Archive for December, 2009
Why Do Airstrikes in Afghanistan Keep Killing Exactly 30 People?
Megan Carpentier writes on Air America:
On Monday, the anonymous blogger Security Crank noticed something interesting: all the U.S. and NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan seemingly kill exactly 30 people every time. How can that be?
Security Crank documented no less than 12 occasions in which news reports, relying on field commanders’ estimates, noted that exactly 30 suspected Taliban were killed in airstrikes and, occasionally, artillery attacks. He said:
But the much more important point remains: how could we possibly have any idea how the war is going, here or anywhere else, when the bad guys seem only to die in groups of 30? The sheer ubiquity of that number in fatality and casualty counts is astounding, to the point where I don’t even pay attention to a story anymore when they use that magic number 30. It is an indicator either of ignorance or deliberate spin … but no matter the case, whenever…
Chuck Norris: Public Health Care Would Have Killed Baby Jesus
Daniel Tencer writes on RAW Story:
‘Will Obamacare morph into Herodcare for the unborn?’ Hollywood star asks
Movie star and Mike Huckabee booster Chuck Norris has dragged the “War on Christmas” into the health care debate.
Norris has penned an article in which he suggests that Jesus Christ would have been among many “great souls” who would have been “erased from history” had a health plan similar to the one proposed by the Democrats existed in the Levant 2,000 years ago.
In a column published at the conservative Human Events blog earlier this week, Norris suggested that if a government-run health care plan had existed in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth, the shame of Mary’s “out-of-wedlock” pregnancy would have pushed her into aborting her child.
Jim Marrs Reveals in ‘The Sisterhood’: A Secret Occult History of World War II
Check out this trailer we made for Jim Marrs’ new book The Sisterhood of the Rose. Thanks to Austin Gandy of the Disinformation Podcasts for contributing the voice-over narration:
Jim will be doing some radio interviews where he’ll discuss his new book, we’ll definitely keep you posted as what’s upcoming. Be sure to check out his Coast to Coast AM interview from this past Saturday.
More info can be found at SisterhoodOfTheRose.org. The first FIVE chapters are available on Scribd for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Avatar’s Pandora May Be Real
Several news outlets are running a story about the likelihood of there being habitable moons like the one in the revolutionary movie Avatar. [As an aside, if you have the slightest interest in moviemaking, or just plain filmed entertainment, go and see Avatar on the biggest 3D screen you can find, preferably IMAX; it really does live up to the hype.] From Discovery News:
As James Cameron’s animated sci-fi movie Avatar goes on general release, astronomers point out that the movie’s habitable moon called “Pandora” may exist in reality.
Although none have been found to date, “exomoons” orbiting exoplanets are sure to exist. Could an exomoon be detected? If so, could that exomoon’s atmosphere be probed? Yes and yes, according to today’s announcement by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Mass.
Eliot Spitzer Is Rehabilitated By The New York Times
So when did the Times decide that Client Number 9, a/k/a former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, was due for rehabilitation? And why? Today the Times published an op-ed that he co-authored, asking questions about A.I.G.:
We end this extraordinary financial year with news that the Treasury is in discussions with American International Group about selling the taxpayers’ 80 percent ownership stake in that company. The government recently permitted several banks to break free of its potential oversight by repaying loans made during the rescue. But with respect to A.I.G., the Treasury should not move so fast. There is one job left to do.
A.I.G. was at the center of the web of bad business judgments, opaque financial derivatives, failed economics and questionable political relationships that set off the economic cataclysm of the past two years. When A.I.G.’s financial products division collapsed — ultimately requiring a federal bailout of $180 billion — those who…
Sitting Now Podcast: Above Top Secret with Jim Marrs
From SittingNow.co.uk:
Our Guest this episode, Jim Marrs
We take a break from the recent onslaught of occult-related episodes, and delve head-first into the world of conspiracy theory with legendary author Jim Marrs. Jim is the author of the New York Times bestseller Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy, Above Top Secret, The Sisterhood of the Rose and many more.
This week, we discuss: Did the Nazis ever really go away, Who killed JFK, was Lee Harvey Oswald a Patsy or the lone gunman, and much more.
Joining Ken is SittingNow veteran Jacob ‘JW’ Williams, a man plauged with questions about the Kennedy assassination. One such question, “was Kennedy’s door open?”, is now available for your digestion:
Jacob’s eagle-eye spotted this…
Enjoy!
America’s Own Ancient Rock Art
Those interested in the first evidence of art usually focus on sites like Lascaux in France or Altamira in Spain, but for Americans it turns out there is a site in California’s China Lake, near Death Valley, that rivals those or any other rock art locations around the world. David Page managed to visit despite the U.S. Navy declaring the area off limits, for the New York Times:
Ridgecrest, Calif. — We were inside Restricted Area R-505 of the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, rolling in a minivan across the vast salt pan of an extinct Pleistocene lake on our way to see a renowned collection of ancient rock art. On the console between the seats was a long-range two-way radio. It was there so that our escort, a civilian Navy public affairs officer named Peggy Shoaf, could keep abreast of where and when any bombs would be dropped —…
Documents Suggest Bush White House Failed to Search for Libby’s “Missing” Emails Subpoenaed in CIA Leak Probe
From Truthout:
Between late 2005 and January 2006, the Bush administration tried to recover “lost” emails from staffers who worked in the Office of the Vice President (OVP), an effort centered on a critical week – October 1 through October 6, 2003. That same week the Justice Department announced it was investigating the unauthorized leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert CIA status.
But one name was missing from the list of 70 individuals whose email accounts White House technicians searched in an attempt to recover and restore missing emails: I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
According to documents obtained by government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), it appears that technicians in the Office of Administration did not attempt to recover from Libby’s account emails he either sent or received during the week of October 1 to October 6, 2003. That was a week when emails from the Office of the Vice President…
Trained-up Ninja Monkeys ‘Turn on Master’
From MSN News:
A Chinese monkey trainer who trained his animals to do martial arts reportedly got the shock of his life when his proteges suddenly turned on him.
Entertainer Lo Wung was knocked to the ground in a vicious attack by his monkeys while entertaining a shopping crowd in eastern China’s Hubei province, The Sun newspaper reports, quoting a man who says he saw the attack and caught it on his camera.
The 42-year-old trainer had previously taught his monkeys basic taekwondo moves to amuse his audiences, but the monkeys had no qualms in using the skills against their master, Hu Luang told The Sun newspaper.
“I saw one punch him in the eye — he grabbed another by the ear and it responded by grabbing his nose,” the newspaper quoted Mr Luang as saying.
“They were leaping and jumping all over the place — it was better than a Bruce Lee film.”
The revolt apparently started…
Mexico: Top Drug Cartel Leader Killed
From CNN:
In a strong blow to one of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartels, Mexico’s navy killed a top drug kingpin in a shootout Wednesday at an upscale resort.Arturo Beltran Leyva, head of the Beltran Leyva cartel, was killed in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca, the navy said.
Six other cartel members died in the gunbattle at a housing complex called Altitudes, navy spokesman Adm. Jose Luis Vergara said Thursday. He added that one of the gang members killed himself as authorities closed in.
Three navy personnel were wounded by hand grenades, one fatally, President Felipe Calderon said from the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Navy 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Cordova died while being treated for his injuries, he said. One of the other two navy men was in serious condition, and the other was in stable condition, Vergara said.
The Beltran Leyva cartel is one of the most violent and feared drug…
Tear Gas Fired at Climate Talks: Police Make 230 Arrests as Protesters Storm Copenhagen Summit
From The Daily Mail:
Police fired tear gas and made hundreds of arrests today as protesters tried to storm the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen.
Danish officers detained 230 activists as they attempted to break through the security barricades around the Bella Centre where world leaders are trying to forge a new deal on global warming.
Police, some with dogs, used truncheons and pepper spray in their bid to control the crowds and stop them disrupting the crucial negotiations.
Protesters admitted their aim was to penetrate a police cordon and interrupt the talks. A few did make it through an outer ring of security but were chased down by officers.
Gordon Brown, who flew into Copenhagen this morning, was forced to abandon a meeting because of security fears.
Downing Street said it was for ‘convenience and safety’. The Prime Minister was forced to stay inside and carry out the briefing by telephone instead.
[Read more at…
Sumerians Look On In Confusion As God Creates World
Via The Onion:
Members of the earth’s earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, looked on in shock and confusion some 6,000 years ago as God, the Lord Almighty, created Heaven and Earth.
According to recently excavated clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform script, thousands of Sumerians—the first humans to establish systems of writing, agriculture, and government—were working on their sophisticated irrigation systems when the Father of All Creation reached down from the ether and blew the divine spirit of life into their thriving civilization.
“I do not understand,” reads an ancient line of pictographs depicting the sun, the moon, water, and a Sumerian who appears to be scratching his head. “A booming voice is saying, ‘Let there be light,’ but there is already light. It is saying, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass,’ but I am already standing on grass.”
“Everything is here already,” the pictograph continues. “We do not need more stars.”
Historians believe that, immediately…
The Credit Card’s Newest Trick: 79.9 Percent Interest
Candice Choi writes on the AP via Yahoo News:
It’s no mistake. This credit card’s interest rate is 79.9 percent.
The bloated APR is how First Premier Bank, a subprime credit card issuer, is skirting new regulations intended to curb abusive practices in the industry. It’s a strategy other subprime card issuers could start adopting to get around the new rules.
Typically, the First Premier card comes with a minimum of $256 in fees in the first year for a credit line of $250. Starting in February, however, a new law will cap such fees at 25 percent of a card’s credit line.
In a recent mailing for a preapproved card, First Premier lowers fees to just that limit — $75 in the first year for a credit line of $300. But the new law doesn’t set a cap on interest rates. Hence the 79.9 APR, up from the previous 9.9 percent.
“It’s the highest…
Lord Christopher Monckton: Meet A Leader Of Climate Change Denial (VIDEO)
Katherine Goldstein questions the motives of the British Peer who has become the highest profile climate change denier, in the Huffington Post:
While tens of thousands of NGO’s, environmental activists, government officials and journalists have descended on the climate talks in Copenhagen, a small but vocal number of energy industry lobbyists and climate change deniers are staging events to put forward their point of view.
At one such event held by Americans For Prosperity, a right-wing group with funding ties to Exxon-Mobil and oil interests. [disinfo ed.'s note: we know this sentence doesn't make sense.]
At their event in Copenhagen, a group of clean energy activists disrupted their meeting. In attendance was Lord Christopher Monckton, one of the most visible and outspoken voices against climate change science, who proceeded to call the protesters “Hitler Youth.”
So who is Lord Christopher Mockton? “Mother Jones” describes him as a “self-described former special adviser to Margaret Thatcher on matters ranging from hydrogeology to epidemiology [who] has more recently devoted himself to climatology.”…
Alcoholic Monkeys Stealing Booze from Tourists
Get your hands off my drink, you damn dirty ape! Michael Graham Richard writes on Treehunger:
Where Can I Get a Drink Here? Okay, this one is a bit on the light side, but I found it quite interesting as an illustration of the unintended consequences (sometimes really unintended) of introducing non-native species in foreign ecosystems. The video below shows alcoholic monkeys on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean. They were brought there from West Africa 300 years ago by slave traders back when the island was a rum-producing colony, and apparently they developed a taste for alcohol from eating fermented sugarcane left in the fields. Nowadays, they satisfy their liquor habit by stealing drinks from tourists:
Wal-Mart Gouging The Troops On Shipping To APO/FPO Addresses
Posted by AWG on Resistnet:
Wal-Mart is charging extra on shipment to APO/FPO addresses… Amazon is not, Target is not so why is Wal-Mart? So as I’ve said for years Wal-Mart only rolls back the prices after they’ve rolled them up. So after they catch a little crap about charging more for shipments to the troops don’t be surprised if they reduce those rates and then pat themselves on the back claiming they care about the troops and they’ve rolled back the shipping prices to prove it…. scumbags…
[continues at Resistnet]
Ten Privacy Organizations File Complaint with Facebook
BRAD STONE writes on the NY Times’ Bits Blog:
In a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission, a privacy organization is charging that Facebook’s recent changes to its privacy policies constitute “unfair and deceptive trade practices.”
The Electronic Privacy Information Center, or E.P.I.C., says that Facebook’s recent changes “violate user expectations, diminish user privacy, and contradict Facebook’s own representations.”
I wrote about those changes last week. The most controversial among them is that a Facebook user’s photo, gender, geographic region, the pages they are a fan of and their lists of friends are now open and available to the entire Web public. Facebook made these changes partly to make individual users more findable among the massive haystack of 350 million users.
Ten other privacy organizations signed the complaint, including the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, the American Library Association and the Consumer Federation of America. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner in Canada has also…
The New Marijuana Apartheid
Air America makes the claim that a system of “marijuana apartheid” has been created in which the drug has been decriminalized for the wealthy and educated but not for the poor:
Pot in California is only legal for those of a certain class, or those who live in certain areas. It is effectively illegal in most communities of color. It’s not legal for pot smokers in many conservative counties and municipalities. And it’s effectively out of reach for California’s poor.
Marijuana is only legal for those who have $100-$300 to fork over for a medical marijuana card (you don’t get any pot in return), who live in an area where there are medical marijuana dispensaries (generally liberal-minded, gentrified areas), who have proof of residence, and who don’t fit the stereotypical image of a drug dealer.
Just the $100-$300 barrier alone means that pot’s still illegal for anyone who lives paycheck to paycheck. Add to…
Why Are Beck, Limbaugh, And Co. Obsessed With Rape?
Media Matters points out the most popular conservative pundits’ weird love of rape metaphors. (Gays are raping us! Obama is raping us! So are illegal immigrants!) I’ll leave it to psychologists to figure out what this all means.
