Stuart Jeanne Bramhall's Blog: The Most Revolutionary Act , page 1177
June 6, 2017
Did Russia Interefere with the US Hacking its Own Election?
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“If you want democracy, open source the voting code and provide hard copy receipts for all electronic voting. Hold random recount checks for verification. It can be done.”
Reality Winner is such a great name. What she may win, for apparently not seeing the reality of the bigger game being played, however, is jail time.
The bigger game is the illusion of US democracy.
In US elections, each county reports results as ballots are counted. There is no central computer to be hacked. If the evidence Reality Winner leaked is from county vote systems and is Russian IP addresses, hackers already know that those will be seen in logs and that IP addresses can be falsified.
The underlying US election problem is proprietary code (e.g. Microsoft MDAC) and backdoors in hardware used for electronic voting systems, plus a lack of paper recipts that allow a recount. The code we use for voting is not secure, many think on purpose.
The (voting) system also appears to use MDAC 2.1, or Microsoft Data Access Components, which was found in…
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June 5, 2017
Pink Slime: Largest Defamation Case in US History
Pink slime. It made headlines in 2012 and now it’s back—the centerpiece of a $5.7-billion defamation lawsuit pitting ABC News against the beef industry.
The formal name used by the industry for pink slime is “lean, finely textured beef,” but as ABC News reported in 2012, the substance that’s found in about 70% of US beef was actually comprised of “beef trimmings that were once used only in dog food and cooking oil, now sprayed with ammonia to make them safe to eat, and then added to most beef as a cheaper filler.” The reports were based on two whistleblowers who had served as US Department of Agriculture meat inspectors.
In a trial that begins today (June 5) in Elk Point, South Dakota, Beef Products Inc. will make the case that reporting errors and omissions in a series of reports by ABC News on so-called ‘pink slime’ created a panic that resulted in the company having to close three of its four processing plants, and sparked a revenue drop of more than 80%. . .
Source: Abc-news-and-the-beef-industry-are-fighting-in-court-over-pink-slime-in-food/
US solar power employs more people than oil, coal and gas combined, report shows
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Solar energy employed 374,000 people over the year 2015-2016, making up 43 per cent of the sector’s workforce, while the traditional fossil fuels combined employed 187,117, making up just 22 per cent of the workforce, according to the report.
Solar energy in the US employs more people than traditional coal, gas and oil combined, a report has found, in a revelation that could undermine Donald Trump’s argument that green energy isn’t good for the economy.
The latest report from the US Department of Energy (DOE) reveals solar energy accounts for the largest proportion of employers in the Electric Power Generation sector, with wind energy the third largest, while the coal industries have declined in the past 10 years.
Solar energy employed 374,000 people over the year 2015-2016, making up 43 per cent of the sector’s workforce, while the traditional fossil fuels combined employed 187,117, making up just 22 per cent of the workforce, according to the report.
via Independent US solar power employs more people than oil, coal and gas combined, report shows | The Independent
Steal This Film
Steal This Film – Trial Edition
League of Noble Peers (2006)
Film Review
Steal This Film is the prequel to TPB-AFK (see Pirate Bay, Wikileaks and the Swedish Pirate Party), the documentary about Sweden’s prosecution of the four Pirate Bay founders.
It goes much deeper into the ideological values behind Pirate Bay, whose activities its creators view as civil disobedience aimed against Swedish (and American) copyright laws.
The Pirate Bay (TPB) founders and their supporters (including members of the Swedish Pirate Party and the late Aaron Swartz – see The Mystery of Aaron Swartz’s Alleged Suicide) argue that the Motion Picture Association (MPAA), the powerful US lobby that forced Sweden to prosecute Pirate Bay, experienced minimal economic damage from Pirate Bay users sharing free copies of their films. In the their view, the main financial damage to the film industry, music industry and print and electronic stems from the Internet allowing millions of ordinary people to become creators of video, music and the written word. They feel that file sharing is one the best ways to fight archaic copyright laws, which limit creativity and control of information to a handful of elites for their own profit and political control.
They argue it’s virtually impossible to end file sharing owing to its extremely decentralized nature. Every time a big file sharing site like Knapster, Pirate Bay or Kim Dotcom’s Megaupload (see Kim Dotcom and America’s Diabolic Intellectual Property Laws) is shut down, thousands of new ones spring up to take their place.
The documentary also explores historical precedents going back thousands of years where ruling elites have sought to suppress information exchange and creativity. Following the invention of the printing press, France enacted strict censorship laws on printers, publishers and booksellers. This would lead to a dedicated publishing industry in bordering countries that made a fortune by smuggling banned titles to eager French readers.
They point out the MPAA also filed numerous court actions against the first video recorder and MP3 player manufacturers.
Although the Swedish government was extremely reluctant to take action against TPB (and violate Sweden’s guaranteed right to public access), the powerful MPAA put pressure on the US State Department. They, in turn, threatened Sweden with WTO sanctions for failing to uphold “intellectual property” rights. After the MPAA hired their own private investigator to locate TPB’s server and its four founders.
The film TPB-AFK (see link above) covers the trial, in which all four men were found guilty of “accessory to crime against copyright law.” They each served eight to nine months in jail – the last, Fredrik Neij, was released in 2015
Membership in Sweden’s Pirate Party swelled on the back of the TPB case. Countries all over the world have formed Pirate Party – in 2015 Iceland’s Pirate Party would win 16 seats in parliament. The first US Pirate Party was formed in Atlanta in 2006.
June 4, 2017
it’s time to stop calling Jerry Brown an environmentalist
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Jerry Brown poses as ‘climate leader’ while he promotes fracking.
Jerry Brown poses as ‘climate leader’ while he promotes fracking, Delta Tunnels
by Dan Bacher
If Governor Jerry Brown really cared about climate change, green energy and the people of California and the planet, he would take a number of urgently needed actions, rather than issue constant statements and proclamations about how “green” his administration is.
The “tug of war” between the people of California and the oil industry over the soul of Governor Jerry Brown at the Oil Money Out, People Power In Rally and March in Sacramento on May 20. Photo by Dan Bacher.
Responding to President Donald Trump’s decision on June 1 to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, California Governor Jerry Brown immediately issued a bluntly-worded statement condemning the decision.
“Donald Trump has absolutely chosen the wrong course,” said Brown. “He’s wrong on the facts. America’s economy is boosted by following the Paris Agreement. He’s wrong…
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China’s overcapacity of energy – suspends permits for new coal plants
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The Chinese government has ordered the vast majority of its provinces to stop permitting new coal power projects.
China suspends permits for new coal plants as overcapacity policy bites, Energy Desk, May 16, 2017 by Zachary Davies Boren @zdboren The Chinese government has ordered the vast majority of its provinces to stop permitting new coal power projects.
According to a statement from the National Energy Administration (NEA), 28 of China’s 31 mainland provinces do not currently have the right financial or environmental conditions to build new coal capacity.
This represents an update to the government’s ‘traffic light’ system, designed to tackle the country’s coal overcapacity crisis — that we reported on last year.
What is China’s coal ‘traffic light’ policy?
Last year the National Energy Administration kicked off a new scheme to determine whether provinces should build new coal- fired power stations.
The system, created so that the country would stop adding to its overcapacity crisis, assigns each province a colour to signify the viability of its coal pipeline — based on…
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India, Once a Coal Goliath, Is Fast Turning Green
Originally posted on GarryRogers Nature Conservation: GR: Here’s some good news. In a surprising development, India has begun moving from coal to solar energy. The country’s air-pollution problems are part of the reason. The rapid decline in the price of solar power is also a factor. Smog enveloping buildings on the outskirts of New Delhi in…
via India, Once a Coal Goliath, Is Fast Turning Green – The New York Times — Antinuclear
June 3, 2017
FDA Fast Tracks Metformin Approval for Anti-Aging.
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Two years ago, investigators convinced the FDA to green-light a human lifespan study of Metformin, a drug currently used as first-line treatment for blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes, and off-label for polycystic ovary syndrome, weight control, and cancer prevention. If successful, Metformin will be the first drug to be FDA-approved for the indication of aging.
Source: GreenMedInfo.com
Jennie Ann Freiman M.D.
May 15, 2017
The search for eternal life isn’t new, but how far we’ve come from the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Youth and the hidden valley of Shangri-La, is truly a sign of the times. Today, the crossroads meet between the natural tendency to find an easy way out, and the seductive promise of profits. The quest is on for how to put longevity in a pill.
Classifying age as a disease means insurance companies will cover treatment. The FDA just paved the way.
Two years ago, investigators convinced the FDA to green-light a human lifespan study of Metformin, a drug currently used as first-line treatment for blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes, and off-label for polycystic ovary syndrome, weight control, and cancer prevention. If successful, Metformin will be the first drug to be FDA-approved for the indication of aging, but…
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NY prosecutor says Exxon needs to hand over documents on climate change risk
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New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wants a state court to make oil giant Exxon Mobil turn over more documents in an investigation into whether the company lied to investors about the risks of climate change policy.
(Source: arstechnica.com)
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wants a state court to make oil giant Exxon Mobil turn over more documents in an investigation into whether the company lied to investors about the risks of climate change policy. Schneiderman launched the investigation of Exxon in 2015, claiming that the company was downplaying climate change and the problems that could arise for the company because of it in a way that defrauded investors.
Exxon, one of the top US companies by market capitalization and also one of the top five polluters in the US, has claimed that complying with current subpoenas from the state’s top prosecutor is unduly burdensome.
The court filing today (PDF) claims that New York’s investigation so far “has uncovered significant evidence of potential materially false and misleading statements by Exxon” concerning how the oil giant calculated the cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its…
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Social Enterprise in North Carolina: Building Local Communities
Real Value
Directed by Jesse Borkowski (2013)
Film Review
Real Value is about the reform potential of “social enterprise” – a business model in which local entrepreneurs pursue profit while delivering tangible benefits that strengthen their local communities.
The film profiles four North Carolina businesses:
TS Designs – an organic T-shirt manufacturer that morphed out of a vibrant textile industry destroyed by the North American Free Trade Act. In addition to growing organic cotton an manufacturing T-shirts, TS Designs, which is entirely solar powered, grows organic vegetables to ensure their employees have access to healthy local feed.
Sow True Seeds – an heirloom seed company dedicated to preserving crop diversity (in contrast to companies like Monsanto and Cargill that aim to increase profits by promoting monopoly ownership of monoculture* crops). Sow True Seeds donates leftover seed to schools and community gardens and allows local residents to trade their labor for free seeds.
Piedmont Biofuels – a cooperative that produces biofuels from locally sourced food waste.
Redwoods Group – an insurance company working to keep kids safe by gathering actuarial data and educating local businesses how they can reduce their insurance costs.
The film also explores the general theory of social enterprise (as taught by Harvard Business School). The model challenges the conventional wisdom that big and centralized is always better for the economy. They give the energy industry as an example – how the consolidation of control among a handful of corporate CEOs has resulted in a system of energy production that is enormously inefficient and environmentally destructive – mainly because the end users have no voice in how it operates.
It also explores one of the major hurdles social enterprises face at present, namely educating consumers about their purchasing habits, eg the value of paying slightly more for a T-shirt that doesn’t fall apart after three months or purchasing biofuel that doesn’t result from the destruction of Indonesian rainforests.
*Although they are extremely profitable for Food Inc, the major drawbacks of monoculture crops are their need for massive inputs of synthetic fertilizers that destroy the soil and their heightened susceptibility to pests.
** In Indonesia, thousands of acres of rainforest are destroyed every year to plant palm oil plantations for biofuel. This wholesale rainforest destruction is a major factor in creasing atmospheric CO2 levels.
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