arely staircase
arely staircase's JournalGrow up, Libertarians!
While libertarianism as a philosophy is superficial, juvenile nonsense, particular libertarian proposals are sometimes worthwhile on their merits. The seastead and charter cities movements are examples. If libertarians want to move to converted offshore oil platforms or multinational-owned company towns in the jungles of Central America, I for one will wish them well.
http://www.salon.com/2013/06/13/grow_up_libertarians/
White House notifies Congress that Syria has used Chem. weapons on rebels
cnn breaking
first link I could find
nyt
WASHINGTON — American and European intelligence analysts now believe that President Bashar al-Assad’s troops have used chemical weapons against rebel forces in the civil war in Syria, an assessment that will put added pressure on a deeply divided Obama administration to develop a response to a provocation that the president himself has declared a “red line.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/world/middleeast/white-house-pushes-back-on-bill-clintons-syria-remarks.html?_r=0
Halloween prop a cry for help
MASANJIA, China - The cry for help, a neatly folded letter stuffed inside a package of Halloween decorations sold at Kmart, traveled 5,000 miles from China into the hands of a mother of two in Oregon.
Scrawling in wobbly English on a sheet of onionskin paper, the writer said he was imprisoned at a labor camp in this northeastern Chinese town, where, he said, inmates toiled seven days a week, their 15-hour days haunted by sadistic guards.
"Sir: If you occasionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization," said the note, which was tucked between two ersatz tombstones and fell out when the woman, Julie Keith, opened the box in her living room last October. "Thousands people here who are under the persicution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever."
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/nation-world/article/hed-4595028.php
no pay link here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2253572/Julie-Keith-letter-Plea-help-Chinese-labor-camp-worker-stuffed-Oregon-womans-Halloween-decorations.html
Best band names EVER?
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Kathleen Turner Overdrive
Jackofficers
discuss
Libertarians: Still a cult
Simply note libertarianism's fatal flaw and you'll get an enraged, hysterical response. They still don't get it
My previous Salon essay, in which I asked why there are not any libertarian countries, if libertarianism is a sound political philosophy, has infuriated members of the tiny but noisy libertarian sect, as criticisms of cults by outsiders usually do. The weak logic and bad scholarship that suffuse libertarian responses to my article tend to reinforce me in my view that, if they were not paid so well to churn out anti-government propaganda by plutocrats like the Koch brothers and various self-interested corporations, libertarians would play no greater role in public debate than do the followers of Lyndon LaRouche or L. Ron Hubbard.
http://www.salon.com/2013/06/11/libertarians_still_a_cult/
Darrell Issa On IRS Investigation: Releasing Full Transcripts Now Would Be 'Reckless'
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) pushed back Tuesday against calls to put out more information on the committee's investigation into the controversy, sparked after a Treasury Department Inspector General report revealed the IRS had singled out tea party groups applying for nonprofit status for extra scrutiny. Responding specifically to criticism from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking Democratic member of the committee, Issa said that releasing full interviews conducted with IRS employees would hurt the ongoing investigation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/11/darrell-issa-irs-investigation-transcripts_n_3424166.html?ref=topbar
Al Franken Defends NSA Surveillance: It’s Not Spying, They’re Protecting Us
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) emerged as one of the most notable progressive defenders of the National Security Agency's sweeping surveillance programs on Monday when he expressed a "high level of confidence" that the federal government's collection of phone and Internet data has been effective in thwarting terrorism.
“I can assure you, this is not about spying on the American people,” Franken told Minneapolis-based CBS affiliate WCCO. The junior Minnesota senator, who's only been in the Senate since 2009, said he was “was very well aware of" the surveillance programs and was not surprised by a recent slate of bombshell reports by both The Guardian and The Washington Post.
“I have a high level of confidence that this is used to protect us and I know that it has been successful in preventing terrorism,” Franken said.
Watch WCCO's interview with Franken:
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/al-franken-defends-nsa-surveillance-this-is-not?ref=fpa
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