Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Thursday 9 May 2013


 Daily Headlines
The meat and seafood you buy probably looks and smells fine. But processors may be using unsavory drugs to retard bacterial growth and the drugs do not appear on the label.

In the "information age," censorship by omission is a weapon of this power -- the silencing of whistleblowers without whom journalism can never be free, and of a compliant, privileged "left." Militarized policing, displayed recently in Boston, consumes an America waging "perpetual war" and now threatening China. It is no surprise that newspapers in thrall to this corrupt power are ailing.
Workplace wellness is boring, illness focused and timid. What's more, workplace wellness is not even wellness - it's all a mishmash of medical management, risk reduction, prevention, employee assistance and preaching against the secular sins and comeuppances of bad behaviors. A new approach is outlined, one focused on reason, exuberance, athleticism and liberty/personal freedoms.

Former vice president Dick Cheney slammed the Obama administration's handling of the September 11th, 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi as "a failure of leadership," and claimed that during the Bush administration "on our watch, we were always ready on 9/11. Cheney declined to mention that, on their watch, the Bush administration ignored repeated, urgent warnings leading up to the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 on September 11th, 2001.
In his April 25 Rolling Stone Article, Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever, Matt Taiibi, begins, "The Illuminati were amateurs. The second huge financial scandal of the year reveals the real international conspiracy: There's no price the big banks can't fix" then says, "
We have a legacy of using "bags of money" along with our bombs to engage with Kipling's "white man's burden." Lately, the right wing militarists have been assuming the antiwar left's view of European colonialism. And it has become pretty weird.
By Sherwood Ross
Drone Strikes Affecting Thousands in Pakistan, Fueling Hatred of U.S.
Residents of Pakistan's tribal areas, the targets of increasing numbers of U.S. drone attacks, live in greater fear than Britons during the "Blitz" of World War II. Their plight is made even worse by the CIA's practice of attacking first responders who come to the aid of those stricken. The result has been that first responders are refusing to come so that the wounded often are just left to die.
How would America react if every major print, radio and TV network ran simultaneous coverage suggesting an alleged Russian threat? Well, that's what's arguably happened in Sweden.

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has an amendment to reimburse "states and municipalities for costs incurred in incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens." By guaranteeing federal money for immigrant detention, Cornyn's amendment could incentivize the incarceration of immigrants in both private and public prisons.
Both the US-NATO occupation and the stooge regime of President Hamid Karzai are widely hated by the Afghan population. Resistance to foreign intervention and occupation is at the heart of the guerrilla warfare that more than a decade of relentless military offensives, air strikes and assassinations have been unable to suppress.
Can we come to faith through reason? What happens when reason fails us? We must deconstruct to find the universal human truths in our holy texts.

There has been much speculation about Jesus' sexuality.Various commentators have suggested every possibility, including the most provocative speculation that he was Gay. But if he were gay it's likely that he would have covered it up given the hash taboo against homosexuality in the Old Testament.
By Steve Bhaerman
Swami Beyondananda To Speak At Conspiracy Con - Oh, and the Issue Isn't Conspiracy... It's Con's Piracy
Seeing the mechanisms of power "naked" can be shocking, to say the least. So it's understandable why the phrase "conspiracy theory" is used as a dismissal attack by those unwilling (or unable) to confront the unconfrontable. I mean, if you have credible evidence that our government killed John Kennedy and Martin Luther King, or allowed the 9/11 attacks to happen, what do you do about it? How do you "be" with it?
By Suzana Megles
A Very Special Great Dane
Most of us who have a companion animal don't need any more reasons to love and appreciate them more. However, this Great Dane's story may just prove otherwise.
By Media Matters
The John Bolton Acknowledgment That Should End The Benghazi Scandal Mongering
Fox News contributor John Bolton delivered a devastating blow to the right-wing scandal mongering over Benghazi when he acknowledged that it was impossible to know at the exact moment of the September 2012 terrorist attack whether it was appropriate to shift security resources away from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.
By Patrick Walker
The Dangers of Liberals' Repressed Reptilian Brains
A supremely daring dissection of standard PC liberals' unacknowledged primitive unconscious motives for accepting the most unprogressive poliicies, whether from Bush or, more especially, from Barack Obama.
WHEREAS, it is the mission of the Boy Scouts of America to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law... read on to see proposed changes to take place on Jan. 1, 2014.

In this context along comes Steven Jonas' fictional non-fiction novel, The 15% Solution. Jonas describes how the Republican Religious Right, over a period of several decades, transformed America into a fascist Christian nation. Horrific stuff, but plausible enough based upon factual events commencing with the Reagan Administration in 1981 to the present time.
By Kevin Anthony Stoda
Do we need to require home economics in our local schools?
"New scholarship in American women's history suggests that home economics was a progressive field that brought science to the farm home and women into higher education and leadership positions in public education, academia, government and industry." Do we need to offer and/or require home economics in our local schools?
House Speaker John Boehner urged the Obama administration to release an email sent by a State Department official relaying that she had told the Libyan ambassador the attack was conducted by Islamist militants. "The State Department would not allow our committees to keep copies of this email when it was reviewed. I would call on the president to order the State Department to release this email so the American people can see it," Boehner told a news conference.

There have been a number of postings here recently at OpEdNews regarding conspiracy theories. This is one more that sheds a proper context to just what is a "conspiracy theory." It illustrates a very good reason why some people believe what they do, i.e., those that believe the 9/11 false flag "conspiracy theory" cannot be true because it is, well, a "conspiracy theory." How does the New York Times play a role?
Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man accused of kidnapping three young women and sexually abusing them in captivity for about a decade, was ordered held Thursday morning on $8 million bond. Castro, 52, is charged with kidnapping Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and a 6-year-old girl, whom Berry gave birth to while she was being held captive. He is also charged with raping DeJesus, Knight and Berry.
By Tom Engelhardt
Peter Van Buren: If the Government Does It, It's "Legal"
Indefinite detention of the innocent and guilty alike, without any hope of charges, trial, or release: this is now the American way. Most Americans, however, may not care to take that in, not even when the indefinitely detained go on a hunger strike. That act has certainly gotten Washington's and the media's collective attention.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel demanded more information Wednesday after the Air Force removed 17 launch officers from duty at a nuclear missile base in North Dakota over what a commander called "rot" in the force. The Air Force struggled to explain, acknowledging concern about an "attitude problem" but telling Congress the weapons were secure. Hagel reacted strongly after The Associated Press reported the unprecedented sidelining of the officers at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., where one of their commanders complained of "such rot" that even the willful violation of safety rules - including a possible compromise of launch codes - was tolerated.

By Walter Uhler
American Militarism: Part Two (Charles Krauthammer)
In order to divert blame from the Bush administration, the neoconservatives and himself for the illegal, immoral invasion of Iraq, Charles Krauthammer has deceitfully placed blame on President Obama losing Iraq.
The "chained CPI," a Social Security cut and middle-class tax hike rolled into one, is despised across the political spectrum. Washington's "center" is formed by the consensus of lobbyists, politicians, mainstream media employees, and other beneficiaries of corporate largesse. But the real political center -- the one where most voters live -- loathes these one-percent-friendly cuts.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced her first bill in the Senate today, the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, which would prevent Stafford loan interest rates from doubling this summer by dropping rates for one year from 3.4 percent to 0.75 percent, the rate at which the government loans money to big banks through the Federal Reserve discount window. If Congress fails to act by July 1 this year, interest rates on Stafford loans reserved for undergraduates will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.
Americans who favor representative democracy don't have a choice. Along with all the reforms that are needed -- overturning Citizens United, eliminating the Electoral College, establishing a constitutionally defined right to vote -- working to make congressional elections genuinely competitive is necessary to curing what ails the political process.
As the Web celebrates its 20th birthday, Social Networking may be arranging its funeral.
Throughout the United States and the world, we see examples of innovations in the commons, from the opening of downtown public spaces to the spread of farmers markets to the enlivening of neighborhoods where families voluntarily tear down back fences to create larger shared spaces.

 Latest Articles
Further steps will be taken to prevent one of our missiles from accidentally causing a nuclear holocaust. But I hope the Air Force does a better job remedying this problem than it's done preventing sexual assaults.

Kienholz was from my generation. And of that I am proud. At least he realized- even though in his later years that the way we treat animals is wrong. He admired Abraham Lincoln for emancipating the slaves. He feels that someone should emancipate the animals.
On Mother's Day, don't forget animal moms
Some of the best mothers in the world are found in the animal kingdom, yet few animal moms on today's farms are ever allowed to nurture their babies as nature intended. This Mother's Day, honor all mothers " with a vegan celebration.
Sunni-Shiite bloodletting has increased dramatically in Iraq. Shiite Gov't security forces raided & killed 50 Sunni protesters near Kirkuk two weeks ago. Enraged Sunni's retaliated by bombings of Shiite areas & Shiite worship sites. Dashed Sunni hopes & unfulfilled Shiite gov't promises to them have created this chasm, part of the American legacy in Iraq. The sectarian civil war in 2006 may happen again.

Maybe Sanford's constituents should send their prodigal son a trail map he can tuck into his Holy Bible. Or a compass. Or at least a handful of breadcrumbs. Washington DC is quite a hike from the hills of Appalachia. Sure would be sad if the little lamb found himself lost -- again.
Understanding Human Nature and Tapping the Best Out Of It
If humanity is to overcome the present crisis of self-centeredness that is overwhelming the best of human nature, it cannot limit itself to thinking in terms of "good" and "bad" or "right" and "wrong." Only by thinking in terms of an imbalance of human tendencies, and trying to restore the balance intelligently, can humanity transcend self-centeredness at all levels and arrest the downhill course in which it now finds itself.
I interviewed Michael Meade on April 30th.This is part one of a two part interview. Here's the original audio podcast link: Michael Meade; Apocalypse, Living in the Shadow of Democracy, and why the world doesn't end

 Best News Links from the Web
"Business as usual isn't going to cut it," he said. "The good news is that it does seem possible to maintain reefs -- we just have to be serious about doing something. It also means that local reef management -- efforts to curb pollution and overfishing -- are absolutely justified. Some have claimed that the climate change problem is so great that local management is futile. We show that this viewpoint is wrongheaded."

The sun provides the most abundant source of energy on the planet. However, only a tiny fraction of the solar radiation on Earth is converted into useful energy. [While I would dispute the second sentence, as would anyone who likes plants or even burns wood, gas, or coal--ancient forms solar energy, I'm pleased to see yet another article giving us a peek into what appears to be right around the corner, even possibly in a timely manner. DG]
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has doubled down on his criticism of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her response to the attacks on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, saying that her handling of the incident should disqualify her from ever holding public office ever again. "I think her dereliction of duty and her lack of leadership should preclude her from holding any office," Paul said in a speech to the Missouri Republican Party.
Democrats are seizing on an admission from House Speaker John Boehner that a Republican-led bill to prioritize debt payments would pay China before U.S. troops. When Bloomberg's Peter Cook asked Boehner about Democrats' suggestions, he did not dismiss them. "Those who have loaned us money, like in any other proceeding, if you will -- the bondholders usually get paid first. Same thing," Boehner said.
The Republican members of the Gang of 8 -- Sens. McCain (AZ), Flake (AZ), Graham (SC), and Rubio (FL) -- deserve credit for their hard work and willingness to compromise on a plan that includes a pathway to earned citizenship. That said, other Republicans have offered dozens of offensive, mean-spirited, and just plain heartless amendments that serve no other purpose than to cause trouble, score cheap political points, demonize immigrants, and/or generally gum up the works for as long as possible in order to try and kill the bill.
Israeli missiles breached Syria's vaunted air defense system over the weekend, but that offered little comfort to U.S. military planners weighing the risks of any intervention against President Bashar al-Assad's forces. With some of the possible U.S. military options in Syria involving a need for air power, the Pentagon remains concerned about Assad's ability to shoot down enemy aircraft with surface-to-air missiles, particularly in a sustained campaign.
An independent inventor working from his home outside the nation’s capital, Ace said that his filing culminated years of research into ways to efficiently capture and store solar energy. In recent interviews and redacted excerpts from his patent application, he said that his invention can be used to retrofit conventional nuclear- or fossil fuel-fired power plants to produce electricity at about 2 cents per kilowatt-hour. That alone would be a staggering advance, slashing the average wholesale cost of power by two-thirds and the cost of solar energy by up to ninefold – estimates that Ace called conservative.
Most species of gigantic animals that once roamed Australia had disappeared by the time people arrived, a major review of the available evidence has concluded. The research challenges the claim that humans were primarily responsible for the demise of the megafauna in a proposed "extinction window" between 40,000 and 50,000 years ago, and points the finger instead at climate change.
From New York City's Central Park to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, America's urban forests store an estimated 708 million tons of carbon, an environmental service with an estimated value of $50 billion, according to a recent U.S. Forest Service study.
Top ABC News editor Don Ennis walked into his Manhattan office on Friday in a "little black dress" and a brunette bobbed wig and announced to colleagues that from now on, he would like to be known as Dawn. The 49-year-old father of three said he's splitting from his wife of 17 years to become a woman, or Dawn Stacey Ennis, as she is now known on her governmental records.

Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 19:35