kebmodee: July 2011

WTF?

Rupert Murdoch given $27M no-bid contract from state Department of Education:

"It raises all kinds of questions,' said Susan Lerner, executive director of good government group Common Cause New York. 'There appears to be time in this process to go through a much more open-bidding process to ensure that the public is getting the best vendor at the best price.'

The News has also learned that Wireless Generation paid as much as $5,000 a month to lobbying firms to advocate for the contract and Race to the Top funds with state officials."

Goldman's new money machine: warehouses

Goldman's new money machine: warehouses | Reuters:

"Analysts question why London's metals market allows big financial players like Goldman to own the warehouses which store huge quantities of metal even as they trade the commodity. Robin Bhar, a veteran metals analyst at Credit Agricole in London says the conflict of interest is so acute he wants U.S. and European anti-trust regulators to weigh in.

'I think it makes a mockery of the market. It's a shame,' Bhar said. 'This is an anti-competitive situation. It puts (some) companies at an advantage, and clearly the rest of the market at a disadvantage. It's a real, genuine concern. And I think the regulators have to look at it.'"

Chain of Giant Underwater Volcanoes Discovered Near Antarctica

Chain of Giant Underwater Volcanoes Discovered Near Antarctica « It's Interesting

Pretty cool

APOD: 2011 July 31 - Metal on the Plains of Mars

‪The Sir Douglas Quintet - Mendocino‬‏ - YouTube

Huge pot bust in Northern Calif national forest - Yahoo! News

Huge pot bust in Northern Calif national forest - Yahoo! News: "The two-week operation to purge the Mendocino National Forest of illicit pot gardens uprooted 460,000 pot plants and led to more than 100 arrests, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said."

Soccer By Ives: Saborio suspended, fined for dive

Soccer By Ives: Saborio suspended, fined for dive: "'As previously stated, all instances of obvious simulation and/or embellishment that directly impact the game will be subject to severe discipline, including fine, suspension or both,' MLS Executive Vice President Nelson Rodriguez said in a statement. 'We will continue to impose sanctions, and even increase their level, if necessary, in an attempt to eliminate this type of behavior.'"

Fareed's Take: The damage is already done! – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs

Fareed's Take: The damage is already done! – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs thanks to PC for the story

Chain of Giant Underwater Volcanoes Discovered Near Antarctica « It's Interesting

Hideouts or Sacred Spaces? Experts Baffled by Mysterious Underground Chambers

Hideouts or Sacred Spaces? Experts Baffled by Mysterious Underground Chambers - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

My heart bleeds...

Behold the most expensive dents in human history - From the Marbles - NASCAR Blog - Yahoo! Sports

Glenn Greenwald: Norway Attacks Expose U.S. Media's Double Standard on "Terrorism"

Glenn Greenwald: Norway Attacks Expose U.S. Media's Double Standard on "Terrorism": "The other aspect of it, though, is what you referenced in your question, which is, when it was widely assumed, based on basically nothing, that Muslims had been responsible for this attack and that a radical Muslim group likely perpetrated it, it was widely declared to be a 'terrorist' attack. That was the word that was continuously used. And yet, when it became apparent that Muslims were not involved and that, in reality, it was a right-wing nationalist with extremely anti-Muslim, strident anti-Muslim bigotry as part of his worldview, the word 'terrorism' almost completely disappeared from establishment media discourse. Instead, he began to be referred to as a 'madman' or an 'extremist.' And it really underscores, for me, the fact that this word 'terrorism,' that plays such a central role in our political discourse and our law, really has no objective meaning. It’s come to mean nothing more than Muslims who engage in violence, especially when they’re Muslims whom the West dislikes."

Are You Raising a Douchebag?: Marriage + Kids : Details

Are You Raising a Douchebag?: Marriage + Kids : Details:

Her forthcoming book is titled Let Them Run With Scissors: How Over-Parenting Hurts Children, Parents and Society. "We no longer allow children to have personal autonomy, to experience hard knocks, or to take real risks," she says. "The result is a nation of overweight, overindulged, overly neurotic kids who whine and moan and often can't function on their own."

#f@ckyouwashington

#f@ckyouwashington hashtag takes Twitter by storm | The Raw Story:

"'#F*ckYouWashington For Forgetting WHO you represent, Families, Elderly,Moms,Kids, WORKERs..NOT the CoporatePigs who you cater to...#ShameOnU' one reads.

'#f*ckyouwashington for sending our soldiers on 6, 7, 8 tours to combat zones yet thinking it's too much to ask the richest to pay taxes' say another.

And @YourAnonNews -- a Twitter account associated with Anonymous -- tweeted, '#F*ckYouWashington for thinking activists are the same as terrorists.'"

Un-freaking-believable!

The Fed Audit - Newsroom: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont):

'As a result of this audit, we now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in total financial assistance to some of the largest financial institutions and corporations in the United States and throughout the world,' said Sanders. 'This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you're-on-your-own individualism for everyone else.'

Among the investigation's key findings is that the Fed unilaterally provided trillions of dollars in financial assistance to foreign banks and corporations from South Korea to Scotland, according to the GAO report. 'No agency of the United States government should be allowed to bailout a foreign bank or corporation without the direct approval of Congress and the president,' Sanders said."

APOD: 2011 July 24 - A Flight of Helios

‪RSA Animate - The Secret Powers of Time‬‏ - YouTube

‪RSA Animate - The Secret Powers of Time‬‏ - YouTube:

Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world.

10 minute video. Borrowed this from It's Interesting.com

The US love affair with drones - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

U.S. Debt | Debt Ceiling | Economy

U.S. Debt | Debt Ceiling | Economy:

Hong Kong: $121.9 billion (0.9 percent)
Caribbean banking centers: $148.3 (1 percent)
Taiwan: $153.4 billion (1.1 percent)
Brazil: $211.4 billion (1.5 percent)
Oil exporting countries: $229.8 billion (1.6 percent)
Mutual funds: $300.5 billion (2 percent)
Commercial banks: $301.8 billion (2.1 percent)
State, local and federal retirement funds: $320.9 billion (2.2 percent)
Money market mutual funds: $337.7 billion (2.4 percent)
United Kingdom: $346.5 billion (2.4 percent)
Private pension funds: $504.7 billion (3.5 percent)
State and local governments: $506.1 billion (3.5 percent)
Japan: $912.4 billion (6.4 percent)
U.S. households: $959.4 billion (6.6 percent)
China: $1.16 trillion (8 percent)
The U.S. Treasury: $1.63 trillion (11.3 percent)
Social Security trust fund: $2.67 trillion (19 percent)
So America owes foreigners about $4.5 trillion in debt. But America owes America $9.8 trillion. "

'Brazen' church disregard for child protection, says Kenny - The Irish Times - Wed, Jul 20, 2011

Hoodwinked by John Perkins.

Amazon.com: Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded--and What We Need to Do to Remake Them (9780307589927): John Perkins: Books

This looks like a good read...Confessions of an Economic Hitman was a solid read as well.

Holy Sh**!-The civil division will essentially be out of business

200 San Francisco court employees to get layoff notices | abc7news.com:

"'The civil division will essentially be out of business,' Feinstein said. 'The cases will sit on shelves piled high and will not make it into a courtroom for close to five years. It will for all practical purposes dismantle our court. Paying a traffic ticket for a criminal fine at the Hall of Justice will take hours standing in line. There will be fewer clerks there to process your payment. Obtaining a copy of a criminal or civil court record will take months. Obtaining a divorce will take at least a year and a half."

NSF funds $18.5 million effort to create mind-machine interfaces | KurzweilAI

A Single Polar Bear Ancestor For All Modern Polar Bears « It's Interesting

A Single Polar Bear Ancestor For All Modern Polar Bears « It's Interesting: "A Single Polar Bear Ancestor For All Modern Polar Bears"

from my pals blog...

Pixar’s Ex-Designer Creates Stunning Interactive Book for iPad

Pixar’s Ex-Designer Creates Stunning Interactive Book for iPad. Blurs Lines Between Reading, Film, and Video Games | Singularity Hub

Verizon Refuses to Itemize $4.19 Charge on Customer’s Bill, Tells Her to Get a Lawyer and a Subpoena

cryptogon.com » Verizon Refuses to Itemize $4.19 Charge on Customer’s Bill, Tells Her to Get a Lawyer and a Subpoena:

"Bernice Keebler had a simple complaint: Verizon billed her $4.19 for six “local calls” but wouldn’t tell her where she’d called – not unless she got a lawyer and a subpoena.

To Keebler, that stretched the bounds of fair dealing beyond the breaking point. “I think I have the right to know what I am paying for,” she told me in a column about her case last month. Keebler likened the experience to getting a tab at a restaurant with a bottom line for “food,” but no details to review or question."

‪Tesco Homeplus Virtual Subway Store in South Korea‬‏ - YouTube

‪Tesco Homeplus Virtual Subway Store in South Korea‬‏ - YouTube: "When grocery chain Tesco wanted to expand their market share in South Korea, they came up with a brilliant idea."

Awesome Saturn footage!

OUTSIDE IN | Giant screen IMAX film about Space, Saturn and the Big Questions

outside in is a ground-breaking non-profit IMAX™ giant screen film currently in production
animated from millions of still photographs

‪Paul Stamets's YouTube Channel‬‏

‪paulstamets's Channel‬‏ - YouTube

Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world | Video on TED.com

Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world | Video on TED.com

Entrepreneurial mycologist Paul Stamets seeks to rescue the study of mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords. The focus of Stamets' research is the Northwest's native fungal genome, mycelium, but along the way he has filed 22 patents for mushroom-related technologies, including pesticidal fungi that trick insects into eating them, and mushrooms that can break down the neurotoxins used in nerve gas.

There are cosmic implications as well. Stamets believes we could terraform other worlds in our galaxy by sowing a mix of fungal spores and other seeds to create an ecological footprint on a new planet.

"Once you’ve heard 'renaissance mycologist' Paul Stamets talk about mushrooms, you'll never look at the world -- not to mention your backyard -- in the same way again."
Linda Baker, Salon.com

Solar plant keeps working, even after sundown | Energy

Solar plant keeps working, even after sundown | Energy

The plant, barely one month into commercial operation, can store solar energy in molten salt using a thermal-transfer technology developed by SENER. The system enables the facility to deliver 15 hours of electricity production without solar radiation, helping to overcome fluctuations in the energy supply.

Senators Ask Spy Chief: Are You Tracking Us

Senators Ask Spy Chief: Are You Tracking Us Through Our iPhones? | Danger Room | Wired.com

In a letter that Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colorado) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) will send later on Thursday, obtained by Danger Room, the senators ask Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, “Do government agencies have the authority to collect the geolocation information of American citizens for intelligence purposes?”

Both senators are members of the panel overseeing the 16 intelligence agencies. In May, they sounded warnings that the Obama administration was secretly reinterpreting the Patriot Act to allow a broader amount of domestic surveillance than it had publicly disclosed.

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