"Marcela Valente" - U.S. Replaces Japan in Role of Villain on Whales

Published on Saturday, July 2, 2011 by the Inter Press Service

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/02

by Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES - The United States has taken over the pro-whaling stance traditionally championed by Japan, but instead of supporting the capture of whales for scientific research purposes, it is doing so under the guise of aboriginal subsistence quotas.

This is one of the conclusions reached by Latin American conservationist organizations as they prepare for the upcoming annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), to be held Jul. 3-5 on the Channel Island of Jersey.

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"Cynthia Boaz" - 14 Propaganda Techniques Fox "News" Uses to Brainwash Americans

By Cynthia Boaz, TruthOut.org
Posted on July 2, 2011, Printed on July 3, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/151497/14_propaganda_techniques_fox_%22news%22_uses_to_brainwash_americans

There is nothing more sacred to the maintenance of democracy than a free press. Access to comprehensive, accurate and quality information is essential to the manifestation of Socratic citizenship - the society characterized by a civically engaged, well-informed and socially invested populace. Thus, to the degree that access to quality information is willfully or unintentionally obstructed, democracy itself is degraded.

It is ironic that in the era of 24-hour cable news networks and "reality" programming, the news-to-fluff ratio and overall veracity of information has declined precipitously. Take the fact Americans now spend on average about 50 hours a week using various forms of media, while at the same time cultural literacy levels hover just above the gutter. Not only does mainstream media now tolerate gross misrepresentations of fact and history by public figures (highlighted most recently by Sarah Palin's ludicrous depiction of Paul Revere's ride), but many media actually legitimize these displays. Pause for a moment and ask yourself what it means that the world's largest, most profitable and most popular news channel passes off as fact every whim, impulse and outrageously incompetent analysis of its so-called reporters. How did we get here? Take the enormous amount of misinformation that is taken for truth by Fox audiences: the belief that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that he was in on 9/11, the belief that climate change isn't real and/or man-made, the belief that Barack Obama is Muslim and wasn't born in the United States, the insistence that all Arabs are Muslim and all Muslims are terrorists, the inexplicable perceptions that immigrants are both too lazy to work and are about to steal your job. All of these claims are demonstrably false, yet Fox News viewers will maintain their veracity with incredible zeal. Why? Is it simply that we have lost our respect for knowledge?

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"Nicholas Kusnetz" - Oil and Gas Drilling Surges Despite Increased Oversight

Published on Friday, July 1, 2011 by ProPublica

http://www.propublica.org/article/oil-and-gas-drilling-surges-despite-increased-oversight

by Nicholas Kusnetz

Energy companies have spent the last couple of years fighting off added government regulation, saying red tape is slowing development.

But recent data show that the pace of drilling is just short of the 20-year high it reached before the recession. Gas drilling has dropped off as the price of natural gas has stayed low, but high oil prices (and the widening price gap between oil and gas) have spurred enough oil drilling to more than make up the difference.

There were 1,882 rigs drilling wells around the country last week, up 21 percent from a year ago and up more than 50 percent from the beginning of 2010. There are now more rigs drilling for oil than at any time since 1987, according to Bloomberg News.

The numbers show that when prices are right, changes in policy or regulation are unlikely to stand in the way of new drilling, analysts and regulators say.

"I don't think, short of moratoriums, regulations materially impact the pace of drilling," said John Hanger, who tightened a number of drilling regulations in Pennsylvania when he led the state's Department of Environmental Protection until January.

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“Progressive Radio Network Host Danny Schechter, Friday @ 1pm(EST)” - AS MANDELA TURNS 93, HE RELEASES A NEW BOOK OF QUOTATIONS

Second in a series

By Danny Schechter

Editor, Mediachannel.org

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: Nelson Mandela, icon-hero of the world, turns 93 this month. He is hanging on despite family tragedies that claimed another great-grandchild in June. The child was born premature and died after just four days,

The man known by his clan name, Madiba, still evokes wonder and admiration and almost god-like reverence, with airport stores selling We Love Mandela posters and T-shirts. He is the one South African that most of South Africans take pride in, including the older generation that first knew him as an apartheid government designated terrorist.

So feared was he that his picture could not be shown in the media and his words could not be quoted for 27 years.

Ironically, all these years later he has released a book of authorized quotations (‘By himself”) that cull his thoughts from a life time of public and private utterances in letters, private papers, audio recordings as well from generations of speechifying,

Mandela doesn’t really get out much anymore although a select few can still get in to see him especially if their name is Michelle Obama, whose comment on being given an advanced copy of the quotations was a not very quotable, “Wow!” (I have that on good authority from someone who was in the room.)

The last big book of political quotations that went to the top of the sales charts that I remember was Mao’s Little Red Book. China’s Communist party assured it would be a global bestseller given the size of the population, their control over the country and penchant for disseminating propaganda. Mao’s idea appealed to Moammar Gadaffy who then released his own Little “Green Book” to thunderous yawns.

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“Vikki N. Spurill” - Ocean Trash Is No Picnic

Vikki N. Spruill

June 30, 2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vikki-n-spruill/ocean-trash-is-no-picnic_b_887791.html

Every summer, my family makes a trip out to the beautiful beaches of Nantucket Island. I simply love being here at the ocean, many miles out to sea. It restores me, and it reminds me that the work Ocean Conservancy is doing to protect it is so important.

As the 4th of July holiday weekend approaches, I know this beach will become more crowded -- with people, and sadly, with trash.

Ocean trash is the summer's real beach traffic. Food wrappers, beverage containers, and cups, plates and cutlery are always among the top ten items removed from our beaches in Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup, the world's largest volunteer effort for ocean health.

Summer is also full of celebrations. Unfortunately, balloons, so light and buoyant, can travel many miles in the air and in the water. Marine animals, like endangered sea turtles, that mistake balloons for food can choke or develop often-fatal digestive problems.

Cleanup participants have found enough cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons over the last 25 years to host a picnic for 2 million people. And they've picked up enough glass and plastic bottles to provide every resident of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston a cold beverage on a hot summer day.

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“Jason Linkins” - Who Would Have Thought That 'Dick' Would Put Mark Halperin In The Box?

Jason Linkins

June 30, 2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/30/mark-halperin-dick_n_887908.html

I have to say, I've always wondered what it might take for high-profile political pundit Mark Halperin to, say, get "indefinitely suspended from MSNBC" or otherwise find himself on the outs with the people who mass-produce political punditry. There's no doubt that he's long been permitted to suck steadily from the udder of conventional wisdom and expectorate the backwash all over the media landscape. And there's never been any consequences meted out for all those times he's been hysterically bad at his job. It matters to no one in the media that he is a misogynist hypocrite, a Matt Drudge tongue-bather -- or that the clearest evidence of his bankruptcy is the fact that ABC's "The Note" was never better than when Halperin took his obsequious, insidery wink-nudgery elsewhere.

But Halperin was caught on a live microphone saying the Obama was "kind of a dick," and now people at MSNBC are mad at him. But why? As Alex Pareene points out, everyone at MSNBC's "Morning Joe" was basically goading Halperin into saying something outre Thursday morning:

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“Dr. Mercola” - Better than Fish Oil at Reducing Triglycerides and Cholesterol Levels

Dr. Mercola

June 30, 2011

http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/archive/2011/06/30/better-than-fish-oil-at-reducing-triglycerides-and-cholesterol-levels.aspx

A recent study found that a krill oil supplemented diet reduces the activities of the mitochondrial tricarboxylate carrier and of the cytosolic lipogenic enzymes in rats.  The mitochondrial tricarboxylate carrier supplies cytosol with the carbon units necessary for hepatic lipogenesis.

Rats fed with a diet enriched with 2.5% krill oil showed a time-dependent decrease in the activities of the mitochondrial tricarboxylate carrier. In fact, the krill oil induced inhibition of hepatic lipogenesis was more pronounced than that found in fish oil fed rats.

According to the study, as reported by Green Med Info:

“The decrease in the activity of the mitochondrial tricarboxylate carrier caused by [krill oil] was due to a reduced expression of the protein.”

“Dr. Mercola” - 5 Ways to Afford Whole Foods on a Budget

Dr. Mercola

June 30, 2011

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/30/5-ways-to-afford-whole-foods-on-a-budget.aspx

Whole food -- that is to say, unprocessed and unrefined food -- has the reputation of being expensive. But there are many ways to add whole food to your diet while sticking to your budget. Seattle PI suggests a few:

1. Buy seasonal: Fruits and vegetables are both cheaper and tastier when purchased in season.
2. Use the bulk bins: You won't pay for packaging, labeling and advertising.
3. Grow your own: A sunny yard or even a window box can add cheap, fresh food to your plate.
4. Use your freezer: Stock up and freeze when whole food is on sale.
5. Reduce waste: Don't let leftovers go to waste.

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“Stephen C. Webster” - GOP Senators propose alternatives to U.S. dollar

Stephen C. Webster

June 30, 2011

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/06/30/bill-would-eliminate-taxes-on-gold-silver-coi/

Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced legislation this week that would eliminate all taxes on gold and silver coins, elevating them from the status of "collectables" to "legal tender" of the same status as Federal Reserve notes.

Currently, only the state of Utah recognizes gold coins as legal tender, but Republicans in 12 other states are pushing similar measures, in spite of warnings that such laws could serve to undermine the value of the U.S. dollar.

"In order to rebuild strength and confidence in our economy, we need both the fiscal discipline to cut wasteful spending and the monetary discipline to restrain further destructive monetizing of our debt," DeMint said in an advisory. "This legislation would encourage wider adoption of sound money measures, and that’s a step in the right direction."

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“Jess Zimmerman” - How much hotter has your state gotten?

Jess Zimmerman

June 30, 2011

Please click on link to see Map:

http://www.grist.org/list/2011-06-30-how-much-hotter-has-your-state-gotten

Here's what the new normal looks like. Once a decade, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration updates its definition of "normal" temperatures, based on the average temperatures of the previous 30 years. Here's how the 1981-2010 "normal" compares to the 1971-2000 "normal." Basically, it's a lot hotter. WHY COULD THAT BE??

Since NOAA's last normal-temperature assessment, minimum temps in Minnesota and Wisconsin increased by nearly a full degree, with Maine, Vermont, Michigan, and Arizona not far behind. On average, normal temperatures increased by half a degree.