@dustcirclenews - HEADLINES: Government's Intrusion, Eric Snowden, Israel's Chemical use, DHS Oversight Consequences, FBI's Post-9/11 Abuses, Low Median Family Income, American Exceptionalism, Alternative to Banks, Total American Surveillance, Christian Right vs. Godless Liberalism, Federal Funding Bill Passed, For-Profit Colleges, Syria is About Gas and Oil, more.

The Video-related content I send out will have a link to the website so you can view the videos, instead of seeing just a list: http://www.dustcircle.com

Nowhere to Hide: The Government's Massive Intrusion Into Our Lives
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/nowhere-hide-governments-massive-intrusion-our-lives

NSA leaker Eric Snowden nominated for EU prize
http://www.mynews4.com/news/story/NSA-leaker-Eric-Snowden-nominated-for-EU-prize/7d1QywXWj0ivY28pbfKvxQ.cspx

Israel's History Of Chemical Weapons Use

http://www.countercurrents.org/akleh170913.htm

Fractured DHS congressional oversight has real world consequences, says report
http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/fractured-dhs-congressional-oversight-has-real-world-consequences-says-repo/2013-09-16?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

'Unleashed and Unaccountable': FBI's Post-9/11 Abuse of Power
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/17-7

For-Profit Corporation Is Not A Person With Ability To Exercise Religious Freedom Rights, Federal Court Says
https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/for-profit-corporation-is-not-a-person-with-ability-to-exercise-religious

Median Family Income Is Lower Today Than in 1989
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/18/median_family_income_since_1989_is_the_stagnation_real.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content

Why American Exceptionalism Is a Dangerous Sham
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/why-american-exceptionalism-dangerous-sham

The Perfect Alternative to Wall Street Banks
http://admin.alternet.org/economy/perfect-alternative-wall-street-banks

We Live Under a Total Surveillance State in America -- Can We Prevent It from Evolving into a Full-Blown Police State?
http://admin.alternet.org/activism/we-live-under-total-surveillance-state-america-can-we-prevent-it-evolving-full-blown-police

Christian Right v Godless Liberalism: Why Do Christians Attack Godless Liberals?

http://atheism.about.com/od/godlessamericaamericans/p/GodlessRight.htm?nl=1

US House passes federal funding bill proposing to defund Affordable Care Act
http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/09/us-house-passes-federal-funding-bill-proposing-to-defund-affordable-care-act.php

How For-Profit Colleges Stay In Business Despite Terrible Track Record

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/for-profit-college-accreditation_n_3937079.html

The Proxy 'Civil War' In Syria Is About Gas, Oil And Pipelines
http://www.countercurrents.org/venturini240913.pdf

Will Obama the Bomber protect Israel’s WMD?
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/will-obama-the-bomber-protect-israels-wmd/

10 Ways Religious Groups Suck on the Public Purse

http://www.alternet.org/belief/holy-freeloading-10-ways-religious-groups-suck-public-purse

DOJ Puts Another Leaker In Jail: The War On Whistleblowers Rolls On
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130923/16454624627/doj-puts-another-leaker-jail-war-whistleblowers-rolls.shtml

Israel’s killing of five young Palestinians exposes "peace" talks as charade
http://electronicintifada.net/content/israels-killing-five-young-palestinians-exposes-peace-talks-charade/12797

Clicking ‘like’ is protected by First Amendment, 4th Circuit says
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/clicking_like_is_protected_by_first_amendment_in_case_of_sheriffs_employee_/

NSA Stories Around The World
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article36322.htm

NSA Apologist Says The NSA's Actions Are Fine Because 'Privacy Is Dead'
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130916/17520324540/nsa-apologist-says-nsas-actions-are-fine-because-privacy-is-dead.shtml

World Citizen Asks United Nations to Disarm America: “The World Cannot Stand Idly By”
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/world-citizen-asks-united-nations-to-disarm-america-the-world-cannot-stand-idly-by_092013

Atheism will be ‘the new gay marriage’

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/24/bill-maher-atheism-will-be-the-new-gay-marriage/

Zionist Apartheid: A Crime Against Humanity
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article36331.htm

The NSA Isn’t the Only Government Agency Destroying Your Right to Privacy
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/nsa-government-right-to-privacy

Michael Mann: Global Warming: An Uncontrolled Experiment

In recognition of climate week, Thom talks with renowned climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann about the dangers of global warming. Dr. Mann in concerned we may be running out of time to rein in global temperatures.

@dustcirclenews - HEADLINES: Challenging U.S. War Policies, Constitution Under Attack, Immigration, Global Warming Response, Surveillance State, American Right's Racism, Corporations' Tax Breaks, 5 Voting Fights, Guantanamo False Promises, Morality Without Religion, Walmart's Bribes, Buycott App, Price of Pacifism, Corruption and Congress, Audacity of Godlessness, Living Wage, Journalists Spied On, Gun Myths, more.

Join our mailing list at: http://www.dustcircle.com

"I protest": challenging the war policies of the United States

http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/ann-wright/i-protest-challenging-war-policies-of-united-states

The Constitution Is Under Attack as the Right Tries to Establish A State Religion
http://www.politicususa.com/constitution-attack-establish-state-religion.html

Does Obama have authority to wage war without approval of Congress?

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/hwdvideoshare/viewvideo/76234

It's Time to Get Real on Immigration
http://www.opednews.com/articles/It-s-Time-to-Get-Real-on-I-by-John-Bruhns-130521-748.html

The GOP response to global warming is irrational and dangerous
http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-GOP-response-to-global-by-Brian-Cooney-130521-109.html

Our Govt. Is Turning into a Surveillance State That's Almost Impossible to Stop
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/our-govt-turning-surveillance-state-thats-almost-impossible-stop

Racism and the American Right
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Racism-and-the-American-Ri-by-Robert-Parry-130519-835.html

Corporations Are Stealing Billions in Tax Breaks, While the Confused, Screwed Citizenry Turn On Each Other
http://www.alternet.org/corporations-are-stealing-billions-tax-breaks-while-confused-screwed-citizenry-turn-each-other

Five Voting Fights You’ll Care About Come Election Time
http://prospect.org/article/five-voting-fights-you%E2%80%99ll-care-about-come-election-time

Confronting the anti-immigrant backlash
http://socialistworker.org/2013/05/14/confronting-anti-immigrant-bigotry

Obama's false promises about Guantánamo
http://socialistworker.org/2013/05/13/false-promises-on-guantanamo

An Experiment That's Never Been Tried: Morality Without Religion
http://bigthink.com/big-think-tv/an-experiment-thats-never-been-tried-morality-without-religion

How Walmart Paid $24 Million In Bribes To Build On Sacred Mayan Ruins
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/18/teotihuacan-how-mexicos-sacred-mayan-site-got-buried-beneath-walmart-video/

‘Buycott’ App Lets You Track Corporate Parenthood Of Goods
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/19/boycott-app-buycott/

The Price of Pacifism: Refusing to go to War is Finally Being Recognised as a Brave Act
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34994.htm

Corruption And Congress
http://www.countercurrents.org/zargar190513A.htm

Audacity of Godlessness: How and Why Being Godless in America Requires Audacity
http://atheism.about.com/od/godlesslivinginamerica/tp/Audacity-Godlessness-America.htm?nl=1

We'd like a living wage with that order
http://socialistworker.org/2013/05/20/wed-like-a-living-wage

Just How Many Journalists Is the Justice Department Spying On?
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/just-how-many-journalists-justice-department-spying

Marching against Monsanto

http://socialistworker.org/2013/05/20/marching-against-monsanto


How Lotteries Are Bad For Players, Winners, And States
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/05/20/2035751/lottery-powerball-poverty-state-budgets/

Monsanto Has Been Removed And Banned By: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Madeira, New Zealand, Peru, South Australia, Russia, France, and Switzerland!
http://politicalvelcraft.org/2013/03/23/monsanto-has-been-removed-and-banned-by-austria-bulgaria-germany-greece-hungary-ireland-japan-luxembourg-madeira-new-zealand-peru-south-australia-russia-france-and-switzerland/

The Extremely Bold Tax Evasion Technique Apple Doesn’t Want You To Know They Use
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/21/the-extremely-bold-tax-evasion-technique-apple-doesnt-want-you-to-know-they-use/

Religion Shouldn't Be an Excuse for Discrimination
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2013/05/21/op-ed-religion-shouldnt-be-excuse-discrimination

Israel killing the two-state solution
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/israel-killing-the-two-state-solution-by-khalid-amayreh/

Smashing the Absurd Myth That More Guns Make Us Safer
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/smashing-absurd-myth-more-guns-make-us-safer

@dustcirclenews - 10 FREE DOCUMENTARIES: Food Speculator, Collective Evolution, Why Bob Dutko Fails, Terminal Democracy, Darfur Diaries, Greatest Truth Never Told, Bible's Giants, Death's Beliefs and Fears, Eye of the Illuminati, Saudi Style Justice.

 http://www.dustcircle.com

The Food Speculator
Assuming the role of a speculator, director Kees Brouwer tries to find out whether he is merely taking advantage of the opportunity offered to investors by the food scarcity, or that, through this abstract world of financial products, he is drastically interfering in poor people’s lives.


















The Collective Evolution
The documentary addresses this need for change through five individual yet interrelated structures society has come to rely upon – finance, education, religion, entertainment/media, and health/food.

Bob Dutko: Why He Fails
Christian radio talk-show host and apologist Bob Dutko took the time to reply to the first video of the 10-part series, Top Ten (Failed) Proofs for God’s Existence.


















Terminal Democracy
What if people were either so distracted or so disillusioned with the political process that they simply gave up on democracy?



















Darfur Diaries: Message from Home
This film seeks to provide space for the marginalized victims of atrocities to speak and to engage with the world. Amnesty International is using the film to educate its members and the public about the situation in Darfur.

The Greatest Truth Never Told

The paradigm which we operate under is mathematically going to end. The end of the world as we know it does not mean it is the end of the world. The way of life we are currently leading is pulling humanity down and should be shown the door. We cannot change the world to make our self happy or free.

Giants of the Bible

The Bible describes many individuals as giants, and it also mentions several giant people groups. Interpreters have speculated about the size of these people with guesses ranging anywhere from 6 feet to more than 30 feet in height. Also, a great deal of misinformation about biblical giants has been proliferated on the Internet along with some fake pictures of supposed giants. So did these giants really exist?

Belief and Fear of Death

So, who’s afraid of death? Some of us find the question itself to be distasteful. We don’t even want to think about it. To know would be depressing, and perhaps if it were to be sooner than later, well, that would put a damper on things.

Eye of the Illuminati

Eye of the Illuminati is an in depth look at the state of the world, and the agenda of secret societies and the ruling class of the developed one world government system.

Justice: Saudi Style

In Saudi kingdom death sentence is given to murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. The execution is usually carried out through severing off the heads of the victim with a sword. Pretty gruesome stuff – as you can imagine. This is an acceptable standard in that country.

@dustcirclenews - HEADLINES: #CISPA, Mess Oil Made, America #1 Terrorism Sponsor, Boston Bomber Case, Armenian Genocide, Obama vs. Whistleblower Protections, US Inequality Continues, Confront Corporate Personhood, Renounce the War on Terror, Game of Drones, Walmart Workers Won't Rest, Factory Farm Cruelty, America #1 in Fear and Depression, Low IQ and Right-Wingers, Why Brainwash Kids? more.

You are viewing this email from DUSTCIRCLE.COM. 

Click the links below to view complete article.

CISPA - Corporations Buy Politicians and Your Privacy

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/hwdvideoshare/viewvideo/76046

The 'mess' that oil made
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2013/04/20134247553691966.html

America: The World’s Number One Sponsor Of Terrorism
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34710.htm

Balancing the State and Federal Roles in Boston Bomber Case
http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2013/04/balancing-the-state-and-federal-roles-in-boston-bomber-case.html

Israel: The Politics Behind The Armenian Genocide
http://axisofjustice.net/israel-the-politics-behind-the-armenian-genocide/

Obama Poised to Deliver Another Blow to Whistleblower Protections
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/obama-whistleblower-case-national-security-sensitive

Report: Wealthy Thrive and Poorest Dive as Surge in US Inequality Continues
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/04/24-3

Confront Corporate Personhood: Take Back our Planet
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Confront-Corporate-Personh-by-Kaitlin-Sopoci-Bel-130424-769.html

The White House's Flawed Korea Policies
http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-White-House-s-Flawed-K-by-Conn-Hallinan-130425-255.html

Time to Renounce the "War on Terror"
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Time-to-Renounce-the-War-by-Norman-Solomon-130424-739.html

Obama and the game of drones

http://socialistworker.org/2013/04/24/obama-and-the-game-of-drones

Wal-Mart workers won't rest
http://socialistworker.org/2013/04/24/walmart-workers-wont-rest

Why It's Literally Sickening to Ban Whistleblowers from Exposing Cruelty at Factory Farms
http://www.alternet.org/food/why-its-literally-sickening-ban-whistleblowers-exposing-cruelty-factory-farms

'Terrorism' and the Perpetual Emotion War Machine
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/04/24

Why hackers love Twitter
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/14470131-why-hackers-love-twitter

America: #1 In Fear, Stress, Anger, Divorce, Obesity, Anti-Depressants, Etc.
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/america-1-in-fear-stress-anger-divorce-obesity-anti-depressants-etc_042013

Every Time a Bomb Goes Off, The Surveillance State Grows Stronger
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34725.htm

10 facts about enemy combatants
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/what-is-an-enemy-combatant-90436.html

When Israeli Denial of Palestinian Existence Becomes Genocidal
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34720.htm

IRS Says It Will Change Its Policy On Looking At Emails Without A Warrant... At Some Point
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130421/23062122797/irs-says-it-will-change-its-policy-looking-emails-without-warrant-some-point.shtml

Yet Another Study Shows Low IQ And Right-Wing Ideology Go Hand-In-Hand
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/04/24/yet-another-study-shows-low-iq-and-right-wing-ideology-go-hand-in-hand/

Why Brainwash Kids?
http://new.exchristian.net/2013/04/why-brainwash-kids.html

Godless Morality and Ethics: Being Good Without Gods or Religion is Possible
http://atheism.about.com/od/ethicsandculture/p/GodlessMorals.htm?nl=1

@dustcirclenews - HEADLINES: Bradley Manning Nobel Peace Prize, Drone Warfare, Sweatshop Clothes, American Inequality, Cultural Assumptions, Intelligent Design Dishonesty, Economic Inequality Permanent, Brutal Reality of Israeli Occupation, Iraqi Birth Defects, Militant Atheism, Christian Privilege, Secrecy Corrodes Democracy, more.

Bradley Manning's Nobel Peace Prize
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Bradley-Manning-s-Nobel-Pe-by-David-Swanson-130325-607.html

Drone Warfare Is Neither Cheap, Nor Surgical, Nor Decisive
http://www.alternet.org/world/drone-warfare-neither-cheap-nor-surgical-nor-decisive

Are Your Clothes Made in a Sweatshop?
http://www.alternet.org/are-your-clothes-made-sweatshop

Five Ugly Extremes of Inequality in America-- The Contrasts Will Drop Your Chin to the Floor
http://www.alternet.org/economy/five-ugly-extremes-inequality-america-contrasts-will-drop-your-chin-floor

Viewing History Skeptically: On Shifting Cultural Assumptions and Attitudes
http://freethoughtblogs.com/brutereason/2013/03/23/viewing-history-skeptically-on-shifting-cultural-assumptions-and-attitudes/

Dishonesty of intelligent design “research”
http://openparachute.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/dishonesty-of-inteligent-design-research/

Bye, Bye American Dream! U.S. Economic Inequality Is Permanent, Study Finds

http://www.alternet.org/economy/bye-bye-american-dream-us-economic-inequality-permanent-study-finds

Obama Ignores the Ugly, Brutal Reality of Occupation and Colonization on His Israel Trip
http://www.alternet.org/world/obama-ignores-ugly-brutal-reality-occupation-and-colonization-his-israel-trip

Iraqi Birth Defects Worse than Hiroshima
http://intellihub.com/2013/03/23/iraqi-birth-defects-worse-than-hiroshima-graphic/

Indicators of War, Not Peace, in Obama’s Visit

http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/indicators-of-war-not-peace-in-obamas-visit/

Has militant atheism become a religion?
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Has-militant-atheism-becom-in-Life_Arts-130325-479.html

Christianism, Christian Privilege, Christian Supremacy: Christianism in America
http://atheism.about.com/od/christianismnationalism/p/Christianism.htm?nl=1

How Secrecy Corrodes Democracy
http://consortiumnews.com/2013/02/06/how-secrecy-corrodes-democracy/

America Split in Two: Five Ugly Extremes of Inequality
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/03/25-3

Police drones? No thanks say local authorities
http://www.scnow.com/news/local/article_b599e3e4-9415-11e2-a5f0-0019bb30f31a.html

Guantanamo Exposes Reality of US Fascism

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34425.htm

07.Feb.2013 - DOCUMENTARIES: Godless, Shocking Unsolved Crimes, Global Warming, Almighty Dollar, Universe Season 1

GODLESS

This is not the same ‘Godless’ as the documentary made by Staise Gonzalez.  It’s a different piece with the same name.

A couple years ago, a Canadian film crew came to record our Fellowship of Free Thought meeting for a documentary on atheists.  We skipped Skepticon that year to be involved.  I didn’t feel it appropriate or necessary to be interviewed, but my wife did.  Until then, she had never spoken out as an atheist before.  At that time, she was afraid of being recognized by her faculty or students.  We were assured that this movie would only be seen in Canada.  Apparently some copyright condition must have just expired, because on the first day of this year, that video became available on YouTube.

One thing we didn’t know was that the film crew were Christians attempting to present atheism as a religion.  We’ve still never seen this film, only pieces of it.  I thought it was a shame that my wife gave such an eloquent and moving off-the-cuff interview, and almost all of it was edited away.

20 MOST SHOCKING UNSOLVED CRIMES

Some of the biggest unsolved crimes of recent memory are also some of the biggest stories of our time. The fact that no perpetrators were ever found, raises these cases to legendary status. Unsolved Crimes counts down the heists, disappearances, and murders that have captured public fascination for decades. Many of these stories have become the subjects of documentaries, others have become the focus of big budget films. The heists are sensational and the murders are sinister. The culprits may still be out there.

List of Crimes:
#20:(01:16) – Adam Walsh Murder
#19:(06:40) – Jam-Master Jay Murder
#18:(9:45) – Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall Murder
#17:(15:00) – Tylenol Poisoning
#16:(19:15) – Bobby Fuller Murder
#15:(22:35) – The Zodiac Killer
#14:(27:27) – Alexander Litvinenko Murder
#13:(31:42) – Vanessa Johnson Murder
#12:(36:06) – Amber Hagerman Murder
#11:(41:25) – Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery
#10:(44:38) – George Allen Smith Murder
#9:(46:29) – Jacqueline Levitz
#8:(49:30) – Madeleine McCann
#7:(54:22) – Anthrax murders of 2001
#6:(58:56) – D.B Cooper
#5:(01:03:13) – Chandra Levy Murder
#4:(01:08:50) – Jimmy Hoffa
#3:(01:13:38) – The Black Dahlia
#2:(1:15:50) – JonBenet Ramsey
#1:(01:22:20) – Natalee Holloway

What You Need to Know About Global Warming

Global Warming is considered to be a serious environmental problem that predicts the incidence of mass migration, human extinction and other catastrophic events in the near future. This documentary aims to shed light on what global warming really is and how it can change the world we know today.

Majority of scientists believe that global warming is indeed real because of various physical evidences. Featured first were the ice fields of Patagonia, which is the largest expansive ice outside of Antartica. Glaciologists studying this area for decades narrate how most of the ice has melted since their last visit. In the last seven years, they have noted a 10% decrease in the mass of these ice formations. The same thing was also observed in Montana, United States and Alaska. Glaciers which have resided these areas for thousands of years have rapidly melted. Records show that of the 21 hottest years recorded in the history, 20 of them have occurred after 1980.

Climate has changed throughout the history for natural reasons. What experts fear is that a climate change in our lifetime will possibly be hundred times worst. Know more about the scientific evidences of global warming in the documentary.

THE MONEY FIX: THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR

Money is at the intersection of nearly every aspect of modern life. Most of us take the monetary system for granted, but it has a profound and largely misunderstood influence on our lives. The Money Fix is a feature-length documentary exploring our society’s relationship with the almighty dollar.

THE UNIVERSE: SEASON 1

The sky and outer space have fascinated man for centuries and the History Channel’s series The Universe is the story of man’s study of the cosmos from his earliest attempts to map and understand the heavens through modern day scientific studies, advances, and theories.

A mix of historical footage, modern space imaging, and conceptual computer graphics presented in high-definition, the visual component of this production is absolutely breathtaking. Each of the 14 44-minute episodes begins with a general introduction of subjects ranging from the sun to individual planets, alien galaxies, the search for extra-terrestrial life, and scientific theories like the Big Bang.

Each topic is then broken down into a series of segments that detail specific ideas, theories, or components integral to the understanding of the main topic as well as historical material, current studies and theories, and projections of potential future events and scientific advances.

1. Secrets of the Sun. How the sun was formed and how it could potentially die; its physical composition; how it makes energy; and the nature of solar eclipses, solar flares and sunspot activity.

2. Mars: The Red Planet. The planet most similar to Earth in our solar system; an examination of Olympus Mons the largest volcano in the solar system; how NASA probes search for evidence of past life on the red planet, and what that life might have looked like.

3. End of the Earth. The end of the world scenarios involving killer asteroid or comet impact events, solar flare and gamma-ray bursts, and the plans that scientists have to potentially save the Earth from an interstellar disaster.

4. Jupiter: The Giant Planet. The solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter; its formation and composition and its mini-solar system of over 60 moons – some of which may have the potential to support extraterrestrial life.

5. The Moon. The formation of the Moon; how it played a role in the evolution of life on Earth; and the future plans of NASA to establish a permanent base on the surface.

6. Spaceship Earth. The planet Earth; how it was born out of a chaotic shooting gallery during the formation of the solar system; how life could have began here; and what could ultimately cause its destruction.

7. Mercury and Venus: The Inner Planets. The two most hostile planets in the solar system – Mercury and Venus; one gouged with craters, the other a greenhouse cauldron of toxic gases and acid rain; both scorched by their close proximity to the sun. Scientists theorize about what sort of life could evolve on these alien worlds.

8. Saturn: Lord of the Rings. The planet Saturn and its fascinating rings; how they may have been created; how the latest probes have answered questions and revealed new mysteries about the planet, and how Saturn’s moon Titan may hold more resources of petroleum than Earth will ever need.

9. Alien Galaxies. The space through the amazing images of the Hubble Space Telescope; and a look at the formation of our galaxy and how it is just one of hundreds of billions in the universe.

10. Life and Death of a Star. How gravity causes hydrogen gas to coalesce under friction and pressure to ignite in a flash of nuclear fusion, the energy and glow lasting billions of years, and then the ultimate demise in the largest and most colorful explosions in the cosmos.

11. The Outer Planets. the solar system’s most distant worlds – Uranus, a gas giant with the most extreme axial tilt of any known planet and its wildly orbiting moon Triton; its near-twin Neptune and its moons; and finally, distant Pluto which orbits the sun every 248 years.

12. Most Dangerous Places. The most dangerous objects known in space – all consuming black holes, deadly gamma-ray bursts, powerful magnetars, and galactic collisions.

13. Search for E.T. Possible extraterrestrial life in the universe; the mission of organizations like SETI to find it, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life existing right in our own solar system on the moons of Europa and Titan.

14. Beyond the Big Bang. Back in time billions and billions of years to the origin of the Big Bang. Leading physicists and historians theorize what happened before the bang occurred, how the physical nature of the universe unfolded as energy became matter forming stars and galaxies, and how the universe continues to expand outward at an ever-accelerating rate.

01/01/2013 - Your New Year Special Issue: Unemployment, Economy, Privacy, New Laws, Climate, Atheism, Whistleblowers, Palestine, and more!

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Made in the USA - By prisoner labor

Re-inventing the slave trade

Activists Dismayed at Renewal of Surveillance Bill

ivil rights campaigners voiced dismay on Friday over the US Senate's re-authorization of the government's warrantless surveillance program, and the defeat of two amendments that would have provided for basic oversight of the eavesdropping.

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/335-156/15294-activists-dismayed-at-renewal-of-surveillance-bil

Bernie Sanders Slams Boehner and Right Wing House Extremists for Fiscal Cliff

US Senate reauthorizes FISA surveillance law 
The US Senate [official website] passed the Reauthorization Act of 2012 [text, pdf] on Friday in a 73-23 vote to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act of 2008 (FISA) [text, pdf] for five years. FISA grants the National Security Agency (NSA) [official website] the authority to conduct surveillance of Americans’ phone calls and emails in attempts to protect against terrorism and other foreign threats. 
http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/12/us-senate-reauthorizes-fisa-surveillance-law.php

There Is Nothing Heroic About Torture

he critical acclaim for the new Kathryn Bigelow movie "Zero Dark Thirty" has renewed the debate on the efficacy of torture.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/287-124/15301-there-is-nothing-heroic-about-torture

The Foreclosure Cliff
e can thank Ben Bernanke for the phrase "fiscal cliff" -- a phrase many observers have tried to soften by pointing out they think it's more like falling down a slope, sliding down a curve, or even tripping over a curb. I can understand trying to find other metaphors to replace the nearly always fatal results of going off a cliff. But maybe those observers missed one effect that Bernanke knows drives the economy more than any else: housing.
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/430-foreclosure/15302-the-foreclosure-cliff

The Financial Elite's War Against the US Economy

Today’s economic warfare is not the kind waged a century ago between labor and its industrial employers. Finance has moved to capture the economy at large, industry and mining, public infrastructure (via privatization) and now even the educational system. (At over $1 trillion, U.S. student loan debt came to exceed credit-card debt in 2012.) The weapon in this financial warfare is no larger military force. The tactic is to load economies (governments, companies and families) with debt, siphon off their income as debt service and then foreclose when debtors lack the means to pay. Indebting government gives creditors a lever to pry away land, public infrastructure and other property in the public domain. Indebting companies enables creditors to seize employee pension savings. And indebting labor means that it no longer is necessary to hire strikebreakers to attack union organizers and strikers.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/31-8

US War Machine Leaves Ugly Imprint in Afghanistan

If only in a microcosm, a dispatch from a remote outpost in Afghanistan reveals the damage and dysfunction created by years of US occupation and how little regard western military forces have for local communities when a final determination is made that an outpost should be abandoned.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/31

2012 In Review: A Year of Extreme Weather, Mass Shootings, Drone Wars and Dark Money in Politics

Amid "Cliff-Hanger" Antics, Senator Bernie Sanders Defends Middle Class

The Top 12 Political Fallacies of 2012

Our nation was gripped by so many fallacies and delusions in 2012 that the whole Mayan calendar end-of-the-world thing didn’t even make the list.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/31-1

A Wee Comparison of Civil Liberties in the United States of America
Compare and contrast. Here is how seriously we take civil liberties when the subject can be plausibly labeled terrorism
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33485.htm
8 Striking Parallels Between the U.S. and the Roman Empire
Lawrence Lessig’s Republic Lost documents the corrosive effect of money on our political process. Lessig persuasively makes the case that we are witnessing the loss of our republican form of government, as politicians increasingly represent those who fund their campaigns, rather than our citizens.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33489.htm

The GOP Has Taken America Hostage -- Is There a Downside for Them?

Republicans are taking a beating in the polls. But it does not seem to weaken their position.

http://www.alternet.org/gop-has-taken-america-hostage-there-downside-them

Will the Economy Slow With or Without the Fiscal Deal?

What is most likely to damage the economy?

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/will-economy-slow-or-without-fiscal-deal

Companies Do Not Have The Right To Impose Owners’ Religion Onto Employees, Says Americans United
Church-State Watchdog Group Says Firms Don’t Have A Religious Liberty Right To Deny Workers Access To Contraceptives
https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/companies-do-not-have-the-right-to-impose-owners-religion-onto-employees-says

US Whistleblowers on Being Targeted by the Secret Security State

Privacy by the Numbers: A New Approach to Safeguarding Data

A mathematical technique called “differential privacy” gives researchers access to vast repositories of personal data while meeting a high standard for privacy protection

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=privacy-by-the-numbers-a-new-approach-to-safeguarding-data&WT.mc_id=SA_DD_20121231

Evolution and Atheism

I have been reading more about evolution and I am beginning to think that the radical clerics are right in a sense. A deep understanding of evolution may lead people away from god and religion, but not for the reasons that are commonly stated.

http://machineslikeus.com/news/evolution-and-atheism

Obama administration considering expansion of mortgage refinancing program

The US government is eyeing mortgage refinancing program expansion that will include borrowers whose mortgages aren’t backed by the government and who are liable to pay more than the worth of their homes.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13704925-obama-administration-considering-expanding-mortgage-refinancing-program

Israel To Displace 1000 Palestinians Next Wednesday

Head of the Wadi Al-Maleh area, in the northern plains of the occupied West Bank, Aref Daraghma, stated that the Israeli army intends to displace around 10000 Palestinian Bedouins in the area in order to conduct military training.

http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/alert-israel-to-displace-1000-palestinians-next-wednesday/

Marc Morano: Climate Change Misinformer Of The Year

25.Dec.2012 - Democracy Doomed? NRA Suggests Police State, Global Persecution of Nonbelievers, Uncover-ed Religion, Old Views of Evolution, Get Rid of Electoral College? Unraveling the Welfare State 1+2, Sabotage of Democracy, Ditching Fossil Fuels, War on Christmas? and more.

Is Democracy Doomed? New Report Shows Tectonic Shifts in Campaign Spending

In a short period of time since the passage of Citizens United, the political funding landscape has dramatically changed.

http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/democracy-doomed-new-report-shows-tectonic-shifts-campaign-spending

NRA Suggests a Police State
f one follows the "logic" of the National Rifle Association's Wayne LaPierre, the United States should become an armed camp with armored-up police carrying high-powered weapons stationed at virtually every location where children might congregate and where a crazy person might show up with a semi-automatic assault rifle.
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/416-gun-control-/15198-nra-suggests-a-police-state

For Poor, Leap to College Often Ends in a Hard Fall

Low-income strivers face uphill climbs, especially at Ball High School, where a third of the girls’ class failed to graduate on schedule. But by the time the triplets donned mortarboards in the class of 2008, their story seemed to validate the promise of education as the great equalizer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/education/poor-students-struggle-as-class-plays-a-greater-role-in-success.html

Self-Compassion is More Important to Success than Self-Esteem

Being proud of your work and showing some self-esteem and confidence will get you a long way in life, but at the office, sometimes it's the ability to forgive yourself and learn from your mistakes that's more valuable than pure ego. Self-compassion can help you learn and grow, which is key to succeeding in any career.

http://lifehacker.com/5970594/self+compassion-is-more-important-to-success-than-self+esteem

Obama Backed FSA/Al Qaeda Terrorists Using Chemical Weapons in Syria

Militants fighting against the Syrian government have used chemical weapons against the army in Daraya near the capital, Damascus, military sources say.

http://rebel-institute.org/opinion/mena/313630-obama-backed-fsa-al-qaeda-terrorists-using-chemical-weapons-in-syria

Sacred Mysteries : Life After Death, Ancient Texts & the Vril

New Reports Reveal Global Persecution of Nonbelievers

According to Egypt News Daily, the prosecution first sought to charge him in connection with disseminating Innocence of Muslims but when this accusation was proven false, they revised their strategy to target the content of Saber’s video blog. Though sentenced to three years and released on bail he was subsequently locked up due to a clerical error before being released on December 17.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/6704/new_reports_reveal_global_persecution_of_nonbelievers

Undercover-ed Religion: 13 Stories That Went Missing in 2012

Storm and flood, bad bishops, nones on the bus, vegan leather queens, God’s mom: in this list Peter Laarman plots the angles that were largely invisible in mainstream religion coverage this past year—and likely in our own. A road map for 2013—and a sign to us that there might be more important things to focus on this year than the launch of our signature fragrance, RD’s Apocalypse-Begone (subtle notes of ash, hints of ocean breeze, a wisp of sulphur...). 

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/6680/undercover_ed_religion__13_stories_that_went_missing_in_2012

Rep. John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon, on the Struggle to Win, and Now Protect, Voting Rights in U.S.

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Biden: If Obama Comes for my Beretta, He's Got a Problem

The hidden size of nonbelievers

The people who are nonbelievers in any religion sometimes feel like a small minority. But this is purely a local illusion. When it comes to religions, different ones dominate different parts of the world. But when it comes to nonbelievers, we are all pretty much the same everywhere. We are the true uniters, not dividers, our shared unbelief uniting us across nations, races, and ethnicities.

http://machineslikeus.com/news/hidden-size-nonbelievers

New data challenge old views about evolution of early life

A research team led by biogeochemists at the University of California, Riverside has tested a popular hypothesis in paleo-ocean chemistry, and proved it false

http://machineslikeus.com/news/new-data-challenge-old-views-about-evolution-early-life

Question: Get Rid of Electoral College?

Unraveling the Welfare State

hat do you think the use of technocratic governments in Europe says about European democracy? There are two problems with it. First of all it shouldn’t happen, at least if anybody believes in democracy. Secondly, the policies that they’re following are just driving Europe into deeper and deeper problems. The idea of imposing austerity during a recession makes no sense whatsoever. http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/279-82/15193-unraveling-the-welfare-state

Unraveling the Welfare State (Part Two)
urope should have agreed to Palestine's observer status at the United Nations being upgraded, but they were, as you know, split on this. The US, of course, was strongly opposed. The reasons are very explicit and it's worth looking at them. They were discussed again in the New York Times last week where, of course, the newspaper took the same position as Washington almost reflexively. There are two problems, they say.
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/279-82/15209-unraveling-the-welfare-state-part-2

The GOP's Sabotage of Democracy

eally, what is to be done about this Republican Party? What force can change it—can stop Republicans from being ideological saboteurs and convert at least a workable minority of them into people interested in governing rather than sabotage? With the failed Plan B vote, we have reached the undeniable crisis point. Actually we’ve been at a crisis point for years, but this is really the all-upper-case Undeniable Crisis Point. They are a direct threat to the economy, which could slip back into recession next year if the government doesn’t, well, govern.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/15192-the-gops-sabotage-of-democracy

How a Country With One of the World's Largest Economies Is Ditching Fossil Fuels

The country is headed for 80 percent renewable energy and has complete buy-in from all political parties.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/how-country-one-worlds-largest-economies-ditching-fossil-fuels

There Really Is a War on Christmas -- It's Being Fought by Brave Atheists in the Heartland

There is a growing contingent of atheists from the American heartland who live surrounded by the faithful.

http://www.alternet.org/belief/there-really-war-christmas-its-being-fought-brave-atheists-heartland

The 7 Worst Things About McDonald's

Forcing employees to work on Christmas without overtime pay is just the beginning.

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/7-worst-things-about-mcdonalds

The Spy State Tightens its Grip

Americans are paying an ever-increasing price, both in dollars and the loss of personal privacy, to maintain the spy state.

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/spy-state-tightens-its-grip

Human Rights Watch: Israel’s justifications for killing journalists are "evidence of war crimes"

Bank Rate Fixing Scandals Reveal the Rotten Heart of Capitalism

his is the year the consensus changed. Around the world, policy-makers, regulators and bankers recognised that the legacy of the 20-year credit boom up to 2008 is more corrosive than all but a few realised at the time. The bankers - and the theorists who justified their actions - made a millennial mistake. Navigating a way out of the mess was never likely to be easy, but it is made harder still by not recognising the magnitude of the disaster and the necessary radicalism involved if things are to be put right.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/304-justice/15211-bank-rate-fixing-scandals-reveal-the-rotten-heart-of-capitalism

Sneaky Apps that Track Cellphones

A perversion of smartphone technology called "stalking apps" - precise, secretive trackings of the movements of cellphone users - is increasingly a matter of national concern, particularly for domestic abuse victims. No less threatening is the routine monitoring of children's locales and phone habits for commercial purposes while parents are kept in the dark. Stealth apps even stoop to cyber-leering through the now notorious app called Girls Around Me, which allows men to search out women, unbeknown to them, by cross-matching GPS technology with information and photo sites like Facebook.

http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/183-183/15212-sneaky-apps-that-track-cellphones

Lieberman would have ‘some really serious questions’ to ask Hagel ‘not just about Israel’ but about (Israel’s enemy du jour) Iran

Will the Internet End Up Controlled by Big Business and Politicians?

t's all about control. Of course, nobody uses that particular term. The talk is always about "governance" or "regulation", but really it's about control. Ever since the internet burst into public consciousness in 1993, the big question has been whether the most disruptive communications technology since print would be captured by the established power structures - nation states and giant corporations - that dominate our world and shape its development. And since then, virtually every newsworthy event in the evolution of the network has really just been another skirmish in the ongoing war to control the internet.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/276-74/15206-will-the-internet-end-up-controlled-by-big-business-and-politicians

Atheists vs. Christians: Inside One of America's Bitterest Nativity Scene Battles

Santa Monica is ground zero in the fault lines between Christian tradition, separation of church and state, and the First Amendment.

http://www.alternet.org/belief/atheists-vs-christians-inside-one-americas-bitterest-nativity-scene-battles
Michael Moore: 3 Reasons America Is Falling Apart -- And How We Can Save Ourselves

This holiday season, it is important to reflect on the root causes of America's slide.

http://www.alternet.org/michael-moore-3-reasons-america-falling-apart-and-how-we-can-save-ourselves