Daily Headlines
I don't recall in my life or my exposure to US history a previous episode where a whole city was locked down, with a combination people told not to leave their homes, public transportation shut down and all vehicular traffic stopped.
The New York Times this morning had at least 8 top stories on the bombings and manhunt in Boston, and just one on the Texas fertilizer plant explosion disaster. And this is while the disaster in Texas was still unfolding with funerals and a continued search for the missing. It wasn't as interesting that people are still missing in the Texas explosion because it wasn't a terrorist event.
You'd think the ads which began this week, telling business owners to move to Texas, would be pulled because of the disaster. You'd be wrong.
Consider the damage done to America by Rupert Murdoch's propaganda empire. Consider the damage done to America by the Koch brothers' funding of reverse-Robin-Hood policies and climate-change-denial. This nation cannot afford to have the reservoir of our public understanding poisoned still further by the likes of these men. People should mobilize to block this acquisition of historically important newspapers.
"Outlawing abortion doesn't stop it from happening. It just forces women to resort to Gosnell-type back-alley providers."
Does homeland security apply to the whole homeland -- so why did governments let a fertilizer plan blow up?
As of Friday evening, 14 people were confirmed dead, 200 injured, and 60 more missing after Wednesday's explosion at a fertilizer storage and distribution facility in the city of West, Texas. The explosion leveled as many as 75 homes, destroyed a 50-unit apartment building and damaged a school. Most of the members of the town's volunteer fire department are either killed, injured or missing. West Fertilizer has been cited and occasionally fined for safety and environmental violations, but no serious measures have been taken to compel the company to address the problems.
What do we know, what don't we know, and what do we ignore at our peril about fracking and our water?
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been convicted of nothing and is thus entitled to a presumption of innocence. The reason to care what happens to him is because how he is treated creates precedent for what the US government is empowered to do, including to US citizens on US soil. When you cheer for the erosion of his rights, you're cheering for the erosion of your own.
By Steve Bhaerman
Sometimes A Cigar Is Just A Cigar
In the wake of the tragic and senseless bombings in Boston this past Monday, three "usual suspects" emerged: It was the Muslims. It was the white supremacist gun nuts. It was the government pulling off yet another false flag attack. In this whodunit, each camp pre-concluded the perpetrator based on their worldview...
Sometimes A Cigar Is Just A Cigar
In the wake of the tragic and senseless bombings in Boston this past Monday, three "usual suspects" emerged: It was the Muslims. It was the white supremacist gun nuts. It was the government pulling off yet another false flag attack. In this whodunit, each camp pre-concluded the perpetrator based on their worldview...
By Cindy Sheehan
Like a band of rebels we bike down the highway
The indomitable spirit of Cindy Sheehan lives on, and we need her more now than ever.
Like a band of rebels we bike down the highway
The indomitable spirit of Cindy Sheehan lives on, and we need her more now than ever.
By People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Vegan is the 'new green' for Earth Day
Planting trees and cleaning up rivers won't mean much in the long run if we continue to trash the planet with our meat habit. To truly "go green," we must start with what's on our plates.
Vegan is the 'new green' for Earth Day
Planting trees and cleaning up rivers won't mean much in the long run if we continue to trash the planet with our meat habit. To truly "go green," we must start with what's on our plates.
A tribute to the greatest man I ever knew.
a commercial ad that blends some cool images together to evoke metaphoric thinking.
By Roland Michel Tremblay
Before the Delusion by William Gleeson, a bombshell rewriting 12,000 years of history
Before the Delusion by William Gleeson, a bombshell rewriting 12,000 years of history
Before the Delusion: Secret Vatican Files of the Pyramids and Stonehenge is an excellent book that changes nearly everything you thought you knew about human history and the origin of religion, in particular Christianity and Judaism.
By Vi Ransel
The Knacker
This was originally an editorial opinion about the Bush Administration budget published here in 2006. But tell me, isn't the Obama Adminstration budget exactly the same?
The Knacker
This was originally an editorial opinion about the Bush Administration budget published here in 2006. But tell me, isn't the Obama Adminstration budget exactly the same?
The sky this next month is very active. We're gong to have a third--extra--eclipse and the third Uranus/Pluto square by the end of May. We have to step up our political action and our personal responsibility. This lunar eclipse in Taurus/Scorpio offers us a chance to release our dependence on 'things' and place more faith in each other. It's time to really look at our values and live them. Taurus says, 'if you build it. . .
By Stephen Lendman
Venezuela's Maduro Inaugurated
Latin American and other heads of state attended Maduro's inaugural ceremony. Earlier he accused opposition forces of triggering post-election violence.
Venezuela's Maduro Inaugurated
Latin American and other heads of state attended Maduro's inaugural ceremony. Earlier he accused opposition forces of triggering post-election violence.
Two powerful GOP senators are calling on the Obama administration to treat the captured suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings as an "enemy combatant" and deny him counsel even though he is reportedly an American citizen. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, captured Friday night outside Boston after a tense daylong manhunt, should be questioned for intelligence purposes and not read his Miranda rights. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) expressed their support for the Graham-McCain statement Saturday afternoon.
"We are a plague on the Earth. It's coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It's not just climate change; it's sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now," he told the Radio Times.
It is no wonder that Obama does not care to ponder what underlies the bloody events from Tucson, to Aurora, to Newtown to Boston. Any serious examination going beyond incomprehensible "evil" would inevitably involve an indictment of himself, his government and the social order over which he presides.
Syrian opposition has sought support for a transitional government at an international Friends of Syria conference in Istanbul, as the US prepares new non-lethal military aid for Syrian rebels. Kerry is expected to announce a new aid package, which would mark a recalibration of US policy toward rebel groups in the Syrian civil war. The US plans to provide about $130m in new non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition that could include for the first time battlefield support equipment such as body armour and night-goggles.
The recent splurge of cheating by students, teacjers and administrators is just a symptom of the greator disease afflicting American Education.
This incident will greatly strengthen the military-security apparat in the United States and Russia, helping to further demonize Muslims in general. But every political power structure that feeds on fear -- and which ones do not? -- will benefit from the crime spree in Boston, whatever its origins.
By Dennis Kaiser
The "Fix the Debt" Movement
Peter G. Peterson is probably the single-most person behind wanting to destroy the social safety net for the elderly, sickly, and disabled.
The "Fix the Debt" Movement
Peter G. Peterson is probably the single-most person behind wanting to destroy the social safety net for the elderly, sickly, and disabled.
We're sending 200 troops with another 20,000 that may go soon. If we're broke, where did they find the money to do this?
Chechnya's strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, apart from displaying his trademark truculence on his favorite media platform, Instagram, has made a (crucial) point; "Any attempt to make a link between Chechnya and the Tsarnaevs, if they are guilty, is pointless. They grew up in the US, their views and beliefs were formed there. The roots of evil must be searched for in America."
Latest Articles
Never Trust Sun Trust!
A case study of how Sun Trust Bank of Georgia abused the trust of two innocent customers, repeatedly and profoundly. The time for real bank regulation is long overdue, and desperately needed. Woody Guthrie said he did not know which was worse: to rob a bank, or to own one! Today, that is still a very good question.
A case study of how Sun Trust Bank of Georgia abused the trust of two innocent customers, repeatedly and profoundly. The time for real bank regulation is long overdue, and desperately needed. Woody Guthrie said he did not know which was worse: to rob a bank, or to own one! Today, that is still a very good question.
Appearances Are Deceiving
There's a lot of Creeps out there, and MOST OF THEM LOOK LIKE THE "AVERAGE" PERSON. The "normal" person. Appearances can be deceiving.
There's a lot of Creeps out there, and MOST OF THEM LOOK LIKE THE "AVERAGE" PERSON. The "normal" person. Appearances can be deceiving.
We incorporate the future Now and Here. It is Here and Now that the future will unfold. It is Here and Now that change must occur.
Best News Links from the Web
First, just in case it's not utterly obvious, I'm glad that the two murderous cowards who attacked civilians in Boston recently are off the streets. One dead and one in custody is a great outcome. That said, a large percent of the reaction in Boston has been security theater. "Four victims brutally killed" goes by other names in other cities.
he NRA has consistently (and successfully) sought to kill the most basic efforts to keep guns away from convicted criminals and other dangerous characters -- including abusive spouses under court protection orders, drug dealers and even individuals listed on the Justice Department's terrorist watch list. In the wake of the Boston bombing, as the nation ponders how to bolster its security, the gun lobby's tender concern for the Second Amendment "rights" of terrorists and thugs ought to permanently discredit them and their political servants. Instead they have achieved another bloody victory in Washington.
Analysts support media's focus on Boston over Texas explosion
The Boston Marathon bombing story became inescapable, a real-life TV drama unfolding hourly with nonstop coverage on radio, cable television, social media and, in a sign of its power, even on network TV, which pre-empted hours of afternoon programming. The fast-moving nature of the story and the live coverage led to some on-air reporting mistakes even as they virtually excluded coverage of any other event, including Wednesday's fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, which killed and injured more people than the Boston explosions did.
The Boston Marathon bombing story became inescapable, a real-life TV drama unfolding hourly with nonstop coverage on radio, cable television, social media and, in a sign of its power, even on network TV, which pre-empted hours of afternoon programming. The fast-moving nature of the story and the live coverage led to some on-air reporting mistakes even as they virtually excluded coverage of any other event, including Wednesday's fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, which killed and injured more people than the Boston explosions did.
transcript of secret meeting between Julian Assange and Eric Schmidt
Eric Schmidt, head of Google, talks in confidence with Julian Assange of Wikileaks. Pertinent, forward-looking discussion of all aspects of human information management and its opponents. Insightful, edifying, courageous, indomitable.
Eric Schmidt, head of Google, talks in confidence with Julian Assange of Wikileaks. Pertinent, forward-looking discussion of all aspects of human information management and its opponents. Insightful, edifying, courageous, indomitable.
Rubio Warns Republicans: If You Don't Support My Immigration Plan, Obama Will Just Legalize Everyone
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) warned on Wednesday that President Obama could unilaterally legalize millions of undocumented immigrants if Congress does not pass a bipartisan immigration bill offered by the so-called Gang of 8. Appearing on the nationally syndicated "The Mark Levin Show" -- one of many conservative talk radio interviews the senator is granting to pitch his immigration proposal -- Rubio argued that if lawmakers fail to reform the system in the way he has proposed, "bad people" like President Barack Obama will be able to losen immigration laws and undermine America's border security.
7-Eleven robbery not related to Boston bombing suspects
There was a 7-Eleven robbery in Cambridge last night, but it had nothing to do with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. Margaret Chabris, the director of corporate communication at 7- Eleven, says the surveillance video of the crime was not taken at a 7-Eleven and that the suspect that did rob the 7-Eleven does not look like Tamerlan or Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. "The suspect in the photos for that particular 7-Eleven robbery looks nothing like the suspects," Chabris says. "The police or someone made a mistake. Someone was confused."
There was a 7-Eleven robbery in Cambridge last night, but it had nothing to do with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. Margaret Chabris, the director of corporate communication at 7- Eleven, says the surveillance video of the crime was not taken at a 7-Eleven and that the suspect that did rob the 7-Eleven does not look like Tamerlan or Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. "The suspect in the photos for that particular 7-Eleven robbery looks nothing like the suspects," Chabris says. "The police or someone made a mistake. Someone was confused."
