Golden Dawn takes off its mask, open Nazism in Greece. Emboldened by its recent success in European and local elections – in which the party emerged as the country's third biggest political force, thanks to a softening of image that has attracted ever-growing numbers of the middle class – the extremists drove home the message that they were not only on the rebound but here to stay.
Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills 2,053 Civilians in 6 Months. (Abuja) – The Islamist insurgency Boko Haram in Nigeria killed at least 2,053 civilians in an estimated 95 attacks during the first half of 2014.
The figures are based on detailed analyses of media reports as well as field investigations. The killings and other abuses were part of widespread attacks on civilians in over 70 towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria, in the federal capital, Abuja, and elsewhere that are apparent crimes against humanity. There has been a dramatic increase during 2014 in the numbers of casualties from bomb blasts, including several apparent suicide bombings. Since January, at least 432 people have been reported killed in 14 blasts in crowded marketplaces, a brothel, a technical college, and, on two occasions, places where people were watching soccer matches. The Crusade Against Reproductive Rights. BILL MOYERS: Welcome.
In the 40-plus years since the Supreme Court affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion with its Roe v. Wade decision, conservatives and the religious right have crusaded to overturn it, sometimes peacefully, sometimes not. NEWS ANNOUNCER: Now in 1994, the violence reaches an all-time high. BILL MOYERS: Thanks to a sustained legal strategy in particular, which includes achieving a Supreme Court majority of five conservative Catholic men, all appointed by Republican presidents, they have been inching toward success.
Teenager Codes Plug-In to Expose Corruption. A self-taught 16-year-old coder from Seattle, Washington, has created a web browser plug-in that won’t let you forget the pervasive and corrupting influence of money in politics.
Called “Greenhouse,” the plug-in picks out the names of any members of Congress on a given web page. Users can then mouse-over those members of Congress to see their top donors, and what percentage of their funding came from small-dollar donations. Here’s an example, taken from a story in today’s New York Times about climate skeptics’ opposition to new carbon emission regulations: Readers of this article, with the Greenhouse plug-in installed, might draw a connection between Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe’s climate skepticism and the money his 2012 campaign received from the oil and gas industry and the mining industry ($558,150 and $150,850 respectively).
The Conscience of a Compassionate Conservative. BILL MOYERS: This week on Moyers & Company… ARTHUR C.
Creationist Ken Ham: End the space program or go to Hell. "God says don't look.
" I know this has already been covered, but the kind of people that make it to the top of their respective cultural promontories, in American society, continue to astound. On Sunday, Ken Ham, president and founder of the creationist organization Answers in Genesis (best known for debating Bill Nye), wrote a blog post calling for the end of the U.S. space program. Idaho casino dumps Ted Nugent. Well, this escalated quickly:
South Korean ferry: Church tycoon fugitive found dead in orchard. Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters.
State of Tennessee Sued for Depriving Residents of Medicaid Coverage. From the SPLC news release: According to the lawsuit, the state has violated federal law by discontinuing in-person help for applicants to its Medicaid program, TennCare.
Instead, Tennessee forces applicants to apply for TennCare through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace website, which was not designed for this purpose, causing some residents – including those with serious medical conditions – to go needlessly without health care. Respected Marquette Law School poll has Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in potential electoral peril. US Border Patrol Pull Guns & Detain Boy Scout Troop For Photography.
It is good to know that some in government are indeed still worried about privacy... too bad its not ours.
And as people think it is a wise idea to send armed troops to 'protect' the Texas border we should probably be concerned that something like this happens on the U.S. Canada Border: A central Iowa Boy Scout troop just returned from a three-week trip they will likely never forget. Boy Scout Troop 111 Leader Jim Fox spelled out what happened to him and the Mid-Iowa Boy Scout Troop 111 as four van-loads of Scouts and adult volunteers tried to drive from Canada into Alaska. Christians United for Israel: When you've lost Jon Stewart, you've lost Middle America. Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Spike TV While covering the Christians United for Israel conference this week, I heard a couple of gripes about Jon Stewart's reports on Israel's operation in Gaza.
His first, on July 16, was impossible to miss for the normal reason that Daily Show segments are impossible to miss. Parents of Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram dying. The abduction of more than 200 girls from the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok has understandably taken an immense toll on the community, and particularly the families, involved. However, the Associated Press has a report that shows the impact on the families of the girls has been particularly severe. Startlingly, 11 parents of the schoolgirls have died in the three months since their abduction.
Chibok has been cut off from government control by Boko Haram, which has staged repeated attacks that show no sign of abating. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan met with the parents of the kidnapped schoolgirls and some of girls that managed to escape on Tuesday. Military device used on Detroit protest against #WaterShutoffs. Nine persons were arrested at the entrance to Homrich, a demolition contractor working on a $5.6 million deal to perform the water shutoffs on residents.
The rally outside the gate started at 6:30am and went for seven hours before arrests were made. Police believed the group would disperse and head to the rally downtown at Hart Plaza. The group however showed their commitment holding the gate after that rally had started. This is the second week of arrests at the entrance and the second time in the last 10 years protesters were arrested in Detroit.
Last week 10 persons were arrested and released on bail awaiting trial for disorderly conduct. Arizona charter school teaches from book arguing slavery wasn't so bad. Still teachin' the controversy. We may have discovered one of the reasons why certain folks in Arizona turn out as they do. It seems the charter schools there can have (ahem) an interesting curriculum. Heritage Academy uses two books by controversial anti-communist author Cleon Skousen — The 5,000 Year Leap and The Making of America — that “push ‘Christian nation’ propaganda and other religious teachings on impressionable, young students,” according to Alex Luchenitser, the associate legal director for Americans United.
Small Town Fracking Victory Makes Waves Across the Country. Last month, the towns of Dryden and Middlefield, New York, represented by Earthjustice, triumphed over the fracking industry after the state’s highest court ruled that the towns can use local zoning laws to ban heavy industry within their borders. The ruling gives legal backing to the more than 170 New York municipalities that have passed measures to protect residents from the impacts of the controversial oil and gas development technique. Israel/Palestine 101.
Watch this short, historically accurate animated introduction to Israel-Palestine 101: A Different Path to Fighting Addiction. Photo. America's Response to Child Refugees on the Border is Downright Shameful. In this July 9, 2014 photo, Iraqi refugee children from Mosul stay at a temporary camp for refugees who fled from Mosul and other towns outside Irbil, northern Iraq, nearly a month after Islamic militants took over the country's second largest city. (AP Photo) It's Time to Reform the Supreme Court. The just-completed Supreme Court term was filled with deeply disturbing decisions. In Plumhoff v. Rickard, the Court held that police can shoot at a car in a high speed chase to get it to stop — and continue to shoot until it stops — even when the basis for initially stopping the car was no more than a burnt out headlight.
Christians Call Out Hobby Lobby For Hypocrisy. The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats - Nick Hanauer - POLITICO Magazine. “The Internet’s Own Boy”: Documentary about “Hacktivist” Aaron Swartz. Watch This Film About Why Aaron Swartz Matters More Than Ever. Aaron Swartz was a young, bright genius who believed in the open Internet. How to use a super PAC to kill super PACs. Gov. Walker, illegal money, the Koch brothers, and Judge Randa.
How Aaron Swartz Helped Inspire the Super PAC to End All Super PACs. Aaron Swartz's Documentarian on the Life and Death of an Anti-Establishment Icon. Deconstructing the Washington Examiners Derp-Filled response to White House on #HobbyLobby. Deconstructing the Washington Examiners Derp-Filled response to White House on #HobbyLobby. Punching Gloria Steinem: inside the bizarre world of anti-feminist women. In the Papers: Long-Term Unemployment, Education And Marriage, And Patent Trolls. Why Teenagers Today May Grow Up Conservative. Rita Soronen. Megyn Kelly explains why Nancy Pelosi is sexist and Hobby Lobby is not.