07 April 2013 (Spy officials harass Wikipedia France)Wikipedia France is being harassed by spy officials trying to force sysadmins to delete a certain page.
  07 April 2013 (Urgent: Oppose cutting Social Security)US citizens: phone the White House calling on Obama not to propose cutting Social Security. Also sign this petition.
  Americans made a bad mistake electing a president who is a Republican at heart. His natural tendency is to do harm. But we can still try to stop him.
  The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.
  07 April 2013 (Exxon threatens reporters in Mayflower, Arkansas)Exxon has set up a little police state in Mayflower, Arkansas, and is keeping all reporters out.
  It is clear why Exxon wants to do this: to suppress the truth. What I don't understand is how Exxon gets away with this. On what authority do they threaten to arrest reporters? Can't reporters arrest them instead?
  07 April 2013 (US gov't wants database about who knows whom)The US government wants to make a database about who knows whom, ideal for investigation of future crime or dissent.
  07 April 2013 (Bahraini teacher tortured and sentenced to prison)The Bahraini teacher and human rights advocate, Mahdi Abu Deeb, was tortured and then sentenced to 5 years in prison.
  07 April 2013 (Walmart owners fund "charter schools")Walmart owners are giving millions to fund "charter schools", perhaps in order to destroy teachers' unions.
  07 April 2013 (NY City thugs want to surveil, not be surveilled)Thugs in New York City think that we'll be safer if all of us are being watched all the time. But they want an exception for thugs.
  The thugs are a particularly dangerous sector of society, and since they have special powers to abuse, they don't need to have the same right to privacy that ordinary citizens deserve.
  07 April 2013 (US wildfire forecast)By 2050, estimates suggest the amount of US land hit annually by wildfires will double.
  In some regions, it is forecast to increase by a factor of 5.
  07 April 2013 (Rapid melting of ancient glacial ice in Peru)Ancient ice in Peru that took 1600 years to form has melted in 25 years.
  25 years ago, this glacier had melted back to a point 4700 years old. Now it has melted back to a point 6300 years old.
  06 April 2013 (Urgent: Support New York fast food workers)US citizens: support New York fast food workers who demand higher wages.
  06 April 2013 (Urgent: Public disclosure about Arkansas oil spill)US citizens: call on Exxon to tell the public the facts about the Arkansas oil spill.
  06 April 2013 (Aerial surveillance)Manned aircraft can do the same total aerial surveillance as drones, and when one plane can cover 15 square miles, it's feasible to watch everyone in entire cities.
  If you watch everyone and everything with flying cameras, that's too much information to keep track of with humans. The US is developing software to do it. It will be used to suppress dissent.
  06 April 2013 (Urgent: Investigate Ernest Moniz)Everyone: call on MIT to investigate Ernest Moniz (Obama's nominee for Energy Secretary) for concealing a conflict of interest in an MIT study about fracking.
  06 April 2013 (Companies funding "education" for US judges)Companies are funding right-wing "education" for US judges.
  06 April 2013 ("Dark money" nonprofit election donors)US Governors' Groups Rely Increasingly on "Dark Money" Affiliates.
  06 April 2013 (Republicans don't criticize gov't spending when it lowers wages)Republicans Criticize Government Spending Unless It Lowers Our Wages.
  06 April 2013 (EU "consultation" on copyright enforcement)The European Union held a bogus "consultation" designed to collect "support" for a predetermined conclusion: nastier copyright enforcement.
  The use of the propaganda term "intellectual property" reflects the bias of the "consultation".
  06 April 2013 (CFAA made 17-year-olds criminals for reading Seventeen magazine)If you are 17 years old, and you read Seventeen magazine last week, you could have been prosecuted for it.
  06 April 2013 (Senator Hatch wants a "Hollywood ambassador")Senator Hatch wants the US to appoint a "Hollywood ambassador" whose mission would be to impose unjust copyright laws on other countries.
  The official proposed title includes the term "intellectual property", which is propaganda for the harmful goals this proposal is aimed at.
  06 April 2013 (US mainstream media)US mainstream media have a long history of covering up facts that might embarrass the government, and planting falsehoods.
  06 April 2013 (Cultural boycott of Israel)Iain Banks explains his participation in the cultural boycott of Israel.
  I am not sure that refusing to publish a book in Israel is an effective or useful method of action, but aside from that I mostly agree with his view of the overall question.
  06 April 2013 (Apple partners with China in censorship)Apple deleted an app from the app store because it provides access to books that are banned in China.
  Apple and China both practice censorship; they are made for each other.
  I suggest not referring to apps, or anything, as "content".
  06 April 2013 (Antisemitism in Hungary)Old-fashioned antisemitism is coming back in Hungary.
  If Israel had made peace with Palestine, instead of using "antisemitism" as a club to bash anyone that criticizes the occupation of Palestine, condemnation of real antisemitism would be more effective.
  06 April 2013 (Pakistan bans candidates who are not "good Muslims")Pakistan bans candidates if they are not "good Muslims".
  This is in addition to imposing the death penalty for "blasphemy".
  Most Muslim countries deny religious freedom in various ways. In Malaysia, people of Malay descent are legally required to be Muslims.
  06 April 2013 (US court overturns restriction on morning-after pill)A US court overturned the rule that young women must get a prescription for the morning-after pill, saying it was politically imposed in defiance of medical recommendations.
  Theocratic Christians don't want women to get this medicine because they see pregnancy as a punishment for sex. Anything that enables women to have sex and avoid the punishment denies them the argument that they want to make. That's the reason for their crusade against abortion, too.
  06 April 2013 (US unemployment)Fewer Americans are employed today than at any time since 1979, but Congress and Obama don't concern themselves with serious efforts to create jobs.
  This article errs in not recognizing the progressive caucus budget proposal. Sure, it has little chance of being adopted, what with all the congresscritters that are working for the rich, but don't claim that no member of Congress even has a rational proposal.
  06 April 2013 (Americans who abandoned their houses)Americans who abandoned their houses, often because a bank said it would foreclose and didn't, face big bills and even prosecution.
  06 April 2013 (Offshore tax havens)Offshore Tax Havens Cost Average US Taxpayer $1,026 a Year, Small Businesses $3,067.
  5 April 2013 (US Drones)Afghan Villagers Flee Their Homes, Blame US Drones.
  5 April 2013 (Free market myth)The myth of the free market as a force of nature lets companies pretend that their profits measure their own activity and their own moral worth.
  5 April 2013 (Verizon's customer data)Verizon's data about its customers' sharing is available for lawsuit purposes too.
  Perhaps this was the intention all along of Obama's "six strikes" program.
  5 April 2013 (Nuclear Waste Tanks)Nuclear waste tanks in Hanford, Washington, could explode due to buildup of hydrogen gas.
  5 April 2013 (Global Heating)The mayor of Buenos Aires warned that the disastrous floods will become more common with global heating.
  Good on him for not forgetting this.
  5 April 2013 (Otto P(C)rez Molina)A former soldier testified that the current president, right-wing Otto P(C)rez Molina, was involved in atrocities during the 80s.
  5 April 2013 (Rhino Horns)A new method of protecting rhinos: injecting into their horns coloring and a pesticide that makes humans sick.
  If poachers develop a way to bleach out the coloring, but the pesticide remains, their customers will get sick. That will cut down on the trade too.
  05 April 2013 (US fast food restaurants)Most US fast food restaurants lead children into obesity. Here are the details.
  05 April 2013 (Cause of earthquake in Oklahoma)Storing oil-extraction wastewater underground, a technique similar to fracking, caused a powerful and damaging earthquake in Oklahoma.
  05 April 2013 (Legal fight against TSA)A man with neurological problems, who needs to carry lots of juice to avoid seizures, fights legally with the TSA which tries to stop him for no good reason.
  05 April 2013 (Thugs harass 6-year-old in Ohio)Thugs harassed a 6-year-old in Ohio repeatedly just because she was walking to the post office, and are now trying to take her away from her parents.
  When I was 6 years old, I walked to school in Manhattan '-- like most kids in my school. The fashion of child-raising in the US today is repressively overprotective.
  My suggestion to her is, when captured, to respond to all questions about her with her name, rank and serial number.
  05 April 2013 (Increased unemployment in the US)The US seems to be hitting increased unemployment.
  A right-wing government in a depression tends to do this.
  05 April 2013 (The killing of Martin Luther King, Jr.)A court found that the US government conspired in the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr.
  Back then, there were no drone attack aircraft, so it had to be done with a handgun.
  05 April 2013 (Urgent: Reduce the injustice of the CFAA)US citizens: sign this campaign to reduce the injustice of the CFAA, not make it worse.
  05 April 2013 (Heroic blogger covers War on Drugs in Mexico)One heroic blogger continues to cover the violence of the War on Drugs in Mexico.
  05 April 2013 (British Virgin Islands bank account holders identified)Thousands of people that have secret bank accounts in the British Virgin Islands have now been identified.
  05 April 2013 (Taliban attack courthouse)Taliban attacked a courthouse and killed 44 people indiscriminately.
  If Afghanis hated the Taliban for killing civilians the way they hate the US for killing civilians, they would defeat the Taliban. But they don't.
  05 April 2013 (US workers disabled by toxic exposure)200,000 US workers are disabled each year due to toxic chemicals used in their work. OHSA focuses on sudden accidents and doesn't do much to prevent toxic exposure.
  05 April 2013 (Urgent: Feasible way to deal with student loans)US citizens: call on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to give unemployed college graduates a feasible way to deal with their loans.
  05 April 2013 (Hexavalent chromium-contaminated water)Notwithstanding Erin Brockovich's triumph, Americans still drink hexavalent chromium in their water, and the chemical industry pressured the EPA not to regulate it.
  05 April 2013 (ALEC pushes bills to ban cities from requiring paid sick leave)ALEC is pushing bills in many states to ban cities from requiring paid sick leave.
  As a rough guide, any bill supported by ALEC is bad, and any elected official who belongs to ALEC is aiding the enemy. Big companies, and the politicians that support them, are the principal enemy of most Americans.
  05 April 2013 (A woman's personhood)At What Point in Pregnancy Does a Woman's Personhood End?
  05 April 2013 (Insurance coverage for elective abortions)Washington State is considering a law to require insurance companies to cover elective abortions.
  It is amazing to see such a wise policy being considered in the US.
  05 April 2013 (NRA proposal to arm teachers)The NRA proposal to arm teachers would make students distrust teachers and fear arrest in school for minor things.
  It might also result in more children shot.
  05 April 2013 (Torture of prisoners by Maine thugs)Maine thugs torture prisoners with long-term solitary confinement, and spraying pepper spray on their faces while they are shackled.
  05 April 2013 (CFAA makes kids criminals)In the US, if you're under 13 and you read news on-line, you could be prosecuted and imprisoned under the CFAA.
  Making everyone a criminal, then prosecuting only dissidents, is the way of tyranny. We know that the prosecutors of Aaron Swartz looked at the matter this way.
  04 April 2013 (Urgent: Revoke Obama's Nobel Peace Prize)Everyone: sign this petition calling for revocation of Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.
  04 April 2013 (Visible protest in the UK crushed)The UK government is imposing its cruel policies without visible opposition because it has crushed all visible protest through violence and imprisonment.
  04 April 2013 (US/EU corporate power grab)Activists on Both Sides of Atlantic Denounce US/EU FTA as Corporate Power Grab.
  All the "free trade" treaties since the WTO are corporate power grabs.
  04 April 2013 (Urgent: Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act)US citizens: call on your elected officials to support the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act.
  04 April 2013 (Result of Euro-zone and UK austerity)Euro-zone and UK austerity is giving the results an honest economist would have predicted: depression and unemployment.
  04 April 2013 (IMF-imposed policies in Tunisia)Tunisia needs to reject the IMF-imposed policies that knocked it into poverty.
  04 April 2013 (Iraqi newspaper offices attacked)Four Iraqi newspaper offices were attacked by militia members dressed as soldiers. Perhaps they were real soldiers '-- in Iraq, that is not implausible.
  04 April 2013 (Even Aurora shooter shouldn't get death penalty)Even Aurora Shooter James Holmes Shouldn't Get the Death Penalty.
  04 April 2013 (China's fishing fleet in African waters)Evidence suggests that the Chinese fishing fleet tells the UN about only 9% of the fish it catches, which adds up to cheating African countries.
  04 April 2013 (Modern forms of slavery)Slavery takes different forms from in the past.
  How to put an end to modern forms of slavery?
  Using prisoners as low-paid employees for profit is also a modern form of slavery, and has the effect of reducing wages for free labor as well as encouraging more imprisonment.
  04 April 2013 (Morocco sentences protesters in military kangaroo courts)Morocco tortured confessions out of protesters, then sentenced them to prison in military kangaroo courts.
  Morocco's government has close ties to the US; perhaps they are following the path of Guantanamo.
  I was told that, Around 2000, the current king granted additional human rights, but then he acceded to Bush's request by taking away some of them.
  03 April 2013 (Attacks on journalists)In India, thugs often attack journalists, sometimes killing them, and rarely face justice.
  The same happens in the US.
  03 April 2013 (Very Urgent: Oppose cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid)US citizens: phone the White House and say, "No cuts in Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, and no veiled cuts either." Also sign this petition, but a phone call will carry more weight.
  The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.
  3 April 2013 (Paid sick days)The legal requirement to offer paid sick days is slowly spreading around the US, due to one local struggle after another.
  3 April 2013 (UK protesters face imprisonment)Fossil fuel protesters in the UK face imprisonment for their protests.
  The "crime" they pled guilty to, after being denied a jury trial, was set up as a way to criminalize protest.
  3 April 2013 ("Tiger Parenting")"Tiger parenting" is not effective at raising children's grades; it is better to be supportive.
  3 April 2013 (Austerity)As austerity pushes the euro zone into depression, Obama and the Republicans want the US to follow.
  3 April 2013 (Countries cutting CO2 emissions)The Least Developed Countries bloc now accepts responsibility to join in cutting CO2 emissions.
  3 April 2013 (Profit-shifting)There is a global push to discourage and even stop profit-shifting that enables companies to avoid taxes.
  3 April 2013 (Climate scientists warn Australia)Climate scientists warn that Australia will face worse floods, droughts and giant fires unless global heating is curbed.
  3 April 2013 (The Arms Control Treaty)The Arms Control Treaty was approved by the UN, but it was weakened so it may not have any real effect.
  3 April 2013 (The World Bank)The World Bank proposes to eliminate extreme poverty world-wide by 2030.
  I think that it might be possible if there is political will, but population growth and global heating will make the job much harder.
  3 April 2013 (Fukushima)A fish caught near Fukushima had a high level of radioactive cesium.
  One bite might not matter, but it would be dangerous to eat such fish regularly.
  3 April 2013 (Former head of SEC)A former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is going to advise banksters. About how to hoodwink the SEC, I suppose.
  The US needs a constitutional amendment so that people working in in decision-making jobs for any level of government are forbidden for ten years to work in or for the industry they made decisions about. This should certainly include elected officials.
  3 April 2013 (Britons on &pound53 a week)Britons are signing a petition calling on a conservative minister to live for a year on the £53 a week he wants unemployed people to get.
  I wish I could urge people to sign the petition, but it is hosted at a site that requires people to run nonfree Javascript code, and I don't want to encourage that.
  3 April 2013 (The Taliban)The Taliban are refusing to negotiate peace.
  I guess they expect to win the war.
  3 April 2013 (Oil pipeline spills)Oil pipeline spills are sickening.
  The US has a fund to clean up oil spills, but doesn't trouble oil companies with paying into it.
  3 April 2013 (Corruption in Afghanistan)How the US fuels corruption in Afghanistan.
  It's not all the US' fault: Afghanistan never had much of a tradition of resiting corruption.
  3 April 2013 (US food)Resisting corporate control of US food.
  3 April 2013 (North Dakota's public bank)How North Dakota's public bank gives the state prosperity, insulating it from whatever the banksters do.
  3 April 2013 (Solar_energy_in_Germany)Germany Doesn't Get Much Sun. How Did It Become a Leader in Solar Energy?
  3 April 2013 (US College Graduates)More US college graduates are now working in low-wage jobs.
  Now that going to college is likely to saddle you with tremendous debt that you'll never pay off, it is better not to go if your chances of getting a well-paid job afterward are not great.
  03 April 2013 (Urgent: Correct the injustice of the CFAA)Near Boston: rally in Boston to correct the injustice of the CFAA.
  03 April 2013 (Assassination of Patrice Lumumba)An important UK spy leader said she organized the assassination of Patrice Lumumba.
  03 April 2013 (Cambodian women lead fight against forced evictions)Cambodian women have taken the lead in fighting forced evictions.
  The fact that the government permits these land-grabs in the first place shows it is not on the side of the people.
  03 April 2013 (Death of untreated sick Palestinian prisoner)A Palestinian prisoner died of cancer because Israeli prison guards delayed his treatment until too late.
  Israeli soldiers sometimes block ambulances from reaching injured Palestinians.
  03 April 2013 (Why NY City thugs search people arbitrarily)The New York City Thug Department chief said the purpose of searching people arbitrarily on the street was to instill fear in certain minority groups.
  03 April 2013 (Alaska legislature wants tax cuts for oil companies)The Alaska legislature thinks oil companies pay too much taxes. Poor oil companies!
  03 April 2013 (Delaying generic drugs with bogus lawsuits)How drug companies delay generic drugs with bogus lawsuits, with the support of the Supreme Court.
  03 April 2013 (Michigan state gov't defies its voters)Michigan voters repealed the law that let the state eliminate the government of a city, so the state government passed a new one just like it.
  03 April 2013 (Record number of Americans using food stamps)A record number of Americans are using food stamps now because a record number are living in poverty.
  03 April 2013 (Congress trying to direct US into war with Iran)Congress is trying to direct the US into war with Iran.
  03 April 2013 (Use of drone attacks in compliance with legal principles)Obama could alter the use of drone attacks to make them comply with US and international legal principles.
  It still leaves the question about whether these would do more to strengthen al Qa'ida than to weaken it.
  03 April 2013 (Hamas segregates Gaza's schools)Hamas took another step towards Islamist cruelty by segregating the schools of Gaza.
  03 April 2013 (US regulation of banks)US regulation of banks is designed never to find evidence to convict them.
  03 April 2013 (Novartis threatens India)The evil of Big Pharma is revealed in the threats Novartis made if India doesn't give it additional patent power. What nonsense, to claim that nobody thinks there is a simple solution! Here is one.
  Novartis responded to the decision by threatening to arbitrarily withhold other drugs from India, causing sick people there to die. Presumably these will be drugs which are in fact patented, drugs not affected by this decision. That shows this is not a self-protective reaction, but a murderous threat.
  In the absence of free exploitation treaties such as the WTO, India would respond to the threat by making those drugs locally. Novartis' death threats are mere bluster, unless the WTO gives them force; and that reveals the murderous nature of the WTO.
  As for the pretense that the abuse of medical patents is "necessary" for the sake of research, we already know this is bogus. The big pharma companies spend more on advertising and corrupting doctors than on research, and little of their research goes into life-saving drugs anyway. Patents on drugs should be banned except in the wealthiest countries.
  There is a very simple solution: get rid of the WTO. It undermines democracy and it does harm to people in many other ways.
  While this is simple, but won't be easy. The obstacle is that our governments are controlled by politicians who have sold out to business, who see in Novartis' threats an excuse to surrender, rather than a reason to fight.
  Indians can start turning funerals into protests, until they put in place a government prepared to kick out the WTO.
  The term "intellectual property" spreads confusion by inviting people to suppose that patent law is similar to various other unrelated laws, including copyright, trade secrets, and geographical denominations. See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html for more explanation.
  03 April 2013 (UK Bush forces soldiers testify about tortures)UK Bush forces soldiers testify about tortures they witnessed in a US secret prison.
  03 April 2013 (Obama keeps Yemeni journalist in prison)Obama personally intervened to keep Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye in prison.
  Shaye exposed the fact that the US carried out a bombing in Yemen, and killed lots of civilians. This is part of Obama's War on Journalism.
  2 April 2013 (Nobel Peace Prize)30,000 have asked the Norwegian Nobel Committee to give the Nobel Peace Prize to Bradley Manning.
  It would correct the absurd mistake of giving one to Obama.
  2 April 2013 (Hall of Hypocrisy)Modern Capitalism's Hall of Hypocrisy.
  2 April 2013 (Social Investment)Providing gratis birth control to the poor is a great social investment; even ignoring the human benefit, it pays for itself many times over.
  2 April 2013 (Crises)New technology that eliminates many jobs tends to produce recession and can cause lasting human costs; but a government minded to serve the public interest can prevent these problems through deficit spending.
  (Our government doesn't do this because it is controlled by the banksters.)
  With today's rapid progress in computing, the result is a series of crises, and no recovery ever.
  2 April 2013 (Difference)The subtle difference "social security" and "welfare" plays into the hands of the right wing.
  2 April 2013 (Novartis)Novartis lost in its attempt to stretch Indian patent law.
  Note, however, that the existence of patents on medicines in India, imposed by the WTO, represents a defeat for sick people around the world.
  2 April 2013 (Nathan Blanc)An interview with Nathan Blanc, who is repeatedly jailed for refusing conscription to participate in the occupation of Palestine.
  2 April 2013 (EPA)How the EPA has stretched "conditional registration" for pesticides so far that a bus can drive through it.
  2 April 2013 (Egypt)Women in Egypt protest every week against the extreme patriarchal system which the government supports.
  The root of this problem is the general condemnation of women who did anything sexually irregular (even when pushed into it by their families).
  2 April 2013 (British NHS)The next step in destroying the British NHS is to make doctors deny medically needed care in order to save money.
  IVF in an overpopulated world is a double waste of resources, so the NHS should eliminate IVF services entirely. However, cataract operations enable blind people to see again. It is an outrage not to give the NHS enough resources to provide these operations to everyone that is likely benefit from them.
  There is no real shortage of funds for the NHS. The Conservatives have cut its funding as part of their program of class warfare (austerity) and use those cuts as an excuse to mess it up.
  2 April 2013 (Feminism)Feminism has failed to help most women, by focusing mainly on a "glass ceiling" that most employees of either sex never get anywhere near.
  02 April 2013 (Urgent: Support the MARCH act)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support the MARCH act, which would allow women in the US military to pay to get abortions in military hospitals.
  In my letter, I said this does not go far enough, that abortions should be gratis, but that this is an important step forward.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  02 April 2013 (Dirty Wars)The film "Dirty Wars" tries to show Americans what US violence looks like to the peoples that suffer it.
  02 April 2013 (Egyptian satirist arrested for criticizing gov't)Egypt's most famous satirist was arrested for criticizing the government.
  This is part of a general attack on dissidents.
  Freedom of speech includes the right to insult anyone and anything. To make it a crime to insult someone is repression.
  02 April 2013 (Drone-defense clothing)Drone-defense clothing: a mirror-surface hoodie.
  I am skeptical that it really works. The only way any clothing could stop heat-sending cameras from seeing you is if it blocked heat transfer, and that would make you awfully hot.
  02 April 2013 (NAFTA)A drug company argues that NAFTA requires Canada to change its patent law because it doesn't provide the company with what it "expects".
  The worst thing is that it might really win this case. And Obama wants to extend this kind of oppression to more countries through the TPP.
  02 April 2013 (Geoengineering plans)Geoengineering plans cause their own disasters if they cool the Earth unevenly.
  Schemes to cool the Earth could in theory cancel out the global heating effect of CO2, but they would not even try to prevent ocean acidification and the effects of CO2 on fish.
  02 April 2013 (Drone manufacturers)Drone Manufacturers Whine That They Are Misunderstood.
  02 April 2013 (DMCA puts researchers in danger)The DMCA puts researchers in danger.
  The DMCA anti-circumvention provision is fundamentally wrong, and hurts everyone who uses any sort of digital media. Our goal should be to repeal it entirely, and replace it with a ban on Digital Restrictions Management (DRM).
  Instead what we see are proposals for small changes, including this one, and the push to legalize unlocking of devices.
  Each of these changes would reduce the harm done by the DMCA, but even taken together they don't go far enough. We should not demand less than what we really need. Instead of demanding several insufficient changes, let's make an alliance for what we really want, and the first step is to legalize making and using the tools to break digital handcuffs.
  02 April 2013 (NSA whistleblowers)The NSA spent billions on a system for correlating everything it listens to, which (fortunately for us) never worked, but wasted' lots of our money. So Obama went after '... the whistleblowers.
  02 April 2013 (Alps steadily warming)Temperature records since the 19th century show the Alps are steadily warming, and many ski areas are low enough that they are getting less snow.
  In 50 years, there may not be much good skiing left in the Alps, but people won't complain about that; with the damage to agriculture and the environment, few people will be in a position to travel to the Alps anyway.
  02 April 2013 (Chicagoans protest racist school closings)Chicagoans protest racist school closings.
  01 April 2013 (Exxon and the Letter Exx.)Exxon and the Letter Exx.
  01 April 2013 (Urgent: Appointment of Richard Cordray)US citizens: sign this petition calling for a senate vote on appointing Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
  Also phone your senators (again).
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  01 April 2013 (Factory fires)When factory fires kill lots of workers, typically because of blocked fire exits, who are the victims? The workers, or the factory owners that can't exploit them any more?
  01 April 2013 (Falsely accused chef imprisoned in Guantanamo for 5 years)Chef Ahmed Errachidi was imprisoned in Guantanamo for 5 years and tortured, because the US did not bother to check the accusations against him.
  Living now in Morocco, he is still not free: at the request of the US, Morocco bans him from travelling. After all, anyone who has been given such a good reason to hate the US might become hostile even though he never was before.
  Errachidi says he would pardon the soldiers who tortured him, and wants only the ringleaders to be put on trial. I disagree, because "I was just following orders" is no excuse. The soldiers should be tried too.
  01 April 2013 (Wild species in Britain threatened)A broad range of wild species in Britain are threatened by the unusually cold March and April.
  These species won't go extinct this year, but the unusual cold is the result of melting Arctic ice, and global heating will make it happen more often.
  01 April 2013 (Chilean student movement for gratis education resumes)The Chilean student movement for gratis education has resumed with a bang.
  01 April 2013 (NY City requires paid sick days for all workers)New York City will require all workers to have paid sick days. City Council Speaker Quinn has yielded to pressure and has dropped her opposition to the measure.
  Quinn is running for mayor. She is rather right-wing, but gets Liberals to vote for her because of her lifestyle (she is openly gay). I appreciate her courage in standing against prejudice, but personal courage in an official is no substitute for good policies.
  01 April 2013 (Pregnant women must avoid Catholic hospitals)Women: if you are pregnant, make sure your family knows not to bring you to a Catholic hospital in case of medical emergency. It might kill you.
  01 April 2013 (Falling gasoline use)Falling Gasoline Use Means U.S. Can Just Say No to New Pipelines and Food-to-Fuel.
  01 April 2013 (Cost of Dubya's wars)A study estimates that Dubya's wars will ultimately cost the US 4-6 trillion dollars.
  Here's the full report.
  01 April 2013 (Trade offers to Burma)Burma is getting lots of trade offers, but it still is fighting minority groups, and its government is promoting land grabs.
  01 April 2013 (UK passes secret courts bill)The UK's secret courts bill was passed, ensuring that mere justice cannot interfere with protecting US torturers.
  01 April 2013 (EU distortion)EU distortion in presenting the relation between productivity and wages provides cover for pushing wages down.
  31 March 2013 (Obama supports death-squad gov't in Honduras)Obama supports the coup-installed death-squad government in Honduras for fear people will elect another leftist if allowed to.
  Perhaps years of running aerial death squads have endeared that practice to Obama.
  31 March 2013 (Global Heating)A 1995 global heating forecast has proved pretty accurate.
  31 March 2013 (Ideal)If we reject the mythical ideal of the "free market", what do we put in its place?
  31 March 2013 (The Golden Gate Bridge)The Golden Gate Bridge no longer accepts cash; it has been turned into a surveillance system.
  31 March 2013 (Emergency Funds)A city in England will give emergency funds to the poor in a way that surveils their purchases '-- and forces them to buy at Wal-Mart.
  I would not object if these funds could only be spent on certain sorts of products, like Food Stamps in the US. However, total surveillance like this is not required for that, and this total surveillance system doesn't even do that. It is preying on the rights of people too poor to say no.
  31 March 2013 (China: Environmental Damage)Cost of Environmental Damage in China Growing Rapidly Amid Industrialization.
  31 March 2013 (Libya)Islamists in Libya are persecuting Christians for speaking in favor of Christianity.
  People have a right to state their views '-- even Christianity, even Islam.
  31 March 2013 (China)Chinese revenge against Liu Xiaobo has extended to arresting his brother-in-law.
  This repression is not unique. In 1995, China imprisoned the 6-year-old Panchen Lama and his family, and nobody has been allowed contact with them.
  There is no proof that they are still alive.
  31 March 2013 (Egyptian Dissidents)Persecution of Egyptian dissidents sparked widespread fighting between secularists and Islamists.
  31 March 2013 (Korean Legislator)A brave Korean legislator is trying to repeal the unjust "three strikes" copyright law.
  31 March 2013 (Boston Thugs)Boston thugs are infiltrating music-lovers' society to shut down rock music performances in private homes.
  This campaign must make people feel like they are living in a police state. It is amazing that something so nasty is being done for such a puny reason, and suggests that someone is on a power trip.
  Boston needs to change this law, but that's not enough. If thugs will sow suspicion throughout society over one minor thing, they will find another excuse if this one is taken away.
  31 March 2013 (US Prison Guards)Guantanamo hunger strikers say that US prison guards denied them water, and chilled them with air conditioning while denying them adequate clothing.
  In principle, anyone can lie, but prison guards have learned to overcome the usual hesitation about doing so. Therefore, I believe the prisoners' accusations.
  31 March 2013 (The EU)The EU is considering whether to trust companies to pseudonymize your data.
  31 March 2013 (Germany)In Germany, a court rules ISPs cannot be forced to store data about customers for use in attacking them.
  31 March 2013 (The TPP)Another screw in the TPP: no more "buy American" requirements in government contracts.
  If this were going to benefit poor and working people in other countries, it might be ethically a step forward. However, "free trade" generally helps the rich and hurts the rest, by undermining democracy.
  The TPP could forbid public banks, too.
  There is no legitimate goal for anything like the TPP. Americans do not need more "free trade". So all it can do is harm. We need to kill it.
  31 March 2013 (Mekong)Agriculture and fishing in the Mekong basin face two threats: dams and global heating.
  31 March 2013 (Secretive trial in United Arab Emirates)United Arab Emirates prosecuted activists, and blocked observers from watching the supposedly public trial. And searched their hotel rooms while they were futilely complying with arbitrary rules.
  Obama is much more subtle about secrecy in trials and covering up torture.
  30 March 2013 (Internet)Corporate power is directing the Internet into something very bad.
  Copyright Wars Are Damaging the Internet.
  30 March 2013 (Bank Deposits)The FDIC is considering a plan to seize people's bank deposits and convert them into stock in the bank, stock which might never be worth anything.
  For large deposits, which are not insured, this might be better than losing them entirely, as could happen if the bank failed. However, this plan includes the deposits up to $250,000 that are supposedly insured by the FDIC itself.
  A further injustice is that creditors for derivatives have priority over bank depositors, for whatever money is left in the bank. And banks are reorganizing to help the derivatives creditors screw depositors.
  Thus, it seems that the government is planning to deal with the problem of undead banks at the cost of bank depositors.
  30 March 2013 (US Companies)Some US companies are cutting workers' hours to avoid giving them health benefits.
  Health care and other social benefits should not be connected with employment: that creates an incentive to cut employment.
  30 March 2013 (Surveillance)Non-military use of surveillance drone aircraft raises a wide variety of issues.
  Attack drones are also being prepared for use in America's homes and streets.
  30 March 2013 (Iraq's Oil)Greg Palast says that oil companies blocked the privatization of Iraq's oil in order to keep the price up.
  If so, it was probably a good deed. If oil were cheaper, we would be burning more of it. However, no war was required to achieve this goal.
  30 March 2013 (US Economy)The US economy seems to be improving, if you judge by totals. So why are people's lives not getting better?
  The explanation for this paradox is simple: in a highly unequal society, totals mainly represent what's happening to the rich, and say nothing much about what's happening to most people.
  A small fraction of Americans get half the total income. If income doubles for them, and is cut in half for the rest, the total will increase, while most will be worse off. There's nothing here that is hard to understand, except why journalists continue to treat totals as significant.
  For meaningful economic measurements, away with totals, mean values and per capita values; use measures that reflect what's happening to the non-rich.
  29 March 2013 (French budget cuts won't satisfy EU demands)French President Hollande got bad news: his budget cuts won't satisfy EU demands for reduced deficit.
  However, for France, the worst part is that Hollande is trying to cut the deficit, the exact opposite of what's needed when recession hits. He's not doing enough to push back against this euro zone requirement.
  29 March 2013 (EPA loophole allows flood of pesticides)EPA Loophole Allows Flood of Pesticides to Litter US Ecosystems.
  29 March 2013 (Protest against replacement of Trident in UK)Protesters oppose replacing the UK's Trident nuclear missile submarines.
  29 March 2013 (Urgent: Protect the Mexican grey wolf)US citizens: Call for protection of the Mexican grey wolf (whose range includes part of the US), which is close to extinct.
  29 March 2013 (Man in solitary for 40 years in Louisiana prison)Albert Woodfox has spent 40 years in solitary in a Louisiana prison.
  If he's guilty of the murder he was convicted of (there's some doubt about this, and his conviction keeps getting overturned), it justifies imprisonment, but not this.
  29 March 2013 (Egyptian blogger faces legal threats)An Egyptian blogger faces legal threats over Twitter statements '-- and not even his own Twitter statements.
  29 March 2013 (Tyrannical states collaborating)Tyrannical states have developed organized systems of collaboration in repressing the people more effectively.
  29 March 2013 (New prohibitions imposed on Tibet)China has prohibited many activities for Tibetans, extending as far as urging protection of the Tibetan language.
  29 March 2013 (Israeli violations of Palestinian media freedoms)Israeli violations of Palestinian media freedoms on the rise.
  29 March 2013 (State Department to conceal public comments against Keystone XL)The US State Department plans to conceal the public comments against the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
  It is clear now that Obama plans to approve the pipeline, and he is constructing a system of lies he can present as an excuse.
  29 March 2013 (Biggest threat to US national security)The biggest threat to US national security is when the US starts wars.
  29 March 2013 (Sudan massacres civilians)Sudan is massacring civilians in Darfur again.
  29 March 2013 (Big corporations unpatriotic)How Big Corporations Are Unpatriotic.
  When the CEO says, "This is my country", he means "This country is my property."
  29 March 2013 (Neonicotinoid manufacturers)Manufacturers of neonicotinoids propose an untested "plan to help bees" instead of the ban on the pesticides known to harm bees.
  28 March 2013 (Glamorous prostitution)A French advertisement is being attacked for "glamorising prostitution". If so, it won't be the first time that prostitution in France was glamorous. The courtesans of the 19th century still fascinate.
  Is prostitution exploitation of the prostitute? Sex work resembles work in general, in this regard. If you're a star, in great demand, you can be in the driver's seat and thus not exploited at all. If you are at the bottom of the heap, ill-paid and mistreated by your boss, you are exploited. If you are literally forced to do a specific job, that's more or less slavery. Meanwhile, there are many in middling conditions for which the job is tiresome or exhausting but tolerable.
  It would be obvious nonsense to claim that restaurants should be forbidden to employ waiters because some people are forced to work in restaurants and exploited. Instead, we campaign to improve working conditions and pay for waiters.
  Likewise, we wouldn't waste two seconds on the claim that domestic service work should be banned because some women are kept prisoner and brutally forced to do this work. We easily separate the issue of a particular kind of work from that of the abusive conditions and forced labor that occurs in some cases.
  Strange that, once the discussion turns to prostitution, otherwise intelligent people become unable to make the same distinction.
  28 March 2013 (Policy laundering)Bruce Lehman admits using policy laundering via WIPO to impose the DMCA on the US.
  It worked so well that Obama is now trying the same thing with the TPP.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Arms Control Treaty)US citizens: phone the White House at 202-456-1111 and say you want strong human rights provisions in the Arms Control Treaty. Say that countries should have to do due diligence to make sure the arms they export won't be used for torture or death squads.
  28 March 2013 (Arms control treaty)A majority of UN members has criticized the arms control treaty as too weak. The weakening is the deletion of provisions that would have required countries that wish to export arms to first check the human rights record of the government that wants to import those arms.
  It's obvious why the US doesn't want this. Such a rule would stop countries from exporting arms to the US unless it ceases torture and assassination.
  28 March 2013 (US drought)The US drought has eased slightly, leaving 50% of the US in drought, which is not expected to end any time soon. Wheat production is suffering greatly.
  28 March 2013 (Collect Everything)CIA Has Plan to 'Collect Everything and Hang on to it Forever'.
  28 March 2013 (Pressure from Cheney)A former CIA analyst describes resisting pressure from Cheney to find nonexistent connections between Saddam Hussein and al Qa'ida.
  28 March 2013 (Government librarians)Canada's government has forbidden government librarians to speak to the public.
  28 March 2013 (Croatian weapons)Croatian weapons, apparently smuggled into Syria by European countries, end up in the hands of jihadi organizations in Syria.
  28 March 2013 (Wattan TV)Israel seized vital equipment from Wattan TV a year ago, and still holds it.
  28 March 2013 (Pennsylvania prisons)The ACLU is suing Pennsylvania prisons for keeping mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement, which tends to provoke additional mental illness.
  28 March 2013 (Microsoft)The US is investigating accusations that Microsoft bribed various countries to choose Microsoft products.
  28 March 2013 (Prominent Cuban dissidents)Prominent Cuban dissidents are no longer in prison, but many have been exiled or face frequent harassment.
  28 March 2013 (Promoting terrorism)An Egyptian TV host faces charges of "promoting terrorism" for interviewing a dissident.
  28 March 2013 (FBI surveillance programs)FBI surveillance programs are based on dubious assumptions about people's thinking. Research demonstrates that some are false.
  28 March 2013 (Mahdi al-Behadili)Mahdi al-Behadili describes how British soldiers in the Bush forces captured him, then knocked him unconscious (breaking his nose), then handcuffed him and interrogated him while repeatedly hitting him. Then came the sleep deprivation...
  I call them the Bush forces because Bush effectively hijacked troops from the US and UK to use as his private army. But there is a specific purpose in this name: to prevent Americans from thinking that their patriotism should lead them to excuse that crime.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Grand Swindle)US citizens: phone your senators to oppose any "Grand Swindle" to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.
  Also sign Bernie Sanders' petition.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Minimum wage)Massachusetts citizens: call on Governor Patrick to raise the minimum wage.
  28 March 2013 (Long tradition of disregard)The Israeli army has a long tradition of disregarding the Supreme Court. In 1951, the residents of Iqrit got a court order that they could return to their homes, but the army blew them up instead. Now some of their descendants are camping on their land.
  I find it sad that the page they use to post their photos was Facebook. They could make them equally accessible somewhere else.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Back to Work)US citizens: support the progressive Back to Work budget.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Izembek wilderness)US citizens: call on the Department of the Interior to stand firm on protecting the Izembek wilderness in Alaska.
  28 March 2013 (Low-wage workers)Many US states are passing laws to hurt low-wage workers, sponsored by ALEC.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Tell Obama)US citizens: tell Obama not to pour money into missile defense systems of dubious efficacy.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: CFAA)US citizens: call on your congresscritter and senators to make the CFAA less nasty, not worse.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose)US citizens: oppose the attempt to remove protected sea areas in New England, needed by fish species already overfished.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Cloth)US citizens: sign this petition requiring congresscritters and senators to acknowledge corporate sponsors on their clothing.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Senator Schumer)US citizens: tell Senator Schumer to return the campaign money he got from private prison companies before he makes decisions about imprisonment.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Petition)US citizens: sign this petition to ban Arctic oil drilling.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: FCC Chairman)US citizens: Call for a new FCC chairman who has the public's interests at heart.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Phone MacDonalds)Everyone: phone MacDonalds to insist it take responsibility when its stores exploit workers.
  MacDonalds makes "fast food"; i.e., food meant not to be eaten. But that's a different issue.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Birth Control)US citizens: Phone the White House and ask Obama to defend insurance coverage for birth control for all American women. Also sign this petition.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Oil Drilling)US citizens: Call on Secretary of State Kerry to push for no oil drilling in Arctic seas.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Consumer Financial Protection Agency)US citizens: write to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to say that student loans should not require students to go to arbitration instead of court.
  28 March 2013 (Urgent: Phone The White House)US citizens: phone the White House at 202-456-1115195195191 and say you want strong human rights provisions in the Arms Control Treaty. Say that countries should have to do due diligence to make sure the arms they export won't be used for torture or death squads.
  28 March 2013 (Euro-Zone)In the euro-zone, the more you obey the new colonial master, the more you get punished.
  The overuse of the Earth's resources is a real problem. To correct it, someone was going to have to lose something. In an ethical solution, the rich would bear most of the losses, while others would have to use resources more efficiently and reproduce less. However, the rich seized on the problem as an opportunity for a power grab, causing unnecessary suffering for everyone else.
  28 March 2013 (Volcanic Eruptions)200 million years ago, massive volcanic eruptions appear to have caused the observed extinction of 3/4 of all species on Earth, by pouring CO2 into the air.
  The research found there were three bursts of vulcanism in a 40,000 year period. This suggests that the first burst might have caused warming in just a few thousand years. Now we are going to do it in 100 years.
  28 March 2013 (Sanders Bill)Sanders Bill Would Break Up Big Banks.
  28 March 2013 (UK Minister)The appointment of a former UK minister to head the International Rescue Committee undermines the political independence of relief efforts.
  They already face suspicion from some belligerents, which interferes with their relief work.
  28 March 2013 (Banksters)The political tide is starting to turn against Too Big to Fail.
  This is largely a matter of political courage '-- we need officials who zealously prosecute banks and banksters. It is also partly a matter of needing laws and policies that would it difficult for a large bank to continue to exist.
  I have proposed a way to convince large companies to split up.
  28 March 2013 (AT&T)Many unrelated organizations are backing AT&T's push to deregulate telephones.
  It is because they have been bought.
  28 March 2013 (Neocotinoids)Neocotinoids stop bees from learning to associate scents with nectar.
  Neonicotinoid pesticides may be hurting birds as well as bees.
  28 March 2013 (Greenland)Greenland has curbed oil and gas drilling.
  28 March 2013 (Iran)Sanctions against Iran may have backfired, encouraging Iran to speed up uranium enrichment.
  28 March 2013 (No-Fly List)The ACLU's arguments that the No-Fly list is unconstitutional.
  28 March 2013 (CIA Agent)A CIA agent that destroyed evidence of torture is being considered for an important post.
  28 March 2013 (Social Security Cuts)Not one senator spoke in favor of Obama's plan for disguised social security cuts.
  28 March 2013 (Kangaroo Courts)The Ballooning Number of Corporate Kangaroo Courts Is Destroying Our Right to a Fair Trial.
  28 March 2013 (Cell Phone)A small amount of cell phone location data is enough to identify the person carrying the phone.
  More reason not to have one.
  28 March 2013 (The FBI)The FBI wants to be able to monitor gmail and dropbox in real time.
  To debate this request in terms of details is to miss the point. The US government has far too much surveillance power already. Any increase is a step in the wrong direction, regardless of details.
  28 March 2013 (Jokes)A man got fired for making jokes in Pycon that alluded to sex.
  Making jokes referring sex, as such, is not wrong. Making a joke about "fork" or "dongle", as such, is not wrong. To criticize these things is prudery.
  I don't know precisely what those people said; there might be more information in Richards' blog post, which I cannot access. Perhaps their words deserved criticism for some other reason I have not seen.
  In the absence of that, they are the ones who were wronged. Pycon should not have criticized them for this (not even privately), they should not have apologized, and they certainly didn't deserve to be fired.
  This appears to be an attempt to reimpose oppressive 1950s prudery. Richards and her supporters deserve to meet firm resistance. However, I would not have called for her to be fired for this, and sending her threats of violence was inexcusable.
  Richards does wrong by publishing a blog in a site that won't let people even see the text without running nonfree Javascript. But, assuming you are wise enough not to run nonfree Javascript code, that will be her loss, not yours.
  28 March 2013 (Bradley Manning)Crucial documents in the Bradley Manning trial are being kept secret. This reinforces the fact that his leak was a public service.
  28 March 2013 (Massacres)Guatemalans testified about massacres committed by soldiers under the orders of the former dictator Rios Montt.
  Meanwhile, anti-mining activists are being killed.
  28 March 2013 (Camera)If your camera has Internet capability, it will be used to watch you.
  28 March 2013 (Cyprus)Krugman says Cyprus should leave the euro.
  It is worth noting that the now-destroyed tax-haven banking industry of Cyprus was a bad thing. Eliminating it was a positive step, even though eliminating it inevitably means economic decline for Cyprus.
  However, it would be better to do it in a way that doesn't cause so much poverty.
  28 March 2013 (Small Investments)Lots of small investments can fund a small solar power project.
  28 March 2013 (Monsanto)Monsanto and the Seeds of Suicide.
  Whether to allow patents to apply to growing plants is a public policy decision. It should be made in the best interests of society, and farmers are a bigger part of that than Monsanto.
  28 March 2013 (Very Urgent: Pressure Obama to allow a strong Arms Trade Treaty)Everyone: pressure Obama to allow a strong Arms Trade Treaty.
  27 March 2013 (Israel Government)Israel government no longer just supports the "settlers"; it is the "settlers".
  They gave Obama a document calling for annexation.27 March 2013 (Global Heating)Global heating helped a fungus attack coffee plantations in Mexico.
  A threatened species of possum in Australia is likely to be made extinct in a decade or two by global heating.
  27 March 2013 (World Peace)30% of Britons say they would pray for world peace if they prayed for anything. What does that imply?
  27 March 2013 (The UK Government)The UK government claims each privatization will provide some rational benefit, but they are all excuses: for those politicians, privatization is an end in itself.
  27 March 2013 (Gaza)Israel's blockade of Gaza includes ordering fishermen not to go more than three miles out '-- but fishermen get shot without warning even less than three miles out.
  Israel recently tightened the blockade as a collective punishment.27 March 2013 (Peru )Peru Declares Environmental State Of Emergency in its Rainforest (due to pollution from years of oil extraction).
  27 March 2013 (Global Heating)Talking about the danger of global heating makes the public more concerned, but the public rarely hears about the issue. Thus, one right-wing lie is that the public hears about this too much and shrugs it off.
  27 March 2013 (The US Senate)The US Senate went on record opposing cuts in Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.
  27 March 2013 (The Right-Wing)The right-wing uses bogus moral issues about private life and sex to distract attention from issues of public morality that threaten all of us.
  27 March 2013 (Banksters)Supporters of the banksters influence the views of US politicians because the people the politicians know are those supporters.
  27 March 2013 (A House Committee)A House committee proposes to extend the CFAA to make persecutions like that of Aaron Swartz possible in a wider variety of cases.
  27 March 2013 (Russian Exile Berezovsky)Russian exile Berezovsky appears to have died by hanging.
  People do hang themselves inside locked rooms, but I don't think they cut themselves down afterward. Is that even humanly possible?27 March 2013 (Pork Producers)When pork producers promise to end use of a practice, the promise is filled with so many hidden "except for"s that it adds up to nothing.
  27 March 2013 (Internet Companies)Internet companies such as Google, Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple are increasingly putting iron curtains around their services, trying to make their users semi-captive.
  27 March 2013 (MSNBC)Before MSNBC took Phil Donahue off the air, it ordered him to present twice as many Conservative guests as Liberal guests.
  27 March 2013 (The Internet's Total Surveillance)The Internet's total surveillance makes 1984 look like freedom by comparison.
  I dispute only one of Schneier's claims: that it is impossible to do without all the snooping computerized services that he cites. I do without almost all of them, almost all the time. You can, too. See http://stallman.org/stallman-computing.html.
  27 March 2013 (Global Heating)This year's blizzards and cold waves are the paradoxical result of global heating. Here's how that comes about.
  As heating progresses, it will cause more floods and more droughts.
  27 March 2013 (Texas)Campaigning in Texas against explicit racial bias in executions.
  27 March 2013 (Obama Regime)The Obama regime wants to be able to read your email without a warrant on a variety of pretexts. But this is being spun as support for increased privacy rights.
  27 March 2013 (The New York Thug Department)The New York Thug Department arrests tens of thousands of youth for possession of marijuana, mainly from minority groups, and this does considerable harm to them.
  These same groups suffer from persistent low-level repression in the form of arbitrary searches on the street without probable cause.
  27 March 2013 (Farms)With federal agencies doing very little to inspect US animal farms, and undercover private inspectors being banned by states, in effect there will be no inspection.
  Perhaps undercover journalists will be able to publish their expos(C) of farms through Wikileaks, like Bradley Manning.
  27 March 2013 (Palestinians Homes)Palestinians in several villages are threatened with expulsion from their homes because the Israeli army declared the region a military training zone.
  27 March 2013 (Mustafa Barghouti)An interview with Mustafa Barghouti, one of the founders of Palestinian nonviolent resistance.
  27 March 2013 (Morsi)Morsi has arrested five prominent dissident leaders.
  He is applying laws in a biased fashion: strict towards secularists, and lax towards his own supporters.
  27 March 2013 (Israel)US-style SLAPP suits have hit Israel and are intimidating people who complain about companies or officials.
  27 March 2013 (Two Paths)Two paths for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
  27 March 2013 (Polar Bears)Tracking the movements of the most southerly population of polar bears finds that, as expected, global heating is hitting them hard.
  27 March 2013 (Arizona)Arizona is considering a law to require transsexuals to use public toilets in accord with the gender on their birth certificates.
  If this law passes, transsexuals who visibly resemble their chosen gender could make an effective protest simply by obeying it. "If my presence makes you uncomfortable, don't blame me '-- complain to your state legislator." We could call this "civil obedience" ;-).
  27 March 2013 (Campaign Demands)"We Have a Right to Heal": Campaign Demands Justice and Reparations for Iraqis and Vets.
  27 March 2013 (Teaching)Teaching boys to be kind, rather than aggressive.
  27 March 2013 (Water Scarcity)The Looming Threat of Water Scarcity.
  27 March 2013 (US Soldiers)US history books say almost nothing about the prevalence of rape by soldiers in Vietnam.
  27 March 2013 (World Bank's Participation)Investigating the World Bank's participation in forcing Ethiopian peasants off their land.
  27 March 2013 (86 Elephants Killed)Poachers in Chad killed 86 elephants in a few days, a loss that would in normal circumstances take 20 years to replace.
  27 March 2013 (George W. Bush And Dick Cheney)A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying [Iraq] Veteran.
  The disaster isn't over yet: al Qa'ida set off 12 bombs in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad.
  One way is to prosecute Bush. The proper question is: What should a reasonably prudent president have known about the legality of launching a war, and why didn't that president know it?
  The case can be based on a mountain of lies.
  27 March 2013 (Korean Women)The Korean women who were forced into prostitution by the Japanese army still protest every week, those who still live, but Japan only condemns them.
  The analysis in this article applies also to other cases, such as slavery and Jim Crow laws in the US. Today's Americans are not personally guilty for those wrongs, but the US owes compensation to today's descendants of the slaves, since they continue to suffer the consequences of the wrong done to their ancestors.
  27 March 2013 (The Supreme Court)The Supreme Court upheld the right of first sale for copies people have imported noncommercially.
  This is important for me personally, since I sometimes give the MIT library books printed in other countries. I am sure many of you will also find opportunities to exercise this right.
  The Obama regime demonstrated its usual hostility towards readers and listeners when it supported the wrong side. I am glad to see it defeated once again, but this is not enough.
  What we really need to do is to establish the right of first sale for all published digital works. Publishers should not be allowed to make you sign that right away. When you pay for a copy, no matter how they try to describe it, it should be your property, and you should be allowed to give it away, lend it, or sell it. (And share copies, too, but that's a different point.)
  27 March 2013 (The NRA)The NRA has succeeded in blocking the ban on assault weapons, but the ban on large magazines is still being considered.
  "Better school security" probably means some harmful measure.
  27 March 2013 (Guatemalan Dictator)Guatemalan dictator R­os Montt is now on trial for the massacres carried out by his soldiers.
  They killed around 250,000 in total, but the trial is about 1700 killings in a few specific massacres.
  27 March 2013 (The US)The US should apologize to Iraq for the destruction it carried out there.
  This implies paying reparations as well; but at present it is hard to see how to do that in an effective way while the violence continues.
  27 March 2013 (Bush Forces)A book of photographs and testimonies of soldiers in the Bush forces that came to condemn the mission they were sent on.
  The article goes too far in claiming that "any action perceived as unpatriotic towards America was met with moral outrage, or even banishment by family and friends" at the time. I condemned the Bush regime as war criminal every week, expecting to rile supporters of the regime, but I can hardly claim that this required any special courage. It required moral firmness and conviction, but not courage, since I was in no danger.
  However, the pressure could well have been greater on people in military circles.
  27 March 2013 (James Goodale)James Goodale, who counseled the New York Times to publish the Pentagon Papers, says that Obama is a worse enemy of press freedom than Nixon was.
  27 March 2013 (Cyprus)Cyprus has rejected the plan to cut people's savings.
  27 March 2013 (Iran)Western officials admit that sanctions on Iran have failed to either force Iran to make nuclear concessions or provoke a rebellion.
  It won't provoke a rebellion because Iranians blame the West, not their own government. A few years ago, they protested in the street against their government's tyranny, but now they are more angry at us.
  27 March 2013 (The Boy Scouts)The Boy Scouts of America's prejudice against gays is closely related to its prejudice against atheists.
  27 March 2013 (Privatization)A disabled Briton is suing to block a privatization she fears will ruin her life or endanger it.
  27 March 2013 (Autonomous Weapons)The US is developing autonomous weapons that will choose targets on their own. Israel has already sold some to China.
  27 March 2013 (Syrian Rebels)Syrian rebels now have a government and have elected a prime minister, but it is not clear whether that will have any influence on events in Syria.
  27 March 2013 (The Philippines)The Philippines will give women gratis birth control, but bans abortion and even emergency contraception.
  27 March 2013 (UK Press)New UK press rules threaten freedom of some blogs.
  27 March 2013 (Censorship)The prosecution of Bradley Manning threatens all US journalism with censorship.
  The article ends by crediting al Qa'ida for the menacing censorship in the US, but al Qa'ida only provided an excuse. Those who hate our freedoms, politicians such as Bush and Obama, are responsible because they took advantage of the excuse.
  27 March 2013 (4th Amendment)A new coalition calls for extending the 4th amendment properly to people's digital communications like phone calls and letters.
  27 March 2013 (Iran)Surgeons in Iran are running out of anesthetics due to US-imposed financial sanctions.
  27 March 2013 (New York City)New York City will require stores not to display cigarettes.
  I think it is legitimate to take measures like this to discourage use of dangerous, addictive drugs. But I fear that the WTO will try to stop them, on behalf of tobacco companies.
  27 March 2013 (Campaign)The campaign for divestment from fossil fuel companies.
  27 March 2013 (Cambodian Workers)Cambodian Workers Wrest Justice from Wal-Mart and H&M Supplier.
  Importers should be required to document all their suppliers (including subcontractor), and those must provide whatever surety is needed to assure their workers are properly treated. Any treaty that stands in the way of this must be torn to shreds.
  27 March 2013 (Arctic Lands)Arctic lands are turning into a temperate zone, with a shorter winter and three other real seasons.
  "The types of plants that could go no further north than 57 degrees north 30 years ago are now found at 64 degrees."
  27 March 2013 (Software)Calling for the right to unlock any technology product, and the information needed to repair it.
  Of course, all programs should be free software, and all repair manuals (and all other manuals), since they are works made for doing practical jobs with.
  27 March 2013 (Big Mining Companies)Big mining companies disposed of their pension obligations into a spin-off company designed to go bankrupt, as a way to eliminate those obligations.
  27 March 2013 (Global Heating)Statistical modelling concludes that global heating has already made Katrina-style hurricane storm surge 2 to 7 times more likely.
  In other words, each time it happens, global heating is the main cause.
  27 March 2013 (Plan)Republican National Committee Plan: More Money In Politics, More Influence For Rich People.
  27 March 2013 (Social Security And Medicare)The effort to blame the awful plight of the young on Social Security and Medicare is picking up steam.
  27 March 2013 (Andrew Auernheimer)Andrew Auernheimer was sentenced to prison for telling reporters that AT&T had a security hole.
  The US government firmly defends large companies such as AT&T against everyone who doesn't bow down for them.
  27 March 2013 (Obama plans to keep troops in Afghanistan)Obama plans to keep troops in Afghanistan for a long time.
  It is no surprise that the US is saying that the Afghan army just got far more effective. It always says that.
  27 March 2013 (US veterans waiting for benefits)900,000 US veterans are waiting for benefits, and some die because they can't get funds for treatment.
  27 March 2013 (Unlimited movement of money between countries)The ideological demand for unlimited movement of money and investment between countries may be losing its grip.
  27 March 2013 (US aids Honduran repression)US Aids Honduran Police Despite Death Squad Fears.
  This fits with the US's general policy, ever since the coup, of supporting the coup-introduced repression quietly and deniably.
  27 March 2013 (Costs of industrialized food)The True Costs of Industrialized Food.
  27 March 2013 (Smuggler caught with 10% of population of endangered tortoise species)One smuggler was caught with over 10% of the population of an endangered species of tortoise.
  27 March 2013 (Guns and aggression)Having a gun makes you more likely to be killed with one '-- but it's not only because someone can take your gun and shoot you. There are many causes. For instance, having a gun (or even seeing one) leads people to behave more aggressively.
  27 March 2013 (Stopping banks from taking dangerous risks)The lesson of Cyprus for the US is that the US had better stop banks from taking dangerous risks.
  That requires ending "too big to fail" and "too big to jail". The US should have 50 times as many major banks, all small enough that we can let them fail.
  My proposal for a progressive tax on business income could help encourage banks to stay small. It is possible to apply this proposal only to banks, or to all business.
  27 March 2013 (Russian thugs raid Amnesty International office)Russian thugs raided the Moscow office of Amnesty International and other human rights organizations.
  27 March 2013 (Urgent: Support Student Loan Fairness Act)US citizens: sign this petition to help low-income US college graduates get out of student loans they cannot repay.
  27 March 2013 (Cyprus bank bailout)The Cyprus bank bailout ultimately protected insured savings up to 100,000 euro, and savings above that will only be partly lost.
  Creditors and stockholders of the worst banks in Cyprus will bear a large part of the loss.
  If people with lots of savings now pay more attention to whether the banks they use are solvent, this might in the long term be a good thing, restraining banks from taking large risks as in the past. Governments might think twice before accepting a stake in a bank that is headed for failure and thus burdening the public with that bank's losses.
  However, countries thrown into depression by austerity measures (including Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal as well as now Cyprus) need deficit spending to get out of depression, and the euro zone rules won't let them do this.
  27 March 2013 (Give-aways to agribusiness corporations)The continuing resolution to fund the federal budget also has two give-aways to agribusiness corporations. One attacks farmers' rights; the other exempts GMOs from judicial review.
  27 March 2013 (Corporations behind Common Core State Standards)Corporations Are Behind The Common Core State Standards '-- And That's Why They'll Never Work.
  27 March 2013 (No known way to reverse global heating feasibly)The Dangerous Myth That Climate Change Is Reversible.
  It's not reversible by cutting emissions, that is.
  We could reverse global heating if we could actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere '-- but nobody knows a feasible way to do that at the scale that would be necessary. Plans for future "carbon capture and storage" are designed to operate on the exhaust of a power plant, where CO2 is much more concentrated than in the ordinary atmosphere and that makes it easier to do. Even CCS does work, all it will do is reduce the CO2 emissions from the plant.
  27 March 2013 (Publishing information about Guantanamo torture)The ACLU has sued to allow Guantanamo prisoners to publish information about how they were tortured.
  Until they are permitted to tell us, we must make do with songs such as Guantanamero.
  27 March 2013 (The "right people" for voting)A Tennessee Republican calls for "making sure that [only] the right people are voting."
  He means, people likely to vote Republican.
  27 March 2013 (US border patrol drones)The US border patrol operates drone surveillance on "frontier" areas so broad that 2/3 of Americans live in them, equipped with radio listening devices and means of recognizing individuals. They allow all sorts of thugs to look through these drones.
  27 March 2013 (Fighting to protect wild forest in Cambodia)Fighting to protect an unusual wild forest in Cambodia.
  27 March 2013 (World Bank's support for company implicated in murder)World Bank Must End Support for Honduran Palm Oil Company Implicated in Murder.
  27 March 2013 (State legislators' financial interests)State legislators often vote on questions that affect their financial interests.
  27 March 2013 (EU poverty)EU poverty 'eating into the heart of society'.
  Three million in Spain are now in extreme poverty.
  27 March 2013 (Palestinians win court order to move annexation wall)The Palestinians of Jayyus won a court order to move the annexation wall to give them back more of their land, so annexationists settlers are building obstructions to stop them from from using it.
  27 March 2013 (UK press regulation)African journalists fear that UK press regulation will be encourage press repression in African countries.
  I don't know what to think about the issue of UK press regulation, because I think it will be the details that make it good or bad, but the articles I see don't talk about those details.
  27 March 2013 (NSA surveillance)The NSA divides its pervasive surveillance activities into little pieces so Americans don't notice what they add up to.
  The effects of complete government surveillance can be seen in the imprisonment of John Kiriakou, based on searching his email to find something to accuse him of.
  27 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose sale of newspapers to Koch Brothers)US citizens: call on the owners of the LA Times not to sell that or other newspapers to the Koch Brothers.
  27 March 2013 (US-Korea free exploitation treaty)The US Trade Representative published misleading statistics to give the impression that the US-Korea "free trade" treaty is beneficial for Americans. This article exposes the distortions.
  Free exploitation treaties are typically bad for most people in all the countries involved, and benefit mainly businesses. This one is no exception. Americans and Koreans should join hands to eliminate it.
  Free exploitation treaties also often interfere with methods for managing fiscal crises.
  27 March 2013 (Columnist in Turkey fired for printing leaks)Turkey's prime minister got a leading columnist fired. The columnist had printed leaks.
  This nasty behavior is not as bad as what the US government did when it harassed a journalist's mother until he got upset and gave them an excuse to prosecute him.
  27 March 2013 (The Golden Dawn party in Greece)A film student made a video of Greek neo-Nazis, the Golden Dawn party, some of whom spoke in favor of racism and even genocide.
  Now they accuse him of secretly filming them, which is absurd since he was pointing a big videocamera at them. However, even if that had been true, it would not alter the fact that they said what they said.
  Greeks have good reason to be angry, but these people are putting the blame on minority groups and immigrants instead of the powerful rich banksters. How convenient for the banksters! I wonder if that might, perhaps, not be a coincidence. Are banksters bankrolling Golden Dawn?
  27 March 2013 (Urgent: Legalize sharing)US citizens: phone your senators and say, "Legalize sharing (through bittorrent, for example, and please don't call sharing 'piracy')."
  27 March 2013 (EU study on music sharing)An EU study finds that music sharing does not reduce music sales.
  If sharing did reduce sales, that would not justify the War on Sharing. Fundamentally, people must be allowed to share, regardless of secondary effects on anyone else. These data demonstrate a secondary weakness in the record companies' arguments for the War on Sharing, but we must be careful when we use it to avoid giving the impression that the war would be justified if it could be shown that sharing did reduce some company's income.
  Please take pains to reject use of the word "piracy" to refer to sharing. That word is enemy propaganda.
  27 March 2013 (Spain's gov't to attack sharing)Spain's government plans further attacks on sharing.
  What the occupied Spanish people think about this is of no importance to them, not in this and not in anything else.
  27 March 2013 (Criminal charges for assisting with suicide)People in Minnesota who assisted the suicide of a woman who suffered from incurable pain face criminal charges, though the law against "advising" suicide was ruled unconstitutional.
  To help people escape from suffering, at risk to oneself, is heroism. These laws are simple cruelty.
  26 March 2013 (Most of senate endorses Keystone XL)Most of the senate voted to endorse the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
  If one of your senators voted for this, phone to rebuke that vote.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  26 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop prisons from gouging prisoners for phone calls)US citizens: call on the Department of Justice to stop prisons from gouging prisoners with amazingly high prices for phone calls.
  26 March 2013 (Urgent: End solitary confinement for minors)US citizens: call on Attorney General Holder to end solitary confinement for minors.
  I would rather sign a petition to end it for everyone, but this would be is a step forward.
  26 March 2013 (Right to use NY subways without ID)An ACLU lawsuit upheld the right to use New York subways without an ID card and to take photos there.
  If you are arrested for an unjust reason, don't feel humiliated! There is nothing shameful in being arrested '-- think of the great dissidents who have been arrested, and realize that you are starting to follow their path.
  26 March 2013 (US newspapers on Dubya's claims about WMDs)It is impossible to argue that Dubya was right in claiming that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, so US newspapers try to do the next best thing: to make it appear that Dubya made an honest mistake.
  26 March 2013 (Israeli hype about Iron Dome)Israel hypes the Iron Dome anti-missile defense much as the US did the Patriot Missile during the first Gulf War.
  In both cases there is doubt that they did any good at all.
  26 March 2013 (Uri Avnery writes speech for Obama)The speech Uri Avnery wrote for Obama.
  It can be compared with Obama's real speech.
  26 March 2013 (Sri Lanka keeps Tamils in prison)Years after the civil war ended, Sri Lanka still keeps tens of thousands of Tamils in prison, including civilians, and tortures them. Thus, the UK faces pressure to boycott the annual Commonwealth meeting foolishly planned for Sri Lanka.
  26 March 2013 (Good ways to handle failing banks)Scandinavian countries provide examples of good ways to handle failing banks.
  26 March 2013 (Digital clipping services in danger)A misguided copyright decision puts digital clipping services in danger.
  26 March 2013 (CVS wants employees' personal health details)CVS wants to compel its employees to hand over personal health details.
  25 March 2013 (Tax-avoiding corporations cutting jobs)16 Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes '-- While Also Cutting Jobs!
  25 March 2013 (California's sequoia trees)California's sequoia trees could be killed by global heating.
  25 March 2013 (UK kicking unemployed off gov't help)The UK government, after deciding to test the unemployed looking for excuses to kick them off government help, set targets for how many people to kick off.
  25 March 2013 (Israel's weak apology to Turkey)Israel has apologized to Turkey for attacking the Mavi Marmara.
  The apology says that errors led to killing the activists and does not admit wrongdoing.
  I hope that Turkey will insist that Israel should end the blockade of Gaza rather than allow a weak apology as a substitute.
  25 March 2013 (Traditional fish of Mumbai disappearing)Global heating is helping to wipe out the traditional fish of Mumbai.
  25 March 2013 (The hype of resurrecting extinct species)Hyped ideas of resurrecting extinct species, which are a long ways from really working, threaten to undermine the will to prevent extinction.
  Some of the obstacles can certainly be overcome. We know how to raise orphan baby birds so they can be released to the wild, so the lack of parents of the same species could be overcome. However, other problems might be more difficult.
  I am in favor of research into resurrecting extinct species, but we should resist over-hyping them.
  25 March 2013 (Personal attacks used as distraction)Americans who don't obey the mainstream political line face personal attacks. For instance, Chomsky faces attacks against his style and mannerisms, as well as false accusations, all used to distract from his points.
  You can see elements of this also in criticism of me. One can try to argue against my views based on reasons, without personal insults; but you'll find a number of forums where people repeat personal insults (often false) about me, deriding my views without addressing them in the hope of preventing them from being considered.
  If you see that happen, I hope you will respond by bringing discussion back to the points about freedom that really matter.
  25 March 2013 (US paddlefish threatened)US paddlefish (relatives of sturgeon) are now threatened by the practice of passing off paddlefish roe as caviar.
  25 March 2013 (Louisiana creationism education bill)Fighting to repeal the Louisiana creationism education bill.
  25 March 2013 (Hassan Al Amin exiled again)Libyan freedom-fighter Hassan Al Amin, first exiled by Gaddafi, has been forced into exile again. He says that militias have hijacked the revolution.
  This has a bearing on what to do regarding Syria. Here's a proposal for a new way to intervene, neither militarily nor through economic sanctions.
  25 March 2013 (Plan to protect bank deposits in Cyprus)A new plan for Cyprus protects bank deposits up to 100,000 euros.
  I think this plan is legitimate, because bank deposits beyond 100,000 euros can be lost if the bank fails. The modern idea that the state should dump the burden on the public rather than allow a bank to fail, is precisely what creates "too big to fail". This partial loss of deposits over 100,000 euros could be seen as a soft kind of bank failure.
  However, this is only legitimate if the bank's owners receive the first hit.
  25 March 2013 (UK law to retroactively nullify judgement supporting people's rights)Unemployed Britons who were ordered to work for no pay then sued the UK government and won. Now the UK government is passing a law to retroactively nullify the judgment, for no reason except that it doesn't want to pay this much compensation to the victims of the scheme.
  Reportedly that article was originally published by an organization called Civitas, which then took it down, but someone else posted a copy.
  I think it is legitimate for the state to retroactively annul arrangements that gave other parties power over the state, in cases where such power should never exist. For instance, Chicago's privatization of parking fees. It's a different story when what is annulled is a matter of ordinary people's rights.
  Paying this judgment to unemployed Britons would be good for the UK anyway. Even if this judgment had not occurred, even if this imposed-work-for-nothing scheme had never been set up, it would be good to give the unemployed more. (And the working poor, too.)
  25 March 2013 (Bee-toxic pesticides)Beekeepers and activists have sued the EPA to end the use of bee-toxic pesticides.
  25 March 2013 (Chance of Aristide being allowed in next Haitian elections)Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas party has a chance of being allowed to participate in the next Haitian elections, after being excluded twice as a consequence of Aristide's forced exile.
  Aristide was kidnaped by US soldiers and taken out of Haiti, when Bush decided to impose a more compliant regime there.
  25 March 2013 (Moving CIA drone attacks to Pentagon)Obama may move some of the CIA's drone attacks to the Pentagon. This could impose more obedience to international law, but it might also reduce theoretical congressional oversight.
  However, it won't apply to Pakistan, which is where most of the CIA's drone attacks are done.
  25 March 2013 (Failure to protect poor peoples' right to counsel)In the US, poor people charged with misdemeanors may be told they must not dare demand to talk with a lawyer.
  25 March 2013 (Nepal's Truth and Reconciliation law)Human Rights Watch criticizes the Truth and Reconciliation law passed in Nepal, because it offers an amnesty to people that committed grave crimes in the civil war.
  The idea of a Truth and Reconciliation procedure is to offer an amnesty in exchange for full confessions, to help the factions that fought make peace. This is one important goal; punishing criminals is another. Truth and Reconciliation sacrifices the latter for the former. I would not want to say that is wrong; it seems to have worked well in South Africa. I can't judge whether it is a good approach in Nepal, or generally.
  24 March 2013 (Access to torrentfreak.com blocked at public libraries)Many public libraries block access to the torrentfreak.com, a news site.
  24 March 2013 (NAFTA)What NAFTA has done to Mexicans.
  24 March 2013 (Misplaced sympathy for Steubenville rapists)On misplaced sympathy for Steubenville rapists.
  It should be noted that part of what makes rape so painful is the tendency for family and society to be nasty to women for having been raped.
  This is bad enough in the US, but even worse in some other countries. For instance, Samoan men rape unmarried women and then order their victims to come home with them; the victims obey because they expect to be rejected by their families afterward. In many Muslim countries, the victims might be imprisoned or killed.
  To regard a woman as "damaged goods" is to treat her as "goods" rather than as a person.
  24 March 2013 (The messenger is not responsible for the message)The Internet needs to follow the same principle as postal mail: the messenger is not responsible for anything wrong with the message.
  24 March 2013 (Urgent: Support the Arkansas Promise)In the US: support the Arkansas Promise: college education for every student that does well in High School.
  24 March 2013 (Prosecution of journalist Barret Brown)The US is prosecuting journalist Barrett Brown, who was investigating private spy and military contractors, by strained charges as it did to Aaron Swartz.
  24 March 2013 (Urgent: Ban drilling in Alaskan Arctic seas)US citizens: call on the government to ban drilling in Alaskan Arctic seas.
  24 March 2013 (Prosecution of security hole whistleblowers)Why does the US want to protect dangerous business negligence by prosecuting security hole whistleblowers?
  24 March 2013 (Urgent: Ask for a copy of the TPP negotiating text)US citizens: phone your senators and ask them to send you a copy of the TPP negotiating text.
  You can't have one, and neither can they. That's the point.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  24 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop drilling in the Arctic)US citizens: tell Conoco not to drill in the Arctic.
  24 March 2013 (Sultan of Oman pardons imprisoned dissidents)The Sultan of Oman has pardoned the dissidents imprisoned for the crime of protesting. That's a positive step, but protests must be legal, and likewise criticism of the government, of the sultan, and even of you or me.
  24 March 2013 (Prosecution of Kostas Vaxevanis)Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis writes about being prosecuted for publishing the leaked list of possible Greek tax evaders.
  24 March 2013 (Urgent: Limit immigration detention)US citizens: call on your senators to limit immigration detention to when it is necessary and justified.
  24 March 2013 (Urgent: Stand with the people of Dryden)Everyone: stand with the people of Dryden to encourage them as they resist a lawsuit from a billionaire who demands to be able to do fracking in their town.
  24 March 2013 (Guantnamo hunger strike)The Pentagon is covering up the size of Guantnamo hunger strike. and is obstructing access for prisoners' lawyers and journalists.
  24 March 2013 (Urgent: Veto CISPA)US citizens: call on Obama to veto CISPA.
  24 March 2013 (Obama criticizes injustices of Israeli occupation)Obama, speaking in Israel, criticized the injustices of the occupation and called on Israel to make a deal that allows a real Palestinian state.
  However, he called on Palestinians to negotiate for a settlement while Israel continues colonizing their land. Palestinians have recognized that such negotiations are harmful since they only give Israel cover for colonization.
  Obama surely realizes that this speech will not make the useless "peace process" start moving again. It is only meant to communicate to the public. The denunciation of the occupation makes it a better statement than one might have expected, but getting Israel to entertain a real peace would require real pressure from the US.
  Here is the whole speech.
  24 March 2013 (Kurdish leader calls for cease-fire with Turkey)Kurdish leader –calan has called for a cease-fire with Turkey, which seems to be negotiating major concessions to respect Kurds' human rights.
  24 March 2013 (Land grabs)Land Grabs Spread Throughout Developing World.
  24 March 2013 (Human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe arrested)Beatrice Mtetwa, human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe, was arrested responding to a client's request for help.
  24 March 2013 (Criminal charges for criticizing officials)Tunisians face criminal charges for "libeling officials".
  In Nigeria, an editor faces charges for an article that criticized someone important.
  24 March 2013 (San Francisco Thug Department sued for searching phone without warrant)An activist sued the San Francisco Thug Department for searching his phone without a warrant.
  24 March 2013 (Inequality in the US)How the tremendously increased inequality of the US hurts Americans.
  23 March 2013 (Site Status)Due to an issue on stallman.org on Friday, March 22, the site had to be restored from a backup from a few days ago. Because of this, some notes that were posted are no longer up and are being restored now. There may be some other minor issues but everything should be back in order in a day or two.
  23 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose AIPAC bills)US citizens: phone your congresscritter and senators via 1-855-68-NO WAR and ask them to oppose the AIPAC bills that would push the US into war with Iran, and to insist that those bills go through committees.
  23 March 2013 (Urgent: Tell UNC that complaining about rape is not "being disruptive")US citizens: tell the U of North Carolina that complaining about rape is not "being disruptive".
  23 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose FDA approval of genetically engineered salmon)US citizens: submit a comment to the FDA against approving genetically engineered salmon.
  23 March 2013 (US agrees to pull special forces out of Afghan district)The US has agreed to pull its special forces out of a district of Afghanistan where they are accused of torturing prisoners.
  23 March 2013 (Cyprus' banks)One aspect of Cyprus' parliament's rejection of the bailout plan was that it wants Cyprus to continue serving as a tax avoidance banking haven.
  Cyprus is looking for another way to rescue its banks, perhaps with help from Russia.
  However, it might be best if the banks simply fail, since savers will be protected up to 100,000 euros. This will teach a salutary lesson to banksters: yes, your bank can still fail, so don't take stupid risks expecting to be bailed out if they go wrong.
  23 March 2013 (Urgent: Support Rep. Lee's letter against war with Iran)US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say to sign Rep. Lee's letter against war with Iran. Also sign this petition.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  23 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop punishment of women who are raped in the Maldives)Everyone: call on the Maldives to stop punishing women who are raped.
  I do not like addressing the coup leader as if he were president, but I signed it despite that, for the sake of the issue.
  23 March 2013 (NY Thug Department leaves major crimes unreported)Part of the New York Thug Department systematically left major crimes unreported while spending its time arresting people for marijuana.
  23 March 2013 (Labor and climate defense movements)The labor movement and the climate defense movement need to work together.
  23 March 2013 (Urgent: Support Iraq Veterans Against the War)Everyone: sign this petition in support of Iraq Veterans Against the War's request for a hearing to investigate the war crimes of the Bush forces.
  23 March 2013 (Press censorship in Rwanda)Rwanda has dropped certain forms of press censorship, but journalists remain in prison.
  27 March 2013 (Urgent: Call on Exxon to pay taxes for education)US citizens: call on Exxon to stop pretending it supports education, and instead pay its fair share of taxes for education.
  27 March 2013 (Alexander Perepilichnyy)Alexander Perepilichnyy appears to have been murdered by Russians for trying to track down the perpetrators of the giant tax fraud which Magnitsky reported.
  27 March 2013 (Iraqi women's rights)Iraqi women's rights activist Hanaa Edwar says that things are not looking good.
  In Iraqi Kurdistan, 400 "honor killings" are reported each year, but thousands more may occur.
  27 March 2013 ("Progressive" congresscritters)49 congresscritters who call themselves "progressive" have refused to take a firm stand against cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. See if yours is one of them.
  If so, complain!
  27 March 2013 (Protesters arrested for blocking Transcanada office)Climate defenders were arrested blocking a Transcanada office in Massachusetts.
  As the Obama regime tries to crush protests, it will put many protesters on trial. The purpose of the jury is to stop the state from imprisoning people for "crimes" that the public does not consider wrong. If you are on a jury when a peaceful protester is tried, always vote "Not guilty".
  The pipeline will cause many deaths, and that is a bigger crime than destruction of property. Thus, even sabotaging the pipeline will be justified, morally and legally, by the principle of necessity.
  26 March 2013 (UK convicts protester for criticising PM)The UK conclusively rejected freedom of speech, by convicting protester Bethan Tichborne for carrying a sign that said Prime Minister Cameron has blood on his hands.
  Meanwhile, the thugs that beat her up afterward have not been prosecuted at all. Typical.
  It is the state which is guilty here '-- of criminalizing dissent using ridiculous pretexts, just like many other tyrannical states.
  26 March 2013 (Wildfires in the US west)It's not yet spring, but wildfires in the US west have started.
  Global heating is responsible for heat waves early in the year (though not for precisely where and when this one occurred), and increases the chance of droughts such as the one that prepared the ground for this fire to spread.
  In a couple of decades, it will be much worse.
  24 March 2013 (Protest in Afghanistan demands removal of US special forces)A protest in Afghanistan demanded removal of US special forces, accusing them of torturing people.
  The Taliban kill more civilians than the NATO forces do, but they are not foreigners. Ultimately, if Afghans do not support the intervention, they will not forgive the damage it does to people.
  24 March 2013 (DMCA destroys cultural archiving)The DMCA destroys cultural archiving, and can make our era's culture into a future dark age (except for whatever illegal copies may survive).
  It is conventional folly that says, "Don't copy things without permission, and everything will be fine." Wisdom does not respond to an attack on our rights by surrendering without a fight. Wisdom says, "I always had, and still have in principle, the right to make copies, and with digital technology that right is more useful, so this sneaky method to deny it is intolerable."
  24 March 2013 (PAT-RIOT Act)More details about the ruling that part of the PAT-RIOT Act is unconstitutional.
  24 March 2013 (War on Drugs condemned)The United Nations Development Program's head condemned the War on Drugs.
  24 March 2013 (Using the CFAA to attack people for being annoying)Federal prosecutors are again using the CFAA to attack someone for an annoyance that should hardly be a crime.
  24 March 2013 (Right-wing pundits grasp at straws to justify austerity)Right-wing pundits grasp at straws to find a sign that austerity causes something other than poverty.
  24 March 2013 (Ecuador to cancel trade treaty with the US)Ecuador will formally cancel a trade treaty with the US, because oil companies are trying to use the "investior-state" provision that lets them sue Ecuador for doing anything that reduces their profits.
  This is what Uruguay should have done, when a multinational tobacco company used the Switzerland-Uruguay free trade treaty against Uruguay's plain-packaging law for cigarettes. But Uruguay's government didn't show the courage and strength of Correa's.
  Americans, do you think our government should give foreign corporations that sort of power over us? I call it treachery, a betrayal of our country.
  The World Trade Organization's treaty doesn't have an "investior-state" provision, but it allows one country to sue another over laws such as the US ban on flavored cigarettes, so it comes to the same thing. The WTO represents a betrayal of our country and every other one that signed up to it, and when it bands public health measures, it can kill. The WTO must be abolished.
  23 March 2013 (US coverage of Israeli attacks on Gaza)A UN report on deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza concluded that one of the many fatalities in Gaza may have been caused by a Palestinian rocket that fell short. US coverage focuses on that one casualty, and ignores all the other casualties in Gaza that were definitely caused by Israeli attacks.
  23 March 2013 (Revolving door for prosecutors)The revolving door for prosecutors explains why they don't prosecute banksters: they want to work as lawyers for those banksters.
  They would rather prosecute easier targets, such as Aaron Swartz, even if they don't really deserve prosecution.
  23 March 2013 (State assembly member who voted against legalizing marijuana)A New York state assembly member who voted against legalizing medical marijuana was caught speeding on the highway with marijuana in his car.
  23 March 2013 (Crackers can fake 9-1-1 call to send SWAT team)Crackers can now attack people by faking a 9-1-1 call to send a SWAT team to raid them.
  This adds to the danger which the numerous unnecessary SWAT teams across the US already posed.
  23 March 2013 (Deforestation in China)Greenpeace combats deforestation in China by campaigning against disposable chopsticks.
  19 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop CISPA)US citizens: join the Week of Action to stop CISPA.
  19 March 2013 (5th straight year of extreme corporate tax avoidance)March Madness: The 5th Straight Year of Extreme Corporate Tax Avoidance.
  28 March 2013 (US prisons)The Shame of America's Gulag: Its conditions are tantamount to torture, and prisoners are worked as slaves.
  A prison thug who pepper-sprayed a shackled prisoner right in the face managed not even to get fired for it.
  19 March 2013 (How US school children are taught to think about Iraq)Teaching US school children to think the conquest and occupation of Iraq were good.
  19 March 2013 (Social security)Social Security for the Next Generation? If You're Under 40, You Should Be in the Streets.
  19 March 2013 (Torture and killing of prisoners in Syria)Syria's government bombards civilians, and tortures and kills prisoners. The rebels also torture and kill prisoners.
  19 March 2013 (Sugar)Sugar causes euphoria in the same way heroin does.
  Imprisoning people for using heroin is as absurd as imprisoning people for using sugar, but it makes sense to design policies to discourage excessive use of either substance.
  19 March 2013 (Criminalisation of gatherings in the UK)19 March 2013 (Criminalisation of protest in the UK)In the UK, not only is protesting a crime; a gathering that the thugs think of as a protest is a crime too.
  19 March 2013 (Bogus elections in Zimbabwe)Zimbabwe is holding bogus elections again, with a ban on political meetings and short wave radios.
  19 March 2013 (Consequences of the spin on Iraq invasion)Iraq 10 Years Later: The Deadly Consequences of Spin.
  Most journalists, like most politicians, decided to go along with the pressure. Those who decided not to do that easily saw the holes in Dubya's threadbare story.
  19 March 2013 (Urgent: Reduce the use of drift gillnets)US citizens: call for reducing the use of drift gillnets, which kill lots of sea life for each fish they are intended to catch.
  19 March 2013 (Indoor pollution from stoves)Indoor pollution from stoves kills 4 million people per year.
  The article described a plan to try to do something about it, but I have no independent information about that.
  19 March 2013 (Women's rights)The UN agreed on a policy about women's rights, but the Catholic Church vetoed any mention of their right to an abortion or birth control.
  19 March 2013 (Cyprus "bailout" plan)The Cyprus "bailout" plan takes part of people's bank deposits.
  The loss of some bank deposits is not shocking in principle. If a bank fails, deposits up to a certain amount (100,000 euro?) will be insured, and the rest might be lost entirely. The difference in this scheme is that even deposits under 100,000 euro will lose 7%. This is marginally worse for the non-rich. Why not let everyone keep the first 100,000, so they are no worse off than if the bank had failed?
  Why not let Cypriotes and permanent residents keep their whole deposits, so mainly the Russian oligarchs get soaked?
  19 March 2013 (Steubenville football team members found guilty)Steubenville football team members were found guilty of raping a girl who had passed out drunk.
  The people of the town had such an attachment to the football team that they defended the players. I think it is childish to feel so strongly about a mere game, or get that concerned about a struggle over no real issue.
  I think it would be good to show US high school students something better to look forward to than getting drunk. But it is hard to do that when they know that their future is only crap jobs, while companies extract all the wealth from the US for the sake of billionaires, banksters screw them over, and frackers poison them.
  19 March 2013 (UK removing global heating from school curriculum)The UK is removing global heating from the school curriculum.
  Instead of addressing the problem, hush it up. However, it's a silly move. By the time the children affected become old enough to vote, or influence the opinions of voters, the disastrous effects of global heating will be visible to everyone.
  19 March 2013 (Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim free)Somali journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, who was imprisoned for interviewing a woman who accused soldiers of raping her and intimidating her into silence, has been freed.
  19 March 2013 (The new pope)There is some evidence that the new pope lied to priests who were driven into exile by the Argentine military dictators.
  However, it does not prove he went so far as to betray them. I doubt there is a way to establish the truth, and I don't think this evidence is enough basis to conclude he was culpable.
  However, it is a certainty that he opposes abortion, birth control and gay rights. That is plenty of grounds to condemn him.
  19 March 2013 (Israel builds housing for Jews in Jerusalem)Israel is building housing for Jews in the old city of Jerusalem, aiming to prevent any part of the city from being available as a capital for Palestine.
  It would be justified to require Israel to hand these over to Palestine just as it is justified to require Israel to hand over all its colonies in the West Bank. However, another option would be to make Jerusalem the capital of both countries.
  19 March 2013 (Protest in Budapest)Thousands Rally in Budapest for Democratic Rights.
  The government, which has over a 2/3 majority in parliament, is changing the constitution in ways accused of undermining the possibility of political opposition. I don't know enough of the facts to reach a conclusion myself.
  19 March 2013 (Houston bans feeding the homeless)Houston has banned feeding the homeless, and banned them from looking for food in garbage cans.
  Like many US cities, Houston wants to make homeless people go somewhere else, such as the cemetery.
  19 March 2013 (US agriculture surrendered to Monsanto)The Obama regime surrendered US agriculture to Monsanto, by declining to challenge the tactics that gave it a near-monopoly.
  19 March 2013 (The rush to replace school lessons with computer games)Debunking the rush to replace school lessons with computer games.
  The article does not mention another problem with most of these games: they are proprietary software.
  Teachers Make Handy Scapegoats, But Spiraling Inequality Is Really What Ails Our Education System
  19 March 2013 (Austerity in the UK)The UK will not turn back from austerity, even though (or, perhaps, because?) it is having its usual disastrous results.
  19 March 2013 (Aiding Syrian rebels)The quandary about aiding the Syrian rebels.
  It is horrible to do nothing, but it is not obvious how to do something with good effects.
  18 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop FDA hindrance on scientists)US citizens: call on the FDA to let its scientists present their knowledge and conclusions to the public without hindrance.
  18 March 2013 (Urgent: Rejection of Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline)US citizens: submit a public comment calling for rejection of the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
  18 March 2013 (Urgent: Strong arms control treaty for guns)US citizens: call on Obama to support a strong arms control treaty for guns.
  18 March 2013 (Hedge fund insider trading)A hedge fund was fined $600 million for a $276-million profit based on insider trading.
  At that rate of fine, hedge funds will do insider trading if they think they have less than a 45% chance of being caught.
  I expect they are caught under 4% of the time, so to deter a repeat, the fine should have been over ten times as large. If the fund would not agree to pay that much, perhaps the SEC should have prosecuted it in court '-- shocking as that might sound.
  18 March 2013 (Maryland to abolish death penalty)Maryland will abolish the death penalty, but may still execute the people already on death row.
  18 March 2013 (North Dakota considers law to ban abortions after 6 weeks)North Dakota is considering a law to ban abortions after 6 weeks, though not stated in so many words.
  The legislators that vote for these bills know that they are unconstitutional under Roe v Wade. They are trying to create opportunities for right-wingers in the Supreme Court to reverse that decision.
  18 March 2013 (UK gov't obeys agribusiness)The UK government obeyed agribusiness and torpedoed the EU ban on neonicotinoid pesticides.
  Since the pesticide accumulates in the soil, it will take many years before bees can return to the areas where it has been used.
  18 March 2013 (Angolan thugs confiscate dissident music)Thugs in Angola confiscated dissident music, then attacked a protest against the confiscation.
  18 March 2013 (Egyptian thugs attack journalists)Egyptian thugs attacked two groups of journalists during protests.
  18 March 2013 (Why courts aren't enough to ensure drone privacy)ACLU: Five Reasons Why the Courts Aren't Enough to Ensure Drone Privacy.
  18 March 2013 (The CFAA)How the CFAA developed into its current oppressive form, and how Obama proposed to make it even worse.
  18 March 2013 (Obama's drones)Court Says Obama Can't Talk About Drones and Still Call Them Secret.
  18 March 2013 (Jo Bonner's ethics rules)The former head of the House ethics committee, Jo Bonner, says his trip in Kenya complied with the ethics rules he helped develop. That's exactly the problem.
  18 March 2013 (Costs of war)New 'Costs of War' Report: Hundreds of Thousands Dead, Trillions Spent.
  18 March 2013 (Unjust penalization of unemployed people in the UK)The UK government lost a lawsuit to unemployed people who showed they were unjustly penalized based on unclear rules. So the government is pushing a retroactive law to deny the claims of unemployed people.
  Apparently Tories think that the unemployed can afford the loss but the state can't.
  18 March 2013 (ISP imposes 25- and 75-year contracts)An ISP imposed 25 and 75-year contracts on entire housing developments in Virginia.
  18 March 2013 (War on Drugs)Fifteen Benefits of the War on Drugs.
  18 March 2013 (E-book stores consider "lending" and "resale")E-book stores are considering various sorts of imitation restricted "lending" and "resale".
  This would, if implemented, eliminate one of several reasons why the e-books are ethically unacceptable. However, the other reasons would remain: every copy is controlled by DRM, and it is impossible to read with free software. People would not be able to borrow or buy used copies anonymously under these systems where every transaction is under control of the central company.
  This is still not ethically acceptable.
  17 March 2013 (Urgent: Clean up waste dumps from factory farms)US citizens: call on Obama to clean up dangerous waste dumps from factory farms.
  17 March 2013 (Urgent: Put banks on trial)US citizens: call on the SEC to put banks on trial when they commit crimes.
  17 March 2013 (Aaron Swartz lawyers accuse prosecutor of misconduct)Aaron Swartz Lawyers Accuse Prosecutor Stephen Heymann Of Misconduct.
  Every US prosecutor knows about the legal requirement to hand over information that might help the defense. When they don't do this, it is because they are trying to get away with a miscarriage of justice.
  17 March 2013 (The "Cyberwar" rhetoric)"Cyberwar" rhetoric plays into the hands of spies and military in whatever country.
  17 March 2013 (Obama to visit Israel and Palestine)Obama will visit Israel and Palestine but will not do anything significant to further the cause of peace.
  Anything significant would require resisting the pressure from the Israeli hawks' lobby.
  17 March 2013 (Shell's plans for drilling in the Arctic)The US has recognized that Shell's plans for drilling in the Arctic are inadequate.
  Nobody knows how to reliably clean up an undersea oil well leak anywhere, and even less so in the Arctic; thus, any plan Shell offers will necessarily be inadequate. However, if Obama remains "committed to drilling for oil in the Arctic", we must worry that the US will accept some other, more specific inadequate plan.
  Since we must leave 70-80% of all known fossil fuel reserves in the ground, any reserves that are particularly hard or risky to get at (such as these) should be at the head of the list to be left untouched.
  17 March 2013 (UK university bans Islamic group)A UK university has banned an Islamic group from holding events there, after the group tried to impose sex segregation on the audience in a debate.
  17 March 2013 (Obama's sincerity about selling people out)Obama told Republicans he is sincere about selling out the people who voted for him.
  17 March 2013 (Hugo Chavez)How Hugo Chavez defeated US plans to privatize and rip off Latin America.
  17 March 2013 (The Back to Work budget)The Back to Work budget proposes to get the US out of its recession.
  I support this, but I think that even more spending should be done because balancing the budget now is a misguided idea.
  17 March 2013 (Urgent: Prosecute and jail banksters)US citizens: sign this petition telling Holder not to hesitate to prosecute and jail banksters.
  17 March 2013 (The harm done by the Catholic Church)The Catholic Church still does great harm in the world.
  17 March 2013 (Monarch butterflies and milkweed)Genetically engineered corn and soy is wiping out milkweed, and monarch butterflies too.
  17 March 2013 (Global poverty)Global poverty has decreased substantially since 1990, but environmental degradation including global heating threatens to throw 3 billion people into extreme poverty by 2050.
  16 March 2013 (Break big banks)Two honest senators are trying to break up the big banks. Alas, Obama like most of Congress has sold out to the banksters.
  16 March 2013 (Too big to jail)It is now clear that JP Morgan cut off standard reports to bank regulators just as it was hit by a big loss.
  We cannot tolerate the existence of banks that dare to cut off reports to regulators, and we cannot tolerate regulators who allow a bank to get away with this. "Too big to jail", indeed. We must chop the large banks into small ones, any one of which could perfectly well be allowed to go out of business, and none of which dares defy regulators for even a day.
  Here is more information.
  16 March 2013 (Abuse of secrecy)William Leonard, head of the US Information Security Oversight Office for most of the Bush regime, says successive US presidents have abused secrecy to grab increased powers.
  "It is as if Lewis Carroll, George Orwell and Franz Kafka were jointly conspiring to form official US policy."
  16 March 2013 (US Conservative conference)The US Conservative conference demonstrated the extremism and racism that we know slink among them.
  The biggest danger of this is that it will enable Democrats such as Obama to move ever further to the right, and still win elections by saying they are not as bad as the ones who admit they are Conservatives.
  16 March 2013 (collection of personal data without a warrant)A US district court ruled that PAT-RIOT Act collection of personal data without a warrant is unconstitutional.
  There are several hurdles to cross from here to a real victory, but at least it is a start. Bravo, EFF!
  16 March 2013 (Indians and Dalits)Just as most Indians despise and abuse Dalits, the Dalits despise and abuse the Thurumbars.
  The Ambedkar quote is great: 'In Hinduism all are unequal, but some are more unequal than others.'
  16 March 2013 (Muslim Brotherhood)The Muslim Brotherhood, in power in Egypt, attacked women's rights at the UN.
  16 March 2013 (Number of protesters killed by Egyptian thugs in 2011)An Egyptian government internal report, commissioned by Morsi, says thugs killed 800 protesters in 2011.
  16 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose the "No Knives Act")Massachusetts citizens: call Representative Markey's office and tell him you oppose the "No Knives Act", which would ban common sense in the TSA.
  Markey is running for senator (to replace Kerry), so he has reason to pay attention to anyone in Massachusetts, not just people in his own district.
  Tell Markey you are fed up with security theater and you appreciate even this tiny intermission that the TSA has offered.
  16 March 2013 (Indians in Peru and Brazil fight oil company)Indians in Peru and Brazil are organizing together against an oil company. Since we need to keep 70% or 80% of all known fossil fuel reserves in the ground, there is no justification for trying to find any more.
  16 March 2013 (Prisoners in Guantanamo on hunger strike)Half the prisoners in Guantanamo are on hunger strike, but Obama's response is to cover it up.
  The Obama regime, confronted about indefinite detention in Guantanamo in the Organisation of American States, responded by twisting the meaning of the term and denying the facts.
  Indefinite detention means someone is imprisoned without a specific sentence, and with no criterion for release. That is the case for all the prisoners in Guantanamo, unless some have already been convicted by military kangaroo courts '-- but I don't think any of those have completed.
  16 March 2013 (Death to Whistle-Blowers?)Death to Whistle-Blowers?
  16 March 2013 (Obama refuses to give information about drone assassinations)Obama refused Democratic senators' request for information about drone assassinations.
  The senate should pass a law to restrict them.
  16 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose AIPAC's bills for war with Iran)US citizens: call 1-855-68-NO WAR and ask your senators and congresscritter to vote against AIPAC's bills for war with Iran.
  16 March 2013 (Dangerous artificial food colorings)Dangerous, even carcinogenic artificial food colorings can be replaced with safe color from vegetables and fruits.
  16 March 2013 (FinSpy malware used by 25 governments)25 governments are using the FinSpy malware program to get information from people's computers.
  This includes regular human-rights violators such as Vietnam, Qatar and the United States.
  16 March 2013 (Cruel gap between CEO pay and minimum wage)The Cruel Gap Between CEO Pay and the Stagnant Minimum Wage.
  16 March 2013 (UK activist ordered to delete his file)A UK activist got a court order to delete his file from a database on "domestic extremists", since there was never any evidence than he was one. However, so far nothing has been done to stop thugs from accumulating more records on him and other dissidents, or to punish them.
  16 March 2013 (New gas in Japan)New Gas Worth Nothing If We Take Climate Seriously.
  16 March 2013 (Obama's aggressive secrecy)Obama Administration Excludes National Security Policies from (supposed) Commitment to Transparency.
  Even Democrats are starting to object to Obama's aggressive secrecy and attacks on whistleblowing.
  15 March 2013 (Activist mocks Sarkozy, gets criminal conviction)An activist mocked Sarkozy for an insult the latter had said to someone, and received a criminal conviction for it. He appealed to the European Court of Justice, which gave a narrow ruling in his favor: it was not a crime because he was satirizing Sarkozy.
  When Sarkozy said the same words, that was not satire, so according to this ruling, there was nothing to protect him from prosecution. Yet he was not prosecuted, and still has not been. Apparently, the censorship is applied in a politically biased way.
  But Sarkozy should not be prosecuted for this, nor anyone else. Personal insults, even serious ones, are part of freedom of speech. France, and European countries in general, are greatly lacking in respect for freedom of speech.
  15 March 2013 (Urgent: Show Bradley Manning's trial on CSPAN)US citizens: call for showing Bradley Manning's trial on CSPAN.
  15 March 2013 (Non-rich get raw deal when charged with crimes)Americans who are not rich get a raw deal when charged with crimes, because they can't afford a lawyer who will do anything but ask them to make a plea bargain.
  15 March 2013 (US college students)US college students have to work so much for pay that they must skimp on studies, sleep, or both.
  15 March 2013 (Bill to outlaw drone strikes in the US)Camel's Nose: Let's Outlaw Drone Strikes in the United States.
  15 March 2013 (Swine-contaminated water)China's Dead-Hog Scandal Is Gross '-- But So Are the Hog Feces in US Waterways.
  15 March 2013 (US-imposed disaster in Iraq)'Unmitigated Disaster': Iraq's Pain Has Only Intensified Since US-Led Invasion in 2003.
  The article describes how the US has imposed disaster Iraq for 40 years since it helped the Ba'ath party take power.
  I question a few of the points. There are charges that Bush I's ambassador Glaspie encouraged Saddam to attack Kuwait, but we can't be sure. When Bush I decided not to take Baghdad in 1991, that may have been a wise decision, and we don't know what would have happened the other way. Also, I don't think the sanctions regime counts as "backing" Saddam.
  But these don't invalidate the overall conclusion.
  14 March 2013 (Systematic cheating on car fuel efficiency measurements)Car manufacturers systematically cheat on fuel efficiency measurements.
  That's in Europe '-- do they cheat similarly in the US?
  14 March 2013 (Sentence reduced for Cambodian dissident)An imprisoned Cambodian dissident has had his sentence reduced.
  That's a step in the right direction, but framing dissidents is always bad.
  14 March 2013 (Leveraged buyouts may cause companies to collapse)Leveraged buyouts that saddled many companies with large debts may cause those companies to collapse.
  If the companies declare bankruptcy, those who bought them out will lose all, which is justice, and the banks will lose some of what is owed to them, which is also justice. But some of those banks are so big they are above the law, and make a habit of dumping their losses on the public.
  14 March 2013 (Urgent: Protect wilderness in Alaska)US citizens: call on the Bureau of Land Management to maintain protection of wilderness in Alaska.
  14 March 2013 (Sombath Somphone kidnaped in Vientiane)Award-winning Lao environmental activist Sombath Somphone was kidnaped at a thug checkpoint in Vientiane, and the state is doing nothing to try to find him.
  All these facts support the conclusion that the kidnapping was organized by the state, and that it wants to make Sombath die of cancer.
  14 March 2013 (Iraqi Sunnis planning renewed civil war)Some Iraqi Sunnis are planning a renewed civil war to take control of Iraq away from the majority Shi'ites.
  I find it unlikely that they can defeat the majority even with financial support from Saudi Arabia. I think it is more likely that Sunnis will be massacred.
  14 March 2013 (TV airwaves)Don't auction off empty TV airwaves, SXSW activists tell FCC.
  14 March 2013 (Human rights in US)The US stripped human rights from non-citizens first, and then from citizens.
  14 March 2013 (Paul Ryan's Connections to Insurance Companies)Paul Ryan's Connections to Insurance Companies.
  He has a personal financial interest in his attack on government-provided medical funding.
  14 March 2013 (Breaking the Law, by Reading It)Breaking the Law, by Reading It.
  14 March 2013 (Net Neutrality)Net Neutrality Neutralised in France?
  13 March 2013 (US stops publishing data on drone attacks)The US has stopped publishing data on drone attacks in Afghanistan, and (amazingly) deleted the data it had previously published.
  I don't think using a drone on the battlefield is worse than using a manned aircraft or artillery. Indeed, drones might be less bad, less likely to hit civilians for instance. What makes drones specially bad is their use off the battlefield.
  Nonetheless, this secrecy is part of Obama's dangerous campaign to keep the people in the dark.
  13 March 2013 (US states consider banning undercover journalism)Many US states are considering bills to ban undercover journalism to expose disgusting conditions in farms.
  13 March 2013 (Liberal New Yorkers duped into supporting conservative candidate)Liberal New Yorkers have been duped into supporting a conservative candidate for mayor, because she is gay.
  I am glad if New York City is unprejudiced enough that a gay person can win election as mayor, just as I am glad that it is possible for a Black to be elected president. But I wouldn't support a right-wing gay candidate like Quinn or a right-wing Black candidate like Obama.
  13 March 2013 (Intersectarian war in Iraq)Intersectarian war is ramping up in Iraq, this time fueled by rivalry between political leaders.
  13 March 2013 (Legalization of assisted suicide)An MD in Scotland, campaigning for legalization of assisted suicide, says he gave medicine and advice to various badly ill people who for sane reasons wanted to kill themselves.
  13 March 2013 (Solar and wind energy prices)Advances in solar and wind energy are steadily driving the prices down.
  Now if only we took away the subsidies from fossil fuel and nuclear, and put it into renewable energy, we could make great strides in curbing global heating safely.
  13 March 2013 (Domestic workers' rights in the US)Domestic workers have been mostly left out from workers' rights in the US.
  13 March 2013 (Children stunted due to insufficient food)40% of children in large parts of Asia and Africa are stunted in brain and body due to insufficient food when young.
  We need to help their mothers have fewer children.
  13 March 2013 (EDF drops UK lawsuit against protesters)Fossil fuel burner EDF has dropped its UK lawsuit against environmental protesters.
  13 March 2013 (Public pays for Fukushima)Public Pays for Fukushima While Nuclear Industry Profits.
  13 March 2013 (Surging US stock market means nothing)The surging US stock market means nothing for American workers, since the corporations with lots of money don't really want to hire people.
  13 March 2013 ("Government of laws" above the law)Our 'Government of Laws' Is Now Above the Law.
  13 March 2013 (Norway Calls the World to Ban Nuclear Weapons)Norway Calls the World to Ban Nuclear Weapons.
  13 March 2013 (Thugs kill teenager in Brooklyn)Brooklyn Community Says 'Enough is Enough!' After Police Kill 16-Year-Old Boy.
  13 March 2013 (Manning statement audio leaked)Manning Statement Audio Leaked in Opposition to 'Extreme Secrecy in Our Courts'.
  13 March 2013 (Complaints of torture or abuse of prisoners of Israel)Since 2001, there have been 750 complaints of torture or abuse of prisoners of Israel. Not one led to a criminal investigation.
  13 March 2013 (Israeli troops shoot Palestinian protesters dead)Israeli troops are shooting Palestinian protesters dead.
  13 March 2013 (The "cannibal cop" conviction)Why Today's "Cannibal Cop" Conviction Should Terrify You: There is no evidence that he intended to carry out any of his fantasies.
  13 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose SR 65)US citizens: phone your senators and say to vote against SR 65, which would encourage Israel to attack Iran by promising US support.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  13 March 2013 (Urgent: Support Democracy Is For People constitutional amendment)US citizens: call on your senators to support the Democracy Is For People constitutional amendment.
  We also need the amendment saying that human rights, in general, do not apply to corporations.
  13 March 2013 (UK to block ban on pesticides linked to bee deaths)The UK will block an EU plan to ban the pesticides that appear to kill bees.
  13 March 2013 (NY thug found guilty of plotting to kidnap and eat women)A New York thug was found guilty of plotting to kidnap women and eat them.
  However, the thugs that attack protesters and then try to frame them are usually not even prosecuted.
  13 March 2013 (Corporations Don't Pay Taxes)If Corporations Don't Pay Taxes, Why Should You?
  13 March 2013 (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)The US has ignored the lessons of Fukushima. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission routinely ignores accidents it is supposed to penalize.
  13 March 2013 (Bloomberg's NYC)Bloomberg's NYC ban on large sugary drinks was struck down by a court, but this victory for obesity-promoting big business is nothing to celebrate.
  13 March 2013 (Prevent antibiotic resistance)To prevent antibiotic resistance from growing, we must change practices that release antibiotics into the environment (farms, rivers etc.).
  13 March 2013 (Phone manufacturers)Phone manufacturers are surely funding a lawsuit to abolish a US law requiring them to discover whether the minerals they buy from the Congo are funding war there.
  13 March 2013 (Investment banks)Proof that investment banks cheated companies when handling their IPOs, in order to get kickbacks from clients that would buy the stock.
  13 March 2013 (European Union)The European Union needs a way to expel member states that turn to dictatorships.
  It also needs to be, itself, a lot more democratic.
  13 March 2013 (giving business more power)The US Trade Representative has a job of vital importance: giving business more power over the US. It just release a disingenuous report pushing harmful goals justified by dishonest reasoning.
  13 March 2013 (War on Drugs: offense against human rights)Former Presidents of Brazil and Switzerland say that the War on Drugs is an offense against human rights.
  13 March 2013 (Corporate welfare outrage)Corporate welfare outrage: proposing a retroactive tax break for a giant and profitable company.
  13 March 2013 (Israeli landfill)An Israeli landfill in Palestine is spreading toxins and carcinogens.
  13 March 2013 (Soldiers not prevent attack)Caught on video: fanatical "settlers" beat up a teenage Palestinian shepherd as soldiers watched and did nothing to prevent the attack.
  13 March 2013 (Violation of human rights)Israel's system of imprisoning Palestinian minors systematically violates their human rights, says UNICEF.
  13 March 2013 (Urgent: Support the I am Not a Loan campaign)US citizens: support the I am Not a Loan campaign to free students from overhanging student debt.
  13 March 2013 (Crackdown on Burmese protesters)Aung San Suu Kyi, now in the Burmese Parliament, supported a crackdown on protesters on behalf of a Chinese-owned copper mine.
  The local people will probably support the mine if (1) their environment and health are properly protected from pollution and (2) they get a fair share of the wealth that the mine will generate. This is feasible, but the owners probably want to skimp on it so as to increase their profits. There is no excuse to let them get away with this. Aung San Suu Kyi and Parliament ought to tell the mine investors to give the local people enough to convince them to approve the mine.
  13 March 2013 (Urgent: Call on Obama to stand up for Tibet)US citizens: sign this petition calling on Obama to stand up for Tibet.
  12 March 2013 (Several states trying to eradicate wolves)Wolves are a success story for endangered species reintroduction, but several states are trying to eradicate wolves even though their numbers are still few.
  12 March 2013 (Somali journalists attacked)Somali journalists were attacked as they tried to cover a court case.
  Peculiarly, the court agents wanted the press to cover the session, but soldiers interfered anyway.
  12 March 2013 (Afghan gov't forces members shoot US and Afghan gov't personnel)Afghan government forces members keep on shooting US and Afghan government personnel.
  In Iraq, civilians were killed frequently for driving near a US convoy, after soldiers mistook them for attackers. Once soldiers know an attack can take that form, it is natural that they protect themselves. However, by doing so, they generate public hatred. Unless the populace hates the guerrillas enough that they forgive the soldiers, there is no way for the soldiers to win their hearts and minds once this cycle gets started.
  12 March 2013 (What's revealed by Facebook users' "likes")Many things can be determined about a Facebook user, with pretty good accuracy, from the user's published list of "likes".
  If you do as I do, and reject Facebook, you are safe from this form of snooping.
  How can we get the news items that interest us, without telling a server what criterion to use? Simple: download lists of items, and have software on our own machine decide which articles to show. This software can fetch additional articles (which it doesn't actually show us) just to create a false trail.
  12 March 2013 (Death of accused Delhi bus rape-murder gang member)One of the accused Delhi bus rape-murder gang committed suicide in prison, or was murdered.
  Look at the ridiculous response of the victim's relative, who is incensed that the man is dead because he wanted the man killed. There are valid and sufficient reasons to punish rapists and murderers, but sadism is not one of them.
  If, however, the man was murdered, that is a different issue. The state must not kill prisoners or let them be killed. However, all people, even prisoners, have the right to commit suicide.
  12 March 2013 (Internet filters)Ideas parents dislike "spread like a fungus" on the Internet, so filters are being developed to block access to discussions about topics such as anorexia.
  The article clearly shows the lack of clarity about the purpose of these filters. Is it to prevent children from "stumbling upon" something they don't want to see, or to prevent them from finding what they do want to see? The former might be easy, because the child will cooperate with it. The second is much harder, but I suspect that's what parents really want.
  If such filters ever work well, millions of parents will use them to keep their children from finding out about evolution or the principal reason for the current local drought, flood, big storm, heatwave, agricultural plague, or other effect of global heating.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Comment against Keystone XL pipeline whitewash study)US citizens: submit a public comment against the Keystone XL pipeline whitewash study.
  12 March 2013 (If (only) the Dalai Lama were Pope)If (only) the Dalai Lama were Pope.
  12 March 2013 (Obama regime)The Obama regime says it set out to kill al-Aulaqi after getting Abdulmutallab (the underwear bomber) to inculpate him, but multiple evidence shows it had already made this decision earlier, when reportedly it knew nothing about him except that he was expressing hostile views.
  Meanwhile, inculpation by a prisoner such as Abdulmutallab is hardly a solid basis to conclude someone is guilty of anything.
  12 March 2013 (Zerlina Maxwell)Zerlina Maxwell, debating a right-wing show host, rejected the idea that women should carry guns to stop rapists, and said that we should put the blame on men who rape.
  Irate right-wing men sent her rape threats.
  12 March 2013 (Amnesty International and the Iraqi)Amnesty International condemned the Iraqi government for continuing disrespect for human rights.
  12 March 2013 (EU Bans Sale of Cosmetics)EU Bans Sale of Cosmetics Tested on Animals.
  12 March 2013 (AIPAC-sponsored bills)Two AIPAC-sponsored bills would push the US towards war with Iran.
  Americans for Peace Now explains how they are dangerous.
  12 March 2013 (Drone Question)The Drone Question Obama Hasn't Answered.
  12 March 2013 (Repeal authorization for using military force)The New York Times asks congress to repeal the 2001 authorization for using military force.
  Note that doing this "effective on withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan" might have no effect, since Obama wants to leave some troops there permanently.
  12 March 2013 (Technology to change course)The movement to resist urban noise shows that popular opposition to the effects of technology can force technology to change course.
  12 March 2013 (Religion may help criminals)How religious beliefs (probably Christian) help habitual criminals silence their consciences.
  12 March 2013 (Human Rights Abuses)Human Rights Abuses Spiral in Iran: UN.
  12 March 2013 (Refusal of Freedom of Information)Obama has increased the rate of refusal of Freedom of Information Act requests to a record.
  12 March 2013 (Tax on Being Poor)In the [US] South and West, a Tax on Being Poor.
  12 March 2013 (River pollution)Tens of thousands are marching to Delhi to protest river pollution.
  12 March 2013 (Lax towards their future employers)Senator Warren tore into the US bank regulators for their lax attitude towards their probable future employers.
  12 March 2013 (Global heating)The top US admiral in the Pacific Ocean says the biggest threat to the US there is global heating.
  12 March 2013 (Hollywood bows down to China)Hollywood now bows down to China much as it bows down to the Pentagon.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose attacks on birth control and women's health programs)US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say, oppose attacks on birth control and women's health programs. Also sign this petition, but the phone call will have more impact.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Rulemaking about use of drones by US border patrol)US citizens: call for rulemaking about use of drones for surveillance in the US by the border patrol.
  12 March 2013 (Information that companies collect about Americans)A list of many kinds of information that companies regularly collect about most Americans.
  They don't get most of this information about me, because I am a surveillance resister.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Protect sea turtles)Everyone: call for protection of sea turtles in Baja California.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Call on the US to follow international assassination law)US citizens: call on the US to follow international law about assassination.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop predatory "payday loans")US citizens: call for the US to stop predatory "payday loans" that gouge the poor.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Prosecute banks)US citizens: Call on Attorney General Holder to prosecute banks, not consider them "too big to jail".
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Treaty to abolish nuclear weapons)US citizens: call on Obama to work for a treaty to abolish nuclear weapons.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Protect caribou habitat)US citizens: the Keystone XL pipeline, which would threaten civilization in the long term, would first threaten caribou habitat. Call on the US to consider this issue properly.
  12 March 2013 (Dubya's conquest and occupation of Iraq)Dubya's conquest and occupation of Iraq was arguably the biggest US foreign policy mistake in its history.
  It was also an act of aggressive war: the crime for which German and Japanese leaders were executed.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: End too "big to jail")US citizens: call on Obama to end "too big to jail".
  12 March 2013 (Attack on Australia's plain packaging law for cigarettes)Tobacco companies and their submissive governments are using the World Trade Organization to attack Australia's plain paper packaging law for cigarettes.
  They make the absurd argument that companies have a right to draw further profit from their investments in advertising.
  The WTO ruled against the US law against flavored cigarettes, too.
  The World Trade Organization kills people by subordinating human lives to profit. Let's kill it before it can kill again.
  12 March 2013 (Proposed US-EU free exploitation treaty)A proposed US-EU free exploitation treaty threatens Europe with another attack on democracy that could increment the political power of business up to US levels.
  12 March 2013 (Inspiring hatred in Iraq)The US inspired hatred in Iraq using the same methods that were so effective in Latin America.
  But the Pentagon isn't satisfied, and wants to do it again, this time with no restraints.
  The School of the Americas is still operating; its name was changed in the hope we would forget.
  12 March 2013 (Urgent: Support the Arbitration Fairness Act)US citizens: phone your senators to support the Arbitration Fairness Act, which would stop companies from imposing forced arbitration on customers and employees.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  11 March 2013 (6-year-old arrested for crossing a street)A 6-year-old in the US was arrested for crossing a street, and for going to a store on her own.
  When I was 6 years old, I had to cross streets and avenues to get to school. Avenues in Manhattan are several lanes wide and the cars go rather fast. But this was nothing special '-- every child did it.
  11 March 2013 (UN Commission and Status of Women)The UN Commission on the Status of Women is being undermined by a right-wing leader who is bowing down to the Vatican.
  11 March 2013 (Censorship proposal)The European Union is considering an extreme censorship proposal in the name of ending prejudice against women.
  I've seen porn on German TV stations, late night. I suppose that would be banned too.
  11 March 2013 (Guns)Having guns in your house makes you less safe. Allowing concealed weapons leads to more gun crime.
  It is takes constant practice to use a gun well enough that you could stop an armed assailant.
  11 March 2013 (Google obtained patent license)Google has obtained a royalty-free patent license for the VP8 video format (used in WebM), effectively for everyone.
  I hope that some browser developers will now stop refusing to support VP8 format.
  11 March 2013 (Refuting criticism of Chavez)Refuting criticism of Chavez.
  11 March 2013 (secular counterpart of theology)Biased, nationalist history considered as a secular counterpart of theology.
  11 March 2013 (Recognize the closing of public schools)Teachers' unions recognize the closing of public schools, while opening nonunion "charter" schools, as simple union-busting.
  11 March 2013 (Paid compensation to an employee he smeared)O'Keefe, who destroyed the community aid group Acorn, has paid compensation to an employee he smeared.
  What disappoints me about this article is that it shows no hint of a doubt that there is something bad about setting up a brothel.
  11 March 2013 (Obama will try Abu Ghaith)Obama will try Abu Ghaith in a civilian court. This is the right way to do it. At least Obama has passed up one opportunity to trash human rights. If he passed up more of them, I might consider him a good president.
  11 March 2013 (Sperm whale)A sperm whale was killed by the plastic waste it swallowed.
  11 March 2013 (London protester Alfie Meadows)Maimed London protester Alfie Meadows was found not guilty of "violent disorder" after his third trial. The government goes to great lengths to try to repress protesters. Meanwhile, the thug who attack Meadows has not even been charged.
  Another protester was convicted of arson for burning a wooden bench. This is perversion of the word "arson" and shows, once again, the repressive nature of law in the UK.
  11 March 2013 (Cut support for poor people)The UK government has cut support for poor people that have more bedrooms than the state judges they need; but the UK doesn't have enough smaller apartments to house all of them.
  Even when they can find smaller apartments, the requirement to move could cause them great hardship and expense.
  11 March 2013 (School-to-prison pipeline)The school-to-prison pipeline starts with five year olds that talk about playing with toy guns, or imaginary toy guns.
  It might be better for parents to stop raising children in a way that gets them used to guns; but not by threatening to punish the children.
  11 March 2013 (Trading Drains)New Report Exposes How High Frequency Trading Drains Investment and Jobs from the Real Economy.
  11 March 2013 (US appeals court)A US appeals court ruled that border agents need "reasonable suspicion" to search the contents of a traveler's laptop.
  That is a step forward, but the criterion remains very weak.
  11 March 2013 (Justice Department)The Justice Department intervened in support of a man who made a video of thugs beating up men they were arresting.
  Three cheers for this, but it doesn't look like lawsuits against thugs are enough to make them stop this. They should be prosecuted.
  11 March 2013 (Resist science standards for religious reasons)Some states may resist the New Generation Science Standards for religious reasons.
  11 March 2013 (Giving US thugs military weapons)Giving US thugs military weapons has resulted in many killings of innocent civilians. Thus, SWAT teams make Americans less safe.
  The problem is due to federal programs to fund SWAT teams. Once a city has a SWAT team, it feels a need to use that expensive resource, with the result that people are regularly exposed to the danger.
  Even small cities with little crime have armored vehicles that are designed to fight other armored vehicles.
  The ACLU is investigating to find the extend of the problem.
  11 March 2013 (Drones and privacy)Why drones endanger privacy worse than helicopters.
  How states are proposing to regulate drones.
  11 March 2013 (Radioactive waste)US budget cuts could endanger efforts to control leaking tanks of radioactive waste.
  11 March 2013 (Stores track customers' cell phones.)Stores track customers' cell phones.
  They can't see me this way.
  11 March 2013 (Skype to be censored in China)Microsoft allows Skype to be censored in China, and tries to make this sound like normal business.
  11 March 2013 (Google glasses)A bar has banned Google Glasses to protect its patrons' privacy.
  11 March 2013 (Political payment was apparently illegal)Why Chevron's multimillion political payment was apparently illegal.
  Even if Chevron is fined ten times the amount it gave, that may do no good since the payoff on political influence payments is often hundreds or thousands of times what was given.
  The loophole Chevron is trying to use '-- giving through one subsidiary while contracting through another '-- should not be allowed either.
  11 March 2013 (Legal argument for allowing Super)The legal argument for allowing Super PACs to receive unlimited donations from corporations is that they would be independent of the political campaigns; but in practice they are hardly independent.
  Even if they were indeed run independently, they would still tend to buy the support of candidates, who know full well which companies want which policies.
  11 March 2013 (Bad US health care system)The bad US health care system kills around 50,000 people a year because they can't afford care. It also bankrupts many people '-- over 60% of bankruptcies in the US were caused by medical expenses.
  Solving this problem requires putting an end to many profitable, exploitative businesses, including some that have the form of "nonprofits" (as explained in Brill's article). Thus, we need to steel ourselves to ignore the protests of those businesses, as we change to a system that serves our needs. As for the owners of those businesses, they'll live.
  11 March 2013 (Global collapse of civilization)Global heating and other ecological degradation threaten a global collapse of civilization, due to food insufficiency among other things.
  The greatest crimes known are genocide and aggressive war. The companies and crony politicians now keeping civilization on track for collapse are committing both of these. A global food insufficiency in a few decades would be the biggest genocide ever seen, and will trigger bloody wars between the desperate starving and the frightened ones with some food.
  I propose that people should assemble, now, a database on all those responsible, both the leaders such as the Koches and the followers such as Obama. With this database, they can be punished, and their ill-gotten gains can be taken away from them or their descendants. We should make sure they cannot buy their way out of the catastrophe they are imposing on the rest of the world.
  If we make this clear enough, soon enough, we might even scare them into allowing measures to stop global heating.
  11 March 2013 (Restricting abortions)100 women in Ulster have stated they have used abortion pills, as a campaign against restricting abortions there.
  11 March 2013 (Predictive policing on Internet)Combining "predictive policing" with a society of fools that allow Internet services to know thousands of daily details about them could lead to pre-emptive arrests of people who somehow resemble past criminals.
  I wonder what effect it had on the 13-year-old girl that the police took her computer and turned her into an unintentional stool pigeon.
  11 March 2013 (economic plans for ending austerity)Ellen Brown praises Beppe Grillo's economic plans for ending austerity in Italy.
  11 March 2013 (War with Iran)Time magazine presumes that war with Iran is only a matter of time.
  To the extent that this facilitates starting the war, the war would be a matter of Time.
  11 March 2013 (Bill to ban data-mining)A Massachusetts bill would ban Internet services from data-mining data stored by schools.
  I am in favor of this bill. I don't care how it would affect specific companies such as Google or Microsoft: it would be an advance in the public's rights.
  At the same time, I don't think it goes far enough. Even if this becomes law, people should not store any private information on remote storage services without encrypting it before upload.
  11 March 2013 (EFF supports bill)The EFF supports a bill introduced to tighten rules for government access to some sorts of people's digital information.
  It is unfortunate that the article uses the nebulous term "cloud", but its conclusions are valid anyway.
  11 March 2013 (US unemployment rate)The US unemployment rate would be at 9.5% if we included the people who have given up on finding work again due to the recession.
  11 March 2013 (Keeping terrorism trials in US courts)Keeping terrorism trials in US courts works much better than using Guantanamo kangaroo courts.
  What's more, it is closer to real justice,
  11 March 2013 (Antinuclear protest in Japan)There was a big antinuclear protest in Japan, two years after the Fukushima disaster started.
  The cleanup may take 40 years, and let's hope there isn't another tsunami during that time.
  11 March 2013 (Profiting from global heating)Rich people are investing in profiting from global heating.
  The danger is that those businesses will have an interest in global heating and will lobby against efforts to reduce it. Some of these businesses should be banned just to ensure that doesn't happen.
  11 March 2013 (Privatization of state schools)A shocking case illustrates the dishonest way the UK government imposes privatization of state schools, over the wishes of the community.
  UK university students are on strike to block privatizations.
  11 March 2013 (Death sentences for football rioters)Death sentences for accused football rioters have led to an insurrection in Port Said.
  11 March 2013 (Rand against Brennan's appointment)Rand Paul's filibuster against Brennan's appointment got straight to the heart of Obama's rationale for ordering assassinations.
  11 March 2013 (arrest people for carrying a condom)New York thugs regularly arrest people for carrying a condom, if they look suspicious. Supposedly that proves they are prostitutes.
  Even if they really are prostitutes, that is an injustice. There is no justification for banning prostitution. All that does is oppress the poor.
  11 March 2013 (School closures)Chicago's mayor claims school closures are a way to save money but it looks like they are just union-busting.
  11 March 2013 (Complex spending billions on not needed planes)The military/industrial/congressional complex is spending billions on planes that the air force does not need, which illustrates how there is a lot of room for cuts in military spending.
  11 March 2013 (UK government is corrupted)The UK government is corrupted through links between ministers and oil companies.
  11 March 2013 (Antibiotic resistance)Antibiotic resistance is spreading in bacteria that live in people's intestines.
  11 March 2013 (India coal-burning)India's coal-burning electric plans kill around 100,000 people per year and cause 20 million new cases of asthma per year.
  11 March 2013 (Debate Islam and Atheism)At a debate in London between Islam and Atheism, the Atheist debater refused to speak unless women were allowed to sit wherever they wished.
  Bravo!
  11 March 2013 (Pakistani drivers)Efforts to teach Pakistani drivers safe driving founders due to an Islamic fatalism about death.
  11 March 2013 (CITES protect sharks)CITES has given protection to 5 species of sharks which were most heavily threatened.
  11 March 2013 (ICC prosecutors)The ICC prosecutors have dropped the case against one Kenyan politician after a key witness said he was lying.
  I don't know enough to have any idea what the truth is in this.
  11 March 2013 (Discouraged public attention)Bush discouraged public attention to the cost of the occupation of Iraq, which facilitated corruption and waste.
  11 March 2013 (UK nuclear power plant)In the UK, nuclear power plant operates keep their benefits but shift the cost of disasters to the public. This creates moral hazard, encouraging dangerous practices.
  I recall that the US has a similar policy, though I don't have a reference for it.
  11 March 2013 (Gang against women hushed)Gang rapes against women activists in Tahrir Square are being hushed up by Islamists.
  10 March 2013 (Urgent: Move nuclear waste to medium-term dry storage)US citizens: phone your senators and call for moving nuclear waste to medium-term dry storage, rather than leaving it in pools next to reactors.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  10 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop banks from issuing exploitative payday loans)US citizens: call for the US to stop big banks from issuing exploitative payday loans.
  10 March 2013 (World's oldest rock art threatened by uranium mining)Uranium mining in Australia threatens the world's oldest rock art.
  If that uranium is mined and put in reactors, it can damage more than that.
  10 March 2013 (UK govt criticizes demoralized NHS staff after cutting their budget)After NHS budget cuts, the UK government criticizes the demoralized staff. They want these overworked people to be at the top of their form all the time, to make up for the insufficiency.
  10 March 2013 (British Commonwealth to meet in Sri Lanka)The British Commonwealth chose to have its next meeting in Sri Lanka, ignoring that government's systematic repression.
  10 March 2013 (Somali gov't protects rapists)A Somali woman talks about the gang rape by Somali soldiers, followed by persistent government efforts to hush it up and protect them.
  10 March 2013 (UK patients squeezed for profit by private contractor)A company handling UK medical care for the NHS has lied hundreds of times about the level of staffing it provides.
  Privatization of an activity means a company extracts profit from it. To find that profit, the company has to squeeze someone or something. In this case, it's the patients.
  10 March 2013 (Unequal distribution of wealth in the US)The US is now almost as unequal in wealth as Brazil.
  10 March 2013 (Solitary confinement as punishment for prisoners)The New York Civil Liberties Union is suing to end use of solitary confinement as a punishment for prisoners.
  One prisoner (at least) was punished with solitary confinement for filing a lawsuit against the prison.
  09 March 2013 (Religious fanatics attacking abortion)A woman who was badly sick got a late-term abortion but died anyway. Now anti-abortion religious fanatics are trying to attack her.
  I've read they also want to cancel the surgeon's medical license.
  09 March 2013 (Women names on marriage)If women change their names on marriage, that hurts their careers as well as perhaps their self-respect.
  09 March 2013 (Women change their names on marriage)If women change their names on marriage, that hurts their careers practically as well as through suggesting that they are inferior to men.
  The article ends, sad to say, with an argument in favor of changing names: to screw up use of Facebook. However, if you do the right thing and reject Facebook, that argument disappears.
  09 March 2013 (Venezuela after Chavez)Venezuela after Chavez must face the issue of the global heating caused by its oil exports.
  09 March 2013 (Journalists in Tanzania)Journalists in Tanzania face violent attacks.
  09 March 2013 (Australia's Climate Commission)Australia's Climate Commission holds global heating responsible for the record hot summer.
  09 March 2013 (CITES voted not to ban polar bear hunting)CITES voted not to ban polar bear hunting.
  If polar bears are reproducing in plenty, but they can't all survive due to the changed habitat resulting from global heating, a certain amount of hunting will not affect the future size of the bear population '-- in effect, it will cause some bears to die instead of others. I don't know what that amount is, or how it compares with the 600 or so polar bears killed annually by hunters.
  09 March 2013 (Dangerous of sausages)Sausages are a lot more dangerous that horsemeat-contaminated chopped meat.
  09 March 2013 (Late-term abortions)Two brave doctors in the US do late-term abortions. Here is a description of the threats and hostility they must face every day.
  Any pregnant woman in the US might find her life depends on these doctors, if certain complications of pregnancy occur.
  09 March 2013 (Law to treat embryos as persons)Kansas is considering a law to treat embryos as persons.
  09 March 2013 (Birth Control)Birth Control and "The Myth of the Judeo-Christian Tradition".
  09 March 2013 (MCDonalds working foreign students for no pay)McDonalds is working foreign students for no pay. So they went on strike.
  09 March 2013 (Monsanto Holds the Patents on Life)What it Means that Monsanto Holds the Patents on Life.
  09 March 2013 (Oil extraction is poisoning people)Gas from tar sands oil extraction is poisoning people in Alberta.
  09 March 2013 (Driver of the car Oswaldo)The driver of the car in which Oswaldo Pay was riding says that he made a false confession under duress, and that the accident which may have killed Pay occurred when a government car rammed his car from behind.
  09 March 2013 (British Bush forces gave no painkillers)British Bush forces gave no painkillers to wounded Iraqi prisoners.
  A hatred of Iraqis pervaded the Bush forces; this might be an instance of it.
  09 March 2013 (CIA accused causing Chavez to get cancer)Venezuelan politicians accuse the CIA of causing Chavez to get cancer.
  I find it the accusation unlikely. It would not surprise me at all if the CIA tried to assassinate Chavez. He was an enemy of the banksters that Obama generally serves, and Obama openly practices assassination. However, the chemicals that can cause cancer do not act reliably or quickly, unless perhaps if given in massive doses, and I think that might cause other acute problems. Is there a carcinogen that might plausibly be used for this?
  09 March 2013 (Stability in Iraq)Stability in Iraq depends on punishing US torturers.
  Linking US-sponsored torture in Iraq to US-sponsored torture in El Salvador.
  09 March 2013 (Punished for praising the September 11 attacks)A US congressman says that Abu Ghaith deserves to be punished for propaganda praising the September 11 attacks.
  Isn't expression of opinion supposed to be a constitutional right? There may be other grounds to prosecute Abu Ghaith, but the US should not punish anyone for mere opinion.
  09 March 2013 (European Parliament on Obama's assassination)What the European Parliament and Rand Paul say about Obama's assassination policy and his evasive responses when asked to justify it.
  Al Qa'ida is not an enemy army; it is a criminal gang. The US must recognize this and treat it that way, and grant the usual respect for the rights of the accused.
  09 March 2013 (On the Legacy of Hugo Chavez)On the Legacy of Hugo Chavez.
  How Chavez earned the hatred of US plutocrats.
  09 March 2013 (A year starve in UK NHS hospitals)Over 200 people a year starve in UK NHS hospitals because the staff are overworked and cannot attend to them.
  This could easily be avoided '-- it just takes hiring enough staff.
  Will plans to make record-keeping take less time help? Maybe. This efficiency could be an opportunity to increase the time staff can spend on patients. However, this could be used as an opportunity to reduce the level of staff.
  If the NHS is effectively privatized, which one do you think the new bosses will do?
  09 March 2013 (Hungary's governing party)Hungary's governing party is accused of taking the country towards absolutism.
  09 March 2013 (CO2 emissions rose in 2012)CO2 emissions rose in 2012; it was the second-largest annual increase ever measured.
  09 March 2013 (selling information about celebrities)UK thugs pleaded guilty to selling information about celebrities to a newspaper.
  09 March 2013 (Pushing the TSA to cancel its common sense)Airline employees, irrationally concerned about minor dangers, are pushing the TSA to cancel its common sense.
  Could someone please run a national campaign to support the change?
  09 March 2013 (Denied the health danger of tobacco)How the Tea Party grew out of tobacco company PR that denied the health danger of tobacco.
  09 March 2013 (US snowstorms to global heating)Relating US snowstorms to global heating.
  09 March 2013 (US banks are too big to be prosecuted)The Attorney General openly said that some US banks are too big to be prosecuted no matter what crimes they may commit.
  These banks are mortal enemies of the independence of the United States. Don't be distracted by pipsqueaks such as al Qa'ida '-- fight the banksters. I am sure they have killed a lot more than 3,000 Americas in the past few years.
  08 March 2013 (Urgent: Close tax loopholes)US citizens: call on Congress to close tax loopholes used by corporations and the rich.
  08 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop selling neonicotinoid pesticides)Everyone: call on Bayer to stop selling neonicotinoid pesticides, since they appear to be killing bees.
  08 March 2013 (Urgent: Comcast against paid sick days)In the US: tell Comcast to stop lobbying against paid sick days for workers in Philadelphia.
  08 March 2013 (Obama is "reaching out to Republicans")Obama is "reaching out to Republicans" again.
  What could they have in common? Obama has already said he wants to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
  This makes it all the more important for Americans to phone their members of Congress to demand that they sign the Grayson-Takano letter and promise to vote against any such "grand bargain".
  Don't let Obama and the Republicans impose any more sacrifices on poor Americans.
  08 March 2013 (Rich Venezuelans celebrate the death of Chavez)Rich Venezuelans who live in Florida are celebrating the death of Chavez.
  They hate him because he did not let them exploit Venezuela as they wish. What this shows is that they have no shame about exploiting the poor.
  Sad to say, they have come to the right country. The US would be much better off economically if it had a Chavez as president. And our human rights would be safer, too. Chavez famously violated human rights on some occasions (and I have criticized them), but he's a human rights hero compared with Bush and Obama.
  08 March 2013 (Senators filibustering Brennan's appointment)Senators Rand Paul and Ron Wyden are filibustering Brennan's appointment to head the CIA, in order to express their opposition to Obama's claim to be allowed to kill anyone anywhere.
  07 March 2013 (Urgent: Stop sale of clothing made by slave labor)In the US: tell Target to stop selling clothing made by slave labor in Uzbekistan.
  07 March 2013 (Urgent: Save the libel reform bill)Britons: write to MPs to save the libel reform bill.
  07 March 2013 (Urgent: Thank Obama for nominating Gina McCarthy)US citizens: thank Obama for nominating Gina McCarthy to head the EPA.
  07 March 2013 (Urgent: Reject State Department's whitewash of Keystone XL)US citizens: tell Obama to reject the State Department's whitewash of the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
  07 March 2013 (Venezuelan opposition leader faces charges)A Venezuelan opposition leader faces criminal charges of influence peddling in 1998.
  I won't assume these charges are false '-- this was the sort of thing that politicians did. However, it seems like excessive to bring such charges 15 years later.
  07 March 2013 (Danger of dictatorship in the US)Government officials warned in recent years of the danger of dictatorship in the US.
  Laws are now effectively secret.
  07 March 2013 (State Department's report on Keystone XL)The State Department's whitewash of the planet-roaster pipeline was written in conjunction with a consulting company that also works with oil companies including the Koch brothers.
  It looks like Obama has been bought and is constructing a web of lies to serve as an excuse.
  07 March 2013 (Benjamin Kallos for New York City Council)Vote for Benjamin Kallos for New York City Council
  07 March 2013 (The "Internet of Things")The "Internet of Things" is really a scheme to morph everyday life into a complex of marketing/surveillance activities presented as a new form of friendship.
  I don't want to have a "relationship with a brand". I don't want to give companies any information about me when I buy or use their products. I have opted out almost completely from these twisted uses of the Internet.I hope you will join me.
  There are several different uses of the network that people call "cloud" due to not understanding them. When an article says "the cloud", the author means, "It uses the network, but I don't know how or why; I don't know what I'm talking about."
  07 March 2013 (Journalists in Tunisia face death)Secular journalists in Tunisia face death threats from intolerant Islamists and obstruction from the state.
  07 March 2013 (Iraq reconstruction funds wasted)At least 8 billion dollars of Iraq "reconstruction" funds were wasted outright.
  Much of the rest did little good.
  07 March 2013 (Iraqi torture centres)Pentagon and Petraeus linked to Iraqi torture centres.
  07 March 2013 (Imprisoned for peaceful protests)Zainab Al-Khawaja, Bahraini dissident, has been imprisoned over and over for peaceful protests.
  07 March 2013 (Obama showed more assassination opinion)Obama showed some more assassination opinion memos to some senators, but not to us.
  07 March 2013 (Guantanamo even nastier)Obama has made Guantanamo even nastier than it was, and most of the prisoners are now on hunger strike since they know they can't be released.
  Obama, like Bush before him, makes me ashamed of my country. I am proud I didn't vote for either of them.
  07 March 2013 (Laws to lower minimum wage)ALEC is pushing laws in US states to lower minimum wage.
  07 March 2013 (Authorize thugs to collect DNA)The Supreme Court may authorize thugs to collect DNA from every person who is arrested, on the pretext that it is for verifying identification.
  Put this together with the school-to-prison pipeline, and they will get samples of every American's DNA in the future.
  07 March 2013 (Obama's assassination)Obama's assassination rationale: "If a high official does it, it's not illegal."
  07 March 2013 (A More Independent South America)A More Independent South America and the Chvez Legacy.
  07 March 2013 (Tariq Ali describes the Chavez)Tariq Ali describes the Chavez he knew.
  07 March 2013 (Google Glasses)Google Glasses could turn millions of people into data collectors for Google, giving data about themselves and others.
  If these devices were running free software, you could decide what information to give to whom, rather than being used by them.
  07 March 2013 (Urgent: Protest against austerit)Citizens of the EU: protest against austerity on March 13 and 14.
  07 March 2013 (Clean up depleted uranium in Iraq)Efforts are being made to clean up depleted uranium in Iraq.
  I suppose the cleanup plans include only a fraction of the most contaminated sites. The question to ask the US and UK military: "If some enemy invaded your country, would you fire depleted uranium shells?"
  06 March 2013 (President Chavez dead)President Chavez of Venezuela has died.
  Hugo Chvez Kept His Promise to the People of Venezuela
  Obama, naturally, used the occasion to repeat his perennial criticism of Chavez. Obama works for the banksters, and the banksters really really want to get Venezuela back under their dominion. The US senator, meanwhile, pretends that Venezuela's elections are less democratic than US elections.
  I have some criticisms of Chavez. I don't like his support for dictators, the plan to shut down the main opposition TV channel, and the arbitrary punishment of some opposition figures (recall that the US is at least as bad).
  Overall, however, I think Chavez was a far better president than Bush or Obama, in terms of the mission of the state: to assure the freedom and well-being of the people.
  06 March 2013 (Teacher barred by Israel for refusal to become informer)A teacher at the Friends School in Ramallah was barred by Israel because she refused to become an informer.
  06 March 2013 (Israeli border thugs support "settlers")When masked Israeli "settlers" attack and harass Palestinians, the border thugs typically support the harassers. Here's a photo showing a soldier shaking hands with a masked "settler".
  The villagers of Yasuf have been blocked for years from access to their farmland by fanatical "settlers", who also burned their mosque.
  06 March 2013 ("Cloud storage" companies check users' files)Many US "cloud storage" companies check the files that users store, looking for "illegal materials".
  Today they check for known images of sexual abuse of children. Tomorrow they could check for whatever the government wants them to check for.
  06 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose AIPAC)US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say, "AIPAC [the Israeli Hawks' lobby] does not speak for me '-- I am against attacking Iran, and against Israeli colonies on Palestinian land."
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  06 March 2013 (US development into dictatorship)Measuring the US development into a dictatorship: only two of the amendments in the Bill of Rights are still heeded.
  This article details how the US government regularly makes monkeys out of the rest of them.
  06 March 2013 (70 dissidents tortured in Abu Dhabi)Abu Dhabi has tortured 70 dissidents, maiming some, to get them to confess to a conspiracy to commit some vaguely described horrible act. The state claims to have had written proof of this, but has destroyed it.
  I disliked Chavez's friendship with Iran and Gaddafi's Libya, but it was no worse than western support for the regime in Abu Dhabi.
  06 March 2013 (TSA to allow small knives in cabin)The TSA has decided to permit small retractable knives in the cabin.
  A small bit of common sense.
  06 March 2013 (CPR)The woman who died in a California nursing home apparently did not want CPR done to her.
  To respect her wishes would have been correct, but the nurse on the phone did not say she was doing that.
  If you're going to do CPR, the sooner the better. Thus, the policy she cited '-- to call an ambulance to come and do CPR '-- makes no sense at all.
  06 March 2013 (Thugs in Sydney brutally injure man)Thugs in Sydney threw a man on the ground and brutally injured him. In usual thug fashion, they plan to fabricate an accusation against him. It may get thrown out by the judge, but it will do to protect the thug from facing justice.
  Offensive language does not excuse attacking anyone. Not even if the attacker is a thug.
  06 March 2013 (Aaron's Laws)Transcript: Lawrence Lessig on Aaron's Laws Law and Justice in a Digital Age: Section I
  06 March 2013 (Israel's segregated buses)You're Not Allowed to Use Public Transportation At All : A Report from Israel's Segregated Buses.
  06 March 2013 (Legal victory for generic medicines in India)A legal victory for generic medicines in India.
  I am not sure what the "Intellectual Property Appellate Board" is, or even whether it is an Indian agency or an international one. However, its name endorses a bogus concept, "intellectual property".
  06 March 2013 (Rise in the Dow average)What the present rise in the Dow average says about the US.
  06 March 2013 (Sequester is Obama's fault)The Sequester Is President Obama's Fault.
  It is because he supported the right-wing idea of cutting the deficit.
  06 March 2013 (US minimum wage)Obama wants to raise the US minimum wage, but not enough.
  06 March 2013 (Walmart billionaires try to privatize education in LA)Walmart billionaires are trying to privatize education in Los Angeles. Their charter schools treat teachers like Walmart employees.
  06 March 2013 (Marathon race in Gaza cancelled)A marathon race in Gaza has been cancelled after Hamas refused to allow women to participate.
  06 March 2013 (Camels at the edge of the Arctic Ocean)3 million years ago, giant camels lived on Ellesmere Island, at the edge of the Arctic Ocean.
  We may get camels there again in a century or two, if we don't change course now.
  06 March 2013 (UK and New Zealand to require plain packaging for cigarettes)The UK and New Zealand plan to follow Australia in requiring plain packaging for cigarettes.
  Uruguay adopted a similar law years ago, but a cigarette company with headquarters in Switzerland used an Uruguay-Switzerland free exploitation treaty to force Uruguay to cancel the deal.
  07 March 2013 (Thug on trial for using gov't database to prey on vulnerable women)A UK thug is on trial for using the government's data base to find vulnerable women and push them into sex.
  This isn't the first time.
  07 March 2013 (Urgent: Save the US Postal Service)US citizens: call on Congress to cancel the artificial crisis that is crushing the US Postal Service.
  07 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose aspartame in milk without label)US citizens: Oppose the proposal to allow aspartame in milk without mentioning them on the label.
  Aspartame isn't sugar, but it is associated with other health problems. In addition, artificial sweeteners confuse a brain-stomach feedback loop, and that tends to encourage obesity.
  07 March 2013 (Urgent: Legalize unlocking of mobile devices)US citizens: call on Congress to legalize unlocking of mobile devices.
  06 March 2013 (Executives of Kabul Bank fraud get light sentence)The executives of the Kabul Bank fraud got a fairly light sentence.
  Nonetheless, it is better than the way the US treated the perpetrators of foreclosure fraud. Obama basically let them off the hook.
  06 March 2013 (UN human rights review)South Korea has decided to advocate a UN human rights review of North Korea.
  I think this is the right decision. Once in a while, keeping quiet about tyranny makes it possible to do some good, but if this becomes common, the effect is to help tyranny continue.
  06 March 2013 (Refuses CPR to a dying inmate)A nurse working at an old age home in California refused to administer CPR to a dying inmate, saying that the company had forbidden staff to do this.
  It would be proper to ban companies from having such policies, but it would also be interesting to investigate whatever motivated the company to adopt that policy. Perhaps some laws underlying that motivation also should be changed.
  06 March 2013 (Killed 2/3 of the forest elephants)2/3 of the forest elephants of Africa have been killed in the last decade, and with increased poaching effort, they could be extinct quite soon.
  06 March 2013 (Arrested on political charges)The overthrown president of the Maldive Islands was arrested on apparently political charges.
  06 March 2013 (How Niger avoided problems of Mali)How Niger, a neighbor of Mali, avoided problems like those of Mali.
  06 March 2013 (The US stock market has surged up)The US stock market has surged up. Is it a coincidence that this follows the massive budget cuts of the sequester?
  The budget cuts will hurt the real economy over coming months, but gain for the rich are not tied to gains for the real economy any more. For the rich, this disaster may be opportunity, and that may show up in stocks.
  06 March 2013 (Ways to cap bankers' pay)There are effective and ineffective ways to cap bankers' pay. The Swiss scheme seems to be a good one, but the EU is looking at a worse one.
  06 March 2013 (Taxing financial transactions)Taxing financial transactions would help protect the US from Wall Street.
  No wonder Obama is against it.
  06 March 2013 (Data base available to companies)The Gates Foundation has set up a data base about millions of US school students and made it available to companies.
  Parents should organize to demand that their school systems not participate.
  06 March 2013 (Veteran mortified by the damage he helped do to Iraq)A veteran of the Bush forces is mortified by the damage he helped do to Iraq.
  06 March 2013 (Cancel the 1953 cease fire)North Korea threatens to cancel the 1953 cease fire.
  This seems like the usual North Korean bluster: it already launches attacks at will, and has broken the cease fire many times.
  06 March 2013 (CPR doesn't always do good)CPR doesn't always do good '-- often it results in a short extension of helpless life.
  This argues against a policy of insisting on CPR. However, it is no excuse for a company that orders qualified employees never to perform CPR.
  5 March 2013 (Irom Sharmila)Irom Sharmila has been on hunger strike (force-fed) for 12 years to protest India's repressive rule of Kashmir. Now she faces prosecution for attempted suicide.
  This is ironic considering that the ruling Congress Party was once led by a famous hunger striker, Mohandas Gandhi.
  5 March 2013 (Resist)Why We Must Resist Netanyahu and the Hawks' Reckless Push for War on Iran.
  5 March 2013 (Katharine Gun)Ten years ago, Katharine Gun leaked evidence of US/UK spying on UN delegations, and prevented Bush from getting a UN resolution in support of his conquest of Iraq.
  She was prosecuted for this, but charges were dropped.
  Her only regret is that she was unable to prevent the war.
  5 March 2013 (Chicago)Chicago workers fought off two companies in succession that wanted to shut down their factory, and now have the chance to run it and buy it
  5 March 2013 (Torture And Murder)Evidence was presented in court about torture and murder by the British Bush forces.
  The UK secret courts bill passed the House of Commons. That will be used to quash lawsuits from torture victims.
  5 March 2013 (Manta Rays)Manta rays are endangered because of superstitious use of their gills.
  5 March 2013 (CEOs)If Switzerland Can Crack Down on CEOs, Why Not the US?
  5 March 2013 (2050)BY 2050, ordinary ships will sail across the Arctic Ocean. Won't that be neat?
  Ice-free Arctic water will mean a lot more heat is absorbed. Isn't it stupid to talk about the savings in shipping, as if that could be significant against the disaster this will cause?
  5 March 2013 (Biden)Biden insists Obama is really prepared to start a preventive war with Iran.
  Outside of a few specific issues, he is "Republic an lite".
  5 March 2013 (Urgent: US Citizens)US citizens: if your congresscritter is in this list, thank him for signing the Grayson/Takano letter promising to vote against any cuts in Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.
  If your congresscritter is not in this list, phone and say, Sign the Grayson/Takano letter! Defend our Social Security, Medicare
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  05 March 2013 (apple-against-iGasm)Apple is reportedly making legal threats against a computer-controlled sex toy called the iGasm.
  As far as I can tell, the only unethical thing about the iGasm is that it is made to work with an iThing. Can it be used from some other computer?
  I'm informed that the device connects to an audio output and should work with any audio player.
  05 March 2013 (Proposed bill allows only gov't to take aerial photos)A bill in New Hampshire would ban aerial photography entirely, except when carried out by the government.
  The aerial photography that most needs to be regulated is that done by, or for, the government. This is because the government has the greatest power to hurt you with whatever it sees. However, as shown by the example of CISPA, if company collects information about people and hands that over to the government, it has the same effect as if the government collected that information.
  05 March 2013 (UN's rejection of responsibility for cholera in Haiti)In rejecting responsibility for cholera in Haiti, the UN betrays its own purpose.
  However, the intervention in Haiti was also a betrayal of that purpose, since it only supports the US's goals in Haiti.
  05 March 2013 (Importance of personally refusing to use Facebook)It is very important for you personally to refuse to use Facebook, especially if some of your friends do (or might), because that's how you influence them, for good or for ill.
  05 March 2013 (Donor to Obama's inauguration expects loan guarantee)Southern Company now expects to receive an 8-billion-dollar loan guarantee for building new nuclear power plants, after making a donation of $100,000 for Obama's inauguration.
  There was a campaign urging Obama not to accept donations from companies for inaugural events, but he ignored it.
  The motto of US business: invest in politicians, because there is no higher rate of return.
  4 March 2013 (Belhaj)Former Libyan dissident Belhaj, tortured by Gaddafi with British help, says he will settle his case for 3 pounds and an apology.
  Belhaj deserves an apology, but more than that is at stake. The UK government has a history of aiding nondemocratic regimes that torture, first Bush then Gaddafi. It will probably do this again, if we don't take steps to stop it. Therefore, we must make sure that future aid to torturers cannot be covered up.
  If Belhaj wants to prove his goal is not his own enrichment, I think it would have been just as effective to pledge any possible compensation payments to charity.
  4 March 2013 (Greenpeace)An interesting Greenpeace protest: setting up a fracking rig in the constituency of a right-wing politician, to show his own voters what he has done to them.
  4 March 2013 (Florida)Farm workers in Florida are pressuring supermarket chains to agree to decent wages and working conditions.
  4 March 2013 (Milk)Toxic chemicals get get into food, particularly milk, through plastic implements used in milking.
  This is one more demonstration that we can't expect people to protect themselves individually from toxins. It has to be done by regulation: by designing food processing to be safe for everyone.
  4 March 2013 (Wall Street)Wall Street's incentive structure encourages traders to take wild risks that hurt their employers.
  4 March 2013 (India's Government)India's government, under world pressure, gave tribes rights over the land where they live. Now it is trying to partially cancel that.
  4 March 2013 (Bruma's)Burma's proposed new press law fails to adequately defend press freedom.
  4 March 2013 (Thugs)Thugs in Port Said, Egypt, started by firing back at people who were shooting at them; but they continued firing for a long time, shooting at unarmed people. Egypt's government has not tried very hard to investigate.
  4 March 2013 (Chicago)Chicago's Board of Education creates a crisis, and charter school operators reap the benefits.
  4 March 2013 (Cardinal O'Brien)Cardinal O'Brien, who recently resigned under pressure from to accusations of sexual abuse, has apologized for them in a vague way which does not admit anything specific.
  Perhaps his suggestion that priests should be allowed to marry was an attempt to do something to save future priests from a situation like the one he was in. If so, I am glad he made the attempt. I would not be surprised if that bothered the Vatican more than the sexual accusations against him.
  4 March 2013 (Troops in Afghanistan)Troops in Afghanistan shot two boys during a battle, taking them for Taliban fighters.
  Accidents like this will happen in war, despite the best efforts to avoid them. If the Afghan people were enthusiastic about the US-lead intervention, they would accept a certain level of accidents.
  What bothers me most is that we can't count on US soldiers to try their best to avoid killing Afghan children.
  4 March 2013 (PM Shinawatra)PM Shinawatra says she will ban the ivory trade in Thailand.
  4 March 2013 (Somali Woman)A Somali woman who accused soldiers of raping her has been release from prison, but not the reporter who interviewed her.
  4 March 2013 (Swiss Voters)Swiss voters approved a law to limit pay for executives.
  This should be adopted world-wide, and any politician who does not support it is apparently working for the rich.
  Here's an indication of how far politicians will go to support their paymasters.
  4 March 2013 (Ernst & Young Company)The company Ernst & Young has made a deal to avoid being prosecuted for tax evasion, but some of its employees were convicted.
  4 March 2013 (Obama)Obama's ISP-implemented system of punishment without trial for sharing has a secondary flaw: it is so bad in terms of security that it invites others to attack users in another way.
  4 March 2013 (The Malaysian Government)The Malaysian government paid US columnists to smear an opposition political leader.
  I don't know enough to have an opinion about Anwar Ibrahim, but the Malaysian government tramples religious freedom by prohibiting Muslims from converting to another religion or to Atheism.
  4 March 2013 (Apple's Email Service)Apple's email service silently censors suspected sex.
  4 March 2013 (US Executives)US executives responsible for distributing food contaminated with salmonella are being prosecuted individually.
  4 March 2013 (Uhuru Kenyatta)Uhuru Kenyatta, candidate for president of Kenya, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for stirring up violence in the previous election.
  4 March 2013 (Global Heating)Global heating will fall especially hard on the Middle East.
  4 March 2013 (Urgent: Bradley Manning)Everyone: thank Bradley Manning for showing us what the US government was really saying and doing.
  4 March 2013 (Urgent: Guns)US citizens: sign this petition to require background checks for gun purchases in the US.
  4 March 2013 (Urgent: US Citizens)US citizens: call on Congress to cut its own salaries as other federal employees' salaries are being cut.
  4 March 2013 ("School choice")"School choice" (vouchers) hurts more than just unions.
  4 March 2013 (UK Doctors)UK doctors accuse the government of trying to privatize the NHS by stealth.
  Just about everything that right-wing government does that concerns programs to help the non-rich is a stealthy way of cutting them.
  4 March 2013 (Uri Avnery)Uri Avnery: the torture of Arafat Jaradat might have been part of Netanyahu's attempt to provoke Palestinians into a third intifada, much as Ariel Sharon provoked them into the second intifada
  4 March 2013 (Cancer)Over 100 million Americans are regularly exposed to levels of trihalomethanes that can cause cancer.
  It will be difficult to reduce the level, since chlorine needs to be added to drinking water to kill dangerous bacteria, and reducing farm run-off is a gigantic task (although there are other benefits from doing it).
  4 March 2013 (Minnesota)Minnesota, the "land of 10,000 lakes", has overdrawn its aquifer for years and is now in trouble.
  4 March 2013 (US Economy)Republicans are willing to crash the US economy to get what they want.
  However, I will make a stronger statement (inspired by Naomi Klein's idea of "shock capitalism"): crashing most of the US economy is part of what they want. If they were in power, they would make most of the same spending cuts, with a few notable exceptions (corporate welfare).
  4 March 2013 (US Military And CIA)US movies and TV systematically propagandize for the US military, and now for the CIA as well. They do not leave this to chance.
  4 March 2013 (Arafat Jaradat)Did Arafat Jaradat Die Under Interrogation?
  4 March 2013 (Portugal)Protesters across Portugal chanted, "Austerity kills."
  04 March 2013 (Money spent by Department of Homeland Security)The Department of Homeland Security has spent almost 800 billion dollars, but isn't using that money very well.
  04 March 2013 (Corporate media stands behind economic quack remedy)The corporate media stand behind their economic quack remedy, pretending that government spending cuts will make the economy grow even though it repeatedly does the opposite.
  They should try dowsing for buried coins instead. At least that might succeed, once in a rare while.
  04 March 2013 (Urgent: Tell Obama to veto CISPA)US citizens: tell Obama to veto CISPA.
  04 March 2013 ("Open source jihad")Al Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula now promotes "open source jihad".
  This confirms I was right to decide not to support open source.
  04 March 2013 (Govt of Lagos, Nigeria, bulldozes slums for PR goals)The government of Lagos, Nigeria, regularly bulldozes slum neighborhoods because poor people don't fit their PR goals. 30,000 people can be made homeless in a day.
  The slumdwellers of Lagos could dig bulldozer traps and disguise them with real shacks. This would make the state think twice about its massive acts of cruelty.
  US cities are also often cruel to the homeless, for the same callous and evil reason: they look ugly and are bad for business.
  This is not to say that these poor people have no duties of their own. There is one thing they should not do: reproduce. However, we who are wealthier have a duty also: to pay for their effective long-term contraception, and abortions as needed.
  04 March 2013 (US State Department report on planet roaster pipeline)The US State Department report on the planet roaster pipeline closed its eyes to the pipeline's environmental dangers.
  04 March 2013 (Urgent: Join protest against planet roaster pipeline)In the US: join the rapid response protest team against the planet-roaster pipeline.
  04 March 2013 (Attacks against journalists in Karnataka)Since the Hindu fanatic party got into power in Karnataka, journalists there have been attacked and imprisoned.
  04 March 2013 (Saudis protesting imprisonment without trial imprisoned without trial)Saudis protesting against imprisonment without trial were arrested and imprisoned without trial.
  They are protesting about the imprisonment without trial of previous protesters, who were themselves protesting imprisonment without trial.
  This developed into a protest against the minister in charge.
  Isn't it a shame that the US is an example of bad conduct on such an important issue?
  04 March 2013 (Freedoms online in France)Freedoms Online in France: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?
  04 March 2013 (Resurrection of ACTA)Right-wing rulers of Canada and US are trying to resurrect ACTA.
  04 March 2013 (Government access loophole in CISPA)The CISPA Government Access Loophole.
  04 March 2013 (Censorship for sale in China)Government-imposed Chinese censors make extra money on the side by censoring on behalf of anyone who will pay.
  03 March 2013 (Western countries provide arms to Syrian rebels)Western countries are providing arms to Syrian rebels, including surface-to-air missiles.
  03 March 2013 (Sharks)Sharks need protection to prevent their being fished to extinction.
  03 March 2013 (Toxic ingredients in Roundup)Roundup contains other ingredients besides glyphosate, and some of them are toxic too.
  03 March 2013 (Obama wants free exploitation treaty with EU)Obama wants a free exploitation treaty with the European Union.
  The use of the term "intellectual property" shows that the plan is based on confused thinking. However, "free trade" treaties in general represent a surrender of state power to business, which makes them bad for all but the rich.
  03 March 2013 (Right-wing wants to cap benefits for the poor)The right-wing wants to cap benefits for the poor, but not for the rich.
  03 March 2013 (US growing more crops for fuel)The US keep on expanding the growing of crops to make fuel, even though it has been clear for years that this is a wasteful and harmful practice.
  03 March 2013 (UN investigates Sri Lanka's record of oppression)The UN is investigating Sri Lanka's record of oppression and atrocity.
  03 March 2013 (Poaching of large animals)Suggestions from CITES about how to end poaching of large animals.
  03 March 2013 (The Big Spill)The US government shares the blame for the Big Spill, because its regulatory agency encouraged risky drilling.
  This in no way exonerates BP, not even partly, because the oil companies were eager to do risky drilling and the regulatory agency was bowing to their wishes.
  03 March 2013 (High street vs Internet sales in the UK)City must wake up to digital growth, says tech investor.
  Perhaps it is better for Britons generally to discourage the replacement of the high street with Internet sales. The UK is not compelled to leave this question to chance or happenstance.
  03 March 2013 (South African thugs arrested for killing Mido Macia)The South African thugs that killed Mido Macia have been arrested.
  However, punishing the culprits of one thug attack is just the first step towards ending the thugs' reign of terror.
  03 March 2013 (Bradley Manning's heroism)Bradley Manning's statement.
  For millions, Manning's heroism is established.
  03 March 2013 (Leaving registered sex offenders no place to legally live)How to force registered sex offenders out of a city: build some tiny parks, leaving no place they can legally live.
  03 March 2013 (HIV infection in the US)HIV infection in the US is concentrated in states which don't offer proper education about how to avoid it.
  03 March 2013 (Boycott of standardized tests)As standardized tests constricts around children and teachers, teachers and students in one school have decided to boycott these tests.
  03 March 2013 (Prosecution of former Haitian "president")Why is the US government not helping in the prosecution a former Haitian "president" (dictator)?
  03 March 2013 (Preventing apocalypse)While right-wingers look for ways to "invest in the apocalypse", it is not too late to prevent it ... if we try.
  03 March 2013 (Use of lead ammunition killing California condors)For California condors to survive requires a complete cessation of use of lead ammunition, but the NRA opposes this.
  03 March 2013 (Hottest summer ever recorded in Australia)January 2013 was the hottest month ever recorded in Australia, and this summer has been the hottest summer ever recorded in Australia.
  In 40 years, this deadly heat wave will be normal for summer.
  03 March 2013 (UK gov't blocks EU action to protect bees)The UK government is deceitfully blocking EU action to protect bees from neonicotinoid pesticides.
  03 March 2013 (Riot in Bangladesh)Opposition party supporters in Bangladesh rioted after their leader was sentenced to death.
  I have no knowledge to judge whether Sayedee and other defendants are guilty of those crimes. It might be so. At the same time, it might be that this is a politically-minded attack on the opposition party.
  Even if they are guilty, they should not be executed.
  03 March 2013 (South African thugs make bogus excuse for killing Mido Macia)The South African thugs that dragged Mido Macia from their van, and killed him, made up a bogus excuse: they said he tried to grab a gun from them.
  This excuse is bogus in two ways. First of all, it's false: evidence shows Macia didn't do it. But it's bogus in a deeper way: even if Macia had done that, it would not have justified dragging him to his death. It would have justified arresting him and charging him.
  If Macia had indeed try to take a thug's gun, that would be grounds to arrest him and charge him, but not to drag him on the ground from a car. No circumstances could ever justify that.
  These thugs should be tried for murder, and perhaps this time they will be. However, most of the thugs that attack innocent people enjoy impunity.
  Other acts of amazing brutality by South African thugs.
  03 March 2013 (Long-term affairs between police spies and protesters)Women who had long-term affairs with police spies talk about the lasting harm that this does.
  One change that should be made, to prevent this from happening again, is to stop treating protesters as gangsters or terrorists. The state should not try to protect businesses from the inconvenience of a protest.
  02 March 2013 (Obama intervenes in favor of same-sex marriage)Obama has intervened in favor of same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court.
  02 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose Navy plans to injure cetaceans)US citizens: call on the National Marine Fisheries Service to do its job and block Navy plans to injure an estimated 13000 cetaceans with sonar.
  02 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose Graham's bill)US citizens: phone your senators and urge them to oppose Graham's bill that would endorse an Israeli attack against Iran.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  02 March 2013 (Urgent: Ask Obama to visit Bil'in and Budrus)US citizens: call the White House and ask Obama to visit Bil'in and Budrus when he goes to Palestine
  The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.
  02 March 2013 (Ethiopian immigrants pressured into taking contraceptive shots)Ethiopian immigrants on their way to Israel were pressured into taking somewhat dangerous contraceptive shots, which were continued afterwards.
  This was apparently done for racist motives, and racism cannot be justified. However, a non-racist, uniformly applied policy of limiting reproduction can be justified. There is no room in our small planet for people to take the attitude that "to have a lot of children is to be rich."
  02 March 2013 (Obama shows no intention to curb global heating)Obama's signals suggest he is not really going to do anything about global heating.
  There is an additional reason people should not have children now: they will probably be killed by in the global heating disaster, a few decades from now.
  02 March 2013 (Spain's recession worsens)Spain's recession has got worse, falsifying the state's predictions that it would improve.
  This will mean lower tax revenue, which will increase the budget deficit that Spain's government is destroying lives to reduce. So they will have to make more cuts, and so on until someone has the guts to stop the cycle and tell the EU to drop dead.
  Meanwhile, the nationalized bank Bankia, made from merging the large banks that were failing, has become worthless.
  Its only purpose, apparently, was to lure its customers into losing money.
  02 March 2013 (Apple testing software to block jailbreak program)Apple is testing software to block a widely used jailbreak program.
  Although jailbreaking an iPhone has been explicitly ruled lawful in the US, that doesn't guarantee there will be a way to do it. Don't make this assumption '-- don't buy products that need jailbreak.
  02 March 2013 (Decline of wild bees)The decline of wild bees can devastate agriculture, since they do a better job of pollinating than honeybees do.
  02 March 2013 (Bradley Manning's plea statement)Bradley Manning pled guilty to 10 charges, and not guilty to the rest. This is a summary of what he said.
  Glenn Greenwald says that Manning's statement demonstrates his heroism.
  Manning's statement that he offered the material to prominent news media first will tend to hamper the Obama regime's plans to prosecute Wikileaks for encouraging Manning to leak the material.
  02 March 2013 (UK cancels people's citizenship to target them for assassination)The UK has secretly cancelled some people's citizenship, then targeted them for assassination.
  02 March 2013 (Urgent: Oppose undermining of Voting Rights Act)US citizens: call on Chief Justice Roberts not to undermine the Voting Rights Act.
  02 March 2013 (Sri Lankan military still raping and torturing Tamils)Human Rights Watch reports that the Sri Lankan military is still raping and torturing Tamils.
  Here is the report.
  02 March 2013 (Ethnic cleansing of Jordan Valley)The Ethnic Cleansing of the Jordan Valley.
  02 March 2013 (Terror plots organized by the FBI)The FBI organizes more terrorist plots in the US than anyone else, its sting operations have never caught any who would have committed a real act of terrorism on their own. They catch only simpletons who they can lead into crime.
  02 March 2013 (Pentagon wants to spend a trillion dollars)The Pentagon wants to spend a trillion dollars on a new fighter plane, the F-35, that probably won't work.
  It is probably obsolete, compared with coming drones.
  Its stealth technology is likely to become much less expensive due to advances in radar systems.
  02 March 2013 (Some in Congress want to impose biometric ID on all workers)Some in Congress want to impose a biometric ID card on everyone who works in the US.
  This is something we must fight. What it does to non-citizens is a side issue; imposing this on citizens is the injustice.
  02 March 2013 (Austerity in the UK)The UK government's response to the recession caused by austerity is to make austerity more brutal. This will make a bigger recession, and thus an excuse for more austerity.
  I am sure they know this. They want austerity as a form of shock capitalism.
  02 March 2013 (Haiti can't get money to eliminate cholera)Haiti hopes to eliminate cholera through sanitation measures, but cannot get money to do it.
  02 March 2013 (UK court blocks deportation of Tamil refugees)A UK court blocked deportation of Tamil refugees to Sri Lanka. The judge's decision shows how rigid and robotic the border agency's behavior is. That the UK still tries returns refugees to a state that is known to torture such returned refugees shows how far the UK stretches to ignore valid arguments for asylum.
  02 March 2013 (Urgent: Obama's assassination legal memos)US citizens: phone your congresscritter and call for using subpoenas to get Obama's drone assassination legal memos. Also send a message through this page.
  The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
  02 March 2013 (FCC might help make better WiFi networks)The FCC is not planning to set up free WiFi across the US. However, it might do something that would help make better WiFi networks.
  02 March 2013 (NRA wants gun records kept secret)The NRA Wants to Keep Gun Records Secret From Everyone Except the NRA.
  02 March 2013 (Ex-bankster appointed Secretary of the Treasury)Jack Lew, ex-bankster, has been appointed Secretary of the Treasury.
  Lew is in favor of budget cuts that are harmful.
  02 March 2013 (Sugar consumption tied to adult-onset diabetes)Sugar consumption has been tied to adult-onset diabetes, even independent of obesity.
  02 March 2013 (EU imposes limit on bonuses for banksters)The European Union has imposed a limit on bonuses for banksters.
  This is a step in the right direction.
  02 March 2013 (Shell won't drill in the Arctic this year)Shell has decided not to try to drill in the Arctic this year.
  Apparently it has decided to try to show more concern for safety to try to avert a decision banning Arctic drilling entirely. That decision is necessary anyway, however. We need to leave around 80% of the known reserves of fossil fuel in the ground, to avoid global disaster. So it makes no sense to drill in such places.
  02 March 2013 (Berkeley thugs ask drug dealers to assault cop-watchers)Drug Dealers Admit Berkeley PD Have Asked Them To Assault Cop-watchers.
  02 March 2013 (Peterson's Puppet Populists)Peterson's Puppet Populists.
  02 March 2013 (Playing along with austerity can sink Obama)Progressives warn that playing along with austerity can sink Obama.
  02 March 2013 (Thugs in schools)Handcuffing 7-Year-Olds Won't Make Schools Safer.
  Walling Ourselves Inside a Militarized-Police State.
  02 March 2013 (9 facts about junk food)9 surprising (and ugly) facts about US junk food.
  02 March 2013 (Amount that sequester proposes to cut)Too Big To Fail gives the big banks effectively 83 billion dollars a year. This is the same amount that the sequester proposes to cut.
  The article errs in calling Obama's position "Liberal". In the 1970s we had a word for people with views like his: "Republicans". It is a smear on Liberalism to associate it with Obama's right-wing views.
  As a Liberal since the 1970s, I call for increased deficit spending so as to get Americans back to work, as well as cutting military spending in order to boost useful civilian spending even more.
  The Progressive Caucus's Balancing Act does a large part of this. However, the US should entirely reject the idea of reducing the deficit now. We should indeed increase taxes on the rich, but then we should spend that money on something important, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy.
  02 March 2013 (ACLU sues to overturn restriction placed on sex offenders)The ACLU has sued to overturn a new restriction placed on sex offenders forcing them to move.
  The ACLU is raising an issue that can be raised in court, but ethically speaking this issue is secondary. This case reveals how the sex offender registry is a motor for irrational injustice. As usual with these laws, new restrictions are imposed on all the "offenders" because they seem necessary for some. Some sex offenders are a threat to children, but most are not. Having sex with a 17-year-old does not make a person a threat to anyone at all. In fact, it shouldn't be a crime in the first place.
  Put that together with the widespread practice of pushing minors to plead guilty to "offenses" on strange pretexts, as part of the school-to-prison pipeline, and it adds up to a lot of injustice.
  02 March 2013 (Antarctic exit glacier could raise seas two meters)One Antarctic exit glacier could raise the seas two meters in a short period of time, once it gets going.
  02 March 2013 (Going to prison to get a needed operation)In the US, going to prison may be the only way to get a needed operation.
  02 March 2013 (US banks waive fees for rich, gouge the poor)US banks waive fees for rich clients but gouge the poor.
  Making this even worse, some states require people to get certain benefits through banks that gouge them.
  02 March 2013 (Bradley Manning trial publishes some documents)The Bradley Manning trial has published some documents, responding to public criticism.
  02 March 2013 (Repression of Bahais in Iran)Repression of Bahais in Iran is increasing.
  The ban on conversion tramples the rights of everyone who has ever been a Muslim. Similar disrespect for religious freedom is found in most Muslim countries.
  02 March 2013 (Nearly one million Syrians driven from their homes)The number of people in Syria that have been driven from their homes may soon reach a million.
  Although this is very bad, what happened in Iraq was much worse. Iraq has 3/2 the population of Syria, but the number of people driven from their homes due to the Bush-B'liar occupation of Iraq was 4 times as many as in Syria.
  In other words, if Iraq had suffered the way Syria is suffering now, that would have been less than what the US and UK did to Iraq.
  02 March 2013 (Wolves)Although wolves are now reestablished in many parts of the US, hunting them could put them back into danger.
  More information.
  01 March 2013 (New tax on the poor in the UK)The UK's cruel government has imposed a new tax on the poor, but most won't be able to pay it.
  01 March 2013 (Big Pharma cuts off medicines to Greece)Big Pharma has cut off many medicines to Greece.
  The Greek government should license local manufacturers for all the medicines that have been cut off.
  01 March 2013 (ISPs work as agents of copyright propaganda machine)The Copyright Propaganda Machine Gets a New Agent: Your ISP.
  01 March 2013 (French gov't proposes SOPA-style filtering)The French government proposes to impose SOPA-style filtering on ISPs.
  01 March 2013 (Prosecution of Bradley Manning follows standard tactic of deception)The prosecution of Bradley Manning plans to belabor the point that al Qa'ida found his Wikileaks disclosures interesting. This follows a standard tactic of deception: prove the strong premise to distract attention from the invalid premise.
  Of course, anything that shows wrongdoing by the US would be of interest to anyone who opposes the US. At the very least, it would provide reasons to criticize. If that was enough to make the leak a crime, by that logic any exposure of any wrongdoing by the US is "aiding the enemy".
  Of course, supporters of Bush said exactly that. That is the attitude of a totalitarian state.
  However, even if al Qa'ida had managed to get some other use from a piece of this the Wikileaks information, that would not justify the government's attempt to equate informing the public with "aiding the enemy".
  01 March 2013 (Merging libraries with hackerspaces)Cory Doctorow suggests merging libraries with hackerspaces in a new synergy.
  01 March 2013 (Offer of sanctions relief for Iran)The major powers offered Iran some sanctions relief in exchange for limiting uranium enrichment, and Iran is eager for a deal.
  Why didn't they make this obvious offer before? Is it that they didn't want to reach a deal?
  01 March 2013 (US Department of Peacebuilding)Proposing a US Department of Peacebuilding.
  01 March 2013 (Antibacterial consumer products)Antibacterial consumer products can kill you, indirectly.
  01 March 2013 (Painkiller addiction in West Virginia)8% of the population of West Virginia is estimated to be addicted to painkiller pills. Efforts to cut the supply are reportedly so successful that they are pushing users to use heroin instead.
  Heroin is not inherently very dangerous, but it is dangerous in practice because of the risk of accidental overdoses. Thus, these government activities threaten drug users with death '-- and imprisonment too, since possession of heroin is a crime. Great job, thugs!
  I feel sorry for people who are addicted to painkillers, not just because they are addicted, but because of the dissatisfaction or boredom that must have inspired them to try those drugs. However, threatening them is not going to make things better.
  01 March 2013 (Obama increases secrecy of drone strikes)Obama Promises More Transparency on Drone Strikes, Then Doubles Down on Secrecy.
  01 March 2013 (UK thugs ignore accusations of rape to improve statistics)Thugs in the UK systematically ignored accusations of rape in order to improve the statistics for their region.
  01 March 2013 (Sensibly handling a larger fraction of retired people)Retired people will be a larger fraction of society as baby-boomers retire, but this will not be much of a burden for society if it is handled sensibly.
  01 March 2013 (EU approves ban on discarding accidentally caught fish)The EU has approved a ban on discarding fish of the wrong species that are accidentally caught.
  This has the potential to result in less total fishing effort, and fewer fish killed, to deliver the same amount of food. Whether it achieves those goals depends on other details. Fishing companies will try to push in another direction.
  01 March 2013 (Another environmental activist assassinated in Thailand)Another environmental activist has been assassinated in Thailand, following 29 other activists.
  01 March 2013 (Forgiveness of West Germany's debts)60 years ago, creditors forgave half of West Germany's debts, putting Germany on the road to prosperity.
  Now Greece, Italy and Spain need debt forgiveness, and don't forget the many poor countries that have been crushed by debt for decades.
  01 March 2013 (Hagel confirmed as head of Pentagon)Hagel was confirmed as head of the Pentagon.
  I am not very enthusiastic about him, but it is good that the Israeli hawks' lobby has been defeated in its attempt to block him. This may pave the way for further defiance of that lobby in the US.
  01 March 2013 (Urgent: Support Grayson letter)US citizens: tell your congresscritter to co-sign the Grayson letter, firmly refusing to vote for any deal Obama might make that would involve cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.
  01 March 2013 (Research practices of psychology need reform)The research practices of psychology need reform: they lend themselves to acceptance of error as truth.
  01 March 2013 (Tony B'liar on the conquest and occupation of Iraq)Tony B'liar, desperate to defend the conquest and occupation of Iraq, asks us to assume that something worse would certainly have happened in Iraq if not for the invasion.
  Something else bad might perhaps have happened '-- who knows? '-- but it would have had trouble being as bad as what has really happened to Iraq in the past ten years. The bloody civil war in Syria isn't as bad as what the US and UK did to Iraq.
  01 March 2013 (If computers could detect lying)What would happen to society if computers could tell when people are lying?
  I don't know about you, but if I bump into someone and say "I'm sorry", I am not lying. When I say that, it means I think I was at fault and I really am sorry. I don't agonize about a minor error like this, but I am sincere in recognizing it.
  I don't want people to conceal uncomfortable truths from me, and I don't do that to others. (I feel very uncomfortable when pressed to praise something I don't really like, because lying bothers my conscience.) But there are situations where concealing the truth is a moral duty '-- for instance, if agents of a regime that represses journalism asks you questions like, "Did you see so-and-so talk with Bradley Manning?" If you can't respond, "I don't remember," you could be forced to do a real wrong.
  01 March 2013 (College rape victim charged with "intimidating" rapist)This Happened: College Rape Victim Charged with "Intimidating" Her Rapist By Talking Out Loud About It.
  01 March 2013 (Copyright claim blocks posting of technical standards)Wrongheaded Copyright Claim Blocks Online Posting of Important Technical Standards.
  01 March 2013 (US gov't death squads)Proposed secret unfair "trials" can't legitimize US government death squads.
  Using drones on battlefields raises no special issue not raised by artillery or manned attack aircraft. What makes drones a different issue is the practice of using them in places that are not battlefields, against people who are not fighting.
  01 March 2013 (Protests to Palestine)The death, apparently by torture, of Arafat Jaradat has led to protests in many places in Palestine.
  A Palestinian child was shot in the head at one of these protests, and is unlikely to recover.
  01 March 2013 (Palestinian prisoners freed as part of exchange)Israel freed many Palestinians as part of a prisoner exchange, but has made a secret law by which it can imprison them again based on minor pretexts '-- even traffic tickets.
  01 March 2013 (Attacks on Palestinian village by "settlers")Gangs of "settlers" frequently invade the Palestinian village of Qusra and attack the inhabitants. The army always protects the attackers.
  Amazingly, one attack elsewhere in the West Bank has led to indictment of the "settlers".
  This rarity of this exception shows how far the occupation forces normally turn their back on justice.
  01 March 2013 (Palestinians return fire on Israel)Palestinians fired a rocket at Israel for the first time in 3 months.
  During those 3 months, Israel attacked Gaza daily.
  01 March 2013 (Israel's spy and assassination squads)About Israel's spy and assassination squads that dress and speak like Arabs.
  01 March 2013 (Gang of Jewish youths beat up Arab street cleaner)A gang of Jewish youths beat up an Arab street cleaner in Tel Aviv. He was badly injured and is in the hospital.
  This is much like the way anti-semites used to beat up Jews, as described to me by my mother.
  01 March 2013 (Urgent: Reduce CO2 emissions from air travel)US citizens: call on Kerry to support taxes to reduce CO2 emission from air travel.
  01 March 2013 (Banksters to cut thousands of jobs)As Wall Street profits rise, the banksters plan to cut thousands of jobs.
  Do you think they will still call themselves "job creators"?
  01 March 2013 (Italians vote to reject euro-austerity)Italians voted to reject euro-austerity.
  01 March 2013 (Boycott of elections in Egypt)The main opposition coalition in Egypt will boycott the elections.
  01 March 2013 (UK gov't covering up murder of Litvinenko)The UK government is covering up information tying Russia to the murder of Litvinenko.
  01 March 2013 (UN won't apologize for killing over 8,000 Haitians)The United Nations is responsible for killing more than 8,000 Haitians since 2010. And it's not even willing to say it's sorry.
  The UN occupation of Haiti is the result of the US-organized coup that included kidnaping President Aristide. The current "president" of Haiti was imposed by the US after a bogus "election" in which Aristide's party, the largest in Haiti, was excluded.
  01 March 2013 (Human rights violations in C´te d'lvoire)C´te d'Ivoire: Revenge and Repression.
  01 March 2013 (Urgent: Tax financial transactions)US citizens: call for taxing financial transactions as a way to avoid the stupid sequester deal.
  Despite this, cuts in military spending would still be desirable. We could transfer those funds to useful activities.
  01 March 2013 (Obama's deal would cause trouble for federal prisons)Obama's dumb budget-cuts deal would cause immediate trouble for the overcrowded federal prisons. But the root cause is imprisoning too many people.
  Of course, a large part of this is due to the War on Drugs.
  01 March 2013 (Excuse to prevent judicial challenge of wiretapping program)The US Supreme Court upheld the catch-22 excuse to prevent judicial challenge of Bush's massive wiretapping program.
  Each note starts with a date and a brief topic in parentheses. That text is also a link to that note.For instance, if the note starts with "20 July 2003 (Iraq)" then you can link to it with "http://www.stallman.org/notes/may-aug-03.html#20 July 2003 (Iraq)".
  Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
Blue helmet drones? UN prepares to send drones over Africa
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WTF RLY REPORT
  Wed, 01 May 2013 15:15
  Christian Science Monitor
  Blue-helmeted United Nations peacekeepers deployed in African countries may soon have a new tool in their arsenal: the surveillance drone.
  Drones are heading to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of an intervention force to root out the rebel groups that have destabilized the region for years. Meanwhile, the UN is mulling the idea of unarmed drones sent to Ivory Coast as the country recovers from nearly a decade of civil unrest.
  Experts say unarmed drones could give often-beleaguered peacekeepers an edge in missions where they can be outfoxed by guerrillas, who often have greater numbers and more local knowledge than UN forces possess.
  Read more
Peaberry SDR V2 Kit - $149.00 : AE9RB
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 14:41
  The Peaberry SDR V2 is a Software Defined Radio transceiver that includes ADC and DAC circuits. You do not need to add sound cards to your computer. An illustrated manual covers assembly, testing, and installation of HDSDR.
  Build your Peaberry SDR V2 for the 60/40/30/20m, 30/20/17/15m, or 17/15/12/10m bands. All kits include parts for all bands so you do not need to decide until you are ready to start building.
  Coming soon: 160/80/75m and 80/75/60/40m band options.
  96kHz digital I/Q interface.>80dB dynamic range.1 watt transmitter. (20m)Support for Elecraft T1 automatic antenna tuner.DG8SAQ/PE0FKO/SoftRock control interface.Open Source firmware.USB bootloader.This is an unassembled kit that contains mostly surface mount components. Assembly services are not available from AE9RB. You can hire someone to build your kit on the support forum.
  Construction manual, schematic and driver on the support forum.Source code on GitHub.Cases available from KM5H.This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 30 April, 2013.
NATO Crash Kills 4; Taliban Begin Spring Offensive
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 13:35
  A NATO plane crash in southern Afghanistan killed four international troops on Saturday, the same day the Taliban announced its spring offensive and said it will target military and diplomatic sites with suicide bombers and infiltrate enemy forces to conduct deadly insider attacks.
  April already has been the deadliest month so far this year across the country where Afghan security forces are increasingly taking the lead on the battlefield of the more than 11-year-old war.
  The Afghan Defense Ministry said its security forces were prepared for the Taliban's new campaign, which was to start on Sunday. "The Afghan National Army is ready to neutralize the offensive," the ministry said.
  Insurgents have escalated attacks to gain power and influence ahead of next year's presidential election and the planned withdrawal of most U.S. and other foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. And U.S.-backed efforts to try to reconcile the Islamic militant movement with the Afghan government are gaining little traction.
  The Taliban did not immediately claim responsibility for the plane crash. NATO said initial reports indicated no enemy activity in the area where the plane went down. Coalition personnel secured the site and were investigating the cause of the crash.
  The brief NATO statement did not identify the victims, or say exactly where the crash occurred in Afghanistan. However, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, deputy governor of the southern province of Zabul, said an aircraft belonging to foreign forces crashed Saturday afternoon in Shah Joy district.
  In their announcement on Saturday, the Taliban vowed to step up violent attacks now that winter was over and warmer weather has made travel and fighting easier. The militant group said it would use every possible tactic to "detain or inflict heavy casualties on the foreign transgressors."
  Taliban fighters, who seek to replace the elected Afghan government with one promoting a stricter interpretation of Islamic law, named their offensive after a legendary Muslim military commander, Khalid ibn al-Walid. Also known as the "Drawn Sword of God," he was a companion of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
  The Taliban threatened to infiltrate the Afghan security forces and conduct more attacks on Afghan policemen and soldiers as well as foreign troops.
  Such attacks threaten the strength of the Afghan forces as they work to take over responsibility from coalition forces. The latest one occurred in March, when a member of a government-backed village defense unit shot and killed five of his colleagues in Badghis province in northwest Afghanistan.
  April has already been the worst month for combat deaths so far this year. According to an Associated Press tally, 261 people '-- including civilians, Afghan security forces and foreign troops '-- have been killed in violence around the nation. During that time 217 insurgents have died.
  Last year during the month of April, 179 civilians, foreign troops and Afghan security forces were killed and 268 insurgents.
  Still, U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said Wednesday that the security situation had improved across the country, with Afghan forces now leading 80 percent of all conventional operations.
  As the traditional fighting season begins, the insurgents will face a combined Afghan force of 350,000 soldiers and police, he said.
  "The insurgency can no longer use the justification that it is fighting foreign occupiers '-- that message rings hollow," Dunford said in a statement.
  Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid disagreed with that assessment.
  "The foreign forces will be our primary targets. The second target will be the government of Kabul. The third one will be the other foreign countries who are acting against our mujahedeen," or holy warriors, he said in an interview with AP Television News.
  Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Guide to Donating Your Car to a Charity and Getting a Tax Write-off at DMV.org: The DMV Made Simple
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  The Donating ProcessThe process of donating your car to charity is simple: Call the charity and someone will come and pick up your vehicle, or tell you where to bring it. However, with so many charities to choose from and so many people trying to scam the innocent, picking the right organization is not always easy.
  What to Do FirstBefore you hand over the keys to your car to a charity, the IRS advises that you:
  See if you will receive a tax benefit for your donation.Look up the value of your car (however, you can only deduct the actual amount the charity sells your car for).Ask if you, as a donor, have any other responsibilities.In addition, you may want to consider:
  How will your car be used?Will the money from the sale of your car be used locally or outside of your community?Which programs or services within the charity will receive funding from the sale?What is the efficiency rating of the charity? (A lower rating means more of your donation goes toward administrative costs, not to the programs and services you want to support.)For more information on this and tax-related matters, read the IRS's A Donor's Guide to Vehicle Donations.
  Finding a CharityForbes ranks America's 200 Largest Charities and, in some cases, discloses their financial details, which may help you make informed giving decisions. Be sure to visit the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in your area, if you are interested in local charities. Or the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.
  Notice of TransferBe sure to visit our guide to Title Transfers to learn how to transfer the title over.
  Tax Write-OffThe IRS has clamped down on how much you can write off on donated cars. No longer can you submit a vehicle's full value. Now, instead, you can only claim the amount for which it is sold. For example, if your vehicle has a Blue Book value of $1,600, but the charity only sells it for $725, you must submit the lower deduction.
  Your charity must give you a deduction amount within 30 days of handing your car over, or, if it applies, within 30 days of it being sold. If you're not notified within this time span, call your charity. The amount will come in the form of a mailed letter. Use this as your receipt, or what the IRS calls your acknowledgment.
  If the deduction exceeds the IRS's normal $500 limit, your acknowledgment must contain the following information:
  Your name and taxpayer identification number.The vehicle identification number.The date of the contribution.And one of the following:'•A charity statement verifying that no goods or services were provided in return for your car donation.'•A description and estimate of the value of goods or services, if any, exchanged for your donation.'•A statement that goods and services provided by the charity consisted entirely of intangible religious benefits (if applicable).Where to DonateThe choice is yours. But before donating, confirm that your charity of choice is recognized by the IRS. Otherwise, your deduction will be rejected. If in doubt, check the IRS's Publication 78. It lists qualified charities; religious organizations aren't listed, though they do qualify. Or, either contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in your area or the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.
  If you're still undecided, Forbes ranks America's 200 Largest Charities and, in some cases, discloses their financial details. Keep in mind, however, that not every charity listed here accepts car donations.
  How to Cancel Plates and TagsThe laws for this vary by state. Some states require surrendering the vehicle's license plates to the DMV. Others require submitting a sold notice. And there are a few states that require no formal notification at all.
  Check with your DMV for requirements.
Jonathan Alter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Jonathan Alter (born October 6, 1957) is an American journalist and author who was a columnist and senior editor for Newsweek magazine from 1983 until 2011. He is currently the lead columnist for Bloomberg View, a new commentary website. He is also a contributing correspondent to NBC News, where since 1996 he has appeared on NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC. Alter was one of the first magazine or newspaper reporters to appear on MSNBC. When the shows were on the air, he could often be heard on Imus in the Morning and The Al Franken Show on Air America Radio.
  Alter is the author of The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, a national bestseller published by Simon & Schuster in 2006, and Between the Lines: A View Inside American Politics, People and Culture, a collection of twenty years' worth of his columns published by Borders Books. His 2010 book is The Promise: President Obama, Year One, published by Simon & Schuster, a behind-the-scenes look at Obama's eventful debut. The Promise was a New York Times Best Seller reaching #3 on the list at its peak. Alter's new book on President Obama is scheduled for release in May 2013.[1]
  A veteran of Chicago politics, Alter has known President Obama and his closest confidantes for as long as nearly any national columnist, he published the first national magazine cover story on Obama in Newsweek's 2004 "Who's Next Issue."[2]
  [edit]Life and careerAlter was raised in a Jewish family in Chicago,[3] the son of James, who owned a refrigeration and air-conditioning company, and Joanne (n(C)e Hammerman) who was an elected commissioner of the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago and a member of the Democratic National Committee.[4][5] His mother was first woman in the Chicago area to be elected to public office.[6] He graduated from Phillips Academy in 1975[4][7] and Harvard University in 1979 where he was one of the lead editors on the Harvard Crimson.[4][8]
  For a decade in the 1980s, Alter was Newsweek'smedia critic, where he was among the first in the mainstream media to break tradition and hold other news organizations accountable for their coverage,[citation needed] a precursor to the role later played by blogs. When Newsweek launched his wide-ranging column in 1991, it was the first time the magazine allowed regular political commentary in the magazine, other than on the back page. After the election of Bill Clinton in 1992, during which Alter was a consultant to MTV, he was among a small group of reporters and columnists who had regular access to Clinton, though he was far from a reliable supporter, particularly during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. "Alter bites me in the ass sometimes, but at least he knows what we're trying to do," Clinton was quoted as saying in the book Media Circus by the Washington Post'sHoward Kurtz.
  Alter gained international notoriety on election night 2000, when on NBC with Tim Russert and Tom Brokaw, he claimed that the election would be settled in court. He was the first pundit to predict the months long recount process.[9]
  Two months after the September 11 attacks, Alter wrote an article for Newsweek called "Time to think about torture" which became one of his best known[by whom?] articles. In the column, he suggested that the U.S. might need to "rethink ... old assumptions about law enforcement." Stating that "some torture clearly works," he suggested the nation should "keep an open mind about certain measures to fight terrorism, like court-sanctioned psychological interrogation," and consider transferring some prisoners to other countries with less stringent rules on torture.[10]
  Alter was a fierce critic of President George W. Bush,[citation needed] emphasizing what he considered Bush's lack of accountability and his position on embryonic stem cell research. Alter, a cancer survivor, has written about his own bout with lymphoma and experience with an autologous adult stem cell transplant.[11] On NBC's Today Show, Alter was the correspondent for several stories about the effect of the Iraq War on returning veterans. The Defining Moment, which was reviewed respectfully, surprised some critics with its analysis which concluded that the United States had come very close to dictatorship before Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, painting him as the savior of American democracy and capitalism. During an interview with 60 Minutes on November 14, 2008, then-President-electBarack Obama said he had recently been reading The Defining Moment and hoped to apply some of Roosevelt's strategies that were outlined in the book into his own administration.[12]
  A longtime proponent of education reform, Alter played a major role in the Academy Award nominated documentary "Waiting for Superman." [13]
  In 2009, Alter was the commencement speaker at Western Connecticut State University, which awarded him an honorary doctorate.[14] He also has received honorary degrees from Utica College (2008) and Montclair State University (2009).
  In April 2011, Alter left Newsweek," joining Bloomberg days after.[15]
  Alter is the Executive Producer of the Amazon Studios show "Alpha House" starring John Goodman.
  [edit]Personal lifeAlter lives in Montclair, New Jersey,[6] with his wife Emily Jane Lazar,[4] the supervising producer of the Comedy Central show The Colbert Report, and their three children Charlotte (b. 1990), Tommy (b. 1991) and Molly (b. 1993).[6]
  Alter's family has had wide-ranging influence in politics. His mother, Joanne, was the first woman elected to public office in Cook County, Illinois. His sister Jamie Alter Lynton and brother-in-law Michael Lynton, the CEO of Sony Corporation of America, are two of the most politically active fundraisers in California, one cousin Charles Rivkin is one of the creators of the "Muppets" franchise[16] and the current United States Ambassador to France and another cousin Robert Rivkin is Chief counsel for the US department of Transportation.[16] Rivkin's wife Cindy Moelis is the head of the White House Fellows Program and one of Michelle Obama's closest friends. Alter serves on the Board of Directors of DonorsChoose,[17] which allows teachers to post online proposals for classroom materials, and The Blue Card,[18] a national Jewish organization assisting Holocaust survivors.
  [edit]References^http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/55605-the-most-anticipated-books-of-spring-2013.html^http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2010/05/18/in_the_promise_jonathan_alter_details_obamas_first_year_in_office/^Chicago Tribune: "The fourth outfielder - The day Jonathan Alter played for the Cubs '-- sort of" By Jonathan Alter April 02, 2012^ abcdnew York Times: "Emily Lazar Engaged To Jonathan H. Alter" August 24, 1986^Huffington Post: "Joanne Alter, Gender Trailblazer In Chicago Politics, Dies" December 12, 2008^ abcNew Jersey Monthly: "Writer in Residence - Newsweek Columnist Jonathan Alter interprets history as it happens. At home, he steeps himself in the past, including the edigree of his Victorian dream house" by Eric Levin December 19, 2007^Staff writer (January 24, 2008). "Heffner Adds More Guests for Next Two WPAA Live Political Broadcasts". Phillips Academy website. Retrieved 2011-05-24. ^Who's Who in America 1986-19871. p. 50. ^"Election Night 2000: No Decision". Retrieved 12 October 2012. ^Alter, Jonathan. "Time to think about torture"Newsweek.com, 2001-11-05. Retrieved 2011-05-24. (byline missing)^"My Life with Cancer"Newsweek.com, April 09, 2007. Retrieved 2011-05-24. (byline missing)^Reardon, Patrick T. "FDR books on Obama's nightstand.The Chicago Tribune, November 18, 2008.[dead link]^[1]^Alter, Jonathan. Speech, May 24, 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-24.^"Jonathan Alter out at Newsweek" politico.com, 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2011-05-24.^ abhttp://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-02-28/business/ct-biz-0228-chicago-confidential--20100228_1_inquest-toyota-eliot-spitzer^Donorschoose.org National board of directors. Retrieved 2011-05-24.^Bluecardfund.org pdf file of Board of Directors. Retrieved 2011-05-24.[edit]External linksPersondataNameAlter, JonathanAlternative namesShort descriptionAm4erican journalistDate of birth1957-10-06Place of birthDate of deathPlace of death
Erik Erikson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Erik Erikson (15 June 1902 '' 12 May 1994) was a German-born Americandevelopmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings. He may be most famous for coining the phrase identity crisis. His son, Kai T. Erikson, is a noted American sociologist.
  Although Erikson lacked even a bachelor's degree, he served as a professor at prominent institutions such as Harvard and Yale.
  [edit]Early lifeBorn in Frankfurt, Erik Erikson's lifelong interest in the psychology of identity may be traced to his childhood. He was born on June 15, 1902. The circumstances of his birth were concealed from him in his childhood. His Danish-born mother, Karla Abrahamsen, came from a prominent Jewish family in Copenhagen. At the time of her son's birth in Germany, Karla Abrahamsen had not seen her husband, Jewish stockbroker Waldemar Isidor Salomonsen, for several years. Nonetheless, the boy was registered as Erik Salomonsen.[2] There is no more information about his biological father, except that he was a Dane and his given name probably was Erik. It is also suggested that he was married at the time that Erikson was conceived.[citation needed] Following her son's birth, Karla trained to be a nurse, moved to Karlsruhe and in 1905, married a Jewish pediatrician, Theodor Homburger. In 1908, Erik Salomonsen became Erik Homburger and in 1911 he was officially adopted by his stepfather.[3]
  The development of identity seems to have been one of Erikson's greatest concerns in his own life as well as in his theory. During his childhood and early adulthood he was known as Erik Homberger, and his parents kept the details of his birth a secret. He was a tall, blond, blue-eyed boy who was raised in the Jewish religion. At temple school, the kids teased him for being a Nordic; at grammar school, they teased him for being Jewish.[citation needed]
  [edit]Psychoanalytic experience and trainingErikson was a student and teacher of arts. While teaching at a private school in Vienna, he became acquainted with Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund Freud. Erikson underwent psychoanalysis, and the experience made him decide to become an analyst himself. He was trained in psychoanalysis at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute and also studied the Montessori method of education, which focused on child development and sexual stages.[4]
  [edit]North AmericaErikson's wife, Joan Serson Erikson, was born in Canada. They married in 1930 and Erikson converted to Christianity during their marriage.[5][6][7]
  Soon after his graduation from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute in 1933, the Nazis came to power in Germany. Now Erikson and his wife emigrated, first to Denmark and then to the United States, where he became the first child psychoanalyst in Boston. Erikson held positions at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Judge Baker Guidance Center, and at Harvard Medical School and Psychological Clinic, establishing a singular reputation as a clinician.
  In 1936, Erikson joined the staff at Harvard University, where he worked at the Institute of Human Relations and taught at the Medical School. After spending a year observing children on a Sioux reservation in South Dakota, he moved to the University of California at Berkeley; there he affiliated with the Institute of Child Welfare and opened a private practice as well. While in California, Erikson also studied children of the Yurok Native American tribe.
  In 1950, after publishing the book, Childhood and Society, for which he is best known, Erikson left the University of California when professors there were asked to sign loyalty oaths.[8] He spent ten years working and teaching at the Austen Riggs Center, a prominent psychiatric treatment facility in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he worked with emotionally troubled young people.
  He returned to Harvard in the 1960s as a professor of human development and remained there until his retirement in 1970. In 1973 the National Endowment for the Humanities selected Erikson for the Jefferson Lecture, the United States' highest honor for achievement in the humanities. Erikson's lecture was titled "Dimensions of a New Identity".[9][10][11]
  [edit]Theories of development and the egoErikson's greatest innovation was to postulate not five stages of development, as Sigmund Freud had done with his psychosexual stages, but eight (known as "The Eight Ages of Man"). He then later added a ninth stage in his book "The Life Cycle Completed". Erik Erikson believed that every human being goes through a certain number of stages to reach his or her full development, theorizing eight stages that a human being goes through from birth to death.[12][13] Erikson elaborated Freud's genital stage into adolescence, and added three stages of adulthood. His widow Joan Serson Erikson elaborated on his model before her death, adding a ninth stage (old age), taking into consideration the increasing life expectancy in Western cultures. Erikson is also credited with being one of the originators of Ego psychology, which stressed the role of the ego as being more than a servant of the id. According to Erikson, the environment in which a child lived was crucial to providing growth, adjustment, a source of self-awareness and identity. Erikson won a Pulitzer Prize[14] and a U.S. National Book Award in category Philosophy and Religion[15] for Gandhi's Truth (1969), which focused more on his theory as applied to later phases in the life cycle.
  [edit]Erikson's theory of personalityErikson was a Neo-Freudian. He has been described as an "ego psychologist" studying the stages of development, spanning the entire lifespan. Each of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development is marked by a conflict for which successful resolution will result in a favourable outcome, and by an important event that this conflict resolves itself around.
  Favorable outcomes of each stage are sometimes known as "virtues", a term used in the context of Erikson's work as it is applied to medicine, meaning "potencies." Erikson's research suggests that each individual must learn how to hold both extremes of each specific life-stage challenge in tension with one another, not rejecting one end of the tension or the other. Only when both extremes in a life-stage challenge are understood and accepted as both required and useful, can the optimal virtue for that stage surface. Thus, 'trust' and 'mis-trust' must both be understood and accepted, in order for realistic 'hope' to emerge as a viable solution at the first stage. Similarly, 'integrity' and 'despair' must both be understood and embraced, in order for actionable 'wisdom' to emerge as a viable solution at the last stage.
  The Erikson life-stage virtues, in order of the eight stages in which they may be acquired, are:
  Basic trust vs. basic mistrust - This stage covers the period of infancy. 0-1 year of age. - Whether or not the baby develops basic trust or basic mistrust is not merely a matter of nurture. It is multi-faceted and has strong social components. It depends on the quality of the maternal relationship. The mother carries out and reflects their inner perceptions of trustworthiness, a sense of personal meaning, etc. on the child. If successful in this, the baby develops a sense of trust, which ''forms the basis in the child for a sense of identity''.Autonomy vs. Shame - Covers early childhood around 1-3 years old- Introduces the concept of autonomy vs. shame and doubt. During this stage the child is trying to master toilet training.Purpose - Initiative vs. Guilt - Preschool / 3''6 years - Does the child have the ability to or do things on their own, such as dress him or herself? If "guilty" about making his or her own choices, the child will not function well. Erikson has a positive outlook on this stage, saying that most guilt is quickly compensated by a sense of accomplishment.Competence - Industry vs. Inferiority - School-age / 6-11. Child comparing self-worth to others (such as in a classroom environment). Child can recognize major disparities in personal abilities relative to other children. Erikson places some emphasis on the teacher, who should ensure that children do not feel inferior.Fidelity - Identity vs. Role Confusion - Adolescent / 12 years till 18. Questioning of self. Who am I, how do I fit in? Where am I going in life? Erikson believes, that if the parents allow the child to explore, they will conclude their own identity. However, if the parents continually push him/her to conform to their views, the teen will face identity confusion.Intimacy vs. isolation - This is the first stage of adult development. This development usually happens during young adulthood, which is between the ages of 18 to 35. Dating, marriage, family and friendships are important during the stage in their life. By successfully forming loving relationships with other people, individuals are able to experience love and intimacy. Those who fail to form lasting relationships may feel isolated and alone.Generativity vs. stagnation is the second stage of adulthood and happens between the ages of 35-64. During this time people are normally settled in their life and know what is important to them. A person is either making progress in their career or treading lightly in their career and unsure if this is what they want to do for the rest of their working lives. Also during this time, a person is enjoying raising their children and participating in activities, that gives them a sense of purpose. If a person is not comfortable with the way their life is progressing, they're usually regretful about the decisions and feel a sense of uselessness.Ego integrity vs. despair. This stage affects the age group of 65 and on. During this time an individual has reached the last chapter in their life and retirement is approaching or has already taken place. Many people, who have achieved what was important to them, look back on their lives and feel great accomplishment and a sense of integrity. Conversely, those who had a difficult time during middle adulthood may look back and feel a sense of despair.On ego identity versus role confusion, ego identity enables each person to have a sense of individuality, or as Erikson would say, "Ego identity, then, in its subjective aspect, is the awareness of the fact that there is a self-sameness and continuity to the ego's synthesizing methods and a continuity of one's meaning for others" (1963). Role confusion, however, is, according to Barbara Engler in her book Personality Theories (2006), "the inability to conceive of oneself as a productive member of one's own society" (158). This inability to conceive of oneself as a productive member is a great danger; it can occur during adolescence, when looking for an occupation.
  [edit]Bibliography[edit]Major worksChildhood and Society (1950)Young Man Luther. A Study in Psychoanalysis and History (1958)Identity: Youth and Crisis (1968)Gandhi's Truth: On the Origin of Militant Nonviolence (1969)Adulthood (edited book, 1978)Vital Involvement in Old Age (with J.M. Erikson and H. Kivnick, 1986)The Life Cycle Completed (with J.M. Erikson, 1987)[edit]CollectionsIdentity and the Life Cycle. Selected Papers (1959)[edit]Related workErikson on Development in Adulthood: New Insights from the Unpublished Papers (Dallas Hope Melinda Bird, 2002)Erik Erikson: His Life, Work, and Significance (Kit Welchman, 2000 Open University Press) His Work (Robert Coles, 1970)Ideas and Identities: The Life and Work of Erik Erikson (Robert S. Wallerstein & Leo Goldberger, eds., [IUP, 1998])[edit]See also[edit]Further readingAndersen, D C (1993), "Beyond rumor and reductionism: a textual dialogue with Erik H. Erikson.", The Psychohistory review22 (1): 35''68, PMID 11623368 Bondurant, J V; Fisher, M W; Sutherland, J D (1971), "Gandhi; a psychoanalytic view. [Essay review of Erik H. Erikson, Gandhi's truth].", The American historical review (1971 Oct) 76: 1104''15, PMID 11615442 Brenman-Gibson, M (1997), "The legacy of Erik Homburger Erikson.", Psychoanalytic review (1997 Jun) 84 (3): 329''35, PMID 9279928 Carney, J E (1993), ""Is it really so terrible her?": Karl Menninger's pursuit of Erik Erikson.", The Psychohistory review22 (1): 119''53, PMID 11623367 Coles, R; Fitzpatrick, J J (1976), "The writings of Erik H. Erikson.", The Psychohistory review (1976 Dec) 5 (3): 42''6, PMID 11615801 Crunden, R M (1973), "Freud, Erikson, and the historian: a bibliographical survey.", Canadian review of American studies4 (1): 48''64, doi:10.3138/CRAS-004-01-04, PMID 11634791 Douvan, E (1997), "Erik Erikson: critical times, critical theory", Child psychiatry and human development28 (1): 15''21, doi:10.1023/A:1025188901554, PMID 9256525 Eagle, M (1997), "Contributions of Erik Erikson", Psychoanalytic review (1997 Jun) 84 (3): 337''47, PMID 9279929 Fitzpatrick, J J (1976), "Erik H. Erikson and psychohistory", Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic (1976 Jul) 40 (4): 295''314, PMID 791417 Goethals, G W (1976), "The evolution of sexual and genital intimacy: a comparison of the views of Erik H. Erikson and Harry Stack Sullivan", The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis (1976 Oct) 4 (4): 529''44, PMID 799636 Hoffman, L E (1993), "Erikson on Hitler: the origins of 'Hitler's imagery and German youth'", The Psychohistory review22 (1): 69''86, PMID 11623369 Masson, J L (1974), "India and the unconscious: Erik Erikson on Gandhi", The International journal of psycho-analysis55 (4): 519''29, PMID 4616017 Roazen, P (1993), "Erik H. Erikson as a teacher", The Psychohistory review22 (1): 101''17, PMID 11623366 Schnell, R L (1980), "Contributions to psychohistory: IV. Individual experience in historiography and psychoanalysis: significance of Erik Erikson and Robert Coles", Psychological reports (1980 Apr) 46 (2): 591''612, PMID 6992185 Strozier, C B (1976), "Disciplined subjectivity and the psychohistorian: a critical look at the work of Erik H. Erikson", The Psychohistory review (1976 Dec) 5 (3): 28''31, PMID 11615797 Weiner, M B (1979), "Caring for the elderly. Psychological aging: aspects of normal personality and development in old age. Part II. Erik Erikson: resolutions of psychosocial tasks", The Journal of nursing care (1979 May) 12 (5): 27''8, PMID 374748 Wurgaft, L D (1976), "Erik Erikson: from Luther to Gandhi", Psychoanalytic review63 (2): 209''33, PMID 788015 [edit]References^ ab"Erik Erikson, 91, Psychoanalyst Who Reshaped Views of Human Growth, Dies", New York Times, March 13, 1994.^Friedman, Lawrence Jacob (2000). Identity's architect: a biography of Erik H. Erikson. Harvard University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-674-00437-5. ^http://www.psychology.sbc.edu/mccomas.htm^Erikson Erik (1902''1979), Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 2001^http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/08/us/joan-erikson-is-dead-at-95-shaped-thought-on-life-cycles.html^[1]^[2]^C. George Boeree, Erik Erikson, 1902 - 1994 page at Shippensburg University^Jefferson Lecturers at NEH Website (retrieved January 22, 2009).^Erikson, Erik H. Dimensions of a New Identity: The Jefferson Lectures in the Humanities (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1979), ISBN 0-393-00923-8, ISBN 978-0-393-00923-1.^George Stade, "Byways of Our National Character,"New York Times, May 19, 1976 (review of Erikson's Dimensions of a New Identity).^Erikson, Erik H. Childhood and Society.^Schickendanz, Judith A. (2001). "Chapter 1 Theories of Child Development and Methods of Studying Children". Understanding Children and Adolescents (4th ed.). Allyn and Bacon. pp. 12''13. ISBN 0-205-31418-X. ^"1970 winners'--General Nonfiction'--Gandhi's Truth by Erik H. Erikson". pulitzer.org. Columbia University. undated. Retrieved 27 March 2012. ^"National Book Awards '' 1970". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-08.[edit]External links
Roger Nicholson at the Democratic National Convention Part3 - YouTube
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Presidential Proclamation -- National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, 2013
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  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  NATIONAL PHYSICAL FITNESS AND SPORTS MONTH, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  Over the past 3 years, communities all across America have joined First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative, which aims to help parents make healthy choices and give our children a strong start. Today, families have more of the tools and know-how they need to embrace a healthy lifestyle. Kids and adults are finding new ways to bring exercise into their daily lives. And by getting active, our youngest generation is not only improving their health, but also their ability to learn and be successful later in life. During National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, we celebrate that progress and keep striving for more.
  To help more kids and families get moving and make exercise a lifelong habit, we are working to create more opportunities for physical activity -- whether on the playground, in the classroom, or at work. Through Let's Move! and the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, we continue to advance that mission by collaborating with partners in every corner of our country -- public and private, large and small, national and neighborhood. Together, we are helping cities, towns, and counties raise a healthier generation of kids. And earlier this year, we built on that work by launching a new program to bring physical activity back to our schools. To learn more and join in, visit www.LetsMove.gov and www.Fitness.gov.
  With simple steps, all of us can make physical activity a way of life. This month, we recognize Americans who are choosing that future for themselves and inspiring others to do the same. We also take this opportunity to renew the call to action. I encourage business, faith, and community leaders to uphold physical activity as an important way to enrich our neighborhoods. I call on schools to make good health and exercise part of a good education. And alongside our friends and family, let each of us recommit to leading a healthy, active lifestyle, and setting our children on the path to a bright future.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. I call upon the people of the United States to make daily physical activity, sports participation, and good nutrition a priority in their lives.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
Presidential Proclamation -- Loyalty Day, 2013
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 01 May 2013 12:29
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  LOYALTY DAY, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  In the centuries since America broke from an empire and claimed independence, our people have come together again and again to meet the challenges of a changing world. We have reinvented our cities with advances in science and reformed our markets with new understanding of the forces that guide them. We have fought for freedom in the theater of war and expanded its reach during times of peace. We have revamped and recovered and remade ourselves anew, mindful that when times change, so must we. But with every step forward, we have reaffirmed our faith in the ideals that inspired our founding. We have held fast to the principles at our country's core: service and citizenship; courage and the common good; liberty, equality, and justice for all.
  This is our Nation's heritage, and it is what we remember on Loyalty Day. It is an occasion that asks something of us as a people: to rediscover those ageless truths our Founders held to be self-evident, and to renew them in our own time. We look back to Americans who did the same, from generation to generation -- citizens who strengthened our democracy, organizers who made it broader, service members who gave everything to protect it. These patriots and pioneers remind us that while our path to a more perfect Union is unending, with hope and hard work, we can move forward together.
  Today, we rededicate ourselves to that enduring task. We do so knowing our journey is not complete until the promises of our founding documents are made real for every American, regardless of their station in life or the circumstances of their birth. Progress may come slow; the road may be long. But as loyal citizens of these United States, we have the power to set our country's course. Let us mark this day by pressing on in the march toward lasting freedom and true equality, grateful for the precious rights and responsibilities entrusted to each of us by our forebears.
  In order to recognize the American spirit of loyalty and the sacrifices that so many have made for our Nation, the Congress, by Public Law 85-529 as amended, has designated May 1 of each year as "Loyalty Day." On this day, let us reaffirm our allegiance to the United States of America, our Constitution, and our founding values.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2013, as Loyalty Day. This Loyalty Day, I call upon all the people of the United States to join in support of this national observance, whether by displaying the flag of the United States or pledging allegiance to the Republic for which it stands.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
Presidential Proclamation -- National Day of Prayer, 2013
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 01 May 2013 12:28
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  May 01, 2013
  NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  Americans have long turned to prayer both in times of joy and times of sorrow. On their voyage to the New World, the earliest settlers prayed that they would "rejoice together, mourn together, labor, and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work." From that day forward, Americans have prayed as a means of uniting, guiding, and healing. In times of hardship and tragedy, and in periods of peace and prosperity, prayer has provided reassurance, sustenance, and affirmation of common purpose.
  Prayer brings communities together and can be a wellspring of strength and support. In the aftermath of senseless acts of violence, the prayers of countless Americans signal to grieving families and a suffering community that they are not alone. Their pain is a shared pain, and their hope a shared hope. Regardless of religion or creed, Americans reflect on the sacredness of life and express their sympathy for the wounded, offering comfort and holding up a light in an hour of darkness.
  All of us have the freedom to pray and exercise our faiths openly. Our laws protect these God-given liberties, and rightly so. Today and every day, prayers will be offered in houses of worship, at community gatherings, in our homes, and in neighborhoods all across our country. Let us give thanks for the freedom to practice our faith as we see fit, whether individually or in fellowship.
  On this day, let us remember in our thoughts and prayers all those affected by recent events, such as the Boston Marathon bombings, the Newtown, Connecticut shootings, and the explosion in West, Texas. Let us pray for the police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who put themselves in harm's way to protect their fellow Americans. Let us also pray for the safety of our brave men and women in uniform and their families who serve and sacrifice for our country. Let us come together to pray for peace and goodwill today and in the days ahead as we work to meet the great challenges of our time.
  The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on the President to issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a "National Day of Prayer."
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2, 2013, as a National Day of Prayer. I join the citizens of our Nation in giving thanks, in accordance with our own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and in asking for God's continued guidance, mercy, and protection.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
Canada can't account for $3.1B in anti-terror funding, AG finds - Politics - CBC News
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 12:19
  The federal government needs to do better at tracking and evaluating some of its program spending to ensure taxpayer dollars are being well-spent, Auditor General Michael Ferguson found in his spring report released today, and one of the most striking examples is that it can't account for $3.1 billion in anti-terrorism funding.
  The lack of information on spending and on results achieved for money spent is a common theme throughout Ferguson's report, which includes 11 chapters in total.
  In his audit of the Public Security and Anti-Terrorism (PSAT) Initiative, Ferguson suggested there should have been a government-wide review of spending by 35 departments and of the results for the program that was funded between 2001 and 2009.
  He found that departments reported spending $9.8 billion of the $12.9 billion allocated for security and anti-terrorism measures under the program but he couldn't determine where the other $3.1 billion went. The Treasury Board had no clear answers for him.
  Auditor General Michael Ferguson speaks to reporters in the National Press Theatre in Ottawa following the release of his spring report.(Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)Ferguson said he's not concerned the money is missing, it's the information about it that can't be nailed down.
  "It's a matter of missing that last link in putting that information together," he said at a news conference in Ottawa Tuesday morning. If the money was reallocated from the anti-terrorism program to another program, there should have been approval for that, he added.
  "We don't have enough information to say whether that happened," he said.
  The NDP jumped on the accounting gap as a sign the Conservatives can't manage the public purse.
  "It is really scandalous that [the government] can't account for the $3.1 billion," NDP MP Malcolm Allen said. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair called the unaccounted for money a "$3-billion boondoggle."
  Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the issue raised by Ferguson has nothing to do with the improper use of money, but rather with the categorization of spending by different departments over the years.
  "There's some lack of clarity, the auditor general's made some suggestions on how we can be more clear in our tracking in the future. We will do that," Harper said in question period. "Unlike the NDP, we remain fully committed to legislation and to expenditures to protect Canadians from terrorism."
  Treasury Board president Tony Clement said there are no allegations of misspent or misallocated money and that Parliament was "in the loop" on how money was spent.
  "All government spending, every nickel and dime is reported to Parliament and accounted for each and every year in the public accounts," he told reporters.
  Clement said he accepts the auditor general's recommendation for his department to provide a clear picture of spending and results for government-wide programs.
  Some of the other main findings in the report include:
  Some departments, including National Defence, aren't always doing proper security clearances for people and companies hired on contract.The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the government are not acting in a spirit of reconciliation to create a complete historical record of the residential school system, and there is no plan on how to resolve their disputes.The Public Health Agency of Canada is doing a poor job of managing the Canadian Diabetes Strategy and the impact of the program is unknown.The Canada Revenue Agency is doing better at collecting unpaid taxes, but needs to do more given there are arrears of $29 billion.Better reporting on how development aid money is spent and what results are being achieved is needed.There are concerns over the sustainability of search and rescue activities because of aging equipment and personnel shortages.Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) is doing better at cutting down employment insurance overpayments, but still losing millions a year.Ferguson's report on anti-terrorism spending comes at a time when the subject is dominating public debate and Parliament Hill. Anti-terrorism measures were debated in the House of Commons last week, on the same day that arrests were announced by the RCMP. A man from Toronto and another man from Montreal are accused of plotting a terrorist attack on a Via passenger train.
  Search and rescue management questionedSafety and security were also raised in other chapters of Ferguson's report. He found that some departments, including National Defence, are not following proper procedures for security clearances when outside people or companies are hired on contract. In some cases people were awarded contracts who did not have appropriate security clearances.
  Auditor General Michael Ferguson says he has concerns about the sustainability of federal search and rescue activities because of aging equipment and personnel shortages.(Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)Defence Minister Peter MacKay's department is also singled out in the spring report for its management of search and rescue (SAR) activities. Ferguson said he has concerns about the sustainability of SAR activities because of aging equipment and personnel shortages.
  The government has been trying to acquire new SAR aircraft since 2002, but the replacement project has been plagued with problems and controversy. A contract to replace the Hercules and Buffalo planes won't be signed until next year at the earliest and in the meantime, money has to be spent on upgrading and maintaining the older aircraft.
  Ferguson also has concerns about the information management system used to manage SAR cases, saying it is "nearing its breaking point." A replacement system isn't expected until 2015-16.
  MacKay acknowledged there have been ongoing delays with the procurement process and said he accepts the report's recommendations.
  "The reality is that while the process is underway it has not delivered the aircraft that we need," he told reporters. He also said he is acting on the security clearance concerns identified in the report.
  Ferguson's office also looked at how some departments are doing at implementing Treasury Board requirements to evaluate their programs.
  "Overall, we found many areas where the government should improve on the results that it achieves with taxpayers' dollars," Ferguson said.
  'Significant weaknesses' in evaluating programsFerguson found that at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, HRSDC and Treasury Board, there are "significant weaknesses" when it comes to using program evaluations in decision-making.
  "As a result, decisions have been made about programs and related expenditures with incomplete information on their effectiveness," said Ferguson. HRSDC and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada did not evaluate their ongoing grant and contribution programs over a five-year period, the audit also found.
  There is also limited information on the results of spending on international development assistance, Ferguson's report said. He said the annual report to Parliament on how the money given to multilateral organizations is spent "lacks clarity, and we identified some inaccuracies."
  According to the legislation governing official development assistance, programs are supposed to have a focus on poverty reduction, take into account the perspectives of the poor and meet international human rights standards. Ferguson's audit raised concerns about those last two provisions.
  "Decision makers do not have all the information they would need to determine that the conditions in the act are respected," he wrote.
  About $5.2 billion was spent on development aid in 2010-11.
  Ferguson also looked at how the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Health Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research have implemented the Canadian Diabetes Strategy. What he found is a poorly managed program that hasn't defined a strategy, priorities, performance measures, timelines or expected results.
  PHAC gets $18 million per year for the pan-Canadian diabetes strategy, but according to Ferguson, it's not keeping tabs on whether its activities are helping to prevent and treat diabetes. The government also funded $44 million in research in 2011-12.
  Ongoing disputes over residential schools recordsAnother chapter in the spring audit report focuses on whether the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, created as part of the settlement over the Indian residential schools system, is getting what it needs from the federal government.
  "The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada have been unable to co-operate, in the spirit of reconciliation, to create as complete as possible a historical record of the Indian residential school system and its legacy," he said.
  The commission has a $60-million budget and five-year mandate that ends in July 2014, and is responsible for collecting records and setting up a national research centre. The problems that have plagued the commission so far don't show signs of being resolved, according to the audit, which found no detailed plan to resolve the issues.
  The spring report said the CRA is making satisfactory progress on tax collection, but "given tax arrears of $29 billion, the agency needs to continue to work to refine and improve its tools."
  Human Resources Minister Diane Finley's department is also doing better at reducing EI overpayments, but is "missing opportunities" to minimize costs to the program, the audit found. Close to $10 million per year isn't being recovered because cases are being processed too slowly, he noted.
Protecting our brand from a global spyware provider | The Mozilla Blog
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 12:17
  [...] a blog post on a situation, Alex Fowler, conduct of Mozilla's remoteness and open process division, [...]
Internet DJ Console Homepage
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 12:08
  The Jingles tab contains two separate players. Effects, which is for sound effects and brief jingles, and Background Tracks which is intended to provide background audio as the DJ speaks. The Background Tracks player audio fades in and out automatically depending the main players.
Pakistan stock market plummets over Iran pipeline sanction fearsSialkot Updates | Sialkot Updates
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 11:58
  KARACHI: Pakistan's main stock market plummeted over 400 points on Monday, the same day as the Pakistani president and his Iranian counterpart inaugurated construction work on a much delayed pipeline between the two countries, despite repeated warnings of sanctions by the United States.
  The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-index ended 441.62 points, or 2.46 per cent, lower to close at 17,522.56 points.
  ''There was a panic-like situation in the market as investors fear United States may impose economic sanctions on Pakistan because of the gas pipeline,'' said analyst Mohammad Sohail of Topline Securities.
  ''The market experienced turmoil all the day. It never recovered till it suspended trading.''
  Brokers said selling was witnessed across all stocks.
  ''Across the board selling was witnessed as investors preferred to reduce their exposure before any negative news,'' said equity dealer Samar Iqbal.
  Oil and Gas Development Company was down 4.01 per cent to 196.70 rupees. Foods and Fertilizer Engro Corporation fell 4.59 per cent to 122.11 rupees, while Fauji Fertilizer was down 4.3 per cent to 106.99 rupees.
  ''The market's future trends depend on what the US State Department says in its next statement about the gas pipeline,'' said Sohail.
  Pakistani analysts said a statement from the US State Department was expected later in the evening, which could determine the future course of the market.
  US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland has warned if the deal is finalised, it ''would raise serious concerns under our Iran Sanctions Act.''
  Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's spokesman said the world should realise the project was being commissioned ''purely to meet economic needs of the country''.
  In the currency market, the rupee ended weaker at 97.85/97.90 against the dollar, compared to Friday's close of 97.70/97.75.
  Overnight rates in the money market rose to 9.40 per cent form Friday's close of 9 per cent.
  CONTENTS FROM DIFFERENT WEBSITES
sialkot pipeline - Google Search
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 11:57
  Another gas pipeline between Wazirabad, Sialkot to overcomapp.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task...- Cachedbisnuss.jpg SIALKOT, Feb 12 (APP): Federal Minister for Information andBroadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that another sui gas pipeline would belaid ...Pakistan stock market plummets over Iran pipeline... - Sialkot Updatessialkotupdates.com/?p=799- CachedMar 11, 2013 ... KARACHI: Pakistan's main stock market plummeted over 400 points on Monday,the same day as the Pakistani president and his Iranian ...Sialkot Pipeline Welding - Yellow Pages Pakistanyellopagespakistan.com/category/pipes.../pipeline.../Sialkot/- CachedPipeline Welding Sialkot. ...Sialkot Pipeline Welding. Browsing Pakistan >>Punjab >> Sialkot >> Pipes and Fittings >> Pipeline Welding ...SNGPL :: HOME PAGE ::SUI NORTHERN GAS PIPELINES LTD. our. hope. hope for. our hope for. ourhope for a. our hope for a. better. our hope for a. tomorrow. our hope for a better ...Another gas pipeline between Wazirabad, Sialkot to overcome gas ...www.thefreelibrary.com/Another+gas+pipeline+between+Wazirabad,+Sialkot +to+overcome+gas...-a0279930967- CachedFeb 13, 2012 ... Free Online Library: Another gas pipeline between Wazirabad, Sialkot toovercome gas shortage: Dr Firdous. by "The Frontier Star (Northwest ...Sialkot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaSialkot (Urdu: Ø"ÙŠØ§ÙÙƒÙÙ¹'Ž), is a city and capital of Sialkot District located in the north-east of the ..... Planning of the Mangla-Marala Link Canal is in the pipeline.Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College - Wikipedia, the free ...en.wikipedia.org/.../Khawaja_Muhammad_Safdar_Medical_College- Cached... still in the pipeline. A temporary project office has been established at AllamaIqbal Memorial Hospital Sialkot which will also be the attached teaching hospital.Gas pipeline plan from Sialkot to EPZ -DAWN - National; November ...archives.dawn.com/2001/11/06/nat3.htm- CachedSIALKOT, Nov 5: The Federal government has approved a project of laying thegas pipeline from Sialkot to the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) Sambrial via ...President Asif Ali Zardari to address public meeting in Sialkot on 2nd ...https://ppp4pakistan.wordpress.com/.../president-asif-ali-zardari-to-address- public-meeting-in-sialkot-on-2nd-march/- CachedMar 2, 2013 ... Pakistan will not stop Pak-Iran gas pipeline project at any cost: President ... apublic meeting at KB Chak Bajwat area of Sialkot here on Sunday."Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College, Sialkot" - About ...www.facebook.com/pages/Khawaja...Sialkot/160759777306906?...- Cached"Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College, Sialkot", Sialkot, Pakistan. 827likes · 36 talking about this.
USGS: Earthquake measuring 5.7 strikes northwest Pakistan - Israel News, Ynetnews
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  Wed, 01 May 2013 11:56
  A shallow earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 struck northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake was only 10 kms (six miles) deep and struck at 6:57 GMT about 140 km (85 miles) northeast of Sialkot in Pakistan, said the USGS. Powerful, shallow quakes are capable of causing extensive damage.
  Pakistan bore the brunt of a powerful quake centred in Iran last month, killing at least 35 people in Pakistan and destroying hundreds of houses. (Reuters)
Massive data leak exposes offshore financial secrets - World - CBC News
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  Wed, 01 May 2013 11:54
  They sought the utmost secrecy in offshore tax havens. But now some of the world's wealthiest citizens are having their undisclosed financial records laid bare.
  An unprecedented leak of documents is revealing the closely guarded investment information of more than 100,000 people around the world, including hundreds of Canadians.
  In what is believed to be one of the largest ever leaks of financial data, the Washington, D.C.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has received nearly 30 years of data entries, emails and other confidential details from 10 offshore havens around the world.
  CBC News has partnered with the ICIJ over the last seven months to gain exclusive Canadian access to the information. Thirty-seven media outlets in 35 other countries are also involved.
  "This secret world has finally been revealed," said lawyer and international tax expert Art Cockfield, a professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.
  "I find it absolutely fascinating to get a look at this data dump. I think this is the very first time where people like myself, and maybe even government officials, have had access to this information."
  The files contain information on over 120,000 offshore entities '-- including shell corporations and legal structures known as trusts '-- involving people in over 170 countries. The leak amounts to 260 gigabytes of data, or 162 times larger than the U.S. State Department cables published by WikiLeaks in 2010.
  "What we found as we started digging in the records is a pretty extensive collection of dodgy characters: Wall Street fraudsters, Ponzi schemers, figures connected to organized crime, to arms dealing, money launderers," said Michael Hudson, a senior editor at the ICIJ, who worked with a team for months to sort through the information.
  "We just found a lot of folks involved in questionable or outright illegal activities."
  There was also plenty of information related to legal offshore dealings. Offshore investments aren't illicit as long as they are not used to evade taxes or launder money.
  As reported by CBC News yesterday, the files show that a Canadian senator and her husband, one of the country's most prominent class-action lawyers, were beneficiaries of a confidential offshore account in the Cook Islands that was used to make investments via Bermuda.
  The leaked data also contains revelations about:
  Elite Russian scammers who stole $230 million from the country's treasury in a deadly heist that sparked a diplomatic row with the U.S.The fraudster hit with the second-biggest fine in history from Ontario's stock-market regulator.Top German, French and Swiss banks that set up thousands of secretive companies in offshore havens for such clients as Thai and Pakistani politicians.In many cases, the leaked documents expose insider details of how agents would incorporate companies in Caribbean and South Pacific micro-states on behalf of wealthy clients, then assign front people called "nominees" to serve, on paper, as directors and shareholders for the corporations '-- disguising the companies' true owners.
  Often the companies were set up through intermediary law and accounting firms, as well, adding a further layer of anonymity for investors.
  "These people have no idea whatsoever about the activities of the companies that they are apparently responsible for. Now, this is a complete travesty," said John Christensen, director of the Tax Justice Network, an international coalition that campaigns against offshore finance.
  "But it is actually crucial to this process of not revealing who the real person is behind the company."
  Sometimes these methods were used by figures with known links to organized crime, arms dealers and ex-mercenaries. In other instances, documents reveal tax dodgers funnelling money offshore, beyond the eyes and arms of their nation's treasury.
  Canadians at topMany of the leaked records consist of emails between employees and customers of specialty firms that set up and administer tens of thousands of offshore companies.
  One of those firms '-- Commonwealth Trust Ltd., based in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean '-- was founded and, until 2009, run by a Toronto native, Tom Ward. The company's senior ranks included a number of other Canadians. It mainly sets up corporations in the BVI for the wealthy, charging around $2,000 a year per account for its services.
  Another agency, Portcullis TrustNet, has offices on tropical islands around the globe, including in the Cook Islands near New Zealand, as well as the BVI, the Caymans, Mauritius, Samoa, Singapore and Hong Kong. A former senior manager at the company is a Canadian lawyer.
  Not all the firms' leaked emails are strictly business. There's also hundreds of intra-office missives about cricket, after-work drinking plans and the latest internet memes.
  "I am getting some very funny looks as I sit here crying with laughter at that one," a TrustNet employee messages a co-worker after watching a YouTube video that was sent around.
  Another colleague describes a recent Monday evening trip to the bar in an email to her mom: "What started out as being just one drink ended up being 3 double bourbons and hello?! Can I just get drunk?! Haha."
  Up to $32 trillion stashed offshoreOffshore tax havens have existed for at least 100 years. While there's no firm definition, the International Monetary Fund says most of what it officially calls "offshore financial centres" are distinguished by:
  A banking sector that primarily serves non-residents.Low to no taxation on foreign firms and people.Tight financial secrecy.By those terms, there are up to 80 tax havens in the world, including such countries as Panama, Liechtenstein and Switzerland but also tiny island territories like Jersey, Malaysia's Labuan, the Isle of Man and the Turks and Caicos.
  Worldwide, the Tax Justice Network estimates that between $21 trillion and $32 trillion of private wealth is held offshore, out of reach of national treasuries (a more conservative estimate by the Boston Consulting Group puts the figure at $8 trillion). The international organization says that translates to up to $280 billion a year in lost taxes '-- twice what the world's richest countries spend combined on foreign aid.
  Canada's share of that, assuming it's the same as the country's proportion of global GDP, would be about $7 billion, or a quarter of the federal government's projected 2012 budget deficit.
  Countries have discussed ways to stem the tax drain to offshore havens for years, but so far have been unable, or unwilling, to fully plug the leak.
  In last month's federal budget, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty promised to set up a system for tipsters to report offshore tax cheats. Informants would get 15 per cent of the recouped tax in cases where the Canada Revenue Agency recovers more than $100,000. The government estimates it could recover hundreds of million in revenue. But the Tories also cut $47 million a year from the budget of the Canada Revenue Agency.
  If you have more information on this story, or other investigative tips to pass on, please emailinvestigations@cbc.ca. You can also send mail to: CBC Investigations Unit, 205 Wellington St. W., Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3G7
  With files from Nicole Reinert
Teen abuse of prescription drugs up 33 percent, includes Ritalin, Adderall
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 11:51
  (NaturalNews) A new national survey has been released, highlighting startling new trends in teen prescription drug abuse. The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation are confirming that one in four teens now abuse or misuse a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime. These results suggest a 33 percent increase since 2008. Further results suggest that one in eight teens have misused stimulants Ritalin or Adderall at least once in their lifetime. The study finds that the apathetic attitudes of parents are fueling the uprise in teen prescription drug abuse. Sadly enough, the survey reveals that nearly one-third of parents believe stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall improve a teen's academic performance.New data points out that 20 percent of the teens who've abused prescription drugs say they've done so before the age of 14. Also, a mistaken 33 percent of teens believe that using prescription drugs not prescribed to them is okay to treat injury, illness or physical pain.Steve Pasierb, President and CEO of The Partnership at Drugfree.org says, "Medicine abuse is one of the most significant and preventable adolescent health problems facing our families today. What's worse is that kids who begin using at an early age are more likely to struggle with substance use disorders when compared to those who might start using after the teenage years. As parents and caring adults, we need to take definitive action to address the risks that intentional medicine abuse poses to the lives and the long-term health of our teens."
  The data also reveals that 27 percent of teens believe that abusing prescription drugs is safer than using street drugs. Twenty-three percent of teens say their parents don't care as much if they are caught using prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription, compared to being caught with illegal drugs.Has the idea of illegal drugs caused parents and children to be lax toward abuse and misuse of legally prescribed drugs?
  Steve Pasierb breaks it down further, "These data make it very clear: the problem is real, the threat immediate and the situation is not poised to get better...The key here is that kids and often their parents are buying into the myth and misunderstanding that prescription drug abuse is a safer way to get high, a safer alternative to street drugs, and that they can control it...Now, if cocaine or heroin use was going up the way prescription drug use is, parents would certainly be freaking out."
  Pasierb added, "And they should be now, because prescription drug abuse is no better."
  New data shows that 2.7 million teens now report misusing or abusing Ritalin or Adderall at least once in their lifetime. Twenty-six percent of teens now believe that prescription drugs like these can be used as study aids.Alain Joffe, MD, MPH says, "We don't really know what long-term effects these medications will have on the still-developing brains of adolescents... We do know they can have significant side effects, which is why they are limited to use with a prescription."
  The new findings suggest that teens are more likely to abuse prescription medicines when they believe their parents don't care if they get caught using them, compared to illegal drugs. In fact, one in six parents believes that using prescription drugs to get high is safer than using street drugs. Even more disheartening, almost one-third of parents say they believe ADHD medication like Ritalin or Adderall can improve a child's academic or testing performance.Parents are also making these drugs readily available to their teens, not even realizing it. As a matter of fact, more than half of teens indicate that it's easy to get prescription drugs right from their parent's medicine cabinet and 42 percent of teens actually do just that. Furthermore, about half of the parents surveyed say anyone can easily access their medicine cabinet.
  Pasierb sums it up, "This new data is not about blaming parents. Rather, it's an urgent call to action for them to use their immense power to help curb this dangerous behavior. It's about missed opportunities to protect their kids by having direct conversations with them about the health risks of misusing and abusing medicines - and to then moving to safeguard the medicines in their own home. Parental apathy on this issue is contributing to the problem. Yet the same data show year in and year out that kids who learn a lot about the risks of drug use at home are up to half as likely to use as kids who don't get that life-changing gift from their parents."
  Sources for this article include
  http://alaska-native-news.com
  http://www.drugfree.org/newsroom/pats-2012
  http://www.foxnews.com
  http://www.redorbit.com
  http://health.usnews.com
  people have commented on this article.
'La, La, La'--I Can't Hear You' | Cato Institute
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  Wed, 01 May 2013 11:48
  Here is an interesting essay/blog post from James Annan, a scientist with the Global Change Projection Research Programme of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and a leading researcher into constraints on estimates of climate sensitivity. Annan has long-held the opinion, borne from his own investigations, that the bounds of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates of the earth's climate sensitivity are too wide, especially at the high end.
  The IPCC's ''fat right-hand tail'' of their distribution of possible climate sensitivity values means that the IPCC maintains that there is a non-negligible probability that the earth's actual climate sensitivity'--the global average temperature rise from a doubling of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration'--is upwards of 6°C (11°F) and perhaps has high a 10°C (18°F). If the climate sensitivity were indeed this high, we'd be in a bunch of trouble. And so long as the IPCC concedes that this possibility exists, it allows folks to gin up truly alarming scare stories for what lies in ahead if we don't immediately and drastically curtail carbon dioxide emissions.
  But Annan has been arguing for years that the IPCC's stance is scientifically unjustified. And a host of recent scientific studies, including several of his own, seem to have made this point abundantly clear.
  But apparently the IPCC is slow to let go of its alarmist notions.
  In his recent post, Annan points out that the now-under-construction Fifth Assessment Report from the IPCC (which is due out later this year), continues to hang onto the fat right-hand tail of the distribution, even in the face of a large and growing body of research to the contrary.
  But what I find most interesting in Annan's post is his opinion and insight as to why the IPCC is behaving this way. Annan suggests that the IPCC is more tied to the results of ''a small private opinion poll'' than it is to the broader literature when it comes to the climate sensitivity estimates.
  What follows from Annan is damning:
  The paper I refer to as a ''small private opinion poll'' is of course the Zickfeld et al PNAS paper. The list of pollees in the Zickfeld paper are largely the self-same people responsible for the largely bogus analyses that I've criticised over recent years, and which even if they were valid then, are certainly outdated now. Interestingly, one of them stated quite openly in a meeting I attended a few years ago that he deliberately lied in these sort of elicitation exercises (i.e. exaggerating the probability of high sensitivity) in order to help motivate political action. Of course, there may be others who lie in the other direction, which is why it seems bizarre that the IPCC appeared to rely so heavily on this paper to justify their choice, rather than relying on published quantitative analyses of observational data. Since the IPCC can no longer defend their old analyses in any meaningful manner, it seems they have to resort to an unsupported ''this is what we think, because we asked our pals.'' '... [H]aving firmly wedded themselves to their politically convenient long tail of high values, their response to new evidence is little more than sticking their fingers in their ears and singing ''la la la I can't hear you''. [emphasis added]
  The IPCC assessment reports form the science foundation of reports from the U.S. Global Climate Change Research Program, which the Environmental Protection Agency relies on to justify regulating greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
  The significance of all of this should be abundantly clear.
Global Warming Alarm: Continued Cooling May Jeopardize Climate Science And Green Energy Funding! - Forbes
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  Wed, 01 May 2013 11:45
  Log in with your social account:Or, you can log in or sign up using Forbes.New Posts+14 posts this hourMost PopularMost Reputable CompaniesListsThe Global 2000VideoHip-Hop's WealthiestGet two issues of Forbes for FREE!Help|Connect
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband wins CA rail contract '-- California Political Review
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  Wed, 01 May 2013 11:40
  U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein's husband Richard Blum won the first-phase construction contract for California's high-speed rail.
  I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.
  If I didn't witness the insanity and corruption in politics every day, I wouldn't have believed this.
  ''The Perini-Zachary-Parsons bid was the lowest received from the five consortia participating in the bidding process, but ''low'' is a relative term,'' the Laer Pearce, author of Crazifornia wrote. ''The firms bid $985,142,530 to build the wildly anticipated first section of high speed rail track that will tie the megopolis of Madera to the global finance center of Fresno. Do the division, and you find that the low bid came in at a mere $35 million per mile.''
  ''As this fiasco progress, remember that this $35 million per mile represents the best California can do on the section of track the High on Crack Speed Rail Authority selected to go first because it will be the cheapest,'' Pearce said.
  Read Pearce's story here. And stop staring dumfounded at the computer screen. Yes, this is true.
  (Katy Grimes is a longtime political analyst, writer and journalist, and CalWatchdog's news reporter. Originally posted on CalWatchdog.)
SilkRoad Attack, Hyperdeflation - Business Insider
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  Wed, 01 May 2013 10:32
  One of the best things that Bitcoin has going for it is that there are places online where it's used exclusively.The infamous site SilkRoad is a marketplace for drugs and other illegal wares, where Bitcoin is the currency of choice.
  Izabella Kaminska points to a report from Willard Foxton at The Telegraph, who says that the site is on the verge of collapse, under intentional outside threat, and also suffering from hyperdeflation.
  We've written on the hyperdeflation problem before. Basically, with Bitcoin prices surging, nobody wants to buy anything, you just wnat to hold onto your Bitcoins. Conversely, when they collapse, nobody wants to sell. So volatility means nobody wants to transact in Bitcoins, because there's a good chance that the next day someone will feel like a fool.
  Here's Foxton on the SilkRoad attacks, and the lack of transactions:
  Silk Road is now offering $5000 to anyone with any "information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever is behind this extortion attempt". Although phoning up the cops and saying "some guy is blackmailing my giant drug-dealing operation!" probably won't elicit much sympathy.
  Of course, it might also be the natural consequence of Silk Road users paying for goods using the encrypted digital currency Bitcoin.
  As an economy where Bitcoin was the main currency, Silk Road recently went through a hyper-deflation almost unprecedented in economics. Following the recent surges in the value of Bitcoin, people have been selling less and less, initially because the value of the Bitcoins was going up so fast people were unwilling to part with them; then, once the Bitcoin price started crashing, dealers were unwilling to part with valuable drugs for Bitcoins worth who-knows-what.
  The good news for Bitcoin is that prices have been a lot more stable lately. If that stability can last for awhile, at least people will feel more comfortable buying and selling goods in the currency, rather than just speculating on its rise and fall.
Presidential Proclamation -- National Mental Health Awareness Month, 2013
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  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 01 May 2013 10:17
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  Today, tens of millions of Americans are living with the burden of a mental health problem. They shoulder conditions like depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorder -- debilitating illnesses that can strain every part of a person's life. And even though help is out there, less than half of children and adults with diagnosable mental health problems receive treatment. During National Mental Health Awareness Month, we shine a light on these issues, stand with men and women in need, and redouble our efforts to address mental health problems in America.
  For many, getting help starts with a conversation. People who believe they may be suffering from a mental health condition should talk about it with someone they trust and consult a health care provider. As a Nation, it is up to all of us to know the signs of mental health issues and lend a hand to those who are struggling. Shame and stigma too often leave people feeling like there is no place to turn. We need to make sure they know that asking for help is not a sign of weakness -- it is a sign of strength. To find treatment services nearby, call 1-800-662-HELP. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers immediate assistance for all Americans, including service members and veterans, at 1-800-273-TALK.
  Our commitment cannot end there. We must ensure people have access to the care they need -- which is why the Affordable Care Act will expand mental health and substance use disorder benefits and Federal parity protections for 62 million Americans. For the first time, the health care law will prevent insurers from denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition. The Act already requires new health plans to cover recommended preventive services like depression screening and behavioral assessments for children at no extra cost to patients.
  My Administration will keep building on those achievements. Earlier this year, I was proud to launch the BRAIN Initiative -- a new partnership between government, scientists, and leaders in the private sector to invest in research that could unlock new treatments for mental illness and drive growth throughout our economy. We have made unprecedented commitments to improving mental health care for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. And we have proposed new funding for mental health programs that will help teachers and other adults recognize the signs of mental illness in children, improve mental health outcomes for young people, and train 5,000 more mental health professionals to serve our youth.
  Mental health problems remain a serious public health concern, but together, our Nation is making progress. This month, I encourage all Americans to advance this important work by raising awareness about mental health and lending strength to all who need it.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as National Mental Health Awareness Month. I call upon citizens, government agencies, organizations, health care providers, and research institutions to raise mental health awareness and continue helping Americans live longer, healthier lives.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
The Camp Bastion Cover-Up | National Review Online
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  Wed, 01 May 2013 09:41
  Do you remember what happened last year on 9/14? Where are the White House phone calls for the families who continue to grieve? What is being done to prevent another fatal attack like the one on 9/14? And why is the full truth being withheld from the American public?
  Benghazi isn't the only bloody disaster being covered up by the Obama administration. As I reported in a series of columns and blog posts last fall, three days after the deadly siege on our consulate in Libya, the Taliban waged an intricately coordinated, brutal attack on Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. Two heroic U.S. Marines '-- Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Raible and Sergeant Bradley Atwell '-- were killed in the battle. Many surviving Marines have been honored for their brave, quick-thinking actions to save their comrades and civilians caught in the crossfire.
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  Family members are angry that military brass are still trying to suppress details of the fateful budget and strategic decisions that led to the attack. But they won't stay silent. ''This is political,'' one Camp Bastion relative told me this week. ''Just like Benghazi, they don't want people to know.''In case you were sleeping or had forgotten: The meticulously coordinated siege at Camp Bastion by 15 Taliban infiltrators '-- dressed in American combat fatigues and armed with assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and other weapons '-- resulted not only in two deaths and nearly a dozen injuries, but also in the most devastating loss of U.S. airpower since Vietnam. Camp Bastion is Britain's main military base in Afghanistan; it's adjacent to our Marines' Camp Leatherneck.
  Eight irreplaceable U.S. aircraft were destroyed or put out of action during the raid. A trio of refueling stations was decimated; a half-dozen hangars were damaged. The attack came exactly six months after a failed jihadi suicide attack targeting former defense secretary Leon Panetta.
  Camp Bastion family members are hearing that U.S. and British military leaders left their loved ones vulnerable to attack by outsourcing watchtower security on the base to soldiers from Tonga, who were known to fall asleep on the job. Deborah Hatheway, aunt of Sergeant Atwell and the family's spokesperson, is naming names and mincing no words. She says Major General Charles ''Mark'' Gurganus, who recently returned to the U.S. after commanding coalition forces in Afghanistan, was ultimately responsible for skimping on security patrols. ''He might as well have made it easier for the Taliban by cutting the perimeter fence himself and putting out the welcome mat,'' Hatheway told me.
  This is the same Gurganus who ordered Marines to disarm '-- immediately after the failed jihadi attack on Panetta last year '-- because he wanted them ''to look just like our [unarmed] Afghan partners.''
  Hatheway says her family has learned that ''it took over an hour before any of the other coalition forces arrived to help the Marines, who were already engaged with the terrorists and had it under control.'' In addition, she says, they've learned that those on the ground did not have ''proper protective gear available . . . or properly functioning weapons.''
  Bastion families have raised questions with politicians and Pentagon officials in Washington, but are being forced to jump through Freedom of Information Act hoops to get to the bottom of the story. If ever.
  In the meantime, a few officers in the know have begun leaking to the press. A little-noticed article by Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran two weeks ago reported that ''several officials with direct knowledge of the assault said in recent interviews that staffing decisions by U.S. and British commanders weakened the base's defenses, making it easier for the insurgents to reconnoiter the compound and enter without resistance.''
  Cue the stonewalling. According to the Post, ''When the House Armed Services Committee asked to see the initial Marine security review earlier this year, senior officers on the Pentagon's Joint Staff deemed it insufficient for release and ordered the Marines to conduct a fuller review, military officials said. But that examination still fell short of an official investigation.'' Neither the Marine Corps nor NATO plans to release the results of their separate investigations '-- in part, the Post reports, ''to avoid embarrassing the British for leaving towers unmanned.''
  There's a whole lotta CYA going on. Sergeant Atwell's family wants America to know: ''This must end.''
  '-- Michelle Malkin is the author of Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks & Cronies. Her e-mail address is malkinblog@gmail.com. (C) 2013 Creators.com
The weird obsession with chemical weapons | Tim Black
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  Wed, 01 May 2013 09:24
  It seems fairly likely, but still uncertain, that the government forces of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad deployed some sort of chemical weapon against rebels in the cities of Aleppo, Homs and Damascus. Intelligence agencies in Israel, UK, France and the US certainly seem convinced. As indeed do politicians. But here's the question few seem to be asking: so what?
  That is not to diminish or demean the deaths of the 15 or so alleged to have been killed by some sort of chemical agent. Rather, it is to ask: what makes those deaths so different from the 70,000 others who have lost their lives during the two-year-long Syrian conflict? There certainly seems to be an assumption that these deaths are different, that, in short, a handful of chemically aided fatalities are somehow more morally repugnant than the tens of thousands of non-chemically aided deaths. For some as yet obscure ethical reason, the means of death appear to matter to Western observers. Burning people alive or mangling them to death are, it seems, deemed lesser wrongs than suffocating people using a nerve agent.
  Which doesn't really make any sense. Why is there this obsession in Western political circles with the possible use of chemical weapons? No doubt, the potent symbolism of chemical warfare plays a part. Largely invisible, chemical weapons play upon the idea of the unseen enemy, the unseen threat. And as such, in our fearful, hyper-vulnerable times, the idea of unsighted chemical agent wreaking silent destruction resonates in a way an all-too-tangible tank does not. To compound the curious socio-cultural significance of chemical weapons, there is also the myth-bound historical legacy of chemical-weapon use during the First and Second World Wars, despite actual gas-induced fatalities being far outweighed by fantastical fears. In fact, such was the terror of the Germans dropping a chemical payload on Britain during the Second World War that the entire population was provided with a gas mask.
  But in the case of Syria, something else is informing the Western obsession with chemical weapons: namely, the political and moral cowardice of the debate around intervention. That is, there should be a political debate about the rights and wrongs of intervention. There should be a debate informed by political and moral principle, by ideas of what one ought, or ought not, to do. But in the case of Syria, just as in the WMD-framed arguments over the war in Iraq, this debate has not taken place. Instead, there is a deathless technical debate about whether, how, and on whose orders, Assad's forces used chemical weapons, just as there was a deathless technical debate about the likelihood of then Iraqi president Saddam Hussein possessing WMDs in the early 2000s. And both those in favour of further, more forceful intervention in Syria and those against are using the arguments about chemical weapons to make their pro-intervention/anti-intervention cases for them. Chemical weapons are standing in for political and moral principles.
  In a sense, US president Barack Obama started this principle-dodging. Back in August last year, Obama, who is clearly reluctant to inveigle the US into yet another Middle East escapade, kinda, sorta outlined, with a whole heap of caveats, the conditions in which the US would intervene. 'There would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical-weapons front or the use of chemical weapons', he said at the time. 'That would change my calculations significantly.' Then secretary of state Hillary Clinton echoed Obama: '[Use of a chemical weapon] is a red line for the US. We are currently planning to take action'... in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons.'
  This, the position of the Obama administration, was not, as the more conspiratorially inclined like to believe, an attempt to create a pretext to invade Syria. In fact, it was the opposite. It was an attempt to provide a pretext not to invade Syria. By drawing an arbitrary line in the sand, albeit a bright red one, Obama was trying to justify non-intervention. It's just that he wasn't doing this on moral or political grounds; he was doing it on quasi-legalistic grounds. So, providing Assad didn't use a particular weapon to kill his opponents, Obama could insist that Assad had not actually committed a war crime. And therefore, so Obama's logic ran, the US ought not to involve itself militarily in Syria.
  That a profoundly pragmatic reluctance to intervene underpinned Obama's 'red line' position has become clear since Assad's alleged transgression. Because, despite the war-happy urgings of Republicans like senator John McCain, and Democrats like senator Dianne Feinstein, Obama has refused to say whether the red line has been crossed. It is important to know 'when [weapons] were used, how they were used', Obama said on Friday. 'We have to act prudently. We have to make these assessments deliberately.' It's a mess of his own making. Having created the red line in lieu of a principled argument against intervention, Obama is now desperately trying to smudge the red line to avert intervention's necessity.
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  Yet just as unprincipled, just as morally and politically bankrupt, are those using chemical weapons to make the case for intervention. These self-righteous sorts, hearts on sleeves, rattling sabres in hand, are not prepared to make this case openly '' the damaging legacies of more recent do-gooding missions in Iraq and Afghanistan still hang heavy round their scrawny necks. Instead, they hope the facts of chemical-weapon use, the evidence of a sarin attack, will automatically justify intervention and make their case for them. Their determination to establish the evidence amounts to a determination to establish a casus belli.
  'What is most important now', explains an Observer editorial, 'is the integrity and transparency of any investigation that requires governments that claim they have evidence of use to explain precisely what they know as a fact and the limits of their knowledge.' Another piece by one self-styled left-wing commentator dripped with prim barbarism: 'The use of chemical weapons is a war crime. It is a war crime even if it is committed by a state which, like Syria (or North Korea), is not a signatory to the international chemical weapons convention'... [B]ut the evidence needs to be examined. There undoubtedly needs to be a proper investigation, authorised by the international community, of the sarin allegations.' Does anyone have Hans Blix's phone number?
  This obsession with the evidence of chemical weapon usage is best thought of as a form of fetishism. It is as if soil samples, DNA analysis, and YouTube footage of victims frothing at the mouth, have the power to decide what Western powers, led by the US, do next. And in a way, evidence of chemical weapons really does have that power. Not because their deployment really is more morally heinous than shelling people to death, but because political and moral cowards on both sides of the debate, unable to make a case in political and moral terms, have invested chemical weapons with the moral force that ought properly to belong to political and moral argumentation.
  And here's what should be the rub for those politically opposed to further, more forceful Western intervention in Syria: even if there is incontrovertible evidence that Assad used chemical weapons to kill his opponents, that still does not in any way justify intervention. That's because the reason to oppose intervention has nothing to with Assad's means of combat, and everything to do with the idea that the only people who can win and exercise freedom in Syria are the Syrian people themselves. To debate intervention, principles are needed, not evidence of chemical weapons.
  Tim Black is senior writer at spiked.
  User commentsSubscribers to spiked plus can comment on selected spiked articles. If you are a subscriber, please log in here. If you would like to subscribe by giving a regular donation to spiked, click here.
KQED Climate Watch Survey
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 08:57
  About A Matter of DegreeCreated by KQED Public Broadcasting, A Matter of Degree is based on a 2009 analysis of a nationally representative study of 2,164 American adults conducted in the fall of 2008 called "Global Warming's Six Americas". This survey and analysis, and A Matter of Degree's climate profile algorithm, were developed by the Yale Project on Climate Change and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Survey data will be aggregated and used in ongoing research on attitudes about climate change.
Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 08:45
  Highlights:
  About six in ten Americans (58%) say ''global warming is affecting weather in the United States.''Many Americans believe global warming made recent extreme weather and climatic events ''more severe,'' specifically: 2012 as the warmest year on record in the United States (50%); the ongoing drought in the Midwest and the Great Plains (49%); Superstorm Sandy (46%); and Superstorm Nemo (42%).About two out of three Americans say weather in the U.S. has been worse over the past several years, up 12 percentage points since Spring 2012. By contrast, fewer Americans say weather has been getting better over the past several years '' only one in ten (11%), down 16 points compared to a year ago.Continue readingApril 02 2013 | Research ReportsHighlights:
  A majority of respondents (52%) believe climate change is happening, while 26 percent believe it is not, and 22 percent say they ''don't know.''A large majority (77%) says the United States should use more renewable energy sources (solar, wind & geothermal) in the future. Among those who support expanded use of renewable energy, nearly 7 out of 10 think the U.S. should increase the use of renewable energy ''immediately''.By a margin of 2 to 1, respondents say America should take action to reduce our fossil fuel use.Continue readingEnvironmental uncertainty is at the core of much of human activity, ranging from daily decisions by individuals to long-term policy planning by governments. Yet, there is little quantitative evidence on the ability of non-expert individuals or populations to forecast climate-related events. Here we report on data from a 90-year old prediction game on a climate related event in Alaska: the Nenana Ice Classic (NIC). Participants in this contest...
  Continue readingMarch 06 2013 | Research ReportsIn this update on Global Warming's Six Americas, we report that the Alarmed have grown from 10 percent of the American adult population in 2010 to 16 percent in 2012. At the same time, the Dismissive have decreased in size, from 16 percent in 2010 to 8 percent in 2012. The report focuses on how the six groups perceive the benefits and costs of reducing fossil fuel use or global warming; their support for different national climate change and energy policies; and their beliefs about who has influence over the decisions that elected officials make.
  Continue readingFebruary 06 2013 | Videos and WebinarsThis webinar examined how organizations are using the Six Americas tool to design and implement their outreach campaigns and how the Six Americas approach helps measure the impact of outreach efforts.
  Continue readingJanuary 15 2013 | Research ReportsThis brief report draws upon data from our latest national survey (September 2012) to investigate this question: On balance, do political leaders stand to benefit, or not, from talking about and supporting action to address global warming?
  Continue reading< >
Moon Landing Faked!!!'--Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories: Scientific American
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 08:44
  New psychological research helps explain why some see intricate government conspiracies behind events like 9/11 or the Boston bombing
  By Sander van der Linden
  Interestingly, belief in conspiracy theories has recently been linked to the rejection of science. In a paper published in Psychological Science, Stephen Lewandowsky and colleagues investigated the relation between acceptance of science and conspiricist thinking patterns. While the authors' survey was not representative of the general population, results suggest that (controlling for other important factors) belief in multiple conspiracy theories significantly predicted the rejection of important scientific conclusions, such as climate science or the fact that smoking causes lung cancer. Yet, rejection of scientific principles is not the only possible consequence of widespread belief in conspiracy theories. Another recent study indicates that receiving positive information about or even being merely exposed to conspiracy theories can lead people to become disengaged from important political and societal topics. For example, in their study, Daniel Jolley and Karen Douglas clearly show that participants who received information that supported the idea that global warming is a hoax were less willing to engage politically and also less willing to implement individual behavioral changes such as reducing their carbon footprint.
  These findings are alarming because they show that conspiracy theories sow public mistrust and undermine democratic debate by diverting attention away from important scientific, political and societal issues. There is no question as to whether the public should actively demand truthful and transparent information from their governments and proposed explanations should be met with a healthy amount of scepticism, yet, this is not what conspiracy theories offer. A conspiracy theory is usually defined as an attempt to explain the ultimate cause of an important societal event as part of some sinister plot conjured up by a secret alliance of powerful individuals and organizations. The great philosopher Karl Popper argued that the fallacy of conspiracy theories lies in their tendency to describe every event as 'intentional' and 'planned' thereby seriously underestimating the random nature and unintended consequences of many political and social actions. In fact, Popper was describing a cognitive bias that psychologists now commonly refer to as the ''fundamental attribution error'': the tendency to overestimate the actions of others as being intentional rather than the product of (random) situational circumstances.
  Since a number of studies have shown that belief in conspiracy theories is associated with feelings of powerlessness, uncertainty and a general lack of agency and control, a likely purpose of this bias is to help people ''make sense of the world'' by providing simple explanations for complex societal events '-- restoring a sense of control and predictability. A good example is that of climate change: while the most recent international scientific assessment report (receiving input from over 2500 independent scientists from more than a 100 countries) concluded with 90 percent certainty that human-induced global warming is occurring, the severe consequences and implications of climate change are often too distressing and overwhelming for people to deal with, both cognitively as well as emotionally. Resorting to easier explanations that simply discount global warming as a hoax is then of course much more comforting and convenient psychologically. Yet, as Al Gore famously pointed out, unfortunately, the truth is not always convenient.
  Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about? Please send suggestions to Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist at the Boston Globe. He can be reached at garethideas AT gmail.com or Twitter @garethideas.
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)Sander van der Linden is a doctoral candidate in social-environmental psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science (Grantham Research Institute) and currently a visiting research scholar with the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication at Yale University. His research focuses on behavioral change, the psychology of communication and the construction of human risk perception.
How conspiracists think - Salon.com
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 08:40
  Did NASA fake the moon landing? Is the government hiding Martians in Area 51? Is global warming a hoax? And what about the Boston Marathon bombing'...an ''inside job'' perhaps?
  In the book ''The Empire of Conspiracy,'' Timothy Melley explains that conspiracy theories have traditionally been regarded by many social scientists as ''the implausible visions of a lunatic fringe,'' often inspired by what the late historian Richard Hofstadter described as ''the paranoid style of American politics.'' Influenced by this view, many scholars have come to think of conspiracy theories as paranoid and delusional, and for a long time psychologists have had little to contribute other than to affirm the psychopathological nature of conspiracy thinking, given that conspiricist delusions are commonly associated with (schizotype) paranoia.
  Yet, such pathological explanations have proven to be widely insufficient because conspiracy theories are not just the implausible visions of a paranoid minority. For example, a national poll released just this month reports that 37 percent of Americans believe that global warming is a hoax, 21 percent think that the US government is covering up evidence of alien existence and 28 percent believe a secret elite power with a globalist agenda is conspiring to rule the world. Only hours after the recent Boston marathon bombing, numerous conspiracy theories were floated ranging from a possible 'inside job' to YouTube videos claiming that the entire event was a hoax.
  So why is it that so many people come to believe in conspiracy theories? They can't all be paranoid schizophrenics. New studies are providing some eye-opening insights and potential explanations.
  For example, while it has been known for some time that people who believe in one conspiracy theory are also likely to believe in other conspiracy theories, we would expect contradictory conspiracy theories to be negatively correlated. Yet, this is not what psychologists Micheal Wood, Karen Douglas and Robbie Suton found in a recent study. Instead, the research team, based at the University of Kent in England, found that many participants believed in contradictory conspiracy theories. For example, the conspiracy-belief that Osama Bin Laden is still alive was positively correlated with the conspiracy-belief that he was already dead before the military raid took place. This makes little sense, logically: Bin Laden cannot be both dead and alive at the same time. An important conclusion that the authors draw from their analysis is that people don't tend to believe in a conspiracy theory because of the specifics, but rather because of higher-order beliefs that support conspiracy-like thinking more generally. A popular example of such higher-order beliefs is a severe ''distrust of authority.'' The authors go on to suggest that conspiracism is therefore not just about belief in an individual theory, but rather an ideological lens through which we view the world. A good case in point is Alex Jones's recent commentary on the Boston bombings. Jones, (one of the country's preeminent conspiracy theorists) reminded his audience that two of the hijacked planes on 9/11 flew out of Boston (relating one conspiracy theory to another) and moreover, that the Boston Marathon bombing could be a response to the sudden drop in the price of gold or part of a secret government plot to expand the Transportation Security Administration's reach to sporting events. Others have pointed their fingers to a 'mystery man' spotted on a nearby roof shortly after the explosions. While it remains unsure whether or not credence is given to only some or all of these (note: contradicting) conspiracy theories, there clearly is a larger underlying preference to support conspiracy-type explanations more generally.
  Interestingly, belief in conspiracy theories has recently been linked to the rejection of science. In a paper published in Psychological Science, Stephen Lewandowsky and colleagues investigated the relation between acceptance of science and conspiricist thinking patterns. While the authors' survey was not representative of the general population, results suggest that (controlling for other important factors) belief in multiple conspiracy theories significantly predicted the rejection of important scientific conclusions, such as climate science or the fact that smoking causes lung cancer. Yet, rejection of scientific principles is not the only possible consequence of widespread belief in conspiracy theories. Another recent study indicates that receiving positive information about or even being merely exposed to conspiracy theories can lead people to become disengaged from important political and societal topics. For example, in their study, Daniel Jolley and Karen Douglas clearly show that participants who received information that supported the idea that global warming is a hoax were less willing to engage politically and also less willing to implement individual behavioral changes such as reducing their carbon footprint.
  These findings are alarming because they show that conspiracy theories sow public mistrust and undermine democratic debate by diverting attention away from important scientific, political and societal issues. There is no question as to whether the public should actively demand truthful and transparent information from their governments and proposed explanations should be met with a healthy amount of scepticism, yet, this is not what conspiracy theories offer. A conspiracy theory is usually defined as an attempt to explain the ultimate cause of an important societal event as part of some sinister plot conjured up by a secret alliance of powerful individuals and organizations. The great philosopher Karl Popper argued that the fallacy of conspiracy theories lies in their tendency to describe every event as 'intentional' and 'planned' thereby seriously underestimating the random nature and unintended consequences of many political and social actions. In fact, Popper was describing a cognitive bias that psychologists now commonly refer to as the ''fundamental attribution error'': the tendency to overestimate the actions of others as being intentional rather than the product of (random) situational circumstances.
  Since a number of studies have shown that belief in conspiracy theories is associated with feelings of powerlessness, uncertainty and a general lack of agency and control, a likely purpose of this bias is to help people ''make sense of the world'' by providing simple explanations for complex societal events '-- restoring a sense of control and predictability. A good example is that of climate change: while the most recent international scientific assessment report (receiving input from over 2500 independent scientists from more than a 100 countries) concluded with 90 percent certainty that human-induced global warming is occurring, the severe consequences and implications of climate change are often too distressing and overwhelming for people to deal with, both cognitively as well as emotionally. Resorting to easier explanations that simply discount global warming as a hoax is then of course much more comforting and convenient psychologically. Yet, as Al Gore famously pointed out, unfortunately, the truth is not always convenient.
CLIMATE CHANGE forces women into PROSTITUTION
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 08:18
  A group of American politicians has introduced a resolution into Congress saying that climate change (among many other bad things it does) forces women into prostitution, and that as a result the USA should use "gender sensitive frameworks" in battling the scourge of global warming.
  House Concurrent Resolution 36 of the 113th Congress ("Recognizing the disparate impact of climate change on women and the efforts of women globally to address climate change"), dated April 26, can be read here. It says:
  Whereas women will disproportionately face harmful impacts from climate change ...
  ... insecure women with limited socioeconomic resources may be vulnerable to situations such as sex work, transactional sex, and early marriage that put them at risk for HIV, STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and poor reproductive health ...
  So yes, women will be forced into prostitution by climate change. And something should be done:
  Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress ...
  ... encourages the use of gender-sensitive frameworks in developing policies to address climate change, which account for the specific impacts of climate change on women ...
  A concurrent resolution - should it be passed in due course by the House and Senate - does not have force of law, and indeed this one merely "encourages" the President to "support women globally to prepare for, build resilience for, and adapt to climate change". It will probably not have much impact on the US government or the climate debate generally should it be passed - except, of course, that it would become the official position of the US Congress that climate change doesn't just mean crop failure, rising sea levels, death to polar bears etc: it actually forces hapless women into prostitution as well.
  The resolution was introduced by a group of Democratic congresspersons led by Representative Barbara Lee of California. ®
Second City Cop: Global Warming Makes....Whores?
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 01 May 2013 00:46
  Several House Democrats are calling on Congress to recognize that climate change is hurting women more than men, and could even drive poor women to "transactional sex" for survival.The resolution, from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and a dozen other Democrats, says the results of climate change include drought and reduced agricultural output. It says these changes can be particularly harmful for women.
  "[F]ood insecure women with limited socioeconomic resources may be vulnerable to situations such as sex work, transactional sex, and early marriage that put them at risk for HIV, STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and poor reproductive health," it says.
  Unfortunately, women in developing nations are in danger every time the UN shows up, too. Oh wait, the media doesn't cover the rampant UN sex scandals. Sorry, we forgot there was an embargo on those stories.Crushing national debt, sequester, , the economy is almost running backwards, jobs are scarce and hours are being cut, inflation just around the corner and our so-called leaders are pushing this issue?
  Labels: un-fucking-believable
Bomb Suspect's Cause Of Death Found, Not Released
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  Archived Version
  Source: Stuff Ain't Right » Uncategorized
  Wed, 01 May 2013 00:41
  BOSTON (CBS/AP) '-- Authorities say the medical examiner has determined the cause of death for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but the information will remain private until his remains are released and a death certificate is filed.
  His cause of death was determined Monday.
  But Tsarnaev's body remains unclaimed. His father has postponed a trip from Russia because of health issues; and it's likely that his mother would be detained for questioning if she decided to return to the U.S.
  Her name appears in the federal terrorism database.
  Tsarnaev's widow, Katherine Russell, who lives in Rhode Island, has also not said whether she plans to hold a funeral or wants to claim his body.
  Department of Public Safety spokesman Terrel Harris says every case is different and there's no set amount of time the medical examiner's office will keep an unclaimed body.
  The 26-year-old died after a gunfight with authorities. Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis says over 250 rounds were fired in the shootout. Police said Tsarnaev only had one gun, which ran out of ammunition, but that he and his 19-year-old brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also hurled explosives at police.
  As officers were attempting to take Tamerlan Tsarnaev into custody, they say his brother Dzhokhar drove at them, and wound up dragging Tamerlan's body under a vehicle while fleeing the scene.
  Dzhokhar was later apprehended in Watertown. He faces a charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill for the marathon bombings that killed three people and injured more than 200. He could face the death penalty.
  See at:
  Bomb Suspect's Cause Of Death Found, Not Released CBS Boston.
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Moon Landing Faked!!!'--Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories: Scientific American
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:48
  New psychological research helps explain why some see intricate government conspiracies behind events like 9/11 or the Boston bombing
  By Sander van der Linden
  Why do so many doubt the U.S. was there?Image: NASA
  Did NASA fake the moon landing? Is the government hiding Martians in Area 51? Is global warming a hoax? And what about the Boston Marathon bombing'...an ''inside job'' perhaps?
  In the book ''The Empire of Conspiracy,'' Timothy Melley explains that conspiracy theories have traditionally been regarded by many social scientists as ''the implausible visions of a lunatic fringe,'' often inspired by what the late historian Richard Hofstadter described as ''the paranoid style of American politics.'' Influenced by this view, many scholars have come to think of conspiracy theories as paranoid and delusional, and for a long time psychologists have had little to contribute other than to affirm the psychopathological nature of conspiracy thinking, given that conspiricist delusions are commonly associated with (schizotype) paranoia.
  Yet, such pathological explanations have proven to be widely insufficient because conspiracy theories are not just the implausible visions of a paranoid minority. For example, a national poll released just this month reports that 37 percent of Americans believe that global warming is a hoax, 21 percent think that the US government is covering up evidence of alien existence and 28 percent believe a secret elite power with a globalist agenda is conspiring to rule the world. Only hours after the recent Boston marathon bombing, numerous conspiracy theories were floated ranging from a possible 'inside job' to YouTube videos claiming that the entire event was a hoax.
  So why is it that so many people come to believe in conspiracy theories? They can't all be paranoid schizophrenics. New studies are providing some eye-opening insights and potential explanations.
  For example, while it has been known for some time that people who believe in one conspiracy theory are also likely to believe in other conspiracy theories, we would expect contradictory conspiracy theories to be negatively correlated. Yet, this is not what psychologists Micheal Wood, Karen Douglas and Robbie Suton found in a recent study. Instead, the research team, based at the University of Kent in England, found that many participants believed in contradictory conspiracy theories. For example, the conspiracy-belief that Osama Bin Laden is still alive was positively correlated with the conspiracy-belief that he was already dead before the military raid took place. This makes little sense, logically: Bin Laden cannot be both dead and alive at the same time. An important conclusion that the authors draw from their analysis is that people don't tend to believe in a conspiracy theory because of the specifics, but rather because of higher-order beliefs that support conspiracy-like thinking more generally. A popular example of such higher-order beliefs is a severe ''distrust of authority.'' The authors go on to suggest that conspiracism is therefore not just about belief in an individual theory, but rather an ideological lens through which we view the world. A good case in point is Alex Jones's recent commentary on the Boston bombings. Jones, (one of the country's preeminent conspiracy theorists) reminded his audience that two of the hijacked planes on 9/11 flew out of Boston (relating one conspiracy theory to another) and moreover, that the Boston Marathon bombing could be a response to the sudden drop in the price of gold or part of a secret government plot to expand the TransportationSecurity Administration's reach to sporting events. Others have pointed their fingers to a 'mystery man' spotted on a nearby roof shortly after the explosions. While it remains unsure whether or not credence is given to only some or all of these (note: contradicting) conspiracy theories, there clearly is a larger underlying preference to support conspiracy-type explanations more generally.
Ex-adjunct Kidsweek voor rechter om kinderporno
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  Archived Version
  Source: VK: Home
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:20
  Bewerkt door: redactie '' 01/05/13, 03:18 '' bron: ANP
  De ontslagen adjunct-hoofdredacteur van kinderkrant Kidsweek moet zich woensdag bij de rechtbank in Utrecht verantwoorden voor het vermeende bezit van kinderporno. Op de computer van Maarten H. zouden 41 foto's en 61 filmpjes zijn gevonden. Ook zijn vriend is aangeklaagd.
  Justitie kwam het tweetal op het spoor na een tip van de internationale politieorganisatie Interpol. Hun computer zou zijn gebruikt om kinderpornosites te bezoeken. Ook werden de computer, cd-roms en dvd's onderzocht. Daarbij werd geen enkel bewijs gevonden dat de twee zelf kinderporno hebben gemaakt.
  De verdenking tegen H. was voor Kidsweek reden om hem te ontslaan. Het vertrouwen is geschaad, zei directeur Mark Temeer, omdat H. al lang op de hoogte was van de verdenking en daarover niets had losgelaten.
  Klaartje Peeperkorn, de advocaat van H., zegt dat de computer slechts 'sporen' van kinderporno bevat. Die zouden per ongeluk zijn binnengehaald bij het bezoeken van reguliere websites. 'Dat was niet de bedoeling en hij heeft het toen grondig verwijderd', aldus Peeperkorn.
Bullied children using 'wrong jokes'
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  Archived Version
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:16
  30 April 2013Last updated at22:34 ETBy Sean CoughlanBBC News education correspondentChildren who use self-deprecating humour among their peers are more likely to be bullied, researchers say.
  A study from the University of Keele has examined links between bullying and different styles of playground humour.
  It found that some positive types of humour were used by children to raise their status and show social skills.
  But researchers found children who were victims of bullying were more likely to make "self-defeating" jokes at their own expense or about their appearance.
  The boundaries between bullying and teasing and "just joking" have always been blurred, but this study of more than 1,200 children aged 11 to 13, has examined how different forms of humour are associated with bullying and aggression.
  'Class clown'Psychologist Dr Claire Fox says that humour can be deployed positively as a weapon to prevent bullying.
  She says the "class clown" can be a classroom success, demonstrating their "social competence" by making other people laugh and telling funny stories.
  This is known as "affiliative" humour - one of four types of humour identified by researchers - and it is seen as a positive type of joking.
  Continue reading the main storyChildren who use humour to make fun of themselves are at more risk of being bullied''
  End QuoteDr Claire FoxUniversity of KeeleThere is also another type of positive humour, known as "self-enhancing", which is where joking is used as a way of coping and reducing anxiety by laughing about something that otherwise might be frightening.
  But the bad type of humour associated with bullying victims is "self-defeating", which is where children disparage themselves excessively and make themselves the butt of their own jokes.
  This is characterised by children saying: "I often try to get other people to like me more by saying something funny about things that are wrong with me or mistakes that I make."
  Dr Fox says that this becomes a vicious circle, with bullied children confirming a negative view of themselves.
  Making fun of themselves or some aspect of their character or appearance does not make them more endearing or popular, instead it is seen as undermining their status and self-esteem.
  The fourth type of humour, identified as "aggressive", shows another form of negative joke telling. In this type of humour, children use jokes as a way of attacking other people.
  This is described as: "If someone makes a mistake, I will often tease them about it."
  The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and involving academics from Strathclyde University and Oxford Brookes as well as Keele University, looked at bullying in physical and verbal forms and in relationships, such as social exclusion.
  The researchers want to see if children can be taught to change their style of humour as part of avoiding this negative way of labelling themselves.
  "What our study shows is that humour clearly plays an important role in how children interact with one another and that children who use humour to make fun of themselves are at more risk of being bullied," says Dr Fox.
  "We know that this negative use of humour is a nurtured behaviour, influenced by a child's social environment rather than genetics.
  "This makes the behaviour easier to change, so we hope the next step for this study is to see whether it is possible to 'teach' children how to use humour to enhance their resilience and encourage them to not use negative forms of humour."
The Pitch Drop Experiment | School of Mathematics and Physics
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:15
  The first Professor of Physics at the University of Queensland, Professor Thomas Parnell, began an experiment in 1927 to illustrate that everyday materials can exhibit quite surprising properties. The experiment demonstrates the fluidity and high viscosity of pitch, a derivative of tar once used for waterproofing boats. At room temperature pitch feels solid - even brittle - and can easily be shattered with a blow from a hammer. It's quite amazing then, to see that pitch at room temperature is actually fluid!
  In 1927 Professor Parnell heated a sample of pitch and poured it into a glass funnel with a sealed stem. Three years were allowed for the pitch to settle, and in 1930 the sealed stem was cut. From that date on the pitch has slowly dripped out of the funnel - so slowly that now, 80 years later, the ninth drop is only just forming.
  The experiment was set up as a demonstration and is not kept under special environmental conditions (it is actually kept in a display cabinet in the foyer of the Department), so the rate of flow of the pitch varies with seasonal changes in temperature. Nonetheless, it is possible to make an estimate of the viscosity of this sample of pitch (R. Edgeworth, B.J. Dalton and T. Parnell, Eur. J. Phys (1984) 198-200). It turns out to be about 100 billion times more viscous than water! The picture above is of Professor John Mainstone, longtime custodian of the experiment.
  In the 80 years that the pitch has been dripping no-one has ever seen the drop fall. If you're interested in trying your luck, or at least just having a look at the experiment, you can watch the live view below. You can also see students of The University of Queensland milling around outside the cabinet, so it is more exciting than watching grass grow!
  Live view
  Timelapse video of the Pitch Drop (28th April 2012 - 10th April 2013)The following 10-second time-lapse video captures the descent of the imminent 9th drop between the period of 28th April 2012 to 10th April 2013.
  More information
  Picture, right: Pitch, before and after being hit with a hammer.Some other links: If you're interested in more old stuff, have a browse through the Physics Museum.Click here to view a comment from Professor John Mainstone in response to an amusing article by Mark Henderson in The Times (7/6/01), which then appeared in The Weekend Australian (9-10/6/01).For more information about the Pitch Drop Experiment, contact Professor John S. Mainstone (mainstone@physics.uq.edu.au)
Presidential Proclamation -- Law Day, 2013
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:12
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  LAW DAY, U.S.A., 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  As a Nation, we are bound together not by the colors of our skin, the tenets of our faith, or the origins of our names. What unites us as Americans is our allegiance to an idea articulated more than two centuries ago: that "all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In the years since that declaration, we not only forged a Republic of, by, and for the people; we also set ourselves to the task of perfecting it, and bridging the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.
  This Law Day, we look back on our long journey toward equality for all. We reflect on the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago to mend a Nation half-slave and half-free under the unifying promise of liberty. We remember when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stood in Lincoln's shadow a century later and gave voice to a dream, sounding the call for an America that truly lives out the meaning of its founding creed. We honor the courageous men and women who fought to bring those ageless ideals of freedom and fairness into the rule of law -- from the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act to Title IX and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  Even now, that work is not yet finished. Opportunity remains painfully unequal for too many among us; justice too often goes undone. Law Day is a chance to reaffirm the critical role our courts have always played in addressing those wrongs and aligning our Nation with its first principles. Let us mark this occasion by celebrating that history, upholding the right to due process, and honoring all who have sustained our proud legal tradition.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, in accordance with Public Law 87-20, as amended, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2013, as Law Day, U.S.A. I call upon all Americans to acknowledge the importance of our Nation's legal and judicial systems with appropriate ceremonies and activities, and to display the flag of the United States in support of this national observance.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
Climate was HOTTER in Roman, medieval times than now: Study ' The Register
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:52
  Americans sweltering in the recent record-breaking heatwave may not believe it - but it seems that our ancestors suffered through much hotter summers in times gone by, several of them within the last 2,000 years.
  Phew, what a scorcher, Marcus. Let's get in the frigidarium
  A new study measuring temperatures over the past two millennia has concluded that in fact the temperatures seen in the last decade are far from being the hottest in history.
  A large team of scientists making a comprehensive study of data from tree rings say that in fact global temperatures have been on a falling trend for the past 2,000 years and they have often been noticeably higher than they are today - despite the absence of any significant amounts of human-released carbon dioxide in the atmosphere back then.
  "We found that previous estimates of historical temperatures during the Roman era and the Middle Ages were too low," says Professor-Doktor Jan Esper of the Johannes Gutenberg-Universit¤t Mainz, one of the scientists leading the study. "Such findings are also significant with regard to climate policy."
  They certainly are, as it is a central plank of climate policy worldwide that the current temperatures are the highest ever seen for many millennia, and that this results from rising levels of atmospheric CO2 emitted by human activities such as industry, transport etc.
  If it is the case that actually the climate has often been warmer without any significant CO2 emissions having taken place - suggesting that CO2 emissions simply aren't that important - the case for huge efforts to cut those emissions largely disappears.
  Needless to say, prominent alarmist scientists and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have not taken this view, arguing instead that the well-documented Roman and medieval warm periods may have taken place but either weren't very warm or only happened in limited regions (though this latter idea has lately been seriously undermined by research in Antarctica).
  In the IPCC view, the planet was cooler during Roman times and the medieval warm spell. Overall the temperature is headed up - perhaps wildly up, according to the famous/infamous "hockey stick" graph.
  The new study indicates that that's quite wrong, with the current warming less serious than the Romans and others since have seen - and the overall trend actually down by a noticeable 0.3°C per millennium, which the scientists believe is probably down to gradual long-term shifts in the position of the Sun and the Earth's path around it.
  "This figure we calculated may not seem particularly significant," says Esper. "However, it is also not negligible when compared to global warming, which up to now has been less than 1°C. Our results suggest that the large-scale climate reconstruction shown by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) likely underestimate this long-term cooling trend over the past few millennia."
  According to the scientists' new paper, published in hefty climate journal Nature Climate Change, the cooling effect of orbital shifting on the climate has been up to four times as powerful as anthropogenic (human-caused) warming pressures. ®
Rise of sea levels is 'the greatest lie ever told' - Telegraph
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:51
  When running the International Commission on Sea Level Change, he launched a special project on the Maldives, whose leaders have for 20 years been calling for vast sums of international aid to stave off disaster. Six times he and his expert team visited the islands, to confirm that the sea has not risen for half a century. Before announcing his findings, he offered to show the inhabitants a film explaining why they had nothing to worry about. The government refused to let it be shown.
  Similarly in Tuvalu, where local leaders have been calling for the inhabitants to be evacuated for 20 years, the sea has if anything dropped in recent decades. The only evidence the scaremongers can cite is based on the fact that extracting groundwater for pineapple growing has allowed seawater to seep in to replace it. Meanwhile, Venice has been sinking rather than the Adriatic rising, says Dr M¶rner.
  One of his most shocking discoveries was why the IPCC has been able to show sea levels rising by 2.3mm a year. Until 2003, even its own satellite-based evidence showed no upward trend. But suddenly the graph tilted upwards because the IPCC's favoured experts had drawn on the finding of a single tide-gauge in Hong Kong harbour showing a 2.3mm rise. The entire global sea-level projection was then adjusted upwards by a "corrective factor" of 2.3mm, because, as the IPCC scientists admitted, they "needed to show a trend".
  When I spoke to Dr M¶rner last week, he expressed his continuing dismay at how the IPCC has fed the scare on this crucial issue. When asked to act as an "expert reviewer" on the IPCC's last two reports, he was "astonished to find that not one of their 22 contributing authors on sea levels was a sea level specialist: not one". Yet the results of all this "deliberate ignorance" and reliance on rigged computer models have become the most powerful single driver of the entire warmist hysteria.
  'For more information, see Dr M¶rner on YouTube (Google M¶rner, Maldives and YouTube); or read on the net his 2007 EIR interview "Claim that sea level is rising is a total fraud"; or email him '' morner@pog.nu '' to buy a copy of his booklet 'The Greatest Lie Ever Told'
  Fined, frozen and now jailed
  The Marine Fisheries Agency was certainly onto a winner when it enlisted the aid of the Assets Recovery Agency in its ruthless war against our fishermen. In December 2007 Charles McBride and his son Charles, from Kilkeel in Northern Ireland, were fined £385,000 for under-declaring catches of whitefish and prawns in the Irish Sea, threatening the loss of their homes and boat. But the Assets Recovery Agency, using powers designed to recover money from drug dealers, also froze all their assets. To pay the fines, the McBrides tried to borrow against their assets. Now, for this effort to pay the fines, Liverpool Crown Court has sentenced the two men to two and three months in gaol for ''contempt of court''.
  Blown away
  The Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, timed his jibe impeccably last week when he said that opposing wind farms is as ''socially unacceptable'' as ''not wearing a seatbelt''. Britain's largest windfarm companies are pulling out of wind as fast as they can. Despite 100 per cent subsidies, the credit crunch and technical problems spell an end to Gordon Brown's £100 billion dream of meeting our EU target to derive 35 per cent of our electricity from ''renewables'' by 2020.
  Meanwhile the Government gives the go-ahead for three new 1,000 megawatt gas-fired power stations in Wales. Each of them will generate more than the combined average output (700 megawatts) of all the 2,400 wind turbines so far built. The days of the ''great wind fantasy'' will soon be over.
Australia breaks hottest summer record - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:43
  Updated March 01, 2013 22:08:05
  The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed that Australia has just experienced its hottest summer on record.
  The bureau says the previous hottest summer - measured by average day and night figures from across the nation - was in 1997-98.
  Climate monitoring manager Dr Karl Braganza says a particularly hot spell in January has helped towards the new record.
  "That's certainly contributed to it being the hottest summer on record, but it has been hot in December and February as well," he said.
  "Both of those months right around Australia have been warmer than average and it's extending a real six-month period, so the last six months have been the hottest on record from September to February."
  Overall, Australia's average summer temperature came in at 28.6 degrees Celsius.
  Fourteen of the weather bureau's 112 long-term climate stations recorded their hottest days on record, including one in Sydney, where the temperature hit 46 degrees in the middle of January.
  "Certainly there's a background trend of warming temperatures and there's also a trend in our rate of setting records particularly in the last decade," Dr Braganza said.
  "Now we're setting daytime and night-time records around Australia at a very (much) more frequent rate than we were in the past and they outnumber cold records by five to one in some instances."
  And he says this summer is likely to be a taste of what is to come in future decades.
  "By about mid-century, so in about 40 years, you're actually talking about conditions like this becoming normal," he said.
  "It depends on what emissions trajectory we go down, but on those mid to high scenarios, then this certainly would be a taste of things to come."
  Extreme heatwaveThe last six months have been the hottest on record from September to February.
  Climate monitoring manager Karl Braganza
  Blair Trewin, a climatologist at the bureau, says the hot weather was experienced across almost all parts of the country.
  "Most hot summers it's very hot in the east and cool in the west, or it's hot in the south but cooler than normal in the north, but this year it's been hotter than normal almost everywhere," he said.
  "We had an extreme heatwave through the first half of January which affected much of the country and that was the peak of the summer heat.
  "But even if you take out that first half of January, it was still a summer which was very much warmer than normal."
  The flood disasters may give the impression that it has been not only a hot, but a wet summer, but the bureau says average national summer rainfall was at a nine-year low.
  "If you look at the areas that have had above average rainfall, you are really only looking at two areas," Dr Trewin said.
  "One is the east coast and adjacent ranges, from probably about Mackay southwards in Queensland and most of coastal New South Wales, and also the western half of WA. So those two regions had a wet summer but almost everywhere else it was a dry summer."
  No El NinoIf we look at previous very hot summers in Australia before this year, six of the eight hottest summers on record had occurred during El Nino years.
  Climatologist Blair Trewin
  Normally, a hot summer like the one just gone would be accompanied by hotter than normal temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean - an El Nino summer, in other words.
  But Dr Trewin says this year ocean temperatures were average.
  "That's quite unusual for a summer like this," he said.
  "If we look at previous very hot summers in Australia before this year, six of the eight hottest summers on record had occurred during El Nino years.
  "So the fact that we've got such a hot summer without having an El Nino makes it in some ways even more exceptional."
  Penny Whetton, a senior climate research scientist with the CSIRO, says the fact that it was not an El Nino year is significant.
  "It just underlines that it's much easier, so to speak, for the climate to give us a hot year than what it used to be in the past," she said.
  "It really just shows that the potential for us to get really warm conditions has increased.
  "The effect of that is that we can get very warm years now without one of the factors that can contribute to warmth being in place, and that is El Nino conditions. I think that is actually quite significant. "
  Topics:weather, phenomena, environment, climate-change, australia
  First posted March 01, 2013 14:28:15
ucsusa.org by Mobify on Crichton State of Fear
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:42
  Michael Crichton's book State of Fear has characters debating data (complete with graphs and footnotes) and concepts that cast doubt on the validity of global warming evidence. This doubt is echoed in the author's message at the end of the novel and in public interviews. Readers may understandably take away some misconceptions from his book. To clear up these misconceptions, we have selected some representative cases to discuss; the list below, however, is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the errors in Crichton's book.
  How was Michael Crichton able to take the same data that climate scientists use and come to the conclusion that global warming isn't a real threat? State of Fear uses graphs that don't show a warming trend. How can specific locations show cooling if global warming is happening?What is the "urban heat island effect" and is it contributing to warming?Crichton argues that C02 in the atmosphere is not closely correlated with warming trends. So why is C02 blamed as a greenhouse gas?Several times Crichton notes that glaciers are expanding not retreating. Is this accurate or only part of the story?Michael Crichton says we can't predict the future. Does this preclude our taking steps to reduce heat trapping gas emissions?Why do we have to act now to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels?1. How was Crichton able to take the same data that climate scientists use and come to the conclusion that global warming isn't a real threat?
  Anyone can delve into the climate literature and come to a deeper understanding of global climate change evidence. Yet the literature examples Crichton picked, and the way they are presented, seem to make a case against global warming. Scientists with climate expertise have considered not just the narrow sampling of the scientific literature that Crichton cites but many hundreds of additional papers in order to understand the full complexity of the climate system.
  Climate scientists agree on the most basic key points while they continue to refine such questions as the magnitude and rate of climate change. The National Academy of Sciences, The American Geophysical Union, The American Meteorological Society, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have all issued statements affirming that climate change is underway, the impacts are significant, and humans have influenced recent climate changes. Although Crichton likes to claim that consensus is not relevant in science, we disagree. When scientists with climate-relevant expertise evaluate the data and the majority comes to the same basic conclusion, this is an important result.
  2. State of Fear uses many graphs that don't show a warming trend. How can specific locations show cooling if global warming is happening?
  Twenty of thirty-three graphs shown in the novel for various localities do not demonstrate a warming trend. The characters raise common sense reactions to these graphs. One character illustrates how one location (West Point, NY) can show a warming, cooling, or no trend depending on how many years are shown on the graph.
  Increases in carbon dioxide (CO2) create an overall warming tendency in the atmosphere. Shifts in clouds, water vapor, and the great currents in the ocean and air, however, cause complex responses in which some regions warm more than the average while others warm less than average, or even cool. Finding a cooling trend in some region (including the Antarctic interior, which Crichton makes much of) is therefore fully compatible with the physics on which climate models are based.
  Furthermore, other human-induced changes on the atmosphere can lead to regional cooling. For example, temperatures in the latter half of the last century generally cooled in the East while warming in the western United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This pattern of warming and cooling in the U.S. may be part of a worldwide pattern: while most of the earth has warmed, the regions that are downwind from major sources of air pollution (specifically sulfur dioxide emissions) have generally cooled (Figure 1). Sulfur dioxide emissions convert into sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere. The ability of sulfate aerosols to reflect the sun's radiation may be one reason that increasing heat-trapping gases have not warmed the earth as much as some climate models project.
  Figure 1. Blue regions indicate significantblocking of the sun's energy by pollutionthat formed atmospheric sulfates.
  Solar Energy Blocked by Atmospheric Sulfates(radiative forcing in watts per square meter)
  In general, climate trends are often difficult to detect in data from individual stations because each station is subject to local effects. These variations can be reduced by averaging together the data from many stations, which is why climate scientists rely on such averages in detecting the first signs of the effect of CO2 increases on temperature. So far, the initial effect is still relatively small for two reasons: (i) part of that effect has been canceled temporarily by increases in sulfate aerosol, and (ii) the warming has been delayed because it takes a long time for the vast mass of the ocean to heat up.
  3. What is the "urban heat island effect" and is it contributing to warming?
  State of Fear characters suggest that the "urban heat island effect" may be responsible not only for heating in cities but also for global warming. They note that many long-term temperature stations are now surrounded by larger cities and could contribute to the warming seen in urban stations. While amplified warming does occur in cities and is an important local phenomenon, cities occupy only a small fraction of the planet compared to the vast area of oceans, ice caps, uninhabited mountains, and rural landscapes. Scientists are well aware and take measures to adjust for this effect so that the overall temperature trend is not biased. Temperature monitoring stations exist around the globe, on both land and sea, and we see a clear warming trend from many locations. Compared to the number of temperature stations for the U.S., it is clear that urban stations are a minor component of the U.S. temperature station network (Figure 2). The IPCC (2001) stated that urban heat island effects could contribute no more than six percent of the rising average temperature trends in 1990, and a National Academy study of the surface temperature record concluded that the global surface temperature trend accurately reflects warming.
  Figure 2. Surface temperature station locations.
  Figure source: Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN)of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/ghcn/ofig3a.gif
  Furthermore, temperature gauges are not the only way to measure temperature changes. Satellites operating since 1979 have monitored lower atmosphere (tropopause) temperature over the land and oceans. Although early satellite analyses indicated only a small amount of warming during this period, these early results overlooked a satellite sensor feature that we now know included cooling data from higher in the atmosphere. Corrected for this error, the satellite measurements are now in good agreement with the global average surface temperature trends.
  4. Crichton argues that C02 in the atmosphere is not closely correlated with warming trends. So why is C02 blamed as a greenhouse gas?
  Over a century ago, scientists researching CO2 discovered that the earth's temperature is very sensitive to small changes in atmospheric CO2. Crichton's novel includes a graph showing the relationship between global average temperatures and atmospheric CO2 levels between 1880 and 2003. This graph shows a broad correlation between temperature and CO2, although some time periods do not match up. A character in the novel asks, "So, if rising carbon dioxide is the cause of rising temperatures, why didn't it cause temperatures to rise from 1940 to 1970?"
  The answer is that CO2 is only one of several factors that influence temperature, such as volcanic eruptions, solar variability, sulfur dioxide emissions (see Figure 1), and small changes in the earth's orbit. The combined impact of all effects was cooling for those middle decades of the 20th century. When climate scientists look at the entire last century, however, they are unable to explain the significant temperature increases solely from natural causes. Only when the trends for human-induced heat-trapping gases, sulfur dioxide emissions, soot, ozone, and land use changes are also included do the hindcast model results (Figure 3) and the recorded reality match up. This is particularly true of the pronounced warming that has occurred since 1970.
  Figure 3. Best match is when natural and human-inducedfactors are combined.
  Figure source: IPCC (2001)
  5. Several times Crichton notes that glaciers are expanding not retreating. Is this accurate or only part of the story?
  Mr. Crichton picks evidence that supports his position and then sprinkles this data throughout the novel. He discusses the advance of many glaciers in Iceland and Norway, for example, while the evidence for accelerated melting of the major Greenland ice sheet is ignored. The rapid melting of the Kilimanjaro glacier is mentioned only to be dismissed. Crichton doesn't let the reader know, however, that this ice sheet has survived the past 11,000 years, including a 300 year long African mega-drought. At present rates of melting, Mt. Kilimanjaro glacier is likely to be gone before 2020. Most other tropical glaciers studied are also undergoing unprecedented retreat, and big changes are also underway in Antarctica. The Larsen B ice shelf, for example, broke up in 2002 in response to coastal warming, after having survived for more than 12,000 years. The precise mechanism responsible for these massive events is a matter of lively inquiry in the scientific literature, but the fact that they are all happening now that human activities have increased the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration to a level not seen over the past 400,000 years, after having survived millennia, is powerful circumstantial evidence that should not be lightly dismissed.
  6. Michael Crichton says we can't predict the future. Does this preclude our taking steps to reduce heat trapping gas emissions?
  By way of analogy, the occurrence of large earthquakes is also very difficult to predict. Just because we can't predict when the next big earthquake in California will occur, should we stop building earthquake-resistant buildings? The IPCC projects that global temperatures will increase anywhere from +2.5°F to +10.4°F (+1.4°C to +5.8°C) by century's end. Scientists show a range of temperature changes, rather than a single number, for a couple of different reasons: (i) imperfect knowledge about certain climate processes, such as cloud feedbacks and (ii) different assumptions about how much CO2 and other pollutants people will put into the atmosphere. These different hypotheses regarding the spread of temperature due to reason (i) are not just "guesses" as Crichton claims, but are constrained by fundamental physical principles and are tested against a challenging array of test cases drawn from the present and past climate of the Earth. The temperature spread attributed to reason (ii) arises from suppositions regarding factors such as population growth, fossil-fuel emissions, and economic and technological developments. The results provide a range of possible outcomes for policy makers to evaluate. For example, decision makers already have a good idea what will happen if no action to reduce CO2 emissions is taken: the "business as usual" scenario shows significant increases in temperature and changes in precipitation, leading to serious impacts over the next century.
  Since a large portion of the projected range in temperature increases are based on human actions, the good news is that the future is in our hands. We have the opportunity right now to make choices for the future that will avoid the worst climate change impacts from occurring.
  7. Why do we have to act now to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels?
  Global warming from CO2 build-up in the atmosphere is different from other pollution problems society has faced. The CO2emissions we release today very literally will determine the climate we leave to our children and future generations. This is because CO2 is very long-lived in the atmosphere. You may have heard that each CO2 molecule that we emit from burning fossil fuels in our cars and power plants will remain in the atmosphere between 50 to 200 years. The more complex explanation is even more sobering '-- carbon cycle models indicate that ~25 percent of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years, and ~7 percent longer than one hundred thousand years.
  Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are already at unprecedented levels and the consequences of a changing climate are already underway. If we wish to prevent the most severe climate change projections from actually happening, we must reverse the heat-trapping emissions trend as quickly as possible. The progressive accumulation of atmospheric CO2, however, becomes more difficult and costly to reverse as time goes on.
  Current solutions exist that can be implemented now'--we don't need to wait or to rely on unknown future technological developments. Many large corporations have already reported substantial savings after they instituted measures to reduce heat-trapping gas (greenhouse gas) emissions. Recently, DuPont reported $2 billion and IBM $791 million in savings from reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We can harness new technology as it develops, but there is no reason to delay implementation of currently available technologies, such as producing electricity with wind and solar power, improving building energy efficiency, and getting better gas mileage in our vehicles.
  References:
  Archer, D., H. Kheshgi, and E. Maier-Reimer, Dynamics of fossil fuel CO2 neutralization by marine CaCO3, Global Biogeochemal Cycles, 12, 259-276, 1998.
  Archer, D., H. Kheshgi, and E. Maier-Riemer, Multiple timescales for neutralization of fossil fuel CO2, Geophysical Research Letters, 24, 405-408, 1997.
  EPA (2002), Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 -2000, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Atmospheric Programs, EPA 430-R-02-003, http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html
  EPA (2000) http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ ClimateTrendsTemperature.html
  Epstein, P.R. and J.J. McCarthy, (2004). Assessing Climate Stability, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 85, 1863-1870.
  Fu, Q., C.M. Johanson, S.G. Warren, and D.J. Seidel (2004a) Contribution of stratospheric cooling to satellite-inferred tropospheric temperature trends, Nature 429, 55-58.
  IPCC (2001), Climate Change 2001: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third Assessment Report.
  Low-carbon leaders: Profiting from emission reductions, Environmental Finance, December 2004 '' January 2005 issue, Fulton Publishing, London.
  NAS panel (2000): Reconciling observations of global temperature change.National Academy Press.
  Oreskes, N. (2004) The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change, Science, 306, 1686
  Schiermeier, Q (2004) A rising tide. Nature 428, 114-115.
  Thompson L.G., E. Mosley-Thompson, M.E. Davis, K. A. Henderson, H. H. Brecher, V.S. Zagorodnov, T. A. Mashiotta, P-N. Lin, V.N. Mikhalenko, D. R. Hardy, and J. Beer (2002) Kilimanjaro ice core records: Evidence of Holocene climate change in tropical Africa, Science 298, 589-593.
  Zwally, H.J., W. Abdalati, T. Herring, K. Larson, J. Saba, and K. Steffen, (2002). Surface melt-induced acceleration of Greenland ice-sheet flow. Science, 297, 218-222.
  Additional resources:
  http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/fellows/sandalow20050128.htm (Michael Crichton and Global Warming by David Sandalow, The Brookings Institution)
  http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=74 (RealClimate.org posting December 13, 2004: Michael Crichton's State of Confusion)
Hagel Urges Restraint on US Action in Syria
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:05
  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called for restraint Monday in deciding whether the U.S. should take military action in Syria's civil war over the alleged use of chemical weapons by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
  ''We're continuing to assess what happened,'' Hagel said of the charges by Syrian rebels and several allies that Assad's forces used sarin nerve gas. ''I think we should wait to get the facts.''
  At the United Nations, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon renewed his previous appeal to Assad to allow UN chemical weapons experts into the country for on-site inspections to ''establish the facts and clear up all the doubts'' on the alleged use of the banned weapons.
  Last month, Assad invited the UN to investigate his claim that the rebels attacked his forces on March 19 near Aleppo with chemical weapons.
  The Syrian opposition has charged that Assad's forces used sarin against them in battles in Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs.
  Last week the Obama administration told Congress that U.S. intelligence agencies with varying degrees of certainty believe that sarin may have been used by Syrian government forces ''on a small scale.'' The White House added that it could not confirm how the exposure occurred and under what conditions.
  President Obama has warned that Assad's use of chemical weapons would be a ''red line'' that, if crossed, would require a U.S. response. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other Republicans have now been demanding that he take military action.
  McCain has called for arming the rebels and airstrikes against Assad's military, but he has stopped short of advocating an intervention by U.S. troops.
  ''The American people are wary. They don't want boots on the ground. I don't want boots on the ground,'' McCain said Sunday on NBC's ''Meet the Press.'' ''The worst thing the United States could do right now is put boots on the ground in Syria.''
  In other developments in Damascus Monday, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki narrowly escaped a car bomb that targeted his convoy as it moved through an upper-class neighborhood. State television said al-Halki was unharmed in the blast that killed nine people.
  (C) Copyright 2013 Military.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Presidential Proclamation -- National Foster Care Month, 2013
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:44
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  As a Nation, we have no task more important than ensuring our children grow up healthy and safe. It is a promise we owe to the hundreds of thousands of youth in foster care -- boys and girls who too often go without the love, protection, and stability of a permanent family. This month, we recommit to giving them that critical support, and we recognize the foster parents and professionals who work every day to lift up the children in their care toward a bright, productive future.
  Thanks to those efforts, the number of young people in foster care is falling and fewer children are waiting for adoption. But even now, more than 400,000 kids are looking for permanency with caring parents. Many are struggling to find the meaningful, long-term relationships that will help them transition into adulthood. Some young men and women are aging out of the system without a permanent home, making it harder for them to get a good education, find a job, and build a better life.
  To give foster youth the support they need, Americans in every community are stepping up to serve. They are mentors, teachers, faith leaders, caseworkers, advocates, family members -- individuals dedicated to making a difference. As they lend their strength to our most vulnerable children, my Administration will continue to invest in services that strengthen the foster care system and encourage adoption. We will keep working to ensure every qualified caregiver has the chance to be an adoptive or foster parent. And we will support programs that help increase permanency, reduce rates of re-entry into foster care, and address the issues that bring young people in the child welfare system in the first place.
  Whether as a friend, a role model, or a guardian, any of us can be a supportive adult for a child in need. As we honor the countless Americans who are answering that call to action, let us mark this month by showing children and youth in foster care the best our country has to offer.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as National Foster Care Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month by taking time to help youth in foster care and recognizing the commitment of all who touch their lives at a most challenging time.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
Presidential Proclamation -- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2013
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:43
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  Each May, our Nation comes together to recount the ways Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) helped forge our country. We remember a time 170 years ago, when Japanese immigrants first set foot on American shores and opened a path for millions more. We remember 1869, when Chinese workers laid the final ties of the transcontinental railroad after years of backbreaking labor. And we remember Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have made our country bigger and brighter again and again, from Native Hawaiians to the generations of striving immigrants who shaped our history -- reaching and sweating and scraping to give their children something more. Their story is the American story, and this month, we honor them all.
  For many in the AAPI community, that story is one also marked by lasting inequality and bitter wrongs. Immigrants seeking a better life were often excluded, subject to quotas, or denied citizenship because of their race. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders endured decades of persecution and broken promises. Japanese Americans suffered profoundly under internment during World War II, even as their loved ones fought bravely abroad. And in the last decade, South Asian Americans -- particularly those who are Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh -- have too often faced senseless violence and suspicion due only to the color of their skin or the tenets of their faith.
  This year, we recognize the 25th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and the 70th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act's repeal -- milestones that helped mend deep wounds of systemic discrimination. And with irrepressible determination and optimism, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have prevailed over adversity and risen to the top of their fields -- from medicine to business to the bench. But even now, too many hardworking AAPI families face disparities in health care, education, and employment that keep them from getting ahead.
  My Administration remains committed to addressing those disparities. Through the White House Initiative on AAPIs, we are working to ensure equal access to Federal programs that meet the diverse needs of AAPI communities. We are standing up for civil rights, economic opportunity, and better outcomes in health and education. We are fighting for commonsense immigration reform so America can continue to be a magnet for the best and brightest from all around the world, including Asia and the Pacific.
  Meeting those challenges will not be easy. But the history of the AAPI community shows us how with hope and resolve, we can overcome the problems we face. We can reaffirm our legacy as a Nation where all things are possible for all people. So this month, as we recognize Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who are fulfilling that promise in every corner of our country, let us recommit to giving our children and grandchildren the same opportunity in the years ahead.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/AAPI and www.AsianPacificHeritage.gov to learn more about the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
Presidential Proclamation -- Older Americans Month, 2013
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:43
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  OLDER AMERICANS MONTH, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  For half a century, communities in every corner of our country have come together to honor older Americans in a special way during the month of May. We carry that tradition forward again this year by recognizing their accomplishments, sharing their stories, and showing support and appreciation for our elders.
  With groundbreaking advances in medicine and health care, Americans are living longer and achieving more. Many seniors are using a lifetime of experience to serve those around them. Even after decades of hard work, men and women are taking on new roles after retirement -- organizing, educating, innovating, and making sure they leave the next generation with the same opportunities they had. It is a commitment that shines brightly in programs like Senior Corps, which connects more than half a million people to service opportunities from coast to coast.
  As older Americans strive to lift up their neighborhoods, my Administration is working to make sure they get the tools they need to make a difference. We are helping more seniors get involved in volunteer service and give back to those around them. We are also finding new ways to make sure seniors live with dignity as full members of their communities -- from improving access to health care to broadening employment opportunities. And to ensure older Americans have resources they can count on, my Administration will continue to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security not just for this generation, but also for those to come.
  Our seniors deserve the best our country has to offer. This month, we pay tribute to the men and women who raised us, and we pledge anew to show them the fullest care, support, and respect of a grateful Nation.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as Older Americans Month. I call upon all Americans of all ages to acknowledge the contributions of older Americans during this month and throughout the year.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
Presidential Proclamation -- Jewish American Heritage Month, 2013
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:43
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  In his second year in office, President George Washington wrote a letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island -- one of our Nation's first Jewish houses of worship -- and reaffirmed our country's commitment to religious freedom. He noted that the Government of the United States would give "to bigotry no sanction [and] to persecution no assistance," and that all Americans are entitled to "liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship." Those words ring as true today as they did then, and they speak to a principle as old as America itself: that no matter who you are, where you come from, or what faith you practice, all of us have an equal share in America's promise.
  It was such a belief that drew generations of Jewish immigrants to our shores. It is what brought Jewish families westward when pogroms and persecution cast a shadow over Europe in the last century. It is what led Holocaust survivors and Jews trapped behind the Iron Curtain to rebuild their lives across the Atlantic. And with every group that arrived here, the Jewish American community grew stronger. Our Nation grew stronger. Jewish immigrants from all over the world wove new threads into our cultural fabric with rich traditions and indomitable faith, and their descendants pioneered incredible advances in science and the arts. Teachings from the Torah lit the way toward a more perfect Union, from women's rights to workers' rights to the end of segregation.
  That story is still unfolding today. Jewish Americans continue to guide our country's progress as scientists and teachers, public servants and private citizens, wise leaders and loving parents. We see their accomplishments in every neighborhood, and we see them abroad in our unbreakable bond with Israel that Jewish Americans helped forge. More than 350 years have passed since Jewish refugees first made landfall on American shores. We take this month to celebrate the progress that followed, and the bright future that lies ahead.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as Jewish American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to visit www.JewishHeritageMonth.gov to learn more about the heritage and contributions of Jewish Americans and to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
Presidential Proclamation -- National Building Safety Month, 2013
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:43
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 30, 2013
  NATIONAL BUILDING SAFETY MONTH, 2013
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  When natural disasters and other hazards put American lives at risk, robust codes and standards for our buildings play an important role in keeping us safe. They ensure our homes and businesses are resilient to the challenges of our time -- not just by making them structurally sound, but also by boosting their energy efficiency. This month, as we pay tribute to professionals who design, construct, and secure our infrastructure, let us raise awareness about building safety and rededicate ourselves to improving it in the days to come.
  Protecting our communities from harm requires commitment from all of us. Alongside partners in government and industry, my Administration is encouraging stakeholders across our country to adopt disaster-resistant building codes and standards. We are collaborating with experts to issue modern guidance on construction and retrofitting techniques. And we are supporting cities and towns from coast to coast as they pursue disaster preparedness, mitigation, and redevelopment. To get involved, visit www.Ready.gov.
  Time and again, devastating natural disasters have tested the strength of our communities and the resilience of our people. Our capacity to withstand these threats depends on what we do to prepare today -- from reinforcing critical infrastructure to making sure our buildings adhere to local codes and standards. This month, we take up those tasks once more and recommit to safety in the year ahead.
  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as National Building Safety Month. I encourage citizens, government agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and other interested groups to join in activities that raise awareness about building safety. I also call on all Americans to learn more about how they can contribute to building safety at home and in their communities.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
33 a day Bing: Bloomberg murder rate comments 'sad, inappropriate' | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:08
  Washington '-- Detroit Mayor Dave Bing called out New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, calling it "sad and inappropriate for anyone, especially public officials, to tout their crime fighting efforts by highlighting other cities' murder rates."
  Bing was responding to Bloomberg's comments in a speech to police Tuesday in which he pointed out that if his city had Detroit's murder rate, more than 4,500 New Yorkers would've been dead last year instead of the record low 419 murders the city experienced.
  Bing, in an afternoon release, noted "there are dramatic differences between New York and Detroit."
  He said "the City of New York has nearly 40,000 law enforcement officers, compared to less than 3,000 here in the City of Detroit. Secondly, New York has crime fighting techniques and resources such as 'stop and frisk at will' and a sophisticated surveillance system that we do not currently have in our crime fighting arsenal, in part due to the fact we are under a federal consent decree."
  Bing did praise Bloomberg's efforts to toughen gun laws. "We are all engaged in reducing violent crimes and we need to fight this battle together. Therefore, I support Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to get Congress to toughen gun laws so that gun violence is reduced in Detroit, New York, and across this country," he said.
  Michael Bloomberg '-- touting the city's record low murder rate '-- highlighted Detroit's high murder rate, saying the Big Apple would have had 10 times as many murders if it was as dangerous as the Motor City.
  New York has more than 11 times the city of Detroit's population, but recorded only a few additional murders.
  "Last year, we had a record low 419 murders. If instead we had Washington, DC's murder rate, nearly 1,200 New Yorkers would have been murdered last year instead of 419," Bloomberg said in a speech to police on Tuesday. "And if we had had Detroit's murder rate, more than 4,500 New Yorkers would have been murdered last year instead of 419. That's a factor of ten."
  He also compared the murder rate to Chicago (1,400 murders in NYC if same rate) Philadelphia (1,700) and Baltimore (2,900).
  Earlier the New York mayor's office touted the comparison to Detroit in its Twitter account.
  "If instead we had Detroit's murder rate, 4,500-plus New Yorkers would have been murdered last year," the mayor's office wrote on Twitter.
  Bloomberg also noted that Detroit has far more murders committed with guns.
  "In New York City in 2012, 57 percent of murders occur with a gun. In Washington, DC, it was 66 percent. In Baltimore, 84 percent. In Detroit and Philadelphia, 86 percent," he said. "There is no doubt that stops are a vitally important reason why so many fewer gun murders happen in New York than in other major cities '-- and why we are the safest big city in America."
  Detroit had its highest murder rate 2012 in more than two decades, and among the nation's largest cities, it has the highest or nearly the highest murder rates.
  The city recorded 411 homicides in 2012, up about 10 percent over 2011. Of those deaths, 386 were ruled criminal homicides '-- and Detroit police said 333 were shooting deaths. The city also had 39 suicides in 2012.
  Bloomberg's office noted that New York City's shootings are down 22 percent compared to last year's record low.
  "NYC has never been safer than it is today," he wrote.
  So far this year, murder is down 32 percent in New York compared to last year's record low '-- and 56 percent compared to 2001, Bloomberg's office said.
  "One of the greatest public health challenges of our time is reducing the epidemic levels of gun violence that plague our nation. Every day, 33 Americans are murdered with firearms. And in the wake of Congress' recent refusal to listen to the American people and take action, 12,000 of our fellow citizens will be murdered with guns this year alone," Bloomberg said Sunday. "Here in New York City, we've done everything possible to take illegal guns off the streets. That includes helping to pass the toughest law in the nation against illegal possession of a loaded gun."
  Bloomberg has been campaigning to crack down on illegal guns and wants Congress to toughen gun laws, including requiring background checks at gun shows.
  The Detroit News reported in January that killings were so pervasive that Detroit's homicide rate was higher than cities including Port Au Prince, Haiti; Monrovia, Liberia; and Mumbai, India, according to United Nations data.
  In its report, New York City noted that firearm deaths there fell from 524 in 2000 to 366 in 2011. That's about as many total firearm deaths in Detroit.
  New York City's 2011 firearm death rate '-- 4.3 per 100,000 residents '-- was less than half the national rate '-- 10.0 per 100,000.
  New York City's firearm homicide rate ranks lowest among the counties containing the 25 most populous cities in the United States.
  Wayne County '-- home to Detroit '-- had the nation's second highest firearms homicide rate in the nation with 16 per 100,000, behind only Baltimore County, with 23 per 100,000 residents, according to 2011 data.
  dshepardson@detroitnews.com
  (202) 662-8735
New FCC chairman is ''former lobbyist for cable and wireless industries''
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:20
  President Barack Obama will nominate venture capitalist Tom Wheeler to be the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, The Wall Street Journal reported today. Wheeler is "a former top lobbyist for the cable and wireless industries," the Journal noted. The Hill reporter Brendan Sasso said the White House has now confirmed that Wheeler will be nominated for the post.
  Tom Wheeler
  The top FCC post is empty because of the departure of Chairman Julius Genachowski. When Genachowski announced his decision to step down last month, we wrote that he was "lauded by industry" and "blasted by activists" because of moves that benefited corporations instead of consumers. Genachowski won praise from consumer advocates in some instances, but the decision to let wireless operators evade net neutrality rules and his approval of mergers such as Comcast/NBCUniversal were criticized by groups pushing for more competition in communications industries.
  Wheeler has been a venture capitalist at Core Capital Partners since 2005. "Tom was President of the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) from 1979 to 1984," his Core Capital biography states. "After several years as CEO of various technology start-ups, including the first company to offer high-speed data to the home and the first digital video delivery service, he was asked to lead the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), where he was CEO until 2004."
  Wheeler is an "Obama loyalist," Time reporter Sam Gustin wrote two weeks ago while describing him as the front-runner for the FCC nomination. Wheeler previously received an appointment from Obama to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.
  "Mr. Wheeler will take over as the commission confronts a changing technology world," the Journal wrote. "Many of its regulations were crafted for outdated telephone technology. Democrats would like to apply many of these rules to new communications methods, such as wireless technology and broadband Internet. But it isn't clear whether Mr. Wheeler is on board with that approach."
  Law professor and net neutrality supporter Susan Crawford gained some support from FCC observers hoping the next commission head would be a champion for broadband competition. Crawford, author of "Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age," was never seen as a likely choice for Obama, though. She ultimately signed a letter supporting Wheeler for the post.
  "Despite that vote of confidence, many in the public interest community remain suspicious of Wheeler'--even as they acknowledge that he's the frontrunner'--due to his industry lobbying and the fact that his positions on the major issues facing the FCC remain largely unknown," Gustin wrote. "In late March, more than two dozen public interest groups wrote to Obama expressing alarm that the president was considering a candidate 'who was the head of not one but two major industry lobbying groups.'"
  Wheeler's background as an industry lobbyist shouldn't necessarily cause concern, said Gigi Sohn, the CEO of Public Knowledge, which advocates on behalf of Internet openness and protection of consumers. Sohn released this statement:
  As someone who has known Tom for years, I believe that he will be an independent, proactive Chairman who will not allow the FCC to become irrelevant as broadband becomes the dominant mode of communication in this country. I also expect that he will carry out the President's communications policy agenda, which includes strong open Internet requirements, robust broadband competition, affordable broadband access for all Americans, diversity of voices and serious consumer protections, all backed by vigorous agency enforcement.
  Some have expressed concern about Tom's past history as the head of two industry trade associations. But his past positions should be seen in light of the times and in the context of his other important experiences and engagement with policy. Viewed as a whole, it is most significant that the President has expressed confidence that Tom will effectively carry out the Administration's communications policy agenda.
  Free Press, one of the groups lobbying against Wheeler, issued a more pessimistic statement.
  "The Federal Communications Commission needs a strong leader'--someone who will use this powerful position to stand up to industry giants and protect the public interest," Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron said. "On paper, Tom Wheeler does not appear to be that person, having headed not one but two major trade associations. But he now has the opportunity to prove his critics wrong, clean up the mess left by his predecessor, and be the public servant we so badly need at the FCC."
  Nominees to the FCC chairmanship must be approved by the Senate. The Journal reported that FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will act as interim chairperson until the post is filled. Obama must also nominate a replacement for Robert McDowell, a departing Republican commissioner.
  Listing image by Core Capital
Genpets.com - Multimedia
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:06
  ||||(C)2004-2013 Bio-Genica, Genetic Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc. All rights reserved. GENPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia are registered trademarks of Bio-Genica, Inc., in Canada and/or other countries worldwide. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Olympics 2012: Parkinson's sufferer Mark Worsfold, 54, arrested by police 'for not smiling' at cycling road race | Mail Online
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:35
  Former soldier Mark Worsfold arrested for his 'manner, state of dress and proximity to the course' as cyclists came through LeatherheadHe was detained and questioned for five hoursBy Inderdeep Bains
  PUBLISHED: 11:06 EST, 8 August 2012 | UPDATED: 05:06 EST, 9 August 2012
  A father with Parkinson's disease was arrested as he watched the Olympic cycling road race because he 'failed to smile or look like he was enjoying himself'.
  Mark Worsfold, a martial arts trainer and former soldier, claims that he was thrown to the floor and handcuffed just as cyclists passed by.
  His worried wife Nicola only found out he was being held after she reported him missing when he did not turn up for their daughter's ninth birthday party.
  Arrested: Parkinson's disease sufferer Mark Worsfold, pictured with his wife Nicola and their daughter, was held by police as he watched the cycling because he 'failed to smile'
  The 54-year-old had his fingerprints, DNA and mugshot taken before being questioned about why he did not appear to be enjoying the event on July 28.
  Police said Mr Worsfold, who was held for over five hours, was arrested because of 'his manner, his state of dress and his proximity to the course'.
  A spokesman added that the arrest was necessary to avoid a breach of the peace because he was standing near a group of protesters.
  But Mr Worsfold, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2010, said that one of the symptoms of the disease is muscle rigidity, which can cause his face to become expressionless and mask-like.
  Mr Worsfold, who had stopped to watch the men's road race in Leatherhead, Surrey, after holding a Taekwondo demonstration nearby, said officers told him he was being arrested and taken to Reigate police station because he was not smiling.
  'I was sitting minding my own business,' he told a local newspaper. 'Before I knew anything the police grabbed me off this seven-foot wall, threw me to the floor and cuffed me so all I saw of the cycle race was between the feet of people from the pavement.
  'It could have been done better. I was arrested for not smiling. I have Parkinson's.'
  Mr Worsfold, who lives in an £800,000 three-bedroom house in the picturesque village of Ockham near Woking, has since asked for a letter of exoneration from police.
  Surrey Police said he was initially arrested on suspicion of a public order offence but was 'given words of advice' before being 'released with no further action'.
  A spokesman added that he was found to be in possession of a legal folding knife and several rubber knives which had been used for his Taekwondo demonstration.
  Thousands of spectators lined the route of the cycling road race through London and Surrey on the first day of the London Olympics
  The officers who made the arrest have apologised to him.
  In a statement, the spokesman added: 'He was positioned close to a group of protesters and based on his manner, his state of dress and his proximity to the course, officers made an arrest to prevent a possible breach of the peace.
  'There were a number of factors which led officers to make this arrest, including the fact the race was approaching, the heightened level of security due to the high profile nature of the event and the sheer number of spectators.'
  The force has received a letter from Mr Worsfold in which he has said he 'fully understands and appreciates the action taken by officers', the spokesman said.
  Last night, campaigners for Parkinson's patients said it was an example of the 'chronic misunderstandings' those with the condition face.
  Laura Bowey, of Parkinson's UK, added: 'Despite affecting more than 127,000 people in the UK, those with Parkinson's are subject to chronic misunderstandings and misconceptions about the condition.
  'All too frequently people with Parkinson's tell us how are they are accused of being drunk, or acting suspiciously as they go about their daily lives.
  'We hope that Mark's experience will help to raise awareness of this distressing problem.'
FILMMAKERS
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:22
  Amardeep Kaleka - DirectorAmardeep (known to many as ''Arm'') was born in India. At a young age, his family fled to America because of religious persecution. The move was a shock that he will never forget. His work as an artist has always revolved around international humanism - each film and project diving head first into the land of character and emotion. After his father was tragically killed in a mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on August 5, 2012, Arm has taken on an active advocacy role in championing for peace. He considers Sirius a tool in bringing people together in a movement towards seeking positive interaction and the search for truth.Arm completed his Master's degree in Fine Arts from the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design. There, he produced, directed, and edited his first independent feature, Baby Blues ($1.1 million). This movie focuses on a lonely mother who succumbs to a battle with post partum psychosis. After completing the degree, Arm moved to Los Angeles, and currently shoots, directs, and edits for a number of clients. His work as a cinematographer with the Dallas Habitat for Humanity (Moroch Agency), earned the campaign a Gold Addy. After that, Jacob's Turn - a short documentary which focused on a very unique child with Down's Syndrome - won him a Silver Telly for direction, cinematography, and editing. Later that year, Jacob's Turn went on to win an Emmy award for Best Human Interest Story.
  J.D. Seraphine - ProducerJ.D. grew up in "the thick of the entertainment world" from a young age touring on the road with his father, Danny Seraphine, founding drummer of the hit band, Chicago. The focus of his life has always been to make a positive difference, however that has changed from working in a broad range of different interests including politics, business, and entertainment; to raising 3 young children and following a new clear direction: to produce socially and commercially viable entertainment properties.He has spent the last 7 years working in many facets of media production and media project financing. His resume includes Production Management and Coordination on large budget commercials for many blue chip companies including Nike and Apple to name a few. On theatrical feature films, J.D. has consulted a number of companies and projects regarding project finance and financial structure. He also raised funding for numerous projects, including the Tony nominated Broadway hit play, Rock of Ages, which Warner Bros has recently adapted into a $60 Million Feature Film starring Tom Cruise.
  Laurie Knapp - Post-ProductionLaurie is a creative executive at Neverending Light and has worked on several documentary projects with the company as a producer, writer and editor. Laurie's vision for creating film is to use this highly sensory tool to create emotional impact, finding the stories that not only open audience's eyes to otherwise overlooked corners of the world, but also inspire a movement towards positive impact. As a published author (11:11), Laurie began working with Amardeep on several writing projects, including a script based on their shared interest of Extraterrestrials and Ancient Astronaut theory. Wanting to pursue filmmaking full-time, Laurie moved to Los Angeles and began developing her skills to include editing, animation, web design and producing. She also brings an interest in media marketing to the table, helping to develop the unique crowdfunding platform upon which a community of Sirius supporters gathered in record-breaking numbers.Jared Bonshire - ProducerFrom an early age, Jared has wanted to make a difference in society by creating far-reaching media that provided guidance on what is truly important in life. Part of this vision has been incorporated in his view on life, providing as much laughter and happiness to those around him by living each day with the excitement it deserves. To further his mission of enacting passion and change, he attended the Savannah College of Art and Design as a graduate film student to learn the mechanics of filmmaking to help tell stories of inspiration and humor in a way to reach the largest audiences. To his fortune, he met and befriended Amardeep Kaleka, instantly bonding with him on a metaphysical level in a very short period of time. This bond grew as they learned of their parallel interest in providing film that not only entertained, but educated and enlightened it's audience.After years of working and growing away from one another, Amardeep and Jared decided to join together to build Neverending Light Productions in 2008, and have continued to build their company and their medium to fit their vision since. Jared continues his work in the business world as a Commercial Real Estate broker, but donates his time finding space commission free for non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots, church organizations and A Helping Hand. Utilizing his business acumen, Jared helps steer Neverending Light in a direction that helps achieve socially conscious media in a fiscally conservative method.
  Morgan Dingle - Associate ProducerJanette Lopez - Assistant EditorDuane Gross - Producer
Whitley's Journal | The Disappointing, Tantalizing Case of the Sirius Documentary | unknowncountry
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:20
  Whitley's Journal | The Disappointing, Tantalizing Case of the Sirius Documentary | unknowncountryCurrently on Dreamland
  The Enigmatic Mind Behind the UFO PhenomenonCurrently on Revelations
  Sacred Economics--How to Save Ourselves and Our WorldFind Journal entries like this:
Is this really human? DNA tests on six-inch skeleton of 'alien-looking' creature with over-sized head prove it was actually human claim scientists in new documentary | Mail Online
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:15
  10 years ago the bones of a six-inch skeleton with a large head were found in ChileThere was speculation that the Atacama humanoid, nicknamed Ata, was either an aborted fetus, a monkey or even an alienNow scientists at Stanford University have carried out conclusive DNA tests which have found the remains are those of a mutated humanBy David Mccormack
  PUBLISHED: 20:13 EST, 23 April 2013 | UPDATED: 19:13 EST, 24 April 2013
  It was hailed as proof of alien life, a mummified visitor from another planet.
  Ten years after the remains of a six-inch 'space alien' were first discovered, they have been confirmed as 'human' by Stanford scientists in a new documentary film Sirius.
  Since the remains of the small humanoid - known as the 'Atacama Humanoid' and nicknamed Ata - were discovered in Chile's Atacama Desert 10 years ago there has been much speculation about its origins.
  Theories have included that the bones were those of an aborted fetus, or a monkey, or even an alien that had crash-landed on earth.
  Scroll down for videos
  A new documentary film Sirius has revealed that the mummified remains of a six-inch supposed 'space alien' are in fact human
  Scientists say DNA tests have revealed the ususal remains to be human rather than alien
  A comparison of foetus x-rays show a remarkable difference between human fetus skeletal development and the x-rays of the Atacama humanoid, the researchers claim in a report published today
  IS IT A HOAX?Dr Steven Greer, who led the project and documentary, has hit back at critics who claim the body is a hoax.
  'The CAT scan clearly shows internal chest organs -lungs and what appears to be the remains of a heart structure,' he said.
  'There is absolutely no doubt that the specimen is an actual organism and that it is not a hoax of any kind.
  'This fact has been confirmed by Dr. Nolan and Dr. Lachman at Stanford.'
  In the weeks leading up to Monday's premier of Sirius, UFO enthusiasts had grown increasingly excited that the film could announce a major breakthrough in the search for extra-terrestrial life forms.
  Experts say the small skeleton certainly bears many of the hallmarks of what we have come to believe aliens look like, in particular a large head overshadowing a small body.
  According to Chilean local newspaper, a man called Oscar Munoz found the remain on Oct. 19, 2003 when he was looking for objects of historical value in La Noria, a ghost town in the Atacama Desert.
  Near an abandoned church, Munoz found a white cloth containing, according to the newspaper, 'a strange skeleton no bigger than 15cm [the size of a pen].
  It was a creature with hard teeth, a bulging head with an additional odd bulge on top.
  Its body was scaly and of dark color. Unlike humans, it had nine ribs.
  A DNA sample from bone marrow extracted from the specimen, was analyzed by scientists at a prestigious American university
  Scientists believe the unusual skeleton is human, yet it has nine ribs
  'After six months of research by leading scientists at Stanford University, the AtacamaHumanoid remains a profound mystery,' said physician and Disclosure Project founder Dr. Steven Greer.
  'We traveled to Barcelona Spain in late September 2012 to obtain detailed X Rays, CATscans and take genetic samples for testing at Stanford University.
  'We obtained excellent DNA material by surgically dissecting the distal ends of two rightanterior ribs on the humanoid.
  'These clearly contained bone marrow material, as was seen on the dissecting microscope that was brought in for the procedure,'
  Sirius premiered in Los Angeles on Earth Day and will be released online and in select theaters worldwide, starting April 22
  The humanoid was first discovered in 2003 in the remote Atacama desert region of Chile
  In the new documentary, a DNA sample from bone marrow extracted from the specimen, was analyzed by scientists at a prestigious American university.
  They concluded that it was an 'interesting mutation' of a male human that had survived post-birth for between six and eight years.
  'I can say with absolute certainty that it is not a monkey.
  'It is human - closer to human than chimpanzees. It lived to the age of six to eight,' said Garry Nolan, director of stem cell biology at Stanford University's School of Medicine in California.
  'Obviously, it was breathing, it was eating, it was metabolizing.
  'It calls into question how big the thing might have been when it was born.'
  The alien CAT scan... is it real?
  The small skeleton bears many of the hallmarks of what we have come to believe ETs look like, in particular a large head overshadowing a small body
  'The DNA tells the story and we have the computational techniques that allows us to determine, in very short order, whether, in fact, this is human,' Nolan, who performed the DNA tests, explains in the film.
  In addition to studying the origins of Ata, Sirius explores the subject of UFO and ET visitation, the disclosure of secret UFO files, and the investigation of advanced energy and propulsion technologies extra-terrestrial civilizations are using to travel to Earth.
  Based on evidence gathered over the past 20 years by physician and Disclosure Project founder Dr. Steven Greer, Sirius reveals how and why these energy technologies are being suppressed in favor of maintaining the current petrochemical system.
  Sirius premiered in Los Angeles on Earth Day and will be released online and in select theaters worldwide, starting April 22.
  Scientists concluded that the skeleton was an 'interesting mutation' of a male human that had survived post-birth for between six and eight years
Globa: Accelerating technologies will create a global state by 2050 | KurzweilAI
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:51
  This essay argues that the exponential rate of technical progress will create within 40 years an Internet that is a trillion times faster than today's, a global media, a global education system, a global language, and a globally homogenized culture, thus establishing the prerequisites for the creation of a global democratic state, ''Globa,'' and ridding the world of war, the arms trade, ignorance, and poverty. Whether Globa can cope with the rise of massively intelligent machines occurring at about the same time is far less certain.
  Most readers will have heard of the phenomenon called ''Moore's Law'' (i.e., the trend that the number of transistors that can be crammed onto a chip keeps doubling every 18 months). Less well known is the phenomenon I label ''BRAD'' (Bit Rate Annual Doubling), i.e., the speed of the Internet keeps doubling every 12 months. [Both of these are examples of Ray Kurzweil's law of accelerating returns. - Ed.]The physicists say that there is effectively no theoretical limit to how tiny a substrate can be that is used to convey information, so we can expect the Internet speed to keep doubling for many decades. This means that in 30 years, the Internet will be a billion (230) times faster than it is today (2011). In 40 years, it will be a trillion (240) times faster.
  What could one do with such fantastic speeds? One obvious answer is that 3D images could be transmitted that would appear to our eyes as real and as vivid as the objects we see by the light of the sun. It would also mean that everyone on the planet could receive the media of the whole world, i.e., ''everyone gets everything.'' The 3D life-size images transmitted would be so real that they would generate the same emotional impact on the viewer as a normal face-to-face contact in the same room. This will have a huge impact on people's minds and attitudes.
  The ''Global Language Snowball Effect''
  Imagine you are a very young primary school child in the 2020s and you are watching your ''vid'' (i.e., your 3D video player) in your living room. You notice that about 60% of the programs and the content of the world media you are receiving on your vid is in the world's 1st or 2nd most spoken language, i.e., English. You therefore decide to master this language so that you can understand what most of the world is saying.
  Now imagine you are the minister of telecommunications in your little country and you have to decide which languages you will use for the content you will send up to the global Internet satellite system. You note that already 60% of the world Internet content is in English, so you choose to send up your country's content in your country's language, and in English, as well as perhaps several other languages.
  A few years later, the percentage has moved up to 70%. Eventually, all countries will be sending up their content in at least two languages '-- their own, and English. A snowball/saturation effect has arisen (i.e., the greater is the proportion of people on the earth who watch a given language, the greater is the number of countries that transmit in that language, and the greater the percentage of content on the global media that is in a given language, the higher the proportion of people who decide to learn and listen to that language), causing English to become the global language.
  English today is far and away the planet's most spoken 1st or 2nd language. It will certainly not be Chinese, since the world will utterly reject China's incredibly clumsy and stupid writing system. China is the only country in the world (as far as I know) that does not use an alphabet in its writing. Instead of having to learn an alphabet of some two dozen symbols, the Chinese have to learn thousands of symbols to write their language.
  Global Politics
  The rise of a global language will have a huge impact on the world. Ideas will be able to flow far more readily across the planet. Billions of people will be influenced by the ''best'' ideas that the planet has to offer. People's minds will be influenced powerfully, so that today's nationalist mentalities will be gradually transformed into tomorrow's globist mentalities. People will be able to compare their own local customs with those of other cultures and reject their own if they feel that other countries customs are superior to their own. People will become more ''multi'' (i.e., multi-cultured) than ''mono'' (i.e., mono-cultured).
  Multis will increasingly look down on monos as inferior beings (rather like city-slickers towards country-bumpkins), seeing the monos as limited as individuals by the limitations of the single culture that programs them. Today's governments will no longer be able to brainwash their citizens into the ideologies of their nationalist leaders. Global education systems (''globiversities'') will be established, to educate the poor people of the world. Internet satellites will be able to beam down education programs at all levels, from kindergarten to PhD level research seminars on all topics.
  Global Satellite Learning (''GSL'') will rid the world of its last dictatorships (a process called ''dedictation''), as billions of poor people catch on to the idea that they can pull themselves out of poverty by buying a small cheap vid (legally or on the black market) and educating themselves using the programs beamed down by the Internet satellites, the ''edsats'' (education satellites). As billions do this and become ''middle class,'' they will demand a say in their political systems, leading within 40 years (at the rate the world is democratizing '-- two countries per year) to a totally democratic world.
  Since democratic countries do not go to war against each other (their voting populations do not allow it), the world will be far more peaceful. The 20th century's diabolical trade in arms can be banished, and so can war. With over a trillion dollars a year freed up from arms spending in the world, this money can be rechanneled into humanitarian pursuits.
  Global Cultural Homogenization
  With a global language and all countries being democracies, the stage is set for global cultural homogenization. A billion-fold faster Internet will not be the only factor leading to global cultural homogenization. There are many other factors pushing humanity into a ''globist mentality'', e.g., high-speed train networks across countries and continents, space planes that can carry a thousand people from New York to Beijing in a few hours, and greater wealth, which will mean far greater numbers of people becoming international tourists, visiting the beauty spots they can see on their vids in vivid 3D.
  Also, a larger global economy will stimulate global trade, the creation of ever more economic and political blocs such as the EU (European Union), SAU (South American Union), AU (African Union), etc. will mean ever more international business people will be traveling to do business and to inspect progress in their various projects, etc. All these influences and more will make the creation of a global cultural homogenization more probable.
  When the whole planet can watch the media of the whole world, in a global language, the minds of the world's citizens will be made ''globist,'' not ''nationalist.'' Political leaders of countries whose policies are considered by the majority of the world's citizens to be harmful or stupid will feel enormous moral pressure against them.
  World opinion will be overpowering. If the citizens of a given country learn that 95% of other countries are opposed to their country's policies, that will force them to think twice about the wisdom of their own leaders' judgments. That in turn will make their leaders think twice too. All the world's leaders will become sensitive to global opinion.
  As the best ideas and customs spread across the planet, and billions of people adopt the same set of ideas (i.e., cultural homogenization), the stage is set for the creation of a global state. This will obviously be an incremental process.
  Building Globa, the Global State
  There are many routes to the creation of a global state, e.g., the expansion of the EU (European Union) route, the expansion of powers of the U.N. (United Nations) route, the merging of economic/political blocs route, etc. As the size of the economic/political blocs keeps increasing, smaller blocs need to become larger to stay competitive.
  For example, in the case of the U.S., if it does not do what the smaller European nations have been doing for half a century, i.e., ceding sovereignty and merging into a much larger whole, then the U.S. will ''not be a player'' in the 21st century, because it will not be a member of the ''billion club,'' whose members include China, India, the EU, etc. The US will need to merge with the 30+ countries of the Americas and/or form an ''Atlantic Union'' with the EU to stay economically competitive and powerful. As blocs merge with other blocs, eventually there will be a single bloc the size of the planet.
  There will be many forces that will be opposed to the creation of a global state, e.g., nationalism, national sovereignty, cultural differences, the clash of ideologies, religious differences, charity begins at home attitudes, cultural inertia, cultural alienation, etc. To overcome these formidable barriers that kept nations and mentalities apart in the 20th century, the ''Globists,'' i.e., those people in favor of ''Globism,'' the creation of ''Globa,'' the global state, will need to organize and spread their Globist ideology.
  Since the creation of a global democratic state has such huge advantages compared to today's sovereign nation state system, where each state is always spending large amounts of money preparing for the next war, the Globists will be able to muster powerful arguments in their favor. The Globists will need to organize at a local level, at a regional level, a national level, at a continental level, and eventually at a global level. They will need their symbols, their logos, their flag, their ideology, their anthem, their political programs, etc., and will then need to proselytize the world.
  Globists could be active in researching and setting up the globiversities, the GSL (Global Satellite Learning), designing cheap smuggle-able vids for the world's poor, pouring scorn on the nationalists (e.g., jeering at national anthems, etc.), making their presence felt all around the globe, pushing towards a grand vision: creation of a global state, riddance of war, banning the arms trade, scrapping nuclear weapons, education of the world's population, and removal of world poverty.
  These are magnificent goals and are readily achievable with the technologies that are coming in the next few decades. These technologies will soon make what was earlier seen as ''globaloney'' into Globa.
  Globa's Agenda
  Once a global state (''Globa'') has been established, it will have its work cut out for it. The first thing it will have to do is set up a slew of new institutions, most of which will be analogous to national institutions as we know them today, e.g., create a global constitution, a global president, a global parliament, global political parties, global laws, a global civil service, global police, a global court, a global military, globiversities, global taxation, global wealth distribution, global resource management, global trade unions, global incomes policy, a global currency unit (the ''Globo''), global health insurance, etc.
  Once the establishment of these institutions is well en route, Globa would then need to tackle the planet's major problems, e.g. it would need to create a globist ethics and globist propaganda, to undertake global nuclear disarmament, ban the global arms trade, meet the global environmental challenges, eliminate global poverty, establish a global taxation policy, as well as a global incomes and raw materials policy, global education, global population migration, foster greater global happiness rather than economic wealth, etc.
  Globa and the Artilect
  The above has argued that a global state ''Globa'' could be established by about the middle of the 21st century. This would be a wonderful thing if it can be achieved. However there is a gathering storm on the horizon, which will be playing itself out over the same time frame, namely the rise of the artilect (artificial intellect, i.e., a godlike massively intelligent machine) with intellectual capacities trillions of trillions of times above the human level.
  The rise of the artilect will probably divide humanity bitterly into two major human groups: the ''Cosmists'' (who want to be ''god (i.e., artilect) builders,'' a form of science-based quasi-religion) and the ''Terrans'' (who are bitterly opposed to building artilects, through fear that the artilects may one day decide humans are such inferior pests and wipe them out). There is a third group, the ''Cyborgists'' (who want to add artilectual components to their own brains and become artilect gods themselves).
  Since the computational capacity of nanoteched matter is so great (e.g., a grain of sugar with each atom switching in femtoseconds could outperform a human brain by a factor of trillions), the Terrans will lump the Cyborgists into the same ideological camp as the Cosmists (since a cyborg would be indistinguishable from an artilect in artilectual capacities). Since the Terrans will have a limited time window of opportunity within which to oppose the Cosmists/Cyborgists, before the cyborgs and artilects come into being and are then smarter than the Terrans, the Terrans will not be able to wait for too long.
  The Terrans will have to ''first strike'' the Cosmists/Cyborgists/cyborgs/artilects before it is too late. The Terrans will be using 21st century weapons that will enable the scale of mass killing to rise from the tens of millions of people of the major wars of the 20th century, to the billions of people of a major 21st century war. The Cosmists/Cyborgists will anticipate this first strike by the Terrans and be prepared for it, also using 21st century weapons.
  Thus Globa will have to face its greatest challenge: can it cope with the rise of Cosmism and Cyborgism? Will Globa be able to cope with the passions generated by two murderously opposed, very powerful ideologies (Cosmism and Terranism)? Opinion polls already show that the ''species dominance issue'' (i.e., whether humanity should build godlike artilects this century or not) divides humanity about evenly. Many individuals are ambivalent about the magnificence of building artilect gods, and horrified at the prospect of a ''gigadeath'' ''artilect war.''
  It is not at all obvious that a unified global state would be strong enough to withstand the divisive passions of the ''species dominance debate'' that will heat up in the coming decades and may explode into a ''global civil war'' killing billions of people, with 21st century weapons, in the greatest war humanity has ever known, because the stakes have never been so high: the survival of the human species. 20th century wars were largely ''nationalist wars.'' A major 21st century war would be a ''species dominance war.''
  The above essay is a summary of the ideas in the author's second book, Multis and Monos : What the Multicultured Can Teach the Monocultured: Towards the Creation of a Global State. The ideas above concerning the rise of the artilect are taken largely from the author's first book, The Artilect War: Cosmists vs. Terrans: A Bitter Controversy Concerning Whether Humanity Should Build Godlike Massively Intelligent Machines. Both books are available at amazon.com
Near-miss as two missiles target Russian passenger plane over Syria
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:46
  File photo
  UNIDENTIFIED ASSAILANTS FIRED two land-to-air missiles at a Russian passenger plane carrying over 150 people when it flew over Syria, the Interfax news agency reported, citing an informed source in Moscow.
  ''The Syrian side informed us that on Monday morning unidentified people had fired two land-to-air missiles which exploded in the immediate proximity of a civilian plane belonging to a Russian airline,'' the source was quoted as saying.
  ''The crew was able to move the aircraft to the side on time and save the lives of the passengers,'' the source said, adding that it was unclear whether the attackers knew that the plane was Russian.
  The plane was returning from a resort in Egypt, a popular destination for Russian tourists.
  The federal air transport agency Rosaviation issued a statement today, saying the crew of a charter plane flying from the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh to the Russian city of Kazan had detected ''signs of combat actions'' when it was flying over Syria.
  NordWind Airlines
  The crew of the A-320 plane, which belongs to NordWind Airlines, believed that those actions threatened the aircraft's safety, said the agency, adding that the plane landed in Kazan on time.
  The Russian foreign ministry said in a separate statement that it was taking ''urgent measures'' to clarify the situation and was in contact with the Syrian authorities. It said the plane carried 159 passengers.
  Neither the air transport agency nor the foreign ministry made any mention of the missiles.
  Russia, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's staunchest allies, is firmly opposed to foreign intervention in Syria.
  - (C) AFP, 2013
  Read: Syrian prime minister escapes assassination attempt >Already a fan? Connect below...
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Bayer to Buy Conceptus - WSJ.com
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:36
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Conceptus Permanent Birth Control
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:36
  Founded in 1992, Conceptus is dedicated to the revolutionary design, development, and marketing of innovative solutions to advance women's health.
  Our market leading Essure® procedure is the first-ever non-surgicalpermanent birth control method. After a decade on the market,Essure remains the most effective form of permanent birthcontrol* available worldwide. We intend to provide additionalwomen's health solutions for both patients and physicians.
UK.Gov passes Instagram Act: All your pics belong to everyone now ' The Register
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:45
  Have you ever uploaded a photo to Facebook, Instagram or Flickr?
  If so, you'll probably want to read this, because the rules on who can exploit your work have now changed radically, overnight.
  Amateur and professional illustrators and photographers alike will find themselves ensnared by the changes, the result of lobbying by Silicon Valley and radical bureaucrats and academics. The changes are enacted in the sprawling Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act which received Royal Assent last week, and it marks a huge shift in power away from citizens and towards large US corporations.
  How so? Previously, and in most of the world today, ownership of your creation is automatic, and legally considered to be an individual's property. That's enshrined in the Berne Convention and other international treaties, where it's considered to be a basic human right. What this means in practice is that you can go after somebody who exploits it without your permission - even if pursuing them is cumbersome and expensive.
  The UK coalition government's new law reverses this human right. When last year Instagram attempted to do something similar, it met a furious backlash. But the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act has sailed through without most amateurs or semi-professionals even realising the consequences.
  The Act contains changes to UK copyright law which permit the commercial exploitation of images where information identifying the owner is missing, so-called "orphan works", by placing the work into what's known as "extended collective licensing" schemes. Since most digital images on the internet today are orphans - the metadata is missing or has been stripped by a large organisation - millions of photographs and illustrations are swept into such schemes.
  For the first time anywhere in the world, the Act will permit the widespread commercial exploitation of unidentified work - the user only needs to perform a "diligent search". But since this is likely to come up with a blank, they can proceed with impunity. The Act states that a user of a work can act as if they are the owner of the work (which should be you) if they're given permission to do so by the Secretary of State.
  The Act also fails to prohibit sub-licensing, meaning that once somebody has your work, they can wholesale it. This gives the green light to a new content-scraping industry, an industry that doesn't have to pay the originator a penny. Such is the consequence of "rebalancing copyright", in reality.
  What now?Quite what happens next is not clear, because the Act is merely enabling legislation - the nitty gritty will come in the form of statutory instruments, to be tabled later in the year. Parliament has not voted down a statutory instrument since 1979, so the political process is probably now a formality.
  In practice, you'll have two stark choices to prevent being ripped off: remove your work from the internet entirely, or opt-out by registering it. And registration will be on a work-by-work basis.
  "People can now use stuff without your permission," explained photo rights campaigner Paul Ellis. "To stop that you have to register your work in a registry - but registering stuff is an activity that costs you time and money. So what was your property by default will only remain yours if you take active steps, and absorb the costs, if it is formally registered to you as the owner."
  And right now, Ellis says, there's only one registry, PLUS. Photographers, including David Bailey, condemned the government for rushing through the legislation before other registries - such as the Copyright Hub - could sort themselves out.
  "The mass of the public will never realise they've been robbed," thinks Ellis. The radical free-our-information bureaucrats at the Intellectual Property Office had already attempted to smuggle orphan works rules through via the Digital Economy Act in 2010, but were rebuffed. Thanks to a Google-friendly Conservative-led administration, they've now triumphed.
  Three other consequences appear possible.
  One is a barrage of litigation from UK creators - and overseas owners who find their work Hoovered into extended collective licensing programs. International treaties allow a country to be ostracised and punished. The threat has already been made clear from US writers and photographers, who've promised "a firestorm". Reciprocal royalty arrangements can also be suspended, on the basis of "if you steal our stuff, UK, we won't pay you". In addition, a judicial review, based on the premise that the Act gives Minister unconstitutional power over the disposal of private property, is not out of the question.
  Secondly, the disappearance of useful material from the internet is likely to accelerate - the exact opposite of what supporters wish for. We recently highlighted the case of an aerial photographer who's moving work outside the UK, and we've heard of several who are taking their photos away from the web, and into lockers. The internet is poorer without a diverse creative economy - because creators need legal certainty of property rights.
  And finally, there's the macroeconomic consequences for the UK economy.
  The notorious 'Google Review' chaired by Ian Hargreaves failed to undertake adequate impact assessments, a giveaway that even the most rabid "copyright reformers" recognise there isn't an economic case to be made for taking everyone's stuff and giving it away.
  "There's value in works, and if anybody can exploit them except the person who creates them, then value is transferred to the exploiter," explains Ellis. "This is a massive value transfer out of the UK economy to US tech companies."
  Where it will remain, he thinks, because UK tech/media companies - should they appear - almost invariably become US-owned.
  Copyright "reformers" of course rarely like to talk about such unpleasant matters - and will steer the conversation away from economic consequences as rapidly as possible. Indeed, the they generally talk using Orwellian euphemisms - like "liberalising" or "rebalancing" copyright. It's rarely presented as an individual's ability to go to market being removed. This is what "copyright reform" looks like in practice.
  "It's corporate capitalism," says Ellis. "Ideally you want to empower individuals to trade, and keep the proceeds of their trade. The UK has just lost that."
  So while the Twitterati and intelligentsia were ranting away about "Big Content", we've just lost the ability to sell our own content. In other words, you've just been royally fucked. ®
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill receives Royal Assent - Press releases - Inside Government - GOV.UK
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  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:44
  The Act will bring in a new regime giving shareholders more say on directors' pay, improve dispute resolution through reform of Employment Tribunals, establish the new Competition and Markets Authority and enshrine the aims of the Green Investment Bank.
  Business Minister Jo Swinson said:
  The measures in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act will support the UK's enterprise culture and help make it one of best places to do business.
  It will put in place fairer systems for directors' pay, create a world-class competition regime, support the Green Investment Bank and improve our employment system. This will help businesses to start up, grow and employ more people.
  The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act passed by Parliament today aims to support long term growth through a range of measures which:
  make sure there is a link between directors' pay and long-term company performance by giving shareholders of UK quoted companies binding votes on directors' pay. Shareholders will now have the power to hold companies to account and companies will need to listen to what they say;
  create a better employment tribunal system by encouraging parties to come together to settle their dispute before an employment tribunal claim is lodged, through Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services' (Acas) early conciliation and greater use of settlement agreements;
  close a loophole in whistleblowing protections which will only allow individuals to whistleblow in matters of public interest. This prevents workers from making a whistleblowing claim at an employment tribunal for purely private matters such as problems with their own individual contract. It will also introduce greater protection for individuals from harassment when they blow the whistle at work;
  establish a new Competition and Markets Authority, bringing together the competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission. This will be the UK's lead competition authority with wide ranging powers to tackle anti-competitive behaviour, and a faster, clearer and more effective approach to help make markets work well for consumers. The competition regime will sustain fair and dynamic markets, encouraging businesses to set up and invest in the UK;
  take forward a number of measures announced through the government's Red Tape Challenge, including changes so that in future civil claims for breach of health and safety duties can only be brought where it can be proved an employer has been negligent. It also establishes the principle that an employer should always have the opportunity, even where a strict duty applies, to defend themselves on the basis of having taken all reasonable steps to protect their employees;
  modernise the UK's copyright regime to promote innovation in the design industry, encouraging investment in new products while strengthening copyright protections. Creating a level playing field for collecting societies and the thousands of small businesses and organisations who deal with them by strengthening the existing regulatory regime. For the first time orphan works will be licensed for use; these are copyrighted works for which the owner of the copyright is unknown or can't be found. There will also be a system for extended collective licensing of copyright works;
  enshrine the goals and independence of the UK Green Investment Bank in law, making sure in the longer term that it will always focus solely on the green economy. It also gives government a new power to finance the Bank with initial funding of £3 billion to March 2015. These measures will help the Bank to mobilise long-term private investment in the UK's transition to a greener economy; and
  create a power to give consumers the right to view and download the data businesses hold on them in an electronic format. This will help stimulate developers to create new data management tools and services;
  simplify regulation through reduced inspection burdens; repeal unnecessary laws and time-limit new laws so that there are only ever relevant and necessary laws in place and extend the Primary Authority Scheme to provide consistent regulatory advice to thousands more small firms.
  The Act has also been a vehicle for a wide range of repeals and reforms to existing law.
  Notes for editorsThe Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 23 May 2012, and completed its passage on 24 April 2013.The Bill was also the vehicle for implementing some of the Red Tape Challenge reforms see the website for further details. Many other Red Tape Challenge reforms are being implemented by Statutory Instrument or administrative measures.The provisions which come into force on Royal Assent today are:A power to include review and sunset provisions in secondary legislation, which streamlines implementation of the government policy on such provisions first published in March 2011.A prohibition on Acas disclosing specified information except in certain defined circumstances such as criminal investigation.All the order-making powers (that is power to make provisions by means of secondary legislation) come into force, which means that they are available to be exercised. This does not necessarily mean they will be used, as some are reserve powers, to be used only if certain circumstances arise.A requirement that certain Royal Charters can only be changed when the arrangements for amending them - as laid out in the Charter - require the approval of Parliament and have been met. It affects those Royal Charters with functions relating to the carrying on of an industry and made after 1 March 2013.Further provisions will come into force on 25 June namely:The provisions on the UK Green Investment Bank (Part 1).Certain provisions on employment (Part 2) as follows:Ensuring that the 2 year qualification period for employment will not apply where the main reason for dismissal is the employee's political opinions or affiliation.Simplifying the procedures and costs of deciding tribunal casesNew provisions on whistleblowingCertain provisions to make the heritage protection system work more effectively as follows:Enabling the extent of a listed building's special interest to be legally definedEnabling a Certificate of Immunity from listing to be applied for at any timeRemoving current restrictions on the use of a wing of Osborne House, on the Isle of WightCertain other repeals:Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales, (although the current Agricultural Wage Order will remain in place until 1st October 2013, and similarly applications to Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees will be permitted until that date)Removing the need for retailers to notify sales and hiring of television setsRemoval of an in-area trading ban which currently prevents water suppliers associated with regional water companies competing for multi-site contracts across England and WalesMost other provisions are planned to come into effect in October 2013 or April 2014. A detailed implementation timetable will be published on the BIS website shortly.The government's economic policy objective is to achieve 'strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.' It set four ambitions in the 'Plan for Growth' (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:to create the most competitive tax system in the G20to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a businessto encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economyto create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.
Symantec shares drop 10 percent in one minute, triggering halt
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  Archived Version
  Source: Reuters: Technology News
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:29
  Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:58am EDT
  (Reuters) - Shares of security software maker Symantec Corp dropped around 10 percent in less than a minute on the Nasdaq on Tuesday, prompting a trading halt.
  The shares dropped to a low of $21.93 around 10:11 a.m. Eastern.
  Symantec spokesman Cris Paden said he could not immediately comment on the unusual movement in the stock price.
  The stock resumed trading five minutes later, and bounced back above $24.
  (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore and Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Rodney Joyce)
Is Syria turning our idealistic youth into hardened jihadis?
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  Source: no corn syrup's feed
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:39
  Syrian rebels attend a training session in Maaret Ikhwan, near Idlib. It is estimated there are up tp 200 Australians in Syria, many of whom have gone to fight the regime.Source: AP
  CLAIMS by Washington yesterday that President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria may have used chemical weapons against rebel forces has increased pressure on the West to intervene more directly in that bloody civil war.
  But there is another type of Western intervention in the Syrian conflict that is causing deep disquiet, including in Australia.
  The war in Syria has energised young Western radicals and idealists to travel overseas to take up the struggle against the Syrian government. Australians have emerged as major players in this. They are fighting for an outcome Australia and its Western allies support: the overthrow of Assad's odious regime.
  But Canberra does not see these Australians as brave crusaders for a just cause. Instead, our government fears some of these foreign fighters will return as hardened jihadists who could pose a terror threat to their fellow Australians.
  Intelligence agencies estimate that between 150 and 200 Australian citizens are fighting in Syria. This compares with only handful of civilians who fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
  Of greatest concern is that a sizeable number of these self-selected warriors are suspected of fighting not with the moderate mainstream rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, but with the extremist elements of Syria's rebel movement, including the al-Qa'ida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, which soon will be formally designated a terror group by Australia.
  The topic has gained only modest media attention, partly because it's almost four years since the last major terror plot was uncovered in Australia, and the media caravan has moved on.
  But inside Australia's national security agencies, the issue is being viewed with grave concern. It is seen as a potential game changer in counter-terrorism in this country because it promises to nourish a new breed of Australian jihadists.
  "The reason for the concern is the knowledge, skills and experience that they get fighting in an armed conflict," Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Peter Drennan tells Inquirer. "The use of firearms, their potential to learn how to build improvised explosive devices or use rocket-launchers: the list goes on.
  "But equally these people are hardened by combat, which is a very different dimension to someone who has aspirations to commit terror offences but has not been tested in the heat of battle. We now have people who potentially know how to make bombs, use firearms and have been tested in the heat of battle - it is a real game changer."
  Britain and Europe are also grappling with the Syrian issue. On Wednesday, EU counter-terrorism chief Gilles de Kerchove said about 500 Europeans were in Syria fighting with the rebels. "Not all of them are radical when they leave, but most likely many of them will be radicalised there, will be trained," he said.
  Last month, The Netherlands raised its terror alert to "substantial", citing fears that people returning from Syria could plot attacks, while Belgian police raided 48 homes last week to crack down on networks recruiting fighters for Syria.
  It is illegal for Australians to travel to Syria and fight for any side in the civil war, but the real concern in Canberra is that the composition of the rebel movement is changing, with extremist splinter groups increasing their influence in the conflict. This has coincided with an increase in the number of Australians who are going to fight.
  "In recent months we have seen that the number of Australians going to Syria has increased," Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus tells Inquirer. "We are concerned about (these) Australians being radicalised in extremist doctrines while participating in the conflict in Syria and returning home with skills that terrorists could use."
  As The Australian revealed this month, the number of citizens travelling to fight in Syria is believed to have doubled in the past six months. A large proportion of these are dual-nationality Lebanese Australians, who are drawn to the conflict for a variety of reasons, most commonly entering Syria via northern Lebanon.
  "Lebanon connections have been a feature of Australian jihadism for over a decade, so the Syrian conflict has greater relevance for Australia than insurgencies elsewhere, such as Mali or Chechnya," says Andrew Zammit, from the Global Terrorism Research Centre at Melbourne's Monash University. "Many Lebanese Sunnis are trying to fight the (Alawite) Assad regime because they see them as oppressing the people they identify with."
  Not all Australians heading for Syria seek to become fighters, says the AFP's Drennan. "When you are looking at the reasons, there are some who are going there to provide humanitarian support; some who are going there for family reasons to help or protect their family; some who are going there to fight with the Free Syrian army; and some, a much smaller group, potentially going to fight with the government forces," he says.
  "But the ones who really cause concern are the ones fighting for al-Qa'ida affiliates such as al-Nusra - they are the ones that cause us significant concern."
  The emergence of extremist groups such as al-Nusra alongside the FSA has become more pronounced during the past 12 months of the two-year civil war, with Foreign Minister Bob Carr estimating last month that al-Nusra had about 5000 fighters, about 5 per cent of the FSA's total fighting force.
  "When the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, the presence of jihadists in the protests was minimal at best," says Aaron Zelin, from the Washington Institute.
  "Fighters associated with al-Qa-ida's world view quietly entered the fight in the fall of 2011 (and) announced themselves in January 2012 under the bannner of al-Nusra and (have become) one of the key fighting forces against the Bashar al-Assad regime."
  This has greatly complicated the West's efforts to assist the rebel movement, and inside the Gillard government some estimates put the number of Australians fighting with al-Nusra as high as 100.
  Authorities admit that it is difficult to know precisely how many Australians have gone to Syria or what they do there. These fighters do not publicly admit they are travelling there to take up arms because it's a crime in Australia, punishable by jail.
  So far four Australians have been killed in the conflict and only one, Yusuf Toprakkaya, killed by a sniper in December, has been confirmed as going there to fight.
  "People aren't making visa applications to say they are going to fight," says Drennan. "You don't have to go direct; they can go to a number of countries before they get to Syria."
  This lack of clarity leaves security agencies vulnerable to the accusation that they are over-egging the problem.
  But the history of jihadism in Australia suggests there is good reason to be concerned about the dangers of people returning to Australia after fighting for Islamic causes abroad.
  Each of the four main terror plots foiled here has had some connection with people who returned after receiving training with extremist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Somalia.
  "I think Australia's security concerns are justified, based on our past history and on the experience of other countries, such as Britain," says Monash University's Zammit. "In the late 1990s, early 2000s, you had some aspiring Australian jihadists travelling to Afghanistan and Pakistan and some of those people subsequently turned up in several terror plots - you had Jack Roche in 2000 and Faheem Lodhi, who conspired with Willie Brigitte in 2003.
  "Then in 2005 you had the two (Operation) Pendennis cells (in Melbourne and Sydney), which contained either someone who trained in an al-Qa'ida camp in Afghanistan or a Lashkar-e-Toiba camp in Pakistan."
  With the 2009 plot to bomb the Holsworthy army base, there were also connections with the insurgency in Somalia and the extremist movement al-Shabab.
  The potential influence of travelling to Islamic hot spots has been highlighted by revelations that one of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, recently visited Chechnya, although he did not engage in fighting. A recent study by Norwegian researcher Thomas Hegghammer found that about one in nine Westerners who trained or fought in a jihadist conflict ended up being involved in terror plots against the West.
  "The data points to a veteran effect that makes returnees significantly more effective operatives," he wrote in the February edition of American Political Science Review.
  If Hegghammer's thesis is accurate, and we assume that only 100 Australians are involved in active fighting in Syria, then ASIO faces the prospect of more than 10 Australians being radicalised enough by their Syrian experience to consider terror plots at home.
  While such estimates are little more than intelligent guesswork, they have energised the government, with the Attorney-General having ordered the release of public fact sheets on Syria that explicitly warn Australians against going to fight, fund, train or recruit in relation to the Syrian conflict.
  "Doing so could result in heavy fines or a maximum penalty for an individual of 10 years prison," the fact sheet says.
  A handful of citizens suspected of fighting in Syria have returned to Australia but the number of returnees is expected to increase sharply in the next 18 months. Most of those who come back will not pose a threat to domestic security, but the challenge for security agencies will be to decide which returnees need to be monitored and which do not.
  "What do we do with these people when they come back?" asks the AFP's Drennan. "If we can't prosecute them for what they have done, the options are limited to the possible use of control orders to ensure these people don't get involved in terrorism here."
  Drennan is also concerned that returned fighters can become mentors to others who have not travelled to Syria. "They also bring back with them an allure to people back onshore who are similarly inclined. They could become a rallying cause and reach out to a range of followers and guide them, mentor them, radicalise them."
  In January, Julia Gillard said Australia's national security priorities were evolving in a way where more traditional threats would shape thinking, ending an era in which "non-state actors", such as terrorist groups, posed the greatest risk. "We are transitioning from one decade, the decade of 9/11, to a post-9/11 era," the Prime Minister said when releasing her national security policy.
  "Since the galvanising events of September 11 and Bali, our partners and Australia have secured some significant successes. Osama bin Laden is dead. Al-Qa'ida's senior leadership is fractured. Jemaah Islamiah has been decimated in our region.
  "Here at home, numerous terrorist plots have been thwarted, and 23 convictions have resulted from the prosecution of those who planned such attacks."
  Gillard was not saying the terror threat in Australia was over, but that it was unlikely to play such a central role in our thinking.
  Yet this month's Boston bombings, and the thwarted Canadian terror plot to blow up a train, have reminded the West of the ongoing threat posed by homegrown Islamic extremists.
  If the fears of Canberra's security agencies prove accurate and the Syrian conflict continues to serve as a honeypot for Australian fighters, then the risk of homegrown jihadists will remain a disturbing feature of the post-9/11 era.
'Kon-Tiki: The Incredible True Story' to Premiere Friday, May 3 on National Geographic Channel
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  Archived Version
  Source: TVbytheNumbers
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:39
  via press release:
  NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL TO PREMIERE
  BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT
  OSCAR®-NOMINATED FILM KON-TIKI
  FROM THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
  Half-Hour Documentary Goes Behind the Scenes of
  New Film That Brings to Life One of the Most Daring and
  Dramatic Sea Explorations of Our Time
  KON-TIKI: The Incredible True Story
  Hosted by EXTRA's Maria Menounos
  Premieres This Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. ET/PT
  During Night of Exploration on National Geographic Channel
  (WASHINGTON, D.C. '' April 30, 2013) National Geographic Channel (NGC) announced today the world premiere of KON-TIKI: The Incredible True Story, a 30-minute documentary from The Weinstein Company on the making of KON-TIKI, the Oscar®-nominated foreign language film on legendary Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdal's epic 4,300-mile crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947. (For more information, go to ngcpr.com and Twitter at @NGC_PR.)Hosted on camera by EXTRA's Maria Menounos, KON-TIKI: The Incredible True Story will premiere during NGC's ''Night of Exploration'' this Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. ET/PT on the heels of the film's limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on April 26, where it netted the top per-screen average of the weekend.
  The documentary will go behind-the-scenes of the epic film that brings to life one of the most daring and dramatic sea explorations of our time '-- lauded as an ''epic of awesome achievement'' by the New York Observer and ''a rip-roaring trip'' by the New York Post. The film is directed by Joachim R¸nning and Espen Sandberg, written by Petter Skavlan and stars P¥l Hagen.
  Shot in open waters in six countries, KON-TIKI tells the incredible true story of Heyerdahl's expedition from Peru to Polynesia on a primitive balsa wood raft in an effort to prove that it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times. The journey changed the way we understand cultural migration today.
  KON-TIKI: The Incredible True Story includes interviews with Hagen, Sandberg and Skavlan, among others. On the expedition, R¸nning says, ''Everybody believed that they were going to die out there.'' Adds Skavlan about Heyerdal, ''A man who has such great inner power that he can talk men into joining him on a raft across the Pacific '-- you wanna make a film about that man.''
  NGC's ''Night of Exploration'' celebrates the mavericks and pioneers who dare to delve into strange lands and fascinating cultures, making groundbreaking discoveries that make a difference. A weekly tribute that airs every Friday, NGC captures the stories from the most evocative and unforgettable expeditions.
  For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.
Obama White House hails gay NBA player
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: TheBlaze.com - Blog
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:38
  North Korea is holding an American captive.
  Syria is using chemical weapons.
  Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding a terrorist attack on domestic soil.
  But stop the presses '-- an NBA player is gay.
  The president and first lady Michelle Obama marked the occasion with jubilation at the White House (via CBS News, emphasis mine):
  President Obama called NBA player Jason Collins Monday to offer his support after Collins announced he's gay, becoming the first openly gay major league professional athlete, CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett has learned.
  The president offered congratulations and support on Collins' courage and willingness to be the first in the four dominant pro sports to make this announcement.
  First lady Michelle Obama also showed her support for Collins on Twitter Monday.
  ''So proud of you, Jason Collins! This is a huge step forward for our country. We've got your back!'' she tweeted, signing it ''-mo,'' which indicates she '' not an aide '' sent the message.
  NRO's Jim Geraghty opines on the administration's dysfunctional priorities:
  This president can't get squat done about North Korea or Syria, and so he doesn't want us to focus on those far-off lands. His policies have done diddlysquat for most of the long-term unemployed. He's not interested in throwing people off public assistance, even when they don't deserve it, and he wants to insist that every terror attack is a one-time occurrence, instead of connected bits of an international ideological movement dedicated to killing Americans. Obamacare's a mess, and he's hoping you don't notice. The national debt continues to increase, even with the alleged horrors of sequestration.
  ''God, gays, and guns.'' That's what he's got left. And that's what he hopes stays on your mind, for as many days between now and November 2014 as possible.
Italy police arrest suspected Islamist terrorists planning international attacks
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: euronews
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:38
  Police in Italy have arrested six men they suspect of planning terrorist attacks.
  Arrest warrants were issued for the Muslim men, who are accused of targeting the US as well as Italy.
  Two men are believed to have escaped to Tunisia.
  Police say they found jihadist training videos connected to the men, who were located in Lombardy, Sicily and Puglia and Belgium.
  ''Due to their important international contacts and to the kind of indoctrination they received, we're sure they would have been able to carry out an attack,'' said Mario Parente, General Head of ROS, a special operations group that is part of Italy's carabinieri police force.
  The suspects are accused of conspiracy to commit international terrorism and inciting racial hatred.
  Police say the suspects were also setting up training camps in order to prepare for attacks in war zones.
  The arrests are part of an operation against a cell in Andria in southern Italy.
  More about:Arrest, Islamists, ItalyCopyright (C) 2013 euronews
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Russia Sends Warship to Israel for First Time
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:37
  MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) '' A Russian naval ship will visit Israel for the first time in the country's history, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
  The Azov, a Ropucha II-class landing ship from Russia's Black Sea Fleet, will call at the port of Haifa from May 1-3, the ministry's press service said.
  The visit is timed to coincide with the 68th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War II, a press service representative said.
  ''The visit is the initiative of veteran organizations in Israel,'' he added.
  The program of the visit includes performances by the Black Sea Fleet orchestra for Israeli war veterans and Haifa residents. The warship will also be open to the public for visits.
  A reception on board the Azov will be organized for World War II veterans living in Israel.
Studente Joanna van de Dam verwijderd, politie biedt excuses aan - Binnenland
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:43
  Door: Redactie '' 30/04/13, 11:56
  (C) anp. Studente Joanna met haar protestbord in handen.
  UPDATE Het boegbeeld van de republikeinse protestgroep 'Het is 2013', studente Joanna, is tijdens de abdicatie van Beatrix verwijderd van de Dam, ze zou gearresteerd zijn. Samen met medestander Hans Maessen van het Nieuw Republikeins Genootschap demonstreerde ze tegen de monarchie; ook hij is van de Dam verwijderd.
  Ze bevonden zich vrij vooraan op de Dam, toen daar op grote schermen het ondertekenen van de abdicatie te zien was. Verslaggeefster Sofie Vanlommel van de Volkskrant stond bij Joanna toen ze bij haar rugzak werd gepakt en door agenten afgevoerd.
  'De twee kregen eerst een waarschuwing het plein te verlaten, maar ze beriepen zich tegen de agenten op het recht te demonstreren.' Haar advocaat bevestigde even later de arrestatie tegen de NOS. Ook op videobeelden van de NOS is te zien hoe de studente verwijderd wordt
  Trouw-verslaggever Hanne Obbink was ook getuige van de arrestatie van studente Joanna: 'Ze (10 agenten in uniform en 'twee kleerkasten in burger') gingen om haar heen staan en trokken haar richting een politiebusje. Vreemd, want voor zover ik kon zien deed ze niets verkeerd.'
  De politie heeft excuses aangeboden voor het feit dat zij Joanna van de Dam verwijderd hebben. 'Dit had niet mogen gebeuren.'
Obama Signed ''Operation Ring Of Fire'' Exec Order For NUKES and MARTIAL LAW
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:33
  (BeforeItsNews) '' (The following article is a sequel to my recent article about REVELATIONS FROM A NAVY SEAL concerning the plan to bring America at last under martial law, using nukes secretly planted across this nation. I was warned about this years ago, and I wrote articles about this called ''OPERATION RING OF FIRE.'' He has granted me several interviews before he goes underground to fight the NWO agenda with the Military underground resistance.-PRS)Late last night my SEAL contact called me to share more. He is sensing his time is short to be able to communicate with me, and he admitted he will be disappearing soon this week. I urged him to do so for his own safety'...and for the battle that is to come.Because of the importance of accuracy in journalism, to the best of my ability, I pressed him once again about this nuke-detonating operation and the date. ''How do you know for certain, though, that the military is planning to conduct this operation this on May 5th, 2013?''I am never comfortable with date-setting, and have told my readers this many times. First of all, if the anticipated event I reported on does not come to pass, it tends to serve to discredit my accuracy in reporting. Readers forget that dates CAN be set, and people can later change their minds for various reasons. It happens all the time, and you and I have done this ourselves at times throughout our lives.Also, prayer changes things. God can move the hearts of men and change their plans, even as the Bible faithfully records.Let it be fully understood that I DID NOT SET THIS DATE NOR GIVE IT. It came from my contact, who was assured that this was initially accurate.My SEAL contact replied that, ''The General in the Pentagon that I have been communicating with has held the covert Executive Order in his hands. OBAMA HIMSELF SIGNED THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR THE NUKES TO BE DETONATED'....''I remember just sitting there in my vehicle, horrified, speechless and in shock. How could any national leader be so evil, as to use those elements in our US military that are supportive of the NWO agenda, to destroy thousands upon thousands of innocent lives in America???But then, hasn't Obama been working hard to eliminate from the US military those people who will refuse to fire upon their fellow Americans under a state of martial law? It is the US military who run the very FEMA camps that will someday incarcerate and terminate millions of fellow Americans under martial law. Hasn't DHS been buying up millions of rounds of ammo, and delivering huge military armored vehicles to police departments nationwide, obviously in anticipation of SOMETHING BIG TO HAPPEN IN AMERICA??? I have also received reports of large military convoys moving across this nation in various locations, including just the other day in Washington state.Clearly, there are those elements throughout the US government and military who are willing to murder their fellow Americans in the name of implementing the NEW WORLD ORDER agenda for America. Let's look at the mute evidence.Over 800 FEMA/HOMELAND SECURITY detention ( actually, TERMINATION) camps scattered across America cannot lie. Thousands of PRISONER BOXCARS WITH SHACKLES cannot lie. Thousands of MODERN MILITARY GUILLOTINES stockpiled in military bases cannot lie. Numerous foreign troops prepositioned throughout America and Canada and Mexico cannot lie. Deadly CHEMTRAILS sweeping through the skies of America cannot lie. Deadly MONSANTO seeds of death for a world population reduction agenda cannot lie. AND SO MUCH MORE.The truth is, Americans have been marked for DEATH by the NWO planners and by her very own government and military. 9/10th's of the American people have already been marked for death, in fact, for the globalist population reduction agenda.The SEAL's brother, also military and working with him in this covert work, is very ill now from radiation poisoning after the last nuke detecting/disabling operation a month ago. ''He feels he is dying from radiation poisoning now'...'' Christian readers, pray for him. None of this is a hoax or a game. We are dealing with real-life people and the potential for a deadly national crisis to come, and the lives of millions at stake as a result all across America.My life is obviously on the line completely at this point as well. When you intercept such high level information, and the General mentioned above has already received a death threat and may not even be alive this morning, as my SEAL contact admitted, I fully realize that my reporting has taken me to a much higher level of danger than ever before. But who can remain silent in this hour, if such information is true??? I cannot.I am scheduled to go on BLOGTALK RADIO on April 30th, 2013, for two hours. It will be 11 PM EST.I will post more details later today.I may have a ''guest'' on the broadcast with me, with the help of voice distortion equipment to protect his identity. My SEAL contact is considering doing this before he disappears. Pray that ''the powers that be'' do not pull a ''Breitbart'' on me before this broadcast time, or block the lines of communications (as they did frequently in the past when I had my own radio broadcast during previous years.)What is a ''BREITBART?'' Read the following articles. The US government is getting bolder to terminate people who know too much and talk to much and expose too much. Under the Obama administration, it has reached a new frenzy with percieved ''enemies of the state.'' The bloodlust of the NWO against her enemies is obviously increasing at a frightening speed, including through the recent staged black ops/false flags.After Breitbart declared that he was going to expose something publicly regarding Obama, he mysteriously died. An ''official explanation'' declared it to be of ''natural causes.'' BEWARE OF ''OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONS''. And his coroner following his death, also died mysteriously. http://www.infowars.com/breitbart%E2%80%99s-death-needs-to-be-investigated-for-the-sake-and-safety-of-all-journalists/http://www.wnd.com/2012/03/michael-savage-was-breitbart-assassinated/
  http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/people-who-think-president-obama-killed-andrew-brehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/30/no-answers-in-death-of-technician-linked-to-andrew-breitbart.htmlhttp://www.wnd.com/2012/04/breitbarts-coroner-poisoned-to-death/
  Many are convinced Breitbart was covertly murdered to silence his upcoming revelations on Obama, and that false evidence was used to cover up his termination to silence him. But why should anyone be surprised? This kind of assassination and cover up tactic happens quite frequently with ''enemies of the state.''As I think about this, I am so thankful that I am a born-again Christian! Yes, they may move to kill me someday, but I do not live in a state of paranoia or fear. Jesus has delivered me from the fear of death. I have been given eternal life through faith in my Savior. I do not fear death nor how it comes. What a wonderful gift He has given me, this gift of peace within! And the grace to continue in this kind of reporting. It is only by His grace.Furthermore, Jesus Christ Himself ultimately died for SPEAKING THE TRUTH to His generation. His powerful words and exposing of sin so angered the religious leaders of His day, that He was delivered up by them to be executed. Christians are called to follow Jesus and His example, who did not compromise the truth even when He knew it would ultimately cost His life. HE WAS ON A MISSION FROM GOD from which He could not turn back. And as Christians, so are we. There is no turning back.I am going to do everything I can today to find out if this brave General is still alive following the death threat last night. My SEAL contact admitted he is no longer answering the phone. Pray for him: God knows who he is.Pray against ''OPERATION RING OF FIRE.'' It is one thing to write about such an operation so many years ago, when I first received information about this evil plan in 1995. Here are some of the articles written long ago about ''OPERATION RING OF FIRE.'' While I knew this information about their NWO plans, I never knew the date/time they would finally decide to pull it off someday.http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/msg99930.html
  http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message897845/pg1
  http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4960045241001/m/4610070812001It is quite another thing to suspect it may take place soon.God have mercy on us ALL.
  Source: Before Its News
Breaking! Ret General Who Broke Ring Of Fire Story Found Dead Single Gunshot Wound Through Head!
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:33
  April 30th, 2013
  (Youtube) '' April 29th, 2013 ''
  Tags: broke, found dead, retired general, single gunshot, wound through headThis entry was posted on Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 at 3:18 am and is filed under Coup D'etat, Dictatorship, Education/Mind Control, Fascism, Film/Video, 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.
Nukes kill more birds than wind?
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Atomic Insights
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:16
  By Paul Lorenzini
  In the yin and yang of energy policy debates, we know some can get carried away. Normally we ignore the radical fringe, but sometimes their claims take on a life of their own and need to be addressed. One such charge has found its way as an authoritative reference on Wipikedia, alleging that nuclear power causes more bird kills than wind. There we find a table alleging 0.269 avian deaths per GWh for wind turbines as compared to 0.416 for nuclear power plants. Given all the heat being taken by wind advocates over this issue, one can understand the desire to hit back, but this seemed a bit much. On close checking, it was.
  The source is a study by one Benjamin Sovacool. Sovacool first published a report with these claims in 2009 while on the faculty at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Free downloads can be found here and here. In 2012 he published a second version, now being identified as a Visiting Associate Professor at the Vermont Law School and Senior Researcher for Energy Security and Justice at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
  So, how does one arrive at these counter-intuitive conclusions? There are two halves of the analysis, the impacts from nuclear power and the impacts from wind. Take nuclear power first.The most dominant contribution to Sovacool's analysis of nuclear power impacts comes from uranium mining and milling operations which he claims ''can poison and kill hundreds of birds per facility per year''. In his first report, he supports this by focusing on two ''uranium mining'' operations ''in Wyoming'' where he charges that bird deaths are caused by abandoned open pits.
  The first is the Canon City Uranium Mine in Colorado (not Wyoming), a mine that operated from 1958 to 1979, and only intermittently since. The owners of the mine were ordered to pay a $40,000 fine when a kerosene spill killed 40 geese in 2008. The spill was a one time occurrence and the operators were required to take steps to prevent further spills. Sovacool assumes the death of 40 geese is a routine occurrence, assumes it happens annually at every operating uranium mine, then based on estimates of the peak uranium production (8.4t of enriched uranium when the mine was operating), and using a conversion of 792 GWh produced per ton of enriched uranium, he concludes the rate associated with the Canon City mine is 0.006 deaths per GWh. Not a very big number, but taking this one incident and leveraging it to represent half of all the uranium mines in the world (as is implied in his averaging of results) is '... let's just say it's not very good science.
  Without belaboring the point, early uranium mining operations have come in for their fair share of criticisms, both with regard to miner health impacts and the handling of mill tailings. But they are strongly regulated today and current operations give a great deal of attention both to health effects and effects on the surrounding ecology. As with any other form of mining, environmental approvals are required prior to operations, compliance with safety and environmental regulations must be maintained during operations, and sites must be rehabilitated at the end of the project. It is simply a fiction to draw from old abandoned projects and apply the data to current operations.
  But Sovacool does even worse. His second example does not even involve a uranium mine, it is an old abandoned copper mine in Montana. And it is the data from this example that dominates his conclusions both for the 2009 study and the later 2012 one.
  Included in his 2009 report is a Table stating his results are based on ''real world operating experience at '... two uranium mines''. Referring to the hazards of ''open pit uranium mines in Wyoming,'' he states ''it is not uncommon for these pits to kill 300 birds per year.'' The citation is to a US Fish and Wildlife Report where the only bird death claim refers to the death of 300 snow geese in 1995 at the Berkeley Pit mine in Montana. The Berkeley pit is notorious: a one mile by one-half mile wide open pit now filled with water to a depth of 1780 feet that is one of the country's largest superfund sites. Operated as a copper mine by the Anaconda Copper Company from 1955 to 1982, it has become a tourist attraction.
  Is he really claiming this is a uranium mine? The reference in the 2009 paper is admittedly a bit parsed (''it is not uncommon''), but he removes any doubt in his 2012 rewrite where, in reference to open pit uranium mines in Wyoming, he states: ''one of these pits killed 300 geese during a single year''. By taking the 300 dead geese, assuming this is an annual event representative of global uranium mining, and then relating that to his estimates of uranium produced by mines in Wyoming and ultimate electricity generated, he arrives at the number 0.45 deaths per GWh.
  In his 2009 report, he averages the result from Canon City (0.006/GWh) with the result from the Berkeley Mine (0.45/GWh) to arrive at a mining impact of 0.228 avian deaths per GWh. The 2012 report, however, excludes without explanation the result from Canon City and takes the result from the Berkeley Mine to be the bird kill impact for all uranium mining operations. This allows a larger number, the full 0.45/GWh.
  By itself this is nearly double the avian mortality rate for wind of 0.269/GWh reported in his analysis (more on that below). And we haven't yet considered the impact from nuclear plants themselves, mainly birds flying into cooling towers. Here he draws from data at four facilities: Florida Power's Crystal River Generating Plant (0.454/GWh); Limerick in Pennsylvania (0.261/GWh); the Susquehanna plant in Pennsylvania (0.01/GWh); and Davis-Besse in Ohio (0.0285/GWh). There is no stated rationale for the selection of these facilities as representative of nuclear plant bird impacts. An average of these four numbers produces an industry result of 0.188 fatalities per GWh.
  As is obvious, the controlling example is Crystal River Generating Plant. More games. His analysis claims to rely on an incident in 1982 when 3000 birds were killed in two successive evenings from collisions with smokestacks and cooling towers. The implication is that nuclear power plants were to blame. Yet the citation he provides says differently. The Crystal River Generating Complex consists of four fossil fuel plants and one nuclear plant. The report in question states: ''Two pairs of chimneys associated with separate fossil fuel generating units are 152 and 183 m tall.'' In referring to the bird kills, it goes on to report: ''On 23 September 1982, l265 individuals from a kill estimated by Florida Power Corporation employees to be at least 3000 birds were collected beneath the two pairs of chimneys.'' In other words, the 3000 kills is an estimate and the proximate cause was two pairs of large stacks associated with fossil fuel plants!In short, the most significant avian impact cited by Sovacool for mining involved a copper mine operation, and for operating nuclear plants, the dominant contributor was a fossil fuel plant.
  Aside: (from Rod Adams) Paul apparently overlooked another glaring problem with Sovacool's power plant bird kill analysis. Crystal River Unit 3, the only nuclear unit on the power station site, is a low profile plant that uses a canal to bring water from the Crystal River to the plant.
  View of Crystal River from water
  The tall cooling towers at Crystal River power station, even though they are often used by the media as an icon for a nuclear plant, are used by units 4 and 5. Both of those units are coal-fired power plants built after direct cooling for new plants was made illegal in the US. The cylindrical building in the foreground is the nuclear unit.End Aside.
  One does not know where to take this except to say calling it junk science is too kind. The only real data he cites linking bird kills to nuclear plant operations is Limerick (0.261 fatalities per GWh), Susquehanna (0.01/GWh), and Davis Besse (0.0285/GWh). And it is unclear if Limerick is taking two years of data and conflating it into one, but let's not quibble. Absent other data, and with nothing to help us decide if these are representative or not, taking these data alone, we can infer a fatality rate somewhere between the mean (0.07/GWh) and the median (0.0285/GWh) for nuclear power plants. Regardless, either number is considerably less than the avian impacts Sovacool himself reports for wind, 0.269/GWh.
  But we can't stop here. A quick look at the wind numbers shows similar biases in the other direction (no surprise). A critique by seven scientists titled ''Bats are not birds and other problems with Sovacool's (2009) analysis of animal fatalities due to electricity generation,'' provides a laundry list of problems with Sovacool's analysis of avian impacts from wind turbines. The abstract says it well:
  ''Recently Sovacool (2009) set out to compare North American bird (avian) and, presumably bat (chiropteran) mortality resulting from three methods of electricity generation, an objective we applaud. However, we feel it is important to point out serious errors in biological fact, logic, and data selection in his paper''.
  The criticisms extend well beyond issues raised here, but suffice to say Sovacool does not fare well. On the most relevant topic, bird kills from wind, they state: '''... Sovacool's estimate of the average number of birds killed per GWh of wind power is incorrect and omits a large body of easily accessible, published data.'' Their corrected number for bird kills at the six sites examined by Sovacool results in 0.653 fatalities per GWh, significantly higher than Sovacool's 0.269. Using a broader sample of wind sites, they arrive at 1.46/GWh, over five times Sovacool's estimate. When bats are added, it increases to 2.94/GWh.
  The end result is not too surprising '' wind power kills lots of birds and bats, by factors of ten more than nuclear power. It's a major concern and is one reason we stretch the point by claiming wind is ''clean'' energy. But so what? There are a lot of issues to consider when evaluating wind environmental impacts as well as those from nuclear power. What matters most is that we approach these very important public policy questions with integrity and sufficient openness to make fair and honest decisions. There's no place for the sort of malicious and dishonest distortions used here to make some short term argument. The problem is these kinds of studies find their way into the literature and can take on a life of their own. It can be a grind, but it's important to make corrections when we find it being done.
  Paul Lorenzini served as the CEO of NuScale from 2008 through December 2012.
Google Paying Mozilla Almost $1B for Firefox Search: Why? | News & Opinion
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:38
  Old news: Google and Mozilla have renewed the partnership that ensures Google's search engine remains Mozilla Firefox's default search tool, and none too soon'--the companies' previous deal expired in November of this year and Google contributed 84 percent of Mozilla's $123 million revenue in 2010.
  What's new, however, is the cost at which Mozilla and Google are now doing business. According to a report by AllThingsD's Kara Swisher, Google will allegedly pay Mozilla nearly three times its previous yearly payment for the privilege of remaining Firefox's default search engine. And the new contract guarantees to give Mozilla revenue and Google search prominence for the better part of three years. At nearly $300 million a year, that works out to just under $1 billion for Mozilla.
  So why the boost in payment?
  According to Swisher, Yahoo and Microsoft were allegedly a part of the conversation at varying points in the contract process. And it's been speculated that Google's willingness to play ball at a higher price point was something that neither of its competitors were willing to do.
  If so, Google strong-armed the competition, and for good reason: The company wants to keep Microsoft's Bing from gaining any additional traction in the search market beyond its current deal with Yahoo. As for Yahoo, it's anyone's guess as to why the company was separately bidding to become Firefox's primary search engine.
  However, there's also speculation that Google's interest in Firefox wasn't primarily competitive. Rather, it's been suggested that the company's laying the groundwork for a potential defense against potential antitrust issues going forward.
  Consider this: If Google's Chrome OS takes off, the company will invariably push Google Chrome as the de facto browser for users of the operating system. And when that happens, argues MG Siegler, Google and Chrome start to look a lot like Microsoft and Internet Explorer. The antitrust vultures then start circling.
  "But if Google can point to a billion dollar commitment in (basically fully) supporting Mozilla and Firefox, perhaps it will negate the Chrome problem. We'll see," Siegler wrote.
  "One thing is certain: Google is not paying Mozilla a billion dollars out of the kindness of their hearts. Doing so would be irresponsible to their shareholders," he continued. "Again, they're paying all that money to a competitor. And they're doing it at terms far beyond the previous terms and at a rate that not even their biggest competitor would match."
  And Mozilla's Firefox, which feels at times like a knight or a rook in a larger game, gets to keep cruising along at third place in the global browser wars.
  For more from David, subscribe to him on Facebook: David Murphy.
  For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.Subscribing to a newsletter, constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Undercover Video: Abortion Doctor Says He'd Let Born-Alive Infants Choke To Death'...
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:37
  A new investigative video shows a Washington, D.C.-based abortion doctor admitting that if a baby is born alive in his clinic after a failed abortion attempt he would let the baby suffocate on fluid in the child's throat or lungs.
  A pro-life activist who is six months pregnant asks Dr. Cesare Santangelo of the Washington Surgi-Clinic, which is located just five blocks west of the White House, what would happen if the baby she's carrying were accidentally born alive during an abortion. [...]
  DR. SANTANGELO: We've had patients that, you know, on the second day of the laminaria they, they got some contractions and they panicked, and they were in Virginia at the hospital''and they went to the hospital, because they had some pains, instead of calling me, you know? And just went to the hospital. And the hospital helped them to deliver! Which was the stupidest thing they could have done''
  WOMAN: Oh my God.
  DR. SANTANGELO: You know? Which''you know? And they did everything they shouldn't have done, which was help them to deliver. They didn't want to deliver! But, you know, they went to a hospital in Virginia and found some ''right to life'' type of nurse that helped them to deliver. And they did everything that, you know''this is not what this patient wanted. she didn't want to have a baby. she wanted to have a termination. But, y'know, you couldn't talk to this nurse in Virginia, which is, you know, one of the worst states in the country as far as, you know, having an abortion. But, you know, you couldn't talk to this person, you know? I said, ''The woman does not want to have a baby.'' ''Well, shes having one tonight!'' I said, ''Well, you know, that's not your choice!'' ''Well, she came to our hospital, she's contracting, and this is God's will.'' ''God's will''? I mean, that's not what she wants!
  DR. SANTANGELO: But, you know, you call me''you have any problems, any questions, anything at all''you'll be okay.
James P. Tucker, Jr., 'Bilderberg Hound,' Dies at 78
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: the tap
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:31
  James P. Tucker, Jr. (12/31/1934 '' 4/26/2013), famed Bilderberg Hound, author of Jim Tucker's Bilderberg Diary, passed away yesterday due to complications he suffered following a fall.A proper tribute to Tucker will rendered next week when the front page of AMERICAN FREE PRESS newspaper will be dedicated to Jim.The thoughts and prayers from all of us at AMERICAN FREE PRESS go out to his family and friends. Thank you, Tucker, for all that you did to shine the light on the ''criminals'' of Bilderberg.Please read his obituary below by colleague Michael Collins Piper and listen to the last interview Tucker gave AFP prior to his passing.
RE: Web App Feedback
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: eHam
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:30
  waited for ever to actually get a ham license because of the Morse code requirements (like 30 years) and now that I have a license I decided I want to learn CW after all.
  I've got NOTHIN' to say about the main questions, and I'll take a look at the web app later this week when I have some spare time. But I wanted to say you're on the RIGHT track as far as having fun. :-) I wanted to get my ticket when I was a lad, but waited until I was in my 30s because the one-year nonrenewable Novice license at the time scared me. :-/ I finally got a first license in 1991, when they had rearranged the rules, but I then spent my first year working 10 and 15-m CW, and having a hoot! Didn't do much morse after that first year, until 3 years ago, when I started having a neuromuscular problem that limits my ability to send by hand. And also started doing a lot of portable and QRP work, using CW, despite the problems. Doesn't matter! CW is still FUN! RTTY is FUN! And PSK is FUN! I'm embarrassed when I can't say something using the memories in my keyer, because my muscles don't work very well .. but I'm having a WORLD of fun with CW even at my advanced age. And it sounds like you've got the RIGHT attitude to having FUN with your new ham license, too!
  One bit of "Old Phart" advice, if you'll forgive me: Once you have the letters learned, you'll learn MUCH faster if you actually get on the air and USE CW. It's not practice when you do that, it's PLAY. :-) And it's a world of fun. Give it a try, and you'll have a great time! Almost all hams will be GLAD to slow down to your speed, and we'll be delighted to have you joining the fraternity! :-) So when you feel halfway ready, fire up the rig and answer a CQ--answer at the speed YOU are comfortable with. The other ham will reply, 99 times out of 100!
  Have fun, OM, and congratulations for giving it a try! 73 de ken ac4rd!
USA TODAY
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:01
  Darren McCollester, Getty Images
  Last week, media crews staked out the North Kingston, R.I., home of Warren and Judith Russell, where their daughter Katherine Russell Tsarnaeva, the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has been staying since the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings.
  by Donna Leinwand Leger and Michael Winter, USA TODAY
  Published: 04/29/2013 10:58pm
  Female DNA has been found on at least one of the Boston Marathon bombs, but investigators have not determined whose it is or whether it indicates a woman helped the two brothers blamed for the deadly April 15 blasts, USA TODAY has confirmed.
  An official, who asked not to be identified because the investigation was ongoing, said there could be multiple explanations, including a store clerk who handled materials that Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, used to make the bombs, or perhaps genetic material that unwittingly ended up on the explosive devices, perhaps from a marathon bystander.
  The Wall Street Journal first reported the find.
  Earlier Monday, FBI agents went to a Rhode Island home to collect a DNA sample from Katherine Russell Tsarnaeva, the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died in a shootout with police April 19. She has been staying with her parents since the bombings.
  The sample will be compared with the genetic material recovered.
  "The FBI is there as part of our ongoing investigation, but we aren't permitted to discuss specific aspects of our case," said FBI spokesman Special Agent Jason Pack.
  Agents left her parents' home in North Kingstown with several bags. Russell Tsarnaeva left with her attorneys through a separate door, the Associated Press reported.
  Last week, attorney Amato DeLuca said she was "doing everything she can" to assist the investigation.
  Russell Tsarnaeva, a Boston college dropout, converted from Christianity to Islam before marrying Tamerlan Tsarnaev three years ago and later giving birth to a daughter. She supported the family by working as a home health aide.
  Her attorneys said previously that Russell and her family were shocked when the Tsarnaev brothers emerged as suspects.
  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and is being held in a U.S. prison medical facility at Fort Devens, about 40 miles west of Boston. He was wounded either during the gunbattle that killed his brother or during the manhunt before his capture the night of April 19.
  Monday, a federal judge approved the addition of a prominent death-penalty lawyer, Judy Clarke, of San Diego, to Tsarnaev's legal team. A request for a second capital-punishment expert was denied.
  Clarke assisted Jared Loughner, who is serving a life sentence for the Tucson, Ariz., shootings that killed six and wounded 13, including former congresswoman Gabby Giffords. She also defended Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, and Susan Smith, who drowned her two young sons in 1994. They, too, are imprisoned for life.
  Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Fact Sheet: Administration Partners with Industry to Get Service Members Credentialed for High-Demand Jobs
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:15
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 29, 2013
  Fact Sheet: Administration Partners with Industry to Get Service Members Credentialed for High-Demand Jobs
  Today, speaking at the White House Forum on Military Credentialing and Licensing, First Lady Michelle Obama will announce the IT Training and Certification Partnership, a new public-private partnership that will enable thousands of service members to earn industry-recognized information technology (IT) certifications before they transition from military service. The Administration will also announce a new grant program through the Department of Health and Human Services that will help veterans with health care experience pursue professional nursing careers and earn a nursing license.
  Additionally, the event will feature four roundtables that will lay plans for the launch of additional public-private initiatives that will streamline the ability of service members and veterans to earn the civilian certifications and licenses required for high-demand jobs in emergency medical services, healthcare, and transportation sectors as well as streamline the ability for service members and veterans to translate military experience into academic credit. Key stakeholders from the private sector, the military services, industry trade associations, unions, educational institutions, state legislatures, veteran service organizations, and state licensing boards will participate in the sector-specific roundtables.
  Today's announcement builds upon President Obama's June 2012 announcement of partnerships with the manufacturing sector that enable service members to earn high-demand advanced manufacturing certifications, and the establishment of the Department of Defense's Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force. Additionally, the event is an extension of the First Lady's challenge to our Nation's Governors in February 2013 to take executive or legislative action to help our troops get the credentials they need to successfully transition to the civilian labor market by the end of 2015. Mrs. Obama also recently attended the bill signing with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley for that state's Veterans Full Employment Act of 2013 and met with sailors at the U.S. Naval Academy who stand to benefit from the legislation.
  A New Public-Private Partnership to Connect Veterans with High-Tech Jobs
  Last June, the Department of Defense (DoD), at the President's direction, established a Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force. The Task Force has focused its initial efforts on: (1) identifying military specialties that readily transfer to high-demand jobs; (2) working with civilian credentialing and licensing associations to address gaps between military training programs and certification and licensing requirements; and (3) providing service members and veterans with greater access to necessary certification and licensing exams. The Task Force's work is focused on industries that have an identified need for more skilled workers and stand to benefit from military expertise and training, including manufacturing, first responders, healthcare, information technology, and transportation and logistics.
  Today's announcement is the second major partnership developed through the Task Force, and will provide opportunities for up to 161,000 service members to gain industry-recognized, nationally-portable certifications necessary for 12 high-demand technology professions, including computer programmers, quality assurance engineers, and IT security analysts. The technology professions targeted through this partnership are expected to generate more than 1.8 million job opportunities by 2020, and have an average annual salary of more than $81,000. Due to the high-quality of their military training, our veterans have the skill sets that employers demand to fill these positions.
  Through the Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps have worked with Cisco and a broad consortium of IT corporations and credentialing associations to expand the availability of certifications to military personnel with skills in high-demand areas such as computer programming, information assurance, network administration, and program design. Through this partnership, service members will be able to partake in a gap analysis of their IT skills and then test for and earn civilian credentials above and beyond those required for their military occupation. Additionally, during the pilot phase of this program, service members will be able to participate in bridge training programs, free of cost, if the gap analysis indicates it is needed for the service member to obtain his or her civilian credential. This partnership targets service members who are in the process of transitioning out of the military and into the civilian workforce as well as service members at early- and mid-stages of their military careers. Participating service members who are in the process of transitioning to the civilian workforce will be connected to resources that can link those service members with employers ready to hire by state and region
  Although the majority of IT specialists in the military receive training equivalent to their civilian IT counterparts, few, on their own, seek additional off-duty industry training that can lead towards additional IT certifications above and beyond those required for their military occupation. For example, training for the Navy's Information Technology and Information Technology Submarines occupations match up 100 percent with the CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications that are necessary for a variety of IT jobs. However, the IT Training and Certification Partnership can be used to leverage additional training opportunities that can directly contribute towards service members attaining civilian IT-related certifications beyond those that are provided in-service.
  Industry leaders have committed support to this initiative in the following ways:
  ' As part of this initiative, Cisco Systems, along with Futures, Inc., developed the IT Training and Certification Program that will match Military Occupation Codes (MOCs) with private sector core technology career paths. In an effort to leverage the unique skills, experience, and qualifications that military personnel possess, Cisco also worked with its partners, Global Knowledge and Pearson VUE, to provide ANSI-accredited Cisco training courses that will allow transitioning military personnel to prepare for Cisco CCNA certification exams and other globally recognized industry certifications at no cost to participants. Through the opportunities provided by the training program, participants will receive fast track training and IT certifications that can help address the nation's workforce gap in IT jobs. Cisco is also one of several IT companies that have agreed to send a letter to its more than 15,000 U.S. channel partners and suppliers encouraging them to hire and train veterans.
  ' Microsoft Corporation, in partnership with Global Knowledge and Prometric, will donate 500 exam vouchers and partially underwrite the cost of training for service members to receive Microsoft official skills training. Service members participating in the program will have the opportunity to attain the skills needed to get hired in today's competitive IT job market. The training and exam vouchers are designed to help service members meet the criteria and pass the exams to achieve industry-recognized Microsoft Certification credentials that can help support a transition from the military to frontline jobs in the field of Information Technology. By earning a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) credential, service members will have access to MCP benefits, such as MCP job boards, networking opportunities and certification credentials.
  ' Oracle is proud to work with the White House, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and community colleges across the United States to help service members transition their skills for integration into the civilian IT workforce. Through its Oracle Academy and Oracle University Workforce Development programs, Oracle is committed to delivering technology, courseware, career-readiness and computer science resources for Database Design, SQL, and Java. Service members may participate in these Oracle education programs in a variety of formats, including online and in-class training, as standalone classes or as part of degree-granting programs. For transitioning military, Oracle University is also providing support for its industry-recognized certifications and career pathways. In partnership with Cisco and Futures, Oracle is contacting its more than 20,000 U.S. channel partners and suppliers encouraging them to hire and train veterans.
  ' As part of the IT Training and Certification Program, CompTIA is donating vouchers for certification exams, such as CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Security+, to program participants. This continues CompTIA's longstanding commitment to the Department of Defense and the Armed Forces. CompTIA participates in the DoD Information Assurance Program and contributes to the Wounded Warriors Project through its foundation, Creating IT Futures. Beyond these activities, CompTIA has previously committed to train and certify 35,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013, and 92,000 by 2016, with an IT certification through its Troops to Tech Careers initiative.
  ' NetApp is pleased to work with the White House to offer web-based training and a storage certification to military service personnel. The NetApp Certified Storage Associate certification (NCSA) is an entry-level certification designed to familiarize participants with storage technology and terminology. Via its Academic Alliances Program, NetApp will provide veterans and service personnel with NetApp Learning Accounts, access to web-based training classes, the ability to complete hands-on lab exercises through a virtual lab environment, and test vouchers for a local Pearson Vue testing center.
  ' HP has collaborated with the White House and the military services to assist U.S. service members in their transition to civilian IT jobs. Through the HP ExpertOne program, U.S. service members can earn industry-recognized certifications and achieve job-ready IT skills through hands-on experience. HP ExpertOne working with HP Education Services, an approved US military services training provider, will be contributing HP web basedtraining and exam vouchers targeting Cloud or Converged Infrastructure administration to the IT Training and Credentialing Program. Additionally, HP ExpertOne will provide community memberships for the pilot population, giving service members access to free learning opportunities, personalized certification recommendations, and a global community of IT professionals and HP experts.
  ' Futures Inc. is providing the IT Pipeline platform that will be the centralized hub for matching and connecting transitioning and Reserve Component personnel with civilian training, certification, and employment opportunities. IT Pipeline is designed to address the assessment, training, credentialing and hiring challenges faced by our military personnel as they transition to civilian employment. The IT Pipeline platform will also enable employers to match their jobs with transitioning personnel based on their military training, experience, education, and credentials.
  ' A key partner in this effort is Global Knowledge, a leader in IT and business training. The company is providing training scholarships to exiting military, enabling them to obtain the gap training needed to gain the industry-recognized IT certifications civilian employers value and often require. The program courses are mapped to the most in-demand IT jobs such as application development, network security, and IT project management.
  ' GogoTraining is providing access to their online self-paced Information Technology training platform to help transitioning military personnel prepare for careers in the private sector. With the help of GogoTraining's learning platform, experts bring their classroom courses to life online enabling service members to fit training into their schedule while still receiving the same high quality classroom content and support. GogoTraining courses and programs will help exiting personnel prepare for careers in computer programming, database administration, software and mobile application development, and obtain key certifications in areas such as CompTIA and Oracle.
  ' SANS Institute and Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) are proud to be part of this pilot program, helping to train and certify service members returning to the civilian workforce. SANS and GIAC are providing training and certification scholarships to the pilot program. SANS is the largest source for information security training in the world and GIAC is the leading provider of technical, job-duty-specific information security certifications and its exams validate the hands-on ability of practitioners around the world.
With Bags of Cash, C.I.A. Seeks Influence in Afghanistan
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:28
  KABUL, Afghanistan '-- For more than a decade, wads of American dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags have been dropped off every month or so at the offices of Afghanistan's president '-- courtesy of the Central Intelligence Agency.
  All told, tens of millions of dollars have flowed from the C.I.A. to the office of President Hamid Karzai, according to current and former advisers to the Afghan leader.
  ''We called it 'ghost money,' '' said Khalil Roman, who served as Mr. Karzai's deputy chief of staff from 2002 until 2005. ''It came in secret, and it left in secret.''
  The C.I.A., which declined to comment for this article, has long been known to support some relatives and close aides of Mr. Karzai. But the new accounts of off-the-books cash delivered directly to his office show payments on a vaster scale, and with a far greater impact on everyday governing.
  Moreover, there is little evidence that the payments bought the influence the C.I.A. sought. Instead, some American officials said, the cash has fueled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan.
  ''The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan,'' one American official said, ''was the United States.''
  The United States was not alone in delivering cash to the president. Mr. Karzai acknowledged a few years ago that Iran regularly gave bags of cash to one of his top aides.
  At the time, in 2010, American officials jumped on the payments as evidence of an aggressive Iranian campaign to buy influence and poison Afghanistan's relations with the United States. What they did not say was that the C.I.A. was also plying the presidential palace with cash '-- and unlike the Iranians, it still is.
  American and Afghan officials familiar with the payments said the agency's main goal in providing the cash has been to maintain access to Mr. Karzai and his inner circle and to guarantee the agency's influence at the presidential palace, which wields tremendous power in Afghanistan's highly centralized government. The officials spoke about the money only on the condition of anonymity.
  It is not clear that the United States is getting what it pays for. Mr. Karzai's willingness to defy the United States '-- and the Iranians, for that matter '-- on an array of issues seems to have only grown as the cash has piled up. Instead of securing his good graces, the payments may well illustrate the opposite: Mr. Karzai is seemingly unable to be bought.
  Over Iran's objections, he signed a strategic partnership deal with the United States last year, directly leading the Iranians to halt their payments, two senior Afghan officials said. Now, Mr. Karzai is seeking control over the Afghan militias raised by the C.I.A. to target operatives of Al Qaeda and insurgent commanders, potentially upending a critical part of the Obama administration's plans for fighting militants as conventional military forces pull back this year.
  But the C.I.A. has continued to pay, believing it needs Mr. Karzai's ear to run its clandestine war against Al Qaeda and its allies, according to American and Afghan officials.
  Like the Iranian cash, much of the C.I.A.'s money goes to paying off warlords and politicians, many of whom have ties to the drug trade and, in some cases, the Taliban. The result, American and Afghan officials said, is that the agency has greased the wheels of the same patronage networks that American diplomats and law enforcement agents have struggled unsuccessfully to dismantle, leaving the government in the grips of what are basically organized crime syndicates.
  The cash does not appear to be subject to the oversight and restrictions placed on official American aid to the country or even the C.I.A.'s formal assistance programs, like financing Afghan intelligence agencies. And while there is no evidence that Mr. Karzai has personally taken any of the money '-- Afghan officials say the cash is handled by his National Security Council '-- the payments do in some cases work directly at odds with the aims of other parts of the American government in Afghanistan, even if they do not appear to violate American law.
  Handing out cash has been standard procedure for the C.I.A. in Afghanistan since the start of the war. During the 2001 invasion, agency cash bought the services of numerous warlords, including Muhammad Qasim Fahim, the current first vice president.
  ''We paid them to overthrow the Taliban,'' the American official said.
  The C.I.A. then kept paying the Afghans to keep fighting. For instance, Mr. Karzai's half brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, was paid by the C.I.A. to run the Kandahar Strike Force, a militia used by the agency to combat militants, until his assassination in 2011.
  A number of senior officials on the Afghan National Security Council are also individually on the agency's payroll, Afghan officials said.
  While intelligence agencies often pay foreign officials to provide information, dropping off bags of cash at a foreign leader's office to curry favor is a more unusual arrangement.
  Afghan officials said the practice grew out of the unique circumstances in Afghanistan, where the United States built the government that Mr. Karzai runs. To accomplish that task, it had to bring to heel many of the warlords the C.I.A. had paid during and after the 2001 invasion.
  By late 2002, Mr. Karzai and his aides were pressing for the payments to be routed through the president's office, allowing him to buy the warlords' loyalty, a former adviser to Mr. Karzai said.
  Then, in December 2002, Iranians showed up at the palace in a sport utility vehicle packed with cash, the former adviser said.
  The C.I.A. began dropping off cash at the palace the following month, and the sums grew from there, Afghan officials said.
  Payments ordinarily range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, the officials said, though none could provide exact figures. The money is used to cover a slew of off-the-books expenses, like paying off lawmakers or underwriting delicate diplomatic trips or informal negotiations.
  Much of it also still goes to keeping old warlords in line. One is Abdul Rashid Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek whose militia served as a C.I.A. proxy force in 2001. He receives nearly $100,000 a month from the palace, two Afghan officials said. Other officials said the amount was significantly lower.
  Mr. Dostum, who declined requests for comment, had previously said he was given $80,000 a month to serve as Mr. Karzai's emissary in northern Afghanistan. ''I asked for a year up front in cash so that I could build my dream house,'' he was quoted as saying in a 2009 interview with Time magazine.
  Some of the cash also probably ends up in the pockets of the Karzai aides who handle it, Afghan and Western officials said, though they would not identify any by name.
  That is not a significant concern for the C.I.A., said American officials familiar with the agency's operations. ''They'll work with criminals if they think they have to,'' one American former official said.
  Interestingly, the cash from Tehran appears to have been handled with greater transparency than the dollars from the C.I.A., Afghan officials said. The Iranian payments were routed through Mr. Karzai's chief of staff. Some of the money was deposited in an account in the president's name at a state-run bank, and some was kept at the palace. The sum delivered would then be announced at the next cabinet meeting. The Iranians gave $3 million to well over $10 million a year, Afghan officials said.
  When word of the Iranian cash leaked out in October 2010, Mr. Karzai told reporters that he was grateful for it. He then added: ''The United States is doing the same thing. They are providing cash to some of our offices.''
  At the time, Mr. Karzai's aides said he was referring to the billions in formal aid the United States gives. But the former adviser said in a recent interview that the president was in fact referring to the C.I.A.'s bags of cash.
  No one mentions the agency's money at cabinet meetings. It is handled by a small clique at the National Security Council, including its administrative chief, Mohammed Zia Salehi, Afghan officials said.
  Mr. Salehi, though, is better known for being arrested in 2010 in connection with a sprawling, American-led investigation that tied together Afghan cash smuggling, Taliban finances and the opium trade. Mr. Karzai had him released within hours, and the C.I.A. then helped persuade the Obama administration to back off its anticorruption push, American officials said.
  After his release, Mr. Salehi jokingly came up with a motto that succinctly summed up America's conflicting priorities. He was, he began telling colleagues, ''an enemy of the F.B.I., and a hero to the C.I.A.''
  Mark Mazzetti contributed reporting from Washington.
  This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
  Correction: April 29, 2013
  An earlier version of this article misstated the job title that Khalil Roman held in Afghanistan from 2002 until 2005. He was President Hamid Karzai's deputy chief of staff, not his chief of staff.
New Michael Jackson trial pits family against concert organiser AEG Live.
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:27
  Jackson's mother claims AEG Live put desire for profits ahead of the star's health. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/AEG/AP
  The life and death of Michael Jackson will be played out once again in a Los Angeles court on Monday as a jury hears opening statements in the wrongful death suit brought by Jackson's family against concert organiser AEG Live.
  The $40bn civil trial is expected to last three months. Singers Prince and Diana Ross, producer Quincy Jones and fitness guru and actor Lou Ferrigno are among the potential witnesses. The singer's ex-wives, Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe and two of his children, Prince, 16 and Paris, 15, are also expected to testify.
  The lawsuit, brought by Jackson's 82-year-old mother Katherine on behalf of the singer's three children, accuses privately-held AEG Live of negligence in hiring Dr Conrad Murray as Jackson's personal physician.
  In 2011, Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and given a four-year prison sentence for administering the powerful anesthetic propofol to Jackson as a sleep aid.
  The suit pitches the Jacksons against the second-largest concert promoter in the world, one owned by Christian billionaire and arch conservative Philip Anschutz. Jackson's lawyers have clashed with AEG as they have attempted to depose Anschutz.
  Jackson died just two weeks before his This Is It comeback concerts were to debut at London's O2 arena in 2009.
  Katherine Jackson and her lawyers claim that AEG Live hired, supervised and controlled Murray and put desire for profits ahead of the star's health.
  "AEG had legal duties to Michael Jackson to treat him safely and to not put him in harm's way. But AEG, despite its knowledge of Michael Jackson's physical condition, breached those duties by putting its desire for massive profits from the tour over the health and safety of Michael Jackson," their complaint alleges.
  In emails sent days before Jackson's death, and expected to be presented in court, concert promoter Kenny Ortega warned AEG Live president Randy Phillips that Jackson was "trembling, rambling and obsessing".
  In the emails, first obtained by the Daily News, Ortega wrote: "I honestly felt if I had encouraged or allowed him on stage last night he could have hurt himself." Phillips responded: "It is critical that neither you, me, or anyone around this show become amateur psychiatrists or physicians." He added that he was in touch with Murray and had "immense respect" for the doctor.
  AEG Live contend that Michael Jackson hired the doctor and it had no responsibility for how he treated Jackson. Last month AEG Live won legal arguments to raise Jackson's 2005 child abuse case at the trial, as it may be relevant to the singer's history of prescription drug abuse.
  Murray found Jackson not breathing in his bed in a rented mansion in Los Angeles on 25 June 2009. He was pronounced dead at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
  While the family is seeking $40bn if AEG Live is found liable, the jury would ultimately decide any award based on the potential earnings of Michael Jackson had he lived past his 50th birthday.
Remarks by the President on the 150th Anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:08
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 29, 2013
  National Academy of SciencesWashington, D.C.
  11:30 A.M. EDT
  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you so much. (Applause.) Please, everybody have a seat.
  Well, it's good to be back. Good morning, everybody, and thank you, Dr. Cicerone, for the kind introduction and the great work that you do. The good doctor was reminding me that the first time I came here, apparently joking, I warned him and John Holdren not to age too much in their jobs. And it turns out I'm the guy who's aged. (Laughter.) They look great.
  But, as always, it's an honor to join our nation's preeminent scholars, including my own Science Advisor, John Holdren, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences. And since I did not do well enough in chemistry or physics to impress you much on those topics, let me instead tell a story.
  One hundred and fifty years ago, the nation, as all of you know, was in the midst of the Civil War, and the Union had recently suffered a devastating defeat at Fredericksburg. The road ahead seemed long and uncertain. Confederate advances in weapons technology cast a dark shadow on the Union.
  The previous spring, in the waters outside of Hampton Roads, the ironclad Confederate battleship Virginia had sunk two wooden Union ships and advanced on a third, and this endangered the Union blockade of Virginia and threatening Union forces along the Potomac River. And then, overnight, the USS Monitor, an ironclad herself, arrived and fought the Virginia to a draw in the world's first battle between iron-sided ships.
  There was no victor, but the era of ironclad warfare had begun. And it brought unexpected challenges for President Lincoln and his Navy as they expanded this fleet in early 1863, because aboard their new iron-side battleships, sailors found that the iron siding made the ships' compasses unpredictable, so it skewed navigation, and they were bumping into things and going the wrong way. (Laughter.) So the basic physics of magnetism undermined the usefulness of the ironclad vessels, even as the Confederates were stocking up on them.
  And that's where your predecessors came in. Because in March of 1983 -- 1863, rather -- President Lincoln and Congress established the National Academy of Sciences as an independent and nonprofit institution charged with the mission to provide the government with the scientific advice that it needed. And this was advice that was particularly useful in the thick of battle.
  The National Academy soon counted the nation's top scientists as members. They quickly got to work. By the next year, they were inspecting the Union's ironclads and installing an array of bar magnets around the compasses to correct their navigation. So right off the bat, you guys were really useful. (Laughter.) In fact, it's fair to say we might not be here had you not -- (laughter) -- certainly I would not be here. (Laughter and applause.)
  Now, political leaders have long recognized the connection between technology and warfare throughout our human history. Sadly, this is an element of the human condition. We take our wars very seriously and we're always looking for new ways to engage in a war. But President Lincoln founded the Academy with a mandate that went far beyond the science and technology of war. Even as the nation was at war with itself, President Lincoln had the wisdom to look forward, and he recognized that finding a way to harness the highest caliber scientific advice for the government would serve a whole range of long-term goals for the nation.
  It was the same foresight that led him to establish land-grant colleges and finish the Transcontinental Railroad -- the idea that the essence of America is this hunger to innovate, this restlessness, this quest for the next big thing. And although much of this innovation would be generated by the powers of our free market, the investments and the convening power of the federal government could accelerate discovery in a way that would continually push the nation forward.
  That's our inheritance, and now the task falls to us. We, too, face significant challenges -- obviously not of the magnitude that President Lincoln faced, but we've got severe economic and security and environmental challenges. And what we know from our past is that the investments we make today are bound to pay off many times over in the years to come.
  So we will continue to pursue advances in science and engineering, in infrastructure and innovation, in education and environmental protection -- especially science-based initiatives to help us minimize and adapt to global threats like climate change.
  And I'm confident we'll meet that task because we've got you -- brilliant and committed scientists to help us guide the way. And part of what's made the Academy so effective is that all the scientists elected to your elite ranks are volunteers -- which is fortunate because we have no money anyway. (Laughter.) For 150 years, you've strived to answer big questions, solve tough problems, not for yourselves but for the benefit of the nation. And that legacy has endured from the Academy's founding days. And when you look at our history, you've stepped up at times of enormous need and, in some cases, great peril.
  When Woodrow Wilson needed help understanding the science of military preparedness, he asked the Academy's eminent scientists to lay it out for him. When George W. Bush, more recently, wanted to study the long-term health effects of traumatic brain injuries suffered by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, he set your scholars to the task. Today, my administration relies on your expertise to answer critical questions like: How do we set our priorities for research? How can we get the most out of the nanotechnology revolution? What are the underlying causes of gun violence?
  And more important than any single study or report, the members of this institution embody what is so necessary for us to continue our scientific advance and to maintain our cutting-edge, and that's restless curiosity and boundless hope, but also a fidelity to facts and truth, and a willingness to follow where the evidence leads.
  And I'd like to acknowledge the other organizations that have been obviously very important in this whole process -- the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine -- all who've contributed similar leadership in maintaining the tradition, upholding the highest standard of science.
  And, by the way, we do have colleagues in Congress who believe in science and believe in evidence. One of them is here, Congress Rush Holt. We're very grateful to him for his outstanding work. (Applause.) And I want to thank many of the members of my administration, as well as PCAST, my -- I always forget what exactly it stands for but -- (laughter) -- it's my smart science people -- (laughter) -- who have contributed enormously to the work that we're doing on a whole range of issues, from energy to advanced manufacturing, have really been extraordinary. I want to thank the members of my administration who are here as well who all are invested in making sure that we keep American science the best in the world.
  Now, the good news is America remains a world leader in patents and scientific discovery. Our university system is the crown jewel of our economy as well as our civilization. And that's what's allowing us to continually replenish our stock of people who are willing to dream big dreams and reach higher than anybody else.
  And what I want to communicate to all of you is, is that as long as I'm President, we're going to continue to be committed to investing in the promising ideas that are generated from you and your institutions, because they lead to innovative products, they help boost our economy, but also because that's who we are. I'm committed to it because that's what makes us special and ultimately what makes life worth living.
  And that's why we're pursuing ''grand challenges'' like making solar energy as cheap as coal, and building electric vehicles as affordable as the ones that run on gas. And earlier this month, I unveiled the BRAIN initiative, which will give scientists the tools that they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action, and better understand how we think and learn and remember.
  Today, all around the country, scientists like you are developing therapies to regenerate damaged organs, creating new devices to enable brain-controlled prosthetic limbs, and sending sophisticated robots into space to search for signs of past life on Mars. That sense of wonder and that sense of discovery, it has practical application but it also nurtures what I believe is best in us.
  And right now, we're on the brink of amazing breakthroughs that have the chance, the potential to change life for the better -- which is why we can't afford to gut these investments in science and technology. Unfortunately, that's what we're facing right now. Because of the across-the-board cuts that Congress put in place -- the sequester, as it's known in Washington-speak -- it's hitting our scientific research. Instead of racing ahead on the next cutting-edge discovery, our scientists are left wondering if they'll get to start any new projects, any new research projects at all over the next few years, which means that we could lose a year, two years of scientific research as a practical matter because of misguided priorities here in this town.
  With the pace of technological innovation today, we can't afford to stand still for a year or two years or three years. We've got to seize every opportunity we have to stay ahead. And we can't let other countries win the race for ideas and technology of the future. And I say that, by the way, not out of just any nationalistic pride -- although, obviously, that's part of it -- but it's also because nobody does it better than we do when it's adequately funded, when it's adequately supported. And what we produce here ends up having benefits worldwide. We should be reaching for a level of private and public research and development investment that we haven't seen since the height of the Space Race. That's my goal.
  And it's not just resources. I mean, one of the things that I've tried to do over these last four years and will continue to do over the next four years is to make sure that we are promoting the integrity of our scientific process; that not just in the physical and life sciences, but also in fields like psychology and anthropology and economics and political science -- all of which are sciences because scholars develop and test hypotheses and subject them to peer review -- but in all the sciences, we've got to make sure that we are supporting the idea that they're not subject to politics, that they're not skewed by an agenda, that, as I said before, we make sure that we go where the evidence leads us. And that's why we've got to keep investing in these sciences.
  And what's true of all sciences is that in order for us to maintain our edge, we've got to protect our rigorous peer review system and ensure that we only fund proposals that promise the biggest bang for taxpayer dollars. And I will keep working to make sure that our scientific research does not fall victim to political maneuvers or agendas that in some ways would impact on the integrity of the scientific process. That's what's going to maintain our standards of scientific excellence for years to come.
  That's why, by the way, one of the things that I've focused on as President is an all-hands-on-deck approach to the sciences, as well as technology and engineering and math. And that's why we're spending a lot of time focused on the next generation. With the help of John Holdren and everybody who's working with my administration, we want to make sure that we are exciting young people around math and science and technology and computer science. We don't want our kids just to be consumers of the amazing things that science generates; we want them to be producers as well. And we want to make sure that those who historically have not participated in the sciences as robustly -- girls, members of minority groups here in this country -- that they are encouraged as well.
  We've got to make sure that we're training great calculus and biology teachers, and encouraging students to keep up with their physics and chemistry classes. That includes Malia and Sasha. (Laughter.) It means teaching proper research methods and encouraging young people to challenge accepted knowledge. It means expanding and maintaining critical investments in biomedical research and helping innovators turn their discoveries into new businesses and products. And it means maintaining that spirit of discovery.
  Last week, I got a chance to do one of my favorite things as President and that is -- we started these White House Science Fairs. And these kids are remarkable. I mean, I know you guys were smart when you were their age, but -- (laughter) -- I might give them the edge. (Laughter.) I mean, you had young people who were converting algae into sustainable biofuels -- that was one of my favorites because the young lady had -- she kept the algae under her bed -- and she had a whole lab, which meant that she had really supportive parents. (Laughter.) I pictured it bubbling out and starting to creep into the hallways. (Laughter.)
  You had young people who were purifying water with bicycle-power-generated batteries. You had young people who had already devised faster and cheaper tests for cancer. These are 15, 16-year-olds.
  They were all dreaming to grow up and be just like you -- maybe with a little less gray hair -- (laughter) -- but they shared your passion. They shared that excitement. And what was interesting was not only did they share that sense of wonder and discovery, but they also shared this fundamental optimism that if you figured this stuff out, people's lives would be better; that there were no inherent barriers to us solving the big problems that we face as long as we were diligent and focused and observant and curious.
  And we've got to make sure that we're supporting that next generation of dreamers and risk-takers -- because if we are, things will be good. They leave me with extraordinary optimism. They leave me hopeful. They put a smile on my face. And I'm absolutely convinced that if this Academy and the successors who become members of this Academy are there at the center and the heart of our public debate, that we'll be able to continue to use the innovation that powers our economy and improves our health, protects our environment and security, that makes us the envy of the world.
  So I want to thank you on behalf of the American people. And I want to make sure that you know that you've got a strong supporter in the White House.
  God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Thank you. (Applause.)
  END11:50 A.M. EDT
Remarks by the President on the Nomination of Mayor Anthony Foxx as Secretary of Transportation
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:06
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 29, 2013
  East Room
  2:10 P.M. EDT
  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thanks. Thank you. Everybody, please have a seat.
  AUDIENCE: Good afternoon.
  THE PRESIDENT: Ray LaHood has said that being the Secretary of Transportation is the best job he ever had in public service. And that's fitting because Ray may be the best Secretary of Transportation that the nation's ever had.
  From the day that he was sworn in, Ray has fought tirelessly to rebuild America's infrastructure -- creating good jobs that strengthen our economy and allow us to better compete in the global economy. Over the past four years, thanks to Ray's leadership, we've built or improved more than 350,000 miles of road -- enough to circle the world more than 14 times. We've upgraded more than 6,000 miles of rail -'' enough to go coast to coast and back. We've repaired or replaced more than 20,000 bridges, and helped put tens of thousands of construction workers back on the job. And that's all due in no small part to Ray LaHood's leadership.
  So every American can thank Ray for his dedication to make our transportation system not just stronger, but also safer. When it comes to his focused attention on the dangers of distracted driving, for example, it's saving lives.
  And on a personal note, Ray LaHood has been a good friend of mine for many years. Before he served in my Cabinet, we served together in Congress. He's a Republican; I'm a Democrat. These days, that sometimes keeps folks apart, but what always brought Ray and I together was a shared belief that those of us who serve in public service owe their allegiance not to party but to the people who elected them to represent them.
  And it helps that we're from the same state -- Ray is from Peoria; I'm from Chicago. But we both love the state of Illinois, and we both get out there on the golf course -- and we're not that good -- (laughter) -- but we don't take ourselves too seriously. He is a good man, and has been an outstanding public servant and a model for the kind of bipartisan approach to governance that I think we need so badly in this town.
  So, Ray, on a personal level, I could not be more grateful to you for your service and for your friendship. (Applause.)
  Now, unfortunately for us but fortunately for them, Ray is now looking forward to spending more time with his wife Kathy and their family ''- especially a whole gaggle of grandchildren. And so, today, I'm proud to announce my intent to nominate another impressive leader to carry on his great work at the Department of Transportation: the Mayor of Charlotte, my friend from North Carolina, Mr. Anthony Foxx. (Applause.)
  Anthony's life reflects the values he learned growing up in West Charlotte, where he was raised by his single mom and his grandparents. I should add, by the way, that his grandmother is here, and she informed me that she worked here in the White House in the Truman administration. So she's just coming back to -- (applause) -- she's just coming back for a visit. And so, the values that they instilled in them was to take pride in hard work, to take responsibility for your actions, to take care of your community. And over the past three and a half years, those values have helped Anthony become one of the most effective mayors that Charlotte's ever seen.
  When Anthony became mayor in 2009, Charlotte, like the rest of the country, was going through a bruising economic crisis. But the city has managed to turn things around. The economy is growing. There are more jobs, more opportunity. And if you ask Anthony how that happened, he'll tell you that one of the reasons is that Charlotte made one of the largest investments in transportation in the city's history.
  Since Anthony took office, they've broken ground on a new streetcar project that's going to bring modern electric tram service to the downtown area. They've expanded the international airport. And they're extending the city's light rail system. All of that has not only helped create new jobs, it's helped Charlotte become more attractive to business.
  So I know Anthony's experience will make him an outstanding Transportation Secretary. He's got the respect of his peers, mayors and governors all across the country. And as a consequence, I think that he's going to be extraordinarily effective. One of the things that Ray taught me in watching him do his job is that establishing personal relationships with mayors and governors and county executives makes all the difference in the world, because transportation is one of those things that -- it's happening on the ground.
  And the federal government has got to be responsive and has to understand what it's like when you're a mayor or a governor or a county executive trying to get these projects up and running, which also means that we have the potential of continuing to streamline our approvals and get rid of some -- sometimes difficulties in permitting that slow projects down, because we want to get people back to work and we want to get this country moving.
  So I am absolutely confident that Anthony is going to do an outstanding job. I want to thank his mom and grandma and lovely wife and two good-looking kids for being willing to serve as well. And I hope that the Senate confirms him quickly because we've got a lot of work to do.
  Our top priority as a nation right now is doing everything we can to grow our economy and create good jobs and rebuild opportunity for the middle class. And one of the best ways we can do that is to put more Americans back to work rebuilding our infrastructure.
  So that's why, in my State of the Union Address, I proposed a ''Fix-It-First'' program to put more people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs. And to make sure taxpayers don't shoulder the entire burden, I've also proposed a partnership with the private sector. But Congress has to step up, fund these projects. They need to do it right away.
  We need to modernize the infrastructure that powers our economy. We need more high-speed rail, and Internet, and high-tech schools, and self-healing power grids, and bridges, and tunnels, and ports that help us ship products all around the world stamped with three proud words: Made in America. That's how we're going to attract more businesses. That's how we're going to create more jobs. That's how we're going to stay competitive in this global economy.
  So to Ray LaHood and his entire family, I want to thank you for just doing an extraordinary job. To Anthony and his family, I want to thank you guys for agreeing to serve. And I know that today's announcement is not the biggest thing that Anthony's family's got going on in the next week, because tomorrow is Anthony's birthday. (Laughter.) So we're happy that we can kick off the celebration here at the White House.
  And with that, what I'd like to do is ask both of them to say a few words, starting with our outstanding current Secretary of Transportation, Mr. Ray LaHood. (Applause.)
  END 2:18 P.M. EDT
OBAMA IMPEACHED - BREAKING NEWS !!! BYE BYE President
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:05
'Swatting' Craze Hits Wolf Blitzer's House -- Daily Intelligencer
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:17
  "Swatting," a fad like planking and fridging (but far more dangerous and expensive), might finally be over now that it's trickled down to CNN's Wolf Blitzer. The prank, currently reaching "epidemic" proportions, is designed to send the SWAT team to the homes of famous people, like Ryan Seacrest, Chris Brown, and Justin Timberlake, with anonymous calls or messages to police alleging violence in progress. At Blitzer's home in Bethesda, Maryland, over the weekend, authorities were told someone had been shot and set up a perimeter only to find out it was fake, and that the man of the house wasn't even home. "Wolf is fine," said a network spokesperson. "That's what matters most." The prankster is not in custody, no matter what CNN says.
Sherrod Smith | LinkedIn
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:38
  Government Agency; 10,001+ employees; Government Administration industry
  August 2011 '' Present(1 year 9 months)Washington DC
  Political AppointeeSpecial Assistant to Director - Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  Business Development DirectorAchieve in Africa, Inc.Nonprofit; 11-50 employees; International Trade and Development industry
  June 2010 '' Present(2 years 11 months)
  501(c)3 non-profit organization to provide the children of Africa with a structured learning environment by rebuilding and aiding schools in need of reconstruction and school supplies
  Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Education Management industry
  July 2011 '' August 2011(2 months)New York, NY
  As a team leader in LeadAmerica's National Leadership Summit at Columbia University I:- Guided international teams of students through college and career immersion activities and simulations.- Conducted lectures regarding college preparedness in front of large student bodies- Facilitated skills workshops as well as college preparation challenges for teams of 15 '' 18 international high school aged students.
  Public Company; 10,001+ employees; GD; Information Technology and Services industry
  June 2010 '' August 2011(1 year 3 months)Washington DC
  IT-Senate Contract II
  Nonprofit; 11-50 employees; Nonprofit Organization Management industry
  October 2010 '' July 2011(10 months)
  Teach and help put on events and assist the staff with the school's daily operations.
  Help adults in the Washington DC metro area acquire a high school diploma and/or GED.
  * Curriculum is experiential and focuses on life skills, which means that students can immediately begin applying what they're learning to their own lives'--and reap the benefits.
  We serve highly motivated adults who:
  * Need academic skills and training for employment or a promotion on the job* Have limited financial resources and access to quality educational and training programs* Are interested in transforming their lives by earning a high school diploma or increasing their skills to secure living wage jobs
  Educational Institution; 5001-10,000 employees; Higher Education industry
  September 2006 '' May 2010(3 years 9 months)
  InternAmerica's Health Insurance Plans
  May 2009 '' August 2009(4 months)
  -Coordinated meetings between AHIP representatives and health insurance companies to facilitate the sale of AHIP's insurance education and professional development services.-Responded to customer inquiries about AHIP's insurance education services.-Analyzed departmental budget to determine ways to minimize education department costs.
  InternYoung Leaders Academy
  June 2005 '' August 2005(3 months)
  Researched potential student activities in preparation for the school year.Responded to student questions about class activities.
BIN LADEN, ASTOR, GULEN, BANDAR, TSARNAEV - HOMES OF THE AMERICAN ELITE
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: aangirfan
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:45
  One of the many bin Laden properties in the USARight next to Disney World is one of the homes of the bin Laden family.
  The bin Ladens "own massive amounts of real estate in Florida and Massachusetts," according to the Daily Telegraph, 20 July 2004.
  The bin Ladens are pro-American oligarchs, friends of the Bush family and " have dealings with Citigroup, General Electric, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and the Fremont Group, as well as Microsoft and Boeing."Khalil bin Laden's former home in Oakland in Florida.
  In 1980, Khalil bin Laden, brother of Osama, bought the above 13 acre property for $1.6 million.
  It is "a stone's throw from Disney's Magic Kingdom."
  http://www.dailymail.
  Rokeby House
  Wealthy members of the Astor family used to live at Rokeby House, in Barrytown, New York.
  William B. Astor Sr. married into the 420-acre estate in 1818.
  Currently, less wealthy descendants of the Astors occupy the property.
  http://www.dailymail.
  Rokeby House
  Astor family heir Alexandra Aldrich reveals in her book, 'The Astor Orphan', that Rokeby house is crumbling.
  The New York Astors have prospered but some other parts of the family have not done so well.
  Through the 1980s, when Alexandra Aldrich was a girl, the estate continued to fall into ruin.
  In the UK, Lord Astor's Cliveden estate was where Christine Keeler and Steven Ward used to party. Photo shows Stephen Ward with Christeen Keeler (right). aangirfan: TOP PEOPLE & THE 'SATANIC SEX CULT'
  At Rokeby Hall, Alexandra Aldrich remembers how the roof leaked and there wasn't much heat in the winter.
  Often they didn't have enough money to buy food.
  Alexandra ended up in Brooklyn in 1998 and converted to Orthodox Judaism.
  In 2005, she and her son returned to Rokeby and lived there for six years.
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/John Jacob Astor, who was born in Germany "from a Jewish bloodline."
  John Jacob Astor came to the USA and joined a top Masonic Lodge which included top people such as Archibald Russell.
  "The original financial break came by carrying out a series of shady and crooked real estate deals in the N.Y. city area.
  Astor Courts - a former home of the Astors
  "The next break came when President Jefferson and Secretary Gallatin, two men who are now known to have been in the Illuminati, gave John Jacob Astor a special government privilege...
  "Astor strangely profited greatly from the War of 1812, which crippled almost all the other American shippers...
  Chelsea Clinton wed Marc Mezvinsky at Astor Courts, on the Hudson River, built at the turn of the century by John Jacob Astor, IV. nevernwo.blogspot.com...
  "John Coleman who had access as an intelligence agent to secret documents, discovered that theoriginal John Jacob Astor was also a British secret agent...
  "For a few years John Jacob Astor had participated in the opium trade..."
  Billionaire Fethullah Gulen's 28-acre mountain complex at 1857 Mt. Eaton Road in Saylorsburg, Pensylvania - the very heart of the Pocono Mountains. A visit to the Pennsylvania fortressIsrael has been the Pentagon's main base in the Middle East.
  Some people think that, for the Pentagon, Turkey is just as important as Israel.
  "Fethullah Gulen, allegedly 'the most dangerous Islamist on planet earth,' is alive, well, and living in Pennsylvania with over $25 billion in financial assets.
  "From Pennsylvania, he has toppled the secular government of Turkey, established over 3,000 schools throughout Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, created a new country called East Turkistan, and formed a movement that seeks to create a New ... World Order."
  Gulen was brought into the USA with the help of the CIA's Graham Fuller, who is related to the Tsarnaev brothers - 'Boston Bombers'.Reportedly, all the militant Moslem groups work for the CIA and have being used by the CIA to undermine Russia, China, Syria, Egypt and any other country that might oppose US domination of the world.
  Prince Bandar's home in Aspen, Colorado. Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar is a close friend of the Bush family.
  "He was often referred to as a member of the family.Prince Bandar's home in Aspen, Colorado. "He gave great parties, both in DC and Aspen. "The CIA considered him a prime Mideast 'asset'"Campanastan
  Some might say that Saudi Arabia is a Pentagon base in the Middle East.BANDAR AND BOMBS; LEBANON AND SYRIA
  Ruslan Tsarnaev's house in Montgomery Village in Maryland.Ruslan Tsarnaev married the daughter of the CIA's Graham Fuller.Graham Fuller helped to bring Fethullah Gulen into the USA.
  The home of Katherine Russell, the wife of 'Boston Bomber' Tamerlan Tsaraev. "CONFIRMED: Katherine Russell (alleged bomber's wife) is granddaughter of Richard Warren Russell, Skull and Bones member and entrepreneur in the energy industry."Russell's obituary lists Warren King Russell II as son - and that's Katherine's emergency room doctor father.
  "That means wife had family spook connections as well as husband Tamerlan (Uncle Ruslan).
  "And both had fast, dramatic and uncharacteristic conversions to a perverted form of Islam favored by the gangster family that runs Saudi Arabia and works hand in hand with our spooks..."Katherine reportedly wanted to join the Peace Corps. Maybe she actually joined the agency the Peace Corps is a cover for."
  https://www.facebook.com/BrasscheckTV
FBI-backed bill would fine US firms for refusing wiretaps '-- RT USA
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: BadChad's ThoughtPile
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:36
  A US government task force is drafting FBI-backed legislation that would penalize companies like Google and Facebook for refusing to comply with wiretap orders, media report.
  In the new legislation being drafted by US law enforcement officials, refusal to cooperate with the FBI could cost a tech company tens of thousands of dollars in fines, the Washington Post quoted anonymous sources as saying.
  The fined company would be given 90 days to comply with wiretap orders. If the organization is unable or unwilling to turn over the communications requested by the wiretap, the penalty sum would double every day.
  ''We don't have the ability to go to court and say, 'We need a court order to effectuate the intercept.' Other countries have that. Most people assume that's what you're getting when you go to a court,'' FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann told the Washington Post.
  If passed in Congress and signed by President Obama, the bill could become a provision of the 1968 Wiretap Act, which require companies to develop mechanisms for obtaining information requested by government investigators.
  However, many companies maintain that their resistance to this and similar measures has nothing to do with an unwillingness to help investigators. Google began encrypting its email service following a major hacking attack in 2010; developing wiretap technology could make it and other companies vulnerable, creating ''a way for someone to silently go in and activate a wiretap,'' said Susan Landau, a former engineer at Sun Microsystems.
  The proposed expansion of wiretaps into the digital frontier is the latest in a series of US government efforts to monitor online communications.
  The recent Boston Marathon bombings were used by some members of Congress as a reason to push through the highly controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protect Act (CISPA), which was passed by the lower house. If CISPA is signed into law, telecommunication companies will be encouraged to share Internet data with the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice concerning national security purposes.
  Tech companies, including giants like Facebook and Microsoft, have objected fiercely to the bill, citing customers' privacy concerns. The bill is currently shelved in the Senate following President Obama's threat to veto CISPA due to a lack of personal privacy provisions.
  Earlier in April, the FBI requested an additional $41 million from the federal government for the recording and analysis of Internet communication.
  The Electronic Privacy Information Center also recently obtained over 1,000 pages of documents proving that the Pentagon has secretly eavesdropped on Internet traffic for several years.
  "Senior Obama administration officials have secretly authorized the interception of communications carried on portions of networks operated by AT&T and other Internet service providers, a practice that might otherwise be illegal under federal wiretapping laws," CNET reporter Declan McCullagh wrote.
Kermit Gosnell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:36
  Kermit B. Gosnell, MDBornFebruary 9, 1941 (1941-02-09) (age 72)PhiladelphiaNationalityAmericanEducationCentral High School (1959), Dickinson College (Bachelor's)Alma materJefferson Medical School ('66)OccupationAbortion providerYears active1966-2005 (39 years)OrganizationWomen's Medical Society (and others)Criminal chargeMurder, conspiracy, abortion law violations, controlled substances violationsCriminal statusPending (currently on trial)Spouse(s)Pearl Gosnell (m. 1990)Kermit Barron Gosnell (born February 9, 1941) is an Americanphysician who practiced as an abortion provider in Philadelphia and nearby states between 1972 and 2011; and as of April 2013 is on trial for first and third degree murder, illegal prescribing of drugs, conspiracy related to corruption, and illegal abortions and related medical malpractice offenses, at his abortion practice.[1]
  Gosnell was arrested in January 2011 and charged'--along with other crimes and various co-defendant employees'--with eight counts of murder resulting from gross medical malpractice in treatment of patients at his clinics. The murder charges related to a patient who died while under his care and seven newborns said to have been killed after being born alive during attempted abortions. Through his lawyer, Gosnell denied the allegations.
  The charges of murder was recommended by a grand jury against Gosnell and several employees.[2]CNN reported in March 2011 that prosecutors were considering seeking the death penalty.[3] Before the trial opened, all defendants apart from Gosnell and one other had already pled guilty to similar charges (including for some, charges of third degree murder); several had testified to "snipping" the spines of babies. One of these, Steven Massof, testified that he had personally done this over a hundred times, describing it as a "standard procedure" at the clinics.[4] The trial of Gosnell and the last remaining defendant began on March 18, 2013.[5]
  [edit]Background and early careerKermit Gosnell was born on February 9, 1941, in Philadelphia, the only child of a gas station operator and a government clerk.[6] He was a top student at the city's Central High School from which he graduated in 1959.[7] Gosnell graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle with a Bachelor's degree.[8] Gosnell earned his Medical Degree at the Jefferson Medical School in 1966.[7] It has been reported that he spent four decades practicing medicine among the poor including opening the Mantua Halfway House, a rehab clinic for drug addicts, in the impoverished Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia, near where he grew up and a teen aid program.[7] He became an early proponent of abortion rights in the 1960s and 1970s and in 1972 he returned from a stint in New York City to open up an abortion clinic on Lancaster Avenue in Mantua.[6][9] Gosnell told a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter in October 1972 "as a physician, I am very concerned about the sanctity of life. But it is for this precise reason that I provide abortions for women who want and need them".[10]
  In the same year, he also performed fifteen televised second-trimester abortions, using an experimental "Super Coil" method invented by Harvey Karman. The coils were inserted into the uterus, where they caused irritation leading to the expulsion of the fetus. However, complications from the procedure were reported by nine of the women, with three of these reporting severe complications.[11][12] The super coil experiment by Gosnell has been dubbed the "mother's day massacre" by some.[13]
  The 1972 Inquirer article also said that Gosnell was a "respected man" in his community, a finalist for the Junior Chamber of Commerce's "Young Philadelphian of the Year" because of his work directing the Mantua Halfway House.[10] By the late 1980s however, public records showed state tax liens were piling up against the halfway house, and the abortion clinic had a $41,000 federal tax lien.[10]
  Gosnell has been married three times. His third and current wife Pearl had worked at the Women's Medical Society as a full-time medical assistant from 1982 until their marriage in 1990.[14] They have two children '-- the younger being a minor is being cared for by friends[15] '-- and Gosnell has four further children from his two previous marriages.[15] In covering his background, media commentators drew attention to the "incredibly diverse" portrayals of Gosnell, touching on both his community works - the creation of a drugs halfway house and teen aid program - contrasted with portrayals of his practice as an alleged abortion mill in which viable fetuses and babies were routinely killed following illegal late-term procedures.[7]
  [edit]Medical practiceIn 2011, he was reported to be well known in Philadelphia for providing abortions to poor minority and immigrant women.[14] It was also claimed that Gosnell charged $1,600-$3,000 for each late-term abortion.[16] Dr. Gosnell was also associated with clinics in Delaware and Louisiana. Atlantic Women's Services in Wilmington, Delaware was Dr. Gosnell's place of work one day a week. The owner of Atlantic Women's Services, Leroy Brinkley, also owned Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and facilitated the hiring of staff from there for Gosnell's operation in Philadelphia.[17]
  [edit]Legal case[edit]Known prior complaints1989 and 1993 - cited by Pennsylvania Department of Health for having no nurses in the recovery room.[1]:531996 - censured and fined in both Pennsylvania and New York states, for employing unlicensed personnel.[1]:53Around 1996 - Pediatrician Dr Schwartz - the former head of adolescent services at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and as of 2010, Philadelphia's health commissioner - testified in the 2010 hearing that around 1996 or 1997 he had hand-delivered a letter of complaint about Gosnell's practice to the Secretary of Health's office and stopped referring patients to the clinic, but received no response.[1]:143-1452000 - Civil lawsuit filed on behalf of the children of Semika Shaw, who had called the clinic the day after an abortion to report heavy bleeding, and died 3 days later of a perforated uterus and a bloodstream infection. The case alleged that Gosnell had failed to tell her to return to the clinic or seek emergency medical care. It was settled out of court in 2002 for $900,000.[10][18]Around 2001 - Gosnell claimed to be providing children's vaccines under a program administered by the Health Department's Division of Disease Control, but was repeatedly suspended for failing to maintain logs and for storing vaccines in unsanitary inappropriate refrigerators and at improper temperatures.[1]:199December 2001 - ex-employee Marcella Choung gave what the Grand Jury would later call "a detailed written complaint" to the Pennsylvania Department of State which she followed up with an interview in March 2002.[1]:176-1802006 - Civil lawsuit filed by patient but dismissed as out of time. The complaint was that Gosnell had been unable to complete an abortion but then apparently failed or refused to call paramedics or other clinical emergency personnel, after she had needed help. The patient reported, "I really felt like he was going to let me die."[14]In total during the course of his career, 46 known lawsuits had been filed against Gosnell over some 32 years.[19] Observers have claimed that there was a complete failure by Pennsylvania regulators who had overlooked other repeated concerns brought to their attention, including lack of trained staff, "barbaric" conditions, and a high level of illegal late-term abortions.[20]
  [edit]2010 raidThe Women's Medical Society was raided on 18 February 2010 under a search warrant by investigators from the FBI and state police. The raid was the result of a months-long investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Philadelphia Police Department, and the State's Dangerous Drug-Offender Unit into suspected illegal drug prescription use at the practice. The investigation had also revealed the suspicious death of patient Karnamaya Mongar in 2009, which had in turn brought to light further information about unsanitary operations, use of untrained staff, and use of powerful drugs without proper medical supervision and control. As a result, when the February 2010 raid took place, staff from the Pennsylvania Department of State and Pennsylvania Department of Health also attended, as these issues were under their remit:[1]:19-20
  "When the team members entered the clinic, they were appalled, describing it to the Grand Jury as 'filthy,' 'deplorable,' 'disgusting,' 'very unsanitary, very outdated, horrendous,' and 'by far, the worst' that these experienced investigators had ever encountered. There was blood on the floor. A stench of urine filled the air. A flea-infested cat was wandering through the facility, and there were cat feces on the stairs. Semi-conscious women scheduled for abortions were moaning in the waiting room or the recovery room, where they sat on dirty recliners covered with blood-stained blankets. All the women had been sedated by unlicensed staff '' long before Gosnell arrived at the clinic '' and staff members could not accurately state what medications or dosages they had administered to the waiting patients. Many of the medications in inventory were past their expiration dates ... surgical procedure rooms were filthy and unsanitary ... resembling 'a bad gas station restroom.' Instruments were not sterile. Equipment was rusty and outdated. Oxygen equipment was covered with dust, and had not been inspected. The same corroded suction tubing used for abortions was the only tubing available for oral airways if assistance for breathing was needed..."[1]:20-21"[F]etal remains [were] haphazardly stored throughout the clinic'' in bags, milk jugs, orange juice cartons, and even in cat-food containers ... Gosnell admitted to Detective Wood that at least 10 to 20 percent ... were probably older than 24 weeks [the legal limit] ... In some instances, surgical incisions had been made at the base of the fetal skulls. The investigators found a row of jars containing just the severed feet of fetuses. In the basement, they discovered medical waste piled high. The intact 19-week fetus delivered by Mrs. Mongar three months earlier was in a freezer. In all, the remains of 45 fetuses were recovered ... at least two of them, and probably three, had been viable."[1]:20-21Gosnell's license to practice was suspended on 22 February 2010,[21] and these and other findings were presented to a Grand Jury on 4 May 2010. Public discussion focused on claims of unsanitary conditions and other unacceptable conditions at the practices. Media reports stated that furniture and blankets were stained with blood, freely roaming cats deposited their feces wherever they pleased, and that non-sterilized equipment was used and reused on patients.[22][23][24][25] According to the grand jury report, patients were given labor-inducing drugs by staff who had no medical training. Once labor began, the patient would be placed on a toilet. After the fetus fell into the toilet, it would be fished out, so as not to clog the plumbing. In the recovery room, patients were seated on dirty recliners covered in blood stained blankets.[26] Prosecutors alleged that Gosnell had not been certified in either gynecology or obstetrics.[19] The Grand Jury estimated that Gosnell's practice "took in $10,000 to $15,000 a night" additional to income from his exceedingly high level of prescriptions.[1]:23
  [edit]2011 arrestGosnell was arrested on January 19, 2011, five days after the certification of the Grand Jury's report. He was charged with eight counts of murder.[27] Prosecutors allege that he killed seven babies born alive by severing their spinal cords with scissors, and that he was also responsible for the death in 2009 of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old refugee from Bhutan,[28] who died in his care. Gosnell's wife, Pearl, and eight other suspects were also arrested in connection with the case.[14][28][29] The Drug Enforcement Administration, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of the Inspector General also sought a 23-count indictment charging Gosnell and seven members of his former staff with drug conspiracy, relating to the practice's illegally prescribing highly-addictive painkillers and sedatives outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.
  The third degree murder charge relates to Karnamaya Mongar; according to prosecutors, Gosnell's staff gave the 90-pound woman a lethal dose of anesthesia and painkillers. Gosnell's lawyer asserts that Karnamaya Mongar also had other drugs in her system that did not come from Gosnell's clinic, and that none of the infants were born alive.[30] The claim was rejected by the Grand Jury, based upon expert testimony that "it was the overdose of Demerol, not some mystery pill, that killed Mrs. Mongar."[1]:231The seven other murder charges are all of first degree murder; they relate to babies, whom staff have testified they saw move or cry after complete birth, and whose deaths are alleged to have resulted from subsequent lethal action. They arise because of the "born alive rule", a principle of common law which stipulates that by default, for legal purposes, personhood arises - and therefore unlawful killing constituting murder becomes possible - immediately upon the victim's being born alive. (Several US states as well as Federal legislation have more specific laws to protect fetuses and newborn babies, see fetal rights and born alive laws in the United States). Steven Massof, a clinic employee who pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2011, testified that he (Massof) had snipped the spines of more than 100 babies after they had been born alive, and that this was considered "standard procedure" at the clinic; a number of other employees had also testified to the same point.[4] No physical evidence exists for five of the seven cases '-- charges are based on staff testimony and denied by Gosnell. A photograph exists of the sixth, who allegedly had a gestational age of 30 weeks, and the physical remains were obtained of the seventh.[30] The Grand Jury report states that, "A medical expert with 43 years of experience in performing abortions was appalled. This expert told us, 'I've never heard of it [cutting the spinal cord] being done during an abortion'."[1]:223The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania also alleges that Gosnell's former office staff at Family and Women's Medical Society (WMS) ran a prescription "pill mill." From June 2008 through February 18, 2010, Gosnell allegedly engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise by writing and dispensing fraudulent prescriptions for thousands of pills of the frequently-abused tablets OxyContin, Percocet, and Xanax, and the frequently-abused syrups Phenergan and Promethazine with Codeine. Authorities further allege that Gosnell and his staff allowed customers to purchase multiple prescriptions under multiple names. For the first office visit, Gosnell allegedly charged $115, but that increased around December 2009 when he allegedly increased the initial office visit fee to $150. Staff at the clinic went from writing several hundred prescriptions for controlled substances per month filled at pharmacies in 2008 to over 2,300 filled at pharmacies in January 2010. Gosnell, with the assistance of his staff, is said to have distributed and dispensed more than 500,000 pills containing oxycodone; more than 400,000 pills containing alprazolam; and more than 19,000 ounces of cough syrup containing codeine.[31]
  Gosnell's lawyer states that "Everybody's made him the butcher, this, that and the other thing without any trial, without anything being exposed to the public and everybody's found him guilty, that's not right".[32] He accused the government of a "lynching" and stated, "This is a targeted, elitist and racist prosecution of a doctor who's done nothing but give (back) to the poor and the people of West Philadelphia."[30]
  [edit]Cases cited in the mediaExamples of cases cited in the media include:
  Girl age 15, accompanied by relative (1998): said to have told Gosnell she changed her mind about the abortion once inside the practice. Gosnell allegedly got upset, ripped off the patient's clothing, and forcibly restrained her. The patient later stated that Gosnell told her, "This is the same care that I would give to my own daughter." She regained consciousness 12 hours later at her aunt's home, the abortion having been completed against her will.[28][33]Woman age 28, five months pregnant (2001): Patient described the pain four days after abortion as being so bad she could barely walk. The patient described that upon returning to the clinic because of the pain, ultrasound showed fetal remains left inside her womb, and that Gosnell suctioned these out without anesthesia.[34] "I was just laying on the table and crying and I just asked the Lord to get me through it."[28]Fifteen year old (undated): damages awarded in court upon a finding that Gosnell performed an abortion on a fifteen-year-old without parental permission.[28]Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old refugee from Bhutan (2009): according to prosecutors, Gosnell's staff gave the 90-pound woman a lethal dose of anesthesia and painkillers during a 2009 abortion (this is the adult whose death is charged as third degree murder). Gosnell's lawyer asserts that Karnamaya Mongar also had other drugs in her system that did not come from Gosnell's clinic, and that none of the infants were born alive.[30][edit]Lack of government oversightReports state that state officials have failed to visit or inspect Gosnell's practices since 1993.[29] The states of Pennsylvania and New York disciplined Gosnell's practice of medicine.[28] The grand jury report noted that the medical examiner of Delaware County alerted the Pennsylvania Department of Health that Gosnell had performed an illegal abortion on a 14-year-old who was thirty weeks pregnant;[35] it is also claimed the Pennsylvania Department of Health did not act when they became aware of Gosnell's involvement in the death of Karnamaya Mongar.[35]
  Brenda Green, executive director of CHOICE, a nonprofit that connects the underinsured and uninsured with health services, told Katha Pollitt of The Nation that "it tried to report complaints from clients, but the department wouldn't accept them from a third party. Instead, the patients had to fill out a daunting five-page form, available only in English, that required them to reveal their identities upfront and be available to testify in Harrisburg. Even with CHOICE staffers there to help, only two women agreed to fill out the form, and both decided not to submit it. The Department of State and the Philadelphia Public Health Department also had ample warning of dire conditions and took no action." [35]
  In 2011, it was reported that none of Pennsylvania's 22 abortion clinics had been inspected by the government for more than 15 years.[36] Former GovernorTom Ridge (a pro-choiceRepublican) has refused to comment on the matter.[citation needed] Inspections (other than those triggered by complaints) had ceased under Ridge's governorship, as they were perceived to create a barrier to women seeking abortion services.[37]
  [edit]Grand Jury reportThe Grand Jury published their 280 page report in January 2011. They stated that, while some might see the issue and case through the lens of pro- and anti-abortion politics, it was in reality:
  "not about that controversy; it is about disregard of the law and disdain for the lives and health of mothers and infants. We find common ground in exposing what happened here, and in recommending measures to prevent anything like this from ever happening again."[1]:1The grand jury concluded that the practice was a corrupt organization within the meaning of racketeering law, based upon what they considered evidence of deliberate "standard" use of "bogus" doctors, falsification of records, grossly unprofessional procedures with little or no regard for human life, and flagrant disregard for medical and abortion laws and their consequences. Key findings included:
  Practice conditions and proceduresExtreme unsanitary conditions, including STDs, septic (unsterile) conditions, blood and animal feces and urine and other noxious fluids and waste, and months-old fetal remains stored in "jars, bags and jugs";[1]:1-2, 236-238 (In 2013 the trial heard that Gosnell had also been in dispute with his medical waste company, with the latter stopping their services.[38])Surgical malpractice including perforation of bodily organs and "on at least two occasions" death;[1]:1Improper equipment and usage, including repeated reuse ("over and over") of disposable supplies, and "generally broken" life-saving and monitoring equipment (including blood pressure monitoring, oximeters, and defibrillators);[1]:2Padlocked emergency access and exit routes;[1]:2Lack of properly trained staff, "bogus doctors"[1]:242 '-- unqualified, unlicensed and unsupervised staff who misrepresented themselves to patients as qualified licensed clinicians '-- and no qualified nurses.[1]:2, 24, 238-242 The jury reported that "Most of Gosnell's employees who worked with patients had little or no remotely relevant training or education".[1]:32 (Ex-employee Marcella Choung, who in 2001 and at interview in 2002 gave a detailed written complaint to the Pennsylvania Department of State, testified that her 'training' for anesthesia consisted of "a 15-minute description by Gosnell and reading a chart he had posted in a cabinet."[1]:52)Gosnell himself was largely absent and left the clinic to be operated by his unqualified employees, whom he sometimes "ordered" to perform medical actions even if they "protested" that they were unqualified. Employees testified they had to rely on themselves, as "Gosnell disliked it when workers disturbed him by calling for medication advice";[1]:2-3, 38, 51, 242Operation of a "prescription treadmill" whereby blank signed prescriptions would be left for those seeking controlled medications, unsupervised and uncontrolled by a practitioner (which was the subject of a parallel and separate Federal investigation);[1]:2Willful non-compliance with laws intended to safeguard vulnerable women, including non-compliance with requirements for mandatory counseling, consent (for minors), waiting periods (between visiting and surgery);[1]:3, 235-236Fraudulent temporary employment of a nurse for 4 days during an NAF inspection, with the aim of deceiving the inspectors into believing that his practice staff included a licensed registered nurse (which it did not), over the few days of their on-site review - the nurse resigned upon realizing the fraud, which also involved Gosnell taking her paycheck back afterwards and paying her in cash instead;[1]:91-92Fraudulent recording of gestational age and training of staff to manipulate ultrasound in a way that would match the stated number of weeks;[1]:3-4, 232-235Dishonest statements by Gosnell and employees to investigators, including claims that Ms. Mongar's death was due to her own action (discredited forensically), falsification and destruction of records, and lying about the manner of her death and Gosnell's (lack of) presence for anesthesia;[1]:230-232Patients given labor and delivery inducing drugs during the day, then left waiting until late evening for Gosnell to attend or for surgery.[1]:4 Many gave birth during the day as a result, and employees testified "it was standard procedure for women to deliver fetuses '' and viable babies '' into toilets" while waiting for his arrival.[1]:4,64Practice staff routinely delivered living babies in the third trimester, subsequently killing them (or ensuring their death).[1]:1 As part of this, fetuses and babies had their demise "ensured" post operatively by severing of the spinal cord with scissors, known by staff as "snipping". Most of these were deemed infeasible to prosecute because files and other evidence were not held, although the report stipulates they numbered in the "hundreds". Among the "few cases" where tangible evidence existed, the jury noted a boy aged 30 weeks at 6 pounds, a frozen body in a water container of "at least" 28 weeks, remains of at least one abortion of over 32 weeks for which an extra $1000 had been demanded, and testimony of a baby heard to make noise, and a baby left "moving and breathing for at least 20 minutes" prior to "snipping". The jury heard testimony about "special" Sunday sessions, at which only Gosnell and his wife were present, which they suspected (and in some cases were able to corroborate) would include cases that were more advanced in time, or more disturbing;[1]:5-6, 26, 223-228, 234Over time Gosnell and his practice acquired a "bad reputation" and during the decade 2000-2009 local community organizations ceased referring patients there. To compensate the practice took on referrals from other in-state cities; it became understood that Gosnell's center would perform abortions "at any stage, without regard for legal limits";[1]:26-27Where induced labor failed, Dr Gosnell would attempt to abort surgically, "often calamitous[ly]" for the woman involved. Example outcomes included:[1]:5-8, 66-69Woman "left lying in place for hours after Gosnell tore her cervix and colon", relatives called police after entrance refused, remedial colon surgery requiredWoman sent home with fetal remains unremoved, "serious infection" led to near deathPunctured uterus leading to shock from blood loss and hysterectomy, woman "held for hours" by the practicePatient suffered "convulsions" and fell off the operating table sustaining a head injury, Gosnell "wouldn't call an ambulance, and wouldn't let the woman's companion leave the building so that he could call an ambulance"Sedation used to mute sounds of pain, Gosnell specified pre-set amounts of drugs for non-physician staff to use on patients, but without reference to individual needs, and without records or monitoring of condition. On numerous occasions the same patient was dosed multiple times in quick succession by different employees;[39]Death of Karnamaya Mongar, who received "repeated unmonitored, unrecorded intravenous injections of Demerol" (meperidine hydrochloride, an opioidanalgesic which the report describes practice staff using as a cheap but dangerous sedative), and ceased breathing. Staff were unable to revive her (emergency medications were not used and the defibrillator was not working), and paramedics were unable to revive her after gaining access, in part because they were deceived by staff as to what had happened and the drugs and dosages responsibleGovernment and third party handlingGosnell was "caught by accident" after a raid for illegal prescribing revealed the conditions to officers involved;[1]:8Pennsylvania Department of Health failed to regulate properly and failed to ensure that the issues noticed were addressed on the few occasions around 1990 that Gosnell was inspected, and ceased inspections "for political reasons" (to reduce a perceived deterrent) at the time Tom Ridge took office as Governor of the State;[1]:8-9Inspections were still to continue if complaints were received, yet repeated complaints did not trigger an investigation: the department's response came after media exposure;[1]:8-9The Department of State's Board of Medicine, which licenses and oversees physicians, had "more damning information than anyone else" including a description of the practice by an ex-employee (Choung) a decade previously (2001 and again 2002), as well as knowledge of at least one of the serious incidents cited of surgical malpractice, but took verbal assurances from Gosnell and no other effective or substantial investigative action over these;[1]:10-11Department of Public Health employees "regularly" visited the practice but had not adequately reported the issues present. One inspection confirmed "numerous violations of protocols for storage and disposal of infectious waste" but no follow-up occurred;[1]:11-12A "health department representative" visiting for a vaccination program in 2009 "discovered that Gosnell was scamming the program" and "was able to file detailed reports identifying many of the most egregious elements of Gosnell's practice." Her attempts to raise concerns were ignored - the Grand Jury report states "her reports went into a black hole";[1]:12Other third parties had knowledge but took no visible action. These included the pediatrian and subsequent head of the city's health department, Dr Schwartz, who around 1996-97 reported concerns about the practice to which no action was taken, and who did not himself act after being promoted, University of Pennsylvania hospital and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center who treated numerous surgical failures from Gosnell's practice including a "flagrantly illegal abortion" but only reported one of them, the National Abortion Federation whose evaluator around 2009 noted "records were not properly kept, that risks were not explained, that patients were not monitored, that equipment was not available, that anesthesia was misused" and concluded "[i]t was the worst abortion clinic she had ever inspected" but no report was made of this to any official body;[1]:12-13CulpabilityThe report divided offences by Goswell and other practice employees into three categories - "charges arising from the baby murders and illegal abortions; charges in connection with the death of Karnamaya Mongar; and charges stemming generally from the ongoing operation of a criminal enterprise". The charges recommended were:[1]:13-15, 219-245Gosnell, Williams, Moton, and Massof - charged with first degree murder for the post operative killings where evidence existed that the baby was born aliveGosnell, Williams, Moton, Massof, and West - charged with conspiracy to commit murder in relation to "hundreds of unidentifiable instances" of post-operative killings (called "snipping" by staff). The jury also recommended charges of solicitation to commit murder by Gosnell.[1]:223Gosnell and (as co-conspirators) Williams, West, and Gosnell's wife - charged with various violations of the Abortion Control Act, including infanticide and illegal late-term abortionsGosnell, Williams, and West - charged with third-degree murder (Pennysylvania's equivalent to reckless or voluntary manslaughter), drug delivery resulting in death, violations of the Controlled Substances Act and conspiracy in regard to the death of Karnamaya Mongar. The report states: "Gosnell's contempt for the law and his patients cost Karnamaya Mongar her life. Her death was the direct result of deliberate and dangerous conduct by Gosnell and his staff."[1]:220Gosnell, West, and Hampton - charged with hindering apprehension, and lying to the police, medical practitioners, and the grand jury about the circumstances of Mongar's death (Hampton was also charged with perjury in the same matter)Gosnell - recommended to be charged with abuse of corpses, in regards to the "mutilat[ion of] babies and fetuses by cutting off their feet" and the "bizarre" storage of parts of fetal bodies in around 30 jars and other containers at his practice; his explanation that this was done for possible paternity cases was "rejected out of hand".[1]:236-238The Grand Jury also concluded that "Illegality was so integral to the operation of the Women's Medical Society that the business itself was a corrupt organization" (18 Pa.C.S. § 911, "based on a pattern of racketeering activity"):[1]:14, 241-244Gosnell, Williams, West, Moton, Joe, Baldwin, Gosnell's wife, Massof, and O'Neill - charged with running that organization or conspiring to do soMassof and O'Neill - charged with theft by deception for pretending to be doctors, and billing for their services as if they were licensed physicians, and (with Gosnell) conspiracy to this effectGosnell - charged with obstruction and tampering with evidence, for altering his patient files to hide illegality and for destroying or removing other files entirelyGosnell and Baldwin - charged with corrupting the morals of a minor, by hiring her 15-year-old daughter as a staff member, who was "required to work 50-hour weeks, starting after school until past midnight, during which she was exposed to the full horrors of Gosnell's practice".Of Gosnell himself, the report concluded,"We believe, given the manner in which Gosnell operated, that he killed the vast majority of babies that he aborted after 24 weeks. We cannot, however, recommend murder charges for all of these cases. In order to constitute murder, the act must involve a baby who was born alive. Because files were falsified or removed from the facility and possibly destroyed, we cannot substantiate all of the individual cases in which charges might otherwise have resulted."[1]:115The report also examined the failings of official parties, and the key findings, analyzed in two categories:[1]:15-16"Janice Staloski of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, who personally participated in the 1992 site visit, but decided to let Gosnell slide on the violations that were already evident then. She eventually rose to become director of the division that was supposed to regulate abortion providers, but never looked at Gosnell despite specific complaints from lawyers, a doctor, and a medical examiner. After she was nonetheless promoted, her successor as division director, Cynthia Boyne, failed to order an investigation of the clinic even when Karnamaya Mongar died there. Senior legal counsel Kenneth Brody insisted that the department had no legal obligation to monitor abortion clinics, even though it exercised such a duty until the Ridge administration, and exercised it again as soon as Gosnell became big news. The agency's head lawyer, chief counsel Christine Dutton, defended the department's indifference: 'People die,' she said.""Lawyers at the Pennsylvania Department of State behaved in the same fashion. Attorneys Mark Greenwald, Charles Hartwell, David Grubb, Andrew Kramer, William Newport, Juan Ruiz, and Kerry Maloney were confronted with a growing pile of disquieting facts about Gosnell, including a detailed, inside account from a former employee (Marcella Choung, 2001[1]:176-180), and a 22-year-old dead woman. Every time, though, they managed to dismiss the evidence as immaterial ... until the facts hit the fan."Recommendations:[1]:16-17
  Department of Health should explicitly regulate and annually inspect abortion practices, and examine patient files, licenses, and equipment on-site;Second-trimester abortions should be performed or supervised by doctors who are board-certified obstetrics and gynecology;Department of State "must repair its review process", including easier reporting, confidentiality, post-investigation response, with cases automatically checked against past records, malpractice databases, and full past history;Reports about individual doctors checked against reports of medical offices where they worked, and vice versa;Department of Public Health "should do at least as much to control infectious medical waste as it does to inspect swimming pools";The conclusions finished by examining the extent to which legislation had been inadequate, and the scope for legislative change, concluding that:[1]:17"Statutory changes are necessary as well. Infanticide and third-trimester abortion are serious crimes. The two-year statute of limitations currently applicable for these offenses is inadequate to their severity. The limitations period for late abortion should be extended to five years; infanticide, like homicide, should have none. Impersonating a physician is also a serious, and potentially very dangerous, act. Yet under current law it is not a crime at all. An appropriate criminal provision should be enacted. There may also be other statutory and regulatory revisions that we, as lay people, have not thought to consider. Legislative hearings may be appropriate to further examine these issues."[edit]TrialIn 2011, Gosnell, his wife Pearl, and eight other clinic employees were charged in the case.[40] Eight including Gosnell's wife subsequently pleaded guilty, most of whom will testify against Gosnell,[41] and three of these pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, carrying a 20- to 40-year term.[41] A gag order was imposed on both defense and prosecution in April 2011, to bar them from talking to the media before the trial.[42] In December 2011 Pearl Gosnell pleaded guilty to performing illegal abortions, conspiracy, criminal conspiracy and corrupt organization;[43] due to spousal privilege, she will not have to testify against Gosnell, although she may still go to prison.[40] She had testified to the grand jury that she alone assisted on Sundays, and that her role was to ''help do the instruments'' in the procedure room and to monitor patients in the recovery room. Another employee testified that she assisted with late-term abortions ''on Sundays or days we were closed [to] do special cases.'' [44] She will be sentenced after the conclusion of Gosnell's trial.[45]
  As a result, the only employee on trial with Gosnell is Eileen O'Neill, an employee who allegedly held herself out as a doctor at the clinic when she was not licensed. Her lawyer told jurors she never did so, and only performed medical duties under Gosnell's orders.[30]
  On March 18, 2013, opening statements were given in a Philadelphia court. On April 23, after the prosecution had rested its case, the judge dismissed three of the seven first-degree murder charges (the next day the judge reinstated charges related to one and dismissed another, explaining the wrong charge had been mistakenly dismissed[46][47]), the one count of infanticide, and all five charges of abusing a corpse Gosnell had been charged with, as well as six of the nine charges of theft by deception faced by O'Neill.[48] No formal ruling has yet been given for these dismissals. Media sources following the trial have suggested that there may have been insufficient evidence of post-procedure life to sustain charges in law. Although prosecutors had argued the movements were voluntary and therefore signs of life,[49][50] it was argued that the evidence offered by prosecutors were equally capable of being interpreted in some or all of these as single autonomous post-mortem motor movements or spasms instead of clinical signs of life, and additionally that none of the seven were capable of being alive as all had been previously killed clinically in utero by means of drugs as part of the procedure.[49][50] Also, although staff had used descriptions such as "jumping" and "screaming" in their testimony, Gosnell's defense noted that testimony had shown only single movements or breaths, stating that the testimony was not evidence of "the movements of a live child" ,and the medical examiner had also testified that tests could not determine whether or not any had been born alive.[51][52]
  The remaining four first degree murder charges, if Gosnell is convicted of them, could still lead to the death penalty. The 3rd-degree murder charges in the death of Karnamaya Mongar and charges related to multiple violations of abortion law were also left standing.[53] Gosnell's defense attorney rested his case summarily without calling or questioning any witnesses, and without Gosnell taking the stand in his defense, leaving the defense case until final arguments.[54] (Under U.S. law, a defendant may choose not to take the stand; if so then the jury is instructed that no inference or assumption may be drawn from this.[54]) O'Neill also did not testify in her defense.[54][46]
  [edit]List of defendants, and related charges, verdicts and sentencingGosnell was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder, as well as multiple counts of conspiracy, criminal solicitation and violation of a state law that forbids abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy.[55] Gosnell faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the infant deaths. His co-defendants were:
  Steven Massof, a medical school graduate who lacked a license, plead guilty in November 2011 to two counts of 3rd-degree murder for the deaths of two babies who had been born alive.[56]Pearl Gosnell, Kermit's wife, was charged with abortion at 24 or more weeks, conspiracy and participating in a corrupt organization. She plead guilty to these charged on Dec. 13, 2011.[57]Steven Massof and Eileen O'Neill, both medical school graduates without proper licensing to be doctors in Pennsylvania. Gosnell presented these employees as physicians and billed insurance companies more on this allegation. All three are charged with theft by deception for these acts.[58]Kareema Cross, who testified at the state trial she had seen at least ten babies breathe after being aborted who were then killed, plead guilty to federal drug charges over improper distribution of pain medicine from Gosnell's clinic.[59][edit]Impact and aftermath[edit]Other bodies and persons claiming to have made reportsIn April 2011 the University of Pennsylvania Health System claimed they had provided reports to "authorities" as early as 1999 about botched procedures by Gosnell. The only case the any reports were produced for was that of Semika Shaw, a 22-year-old, who died as at the University of Pennsylvania hospital as a result of bleeding caused by a botched procedure by Gosnell. Gosnell settled a lawsuit with family members of Shaw for $900,000.[60] They also claim other undocumented reports were made orally, for which they did not have records.[61]
  [edit]Regulatory and legislative impactThe Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee of the Pennsylvania State Senate led by Robert M. Tomlinson began a hearing in February 2011 to look into the failure of the Pennsyvania Department of State, charged with licensing doctors, to provide any oversight of Gosnell's activities. At the same time the Public Health and Welfare Committee of the state Senate chaired by Pat Vance conducted hearings on the Pennsylvania State Health Department's failure to put a stop to Gosnell's activities.[62]
  In part as a result of the grand jury report on Grosnell, in late 2011 Pennsylvania passed a law, SB 732, that placed abortion clinics under the same health and safety regulations as other outpatient surgical centers. Among those who supported the bill was Democrat Margo L. Davidson, whose cousin Semika Shaw died as a result of procedures done by Gosnell.[63][64] Davidson specificially linked her support of the additional regulations to the death of her cousin, which she attributed to poor medical practices.[65]
  [edit]Non-legislative actions resulting from the caseIn February 2011 Pennsylvania Governor and former State Attorney GeneralTom Corbett fired six employees and commenced action to fire eight others where for legal or contractual reasons, more extensive dismissal procedures were required. These included Basil Merenda, the acting head of the Pennsylvania Department of State, Christine Dutton, the Department of Health's chief counsel (who, in reaction to being questioned why the Department did not react to a death at Gosnell's clinic, said "people die"), and Stacy Mitchell, a deputy secretary in the health department (whom the grand jury cited as a key figure in the Health Department's indifference to, and non-regulation of, abortion clinics). Some of the people most connected by the grand jury report with the failure of the government to act, such as Janice Staloski, had retired by this point and so no action was taken against them.[66]
  [edit]Civil casesThe family of Karnamaya Mongar has brought a wrongful death suit against Gosnell and sought to freeze his assets to prevent him from transferring them to other people to avoid paying.[67] As of April 2013 the suit is still pending.[68]
  [edit]Media coverage and public reactionsGosnell's arrest has been the subject of much public comment[5] and expressions of condemnation and shock by senior public figures of all parties. Mayor Michael Nutter (D-PA) said, "I think it's quite clear that, if these allegations are true, we've had a monster living in our midst" while vowing to watch the city's remaining abortion clinics more closely.[69] Outgoing Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA) criticized Department of Health officials saying, "I was flabbergasted to learn that the Department of Health did not think their authority to protect public health extended to clinics offering abortion services",[70] while incoming Governor Tom Corbett (R-PA) stated through a spokesperson that he was "appalled at the inaction on the part of the Health Department and the Department of State,"[71] and District Attorney of the city of Philadelphia R. Seth Williams said "My comprehension of the English language can't adequately describe the barbaric nature of Dr. Gosnell. . . Pennsylvania is not a third-world country, . . . There were several oversight agencies that stumbled upon and should have shut down Kermit Gosnell long ago."[72]
  Gosnell also practiced in other states, including Delaware. In January 2011, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden (D-Delaware) promised a wide-ranging investigations into the abortions Gosnell performed in Delaware saying; "I'm disturbed by the allegations that were handed up by the grand jury in Philadelphia".[73]
  A spokesperson for the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers, noted that Gosnell had been rejected for membership following inspection, because his clinics did not meet appropriate standards of care, but that "they'd cleaned the place up and hired an RN [registered nurse] for our visit. We only saw first-trimester procedures."[35] She adding that "Unfortunately, some women don't know where to turn. You sometimes have substandard providers preying on low-income women who don't know that they do have other (safe) options."[74] A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood in Southeastern Pennsylvania, condemned Gosnell, saying, "We would condemn any physician who does not follow the law or endangers anyone's health...All women should have access to high-quality care when they are vulnerable and facing difficult decisions."[75]
  Kermit Gosnell himself gave an interview to Fox 29 in February 2011,[33] in which he stated that:
  "I expect to be vindicated."[Regarding the allegations] "to tell you the truth, I hope to read them in 3 to 6 months [...] because I have lived through negative publicity before.""It's something I have personally experienced several times before where my surgical abilities have been challenged, where the choices that I have made have not always been perfect.""If you are not making mistakes, you are not really attempting to do something, so I think that my patients are aware that I do my very best by them.""The standard that I share with everyone that, I frequently say is that I provide the same care that I would provide my own daughter I feel.""I have a story to tell. [...] my work to the community is of value."Gosnell reported that he received outpouring of support: "letters, I have gotten wonderful little messages of support, and confidence that I am a good person will prevail."[edit]Criticism of media coverageThe case has been reported in Associated Press and around the world,[30][76][77][78] but a considerable sense of perception had also built up among some journalists and pro-life groups that there had been a reluctance to report on the trial among mainstream media. In an April 11, 2013 opinion column for USA Today, Kirsten Powers wrote, "A Lexis-Nexis search shows none of the news shows on the three major national television networks has mentioned the Gosnell trial in the last three months", and that national press coverage was represented by a Wall Street Journal columnist who "hijacked" a segment on Meet the Press, a single page A-17 story on the first day of the trial by the New York Times, and no original coverage by the Washington Post.[79]
  Writing for The Washington Post, Melinda Henneberger responded that "we didn't write more because the only abortion story most outlets ever cover in the news pages is every single threat or perceived threat to abortion rights. In fact, that is so fixed a view of what constitutes coverage of that issue that it's genuinely hard, I think, for many journalists to see a story outside that paradigm as news. That's not so much a conscious decision as a reflex, but the effect is one-sided coverage". Explaining why some of her colleagues did not report on the story, Henneberger wrote, "One colleague viewed Gosnell's alleged atrocities as a local crime story, though I can't think of another mass murder, with hundreds of victims, that we ever saw that way. Another said it was just too lurid, though that didn't keep us from covering Jeffrey Dahmer, or that aspiring cannibal at the NYPD."[80] Writing for Bloomberg View Jeffrey Goldberg said that this story "upsets a particular narrative about the reality of certain types of abortion, and that reality isn't something some pro-choice absolutists want to discuss". "[81]
  The Los Angeles Times,[82]The Atlantic,[83]Slate,[84] and Time[85] all published opinion columns where the writer thought the incident was not getting as much media coverage as it deserved. Megan McArdle explains that she didn't cover it because it made her ill, but also how being pro-choice influenced writers saying "most of us tend to be less interested in sick-making stories if the sick-making was done by 'our side,'" saying, "this story should have been covered much more than it was '-- covered as a national policy issue, not a 'local crime story.'"[86] Martin Baron, The Post's executive editor, claims he wasn't aware of the story until Thursday, 11 April, when readers began e-mailing him about it, saying ''I wish I could be conscious of all stories everywhere, but I can't be".[87] They ultimately decided that, in fact, the story warranted attention because of "the seriousness and scope of the alleged crimes and because this was a case that resonated in policy arguments and national politics", adding ''In retrospect, we regret not having staffed the trial sooner. But, as you know, we don't have unlimited resources, and [.'‰.'‰.] there is a lot of competition for our staff's attention".[87] He insisted that ''we never decide what to cover for ideological reasons, no matter what critics might claim. Accusations of ideological motives are easy to make, even if they're not supported by the facts".[87] The New York Times also acknowledged the lack of coverage and reported on the online campaign and subsequent increase in coverage of the case.[88] While Powers' piece clearly sparked debate among journalists, Katherine Bindley also highlights contrasting views,[89] as does Paul Farhi.[87] A column on Salon.com questioned whether the Gosnell case was an example of liberal media bias, noting that conservative media and politicians had also given little attention to the story until April 2013.[90]
  In April 2013, 71 other members of congress joined congresswoman Marsha Blackburn in a letter condemning the media "blackout" on the Gosnell trial.[91][92]
  [edit]See alsoAbortion relatedMedical -Abortion, Abortion clinic, Unsafe abortion, Late termination of pregnancySocietal -History of abortion, Abortion debate, Minors and abortion, Abortion-related violenceLegal -Abortion law, Medical law, Legal protection of access to abortion, Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, Fetal rights, PersonhoodUS background -Health care in the United States, Abortion in the United States, Abortion in the United States by stateOther[edit]References^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamanaoapaqarasatauavawax"Report of the Grand Jury, Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania". Court of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania. January 14, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. ^"Investigation of the Women's Medical Society Grand Jury Report". District Attorney of Philadelphia. October 16, 2012. ^Hoye, Sarah (March 2, 2011). "Prosecutors considering death penalty in abortion doctor case". CNN. ^ abUnlicensed doctor pleads in Philly abortion case, ABC WPVI, November 3, 2011^ abMorrissey, Ed (2013), Video: Gosnell staffer, defense attorney argue over whether babies were alive, retrieved April 11, 2013 ^ abDale, Maryclaire (March 4, 2013). "Jurors sought for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell's murder trial". WPVI-TV. Associated Press. ^ abcdSlobodizan, Joseph (March 24, 2013). "Healer or monster?". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philly.com. ^http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/12/trial-of-abortion-doctor-kermit-gosnell-reveals-a-house-of-horrors/^"Jurors sought for Pa. abortion doctor's murder trial". USAToday. Associated Press. March 4, 2013. ^ abcd"W. Phila abortion doctor had problems 38 years ago". Philadelphia Inquirer. February 4, 2011. ^McCullough, Marie (February 25, 2010). "Doctor had role in 1972 fiasco: Kermit B. Gosnell figured in a test of an abortion device that harmed 9 of 15 women". Philadelphia Inquirer. ^Bourne, Judith P.; Berger, Gary S.; Haber, Richard J.; Tyler, Carl W.; Keith, Louis; Knisely, Kristine; Zackler, Jack (1974). "Medical Complications from Induced Abortion by the Super Coil Method". Health Services Reports89 (1): 40''2. JSTOR 4594975. PMC 1616242. PMID 4815040. ^James Taranto, "Back-Alley Abortion Never Ended", Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2013^ abcdMasterson, Teresa (March 19, 2013). "Wife of Abortion Doc Pleads Guilty". Philadelphia, PA: WCAU. ^ abSlobodzian, Joseph A. (April 5, 2011). "Judge allows bail, house arrest for abortion doctor Gosnell's wife". Philadelphia Inquirer. ^"Doctor Allegedly Killed Babies With Scissors". Philadelphia, PA: WTXF-TV. January 19, 2011. ^O'Sullivan, Sean (January 31, 2011). "No oversight for Delaware abortion clinics". USAToday. ^April 10, 2011 AP report^ abDale, Maryclaire; Walters, Patrick (January 19, 2011). "DA: West Philadelphia abortion doctor killed 7 babies with scissors". Philadelphia, PA: WPVI-TV. Associated Press. ^Dale, Maryclare; Walters, Patrick (Jan 19, 2011). "DA: Pa. Abortion Doctor Killed 7 Babies With Scissors". AoL. AP. ^Franke-Ruta, Garance (2013-04-17). "Kermit Gosnell and the Anti-Abortion Movement's Intelligence Failure". The Atlantic. Retrieved 17 April 2013. ^Following the murder trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, NBC 11alive.com, April 15, 2013^"'House of horrors' abortionist made $1.8 million a year from illegal operations, claims grand jury report". Daily Mail (London). February 8, 2011. ^Masterson, Teresa (January 19, 2011). "Abortion Doc Charged With Murder of Woman, 7 Babies". NBC Philadelphia. ^"Abortion Clinic Last Inspected In 1993". Philadelphia, PA: WTXF-TV. January 20, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011. ^Squalid Abortion Clinic Escaped State Oversight, New York Times, July 22, 2011^Quijano, Elaine (January 20, 2011). "Abortion Doc Charged with Eight Counts of Murder". CBS News. Retrieved April 13, 2013. ^ abcdefHopper, Jessica (January 25, 2011). "Alleged Victim Calls Philadelphia Abortion Doctor Kermit Gosnell a 'Monster'". ABC News. ^ abHayes, Kevin (January 19, 2011). "Dr. Kermit Gosnell, Philadelphia Abortion Doctor, Accused of Killing 7 Babies with Scissors". CBS News. ^ abcdefDale, Maryclaire (March 19, 2013). "Doc disputes 'killings' at Philly abortion clinic". The Guardian. Associated Press. Retrieved April 13, 2013. ^"Philadelphia Doctor Charged With Running Pill Mill" (Press release). United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. December 14, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2013. ^"Gosnell Case Heading Right To Trial". Philadelphia, PA: WTXF-TV. February 9, 2011. ^ ab"Fox 29 Speaks With Dr. Gosnell". WTXF-TV. Feb 25, 2010. ^DiFilippo, Dana (January 21, 2011). "Victims say abortion doctor scarred them for life". Philadelphia Inquirer. ^ abcdDr. Kermit Gosnell's Horror Show | The Nation^Abortion clinic inspections in Pennsylvania turn up some problems, pennlive.com, January 25, 2011^Snyder, Whitney (January 23, 2011). "Kermit Gosnell Abortion Clinic Was Not Inspected For 17 Years". Huffington Post. ^DALE, MARYCLAIRE (15 April 2013). "Kermit Gosnell, Abortion Doctor, Enters 5th Week Of Murder Trial; More Gruesome Details Revealed". Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 April 2013. ^"Cross testified that she could recall at least 15 times when she had medicated a second-trimester patient only to have Williams come along right behind her and medicate again" (Grand Jury report p.69)^ ab"Gosnell's wife considers plea, lawyer says". Philadelphia Inquirer. November 18, 2011. ^ ab"Defense: Philly abortion doc's case a 'lynching'". USA Today. 18 March 2013. ^Joseph A Slobodzian, "Gag order imposed in Gosnell abortion case", Philadelphia Inquirer, April 13, 2011^"Wife in Phila. illegal abortions case pleads guilty". ABC Local. December 13, 2011. ^"Wife of Abortion Doctor Pleads Guilty". NBC Philadelphia. March 19, 2013. ^http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/crime_and_punishment/149123753.html^ ab"Defense rests in Dr. Kermit Gosnell trial; he did not testify". WPVI-TV. April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013. ^Dale, Maryclaire (April 24, 2013). "Pa. judge corrects charges tossed in abortion case". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Retrieved April 24, 2013. ^Dean, Mensah M. (April 23, 2013). "Judge tosses three murder counts against Kermit Gosnell". Philly.com. Philly.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013. ^ abHurdle, Job (2013-04-23). "Philadelphia Abortion Doctor Is Cleared on Some Counts". New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2013. ^ abDale, MaryClaire (2013-04-23). "Judge Throws Out Three Murder Charges Against Dr. Kermit Gosnell". Huffington post. Retrieved 23 April 2013. ^"3 Murder Charges Against Pa. Abortion Doc Tossed". Time, sourced from Associated Press. 2013-04-23. Retrieved 24 April 2013. ^Ertelt, Stephen (2013-04-23). "Kermit Gosnell Judge Drops Three Abortion-Infanticide Charges". Lifenews. Retrieved 23 April 2013. ^"3 of 8 murder charges against Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell tossed", Fox News, April 23, 2012^ abcSlobodzian, Joseph A. (April 24, 2013). "Enigmatic Gosnell calls no one in his defense". Philly.com. Retrieved April 24, 2013. ^"Doctor Kermit Gosnell disputes 'killings' at Philadephia abortion clinic". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 19 March 2013. ^"Fourth guilty plea filed in Gosnell abortion case", Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 4, 2011^TruTV.com article^Dana DiFilippo, "D.A. weighs insurance-fraud charges for Gosnell", Philadelphia Inquirer, March 28, 2011^Maryclaire Dale, "Philadelphia abortion clinic ex-worker offers powerful testimony", Washington Post, April 18, 2013^Steven Ertelt, "Doctors Failed to Report Kermit Gosnell's Botched Abortions", Life Site News, April 11, 2011^Kathy Matheson for the Associated Press, specifically from the Jefferson City News Tribine, April 10, 2011, retrieved April 17, 2013^Peter Jackson for the associated press as reported in Deseret News, Feb. 8, 2011^Pennsylvania Family Counsil article on SB 732 passage^Jeff Brady, "Pennsylvania Tightens Abortion Rules Following Clinic Deaths", NPR, March 28, 2013, retried April 17, 2013^Amy Worden, "Legislator explains her backing of abortion crackdown", Philadelphia Inquirerer, December 16, 2011, retried April 17, 2013^Amy Worden, "Corbett fires six in connection with abortion-clinic case", Philadelphia Inquirerer, February 16, 2011^Sify news article on the attempt to freeze assets^"Woman testifies about Mom's death at Philadelphia Abortion Clinic", Fox News, April 16, 2013^MacDonald, Tom (January 21, 2011). "In wake of Gosnell case, Nutter vows city will be more vigilant". ^"Pa. ex-gov. flabbergasted by lax abortion scrutiny". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. January 21, 2011. ^Tavernise, Sabrina (January 22, 2011). "Squalid Abortion Clinic Escaped State Oversight". The New York Times. ^'House of horrors' alleged at abortion clinic - US news - Crime & courts - msnbc.com^O'Sullivan, Sean (January 28, 2011). "AG Beau Biden launches probe into abortion doctor's work in Delaware". ^Dale, Maryclaire; Walters, Patrick (January 20, 2011). "DA: Pa. had 'utter disregard' for abortion-seekers". Associated Press. ^Luce, Paul (January 20, 2011). "Planned Parenthood, Philly Archdiocese equally dismayed". Daily Times. ^"House of horrors' abortion clinic worker testifies in capital murder trial that she killed at least 10 infants delivered during late-term abortion by snipping their NECKS". Daily Mail. Tuesday, Mar 19, 2013. ^Filipovic, Jill (Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013). "The real Kermit Gosnell story? Misogyny". Al Jazera. ^Quinn, David (Tuesday, Apr 19, 2013). "Grisly murders in US, but media bias makes them invisible here". Irish Independent. ^Powers, Kirsten (Apr 11, 2013). "Philadelphia abortion clinic horror: Column". USAtday (USAToday). ^Henneberger, Melinda (Apr 15, 2013). "Why Kermit Gosnell hasn't been on Page One". Washington Post. ^Goldberg, Jeffrey (Apr 12, 2013). "Why Is the Press Ignoring the Kermit Gosnell Story?". Bloombergview. ^Dr. Kermit Gosnell abortion case: Why no national media spotlight?, Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2013^Hoye, Conor (Apr 12, 2013). "Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should be a Front Page Story". TheAtlantic.com. ^Weigel, David (Apr 12, 2013). "Kermit Gosnell; the Alleged Mass Murderer and the Bored Media". Slate.com. ^Why an Abortion Doctor's Murder Trial Should Be Getting More Coverage, Time, April 13, 2013^McArdle, Megan (Apr 12, 2013). "Why The Mainstream Media is not Covering the Gosnell Abortion trial and Why I Should Have". TheDailyBeast.com. ^ abcdFarhi, Paul (Apr 15, 2013). "Is media bias to blame for lack of Gosnell coverage? Or something far more banal?". Washington Post. ^Gabriel, Trip (Apr 15, 2013). "Online Furor Draws Press to Abortion Doctor's Trial". New York Times. ^Bindley, Katherine (Apr 12, 2013). "Abortion Doctor Trial: Coverage of Kermit Gosnell Case Sparks Debate". Huffington Post. ^Seitz-Wald, Alex. "On Gosnell "blackout," where were conservatives before this week?". Salon.com. Retrieved 20 April 2013. ^John Jalsevac, "72 Congressmen slam media for failing to cover Gosnell, Planned Parenthood infanticide remarks", Life Site News, April 18, 2013^Elise Viebeck, "Republicans accuse broadcasters of Gosnell 'cover-up'", The Hill, April 17, 2013[edit]External linksPersondataNameGosnell, KermitAlternative namesShort descriptionPhysicianDate of birthFebruary 9, 1941Place of birthPhiladelphiaDate of deathPlace of death