Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Breaking News Wed. Feb. 15, 2012

I dare you to listen to this song and not end up singing it for days!

Sing it with me!!
Grist: Insanely catchy song urges you to poop in a bucket
Hope everyone is having a great day today. It's springtime beautiful outside today and I'm going out in a bit and work in the garden and greenhouse. Need a break and some fresh air and sunshine.


Much thanks to RJ at the Global Glass Onion and the Ozarker at Conflicted Doomer for their help today!
Please take a minute to check out their blogs and support their work. also, don't forget to visit the forums linked at the bottom of this, and every, post. :D

Japan
ScienceDaily: Fukushima at Increased Earthquake Risk, Scientists Report 

Global Conflict
CBSNews: Panetta doubts Israel has decided on Iran attack
Time: With Syria's Rebels: A Visit to a Bombmaker's Factory
McClatchy: Pakistan still holding bin Laden family months after raid
TimesOfIndia: Magnet bomb poses new worry for security agencies
AFP: Syrian activists resort to pigeons to communicate 
LAT: Thai police hold injured Iranian suspect after blasts 
Reuters: Iran to unveil new nuclear fuel advance: report 
Reuters: Experts say Iran has "neutralized" Stuxnet virus 
CBSNews: Israel to "settle the score" for Bangkok attack 
LegitGov: West may strike Iran by summer - Russian Gen-Staff Chief 
NYT: State Media Says Iran Will Cut Oil to 6 European Nations 
CNN: Israel, Iran battle over who's behind string of bombings 
WashingtonPost: Syria's crackdown on rebels continues as Assad schedules vote on new constitution 
USAToday: Iran loads own fuel rods into research reactor 

CBSNews: Iran boasts of new nuclear centrifuges
Hosted: Israel: Thai bombs similar to those in India blast  
Post-Gazette: U.S., Europe look at fast, risky penalty on Iran - Slow-pressure economic sanctions have failed to restart nuclear talks
UPI: Cairo: U.S. 'tried to hijack' Egypt revolt 
VancouverSun: U.S. captive charged with trying to kill Pakistan's MusharrafCryptogon: Will Iran Sell Oil in Currencies Other Than the Dollar Starting March 20?
Time: In Thailand, Evidence Suggests Bombings Tied to Larger Plot
ExtinctionProtocol: War going global: Israel vows to ‘settle the score’ for Iranian attacks
CBSNews: Israel: Bangkok, India bombings linked
Salon: U.S. media takes the lead on Iran - Many have compared the coordinated propaganda campaign now being disseminated about The Iranian Threat to that which preceded the Iraq War, but there is one notable difference. Whereas the American media in 2002 followed the lead of the U.S. government in beating the war drums against Saddam, they now seem even more eager for war against Iran than the U.S. government itself, which actually appears somewhat reluctant. Consider this highly illustrative, one-minute report yesterday from the nightly broadcast of NBC News with Brian Williams, by the network’s Chief Pentagon Correspondent Jim “Mik” Miklaszewski, which packs multiple misleading narratives into one short package:

OWS
Occupy the SEC Weighs In on the Volcker Rule
UPI: Occupy Newark protesters evicted
TruthDig: Chris Hedges: Occupy Draws Strength From the Powerless - There is a recipe for breaking popular movements. I watched it play out over five years in the war in El Salvador. I now see these familiar patterns in the assault against the Occupy movement. It goes like this.

Hacker News
WSJ: Chinese Hackers Suspected in Nortel Breach
VancouverSun: Report of Nortel hacking shows vulnerability of companies: expert


Domestic Financial News
McClatchy: Along with love, Valentine’s Day means billions in commerce
Zerohedge: Guest Post: Wall Street Has A Sad :-(
BusinessInsider: Here's Where All That Talent Microsoft Can't Hold On To Ends Up (MSFT)
Not surprising: Google employs the most ex-Microsoft employees. More surprising: Expedia employs more ex-Microsoft employees than Facebook.
Reuters: Obama plan will end dozens of business tax breaks: Geithner
BusinessInsider: Here's The Presentation Where Jeff Gundlach Dares To Compare The US To The Roman Empire - Jeff Gundlach just hosted a webcast with clients.  The title of his presentation: "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."  Not surprisingly, Gundlach drew parallels between the U.S. and Ancient Rome.  Like the U.S., he noted that Rome had an insufficient tax system and a huge military budget.
FDL: Fun With Numbers: Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Figures Tough to Add Up
OffTheChart: What Happens if Congress Doesn’t Continue Emergency Unemployment Benefits?Guardian: Congress reaches tentative deal on payroll tax cut for middle-class workers
NakedCapitalism: HUD’s Donovan Tells Remarkable Whoppers About Settlement to Mortgage Investors
Slate: 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. You can slice this kind of data in a variety of ways, but you always end up with the same aggregate pattern. It happens to be the case that the richest parts of the United States (think the San Francisco Bay area or Connecticut) favor Democrats and also that conservative areas of the country are overrepresented in the Senate.
SeattleTimes: Fact check: Obama's budget gimmicks - When a president introduces a budget, there are always phantoms flitting around the room. President Barack Obama's spending plan sets loose a number of them.
Hosted: Late payments on mortgages rise again in 4th qtr  
CNBC: At Volcker Rule Deadline, a Strong Pushback From Wall St.
CNNMoney: Consumers holding back, especially on cars
Forbes: Jan. Retail Sales Grew Less Than Expected
Reuters: U.S. growth won't be strong this year: Fed's Williams 
BottomLine: Retirees tighten the belt, but still struggle
GlobeAndMail: Why we're seeing the ugly new face of capitalism 
CharlesHughSmith: The Grand Failure of the Econometric Model
FDL: The Narrative of the “Slimmed-Down” $614 Billion Pentagon Budget
TaxPolicyCenter: Congress Figures Out How to Finance a Payroll Tax Cut: Borrow the Money - It looks like Congress is about to assume its default position: In the face of an intractable partisan dispute over how to pay for a government initiative, don’t.
EconomixBlogs: Weighing Benefits and Costs of Unemployment Insurance
NewEconomicPerspectives: Confederacy-lite: The Oklahoma’s AG’s Civil War against the United States of America

Global Financial News
ETFDailyNews: Germany May Foreshadow S&P 500 Weakness 
Atlantic: The Story of How U.S. Special Forces Infiltrated Pakistan
Using special tracking technology and CIA oversight, teams have quietly crossed the border to challenge al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and their supporters...
McClatchy: Greeks worry that a future of austerity is no future at all
CreditWritedowns: There is No Closure in Greece Whatsoever
Mish: Time For Some Honesty: No One Gives a Rat's Ass About Greece 
MulitplierEffect: Greece Forced to Cut Private Sector Salaries? - C. J. Polychroniou refers here to the fact that private sector salary cuts are part of the “rescue package” recently approved by the Greek Parliament. Asked to comment at the Foreign Policy blog, Dimitri Papadimitriou explains why this attempt at internal devaluation won’t work. In an interview for Bloomberg Radio Papadimitriou also stresses that these measures are politically untenable (although approved by the Parliament, whether they will actually be implemented is another question). In the interview Papadimitriou goes on to say that European policymakers are merely trying to shield the rest of the eurozone from Greece so that the beleaguered country can eventually be shown the door.
BusinessWeek: Portuguese Economy Contracts for a Fifth Straight Quarter
Zerohedge: David Rosenberg - "Let's Get Real - Risks Are Looming Big Time"
MarketWatch: EU may punish Spain for austerity delays: report - The European Union may punish Spain's government, led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, by May for holding off on austerity measures ahead of a regional election in March, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing a source familar with the situation.
NakedCapitalism: Pension Provider to British Government – “QE Actually Does Kill Demand!” - More pension funds are getting their act together and calling the British government on their dodgy pseudo-stimulative policies.
Reuters: US and China discuss how to help Europe handle crisis
BusinessInsider: The Latest Greek Deal Is Already Unraveling
DesMoinesRegister: Greece will wrap up pending issues by Wed evening 
GlobeAndMail: B.C. lumber sales to China falling rapidly
BusinessInsider: A Never-Used $213 Million Spanish 'Ghost Airport' Is Having Its Runway Ripped Out - Castellon Airport, the $213-million airport that has never been used since opening almost a year ago, will have its never-used runway dug up,
Zerohedge: UBS Counts The Nails In Greece's Coffin
BusinessInsider: Greece's GDP Is In Total Freefall - More awful economic statistics out of Greece. In the fourth quarter, GDP shrank 7% from a year earlier. That compares to a decline of 5% in Q3, according to Reuters. The idea that the economy can survive more austerity -- especially given the attendant social collapse -- is laughable.


Peak Oil and Energy News
CommodityOnline: Saudi Arabia offers increased oil exports to India
FuelFix: Oil trades 1% higher at $101.72 a barrel 
FuelFix: Oil Jumps on Iran Supply Threat 
TreeHugger: 68% of Europe's New Electricity Came From Wind & Solar Power Last Year
Bloomberg: Oil Rises to One-Month High as Iran Cuts Exports - China Pledges Debt Help Oil rose to its highest in a month as Iran said it had cut oil exports to six European countries and after China pledged to help resolve Europe's debt crisis.
CaliforniaWatch: Nearly $3B in energy loans could default
IBTimes: How Much Oil Does Cuba Have?
SacBee: Sky-high gas prices loomReuters: Oil hits six-month high on supply worries, Iran

Commodities/Metals
CommodityOnline: US agri farm exports rise to record $136 3 bln in 2011
Mineweb: Gold nods to stronger Euro; Greece eyed 

Environmental
ScientificAmerican: Why Did Europe's Danube River Freeze?
Grist: Critical List: More than 800,000 anti-Keystone messages delivered; Obama could veto transportation bill 
 DesdemonaDespair: Texas drought: 20 percent of freshwater fish threatened with extinction
NYT: Where the Colorado River Runs Dry - Until 1998 the Colorado regularly flowed south along the Arizona-California border into a Mexican delta, irrigating farmlands and enriching a wealth of wildlife and flora before emptying into the Gulf of California. But decades of population growth, climate change and damming in the American Southwest have now desiccated the river in its lowest reaches, turning a once-lush Mexican delta into a desert.
Grist: Crazy talk: Rick Santorum out-denies the climate deniers and spins eco-conspiracy theories
McClatchy: More Southern forests at risk from biomass plants, report indicates
ThinkProgress: Heartland Documents Reveal Fringe Denial Group Plans to Pursue Koch Money, Dupe Children and Cultivate Revkin - Racing around the internet are some internal documents that appear to be from the Heartland Institute, a relatively obscure hard-core anti-science think tank. Spiegel: Hot Air  - The EU's Emissions Trading System Isn't Working
VancouverSun: Death of young female killer whale due to mysterious trauma


America in Decline
Cryptogon: NYPD “Stop and Frisks” Hit All-Time High
DeclineOfTheEmpire: Superpacs? If You Don't Like It, Turn Off The TV 
McClatchy: Commercial banks spent record $62 million on lobbying is 2011 
Cryptogon: Detroit News Opinion Piece: Too Many Poor People, Put Contraceptives in Water Supply 
Grist: How the Heartland Institute plans to wreck education 

Food and Water
Grist: French judge: Monsanto poisoned farmer
CommodityOnline: The growing water market in the Oil patch - “In 2008 there were 25 billion barrels of water handled (by the oil and gas industry) in the US—even at 60 cents a barrel it’s a multibillion dollar business,” says Jonathan Hoopes, President of GreenHunter Energy Inc. (GRH-AMEX). “With the big growth in unconventional since then, it’s likely another 5-6 billion barrels.”

Internet and Online Privacy News  
ArsTechnica: Internet crackdown in Iran continues, but Tor users are all back online
ArsTechnica: Canada wants warrantless Internet spying, says critics support child porn
 

Science and Technology
PopSci: NASA's Mars Budget Takes a Beating, Leaving Europe to Fly Joint Missions Solo
ArsTechnica: Major Bitcoin exchange shuts down, blaming regulation and loss of funds 
Wired: Most Dangerous Object in the Office: Pocket Artillery Mini Cannon 

Medical and Health
WSJ: U.S. Discovers Fake Cancer Drug
HuffingtonPost: Child Malnutrition Affects 1 In 4 Children Globally, Report Says 

Doomsteading, Gardening, Urban Farming
PreppingToSurvive: Prep Question: How to Get Started in Prepping for $1,000As tax time approaches, many of us are getting our financial documents in order for the April 15th deadline, just two months from now
ModernSurvivalBlog: ‘Basic’ Skills Are Lacking in Young Generation
CanadianDoomer: My Imaginary Garden

Other News

WBIR: Monroe Co. Sheriff wants "amnesty boxes" for schools - Teachers and law enforcement in Monroe County may soon have a new tool at their disposal to help curb illegal activity in high schools.
Reuters: Honduras prison fire kills more than 350 inmates: officials
RawStory: Colbert: Using contraception means ‘you are c*ck blocking God’
Time: China to Stop Giving Orphans Surnames Like 'State,' 'Party'
IBTimes: Dolly Parton to Profit from Whitney Houston’s Death for ‘I Will Always Love You,’ Report
IBTimes: R.I.P Glenda Monster: YouTube Supporters Post Tribute to Glenda Monster, Suicide Victim [VIDEO]

Politics
CBSNews: Poll: Obama beats all GOP hopefuls
AngryBear: Crony Capitalism On A Grand Scale - An article in yesterday’s New York Times, which I think deserves much more notice than it seems to be getting, says that last week, “Mr. Romney’s campaign held an elaborate “policy round table” fund-raiser at a Washington hotel, featuring panel discussions run by lobbyists [who are] former cabinet officials or members of Congress.”


Forums
TinfoilPalace: Commie Pinko Obama
TinfoilPalace: Secret Access: UFOs on the Record 

TheOilAge: Controversial post: Nuclear War 
TheOilAge: More Proof It's a Global Agenda - Japan 10T QE: Gold Sleeps 
HubbertsArms: 20 Things We Can Learn About The Future Of America From The Death Of Detroit 
HubbertsArms: Israeli diplomats targetted in India and Georgia
SilentCountry: Just in Time for Valentine's Day: Big Box Stores Driving Florists Out of Business
SilentCountry: Lights Out in America
 

3 comments:

  1. Yes, was thinking along similar lines, caught a BBC news report this from an embedded BBC reporter on one of your carriers in the gulf.
    Very 'all allies together', similar sort of gumf they have treated us to before other wars.

    ReplyDelete
  2. you know, i think people are a lot less likely to go along with it now than they were last time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, I seem to remember lots of people on the streets here last time, making no difference.
    Bottom line is we steal someones resources or we starve today rather than them.
    We also have to maintain superior forces or they will come and colonize us e.g. the Tibetans were undefeated when they retired to the high plateau over time they became ossified and so could not mount any credible defense against the Chinese.
    As an American your decent would be huge if the dollar has no reserve value, your elite has everything to lose by not acting.
    Lets C the upper class give up all their toys without using them.

    ReplyDelete