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December 1, 2011

John Feffer – Occupy Foreign Affairs

Published on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 by  CommonDreams.org

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/11/30-5

by  John Feffer

It’s not the topic of George Packer’s latest essay that’s particularly surprising. Inequality, he writes, is undermining democracy. Progressives have been hammering home this message for years if not decades.

Nor is the choice of publication necessarily a shocker.  Foreign Affairs  is the flagship publication of the elite that runs American foreign policy. But it is no longer the exclusively center-right publication of the Cold War years. After all, it has published the likes of former Institute for Policy Studies staffers  Michael Klare  and  Julia Sweig  as well as my predecessor at Foreign Policy In Focus  John Gershman .

No, it’s the prominent placement of the Packer essay that merits attention. It’s  the lead article  of the November/December issue. And it comes with the bold headline, “Is America Over?”

The Solution Zone – 12/01/11

Guest: Josh Levy, the director of internet campaign at Free Press. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect IP Act in the Senate have reopened the fierce debate over the government’s role in regulating the Internet, and both bills could be up for a vote …

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Expanding Mind – 12/01/11

Dreams and Kabbalah Mysticism, mytho-logic, and the dream as a ladder to infinity: an illuminating conversation with Jewish studies scholar Dr. Elliot R. Wolfson, whose latest book is A Dream Interpreted Within a Dream.  https://files.nyu.edu/erw1/public/about.html  Download this episode (right click and save) Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) …

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The Turning Point – 12/01/11

Comic, Video Games, Cartoons.. Warping our minds or a necessary fantasy outlet? Now that we have your attention… Today’s show is centers around a new book: The Stan Lee Universe–about the man who was (and is) Marvel comics. Mike interviews Danny Fingeroth, long-time writer and editor at Marvel comics– Danny …

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The Vinyl Experience – 12/02/11

Musical salutes to Planet Mars and Beatle George…..     As the NASA rover Curiosity, launched from Cape Canaveral, streaks toward Mars, we’ll explore the red planet thorugh some black vinyl records…and ten years after the death of George Harrsion, a fond remembrance by others–of the quiet Beatle with the …

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American Jobs Alliance – 12/05/11

Guest: Clyde Prestowitz Clyde Prestowitz is founder and President of the Economic Strategy Institute. Mr. Prestowitz is an outspoken critic of U.S. trade policies toward Japan, China, and Korea. Mr. Prestowitz served as counselor to the Secretary of Commerce in the Reagan Administration. There, he led many U.S. trade and investment …

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Matthew Rothschild – McCain says American Citizens Can Be Sent to Guantanamo

Published on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 by  The Progressive

http://www.progressive.org/mccain_says_american_citizens_can_be_sent_to_guantanamo.html

by  Matthew Rothschild

U.S. citizens beware: A bill being debated on the Senate floor this week is likely to pass, and if it becomes law, you could be sent to Guantanamo Bay.

The bill is the National Defense Authorization Act, S. 1867. Section 1031 of the bill gives the President and the Armed Forces enormous power to detain people they believe were involved in the attacks of Sept. 11 or supported Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or “associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.”

Guantanamo BayThat section empowers the President to detain such persons indefinitely without trial or to try them before a military court or to transfer them “to the custody or control of the person’s country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.”

Sen. Mark Udall introduced an amendment to modify this section, and his amendment was voted down on Tuesday.

Sen. Rand Paul has introduced an amendment to delete this section entirely, and on Tuesday, he had the following exchange with Sen. John McCain, who is co-sponsoring the bill.

Sen. Paul: “My question would be under the provisions would it be possible that an American citizen then could be declared an enemy combatant and sent to Guantanamo Bay and detained indefinitely.”

Sen. McCain: “I think that as long as that individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue that threat.”

There has been some confusion on the Internet as to whether the National Defense Authorization Act really applies to U.S. citizens. But Sen. McCain’s answer should clarify that once and for all.

AP – Report: 1 in 5 of US adults on behavioral meds

(AP) – Nov 16, 2011 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLia5HoxTG-hBfhXqlXWc3PuL8Yw?docId=5d910e48c6e9426c8ed7923981c9ed4e

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 20 percent of American adults took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression in 2010, according to an analysis of prescription data, including more than one in four women.

The report, released Wednesday by pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc., found that use of drugs for psychiatric and behavioral disorders rose 22 percent from 2001. The medications are most often prescribed to women aged 45 and older, but their use among men and in younger adults climbed sharply. In adults 20 to 44, use of antipsychotic drugs and treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder more than tripled, and use of anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax, Valium and Ativan rose 30 percent from a decade ago.

The statistics were taken from Medco’s database of prescriptions and is based on 2.5 million patients with 24 months of continuous prescription drug insurance and eligibility.

S. D. Wells – Health basics: What is MSG?

by S. D. Wells 

http://www.naturalnews.com/034272_MSG_monosodium_glutamate.html

(NaturalNews) Monosodium Glutamate, better known as MSG, is a form of concentrated salt added to foods to enhance the flavor. This salt version of glutamic acid is an amino acid the body can produce on its own, but the MSG we find on store shelves is processed and comes from fermented sugar beets. Because this kind of MSG is processed, it can cause many adverse reactions, including skin rashes, itching, hives, nausea, vomiting, migraine headaches, asthma, heart irregularities, depression and even seizures (http://www.msgtruth.org/migraine.htm).

Since MSG acquired its infamous reputation for causing migraines, the food industry has given it new names and new forms, including autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, maltodextrin, hydrolyzed protein, sodium caseinate, mono-potassium glutamate, and textured protein. Consumers who are watching out for monosodium glutamate in long ingredients lists usually don’t know the aliases, but should.

Because MSG is so cheap, the food industry can use much lower quality foods and simply add MSG as a flavor enhancer. Currently, there is a huge investment by the food giants in MSG medical research to convince consumers of its safety. Monsanto, the giant biotech company that creates genetically modified corn, soy and canola, also controls more than 90% of the sugar beet industry; therefore, MSG contains the gene of the pesticide Roundup. Consumers who don’t filter MSG out of their diet are catching a double dose of toxicity.

Eurekalert.org – New research distinguishes roles of conscious and subconscious awareness

Public release date: 30-Nov-2011

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/thuo-nrd113011.php

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Nov. 30, 2011 – What distinguishes information processing with conscious awareness from processing occurring without awareness? And, is there any role for conscious awareness in information processing, or is it just a byproduct, like the steam from the chimney of a train engine, which is significant, but has no functional role?

These questions – which have long puzzled psychologists, philosophers, and neurobiologists – were recently addressed in a study by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers and published by the journal Psychological Science.

The study was headed by Prof. Leon Deouell from the Hebrew University’s Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC) and Department of Psychology and Prof. Dominique Lamy from the Department of Psychology at Tel Aviv University, and conducted by research student Liad Mudirk of Tel Aviv University with collaboration of research student Assaf Breska from the Hebrew University.

We are not consciously aware of most of the input that hits upon our sensory systems. Yet subjectively, conscious awareness dominates our mental activity. “One of the dominant theories in cognitive sciences and psychology posits that parts of the information perceived without awareness may be processed to a certain extent,” says Prof. Deouell. “Yet to bind the different parts of a complex input into something meaningful and coherent requires conscious awareness.

Eurekalert.org – New research distinguishes roles of conscious and subconscious awareness

Public release date: 30-Nov-2011

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/thuo-nrd113011.php

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Nov. 30, 2011 – What distinguishes information processing with conscious awareness from processing occurring without awareness? And, is there any role for conscious awareness in information processing, or is it just a byproduct, like the steam from the chimney of a train engine, which is significant, but has no functional role?

These questions – which have long puzzled psychologists, philosophers, and neurobiologists – were recently addressed in a study by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers and published by the journal Psychological Science.

The study was headed by Prof. Leon Deouell from the Hebrew University’s Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC) and Department of Psychology and Prof. Dominique Lamy from the Department of Psychology at Tel Aviv University, and conducted by research student Liad Mudirk of Tel Aviv University with collaboration of research student Assaf Breska from the Hebrew University.

Dina Rasor – The Pentagon Flunks Another Audit

Thursday 24 November 2011

by: Dina Rasor, Truthout | Solutions

http://www.truth-out.org/pentagon-flunks-another-audit/1322085539

How can you know what to cut if you don’t know where the money is going?

The military-industrial complex is in high alert. They can’t really believe that the Obama administration will keep its word and veto any Congressional action that would try and get the Pentagon out from the sequestration problem of cutting over a half a trillion from the Department of Defense (DoD) budget over the next ten years. If they are confident it won’t happen, they are doing a good job of panicking over the cuts

for public consumption and to protect their turf.

News articles and columns are popping up with various lists of what could be cut to come up with the money, and the DoD is maneuvering to offer up cuts on military pensions and health care, readiness and training budgets to save the required amount of money without touching their holy grail, the overpriced and ineffective weapons systems.

Although the DoD acts like Armageddon is just around the corner with these looming proposed cuts, it is really still looking at the low-hanging fruit. There is more than enough money left to fund national security if the Pentagon would change its ways.

Winslow Wheeler, the director of the Straus Military Reform Project, points out what a realistic cut this is when put in context:

Ellen Brown – The European Central Bank Fiddles While Rome Burns

Wednesday 30 November 2011

by: Ellen Brown, Truthout | News Analysis

http://www.truth-out.org/european-central-bank-fiddles-while-rome-burns/1322579407

“To some people, the European Central Bank [ECB] seems like a fire department that is letting the house burn down to teach the children not to play with matches.” 

So  wrote  [4] Jack Ewing in The New York Times last week. He went on:

“The E.C.B. has a fire hose – its ability to print money. But the bank is refusing to train it on the euro zone’s debt crisis.

“The flames climbed higher Friday after the Italian Treasury had to pay an interest rate of 6.5 percent on a new issue of six-month bills … the highest interest rate Italy has had to pay to sell such debt since August 1997….

“But there is no sign the E.C.B. plans a major response, like buying large quantities of the country’s bonds to bring down its borrowing costs.”

S. Edmonson – ALL the Vaccines Are Contaminated – Every Last One of Them

Nov-29-2011

S. Edmonson for Salem-News.com

http://salem-news.com/articles/november292011/vaccines-contaminated-se.php

“The chief, if not the sole, cause of the monstrous increase in cancer has been vaccination” – Dr. Robert Bell, once Vice President International Society for Cancer Research at the British Cancer Hospital

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Have you been rushing out to get a yearly flu vaccine or diligently taking your children for the 40 or so mandated childhood vaccines?

That’s really a shame because you have unwittingly been trading a run-of-the-mill flu or just the measles, for loading up your or your children’s bodies with cancer and other deadly viruses, a destructive bacteria, a chemical selected to damage fertility, and with synthetic DNA that threatens to damage your own DNA – the biologic code for your existence.

Who is saying the vaccines are contaminated?