Category Archives: defense contractors

Indiana Charters: Show me the money

by

Diane Ravitch has a blog up on the Indiana Charter schools playing the shell game of accountability.  Now you see it, now you don’t…well, you never really did see accountability…

The financial profits aspect turns my stomach to no end…

And Gates Foundation being involved….well, there’s a red flag if there ever were a red flag.  My blogs on Gates here and here and here and here, on the Gates Foundation and Brookings Institute that tossed Diane Ravitch aside when she began to question what was happening to public education.

 

Fukushima ain’t over…

by

This is not good.  It is just mindboggling that anyone could possibly think Nuclear energy is cost effective and SAFE.  It is neither. It is the biggest energy scam ever.  It is unsustainable.

Billions of dollars spent on this black hole could have been used to develop and promote solar energy.  It could have been used to sponsor classes of off-grid energy for the public….but no…

 

Growing concern over super bugs and super weeds

by

common dreams has this link up on the octopus of GMO corn and the emerging super bugs that are resistant to the pesticides….

…and of course, their answer is to….throw more pesticides after them.

We all saw this coming, so why are Monsanto and Syngenta still allowed to market this monster?

Congress, can you hear the American public that you love to  *quote*  all the time?  Can you hear us above the *clink* of money in your pocket? (Be sure to click on the media link and its pathetic and sometimes belittling coverage).

Vilsack, can you cut your ties with Monsanto and do what is right for the environment and our health?

Here’s a report about GMO’s in the waterways in my own backyard.  This is a freaking nightmare.

As a side note, here’s an article on aerial spraying and untested chemicals.  Gees-o-pete, does anyone stand up to the chemical industry??

Rewriting history

by

Is what seems to be happening in the last few weeks of the “George Love In”….with the *cough* George W. Bush library that re-programs, er I mean, explains to the public  how it really was when he was president…

Mold

by

…grows in the dark….is what passed in my head while reading this.

I just can’t wrap my brain around this.  The hubris is just beyond me.  What gives us the right?

 

 

More on ALEC

by

From the last post, Center for Media and Democracy has this up on filing suit for Ethics investigation of unreported gifts.

I really wanted to get access to the Financial Times article that includes John Kerry’s dirty fingers in the pie, but I don’t have a subscription….can Kerry get any farther from the Vietnam protester that he once was?  What the hell happened to him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is a group fighting back against the privatization of public interests.  What bothers me about this is that I don’t see language here that expressly denies privatization, but rather, it seeks to make more stringent rules.  Making rules is good, don’t get me wrong, but to me, privatization should be illegal when taxpayers have already foot the bill for building roads (and keeping them maintained with paving and such); when taxpayers paid for parking meters; when taxpayers built huge water reservoirs, when taxpayers paid for library books that are now being dumped and then sold by so-called ‘friends of the library”…and on….

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dirty nine

by

Nine state legislators were flown on a chartered flight and…well, you can read the rest here.

From the article:

The tar sands of Alberta are estimated to be the third largest reserve of crude oil on the planet. But the process of turning the tar-like bitumen into a refined product that can be used as fuel is extremely energy intensive and highly polluting. The former NASA scientist James Hansen, warned that the extraction and use of Canadian tar sands would mean “game over” for the climate. TransCanada is the operator of the proposed KXL pipeline, which would carry the tar sands to Texas for processing and likely for exports to markets abroad.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I think it’s really important to highlight NASA scientist James Hansen’s statement on this because most folk think that folks who believe in climate change are “fringe” liberals, when they’re not.  Dr. Hansen is a prime example of that.

More:

TransCanada, which is a member of ALEC, sponsored ALEC’s Spring Task Force Summit in Oklahoma City in May 2013, alongside other corporations with tar sands interests including BP, Devon Energy and Koch Industries. TransCanada’s Vice President Corey Goulet presented to legislators at the conference during a session called “Embracing American Energy Opportunities.“

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dimon stayed in touch with Adams’ office over the proceeding months, providing his staff with further materials about Keystone XL, including a set of talking points stamped with the TransCanada logo.

By February 14, Adams had an updated draft that had been reviewed by the Ohio legislative service commission, the non-partisan body that assists legislators with drafting legislation. Adams staffer Ryan Crawford sent this language to Rob Eshenbaugh, a lobbyist with Ohio Petroleum Council, the state affiliate of the American Petroleum Institute. “Please let me know if I can be of further assistance,” Crawford wrote to the lobbyist. Eshenbaugh responded with some requested changes, which Crawford then incorporated into the bill.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So…yeah….pretty glaring examples of not so subtle bribery.  Unethical. Unethical. Unethical.

I have something of a quibble with the story saying that the XL has become a national issue….where were you when Enbridge was getting the northwest Indiana pipeline approved even though it runs near Lake Michigan and other sources of water?  Does anyone know why Indiana is ignored?    I’d like to know why we don’t matter….somebody tell me, please.

 

 

 

 

Burr on your being paranoid

by

Thomas Burr, a *cough* reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune,  was on CSPAN this morning telling everyone what paranoids they are…the NSA is not spying on you, they are just gathering data.

And that 1 million square foot facility in Utah?  Pshaw…it’s only got a tiny, tiny bit of space devoted to that data.

And they *only* have 200 employees for that giant space (well…as far as we know….the exact number is…you guessed it…secret.)

And they’re not analyzing the data collected.  Really.  Would he lie to you?  Why are you so paranoid?  You probably need to take something for that.   /extra snarky

And when a  caller point blank said this was illegal and needs to be stopped, Burr spent the next few minutes speaking in double speak evading the question she asked about the legality of it.

 

 

Sally Lightfoot Crab

by

…is the endangered species of the month of July.    (there weren’t any last month, in case anyone is wondering…they just had a serene pic of a beach…nice)

While searching the web, I found this excellent site that has a couple of videos on how climate change is affecting the Galapagos.  He has a clear, non jargon manner that is refreshing.  I wish that the mainstream media would put him on the air to explain Climate Change.  Whenever they mention Climate Change (IF they mention climate change) they don’t do a good job explaining it or to note changes already happening…gah, I wonder if the many commercials for BP and other oil companies has anything to do with it…?  (said with dripping sarcasm) (with the exception last night of CBS–they asked if all the wild fires going on now are a result of climate change and if the fire fighters believed in it.  The fire fighter interviewed said they would not find any fire fighter that has seen the incredible heat and intensity of these fires deny climate change.)

I saw on some sites that people were taking these crabs home for their aquariums.  Please don’t do this.  Enjoy the moment, and then leave them be.

Sudan bloodshed ongoing

by

I had hoped that things were going to move in a positive direction for North and South Sudan, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Story here:         satellitetoday.com/st/feature/George-Clooneys-Satellite-Sentinel-Project-Reveals-War-Crimes-Security-Violations-Using-DigitalGlobe-Imagery_41401.html

The satellites clearly show damage done, I get that—but the thing that bothers me about the satellites is that last paragraph:

DigitalGlobe made headlines of its own in February 2013, when it completed its merger with GeoEye, resulting in a total constellation of five satellites. According to DigitalGlobe’s website, the company globally collects more than 3 million square kilometers of imagery per day and supports a wide range of defense and intelligence clients, including several responsible for the monitoring, storage and development of weapons.

~~~~~~~~~~~

[italics mine]

Yeah…the Big Brother aspect bothers me….

…something that is used to bring about good can also be used for the Dark side.

Here is a good interview that explains what is happening in Sudan.  It is the best video I have seen that not only explains what is happening, but what is going on behind the scenes, as well.

So much blood shed for oil…