Month: February 2015

Billboard

Zoe Keating wants control of her music. A cellist based in Northern California, Keating has tried to be an unstoppable force while running into an immovable object, YouTube. This isn’t a story about streaming royalties. It’s about Keating’s desire to choose how and when she releases her music to the public.

Keating is an independent musician in the truest sense. She owns her masters and publishing rights, takes a hands-on approach in selling and distributing, and writes about her experiences in the record business, often revealing an unusual level of financial detail about her royalties and revenue streams. Her last blog post set off days of online commentary and started a debate on the rights of artists against the demands of a digital service.    Continue reading “Cellist Zoe Keating Opens Up on Her YouTube Battle: ‘There’s a Lot of Fear Out There’”

RT

Over 500 rabbis from Israel, Britain, the US and Canada have called on the Israeli prime minister to stop demolishing Palestinian homes. Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) say Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance is against “international law and Jewish tradition.”

RHR’s open letter came after the Israeli PM announced the destruction of over 400 Palestinian homes in the Israel-controlled part of the West Bank, the territory known as Area C.   Continue reading “500 rabbis urge Israel to stop demolition of Palestinian homes”

Mail.com

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan has launched 56 airstrikes against Islamic State group weapons depots, training centers and military barracks since militants released a video of them burning a Jordanian pilot to death, Jordan’s air force chief said Sunday.

Meanwhile, a squadron of F-16 fighter jets from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Jordan. The UAE has said it is sending the warplane to support the kingdom, and a Jordanian government official has said they will participate in airstrikes on Islamic State group targets.   Continue reading “Jordan says it launched 56 airstrikes against Islamic State”

Mail.com

BOSTON (AP) — Winter-weary New England, which has been battered recently by a series of major snowstorms, braced Sunday for even more, as schools and courts announced closures and drivers were warned to stay off roadways.

Light snow was falling Sunday afternoon but the “long duration” storm was expected to intensify on Sunday night. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for central New York, the western Catskills and much of New England through early Tuesday.   Continue reading “Another big storm bears down on New England, may last days”

Paul Craig Roberts

In the previous posting, The Grand Manipulation, I again wrote about the false reality that government manipulation of information and control over explanations creates for Americans and others who have subordinated themselves to Washington.

Consider the “war on terror.” According to a Nobel economist and a Harvard University budget expert, Washington’s 14 years of war on terror has cost Americans a minimum of $6 trillion. That’s 6,000 billion dollars. This sum, together with the current PayRoll tax revenues is enough to keep Social Security and Medicare in the black for years to come. Without the vast sum wasted on the war on terror, Republicans would not have an excuse to be trying to cut Social Security and Medicare for budget reasons and to privatize the old age pensions and health care of people, thus turning Medicare and Social Security pensions into fee income for Wall Street.   Continue reading “Truth? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Truth”

The Energy Collective

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Management Program. Note: Energy usage includes both civilian and military agencies.

The U.S. federal government, with thousands of facilities and vehicles in locations across the United States and abroad, is one of the largest energy consumers in the world, but that consumption is declining. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) shows total delivered-to-site energy use by the federal government fell to 0.96 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in fiscal year (FY) 2013, the lowest recorded since 1975, the earliest year for which data are available.   Continue reading “Energy Consumption by U.S. Government at Lowest Level Since at Least 1975”

Gov Slaves – by Matt O’Brein

Ukraine, to use a technical term, is broke. That’s what you call a country whose currency has lost half its value in just two days.

The problem is simple: Ukraine has no money and barely any economy. It’s already talking to the IMF about a $15 billion bailout and what’s euphemistically being called a debt “restructuring”—i.e., default—as its reserves have dwindled down to $6.42 billion, only enough to cover five weeks of imports. (Three months worth is considered the absolute least you can get by with).   Continue reading “Ukraine’s currency just collapsed 50 percent in two days”

Boing Boing – by Cory Doctorow

Niles, OH Patrolman Todd Mobley followed an acquaintance home in his cruiser and yanked him out of the car and threatened his life; when another cop arrived, Mobley had the cop turn off his dashcam and continued his illegal behavior; he has served a 30 day suspension and is back on the job.

Mobley believed that his victim, Tom Huffman, had stolen a gas can from Mobley’s mother’s house. He repeatedly threatened to murder Huffman.   Continue reading “Cop who switched off traffic cam in order to make illegal threats will keep his job”

MLive – by Dillon Davis

GRAND HAVEN, MI – A suspect is in custody this morning after breaking into the  U.S. Coast Guard Station in Grand Haven and assaulting Coast Guard personnel, according to a release by the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety.

Per the release, the male suspect crashed his truck through the gate of the Grand Haven Coast Guard Station, 601 S. Harbor Drive, before breaking into the facility at approximately 6:07 a.m, on Sunday, Feb. 8.   Continue reading “1 arrested after crash into Grand Haven Coast Guard Station, personnel assaulted”

Examiner – by David Codrea

Attempting to further bolster a de facto monopoly of violence in New York City, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton proposed additional edicts to tip the power scales even more in favor of enforcers over citizens, the New York Observer reported Wednesday. In addition to stiffening penalties for things like wearing protective body armor, tinting windows and holding police to similar information disclosures that “civilians” (a telling attitude in itself ) are subjected to, Bratton said it would be “very helpful” if charges of resisting arrest were upped from misdemeanors to felonies.

Who that would be very helpful to is obvious. And, as with so much of what Bratton has stood for throughout a long career as a tax-fed serial oath-breaker, the potentials for further assaults on liberty and shielding of a corruption are intentionally terrifying — if we let ourselves be cowed by them.   Continue reading “Bratton ‘resisting arrest’ proposal a ploy to strengthen police state”

Don’t Comply – by Anthony James Kidwell

“A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

When James Madison drafted the Second Amendment in 1789, it was not as much of a controversial statement as it seems to be today. In the Constitutional era, it was widely understood that a Militia, composed of the whole or part of a community, was responsible for assembling, training, and when necessary, fighting to the last man for the community and its people. To be called a Militiaman was to be identified as someone who had answered a call to community service and, while not necessarily a professional in arms, was nonetheless ready and willing to put his life and livelihood at risk for the sake of his neighbors.   Continue reading “Not Your Daddy’s Militia: Today’s Constitutional Militia Movement Has Grown Up.”

Universal Free Press – by Rick Wells

On Wednesday, Hussein Obama invited some of his fellow illegal aliens over to the White House to appear as props for his push to “legitimize” his flood of illegal aliens into the American workplace and open society.

In his comments the communist operative said, “Because of the executive actions that we took with respect to DREAM Act [not legislation and not an Act] kids and because of the executive actions that I announced late last year with respect to many of their parents, what I’ve heard is lives transformed.”   Continue reading “Usurper Obama Claims Illegal Aliens Are As American As He Is – We Already Knew That”

America Herald – by Eran Shayovich

In the last few days emergency authorities from Washington and Oregon have reported the appearance of a smooth white, ashy substance. Even if there are active volcanoes close-by the two states authorities suggest that this mysterious substance must be originating from thousands of miles away or may be leftovers  floating in the environment from an close by wildfire. Another theory is that the milky substance is simply some kind of dust lifted up from a close-by storm that took place recently.   Continue reading “Washington and Oregon Milky Ash Source Still Not Confirmed”

Fox News

Bruce Jenner was involved in a fatal multi-car collision in Malibu, CA, according to Post sources.

One person was dead in the crash, said the sources. Eight people were reported injured.

Jenner claims he was being chased by five paparazzi vehicles when the accident occurred, law enforcement sources said.   Continue reading “Bruce Jenner involved in deadly 3-vehicle Malibu crash”

ABC News – by CORINNE CATHCART

Police arrested a 17-year-old in connection with a shooting at a mall outside Pittsburgh that left three people injured.

Monroeville police identified the suspect as Tarod Thornhill. He was charged Sunday with aggravated assault, attempted homicide, and recklessly endangering other people, police said.   Continue reading “1 Arrested After 3 Injured in Shooting at Mall Outside Pittsburgh”

Forward – by Nathan Guttman

WASHINGTON — Pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his planned speech to a joint meeting of Congress is building among mainstream pro-Israel leaders, leading to an increasingly divisive split in the Jewish community.

Mainstream leaders and organizations have begun speaking out, some publically and other privately, against the speech, scheduled for March 3, arguing the controversy is becoming a major distraction from their shared goal of stopping Iran from becoming a nuclear power.   Continue reading “Reform’s Rick Jacobs Calls On Benjamin Netanyahu To Scrap Speech to GOP Congress”

Cop Block

Incident Date: April 29, 2013

Law Enforcement Employees Involved: Officers Lowe, Martin, Draper, Cornett, Garmin and Richards

Washington County Sheriff’s Dept.    Continue reading “Justice For The Wrongful Death Of Stewart Peppers!”