World News & Politics

Iceland is killing fin whales for Japanese pet treats

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TOKYO: Today the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and the Iruka & Kujira [Dolphin & Whale] Action Network (IKAN) expressed dismay at the sale of Icelandic fin whale meat dog treats in Japan.

Although the use of Japanese-caught whale and dolphin meat in pet food in Japan has been well documented, the discovery that Japanese pet food company Michinoku Farms is now producing dog snacks using meat from endangered North Atlantic fin whales, killed by the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf, is alarming.

Icelandic fin whale has been sold in Japan for human consumption since 2008, but its use in pet food suggests that new markets are being explored. As Iceland prepares to hunt over 180 fin whales in 2013 for this export market, NGOs question the environmental and economic logic of using meat from an endangered species for the manufacture of dog treats.

Full article... (eia-international.org)

Vermont first state to call for constitutional convention to get money out of politics

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On Friday Vermont became the first state to call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which precipitated a flood of cash into politics.

Mike Monetta, 37, drove from Boston with a colleague and spent more than 10 hours Thursday in the House gallery waiting for the lower chamber to vote on the Senate-passed resolution, which — as lawmakers race to wrap things up before the end of the biennium — was taken up at the end of a marathon floor session.

He was back in the gallery Friday morning to see Vermont’s resolution get final approval from the House. Monetta is the organizing director for Wolf PAC, which he described as a political action committee to end all political action committees.

“We exist for only one purpose and that’s to get a 28th amendment to get all money out of politics,” he explained.

Wolf PAC was founded by Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks online newscast.

“(Uygur) has this thing where in almost every story he keeps coming back to ‘whoever has more money wins,’” Monetta said. “But he didn’t want to just be negative, he wanted there to be a way to fix it.”

Read the rest here... (vtdigger.org)

Dethroning and Forgiving The Powers That Were - Wes Annac

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Written by Wes Annac, The Aquarius Paradigm

I wrote the following for the “Powers That Were” page of The Aquarius Paradigm blog.

There’s a force out there working actively to stop the spiritual development and progression of humanity, and this force has amassed the world’s wealth for themselves and built the security state much of the world (and especially the US) has become.

This force works to disrupt the progress we seekers are making in helping everyone remember the existence of spirit, and they’ve put themselves in positions of power and influence in an attempt at full-on world domination. This is the force you’ll hear so-called ‘conspiracy theorists’ talking about, and needless to say, they’re far realer than most of the world understands.

Not only are they real – they’re bent on the outright destruction of humanity. I’m talking about the cabal; the powers that were; the ‘elite’; the Illuminati. Plenty of names have been given to this group, but no matter what you call them, they’re very real and they work actively to subvert the progress the awakening humanity is beginning to make.

I could write all about the things these individuals have and continue to do, but instead, I’ll focus on the importance of exposing and, eventually, forgiving them after they’ve been brought to justice. I think exposing and uprooting the cabal is essential, and once we do, we’ll be tasked with coming together to build the world of our dreams.

Germany blocks Edward Snowden from testifying in person in NSA inquiry - The Guardian

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The German government has blocked Edward Snowden from giving personal evidence in front of a parliamentary inquiry into NSA surveillance, it has emerged hours before Angela Merkel travels to Washington for a meeting with Barack Obama.

In a letter to members of a parliamentary committee obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung, government officials say a personal invitation for the US whistleblower would "run counter to the political interests of the Federal Republic", and "put a grave and permanent strain" on US-German relations.

Opposition party members in the committee from the Left and Green party had for weeks insisted that the former NSA employee was a key witness and therefore would need to appear in person, not least because of concerns that Russia otherwise could influence his testimony.

Read more here... (theguardian.com)

US Department of Peacebuilding

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I cannot tell you with what weapons mankind would fight WW3, but I can assure you that WW4 would be fought with sticks and stones.
~ Albert Einstein

There is currently a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives to establish a United States Department of Peacebuilding. This historic measure will augment our current problem-solving options, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict.

The legislation will pass from bill to law under one condition: that a wave of citizen interest rise up from the American people and make itself heard in the halls of Congress.

During the 20th Century, over 100 million people lost their lives to war — most of whom were non-combatants. Now, at the dawn of the 21st century, the extent and current speed of nuclear proliferation makes the achievement of non-violent alternatives to war the most urgent need of the human race.

Read more... (peacealliance.org)

An Occupy founder says the next revolution will be rural

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Rural towns are where it’s at for White, “a clean slate” for building real social change in places still reeling from the economic and environmental impacts of exactly what people were protesting during Occupy. Among his plans for Nehalem, White wants to start a food bank for veterans, convert vacant properties into housing for the elderly, and start a loyalty card program that keeps local prices low for residents and high for tourists.

And then there’s the boutique activism firm White’s started. The idea is to train activists and galvanize support for causes similar to online social and political movements like Avaaz.org and Purpose.com. But the difference is, his new venture is unabashedly for-profit. “Occupy Wall Street generated tremendous money,” says White. “This whole idea that activists should do it for free and all that bullshit is over. Like somehow I’m supposed to be a full-time activist and have zero income from it? It’s ridiculous.”

Ideally, though, he thinks everyday people can come up with their own solutions for big problems like climate change and access to local, healthy foods, not so-called experts. In Nehalem’s case, the locals already have a head start: The town is home to an innovative recycling and reuse center called CARTM, an off-grid farm, and a thriving farmers market, plus a land trust for young farmers is in the works.

Read the full version here... (grist.org)

HBO And Ridley Scott Developing Ancient Aliens Drama 'Pharaoh' - Outerplaces.com

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Ancient Aliens have long been a popular topic for UFO theorists and sci-fi fans alike, but now it would seem the mysterious beings are going to be getting the premium cable treatment with Variety reporting that HBO are in talks to sign Ridley Scott to direct a new drama about the influence of alien beings in ancient Egypt. The show, entitled 'Pharaoh' was created by David Schulner, Giannina Facio and Colet Abedi, and with Scott set to executive produce as well as direct, the show should have the experience and star power to succeed in a competitive premium cable environment.

More: http://outerplaces.com/buzz/news/item/3823-hbo-and-ridley-scott-developing-ancient-aliens-drama-pharaoh

US Federal Government's Latest Threat to a Free & Open Internet

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In 2007, at a public forum at Coe College, in Iowa, Presidential candidate Barack Obama was asked about net neutrality. Specifically, “Would you make it a priority in your first year of office to reinstate net neutrality as the law of the land? And would you pledge to only appoint F.C.C. commissioners that support open Internet principles like net neutrality?”

“The answer is yes,” Obama replied. “I am a strong supporter of net neutrality.” Explaining, he said, “What you’ve been seeing is some lobbying that says that the servers and the various portals through which you’re getting information over the Internet should be able to be gatekeepers and to charge different rates to different Web sites…. And that I think destroys one of the best things about the Internet—which is that there is this incredible equality there.”

If reports in the Wall Street Journal are correct, Obama’s chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Thomas Wheeler, has proposed a new rule that is an explicit and blatant violation of this promise. In fact, it permits and encourages exactly what Obama warned against: broadband carriers acting as gatekeepers and charging Web sites a payola payment to reach customers through a “fast lane.”

The Astounding Conspiracy Theories of Wall Street Genius Mark Gorton - Gawker.com

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Mark Gorton is a prominent financier and a respected entrepreneur. He founded the music sharing site Limewire, and he runs Tower Research, a famed high-frequency trading firm. Gorton also believes that the "ruthless" secret cabal that assassinated JFK and planned 9/11 could be coming to kill his family.

Mark Gorton does not have a reputation as a crackpot. Quite the opposite. He's been favorably profiled in the New York Times for his business acumen and charitable deeds. His experience as the head of Limewire—which disrupted the music industry and then lost a $100 million lawsuit as a result—was closely followed by the press. And when Michael Lewis's blockbuster new book about high frequency trading was published recently, prominent media outlets turned to Gorton to learn what HFT firms are really like. The Huffington Post even dubbed him "the new face of Wall Street." He is a very respected and very wealthy man.

This week, we were forwarded documents that Gorton was sending out to employees at Tower Research. These documents—embedded at the bottom of this post—are essays by Mark Gorton, laying out his theories on the secret high-level murderous criminal "Cabal" that is responsible for, among other things, the JFK and RFK assassinations, the presidential careers of the Bushes, Clinton, and Obama, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 9/11 plot, and the murder of countless witnesses, politicians, and journalists who sought to expose them, including Sen. Paul Wellstone and even Hunter S. Thompson. Everything, according to Gorton, has been an inside job.

It is really something.

Read the rest here... (gawker.com)

It’s Official: Nobody in Power Cares What You Think Unless You’re Rich - I Acknowledge

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Today, the idea of popular democracy seems more fairytale than fact.  It feels more like government of the rich people, by the rich people, for the rich people. But a study of 1,779 policy outcomes over two decades has come to a stark conclusion: it’s official – the collective opinion of ordinary citizens doesn’t matter.

The study ‘Affluence and Influence’, conducted by Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page concludes that:

“economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence.”

So is this just an inflated statement to make more nuanced findings more sexy to news editors? Sadly not.

The statistical analysis revealed that the collective views of ordinary Americans have a negligible impact on the policies rolled out by government.  In fact, the collective sentiments of the economic elite (defined here as the richest 10%) are 15 times as important.

Read the rest here... (iacknowledge.com)

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