Uncle,
The most interesting thing about the video above is how the interviewees come across as faithful working class base republican red necks, that were screwed/stabbed in the back by elite capital personified by Romney. Not so much a critique of big financial capital (they could care less about that), but more isolating Romney from the tribal identity and painting him as an east coast elite out of touch with the base.

Posted by: anna missed | Jan 13 2012 19:46 utc | 4

Thanks for that link, Uncle. Anna, what this shows is that Mitt Gingrich and Newt Romney could potentially annihilate each other and out of the ashes comes Ron Paul, relatively unscathed.
Secretly, I think it’s what both of them want. They want Obama to be reelected. He was able to accomplish in four short years what they could only dream of accomplishing as Republicans, knowing full well they would never have accomplished it. That Golden Goose has some more life in it……you don’t kill it whilst its still dropping Golden Eggs at record pace.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 13 2012 20:19 utc | 6

Morocco, I think if Ron Paul were the last man standing – nothing could be better – we’ll likely see a brokered convention. No way the PTB are ever going to let the notion of shutting down imperial America, see a ray of sunshine. The republican establishment couldn’t get any of their heavier hitters at bat this season (none being that stupid), so they’re letting all the rookies and old timers in to keep the tired old social agenda in the game alive – it’s about all they have left anyway, seeing that their primary ideological paradigm has crashed and burned with Bush. Big mistake letting the fanatical Gingrich in there though, because he’s the equivalent of having a suicide bomber on the team.

Posted by: anna missed | Jan 13 2012 21:19 utc | 8

On my wishlist???
Well, at the top would be someone (someone in the journalistic field) I trust to do some digging into WTF is going on at Fukushima. If it is as bad as I suspect it is, ALL the issues we discuss here become inconsequential fluff. Fukushima may be THE issue of the day, of the decade, of the century.
To make matters worse, if Fukushima is the absolute and deadly (global) disaster it appears to be, the fact that Diablo and San Onofre are still online, in a potentially cataclysmic and active seismic zone with a HUGE population nearby, is particularly terrifying. Can you imagine THREE Fukushimas spewing their deadly invisible poison into our air, coating our environment with the ultimate in carcinogenic substances?
Damn, b, can’t you find out anything for us?

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 13 2012 21:55 utc | 10

“According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), there is no health threat from the item……”
Of course there isn’t. I mean, hey, corporations always remove the safe items from their shelves, suffering a loss.
“Hey, boss, the lab says that item is safe.”
“Hmmmm. Can’t have that! We better get the damned things outta circulation!”

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 13 2012 23:17 utc | 12

A Ron Paul ad: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10176289
I think the elites have decided to cancel the Reagan 11th commandment because they already have their man in one B. H. Obama.

Posted by: ben | Jan 14 2012 0:07 utc | 14

“And I live within the death zone of Vermont Yankee a fourty year old deterioating reactor of the same design as Fukushima….”
Juannie, I think the entire global population “live(s) within the death zone” of these nuclear ticking time-bombs.
When the whale migration into Japanese waters occurs, I cringe to think what might befall them. Undoubtedly, they will be the canaries in the mineshaft. And, even with a worst case outcome, these despicable criminals and whores in the nuclear industry, the media, and our government will seek to mislead us about what is actually transpiring.
I missed b’s reporting on this issue early on. Frankly, I wish he’d jump back into it with a fervor. The truth is out there.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 14 2012 0:41 utc | 16

@PoA re: Fuku…
Been reading ENENews lately. It’s a bit yelly-screamy-alarmist, but wear your ‘read between the lines’ hat and it’s somewhat useful. Big thing that concerns me is the uptick in moderate quakes. Though you do get the doubters saying “That’s impossible!” there is certainly a possibility that heating one segment of a fault (or small block of crust) can have down- and up-fault effects, producing quakes miles away from the heat source. Also, steam or hydrogen explosions underground is a distinct possibility. And there are also comments about aquifer depletion having a flexing effect on the crust.
Me, I’ve pretty much given up. I was still riding my bicycle in the hills of SoCal in the wind and rain months after the initial blow-out. I figure it’s gonna get me sometime, so I’m not gonna fuck up the rest of my life just to hide from this.
Also finally bothered to watch Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams recently. Uh…wow…

Posted by: Dr. Wellington Yueh | Jan 14 2012 3:20 utc | 18

@ comment 18 – Dr. Wellington Yueh, ref Fukushima

Big thing that concerns me is the uptick in moderate quakes.

There is nothing mysterious or ‘special’ in this. For one, the area is prone to earthquakes; two: following a huge earthquake, there are always after-shocks, some small, some bigger. Sometimes in between, there is a quiet period. The big earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand still generates after-shocks, nearly 2 years after the facts. And I remember that when the area where I live (western Japan) was struck by a 6+ quake, we had aftershocks 6 months after that (that area is not especially prone to quakes).

Posted by: Philippe | Jan 14 2012 3:49 utc | 20

“I figure it’s gonna get me sometime, so I’m not gonna fuck up the rest of my life just to hide from this”
Please don’t mistake my concern for crippling paranoia. This IS NOT a matter that I am losing sleep over. What will be will be. Its far too late to reverse events at Fukushima.
However, Fukushima, if considered logically, should be the catalyst that hardens our resolve to shut down plants such as San Onofre, Diablo, Vermont Yankee, etc.. I doubt you’d be blissfully pedalin’ your bike in the Santa Monica mountains if San Onofre was spreading its deadly spew via the Santa Anas, were it experiencing the same fate Fukushima is. Fukushima is an undeniable today, San Onofre and Diablo are inevitable tomorrows. Southern Cal WILL experience, sooner or later, a quake rivaling the intensity of the Japanese quake.
Interesting that the USGS did not register the early January Fukushima quakes, is it not? Nor do we see them calling the quakes, such as the 5.7 that occurred in recent hours, “aftershocks”. Perhaps Philippe should give them a call and set them straight. He is obviously privy to information and expertise that they are not tapping.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 14 2012 4:58 utc | 22

Uncle,
You may already be following this but it has been off my radar until I started skimming ENENews (thanks for that Dr. Yueh). I remembered you has personal concerns so thought I’d alert you:

Problems continue to emerge at troubled Ft. Calhoun: Now worse than worst grade a reactor can have and still operate — Plus cause of fire that knocked out spent fuel pool cooling this summer remains unknown.

Not just “sooner or later, a quake rivaling the intensity of the Japanese quake” POA. VT Yankee, siting on the bank of the Connecticut River just missed getting hit by the severe flooding of Irene that devastated much of VT.

Posted by: juannie | Jan 14 2012 12:00 utc | 24

“Those winds would be of the sort SoCal would want if the nuke plants there were spewing waste…”
I was speaking metaphorically when mentioning the Santa Anas. I am, of course, fully in tune with the Santa Ana particulars, having had grown up in Woodland Hills in one of the older ranch homes surrounded by mature eucalyptus, planted in the early 30’s as wind break. And surfing Malibu when Jacobs and Hobie were still small South Bay shops struggling to make a name for themselves. I even surfed San Onofre on occassion, although only when a friend’s older sister would agree to drive us, as we were too young, and the distance too far. Actually won a Jacobs from KRLA by spotting “the girl in the yellow polka dot bikini” walking on the beach at Zuma during one of their promo contests. A skinny kid I was, so Jacobs shaped me an 8’6″ board with these fantastically thin rails. Such a “short” board was unheard of back then, and the speed and turns I could achieve was awesome compared to the ungainly planks most of the other guys were riding. Damn, wish I woulda kept that board.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 14 2012 13:47 utc | 26

Well, b could even be right, if he is of such a mind. Like global warming, there are far too many armchair experts waxing eloquent about topics they don’t know squat about. I suspect nuclear energy is no different. I don’t claim expertise about scientific matters because I’m one of those people that don’t know squat. In my youth I was too busy gettin’ loaded to even follow the rudimentary science the schools were trying to shovel into my empty brain bucket, so I certainly can’t argue against a mindset such as you ascribe to b.
But one thing I DID “get” out of my particular “education” is street smarts. I know when I’m being bullshitted, whether my neighbor is lying about backin’ into my rig, or the scum in DC is lyin’ about Iran, the Gulf, or Fukushima. And we ARE being fed a humungus load of crap about Fukushima being a yesterday event. Its ongoing, and it is being understated,. I know this in my gut. And my gut has been pretty damned astute for just nigh of sixty years now.
And if in fact we CAN design safe nuclear energy production, then that does not negate the urgency with which we should take UNSAFE technology offline. And if Fukushima has taught us anything, it has taught us that the particular outdated technology that is now boiling away the habitability of a huge portion of Japan is UNFUCKIN’ SAFE. And we have those exact same kinds of aged and decrepid reactors spread willy nilly all over North America.
Its only a matter of time before we will rue not learning the lesson that Fukushima should have taught us. And when it comes to nuclear energy, greed glows in the dark when it supercedes common sense.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 14 2012 15:40 utc | 28

An intersting aspect of living where I do in Central Cal is my exposure to the industrial side of energy production. I can drive ten minutes from my front door to be amongst huge wind turbines, thousands of them, with hundreds more going in on almost a monthly basis of regularity.
Or, I can drive thirty minutes in the other direction, and be in the huge oil fields outside of “Oildale”, on the outskirts of Bakersfield.
Anyone with any sense of artistic irony cannot help but notice the visual dichotomy between the two settings. The wind turbines, so huge and majestic, towering above green hillsides that are relatively unscathed by the intrusion, versus the dead ruin that surrounds and envelopes the oil fields. One cannot help but stand in awe on the Bakersfield bluffs, while gazing at such ugly, chaotic, and odorous devastation of our environment. Acre upon acre of scarred and poisonous land, vomiting forth the lifesblood of modern society, bluntly underscoring the greed that blinds us to the raw ugliness of our insatiable thirst.
At least our nuclear poisons are invisible. And, for that, their producers are grateful.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 14 2012 17:12 utc | 30

@PoA and DaveS re: SoCal weather
Besides Santa Ana, there is the SoCal ‘eddy’ – that huge counter-clockwise swirl that will pull moist air east from the south, wrap it north then west over the Mojave, then west and south over the LA metro area (and surrounding valleys). Lately, the eddy has shifted to the west a bit, so we often get storms tracking south-to-north.
If it’s a Santa Ana condition, the stuff gets blown south out to sea, then east…smack into San Diego metro area and Tijuana!
I was unfortunately quite young when I finally realized that the ‘problem with nukes’ was the slow burn of radiation. The most terrifying dream I can remember went something like this:
I’m walking in what I imagine is a Parisian-style park – cobblestone street lined with square gardens fenced with wrought iron, maples turning red and yellow, mid-morning haze. I walk past something so terrifying I can’t look at it directly. In one of the square gardens is a huge, black cubic mass with no light escaping. Essentially it’s a cubic void. It seemed the beauty and tranquility of the park symbolized everyone’s avoidance of the topic, while the cubic void represented the constant, passive death beam of atomic power.
The second most terrifying dream I’ve had concerned sentient, walking trees invading my city. I had this dream the night after watching a ’50s atomic scare movie about an irradiated south Pacific island on which a tree came to life and terrorized the inhabitants.
OK, enough fear and loathing…not good to crank up the depression on a Saturday morning…
PoA, you’re locating yourself!!! 🙂 My parents have a house above Walker Basin. I know that wind farm well. Yes, Oildale is depressing, especially when juxtaposed with those lovely orange orchards to the north. I ride (bicycle) and hike up on the Kern quite a bit, and sometimes drive down CA-190 to CA-65, and it’s such a rich experience to go from subalpine forests down through the hardwoods and ranchland along the Tule River, then through all that open farm country on CA-65.
KRLA? Heh! That takes me back. I went to Valley Alternative School for my K-6 years, and we once went on a field trip to KMPC in North Hollywood. The purpose was to witness a funeral…for Gary Owens’ mustache!! He had shaved his iconic facial hair and placed it in a tiny cedar casket, which was burned in a 2-lb coffee can.
Sorry, folks! Open Thread or not, I think I’m rambling. Cheers!

Posted by: Dr. Wellington Yueh | Jan 14 2012 20:55 utc | 32

Juannie:
I was the one with concerns about Ft. Calhoun; I have family in eastern and southeastern Nebraska, and friends in Iowa. The December 2011 article about Ft. Calhoun at least recounts the fact that federal regulators are all over Ft. Calhoun, not starting it back up months after the flood waters receded. What’s interesting is reading the comment section of the original article, where the conversation veers between strong concerns for the devastating legacy of nuclear contamination and whiny complaints about over-regulation and fee increases:

from comments: Does anybody think that once the NCR gets their hooks into this plant that the costs will not go sky high and our rates along with them? Nebraska has become a target by not only the NRC but the EPA, Department of Labor and OSHA from the current Administration in Washington D.C. because over the years we have maintained a level of keeping our costs under control for all phases of our lives but with Washington D.C. in the shape it is in, they cannot stand Nebraska to be a leader. We must pay and I’m afraid we will be paying dearly within the next few years.

Yeah, $20-something/year rate increase is paying dearly, compared to the karma of releasing radioactive pollutants into the Missouri River watershed….

Posted by: catlady | Jan 14 2012 22:19 utc | 34

POA @28, great post. I agree with you 100%, and couldn’t have said it better myself.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 14 2012 23:50 utc | 36

@juannie

you, as usual, were cooly rational

yes, that’s one of b’s outstanding traits; it’s the quality that’s most needed when we try to objectively assess the disasters of capitalism and imperialism; and was needed the most during those Fukushima days; we can’t hope for honest assessments in the MSM or in politicians and governments, everyday we have to work it out by ourselves, and MoA is so precious for this;
and great quote from “The Vermont Commons”; it’s the real argument that led me against nuclear energy

Posted by: claudio | Jan 15 2012 6:00 utc | 38

The rain …falls upon the just and the unjust alike; a thing which would not happen if I were superintending the rain’s affairs. No, I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust outdoors I would drown him. – Mark Twain, a Biography
Rain or tears…

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 15 2012 8:55 utc | 40

claudio @37, it is true that b provides a forum in which to discuss these ever so important topics, and for that I am grateful, as are most others who post here, I’m sure. However, because there’s always a however, the comments to b’s posts do not equal b’s position on any particular topic, necessarily, and it is dishonest to imply it does. That was my point with the above post, even though it was worded poorly. In fact, if the discussion is a fair and healthy one, there should always be disagreement over the finer details, and no one should be cajoling anyone else to adopt the view of the herd, or take a hike. If you’re truly here to share, learn and clarify, then group think, and group consensus, shouldn’t be one’s motivating force.
A huge achilles heel for this forum, to include b’s posts and especially the subsequent commentary, is that it is myopic in its coverage, and many times technical to a fault, to the point where one can’t see the forest but for the trees because they’re so mired in the tactical. Yes, the U.S. is the goliath elephant in the room, and deserves much scrutiny and attention, but unless it’s placed in proper context, you run the risk of replacing one elephant with another from here to eternity, or death do us all part….whichever comes first…..meaning it’s a very large Small World Afterall out there, and there are no either or propositions/solutions to many of these issues.
For example, Syria. I posted a documentary on the other thread with accompanying commentary. It didn’t receive one comment. Why would that be, claudio? I have a theory as to why that is. The more vocal on this forum do not like disconfirming information, so they choose to ignore and overlook that which runs counter to their grand narrative. As Rob mentioned on another thread, the issue with Syria is not an either/or proposition. It’s obvious to me that it’s a bad/bad proposition, both for the people of Syria, and for the people of the U.S., regardless of who wins the power struggle, yet one is left with the feeling from this forum that is contrary to what I just stated. That’s cognitive dissonance…..ironically something many a “progressive” has accused their “conservative” counters of engaging in.
I consider myself an equal opportunity critical evaluator and analyst, meaning everything is on the table for critical evaluation….not just the easy targets that support a lopsided, partial and unobjective narrative. My wish is that everyone else would do the same….then maybe, just maybe, we can make some progress and get off this merry-go-round for good.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 15 2012 13:33 utc | 42

b, I didn’t fall for anything. I never claimed I believed, hook, line and sinker, the linked article. In fact, I surmized it was as you described, but isn’t that what this forum is about, or at least partially about? The debunking of mainstream propaganda?
As far as the Strawman, it was no such thing. I never ascribed the “green” comment to you. It’s a valid point, and on that point and that point only, the article, or cluster of articles per Businessweek, are correct. “Green” is an oft abused term.
However, all that being said, here’s where you and I are going to disagree, always. Germany doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It’s part of a highly integrated world….a world with diminishing resources and an escalating population. At some point, and we may very well be at that point, the carrying capacity of this once splendid paradise is going to be exceeded, and a depopulation is going to ensue. That depop can happen voluntarily, or involuntarily. I believe it will be the latter. Considering that, it’s absurd to assert that Germany will be “Green” by the end of the century. In fact, I’m willing to bet there won’t be a thing called “Germany” by the end of the century. Of course, neither you or I will be around to collect on that bet….and maybe no one else, except for a few “lucky” survivors, will either.
http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/07/galactic-scale-energy/

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 15 2012 14:23 utc | 44

On the ship accident in Italy:
That ship seems to be regularly passing the island it crashed with at a short distance. Here is a video of it doing so in August 2011.
Looking at the nautic map (link includes a SPECULATIVE route the ship may have taken) around the island there are some spots where a ship of that size should not go.
Unless there was a machine failure of which so far no mentioning was made, it seems very likely that the incident was a nautical error and the captain will be found guilty.

Posted by: b | Jan 15 2012 14:58 utc | 46

If Germany is a Net Exporter of electricity, it might be because of this, which is not necessarily a good thing.

Denmark (population 5.3 million) has over 6,000 turbines that produced electricity equal to 19% of what the country used in 2002. Yet no conventional power plant has been shut down. Because of the intermittency and variability of the wind, conventional power plants must be kept running at full capacity to meet the actual demand for electricity. Most cannot simply be turned on and off as the wind dies and rises, and the quick ramping up and down of those that can be would actually increase their output of pollution and carbon dioxide (the primary “greenhouse” gas). So when the wind is blowing just right for the turbines, the power they generate is usually a surplus and sold to other countries at an extremely discounted price, or the turbines are simply shut off.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 15 2012 19:49 utc | 48

@MB #42

the comments to b’s posts do not equal b’s position on any particular topic, necessarily, and it is dishonest to imply it does

I fully agree; b’s rational analysis, technically informed, provide a basis for everyone’s individual judgement; but of course there’s an obvious “mainstream consensus” on this blog – sorry, I meant this bar – around an anti-imperialist point of view; I would add anti-capitalist, if this term could be defined consensually; certainly not in the Marxist sense of ascribing to capitalism every form of market economy
that’s why your criticism of attempts to define the situation in Syria in term of good vs bad guys was aimed at the wrong target and didn’t elicit responses; no one here reasons that way, no one thinks Assad is a “good” guy; let’s say the majority of the posters are simply following events in Syria because that country is now in the cross hairs of Us-led imperialism, and fear that a Lybia-style solution is being prepared; the predictable outcome is that western capitalism will dominate new territories, reigning above warlords and chaos, and the noose will tighten around Iran and Hezbollah; b helps us frame the situation and keep up with developments
you seem to think that Us imperialist and capitalist aggression aren’t the worst thing that may happen to a country, I think the majority here thinks otherwise, and roots for David against Goliath
anyways, I also often have had that mildly alienating experience of posting a comment I feel is important, and wait in vain for a feedback; and many others, too, I think

Posted by: claudio | Jan 16 2012 1:08 utc | 50

b, #45 13 hrs ago reported in wapo Central Asia’s largest mosque ravaged by fire, 1 person killed

Posted by: annie | Jan 16 2012 5:19 utc | 52

Ummm….so why is a mosque on fire in Asia, or anywhere for that matter, news worth exploring here?

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 16 2012 14:48 utc | 54

@55, buildings, prominent or otherwise, are burning everyday. Why is this one newsworthy? Can you be honest about it? Now, if a plane hit it, or a missile, or a bomb went off…..that’s a story, otherwise, it’s just a building burning which happens all the time.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 16 2012 18:36 utc | 56

Probably just a welding torch, as reported. Actually one of the more attractive monuments to Nazurbayev’s ego built in Astana. He’s about as Muslim as I am.

Posted by: Biklett | Jan 17 2012 0:07 utc | 58

@59, here it is, plus the comments I made and a couple of other links supporting my comments.
Interesting timing on this recently released documentary.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/syrias-torture-machine/4od
Something it didn’t mention though, but is of utmost importance, is the fact that this alleged Syrian Torture Apparatus has been used quite judiciously by the U.S. Intelligence Services as one of its Black Site Prisons. The current mainstream reporting of outrage mentions nothing of the CIA’s complicity with any of this…..as though the U.S. is innocent, and distinct from such ruthless, debased tactics. As the following points out, rendition to these Black Sites for Torture and Murder has not ceased under Obama. It continues to this day, which makes what’s going on with Syria even more intriguing and perplexing. One day they’re using the Syrians, like an outsourced call center to India, to torture and murder the bevy of “terrorists” that are seemingly everywhere these days, or so the story goes, and the next day, the Syrians are being pilloried in the press as murdering torturers that must be deposed. It’s a shame for the common people of Syria who are caught in the crossfire of all this clandestine duplicity. Such a pity for Assad and his wife who seemed so cosmopolitan and Western. Well, it seems Vogue has removed the article from their site where they spoke glowingly of the Assad couple and family. In its stead, I have linked to the Atlantic which discusses the glowing character assessment from Vogue. As you can see, when you attempt to access the Vogue article from the Atlantic link, it says “page can no longer be found.” Funny, that.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/rendition701/updates/updates.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/02/vogue-defends-profile-of-syrian-first-lady/71764/

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 17 2012 3:08 utc | 60

@57, I see. So, if the synagogue at Bratzlav Center, or the Vatican were to catch fire, I should automatically suspect foul play on the part of Muslim Extremists?

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 17 2012 12:00 utc | 62

RE: Fukushima
A very good website that hasn’t been mentioned yet is http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/
A quote from his site: “I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations.” Occasionally, multitudes of pro-nuke trolls invade his website, which is a good sign in my book.
Occasionally he also translates Japanese websites run by some of the affected people. There are also many you-tube sites where Japanese people with Geiger counters check radiation levels. The best one I’ve found is http://www.youtube.com/user/Birdhairjp. He does English versions, which I appreciate.
I think that it’s much worse than we’ve been told, and also that this tragedy is far from over. The real news will come out slowly, bit by bit, over as long a timeframe as the J-gov and T3Pco can manage.

Posted by: no6ody | Jan 17 2012 14:05 utc | 64

But getting one’s panties in a wad because someone comments on an important Muslim mosque going up in smoke is a bit over the top and self-serving.
That’s disingenuous. No one got their panties in a wad. I merely asked a question….there were no panties and there was no wad. That’s a mischaracterization.
And no, I wouldn’t attack no6ody for his links to Fukushima, because like yourself, I consider it still newsworthy, because I believe it is still an ongoing calamity and will be for what will seem an eternity.
So, let me throw the ball back in your court, alright Chief? Am I to infer from your latest post that questioning anything here is out of the question? Is that right? I should either agree, or shut up, is that correct? And if I don’t, then I’m considered to be attacking and getting my panties in a wad? Seriously? Christ, if you’re that sensitive, how do you walk out the door and face the world with such thin skin?
So, POA, let me hear your explanation for the lack of coverage in The Western MSM for the burning of this mosque? I can certainly understand where it would be news, and significant news, in countries where Muslims are a substantial percentage of the population, but last time I checked, that’s not the case in the U.S., and many Western Countries. As such, I wouldn’t expect them to carry such a story unless there was more to it, as I mentioned above. I’m surprised that WAPO even covered it.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 17 2012 15:52 utc | 66

claudio, a good post sometimes does not demand an immediate response but instead great reflection
avec respect

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jan 17 2012 19:30 utc | 68

And maybe because the mosque burned on the same day that they had (fake) elections in Kazakhstan of which Astana is the capital? And maybe because Kazakhstan is part of the Northern Distribution Network the U.S. troops in Afghanistan depend on? And maybe because the mosque is a highly visible personal project of the Kazak president Nazarbayev and burning it down on an election day could be part of a coup attempt or at least a sign of inner unrest?
Google wouldn’t have given that reason why, b, and for the very reason you provided by depositing it as news. Thank you for honestly answering the question. I now feel less of an ignorant dip-shit. And, considering my research after you gave me your explanation, I agree that it is news worthy, although it does appear that there is nothing more to it than what was reported.
In researching it a bit further, I ran across this article which was a decent synopsis of Afghanistan and supply lines. It would seem that the greater threat to the NDN would come from Uzbekistan before Kazakhstan. Yes, there has been some civil unrest in Kazakhstan, but it appears to be mostly aimed at a tyrannical government that refuses to alleviate economic, social and political inequality and injustice, and not so much aimed at NATO, per se. What’s interesting from the article is that China was at one time cooperating with the supply route, although per wikileaks, that is no longer the case. Still, D’Souza seems to think the U.S. will find a way to mend fences with Pakistan enough to not compromise the supply route through its territory. We’ll see.
http://blog.nus.edu.sg/southasiansoundings/2011/07/08/us-search-for-alternatives-northern-distribution-network-and-the-afghan-war/

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 17 2012 19:57 utc | 70

juannie, based off of your answer to me as to why what b posted was news, your answer did not match b’s answer, meaning you also didn’t know why b posted it, or why he was concerned that the Western MSM didn’t cover it. Considering that, if I’m an ignorant dipshit per b for not knowing, but at least inquiring, what does it make you for not only not knowing, but not inquiring, and then assuming you know it, and then defending not knowing and assuming it’s something else?
Unlike slothrop, I don’t personally attack people here. I merely wish to bring further clarity. If you don’t want clarity, that’s fine, you can always ignore me.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Jan 17 2012 21:53 utc | 72

come on, MB, everyone here is inquiring, in his own way
I don’t think you are a new slothrop, I think you are simply turning sour, and getting personal; and that a turning point has been the widespread (not unanimous, and almost always qualified) support posters here have expressed for OWS
I got the impression you positioned yourself in a virtual “opposite camp”, of those who are waiting for “the real thing”, that will know how to recognize it when it comes, that in the meanwhile won’t be fooled by staged or non influential protests or acts of resistance
and you weren’t fooled by OWL, not by Pakistani reaction to Us bombing, not by Iranian counterintelligence and electronic warfare successes, not by Iraqi’s determination not to sign a SOFA with the Us, not by Assad’s resilience;
then came b’s endorsement of Ron Paul … an act war, really!
the two of us have interacted quite a lot on this blog; somehow I feel stimulated by your posts, and quite enjoy arguing with you; but I’m only a lazy and quite useless would-be amateur theoretician, and you can bear that; those you really can’t stand are those that insist in giving a meaning to daily, somewhat inspiring and optimistic social engagement, like lizard; their attitude is an affront to your pessimism
I think lizard was partly at fault for insisting in personalizing your position, but his question was legitimate since you were stressing so much the importance of “non-collaboration” with “the system”; your reaction really was over the top
and now this controversy of Assad not really being a “good guy”, your accusing b of being a crypto-nuclearist, and your questioning of b’s post over the burning mosque; I admit for a moment I also had juannie’s feeling of you becoming the new slothrop, but thinking over it, really I don’t think so;
what I think is that you should be, in general, more generous and understanding in your judgements: towards youngsters who awake to a collective conscience after decades of the “There Is No Alternative” meme in the OWS movement, towards people that – each in its own way and with its own limitations – search for useful theories and courses of action, towards b who perennially digs through numbers and news searching for pieces to add to the puzzle;
please resist the temptation to knock over the table he is working on, be more patient with us, and relax
I can’t resist the temptation to offer a psycho-political explanation for your attitude, which I hope you’ll respond to: I think you live a real contradiction between your total hate for the “system”, and the fact that when you look at anti-imperialist forces, you realize you like them even less, to the point that you think that being subjugated by the Empire would be, after all, for them, a progress; but then this would mean that the System isn’t all that bad; or maybe there’s some racism in thinking that the System is totally unbearable for “us westerners”, but a step forward for others? maybe there a few points you should clear up to yourself, or at least become conscious of, instead of pointing at contradictions of others

Posted by: claudio | Jan 18 2012 1:39 utc | 74

@r’giap #68 –

a good post sometimes does not demand an immediate response but instead great reflection

great thought! thank you, a ray of hope for many of us frustrated posters; I’ll count double the inspired response my post elicited from you 🙂

Posted by: claudio | Jan 18 2012 1:51 utc | 76

“Or that may be because not everyone reading here is an ignorant dipshit?”
Damn. There goes my superiority complex! Can’t we just pretend?

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 18 2012 3:26 utc | 78

haha, Iran offers Odroner a tiny replica of the drone he demands they return.

Posted by: ran | Jan 18 2012 7:24 utc | 80

Wow, talk about being over-sensitive.
Run, MB. I have a suspicion thats what you’ve done your entire life when someone, anyone, wasn’t willing to jack-off your ego.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 18 2012 15:27 utc | 82

re: MB’s lastest post…
I think we all need a round of drinks and to let our collective heads cool a bit. I like MB’s rants, no I don’t always agree with them, but they’re passionate and usually sourced (unlike most of my musings). I’ve seen more than a few MBs pass thru the joint in the time I’ve been spending here… I really miss Malooga the most 🙁 but they’ve all been good foils for some of the groupthink that happens here. It’s not always pleasant to have someone in your face challenging your beliefs, but it’s useful to force us to think outside even this rather large box b has created.
These moments, when posters aren’t getting along, are the most telling for me about how screwed-up our present world is: if we can’t agree to disagree on some points, we’re going to lose the war. I guess the 99% have already lost the war because we continue to bicker about minutia with each other when we all pretty much agree who the vipers are. Or maybe not?
Went to a local public showing of the movie Thrive which I’d never seen before. Kind of a Zeitgeist-lite (for those into tinfoil movie screening) I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. People are ready for something to change… they’re just not sure where to look. One thing that I didn’t like about Thrive was that they seem to be waiting for magic space beings to save the day, and I’m pretty sure we all agree those folks probably aren’t going to come to our rescue. It’s a nice thought though.
Sigh.
Cliff High@halfpasthuman and his bots are saying we’ve got to prepare for March, and judging by the crazy state of the world, I think he might be right.
I’ll end by asking everyone to pray to the big machine god to help make my Risographs whole again. Spent a good part of yesterday fighting to get a poster made (“We don’t want a bunch of Gassholes fracking up the Fork”). Locally we’re right in the gunsights of some gasshole who asked the BLM to lease 30,000 acres in and around our community for possible gas drilling. Ugh! A funny side to this is that the land up for grabs is probably not that desirable for gas, and some have even suggested a local environmental organization did it to generate donations and awareness (which, if you knew some of the local whack-jobs, wouldn’t surprise you)
Another sigh.
I’ll officially end now – b you still rock and I thank you for all the cool stuff you do 🙂
Peace

Posted by: DaveS | Jan 18 2012 16:25 utc | 84

“If one of your comments vanishes please leave me a note and I will check and “free” it from the spam folder. I will also check the spam folder manually every day (at least when I do not forget about it.)”Posted by: b
I stopped posting for a time here because my posts, critical of the site’s movers’ and shakers’ accepted wisdom at that time were deleted more than once – even with changes. I edited the content each time I tried to repost, censoring my opinions in an effort to communicate my core argument to the rest of the community.
Nada. Nyet. Nuthin’
How can an Algorithm do that?
Seemed personal.

Posted by: arthurdecco | Jan 19 2012 2:06 utc | 86

An anthropologist on the history of debt
B, open a new OT, I know you usually do it around 60 comments.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 20 2012 3:51 utc | 88

Cancer Risk To Young Children Near Fukushima Daiichi Underestimated
http://vimeo.com/35212151
A video giving detailed analysis presented by Arnie Gundersen. Arnie points out that the risk is even greater as the studies presented do not include the ever increasing possibilities of ingesting minute radioactive particles, what he calls “nuclear fleas”, that embed in the human body. These nuclear particles are spread worldwide by wind, water, human trade, and human/animal travel. The video is boring but important in that it gives validity to concerns.
In contrast, I enjoy msmilky the clown ‘s video channel on Youtube. Sometimes a little too irreverent when considering the illness and death that is already occurring in not only in Japan, but again, people of the entire globe are now at greater health risks. If time permits, I will try and highlight soon some of the better videos on that channel.
Quite awhile ago, I posted a link to one of Leakspinner’s channels regarding Fukushima. His channels are all down now and I fear he is in prison or hiding after his posts related to the riots and occupy movements in Britain. If anyone has any knowledge on this, I would appreciate feedback.\

Posted by: Rick Happ | Jan 20 2012 13:56 utc | 90