Dick Cheney on Monday called NSA leaker Edward Snowden a traitor, and Snowden shot back that given Cheney’s own lies about Iraq, it is an honor for any American to be accused of treason by the former vice president. On Monday evening, Barack Obama came on Charlie Rose and insisted that the NSA would never […]
Japan’s Feed-in Tariff Kicks off Explosive Renewables Growth (Video Report)
This video report argues that Japan’s introduction of feed-in tariffs has given a huge boost to its renewable energy market, and that India should follow suit. Infographic on feed-in tariffs, which are explained at this UK government site: India’s ANI multimedia reports: Japan’s growth in renewables has attracted have a billion dollars in investment recently […]
Syria, NSA Spying, Popular Mobilization and History: Cole Interview in La Prensa (Ricky Martinez)
Interview with Juan Cole by Ricky Martínez (These are the English notes of the interview rearranged in pyramid form; they were translated and published in a different sequence in Spanish at La Prensa of Panama City). Many thanks to Mr. Martinez for a wide-ranging conversation! RM: How is Syria different from Libya? Syria is different […]
PATRIOT Act Drafters worried about Library Privacy, had No Idea everyone’s Phone Records would be Dragooned (Elliott)
Justin Elliott writes at ProPublica In the months following the October 2001, passage of the Patriot Act, there was a heated public debate about the very provision of the law that we now know the government is using to vacuum up phone records of American citizens on a massive scale. “A chilling intrusion” declared one […]
Dubai: Solar-Powered Teardrop Building to Suck Water from Air
On the proposed sustainable ‘Water Building’ in Dubai See also the “most sustainable building in the world,” in Dubai: The Change Initiative on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Egypt’s Morsi Calls for No-Fly Zone over Syria: A step toward regional Sunni-Shiite War?
Egypt’s President, Muhammad Morsi, called Saturday for a no-fly zone over Syria authorized by the UN Security Council. At the same time, he cut off diplomatic relations with Syria. It was the Arab League demand for a no-fly zone that led to the UNSC resolution on Libya and hence to the overthrow of the Gaddafi […]
British Gov’t Spied on Diplomats at G20 (& on UN before Iraq War)
The Guardian is reporting that: “Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009 had their computers monitored and their phone calls intercepted on the instructions of their British government hosts, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Some delegates were tricked into using internet cafes which had […]
Top 5 Temptations the Surveillance State Can’t Resist (Engelhardt)
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com The Making of a Global Security State As happens with so much news these days, the Edward Snowden revelations about National Security Agency (NSA) spying and just how far we’ve come in the building of a surveillance state have swept over us 24/7 — waves of leaks, videos, charges, claims, […]
A Brief History of Typography (Animated Video)
A History of Typography, by Ben Barrett-Forrest: