01-03-09
- Beyond Bailouts: On the Politics of Education After Neoliberalism (truthout) What did Ronald Reagan unleash on the world by pandering to his greedy plutocrat base? Possibly far worse than any of us have yet envisioned. It's far from over.
- One activist CAN make a difference: 27-yr-old student land-auction meddler has a new plan (commondreams). University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher explains how he “bought” 22,000 acres of land in an attempt to save the property from drilling (democracynow video).
- Project Censored's # 3 story for 2009: InfraGard: The FBI Deputizes Business (projectcensored). Thousands of businessmen are spying on fellow Americans for the FBI and DHS (Homeland Security). In return they receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public gets them, and even before some elected officials. One of the various perks: members have permission to shoot to kill with legal impunity in the event of martial law. That's just great! How many of the internet-based companies we routinely do business with are eagerly passing on our information to Big Brother? Local businesses where we shop and talk? When will it be our next-door neighbor? The mailman (zdnet)? The fireman (watchdog)? Bush's and Rove's Nazi family connections are bleeding through, I fear (commondreams). Rotten apples truly do fall close to the tree.
- Some researchers are now hypothesizing that an asteroid impact 12,900 years ago could explain the extinction of North America's giant ice age mammals and even the Clovis people, who then were established in parts of North America. (iht). It's gratifying to see IHT correctly using the term hypothesis to describe this notion, rather than the commonly misused term theory. In science the two terms have distinct meanings that the general public usually does not appreciate, thus creating considerable confusion among creationists and those undecideds casually looking at their bronze-age arguments. In common usage, people say theory when what they really mean is notion, or unproven idea. To a scientist, however, it is the hypothesis that is the unproven idea, and it often takes a lot of experimenting to finally determine the correctness of an hypothesis. Moreover, it takes a lot of tested and proven hypotheses to finally establish a theory. For the scientist a theory is the organized structure where everything that is finally known, understood and settled about a matter is housed. Quite a difference, huh? - Oh, and by the way, you talk funny. I've got a theory about you, pal.
- Flashback--Slavery Is Alive and Well in the U.S. (alternet)
- Alaskans passionately lust for their own permafrost socialism (mcclatchydc). Remember Republicans' and Theocratia Palin's hypocritical whining about Obama's "socialist" (or was it "Marxist") plans to redistribute wealth downward--that is, when there still was some wealth available to redistribute? (Olbermann, youtube)
- Wall Street Up on First Trading Day of 2009 (reuters). You want market directional indicators? Ok. First day. First week. First month. - Economists who use obviously flawed models to find reasons to be optimistic, saying the worst may soon be over (iht). Oh the other hand, Nouriel Roubini at New York University, who called the 2008 collapse correctly, expects "a deep and protracted contraction lasting at least through the end of 2009," adding that in 2010 the recovery may be so weak "that it will feel terrible even if the recession is technically over." I'll trust the guy who's been right, rather than a bunch of economists who are paid to be optimistic and have been wrong.
- The 111th Congress will convene next week (ap). Will they be as destructive to the foundations of our democracy as prior congresses? Can a congressman really smell money a mile away, hermetically sealed and buried 100 feet underground?
- Israel's righteous fury and its victims in Gaza (electronicintifada). Is Israel gradually becoming like its former Nazi oppressors? The victim becomes the abuser. - Israel launches ground invasion of Gaza (guardian.co.uk) (cnn) - Civilians take brunt of 7th day of Gaza offensive (malaysiastar)
- Thousands of shoes litter Miami freeway (mcclatchydc). Beginning of a movement? With more Republicans now leaving Congress and the Bush Crime Gang leaving the White House on January 20, I guess one could happily conclude that this January the world is indeed having a desperately needed bowel movement.
- Double Open Star Cluster in Perseus (apod)
