Showing posts with label Warfare and Conflict. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Warfare and Conflict. Show all posts

Friday, September 10, 2010

Opit's LinkFest! at My Opera 23 - 26 June 2008

(patriotact12dees) Patriot Act. Illegal WARS. ...Image by Alejandra H. Covarrubias via Flickr

 26 June - RoundUp

Pay dirt : Martian soil fit for earthly life
Stop Baptist Predators
Gay or straight, it's decided at birth
The Green Bible
The Existentialist Cowboy
Mr. Bush goes to Gitmo : How the Patriot Act makes Bush a 'Terrorist'
The Ostroy Report
The Un-American lies of Antonin Scalia
Scalia cites false information in Habeas Corpus dissent
Politicians embracing technology to actually communicate with constituents
U.S. Department of Comcast
ACLU announces "Strange Bedfellows" alliance
Open SUSE11 out, offers best KDE4 experience
Attending the World
Voices of Evil - Shifting Blame
"constant vilification of Islam is designed first and foremost to divert world attention from the genocidal ethnic cleansing Israel has been carrying out against the Palestinian people"
Entire Palestinian village threatened with expulsion Arab ar-Ramadin
"The village is isolated by the Wall and the Alfe Menasche settlement from the rest of the West Bank. People are consistantly harassed or completely denied passage at the gates that close them off from the rest of the world. Further, they are unable to bring in fodder for the sheep as the Occupation military prohibits the crossing of vehicles or anyone without a permit." ( those aren't available )
"Currently there are 14 villages with a total population of 6314 inhabitants that face imminent destruction of their homes and expulsion from their land. "
"What did we do to deserve this ?" - Book review - primer on Palestinian situation
Israeli Nazis - what else can one call these thugs ? ( catching photographic evidence of violence )
A Tale of Two Genocides, Congo and Darfur : the blatantly inconsistent U.S. position Hat Tip Afro Spear
The Continuing Ron Paul Revolution
Legal theory lexicon : Public and Private Goods
Legal Theory Blog
Heller in the blogosphere - comments and links
People meeting tasty animalslocal food links
Unqualified Offerings
Canonical Transformation ( Teaching "Modern Physics", he scoffs )
Twenty selected Coalface errors
Today's little amuse-bouche
( Non-French speakers : bouche is mouth )
Creationist critics get their comeuppance
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub
Quote of the moment : John Kennedy June 26, 1963
( Sex + Education ) - Education = ? Teachers Count
USAID allows DDT use in Africa
28 poems on living life to the fullest today
Symposium in a book : Rachel Carson's legacy
Ten Percent
Met to be revealed again as institutionally racist
Views on Torture
Heinz folds to homophobes
It's Paedo-Nazi-Geddon !
Bordering on the ridiculous 'counter terrorism' border force
"Will they intercept aircraft with kidnapped people aboard being flown to torture chambers abroad ? "
Police used agent provocateur at anti-Bush rally
The hidden slavery of Capital
Existential Threats
Blue Girl Red State
Blackwater raided by the ATF

26 June - BlogRoaming

Syrians and UN nuclear inspectors play hide and seek
Nuke agency to end hushed-up Syria mission
( At the end of the day, all that is left is debris of a 'military installation' : and an act of war )
Assyrian International News Agency
Dutch MPss visit Iraq, call for protection for Assyrians
( This story has been ongoing for years )
Remain Calm
My first post in "The House of Death"
The Surge is a Fraud
Glenn Greenwald against FISA 'compromise'
Language and conflict : the Taliban
"The authors [ No sign until the burst of fire : understanding the Pakistan-Afghanistan border ] say the model for the USG is to extend 'central power' to the outlying regions. The only historical time of peace is when this is not the case."
( ergo : Peace is not the objective )
Whatever it is, I'm against It
The return of constructive engagement and quiet diplomacy ( that deserves to be nipped in the bud )
Pusillanimity
John McCain is profoundly disturbed. He says so himself.
Paradoxical representation ( the Rice Follies )
Unclear on the concept ( Quite )
Government search engine expands with Visimo
A view from the bridge at Clapsotronics
ClapSo's corpoRATe welfare ripoff roundup
justices cut damages in exxon valdez spill
high medicare costs courtesy of congress
mcpain and nobama stand for the wishy-washy punk assed centrist radical moderate corpoRATeer agenda !
McCain spinners : Obama is evil because he'll flip-flop on Iraq and because he won't
Obama's non-Dukakis reputation
Ralph Nader, godfather of soul
Dowd inadvertently ( ? ) shows Rove how to demonize Obama more effectively
Kill bin Laden ? -- please be my guest
( Bhutto's info about him being toasted already seems more plausible )
Thomas Mc.com
"America is no longer the land of the free and the brave. It's the home of cowards who have surrendered their freedom to fascists offering vague promises of 'Homeland security."
The corporate undoing of America
Too Sense
Who has the right to voice an opinion about racial issues ?
Black and Blue
( Perspective )
Comments from Left Field
Obama : National Security trumps accountability for telecoms
Make them work for our votes
Teachers not being taught math properly
Anheuser to stop selling alcoholic energy drinks
Home phone servive for $10 a month ?
Programmable Chip EEG
Making the most of your always-on connection
China orders phone, Internet moratorium
Germany bans Kurdish satellite broadcaster ROJ TV
Howard's Advice to Bloggers on AP's Copyright26 June Fiasco

 

25 June - News and EcoBlogging

Canadian government to 'reclassify' lakes as dump sites
( If nothing else, wouldn't this violate treaty obligations ? )
Mini-subs to probe odd coral-like growths in British Columbia, Canada lakes
Planetsave
Is the Colorado River becoming radioactive from upstream uranium mines ?
Uranium mining claims in Grand Canyon area ordered withdrawn
The nature conservancy : do carbon offsets really work ?
Baltic Sea 'dying' from lack of oxygen
Contaminants in flood waters threaten food : who is watching ?
Climate change is already killing a whole country
Environmental degradation and the self : the link between the two
Floodwaters to increase Mexican Gulf dead zone
Iowans left swimming in toxic floodwaters
Lead in consumer products signed into law ( S.152) in Vermont !
Home birth is a choice that the AMA wants to outlaw
( They want to pick up the tab ? AMA - PDF Hmm. Not on the AMA site. )
New harbour rises from river mud
Ecuador buys planes, radar for border
Amnesty brings Gitmo cell to U.S.
Astronomers explain Mars' lopsided shape
Forces of nature Interactive display
The A-Z of programming languages : C++
Focus Education Products
Mind Webs 49 hours worth of speculative fiction radio
Free e-book : Clones
ideonexus
Barack Obama's Biblical errors
Computer Science Grrl Power
Updated corn ethanol economics
U.S. taxpayers paying for 'Splash and Dash', dumping of subsidized biodiesel
Alternative Energy.com
CLEVER Concept for Eco-Friendly urban driving
Britain launches cycling program
The French are environmental geniuses !
Don't like the news in your inbox ? Don't open it !
Yale Environment 360
Nanotech : the unknown risks
The limits of climate modeling
Biodiversity in the balance
Global commodities boom fuels new assault on the Amazon
Water scarcity : the real food crisis
The myth of clean coal
Unilever threatens jungle forests of Ivory Coast Pushing three primates to extinction
Greenmonk
The high price of oil is not the problem
Electric waves : power from the ocean
deSmogBlog
Blue Chip Canadian Science Group calls for urgent action onclimate change
For green buildings' payoff, look inside
The No Impact Experiment
Environmental Activism Blogs
Florida to sign huge sugar, Everglades deal
(Blue Girl Red State blogged this yesterday. My first reaction ? How long before it's undersea if ocean levels are due to start rising next year ? Of course, I had the same thought about those 'islands' in Dubai.)
BGRS
Good news for politicians, bad news for you
Schumer to oppose telecom immunity
Another reason you should help Kay Barnes destroy Sam Graves
Obama will take the fight to McCain
SCOTUS strikes down death penalty for child rape
( Guess they never heard what happens to the likes of them in stir )
Court rejects border fence case
( Waving the magic nonsense of 'national security' )
Talking trash : the world's waste management problem
Micro plastic beads in beauty scrubs contribute to debris in oceans
Smart Mama ( eco consultants )
Poison plastic present in more than shower curtains
Disinfecting your home - one worry, two safer solutions
("use in a well ventilated area" - should I harp on the importance of this ? )
Got bugs ? Some safer solutions for insect repellants
( I've had friends die - eventually - from toxic exposure. It makes one take notice. )
List of environmental posts - Smart Mama
Genes help predict drugs' environmental impact
Will high oil prices bring back manufacturing ?
( I know - NRO. Brad Plumer is one of the good guys regardless. )
Skeptical Brotha
Hillary's Emancipation Proclamation ( Snark attack, woo-hoo ! )
The Endorsement Speech
Barack and Hillary take a meeting
Bob Johnson, Hillary's billionaire minstrel, reaches out to CBC
Congressman Jefferson's kin indicted
White Noise Insanity
Will the FISA vote come up this week in the Senate ?
Right-wing evangelical, James Dobson, is lecturing Barack Obama about distorting teachings in the Bible ? ( Now why did we call that 'crust' ? )
John McCain hated America until he was put in a cage in Vietnam
Pat Buchanan of MSNBC and Charlie Black of McCain's campaign are giddy about another terrorist attack on America

25 June - Morning News Browsing

Canary Atlantic Sunsets
Clinton, Obama camps exchange offers of political, monetary support
Get ready for a summer of strikes
Clashes erupt in Lebanon despite political deal
People are beaten and left for dead Zimbabwe
Tsvangirai calls for 'armed peacekeepers' to resolve Zimbabwe crisis
Anglo 'to review' 200m Pound investment in Zimbabwe
Financial weapons of mass destruction
Religious leaders, foreign policy luminaries unite against torture
Government study criticizes Bush Administration's measure of progress in Iraq
Failed State Index
Action tougher than oversight
The Inadequate Black Man : a Missouri blogger's recollection of his New York roots
How switching language can change your personality
( 'Frame-shifting' is a propaganda trick too )
A roadmap for migrating neurons
Return of the NeoCons
Phd comics
June 23 F-1 Student Visa Process explained
Canadian universities hurting for funds
Evolution and Creationism in America's schools
Worldwide number of PCs tops 1 billion
Spying, a U.S. psychic dilemma
'Time reversal' allows wireless broadband undersea
End of flooding in sight as Mississippi crests in Central U.S.
Flooding 'action plan' promised UK
Extreme weather events can release a 'perfect storm' of infectious diseases
Ottawa rejects First Nations' strict anti-drug law
( Interesting counterpoint to Bill C51, where the feds want to ensure only concentrates made from plants are available and not the milder, more natural, plants themselves. )
Climate change could severeley affect California's unique native plants
Chinese ingredient said to help heart
Vitamin K relieves chronic inflammation throughout the body
German food safety regulator lifts suspensions of Bayer's canola seed treatment ( ! )
Use of nanoparticles in food packaging poses regulatory challenges
New process brings nanoparticles into focus
Carbon nanotubes compromise the function of certain protozoa
56 reasons to have sex
Europe's most innovative countries
True colours for this takeover
Water flowing back into public hands Hat Tip Truth Network
Costa unveils power plant deal
'Random' searches of passengers on MetroLink HT Truth Network
Police stationed in Toronto schools to remain armed and in uniform
China deploys surface to air missiles to protect Olympics
School is out and nutrition takes a hike
Blogger 'Show Off Your Favorite Blog' Link ( Now that is nice )

24 June - Quickpost

Russia plans military exercises in Arctic
Aral Sea revived by dam

Comments from Left Field
Seinfeld on Carlin
The Brooks Paradox
Hoyer and Pelosi to their base : you should thank us for screwing you
A strange contrast ( not just Channeling Drum )
The banality of Evil, Redux ( recommending Lithwick sounds like a good call )

Blue Girl Red State
Affirmative action at the Justice Department
Offended by the notion of telecom immunity ? Jane's advice
How Dubai undermines U.S. sanctions against Iran ( Guess they're not too worried about them, hm ? )
The agenda of the next Attorney General
Here's why we need a Truman Committee
US Capitol police fire 15 'red flagged' recruits
Finally, a female four-star
It's one thing to start a war, another to cover it
See you in court... Congressional subpoenas
Another point to the rule of law
Let's talk about off-shore drilling for a minute...
Petraeus op-ed for Washington Post

Justice Department aka 'Just Us' Department ?
( I first saw that bon mot at 'Blue Girl Red State' )

Hullabaloo
Block that kick
"the surveillance state has been building for decades"
ActBlue

Existentialist Cowboy
Why were 'first responders' de-contaminated at the Pentagon ?
America's greatest crime is radioactive genocide
How to remember George Carlin

Rense has a Carlin section

Gitmo commander won't meet prisoners
You should be ashamed, not insulted
The sorts of things I talk about at work
Zen and the art of the centerstand
( Then there's the side stand. Everybody's ridden away with it down - once. )

Right-wing cartoon watch
Kuwait to pump 300,000 more bpd as of mid-2009
Canada puts brakes on electric vehicles
Canada glams up its tourist appeal buzz marketing to a well-heeled crowd
Apes plan for the future ( Smarter than us )
Lightweight, metal-like glass examined
Flying saucer craft set to fly
Sunshine vitamin key to long life ?
Charter drops web-tracking plans for some high-speed users
Bob Cesca
Alea Iacta Est ( Bob tries his hand at prophecy re: the electronic eavesdropping bill : likely hit, my assessment )
Security lacking at nuclear weapon storage sites in Europe ( Didn't get the memo : splinter factions are a greater danger than states when it comes to willingness to use extreme methods. Caveat : George and Israel are the exceptions to the proposed rule. )
Wireless hospital systems can disrupt medical devices
Man dies in Taser incident involving Ontario Provincial Police
Lawrence Wilkerson : hundreds of detainees died in U.S. custody, at least 25 murdered
Best of the China Blogs
Status of Chinese People
Hugo Chavez haters love his music programs
Warning on push to lure foreign students
Floods, droughts make mild diseases deadly
When rains brought death to Hull
The real face of the European Union
Wayne Madsen Report
International pushback against Fascism
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Monday, September 06, 2010

TPM Cafe - Mar 2009 To Mar 2007

Noam Chomsky at the World Social Forum in 2003...Image via Wikipedia

End of an Era

Jumping all over the web the way I do means I often lose track of all the little notes and rants and lists and comments. Apologies to those who wonder if I didn't just drop off the face of the Earth ( lately I've been 'Down Under' a lot - electronically, of course ).
I doubt many realize just how much time it takes to search and post - which is why a central noteboard is so important. Utilities back at Opit's Linkfest give locations of different networks and places I wander through. The links page tends more to locations where stories were found while the blog is chronological - though it may be off because of absences or even 'lost' posts.
Here's a collation about Water : a basic and urgent necessity. Because of that, it is a natural lever of power - and destruction.
 End of an Era is about changes coming from water shortages looming over us - and how that happened.
June 23 I'm adding a note here that Opera is returning 404 errors. Relevant data is still on the Links page under Water - Wealth & Power. Files are being duplicated at Opit's LinkFest! on Blogger. Most topics are searchable on Del.icio.us/OPIT.

Boondoggle beats Perception

As I rove around the web, it seems I hear constant complaining that so-and-so is lying, talking through his hat, making shit up....
I don't really know when I started taking a more basic view of things seriously, i.e. unless insanity of a specific type was contagious - a plan was being followed.
I grew up watching television advertising - something that should guarantee cynical disbelief.
Rove was a revelation : a known advertising man packaging fiction as the front for not just the campaign trail, but ongoing smoke and mirrors to hide the real agenda of the administration.
Intelligent dissent was immediately branded variously as unAmerican, disloyal, Leftist, Conspiracy Theorist....Epithet of the Day branding of various and sundry people in lieu of rebuttal.
I'm lazy online - preferring to catalogue what I consider wonderful writing by others. Noam Chomsky, Tom Engelhardt... so many listed at places like Dandelion Salad,Op-Ed News, Think Progress and more. But I have tried lackadasically to do some organizing of incisive analysis into more concentrated form. The problem is, unless people actually peruse such a list, use it for exploration stimulation, or even a reading aid...the work ends up mostly wasted.
So I diversify, commenting here and there and joining new-hunters' groups and joining some of the better comments threads.
Problem is, by the time that happens, you're dealing with people who realize something is 'off'. What about those who don't ? And can you quip without being slotted into the category of 'fruitcake' so fast you might as save yourself the effort ?
Needlenose, Daliy Kos, Last Left Turn B4 Hooterville and more have tried. Here's another note dealing with the fact that stupid things are constantly said in the news.
The decrying of lack of accuracy stirred up totally misses the point.
An introduction to the Overton Window
I really owe a lot of my willingness to chase this train of thought to Noam Chomsky, who was down this road many years ago in his work on media control by a close-knit corporate in-group. Taking things further led me to see that a pattern of deception could be possible  right from school, entertainment, media...everywhere. A real case for paranoia plus.
Could such a framework be reasonably posited and considered ? A little look at political theory yielded startling results
Plutocracy
Kleptocracy
The basics of our laws are inherited from those imposed by conquerors who defined the conditions under which society would operate : specifically in England the settlement of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Modification came in 1215 when the hereditary ruling class took a chunk of Imperial power away because of ongoing abuse : the Great Charter ( Magna Carta ) which limited the authority of the state to imprison and hold people.
Under the current false war of existance threat of terrorism ( real challenges being in short supply ), replacing the old Cold War and Mutual Assured Destruction ( something current policies go a long way towards revitalizing ), the citizenry is stripped of this protection.
Orwell is so often quoted he's become flagged as a sort of UFO-style alarmist. Check his background : he worked in broadcasting before becoming an author. He knew media.  His 'fictional' account ? People are fed a recurring theme instead of reporting : news is made to fit the story line by changing it , just not telling everything, or flat omission.
I found '1984' rather dull in some ways. The idea of a soporific community has other proponents. Perversely,  Aldous Huxley - Brave New World seemed to have more zip.

Desert Crossing and other Information

The 1999 Study projecting the results of an invasion of Iraq
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB207/index.htm
This was 'hidden' by Don Rumsfeld
How Iraq's water supply was destroyed
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0808-07.htm
Power of hate speech and the Big Lie
http://lastleftb4hooterville.blogspot.com/2007/03/whats-in-word-power-of-hate-speech-and.html
Sowing Disention Among the Insurgency ( pdf )
http://www.mountainrunner.us/files/Sowing_Dissension.pdf
Project for the New American Century
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_the_New_American_Century
Security First : Ours, Theirs, and the Global Order
http://dspace.wrlc.org/bitstream/1961/4011/1/A370+-+Security+First.pdf
One further piece of information. Check the original PNAC policy statement and note names of the members.
Now try an experiment. Imagine 'Desert Crossing' is the policy of the Cheney/Bush administration. How well does the model fit the train of events ?

The Importance of Being Earnest

Or to steal a line.
The President of the United States has gone so far as to advise Congress what legislation is out of bounds for consideration re: Iraq as to meet automatic veto should it be promulgated. This does not seem like an adequate support of Congress' duty to vette engagements in foreign conflict and define - as opposed to administer - ongoing policy.
Despite bad weather conditions hampering the physical ability to assemble for the fourth year of an illegal invasion promoted with deception equivalent to shouting "Fire !" in a crowded theater, Americans clearly are dissatisfied with their perceptions of the Administration's direction, candor, competence and discretion.
That would be before recognition of what a colossal "haul" Halliburton and friends have made from extra-budgetary and/or improperly administered contracts - coupled with tax exemptions for super corporations - and mercenaries - and torture.
That this only scratches the surface of this horror show makes Congress' seeming inability to leave its familiar distractions of partisan politics and engage with the idea that it has lost most if not all of its real power to affect the tide of events to become an almost irrelevant vestigial appendage of government really comes at the most inconvenient time when it is once more revealed that those who most desire power are often the least deserving of it.
Perhaps that is only poetic justice after all.
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