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Van Morrison - Wild Night (1971)
News and Opinion
There are some excellent pictures in this RT article.
Meteorite hits Russian Urals: Fireball explosion wreaks havoc, over 500 injured (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Russia’s Urals region has been rocked by a meteorite explosion in the stratosphere. The impact wave damaged several buildings, and blew out thousands of windows amid frigid winter weather. Hundreds are seeking medical attention for minor injuries.
[...]
Army units found three meteorite debris impact sites, two of which are in an area near Chebarkul Lake, west of Chelyabinsk. The third site was found some 80 kilometers further to the northwest, near the town of Zlatoust. One of the fragments that struck near Chebarkul left a crater six meters in diameter.
[...]
The Russian army has joined the rescue operation. Radiation, chemical and biological protection units have been put on high alert. Since the explosion occurred several kilometers above the Earth, a large ground area must be thoroughly checked for radiation and other threats.
[...]
The Ministry reported that 297 buildings were damaged, and another 450 buildings were left without gas because facilities in the city had also been damaged, an Emergency Ministry spokesperson said, according to Russia 24 news channel.
Russian meteor: Spectacular dash cam video of meteorite fireball falling in Urals
Dramatic CCTV: Meteorite blast wave blows out doors, windows in Russia
Glenn Greenwald prefaced this on Twitter with "CFR's @MicahZenko: Why the Pentagon hates Obama's drone war"
Killing Isn't Cool
General Stanley McChrystal is speaking out against the Obama administration's use of drone strikes, echoing previous warnings and clashing with the White House's carefully cultivated narrative:
To the Daily Telegraph:
It's very tempting for any country to have a clean, antiseptic approach, that you can use technology, but it's not something that I think is going to be an effective strategy, unless it is part of a wider commitment.
To Reuters:
They are hated on a visceral level, even by people who've never seen one or seen the effects of one.
To journalist Trudy Rubin:
[Drones are] a very limited approach that gives the illusion you are making progress because you are doing something.
And to television anchor Candy Crowley
It can lower the threshold for decision making to take action that at the receiving end, feels very different at the receiving end.
Although his candor is rare in his field, many of McChrystal's concerns are increasingly shared by active-duty and retired military officials with whom I've spoken. The vast majority of these officers, who held a wide range of positions while in uniform, are deeply troubled by the Obama administration's ongoing drone wars for five reasons. [...]
She supports Simpson-Bowles and cuts to Social Security. She thinks drones are a-okay and blowing people to bits, even Americans? Meh. "It depends."
Nancy Pelosi Ambivalent On Drones Program
Pelosi disputed the assertion that Democrats are less critical of the drone program than they would have been if George W. Bush were still president, arguing, "Those opposed are pretty critical, and other people are just listening to see what this is and why this is necessary, because we're in a different world."
But she also hinted at another reason that the administration may be getting the benefit of the doubt from some lawmakers: Polls.
"It's interesting how popular it is in the public," she said, recalling that the same polling dynamic prevailed during the fight over warrantless wiretaps. "People just want to be protected. And I saw that when we were fighting them on surveillance, the domestic surveillance. People just want to be protected: 'You go out there and do it. I'll criticize you, but I want to be protected.'"
[...]
Pelosi appeared conflicted over whether it was acceptable for the administration to simply disappear American citizens, a term that had previously been used as a verb only outside the United States.
"It depends on the situation," she said. "Maybe it depends on the timing, because that's right -- it's all about timing, imminence. What is it that could be in jeopardy if people know that happened at this time? I just don't know."
Lew Claims Too Big To Fail Problem Solved At Confirmation Hearing
Treasury Secretary nominee Jack Lew made a stunning and fantastic claim at his confirmation hearing, namely that the Too Big To Fail or systemic risk threat from the mega banks no longer existed. That the problem had been solved by the Dodd-Frank legislation.
Seriously.
Elizabeth Warren tries to get regulators to tell her when was the last time they took a large Wall Street bank to trial and she can't get an answer.
Elizabeth Warren Makes Promising Start in Senate Banking Committee Hearing
The progressive blogosphere seems pleased with Elizabeth Warren’s initial foray in the Senate Banking Committee. For instance, Huffington Post trumpeted, “Elizabeth Warren Embarrasses Hapless Bank Regulators At First Hearing.” While Warren fronted the question many American have asked, “Why no trials of big banks?” and made a coded reference to Aaron Swartz, it’s more accurate to say that the jury is still out on how effective Warren will be.
Keystone XL Tar Sands pipeline emissions much worse than reported
Oil Change International’s new report Petroleum Coke: The Coal Hiding in the Tar Sands reveals that current analyses of the impacts of tar sands fail to account for a high-carbon byproduct of the refining process that is a major source of climate change causing carbon emissions: petroleum coke — known as petcoke. Because it is considered a refinery byproduct, petcoke emissions are not included in most assessments of the climate impact of tar sands. Thus, the climate impact of oil production is being consistently undercounted.
Petcoke is commonly used as a cheaper, more carbon-intensive substitute to coal — and the petcoke in tar sands is turning American refineries into coal factories. The petcoke produced from the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would fuel 5 coal plants and produce 16.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, thus emitting 13 percent more carbon dioxide than the U.S. State Department has previously considered.
“What we’ve uncovered is something industry doesn’t want you to hear: exploiting the tar sands and building the Keystone XL pipeline is even more damaging to the climate than has been previously reported,” said Lorne Stockman, Research Director at Oil Change International and author of the report. “Factored into the equation, petcoke puts another strong nail in the coffin of any rational argument for the further exploitation of the tar sands.”
At charter schools, false promises of open access
Accessibility has been a central tenet of charter schools, but many aggressively screen applicants, assessing their academic records, parental support, special needs and even their citizenship, sometimes in violation of state and federal law.
Students may be asked to submit a 15-page typed research paper, an original short story, or a handwritten essay on the historical figure they would most like to meet. There are interviews. Exams. And pages of questions for parents to answer, including: How do you intend to help this school if we admit your son or daughter?
These aren't college applications. They're applications for seats at charter schools.
Charters are public schools, funded by taxpayers and widely promoted as open to all. But Reuters has found that across the United States, charters aggressively screen student applicants, assessing their academic records, parental support, disciplinary history, motivation, special needs and even their citizenship, sometimes in violation of state and federal law.
The Bureau and the Journalist: Victor Riesel's Secret Relationship With the FBI
Concretely, this relationship meant that Riesel would serve as an auxiliary to the FBI's legal and extra-legal efforts to go after bureau targets. In this, Riesel played a direct role in the FBI's work against the Black Panther Party, particularly in undercutting its ability to get out its newspaper. According to the Church Committee:
In November 1970, seeking to create a boycott by union members handling the newspapers' shipment, Mr. Hoover directed 39 field offices to mail copies of a column about the Panthers by Victor Riesel to 'unions such as the Teamsters and others involved in handling shipment of B.P.P. newspapers.' The column was also to be sent anonymously to 'officials of police associations who might be in a position to encourage a boycott.'10
What was not known (or at least reported), is that the FBI, beyond circulating his columns, was feeding Riesel information about the Panthers, particularly on the East Coast. As correspondence from the FBI's Bishop to Riesel in 1972 outlines:
In connection with your request this morning about the publication 'Right On,' I am enclosing a copy of the undated issue distributed in October, 1971. You will note the article in which you are interested is set forth on page 19 entitled 'Black Cops.' 11
Action
At 12 Noon on Sunday, February 17, thousands of Americans will head to Washington, D.C. to make Forward on Climate the largest climate rally in history. Join this historic event to make your voice heard and help the president start his second term with strong climate action.
What: The largest climate rally in U.S. history.
When: February 17, 2013, Noon - 4:00 p.m. (please arrive by 11:30 a.m.)
Where: The National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Gather at the northeast corner of the Washington Monument
(Closest Metro subway stations: Federal Triangle and Smithsonian)
For more details about the rally -- including information about coordinating and riding buses to Washington -- please read our FAQ. Also check out the nearly 100 organizations leading and supporting this rally!
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