Sunday, February 24, 2013

Brick TeeVee's World Wide Austerity!


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World Wide Austerity! As the neo-lib "austerity" policies threaten the sovereignty of many European nations (colloquially known as the P.I.G.G.S.) it seems "the President and the bipartisan bicameral leaders of Congress (Speaker Boehner, and Leaders Reid, McConnell, and Pelosi)" devised their own austerity time-bomb back in 2011 with the Budget Control Act (Quick Summary) that calls for "no tax increases and there will be triggered $1.2 T of across-the-board spending cuts in discretionary spending" which was disguised as a "deal" to raise the U.S. Debt Limit (another manufactured crisis by the right wing and the GOPhers) and then "force" Congress to do something else to prevent the sharp and drastic cuts they all agree are "abhorrent": Dems protecting social programs and GOPhers protecting war industry cuts. But for all the talk and bluster our money is on "nothing will be done" and Congress will scrape together some tawdry kick-the-can-down-the-road bills while the WH sits on its collective hands (the Executive Branch can't do much as the power of writing spending bills does in fact have to come from Da House) and we'll see plenty of finger-waving, finger-pointing and maybe a few middle fingers too. Any way you slice-n-dice it the so-called "sequestration" is nothing more than Austerity by another name. More on this in a bit. But it is Sunday! So here's a bit of religion news to start.
This is a few weeks old from GetEqual.org RELEASE: Pres. Obama Participates in Prayer Breakfast Supporting Anti-LGBT Legislation February 7th, 2013: Today President Obama and many Members of Congress attended the annual National Prayer Breakfast, hosted by The Fellowship Foundation — a conservative Christian organization more widely known as “The Family.” This secretive organization is known for its global connections to homophobic violence and for supporting legislation around the world that would kill or imprison lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The President, Congressional leaders, and many other elected officials attended this year’s event, despite the fact that event organizers have been documented to play a role in the sponsorship of anti-gay legislation worldwide. “The Family” has ties to Ugandan Parliamentarian David Bahati, sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill moving through the Ugandan Parliament at this moment, legislation better known as the “Kill The Gays Bill” because it seeks to impose the death penalty upon anyone found guilty of same-sex relationships. “For another year, President Obama has chosen to set aside his stated values of inclusion in order to attend the National Prayer Breakfast — an event rooted in hatred of LGBT people and covered up by pastries and coffee,” said Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL and a seminary graduate. “There are so many communities of faith that fully embrace LGBT people and that are rooted in social justice — we really don’t understand why President Obama continues to give his permission for ‘The Family’ to support killing LGBT folks abroad. If the president is looking for ways to publicly demonstrate that he’s a man of faith, he needs to find ways to do so without simultaneously putting the lives of LGBT people in jeopardy. The ‘Kill the Gays’ bill has been moving through the Ugandan Parliament at the very same time that President Obama was speaking to the group supporting it — this practice has got to stop, and the president needs to understand the role he is playing in supporting the execution of LGBT people around the world.” ..... Go read the rest! And see their post from 2011 National Prayer Breakfast: Despite Protests, Obama Attended. Why? Lots of links in there about "The Family"! In another breaking story on religion Wayne Besen, founder of Truth Wins Out, writes Breaking: Pope Quit Because of Inquiry into Blackmail of Vatican Gay Officials....It appears that the Pope thinks shuffling predatory, pedophile priests and spending more than $2.5 billion in child molestation settlements isn’t a reason to resign, but a few gay priests caught with their pants down is? What an odd moral culture they have developed in Rome, of late.....This is a fascinating story and I believe every word of it. After all, when you have an institution that cares more about its reputation than protecting innocent, vulnerable kids from child raping priests, anything, no matter how low, is possible.
Last week we recommended watching the new documentary on MSNBC Hubris: Selling the Iraq War. The Brad Blog has this shocker! Powell's Chief of Staff: Iraq Intel Was 'Outright Lies', But Powell Didn't 'Knowingly Lie' at U.N. In response to a charge cited by The BRAD BLOG following new film on 'Selling the Iraq War', Col. Lawrence Wilkerson defends his old boss... Col. Lawrence Wilkerson is 'increasingly convinced' of blatant fabrications by George W. Bush's team and the CIA, but says that a specific critique of his former boss cited by The BRAD BLOG 'desecrates a fair condemnation of what is already bad enough'........David Swanson, who authored the charges in question, as cited earlier this week by The BRADBLOG, disputes Wilkerson's response. The full remarks by both men are posted in full at the end of this article...... Click over to BradBlog to watch Hubris: Selling the Iraq War video "based on the book of a similar name by journalists David Corn and Michael Isikoff." See more below in our BradBlog section! Of course David Swanson is not the only one calling out the Polite Poodle Press bubalas. We go to Glenn Greenwald's MSNBC boldly moves to plug its one remaining hole ..... Surveying this assembled data, one does not need to be a veteran cable news executive to see what MSNBC has been so sorely lacking: people who loyally defend President Obama. Thankfully, MSNBC is now boldly fixing that glaring problem; they began two weeks ago with this: "Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has become a contributor for MSNBC. Rachel Maddow introduced Gibbs as a new member of her network's stable in the final minutes before President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night. . . . Gibbs was White House press secretary from 2009 to early 2011, when he left to become a senior campaign adviser for Obama's re-election." I wonder: does someone who goes from being an Obama White House spokesman and Obama campaign official to being an MSNBC contributor even notice that they changed jobs? ....... All the usual and substantial caveats apply when discussing the generalized attributes of MSNBC or comparing it to Fox News (just today, my former Salon colleague Joan Walsh, an MSNBC contributor, wrote about a study that "finds 'liberals' [are] more likely to favor targeted killings once they know it's Obama's policy", and on the weekends, Chris Hayes regularly criticizes Obama from the left while, post-election, Rachel Maddow sometimes does the same). Still, there's still something disturbing, even dangerous, about media outlets, even those overtly ideological ones, that are generally designed for the mission of defending those in power: a critique that Media Matters once compellingly voiced about Fox News, in part by quoting me expressing that same concern about Fox. MSNBC is far from aberrational. The overriding attribute defining the relationship of the US media to those in power is servitude ...... That you can cover what political officials do more effectively when you act adversarially and without their "cooperation" doesn't seem to occur to them. Go read all of this to get the full effect how awful U.S. corporomedia truly is.
Common Dreams staff writer Lauren McCauley explains 'Social Explosion Near' as Greeks Denounce Austerity Nation in standstill as farmers, doctors, teachers, shopkeepers, bus drivers walk off job in general strike 24-hour national strike brought the country of Greece to a standstill on Wednesday while over 60,000 workers took to the streets of Athens in protest of the government's persistent pursuit of austerity despite soaring unemployment and widespread unrest. Beating drums, blowing whistles and chanting "Robbers, robbers!" demonstrators marched on parliament to display their anger at the wage cuts and tax hikes forced on the country by international lenders, Reuters reports. "Unpaid bills, slashed wages and pensions, boarded-up shops. Greek people cannot wait for saviours. Only by taking their fortunes into their own hands can they exit the stalemate," opposition leader Alexis Tsipras, head of the left leaning Syriza party, told reporters. "People of labour must fight for as long as this disastrous policy is followed by the government under orders from (Greece's creditors)," said Yiannis Panagopoulos, chairman of the private sector union GSEE, which organized the day's walkout along with the ADEDY public sector union. "They have destroyed an entire people." "A social explosion is very near," added Ilias Iliopoulos, secretary general of the ADEDY, speaking from a rally in central Athens square while police helicopters circled overhead. Six years of recession and three of punishing austerity policies have tripled the rate of unemployment in the country, bringing it to 27 percent for the general population—the highest in the European Union— and over 60 percent for Greek youth. Kicking off the first general strike of the year, Greek journalists walked off the job Tuesday choosing to keep a visit by French President Francois Hollande to Athens largely unreported. Though Wednesday's protests were largely peaceful, Reuters reports that riot police fired tear gas at "hooded youths" who were "hurling rocks and bottles during a demonstration." ....... Demonstrations were also held in Greece's second-biggest city, Thessaloniki, and on the island of Crete, "where dozens of protesters hit the streets waving black flags," said Reuters. ........ Anticipating the elimination of 25,000 civil service jobs in the next round of labor cuts demanded by creditors, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, the country's labor force is prepared to continue to fight against austerity until their voices are heard.
HAITI: The Center for Economic and Policy Research released this UN Response to Haiti Cholera Complaint “Represents a Failure of the UN System,” CEPR Co-Director Says Washington, D.C.- The U.N.’s claim of immunity in the face of a complaint from thousands of cholera victims is “another unfortunate abdication of responsibility,” Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said today. The office of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement today that said that “the claims are not receivable pursuant to Section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” and that “[t]he Secretary-General telephoned Haitian President Michel Martelly to inform him of the decision.” "The scientific and forensic evidence
that U.N. troops brought cholera to Haiti is far beyond the standard of ‘reasonable doubt’ required in the U.S. criminal justice system, let alone the less-exacting standard of ‘preponderance of the evidence’ in a civil suit,” Weisbrot noted. “It included studies by independent scientists, articles published by the New England Journal of Medicine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and even the U.N.'s own research." Weisbrot noted that "If this were a private corporation that could be sued in a U.S. court, there is little doubt that it would end up paying hundreds of millions if not billions in damages. The U.N.'s denial represents a failure not only of the U.N. system, which is abused by the rich countries, but a moral failure by the U.S. and its allies, who sent those troops to Haiti without proper safeguards and against the will of the Haitian people.

GUANTANAMO CAMP 7 UPDATE: AP at the San Francisco Chronicle Judge grants access to secret Guantanamo camp SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The judge presiding over the Sept. 11 war crimes tribunal is allowing defense lawyers their first chance to see the secret section of the Guantanamo Bay prison where the accused are held. Army Col. James Pohl granted the defense teams less access to Camp 7 than requested. Lawyers for the five prisoners facing a military tribunal for their roles in the Sept. 11 attacks wanted to spend 48 hours inside the camp. They also wanted multiple visits. Pohl ruled that three members of each team can visit once, for no more than 12 continuous hours. He barred them from interviewing guards. Attorney James Connell called Wednesday's ruling a good start. Camp 7 is so shrouded in secrecy that even its location on the U.S. base in Cuba is classified. Recall Scott Horton's exposé in Harpers from 2010 The Guantánamo “Suicides” ..... Furthermore, new evidence now emerging may entangle Obama’s young administration with crimes that occurred during the George W. Bush presidency, evidence that suggests the current administration failed to investigate seriously—and may even have continued—a cover-up of the possible homicides of three prisoners at Guantánamo in 2006. ..... They were being held in a cell block, known as Alpha Block, reserved for particularly troublesome or high-value prisoners. ..... According to the NCIS documents, each prisoner had fashioned a noose from torn sheets and T-shirts and tied it to the top of his cell’s eight-foot-high steel-mesh wall. Each prisoner was able somehow to bind his own hands, and, in at least one case, his own feet, then stuff more rags deep down into his own throat. We are then asked to believe that each prisoner, even as he was choking on those rags, climbed up on his washbasin, slipped his head through the noose, tightened it, and leapt from the washbasin to hang until he asphyxiated. The NCIS report also proposes that the three prisoners, who were held in non-adjoining cells, carried out each of these actions almost simultaneously. ..... Now four members of the Military Intelligence unit assigned to guard Camp Delta, including a decorated non-commissioned Army officer who was on duty as sergeant of the guard the night of June 9, have furnished an account dramatically at odds with the NCIS report—a report for which they were neither interviewed nor approached. All four soldiers say they were ordered by their commanding officer not to speak out, and all four soldiers provide evidence that authorities initiated a cover-up within hours of the prisoners’ deaths.... Horton refers to "Camp No"; is this the same as Camp 7? See the full hour interview with retired U.S. Marine Corps prosecutor Lt. Col. Stuart Couch on DN! below.
In a related matter at Alternet Alex Kane reports 40 Cities Around Globe Set to Protest 1,000th Day of Bradley Manning's Imprisonment on February 23. .... The rallies around the world are being organized by the Bradley Manning Support Network. “Supporters are gathering in cities across the U.S., Europe and Australia for marches, rallies, art installations, concerts, live theater, and other events to criticize the unjust prosecution and raise awareness about Manning's case,” the network states. Manning’s court martial trial is set for June of this year--three years after his initial arrest. His imprisonment by the military was marked by punitive abuse that included isolation and his clothes being removed from him. A UN rapporteur called Manning’s conditions “cruel, inhuman and degrading,” and earlier this year a judge confirmed that Manning’s conditions were excessively harsh and constituted pretrial punishment, which is prohibited under military law.
At Rolling Stone Janet Reitman reports Jeremy Hammond Speaks Out in Memory of Aaron Swartz Almost a year after his arrest and indictment for allegedly hacking Stratfor, the private intelligence agency, the accused Anonymous hacktivist Jeremy Hammond has condemned the government and its "aggressive prosecution, riddled with abuse and misconduct," for the death of fellow Internet activist Aaron Swartz. In an impassioned letter released by his lawyers on February 21st, Hammond – who is facing a 30-year-to-life sentence for his role in the Stratfor hack – lashed out at the Obama Administration for a cyber-security strategy he views as "flawed" as well as "systematic corruption involving computer crime investigations, intellectual property law, and government/corporate transparency . . . Aaron's case is part of the recent aggressive, politically-motivated expansion of computer crime law where hackers and activists are increasingly criminalized because of alleged 'cyber-terrorist' threats," he noted. "This sad and angering chapter should serve as a wake-up call for all of us to acknowledge the danger inherent in our criminal justice system." More at Rolling Stone!
Here are a few more items of interest: To clarify the origin of the latest U.S. budget sequestration we go to About.com! What is Sequestration? ..... Sequestration was used in the Budget Control Act of 2011 to encourage Congress to reduce the annual deficit by $1.2 trillion by the end of 2012. If lawmakers failed to do so, the law would have triggered automatic budget cuts to the 2013 national security budget. A super Congress made up of a select group of 12 members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate was chosen in 2011 to identify ways to reduce the national debt by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The super Congress failed to reach an agreement, however. ... Of course this whole thing was brought about by the GOPhers manic rage about The Deficit! From the ThinkProgress War Room Progress Report on Sequestration This or That? Budgets are statements of values and priorities. What the GOP is preparing to do in less than a week says a lot about their priorities. Instead of closing tax loopholes and making smart spending cuts, the GOP is going to let damaging across the board spending cuts kick in next Friday. These cuts will not only damage the economy, they’ll hurt individual families and communities across the country. Check out what eliminating just two giveaways to the wealthy and corporation could pay for. For example, we could avoid painful cuts to investments in jobs and education just by ending a giveaway to corporate jet owners... Click over to see the excellent charts! Next we go to Imara Jones at ColorLines.com who asks What’s ‘Sequestration’ Mean in Real Life? ....But let’s be clear: The $1.1 trillion in automatic spending cuts that are set to begin next week constitute a nuclear bomb that’s poised to go off in communities of color. Through a one-two punch of job losses and slashed government spending, “sequestration”—as it’s formally known—will wreak havoc at precisely the moment that America’s hardest hit communities can least afford them. Up to 2.1 million jobs—more than were created in all of 2012—could be lost, according to the Congressional Research Service. But the damage will stretch far beyond jobs. The cuts will force a dramatic pullback in critical areas like health, education, housing and food security, all of which will transform the economy’s unhealed suffering into a state of pain difficult to fully comprehend. Quite frankly, it’s hard to see how many areas of the country will pull through. The process is set to unfold over time in slow motion. When the cuts start on March 1, we may not notice. But by late spring, we may look around and wonder what the Congress has wrought. So what, exactly, will get cut? Here’s a sampling of what’s in store, taken directly from information provided to Congress by the effected federal agencies. Read on! And you might want to try the Food Stamp Challenge! Or not! See Chauncey DeVega at Alternet Food Stamps Are Not "Fun": Is the "Food Stamp Challenge" Just Live Action Role-playing for the Privileged Classes? We urge you to listen to The Rick Smith Show Friday Feb 22 (mp3) at least the first 30 minutes to hear what it's all about. Pay attention. Also in the broadcast Ana Chu, Policy Director for the Thinkprogress War Room on how the sequester will hurt OUR COMMUNITIES Michael Kink on how the billionaire class is keeping us PERMENTLY unemployed. Especially the one who's the mayor of NYC. Francisca Carranza, Janitor at Castlewood Country Club on their victory after 3 years. Joe Mullin reports for ARS Technica Farmer’s Supreme Court fight to limit Monsanto seed patents looks bleak ..... Monsanto found itself before the court today because its control over subsequent generations of soybean crops is being challenged by a 75-year-old Indiana man who farms a relatively small plot of soybeans—just 300 acres of soybeans, corn, and wheat in all. “I’m not even big enough to be called a farmer," he told the New York Times, speaking for an interview in the run-up to his big day in court. In a way, this case originated because Monsanto is a "victim" of its own success. Like many soybean farmers, Bowman plants two crops per year. He bought patented Monsanto seeds to plant his first crop. The second crop would be planted after the winter wheat crop, and would be more likely to fail. For this riskier crop of "wheat beans," Bowman didn't want to pay the high price for patented seeds, so he bought soybeans from a grain elevator, knowing they would be a mix of various grains. Buying from a grain elevator, he didn't have to sign the agreement Monsanto usually compels farmers to sign, agreeing not to re-plant future generations of seeds. Still, since Monsanto beans are so ubiquitous, Bowman knew the great majority would be Roundup Ready. Bowman was able to go ahead and spray his crops with Roundup, knowing they would nearly all benefit from having the Roundup Ready traits. That practice led to him being sued by Monsanto. ......... The US government also weighed in on this case; it originally said the Supreme Court shouldn't take it, and then sided with Monsanto once the case got taken up anyhow. Melissa Sherry, the government's lawyer, told the court today that reducing a 20-year patent term to one sale in this case would make it "near impossible to recoup your investments," and that research dollars could go outside the US. "That's a pretty horrible result, but let me give you another horrible result," said Justice Antonin Scalia, pushing back. "If we agree with you, farmers will not be able to do a second planting by simply getting the undifferentiated seeds from a grain elevator, because at least a few of those seeds will always be patented seeds, and no farmer could ever plant anything from a grain elevator," said Scalia. That would make it hard to plant a cheap crop commensurate with the risk, as Bowman had done. But there was also testimony before the court that Bowman's practice of buying undifferentiated "bin run" seeds from a grain elevator, isn't accepted or commonplace. CHS Inc., the largest grain distributor in the US, said as much in its amicus brief [PDF] on the case. CHS contested Bowman's argument that using mixed grain from elevators as seeds for a new generation of plants is a typical practice; the business of seed-selling has higher profit margins, notes CHS, and requires sellers to follow seed labeling laws. Justice Elena Kagan suggested that considering how dominant Roundup Ready seeds are in the market, a decision in Monsanto's favor "has the capacity to make infringers out of everybody." ..... For more on this case see the DN! interview below with Debbie Barker, program director of Save Our Seeds, international director of the Center for Food Safety and co-author of a new report called "Seed Giants vs. U.S. Farmers (pdf)." Meanwhile some farmers in India are growing record crops WITHOUT using massive amounts of chemicals from Monsanto. John Vidal in Bihar, India writes at The Guardian India's rice revolution .... This was not six or even 10 or 20 tonnes. Kumar, a shy young farmer in Nalanda district of India's poorest state Bihar, had – using only farmyard manure and without any herbicides – grown an astonishing 22.4 tonnes of rice on one hectare of land. This was a world record and with rice the staple food of more than half the world's population of seven billion, big news. It beat not just the 19.4 tonnes achieved by the "father of rice", the Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping, but the World Bank-funded scientists at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, and anything achieved by the biggest European and American seed and GM companies. And it was not just Sumant Kumar. Krishna, Nitish, Sanjay and Bijay, his friends and rivals in Darveshpura, all recorded over 17 tonnes, and many others in the villages around claimed to have more than doubled their usual yields. .... The state's chief minister came to Darveshpura to congratulate him, and the village was rewarded with electric power, a bank and a new concrete bridge. That might have been the end of the story had Sumant's friend Nitish not smashed the world record for growing potatoes six months later. Shortly after Ravindra Kumar, a small farmer from a nearby Bihari village, broke the Indian record for growing wheat. Darveshpura became known as India's "miracle village", Nalanda became famous and teams of scientists, development groups, farmers, civil servants and politicians all descended to discover its secret. ...... What happened in Darveshpura has divided scientists and is exciting governments and development experts. Tests on the soil show it is particularly rich in silicon but the reason for the "super yields" is entirely down to a method of growing crops called System of Rice (or root) Intensification (SRI). It has dramatically increased yields with wheat, potatoes, sugar cane, yams, tomatoes, garlic, aubergine and many other crops and is being hailed as one of the most significant developments of the past 50 years for the world's 500 million small-scale farmers and the two billion people who depend on them. Read on! Excellent! EMMY UPDATE: At HuffPoAOL Emad Burnat Detained: Michael Moore Says Oscar-Nominated '5 Broken Cameras' Director Held At LAX Emad Burnat, the Palestinian who co-directed the Academy Award-nominated documentary "5 Broken Cameras," was reportedly detained at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday night as he attempted to enter America to attend the Oscars, this according to filmmaker Michael Moore. Burnat and his family were eventually released, according to Moore, but not before spending 90 minutes being held by immigration officials. Moore explained what happened to Burnat in a series of tweets to his 1.4 million followers: [MM tweets] ..... UPDATE, 2/20: Burnat released a statement about the incident on Wednesday afternoon, which you can read below: Last night, on my way from Turkey to Los Angeles, CA, my family and I were held at US immigration for about an hour and questioned about the purpose of my visit to the United States. Immigration officials asked for proof that I was nominated for an Academy Award® for the documentary 5 BROKEN CAMERAS and they told me that if I couldn't prove the reason for my visit, my wife Soraya, my son Gibreel and I would be sent back to Turkey on the same day. After 40 minutes of questions and answers, Gibreel asked me why we were still waiting in that small room. I simply told him the truth: 'Maybe we'll have to go back.' I could see his heart sink. Although this was an unpleasant experience, this is a daily occurrence for Palestinians, every single day, throughout he West Bank. There are more than 500 Israeli checkpoints, roadblocks, and other barriers to movement across our land, and not a single one of us has been spared the experience that my family and I experienced yesterday. Ours was a very minor example of what my people face every day. We give our Last Word to Prairie2 on the rising gasoline prices Do we learn? No, we do the opposite The big headline on the corporate news this morning was that gasoline is near an all time record high. It is in fact still well short of the price peak from before the Bush crash. They run through a list of possible causes like the rising price of crude oil, but oops, oil isn't anywhere near it's high and is going down. Refinery shutdowns is another, never mind that we export 30% of refinery capacity. China is using more oil, we'll come back to that. And oh yeah, speculators... Do we need to go through that one again? Wall Street makes a ton of money driving up the price of gasoline, they make money when it goes down too. Wild price swings allow the Wall Street banks to sell derivatives contracts based on the 'futures' price to the tune of hundreds of trillions in order to shave hundreds of billions from the economy without doing anything, or even putting up much money themselves. Did I mention that the Dodd-Frank Act made this illegal? There's been a small problem with enforcement of the Act with Republicans blocking the 'rules' it would take to actually enforce the Act. It's the sort of 'decriminalization' that has been en-vogue ever since Reagan began dismantling the New Deal. Let's go back to China, the People's Republic now owns outright enough oil production outside its borders to rival the United Arab Emirates and match that of Kuwait. They don't really loan money to the US to fiance the debt like conservatives constantly chant, they spend their USDs buying up real wealth everywhere and anywhere that they can. Not that they're really driving up the price of gas, crude oil is in fact going down. China actually sells most of its foreign oil rather than shipping it back to China, it's just flexing muscle in the markets. China continues to enjoy a rate of growth year in and year out that the US hasn't seen since the New Deal was fully in effect, China does this pretty much by following FDR's policies. The US instead continues to favor Reaganomics while we decline into third world status. We give a huge slice off the top of our economy to the extremely wealthy in return for them selling our wealth creating capacity to China. Anybody in China that gets caught engaging in the sort of traitorous behavior that is routine business here can expect to be shot and his organs sold. But hey, they're communists, and are kicking our ass at capitalism. We're 'capitalists' that believe in Reaganomics also known as the cult of economic royalty. And we also believe in the creation of poor people, the one thing we're good at. There are 400 million middle class people in China, more people than we have population. There are more English speakers in China than in the US. They graduate twice as many engineers every year, as the US does. They have thousands of miles of 250 mph high speed rail, and we have... well none. They launch astronauts into space, and we don't. Their economy is about to become the biggest in the world while ours barely holds its own. I get email from conservatives pointing that they steal our technology, they sure do, but mostly they just buy it cheap from US companies. We could learn from China, except they are copying us. We just don't learn from our own experience, we believe the right-wing talking points instead. Well the Beltway Bubalas will be shrieking about the Sequestration all morning so if you tune in have plenty of bricks at hand. We jumped the gun on Ring of Fire on FreeSpeech TV last week: they debut this Sunday at 12 Noon et. If you don't get FSTV on yer crappy cable watch on-line at freespeech.org or on either satellite providers DISHTV 9415 and DirecTV 348 so tune in! Enjoy the Daytona 500 and the Academy Awards! And have a great week!
BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!©

Democracy NOW!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 Wednesday, February 20 Thursday, February 21, 2013 Friday, February 22, 2013

GRITtv GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders

»»» FEATURED SHOW 5 Broken CamerasNonviolence in Palestine has never captured the world's attention the way violence has. Five Broken Cameras attempts to change that record.

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»»» NASCAR on FOX First race of the season! The 55th running of “The Great American Race” The Daytona 500! Congrats to Danica Patrick the first woman to win a pole position for a Sprint Cup Series race with an average lap time of 196.434 MPH. Green flag at 1:30 pm et

»»» NBA on ESPN SUNDAY Doubleheader! Grizzzlies @ Nets 7 pm et then Bulls @ Thundar 9:30 pm

»»» NBA on TNT THURSDAY Doubleheader! Sixers @ Bulls 8 pm et then Timberwolves @ Lakers 10:30 pm

**** MLB OPENING DAY IN 36 DAYS! ****

BRICK TEEVEE ACTION!©

The 1st Amendment is Our Permit Our permit to occupy is The First Amendment. Quickly sign the following statement which will be delivered to mayors, police chiefs and major media across the country:

    Our permit to occupy public squares and parks is in The First Amendment, which affirms "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." When people across the Middle East occupied public squares, leaders in Washington mostly cheered those protesters and warned Middle Eastern governments not to use force to clear them. Those other societies don’t have a First Amendment. Yet Washington affirmed the universal right to assembly and protest. We do have a First Amendment. The force being used to clear nonviolent protesters from public squares in our country is unacceptable. It must stop.

StrikeDebt.org & RollingJubilee.org! A bailout of the people by the people Rolling Jubilee is a Strike Debt project that buys debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of collecting it, abolishes it. Together we can liberate debtors at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and collective refusal. Debt resistance is just the beginning. Join us as we imagine and create a new world based on the common good, not Wall Street profits. ADDENDUM: Naked Capitalism reports Top Tax Expert Confirms Our Doubts About Occupy Wall Street’s Debt Buying/Forgiveness Scheme

STOP the ACHE NEW WEBSITE! AcheAct.org and Appalachian Community HEALTH EMERGENCY Advocating for government action and protection of the public from the health crisis in mountain top removal communi ties

    Lawmakers concerned about the health effects on humans from mountaintop removal coal mining set forth legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives today. Representatives Dennis Kucinich (OH), Louise Slaughter (NY), Maurice Hinchey (NY), Earl Blumenauer (OR), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA), John Yarmuth (KY), Lynn Woolsey (CA), Judy Chu (CA), Raúl Grijalva (AZ), James Moran (VA), Michael Honda (CA), John Conyers (MI), and Keith Ellison (MN) introduced the Appalachian Communities Health Emergency (ACHE) Act H.R. 5959 which would place a moratorium on permitting for mountaintop removal coal mining until health studies are conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services. The ACHE coalition presently consists of participants from Coal River Mountain Watch, Mountain Health and Heritage Association, and Christians for the Mountains. “We encourage you, if you’re concerned about mountaintop removal’s effect on your community’s health, to join us in making your voice heard,” said Allen Johnson, executive director of Christians for the Mountains. “Please contact us, learn about the issue, and take action to protect your community.”

Community-Wealth.org community-wealth.org a project of the Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland Community-Wealth.org brings together, for the first time, information about the broad range of community wealth building activity. Featuring Community Wealth Building in Action: The Cleveland Model Something important is happening in Cleveland. The Democracy Collaborative—the host of C-W.org—in partnership with the Cleveland Foundation, the Ohio Employee Ownership Center, Shorebank Enterprise Cleveland, the City of Cleveland, and the city's major hospitals and universities—is helping to implement a new model of large-scale worker-owned and community-benefiting businesses. The Evergreen Cooperative Initiative is beginning to build serious momentum in one of the cities most dramatically impacted by the nation's decaying economy. Increasingly, this model is being referred to nationally as The Cleveland Model. Initial planning is now underway to assist other cities in Ohio and nationwide to replicate and adapt this innovative approach to economic development, green job creation, and neighborhood stabilization. Find more many resources at Community-Wealth.org!

NET NEUTRALITY! SaveTheInternet.com Declaration of Internet Freedom Tired of fighting bad bills like SOPA, PIPA and CISPA? Want to stand up against those who are trying to control what we do and say online? It's time for something different. A group of more than 1,500 organizations, academics, startup founders and tech innovators has come together to produce a Declaration of Internet Freedom, a set of five principles that put forward a positive vision of the open Internet. Our goal: Get millions of Internet users to sign on to this Declaration. Build political power for Internet users to make sure that we get a seat at the table whenever, and wherever, the future of the Internet is being decided. It's time to stop playing defense and start going on the offensive. The open Internet is central to people’s freedom to communicate, share, advocate and innovate in the 21st century. But powerful interests want to censor free speech, block the sharing of information, hinder innovation and control how Internet users get online. And all too often, people in power are making political decisions behind closed doors about how the Internet should operate — and they're doing this without the involvement of actual Internet users. The result: policies that could close down the open Internet and destroy our freedom to connect. It’s time for us to reclaim the Internet for its users. Take action now and sign the Declaration of Internet Freedom.

NEW!!! Stop Media Consolidation! Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is trying to change the agency’s ownership rules to pave the way for Murdoch to get exactly what he wants. Worse, Genachowski and Murdoch are keeping this all very hush-hush, hoping you won't notice.3 These changes wouldn’t just benefit Murdoch. If the FCC proposal passes, one company could own the major daily newspaper, two TV stations and up to eight radio stations in your town. And that one company could be your Internet provider, too. What is the FCC thinking?!? We can still stop the agency from taking this perilous step — but we have less than a month to do it. By taking action, you’re joining a movement of millions who are working to stop big media from getting even bigger. Please take action today. Click HERE to view our infographic and send a message to the FCC! More info at Another FCC Cave-In: Julius Genachowski’s Media Consolidation Christmas Gift to Murdoch at StopTheCap.com! And Sign Senator Bernie Sanders petition to the FCC Protect Media Diversity: Stop Media Consolidation!

CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE American Majority Rejects Washington Austerity Consensus – And We Demand Media Coverage by Roger Hickey, President, Campaign for America's Future: No more silent majority. The Campaign for America’s Future is joining with the Center for Economic and Policy Research (whose Co-Director, Dean Baker blogs regularly about economic bias in the media) and with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) to monitor the media’s coverage and representation of the American Majority views as they go into covering the big deficit fight. But we want to enlist YOU too. Send us accounts of unbalanced coverage in the national media and in your local newspapers and television. Call up reporters, editors, assignment people and tell them when they are under-representing the views of the American Majority. We should have at least half the experts, pundits, quotes and real people represented in their coverage. In a debate as important as the one we are going into, we can’t allow the media to ignore the American Majority. Much more at www.ourfuture.org

MOVE TO AMEND! www.movetoamend.org SIGN HERE NOW! And check out more actions on the Move to Amend Calendar featuring David Cobb's Barnstorming Tour! Also visit Rep Alan Grayson's site www.savedemocracy.net GET INVOLVED! And Alan Grayson is BACK in the 113th Congress! Help out at CongressmanWithGuts.com

SUPPORT THE TROOPS WHO REFUSE TO FIGHT See CourageToResist.org and Bradley Manning Support Network UPDATE! Common Dreams staff writer Beth Brogan posts Exposing US War Crimes or Not, Judge Denies Manning's Whistleblower Defense In a significant—but not unexpected— blow to his defense, a military judge has ruled that Bradley Manning's attorney [David Coombs] may not argue that Manning's motive in releasing documents and the damning video "Collateral Murder" to WikiLeaks was to call attention to US war crimes. ....... The Guardian reports that Colonel Denise Lind "ruled that general issues of motive were not relevant to the trial stage of the court martial, and must be held back until Manning either entered a plea or was found guilty, at which point it could be used in mitigation to lessen the sentence." Lind also ruled that Coombs may not present evidence that the documents released to WikiLeaks caused little or no damage to US national security. Coombs will be able to raise that evidence when addressing the specific charge of aiding the enemy, as FiredogLake's Kevin Gosztola points out, "in order to prove he did not know passing information to WikiLeaks would result in 'dealing with the enemy.'" ....... Last week, prosecutors said that if Manning had released documents to The New York Times instead of WikiLeaks, they would still charge him with aiding the enemy. Never before has a soldier been jailed for releasing information to the media. The Los Angeles Times subsequently published an editorial criticizing "the federal government's unprecedented targeting, in recent years, of whistleblowers and those who leak to the press," and calling the charge of aiding the enemy "excessive."

DONATE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES TO T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATION Help save lives. Donate your old & used iPhone, Blackberries, Droid and other phones to help the T.J. Martell Foundations fund life-saving cancer & AIDS research. For more information, go to www.tjmartellfoundation.org CELLULAR PHONE TASK FORCE EDUCATION, ADVOCACY, SUPPORT at CellPhoneTaskForce.org The Cellular Phone Task Force is dedicated to halting the expansion of wireless technology because it cannot be made safe. We provide: education to the public concerning electromagnetic pollution (electrosmog); advocacy for an electromagnetically cleaner environment; support for individuals disabled by radiation from wireless technology and other sources.

B R I C K T E E V E E

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The essential guide for watching government propaganda!

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IRAQ: 4,486 US Military Dead as of April 21, 2012

AFGHANISTAN: 2,177 US Military Dead as of Jan 25, 2013

The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises

Who Owns The Media? The 6 Monolithic Corporations That Control Almost Everything We Watch, Hear And Read

  • This Week (ABC) Host George Stephanopoulos
    • ROUNDTABLE: House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel, D-NY, join ABC News' George Will and ABC News Global Affairs Anchor Christiane Amanpour
    • ROUNDTABLE II: George Will; Democratic strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile; TIME Magazine contributor Steven Brill, author of this week's cover story "Bitter Pill" on rising health care costs; former Lead Auto Adviser and Counselor to the Treasury Secretary Steven Rattner; and Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel.


  • Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer
    • Senators Kelly Ayotte, R-NH and Tim Kaine, D-Va.
    • Governors Martin O'Malley, D-Md. and Bob McDonnell, R-Va.
    • Jan Brewer, R-Ariz. and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.
    • ROUNDTABLE: Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Penn., National Alliance on Mental Illness Executive Director Michael Fitzpatrick, Parents Television Council President Tim Winter, former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole and Texas A&M International's Chris Ferguson.
    • ROUNDTABLE II: National Journal's Nancy Cook, Washington Post's Scott Wilson and CBS News' John Dickerson


  • 60 Minutes (CBS)
    • Killing Bin Laden - A first-hand account of the raid that killed the world's most wanted terrorist from one of the Navy SEALS who pulled the trigger. Scott Pelley interviews "Mark Owen," a former SEAL who was in the room when Osama bin Laden died from American bullets, in his only interview. "Owen," a pseudonym he uses for security, recalls each step of the mission and the preparation he and the nation's elite force made for it, in order to give credit to his SEAL comrades and the hundreds of others whose work played a role in the successful mission. This historic account will be in four parts and will comprise the whole hour. Henry Schuster is the producer.


  • Meet the Press (NBC) Host David Gregory
    Microsoft, NBC News Dissolve MSNBC.com Joint Venture NBC is buying Microsoft's 50 percent interest in the MSNBC website for an undisclosed amount. MSNBC.com will be rebranded as NBCNews.com, and readers who logged into MSNBC.com late Sunday were automatically redirected to NBCNews.com. Microsoft is preparing to launch its own news service this fall. Although he declined to provide many details about the operation general manager of MSN.com Bob Visse said the news staff will be about the same size as the roughly 100 people who created original content for the MSNBC.com. "There is no question that we are going to have more flexibility to make our own decisions," said Vivian Schiller, NBC News' chief digital officer. "This is really an amicable breakup. We think competition will make us better." Okay then.
    • Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA)
    • Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
    • Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
    • ROUNDTABLE: Fmr. Democratic Congressman Harold Ford; Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan; Host of NPR’s Morning Edition, Steve Inskeep; and CNBC’s dynamic duo Maria Bartiromo and Jim Cramer


  • State of the Union With Candy Crowley (CNN) At 9 AM ET, Candy talks to the power players: politicians, business leaders and international newsmakers who will make Monday morning's headlines. At NOON ET, Candy wraps it all up with fresh interviews and the best of the earlier hours.
    • Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
    • Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
    • ROUNDTABLE: Gov. Dan Malloy (D-CT), Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Gwen Ifill from PBS, and Jackie Calmes of the New York Times.

  • HEAD ON RADIO with Bob Kincaid
    HEAD ON
    Headon Radio with Bob Kincaid 6 PM Eastern, 3 PM Pacific, 2300 GMT. Duration: 3 hrs. To be part of Conversation Radio on Head-on Radio, call toll-free (877) 443-2366, or use our Liberal community line at 304-658-3333. Email bob [at] headonradio [dot] com during the show!
    • FRIDAY ON THE FRONT PORCH!!!!! Last show of the week! Pull up a chair and a cold one and tune in! Listen NOW HERE!! Keep Bob on the air HERE ya hear? Amen to the White Rose Society! Donate to Head On HERE! And join Coal River Mountain Watch at www.crmw.net!

  • YOUR GREEN NEWS REPORT
    desi-n-bradJohnKerry
    The Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen: 6 minutes of green news, politics, analysis & snarky comment! BOOKMARK greennews.bradblog.com NOW!
    'Green News Report' - February 14, 2013 IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Secretary of State John Kerry comes out swinging on climate change; BP off the hook again - for $3.4 billion; Genetically modified crops do not produce bigger harvests; PLUS: How secretive rightwing billionaires fund the climate change denial industry --- and get a tax deduction for it! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
    • IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): The virtues of being unreasonable on Keystone; 1.5C rise in temperature enough to start permafrost melt; Poll: strong support for clean energy, carbon pollution standards; Alaska Senate rolls back cruiseship water pollution standards; Honda to offer rooftop solar systems; Arctic sea ice volume has 'collapsed'; The most terrifying graph you'll see all day; Major methane release is almost inevitable; Mexico's dramatic, rapid recovery from traffic gridlock; US natural gas bubble threatens economy ... PLUS: Unlocking the conspiracy mind-set ... and much, MUCH more! ...
    Wilkerson David Swanson
    • BRADBLOG UPDATE! IRAQ WAR LIES: 'HUBRIS' DOC ONLINE New NBC News documentary details how every point made to sell the war was a known lie. Watch it online here...
    • BRADBLOG UPDATE! 'Hubris' Doc Both Hits and Misses the Point David Swanson takes a look at MSNBC's new documentary on the lies used to sell the Iraq War and finds several key points lacking...
    • BRADBLOG UPDATE! Sr. Official: 'We Did Participate in a Hoax' New details on the selling of the phony -- and deadly -- Iraq War scam revealed in new NBC News documentary Hubris.
    • BRADCAST UPDATE! Brad and Thom Hartmann Break Down PA GOP's Latest Election Rigging Scam The 'Energizer Bunnies' of rigging democracy are still at it in the Keystone State, but there's are bigger worries...

  • The Peter B. Collins Show PODCAST!
    pbc show
    Listen at PeterBCollins.com!
    The Peter B. Collins Show covers American news and politics from the Left Coast. Veteran talk radio personality Peter B. Collins, based in San Francisco, delivers fresh interviews, commentary and analysis on a range of important topics, with views and voices you don’t often find in the corporate media.
    Holiday Break and Website Changes
      To my valued listeners: We are making some changes to the website and our terms, effective in January. We will continue to offer free podcasts–my new daily news and commentary. Our in-depth interviews will be available for $1 per episode, or to subscribers who pay $5 per month or more. Loyal listeners who simply can’t afford it should send an email to peter@peterbcollins.com, as we will be offering a limited number of scholarships to our friends who are hurting during these tough times. More information will be posted as we complete the revisions. I’m grateful to each of you for listening and supporting this work, and hope that the new model will enable us to keep it going well into the future. All the best, -pbc
    • Peter B Collins, Truthout | Op-Ed An Insider's View of the Progressive Talk Radio Devolution
    • PBC Standard Podcast February 19, 2013 10 Years Ago, CIA Bungled Kidnap Caper in Milan; BORDC Lawyer Nadia Kayyali on Domestic Use of Drones
    • PBC Standard Podcast February 22, 2013 Israeli-American Author and Peace Activist Miko Peled Fosters Dialogue with Palestinians, Slams Israel’s Government
    • PBC News & Comment February 22, 2013PBC News & Comment: Obama Opens New Front in Africa White House announces deployment of 100 troops to Niger, to set up drone base to monitor French war in Mali

  • Ring of Fire Radio
    rofheader
    Find us at http://ringoffireradio.com and http://goleft.tv/ hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder
    Ring of Fire Radio - GoLeft TV - Robert F. Kennedy, Mike Papantonio, Sam Seder - Politics, Commentary, and News.
    This Weekend on Ring of Fire Saturdays at 3 o’clock Eastern, rebroadcasts Sunday nights at 8 pm Eastern
    • Author Nick Turse will be here to discuss the war crimes committed by US troops in Vietnam, and why the lessons learned in that war should be applied to our military conflicts today.
    • Freelance writer David Dayen will tell us why Wall Street always seems to win, even when we have such clear evidence that they’ve committed major crimes.
    • Attorney Ken Feinberg will join us to talk about the failures and the victories that we’ve seen from Eric Holder’s Department of Justice in the last four years.
    • Investigative journalist Justin Elliot will be joining us to discuss the American corporations that are funneling money into a new system of Republican dark money groups.
    • VIDEO! THE HISTORY OF CORPORATE CORRUPTION & FRAUD with Robert Kennedy Jr & Mike Papantonio “Call us if you have a personal story about Fraud on Taxpayers or False Claims for Payment made by Corportations at 1-866-389-FIRE (3473) or contact us by email at info@ringoffireradio.com if you have evidence of fraud that robbed taxpayer dollars. If our government is paying too much due to fraud by a corporation, Ring of Fire wants to do a story on it.”
    Papantonio: Will Democrats Allow Republicans To Steal The Next Election? (VIDEO) Mike Papantonio talks with Ed Schultz about the plot by the Republican Party to gerrymander America into a country where Democrats have no chance at all to win in national elections.
    • VIDEO! Papantonio: Corporate Fraud Rampant Among U.S. Defense Contractors Mike Papantonio talks with Thom Hartmann about KBR’s criminal enterprises in Iraq, and how the company is now trying to make American taxpayers pay for the fraud that the company has been found guilty of.
    • VIDEO! Papantonio: US Supreme Court Majority Will Promote Racism (VIDEO) Ring of Fire host Mike Papantonio appears on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann to discuss the attempts to gut the Voting Rights Act, which would usher in a new era of voter disenfranchisement in America.
    • Join our blog at www.ringoffireradio.com. You can now SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST by clicking on the "Podcast" tab at the top of the Ring of Fire blog. Please help support progressive radio by signing up!
    Ring of Fire Radio Ring of Fire, hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder: Saturdays at 3 o’clock Eastern, rebroadcasts 8-11 et Sunday evenings on Chicago's Progressive Talk WCPT AM & FM and 4 pm et on Sirius/XM 167 featuring The PAP Attack! "We’ll bring you the stories that the mainstream media didn’t feel like reporting this week."
    • NEW!! Ring of Fire TV on Free Speech TV - Sundays 12 PM noon et!!!


  • Majority Report with Sam Seder Streaming LIVE weekdays 11:30 am et @ Majority.fm!

    • TUESDAY 2/19/13 Janeane “Katherine Harris” Garofalo: & Healthcare Exchanges
    • WEDNESDAY 2/20/13 Helaine Olen: The Personal Finance Industry Scam
    • THURSDAY 2/21/13 Nick Turse: Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
    • FRIDAY 2/22/13 Casual Friday: Cliff Schecter & Chris Rosen
    • MORE Podcast Interviews at majorityfm.libsyn.com!


  • KEISER REPORT Podcasts and more @ MaxKeiser.com!
    maxheaderhiyall
    "HI Y'ALL! Tell the people! Tell the people!"
    WHO IS MAX KEISER? Max Keiser is a financial expert, Prediction Markets analyst, inventor and filmmaker. He is the creator of the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX) the first Prediction Market. Max Keiser co-hosts "The Truth About Markets" on ResonanceFM 104.4 in London. He also produces and presents documentary films covering markets and finance for Al Jazeera’s "People & Power" series. Max Keiser started his career on Wall Street in 1983. He is the creator of KarmaBanque a site that enables activists to challenge corporate power.
    • VISIT PirateMyFilm.com!!! Crowd Funding for Pirates!
    • NEW! MaxKeiserTV on YouTube! MaxKeiserTV PLUS here is Max Keiser’s official Facebook page And here is the official Keiser Report page
    The official Facebook pages for Max Keiser & Keiser Report STACY SUMMARY: For once and for all, here are our real Facebook pages, the other ones are fake. But if you feel like chatting to the fake ones, by all means, go ahead. Max Keiser & Keiser Report PLUS Stacey Herbert
    At least US is not as bad as Uganda… by maxkeiser - READ Income Inequality In U.S. Worse Than Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Ethiopia (thinkprogress.org)
    “This is huge. I can’t possibly overstate the potential ramifications.” by maxkeiser - READ World’s Biggest Gold Storage Company Dumps US Citizens (zerohedge.com)
    • VIDEO! Abby Martin and George Galloway on how we got into this mess by maxkeiser - Abby interviews George at the 15:37 mark onwards.
    • VIDEO! George Galloway Walks Out Of Israel Debate! by maxkeiser
    • KEISER REPORT [KR408] Keiser Report: When Truth is Found to be Lies We discuss the four horsemen of the bondpoclypse riding into town bringing with them the reversal of multi-decades long trends and as pipe swipers steal toilets and as supermarkets hit the limits of cost-cutting, the population confronts the high cost of backsliding trends. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to former energy regulator, Chris Cook, about how we move from dollar diplomacy to gas diplomacy and a world where energy as the modern water hole where you don’t have to kill each other and a natural gas backed currency becomes a new global reserve currency in a post-dollar world.
    • KEISER REPORT [KR409] Keiser Report: Mystery Meat – Shut Up & Eat! We discuss where you go when you can’t even afford mystery meat? They also wonder whether Germany’s gold has already been sent out to slaughter while the men running the money abattoirs continue sending us photos of the intact gold. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to HBOS whistleblower, Paul R. Moore, about the absurdity of naming the FSA twice and why eating dodgy securities is not a victimless crime.
    • KEISER REPORT [KR410] Keiser Report: Death by Financial Hypoxia We compare the real financial suicide machine that is the global financial markets to the hypothetical euthanasia coaster that would kill its passengers after an allegedly fun and euphoric ride induces GLOC – G-force induced Loss Of Consciousness. In the financial markets this is achieved by churning clients so rapidly or front running them at faster than the speed of light. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to professor and economist, Constantin Gurdgiev, about the liquidation of IBRC, the bank formerly known as Anglo Irish and how it is that the bank came to collapse in the first place.
    • ON THE EDGE On the Edge with Greg Hunter An interview with Greg Hunter of USA Watchdog.
    • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-1265] The Truth About David Cameron’s Debt Lies Download show HERE (mp3)
    • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-1267] The Truth About Markets – 23 February 2013 Download show HERE (mp3)
    • Donate to ResonanceFM here!


  • ANTIWAR RADIO with Scott Horton
    antiwarradio.jpg LIVE (9-11am Pacific, 12pm - 2pm Eastern) Plenty of archives too!
    Listen at antiwar.com/radio
    • Scott Horton Radio Show 2/11/13 Ray McGovern: Ray McGovern, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, discusses CIA Director-to-be John Brennan’s “Tenet-Like Testimony” about Iran’s nuclear program to the Senate Intelligence Committee; Brennan’s apparent willingness to “fit the facts around the policy” and lie Americans into yet another war; why Brennan knows much more about CIA torture, rendition, and black sites than he admits; and the spectacle of Obama and Brennan casually giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down – like Roman emperors – deciding the fate of “kill list” victims.
    Listen to more interviews at The Scott Horton Show!
    SCOTT HORTON July 5, 2012: Scott says goodbye to Antiwar.com. Scott Horton is the former host of Antiwar Radio. Visit his blog Stress. Due to budget cuts Scott lost his gig at AntiWarRadio.com! Whoa! See ScottHortonShow.com for archives! Send emails to Scott at scotthorton.org to help Scott keep his podcast going!
    • Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!


  • fauxnews
    • Tom Coburn (R-OK), lead republican on the Homeland Security Committee
    • Claire McCaskill (D-MO), member of the Armed Services Committee
    • Democrat Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware
    • Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Brick TeeVee two-week catch-up!


Your Guest List for Sunday's Talking Head News Shows beamed across America by Corporate Media PLUS reports from the best lib/prog media! If you have related STORIES share below! DEBUNK HERE! Throw Bricks! First brick is on us! Get your Foam Bricks at ThrowThings.com

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ALL LINKS OPEN A NEW WINDOW!!! Click on anything below and be INSTANTLY SMARTER!
TWO-WEEK CATCH-UP! Sorry we missed last week! So much SERIOUS SHIT went down so here are some stories we were watching. Check these out!PHEW! That's a lot to read, watch and listen to! Of course last week was another stunning oratory by Obomber called The State of the Union so check out some reactions at Democracy Now! below. On NPR's Morning Edition last week we heard some scary stories by Tom Gjelten. On Monday was Pentagon Goes On The Offensive Against Cyberattacks .... The importance of plans for offensive cyberwar operations is obscured by the reluctance of the government to acknowledge them. When the Pentagon announced its "Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace" in July 2011, for example, it appeared the military was focused only on protecting its own computer networks, not on attacking anyone else's. "The thrust of the strategy is defensive," declared William Lynn, the deputy secretary of defense at the time. Neither he nor other Pentagon officials had one word to say about possible offensive cyberattacks. The Pentagon would not favor the use of cyberspace "for hostile purposes," according to the strategy. "Establishing robust cyberdefenses no more militarizes cyberspace," Lynn said, "than having a navy militarizes the ocean." Those assurances are deceptive. Behind the scenes, U.S. commanders are committing vast resources and large numbers of military personnel to planning offensive cyberattacks and, in at least some cases, actually carrying them out. But the secrecy surrounding offensive cyberwar planning means there has been almost no public discussion or debate over the legal, ethical and practical issues raised by waging war in cyberspace. Offensive cyberattacks carried out by the United States could set precedents other countries would follow. The rules of engagement for cyberwar are not yet clearly defined. And the lack of regulation concerning the development of cyberweapons could lead to a proliferation of lethal attack tools — and even to the possibility that such weapons could fall into the hands of unfriendly states, criminal organizations and even terrorist groups.... WOW! Then Part Two was on Tuesday In Cyberwar, Software Flaws Are A Hot Commodity .... Richard Bejtlich was a cyber specialist for the U.S. Air Force in the 1990s, a time when the U.S. military was going on the offense in the cyberwar. He remembers the day he realized how important a software vulnerability can be to a cyberweapons designer. "Myself and a couple other guys, we found a zero day vulnerability in Cisco routing equipment," Bejtlich recalls. "And we looked at it, and we said, 'Did we really find this? Can we really get into these Cisco routers?' " They could, and so Bejtlich and his colleagues reported it to Cisco. The company thanked him and said it would be fixed. Days later, he was talking to some friends who worked on the offensive side of the unit, and they had quite a different reaction to them reporting the bug to Cisco. "They said, 'You did what? Why didn't you tell us? We could have used this to get into all these various hard targets,' " he says. To Bejtlich, a software flaw was simply a mistake to be corrected. To a cyberweapons designer, however, it was a potential back door into the computer network he wanted to attack. "We actually had a standing order after that," Bejtlich says, "that said, if you find something, you don't tell the vendor, you tell the offensive side, and they'll decide what to do about it." Potential Dangers: A potential loser here, at least in the short run, is the consumer who may be stuck with a flawed piece of software because the government doesn't want anyone to know about the flaw, seeing it as something that could be exploited for the deployment of a cyberweapon. ACLU technologist Christopher Soghoian, who is something of a privacy activist, says this is something people should know about. "I don't think your average small business, medium-sized business or Fortune 500 company realizes what's going on here," Soghoian says. "I don't think they realize that their government knows about flaws that could be fixed, and is sitting on them and exploiting them against other people rather than having them fixed."..... Double WOW! Listen at the links to BOTH stories! Next 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu penned this NYT letter-to-the-editor Drones, Kill Lists and Machiavelli I am deeply, deeply disturbed at the suggestion in “A Court to Vet Kill Lists” (news analysis, front page, Feb. 9) that possible judicial review of President Obama’s decisions to approve the targeted killing of suspected terrorists might be limited to the killings of American citizens. Do the United States and its people really want to tell those of us who live in the rest of the world that our lives are not of the same value as yours? That President Obama can sign off on a decision to kill us with less worry about judicial scrutiny than if the target is an American? Would your Supreme Court really want to tell humankind that we, like the slave Dred Scott in the 19th century, are not as human as you are? I cannot believe it. I used to say of apartheid that it dehumanized its perpetrators as much as, if not more than, its victims. Your response as a society to Osama bin Laden and his followers threatens to undermine your moral standards and your humanity. Check out Thom Hartmann's Daily Take from Friday Debtors Prisons have Returned to America Wiping out private debt would unleash enormous spending in our economy in ways we haven't seen since the boom years of the 1950's and 1960's. The only reason it's not seriously being considered by our lawmakers today is because a debt jubilee would diminish the profits of the banksters who thrive - and prey - on an indebted nation. But, in the not-to-distant future, as our economy continues to collapse under the weight of tens of trillions of dollars in private sector debt, our nation will be faced with an ultimate choice: Strike Debt or watch our economy completely collapse in a way that will make 1929 look like a picnic. Let's make the right choice now! MUST WATCH! The Nation's legal affairs correspondent David Cole explains What's Wrong With Obama's Drone Policy .... Conveniently, the State Department’s country reports leave out the United States. Otherwise, it might have to pass judgment on President Obama’s use of drones to kill thousands of our ”enemies,” and lots of civilians, many of them far from any battlefield. But as citizens in whose name the president is exercising this power, we need to pass judgment. The challenge is that Obama has kept so much of the policy and practice under wraps that it is almost impossible to do this. The leak of a Justice Department white paper defending the legality of killing even US citizens provides the most detailed look yet at this disturbing practice. The more we learn, the more troubling the practice is. ..... But the white paper does not limit the president’s authority to kill to members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, or to those planning an immediate attack. It maintains that the president can kill an American citizen who is not a member of Al Qaeda, not on a battlefield, not participating in hostilities and not engaged in or planning an attack against the United States when he is killed. What’s more, the White House evidently believes it can kill us in secret and never own up to the fact. It has steadfastly refused to officially acknowledge that it has killed anyone with a drone outside Afghanistan. So it won’t do to dismiss the drone program as illegal assassinations, full stop. A more nuanced critique is necessary. The program is fundamentally flawed in at least four respects: Go read these! David Cole also has some more excellent reporting Fifty-four Nations Are Implicated in a CIA Torture Scheme A new report shows that a central element of the Bush administration response to 9/11 was itself to spread terror—on a global scale and Checking Big Brother The Nation, with the ACLU and others, is suing the government over a law that allows unchecked surveillance. Will the Supreme Court even allow us to argue our case on the merits? Very important articles! We don't often recommend watching the corporomedia but here's one you might want to tune in Hubris: The Selling of the Iraq War - Monday 2/18 at 9 p.m. ET with Rachel Maddow narrating on MSNBC. Last night Rachel pointed out that this year marks the tenth anniversary of President George W. Bush's State of the Union address containing the now infamous 16 words that turned out to be a very consequential lie: “The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa .” Included in a collection of web materials associated with Rachel's upcoming documentary "Hubris: The Selling of the Iraq War," is a longer cut of that 2003 State of the Union address. It's a powerful reminder of how thick the Bush administration laid it on to rally the nation to war in Iraq: [video] Kind of odd how MSNBC (whose parent company is military contractor General Electric) FIRED Phil Donahue for merely questioning the idea of waging war against Saddam Hussein and was one of the biggest cheerleaders for that war and now is running a self-serving myopic on the propaganda they themselves spread to "sell" that war to the American public and the world at-large. Oh wait. GE to sell rest of NBC stake to Comcast for $16.7 billion by Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Comcast Corp on Tuesday said it would buy General Electric's remaining 49 percent equity stake in their NBCUniversal joint venture for about $16.7 billion, speeding up a deal that had not been expected until at least late 2014. Analysts said Comcast was getting a good deal at that price, while Comcast's chief executive said the company moved because it was eager to take control of the business sooner than planned. ..... In addition to the main deal, NBCUniversal will also buy from GE Capital the properties it uses at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City and CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for about $1.4 billion. Comcast said it would fund the deal with $11.4 billion of cash on hand, $4 billion in senior unsecured notes to be issued to GE, $2 billion in credit facility borrowings and the issuance of $725 million in subsidiary preferred stock to GE. Separately, Comcast said it would increase its dividend by 20 percent and that it would buy back $2 billion in stock this year. GE also said it would accelerate its own share buy-back program to $10 billion this year. "It's an attractive price - Comcast is getting a good deal," Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan said. ..... While Comcast held the title of the nation's leading cable operator by a wide margin, its status as a content player was always second tier, with middling networks like E!, G4 and Golf forming the basis of its channel portfolio. The NBC deal gave the Philadelphia-based cable operator the cable industry's top-rated entertainment network, USA, its leading business network CNBC, upstart news network MSNBC and Bravo, among others. For GE, the sale culminates a long-planned exit from the entertainment business. Since reaching the deal to sell its majority stake in NBC Universal, GE officials have made clear that they eventually planned to exit the entertainment business entirely. Sooooo is GE refocusing on more war gadgets, like drones, and leaving the propaganda business? Hmmmmmm. You might want to read this book Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda: 2nd Edition by Professor Noam Chomsky. Here's a real shocker at The Independent Exclusive: Billionaires secretly fund attacks on climate science Audit trail reveals that donors linked to fossil fuel industry are backing global warming sceptics - A secretive funding organisation in the United States that guarantees anonymity for its billionaire donors has emerged as a major operator in the climate "counter movement" to undermine the science of global warming, The Independent has learnt. The Donors Trust, along with its sister group Donors Capital Fund, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is funnelling millions of dollars into the effort to cast doubt on climate change without revealing the identities of its wealthy backers or that they have links to the fossil fuel industry. However, an audit trail reveals that Donors is being indirectly supported by the American billionaire Charles Koch who, with his brother David, jointly owns a majority stake in Koch Industries, a large oil, gas and chemicals conglomerate based in Kansas. Millions of dollars has been paid to Donors through a third-party organisation, called the Knowledge and Progress Fund, with is operated by the Koch family but does not advertise its Koch connections. Some commentators believe that such convoluted arrangements are becoming increasingly common to shield the identity and backgrounds of the wealthy supporters of climate scepticism – some of whom have vested interests in the fossil-fuel industry. The Knowledge and Progress Fund, whose directors include Charles Koch and his wife Liz, gave $1.25m to Donors in 2007, a further $1.25m in 2008 and $2m in 2010. It does not appear to have given money to any other group and there is no mention of the fund on the websites of Koch Industries or the Charles Koch Foundation. ....... Anonymous private funding of global warming sceptics, who have criticised climate scientists for their lack of transparency, is becoming increasingly common. The Kochs, for instance, have overtaken the corporate funding of climate denialism by oil companies such as ExxonMobil. One such organisation, Americans for Prosperity, which was established by David Koch, claimed that the "Climategate" emails illegally hacked from the University of East Anglia in 2009 proved that global warming was the "biggest hoax the world has ever seen". Robert Brulle, a sociologist at Drexel University in Philadelphia, has estimated that over the past decade about $500m has been given to organisations devoted to undermining the science of climate change, with much of the money donated anonymously through third parties. The trust has given money to the Competitive Enterprise Institute which is currently being sued for defamation by Professor Michael Mann of Pennsylvania University, an eminent climatologist, whose affidavit claims that he was accused of scientific fraud and compared to a convicted child molester..... Listen to an interview with Dr. Michael Mann and Bobby on Ring of Fire this week (rebroadcasts 8-11 et Sunday evening on Chicago's Progressive Talk WCPT AM & FM). Good item! And if you're near D.C. then join the 350.org protest/rally in DC Sunday! Like RIGHT NOW! Join the #ForwardOnClimate Rally on 2/17! 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. Crippling drought. Devastating wildfires. Superstorm Sandy. Climate has come home – and the American people get it. The first step to putting our country on the path to addressing the climate crisis is for President Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. His legacy as president will rest squarely on his response, resolve, and leadership in solving the climate crisis. For more information about solidarity rallies happening across the country, click here. Just over a year ago, 15,000 people surrounded the White House -- and President Obama listened, delaying the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. This is our best chance to show the President how strong this movement has become since then -- sign up today. Ring of Fire debuts on Free Speech TV NOON this Sunday! If you don't get FSTV on yer crappy cable watch on-line freespeech.org. FYI both satellite providers DISHTV 9415 and DirecTV 348 carry FSTV so tune in! As for the Beltway Bubalas newly-appointed White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough gets the WH limo ride to butter up This Snafugopolis, Meet the David and Face the Bob. Throw bricks at LINDSEY "I'm not gay - I just hate Chuck Hagel" GRAHAM-CRACKER on Fake Snooze, HALEY BARBOUR on Face the Bob, GNEWT GINGRICH and PAULEY RYAN on Snafugopolis and our ex-rep STEVE LATOILETTE on State of The Candy. The Brick TeeVee Crew will be resting up for Sunday's Big Defensive Struggle also known as the NBA All-Star game where the first team to 200 points wins! Haha! Click anything and be instantly smarter! And have a great week!
BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!©

Democracy NOW!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Wednesday, February 13 Thursday, February 14, 2013 Friday, February 15, 2013

GRITtv GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders

»»» FEATURED SHOW Tony Benn: The World Says No To War On February 15, 2003, Tony Benn helped lead one of the largest demonstrations London has ever seen.

BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!©

»»» NBA ALL-STAR GAME on TNT SUNDAY 8 pm et

»»» NBA on TNT THURSDAY Doubleheader! Heat @ Bulls 8 pm et then Spurs @ Clippers 10:30 pm

BRICK TEEVEE ACTION!©

The 1st Amendment is Our Permit Our permit to occupy is The First Amendment. Quickly sign the following statement which will be delivered to mayors, police chiefs and major media across the country:

    Our permit to occupy public squares and parks is in The First Amendment, which affirms "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." When people across the Middle East occupied public squares, leaders in Washington mostly cheered those protesters and warned Middle Eastern governments not to use force to clear them. Those other societies don’t have a First Amendment. Yet Washington affirmed the universal right to assembly and protest. We do have a First Amendment. The force being used to clear nonviolent protesters from public squares in our country is unacceptable. It must stop.

StrikeDebt.org & RollingJubilee.org! A bailout of the people by the people Rolling Jubilee is a Strike Debt project that buys debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of collecting it, abolishes it. Together we can liberate debtors at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and collective refusal. Debt resistance is just the beginning. Join us as we imagine and create a new world based on the common good, not Wall Street profits. ADDENDUM: Naked Capitalism reports Top Tax Expert Confirms Our Doubts About Occupy Wall Street’s Debt Buying/Forgiveness Scheme

STOP the ACHE NEW WEBSITE! AcheAct.org and Appalachian Community HEALTH EMERGENCY Advocating for government action and protection of the public from the health crisis in mountain top removal communi ties

    Lawmakers concerned about the health effects on humans from mountaintop removal coal mining set forth legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives today. Representatives Dennis Kucinich (OH), Louise Slaughter (NY), Maurice Hinchey (NY), Earl Blumenauer (OR), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA), John Yarmuth (KY), Lynn Woolsey (CA), Judy Chu (CA), Raúl Grijalva (AZ), James Moran (VA), Michael Honda (CA), John Conyers (MI), and Keith Ellison (MN) introduced the Appalachian Communities Health Emergency (ACHE) Act H.R. 5959 which would place a moratorium on permitting for mountaintop removal coal mining until health studies are conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services. The ACHE coalition presently consists of participants from Coal River Mountain Watch, Mountain Health and Heritage Association, and Christians for the Mountains. “We encourage you, if you’re concerned about mountaintop removal’s effect on your community’s health, to join us in making your voice heard,” said Allen Johnson, executive director of Christians for the Mountains. “Please contact us, learn about the issue, and take action to protect your community.”

Community-Wealth.org community-wealth.org a project of the Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland Community-Wealth.org brings together, for the first time, information about the broad range of community wealth building activity. Featuring Community Wealth Building in Action: The Cleveland Model Something important is happening in Cleveland. The Democracy Collaborative—the host of C-W.org—in partnership with the Cleveland Foundation, the Ohio Employee Ownership Center, Shorebank Enterprise Cleveland, the City of Cleveland, and the city's major hospitals and universities—is helping to implement a new model of large-scale worker-owned and community-benefiting businesses. The Evergreen Cooperative Initiative is beginning to build serious momentum in one of the cities most dramatically impacted by the nation's decaying economy. Increasingly, this model is being referred to nationally as The Cleveland Model. Initial planning is now underway to assist other cities in Ohio and nationwide to replicate and adapt this innovative approach to economic development, green job creation, and neighborhood stabilization. Find more many resources at Community-Wealth.org!

NET NEUTRALITY! SaveTheInternet.com Declaration of Internet Freedom Tired of fighting bad bills like SOPA, PIPA and CISPA? Want to stand up against those who are trying to control what we do and say online? It's time for something different. A group of more than 1,500 organizations, academics, startup founders and tech innovators has come together to produce a Declaration of Internet Freedom, a set of five principles that put forward a positive vision of the open Internet. Our goal: Get millions of Internet users to sign on to this Declaration. Build political power for Internet users to make sure that we get a seat at the table whenever, and wherever, the future of the Internet is being decided. It's time to stop playing defense and start going on the offensive. The open Internet is central to people’s freedom to communicate, share, advocate and innovate in the 21st century. But powerful interests want to censor free speech, block the sharing of information, hinder innovation and control how Internet users get online. And all too often, people in power are making political decisions behind closed doors about how the Internet should operate — and they're doing this without the involvement of actual Internet users. The result: policies that could close down the open Internet and destroy our freedom to connect. It’s time for us to reclaim the Internet for its users. Take action now and sign the Declaration of Internet Freedom.

NEW!!! Stop Media Consolidation! Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is trying to change the agency’s ownership rules to pave the way for Murdoch to get exactly what he wants. Worse, Genachowski and Murdoch are keeping this all very hush-hush, hoping you won't notice.3 These changes wouldn’t just benefit Murdoch. If the FCC proposal passes, one company could own the major daily newspaper, two TV stations and up to eight radio stations in your town. And that one company could be your Internet provider, too. What is the FCC thinking?!? We can still stop the agency from taking this perilous step — but we have less than a month to do it. By taking action, you’re joining a movement of millions who are working to stop big media from getting even bigger. Please take action today. Click HERE to view our infographic and send a message to the FCC! More info at Another FCC Cave-In: Julius Genachowski’s Media Consolidation Christmas Gift to Murdoch at StopTheCap.com! And Sign Senator Bernie Sanders petition to the FCC Protect Media Diversity: Stop Media Consolidation!

CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE American Majority Rejects Washington Austerity Consensus – And We Demand Media Coverage by Roger Hickey, President, Campaign for America's Future: No more silent majority. The Campaign for America’s Future is joining with the Center for Economic and Policy Research (whose Co-Director, Dean Baker blogs regularly about economic bias in the media) and with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) to monitor the media’s coverage and representation of the American Majority views as they go into covering the big deficit fight. But we want to enlist YOU too. Send us accounts of unbalanced coverage in the national media and in your local newspapers and television. Call up reporters, editors, assignment people and tell them when they are under-representing the views of the American Majority. We should have at least half the experts, pundits, quotes and real people represented in their coverage. In a debate as important as the one we are going into, we can’t allow the media to ignore the American Majority. Much more at www.ourfuture.org

MOVE TO AMEND! www.movetoamend.org SIGN HERE NOW! And check out more actions on the Move to Amend Calendar featuring David Cobb's Barnstorming Tour! Also visit Rep Alan Grayson's site www.savedemocracy.net GET INVOLVED! And Alan Grayson is BACK in the 113th Congress! Help out at CongressmanWithGuts.com

SUPPORT THE TROOPS WHO REFUSE TO FIGHT See CourageToResist.org and Bradley Manning Support Network UPDATE! Common Dreams staff writer Beth Brogan posts Exposing US War Crimes or Not, Judge Denies Manning's Whistleblower Defense In a significant—but not unexpected— blow to his defense, a military judge has ruled that Bradley Manning's attorney [David Coombs] may not argue that Manning's motive in releasing documents and the damning video "Collateral Murder" to WikiLeaks was to call attention to US war crimes. ....... The Guardian reports that Colonel Denise Lind "ruled that general issues of motive were not relevant to the trial stage of the court martial, and must be held back until Manning either entered a plea or was found guilty, at which point it could be used in mitigation to lessen the sentence." Lind also ruled that Coombs may not present evidence that the documents released to WikiLeaks caused little or no damage to US national security. Coombs will be able to raise that evidence when addressing the specific charge of aiding the enemy, as FiredogLake's Kevin Gosztola points out, "in order to prove he did not know passing information to WikiLeaks would result in 'dealing with the enemy.'" ....... Last week, prosecutors said that if Manning had released documents to The New York Times instead of WikiLeaks, they would still charge him with aiding the enemy. Never before has a soldier been jailed for releasing information to the media. The Los Angeles Times subsequently published an editorial criticizing "the federal government's unprecedented targeting, in recent years, of whistleblowers and those who leak to the press," and calling the charge of aiding the enemy "excessive."

DONATE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES TO T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATION Help save lives. Donate your old & used iPhone, Blackberries, Droid and other phones to help the T.J. Martell Foundations fund life-saving cancer & AIDS research. For more information, go to www.tjmartellfoundation.org CELLULAR PHONE TASK FORCE EDUCATION, ADVOCACY, SUPPORT at CellPhoneTaskForce.org The Cellular Phone Task Force is dedicated to halting the expansion of wireless technology because it cannot be made safe. We provide: education to the public concerning electromagnetic pollution (electrosmog); advocacy for an electromagnetically cleaner environment; support for individuals disabled by radiation from wireless technology and other sources.

B R I C K T E E V E E

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The essential guide for watching government propaganda!

THEY report. YOU throw bricks.© Get your Foam Bricks at ThrowThings.com HERE!

IRAQ: 4,486 US Military Dead as of April 21, 2012

AFGHANISTAN: 2,177 US Military Dead as of Jan 25, 2013

The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises

Who Owns The Media? The 6 Monolithic Corporations That Control Almost Everything We Watch, Hear And Read

  • This Week (ABC) Host George Stephanopoulos
    • Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.
    • Newly-appointed White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough
    • Sunday Spotlight, Dr. Ben Carson, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins
    • ROUNDTABLE: George Will; Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-Texas; Former House Speaker and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich; Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus; and Romney 2012 campaign senior adviser Stuart Stevens.


  • Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer
    • Dennis McDonough, the new White House Chief of Staff
    • Haley Barbour, the former Republican Governor of Mississippi
    Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, who plans to run for the Senate now-- Senator Frank Lautenberg announced he'd retire
    • ROUNDTABLE:Tom Ricks of Foreign Policy Magazine, David Ignatius of The Washington Post, and Margaret Brennan of CBS News on foreign affairs
    • ROUNDTABLE II: domestic policy and political roundtable featuring Cook Political Report's Amy Walter, Michael Gerson of the Washington Post, and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson


  • 60 Minutes (CBS)
    • Iron Dome - Bob Simon reports on Israel's "Iron Dome," a game-changing defense system that the Israeli Air Force says shot down 85 percent of the rockets its enemies fired into the country from nearby Gaza last November. Andy Court is the producer.
    • Africa Mercy - The world's largest civilian hospital ship takes volunteer medical staff to the Third World where they have restored sight to thousands of people suffering from cataracts and returned smiles to victims of facial tumors and cleft palates. Scott Pelley reports. Henry Schuster and Rachael Kun Morehouse are the producers.


  • Meet the Press (NBC) Host David Gregory
    Microsoft, NBC News Dissolve MSNBC.com Joint Venture NBC is buying Microsoft's 50 percent interest in the MSNBC website for an undisclosed amount. MSNBC.com will be rebranded as NBCNews.com, and readers who logged into MSNBC.com late Sunday were automatically redirected to NBCNews.com. Microsoft is preparing to launch its own news service this fall. Although he declined to provide many details about the operation general manager of MSN.com Bob Visse said the news staff will be about the same size as the roughly 100 people who created original content for the MSNBC.com. "There is no question that we are going to have more flexibility to make our own decisions," said Vivian Schiller, NBC News' chief digital officer. "This is really an amicable breakup. We think competition will make us better." Okay then.
    • New White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough
    • Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
    • Retired Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly, husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)
    • ROUNDTABLE: Lt. Governor of California Gavin Newsom; Founder and Chair of Good 360, Carly Fiorina; Republican strategist Alex Castellanos; and host of MSNBC’s Hardball, Chris Matthews.


  • State of the Union With Candy Crowley (CNN) At 9 AM ET, Candy talks to the power players: politicians, business leaders and international newsmakers who will make Monday morning's headlines. At NOON ET, Candy wraps it all up with fresh interviews and the best of the earlier hours.
    • New York Senator Chuck Schumer
    • Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming
    • Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island
    • Intelligence Committee Chairman, Michigan Congressman Mike Rogers
    • ROUNDTABLE: Former Republican Congressman Steven LaTourette, former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain, Jeff Zeleny from the New York Times, and C-N-N Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.


  • HEAD ON RADIO with Bob Kincaid
    HEAD ON
    Headon Radio with Bob Kincaid 6 PM Eastern, 3 PM Pacific, 2300 GMT. Duration: 3 hrs. To be part of Conversation Radio on Head-on Radio, call toll-free (877) 443-2366, or use our Liberal community line at 304-658-3333. Email bob [at] headonradio [dot] com during the show!
    • PRAYER MEETIN' WEDNESDAY!!!!! Last show of the week as Bob travels to Wisconsin to talk about coal mining. Keep Bob on the air HERE ya hear? Amen to the White Rose Society! Donate to Head On HERE! And join Coal River Mountain Watch at www.crmw.net!


  • YOUR GREEN NEWS REPORT
    desi-n-bradSOTU_Chamber
    The Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen: 6 minutes of green news, politics, analysis & snarky comment! BOOKMARK greennews.bradblog.com NOW!
    'Green News Report' - February 14, 2013 IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Special Coverage: Climate change takes center stage at the State of the Union address (though not in the corporate media) while activists and Senate Democrats turn up the heat ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
    • IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link):Fukushima: 3 youth diagnosed with thyroid cancer; GAO warns weather is changing; Superstorm Sandy 2nd costliest; $188b cost for weather disasters in two years; NY to ban Styrofoam cups?; NJ officials charged with poisoning drinking water; Tesla v. NYTimes; Solar 'glass' breakthrough; Fox News 'stands in way of energy security progress'; Refinery fire: Chevron refinery pipes 80% corroded; Industry ousts scientist from EPA panel ... PLUS: Global climate treaties work: Antarctic ozone hole smallest in 10 yrs ... and much, MUCH more! ...
    • BRADBLOG UPDATE! Swift Voting or Swift Boating? Obama taps disgraced Bush/Cheney/Swift Boat operative, Ben Ginsberg to co-chair new 'non-partisan' election reform commission...
    • BRADBLOG UPDATE! Repub Double Voting Guilty Plea in NV, Felony Charge in NM Gullible GOP voters who took matters into their own hands during 2012's 'Year of GOP Election Fraud'...
    • BRADBLOG UPDATE! Yes, Marco, We Noticed Marco Rubio's 'gulp heard round the world' and other amusing moments from State of the Union 2012...
    • BRADCAST UPDATE! KPFK 'BradCast': The Blocked Prop 37 'Recount' and the Fight to Count Paper BallotsYesterday on KPFK/Pacifica Radio's BradCast I was joined by Tom Courbat, longtime Election Integrity advocate and 25-year former CA county fiscal manager, and Dr. John Maa, who initiated and paid for the first "recount" of a statewide initiative in California (Prop 29)......


  • The Peter B. Collins Show PODCAST!
    pbc show
    Listen at PeterBCollins.com!
    The Peter B. Collins Show covers American news and politics from the Left Coast. Veteran talk radio personality Peter B. Collins, based in San Francisco, delivers fresh interviews, commentary and analysis on a range of important topics, with views and voices you don’t often find in the corporate media.
    Holiday Break and Website Changes
      To my valued listeners: We are making some changes to the website and our terms, effective in January. We will continue to offer free podcasts–my new daily news and commentary. Our in-depth interviews will be available for $1 per episode, or to subscribers who pay $5 per month or more. Loyal listeners who simply can’t afford it should send an email to peter@peterbcollins.com, as we will be offering a limited number of scholarships to our friends who are hurting during these tough times. More information will be posted as we complete the revisions. I’m grateful to each of you for listening and supporting this work, and hope that the new model will enable us to keep it going well into the future. All the best, -pbc
    • Peter B Collins, Truthout | Op-Ed An Insider's View of the Progressive Talk Radio Devolution
    • PBC Standard Podcast February 8, 2013 Attorney Carl Mayer Reports on NDAA Appeals Hearing; City Councilman Mark Friedman Declines to Pledge Allegiance
    • PBC Standard Podcast February 11, 2013 Reaction to Pope’s Resignation from Father Tom Reese, Former Editor of ‘America’
    • PBC Standard Podcast February 15, 2013 Single Payer! Rep. Alan Grayson Files "Medicare You Can Buy Into" Act
    • PBC News & Comment February 16, 2013Reposting, Audio Fixed: PBC News & comment: Grayson Introduces Single Payer Bill Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) returns to discuss his “Medicare You Can Buy Into Act”, which cost him re-election in 2010….


  • Ring of Fire Radio
    rofheader
    Find us at http://ringoffireradio.com and http://goleft.tv/ hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder
    Ring of Fire Radio - GoLeft TV - Robert F. Kennedy, Mike Papantonio, Sam Seder - Politics, Commentary, and News.
    This Weekend on Ring of Fire Saturdays at 3 o’clock Eastern, rebroadcasts Sunday nights at 8 pm Eastern
    • Dr. Michael Mann will be here to tell us about the new, oil-funded groups that are working to spread misinformation and lies about climate change.
    • Tim Dickinson from Rolling Stone will tell us how the NRA continues to win legislative battles that put Americans in harm’s way.
    • Labor writer Josh Eidelson will be here to tell us how non-traditional workers’ rights groups are helping to fight the battles that American unions once fought.
    • And author Les Leopold will join us to talk about how hedge funds and Wall Street bankers make billions by scamming the government and American taxpayers.
    • VIDEO! THE HISTORY OF CORPORATE CORRUPTION & FRAUD with Robert Kennedy Jr & Mike Papantonio “Call us if you have a personal story about Fraud on Taxpayers or False Claims for Payment made by Corportations at 1-866-389-FIRE (3473) or contact us by email at info@ringoffireradio.com if you have evidence of fraud that robbed taxpayer dollars. If our government is paying too much due to fraud by a corporation, Ring of Fire wants to do a story on it.”
    Papantonio: It’s Time To Prosecute Wall Street Criminals (VIDEO) If a person in the US were to walk into a bank and demand the teller hand over all the cash in the place, he’d be in handcuffs before he could even make it to the door. But when the bank owner does the same thing, we help them out by giving them billions of dollars in bailout money. That scenario is what happened when bankers on Wall Street crashed our economy, and billions by pushing us into economic collapse. And no one has gone to jail. Mike Papantonio talks about why we’re so afraid to put bankers in handcuffs, and what we can do to help push the government towards taking action, with Dan Petegorsky, the campaign coordinator for the Campaign for a Fair Settlement.
    • VIDEO! Papantonio: Time For Harry Reid To Step Down (VIDEO) Mike Papantonio appears on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann to discuss the weak-willed Democratic leader of the Senate Harry Reid, and why, if he retains his leadership post, the Democrats will continue to lose battles against the Republican minority.
    • VIDEO! Papantonio: Following The Money On The NRA (VIDEO) Mike Papantonio talks with Thom Hartmann on The Big Picture about the fear that is being sold to Americans by the NRA, all in an effort to sell more firearms for the NRA’s corporate benefactors.
    • Join our blog at www.ringoffireradio.com. You can now SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST by clicking on the "Podcast" tab at the top of the Ring of Fire blog. Please help support progressive radio by signing up!
    Ring of Fire Radio Ring of Fire, hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder: Saturdays at 3 o’clock Eastern, rebroadcasts 8-11 et Sunday evenings on Chicago's Progressive Talk WCPT AM & FM and 4 pm et on Sirius/XM 167 featuring The PAP Attack! "We’ll bring you the stories that the mainstream media didn’t feel like reporting this week."


  • Majority Report with Sam Seder Streaming LIVE weekdays 11:30 am et @ Majority.fm!

    • MONDAY 2/11/13 Benny Brunner: The Great Book Robbery & KC Boyd On Christian Zionists
    • TUESDAY 2/12/13 Duncan Black: 401K Failure & The Need For Increased SS Benefits
    • WEDNESDAY 2/13/13 SOTU Reactions With Adam Green & John Amato
    • THURSDAY 2/14/13 Robert F. Kennedy JR: On His Arrest & The Keystone Pipeline
    • FRIDAY 2/15/13 Casual Friday: Cliff Schecter & Isabel Gillies V Film Guy Matthew Weiss
    • MORE Podcast Interviews at majorityfm.libsyn.com!


  • KEISER REPORT Podcasts and more @ MaxKeiser.com!
    maxheaderhiyall
    "HI Y'ALL! Tell the people! Tell the people!"
    WHO IS MAX KEISER? Max Keiser is a financial expert, Prediction Markets analyst, inventor and filmmaker. He is the creator of the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX) the first Prediction Market. Max Keiser co-hosts "The Truth About Markets" on ResonanceFM 104.4 in London. He also produces and presents documentary films covering markets and finance for Al Jazeera’s "People & Power" series. Max Keiser started his career on Wall Street in 1983. He is the creator of KarmaBanque a site that enables activists to challenge corporate power.
    • VISIT PirateMyFilm.com!!! Crowd Funding for Pirates!
    • NEW! MaxKeiserTV on YouTube! MaxKeiserTV PLUS here is Max Keiser’s official Facebook page And here is the official Keiser Report page
    The official Facebook pages for Max Keiser & Keiser Report STACY SUMMARY: For once and for all, here are our real Facebook pages, the other ones are fake. But if you feel like chatting to the fake ones, by all means, go ahead. Max Keiser & Keiser Report PLUS Stacey Herbert
    Copyright industry owns your thoughts, now the medical industry wants to own your genes. by maxkeiser - READ Myriad Genetics Wins Australia Bid to Patent Human Genes (bloomberg.com)
    COMEX Open Raid Smashes Gold & Silver to $1500, $29 Handles! by The Doc - After consolidating throughout the overnight Asian and London session, the latest COMEX open raid has finally achieved the cartel’s target in silver, with $30 broken to the downside as silver was smashed to $29.84. Gold has also been hit on the COMEX open, down another $40 to $1596! The legendary Jim Sinclair states that this is the last significant correction prior to gold’s move to $3,500. *Update: 2nd wave of smash now in progress, with silver down to $29.67 Click here for more on the cartel’s latest EPIC PAPER METALS RAID!! (silverdoctors.com)
    Financial Propaganda Control by maxkeiser - READ At CNBC, a strict guest policy (politico.com)
    Ladies and gentlemen: we may just have uncovered the actual location of the ultra-secretive JPMorgan gold vault in the city of London. Where is 60 Victoria Embankment, London? by maxkeiser - READ Is This Where The Secret JP Morgan London Gold Vault Is Located? (zerohedge)
    • KEISER REPORT [KR405] Keiser Report: Debt Junkie Nation We discuss the money printing cargo cults leading to a post-industrial nation of debt addicts, who have forgotten what real wealth is. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Sandeep Jaitly about debt, inflation, currency kamikazes and Austrian economics
    • KEISER REPORT [KR406] Keiser Report: Horsemeat Burger vs Dutch Sandwich We discuss the honkey infestation causing an inflationary vortex and the Dutch sandwich being the financial equivalent of a horsemeat burger. And how the FSAs – the Financial Services Authority and the Food Standards Agency – operate with a similar cover up mentality. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to anthropologist, David Graeber, author of Debt: The First 5000 Years, about the dollar, a war backed currency, being displaced by gold and about who killed Aaron Swartz and why.
    • KEISER REPORT [KR407] Keiser Report: Sterlageddon We discuss ending the currency war with a gold standard. They also look at how, since going off the gold standard in 1971, productivity gains have all gone to the one percent who create and push the paper and credit. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Jan Skoyles of the Real Asset Company about gold monetisation, renminbi internationalisation and the very harsh laws against sterling devaluation.
    • ON THE EDGE On the Edge with Greg Hunter An interview with Greg Hunter of USA Watchdog.
    • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-1266] The Truth About Squirrel Brains and the Arithmetic of Losing Download show HERE (mp3)
    • Donate to ResonanceFM here!


  • ANTIWAR RADIO with Scott Horton
    antiwarradio.jpg LIVE (9-11am Pacific, 12pm - 2pm Eastern) Plenty of archives too!
    Listen at antiwar.com/radio
    • Scott Horton Radio Show 2/11/13 Ray McGovern: Ray McGovern, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, discusses CIA Director-to-be John Brennan’s “Tenet-Like Testimony” about Iran’s nuclear program to the Senate Intelligence Committee; Brennan’s apparent willingness to “fit the facts around the policy” and lie Americans into yet another war; why Brennan knows much more about CIA torture, rendition, and black sites than he admits; and the spectacle of Obama and Brennan casually giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down – like Roman emperors – deciding the fate of “kill list” victims.
    Listen to more interviews at The Scott Horton Show!
    SCOTT HORTON July 5, 2012: Scott says goodbye to Antiwar.com. Scott Horton is the former host of Antiwar Radio. Visit his blog Stress. Due to budget cuts Scott lost his gig at AntiWarRadio.com! Whoa! See ScottHortonShow.com for archives! Send emails to Scott at scotthorton.org to help Scott keep his podcast going!
    • Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!


  • fauxnews
    • Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
    • Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)

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