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And don't you just loooove how I got modded down for daring to speak the truth if it doesn't fit into the left wing PC bullshit? name a SINGLE thing I said that wasn't true. Fatwas issued over cartoons? Hell even South Park made here in the USA, was censored over a Fatwa. Stoning rape victims? How about a 13 year old girl stoned to death for being gang raped?

I agree with you 100% Jedidiah that they can spin the bullshit ALL they want but the different religions are NOT all the same! While i personally think all religions are consoling BS at best, mind control at worst, the simple fact is a religion of 2 billion plus and growing REFUSES TO GROW UP and is completely and totally incompatible with the west.

Are there moderate Muslims? i'm sure there are, but they support the Islamists be REFUSING to condemn them, by allowing them to control whole areas (look up what is happening in London, where if you walk through certain neighborhoods IN BROAD DAYLIGHT you WILL be attacked if you refuse to follow Sharia law, on UK soil!) and by creating "Sharia ghettos" and them screaming "That's racist!" if a charity dares to offer women who are abused or sold into marriage under Sharia a way out.

Like it or not Islam is a thuggish, barbaric, vicious, backward ass religion that has as its whole goal nothing less than the forced subjugation of all under Sharia. Don't take MY word for it, read for yourself. look up the Hadiths, look up the word "Dhimmi" and see what they think OF YOU. you are less than a dog, you apostate. they can lie to you, cheat you, and killing you isn't considered a sin because you are not one of them. To see a similar viewpoint taught to a people one only has to go back to the Empire of the Rising Sun, where they were taught they were above other races and that by divine right they would rule the east. Wasn't real nice for the non Japs on those islands was it?

You're right, there's a lot of question about whether Mike Duggan was armed or not. Police say he had a gun and fired at them, but he didn't hit a thing. (A single bullet found in a police radio turns out to have come from a police weapon.)

That caused a protest. When a 16 year old girl threw a stone at a line of riot shields and was beaten, that caused the riot.

The best citations for these is at the Guardian's blog about the riots. Here's a good report of the Mike Duggan incident; here's one about the girl.

If you treat people with this much disrespect, they're going to lash back violently, especially if the government has been making their lives miserable for generations already.

You're right, there's a lot of question about whether Mike Duggan was armed or not. Police say he had a gun and fired at them, but he didn't hit a thing. (A single bullet found in a police radio turns out to have come from a police weapon.)

That caused a protest. When a 16 year old girl threw a stone at a line of riot shields and was beaten, that caused the riot.

The best citations for these is at the Guardian's blog about the riots. Here's a good report of the Mike Duggan incident; here's one about the girl.

If you treat people with this much disrespect, they're going to lash back violently, especially if the government has been making their lives miserable for generations already.

Citation needed please: where does it say he was a violent drug dealer?

This portrait suggests he was affiliated with a gang suspected of murdering 3 people, was suspected by police of dealing drugs and guns and was a person of sufficient interest that an anti-firearms team decided to stop him. At which point he pulls a gun and gets shot for his troubles. Does that mean he's a violent drug dealer? That strongly suggests he was to me.

We didn't have any trouble crediting Twitter for the Green Spring unrest in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Iran, Libya, and Syria. Can't people see the parallels here with what's happening in London? The technology itself doesn't care whether you agree with the protesters. But in any case, civil unrest usually follows a decline in the economic situation (yes, it was caused at least as much by high food prices as "yearning for freedom" in the middle east), and Britain fits that pattern.

In the UK only specially trained police oficers are allowed to carry guns.

Apparently this "special training" does not prevent them from shooting their colleague's walky-talky instead of the intended target...

You are talking about the spark, but what about the tinderbox? What does the unrest in London have in common with the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia? And for that matter the Watts riots of 1965 and LA riots of 1992? The rioters are always suffering poor economic prospects. January, 2011: youth unemployment hits record high in Britain. Of course, in the west we cheer on the "green spring" and assume it is about religion and "freedom" as we interpret it. But if that were it, what about China? It's simple: people rarely engage in risky behavior for idealism alone. Not for freedom, and not against unjustified shootings. The risk/reward ratio for smashing a window and stealing a TV is vastly different for somebody making a good living vs. somebody scraping along on the dole with too much time on their hands. No, I am not excusing lawbreaking. Instead, consider it a good statistical predictor: the less somebody is invested in the system, the more likely they are to honor its restrictions.

"Your analysis, while lengthy, is riddled with inaccuracies and exaggerations."

Thanks for your comment, AC. I guess it is hard to summarize ten years of thinking on these things and reading tons of references in a short post, but you can find lots of detail in essays on my website: http://www.pdfernhout.net/

Even in this comment, I cited an academic and a reporter citing sources. That article on the UK being last and the US being second to last in child welfare (of industrialized countries) was based on a UN report from that time, so, while anyone can question such a report, that is not an accusation made up out of thin air.

You can stick your head in the sand, but that is a fact -- many kids in the USA are suffering in a variety of ways. Example:
"Record numbers go hungry in the US: Government report shows 50m people unable to put food on the table at some point last year:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/17/millions-hungry-households-us-report
"More than a million children regularly go to bed hungry in the US, according to a government report that shows a startling increase in the number of families struggling to put food on the table. President Barack Obama, who pledged to eradicate childhood hunger, has described as "unsettling" the agriculture department survey, which says 50 million people in the US â" one in six of the population â" were unable to afford to buy sufficient food to stay healthy at some point last year, in large part because of escalating unemployment or poorly paid jobs. That is a rise of more than one-third on the year before and the highest number since the survey began in 1995. ..."

That said, sure, I have no doubt there are inaccuracies and exaggerations in what I have written in various places, which I would be happy to eventually correct if supplied with specific information. But it seems to me that you have supplied mostly generalizations (and also responded to points I did not raise, as I agree the USA still makes a lot, at least by dollar value), generalizations that ignore how the USA has systematically disrupted grassroots movements for democracy and social accountability in other countries. That is why so many people in so many countries are angry at US Americans, just for two example where the USA helped overthrow a democratically elected government, see Chile and Iran.

Has the USA also done some good things abroad? No doubt.

Is the USA multi-cultural in a lot of ways? Yes, to its credit.

Has the USA some big technical accomplishments, like the internet? Again, no doubt. Although other countries did have computer networks, like France's Minitel or Chile's Cybersyn -- the last being destroyed by the US fomented overthrow on the first 9/11 in 1973 -- that could have become like an internet someday.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn

Are US accomplishments commensurate with having a huge (genocidally) depopulated continent to work with and being the only major surviving industrial base after a World War (where it helped arm both sides?) and bringing in the best German/Nazi scientists both before and after the war? Well, that is subject to debate...

My understanding is that the USA would have collapsed a long time ago based on mismanagement had it not been so wealthy to begin with. And as I see it, both the USA and the USSR lost the Cold War; it is just taking the USA a bit longer to fall. I agree with you the large stockpiles of WMDs the USA has make its collapse very problematical for the world.

As I mentioned, I've tried to propose alternatives to collapse, but so far, without much success in implementation.

Anyway, I'd suggest there is a lot of exaggeration in what you have written. Where did I suggest the USA was "evil per

Actually newspapers and blogs are also mentioning the odd Blackberry usage. Allegedly some of the rioters were bragging about how the police don't monitor Blackberrys unlike Facebook etc. London riots: how BlackBerry Messenger played a key role, London riots: how BlackBerry Messenger has been used to plan two nights of looting.

If someone came to torch my home in the US, I would be well within my rights to kill them on the spot and the world would be a better place for their passing.

But the attackers would have guns in the US too, and they have less to lose. Do you risk your life for your home? I wouldn't. (Fortunately I'm 5 minutes cycle from the nearest high street, and 10 minutes cycle from the nearest looting, so I won't have to make any decisions like this.)

As it is, it seems there are no guns on the streets -- so far, I've only read of one shooting since Thursday (when the police shot the man), and that was in Leeds (city in North England).

Also, the burned homes have all been above shops. The shops have been set alight, and the whole building has been ablaze by the time the firefighters can get through -- they're being attacked and have to wait for the police to control the area.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/ is good with reporting facts at times like this in their "live feed" things, if you're interested. (It's the furthest-left of the ~4 major newspapers, which you might not like, but the equivalent quality right-leaning paper is The Times, which is unfortunately paywalled. The live feed is mostly just facts.).

If someone came to torch my home in the US, I would be well within my rights to kill them on the spot and the world would be a better place for their passing.

But the attackers would have guns in the US too, and they have less to lose. Do you risk your life for your home? I wouldn't. (Fortunately I'm 5 minutes cycle from the nearest high street, and 10 minutes cycle from the nearest looting, so I won't have to make any decisions like this.)

As it is, it seems there are no guns on the streets -- so far, I've only read of one shooting since Thursday (when the police shot the man), and that was in Leeds (city in North England).

Also, the burned homes have all been above shops. The shops have been set alight, and the whole building has been ablaze by the time the firefighters can get through -- they're being attacked and have to wait for the police to control the area.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/ is good with reporting facts at times like this in their "live feed" things, if you're interested. (It's the furthest-left of the ~4 major newspapers, which you might not like, but the equivalent quality right-leaning paper is The Times, which is unfortunately paywalled. The live feed is mostly just facts.).

Yes, opinion varies, but it is alleged that Mark Duggan both owned a handgun (an offense under the Firearms Act 1997) and used it to shoot at Police, injuring one: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022670/Gangster-Mark-Duggan-shot-police-London-cab-shootout.html

Incidentally, for those fans of history, what happened last time there was a riot in this area, is documented in history as the Broadwater Farm riot: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/aug/08/anger-tottenham-broadwater-riots-1985. Given that then an innocent, unarmed policeman was brutally hacked to death, by person or persons unknown, I would not blame the Police for going in hard and fast with all means at their disposal, including asking RIM for some messages.

Don't get me wrong, I am just as much of an advocate for free speech and privacy as the next man, but there are considerations that outweigh this. I shall quote you Mr Spock, from the 1982 classic STII: The Wrath of Kahn - logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

In this case, the vast majority of people don't believe that rioting is a proportionate response. It is their property that is being destroyed, and I bet they don't care one iota if their BBM messages are read as a by-product of the search to catch the opportunistic thugs who are doing this.

If a police officer was shot, that means somebody had a gun who shouldn't have. Given that Mark Duggan was the one who was shot, it would seem logical that he was the one doing the shooting in the first place.

You've omitted a scenario -- a cop shot another cop:

The Guardian understands that initial ballistics tests on a bullet, found lodged in a police radio worn by an officer during Thursday's incident, suggested it was police issue – and therefore had not been fired by Duggan.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/07/police-attack-london-burns

Nobody knows for certain right now, but things that "seem logical" very often turn out to be not the case.

You'd be very popular in these places, all of which could produce more food on their own if government was not taxing and subsidizing and regulating food in the world:

Swaziland: HIV patients 'eat dung to make drugs work'

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/out_of_food_zimbabweans_eating_cow_dung/

Food Prices Fuel Egypt Unrest

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions

Spike in global food prices contributes to Tunisian violence

Food price jumps protested in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Egypt and Tunisia: rocked by the global food crisis

Hunger in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Ukraine to control food prices

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor - Oxfam

As Food Prices Spike, Azerbaijanis Endure Border Chaos To Shop In Iran

For dummies: The impact of the global food crisis on Azerbaijan - in pictures

Estonia Raises Inflation Forecast on Global Food and Fuel Prices

Nigeria: food price up as inflationary rate drop

High food prices 'caused Niger hunger'

Mexico: Food prices reach record high

China's food price inflation hits 14.4% in June

Lithuania and Latvia catching up with Estonia

Food prices rise, wages donâ(TM)t

China food prices spike as floods ruin farmland

Brazil: Food Prices Surge and Head Toward Dangerous Levels

Rise in food prices causing major concerns in Russia

Stockpiling as Russian food prices soar

Food prices have soared most in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina

Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi

India: A spike in food prices is especially painful for the poor

I bet it would get pretty personal for you if you came to these places and started spouting your socialist views on how cheap food is that your government is subsidizing farmers and then paying farmers to destroy it

Swaziland: HIV patients 'eat dung to make drugs work'

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/out_of_food_zimbabweans_eating_cow_dung/

Food Prices Fuel Egypt Unrest

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions

Spike in global food prices contributes to Tunisian violence

Food price jumps protested in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Egypt and Tunisia: rocked by the global food crisis

Hunger in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Ukraine to control food prices

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor - Oxfam

As Food Prices Spike, Azerbaijanis Endure Border Chaos To Shop In Iran

For dummies: The impact of the global food crisis on Azerbaijan - in pictures

Estonia Raises Inflation Forecast on Global Food and Fuel Prices

Nigeria: food price up as inflationary rate drop

High food prices 'caused Niger hunger'

Mexico: Food prices reach record high

China's food price inflation hits 14.4% in June

Lithuania and Latvia catching up with Estonia

Food prices rise, wages donâ(TM)t

China food prices spike as floods ruin farmland

Brazil: Food Prices Surge and Head Toward Dangerous Levels

Rise in food prices causing major concerns in Russia

Stockpiling as Russian food prices soar

Food prices have soared most in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina

Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi

India: A spike in food prices is especiall

Most likely its being made public just in case this is some sort of instruction system for various cells.

Bullshit. Utterly uninformed, speculative, fear-mongering bullshit.

It's being "made public" because Breivik emailed his manifesto, including all of the codes, to over 1,000 people on the day of his attacks.

That's it. No grand plan by the government to roust other cells through the threat of code-breaking. Just a bunch of people who downloaded a copy of the manifesto just like anyone else in the world could do if they so wanted.

I'm all for a good conspiracy theory but, damn, at least do some basic research before starting in on the wild ass stories.

Rather since Carter. If you look at economic figures and was there during that time you realize that Carter don't deserve that much bashing, and a lot of the troubles during his time at the office was caused by external factors triggering an oil price spike. Blame the right circumstances.
Also see this graph.

Nixon was a fool to try to keep his position through illegal means. Carter was politically naive and tried to change the system and thereby trampled just about every political toe that was around Washington at the time even though he had good intentions.

Many says that Carter was a bad president, but the reality is that he just had bad luck. And the US and the rest of the world didn't learn anything from the oil crisis during the 70's. The medicine was just too bitter.

Reagan did a lot of populist stuff and shocked the shit out of the Soviet Union which put an end to the Cold War. But at the cost of initiating the movement of national debt out of control. He never had to worry about clearing that up himself.

Clinton did allow for the home loans to get wild. That could have been put in control during Bush, but he was busy with the effects of 9/11 and didn't want to alienate his voters with some "insignificant" action putting the loan landslide in control.

Obama inherited an out of control landslide of the economy, and I'm surprised that we did see candidates for the post at the 2008 election.

Actually, China buys our bonds to keep the dollar strong. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/mar/30/us-economy-china-debt. That would bankrupt a lot of people who depend on "free trade" with China to maintain their wealth and their profits.

Indeed, the world is getting richer. Since 2000, 28 countries have moved from "poor" to "middle income".

The percent of people in the world living on less than $1.25 a day has fell from 52% to 26% between 1981 and 2005. In China alone, 600 million people have left the under $1.25 per day income line during that period.

The best thing you can do to help the poor people of the planet is to buy something. It is likely that is was either built by people poorer than you, or that at least the raw materials were mined or processed by people poorer than you, and they are benefiting from your commerce, and you are benefitting as well.

The second best thing you can do is to fully appreciate free market capitalism and espouse it publicly, because the poorest countries are those with the least economic freedom and most government regulation of the economy.

You incessantly babble on about something as relevant as Justin Bieber's boxer shorts when, quite simply, the mafioso banks made you an offer you can't refuse

I'd hardly call something unable to navigate or carry anything a craft of any sort.

These are more like the space round of the great NASA rubber-duckie experiment

This is an official claim, but the reports keep coming in of GMail being locked with G+, e.g.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/25/1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/28/google-open-letter-google

Just because Google say it isn't happening does not mean it isn't happening.

I did ask Mr Horowitz in that thread for an explanation or correction. Still waiting.

This is an official claim, but the reports keep coming in of GMail being locked with G+, e.g.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/25/1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/28/google-open-letter-google

Just because Google say it isn't happening does not mean it isn't happening.

I did ask Mr Horowitz in that thread for an explanation or correction. Still waiting.

This is an official claim, but the reports keep coming in of GMail being locked with G+, e.g.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/25/1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/28/google-open-letter-google

This is an official claim, but the reports keep coming in of GMail being locked with G+, e.g.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/25/1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/28/google-open-letter-google

Google keep claiming that locked G+ profiles don't block GMail. However, reports keep coming in - e.g. from the Guardian, this story. And a followup from Thursday - despite Bradley Horowitz claiming two days before that mail locks were not happening, even though they clearly were and still clearly are.

The message that's going out: Don't get a G+ account, or your email is at risk.

I wonder if anyone at Google ever thought their policy would lead to headlines in major general-interest newspapers.

Google keep claiming that locked G+ profiles don't block GMail. However, reports keep coming in - e.g. from the Guardian, this story. And a followup from Thursday - despite Bradley Horowitz claiming two days before that mail locks were not happening, even though they clearly were and still clearly are.

The message that's going out: Don't get a G+ account, or your email is at risk.

I wonder if anyone at Google ever thought their policy would lead to headlines in major general-interest newspapers.

UK political corruption is minute compared to US corruption

I don't know the comparative numbers but in the UK we hardly have spotless record.

UK political corruption is minute compared to US corruption

I don't know the comparative numbers but in the UK we hardly have spotless record.

The result of the test STILL had little girls favoring dollies with bright colors, and boys favoring machines and soldier type toys, even when very carefully imposed gender neutrality parenting was in effect, even from very young ages.
This is somewhat reinforced by more modern research into the physiological differences between male and female nervous systems.

Some background information that explains this.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/dec/16/play
Ona program I saw (probably BBC) they showed once what happened when they let a person play with a kid. Different people where told that the kid was male or female. What happend was that the adult was picking the toys to let the kid play with.

So conditioning of the gender specific toys is done by the adults. I and this is done from pre-birth on. Blue for boys. Pink for girls. And not only the parents will have influence on this. Grandma buying the toys for the kid will be an influence as well.

I personally do not think this is a bad thing. It worked for thousands (or 6.000 if you wish) of years, so why change? Just to be PC?

Sorry to burst your bubble, but children are property until they reach a "legal age". If a 13 year old runs away from home, they will be brought back to the parents (property owners) the same as a dog, car or other item that can be identified as belonging to parents. Children also cannot enter in to binding contracts without parent consent.

Many caring people adopt (a.k.a. purchase) children from other countries, which would certainly lead to a better life for the purchased child. The story doesn't mention if the sellers had any sort of selection criteria or if they just passed them off to other human traffickers.

Which is worse?
1. Child is sold and lives a life of being exploited (sweatshop labor, sexually abused, etc.)
2. Child dies from neglect because parents were too busy playing video games? Wouldn't be the first time.
    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news200605wowbaby
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/05/korean-girl-starved-online-game

On the bright side, maybe the forced labor camp they're put into will have gold-farming on the schedule, a la this stuff.

They have successfully attracted all sorts: skin heads, disenfranchised youths, football hooligans, etc. and are stepping up the game by attacking mosques and planning marches through areas with large numbers of non-whites in an obvious attempt at provoking violence.

The EDL can't even muster decent numbers for a march most of the time. Their last effort, the police planned for the claimed 600 marchers, and had to police only 250 EDL members, who were seriously outnumbered by the anti-fascists who'd turned up for a counter-demo.

They've already called off one march through Tower Hamlets, because they'd get slaughtered. I'm sure they'll try to find a face-saving way of pulling out of the one planned for September as well. In much the same way as the KKK might act all big and tough in downtown Podunk, but wouldn't have the nerve to march through Compton, or Harlem; the EDL have most success in places which are predominantly white and working-class.

And yes, I suppose you could call them the most significant far-right movement in the UK, but that's only been because there really haven't been any others for comparison. Nobody takes them seriously, they're not perceived as having any real influence. It offends me that they have attempted to claim the UK flag as somehow 'theirs'. They're not soldiers, and certainly not the Aryan warriors they often present themselves as being. They're shouty morons, fuelled by bad lager and stupidity.

Well it looks like Seth MacFarlane is set to remake the TV show. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/may/17/flintstones-seth-macfarlane

But let's not fool ourselves that like-minded people are going to look to Breivek's writings the way oodles of self-proclaimed revolutionaries have poured over Mao's Red Book or Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Perhaps not, but they might look to his writings the way people looked at Osama bin Laden's writings. Or Geert Wilder's Fitna. The new European right-wing have constructed a narrative where immigration and Islamification simultaneously represents both an invading army and the ultimate evil to be confronted, and one which the "liberal" governments of Europe are unwilling to fight, leaving brave determined indigenous people as the only resistance.

It is a compelling narrative for people who are that way inclined, and I expect we will be seeing much more violence of this type in the coming decade; the Guardian obtained some illuminating undercover videos of the EDL (who Breivik has been associated with) , which has been called "the most significant far-right street movement in the United Kingdom since the success of the National Front during the 1970s". They have successfully attracted all sorts: skin heads, disenfranchised youths, football hooligans, etc. and are stepping up the game by attacking mosques and planning marches through areas with large numbers of non-whites in an obvious attempt at provoking violence.

The Tea Party sought an alliance with the EDL last year. Oddly, some right-wing Jewish organisations also seem to be supporting the EDL - you'd have thought that encouraging European ethnic-nationalism was a dangerous game for an ethnic minority to play, but apparently they forget history and believe "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

But let's not fool ourselves that like-minded people are going to look to Breivek's writings the way oodles of self-proclaimed revolutionaries have poured over Mao's Red Book or Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Perhaps not, but they might look to his writings the way people looked at Osama bin Laden's writings. Or Geert Wilder's Fitna. The new European right-wing have constructed a narrative where immigration and Islamification simultaneously represents both an invading army and the ultimate evil to be confronted, and one which the "liberal" governments of Europe are unwilling to fight, leaving brave determined indigenous people as the only resistance.

It is a compelling narrative for people who are that way inclined, and I expect we will be seeing much more violence of this type in the coming decade; the Guardian obtained some illuminating undercover videos of the EDL (who Breivik has been associated with) , which has been called "the most significant far-right street movement in the United Kingdom since the success of the National Front during the 1970s". They have successfully attracted all sorts: skin heads, disenfranchised youths, football hooligans, etc. and are stepping up the game by attacking mosques and planning marches through areas with large numbers of non-whites in an obvious attempt at provoking violence.

The Tea Party sought an alliance with the EDL last year. Oddly, some right-wing Jewish organisations also seem to be supporting the EDL - you'd have thought that encouraging European ethnic-nationalism was a dangerous game for an ethnic minority to play, but apparently they forget history and believe "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

But let's not fool ourselves that like-minded people are going to look to Breivek's writings the way oodles of self-proclaimed revolutionaries have poured over Mao's Red Book or Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Perhaps not, but they might look to his writings the way people looked at Osama bin Laden's writings. Or Geert Wilder's Fitna. The new European right-wing have constructed a narrative where immigration and Islamification simultaneously represents both an invading army and the ultimate evil to be confronted, and one which the "liberal" governments of Europe are unwilling to fight, leaving brave determined indigenous people as the only resistance.

It is a compelling narrative for people who are that way inclined, and I expect we will be seeing much more violence of this type in the coming decade; the Guardian obtained some illuminating undercover videos of the EDL (who Breivik has been associated with) , which has been called "the most significant far-right street movement in the United Kingdom since the success of the National Front during the 1970s". They have successfully attracted all sorts: skin heads, disenfranchised youths, football hooligans, etc. and are stepping up the game by attacking mosques and planning marches through areas with large numbers of non-whites in an obvious attempt at provoking violence.

The Tea Party sought an alliance with the EDL last year. Oddly, some right-wing Jewish organisations also seem to be supporting the EDL - you'd have thought that encouraging European ethnic-nationalism was a dangerous game for an ethnic minority to play, but apparently they forget history and believe "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

David Cameron insists conversations were 'appropriate' and comes close to apologising over decision to hire Andy Coulson

Microsoft R&D is really firing on all cylinders again, or should I say "on all photocopiers"... But then again, what would you expect from a company that made it's money (and a lot of it) from marketing other's ideas as their own.

not really anything that new: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/20/helsinki-data-centre-heat-homes

I guess it's not a problem as long as you make sure your invention is never sold in the USA:
App developers withdraw from US as patent fears reach 'tipping point'

This is the force that harassed Ian Puddick http://www.ianpuddick.com/?p=492 and withheld evidence from IPCC over the death of Ian Tomlinson http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/09/ian-tomlinson-evidence-held-back

Having worked in the City Of London, I can tell you that all they are good for is helping drunk Bankers find the way back to Liverpool Street Station for the last train home.

Ah, I see. Mea culpa. Apparently I was being quite lazy with my language and I should certainly know better.

As for how I would claim monetization, I say this because of the risk of QE3. Nor is Bernanke the only one who favors a bit more easing (I cannot help but note the irony of the gas tank analogy in this article, given that gas is not counted in most inflation numbers). Certainly the Fed denies that it does not want to monetize debt in order to quell fears of inflation, but they are making a bad habit of using open market operations to solve political problems. As for interest rates, the first article above speaks of committing to several years of low interest rates (which, one might speculate means at the very least keeping them constant) or even lowering them.

Above all, I would point back to the political argument. To cut spending either on war or on entitlements is anathema. To raise taxes is verboten. Even to go into deeper debt is, increasingly, politically dangerous (though I expect that option in the near future). Our political class faces impossible choices not unlike those faced in Europe. Like Europe, the only politically safe option may well be to monetize the debt. The Fed will come to the rescue of the political class and, in return, we can expect the political class to be ready to stimulate the banking class yet again.

Did the bank of america stuff ever get released? Wasn't that supposed to shed light on the whole economic meltdown and put people in jail and save the world and shit? Or did it get released and the news never picked up on it?

Didn't get a lot of play in the news, but yeah, they did release it.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/03/anonymous-hackers-release-bank-of-america-emails/1

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/14/anonymous-hackers-release-bank-america-emails

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/14/bank-of-america-anonymous-leak-mortgage_n_835220.html

Wouldn't be very surprising given what NATO forces were to blame for in the Kosovo.

There is an excellent article about the book given in the Guardian Newspaper
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/mar/04/profiles-future-arthur-clarke-review
It is a fun book, much recommended.

I'd post a link to Amazon..... but I'd rather you buy a copy from your local independent bookshop :-)

Lying is irrelevant if the study is decent and asks for proof of purchase, like this did.

You can't. Not unless you control the press, anyway :) What you /can/ do is have your case collapse because there's been so much negative press coverage that there's no hope of a jury being able to reach an unbiased conclusion - especially when evidence which is not admissible in court is being published. That's why there are legal limits on what can be published until the trial is over. The Sun is in trouble over that at the moment: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/05/joanna-yeates-contempt-case

They weren't charged under US law because 1 they aren't in the US, 2 the situation is still developing, 3 they have enough clout to likely avoid charges that others would face. Bribery http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/18/news-corp-global-investigation-bribery Obstruction. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8639107/Phone-hacking-Rupert-Murdochs-American-legal-woes-mount-up.html

While it makes me smile too. I just hope this doesn't give an excuse to deflect the problem, and consume more resources tracking the LulzSec group instead of proper investigation of the actual News Corp.

I mean, it's not that they aren't trying to look like the victims instead of the perpetrators

Average Teacher Salaries K-12 Across US And remember they are required to have a state specific teaching certificate that includes a minimum of 3 years college education (usually 4). How much do you get paid following a four year college education?

Also, teachers already require students to pre-learn topics before coming to class (why do you think required reading is assigned?). Giving an option to pre-learn the material via lecture vs. required reading is actually quite handy for a number of students.

Remember, according to the OECD as of Dec 2010 for K-12 education measured by knowledge of 15 yr olds, the US is ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math. Anyone else think maybe, just maybe, this is an indication that the educational system needs to try SOMETHING, ANYTHING different?

Like, oh I don't know, maybe study the systems in place in South Korea, Finland, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, or The Netherlands (the only countries in the top ten in all three categories) to see what they have implemented that works? I mean as long as we are talking education reform.