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[Click HERE for the latest problems facing the Occupy Movement] I wish the Occupy Movement all my best during my break from blogging. I'll be with you. Literally... Global Occupations Occupy Wall Street has grown into the Occupy Movement, and according to the latest information, will continue through the winter in Manhattan. But the Occupy Movement has also spread to roughly 1500 cities across the globe. Occupy Together may be able to help connect you with an occupation in your city. Protests around the globe began in-full on October 15th. The Occupy Movement is composed of many people with diverse opinions. Statements have been issued from a number of Occupy groups, and the movement as a whole appears to center around drawing attention to Wall Street's misdeeds while calling for structural economic reforms, which include increasing taxes on the rich, closing tax loopholes, reducing military spending, increasing spending on social programs like healthcare and education, fixing the environment, and fixing a number of problems related to employment. The video below shows some of the occupations and protests across the U.S. |
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| Occupations
Across the U.S. Click the play button above to start the video. |
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Occupations across the globe began on October 15th, and most are expected to continue indefinitely. Check out the photos and videos below from places like London, U.K.; Tokyo, Japan; Frankfurt, Germany; Vancouver, Canada; Paris, France; Taipei, Taiwan; Madrid, Spain; and more. Links below include even more articles, photos, and videos. |
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| Occupations
Around the Globe Click the play button above to start the video. |
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| London,
U.K. Occupation Click the play button above to start the video. |
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| Tokyo, Japan Occupation | |
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| Frankfurt, Germany Occupation | |
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| Vancouver, Canada Occupation | |
Find an "Occupy" Protest in Your Area: - http://www.occupytogether.org Donate: - FireDogLake donation for various occupations Discussion & Topics: - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15466503,00.html - http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/17/occupy-movement-goes-global... - http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-spreads... - http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-74046-5.html - http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/10/18/occupy-canada-protests-media,,, - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/disabled-people-are-being-hit-hard-by... - http://ukuncut.org.uk/blog/help-make-corporate-tax-dodgers-pay-their-fair... - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/occupy-protests-are-gaining-support - http://ukuncut.org.uk/blog/time-to-resign - http://occupylsx.org - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/oct/21/occupy-wall-street... Social Media Links: - http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23Occupylsx (#OccupyLSX) (London) - http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23occupyeverywhere (#OccupyEverywhere) - http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23occupytogether (#OccupyTogether) - http://twitter.com/#!/occupytogether (@OccupyTogether) |
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Washington, DC Occupation This occupation continues to be a huge success, and I'm working on getting pictures, videos, and articles together, along with social media links. On October 9th, they had a dance - a concert, really - complete with a stage, bands, etc. All free, of course. The occupation is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. It would be helpful if a few television crews could do some interviews! Be sure to donate below! Links: - Information: http://october2011.org; http://occupydc.org - Travel and Hotel: Info - http://twitter.com/#!/StopTheMach2011 - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-the-Machine-Create-a-New... - http://www.occupytogether.org - http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23occupydc (#OccupyDC) - http://occupydc.org Donate: - Paypal donation listed by October2011.org - Call 202-544-9355 to donate to October2011.org - Paypal & Bitcoin donation listed by OccupyDC.org - WePay donation for solar power at occupation - FireDogLake donation for various occupations - Call 202-477-7685 to donate food from Henry's Soul Cafe - Call 202-667-0032 to donate food from Jumbo Pizza - Donate food through Food Not Bombs online |
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Occupy London & UK Uncut Save the British Healthcare Service (October 9th): - Information on the occupation: http://ukuncut.org.uk/blog/block-the-bridge-block-the-bill - Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=277040145648345 - Great roundup of reasons to attend (Left Foot Forward). Media from the Event: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/09/anti-nhs-reforms-protest-block-bridge - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qutkQnb3q0&feature=share - http://www.channel4.com/news/health-reform-protesters-block-westminster-bridge - http://www.flickr.com/photos/welshedout Next Steps: - This is a great article. It's a great way to talk to a government, and it shows the legal path out (False Economy). - A great article explaining how the problem works in the real world of British Healthcare (False Economy/UK Uncut). - Great new article illustrating what Britain used to be like before the British Healthcare Service (UK Uncut). - Lobby the House of Lords (False Economy). - Support Andy Burnham's Plan (Guardian). - Support Lord Owen & Lord Hennessy's Amendment (Going To Work). Donate: - PayPal donation to UK Uncut - FireDogLake donation for various occupations |
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I encourage everyone to watch the video above about the British Healthcare Service (NHS). The woman in the video is among the only generation that can remember what Britain was like before the British Healthcare Service was put into place. It's very difficult for many younger Brits to understand what's at stake. The conservatives in Britain appear to be laying the groundwork for a return to a much crueler time. I did a post about this called Don't Let It Happen several months ago that's worth reading. Inspired by an article on UK Uncut's website, the post talks about the healthcare systems in America and Britain. In America, we still get bills for healthcare like the one UK Uncut posted this morning... from 1931. It's the same sort of thing the woman in video is talking about. A rare find that deserves a look. Check it out HERE. Occupy Movement Protest Problems - Occupy Movement: Problems |
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Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011/10/06/von-occupy-protests... - http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-spreads... - http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/17/occupy-movement-goes-global... - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2011/oct/15/occupy-london-stock... - http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-74046-5.html - http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/10/18/occupy-canada-protests-media,,, - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtWRjj-IoME&feature=player_embedded - http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/occupy-dc-takes-anti-wall... - http://photobyted.smugmug.com/SOAW/Freedom-Plaza-100611/19388736... - https://picasaweb.google.com/ellen.rachel.davidson/October2011ThirdDay... - http://ukuncut.org.uk - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5-hi4FG-dQ |
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Saturday, Sep. 18, over a thousand demonstrators began protests as a part of a campaign they are calling "Occupy Wall Street" or #OccupyWallStreet. According to a number of statements issued by the movement, the protesters are engaging in long-term civil disobedience to draw attention to Wall Street's misdeeds and call for structural economic reforms, which include increasing taxes on the rich, closing tax loopholes, reducing military spending, increasing spending on social programs like healthcare and education, fixing the environment, and fixing a number of problems related to employment. Let's get even more people in the streets of the financial district in New York City! - http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/09/18/321844/why-people-protest... Via UCL Occupation: This channel will feature live streams from global non violent revolution spreading across the globe, with the first broadcasts from the Wall Street Occupation in NYC that started on Saturday, September 17, 2011. The channel will also feature live streams from solidarity protests and events in Spain, Greece, France, Belgium, Iceland and other places around the globe. - http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution I've been hearing good news about the protests, and people are having a lot of fun. You can camp out on Wall Street or book a hotel nearby. More information on traveling to Manhattan appears further along in this post. |
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Donate: - Facebook donation listed by US Uncut - Paypal donation listed by Global Revolution on Livestream - Legal fund donation listed by NYCGA - FireDogLake donation for various occupations - Call 212-577-8989 to donate food to protestors from Energy Kitchen - Call 212-344-3464 to donate food to protestors from Liberatos Pizza - Call 212-989-0500 to donate food to protestors from Alberto's Pizza & Cheesesteak Celebrity Support for #OccupyWallStreet: - Support from: Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore, Cornel West, Lupe Fiasco & Immortal Technique, Rosanne Barr, and Noam Chomsky - Radiohead: "We wish the best of luck to the protestors..." - Wil Wheaton: "I am 100% behind you..." - George Clooney: "I think it's a good idea..." - Russell Simmons: "People there so peaceful organized focused exuding love and hope... Love it." - Alec Baldwin: "I'm thrilled to see this..." - Al Gore: "Count me among those supporting and cheering on the Occupy Wall Street movement." - Salman Rushdie: "It's so civil and polite. And the idealism is overwhelming. Keep going kids!" - Rev. Al Sharpton: "I support them..." Political Support for #OccupyWallStreet: - U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders: "We need a lot of pressure on Wall Street, no question about that..." - U.S. Pres. Barack Obama: "I think it expresses the frustrations that the American people feel..." - U.S. Rep. John Lewis: "I support their efforts all across America..." - U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi: "Whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment, change has to happen..." - U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn: "The most heartwarming thing I've seen since President Obama's election..." - NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg: "The bottom line is - people want to express themselves..." - U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel: "Very pleased that this group of people just came out..." Corporate Support for #OccupyWallStreet: - Ben & Jerry's: "We support this call to action and are honored to join you..." Discussion and Topics: - http://mediamatters.org/blog/201109290009 - http://www.politicususa.com/en/bernie-sanders-occupy-wall-street - http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2011/09/30/occupy_wall_street_teachers... - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/im-a-trader-i-go-to-bed-every-night... - http://occupywallst.org - http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com - http://www.occupytogether.org - http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/first_official_statement_from... - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/occupy-wall-street... - http://matadornetwork.com/change/occupy-wall-street-spreads-where-is... - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/who-are-the-99... - http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/politics/occupy-wall-street/ - http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_podium... - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N8o3peQq79Q - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/opinion/sunday/protesters-against-wall... - http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/10/10/bloomberg-occupy-wall-street... - http://wearetheother99.com - http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd... - http://other98.com - http://www.brokelyn.com/suits-for-wall-street - http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=cea380a3-9234-41b1-9f24... Social Media: - http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23ows (#ows) - http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23occupywallstreet (#OccupyWallStreet) - http://www.facebook.com/OccupyWallSt - http://twitter.com/#!/OccupyWallStNYC (@OccupyWallStNYC) Traveling to Manhattan? (from NewsKing Travel) Hotel Information Many of the protestors on Wall Street are camping at a nearby park. If you want to protest but don't want to camp out, a simple way to find a hotel in Manhattan is to check online at sites like Orbitz, Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity, Priceline, and Hotwire. Some of these sites also list hostels, but there are sites like Hostels.com and Hostelworld.com that are dedicated to hostels and/or discount hotels. When searching online, be sure to enter the correct number of guests and sort by price if you are looking for the lowest rate. There may also be tabs you need to click on in order to see additional hotel listings (such as on Hotwire). You may or may not want to book a hotel or hostel in the burough of Manhattan in New York City. Wall Street is located in Manhattan. You should consider issues like transportation to Wall Street and parking. Parts of Manhattan can be a half-day's walk, but you can take the subway. You can walk to Manhattan's Financial District from areas in Brooklyn that are near the Brooklyn Bridge, but be sure to use the Brooklyn Bridge's pedestrian walkway, even if it appears acceptable to walk on the roadway. More information on these considerations can be found further along in this section. Below is information on some hotels I recommend... If you want to go protest on Wall Street in Manhattan, but don't want to camp out, you can stay at the Gershwin Hotel for $45/night (€33, £29). It's very hip and artsy, it's in Manhattan near Wall Street, and it's very clean. They keep the interior new. The $45/night rooms are rooms with 2 bunk beds and a shared bathroom for the occupants of the room. Regular hotel rooms and suites are available at the Gershwin, but they cost a lot more (if you don't want to bunk, there are better deals online for a regular hotel room or suite). Most of the guests at the Gershwin are international travelers (people from outside the U.S.), so you'll get to meet a lot of cool people. They also have a bar in the lobby, along with art displays. You'll be very close to the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, and umm... The Museum of Sex (don't get the wrong idea, though, it's all very clean!). It's in Midtown. It takes about an hour to walk to Wall Street, but you can take the subway (I think it's the 1 and 9 that go that way? latest map) or a cab. It's a nice walk, though, and I recommend walking. You've got nothing to do but see the sites and protest. Online, the Gershwin doesn't have any $45 rooms available for another 2 weeks (mid-October), but I'd call them because they might have a bed stashed away somewhere. Expedia and Hotels.com list the Gershwin, but you have to put 1 occupant to see the $45 rooms. Orbitz lists the Gershwin, but they do not list the $45 rooms. Travelocity and Priceline do not list the Gershwin at all. Hotwire does not allow you to search by hotel, so I could not tell whether the Gershwin is listed (it may only show up when rooms are available on Hotwire). It is not clear whether $45 rooms can be purchased directly from the hotel. I'd call. 212-545-8000 (international 00-1-212-545-8000). You may need to pay at check-in, online, or when you call, depending on the length of your stay and other factors. When I go to New York, I stay at the Gershwin Hotel! (I've also stayed at the Edison, which has deals sometimes, but the Carter has the best deal for a regular hotel room I could find for Manhattan right now - I think it was $89/night (€65, £57) on Orbitz for 1 occupant. Both are near Times Square. Be sure to check online for the latest deals!) |
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Protest Problems: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/sep/21/occupy-wall-street-protests - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYaA-34c-vI&feature=topvideos_news - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/sep/25/occupywallstreet-occupy... - http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/09/occupy-wall-street-protests... - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/27/occupy-wall-street-reconstruct... - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/27/occupy-wall-street-anthony... - http://www.thirteen.org/metrofocus/news/2011/09/observations-of-a... - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15143509 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/02/occupy-wall-street-nypd-tactics Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://occupywallst.org/media/img/6201968556_b3b3864509.jpg - http://www.endalldisease.com/?p=4339 - http://twitter.com/#!/Activist/status/120009948771000320/photo/1 - http://newconstructionmanhattan.com/nyc-apartments-by-landmark/times-square - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yrT-0Xbrn4&feature=player_embedded |
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UK Uncut has just announced a legal action venture, and I couldn't be happier! What a great gift to everyone who reads this blog, and everyone who supports UK Uncut and what they stand for. They've taken a proud stand! Stand with them. Check out the introduction on their website, and then check out the new UK Uncut Legal Action website! UK Uncut Legal Action is a new, spin-off project separate from - but inspired by - UK Uncut and their fight for an alternative to the cuts. UK Uncut has shown that the cuts are a political choice, not an economic necessity, and that this choice is driven by the interests of big business, the finance sector, and wealthy individuals, not caring for people. UK Uncut Legal Action has announced that it is threatening a legal challenge in the British High Court over the British government's "sweetheart" tax deal with investment banking giant Goldman Sachs. It's amazing UK Uncut is accomplishing so much in so little time. UK Uncut turned one year old on October 25th. Most recently, the group has been a part of the Occupy London movement, and joined a drive to save nurseries for children (be sure to sign the petition!). Take a look at the narrative about the past year on the UK Uncut website. It has media that highlights many of the group's actions. Below is a video compilation I put together recently... |
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Next up, UK Uncut will be joining a march organized by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) this Wednesday, October 9th. Tens of thousands are expected to attend the national demonstration against fees, cuts and privatization in education. "We want to send a message on Wednesday that we won't let the Government hand over education to the markets. Education should be a public service, accessible to all - not a corporate enterprise." Students will be joined on the day by thousands of striking electricians, who are marching with Unite the Union in protest against a 35% national pay cut. NCAFC is supporting the electricians' strike as part of a broader opposition to pay and pensions cuts ahead of the November 30th strikes. As an example of how the British government's cuts have affected education, consider London Metropolitan University ("London Met"). The last academic year saw a 70% cut to London Met's undergraduate course portfolio and a move to more vocational-style degrees, and even greater cuts are expected over the next year. Meanwhile, FTSE 100 directors' pay has risen by over 50% (the FTSE 100 is similar to the American stock market's "Dow" or "S&P 500"). As Claire Locke, President of London Met students' union, has pointed out, the government's policies "have led to a disproportionate attack on our most vulnerable students. We have already had students drop out due to financial hardship and lack of student support." We must stand together and build a mass movement to fight the unjustifiable fees and reckless cuts. Let’s make November 9th a day Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron and British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg can't ignore and won't forget. Check out the Facebook Event HERE or click the image below! |
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Related: - http://ukuncut.org.uk/blog/introducing-uk-uncut-legal-action - http://ukuncutlegalaction.org.uk - http://ukuncut.org.uk - http://occupylsx.org - http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-camden-square-playcentre.html - http://ukuncut.org.uk/blog/a-year-of-ukuncut - http://anticuts.com - https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172700659466128 |
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The whole world is celebrating your victory over Kadhafi! We're celebrating with you! Congratulations! Rebuilding appears to be progressing quickly, and it looks like NATO will end operations in there by October 31st. Related: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/22/libya-liberation-ceremony-nato-withdrawal |
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All troops will be withdrawn by the end of the year! Related: - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/obama-iraq-troop-withdrawal_n_102... |
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On Sunday, October 15, 2011, the official dedication of the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, D.C. took place. President Obama spoke at the event, along with numerous other speakers and civil rights leaders. |
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Related: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/16/martin-luther-king-honoured... - http://www.mlkmemorial.org - http://www.dedicatethedream.org Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.freedomfightersonline.com/north-america/kings-memorial-takes... |
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I'm sick and tired of hearing the U.S. conservative-loved, "The top 1% pays 40% of the taxes." How about this? "Their income is at least 1000% of ours." To calculate this, I tried to divide the U.S. median average income among the top 1% by the U.S. median average income of the other 99%. Unfortunately, I could only find the median average income of everyone in the U.S., and the threshold income of the top 1% in the U.S. That came out to 868% for 2010 incomes. I figured 1000% was probably still understating the difference, but it's an easy number to remember. The link below suggests that 1000% underestimates the income gap in the U.S.: - http://imgur.com/auCdr |
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The California Medical Association, the largest physician group in California, has recently declared it will now be their official policy that marijuana should be legalized, regulated and taxed. Related: - http://justsaynow.firedoglake.com/2011/10/17/california-medical... |
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Enjoy! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBFdX37Qpnk - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP4clbHc4Xg - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcps2fJKuAI NewsKing is not affiliated with YouTube, and does not endorse YouTube products or services. |
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I don't know if anyone noticed, but this blog is supposed to have a menu and pictures and references and cross-references. And I've been saying over and over that I'm supposed to be working on the News of the World scandal spreading from Britain to America. But I've been procrastinating and filling up this "Features and Announcements" section instead (I'm glad I have this section now!). So, the whistle blower was found dead. The conservative British government is forcing through an agenda that has enraged the public. The police have been brutal in response. People have died. Police have resigned. The News of the World publication, which was part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, turns out to have a hand in the current government's conservative agenda. It all looks dirty and covered up. I'm wondering if the mood in Britain is like JFK or MLK getting shot, with Watergate happening at the same time. And while I write for an American audience, there's a huge British audience now that I have to be mindful of. Would you want to write that article and bring up all of that? So, I'm like, I think I'll ride my bike with a different gear today on the way to work, maybe stay at the bar a little longer, and kick it on social media if I have nothing better to do. But I'm at least acknowledging that I'm going write it. I'm just depressed about it. |
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The UARS satellite landed harmlessly, in chunks, in the Pacific Ocean. - http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/uars/index.html But why was it so hard to predict when and where the UARS satellite would impact the Earth? Here's the latest from NASA: - http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/solar-effects.html |
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Talk about spin! This story was out of control before the evidence even came out! Apparently, scientists at CERN (the lab in Europe with that big new particle accelerator), working with the INFN lab in Gran Sasso, Italy, conducted an experiment in which particles appeared to move faster than light. It's all very exciting. Of course, the scientists who conducted the experiment suspect that the results may be due to an error. They did a very good job checking every detail they could think of, but they are asking their colleagues to check for errors, which is normal procedure even if no errors are suspected. The story is running wild, though. I'm excited, too, by the way. And scientists appear to be having a lot of fun with the story. So let's drink a beverage to quantum physics... It's good to hear so many scientists weigh in on this. Causality. Time travel. Extra dimensions. Energy fields. Check out the articles below for even more! - http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/22/faster-than-light... - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15017484 - http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BREAKING_LIGHT_SPEED... - http://gizmodo.com/5843006/faster-than-light-particles-could-wreck... - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/8782895/CERN-scientists-break... - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15412311,00.html - http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/23/physicists-speed... - http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2011/PR19... |
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This is NASA's largest rocket ever. Not only will it be able to carry crew and cargo to the International Space Station, it can also venture out into the solar system. And it's got a huge payload capacity, so it has the potential to be used for just about anything humans want to do in space. A program like this could change everything! - http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls1.html |
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President Obama's American Jobs Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation designed to help all Americans, whether they need a job or already have one. The Act will help grow the American economy, and there's nothing in it that Republicans can't agree to. But Republicans in Congress are stalling because they believe they can hurt Obama and the Democrats by making Americans suffer. They're wrong. And they'll be blamed for hurting Americans to further their own interests. It seems like they only want to help corporations and the wealthy, and don't care about the other 98% of America. Tell Congress you want them to pass the American Jobs Act. Visit AmericanJobsAct.com and call Congress at (202) 224-3121. |
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This is the kind of manager they need at W3C! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JyN6Obi7eI 2022 is coming! [Click HERE if you can't see this video outside of the U.S. (I have no way of knowing what you can view or if this link will work for you).] |
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Fonts This font discussion is sort of related to the font I want users to see when they look at NewsKing, but by changing to CSS fonts, I'm not changing the actual typeface I want users to see. I'm only changing the way I tell the browser to get that font out to you. If I fail to get it right... well, then you don't see the right font. So, it is sort of about the font I want users to see... If you're interested in fonts, as in typefaces, here is what I've decided to use in my CSS font-family after doing a little research (this is a small piece of computer code): font-family: Verdana, VerdanaFF, Tahoma, "DejaVu Sans", "Droid Sans", Geneva, "Bitstream Vera Sans", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; Basically, I'm saying I want to use the Verdana font. The one you are used to seeing on NewsKing (in most cases). And I want to maximize the chances that you'll see it and that it will continue to be supported. Your browser will look at the list of fonts from left to right and pick the first one you have installed. If your computer doesn't have Verdana, your browser will try VerdanaFF, which attempts to use the "@font-face" feature in CSS (not supported in all browsers) and download the Verdana font to your browser (the "FF" stands for "font-face" - that's just what I named it to separate it from installed versions of Verdana). VerdanaFF is an older version of Verdana, not the new, polished up version that ships with newer operating systems (and you can't just type VerdanaFF into your code; there's more code involved for @font-face [Download VerdanaFF for web developers]). If you don't have Verdana and can't use VerdanaFF because your browser doesn't support @font-face, your browser will try Tahoma (which is very similar). The code basically tells your browser to "pick the next closest font to Verdana that you have installed," and attempts to make allowances for fonts available on different operating systems. Finally, the last font in the list, "sans-serif," tells the browser to use whatever font you have installed without "serifs," assuming you have none of the other fonts installed and all else has failed. ("Sans" means "without," so "without serifs.") Serifs are like "little hooks" on letters: T vs. T. Can you see the little hooks on the first letter T? There is a problem with something called "anti-aliasing" with respect to certain web fonts on some Linux systems. So even if you have Verdana installed in Linux (32% don't), you might be better off with something like "DejaVu Sans" or "Bitstream Vera Sans" (which are both Linux fonts) because Verdana could be a little blurry due to the anti-aliasing issue. I could have put "DejaVu Sans" first in the list, and browsers running on most operating systems other than Linux would've skipped over it and used Verdana. But I want Verdana supported in every operating system, so I put it first, meaning that if you have it installed, your browser will display it, even if it comes out a little blurry for some Linux users (it's not that blurry - I tested this years ago, and I think they've mostly fixed it). Oh, and on many LCD screens, certain screen resolutions blur fonts, too, so there's little point in worrying about it nowadays. Whether using CSS or <font>, for over a decade, Dreamweaver has automatically created a list similar to the one above whenever the Verdana font is used to design a website. Dreamweaver's list looks like this: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Starting with Verdana and working down to sans-serif is kind of a crude-but-effective way of thinking about fonts. The Verdana font is supposed to be easy to read on a computer screen. It's about more than just sans-serif. It was the first font actually designed to be easy to read on a computer screen, and it happens to be a sans-serif font. That's why I say working from Verdana down to sans-serif is crude-but-effective. Sans-serif doesn't necessarily mean "easy to read on a computer screen," but ultimately, I want to at least get something similar to Verdana out to the user. If you like the look of serif fonts on your webpage instead of Verdana or other sans-serif fonts, you face a similar problem. You might start with "Times New Roman" and work your way down to "serif." The font you're reading now (in this post) is "browser choice." It's whatever your browser is set to show you (usually something like Times New Roman) if nothing is specified in the web page code. Here is the full code I used for the CSS fonts (default and otherwise), page background color, etc. I don't know how helpful this will be, but it will at least show a cool way of implementing @font-face... <style type="text/css"> <!-- @font-face { font-family: VerdanaFF; src: url(../fonts/VerdanaFF.ttf); } body,td,th { font-family: Verdana, VerdanaFF, Tahoma, "DejaVu Sans", "Droid Sans", Geneva, "Bitstream Vera Sans", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: #CCCCFF; } body { background-color: #000000; } a:link { color: #9999FF; } a:visited { color: #9999FF; } a:hover { color: #FF9900; } a:active { color: #FF9900; } .style1 { color: #FFCC66; } .style2 { font-size: 16px; color: #FFCC66; } .style5 {font-size: 10px} --> </style> Verdana-gate & Verdana in Popular Culture Thank you, IKEA! In 2009, IKEA switched all of the text in its print catalogs, and all of the signs and banners in its stores, to the Verdana font in order to create unity with the IKEA website. It was such a big deal in the "font world" that it was nicknamed "Verdana-gate." Most people thought that the move was "avant-garde" in terms of design. In the words of Tom Rickner, one of the designers of the Verdana font, "My hope now is that these typefaces will be enjoyed beyond just the computer screen. Although the screen size bitmaps were the most crucial in the production of these fonts, their uses should not be limited to on-screen typography." Designed for Microsoft by world-renowned typeface designer Matthew Carter, and hand-hinted by leading hinting expert Tom Rickner of Agfa Monotype, the Verdana font is a unique example of typeface design for the computer screen. According to one long-running survey, the availability of Verdana is 99.70% on Windows, 98.05% on computers running Mac OS, and 67.91% on free operating systems like Linux. The Verdana family resembles humanist sans-serifs such as Frutiger, and Edward Johnston's typeface for the London Underground. Carter himself claims to see the influence of his own Bell Centennial in the typeface. But to label Verdana a humanist typeface is to ignore the fact that this family isn't merely a revival of classical elegance; this is a font designed for the medium of screen. The Verdana fonts exhibit characteristics derived from the pixel rather than the pen, brush, or chisel. The relationship between straight, curved, and diagonal strokes has been painstakingly developed to ensure that the pixel patterns at small sizes are pleasing, clear, and legible. Commonly confused characters, such as the lowercase i j l, the uppercase I J L, and the numeral 1 have been carefully drawn for maximum distinctiveness - an important characteristic of fonts designed for on-screen use. And the various weights in the typeface family have been designed to create sufficient contrast from one another ensuring, for example, that the bold font is heavy enough even at sizes as small as 8 ppem. The generous width and spacing of Verdana's characters is key to the legibility of these fonts on the screen. With other on-screen fonts, the limited number of pixels available at low resolutions means that tightly set characters can easily clash; turning an r n into an m, or creating distracting black patches in a word. In on-screen typography, it's important to keep the characters distinct from one another, and research has shown that wider letterspacing significantly aids reading from the screen. Verdana's lowercase letters are very large compared to the overall size of the font, which makes text easy to read on the web. The Verdana font was nominated for the Best Of British Design Award on BBC Two's The Culture Show on January 26, 2006. The Verdana font has been used on NewsKing for over a decade. |
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You have a few more months to get it out of your system. Whatever gripes you have about Obama. But it starts gearing up next month. The U.S. election season. It'll be in full swing come January. And I'm putting everyone on notice! If you're a progressive Democrat, you can resume reality-as-you-know-it after you help re-elect Obama. Then you can bitch all you want for 3 more years. But if you criticize Obama over the next year, I'll come after you. I'll hit back and hit back hard. Don't even move your fucking lips if you can't say something positive about Obama! That's just the way it's going to be. You're on notice now... |
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[UPDATED: April 5, 2012] Recently, and I came across a page discussing the development of HTML5 video. That got me curious, and I began researching a series of questions I had about HTML5 video. I learned a lot. I learned about different HTML5 video standards in different browsers. And I learned that despite all of this, I like HTML5 video. The code is something I can do, and there was lots of online development help. And I was glad to learn there is no need for people to start using HTML5 video. With the exception of the iPhone/iPad, Adobe Flash video will continue to work fine. Best of all, website owners can try out HTML5 video and still have Flash video enabled. So, I'm excited about HTML5 video and will probably try it out, although I'll continue to support Adobe Flash. A lot of the information about HTML5 video concerned devices like smartphones, iPhones, tablets, and iPads. I don't own a smartphone or an iPhone, or a tablet or an iPad, or anything like that. I have the free cell phone my carrier gave me with the slide-out keyboard, camera, and something that looks sort of like the Internet on a 3-inch screen. As I learned more about smartphones, iPhones, tablets, and iPads, I learned that Facebook is playing a role in the market for these devices. Eventually, I learned it was possible to simulate one of these devices on your PC, so you can test your web pages or apps. Below are some screenshots from the simulators. Associated development packages are shown in the background. (RIM has a Blackberry development package and SDK with phone simulator that I found out about after this article was originally posted.) |
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| The
Android Simulator (Eclipse by Eclipse Foundation & Android SDK by Google) |
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| The
Windows Phone Simulator (Windows Phone Visual Studio Express & Windows Phone SDK by Microsoft) |
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| The
iPhone Simulator (iPhone Design Center & Test Center by MobiOne) |
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- Play Angry Birds on your PC! Run Android Apps on your PC full screen! Free download! |
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A few months ago, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) allegedly switched its long-standing position on changes to America's Social Security program, supporting "modest changes to make sure Social Security is there for future generations." AARP's announcement made the national news, and President Obama increasingly began using similar language in speeches as the so-called "debt ceiling debate" raged on. It is important to understand that for most Americans, "Social Security" refers to the federal "Old Age Retirement" program, even though the laws surrounding the federal Social Security program are related to Medicare, Medicaid, disability, unemployment, and other programs. Social programs also do not represent the largest expenditures of the U.S. government as many people continue to claim. The military does. The numbers the U.S. government uses do not recognize Social Security as a trust fund, and do not distinguish veterans' benefits and the military's portion of the national debt from other forms of spending. Anyway, "Social Security" is not in trouble. It's a social program under attack by Republicans (like all social programs), and despite Republicans' best efforts, the program remains in good shape for the foreseeable future. But who cares, now? Republicans want a crisis. And they've come up with ways of fiddling with the numbers to create one: 25-75 years from now, and only if things go in a very specific (and unlikely) direction. In a country that can barely see 1 year out, the Republicans are willing to stop paying benefits to seniors immediately if they don't get the crisis they want. So, AARP wrote a new article about it all (AARP: The Magazine, Sep/Oct 2011). They started off by saying Social Security faces "political pressures." True. Then they crunched the numbers the Republicans used and came up with "solutions." One of the "solutions" involved lifting the cap on income taxed for Social Security benefits. In other words, when you're working a job, the first $106,800 dollars you earn each year are taxed for Social Security. If you earn more than $106,800 per year, the remaining amount isn't taxed for Social Security. There are a lot of complicated reasons for this cap, some of which are related to the way Social Security was designed, and some of which are related to the amount of benefits seniors are allowed to receive from Social Security when they retire. AARP proposed either raising the cap (to a higher amount above $106,800) or removing the cap entirely. I propose that the cap be completely reworked. The simplest of my ideas is to remove the cap for income above $250,000, but leave the cap in place for income between $106,800 and $250,000. But it could also be modified so that people earning below $75,000 pay less than they are now, while people earning above $250,000 pay more. Of course, benefits would only be paid based on the first $106,800 of income earned, and people earning below $75,000 would not receive fewer benefits even though they paid a lower tax than those earning over $75,000. There are, of course, loopholes AARP also proposed closing, such as income from flexible spending accounts and tax-excluded health benefits. I'm generally in favor this, but it has to be thought through carefully, so that low-income workers aren't harmed. "Social Security," as most people know it, was put in place to end the problem of seniors living in poverty. America had learned that the free market turns its back on seniors and leaves them to die in poverty. Compared to programs in a lot of countries, the program remains rather selfish; only people who are able to work a job and pay into the program receive its benefits, while the rest are still left for dead. The Medicaid program, which was originally intended to provide healthcare for the poor, spends 80% of its budget to fill this gap and provide housing for seniors. I once joked that Republicans wanted to leave seniors on Medicaid, but the joke was on me. Their targeted cuts on Medicaid aim to leave seniors homeless. As wealthy people throughout America and around the world speak out against Republicans and recognize the wealthy have a duty to society - a duty to pay higher taxes to the societies that made them rich, so those societies will continue to be there to make people rich in the future - Republicans are becoming less of a party that represents the wealthy, and more of a party that represents war and misery. They represent the joy people feel when they push each other around. In the U.S., this is taken to the extreme: the lifelong threat of death, starvation, homelessness, and disease is used to hold people in slavery. Republicans believe in keeping people under a lifelong threat of homelessness and starvation. They like to go out in public and have more than just the power of wealth; they want to enjoy the power that this kind of lifelong threat produces in terms of how they can treat people. It's what the healthcare debate in the U.S. and Britain is about, it's what austerity is about, it's what the debt ceiling debate is about, and it's why they want to take away Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the U.S. It's no longer about the wealthy. The wealthy have spoken. It's all about misery now. Related: - http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-04-2011/AARP-fights-against... - http://www.aarp.org/work/social-security/info-08-2011/protect-social-security.html |
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[UPDATED: Aug. 22, 2011] "Do you think we went to the moon?" I was motivated to write about this after a conversation I had with a die-hard Republican while drinking at a bar. I started the conversation. "So, what do you think about this debt ceiling debate?" I asked. "I'm a Republican," he answered. "I think we should cut the military," I said. "We spend more on our military than every other country in the world combined, and we spend 10 times more than China," I added. "I was in the Navy," he said. Then he looked around the bar as if the FBI was about to bust in and arrest me. "I have a lot of friends in the military," I assured him. "Well, I think you're right about cutting the military," he whispered, staring down at his beer. He stared at his beer for what seemed like a long time. Then he said, "Do you think we went to moon?" "Yes," I responded confidently. And so the conversation began... It turns out that although conspiracy theories about whether or not the U.S. went to the moon existed prior to 2001, a television show on Fox Television called Conspiracy Theory that aired in the spring of 2001 is the single biggest contributor to present-day moon landing conspiracy theories. Today, about 20% of Americans believe the U.S. didn't land on the moon. There are about a dozen or so arguments that surround the Fox television show. Some arguments are more popular than others. Below is a Q&A that tackles some of the more popular arguments, and reflects the conversation I had: Q: What about the Van Allen radiation belts? Wouldn't a dose of radiation like that have killed all of the Apollo astronauts? A: The Van Allen Belts are zones where particles from the Sun are trapped by the earth's magnetic field. While en-route to the Moon, the astronauts were briefly exposed to radiation. It was thought that the amount of radiation over such a short time, along with the safeguards in place, would mean that the astronauts would not be harmed by the radiation. America has even published reports that describe what the astronauts saw when they closed their eyes while traveling through the Van Allen Belts. They saw little white specks with tails (or "trails") that looked like tiny little comets. This was caused by particles that penetrated their eyes. The specks were too faint for the astronauts to see with their eyes open. If you went through the Van Allen Belts, would you leave your eyes open or closed? You may not ever have the opportunity. NASA will likely use a different standard of protection next time humans travel through the Van Allen Belts. Q: If there is no air on the moon, then why did the American flag seem to "wave in the breeze?" A: The flag had a rod sewn into the top so it would remain unfurled. It waved because it was jiggled by the forces generated when the flagpole was shoved into the Moon's surface. When you stick a flagpole in the ground, the flagpole jiggles, and causes the flag to wave. And the lack of air on the moon is one of the reasons the flag shook for awhile. There was no air resistance to slow the flag down, so it shook for a short time. Q: Are the shadows wrong in the photos from the moon? Maybe they were photoshopped or something. A: Well, there was no Adobe Photoshop in 1969, but that's not what's important. The shadows in photos and videos from the Moon are a little bit lighter in some places most likely because the Moon's surface is reflective. The Moon isn't "self-lit" like the Sun or a star, it merely reflects light from the Sun when the Sun is on the other side of the Earth. If the moon weren't reflective, it wouldn't be so pretty at night. Background and Trivia NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin first landed on the Moon in 1969 during NASA's Apollo program. It was an event that changed the world, and in many ways united humanity. The Apollo program ended in 1975, but not before snapping the famous photo of the full Earth from space during the last trip to the Moon in 1972. It was a hard photo to get, because during most of the Apollo missions to the Moon, the Earth was only partially lit by the Sun. The photo became an instant classic. President Nixon sent a copy of the photo to every world leader, including adversaries in Vietnam, where the U.S. was engaged in a war. Even America's worst adversaries called Nixon to thank him for the photo... |
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| The
Full Earth Photo taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, December 1972 |
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The end of the Apollo program in 1975 was followed 6 years later by the Space Shuttle program, in 1981. The very first image ever broadcast on MTV when the network launched in 1981 was of the first Space Shuttle launch. It was cleverly cut together with video of an Apollo launch, and images of an astronaut standing on the Moon next to an "MTV flag" (which was actually an American flag overlayed with the MTV logo). To this day, MTV hands out "Moon Man" statuettes to winners of the MTV Video Music Awards. NewsKing has also used images from the Apollo program, including the famous photo of the full Earth, which is incorporated into the current NewsKing logo. As MTV celebrates its 30th anniversary (which officially took place August 1, 2011), their first broadcast offers a look back at some of the early milestones in the space program, and makes us think about the importance of the space program in popular culture. |
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| The MTV "Moon Man" given to winners of MTV's Video Music Awards | ||||||
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Related: - http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast23feb_2 - http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/pseudosc/conspiracytheorydidwegotothemoon.htm - http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html - http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/17jul_discoveringearth - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/mtv-turns-30-from-remote... Of Interest: - http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/aug/HQ_11-245_Mars_Water.html - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfBaM2F6Qzk&feature=topvideos_science New Show: - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=139033386 New Movie: - http://apollo18movie.net 2011 MTV Video Music Awards - Aug. 28, 9/8c: - http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2011 Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/17jul_discoveringearth - http://sumedurant.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-favorite-mtv-vmas-moments-2010.html - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/mtv-turns-30-from-remote... |
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[UPDATED: Aug. 19, 2011] Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron is planning a "crackdown" on social media and "gangs" in London. But I've "cracked" the code. He's talking about welfare and schools and moral codes and the LA riots from 1992, but he's hired a U.S. cop from New York City to help him with his crackdown. What he doesn't realize is that urban gentrification in U.S. cities like New York coincided with economic prosperity during the Clinton administration, and the kind of problems that were allegedly solved were simply moved to cities like Detroit as the economy turned down during the Bush years. Even New York City has experienced a slow-but-steady decline in gentrification since 2003. London isn't exactly in the middle of an economic boom, and there are a limited number of cities in the U.K. into which problems can be pushed in time for Cameron's precious 2012 Olympics. What Cameron is proposing reminds me of the film Robocop (which, appropriately, is set in Detroit). It's not going to work in London. It didn't really work in New York City. Problems were just temporarily shoved into other cities, only to return to New York in slow motion. Actual social problems need to be solved in England, as they do in America. And leaders, especially conservative leaders, should stop moving problems around every time the economy booms. It doesn't really solve the underlying problems, and the problems will return during the next downturn, even if it happens slowly over a decade, as is happening in New York. The latest ideas in American urban planning and real estate speculation, just like American ideas about privatizing healthcare in Britain, aren't going to work for Cameron. The Royal Family will need a tank to ride around in by the time Cameron is finished... just like the American presidents ride around in... If Cameron really wants to fix London, he should make college free again, stop messing with the world's best healthcare system, increase welfare and benefits during this recession, and make sure corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share of taxes. But he'd rather get his jollies by pushing poor people around and pay NYC cops to protect him. He'll probably need a tank soon, too... |
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| Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron's Vision for Neo-Medieval London | ||||||
I've been reading about some of the sentences being doled out in Britain related to the recent riots. Cameron is playing with public anger to carry out his conservative agenda. He's called for people to be evicted from public housing (so I guess he thinks only rich kids should riot?), and supported long jail terms for people who merely posted on Facebook about the riots or got caught up in the moment and stole a bottle of water. Being "caught up in the moment" usually results in less severe penalties in the West. Cameron has also called for blackouts of social media, like what happened in Arab world. For the cost of sending just 2 young men to jail for 4 years for setting up a facebook group that didn't cause a riot, you could employ 4 youth workers for 4 years working with up to 200 of the most alienated young people per year (800 young people in 4 yrs) or pay for a full time youth advice service in 8 large secondary schools (benefitting around 10,000 young people) for a year or you could employ 24 young people at around $25,000 for a year at a time when youth unemployment has reached over 20% in Britain. Related: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/14/bill-bratton-police-crisis-cuts Disproportionate Penalties: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/15/riots-magistrates-sentencing - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14538252 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/aug/16/tories-riots-bonkers-liberal-democrat - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/17/facebook-cases-criticism-riot-sentences - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14557772 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14559294 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/17/england-riots-ministers-wrong-courts-carlile - http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/08/17/uk.riot.sentences/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 - http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/17/rushkoff.flash.mobs/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 See Also: - Russell Brand on the U.K. Riots - UK Uncut To Help Rebuild London Community - Cameron "Fights Back" Against U.K. Riots - U.K. Riots - Victory! - Sausage Ads Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.unicornpedia.com/robocop-on-a-unicorn |
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Today marks the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall divided the city of Berlin, Germany into "East" and "West," and was the world's best-known symbol of the Cold War. What a lot of people don't realize is that the city of Berlin was located well inside of East Germany. Although West Berlin was a part of West Germany, West Berlin was actually located in East Germany. West Berlin was sort of a Western island, isolated from the rest of West Germany, and surrounded by East Germany and the Berlin Wall. There was also a fortified border between East and West Germany called the Inner German Border. Sections of the Inner German Border had walls, but most of it was an elaborate fence. Few people lived along the border between East and West Germany, while Berlin was a heavily populated city. Thus, many people tried to escape into West Berlin by climbing the Berlin Wall. A lot of people died trying to climb over the Wall into West Berlin, and today's ceremony in Berlin included heroic stories of people who died trying to escape East Germany. During the Cold War, the Wall became a symbol for the geographical, ideological and political divide between Europe's democratic West and the communist East controlled by the Soviet Union. On August 13, 1961, the East German communist regime began building the Wall, dividing the city of Berlin for more than 28 years. The Wall finally fell on November 9, 1989, in a bloodless uprising which saw East Germans allowed to cross freely into the West for the first time in nearly three decades. The reunification of East and West Germany, and the end of the Cold War, followed shortly thereafter. |
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| This
is a photo of the Berlin Wall the day it came down in 1989. You can see East German soldiers peering through from the Eastern side. |
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Related: - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15314486,00.html - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/1,2692,30092,00.html - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14514916 - http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778463,00.html - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall See Also: - The Fall of the Berlin Wall Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://joonbug.com/national/frequency/Free-U2-Concert-for-Berlin-Wall-Fall/xWAeH7kYZN7 |
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Below are some selections from an article by Russell Brand featured in The Guardian about the riots in England. Russell Brand is a comedian, television and film star from Britain. He recently starred in the film Arthur (2011) and has an ad out in the U.S. for the HP Touchpad. I've edited the article for length, and "Americanized" some of the language (I figured American readers wouldn't know what a "pair of trainers" are). Hopefully Mr. Brand won't mind. It's rare to see celebrities on NewsKing, not because they don't have something to say, but because I can't provide the kind of environment they deserve. (Musicians, along with "Willaim and Kate" (who are also royalty), Duane "The Dog" Chapman, Will Smith, Tom Hanks, Will Ferrell, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and Daniel Tosh have so far tolerated NewsKing, and I'm grateful. Hopefully Mr. Brand will be comfortable seeing parts of his article for The Guardian here.) The article appears below: I don't know enough about politics to ponder a solution [to all of this] and my hands are sticky with blood money from representing corporate interests through film, television and commercials, venerating, through my endorsements and celebrity, products and a lifestyle that contributes to the alienation of an increasingly dissatisfied underclass. [...] [But I used to find protesting] exciting... because I was young and a bit of a twerp but also, I suppose, because there was a void in me. A lack of direction, a sense that I was not invested in the dominant culture, that government existed not to look after the interests of the people it was elected to represent but the big businesses that they were in bed with. I felt that [way], [even though] I had a [mom] who loved me, a dad who told me that nothing was beyond my reach, an education, [healthcare,] a [student] grant... (to train as an actor of all things!!!) and several charities [some of which are partly funded by the government in the UK] that gave me money for [the basics]. I shudder to think how disenfranchised I would have felt if I had been deprived of that long list of privileges. That state of deprivation though is, of course, the condition that many of those rioting endure as their unbending reality. No education, a weakened family unit, no money [for the basics] and no way of getting any [money]. [A sporting goods store] is probably easier to desecrate if you can't afford what's in there and the few poorly paid jobs there are taken. Amidst the bleakness of this social landscape, squinting all the while in the glare of a culture that radiates ultraviolet consumerism and infrared celebrity. That daily, hourly, incessantly enforces the egregious, deceitful message that you are what you wear, what you drive, what you watch and what you watch it on, in livid, neon pixels. The only light in their lives comes from these luminous corporate messages. No wonder they have their fucking hoods up. I remember Cameron saying "hug a hoodie" but I haven't seen him doing it. [A "hoodie" refers to a young person who wears a hooded sweatshirt, and considers it a fashion statement.] Why would [Cameron hug a hoodie]? Hoodies don't vote, they've realized it's pointless, that whoever gets elected will just be a different shade of the "we don't give a toss about you" party. Politicians don't represent the interests of people who don't vote. They barely care about the people who do vote. They look after the corporations who get them elected. Cameron only spoke out against News International when it became evident to us, US, the people, not to him (like Rose West, "He must've known") that the newspapers Murdoch controlled were happy to desecrate the dead in the pursuit of another exploitative, distracting story. Why am I surprised that these young people behave destructively, "mindlessly", motivated only by self-interest? How should we describe the actions of the city bankers who brought our economy to its knees in 2010? Altruistic? Mindful? Kind? But then again, they do wear suits, so they deserve to be bailed out, perhaps that's why not one of them has been imprisoned. And they got away with a lot more than a few fucking pairs of [shoes]. |
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| Actor/Comedian Russell Brand stands up to Cameron | ||||||
Original Article: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/11/london-riots-davidcameron Related: - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/uk-libraries-under-threat - http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/08/sure-start... - http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,779413,00.html - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/youth-services-in-crisis - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14488312 - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cuts-will-cost-charities-... - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/08/01/british-charities... - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/exclusive-more-than-2000-charities-and... - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14366522 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/14/profits-top... - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/13/london-riots-edmiliband - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/14/uk-riots-aftermath-live-coverage - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/15/david-cameron-riots-broken-society - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14452097 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/15/riots-magistrates-sentencing - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14538252 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/aug/16/tories-riots-bonkers-liberal-democrat Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.dailyfill.com/gossip/archive/638/ |
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This was the first post I did on the U.K. riots. I've written much more about it recently, and you can view my more recent posts above. There are two videos here. The first one shows a reporter trying to dismiss a man who argues that what is happening with regard to the riots in Britain is similar to the Arab Spring, essentially comparing Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron to corrupt leaders in the Arab world. |
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The second video puts the first one in context. Check out John Oliver's humorous adaptation of the British response to the riots. |
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What's going on over there? Obviously, I don't condone what is going on. You can read more about it all in the posts above. Related: - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biJgILxGK0o - http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/tue-august-9-2011-jay-bahadur See Also: - Victory! - Sausage Ads |
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[UPDATED: Aug. 19, 2011] The E.U. leveled more sanctions against Syria, a day after US President Barack Obama called on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step down. The U.N. is sending a humanitarian mission to Syria. On Aug. 18, U.S. President Barack Obama for the first time explicitly called for Assad's ouster, and the leaders of Germany, Britain and France swiftly followed suit, issuing a call for Assad to "face the reality of the complete rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to step aside in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people." U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay has said there were indications that the Syrian regime may have committed crimes against humanity in its crackdown on dissidents. Related: - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15326626,00.html - http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-09/news/29868521_1_victoria-nuland... |
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As Republicans criticize the Obama administration and try to score political points following S&P's lowering of America's "credit rating" on August 5, 2011, Republicans are actually making matters worse for the U.S. In a press release, S&P stopped short of blaming everything on Republicans, but they pretty much admitted that Republicans caused the U.S. credit rating to go down by creating a crisis. It is unfortunate that this happened on Obama's watch, and S&P's actions may indeed be political and intended to hurt President Obama, but that didn't stop S&P from criticizing the Bush tax cuts. |
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S&P also called for changes in Medicare similar to what President Obama said he would consider. These comments seemed out-of-place given the bulk of what S&P had to say. Overall, S&P does not seem to care how the U.S. spends its money. According to S&P's statement, the U.S. needs to either raise revenues or cut spending, or do a little of both. Politics aside, the news wan't all bad. |
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Related: - http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT... - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html... - http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,779893,00.html - http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-warren-buffett-is-right-on-taxes-2011-8 |
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On the August 2, 2011 episode of The Daily Show, aired on Comedy Central at 11pm in the U.S. (time may vary), I watched Jon Stewart make fun of a British sausage ad, and I thought it was hilarious. |
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Honestly, I prefer the sausage ad over what we have here in America. Let's hope ads like these don't start airing over in Britain... |
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Americans are going to be really pissed at me because I'm making a part of America that seems innocent to Americans look immoral. I'm asking Americans what they think of themselves when viewed by societies that consider the ideas being sold in these ads immoral. America looks weird and wicked. I'm supposed to be working on my next article, but I'm enjoying the fuck out of this. I will try to find some more ads. I want some of those private student loan ads from a few years ago. Obama put a stop to them (thank you, Obama), but Wells Fargo Bank has a covert one out now. It won't make sense without the old ads, though. We've been selling the world our darkness since 1776. People came here to burn witches after the practice was banned in Europe. Americans called it religious freedom. Here are some songs... |
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Related: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jun/07/student-loan-demand... - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/lansleys-changes-to-hospitals-payment... - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14488312 - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/lansley-clings-on-to-nhs-any-qualified... - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14356517 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jul/28/cost-nhs-reforms-rising - http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/07/29/its-official-cameron-has-broken... - http://thoughcowardsflinch.com/2011/04/30/the-black-report-the-nhs... - http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/may/09/universities-extra... Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/tue-august-2-2011-jason-bateman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onRCY8xoODI - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mwtbkEfedk&feature=related - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSr3dRXlM5w - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxmqH_7O_iw - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvdFnINlN6Q |
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The region of Africa known as the "Horn of Africa" is currently facing a severe drought. There hasn't been enough rain in over two years. Consequently, crops that depend on the rain have dried up, and the people who live in this region of Africa are starving. The drought has affected the African countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Somalia is having so much trouble coping with the drought that it has made things worse for countries like Kenya and Ethiopia. Somalia is embroiled in a religious conflict affecting its stability. Somalis are fleeing the country in search of aid in Kenya and Ethiopia. To make matters even worse, Somalis who flee face looting and violence from religious extremists as they travel through certain areas of Somalia to reach Kenya and Ethiopia. Camps have been set up for the Somali refugees in Kenya and Ethiopia, but there is barely enough food. The U.N., U.S., E.U., and Arab states have all donated money and food to help the Horn of Africa region, but it is difficult to get the aid to Somalia because of the religious conflict. Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti are also receiving aid. Information from the region is still very difficult to come by, especially in Somalia where the religious conflict is affecting communications. Drought victims in Africa need your help! Please help now by donating to the Red Cross. Here are some ways to donate: - Use this link: https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5243... - You can also text REDCROSS to 90999 on your mobile phone to donate $10 to relief efforts. - Or, call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) to give money or schedule a blood donation. A number of other charities have been brought to my attention either by email or through promotion. The World Food Program is taking donations online and by mobile phone: - Use this link: https://www.wfp.org/donate/hoa_banners/ - Or, text AID to 27722 on your mobile phone to donate $10 to relief efforts. ABC News has put together a list of other ways to donate to help drought victims in Africa: - http://abcnews.go.com/International/somalia-famine/story?id=14088327 Many of these sites continue to take donations for Japan, as well as tornado, flood, and wildfire victims throughout the U.S. As you make your donation to help drought victims in Africa, consider helping Japan and various parts of the U.S. as well. Your Help Is Needed: - Help Missouri and Arizona - Help U.S. Spring Flood Victims - Help Tornado & Wildfire Victims in Southern U.S. - Help Japan Related: - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14314060 - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15275498,00.html - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14354376 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14143562 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14248278 - http://articles.latimes.com/1993-03-07/news/mn-8245_1_refugee-camp - http://hosted2.ap.org/APDefault/*/Article_2011-07-29-AF-East-Africa-Famine... - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15278628,00.html - http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/07/30/somalia.mogadishu.fighting/... |
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On July 22, 2011, the city of Oslo, Norway was plunged into tragedy when Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian right-wing extremist, detonated a car bomb in downtown Oslo, and then went on a shooting rampage at a youth camp, killing more than 90 people. There can be no doubting that the entire world feels the weight of this tragedy. We all want to do everything we can to help Norway and the people of Oslo. Americans, remembering the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City, and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, can certainly relate to what Norwegians are going through. But I want to take a moment to try and explain to Americans how this tragedy is affecting Norway, because experiencing this tragedy as a Norwegian is very different from experiencing something similar in America. Imagine life in a small American town; the kind of town that has an old-fashioned covered bridge, a wishing well in the town square, and perhaps some antique shops and 100-year-old restaurants. Most of the residents of this fictional American town can't even remember the last time there was a murder. Life is good, and the townsfolk make sure no one falls through the cracks. People care about one another. Maybe it's a little too picturesque for America, even for small-town America, but you get the idea. Now imagine life being this way in a city the size of Charlotte, NC, Austin, TX, or San Diego, CA. The city of Oslo is about the same size. But the entire country of Norway has less than 30 murders per year. So, life is very different in Norway compared to America. They're going through a shock that's very difficult for Americans to understand. The mood in Oslo the day after the bombing and shooting rampage was somber. On Saturday, July 23, most people in Oslo were still working through their shock and disbelief that something like this could have happened in their hometown. Kristin Van Asperen, an Oslo resident, had just left the downtown core where she works when the bomb went off. "I just can't believe this really happened," she said. "I heard the explosion and instantly knew something was wrong. Today, I was supposed to work with a client, but I can't stop crying. The worst is all those innocent kids being massacred, stuck on an island. I can't imagine the panic and horror." While the people of Norway try to pick themselves up again after witnessing such horrific events in their normally peaceful country, many are left wondering how this will change life there. How will Norway ever find peace again? "We are an open and democratic society and have every right to continue to not be afraid," said Prime Minister Stoltenberg. "A whole world is thinking of [the victims of this tragedy]," Stoltenberg said, his voice cracking with emotion. He said the twin attacks made Friday the deadliest day in Norway's peacetime history. "This is beyond comprehension. It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare for those who have been killed, for their mothers and fathers, family and friends." Buildings around the capital lowered their flags to half-mast while people streamed to Oslo cathedral to light candles and lay flowers. Outside, mourners began building a makeshift altar from dug-up cobblestones. On Saturday, Britain's Queen wrote to Norway's King Harald to offer her condolences and express her shock and sadness. Stoltenberg vowed that Norway will fight back against the twin terror attacks with "more democracy" and said an independent commission is being formed to investigate the massacre and to help survivors and relatives. Norwegians will defend themselves by showing they are not afraid of violence and by participating more broadly in politics, he told reporters. "It's absolutely possible to have an open, democratic, inclusive society, and at the same time have security measures and not be naive," he said. Stoltenberg underlined his commitment to openness, defending freedom of thought even if includes extremist views such as those held by the 32-year-old Norwegian who confessed to Friday's bomb blast at government headquarters and to the shooting massacre at a Labor Party youth camp hours later. "In a democratic and open society, we shall be very clear on our acceptance of different views. Also those views we don’t like, also those views we define as extreme," Stoltenberg told reporters at a press briefing. "But we should never accept violence." |
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| Mourners in Oslo, Norway | |
Related: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/27/norway-attacks-jo-nesbo - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15271133,00.html - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/norway-to-form-independent... - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15261607,00.html - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15261270,00.html - http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,776268,00.html - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Oslo_attacks Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-70750-19.html |
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I originally wrote this several weeks ago, and I have nothing new to add right now. Some political humor from Europe - the world's largest economy - would be great right now, though... Republicans are trying to use the U.S. debt ceiling debate to fuck up Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. You work for a wealthy fat-cat Republican until you become a burden to society, then they take all your property and put you in a privatized death camp for the old and sick until you die. That's the America that Republicans are fighting for in the so-called "debt ceiling debate." Republicans want to pay for it all with Medicaid, which was originally intended to provide healthcare for the poor. But they want to replace Medicaid with a Republican death camp program. The Republicans: Slavery for all unless you're rich, and then you die... Cuts to Medicaid will reduce the program to a privatized nursing home provider, and cuts to Medicare and Social Security will signal the beginning of modern slavery. Entitlement programs are not the real problem. The problem is that America spends more than half its money on the military. If they'd told you at the start of the war in Iraq that America would default on Social Security and not be able to pay it back, you would have thought differently about the war in Iraq. Now Republicans are lying about tax cuts and loopholes, when in reality they created this situation on purpose. We can choose a miserable society of slaves, warriors, and fat cats, or we can choose the American dream. Altering Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare to suit Republican plans for modern slavery will signal a war against America. Eventually, the darkness of the Dark Ages motivating the Republicans will reveal itself: a privatized military serving wealthy people who seize one another's assets and kill each other just for fun, and slaves and warriors serving competing wealthy masters. It's retarded! |
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Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/m/moat.asp |
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After 30 years of space flight, the final Space Shuttle launch took place July 8, 2011, and now America doesn't have one. The Space Shuttle Atlantis completed it's mission and landed on July 21, 2011. Now it's time to ask one another, "What do you think just happened?" What did you think the Space Shuttle was? Can America now solve all of the world's problems with the money saved by not having a Space Shuttle? The Space Shuttle program cost less per year than America spends just on air conditioning tents in Iraq and Afghanistan each year. By today's standards, the Shuttle was pretty cheap. That's not a quip, but I suppose I do mean it in a way in which sarcasm and cynicism have a place. Since this article was originally posted, America has had a lot to say about the Space Shuttle. I personally liked John Oliver's response on The Daily Show because he talked about America's hopes and dreams. But most people answered my questions with negativity. Even NASA has been bashing the Shuttle lately. So let's talk about what people said and send the Shuttle into retirement with style and dignity. Now that a little time has passed, let's talk about what the Shuttle was, and where we are going in terms of the future of space travel. Was the Space Shuttle safe? Why did it crash twice? Nothing shows what the Space Shuttle represented to America and the world more than people's concerns about the two tragic accidents that occurred during the Space Shuttle program. Even though the Space Shuttle had a 98.5% successful safety record, the crashes stand out in people's minds in a way that mean the Shuttle not only carried people's hopes and dreams into space, but their anxieties and fears as well. That's a huge payload to blast off with! To answer the question, yes, the Space Shuttle was safe, but it was tedious. Thousands of people had to fuss over it before each launch. And as the world's first and only true "spaceship," it had never been tried before. We didn't know what could go wrong because the Shuttle was our first try at a spaceship. To NASA's credit, the problems with the Shuttle were identified and solved, but it was a lot of work. Right now, America is embarking on an experiment with so-called "private" space travel (which will be funded by the government) using vehicles that are not true spaceships. The trend now is to say that these vehicles are "safer," because they are not as advanced as the Space Shuttle. In the recent past, the conversation was about building a newer Space Shuttle using the lessons we learned from the Shuttle program. Which brings us to the next question: What was the purpose of the Space Shuttle and why should we have one? What was the purpose of the Space Shuttle and why should we have one? The Space Shuttle was not designed to go to the Moon or Mars. It was a prototype designed to "shuttle" passengers and cargo to space, perhaps to a "space station" or "space airport," where passengers and cargo could be transferred to another spaceship before venturing off to the Moon or Mars. That's why they named it the "Shuttle." The Shuttle could also land smoothly, like an airplane, at an "Earth airport," instead of splashing into the ocean. Over the years, the mission of the Space Shuttle was expanded, and it proved to be capable of much more, including repairing satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and serving as an orbiting laboratory before the International Space Station was completed. We need a Space Shuttle because there is no other way to get passengers and cargo to space in a way that makes space travel possible for the average person. A tiny capsule or a shuttle that never achieves orbit just aren't going to cut it. So, one of the main lessons we learned from the Space Shuttle is that we need a Space Shuttle to make space accessible to everyone. I know of at least one private company that learned some of the lessons from the Shuttle program, and promises a passenger-only shuttle that can achieve orbit, all while NASA works on getting passengers to Mars. I think it's important to encourage people who have learned the Shuttle's lessons and are willing to help us learn more about space travel. For some reason, politicians prefer to have lunch with private visionaries than eat at the NASA cafeteria, but whatever. Personally, I think there is room for everyone in space. Unfortunately, the "space cash" right now is going to companies that can get two or three astronauts to the space station in a vehicle that is not at all suited to getting an average person to space; it can't even land at an airport! Even worse, if we don't come up with a more ambitious plan in the next decade that involves a Shuttle, we will lose the International Space Station and have nothing to shuttle to. It's hard to imagine a mission to Mars without first imagining what we will need to pull it off. We need a Space Shuttle! What is our future in space? What did the Space Shuttle do to help get us there? Mars! Mars is the next step in achieving our hopes and dreams in space. If we do not follow through with a new Space Shuttle, it will mark the end of the dream of making progress toward Mars during the lifespan of the average person - the end of getting you to Mars. The Space Shuttle flew for 30 years. First launched in 1981, it has carried numerous scientific experiments to space, carried satellites - including the Hubble Space Telescope - to orbit and proved that they can be serviced and repaired, carried various parts of the International Space Station to orbit and assembled them in space, and taught us about traveling, living, and working in space, as well as what we will need for future spaceships and missions - especially missions to Mars. The Space Shuttle was, and in many ways remains, a crucial part of the space infrastructure it helped build. Our future in space owes a great debt to the Space Shuttle and the people who made it the successful spaceship that it was. The Shuttle was an amazing machine that showed us what we are capable of. It will be missed. But somehow after 30 years of Shuttle missions, the lessons it taught us will be with us as we take our next steps. |
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Related: - http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html - http://www.nasa.gov/topics/shuttle_station/index.html - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - NASA photo of the Space Shuttle Atlantis during launch |
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| In late May, a tornado outbreak in the midwestern and southern U.S. resulted in numerous deaths and injuries, and severe damage to homes and buildings. The city of Joplin, Missouri was devastated, and faces homelessness and a lack of food, water, electricity, and medicine. In Arizona, the worst wildfires the state has ever faced continue to burn, and have spread to New Mexico, although progress in containing the fires has now been made. There has been damage to property as well as to the ecosystem. Missouri and Arizona need your help! Please help now by donating to the Red Cross. Here are some ways to donate: - Use this link: https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=613716415&df... - You can also text REDCROSS to 90999 on your mobile phone to donate $10 to relief efforts. - Or, call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) to give money or schedule a blood donation. A number of other charities have been brought to my attention either by email or through promotion. Habitat for Humanity is taking donations online to help the Joplin, Missouri area: - Use this link: https://www.habitat.org/cd/giving/one/donate.aspx?r=r&link=369 ABC News has put together a list of other ways to donate to help the Joplin area: - http://abcnews.go.com/US/joplin-missouri-tornado-victims/story?id=13665690 Many of these sites continue to take donations for Japan, as well as tornado, flood, and wildfire victims throughout the U.S. As you make your donation to help Missouri and Arizona, consider helping Japan and other parts of the U.S. as well. Related: - Help U.S. Spring Flood Victims - Help Tornado & Wildfire Victims in Southern U.S. - Help Japan |
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Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and focus of unity for the Anglican Communion, has sharply criticized Britain's conservative government in an editorial published in last week's New Statesman, a news publication in Britain. A little background on the significance of this... The Anglican Church is actually a Communion of churches that includes the American and Scottish Episcopal churches and the Church of Ireland and Church of England. The Anglican Communion recognizes the Archbishop of Canterbury as its focus of unity. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop in the Church of England. The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is Her Majesty The Queen. I wish the headline could read "Queen Rejects Conservative Government." The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Williams, did a great job... Williams wrote that the coalition is facing "bafflement and indignation" over its plans to reform the health service and education. "With remarkable speed, we are being committed to radical, long-term policies for which no one voted," he wrote. In comments that appear unusually critical of the government for a head of the Church of England, Williams also challenged the government's approach to welfare reform, complaining of a "quiet resurgence of the seductive language of 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor." In comments levelled at the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, Williams criticised "the steady pressure" to increase "punitive responses to alleged abuses of the system." In the article, Williams accepted that the government's big society agenda was not a "cynical walking-away from the problem." But he warned there was confusion about how voluntary organisations would "pick up the responsibilities shed by government," and said that the big society was seen with "widespread suspicion." "The uncomfortable truth is that, while grass-roots initiatives and local mutualism are to be found flourishing in a great many places, they have been weakened by several decades of cultural fragmentation," Williams wrote. He also criticised the chancellor in charge of the treasury, George Osborne, saying: "It isn't enough to respond with what sounds like a mixture of, 'this is the last government's legacy' and 'we'd like to do more, but just wait until the economy recovers a bit.'" He complained that education secretary Michael Gove's primary and secondary school privatization reforms passed through parliament last summer with little debate, using a timetable previously reserved for emergency anti-terrorism laws. Separate reforms to universities will see tuition fees triple and funding for humanities courses cut. Williams says education "might well be regarded as a proper matter for open probing." But "the feeling that not enough has been exposed to proper public argument" has created "anxiety and anger" in the country. Britain needs a long-term education policy "that will deliver the critical tools for democratic involvement, not simply skills that serve the economy," he said. British politics "feel pretty stuck," he warned, stating that his aim is to stimulate "a livelier debate" and to challenge the left to develop its own "big idea" as an alternative to the Conservative alliance. |
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| Dr. Rowan Williams, The Archbishop of Canterbury | |
Related: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jun/09/downing-street-hits-back-archbishops-broadside - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13713606 - http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2011/06/long-term-government-democracy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Communion Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jun/09/downing-street-hits-back-archbishops-broadside |
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In a letter dated June 6th and obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE, the conservative German government has conceded for the first time that Greece will soon need billions of euros in fresh aid and a restructuring of its debt in order to prevent bankruptcy. In the letter, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble calls for a restructuring of Greece's debt. Until very recently, he had argued that the risks posed by such a move would be too high. The finance minister states that private investors and banks should take over part of the cost of stabilizing Greece. The letter states that the private sector should make a "quantifiable and substantial contribution." The finance minister's preferred course would be a bond swap in which old government bonds would be exchanged for new ones with more favorable terms. One of the biggest problems for government leaders in the Greek capital of Athens is a condition placed on lending by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is also participating in the bailout together with the European Union. The condition stipulates that credit can only be given if it can be proved that a country is capable of meeting its payment obligations over the next 12 months. The current plan also envisions Greece returning to the capital markets to raise fresh money starting next year. But, "a return by Greece to the capital markets within 2012, as assumed by the current program, seems more than unrealistic," Schäuble wrote in his letter. Berlin appears to be calling for a soft restructuring in which creditors would agree to later repayment, and lower interest rates. |
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| German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble calls for Greek debt restructuring | |
Related: - http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,767371,00.html See Also: - Merkel Changing Her Mind About Austerity Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,767371,00.htm |
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President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel just finished a conference in Washington, after which Merkel received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It appeared Merkel's support of the banks' plans for budget cuts, austerity, and destroying government was different than many analysts thought. "We support the IMF," she said, "but we are adamant about making independent decisions with regard to austerity." |
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Related: - http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/07/remarks-president-obama-and-chancellor... - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15137278,00.html - http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/07/obama.merkel.visit/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0411/darling_danke_schoen... |
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| Look! There's a Weiner on NewsKing! LOL! | |
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Der Spiegel is a German news publication that's managed to get its own post on NewsKing today. Dammit! I'd love to find out what's going on in Germany from more than one source (1), but Spiegel is the only online German publication I know of that translates articles into English. And they do it more frequently than most other international online news publications that I know of (1). Today Spiegel posted a translated article about U.S.-German relations ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel's trip to the U.S., where she will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award. The article kept talking about what "Americans" think of Germany. Isn't this article really about Washington-Berlin relations, not U.S.-German relations? Aren't the "Americans" the article talks about really Washington political types? Spiegel battled on... They mentioned a "German" fondness for budget cuts (aka "austerity") versus U.S. debt. I wonder what the German austerity measures really consist of, and how U.S. influence plays a role? They didn't even mention the U.S. fondness for military spending, or talk about many of the real issues surrounding the U.S. "debt ceiling" debate, which is a debate in Congress right now about the U.S. budget and whether we will be able to embrace a future that gives us many of the social services "Germans" take for granted. After reading this article I thought, "This isn't the Germany I know!" I've only recently found out about some of the reforms in Germany made under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, but I still don't really know what happened. Then I hear about Germany "going green" and think, "This sounds right. This is the Germany I know!" They might as well have thrown Greece in there, too! Apparently, Greece is the most important country in the world! And what's happening in Greece is exactly the same as what's happening in every other country in the world (NOT!)! And Libya is the new gay marriage... You can laugh now! |
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| The
caption in the middle of the image says, "You are here." The bottom caption says, "The company that knows more about you than you know about yourself." The funny-looking letter "B" (ß) is German shorthand for a double "S" (ss). There used to be a similar letter in English for a double "S" that looked like a funny "F" (ſ). (1, 2) |
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Of Interest: - By the way, Spiegel didn't write the article, the authors did. I think saying Spiegel makes a stronger point. I enjoyed two of their articles on Sunday; one appears in the post below, and the other is listed in "Hot Topics." Related: - http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,766826,00.html See Also: - Germany To Close Nuclear Powerplants, Go Green Notes: - 1) Just found out about Deutsche-Welle: http://www.dw-world.de Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2010-01-10-n86.html |
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On May 30th, the German government hammered out the details of its plans to phase out nuclear power. The new strategy foresees all Germany's reactors going offline by 2021 if possible and 2022 at the latest. Eight plants which are currently temporarily offline will be shut down immediately. The phaseout will be accompanied by a massive increase in the use of renewable energy, and the government intends to pass a law making it easier to construct the new energy infrastructure that will be needed. Germany's decision on nuclear power happened in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear powerplant disaster in Japan caused by a massive tsunami in March, with Chancellor Angela Merkel (the Chancellor is the head of government in Germany, similar to a president or prime minister in other nations) quickly realizing the impact the accident would have on attitudes to nuclear power in Germany. A majority of Germans oppose atomic energy. The German government's new plan is broadly based on recommendations by an ethics commission that Merkel set up after Fukushima to study the future of nuclear energy in Germany. The head of the commission, former United Nations Environment Program executive director and ex-German environment minister Klaus Töpfer, said that the transition to renewable energy presented a "great opportunity" for Germany to develop a sustainable economy. Usually one does not recognize historic moments if one is too close to them. It's a label that should be used sparingly in any case. But this is one: An industrialized country now has a roadmap for switching to a sustainable energy supply, moving beyond dangerous and expensive nuclear power and dirty coal. That has never happened before. It is a step in the right direction - and the world is watching. |
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Related: - http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,765681,00.html See Also: - Dangerous Profits: Energy, Economics, Environment - Coal Mines or Windmills? - Help Japan Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.cindysbeentrippin.com/index.php?topic=1265.0 - http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/image_full/australia/admin/image-library2/... - http://toneanev.blogspot.com/2011/05/germany-to-get-rid-of-nuclear-power-in.html |
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The "Win America Campaign," or WAC, is a lobbying effort by a number of major corporations to get a tax cut on corporate taxes they owe, but haven't paid. As I remember (and I'm writing from memory today), the idea was promoted after a meeting between President Obama and several leaders of "tech corporations" during a Silicon Valley Summit a few months ago. The idea behind the WAC works like this: Since U.S. corporations look for ways they can avoid paying taxes because they consider the corporate tax rate in the U.S. to be too high, and since Congress and states create loopholes which are used along with accounting tricks and even illegal tax dodging to allow the corporations to avoid paying taxes, the government might actually be able to make a little money if they cut the corporations a huge tax break. In other words, if corporations aren't going to pay the taxes they owe, maybe we could at least collect a little money by offering them a deal. There were other ideas surrounding the WAC plan that came out of the Silicon Valley Summit. One of them was to lower the corporate tax rate to something corporations would be more willing to pay, and then take away the loopholes. This could be phased in after the corporations get their big tax break on the money they already owe. Another idea was to end the Bush tax cuts for the super-rich, and implement a surtax on millionaires. By taking all or some of these actions, the government would be able to make up any alleged shortfalls in income. If all of this worked like I think, and were somehow a done deal, I'd be in favor of it. But as Republicans in Congress debate the debt ceiling, they have another deal in mind. They're refusing to allow the U.S. government to make good on its debt unless they get their way. Republicans want to spend more on the military and cut social services, or else cause America to default on its debt. Their deal is this: You can join the military and get pushed around by politicians and their like-minded, top-ranking military friends who get off on treating service members like shit, or you can join the civilian workforce and get pushed around by politicians and their like-minded, super-rich corporate friends who get off on treating workers like shit; without any social services or a powerful government to stand behind you, you'll have no choice but to submit to their will. Republicans are fighting for that power and selling America drama: racial drama, economic drama, gay drama, religious drama... whatever you'll believe in your miserable state-of-mind, a state-of-mind they created for you in the first place. In this environment, the WAC appears, at least right now, to be only a corporate tax break. US Uncut, the grassroots effort pressuring corporate tax cheats and super-rich tax dodgers to pay their fair share, compared the WAC to the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 under Bush. "We already got duped once by this hoax of repatriating profits with the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 under Bush," says US Uncut, "It did not create jobs and only opened the door for tax haven abusers to continue to cheat the system. As the saying goes: 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'" So, US Uncut is staging actions across America on June 4th against Apple, one of the tech corporations at the Silicon Valley Summit. US Uncut is demanding that Apple remove its support of the Win America Campaign (WAC). According to US Uncut, "We are all disappointed to see a great company like Apple participate in such a deceitful campaign that violates their commitment to operate in a socially responsible manner. I love my iPhone, but I hate tax cheats." Join me in supporting US Uncut's peaceful nationwide actions this Saturday as they target Apple and try to get thier iPhones to align with their values, and the values of millions of hardworking Americans. |
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| In rare moment, USS Enterprise remembers it's nuclear powered and needs math (2001) | |
Related: - http://www.dailypress.com/news/military/dp-nws-evg-enterprise-videos-website... - http://www.captowenhonors.com - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/27/bradley-manning-wikileaks-mentally-fragile - http://www.wavy.com/dpp/military/Sailor-found-dead-aboard-USS-Enterprise - http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/patriot-act-extension-signed-into-law... - http://smmercury.com/19581/freethought-san-marcos-the-latest-plan-for-perpetual-war See Also: - Bomb Test Follow-up - IT WAS A BOMB! - Pentagon Proposes Healthcare Cuts - Videos From the USS Enterprise - Military Recruiters Target Mentally Disabled - Rolling Back Healthcare & Blaming Obama: The Military's Plan for 2012 Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://www.totallyfreeimages.com/116176/E-=-MC2-x-40-! |
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"Hey T.J.! They Got That Organelle!" That might as well have been the title of the article in the April 8, 2011 issue of the journal Science. It was almost like they heard me! Back in December, 2010, I wrote about a new discovery in astrobiology. The discovery was related to an organism that used substances in its DNA previously not thought possible. It sparked controversy in the scientific community, but opened the door to new ways of thinking about how life on Earth developed from inanimate matter like elements and chemicals. How life develops from elements and chemicals has always fascinated me. And back in December, 2010, I took the opportunity to talk about history's search for an answer to this puzzling question: |
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According to the April 8, 2011 issue of the journal Science, they've got that organelle! And it's quite an organelle, too! The discovery is a major milestone in our understanding of the evolution of life, particularly how we ended up with DNA. If you watch TV's Jerry Springer or Judge Mathis, you probably know what DNA is... Of course, the scientists didn't make DNA, but this organelle is thought to be the keystone in theories about how DNA evolved. While the article does mention "cloning and engineering," it is not at all like what you might imagine. In other words, it appears this organelle passes the test. The techniques and theories used to conduct the experiment and explain the results fit with the conditions for creating life (or at least creating organelles) in the present day, and there seems to be a growing understanding in the abiogenesis community about how life arose (abiogenesis is the study of how life arises from inanimate matter through natural processes, and the method by which life on Earth arose). So, it looks they did it! This is awesome! |
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Related: - Wochner, Aniela and James Attwater, Alan Coulson, and Philipp Holliger. (2011, April 8). Science, Vol. 332. Magazine. "Ribozyme-catalyzed transcription of an active ribozyme." New York: American Association for the Advancement of Science. [Abstract] - Yarus, Michael. (2011, April 8). Science, Vol. 332. Magazine. "Climbing in 190 dimensions" New York: American Association for the Advancement of Science. ["Abstract"] See Also: - NASA: New Discovery Changes Astrobiology & Abiogenesis (updated Jun. 4, 2011) Artwork (may include photos, images, audio, and/or video): - http://complex.upf.es/~josep/research.html |
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