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Friday, 10 July 2009

Capitalism: A Love Story.

Michael Moore's new documentary comes billed as a tale of forbidden passion, charting a wild romance that flourished for decades before coming to a crashing, calamitous end in the autumn of 2007. It's title? Capitalism: A Love Story.

The film reportedly sets itself up as a spoof of the grand Hollywood romance, using the genre's hallmarks to examine the causes of the global economic recession. "It will be the perfect date movie," Moore said in a statement. "It's got it all – lust, passion, romance and 14,000 jobs being eliminated every day. It's a forbidden love, one that dare not speak its name. Heck, let's just say it: it's capitalism."

Backed by Overture Films, Capitalism: A Love Story is set for a US release on 2 October, a year and a day after the Senate approved its controversial $700bn (£432bn) bank bailout. The date also marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Moore's debut film, Roger and Me, which lambasted the actions of General Motors in the director's home town of Flint, Michigan.

According to Moore, the new film is about "the disastrous impact that corporate dominance and out-of-control profit motives have on the lives of Americans and citizens of the world. But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene far wider than Flint, Michigan." More


Anyone think it is more than an amazing 'coincidence' that Ari Emanuel, the brother of White House Chief of Staff and Obama controller, the Ultra-Zionist Rahm Emanuel, is the Hollywood agent of 'rebel', Michael Moore?

Is it also a coincidence that Moore's film Farenheit 9/11 put the blame on Bush and the Saudis for the attacks of September 11th and accepted that the official story of these atrocities was true?

Or that the real network behind 9/11, including the Zionist neo-conservative cabal behind Bush, never rated a mention by Mr. Moore?

G8 GIMPS

Leaders of the worlds major industrial powers, the G8, say there are signs of stabilisation in the worlds economic slavery but warned that “significant freedoms remain”. The IMF on Wednesday said the world economy was designed to ensure a few wealthy families controlled the important resources and the rest of us landless peasants should get used to it and shut the fuck up.. er sorry that should be, the world economy is beginning to pull out of recession, but recovery was likely to be uneven and sluggish. Here’s are world affairs corespondent “Staininda Cosyhotel - The G8 summit is being held in the town of L’Aquila, Italy, here they will discuss global warming food security, North Korea and Iran as well as how to give each other blow jobs whilst simultaneously fucking you over for a buck., er I mean how to ensure stability and growth while mainting security. The wives of the g8 held a meeting with pope Benedict nazi 4th riech, to look like they were usefull and justify their plane ticket ,while Silvio burlusconi suggested they all get drunk and go naked to liven up the meeting a little. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev flew in fresh from talks with President Obama in Moscow in which they agreed nuclear weapons cuts, had discussions on the US missile shield and agreed that medvedev wasnt prime minister Putins gimp but his own man capable of deciding things himself..er after I run it past Putin and he says its ok.

Are Our Markets Being Manipulated by 'Rogues' or Firms?

There’s New Evidence to Suggest That Crime in the Financial Markets Is Rife

Everyone has heard of the Wikipedia but not everyone knows about the Investopedia, a Forbes website, that monitors finance for market players. One of the issues it is concerned about is market manipulation, actions by rogue and not so rogue players who, working alone or together, unduly influence the way our supposed "free" markets function.

It is a fascinating source of information for the uninitiated who hear the daily reports on the ups and downs of the Dow and believe that somehow it is all part of the natural order of the universe.

It isn't.

Thanks to an even more informative web site, Gamingthemarket.com, we learn that in fact markets are subject to, prone to, and characterized by all sorts of manipulative practices. Here's one you may not have heard of.

"Ghosting: An illegal practice whereby two or more market makers collectively attempt to influence and change the price of a stock. Ghosting is used by corrupt companies to affect stock prices so they can profit from the price movement. More

From the Gulag to Brooklyn to World Dominion

Your request is being processed... Australians Ban Bottled Water

Residents of a rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and their wallets have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first community in the country _ and possibly the world _ to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry.

Residents of Bundanoon cheered after their near-unanimous approval of the measure at a town meeting Wednesday. It was the second blow to Australia's beverage industry in one day: Hours earlier, the New South Wales state premier banned all state departments and agencies from buying bottled water, calling it a waste of money and natural resources.

"I have never seen 350 Australians in the same room all agreeing to something," said Jon Dee, who helped spearhead the "Bundy on Tap" campaign in Bundanoon, a town of 2,500 about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Sydney. "It's time for people to realize they're being conned by the bottled water industry." More

Thursday, 9 July 2009

Blogger; you may already owe gobs of money

Fresh off a court victory against Google's YouTube, ASCAP tells us it is setting its sights on users of the video-sharing site. Welcome to the exciting world of copyright licensing, blogger; you may already owe gobs of money!

ASCAP licenses the performance rights for music, collecting royalties for its songwriter members when their songs are played in certain contexts.

Those contexts now include a YouTube video embedded on your blog or website, assuming your site is not "purely" non-commercial and is deemed large enough by ASCAP. The group just sent a collection letter to internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis (pictured) for YouTube videos embedded on his Mahalo reference site. Based on what the group told Valleywag, other startups should be worried: More

NASA stage lunar landings Footage of Actors Mimicking Astronauts

Top 5 Moon Moments...
Lunar astronauts really CAN carry a tune, as James Williams discovers in this review of our favorite filmed moments on the moon...
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/space...

Original video link...
Did NASA stage lunar landings?...
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/2...


Thoughts on the Blast

I can’t stand it that the US just unilaterally decides it can bomb the moon if it wants to. An overwhelming number of comments here have been from non-Americans who think the US is a big bully and does what it wants, when it wants. I happen to agree. I also don’t like the manner in which they are going about it, bombing and blasting. Why does so much have to be so destructive? It doesn’t, but that mentality persists in all areas, I don’t know why I should expect it to be any different in this.

I also received a comment from someone who asked if I was seriously in “distress” over this. I suppose that depends on how you define distress. I would never have characterized my reaction as distressed. Distress connotes a much more intense reaction than that which I’ve felt or expressed here. More, it’s a generalized feeling that NASA bombing the moon is wrong and wanting to see if I can help stop it. There are so many things over which we are powerless as citizens (and as humans). At least in this regard I could write up a little blog and put the thoughts against it out there. Lots of other people expressed the same sentiment, but probably not enough to effect much, if any change. But I never purported to expect anything more than that anyway. Read my words, I say as much on the Why I’m Here page. More

TSA: Tyrannical, Silly Agency

Whatever your definition of tyranny, the Transportation Security Administration probably met it last April when it harassed Steve Bierfeldt, the Campaign for Liberty's Director of Development.

Steve was catching a flight home after C4L's conference in St. Louis with $4700 in proceeds when federal screeners "detained" him for carrying too much cash. They interrogated Steve, yelling and cursing at him, forcing him to justify his affairs to their satisfaction as though he were a slave rather than a taxpayer footing their salaries.

Steve coolly and courageously withstood their intimidation. He also recorded the encounter on his cell phone -- evidence of abuse that even a bureaucracy as fond of denial and deception as the TSA can't dispute. That evidence and Steve's heroism made national headlines.

Steve is now suing the agency with help from the American Civil Liberties Union. Larry Schwartztol, an attorney there, explained: "Mr. Bierfeldt's experience represents a troubling pattern of TSA attempting to transform its valid but limited search authority into a license to invade people's privacy in a manner that would never be accepted outside the airport context."

True -- but why are such invasions accepted inside the airport context? And just how "valid" is the TSA's "limited search authority"? After all, screeners search every passenger boarding a commercial flight in the US without the slightest suspicion that any of them plans to commit a crime, let alone that he already has. Doesn't the Constitution prohibit precisely that?

"The right of the people," says its Fourth Amendment, "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. . . " More

Human sperm created from stem cells in world first, claims British university

British scientists have created human sperm using stem cells in a medical first that could revolutionise fertility treatment, they claim.

Researchers at the pioneering Northeast England Stem Cell Institute say they have made the breakthrough using stem cells from an embryo.

They claim that with some minor changes the sperm could theoretically fertilise an egg to create a child.

Within 10 years, the scientists say the technique could also be used to allow infertile couples to have children that are genetically their own. It could even be possible to create sperm from female stem cells, they say, which would ultimately mean a woman having a baby without a man.

This is the first time human sperm has been created anywhere in the world in a laboratory. However, the experiment has proved controversial, threatening to reopen the fierce debate over embryo research. More

Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Google takes on Microsoft with Chrome operating system

Google is to launch a new operating system, in its most direct challenge yet to the dominance of Microsoft.

Google Chrome OS will be a development of its Chrome web browser. The search giant initially aims to install the new system on small, low-cost computers known as netbooks, which are currently outselling more powerful personal computers. Google said that it believed the software would eventually be used on PCs as well.

The move is likely to intensify the rivalry between Google and Microsoft, whose Windows operating system is used on the majority of the world’s personal computers. Operating systems help to run and control the basic functions of a computer.

Google said that the project was a natural extension of its Chrome browser and was necessary because older operating systems were designed at a time when the internet did not exist. More

Wonder why your latest PC is always Slow?

Microsoft wants to get under your skin

Microsoft's Bing has Google running scared

Vista voted tech world's top "Fiasco"

Google + DNA + Tel Aviv

CIA and Google Team Up Again For More Spying

World's oldest Bible published in full online

The world's oldest surviving Bible, which has been scattered around the globe for more than a century, has been published in full online.

More than 800 surviving pages and fragments from the The Codex Sinaiticus, which was written in Greek on parchment leaves in the fourth century, have been reunited.

Last year The British Library put The Book of Psalms and St Mark's Gospel online, and now the remaining pages have been made free for public use for the first time.

Along with the Codex Vaticanus, the Codex Sinaiticus is considered the oldest known Bible in the world. Originally more than 1,460 pages long and measuring 16in by 14in, it was written by a number of hands around the time of Constantine the Great.

It offers different versions of the Scriptures from later editions of the Bible, notably in St Mark's Gospel which ends 12 verses before later versions, omitting the appearance of the resurrected Jesus Christ.

The reunification of the book is the culmination of a four-year collaboration between the British Library, Leipzig University Library in Germany, the Monastery of St Catherine in Mount Sinai, Egypt, and the National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, each of which hold different parts of the manuscript.

They hope that by bringing together the digitised pages online, the project will help scholars worldwide to research in depth the Greek text, which is fully transcribed and cross-referenced.

"The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world's greatest written treasures," said Dr Scot McKendrick, Head of Western Manuscripts at the British Library.

"This 1,600-year old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation. The project has uncovered evidence that a fourth scribe – along with the three already recognised – worked on the text; the availability of the virtual manuscript for study by scholars around the world creates opportunities for collaborative research that would not have been possible just a few years ago." More


UFO RELEASES INTELLIGENT MOVING SPHERES

First ever video footage. WEIRD but true? Just watch the video footage and you will be amazed! Gets clearer towards the end



Ryanair to make passengers stand

Ryanair is considering proposals to make some of its customers stand during flights.

The low-cost airline would charge passengers less on "bar stools" with seat belts around their waists.

Michael O'Leary, the chief executive, has already held talks with US plane manufacturer Boeing about designing an aircraft with standing room.

He is now seeking approval from the Irish Aviation Authority before ordering a new fleet of carriers, according to The Sun.

A Ryanair spokesman told the newspaper: "If they approve it, we'll be doing it."

Mr O'Leary is reported to have got the idea from the Chinese airline Spring, which has put forward similar plans. It estimates space could be made for up to 50 per cent more passengers and costs could be cut by 20 per cent. More

Tuesday, 7 July 2009

Al Gore invokes spirit of mass murderer in battle against climate change

Al Gore invoked the spirit of Winston Churchill today by encouraging political leaders to follow the example of Britain’s wartime leader and unite their nations to fight climate change.

The former US vice-president accused politicians around the world of exploiting ignorance about the dangers of global warming. He said lack of awareness among voters allowed governments to avoid taking difficult decisions. Speaking in Oxford at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment , sponsored by The Times, Mr Gore said: “Winston Churchill aroused this nation in heroic fashion to save civilisation in World War II.”

He added: “We have everything we need except political will but political will is a renewable resource.” Mr Gore admitted that it was difficult to persuade the public that the threat from climate change was as urgent as the threat during World War 2. “The level of awareness and concern among populations has not crossed the threshhold where political leaders feel that they must change. More crap

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Passenger fixes plane

Holidaymakers were saved from an eight-hour flight delay after a fault on their plane was fixed by a passenger.

The man was on board a Thomas Cook flight from Menorca to Glasgow when the captain announced the technical fault.

Passengers were told an engineer would have to be flown out from Manchester to fix the problem, taking up to eight hours.

It was then that the passenger identified himself to cabin staff as a qualified engineer and offered to help, reports the Daily Telegraph.

He managed to resolve the problem and the plane took off, landing in Glasgow 35 minutes late.

A Thomas Cook spokeswoman said the company checked the man's licence and ensure he was qualified to work on the Boeing 757-200.

Holidaymaker Keith Lomax, 62, from Stirling, said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, got a round of applause when he got back on the plane.

"If he hadn't managed to fix the problem we could have been delayed for six to eight hours and there were a lot of young families on board so he was the hero," he said.

Back to Bartering?

Barter is Better. In a tough economy, more business owners are conserving cash by bartering for the stuff they need.

Tina Ames owns the Craftsmen Cafe, a Clarence, N.Y. eatery that specializes in organic comfort fare such as chicken soup and apple pie. Recently she needed to replace her restaurant's roof, a $7,000 job. Ames was loath to part with that much cash and didn't want to take out a loan.

Her solution? She cut a deal with a local contractor who handled the roofing job in exchange for a Ford F-150 pickup that Ames no longer needed. "I grew up on a farm," she says. "If you had eggs and someone else had corn, you traded. It's an old way of doing things, and it makes a lot of sense."

Even in modern times, bartering remains a practical choice for small businesses. It's a cash preservation tool, something that's especially useful in a tough economy. It can also help move unsold inventory or put idled staff to work. Done right, bartering can even drive new cash business.

Many trades get executed informally, as when a dentist cleans her accountant's teeth in exchange for tax preparation services. But increasing numbers of small businesses are joining barter exchanges that make it possible to arrange trades within a large online network. U.S. exchanges now boast about 250,000 small business members, up from 200,000 five years ago, according to the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA), based in Rochester, N.Y. More

Audit The Federal Reserve – Trillions Missing,


Is Anyone Minding the Store at the Federal Reserve?

Suicide Warnings for 2 Anti-Smoking Drugs

Federal drug regulators warned Wednesday that patients taking two popular drugs to stop smoking should be watched closely for signs of serious mental illness, as reports mount of suicides among the drugs’ users.

But officials emphasized that fear should not stop patients from taking the smoking-cessation medicines, Chantix, made by Pfizer, and Zyban, made by GlaxoSmithKline, which also sells it under the brand name Wellbutrin, for depression.

“Stopping smoking is a goal we should all be working towards,” said Dr. Curtis J. Rosebraugh, director of a drug evaluation office at the Food and Drug Administration. “We don’t want to scare people off from trying a medication that could help them achieve this goal. You should just be careful.” More

Monday, 6 July 2009

Tony Blair: 'I’m a planet-saving kinda guy'

The former butcher of 1 million dead Iraqis PM has a new green masterplan: it won’t mean giving up our energy-rich lifestyle but it will cost us billions

The silence from Tony Blair is so long it’s embarrassing. He has just spent 15 minutes enthusing about his new global report about how technology can help the world to combat climate change when the obvious question arose: what has he done to make his own life more sustainable?

Er . . . (long silence) . . . “We’ve got solar panels on our house.” Which one (he has a handful)? “The London one.”

Another long silence, then an aide mentions the offsets: “Ah yes, we offset our travel, too.” More silence: “And we have some home insulation.”

It is an awkward interlude. Blair is about to launch himself onto the world stage in yet another new role: as an evangelist for world-saving green technology.

Tomorrow he will launch Technology for a Low Carbon Future, a report put together with the Climate Group, setting out his arguments. Since it has been months in the making, the lack of prepared answers about his own life is odd.

His recovery, however, is swift. Blair may not be familiar with his own energy needs but for the rest of the world the solution is simple. We should let science into our lives and just go on getting and spending.

“The answer to climate change,” he says solemnly, “is the development of science and technology. Yes, we will get changes in the way we consume but we will be consuming differently, not necessarily less. People are not going to return to the 19th century. The critical thing is to use the technologies we have and to incentivise the development of new ones. That is the only practical way we will make this thing work.”

As statements go, this is breathtaking. For the past few years scientists have been issuing ever gloomier warnings about climate change.Some have even called for a deliberate and sustained global recession as the only way to cut emissions.

Blair, however, is having none of it. He has a new-found faith in science and is determined to spread the word. “The only way we will succeed . . . is if we develop new technology,” he reiterates. “If you say the future is that people won’t travel or won’t use cars, then no, I don’t agree. I think what people are looking for is clean energy ways of doing these things. They are not going to buy a return to the past.”

So far, so clear. But why has Blair stepped into the climate debate? Hasn’t he got enough on his plate, what with resolving the Middle East conflict, writing his memoirs and lobbying for the post of Europe’s first president? And where did this sudden faith in science’s power to solve climate change — shared by few bona fide scientists — come from in the first place? More

Insane Sarah Palin, Late At Night On July 4, Threatens To Sue Entire Internet, Via Twitter

How did you spend the Fourth of July? Maybe having a BBQ with friends and family, watching a fireworks show, and generally enjoying a happy patriotic holiday? Batshit-insane American Quitter Sarah Palin ended her own special “Independence Day” by posting a series of desperate grammar-challenged nonsense and vicious threats on her Facebook and Twitter pages. Really.

(Also: Sarah, you idiot, when do you plan to give up your Twitter name AKGovSarahPalin? Because, you know, you just quit being governor ….)

It is unwise to dwell on the past or be obsessed with an unknown future, but we should all appreciate the wonderful present — a present in which Sarah Palin is nothing more than a punchline. Because, had things gone very differently in November, this dangerous delusional numbskull would’ve been just an Ambien overdose away from the presidency. More

Sunday, 5 July 2009

Silencing Single Payer

Single-payer health insurance is seen by many healthcare workers and citizens as the best tool for expanding coverage while reducing costs. But it is rarely discussed in the media. ABC's prime time forum "Prescription for America," which ABC host Diane Sawyer pledged would feature questions to President Obama from "every vantage point," featured no questions from single-payer advocates.

The media watch-group FAIR is launching a petition to the TV networks, demanding that single-payer be included in the debate over healthcare reform.