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Monday, May 31, 2010

Here's a good question....


From last year:

Why No Neocon Assassinations? Because The War On Terror Is A Hoax

According to US government propaganda, terrorist cells are spread throughout America, making it necessary for the government to spy on all Americans and violate most other constitutional protections. Among President Bush’s last words as he left office was the warning that America would soon be struck again by Muslim terrorists.

If America were infected with terrorists, we would not need the government to tell us. We would know it from events. As there are no events, the US government substitutes warnings in order to keep alive the fear that causes the public to accept pointless wars, the infringement of civil liberty, national ID cards, and inconveniences and harassments when they fly.

The most obvious indication that there are no terrorist cells is that not a single neocon has been assassinated.

I do not approve of assassinations, and am ashamed of my country’s government for engaging in political assassination. The US and Israel have set a very bad example for al Qaeda to follow.

The US deals with al Qaeda and Taliban by assassinating their leaders, and Israel deals with Hamas by assassinating its leaders. It is reasonable to assume that al Qaeda would deal with the instigators and leaders of America’s wars in the Middle East in the same way.

Today every al Qaeda member is aware of the complicity of neoconservatives in the death and devastation inflicted on Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Gaza. Moreover, neocons are highly visible and are soft targets compared to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Neocons have been identified in the media for years, and as everyone knows, multiple listings of their names are available online.

Neocons do not have Secret Service protection. Dreadful to contemplate, but it would be child’s play for al Qaeda to assassinate any and every neocon. Yet, neocons move around freely, a good indication that the US does not have a terrorist problem.


Link:
http://vdare.com/roberts/090203_terror.htm

On the lighter side...Beat L.A.


Report: Celtics, Lakers Finals To Allow Sportscasters To Endlessly List The Last Names Of Former Celtics, Lakers

According to the nation's sportscasters, a Los Angeles Lakers–Boston Celtics matchup in the NBA Finals will give analysts the chance to repeatedly intone the names of former Celtic and Laker greats in an unbearably reverent and dramatic tone of voice. "At the top of our pregame broadcast, or anytime they cut back to the studio, I can say, 'Russell. Chamberlain. Cousy. West. Havlicek. McHale. Worthy. Baylor,' in a tone suggesting viewers should feel emotionally transported by the sheer historic force of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry," ESPN's Michael Wilbon said on Saturday, explaining that sportscasters will be able to say "Magic…Bird," or "Bird…Magic," thousands upon thousands of infuriating times throughout the series.

Link:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/report-celtics-lakers-finals-to-allow-sportscaster,17518/

Dja Vu all over again?

You remember the war this guy's death caused? Is Israel risking a wider conflict hoping the US is going to bail them out? Let's hope not. But you have to wonder why they acted like they did. It obviously was a premeditated attack, which they had to know would lead to further bloodshed. When does the statue of limitations run out on Israel getting away with terrorism and murder? If Obama has any balls he would condemn this action and refuse to support Israel in any military action that this results in.

Turkey threatens action; Israel on alert

Turkey has threatened Israel with unprecedented action after Israeli forces attacked an aid vessel, killing 10 peace activists headed to Gaza.
Israel said 10 people died while those on the ship said at least 15 were killed.
A shocked world has responded with outrage. Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel and warned of unprecedented and incalculable reprisals.
Two Turkish activists were reported to be among those killed in the flotilla. Ankara warned that further supply vessels will be sent to Gaza, escorted by the Turkish Navy, a development with unpredictable consequences.

Link:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/turkey-threatens-action-israel-on-alert/116743-2.html?from=tn

Off the charts


America: Land Of The Unemployed – 3 Unemployment Charts That Will Absolutely Shock You

With the unprecedented spending by the U.S. government over the past year and a half, shouldn't we at least see some jobs being produced by now? After all, if we are putting our children and grandchildren into perpetual debt from which they will never emerge, shouldn't we at least be able to put American workers back to work? Unfortunately, as you will see from the charts in this article, that is most definitely not the case. In fact, unemployment is reaching levels in the U.S. that have not been seen for decades. The high paying manufacturing and construction jobs that were the bedrock for the American middle class for decades have disappeared and they are simply not coming back.

Link:
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/america-land-of-the-unemployed-3-unemployment-charts-that-will-absolutely-shock-you

It's a pretty steep price...



US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan:

Link:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/

If you only asked a teacher we could have told you that...

Those micro-waves have to be good for you, don't you think?

Children 'more likely to own a mobile phone than a book'

Children as young as seven are more likely to own a mobile phone than a book, figures show, fuelling fears over a decline in reading.

Link:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7763811/Children-more-likely-to-own-a-mobile-phone-than-a-book.html

Are we all wasting our energy? No pun intended.


Going "Green"

Bryce used to be a left-liberal, but then: "I educated myself about math and physics. I'm a liberal who was mugged by the laws of thermodynamics."
Bryce mocked the "green" value of my riding my bike to work:
"Let's assume you saved a gallon of oil in your commute (a generous assumption!). Global daily energy consumption is 9.5 billion gallons of oil equivalent. ... So by biking to work, you save the equivalent of one drop in 10 gasoline tanker trucks. Put another way, it's one pinch of salt in a 100-pound bag of potato chips."
How about wind power?
"Wind does not replace oil. This is one of the great fallacies, and it's one that the wind energy business continues to promote," Bryce said.
The problem is that windmills cannot provide a constant source of electricity. Wind turbines only achieve 10 percent to 20 percent of their maximum capacity because sometimes the wind doesn't blow.
"That means you have to keep conventional power plants up and running. You have to ramp them up to replace the power that disappears from wind turbines and ramp them down when power reappears."
Yet the media rave about Denmark, which gets some power from wind. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman says, "If only we could be as energy smart as Denmark."
"Friedman doesn't fundamentally understand what he's talking about," Bryce said.
Bryce's book shows that Denmark uses eight times more coal and 25 times more oil than wind.
If wind and solar power were practical, entrepreneurs would invest in it. There would be no need for government to take money from taxpayers and give it to people pushing green products.


Link:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/05/26/going_green_105720.html

We only attacked the humanitarian aid ship because we wanted a non-violent resolution to a peaceful act in international waters.


International activists cause their own deaths by attacking nonconfrontational Israeli commandos

At a press briefing this morning following the massacre by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commandos of passengers on board the Mavi Marmara, one of the boats pertaining to the Freedom Flotilla attempting to break the siege of Gaza, IDF spokeswoman Avital Liebovitch claimed that the passengers had engaged in "severe violence against our soldiers."

According to Liebovitch, the violence was premeditated and was administered via live fire, sharp items such as knives, and weapons "grabbed" from the IDF commandos. While underscoring Israel’s unique ability to portray its armed forces as victims, the analysis failed to provide a compelling reason for why—if the alleged attack using grabbed weapons was indeed premeditated—the IDF did not throw a wrench in the works by simply refraining from raiding the ship.

Apparently not satisfied with sporadic violations of logic, Liebovitch reiterated that the IDF had not desired a confrontation with the activists but that the justness of the confrontation— which she herself admitted occurred "not in Israeli territory"—had since been proven given the passengers’ alleged reaction. The Israeli tendency to award retroactive justification to its actions was also evident during the 2008-2009 attack on Gaza, which Israel advertised as a defensive war against Palestinian rockets by severing the portion of the cause-and-effect timeline that involved deliberate Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The inversion of aggressor and victim did not of course prevent Gazan civilians from perishing in this particular confrontation at a rate of approximately 400:1 vis-à-vis their Israeli counterparts.


Link:
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m66516&hd=&size=1&l=e

Here's the other side of the story:

Civilians Under Attack by Israel

(Cyprus, June 1, 2010, 6:30 am) Under darkness of night, Israeli commandoes dropped from a helicopter onto the Turkish passenger ship, Mavi Marmara, and began to shoot the moment their feet hit the deck. They fired directly into the crowd of civilians asleep. According to the live video from the ship, two have been killed, and 31 injured. Al Jazeera has just confirmed the numbers.

Streaming video shows the Israeli soldiers shooting at civilians, and our last SPOT beacon said, “HELP, we are being contacted by the Israelis.”

The attack has happened in international waters, 75 miles off the coast of Israel, in direct violation of international law.

Link:
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/press-releases/1191-civilians-under-attack-by-israel

Song of the day: Drive-By Truckers

But he's a Democrat!


Barack Obama: Liar, Warlord and Corporate Shill
He promised peace and delivered war; real health and financial reform, not same old, same old; help for millions losing jobs, homes, hope and futures, not handouts to Wall Street and other industry favorites; regulatory oversight, not the usual incestuous government-industry ties, making disasters like in the Gulf possible, and when they happen conspiring with offenders in coverup, distortion, lies, and a total disregard for the environment, wildlife, and way of life for thousands - let alone permanent damage to a vital ecosystem.

During his 2008 campaign, CRP reported that the oil and gas industry overall gave him $884,000, more than any to other lawmaker except John McCain, and no wonder. His Senate voting record showed what they bought:

-- the right of mining companies to strip mine everywhere, including on government lands;

-- vast new powers and handouts to the nuclear industry;

-- harmful biofuels production;

-- lax regulation; and

-- other pro-business, anti-populist measures - besides supporting the 2005 Energy Policy Act.


Link:http://uruknet.com/?p=m66504&hd=&size=1&l=e

How come they can use terror and get away with it?



Israeli troops attack ship carrying aid to Gaza killing 16.
Israeli commandos have stormed a flotilla of ships carrying activists and aid supplies to the blockaded Palestinian enclave of Gaza, killing as many as 16 of those on board.

"How could the Israeli military attack civilians like this?" Ms Berlin said. "Do they think that because they can attack Palestinians indiscriminately they can attack anyone?

Link:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/7789175/Israeli-troops-attack-ship-carrying-aid-to-Gaza-killing-16.html

They knew what they were doing...

Israeli Butchery at Sea by Gilad Atzmon


For days the Israeli government prepared the Israeli society for the massacre at sea. It said that the Flotilla carried weapons, it had ‘terrorists’ on board. Only yesterday evening it occurred to me that this Israeli malicious media spin was there to prepare the Israeli public for a full scale Israeli deadly military operation in international waters. Make no mistake. If I knew exactly where Israel was heading and the possible consequences, the Israeli cabinet and military elite were fully aware of it all the way along. What happened yesterday wasn’t just a pirate terrorist attack. It was actually murder in broad day light even though it happened in the dark.
Considering the fact that Israel stormed naval vessels sailing under Irish, Turkish and Greek flags. Both NATO members and EU countries must immediately cease their relationships with Israel and close their airspace to Israeli airplanes.

Considering yesterday’s news about Israeli nuclear submarines being stationed in the Gulf, the world must react quickly and severely. Israel is now officially mad and deadly. The Jewish State is not just careless about human life, as we have been following the Israeli press campaign leading to the slaughter, Israel actually seeks pleasure in inflicting pain and devastation on others.


Link:
http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/israeli-butchery-at-sea-by-gilad-atzmon.html

Oil slick and hurricane?


What happens if a hurricane hits the Gulf Oil Slick?
What will happen to a hurricane that runs through this oil slick?

• Most hurricanes span an enormous area of the ocean (200-300 miles) — far wider than the current size of the spill.
• If the slick remains small in comparison to a typical hurricane’s general environment and size, the anticipated impact on the hurricane would be minimal.
• The oil is not expected to appreciably affect either the intensity or the track of a fully developed tropical storm or hurricane.
• The oil slick would have little effect on the storm surge or near-shore wave heights.

Click here to read more:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/05/30/what-happens-if-a-hurricane-hits-the-gulf-oil-slick/#more-20054

I bet there are more than twenty...


The U.S. Economic Collapse Top 20 Countdown

20 - Gallup's measure of underemployment hit 20.0% on March 15th. That was up from 19.7% two weeks earlier and 19.5% at the start of the year.

19 - According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in the month of March. This was an increase of almost 19 percent from February, and it was the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report back in January 2005.

18 - According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in March the national rate of unemployment in the United States was 9.7%, but for Americans younger than 25 it was well above 18 percent.

17 - The FDIC's list of problem banks recently hit a 17-year high.

16 - During the first quarter of 2010, the total number of loans that are at least three months past due in the United States increased for the 16th consecutive quarter.

15 - The Spanish government has just approved a 15 billion euro austerity plan.

14 - The U.S. Congress recently approved an increase in the debt cap of


To read the whole list click here:
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-u-s-economic-collapse-top-20-countdown

Sunday, May 30, 2010

More and more people are starting to agree...Will the real Obama please stand up.

I kind of get the feeling he already has.


I Can't Wait For Barack Obama To Become President

Watching the latest tragedy unfold in the Gulf this last month, all I can say is: I can't wait for Barack Obama to become president.
This Bush guy is such a disaster, literally and figuratively. It just seems that the destruction of America he presides over is all but endless. As if one Gulf Coast disaster left to rot in the sun wasn't enough for this president, now comes a second. What did those folks in New Orleans ever do to him? Heck, what did Americans ever do to him?
I just can't wait any longer for the new administration to take office. They are absolutely guaranteed to handle things so much differently than the Cheney Bots in the White House who seem intent on wrecking the whole world, with their charity beginning at home.


Link:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/I-Can-t-Wait-For-Barack-Ob-by-David-Michael-Gree-100529-189.html

Do you have a spare $500,000?


Have a look at the two-sided sheet of Lennon's 'A Day in the Life' lyrics to be auctioned

Sotheby's auction house in New York has announced it will offer for sale a two-sided sheet containing John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for "A Day in the Life" on June 18.
The auction house estimates its worth at $500,000-$700,000.


Link:
http://www.examiner.com/x-2082-Beatles-Examiner~y2010m4d29-Have-a-look-at-the-twosided-sheet-of-Lennons-A-Day-in-the-Life-lyrics-to-be-auctioned

Zapruder film alteration debate.


As most of you know I have been a student of the JFK assassination since Nov. 22, 1963. I have read literally hundreds of books and articles about it, visited Dealey Plaza twice and had FBI agent Francis X. O'Neill, who was one of the JFK autopsy witnesses, speak to my classes at Foran High School. In recent years their have been several books that have helped me put more pieces of the puzzle in place about who was actually responsible for the killing and the cover-up. One, JFK and the Unspeakable, by James Douglass, was mentioned in another post. Another is Harvey and Lee by John Armstrong which in my opinion is the Rosetta Stone to the understanding of who Lee Harvey Oswald and his double really were. This book is a masterpiece of research and unfortunately is very expensive for most casual readers at about $100. The next book is actually a five volume set written by Doug Horne entitled Inside the Assassination Records Review Board: The U.S. Government's Final Attempt to Reconcile the Conflicting Medical Evidence in the Assassination of JFK. These volumes expose the autopsy for what it was, a complete cover-up including the alteration of JFK's wounds as described by the testimony of witnesses to the autopsy itself, the autopsy photos and the autopsy X-rays. After reading all three of the above mentioned titles one will have a clearer picture as to what happened that weekend and how it affects us today. One chapter of Horne's book is a detailed look at the chain of possession of the famous Zapruder Film that weekend. Doug demonstrates again how the film was altered by using the testimony of witnesses and photographic experts. He has come under fire, as you can expect, by those who still cling to the long debunked theory of a lone crazed assassin. I have posted a section of his response to one of these types below. One can read it in it's entirety by clicking the link. Rather than laughing at the thought that anyone who believes this stuff is crazy, try reading the material published in these books and tell me what you think afterward. Thanks for the heads up B.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: Doug Horne


THE MOST IMPORTANT STATEMENT in Rollie's paper is this: "The medium is the message." Rollie contends throughout his paper that the Zapruder film could not have been altered using 1963 technology without creating detectable artifacts of forgery. He even quotes Professor Raymond Fielding as saying: "...In my judgment there is no way in which manipulation of these images could have been achieved satisfactorily in 1963 with the technology then available; if such an attempt at image manipulation of the footage had occurred in 1963 the results could not possibly have survived professional scrutiny...".

I couldn't agree more. And there IS EVIDENCE of film alteration in the image content of the extant Zapruder film, as I discussed in some detail in the Epilogue to Chapter 14, titled "The Zapruder Film Goes to Hollywood." The best images we have today of the film have NOT WITHSTOOD PROFESSIONAL SCRUTINY. I even published a black and white image of the most egregious example of this alteration (frame 317) in Volume I of my book. This, I believe, is why Rollie Zavada did NOT discuss the most important section of my chapter---namely, the fact that numerous Hollywood motion picture film experts have developed a strong consensus that the Zapruder film exhibits artifacts which are not like anything they have seen exposed inside a camera when shooting the natural world, and that the film is an altered film. He didn't discuss this important new development in Zapruder film research because he could not refute it. So he just pretended it did not exist. But the problem does exist, and members of the public can see this for themselves by asking for access to the large format (4 X 5 inch) MPI transparencies (made in 1997 from the original film), and the large format (4 X 5 inch) LIFE magazine transparencies (made in 1963 by LIFE) that are held by the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. If you go to the Sixth Floor Museum's website, you can complete a form electronically and request to see these transparencies during a personal visit; all that is required is the money to make a trip to Dallas. (See the frame numbers cited below.)


Link:
http://insidethearrb.livejournal.com/4900.html

More troubling info about the Prez...



Obama, the Thin-Skinned President


Barack Obama -- a man who was as unprepared to be president as any man in our lifetime -- has over the last 16 months shown that he is overmatched by events. His poll numbers continue to drop, his health care proposal is becoming less rather than more popular, the oil spill in the Gulf is badly eroding his image for leadership and competence, and his party has been battered in election after election since November. We have now reached the point where Democrats are running against Obama and his agenda in order to survive (witness Mark Critz in Pennsylvania).
Link:
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/27/obama-the-thin-skinned-president/

Brinkmanship

"The dangers of brinkmanship as a political or diplomatic tool can be understood as a slippery slope: In order for brinkmanship to be effective, the threats used are continuously escalated. However, a threat is not worth anything unless it is credible; at some point, the aggressive party may have to back up its claim to prove its commitment to action."



Israel stations nuclear missile subs off Iran

Three German-built Israeli submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles are to be deployed in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline.
The first has been sent in response to Israeli fears that ballistic missiles developed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, a political and military organisation in Lebanon, could hit sites in Israel, including air bases and missile launchers.
The submarines of Flotilla 7 — Dolphin, Tekuma and Leviathan — have visited the Gulf before. But the decision has now been taken to ensure a permanent presence of at least one of the vessels.
The flotilla’s commander, identified only as “Colonel O”, told an Israeli newspaper: “We are an underwater assault force. We’re operating deep and far, very far, from our borders.”

Link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7140282.ece

Don't have too happy a Memorial Day...She's not.




Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In U.S. War And Occupation Of Iraq 4,718

Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 1,789


Link:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/

Everything you wanted to know about the oil catastrophe but were afraid to ask


Ten Things You Need (But Don't Want) To Know About the BP Oil Spill

The corporate media is tracking the disaster with front-page articles and nightly news headlines every day (if it bleeds, or spills, it leads!), but the under-reported aspects to this nightmarish tale paint the most chilling picture of the actors and actions behind the catastrophe. In no particular order, here are 10 things about the BP spill you may not know and may not want to know -- but you should...

Link:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19408

Oilpacalypse


Oilpocalypse Now Take I

The best expert estimates I have seen are that minimally we have 2.9 MILLION GALLONS of Oil escaping into the Gulf each day. The volume of methane is about treble that. BP, in an effort to camouflage its true scale is pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of even more toxic oil dispersant into the volcano. To get an idea of the scale think of the largest stadium you know, fill it with oil every day, dump it on the surrounding landscape, and then refill it TWICE each day. Then you begin to get an approximation of the volume of oil escaping.

Link:
http://freedom4um.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=118658&Disp=All

Another education article


Schools and the Pedagogy of Punishment

Traditionally, students who violated school rules and the rights of others were sent to the principal's office, a guidance teacher or another teacher. Corrective discipline in most cases was a matter of judgment and deliberation, generally handled within the school by the appropriate administrator or teacher. Under such circumstances, young people could defend themselves, the context of their rule violation was explored (including underlying issues, such as problems at home, that may have triggered the behavior in the first place), and the discipline they received was suited to the nature of the offense. In other words, teachers and school administrators did what they were supposed to do: listen, exercise judgment and discrimination, and then decide how to handle an infraction. Today, in the age of standardized testing, thinking and acting, reason and judgment have been thrown out the window just as teachers are increasingly being deskilled and forced to act as semi-robotic technicians good for little more than teaching for the test and serving as a reminder that we are arriving at a day when the school curriculum will be teacher-proof. This loss of autonomy results in the sabotaging of critical education and the rise of a culture of security that now defines schools through the narrow optics of measurement and discipline.

Link:
http://www.truthout.org/10200910

"I did not know that!" as Johnny would say...


Should you store treasured data on disks?

Preserving precious data, such as pictures and home videos, on CDs and DVDs could do more damage than good in the end.
"We were surprised to see that the lifetime of discs, some of which were designed to last for centuries, actually rarely lasted longer than five to 10 years," said physicist Franck Laloe.
"In the most severe cases, which were happily quite rare, the data on some discs lasted just one year," he said.
Unlike audio and video tapes that wear out with play, discs are read with a laser so there is no physical contact.
However, the surface which contains more than seven miles of data is deteriorating with age.

Link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8711747.stm

If only we were bankers....


Election-Year Politics Derail Bid to Save Teachers' Jobs

Washington - Congress bailed out Wall Street and the auto industry, but it appears to have drawn the line — at least for now — at rescuing teachers.

Link:
http://www.truthout.org/election-year-politics-derail-bid-save-teachers-jobs59959

Song of the day: Jorma Kaukonen

Teacher news.

Right your are. Same for the original bullet as well by the way...


No magic bullet for education
America keeps looking for one simple solution for its education shortcomings. There isn't one.


Now consider the latest rush to extremes: teacher evaluations. In its effort to promote school reform with Race to the Top grants, the Obama administration rightly criticized state laws — such as one then in effect in California — that prohibited schools from making student test scores a part of teacher evaluations, and declared that such laws would preclude a state from qualifying for grants.

Standardized tests were never designed to be the determinant of a teacher's mettle. The creators of these tests have repeatedly warned against using the results for more than they were intended, but that has stopped no one from hopping on the latest educational bandwagon.

This country's tendency to see education reform in simplistic terms is what got us into eight years of trouble under the No Child Left Behind Act. Schools switched overnight from protecting teachers from any accountability for student progress to putting the entire burden on their shoulders, as though they could and should singlehandedly overcome uninvolved parents, troubled neighborhoods and indifferent students. They were given 12 years to bring all those students to proficiency according to a rigid formula that practically guaranteed failure.

We're glad the Obama administration is proposing major changes to the law. But replacing the extremes of No Child Left Behind with new extremes tied to Race to the Top, with its glorification of charter schools and its emphasis on using scores to judge teachers, will not provide schools or students with meaningful education reform.

Link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-eval-20100530,0,1021068.story

Here's an answer to energy independence....

NOT...


Radioactive Leak Found, Fixed at Vt. Nuke Plant
Vapor and water containing 13 different radioactive substances was found late Friday coming from a pipe in a hole workers dug to find the source of an earlier leak.

"This was a new leak," Vermont Yankee spokesman Larry Smith said in an e-mail. "The leak has been stopped. ... There is no threat to public health or safety."


Meanwhile, plant officials acknowledged they had misled state regulators and lawmakers regarding whether the plant had underground pipes that carried radioactive substances. The radioactive tritium was found in an underground pipe.
Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10781711

As we start to spend the next trillion....

War costs set to pass one trillion dollars. Here's what it looks like. Click image to enlarge...


Falling Off the $1 Trillion Cliff

Just how much is $1 trillion? Let’s put it into real-world terms. For that amount of money, you could do fantastic, life-changing things like:

* Provide jobs for 1 million music/arts teachers for a year, and
* Provide health care for 1 million children for one year.

And then, just for fun, you could also:

* Buy Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

If you did all three of these things, you’d still have $925 billion to spare.


Link:
http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/05/29/falling-off-the-1-trillion-cliff/

Repeat after me, everything is ok, everything is ok, everything is ok....



A Record Number Of Americans Turn To Food Stamps As America Is Gripped By Economic Despair

Would you ever accept government welfare? Would you look down on someone who does? Well, if you would look down on a fellow American who receives food stamps then get ready to look down on a massive sea of people. The truth is that over 37 million Americans now receive food stamps, and the program is expanding at a pace of about 20,000 people a day. As hordes of Americans have been forced out of their jobs and their homes, millions are finding that the only way they can make it is to accept food stamps. For many it is a tremendously humbling moment to turn to the government for help, and for so many millions to be dependent on the food stamps program is yet another indication of how deep the economic despair in America has gotten.

Link:
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/a-record-number-of-americans-turn-to-food-stamps-as-america-is-gripped-by-economic-despair

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Holy f**king shit !!


Energy expert: Nuking oil leak ‘only thing we can do’

As the latest effort to plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico meets with failure, the idea of nuking the immediate area to seal the oil underground is gaining steam among some energy experts and researchers.
One prominent energy expert known for predicting the oil price spike of 2008 says sending a small nuclear bomb down the leaking well is "probably the only thing we can do" to stop the leak.


Link:
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0529/energy-expert-nuke-oil-leak/

Song of the day twice: Beatles again



Deja Vu all over again: I told you this guy is waitng in the wings along with Rick Perry...

If this ever happens you'll all have to admit I was right. But I hope to god it never does.


Time to Turn to Jeb?

After all, since Obama gets blamed for the mess the country is in – just as Clinton was to blame for getting entangled in a bunch of “scandals” – doesn’t it make sense to turn again to the Bush family to clean things up.

Granted, this idea may seem premature, given the fact that some Americans may still vaguely recall that Bush-43 contributed to today’s crises.

But, remember, there were Americans during the early Clinton years who distrusted Bush-41 for his lies and his dissembling about Iran-Contra, Iraqgate and other scandals. Yet, those memories quickly faded. If anything, America’s tendency toward historical amnesia is even more advanced today.

Who knows? In a couple of years, there might be a media-generated nostalgia for George W. Bush, much as there was for his father. Then, Jeb – the so-called “smart brother” – might stand a chance as a bridge between the far-right Republicans and the more establishment brand.

Indeed, as the American political process grows even more addle-brained, we might be seeing the start of a recurring cycle: a member of the Bush family screws things up; the Democrats eventually take control but don’t demand accountability; the media quickly shifts the blame for the problems to the Democrats; the Republicans become agents of change; and the next Bush family member becomes president to get things back on track.
One might call that prospect a truly vicious cycle.


Link:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/052910.html

A continuing mystery...


Building What?

The collapse of WTC 7 created an extraordinary problem for the official account of 9/11 for several reasons.

An Unprecedented Occurrence

One reason is that, because of the collapse of WTC 7, the official account of 9/11 includes the dubious claim that, for the first time in the known universe, a steel-frame high-rise building was brought down by fire, and science looks askance at claims of unprecedented occurrences regarding physical phenomena. New York Times writer James Glanz, who himself has a Ph.D. in physics, wrote: “[E]xperts said no building like it, a modern, steel-reinforced high-rise, had ever collapsed because of an uncontrolled fire.” Glanz then quoted a structural engineer as saying: “[W]ithin the structural engineering community, [WTC 7] is considered to be much more important to understand [than the Twin Towers],” because engineers had no answer to the question, “why did 7 come down?”3

Link:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25569.htm

It's magic...


Created Out Of Thin Air – That Is Where The Federal Reserve Got The 1.3 Trillion Dollars That It Bought All Of Those Mortgage Backed Securities With

When the mainstream media told the American people that the Federal Reserve was going to "help" the housing industry by buying up hundreds of billions of dollars worth of toxic mortgage backed securities, very few people probably even stopped to wonder where all of that money was going to come from. Well, the truth is that it did not come from anywhere. It was made up out of thin air. In fact, a total of 1.3 trillion dollars was just "printed into existence" so that the Fed could soak up these problematic securities (and help their buddies down on Wall Street in the process who were desperate to dump them). During a recent Joint Economic Committee hearing on Capital Hill, U.S. Representative Ron Paul directly confronted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about this 1.3 trillion dollars. As Ron Paul described how this 1.3 trillion was just created out of thin air, all Bernanke could do was nod his head. Why? Because it was the truth.

Link:
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/created-out-of-thin-air-that-is-where-the-federal-reserve-got-the-1-3-trillion-dollars-that-it-bought-all-of-those-mortgage-backed-securities-with

I wish I didn't know this...


Surgeons report surge in "man boob" operations

Breast reduction operations are becoming rapidly more popular among men, according to data released by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

The figures show that the operations increased 80 percent, from 323 to 581, between 2008 and 2009. In 2004, just 22 male breast reductions were performed.

The actual numbers are almost certainly higher -- most likely closer to 1,000 in 2009 -- as only one in three British aesthetic plastic surgeons are members of the association.


Link:
http://www.naturalnews.com/028884_man_boobs_operations.html

"I did not know that" as Johnny used to say...



BP's OTHER Spill this Week

With the Gulf Coast dying of oil poisoning, there's no space in the press for British Petroleum's latest spill, just this week: over 100,000 gallons, at its Alaska pipeline operation. A hundred thousand used to be a lot. Still is.

On Tuesday, Pump Station 9, at Delta Junction on the 800-mile pipeline, busted. Thousands of barrels began spewing an explosive cocktail of hydrocarbons after "procedures weren't properly implemented" by BP operators, say state inspectors "Procedures weren't properly implemented" is, it seems, BP's company motto.


Link:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19410

Oh, I almost forgot...

These guys should have their pictures up in post offices....


America's Ten Most Corrupt Capitalists
Wall Street's captains of industry and top policymakers in Washington are often the same people. A lot of them get rich by playing for both teams.


The financial crisis has unveiled a new set of public villains—corrupt corporate capitalists who leveraged their connections in government for their own personal profit. During the Clinton and Bush administrations, many of these schemers were worshiped as geniuses, heroes or icons of American progress. But today we know these opportunists for what they are: Deregulatory hacks hellbent on making a profit at any cost. Without further ado, here are the 10 most corrupt capitalists in the U.S. economy.

Click here to read the rest:
http://www.alternet.org/economy/146819/america%27s_ten_most_corrupt_capitalists?page=entire

I was wondering why my house hasn't been flooded yet....

Click link below to see map animation of ice growth.


Arctic Ice Volume Has Increased 25% Since May, 2008

The Navy requires accurate sea ice information for their operations, and has spent a lot of effort over the years studying, measuring, and operating in Arctic ice both above and below, such as they did in the ICEX 2009 exercise.
So, if you are planning on bringing a $900 million Los Angeles class submarine through the ice, as the captain might say to the analyst after receiving an ice report: “you’d better be damn sure of the ice thickness before I risk the boat and the crew”.


Link:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/05/29/arctic-ice-volume-has-increased-25-since-may-2008/

Follow the money. If Al Gore can do it...

WHY YOU WILL NEVER GET THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SO CALLED MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING MYTH FROM THE GLOBAL ELITE. THERE IS TOO MUCH MONEY TO MADE FROM PERPETUATING IT.


Tony Blair to earn millions as climate change adviser
Tony Blair is set to earn millions of pounds advising an American businessman on how to make money from tackling climate change.

The former prime minister will be paid at least £700,000 a year to act as a “strategic adviser” to Khosla Ventures, a venture capitalist firm founded by Indian billionaire Vinod Khosla.
The Californian company bankrolls businesses hoping to profit from technology that helps reduce global warming and carbon emissions.
Mr Blair secured the job thanks to his “influence” and high level international contacts, whom he will be expected to lean on to open doors.


Link:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23838369-tony-blair-to-earn-millions-as-climate-change-adviser.do

Repeat after me, everything is ok, everything is ok, everything is ok.....


One Out Of Every Ten U.S. Banks Is Now On The FDIC’s Problem List – Do You Know If Your Bank Is Safe?

Do you know if your bank will be there next month? For a growing number of Americans, that is becoming a very real question. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 775 banks (approximately ten percent of all U.S. banks) are now on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's list of "problem" banks. This year we have already seen more than six dozen banks fail, and the frightening thing is that we are seeing a rapid acceleration in bank failures even though we are supposedly in a "recovery" right now. So what happens if the economy takes a bad turn and hundreds of these banks that are barely surviving start failing?

Right now an increasing number of Americans are not paying their loans, and this is shredding the balance sheets of small and medium size banks all over the United States. In fact, during the first quarter of 2010, the total number of loans that are at least three months past due increased for the 16th consecutive quarter
.

Once is a coincidence.
Twice is a trend.
Sixteen times in a row is a total nightmare.
Is there anyone out there that is still convinced that the economy is getting better?
If so, perhaps this will convince you otherwise....
There were 252 banks on the FDIC's "problem list" at the end of 2008.
There were 702 banks on the FDIC's "problem list" at the end of 2009.
Now there are 775 banks of the FDIC's "problem list".
Are you starting to see a trend?
Federal regulators have already closed 73 banks in 2010, more than double the number shut down at this time last year.
The truth is that the U.S. banking system is coming apart like a 20 dollar suit.
So is the FDIC worried?
No, they insist that they have plenty of money to cover all of the banks that are going to fail.
After all, the FDIC's deposit insurance fund now has negative 20.7 billion dollars in it, which represents a slight improvement from the end of 2009.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Negative 20.7 billion dollars.


Link:
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/one-out-of-every-ten-u-s-banks-is-now-on-the-fdics-problem-list-do-you-know-if-your-bank-is-safe

No, Shit!


No Terror Evidence Against Some Detainees

The 48 Guantánamo Bay detainees whom the Obama administration has decided to keep holding without trial include several for whom there is no evidence of involvement in any specific terrorist plot, according to a report disclosed Friday.

The task force’s general findings have been known since its report was completed in January. But the report itself was not made public. It was obtained Friday by The Washington Post, which posted the report on its Web site.

“One common problem is that for many of the detainees, there are no witnesses who are available to testify in any proceeding against them,” it said.


Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/us/politics/29gitmo.html

And you can bet it will be traced to them.

We are looking to expand the war in the Middle East as a result of an incompetent patsy controlled by Pakistani intelligence who are funded by the CIA. It can't get any better than this folks. All you have to do is trust them, without question, to do what is right.



U.S. Army Developing Pakistan Attack Plan As Possible Response To Terror Attack

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is developing plans for a unilateral attack on the Pakistani Taliban in the event of a successful terrorist strike in the United States that can be traced to them, The Washington Post reports

Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/29/us-army-developing-pakist_n_594235.html

Friday, May 28, 2010

Song of the day: The Beatles

If Bush did this (he did) what do you think would be said about him on MSNBC?

Don't get me wrong, both of these guys (Bush/Obama) are wrong. My point is that the major TV news networks are biased either right or left politically and we suffer as a result. I'd much rather get my info from the internet despite the obvious problems. You have to admit, most of the stuff I post here, you don't see on the news and most of it is from legitimate news sites. It might not be a perspective that some of you embrace but that is what makes America great. I'm just trying to wade through the crap.


Stressed Out or Tone Deaf? Obama Chicago Vacation Raises Eyebrows

Presidents are never really off the clock, even when they go on vacation. But President Obama's decision to skip the traditional Memorial Day ceremony in Arlington while on his second vacation since the BP oil spill
began has some wondering what the schedule says about his priorities.

On "vacation," Obama still holds staff meetings, occasionally attends local events and often gets his "relaxation" time swallowed up by pressing national and international business -- his vacation to Hawaii in December coincided with the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing. The retreat this weekend is marked by a side-trip to Louisiana to inspect the damages from the oil spill.

But some conservatives, still smarting over the criticism George W. Bush fielded for his frequent trips to Crawford, Texas, say Obama's trip to Chicago over Memorial Day weekend is conspicuously poor in its timing.

Link:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/27/stressed-tone-deaf-obama-chicago-vacation-raises-eyebrows/

It's because it was so warm....


The Western Snowpack is 137% of normal

Experts tell us that spring snowcover has seen rapid declines in the Northern Hemisphere over the last 20 years. As of today, western US snowpack averaged by state is 137 percent of normal.


Link:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/05/25/the-western-snowpack-is-137-of-normal/

Did you hear the one about.....

Who's laughing now?



Liberals are asking us to give Obama time. We agree and think 25 to life would be appropriate. -Jay Leno

America needs Obama-care like Nancy Pelosi needs a Halloween mask. -Jay Leno


Q: What's the difference between Obama's cabinet and a penitentiary?
A: One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers and threats to society. The other is for housing prisoners. -David Letterman


Q: Have you heard about McDonald's' new Obama Value Meal?
A: Order anything you like and the guy behind you has to pay for it. - Conan O'Brien


Q: What does Obama call lunch with a convicted felon?
A: A fund raiser. -Jay Leno

Link:
http://www.rense.com/general91/even.htm

Do you want to competely f**k up at work and keep your job? Become a banker...


Ordinary Workers Would Be Fired in a Second If They Screwed Up Anywhere Nearly as Bad as the Bankers Have

Remarkably, this crew of incompetents is still claiming papal infallibility, warning governments and the general public that bad things will happen if they are subjected to more oversight. Instead, the central bankers and their accomplices at the IMF are dictating policies to democratically elected governments. Their agenda seems to be the same everywhere, cut back retirement benefits, reduce public support for health care, weaken unions and make ordinary workers take pay cuts.

Given how much they have messed up, it is amazing that these central bankers have the gall to even show their face in public. They are lucky that they still have jobs -- and very good paying ones at that. (Many of the boys and girls at the IMF can retire with six figure pensions at the age of 50.) Ordinary workers, like teachers, autoworkers, or custodians, would be fired in a second if they performed as badly as the world's central bankers.

Link:
http://www.alternet.org/economy/147032

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...If not worse...


"Hope-and-Change," A Hoax

While Obama maintained that Al Qaeda was best fought in Afghanistan, he nevertheless left a distinct impression that his intention was to end all of the wars as soon as possible, and to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on “day one.” Troops have indeed been moved around, repositioned outside of predefined “combat zones.” But Obama missed his own deadline for troop withdrawal from Iraq, and the message of Obama was anti-Bush doctrine, anti-war escalation, and anti-pre-emptive intervention. Nonetheless, after taking office, Obama proceeded to keep most of the Bush military team, including General David Petraeus and Bush’s last Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. During Obama’s first full year in office, a record number of civilians were killed in Afghanistan. The number of troops killed in Afghanistan in the first three months in 2010 doubled that of the same period a year before.

Obama has embraced the Bush “surge” policy, adopted from the Iraqi “surge” and implemented in Afghanistan. The effect has not been the victory supposedly desired (a premise we utterly reject—the intention is not to “win” but to maintain occupation), but rather continued embattlement in territories continually under siege. Again, as in Iraq under Bush, the enemy in Afghanistan has changed under Obama. The troops admittedly fight the Taliban and not al-Qaeda, as promised. Furthermore, evidence points to the fact that we are actually funding the enemy that we are supposed to be fighting: The US is funding the Taliban militants via contractors. The bounty being offered by the Taliban for NATO troops killed is, in other words, being paid from the U.S. Treasury. Under Obama, the dreaded drone bombings in Pakistan, which kill thousands of civilians, have increased considerably.

Another major area of Obama’s hope-and-change rhetoric has to do with domestic surveillance. Where domestic surveillance is concerned, Obama actually has morphed into a more draconian form of Bush, extending domestic surveillance to the web. The USA PATRIOT Act has been extended under Obama -- although he campaigned against its renewal during his presidential campaign -- with no new added protections for civil liberties. The Obama Administration is seeking to weaken Miranda rights for terror suspects, venturing deep into territory on which George W. Bush did not tread.

Link:
http://www.legitgov.org/Hope-and-Change-Hoax

Diving into the oil disaster...

Eyes wide shut.


BILDERBERG: Global cabal pushes agenda before meeting in Sitges, Spain

The Bilderberg-controlled Washington Post called for making the IMF a “global overseer” on May 20. Bilderberg is exploiting the financial crisis in Greece and other EU countries to advance efforts to make the IMF a world Treasury Department under the UN.

“It may take a global agency like the IMF” to address the problem, The Post said, attributing the view to Liliana Rojas-Suarez, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.

Bilderberg warmongering continues. Following instructions from Russian Mikhail Slobodinsky (at the Trilateralist meeting [AFP May 24, 2010]), Russia and China joined in supporting a resolution condemning Iran’s imaginary “nuclear weapons program.” Israel restated that air strikes are not “off the table.”

The Bilderberg-Trilateral goal is for the U.S. to conduct air strikes on Iran, paid for with American taxpayer dollars and blood. Israel has had nuclear weapons since at least 1962, is not a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and refuses on-site inspections.


Link:
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/bilderberg__global_cabal_224.html

They should know...

Ratchet up the fear...



US Warns Of World Cup Terrorist Attacks In South Africa

"There is a heightened risk that extremist groups will conduct terrorist acts within South Africa in the near future," the department said in an alert Thursday. "While a number of terrorist threats against the World Cup in South Africa have appeared in the media in recent weeks and months, the U.S. government has no information on any specific, credible threat of attack that any individual or group is planning to coincide with the tournament."

Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/28/us-warns-of-world-cup-ter_n_593145.html

It's just America supporting the troops...



Soldier in Iraq Loses Home Over $800 Debt

Michael Clauer is a captain in the Army Reserve who commanded over 100 soldiers in Iraq. But while he was fighting for his country, a different kind of battle was brewing on the home front. Last September, Michael returned to Frisco, Texas, to find that his homeowners' association had foreclosed on his $300,000 house—and sold it for $3,500. This is story illustrates the type of legal quagmire that can get out of hand while soldiers are serving abroad and their families are dealing with the stress of their deployment. And fixing the mess isn't easy.

Link:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/05/soldier-iraq-loses-home-homeowners-association-foreclose

She should know...



He Was Supposed to Be Competent The spill is a disaster for the president and his political philosophy.By PEGGY NOONAN.

I don't see how the president's position and popularity can survive the oil spill. This is his third political disaster in his first 18 months in office. And they were all, as they say, unforced errors, meaning they were shaped by the president's political judgment and instincts.
There was the tearing and unnecessary war over his health-care proposal and its cost. There was his day-to-day indifference to the views and hopes of the majority of voters regarding illegal immigration. And now the past almost 40 days of dodging and dithering in the face of an environmental calamity. I don't see how you politically survive this.
The president, in my view, continues to govern in a way that suggests he is chronically detached from the central and immediate concerns of his countrymen. This is a terrible thing to see in a political figure, and a startling thing in one who won so handily and shrewdly in 2008. But he has not, almost from the day he was inaugurated, been in sync with the center. The heart of the country is thinking each day about A, B and C, and he is thinking about X, Y and Z. They're in one reality, he's in another.


Link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704269204575270950789108846.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion

Deja Vu all over again:


‘McCarthyite’ provision in defense bill targets ACLU lawyers

The defense appropriations bill currently moving through the House of Representatives includes a measure which directs the Defense Department's inspector general to investigate attorneys who may have "interfered with operations of the Department of Defense" while representing detainees at Guantanamo Bay and report back to Congress.
That measure has civil libertarians up in arms. Salon's Glenn Greenwald, for example, described the "truly vile provision" as a "McCarthyite attack on detainee lawyers" and identified it as "the brainchild of GOP Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida, who has labeled efforts to represent detainees ... a 'treacherous enterprise" and smeared those lawyers as 'disloyal.'"


Link:
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0527/defense-bill-includes-mccarthyite-provision-targeting-aclu-lawyers/

Money for war but not for jobs. Thank goodness Bush and the Republicans are not in control anymore...


Senate approves $60 billion more for wars and aid — for just four months

“The American people deserve an answer to the question: How much longer?” Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold was quoted as saying. The funding bill “will add some $30 billion more to the almost $300 billion we’ve already spent in Afghanistan with no end in sight,” he said.

Link:
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0528/senate-passes-60bn-funding-afghan-war/