Americans Want 'Freedom to Pay Too Much for Inferior Health Care'

the title says it all...that seems to be what it boils down to.


US President Barack Obama has lost his messianic status in the row over health care reform, say German media commentators. The debate reveals the downside of America's ideological aversion towards government: Americans are ready to put up with an inferior health service in the name of freedom, it seems.



The World From Berlin: Americans Want 'Freedom to Pay Too Much for Inferior Health Care' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Cocaine Contaminates Majority of U.S. Currency

I remember there wsa survey back in the last 70's . I forget what the percentage was then, but that was the days when it first hit BIG. I'm amazed that it's still so popular as it seems to be.

For cocaine users, a rolled up $20 bill may be the most convenient tool for snorting the powder form of the drug. Or so it would seem from a new analysis of 234 banknotes from 18 U.S. cities that found cocaine on 90 percent of the bills tested.



Cocaine Contaminates Majority of U.S. Currency: Scientific American

Canadian Media's Coverage of the Coup in Honduras Has Been Atrocious

This resistance - taking place under the threat of military repression - has gone almost entirely unreported by leading Canadian media. So has Canada's tacit support for the coup.

Uninterested in the Conservative government's machinations, the Canadian media is even less concerned with the corporations that may be influencing Ottawa's policy towards Honduras.


Canadian Media's Coverage of the Coup in Honduras Has Been Atrocious | Mostly Water

I Hate to Bother You: Is Justice Right Side Up?

by Edwardo Galeano

Is justice right side up?

Has world justice been frozen in an upside-down position?

The shoe-thrower of Iraq, the man who hurled his shoes at Bush, was condemned to three years in prison. Doesn’t he deserve, instead, a medal?

Who is the terrorist? The hurler of shoes or their recipient? Is not the real terrorist the serial killer who, lying, fabricated the Iraq war, massacred a multitude, and legalized and ordered torture?

Who are the guilty ones--the people of Atenco, in Mexico, the indigenous Mapuches of Chile, the Kekchies of Guatemala, the landless peasants of Brazil—all being accused of the crime of terrorism for defending their right to their own land? If the earth is sacred, even if the law does not say so, aren’t its defenders sacred too?

I Hate to Bother You: Is Justice Right Side Up?:

Harper consistently embarrasses Canada abroad

by Haroon Siddiqui

Israel and the U.S. have well-deserved reputations for standing up for their citizens abroad. Canada, under Stephen Harper, is gaining a reputation for failing its own.

TheStar.com | Opinion | Harper consistently embarrasses Canada abroad

GPI- Nova Scotia measures economic reality

yea, Nova Scotia!!!!!! a Nexis of economic evolution.

Image by erjkprunczyk via Flickr

Surely you follow the economic recovery saga. Every new report -- on consumer spending, jobs, credit, whatever -- sends the stock markets crazy, either up or down. Governments may stand or fall on whether growth resumes. And that peculiar branch of show business, TV business reporting, relentlessly applauds the "good news" at the slightest presumed uptick.

What we crave is "growth" -- the more the better, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) index. But have you stopped to ask what it is we're wishing for?

read more

for more information go here

Les Paul (1915-2009)

With apologies to Hendrix and Clapton, inventor and musician Les Paul, who died Wednesday at 94, was the most influential rock guitarist ever — even though he was only tangentially involved in rock. Paul was important not just for his instrumental virtuosity, but also for his groundbreaking studio developments and creation of the Gibson solid-body guitar that bears his name, the quintessential rock instrument made famous by such legends as Clapton, Duane Allman, Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen.

Les Paul (1915-2009) : Rolling Stone

Les Paul, 1915-2009

Les Paul via last.fm

 

Les Paul, musician, pioneer of multitrack recording, and creator of one of the most successful and recognizable guitars in history, passed at the age of 94.
Known to guitarists around the world through the guitar that bears his name (built initially using a hunk of 4"x4" lumber), Les Paul also is credited with being the first to develop multitrack recording in 1955 to overcome the noise problem of using the overdubbing technique used at the time.Les Paul, 1915-2009

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Judge sentences man to 6 months for yawning in court

Illinois Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak sentenced Clifton Williams to 6 months in jail for yawning in court. Rozak's contempt order stated that Williams "raised his hands while at the same time making a loud yawning sound," which was both disrespectful and disruptive.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Rozak, one of 30 judges in the the 12th Judicial Circuit, personally issues over a third of the contempt charges and has thrown more people in jail for ringing cell phones than "any other judge in Will County in the last decade."

Judge sentences man to 6 months for yawning in court

Happy 26th Torin

The annual Perseids meteor shower is at its most spectacular tonight.

Endless War: The Suicide of the United States

1,467 veterans died while waiting to learn if their disability claim would be approved by the government. The average duration of an appeal pending a VA decision on disability claims is 1,608 days, which amounts to nearly four and a half years.

As a result, the suffering of returning vets is compounded by the agonizing wait. In 2007, the Army’s official suicide count was 115, the most since the Pentagon began keeping suicide statistics in 1980. In 2008, it rose to 133, and 2009 is currently on track to set yet another grim record.

For more details, please click on the link to read the article.

Endless War: The Suicide of the United States
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:17:00 GMT

African Development Hindered by Vast U.S. Corporate Interests in Continent's Land, Resources

Image via Wikipedia

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Nigeria today, we turn to the issue of US corporate interests in Africa’s natural resources. Clinton’s seven-country tour of Africa includes both Nigeria and Angola, the continent’s top two oil producers. We speak with Amy Barry of Global Witness, an anti-corruption watchdog that focuses on natural resources.

African Development Hindered by Vast U.S. Corporate Interests in Continent's Land, Resources
(Democracy Now!)

"The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power"

A secretive group known as The Fellowship, or “The Family”, is one of the most powerful Christian fundamentalist movements in the United States. The Family’s devoted membership includes congressmen, corporate leaders, generals and foreign heads of state. Author Jeff Sharlet profiles the group in his book “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.”

Jeff Sharlet on "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power"
(Democracy Now!)

Paris's Electric Car Sharing Plan

A plan to make 4,000 electric cars available for Parisians to pick up and drop off at rental stands still has some kinks to be worked out.


Future Voiture: Paris's Electric Car Sharing Plan - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Blackwater’s Dark Secrets

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Jeff Sharlet’s cover story for the May Harper’s, “Jesus Killed Mohammed,” introduced us to the role that Christian fundamentalists play in military operations in Iraq. The title comes from a legend painted on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle that cruised the streets of Samarra. Sharlet shows us that a number of religious right figures in the military construe their mission as a crusade. Many of the same ideas apparently affect private security contractors operating in Iraq. . . .

SCOTT HORTON—Blackwater’s Dark Secrets
Scott Horton
Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:39:42 GMT