GOP Plot to Destroy U.S. Economy?

Plot to destroy the U.S. economy?

...[S]enior GOP members plotted to bring Congress to a standstill regardless how much it would hurt the American Economy by pledging to obstruct and block President Obama on all legislation

Blond Hair Evolved Separately in Europe and South Pacific

Blond hair evolved separately in Europe and the South Pacific

Naturally blond hair is rare on Earth, limited mainly to northern Europe and the collection of South Pacific islands that includes the Solomon Islands. The researchers checked to see whether the C-to-T change on chromosome 9 was also present in Europeans. It wasn’t. That means blond hair evolved not once but twice. 

Nifty!

QOTD

Great quote snagged from Making Light:  Nothing that you will learn in the course of your studies will be of the slightest possible use to you in after life, save only this, that if you work hard and intelligently you should be able to detect when a man is talking rot, and that, in my view, is the main, if not the sole, purpose of education.
—John Alexander Smith, professor of moral philosophy at Oxford, 1914,

Various Things Roundup

U.S. Caps Emissions in Drilling for Fuel - EPA issued new air quality stds for natural gas drilling.  "Industry groups said meeting the proposed standards would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and slow the boom in domestic natural gas production. The original proposal was significantly revised, giving industry more than two years to comply and lowering the cost."  Yeah, but point of fact:  we have a surplus of this stuff already.  


How Well, and How Poorly, We Harvest Ocean Life - interesting looking book.

And, Depressingly:  Mac OS X invulnerability to malware is a myth, says security firm.  Yick.

"Irrelevant" Victims of 16 billion gallons of oil pollution

On February 15th of this year, Doak Bishop, a lawyer representing the American oil giant Chevron, claimed that all 30,000 people affected by Chevron's 16 billion gallons of oil pollution in Ecuador are and have always been "irrelevant".

Chevron Lawyer Claims that Victims of Rainforest Contamination Are “Irrelevant”

Chevron has a long history of trying to dehumanize the Ecuadorians by denying their very existence or by belittling their culture, said Pablo Fajardo, the lead lawyer for the communities.

Two Links: Privacy; H2O

Hm. This Internet provider pledges to put your privacy first. Always. Step aside, AT&T and Verizon. A new privacy-protecting Internet service and telephone provider still in the planning stages could become the ACLU's dream and the FBI's worst nightmare.

IntercontinentalCry: Diné And Hopi Protest Further Dismantling Of Their Basic Right To Water

A group of Diné and Hopi people ( including traditional people and elders) upset by the latest colonial attack on indigenous peoples water rights, gathered to protest the visits of two US Senators to the Navajo Nation today. The people had gathered to say 'no deal' to s2109, the bill that would allow for more water to flow into Arizona for the benefit of companies and urban growth. Protesters chanted 'water is life', 'free indian water ends now', 'let the water flow', 'sewage water for McCain and Kyl', other chants were said in Diné.

Intercontinental Cry en Espanol!

Intercontinental Cry now has a Spanish-language site: IC en Espanol
People of a Feather looks like an extremely interesting documentary on the Inuit of Hudson Bay.
Grassy Narrows marks 50 Years of Mercury Poisoning.
Also interesting: The Power of Moral Sanction. "Hence the ethical imperative to fight for lost causes."
My own observation: so long as we remain a social species, and that won't change anytime soon, shaming before the group and the threat of ostracism from it remain powerful weapons for good and evil.

Pervasive Cell Phone Tracking

Pervasive Cell Phone Tracking Performed Even By Local Law Enforcement

"Law enforcement officials maintain that this type of tracking saves lives. And in our law and order society, that may be enough for people to acquiesce."

That's what's wrong, this pervasive need to wrap up an entire society in bubblewrap for our "protection", at the cost of the ability to move, think, and do, at all. Like nothing bad should ever happen to anyone, anywhere

I can't live much of a life smothered in bubblewrap. Can you?

Americans and British

Sometimes I think we Americans are just British minus the ironclad grip on manners and propriety.

Seriously. We're the 900-lb gorilla of international affairs, and we're melodramatic teenagers. Bad combo.

Mexican Supreme Court Ruling Favors Tarahumara

Mexico Supreme Court says Tarahumara have Constitutional right to participate in projects that would affect them

In a little-noticed decision with possible national repercussions, Mexico’s high court has come out in favor of an indigenous community in the state of Chihuahua. In a ruling publicized this month, Mexican Supreme Court justices determined that the community of Huitosachi has a right to participate in the decision-making of the Copper Canyon Trust Fund, an organization spearheading tourism development in Chihuahua’s Sierra Tarahumara region.

Hitler Studied America's "Indian Policy"?

I can't tell if it's for real or an urban myth, but, regardless: American Holocaust: When It’s All Over I’ll Still Be Indian

He wasn't the only one either. It's not explicitly mentioned in the film, but it's well known that members of the National Party government in South Africa studied "the American approach" before they introduced the system of racial apartheid, which lasted from 1948 to 1994. Other fascist regimes, for instance, in South and Central America, studied the same policy.

I've heard of stranger things.

Reindeer Herds in Taiga Facing 'Unprecedent Challenges'

Urgent Action Needed to Support Unique Environment and Culture of Mongolia’s Reindeer Herders

Mongolia’s reindeer herders and their forest homeland are facing unprecedented challenges from unregulated mining, logging, water pollution, climate change and some tourism practices, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Vedic Experience

Courtesy of Big Brass Blog: The Vedic Experience

One of the finest translations to the English Language is done by Professor Raimon Pannikar, who now lives in a small mountain village in Spain. Himalayan Academy has been commissioned to publish his 1000-page anthology of the Vedic Experience in a special edition in the West, while Motilal Banarsidas has produced the Indian edition. In July of 1995 Professor Pannikar gave permission for these Vedic verses to be published on the World Wide Web. Finally we have all the seven parts of Vedic Experience on line.

GM Dump Leaking PCBs on Tribal Lands

NY Mohawk: Move toxic GM dump from tribal lands

Immediately upstream is a shuttered General Motors factory, now a federal Superfund site where tons of toxic waste have been removed. Tons more remain, including the 12-acre landfill that has been capped with a layer of clay and grass and declared safe, no longer a threat.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls - considered probable carcinogens - are the main contaminant, dumped as sludge after use as electrical equipment coolants. Studies 20 years ago documented higher than normal PCB levels in the breast milk of Akwesasne nursing mothers and more recently in adolescents; the toxins persist in human tissue for years. High levels have been found in St. Lawrence River turtles and fish, which the state cautions against eating.

"There's no question there's a legacy of PCB contamination in this area," said Judith Enck, regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former top environmental official for New York. "And the Mohawks have raised legitimate concerns for decades."

Really Interesting Review of "Game Change"

Over on Tigerbeatdown. I remain uninterested in seeing the film, myself, but it was an eye-opening review. Read it here.