News Stories Which Highlight the Structure of the System

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Skinny Puppy to invoice US for music played to Torture Terrorists
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/2014/01/skinny_puppy_we_spent_an_unnec.php

"We heard through a reliable grapevine that our music was being used in Guantanamo Bay prison camps to musically stun or torture people," founder cEvin Key explains by phone from his Los Angeles home. "We heard that our music was used on at least four occasions. So we thought it would be a good idea to make an invoice to the U.S. government for musical services, thus the concept of the record title, Weapons."

It's a damn shame how our government runs around violating the hell out of copyright.

[minuspace]

Pimping the whore on weekends amounts to fair use.

[Junkenstein]

Skinny Puppy to invoice US for music played to Torture Terrorists
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/2014/01/skinny_puppy_we_spent_an_unnec.php

"We heard through a reliable grapevine that our music was being used in Guantanamo Bay prison camps to musically stun or torture people," founder cEvin Key explains by phone from his Los Angeles home. "We heard that our music was used on at least four occasions. So we thought it would be a good idea to make an invoice to the U.S. government for musical services, thus the concept of the record title, Weapons."

It's a damn shame how our government runs around violating the hell out of copyright.

Something else here: Fucking stupidity as well as very late bandwagon hopping.

Let's go back about, oh, offhand say 10 years. Every other industrial band heard the same kind of shit about their music being used to torture prisoners because smudgy people hate guitar bands, right? Ministry cranked out "Houses of the Mole" which was pretty much 10/12 tracks of "Fuck George Bush". It is not a high point in his career. KMFDM? WW3, covering much of the same ground. I could mention more, but you get the idea. Skinny puppy around the same time were doing the reunion thing. Politics? Not so much.

So here we are, 10 years later. And suddenly reliable sources have let them get a little bit of press. It's going to be really groundbreaking shit I'm sure. The president of the US isn't a saint and war crimes are bad? Who would have ever thought?

While the albums done by Ministry, KMFDM and co were hardly high points of the careers, at least they did them at a time when they couldn't be accused of blatant fucking profiteering.

[Bu🤠ns]

Not sure if this belongs here...but I suspect it does in some sense...

http://msn.foxsports.com/ufc/haymaker/george-zimmerman-to-face-dmx-in-celebrity-boxing-match-020514

"I am going to beat the living f**k out of him," DMX said. ... "I am breaking every rule in boxing to make sure I f**k him up right."

DMX added that he would literally urinate on Zimmerman's face.

If there WAS any justice in this world, they'd get R Kelly to do the later.

 

[Cain]

Meh, FOX News confuses fame (or infamy) with celebrity, while DMX does his damndest to conform to the "black thug" stereotype (not that I probably wouldn't do the same...but nevertheless).

More interestingly, the UK's own NSA, GCHQ, carried out cyberattacks against Anonymous in 2011.  Why are we only hearing about this now?  Because fuck you pleb, that's why.

http://krypt3ia.wordpress.com/2014/02/06/assessment-operation-rolling-thunder/#rssowlmlink

It has come to light that the GCHQ (The UK's NSA) took action against Anonymous by DDoS as well as the use of HUMINT and malware attacks to attempt to dissuade them from further actions. While this may be a surprise to some it is just a matter of action and reaction in the hive mind of the IC. Of course at one time there may have been more trepidation about carrying out direct action against quote unquote "dissidents" as some may call Anonymous but those days are long gone and one of the primary reasons such actions are easily rationalized now is because of terrorism. Terrorism used to mean blowing things up or taking hostages but now, with the 5th domain of cyber, that equation has changed greatly in the eyes of the worlds governments. Of course in this case it was the British carrying out the covert actions against the anonymous servers and users and as many know the Brits don't have the most stellar first amendment record (D orders) and have a different perspective on what people have the right to do or say that may be considered civil disobedience. However, I should like to point out that it is highly likely that the UK did not act alone here and that it is probable that the NSA and the UKUSA agreements were in play here as well.

[Junkenstein]

This has got to be worth a mention here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26222407

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has talked openly about the prospect of a coalition with Labour after the next general election.

He told a BBC documentary that Labour had changed and was realising it might have to share power with others.

Given how popular this government is, I find it hard to think that the liberal democrats are anything but done. The various actions taken in previous years have fucked chances for re-election to pieces where UKIP and the like are becoming increasingly viable options. Having a second party form part of your government for the sole purpose of carrying the can when the nasty policies come out may be the preferred option for future government. It keeps the 2 man con to 2 men and introduces everyone's favourite political tool - The scapegoat.

A future glorious career in politics is not likely to be in Cleggs future. In fairness all three "leaders" are dull shills in suits going through the motions. The script is known and the winners and losers established the only argument is in the details. Benefit cheats must be caught, but at exactly what price? To evict people from their homes do you send a team or a squad? Details matter, you see. 

[Cain]

 

Nick Clegg thinks he'll not only stay on as leader, but have enough MPs to make a coalition with him worth anyone's time.

[Junkenstein]

 

Yeah, that too. Just another example of how you're allowed to detach yourself from political realities once you've got any kind of political power.

He must think he's going to do so well in the TV debates. He could black up do an impression of Tina Turner and it still wouldn't put him in a worse position than he is now.

[Telarus]

Holyshit, here's a double-whammy for you. 99.9% chance that various 'authorities' already enw about the connection I'm about to make below.

First off:
Birth Defects in Rural Washington Stun Experts
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/birth-defect-stuns-experts-washington_n_4808750.html

Doctors there are baffled by a cluster of local cases involving a birth defect known as anencephaly, in which babies are born with parts of their brain or skull missing. A study released last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed nearly two dozen such cases were reported from January 2010 through January 2013. This means that instances of anencephaly in rural Yakima County area are four times as high as the national estimate, ABC News points out.

Susie Ball of the Central Washington Genetics Program at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital recently told NBC News that she has reported "eight or nine" additional cases of anencephaly since the CDC's 2013 report.

The CDC and the Washington State Department of Health have yet to say exactly how many newborns in the counties of Yakima, Benton and Franklin were born with anencephaly. The agencies' study consisted of 27 women whose newborns had neural tube defects in 2010-2012; 23 of the babies were affected by anencephaly, but the CDC did not say whether these 23 were the total number of local infants born with the condition. The total number of infants born with the condition in 2013 has not yet been reported.

Researches used the women's medical records to examine the hospitals where they gave birth, where they worked, if they smoked, drank alcohol or had any other diseases. The study did not find any unifying link.

NBC says no direct interviews have been conducted by the CDC and no mothers have been told that their heartbreaking cases might be connected.

"No statistically significant differences were identified between cases and controls, and a clear cause of the elevated prevalence of anencephaly was not determined," the report reads.

The report also indicates that it would monitor the issue only through 2013. In a statement to The Huffington Post, the CDC confirmed that it is still receiving updates from the Washington State Department of Health, but that nothing new has come in recently. The CDC will be reviewing the health department's analysis and expects to have a new report available in the spring.

Here's a second source:
'Bizarre' Cluster of Severe Birth Defects Haunts Health Experts
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/bizarre-cluster-severe-birth-defects-haunts-health-experts-n24986

Read it too. Note the "baffled" & "bizarre" terms and what those memes are meant to convey. Now, where is this happening? Let's pull up a map of Yakima, Washington:
Link: Yakima County Washington

Now, note that grey patch on the map to the right of the Yakima County borders, nestled between the town of Richland and the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. THAT RIGHT THERE is the "Handford Nuclear Waste Storage Facility"... which was in the news earlier this week!

Whistle-Blower Who Raised Safety Concerns At Hanford Nuclear Reservation Fired
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/hanford-nuclear-reservation-whistle-blower-fired_n_4810421.html

Go ahead, I'll wait until you read that and let it sink in. Horrified yet?

[LMNO]

And, just in case there's any doubt that exposure to radiation might not cause these conditions, http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalopathy/encephalopathy.htm.

[Cain]

I wondered about that when I first saw it, but hadn't had time to follow it up.

I'm not surprised.  Unfortunately, because nuclear power falls under "national security", everyone will, of course, be baffled.  Just like it's baffling how everyone hates pork but so much of it gets spent on military contracts, or how the US fighting terrorism results in yet more. Utterly baffling.

The chief requirement for a national press position in the US seems to be the problem solving skills of a concussed duckling.

[Telarus]

Yah, my face hurt from grinning to hard after reading that. Thanks for the laugh, Cain.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Holyshit, here's a double-whammy for you. 99.9% chance that various 'authorities' already enw about the connection I'm about to make below.

First off:
Birth Defects in Rural Washington Stun Experts
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/birth-defect-stuns-experts-washington_n_4808750.html

Doctors there are baffled by a cluster of local cases involving a birth defect known as anencephaly, in which babies are born with parts of their brain or skull missing. A study released last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed nearly two dozen such cases were reported from January 2010 through January 2013. This means that instances of anencephaly in rural Yakima County area are four times as high as the national estimate, ABC News points out.

Susie Ball of the Central Washington Genetics Program at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital recently told NBC News that she has reported "eight or nine" additional cases of anencephaly since the CDC's 2013 report.

The CDC and the Washington State Department of Health have yet to say exactly how many newborns in the counties of Yakima, Benton and Franklin were born with anencephaly. The agencies' study consisted of 27 women whose newborns had neural tube defects in 2010-2012; 23 of the babies were affected by anencephaly, but the CDC did not say whether these 23 were the total number of local infants born with the condition. The total number of infants born with the condition in 2013 has not yet been reported.

Researches used the women's medical records to examine the hospitals where they gave birth, where they worked, if they smoked, drank alcohol or had any other diseases. The study did not find any unifying link.

NBC says no direct interviews have been conducted by the CDC and no mothers have been told that their heartbreaking cases might be connected.

"No statistically significant differences were identified between cases and controls, and a clear cause of the elevated prevalence of anencephaly was not determined," the report reads.

The report also indicates that it would monitor the issue only through 2013. In a statement to The Huffington Post, the CDC confirmed that it is still receiving updates from the Washington State Department of Health, but that nothing new has come in recently. The CDC will be reviewing the health department's analysis and expects to have a new report available in the spring.

Here's a second source:
'Bizarre' Cluster of Severe Birth Defects Haunts Health Experts
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/bizarre-cluster-severe-birth-defects-haunts-health-experts-n24986

Read it too. Note the "baffled" & "bizarre" terms and what those memes are meant to convey. Now, where is this happening? Let's pull up a map of Yakima, Washington:
Link: Yakima County Washington

Now, note that grey patch on the map to the right of the Yakima County borders, nestled between the town of Richland and the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. THAT RIGHT THERE is the "Handford Nuclear Waste Storage Facility"... which was in the news earlier this week!

Whistle-Blower Who Raised Safety Concerns At Hanford Nuclear Reservation Fired
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/hanford-nuclear-reservation-whistle-blower-fired_n_4810421.html

Go ahead, I'll wait until you read that and let it sink in. Horrified yet?

Hanford is one of those nightmares that everybody knows about, yet which the government refuses to admit is a problem. WE ALL KNOW IT'S LEAKING. WE ALL KNOW THAT THE EXTENT OF THE LEAKING IS FAR GREATER THAN ANYONE WILL ADMIT.

[Red]

Random mass Killing Attempt in Japan. (Formatting is theirs, not mine)

Today in Nagoya, Japan a man attempted to kill as many people as he could. He rented a car and then deliberately drove it into a crowd hitting whomever he could. His rampage ended when he struck a tree. He reportedly told police, "I tried to kill people with the car."

Thirteen people were injured. One man has a broken hip

There were no fatalities and as of this writing none of the victims is reported to be in a life-threatening condition.

A man flips out and goes on a rampage. It's an all too familiar story. However, in this case the man lived in Japan, where they do not have free access to firearms with large capacity magazines. He injured thirteen people and killed none.

There are dangerous crazy people in every culture in every part of the world.

There is only one developed nation where they have free and easy access to firearms.

That is our country and in our country when somebody flips out and goes on a rampage, there is inevitably a much higher body count.

Firepower matters.

We need strict and common sense gun laws now.

The Second Amendment was about preventing the central government from developing a standing army that could be used as an instrument to suppress states' rights. That theory was put to the test during the Civil War. It failed.

The Second Amendment is a dangerous anachronism and it ought to be repealed.

Ummm... doesn't this article just confirm that even without guns people still flip out and try to kill each other? In fact, it seems cars are a popular Japanese murder weapon and things like knives and baseball bats are still pretty effective. If I use the same logic as the reposter, shouldn't Japan ban all mentally disturbed people from driving, owning knives, or buying a baseball bat?

Another shining example of using a tenuous link to attempt to force others into doing things out of fear.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Someone kills people with a car.  Ergo guns are bad.