Hissyspit
Hissyspit's JournalTOM TOMORROW: Primary Phenomena. (I think he's voting for Sanders...)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511487621TOM TOMORROW: Further Primary Phenomena
DAILY KOS LINK: http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/14/1500655/-Cartoon-Further-phenomena
February Breaks Global Temperature Records by 'Shocking' Amount
Source: The Guardian
February breaks global temperature records by 'shocking' amount
Warnings of climate emergency after surface temperatures 1.35C warmer than average temperature for the month
Michael Slezak
@MikeySlezak email
Monday 14 March 2016 00.32 EDT Last modified on Monday 14 March 2016 00.33 EDT
Global temperatures in February smashed previous monthly records by an unprecedented amount, according to Nasa data, sparking warnings of a climate emergency.
The result was “a true shocker, and yet another reminder of the incessant long-term rise in global temperature resulting from human-produced greenhouse gases”, wrote Jeff Masters and Bob Henson in a blog on the Weather Underground, which analysed the data released on Saturday.
It confirms preliminary analysis from earlier in March, indicating the record-breaking temperatures.
The global surface temperatures across land and ocean in February were 1.35C warmer than the average temperature for the month, from the baseline period of 1951-1980.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/14/february-breaks-global-temperature-records-by-shocking-amount
The death penalty is a disaster morally, legally, and practically.
There's no particularly good reason to be torn about it or apply it just "rarely."
http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts
https://www.aclu.org/case-against-death-penalty
http://www.icomdp.org/arguments-against-the-death-penalty/
The risk of executing innocent people exists in any justice system
There have been and always will be cases of executions of innocent people. No matter how developed a justice system is, it will always remain susceptible to human failure. Unlike prison sentences, the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable.
The arbitrary application of the death penalty can never be ruled out
The death penalty is often used in a disproportional manner against the poor, minorities and members of racial, ethnic, political and religious groups.
The death penalty is incompatible with human rights and human dignity
The death penalty violates the right to life which happens to be the most basic of all human rights. It also violates the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Furthermore, the death penalty undermines human dignity which is inherent to every human being.
The death penalty does not deter crime effectively
The death penalty lacks the deterrent effect which is commonly referred to by its advocates. As recently stated by the General Assembly of the United Nations, “there is no conclusive evidence of the deterrent value of the death penalty” (UNGA Resolution 65/206). It is noteworthy that in many retentionist states, the effectiveness of the death penalty in order to prevent crime is being seriously questioned by a continuously increasing number of law enforcement professionals.
Public opinion is not a major stumbling block for abolition
Public support for the death penalty does not necessarily mean that taking away the life of a human being by the state is right. There are undisputed historical precedences where gross human rights violations had had the support of a majority of the people, but which were condemned vigorously later on. It is the job of leading figures and politicians to underline the incompatibility of capital punishment with human rights and human dignity.
It needs to be pointed out that public support for the death penalty is inextricably linked to the desire of the people to be free from crime. However, there exist more effective ways to prevent crime.
http://www.listland.com/top-10-reasons-death-penalty-abolished/
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7. Exoneration
The Death Penalty Prevents Exoneration
In singer Alanis Morissette’s 1995 hit “Ironic”, she sings the verse “…it’s a death row pardon two minutes too late.” Morissette clearly didn’t know the definition of irony, as she spent close to four minutes describing things that were unfortunate or just plain old terrible. Still, the lyric reminds us of the irreversible consequences that can occur from continued enforcement of the death penalty.
What if an inmate sentenced to death is later found to be innocent of their convictions? What if the uncovering of this innocence comes after a lethal injection has already been administered?
This is much more than a hypothetical. A study titled “Rate of false convictions of criminal defendants who are sentenced to death” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America found that over four percent of prisoners sentenced to death in the United States are innocent. The team of researchers analyzed 7,482 death sentences from 1973 to 2004. Out of all these cases, it was found that 1.6 percent were later exonerated, and 4.1 percent should have been exonerated.
If a conviction is ever overturned, it can take decades at the very least. However, there are several documented cases of prisoners being released years after imprisonment. Life sentences serve as a better alternative to the death penalty in order to protect the potentially innocent.
6. Cost
Failing to Abolish the Death Penalty is a waste of money.
The cost of the death penalty as opposed to a life sentence without parole is exponential. Due to the extra measures taken in judicial proceedings, lawyer fees, extended trials, and expert witnesses, costs end up being higher. A Cost Study by the Sacramento Bee noted that California would save $90 million per year if it were to completely eliminate the death penalty.
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Robert Reich on Facebook: Bullies
"I have a particular relationship to bullies. When I was a kid – and a very short one at that – older boys used to threaten me, and sometimes beat me up. Occasionally I was protected from the bullies by kinder older boys, like Mickey Schwerner. Years later, in the summer of 1964, Mickey was trying to register voters in Mississippi when he and two other civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman and James Earl Chaney, were abducted, tortured, murdered, and buried in an earthen dam by members of the local White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, the Neshoba County Sheriff's Office, and the Philadelphia, Mississippi Police Department.
When I heard that the young man who had protected me from my bullies had himself been killed by truly monstrous bullies, my life forever changed.
Donald Trump is a bully who’s stirring up other bullies to rage against Latinos, blacks, Muslims, and other convenient scapegoats – channeling the fears and resentments of the white working class into hatefulness and violence. He deserves to be condemned by every decent American."
https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/photos/a.404595876219681.103599.142474049098533/1172012549478006/
Bernie on Facebook Just Now: "We Are Going to Bring People TOGETHER"
"We do things a little different in this campaign: We bring people together. No, we are not gonna hate Mexicans. We are not gonna hate Muslims. We are not gonna insult women. We are not gonna insult veterans. We’re not gonna insult African-Americans. We will not allow the Donald Trumps of the world to divide us up. If we do not allow them to divide us up by race, by sexual orientation, by gender, by whether we were born in America or whether we are immigrants—when we stand together as white, black, Hispanic, gay, straight, women and men—when we stand together and demand that this country works for all of us rather than the few, we will transform America. That's what we are going to do: We are going to bring our people TOGETHER."
Trump Cancels Rally Overwhelmed by Protesters ("Total Chaos")
Source: CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-cancels-rally-overwhelmed-by-protesters/
Donald Trump cancels rally overwhelmed by protesters
STEPHANIE CONDON CBS NEWS
Mar 11, 2016 7:49 PM EST
The Donald Trump campaign on Friday night canceled a rally slated to take place in an arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago after protesters overwhelmed the event. The campaign cited safety concerns, given the tense confrontations between Trump protesters and supporters.
After the cancellation was announced, fights started to break out at the UIC Pavilion, CBS News' Sopan Deb reports.
Ahead of Trump's arrival, hundreds of demonstrators lined up outside the arena to protest Trump. Large groups of Trump opponents also occupied multiple sections inside the arena as well. The mix of Trump supporters and opponents created a tense atmosphere, and finally a spokesperson for the campaign announced the event was canceled.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160311/near-west-side/trump-chicago-rally-means-early-start-for-supporters-protesters
Trump Chicago Rally Canceled For Safety
By Joe Ward, Kelly Bauer, Stephanie Lulay and Evan F. Moore | March 11, 2016 10:32am | Updated March 11, 2016 6:40pm
CHICAGO — A rally for Donald Trump was postponed Friday night after.
"For the safety of everyone gathered in and around the pavilion, the Trump rally will be postponed," an official said from the stage.
Protesters inside dance and cheered after the announcement had made as fights broke out.
Thousands of protesters and supporters had faced off on the Near West Side Friday for the Republican presidential front-runner's planned appearance at the UIC Pavilion.
The scene was described as "total chaos" by one observer.
Earlier, the two sides clashed outside.
"Trump! Trump! Trump! Illegals are Illegal," some men chanted as they went inside the stadium at Harrison Street and Racine Avenue.
Protesters shouted back, "Thanks for visiting Chicago!" and "Why racist? ... There's no room for you guys!"
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But hundreds of protesters also got inside. Three students wearing shirts saying "Muslims United Against Trump" were escorted out of the pavilion as the crowd chanted "USA! USA!" Several more groups of demonstrators were later taken out.
No link yet.
George Martin, Producer and Arranger for The Beatles, Dies at 90
Source: Billboard
George Martin, Producer and Arranger for The Beatles, Dies at 90
3/9/2016 by Jennifer Frederick and Mike Barnes
George Martin, the “Fifth Beatle” and British treasure who signed the Fab Four to a label contract when no one else would, produced virtually all their songs and introduced lavish arrangements into “Yesterday” and “A Day in the Life,” has died. He was 90.
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The producer, executive, arranger, musician and British knight was behind a whopping 23 No. 1 singles in the U.S. and 30 in the U.K.
As head of EMI’s Parlophone Records, which then concentrated on jazz and comedy, Martin was on the lookout for a rock act when he met Beatles manager Brian Epstein in February 1962. Every other British label had passed on signing the foursome -- John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best.
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Martin also served as The Beatles’ arranger. He suggested strings be added to “Yesterday,” which would become one of the most covered songs of all time, and conducted the string section for “Eleanor Rigby.” He played piano on “In My Life” and composed its harpsichord section; was responsible for the breathtaking orchestral windup in “A Day in the Life;” and used backward tapes to help shape the psychedelic elements of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Martin described his relationship with The Beatles in his 1979 book, All You Need Is Ears.
“I must emphasize that it was a team effort,” Martin wrote. “Without my instruments and scoring, very many of the records would not have sounded as they do. Whether they would have been any better, I cannot say. They might have been. That is not modesty on my part; it is an attempt to give a factual picture of the relationship.”
Martin received an Academy Award nomination for best music, scoring of music, adaptation or treatment for The Beatles’ 1964 classic film A Hard Day’s Night, directed by Richard Lester; arranged the score for their 1968 animated movie Yellow Submarine; and scored, with Paul and Linda McCartney, the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die.
Read more: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6913528/george-martin-producer-and-arranger-for-the-beatles-dies-at-90
Washington Post Ran 16 Negative Stories on Bernie Sanders in 16 Hours
http://fair.org/home/washington-post-ran-16-negative-stories-on-bernie-sanders-in-16-hours/
Washington Post Ran 16 Negative Stories on Bernie Sanders in 16 Hours
In what has to be some kind of record, the Washington Post ran 16 negative stories on Bernie Sanders in 16 hours, between roughly 10:20 PM EST Sunday, March 6, to 3:54 PM EST Monday, March 7—a window that includes the crucial Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, and the next morning’s spin.
All of these posts paint his candidacy in a negative light, mainly by advancing the narrative that he’s a clueless white man incapable of winning over people of color or speaking to women. Even the one article about Sanders beating Trump implies this is somehow a surprise—despite the fact that Sanders consistently out-polls Hillary Clinton against the New York businessman.
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While the headlines don’t necessarily reflect all the nuances of the text, as I’ve noted before, only 40 percent of the public reads past the headlines, so how a story is labeled is just as important, if not more so, than the substance of the story itself.
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Despite being ideologically opposed to the Democratic Party (at least in principle), Bezos has enjoyed friendly ties with both the Obama administration and the CIA. As Michael Oman-Reagan notes, Amazon was awarded a $16.5 million contract with the State Department the last year Clinton ran it. Amazon also has over $600 million in contracts with the Central Intelligence Agency, an organization Sanders said he wanted to abolish in 1974, and still says he “had a lot of problems with.” FAIR has previously criticized the Washington Post for failing to disclose, when reporting on tech giant Uber, that Bezos also owns more than $1 billion in Uber stock.
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