The National Park Service released three new videos showing the inside of the Washington National Monument during the 5.8 East Coast quake that struck last month. In the video, you can see a park ranger glance up in horror as debris begins falling from the ceiling of the monument onto the 500-foot high observation deck. The
Continue reading …Countering the Anti-Abortion Bullies, Landlord Gives Them a Taste of Their Own Medicine
September 26, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media This was an extremely refreshing change of pace from the usual stories we hear about abortion providers being harassed, bullied and threatened by these so-called “pro-life” groups who are always terribly concerned about inserting themselves into women’s reproductive health and the rights of the unborn, but not so terribly concerned about what happens to any child after they’re born. After that, you’re on your own and you’d better be ready to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. Rachel Maddow talked to Voice of Choice’s Todd Stave about how he was pushing back at the harassment he received for just being a landlord to an abortion provider. You can read more about his group here — http://www.vochoice.org/ . And here’s more on what he was putting up with from these anti-abortion protesters — Anti-abortion protesters target clinic’s landlord outside child’s Md. school . I’m really glad to finally see someone doing some networking to push back at the harrassment and intimidation that those who support a woman’s right to make her own choices with her reproductive rights has had to put up with and with the tactics they’ve decided to use working, like calling the individuals and emailing those who are doing the harassing in response to their intimidation instead of just ignoring them. I hope everyone who is as sick of watching those who are still willing to risk their lives and their well being and who are as tired of this harrassment as I am stands with Stave’s group and helps them in this effort to push back at those who are doing the harassing and helps to put a stop to this behavior. It seems they don’t like it so much when it’s them who are receiving end of the phone calls and being called out for their harrassment and their views on abortion. They’re apparently much more comfortable harassing someone when no one knows who they are and can remain anonymous with their threats. I just hope if his movement catches on nation wide it might help to finally lessen the intimidation and threats abortion providers are putting up with week after week and day after day. It’s long overdue for that harrassment to stop. Maddow’ interview with Todd Stave below the fold. Click here to view this media
Continue reading …Michael Moore Tries And Fails To Recall His Book From Georgia In Protest Over Troy Davis Execution
September 26, 2011 No Comment
In response to the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia, controversial filmmaker and writer Michael Moore has tried – and failed – to withdraw copies of his book from the state. He wrote on his blog that he “will ask my publisher to pull my book from every Georgia bookstore and if they won’t do that I will donate every dime of every royalty my book makes in Georgia to help defeat the racists and killers who run that state.” However, he told Current TV’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann that his publisher Grand Central Publishing, part of the Hachette Book Group, “just told me that they can’t. They can’t recall the books. So I am going to go to the next step then. I’m going to write a big check to the Innocence Project, who have gotten hundreds of people exonerated who were sitting in prisons […] I’m also going to fund […] voter drives in Georgia – there’s 600,000 African-Americans in the last election that were not registered to vote. I will get behind whatever drive there is in Georgia to register our fellow Americans who are African-Americans, so that they have a chance to have their voice heard. This has got to be stopped.” A spokesman for Georgia’s governor, Nathan Deal, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “We think it’s cute that he thinks anyone in Georgia would buy his book, but if any Georgian does, I’m happy to double the royalties and buy a pack of gum for a charity of Michael Moore’s choice.”
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Lady Gaga dedicated a song to Jamey Rodemeyer, the gay teen who committed suicide last week, at the iHeartRadio Festival. A vocal advocate of gay rights, the singer opened her ballad “Hair” by telling the audience, “We lost a little monster this week,” referring to the nickname given to her fans. “Jamey, I know you’re
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WASHINGTON — Top global finance officials are pledging to work decisively and in a coordinated way to deal with a European debt crisis and other dangers confronting the global economy. The International Monetary Fund’s policy-setting committee says the economy has entered a dangerous new phase. The panel says close watching of the situation and a willingness to take bold actions quickly are crucial. Officials say they’re encouraged by the willingness of the 17 nations that share the euro currency to do what’s needed to resolve Europe’s debt crisis. They say the IMF stands ready to strongly support further efforts. The IMF is already providing bailout support to three heavily indebted European countries – Greece, Portugal and Ireland. The IMF’s statement doesn’t give specifics on how much extra support might be possible.
Continue reading …London Science Museum undusts Oramics machine, revisits OG electronic music innovation
September 26, 2011 No Comment
Practicing its fist pump and channeling its inner Devo, the London Science Museum will be paying homage to electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram by resurrecting her old synthesizer last used in the ’70s — a device that relies on 35mm magnetic tape to pump out jams. The classic clunker was found in a French barn last month and will be brought out into the open for the first time in forty years at the museum in old Blighty. “Oramics” operators “draw” music on ten strips of clear film to create a mask. The machine then reads the tape as differences in light and turns it into voltage control, which is used to switch oscillators and control the amplitude of the sound. The effect? A creepy vortex of haunting sounds — so creepy it was used to make the theme song for Doctor Who . Fans of glow sticks and synth sounds can check out the exhibit until December, but if a trip to Londontown’s not in your future, there’s a video you should ogle after the break. Continue reading London Science Museum undusts Oramics machine, revisits OG electronic music innovation London Science Museum undusts Oramics machine, revisits OG electronic music innovation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Rathika Sitsabaiesan, Canadian Parliament Member, Photoshopped (PHOTOS, POLL)
September 26, 2011 No Comment
Lord knows Hollywood is OK with a little bit (OK, a lot) of cleavage. But Canadian parliament? Not so much. It was brought to our attention yesterday by Contrarian, a Canadian political blog, that rising member of the Canadian parliament Rathika Sitsabaiesan has undergone some quite obvious Photoshopping. When searched via Google Image, Rathika Sitsabaiesan’s name turned up a headshot of her smiling for the camera wearing a white scoop-neck top and a green necklace with a bit of cleavage — not Christina Hendricks levels, just the average amount for a larger-chested woman. But Contrarian found that the exact same image appears on Sitsabaiesan’s formal Member of Parliament Profile on the Parliament of Canada website — sans cleavage. See the two pictured below. Is this just innocuous touching-up in the name of appropriateness… or messing with someone else’s body unnecessarily?
Continue reading …One person who is not a fan of the US intervention in Libya: Fidel Castro. The former Cuban leader spoke out against President Obama’s address to the UN in an opinion column published on a Cuban government website today, calling it “gibberish” and referring to NATO’s actions in Libya as…
Continue reading …Two girls were “playing CSI ” when their game took a tragic turn Saturday morning, and the 11-year-old shot her 14-year-old sister. The girls’ parents were not home when the shooting occurred just before 10:30am, the Pharos-Tribune reports. The shot went through a doorjamb before hitting the teen, which may…
Continue reading …Apple, Microsoft, and an array of other online retailers have found themselves at the center of a gay-rights battle, the New York Times reports. The retailers have been tied to an Internet marketer, the Charity Giveback Group, that receives a commission when it sends the retailers an online customer. There’s…
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