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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
April 11, 2013
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) turned to the Bible on Wednesday during a congressional hearing, using the Great Flood to support his claim that climate change isn't man-made, BuzzFeed Politics reported.
During his remarks on H.R. 3, a bill that would grant Congress the authority to circumvent President Barack Obama and approve the Keystone XL pipeline, Barton acknowledged the existence of climate change, but argued that it is steered by natural causes.
"I would point out that people like me who support hydrocarbon development don't deny that climate is changing," Barton told his fellow members of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. "I think you can have an honest difference of opinion of what's causing that change without automatically being either all in that's all because of mankind or it's all just natural. I think there's a divergence of evidence."
"I would point out that if you're a believer in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change and that certainly wasn't because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy," Barton added. ..........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/joe-barton-great-flood_n_3055909.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
Joe Barton -- proof that "Idiocracy" was not completely fictional
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) turned to the Bible on Wednesday during a congressional hearing, using the Great Flood to support his claim that climate change isn't man-made, BuzzFeed Politics reported.
During his remarks on H.R. 3, a bill that would grant Congress the authority to circumvent President Barack Obama and approve the Keystone XL pipeline, Barton acknowledged the existence of climate change, but argued that it is steered by natural causes.
"I would point out that people like me who support hydrocarbon development don't deny that climate is changing," Barton told his fellow members of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. "I think you can have an honest difference of opinion of what's causing that change without automatically being either all in that's all because of mankind or it's all just natural. I think there's a divergence of evidence."
"I would point out that if you're a believer in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change and that certainly wasn't because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy," Barton added. ..........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/joe-barton-great-flood_n_3055909.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
April 11, 2013
from Mother Jones:
Genetically modified seed giant Monsanto likes to trumpet its "commitment to sustainable agriculture." The story goes like this: by generating novel, high-tech crop varieties, Monsanto will wean farmers off of synthetic chemical poisons. The company even markets its flagship product, seeds genetically engineered to survive its own Roundup weed killer, as a tool they can use to to "decrease the overall use of herbicides."
But as I've shown before, herbicide use has actually dramatically ramped up as the Roundup Ready technology conquers vast swaths of US farmland. That's because weeds quickly developed resistance to it, forcing farmers to apply ever-larger doses and resort to older, more toxic herbicides to combat resistant weeds. And while the company has tried hard to leave behind its past as a purveyor of toxic chemicals and rebrand itself as a technology company, those toxic chemicals remain central to its growth and profitability, as its latest quarterly profit report shows.
The report—press release here—cheered investors, driving Monsanto shares to their highest levels since 2008. Here's the main bit, lifted from the press release (note that by "second quarter," the company means the January to March period):
Note that the company consists of two main segments: what it calls "Seeds and Genomics," which involves sales of seeds, obviously, plus licensing fees on genetically modified traits; and "Agricultural Productivity," which means, essentially, chemicals, mainly Roundup in a variety of forms. Seeds and Genomics is by far the largest of the two in terms of contribution to overall sales, but good old Agricultural Productivity is still really important. Indeed, its sales shot up from $824 million in second-quarter 2012 to $1.12 billion in the same time period of this year—that's an amazing 36 percent jump. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/04/roundup-usual-suspect-herbicide-sales-drive-monsanto-profit
Monsanto Claims to Ditch Herbicide While Selling More of It
from Mother Jones:
Genetically modified seed giant Monsanto likes to trumpet its "commitment to sustainable agriculture." The story goes like this: by generating novel, high-tech crop varieties, Monsanto will wean farmers off of synthetic chemical poisons. The company even markets its flagship product, seeds genetically engineered to survive its own Roundup weed killer, as a tool they can use to to "decrease the overall use of herbicides."
But as I've shown before, herbicide use has actually dramatically ramped up as the Roundup Ready technology conquers vast swaths of US farmland. That's because weeds quickly developed resistance to it, forcing farmers to apply ever-larger doses and resort to older, more toxic herbicides to combat resistant weeds. And while the company has tried hard to leave behind its past as a purveyor of toxic chemicals and rebrand itself as a technology company, those toxic chemicals remain central to its growth and profitability, as its latest quarterly profit report shows.
The report—press release here—cheered investors, driving Monsanto shares to their highest levels since 2008. Here's the main bit, lifted from the press release (note that by "second quarter," the company means the January to March period):
Note that the company consists of two main segments: what it calls "Seeds and Genomics," which involves sales of seeds, obviously, plus licensing fees on genetically modified traits; and "Agricultural Productivity," which means, essentially, chemicals, mainly Roundup in a variety of forms. Seeds and Genomics is by far the largest of the two in terms of contribution to overall sales, but good old Agricultural Productivity is still really important. Indeed, its sales shot up from $824 million in second-quarter 2012 to $1.12 billion in the same time period of this year—that's an amazing 36 percent jump. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/04/roundup-usual-suspect-herbicide-sales-drive-monsanto-profit
April 11, 2013
Michael Hudson's blog / By Michael Hudson
Margaret Thatcher Was a Privatization Pioneer, and This Is the Story of How Her Agenda Did Nothing But Make Life Worse for Millions of People
The one essay you need to read to understand what a pernicious ideology "free market" privatization is.
April 10, 2013 |
As in Chile, privatization in Britain was a victory for Chicago monetarism. This time it was implemented democratically. In fact, voters endorsed Margaret Thatcher’s selloff of public industries so strongly that by 1991, when she was replaced as prime minister by her own party’s John Major, only 35 percent of Britain’s voters supported the Labour Party – half the proportion registered in 1945. The Conservatives sold off public monopolies, used the proceeds to cut taxes, and put the privatized firms on a profit-making basis. Their stock prices rose sharply, making capital gains for investors whose ranks included millions of Britons who had been employees and/or customers of these enterprises.
Yet by 1997 the Conservatives were voted out of office by one of the largest margins in their history. What concerned voters were the results of privatization that Mrs. Thatcher had not warned them about. Prices did not decline proportionally to cost cuts and productivity gains. Many services were cut back, especially on the least utilized transport routes. The largest privatized bus company was charged with cut-throat monopoly practices. The water system broke down, while consumer charges leapt. Electricity prices were shifted against residential consumers in favor of large industrial users. Economic inequality widened as the industrial labor force shrunk by two million from 1979 to 1997, while wages stagnated in the face of soaring profits for the privatized companies. The tax cuts financed by their selloff turned out to benefit mainly the rich.
Opinion polls showed that voters had opposed privatization at the outset (as did the press and many Conservative back benchers), but the Conservatives pointed out that Tony Blair rode to victory in part by abandoning “Clause Four” of the Labour Party’s 1904 constitution, advocating state control over the means of production, distribution and exchange. Most voters wanted tighter regulation in the public interest, but not a return to state ownership. On the other hand, they feared the prospect of selling off the post office, the BBC and the London tube (subway) system. ..........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/margaret-thatcher-was-privatization-pioneer-and-story-how-her-agenda-did-nothing-make-life-worse
Margaret Thatcher Was a Privatization Pioneer, and This Is the Story of How Her Agenda............
Michael Hudson's blog / By Michael Hudson
Margaret Thatcher Was a Privatization Pioneer, and This Is the Story of How Her Agenda Did Nothing But Make Life Worse for Millions of People
The one essay you need to read to understand what a pernicious ideology "free market" privatization is.
April 10, 2013 |
As in Chile, privatization in Britain was a victory for Chicago monetarism. This time it was implemented democratically. In fact, voters endorsed Margaret Thatcher’s selloff of public industries so strongly that by 1991, when she was replaced as prime minister by her own party’s John Major, only 35 percent of Britain’s voters supported the Labour Party – half the proportion registered in 1945. The Conservatives sold off public monopolies, used the proceeds to cut taxes, and put the privatized firms on a profit-making basis. Their stock prices rose sharply, making capital gains for investors whose ranks included millions of Britons who had been employees and/or customers of these enterprises.
Yet by 1997 the Conservatives were voted out of office by one of the largest margins in their history. What concerned voters were the results of privatization that Mrs. Thatcher had not warned them about. Prices did not decline proportionally to cost cuts and productivity gains. Many services were cut back, especially on the least utilized transport routes. The largest privatized bus company was charged with cut-throat monopoly practices. The water system broke down, while consumer charges leapt. Electricity prices were shifted against residential consumers in favor of large industrial users. Economic inequality widened as the industrial labor force shrunk by two million from 1979 to 1997, while wages stagnated in the face of soaring profits for the privatized companies. The tax cuts financed by their selloff turned out to benefit mainly the rich.
Opinion polls showed that voters had opposed privatization at the outset (as did the press and many Conservative back benchers), but the Conservatives pointed out that Tony Blair rode to victory in part by abandoning “Clause Four” of the Labour Party’s 1904 constitution, advocating state control over the means of production, distribution and exchange. Most voters wanted tighter regulation in the public interest, but not a return to state ownership. On the other hand, they feared the prospect of selling off the post office, the BBC and the London tube (subway) system. ..........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/margaret-thatcher-was-privatization-pioneer-and-story-how-her-agenda-did-nothing-make-life-worse
April 11, 2013
AlterNet / By Jeff Cohen
The Elephant in the Room: Militarism
It’s arguably our country’s biggest problem — and the mainstream media won't acknowledge it exists.
April 10, 2013 |
I spent years as a political pundit on mainstream TV – at CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. I was outnumbered, outshouted, red-baited and finally terminated. Inside mainstream media, I saw that major issues were not only dodged, but sometimes not even acknowledged to exist.
Today there’s an elephant in the room: a huge, yet ignored, issue that largely explains why Social Security is now on the chopping block. And why other industrialized countries have free college education and universal healthcare, but we don’t. It’s arguably our country’s biggest problem – a problem that Martin Luther King Jr. focused on before he was assassinated 45 years ago, and has only worsened since then (which was the height of the Vietnam War).
That problem is U.S. militarism and perpetual war.
In 1967, King called the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today” – and said, “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/media/elephant-room-militarism
The Elephant in the Room: Militarism
AlterNet / By Jeff Cohen
The Elephant in the Room: Militarism
It’s arguably our country’s biggest problem — and the mainstream media won't acknowledge it exists.
April 10, 2013 |
I spent years as a political pundit on mainstream TV – at CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. I was outnumbered, outshouted, red-baited and finally terminated. Inside mainstream media, I saw that major issues were not only dodged, but sometimes not even acknowledged to exist.
Today there’s an elephant in the room: a huge, yet ignored, issue that largely explains why Social Security is now on the chopping block. And why other industrialized countries have free college education and universal healthcare, but we don’t. It’s arguably our country’s biggest problem – a problem that Martin Luther King Jr. focused on before he was assassinated 45 years ago, and has only worsened since then (which was the height of the Vietnam War).
That problem is U.S. militarism and perpetual war.
In 1967, King called the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today” – and said, “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/media/elephant-room-militarism
April 11, 2013
Perhaps it shouldn't surprise that the Ron Paul Curriculum -- the former Texas congressman's educational institution and answer to the American education system -- is actually a homeschooling kit of sorts, according to the Houston Chronicle. After all, the onetime GOP presidential candidate pushed for the demolition of the U.S. Department of Education.
The program's website says students will learn "liberty vs. coercion in Western history," "how to defend the freedom philosophy," "what it takes for success in college" and "how to start a home business."
Critics like The Atlantic's Philip Bump suggest the curriculum is simply another means to push Paul's political views and pump out mini-Ron Pauls. Fox News is skeptical too. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/ron-paul-curriculum_n_3055837.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
Homeschooling by Ron Paul?
Perhaps it shouldn't surprise that the Ron Paul Curriculum -- the former Texas congressman's educational institution and answer to the American education system -- is actually a homeschooling kit of sorts, according to the Houston Chronicle. After all, the onetime GOP presidential candidate pushed for the demolition of the U.S. Department of Education.
The program's website says students will learn "liberty vs. coercion in Western history," "how to defend the freedom philosophy," "what it takes for success in college" and "how to start a home business."
Critics like The Atlantic's Philip Bump suggest the curriculum is simply another means to push Paul's political views and pump out mini-Ron Pauls. Fox News is skeptical too. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/ron-paul-curriculum_n_3055837.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
April 11, 2013
[font size="1"]Amtrak's Wolverine in Detroit.[/font]
from the Detroit Free Press:
More people are taking the train.
Nationally, a record 15 million passengers rode Amtrak in the first half of its fiscal year 2013 (October 2012-March 2013,) a new Amtrak report reveals.
In Michigan, ridership overall during the period was up 4%, fueled by a strong performance by the Wolverine line between Pontiac and Chicago.
• Wolverine ridership was 245,073, an 8.9% jump over the same period a year earlier.
• The Blue Water line from Port Huron to Chicago saw a slight decline in ridership — down 3.1% to 86,400 riders in the six-month period. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20130410/FEATURES07/304100158/Amtrack-Michigan-Traveler-train-Wolverine-line
Michigan: Amtrak's ridership up on Wolverine line
[font size="1"]Amtrak's Wolverine in Detroit.[/font]
from the Detroit Free Press:
More people are taking the train.
Nationally, a record 15 million passengers rode Amtrak in the first half of its fiscal year 2013 (October 2012-March 2013,) a new Amtrak report reveals.
In Michigan, ridership overall during the period was up 4%, fueled by a strong performance by the Wolverine line between Pontiac and Chicago.
• Wolverine ridership was 245,073, an 8.9% jump over the same period a year earlier.
• The Blue Water line from Port Huron to Chicago saw a slight decline in ridership — down 3.1% to 86,400 riders in the six-month period. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20130410/FEATURES07/304100158/Amtrack-Michigan-Traveler-train-Wolverine-line
April 11, 2013
from USA Today, via the Detroit Free Press:
Taco Bell – long-known as a place to load up on low-price, high-calorie and high-sodium grub – wants to fix the high-calorie and high-sodium part.
By 2020, that is.
The nation's largest Mexican fast-food chain on Wednesday announced new nutritional plans to have 20% of its combo meals (a main item, a side dish and a beverage) meet one-third of the federal government's recommended dietary guidelines by 2020. One-third was chosen because the guidelines are based on an average three meals consumed daily.
The move comes at a time legislators, activists and parents are pushing the fast food giants to offer more better-for-you choices. At the same time more Millennials, Taco Bell's key target, also are choosing better-for-you options sold at places like Chipotle and Panera Bread. ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20130410/BUSINESS07/130410045/Taco-Bell-promises-better-nutrition-by-2020
Taco Bell promises better nutrition - by 2020
from USA Today, via the Detroit Free Press:
Taco Bell – long-known as a place to load up on low-price, high-calorie and high-sodium grub – wants to fix the high-calorie and high-sodium part.
By 2020, that is.
The nation's largest Mexican fast-food chain on Wednesday announced new nutritional plans to have 20% of its combo meals (a main item, a side dish and a beverage) meet one-third of the federal government's recommended dietary guidelines by 2020. One-third was chosen because the guidelines are based on an average three meals consumed daily.
The move comes at a time legislators, activists and parents are pushing the fast food giants to offer more better-for-you choices. At the same time more Millennials, Taco Bell's key target, also are choosing better-for-you options sold at places like Chipotle and Panera Bread. ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20130410/BUSINESS07/130410045/Taco-Bell-promises-better-nutrition-by-2020
April 11, 2013
At Cheese Board Pizza in Berkeley, Calif., a slice of pizza comes to $2.73 (that's $2.50 plus tax.) But if you pay with $3, you’ll get a little bonus. The store cashier will hand you back 30 cents -- just a little more than the correct change. That’s because there are no pennies allowed in this restaurant.
“We try and avoid them at all costs,” pizza shop worker Niklas Terczak told The Huffington Post. The pizza store has been penny-free since August 2012.
Cheese Board is just one of a number of small businesses around the country refusing to do transactions with pennies because they are too cumbersome to deal with when considering their measly monetary value.
Stores contacted by HuffPost said that instead of doling out odd change, they rounded down to the nearest nickel when dealing with cash-paying customers -- even if it meant a small loss for the company. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/cheese-board-pizza-pennies-stores-ban_n_3047252.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037&ir=Politics
It's Hard Out Here for a Penny
At Cheese Board Pizza in Berkeley, Calif., a slice of pizza comes to $2.73 (that's $2.50 plus tax.) But if you pay with $3, you’ll get a little bonus. The store cashier will hand you back 30 cents -- just a little more than the correct change. That’s because there are no pennies allowed in this restaurant.
“We try and avoid them at all costs,” pizza shop worker Niklas Terczak told The Huffington Post. The pizza store has been penny-free since August 2012.
Cheese Board is just one of a number of small businesses around the country refusing to do transactions with pennies because they are too cumbersome to deal with when considering their measly monetary value.
Stores contacted by HuffPost said that instead of doling out odd change, they rounded down to the nearest nickel when dealing with cash-paying customers -- even if it meant a small loss for the company. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/cheese-board-pizza-pennies-stores-ban_n_3047252.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037&ir=Politics
April 10, 2013
from the WaPo:
By Darryl Fears, Published: April 9
They’re back.
Seventeen years after a major swarm of bug-eyed cicadas staged one of nature’s weirdest — and loudest — mating rituals, their offspring are preparing to rise in Washington’s suburbs and the Mid-Atlantic.
Once the ground temperature hits 64 degrees, it’s on. A swarm of cicadas known as Brood II will climb from buried lairs from North Carolina to Connecticut with a very short to-do list: find a mate, make babies and die.
It will be the largest cicada population to arrive in the region since Brood X surfaced in the Washington area, the Northeast and the South in 2004. Brood X is thought by some entomologists to be the biggest of the cicada swarms that follow a 17-year life cycle.
But the coming Brood II gang, which has been underground since 1996, is no slouch. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/washington-area-braces-for-cicadas-return/2013/04/09/29688616-9f1c-11e2-9a79-eb5280c81c63_story.html
Washington area braces for cicadas’ return
from the WaPo:
By Darryl Fears, Published: April 9
They’re back.
Seventeen years after a major swarm of bug-eyed cicadas staged one of nature’s weirdest — and loudest — mating rituals, their offspring are preparing to rise in Washington’s suburbs and the Mid-Atlantic.
Once the ground temperature hits 64 degrees, it’s on. A swarm of cicadas known as Brood II will climb from buried lairs from North Carolina to Connecticut with a very short to-do list: find a mate, make babies and die.
It will be the largest cicada population to arrive in the region since Brood X surfaced in the Washington area, the Northeast and the South in 2004. Brood X is thought by some entomologists to be the biggest of the cicada swarms that follow a 17-year life cycle.
But the coming Brood II gang, which has been underground since 1996, is no slouch. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/washington-area-braces-for-cicadas-return/2013/04/09/29688616-9f1c-11e2-9a79-eb5280c81c63_story.html
April 10, 2013
Expanding mass transit in east metro is a fight to catch up
by Jessica Mador, Minnesota Public Radio
April 9, 2013
[font size="1"]Commuters board Metro Transit express buses at the Park-and-Ride site in Woodbury, Minn. Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Officials are exploring mass transit options in the east metro. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson)[/font]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — State lawmakers will announce proposals later this week to help pay for expanding mass transit in the Twin Cities.
East metro officials, who are trying to help the east metro transit catch up to the west, are watching the action very closely and have renewed efforts to advance a wish list of bus and rail lines.
A proposed Gateway rapid bus or light rail line extending along Interstate 94 couid help people get from downtown St. Paul to Woodbury, and then even on to Wisconsin.
The transit line is still in the early stages, but Washington County commissioner Lisa Weik said planners think a Woodbury station could go in right across from a Walmart and nearby businesses. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/04/09/business/east-metro-mass-transit
Twin Cities: Expanding mass transit in east metro is a fight to catch up
Expanding mass transit in east metro is a fight to catch up
by Jessica Mador, Minnesota Public Radio
April 9, 2013
[font size="1"]Commuters board Metro Transit express buses at the Park-and-Ride site in Woodbury, Minn. Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Officials are exploring mass transit options in the east metro. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson)[/font]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — State lawmakers will announce proposals later this week to help pay for expanding mass transit in the Twin Cities.
East metro officials, who are trying to help the east metro transit catch up to the west, are watching the action very closely and have renewed efforts to advance a wish list of bus and rail lines.
A proposed Gateway rapid bus or light rail line extending along Interstate 94 couid help people get from downtown St. Paul to Woodbury, and then even on to Wisconsin.
The transit line is still in the early stages, but Washington County commissioner Lisa Weik said planners think a Woodbury station could go in right across from a Walmart and nearby businesses. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/04/09/business/east-metro-mass-transit
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