“This jet is a messenger of honour and human generosity and a saviour of mankind, before being a messenger of death for enemies of mankind,” Ahmadinejad said added by: jimhager
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged ahmadinejad, before-being, celeb news, climate-change, current, decc, energy, freedom, Hollywood, News, paris, stars, TMZ
Forecasts that crude oil production will reach 150m barrels a day by 2030 have been described as 'unrealistic'. Photograph: Tatan Syuflana/AP Speculation that government ministers are far more concerned about a future supply crunch than they have admitted has been fuelled by the revelation that they are canvassing views from industry and the scientific community about “peak oil”. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is also refusing to hand over policy documents about “peak oil” – the point at which oil production reaches its maximum and then declines – under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, despite releasing others in which it admits “secrecy around the topic is probably not good”. Experts say they have received a letter from David Mackay, chief scientific adviser to the DECC, asking for information and advice on peak oil amid a growing campaign from industrialists such as Sir Richard Branson for the government to put contingency plans in place to deal with any future crisis. A spokeswoman for the department insisted the request from Mackay was “routine” and said there was no change of policy other than to keep the issue under review. The peak oil argument was effectively dismissed as alarmist by former energy minister Malcolm Wicks in a report to government last summer, while oil companies such as BP, which have major influence in Whitehall, take a similar line. But documents obtained under the FoI Act seen by the Observer show that a “peak oil workshop” brought together staff from the DECC, the Bank of England and Ministry of Defence among others to discuss the issue. A ministry note of that summit warned that “[Government] public lines on peak oil are 'not quite right'. They need to take account of climate change and put more emphasis on reducing demand and also the fact that peak oil may increase volatility in the market.” Those comments were written 12 months ago, but a letter in response to the FoI request written by DECC officials and dated 31 July 2010 says it can only release some information on what is currently under policy discussion because they are “ongoing” and “high profile” in nature. The letter adds: “We recognise the public interest arguments in favour of disclosing this information. In particular we recognise that greater transparency makes government more open and accountable and could help provide an insight into peak oil. “However any public interest in the disclosure of such information must be balanced with the need to ensure that ministers and advisers can discuss policy in a manner which allows for frank exchanges of views and opinions about important and sensitive issues.” Yet the note of the workshop distributed last year talks about secrecy around the topic being “probably not good”, although it also suggests officials stick to the line that the “International Energy Agency is an authoritative source in this field” and stresses how the IEA believes there is sufficient reserves to meet demand till 2030 as long as investment in new reserves is maintained. But the Paris-based organisation has come under increasing scrutiny from a growing group of critics who believe the IEA's optimism is misplaced. Last year the Guardian revealed that the IEA was also riven with dissent over the issue with senior staff members privately telling newspaper they thought the official numbers on future global oil supply were over-optimistic. cont. added by: JanforGore
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged climate-change, decc, energy, freedom, News, observer, paris, stars, tatan-syuflana, TMZ
The singer was reportedly pulled over Saturday night in Los Angeles. By Mawuse Ziegbe Faith Evans Photo: Tiffany Rose/ WireImage Faith Evans was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving, according to the Los Angeles Times. Evans was taken into police custody at 10:40 p.m. at a checkpoint near Marina del Rey, Los Angeles Police Department’s Officer Cleon Joseph told the Times. The Associated Press reports Evans’ car was impounded and she was released on bail the following morning. The incident is not the singer’s first brush with the law. In 2004, Evans and her husband, Todd Russaw, were arrested in Atlanta on drug possession charges. Evans evaded jail time by entering a pretrial drug-abuse intervention program. She referenced the drama in her 2005 single “Again.” “In ATL, I caught a case/ And the media tried to say, I had a habit/ I couldn’t manage, and I’m throwing my life away,” Evans belts on the midtempo track. Evans first hit the scene as a signee to Diddy’s Bad Boy label and went on to pump out R&B hits such as “Love Like This” and “You Gets No Love.” Evans also married fellow Bad Boy artist Notorious B.I.G. and won a 1997 Grammy, along with Diddy and 112, for the Biggie-tribute song “I’ll Be Missing You,” in the wake of the iconic MC’s death. After parting ways with her longtime label and releasing the 2005 album The First Lady on Capitol Records, the singer took a break from the fame game to focus on her family. At the 2009 premiere of “Notorious,” the biopic about her late husband’s rise to hip-hop prominence, Evans told MTV News that while she didn’t have a record contract, she was looking to return to music. “I’ve been taking a lot of meetings, and I’ve been enjoying my freedom, not being tied down to anything other than my family. I’m ready to record again,” Evans said. “I’ve been hesitant to get into any type of record-deal situation. The offers have been coming in. Through the process of elimination, I’ll pick the one that’s right for me.” Related Artists Faith Evans
Follow this link:
Faith Evans Arrested On Suspicion Of Drunken Driving
Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Music
Tagged angeles-police, artists, bennyhollywood, capitol-records, drug-possession, faith-evans, freedom, from-the-fame, Hollywood, Mtv, Music, officer-cleon, record contract, singer, TMZ
“Pig Me” is a wonderful animated short film by five students from Denmark’s Animation Workshop. The very humorous film tells the story of a poor pig that manages to escape from the butcher’s claws, just to find himself in horrible surroundings. He finds his way to the village pet shop and sees the nice and warm atmosphere between the costumers and the animals getting bought. Fortunately, he decides to take refuge inside the little pet shop… Fortunately? This piece includes a number of colorful illustrations, as well as the wickedly funny animated short film. http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/pig-me-a-poor-little-pigs-escape-fro… added by: disembedded
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged animals-getting, Animation, bennyhollywood, costumers, freedom, hoped-it-did, mma, piece-includes, stars, the-wickedly, turns-on-him, wickedly
This video features many advanced/prototype military technologies. China is now thinking smart and is trying to develop smart weapons like UAVs with the help from its great ally Russia and other countries. If China's UAV is succesful and goes in production…casualties would be lowered…. This video shows : Advanced Guided Missiles Prototypes of UAV's China's Future Generation Fighter Jet, The Stealth J-XX fighter… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXRa5IGmVto&NR=1 added by: DogBoy
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged advanced-guided, bennyhollywood, conservative, constitution, current, develop-smart, freedom, Hollywood, hoped-it-did, mma, russia, turns-on-him, video-features
[What is ACTA?] The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (also known as ACTA) raises significant concerns for consumer privacy, civil liberties, innovation, the free flow of information on the Internet, commerce, and developing countries' ability to choose policy options that best suit them. Doesn't the Constitution say a warrant is needed to search my computer? It does! But because ACTA is a treaty, it circumvents the Constitution and takes away our rights! Internet service providers (ISPs) will be forced to monitor what you do online and report to the government anything that is seen as suspicious. How are they going to pay for this? They aren't; instead they will raise our Internet bills. tl;dr rich d-bags around the world are going to take our right to internet privacy and control our browsing, taking money from us in the process, via an international treaty ******************** [Why should I care?] Throughout your life, the internets have helped you in many ways. Many a lonely Friday night have you used the internet to type away your problems. When you think about it, you can't imagine what your life would be like without the internet. Well, too bad. ACTA's about to destroy your human rights. They're going to end piracy, but go against the constitution in the process. This means it's time to say bye bye to your right to privacy. So, why should you be worried about ACTA? -It allows them to censor the internet. -It allows them to search your iPods and computers randomly without giving a reason. -It allows them to confiscate your iPods and computers without giving a reason -It allows them to monitor what you do online -It allows them to block websites deemed “unacceptable”, without limit -It will ban p2p technology, like uTorrent -It will allow ISPs to PERMANENTLY Ban you from using the internet, without a trial. -It will allow arrests based on the content you search. -In a nutshell, they're basically taking your freedom and raping it hard. Our internets will be controlled and monitored, bent to the will of the rich corporations. Think about everything the internet has done for you. Are you going to stick up for it? Are you going to stop these greedy bastards from getting their way? Defend the internet, defend your rights, and fight back, don't be a pussy and just sit there saying it'll never get passed. Take action! ******************** [What can I do to help?] Well, we've got some good news. With enough help from awesome people like you, we have a chance of stopping this treaty from going into play. Currently, our strategy is to bring as much publicity to the ACTA as possible. Keep in mind that ACTA is not a bill. It's a secretive treaty that nobody is supposed to know about in the first place. ACTA's advantage is the fact that the general public is oblivious of it. They know what they're doing is unconstitutional, so they are forced to hide it. Why else would it be so secretive? Why is it that all we know is whatever leaked information we can get our hands on? If it's as innocent as they're trying to make themselves out to be, then they would make everything public. This is why we need to take away one of their primary defenses, and reveal ACTA to the public for what it really is. So how, you may ask, can we go about doing this? Well, it's as obvious as you think it is. Tell your friends, spread the word, and do what you can to bring all the publicity you can to ACTA. Below are some fliers that you can print out. http://ifm-store.deviantart.com/gallery/# /d2tndwq http://ifm-store.deviantart.com/gallery/# /d2tne2q http://ifm-store.deviantart.com/gallery/# /d2tne45 http://ifm-store.deviantart.com/gallery/# /d2tneo5 There are some other ways you can help prevent ACTA, listed below. -Sign an anti-ACTA petition ( http://bit.ly/bQeWeO ) -Email the news press about it. ( http://bit.ly/bSUcHH ) *Be sure to write a thoughtful email, point out ACTA's disregards of the constitution, provide ample information, and use good grammar -Find your congressman [Americans] ( http://bit.ly/4ACu1w ) -Find your senator [Americans] ( http://bit.ly/3UAs ) -Find your labour MP [Britons] ( http://bit.ly/aDoyoe ) -Find your conservative MP [Britons] ( http://bit.ly/PwuQl ) -Find your MP [Canadians] ( http://bit.ly/d2f2cm ) -Find your MP [New Zealand] ( http://bit.ly/9XHvzW ) added by: Andre_Rosario
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged conservative, constitution, freedom, Hollywood, hoped-it-did, mma, TMZ, turns-on-him
Sarah Palin has a new cause: defending Dr. Laura. The former vice-presidential nominee and ex-Alaska governor tweeted her support for Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who said she'd quit her radio show after coming under fire for repeatedly using the N-word while on-air with a caller. “Dr.Laura:don't retreat…reload! (Steps aside bc her 1st Amend.rights ceased 2exist thx 2activists trying 2silence”isn't American,not fair”),” Palin tweeted on Wednesday. Palin then said, “Dr.Laura=even more powerful & effective w/out the shackles, so watch out Constitutional obstructionists. And b thankful 4 her voice, America!” Schlessinger, 63, used the N-word 11 times in 5 minutes while trying to make a point about racism on her Aug. 10 show. She said on “Larry King Live” on Tuesday night she wouldn't return when her contract is up at the end of the year. While Schlessinger told King she was still “regretful” over the incident, she said her freedom of speech rights “have been usurped by angry, hateful groups who don't want to debate – they want to eliminate.” Palin faced a freedom-of-speech quandary of her own in July after Facebook unintentionally removed one of her posts where she vehemently disapproved a plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero. And this isn't the first time Palin has used the now-infamous “don't retreat, reload” slogan. In March, she said the phrase after the passage of the health care reform. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/08/19/2010-08-19_sarah_palin_suppo… added by: EmperorThan
File the news in this report filed late yesterday afternoon by Michael Calderone and John Cook at Yahoo’s Upshot Blog under “D” for Double Standards: White House reporters mum on Obama lunch, even as papers back transparency White House reporters are keeping quiet about an off-the-record lunch today with President Obama — even those at news organizations who’ve advocated in the past for the White House to release the names of visitors. But the identities of the lunch’s attendees won’t remain secret forever: Their names will eventually appear on the White House’s periodically updated public database of visitor logs. … The Obama White House began posting the logs in order to settle a lawsuit, begun under the Bush administration, from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which sought the Secret Service’s White House visitor logs under the Freedom of Information Act. … And guess who filed briefs supporting that argument? Virtually every newspaper that covers the White House. The Washington Post filed an amicus brief in in February 2008 arguing that the names of White House visitors should be released, and it was joined by the Associated Press, Reuters, the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal owner Dow Jones, USA Today, the Hearst Corporation, the New York Daily News, the Newspaper Guild, the Society of Professional Journalists, and a host of other news outlets. It’s unclear, of course, whether reporters for any of those newspapers attended the lunch — because none of them will say. Calderone found out anyway, and in a post early this afternoon , told us who was there: Ben Feller (Associated Press), Jonathan Weisman and Laura Meckler (Wall Street Journal), Michael Shear and Scott Wilson (Washington Post), Caren Bohan (Reuters), David Jackson (USA Today), Carol Lee (Politico), Peter Nicholas (Tribune Co.), Margaret Talev (McClatchy) and Julianna Goldman (Bloomberg). Several reporters on this list gave “no comments” to The Upshot on Thursday. The New York Times was invited but did not attend. White House reporter Peter Baker told The Upshot that the paper “politely declined because we’d like very much to talk on the record.” Readers here likely have memories of certain of the above reporters going out of their way to protect Barack Obama or to bash Bush 43. The appearance of Weisman’s name reminded me of an absolutely pathetic massage job he did when he was at the Washington Post . In August 2005, as seen here , Weisman turned what had been an upbeat item about July’s unemployment report by another Post reporter (“Job Growth Strongest in 3 Months”) into a co-written hit piece on Bush (“Economic News Isn’t Helping Bush; Job Growth Up Sharply in July, but Polls Show Dissatisfaction”). Here were most of the report’s three opening paragraphs: U.S. job growth jumped last month and the unemployment rate held steady … the government reported yesterday, the latest economic data to show the economy picking up steam. Yet President Bush’s economic approval ratings remain low, weighed down by anger over Iraq and concerns about lackluster wage increases and stubbornly high gasoline prices. “I feel the economy is just not as good as it should be,” said Adam Judis, 40, a Pasadena, Calif., computer consultant and political independent. “We’re spending too many lives, resources and money on Iraq. There has to be a point where we say we can’t help everybody. We need to help ourselves.” My reax at the time : The Post feels it’s their duty to massage the news for their print subscribers. They just couldn’t let the story go to print without throwing cold water on it, so they found one guy to change the subject to Iraq, and then presented poll results to “prove” that Bush really isn’t handling the economy well (even though the objective evidence says his administration is). This is a clearly conscious, obvious, and disgraceful effort to turn good news into bad news. You may be wondering what the economic news was that left Weisman unimpressed because of Iraq, gas prices, and supposedly flat wages: In July 2005 , the economy added 207,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate was 5%. Yeah, that bad (/sarc). Watch what Weisman writes at the WSJ warily. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep an special eye on each of the lunch’s attendees for the next few months. One other thought: Things are pretty bad in journalism when the security-leak sieve known as the New York Times leads the way in ethics by choosing not to participate in the off-the-record luncheon. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com .
Read more here:
Reporters Visiting WH for Off-the-Record Visit Work For Pubs That Demanded Transparency During Bush 43
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged Barack Obama, carol lee, freedom, Hollywood, major newspapers, mma, online media, politico.com, politics, polls, time, TMZ, usa today, wall street journal
Decision on stay expected in California same-sex marriages case By the CNN Wire Staff August 12, 2010 1:57 a.m. EDT Los Angeles, California (CNN) — A federal court in California will rule Thursday on whether to keep a temporary stay in place in the case that overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriages. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California will announce its decision between 9 a.m. and noon (12 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET). If the stay is lifted, same-sex marriages will be legal in California. Last week, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, ruling that voter-approved Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution. The 136-page opinion is an initial step in what will likely be a lengthy fight over California's Proposition 8, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. At question in the trial was whether California's ban on same-sex marriage violates gay couples' rights to equal protection and due process, as protected by the U.S. Constitution. The high-profile case is being watched closely by both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, as many say it is destined to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If it does, the case could result in a landmark decision on whether people in the United States are allowed to marry people of the same sex. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in five U.S. states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire — and in the District of Columbia, while civil unions are permitted in New Jersey. “Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples,” Walker, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Ronald Reagan, wrote in his opinion. “Race restrictions on marital partners were once common in most states but are now seen as archaic, shameful or even bizarre,” he added. “Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals.” After the ruling, elated supporters gathered to celebrate the judge's opinion in San Francisco's Castro district. People waved rainbow flags and U.S. flags, and carried signs that read, “We all deserve the freedom to marry,” and “Separate is Unequal.” Similar rallies unfolded in Los Angeles and San Diego. “For our entire lives, our government and the law have treated us as unequal. This decision to ensure that our constitutional rights are as protected as everyone else's makes us incredibly proud of our country,” said Kristin Perry, a plaintiff. Perry and Sandy Stier, along with Jeffrey Zarrillo and Paul Katami, are the two couples at the heart of the case, which, if appealed, would go next to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before possibly heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. Opponents of same-sex marriage have said their best bet lies with higher courts and have vowed to appeal the federal judge's ruling. In a national survey conducted by Gallup in May, 53 percent of respondents said same-sex marriages should not be recognized by law, while 44 percent said they should. Proposition 8 is part of a long line of seesaw rulings, court cases, debates and protests over the controversial issue of same-sex marriage. It passed in California with some 52 percent of the vote in November 2008. “Big surprise! We expected nothing different from Judge Vaughn Walker, after the biased way he conducted this trial,” Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said last week. “With a stroke of his pen, Judge Walker has overruled the votes and values of 7 million Californians who voted for marriage as one man and one woman.” added by: EthicalVegan
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged Cnn, current, district, federal, freedom, government, judge, massachusetts, People, proposition
The Democratic Party of Ohio has recycled a thoroughly debunked smear against Fox News host Sean Hannity and Freedom Alliance, a charity he works with regularly that raises money to educate the children of American servicemen. A release from the Ohio Dems claimed that Rep. John Kasich, Republican candidate for governor, “promote[d] Hannity’s scandal-ridden ‘Freedom Alliance’ concerts that are under investigation for misappropriating charitable donations.” The Ohio Dems cited a complaint by the technically non-partisan, but ideologically liberal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. CREW claimed that the charity, Freedom Alliance, had “awarded $2,147,750 in scholarships,” only half of what they spent on salaries, and a quarter of what they spent on shipping expenses, according to their complaint to the Federal Trade Commission. But this line of attack on Freedom Alliance is bogus. CREW fails to note that since most servicemen are relatively young, most of money Freedom Alliance raises is put in a trust fund until soldiers’ children are old enough to take advantage of it. Hence, while the charity raised roughly $2.1 million for scholarships in 2008 alone, according to its 990 form ( pdf ), it only spent about $800,000 that year, putting the rest into the trust. CREW’s claim that the charity only spent $2.1 million on scholarships over five years is disingenuous. While the number is technically correct, the scholarship fund contained $15,919,391 as of 2008, according to the 990 linked above, all slated to be spent on educating the children of servicemen when they reach the appropriate age. Jon Soltz, chairman of the left-wing advocacy group VoteVets.org, which according to Politico “is backing CREW,” claimed “80 to 90 percent” of funds raised should benefit veterans and their families. But there is no indicator that Soltz was referring to any funds other than the money spent directly on scholarships the year they were raised. As noted above, that number does not tell the full story. Also noted in the Democratic release is Freedom Alliance’s “F” rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy. But the release does not delve into AIP’s criteria for that grade. According to the organization’s website , top-rated charities “generally spend 75% or more of their budgets on programs, spend $25 or less to raise $100 in public support, do not hold excessive assets in reserve, and receive ‘open-book’ status for disclosure of basic financial information and documents to AIP.” Accorfing to its 990 form for 2007 (the year it got that rating, according to the release – pdf ), Freedom Alliance spent $1,011,501 on fundraising, and raised $10,762,256 in public support. That means it spent less than $10 on fundraising for each $100 it raised, well below the $25 threshold set by AIP. Of Freedom Alliance’s $7,461,350 budget that year, $6,084,474, or roughly 81.5 percent, was spent on programs. The remaining two criteria – a charity’s open-book status and the size of its reserves – are the only factors that could have earned it the “F” rating. But as discussed above, Freedom Alliance keeps massive reserves (compared to the amount it pays out annually) so that it can afford to pay for scholarships when the young children of currently twenty-something servicemen come of age (the average soldier is in his mid-twenties). So either the nature of the Freedom Alliance charity earned it the “F” rating – a completely benevolent reason – or AIP does not enjoy “open-book” status with it (or both). In any case, it hardly seems that Freedom Alliance is deserving of the “scandal-ridden” label given it in the Ohio Democrats’ release. In all, the release contains nothing more than baseless accusations against Hannity and Freedom Alliance. The Democratic Party is apparently trying to revive it in an effort to damage a political opponent. It’s a shame that Hannity and Freedom Alliance are caught in the middle of this political game.
See the article here:
Ohio Dems Try to Revive Debunked Smear Against Hannity-backed Charity
Breaking Sports Video
Pac-12 NCAA Sports
Justin Bieber Fan Site Breaking News
