MILITARY BRASS, WIVES TRAVEL AND PARTY ON YOUR TAX BILL!
The largest single consumer of gasoline blends in our country throws a party while the empire's economy goes into convulsions. Think about this while filling your gas tank on the way to work. Many thanks to Anti-war.com for the link! Read it
Monday, June 30, 2008
t r u t h o u t | High Gas Prices Threaten to Drain Small Towns' Populations
DOG EAT DOG CAPITALISM
COMES TO THE COUNTRYSIDE
A genuine lack of ingenuity, scarcity of jobs with a government and economic system that prefers docile minimum wage slaves to skilled independent craftspeople. Atomized, alienated from our class and communal solidarities, people in the country need to band together and fight back.
Instead of conniving against each other, spreading malicious gossip and trying to ruin our neighbors - we should call all that out as a curse on our way of life in the rural areas.
Instead of bulldozing every square yard of arable land for subsidized petroleum based agriculture, a rural resistance should take place around sustainable food production and direct farmer to market distribution.
Instead of scurrying like rats for the land speculators and real estate developers; cops, judges, doctors, local lawyers and business people should seek to develop an alternative currency, deprive corporate financial interests from invading like alien predators into our countryside.
Instead of welcoming endless wasteful growth, better to intensify our support of locally owned businesses, skilled crafts and true energy autonomy. Better to work for and with our neighbors than the utility and gas companies. There should be millions of roof top electrical wind and solar generating stations, whole villages off the grid and being paid to generate energy for the parasite utility companies.
It doesn't have to be the way as described here.
COMES TO THE COUNTRYSIDE
A genuine lack of ingenuity, scarcity of jobs with a government and economic system that prefers docile minimum wage slaves to skilled independent craftspeople. Atomized, alienated from our class and communal solidarities, people in the country need to band together and fight back.
Instead of conniving against each other, spreading malicious gossip and trying to ruin our neighbors - we should call all that out as a curse on our way of life in the rural areas.
Instead of bulldozing every square yard of arable land for subsidized petroleum based agriculture, a rural resistance should take place around sustainable food production and direct farmer to market distribution.
Instead of scurrying like rats for the land speculators and real estate developers; cops, judges, doctors, local lawyers and business people should seek to develop an alternative currency, deprive corporate financial interests from invading like alien predators into our countryside.
Instead of welcoming endless wasteful growth, better to intensify our support of locally owned businesses, skilled crafts and true energy autonomy. Better to work for and with our neighbors than the utility and gas companies. There should be millions of roof top electrical wind and solar generating stations, whole villages off the grid and being paid to generate energy for the parasite utility companies.
It doesn't have to be the way as described here.
Photo credit: Tristan Caddell
Shadow of War Looms as Israel Flexes its Muscle - CommonDreams.org
Has Cheney and Bush both cut a deal with Israel to join in the attack after it conducts an air raid on Iran? Another meeting is described that might be a tip or a propaganda ploy ...
[excerpt] "The meeting at the home of Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was not supposed to be public. The man invited into Olmert’s official residence in Jerusalem was Aviam Sela, architect of Operation Opera in 1981, when Israel launched a long-range strike against Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor. Regarded as a brilliant aviation tactician, in particular in the field of in-flight refuelling, Olmert’s office tried to play down the meeting. But the rumours in Israel’s defence establishment were already flying. ..." Read more
[excerpt] "The meeting at the home of Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was not supposed to be public. The man invited into Olmert’s official residence in Jerusalem was Aviam Sela, architect of Operation Opera in 1981, when Israel launched a long-range strike against Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor. Regarded as a brilliant aviation tactician, in particular in the field of in-flight refuelling, Olmert’s office tried to play down the meeting. But the rumours in Israel’s defence establishment were already flying. ..." Read more
Guns and Butter: Dr. Michael Hudson "The New Road to Serfdom"
The most important economist to listen to today!
A big hat tip to the Radio4All network and the recent "Unwelcome Guests" program from Watkins Glen, NY for the link to this sizzling hot, must listening radio interview on the economy from KPFA radio. Hear Hudson who
hails from University of Missouri (Kansas City) elaborate clearly and in easy to understand language about economics and "debt peonage."
Program Summary
"The New Road to Serfdom"
Interview with economist and historian, Dr. Michael Hudson, on his new book in progress, "The Fictitious Economy: How Finance Is Destroying Industrial Capitalism and Paving a New Road to Serfdom." We examine what is meant by the term "fictitious" as the concept is applied to aspects of today's economy. We take a look at the role of war and the demise of the dollar, the bubble economy, and what could unfold in the future. Visit Dr. Hudson's website at www.michael-hudson.com.
He has previous shows at his web site, but this one addresses current monetary conditions and several very alarming economic scenarios for Americans. Listen to the stream right now click Dr. Hudson on Guns and Butter
Depression "inevitable for the United States" not worldwide.
"Sharp increase in unemployment... large scale foreclosures, bankruptcies while military expenditures will increase."
A big hat tip to the Radio4All network and the recent "Unwelcome Guests" program from Watkins Glen, NY for the link to this sizzling hot, must listening radio interview on the economy from KPFA radio. Hear Hudson who
hails from University of Missouri (Kansas City) elaborate clearly and in easy to understand language about economics and "debt peonage."Program Summary
"The New Road to Serfdom"
Interview with economist and historian, Dr. Michael Hudson, on his new book in progress, "The Fictitious Economy: How Finance Is Destroying Industrial Capitalism and Paving a New Road to Serfdom." We examine what is meant by the term "fictitious" as the concept is applied to aspects of today's economy. We take a look at the role of war and the demise of the dollar, the bubble economy, and what could unfold in the future. Visit Dr. Hudson's website at www.michael-hudson.com.
He has previous shows at his web site, but this one addresses current monetary conditions and several very alarming economic scenarios for Americans. Listen to the stream right now click Dr. Hudson on Guns and Butter
Los Angeles CityBeat - House of Cards
Danny Schechter writes of the next "bubble" to burst toward Depression: [excerpt] “More and more sectors of the American economy recognize that their financial success is based on the success of the credit card industry,” explains Robert Manning, the author of the definitive Credit Card Nation and a leading expert who has been sounding the alarm about the consequences of credit card debt.
“Everything is very clearly thought out and premeditated. Whether it’s having conferences and think tank sessions about how to encourage people to accept more debt [or] to work with merchants – for example, to persuade merchants with empirical information that ... if they use a credit card that they’ll buy 20-25 percent more.”
Manning notes that saving and thrift was historically a positive value in the U.S. As recently as the l980s, the national savings rate was 10 to 11 percent. Since 2005, Americans have saved less than 1 percent of their disposable incomes. In fact, the most recent figures from March show that the savings rate is negative, below zero. ...
Los Angeles CityBeat - House of Cards
“Everything is very clearly thought out and premeditated. Whether it’s having conferences and think tank sessions about how to encourage people to accept more debt [or] to work with merchants – for example, to persuade merchants with empirical information that ... if they use a credit card that they’ll buy 20-25 percent more.”
Manning notes that saving and thrift was historically a positive value in the U.S. As recently as the l980s, the national savings rate was 10 to 11 percent. Since 2005, Americans have saved less than 1 percent of their disposable incomes. In fact, the most recent figures from March show that the savings rate is negative, below zero. ...
Los Angeles CityBeat - House of Cards
Information Clearing House:
Seymour M. Hersh' latest - "Preparing the Battlefield: The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran." Now appearing in the upcoming issue of New Yorker magazine. Read it now.
Truthdig - Reports - The Truthdig Interview With Naomi Klein
An eye-opening interview on the corporate sponsored manipulations of "disaster capitalism."
[excerpt] "Klein: Yeah, yeah—we definitely should link to this one. The heading on the document is. ... Well, first of all, the people who attended the meeting were from a variety of right-wing think tanks, as well as the Republican Study Group—highly placed Republican congresspeople. And they came up with 32 free-market solutions for Hurricane Katrina. And it was everything from give parents school vouchers instead of rebuilding the public schools; mixed-use housing instead of repairing the public housing; drill in ANWR [the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] ...; build more oil refineries. I mean, it was just the wish list!
And so what you see there is just, you know, the readiness of the right—aided by these think tanks, funded by multinational corporations and the richest families in the United States—to seize on a crisis that they themselves created with their ideology to push for more of the same. I mean, Katrina was a catastrophe, the flooding of New Orleans was a catastrophe created by heavy weather linked to global warming, because the increase in category 5 hurricanes is directly linked to warming ocean temperatures, and weak infrastructure, which is linked to the systematic neglect of the public sphere as a result of the campaign to destroy the New Deal.
And what is their solution? It’s more fossil fuels ... and destroying the public infrastructure altogether. And the fact is much of this has happened. The public housing in New Orleans is being destroyed. The hospitals—the public hospital in New Orleans is still not open, Charity Hospital. The school system ... has been handed over to charter schools. ..." Read more
[excerpt] "Klein: Yeah, yeah—we definitely should link to this one. The heading on the document is. ... Well, first of all, the people who attended the meeting were from a variety of right-wing think tanks, as well as the Republican Study Group—highly placed Republican congresspeople. And they came up with 32 free-market solutions for Hurricane Katrina. And it was everything from give parents school vouchers instead of rebuilding the public schools; mixed-use housing instead of repairing the public housing; drill in ANWR [the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] ...; build more oil refineries. I mean, it was just the wish list!
And so what you see there is just, you know, the readiness of the right—aided by these think tanks, funded by multinational corporations and the richest families in the United States—to seize on a crisis that they themselves created with their ideology to push for more of the same. I mean, Katrina was a catastrophe, the flooding of New Orleans was a catastrophe created by heavy weather linked to global warming, because the increase in category 5 hurricanes is directly linked to warming ocean temperatures, and weak infrastructure, which is linked to the systematic neglect of the public sphere as a result of the campaign to destroy the New Deal.
And what is their solution? It’s more fossil fuels ... and destroying the public infrastructure altogether. And the fact is much of this has happened. The public housing in New Orleans is being destroyed. The hospitals—the public hospital in New Orleans is still not open, Charity Hospital. The school system ... has been handed over to charter schools. ..." Read more
Saturday, June 28, 2008
An Attack That Came Out of the Ether - washingtonpost.com
A reader's forward about those nasty racist emails every Tom, Dick and Harry and all their farmwives have been sending to me. At last a M$M news source, spends the money on a reporter to give us an idea of just how such false propaganda is spread and who authored it.
[excerpt] "While Allen was already an expert on the mechanics of politics, she fast began to learn the mechanics of the Internet. She discovered, for instance, that the recipe for launching a chain e-mail attack is not as simple as typing it up and hitting the send button to a long list of recipients. It takes effort to seed a chain mail that spreads as widely as the Obama missive, explained Jeff Bedser, president of the Internet Crimes Group, a company that helps corporations battle such broadsides. "Lighting that fire, getting something to have momentum, takes work," he said. ..."
Read more about An Attack That Came Out of the Ether
[excerpt] "While Allen was already an expert on the mechanics of politics, she fast began to learn the mechanics of the Internet. She discovered, for instance, that the recipe for launching a chain e-mail attack is not as simple as typing it up and hitting the send button to a long list of recipients. It takes effort to seed a chain mail that spreads as widely as the Obama missive, explained Jeff Bedser, president of the Internet Crimes Group, a company that helps corporations battle such broadsides. "Lighting that fire, getting something to have momentum, takes work," he said. ..."
Read more about An Attack That Came Out of the Ether
Primary Season Over, Barack Channels Hillary | This Can't Be Happening!
One of the reasons I stay politically independent - after my Jim Slattery burp, yesterday - I read Dave Lindorff to keep my feet on the ground. Here is one for the record books, against Obama (BTW - Lindorff doesn't support McCain, either) [excerpt] "Finally, Obama, after showing a remarkable ability to inspire tons of small donations and support from individuals, and to fund a huge national campaign without much in the way of corporate support, is greedily slurping from Hillary’s cesspool of corporate backers, now that she’s out of the way. Soon, he’ll be wallowing in tainted cash from Wall Street commercial and investment banks and hedge funds, telecom companies, defense contractors, Big Pharma companies, the HMO industry, and the entertainment industry. He’ll be owned like just about every other politician in Washington. ..." More juice in the complete essay, click here!
Tomgram: Mike Davis, Welcome to the Next Epoch
No! I won't post dim-witted forwards about race hate, why whites are better at flood recovery or how "proud to be a farmer" or even why people refuse to buy the energy efficient light bulbs because it's considered, by them, to be an infringement on their "right" to be absolutely stupid and reactionary.
Some of those that richocet their forwards to me are pissed because I won't post their stuff on the Flyer. They should stick to teaching folks low energy gardening, canning and preserving food, they know all about that kind of stuff, but are absolutely stupid when it comes to how they are being used by corporations and race haters.
Here is an intelligent forward from a reader, thanks! Read it all at: Tomgram and get off my case, come to think of it - just go back to bloody ignorant Hell where you came from! DIE, DIE you fricking idiots.
Some of those that richocet their forwards to me are pissed because I won't post their stuff on the Flyer. They should stick to teaching folks low energy gardening, canning and preserving food, they know all about that kind of stuff, but are absolutely stupid when it comes to how they are being used by corporations and race haters.
Here is an intelligent forward from a reader, thanks! Read it all at: Tomgram and get off my case, come to think of it - just go back to bloody ignorant Hell where you came from! DIE, DIE you fricking idiots.
Obama in KC on Monday! - Democracy For the Heart of America | Google Groups
Details are still sketchy .... reader forwards this site as the source.
Israel's dead end, Al-Ahram Weekly, 26 June-2 July 2008
Jonathan Cook sends us his latest from Nazareth. Thank you, Jonathan!
[excerpt] "In 1895, Theodor Herzl, Zionism's chief prophet, confided in his diary that he did not favour sharing Palestine with the natives. Better, he wrote, to 'try to spirit the penniless [Palestinian] population across the border by denying it any employment in our own country... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.' He was proposing a programme of Palestinian emigration enforced through a policy of strict separation between Jewish immigrants and the indigenous population. In simple terms, he hoped that, once Zionist organisations had bought up large areas of Palestine and owned the main sectors of the economy, Palestinians could be made to leave by denying them rights to work the land or labour in the Jewish-run economy. His vision was one of transfer, or ethnic cleansing, through ethnic separation. ..."
Read more at this site here .
[excerpt] "In 1895, Theodor Herzl, Zionism's chief prophet, confided in his diary that he did not favour sharing Palestine with the natives. Better, he wrote, to 'try to spirit the penniless [Palestinian] population across the border by denying it any employment in our own country... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.' He was proposing a programme of Palestinian emigration enforced through a policy of strict separation between Jewish immigrants and the indigenous population. In simple terms, he hoped that, once Zionist organisations had bought up large areas of Palestine and owned the main sectors of the economy, Palestinians could be made to leave by denying them rights to work the land or labour in the Jewish-run economy. His vision was one of transfer, or ethnic cleansing, through ethnic separation. ..."
Read more at this site here .
Consortiumnews.com
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship write: "It Was Oil, All Along" read more at Consortiumnews.com
Barclays warns of a financial storm as Federal Reserve's credibility crumbles - Telegraph
England's banks bracing ...
Another forward from a reader citing the United Kingdom's "quality newspaper." We should ask, if the Fed has lost credibility with the Tories, what about us?
The reader suggests reading the commentaries below the piece with: "These comments are all from people in the financial industries all over the world… very educational reading…"
Caution: Spybot software detects malicious advert ware. Click "deny" and the page will still load, read on at the Telegraph
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Kansas City - What Would Woody Do? @Kansas City Kansas Community College - Events - The Pitch
Handy dandy blip in the area's largest distributed street rag, The Pitch, about the hottest grassroot event to attend this coming weekend. Map, phone number and ticket link at: The Pitch
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Glenn Greenwald On Antiwar Radio part 1 of 2
Wiretapping, sucking up emails, do you trust the incompetent boobs working in government or the utility companies to protect our rights?
t r u t h o u t | The Village That Aims for Energy Autarky
A fantastic forward from a diligent, intelligent reader looking out for our villages in Northeast Kansas!
Why couldn't something like this be operating here?
Only our selfish stubborn individualism stands in the way. Read it and do more than dream. Click here .
Why couldn't something like this be operating here?
Only our selfish stubborn individualism stands in the way. Read it and do more than dream. Click here .
Radio Free Kansas @ High Noon!
Meet Steve Heller, today! 
He'll be visiting with us at 1pm (CDT) following our local news hour.
Steve Heller became an election integrity activist after the 2000 election debacle in Florida.
He became known to legions of election protection activists as the "Diebold Whistle-blower" in 2004. While working as a word processor at the law firm representing Diebold, Heller saw documents proving Diebold was violating state election laws by knowingly peddling voting machine software that had not received the state certification required by law. All of the press related to his case can be found here.
http://www.hellerlegaldefensefund.com/
Faced with a difficult moral dilemma -- either say nothing and respect attorney-client privilege, or expose Diebold's criminal acts against clean elections -- Steve chose to protect our elections, and thus our Republic, by copying and releasing the documents to the press and to California's Secretary of State. Heller acknowledges that he committed a serious crime in breaking attorney-client privilege. But what is illegal is not always wrong.
Partly as a result of Steve's actions, in April 2004, former California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley de-certified Diebold in California for what he called their "fraudulent," "despicable," and "deceitful behavior."
For stealing and exposing legal documents, Steve was charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney with three felonies; unauthorized access to a computer, second-degree burglary, and receiving stolen goods. The charges carried a potential of 12 years in state prison.
Eventually, Heller pleaded guilty to one felony count of unauthorized access to a computer, paid $10,000 in restitution to the law firm, and was sentenced to three years of probation. The other two charges were dropped. At this time, he is still on probation.
His case was featured in the documentary "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections" by David Earnhardt. http://www.uncountedthemovie.com/
In November of 2004, Steve went to Columbus, Ohio as a volunteer with nonpartisan get-out-the-vote efforts. While working on election day, he was appalled to see voter suppression techniques in action. Too few voting machines for inner-city, mostly African American precincts, flyers distributed throughout impoverished, heavily Democratic neighborhoods with misinformation about voting laws and polling place locations, and people waiting to vote having to stand in line for hours on that cold, rainy November day.
As Steve said, "I saw Jim Crow strutting up and down the streets of inner city Columbus." What he witnessed that day made him more determined than ever to bring to light the crimes against the voters and against clean elections; crimes against our very Republic.
Impeachment
More recently, Steve was asked by Brad Friedman of The BRAD BLOG to join him in consultations with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) regarding Rep. Kucinich's 35 Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush.
Steve contributed research, documentation, and information which was used in Article 29, "Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965."
http://www.impeachbush.tv/progress/dk_aoi_bush/index.php
He is an election integrity blogger for Velvet Revolution's Election Protection Strike Force.
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two dogs, and three cats.
He'll be visiting with us at 1pm (CDT) following our local news hour.
Steve Heller became an election integrity activist after the 2000 election debacle in Florida.
He became known to legions of election protection activists as the "Diebold Whistle-blower" in 2004. While working as a word processor at the law firm representing Diebold, Heller saw documents proving Diebold was violating state election laws by knowingly peddling voting machine software that had not received the state certification required by law. All of the press related to his case can be found here.
http://www.hellerlegaldefensefund.com/
Faced with a difficult moral dilemma -- either say nothing and respect attorney-client privilege, or expose Diebold's criminal acts against clean elections -- Steve chose to protect our elections, and thus our Republic, by copying and releasing the documents to the press and to California's Secretary of State. Heller acknowledges that he committed a serious crime in breaking attorney-client privilege. But what is illegal is not always wrong.
Partly as a result of Steve's actions, in April 2004, former California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley de-certified Diebold in California for what he called their "fraudulent," "despicable," and "deceitful behavior."
For stealing and exposing legal documents, Steve was charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney with three felonies; unauthorized access to a computer, second-degree burglary, and receiving stolen goods. The charges carried a potential of 12 years in state prison.
Eventually, Heller pleaded guilty to one felony count of unauthorized access to a computer, paid $10,000 in restitution to the law firm, and was sentenced to three years of probation. The other two charges were dropped. At this time, he is still on probation.
His case was featured in the documentary "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections" by David Earnhardt. http://www.uncountedthemovie.com/
In November of 2004, Steve went to Columbus, Ohio as a volunteer with nonpartisan get-out-the-vote efforts. While working on election day, he was appalled to see voter suppression techniques in action. Too few voting machines for inner-city, mostly African American precincts, flyers distributed throughout impoverished, heavily Democratic neighborhoods with misinformation about voting laws and polling place locations, and people waiting to vote having to stand in line for hours on that cold, rainy November day.
As Steve said, "I saw Jim Crow strutting up and down the streets of inner city Columbus." What he witnessed that day made him more determined than ever to bring to light the crimes against the voters and against clean elections; crimes against our very Republic.
Impeachment
More recently, Steve was asked by Brad Friedman of The BRAD BLOG to join him in consultations with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) regarding Rep. Kucinich's 35 Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush.
Steve contributed research, documentation, and information which was used in Article 29, "Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965."
http://www.impeachbush.tv/progress/dk_aoi_bush/index.php
He is an election integrity blogger for Velvet Revolution's Election Protection Strike Force.
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two dogs, and three cats.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Slattery in Wichita on Boeing jobs: "Roberts should be fired"
Go get him, Jim! Sen. Roberts sold Kansans out twice (at least): "Roberts had two chances to fight for Boeing and Kansas," Slattery said. "First as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and then as a member of the conference committee for the 2006 Defense Authorization bill. On both occasions, Roberts failed." ... Read more at Discomfit magazine.
Milwaukee: Rumor of Free Food Vouchers Draws 2,500 People to Community Services Center, Fights Break Out, Cops Called, Barricades Established; No Food Vouchers Today
It will be coming to the supermarkets near you soon and they'll say: "No Food Vouchers Today"
Solar dish may revolutionize energy production - LiveScience- msnbc.com
College kids make hot water heater, big deal.
Monday, June 23, 2008
t r u t h o u t | Congressional Resolution Demands Bush Act on Iran
End of empire - and your "way of life."
"The horror, the horror ..."
- death rattle,
Colonel Kurtz,
Apocalypse Now!
Congressional anti-war delegates are caving on this one, too.
Read the names of who is supporting this "escalation" to war. A Military Blockade of Iran puts us one hair trigger away from economic collapse and abject poverty for tens of millions in America. We must learn to be kind to all our neighbors.
image hat tip: CPA Media
Mike Whitney: The Game is Over
Mike Whitney conducts an on-line interview with Dr. Michael Hudson from nearby University of Kansas City (Missouri) UMKC - I will keep trying to schedule a "Radio Free Kansas" segment with Dr. Hudson, but in the meantime, here's an excerpt of this excellent interview courtesy Counterpunch:
"Mike Whitney : How do you explain the soaring price of oil? Is it mainly a supply/demand issue or are speculators driving the prices up?
Michael Hudson: It’s true that enormous amounts of speculative credit are going into commodity index funds. But bear in mind that as the dollar depreciates, OPEC countries have been holding back supply largely to stabilize their receipts in euros and to offset their losses on the dollar securities they have bought with their past export proceeds. For over 30 years they have been pressured to recycle their oil earnings into the U.S. stock market and loans to U.S. financial institutions. They have taken large losses on these investments (such as last year’s money to bail out Citibank), and are trying to recoup them via the oil market. OPEC officials also have pointed to a political motive: They resent America’s military intrusion in the Middle East, especially in view of how much it contributes to the nation’s balance-of-payments deficit and federal budget deficit.
The U.S. press prefers to blame Chinese, Indian and other foreign growth in demand for oil and raw materials. This demand has contributed to the price rise, no doubt about it. But the U.S. oil majors are receiving a windfall “economic rent” on the price run-up, and are not at all unhappy to see it continue. By not building more refining and shipping capacity, they have created bottlenecks so that even if foreign countries did supply more crude oil, it would not be reflected in refined gasoline, kerosene or other downstream product prices. ..."
Read more about how the The Game is Over
"Mike Whitney : How do you explain the soaring price of oil? Is it mainly a supply/demand issue or are speculators driving the prices up?
Michael Hudson: It’s true that enormous amounts of speculative credit are going into commodity index funds. But bear in mind that as the dollar depreciates, OPEC countries have been holding back supply largely to stabilize their receipts in euros and to offset their losses on the dollar securities they have bought with their past export proceeds. For over 30 years they have been pressured to recycle their oil earnings into the U.S. stock market and loans to U.S. financial institutions. They have taken large losses on these investments (such as last year’s money to bail out Citibank), and are trying to recoup them via the oil market. OPEC officials also have pointed to a political motive: They resent America’s military intrusion in the Middle East, especially in view of how much it contributes to the nation’s balance-of-payments deficit and federal budget deficit.
The U.S. press prefers to blame Chinese, Indian and other foreign growth in demand for oil and raw materials. This demand has contributed to the price rise, no doubt about it. But the U.S. oil majors are receiving a windfall “economic rent” on the price run-up, and are not at all unhappy to see it continue. By not building more refining and shipping capacity, they have created bottlenecks so that even if foreign countries did supply more crude oil, it would not be reflected in refined gasoline, kerosene or other downstream product prices. ..."
Read more about how the The Game is Over
Culture Change - You. Will. Not. Be. Able. To. Get. Food.
Another fine forward from a reader - just before the last growing season before our epic struggle of resistance begins. Click here.
The future of energy | Economist.com
PARDON ME, CAN WE SKIP THE 'DOG-EAT-DOG' PART, PLEASE?
The turbulence caused by energy, food and mineral scarcity coupled with uneven capitalist-driven development will shake the very foundations of all 21st century civilizations. The cornucopian dreams envisioned in this article negates the effect of worldwide social upheavel, does not prepare the billions of "the lower depths" for the end of "growth" and instead promotes a capitalist utopia of t
echnological dreams. [excerpt] "Such a failure of imagination has been at the heart of the debate about climate change. The green message—use less energy—is not going to solve the problem unless economic growth stops at the same time. If it does not (and it won't), any efficiency saving will soon be eaten up by higher consumption per head. Even the hair-shirt option, then, will bring only short-term relief. And when a dire prophecy from environmentalism's jeremiad looks as if it is coming true, as the price of petroleum rises through the roof and the idea that oil might run out is no longer whispered in corners but openly discussed, there is a temptation to believe that the end of the world is, indeed, nigh. ..." [end excerpt]Read The future of energy And remember, that we must make it, with our own autonomous hands, and against the global corporations.
And this too, we shall let pass?
We will not forgive and forget!
A Great Reckoning will be our harvest. Now is the time to sow, and prepare to reap.
Like a stone cast upon the water, this ripples through the internet, ...
A new revolutionary writing group is in the making, can you see it?
4th Amendment: Rest in Peace : Information Clearing House
image hat tip: Wikipedia Commons!
Wake up, San Francisco!
Have you climbed out from that canyon of grief?
Pain so hard that it challenges your existence?
What does one take to grinding goodness each night?
What forces the candle of your soul to flicker bright - all night?
What is left that might emerge into the foggy gray,
Have you climbed out from that canyon of grief?
Pain so hard that it challenges your existence?
What does one take to grinding goodness each night?
What forces the candle of your soul to flicker bright - all night?
What is left that might emerge into the foggy gray,
See that red of the rising day?
"It seems so dim," you say.
Left you to light this mighty forge.
Alone to walk this dewy path,
"It seems so dim," you say.
Left you to light this mighty forge.
Alone to walk this dewy path,
Is there a spark within you still?
Look here, now, and see this flame.
See here how this steel is tempered.
Cindy Sheehan for Congress!
Her latest: R.I.P. 4th Amendment
Look here, now, and see this flame.
See here how this steel is tempered.
Cindy Sheehan for Congress!
Her latest: R.I.P. 4th Amendment
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Battle shapes up over future of U.S. in Iraq - Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com
Once the deal is sealed, then attacking Iran will be wide open and this fits neatly into the White House schedule. Read more
U.S. Says Exercise by Israel Seemed Directed at Iran : Information Clearing House
Tom Feely's ICH is digging up the stuff we can't get out here in the sticks of NE Kansas. Here's an excerpt from a recent NYT: "More than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters participated in the maneuvers, which were carried out over the eastern Mediterranean and over Greece during the first week of June, American officials said. ..." Read more
Robert Greenwald: "This Brave Nation"
The upcoming episode of This Brave Nation featuring Pete Seeger and Majora Carter epitomizes that sentiment. Pete Seeger has played an active role in every social movement in modern history, from early union battles to Civil Rights to the anti-war movement. At 89, Pete is not only a reminder of our nation's history of turbulence and triumph, he is also an inspiration for our vibrant future. Perhaps that's what gave him an instant connection with Majora Carter. The Executive Director and Founder of Sustainable South Bronx, Majora has worked tirelessly to reshape the neighborhood of her youth by encouraging sustainability, alternative transportation, and a national green-collar job agenda. These two committed individuals are definitely taking action to change our world, and their conversation is not to be missed. Watch the fourth episode here.
Anatomy of a Price Surge
Michael T. Klare weighs in on the current peak oil vs. market speculative debate with: "As the pain induced by higher oil prices spreads to an ever growing share of the American (and world) population, pundits and politicians have been quick to blame assorted villains--greedy oil companies, heartless commodity speculators and OPEC. It's true that each of these parties has contributed to and benefited from the steep run-up. But the sharp growth in petroleum costs is due far more to a combination of soaring international demand and slackening supply--compounded by the ruinous policies of the Bush Administration--than to the behavior of those other actors. ..." Anatomy of a Price Surge
Feral Scholar » Blog Archive » Bubble reflation… in oil and food
Important commentary on the peak oil vs. speculative market manipulation debate raging today. Stan Goff makes it informative and understandable at his Feral Scholar read this one comment.
Consortiumnews.com
Retired CIA officer, Ray McGovern lays it all out in his latest "Bomb Iran - What's to stop us?" Note the impeachment news toward the last half of the piece. Read it all at Robert Parry's inquiring Consortiumnews.com
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Dr. Bill Roy: "Medicare for all!"
Give it up for Dr. Bill! He begins with: "At the end of a long presentation outlining new services, new doctors, new facilities and a growth in income this year at a rate greater than the growth of the economy, Dr. Kent Palmberg, the unusually savvy and successful Senior Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer of Stormont Vail Health Care, sighed and quietly said, "I’m not sure where all this is going, but we’ll probably end up with something like Medicare for all. ..." Read the complete piece at Discomfit magazine.
Printing presses running solar electric film? Wow!
Follow the link to another reader forward to the Flyer! Read your newspaper, charge up your home? Wow - now appearing (with a video link of the press in operation) at Discomfit magazine.
Slattery campaign slams Sen. Roberts protection racket with Big Pharma
Go get him, Jim! Why don't we read this in our country newsweekly newspapers? While Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts is tooting his horn for Boeing aircraft's latest tanker boondoggle - sure he's in bed with the Pentagon and the "military industrial complex" - but Roberts is also, according to Slattery for Senate, protecting Big Pharma interests in fleecing the old folks. Read it all at Discomfit magazine.
Wexler writes to a concerned "Flyer Reader" about McClellan and impeachment.
Now appearing at Discomfit magazine the complete text of Congressman Wexler's argument for impeachment from testimony of "Scotty" McClellan before committee yesterday in DC. A "Flyer Reader" forwards this post.
James Howard Kunstler on NPR - "Suburbia's 'toast'"
A recent segment from the Bryant Park Project as aired on National Public Radio last June 13, 2008. Kunstler's stupid remark made last May 31st on radio Chicago's WNUR 89.3 FM when he commented that turning "Iraq into an ashtray" must qualify as some Zionist eruption from an otherwise smart guy. Keep his hands filled with pens and paper, and his fingers away from the nuclear buttons.
Friday, June 20, 2008
MyFox Kansas City | War Protesters Use American Idol Theme to Gain Support
Sharp clip on Kansas City Fox News about supporting Tomas Young, disabled Iraq war vet, while he is recovering at an area hospital. I can't help but ask the readers: "Can you support ALL the troops, including the ones that have returned to oppose the war?" Note how the Fox News headline omits that reference in the link title above. Watch the short video clip here.
Latest news is that he is out of the ICU, but has a very long road toward recovery. A "card of thanks" urging him to get well can be mailed at: Tomas Young, St Luke's Hospital, 4401 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO 64111
Latest news is that he is out of the ICU, but has a very long road toward recovery. A "card of thanks" urging him to get well can be mailed at: Tomas Young, St Luke's Hospital, 4401 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO 64111
Thursday, June 19, 2008
New Statesman - Poles apart
Jonathan Cook sends us notice from Nazareth (yeah, that Nazareth) of how his book fares in a New Scotsman book review by Neil Perry who writes of Cook's latest: "... It was Zionist determination to make the Middle East safe for the Jewish state, he argues, that did much to precipitate the Iraq War and the chaos and sectarian conflict that followed. He claims that, far from being unintended consequences of US policy, civil war and partition were seen by the pro-Israel neoconservatives who have dominated the White House under President George W Bush as serving both US and Israeli interests. ..." New Statesman - Poles apart
Congressional Democrats and Bush: Impeachment is "off the table" or run from Blackwater gestapo round-ups?
Why is Obama wearing Israel and American flag lapel pins now?
Once I thought Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn't want impeachment because she'd been watching Gitmo snuff films in the White House basement with the Bushevik cabal, then I wondered if Rep. John Conyers knew his and other congressionals' phones were bugged by the Department of Homeland Security and was scared something dirty might be "leaked" to the obliging New York Times or the WaPo editorial board.
Finally, eyewitnesses report that as far back as June - July 2007 the cowards in congress were just plain full of white-eyed terror at being rounded up in a Bushevik dragnet of dissidents after martial law is declared and the elections are postponed.
If, or when, Bush drops the bombs on Iran, watch how many fancy pants are soiled and where they run. Talk about feathering some dirty little nests while the corporate wolves are circling the wagons before the national elections.
Chickenhawk millionaires, all!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Barack Obama : : Change We Can Believe In | A WWWD barn dance?
Saturday, June 28th, KCKCC, 7250 State Ave., KCKS - follow the link for times and tickets.
What Would Woody Do?
What Would Woody Do?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
James Carville, Mary Matalin Break Down On Set Over Tim Russert's Death - Media on The Huffington Post
A readers forward: "Do you think I give a rat's ass about these people's grief?" No. Let the millionaires weep, let their goddamn political marriages get stretched thin, like our food an fuel bills. Let them weep and weep and weep for they do not shed tears for our dead and maimed sons and daughters. Let them weep for their dead compadres that sold this massive bloodletting on a world scale for their tiny kingdoms. Let them weep and let them suffer. Bring them to us, we should be so kind as to put them out of their miserable little circles of wealth and prestige. Pity the tyrants and the liars with power, no more. Look at the picture: Political Reptiles Break Down read the caption and find vengence.
Illustrations of the New US Embassy in Baghdad - "The Palace"
War Profiteers-at-Home!
Bigger than the Vatican!
Our tax dollars at work, as designed by a Kansas City architectural firm - note the tennis courts, swimming pools - just click the illustrations to get a close up. Many thanks for Anti-war Radio and others for the research. Now how can some silly cartoons be a "security breach"? I think they don't want us to know how our money is being spent. Click: The New US Embassy in Baghdad
Bigger than the Vatican!
Our tax dollars at work, as designed by a Kansas City architectural firm - note the tennis courts, swimming pools - just click the illustrations to get a close up. Many thanks for Anti-war Radio and others for the research. Now how can some silly cartoons be a "security breach"? I think they don't want us to know how our money is being spent. Click: The New US Embassy in Baghdad
Ducking Impeachment in Congress and the Newsroom | This Can't Be Happening!
Dave Lindorff, tomorrow on Blue Barn Radio?
Damn right! Listen in then ... beginning at High Noon (central) and meanwhile he's writing: "On Monday last week, something important happened in Washington. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the Democratic representative from Cleveland, OH, who early in the primary season won some of the biggest applause lines in the Democratic presidential candidate debates, introduced 35 articles calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors. You'd be excused if you didn't know this happened. ..." Not now! There's no excuse because you can now read it all at This Can't Be Happening!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Daily Kos: State of the Nation
Floods, energy prices and dumb-ass Wal-Mart economics in the United States have got us in this "tight spot." An old truck driver for bakeries puts it all on the line about the coming food shortages in the United States. Read him at: Daily Kos: State of the Nation
Reuters: "Water fueled car invented in Japan"
"Almost too good to be true ..." according to Michelle Carlile-Alkhouri reporting. Click the title line above and watch the short video.
Why Not Nancy? : Information Clearing House
The "Madam Speaker" of that brothel for the corporations and the "military industrial complex" called congress, Nancy Pelosi, is about to be swept clean, in just a few short months. San Francisco needs Cindy Sheehan more than Nancy and her "off the table" political machine - now more than ever ... read.
Shipshape Spin for Japan | Center for Media and Democracy
U. S. Navy manufacturing consent in Japan via comic books for nuclear warship.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Fade to black: Is this the end of oil? - The Independent
The great greedster, Darth Dick Cheney, in his tax-payer supplied jet airliner."Damn, the bastards down below are figuring it out!
Time to cash out and hide."
We in a tight spot!
Ha, Ha, Ha - I is an "internet crackpot" revealed!
Youz thought I wuz crazy all this time.
The end of oil is near! Yee Haw!
The Independent: "Worryingly, for a world reliant on the dirt-cheap energy that oil provided throughout the last century, the idea that oil produ
ction in all nations may soon start to decline just as in the North Sea has been seeping into the mainstream. The 'peak oil' theory – that oil production has reached its maximum and will soon begin its decline, bringing potentially catastrophic consequences to the modern world – no longer just comes from internet crackpots and conspiracy theorists; now geologists, market analysts and oil prospectors believe that this scenario is becoming reality. And within the past year, there have been signs that the major oil companies are admitting this themselves. If they are right, high petrol prices could be the least of the world's problems."
ction in all nations may soon start to decline just as in the North Sea has been seeping into the mainstream. The 'peak oil' theory – that oil production has reached its maximum and will soon begin its decline, bringing potentially catastrophic consequences to the modern world – no longer just comes from internet crackpots and conspiracy theorists; now geologists, market analysts and oil prospectors believe that this scenario is becoming reality. And within the past year, there have been signs that the major oil companies are admitting this themselves. If they are right, high petrol prices could be the least of the world's problems." 
image tip: Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove: or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb!"
How Iran Has Bush Over a Barrel
IS COMING
TO THE MIDDLE EAST.
THE U. S. EMPIRE IS BANKRUPT,
GET OVER IT.
If this article from Time magazine on-line seems "realistic" in the face of an enormous pro-war propaganda machine from the White House that's because it is.
Here is a short snapshot of the elites arguing, a wing of the Main$tream Media (M$M) telling the other wings - "watch out!" Bush stutters "sanctions" while on his "last tour" of Europe - he's got more than six months left in office, fer chrissakes, and out pops a drop of truth to the American news consumers. Well, at least for the ones who can still read in the United States.
Iran is going to develop nuclear powered electrical generators, and consequently the ability to secretly make nuclear bombs - just like Israel did over twenty years ago. All those Fox News brain drained junkies screaming "war till the end of the world" with outrage will not stop them. Read a few paragraphs of hard truth at TIME and get over it AND get ready.
Wired Magazine: Check the NSA taps on your computer
The Ghosts of Gitmo are in your computer ...
A pretty in-depth unpacking of recent ATT court mandated disclosures of the "secret rooms" used to intercept all net traffic. A pretty simple MS-DOS command prompt is listed for copy and paste which can be used on Windows machines to tell how much AT&T is scrutinizing your telecommunications. Available at Wired Magazine!
And for the faint of heart reading this entry, a few words from a December 2006 essay by Charles Sullivan:
"While it troubles me that the NSA is lurking in my computer, it does not deter me from exercising my constitutional rights of free speech and, more specifically, speaking truth to power. I am not paranoid or afraid. I have not armed myself. I go on doing what has to be done. I stand behind my words and have every intention of continuing for as long as I draw breath. Truth still matters and someone has to protect it. ... I marvel that I, a man in my fifties of relatively small physical stature, command so much respect from the most powerful government ever assembled. To think that an innocuous figure like me with a long history of non-violence can have so many governmental forces marshaled against me at tax payer expense is both astonishing and appalling. I don’t know whether to be indignant or flattered. ..."
Sullivan has been staring down the NSA plants on his computer for over two years now, read his thoughts at Alternative Press Review.
Russert bullhorned planted lies from White House for Iraq invasion
Our readers make the difference! Check out Tim Russert acknowledging to Bill Moyers that he was bamboozled into trumpeting the war propaganda during the run-up. A simple but effective method where the White House anonymously "leaks" to the New York Times and then has Cheney, et. al. walk the Sunday talking head circuit repeating and amplifying the same "leak" supporting invasion. Now appearing at "Storming Heaven's Gates", courtesy a reader - THANKS!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Dahr Jamail & Ahmed Ali: "The love stories are gone."
Exclusive by express permission from Dahr Jamail. The reporters' network, unembedded "on the ground" in Iraq now appearing at Discomfit magazine. Support their work.
Robert Greenwald: "The Real McCain" viral videos!
A reader's forward posted: "Welcome to the McCain Women's Clinic ...."
Friday, June 13, 2008
Jim Slattery: "Sen. Roberts voted wrong way on renewable energy"
What kind of back door deal is Senator Pat up to now? [excerpt] "...'Sen. Roberts voted the wrong way on Tuesday when he voted against the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act, but he has the opportunity to do the right thing and vote for the bill when it is reconsidered on Monday,' Slattery said. ..." Read more.
When the US goes to war, corporate America goes too. : Information Clearing House
Incredible BBC footage of a report about a missing $23 billion of your tax money in Iraq! Only Tom's Information Clearing House finds a way of bringing this kind of news for U. S. readers. If the video link is busted, I found an excerpted original at BBC HQ here.
Nancy Pelosi Pulled Iran Bill On Request of Israel : Information Clearing House
Alright so I found something else at ICH. Last Wednesday's Blue Barn radio's guest, Jim Slattery, may be underestimating the treachery of the Democratic and Republican leaders in congress. Click and listen to this short one minute audio excerpt, linked above.
Michelle Obama Becomes GOP Target, Politico: Both Parties Are Trying To Define Democratic Candidate's Wife For The General Election - CBS News
Will McCain and Obama's wives in the Mainstream $tream Media distract us from running out to watch the oh so pretty blockbuster "Sex and the City" (with all those great clothes!) or miss the next hot episode of the 70s period "Swingtown" - And does it matter? Ask Oprah, Barbara and Martha - we're too stupid to know ... they're on tee vee and know everything.
John Pilger: "Obama Is a Truly Democratic Expansionist"
He writes as an internationally recognized and award winning journalist and documentarian from Australia. He has written stories from all over the world about people from all over the world for decades.
It is my hope that all those under the influence of what history professor, Howard Zinn described as "election madness" consider being as radical as reality is.
It is my opinion that "local is best" when it comes to democracy and elections in the United States. Whither Obama or McCain comes out on top after next November - it matters not whit, when it comes to you and your neighbors survival.
Since I know most of you won't read past these words I place this quote from Pilger's latest: "... It is time the wishful-thinkers grew up politically and debated the world of great power as it is, not as they hope it will be. Like all serious presidential candidates, past and present, Obama is a hawk and an expansionist. He comes from an unbroken Democratic tradition, as the war-making of presidents Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Clinton demonstrates. Obama's difference may be that he feels an even greater need to show how tough he is. However much the colour of his skin draws out both racists and supporters, it is otherwise irrelevant to the great power game. The "truly exciting and historic moment in US history" will only occur when the game itself is challenged." And that game is ending corporate militarism abroad and at home, and American imperialism as a federal government policy.
Read John Pilger
It is my hope that all those under the influence of what history professor, Howard Zinn described as "election madness" consider being as radical as reality is.
It is my opinion that "local is best" when it comes to democracy and elections in the United States. Whither Obama or McCain comes out on top after next November - it matters not whit, when it comes to you and your neighbors survival.
Since I know most of you won't read past these words I place this quote from Pilger's latest: "... It is time the wishful-thinkers grew up politically and debated the world of great power as it is, not as they hope it will be. Like all serious presidential candidates, past and present, Obama is a hawk and an expansionist. He comes from an unbroken Democratic tradition, as the war-making of presidents Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Clinton demonstrates. Obama's difference may be that he feels an even greater need to show how tough he is. However much the colour of his skin draws out both racists and supporters, it is otherwise irrelevant to the great power game. The "truly exciting and historic moment in US history" will only occur when the game itself is challenged." And that game is ending corporate militarism abroad and at home, and American imperialism as a federal government policy.
Read John Pilger
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Truthdig - Reports - Gore Vidal’s Article of Impeachment
Robert Scheer and company's Truthdig deserves the reader's trolling time. I refuse to link where I found it, better to take it to the original source, in this case the outstanding Truthdig site. Unless there are outrageous pop-ups, drop-downs, flash explosions on your screen and endless ads to wallow through to read the article I will always take you "to the source." Here is Gore Vidal's Article of Impeachment
Here's a site countering the Obama smears ....
Love means never having to say .....
Are you still suffering from the paranoid racist relatives, friends and neighbors bugging you about the Obama presidential election campaign? The emails, the snide remarks over the family reunion picnic table, the post-it notes stuck in your church hymnals by all those little demons .... Send them to this site with a challenge to do their own homework, before spreading LIES ... then move on and discuss some real issues.
It's a dirty job, cleaning up after the gossiping nitwits, but somebody has to do it. Many, many thanks to the reader who directed me to some relief.
Behind the Midwest's Crazy Weather - TIME
As another huge wave of thunderstorms and tornadoes pass over my state - I think it's just the beginning of climate change due to global warming, but then there's the nay sayers .... read what
TIME magazine has to say about it.
TIME magazine has to say about it.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Dave Lindorff on Blue Barn radio - Wednesday, June 18th, 1pm (central)
"Mommy what did you do before Bush left office?"
The
11th Hour generation's
underground classic!
"The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office."
with
Dave Lindorff and Barbara Olshansky
Appearing Next Wednesday, June 18th, on Blue Barn radio - join the Posse!
Award winning journalist, Dave Lindorff, beginning at 1pm (central)
Contact Dave for a copy at:
Dr. Bill Roy: "No 'Social Solidarity' or 'Patriotism' in today's America?"
Dr. Bill Roy is back! He's writing at Discomfit Magazine: "In his address at the National Academy of Social Insurance last January 31st, Dr. Uwe Reinhardt, a top health-care policy expert, related our approach to health insurance to who we are as a nation and people. ..." Continue reading here.
Emergency Alert! Flash! Press Release | FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS IN CRISIS
Funding Cuts Bring Popular Grassroots Newscast to the Brink
BERKELEY, California - June 6, 2008 - One of the most important alternative news outlets in the country is facing closure after its major supporter substantially reduced funding.
Go to: FSRN and make a donation today!
Funding Cuts Bring Popular Grassroots Newscast to the Brink
BERKELEY, California - June 6, 2008 - One of the most important alternative news outlets in the country is facing closure after its major supporter substantially reduced funding.
Go to: FSRN and make a donation today!
The U.S. Has No Remaining Grain Reserves :: Pike County Pa Newspapers in Milford, Pa.
The May 1, 2008 CCC Inventory report may be reviewed here: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/wid2a.pdf.
Kucinich Forces Vote On Bush’s Impeachment
An appalling display of public neglect for this country. The man reads the entire 35 count article of impeachment out loud into the record for over five hours - and his own Democratic leaders discredit it. Read more at: CommonDreams.org
Jim Slattery on Blue Barn radio, today!
A 'Free State' fight for the future of Kansas?
Can the man originally from Good Intent, Kansas (near Atchison) bring back grassroot issues and dismantle the "military industrial complex" as personified in Sen. Pat Roberts and Rep. Todd Tiahrt?
Roberts' smear machine has already went on the attack mode with a cartoon, smearing Slattery over his lobbying work in the DC beltway for a firm called Wiley Rein.
Slattery is promising a competitive race against Sen. Pat Roberts and according to a recent Lawrence Journal - World article: "Slattery says he’s proud of the work he did for Wiley Rein. He recently released a list of his clients, which included companies and groups involved in trade disputes. 'I’m happy to take responsibility for the work I’ve done outside of government. It’s time Pat Roberts takes responsibility for his votes the last six years that have brought us record gas prices, a slumping economy, and an unnecessary war' ..." Read more of the Lawrence Journal World article by one of our favorite Kansas journalists, Scott Rothschild here.
Our show will begin at High Noon with music and local news shorts.
Hear Jim Slattery today on Blue Barn radio! He'll be appearing at 1pm (central time zone).
Can the man originally from Good Intent, Kansas (near Atchison) bring back grassroot issues and dismantle the "military industrial complex" as personified in Sen. Pat Roberts and Rep. Todd Tiahrt?
Roberts' smear machine has already went on the attack mode with a cartoon, smearing Slattery over his lobbying work in the DC beltway for a firm called Wiley Rein.
Slattery is promising a competitive race against Sen. Pat Roberts and according to a recent Lawrence Journal - World article: "Slattery says he’s proud of the work he did for Wiley Rein. He recently released a list of his clients, which included companies and groups involved in trade disputes. 'I’m happy to take responsibility for the work I’ve done outside of government. It’s time Pat Roberts takes responsibility for his votes the last six years that have brought us record gas prices, a slumping economy, and an unnecessary war' ..." Read more of the Lawrence Journal World article by one of our favorite Kansas journalists, Scott Rothschild here.
Our show will begin at High Noon with music and local news shorts.
Hear Jim Slattery today on Blue Barn radio! He'll be appearing at 1pm (central time zone).
Mary Pitt: "Put up or shut up!"
In response to the smear campaign on the internet against Obama she writes: "Okay, America, it's time to put up or shut up! After a couple of generations have reached maturity since the civil rights marches and all the hoopla that was brought about by the women's rights movement, we have it made on the basis of equal rights for all, right? We have banished chauvinism, both sexual and racial, and we are now the model for a modern democratic republic and an example to the rest of the world of a society that should be emulated? We shall see! ..." Read on at Discomfit Magazine.
Who is the man behind the Obama email hate campaigns?
A reader forwards this post commenting, "what an interesting man ... even Bill O'Reilly is astonished at his ferocity!" Click the title link, above, then try this one out where the same guy is linked to the recent AIPAC fracas with Obama.
Ron Paul's own convention? - First Read - msnbc.com
Return of the old fashioned floor fight?
Here is the first comment listed after the posting on MSNBC's site: "WTF is this about???!!!"
Need I say more?
Ron Paul's anti-interventionist and libertarian supporters are reported to be amassing at Williams Arena a/k/a/ "The Barn" for festivities and challenges during the GOP's national convention at Minneapolis - St. Paul later this Summer.
Do you think the Republicans meeting across town on the same night, while they're announcing the nominee for their vice-president, will be soiling themselves?
Paulian speakers are urging politeness from libertarian anti-war supporters and encouraging the same of the 50 delegates allowed on the War Party convention floor "a couple miles away."
From the post - Paul spokesman Jesse Benton:
"They will attend the Paul convention and the campaign is encouraging them to go to the official GOP convention as 'active and positive.' But, Benton added, Paul's supporters are independent-minded and aren't going to be told what to do. 'They’re free individuals, and they can do what they like,' Benton said. 'We want to send a message to the Republican Party, a message to return to its limited government roots ... common sense foreign policy that is non interventionist, reject the Patriot Act and move back to respecting the Constitution and rule of law.'"
Wonder what the war-mongering oligarchs in the sky-boxes will be hissing and pissing about those below?
Read more about the "Ron Paul Revolution" at: First Read
BBC NEWS | South Asia | What next for Nepal?
The king is to leave the palace and gifted possessions, for a home next to his son in the "jungle." Here is a link leading to backgrounders and more at: BBC links
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
Another reader forward - more evidence of a grassroots election movement for change?
Free Land,
Free People and Free Speech!
NEW SPROUTS in KANSAS
for the SUMMER?
Blogging at "The Learning Curve" another grassroot effort from Tom W. Fox's blogspot to generate creative yard signs and cards.
Be brave in Kansas, and best of all, like the cards - be free!
signed,
An Avid Flyer Reader
Mike Ely: "Eyes on the Maobadi: 4 Reasons Nepal’s Revolution Matters"
Building a Republic, and a new path toward socialism?
Electing a revolutionary party to build a socialist republic in Nepal? Kansans need to know! [excerpt] "... Something remarkable is happening. A whole generation of people has never seen a radical, secular, revolutionary movement rise with popular support. And yet here it is – in Nepal today. This movement has overthrown Nepal’s hated King Gyanendra and abolished the medieval monarchy. It has created a revolutionary army that now squares off with the old King’s army. It has built parallel political power in remote rural areas over a decade of guerrilla war – undermining feudal traditions like the caste system. It has gathered broad popular support and emerged as the leading force of an unprecedented Constituent Assembly (CA). And it has done all this under the radical banner of Maoist communism — advocating a fresh attempt at socialism and a classless society around the world. People in Nepal call these revolutionaries the Maobadi. ..." Read why Mike Ely thinks and writes Nepal’s Revolution Matters
Electing a revolutionary party to build a socialist republic in Nepal? Kansans need to know! [excerpt] "... Something remarkable is happening. A whole generation of people has never seen a radical, secular, revolutionary movement rise with popular support. And yet here it is – in Nepal today. This movement has overthrown Nepal’s hated King Gyanendra and abolished the medieval monarchy. It has created a revolutionary army that now squares off with the old King’s army. It has built parallel political power in remote rural areas over a decade of guerrilla war – undermining feudal traditions like the caste system. It has gathered broad popular support and emerged as the leading force of an unprecedented Constituent Assembly (CA). And it has done all this under the radical banner of Maoist communism — advocating a fresh attempt at socialism and a classless society around the world. People in Nepal call these revolutionaries the Maobadi. ..." Read why Mike Ely thinks and writes Nepal’s Revolution Matters
Obama Could Set an Earthquake Under the Established Electoral Map
Could Obama win Kansas? [excerpt] " ... If - a big if - he can maintain the rest of the Democratic base, this could bring into play states like Virginia and North Carolina, which the Democrats have not won since 1964 and 1976 respectively. His candidacy could set an earthquake under the established electoral map. ... He has also transformed the model for funding, creating a broad popular base of small donors. Unprecedented numbers of people have invested in him. The question is whether they will see a return. The earliest signs have not been promising. The day after he clinched the nomination, he went with Hillary Clinton and McCain to genuflect before the pro-Israeli lobby to declare himself a 'true friend of Israel'. ..." Where is the fault-line? Read more
t r u t h o u t | McClellan to Testify Before House in CIA Leak Case
White House "Scotty" McClellan, former press secretary, has been beamed up to the House of Representatives to take the oath. He's all lawyered up and ready to testify about Darth Dickie's campaign to destroy the Wilsons. Details at the news section on "Truthout".
Poisoning the Well | OurFuture.org
The hate mail against Obama controversy continues ...
WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS .... in response to last Saturday night's Blue Barn Radio where during the last hour readers responded to a hate Obama email I asked
about, a reader forwards this link and the one below by Rick Perlstein. Tom Sullivan writes: [excerpt] "...E-mail smears may be a cottage industry of the most radical blog partisans. Or, as with the administration efforts listed above, they might be something more sophisticated. (Anyone with information on the latter is encouraged to speak up.) Either way, the last decade and a half has seen a steady erosion of capital-T truth. Propaganda has been raised to an art form by an administration populated with doubt-free, "right-wing exuberants" disdainful of “the reality-based community.” Because it is mostly invisible, there may be a tendency to dismiss such spam as stupid or unimportant ... But that misses the point. First, it would not circulate so widely if it were not reinforcing what traffickers wish to believe (and what propagandists want them to believe). How widespread this phenomenon is has not been studied, to my knowledge, but should be. It is antithetical to the ideal of an informed electorate. Second, because these e-mails are part of a “death by a thousand cuts” strategy against opponents; they are meant to be disposable, water-cooler lies. Because many are snidely humorous, obvious errors are dismissed in a breezy, Coulteresque “it’s just a joke” way, and forwarded to friends anyway so they can be in on the fun. Thus the poison spreads from in-box to in-box like ant bait. ..."
Have they Poisoned the Well ? Image hat tip where you make your own yard placard!
The Meaning of Box 722 | OurFuture.org
A reader forwards a shocking reminder by Rick Perlstein detailing a series of letters, handbills and local government initiatives to stifle and crush the civil rights movement during the middle of the last century. Read it here
I'm Voting Republican
Elephant knocked upside down with populist mule kick - have a good Monday! Democracy for the Heart of America forwards a walloping video - click here
Sunday, June 08, 2008
t r u t h o u t | US Issues Threat to Iraq's $50 Billion Foreign Reserve
A follow-up forward from a reader. The leak indicates real trouble.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
They're worried, we need more sheriffs like this!
He's Taking Law Into His Own Hands To Help Broke Homeowners - WSJ.com: [excerpt] "... It also prompted a sweeping, court-endorsed deal, scheduled to go into effect next week, that aims to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Even as Congress moves forward with a federal plan that could insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages, Mr. Green's unilateral approach has pushed Philadelphia to the leading edge of local responses to the national crisis. ..." Read more.
America's Medicated Army - TIME
The nightmare is staring at us, like a flashback of the military wards half full of heroin addicts from 'Nam, now the streets will be filled with the mentally damaged and angry - the costs are bankrupting the country. Pop quiz: Who said describing the Iraq occupation "the most catastrophic strategic military disaster in American history" .... ? Nobody listened in Kansas. Answer tonight on Blue Barn Radio beginning at midnight (central time zone), join the posse. Read more. We'll be taking callers after 1245am - 646-716-8652.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Anti-Empire Report, June 6, 2008
NOTHING BUT COWARDS IN CONGRESS!
Article One - U. S. Constitution
ABOLISHED BY WHITE HOUSE!
Bill Blum writes: [excerpt] " ... Democracy American Style. You gotta problem wit dat?
Here's White House spokeswoman Dana Perino at a recent press briefing:
Reporter: The American people are being asked to die and pay for this, and you're saying that they have no say in this war?
Perino: I didn't say that ... this President was elected --
Reporter: Well, what it amounts to is you saying we have no input at all.
Perino: You had input. The American people have input every four years, and that's the way our system is set up. ..." Read it all at: Anti-Empire Report, June 6, 2008
Time for Congress to Stand Up in it’s Own Defense: Impeach Bush and Cheney Now! | This Can't Be Happening!
[excerpt] "... The disasters that have befallen this nation, or that it has brought on the rest of the world, over the past eight years have been the result of deliberate lying and deceit and of the conspiratorial policies of a cabal of leaders whose goal from day one was undoing the Constitution and establishing the presidency as a kind of dictatorship. ..." Read the complete essay at: This Can't Be Happening!
Obama Capitulates- by Justin Raimondo
DOES OBAMA KNOW?
You better read this one. I'm afraid Raimondo, who raised an early and hearty support for Obama might have this correct.
Has Obama joined the war mongers for criminal aggression against Iran?
Would Senator Obama know something that we don't?
Does he know that the missile attacks on Iran from first Israel, then the United States are inevitable and soon?
Would this explain what Raimondo calls his recent speech a "capitulation" to Israel's most powerful lobby?
Would he know that the attack will take place before he can win the November elections? Would he prefer the pack logic of the DC beltway and the Wall Street elite? The terminal damage to the world's economy will leave everybody, but them devastated.
Or was it just another campaign speech?
One certainty, it's going to take a helluva lot more than Raimondo's solution of "prayer" after the waves of missiles fly, the blown up ships sink and the draft starts up. Maybe then when over 100,000 come out in protest at least 10,000 will get arrested, instead of treating the trip like a nostalgic vacation to the "flower power" sixties.
It's going to take a major national economic and military disaster to make our fellow arrogant and bloodthirsty Americans to learn and learn again.
I think Raimondo's right, and not just Old Right!
Mary Pitt: "A 'topsy - turvy' candidate"
Now appearing at Discomfit magazine: [excerpt] "When I was a child growing up in Kansas during the Great Depression, toys were few and hard to come by. Almost all of my dolls were made by hand by my mother of leftover fabric scraps from her essential sewing. Others were passed down from neighborhood kids who had outgrown them. Recently, while discussing politics with a dear friend, one particular rag doll popped into my mind. ..." What candidate is she talking about? Read it all at Discomfit!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
A Dave Lindorff rip: "An immodest proposal"
Oh Mah Gawd!
Take this man fishing!
Oh I love Dave when he gets to ripping, not near as caustic as me - and more sensible. His "immodest proposal" is spot-on with an honest "dream ticket" - Granpa John McCain and Hilarious Hillary (cross-eyed over that shot glass of whiskey) - hehehehehe: [excerpt] "... They're both veterans, sort of. John was shot at over North Vietnam, and Hillary claims she was shot at on the ground in Bosnia. John spent five years as a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton, and Hillary spent seven years imprisoned as a First Lady in the White House. ..." Read it all before the Democrats lock Dave up! Buy his hardback impeachment classic, with autograph for a measly $14 - ordering details along the right-hand margin of his web site. Do it NOW!
Bad Seed Organic Market - June 6th
Go to Discomfit magazine, linked above for current details. Also linked to their irregular posted blogspot here.
The Archdruid Report: Religion and the Survival of Culture
FRODO LIVES!
HOBBIT HOMES, ENDLESS RENAISSANCE FESTIVALS
I found myself joking with a supporter on the phone a couple days ago who didn't like my humor. I step on peoples' toes and most of the time forget to say "excuse me."HOBBIT HOMES, ENDLESS RENAISSANCE FESTIVALS
Too many to keep up with, it comes with the big ideas.
My long-time friend was yakking about the essays written over three y
ears ago about "peak oil," the fall of the US empire and "climate change" that he feels are now "coming true." He was exasperated and wanted to "get more involved" since he has more time. Yeah, yeah, yeah .... then I told him that while working on all these movements it might be a good idea (if he had the material and monetary resources) to build a twister resistant hobbit home into a hill and prepare his children for a life-style similar to Europe during the "Middle Ages." Body odor, indentured servitude, bartered food and all. He didn't like to hear that prediction. Maybe a rock castle from Kansas limestone, plentiful along the eastern half, would be a good endeavor for the local villagers? Here's a link to make you think: The Archdruid Report You'll have to scroll up when you get there - he doesn't know how to permalink effectively, yet.
Scott Ritter stirring the pot, in Kansas City!
Saturday, June 21
All Souls UU Church
4501 Walnut
KCMO
VIP Reception with Scott Ritter, 6pm
Concert and Public Discussion, 8pm
ADVANCE: $40 for both;
$15 Concert & Discussion (Day of Show: $50/$20)
Advance Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/
(Search for Scott Ritter)
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