Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Tuesday, 23 April 2013


Headlines

The strategy from Blue Line and its partners to ignore climate change played into the hands of polluters, which sought to suppress support for the bill by spreading doubt about the consensus over the science. It was a novel approach. In nearly every Western industrialized country that has implemented economy-wide carbon controls, reformers have talked about the effects of climate change.

This success has a thousand parents. While MD-AGV was focused on banning military assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,others were concerned about addressing handgun violence that daily plagues our cities, and about the public health aspects of gun violence. When we are clear about our message,knowledgeable about the legislative process, our elected officials know it. They must also know that we will vote this issue.

By Marianne Hoynes
The Little Country that Could
This week, Iceland is holding the newest and most cutting edged election that the world has ever seen.Most of the citizens of Iceland are more involved than they have ever been before. Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson is one of those citizens.

Unfortunately, freedom as practiced in the U.S. has its drawbacks. It has encouraged an often heartless individuality that disregards serious levels of poverty. It has allowed the evolution of interest group politics that often works against national interests in both domestic and foreign policies.

Over the last two years, the US has witnessed at least three other episodes of mass, indiscriminate violence that killed more people than the Boston bombings did. The word "terrorism" was almost never used to describe that indiscriminate slaughter of innocent people, and none of the perpetrators of those attacks was charged with terrorism-related crimes.

At the heart of the new George W. Bush Presidential Library -- and the Bush Family's frantic efforts to rehabilitate its image -- is a novel approach toward putting visitors on the spot by putting them in Bush's shoes as he faced tough choices, a challenge that Robert Parry agrees to take on.

By Dennis Loo
Boston Marathon Bombers: Their Terrorist Actions Were Heinous, Their Outrage Explicable
Why did the Tsarnaev brothers adopt terrorist tactics and what does this tell us about where things are at and where they are going?
In 2000, during a visit with the sheik, he asked Stewart to release a statement from him to the press. The Clinton administration did not prosecute her for the press release, but the Bush administration in April 2002, the mood of the country altered by the attacks of 9/11, decided to go after her. She sits in a prison cell at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, where she is serving a 10-year sentence.

By Linn Washington
Does Shaq Support Censorship - He Slam Dunks Film on Famed Inmate
The Newark movie complex co-owned by famed basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal cancelled the screening of a documentary film prompting cries of censorship. This film examines imprisoned author/activist/journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, uniquely focusing on the 'who' of Abu-Jamal unlike the 'whodunit' crime focus of prior films on this contentious case.
By Lisa Gibson
Thinking Beyond Terrorism
Terrorism prevention activist shares personal story of terrorism and how to prevent it.

Children as young as four are becoming so addicted to smartphones and iPads that they require psychological treatment.Experts have warned that parents who allow babies and toddlers to access tablet computers for several hours a day are in danger of causing "dangerous" long term effects. Dr Graham said that young technology addicts experienced the same withdrawal symptoms as alcoholics or heroin addicts, when the devices were taken away.

The new movie, "42," tells the story of Jackie Robinson, but it also makes this writer think about how much of America's progressive social agenda has either not been accomplished or has eroded over the years.

From The Mad Collapser. I don't think asynthesis is actually a word, but it likely should be.

By Stephen Lendman
Targeting Iran
Hostile US/Israeli rhetoric is longstanding. Obama and Netanyahu consider Iran an existential threat. Claiming it turns truth on its head.
Washington's efforts to delegitimize the election mark a significant escalation of US efforts at regime change in Venezuela. Not since its involvement in the 2002 military coup has the US government done this much to promote open conflict in Venezuela.

By Mohammad Ala
Media Coverage of Boston Bombings Shows Human Life Is Valued by Different Standards
Westerners are often oblivious to the harm that their own governments cause other nationals. Claims in Western courts have been dismissed when other nationals (especially from third world countries) have submitted them.
By Gary Corseri
50 Years After MLK's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," What Can We Learn?
Taking note of an important anniversary, lost in the hubbub of the daily news.
In considering a cause of death of one of the alleged perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Massachusetts medical examiner may have to fend off pressure to make the facts fit officialdom's storyline.

By Gulamhusein Abba
Boston Bombing, Selective Compassion, and the "Muslim Factor"
Important questions arising from the Boston bombing are examined in this article
In the so-called gun control debate we throw around terms like "assault weapons ban" or "expanded background checks" as if these represent the real problem. Let me state simply that: assault weapons, background checks or even the capacity of a magazine clip are not the problem. The problem at heart is with our culture of violence. As a society, we believe that violence is the answer to our problems.

By David Schultz
Miranda Warnings and the Boston Marathon Bomber: Why Obama is Wrong
The Obama administration was legally and politically wrong not to give the alleged Boston Marathon bomber his Miranda Rights.
The death toll and injury count in the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion that took place last Wednesday continues to rise, with 35-40 dead and 60 still unaccounted for. Some Texas Congressmen have also requested aid to help the victims and the town rebuild. Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) has said that he, plus Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and John Cornyn (R-TX), are working with Congressional leaders to extend necessary assistance. Yet when Northeast cities needed disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, a storm that killed hundreds, all three Congressmen voted against the aid package.

Several years ago, I had a free trial of Photo Shop, and when the free trail ended I didn't think I'd done very well. Today I think differently, and it was a lot of fun to photo shop my ex's relatives in derogatory pictures. The trick is in the angles and smooth edges;

By Tom Engelhardt
Engelhardt: Field of Nightmares
Chalmers Johnson's book Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire was published in March 2000 -- and just about no one noticed. Until then, blowback had been an obscure term of CIA tradecraft, which Johnson defined as "the unintended consequences of policies that were kept secret from the American people."
By Walter Uhler
American Militarism: Part One (Rachel Maddow)
On April 14th Rachel Maddow spoke at the University of Pennsylvania to describe and decry the many reasons why war has become so extremely easy to initiate in the United States.


Latest Articles
Taxation without representation
Ever wonder why our government seems so disconnected from the will of the people?
Supportive Culture of Learning May Fail Academically: Example from Middle East
For centuries European and American universities have been opening programs overseas. This article looks at how local cultures of learning interface with acquisition of academic curricula.
The Bevill (Read: Baffle) Exclusion
In nomenclature ludicrous even by doublespeake "standards," the EPA's "Bevill Exclusion" reclassifies fluoride from an "extremely hazardous waste" to a "by-product" of the same in order to allow industry to dump it into our drinking water instead of disposing of it as a hazardous waste, which is what it most decidedly is.
Many clinical features of Hepatitis C resemble an auto-immune disease, such as the long duration, chronic nature and association with other auto-immune symptoms. According to Dr Strassburg, "Based on biochemical and clinical features, Hep C is almost indistinguishable from autoimmune hepatitis," Hep C advertising campaigns raise warning flags and serious ethical concerns about the motivations of the drug companies.

A call for a new Constitution and reigning in on the out of control Federal/State sale of the government. A call for goverment that serves the people.

Henry Kissinger's quote recently released by Wikileaks,"the illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes a little longer", likely brought a smile to his legions of elite media, government, corporate and high society admirers. It is unlikely, however, that the descendants of his more than 6 million victims in Indochina, and Americans of conscience appalled by his murder of non-Americans, will share in the amusement.

The article provides an overview of the American food system and how it promotes corporate agribusiness rather than family farms, how Congress favors genetic engineering and opposes organic. Our agriculture system has a huge impact on climate change and water. Food is a human right. It is often the biggest part of the local economy but ignored by economic planners.

The Terror Next Time
What if the Boston bombers were two Pakistani kids whose family had been wiped out by an Obama drone strike? Americans might finally get an idea of the horror they've been responsible for.
When Will We Ever Learn?
It is certainly appropriate to honor the victims of the 1983 US Embassy bombing but it is no less appropriate to honor the other tragedies in Lebanon during this period under review that precipitated it. In her closing remarks this week, Ambassador Connelly noted that in her opinion, "the bombing of the US Embassy taught us the stakes of involvement in this region." Has it?
As with so many unspoiled ecosystems, the world's largest, most perfect biobay in danger. As is Vieques, itself. And on Earth Day it is worth noting how our military maneuvers almost destroyed the island, and continues to threaten the population with abandoned by-products from our weapons of war.

There are absolutely no witnesses saying the brothers dropped the bombs. They did it because the FBI says so. Washington is about to join the glittering ranks of Mubarak-era Egypt, Bahrain and Uganda. As that nasty little piece of work, Senator Lindsay Graham, put it, now ''the homeland is the battlefield.'' And you're an enemy combatant if we say so.

A report on the Gina McCarthy hearings

By projecting its own evil onto its intended targets, USA 'gets away' with war crime after war crime.

How to Help your Employees, Administrators, and Students Understand What Unites Them - and What Makes Them Unique
Too many countries, especially those here in the Middle East, are focusing on high-stakes exams instead of making the classroom reflect more of what we experience in the real world. In this paper the author encourages colleagues, trainers, and teachers across two continents to strive to use simulations and simulation games in class and in training sessions. He focuses on on well-known simulation on culture: BARNGA.

Best News Links from the Web
Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 19:00