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033112
CIA secret prison in Poland: Leaders break their silence Two prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah, said they had been held in a prison in Poland and have been given "victim status" by prosecutors in Warsaw.

Petrol crisis 'is our Thatcher moment', Tory MPs reportedly tell party members | UK news | guardian.co.uk Unite accuses ministers of 'spoiling for a fight' after memo from MPs emerges comparing situation with 1980s miners' strike
Spain announces 'extraordinary' €27bn budget cuts | Business | The Guardian Prime minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government announces Spain's most austere budget for more than three decades (screwing the less well off is always the solution)


Hendrik Hertzberg: Seconding Ezra Klein : The New Yorker (Bully Pulpit doesn't work)
Hullabaloo Jonathan Alter and the butterfly effect (wank, wank, liberals are the root of all evil from pro-torture Alter)
AARP: Social Security Should Not Be Part Of Deficit Discussion (which is why we are having secret meetings with Republicans)
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Dazed And Confused Greg Sargent asks why Mitt Romney is embracing the Paul Ryan Jump Off The Cliff economic plan so tightly.

The Mahablog » It’s the Police Inaction, Stupid If Trayvon Martin was killed for walking while black, I’d say Lowry is guilty of writing while stupid. And bigoted. And being a whiny self-absorbed wingnut.

Reality Check: Effective U.S. Corporate Tax Rate Much Lower Than Most Other Developed Nations | ThinkProgress (US not so developed)

Vaccine to stop heart attacks could be here in 5 years

Fox News Host Thinks 'The Blacks' Are Making Too Big Of A Deal About Trayvon Martin | ThinkProgress Overall, the message seems to be, as Fox contributor Tamara Holder told Hannity: “The blacks are also making this more of a racial issue than it should be.”
INSTAPUTZ: Glenn Reynolds: Obama is a "racist hatemonger." I wish he would just call him the n-word and get it over with.

Taking Responsibility for Death - NYTimes.com The hospice room and pain-relieving palliative care cost only about $400 a day, while the average hospital stay costs Medicare over $6,000 a day.
Puberty Before Age 10 - A New ‘Normal’? - NYTimes.com - by age 7, 10 percent of white girls, 23 percent of black girls, 15 percent of Hispanic girls and 2 percent of Asian girls had started developing breasts ... Researchers now believe that fat tissue, not poundage, sets off a feedback loop that can cause a body to mature. (boys aren't mentioned much)

The Gated Community Mentality - NYTimes.com The perverse, pervasive real-estate speak I heard in these communities champions a bunker mentality. Residents often expressed a fear of crime that was exaggerated beyond the actual criminal threat, as documented by their police department’s statistics. Since you can say “gated community” only so many times, developers hatched an array of Orwellian euphemisms to appease residents’ anxieties: “master-planned community,” “landscaped resort community,” “secluded intimate neighborhood.”
Orwell and March Madness - NYTimes.com Athletes Are Students. College Sports Is Not About Money. Graduation Is The Goal.

Illinois Traffic Stop Of Star Trek Fans Raises Concerns About Drug Searches, Police Dogs, Bad Cops In about 80 percent of civil asset forfeiture cases, the property owner is never charged with a crime. And in Illinois -- like many states -- the law enforcement agency that makes the seizure gets to keep the cash or the proceeds of the forfeiture auction
Illinois State Police Drug Dog Unit Analysis Shows Error Rate Between 28 and 74 Percent ... they're more interested in dogs that will give them legal cover to conduct a search. (better than lie-detectors; fake law-enforcement technology)

Johnny Cash A Boy Named Sue Live At San Quentin 1969 No Bleep - YouTube

> Top-rated laundry detergents revealed - Yahoo! Shopping

033012
Barack Obama's latest sanctions against Iran designed to cut its oil exports | World news | guardian.co.uk President's move to punish Iran is designed to pressure nation into abandoning nuclear program and keep Israel at bay

Police face racism scandal after black man records abuse | UK news | The Guardian Crown Prosecution Service reviews decision not to charge officers heard boasting of strangling 21-year-old black man

If The Supreme Court Strikes Down The Affordable Care Act, The Conservative Justices Will Do Lasting Damage To The Institution's Legitimacy | The New Republic


New York police officers defy order to cut marijuana arrests | World news | guardian.co.uk Nearly half of people charged with marijuana posession were reportedly not displaying the drug when they were stopped (Bloomberg's corrupt police state)

Brad DeLong: Is a Grand Bargain Worthwhile? It's hard for any veteran of the Clinton Administration to reach any conclusion other than that fixing America's long-run fiscal dilemmas requires first the complete destruction of today's Republican Party, and those of us who care about America's fiscal future need to turn all of our energies to that end. Can you give me reasons not to believe that? (Ezra Klein still naive)

Michele Bachmann Thinks People 'Choose' To Not Have Health Insurance, Not Because They Can't Afford It | ThinkProgress
Portions Of Scott Walker's Anti-Union Law Struck Down By Federal Court The court ruled that the state cannot prevent public sector unions from automatically deducting dues from workers' paychecks and cannot require them to be recertified annually.

Generation workless: And experts see little hope for near future (more money for rich old people!)

Rainbow Brain Map Reveals Grid-Like Pattern | Wired Science | Wired.com
General Motors pulls funding from climate sceptic thinktank Heartland | Environment | guardian.co.uk Car giant breaks off 20-year relationship with Heartland Institute in ongoing row over its role in questioning global warming

Arizona Outdoes Everyone With New Anti-Abortion Bill | Mother Jones (Atwood's Period Police)
Dr. Logan Levkoff: Chris Jones' Esquire Article: What He Got Wrong Have you read: "Ladies: You're Not as Good as You Think," an Esquire feature by Chris Jones? If you have, you're probably writing letters of scorn and disgust to the magazine right now; if you haven't, you will be shortly.
A clinic’s landlord turns the tables on anti-abortion protesters - The Washington Post - Voice for Choice to turn the tables on the anti-abortion protesters harassing his family. The group now has about three thousand volunteers.

Keith Olbermann Fired By Current TV; Replaced By Eliot Spitzer ... His short tenure began with fanfare, but ended, as many of Olbermann's previous jobs have, with deep acrimony on both sides.

Trayvon Martin lawyers intensify call for arrest amid more evidence leaks | World news | guardian.co.uk New eyewitness account and police station video further negate George Zimmerman's self-defence claim, family lawyers say
Trayvon Martin killing: witness says he saw Zimmerman walk away uninjured | World news | guardian.co.uk Account contradicts allegation from Zimmerman's father that Trayvon Martin left his son with injuries including a broken nose
Trayvon Martin: three ways George Zimmerman's story is falling apart | World news | guardian.co.uk From leaked police station footage to new eyewitness accounts, lawyers say the Florida shooter's original story is unravelling
Trayvon Martin Case: George Zimmerman Was 'Jekyll And Hyde,' Former Co-Worker Says


MasterCard and Visa warn of breach possibly affecting millions of accounts | Money | guardian.co.uk Compromised information could be used to create fake credit cards, security expert warns, as both companies alert banks
MasterCard, VISA Warn of Processor Breach — Krebs on Security
The Search for the Google of the Social Graph | Epicenter | Wired.com

032912
NATO Supply Convoy Ambushed In Western Afghanistan, Sparking Deadly Firefight
Toulouse shootings: Algeria refuses to take gunman Mohamed Merah's body | World news | The Guardian Algeria refuses to accept body of man who killed seven people in France for 'reasons of public order'
Japan hangs three prisoners after 18-month stay of executions | World news | guardian.co.uk Anger and dismay as government resumes capital punishment in same week it won Amnesty's praise for apparent moratorium (bait and switch)
Indonesia to ban mini-skirts in anti-porn crackdown
Haley Barbour's Lobby Shop Had Ties To Iranian Nuclear Efforts
Colombia’s former president calls America’s drug war a ‘failure’ | The Raw Story “Society does not want to accept that people consume [drugs],” he told RCN Radio in Colombia. “You cannot turn away from reality. We cannot accept that theory. [American politicians] may prefer not to talk about it. We cannot accept it. We cannot be condemned to live in war because Americans do not want to talk about it. No one speaks in favor of the war on drugs.”

Eurozone crisis live: Spanish general strike kicks off | Business | guardian.co.uk Demonstrators and police clashed in Madrid this morning • Reports of arrests and injuries (general strike hits Spain)
Fuel panic: live updates | News | guardian.co.uk Dorset police ask petrol stations to close temporarily to ease queues with ministers accused of sparking panic ahead of possible tanker drivers' strike
Will Greece abandon the euro? Markets say yes, within 3 years. | The Signal - Yahoo! News

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's immunity claims 'baseless', maid's lawyers argue | World news | guardian.co.uk Lawyers for former IMF boss ask court in New York to dismiss civil suit brought by hotel maid over alleged sexual assault

Rupert Murdoch Fights Back Against 'Lies And Libels,' Declares War

Tony Scalia's Retirement Has Started Early - Esquire All those inferior intellects on the bench with him, now with some other Catholics who aren't even as Catholic as he is, Scalia being the last living delegate who attended the Council of Trent. Inferior Catholics with inferior minds. What can a fellow do? He hung in there as long as he could, but he's now bringing Not Giving A Fuck to an almost operatic level.
Scalia echoes GOP talking points | TPMDC (teaparty rhetoric shows where he's coming from)
How did legal observers and Obamacare backers get it so wrong? - The Plum Line - The Washington Post - All of which is to say that the law's proponents were badly caught off guard by the depth of the conservative bloc’s apparent hostility towards the law and its willingness to embrace the hard right’s arguments against its constitutionality. They didn’t anticipate that this could shape up as an ideological death struggle over the heart and soul of the Obama presidency, which, as E.J. Dionne notes today, is exactly what it has become.
In the Supreme Court, activist justices take on health care - The Washington Post (Obama was so surprised that the conservative Supremes would be rapidly teaparty partisan)
Hullabaloo - Overconfidence
Predicting the Health Care Decision from the Oral Arguments — The Monkey Cage Justices tend to direct more questions and words at the side they eventually vote against ... This indicator suggests a 5-4 decision striking down the mandate

GOP 'War On Women' Loses Momentum In The States

Most Voters Aren't Stupid Journalists explaining public knowledge of 2012's big issues should take a cue from academics who have been studying this for years ("poorly informed" but sure of themselves sounds pretty stupid; maybe "insane" is the word you are looking for)
Eschaton: Can We End That Era For the past couple of decades we've all (by "we" I man all the Very Serious People in the chattering classes) bought into the fantasy that all we need to do is pursue Conservative Means to achieve Liberal Ends and everything will be awesome.
Scott Walker Recall: Wisconsin Officials Recommend Elections Go Forward

Sheldon Adelson, Billionaire Gingrich Backer, Says Newt 'At The End Of His Line'
Simpson-Bowles Plan Rejected By House The 382-38 roll call paved the way for Republicans to muscle through their own, more stringent budget on Thursday, a measure that would blend deeper spending reductions in safety-net programs for the poor with a plan to dramatically overhaul Medicare (wildly popular with older, economically-and-cognitively-challenged white people)
House Republican Budget Drives Non-Defense Discretionary Spending To Lowest Level In 50 Years | ThinkProgress
Senators Who Voted To Protect Oil Tax Breaks Received $23,582,500 From Big Oil | ThinkProgress
Welcome to Obamaville Rick Santorum is out with an eerie new ad attacking President Obama: "Imagine a small, American town two years from now if Obama is reelected." (be very scared)
GOP Ad Uses Doctored SCOTUS Audio - Bloomberg

‘Drift’ by Rachel Maddow of MSNBC Traces American Militarism - NYTimes.com ‘Drift’ by Rachel Maddow of MSNBC Traces American Militarism (Maslin loves it)

Study: Trust in science among educated conservatives plunges | The Lookout - Yahoo! News
Hullabaloo Science is for blowing up commies, silly! - Conservatives, particularly those with college educations, have become dramatically more skeptical of science over the past four decades, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Sociological Review. Fewer than 35 percent of conservatives say they have a "great deal" of trust in the scientific community now, compared to nearly half in 1974 (leaving planet reality behind)

Huge tornadoes discovered on the Sun
The Demon Drink - Time - By 1830 the average American was guzzling the equivalent of 1.7 bottles of hard liquor per week — three times the amount consumed today.

Two More Advertisers Exit The Rush Limbaugh Show | Media Matters for America
Limbaugh Launched 46 Personal Attacks On Fluke; He Apologized For Two Words | Media Matters for America

Trayvon Martin Case: Exclusive Surveillance Video of George Zimmerman - ABC News - Zimmerman, 28, is wearing a red and black fleece and his face and head are cleanly shaven. He appears well built, hardly the portly young man depicted in a 2005 mug shot that until a two days ago was the single image the media had of Zimmerman.
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » #TrayvonMartin: The Zimmerman Apologist Train is Careening Wildly Off-Track
Sean Hannity On Trayvon Martin: Media, Lawmakers Are Being 'Irresponsible'
Black People Make Michelle Malkin All Kinds Of Twitchy | TBogg
Chuck Todd Takes "Deep Dive" Into How NRA, ALEC Pushed "Kill At Will" Laws | Media Matters for America
Teachable Moment: @RepBobbyRush, other legislators, wear #Trayvon hoodies « Sister Toldjah I fully understand the urge that many minorities in this country feel to participate in our system of government, which is not a Democracy as most people believe, but is in fact, a Republic. (very ugly rightwingnut racisim)
But for Audio | The Agitator An incidental recording taken while a Florida woman was on the phone with her insurance company shows that the police who arrested her and charged her with a felony for resisting arrest lied in their reports, and then again under questioning.

Sandra Fluke, Nicolle Wallace, Chelsea Clinton And More Talk Women In Politics

Alleged boarding school abuse focus of CNN report - Daily Inter Lake: Local/Montana Pinehaven Christian Children’s Ranch and School, located in St. Ignatius, is the focus of a three-part report on Anderson Cooper 360 as part of the show’s “Ungodly Discipline” series. According to former house parents and students of the school, staff members used pressure points to subdue students and one staff member choked students.
Joe Arpaio Responds To Ruling Critical Of Pink Underwear Policy The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in a case brought by the estate of inmate Eric Vogel against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio that the mandatory pink undergarments were a form of "punishment without legal justification." The court also said it was fair to infer that the selection of pink as the color was meant to symbolize the loss of prisoners' masculinity.
Shaun Winkler, White Supremacist, Running For Sheriff In Idaho
Fatal Shooting of Ex-Marine by White Plains Police Raises Questions - NYTimes.com (cops kill 68 yo man for accidentally triggering his medical alert)

An eagle, a fox and my cat all getting along fine on my porch - YouTube

App wants you to share enemies on Facebook - CNN.com (social app for haters)

032812
Texas accuses anti-death penalty charity of fomenting violence | World news | guardian.co.uk Extraordinary escalation in war of words as Texas prison service accuses charity group of behaving like a prison gang

UK GDP fell faster than previously estimated in fourth quarter, ONS says | Business | The Guardian UK GDP fell 0.3% rather than 0.2% in fourth quarter • Economists had expected no change

Lawsuit alleges NYPD violated civil rights by entering private buildings | World news | guardian.co.uk Suit filed on behalf of 13 black and Latino New Yorkers says stop-and-frisk extension program has left them living in fear

No Revenue Means Steep Social Security Cuts Under Romney - Bloomberg

Matt Stoller: Who Wants Keep the War on Drugs Going AND Put You in Debtor’s Prison? « naked capitalism
Supreme Court and Obamacare: why the conservatives are skeptical of the Affordable Care Act. - Slate Magazine The court’s conservatives apparently believe in the land of the free. Circa 1804.
Adam Winkler: No Surprise: The Supreme Court Is Hostile to Health Care
Supreme Court Health Care Law: Justices Come Down Hard On The Mandate
White House defends embattled solicitor general - Jonathan Allen - politico.com
Scalia Says Court Can’t Be Bothered To Read Obamacare: ‘You Really Want Us To Go Through These 2,700 Pages?’ | ThinkProgress
Harry Reid Hits Out At Jeffrey Toobin Over Obamacare Anaylsis
Supreme Court Health Care Reform: Without Mandate, Nightmare Awaits Insurers, Uninsured


Change.org predicts public anger if no charges in Trayvon Martin case | World news | guardian.co.uk Campaign website looks ahead to convening of grand jury as petition launched by teenager's parents continues to grow
Trayvon Martin Case: Police Wanted Warrant To Arrest George Zimmerman, Prosecutor Says
University of Texas Student Paper Wins 'Most Racist Trayvon Martin Cartoon' Contest

Facebook Protection Amendment Voted Down In House House Republicans blocked a measure Tuesday night that would have let the Federal Communications Commission prevent employers from forcing workers to reveal their Facebook passwords.

032712
Syria Death Toll Estimate At 9,000, United Nations Reports
The U.S. can make all the difference in Syria - The Washington Post (Richard Cohen loves to bomb people and is always wrong)
Death Penalty In 2011: Report Shows Executions By Country
Capital Punishment: U.S. Ranks 5th On Global Execution Scale, Amnesty International Reports
German Police ID Checks By Skin Color OK, Says Court
Mexico Murders Go Largely Unpunished, Report Says Four out of five homicides go unpunished in Mexico, in part because prosecutors and police focus on less serious cases that are easier to solve, a Mexican think tank's report said Monday.
Jesse Zwick: Why Are Liberals Lending Credibility To A Zany Russian TV Station? | The New Republic

Fukushima Power Plant Damaged Worse Than Thought, New Report Says

Top 10 Lessons of the Iraq War - By Stephen M. Walt | Foreign Policy Now that the war is officially over and most U.S. forces have withdrawn, what are the most important takeaways?
What We Can 'Learn' From Our 9 Years in Iraq - James Fallows - International - The Atlantic
Thomas Friedman sums up the Iraq war... (5/29/2003) - YouTube

Jonathan Cohn: Conservative Justices Express Skepticism Of Individual Mandate; Alito, Scalia Particularly Hostile, With Thomas, Kennedy Sending Mixed Signals | The New Republic (Kennedy will kill ACA)
Mitch McConnell On Health Care Law: 'More Incremental Fixes' Over 'A Massive Republican Alternative'
Hullabaloo They'd rather die than have health care - I would say that it's far more likely that the Democrats will be hard pressed to even defend Medicare from getting the ax at this point. This country is in the grip of some people who have been so brainwashed that they have lost their relationship to reality itself. Even nations run by right wing dictators aren't this self-destructive. We are the most powerful nation on earth --- and we're basically at the mercy of a group of primitive paranoids:

Olympia Snowe gives Obama an "F" in "paying attention to Olympia Snowe" - Olympia J. Snowe - Salon.com - Retiring moderate Republican senator still prizes "bipartisanship" over actually passing legislation (just leave, please)
Red States See Massive Public Sector Job Losses | The Nation

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Making Friends All Over the Place “My first advice is to listen to reason when they formulate their positions. Reason never harmed a presidential candidate,” Medvedev said. “My other advice is to check their watches from time to time: it is 2012, not the mid-1970s.” For wingnuts, we’ve been stuck in Red Dawn since 1945.
Judge Tosses Conspiracy Charges In Hutaree Militia Case | TPMMuckraker
In Secret Documents, Anti-Gay Marriage Group Looked To Divide Gays, Blacks Blunt language and broad plans from the National Organization for Marriage. A goal: “Fanning the hostility.” Another project: “Sideswiping Obama.”
Sen. Rand Paul: When Big Oil Screws Americans At The Gas Pump, 'You Should Want To Encourage Them' | ThinkProgress

Home prices hit a 9-year low - Mar. 27, 2012

Sorkin’s disingenuousness on corporate taxes | Felix Salmon Andrew Ross Sorkin has a mildly corrosive column on NetJets’ tax issues today
Enclosed malls fade from Washington region - Greater Greater Washington - Once the economic juggernaut of suburbia, enclosed malls are slowly dying all across America. (the mall is flat)
Dennis Rodman 'broke,' 'extremely sick,' his attorney says - latimes.com - He has a long history with Newport Beach, whose police were called to his Seashore Drive home in West Newport 80 times during the eight years he lived there.

High court throws out human gene patents - Yahoo! News

Whiskey Fire: The Rain in Rochester Falls Mainly on the Lame Of all the barnyard-class deep-thinkers clamoring to make grunting fools of themselves over Sandra Fluke presenting her opinion to Congress, and getting called a "slut" for her trouble, among the loudest jackasses was Steve Landsburg, who brayed: (remember that idiot ecomonics professor? +he's very creepy)

Aging boomers who can’t drive will be trapped in unwalkable cities of their own making | Grist - Judging by how pedestrian-unfriendly the average American city has become, all our aging parents apparently enjoy being prisoners in their own homes, reports the AP. Because, oops: There comes a point when you can’t legally drive any longer. And if you depend on your car, that means you’ll have to … depend on your children instead. Fuck.
Food fight develops in Va. over sale of live animals - The Washington Post The case, set to play out at a hearing in Fairfax County court later this week, has pitted a conservationist who tipped off authorities against a popular market whose managers believe Asian food traditions are under attack and the diets of immigrant groups have been criminalized by an outdated law that has not kept pace with Virginia’s rapidly changing demographics.
Fat-shaming a child into a book deal - Body Wars - Salon.com How could a story that Jezebel last week declared “The Worst Vogue Article Ever” get even more terrible? By becoming a book.

Trayvon Martin Case: George Zimmerman Told Police Teen Attacked Him
Trayvon Martin case: What does the autopsy show? - latimes.com
Hullabaloo "If we ever stop talking about hoodies, we might start talking about guns" (Colbert)




032612
Obama: US and China will co-ordinate response to North Korea rocket launch | World news | The Guardian President tells Seoul summit that China and US share interest in preventing nuclear proliferation
South Korea warns it may shoot down North Korean rocket | World news | guardian.co.uk Fears over suspected missile test overshadow international nuclear security summit in Seoul
Afghan security forces kill three Nato troops | World news | guardian.co.uk One American and two Britons killed in separate incidents, bringing number of Nato service members killed in 2012 to 16
Support In U.S. For Afghan War Drops Sharply, Poll Finds Sixty-nine percent think the U.S. should not be involved in the war in Afghanistan, up from 53 percent as measured by CBS in November.

Robert Bales Charged: Military Scrambles To Limit Malaria Drug Just After Afghanistan Massacre Army and Pentagon officials would not say whether Bales took the drug, citing privacy rules. When asked if Woodson’s mefloquine review was a response to the massacre, the military in Afghanistan referred the question to the Army. Army officials said they were “unaware” of the review. After being shown the task order via email, they stopped responding. The Secretary of Defense Office referred questions to the Army -- and then back to medical officials in the secretary’s office. Those officials have not responded.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn charged over alleged links with prostitution ring | World news | guardian.co.uk Former IMF head told he faced further questioning over 'complicity in aggravated and organised prostitution' (little rutting chimpanzee)

Questions for News Corp over rival's collapse | Media | The Guardian Software company NDS allegedly cracked smart card codes of ONdigital, according to evidence to be broadcast on Panorama

Supreme court justices hear arguments as healthcare reform showdown begins | World news | guardian.co.uk First day of US supreme court hearings on 'Obamacare' mix dense legal arguments with pointed questioning from justices

Lobbyists, Guns and Money - NYTimes.com Think about that: we seem to be turning into a country where crony capitalism doesn’t just waste taxpayer money but warps criminal justice, in which growing incarceration reflects not the need to protect law-abiding citizens but the profits corporations can reap from a larger prison population.
Dementia Behind Bars - NYTimes.com The get-tough-on-crime and mandatory sentencing policies that swept America beginning in the 1970s did more than drive up the inmate population and prison costs. They also ensured that inmates who once might have been seen as rehabilitated and given parole would grow old and even die behind bars. As a result, prisons are struggling to furnish costly, specialized care to ever more inmates who suffer from age-related infirmities, especially dementia.

Frank Rich: The GOP’s Problem With Women -- New York Magazine The GOP’s woman problem is that it has a serious problem with women.
Controlling Young Women - First Draft
1 in 5 Pharmacies Hinders Teens' Access to 'Morning-After' Pill: Study - Yahoo! News

Texas 'Fewer Than Five' Voter Impersonation Cases | ThinkProgress
Fox Complains About "BFD" Shirts But Hosted Palin's "WTF Moments" | Media Matters for America

Bernanke Says U.S. Needs Faster Growth - NYTimes.com (said the guy with his foot on the brakes)

What You Need To Know About The Smear Campaign Against Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)
Trayvon Martin’s family on his marijuana suspension: Police want to ‘demonize the victim’ | The Lookout - Yahoo! News
New Orleans police officer suspended over online comments about Trayvon Martin | The Lookout - Yahoo! News
Thousands protest Martin shooting | Photo Gallery - Yahoo! News A crowd of about 8,000 marched through the streets of Sanford, Fla., on March 26 to present a petition to civic leaders with more than two million signatures demanding that a neighborhood watch guard be prosecuted for gunning down 17-year-old Trayvon Martin one month ago.

Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre: American press 'complacent' and 'self-regarding' | Media | guardian.co.uk Editor-in-chief of Daily Mail group, which runs most popular newspaper website in the world, airs views in New Yorker profile

U.S. Urban Population Is Up ... But What Does 'Urban' Really Mean? - Neighborhoods - The Atlantic Cities
When a Parking Lot Is So Much More - NYTimes.com

'Mad Men' Actress Jessica Pare Talks 'Zou Bisou Bisou,' Don Draper And More After throwing Don a surprise party for his 40th birthday, Megan performed a rendition of the catchy french tune "Zou Bisou Bisou," originally recorded by Gillian Hill in 1961.
Mad Men: Sally and Don in “A Little Kiss” - Lawyers, Guns & Money

LulzSec claims hack of Military Singles dating website, dumps over 170,000 account credentials | The Verge
Yahoo Meme shutting down on May 25th | The Verge
Bully to be Released Unrated - ComingSoon.net (big content is a bully, refuses to classify film about bullying for kids as pg-13)

032512
Sarkozy announces crackdown on Internet hate sites | Reuters France would make it a crime to consult Web sites that advocate terrorism or hate crimes and would toughen a crackdown on people who went abroad for ideological indoctrination.

Iraqi Woman Severely Beaten in Calif. Home Dies - ABC News

A Tiny Revolution: America's 300 Year-Long Lucky Streak Continues Most recently, Steve Inskeep of NPR pointed out that Afghans haven't gotten all bent out of shape about a U.S. soldier massacring sixteen of them, because "human life is already cheap" way over there (your very highly-paid NPR conservative tool)

The Private Life of Power « Corey Robin
Ladies’ Man: Rick Santorum And His Female Companions
Hullabaloo - Quiverfull of Santorum

Wall Street's Huge Bet on Romney - OpenSecrets Blog | OpenSecrets (more than 10x Republican, so you can't say the Dems are bought)
Why Do New York Times Columnists Keep Swooning for Paul Ryan? | The Baseline Scenario After David Brooks last year, now it’s James Stewart who has fallen for Paul Ryan’s rugged good looks. He attempts to defend Ryan’s tax proposals against charges that they favor the rich (elite journalism at work)

Political Animal - A Bit More on the New Black Panther Party Panic Politically, the New Black Panthers are a big festive piñata filled with white populism—a lot of politicians and pundits who know that the group is a shell of its former incarnation nonetheless sound the fear-trumpet over the Panthers whenever possible since this is such irresistible red meat to a certain brand of conservative voter (fear-based not very intelligent racists)
Wisconsin journalists signed Gov. Walker recall petitions | jimromenesko.Com (journos not allowed to sign petitions, or go to protests, or ... vote)

Mock Ramblings: A Doctor on Transvaginal Ultrasounds

Samuel L Jackson Blame - YouTube
Dan Riehl Proves He Is Not Racist By Being More Racist | TBogg

The Case for Sleep Medicine - NYTimes.com

032412
Egypt’s Election Victors Seek Shift by Hamas to Press Israel - NYTimes.com
Dalai Lama Has 'Nazi' Policies, According To Chinese Website

When Will 9/11 Stop Being an Alibi for Injustice? - Esquire

robojelly - latimes.com (sea-drones!)

poorrichard's blog: There Are Now More Americans In Jail Than There Were In Stalin's Gulag Archipelago

Don't Blame The Supreme Court For Citizens United -- Blame Congress, The FEC And The IRS

The Forgotten Ones - Ronald Brownstein - NationalJournal.com If Republicans dismantle the health care law, what will happen to the growing number of uninsured Americans? (death-panels run by Repubicans)
How GOP got Catholicized - CNN.com - the emerging Catholic/evangelical political theology is the most striking conservative innovation of this turbulent campaign season.
Political Animal - Satan’s Indoctrination Camps - Santorum (college)

The Parallels Between Clinton and Obama "William Jefferson Blythe III and Barack Hussein Obama II were the namesakes of fathers they did not know. Billy's dad, a traveling salesman from Texas, was killed in a car crash before his son was born. Barry's old man, a traveling student from western Kenya, also died in a car crash. His son was 21 then but had never lived with his father. Both boys' mothers created myths about their fathers to ease the pain; in truth, the sons were almost certainly better off without them."

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Credit Where Credit Is Ignored And Stuff One, all the smart Puritopian money was depressingly convinced that President Obama was going to fail progressives again because he had to choose Larry Summers for the job. Second, the right is having a small series of heart attacks.
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Yet One More Reason To Love Jim Yong Kim (go to 2:00; amazing)

FLASHBACK: Two Years Ago, GOP Predicted ‘Armageddon’ If Health Reform Became Law | ThinkProgress
Slinging Stones at the Green-Eyed Monster: A Review of Senator Jim Inhofe‘s The Greatest Hoax - David Hoyt - Townhall Conservative Columnists An international carbon tax program is one of the most hideous ideas forged in the minds of men. Since all known life forms are carbon-based, it is a proposal to control all life. This point is not lost on Inhofe, and he makes it clearly (Obama wants to control all life; clowns at clown hall really are that stupid)
West Virginia Mine Explosion: Panel Faults MSHA Enforcement (Republicans: we don't need no steenking regulations)

Penn State Police Had Warnings About Sandusky in 1998 | NBC 10 Philadelphia NBC News obtained the 1998 PSU internal police file from an investigation of Sandusky showering naked with a little boy in the school's locker room - telling them Sandusky had showered naked with an 11-year-old boy and bear-hugged him.

A cloaking device from off-the-shelf superconductors and magnetic tape
Cosmic Log - Mysterious cloud spotted on Mars

Trayvon Martin News - Trayvon Martin and the End of Excuses - Esquire
Political Animal - Welcome to Phase 2 of the Trayvon Martin Debacle
Little Green Footballs - Fox News Commenters React to Trayvon Martin: 'Good Shot Zimmy' Stupid evil racists post a deluge of hateful comments
Florida’s Stand Your Ground law doesn’t prohibit that they arrest George Zimmerman for killing Trayvon Martin. - Slate Magazine
Sanford City Commissioner Concerned George Zimmerman Will Flee Country | ThinkProgress
Miami Heat, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade don hoodies for Trayvon Martin - The Early Lead - The Washington Post

How One Response to a Reddit Query Became a Big-Budget Flick | Underwire | Wired.com

Microsoft Censors Pirate Bay Links in Windows Live Messenger | TorrentFreak Apparently, the company is actively monitoring people’s communications to prevent them from linking to sites they deem to be a threat.
Facebook Says That If You Use The Site You Agree To Its Bogus Claim To Hold A Trademark On 'Book' | Techdirt

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Wash. Post 's Cohen's Misguided Push For A Strike On Iran | Media Matters for America
Special Report: Intel shows Iran nuclear threat not imminent - Yahoo! News (o rly; you mean neocon WaPo is trying to push America into a disasterous war ... again?)
Asma Assad, Syria President's Wife. Sanctioned By European Union Officials say that the EU foreign ministers have slapped sanctions on the wife and other close relatives of Syrian President Bashar Assad in a continuing attempt to stop the violent crackdown on opposition ("I'm the real dictator")
Beyond The Battlefield: Afghanistan's Wounded Struggle With Genital Injuries (all for exactly nothing)

Ireland back in recession as global slowdown hits exports | Business | The Guardian GDP fell 0.2% in the final quarter of last year to put Ireland officially into recession, alongside Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and Greece (who could have predicted that austerity forced by rich elites would kill the economy and screw millions of people?)
Minimum alcohol price could rise above 40p a unit | Society | The Guardian Home secretary Theresa May refuses to rule out possibility that government could opt for higher minimum figure (the austeritized lower classes are drinking too much and getting unruly)

NYPD Infiltrated Liberal Political Groups, According To New Documents (Bloomberg at work; tyrants always have their spies)
NYPD Spied on Liberal Groups: Report - New York News - Runnin' Scared The NYPD didn't just spy on entire Muslim communities -- a new report by The Associated Press reveals that cops also surveilled liberal political groups (911 you dirty hippie shut up)

Paranoia Strikes Deeper - NYTimes.com Mitt Romney bought fully into the claim that gas prices are high thanks to an Obama administration plot ... This claim isn’t just nuts; it’s a sort of craziness triple play — a lie wrapped in an absurdity swaddled in paranoia. (see Rachel)

Balloon Juice » Symptoms Of A Syndrome - On a day where President Obama spoke about Trayvon Martin’s murder and said the following: (Santorum and Gringrich ...)
John Edwards Prostitute Report - The Many Betrayals of John Edwards - Esquire - John Edwards was the only Democratic presidential candidate since Jesse Jackson who went out of his way to talk about poverty in America ... Talking about poverty, and about poor people, meant talking a lot about black people, and that's the kind of thing that Al From and the Democratic Leadership Council convinced a generation of ambitious Democratic politicians was a vote-killing extravagance that the party could no longer afford.

A Surprise World Bank Pick For Larry Summers, Obama's nomination of Jim Yong Kim ends a winning streak of falling upwards
Forget Larry
Jon Corzine, Ex-MF Global CEO, Gave 'Direct Instructions' To Transfer $200M From Customer Account
Student Loan Debt Hits $1 Trillion, Deemed 'Too Big To Fail' By One Federal Agency (Kaplan Test Prep has destroyed America)

Early exposure to germs has lasting benefits : Nature News & Comment Findings help to explain how microbes programme a developing immune system.

World's largest Christian TV channel 'funds owners' exorbitant lifestyle' | World news | The Guardian Lawsuit brought by family members claims Trinity Broadcasting Network founder and his wife bought their jets with sham loan (Prosperity Gospel prospering)

Vermont Yankee Protest: 130 Demonstrators Arrested At Nuclear Plant's Corporate Headquarters

action.firedoglake.com | Tell AARP CEO Barry Rand to End Back-Room Strategy Sessions With Social Security Opponents Demand an end to back-room strategy sessions with Social Security opponents (everywhere you turn, they're at it)

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Don’t Fuck With Planned Parenthood Update Komen for the Cure has lost five top executives and they’re losing money.
Easy Komen, Easy Goen | TBogg As for founder Nancy Brinker’s public profile, teh Google tells you everything that people want to know about her now: (now there's branding for you)
Media Matters Releases Radio Ads Against Rush Limbaugh (AUDIO) multiple advertisers pulled their content from his radio show, with the latest count totaling 141 companies

Daily Kos: Special prosecutor Angela Corey takes over investigation in Trayvon Martin slaying case
Did Martin shooter use slur? ("remains a mystery"?)
Trayvon Martin Case: State Attorney Quits Investigation As State Studies 'Stand Your Ground' Law
Sean Hannity On Trayvon Martin: 'Is It Possible That This Was Just A Horrible Accident?' (Zimmerman accidentally got out of his truck, accidentally chased down Martin and accidentially pointed the gun at him and accidentally pulled the trigger! but it's no accident Hannity is a racist idiot)
Al Sharpton At Trayvon Martin Rally: 'We Are Tired Of Going To Jail For Nothing And Others Going Home For Something'

Balloon Juice » Faith vs. Reason: Stand Your Ground/Violent Crime Edition All of which is to say that when Baxley asserts that Florida is experiencing a respite from violent crime because it now allows citizens to act as amateur law enforcers, empowered to use deadly force as their judgment drives them, he’s not telling the truth. He’s lying, saying something that is false as a mundane fact and wrong as a causal inference (+New York's violent crime rate fell much more without an ok to shoot law)
Mass Incarceration and Criminal Justice in America : The New Yorker Why do we lock up so many people?
Zakaria: Incarceration nation – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs Since 1980, California has built one college campus and 21 prisons. A college student costs the state $8,667 per year; a prisoner costs it $45,006 a year.

Geraldo Rivera: Trayvon Martin's 'Hoodie Is As Much Responsible For [His] Death As George Zimmerman'
Balloon Juice » Geraldo Rivera: If #TrayvonMartin Wasn’t Wearing a Hoodie, He Would Be Alive [updated]
Geraldo in a Hoodie (the internets react instantly)

Man Pulls Gun On WREG Reporter April Thompson And Photographer Ben Short During Report (more agressive gun-nuts)
Gary Stein, Marine Sergeant Facing Dismissal For Anti-Obama Facebook Page, Still Outspoken A Marine facing dismissal for running a Facebook page called Armed Forces Tea Party that criticizes the Obama administration is still speaking out but has been getting little support from military law experts and free speech advocates who say he may have crossed the line.

Stuart Zechman Virtually Speaking A-Z 03/19 by Jay Ackroyd | Blog Talk Radio

Facebook says it may sue employers who demand job applicants' passwords

032212
Toulouse shooting suspect dead after 30-hour siege - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk
U.S. News - Base where Sgt. Bales served overturned 40 percent of PTSD cases (what trauma?)

Budget 2012: pensioners fund tax cut | UK news | The Guardian Income tax cut for 300,000 richest households •?4.4 million tax-paying pensioners to lose out by £84 a year (Conservatives at work screwing everybody else for their blunders, as usual)

Warren Pushes Obama on Same-Sex Marriage Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren (D) called on President Obama "to finish evolving and support same-sex marriage," (can Obama evolve morally?)

The White Savior Industrial Complex - Teju Cole - International - The Atlantic - Teju Cole

The myth of freedom in the land of the free - Opinion - Al Jazeera English The US touts itself as the land of free, but it has laws which are designed to crush criticisms of the state.

U.S. News - Pew survey: Americans think politicians are talking too much about religion - Most Americans (54 percent) continue to say that churches and other houses of worship should keep out of politics ... That's also an about-face from 2006, when 51 percent of Americans believed churches should speak out and 46 percent said they should keep quiet. (Retaliban giving themselves a wedgie)

Balloon Juice. No one could have predicted... Why can’t all journalists do this? Why can’t they simply call a lie a lie, and call someone who lies repeatedly a liar? Why can’t they do what Rachel did, which is go through the statements and prove how they are lies? Why can’t everyone do this? (Bain bought Etch-a-Sketch and Romney is a liar)
This Week In the Laboratories of Democracy - Esquire Mitch (Presidential Kindling) Daniels signed a law that gives citizens the right to resist physically any activities by law enforcement that the citizen believes to be against the law.

Boehner Backs Out Of Debt-Limit Deal | TPMDC Boehner lent his full support Thursday to undoing a key part of the debt-limit deal he struck with President Obama and the rest of the congressional leadership last summer (that was then)
Newt Gingrich admits defeat but refuses to quit – elections 2012 live | World news | guardian.co.uk ("titanic ego")
Political Animal - Going Numb Bill Maher’s New York Times op-ed suggesting a moratorium on outrage was predictable, funny, and ultimately wrong-headed—kind of like Maher himself on more than one occasion (Limbag has a 1st Amendment right to his radio show, boycotts are un-Constitutional)
Report Details Nepotism in Congress A new report finds that 248 members of Congress allegedly used their positions to benefit their families since 2008.

Extra fees won't save airlines from high fuel prices. force your employees to eat the losses in order to remain in a competitive position, but the only way for them to implement their union-screwing strategy is to go bankrupt first and that has obvious limits as a business strategy

"Monkey bill" passes Tennessee Senate | NCSE "The Senate approved a bill Monday evening that deals with teaching of evolution and other scientific theories," the Knoxville News-Sentinel (March 19, 2012) reported, adding, "Critics call it a 'monkey bill' that promotes creationism in classrooms." The Senate vote was 24-8.
BBC News - Mercury poles give up hints of water ice
Jupiter's melting heart sheds light on mysterious exoplanet Scientists now have evidence that Jupiter's core has been dissolving, and the implications stretch far outside of our solar system.
Bruni - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money Who knew that gluttony on the scale of 18th century royalty would lead to major health problems? (Bruni got gout)

Komen foundation continues to see fallout from Planned Parenthood controversy - The Washington Post (when will Brinker go?)
Eschaton: Wingnuts For Wingnuts It's quite amazing that a somewhat sketchy but well-respected noncontroversial nonpartisan organizzation could have destroyed their brand so quickly. Liberals are usually the ones accused of being clueless about how Real Americans think, but the wingnut bubble is powerful (epistemic closure)

Australian Gov't: Not In The Public Interest For The Public To Be Interested In Secret Anti-Piracy Negotiations | Techdirt Australian Gov't: Not In The Public Interest For The Public To Be Interested In Secret Anti-Piracy Negotiations (nothing you need to know, move right along)

Police chief criticized for not arresting neighborhood watch volunteer steps aside for now - The Washington Post
Bill Lee, Sanford Police Chief, Steps Down Temporarily Over Trayvon Martin Case - Officers initially told Martin’s parents that Zimmerman had a squeaky clean-record. He was arrested for violence and battery against a police officer in 2005. Martin was tested for drugs and alcohol after his death, but Zimmerman was not. Police failed to check cellphone records for Martin and Zimmerman after the shooting, according to a lawyer for Martin's family. And witnesses have said police did not return phone calls, attempted to manipulate them during questioning and have twisted their statements to fit Zimmerman's self-defense claim.
Sanford, Fla., explains why George Zimmerman was not arrested - BlogPost - The Washington Post (thanks to the "shoot a black person and go free" law)
This Week In the Laboratories of Democracy - Esquire Mitch (Presidential Kindling) Daniels signed a law that gives citizens the right to resist physically any activities by law enforcement that the citizen believes to be against the law ("Stand Your Ground" against cops in Indiana if you "believe" you are right)
Fearing for Your Life (McAddled's justification: "it might have been an accident" even thought she "hasn't been following the case that closely")
"That's Specious Reasoning, Representative" Arbitrarily classifying a number of murders as not-crimes is a good way to reduce reported violent crime rates, but it doesn't actually reduce violence.

032112
Toulouse shootings: suspect was preparing to kill again | News | guardian.co.uk Mohammed Merah had identified target, say prosecutors • Three police wounded trying to arrest alleged gunman
Mohammad Merah, Toulouse Shooting Suspect, Reportedly Arrested In Raid (not)
Russia and China join UN security council effort to end Syrian bloodshed | World news | The Guardian All 15 council members unite to throw weight behind Kofi Annan's peace plan in rare show of global unity
Afghanistan Night Raids: U.S. Considering Concessions On Tactic

U.K. Conservatives Come Up Short in Austerity Experiment - Bloomberg Since 2010 Britain has been a laboratory for an important experiment in economic policy. The question: When economies slump and public borrowing soars, can fiscal restraint speed the recovery? Preliminary findings: No, and whatever made you think it could? (they didn't; the crash they caused was an excuse to screw everyone else some more)

Rebekah Brooks questioned by police | Media | guardian.co.uk The former News International chief executive attended Milton Keynes police station to answer police bail dating back to her arrest in July of last year

Keystone XL pipeline: Obama to oil progress as pump prices rise | Environment | The Guardian On two-day energy tour, US president is expected to hasten building of southern section of tar sands line out of Canada

Obama's Plan to Win Reelection | Mother Jones The word from the White House: No more Mr. Nice Guy. For real this time.
Thankfully This Time, the Green Lantern Theory of Presidential Power is Wrong - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money Since this failure to bring Congress aboard involves Obama trying to achieve abysmally and unnecessarily conservative ends, I’m pretty sure that this time I’m not going to get much of a “but if Obama really wanted a terrible fiscal policy “grand bargain” he would have used the magical powers of the Bully Pulpit to ram it through, so obviously he didn’t really want it” pushback from those who would ordinarily provide it.

"Soverign Immunity" and Conservative Jurisprudence - But, according to Justice Scalia, “we have understood the Eleventh Amendment to stand not so much for what it says, but for the presupposition of our constitutional structure which it confirms.” Or, as John Kyl may have put it, “the Eleventh Amendment was not intended to be a factual statement.”
Today In Great Dissents - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money The short version is that Supreme Court has joined the War on Women by combining a “federalist” doctrine that is embarrassing nonsense even by Rehnquist/Roberts Court standards with a denial of Congress’s explicit powers to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment unless it meets some unintelligibly arbitrary standards invented by the Court.
Memo Adds to Doubt on Rehnquist’s Denials - Adam Liptak - NYTimes.com “I realize it is an unpopular and unhumanitarian position, for which I have been excoriated by ‘liberal’ colleagues,” Mr. Rehnquist wrote, “but I think Plessy v. Ferguson was right and should be reaffirmed.” (super-conservative asshole was racist?)

Susan G. Komen Woes Continue as a New York Bigwig Resigns - The Daily Beast Dara Richardson-Heron, the CEO of Komen's powerful NYC affiliate, steps down, raising questions about the embattled cancer-fighting foundation. Abigail Pesta reports ... Richardson-Heron’s resignation is the third major departure from the foundation in recent weeks (fallout still happening; when will Brinker go?)
Backlash on the War on Women Growing in Strength, Power | FDL News Desk ... If I had to guess, I’d say there won’t be a Susan G. Komen Foundation come next year.

Balloon Juice » Good News From the Granite State New Hampshire lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have made their state the first to repeal a gay marriage law through legislation — a move opposed by the governor (116 homophobes in NH House)
Balloon Juice » I’m Curious About This Guy’s Views on Contraceptives A Roman Catholic priest in Montana has been charged with felony sexual abuse of children after sexual images of naked children were found on his Nintendo DS gaming console and personal computer.

Fact Check: More US Drilling Didn't Drop Gas Price - ABC News (drill, baby drill didn't work? you don't say)

Mitt Romney Platform 'Like An Etch A Sketch,' Top Spokesman Says
Balloon Juice » Mittamorphosis? Metamorphomitt? Metamittomorph? Nothing can compare to the superpowers of one Willard “Metamorphomitt” Romney, The Man Who Will Be Anything.
Balloon Juice » Entering White Cecelia The latest Fox News Latino poll is in ho-lee-shit territory for Republicans, with Obama beating Romney 70-14 among Hispanics. All the other candidates are basically 70-14, too.
Daily Kos: Mitt Romney's Latino problem, in charts and maps
Political Animal - A Different Kind of Religious “Wedge” Similarly, 60% of Democrats and 58% of indies (and, BTW, 60% of Catholics) think churches should stay out of politics. Only 44% of Republicans feel that way, and the number drops to 36% among white evangelicals (Repugs wedged by their own wedge)
GOP Releases Plan to Save America From the Poor -- Daily Intel (by starving them to death)
Balloon Juice » Afternoon Open Thread Fred Barnes at the Weekly Standard can’t help himself, suggesting that the Serious Paul Ryan should be Romney’s running mate. The poor should just be ground up into tortillas anyway. The Ryan Plan will make so much more of them. These people are insane.
Balloon Juice » Even Better Than the Real Thing Jason Mattera, on behalf of the Breitbart Babies, ambushes Bono of U2 to grill him on why he hides his taxes. Except Mattera interviewed a Bono impersonator instead.

Bernanke Says Europe Must Aid Banks Even as Strains Ease - Bloomberg
Eschaton: In Which Ben Bernanke Has An Idea Have we tried giving more free money to rich assholes who enjoy lighting it on fire? Well perhaps we should.

Marijuana-Like Compound Found Effective Against Late Stage HIV Infection
Titanoboa: Model Of Prehistoric Snake, World's Biggest, To Appear On TV And At Natural History Museum This colossal constrictor measured more than 45 feet in length and tipped the scales at a ton

Trayvon Martin's death: the story so far | World news | guardian.co.uk Three weeks on, Zimmerman is still free, and questions remain unanswered
Trayvon Martin: civil rights leaders call for Florida police chief to resign | World news | guardian.co.uk Criticism of Sanford police department escalates as protesters continue call for killer's arrest amid mounting evidence ... Criticism of the police investigation is focused on the failure to arrest Zimmerman, but also on the failure to test him for drugs or alcohol, a common practice in homicide investigations, in particular because they tested the teenager after his death ... This week, police admitted to ABC News they may have missed a potential racial slur on the tape of Zimmerman's 911 call to report Martin's "suspicious behaviour" ("missed")
Lawrence O'Donnell On Trayvon Martin: 'Evidence Of A Police Cover-Up' - a portion of the 911 tape where shooter George Zimmerman can be heard muttering something many say sounds like "f-ing coons," a racial slur. On Wednesday night, investigators in Florida told ABC News that they had "missed" this portion of the tape (and now its not there anymore)
Trayvon Martin 911 Tape Reveals Possible Racial Slur By Neighborhood Watchman George Zimmerman (VIDEO) "This is not conclusive legal proof of a police cover-up, but this is evidence that the police, that local police department, never wanted anyone to hear those two words. And that’s why we haven’t heard those two words until today."
Trayvon Martin's Mother 'Can Not Eat,' While Lawyer Expresses Concerns Over Grand Jury ”They can make a weak case, and the grand jury can come back and say, 'we don’t have enough to indict' and nobody will know what happened,” Crump said. “Then the [state attorney] can come back and say, 'it’s not us who didn’t indict, it was the community'.” Crump said shifting the responsibility of a controversial case to the grand jury is part of “the playbook that they always use.” (Southern "justice" +Fox just ignores the whole story)
The Trayvon Martin Killing, Explained | Mother Jones How did a kid armed with Skittles and an iced tea get gunned down by an overeager neighborhood watch captain? And why didn't police detain shooter George Zimmerman?
George Zimmerman's Collaborators If he gets away with killing Martin, it's not just the statute that bears responsibility.
The Sham Investigation Into Trayvon Martin's Killing - Ta-Nehisi Coates - National - The Atlantic
Trayvon Martin and the fatal history of American racism | Kevin Powell | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Every incident like the shooting of Trayvon Martin has its random elements. But the pattern of tragedy upon tragedy is inescapable

Republicans Are Blocking the Violence Against Women Act | Mother Jones Here's why (they hate women)
More Advertisers Boycott Rush Limbaugh Over Sandra Fluke Controversy In the aftermath of his inflammatory remarks and apology, over 100 companies dropped his show. Those companies had asked Premiere Networks, which syndicates Limbaugh's show, not to air its commercials during the program, as well as other content "deemed to be offensive or controversial."
Women Continue To Fill Rick Perry's Facebook Wall With Mock Questions : The Two-Way : NPR - many women are "facetiously seeking advice on their menstrual periods" from the governor, "since he's styled himself as an expert on women's health."

Barack Obama Is Being Crushingly Adorable Again
pandagon - Mad Men Ladies Rock (clips of assertive women)
America’s Greatest Artist Depicts Obama Burning The Constitution McNaughton is so right about gubbermint intervention. When GOD sends his whirly death funnels to the midwest thousands of souls end up unjustly escaping because of the socialist Weather Service Tornado Warning entitlement program.

Your Facebook Password Should Be None of Your Boss’ Business (hand over your password and the key to your house so we can check for gang affiliations)

032012
Iran/Israel War Games Show Risk of US Involvement in Middle East War, With Little Return | FDL News Desk (US inevitably (?) sucked in if hawks in Israel attack; oil skyrockets; US economy crashes; Israel remains a test of loyalty)
Iraq: Explosions In Cities, Towns Across The Country Claim Dozens Of Lives (great success)
Iraq bombs kill dozens ahead of Arab League summit | World news | The Guardian Car and roadside bombs explode in cities and towns across Iraq, killing at least 39 people
Toulouse gunman may have filmed the shootings | World news | The Guardian French interior minister says man who killed rabbi and three children at Jewish school had a video camera around his neck
Pakistani MPs say US drone strikes must end before relations improve | World news | The Guardian Parliamentary committee draws up tough recommendations as basis of new partnership with US after months of tension
Mexican police killed during hunt for headless bodies | World news | guardian.co.uk Gunmen ambushed a police convoy on a rural highway near Teloloapan, killing 12 officers and wounding 11 more. The police were searching for bodies after the discovery of 10 severed heads

The FBI & Muslims: Ex-Informant Confesses ‘It’s All About the Entrapment’ | The Dissenter (that's been pretty obvious)

The Washington Monthly - Ten Miles Square - Maybe “The Big Sort” Never Happened Many readers will remember the book The Big Sort by Bill Bishop. It argues that Americans are increasingly clustered in like-minded political communities.
Cambridge Journals Online - Abstract - “The Big Sort” That Wasn't: A Skeptical Reexamination

Notes from a Changing Climate - Lawyers, Guns & Money (don't ... make ... connnections)
Technology too inadequate to mitigate climate change effect

Obama’s pivot to deficit reduction, explained - The Plum Line - The Washington Post So why did Obama and Democrats pivot so hard towards deficit reduction, and away from job creation, after the 2010 elections? (Plouffe is an idiot and Obama always rewards big failure)
How Obama Tried to Sell Out Liberalism in 2011 -- Daily Intel the facts in the Post’s account support a different and far more disturbing conclusion: Obama was even more desperate to cut a deal than previously believed — dangerously desperate, in fact (he will sell anyone down the river; it was always all about him; not even a moral periphery)

Fracking could pose health threat - Telegraph The controversial drilling process known as "fracking" may release harmful gases into the atmosphere which could cause headaches and breathing difficulties, up to half a mile away, research has found (frack, baby, frack; and then we take your health insurance away)

The Voting Wars Could Get Bloody | TPMMuckraker “I think there is a misperception that there is a vast amount of vote fraud out there,” Holder told NBC News last week. “You do not see huge amounts of vote fraud and the type of vote fraud that we see is not typically the kind that is in-person vote fraud at the polls which voter ID laws are designed to impact.” (as opposed to Cheney in Ohio with all the vote-counting computers)
The Future Of News Is In Your Hand | TPM Idea Lab Network news audiences grew 5 percent, the first uptick in a decade, according to the report. Cable news audiences grew by 1 percent. MSNBC and CNN audiences grew in 2011, but Fox News’ audience declined.

Warren holds small lead in MA-Senate race - Public Policy Polling Voters are more comfortable with Warren ideologically than they are with Brown. 51% say that her views are 'about right,' compared to 44% for the incumbent. She's probably also benefiting from the fact that 54% of Massachusetts voters think the Republican Party is too conservative, compared to only 41% who think the Democratic Party is too liberal. Although only 35% of voters think Brown himself is too conservative, the bad image of his national party has to be rubbing off on him at least some (oh, last week you were telling us she was toast)
Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up? A new video features Mitt Romney as Eminem. Just brilliant.
Hullabaloo Abortion would be fine if women weren't making the decision - As a matter of fact, he would advocate for criminalizing women who have an abortion without the permission via written signature from the man who impregnated her.

Health Care Case Reaches Supreme Court: The Constitutional Challenge

House GOP Budget Blueprint Released Conservative Republicans controlling the House unveiled a budget blueprint Tuesday that combines slashing cuts to safety net programs for the poor with sharply lower tax rates in an election-year manifesto painting clear campaign differences with President Barack Obama (let them eat dirt)
Robert Reich: What Republicans Argue When They Have Nothing Left to Say
Unemployed To Lose Benefits In Several States Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin,
The New Suburban Poverty - NYTimes.com (no social services, no transportation, no jobs, the new ghost suburbs with their ghost SUVs)
The Washington Monthly - Ten Miles Square - Wealth, Virtue, and Political Status It’s that they think that they themselves are grand and wise people by virtue of having created vast fortunes from modest beginnings, and the President has made clear that he doesn’t.
Cracking the Scratch Lottery Code | Wired Magazine | Wired.com (the odds are worse than you think)

New technique lights up the creation of holograms The mechanism of full-color holography The major difference between the researchers’ technique and ordinary holography is the use of a prism to adjust the light beam’s angle of incidence in combination with a thin silver film to produce the surface plasmons.

Trayvon Martin Case: Justice Department To Investigate Fatal Shooting Of Unarmed Florida Teen ("neighborhood watch captain" = "racist gun nut")
Fmr. Homicide Detective: Illegal to Kill Dogs but Not Black Kids in Florida | Video Cafe
Trayvon Martin: "Stand your ground" law goes too far - Orlando Sentinel
Hullabaloo - The Republican Base Exposed - Charles Johnson at LGF once again dives into the comments at FoxNews.com so the rest of us don't have to. This time it's about the murder of Trayvon Martin, and we get to see the real driving animus behind the politics of Fox News viewers (this is how they "think")

50 years ago today: Bob Dylan released his debut album - CNN.com It was the height of "The Twist" dance craze, and 11 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart had the word "twist" in the title, including "Dear Lady Twist" by Gary U.S. Bonds, "Twistin' The Night Away" by Sam Cooke, "Hey, Let's Twist" by Joey Dee and the Starlighters," "Twistin' Postman" by the Marvelettes and "Alvin Twist" by the Chipmunks.

Liberating America's secret, for-pay laws - Boing Boing This morning, I found a an enormous, 30Lb box waiting for me at my post-office box. Affixed to it was a sticker warning me that by accepting this box into my possession, I was making myself liable for nearly $11 million in damages. The box was full of paper, and printed on the paper were US laws -- laws that no one is allowed to publish or distribute without permission.
Graped_in_the_mouth comments on Hello friends, I am from r/conspiracy and wish to ask some questions/understand what r/conspiratard is about.


031912
Iran Intelligence Crisis Showed Difficulty of Assessing Nuclear Data - NYTimes.com
The Wiretap Jury on the Iran War | emptywheel At a moment when the Obama Administration is still aggresively pursuing James Risen’s testimony on sources for an Iran story he wrote 7 years ago, on Saturday he published a new story summarizing the uncertainty surround intelligence on Iran right now (Obama hates the truth)
The Problematic Intelligence Capabilities on Iran | FDL News Desk
Pro-Israel Groups’ Differing Approaches on Iran - NYTimes.com (same cast of characters as last time, including Perle and Kristol)
U.S. Forces Transferred Afghanistan Detainees To Facility Known For Torture Despite Ban: Report
Afghans suspect US cover-up over soldier's killing spree | World news | The Guardian Doubts over US claim that Robert Bales was acting alone show erosion of trust between Nato and Afghans
Syria: leaked documents reveal Bashar al-Assad's role in crushing protests | World news | The Guardian Documents leaked by Syrian defector show that Assad personally signs off security crackdown plans
Nato must investigate civilian deaths in Libya, says Amnesty | World news | The Guardian Campaigners say scores of Libyans were killed or injured in air strikes but Nato has not provided compensation
DutchNews.nl - Catholic church abuse: at least one youth castrated for 'homosexuality' (it's amazing this criminal organization still exists)
Toulouse school shooting: same gun was used in killing of soldiers | World news | The Guardian Gun fired in Ozar Hatorah secondary college tragedy was weapon used in fatal attack on three French troops, police say
Nobel peace prize winner defends law criminalising homosexuality in Liberia | World news | The Guardian In joint interview, Tony Blair refuses to comment on Liberian president's remarks supporting anti-gay laws
They’re Crazy Over There - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money To be clear, the Liberia law is barbaric. Sirleaf’s position should be strongly criticized (whether or not is was appropriate to do so in that particular context.) But let us recall that Tony Blair’s good friend and fellow Iraq War mastermind George W. Bush was also a supporter of sodomy laws.

Portuguese death rate rise linked to pain of austerity programme | Business | The Guardian Portugal's health service is being forced into sweeping cuts as last May's EU/IMF bailout terms begin to bite (Euro austerity death-panels)

News of the World 'jeopardised Ipswich murder inquiry' | Media | The Guardian Leveson inquiry told paper hired former special forces soldiers to follow police surveillance team hunting for serial killer
News Of The World Endangered Murder Investigation By Following Police: Ex-Officer ... News of the World endangered a murder investigation by hiring ex-special forces soldiers to follow a police surveillance team.
James Murdoch To Step Down From Sotheby's Board ... He also has resigned from the board of drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC.

Challenging the CIA’s Withholding of Records on Drone Killings | The Dissenter The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) continued its challenge against the CIA’s withholding of information on the agency’s use of drones to carry out “targeted killings.”

Investigating Corruption Risk in Your State Government - State Integrity Investigation (Georgia at the bottom with Maine a close 5th)
State With Most Integrity is New Jersey, Center for Public Integrity Study Shows

SCOTUS: State University ‘Christian’ clubs not allowed to discriminate against LGBT students | Pam's House Blend - The lesson – don’t expect to receive public funds and discriminate. But these bible beaters will keep on trying.

Balloon Juice » Fair Play (Viagra Review Board)
Balloon Juice » It’d Be Easier To Just Paint a Bullseye on them So I guess we have advanced somewhat in the last 15 years. Before, it was just fringe fanatics who wanted to publish the private information of doctors. Now it is fanatical legislators.
Tennessee Abortion Bill Would Make Abortion Providers' Names Public
Balloon Juice » Idaho Senate to Vote on Mandatory Ultrasound Bill Hey Idahoans! If you believe that unnecessary medical procedures and forced vaginal probing do not a “life-affirming environment” make, contact your representative or Governor Otter.
Soraya Chemaly: 10 Reasons the Rest of the World Thinks the U.S. Is Nuts
New memo lists 31 advertisers who requested 'not to be scheduled in any Rush Limbaugh program' | ThinkProgress
The Mahablog » Equivalence? In Your Dreams … According to most of the Right and also the perpetually clueless Stanley Fish (note to Protein Wisdom: If Fish is a “progressive,” I’m Pat Robertson. And Jesus.) (the "equivalency argument" : Fish thinks Limbaugh=Maher and is proven to be an idiot)
Fairness and Fish — Crooked Timber (John Quiggin 03.19.12 at 10:13 am - Fish is now in my Frank Bruni category. I feel as if every reading of either costs me IQ points, so I no longer bother, even when the title and write-off look potentially interesting.

Jailed for life at age 14: US supreme court to consider juvenile sentences | Law | guardian.co.uk Court to decide constitutionality of cases like Quantel Lotts's – who as a teenager was handed a life sentence without parole

Rick Santorum: 'The Issue In This Race Is Not The Economy' "The reason the economy is an issue in this race is because we have a government that is oppressing its people and taking away their freedom, and the economy is suffering as a result," Santorum said.
Santorum's Warning: Breaking Christian 'Moral Bounds' Will Lead To 'A Very Dangerous Place' | ThinkProgress (called "sanity")
Balloon Juice » ZombieBreitbart.com Presents: Eric Holder — The Vettening As GOP sage Sarah Palin recently noted, President Obama and his terrorist pals were allowed to waltz right into the Oval Office unscrutinized in 2008 while white people Republicans like Ms. Palin were pelted with gotcha questions such as, “What newspapers do you read?” ... Stay tuned next week, when sinister Obama consigliere Valerie Jarrett will be revealed as the winner of the 1992 Black Panthers Ladies Auxiliary Brownie Bake-Off!
Single Mom Waiting For Her Presidential Booty Call | TBogg


Hullabaloo "The offer is still on the table" - This behind the scenes look at the Grand Bargain doesn't change my original impression of the negotiations, but it does lend some details that actually make it worse than I thought - selling out Medicare and Social Security, lowering taxes on the wealthy and cutting the hell out of everything else was just fine (Obama's idea of "negotiating")
Grand Bargain History Due to Repeat With Fiscal Cliff at End of the Year | FDL News Desk The Washington Post has a first draft of history piece about the debt negotiations last year that tells us mostly what we already knew: that the White House was ready to sign onto a document that increased the Medicare eligibility age and instituted chained CPI, which would cut Social Security cost-of-living increases. (yes, "everything" was on the table and still is)
The Charts That Prove Obama Doesn't Set Gas Prices | ThinkProgress
Gender Wage Gap Is Higher On Wall Street Than Anywhere Else (land of big swinging dicks)
Schools Report: Failing To Prepare Students Hurts National Security, Prosperity (Republican war on intelligence)

Visualizing the History of Everything

FRXQt.jpg (Christian values)

Students rally for justice in killing of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin | World news | guardian.co.uk Community calls for arrest of neighbourhood watch captain who fatally shot the 17-year-old Florida teenager last month ... Zimmerman has claimed self-defence. Florida law allows a person to use deadly force if the person believes he or she is facing a deadly threat (well the kid was black, so that's deadly enough )
Hullabaloo QOTD: Cops: "I’m sure Trayvon would, too" ... Yes, the teen-age Trayvon would know better than to ever leave the house because he'd know that some vigilante packing heat might gun him down for no reason.
Man shocked by Taser at Honeymoon Island after getting in 'violent struggle' placed on ventilator - Tampa Bay Times - Gualtieri said there's no specific policy about using Tasers on handcuffed suspects. But, he said, it is usually proper to use them when someone, as in this case, is using physical resistance against a deputy (he was fucking handcuffed)
Stockton's Poor Mired In Violence After Police Cuts, Recession
TSA Pats Down 3-Year-Old In Leg Cast And Wheelchair (bomb in his cast)
New and improved parks — now with no nature - Salon.com Parks keep getting fancier -- amphitheaters, geodesic domes, starchitect designs. What's wrong with natural beauty?

Free apps eat up your phone battery just sending ads - tech - 18 March 2012 - New Scientist Up to 75 per cent of the energy used by free versions of Android apps is spent serving up ads or tracking and uploading user data: running just one app could drain your battery in around 90 minutes.

031812

In Sweden, cash is king no more - Yahoo! News In most Swedish cities, public buses don't accept cash; tickets are prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices — which make money on electronic transactions — have stopped handling cash altogether.

Fundamental steps needed now in global redesign of Earth system governance, experts say The scientists argued in the March 16 edition of the journal Science that the time is now for a "constitutional moment" in world politics ... "Science assessments indicate that human activities are moving several of Earth's sub-systems outside the range of natural variability typical for the previous 500,000 years" (how about some international climate-crimes trials: first up: Limmbaugh and the Koch's)

Mitt Romney Doesn't Have Enough Information To 'Take A Stand' On Afghanistan (hasn't read a newpaper in ten years)
Budget Battle: Republicans Prepare For Fight With Democrats, Obama (wingnuts redux)
FreedomWorks, Tea Party Group, Sees Tactics Backfire In Utah GOP Primary: Report Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) appears likely to have fended off what seemed not too long ago to be a very viable Tea Party challenge ... The notion that FreedomWorks' aggressive politics can occasionally turn off voters isn't all that shocking; that it could turn off voters in deeply red Utah is more so.
Rick Santorum: Pornography Not A Priority For Obama Administration

New Hampshire House Passes A Bill That Falsely Claims Abortion Causes Breast Cancer | ThinkProgress ... Even the Susan G. Komen Foundation denies there is a link (which is saying something; New Hampshire Republicans don't need no steenking science)
After Backing Anti-Birth Control Blunt Amendment, McCain Now Says GOP Needs To 'Get Off' War On Women | ThinkProgress (consistency was never Volcano John's strong suit)
Hullabaloo Alright, girls, that's enough - That's right, it's a tough election fight and the last thing Democrats need is to look like all they care about is a bunch of whiny bitches. Let's not lose our heads here (what's with Slate, anyway?)
Are Democrats in Danger of Looking Too Political on the Violence Against Women Act? 'm really tired of reading pretentious (J. Bryan) queens (check out her LinkedIn profile) complaining that women are being SOOOOOO tacky and tiresome about their stinky uteruses in SLATE.
Booman Tribune ~ Smug, Arrogant, Imbeciles - Bill Maher is making an ass of himself here - If you can sell advertising, they'll keep asking you back. If you can't sell advertising, they won't. Freedom has nothing to do with it (freedom to be a rich asshole, don't get in their way)
Rush Limbaugh Controversy Good News For Mike Huckabee's New Radio Show: Report "They are going after Rush's affiliates," said one radio company executive who received Cumulus' email and spoke on condition of anonymity. "They are positioning Huckabee as the safe, non-dangerous alternative to Rush and saying to station owners, 'If you are looking for conservative content, we want you to consider our guy instead of theirs.'"
Whiskey Fire: You're in Luck, Lovely Ladies! Smooth John Hawkins Has Some Sexy Sexytime Tips for You Girly-Girls ... Reading John Hawkins offering women romantic advice is like reading a recipe for a coelacanth soufflé: hard to accept as real, yet thoroughly unappetizing. (rightwingnuts on sex is never pretty)
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Family planning - Bloomberg: " Democrats portray Blunt’s measure as the latest example of a Republican attack on women’s access to health care." - Limiting access to family planning services isn’t a “losing” purely political ploy by Republicans that is then being countered by a “winning” purely political ploy by Democrats. Both sides aren’t doing it. One side is limiting access to birth control, now, today, and the other side is pointing that out. No “portrayal” about it. It’s happening (everything is a "portrayal" nothing is "real")

A Senate Republican plan to replace Mediscare - The Washington Post Are Republicans ready to be trusted with the reins of power? (mu-hahaha)

Michael Higgins Rant - 'Be Proud to Be a Decent American!' - Esquire To close out an almost unimaginable week of conservative stupidity — that boothead judge out in Montana, Rush Limbaugh's hocking up the foul weasel mucus from the bottom of his soul, the Blunt Amendment — a commenter brought this to my attention. The star of our show is Michael D. Higgins, president of Ireland. Playing the part of a pile of smoking meat by the side of the road when Higgins is finished with him is Michael Graham, a local talk-radio blight up here in Boston. Don't bring that weak shit to Grogan's on William Street, lad. (click-through to Kos, too bad he's already President)
Daily Kos :: Comments: President of Ireland - Must See, Believe Me Please! (transcript)
Welfare recipients “are slaves to the government and should be reminded of that fact” | Preliator pro Causa Be sure to keep this horrible little proposal by The Daily Caller’s Brion McClanahan in mind the next time you’re told that far-Rightists don’t hate poor folks. That is, unless arguing that poor people should be subjected to their own Jim Crow laws for the sake of humiliating them out of seeking welfare is actually seen as the compassionate approach nowadays:
Hullabaloo - Macho Dollies - I'm reevaluating my thesis that this is about anxious masculinity. It's about infantalism.

Occupy 6-Month Anniversary Protest Ends With Zuccotti Park Arrests (Bloomberg had enough)
The Banks Win, Again - NYTimes.com And at a time of economic weakness, using bank capital for investor payouts leaves the banks more exposed to shocks. So homeowners are still bearing the brunt of the mortgage debacle. Taxpayers are still supporting too-big-to-fail banks. And banks are still not being held accountable (Obama protecting his banksters and kicking the can down the road)
The Collapse of Employment-Based Coverage - NYTimes.com Reed Abelson at Economix points us to a startling study on the effects of the Great Recession on health insurance ... What this says is that the system that has provided workable insurance coverage to many (but not enough) Americans is coming apart at the seams. And this in turn means that if health reform goes down, we’re going to be looking at a wave of misery spreading across the land (which is exactly the Republican plan)
Economics and Politics by Paul Krugman - The Conscience of a Liberal - NYTimes.com Alec MacGillis has a fantastic piece in the New Republic (unfortunately paywalled) about how hedge fund managers’ love for Obama has turned into blind, spitting hatred. His main argument is that it’s all about feeling disrespected (Obama keeping them out of jail for cirmes against humanity wasn't enough; he hurt their fee-fees)

Shooter of Trayvon Martin a habitual caller to 911 - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com At the focal point of a shooting scandal: a mild-mannered neighbor who fixated on crime and focused on young, black males (most gun-nuts just waiting to shoot some off-white "super-predator" armed with a bag of Skittles)
Melissa Harris-Perry On Trayvon Martin Killing: Remember His Name
Shooter of 17 year old Trayvon Martin a habitual caller to 911 who was "fixated on crime and focused on young, black males." : politics - We are taking a beating over this,” said Lee, who defends the investigation. “This is all very unsettling. I’m sure if George Zimmerman had the opportunity to relive Sunday, Feb. 26, he’d probably do things differently. I’m sure Trayvon would, too.” - WTF did Trayvon have to do differently? He was buying snacks for his brother and was fucking killed for it! It's incredible to see the cops covering for this dangerous, deranged madman.

The Hunger Games: Post-Apocalypse Now For Young Adults | ThinkProgress - Wizards and vampires are out. The market in teen fiction is dominated now by societies in breakdown. And it’s girls who are lapping them up.

Ghich.jpg (where Americans vs Canadians put their trust)

Police court order Dotwrong - National - NZ Herald News Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom's cash, cars and property were seized using a court order which should never have been granted ... Police commissioner Peter Marshall and the Government's legal advisers at the Crown Law Office have admitted making an embarrassing "procedural error" when filing documents to seize Dotcom's property. ("procedural error" = huge fucking blunder, but Big Content don't need no steenking laws)

031712
Syria Car Bombs Hit Damascus, Killing At Least 27
Robert Bales, Afghanistan shooting suspect, arrives in Kansas | World news | guardian.co.uk US soldier accused of murdering 16 Afghan villagers is placed in solitary confinement at Fort Leavenworth military prison
Afghanistan Killings: Alcohol Raises Questions In Shooting Case
Robo-calls warrant ‘huge investigation,’ former Harper aide says - The Globe and Mail (Conservatives always cheat and lie)
Julian Assange Australia Senate Run Announced

Occupy in America: looking back on six months of protest | World news | guardian.co.uk Saturday is Occupy's six-month anniversary. What it was like where you were? Browse the photos and share your memories

Post-Citizens United Money May Swamp Congressional Candidates (which was the SC's plan)

Texas Loses Entire Women's Health Program Over Planned Parenthood Law (Perry says Obama is depriving women of health care)
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » #WarOnWomen: Arizona Close to Defunding Planned Parenthood The Arizona Senate Committee on Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform approved HB 2800 which strips state funding from any group (like Planned Parenthood) that performs abortion even though existing state law and the fucking Hyde Amendment already prohibit the use of state/federal funds for abortion.
Protect Pregnant Women: Free Bei Bei Shuai | The Nation ("birthing vessels")

Obama's Health Care Re-Election Strategy - How Can We Help President Obama Today? - Esquire We can help him learn how to talk about health-care reform (Obama can't help pooping on his progressive base)
Are Conservatives Any Crazier Today Than 50 Years Ago? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money Perlstein also pushes back against the idea developed by people like Jonathan Chait that the demographics suggest a more liberal future, suggesting that this is just another argument liberals have made for a half-century without it ever really happening. The upshot: We have to prepare for a decades-long fight to the death. That’s the nation’s only hope.

Illinois the battleground for Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum - live | World news | guardian.co.uk GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum face off in Illinois before next week's primary - live coverage
Why the Republican 'Establishment' Can't Stomach Rick Santorum - Mark W. Davis (usnews.com)
Crooks and Liars Acclaimed Mexican-American author Rudolfo Anaya helped box up books for the journey to Arizona's underground libraries after the Tuscon Unified School District recently banned Hispanic books, including Anaya's famous novel, "Bless Be Ultima." (can't say "Hispanic" either )

Do Not Underestimate Joe Biden - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money If there’s anything the last five years should have taught us, it’s that nobody fucks with Joe Biden and lives to tell about it.
Biden Criticized For Appearing In Hennessy Ads | The Onion - America's Finest News Source | Onion News Network

Untouchable Pensions in California May Be Put to the Test - NYTimes.com ("untouchable?" mu-hahaha)
Goldman Staffer Leaked Apple, Intel Secrets To Raj Rajaratnam: Lawyer

Ultracold experiments heat up quantum research atoms chilled to temperatures near absolute zero may behave like seemingly unrelated natural systems of vastly different scales, offering potential insights into links between the atomic realm and deep questions of cosmology.

The Curious Case of Trayvon Martin - NYTimes.com WFTV also reported this week that the officer in charge of the scene when Trayvon was shot was also in charge of another controversial case. In 2010, a lieutenant’s son was videotaped attacking a black homeless man. The officer’s son also was not initially arrested in that case. He was later arrested when the television station broke the news (holding Skittles while black at shoot-on-sight offense)
Balloon Juice » Just Another Proud Exercise of First Amendment Rights - To be fair, I’m sure these aren’t quite the words Mitt Romney would have used, Bill Maher said something racist once, and liberals criticized George Bush. ("Don't Re-Nig")
Florida Family Seeks Justice After Unarmed Teen Shot by Neighborhood Watch Captain - ABC News Despite his admission that he shot Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman was not arrested by police, only taken in for questioning, a move that has Martin's family infuriated. Further investigation by Crump revealed a past history of violence by Zimmerman, who was arrested in 2005 for resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.
Bennett Barbour exonerated of rape in Virginia: how the state is botching the DNA retesting and notification of old cases - Slate Magazine Virginia knows it has DNA evidence that may prove the innocence of dozens of men convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. Men just like Barbour. So why won’t the state say who they are? (falsely convicted are black? VA doesn't want to admit to racism?)

ACLU Opposition to H.R. 3523, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 | American Civil Liberties Union (otherwise known as the "all your data are belong to us" Super-Patriotic Act)

031612
Afghanistan Shooting Suspect Leaves Kuwait An unnamed U.S. official had told The New York Times the killings were a result of "a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues - he just snapped."
At Afghan Prison, Invasive Search of Female Visitors Raises U.S. Objections - NYTimes.com Women visiting relatives at a notorious men’s prison on the edge of Kabul have in recent weeks been subjected to invasive body-cavity searches (the irony burns)
George Clooney Arrested: Actor And Congressmen In Custody After Protest Outside Sudanese Embassy - "They were protesting the violence committed by the government of Sudan on its own innocent men, women and children," Clooney's publicist said in a statement published by TMZ. "They were demanding they allow humanitarian aid into the country before it becomes the largest humanitarian crisis in the world."

George Osborne poised to slash top tax rate from 50p to 40p | Politics | The Guardian Chancellor's dramatic move to cut top rate of income tax in next week's budget will delight the Conservative right (austerity plus tax-cuts for the rich! always the conservative solution)

Patriot Act Secrecy Unjustified, Senators Say - International Business Times A controversial secret provision of the Patriot Act is not as vital to national security as the government claims, two Democratic senators said in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder ... Wyden and Udall have insisted that Americans would be horrified if they knew the full scope of surveillance and data gathering that occurs under the auspices of the Patriot Act (so, you can assume, basically everything)
Democratic Senators Warn About Use of Patriot Act - NYTimes.com (don't need no steenking democracy, either)
Senators terrified with abuse of Patriot Act’s secret laws — RT

"Shadow CIA" Buys Itself a Big-Name Journalist | Mother Jones Disgraced corporate spy shop Stratfor aims to bounce back from its Wikileaks debacle by hiring Robert D. Kaplan.
Robert Kaplan to the rescue? | Stephen M. Walt (and Stratfor and no realist jountalists in the Village Media; makes sense, right?)

The Unwelcome Mat - NYTimes.com ESTA asks for basic personal data, like your name and birth date. It also asks whether you are guilty of “moral turpitude,” whether you’re planning crimes or “immoral activities” and whether you suffer from “lymphogranuloma venereum” (don’t ask). If you’re involved in terrorism or genocide — and for some reason you’ve decided to take this opportunity to inform the United States government — there’s a box for that. And if you’re a spy — a particularly artless one — please let us know (security theatre killing tourism from the rest of the world)

The Right Not to Know - The Texas Observer The painful decision to terminate a pregnancy is now—thanks to Texas' harsh new law—just the beginning of the torment.
Republican-Controlled Arizona Legislature On Cusp Of Defunding Planned Parenthood | ThinkProgress Arizona is the latest battleground in the conservative war on women as the state legislature appears poised to strip funding from the women’s health care provider Planned Parenthood. (WoW)
Eschaton: The Other Grand Bargain I know it will never happen, but I am waiting for the dozens of "I'm sorry world, for being such a fucking idiot" posts from all of the eventheliberals who for years imagined that a Grand Bargain could be struck with the anti-choice movement if only stupid liberal bloggers would be nicer to them. Or something (looking at you, Will Saletan, and waiting for your abject apology; oh, and I see it took you five years to apologize for your Iraq invasion idea)

video: All 3 Missouri GOP Senate Candidates Stumped When Asked To Identify The Minimum Wage | ThinkProgress (but they will lower it anyway)
Mitt Romney Applied For Application To Construct Basement Larger Than Existing House (you know about Mormons and their basements)
Wisconsin GOP Loses Senate Majority, After Recall-Targeted GOPer Resigns | TPM2012

Natural Born Drillers - NYTimes.com The irony here is that these claims come just as events are confirming what everyone who did the math already knew, namely, that U.S. energy policy has very little effect either on oil prices or on overall U.S. employment. For the truth is that we’re already having a hydrocarbon boom, with U.S. oil and gas production rising and U.S. fuel imports dropping. If there were any truth to drill-here-drill-now, this boom should have yielded substantially lower gasoline prices and lots of new jobs. Predictably, however, it has done neither. (never let sanity get in the way of rape and greed)

Calculated Risk: February Employment Report: 227,000 Jobs, 8.3% Unemployment Rate (+scariest chart in the world)
Cheaters Always Prosper: A Daily Rundown Rundown - Esquire - a panel to discuss yesterday's New York Times op-ed in which a former Goldman Sachs executive named Greg Smith ... The discussion by the panel consisted primarily of bullshit ... Becky Quick (financial news wanker thinks an op-ed is a letter to the editor)
Goldman Heir On Greg Smith Op-Ed: 'Spot On'


Off course in Cambridge - Boston.com (Henrietta Davis is a liar but has Robert "the 8+ million man" Healy's back)

Gadhafi's Son Built a Ship With Deadly Shark Tank Inside | Danger Room | Wired.com

Michael Wayne Hash Free After Judge Slams Official Misconduct in Murder Case, Tosses Life Sentence , and lambasted police and prosecutors for "outrageous misconduct" Gary Close, the prosecutor who tried the case, abruptly resigned as the Culpeper County district attorney (you're looking at a big lawsuit, dude)


Dharun Ravi Guilty Of Invasion Of Privacy In Webcam Spy Trial
'This American Life' Retracts Mike Daisey Story About Foxconn Factory Visit The blog post said that Daisey's story about Foxconn's massive Shenzen factory "contained significant fabrications."

031512
The richest get richer | David Cay Johnston Just 15,600 super-rich households pocketed an astonishing 37 percent of the entire national gain ... 0.01% of 114 million American households (yes, the top .01% has 37% of the gains)

Progressive Information Project: George Lakoff's Thinking Points | Crooks and Liars

Experts Say Attack On Iran Could Mean $6 Per Gallon Gasoline | ThinkProgress (does Netanyahu control US election?)
Let's have some more wars, TNR book critic says - The New Republic - Salon.com Leon Wieseltier calls for the use of good old fashioned American power in Syria and maybe Iran, too (dual-loyalty neocons at work)
Suicide of Moroccan girl reportedly wed to rapist spurs outrage - latimes.com Human rights groups complain that Moroccan law has been interpreted to allow someone who rapes a minor to escape punishment if he marries the victim. Moroccan media reported that was what happened to Amina Filali, a 16-year-old who reportedly swallowed rat poison Saturday.
Afghanistan Shootings: Accused Soldier Flown To Kuwait, Panetta And Karzai Talk
Taliban Suspends Afghanistan Talks With United States (will move to America and join Republican party)
How the Assad emails came to light | World news | The Guardian Syrian activists say a scrap of paper from a government worker gave them a window into the ruling couple's lives
Shell admits 207 oil spills in 2011 | Business | The Guardian Anglo-Dutch group is still investigating a further four spills in Nigeria that it admits may raise the 2011 total

Eurozone crisis live: Greece taskforce reports as UK warned by Fitch | Business | guardian.co.uk City analysts: No hope of UK budget giveaway
Greece on the breadline: HIV and malaria make a comeback | World news | The Guardian Jon Henley finds a medical aid organisation trying to plug the gaps as the health service nears breakdown

Is Barack Obama a Murderous Sociopath? | Mother Jones Glenn Greenwald commends to our attention today a piece by Jeremy Scahill about the imprisonment of Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye. You should read all of Scahill's piece, but here's the nickel summary for those of you who won't.

Birth Control McCarthyism « Corey Robin (birth control is the new Communism)
Whose freedom on contraception? - Salon.com Today's battles are a rerun of previous debates -- and the right's gotten better at defining the terms
Bishops seek liberty to impose birth control dogma - Salon.com - Catholic leaders redouble efforts to deny birth control to non-believing employees

Hullabaloo There but for the grace of their greater virtue and superior work ethic
How We Cured “The Culture of Poverty,” Not Poverty Itself - In a further nod to "culture of poverty" theory, the original welfare reform bill appropriated $250 million over five years for "chastity training" for poor single mothers. (This bill, it should be pointed out, was signed by Bill Clinton.) ... And if we look closely enough, we'll have to conclude that poverty is not, after all, a cultural aberration or a character flaw. Poverty is a shortage of money.

Sen. Feinstein: GOP Is Saying ‘We Don’t Consider Violence To Be An Important Issue’ | ThinkProgress
War On Women: Chuck Schumer Says Violence Against Women Act Will Get Senate Vote (Republicans support violence against women)
Arizona Birth Control Bill Penalizes Women For Using Contraception For Non-Medical Reasons
Proposed AZ Bill Would Allow Employers To Fire Women Using The Pill for Birth Control | Crooks and Liars (next up: Christian loyalty oath)
Balloon Juice » Lie Back and Think of England, You Sluts Here is the Republican Governor of PA sharing some advice with women who will be forced to have an unnecessary ultrasound before having an abortion ... “It’s unthinkable that he would so casually dismiss this by advising women to just close their eyes,” Murphy said. --> There is just something spectacularly wrong with these people.
Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania Governor, On Ultrasound Mandate: Just 'Close Your Eyes' - Even if the woman opts to "close [her] eyes," as Corbett suggests, the doctor will have to turn the ultrasound image toward her face, give her two signed copies of the printed image, describe the number of heartbeats per minute and tell her if that's normal or not for a fetus of that age. She then has to wait 24 hours and bring all the signed paperwork and both ultrasound images to her abortion doctor in order to have the procedure legally, and the doctor has to repeat to her the age of the fetus.
Hullabaloo Just close your eyes, honey - Several state legislatures were inspired rather than dissuaded by the contraception debate in Washington, and are considering their own versions of the Blunt Amendment — keeping alive an issue national Republicans thought they were putting to bed. Arizona, New Hampshire, Idaho and Georgia have taken up bills to expand exemptions for contraception coverage. Ohio, Missouri, New Hampshire, Idaho and Wyoming lawmakers are moving symbolic resolutions condemning the administration’s contraception coverage rule.
Limbaugh: Obama Wants Separate Laws For Separate Races, "Looks At The Constitution As Rich White Man's Law" | Media Matters for America
Who's Advertising On Rush Limbaugh? | Media Matters for America (mainly, the US Army, of course)
The 10 Worst Advertiser-Sponsored Moments Limbaugh Laughed At Human Suffering | Media Matters for America

Michael J. Fox: Limbaugh's Attack On Sandra Fluke "Was Really Offensive" | Media Matters for America
The Sandra Fluke "Co-Ed" Conspiracy
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Time For Your Counter-Top Inspection, Miss Fluke Sandra Fluke and her boyfriend are getting the full Graeme Frost, and it turns out that not only is her boyfriend a Democrat, but a socialist Jew. Yes. The right-wing nuts really went there.
Balloon Juice » Sandra Fluke’s Boyfriend Is the Jewwiest Jew that Ever Did Jew
Little Green Footballs - Husband of CNN Contributor Dana Loesch Calls CNN Host Soledad O'Brien 'Anti-Semitic' Here’s something you don’t see every day: the husband of a CNN contributor (Chris Loesch, Dana Loesch’s spouse) calling the host of a CNN show (Soledad O’Brien) “anti-Semitic.” ... Dana Loesch is also an “editor” at Breitbart.com (time to boycott CNN)
Right-Wing Pundits Smear Soledad O'Brien As 'Anti-Semitic' And Racist | ThinkProgress
Stupid Right-Wing Tweets: Dana Loesch Edition | Crooks and Liars
Little Green Footballs - CNN's Dana Loesch Equates Mandatory Trans-Vaginal Ultrasound to Having Sex (in case you missed it; these are really disgusting, soul-less people)
Catholic Bishops: Birth Control Is 'Ubiquitous And Inexpensive' (said the Catholic Taliban)

Philosophers come together to ask for a 'Times' obit | Inside Higher Ed (Times explains the ignoring of famous women is because there are so many famous men to print)

Balloon Juice » Dixie chicks and hypocrites Now that many serious people have become concerned about the “chilling effects” of the Rush Limbaugh ad boycott, I’m having some fun revisiting the media reaction to the Global War Against The Dixie Chicks. We’ve heard from Sullivan and Hitchens. Here’s Gregg Easterbrook, from a bizarre column that captures the near-fascist zeitgeist of 2003 (down the memory hole in service of "liberal" pearl-clutching)
Enough with the Liberal Hand-Wringing About Rush Limbaugh | Crooks and Liars (kind of a defining issue; these are the people who thought that)
How we can connect with feminism's global future | Naomi Wolf | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk n the west, feminism has stalled. But elsewhere, women have found in it a new model of Enlightenment rights and freedoms (and going backwards in America) w

Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences - NYTimes.com At the same time, “tough on crime” rhetoric led some states to enact laws making it easier to impose life without parole sentences on adults. The unintended consequence of these laws was that children as young as 13 and 14 who were charged as adults became subject to life without parole sentences.

Rick Santorum Tells Puerto Ricans To Speak English If They Want Statehood, So Mitt Romney Will Win Puerto Rico
Romney's Health Care Evasions: A History -- Daily Intel
Frank Rich on the National Circus: Overestimating Mitt -- Daily Intel
Stewart Trashes Primary Coverage

Former SEC Official Slams House JOBS Act: 'It Won't Create Jobs, But It Will Simplify Fraud' | ThinkProgress (of course, it's Republicans)
Faux Federalism House Republicans favor “state’s rights”—except when states do things they don’t want them to do.
Utah Senate Election: Tea Party Challenges Orrin Hatch's Reelection In Thursday Night Caucuses (collision of evils)
Richard Lugar, Indiana Senator, Ruled Ineligible To Vote In Old Hometown Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and his wife have been ruled ineligible to vote at the Indiana address they have used for decades because they moved to Virginia decades ago (minor technicality; did he have photo-id?)
Brodkorb: Other staffers who had affairs treated differently | StarTribune.com Former Minnesota Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb claims he was fired because of an affair with former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and intends to prove other employees who had trysts with legislators were allowed to continue working.

Eschaton: Perhaps You Could Have Shared This With Us Before Was there a moment when all of the Very Serious People in the financial press should have informed the world, "Only Suckers Do Business With Goldman Sachs"? Their message now is that everybody should have known this. Maybe they should have warned people? Perhaps listed companies and institutions that did business with them as "suckers to avoid." This is all really quite hilarious, in a "the empire is doomed" kind of way.

Barack Obama, Gay Rights Groups Struggle Over Democratic Platform An unexpected surge in support to place same-sex marriage on the Democratic Party platform at the August convention has energized LGBT advocates and complicated an already delicate situation facing President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign (he's "still evolving" on the issue of equal rights ... "now's not the time" "just wait a little bit" "we don't want to upset all those Catholic independents")

At NCAA Tournament, Southern Miss Band Chants 'Where's Your Green Card?' At Hispanic Kansas State Player | ThinkProgress

'Ashley treatment' on the rise amid concerns from disability rights groups | Society | guardian.co.uk Controversial medical procedure to limit growth of severely disabled children is being increasingly used, Guardian learns
BBC News - Ban on father seeing daughter alone is lifted Nigel Robinson, 43, from Hull, called police after finding pornographic images on his laptop after trying to download music in November. Social services banned him from having unsupervised access to his child while police investigated ... Mr Robinson said he had been unable to spend time alone with his daughter for four months and was told the investigation into the images could take up to a year.

American ISPs to launch massive copyright spying scheme on July 12 | The Raw Story

'Anonymous-OS' is fake and packed with malware, Anonymous says
Ex-Microsoft Employee Launches 'Fixing Windows 8' Initiative

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US e-voting system cracked in less than 48 hours - The H Security: News and Features . "Within 48 hours of the system going live, we had gained near complete control of the election server", the researchers wrote in a paperPDF that has now been released. "We successfully changed every vote and revealed almost every secret ballot." (of course, Cheney had this down in 2004, but your e-vote is worthless)

How to end the Afghan mission - The Washington Post By David Ignatius ("wish for a pony" like we've always been doing; idiots)
Vehicle bursts into flames on runway as Leon Panetta flies into Afghanistan | World news | The Guardian US defence secretary had just landed in Camp Bastion in Helmand when pickup truck drove on to airfield
Massacres are the inevitable result of foreign occupation | Seumas Milne | Comment is free | The Guardian The latest slaughter in Afghanistan is part of a decade of savage civilian killing: until Nato leaves, it is certain to continue (yet another "isolated incident" making sure America has fanatical enemies for the next 200 years)
Exclusive: secret Assad emails lift lid on life of leader's inner circle | World news | The Guardian Messages show Bashar al-Assad took advice from Iran • Leader made light of promised reforms • Wife spent thousands on jewellery and furniture
Why Is President Obama Keeping A Journalist In Prison In Yemen? (well, he wanted to just blow him up)
Moroccan girl commits suicide after being forced to marry her rapist (Sharia Law)
BBC News - Cyber-attack on BBC leads to suspicion of Iran's involvement A "sophisticated cyber-attack" on the BBC has been linked to Iran's efforts to disrupt the BBC Persian Service.

Greece on the breadline: the children of Athens too hungry to do PE | World news | The Guardian It has been a common secret among PE teachers for some time now that they don't expect pupils to do PE any more, because many of them are underfed and get dizzy (well, they can just suck it up and tighten their belts)
U.K. Unemployment Jumped More Than Forecast in February - Bloomberg and a broader measure of unemployment remained at the highest rate in 16 years, underscoring the weakness of the labor market even as the economy shows some signs of recovery (no consequences for fucking over millions of people with their greed and idiotic policies)

Neville Thurlbeck, former News of the World chief reporter, arrested | Media | guardian.co.uk Operation Weeting officers re-arrest former NoW chief reporter, this time on suspicion of intimidation of a witness
Phone-hacking: how the 'rogue reporter' defence slowly crumbled | Media | The Guardian A series of denials by News International after the jailing of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulciaire became harderto sustain
Leveson inquiry: Jeff Edwards, Sandra Laville, Jon Ungoed-Thomas appear | Media | guardian.co.uk Laville: closing unofficial sources might drive info underground • Having a drink with an officer 'part of human relationship' • But treating officers to Savoy and lapdancing is another matter (well, your first point was wrong also)

Gore, Parker urge Web to 'Occupy Democracy' - CNN.com

Hullabaloo - Cardinal sins - Nobody's even allowed to mention that the same people who covered up decades of sexual abuse in their own institution are all over the country declaring their moral righteousness. Why should they think they can't get away with this too?
Bill Donahue Decides To Save The Catholic Church By Attacking Their Rape Victims | Crooks and Liars (the full moral authority of the world's largest pedophile ring at work)
Law Will Allow Employers to Fire Women for Using Whore Pills - A proposed new law in Arizona would give employers the power to request that women being prescribed birth control pills provide proof that they're using it for non-sexual reasons. (Taliban-controlled state)
Hullabaloo - Freedom to slut shame (how low have we sunk)
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Another Limited Government Proposal And the American Taliban strikes again, this time in Wisconsin: These people are fanatics, this is a war on women, and they’ll keep passing these laws enforcing their religious beliefs on the rest of us until you get up off your butt and throw the bums out of office.

Ad Boycott Dents Limbaugh Show’s Bottom Line - NYTimes.com Along with LifeLock and Lear Financial, at least one other advertiser, Hillsdale College, remains supportive of Mr. Limbaugh (down to three advertisers) Conservative critics of MSNBC are said to be considering their own boycott campaign, aiming at liberal commentators like the Rev. Al Sharpton. (it's exactly the same, should work fine)
Majority Thinks Rush Limbaugh Should Be Fired For Sandra Fluke Comments: Poll ("the soul of the Republican party" should be fired)
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Don’t you know that it’s different for hippies (boycotts are shrill and only dirty hippies should be silenced)
Jon Stewart To Fox News: ‘Shut The F*ck Up’
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » The Best And Brightest I know what the liberals are asking: Why is [Spitzer] such a big deal, and Sen. David Vitter’s previous experience with call girls isn’t? Shut up, that’s why.

Romney Leads GOP Contest, Trails in Matchup with Obama | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press Among all voters, Obama leads Romney by 12 points (54% to 42%) and Santorum by 18 points (57% to 39%). Obama’s advantage among women voters, while largely unchanged from a month ago, remains substantial – 20 points over Romney and 26 points over Santorum.

Hullabaloo A reminder about last night's voters - Almost a third of Mississippi Republican voters think interracial marriage should be illegal, and over half think the President is a Muslim (as if it matters.) (a year of the insane clown show)
Rick Santorum Primary Results: The Undead Presidential Candidate Down South
Santorum-Gingrich Ticket Floated By Gingrich Adviser (the anti-Mormon coalition)
Fox Ignores "Significant" Costs That Come With "Free" IDs In Texas | Media Matters for America (voting just like going to the ATM; Fux is killing America)
Fox News Host Suggests Democrats Are for Voter Fraud | Video Cafe Fox News host Gretchen Carlson says she can't understand why Democrats would be against discriminatory voter ID laws unless they are "for voter fraud." (news prostitute)

Wolves to the Slaughter The reintroduction of the gray wolf to the Northern Rockies was an ecological success story—until big money, old superstitions, and politics got in the way.
Wolves - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money Effectively, Obama agreed to delist the wolf to save Jon Tester’s Senate seat. That’s pretty depressing ... gutting the ESA in order to save a senator is not something Democrats are supposed to do (just another constituency thrown under the bus)

MF Global’s Free Pass? | The Big Picture This is just like prosecuting drug dealers — you pick up the dime bag seller, roll them to the mid-level guy, repeat. Keep doing that until you reach as close to the top as you can get. Works for pot, crack, robo-signing, and segregated account theft . . . (Obama's permanent get-out-of-jail-and-profit card for the bankersters)
Eschaton: The Plan Not really saying anything that Barry didn't already say, but if there's a proven method for stealing your customer's money without any legal consequences, then people will, you know, keep doing it. Put your money in your mattresses.
Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Docs (II): Giving Homes to Charity as a Penalty | FDL News Desk
Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs - NYTimes.com To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money (our business model is stealing your money, so don't give it to us)
Greg Smith's Goldman Sachs Resignation Sparks Predictably Hilarious Twitter Explosion
Beyond Goldman Sachs: the nasty culture | Joris Luyendijk | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Greg Smith's portrait of Goldman Sachs is shocking, but investment banks treat their clients as poorly as they do their staff
Eschaton: Title Inflation He was the Vice President of getting my fucking coffee (said Blankfein about Smith)
Mark Gongloff: Greg Smith Leaves Goldman Sachs, But It's Not Just A Goldman Problem
The Daily Mash - Why I am leaving the Empire, by Darth Vader
Goldman Rejects Claims Made by Outgoing Executive - Deal Journal - WSJ (you can just look at Blankfein and know something is seriously wrong here)
Mario Batali to Pay $5.25 Million for Tip Skimming Scam - Duly Noted Batali and Bastianich had a standard policy of deducting as much as 4 to 5 percent of the tip pool each night. [WaPo] That's illegal. The WaPo quotes food columnist Jonathan Gold saying that this won't damage Batali's image in the industry because he's such a gifted chef. Of course, if Batali had gotten caught stealing from investors, his career would be over.

Rising Sea Levels a Growing Risk to Coastal U.S., Study Says - NYTimes.com About 3.7 million Americans live within a few feet of high tide and risk being hit by more frequent coastal flooding in coming decades because of the sea level rise caused by global warming, according to new research (at what point does it sink in?)
'Red Deer Cave people' may be new species of human | Science | The Guardian Stone age remains of people with a penchant for home-cooked venison could represent a new human evolutionary line
Encyclopedia Britannica halts print publication after 244 years | Books | guardian.co.uk The paper edition of the encyclopedia ends its centuries-long run, but is it a victim or beneficiary of the digital age?
Watch how the Moon was formed | ITworld

Lobbyists Call On Barack Obama To Tone Down Anti-Lobbyist Rhetoric The American League of Lobbyists is calling on President Barack Obama to tone down his criticism of lobbyists.
Penn State's 'informal' discussion about possibly going private meets with mixed reactions | PennLive.com Penn State's 'informal' discussion about possibly going private meets with mixed reactions

Why We Have to Go Back to a 40-Hour Work Week to Keep Our Sanity | Visions | AlterNet One hundred fifty years of research proves that shorter work hours actually raise productivity and profits -- and overtime destroys them. So why do we still do this?
TaxProf Blog: NYU Law School Pays $3.6M for Faculty Condo “The four bedrooms have ensuite baths with Calacatta gold and marble, as well as radiant heat floors.” Songwriter Judy Collins was a former building resident.


FBI Tries To Force Google To Unlock User's Android Phone - Slashdot
AT&T Threatens To Shut Off Service of Customer Who Won Throttling Case - Slashdot
Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey updates fix critical vulnerabilities - The H Open Source: News and Features
Who Knows What Youhavedownloaded.com? — Krebs on Security

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U.S. Officials Debate Speeding Up Afghan Pullout - NYTimes.com
Comment: News from the Wars : The New Yorker In this country, the percentage of Americans who want an immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan is now over half and appears to include Newt Gingrich, who said on Sunday, “We’re not prepared to be ruthless enough.” (should have killed them all, apparently; Packer is depressed)

Eurozone crisis live: Fitch raises Greece out of default - as it happened | Business | guardian.co.uk Athens denies needing yet more austerity • Spain claims victory over deficit

Rebekah Brooks among six arrested in phone-hacking investigation | Media | guardian.co.uk Former Sun editor held by Operation Weeting detectives on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice
Phone hacking: six arrested under Operation Weeting | Media | guardian.co.uk Arrests in London, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Hertfordshire on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice
Rebekah Brooks and Husband Said to Be Arrested in Hacking Inquiry - NYTimes.com
Rebekah Brooks, Husband, And Four Others Arrested In New Phone Hacking Probe (time to put the cuffs on you-know-who)
Woman fails to quash conviction for falsely retracting rape claim | Society | The Guardian Court upholds decision against woman jailed for perverting course of justice in withdrawing accusations against husband (even more perversion)

Joe Biden: GOP Super PACs Will Raise $200 Million To $800 Million

Profiles In Cowardice - Esquire I sincerely hope Shirley Sherrod and her lawyers win so big in this thing that they have to dig up Andrew Breitbart and collect the pennies off his eyes. I sincerely hope, at some point, Shirley Sherrod gets in a room with Tom Vilsack, and with the incumbent president of the United Stares, and with everyone of his micturating staffers, and she spits on every damn one of them (Obama cowering in the corner, terrified of Bill O'Reilly)

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » These Are The People Who Wish To Set The American Moral Agenda From The New York Times we learn that the Catholic Church has decided to drop the legal hammer on those irritating little types who dislike conspiracies to cover up child rape:
Political Animal - Those Canadians Are Scary, Eh? So I reacted with predictable hilarity upon learning that Cheney had canceled an appearance in Toronto because Canada is just too dangerous a place.
Roger Ailes I guess when your biggest accomplishment in life is recalling a story about Arnold Schwarzenegger from your old copy of Oui magazine, you can't help but worship someone who was the recipient of a congressman's dick photos.

Mortgage Settlement That Divided Democrats May Have Burned Eric Schneiderman's Bridges (Obama always had the bankers' backs)

The Most Astounding Fact About The Universe, As Told By Neil DeGrasse Tyson (VIDEO) "We are part of this universe; we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts, is that the universe is in us," he explains.
Suspected polio case endangers India's eradication record | World news | The Guardian Child's paralysis sparks fears that India will fail in mission to be declared free of polio following removal from 'endemic' list

Arizona's Jobless Drug Test Bill Would Trigger Huge Tax Hike The Arizona drug testing bill, introduced by Sen. Steve Smith (R-Maricopa), would require unemployed people who want benefits to pay for their own drug tests.
Joe Walsh Money Woes: Campaign Low On Cash As Child Support Case Continues (Teaparty "responsibility")

Nina Turner, Ohio State Senator, Introduces Viagra Bill To Counter Anti-Contraception Legislation Specifically, Turner's bill would require men to receive psychological counseling to verify that they have a medical reason for taking erectile dysfunction medications, such as Viagra, before they can legally obtain a prescription for it. It would also require doctors to inform men, in writing, about the potential risks of drugs like Viagra.
Most People Don't Believe Rush Limbaugh's Apology Was Sincere: Study Only 29% believe Limbaugh’s apology for his recent comments was sincere. Fifty-three percent do not think his apology was sincere, while 18% are undecided ("the polls are still out")
CNN's Will Cain Grills Sandra Fluke Over Contraception Op-Ed (rightwing wankers at CNN)
Hullabaloo Welfare queens and college sluts - CNN, you really need to examine your hiring policies. Your "analyst" Dana Loesch wrote this piece of drivel on her site yesterday ... It also makes sense that the right wing noise machine would activate their troops with this. It's a bit more of a mystery as to why an alleged mainstream news organization would employ someone who does it (Loesch is a righting news prostitute)
Sandra Fluke On Rush Limbaugh Controversy: Attempts To Silence Women Have 'Clearly Failed' (despite the best efforts of CNN and Fox)
Balloon Juice » Is it Time to Expand the #StopRush Campaign to #CNN?
Rachel Maddow Defends Controversial 'Doonesbury' Comic Strip, Cartoonist Garry Trudeau
Sex in America: our readers respond | The people's panel | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk We asked you whether America was in the midst of a sexual counter-revolution. Ten Guardian readers share their thoughts
Even Utah Thinks GOP's Abstinence-Only Efforts Too Far | ThinkProgress . Of those surveyed, 58 percent said they believe “”Public schools in Utah should teach about the use of contraceptives.”
Keep On Implodin’ - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money “If these young women are being responsible and didn’t have the sex to begin with, we wouldn’t have this problem to begin with,” Davis said (you know who shouldn't have sex?)

The Go-Nowhere Generation - NYTimes.com The likelihood of 20-somethings moving to another state has dropped well over 40 percent since the 1980s, according to calculations based on Census Bureau data. The stuck-at-home mentality hits college-educated Americans as well as those without high school degrees (they aren't even riding their bicycles)

Yahoo files lawsuit against Facebook | Technology | guardian.co.uk nternet company claims Facebook infringes patents covering advertising, privacy controls and social networking
John R. MacArthur: Internet con men ravage publishing | This New England Blog | providencejournal.com (get off my print lawn; +longwinded, isn't he?)

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Taliban vow revenge for US soldier's attack on Afghans | World news | The Guardian Statement on website promises revenge for 'every single martyr', as questions are raised about military mission in Afghanistan - Afghan lawmakers called for the American to be tried in a court in Afghanistan
Afghanistan campaign: a fragile strategy easily derailed by lone gunmen? | World news | The Guardian Mass killing of Afghan civilians by US soldier, like the backlash against the Qur'an-burning, displays the fragility of this conflict
Afghanistan civilian casualties: year by year, month by month. Visualised data | News | guardian.co.uk Afghani casualty figures are higher than at any time since the invasion, and up 8% on last year. How many people have died?
Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum Question Afghan Mission Following Massacre (Obama's fault Bush invaded Afganistan)
Syria Killings: Many Civilians 'Massacred' By Pro-Government Gunmen In Homs, Activists Claim
Obama aiding Tehran by pursuing diplomatic solution, Republicans claim | World news | guardian.co.uk Congressional Republicans say the president has not been supportive enough of Israel over any possible threat from Iran (bomb, bomb, Iran! Israel is our boss!)
St Petersburg bans 'homosexual propaganda' | World news | The Guardian Russian city is fourth to adopt anti-gay legislation as politicians and Orthodox Church push for laws to apply nationwide

Bradley Manning's treatment was cruel and inhuman, UN torture chief rules | World news | guardian.co.uk UN special rapporteur on torture's findings likely to reignite criticism of US government's treatment of WikiLeaks suspect (Obama: "fuck the UN")

The Morning Plum: How rising gas prices put Obama at risk - The Plum Line - The Washington Post (which is why those Repubican billionaires started manipulating gas prices)

141 Companies Drop Advertising From Rush Limbaugh - The advertisers have also requested to be excluded from other right-wing hosts including Michael Savage, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. (El Rushbo the new plague)
‘Doonesbury’ creator Garry Trudeau discusses divisive strips about abortion - The Washington Post (you see, rape isn't "divisive" but reporting it is)
Balloon Juice » The Internet is for Porn and Doonesbury What I do know is that an industry that treats their online edition the way a dog treats a favorite pooping spot isn’t taking the Internet seriously and will die because of it.
Neera Tanden: The 1990s Roots Of The Contraception Battle | The New Republic
Political Animal - Day of Reckoning on Reproductive Rights (Republicans: "no rights for sluts")
Balloon Juice » Live by the Freak Out, Die by the Freak Out Maher can quit being worried about Rush and his buddies for two more reasons. First, if anyone believes in letting the free market do its business in an unfettered fashion, it’s this crew, so they’re getting a dose of their own medicine. Second, the right loves to boycott just as much as any other interest group, even though they haven’t been very successful lately (yeah, where's that petition to support Limpdick Rushbo?)
Balloon Juice » The masquerade is over Let’s be clear, though: much of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy consists of people who aren’t “pro-life” so much as they are right-wing ideologues. Reproductive rights are just a tool for them to turn force the Catholic Church to act as Republican political PAC. Many, many “libertarians” economics bloggers are just hateful wingers

Texas Voter ID Law Blocked By Justice Department
Obama's Religion Still A Campaign Issue: Many Alabama, Mississippi Voters Believe President Is Muslim A similar picture surfaced in Mississippi. Of 656 likely GOP primary voters surveyed, 12 percent said Obama was a Christian, 52 percent classified him as a Muslim, and 36 percent fell in the "not sure" category (Fox and Rush told them so - the "zero information" Republinut voters)
Political Animal - Conservative Evangelical “World View” In Sharp Relief But: asked about the president’s religion, only 9% of evangelicals in both states agree Obama is a Christian (as opposed to 26% of non-evangelicals in Alabama and 19% in Mississippi). An actual majority (50% in AL, 54% in MS) of evangelicals think Obama is a Muslim, and the rest say they don’t know. It’s worth noting that the “don’t knows” probably include quite a few people who don’t think Obama is a Muslim, but also, like Rick Santorum, don’t much believe mainline Protestants are actually Christians (Evangelicals are the stupidest of the stupid and very dangerous people)
Political Animal - What’s the Matter With Alabama and Mississippi? Alabama and Mississippi were always states dominated by white identity politics to an extent known nowhere else, as is reflected in their legendary status as hotbeds of last-ditch resistance to desegregation and African-American voting rights.
Bill Maher | Southerners | Primaries | The Daily Caller “By the way, she said she cut out 20 people who also did not have teeth,” Maher said. “Just so you know that is wasn’t like, ‘Oh we’re just going to show the guy with no teeth.’ She had to cut out a lot of people who also didn’t have teeth.”
US Politics | Americablog News: GOP prez candidate having hard time connecting to southern voters Well, if not relying on government help means not doing anything to help decrease infant mortality rates, not doing anything to help improve the education of our kids, doing squat to help the local economy improve - basically, not doing anything to help move people out of poverty - then yes, that would make you Republican. But it also makes you a bit of an idiot.
Balloon Juice » Snake Handling Can’t Be Far Off You have to watch this sermon in the Oklahoma House to believe it (Jeebus wrote the Constitution! why stereotypes exist)

What Greece Means - NYTimes.com Even with this debt relief, Greece — like other European nations forced to impose austerity in a depressed economy — seems doomed to many more years of suffering (elites at work grinding down workers with failed policies because they can)
US Retail Therapy Needed to Turbo-Charge Economy - US Business News - CNBC Shopping might be an American pastime, and consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. But for many Americans, the time has not yet come to return to the malls and pull out the credit cards (more stimulus for the 1%!)
Don’t Let Companies Slash Pension Payments: Roger Lowenstein - Bloomberg Big employers want Congress to give them a break on pension funding. Business lobbies such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers have managed to get a pension sweetener attached to a Senate highway bill that, potentially, would reduce required contributions by billions of dollars (CofC "sweetener" = "screw the workers muhahaha")
Peter S. Goodman: Ed DeMarco's Refusal on Principal Reductions Grounds for Firing DeMarco steadfastly refuses to allow Fannie and Freddie to help distressed homeowners by writing off principal balances on their mortgages (reduce principal for those chislers who forced banks to lend them money?)
The Housing Crisis Pushed Black Homeownership Rate Below 1990s Levels | ThinkProgress (well, those moochers caused the housing crisis, so they should all lose their homes)

Knights in Shining Armour - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money Laura Augustín has an interesting piece at The Naked Anthropologist critiquing men like Nick Kristof who go around the world playing the role of the good white man saving brown women from evil brown men.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno was fired for 'failure of leadership', board says | World news | guardian.co.uk Board finds Paterno should have done more than his minimum legal duty over alleged sex assault involving Jerry Sandusky

Add The Giottos Rocket To Your List Of Silly Things Banned By The TSA | Gizmodo Australia

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U.S. Soldier Opens Fire On Civilians In Afghanistan An American soldier opened fire on villagers near his base in southern Afghanistan Sunday and killed 16 civilians, according to President Hamid Karzai, who called it an "assassination" and furiously demanded an explanation from Washington. Nine children and three women were among the dead.
Nairobi bus station attack kills six | World news | The Guardian Minister says Kenyan authorities suspect Somalia link in grenade attack on crowd at bus terminal in centre of capital

Nuclear Disaster in Japan Was Avoidable, Critics Say - NYTimes.com But some insiders from Japan’s tightly knit nuclear industry have stepped forward to say that Tepco and regulators had for years ignored warnings of the possibility of a larger-than-expected tsunami in northeastern Japan, and thus failed to take adequate countermeasures, such as raising wave walls or placing backup generators on higher ground.

Could China easily take down US military's air-refueling logistics in a cyberwar? Report written by information security analysts from Northrop Grumman speculates how
Drones, Dogs and the Future of Privacy | Threat Level | Wired.com Drones are coming to a city near you. They are arriving on these shores by the hundreds after serving in war zones overseas, and plenty of new models are on order to meet a burgeoning domestic demand (Obama say they won't carry missils, for now)


Ken Griffin, Billionaire Romney Backer, Says Super Rich Have 'An Insufficient Influence' On Politics
Newt Gingrich: Mitt Romney The Weakest Republican Frontrunner In 90 Years

Balloon Juice » Afternoon Open Thread Melissa Harris-Perry weighs in on Black People Hugging Is Worse Than Sauron. (they wanted to deport Elinor Roosevelt; yes, they've always been viciously insane)

At New Website, Learning Becomes Court-Ordered Community Service - Yahoo! Finance The less education a person has, the more likely he or she will end up in jail or prison. Once in prison, the more education an inmate receives, the greater the chance he or she will remain free once released (the Republican solution: get rid of education! then we will have only the 1%, who never go to jail, a prison industry, and the rest of you fools will be in jail)
Why Can’t You Smoke Pot? Because Lobbyists Are Getting Rich Off of the War on Drugs | Drugs | AlterNet Why we still put hundreds of thousands of people in steel cages for pot-related offenses (and torture them with solitary confinement)

The Swedish One Percent - NYTimes.com Allan Meltzer claiming that the top one percent is surging everywhere, even in Sweden, so it’s not a proper political issue. As Acemoglu and Robinson say, there’s other strange stuff in Meltzer; how does a rising premium for education explain soaring shares for a tiny segment of the highly educated? But as they say, the premise about a global shock doesn’t stand up to evidence — not even the evidence Meltzer presents (see, the graphs are just the same! could Meltzer be a Republican?)
Americans Need To Suck It Up And Quit Whining About Gas Prices
Labor and Progressives - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money Ned Resnikoff really gets after Jessica Flanigan for misunderstanding the relationship between the labor movement and Progressives of the early 20th century. (another Libertarian shill bombs)

The unavoidable cost of computation revealed : Nature News & Comment Physicists have proved that forgetting is the undoing of Maxwell’s demon ... to set a binary digit to zero in a computer memory regardless of whether it is initially 1 or 0 — must release a certain minimum amount of heat, proportional to the ambient temperature.

The Strange, Fascinating History of the Vibrator | Sex & Relationships | AlterNet Male doctors found their hysterical and neurasthenic patients especially frustrating. Many doctors suggested that women would feel better if they engaged in sexual intercourse until its natural conclusion with a male orgasm

'SNL': Rush Limbaugh Talks New Sponsors In Cold Open
Doonesbury Pulled Over Ultrasound Story | The Mary Sue
Doonesbury strip on Texas abortion law dropped by some US newspapers | World news | The Guardian
Limbaugh threatened with lawsuit by supergroup Rush | The Raw Story
Balloon Juice » Keep Messing With Their Lady Parts, Republicans The sudden return of the “culture wars” over the rights of women and their place in society has resulted, the women said, in a distinct change in mood in the past several weeks. That shift adds yet another element of uncertainty to a race that has been defined by unpredictability, at least for Republicans.
Balloon Juice » Local color: Steven Landsberg - This rhetoric prompted university president Joel Seligman to respond ("shut the fuck up, you idiot")
It Can Always Get Worse : Lawyers, Guns & Money - You would have thought than Steven Landsburg’s argument couldn’t possibly get any worse (it usually does)
Balloon Juice » It’s Not Kucinich’s Wackiness, It’s His Fecklessness Greenwald’s latest post is a love song for Dennis Kucinich. Essentially, Greenwald argues that Kucinich has been a staunch advocate against executive power, drones, and secret wars, and that “establishment Democrats” ignore these principled stances in favor of mockery, derision and scorn for Kucinich’s New Age/alien talk. I suppose that’s one way to look at it. But here’s another way: Kucinich’s voting record stinks and he’s a terrible Democrat (pro-life conservative Catholic voted anti-choice as much as Henry Hyde)
Zandar Versus The Stupid: The Case Against Kucinich - Kucinich's score of -4.22 is not only worse than that of any other Democrat: it is also worse than that of all but 22 Republicans

The Byrds & Earl Scruggs - You Ain't Going Nowhere - YouTube

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities Request for Proposal (RFP) SA1301-12-RP-IANA is hereby cancelled. The Department of Commerce intends to reissue the RFP at a future date, date to be determined (TBD). Interested parties are encouraged to periodically visit www.fbo.gov for updates.
NTIA says ICANN “does not meet the requirements” for IANA renewal | DomainIncite - Domain Name News & Opinion The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has dealt a stunning blow to ICANN in its bid to carry on running the internet’s critical IANA functions ... One of the key sticking points is the NTIA’s demand that the IANA contractor – ICANN – must document that all new gTLD delegations are in “the global public interest”. ("global" = "American" - US will change the name to Obamanet)

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Syria in turmoil: Assad launches fresh shelling of civilian houses | World news | The Observer Kofi Annan's ceasefire mission falters as the tanks roll in to besiege the city of Idlib
Syria Crisis: Idlib Assaulted By Regime Troops
At least 15 killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza | World news | guardian.co.uk Palestinian militants retaliate with fierce rocket attack on Israel's southern border communities, seriously wounding one
United States agrees to transfer Bagram prison to control of Afghan army | World news | guardian.co.uk US a step closer to sealing long-term presence in Afghanistan after last-minute compromise over jail at centre of protests

Homelessness rise of 14% 'just tip of iceberg' | Society | The Guardian Charities say figure fails to capture huge numbers who are living with friends, in hostels or on streets (conservative blame previous administration for their disasterous policies)

"None of you are getting out of here" - Japan Earthquake - Salon.com I was working at the Fukushima plant when the earthquake hit. I thought we'd seen the worst. Then came the tsunami


Obama, Explained - Magazine - The Atlantic Is he a skillful political player and policy visionary—a chess master who always sees several moves ahead of his opponents (and of the punditocracy)? Or is he politically clumsy and out of his depth—a pawn overwhelmed by events, at the mercy of a second-rate staff and of the Republicans?
Gas Prices: Obama Strikes Back At GOP Critics On Fuel Costs

Balloon Juice » Just Shut Down the Fact Checkers and Do Journalism FactCheck.org has decided to go down the rabbit hole along with Polifact on the “lie of the year” by criticizing Democratic ads referencing the Ryan Plan ... By the way, FactCheck.org is run by totebagger hero Kathleen Hall Jamison, who is a fixture on Bill Moyers’ programs on PBS (but of course)
Will 2012 Be a Reprise of 2010's Summer of Hate? | Mother Jones uly and August of 2010 were a festival of xenophobia and racial rage from the news organs of the right. Among the topics that generated wall-to-wall coverage on a serial basis that summer were (1) the New Black Panthers, (2) Arizona's new immigration law, (3) the "anchor baby" controversy, (4) the "Ground Zero" mosque, (5) the Shirley Sherrod affair, (6) a new upwelling of birther conspiracy theories, (7) Glenn Beck's obsession with Barack Obama's supposed sympathy with "liberation theology," and (8) Dinesh D'Souza's contention — eagerly echoed by Newt Gingrich — that Barack Obama can only be understood as an angry, Kenyan, anti-colonialist.

Talk Radio Losing Advertisers In Wake Of Limbaugh Scandal - at least 98 advertisers -- including big names like Ford, GM and McDonald's -- have indicated they want to avoid "environments likely to stir negative sentiments." (looks like Rushbo Limpdick might have killed talk/hate-radio)
Limbaugh and Sleep Train part for good - Erik Wemple - The Washington Post
Gloria Allred: Rush Limbaugh Should Be Prosecuted For Controversial Comments About Sandra Fluke
Who's Advertising On Rush Limbaugh? | Media Matters for America
Georgia Lawmaker Compares Women to Cows and Pigs | Video Cafe
Rush Limbaugh Calls Sandra Fluke a Slut - Reformed Whores' Response Video - YouTube
Passion vs puritanism as America is gripped by a war over sexuality | World news | The Observer "America has entered a new dark age where people are proud of their ignorance," he told the Observer. "The US is careering towards a society that is reshaping women's reproductive rights. It used to be abortion. Now it's contraception. How can contraception be a battleground? It is crazy."

Santorum: Global Warming Is 'Political Science' | Video Cafe - "I've never supported even the hoax of global warming," (I'm a stupid Republican and proud of it!)
Rick Santorum easily wins Kansas | World news | guardian.co.uk Republican presidential candidate has consolidated his status as the main challenger to front-runner Mitt Romney

A Breach of Trust - NYTimes.com But now a coalition of extreme conservatives in the House wants to break the budget agreement and cut spending below the agreed level, and the House Budget Committee seems willing to go along (lie, cheat, steal)
Casino capitalism: As gambling spreads, metaphor becomes reality - U.S. Economy - Salon.com As more and more states turn to legal betting to fight the Great Recession, a metaphor becomes reality - Harrah’s general manager said the customers in its database visit the casino an average of 4.5 times a week, while the state’s news media have fixated on the troubling trend of parents leaving their children locked in parked cars when gambling in Bensalem ... A significant portion of gambling revenues — one-third to one-half — is derived from problem gamblers
Are Taxes Historically High or Low? - David Brin - Open Salon Tax rates are at historic lows. And this is for earned income. Rates for dividends and capital gains are even lower - by half - than what you see in the figure! In the 99 years that we have had the income tax, rates for top earners were lower than they are today only twice (Republicans lied to us?)
The Great Worker Revolt of 1877 - toritto - Open Salon This economic cataclysm is now blandly referred to as the Panic of 1873.

Stone Age cartoons | ScienceNordic More than 1,000 rock carvings abound on Kanozero Island in Northern Russia. One of them beats The Flintstones by several millennia.

megyn-kelly-2.jpg - Megyn Kelly, under-educated white news slut)
nHByl.jpg - if Fox covered the Civil Rights Movement
Balloon Juice » Open Thread, now with more shitty cops: This is fucked up: Berkeley, CA Police Chief sent one of his Sergeants to the home of a local reporter to request changes to a story - Meehans’s actions were “despicable, totally despicable,” said Jim Ewert, general counsel of the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association. “It’s the most intimidating type of (censorship) possible because the person trying to exercise it carries a gun.”
Corrections Corporation Of America Sues Florida Town For Blocking New Detention Center arguing that city officials are trying to "disrupt and derail" plans to build one of nation's largest immigrant-detention centers northwest of Miami.
Gov. Chris Christie Calls Veteran An 'Idiot' In Shouting Match Gov. Chris Christie argued with a former Navy SEAL Thursday over the state's plans to reconfigure public universities in New Jersey -- resulting in Christie calling the man an idiot.

New York Times Former CEO Janet Robinson Received $24 Million Payout

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Don't Iraq Iran But Israel’s conservative government wants an attack ... President Obama wants to increase to $3.1 billion the weapons that you and I buy for Israel next year, while continuing to protect Israel from accountability at the United Nations or elsewhere (who's your daddy? AIPAC running American foreign policy)
Nigeria hostages: Italian anger mounts over special forces operation | World news | The Guardian Front page editorial in Corriere della Sera describes failed rescue attempt as a humiliation for Italy
Nigeria's militant Islamists adopting a disturbing change of tactics | World news | The Guardian Hostage killings suggest Boko Haram and other groups see themselves as offshoots of al-Qaida and model on Taliban

Greece Default Triggers Swaps, So Now What?
Greece dodges the first default bullet | Business | The Guardian After months of wrangling, Athens said it could meet a deadline to roll over €14bn (£11.7bn) of private sector loans due to be refinanced next week

Fukushima One Year On: Many Revelations, Few Surprises | MyFDL

Ofcom, UK Media Regulator, Weighing Whether To Strip Murdoch Of BSkyB Stake

Republican presidential win would lose US ground to China – UN climate chief | Environment | guardian.co.uk Christiana Figueres says voting in climate-sceptic Republican would hand competitive technological edge to China and Europe (why, that would make Repubicans traitors, wouldn't it?)

The Race-Baiting Continues But fortunately, it doesn't seem to be working (Dimbart)
Hullabaloo Look who's palling around with extremists now - These right wing extremists are out there spreading their lies and hate on a daily basis and Republican presidential candidates scramble to kiss their rings. But Breitbart's outrage machine drops a completely benign video from 20 years ago and everyone gets all excited. This is the power of the right wing noise machine.

Sexual Violence and the Military - NYTimes.com - Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that between 23 percent and 33 percent of uniformed women had been assaulted (well, Rush tells them women are sluts, so)
The N.Y.P.D. and Muslims - NYTimes.com - Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, Commissioner Raymond Kelly of the New York Police Department and their supporters have reacted with defensiveness and hostility to the disclosure of constitutionally suspect surveillance of law-abiding Muslims in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey and beyond.
Hands Off the Heavens - NYTimes.com By John R. Bolton And John C. Yoo (yeah, those guys, so you know ...)
Weren’t House Republicans Worried About Medicare Costs? - NYTimes.com As part of their broader campaign to repeal health care reform, House Republicans are determined to kill off an independent board that is supposed to help rein in federal spending on Medicare.

Fracking wastewater disposal induced a dozen  earthquakes in Ohio  - NY Daily News The state's oil and gas regulators announced new regulations for drillers Friday
Hullabaloo Totally Fracking Nuts - Are people really defending this practice knowing that it's causing earthquakes and failing to even bring the benefits it purports to bring (while lining the pockets of a bunch of energy fat cats?) Apparently they are .... Meanwhile, God forbid we use energy efficient lightbulbs (well, see Krugman on stupidification)

Ignorance Is Strength - NYTimes.com (Republicans attack education; making America even stupider)
Hullabaloo Krugman nails it again - The underinvestment in public education is very intentional. Thanks largely to Grover Norquist and his buddies, it now costs more to attend a public university in California than it does to attend Harvard. The elites don't really need that many skilled workers in America.
Colleges and Elitism - NYTimes.com THE Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum recently set off a ruckus when he attacked America’s colleges as “indoctrination mills” from which God-fearing Americans should keep their distance.

Can't Teach an Old Party New Tricks Republicans did not have a good week. Don't expect them to learn from their mistakes, though - When women of whatever political stripe heard Limbaugh, they heard several millennia of familiar male piggery
Recent debate over contraception comes as GOP loses gains among women - The Washington Post
Balloon Juice » The Vagina Demagogues Excellent work, wingnuts (2 point gap in women voters last summer widens to 15% after all the anti-women bullshit)
Megyn Kelly: Sandra Fluke 'Would Have Us Believe She Is A Victim' (and Kelly would have you believe she has a soul)
Rush Limbaugh's Show Filled With Free Ads; Sponsor Exodus Continues Reports about Limbaugh's Thursday program showed that 77 of the 86 spots that aired were "free public service announcements donated by the Ad Council." Additionally, seven ads were from companies "in the process of pulling their spots." This apparently left only two paid advertisements.
Rush Limbaugh's Advertisers, March 8 | Media Matters for America
Students Silently Protest Professor Who Defended Limbaugh (what a dittohead)
Virginia's Ultrasound Bill Violates Medical Association's Guidelines | ThinkProgress The legislature passed an amended version that did not require invasive transvaginal ultrasounds, but it still seems the new law runs counter to guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). As Forbes’ Rick Ungar points out, “According to the ACOG, ultrasonography in pregnancy should be performed only when there is a valid medical indication.”

An Open Letter to Chellie Pingree on International Women's Day | The Nation I am quite certain that party operatives and others are lining up to thank you for “taking one for the team.” But, me? I just wonder when it will be someone else’s turn to step aside for our team (Angus King sure wasn't going to step aside)
In ‘Game Change’ on HBO, Julianne Moore Plays Sarah Palin - NYTimes.com In ‘Game Change’ on HBO, Julianne Moore Plays Sarah Palin
A Scandal So Great, It Makes Teapot Dome Look Like The Gettysburg Address - Lawyers, Guns & Money (they really are that stupid)

Why The GOP's Favorite Anti-Obama Chart Is Complete Nonsense Once again, conservatives are using today's jobs number as a jumping-off point to slam Obama (if they didn't always lie, they woulnd't be Republicans)
Senate Rejects Republicans' Environment, Energy Proposals The Senate killed Republican-backed attempts to overturn several of President Barack Obama's environmental and energy policies (Republicans fucking things up, as usual)

Banks Repaid Fed Bailout With Other Fed Money: Government Report
IRS May Make Political Groups Pay Dearly for Keeping Donors Secret -- And Out Them (you see, there were all these 501c3 Republican "charities")
Most Wealthy Americans Think US Is Still in Recession - US Business News - CNBC
MF Global Still Set to Pay Bonuses - WSJ.com Executives Helping Trustee in Wake of Firm's Collapse Could Get Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars (you'd think the word "jail" might have gotten their cooperation, but the coverup is being run Freeh, America's worst ex-law enforment official)

86-Year-Old Ohio Veteran Can't Vote After Government-Issued ID Is Rejected At Poll | ThinkProgress I went to war for this country, but now I can’t vote in this country.” (Ohio voter supression at work)
Lead Plaintiff In Health Care Reform Case Filed Bankruptcy With Medical Debt | ThinkProgress plaintiff Mary Brown was uninsured last fall when her husband’s medical bills stacked up to $4,500. That, combined with other debt they had accumulated, led the couple to file for bankruptcy (yes, they really are that cosmically stupid)


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Solar Flare Now Bombarding Earth May Disrupt Power Grid, Satellites, Communications

Death toll of British soldiers in Afghanistan passes 400 | World news | The Guardian British mission in Afghanistan will continue despite the loss of six soldiers who were caught in a huge explosion (it never made any sense)
Naoto Kan, Ex-Prime Minister: Japan Was Unprepared For Fukushima Nuclear Crisis
BBC News - Australia Aboriginal burial site vandalised The Nazi swastika, and the words KKK and white power were inscribed across the wall and several headstones at the Fingal Head cemetery, a burial ground for Aboriginal people in the north of New South Wales state.
Unintended irony from the NYT - Salon.com Despite years of urging and oversight by American advisers, Mr. Karzai’s government has yet to prosecute a high-level corruption case (muhahaha)

Homelessness jumps by 14% in a year | Society | The Guardian Almost 50,000 households across England accepted as homeless as repossession rates and unemployment rise - a "perfect storm" of rising repossession rates and unemployment drives thousands more families into temporary accommodation (austerity wins!)
In Athens, Austerity’s Ugliness - NYTimes.com Europe declared war on Keynes, and Keynes is winning (you could also say that meaness, stupidity and greed are winning)
U.S. adds Vatican to money-laundering 'concern' list | Reuters he Vatican has for the first time appeared on the State Department's list of money-laundering centers but the tiny city-state is not rated as a high-risk country.

Mueller: I Can’t Say Whether I Now Can Kill Citizens In The United States Under Obama’s Kill Doctrine « Jonathan Turley (Obama's post-Constitutional National Security State)
The Answer, Robert Mueller, Is “Yes, DOJ Does Believe It Could Kill a Citizen in the US” | emptywheel
Dianne Feinstein Assures Us Her Review of Targeted Killing Is Adequate | emptywheel
Attorney General Holder defends execution without charges - Salon.com
UN top torture official denounces Bradley Manning’s detention - Salon.com Over the past year, the U.N. torture investigator repeatedly complained – including in official reprimands – that his investigation was being obstructed by the Obama administration, which refused to provide unmonitored access to interview Manning “Such a condition violates long-standing rules that the UN applies for prison visits and for interviews with inmates everywhere in the world.” (Obama is above all laws and civilized customs)
So It Was the FBI Threatening to Take Down the Internet, Then? | emptywheel As soon as the news came out today that Sabu, the head of LulzSec, offered an FBI computer to facilitate the publication of Stratfor (no doubt set up a LulzSec-assisted indictment of Julian Assange in the future)… - One other neat detail about the suggestion, of course, is that the CIA went around claiming to be FBI agents while they tortured people. Was this Sabu preparing to go around hacking for the FBI while hinting he was CIA? There re claims I am with the CIA pushing to get tighter / stricter cyber-laws passed (twisted people)
Indefinite Detention Targeted In Democratic Bill On Handling Terrorist Suspects (Obama will have to drone the Dems)

Rush Limbaugh And Birth Control: Anti-Science On The Airwaves (Dimbaugh is sex-obsessed but doesn't know how it works)
Limbaugh Says Female Wash. Post Writer Injected Her "B-I-Itchy Opinion" Into Her Reporting | Media Matters for America (keep digging, ratfuck)
Chatological Humor: Why 'fair comment' is not a defense for Rush Limbaugh - The Washington Post In short -- though Limbaugh doesn't address this in his mealy-mouthed, backhanded "apology" -- Limbaugh just made it all up, then went hog-wild, oinker-frenzy-wild, elaborating on it so he could call her names. Calling people names is bad, but calling people names based on your own invented calumny is the textbook definition of slander
pandagon.net - How Republicans completely misjudged this
Oral Contraceptives and Risk of Ovarian Cancer - National Cancer Institute
Kansas Abortion Bill Could Raise Taxes On Women Seeking Procedure (the slut tax on rape victims)
Texas Women’s Clinics Retreat as Finances Are Cut - NYTimes.com (more Republican war on women and the poor)
Balloon Juice » The war on contraception is not hyperbole, because there has been a dramatic shift on contraception in the GOP They can call it whatever they want, but the practical effect is loss of access to contraception. Mitt Romney, the “moderate”, opposes Title X funding. That’s how far Right they’ve gone on contraception.
Balloon Juice » Arizona Senate Passes Bill Permitting Doctors to Withhold Prenatal Information From Women regarding prenatal problems because disclosing that information might lead to an abortion .. not only are we withholding information, but we’re immunizing doctors from liability? (the Republican lie-to-your-patients bill, it's worked for them before)
Poll: Birth Control Issue Hurting Republicans in Battlegrounds | FDL News Desk
The PJ Tatler » A Nation of Mean Girls I listened yesterday as Rush Limbaugh made his apology to Sandra Fluke with disgust and anger. I understand Limbaugh’s reason for doing so, but I think to apologize to a mean girl and her posse is political suicide.
FAQ: The Price of Birth Control (#priceofbc) | ClearHealthCosts (uninsured birth control runs $40-$100/month in NYC area)
Subject for Debate: Are Women People? | TIME Ideas | TIME.com I’ve always assumed that women are fully autonomous human citizens—who vote, even!—but now I’m not so certain (no, they need the Catholic Bishops to tell them what to think)
On International Women's Day, Congress Debates Measure To Limit Reproductive Rights (Republican war on uteri)

Brian Levin, J.D.: U.S. Hate and Extremist Groups Hit Record Levels, New Report Says (America full of haters)
GOP Activists Worry Long Primary For Mitt Romney Could Weaken Him In General Election
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Circling the Drain Samuel Wurzelbacher, who has been milking his 15 minutes of “Joe the Plumber” fame for four years and counting, is running against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur for a Congressional seat - Apparently a tender blossom despite his rugged, wipe-clean exterior, Wurzelbacher thinks it’s out of bounds to be asked about homophobic comments he made a few years ago (i.e., “I wouldn’t have them anywhere near my children”) ... Once again, an ignorant Constitution-humper confuses “free speech” with “freedom from criticism.” It will be a pleasure to watch Marcy Kaptur plunge this gargantuan turd down the drainpipe.
Michele Bachmann: ‘Not Far-Fetched’ To Say Government Could Limit Number Of Babies Born Per Family | Mediaite (loop-de-loopy)
It's Always A Conspiracy: Derrick Bell Edition | Media Matters for America Yesterday, the Breitbart empire stepped up to the plate, called their shot, swung, missed, hit themselves in the face with the bat, then took a triumphant trot around the bases as spectators looked on with piteous and mocking wonder (wingnuts at work)
Shocking Breitbart Reveal: Black Man Hugs Another Black Man! | Angry Black Lady Chronicles - Apparently, Negroes hugging is the lesser known fifth horseman of the apocalypse.
The Story Behind the Obama Law School Speech Video | Government / Elections / Politics | frontline | PBS

What Do Americans Think Of Obama's Performance As A President? - Forbes (218 reasons to vote for Obama)

Hullabaloo Do government "elites" make our decisions? Incidentally, when it comes to enforcing austerity measures, negative polling doesn't seem to matter much to policy makers, who insist that they must look to economic long-term health to reduce deficits, even at the expense of short-term pain. This, even though the "science" on reducing deficits is bunk. And yet, make the same argument about climate change and politicians quiver in fear.
More Americans now believe in global warming - latimes.com After several years of finding that fewer and fewer Americans believed in man-made climate change, pollsters are now finding that belief is on the uptick ... Sixty-two percent of U.S. residents now believe in human-caused global warming, which is up from a low of 50% in spring 2010 (the limits of the big lie in the face of reality, but it's too late anyway)

What's Really Making Us Fat? - Kristin Wartman - Health - The Atlantic It may not be as simple as calories in, calories out. New research reveals a far more complex equation for weight gain that places at least some of the blame on organic pollutants.
Abortion-Depression Link Doesn't Hold Up, Mental Health Researchers Say "This is not a scholarly difference of opinion; their facts were flatly wrong. This was an abuse of the scientific process to reach conclusions that are not supported by the data" ... "The shifting explanations and misleading statements that they offered over the past two years served to mask their serious methodological errors."
Proposed nuclear clock may keep time with the Universe A proposed new time-keeping system tied to the orbiting of a neutron around an atomic nucleus could have such unprecedented accuracy that it neither gains nor loses 1/20th of a second in 14 billion years - the age of the Universe.

Shantelle Hicks, Pregnant 8th Grader, Outed To New Mexico School Assembly - Shantelle Hicks, a 15-year-old from Gallup, N.M. claims she was first forced to leave the Wingate Elementary School and then publicly outed as being pregnant in front of all students and employees
Pocket Parks Don’t Work in Downtown Silver Spring - Silver Spring, MD Patch Wasted space in our downtown needs to be a thing of the past ("parks" designed to keep people out)


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AFP: Earth braces for biggest space storm in five years
Massive solar storm heading for Earth | Science | The Guardian Airlines and energy suppliers are on alert as the largest solar storm in five years threatens to disrupt flights and power lines (Full Moon tomorrow)
Syria activists dismiss UN Baba Amr visit as 'a distraction' | World news | guardian.co.uk Main humanitarian need is for Assad militias to leave, activists say, as Valerie Amos inspects shattered district

Eurozone crisis live: Greece inches closer to debt swap target | Business | guardian.co.uk Dire industial output figures from Spain were published this morning (crush the workers with austerity, fail completely at economic policy, profit!)
German factory orders tumble unexpectedly in January By Forexpros (how's that beggar-thy-neighbor thing working out for you?)
Eschaton: Fortunately There's A Policy For That For a long time the people who ran the world has a social welfare function which was equal to GDP. Now their social welfare function is equal to some measure of banker feefees.


Eric Holder’s speech on targeted killings was incredibly unsatisfying. - Slate Magazine Eric Holder says the United States can kill American citizens overseas and he doesn’t think he should explain why (but won't use drones on citizens inside the country, for now)
More on Holder - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money
Cyber Attacks Could Be New Terrorist Threat, Says FBI "Terrorists have not used the Internet to launch a full-scale cyber attack, but we cannot underestimate their intent," Mueller said in prepared testimony to a House appropriations subcommittee.
WPR Article | Over the Horizon: The Future of American Hegemony

SignOn.org Beta - Clear Channel: Discontinue Rush Limbaugh's radio talk show (sign the petition, almost 400,000 have already, at 8PM EST the rate is over 100/minute)
Won’t Be Long Now, Folks! | Angry Black Lady Chronicles (a sign of things to come)
Team Uterati | All vaginas on deck! Republicans cannot defetus
Flowchart: Are You a Slut? | Mother Jones
Lessons From Limbaugh | The Nation - What do we learn from this story besides that Limbaugh apparently believes you have to take an additional pill every time you have sex, like, um, the Viagra pills he was found with when he returned from a Dominican vacation? (The Catholic church has no problem with covering boner pills, by the way, and they are routinely covered by insurance.)
Rush WeekThe 'Respectable' Punditocracy Joins the Rush Party - Esquire The counterattack from the defenders of porcine junkie sex-tourist Rush Limbaugh seems to be occurring on two fronts at once ... After spending two decades enabling Limbaugh's excesses, and telling us that he wielded political influence and powers far beyond those of mortal men, it's a little late to start telling me that he's really just the same as Bill Maher or Keith Olbermann or Matt Taibbi. (Remember, it was St. Tim Of Buffalo who put Limbaugh on Meet The Press back in 2004 (+Michael Kinsley, wanker for the sexist right)
Rush Limbaugh guest Tim Russert: "Should I nominate you" to be the next Meet the Press moderator? | Media Matters for America (your corporate media had no problem with feminzai Rush a few years ago, and still don't)
Caught On Tape: Limbaugh's Seventy Sexist Smears - YouTube (Limpdick is obsessed with sex)
Limbaugh Takes On Tracie McMillan, Author of “The American Way of Eating” - Duly Noted - Tracie McMillan is in Rush's crosshairs for being an "overeducated" white woman, i.e., someone who went out and did her own exhaustive investigation of a major social problem instead of listening to Limbaugh bloviate, or waiting for a husband to distill Rush's wisdom for her (more rightwingnut war on women)

Marcy Kaptur Beats Dennis Kucinich In Ohio 9th District Primary
Scott Walker Caught In Pre-Election Lie On Collective Bargaining Plans-Will Wisconsin Voters Care? - Forbes
Chellie Pingree Announces She Will Not Run For Retiring Senator Olympia Snowe's Seat in a head-to-head contest, Pingree would win. But when there was a three-way race, King was likely to come out ahead.
Hullabaloo Centrist Prom King - Pingree said she talked to King several times, but she could not persuade him to not to run. (Angus King, making sure Congress has even less women)
ME-Sen: Pingree Drops Out, Wanting to Avoid Battle With Angus King | FDL News Desk (she would have won if this asshole hadn't insisted in being in the race)
Clovis, New Mexico Elects Mayor Who Called Obama 'Carnal Manifestation Of Evil' A former New Mexico mayor who called President Barack Obama "the carnal manifestation of evil" and said Obama's election was part of a CIA conspiracy has been elected to his former job, according to unofficial results.

Extreme Poverty In The U.S. Has Doubled In The Last 15 Years | ThinkProgress
Does Rising Consumer Debt Show Strength or Stress?  - US Business News - CNBC
Workers, and NLRB, Under Attack | The Nation

Lawrence, Gideon, and Legal Storytelling - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money

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Netanyahu on Iran: 'None of us can afford to wait much longer' | World news | guardian.co.uk srael has waited for the international community to resolve the issue, Netanyahu said in his address, but diplomacy and sanctions have failed (US financed, of course)
Israel’s Channel 2: U.S. Officials Believe Netanyahu Has Already Decided to Strike Iran (he's billing it to you)
Syria: atrocities recalled by those fleeing Homs - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk US senator John McCain calls for air strikes against Assad • Syrian medics involved in torture according to new video (Volcano John: that was Libya, this is Syria, or something)
Putin makes his presence felt as protesters take to Moscow's streets | World news | The Guardian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny among those arrested after one of the biggest protests in Moscow for years
Netanyahu tells Obama: Israel must have right to remain 'master of its fate' | World news | guardian.co.uk Israeli PM insists he will decide whether to launch any attack against Iran at uneasy meeting with president at White House (Israel the boss of you)

Eurozone crisis live: FTSE 100 posts biggest fall of 2012 | Business | guardian.co.uk Eurostat has confirmed that the region shrank by 0.3% in the last three months of 2011. No change from the initial estimate (glorious elite austerity leaders killed the Eurozone economy)
G8 summit moved from Chicago to Camp David | World news | guardian.co.uk White House gives no reason for shift, saying only that Obama is inviting leaders to Maryland to 'facilitate free-flowing discussion' (with no fucking protestors)

News Corp dropped top US anti-bribery lawyer from its legal team | Media | guardian.co.uk Amid possible US prosecution, leading expert on FCPA stopped advising Murdoch empire soon after he was hired this summer - Under the FCPA, companies headquartered in the US, such as News Corp, are liable to prosecution if they can be shown to have engaged in bribery of officials in foreign countries for company gain.

US attorney general justifies 'targeted kill' programme | World news | guardian.co.uk Eric Holder outlines counter-terrorism programme under which al-Qaida operative Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen (don't need no steenking Constitution, either)
U.S. Can Kill American Citizens Without Trial: Eric Holder (no steenking trials, either)

The pro-choice reawakening - Birth Control - Salon.com - A new rise in anger at attacks on reproductive freedom (rise of the terrorist sluts; Bloomberg will track them and Holder will put them on the do not fly list)
The Economic Impact of the Pill - NYTimes.com the paper suggests that the pill accounted for 30 percent – 30 percent! – of the convergence of men’s and women’s earnings from 1990 to 2000 (why rich white men want to deny women access to contraception)
Should Rush Limbaugh Be On the Armed Forces Network? - Heather Michon - Open Salon
Ms. Magazine | The Scandal of Military Rape | fall 2008 the Department of Veteran’s Affairs reported that 20 percent of female veterans seen at its facilities nationwide said they had been raped or sexually assaulted while serving. Other veteran studies put the incidence of rape at 30 percent: nearly one-third of all women in the military force (programming a culture of rape)
Women vets want Limbaugh off of AFN - Stripes Central - Stripes now a progressive veterans group is taking aim, urging the Pentagon to kick Limbaugh off American Forces Network airwaves (your taxpayer dollars at work creating rightwing misogynistic troops)
Limbaugh: "I Acted Too Much Like The Leftists Who Despise Me" | Media Matters for America (all those hate-filled librals you hear on talk radio all the time)
Rush Limbaugh: Radio Stations Drop Show As Sandra Fluke Controversy Rages On
alicublog - Today In Rush Limbaugh Nonsense: Not only is the slut fucking 50 guys, she's also ramming it down their throats! It's practically the perfect conservative sex nightmare; all it lacks is Fluke demanding an orgasm. (they are always complaining about something being "rammed down their throats")
Rightbloggers Ride Rush Limbaugh's Slut Wagon Into a Ditch - New York News - Runnin' Scared
Democratic Women Seize The Spotlight In GOP’s Contraception War | TPM2012 (war on vaginas)
Balloon Juice » In Defense of Sluts “In 2012, women who like sex are called sluts. Men who like sex are called… men,” - 95% reported they had had premarital sex; 93% said they did so by age 30. Among women born in the 1940s, nearly nine in 10 did (95% of women are sluts)
Roy Blunt Booed, Called 'Devil'
Jon Stewart Slams Rush Limbaugh's Sandra Fluke Comments: 'He Is A Terrible Person' (VIDEO)
Do not let up! Here are the companies that advertised on Rush's show yesterday : politics
Boycott Rush: Netflix, Clear Channel, LifeLock Targeted As Controversy Swells
Who's Advertising On Rush Limbaugh? | Media Matters for America (34 down)
Daily Kos: A Challenge to Rush: Prove Your Ratings How many listeners does Rush Limbaugh have? Well, in the press there are only two numbers you'll ever see -- 20 million or 15 million. Those are large numbers, so that is why Limbaugh is taken seriously and is believed to be influential ...I've got news for you -- those numbers are a total fabrication.
Lisa Murkowski Regrets Voting For Blunt Amendment - Murkowski voted in lockstep with most of her party (too late, asshole)
Political Animal - The “Messaging Amendment” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted last week for the unsuccessful Blunt Amendment that would have repealed any contraception coverage mandate for any employer who claimed to object to it on religious or moral grounds. Now she says she regrets that vote, because, it appears, it sent the wrong “message,” ... So she was voting for a “message,” not an actual amendment that would have actual consequences for actual women.

Solitary Confinement, Its Effects, and Its Overuse - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money an estimated 80,000 Americans — many with no record of violence either inside or outside prison — are living in seclusion (America loves torture)
The Gray Box: An investigative look at solitary confinement – Dart Society Reports (rampant human-rights violations in America)
Prison Deaths And Overcrowding: Are The Two Linked?

Bruce Bartlett: Fanning the Flames of Class Warfare - NYTimes.com from 2009-10, the top 1 percent captured 93 percent of all the real income growth in the United States. Their incomes grew 12 percent while those of the bottom 99 percent grew 0.2 percent (the rich are hurting)

alicublog - Can They Both Lose? Apparently after years of funding Cato, the Koches think it's time they turned the policy shop into a straight-up propaganda vehicle, and are trying to muscle some of their flunkies onto the Cato board -- including the human waste product John "Hindrocket" Hinderaker of Power Line.
DownWithTyranny!: OMG! LOL! Charles Koch tries to regain control of the "think" tank he left behind
News Desk: The Kochs vs. Cato : The New Yorker - Jane Mayer - The arch-conservative billionaire Koch Brothers have sued the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington—often mistakenly seen as merely a tentacle, if not mouthpiece, for the Kochtopus—for control of Cato. Slate’s Jacob Weisberg wryly tweeted: “Brothers sue to regain ownership of CATO. Like the Iran-Iraq War, but better.” (muhahaha)

Stock Market Suffers Worst Selloff Of Year, Losing Battle Against Reality
In Super Tuesday's Shadow, Ohio's Poorest Struggle To Rise (by definitely voting Republican)
Ann Romney: 'I Don't Consider Myself Wealthy' | ThinkProgress Apparently “Romneying” — defined as “accidentally bragging about your place high up in the economic stratosphere” — runs in the family.

Pat Robertson: Tornadoes Could Have Been Stopped If People Had Prayed (that always works)

NASA to use Virginia site to launch five rockets in experiment visible along Eastern Seaboard
Nature News Blog: Embattled scientists publish study linking (surprise) diesel exhaust and cancer Perhaps it was the fear of this exact scenario that led a coalition of industrial interests to wage a 17-year legal and political battle against government scientists conducting the study — a battle that now appears to have outlived its purpose thanks to a 29 February ruling from the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

How Ayn Rand became the new right's version of Marx | George Monbiot | Comment is free | The Guardian Her psychopathic ideas made billionaires feel like victims and turned millions of followers into their doormats (teh stupid is burning)

Paula Deen, Brother Sued For Sexual Harassment (more skeletons)
Detroit cinema sued over snack prices | Film | guardian.co.uk Joshua Thompson, a Michigan resident, is taking his local AMC theatre to court over charges for sweets and soft drinks

Uncle Sam: If It Ends in .Com, It's .Seizable | Threat Level | Wired.com (all your TLD's are belong to us +this could collide with "foreign laws don't apply to US corps")
BBC News - BT and Talk Talk lose file-sharing appeal The Act will mean ISPs will have to send warning letters to alleged illegal file downloaders, as well as potentially cutting users off
Taylor Sauer Died While Driving And Facebooking; Now Parents Want To Make It Illegal (VIDEO) she was posting about every 90 seconds during her drive, according to Idaho State Police Lt. Sheldon Kelley.

030512
Israel-Iran Tension Mounts: Live Updates On The Drumbeat Of War (led by Jewish neo-cons)
Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu talks – live | World news | guardian.co.uk Last year, Netanyahu established who was really in charge when he humiliated Obama by lecturing him in public at the White House on the Holocaust and Israel's history (who's your daddy, Barack?)
Political Animal - Obama Draws His Own Lines at AIPAC the President’s speech to AIPAC was a pretty big deal: “Given tensions with Iran and the rhetoric of the Republican presidential primary campaign, the importance of this speech as both a piece of diplomacy and one of political position really can’t be overstated.” (extreme rightwing war-hungry at America's expense Netanyahu is unhappy)
Political Animal - Paul Pillar: War With Iran Worse Than Nuclear Iran Pillar reviews the evidence and concludes that those urging confrontation with Iran are replaying the tapes of the runup to the Iraq War, articulating a worst-case scenario of the implications of a nuclear Iran along with a best-case scenario of what a military “solution” would actually entail (let's see if America has learning anything, and will continue to listen the Israel and Israel-first AIPAC)
Obama, Iran and preventive war - Salon.com
Iranian court dismisses death sentence against American 'spy' | World news | The Guardian Arizona-born Amir Mirza Hekmati, 28, had been accused of spying for the CIA and receiving training at US bases in Afghanistan and Iraq
Valerie Amos and Kofi Annan to visit Syria - Monday 5 March 2012 | World news | guardian.co.uk Red Cross allowed into Homs but not Baba Amr
Russia Elections: Observers Report 'Serious Problems' In Russian Vote
Al-Qaida raids on Yemen army bases leave more than 100 soldiers dead | World news | The Guardian Surprise attack in southern Abyan province is latest assault by militants emboldened by political turmoil in Yemen
Australian Muslim women must show faces for identity checks under new law | World news | The Guardian Anyone wanting a document witnessed in New South Wales must remove face coverings such as burqas or niqabs
Cardinal Keith O'Brien's gay marriage comments decried as scaremongering | World news | The Guardian Downing Street reiterates David Cameron's support on issue after Britain's most senior Catholic described it as 'madness' (said the world's largest pedophile organization)
Police are linked to blacklist of construction workers | Technology | The Observer Security services 'gave data to clandestine organisation funded by major names in building industry' ... records that could only have come from the police or MI5 have been discovered in a vast database of files held on 3,200 victims who were deemed leftwing or troublesome. (not rightwing enough to get a job)

Inside Japan’s Nuclear Meltdown | Frontline | PBS (yes, it was much worse than they told us)

Greek Bond Swap Deal Rests on Knife Edge - Business News - CNBC (this week's daily Greek crisis)
Unemployment matters more than GDP or inflation | Mehdi Hasan | Comment is free | The Guardian Jobless figures are the one major economic indicator that measures people. And they demonstrate the toll in misery across Europe - How many more of Europe's jobs will be sacrificed at the altar of deficit reduction? How many more lives ruined, families impoverished and communities destroyed in pursuit of growth-choking, job-killing, self-defeating austerity
Eschaton: Great Evil We can debate forever the stupid or evil question, but whatever the intentions of the various governments and powerful non-governmental actors, their actions are incredibly destructive.

Britain's Ex-Top Cop Paul Stephenson: Too Much Police-Press Gossip (just a little gossip, that's all)
FBI Expands News Corp. Investigation To Russia: Report The FBI is investigating whether a Russian billboard company once owned by media giant News Corp. bribed local officials to get sign placements approved (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)

US to outline legal backing for 'targeted kill' programme | World news | The Guardian Speech by attorney general to address use of lethal force against Americans overseas who are suspected of plotting terrorist attacks ("we will kill whoever the fuck we want whereever and whenever the fuck we want")
The Conservatives' contact with News International | News | guardian.co.uk The close relations between David Cameron and top executives of News Corp and News International have been the focus of much scrutiny. See who met whom and when (Murdoch was running Cameron)
Phone hacking: what happened when? Visualised | News | guardian.co.uk The phone hacking scandal has become so complicated we wanted to create the ultimate wallchart showing what happened when in the affair. When was Clive Goodman first arrested? When did the News of the World close?

Supreme Court Expands Corporate Human Rights Case, Avoids Corporate Liability Question Monday's order, however, pushes aside the question of corporate liability to address a less politically explosive, but much more consequential question: whether any entity -- individual, state, corporation -- can be brought to justice in U.S. courts for abuses committed abroad

The Republican party declares war on women | Diane Roberts | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk The more Republican candidates pitch for social conservative votes, the more we see the misogyny of America's religious right (Christian wingnuts have always hated women, etc)
Political Animal - The “So’s Your Old Man” Defense Can’t Work With Rush As Rush Limbaugh undoubtedly simmers in fury that he was forced to make an extraordinarily half-hearted “apology” to Sandra Fluke that repeats everything in the original assault other than the profanity, and as advertisers for his show continue to drift away, some of Rush’s buddies are attempting the oldest response in the book: the “So’s your old man” argument (because "the left" is just as bad)
Are we being fair to Rush Limbaugh? - CNN.com This was not a case of a bad "word choice." It was a brutally sexualized accusation, against a specific person, prolonged over three days ... And the good news is that from the bottom of the barrel, there is nowhere to go but up (there is no bottom to the Republican party - see the comments)
Nancy Pelosi Calls Sandra Fluke
Balloon Juice » The Lies of the Right and Rush Limbaugh, Sandra Fluke Edition

Erika Christakis: Let's Not Forget, Men Have Sex Too | TIME Ideas | TIME.com The nation's women are being treated like naughty schoolgirls sent to the principal's office while the guys get a hall pass (elephant in the room dept: for every slut there is a slutter)

Don Imus Calls Rush Limbaugh An 'Insincere Pig' For 'Vile, Personal Attack' On Sandra Fluke
ABC News' George Will Condemns Republicans Over Sandra Fluke Response: 'Republican Leaders Are Afraid Of Rush Limbaugh' (video)
Rush Limbaugh Boycott: Reddit, Twitter, Facebook Users Take Part
Sandra Fluke Dismisses Rush Limbaugh's Apology (classy lady)
Rush Limbaugh, AOL Part Ways (why were these companies supporting Rushbigot in the first place?)
Chris Wallace: Fox News Does Cover Contraception (video) "When it comes to contraception, you know the idea that — and we’re not talking about religious institutions. According to the Blunt amendment, any — U.S. Steel, as I said, Fox News, any company could simply decide, we are not going to offer that. An insurance company could decide, one that has no ties to any religious organization."
Joe Scarborough Calls Out Republicans Over Contraception: 'What Is Wrong With These People?' (insane sexist bigots?)
Rush Limbaugh's Advertisers Facing Social Media Firestorm | ThinkProgress (the internets fight back)
10th And 11th Advertisers Drop Limbaugh | ThinkProgress

Balloon Juice » The trust deficit Translation: Obama has almost twenty points on any Republican re: trust on both the ACA and Medicare ... Republican women oppose contraception coverage, and they discovered they opposed it much, much more once they found out Democrats supported it, but they weren’t voting for us anyway (the only thing dumber than a Republican man is a Republican woman)

Rise Of Faith Within GOP Has Created America's First Religious Party
Political Animal - Mitt Romney and the GOP Slough of Despond You will note that “too extreme” is not one of the words that pops up
The Makings of a Strong Super Tuesday for Mitt Romney - NYTimes.com
Is the establishment (finally) coming around on Mitt Romney? - The Washington Post
God-botherer calls collect | Firedoglake Aspiring Cardinal Rick Santorum was interviewed by the generally enabling Fox employee Chris Wallace yesterday and asked how charitable he is in comparison to more allegedly heretical types (evil, stingy, creepy)
Rick Santorum: All For Me, Not For Thee Or Charity | Crooks and Liars That's a pretty rich answer coming from the guy who thinks insurers should be able to completely exclude children and adults alike for pre-existing conditions. Let's not forget that Mr. Santorum has the very best insurance money can buy courtesy of the United States taxpayers, but it still didn't cover those private nurses and other expenses little Bella needs - The two candidates who claim to be the most religious lagged far behind. (hypocitical, stupid, evil)
New Yorker Mitt Romney Cover: Magazine Shows Candidate Driving With Rick Santorum In A Doghouse (photo)
Balloon Juice » Open Thread: Suffer Little Children (creepiest thing you'll see all week)

States of Depression - NYTimes.com In fact, if it weren’t for this destructive fiscal austerity, our unemployment rate would almost certainly be lower now than it was at a comparable stage of the “Morning in America” recovery during the Reagan era (Saint Reagan believed in stimulus)
Scott Brown Got $940,000+ From Financial Services | ThinkProgress

Climate change could make Canada's traditional ice hockey extinct | Environment | The Guardian Milder winters with shorter ice season and unfrozen lakes could render much loved winter sport unplayable, study claims ("warmist propaganda")
Hullabaloo Another day, another proof of the desperate need to act on climate change (Republicans lied while the world burned)

Libertarian Ed Crane Decides to Act Like a Liberal. Will It Destroy the Cato Institute? | RedState (Erick, son of Erick wants Koch Bros to control Cato, which they did anyway)

Can the shale gas boom save Ohio? - The Washington Post
Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France - The Washington Post In 2009, Americans spent $7,960 per person on health care. Our neighbors in Canada spent $4,808. The Germans spent $4,218. The French, $3,978. If we had the per-person costs of any of those countries, America’s deficits would vanish (higher prices; putting everyone on Medicare would solve a lot of problems)

Pew Study: Newspaper Digital Ad Revenue Not Making Up For Print Losses

Balloon Juice » More Paywall Failure The Wall Street Journal has a round-up of newspaper paywalls, and it ain’t pretty: The Boston Globe has sold about 16,000 digital subscriptions, which include those for mobile devices, in the three months after it launched a paid website last fall, compared with its daily print circulation of about 200,000. (who could have predicted?)
Could your Facebook page ruin your job prospects? | Education | guardian.co.uk Terrified of employers scouring their Facebook pages for signs of fecklessness, students have started deleting content and hiding their identity. Are they over-reacting? (you think you can delete shit from Facebook? muhahaha)
The internet and the canal - Blog - The Arabist highlights how Egypt, or to be more specific the Suez Canal, is one of the world's major choke points for data traffic between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

030412
Russia Elections: Putin Expected To Win, Critics Plan Protests
Putin claims victory in Russia election – live blog | World news | guardian.co.uk We have won' says Vladimir Putin as he prepares to return to presidency amid accusations of voting fraud
Syrians flee Homs for Lebanon | World news | The Guardian Up to 2,000 refugees reach border, but fate of thousands unknown as Red Cross still denied access to Baba Amr
Brazzaville arms dump explosions leave hundreds dead | World news | The Guardian Series of large explosions in Brazzaville kills at least 200 people and shatters windows across the Congo river in Kinshasa
Yemen soldiers killed in clashes with al-Qaida militants | World news | The Guardian At least 35 troops die in fierce fighting following suicide bombings at military position in southern city of Zinjibar
Iranian human rights lawyer jailed for 18 years | World news | The Guardian Abdolfattah Soltani found guilty of spreading anti-government propaganda and sent to remote prison, says daughter
Tibetan woman dies after setting herself on fire in protest at Chinese rule | World news | The Guardian The 32-year-old woman is the 23rd Tibetan to self-immolate in the past year, of whom 16 have died
Poland train crash leaves dozens dead or injured | World news | guardian.co.uk Head-on collision happened during maintenance work, as a result of which one train ended up on the wrong track

Barack Obama tells Israel conference: 'too much loose talk of war' | World news | The Guardian In address to Aipac, president says world has responsibility to discourage Tehran from pursuing nuclear weapon (Israel first AIPAC beating the drums of war)

Petitions | The White House: Sec. Panetta, Get Rush Limbaugh Off Armed Forces Radio NOW! No tax money for abusive, divisive, insulting language. (Military broadcasts Rush to the troops so they will know how to behave towards women)
George Will Blasts GOP Candidates' Meek Response To Rush: 'They Want To Bomb Iran, But They're Afraid Of Limbaugh' | ThinkProgress Will mocked Speaker John Boehner for calling Rush’s language “inappropriate ” as comically weak, noting “using a salad fork for your entree, that’s inappropriate.”
Blogger Ace Of Spades Calls Sandra Fluke "A Shiftless Rent-A-Cooch From East Whoreville" | Media Matters for America (inside the conservative male mind)

New York Times Weighs In On Muslim Surveillance Program By NYPD, Calls Out Mayor Bloomberg ... for his full-throated defense of the department amid concerns about violations of civil liberties ... The mayor insists that the actions reported by The A.P. were “legal,” “appropriate” and “constitutional.” He also says the police were only “following leads.” But he has yet to explain what sort of leads (all Muslims are leads; Bloomberg and his dual loyalties: Israel and billionaires)

Massachusetts Senate Race 2012 Could Be Most Expensive In State's History
Another Poll Shows Brown Leading Warren It's the latest in a series of polls over the last two weeks showing Brown with a lead.
Santorum: Contraception a 'Grievous Moral Wrong' | Video Cafe (Santorum to 99% of women: you're sluts)
Virginia Police Arrest 31 At Women's Rights Demonstration | ThinkProgress Del. Delores L. McQuinn (D) said there had been an “overabundance” of police at recent women’s rights protests — she had “never seen a similar police presence when guns rights advocates assemble on Capitol Square.”
Santorum backs nullifying existing gay marriages Rick Santorum says he'll try to unmarry all of them if he's elected president ... Once the U.S. Constitution is amended to prohibit same-gender marriages, "their marriage would be invalid,"

Balloon Juice » Here’s Another Delusional Right-Wing Liar Karen Handel, the former senior vice president of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, accused Planned Parenthood of extortion during an appearance on the Christian Broadcasting Network. (and the board of Komen hasn't resigned?)
Balloon Juice » Nancy Pelosi Is A Very Wise Woman Greg Sargent at his Washington Post blog has a long interview with She Who Knows. Worth reading both parts of the whole thing, but I particularly liked her summary of the horrible Ryan-Wyden Medicare-gutting plan:

Doublethink doubleplusungood — Crooked Timber The news that Republican members of the Wyoming Legislature wanted the state to investigate buying an aircraft carrier[1] as insurance against a possible collapse of the US seems as good an occasion as any to signify the final descent of the party into irredeemable loopiness. Add to that the revival of birtherism, the inability to deal with Rush Limbaugh, and the absence of any coherent economic policy except tax cuts for the rich and you have a party that has seriously lost touch with reality.

Hullabaloo "People who don't have money, don't understand the stress" - In 2010, average real income per family grew by 2.3% (Table 1) but the gains were very uneven. Top 1% incomes grew by 11.6% while bottom 99% incomes grew only by 0.2%. Hence, the top 1% captured 93% of the income gains in the first year of recovery.
When Living in Limbo Avoids Living on the Street - NYTimes.com Forced by the harsh realities of the real estate market, lenders are increasingly likely to allow defaulting owners to remain in their homes — a change in attitude and strategy that is helping to buoy some neighborhoods while further slowing the nation’s foreclosure process.
Eschaton: Because They Are Assholes The financial incentives are all messed up in the housing/mortgage markets these days, but it shouldn't have taken so long for financial institutions to realize that it would often be better to leave people in their homes than to kick them out. Abandoned homes can deteriorate really fast. They wanted to punish the moochers and parasites who forced them to lend them money.
Morgan Stanley Exec Charged With Hate Crime - Bloomberg William Bryan Jennings, Morgan Stanley’s bond-underwriting chief in the U.S., was charged with a hate crime in the stabbing of a New York City cab driver of Middle Eastern descent over a fare (they already stabbed America in the back)

Police agencies in the United States to begin using drones in 90 days | Deep Green Resistance News Service ("they looked like terrorists so we blew them up")
Nixon’s secret shrink - nypost.com

Hot On Pinterest: 5 Pinners To Follow Now


030312
Rescued Photographer: In Syria 'It's Not A War, It's A Massacre' : The Two-Way : NPR
Red Cross blocked as shelling spreads across Homs | World news | guardian.co.uk Syrian activists report heavy bombardment in several districts including those in which Baba Amr residents had sought refuge
US troops could face disciplinary action over Qur'an burning in Afghanistan | World news | guardian.co.uk Afghan-US military inquiry may lead to review of at least five personnel despite concluding burning of texts unintentional
Eschaton: ARE IRAN'S LEADERS RATIONAL ACTORS???? Or are they crazy evil lunatics who like to start random wars with tragic consequences for all involved. This is a very serious discussion topic.

David Cameron And Rebekah Brooks' Police Horse: UK PM Admits Riding Raisa Police have insisted the 22-year-old horse was not a gift to Brooks, who has since resigned her top media job and been arrested and questioned, but not charged, in the scandal. But Cameron is a good friend of the couple, and questions about the horse pursued him all the way to a European summit

Attack on Vatican Web Site Offers View of Hacker Group’s Tactics - NYTimes.com "What set this attack apart from others is it had a clear timeline and evolution," said Amichai Shulman, Imperva's technology chief.
NASA says it was hacked 13 times last year | Reuters NASA said hackers broke into its computer systems 13 times last year, stealing employee credentials and gaining access to mission-critical projects in breaches that could compromise U.S. national security (way to go, rocket scientists)

BP settles Gulf of Mexico oil spill lawsuit | Environment | guardian.co.uk $7.8bn payout will compensate thousands of individuals and comes ahead of trial due to begin on Monday

Tornadoes kill at least 29 across US | World news | guardian.co.uk Storms sweeping across the US midwest and south have flattened small towns, with many more missing
Indiana Tornado Outbreak 2012: More Than 30 People Killed As Violent Storms Hit Indiana, Kentucky
Another Line Of Perfectly Normal Monster Tornadoes Rip Midwest, South, Kill 28 People | Crooks and Liars

The NYPD spying controversy: a microcosm for the 9/11 era - Salon.com The NYPD spying program exposed by Associated Press may be the most flagrant instance in the War on Terror where “being Muslim” is overtly equated by a government agency to being a Terror threat.
Ex-Senators Graham and Kerrey See Possible Saudi 9/11 Link - NYTimes.com
War on Terror logic and the Saudis - Salon.com - one of the towering, central contradictions in War on Terror logic: namely, that the only foreign government which likely had any connection to 9/11 is the one which is the least likely to be attacked by the U.S. - Meanwhile, the U.S. in just the last three years alone — in the name of 9/11 and Terrorism — has dropped bombs on at least six Muslim countries whose governments had no connection whatsoever to 9/11 (the Times has always had dual loyalty, if you can call Israel first dual)
The Angry Arab News Service/????? ????? ?????? ??????: New York Times New York Times casually open its op-ed pages for Israeli officials or former Israeli officials to call for and agitate for bombing of Iran, or some Arab country. Would the New York Times allow Arabs to write "opinion pieces" in which they call for bombing of Israel?

22 U.S. senators call for marriage equality plank in Dem platform | Washington Blade - America's Leading Gay News Source (where are the rest of them?)

Obama rides wave of economic recovery as the Republicans continue to feud | World news | The Observer The Democrats are increasingly optimistic that the president will win a second term, as Mitt Romney faces test of Super Tuesday (a perfect storm of clowns)
Rick Santorum vs. Mitt Romney: Can the G.O.P. save itself? : The New Yorker (no; reaping the whirlwind sowed by the Teahadists)

Olympia Snowe’s Strange Martyrdom -- Daily Intel - If a Gingrich administration proposed spending a trillion dollars to erect a 100- foot-tall solid-gold Winston Churchill statue on Mars, Snowe would no doubt decide, after careful deliberation, that the wise course was to trim the height down to 90 feet and perhaps use a cheaper bronze alloy in the base.(Queen Olympia)
Olympia Snowe and the Fecklessness of the Moderates
How Olympia Snowe's "Moderation" Hurt the Economy She's partly to thank for a smaller stimulus, fewer jobs, and a slower recovery.
alicublog - The Saving Remnant - Olympia Snowe has turned out the lights in the sane-people wing of the Republican Party, and the boys in the psych ward are pulling faces at her through the caged glass. Timothy P. Carney tries to tell us that the moderates are actually what people hate about Republicans, and now that they're gone everything's gonna be fine.
The 2012 Speculatron Weekly Roundup For March 2, 2012 So instead of a quality contest that pitted two candidates at their best, we got a joke of a race that ended with two frontrunners collapsed and gasping at the finish line, lucky that they didn't have any serious competition from a third party.

Class warfare in the USA: Anti-unionism and the legislative agenda of the 1% | Radical Philosophy

The United States of Fear : Six Questions for Tom Engelhardt—By Scott Horton (Harper's Magazine) The U.S. legal system, which still applies to you and me, really no longer applies to the national-security state. What the last decade-plus should have taught anyone working in that world is: no matter how extreme or potentially illegal your actions may be, American justice no longer applies to you ... only one prosecutable crime exists today—under the Espionage Act, no less—for anyone in the complex: whistleblowing. In other words: do what you want, just don’t tell Americans what goes on in these precincts or we’ll take you down.

Death threats, intimidation and abuse: climate change scientist Michael E. Mann counts the cost of honesty | Science | The Observer Research by Michael E. Mann confirmed the reality of global warming. Little did he know that it would also expose him to a vicious hate campaign (Republicans are always vicious)

The mean-girl advice of What To Expect When You’re Expecting. - Slate Magazine The mean-girl advice of What To Expect When You’re Expecting.
Mo Willems’ meditation on death. - Slate Magazine A tribute to the most existentially terrifying kids’ book ever written.

N.F.L. Says Some Saints Paid Bounties for Injured Opponents - NYTimes.com members of the New Orleans Saints’ defense maintained a lucrative bounty system that paid players for injuring opponents, according to an extensive investigation by the N.F.L. (the culture is rotten)

Has Rush Limbaugh Finally Gone Too Far in Slut-Shaming Sandra Fluke? (Republicans never go too far)
Fox Nation Headline: 'Is Sandra Fluke A Fame-Hungry Activist?'
Rush Limbaugh Tribute - YouTube "Three Strikes You're Out" a song by Buddy Tabor performed by Buddy Tabor and Albert McDonnell
Why Does Rush Limbaugh Get Away With Calling a Young Woman a 'Slut'? - Conor Friedersdorf - Politics - The Atlantic Many conservatives ignore or excuse in the talk-radio host behavior that they'd be horrified to engage in themselves (shrug; they get away with everything)
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » “Slut” is the New “Liberal” Proving that Rush runs the conversation in the Republican Party, the California Republicans’ Communications Director has rolled out her new strategy—if you disagree with Rush, then you’re a slut ... Any moron can see that a half dozen old white bishops and rabbis aren’t upset about the First Amendment—they’re pissed that they don’t control when, where and how women have sex
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Just another failed ideology The fact that so many people are being so silent, and making so many excuses for what is perhaps one of the more disgusting things I’ve heard come out of the mouth of a public figure in a quite some time is a pretty sad indictment of what American conservatism has turned into thanks to the likes of Rush Limbaugh.
Yes, Rush Limbaugh Is A Jerk

Kemper ARTcast: Interview With The Artist Eric Fertman | KCUR
John Leonard’s Reading for My Life, reviewed. - Slate Magazine

Windows 8 Consumer Preview: Push Button Reset

030212
Obama warns Iran as he seeks to reassure Israel ahead of crucial talks | World news | guardian.co.uk In advance of meeting with Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu, Obama said he hopes Israel understands 'I don't bluff' on Iran
Obama To Iran And Israel: 'I Don't Bluff'
Israel confirms plans to test missile system as Obama meeting looms | World news | guardian.co.uk First test of Arrow 3 interceptor system intensifies speculation Israel is planning for military confrontation with Iran
Syria Crisis: Red Cross Headed For Homs Amid Rumors Of Execution Style Killings
Pakistan: Clashes Between Militants, Soldiers Claim At Least 33 Lives
Iran Elections 2012: Parliament Hardliners Expected To Get Boost
CIA tactics to trap Bin Laden linked with polio crisis, say aid groups | World news | The Guardian CIA's ploy to use a fake vaccination scheme to track down bin Laden has increased distrust of polio drops in Pakistan

Indiana bears brunt as US storm system inflicts 'extreme damage' | World news | guardian.co.uk At least three fatalities reported in fresh rash of storms in Indiana as destruction worsens across American midwest and south

Four Fiscal Phonies - NYTimes.com all four significant Republican presidential candidates still standing are fiscal phonies. They issue apocalyptic warnings about the dangers of government debt and, in the name of deficit reduction, demand savage cuts in programs that protect the middle class and the poor. But then they propose squandering all the money thereby saved — and much, much more — on tax cuts for the rich ... a major redistribution of income away from working-class Americans toward the very, very rich.

The Vacuous Legacy of Olympia Snowe - Lawyers, Guns & Money - And, in the case of the stimulus, the arbitrary cuts she forced to the most useful parts of the already-too-small stimulus package actively hurt the American public.
Snowe Sets Off Mad Scramble For Maine Senate Seat | TPM2012

Sandra Fluke Receives Call From Obama After Rush Limbaugh 'Slut' Comments
Rush Limbaugh 'Slut' Comments Drive Georgetown To Defend Student Sandra Fluke
Day After Blunt Amendment, Republicans Vow “Fight is Not Over” | FDL News Desk
Jon Stewart Rips Blunt Amendment, Mitt Romney For Flip-Flopping On It (video)
Hullabaloo - The live free or die in childbirth state - New Hampshire, one of the least religious states in the nation, has become the latest front in the political battle over contraception. (live free and let the Catholic Bishops run your health plan)
Hullabaloo - Rush Limbaugh Has No Idea How Birth Control Works - The Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke story is starting to become surreal. It's flabbergasting to watch the rightwing media machine self-immolate not only over social issues when any rational observer knows that economic issues are the safest path back to power, but over contraception of all things.
Hullabaloo - Welfare sluts and the men who hate them - Jezebel is featuring some of the letters they've been getting from right wing throwbacks defending their hero, Rush Limbaugh: Mammograms are the convenant, the sacred covenant of feminazism" (just die, sluts)
A Tiny Revolution: The Y Chromsome Is the Scariest Chromosome of All When I see things like this, my main concern isn't that it will be harder to get contraception. It's that a lot of powerful people are so weirdly angry that they're going to obliterate human civilization. Here's something that the writer John Ralston Saul said about this:
Rush Limbaugh Calls Sarah Fluke A "slut" For Supporting Obama Regulation That Makes Birth Control Coverage Mandatory For Health Insurance | The New Republic
Balloon Juice » Speaking of “Both Sides Do It” Nonsense This condemnation of Rush by the WaPo editorial board is a masterpiece in the “both sides do it” genre: Who is the left-wing equivalent of Rush Limbaugh?
Cruelty, Cont. - Ta-Nehisi Coates - Politics - The Atlantic Nevertheless, influence or not, it is worth calling this what is is--the normalization of cruelty--and asserting, no matter how redundant, that is wrong and evidence of the lowest aspects of humanity (Republicans dragging us to the bottom of human nature)
Clinton and Health Care: On Deaf Ears - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money On Deaf Ears evaluates the evidence with respect to the “bully pulpit” effect in several ways. He examines the secondary literature, which going back to FDR and his fireside chats finds no evidence on a bully pulpit effect (it wouldn't have helped if Obama hadn't had his head in the sand for two years)

Holding Their Manhoods Tweetly | TBogg Conservatives are having their I Am Spartacus moment wherein they pledge their eternal fealty to the departed spirit of Andrew Breitbart and promise to dedicate their lives to blog readin’, fierce commenting, twitter-twatting and other types of internet bravado that can easily be done whilst perched upon the couch armed only with The Laptop of Unrelenting Truth and LOLing
Daily Kos: Breitbart's "Eulogy" for Senator Kennedy "Kennedy was a special pile of human excrement,”
Matt Taibbi’s Wikipedia Defaced After Writing He “Couldn’t Be Happier” Breitbart Died | The Jane Dough
Slideshow: The Weekly Standard’s Obsession With Hippies Continues | The New Republic
America's Top Magazines: Still Not Hiring Women | ThinkProgress
Ten Women Major Magazines Should Be Commissioning | ThinkProgress

Newt Gingrich Leaves 30-Year Trail Of Debts, Lawsuits And Bankruptcies In His Wake (always was just another grifter)

Report: Morgan Stanley Managing Director Arrested And Charged With Hate Crime For Allegedly Stabbing A Cab Driver (the 1% is enraged)
Mansion servant enslaved by uber-rich New York family for nearly six years | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News - A wealthy New York woman is facing criminal charges after being accused of keeping an illegal immigrant as an indentured servant and forcing her to live in a closet for nearly six years.

The Elusive Qualified Employee by Daniel Luzer | Washington Monthly (America's disinvestment in higher education)
Virginia court rejects sceptic's bid for climate science emails | Environment | guardian.co.uk Campaign by attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, to gain access to Michael Mann's material, is dismissed by state supreme court
Perry Stein: Why Do Cats Run The Internet? A Scientific Explanation | The New Republic

Wilmington City Council Passes Resolution Urging 'Personhood' Rights For Sperm he Wilmington City Council has a message for men -- sperm are people, too. The council for Delaware's largest city passed a resolution by an 8-4 vote Thursday calling on the Delaware legislature, other state legislatures and the U.S. Congress to pass laws granting "personhood" rights to eggs and sperm.
Ken Mehlman: 'I Am Sorry' For Role In 2004 Anti-Gay Marriage Push (sure you are, Kenny-boy)
Dorothy Bond, Tennessee High School Principal, Resigns Amidst Reports She Made Homophobic Remarks To Students - she directly pointed to the gay people and said if you're gay, you're going to hell and if you're pregnant, your life is over" (so's your job, sweetie)

Bob Dylan - Time Out Of Mind - ' Til i fell in love with you ' - YouTube
Bob Dylan - Trying to Get to Heaven - YouTube - Everyday your memory grows dimmer, it doesn't hunt me like? it did before. I've been walking through the middle of nowhere, trying to get to heaven before they close the door
Bob Dylan - Make you feel my love - YouTube

Apple'S Tv Dream Revealed: Embarrass Hardware Makers, Stiff Content Providers, Destroy Cable Companies - BusinessInsider.com Embarrass Hardware Makers, Stiff Content Providers, Destroy Cable Companies
Dear People Who Think Apple Is Going To $1,000 A Share: Here's Why You Might Be Idiots ... - BusinessInsider.com
Google Slide And Photovine To Be Shuttered On March 6 Social software development company Slide and short-lived photo-sharing app Photovine and will be shut down on March 6.

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Israeli PM demands Obama commit to military action if Iran sanctions fail | World news | guardian.co.uk Binyamin Netanyahu pressing for explicit threat from US ahead of crucial meeting with Obama next week in Washington ("who's your daddy, boy?" +that we've come to the point wehre Israel can "demand" the US)
Syrian rebels retreat from Baba Amr district of Homs | World news | The Guardian Regime forces take control after month-long siege • Reports of reprisal killings against civilians
Nato soldiers shot dead in Afghanistan | World news | The Guardian Two soldiers killed by two Afghans, including one believed to be an Afghan soldier

Greece Parliament Approves Pension, Health Cuts in Race for Second Bailout - Bloomberg Pension and wage cuts are reducing state spending and changes to labor rules are liberalizing the jobs market. The measures are also driving the economy deeper into a recession and fanning discontent among Greeks as unemployment has jumped to 21 percent. The economy shrank 6.8 percent last year and is set to contract for a fifth year in 2012 (so, more austerity is the solution! the rule of idiot elites)
EU justice chief warns Google over 'sneaking' citizens' privacy away | Technology | The Guardian Viviane Reding says there are 'doubts' over legality of internet giant's move as French authorities open EU-wide investigation

Police chief John Yates reveals string of lunches with NoW editors | Media | The Guardian Leveson inquiry hears details of engagements of two former Scotland Yard chiefs caught up in phone-hacking scandal (top cops completely corrupt)
Met arrests 32-year-old Sun reporter | Media | guardian.co.uk Virginia Wheeler has been arrested on suspicion of making corrupt payments to public officials as part of Operation Elveden

Stratfor, WikiLeaks and the Obama administration's war against truth | Amy Goodman | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Thanks to WikiLeaks and its media partners, we have a disturbingly vivid picture of the intelligence-industrial complex

Harrisburg, Illinois Storm: Tales Of Chaos (photos)

Warrantless Cellphone Searches Approved By U.S. Court (no steenking warrents, either)

Blunt Amendment Vote: Contraception Measure Fails In Senate - 51 to 48 - Three Democrats, Sens. Bob Casey (Pa.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.) voted with Republicans in favor of the amendment, and only one Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine), voted against it ... Senate Republicans argued on Thursday that requiring any employer, even a non-religious one, to cover health services that they oppose is an attack on religious freedom (their "religious freedom" to oppress you +Susie Collins is a traitor to women, +those blue-dog Repugs)
The Useless Caucus - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money Also supporting the “Ew, Women having teh sex!” amendment was Scott Brown; hopefully Elizabeth Warren is getting her campaign ads ready. And, for that matter, Barack Obama, although Mittens may have changed positions again while I was writing this post.
Speaking of Useless “Centrists” - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money Shorter Verbatim Susan Collins: “I feel I have to vote for the Blunt amendment with the hope that its scope will be further narrowed and refined as the legislative process proceeds.” Oh. One wonders if this justification is intentionally incoherent, so that the Maine voters who inexplicably think they’re sending a “moderate” to Washington can actually visualize Mitch McConnell dunking her head in a sink while she’s saying it.
Obama for America — If Mitt Romney and a few Republican senators get... If Mitt Romney and a few Republican senators get their way, employers could be making women’s health care decisions for them.
Carolyn Maloney: Rush Limbaugh 'Slut' Comment Is Attempt To Silence Women Fluke told the story of one of her classmates who lost an ovary because Georgetown, a Jesuit university, did not cover the oral contraceptives that she was prescribed for her condition. Limbaugh said on his show that Fluke's parents should be ashamed of her for testifying that she is "having so much sex she can't afford her own birth control pills." (Satan at work)
Amid confusion, Mitt Romney says he does support Blunt amendment - Boston.com
pandagon.net - Fighting the mansplaining anti-sex police - Listening to anti-choice nuts talk about sex is like listening to Mitt Romney explain hip-hop. They're so painfully out of the loop you can't decide if you want to laugh at them or cringe in embarrassment for them (see Joan Vennochi)
Warren risks morphing into the ‘woman’s candidate’ - The Boston Globe (shouldn't be mentioning this birth-control stuff; thinks that's why Coakley lost; another Globie idiot)
Poll shows Scott Brown leading Elizabeth Warren - Political Intelligence - A national political and campaign blog from The Boston Globe - Boston.com by 9 to 10 points
Conservative publisher Breitbart dies in LA at 43 - Boston.com Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.
Richard Cebull, Montana Federal Judge, Admits Forwarding Racist Obama Email Cebull was nominated to his current position by George W. Bush. He has served since 2008 (where they stand)
K Street Dems warn clients on donations to GOP - POLITICO.com Give to Republican challengers in the 2012 election, and you’ll regret it come tax reform time.

Into the breach, dear “centrists”, into the breach | Firedoglake But Kerrey’s a career-long deficit scold — how non-conformist ... Oh hollow victories, how can we miss you if you never go away?
For America's Least Fortunate, The Grip Of Poverty Spans Generations

Foreclosure Sales Ramp Up Post Robo Signing - US Business News Blogs - CNBC Despite huge delays in foreclosure processing last year, following the so-called "robo-signing" paperwork scandal, sales of foreclosed properties still managed to account for nearly one in four home sales in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from one in five in the previous quarter.
Eschaton: So There's Something That Doesn't Quite Make Sense There was apparently a "so-called" robo-signing "scandal" otherwise known as rampant unprosecuted criminal fraud. And then there was an "oopsy my bad" settlement which actually hasn't even quite happened yet. Somehow we're now beyond all that and the foreclosure fun is now going full speed ahead again.

Inside the Lytro - Graphic - NYTimes.com The Lytro camera is the first consumer “light field camera.” It uses a new technology to create photos that can have their focus changed after they have been taken. Because of this, there is no need to auto-focus, resulting in virtually no shutter delay.

Which city's rail system has the best Walk Score? - Greater Greater Washington The answers may surprise you.

Anne Vitiello: Return of the Undead First Loves
Human Mattress Domino World Record Broken In New Orleans (video +why are they all fat?)

Demand for Raspberry Pi, the British £22 computer, crashes website | Technology | guardian.co.uk Design intended to inspire schoolchildren and adults to program sees overwhelming demand as first versions go on sale
Windows 8 is 'generational change' says Sinofsky, launching downloadable beta | Technology | guardian.co.uk Work on new version began three years ago with tablet versions made of cardboard as Microsoft tries to bridge gap between mobile and desktop with single interface (MS shoots itself in head trying to be like Apple/Google: "That would have been a massive step forward in 1980.")

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Spanish reporter escapes from Homs | World news | The Guardian Javier Espinosa, El Mundo correspondent trapped in besieged Syrian city, is smuggled to safety as fighting rages in Baba Amr
Egypt lifts travel ban on seven US pro-democracy campaigners | World news | The Guardian Decision to allow Americans accused of fomenting unrest to leave Egypt eases crisis in relations with US (seven out of 16 Americans +27 non-Americans)
Egypt a year on: this is not the Tahrir dream, but there's much to be won | Timothy Garton Ash | Comment is free | The Guardian The country is torn between an entrenched security state, politically savvy Islamists and anxious revolutionaries
North Korea agrees to halt nuclear programme in exchange for US aid | World news | guardian.co.uk Washington promises food aid for first time since 2009, with Hillary Clinton hoping new leadership will 'guide nation to peace' (Hilary at work)

British bank chief warns quantitative easing is 'laying seeds for next crisis' | Business | The Guardian Standard Chartered boss warns that pumping huge sums into Western economies could have unforeseen consequences
Eurozone crisis live: Finland approves Greek package as ECB lends banks €529bn | Business | guardian.co.uk 800 banks bid in huge cheap loans offer • Euro falls after results
Shame works on bankers, MPs and tabloids, however immune they seem | Gaby Hinsliff | Comment is free | The Guardian Closing tax loopholes is more than token banker-bashing. Small gestures can shake up cosy elites
Eschaton: Hey, More Free Money For Banks Not that it's necessarily the wrong thing to do, but...how about more free money for people who aren't rich assholes with a penchant for destroying the world? It'd be nice if we had more policy options other than "free money for rich assholes." Oh well, you battle global economic meltdown with the corrupt idiotic elites you have...

Interpol website suffers 'Anonymous cyber-attack' | Technology | The Guardian Website crashes briefly following Interpol's announcement of the arrest of 25 suspected members of the hacking group

Ministers drop benefit sanctions threat from work experience scheme | Society | The Guardian Department for Work and Pensions confirms that unemployed will not have benefits docked if they leave work placements ... Grayling claimed the attacks on the scheme, by what the government has described as the "Trotskyist" Right to Work campaign ... Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, said the protesters outside Tesco stores were anarchists and half of them were unemployed (they love their slaves, but did they fire the bitch? no)

James Murdoch resigns as News International chairman | Media | guardian.co.uk
James Murdoch's ignominious exit from News International | Michael Wolff | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Disliked within News Corp and disgraced by the phone-hacking scandal, James Murdoch played corporate politics – and lost ... "Who would have thought anybody could make Lachlan look good," said one of Murdoch's close executives ... Murdoch often tends to listen most to the last person he has spoken to. (Satan can't keep two thoughts in his head at the same time?)

Hullabaloo Homeland Occupation - So, we found out yesterday that Homeland Security was doing some tracking of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. (peaceful economic protestors are the new Muslim terrorists)

Deadly tornado rips through American midwest – in pictures | Weather | guardian.co.uk At least 13 people were killed in the storms that ripped roofs off homes, ravaged buildings and left debris scattered everywhere

Looking Back With Shrillness - NYTimes.com All that has happened now is that the mannerisms have finally gotten to the point that the pretense of a reasonable party is no longer sustainable.
February's Sunday Show Interview Tally: 52 Men, 4 Women | Media Matters for America During a month when the issues of birth control and women's access to health care flared up and became major topics of debate on the presidential campaign trail and in Washington, the Sunday morning talk shows once again loaded up their programs by hosting newsmaker interviews with men. Lots and lots of men. (experts on contraception and trans-vaginal rape)
Women’s Health Care at Risk - NYTimes.com A wave of mergers between Roman Catholic and secular hospitals is threatening to deprive women in many areas of the country of ready access to important reproductive services. Catholic hospitals that merge or form partnerships with secular hospitals often try to impose religious restrictions against abortions, contraception and sterilization on the whole system. (the freedom of religion to deprive non-Catholic patients and workers of basic health-care +but read the comments at the link)
Texas' War on Women Includes Those Transvaginal Ultrasounds | AlterNet
Get The Fuck Over It - First Draft - "My husband thinks we should drop it, but I don't want my daughter to get the impression that single motherhood is acceptable." - Prudence rightly tells this crazy nosy skank to fuck right the fuck off, but she comes right back (parent want pregant teacher fired for being single)
Knocked-up single teacher: Will she corrupt my daughter? - Slate Magazine (Dear Prudence is a great column - "Is everyone writing in today married to a lunatic?")
Eschaton: Delusion: Ministry of Truth

Michigan Delegates Divided: Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney Each Finish With 15 Delegates
Mitt Romney wins Michigan and Arizona primaries – live reaction | World news | guardian.co.uk The Associated Press is saying that Rick santorum and Mitt Romney did indeed tie the delegate count in Michigan last night, with each winning 15 of the state's 30 delegates.
"Rebellion" - YouTube

alicublog Here's a guy at the Daily Caller who wants to fix it so you can only use food stamps to buy low-quality shit in packages designed to look ugly ... There's no getting around it anymore: Everything you ever thought about conservatives, no matter how uncharitable, is true.
Bonus Drop Means Trading Aspen for Coupons - Bloomberg “People who don’t have money don’t understand the stress,” said Alan Dlugash, rich man (terrible, clueless, people)
Doubtful Signs of a Criminal Case Against MF Global - NYTimes.com When the money first went missing ... (it got up and walked out of the vault, but it's all an "accident")


Born This Way Foundation launch event – live | Society | guardian.co.uk Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey are among the luminaries lending their egos to the Born This Way Foundation launch event at Harvard today.
The 2011 Count: VIDA: Women in the literary arts)

Hullabaloo - Right wing feminist pron - Sex-Crazed Co-Eds Going Broke Buying Birth Control, Student Tells Pelosi Hearing Touting Freebie Mandate
Poll Finds Unprecedented 25-Point Gap Between Supporters And Opponents Of Marriage Equality | ThinkProgress in California, with 59 percent of residents backing same-sex marriage and just 34 percent opposing it
GRAPH: Republicans Responsible For Hyper-Polarization Of Congress | ThinkProgress The graph shows that the Democrats have barely edged towards the left over the last 30 years, while both moderate and partisan House Republicans have veered way off to the extreme right.
Despite Cantor’s 'Zero Tolerance', GOP Ethics Scandals | ThinkProgress


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Iran nuclear talks with six-nation group of powers set to be agreed | World news | The Guardian Diplomats from UK, US, France, Russia, China and Germany agree in principle to accept Iranian offer to resume negotiations
Nicolas Sarkozy retracts claim about Edith Bouvier rescue | World news | The Guardian French president withdraws statement that suggested injured journalist had been evacuated from city of Homs in Syria

Eurozone crisis live: Tuesday's events as they happened | Business | guardian.co.uk S&P says Greece is in "selective default" hours after Germany approves Greek bailout 2.0 and Ireland plans a referendum on the new EU fiscal compact

Met failed to tell MP of extent of phone hacking commissioning, inquiry hears | Media | guardian.co.uk Simon Hughes says police had evidence seeming to indicate 'at least three' NoW staff asked Mulcaire to access his voicemail
Phone hacking: six News of the World staff instructed Mulcaire, papers allege | Media | guardian.co.uk Court documents submitted on behalf of hacking victims allege 'conspiracy' between private investigator and senior executives
Leveson inquiry: NoW accused of colluding with murder suspects | Media | The Guardian - Former Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hames also claims Rebekah Brooks covered up why her family were targeted ... When a senior detective re-opened a notorious murder inquiry, the suspects were able to intimidate his wife and family with the help of an executive at the News of the World, the Leveson inquiry has been told.

Ohio school suspect says shooting was random act | World news | guardian.co.uk Teenager suspected of shooting dead three students and injuring two more tells police he did not know victims

Some 9/11 victims' remains were sent to landfill, Pentagon report reveals | World news | guardian.co.uk Committee releases report examining Dover military mortuary where remains of unidentified victims were 'mismanaged'
Vote on Tennessee 'don't say gay' bill delayed for up to three weeks | World news | guardian.co.uk Controversial bill would limit discussion of gay relationships in schools and could encourage similar laws across America

Elizabeth Warren Campaign, Top Ted Kennedy Aide, Ask Scott Brown To Stop Invoking Kennedy Name
Media Ethicists Criticize Morris,  The Hill  For Disclosure Failures | Media Matters for America Dick Morris's failure to disclose his financial ties to political entities he writes about for The Hill brought sharp criticism from journalism veterans and news ethicists, one of whom accused the Fox News analyst of breaking an "ethical commandment."
John McLaughlin's Fairy Tale About The Professor With A $1.5 Million Salary | Media Matters for America (Fox making shit up, as usual)
alicublog - The Conservative Intellectual Tradition, In Revival. (Instapundit is a racist idiot)


There Was No Bowles-Simpson Commission Report | Beat the Press The New York Times badly misled readers by repeatedly referring to a report of the deficit reduction commission led by former Senator Alan Simpson and Morgan Stanley Director Erskine Bowles. There was no report from this commission.
Larry Summers on tax reform - The Washington Post He suggests instead that both parties begin preparing policy options to inform post-election negotiations.
Investigators Scrutinize MF Global Wire Transfers - NYTimes.com The suspicious transfer, which until now has not been made public, was first discovered in the early hours of Oct. 31, the day the firm filed for bankruptcy (the billion just ... disappeared!)
The Broken Regulatory State | FDL News Desk If anything, the foreclosure fraud settlement has shown a breakdown in the ability of regulatory agencies to deal with the aftermath of fraudulent conduct. They simply have no ability to offer a regulatory response that’s commensurate with the behavior. If the behavior does lead to a negotiated settlement, then it comes with unsatisfying “neither admit or deny” statements that judges have continued to question:

TED2012: The Geekfest begins | Technology | guardian.co.uk TED, the Californian brains summit, kicks off in Long Beach

New D.C. residents: I couldn't 'car' less - WTOP.com D.C.'s new residents seem to have a different attitude about owning cars.
DC High Schools Could Do Without Mandatory Student Parking

An Asian-American take on the Roundeye Noodle name | Philadelphia City Paper | 02/27/2012
Jewish School’s Team, Refusing to Play During Sabbath, Loses Trip to State Semifinals - NYTimes.com “The sacred mission will trump excellence in the secular world,” Rabbi Harry Sinoff, Beren’s head of school, said Monday in a telephone interview (religious freedom)



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Syrian regime rockets bombard Homs | World news | guardian.co.uk Death toll rises as country awaits outcome of referendum on a new constitution
Syria: Qatar and splinter group back arming resistance - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk Sarkozy says solution in sight for wounded reporters • Siege of Homs continues as 89% back new constitution
Syrian sanctions toughened after EU foreign minister summit | World news | The Guardian Damascus officials have assets frozen with more sanctions against central bank and ban on cargo flights from Europe
Afghanistan suicide bomber attacks Nato military base | World news | The Guardian Nine Afghans, mostly civilians, die in bombing in Jalalabad as Taliban claim revenge for Qur'an burning
Vladimir Putin Assassination Attempt: Russia, Ukrainian Special Services Reportedly Foil Plot, Arrest Suspects - Security forces have foiled a Chechen-linked plot to assassinate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Colombia's Farc rebels to free all captives | World news | The Guardian Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to release 'prisoners of war' and give up practice of kidnapping ... some of whom have been in captivity in the jungle for 14 years.
Costa Allegra On Fire Off Seychelles, Ship Adrift A fire in the generator room of a cruise ship on Monday cloaked more than 1,000 people in darkness and set the vessel adrift in a region of the Indian Ocean where Somali pirates have been active, officials said.

Everyone Wants Someone Else To Pay For Greece
Angela Merkel persuades Bundestag to ratify Greek bailout | Business | The Guardian The vast majority of German MPs voted for the €130bn rescue package, despite it being unpopular with the electorate, who know Germany will foot the bulk of the bill

Welfare boss Emma Harrison made a pile renting out her stately home to A4e | Politics | The Observer Fresh revelations about A4e and prime minister's former family tsar will be a considerable embarrassment to the government ... received around £1.7m over two years from leasing out properties, including her family stately home, to the firm she built on the back of state-funded welfare-to-work programmes.
Harrison hired despite A4e fraud warning - UK Politics - UK - The Independent David Cameron is facing fresh questions about his judgement in appointing Emma Harrison his "families champion" after it was confirmed that officials were warned of fraud allegations inside her company before she took on the role (conservative love slavery)
The schools crusade that links Michael Gove to Rupert Murdoch | Politics | The Guardian The education secretary has close ties to Rupert Murdoch and would be a key figure if he attempts to move into the UK schools market (and corrupt them too)
Going bussed: economy and tuition fees drive the young away from the car | UK news | The Guardian Sales of coach and train discount cards surge as driving becomes a minority pursuit among cash-strapped students

Police chief tells Leveson the Sun had 'culture of illegal payments' to sources | Media | The Guardian Sue Akers tells media ethics inquiry of newspaper's payment systems that hid identities of 'network of corrupted officials' - Hours after Rupert Murdoch's defiant gamble of launching a Sunday edition of the Sun, the head of the police investigations into illegal behaviour by journalists spelled out startling details of what she called a "culture of illegal payments" at the title.
News Corp: threat of US legal action raised in light of 'illegal payment' claim | Media | guardian.co.uk Fresh allegations increase likelihood of News Corp being prosecuted under Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, experts say
Phone hacking: NI faces up to 200 more claims from alleged victims | Media | guardian.co.uk Process of settling new cases against News of the World publisher expected to last at least another year, high court hears
Leveson Inquiry: 'Culture Of Illegal Payments' At The Sun; Rebekah Brooks Tipped Off About Extent Of Hacking Probe

Stratfor Emails Published By WikiLeaks Reveal Private Intelligence ("out of control" "shadow CIA" for corps)
WikiLeaks: Stratfor Confidential Emails Published more than five million emails from a U.S.-based global security analysis company that has been likened to a shadow CIA.

Supreme court prepares for battle over human rights liability of corporations | Law | guardian.co.uk Most significant case since Citizens United ruling will tackle whether corporations can be sued in civil courts as individuals ... will determine whether US-based and global corporations can be held liable for genocide and other violations of international law (don't be silly; they are people but not that kind of people)

White House Uses Espionage Act to Pursue Leak Cases - NYTimes.com - The Espionage Act, enacted back in 1917 to punish those who gave aid to our enemies, was used three times in all the prior administrations to bring cases against government officials accused of providing classified information to the media. It has been used six times since the current president took office. (Obama says all journalists are spies and traitors)
NYPD Surveillance: White House Helped Pay For Surveillance Of Muslim Neighborhoods The money is part of a little-known grant intended to help law enforcement fight drug crimes (drugz, Muslims, terrorists, all the same)

Hullabaloo I don't think Ricky understands his history very well. Evidently, he was unaware that in 1960, conservatives thought of Catholics the same way think of Muslims today. He seems under the impression that America was a wonderful religiously tolerant nation until the horrible secularists came along and ruined everything.
PolitFact Changes Marco Rubio Rating After Heated Criticism (corrupt and stupid)
Citing ‘Impossible Timeline,’ Walker Campaign Won’t File Challenge Against Recall Signatures | TPM2012 This decision comes a week and a half after Dane County Judge Richard Niess, who had previously granted a 20-day extension to the Walker campaign for the review period, refused their request for another two weeks (bullies always whine)
Gay rights activists urge Tennessee to halt passage of 'don't say gay' bill | World news | guardian.co.uk Controversial bill would limit discussion of gay relationships in schools and could encourage similar laws across America - The controversial 'don't say gay' bill has already passed the state's senate, and is expected to receive a second vote on Tuesday. If passed, the bill could become law within months. (how's that fundie culture-war working out for you?)

DailyTech - Nokia's 41 MP Super Phone to Sport Symbian, See Euro-Only Launch
Flickr: NokiaOfficial's Photostream (N808 41 MP)


Roger Ailes Defends Douglas Kennedy: 'I Support Douglas' Against Misdemeanor Charges (VIDEO) The Fox News reporter and son of Robert and Ethel Kennedy has been charged with harassment and child endangerment after an altercation at a Westchester County hospital in January.
Bob Kerrey Will Run For Nebraska Senate Seat (what a fuck)
Paul Babeu, Outed GOP Sheriff, Ran Abusive Private School, Had Relationship With Male Student: Report - reportedly served as headmaster for the now-defunct DeSisto School in Stockbridge, Mass. from 1999 to 2001. (creepier)
Ohio School Shooting: 5 Students Shot, 1 Dies At Chardon High School, Suspect In Custody
New Mexico Officials Face Extortion Charges For Alleged Topless Dancer Blackmail Plot | TPMMuckraker Two city officials in Sunland Park, New Mexico were arrested on extortion charges after they allegedly tried to blackmail a political opponent by sending a stripper to his office and secretly videotaping the encounter.

Pruitt-Igoe: death of an American housing dream | Art and design | The Observer A new film shows how an idealistic postwar housing project in St Louis, Missouri went disastrously wrong ... Behind maintenance lay politics: public housing projects were viewed with suspicion, as un-American and socialist (victims of Republicans, basically)

No Company Follows Apple's Expanded China Audits (they love their slave-labor)

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Egypt NGO Trial Adjourned Until April
Afghanistan Shootings 'Outrageous' Says General Barry McCaffrey and said the killings demonstrate the "shallow impact [the United States] has on this primitive society." (look in the mirror)

AP Shows Civilian Casualties Equal To or Worse than TBIJ, Drone Boosters Declare Victory | emptywheel Indeed, the AP was told by the villagers that of at least 194 people killed in the attacks, about 70 percent — at least 138 — were militants. The remaining 56 were either civilians or tribal police, and 38 of them were killed in a single attack on March 17, 2011.


The Republican Brain: Why Even Educated Conservatives Deny Science -- and Reality | | AlterNet New research shows that conservatives who consider themselves well-informed and educated are also deeper in denial about issues like global warming.

How the 2012 Primary Has Revealed a GOP on the Verge of Collapse -- New York Magazine The strangest primary season in memory reveals a GOP that’s tearing itself apart - That Mitt Romney finds himself so imperiled by Rick Santorum—Rick Santorum!—is just the latest in a series of jaw-dropping developments in what has been the most volatile, unpredictable, and just plain wackadoodle Republican-nomination contest ever (clowns on parade; the legacy of the cracked tea-pots)
Divided We Stand - John Aloysius Farrell - NationalJournal.com Our polarized Congress is starting to look more and more like a parliament at odds with the nation’s constitutional system - By stoking the historic migration of Republican voters from Rust Belt cities to Sun Belt refuges such as Scottsdale, Ariz., and St. Petersburg, Fla., “air conditioning caused the population of the Southern states to change,” ... For the second year in a row but only the third time in the 30 years that National Journal has published these ratings, no Senate Democrat compiled a voting record to the right of any Senate Republican, and no Republican came down on the left of any Senate Democrat. (The first time this happened was 1999.)

Alabama Ultrasound Bill: Governor Robert Bentley Says He Just Learned About Legislation (Republicans love rape)

Santorum: Separation Of Church And State 'Makes Me Want To Throw Up' (back to the 17th century)
And, Indeed, Doesn’t This GOP Primary Field Make You Want to Barf? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money in 1960, the GOP was upset because they (erroneously) believed that a Roman Catholic president would not govern for all Americans but would take orders directly from a religious hierarchy. In 2012, Republicans are furious because a president would try to govern for all Americans rather than taking orders directly from a religious hierarchy.
Rick Santorum Benefits From Protestant Support Despite His Roman Catholic Faith
Republican Governors Concerned About Long 2012 GOP Primary Race - Republican governors insist Obama is vulnerable, but they say they are concerned the prolonged Republican primary race has alienated independent voters and may have badly damaged the eventual nominee.
Prolonged G.O.P. Race Forces Romney to Recalibrate - NYTimes.com
Romney's New Tax Plan Gives The Richest 0.1 Percent A $264,000 Tax Cut | ThinkProgress
Ed Kilgore: The Defining Element Of The GOP Primary | The New Republic
Michigan Tea Partiers Share Rick Santorum’s Fears Over Obama’s College Push | TPM2012 Rick Santorum’s contention here Saturday that President Obama’s plan to make college more accesible is really a scheme to brainwash people into becoming liberals may have struck some outside observers as a little odd. But for the tea party crowd gathered here as part of an Americans For Prosperity rally, Santorum’s words about higher education were right on point (dumbest of the dumb hate education)
Studies Refute Santorum’s Claim That College Makes People Less Religious | TPM2012 “Contrary to our own and others’ expectations, however, young adults who never enrolled in college are presently the least religious young Americans,” (college makes you lose your religion less fast)
Balloon Juice » The dumbest thing ever written? While Christie and Bush might be fine candidates, perhaps the Republicans should consider a more inspired and game-changing pick: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Political Animal - Housing: An Economic Problem That Turned Into A Political One

Upper East Side Residents Protest Proposed Subway Entrances - NYTimes.com Residents of East 69th Street say new subway access points would tarnish the beauty of the area ... their argument is that their blocks are simply too pretty. (no transportation in our backyard; we use limos and helicopters)
In Amish Country, Accusations of a Ponzi Scheme - NYTimes.com one of Sugarcreek’s own, a prominent member of what some people here call the Plain Community, was under arrest, accused by federal prosecutors of running a Ponzi scheme that betrayed his neighbors’ trust and wiped out more than $16 million of their savings (“the Amish Bernie Madoff,” )
Easily offended? You'd better get out your blue tarp | Anchorage Daily News - The News Tribune You may not have heard, but the principal of Wasilla High School asked that a One Percent for Art sculpture in front of the school be covered because the high-schoolers and some of their parents thought it looked like female genitalia (Wassila)

Wyoming Doomsday Bill Advances In State House Wyoming lawmakers pushed forward legislation to explore how the state would respond if the country fell into economic and political turmoil.

Massachusetts Rent Control 25 years ago tenants organized, formed coalitions, took to the streets, and won rent control in Massachusetts. But, after two and half decades of constant battles against powerful and wealthy opponents, the tenants lost the war to save rent control. How did it happen? By Patricia Cantor (William Walsh and SPOA)
Civic Report 3 | The Effects of Rent Deregulation in Masschusetts, by Henry O. Pollakowski
Rent control: The morning after | The Economist From a modest survey of 1,000 households, city officials concluded that decontrolled rents overall jumped by more than 50% between 1994 and 1997 (from an average of $504 a month to $775), outpacing market rates. Over the same period, complaints of eviction also rose by 33%.
What Were the Effects of Ending Rent Control in Cambridge MA? the spillover effects of the 1995 end of rent reg­u­la­tion in Cambridge Massachusetts to reveal an increase in value of uncon­trolled Cambridge hous­ing by 2003 due to decontrol.
The End of Rent Control in Cambridge
The End of Rent Control in Cambridge: Effects on the Housing Market, David Autor and Parag Pathak - YouTube

Tiger Fractalius | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
i took a picture of a tiger and used fractalius on its face : pics


Replacing electricity with light: First physical 'metatronic' circuit created
Will we ever decode dreams? My first BBC column | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine (epistemic closure)
Rest Easy, Men: Shrinkage (of the Y Chromosome) Has Apparently Stopped | 80beats | Discover Magazine

Facebook spies on phone users' text messages, report says | News.com.au

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Insinuation as War Propaganda | The Beacon Seventy-one percent of Americans—almost exactly the percentage that thought Saddam was behind 9/11—think that Iran has nuclear weapons (ask them about Israel, why not?)
Iran warns Israel not to attack its nuclear facilities | World news | guardian.co.uk Iranian general says attack would lead to collapse of Israel amid rising international tension over uranium enrichment
Secret U.S. cable warned of Pakistani havens - The Washington Post enemy havens in Pakistan was placing the success of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan in jeopardy, U.S. officials said ... amounted to an admission that years of U.S. efforts to curtail insurgent activity in Pakistan by the lethal Haqqani network, a key Taliban ally, were failing (no consequences for monumental failure)
Afghanistan Violence: U.S. Colonel, Major Killed At Interior Ministry, Officials Say Two Americans who were shot dead on Saturday inside the Interior Ministry in Afghanistan's capital Kabul
Afghanistan NATO Staff Recalled Following Attack At Interior Ministry
Syria clashes leave more dead as evacuation efforts continue in Homs | World news | guardian.co.uk Violence continues amid heightened tension between Syria and Saudi Arabia over its support for rebels
Silvio Berlusconi Corruption Case Ends: Italian Court Drops Charges Against Former Premier (more Italian "justice")
Burma awakes to glasnost: a (partly) free press and (some) freedom of expression | World news | The Observer Pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi adorn T-shirts and her speeches are reported verbatim. In Burma, the censors are in retreat
Christopher Tappin flown to US after losing extradition battle | Law | The Guardian Businessman facing arms sale charges lands in Texas after attacking UK extradition laws and claiming 'Abu Qatada has more rights than me'

Greeks reveal details of €107bn debt swap with private creditors | World news | The Guardian Legislation allowing loans held by investors to be exchanged for ones with fixed-interest rate put before parliament

Rebekah Brooks 'was briefed by police on phone-hacking investigation' | Media | guardian.co.uk Former News International chief executive was allegedly given details of original investigation by senior Met police officer

Virginia's vagina-violating ultrasound law | Lizz Winstead | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Governor McDonnell frets that his ultrasound law violates the US constitution. Let me tell you, Bob, it violates a lot more than that ... another question about Bob McDonnell, "What kind of man could enthusiastically support this kind of law in the first place?" The answer is, a guy who wrote in his graduate thesis "The cost of sin should fall on the sinner, not the taxpayer." (rape not in the Constitution, but the SC could fix that)

Court filing: Bevilacqua ordered shredding of memo identifying suspected abusers Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua ordered aides to shred a 1994 memo that identified 35 Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests suspected of sexually abusing children, according to a new court filing. During 10 appearances before a grand jury in 2003 and 2004, Bevilacqua denied knowing details or playing a significant role in the handling of sex-abuse complaints, saying he delegated those duties to Lynn. (the "Catholic Bishops" - remember them - lied; they have always lied; time for the world's largest pedophile org to lose its tax-exempt status and send these criminals to jail)

Police Spying Leaves New York Muslim Students 'Violated' (which was Bloomberg's intent)
NYPD spying program aimed at Muslims - Salon.com (where are Bloomberg's loyalties?)

This Day in Labor History: February 24, 1912 - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money On this date in 1912, the police force of Lawrence, Massachusetts brutally beat a group of children and their mothers as the children attempted to board a train to stay with union supporters in Philadelphia.

Balloon Juice » The Action Is Affirmative It was so worth watching the last half-hour of the MHP show this morning for this discussion on affirmative action, and especially for Elon James White taking Reasonoid emperor Matt Welch’s lunch money, buying a milkshake with it, then then drinking it all up in front of him.
Judge says Wash. can’t make pharmacies sell Plan B - Boston.com The state’s true goal in adopting the rules at issue was not to promote the timely access to medicine, but to suppress religious objections by druggists who believe that such drugs can have an effect tantamount to abortion, U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton said in his ruling Wednesday (yes, they passed a law to oppress Christian pharmacists)
The Consequences of Conscience-Based Sex Education (Utah will let Mormon "conscience" determine what gets taught in public schools)
Short story: ILU-486 | Panda-monium - Summary: In the not-so-distant future of Virginia, the Personhood Act has outlawed abortion and chemical birth control. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, though.

Arizona Debate: Conservative Chickens Come Home to Roost | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone ... clowns ... These people have run out of others to blame, run out of bystanders to suspect, run out of decent family people to dismiss as Godless, sex-crazed perverts. They’re turning the gun on themselves now. It might be justice, or it might just be sad. Whatever it is, it’s remarkable to watch.
Political Animal - Gas Price Hysteria In one shot at Republican pols that no fair-minded observer would dispute, the president yesterday accused GOPers of “cheering” higher gas prices. Not since the days of the mindless “Drill Baby Drill” chants have we seen so much excitement over pain at the pumps.
Maddow on Frank VanderSloot - Salon.com Rachel Maddow last night adeptly covered my story from Friday on the tactics repeatedly used by the Romney campaign’s national finance co-chair, Frank VanderSloot, and his company (Melaleuca), to silence critics by threatening (and commencing) lawsuits against them.

Justice Kagan sides with the Right on Miranda - Salon.com

Those weak losers who care about “law” - Salon.com So Romney said that before attacking Iran, he’d want to know if he had the legal authority to do so without Congress, but then strongly suggested that he’d probably do it anyway.
For Romney, a Message Lost in the Empty Seats - NYTimes.com - Mr. Romney gave his speech inside Ford Field, a cavernous indoor football stadium with 65,000 seats ... when the stadium audience of about 1,200 people clapped, they filled the screen as cameras panned across them ... “I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually.” (what was he thinking?)
Conservatives' Plans To Drug Test Welfare Recipients Get Momentum, Earn Support Of GOP Candidates
Equal Pay Enforcement Act On Verge Of Being Repealed By Wisconsin Republicans Women earn 77 cents for every dollar that men make. In Wisconsin, it's 75 cents (Republican slime-balls destroying their state and the country)
Arizona GOP House Candidate Compares Saddam Hussein's Invasion Of Kuwait To President Obama | ThinkProgress
New Poll Finds The More People Learn About Romney, The More They Dislike Him | TPM Livewire
What would Rick Santorum’s America look like? - The Washington Post (12th century Poland?)
Eliza Gray: Right Vs Write | The New Republic What happened when a promising conservative journalist found fame (very incestuous and corrupt)

Light-Emitting Nanocrystal Diodes Go UltraViolet: News Release: Los Alamos National Laboratory Biomedical device potential for robust, implantable product
Peter Gleick on leave from Pacific Institute over Heartland leak | Environment | guardian.co.uk Climate scientist on temporary leave of absence while investigated over leak of Heartland Institute documents
Two Hacks, Beat as One : Lawyers, Guns & Money : Andrew Revkin is getting defensive over the backlash against his hack job on Peter Gleick leaking the Heartland documents. Revkin has pulled out the big guns to make us stop–the notoriously ethical Megan McArdle!!! (NYT hopelessly, nepotistically, clueless and corrupt, which is how we have Frank Bruni, food writer, telling us about politics and Revkin "neutral on warming" telling us about the non-existence of climate change)
Is the Heartland "Strategy Memo" a Fake? Let's try using science! : Greg Laden's Blog
Sleep: why they used to do it twice a night | Laura Barton | Comment is free | The Guardian The need to sleep eight hours is the cause of much stress. But for centuries we happily woke up in the middle of the night - For centuries we were accustomed to the idea of "first sleep" or "dead sleep" and "second sleep"
BBC News - The myth of the eight-hour sleep
The Super Bowl and What Vaccinated Children Have to Fear From Anti-Vaxxers
Balloon Juice » Open Thread: “Do you know that most people who have had small pox are immune to aids?” Increasingly, surveys are finding that more and more doctors are refusing to treat patients who decline vaccinations.
The Future of Science Publishing : We Beasties
Elsevier boycott: Time for librarians to rise up! : Confessions of a Science Librarian
HubbleSite - NewsCenter - NASA's Hubble Reveals a New Class of Extrasolar Planet (02/21/2012) - The Full Story , a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere. It's smaller than Uranus but larger than Earth.

Banker Leaves 1% Tip On $133 Lunch Bill In Defiance of 'The 99%' [UPDATED] The "tip" of his own in this case was to tell the server to "get a real job." Pleasant.
Michael Coren Rabbi Shmuley Boteach Interview Gets Heated Over Jews In Hollywood Quip (video) dubbing him 'Rabbi Botox' ... , America's self-designated 'favourite rabbi' "how much the Catholic Church and Christians in general have done for the Jews of late." "Yet the Jews continue to be so unappreciative, always questioning Christian motivation, always finding fault with Christians no matter what."'
Son rats on Mom for sex with teen friend, cops say Mezzatesta, who is 5-foot-9 and 260 pounds, claimed she was passed out drunk and unaware that the 15-year-old was having sex with her, police said. But cops didn't buy it because according to her 14-year-old son - who'd allegedly heard his mother say "right there baby" during the act - it was consensual.
JoshuaLyman comments on Man charged after cooking own meal at Denny's
George Huguely convicted of second-degree murder in Yeardley Love case: How the jury decided. - Slate Magazine

Skinner and his steamed hams on Vimeo

FBI warns of new banking scam | Bankrate.com a new spam email scheme that involves a type of malware called "Gameover." The scheme involves fake emails from the National Automated Clearing House Association, the Federal Reserve or the FDIC.
3G vs. 4G: What's the Difference? | News & Opinion | PCMag.com f you want an iPhone, it'll be 3G. End of story. We're done
YouPorn: Up To 1 Million Adult Chat Users' Email Addresses And Passwords Exposed
Apple, Proview iPad Trademark Dispute Involves Some Unusual Tactics Experts Say has a plausible claim over the unusual methods Apple used to conceal its identity when attempting to acquire Proview's trademarks, according to several legal experts.

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Syrian regime accused of crimes against humanity by UN | World news | The Guardian A UN list of senior Syrian officials who should face investigation is reported to include the president, Bashar al-Assad
Friends Of Syria Prepare Ultimatum For Assad
Exclusive: State Department quietly warning region on Syrian WMDs | The Cable (oh, them too?)
Saudi Arabia backs arming Syrian opposition | World news | The Guardian Foreign minister tells conference on Syria that supplying weapons to rebels fighting Assad regime is 'an excellent idea' as Obama vows to use 'every tool available' to stop the slaughter
Hamas ditches Assad, backs Syrian revolt | Reuters Leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas turned publicly against their long-time ally President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Friday, endorsing the revolt aimed at overthrowing his dynastic rule.
UN report heightens Iran nuclear fears | World news | The Guardian IAEA says Tehran has dramatically accelerated production of enriched uranium and failed to co-operate with investigation
Iran Crisis Presents Few Good Options For Obama Administration, New Report Says (especially since Israel is is daddy)
Qur'an burning protests rage as death toll reaches 23 in Afghanistan | World news | guardian.co.uk Twelve people killed Friday as anti-US sentiment spreads for fourth straight day in wake of holy book burning at Nato base
Newt Gingrich Criticizes U.S. Apology To Afghan Authorities For Burned Qurans On Military Base ... "This president has gone so far at appeasing radical Islamists that he is failing in his duty as commander in chief," Gingrich said.
US judge paves way for deportation of notorious Salvadoran general | World news | guardian.co.uk Commander of El Salvador's national guard stands accused of numerous human rights violations during the country's civil war

Phone hacking: News International accused of email deletion policy | Media | guardian.co.uk Court documents filed by claimants allege that senior executive chased up progress on deleting emails as late as 2010

A4e head Emma Harrison steps down from family champion role | Politics | The Guardian Welfare to work group chief resigns in the wake of investigation into allegations of fraud at her company (wreck the economy, kill jobs; force the unemployed to work for free; profit!)
A4e compelled jobseekers to work unpaid in its own offices | Politics | The Guardian DWP reveals that A4e sent the unemployed to work in at least two of its own offices in an apparent conflict of interest
How significant is Emma Harrison's departure? | Society | The Guardian It is as yet unclear what effect the families tsar's resignation will have on her company or on wider public services reform

Deepwater Horizon victims ready for epic court battle with BP | Environment | guardian.co.uk Trial to establish cause and fault for the worst oil spill in US history is set to begin in New Orleans federal court on Monday

Athens Told to Change Spending and Taxes - Business News - CNBC (nice little sovereign country you used to have there; the emergence of bankerocracies)
Lloyds plunges to £3.5bn loss for 2011 | Business | The Guardian Shares in Lloyds Banking Group biggest faller in FTSE 100 • Taxpayer sitting on £10bn loss on its 41% stake • Bonus poll down 30% at £375m ... the bailed out bank revealed it had plunged to a £3.5bn loss in 2011 and would pay out £375m in bonuses. (only half a billion in taxpayer-paid bonuses for screwing up the world and needing a bailout; always reward complete failure)

Maryland gay marriage: Republican explains vote supporting new law - latimes.com (but there will be a referendum in the Fall)
Gay marriage close to becoming legal in Maryland | World news | guardian.co.uk Maryland will soon become the eighth state to allow gay marriage after the state senate voted 25-22 for the law

Bob McDonnell, Virginia Governor, Didn't Realize Ultrasound Bill Mandated Invasive Procedure (bill too complicated for him to understand)
Virginia Personhood Bill: State Senate Defeats Bill The proposal, sponsored by Delegate Robert Marshall (R), would have granted "personhood" status to unborn children, including embryos. Similar proposals have been defeated in other states, including in a statewide referendum last year in Mississippi ... "This is a huge win for women in the Republican war on a women's right to choose and women's health"
Georgia Democrats Seek Vasectomy Ban In Response To Abortion Bill "Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies..." "It is patently unfair that men can avoid unwanted fatherhood by presuming that their judgment over such matters is more valid than the judgment of the General Assembly, while women's ability to decide is constantly up for debate throughout the United States."

NYPD Defends Tactics Over Mosque Spying; Records Reveal New Details On Muslim Surveillance (the usual chain of lies and denials fro NYPD; Bloomberg: all Muslims are terrorists, so what?)
NYPD intelligence chief wanted sources in every mosque within 250 miles | World news | guardian.co.uk Latest disclosures reveal ambitions of ex-CIA man David Cohen as criticism grows of NYPD's monitoring of Muslim communities

Peter Orszag, Former Top Obama Adviser, Takes Issue With Portrayal In New Book (claims he's not a stupid as it looks and neither is Obama for listening to him, tries to walk back history)
Mitt Romney rebounds against the Santorum surge | Harry J Enten | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk We've seen dramatic swings in states, but we'd have to see new momentum by now for Santorum to win Michigan and Arizona
Mitt Romney in talks over nationwide version of tough state immigration laws | World news | guardian.co.uk mmigration adviser Kris Kobach, the man behind controversial 'self-deportation' laws in Arizona and Alabama, says policy could force out 5 million illegal immigrants in just four years
GOP Outside Groups Pouring Money Into Senate Elections, Seeing Clear Shot For Winning Majority
DOMA Ruling: House Of Representatives Appealing Judge's Decision On Gay Spousal Benefits
The Morning Plum: Flip-flop and falsehood fatigue - The Plum Line - The Washington Post Fun thought experiment: Imagine the wall-to-wall media mockery that John Kerry or Al Gore would have endured if they’d tried even a fraction of the shenanigans Romney has resorted to so far.
No More Mister Nice Blog do you believe Brooks and Murray and Ross Douthat and William Bennett really have a deep, abiding love for God and a profound level of spirituality? I certainly don't. Jimmy Carter really loves God -- not these self-satisfied clowns. It's all just a bird-flip disguised as a moral philosophy.
Romney speech falls flat in Detroit - The Hill's Ballot Box Mitt Romney spoke to several empty seats Friday in Detroit
George W. Bush Still A Drag On Rick Santorum's Prospects
Rick Perry Campaign Snipes Target Former Bush Aide - it has already been reported that on the night that Perry finished fifth in Iowa on Jan. 3, over 100 campaign staffers gathered in the West Des Moines Sheraton and drank at the hotel bar late into the night, and then put the bill on Allbaugh's room (the boat of clowns)
Georgia Senate Majority Leader & President Pro Tempore Introduce Unconstitutional Nullification Bill | ThinkProgress (CSA rising again)
Ron Paul’s Libertarian Roots : The New Yorker : Party Crasher Ron Paul’s unique brand of libertarianism. by Kelefa Sanneh

Three Men and a White-Haired Man-Baby Jon Stewart can't believe the GOP presidential campaign is still going on.

Romney’s Economic Closet - NYTimes.com
Move Your Money: San Francisco Churches Move $10 Million From Wells Fargo | ThinkProgress

Heartland emails show ease in which Gleick accessed sensitive files | Environment | guardian.co.uk Email chain released by Heartland reveals Peter Gleick posed as a board member in order to ask to be put on mailing list
Blood mystery solved: Two new blood types identified Ballif identified the two molecules as specialized transport proteins named ABCB6 and ABCG2.

i_like_jam comments on How did the Middle East end up being so fucked up? And has it always been this destructive?

Copper Tile. $1.44 sq/ft : funny
EPBOT: Money Money Money

Judge awards iPhone user $850 in throttling case - Yahoo! News When AT&T started slowing down the data service for his iPhone, Matt Spaccarelli, an unemployed truck driver and student, took the country's largest telecommunications company to small claims court. And won. His award: $850.

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Argentina Train Accident Kills At Least 40, Injures More Than 500
Russia Elections: Putin Warns Of Foreign Threat At Campaign Rally (outside agitators)
UN Secret List For Syria Leaders Crime Probe Made
Homs Attacked By Syria Forces, Crisis Deepens
Violence In Iraq: Wave Of Attacks Targeting Security Forces Kills Dozens, Injures More Than 200

RBS chairman makes plea as £2bn loss is announced | Business | The Guardian Sir Philip Hampton says bank needs to be run on commercial grounds if taxpayers are to get their £45bn investment back • Branch staff offered 1% pay rises, bankers given £390m in bonuses


Farmers furious after Iraq stops buying US rice "That's just not right," the 63-year-old Stoesser fumed. "If we've got some rice to sell, they ought to pay a premium for it just because this is the country that freed them." (oh, the ingratitude for completely fucking up their country)

Report: Debt will swell under top GOP hopefuls’ tax plans - The Washington Post (what debt?)
As Contraception Fight Takes Center Stage, Women Voters Turning From Romney (chart) | TPM2012

FDIC Lawsuits Yielded Big Penalties, But Bankers Haven't Paid Up
Foreclosure errors continue - latimes.com
With Banks As Landlords, Some Tenants Neglected | WBUR & NPR
Regulators Plan Safeguards to Prevent Another MF Global — US Business News - CNBC a response to the collapse of MF Global and the disappearance of more than $1 billion in client cash (why yes, it just ... disappeared!)

022212
How to Remove Your Google Search History Before Google's New Privacy Policy Takes Effect | Electronic Frontier Foundation (ding ding ding)

Marie Colvin Dead: American War Reporter Killed In Syria (video)
Marie Colvin's killing piles pressure on Assad as civilian death toll rises | World news | guardian.co.uk Nicolas Sarkozy calls death of Colvin and photographer Remi Ochlik an assassination, and says: 'This regime must go' (and what do Iran, Russia and China have in common?)
UN nuclear inspectors declare Iran mission a disappointment | World news | The Guardian International Atomic Energy Agency team blocked by authorities in Tehran from visiting suspect site
In Din Over Iran, Echoes of Iraq War - News Analysis - NYTimes.com (and the third NYT drum-beat for war)
71% of Americans think Iran already has the Bomb (Also we used to have pet triceratops) | Informed Comment
Afghanistan Qur'an burning protests leave seven people dead | World news | The Guardian Violence spreads across Afghanistan in second day of protests against burning of holy book by foreign troops at Bagram airbase
Australian foreign minister Kevin Rudd resigns | World news | guardian.co.uk Announcement comes amid speculation that he plans to seize power from the prime minister, Julia Gillard

Germany at odds with Dutch and IMF boss over eurozone bailout fund | Business | The Guardian Dutch government and the IMF and its managing director, Christine Lagarde, want the ESM to embrace funds still untouched within the current rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility
Dominique Strauss-Kahn held for further questioning | World news | The Guardian Former IMF chief to be quizzed again after night in prison over allegations relating to fraud and prostitution ring

Theresa May to review UK extradition treaty with US | Politics | guardian.co.uk Home secretary to lead thorough review of extradition treaty following anger at recent deportations, David Cameron says (Britain still America's poodle in the war on terra)
Phone hacking: Cherie Blair to sue News International | Media | guardian.co.uk Tony Blair's wife to take action against Glenn Mulcaire and NI over the alleged hacking of her phone by News of the World

Eschaton: Half The Population And A Few Of Them Vote The script plays out pretty much the same way every time the Republicans plant the flag in the uterus. A bunch of men take to the teevee and the op-ed pages talking about the "culture war" (what the fuck is that anyway) and slutty slut slut sluts. Everyone concludes the Dems should cower in fear and come up with their own mandatory chastity belt plan. Then, slowly, it begins to occur to people that maybe the womenfolk are people too and have a few opinions on this stuff.

Russ Feingold 'Pleased' Anwar Al-Awlaki Was Taken Out By Drone Strike "I do believe he was part and parcel of al Qaeda. I do think it is legitimate to go after al Qaeda operatives." (who happen to be American citizens)

Bush Appointee Finds DOMA Unconstitutional | ThinkProgress The decision represents a serious setback for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), whose Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) defended DOMA after the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the law: "this Court finds that Congress cannot, like an ostrich, merely bury its head in the sand and wait for danger to pass, especially at the risk of permitting continued constitutional injury upon legally married couples" (lookin' at you, Boehner)

Virginia governor Bob McDonnell in U-turn over controversial abortion bill | World news | guardian.co.uk Bob McDonnell requests amendments to bill, with requirement for women to undergo vaginal ultrasounds removed - Critics had pointed out that the bill, if passed in its original form, would have obliged doctors to carry out a procedure that risked breaking a state sex crime statute known as object sexual penetration. (Republicans are rapists on every level)
Balloon Juice » Maybe You Should Have Asked Some Women Basically, you have a sausage-fest of obnoxious old men with nothing better to do than fuck with women simply because they can ... Because Jeebus told them to
Balloon Juice » What Pro-Life Means In Virginny LOOK AT THE ULTRASOUND YOU SLUT OR THIS IS GOING ON YOUR PERMANENT RECORD.
Babeu Could Face Trouble Over Ex-Lover’s Uncertain Legal Status | TPMMuckraker
Rick Santorum Makes Prenatal Testing A Campaign Issue (supports more birth-defects)

Billionaire Romney donor uses threats to silence critics - Salon.com
Mormon Baptism Targets Anne Frank -- Again (religious freedom has its limits)

US politics live: White House and Mitt Romney compete on tax reform plans | World news | guardian.co.uk Live coverage with Adam Gabbatt as Mitt Romney unveils plans for 20% tax cuts while the Obama administration offers lower corporate taxes
Obama Administration To Propose Cutting Corporate Tax Rate From 35 Percent To 28 Percent (for the few corps that pay any taxes at all)
Tax Code Cracking: Seven And A Half Things To Know Why elect a Republican, he seemed to say, when you can elect a handsomer Democrat acting just like a Republican?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Edward DeMarco Floats New Proposals To Fix Mortgage Giants But the plan to ween the mortgage market and taxpayers from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would require Congressional approval for key parts and would require an additional government investment to build a system to package and sell mortgages independently of the companies. Oh and the plan would also probably make home loans and home loan insurance more expensive (sounds like a plan)
'Skills Mismatch' Causing High Unemployment? Not Quite On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that there were as many as 600,000 jobs unfilled in the manufacturing industry (guess what? WaPo lied, maybe they'll fact-check themselves)
Tom Miller, HUD Officials Laugh at Schneiderman Publicly | FDL News Desk Whether you believe in Eric Schneiderman’s ability to deliver a legitimate investigation on mortgage securitization fraud or not, you have to admit that the united front on opposition to a settlement on foreclosure fraud collapsed the moment that he agreed to helm that federal investigatory task force.

Faster-than-light neutrino result reportedly a mistake caused by loose cable - (that'll do it every time)
Deradius comments on I aint even mad. (teaching evolution in a rural conservative district)

Convention Experts Assail Plan to Close Javits Center - NYTimes.com Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and a Malaysian conglomerate are proposing to replace the Javits Center with the nation’s largest convention hall on a site 12 miles away in Jamaica, Queens, industry executives are not so sure it is a smart move (Andrew Cuomo is really an idiot )

Gainesville High School Students' Racist YouTube Rant Forces Girls To Leave School, Apologize (video)
Lisa McElroy: Man At The Bus Stop! Call The Police! So, wait. The man had been doing nothing wrong? Nothing suspicious? And a mother's baseless concerns about a man standing on a public street had been enough to mobilize the police department to send out alerts to all town parents, instructing parents to call 911 and teachers to keep our children inside?

Cassetteboy vs The News - YouTube


RMR: Rick's Rant - Online Privacy - YouTube

022112
130 Doctors Without Borders staff disappear in Sudan - World Watch - CBS News
Iran raises tension by threatening pre-emptive action | World news | The Guardian Deputy chief of Iranian armed forces says regime 'will act without waiting for enemies' actions' if national interests are put at risk (will bomb Israel and blow up their reactors)
US and Nato apologise for Afghan Qur'an burning | World news | The Guardian Officials issue speedy apology to protesters over 'error' that caused incineration of religious books at Bagram military airbase (they've learned nothing in ten years)

Greek Bailout Could Easily Go Off The Rails, Confidential Study Shows
Greek debt nightmare laid bare - CNN.com even under the most optimistic scenario, the austerity measures being imposed on Athens risk a recession so deep that Greece will not be able to climb out of the debt hole over the course of a new three-year, €170bn bail-out (force austerity, bankrupt the country, profit!)
Eurozone crisis live: Greece's second rescue package angers Greek opposition | Business | guardian.co.uk Gruelling talks in Brussels ended in the early hours of this morning with agreement on a €130bn package for Greece
The improbable Greece plan | Felix Salmon
Hullabaloo: Modern Monetary Theory on the Rise: Don't look now, but it appears that the abject failure of the Austrian economists austerity mavens to produce political or economic successes is starting to have an effect ... Decades of Reaganomics, Celtic Tigers, tax cuts, deregulation and austerity later, and some economists are just now beginning to figure this out (reality sinking in? Economics most corrupt profession?)

Robert McDowell: The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom - WSJ.com Top-down, international regulation is antithetical to the Net, which has flourished under its current governance model.
UK government to demand access to all phone and internet user data | The Raw Story

Strauss-Kahn arrested by French police investigating alleged prostitution ring | World news | The Guardian Former IMF chief held for questioning over allegations he helped procure prostitutes for orgies in France and the US (the little rutting chimpanzee doing what he does best)

Protest of Trans-Vaginal Ultrasound Bill in Virginia Leads to Delay | FDL News Desk
Virginia pre-abortion ultrasound could constitute sex crime, Democrats warn | World news | guardian.co.uk Democrats say bill is untenable because it criminalises doctors under a sex crime statute that carries a five-year jail sentence (what about the "law-makers?" no consent required for Republican-sponsered rape)
Virginia Wants to Wand Your Vagina. Rightbloggers are Outraged (That You'd Complain) - New York News - Runnin' Scared
Hullabaloo: We all know they're nuts: “If you had told me when I was in law school that this would be a debate in 2012, I would have thought you were nuts … ... After all, there was a time when gun control seemed to be common sense to a majority of Americans
Cancer Screening Budget Cuts May Prove Deadly for Some Women (Republicans don't care)
Supreme Court To Revisit Affirmative Action In University Of Texas Case
US supreme court to revisit affirmative action in university admissions | World news | guardian.co.uk Case to center around University of Texas's denial of admission to a white student in first decision on subject since 2003

Hoover/Brüning 2012 - NYTimes.com For a third, the favorite imaginary candidate, Michael Bloomberg, turns out to be totally ignorant about the economic crisis ("centrist" third-party delusions +Bloomberg is an idiot)
Eschaton: True About Pretty Much Everything One of the most annoying stances of the Sensible Centrist Very Serious People crowd is that even though they are dominant force in Washington, despite not having any real constituency, they imagine themselves to be an extremely brave oppressed minority speaking truths that nobody else dares. Except for every damn day on every page of every one of our national newspapers.

Michael Tomasky: There Will Be No Saviors for the GOP in 2012 - The Daily Beast Prominent Republicans keep hoping for someone to rescue them from its slate of mediocre candidates. But the party’s biggest problem is the ideological bloodlust of its base ... This GOP establishment is barely less loopy than the base. If the base is driving the party into a ditch, the establishment is riding shotgun holding a shovel (teh crazy is in their blood)
Rick Santorum could take Republicans down with him - The Washington Post

Political Animal - Santorum: “You’re Not A Christian” Rick Santorum cannot have it both ways, though. If he feels so strongly that Christians who don’t share his particular “world view” aren’t really Christian at all, then he should be loud and proud about it, and stop pretending he’s just this mild-mannered man of faith being persecuted by people who despise the very name of Jesus Christ (the one true church of Satan)
Rick Santorum's Top Issue: Stopping Porn
Two Charts That Should Make Romney Gulp | TPM2012 (only big donors )
Fox News' Liz Trotta Doubles Down On Statements About Rape In The Military (VIDEO) Trotta alleged that "the main objective" of "hardline feminists" is to "force the Pentagon to lift the ban on women in combat. Accordingly, the political correctness infecting the Pentagon has resulted in silly and dishonest fairytales about female heroism."
Hullabaloo: Premium support con (health-care "vouchers" = "premium support" and other lies)

Martin Peretz: The Complicated Links Between Mormonism And Judaism | The New Republic (consider the source; Israel needs American fundies to pump up their wars)

March release of employment situation highly anticipated | Appleton Post Crescent | postcrescent.com
Mortgage Fraud: Local Officials Step Up To Uncover Document Fraud "When I looked at my data, I began to wonder if my land records office had become a warehouse of stolen property,” Thigpen said (Obama: sweep, sweep, under the rug)
Walmart Profits Down On Deep Discounts To Entice Shoppers
March release of employment situation highly anticipated | Appleton Post Crescent | postcrescent.com The state Department of Workforce Development will release job numbers next month that could be the most anticipated statistics of Gov. Scott Walker's short tenure.
Franklin Graham Calls Obama's Religious Beliefs Into Question (this from the church of Satan)

Climate scientist Peter Gleick admits he leaked Heartland Institute documents | Environment | guardian.co.uk Peter Gleick, a water and climate analyst, says he was blinded by his frustrations with ongoing attacks on climate science
Already Going To Hell Just Pumping That Gas | TBogg - The New York Times Andrew Revkin is in need of a strong dose of laudanum and a fainting couch because it is totally not fair to expose lying liars who lie - Heartland: "Efforts might also include cultivating more neutral voices with big audiences (such as Revkin at DotEarth/NYTimes)" ... And Andrew Revkin packed and delivered like UPS trucks as was foretold in the Book of Bullshit… (so, the Times "earth" correspondent is "neutral" on AGW, figures; rotten as the rest of the paper)
Climate Scientists To Heartland Institute: Stop Whining | ThinkProgress
INTERNAL DOCUMENTS: The Secret, Corporate-Funded Plan To Teach Children That Climate Change Is A Hoax | ThinkProgress (and destroy America and the World)

No sympathy for the devil : Pharyngula (scientists are pretty naive about the "debate")
Peter Gleick's alleged crime : Class M the most cogent commentary on the matter so far arrived in the form of a tweet, from Naomi Klein: And what about the fact the Heartland Institute impersonates a scientific organization every day?
The Heartland Science Denial Documents and the Future of the Planet : Greg Laden's Blog - The best available evidence now suggests that the most damning of the "Heartland Documents" -- the strategy memo which explicitly states that Heartland's strategy is to interfere with good science education in order to advance their political agenda -- is legitimate (and the "anonymous donor" will be revealed)

Science overturns view of humans as naturally ‘nasty’ | The Raw Story “Humans have a lot of pro-social tendencies” (Republicans are anti-human, also)
Swine Flu Virus: Ferret Study Suggests New Virus May Have Pandemic Potential

Lugar Defends Himself on Residency Question Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) defended himself after opponents claimed that he isn't qualified to run for office because he doesn't actually live in Indiana (don't bother me with details)
Connie Mack preaches penny-pinching on campaign trail, but has past of debt and liens - Florida - MiamiHerald.com Court records show how Congressman and Republican Senate candidate Connie Mack has had lots of struggles — with borrowing, spending, his ex-wife and bar fights.
Lawmaker takes jab at Girl Scouts | The Journal Gazette City Republican Indiana rep chides colleagues for honoring ‘radicalized' group ... a group that has been subverted in the name of liberal progressive politics and the destruction of traditional American family values," he said ... girls were directed to a list of 50 role models. Only three, he said, have a religious background. The rest are "feminists, lesbians or communists." (of course, this went over really well)
Southern Baptist panel recommends add-on to name  | ajc.com Officials described the new term as a way to give an official, sanctioned identity to affiliated churches and believers who don't want to use the term "Southern." (doesn't poll well, associated with fat stupid evangelical conservatives)
Courthouse News Service Judge Slaps School for Blocking Gay Websites

SOPA author back and worse than ever - Neowin.net Lamar Smith is the author of a new bill that includes extreme surveillance provisions, and a name that will make opponents sound like criminals: 'Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011.'
Youth shaping future of online TV, movies, music - Yahoo! News 70 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds said they had bought, copied or downloaded unauthorized music, TV shows or movies, compared with 46 percent of all adults who'd done the same.
The Secret to Facebook's IPO Value | The Nation all content which users previously owned as intellectual property, like photos and videos, is granted to Facebook under a “a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license.” That means Facebook can do whatever it wants with the material. This is a truly galling power for a service provider—like an e-mail company asserting copyright over every piece of writing sent through the system (only do evil)

022012
Assad sends tanks towards Homs as Red Cross seeks ceasefire talks | World news | The Guardian Fears that Assad regime is preparing ground assault on rebel stronghold ahead of referendum
Syria has made a curious transition from US ally to violator of human rights | Mehdi Hasan | Comment is free | The Guardian In the war on terror America was happy to send suspects to Syria. Now the US cries torture (it was just "enhanced interrogation" of the "worst of the worst" back then)
UN nuclear inspectors arrive in Iran for make-or-break visit | World news | The Guardian International Atomic Energy Agency's two-day visit comes amid rising tension between Iran and the west
Darkness at the heart of Christchurch, one year after the quake | World news | guardian.co.uk There are new shops built from shipping containers, a theatre and a rugby ground soon to open. But at night, the empty city centre is a dark smudge among the suburban lights
Eric Trager: Is Egypt’s Government Malicious Or Incompetent? | The New Republic (both?)

Greece must default if it wants democracy - FT.com We are at the point where success is no longer compatible with democracy. The German finance minister wants to prevent a “wrong” democratic choice. Similar to this is the suggestion to let the elections go ahead, but to have a grand coalition irrespective of the outcome. The eurozone wants to impose its choice of government on Greece – the eurozone’s first colony (nice little country you had there)
Eurozone crisis live: Greece bailout decision due today | Business | guardian.co.uk The idea that Greece's second bailout should be paid into an 'escrow' account is gaining ground this morning. An Escrow account would means that although Greece would have been granted its funds, its access would be restricted. Miss its targets and the funding stream could run dry (we're going to lend you money but it's not yours)
Eurozone crisis live: Dutch talk tough over Greek rescue package | Business | guardian.co.uk De Jager pushes for 'permanent Troika' in Athens (permanent occupation)
The Bank of England gets it wrong yet again - David Blanchflower - Business Comment - The Independent Economic Outlook: For the umpteenth time the Bank is forecasting rapid recovery
Eschaton: Nobody Could Have Predicted, Not Our Fault, Who Could Have Known, Nothing To Be Done The people who run the world make predictions and decide on policy based on those predictions. Some people tell them they're wrong. A few months later it turns out they were, in fact, wrong. But it's never their fault.
Icelandic Anger Brings Debt Forgiveness - Bloomberg celanders who pelted parliament with rocks in 2009 demanding their leaders and bankers answer for the country’s economic and financial collapse are reaping the benefits of their anger ... “You could safely say that Iceland holds the world record in household debt relief,” ... Iceland’s approach to dealing with the meltdown has put the needs of its population ahead of the markets at every turn (hello, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain and Obama!)

Codswallop! Pensioner handbags health minister outside No 10 | Politics ... The Health Secretary was berated by June Hautot from Tooting who claimed he was privatising the health service. Brushing aside his denial, she jabbed at him with her finger and shouted into his face: "Codswallop, don't lie to me, I'm sick of you." (conservatives at work)
The Sun On Sunday To Launch: News Corp. Says New Tabloid Will Be Published Next Week
Watson queries whether Murdoch can lift suspensions of arrested Sun staff | Media | guardian.co.uk Labour MP's letter to Met police says he believes bail conditions ban arrested journalists from making contact with each other

Pain Without Gain - NYTimes.com Last week the European Commission confirmed what everyone suspected: the economies it surveys are shrinking, not growing. It’s not an official recession yet, but the only real question is how deep the downturn will be (always reward incompetence and failure)
Four out of five economists agree: The stimulus created jobs - The Washington Post (don't let the facts get in our way)
Balloon Juice » Tyranny of the Minority - Kthug goes on to ask “So what will it take to convince the Pain Caucus, the people on both sides of the Atlantic who insist that we can cut our way to prosperity, that they are wrong?” (read for answer)

Never mind the economy, stupid: this election is all about sex | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk By obsessing about birth control, abortion and homosexuality, the GOP has turned its back on mainstream America ... The sexual fundamentalists, who are leading the charge against the recent birth control ruling, who demand as the price of their vote that abortion be outlawed and gay civil rights be rolled back, make up only between 15 to 20 percent of the nation
Political Animal - The Myth of “The Catholic Vote” [T]he idea of a Catholic bloc is patently ridiculous. As voters, American Catholics mirror the electorate as a whole, divided into Democrats, independents, and Republicans at about the same percentages as all Americans ... in fact, that Catholic voters’ willingness to take orders from religious leaders on moral issues is steadily declining (someone call Pope Douthat and break the news to him)

Sorry, Republicans, Your Savior Won't Come | The Nation
Balloon Juice » Monday Evening Open Thread: Casting Lots (for Danziger, brilliant)
In the Bible what is casting lots

Plouffe, Obama Aide, Lends Firm Hand to Campaign - NYTimes.com
The Maddow Blog - Romney's gold-plated resume Referring to Romney, Santorum said, "He heroically bailed out the Salt Lake City Olympic games by heroically going to Congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bail out the Salt Lake Olympic games, in an earmark. Does the word hypocrisy come to mind?"
The Annotated Frank Rich - The President’s Failure to Demand a Reckoning From the Moneyed Interests Who Brought the Economy Down -- New York Magazine The most significant workers he added to the payroll in Salt Lake City were sixteen lobbyists, at a cost of nearly $4 million, to solicit taxpayers’ subsidies—“more federal cash than any previous U.S. Olympics,”
Chart of the Day: The Surprisingly Stable Cost of Presidential Elections | Mother Jones
Rick Santorum Leads National Polls, But When Will The Roller Coaster Stop? (VIDEO) What's up with the Republican polling roller coaster this year? (the clown-car roller-coaster?)
Santorum Suggests Obama Is A 'Phony' Christian | ThinkProgress Santorum appears to be on a mission to be a one-man Council of Trent, the 16th Century Catholic ecumenical council that defined Protestants as heretics (what hardcore Catholics actually believe; the religion wars heat up)
Santorum: Liberals ‘are the anti-science ones’ | The Raw Story
Palin says 'Game Change' film has a 'false narrative' | McClatchy Potentially more upsetting to Palin and her supporters is the way the film depicts the candidate's outbursts and periods of nonresponsiveness that lead aides to describe her as "catatonic" and possibly mentally unstable.
Twitter / @thinkprogress: "Freedom isnt to do whatever you want to do, it's to do what you ought to do" -- Rick Santorum (freedom=slavery)
Walter Shapiro: Why Mitt Romney's Presidential Prospects May Not Be Salvageable | The New Republic THE MITT ROMNEY CRISIS transcends the seven straight national polls showing Rick Santorum in the lead. It goes beyond the embarrassing reality that the son of an auto executive and two-term governor has been behind in every Michigan poll conducted since Groundhog’s Day. Even more devastating for Romney is that elite Republicans have begun to conclude that he cannot, if nominated, beat Barack Obama (GOPers down to who will drag the ticket down the least)
Black Pastor Says Blacks Should Go To Plantation | News One

foreclosures california home prices - latimes.com (yes there was fraud and stealing houseses, but they deserved it)
Eschaton: No Harm That can lead to confusion over who had the legal right to process the foreclosure. But it doesn’t mean the foreclosure itself was unwarranted. It doesn't really matter if the person who takes the home has a right to it, as long as that naughty homeowner gets what they deserve. And this view is why we have the legal and economic disaster we have today.

Tomgram: Wallace Shawn, Are You Smarter Than Thomas Jefferson? | TomDispatch As for all the other babies, the market sorts them and stamps labels onto them and hurls them violently into various pits, where an appropriate upbringing and preparation are waiting for them.
Canada threatens trade war with EU over tar sands | Environment | guardian.co.uk The row over the EU's plan to label tar sands oil as highly polluting escalates as Canada says it 'will not hesitate to defend its interests' (Canada: it's not oil! it's just very oily sand! and it's not polluting!)

Ethical Analysis of Disinformation Campaign's Tactics: Reckless Disregard for the Truth, Specious Claims of 'Bad' Science | ThinkProgress
Balloon Juice » How it works
Physicists Predict The Existence of Time Crystals  - Technology Review If crystals exist in spatial dimensions, then they ought to exist in the dimension of time too, says Nobel prize-winning physicist - “Speaking broadly speaking, what we're looking for looks perilously close to perpetual motion.”

Balloon Juice » Has Marriage Become A “Luxury Good”?

Eschaton: Taser: I've never understood why taser use by cops is a laff riot rather than a national scandal, cops flouting due process to administer cruel and unusual punishment at will (500 taser deaths since 2001; "excited delirium" affects only people who die in police custody; 60% gratuitous sadism)
Pennsylvania police officer filmed firing taser at teenage girl - video | World news | guardian.co.uk footage shows a police officer pushing a 14-year-old girl against a parked car and firing a taser at her groin. Shortly before the taser was fired the teenager is seen raising her hands in surrender.
Police Officer Tases 14-Year-Old Keshana Wilson' Groin Outside Of Pennsylvania High School (video)

Peter Skyllberg, Swedish Man, Survived Two Months In Snow-Covered Car (VIDEO) Peter Skyllberg, a 44-year-old man from Sweden, survived two months trapped in his snow-covered car due to a "natural igloo" that formed from the air trapped in the vehicle ... "Starvation for one month, anyone can tolerate that if they have water to drink,"
Banned Ryanair Ads: Too Much Fuss Over A Little Lingerie? (PHOTOS) The constantly pearl-clutching Advertising Standards Authority in Britain has dropped the ban hammer on more ads that it deems too racy for public consumption.

On Being Blog • Ascending Staircases of Sonoma Light by Susan Leem (Meredith Monk)

Burning Man organisers feel the heat as row erupts over tickets | Culture | guardian.co.uk A new lottery system has cost many festival-going regulars their tickets – and has ignited a debate about the festival's future
Why does it matter if a child has a same-sex crush? | Tom Katsumi | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk The ripples caused by a boy of seven coming out as gay shows society has a way to go before it views LGBT people equally
Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan? That's the sound of ageing | John Harris | Comment is free | The Guardian Rock may be uncool, but it's not dead – as long as it accepts its new status as the music of the ageing
Whitney: Sister Can’t Fly On One Wing | The New Civil Rights Movement


021912
Petitions | The White House Please Submit ACTA to the Senate for Ratification as Required by the Constitution for Trade Agreements

China backs Assad before Syrian forces open fire at funeral | World news | guardian.co.uk Beijing's deputy foreign minister argues for 'stability' as regime continues to target protesters
Israeli Strike On Iran 'Not Prudent,' Gen. Martin Dempsey Says
Hague 'new Cold War' fear over Iran - Middle East - World - The Independent Iran's nuclear ambitions could plunge the world into "a new Cold War" with the Middle East, Foreign Secretary William Hague warned today (just what they want)
Iran announces it has stopped selling crude oil to UK and France | World news | The Guardian Tehran takes step four months ahead of EU import ban amid heightening political tensions over country's enriching of uranium
Baghdad suicide bomb kills 19 police | World news | The Guardian Fourteen cadets and five officers killed in attack on crowd outside police academy in Iraqi capital
Bali bombing suspect's interrogation downgrades link to al-Qaida | World news | The Guardian Umar Patek says he was unaware of Osama bin Laden's presence in Abbotabad, where he was captured

Costa Concordia Disaster: Francesco Schettino Hair Sample Showed Traces Of Cocaine On Outside Of Hair

NYPD Monitored Muslim Students All Over Northeast (monitoring "how many times they prayed"; no consequences)

Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether a lie is protected speech | McClatchy
Commentary: Some lies around Deep Throat exposed | McClatchy

Is Virginia’s ultrasound bill the future of abortion regulation? - The Washington Post (conservative love state-sanctioned rape)
Balloon Juice » Today’s Worst Person in the World: Tyler Cowen: "All of a sudden requiring consumer to be informed is extremely unpopular on the "pro-regulation side" Um, what the hell would a woman be doing in an abortion clinic if she didn’t already know what was up in there? I think women are pretty clear on the concept (but not Tyler Cowen, christ-what-an-asshole)
If You Think Consumers Should Know What’s In Their Food, Surely You Favor Mandatory Rape - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Shame The Sluts And Make Them Wait | TBogg McArgleBargle that is the comments over at McMegans’s Sociopaths With Broken Calculators site regarding Komen and Planned Parenthood which naturally led to a discussion about abortion (McAddled: abortion should be legal but you have to submit to rape first)
Why Patriarchal Men Are Utterly Petrified of Birth Control -- And Why We'll Still Be Fighting About it 100 Years From Now | Visions | AlterNet - according to freudian theory, future choices are? Conservative bishops and Congressmen are fighting a rear-guard action against one of the most revolutionary changes in human history.
Fox's Andrea Tantaros Defends All-Male Panel At Contraception Hearing | Media Matters for America

Cheryl Russell: The Surprising Trends That Suggest Young People Won’t Vote In 2012 | The New Republic (voting is for adults with jobs)
Rick Santorum: Obama Agenda Not 'Based On Bible' (Santorum from planet Fundie)
Santorum: Obama's Agenda Not 'Based On The Bible' | TPM Livewire Obama's agenda is "not about you. It's not about your quality of life. It's not about your jobs. It's about some phony ideal. Some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology," Santorum told supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement
Detroit to Romney: Get Real on Auto Bailout
The Washington Monthly - Ten Miles Square - A Gasoline Conspiracy to Set Fire to the Obama Administration?

How a Filthy Rich 196 People Will Buy Our Election | Economy | AlterNet - In 2011, 196 individual donors provided nearly 80 percent of the money raised by super PACs.
Driving, gas prices and the end of retail - The Washington Post

Attacks paid for by big business are 'driving science into a dark era' | Science | The Observer Researchers attending one of the world's major academic conferences 'are scared to death of the anti-science lobby' (Republicans dragging the country back to the dark ages)
Conservatism Thrives on Low Intelligence and Poor Information | | AlterNet There is plenty of research showing that low general intelligence in childhood predicts greater prejudice towards people of different ethnicity or sexuality in adulthood.
Study links ultrafast machine trading with risk of crash - In the United States, ultrafast trading in financial markets between 2006 and 2011 was the underlying factor for over 18,000 extreme price changes,
Alan Turing's 1950s tiger stripe theory proved - regular repeating patterns in biological systems are generated by a pair of morphogens that work together as an 'activator' and 'inhibitor'.
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DownWithTyranny!: Arizona Republican Sheriff And Congressional Candidate Paul Babeu Dragged Out Of The Closet (o my)
Paul Babeu Says He's Gay After Misconduct Claims A nationally known sheriff resigned from presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's Arizona committee and acknowledged he was gay amid allegations of misconduct made by a man with whom he previously had a relationship (America's toughest gay sheriff)


021812
Syria Crisis: Security Forces Open Fire On Funeral (learned that from Obama)
Iran's nuclear ambitions could lead to 'Middle East cold war', says Hague | World news | guardian.co.uk Foreign secretary said the world would face most serious round of nuclear proliferation since invention of atomic bomb
Pakistan won’t help US attack Iran, says Zardari | The Nation

Inside the Eastern Rise of Weibo, China’s Twitter | Culture | Vanity Fair . Weibo has taken over the Chinese social-media scene, compelling everyone from Tom Cruise to Jeremy Lin to sign up and start sharing.

Tesco asks government to change flagship jobless scheme | Business | The Guardian Work experience programme must be voluntary, says major employer amid complaints it is profiting from forced labour ... obseekers are being used as taxpayer-subsidised labour in high street chains up and down the country (Tories set up slave-labor, wonder why there are no jobs)
Libor Manipulation: Another Black Eye for UBS - Businessweek UBS again appears to be at the heart of a banking scandal, this time for rigging a benchmark interest rate
ANZ rewards staff with holiday while customers get rates pain | News.com.au ANZ staff rewarded with $1.75 million luxury cruise - Comes days after mass sackings, rate increases - the bank, whose advertising slogan is "we live in your world".


Justice Department Will No Longer Defend Law Blocking Military Benefits For Same-Sex Couples (Obama still "evolving")
Maryland Marriage Equality: House Of Delegates Passes Bill In Favor Of Same-Sex Marriage
Chris Christie vetoes New Jersey same-sex marriage bill | World news | guardian.co.uk Republican governor acts on his vow to reject measure and reaffirms view that state's voters should have final say on issue

Amine El Khalifi Arrested: Capitol Suicide Bombing Attempt Halted A 29-year-old Moroccan man who believed he was working with al-Qaida was arrested Friday near the U.S. Capitol as he was planning to detonate what he thought was a suicide vest that undercover operatives gave him, officials said.
Capitol Bomb Plot Raises FBI Sting Questions ... And that wasn't the first time critics had accused the FBI of edging close to entrapment and goading vulnerable people into terrorism plots (create terrorist; catch him; make everyone scared!)

Supreme Court Blocks Montana Campaign Finance Ban (don't need no steenking states rights in this case)
Harry Reid Will Ask Obama To Recess Appoint All Nominees If GOP Delays Continue
Harry Reid Will Ask Obama To Recess Appoint All Nominees If GOP Delays Continue (Rethug obstructatron)
Payroll Tax Fight Leads Congressional Republicans To Turn To Offensive Strategies "We need to change course and focus on pro-growth economic policies that help small businesses create jobs," House Speaker John Boehner (culture wars not working)
It Gets Worse in Maine ... "Amateur hour is over. The choice of a president is simply too important to put in the hands of party bumblers and the small percentage of people who are willing to spend hours to cast a vote."
Mitt Romney wounded by anti-bailout stance on return home to Michigan | World news | guardian.co.uk Romney's insistence that the auto bailout was bad for Detroit risks a loss of votes in the state where his father was governor
Maxine Waters Ethics Probe: Six Out Of Ten Committee Members Recuse Themselves All five Republicans on the House ethics committee and the panel's ranking Democrat withdrew from a long-standing investigation of Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California on Friday to avoid further questions about their impartiality (Rethug witch-hunt)
Scott Walker, Targeted For A Recall, Which Heartland Institute Aims To Fight, Documents Show , the Heartland Institute has budgeted $612,000 for a Wisconsin campaign called Operation Angry Badger.
Birth Control Debate: New Hampshire Lawmaker Urges Married Couples To Practice Abstinence State Rep. Lynne Blankenbeker (R-Concord) made the claim -- noting that abstinence is available "over the counter" (that, and "aspirins" - way to go, Lynne)
Negative posts will get you banned from Haley's Facebook page | The Post and Courier - Charleston, South Carolina (Rethugs love censorship)

Private Equity Gears Up For PR And Lobbying Blitz Private equity has an image problem. What began a few months ago with questions about Mitt Romney's background as chief of Bain Capital has ballooned into a tidal wave of legislative, regulatory and media attention -- and much of it unflattering.
Programmer cleared of stealing code from Goldman Sachs | Technology | guardian.co.uk Sergey Aleynikov has conviction dismissed out of hand by appeal judges after serving a year for copying trading software

H5N1 Bird Flu Studies Will Remain A Secret Until WHO Assesses Risk
Academic publisher Elsevier hit with growing boycott - Technology & Science - CBC News Critics say campaign unfairly singles out firm over widespread practices (of charging outrageous prices for research you already paid for, so unfair)

For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside Marriage - NYTimes.com (family values!)

Paul Babeu's Mexican Ex-Lover Says Sheriff's Attorney Threatened Him With Deportation - Page 1 - News - Phoenix - Phoenix New Times Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu — who became the face of Arizona border security nationally after he started stridently opposing illegal immigration — threatened his Mexican ex-lover with deportation when the man refused to promise never to disclose their years-long relationship (hypocrisy, thy name is Republican)
Video shows talk show host inside gay bar on night of hit-and-run | News (ditto)
Shirley Bunn: 'Teacher Of The Year' Suspended For Offensive Comment, Telling Hispanic Student To 'Go Back To Mexico' (way to go, Shirley; now everyone knows your name)

021712
Glenn Greenwald, Erin Burnett Argue Over Burnett's Iran Coverage (video)
Iran Nuclear Coverage Echoes Iraq War Media Frenzy (blowing people up and bankrupting the country is good for ratings)
US officials believe Iran sanctions will fail, making military action likely | World news | The Guardian Growing view that strike, by Israel or US, will happen • 'Sweet spot' for Israeli action identified as September-October (Pentagon ramps up its PR)
Libya celebrates, Syria burns – Friday 17 February | World news | guardian.co.uk Libya marks first anniversary of uprising against Gaddafi • Protests grow in Damascus

Markets back Greek bailout hopes but German schism could still derail deal | Business | The Guardian Angela Merkel, Mario Monti and Lucas Papademos 'confident' deal on €130bn (£108bn) bailout would be struck on Monday, but concerns are growing behind the scenes
German President Christian Wulff Resigns Following Financial Scandal after the slow-burning affair escalated dramatically with a request by prosecutors for Parliament to lift his immunity from prosecution over his relationship with a film producer in his previous job as governor of Lower Saxony (how the elite live)
Italian police seize $6tn of fake US Treasury bonds | World news | The Guardian Swiss authorities find bonds in safe deposit boxes in Zurich in 'largest ever' seizure of fake securities

Rupert Murdoch Announces Sun On Sunday Launch, Says Suspended Employees Can Return To Work
The old monster Rupert Murdoch finds his elixir with his back against the wall | Marina Hyde | Comment is free | The Guardian Who could fail to be impressed with Murdoch the adrenaline junkie, handbrake-turning into the offices of the Sun?
The Sun also rises on Sunday: Murdoch visits the newsroom to quell rebellion | Media | The Guardian Suspension of arrested journalists lifted as News International boss tells staff paper will replace News of the World 'very soon'

Obama May Ditch Most US Nukes | Mother Jones Conservatives in Congress say the president's policy is "reckless lunacy"—but military strategists think it's smart.

The digital wizards behind Obama's tech-heavy re-election strategy | World news | guardian.co.uk The names behind a crack team of some of America's top data wonks building a digital campaign from bottom up
Obama, Facebook and the power of friendship: the 2012 data election | World news | guardian.co.uk A unified computer database that gathers and refines information on millions of potential voters is at the forefront of campaign technology – and could be the key to an Obama win

Virginia ultrasound law: women who want an abortion will be forcibly penetrated for no medical reason - Slate Magazine Under the new legislation, women who want an abortion will be forcibly penetrated for no medical reason. Where’s the outrage?
Political Animal - Virginia Ritual Humiliation Bill it seems incontrovertible that the purpose of such requirements is to intimidate and humiliate women, and add another cost and delay to the abortion procedure, which, of course, Virginia legislators would ban altogether if the Supreme Court would let them.
Nancy Pelosi Rallies Base Over Birth Control Fight
Political Animal - Foster Friess Doubles Down
Political Animal - “Terri Schiavo Moment” Now that it’s reasonably clear that the Obama administration’s contraception coverage mandate is not turning into a “wedge issue” that herds large number of Catholic voters into the GOP column, it’s time to consider whether the preoccupation of Republicans with rolling back reproductive rights and attacking the organizations that defend them could become a problem - The Obama position finds a two-thirds majority among suburban voters and a 61 percent majority among single women (keep digging, Republican taliban)

Balloon Juice » Pat Buchanan out at MSNBC - Pat Buchanan gave the keynote speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention. He had failed to secure the nomination, but had done well enough to demand the spotlight during prime time. Molly Ivins said later of his speech that “it probably sounded better in the original German.” (and NPR, hopefully)
Pat Buchanan: "My Days As A Political Analyst At MSNBC Have Come To An End" | Media Matters for America In his new syndicated column headlined "The New Blacklist," Pat Buchanan announces that he is departing from MSNBC. He devotes much of the column to lashing out against organizations that have called for him to be held accountable for his bigoted rhetoric:
Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski 'Strongly Disagree' With Pat Buchanan's Exit From MSNBC
Balloon Juice » To Serve Women (a cookbook) What are women for? Why, to serve as civilizing hose-bags and poop out babies, of course! Well, at the very least, the column puts paid to any notion that the GOP’s “woman problem” will end when dinosaurs like Foster Friess finally lumber into the tar pit.

Payroll tax cut extension passes US Congress in burst of bipartisanship | World news | guardian.co.uk n victory for Obama, bill extending jobless benefits to millions passes House of Representatives and Senate - workers would continue to receive a 2 percentage-point increase in their paychecks and people out of work for more than six months would keep jobless benefits averaging about $300 a week.
Scott Brown Leads Elizabeth Warren In New Massachusetts Poll Two polls, two different results. A new public poll of Massachusetts voters released Thursday night shows Sen. Scott Brown with a statistically significant lead over Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren, contradicting the results of a survey released earlier in the week that showed a much closer result and gave Warren a slight edge (Suffolk U)
NJ Gov. Christie vetoes gay marriage bill as vowed - Yahoo! News

Paul Krugman In Playboy Interview: 'People Should Be In Jail' Because Of Financial Crisis (Obama alway had the bankers' and mortgage companies' backs and a lot of good it did him, as usual)
Tech Analyst Arrested in Insider Trading Crackdown - NYTimes.com John Kinnucan, a technology analyst who gained notoriety last year for openly challenging federal authorities, was arrested on Thursday night by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Financial Distress Still Plagues American Families, Despite Increase In Jobs

Heartland Institute faces fresh scrutiny over tax status | Environment | guardian.co.uk Whistleblower made complaint to IRS over climate science attack machine's tax-exempt status, Guardian learns - he libertarian thinktank whose project to undermine science lessons for schoolchildren was exposed this week, faces new scrutiny of its finances – including its donors and tax status.
The inside story on climate scientists under siege | Environment | guardian.co.uk Michael Mann reveals his account of attacks by entrenched interests seeking to undermine his 'hockey stick' graph
Ancient meteorite standing between one Iowa town and its water supply | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News The crash created the underground Manson Crater—which has a diameter of 24 miles and reaches into four neighboring counties.

New rules proposed for food handouts on the Parkway The presence of food lines in the heart of the city's museum district has been a long-simmering source of tension between those who want to help and those who think there is a better way to do it (which would be let them starve!)
$1 billion casino at National Harbor proposed by Prince George’s Executive Baker - The Washington Post arguing that a “high-end” gaming destination at National Harbor would be a catalyst for economic development and generate much-needed tax revenue (economic development: gambling! low wage jobs! social disaster!)

For-Profit College Chiefs Unwind At Lavish Tahoe Resort Students at for-profit colleges often end up with enormous debt burdens and lean job prospects, resulting in a disproportionate number of student loan defaults. But the scene at this resort tucked into the Sierra Nevada Mountains served as testament to the fact that those running the institutions have fared far better (how the elite live)
FBI Fliers Reveal Profile Of A Perfect Terrorist (They Pay For Coffee With Cash, Apparently) f you're in Starbucks and notice a nondescript individual paying for their coffee with cash - watch out. According to the FBI you might have found evidence of a terrorist plot.

Google admits tracking Safari users | Technology | guardian.co.uk nternet giant says it circumvented security settings in browser to track users on desktops and iPhones
Anonymous Knocks FTC Site Offline, Posts Anti-ACTA Content
Typosquatting Sites Fined $300,000 Two so-called ‘typosquatting’ websites that directed unsuspecting Internet users to sites pretending to be Wikipedia and Twitter have been forced offline, with the respective owners fined £100,000 ($156,000) each
Pirate Bay: The RIAA Is Delusional and Must Be Stopped | TorrentFreak The Pirate Bay is not happy with a recent article published by the RIAA, where the torrent site is portrayed as the prime example of why tougher anti-piracy laws are necessary. In a rebuttal, The Pirate Bay argues that the RIAA is delusional, behaving like a spoiled kid that has lost touch with reality.

021612
Israelis prepare for war with Iran - Iran - Salon.com Even ex-Mossad chief who opposes an attack on Iran seems to have given up
Diane Sawyer and Brian Ross belong in a fear-mongering museum - Salon.com (your media loves people dying in wars)
U.S. media takes the lead on Iran - Salon.com (bomb, bomb ... )
Honduras jail fire: most prisoners had not been convicted | World news | The Guardian More than half of inmates in Comayagua jail, where 358 died, were awaiting trial or being held as gang suspects
Libyan militias accused of torturing detainees | World news | guardian.co.uk Amnesty International reports armed militias threaten the security of Libya with 12 detainees tortured to death since September
Fears over Iranian oil exports send crude prices soaring | World news | guardian.co.uk State-run TV in Iran claims Tehran has stopped exporting oil to the Netherlands, Greece, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy
Syria: activists arrested as assault on cities continues – Thursday 16 February | World news | guardian.co.uk Blogger and human rights campaigner detained • Chinese envoy heads for Syria
Israel denies reports of thwarted attack on Ehud Barak in Singapore | World news | The Guardian Kuwaiti newspaper story that Mossad tipped off local agents over threat to defence minister, 'completely wrong' says Israel
Italy to End Tax Breaks on Church Enterprises, Monti Says - Businessweek (world's largest pedophile organization to lose tax exemptions in Italy)
Bill C-309 | openparliament.ca Preventing Persons from Concealing Their Identity during Riots and Unlawful Assemblies Act (Canada)
The murder case that refuses to die: June 2, 1967 - Alan Nothnagle - Open Salon the new revelations are “worse than the worst we ever suspected back then. Our imagination didn’t reach that far.” The Spiegel report shows that everyone on the scene lied under oath.
Afghan Girls Are Penalized for Elders’ Misdeeds - NYTimes.com

Greece is being forced out of eurozone, Venizelos claims | World news | The Guardian Greek finance minister says troika is shifting terms of €130bn bailout deal as part of move to force country out of eurozone
Eurozone crisis live: Barroso salutes Greece's courage as markets fall | Business | guardian.co.uk European Commission president calls for bailout to be agreed • Portugal's unemployment rate hits 14%
Eurozone crisis live: Barroso salutes Greece's courage as markets fall | Business | guardian.co.uk It turns out that practically every single traffic light in central Athens was destroyed in the orgy of violence that erupted during parliament's dramatic vote on the loan deal.
UK unemployment stuck at 17-year high as economy flatlines | Business | The Guardian ONS data shows unemployment rate at 8.4%, while economists note increase in number of people out of work has slowed (more austerity!)
BBC News - Spain's economy contracts as recession fears grow The Spanish economy has shrunk for the first time in two years, increasing fears the country could be heading for a recession (more austerity!)
John Paulson Says Greece May Default, Spurring Euro Breakup - Bloomberg (all for nothing)
Eschaton: No Interest In Fixing The Economy It's worth pointing out something rather obvious, that no one in charge in Europe has expressed any interested in fixing the economic problems of Greece. Mass unemployment is not the issue they're concerned about, the continued financial success of European bankers is. These things aren't necessarily at odds. There are probably win-win solutions.
Tesco under pressure to withdraw from unpaid work experience schemes | Business | The Guardian Supermarket giant says advert posted on Twitter for night-shift job paying only jobseeker's allowance was down to IT error (the new Tory austerity solution: work for free)

Met probes claims that Sun paid some public officials more than £10k a year | Media | guardian.co.uk Source familiar with News Corp internal inquiry says it has found 'serious suspected criminality over a sustained period' ... some individuals received more than £10,000 a year and were "effectively on retainer"

The imperial way: American decline in perspective, part 2 | Noam Chomsky | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk The US's presumed right to impose its will on the world, by force if necessary, has not changed. But its capacity to do so has
U.S. v. Pakistan on transparency and accountability - Salon.com Virtually without exception, the American judiciary has refused to allow any victims of America’s War on Terror abuses — whether foreign national or American citizen — to even have their claims heard in court.

President Obama Birth Control Compromise Divides Catholic Leaders
Rick Santorum's Language Could Cause Trouble In White House Bid In Boise, Idaho, on Tuesday, Santorum compared contraception to deodorant and soap when making a point about why he believes birth control should not be covered by health insurers.
Scott Brown: Elizabeth Warren Has Assumed 'Mantle Of Oppressor' With Health Care Stance
House Democrats Walk Out Of One-Sided Hearing On Contraception, Calling It An 'Autocratic Regime' (go Republicans! +Darrell "crackpipe" Issa)
Democratic Women Boycott House Contraception Hearing After Republicans Prevent Women From Testifying | ThinkProgress (Issa: women need to learn their place)
Thank You Justice Kennedy! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Say this for anti-choicers, they’re extremely creative when it comes to finding new ways to humiliate women ... “While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude many women don’t object having a speculum inserted into their vagina without their consent and for no valid medical reason.” (Republicans mandate medical rape)
Virginia House Pushes Through Abortion Curbs A Republican supermajority "has muscled two of the most restrictive anti-abortion bills in years through the Virginia House, including one that would all but outlaw the procedure in the state by declaring that the rights of persons apply from the moment sperm and egg unite," the AP reports. The bill also requires women to have a "transvaginal ultrasound" before undergoing abortions.
All Your Vaginas Are Belong To Us | TBogg
Eschaton: Rape That's basically what this is. Want an abortion, your punishment is being sexually assaulted by a doctor with a vaginal probe for no medical reason. Ah that nonintrusive small government moral high ground the modern libertarian Republican party possesses.
Chunky Reese Witherspoon Is The New Typhoid Mary | TBogg State Rep. Jeanine Notter, R-Merrimack, told a House committee earlier today that health insurance companies should not be required to cover birth control because the pill has recently been linked to prostate cancer.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day "Back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly." -- Santorum Super PAC donor Foster Freiss, in an interview on MSNBC, defending his candidate's position on contraception.

Scott Brown On Support For Blunt Bill: ‘I Have The Same Position As Senator Kennedy’ | TPM2012
Blunt words for Brown - Metro - The Boston Globe
Blue Mass Group | Scott Brown doubles down on Roy Blunt’s crazy amendment it turns out that Scott Brown, when he was a state rep, voted for a stronger birth-control mandate than Obama's. Oopsie

Abortion saved my life - Abortion - Salon.com I almost died in an emergency room because the doctor on call refused to perform a necessary procedure ("Christian" doctor)
Susan G Komen's 'pinkwashing' problem a black mark on charity | World news | guardian.co.uk As backlash continues over Planned Parenthood defunding, issue of companies who claim to care about breast cancer by promoting a product under false pretenses has been reignited (Brinker must go)

Economist's View: "Romer Advised Obama To Push $1.8 Trillion Stimulus" [Top Adviser David] Plouffe urged the president to give [entitlement reform] a shot ... Summers fought Orszag's pursuit of a deficit reduction commission…. He also pushed back on Orszag's idea of a domestic spending freeze ... "We're Democrats," Summers harrumphed. (Obama and his crack team of Chicago Republicans; Plouffe and Orzag are idiots and totally out of touch) /a>
Hullabaloo: Winning, austerity style - how awesome it is that progressives are now thought to be "winning" issues by cutting taxes, cutting unemployment benefits, cutting federal pensions, cutting health programs and agreeing to mandatory drug testing? If we keep this up we'll put Republicans out of business in no time. They will be superfluous

Payroll Tax Cut Deal Reached In Congress with Republicans agreeing to tack the $100 billion cost onto the deficit and Democrats accepting diminished jobless benefits as well as some drug testing for the unemployed (way to do, Dems)
CNN Cancels Debate After Mitt Romney And Ron Paul Pull Out
Fox News' Eric Bolling Tells Maxine Waters To 'Step Away From The Crack Pipe,' Later Says He Was 'Kidding' (Fox racist network)
Rep. Allen West's 15 Most Outrageous Statements | ThinkProgress
Why Romney Can't Stop Santorum - These Are Not The Candidates You're Looking For - Esquire
Poll Finds Republicans in Deep Trouble A new Democracy Corps (D) survey finds the Republican brand "is in a state of collapse -- over 50 percent of voters give the Republican Party a cool, negative rating ... Voters who gave Democrats their victories in 2006 and 2008 "have returned in a big way" led by "a resurgence and re-engagement of unmarried women." (and the Republican clown parade)

General Motors shrugs off European woes to post record profit of $7.6bn | Business | guardian.co.uk GM posts highest profit on record in its first full year since it was bailed out, but Europe remains a black spot for firm
California Audit Finds Broad Irregularities in Foreclosures - NYTimes.com An audit by San Francisco county officials of about 400 recent foreclosures there determined that almost all involved either legal violations or suspicious documentation, according to a report released Wednesday.
National Mortgage Settlement: Bank Forecloses Even As Carrie Haskamp Pursues Loan Modification
Citigroup Whistle-Blower Says Bank’s ‘Brute Force’ Hid Bad Loans - Bloomberg (all the stuff Obama has been trying to sweep under the rug)

In Heartland Institute Leak, a Plan to Discredit Climate Teaching - NYTimes.com Leaked documents suggest that an organization known for attacking climate science is planning a new push to undermine the teaching of global warming in public schools, the latest indication that climate change is becoming a part of the nation’s culture wars - Heartland Institute - the group apologized to donors whose names became public as a result of the leak.
Leak exposes how Heartland Institute works to undermine climate science | Environment | guardian.co.uk Libertarian thinktank keeps prominent sceptics on its payroll and relies on millions in funding from carbon industry, papers suggest
Heartland Institute claims fraud after leak of climate change documents | Environment | guardian.co.uk Thinktank said to be undermining climate science says it was victim of theft and forgery – but identifies only one memo as fake - The free-market Heartland Institute has moved to contain the damage from explosive revelations about its efforts to discredit climate change and alter the teaching of science in schools
Microsoft Disavows Heartland Institute's Climate Denial, Says Contributions Just 'Free Software Licenses' | ThinkProgress

Puzzle play helps boost learning math-related skills

Sick: Young, Undercover Cops Flirted With Students to Trick Them Into Selling Pot | AlterNet
Police 'Tank' Purchase Riles New Hampshire Town "We're going to have our own tank." That's what Keene, N.H., Mayor Kendall Lane whispered to Councilman Mitch Greenwood during a December city council meeting. It's not quite a tank. But the quaint town of 23,000 -- scene of just two murders since 1999 -- had just accepted a $285,933 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to purchase a Bearcat, an eight-ton armored personnel vehicle made by Lenco Industries Inc.
Political Animal - “Don’t Say Gay” Advances in Tennessee Before the House education subcommittee acted, chairman Joey Hensley scored bonus points by admonishing all Tennessee parents not to let their children watch “Modern Family” on television because they might discover there are homosexuals in the world. These days, life often imitates parody

You Never Give Me Your Money(long 6 min version)-The Beatles - YouTube
Jacob Sutton’s L.E.D. Surfer - nowness


021512
How secret renditions shed light on MI6's licence to kill and torture | World news | The Guardian Little-known clause lets secretary of state authorise UK's spies to commit crimes abroad (and send Libyan nationals back to Gaddaffi to be tortured; CIA doesn't have to admit to anything)
Iran Oil Exports To 6 European Countries Stopped, State TV Reports
Iran Nuclear Threat Brings No U.S. Enthusiasm For A Military Strike (worked out really well the last two times)

Euro Zone Economy Shrank in Fourth Quarter of 2011 - NYTimes.com (more austerity!)
Eurozone crisis live: Greek president attacks Germany as bailout deadline moves to Monday | Business | guardian.co.uk
UK unemployment stuck at 17-year high as economy flatlines | Business | The Guardian ONS data shows unemployment rate at 8.4%, while economists note increase in number of people out of work has slowed (more austerity!)
Italy Slips Into Fourth Recession Since 2001 as Economy Contracts 0.7% - Bloomberg (more austerity!)
German economy slips into reverse in last quarter - Business News - Business - The Independent (their stratagy was to bankrupt their trading partners; worked out really well)

Eschaton: Other People Need To Suffer Repeating myself for the millionth time here, but I really wasn't being hyperbolic when I wrote that the people who run the world are sadists. They apparently truly believe that only through the mass suffering of people other than themselves can paradise be achieved. Then the question becomes, of course, whose paradise?


How Blue America Subsidizes Red America A very neat Aaron Carroll chart shows that, on average, conservative states feature more "dependency" on federal programs than do liberal ones
Balloon Juice » Open Thread: Moochers of “Real” America Happily (for the preservation of his libertarian bubble), Yglesias decides that the redstaters are too dumb to understand their essential parasitism; he doesn’t spare any consideration for us elitist blue-staters, but presumably our fuzzy-minded philanthropicalism prevents us from cutting off the ‘Real American’ moochers to devolve into their natural Hobbesian disorder.
The Tea Party’s war on mass transit - Salon.com House Republicans try to gut federal funds for subways as they extend the culture wars to urban policy issues (cities are full of drug-using criminals; conservative identity politics)
Balloon Juice » They already got a hearing And even Catholics who attend church every week or almost every week support it by 48-43 (no one agrees with the Catholic Bishops, but they are dictating birth control policy)

Payroll Tax Deal Would Allow Drug Testing, Reduce Unemployment Benefits To 73 Weeks [UPDATE] And the deal would allow states to drug test those applying for unemployment benefits, according to Democratic and Republican congressional sources (what a deal: Obama's compromises)
Mitt Romney's Stance On Auto Bailout Doesn't Reflect Local Feelings On The Economy
Jon Stewart Slams Liz Trotta's Views On Sexual Assault On Women In Military (Fox supports rape)
Fox's Bolling Repeats Discredited Myth That 9/11 Attacks Had "Footsteps" That Could Be Traced "Right Back To Saddam" | Media Matters for America (Fox supports outright lying)

Why Is Pancreatic Cancer So Deadly?: Scientific American
Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms, Prognosis, Stage, Life Expectancy, Causes, Treatment, Signs and Diagnosis by MedicineNet.com http://www.medicinenet.com/pancreatic_cancer/article.htm


Arizona bill takes aim at airbrushed women in ads House Bill 2793, proposed by Rep. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, would require advertisers who alter or enhance a photo to put a disclaimer on that ad alerting customers that "Postproduction techniques were made to alter the appearance in this advertisement. When using this product, similar results may not be achieved."

Bulgaria refuses to ratify ACTA — RT
Acta loses more support in Europe | Technology | guardian.co.uk Bulgaria and the Netherlands join Poland and Germany in refusing to ratify Acta, citing privacy and human rights issues
MPAA: Ripping DVDs Shouldn't Be Allowed Because It Takes Away Our Ability To Charge You Multiple Times For The Same Content | Techdirt

021412
/ Syria, Bahrain and Middle East unrest | World news | guardian.co.uk Bombardment of Homs 'worst for five days'
Iran behind Thailand blasts, claims Israel's Ehud Barak | World news | The Guardian Three blasts in Bangkok wound bomber and five others (the Jews should bar-mitzvah dead Mormons, or maybe living ones)
Proxy Baptism Seekers Eyed Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel For Posthumous Mormon Rite Mormons had proposed the ritual even for a famous Holocaust survivor still living.
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito's acquittal challenged by prosecutors | World news | The Guardian Italian prosecutors appeal against the verdict that cleared Knox and Sollecito of Meredith Kercher's murder in Perugia (Italian "justice" is a joke)
Report: Russia Nuclear Disaster Narrowly Averted In Submarine Fire Russia came close to nuclear disaster in late December when a blaze engulfed a nuclear-powered submarine carrying atomic weapons, a leading Russian magazine reported, contradicting official assurances that it was not armed.


Eurozone debt crisis live: UK credit rating under threat amid Moody's downgrade blitz | Business | guardian.co.uk New data from Greece shows the desperate state of Greek's economy – its GDP plunged by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2011, on a year-on-year basis (disasterous austerity policies are a disaster)
Eschaton: Fortunately We Have A Policy For That Greece's economy is still imploding, so of course we will continue with the current successful policies. The Greece situation isn't simple - they can rely on outside help or default and leave the Euro - but the people dictating the terms of the outside aid are clearly sadists who enjoy suffering. Like most of the people who run the world.
Portugal’s Debt Efforts May Be a Warning for Greece - NYTimes.com (another austerity disaster; who could have predicted; reality is not the issue)

News Corp inquiry team defends policy over police disclosures | Media | guardian.co.uk Management and standards committee dismisses claims it is revealing names of officers who lunch or drink with journalists
News Corp. Civil War Shows No Signs Of Ending; Company Gives Anonymous Sources To Police

'Losing' the world: American decline in perspective, part 1 | Noam Chomsky | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk US foreign policy 'experts' only ever provide an echo chamber for American imperial power. A longer, broader view is necessary

Mitt Romney and the Fallacy of Political “Authenticity” — Crooked Timber
The “Ic” Factor : The New Yorker (the history of the slur "The Democrat Party" goes back to McCarthy)
the daily howler: Hollywood watch: David Brooks knows novels! If Romney could just learn to fake it: Over and over, the news is a novel! Just as we have long said!
Americans Don’t Blame the Social Safety Net for the Deficit | FDL Action

Mitt Romney attacks 'crony capitalism' of Obama's auto bailout | World news | guardian.co.uk Romney risks loss of votes in Michigan after repeating claim that car industry should have gone through managed bankruptcy (up is always down)
The Internal Contradictions of Mitt Romney - NYTimes.com And by “internal”, I mean in the same paragraph ... Has there ever been a candidacy this cynical? (truth has no value in America)
Elizabeth Warren, Scott Brown Tied in Massachusetts Poll
Eschaton It's just the usual issue of people who were born on third base and who manage to stay there, or quite often even manage to steal second, lecturing the lower classes about their need to hit home runs even if their parents couldn't afford to buy them bats.
People Are Human - NYTimes.com David Brooks is unhappy with the turn the conversation over the white working class has taken
Severe Conservative Syndrome - NYTimes.com Mitt Romney has a gift for words — self-destructive words. On Friday he did it again, telling the Conservative Political Action Conference that he was a “severely conservative governor.” ... disabled, depressed, ill, limited and injured (all describe conservatives)
Ron Paul's Endgame In the first of a four-part series, the Prospect looks at where the GOP presidential candidates are headed.
Adele Trashes Newt Gingrich at the Grammys! - YouTube
Pressure mounting for GOP caucus reconsideration — Politics — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine (they always cheat, even on each other)

Why My Critics Are Wrong - Michael Novak - National Review Online Joe Paterno’s status as a moral beacon remains undiminished (Novak doubles-down on defending JoePa)
Women Vets Criticize Fox Pundit's 'Breathtakingly Offensive' Claim That Women Should 'Expect' Sexual Assault | ThinkProgress - Liz Trotta ("men get rapey")
Little Green Footballs - Update: Fox News Makes Racist Comment Thread Disappear What right wing racism?
The Death Of Pretty | Blogs | NCRegister.com (Catholics at work keeping women "pretty")
Is Rick Santorum facing a brewing 'women problem'? - CSMonitor.com Recent statements about women, and passages from his 2005 book, have put Rick Santorum on the defensive. Even within GOP ranks there are signs of a gender split.

What Expanded Safety Net? « The Baseline Scenario - Binyamin Appelbaum and Robert Gebeloff’s article on how the same people oppose government handouts and take government handouts (premised on "expanded safety net" which is a fiction in the mind of the NYT)
Fun With Numbers: Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Figures Tough to Add Up | FDL News Desk one problem: it has a total settlement listed at $25 billion, but just California and Florida’s numbers add up to $26.4 billion
TransCanada's Keystone Pipeline Schedule Extended Again

Mystery Disease In Central America Kills Thousands A mysterious epidemic is devastating the Pacific coast of Central America, killing more than 24,000 people in El Salvador and Nicaragua since 2000 and striking thousands of others with chronic kidney disease at rates unseen virtually anywhere else

Balloon Juice » The Moral Calamity of Serving in Congress n other words, for a dozen years, every Member of Congress has probably purchased contraception coverage, and it’s been mandated by the EEOC of all employers who provide insurance, yet for some reason, the Bishops have decided to freak out about it now.
Valentine's Day: Surprising Number Making Love At The Office More than one in 10 people say they've "made love" at their workplace, while many more say they've thought about it and 37 percent reported having been involved romantically with someone they work with.

A list of people whose deaths I have permission to mourn. - Acephalous
if i should mourn, i would only be in your way « The Kugelmass Episodes

Paris Review – Josh Melnick and Walter Murch in Conversation, Josh Melnick

Texas executions threatened as stocks of death penalty drug run low | World news | guardian.co.uk Most prolific judicial killing state in America has only enough sedative for six more executions – and could run out by June
Private Prison Corporation Offers Cash In Exchange For State Prisons
White Grandfather Detained While Walking With Black Granddaughter: Scott Henson Cuffed By Texas Police

AT&T surprises customers with limits for 'unlimited data' usage; heat is on "5 percenters" - chicagotribune.com (the new "unlimited" is limited)
Tories on e-snooping: ‘Stand with us or with the child pornographers’ - The Globe and Mail (they want to snoop on everything you do online)
Online surveillance critics accused of supporting child porn - Technology & Science - CBC News "He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers," Vic Toews said of Liberal public safety critic Francis Scarpaleggia during question period on Monday, after Scarpaleggia asked about a bill expected to be tabled Tuesday.
Digital Life - Sony hikes Whitney Houston album prices online not even 12 hours after news broke of Houston's death (big content exploits Houston's death)
VLC 2.0 arriving this week | Ubergizmo
Piratebay user lgofdai seeding at 16,000+ and leechers at 2,000+ brand new movies, probably most likely as bait anyone want to find out more on this guy? : AskReddit (RIAA/MPAA crooks and scammers)

021312
Syria rejects Arab League call for peacekeeping mission | World news | guardian.co.uk Bashar al-Assad's government reportedly describes proposal to curb unrest as a 'flagrant interference' in Syrian affairs
New Statesman - Intervention in Syria won’t work, so how do we stop Assad? Military action might appeal to the soul but it isn't a viable option. It won't stop the violence and it isn't what most Syrians want.
Eschaton: Fortunately We Have A Hammer No I have no idea what if anything we should do when bad things happen around the world, but I do know that most of our great thinkers who opine in our great newspapers and on the teevee are aware of options ranging from "blowing shit up" to "arming other people so they can blow shit up." One suspects they just like it when shit blows up.
Iran War Would Cost Trillions: Will the GOP Pay More Taxes for That? - Steve Clemons - Politics - The Atlantic Wars cost lots and lots of money -- and if a substantial chunk of the GOP crowd wants these wars and feels that it is in our national interest to have them, then by all means they should start lining up some of the wealthiest in the country who are helping to agitate for these conflicts to pay more in taxes for them (Republicans love blowing shit up, but don't want to pay for it)
Pakistan's prime minister charged wth contempt | World news | guardian.co.uk Yousaf Raza Gilani is accused of failing to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari
India, Georgia Bombings Target Israeli Diplomats "Today we witnessed two attempts of terrorism against innocent civilians," Netanyahu told a gathering of lawmakers from his Likud Party. "Iran is behind these attacks and it is the largest terror exporter in the world," he said.
Binyamin Netanyahu accuses Iran over bombs targeting Israeli diplomats | World news | The Guardian Tehran's ambassador to India denounces Israeli claim as 'sheer lies' after blast in New Delhi and discovery of device in Tbilisi
AFP: Trouble in paradise: Maldives and Islamic extremism The monuments, which included one of pillar featuring Buddhist motifs, and which had been on display in the southernmost island of Addu, have all since been vandalised.
Pirates attack cargo ship off Nigeria | World news | The Guardian Official says pirates have shot dead ship's captain and chief engineer in gun battle 125 miles south of Lagos
Afghanistan Base 'Aryan' Raises Objections From Soldiers Over Name

TEPCO On Temperature Rise | Crooks and Liars

European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress. How is Greece taking the new loan deal that accompanies the PSI? Most compare it to a dictatorship, a foreign occupation, the kind of terms a victor imposes on a defeated country.
Eschaton: Bailing Out The Banks. Again. Since it's usually not made clear, I will make it clear. The Greece bailout is not a bailout of Greece, it is a bailout of the banks who lent them money (German and French banks, of course)
Eurozone crisis live: Greece begins cleanup after protests over austerity package | Business | guardian.co.uk EU condemns violence that struck Athens (the violence they caused with austerity so they could bailout their own banksters)

News Corp may face US inquiry after Sun arrests at News International | Media | The Guardian Alleged bribery in Britain could fall foul of US law as editor Dominic Mohan tries to rally staff at embattled tabloid


Edward Goldberg: Humpty Dumpty, and the GOP's Medieval Philosophical Pursuits
New Jersey Gay Marriage: State Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage But opponents say it's "an exercise in futility" even if the Assembly passes the bill Thursday as expected, given Christie's veto vow.
Balloon Juice » Speaking of Clueless, Old, White Catholic Men Fuck that Vichy motherfucker EJ Dionne and his prissy, fussy “the Bishops must be appeased” bullshit ...So this isn’t about policy, it’s just about making EJ feel better about supporting a position that his priest told him was wrong back when he was an altar boy in the 50’s. Many see this as a reason that EJ should be replaced by a “liberal” whose opinions have some relevance to the current century.
Ludwig Von Mises Makes the Libertarian Case against “Free Love” (and Implicitly Against Birth Control) | Rortybomb (the Libertarian case against women's rights: the family is a man's property)
Why I Wish Catholic Leaders Would Stop Saying Our Church Is Under Attack - Tara McGuinness (the war on religion)
Komen Founder Nancy Brinker’s Mysterious Expense Report - The Daily Beast (time to find some new "liberals" +Dionne's hurt fee-fees)

Nancy Brinker's Lavish Spending, Off-Putting Brittleness Puts Komen's Future in Jeopardy (meanwhile, back in Brinkerville, double-billing!)
Komen Founder Nancy Brinker’s Mysterious Expense Report - The Daily Beast

Payroll Tax Cut Fight: House GOP Leadership Offers 10-Month Extension Without Offsets The announcement, made quietly on a day Washington is digesting the president's budget proposal, is a stark reversal (Rethugs cave)
Eschaton: The Morals Of The Lower Classes Basically Village Elders expect the masses to live the moral lives they themselves don't in order to demonstrate what remarkable moral leadership they have shown. No this does not make any sense.

Balloon Juice » Fox News’s Liz Trotta on Sexual Assault in the Military: Men Get Rapey Sometimes. Get Over it!
New Breeding Program Aimed At Keeping Moderate Republicans From Going Extinct | The Onion

Obama's 2013 budget to be released, and Republicans are ready to fight | World news | guardian.co.uk President aims to cut $4tn from deficit by raising taxes on the wealthy, but GOP wants more cuts to government programmes
Obama's election-year budget - live coverage | World news | guardian.co.uk The president is expected to make the case for stimulus as opposed to austerity, with tax increases on the wealthy and new spending on infrastructure projects
Congress Debt Ceiling Debacle May Repeat Before Presidential Election (they never give up)
Wall Street 'Likely To Set Records' For Political Spending Aimed At Defeating Obama In 2012 | ThinkProgress (despite sucking Wall Street's cock for three years)
MF Global trustee sees $1.6 billion claims gap | Reuters (while they steal everyone's money, what money?)

Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning in France | Reuters A French court on Monday declared U.S. biotech giant Monsanto(MON.N) guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, a judgment that could lend weight to other health claims against pesticides.
Ordered planar polymers created for the first time Scientists under the direction of ETH Zurich have created a minor sensation in synthetic chemistry. They succeeded for the first time in producing regularly ordered planar polymers that form a kind of "molecular carpet" on a nanometre scale.

Keystone pipeline opponents fight on with petition challenge | Environment | guardian.co.uk Drive to gather 500,000 signatures is timed to stop the latest push from Republicans to overturn the president's decision

Balloon Juice » Kaplan Daily News
Graduate Student Employee Fired for Union Activism « Corey Robin : Jennifer Dibbern, a graduate student at the University of Michigan, was retaliated against for her union activism. It’s as simple as that.

Neil Tyson Calmly Addresses A Nasty Facebook Fundamentalist. - Imgur

Gmail, YouTube Blocked In Iran | ThinkProgress
A necessary change in policy : blog (no suggestive or sexual content featuring minors)
The Pirate Bay's Peter Sunde: It's evolution, stupid (Wired UK)
Missouri Becomes Second State To Divert Foreclosure Funds Away From Homeowners To Balance Its Budget | ThinkProgress (first the banks came for you, then the States took your money)

021212
Arab League urges joint UN-Arab peacekeeping mission in Syria | World news | The Guardian Resolution calls on UN security council to send monitors to Syria as Arab League decides to scrap its own mission to the country
U.S. officials: Al Qaida behind Syria bombings | McClatchy The Iraqi branch of al Qaida, seeking to exploit the bloody turmoil in Syria to reassert its potency, carried out two recent bombings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and likely was behind suicide bombings Friday that killed at least 28 people in the largest city, Aleppo, U.S. officials told McClatchy.
Iran to announce 'major nuclear progress' | World news | guardian.co.uk Ahmadinejad tells Tehran rally that world will soon hear news of 'very important and very major nuclear achievements'
Hamza Kashgari Sent Back To Saudi Arabia To Face Possible Execution For Tweets Malaysia deported a Saudi Arabian blogger on Sunday, police said, despite fears voiced by human rights groups that he could face execution in his home country over Twitter comments he made that were deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad.
'Plot to kill pope' sparks Italian media storm | World news | guardian.co.uk Letter published in Italian newspaper claims cardinal predicted Pope Benedict XVI would die within a year
Massive Street Protests Wage War On ACTA Anti-Piracy Treaty | TorrentFreak Hundreds of thousands of people are taking to the streets to prevent their countries and the European Parliament from putting the free Internet at risk by ratifying ACTA (strangely unmentioned in the media)

Fukushima reactor readings raise reheating concern | World news | The Guardian Temperature inside No 2 reactor may have risen to 82C, and Tepco reportedly steps up cooling efforts

Senior Sun journalists arrested in police payments probe | Media | guardian.co.uk Rupert Murdoch is flying to London after five of tabloid's most senior staff are arrested in ongoing inquiry into alleged bribery
News Corp faces renewed threat of prosecution in US following Sun arrests | Media | guardian.co.uk Investigation of alleged bribery under Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is greatest danger to Rupert Murdoch's media empire
Murdoch media empire engulfed in scandal as Scotland Yard's net spreads | Media | The Observer Increasing arrests and suspicions of bribery puts News Corporations' global interests under greater scrutiny
Full text: News Int CEO's email to staff after Sun arrests | Media | guardian.co.uk Email sent by Tom Mockridge to News International staff on Saturday after five senior Sun journalists were arrested
Rupert Murdoch Flying To London After Eight More Arrested In Tabloid Bribery Scandal

Komen backlash leaves Race for the Cure scrambling to limit damage | World news | guardian.co.uk Fears grow that breast cancer awareness event run by Komen group could be a casualty of Planned Parenthood criticism ... How Komen will ever recover is a question many are asking. There are those who feel it won't be fixed until Brinker and her entire board resigns (that would be a start)
Election 2012: the return of 'culture wars' | Gary Younge | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Until now, we thought this campaign would be all about the economy. It still will – but 'values' voters are going to count, too
Social Issues Retake U.S. Politics, 2012 Elections All of a sudden, abortion, contraception and gay marriage are at the center of American political discourse, with the struggling – though improving – economy pushed to the background (runnin' on emptry, bring out the hate)
Obama riled up Republicans on contraception, and then delivers a knock-out punch. Insurance companies are down with the plan, because as Matt Yglesias explained at Moneybox, contraception actually saves insurance companies money, since it's cheaper than abortion and far cheaper than childbirth.

McConnell: GOP Will Fight To Let ANY Employer Deny Birth Control Coverage | TPMDC
Daily Kos: Conservatives suggest defeating birth control by calling it 'abortion.' No, really. During a talk on how to advance the movement through messaging, an all-female panel discussed the Obama administration’s birth-control-coverage mandate and suggested that the best way to defeat it is by calling it an “abortion mandate.” ... Let's call it an "abortion mandate"! Yeah, that's the ticket. Not quite as catchy as "baby death panels" but trust us, we'll work on it.
Liberals Enabled Bishops in Contraception Battle | Politics | Religion Dispatches

CPAC panel: ‘Celebrate’ Citizens United ruling Conservative lawyers dismiss threat of foreign money, anonymous political spending
Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It - NYTimes.com (Minnisota white people dependent on social programs they want destroyed for other people)

Maine Caucus Results 2012: Mitt Romney Wins Contest Out of Maine's 258,000 registered Republicans, nearly 5,600 cast ballots in the weeklong contest (GOPmentum!)
The Bettor's Case for Santorum - NYTimes.com (either way, it's gonna be good)
How Bill Clinton betrayed us: allies speak out on Lewinsky affair | World news | The Observer TV documentary reveals how Clinton's closest aides felt about affair that ended in scandal
"Halftime in America" Again Saturday Night Live did an amusing three-part parody of Clint Eastwood's "Halftime in America" Super Bowl ad with an even more direct political message

The Sideshow Some Rob you with a six-gun, some with a fountain pen (Obama's rule: bankers walk: "look forward, not backward" etc)
The Z FIles: Independence - YouTube
The mathematical equation that caused the banks to crash | Science | The Observer The Black-Scholes equation was the mathematical justification for the trading that plunged the world's banks into catastrophe
Making Chicken Salad: 9 Ways to Improve Housing Policy Around the Foreclosure Fraud Settlement | FDL News Desk

The Mystery of Exploding Pig Poop | Mother Jones (serious issue, environmental disaster looms) )

A Proposal for Penn Station and Madison Square Garden - NYTimes.com Nearly a half-century has passed since the destruction of the great 1910 station designed by Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead & White, a “monumental act of vandalism,” as an editorial in The New York Times called the demolition in 1963 (Robert Moses, he whose name cannot be mentioned)

Terry Thompson and the Zanesville Ohio Zoo Massacre: Newsmakers: GQ


Buzzblog: No, Wikipedia has not forgiven GoDaddy for backing SOPA Lack of follow-through on promise to sever ties causes consternation
MPAA Demands Hotfile Data From Google, Search Engine Refuses | TorrentFreak The MPAA says that Google holds valuable information on Hotfile and should produce it, but the search giant is refusing without the file-hoster’s consent. Hotfile says ‘no’ on the basis that the deadline for discovery expired last year.

021012
Syria violence spreads to Aleppo as bomb blasts kill 28 | World news | The Guardian Further 175 hurt in security compound blasts but opposition blames attacks on security forces aiming to disrupt protests
Britain is militarising Falklands, Argentina tells UN | UK news | The Guardian UN secretary general concerned by escalation of dispute as Argentina lodges formal protest at recent deployments

Greece crisis reaches boiling point as Athens asks if it can stay in the euro | World news | The Guardian Street violence returns as ministers call bailout terms 'extortion'
Greece bows to further austerity, but bailout delayed until next week | World news | The Guardian Creditors demand to see action on new pledges as sovereign debt default looms in weeks if rescue package is withheld

New Statesman - Preview: Ken Livingstone:?“The world is run by monsters” . . . The world is run by monsters and you have to deal with them. Some of them run countries, some of them run banks, some of them run news corporations.
Bill Keller: Piracy Twits - NYTimes.com (the contempt of the elite; contrast with Livingsone)

Obama, Explained - Magazine - The Atlantic Or is he politically clumsy and out of his depth—a pawn overwhelmed by events, at the mercy of a second-rate staff and of the Republicans? Here, a longtime analyst of the presidency takes the measure of our 44th president, with a view to history.

Obama changes contraception rules in face of religious backlash | World news | guardian.co.uk President's retreat designed to appease religious groups upset by rule that would require them to cover birth control for women
Obama Birth Control Compromise Announced [he always compromises]
Most of Obama's "Controversial" Birth Control Rule Was Law During Bush Years | Mother Jones The right has freaked out over an Obama administration rule requiring employers to offer birth control to their employees. Most companies already had to do that (Obama couldn't just say that, of course)
They gave us a republic...:: A win for women, and for Obama Obama wasn't boxed in. Not at all. But now the Bishops are. So far, they have been silent after thunderously declaring that nothing short of total repeal of the mandate would suit them. And as they lost the healthcare reform battle, they are going to lose this one, too. Because they are wrong and their time is past. And by their silence, I think they are telling us all that they realize they've been had.
Pills ‘n Thrills And Bellyaches | TBogg It would be in the Catholic Bishops best interests to claim victory and go home since this takes them out of the equation, allowing them to do what they do best: pretending that they don’t know that their flock is already telling the Vatican to pound sand by using birth control.
Obama Birth Control Compromise In Works
Balloon Juice » Nancy, How Could You? After reading this, Brinker sent in a letter of apology, but it’s too little too late. Nancy Brinker will be feted and celebrated no more in the Village. She’s shown her true colors, and if Sally Quinn has anything to do with it, she won’t be long for the Komen foundation.
report: By A Nearly 2 To 1 Margin, Cable Networks Call On Men Over Women To Comment On Birth Control | ThinkProgress (and the women are mostly "pro-life")

Komen Exec Karen Handel Calls Planned Parenthood a ‘Gigantic Bully’ - The Daily Beast
How Success Ruined Karen Handel | TBogg

Obama Approval Ratings Rise Tracks Increasing Consumer Confidence
Balloon Juice » Why Republicans are Crawling Into Women’s Vaginas

The Weakening of Nations: How Tax Work-Arounds Undermine Our Society - Eric Garland - International - The Atlantic Loopholes, poor regulations, and off-shore havens allow corporations and the very wealthy to draw on the benefits of a strong nation-state without fully paying back in, eroding a system that's less tested than we might think.
Rep. Bachus faces insider-trading investigation - The Washington Post Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), who holds one of the most influential positions in the House, has been a frequent trader on Capitol Hill, buying stock options while overseeing the nation’s banking and financial services industries.
Walker, Van Hollen: Chunk of mortgage settlement going to state budget - JSOnline Wisconsin will use a chunk of its $140 million share of a national settlement over foreclosure and mortgage-servicing abuses to help the state budget rather than assist troubled homeowners, Gov. Scott Walker and state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said Thursday (those homeowners don't need no steenking relief)

New power source discovered The power generated relative to the energy source size is three to four times greater than what is currently possible with the best lithium-ion batteries.

Anger surges through newsrooms at the Daily News and Inquirer — NewsWorks This is a f***ing disgrace I would expect from some s****y publisher of a s****y paper in a hole of a town somewhere else. It just is NOT DONE in big-time, professional journalism. What a shameful moment. They owe me, and you, a personal apology – the newsroom is available anytime – and a rock-solid promise they will never, ever pull crap like this again.

Ramarley Graham, Unarmed Teen, Illegally Killed By New York Police, Lawyer Says - Richard Haste, 30, a New York police officer, kicked down the door of his grandmother's apartment and shot Graham in the chest while he attempted to flush a bag of marijuana down the toilet. Graham was unarmed and police did not have a warrant to enter the home.

Balloon Juice » Take a tote but don’t choke David Frum has some more pieces on Charles Murray’s book (here; here; here). I’ll summarize: When someone says “Murray’s book is all bullshit, but I like it anyway because it was pretty good for a conservative”, they are, whether they like to admit it or not, being bigoted.
I Flaunt, Therefore I Am (updated) | TBogg - Shorter McMegan: We need neat things because they fill up the empty space where our soul is supposed to be located and without them we’re no better than damn dirty apes.

iTunes Hack: Users Report Unauthorized Charges On Accounts

020912
Syrian troops bombard sealed-off suburb of Homs | World news | The Guardian Residents cut off in Baba Amr with food running out, as Ban Ki-moon condemns Russia and China veto at UN
U.S. Drone Strike In Pakistan: Militants Killed As Drone Program Picks Up Steam A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region Thursday, killing five suspected militants (suspected? Obama loves this shit)
Mohamed Nasheed: Maldives Police Issue Warrant For Former President

Greek Debt Deal: Greek Leaders Agree On Austerity Measures To Satisfy Lenders

U.S. drones targeting rescuers and mourners - Salon.com
Top official: drone critics are Al Qaeda enablers - Salon.com (terrorsymps)
The Grave Threat of “Homegrown Terrorism” - Salon.com (be very afraid)
Repulsive progressive hypocrisy - Salon.com - the President could do whatever he wants, in secret and with no checks, to anyone he accuses without trial of being a Terrorist (Dems support killing "suspects")

Washington State Legislature passes the freedom to marry | Freedom to Marry

Ed Schultz Attacks Sean Hannity For Saying Obama Didn't Want Bin Laden Killed ("aside from reality")
Democrats Release "Shit Mitt Says" Does this mean the meme is really dead?
Scalia: The Soviet Union's Constitution Was 'Much Better Than Ours' | ThinkProgress
Daily Kos: Watching Wisconsin Republicans Squirm; UPDATE: First Conviction of Walker Aide Word is she's already singing like a canary on a 5-Hour-Energy drink.
Cal Thomas Says Rachel Maddow Is A Good Argument For Contraception | TPM Livewire (Republicans: the Party of Hate)
Day In 100 Seconds: CPAC Day One | TPM2012 (also the Party of Idiots)

STOCK Act Passes: House Votes For Weakened Insider Trading Bill
Foreclosure Deal to Spur U.S. Home Seizures - Bloomberg The $25 billion settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses may trigger a wave of home seizures, inflicting short-term pain on delinquent U.S. borrowers while making a long-term housing recovery more likely (just what it was supposed to do, apparently)
US Politics | AMERICAblog News: Mortgage settlement? Try bank Bailout II
States Negotiate $26 Billion Agreement for Homeowners - NYTimes.com ("for Homeowners" is completely the Times' spin; see how they work?)
49-State Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Will Be Finalized Thursday | FDL News Desk
“We Will Put People In Jail” – The Measuring Stick for Foreclosure Fraud | FDL News Desk (Obama uses financial drones to target terroristic homeowners who forced big banks to lend them money)
Schneiderman’s Last-Minute Cancellation Spells Trouble for Foreclosure Fraud Settlement | FDL News Desk
Mortgage Settlement Leaves Some Foreclosure Victims Wanting
Yves Smith: The Top 12 Reasons Why You Should Hate the Mortgage Settlement
Eschaton: As I Said, Just Assholes Fannie Mae (FNMA) pulled the plug on a 2010 plan to forgive borrowers’ mortgage debt because company executives were “philosophically opposed” to the idea, a former company employee told House investigators (and so was Obama, "philosophically opposed")
The End of Wall Street As They Knew It After surprisingly successful financial reform, public vilification, and politics that have turned against them, the Masters of the Universe are masters no longer.

"Gulf of America" bill's author says it's "nothing but a spamalot bill" | Blog of New Orleans | Republicans ... and all the hell they want to talk about is running illegal immigrants out, and drug testing welfare and Medicaid recipients — all superfluous crap as far as I'm concerned. So I thought I'd just join them with a bill to chew on, saying the Gulf of America instead of the Gulf of Mexico, since everything Mexican and Hispanic is 'so bad.' Nothing but a 'spamalot' bill is all it is. Tongue-in-cheek."

Marco Rubio's Plan Could Cut Off Birth Control Coverage for Millions | Mother Jones Rubio has sold his proposal—introduced January 31 as the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," (that would be the freedom of religions to make sure women don't have birth-control)
Eschaton: OK Then He repeatedly denied that any sex abuse had occurred on his watch in Bridgeport. He said that even now, the church in Connecticut had no obligation to report sexual abuse accusations to the authorities. (A law on the books since the 1970s says otherwise.) And he described the Bridgeport diocese’s handling of sex-abuse cases as “incredibly good.” (see, they've learned nothing)
Barack Obama's Contraception Ruling Backed By Previously Unreleased Survey Those trend lines basically held when the respondents polled were only Catholics -- a full 53 percent said they weren't persuaded by the bishops.
Eschaton: What's It All About Then That means removing the provision from the health care law altogether, he said, not simply changing it for Catholic employers and their insurers. He cited the problem that would create for "good Catholic business people who can't in good conscience cooperate with this." -- No "compromise," no proper health coverage for women.
pandagon.net Riddle me this ... if giving Catholic-owned businesses the right to discriminate against women is freedom of religion, then why isn't it okay when bus companies have signs requiring women to sit in the back to appease a small segment of the Jewish population?
Ross Douthat on Culture War - Douthat In Excelsis: Culture War, My Arse - Esquire - or the various voices from old movies and her dusty libido that scream imprecations in Maureen Dowd's head, or even Our Mr. Brooks and his Apple Jacks sociology over the preposterous notions held by Ross Douthat about all those people who are having the sexytime of which he disapproves, and who insist on having it, and enjoying it, regardless of the opinion of clerical apparatchiks and professional scolds. If there's ever been anyone who fairly well defines joyless fking, it's this guy.
The making of gay marriage’s top foe - Salon.com Salon exclusive: How Maggie Gallagher's college pregnancy made her a single mom, and a traditional marriage zealot
16 Things Super Bowl Ads Would Like You to Know About Women in 2012 | ThinkProgress
Life Begins at Ejaculation? (jerking-off is killing the unborn, will get death-penalty)

Sex In Marriage: Survey Reveals What Women Want an online news source for women, suggest that 75 percent of wives said a healthy sex life is important to them ... more than 63 percent of women reporting that they would rather sleep, watch a movie or read than have sex (women can't make up their minds)
PETA's SeaWorld Slavery Case Dismissed By Judge (ok's whale slavery)
Mimi Alford Interview: JFK Intern Breaks Silence About Affair (video)


Hi Bill Keller. The New York Times just stole our column. Should we sue? - Phlog (NYT routinely pirates articles, but they are big content so it's ok)

020812
Syria: rockets rain down on Homs as violence escalates | World news | The Guardian More than 200 rockets fall in space of three hours on opposition-controlled suburb of Baba Amr, according to residents (China and Russia responsible)

Washington House Passes Gay Marriage Bill

Sean Hannity Says If Obama Had His Way, Bin Laden Would Be Alive -- And He Can Prove It, With 'Tape'! HANNITY: I know the president will say, 'Well, we got bin Laden.' Putting that aside.. (reality-free Fox)
Rick Santorum Sweeps Colorado, Missouri, Minnesota, Embarrassing Romney
Jubilant Santorum sweeps Minnesota and Colorado
Fox's Eric Bolling Compares Obama To A Drug Dealer Who Opens "Barry's Pot And Coke Emporium" | Media Matters for America (Satan's network)

Why Wall Street Should Stop Whining | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

India Winning Polio Fight | Indian Decade India has closed out the first polio-free year in the country’s history. As noted by the World Health Organization (WHO), this marks significant progress for a country that as recently as 1994 was experiencing as many as 4,791 cases a year.
The only primate to communicate in pure ultrasound - life - 08 February 2012 - New Scientist A tarsier could be screaming its head off and you would never know it. Uniquely among primates, some of the diminutive mammal's calls are made up of pure ultrasound.

How Ed Rendell Could Ruin the Inquirer and the Daily News | The Philly Post Under that proposed ownership model, the Fourth Estate in Philly will essentially cease to exist as a serious journalistic enterprise. Instead, the newspapers will be viewed as a direct extension of the Democratic Party and Chamber of Commerce.
Obama Administration Defends Contraception Rule Amid Mounting Criticism (Catholic Bishops threaten to make all Catholics vote for a Mormon)

Komen fundraiser calls for CEO Nancy Brinker to quit over funding row | World news | guardian.co.uk Eve Ellis says Brinker should take some 'truth serum' and urges Komen's board to resign as part of 'clean house' process ... "Take some truth serum, Nancy Brinker, I found myself thinking,"

Amazon, Viacom Announce New Streaming Content Partnership For Prime Instant Video

020712
United States Planning to Slash Iraq Embassy Staff by Up to Half - NYTimes.com (surge! desurge! trillions wasted! so Obama could triangulate with the deficit!)
Syria: attack on Homs continues as Assad talks of dialogue - Tuesday 7 February | World news | guardian.co.uk Assad tells Russians he is ready for dialogue with opposition
Philippines earthquake toll rises as dig continues for landslide casualties | World news | guardian.co.uk Houses flattened in remote villages on Negros island that have been cut off by fallen bridges and damaged roads
Amanda Knox appeals against slander conviction in Meredith Kercher case | World news | guardian.co.uk American student jailed but later cleared of Briton's murder in Italy says police made her wrongly implicate Patrick Lumumba

Occupy Wall Street protester vows to fight subpoena over Twitter account | World news | guardian.co.uk Malcolm Harris's lawyer says order from prosecutors which demands release of three months' worth of tweets is improper ... Harris, who was charged with disorderly conduct, is one of hundreds of Occupy-related defendants whose cases are at various stages in the court system (Cyrus Vance goes after everyone's civil liberties; what an over-reaching asshole)

U.S. Drone Strikes Are Said to Target Rescuers - NYTimes.com British and Pakistani journalists said Sunday that the C.I.A.’s drone strikes on suspected militants in Pakistan have repeatedly targeted rescuers who responded to the scene of a strike, as well as mourners at subsequent funerals (Barry "Collateral Damage" Obama will face war crimes or rot in hell, whichever comes first)
Time to ask questions about U.S. drone program - latimes.com Congress and the courts need to take a harder look at the moral and legal issues around the program.
PressTV - 'US commits extrajudicial killings in Pakistan' A prominent political analyst reports on the deadly drones strikes in Pakistan, adding that when “a militant gets killed…maybe five or six other civilians get killed.”
Daily Brief: Afghan civilian deaths rise for fifth straight year | The AfPak Channel
Lawfare › Proportionality and Distinction When Collateral Damage Is a Certainty There is no green light to bomb funerals and post-blast rescue operations without regard to the civilian status of some persons present on site; one must consider proportionality (even the hard-liners are getting nervous)
video: Report on Drone Strike Civilian Casualties and New Questions About Legality » Blog of Rights: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union
Waging War in Secret vs. American Democracy - Conor Friedersdorf - Politics - The Atlantic By fighting terrorism with covert CIA actions, President Obama deprives us of the ability to meaningfully evaluate American foreign policy.

Prop 8: California gay marriage ban ruled unconstitutional – live coverage | World news | guardian.co.uk California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage does violate the federal constitution, judges rule.
Federal Appeals Court Finds Proposition 8 Unconstitutional | ThinkProgress
Barack Obama Still 'Evolving' On Same-Sex Marriage: White House (fucking whimp; most conservative Dem Pres since WWII; maybe he'll evolve into the twentieth century)

Obama Camp Feared ‘Half-Billion Dollar’ Koch-Led Attack | TPM2012
Some Ironies in Elizabeth Warren's Campaign Message | TPMCafe
The Payroll Tax Fight - NYTimes.com Politically, however, extending the tax break would represent a victory for President Obama, who has been championing it. That remains intolerable to many Republicans, particularly in the House.
Are Republicans About To Commit Medicare Suicide? | TPMDC Why on earth would Republicans put the whole party back on the line? Particularly after a year of serial brinkmanship and overreach that has dragged their popularity down to record lows? (a new Polifact lie of the year! Republican destroy Medicare! Dems won't say anything!)
CNN's Dana Loesch Suggests NAACP's Ben Jealous Was "Inebriated" When He Claimed Voter ID Laws Suppress Black Turnout | Media Matters for America (quite a reputation you are building for yourself, Dana)
GOP Primary Show: Non-Stop News And Noise In The Age Of Twitter (political theatre and the tales of the idiot media)
Corbett to propose 20% to 30% funding cuts for Pa. state universities
Birtherism Makes A Comeback Among Republicans | ThinkProgress The movement appears attributable to Republicans, 37 percent of whom now say that President Obama was not born in the US. That’s 12 points higher than when Republicans were polled just before President Obama released the certificate (37% of ReThugs delusional)

Ben Bernanke testifies to Congress on US economy – as it happened | Business | guardian.co.uk US Federal Reserve chairman tells Senate Budget Committee he plans to keep interest rates at super-low level
Banks Pay Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures - Bloomberg
Eschaton: Win Win As in, their approach wasn't simply based on financial considerations but instead a desire to punish the moochers and freeloaders who forced the banks to lend them money to buy overpriced houses.
MF Global Trustee Sheds New Light on Chaos at Firm - NYTimes.com (chaos! complexity! too complicated to understand who stole the money!)
DocX Faces Foreclosure Fraud Charges in Missouri - NYTimes.com DocX, has been indicted on forgery charges by a Missouri grand jury

Corning's 'A Day Made Of Glass 2' Reveals More Innovative Ideas

Komen choosing sides in the culture wars was an inevitability, but they didn't have to turn righ - Komen Sheds Handel, But Will It End the Firestorm?.
Eschaton: Nobody Could Have Predicted Karen Handel, Queen of the Ladies Who Hate Ladies, has resigned from Komen.
Komen executive Karen Handel quits over Planned Parenthood funds U-turn | World news | guardian.co.uk Handel, who supported the initial decision to cut off funds, said it was 'best for Komen's future and the women we serve' - She said the discussion started before she arrived at the organisation and was approved at the charity's highest levels ... Komen's founder and CEO, Nancy Brinker, denied the decision was driven by pressure from anti-abortion groups (one down, big fat liar Brinker to go)
Anti-Choice Komen VP Karen Handel Resigns, Admits Role In Planned Parenthood Decision | ThinkProgress (Nancy threw her under the bus to save her own skin)
Karen Handel, Susan G. Komen Executive, Quits Over Planned Parenthood Dispute I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it (we're deeply disappointed with your continuing lies; Brinker acts like she had nothing to do with it)

What Does the Susan G. Komen Foundation Actually Do? 12 percent for administration; 8 percent for fundraising; 7 percent for treatment; 15 percent for screening; 24 percent research; and 34 percent for education ("education" = "breast-cancer awareness")
Eschaton: It's Always Been About Birth Control And Sex I don't expect the eventheliberals who have been denying this for years to ever come around, but it's never really been about abortion, it's always been about women not being properly punished for having unapproved sex
Congressman Falls for The Onion's Planned Parenthood 'Abortionplex' Story - National - The Atlantic Wire Meet John Fleming, the unfortunate Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana who made that wonderful and all-too-common mistake of thinking that an Onion article was real and telling his Facebook followers to read it (yes, they are that stupid)
Lila Rose: Planned Parenthood Using Breast Cancer As a "Front" To Garner "Public Funding For An Abortion Business" | Media Matters for America
Lila Rose: 5 Facts on the Woman Behind the Planned Parenthood Hoax
Who Is Lila Rose? | Media Matters for America (wingnut liar)
Many Catholic Universities, Hospitals Already Cover Contraception In Their Health Insurance Plans | ThinkProgress

Alyssa Bustamante, Missouri Teenager, Describes Killing As 'Ahmazing' And 'Pretty Enjoyable'
Dear Prudence: My husband is leaving me for my 25-year-old daughter - Slate Magazine My 58-year-old second husband of two years has been having an affair with my 25-year-old daughter from my first marriage.


Twitter, Politics Don't Mix: Social Media Sites Not A Popular Source For Political Info: Pew (or HuffPo, for that matter, but Google is ahead of Fox, heh)
Yahoo's Roy Bostock, Board Chairman, Steps Down With 3 Other Board Members (the long, slow fall)

020612
U.S. Embassy In Syria Closed: Reports
Syrian forces 'kill at least 50' in Homs bombardment | World news | The Guardian Activists say multiple rocket-launchers are being used by Assad forces
Europe: Cold Precautions Taken To Protect Homeless he death toll from the past week rose to at least 175 on Friday
Obama: US and Israel 'in lockstep' to stop Iran becoming nuclear power | World news | The Guardian US president doubts Israel has yet decided on whether to strike, but America keeps all options open
Israel and Iran on the Eve of Destruction in a New Six-Day War - The Daily Beast There are plenty of arguments against an Israeli attack on Iran. And all of them are bad (Niall Ferguson wants to destroy the world)
Imperialist Crackpot of the Day - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Niall Ferguson - " It feels like the eve of some creative destruction." - What a wit! Join us next week for the next installment of Niall Ferguson’s Warmongering Comedy Classics, which will involve smashing watermelons that are clearly Shiite. Featuring musical guest star John McCain.
Iran Bans Simpsons Dolls: Report The report said that the Simpsons were banned to avoid the promotion of Western culture. But Superman and Spiderman were allowed, because they helped the "oppressed."
Vancouver Island Earthquake: 5.7 Earthquake Recorded Off Vancouver Island Coast, No Tsunami

European Central Bank in a fix over Greek debt | Business | The Guardian The ECB may be putting the interests of the few banks that have written credit-default swaps before those of Greece, Europe's taxpayers, and creditors (ya think?)
Greece Asked to Destroy Itself In Exchange for Bailout | FDL News Desk (because the bankers who created the mess say so)
Greece takes step closer to default - CNN.com Mr Samaras last week threatened to veto the package unless concessions were made on private sector wages,
Eschaton: What's It All About Then ust how did "private sector wages" become part of this conversation ... Whose private sector wages? (obviously, not you know who's)


Rooting for the Race : CJR Journalists are suddenly eager to admit the media is biased in favor of an extended campaign. Will they do anything about it?

Romney Campaign Spins Low Turn Out: Voters Staying At Home Secretly Support Romney | ThinkProgress With just 33,000 voters showing up to the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, Republicans may be quietly concerned about a lack of enthusiasm for their candidates — and especially front-runner Mitt Romney — after another primary state produces lower-than-expected turnout ("enthusiasm gap")
Yeah, Ron Paul Is Racist After All, Sorry | VICE
Ron Paul tells Piers Morgan only ‘honest rape’ merits abortion | The Raw Story
Pete Hoekstra Ad Draws More Criticism, Called 'Really, Really Dumb' A coalition of black ministers in Detroit called Monday for U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra to apologize for his Super Bowl ad featuring a young Asian woman speaking broken English to describe the impact of the Democratic incumbent's economic policies (racist much?)
Indiana SoS Accuses Gov. Daniels of Same Crime | ThinkProgress Calling Indiana a “land of men and not laws,” White vowed to appeal what he called a “total miscarriage of justice” and a “pervsion.” Then, White accused Gov. Mitch Daniels of similar crimes, claiming his fellow Indiana Republican voted incorrectly in “the last ten straight elections.” Both White and Daniels have made fighting the nearly nonexistent problem of voter fraud a key part of their political agendas (Indiana spins further down into farce)
Georgia Judge Backs Off Pro-Birther Decision, Holds Obama Is a Natural Born Citizen | ThinkProgress Last month, an administrative law judge in Georgia issued a widely-mocked decision rejecting President Obama’s attorneys’ argument that the president should not be forced to testify in a case brought by several birther activists who claim that he is ineligible to be president.
Court strikes down Georgia's assisted-suicide law  | ajc.com

Things Are Not O.K. - NYTimes.com there’s a real danger that this optimism will be self-defeating, because it will encourage and empower the purge-and-liquidate crowd.

Congress Appears to Be Trying to Get Around Earmark Ban - NYTimes.com lawmakers appear to have found a backdoor method: special funds in spending and authorization bills that allow them to direct money to projects in their states (fucking corrupt Congress)


Daily Kos: Daily Kos/PPP survey: Damage done to Komen brand (51% of Republicans against breast-cancer screenings! prefer women would just die! half of them are women!)
Political Animal - Komen and the Rituals of “Damage Control” - Despite some efforts by Komen officials to distance her from the story, it’s hard to separate the vice president for public policy from the public policy. Whether she can hang on after the policy has been changed is one of the few unresolved questions, as this story speeds into the media sunset.
Political Animal - Ross Douthat and Planned Parenthood are Honest; The Komen Foundation is Not Some people support abortion rights and some people oppose them. But nobody likes being lied to. Do you, Ross?
DISSENTING JUSTICE: NYT's Ross Douthat's Flawed Analysis of the Komen-Planned Parenthood Controversy
Abortion (the pro-lifers are really no more than 23%, the same percentage that wants to outlaw birth-control, despite Douthat's lying; btw, isn't that a sin?)
Karen Handel, Susan G. Komen's Anti-Abortion VP, Drove Decision To Defund Planned Parenthood - "Karen Handel was the prime instigator of this effort, and she herself personally came up with investigation criteria," (o rly)


020512
Clinton calls for 'friends of democratic Syria' to unite against Bashar al-Assad | World news | The Guardian US secretary of state says UN has been 'neutered' by double veto but that international community has duty to halt bloodshed
Egypt football protests continue into fourth day | World news | The Guardian Riot police fire teargas at stone-throwing protesters demanding army hand over power outside the interior ministry in Cairo
Egypt Riot Protests Pressure Government To Step Down - Egypt's military rulers were facing mounting pressure on two fronts Sunday, with a fourth day of violent street protests spearheading calls to speed up the transfer of power to a civilian administration and the U.S. threatening to cut more than a billion dollars in badly needed aid.
Kandahar bomb kills at least seven in southern Afghanistan | World news | guardian.co.uk Five police officers and two civilians killed after car bomb blast at police headquarters, with at least 19 people wounded
Obama-appointed US trade adviser linked to illegal deal in Congolese gold | World news | The Guardian UN report says Kase Lawal knew he was dealing with the wanted warlord Bosco Ntaganda
Domestic violence blighted my home. That's why I support Refuge | Patrick Stewart | Comment is free | The Guardian
U.S. Reactions to Iran’s Nuclear Threat : The New Yorker There is reason to doubt, though, that an attack on Iran is imminent.
Iranian Court Upholds Death Sentence for Software Designer - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine Malekpour is charged with "insulting the sanctity of Islam" and "corruption on earth," two regularly invoked grounds for execution in Iran, because of photo-uploading software he designed that was then "used by a porn website without his knowledge," reports The Guardian.

Greek Talks at a Delicate Point, Official Says - NYTimes.com “Two major, interrelated issues remain unresolved — labor relations and wages in the private sector, and the fiscal measures that must be taken to ensure we are within the target for 2012,” Mr. Venizelos said (elites using their fuckups to bust unions which have nothing to do with the problem)
Balloon Juice » Greek Fire: Burninating The Countryside

An Update on Political Polarization (through 2011) – Part III: The Presidential Square Wave | voteview blog Our findings here echo those discussed in a prior post that Republicans have moved further to the right than Democrats to the left in the contemporary period. Indeed, as seen below, President Obama is the most moderate Democratic president since the end of World War II, while President George W. Bush was the most conservative president in the post-war era.
An Update on Political Polarization (through 2011) | voteview blog - the most liberal Republican is to the right of the most conservative Democrat
Hullabaloo , it's always nice to know that you aren't completely nuts. The fact is that Barack Obama is most conservative Democratic president of the modern era. And George W. Bush was the most conservative Republican. And there's a significant distance between those two conservative poles. It is what it is. Just as it seemed. And it's not good news for liberals. (there's hope you can believe it)

video: Protester Struck By Police During OccupyDC Raid, At Least Eight Arrested | ThinkProgress
Hullabaloo At least we know we're free (well sometimes) (unprecented arrests of media at Republican-controlled House hearing)

Nevada Caucus 2012 Results MAP (real-time data)
Turnout Way Down in Nevada "Republicans' disappointing turnout foreshadows difficulty energizing GOP voters in Nevada, a key swing state in November's general election."
Newt Gingrich Nevada Caucus Results 2012: A Brutal Loss But Not A Knockout
John King Calls Mitt Romney 'Governor Mormon' "Obviously, Governor Mormon is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."
Santorum To Gay Man: You Don't Deserve 'Privilege' Of Marriage Because Gay Unions Don't 'Benefit Society' | ThinkProgress (gay people getting married lowers the birth rate!)
SNL's Newt Gingrich Moon Colony Cold Open (video)
New Rule: Atheism is not a religion! Unbaptizes Mitt Romney's Dead Father-In-Law! - YouTube
Gingrich: Austerity Is Wrong For America, We Need Pro-Growth Policies Instead | TPMDC Newt Gingrich said Sunday that an “age of austerity” is the wrong solution for the economy and would “punish” the American people. He said he prefers “pro-growth” policies instead. The comments appear to pour cold water on the modern Republican belief that austerity and growth go hand in hand (the words Obama can't quite say, go Pres Newt!)
Balloon Juice » They Fucking Hate You They fucking hate you. They want you, and everyone who speaks for you, and every institution that represents your values, whether it be Planned Parenthood or food banks or ACORN- you name it. They want it destroyed. I just do not understand why more people do not recognize this. The Republicans have declared total war on America, and people are responding like this is politics as usual. It isn’t
CNN's Erickson: Obama "Claiming" To Be A Christian, "Chose To Pervert God's Word" | Media Matters for America

Mitochondrial DNA and Y Chromosome Variation Provides Evidence for a Recent Common Ancestry between Native Americans and Indigenous Altaians 10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.12.014 : The American Journal of Human Genetics | ScienceDirect.com - The Altai region of southern Siberia has played a critical role in the peopling of northern Asia as an entry point into Siberia and a possible homeland for ancestral Native Americans.

Komen confirms continued involvement of Ari Fleischer on Planned Parenthood strategy | ThinkProgress Komen stressed that Fleischer, who is a long-time critic of Planned Parenthood, “had nothing to do with the funding decision.” ... Fleischer confirmed to ThinkProgress that he is in regular contact with Komen CEO Nancy Brinker and she had sought his counsel on the Planned Parenthood issue (oh, Nancy, you such a big fat liar)
Eschaton: Maybe People Should Just Watch What They Say It's stunning to me that anybody out there thinks Ari Fleischer should be hired to do anything.
pandagon.net This was about values, not money - one reason this really hit home is anti-choice objectification of women had gotten to the point where they were pitting our own body parts against each other, creating a war between wholesome, all-American boobies and evil vaginas.
Komen gives new explanation for cutting funds to Planned Parenthood - The Washington Post Komen’s San Diego affiliate increased its security after receiving threatening e-mails about the new funding policy, even though it does not fund its local Planned Parenthood. Executive director Laura Farmer Sherman said she personally received nearly 400 e-mails on the subject — two in favor of the new policy and 386 against it.
Susan G. Komen foundation takes steps to rebuild trust after PR fiasco - The Washington Post (see, it's just a little "PR" problem, an no, they won't fire Brinker and Handel)
Ross Douthat Is All Up In Your Uterus Again | TBogg

Pennsylvania Schools’ Funding Fight Pits District Against Charter - NYTimes.com
Balloon Juice » Why you should defend the Administration on contraception (it doesn’t have anything to do with churches receiving federal money)
Model Created to Map Energy Use in NYC Buildings | The Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science - Columbia University (heat maps per building!)

bookforum talks with jeannette seaver - bookforum.com / interviews
IKEA pronunciation: How to pronounce IKEA in Swedish, English, Spanish, Danish

AT&T Starts Throttling Unlimited Data Users after 2GB of Monthly Usage - Mac Rumors
Google and the Production of Curiosity < PopMatters
There Is No Next Facebook: How Multiple Social Networks Will Peacefully Coexist - Alexis Madrigal - Technology - The Atlantic
META. Research in Hermeneutics, Phenomenology and Practical Philosophy Unlike other critiques of the internet from a phenomenological perspective, this paper does not consider the limitations of internet communication from the perspective of the body. Here, rather, the prime concern is with the constitution of objectivity and the ways in which the internet limits this constitution (not a parody)
Daily Dot | Why Reddit is sexist—and what to do about it (boyzone zone)

020412
Iran military manoeuvres heighten Middle East tensions | World news | guardian.co.uk Revolutionary Guards exercises follow threats by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against US and Israel
Afghan civilian death toll reaches record high | World news | guardian.co.uk UN report says 3,021 civilians killed in 2011 • 8% increase on 2010 and fifth consecutive rise (bill the Republican party for $1 trillion dollars)
Syria UN Resolution: Russia, China Veto UN Resolution - Dropping the usual diplomatic courtesies, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said she was "disgusted" by the Russian and Chinese veto, adding that "any further bloodshed that flows will be on their (Russia's and China's) hands. (friends of bloody authoritarian dictators everywhere)
Russia's Syrian Power Play - NYTimes.com Recent Russian arms sales to Syria are worth $4 billion, including fighter jets and advanced missiles. Russian business investments in Syria encompassing infrastructure, energy and tourism amount to nearly $20 billion
Russia Protests: Tens Of Thousands Rally Against Putin
Mexico's Ciudad Juarez Braces For New Violence Even by Ciudad Juarez's grim standards, a threat from a Mexican drug cartel to kill an officer a day until the city's police chief steps down is being seen as an unusually terrifying escalation in the violence.
Senior U.S. And Israeli Officials Express Serious Reservations About Israeli Strike On Iran | ThinkProgress (despite the NYT telling us "no problem")


Inside the new hate - History - Salon.com Right-wing rhetoric seems to have reached new heights of xenophobia. But is that true? An expert explains - the racist and conspiracist approach of today’s far-right pundits is largely the same as it was 50 years ago. Their language and theories are taken (sometimes verbatim) from right-wing populist vitriol at early times in American and European history, dealing in tropes well-worn by pre-WWII American Nazis, Joe McCarthy and fanatical anti-Catholic and anti-Masonic Protestant preachers of the 19th century.

Mitt Romney on course for easy victory in Nevada as caucuses open | World news | guardian.co.uk Newt Gingrich to meet backers while other Republican nomination candidates turn their attention to remaining elections
Mitt's Mormon Army: How It Works Very, very good e-mail lists — and an internal debate over whether to use them. “I’m getting really tired of the ads for Romney campaign trips coming from this list serve,” writes one young Mormon
Newt Gingrich's Nevada campaign unraveling - Ginger Gibson - politico.com (Newt has always been disorganized)
Indiana’s Republican Secretary of State Convicted for Voter Fraud | Firedoglake

Hullabaloo QOTD: Krugman: "We are already in new great depression" (short interview, watch)
Implied Unemployment Rate Rises To 11.5%, Spread To Propaganda Number Surges To 30 Year High | ZeroHedge

Obama Stands Up to Bishops. Finally. | The Nation
Catholics need to preach what we practice - Contraception - Salon.com When 98 percent of Catholics use birth control, why is Obama in hot water for making sure insurance covers it?

A Painful Betrayal - NYTimes.com (NYT lasers Brinker, will she and Handel survive? probably)
The End Of Nancy Brinker’s Not So Good Very Bad Week Of Epic Fail Times Infinity | TBogg
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? | TBogg We already know that Susan G. Komen Foundation CEO Nancy Brinker is a conservative right-wing society lady who burbles business babble while, judging by the look on her face when she is talking, seemingly exerting emormous force upon a lump of coal with her sphincter in an effort to create home-made diamonds. Yes, it is a talent.
Susan G. Komen Top Officials Resign As Backlash Gains Steam With her decision, Plesser joins Komen's top public health official, Mollie Williams, and the executive director of Komen's Los Angeles County chapter, Deb Anthony, both of whom also resigned in protest.
Was Komen's Nancy Brinker Lying Yesterday Or Is She Lying Today? | Crooks and Liars
Komen Executive Behind Defunding of Planned Parenthood Was Endorsed by Sarah Palin in 2010 | Crooks and Liars Handel ran for governor of Georgia in 2010 as a right-wing Christian -- and was endorsed by none other than The Quitter and Jan Brewer. And during the campaign, she said: "Since I am pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood." (nothing political there)
How Planned Parenthood won Susan G Komen's 'race for the cure' | Amanda Marcotte | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Planned Parenthood's huge public relations win shows the deep support for women's healthcare – defeating the shame-mongers
Susan G Komen: the social media backlash | World news | guardian.co.uk America's leading breast cancer charity has reversed its decision to withdraw funding to Planned Parenthood following a huge outcry. See how the protests unfolded on Twitter and elsewhere
They gave us a republic...:: Why did they have to make me choose? It sure as hell was political. It comes on the heels of Komen hiring failed tea-party candidate for Governor of Georgia Karen Handel. She's an anti-choice wingnut with an axe to grind against Planned Parenthood and they haven't fired her yet.
Planned Parenthood Saved Me (pinkwash *this*)
Federal Premium - Shotshell Details (SGK pink aummunition!)
Pink Ribbons (Trailer) - YouTube - This feature documentary visits some of the massive fundraising runs and questions where the money goes and asks 'who really profits from pink ribbon campaigns?'
Raise A Stink! About Pinkwashing - YouTube
Balloon Juice. We are aware of all internet traditions. Pap Smears at Walgreens

Why we need ENDA – you can still be fired in most states for being LGBT – ask Ellen | Pam's House Blend Today, Americans can be fired in 29 states because of their sexual orientation, and in 34 states because of their gender identity.
After Dyer's rape arrest, 'Oath Keepers' disavow any association with onetime key figure | Crooks and Liars Gossip Boy -- which has been all over the case of onetime "Oath Keepers" figure Charles Dyer, arrested for the rape of a 7-year-old girl -- is reporting that the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, is running away from Dyer as fast as he can (the "American Resistance")
Arizona GOP Lawmaker Wants A State Holiday To Celebrate White People | ThinkProgress (call it "Honky Day")
Political Animal - The Weaker you get, the Weaker you get Arizona seems poised to pass a draconian anti-union measure. This, of course, follows in the wake of Wisconsin, Ohio (since repealed via referendum), and, just this week, Indiana ... The paradox in all of these actions is that union density is as low as its been in 75 years.


Today, Sweden Rallies Against ACTA And For Freedom Of Speech. We Can Win This. - Falkvinge on Infopolicy
European Commission Slip Reveals Censorship In ACTA - Falkvinge on Infopolicy In an inadvertent slip, the European Commission reveals that ACTA will indeed bring censorship to the Internet. As usual, they say this in the calmest soothing tone of voice.

020312
Syria faces report of 'massacre' in Homs | World news | The Guardian Human rights group claims more than 100 killed by security forces on eve of UN vote on removal of Bashar al-Assad

Anonymous Claims It Intercepted FBI Conference Call
Anonymous Hacks Boston Police Department Website Over December Occupy Eviction

Balloon Juice » Substitute your lies for fact Every single House Republican votes against the Peters Amendment to insert factual findings about how the Bush Tax Cuts added over $2 trillion to the deficit.

Ron Paul may surge in Nevada. - Slate Magazine In the land of boom and bust, even the economic winners are looking for a change (parts of America are totally insane)
One Town's War on Gay Teens | Politics News | Rolling Stone In Michele Bachmann's home district, evangelicals have created an extreme anti-gay climate. After a rash of suicides, the kids are fighting back.

Unemployment at 8.3% still leaves a vast and destructive jobs deficit | Robert Reich | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk US jobless numbers are falling, but not far or fast enough. We should forget about the budget deficit until unemployment is 5%
Schneiderman Sues Three Big Banks, MERS for Deceptive Practices, Illegal Foreclosures | FDL News Desk
S.E.C. Is Avoiding Tough Sanctions for Large Banks - NYTimes.com
Lax Oversight Blamed in Demise of MF Global - NYTimes.com
Eschaton: It's All So Complicated The MF Global coverage is really starting to annoy me. As is always the case they're using complexity to disguise the simple fact that somebody decided to steal a billion bucks. It isn't complicated. It's theft. Some people got the stolen money, and authorities should get it back from them
PercentJobLossesJan2012.jpg (scariest chart in the world, updated)

Malaria kills twice as many people as previously thought, research finds | Society | The Guardian Malaria kills 1.2 million people every year, a finding that has implications for global efforts to eliminate the disease

The Komen protests Lessons from the #Komen debacle: Facebook walls are the new Bastilles.
Komen Foundation revises funding policy - The Washington Post (lotta botox, there, Nancy)

Komen Foundation Urged to Restore Planned Parenthood Funds - NYTimes.com Her comments directly contradicted those of John D. Raffaelli, a Komen board member and Washington lobbyist, who told The New York Times on Wednesday that Komen made the changes to its grant-making process specifically to end its relationship with Planned Parenthood (gotta hurt when the Times calls you a liar)
What Does Komen's Latest Statement on Planned Parenthood Really Mean? | Mother Jones Komen has not responded to journalists' requests for clarification, telling the Washington Post's Ezra Klein that its statement "speaks for itself."
National Review Sees "Gangsterism" Behind Komen's Planned Parenthood Shift | Media Matters for America ... First, to look at the Komen situation and see Planned Parenthood as the bad-faith actor requires an astonishing amount of willful obtuseness (you know, those "gangsters" at PP)
Top Susan G. Komen Official Resigned Over Planned Parenthood Cave-In - Jeffrey Goldberg - Health - The Atlantic The decision, made in December, caused an uproar inside Komen. Three sources told me that the organization's top public-health official, Mollie Williams, resigned in protest immediately following the Komen board's decision to cut off Planned Parenthood ... Hammarley said the issue became newly urgent after Handel was brought on last year. "The internal debate on a senior level rose in the past eight months or so, coinciding with her hiring."
Your morning jolt: Did Karen Handel have a role in Komen/Planned Parenthood split? | Political Insider
Susan G. Komen Foundation Also Stops Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Research | Care2 Causes a loss of nearly $12 million dollars in research money to eradicate breast cancer this year alone.
Grief Ghoul Nancy Brinker’s Race For The Bullshit | TBogg “We’ve also got a frame grab of a Tweet that Handel passed along: “Just like a pro-abortion group to turn a cancer orgs decision into a political bomb to throw. Cry me a freaking river.”
No More Mister Nice Blog - Is That The Komen Plan? To Become The Fox News Of Charities? ... Komen says they will allow @PPact to apply for future grants. NOT that they'll continue grants.
Did Susan G. Komen turn itself into a lightning rod? - Kate Nocera - politico.com "They pretty much cut their fundraising support in half. I don’t think they meant to make a huge political statement, but it was extremely naïve of them to think this wasn’t hyper-political,”
Balloon Juice » Guns Don’t Kill People So the Komen Foundation doesn’t want to be associated with the nation’s largest abortion-provider. But they don’t mind partnering up with a handgun maker (they were always pro-NRA)
Comment: Komen’s Choice : The New Yorker
The epic downward spiral of Susan G. Komen for the Cure: how to #FAIL (updated w/Komen ‘apology’) | Pam's House Blend Watching Susan G. Komen for the Cure in its epic PR death spiral over the last few days has been breathtaking.
Hullabaloo no one should consider giving Komen a single dime until Karen Handel is fired or resigns in disgrace. And even then, the organization needs to answer some very serious questions about why she was hired in the first place, and what their real mission is.

Uproar Over Planned Parenthood Cut Forces Susan G. Komen Reversal - The Daily Beast Michelle Goldberg says that in the end, Susan G. Komen didn’t want to be rebranded as an anti-abortion group after all
Balloon Juice » The Doodie Touch So, you are wondering, how do you ruin a successful brand and embroil yourself in a pointless controversy that scares the shit out of your corporate sponsors and enrages both the left and right wing of the political spectrum, all while doing it in such a ham-handed and offensive manner that you manage to get $3 million in donations to organization you want to destroy in just a few days? Hire this guy: Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent right-wing pundit, secretly helped guide Komen Foundation’s disastrous strategy regarding Planned Parenthood (they were always Republicans but that was really stupid +in case you were wondering where these creeps go)
Sarah O'Leary: WTF Was Susan G. Komen Thinking? As a marketer, the Grand Canyon sized mistake Komen has made truly defies business logic. As a woman, my heart goes out to those women Komen and Planned Parenthood will no longer be able to afford to help as a result of this grievous error in marketing judgment.
The Accidental Rebranding of Komen for the Cure (brand-management for the cure! +good overview of the reaction of the internets)

Cambridge Journals Online - Abstract - The Gerrymanderers Are Coming! Legislative Redistricting Won't Affect Competition or Polarization Much, No Matter Who Does It Redistricting received substantial attention in the popular media in 2011, as states redrew state legislative and congressional district boundaries. Many reformers continue to argue for a de-politicization of the redistricting process, claiming that partisan redistricting is responsible for declining electoral competition and increasing legislative polarization. Our analysis of evidence from state legislatures during the last decade suggests that the effects of partisan redistricting on competition and polarization are small, considerably more nuanced than reformers would suggest, and overwhelmed by other aspects of the political environment.



020212
Soldier Says Syrian Atrocities Forced Him to Defect - NYTimes.com
Egyptian football riot anger focuses on military rulers | World news | The Guardian Fans mourn dead and vow revenge as MPs blame lack of security at Port Said stadium for riot which left 74 people dead
Mexican Political Rivals Feud Over $1.9 Million Found In Luggage President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party called that explanation "an insult to the intelligence of Mexicans," whose tax laws, crime problem, strict campaign finance laws and economic problems make carrying such large amounts of cash very unusual.

Eurozone crisis live: China tells Europe to 'do its homework' | Business | guardian.co.uk Wen Jiabao: China could offer financial help

France Launches Costa Concordia Investigation


Gay marriage bill passes Washington state Senate | World news | guardian.co.uk Bill, which includes provision for out of state residents to be married in Washington, expected to pass in House next week
Washington Gay Marriage: State Senate Approves Bill To Allow Same Sex Couples To Wed

AP Exclusive: US No-Fly list doubles in 1 year Even as the Obama administration says it's close to defeating al-Qaida, the size of the government's secret list of suspected terrorists who are banned from flying to or within the United States has more than doubled in the past year
'Fast And Furious' Operation: Justice Department Rejects Cover-Up Claim Made By Darrell Issa that top Justice officials are covering up events surrounding a flawed gun-smuggling probe, Operation Fast and Furious (well, Obama does coverup everything)

Influence of Palin and Tea Party Wanes in Early Contests - NYTimes.com (despite media hype)
Newt Gingrich Not Quite The Life Of The Tea Party (the party is over, dude)
Republicans Aim To Ban Use Of Welfare Debit Cards At Strip Clubs, Liquor Stores Struggling families will no longer be allowed to withdraw welfare funds at automated teller machines in liquor stores, casinos or strip clubs if Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives get their way ... "This is another example of setting policies based on attention-grabbing news stories with little connection to the underlying reality and that are designed to reinforce the 'unworthy poor' stereotype,"
S.C. Senate votes to halt Savannah Port dredging | Haire of the Dog Nikki Haley and her evil goons over at the Department of Health and Environmental Control have been defeated.

The need for regime change (Obama's/The Fed's economic policies were stupid and have failed)
Wall Street Executives Thrive Under Obama But Still Won't Support Him
New transportation bill creates safety concerns over bigger rigs - CNN.com (turning roads into railroads)

Political Animal - Indiana Smites Unions Yesterday, with Gov. Mitch Daniels’ signature, Indiana became the 23d state, and the very first (other than Indiana itself during a brief period ending in 1965) in the industrial northeast and midwest, to enact “right-to-work” legislation—or as folk in the labor movement call it, a “right to work for less” law.
Kansas prepares for clash of wills over future of its unauthorised immigrants | World news | guardian.co.uk Coalition of top businesses launch new legislation that would help undocumented Hispanics gain federal work permission (how's that hate working out for you, Kansas?)

Susan G. Komen Loses Support After Planned Parenthood Decision Komen has faced a massive social media backlash since announcing the decision, with angry people flocking to its message boards and Facebook wall to announce that they will no longer donate to the breast cancer charity ... In contrast, Planned Parenthood has seen a huge influx of financial donations in the 24 hours since Komen broke ties (they are, of course, deleting negative comments on their spin page)
Eschaton: It's OK To Say You Suck what Komen has done is made it ok to point out that they kind of suck. And they kind of sucked before all this, but not many people ever want to rain on the pink paradise parade. They managed to associate their brand with a cause, and to criticize the brand was to criticize the cause. Now we all get to say: you suck hard (and you're just another highly-paid Republican front)
The Pink Badge of Cowardice | TBogg I have to say that killing women with breast cancer before they might consider abortion sometime in their lives is one way to eliminate a woman’s right to choose ... you can make a donation to Planned Parenthood and request a thank you card be sent to Karen Handel ... (perfect!)
By defunding Planned Parenthood, the Susan G Komen Foundation betrays women | Lizz Winstead | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk The breast cancer charity's withdrawal of support for Planned Parenthood will sacrifice women's health to anti-choice dogma
Daily Kos: Why doesn't the Komen Foundation sever ties with Bank of America?
Religious Right Praises Komen for Cutting off Breast Exams at Planned Parenthood but Demands Further Capitulations | Right Wing Watch
Charity Navigator - SGK
Komen Says Efficiency, Not Politics, Drove Planned Parenthood Change : Shots - Health Blog : NPR "One of the things many women don't understand is that the founder of Komen, Nancy Brinker, has had a long-standing and supportive relationship with the Bush family with the Bush presidencies, with the Republican party and on many occasions has supported policies that most supporters of Komen probably wouldn't approve of," said Judy Norsigian of the Our Bodies, Ourselves, the popular women's health guide.
Planned Parenthood vs. Komen: How the abortion provider scored a PR coup (rightwing spin from Slate get incinerated in comments)
Planned Parenthood Online: Donate to Planned Parenthood Online (click "honorary" to send thanks to Karen Handel)
Eschaton: Wrong Turns I'm sure in the short term a bit of wingnut love might continue to fill the coffers, but after that... cure cancer for the right sort of women is not going to work.
Radical Veep And Mau-Maued By The God Botherers | TBogg This is what happens when you sow the wind. You get introduced to the whirlwind….
US Politics | AMERICAblog News: Komen pro-life VP promised to defund Planned Parenthood, and they have - In April 2011, after losing the 2010 Republican primary runoff in the race for Georgia governor, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel was named Senior VP of Public Policy (more on anti-abortion Karen Handel and SGK's anti-women policies +they always were Republicans)
Another Reason to Love the Decemberists: Their Smart Move on Susan G. Komen | ThinkProgress
Wash. Post Inexplicably Gives Credence To Discredited Abortion-Breast Cancer Link | Media Matters for America written by health columnist Jennifer LaRue Huget, asks whether Komen should have been funding Planned Parenthood because an organization called The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer claims that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. This organization is run by Karen Malec, who apparently has no medical background and presents herself primarily as a journalist, according to her biography (Jennifer LaRue Huget is a big fat liar)
You’re Right — It *Was* a “Monstrous Decision” : Lawyers, Guns & Money Forcing your mentally disabled daughter to bear her rapist’s child without her input (let alone consent,) based on utter nonsense about Plan B being an abortifacient. And then bragging about it! This isn’t some great act of moral conscience; it’s an act of barbarism.

Lames, Trains, and Autodidacts | TBogg Taking a break from chronicling the Susan G. Komen Credibility Death Spiral, there is bad news on the November electoral front. In fact, this could be A Game Changer:
The Truth Behind Why High Calorie Chef Paula Deen Is Pushing Diabetes Drug | Food | AlterNet (it's worse than you thought)
Hullabaloo The Deen of "Diabetes-Friendly" Diets - If this article is true, her charm is as fake and as cynical as her pose as just one more middle-class Southern housewife. In reality, she's just one more rapacious, utterly repellent multi-millionaire without a clue about what it means to be part of the 99% who can't afford the kind of medical care and other luxuries she takes for granted.
TSA Agent Accused Of Stealing iPads From Travelers (VIDEO) Dovel is currently out on administrative leave (not, you know, in jail)


The Facebook IPO: billion-user ambition at a $100bn price | Michael Wolff | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Mark Zuckerberg's phenomenally successful enterprise – in effect, a wholly-owned internet – now faces hard business facts

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Iranian attack on America and allies increasingly likely – intelligence chief | World news | The Guardian Washington openly blames Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei for first time over Saudi ambassador plot
Sanctions v. negotiations on Iran - Salon.com America’s increasingly tense and dangerous conflict with Iran is characterized (one could even say caused) by the unwillingness of the Obama administration to engage meaningfully with Iran’s leaders (Israel is Obama's daddy now)
Afghanistan War: U.S. Troops To End Combat Role Next Year
Taliban Will Control Afghanistan With Support From Pakistan, Says Leaked Report (all for nothing, except we made Karzai and his family really, really, rich)
Taliban believe they will take over from US and Nato in Afghanistan - report | World news | The Guardian Pakistan and Nato reject assertions by Taliban and al-Qaida detainees in document based on interrogations
Lessons from Iraqi outrage over US drones - Salon.com The noble geniuses who planned and publicly crusaded for the war in Iraq insisted that “liberation” would mean a grateful citizenry and a stalwart ally in the middle of the region. Instead, anti-American animus is so high that Iraqi politicians routinely rail against the U.S. as a means of bolstering their own standing (another incredibly costly, tragic, complete failure)
London Stock Exchange Bomb Plot Admitted By Islamic Extremists Four British men fueled by the words of a U.S.-born Muslim cleric pleaded guilty on Wednesday to involvement in an al-Qaida inspired plot to spread terror and cause economic damage by bombing the London Stock Exchange at Christmastime.
Egypt football pitch invasion leaves dozens dead | World news | guardian.co.uk At least 73 people reported killed during pitch invasion following match between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly in Port Said

The predictable aftermath of the anti-CAP smear - Salon.com While that smear campaign, having done its job, is now winding down, the predictable effects of it are only beginning: CAP is now censoring those targeted writers, and those who defended them are now being similarly smeared (the dual-loyalty, Israeli-firsters suceeded in obliterating any push-back on Israel propaganda)

'Draconian' Austerity Pushes Up Euro Jobless Rate: Analysts - Business News - CNBC
Eschaton: I Could Have Told You That A Couple Of Years Ago Suddenly everyone's jumping on the idea that maybe jobs and economic growth are a wee bit important. But, you know, all the Very Serious People were wrong for the right reasons while the hippies were right for the wrong reasons, so the VSPs were really right and the hippies were really wrong. It's amazing how that always works.
BBC - Newsbeat - UK woman responds to Obama on son's 'web piracy' Richard's mother Julia told Newsbeat that he had not broken any UK laws and President Obama had given a typical politician's answer in response to questions about his case.

Julian Assange extradition appeal at supreme court - live blog | Media | guardian.co.uk WikiLeaks founder enters final stage of battle to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sex crime allegations
Leon Panetta’s explicitly authoritarian decree - Salon.com CBS News‘ Scott Pelley appears to be one of the very few American journalists bothered by, or even interested in, the fact that President Obama has asserted and exercised the power to target U.S. citizens for execution-by-CIA without a shred of due process and far from any battlefield ... watching a top Obama official, under decent questioning, defend the power to target U.S. citizens for assassination viscerally conveys the rigidly authoritarian mindset driving all of this (Obama can kill you anytime, anywhere)
Ron Wyden Suggests Secret PATRIOT GPS Tracking May Be Illegal Under Jones | emptywheel

'Gasland' Journalists Arrested At Hearing By Order Of House Republicans (UPDATES) In a stunning break with First Amendment policy, House Republicans directed Capitol Hill police to detain a highly regarded documentary crew that was attempting to film a Wednesday hearing on a controversial natural gas procurement practice

American Muslims Don't Want Shariah, According To Study By University Of Windsor

Mitt Romney Super Pac brought in $18m in six months, FEC figures reveal | World news | guardian.co.uk Total includes $750,000 from ex-colleagues at Bain Capital
Mitt Romney: 'I'm Not Concerned About The Very Poor'
The Morning Plum - The Plum Line - The Washington Post “I’m not concerned with the very poor. We have a safety net there,” Romney told CNN
Eschaton: Each One Gets A Free Cadillac I think it's important to understand what Mitt's saying here. He isn't saying fuck the poor. He's saying that the really poor actually have it really really good! The government basically gives them free cars and housing and medical care and food stamps they can use at the liquor store etc. The rest of you struggling to get by, you don't get anything. In fact, the really poor (and we know who they are) are taking your hard earned money (team rich vs team poor!)
corrente SBL: Stalin Defeats Trotsky in Doomed Floridka Purge! Palin accuses Mitt-Stalin of taking unserious counteraction poop on heroic struggle of troubled Trotsky:
To Defecate in Terror: Mitt Romney gets Google-bombed | Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Is the ‘real’ unemployment rate stuck? - The Washington Post (More Like 11%)
Broke bureaucrat of the day, St Louis Fed edition | Felix Salmon the president of the St Louis Fed, earning well over a quarter of a million dollars a year, is living paycheck-to-paycheck. Every two weeks, he gets paid $10,819, less taxes and deductions, and yet by the end of the year he still doesn’t have even $1,000 in a checking account (trials of the rich)
MF Global's missing money traced: report | Reuters U.S. investigating authorities have traced more than 90 percent of the customer money which disappeared from MF Global around the time of its bankruptcy ... The Commission, however, is unsure whether the money can be retrieved (because stolen, is you know, stolen)
Did Health Care Reform Hurt The Private Insurance Part Of Medicare? Apparently Not | TPMDC
Proposed jobs bill would target foreign outsourcing by U.S. companies - The Washington Post Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will introduce a bill Wednesday requiring large U.S. companies to disclose how many of their jobs are based on U.S. soil and how many are based abroad, an attempt to shed light on the number of American jobs being outsourced (Apple doesn't want to tell you)

Check With Climate Scientists for Views on Climate — Letters to the Editor - WSJ.com (WSJ publishes denialist hackery based on the opinions of "climate scientists" who are really weathermen at Fox)
Scientists close to entering Vostok, Antarctica’s biggest subglacial lake - The Washington Post Reaching Lake Vostok would represent the first direct contact with what scientists now know is a web of more than 200 subglacial lakes in Antarctica — some of which existed when the continent was connected to Australia and was much warmer. They stay liquid because of heat from the core of the planet ... Russian scientists are on the verge of entering a vast, dark lake that hasn’t been touched by light for more than 20 million years
Cleveland Volcano: Alert Level Raised In Alaska After New Lava Dome Forms The warning level for a remote Alaska volcano has been raised after a new lava dome began forming, indicating the mountain could explode and send up an ash cloud that could threaten aircraft.

Komen Cuts Planned Parenthood Grants Months After Arrival Of New VP, Who Is Abortion Foe (they always were Republicans)
Conservatives Cheer Komen Foundation's Decision To Stop Funding Cancer Screenings At Planned Parenthood | ThinkProgress (they got ACORNed)
Planned Parenthood blames pro-life 'bullying' after cancer charity cuts funding | World news | guardian.co.uk Susan G Komen for the Cure says it cannot give money to Planned Parenthood because of congressional investigation – but critics say Komen is bowing to political pressure
Balloon Juice » None Dare Call It Murder one quick note to add to the discussion of the Komen Foundation’s surrender to Greater Wingnuttia and the Global War on Women.
Susan G. Komen charity throws Planned Parenthood under the bus.
The fight against cancer -- and abortion? - Abortion - Salon.com The Susan G. Komen Foundation says its decision to defund Planned Parenthood isn't political. Does anyone buy it? - Despite the myth that Planned Parenthood is first and foremost an abortion clinic, pregnancy terminations account for only 3 percent of its services; on the other hand, as the Daily Kos reports, “cancer screening and prevention comprises 17 percent.”
Komen Foundation Races for the Cuts The breast-cancer awareness group caves to anti-choice groups and pulls its funds from Planned Parenthood.
Litbrit: On Susan G. Komen For the Cure: Pink ribbons and an opened can of worms
Daily Kos: Why doesn't the Komen Foundation sever ties with Bank of America?
Charity Navigator - America's Largest Charity Evaluator | Home (dump Susan G Komen)

More on the Weak Case for a Special Exemption on Contraceptive Coverage : Lawyers, Guns & Money The burdens of what Dionne, Douthat and Chait are asking to impose are real, while the impact on religious freedom as the religion is actually practiced of the Obama administration’s superior alternative is miniscule (note they are all men)
Chris Christie Embarrasses Himself With Civil-Rights-History Flub - The Daily Beast Paul Campos on what the governor’s civil-rights flub says about the contemporary conservative movement.
Most Catholic women use birth control banned by church | Reuters Some 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women have used contraceptive methods banned by the church, research published on Wednesday showed.

Fox Regularly Uses The "Racial Code Words" Denounced By Fox's Juan Williams | Media Matters for America
Eschaton: Do You Watch Your Own Network? It's a complete mystery why liberals weren't always happy with Juan Williams providing cover and validation for Fox over the years.

Alabama State Senator Thinks Increasing Teacher Pay Goes Against A 'Biblical Principle' | ThinkProgress “And these teachers that are called to teach, regardless of the pay scale, they would teach. It’s just in them to do. It’s the ability that God give ‘em ... Currently, a part-time legislator in Alabama is making more than a full-time teacher with a Master’s degree and 15 years of experience
Essay on the summit of adjunct leaders | Inside Higher Ed - Adjunct, contingent faculty members now make up over 1 million of the 1.5 million people teaching in American colleges and universities. Many of them are working at or under the poverty line, without health insurance; they have no academic freedom worthy of the name, because they can be fired at will; and, when fired, many remain ineligible for unemployment benefits (like in health care, the administrators won)

UFO Found In Baltic Sea? (Video) A team of shipwreck hunters that found a strange circular object on the floor of the Baltic Sea in 2011 now says they have discovered visual evidence of a second "disc-like shape" some 200 meters from the original find, CNN reports


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Iran increasingly willing to launch US attack, top intelligence official warns | World news | The Guardian James Clapper, US director of national intelligence, also says Tehran is keeping option open to develop nuclear weapons
Draft resolution to UN calls for Syria's Assad to step down | World news | The Guardian Russia likely to veto resolution, up for debate at security council, which calls for end to arms supplies and president's rule (Putin loves bloody-handed dictators)
Food Bill Stumbling? | Indian Decade The bill, if it became law and was fully implemented, would cost the national exchequer Rs 1.1 lakh crore ($22 billion) annually in agriculture liabilities alone, but would provide subsidized food grain to more than 60 percent of the country’s population.

Eurozone crisis live: EU summit optimism tested by record unemployment | Business | guardian.co.uk Eurozone unemployment hits new high
Eurozone unemployment at new record high - Europe - World - The Independent Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone ended 2011 at 10.4 per cent, a new record high for the single currency since its launch at the start of 1999 (austerity fails, so, more austerity!)

Foreign Shoppers May Add $850B With Obama’s New Visas - Bloomberg (America the paranoid screwing itself with restrictive visa policies)

Barack Obama faces pressure over TVShack extradition case | Law | The Guardian US president asked to explain why America is trying to extradite British student Richard O'Dwyer over alleged copyright breach (because he is owned by Hollywood and big content?)

Hullabaloo - Exceptionalism - The World's Most "Successful" Top 1 Percent - If we can just get those taxes down to nothing and eliminate all impediments to inheritance, we should be able to successfully recreate the British aristocracy in a generation. The founders would be proud (Republicans have always hated America)

Mitt Romney easily clinches Florida primary win | The Ticket - Yahoo! News 47 percent for Romney, 32 percent for Gingrich, 13 percent for Santorum and 7 percent for Paul with 78 percent of precincts reporting
Head of Senate military panel says Romney clueless - Yahoo! News
Newt Gingrich, On Eve Of Likely Florida Loss, Unleashes Wild Attacks On Mitt Romney
Frank Rich To Maddow: Mitt Romney Is Closeted About His Religion (and his underear)
Newt Gingrich versus Mitt Romney: A guide to latest charges - The Washington Post it turns out that in 2003 he did indeed veto $600,000 in spending to run Massachusetts’s eight kosher nursing home facilities.
New Hampshire Governor Pledges To Veto Repeal Of Same-Sex Marriage In State Address | ThinkProgress to veto any bill that strips residents of their “civil rights”
Alan Grayson Confident In Re-Election, Fundraises For Others
Gay Politics | AMERICAblog Gay: GOP NJ Gov. Christie says black leaders in 1950s-60s would have welcomed popular vote on their rights (racist dumb-fuck)
David Brooks on Charles Murray - Our Mr. Brooks Finds Another Very Important Thinker - Esquire

House prices continue to fall despite broader signs economic improvement | Business | guardian.co.uk Average prices drop to 2003 levels in 19 out of 20 US cities, with only Phoenix bucking the trend, new survey shows
Foreclosure Crisis Erases Hard-Won Wealth, Dreams Even In Center Of Black Affluence
CHART: Keystone XL Pipeline Supporters Back Senate GOP | ThinkProgress

GOP’s Pro-Python Policy Devastates Florida’s Everglades | ThinkProgress (Republicans are big snakes and love devastating everything)
Pythons Are Wiping Out Mammals in the Everglades - National - The Atlantic Wire

Renegade — Henry Miller and the Making of ‘Tropic of Cancer.’ — By Frederick Turner — Book Review - NYTimes.com The question is: Why do men revel in the degradation of women?
Echidne of the snakes - E.J. Dionne at the Washington Post ended up in a pretzel shape trying to explain why Obama wasn't sufficiently fawning towards the US Catholic bishops* in the contraception wars:
Eschaton: Washington's Pastor In the WaPo (find it yourself), Pastor Gerson, most noted for his efforts in service of making sure we killed a lot of people in Iraq, is very upset that the Obama administration thinks women should have proper health care.
Janet Howell, Virginia State Senator, Attaches Rectal Exam Amendment To Anti-Abortion Bill that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication. "We need some gender equity here ..."

Pot legalization efforts forge ahead in key states - Yahoo! News gaining momentum in Washington state and Colorado, despite fierce opposition from the federal government (Obama is a fierce drugz-warrior)
GOP Seeks Big Changes In Federal Prison Sentences : NPR They're calling for an overhaul of the sentencing system, with tough new mandatory prison terms
Working Poor: Almost Half Of U.S. Households Live One Crisis From The Bread Line (which is why Republicans don't want them to vote)

Saving Freshman Ryan - NYTimes.com In handing down its ruling, the N.C.A.A. issued a press release so malicious in its intent that I could not let it pass (the overlords of college basketball are horrible people, especially Stacey Osburn, the author of the N.C.A.A. press release)
Hullabaloo - Citizen Training - What this means is that if a park ranger stops you for walking your dogs off leash, you are not to ask any questions or fail to carry the proper ID or you risk being shot through with 50,000 volts. This is now the way things work. Apparently, before the taser, this park ranger would have had to shoot this person in the back with a revolver.

Tallafornia Swipe: Episode Two - YouTube

Anonymous And The War Over The Internet (Part II)

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Syria: Army retakes Damascus suburbs - Monday 30 January | World news | guardian.co.uk At least 37 killed' as violence continues • Russia tries to set up peace talks in Moscow
Syria unrest: Clinton and Hague back Arab League plan at UN | World news | guardian.co.uk Resolution calling for Bashar al-Assad to step down wins support of 10 security council members necessary to force a vote
The Hindu : News / National : India won’t scale down petroleum imports from Iran: Pranab
Doll 'protesters' present small problem for Russian police | World news | guardian.co.uk Police in Siberian city ask prosecutors to investigate legality of protest involving display of toy figures holding miniature placards

Julian Assange's extradition battle enters final round | Media | The Guardian WikiLeaks founder to face seven supreme court judges in appeal against extradition to Sweden over sexual assault allegations

Germany to set the terms for saving the euro | Business | The Guardian Angela Merkel returned to Berlin with the new treaty in the bag, but also appeared more isolated with her hard line on Greece

Occupy DC protesters in standoff with police as eviction deadline passes | World news | guardian.co.uk Demonstrators in Washington refuse to comply after National Park Service orders the camp to be cleared on hygiene grounds

The Obama Memos: How Washington Remade the President : The New Yorker The making of a post-post-partisan Presidency (hopelessly naive Obama has only really believed in himself, no matter how wrong that has turned out to be)
Hullabaloo - Post partisan depression (Digby's take on Lizza)
Political Animal - It’s “Death of Bipartisanship” Monday! But it is nice to see that the illusion of easy bipartisanship is now largely limited to Americans Elect supporters who somehow think partisans are preventing the American people from embracing by acclamation an agenda of wildly unpopular “entitlement reforms” and tax increases. (the Village gives up on delusional bi-partisanship, which is progress, but like Obama, too little, too late)

Gingrich and Romney Want to Say Adios to Bilingual Ballots | Mother Jones The GOP front-runners endorse a plan that could disenfranchise millions of voters—including their own.
Wash. Post 's Parker Wildly Distorts Charitable Giving Of Obama, Romney | Media Matters for America Kathleen Parker claimed that Mitt Romney has "give[n] away "42 percent of his income, compared to Obama, who gave away 1 percent to charity." (lying liars + bonus Jennifer Rubin)
West Point Announces That Islamophobic General Has Withdrawn From Prayer Breakfast | ThinkProgress LTG (Ret) William Boykin has decided to withdraw speaking at West Point’s National Prayer Breakfast on 8 February 2012 (Islamophobic Prayer Breakfast)
Balloon Juice » Simp Phony For The Devil - How long will Juan Williams now last at FOX? - Williams knows damn well what he’s doing now, just like he damn well knew what he was doing in South Carolina, people. Weep not for Juan. Like I said, zero sympathy for this phony simp’s symphony.

Florida's housing crisis: 'There's not a politician out there willing to help' | World news | guardian.co.uk Years after the housing bubble burst, residents in the Sunshine State continue to face the heartbreak of home foreclosure (so they vote more Republican, of course)
Millennials entering the workforce need affordable housing - Greater Greater Washington

The Austerity Debacle. - NYTimes.com Half a century ago, any economist — or for that matter any undergraduate who had read Paul Samuelson’s textbook “Economics” — could have told you that austerity in the face of depression was a very bad idea. But policy makers, pundits and, I’m sorry to say, many economists decided, largely for political reasons, to forget what they used to know. And millions of workers are paying the price for their willful amnesia.
Daily Kos: Nonexistent out-of-control government spending dragging down the economy and hurting Obama (austerity in a recession always works! recovery summer! deficit pivot! oh shit we're screwed!)

Auction 2012: How The Bank Lobby Owns Washington - The finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sector combined to spend $6.8 billion on federal lobbying and campaign contributions from 1998 through 2011, according to the Center for Responsive Politics' examination of public records. That's $1 billion more than any other sector spent on Washington (Obama was a lot cheaper)
Much of missing MF Global money might never be found, officials think - Finance - Crain's Chicago Business What's been learned so far suggests that a good deal of the money may have “vaporized” (into thin air)
Freddie Mac Betting Against Struggling Homeowners : NPR
Freddie Mac Bets Against American Homeowners - ProPublica
In Slump, Localities Resort to Excise Taxes | Progressive Policy Institute The large growth in excise taxes relative to the drop in retail sales shows that during a time when incomes were down, local government turned to these narrow, selective taxes imposed on consumers to make up the balance. For example, two tourist meccas, Las Vegas and New York City, raised hotel room taxes in 2009.

Politics is a Matter of Life and Death (Times 23,000) — The Monkey Cage Republican administrations are “risk factors for lethal violence,” and that the only reason they have not produced “disastrously high epidemic levels” of suicides and homicides is that Democrats have repeatedly undone their damage.
Food crops damaged by pollution crossing continents Man-made air pollution from North America causes Europe to lose 1.2 million tonnes of wheat a year, a new study has found.

Nita Chaudhary: Birth Control Matters (E.J. Dionne, Catholic wanker, doesn't like birth control, says Obama shouldn't let women have it)
RealClearPolitics - The Politics of Campus Sexual Assault

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? - Magazine - The Atlantic An unruly market may undo the work of a giant cartel and of an inspired, decades-long ad campaign (engagement rings invented by diamond industry in '30's just like Mother's Day was invented by Hallmark)
reagan.jpg (Reagan on religion)

O Brother Where Art Though - The Soggy Bottom Boys - I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow - YouTube
Deliverance 1972 {Classic Banjo Scene} - YouTube

Thailand backs Twitter censorship policy | World news | guardian.co.uk Thai government becomes first to publicly endorse Twitter's decision to permit country-specific censorship of content
MegaUpload User Data Soon to be Destroyed | TorrentFreak MegaUpload has received a letter from the US Attorney informing the company that data uploaded by its users may be destroyed before the end of the week (Obama's in your servers, erasing your data with no due process)
hUVIP.jpg (Obama's justice system)

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Syrian troops battle to retake Damascus suburbs | World news | The Guardian Reports claim five civilians and six soldiers killed as up to 2,000 troops and tanks move into capital's outskirts
Maya Khan, Controversial Pakistani TV Host, Fired In a rare victory for Pakistani liberals, a private TV station decided to fire a popular morning show host after she sparked outrage by running around a public park trying to expose young, unmarried couples hanging out, a taboo in this conservative Muslim country.
Israel Drone Crashes During Flight The Israeli military says a drone that can fly as far as Iran has crashed in central Israel on a routine experimental flight (drone bombers)
Dutch Burqa Ban Legislation Planned
Ali Abdullah Saleh, President Of Yemen, In U.S. For Treatment: Official
Taliban Have Begun Talks With U.S., Former Taliban Aides Say - NYTimes.com
Guatemala Dictator Efrain Rios Montt Faces Genocide Allegations, Lawyer Disputes Charges (could it happen here?)
Canada Honor Killing Trial Verdict: Shafia Family Found Guilty

Peter S. Goodman: At World Economic Forum, Fear of Global Contagion Dominates "I've never been as scared as now about the world, what is happening in Europe," he said.
Deadlock in Davos as pressure on Greece rises - Europe - World - The Independent Germany wants EU to seize control of Greek financial decisions as condition of €130bn rescue package – but Continent’s leaders struggle to agree on bailout plan (banksters buy a whole country for $170Bn)
Eschaton: Better Than Tanks I Suppose The right response is, "fuck off, bail out your own goddamn banks."
Private Investors Near Deal on Greek Debt - NYTimes.com A disorderly and potentially devastating Greek debt default is looking much less likely.
BBC News - Duncan Smith: RBS bonus veto would have caused chaos Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith has said there would have been "chaos" if the government had overruled RBS over a £963,000 share bonus for its boss (chaos in his little crooked head)

Eschaton: Memories: SOTU 2010 - I know that some in my own party will argue that we cannot address the deficit or freeze government spending when so many are still hurting. I agree, which is why this freeze will not take effect until next year, when the economy is stronger (FAIL)

City of Oakland’s Increasing Hostility Toward the Occupy Movement | The Dissenter
Police use teargas on Occupy Oakland protesters | World news | guardian.co.uk About 300 arrested in Oakland as police use teargas after protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks and burning flares

Mitt Romney Holds Big Leads In New Florida Polls

Destructive Austerity, USA - NYTimes.com Jared Bernstein has been emphasizing, rightly, the extent to which our weak recovery is being undermined by cutbacks at the state and local level

Eschaton: Funny And Stupid Tom Brokaw is concerned that if people see him in his role as a journalist it will compromise his role as a journalist (erases history)
New York Times Struggles With Leadership After Janet Robinson's Departure (not that they weren't "struggling" before)
Daily Mail's Website Traffic Surpasses New York Times (and they don't make you pay, either)
Et tu, Harvard? - NYTimes.com - So long as schools continue to cower in the face of N.C.A.A. abuses, those abuses will continue. The Temi Fagbenle case was a perfect opportunity for Harvard to stand up for what’s right. Maybe next time.
UPDATED: Bill Keller's Latest 'Mini-Culpa' On Backing the Iraq War | The Nation (September 8, 2011 Nation: for the files on the Times non-accountability)

What is the Worst Thing Published in a Major National Newspaper Today? : Lawyers, Guns & Money (if you said Caitlin Flanagan and Kathleen Parker, you're right)
Mega-man: The fast, fabulous, fraudulent life of Megaupload's Kim Dotcom

Apple hit by boycott call over worker abuses in China | Technology | The Observer US writers attack conditions at Foxconn plant and call for consumers to act (busy creating jobs ... in China)

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Arab League suspends Syria monitoring mission | World news | guardian.co.uk Around 100 observers will remain in country but will not undertake new missions, statement says
Protests sweep through Senegal after Wade poll ruling | World news | guardian.co.uk Violence breaks out in Senegal following a ruling that President Abdoulaye Wade can run for a third term in office
Settlers who went too far - even for Netanyahu - Middle East - World - The Independent Donald Macintyre ventures to the village which has provoked a legal crisis in Israel (reaping what they sowed +fuck internation law)

Austerity Memories - NYTimes.com A further thought on the observation that Britain’s slump has now gone on longer than the slump in the 1930s: it’s worth remembering the rapturous reception the Cameron austerity program received here, not just from the right, but from centrists ... Heh heh, silly economists. Broder went on to urge Obama, after his salutary midterm defeat, to “do a Cameron” and agree to sharp cuts in the welfare state. It’s kind of remarkable how none of the Very Serious People even considered the possibility that people like me might be, well, right (and they are never held accountable)
Slash and Tax get their groove on - yes, the boys are back in town - The Irish Times - Fri, Jan 20, 2012 It was quarterly return time again yesterday and as poor Mother Ireland presented herself for another pat on the head from the visiting international overlords, we felt a song coming on.

Sun journalists and police officer arrested in corruption investigation | Media | guardian.co.uk Met police search News International's headquarters in Wapping as four current and former Sun employees are arrested (giving them at least a year to erase everything)
Rupert Murdoch's Staff Arrested As Tabloid Scandal Spreads To Second Newspaper

Leon Panetta and the Pakistani Doctor: Yet More Double Standards on Classified Information | emptywheel

Michael-In-Norfolk - Study: Low IQ Correlates With Prejudice and Bigotry There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy ... those with low intelligence gravitate towards conservatism and are prone to embrace prejudice of things they don't understand or that are different. (see Charles Murray and the whole Republican party)
Daily Kos: PolitiFact devolves into absurdity (they just can't help themselves)

Polarization in Obama's Approval at Historic Highs the historically high gap between partisans' job approval ratings of President Obama continued during his third year in office, with an average of 80% of Democrats and 12% of Republicans approving of the job he was doing. (same as Junior, but in reverse)
Poll Shows Dead Heat in Florida Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich tied at 35% each, with Rick Santorum at 9% and Ron Paul at 7%.
Mitt Romney's new ad attacks Newt Gingrich over old ethics violation | World news | guardian.co.uk GOP hopeful's video, part of one of the most expensive campaigns ever, simply shows a 1997 NBC news report
Newt Gingrich 2012: Republican Insiders Rise Up To Cut Candidate Down To Size
NBC Demands Mitt Romney Take Down Ad That Uses Tom Brokaw Footage (video) The ad, called "History Lesson," consists entirely of the opening of the January 21, 1997 edition of "NBC Nightly News."
Romney Converted His Father-in-Law After He Died "Two readers have sent us confirmation that Edward Davies, Mitt Romney's militantly atheist father-in-law, was indeed posthumously converted to Mormonism by his family, despite the fact that when he was alive he regarded all religions as 'hogwash.'"
GOP Debate Chipmunks - YouTube (don't miss)

Despite Stated ICE Policy, Vast Majority Of Immigrants In Detention Were Not Criminals | Crooks and Liars Is President Obama still chasing those mythical independent votes by acting like a hard-liner on immigration? Does he really not get how badly this undermines his support in the Latino community? (Obama has always played politics with people's lives)
No Conviction, No Freedom: Immigration Authorities Locked 13,000 In Limbo (no fucking rights, either)

In the Top 1%, but of Taxpayers, Not Income — Common Sense - NYTimes.com

Texas Dems, minority groups near huge win with redistricting settlement - The Hill's Ballot Box (Texas Rethugs get bitch-slapped by DoJ)
House Transportation Bill “a March of Horribles” | Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Welfare Drug Testing Bill Withdrawn After Amended To Include Testing Lawmakers A Republican member of the Indiana General Assembly withdrew his bill to create a pilot program for drug testing welfare applicants Friday after one of his Democratic colleagues amended the measure to require drug testing for lawmakers (too many Indiana lawmakers on drugs)
North Carolina GOP Lawmaker Calls For Bringing Back Public Hangings, Starting With Abortion Providers | ThinkProgress If Rep. Larry Pittman had his way, “abortionists, rapists, and kidnappers” would be first in line for the gallows ... Republicans in South Carolina, Nebraska, and Iowa pushed legislation that would essentially legalize the murder of abortion providers. Such radical sentiments have been echoed by prominent conservatives like Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who said during his 2004 campaign, “I favor the death penalty for abortionists.”

Archbishop warns against gay marriage - This Britain - UK - The Independent "We've seen dictators do it in different contexts and I don't want to redefine very clear social structures that have been in existence for a long time and then overnight the state believes it could go in a particular way (yeah, authoritarian dictatorships always do that)
The Anger Over ‘Tranny,’ From Neil Patrick Harris to RuPaul to Dan Savage - The Daily Beast
'Reckless' Leaks Threaten Rape Probe Of New York Police Commissioner's Son

First quantum jiggles detected in solid object - physics-math - 28 January 2012 - New Scientist

The Moral Battle Between Pirates and Copyright Lobbyists | TorrentFreak
Copyright Industry Calls For Broad Search Engine Censorship | TorrentFreak At a behind-closed-doors meeting facilitated by the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, copyright holders have handed out a list of demands to Google, Bing and Yahoo (the internets are just a subsidiary of big content/Hollywood)
Twitter users threaten boycott over censorship accusation | Technology | guardian.co.uk Tweets don't always flow freely – voice of Arab spring accused of imposing gagging system in some countries

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Syria Activists: 'Terrifying Massacre' In Homs - Armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad barraged residential buildings with mortars and machine-gun fire, killing at least 30 people, including a family of women and children
UN security council to discuss Arab-backed Syria plan | World news | The Guardian Draft resolution calls for Assad to surrender power as Saudis move to recognise opposition Syrian National Council
Dancing in the Streets, and Ending Women's Segregation in Israel | Religion Dispatches (a model democracy)
Iraq Violence: Suicide Car Bomber Kills 28 In Baghdad (you can see where this is going)
Interracial ad sparks controversy in South Africa - BlogPost - The Washington Post
Iran to restart IAEA nuclear talks | World news | The Guardian UN nuclear inspectors are due to begin three days of meetings in Tehran on Sunday - the first such talks for over three years
High court judges attempt to speed up Gary McKinnon case | World news | The Guardian Judges list computer hacker's extradition case for July hearing amid concern over time it is taking to return to court (Obama wants him in solitary confinement for 60 years)
Gulf of Mexico oil spill: BP loses bid to make others pay compensation | Environment | guardian.co.uk Judge rules contractors Transocean and Halliburton are not liable for compensation but they still face fines and lawsuits
Persepolis trial in Tunisia is postponed again | Film | guardian.co.uk Trial of Tunisian TV station accused of 'insulting sacred values' of Islam for screening Marjane Satrapi's animated film is adjourned until April following further altercations
Putin Ratchets Up Anti-U.S Rhetoric as Kremlin Race Grows - Bloomberg The U.S. “wants to control everything” and takes decisions unilaterally on key questions, Putin said on a campaign stop yesterday in the Siberian city of Tomsk, 3,100 kilometers (1,900 miles) east of Moscow. “Sometimes I get the impression the U.S. doesn’t need allies, it needs vassals.”

Unemployment in Spain Rises to 22.9% - Bloomberg increasing pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to deliver on his election pledge to create jobs in a shrinking economy (yes! create jobs with more austerity, which worked really well already)
The UK economy needs a shower of money in the high street | Simon Jenkins | Comment is free | The Guardian Printing money might not be dignified, but it does work – just keep the banks and the credit rating agencies out of it - The only possible objection to more direct action is snobbery. The government seems in awe of bankers and will do anything to appease them. If it really wants to revive demand by printing money, it must choose between a bank and a helicopter. Choose the helicopter.
Bailed-out RBS spends millions on Washington lobbyists | Business | The Guardian Bailed-out bank has spent over £2.5m of British taxpayers' money to influence politicians reforming US financial law

ACTA - the latest threat to internet freedom, just signed by the EU - Pirate Party UK

There's a big gap between American attitudes toward "income inequality" and "unfairness." Americans don't want the government to "redistribute income," they want it to stop favoring the wealthy and powerful and to make them pay their fair share. | Democratic Strategist There's a big gap between American attitudes toward "income inequality" and "unfairness." Americans don't want the government to "redistribute income," they want it to stop favoring the wealthy and powerful and to make them pay their fair share.

Military Budget Cuts: Pentagon Unveils 2013 Plan
Jan Brewer vs. Barack Obama: President Says Exchange Was 'Not A Big Deal' (that's not what wingnut Hotair said)
Oooops. Brewer Story Not Holding Up Well | Talking Points Memo
Hillary Clinton says she is 'ready for a rest' after 20 years in politics | World news | The Guardian US secretary of state claims she does not intend to stay in government if Barack Obama wins second term

Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community how the Supreme Court's ruling has created a nightmare for the Republican Establishment.
The Third Jihad, Adelson, and Gingrich | Religion Dispatches
Ed Kilgore: Why Newt Supporters Think He's Electable | The New Republic (he wasn't)
Mitt Romney's Struggle With Truth Continues (the truth will lose, of course)
Kindly Old Ron Paul : Lawyers, Guns & Money But people close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul & Associates, and closely monitored its operations, signing off on articles and speaking to staff members virtually every day (lies and the lying liars)
No One Left to Lie To - Ta-Nehisi Coates - Politics - The Atlantic (Ron "I'm a racist liar" Paul)
CNN's Wolf Blitzer Bungles Foreclosure Question, Allows GOP Candidates To Escape Without Offering Housing Plans | ThinkProgress (this is elite journalism)

US economy picked up pace in final quarter of 2011 with 2.8% growth | Business | guardian.co.uk Growth between October and December was fastest of year, but US economy expanded by a modest 1.7% overall in 2011
Eschaton: Nobody Has Any Money younger people are getting screwed. The game has changed for them. They're facing crap job prospects, crap income, no possibility for defined benefits pensions, and perpetual threats to completely gut retirement systems.
Summers: “Inside Job had essentially all its facts wrong” | Felix Salmon (sure, Larry. what a lying asshole)
By Any Other Measure Relying on GDP to calculate economic progress ignores social and environmental realities (isn't that the point?)

Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed Nearly 12,000 people will die of head and neck cancer in the United States this year and worldwide cases will exceed half a million.
How White Are You? : Lawyers, Guns & Money It’s hard not to be bouncing off the ceiling for the chance to make fun of Charles Murray’s new book, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010. I really need a comedy fix right now and this could be the funniest book of the year. The only problem with Murray is that he’s really hard to parody since he’s routinely kicking parody’s decaying corpse (Bell Curve racist defending the priviledges of white people: they eat at Applebees!)
alicublog - Class Consciousness - Charles Murray, best known for his book Niggers are Stupid (sorry, The Bell Curve), has a new one out
I’m Looking At The Boy In The Bubble | TBogg Roy has an interesting post up about how Charles “Coloreds Is Dumb” Murray has moved on from explaining why white people are superior to the dusky races ...

Twitter faces censorship backlash | Technology | guardian.co.uk Users of social network critical of new system that can censor tweets on a country-by-country basis

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Iraq: Militants Bomb Home Of Iraqi Policeman, Killing 10 An Iraqi policeman and nine relatives were killed as they slept when militants bombed their home south of Baghdad on Thursday, police sources said, in the latest attack on local officials and security forces.
The human rights “success” in Libya - Salon.com
Syria, Egypt, Libya and Middle East unrest - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk UN unable to update estimated death toll in Syria • UN and NGOs slam Libya over 'torture' of detainees • Egypt imposes 'travel ban' on American NGO workers

Davos: David Cameron urges eurozone to take 'bold and decisive action' | Business | The Guardian (more austerity!)
What Wolf and You Can Learn from the Irish Press for the GOP Debate | MyFDL
ACTA Copyright Treaty Sparks Protests In Latest Anti-Piracy Battle

Grading Obama's Foreign Policy | Foreign Policy Nine experts rate the president’s performance so far.
The Fourth Amendment and the Surveillance State : Lawyers, Guns & Money I have some follow-up thoughts to the GPS surveillance decision handed down by the Supreme Court earlier this week. The first major takeaway from the case is that Sonia Sotomayor was one of the best decisions Obama has made so far (seems to be the only Justice who gets it)

Rachel Maddow Explodes: 'PolitiFact, You're Fired!' - You are a mess! You are fired! You are undermining the definition of the word fact in the English language by pretending to it in your name. The English language wants its word back. You are an embarrassment. You sully the reputation of anyone who cites you as an authority on fact-ishness, let alone fact. You are fired." (video)
Politifact Backtracks After Fact Check Wreck
When Facts Aren't Facts - NYTimes.com The criterion, according to Politifact, seems to be that a fact isn’t a fact if it helps a Democratic narrative.

Veterans Call On West Point To Cancel Planned Speech By Islamophobic General | ThinkProgress ret. Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin, an individual who has a long record of issuing hate-filled rhetoric about Muslims. (crazy Jihad Jerry is the only Christian they could find?)
The War On A Woman's Right To Choose, 2012 Edition | ThinkProgress
Bev Perdue Retiring: North Carolina Governor Reportedly Won't Seek Reelection
Joe Conason: Mitch Daniels: Bombast From the Past - Truthdig “Mitch Daniels ... Isn’t he the former Bush budget director who said the Iraq War would cost $50 billion when it ended up costing $3 trillion? The bureaucrat who promoted the Bush tax cuts when we were fighting two wars? The one whose budget projections were so fraudulent that he predicted federal surpluses in 2004 and 2005? Why the hell should we listen to him criticize Obama?”
How Citizens United Created Newt -- Daily Intel Sheldon Adelson, Newt's sugar daddy (another face of Satan, just look)
The Mitch Is Back | Blogs | Vanity Fair Last year Mitch Daniels signed a bill blocking Federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood in Indiana. And his is what passes for a credible voice on cultural détente in the Republican party.
Senate panel OKs creationism teaching bill | 2012-01-26 | Indianapolis Business Journal | IBJ.com An Indiana Senate panel has approved a bill that would allow creationism to be taught in Indiana's public schools. (keep it up, Indiana, you'll be just like Kentucky and how's that 9% unemployment working out for you?)
Jan Brewer And Barack Obama Nearly Come To Blows Over Book Excerpt Brewer eventually released the erotic thriller late last year to well-deserved indifference. Now Obama is getting into it with Brewer in front of God and everybody, because she used her stupid book to kiss and tell about a top-secret Oval Office meeting the two once had. JESUS! Will they or won’t they, already!!
Romney tax returns detail funds not identified in ethics forms - latimes.com
Balloon Juice » Angry White Lady Chronicles What really happened was that Brewer asked Obama for a meeting and Obama pointed out that after the last meeting in the Oval Office, Brewer lied about it in her book. Is there any state that’s had its reputation more tarnished by asinine teabagging than Arizona, and is there a governor in the nation who’s done more, single-handedly, to hurt the reputation of their state than Jan Brewer? (Haley Barbour? Mitch Daniels? Lex Luthor? Scott Walker?)
Christie On Gay Marriage: Southern Blacks Would Have Been Psyched To Have Vote On Their Rights | TPMMuckraker Christie for comparing a ballot referendum on gay marriage to the civil rights movement thusly: “The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South.” (let those white guys vote on your slavery)
GOP Rep. Slams Obama's Contraception Rule, Claims Birth Control Is 'Unrelated To Basic Needs Of Health Care' | ThinkProgress (they are always snooping around your vagina)

Rise in number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits | Business | guardian.co.uk The number of people seeking aid has increased, but the long-term trend is pointing to a healthier job market
Kamala D. Harris calls mortgage settlement "inadequate" - latimes.com (Obama sweeps it all under the rug, no consequences, slap on the wrist)
Bernanke Moves Fed Toward More Openness - Bloomberg by setting a numeric goal for inflation, advancing his legacy of greater transparency at the world’s most influential central bank (how about a numeric unemployment goal, hey?)
Servicer Horror Stories: Resurrecting Zombie Mortgages | FDL News Desk The reason I continue to believe the issue of foreclosure fraud and servicer abuse remains and shouldn’t be settled away is that it has such an impact on people’s lives (Obama wants all this under the rug)
Quelle Surprise! Bank of America Accused of Blocking Arizona AG Investigation « naked capitalism
Apple’s iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China - NYTimes.com “Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost,”
MF Global: Uncertain futures - FT.com People such as Mr Kasouf increasingly feel they will never get their money back. As Christmas app­roached, with a wife and two children to support, he considered selling his house or declaring bankruptcy. Ultimately, the 72 per cent of his funds MF Global’s bankruptcy trustee has since returned prevented this, but his view of the markets has been shaken. “This has practically destroyed my trust in the whole system,” he says. (practically?)

NASA - Blue Marble
Protein in brain could be a key target in controlling Alzheimer’s 12/15-Lipoxygenase
Superbugs spied off the Antarctic coast - life - 26 January 2012 - New Scientist BACTERIA that can resist nearly all antibiotics have been found in Antarctic seawater (from human shit)

Greg Kelly, Son Of NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, Accused Of Rape (where is the truth?)
Matthew Hermann, Other White Teens, Used Noose On Black Classmate: Report (video) because he had become friends with a white girl one of the alleged attackers is related to.

Conservative Parents Demand School Teach About Ex-Gay Therapy ("gay-related-immune deficiency") (parents Brian Lindquist and Mike Skaalerud famous on the internets for all eternity for being bigoted assholes)
The Infamous C-Word
Demi’s Drug: What Is Nitrous Oxide? | Healthland | TIME.com A former nitrous addict and expert on addiction explains why laughing gas is no joke.

Eschaton: Is That Really What It's For So religion lets you feel good about not practicing what your religion preaches? Ok.

Twitter To Censor Tweets In Some Countries
MegaUpload Users Plan to Sue the FBI over Lost Files | TorrentFreak
One Per Cent: FBI releases plans to monitor social networks

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US marine spared jail over deaths of unarmed Iraqis | World news | guardian.co.uk Frank Wuterich, convicted over 2005 massacre of 24 civilians in Haditha, will not serve time in jail (will be "detained" 3 days per dead innocent civilian murdered - our society of unresponsibility, see Obama)
U.S. military forces free two hostages in Somalia – usatoday.com - President Obama authorized the mission by SEAL Team 6, the same unit that was behind the operation in Pakistan last May that killed Osama bin Laden.
Raid In Somalia: U.S. Military Frees Hostages Held Since October
Bedouin tribesmen storm Egyptian tourist resort | World news | The Guardian Gunmen take control of complex on Red Sea coast and demand £425,000 ransom in exchange for leaving site peacefully (fringes getting edgy)
Iran sanctions need to be tougher, Israeli defence minister warns | World news | The Guardian Ehud Barak says the EU oil embargo alone is unlikely to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear plans (Israel = eternal war)

U.K.'s GDP slips 0.2% in fourth quarter - MarketWatch (Cameron blames Labour, not his own austerity)
As euro crisis fears ease, focus turns to growth | Reuters There is a palpable sense of hope at the annual Davos World Economic Forum that the euro zone is edging away from the brink of catastrophe but business leaders say Europe's woes are still holding back a global recovery (and what, exactly, has changed?) "At the end of the day, it comes down to growth -- that's what these countries need to keep their debt sustainable." (which was why we needed austerity)
Angela Merkel casts doubt on saving Greece from financial meltdown | World news | The Guardian German chancellor speaks candidly to the Guardian and five other leading European newspapers as part of a unique collaboration to explore the EU's predicament (wait, that's not what you just said)

Press Freedom Index: Occupy Wall Street Journalist Arrests Cost U.S. Dearly In Latest Survey - The treatment of journalists by police was well documented throughout 2011. Reporters were beaten, arrested and prevented from covering police action against Occupy protesters. Tensions heightened so much that the New York Police Department had to meet with journalists and remind its officers not to mistreat them.
Press Freedom Index 2011-2012 - Reporters Without Borders (America! We're number 47!)

Fidel Castro attacks 'idiocy and ignorance' of US Republican race | World news | The Guardian Retired Cuban leader says Republican primaries are 'the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been' (the truth that can only be spoken by Fidel)
RealClearPolitics - Politics - Jan 25, 2012 - Castro lambasts US Republican primary as idiotic

Obama's State Of The Union Address: Everybody Must Play By The Same Rules
Obama hits the road amid Republican attacks on state of the union speech | World news | guardian.co.uk President kicks off tour of swing states as Gingrich and Romney accuse him of 'class warfare' in asking rich to pay more
Republican Response: Mitch Daniels Delivers Speech After State Of The Union (video) accusing the president of pushing an extreme agenda that was "pro-poverty." (Indiana: 9% unemployment: 10th highest in country)
Word Most Conspicuously Absent In SOU | The New Republic Union." Not as in "federal government," but as in "organization dedicated to protecting the rights of workers."
Labor Responses to the State of the Union : Lawyers, Guns & Money The general tenor of the labor community is that Obama was typically tepid on labor issues in his State of the Union ... But even though he needs union support desperately in his reelection campaign, all he’s really offering labor is that he’s better than a Republican (Obama's game of minimal expectations)
Tax rates of presidential candidates, in one chart - The Washington Post
Balloon Juice » Consider the Audience A Smart Politics study of the 70 orally delivered State of the Union Addresses since 1934 finds the text of Obama’s 2012 speech to have tallied the third lowest score on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, at an 8.4 grade level (probably over-estimating his audience)
Balloon Juice » They Still Don’t Know What a Fact Is The weasels at Politifact have backed down somewhat from last night’s epic failure (they wouldn't know the truth if it hit them between the eyes, which it did)

Mark Kelly Won't Run For Gabrielle Giffords' Congress Seat: Report Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), a close friend of Giffords', broke down in tears as she read aloud her resignation letter on the House floor with Giffords at her side.
Mormon Church's Prior Baptism Of Dead Jews Could Raise Concerns For Florida Voters (yeah, you born-agains, you will eventually join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in heaven)
Balloon Juice » Got to give it up - Bobo: "To me, this whole race (the Republican primary) is now about manhood. Newt won South Carolina because he’s a bigger Alpha and Republicans want bellicosity, not politeness. Mitt looked soft and in the debates seemed unwilling to fight." (bellicosity is the primary Republican value) )
Newt 'Cry Baby' Gingrich: my part in his downfall | Martin Dunn | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Gingrich's admission that personal spite had motivated the 1995 government shutdown gave us a front page that still haunts him
Ever wondered what happened to Sarah Palin? Well Newt Gingrich has eaten her and absorbed her shtick | Hadley Freeman | Comment is free | The Guardian Just like Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich blames the media for his own failings and insists he's an outsider – despite his frequent references to his time with Ronald Reagan
Republicans vow to protect high school dropouts from Barack Obama | The Ticket - Yahoo! News (you can't make this shit up +"bellowed")

US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates near zero until 2014 | Business | guardian.co.uk Federal Reserve Bank's pessimism indicates the economy may not fully recover from the recession for another two years (yay, free money for bankers!)
The Schneiderman Gambit: Financial Fraud Unit Appears Designed to Fail, and Grease Skids for Foreclosure Fraud Settlement | FDL News Desk (Obama's got their backs)
Tim Geithner Won't Stay On If Obama Wins Second Term: Report
To Shop Smart, Patients Need to Know Price of Care: Peter Orszag - Bloomberg (what a tool)

Envelope for an artificial cell Chemists have taken an important step in making artificial life forms from scratch. Using a novel chemical reaction, they have created self-assembling cell membranes, the structural envelopes that contain and support the reactions required for life.
When I turn down the dimmer switch on my lights, do I actually use less electricity, or is the difference between the bulb's nominal wattage and the actual wattage vented as heat by the dimmer? : askscience

Joseph Maturo, East Haven Mayor Says 'I Might Have Tacos For Dinner' In Response To Police Arrests For Harassing Latinos - The Latino community in East Haven, according to the Census, make up 10.3% of the town's population. Yet out of a police force of 50, only one speaks Spanish, and government officials, along with one community resident, informed PIX 11 that he is not even Latino. (Republican of course, and rehired corrupt chief of police)
NM man who pulled own tooth in jail awarded $22M - Yahoo! News A federal jury has awarded $22 million to a New Mexico man who was kept in solitary confinement for two years and forced to pull his own tooth after being arrested for drunken driving in Dona Ana County (torture by solitary confinement because they can)

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Iran oil sanctions spark war of words between Tehran and Washington | World news | guardian.co.uk Iran threatens to close strait of Hormuz after EU escalates sanctions, but US warns force could be used to keep it open
Egyptian junta's lifting of state of emergency fails to convince | World news | The Guardian Military leader says measure long used as tool of repression will only be used to deal with acts of 'thuggery'
Egypt's revolutionaries see little progress a year after revolt | McClatchy
Fatal car bombs hit Baghdad | World news | guardian.co.uk Eleven people killed in two attacks as violence continues in Iraq amid political crisis after US military withdrawal (total waste of a million lives)
chart - The Cost Of War: Iraq Versus Libya | ThinkProgress
Turkey warns France over Armenian genocide law | World news | The Guardian French senators have approved the bill, risking more sanctions from Ankara and complicating relations with Turkey

Western justice and transparency - Salon.com On Saturday in Somalia, the U.S. fired missiles from a drone and killed the 27-year-old Lebanon-born, ex-British citizen Bilal el-Berjawi. His wife had given birth 24 hours earlier and the speculation is that the U.S. located him when his wife called to give him the news.

IMF slashes global growth forecasts | Business | guardian.co.uk Eurozone GDP expected to fall 0.5% during 2012 • UK set to grow 0.6% – sharp fall from earlier 1.6% estimate (more austerity!)

Costa Concordia captain not solely to blame, says prosecutor | World news | The Guardian Investigators urged to consider role of ship's owners in incident as salvage experts begin pumping out fuel from wreck

Ex-C.I.A. Officer John Kiriakou Accused in Leak - NYTimes.com - The prosecution of Mr. Kiriakou is the sixth criminal case brought under President Obama against current or former government officials accused of providing classified information to the media, more such cases than all previous presidents combined. (Obama loves torture, hates whistleblowers)
Rules of American justice: a tale of three cases - Salon.com What’s most notable here is that this is now the sixth prosecution by the Obama administration of an accused leaker, and all six have been charged under the draconian, World-War-I era Espionage Act. As EFF’s Trevor Timm put it yesterday: this is the “6th time under Obama someone is charged with Espionage for leaking to a journalist. Before Obama: only 3 cases in history.” (Obama has no moral center or even a periphery)

In Police Training, a Dark Film on U.S. Muslims - NYTimes.com A year later, police documents obtained under the state’s Freedom of Information Law reveal a different reality: “The Third Jihad,” which includes an interview with Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, was shown, according to internal police reports, “on a continuous loop” for between three months and one year of training (NYC top cops lied and lied with no consequences)

Newt Gingrich: Brian Williams 'Wrong' To Silence GOP Debate Crowd (video)
Mitt Romney Tax Returns Released: Paid Just 13.9% Rate In 2010, Had Swiss Bank Account (just an ordinary, unemployed American)
"Self Deportation": It's a Real Thing, and It Isn't Pretty | Mother Jones Mitt Romney unveiled a novel solution for illegal immigration during Tuesday night's GOP debate, saying that he'd rely on "self-deportation" to reduce the number of unauthorized immigrants in the US.
Hullabaloo Patriotic Self-deportation ... The problem is "who wants to take all our patriots?"
Rick Santorum Suggests That When Life Gives You Rape, You Should Make Rapeanade | TBogg
Philosoraptor - if a child conceived by rape is a blessing from god does tha

US mortgage lenders 'close to $19bn foreclosure settlement' | Business | The Guardian US president Barack Obama could announce a deal – the largest multi-state agreement since the 1998 tobacco settlement – in Tuesday's state of the union address (Obama sweeps it all under the rug: $19Bn on $2Tr loss, not bad)

Media Matters Goes Light Bulb Shopping | Media Matters for America Led by Fox News, right-wing media outlets have repeatedly told consumers that the standards would "ban" incandescent bulbs and force us all to purchase "mercury-laden, ugly and smelly compact fluorescent light bulbs," to the chagrin of electrical manufacturers. Fox has even gone so far as to encourage consumers to "hoard" the old, inefficient bulbs (Satan lies, surprise)

Tennessee Lawmaker Compares Homosexuality To 'Pedophilia, Prostitution, Murder' | ThinkProgress - state Rep. John Ragan (R) (famous on the internets for all eternity for being a bigoted asshole)

Paula Deen Shocked By Lack Of Public Support Following Diabetes Announcement None of her famous foodie friends have shown her one ounce of support. Yet some believe that other chefs have remained silent because Deen kept quiet about her illness for years.
Paula Deen Publicist, Nancy Assuncao Sanchez, Reportedly Quit Over Novo Nordisk Deal oday, though, the New York Post reported that Assuncao left the company when she learned that her employer planned to endorse Victoza, a diabetes drug manufactured by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, after hiding her diabetes for three years.

Europe Weighs a Tough Law on Online Privacy and User Data - NYTimes.com Europe is considering a sweeping new law that would force Internet companies like Amazon.com and Facebook to obtain explicit consent from consumers about the use of their personal data, delete that data forever at the consumer’s request and face fines for failing to comply.
Apple Fails To Get Samsung Tablets Banned In Netherlands, Again

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Iran: Flotilla Of Warships Sent Through Strait of Hormuz Heightens Tensions
Iran oil sanctions spark war of words between Tehran and Washington | World news | The Guardian Iran threatens to close strait of Hormuz after EU escalates sanctions, but US warns force could be used to keep it open
Lara Logan: I Have PTSD From Sexual Assault In Egypt
US marine reaches plea deal over deaths of unarmed Iraqis | World news | guardian.co.uk Frank Wuterich, who led the marine squad that killed 24 Iraqis in Haditha in 2005, faces three months' confinement and pay drop (kill 24 innocent civilians, get pay cut)
Gaddafi loyalists take back Bani Walid | World news | The Guardian Reports say at least four people killed in clashes between besieged NTC forces and well-organised pro-Gaddafi fighters

Calculated Risk: Morning Greece: Euro Zone Finance Ministers discuss possible debt deal
Spanish GDP to Contract 1.5 Percent in 2012, Bank of Spain Says - Businessweek (austerity fail, more austerity!)
Eschaton: Keep Bleeding The Patient - really don't know what will end all of this austerity madness. All the Very Serious People agree it's the right thing to do, and nothing will ever convince them that they are/were wrong.
Eschaton: I've Got An Even Bolder Plan - How about more free money for the most corrupt people on the planet? That'll probably work.

Phone hacking: News of the World journalists lied to Milly Dowler police | Media | The Guardian Surrey police report released by MPs reveals reporters interfered with investigation as well as hacking missing girl's phone
News Of The World Journalists Admitted Hacking Milly Dowler's Phone To Police
Leveson inquiry: Lord Patten accuses politicians of 'grovelling' to Murdoch | Media | The Guardian BBC Trust chair and former Tory minister says current MPs are mistaken in believing newspapers determine their fate

Costa Concordia captain 'distracted by guests on bridge' | World news | The Guardian Witness claims captain's concentration was disturbed by conversation with visitor on bridge at moment of impact

High Court - Warrant Needed for GPS Tracking - NYTimes.com (rare decision for your rights - Obama, of course was on the wrong side)
Balloon Juice » A Positive Ruling Props to whoever can come up with the best excuse for the Obama admin coming out on the appallingly wrong side of this.
Supreme Court Court Rejects Willy-Nilly GPS Tracking | Threat Level | Wired.com - The government told the justices during oral arguments that that GPS devices have become a common tool in crime fighting, saying it is employed “thousands” of times annually.

Hullabaloo It's good that Rand Paul is taking on the TSA's security theatre by refusing to comply with a pat down request. Perhaps it will lead to more discussion about why this is a ridiculous approach to anti-terrorism (but messing with lady junk and forcing women to view sonograms is just fine, of course)
Hullabaloo SCHMIDT: Look, I think, not only are we not moving towards a coalescing of support by the Republican establishment for Newt Gingrich, we're probably moving toward the declaration of war on Newt Gingrich by the Republican establishment. And if Newt Gingrich is able to win the Florida primary, you will see a panic and a meltdown of the Republican establishment that is beyond my ability to articulate in the English language.

Washington Post Ombudsman Flip Flops On Anti-Obama Hate Rhetoric | Media Matters for America (Patrick Pexton, Satan's "fact checker")
At Florida Town Hall, Rick Santorum Cowardly Panders To Woman Who Alleges Obama Is ‘An Avowed Muslim’ | ThinkProgress
How South Carolina Results Vindicate Political Power Of Economic Inequality Arguments | ThinkProgress
Romney's National Lead Collapses The latest Gallup daily tracking poll shows Mitt Romney's once formidable national lead over his Republican presidential rivals has completely collapsed. Romney now barely edges Newt Gingrich, 29% to 28%. They are followed by Ron Paul at 13% and Rick Santorum at 11%.
Balloon Juice » Florida, Florida, Florida
Ark. campaign manager's cat slaughtered - politico (sick Republifucks)
Mark Kirk Stroke: Illinois Senator Undergoes Successful Surgery Kirk, 52, checked himself into the local Lake Forest Hospital Saturday after suffering dizziness and headaches, doctors said.
The Story of Juan Williams | Business | Vanity Fair Juan Williams was a sometimes-controversial star at NPR until an inflammatory comment about Muslims sent him further into the arms of Fox News. A look at his career through the eyes of several old and skeptical colleagues.

US mortgage lenders 'close to $19bn foreclosure settlement' | Business | The Guardian US president Barack Obama could announce a deal – the largest multi-state agreement since the 1998 tobacco settlement – in Tuesday's state of the union address (slap on the wrist; pressures states to accept corrupt deal)

Study: Stem cells may aid vision in blind people


Danah Boyd - Cracking Teenagers’ Online Codes - NYTimes.com (Danah Boyd)

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom denies internet piracy in New Zealand court | Technology | The Guardian Megaupload.com founder, who was arrested at request of FBI, is denied bail after prosecutors say he may try to flee country

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Pakistan Helps U.S. Drones Campaign: Reuters - The death of a senior al Qaeda leader in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan's tribal badlands, the first strike in almost two months, signaled that the U.S.-Pakistan intelligence partnership is still in operation despite political tensions (Obama's extra-judicial murders)
Covering Obama’s Secret War : CJR When drones strike, key questions go unasked and unanswered
Inside the Killing Machine - The Daily Beast President Obama is ordering a record number of Predator strikes. An exclusive interview with a man who approved ‘lethal operations.’ (here we are, a year later)
In Rush to Transcribe Military’s Concern on Why We Can’t Leave Afghanistan, Did NY Times Fact-check “Classified” Report? | emptywheel (of course not, that's your job; theirs is to print PR releases and "reports")

Saudi Arabia to withdraw Arab League monitors from Syria | World news | The Guardian Decision taken minutes after league decided to persist with observers and extend mission for another month

Costa Concordia captain claims company ordered 'salute' to island | World news | The Guardian Francesco Schettino reportedly challenges Costa over cruise collision as 13th body is found by divers

Hullabaloo Fatuous rich guy quote of the day - A senior official at the Bank of Scotland explaining why they need to pay their CEO an obscene bonus:
RBS tests Cameron resolve on pay-outs - FT.com David Cameron’s pledge to curb executive pay and stop “rewards for failure” is set to face its biggest test, as Royal Bank of Scotland prepares to offer a bonus of more than £1m to its chief executive, even though the state-controlled bank’s share price has almost halved in a year.

The “anti-Semitism” smear campaign against CAP and Media Matters rolls on - Salon.com (AIPAC liars and thugs)
How to Smear a Washington Think Tank - Robert Wright - Politics - The Atlantic Suddenly lots of people are asking whether calling someone an "Israel-firster" is anti-Semitic. The occasion for these reflections is a controversy--the subject of a Washington Post piece yesterday--surrounding the liberal think tank the Center for American Progress (rightwing "dual loyalty" Jews in America at work)

Exhibits in Latif’s SCOTUS Petition Prove Interrogation Summaries Should Not Be Entitled to Presumption of Regularity | emptywheel

Newt Gingrich Wins Big In South Carolina, Resets GOP Primary (SC "values voters" don't care about adultery, only gays and blacks)
Newt Gingrich Favorability | TPM PollTracker (Newtie is a very popular guy nationally)
Gingrich Falsely Claims He Was Completely Exonerated In Ethics Investigtion | ThinkProgress (they don't care about big fat lies, either, truth not part of Christianity)
Clyburn Says Newt Gingrich Is Using Coded Racial Language | ThinkProgress (not so coded, dude)
Poll: Majority Say U.S. Needs New Campaign Finance Laws | ThinkProgress 58 percent of Americans say the U.S needs new campaign finance laws — a change from three years ago when more people said it would be “good” if the Supreme Court struck down existing campaign finance laws.
Political Animal - Romney partially caves on tax returns As Ben Smith put it, “Releasing the 2010 returns is just blood in the water. What about the previous 20 years?” When Barack Obama ran in 2008, he released returns for the previous eight years. When Bill Clinton ran in 1992, he disclosed 12 years
Republican Convention Has '50-50' Chance Of Being Open: Former GOP Chair Michael Steele
Poll: Majority Say U.S. Needs New Campaign Finance Laws | ThinkProgress 58 percent of Americans say the U.S needs new campaign finance laws — a change from three years ago when more people said it would be “good” if the Supreme Court struck down existing campaign finance laws.
Here Come the Super Super PACs

South Carolina's Attorney General detects voter fraud during pri - WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Wilson says an analysis found 953 ballots cast by voters were people who are listed as dead (zombie Republicans)
Roe v. Wade at 39: A ‘breathtaking’ year for abortion restrictions - The Washington Post Charmaine Yoest: The most obvious thing was the 2010 election. While the headlines were all about the changing command in the House of Representatives, what we were seeing was a tidal wave of new pro-life legislators in state houses. When we saw this big wave come in, we were ready to grab the ball and run with it. Last year, 28 laws that we were involved with passed. It was breathtaking.

Holder, Breuer, MERS bombshell | MyFDL

Check and mate. - Imgur - 21 Facts that Evolutionists can't answer (and Jesus spoke cracker)
Religious-Themed Business Course Canceled at ISU in Ames - Ames, IA Patch The course, Application of Biblical Insight into the Management of Business/Organization (taxpayer money)

Deval Patrick, Massachusetts Governor, Signs Transgender Equal Rights Bill Into Effect Still, many transgender rights activists found fault with the new legislation, drawing attention to its lack of public accommodation protections. Last fall's removal of such a protection
McLaughlin raised money for Murray, employees say - The Boston Globe Fund-raising may have been illegal; worries kept lieutenant governor awake on night of crash (another turn in a twisty story)

Et tu, Mr. Destructo? // Joe Paterno Is Dead: Real Death Edition Like the last decade of watching journalists and policymakers trying to decide if torture is “okay” or preemptive warfare permitted without evidence, this was one of those baldly self-evident challenges posed to an adult in society, and those who have refused to meet it should have the odium of their failure linger next to their name, into the grave and onward

Thanks, Robert Frost by David Ray | The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor
Bronnie Ware: Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

Filesonic gone now too? "All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally" : technology
Polish government websites face apparent attack by Internet group Anonymous - The Washington Post
Two lessons from the Megaupload seizure - Salon.com In other words, many SOPA opponents were confused and even shocked when they learned that the very power they feared the most in that bill — the power of the U.S. Government to seize and shut down websites based solely on accusations, with no trial — is a power the U.S. Government already possesses and, obviously, is willing and able to exercise even against the world’s largest sites
Chris Dodd’s paid SOPA crusading - Salon.com - Chris Dodd’s emphatic 2010 pledge not to lobby once he finally left the Senate was prompted by widespread speculation that he spent the last two years in office blatantly shilling for corporate interests in order to ensure a prosperous post-Congress career
Rick Falkvinge: the Swedish radical leading the fight over web freedoms | Technology | The Observer The tech entrepreneur launched the Pirate party to fight online censorship. Now, it is Europe's fastest growing political group
Uploaded.to Blocks US Visitors After MegaUpload Shutdown | TorrentFreak The move is most likely a response to the FBI crackdown on MegaUpload two days ago.
Australia: US Copyright Colony or Just a Good Friend? | TorrentFreak Prime Minister Julia Gillard, a trained lawyer, prejudiced any future legal action by prematurely labelling Assange’s actions “illegal.” She has since sacked the Attorney-General whose job it was to give legal advice on the Wikileaks matter, but the damage has been done and the comment has never been retracted (Oz aand NZ client states of Hollywood)

012112
Scores killed in terrorist attacks in Nigeria | World news | guardian.co.uk At least 140 people killed in northern city of Kano as terror group Boko Haram says it carried out series of bombings
Afghan soldier who killed French troops was our recruit, Taliban say | World news | guardian.co.uk Taliban claim gunman who shot dead four French soldiers was an infiltrator working for them

Costa Concordia: woman's body is found | World news | guardian.co.uk Official death toll now stands at 12, with 20 people missing after the cruise liner hit rocks off the coast of Italy
Costa Concordia: Italy Cruise Disaster Captain Denies Delaying Alarm told magistrates he informed the ship's owners of the accident immediately, denying he had delayed raising the alarm, judicial sources said on Saturday.
Why must a captain never leave a sinking ship? | World news | The Guardian
Italy, Bravado and the Costa Concordia | GlobalPost The swagger of Costa Concordia’s captain encapsulates Italy's troubles in the Berlusconi era.

Greece Nearing Deal on Sovereign Debt Haircut | FDL News Desk (Hedge funds whine)

Belgian police raid church offices over abuse files - Yahoo! News Belgian police conducted a third day of raids on Catholic church offices on Wednesday as part of an operation targeting priests suspected of child abuse (WLPO)
Japan's immigration control: Gulag for gaijin | The Economist

FEC Republicans Are Making Citizens United Even Worse | ThinkProgress (Republicans always make everything worse)
Effect of Citizens United Felt Two Years Later : Roll Call Opinion

Gingrich wins huge come-from-behind victory in South Carolina | McClatchy
Suddenly Romney's on the ropes as developments rock GOP race | McClatchy
Political Animal - The problem that’s hard to fix And then think about where Romney stands this morning. It turns out he lost Iowa to a candidate he outspent 7 to 1; his national lead has, according to Gallup, “collapsed” over the course of the last several days; he struggled through two widely-panned debate performances; and polls suggest he’s likely to lose the South Carolina primary.
Gingrich Is Well-Positioned as South Carolina Votes - NYTimes.com Mr. Gingrich leads Mr. Romney 38 to 30 in the FiveThirtyEight forecast of South Carolina, which has been updated with polling through Friday evening.
Newt Gingrich Surges In South Carolina, But Expect The Unexpected (don't call it a joke, the villagers will get upset)
GOP’s Minority Outreach: We Talk, You Listen and Repeat - She the People: - The Washington Post More applause greeted a woman at one of Gingrich’s next campaign stops when she thanked him “for putting Mr. Juan Williams in his place the other night.” South Carolina has a dreadful history of putting black folks in their places, of course, from brutal acts of violence during slave times through a century of Jim Crow.
Political Animal - ‘He Who Should Not be Named’ But there’s one thing you’d be hard-pressed to find mentioned at a Republican debate. George W. Bush? Who?
Political Animal - This Week in God First up from the God Machine this week is a look at the recent track of the religious right movement and its spectacularly unsuccessful attempts to dictate the Republican presidential nominating contest.
Huckabee Wants To Know If Obama Got College Loans "As A Foreign Student" | Media Matters for America (Mike Huckabee, godly man)
No One Cares About the Affair South Carolina Republicans remain remarkably forgiving of Newt Gingrich's sordid marital history (gays and blacks are their thing)

Hullabaloo - Newtie's Dream Act - In a page right out of Newt Gingrich’s alternate-history science-fiction wingnut-polygamy utopian epicCandyland Space Land, the school district in Tucson has completely banned Mexican-American studies, seized all the textbooks and even wall posters from the classrooms, and punished the students who protested by sentencing them to janitorial duty.
Hullabaloo - South Carolina values - Since CNN has assured us that the South is "where values matter" in advance of today's South Carolina primary, it's worth considering just what South Carolina values are, courtesy Thomas Schaller in Whistling Past Dixie (SC: the asshole of America)
David Brooks Wealth Issue Column - Our Mr. Brooks Climbs the Romney Family Tree - Esquire (Pierce reads Bobo so you don't have to)

Blacks Face Bias in Bankruptcy, Study Suggests - NYTimes.com Blacks are about twice as likely as whites to wind up in the more onerous and costly form of consumer bankruptcy as they try to dig out from their debts, a new study has found (must be their fault in our post-racial society)

Forecast The Facts Exposes America's Climate-Denier TV Weathermen | ThinkProgress more than half of TV weather reporters don’t believe in human-induced climate change, even as our poisoned weather grows more extreme (TV weather readers now "climate scientists")
Enormous solar outburst could dazzle your weekend - CSMonitor.com Auroras may dazzle more people than usual this weekend as Earth receives a glancing blow from an enormous solar outburst that erupted on Jan. 19.

Guilty Until Proved Innocent - NYTimes.com In America, a person is presumed innocent until proved guilty. Unless, that is, he plays college sports (keep it up, Joe - college sports are totally corrupt)

Rate of abortion is highest in countries where practice is banned - Health News - Health & Families - The Independent In Africa and Latin America researchers found that 95 to 97 per cent of abortions were unsafe (fundies and the popester killing women)
Sex After 50: Surprising Findings About Sex in Midlife 97 percent of midlifers consider regular sex important for their romantic relationships. And single post 50s aren't seeking sheet action every now and then -- 65 percent of those surveyed want it two to three times a week.
pandagon.net - How to do feminist fashion, now that we’ve accepted that it exists?
Does marriage really make people happier? Study finds few well-being advantages to marriage over cohabitation

Investment Firm Y Combinator Goes on Offensive Against Hollywood - NYTimes.com
MPAA Directly & Publicly Threatens Politicians Who Aren't Corrupt Enough To Stay Bought | Techdirt (Chris Dodd, Lamar Smith, Pat Leahy, the corrupt of the corrupt)
Balloon Juice » White House to Chris Dodd and the MPAA- “Eat a Bag of Salted Dicks” It looks like Chris Dodd, who yesterday was launching threats at the President, may have overstepped his bounds just a tad:
Kim Dotcom: Police Cut Way Into Mansion To Arrest Megaupload Founder (lucky Obama didn't drone him; he was making money from advertising, after all)

012012
Mashable - The Social Media Guide Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of SOPA, said on Friday that he is pulling the bill “until there is wider agreement on a solution.” (Smith and Leahy, by their actions they will be known)
Anti-pornography bill won't protect children, but it could cripple the Internet -- Government Computer News Anti-porn bill won't protect children, but it could cripple the Internet - would require Internet service providers to capture credit card data, bank statements, IP information and search history from every user and keep it on hand for 18 months.

Nicolas Sarkozy Weighs Afghan Withdrawal After Soldier Kills 4 French Troops - NYTimes.com President Nicolas Sarkozy of France suspended military training and assistance for Afghan forces on Friday and said he would consider an early withdrawal from Afghanistan after an Afghan soldier shot and killed four French soldiers on a base in eastern Afghanistan.
Nato's Afghan alliance unhinged by growing mutual mistrust | World news | The Guardian US military report reveals how issues such as arrogance and cleanliness are leading Afghan soldiers to shoot Nato trainers (we're there why again?)
Active-Duty Army Suicides Reach Record High - NYTimes.com
Nigerian city of Kano rocked by explosions and gunfire | World news | The Guardian Eyewitnesses describe panic and pandemonium on streets as residents ran for cover and smoke rose into sky

IMF warns of threat to global economies posed by austerity drives | Business | The Guardian International Monetary Fund and 10 other economic bodies make 'call to action' to boost growth and curb protectionism (oh wait ... now you tell us)
European debt crisis live: reports of Greek debt deal | Business | guardian.co.uk Greek government and bondholders reportedly reach deal • IMF slashes global growth forecast

News International Faces FBI Investigation Over Phone Hacking
U.K. Men On Trial For 'Death Penalty' Leaflets Suggesting Gay People Should Be Punished

Atlanta Jewish Times owner says sorry for Obama 'hit' column | World news | guardian.co.uk Andrew Adler says he deeply regrets writing a column suggesting Mossad agents should consider 'a hit' on the president if he fails to support Israel (whoops, the truth slipped out)
Livewire | TPM | Obama Sings Al Green At The Apollo Theater In NYC

We must stop this corporate takeover of American democracy | Bernie Sanders | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Unless we can reverse the supreme court's dreadful Citizens United decision, US politics will become a plutocrats' plaything (which was whole point)
Supreme court tosses out Texas electoral maps drawn by federal judges | World news | guardian.co.uk Decision to do away with maps that favoured minorities will most likely benefit Republicans in upcoming elections (predictable)

Political Animal - Understanding the nature of ‘hypocrisy,’ redux Brian McGrory reports this week on Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-Mass.) new attack on Elizabeth Warren: she’s apparently an “elitist hypocrite.” ("crass warfare")
ABC News: Newt Gingrich's Claims About Ex-Wife Interview 'Just Not True'
Chuck Todd Rips Stephen Colbert's Presidential Run (video) "He is making a mockery of the system," Todd said.
Hullabaloo Fainting couch alert: Colbert is making a mockery of a mockery ... Oh dear me. Villager Chuck Todd is in a tizzy over Stephen Colbert making a mockery of the electoral system. (+Whitewater and David Bossie)
Balloon Juice » Chuck Todd’s Knickers in a Twist Over… Colbert
Stephen Colbert’s unfunny run for president - The Washington Post (more media villagers clutching their pearls because someone pointed out it's all a sham)
The real reason no one impersonates dead voters: High risk, little benefit | The Signal - Yahoo! News
Kerrey to weigh bid over weekend - Omaha.com (hoping to ride on Obama's coattails +worst of the worst of Dems)

Insight: Top Justice officials connected to mortgage banks | Reuters U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, were partners for years at a Washington law firm that represented a Who's Who of big banks and other companies at the center of alleged foreclosure fraud, a Reuters inquiry shows (now we see what happened)
Home sales hit 11-month high - Yahoo! News and the number of properties on the market was the fewest in nearly seven years, pointing to a nascent recovery in the housing sector.

NASA - NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year on Record NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year on Record
Review - A World Without Values - Ethics Essays on John Mackie's Moral Error Theory by Richard Joyce and Simon Kirchin (
A brief telephone interview to identify lesbian and bisexual women in random digit dialing sampling ... [J Sex Res. 2002] - PubMed - NCBI
Neural network gets an idea of number without counting - tech - 20 January 2012 - New Scientist AN ARTIFICIAL brain has taught itself to estimate the number of objects in an image without actually counting them, emulating abilities displayed by some animals including lions and fish, as well as humans.

Roe v. Wade Still Under Siege, 39 Years Later Now, 39 years later, conservative lawmakers are making unprecedented moves toward reversing Roe v. Wade, and the legality of abortion is as precarious as it's ever been (Fundamentalism at work)
Eschaton: Really Horrible People "Abstinence education" is stupid regardless, but it takes a worst person of the world level caliber person to propose it only for girls. (Caitlan Flanagan approves +plus, what about supply and demand?)
Obama Administration Approves Rule That Guarantees Near-Universal Contraceptive Coverage | ThinkProgress Today, in a huge victory for women’s health, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that most employers will be required to cover contraception in their health plans, along with other preventive services, with no cost-sharing such as co-pays or deductibles (viagra was always free, of course)

Microsoft Calls for Gay Marriage in Washington State - Rebecca J. Rosen - Technology - The Atlantic The company argues that it's hard to hire the best people in the world when the state where it's based discriminates against them.
250K without power in Wash. as flood worries rise - Yahoo! News A powerful Pacific Northwest storm knocked out power to about 250,000 electric customers around Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia after it coated much of Washington in ice and swelled Oregon rivers, killing a child and two adults. Besides the outages, the big concern now is more flooding in both states with warmer temperatures and rain.

011912
Iran warns neighbours not to join isolation attempts | World news | The Guardian Iranian foreign minister says Gulf states co-operating with western efforts to isolate Tehran would be in 'dangerous position'

Hedge Funds May Sue Greece if It Tries to Force Loss - NYTimes.com Hedge funds have been known to use hardball tactics to make money. Now they have come up with a new one: suing Greece in a human rights court to make good on its bond payments (that'll work)

Costa Concordia operator 'waited over an hour' before ordering evacuation | World news | The Guardian Attention switches from Captain Francesco Schettino to the US-owned cruise line that operated the shipwrecked vessel
Dominique Strauss-Kahn prosecutor tells why he dropped case | World news | guardian.co.uk Cyrus Vance says he could not be sure beyond reasonable doubt what happened between then-IMF head and hotel maid
Britain admits 'fake rock' plot to spy on Russians | World news | The Guardian Tony Blair's former aide Jonathan Powell says UK was behind plot to spy on Russians with device hidden in fake plastic rock
How News Group hid the phone-hacking scandal | Media | The Guardian Judge criticises Murdoch empire as it agrees aggravated damages for 37 victims of News of the World

Rick Perry quits Republican race and endorses Newt Gingrich | World news | guardian.co.uk Texas governor praises Gingrich as 'visionary who can transform our country' – but former House speaker has his own problems
Rick Santorum Finishes Ahead Of Mitt Romney: Iowa Caucus Results More than two weeks after the 2012 Iowa caucus, a final certified tally showed former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum finishing with 29,839 votes and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 29,805.
Peter S. Goodman: GOP Campaign Trail Filled With Revisionist History Rare is the credentialed economist who still asserts that cutting taxes generates additional revenue, an idea so patently at odds with common sense that only someone with a doctorate could have suggested it.
In South Carolina, Candidates And Citizens Occupy Separate Realms "We never again pay anybody for 99 weeks of doing nothing," Gingrich says, provoking cheers. "It is profoundly wrong to pay people for doing nothing." (they could clean toilets for free)

Corey Robin’s ‘Reactionary Mind’ Stirs Internet Debate - NYTimes.com “The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism From Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin” - The true subject of “The Reactionary Mind,” he said, isn’t the eternal sameness of conservatism but the way it transforms itself in response to threats to existing hierarchies, often by borrowing from the very movements it seeks to oppose.

New Hampshire Considers Collective Bargaining Ban Among these are bills to prohibit collective bargaining among public employees, a bill to prohibit the collection of union dues from wages and a bill eliminating lunch breaks for workers (why have to pay them at all?)
Balloon Juice » Still selling the Reasonable Republican myth I don’t think they can say “screw you” any louder than trotting out Daniels right now. Is this the deal with Republicans now? They’re full-on opposed to unions and unionized workers? Because that hasn’t been the case up to now. They managed to retain a crucial share of the union vote in places like Indiana, while demonizing unions at the national level. Are they abandoning any attempt to retain or increase that vote?

Fox's Andrea Tantaros: "I Think The Recession Was Good For Kids" Because They've Been "Humbled A Little" | Media Matters for America (arrogant little bastards thought they would have jobs)
Muslim Woman: School Said I Was A Terrorist In Retaliation For Sexual Harassment Complaint | TPMMuckraker A Muslim woman is suing the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut for allegedly expelling her and telling the FBI that she was a terrorist, she says in retaliation for a sexual harassment complaint she made against a fellow student.
Worst University in the Country? « Notes from Evil Bender Liberty University beats out a tough group of competitors for Worst Christian College (I wonder how Pensacola Christian College fared), and the University of Bridgeport wins out for best overall. This is notable because it’s being run by Moonies:
The NESS » The Cultiversity of Bridgeport

MF Global Commodity Customers Must Be Paid First, CFTC Says - Bloomberg Court papers by the trustee for MF Global Holdings Ltd., Louis Freeh, contain “errors and misstatements of law” in arguing that commodity laws, which require that customers be “made whole” first, don’t apply to brokerage liquidations, the regulator said in a court filing today (America's worst ex-law-enforcment officer doing his job)
No silver bullet to avert another MF Global: regulator | Reuters Increased surveillance cannot guarantee customers will never again lose money in a broker insolvency, though the collapse of MF Global Holdings may lead futures exchanges to conduct more spot checks, a top U.S. regulator said on Thursday (sorry, we're helpless when the crooks walk off with a billion buck)


Girl, uninterrupted - Girls - Salon.com Facts and the real world hardly exist in Caitlin Flanagan's"Girl Land," where gauzy, phony nostalgia reigns
pandagon.net Caitlin Flanagan exposes herself on the radio
Caitlin Flanagan On Protecting Girlhood | On Point with Tom Ashbrook Caitlin Flanagan says we need to take our daughters back to a more protected childhood. Critics are fuming.

The 'New American Home' Continues Shrinking - Developments - WSJ This year’s showpiece, which measures 4,181 square feet and is one of the smallest in the popular program’s 29-year history, shows that the love affair with McMansions seems to be waning (your million-dollar average house)



Megaupload.com Charged With Piracy Violations, Shut Down By Feds An indictment accuses Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content (Obama's war on the internets)

011812
Syria: Zabadani ceasefire broken -Wednesday 18 January | World news | guardian.co.uk Free Syrian Army resistance forces brief truce in Zabadani • Obama looks to further 'international pressure' against Syria
Taliban peace talks 'at risk' as Obama stalls on Guantánamo | World news | The Guardian The White House blames Hamid Karzai for holding up progress towards peace talks
East Africa's drought: the avoidable disaster | World news | The Guardian Tens of thousands of lives could have been spared if agencies and governments had heeded the warnings, a report says

Costa Concordia captain claims he tripped and fell into a lifeboat | World news | The Guardian Francesco Schettino explains at hearing why he could not lead evacuation of stricken cruise liner but admits crashing ship into rocks (uh-huh)
Costa Concordia: satellite picture of the capsized cruise liner | World news | guardian.co.uk This image of the Costa Concordia was taken by the WorldView-1 satellite on 17 January 2012. The 114,000-tonne cruise ship has been half-submerged off the coast of Tuscany since it collided with rocks on 13 January 2012

BBC News - UK unemployment increases to 2.685m UK unemployment rose by 118,000 in the three months to November to 2.685 million, official figures show (austerity fail)
Best of Both Worlds: Eurozone Swot This reflects our view that the Irish government's response to the significant deterioration in its public finances and the recent crisis in the Irish financial sector has been proactive and substantive. (now roll over and play dead)
Eurozone crisis live: IMF launches $500bn fund-raising drive - 18 January 2012 | Business | guardian.co.uk On Tuesday the Irish Congress of Trade Unions claimed that 26,000 jobs could be lost in the Northern Ireland public sector as part of the Coalition's cost cutting, austerity programme over the next five years. But Wilson denounced these projections saying that the predictions undermined efforts to build confidence in the economy (don't upset the confidence fairies/men)

Leveson inquiry: celebrity magazine and regional editors appear | Media | guardian.co.uk OK! editor denies Kate Middleton cover misled readers • Hello! editor says JK Rowling 'exclusive' was 'misleading'
Huffington Post names Strauss-Kahn's wife as French site editor | World news | The Guardian Conflict of interest row as Anne Sinclair becomes editorial director of Le Huffington Post
Political Animal - Obama admin nixes Keystone pipeline Republicans, not surprisingly, are outraged, and plan to invest a fair amount of time and energy into complaining about the administration’s decision (Obama was all set to give it to them and of course they said no)

The best Sopa protests online – in pictures | Technology | guardian.co.uk
Clay Shirky: Sopa and Pipa would create a consumption-only internet | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk You may not care about the US bills aimed at censoring the net but you should – they could stop you participating online again
SOPA Forces Obama To Pick Sides Between Donors From Hollywood, Silicon Valley
Balloon Juice » You Won’t Like Chris Dodd When He’s Angry Chris is the head of the MPAA now. He must have promised his Hollywood producer bosses that he could push SOPA through Congress, and he’s pissed (judge him by his actions)
Hullabaloo - The day the LOLCats Died - by digby ... along with Chris Dodd's reputation. This is just sad ... That made Jack Valenti sound like a communist by comparison. (he always was a corporate lobbyist)
The Story Behind the SOPA Blackout | Mother Jones The entertainment industry usually gets its way in DC—but it was no match for Reddit, Wikipedia, and BoingBoing.
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet on Vimeo
Marco Rubio Jumps Protect IP Ship Amid Internet Blackout Protest
ELI5: What is PIPA and how is it different from SOPA? : explainlikeimfive
blog.reddit -- what's new on reddit: A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP
xkcd: SOPA

Dems Claim They Can Reverse The Tea Party Tide In 2012 | TPM2012
Balloon Juice » Things I read in the Times Sixty percent of Americans think that Barack Obama at least met Republicans halfway this year in trying to get important legislation done. How many think that Republicans made a good faith effort to work with Obama? Guess (the crazification factor)
Emboldened Gingrich increases the pressure on Mitt Romney | World news | guardian.co.uk Enjoying a surge in support, Newt Gingrich appeals to Rick Santorum and Rick Perry to drop out so he can defeat Romney
Political Animal - The most glaring lie of the night This one, from last night’s debate, was just shameless. “We’ve got a president in office three years, and he does not have a jobs plan yet. I’ve got one out there already and I’m not even president, yet.” (his Mormon undies burst into flame)
How Mitt Romney's Tax Rate Stacks Up | TPM Media (compared with you)
Obama's Dream Debate A Super PAC backing Newt Gingrich imagines a general election debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama in a new animated ad.
Eschaton: David Brooks Finds A Nut: "I sometimes wonder if the Republican Party has become the receding roar of white America as it pines for a way of life that will never return." --> And never was, unless what you're pining for is segregation and lack of rights for women. Which, for some, is what they're pining for, though most are just indulging in Leave It To Beaver fantasies.
David Brooks Loves Secrecy, Hates Journalism New York Times opinion-haver David Brooks is not a "journalist," per se; he's more of an "amiable prick."
Dana Milbank’s Flawed “Roe Week” Hit Piece - Duly Noted
Eschaton: Taking Me Back It's like when liberal bloggers were causing all the violence in Iraq by pointing out that there was lots of violence in Iraq. If only we'd clapped a little louder, everything would have been great.
America’s Two Reality System | FDL Action -Democrats trust everything- except Fox News. Republicans meanwhile don’t trust anything except Fox News.
Chicago City Council Passes Rahm Emanuel’s Anti-Protest Ordinances | The Dissenter (what a dick)
Make Your Own Racist Newsletter with Our Magnetic Ron Paul Kit

Brad DeLong: Lowering the Medicare Age to Zero: Duncan Black Snarks
Goldman Sachs sets aside $12bn to pay staff in 2011 | Business | The Guardian The Wall Street investment bank reported full year revenue of $28.8bn – down 26% – while earnings almost halved to $4.4bn
More Republicans Found to Have Received Countrywide VIP Loans | FDL News Desk

Corbett aide who edited journal resigns | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/18/2012 A high-level Corbett administration adviser resigned his $104,470 position Tuesday after questions were raised about his outside role as editor of a conservative faith-based journal ... r that advocates for the "natural human family . . . established by the Creator." (Republicans at work fucking you over)
Philadelphia dentist, daughter charged with defrauding insurance companies — NewsWorks - The Pain Center - the pair billed insurance companies $4,800 for each pain procedure they performed, when the work they were doing cost $800


The Ultimate Annoying Email Deflector Shield

011712
Iraq Learned the Ray Davis Lesson from Pakistan | emptywheel Private contractors are integral to postwar Iraq’s economic development and security, foreign businessmen and American officials say (consider the source)
Iran's nuclear scientists are not being assassinated. They are being murdered | Mehdi Hasan | Comment is free | The Guardian Killing our enemies abroad is just state-sponsored terror – whatever euphemism western leaders like to use (Obama's chickens will come home to roost)
North Korea's leader will not last long, says Kim Jong-un's brother | World news | The Guardian Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of Kim Jong-il, describes succession as 'a joke' and predicts the regime will collapse in new book
Iran to Send U.S. Toy Model of Downed Drone | World | RIA Novosti Iran said it will send the U.S. a toy model of a RQ-170 Sentinel drone in response to Washington’s request to return the aircraft that crashed in Iran last year
Marines Urinating on Corpses—What the Video Doesn’t Show - Annie Keeghan - Open Salon (PTSD denied by military)
Israel Faces Crisis Over Role of Ultra-Orthodox in Society - NYTimes.com At a time when there is no progress on the Palestinian dispute, Israelis are turning inward and discovering that an issue they had neglected — the place of the ultra-Orthodox Jews — has erupted into a crisis. - “Most Israelis at the time assumed the Haredim would die off in one generation,” said Jonathan Rosenblum, a Haredi writer.
Hullabaloo Retraction and contraction: why conservatives are scary - But one thing is clear: fundamentalist religious influence always leads to the repression of women ... Devolution means regressing to traditional hierarchies.

Why the Saudis want $100-a-barrel oil - The Washington Post Over the past few years, the Saudi government has taken advantage of sky-high crude prices to spend lavishly on public works and social programs to stave off the unrest that’s capsizing parts of the Middle East. As a result, the country now needs prices of at least $80 per barrel to balance its budgets, up from $60 per barrel in 2008 and way, way up from $20 per barrel a decade ago (America supporting socialism in the Middle East)

I am changing the Labour Party so we can deliver fairness when there is less money around | Ed Miliband (this is actually not a parody)
Britain cannot deport Abu Qatada to Jordan, European judges rule | The Guardian Cleric cannot be sent back to Jordan as 'there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him' (but they will extradict 23 year-old kid for linking on the internets to be tortured by Sony)

Costa Concordia: coastguard 'ordered captain to return to the ship' | World news | The Guardian Italian newspapers report damning claims about the behaviour of the captain, Francesco Schettino

Daily Kos: Wisconsin Democrats to submit one million signatures to recall Scott Walker (that Teaparty/bully thing worked out really well)

Meet the Man Behind "Citizens United": What Does the Ultra-Conservative Lawyer Have Planned Next? | | AlterNet James Bopp is already well into the next phase of his crusade to topple as many of the limits on the role of money in politics as can be done in one man’s lifetime.

Obama To Accept Democratic Party Nomination At Bank Of America Stadium (nice image; rich donors will have sky-boxes)
Stephen Colbert's Super PAC Puts Comedy Central Host In Big Leagues (Part 2)
Mitt Romney Downplays $374,000 In Speaking Fees As 'Not Very Much'
We Still Need To See Those Returns - NYTimes.com At an event in Florence, SC, Mitt Romney told reporters that his effective tax rate is probably close to 15% because most of his income comes from investments, reports Bloomberg’s Julie Davis.
Still Hunting for a Straight Answer The DNC so enjoyed Mitt Romney's debate performance last night they made a compilation video of their favorite moments.
Gingrich: I 'Don't See' Why Calling 'Food Stamps' An African-American Issue Is Insulting | ThinkProgress (whistle, whistle)
Congress logs most futile legislative year on record - Washington Times It’s official: Congress ended its least-productive year in modern history after passing 80 bills — fewer than during any other session since year-end records began being kept in 1947 (Teaparty FAIL)

The Not-Fated Economic Recovery | FDL News Desk Even recent history. It looked as if in 2009 in Britain that the next Prime Minister would be able to take credit for a recovery. Then David Cameron installed an austerity regime and the economy sunk.
Star dims for Goldman's youngest partner - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blog Term Sheet Eric Mindich had investors clamoring when he launched his hedge fund Eton Park in 2004. Now they want their money back, and they're finding it hard to get out (more Wall Street looters at work, with no consequences)
Barret Capital Management accused of using client cash for its own purposes - Winnipeg Free Press (your money is their money)
How Wall Street took $331 million from Philly and its schools | Philadelphia City Paper | 01/17/2012 and they stand to lose another $240 million (gambling with public money)

Study of the Day: Humble Leaders Are Better Liked and More Effective - Hans Villarica - Health - The Atlantic Bosses who are more open and empathetic are better positioned to build their businesses,
Academy of Management - Online Journals - Publication


Since August, 88,000 Pennsylvania children have lost Medicaid benefits | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/17/2012 (Republicans at work killing babies)

Twitter boss slams Wikipedia's 'silly' Sopa protest | Technology | guardian.co.uk Wikipedia's plans to pull the plug on its website in protest of anti-piracy legislation are 'foolish', according to Twitter's CEO

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Syria: beyond the wall of fear, a state in slow-motion collapse | World news | The Guardian Despite the superficial calm in Damascus, everyone knows change is coming. The only question is, how much will it cost?
Pakistan PM faces disqualification over contempt of court action | World news | The Guardian Yousaf Raza Gilani ordered to face supreme court to explain his failure to ask Swiss to reopen corruption cases against president

Eurozone Busily Decimating Member Countries | FDL News Desk (Merkel calls for more austerity!)
Gove: Queen deserves £60m yacht for Jubilee - Home News - UK - The Independent "In spite, and perhaps because of the austere times, the celebration should go beyond those of previous jubilees and mark the greater achievement that the diamond anniversary represents" (that will employ a lot of royal-yacht-scrubbers)
Vatican protesters evicted by police | World news | guardian.co.uk Protesters trying to set up Occupy-style camp in front of St Peter's removed with the support of the Holy See (Popester kicks out the rabble)

Italian cruise ship was making unauthorised manoeuvre when it hit rocks | World news | The Guardian Admission from Costa Concordia owner appears to confirm captain was making unofficial 'sail-by' of Giglio island

How Fares the Dream? - NYTimes.com
Race in America 2012 - On Our National Holiday, America's Everlasting War - Esquire (LBJ: “the greatest speech an American president has delivered in my lifetime.”)
Who are the victims of civil liberties assaults and Endless War? - Salon.com

Chris Hedges: Why I’m Suing Barack Obama - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig against Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to challenge the legality of the Authorization for Use of Military Force as embedded in the latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act, signed by the president Dec. 31.

Huntsman, Trapped In 2009, Never Had A Chance in retrospect, it was absurd to think that Obama needed to worry about a man so wildly out of step with his party. Huntsman's campaign has been, from the beginning, a fantasy driven by a fundamental misunderstanding of his own party. ("I still don't understand why [White House Chief of Staff] Rahm [Emanuel] was so obsessed with him," a top Democratic official marveled Sunday night.) (Obama's crack team of idiots)
South Carolina primary – Jon Huntsman quits: live | World news | guardian.co.uk (endorses Mormon he said was "unelectable" - will run in 2016
Jon Huntsman: chronicle of a defeat foretold | James Antle | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Huntsman was doomed by a misguided strategy to run as a moderate in a race where the conservative base calls the shots
Jon Huntsman’s Greatest Hits (video) | TPM2012
Hullabaloo La estrategia del sur - On a day set aside to honor civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., Mitt Romney plans to tout his extreme immigration positions during a campaign stop in South Carolina today — with Kris Kobach, the author of Arizona’s and Alabama’s immigration laws, at his side.
Balloon Juice » There’s that number again… In contrast, 27% say Mitt Romney has waged the most positive campaign among the GOP candidates (27% crazification factor)
South Carolina Photo ID Law Draws Heated Rhetoric From Republican Presidential Candidates
Stephen Colbert's PAC Parody Explains Campaign Finance To America (Part 1)
US Politics | AMERICAblog News: Could Colbert actually win in South Carolina?
Perry: Administration Shows 'Disdain For The Military' By Calling Urinating On Corpses A 'Criminal Act' | ThinkProgress (you're toast, dude)
Gingrich: Urban Sophisticates Don’t Understand Why Home Ownership is Important - Developments - WSJ (because no one in crime-ridden urban hell-holes own their homes)
Political Animal - Religious right splintering points to larger problem A civil war is breaking out among evangelical leaders over allegations of a rigged election and ballot stuffing at a Saturday gathering of religious and social conservatives ... accusing Catholic participants of conniving to rig the vote (sweet irony)
Elizabeth Warren Money Bomb Pulls In Over $100,000 In First Weekend

A rule of thumb for oil prices and growth - The Washington Post (a new excuse)
As Rates Rise, NJ Drivers Avoiding Toll Roads (but raising the gas-tax is a big no-no)

New computer model shows Titan atmosphere more Earth-like than thought
Blue Monday: a depressing day of pseudoscience and humiliation | Science | guardian.co.uk A psychologist explains why the third Monday of January has for him become the most depressing day of the year

Republican Sponsor Of Bill To Require Drug Testing For Georgia Welfare Recipients Arrested For DUI | ThinkProgress John Andrew Smith (Republican porker hoist by his own drunken petard)
Hullabaloo Tasing 'O the Day - Maybe if a few more towns and cities had to pay out money for this authoritarian brutality, police departments might find it in their best interest to curb this behavior.

Why It’s Cheaper to Dine Out Than Eat In

Gay Parents Better Than Straight Parents? What Research Says
pandagon.net This one was particularly entertaining, from Sharon Kass, whose bigotry has blinded her to the point where she's joined in on a vicious conservative attack on a 7-year-old who wants to join the Girl Scouts. (no one is born religious, either - Sharon Kass: famous on the internets for all eternity as an asshole, even though she wasn't born that way)
pandagon.net - L.A. is once again looking at the question of whether or not to require condom use in porn filmed in the city

Twitter / @jimmy_wales: This is going to be wow. ...
Video: 'Piracy' student Richard O'Dwyer loses extradition case over TVShack website - Telegraph The 23-year-old Sheffield Hallam University student faces up to 10 years in a US federal prison for operating TVShack which US authorities say hosts links to pirated and copyrighted video content (he's lucky Obama didn't drone him)
Sopa plans set to be shelved as Obama comes out against piracy legislation | Technology | guardian.co.uk Congress ready to drop Sopa vote after White House says it would not support legislation that threatens openness of internet
Zappos Reports Security Breach, Advises Customers To Change Passwords

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Seven Iraqi police officers killed after gunmen storm government compound | World news | The Guardian Three-hour standoff with security forces after insurgents detonate car bomb at prison for terror suspects in Ramadi
Pakistan bomb blast leaves 18 dead | World news | The Guardian Homemade bomb explodes near Shia Muslim procession in central Pakistani town of Khanpur, killing 18 and wounding 30
Thai police hunt second bomb plot suspect in Bangkok | World news | guardian.co.uk One man has been arrested over an alleged bomb plot that has caused 11 countries to issue travel warnings to Thailand
The False Flag Waves in the Fog | emptywheel Clearly, all sides have the goods on the others, but no one can risk having all this damning information come out.

Cruise ship scene marked by modern totem of disaster in medieval harbour | World news | The Guardian Rescue continues as anger rises at captain allegedly leaving ship and 'inexpicably' taking vessel so near rocks in first place

Merkel: Europe Faces 'Long Road' to Win Back Trust - ABC News German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Standard and Poor's downgrades of nine countries underline the fact that the eurozone faces a "long road" to win back investors' confidence, pushing Saturday for it to move quickly on a new budget discipline pact and a permanent rescue fund (Merkel doubles-down on the failure of austerity)
Nicolas Sarkozy promises rush of reforms to bolster French economy | World news | The Guardian President accused of losing credibility by Socialist opponent after downgrade of France's AAA status by S&P credit agency (his plan: more austerity failure)

Hullabaloo Yes, the FCC can try to fine you a half-million dollars for a "wardrobe malfunction," but bundles of bloody body parts is A-okay.
Colbert SuperPAC Goes on the Air in South Carolina | FDL News Desk Last night, Colbert closed his announcement with the words “Thank you, God bless you, and God bless Citizens United.” Nobody has done more to show how ludicrous our campaign finance system has become. If it leads to a reassessment of the system, his SuperPAC money will have been money well spent.

Americans Elect 2012 presidential run: The third-party group has cash, but no candidate - Kenneth P. Vogel and Abby Phillip - politico.com (look at their faces: four wrinkled old white guys who have been in politics all their life will save politics)
Political Animal - The religious right movement finds its man ... Santorum ... These groups and leaders decided to wait until after Romney won Iowa and New Hampshire, and took the lead in South Carolina and Florida, to then said, “Hmm, maybe we should pick someone before it’s too late.” Guess what, religious right? It’s already too late, and you should have done this in October
Gingrich Suggests Illegally Firing Federal Employees Over Liberal Views | TPM2012 (wants a Christian/Republican loyalty oath for Federal employees)
House Republicans Fear Another Session of Infighting - NYTimes.com (restive)
Hullabaloo Devolution in more ways than one - In our brave new states' rights dominant country,there will be many places where things like this will be common: Three Indiana state senators, all Republicans, have introduced a bill that would allow schools to require the recitation of the Lord's Prayer every morning, if they want to.

Jamie Dimon’s Plan to Fix the Housing Market - Bloomberg lock mortgage lenders and regulators behind closed doors until they figure it out.

Richard Dawkins celebrates a victory over creationists | Education | The Observer Free schools that teach 'intelligent design' as science will lose funding ... after the government ratified measures that will bar anti-evolution groups from teaching creationism in science classes (meanwhile, in Missouri ...)
MS damage washed away by stream of young blood - health - 14 January 2012 - New Scientist Nerve cells lose their electrically insulating myelin sheath as MS develops. New myelin-generating cells can be produced from stem cells, but the process loses efficiency with age.

Car companies' new problem: Young people who don't want a driver's license One reason for the automakers to be encouraged is that more senior citizens are driving. Some 70 percent of ages 70 and older had their driver’s license in 2008, up from 55 percent in 1983 (only geezers will be drving)

The Definitive Post On Why SOPA And Protect IP Are Bad, Bad Ideas | Techdirt
Rupert Murdoch Attacks Google, Obama In Pro-SOPA Twitter Rant

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Putin ally fears Israel is pushing U.S. toward Iran war | Reuters (because Israel is America's Daddy and that has worked out so well)
US intensifies pressure on Iran over Strait of Hormuz threat | World news | guardian.co.uk White House warns Iran against blockading crucial sea lanes in retaliation for sanctions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions
Iraq Bomb Kills At Least 53 Shiite Pilgrims In South
Iran Claims CIA Behind Nuclear Scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan's Death
Captain arrested amid growing anger after Italian cruise ship runs aground | World news | The Observer Francesco Schettino investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship after three die and 41 unaccounted for
Costa Concordia Disaster: Italian Cruise Ship Runs Aground Off Tuscany Coast "Have you seen 'Titanic?' That's exactly what it was," said Valerie Ananias, 31, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles
Mohamed ElBaradei quits Egyptian presidential race | World news | guardian.co.uk Reform leader pulls out, saying country's ruling junta has governed since Mubarak's exit 'as if no regime has fallen' (what revolution?)
North Korea To Punish Mourners Who Were Insincere "who did participate but didn't cry and didn't seem genuine." (crocodile tears)
India orders crackdown on 'human safaris' in the Andaman Islands | World news | The Observer As outrage over exploitation of Jarawa tribe spreads, minister flies in for talks (and then they stuffed them)

Hullabaloo Homicide rate at near 50-year low, probably thanks to low lead levels (Big Gov regulation forces oil companies to stop poisoning the whole population, violent crime drops after 50 years of blaming the victims, triumph of capitalism)

PublicEye.org - The Producerist Narrative in Repressive Right Wing Populism

Obama Administration Comes Out Against SOPA, PIPA | TPM Idea Lab ... saying it would not support the bills as currently written
STUDY: SOPA Coverage No Match For Kim Kardashian And Tim Tebow | Media Matters for America (like they want you to know)

Truth, truthiness and balance — Crooked Timber (the Brisbane, NYT comments purging debacle)
Wealth Problems — Crooked Timber Second, that Republicans don’t care about the views of voters in the middle of the income distribution either, while Democrats do care significantly. Third, that Republicans care almost three times as much as Democrats about the views of those in the top third of the distribution. Overall, senators tend to be much more responsive to the opinions of better off people than of middle income people, and don’t care at all about the bottom third

Virginia Primary Ballot Challenge: Judge Rules Against Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum & Jon Huntsman
Mike O'Neal, Kansas House Speaker, Emails Prayer Some Say Wishes For Obama's Death
Eschaton: Anthropology The New York Times ventures into the jungle ... Here in Gaffney, where deeply held Christian beliefs often matter more than jobs, few remember the Holson Burnes photo album plant, let alone the devastation its closing is alleged to have caused back in 1992. (Romney killed the town, but they forgot because they were praying to Jesus to get rid of the black guy: idiots)
Cast as Romney’s Victim, Gaffney, S.C., Says, ‘Huh?’ - NYTimes.com
video: Mitt Romney Vs. The GOP -- Bain Capital Edition | ThinkProgress former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney greatest strength — his experience in private enterprise — has suddenly begun to look like a serious liability.
CNN Journalists Blast Loesch's "Outrageous" Comments | Media Matters for America "What's interesting is how the kid gloves are applied to outlandish comments made by the likes of Erick Erickson or Dana Loesch and how it has a negative impact on the CNN brand ... there is fear of saying anything to them because they are Tea Party folks, and there has been a clear effort on the part of our political team to court that whole Tea Party thought process, if you will." (CNN: the Teaparty Network!)
Jon Soltz: Video of Marine Atrocities Highlights Split Between Right Wing and Our Military
Feds to probe why Ted Stevens witness Bill Allen wasn't tried in teen sex case | McClatchy Murkowski said Friday she wished Holder would have himself initiated a public investigation into why his Justice Department scuttled the case. But she said “it’s good to see action finally being taken.” (Obama's DOJ not at work)

Social Welfare State, American-Style, Means Relief For The Rich The one big difference is that in the American social welfare state, a lot of the benefits go to the rich (socialism for the rich!)

Martin Luther King memorial quote to be changed | World news | guardian.co.uk Poet Maya Angelou previously said the truncated version made King sound like "an arrogant twit" because it was out of context.
More N.C.A.A. ‘Justice’ - NYTimes.com (Phil Martelli, worst person in the world today)
Walkergate Expands, Top Aide Given Immunity | Crooks and Liars (Kochsucker Scottie may not need a recall)

lD2ZV.png - Atheism isn't a religion ... (worth it)
Is everyone from Missouri this pretentious? : Pharyngula Missouri is considering HB1227, a bill that would require public schools to teach intelligent design creationism. It's a descendant of a similar bill that was previously allowed to die, and it shares some of the same properties as the previous version: an amazing opacity and astonishingly pompous attempt by a few blithering lawyers to redefine science (Republicans/Evangelicals hate science, never give up)
That student from hell : Pharyngula Dr Zaloom gave a simple enough project to her students, to go down to the Occupy Wall Street protestors in Zucotti Park and write an ethnographic analysis. It seems reasonable, but one student, Sara Ackerman, had a melodramatic breakdown over it ... "Lastly, I have over 1,000 friends on facebook, and if Professor Zaloom does not resign, or is not fired by 9 am tomorrow morning, I will publish every single email exchange we have had, on my facebook account." Professor Zaloom still has her job. Who looks demented now? (that didn't work out so well, did it Sara?)
I get email : Pharyngula If Debra Rufini's imaginary dialog is as bad as this list of "proofs" — more like a collection of cliches, bad quotes, and lies — I can't imagine wanting to slog through it (50 proofs you've an idiot +"whilst?")

Brittany Murphy's Father Angelo Bertolotti Sues Los Angeles Coroner's Office Just five months later, Monjack died -- also as a result of pneumonia and anemia, according to the coroner.
Experience: I'm a sex-somniac | Life and style | The Guardian


reddit.com: help: FAQ for the SOPA Reddit
Google 'improperly' accessed Kenyan rival Mocality's database | Technology | guardian.co.uk

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US warns of terror threat in Bangkok | World news | guardian.co.uk
More on the Murder of Iranian Nuclear Scientists | FDL News Desk Glenn Greenwald has a follow-up on his story about the murder of Iranian nuclear scientists, and he calls the incidents what they actually are: Terrorism (Obama/Israeli terrorism)
Myanmar Prominent Political Prisoners Freed (Burma)
Burma's prisoner amnesty reunites families separated for years | World news | The Guardian Couples who never expected to see each other so soon prepare for emotional reunions as Burma releases 600 political prisoners (only Americans call is Myanmar)
More murder of Iranian scientists: still terrorism? - Salon.com (not when we do it)
Iran and the Terrorism game - Salon.com ("targetted killings" not really terrorism in the minds of the "hard-nosed left")
Iranian Nuclear Scientist's Death Prompts Silence In Israel -- And Hint Of Satisfaction (who, us?)
False Flag - By Mark Perry | Foreign Policy A series of CIA memos describes how Israeli Mossad agents posed as American spies to recruit members of the terrorist organization Jundallah to fight their covert war against Iran.
Yousuf Reza Gilani, Pakistan Prime Minister, Reportedly Feared Coup Pakistan's prime minister telephoned the top British diplomat in the country this week expressing fears that the Pakistani army might be about to stage a coup,
Arab League Observer Leaves Syria Mission, Calls It “Farce” | FDL News Desk
Syria: rally for Free Syrian Army - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk Syria protesters show backing for deserted troops• Free Syrian Army restructured following criticism
Abortion Criminalization Awful Public Policy : Lawyers, Guns & Money

Eurozone crisis live: S&P expected to downgrade France and Austria tonight | Business | guardian.co.uk (Smerkel and Szark have completely failed)
Eurozone in new crisis as credit agency downgrades nine countries | Business | The Guardian S&P action leads to fall in euro and share prices while European Central Bank forced to buy Italian bonds ... urope has been plunged into a fresh crisis after France admitted it had been stripped of its coveted AAA rating in a mass downgrade of nine eurozone countries by the credit ratings agency S&P. (thud)

Spanish judge resumes Guantanamo investigation - Boston.com A Spanish judge says he is proceeding with a probe into human rights abuses at the U.S. prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, after Washington failed to respond to requests for information (the wheels of justice grinding slowly)
BBC News - German priest admits 280 counts of sexual abuse A German Catholic priest has admitted 280 counts of sexual abuse involving three boys in the past decade, saying he did not think he was doing harm ... When asked in court if he was a paedophile, he replied, according to local newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung: "It would be wrong to say No but to say Yes would also fall short of the truth."

Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Cover-Up Hinted In Navy Letter (the military cover shit up? impossible!)
CNN Contributor On Marines Urinating On Dead Bodies: "Supposed To Be A Scandal"? "I'd Drop Trou And Do It Too" | Media Matters for America On her radio show, CNN contributor and Big Journalism editor Dana Loesch cheered on an Internet video reportedly showing U.S. Marines urinating on what appear to be dead Afghans, saying she would "drop trou and do it too." (CNN, not Fox; your liberal media is really fucked up, and Dana Loesch: you will be remembered for this)

Arthur Brisbane and selective stenography - Salon.com - It’s more directed, more purposeful than that: it all goes in one direction (bolstering official claims), all benefits one faction (those who wield power), and all has one outcome (amplifying elite assertions while shielding them from criticial scrutiny).
So whaddaya think: should we put truthtelling back up there at number one? » Pressthink Somewhere along the way, telling truth from falsehood was surpassed by other priorities to which the press felt a stronger duty. Arthur Brisbane, public editor of the New York Times, was unaware of this history when he asked users of the Times whether reporters should call out false statements.
Times public editor smashes himself with boomerang | Jack Shafer - because editors and reporters generally don’t have the guts to take abuse directly from readers, they employ ombudsmen and public editors like Brisbane as their shields (and then they close the comments)
Journalists incredulous as Times public editor asks: ‘Should the Times be a Truth Vigilante?’ | Poynter.
Yes, The New York Times Should Definitely Be a Truth Vigilante - Business - The Atlantic Wire
New York Times Public Editor on Truth - The End of Truth - Esquire Charles P. Pierce - My business is so very screwed.

Eschaton: Random Thought It was quite the triumph of conservative propaganda to convince people that the housing bubble was, once again, about poor minorities getting more than they deserved. And on and on.
Everyone’s Got a Right to Their Own Opinions… | Jared Bernstein | On the Economy …but not to their own facts (more conservative propaganda from Mittens, some think he might be "lying" - Federal programs actually highly efficient)
The Washington Monthly - The Magazine - The Myth of American Productivity Politicians say we have the most productive workers in the world. They don't know what they're talking about.

Democrats Take Lead in Congressional Ballot "Two-thirds of all voters now say they disapprove of this Republican Congress and its approval rating has hit a new low in our tracking -- 26%. The decline has come from a complete drop-off of those who 'strongly approve' of this Republican Congress -- down to 8%, also the lowest in our tracking." (Obstructionism a huge success)

Six GOP Co-Sponsors of PIPA Ask Reid to Cancel Vote - Blog - OpenCongress
Copyright law: Killing creativity | The Economist - Imagine that drug companies were so successful at lobbying governments that they won an extension of their patents from 20 years, as they are today, to 100 years; and that the scope of those rights was extended so that future medical discoveries were in effect blocked. The ensuing public outcry would almost certainly result in the law being rewritten in favour of scientific advancement.
DNS provision pulled from SOPA, victory for opponents | Media Maverick - CNET News

President Barack Obama Seeks Greater Power To Shrink The Federal Government (back to Reagan)
GOP contenders keep the faith in fight for evangelical vote in South Carolina | World news | guardian.co.uk Social conservative issues likely to prove key in South Carolina, which means moderate Mitt Romney could have a problem
Study: Repealing The Mandate Will Increase Premiums By 25 Percent | ThinkProgress A new study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that efforts to repeal the individual health insurance mandate — and remove the incentive for healthier people to obtain health care coverage — could increase premiums by 25 percent and raise government spending on uncompensated care
Wisconsin Spring: Organizers Set to File Recall Petitions Against Walker | FDL News Desk So if 1.2 million Wisconsinites voted for Walker in 2010, and 1.5 million signed a piece of paper calling for the recall of him and his associates, then the recall election starts in pretty decent shape for Walker’s opponents ... So the Wisconsin Spring could end with a total upheaval of state government
Janklow : Lawyers, Guns & Money Bill Janklow, noted asshole, croaked today, and USA Today decided to stake its claim on the award for Most Unfortunate Choice of Metaphor:
“Not suffering like starving 19th-century Norwegian immigrants” : Lawyers, Guns & Money
Gallup: Wealthy worry about deficit, poor worry about jobs - The Washington Post (shocking)

Balloon Juice » Open Thread: Willard, Meet Professor Krugman
Brad DeLong: Why We Listen to Paul Krugman: The Balance of Macroeconomic Risks in the Summer of 2006 Department

Inside the Fed in 2006 - A Coming Crisis, and Banter - NYTimes.com - Mr. Geithner suggested that Mr. Greenspan’s greatness still was not fully appreciated, an opinion now held by a much smaller number of people.(of course, no one lost their jobs)
Federal Reserve Thought Housing Crisis Was Funny in 2006
How Is It Possible The Fed's Image Can Be Tarnished Further? | Beat the Press At this point, the Fed should not have an image that could possibly be tarnished further. If its record had been reported accurately, everyone would be well aware of its incredible incompetence as a manager of the economy. btw, as noted in the article, many of the people at these Fed meetings are still in top policy making positions. This shows that the U.S. economy still produces good-paying jobs for people without skills.
NPR Does Fluff Piece for Private Equity | MyFDL (Republican fluffers at work)

PG&E diverted safety money for profit, bonuses Pacific Gas and Electric Co. diverted more than $100 million in gas safety and operations money collected from customers over a 15-year period and spent it for other purposes, including profit for stockholders and bonuses for executives (no one will go to jail, of course)
PG&E’s Profitable Threat to Our Critical Infrastructure | emptywheel “It is truly unconscionable that PG&E was allowed by the CPUC to steal ratepayer monies that should have been spent on safety and, instead, was put in the pockets of PG&E shareholders,” said Rep. Jackie Speier,
Arizona Wants to Buy Back State Capitol It Inexplicably Sold | Mother Jones Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed off on the deal, and the state now leases the House and Senate chambers from a private real estate company at a considerable long-term cost (sell low, buy high!)

Quasicrystal is extraterrestrial in origin A rare and exotic mineral, so unusual that it was thought impossible to exist, came to Earth on a meteorite
BBC News - Processed meat 'linked to pancreatic cancer' A link between eating processed meat, such as bacon or sausages, and pancreatic cancer has been suggested by researchers in Sweden.

Shorter Red State : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Truth and real journalism have a liberal bias. The role of reporters should be to quote Republican politicians and print Republican blast faxes verbatim
Chris Mooney: Why Republicans Deny Science: The Quest for a Scientific Explanation (you can start with the New York Times and their fact-free news)
US teachers offered support for climate change lessons | Environment | guardian.co.uk National Centre for Science Education gives teachers advice on how to deal with demand to drop classes on climate change (Republicans want the words "climate" and "change" removed from dictionaries)
A Mining Law Whose Time Has Passed - NYTimes.com IN 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a mining law to spur the development of the West by giving hard-rock mining precedence over other uses of federal land. But the law has long since outlived its purpose, and its environmental consequences have been severe.

Life After College Roadmap | MintLife Blog

TVShack's student founder can be extradited to US, court rules | Law | guardian.co.uk US customs agents seek to prosecute Richard O'Dwyer over TVShack, which linked to sites carrying pirated shows and films ... t ICE would now actively pursue websites similar to TVShack even if their only connection to the US was a website address ending in .com or .net. Such suffixes are routed through Verisign, an internet infrastructure company based in Virginia, which the agency believes is sufficient to seek a US prosecution. (Obama justice)
Facebook Makeover Scam Offers To Turn Profile Colors Red, Black Or Pink

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Police to investigate MI6 over rendition and torture of Libyans | World news | guardian.co.uk Criminal inquiry announced as DPP says there is not enough evidence to prosecute agents over Pakistan and Afghanistan allegations (when will Bush's and Obama's turn come?)
All Charges Against Bradley Manning Referred to Court Martial | The Dissenter

Marines Appear To Urinate On Dead Taliban Fighters ... The desecration of corpses during wartime violates military law and can lead to court-martial. (Obama calls it a threat to national security)
Karzai leads wave of condemnation over video of urination on corpses | World news | guardian.co.uk Afghan president calls video of US marines urinating on corpses 'inhumane', but the Taliban says it will not hinder peace talks
Syria: Arab League monitors say they cannot stop the killing - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk Second monitor threatens to resign from Syria mission • France demands investigation into killing of Gilles Jacquier (attempt to obfuscate fails)
U.S. intelligence report on Afghanistan sees stalemate - latimes.com The sobering judgments in a classified National Intelligence Estimate appear at odds with recent optimistic statements about the war by Pentagon officials ... the war in Afghanistan is mired in stalemate, and warns that security gains from an increase in American troops have been undercut by pervasive corruption, incompetent governance and Taliban fighters operating from neighboring Pakistan (Pentagon is always "optimistic")
South Sudan Massacres Follow Independence - NYTimes.com Bitter ethnic tensions that had largely been shelved for the sake of achieving independence have ruptured into a cycle of massacre and revenge that neither the American-backed government nor the United Nations has been able to stop ... The trail of corpses begins about 300 yards from the corrugated metal gate of the United Nations compound and stretches for miles into the bush.

Canada's Conservative Government Turns My Husband Back Into My Boyfriend | Slog

Eurozone crisis live: BoE and ECB leave interest rates unchanged | Business | guardian.co.uk Bond yields fall for Spain and Italy • Bank of England holds interest rate and QE
Greece's budget deficit widens 0.8 pct in 2011 | Reuters Greece's budget deficit widened last year as an austerity-fuelled recession cancelled out much of the extra revenues the government was hoping to raise through emergency taxes ("austerity-fuelled" eh? your overlords at work)

Eschaton: Not The Onion (this series is interesting as a sign of the times: in a culture that valued truth and facts, the most important news would be the lie. Another sign was Politifact jumping the shark)
Balloon Juice » When the Truth is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Print the Truth
Political Animal - Answering the Public Editor’s question Arthur Brisbane, Public Editor of the New York Times, has a piece today asking, “Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante?” (you can see where he's going with the headline, but of course not, that would upset Republican liars)
Balloon Juice » Masochism Tango Times Public Editor Arthur S. Brisbane is a glutton for punishment or a numbskull half-wit, because he just informed us how we all misinterpreted his earlier post about Truth Vigilantes ... He’s getting killed in the comments again. On the last one, he shut them off in the mid-two hundreds (NYT hates dissent +Times’ Editor Jill Abramson’s - “Of course, some facts are legitimately in dispute”. otherwise, they wouldn't be facts, right? +Times erases most comments AGAIN and CLOSES comments, their feelings must be really hurt)
Hullabaloo The New York Times wonders aloud if it should care about the truth (decides no and isn't interested in what you think, either)
Should Vanity Fair Be a Spelling Vigilante? | Blogs | Vanity Fair
NYT Public Editor Criticized for “Truth Vigilante” Column | FDL News Desk
The New York Times public editor's very public utterance | Clay Shirky | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Brisbane's question on reporters' duty to challenge misleading political speech has permanently altered readers' expectations ... no paper in the United States, not even the Times (as its editor partially concedes), has enough staff to express continuous skepticism about political speech (which is all lies, apparently, so they could just say that)
NYT Responds on Iran Alarmism New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane has responded to concerns raised in a FAIR action alert last week (1/6/12), agreeing that the paper wrongly suggested that the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon.

Class Conflict Awareness Rose Significantly From 2009 To 2011: Report (according to the Boston Globe, this is not news)
Daily Kos: Gallup: Record high 40% of Americans identify as independents in 2011 (and 27% identify as completely insane)
Kung Fu Monkey: Lunch Discussions #145: The Crazification Factor - 27% Crazification Factor in any population.

17 Of The Top 20 Biggest Political Donors This Election Cycle Are Conservative | ThinkProgress Egged on in no small part by the Supreme Court’s decision to turn campaign finance into the wild west, a small group of donors have gotten increasing aggressive in their efforts to us their enormous wealth to influence elections
A third of Mormons say Mitt Romney's religion will count against him | World news | The Guardian Almost half of Mormons believe they are more discriminated against than African Americans, poll reveals (oh, sure, dudes)
South Carolina Primary: Next Stop, Foreclosureville n South Carolina, where primary voters hit the polls on Jan. 21, unemployment's flying high at 9.9 percent (very Republican states, of course)
AG Investigating Undercover Filming at Nashua Polls - Nashua, NH Patch James O'Keefe, widely known as the undercover "pimp" who exposed ACORN, takes issue with New Hampshire's lack of required ID at the polls. The state, in turn, is taking issue with his methods.
Santorum Cites a Local Legend - NYTimes.com “We need contrasts,” Mr. Santorum said, “not just a paler shade of what we have.” (you know what that means)

In Fed Officials’ 2006 Meetings, No Deep Worry on Housing - NYTimes.com (of course not)
Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet - NYTimes.com Trickle-down economics has now become shut-your-trap economics (you're just envious)
What Is Private Equity A private equity fund is a vehicle for getting a bunch of money together to buy existing public companies and "take them private," typically (though not necessarily) with the goal of re-selling the firm later (after you've outsourced and fired everybody)
Eschaton: It's Also So Confusing And of course you have to fill out a 17 page claim form in order for us to consider thinking about maybe possibly if you're lucky considering trying to find out if the money in your customer account is still there.
MF Global Customers Wrapped in Red Tape - WSJ.com So far, the trustee liquidating MF Global's brokerage has arranged for customers to be reunited with about 72% of their funds. Now customers are in a new stage of recovery for ...
Foreclosure rates plunge in 2011 - Jan. 12, 2012
Tesco announces temporary closure of more Fresh & Easy stores in US | Business | The Guardian Retailer says shops will reopen 'when economic and business conditions warrant'

Study: Simple measures could reduce global warming, save lives - The Washington Post Simple, inexpensive measures to cut emissions of two common pollutants will slow global warming, save millions of lives and boost crop production around the world, a large international team of scientists reported Thursday. (Republicans prefer to kill millions of people)
Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog : U.S. weather in 2011: unprecedented rains and wet/dry extremes : Weather Underground
Daily Kos: Climate Change Goes Away (Obama stops talking about it, media goes silent, millions will die)

Veterans Flood Iraqi Restaurant To Show Support After Rock Thrown Through Its Window | ThinkProgress
Cincinnati Landlord Loses Fight Over “Whites Only” Pool Sign | Angry Black Lady Chronicles - Cincinnati Landlord Jamie Hein (makes herself famous on the internets for all eternity)

What If The New Republic Had a Sale and Nobody Came? - Forbes A smallish, money-losing highbrow political magazine whose influence peaked 15 years ago, The New Republic is hardly a hot property (Marty Peretz ran it into the ground)

Real-Life Examples Of How Google's "Search Plus" Pushes Google+ Over Relevancy
Generic top-level domain sale begins on web | Technology | guardian.co.uk New suffixes like .Pepsi and .London will be possible as an alternative to the usual .com, .net and handful of others

011112
Iranian nuclear scientist killed in Tehran bomb explosion | World news | guardian.co.uk Professor working at key nuclear facility dead following series of attacks Iranian regime links to Israel and US (Obama's and Israel's secret assassination program)
BBC News - Iran car explosion kills nuclear scientist in Tehran
Pakistan army steps up confrontation with government | World news | guardian.co.uk Military warns that remarks made by prime minister could have 'potentially grievous consequences for country'
Rwanda: at last we know the truth | Linda Melvern | Comment is free | The Guardian A new report reveals who was behind the assassination which led to genocide. But it leaves France with many questions to answer ... On the night of the crash there were senior French military officers living in the Kanombe camp embedded with the Rwandan elite units. As UN peacekeepers were prevented from getting to the wreckage these French officers are said to have taken away the cockpit voice recorder and black box.
300 Chinese Foxconn Workers 'Threaten Mass Suicide' At XBox Plant, Reports Claim

World Economic Forum warns of economic turmoil and social upheaval | Business | The Guardian Ahead of annual WEF meeting in Davos, Global Risks 2012 report says the 'seeds of dystopia' are being sown
German Economy Shrank Slightly at End of 2011 - WSJ.com Germany's economy contracted slightly in the fourth quarter, raising questions about how much longer Berlin will continue to shoulder the burden of rescuing fiscally wayward euro-zone members (who could have predicted that impoverishing their trading partners would lead to disaster?)
In Greece, fears that austerity is killing the economy - The Washington Post . But as Greece’s economy slides into free fall, critics are scanning the devastated landscape here and asking a probing question: Does austerity really work? (who could have predicted that austerity would lead to more austerity?)
Eschaton: Is Water Wet? We are ruled by fools who think mass poverty is the solution to a bad economy.

By The Numbers: 10 Years At Guantánamo Bay | ThinkProgress
Guantánamo: still a part of America's conscience, a decade on | World news | The Guardian Some 171 inmates remain, despite Obama's promises • Only six detainees ever convicted; around 600 released (yeah, he made a lot of promises)
Guantanamo Bay 10th Anniversary: Obama's Detention Law Could Fill Prison Obama Tried To Close ... Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, tried to include a provision in the bill that would have explicitly exempted Americans, but failed to garner enough support for it.
Guantanamo Bay Anniversary: Detention Center Turns Ten

Elizabeth Warren Raises $5.7 Million In Fourth Quarter 2011 In Bid To Unseat Scott Brown In Massachusetts (bye-bye, Cosmo-boy)
Eric Fehrnstrom Romney and Scott Brown Campaigns - What's Good for Willard Is Bad for Scott Brown - Esquire

The Republican Contest - NYTimes.com Where the Iowa caucuses illuminated the dark essence of social conservatism, the New Hampshire primary was a journey into the dingy, cramped quarters of the right wing’s economic policies.
Get Romney: Republican rivals prepare for 'bare knuckle' fight with frontrunner | World news | guardian.co.uk Mitt Romney's opponents set to launch no-holds-barred attack ad campaign as race moves to South Carolina
Conservative activists scrambling for a strategy to block Romney - The Washington Post A near-panic has taken hold among some core conservative activists, who are now scrambling to devise a strategy to deny Mitt Romney the Republican presidential nomination.
Political Animal - Pushing worthwhile questions into ‘quiet rooms’ - Americans are allowed to ask questions about inequality, so long as we’re not too loud about it. Let’s just stick to quiet rooms — perhaps Romney can loan us one from one of his mansions — where we can be told to stop being envious.
Sheldon Adelson's Billions And Newt Gingrich: A Match Made In Israel
Sh*t Republican candidates say | Lizz Winstead | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk -you should hear the way this GOP field talks. For starters, they're obsessed with sex …
(When Mitt Romney Came to Town: Gingrich attack-documentary)
The Dark Side of Mitt Romney | Politics | Vanity Fair
Haven't We Lived Through This Primary Before?
Election Law Experts Say James O’Keefe Allies Could Face Charges Over Voter Fraud Stunt | TPMMuckraker (the only "voter fraud" is committed by Republicans)

Brad DeLong: Raising the Medicare Eligibility Age Is a Really Bad Idea Blogging: Is This a Problem with the Media or with the Congressional Budget Office?
Poverty in America likely to get worse, report finds | Business | guardian.co.uk ndiana University study says 46 million Americans are living below the poverty line – up 27% since start of recession (Republicans at work destroying America)
Daily Kos: Gallup: Jobs and the economy a much bigger concern than deficits (tell that to the lamestream media)
Oil lobby's financial pressure on Obama over Keystone XL pipeline revealed | Environment | guardian.co.uk Study shows money flowing to oil lobby ahead of decision on tar sands pipeline in the November elections
John Castle, Leveraged Buyout King, Breaks Waiter's Finger For Bad Service
South Carolina Bill Forces Unemployed Workers To Volunteer In Order To Receive Unemployment Insurance | ThinkProgress If unemployed workers in South Carolina can’t find a job in six months, they would have to volunteer 16 hours weekly to continue getting benefits from the state under a bill up for debate today by a Senate panel (White Southerners love their slavery)

Marijuana And Lungs: Study Finds Drug Doesn't Do Same Kind Of Damage As Tobacco
New drug may keep you sober no matter how much you've had to drink | MNN - Mother Nature Network The drug is a chemical called dihydromyricetin, or DHM, and is derived from a Chinese variety of the oriental raisin tree, which has been used for at least 500 years in China as an effective hangover cure

Cop Punches Woman: Bus Passenger Tapes LA Sheriff's Deputy Hitting Rider (Shocking Video) Jermaine Green, the man who taped the Monday night incident in Bellflower, told NBC LA that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy who struck the woman threatened to arrest him if he didn't hand over his camera phone.
Belgian Tourist Arrested, but Crime Never Happened - NYTimes.com (white kid abused by lying NYC cops, makes NYT)


Top German cop uses spyware on daughter, gets hacked in retaliation : parents, think hard before taking technical measures against your own kids. There's a better than average chance that they—or their friends—know more than you do.
‘Rogue’ Attorney General Spreads MPAA-Fed SOPA Propaganda | TorrentFreak Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff wrote a column in the Salt Lake City Tribune supporting the pending SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills. In his article Shurtleff argues that the bills are a necessity if the US is to “stop Internet thieves and profiteers.” An interesting take, but not very credible, as the Attorney Generally who may soon have the power to seize domains, simply passed off MPAA-penned propaganda as his own words (See Lamar Smith)
SOPA Architect Lamar Smith Can't Hear You - Forbes

011012
The new WH Chief of Staff and Citigroup - Salon.com “We already got enough players in this administration that certainly were key players in the economic malaise that we currently have,” Bass continued. “Why shouldn’t we have another one?” he said with a slight chuckle.

Political Animal - GOP fails to leverage PolitiFact’s misjudgment That PolitiFact’s decision was ridiculous wouldn’t matter (it never does +Politifact is a media/Republican front)
Political Animal - Down the rabbit hole, indeed A variety of conservative media outlets, including Fox News, the New York Post, and the Daily Caller, are worked up this week about a newly-discovered White House outrage: a 2009 Halloween party.

Political Animal - Quite a field ‘This is the worst field.’ …This is the weakest field they’ve seen, by far. Not even a close second.” Mike Barnicle added, “It used to be up here, there was a libertarian candidate, Lyndon LaRouche and you’d cover him for comic relief…. Now you can cover almost the entire Republican field for comic relief.” (the clown parade)
Pain: The David Gregory Solution - Esquire - Dancin' Dave Gregory, chronic Vineyard vacationer and Beltway King of Pain. He reached an entirely new level of smarm when he asked Jon Huntsman the following question:
Ahhh Fox News | Talking Points Memo Fox reporter toasts the awesomeness of Dixville Notch, NH: “No Hanging chads, we didn’t see any black panthers with baseball bats. These were good, American folks…”
Democrats Unleash Bain Assault On Mitt Romney — With The Help Of Newt Gingrich | TPM2012
Jon Stewart Rips GOP's Hypocritical 'Class Warfare' With Mitt Romney (video)
Gingrich Argues Adoption Services Should Be Allowed To Take Taxpayer Money While Discriminating Against Gays | ThinkProgress
New Hampshire Students Carry The Nation's Largest Debt Load And The GOP Has No Solutions | ThinkProgress
Three Leading GOP Presidential Nominees Pledge To Be Tough On Porn | ThinkProgress (America's biggest problem)
Pollitt’s Perplexity about Pundits on Ron Paul « Translation Exercises

CHART: How The Debt Limit Fight Hurt The Economy, Delayed Recovery | TPMDC
U.S. Inquiry of MF Global Gains Speed - NYTimes.com Louis J. Freeh, the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings of MF Global, has not waived the legal provision, which shields records from examination by law enforcement (America's worst law-enforcement ex-offical is heading the coverup)
Pennsylvania to impose asset test for food stamps | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/10/2012 (Republicans at work making sure you have no money at all)
Businessmen and Economics - NYTimes.com why does anyone believe that success in business qualified someone to make economic policy? (because its a religion)
MF Global Holdings Trustee Louis Freeh Seeks Bankruptcy Creditor Priority - Bloomberg (America's worst ...)


Daniel Montague Acker Jr., Alabama Teacher Accused Of Molesting Students, Defended By Schools Chief Two longtime Alabama school board leaders are defending the panel's decision in 1993 to reinstate an elementary school teacher who was accused of molesting a student, even though the teacher is now charged with more abuse.
Troy Mayor Said 'Disturbing Things' in Meeting, Gay-Straight Alliance Leader Says - Troy, MI Patch Janice Daniels' reference to homosexuality being dangerous to mental health disturbed leaders of the Troy High School Gay-Straight Alliance, whom the mayor met with on Monday ... Daniels, while discussing mental health and suicide among members of the LGBT community, at one point suggested putting together a panel of psychologists to show that homosexuality is dangerous to your mental health.

Google 'Search Plus Your World' Brings Google+ Into Search Results

010912
Amnesty warns of continued repression in Middle East | World news | guardian.co.uk Despite the Arab spring, many governments are brutalising their populations into submission for regime survival, says report
Nigeria fuel protests: two killed and dozens wounded as police open fire | World news | The Guardian Police use live ammunition and teargas to disperse crowds taking part in national strike in protest against fuel subsidy cuts
Man charged over alleged plot to bomb Tampa nightclubs | World news | guardian.co.uk FBI agents arrested Osmakac on Saturday after he allegedly bought explosive devices and firearms from an undercover agent.
Anwar Ibrahim sodomy charge dismissed by Malaysian judge | World news | guardian.co.uk Second acquittal of opposition leader on sex charges is a shock ahead of poll that could shake ruling Umno party's grip on power
Iranian court sentences 'CIA agent' to death | World news | guardian.co.uk Father of Amir Hekmati says he was just visiting family


Greece’s Least Bad Option Looks to Be Internal Devaluation: View - Bloomberg
Eschaton: Here's An Idea: Let's Improve Things By Making Everybody (Else) Suffer Default and leave the euro. Really a much better plan. The choice between Iceland and Ireland is rather simple.
The Myth of Japan’s Failure - NYTimes.com Here, for instance, is how the CNN analyst David Gergen has described Japan: “It’s now a very demoralized country and it has really been set back.” (Gergen makes shit up, as usual; actually, Japan "has done a lot better than the United States.")
Hildebrand Steps Down at SNB - Bloomberg “I came to the conclusion that it’s not possible for me to deliver definite proof that my wife requested the currency transaction without my knowledge,” Hildebrand, 48, said (little "dent" in his credibility, as in fucking liar)
Eurozone crisis: Swiss bank chief quits over dollar trades | Business | guardian.co.uk Leaders: we hope to agree fiscal compact before March
European Banks Now Get Loans From Cash-Rich Firms - European News - CNBC (they used to call them "deposits" before companies demanded "collateral")
Eschaton: Malaise - Miliband is truly inspiring ... Labour: maybe sucking slightly less than the other guys for the past 8 months or so. (austerity!)

Elizabeth Warren Stands Outside Fenway, in the Cold, Shaking Hands | Mother Jones (Cosmo-boy saved us from lawnorder Choakley)

Supreme Court decision could give California’s ‘Skid Row Stabber’ his release | McClatchy "It is a regrettable reality that some federal judges like to second-guess state courts," Scalia and Alito wrote, pointedly adding that the 9th Circuit has been "particularly needful" of Supreme Court chastisement for overt activism (no steenking appeals, either)

Bill Daley Resigned as White House Chief of Staff; Jack Lew Promoted - ABC News the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, will be the new chief of staff ... former vice chairman at JPMorgan Chase, Daley was heralded as having skills ... namely ties to the business community (at least he's not a Chicago clown, but the real question is why Obama's Chiefs of Staff are banksters?)
Bill Daley Resigning: Obama Chief Of Staff Stepping Down Despite his political pedigree, Daley was always a curious pick for the Obama administration. He had been the top lobbyist for JPMorgan Chase, the nation's second-largest bank, which issued at least $30 billion in subprime mortgages during the housing bubble ... Daley actively lobbied against the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. ("curious pick" indeed, but Jack Lew "headed the "alternative investments" division at Citigroup, a team that handled private equity investments, hedge fund bets and massive gambles on subprime mortgages" )

Political Animal - ‘Independents’ Day Gallup finds 40% of American self-identify as independents, the highest percentage Gallup has ever measured since it began keeping track. Democrats are a distant second with 31%, with Republicans third at 27%. ... [H]ere is the problem: Most independents are closet partisans. This has been well-known in political science since at least 1992, with the publication of The Myth of the Independent Voter (Obama and his crack team of idiots never read the book)
Is Jon Huntsman the Future of the Republican Party? The Republican Party seems to be dominated by an alliance of religious extremists and warmongers. It’s a longstanding trend but one that captured the leadership of the party only with the 2010 elections.
High Fives at DNC Headquarters DNC officials can't believe they have Mitt Romney on video saying he likes firing people.
Quote of the Day "Now I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips -- whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out because his company Bain Capital with all the jobs that they killed, I'm sure he was worried that he'd run out of pink slips." -- Rick Perry
What Romney Meant With 'Firing' Comment: Americans Should Pay More For Health Care | ThinkProgress
Ron Paul's Strange Bedfellows | The Nation - Katha Pollitt
Mitt Romney Holds Lead But Jon Huntsman Gaining In Latest New Hampshire Polls
Balloon Juice » Romney, “Job Cremator” “Mitt Romney, I think, is more of a job cremator than a job creator,” Schultz said
Balloon Juice » Romney Apocalypse It’s interesting to compare the MoveOn.org ad on Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital history with this End of Days trailer for the movie produced by the Gingrich Super PAC Winning Our Future (MoveOn didn't want to be too divisive or they might be Politifucked)
Mike Huckabee: GOP Candidates Won't Sing 'Kumbaya' And Unite The Conservative Vote
Romney’s Opponents Intensify Attacks as Voting Nears - NYTimes.com The attacks came as Mr. Romney’s lead in New Hampshire appears to be slipping.
Black Man Confronts Gingrich On Food Stamps Comments: 'Stop Using Blacks As A Punching Bag' | ThinkProgress "I mean clearly somebody who’s served with Colin Powell, who has served with Condoleezza Rice, I have a fairly good sense of the fact that African Americans have many contributions to America." (served with? on what planet?)
Could Haley Recall Effort Gain Steam with Legislation? - West Ashley, SC Patch Several bills have been filed in the General Assembly to amend the SC Constitution to allow for the recall of elected officials as a new Recall 'Trikki Nikki' website seeks to generate public support for the move.

Economist's View: Fed Watch: Ultimately, It's About the Inflation Target
Eschaton: So They're Useless Then If this really is the Fed's view, then they're saying that monetary policy is generally going to be utterly useless in fighting recessions as they won't be willing to do anything. Time to rewrite all the textbooks.
How College Football Bowls Earn Millions In Profits But Pay Almost Nothing In Taxes | ThinkProgress

The Driest First Week of January in Recorded History : Lawyers, Guns & Money No climate change to be seen here. Nope, nothing at all. Certainly no January wildfires in Montana. Move along everyone, back to your shorts and golf courses on January 9 (is God punishing America for its stupidity by withholding water?)
Masters: "It Is Very Likely That This Has Been the Driest First Week of January in U.S. Recorded History" | ThinkProgress

Seeing quantum mechanics with the naked eye
Oil is more toxic than previously thought, study finds Bad news for the Gulf of Mexico: a study released in late December sheds new light on the toxicity of oil in aquatic environments, and shows that environmental impact studies currently in use may be inadequate
Censoring ourselves: Legal academia and the code of silence : Lawyers, Guns & Money (Prof. Dan Markel, "academic thug" makes himself famous on the internets for all eternity as a jerk and bully; well played Dan!)

Hullabaloo State sanctioned kidnapping ... One study published last year looking at cases in which deported Americans have later been able to prove they're US citizens contends that about 1 percent of those detained and deported in any given year are, in fact, Americans. That's about 20,000 people since 2003, it concludes ... Any country that routinely incarcerates and deports it's most vulnerable and poor, purely because they can't prove their citizenship, is a sick country. You almost have to wonder if some of them aren't doing it on purpose. (time to deport Obama back to Kenya)
Number of homeless students surges, putting strain on schools - Chicago Sun-Times Jarvis, like thousands of other students in Chicago Public Schools, is homeless. He is just one of more than 10,660 students who were homeless at the beginning of the school year. That’s 1,466 more than at the same point in the previous school year, according to a CPS tally (let them clean toilets)
Arizona Officials Single Out Hispanic City Council Candidate To Take An English Literacy Test | ThinkProgress There is nothing in the Constitution that protects English as the exclusive language of the United States (Arizona, #1 in facist states of America until the Hispanics take over and start Spanish-testing)

Honda Hybrid Lawsuit Brought By Heather Peters In California Small Claims Court she may have inspired what the Los Angeles Times called a "small-claims flash mob" for the approximately 500,000 Honda customers who could be affected by the pending class action suit.
Doubts Expressed On Train to Proposed Convention Center - WNYC Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a non-binding agreement last week to build the world's largest convention center at Aqueduct Racetrack, but details about how conventioneers would get to and from Manhattan are sketchy (more taxpayer money down the developer hole)
RSC grants amateur dramatics starring role in the Cultural Olympiad | Stage | The Observer Royal Shakespeare Company project applauds contribution to the arts of a peculiarly British institution (because community theatre only happens in the UK)

flv - YouTube (finger-painting virtuoso)
A Scanner Darkly - YouTube

Keith Olbermann, Current Resolve Election Feud; Olbermann Will Control 2012 Coverage "I'm pleased to tell you that I'll be running the election coverage on Current, after New Hampshire," he wrote. "Not sure GOP will share my satisfaction."
The Photographs Of Your Junk (Will Be Publicized): A Biting Social Commentary (video)
Netflix UK Launch: U.S. Giant Takes A Gamble As Fierce Web-TV Battle Shapes Up With Amazon Netflix launched in Britain and Ireland on Monday, taking on BSkyB's premium drama and movies offerings and prompting Amazon-owned rival Lovefilm to offer a new cut-price service.

010812
Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistan President, Faces Arrest In Connection To Benazir Bhutto Murder (wheels of justice turning slowly)
Afghanistan Commission Accuses U.S. Of Detainee Abuse (how could that be?)
US reliance on Afghan paramilitaries in rural areas worries European allies | World news | The Guardian Britain wonders if local police force can keep stability, while Germans argue the units are not easy to control
Arab League's Syria Meeting Begins Arab League monitors will say on Sunday that Syria is failing to honour a promise to end its crackdown on peaceful protests (you don't say)
Arab League mission in Syria 'has only just started' | World news | The Observer The general in charge of the 67-strong group of observers, Mohammed al-Dabi, says they are prepared for the long haul
Church attacks in Nigeria leave at least 27 worshippers dead | World news | The Observer Islamist group claims responsibility amid growing concern about government's inability to tackle sectarian violence
Nigeria faces mass strike and protests over discontinued state fuel subsidy | World news | The Guardian Thousands expected to march through streets of Lagos and Abuja after petrol pump prices more than double overnight

Mission: Invade Iran - Morning Star - George Galloway (yes, they are that stupid and bloodthirsty)

Hackers expose defence and intelligence officials in US and UK | Technology | The Guardian Security breach by 'hacktivists' reveals email addresses of 221 British military staff and 242 Nato officials

Global Health Initiative | Survey| Obama Health | USAID President Obama's ambitious Global Health Initiative — announced to a receptive international community in 2009 — is faltering as budget constraints and shaky implementation limit the impact of the multibillion-dollar program.

The Weekly Standard's anti-gay email is just one of a disturbing trend | World news | guardian.co.uk Frustrated American conservatives are exploiting gay paranoia to make up for a drought of ideas on how to fix the economy (that'll work)

Fox News Again Mislabels Vermont As New Hampshire | Media Matters for America
Political Animal - Romney: elected office is for the rich
Mitt Romney At 2012 Repubican Debate: I'm Happy Ted Kennedy Had To Take Out A Mortgage In Senate Race (what an asshole)
Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney Pressed About Support For Gay Rights During 2012 New Hampshire GOP Debate Santorum's characterization of his "respect" for gay men and women. He has said that children raised by same-sex couples will lead to "dysfunction" in society and that the "country will fall" as a result of same-sex marriage (homophobic clown-parade)
Santorum Tells Kids With Gay Parents: You'd Be Better Off With Parents In Prison | ThinkProgress
Ron Paul's useful idiots on the left | Megan Carpentier | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Progressives who make common cause with Paul on US foreign policy ignore his stunningly reactionary views on everything else
Rick Perry Would Re-Deploy Troops To Iraq To Prevent Iran Moving In "At The Speed of Light" | Video Cafe (or maybe even faster!)
MSNBC Chief: Not Sure Whether Pat Buchanan Will Be Allowed Back | Crooks and Liars Can there really be a line that even right-wingers can't cross when it comes to cable news? Or is it simply that Buchanan isn't a good fit with the network's plans? (lamestream media's favorite paleo-racist)


Prostate cancer screening does not reduce death rates, research shows | Society | guardian.co.uk Findings suggest screenings result in more diagnoses, but does not reduce number of people who die from cancer
Shocker, if this is 1960: Tobacco company misrepresented danger from cigarettes | Science Codex Philip Morris USA manipulated data on the effects of additives in cigarettes, including menthol, obscuring actual toxicity levels and increasing the risk of heart, cancer and other diseases for smokers.
Scrunch time: The peculiar physics of crumpled paper - physics-math - 05 January 2012 - New Scientist
With Subway Fare Upped to $2.50, Will Pizza Slice Prices Follow Suit? | The New York Observer

Va. prisons’ use of solitary confinement is scrutinized - The Washington Post At Red Onion State Prison, built on a mountaintop in a remote pocket of southwest Virginia, more than two-thirds of the inmates live in solitary confinement (VA, lawn-order-state, America, land of torture and sadists)
Abortion a bigger problem than joblessness, says Catholic Church · ELPAÍS.com in English Bishop warns of UNESCO plan to "make half the world population homosexual" (church of the insane)


Bob Dylan Lyrics - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds-"Mr. Tambourine Man"-Frankie Avalon-5/11/65 - YouTube (the first folk-rock song?)
Hunter S. Thompson and the Music of the Sixties | Beatdom ... Then, after his death – as decided decades earlier – it was the song that played as his ashes were fired from a giant Gonzo Fist at Owl Farm.

Leaked Memo Says Apple Provides Backdoor To Governments - Slashdot (Apple gave away your privacy)

010712
US navy destroyer rescues Iranian boat from Somali pirates | World news | guardian.co.uk Rescue in which 15 suspects were detained comes just days after Tehran warned the US to keep its warships out of the Gulf
Hungary's 'Viktator' faces tide of protest at home and abroad | World news | guardian.co.uk Viktor Orbán's increasingly authoritarian regime has brought thousands on to the streets in protest, with new political movements and even hunger strikes in progress (Hungary loves its dictators)
Countess of Wessex 'should return bloodstained' gems to Bahrain | UK news | guardian.co.uk Labour MP Denis MacShane and activist Peter Tatchell call on Sophie to return jewels after crackdown on democracy protests (countess takes jewels from bloody dictators)

Kathryn Bigelow's Bin Laden film to star Joel Edgerton | Film | guardian.co.uk Cast of film about killing of Osama bin Laden grows as Republicans claim secrets leaked to film-making team (they forgot the whole "mission accomplished" thing)


Super PACs: The WMDs of Campaign Finance - Ben W. Heineman Jr. - Politics - The Atlantic How the opaque and increasingly powerful organizations are shaping the future of American elections -- and how they might be stopped (Supreme Court anti-American)

alicublog BOO FUCKING HOO. Yes, it's hilarious that John freaking Yoo is calling Obama's quasi-recess appointments an "Abuse of Executive Power... even with my broad view of executive power." Even if one didn't know the backstory of the Republicans' relentless obstructionism, that is rich.
John Yoo's Tortured Logic | The Nation Stephen Holmes April 13, 2006 (the worst of the worst)

2012 Primary Schedule « 2012 Election Central (the next four thousand Republican primaries)
Hullabaloo From the "how do you like me now?" files (live by the stupid, die by the stupid)
Dems Fire Back At GOP Proposals To Drug Test Jobless: 'You Pee In The Cup' Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) called the Republican drug test scheme unfair and insulting. "I don't see anyone in the Republican majority demanding drug testing for folks who receive oil and gas subsidies," he said (and what about the stoned banksters?)
Comment: Un-American Activities : The New Yorker In the tenth paragraph of a page A15 Times piece, Rick Santorum accuses Barack Obama of engaging in “absolutely un-American activities.” What are they? The article doesn’t say.
The Venn of Ron Paul and Other Mysteries of Libertarianism Explained | Mother Jones
Kerrey Exploring a Return to the Senate Kerrey is inclined to seek the Senate seat that will be vacated by Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson at the end of the year."
Georgia Lawmaker Apologizes For Attacking Romney's Mormon Faith, Does Not Apologize To Muslims | ThinkProgress Georgia state representative Judy Cummings (R) attacked Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, saying that it scares her. She also said that at “least it’s not a Muslim,” indicating that she believes Islam to be an even more inferior religion.
Pat Buchanan Still Missing From MSNBC After Over Two Months (and NPR)
rethink brown.com

Hullabaloo The disempowerment of Michelle Obama ... When push comes to shove, it may well be the biggest thing wrong with the Obama Administration is that the wrong Obama is in charge. (the whimp and his whimpy dumb advisors)

EPA Could Send Water to Pa. Town With Bad Wells - ABC News Homeowners in Dimock Township have been without a reliable supply of clean water since Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., the Houston-based drilling firm blamed for polluting their aquifer, stopped making daily deliveries more than a month ago.
Balloon Juice » The Missing Link in Scary Tales of Young Bucks ... Los Angeles —- like other big cities around the country — is in the midst of a crime drop so steep and profound, it has experts scratching their heads. Crime fell in 2011 for the ninth year in a row, to levels not seen in Los Angeles since half a century ago.
Minor Offenses on N.Y. Subway Can Bring a Ticket, or Handcuffs - NYTimes.com Mr. Peppers had put his feet up on a subway seat, and that, the officer informed him, was a crime — one that in his case would lead to his arrest. He spent 12 hours in jail before he saw a judge, and was released after pleading guilty (Bloomberg's war on poor people)

Mortgage-Servicing Companies That Broke Law Should Be Fined, Raskin Says - Bloomberg (a small fine, anyway, and no jail time of course)
Hit And Run: Boeing Leaves Kansas After Promising The State Jobs For $35 Billion Contract And Slew Of Tax Breaks | ThinkProgress (oh well)
Business Is Booming For Superyacht Makers

Record Heat Floods America With Temperatures 40 Degrees Above Normal | ThinkProgress (Republicans to drug-test the weather)

Private Chen’s Family Learns More About Hazing by Fellow G.I.’s - NYTimes.com
Florida Man Tortured and Pepper-Sprayed to Death by Police | Care2 Causes It has been two and half years since 62-year old Nick Christie was tortured and pepper-sprayed to death by police at the Lee County Jail. Although the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, the law enforcement officers who kept him strapped naked to a chair and then pepper sprayed him until he died have not been charged in his death.

Facebook Ramnit Worm Swipes 45,000 Usernames, Passwords
Symantec Hack Exposes Antivirus Source Code The software maker would not confirm the claim of a group called the Lords of Dharmaraja, who said that they had obtained Symantec's source code by hacking the Indian military ... Some governments ask their security vendors to provide their source code to ensure there is nothing in the code that could act as spyware (who could have predicted that?)
Twitter Ordered To Hand Over WikiLeaks Supporters' Account Information a federal judge ordered on Wednesday.

010612
Afghan president demands control of Bagram prison | World news | guardian.co.uk Hamid Karzai reacts to being sidelined from Taliban talks by ordering US hand over main military prison within one month
Syria: Damascus 'suicide attack' - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk Interior ministry blames al-Qaida (oh sure)
Iran, US and Israel announce new war games as tensions rise in the Gulf | World news | The Guardian Surge in military activity in the region comes amid threat of EU embargo on Iranian oil and possible closure of strait of Hormuz
Turkey arrests former army chief over 'plot to bring down government' | World news | The Guardian General Ilker Basbug most senior officer to face trial in series of investigations into alleged anti-government plots
Ilker Basbug, Turkey General, Arrested Over Terror Plot

Eurozone unemployment hits new record | Business | guardian.co.uk In bailed-out Greece, unemployment stands at 18.8%, up from 13.3%; while Spain now has the highest unemployment rate in Europe, at 22.9% (Eurolords will treat the problem with more austerity!)
How Europe's year of indecision sowed the seeds of future conflict | Business | guardian.co.uk Closer fiscal union and the emergence of a two-speed Europe threaten a vicious deflationary debt spiral from which the eurozone will struggle to escape

48% of the World's 1% Are Americans - Business - The Atlantic Wire

What the Fact-Checkers Get Wrong : CJR The language of Politifact and its peers doesn’t match their project (yeah, they were always tools of corportate media)
Politifact Chose the Vice of the Year but They Called it a Lie. That was Dumb. » Pressthink

Iowa Caucus 2012 Results: Vote-Counter Says Mistake Gave Mitt Romney 20 Extra Votes (Greta says no big deal)
Political Animal - Conservatives to gather, look for ‘consensus’ (muhahaha)
Santorum's 'Freedom' is Pretty Much Slavery | Crooks and Liars (your soul belongs to the company store)
Hullabaloo Orwell Santorum (the last clown out of the car is the scariest)
Mitt Romney out of control - The Washington Post “What do you think of your eight-vote landslide?” the Associated Press’s Glenn Johnson asked.
New Hampshire primary: Santorum under fire and Romney snubbed - live | World news | guardian.co.uk New Hampshire GOP primary sees Rick Santorum's record under scrutiny and Mitt Romney dissed by his local newspaper
Balloon Juice » Paint It Blah This may be the most pathetic and feeble backtrack of a dog whistle ever (NPR will totally cover for him)
Santorum Denies Making Racially-Charged Claim After Apparently Acknowledging Saying It | ThinkProgress - There’s ample video evidence suggesting that Santorum did, in fact, say “black,” but Santorum’s denial is especially surprising considering that he seemed to acknowledge making the comments earlier yesterday (that was a couple of hours ago, and it's all open to interpretation)
New Hampshire Primary Election 2012: Live Updates From The Granite State Santorum: America Needs A 'Jesus Candidate'
Rick Santorum-Linked Universal Health Services Facility: Fraud, Assault And Alleged 'Exorcism' (the Republican way)
Kids sexually assaulted at psychiatric hospitals, reports say - Chicago Tribune At least 18 cases of reported rape or sex abuse identified at some of the Chicago area's most prominent centers
Mike O'Neal, Kansas House Speaker, Apologizes For Email Calling Michelle Obama 'Mrs. YoMama' (that was really funny, racist Kansas)
Magna Carta and Wingnut Legislation : Lawyers, Guns & Money New Hampshire Republicans are taking textual originalism to a whole new level: three lawmakers have proposed a bill that requires that all legislation find its origin not in the U.S. constitution, but an English document crafted in 1215 (New Hampshire, back to the 12th century: "Heirs may be given in marriage, but not to someone of lower social standing. Before a marriage takes place, it shall be’ made known to the heir’s next-of-kin.")
LIHEAP: Congress, White House Cut Heating Assistance Just In Time For Winter
Eric Holder Expands FBI's Definition Of Rape To Include Male Victims, Non-Forcible Assaults the first update to the federal definition in nearly a century (Obama didn't want to rush things and be divisive)

U.S. Economy Adds 200,000 Jobs In December As Jobless Rate Falls To 8.5 Percent
Graph Gallery: Employment Graphs Title: Percent Job Losses in Post WWII Recessions, December, posted on Jan 6, 2012 (scariest chart ever, updated, our overlords ignored it)
Eschaton: This Is What He Was Hired For Nobody could have predicted that Louis Freeh was hired to bury the bodies ... $1.2 billion was stolen. They'll never get the money back, and no one will be prosecuted. And everyone will spend a lot of time making it all appear to be oh so complicated and confusing when of course it isn't.
S.E.C. to Change Policy on Companies’ Admission of Guilt - NYTimes.com
Bank charge of the day, mortgage-payment edition | Felix Salmon That’s an up-front fee of $375, plus another $39 a year, just for the privilege of making your mortgage payments every two weeks rather than every month (Citibank, the worst bank in the world, charging you to pay your mortgage faster)
Do We Care About Social Mobility? Should We? it turns out that America is unusually unequal and has unusually low mobility. The gaps between the rungs on the American economic ladder are unusually far apart, so it's unusually hard to climb the ladder (land of opportunity if your daddy is rich)

Science Is Sure: Smart People Love Drugs - Technology - The Atlantic Wire . "The likely mechanism is openness to experience," he writes, "and, I think, it's also this idea of having an educated view of risk as well."
Taylor & Francis Online :: Why Do Better-Looking Members of Congress Receive More Television Coverage? - Political Communication - Volume 28, Issue 4
The Sultriest Members of Congress - Politics - The Atlantic Wire
Fracking will poison New York's drinking water, critics warn | Environment | guardian.co.uk Opponents of controversial gas drilling method condemn plan as environmental agency sounds alarm bells over staffing levels (Republicans want to kill the EPA)

Teenager Mistakenly Deported To Colombia | Crooks and Liars CNN just ran this report at 9 AM this morning. Note how the entire story is being twisted now to blame the victim. It's HER fault she's in Colombia. Somehow she plotted to use someone's name who was never in the ICE system? According to CNN, she jacked the whole system to get from Texas to Colombia. They can't imagine why, of course, but it's clearly this 14-year old (now 15) African-American teenager's fault that she is being held in the system in Colombia after being deported from this country (Ed Lavandera, worst person in the world yesterday)
Pa. judge dismisses 2,000 juvenile cases in 'kids for cash' scandal — NewsWorks has expunged every juvenile court case decided by a Pennsylvania jurist convicted of corruption.

Taking Parking Lots Seriously, as Public Spaces - NYTimes.com THERE are said to be at least 105 million and maybe as many as 2 billion parking spaces in the United States ... One study says we’ve built eight parking spots for every car in the country ... “in some U.S. cities, parking lots cover more than a third of the land area, becoming the single most salient landscape feature of our built environment.”


iPhone 4S Doubles Data Consumption: Study due to increasing use of online services like the virtual personal assistant Siri, an industry study showed.

010512
Iraq suicide attack kills 30 | World news | guardian.co.uk Bomber targets Shia pilgrims in southern Iraq hours after Baghdad blasts killed 30, adding to concerns over sectarian violence
Iraq Bombings: Wave Of Explosions In Shiite Area Of Baghdad Kill Dozens
Syria: army defectors meet Arab League observers - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk Free Syrian Army tell league they want to protect civilians • Senior official defects from the Assad regime

Switzerland's central bank chief accused of insider trading | Business | The Guardian Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche alleges National Bank chief Philipp Hildebrand engaged in profitable foreign currency deals (they are all crooks)
Eurozone crisis: France passes €8bn bond auction test | Business | guardian.co.uk
UK Austerity Leaves 7 Million Brits Paying Their Rent Via Credit | Crooks and Liars

Obama unveils new defence strategy with greater emphasis on Asia | World news | guardian.co.uk President appears at Pentagon to announce plans for slimmed-down military as it prepares to absorb huge budget cuts

Hullabaloo Unless you believe, as some do, that we must get on with our impending dystopian nightmare so that we can rebuild from the rubble (sometimes known as destroying the village in order to save it) this is probably a useful group of articles. The question posed is what would happen if the Republicans win the next election:

Rick Santorum In New Hampshire: Congress Should Take Obama To Court For Recess Appointments Obama has made 28 recess appointments, compared with 61 by President George W. Bush at the same point in his term, according to the White House (hypocrisy, thy name is Republican)
The Rick Santorum that America doesn't know | Philly | 01/04/2012
Super PAC Disclosure Requirements Hot Topic Of Conversation Among GOP Candidates
Mitt Romney's Dog Incident Comes Back To Haunt Him (photo)
Rick Santorum Called Mormonism 'Dangerous Cult' In Minds Of 'Some Christians' In 2007
The Philosopher's Stone: Newt Gingrich's Doctoral Dissertation
Newt Gingrich: I'll Tell African-Americans That They Should 'Demand Paychecks And Not Be Satisfied With Food Stamps' | ThinkProgress (best racist Republican comment of the day)
S.C. Attorney General to Appeal Voter ID Ruling - West Ashley, SC Patch Although the law's co-sponsor Larry Grooms acknowledged the law is discriminatory, he rejected the assumption that it was targeting minority voters (yeah, sure)
Scott Walker Investigation Leads To Felony Charges Two people, including a former close aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker when he served as Milwaukee County executive, were arrested on felony theft charges Thursday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation that centers on people who served in the county during Walker's tenure.
Jan Brewer's Suit Over Arizona Medical Marijuana Law Is Dismissed A federal judge on Wednesday threw out Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's complaint against her state's voter-approved medical marijuana law.
Medical Marijuana Could Soon Be Coming to Massachusetts | Just Say Now

How This Started - NYTimes.com I see many people claiming that the freshwater guys have not been as extreme as I say, that they never declared that Keynesian economics is completely invalid (the Chicago School of fake ecomonics and applied lying)
ADP: U.S. Companies Added 325,000 Private-Sector Jobs In December
Obama Fails On Minimum Wage Pledge The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour, the same rate it's been since 2009, when the last of a series of wage bumps signed into law by George W. Bush was implemented.
David Brooks: 'The Republican Party is the Party of the Working Class' | Video Cafe

Trouble in paradise: Ocean acidification this way comes Something wicked this way comes: ocean acidification arrives in paradises like Mo'orea.Credit: NSF Moorea Coral Reef LTER Site

Tennessee Anti-Bullying Law Change Could Allow Students To Speak Out Against Gays For Religious Reasons: Report
Fine proposed for botching US national anthem | Music | guardian.co.uk Republican state senator pushes bill that would fine performers $25 for changing the words to The Star-Spangled Banner


US Threatened To Blacklist Spain For Not Implementing Site Blocking Law | TorrentFreak the US ambassador to the country warned that as punishment for not passing a SOPA-style file-sharing site blocking law, Spain risked being put on a United States trade blacklist .

010412
Global unrest: how the revolution went viral | World news | The Guardian
Ecuador court upholds $18bn penalty against Chevron | Business | guardian.co.uk Oil company vows to continue fight against ruling that subsidiary Texaco polluted Amazon rainforest
EU agrees Iran oil embargo | World news | guardian.co.uk European governments raise pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme with agreement to ban imports of Iranian oil
Why is Britain ramping up sanctions against Iran? | Simon Jenkins | Comment is free | The Guardian Sabre-rattling at Washington's behest is an idiocy, and likely to do little other than escalate the steps to open conflict

Eurozone's phoney war will be short-lived | Business | The Guardian Stock markets are surprisingly calm as 2012 begins, but such complacency can't hide the fact that fault lines are forming across Europe
Fresh credit crunch fears as banks park record €453bn cash with ECB | Business | The Guardian Move suggests banks afraid to lend to each other
Cameron to tighten screw on top pay - FT.com (on a cold day in hell)

Former NoW editor Colin Myler takes the helm at New York Daily News | Media | guardian.co.uk Editor who presided over News of the World during fallout from phone-hacking scandal to take charge at Murdoch rival

Richard Cordray Nomination: Obama Using Recess Appointment Amid GOP Opposition (the wimp found some backbone, somewhere)

Politics Northwest | UPDATE: Gregoire proposes legislation to legalize gay marriage | Seattle Times Newspaper . "I have always been uncomfortable with the position that I have taken publicly. And then I came to realize the religions can decide what they want to do, but it is not OK for the state to discriminate."
Brad DeLong: How Blue Shield Spends Its Money The thing to focus on is the $0.13 of every dollar that Blue Shield spends on "administrative costs"--i.e., trying to make sure that they don't pay for sick people.

Iowa Caucuses (R) | TPM Election Results (Santorum got the fundie vote, which is most counties in Iowa)
Iowa caucus results: Rick Santorum presses on to New Hampshire | World news | guardian.co.uk Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum shift gear from Iowa to New Hampshire as Michele Bachmann exits the GOP race
Michele Bachmann drops out of race after dismal Iowa showing | World news | guardian.co.uk The Minnesota congresswoman, once a front-runner in Iowa, finished last in the Iowa caucuses with only 6% of the vote
Daniel Marans: Santorum's Anti-Family Stance on Social Security , David Brooks attributed Rick Santorum's last-minute surge in the polls to the appeal of his family values platform with working-class whites. If Brooks is right, then those same voters should take a second look at Santorum's position on Social Security, a program that represents the best of American family values (stupid white people in Iowa, screwing themselves, as usual)
Hullabaloo The Deconstructed Sex Candidate - Santorum thinks that people have kids for the money (therefore, people shouldn't have sex and we should outlaw birth-control)
"Conservative Analyst" E.D. Hill Anchors CNN's Straight News Programs | Media Matters for America She is perhaps best known for her time on Fox News, where she once asked if Obama and his wife were engaging in "a terrorist fist jab." (even Fox thought she was an idiot)
Romney Family Files: Fled to Mexico Due to a Polygamy Ban Making Them 'The First Displaced Persons of the 20th Century' | Crooks and Liars

The Mendacity of Dopes - NYTimes.com So Alex Tabarrok thinks I treat everyone who disagrees with me as mendacious idiots, and Tyler Cowen says that I always demonize my opponents. I plead innocent. I only treat people as mendacious idiots if they are mendacious idiots ... This is not a game. (zing)
Whiskey Fire: Civility Trolling: How It Is Done Say what you will about Tyler Cowen, the man knows how to concern troll ... Also too "tussling with Thucydides" will henceforth and forever be my preferred euphemism for masturbation.
Krugman's intellectual dishonesty - ProfessorBainbridge.com (add Bainbridge to the list)
MF Global sold assets to Goldman before collapse - sources | Reuters MF Global unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of securities to Goldman Sachs in the days leading up to its collapse, according to two former MF Global employees with direct knowledge of the transactions. But it did not immediately receive payment from its clearing firm and lender, JPMorgan Chase & Co, one of the sources said. (just tell us who's going the jail)

Florida Bill Would Make Abortion A Felony With A Maximum Sentence Of Life In Prison | ThinkProgress (endless war on your uterus)

010312
Iraq Body Count report: how many died and who was responsible? | Datablog | News | guardian.co.uk 14,705 (13%) of all documented civilian deaths were reported as being directly caused by the US-led coalition (remember 9/11! forget the worst blunder in American history!)
Taliban to open political office in Qatar | World news | guardian.co.uk Agreement with Qatar and other 'relevant parties' could be significant step towards peaceful end to Afghanistan conflict (bomb Qatar!) )
Syria, Egypt and Middle East unrest - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk Arab League to discuss ending monitoring mission • Free Syrian Army threatens more attacks
Exclusive Excerpt: The Operators by Michael Hastings | Politics News | Rolling Stone McChrystal, Petraeus and the inside story of America's war in Afghanistan
Oil prices soar as Iran warns US aircraft carrier away from Persian Gulf | World news | guardian.co.uk Prices rise worldwide amid concerns that tensions between US and Iran over key oil route could lead to supply disruptions (keep those prices up!)
International Development - MSF loses track of 130 staff members in Pibor Médecins Sans Frontières.

Europe Plunging Into Doom It's worth dwelling on the perversity of the idea of a debt-induced recession. Debt occurs when you consume more than you produce. The solution to debt, then, is to produce more than you consume. Cutting production doesn't help. But when you attempt to cut consumption across the board with continent-wide austerity, this is what you get (more austerity!)
Spanish Unemployment Rises for Fifth Straight Month as Economy Contracts - Bloomberg (but they have a solution!)
BBC News - Germany's unemployment rate at record low in December German unemployment fell to its lowest rate in December since 1991, according to the German Federal Labour Agency (even Americans don't understand how you can pay workers decent wages)
Eurozone crisis: German unemployment hits record low as Greece warns over euro exit | Business | guardian.co.uk panish unemployment hits record high.... • ....As German jobless rate falls to lowest level since reunification
Rethinking the Growth Imperative - Kenneth Rogoff - Project Syndicate In a period of great economic uncertainty, it may seem inappropriate to question the growth imperative. But, then again, perhaps a crisis is exactly the occasion to rethink the longer-term goals of global economic policy.


Obama Wastes Window of Opportunity for Recess Appointments | FDL News Desk (the Whimp-in-Chief wimps out again)

Finally it comes to an end | Firedoglake The Des Moines Marriott conference room held about 250 people, at least half them media. All hail glorified participatory democracy as the media reports how large the crowd was…if you count the media.
Mitt Romney heckled in Iowa at his final rally before caucuses | World news | guardian.co.uk Frontrunner brings Clive speech to abrupt end amid shouts he is too close to Wall Street and indifferent to the poor
Crackpots Do Not Make Good Messengers | Mother Jones (Ron Paul is being taken seriously by serious liberals)
The End-Of-Year Emopants Blowout! | Angry Black Lady Chronicles Both Glenn Greenwald and Taylor Marsh saw fit to end the year with massive anti-Obama rants where they basically announce openly their opposition to the President for 2012. Not that their opposition didn’t exist before, it’s just now official.
The Mahablog » Libertarianism vs. Liberty

Sen. Thune Says There Is 'No' Merit To Idea That Multimillionaire Romney Is Of The 1 Percent | ThinkProgress (down is the new up)
Political Animal - The name that must not be spoken (Bushfuck)
Santorum: States Should Have The Right To Outlaw Birth Control | ThinkProgress
Eschaton: Unpunished Sexy Time Some of us crazy people on the internets have, for years, tried to inform (sometimes) well meaning liberals that the abortion conflict wasn't really about abortion, or specifically it wasn't about any desire to actually reduce the number of abortions, it was about increasing the punishment for unapproved sexytime. And we were, you know, proved fucking right, so to speak (and Lord Saletan was miserably wrong)
Indiana GOP to push ‘right-to-work law’ | The Columbus Dispatch Nearly a year after legislatures in several Republican-dominated states curbed the power of public-sector unions, lawmakers are turning their sights on private-sector unions, setting up what is sure to be another political storm (Indiana voters screwed themselves again)

For High-Speed Rail, Support in the Past From G.O.P. Presidential Hopefuls - NYTimes.com (Republicans now believe infrastructure is terroristic)
California high-speed rail funding could be in jeopardy - latimes.com

Deep brain stimulation shows promising results for unipolar and bipolar depression A new study shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a safe and effective intervention for treatment-resistant depression in patients with either unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar ll disorder (BP).
States That Legalized Medical Marijuana Saw Fewer Traffic Deaths, Study Says

Tami Fitzgerald Of N.C. Values Coalition Could Be Endangering Children | Pam's House Blend the North Carolina Values Coalition posted this statement; “legalizing gay marriage would take away the right of Christian psychologists to refuse treatment on the basis of their religious beliefs.” ("Christian psychologists" hate teh gay, feel "discriminated" against" or something)

Library Sends Cops To 5-Year-Old's House For Overdue Books (video) A five-year-old girl from Charlton, Mass. burst into tears after a local library sent Police Sergeant Dan Dowd to her house to retrieve the child's two overdue library books, CBS Boston reported.


010212
Immunisation push propels India towards victory in war against polio | World news | The Guardian Support from initially hostile Muslim clerics means disease is rapidly vanishing, even in city where it had the strongest hold - "They were not trusting scientific medicine and thought immunisation was an American plan to sterilise our girls."
Coca-Cola accused of propping up notorious Swaziland dictator | World news | The Guardian Swaziland's King Mswati III accused by activists of human rights abuses and of looting national wealth (business as usual)
Website Blocking Law Implemented By New Spanish Government | TorrentFreak Spain’s new government has wasted no time in approving tough new legislation to combat unauthorized file-sharing. After less than two weeks in power, the Partido Popular government has fully implemented the so-called Sinde Law. Spaniards can look forward to previously legal sites being blocked by ISPs or shut down completely, all within 10 days of a rightsholder complaint (rightwingers take over)
New fencing doesn’t stop illegal crossings - The Washington Post At night, smugglers toss Hail Marys of pot-stuffed footballs and fling golf-ball-sized heroin nuggets over to waiting receivers. Stealthy ultra-light aircraft bomb the lettuce fields outside town with bundles of dope, then swoop back into Mexico, well below radar but high above the fence. (the war on some drugs that some people take is a complete failure)
World News - Coastal villages in Nigeria protest as crude oil washes ashore Shell denies that any of the oil is from its 200,000 barrel per day Bonga facility, 120 km offshore and accounting for 10 percent of monthly oil flows, which was shut down by the spill on Dec. 20.

US/Iran Rhetoric Escalates | FDL News Desk It must be an election year, because the noise about war with Iran has quite suddenly elevated. You have Republican Presidential candidates talking about blockades and putting missiles on high alert, threats to block the Strait of Hormuz, and the like

The Story of America's Amazing Comeback - The Daily Beast How America pulled itself back from the brink—and why it's destined to stay on top - Bleak is the new black (America!)
CAIR Points To Anti-Muslim Postings In Wake Of Mosque Attacks | TPMMuckraker An Islamic group is pointing to online posts encouraging individuals to toss Molotov cocktails into mosques in the wake of a wave of attacks in New York City on Sunday night that appeared to be aimed at Muslims.

Conservative White People's Primary | Informed Comment (all you need to know about why the media is going insane in Iowa in one infographic)
Montana high court upholds ban on election spending by corporations | Great Falls Tribune | greatfallstribune.com

The GOP’s game plan to end Obama’s presidency - The Plum Line - The Washington Post Obama had barely been sworn into office before the national Republican leadership mounted a concerted and determined effort to prevent any of Obama’s solutions to our severe national problems from passing (Republicans hate America and Americans love lies)
GOP’s battle plan against Obama: Use his own words against him - The Washington Post (even if he didn't exactly say those words)
Cantor refuses to admit Reagan raised taxes | The Raw Story (down the lie hole)
Political Animal - For no reason, Santorum ‘singled out blacks’ “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money,” Santorum begins. “I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide for themselves and their families.” (Republicans are, basically, racists)
Quote of the Day "You got a name?" -- Rick Perry, in a must-see video, refusing to answer questions about a Politico story using allegations from unnamed Perry campaign staffers.
Newt says there's insufficient evidence for climate change, citing his expertise as 'an amateur paleontologist' | ThinkProgress
Ohio Earthquake Linked To Fracking Injection Wells | ThinkProgress (reap what you drill)

As Big Bank Stocks Plunge, CEOs Continue To Reap Huge Salaries | ThinkProgress

Texas remains No. 1 in executions | McClatchy

The Big Government Takeover Of Time: A Parable (they didn't like it then, either) (Get your government hands off my time!)
Is the 'nonsense celebrities say' report good for science? | Alice Bell | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Sense About Science's report isn't just a cheap snigger at stupid people, but it may obscure other problems – and other solutions - Nicole Polizzi says the ocean is salty because it's full of whales' sperm
High-heel orgasms? Colon cleanses? Celebrity 'science' is a bad joke | Tracey Brown | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Some of the misinformation celebrities spread is amusing – but much of it needs urgent correction
Taylor & Francis Online :: Humble persons are more helpful than less humble persons: Evidence from three studies - The Journal of Positive Psychology (also suggest Republicans not helpful at all)
Insight: Shortage of ADHD drug Adderall seen persisting | Reuters A shortage of Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, shows little sign of easing as manufacturers struggle to get enough active ingredient to make the drug and demand climbs (turns out the DEA controls the world supply based on "what the agency considers to be the country's legitimate medical need." but America has attention-deficit bigtime)
Study: Brain injury from high-fat foods may be why diets fail | McClatchy "hypothalamic neuron injury" is associated with obesity caused by a high-fat diet in rodents and humans.

Wikipedia fundraiser ends with $20M in the bank | VentureBeat

010112
2011: The Year In 100 Seconds - YouTube

Syrian monitors should withdraw, says Arab League body | World news | The Guardian Observer mission 'giving Syrian regime an Arab cover for inhumane actions'
North Korea's new year message declares era of prosperity | World news | guardian.co.uk State greets 2012 with promises to defend Kim Jong-un 'unto death' and address food shortages, signalling economic focus
China's tomb raiders laying waste to thousands of years of history | World news | The Guardian Bulldozers and dynamite used to strip priceless artefacts from remote sites, with booty sold on to wealthy collectors
Aum Shinrikyo cult fugitive turns himself in after 16 years | World news | The Guardian
Israel Ultra-Orthodox Protests: Nazi Garb Sparks Outrage The protesters called Israeli policemen Nazis, wore yellow Star of David patches with the word "Jude" – German for Jew – dressed their children in striped black-and-white uniforms associated with Nazi concentration camps and transported them in the back of a truck.
Child sacrificed, liver offered to gods: Indian police - Yahoo! News A seven-year-old Indian girl was murdered in a tribal sacrifice and her liver offered to the gods to improve crop growth, police in the central state of Chhattisgarh said on Sunday.

European leaders predict 2012 will be worse than 2011 | Business | guardian.co.uk Angela Merkel says new year will 'undoubtedly' be harder than the last as eurozone crisis hangover prompts more austerity
BBC News - Europe leaders warn of difficult 2012 European leaders have warned of a difficult year ahead, as many economists predict recession in 2012 - Growth in Europe has stalled as the debt crisis has forced governments to slash spending. (predicting the recession they caused; more austerity so they can have more recession! Merkel is an idiot)
Now Ed Miliband gets tough with onslaught against 'evil' of benefits scroungers | Mail Online (it's all the fault of those moochers and freeloaders; this is the face of "liberal" UK)
Why Was The Wife Of Switzerland's Central Banker Trading Francs Days Before A Devaluation? (no big deal, just "pillow talk")

Statement by the President on H.R. 1540 | The White House

New Year's Eve Occupy Wall Street Protests: Police Arrest Dozens

A MEGA-LIST of Congressmen facing 2012 reelection that are potentially vulnerable, with their voting records on controversial legislation : politics (Nelson was most evil Dem)
NewsDaily: Voter photo ID, E-Verify laws to take effect in new year Measures passed in 2011, which numbered nearly 40,000 across the country, often reflected the priorities of Republicans, who held majorities in most state legislative chambers and held the highest number of seats nationally by the party since 1928. (yes, 1928)

Ron Paul Flips Out Over Accusation That He Believed 9/11 Conspiracy Theories (must have some other Ron Paul guy)
Like Father, Like Son? - George Romney: "he seemed cast for the part by Hollywood's Central Casting. Correspondents who liked him called him 'Mr. Straight Arrow;' those whose flesh crawled at his pieties called him 'Mr. Square,' or worse... He would make a forthright statement one day, then, like a man making up his mind in public, contradict it or modify it on another."
2012 Presidential Election: Voters Feeling Dispirited As Presidential Campaign Unreels In days after Sept. 11, 2001, customers lined up outside the door. Americans wanted to show their pride, their determination, their Americanism. It's all a fading memory now (where are your flags now?)
New state bill could make it illegal to sing national anthem 'inappropriately' | The Star Press | thestarpress.com Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, has introduced a bill that would set specific "performance standards" for singing and playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at any event sponsored by public schools and state universities (would have to pass Republican review committies)

Hullabaloo: The failure to prosecute bankers leads to revolutionary, divisive politics (Obama is a mirror-image of who we thought we voted for)
2012 Medicare Debate: Baby Boomers At Center Of Issue "Medicare as we have known it is not part of our future." (yes, Obama is a Repubican)

Elderly can be as fast as young in some brain tasks, study shows But recent research suggests that much of that slower response is a conscious choice to emphasize accuracy over speed.
Are superluminal neutrinos possible? Pions don't want to decay into faster-than-light neutrinos, study finds
Over 65 million years, North American mammal evolution has tracked with climate change
Self-regulation of the immune system suppresses defense against cancer

Driving has lost its cool for young Americans | Grist "American youth have fallen out of love with automobiles" because of the rising cost of driving and the fact that they are "living their lives online,"

Refreshing News: Americans buy record numbers of guns for Christmas Nearly 500,000 of those were in the six days before Christmas.
The 30 Most Important Cats Of 2011

Online community Reddit driving opposition to piracy bill - The Hill's Hillicon Valley