Speaking of which, here's a great new article by Bill Hicks at the Downward Spiral!
DownwardSpiral: Friday Rant: They Made a Biographical Movie About Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and Christine O’Donnell – Back in 1995
“You aren't really anybody in America if you're not on TV. On TV is where we learn about who we really are. Because what's the point of doing anything worthwhile if nobody's watching? And if people are watching, it makes you a better person.” – Nicole Kidman as Suzette Stone Maretto, To Die For (1995)Thanks go out to RJ at Global Glass Onion, and the Ozarker at Conflicted Doomer.
At the forums linked at the bottom of this post, you can join in the many discussions going on right now about the hurricane or the economy or just about anything you can think of. Stop by and pay them a visit!
Hurricane Irene
MSNBC: Hurricane Irene: Perfect storm for online scammers
Don't blindly click on links, be wary of unsolicited donation requests
Ustream: weather channel
MSNBC: Obama: All signs show Irene will be 'historic' storm
Hurricane remains a Category 2, with winds now topping out at 105 mph
Reuters: Capital braces for onslaught of Hurricane Irene
Env-Econ: Who will (should?) pay hurricane costs
CBSNews: Irene a rare storm that could devastate NYC
WeatherBell: Dangerous storm will affect 60 to 100 million people through this weekend
Weather.com: Hurricane news
WiredGeekDad: Weather Satellites: Keeping an Eye on Irene From Above
Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog: Irene an extremely dangerous storm surge threat to the mid-Atlantic and New England
NJ.com: Atlantic City casinos are closing as Hurricane Irene churns north
NOAA: Curious about past hurricanes? NOAA has posted info on historical hurricane tracks: NOAA provides easy access to historical hurricane tracks Understanding historical hurricane landfalls important in preparing for current storms
MSNBC: A wireless system that works when disasters hitIf landlines, cellphones and Internet are down, LifeNet still lets you communicate
Japan
VancouverSun: Fukushima caesium leaks 'equal 168 Hiroshimas'
NYT: Prime Minister’s Departure Underscores Japan’s Search for Leadership
Global Conflict
GloveandMail: Massive explosion hits UN building in Nigeria
TheAtlantic: For Families of U.S. Hikers in Iran, Another Pain: Internet Backlash
IBTimes: Rebels Send in Special Forces to Hunt for Gaddafi (just a question, how and where, did rebels get special forces???)
Atlantic: Scenes From the Fall of Libya's Infamous Abu Salim Prison
CBSNews: Condoleezza Rice photos found in Qaddafi's compound
TPM: Mosque Arson Suspect To Cops: 'Christians Can Jihad Too'
A federal grand jury in Oregon indicted 24-year-old Cody Crawford on federal hate crime and arson charges for allegedly setting fire to a mosque. The fire followed the arrest of a Muslim man for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on a Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
Hosted: Body of online journalist found in northern Mexico
LegitGov: Pakistan orders 250 US officials to leave
Newsflash: It’s not over in Libya
CBSNews: Nigeria U.N. office hit by massive bomb
BBC: British Tornado jets fired precision-guided missiles against a large bunker in Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.The Tornadoes took off from RAF Marham in Norfolk on a long-range strike mission on Thursday night.
BBC: UK jets bomb Gaddafi hometown bunker
Guardian: MI5 files reveal details of 1953 coup that overthrew British Guiana's leaders
CommonDreams: China Accuses US of 'Exaggerating' Military ThreatChina's state news agency accused the United States Thursday of "exaggerating" the threat posed by its military, after a report said the Asian nation was expanding its maritime power.
WashingtonTimes: Libya’s missiles, chemicals worry U.S.
VancouverSun: At least 53 killed in Mexico casino attack
Hosted: NATO hits Gadhafi hometown, Tripoli celebrates
Reuters: Israel moves to ease strains with Egypt
ArabNews: Fight for Tripoli turns bloody
TulsaWorld: Bombs Kill 15 in Attacks Across Iraq
Hacker News
PCMag: U.K. Police Arrest 'Anonymous' Hacker
Guardian: Chinese TV programme shows apparent cyber-attack on US website - Footage that appears to feature army-labelled software raises questions about China's denials of involvement in hacking
Financial News
ZeroHedge: Initial Claims Surge Far Higher Than Consensus, 1.2 Million Americans Have Dropped Off Extended Benefits Claim In Past Year
InvestmentNews: Schwab sues banks for manipulating Libor rates - Says BofA, Citi, others conspired to depress Libor rates and profited by lowering their interest expenses
Bloomberg: Homeowner Associations in Need of Cash Sue to Force Foreclosures
EconBrowser: Dollar Watch
ROUBINI: "The New QE Season Is About To Start As Advanced Economies Sink Into A Double Dip"
OurFuture: What That Exposé of the Fed's Secret Bailout Told Us ... And What It Didn't
MSN: Bernanke proposes no new steps to boost economy - In key speech on economy, Fed chief says weak economy requires further help
Reuters: Fed prepared to use tools to spur growth: Bernanke - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday stopped short of signaling further action to boost growth, but said it was critical for the economy's health to reduce long-term joblessness.
ThinkProgress: Bernie Sanders Introduces Bill To Lift The Payroll Tax Cap, Ensuring Full Social Security Funding For Nearly 75 Years
TheEconomist: The un-recovery
ProPublica: Billions Meant for Struggling Homeowners May Pay Down Deficit Instead
ZeroHedge: Full Bernanke Speech: Nothing Now, But Wait For Sept 20 FOMC Meeting Which Has Been Extended To "Allow Fuller Discussion Of Tools"
HuffingtonPost: Warren Buffett's Bank Of America Investment Shows Faith In Government Support, Experts Say
Spiegel: Financial Turbulence - Market Chaos 'Potentially Dangerous for Humanity'
WSJ: Tens Of Thousands Of Greek Businesses Face Closure-Survey
Bloomberg: Greek Bond Yields Climb to Record High on Speculation Bailout Will Fail
OutsideTheBeltway; Majority Still Hold Bush Responsible For Poor Economy
CEPR: The Morality of the Other Side in the Class War - The Washington Post and Robert Samuelson did their part in publicly passing along the marching orders from the rich and powerful to Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve Board. The word from these folks is "No Inflation!" If that means millions more people will suffer unemployment for a few more years, that's a price that the Post and Samuelson are willing to pay.
EmptyWheel: Jamie Dimon’s Company Fined $88.3 Million for Trading with the Enemy - That’s not the technical term for violating economic sanctions against Cuba, Sudan, Iran, and Liberia (and FWIW I think the sanctions against Cuba are stupid). Nevertheless, that’s basically what the sanctions JP Morgan Chase just admitted to violating amount to.
Bloomberg: Greek Bond Yields Climb to Record High on Speculation Bailout Will Fail
Economix: Young and Jobless
ChrisMartenson: Recent Media Appearances - August 2011
NakedCapitalism: How Chase Ruined Lives of People Who Paid Off Their Mortgages - Matt Taibbi, in giving a well deserved thrashing to the banking industry’s Tokyo Rose, aka New York Fed director Kathryn Wylde, said: [S]tealing is pretty much the worst thing that a bank can do — and these banks just finished the longest and most orgiastic campaign of stealing in the history of money. Once you read the allegations in the cases included in this post, I strongly suspect you will agree that the “ruining lives” in the headline is not an exaggeration. And as important, these two cases, with very similar fact sets, also suggest that these abuses are not mere “mistakes”. These are clearly well established practices that Chase can’t be bothered to clean up, since cleaning them up costs money and letting them continue is more profitable. Both cases took place in Alabama. In both cases, the borrowers had made every mortgage payment on time. One was a couple with three children, the Barnetts. The second is a widow, Besty Barlow, but her husband was still alive when this ugly saga started.
Economix: The Bush Tax Cuts and the Deficit
HousingWire: CBO ramps up estimated cost of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
MaxKeiser: A Comment on Keiser Report with Catherine Austin Fitts
TruthOut: On the News With Thom Hartmann: Millionaires and Billionaires in France ask for a Tax Increase, and More
ZeroHedge: Game Over Sino Forest
Cryptogon: Credit Default Swaps Indicating Market Crash Might Be Weeks Away
ZeroHedge: The US Follows Japan Into A Balance Sheet Recession: What Do Investors Know and Why Is It That Policymakers Appear Clueless?
IBTimes: Consumer sentiment sinks in August on government despair
NewsDaily: Analysis: "Safe haven" assets start to look risky
MSN: US economic growth slower than expected in spring - US on recession watch after stock sell-off, drop in consumer, business sentiment
TheStreet: Infrastructure 'Bank' Catches Washington's Imagination
24/7WallSt: Weekly Jobless Claims Heading Eerily North of 400,000 (VZ)
MarketWatch: Jobless claims in U.S. rise to 417,000 - Verizon strike inflates applications for unemployment compensation
WSJ: Bernanke: A Chance to Talk Fiscal Policy?
TheAtlanticWire: Treasury Department Fines JPMorgan Chase $88.3 Million
Peak oil and Energy News
TransitionVoice: How to talk about the end of growth: interview with Richard Heinberg
PostCarbon: REPORT: Will Natural Gas Fuel America in the 21st Century?
Platts: Brazil producers lower ethanol, boost sugar output on higher profits
Platts: Higher West African crude premiums push up Asia Pacific crude
theOilDrum: Countdown to $100 oil- deja vu?
NYT: Geologists Sharply Cut Estimate of Shale Gas
Commodities/Metals
Mineweb: Gold and silver giving a roller coaster ride
Mineweb: Russian central bank to offer gold-back loans
The central bank said Friday it will begin to offer gold-backed loans for up to 90-days at a rate of 7% in a bid to guard against further liquidity crunches
Environmental News
IrvingIndependent: First Net Zero School in Texas to Open in Irving
ScienceDaily: Pollution Causes 40 Percent Of Deaths Worldwide, Study Finds
NASDAQ: Exelon Declares 'Unusual Events' At 4 Nuclear Plants After Quake
Exelon Corp. (EXC) said Tuesday that four of its nuclear-power plants have declared "unusual events" following an earthquake in northern Virginia.News.com.AU: Temperatures soar in eastern Europe
Exelon'sLimerick plant near Philadelphia, Oyster Creek plant near Toms River, N.J., Peach Bottom plant near Lancaster, Pa., and Three Mile Island Unit 1 plant near Harrisburg, Pa., declared unusual events in the wake of a 5.9-magnitude earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., the company said.
OFFICIALS in the Balkans are trying to cope with a near-record heat wave as temperatures soar across much of eastern Europe, with wildfires raging and people fainting on the streets.
BBC: Arctic sea routes open as ice melts
CNNIReport: Top five: Natural disaster stories »
AmericanProspect: Blame Canada - Tar sands oil extraction is not a real solution anyway.
Wired: Clever Dolphins Use Shells to Catch Fish
RawStory: Greenpeace finds toxic chemicals in top brand name clothes
RawStory: Scientists find underground river beneath Amazon
(thanks to Picasso Moon for the following story)
ENENews: Canada nuke plant shuts down after two malfunctions — ‘Heavy water’ leaking for months unannounced to public
NASDAQ: Exelon Declares 'Unusual Events' At 4 Nuclear Plants After Quake
Exelon Corp. (EXC) said Tuesday that four of its nuclear-power plants have declared "unusual events" following an earthquake in northern Virginia.ClimateChangePsychology: Thawing Arctic Permafrost Likely to Release Large Amounts of Carbon - New research which contradicts 2007’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s assessment suggests that billions of tons of carbon dioxide trapped in high-latitude permafrost may be released into the atmosphere by the end of this century if the temperatures continue to rise apace, which in turn will only further and quicken global warming.
Exelon'sLimerick plant near Philadelphia, Oyster Creek plant near Toms River, N.J., Peach Bottom plant near Lancaster, Pa., and Three Mile Island Unit 1 plant near Harrisburg, Pa., declared unusual events in the wake of a 5.9-magnitude earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., the company said.
RT: Fracking could have caused East Coast earthquake
America in Decline
Salon: This Labor Day, we need protests
As corporate profits soar, American workers are experiencing their worst decade in a century
BlackListedNews: College students stumped by search engines, lack basic literacy skills
Grist: The curse of the exurbsThere's nothing more depressing than having to stay in a hotel surrounded by acres of parking lots, arterial roads, and freeways -- unless you're caught in the permanent-housing equivalent of an airport hotel: the exurb.
CommonDreams: GOP's Cantor To Disaster Victims (Again): Tough Luck. (video) Virginia has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, which could cause the worst flooding and damage of the last hundred years, but the upright House Majority Leader Eric Cantor - of Virginia - isn't about to dole out federal funds to any lazy malingerers just because they've lost their house and everything they own, no sirree bob. Just like when that so-called tornado hit Joplin, Mo., he says any disaster relief funds must be paid for with cutting spending somewhere else. Hey, we know: Let's cut that heartless bastard's salary.
CommonDreams: What Did You Learn in School Today? (The Texas Version)
Millions of Texas students head back to school this week confronted by a dramatically altered, state-mandated social studies curriculum.
Food and Water
ScienceForCitizens: Changing Planet: Adapting to Our Water Future
Grist: Forget potatoes: Idaho now grows CAFOs
When the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act (Proposition 2) passed in California in 2008, it granted laying hens nominally more space in their cages.BigPictureAgriculture: Nearly Half of U.S. Nitrogen Fertilizer is Coming from Foreign Suppliers
Proponents of humane animal husbandry cheered the fact that these birds would now have a little more room to stretch their wings. But industrial egg producers -- claiming their costs would go up -- threatened to leave the state before 2015, when key portions of the law go into effect.
Hope those disgruntled egg producers like potatoes. Perhaps sensing an opportunity, Idaho lawmakers passed a series of laws more or less inviting the poultry industry to their state. In this High Country News article (subs. req'd), Grist contributor Stephanie Ogburn tracks the state's Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) laws and their repercussions throughout the state, and asks: Is Idaho a new haven for CAFOs?
McClatchy: Got 10 bucks for a cup of joe? Speculators bid up coffee prices
Science and Technology
ScienceMag: Succumbing to budgetary pressures, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has decided to pull out of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) when it expires in September 2013. The decision will leave the scientific ocean drilling programs of both Japan—the co-leader with the United States in the 26-nation IODP—and Europe to fend for themselves while the United States solicits contributions from former IODP countries to return its own drill ship to full-time operation.
Discovery: Sex with Neanderthals Made Us Stronger - Modern humans developed stronger immune systems after they interbred with Neanderthals.
Discovery: Comet Elenin Won't Kill Us, Says NASA
Discovery: Did Queen Hatshepsut Moisturize Herself to Death?
ScienceDaily: Researchers Discover Superdense Aluminum
NewScientist: Breeding with Neanderthals helped humans go global
ABCNews: 9 Tips for Identifying Fake Online Profiles
Medical and Health
WashingtonPost: Vaccines are generally safe, National Academy of Sciences says
ScienceDaily: Single Vaccines to Protect Against Both Rabies and Ebola
StateImpact: Why Hospitals Are Angry Enough About New Medicaid Legislation To Sue - Michael McCord of the New Hampshire Business Review provides a good synopsis of why ten hospital administrators are so upset about the latest state budget that they’ve filed a lawsuit.
NewScientist: Heal thyself: The power of mind over body
Discover: A Ten-Year Check-Up Shows Gene Therapy Patients are Alive and Well
TheChart: Deaths are a reminder of food allergy dangers
MSNBC: No more 'bubble boy': Gene therapy gives kids normal lives - A decade later, children born with no immune systems ride horses, play games, get dirty
MSNBC: Half of hospitals buy back-door drugs, new survey shows - Desperation fueled by growing shortages creates demand for 'gray-market' suppliers
StateLine: Infographic: The aging states of America
CNN: 'Heart attack waiting to happen' isn't always obvious
USAToday: Republican says Obama's health care law will survive
Doomsteading, Gardening, Urban Farming
BigPictureAgriculture: Photo: 1938 USDA Hen House
Other News
BlackListedNews: IKEA founder 'was Nazi recruiter'
StarTribune: US destroying millions of paper court records, worrying scholars, private investigators
YahooNews: Arizona man accused of stuffing snakes down shorts
RealitySandwich: Jung's Active Imagination
Wired: Alt Text: Teens Are Getting High on Social Media
Slate: They Stole My Dog!The American Kennel Club claims the recession has caused a dognapping crime wave. Is that true?
ABCNews: SUV Lands in Missouri Home's Attic - Lawn acted like ramp, propelling truck into home's attic, according to police.
LegitGov: C.I.A. Demands Cuts in Book About 9/11 and Terror Fight
Cryptogon: People Who Doodle Learn Faster
Politics
UPI: Poll: U.S.voters prefer local government
WashingtonPost: Dueling memoirs: here comes Condi Rice
WashingtonPost: Do Republicans really oppose temporary tax cuts, or just Obama’s tax cuts?
BusinessInsider: 'Jewish Cowboy' Kinky Friedman Wants You To Vote For Rick Perry
MotherJones: Yet Another Look at Texas
theOval: Republicans ask Obama to disclose $1 billion regulations
RawReplay: Fox News cuts off Rove after he calls Palin thin-skinned
A Fox News interview with Karl Rove ended abruptly Wednesday after the conservative analyst repeatedly suggested potential Republican presidential candidate Sarah Palin had a “thin skin.”
OutsidetheBeltway: Obama Administration Being Dishonest About Status Of Free Trade Agreements
The Forums
TinfoilPalace:VATICAN JOINS NASA and GOVT FOR THE BIG EVENT SOON TO BE ANNOUNCED to the WORLD!
TinfoilPalace:The Evangelicals Engaged In Spiritual Warfare
TheOilAge:Top German official demands gold as collateral for bailouts
TheOilAge:Mounting opposition in Tunisia
Hubberts-Arms:Meanwhile back at the ranch: Super Typhoon in Philipines
Hubberts-Arms:Hurricane Irene
SilentCountry:'Instant cosmic classic' supernova discovered
SilentCountry: Bank of America Bailed out by Buffett
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