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Showing posts with label privatization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label privatization. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 31

Halloween MMXII - Hurricane Sandy and Climate Silence, SCOTUS in Surveliiance Case, Corrupt Capitalism, Drone-War Doublethink, Candidates Don't Have Answers, Obama Rejects Palestinian Statehood, Helpful Dictionary for Republicans, Monster God, Fate of America's Coastal Cities, Migrants Displaced by Extreme Weather

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This month, we are giving away a FREE copy of The End of Faith by Sam Harris. Simply go to our Facebook page, and start sharing our posts. The person or organization that shares the most DH posts by Halloween wins the book!
You are viewing this from http://www.dustcircle.comAlso, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for exclusive content.

Hurricane Sandy Pushing Obama, Romney to Break Climate Silence

While the candidates haven't spoken to climate change directly since Sandy has made landfall, the storm itself may have already injected itself into the national dialogue--breaking the so-called "climate silence"--whether the campaigns like it or not.

Yes, Global Warming Systemically Caused Hurricane Sandy

Systemic causation is familiar. Smoking is a systemic cause of lung cancer.  HIV is a systemic cause of AIDS.  Working in coal mines is a systemic cause of black lung disease. Driving while drunk is a systemic cause of auto accidents.  Sex without contraception is a systemic cause of unwanted pregnancies.

Has Sandy Abruptly Put Climate Change on the Election Agenda?

Last week, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney stressed their commitment to developing oil and gas to improve energy security. Climate change was not mentioned. This position is senseless. The U.S. Midwest has just experienced the worst drought in60 years, one which has seen economic growth depressed by 0.4 percent GDP as a result and higher food prices resulting from a 13 percent drop in corn production. As the East Coast slowly emerges from the deluge and debris of the past 24 hours, the job of counting the cost has only just begun.

Name Storms After Oil Companies (The Ones Most Responsible for Climate Change)

As gutsy New Yorkers begin the task of drying out the city, here’s one thought that occurred to me last night watching the horrifying pictures from a distance. It’s obviously not crucial right now — but in the long run it might make a difference. Why don’t we stop naming these storms for people, and start naming them after oil companies?

Bank of England Executive: Occupy Movement Was 'Right'

A senior executive at the Bank of England on Monday said the Occupy London Stock Exchange was "loud and persuasive" and helped prompt a "reformation of finance."

SCOTUS reveal little on leanings in surveillance case
The Supreme Court is pictured. | AP PhotoMore than a decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Supreme Court heard its first case Monday challenging the federal government’s terrorist-surveillance programs, but the justices gave no clear signal about whether they plan to allow a group of defense lawyers, journalists and human rights activists to go ahead with their attack on the wiretapping effort.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/83015.html#ixzz2AjWKzgWg

Obama’s detention policies are worse than Guantanamo
During the 2008 campaign, President Obama promised he would close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within a year of his inauguration. Four years later, Guantanamo remains open and will remain open for the foreseeable future. President Obama blames Congress for this failure and says he has reformed the military detention system and bolstered America’s image throughout the world.

FBI RELEASES REDACTED INFORMANT MANUALS IN RESPONSE TO FOIA
Documents obtained by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue reveal new details about the FBI's rules of conduct for informants. The FBI released 147 pages of heavily redacted manuals and policies related to the use of informants, in response to a FOIA request by Trentadue, who is engaged in a years-long lawsuit with the FBI over documents related to the Oklahoma City bombingRead the documents here

Globalization Is The Number One Health Risk Facing Humanity
In today's world - globalization is the number one health risk facing humanity. A new study released this week by the Blacksmith Institute reveals, for the first time ever, the impact of industrial pollutants on communities across the planet. 

Corrupt Capitalism -- The Denial Of Equality Of Opportunity
Those who have been successful in society anywhere in the world either in business, the professions, academia or political achievements fall into two categories: either they consider themselves fortunate, or attribute their achievements solely to their hard work and relentless drive.

Regardless of whether Obama or Romney wins, America's relations with the Arab World will change
After last week's Obama-Romney love-fest for Israel, the Arabs have been slowly deciding which of the two men would be best for the Middle East. It looks like Barack Obama is their man; but the problem – as always – is the sad, pathetic and outrageously obvious fact that it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.

Drone-War Doublethink

Obama has added a new term to the doublespeak lexicon, "the disposition matrix."

http://reason.com/archives/2012/10/30/drone-war-double-think

Mitt Romney Is Just Not That Into Federal Disaster Relief

Who would have thought that a late-season hurricane would sweep up the East Coast of the United States on the eve of one of the closest election contests in the country's history?
Not, presumably, Mitt Romney.

A Hostile Takeover of our Country -- Treasonous, Noxious, Thieving, Tyrannical



American democracy is under assault.
In one super-PAC alone, Karl Rove and the Enron grifter Ed Gillespie, have assembled $200 million from big polluters and Wall Street moguls to buy the 2012 election.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Hostile-Takeover-of-our-by-Robert-F-Kennedy-121029-930.html


I have Questions; The Candidates Don't Have Answers


Most of the questions--and responses--in the three presidential debates had been asked--and answered--several times during the campaign. But there are critical questions that were not asked. Let's begin with Foreign Policy.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/I-have-Questions-The-Cand-by-Walter-Brasch-121030-519.html


Obama Rejects Palestinian Statehood



What do you call a Black man who rejects equal rights for his own people and others? A racist traitor.
What do you call a rejectionist leader? A criminal who should be impeached, removed and prosecuted.
Obama stands guilty on multiple counts. 

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-Rejects-Palestinian-by-Stephen-Lendman-121030-190.html


Helpful Dictionary For Republicans: Communism, Socialism, Privatization And More!

A Threadless T-shirt design used as a memeI’m sure you have noticed that Republicans use a different dictionary than everyone else does.Their grasp of certain terms is shaky at best, and they like throwing around words they do not understand. These words often get people who are even more low-information (read: not very bright) all agitated and red-faced, and they get their crayons out to make angry, misspelled signs with, er, creative punctuation. It’s particularly entertaining when they combine two or more terms which mean mutually exclusive things together in one big rant.


Monster God



What's Behind the Libya Attack?




Coastal nuke plants vulnerable
Oyster Creek in New Jersey



FEMA: 'We Are Still in Response Mode'

Drone-Murders of Americans ‘Totally Right, Totally 

Constitutional’: Homeland Security Chairperson


Climate Change & Historic Superstorm Sandy: 70+ Dead, Streets Submerged, Millions Without Power

Climate Change, Hurricanes and the Fate of America’s Coastal Cities

Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant Declares Emergency in Face of Superstorm Sandy Tidal Surge

Professor Confronts Climate Deniers in the West, Explores "Unconventional Fuels"

An Eyewitness Report on Flooding in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in the Shadow of Lady Liberty

Climate Change Impact Often Felt Most by the Poor and Migrants Displaced by Extreme Weather

Bill McKibben on Resilience of New York City Residents Amidst Worst Storm Since 1821

Friday, October 19

19.OCT.2012, PART 2 - The Third-Party Factor, Breaking the Silence on Israel, America's Plutocrats, Onward Mormon Soldiers, CIA to Beef Up Armed Drones, transparency in Judicial Elections, DOMA Ruled Unconstitional, Inside the Mind of a Whistleblower, Occupied Palestine, Is Homosexuality a Choice?


This month, we are giving away a FREE copy of The End of Faith by Sam Harris. Simply go to our Facebook page, and start sharing our posts. The person or organization that shares the most DH posts by Halloween wins the book! 
 
 
You are viewing this from http://www.dustcircle.comAlso, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for exclusive content.

The Third-Party Factor: Will 2012 Look Like 2000?


U.S. soldiers cross a stream during a security patrol in Chabar, Afghanistan (Francisco V. Govea II)Losing their grip in Afghanistan

As another anniversary of the Afghanistan war passed this month amid growing "green-on-blue" attacks, Ashley Smith analyzes the prospects for the occupation.

Breaking the silence on Israel

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine brought together civil rights leaders, authors, actors and others dedicated to revealing Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people. Sherry Wolf, one of the organizers and press officer for the event, describes the weekend of testimony.

Bill Moyers: Matt Taibbi and Chrystia Freeland to Take on America's Plutocrats

On this week’s Moyers & Company Bill is joined by two veteran journalists to discuss how the super-rich have willfully confused their self-interest with America’s interest.

Onward Mormon Soldiers: Ann Romney Compares Mormon Mission to Military Service

Ann Romney told The View that her sons and her husband didn't serve, but they did spend a two-year tour proselytizing, which is pretty much the same thing.

TSA removes X-ray body scanners from major airports

The Transportation Security Administration has been quietly removing its X-ray body scanners from major airports over the last few weeks and replacing them with machines that radiation experts believe are safer.

Why Romney Doesn’t Support Equal Pay For Women, In One Picture

Mitt Romney’s campaign just can’t figure out whether he supports equal pay for women or not. When asked last April about Romney’s view on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored equal pay rights the Roberts Court cut back in 2007, Romney’s campaign responded with an awkward six second silence followed by a promise to “get back” with an answer to the question


Disclosure Laws Needed to Ensure Transparency in Judicial Elections

Supreme Court building in WashingtonEarlier this year, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its controversial Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission decision from 2010, following a challenge to a Montana law that prohibited corporate spending in elections. Disclosure laws would enable voters to know who is buying judicial elections in their states.

DOMA Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Appeals Court In New York
Saying the gay population has "suffered a history of discrimination," a divided federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled Thursday that a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman was unconstitutional, adding fuel to an issue expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court soon.

Inside The Mind Of A Whistleblower

I love being a whistleblower. I'm proud of it. When I wrote my last article about being a whistleblower, the response I received was overwhelming. Many people backed what I did, and I made a lot of contacts I wouldn't have otherwise. Last night I spent 5 hours on the phone with a fellow whistleblower. We had never met before, but it felt like reconnecting with an old friend. We shared war stories that we never told anyone before, because we connected on a level that nobody outside the whistleblowing community will ever truly get. We've both fought impossible odds and seen amazing things. It was the first time I felt like I was talking to someone who really understood me and what I've gone through.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-penny/inside-the-mind-of-a-whis_b_1982779.html

Shut up and play nice: How the Western world is limiting free speech

Free speech is dying in the Western world. While most people still enjoy considerable freedom of expression, this right, once a near-absolute, has become less defined and less dependable for those espousing controversial social, political or religious views. The decline of free speech has come not from any single blow but rather from thousands of paper cuts of well-intentioned exceptions designed to maintain social harmony.

Occupied Palestine: humiliation and human rights

UN, international, Palestinian, and Israeli human rights organisations do important work in Palestine. But the magic 'national security' argument is always available as a tool for the government of Israel.

5 Things You Need to Know About Mitt Romney's Shady Investments Before Election Day

Reporters continue to buy that old "blind trust" ruse. It's time to hold Romney accountable.
Young children were once expected to outgrow their issues; now they're diagnosed with lifelong psychiatric problems.

6 Ways You Might Be Getting Scammed on Your Monthly Bills

Some companies design their fee structures and agreements in an intentionally confusing manner.

Is Homosexuality a Choice?

Perhaps sexual preference can be changed – and people have the right to engage in gay sex and have homosexual relationships if they choose to do so. (The fourth option, that gay people have no choice but to be gay, but should be punished for it anyway, is morally unthinkable.)

America: Caught in the Throes of an Escalating "UnCivil War"

Watching what's going on in America today is like reliving the years preceding the destructive Civil War of the 1860's in which the seething anger and great dissension between opposing factions finally reached a boiling point and erupted into extreme violence. It's as if that dissension that tore America apart became embedded in this nation's psyche and has now resurfaced in this society.

Privatization Madness: Now Private Companies are Collecting Our Taxes

I went into my local township building Monday to settle up my local income tax bill. I had filed for an extension of my federal and state taxes back in April because of my father's unexpected death a few weeks before the tax filing date and the need to deal with his funeral and with arranging for care for my widowed mother, who has alzheimers, had taken up all my time.

Land of Elites

Few Americans have significant influence on the country or the lives of people in it. The number of Americans with real influence is very small, but their influence is very, very great. Although they are not organized into a formal institution, they nonetheless constitute the "invisible government" Edward Bernays wrote about in his book Propaganda in 1928
The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Land-of-Elites-by-B-Sidney-Smith-121017-963.html

Palestinian Authority to Hold Sham Elections

Longtime Israeli collaborators Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad scheduled West Bank municipal elections on October 20, 2012. Democracy isn't on the ballot. Palestinians are skeptical for good reason. For the first time since January 25, 2006, they'll vote in an election much different from then. Fed up with institutionalized Fatah corruption and subservience to Israel, Hamas candidates swept to victory.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Palestinian-Authority-to-H-by-Stephen-Lendman-121019-128.html

Mitt Romney: International Man of Mystery

The FBI's Fed Follies

The post-American Middle East


Redefining Happiness, Beating Consumerism


Study Shows How Prayer, Meditation Affect Brain Activity


As Sen. McGovern Nears Death, How the Antiwar Candidate Challenged Vietnam and Inspired a Generation
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