Occupy groups urge defeat of proposed law. [UPI.com] -Two Chicago-area Occupy protest groups warned city aldermen that supporting Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s “Sit Down and Shut Up” ordinance will be met with resistance.
Curated Links
Shut up, Slave!
Coming soon, to a country near you: another way for the masters to strip troublemakers of our citizenship. Thanks, Joe.
H.R. 3166: Enemy Expatriation Act. [GovTrack.us] – To add engaging in or supporting hostilities against the United States to the list of acts for which United States nationals would lose their nationality.
My Guantánamo Nightmare
This is the chilling account of Lakhdar Boumediene’s rendition and his imprisonment for seven years at Gitmo. He was held without trial, another innocent victim of our War on Terror.
My Guantánamo Nightmare. [NYTimes.com] – The fact that the United States had made a mistake was clear from the beginning. Bosnia’s highest court investigated the American claim, found that there was no evidence against me and ordered my release. But instead, the moment I was released American agents seized me and the five others. We were tied up like animals and flown to Guantánamo, the American naval base in Cuba.
Renewables Overtook Nuclear Power in 2011
Did renewables overtake nuclear power in 2011? Sort of. [The Washington Post] – In 2011, for the first time in decades, the United States got more of its energy from renewable sources than it did from nuclear power. Not only that, but renewables are growing much faster than any other energy source.
Secrets of Empire and Self-Deceptions of Partisans
Secrets of Empire and Self-Deceptions of Partisans [Dissident Voice] – As a general rule, when the rationalizations of both Bush and Obama supporters are countered with facts regarding their dismal governance, the invectives fly.
12 Simple Ways To Go Green
12 simple ways to go green in 2012 [CSMonitor.com] – If many people resolve to make their lives just a little greener in 2012 it could make a huge difference.
The Developing Situation With Iran
What’s Happening in the Persian Gulf Explained. [Mother Jones] – Why Iran is talking tough, the US is maneuvering warships, and gasoline is getting more expensive by the hour.
Happy Fracking
Good morning. We have a bit more on the subject of hydraulic fracturing today.
Hydrofracked: One man’s quest for answers. [High Country News] – Louis Meeks is an alfalfa farmer in Pavillion, Wyoming. For decades after returning from his service in Vietnam, his well provided the cleanest water for miles around. Then, something happened.
For 35 years, he drew it clear and sweet from a well near the front door of the plain, eight-room ranch house that he and his wife, Donna, own. The water was so good that neighbors used to pull off the road to fill plastic jugs for themselves. But in the spring of 2005, Meeks’ water turned fetid. His tap ran cloudy, and the filmy water shimmered with rainbow swirls. The scent was sharp, like gasoline.
Read the full story from Abrahm Lustgarten here.
Also, I ran across this essay by John Kemp of Reuters, who basically argues that we shouldn’t worry about the risks posed by fracking, because the natural gas companies have been despoiling our environment and poisoning us for years anyway. Nothing new here. Move along.
Here are a few more articles of interest.
An Inside Look At A Fracking Well. [The Denver Post]
How Fracking Might Have Led To An Ohio Earthquake. [CSMonitor.com]
Chinese and French firms pour $4.5 billion into U.S. shale. [Reuters]
Happy Fracking!
Frack, Baby, Frack – Quake, Baby, Quake
Ohio officials close wells after quake. [UPI.com] – Ohio officials say they have shut down four fluid-injection wells after a series of small earthquakes in and around Youngstown.
Capital Gains Biggest Driver of Income Inequality
The biggest driver of income inequality: capital gains. [The Washington Post] – Changes in income from capital gains and dividends were the single largest contributor to rising income inequality between 1996 and 2006, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan public policy branch of Congress.