Media is like a mental neutron bomb. It blows the mind but leaves the other brain functions intact so people can still go to work, buy crap with the money they make, and continue to vote against their best interests until they die.
The media’s primary goal is to distract … and get us to react. We’re not getting enough information to thoughtfully respond to anything. The particulars of any story are distorted, omitted, or made up.
Noise: How the mainstream media makes us crazy
NYTimes Sues The Federal Government For Refusing To Reveal Its Secret Interpretation Of The PATRIOT Act
We've been covering for a while now how Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall have been very concerned over the secret interpretation the feds have of one piece of the PATRIOT Act. They've been trying to pressure the government into publicly explaining how they interpret the law, because they believe that it directly contrasts how most of the public (and many elected officials) believe the feds are interpreting the law. While the two Senators continue to put pressure on the feds and to hint at the feds' interpretation, just the fact that the government won't even explain its own interpretation of the law seems ridiculous.
Doctors want fracking health impact analysis
More than 250 doctors across New York state wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wednesday, expressing their concern that there is no study on the long-term effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on human health included in the DEC's environmental impact statement.
"The SGEIS certainly mentions many of the toxic chemicals employed in hydraulic fracking," said Adam Law, a physician specializing in endocrinology and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College. "But there is no attempt to evaluate the kinds of health consequences that have already been observed in affected communities in those states where hydraulic fracturing is taking place."
Karl Rove vs. the Koch brothers
Karl Rove's team and the Koch brothers' operatives quietly coordinated millions of dollars in political spending in 2010, but that alliance, which has flown largely under the radar, is showing signs of fraying.
And with each network planning to dwarf its 2010 effort, Republicans worry that the emerging rivalry between the two deepest-pocketed camps in the conservative movement could undercut their party's chances of taking the Senate and White House in 2012.
Mark Ruffalo: It's Time To Move On From Fracking And Fossil Fuels
The debate over natural gas development and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking -- the process of injecting huge volumes of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to break up rock formations and release gas for harvesting -- appeared to enter a new phase last week.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar hinted at the formation of new federal guidelines to govern the practice on public lands -- including rules requiring gas companies to disclose the chemicals they use for fracking.
UN rights chief urges Israel to 'protect Palestinian civilians' from settler attacks
The United Nations human rights office urged Israel on Tuesday to stop Israeli extremists from attacking Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva that Israel has a legal obligation "to protect Palestinian civilians and property in the occupied Palestinian territory."
Crime pays for police
Russell and Patricia Caswell are a hard-working couple who may soon have their American Dream taken from them by the unholy alliance of local and federal law enforcement officials seeking to cash in on the Caswell’s property.
The Caswells have owned and operated the Motel Caswell in Tewksbury for more than 30 years. They took it over from Russ’s father, who built it in the 1950s. The motel is mortgage-free and the Caswells expected it to provide for their retirement. And it is precisely because they don’t owe on the property that they now face the loss of their life’s work.
Why OccupyWall Street Matters: Day in the Life of Joe Middle Class Republican
Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.
All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
U.N. says Afghanistan routinely tortures war suspects
The United Nations on Monday said that suspected Taliban detainees are routinely beaten and tortures in detention centers run by Afghanistan's police and spy agency.
The U.N. said it based its findings on interviews conducted with 379 pre-trial detainees and convicted prisoners at 47 detention centers in 22 provinces between October 2010 to August 2011.
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