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December 9, 2015
Shortly later, he was seen with Willie....
Now the cancer's gone.
Coincidence?
First, Jimmy Carter announced he had cancer...
Shortly later, he was seen with Willie....
Now the cancer's gone.
Coincidence?
December 9, 2015
AMY GOODMAN: Noam Chomsky, speaking at The New School this weekend here in New York City, "On Power and Ideology." Professor Chomsky is institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he’s taught for more than half a century. A world-renowned linguist and political dissident, Chomsky has written more than a hundred books; his latest, Because We Say So.
More at http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/22/noam_chomsky_on_trump_we_should
Noam Chomsky on Trump: "We Should Recognize the Other Candidates are Not That Different"
Noam Chomsky weighed in on U.S. presidential politics in a speech Saturday at The New School in New York. In addressing a question about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Chomsky assessed the political landscape: "Today’s Democrats are what used to be called moderate Republicans. The Republicans have just drifted off the spectrum. They’re so committed to extreme wealth and power that they cannot get votes ... So what has happened is that they’ve mobilized sectors of the population that have been around for a long time. ... Trump may be comic relief, but it’s not that different from the mainstream, which I think is more important."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: After his talk, Professor Chomsky read and answered questions from the audience. This is one of those questions.
NOAM CHOMSKY: "What do you think about the antics of Donald Trump, in tangent to your earlier idea about American exceptionalism?"
Well, actually, I think we should recognize that the other candidates are not that different. I mean, if you take a look at—just take a look at their views. You know, they tell you their views, and they’re astonishing. So just to keep to Iran, a couple of weeks ago, the two front-runners—they’re not the front-runners any longer—were Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. And they differed on Iran. Walker said we have to bomb Iran; when he gets elected, they’re going to bomb Iran immediately, the day he’s elected. Bush was a little—you know, he’s more serious: He said he’s going to wait 'til the first Cabinet meeting, and then they'll bomb Iran. I mean, this is just off the spectrum of not only international opinion, but even relative sanity.
This is—I think Ornstein and Mann are correct: It’s a radical insurgency; it’s not a political party. You can tell that even by the votes. I mean, any issue of any complexity is going to have some diversity of opinion. But when you get a unanimous vote to kill the Iranian deal or the Affordable Care Act or whatever the next thing may be, you know you’re not dealing with a political party.
It’s an interesting question why that’s true. I think what’s actually happened is that during the whole so-called neoliberal period, last generation, both political parties have drifted to the right. Today’s Democrats are what used to be called moderate Republicans. The Republicans have just drifted off the spectrum. They’re so committed to extreme wealth and power that they cannot get votes, can’t get votes by presenting those positions. So what has happened is that they’ve mobilized sectors of the population that have been around for a long time. It is a pretty exceptional country in many ways. One is it’s extremely religious. It’s one of the most extreme fundamentalist countries in the world. And by now, I suspect the majority of the base of the Republican Party is evangelical Christians, extremists, not—they’re a mixture, but these are the extremist ones, nativists who are afraid that, you know, "they are taking our white Anglo-Saxon country away from us," people who have to have guns when they go into Starbucks because, who knows, they might get killed by an Islamic terrorist and so on. I mean, all of that is part of the country, and it goes back to colonial days. There are real roots to it. But these have not been an organized political force in the past. They are now. That’s the base of the Republican Party. And you see it in the primaries. So, yeah, Trump is maybe comic relief, but it’s just a—it’s not that different from the mainstream, which I think is more important.
AMY GOODMAN: Noam Chomsky, speaking at The New School this weekend here in New York City, "On Power and Ideology." Professor Chomsky is institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he’s taught for more than half a century. A world-renowned linguist and political dissident, Chomsky has written more than a hundred books; his latest, Because We Say So.
More at http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/22/noam_chomsky_on_trump_we_should
December 8, 2015
Michael O’Neill, a former Niagara County, New York corrections officer, apparently tried to use a hot glue gun to seal the fuse on one of several bombs he was building in his stepfather’s garage, when something went terribly awry.
Police believe that the fuse on the improvised explosive device (IED) “may have caught fire,” and that O’Neill “may have tried to stomp-out” the burning fuse, when the bomb exploded, blowing his foot off. He was transported by life flight to a local hospital, where his leg was later amputated as a result of his injuries.
Along with seven homemade bombs, police found an array of white supremacist propaganda, including materials distributed by the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis.
One of O’Neill’s homemade bombs was labeled “Powder w/Nails.” An x-ray of the IED showed that the bomb was packed with nails.
Much more and news video at above link.
Terrorist Plot Foiled When White Supremacist Blows Own Leg Off (VIDEO)
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/12/08/terrorist-plot-white-supremacist-blows-leg-off-making-bombs/Michael O’Neill, a former Niagara County, New York corrections officer, apparently tried to use a hot glue gun to seal the fuse on one of several bombs he was building in his stepfather’s garage, when something went terribly awry.
Police believe that the fuse on the improvised explosive device (IED) “may have caught fire,” and that O’Neill “may have tried to stomp-out” the burning fuse, when the bomb exploded, blowing his foot off. He was transported by life flight to a local hospital, where his leg was later amputated as a result of his injuries.
Along with seven homemade bombs, police found an array of white supremacist propaganda, including materials distributed by the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis.
One of O’Neill’s homemade bombs was labeled “Powder w/Nails.” An x-ray of the IED showed that the bomb was packed with nails.
Much more and news video at above link.
December 8, 2015
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/muslim-anti-radicalism-activist-detained-in-texas-because-airline-passengers-thought-he-looked-scary/
A Muslim anti-radicalization advocate was detained by authorities after landing at Houston’s Hobby Airport because other passengers on his flight from Newark thought he looked suspicious.
According to ABC News, Dr. Bilal Rana is an anesthesiologist who was returning home to Houston after a conference in New Jersey when he was taken into custody and interrogated.
...
After an hours-long ordeal — which took place on Nov. 15 — Rana wrote about his experience for Time magazine that told readers “I’m not your enemy. I’m your biggest ally.”
“To those who saw me as a threat,” he wrote:
<snip> More and video interview at above link
Muslim anti-radicalism activist detained in Texas because airline passengers thought he looked scary
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/muslim-anti-radicalism-activist-detained-in-texas-because-airline-passengers-thought-he-looked-scary/
A Muslim anti-radicalization advocate was detained by authorities after landing at Houston’s Hobby Airport because other passengers on his flight from Newark thought he looked suspicious.
According to ABC News, Dr. Bilal Rana is an anesthesiologist who was returning home to Houston after a conference in New Jersey when he was taken into custody and interrogated.
...
After an hours-long ordeal — which took place on Nov. 15 — Rana wrote about his experience for Time magazine that told readers “I’m not your enemy. I’m your biggest ally.”
“To those who saw me as a threat,” he wrote:
“I hope you never know what it feels like to have a group of police officers single you out. I hope you never know what it is like to be frisked while standing in front of a plane full of passengers. I hope you never suffer the embarrassment of watching mothers hold their children tightly as you walk by them.
I hope you never feel the humiliation of having your belongings confiscated out of your hands, or being surrounded by cops who refer to you as ‘the subject’ on their walkie talkies. I hope you never have to, for the first time in your life, sit in the back of a police car.
I hope you get a chance to explain who you are before you are judged. I’m not your enemy. I’m your biggest ally.”
<snip> More and video interview at above link
December 8, 2015
Donald Trump as Archie Bunker... Wants to arm all air passengers.
December 8, 2015
Ben Carson about to be on CNN to discuss Trumps latest faux pas. What I expect...
CNN: Dr. Carson, what do you feel about Mr. Trump's suggestion to keep Muslim's out of America?
Carson: I believe in dragons... (pause) Did you know I'm made of butter?
December 8, 2015
Fox News suspends two commentators for profanity while criticizing Obama
Kind of a surprise here.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/07/media/fox-profanities-against-obama/index.html
Two Fox News commentators were suspended on Monday for using profanities while criticizing President Obama.
Ralph Peters, a Fox News "strategic analyst," called the president a "total pu---" who "doesn't want to hurt our enemies." A couple of hours later Stacey Dash, a Fox contributor, said the president "didn't give a sh--" about Sunday night's terrorism speech.
"Earlier today, Fox contributors Lt. Col. Ralph Peters and Stacey Dash made comments on different programs that were completely inappropriate and unacceptable for our air," Fox senior executive vice president Bill Shine said.
"Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel do not condone the use of such language, and have suspended both Peters and Dash for two weeks," he said.
Although Fox is a home for daily conservative criticism of Obama, vulgarities from the commentators are very rare. The White House declined to comment.
More at link.
December 8, 2015
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was off last week and consequently wasn’t there to comment about the San Bernardino shooting, the string of “thoughts and prayers,” the demands for more guns or the inevitable Islamophobia that followed. But that didn’t stop Colbert from taking a few minutes out of Monday’s show to address the shooting.
After the Catholic host defended the idea of “thoughts and prayers,” as seen on the New York Daily News cover, Colbert then referenced President Obama’s speech Sunday evening where he called the San Bernardino shooting an “act of terrorism.” Colbert said that the motivation does matter, “because when we decide it’s an act of terrorism, we do something about it. Sometimes, too much about it. The next thing you know the NSA is reading your Netflix queue and what would have been your Social Security safety net is being shipped in hundred dollar bills to Bagdad,” he joked … a little too on the nose.
“But when it’s not a terrorist attack we do nothing,” Colbert said before asking why there can’t be anything in between. “There has to be some way to make it harder to build up an arsenal.” He said that the shooters had well over 6,000 rounds of ammunition before wondering why it is so easy for people to purchase bullets when he must show several forms of ID to buy Sudafed. A man in the audience shouted “yeah!” and the audience broke out into applause.
“Of course, some people say, ‘if you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns,’ but then at least you’ll know who the outlaws are,” Colbert said. He admitted that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about and you could tell that he struggled with what should be done, even going so far as to suggest “maybe we arm everyone” and mandate obscene amounts of training. He said that it may be the only way to prevent the world’s biggest “Mexican stand-off.”
http://www.salon.com/2015/12/08/stephen_colbert_slams_the_do_nothing_approach_to_gun_control_there_has_to_be_some_way_to_make_it_harder_to_build_up_an_arsenal/
Colbert slams the do-nothing approach to gun control: “There has to be some way to make it harder to
Colbert slams the do-nothing approach to gun control: “There has to be some way to make it harder to build up an arsenal”
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was off last week and consequently wasn’t there to comment about the San Bernardino shooting, the string of “thoughts and prayers,” the demands for more guns or the inevitable Islamophobia that followed. But that didn’t stop Colbert from taking a few minutes out of Monday’s show to address the shooting.
After the Catholic host defended the idea of “thoughts and prayers,” as seen on the New York Daily News cover, Colbert then referenced President Obama’s speech Sunday evening where he called the San Bernardino shooting an “act of terrorism.” Colbert said that the motivation does matter, “because when we decide it’s an act of terrorism, we do something about it. Sometimes, too much about it. The next thing you know the NSA is reading your Netflix queue and what would have been your Social Security safety net is being shipped in hundred dollar bills to Bagdad,” he joked … a little too on the nose.
“But when it’s not a terrorist attack we do nothing,” Colbert said before asking why there can’t be anything in between. “There has to be some way to make it harder to build up an arsenal.” He said that the shooters had well over 6,000 rounds of ammunition before wondering why it is so easy for people to purchase bullets when he must show several forms of ID to buy Sudafed. A man in the audience shouted “yeah!” and the audience broke out into applause.
“Of course, some people say, ‘if you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns,’ but then at least you’ll know who the outlaws are,” Colbert said. He admitted that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about and you could tell that he struggled with what should be done, even going so far as to suggest “maybe we arm everyone” and mandate obscene amounts of training. He said that it may be the only way to prevent the world’s biggest “Mexican stand-off.”
http://www.salon.com/2015/12/08/stephen_colbert_slams_the_do_nothing_approach_to_gun_control_there_has_to_be_some_way_to_make_it_harder_to_build_up_an_arsenal/
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