RIP Shel Talmy
18 minutes ago
Saturday, 6 August 2011
UN: $1 Billion to Clean Oil-Polluted Niger Delta
The United Nations has released a report saying that cleaning up the oil-polluted Ogoniland area of Nigeria would cost $1 billion and take over 30 years – the most wide-ranging and costly cleanup of oil pollution clean-up ever. The damage was caused by the operations of oil companies in the area over the past 50 years. The Niger Delta, the world’s third largest wetland, was once rich with biodiversity but is now one of the most oil-polluted areas on earth. The report (and the cost estimate) cover only one small area of the vast Niger Delta; the $1 billion would cover the first five years of cleanup.
Among the findings:
- Public health is seriously threatened in at least ten communities where drinking water is contaminated with high levels of hydrocarbons.
- Some areas that appear unaffected on the surface are in fact severely contaminated underground, and pose a high and immediate risk to human and environmental well being,
- Scientists found an eight centimeter (three inch) layer of oil floating on groundwater (which feeds wells) linked to a spill from six years ago.
The UN Environmental Program report notes, “When an oil spill occurs on land, fires often break out, killing vegetation and creating a crust over the land, making remediation or revegetation difficult. At some sites, a crust of ash and tar has been in place for several decades.” The report makes multiple recommendations for long term remediation of the land, plant and animal life, and human health, including eight emergency measures around preventing further ingestion of polluted water. The report’s recommended the formation of an “Environmental Restoration Fund for Ogoniland, to be set up with an initial capital injection of US$1 billion contributed by the oil industry and the government, to cover the first five years of the clean-up project.”...
Friday, 5 August 2011
Lib Dems to debate drugs inquiry at party conference
Calls for a government-backed inquiry into the decriminalisation of drugs will be debated by Liberal Democrats at their annual conference next month.
Some delegates want more emphasis put on the treatment rather than the prosecution of drug users.The Lib Dems will debate a motion which would become party policy if it wins support at the Birmingham conference.
But they would still need the agreement of the Conservatives before an official government inquiry could be set up.
'Criminal records'
The motion will urge the government to set up an expert panel to consider the decriminalisation of personal drug use.
It insists that current drugs laws are "harmful" and "ineffective".
Some Lib Dems believe savings could be reinvested in education, treatment and rehabilitation programmes.
Drug users would no longer face a prison sentence or a fine but would be required to go for treatment or counselling. Penalties for drug dealing would remain the same as they are now.
The motion states that there is "increasing evidence that the UK's drugs policy is not only ineffective and not cost-effective but actually harmful, impacting particularly severely on the poor and marginalised".
It continues: "Individuals, especially young people, can be damaged both by the imposition of criminal records and by a drug habit, and... the priority for those addicted to all substances must be healthcare, education and rehabilitation, not punishment.
"One of the key barriers to developing better drugs policy has been the previous Labour government's persistent refusal to take on board scientific advice, and the absence of an overall evaluative framework of the UK's drugs strategy."
Greater scrutiny
It will not be the first time the Lib Dems have discussed changing the drugs laws at their annual conference, and in 2002 delegates voted for the legalisation of cannabis.
But BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says any call for an inquiry into drugs legislation is likely to attract far greater scrutiny now the Lib Dems are in government.
The inquiry would look at adopting the practice in Portugal of decriminalising the possession of drugs for personal use, and following the Swiss example of providing more clinics for heroin addicts.
The motion will be put forward by Ewan Hoyle, founder of Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform, and supported by Lib Dem MEP Sir Graham Watson.
Party members can submit amendments to the motion by 5 September, ahead of the conference on 17-21 September.
@'BBC'
Mysterious company gives pro-Romney group $1M, then dissolves
A mysterious corporation that was formed in Delaware in March gave $1 million in April to a political group backing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney -- and then dissolved in July, according to a report from NBC News' Michael Isikoff. It's unclear exactly who was behind the large donation.
The group Restore Our Future, a so-called "super political action committee," received a donation of $1 million from W Spann LLC on April 28, according to the super PAC's campaign disclosure report, filed last week. The group received $12.2 million during the first six months of the year, including gifts from four donors who gave $1 million each, the report showed.
One of the million-dollar donors was W Spann LLC, formed by Boston estate tax planner lawyer Cameron Casey, who specializes in "wealth transfer strategies" for high-end clients. Casey works for the firm Ropes & Gray's, which has done work for Bain Capital, the investment firm formerly headed by Romney.
Ropes & Gray's is also one of several major companies, Isikoff reports, that have offices at a Manhattan office building at 590 Madison Ave. -- the address listed for W Spann. Other companies there include UBS, IBM and Cemex. The building, however, has no record of a tenant called W Spann. On top of that, corporate records for W Spann give no information about the company's owner or the type of business it does.
Restore Our Future told Isikoff that the super PAC has complied with all Federal Election Commission disclosure requirements and said it did not ask W Spann for information about its business.
Restore Our Future is a super PAC that's independent of Romney's campaign but was founded by three former Romney aides with an interest in electing the former Massachusetts governor as president. The group is similar to Priorities USA, the super PAC founded by Obama allies Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney.
The 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling allows for corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited money on political campaigns, though not by giving directly to candidates or party committees.
Lawrence Noble, former FEC general counsel, told NBC that the establishment of a company for the sole purpose of donating to a super PAC could raise a "serious" legal issue.
Stephanie Condon @'CBS'
The group Restore Our Future, a so-called "super political action committee," received a donation of $1 million from W Spann LLC on April 28, according to the super PAC's campaign disclosure report, filed last week. The group received $12.2 million during the first six months of the year, including gifts from four donors who gave $1 million each, the report showed.
One of the million-dollar donors was W Spann LLC, formed by Boston estate tax planner lawyer Cameron Casey, who specializes in "wealth transfer strategies" for high-end clients. Casey works for the firm Ropes & Gray's, which has done work for Bain Capital, the investment firm formerly headed by Romney.
Ropes & Gray's is also one of several major companies, Isikoff reports, that have offices at a Manhattan office building at 590 Madison Ave. -- the address listed for W Spann. Other companies there include UBS, IBM and Cemex. The building, however, has no record of a tenant called W Spann. On top of that, corporate records for W Spann give no information about the company's owner or the type of business it does.
Restore Our Future told Isikoff that the super PAC has complied with all Federal Election Commission disclosure requirements and said it did not ask W Spann for information about its business.
Restore Our Future is a super PAC that's independent of Romney's campaign but was founded by three former Romney aides with an interest in electing the former Massachusetts governor as president. The group is similar to Priorities USA, the super PAC founded by Obama allies Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney.
The 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling allows for corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited money on political campaigns, though not by giving directly to candidates or party committees.
Lawrence Noble, former FEC general counsel, told NBC that the establishment of a company for the sole purpose of donating to a super PAC could raise a "serious" legal issue.
Stephanie Condon @'CBS'
Firm gives $1 million to pro-Romney group, then dissolves
Here is the lawyers e-mail address that 'fixed' things for this asshat. I hope you all will drop her a line and express your appreciation for her dishonesty.
Phone # is 1-617-951-7987 direct line - say hello and thanks...
If it's good enough for 18 year old risk takers, it's probably good enough for you too!
lulzb0at lulz boat
wikisend.com/download/56030… - Free Radicals - Anarchy of Science - ePub. #FREETOPIARY
wikisend.com/download/56030… - Free Radicals - Anarchy of Science - ePub. #FREETOPIARY
Hopefully not a rhetorical question...
Is there actually ANY good news out there?
If you know of some please do send it to me...as I am starting to get even more depressed about the state of this fugn planet!(Thanx Conscious!)
The American People Lost the Debt Ceiling Debate
The debt ceiling fracas was an insanity-inducing syllabus of everything that's wrong with the American political system. Everything.
The very serious cable news media (and a considerable chunk of the blogosphere for that matter) were preoccupied with safe, superficial sports and/or poker metaphors: who won, who lost, who "doubled-down" and so forth. After all, covering the wonky aspects of the policy itself is no fun and involves math.
The Republican Party, meanwhile, having been responsible for the bulk of the debt in the first place, was allowed to get away with sabotaging the stability of the global economy as the centerpiece of its plan to subsequently sabotage the president. At the same time, one of its congressional leaders, Eric Cantor, was short selling government bonds -- a blindingly outrageous conflict of interest that ought to vindicate Pete Rose for any comparatively trivial wagering sanctions he continues to endure.
The Democratic Party and the White House, paralyzed by fear (fear of taking an aggressive posture for fear of losing the fickle, insufferable middle), helped to push the Overton Window farther to the right.
Far-right conservatives and tea party activists continued to illustrate their willful inability to grasp an even grade-school level understanding of the economy and governing.
The progressive left was out-hustled by far-right activism yet again...
The very serious cable news media (and a considerable chunk of the blogosphere for that matter) were preoccupied with safe, superficial sports and/or poker metaphors: who won, who lost, who "doubled-down" and so forth. After all, covering the wonky aspects of the policy itself is no fun and involves math.
The Republican Party, meanwhile, having been responsible for the bulk of the debt in the first place, was allowed to get away with sabotaging the stability of the global economy as the centerpiece of its plan to subsequently sabotage the president. At the same time, one of its congressional leaders, Eric Cantor, was short selling government bonds -- a blindingly outrageous conflict of interest that ought to vindicate Pete Rose for any comparatively trivial wagering sanctions he continues to endure.
The Democratic Party and the White House, paralyzed by fear (fear of taking an aggressive posture for fear of losing the fickle, insufferable middle), helped to push the Overton Window farther to the right.
Far-right conservatives and tea party activists continued to illustrate their willful inability to grasp an even grade-school level understanding of the economy and governing.
The progressive left was out-hustled by far-right activism yet again...
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Bob Cesca @'HuffPo'
US seeks to counter extremism on Facebook & Twitter
A White House counter-terrorism strategy released on Wednesday says that Facebook, Twitter and other social networks aid in "advancing violent extremist narratives" and should be monitored by the government.
The 12-page strategy (PDF), which outlines ways to respond to violent extremism, promises that: "We will continue to closely monitor the important role the internet and social-networking sites play in advancing violent extremist narratives." President Obama said in a statement accompanying the report that the federal government will start "helping communities to better understand and protect themselves against violent extremist propaganda, especially online."
While much of the White House document is focused on Al Qaeda — which The Washington Post recently reported is on the "brink of collapse" — it also talks about domestic terrorists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semitic groups, and a broad "range of ideologies" that promote radicalisation.
@'ZDNet'
The 12-page strategy (PDF), which outlines ways to respond to violent extremism, promises that: "We will continue to closely monitor the important role the internet and social-networking sites play in advancing violent extremist narratives." President Obama said in a statement accompanying the report that the federal government will start "helping communities to better understand and protect themselves against violent extremist propaganda, especially online."
While much of the White House document is focused on Al Qaeda — which The Washington Post recently reported is on the "brink of collapse" — it also talks about domestic terrorists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semitic groups, and a broad "range of ideologies" that promote radicalisation.
@'ZDNet'
Al Gore: We need an "American Spring"
Former Vice President and Current TV chairman, Al Gore, made an appearance on his own channel Tuesday to decry the state of American politics.
He told "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann that we need an "American Spring" like the Arab Spring, with our own version of Tahrir Square, to reinvigorate political activism in America. However, Gore made clear with a number of qualifications that he was not calling for revolution. Rather than advocating taking to the streets, he seemed to be calling for more Americans to get online to make their political views heard -- a far cry from the revolutionary activity in the Arab world.
Gore also emphasized that he does not see the Tea Party as an example of grassroots political activism, largely because the movement has the support of billionaires like the Koch brothers pushing agendas in Washington.
Via
'Friends With Benefits': The New Casual Sex?
So what is it about the romcom that draws in so many of us who do not identify with being white, skinny, straight or upper class? It rises from the dichotomy between acknowledging that idealistic love is in reality unattainable, and the masochistic longing for that “one true love” despite it all. Yet in 2011, the millennial's vision of the romantic comedy has shifted to a structured kind of free love, reflecting our generation's changing feelings about sex and flip attitude toward romanticism.
Generally, the overall framework remains unchanged—the romcom continues to reincarnate, with slight revisions that allow us to relate to its promise. New iterations reflect the progressiveness of time, but ultimately reinforce antiquated ideals of monogamous, heterosexual love. In the 1980s, there were a rash of films about (not so) liberated women “married” to their jobs—who, even with success, would be nowhere without the love of a man. (See Baby Boom and Working Girl.) The 1980s was the first full decade after a mostly white and middle-class feminist movement that focused on achieving equity for other mostly white, middle-class women in the workforce. The romantic comedies of the period reflected the realities of becoming working women, but reinforced the age-old necessity for a man’s love to provide true happiness. Progress—but only to a certain point...
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