This might sound like a dull question, but the
answer is actually - YES!
Journalists working for Fox news tried to expose
the dangers of Monsanto’s genetically modified milk, but they had to face both
corporate giants and a flawed justice system.
The attorneys for Fox, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, argued the First
Amendment gives broadcasters the right to lie or deliberately distort news
reports on the public airwaves.
The position implies that First Amendment rights belong to the employers
– in this case the five power media groups. And when convenient, the
First Amendment becomes a broad shield to hide behind. Let’s not forget,
however; the airwaves belong to the people. Is there no public interest
left-while these media giants make their private fortunes using the
public airwaves? Can corporations have the power to influence the media
reporting, even at the expense of the truth? Apparently so.
In its six-page
written decision, the Court of Appeals held that the Federal Communications
Commission position against news distortion is only a "policy," not a
promulgated law, rule, or regulation. Fox aired a report after the ruling
saying it was "totally vindicated" by the verdict.
One of Belize’s largest Mayan pyramids was bulldozed
by a construction company. Even
conservative archeologists date the pyramid to be at least 2,300 years
old. You might be wondering what reason
they could have to destroy such ancient ceremonial center? They needed the crushed stone so that it
could be used as road fill.
The head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology,
Jaime Awe commented:
"It's a feeling of incredible disbelief because
of the ignorance and the insensitivity … they were using this for road
fill," Awe said. "It's like being punched in the stomach, it's just
so horrendous."
"Just to realise
that the ancient Maya acquired all this building material to erect these
buildings, using nothing more than stone tools and quarried the stone, and
carried this material on their heads, using tump lines," Awe said.
"To think that today we have modern equipment, that you can go and
excavate in a quarry anywhere, but that this company would completely disregard
that and completely destroyed this building. Why can't these people just go and
quarry somewhere that has no cultural significance? It's mind-boggling."
This is why intelligence and knowledge is disparaged in the country that reached the Moon. These days, intellectuals are mocked as “faggy” and unmanly as if brute strength somehow contributed to the technical prowess, economic agility and innovation that made America a superpower
This is why our politics are a disaster. When you raise a generation to believe that throwing a ball is more important than fulfilling their civic duty to make informed decisions, you allow charlatans to sell their lies to the public unchallenged.
This is where the Steubenville and countless other sports town rapes comes from, the vast majority of which are covered up and ignored. We literally worship at the altar of sports. The rape of young women is a small price to pay for glory immortal.
Until we get our collective head out of our ass and treat teachers and cops and sanitation workers and firefighters and the men and women we send into combat as the priceless resources that protect our lives, care for our children and make our country worth living in, we’re doomed to a future of self-centered stupidity and civic ignorance.
Bread and Circuses brought Rome to its knees. Will our epitaph be “Football and Junk Food?”
Aaron H. Swartz (November 8, 1986 – January 11, 2013) was an American computer programmer, writer, political organizer and Internet activist. Two colleagues and friends of Aaron Swartz talk about his activism and vision of technology in the service of a more democratic and just society. “When internet activists are getting longer prison sentences than rapists, you have to wonder what kind of world we're leaving for our kids.” -Anonymous
“With enough of us, around the world, we'll not just send a strong message opposing the privatization of knowledge — we'll make it a thing of the past.” -Aaron Swartz
“Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. I think a lot of what people call intelligence just boils down to curiosity.” -Aaron Swartz
Student Freaks Out In Front Of His Class And Says What We're All Thinking About Our Education System
Duncanville High School student Jeff Bliss got in trouble in class for talking out of turn. What was he talking about? Basically everything that's wrong with our education system today. It's a mic-droppingly epic speech.
This was not an indictment of his teacher; to me, this was an indictment of the entire teach-to-the-test standardization that has been forced on our teachers and has broken our country's education system. By Kasim Khan
Iskandar Malaysia - the green mega-city rising above Singapore
Planned eco-city for 3million people matches Luxembourg in size and showcases urban 21st-century smart living, say developers
Standing opposite Singapore, across the strait of Johor, is the site of a new project that its architects and developers hope will be the future of urban life in south-east Asia – a mega-city built along eco-friendly lines, with green energy and an end to the pollution that afflicts so many of Asia's cities.
Occupying an area the size of Luxembourg, the site is expected to have a population of 3 million by 2025, living as an ultra-modern "smart metropolis". Energy will be provided from renewable sources, transport will be publicly provided, waste will be diverted to other uses, and the city is planned by the Malaysian government as a showcase to be copied on a bigger scale across the region.
Iskandar Malaysia offers an alternative. The plans are for a city that not only incorporates the latest in environmentally friendly technology, but that is designed for social integration. Green spaces and areas where people can mingle and relax will improve people's mental wellbeing and encourage social cohesion, it is hoped. Skyscrapers will be mixed with low-rise buildings and small self-contained "neighbourhoods".
Najib Razak, prime minister of Malaysia, said in a speech: "Iskandar Malaysia [is] a smart city template – protecting the environment, promoting equitable development and addressing urban development challenges [through] the creation of smart, liveable urban communities that will yield an improved quality of life for thousands of citizens, with safer, cleaner, healthier, more affordable and more vibrant neighbourhoods, serviced by more efficient and accessible transportation systems – great destinations for businesses."
Ellis Rubinstein, president of the New York Academy of Sciences, which is working on the "edu-city" university campus area, said it could be "a model to countries needing to accommodate the social and economic needs of fast-rising populations and environmental challenges".
However, the project's developers will have to overcome significant obstacles. New eco-cities have been planned in the past, from China to the US, but most have floundered. China's Dongtan was heralded as the world's first planned eco-city, but plans have been mired in difficulty for years. A UK project for "eco-towns" was widely ridiculed and has been all but abandoned.
So far, the Malaysian government has managed to attract support from Pinewood Studios, which will build new facilities in Iskandar, and Legoland which will build its first Asian theme park in the city. Several UK universities – including Newcastle and Southampton – are also planning to open up remote campuses.
More than $30bn has been promised for the city, of which more than a third will come from outside Malaysia.
'Why I Hate Society, But Love Humanity || Spoken Word' - Inspired by Jefferson Bethke & Suli Breaks.
I created this spoken word video to highlight how humanity is slowly losing sense of purpose and reality, the more we go on through the ages. I wrote the poem entirely by myself and I presented the poem myself. I also directed, produced and edited the video myself. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you can connect with me on the same level. Jamie :)
***(If anybody wants to use my words for their own production, please contact me for approval first!)***
*SCRIPT BELOW*
START- In our Society today, do you class yourself as free? Or are you constantly clinging onto things, which give no guarantee? Do our materialistic items ever deliver to us real happiness? Or do they distort us from reality, and for our conscience are they poisonous? See happiness comes within, yet we always tend to forget, We spend our whole lives chasing money, and on our deathbeds seem to regret. I used to be unaware of this; I'd let others shape my desires, I'd give in to authority's logic, only to realise it came from liars. See, I would always be looking for freedom, but I never found it until I realised, That in order to truly experience it, then maybe I should dematerialise? But there are only few who live this way... those sometimes stereotyped as pathetic, However honestly to be fair, it's those who judge that are wrongly Apathetic. See this was me 3 years ago; I was ignorant & naïve with plenty of confidence, I'm only 20 now, but I realise that back then I just had no social conscience. And you may think: this might be me? Or you may just not have realised yet, But if getting wasted just doesn't fulfil you, then on that, I'd place a bet. See apparently we're doing things the right way, hunting fame for the reward of 'happiness', But does this actually full fill us? Or do we forget about just living in contentedness? It's like just because we don't break laws; it doesn't necessarily make us innocent, African children are dying and suffering from illness, and we're sat there cursing immigrants? See first world problems are always seen on the news, prioritised over third world needs... We apparently preach we're all human; yet seem to be incapable of such good deeds. And this is real immaturity, yet it mostly comes from adults, who would have 'thought'? We don't accept responsibility for our planet, and we just hope we don't get caught. In World War 1 and World War 2, those people fought for our peace, We talk with respect in history, but the Morales we've learnt have mostly deceased. For example if we know that violence only promotes more violence, then why do we still fight wars? If we really want to protect each other, then why aren't we removing the root cause? See we need to stop following public opinion, and start thinking properly for ourselves, We need to stop separating nations, and throw our pride upon the shelves. I've learnt that just because I'm not blind, it doesn't automatically make me see, Are you satisfied with the way things are? Are you searching for truth like me? You can't tell me we're fulfilling our purpose; we seem to ignore it more each day, We pretend we're on route to peace on earth, but truthfully we've lost our way. And you may think that I'm just illogical, you may think I'm just a dreamer, You may think this is all inevitable but trust me; I'm not just your average believer. See it's our society that is unworthy; we seem to be forgetting how we got here, You would have thought that we have matured by now, and realised that time is dear. Because if humanity doesn't become aware of this, and if our ignorance goes too far, Then the future for all life is ruined, because one day, our earth will scar. -END My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamiedunmore... My Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieDunmore or @JamieDunmore My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/jd0781?fe... My E-mail Address: dunmore93@hotmail.co.uk Subscribe Here: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_dv3...
Massive ice floes rose out of a lake in Canada over the weekend, destroying a dozen homes and damaging fifteen others.
Within mere moments, strong winds drove piles of ice onto the shore from Dauphin Lake on Friday, inundating homes and giving residents only minutes to flee.
55-mile-per hour winds drove masses of ice from the thawing lake in a phenomenon that is commonly witnessed but rarely seen with such intensity and size.
By Friday night, a state of emergency had been declared in the town of Ochre River, a 188 miles northwest of Winnipeg.
Authorities told the Winnipeg Free Press that seven of the destroyed homes were ‘literally crushed by the ice that rose up within minutes from Lake Dauphin.’
Twenty-seven homes were affected in total as the frozen wall to plowed through everything in its way along Ochre Beach.
Though the moving ice was as tall as a house in places, no injuries have been reported.
Nonetheless, residents were still shaken Saturday
Even some of those whose houses remained standing were allowed inside only to collect their belongings after authorities declared many of the seemingly spared dwellings to be structurally unfit to inhabit.
One family told the Free Press the ice easily topped and pushed into their two-story home, shuffled moved furniture around, and ‘pushed the bathroom tub and vanity into the hallway.’
‘They heard it before they saw it coming up their decks,’ Ochre River deputy Reeve Clayton Watts told the Free Press Saturday. ‘Then, it came right in their front windows. It was just a matter of minutes. Fortunately, no one was hurt. We were very lucky.’
The town, still reeling from a severe 2011 flood that destroyed many homes, was somber but not helpless.
Watts was one hand for Saturday’s clean-up efforts, which saw friends and neighbors come together to get the community back on its feet.
Hundreds of volunteers were on hand with shovels, wheel barrows, and even bulldozers to dig the town out.
‘Everybody was pitching in to help them make it through the day,’ Watts said. ‘It was a good community effort. It’s typical. Everybody just helps out.’
A similar phenomenon occurred around 600 miles away at a Minnesota lake resort.
And though the ice wave on the American side wasn't nearly was as destructive, it still had some residents calling it an 'ice Tsunami' and marveling at its unbelievable speed, according to WCCO.
Youtube user Darla Johnsonuploaded footage of ice rising out of Milles Lacs Lake and into the townhomes of Izatys Resort on May 11.
The same high wind weather system is thought to have caused both incidents.
New Orleans (CNN) -- One minute, a man stands at the outskirts of a packed parade route. The next, he charges toward them.
The scene is part of dramatic surveillance camera images of a shooting that turned a festive New Orleans Mother's Day parade into chaos and renewed concerns about crime in the city.
The images, released by police Monday, show the panicked crowd scrambling for cover. The man runs the other way, leaving scattered bicycles and bodies on the ground behind him.
Sunday's shooting, which injured 19 people, sparked worries that despite the number of witnesses, no one will come forward. After years of corruption, a deep-seateddistrust of police lingers among some of the city's residents.
Authorities vowed to catch the shooters.
"There were dozens of people in yesterday's second-line (parade). We know that there's still some of you who know information so please reconsider and let us know," Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said Monday.
A $10,000 reward is being offered in the case.
Serpas said that police are still working to determine if there was more than one gunman, and whether there was more than one weapon on the scene. He said they were making "significant headway."
"I can assure whoever did this, we know a lot more about you than you think we do. And my recommendation to you is to collect yourself, and turn yourself in," Serpas said.
Remi Braden, a police spokeswoman, described the shooting as "an extremely unusual occurrence."
"We're confident that we will make swift arrests," she said, adding that members of the community have provided tips to authorities.
Witnesses were hard to come by Monday across the neighborhood, dotted with houses that have barred or boarded-up windows, overgrown lawns and patchy roads in need of paving.
A ripped T-shirt filled with bullet holes hung from a nearby light post, and a pair of old sneakers dangled from a power line.
Abdul Aziz, 33, told CNN's iReport that he saw a gun's muzzle flash at Sunday's parade but couldn't see who the shooter was.
"I'm sad. I love this city," he said. "We're plagued by crime, and it's just not getting better, no matter what we do."
The shooting took place at one of the city's famed second-line parades about two miles from the heart of the French Quarter. The dancing and brass band processions happen nearly every Sunday, except during the hottest months of summer.
The Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club, which organized Sunday's parade, decried what it called a senseless attack.
"Secondlining is about community and celebration, not trauma and violence," the group said in a statement, describing crime and violence as systemic problems in the city.
"We feel embarrassed that the world is now viewing our city and our community through a lens of violence," the statement said. "We support a thorough investigation of the shooting and pray the perpetrators will be brought to justice."
Asked whether the parade shooting was gang-related, officials said they were still investigating.
"It's too preliminary to tell," Landrieu said, adding that he expected more information later.
"It's a culture of violence that has enveloped this city for a long period of time ... and it's one of the things that we as a community have got to stop," the mayor said.
The attack included shots that were fired from different guns, police said Sunday, and officers saw three possible gunmen running from the scene.
On Monday, at least three victims were in critical condition, said Louisiana State University Medical Center spokesman Marvin McGraw. One other victim was in stable condition at the hospital, he said. Seven others had been released. Conditions of other victims were unclear.
Federal investigators say they have no indication that the shooting was an act of terrorism."It's strictly an act of street violence in New Orleans," New Orleans FBI spokeswoman Mary Beth Romig said Monday.
A farm in the heart of downtown San Diego. That’s the vision of Brandon Martella. But the 24-year-old architect’s farm doesn’t stretch outward, it rises upward 500 feet -– like a skyscraper greenhouse.
"The whole concept is to challenge the a-typical means of American produce consumption and transcend that boundary of where your food comes from to where it’s sold," said Martella, a recent graduate of the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego.
Half of Martella’s so-called “vertical farm” is for residential living, the other half, for growing crops, like lettuce, corn, tomatoes, carrots, and even grains. The bottom level is a farmer’s market.
"You can actually walk into the market and look up and see 500 feet of fresh vegetables being grown," he said.
Residents have the option to grow and sell their own crops, but Martella has also designed plans for hired help.
"I kind of picture this transient worker," he explained, "that’s typically how farming is, and so at the base there are units that are right next to the farming so the farmers who live there could actually tend to their crops."
Martella said his farm is capable of producing 500,000 pounds of food every three months – all within easy reach of 30,000 downtown residents. He sees it as the answer to a food supply strained by population growth and climate change.
"A statistic that really struck me hard was that according to the FDA the average American consumes 707 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables a year," said Martella. "And if each one of us is consuming that much, the food demand with population growth –- there’s soon to be a crisis."
Martella’s crop tower is sustainable and doesn’t require any dirt, chemicals or pesticides.
"The system I would want to use is to reclaim the gray water from the residential and that would actually feed into the building, be pumped to the top through a series of aerobic reactions or charcoal filters so the water would be cleansed," Martella said. "And you can actually use extracts from worm casings and that’s what feeds the plants."
Martella's idea started in his apartment window in January of 2012 as part of his senior thesis. He grew enough lettuce to last him two weeks using a hydroponics system he rigged up himself.
"And the whole thing was 12 water bottles chained together, and then you have a fish tank at the bottom and you pump the water up to the top and it’s a drip system and so the water drips all the way through. I figured if I could do it in my apartment, why not scale it up 500 feet."
Thirty miles north in Escondido, Bill Bramer has been a farmer for 33 years. He owns the 160-acre BeWise Ranch where he grows a little bit of everything, including tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, beats and baby lettuce.
Brammer agrees there is a benefit to growing crops inside where it’s environmentally controlled. Last month he lost 40 percent of one of his strawberry patches to freezing temperatures. He said Mother Nature is harsh.
"Last year we had 10 acres of tomatoes that we couldn’t pick because it got so hot for three days and everything got sunburned," he said. "All the fruit just cooked on one side so you had to throw it all away."
Brammer said he’s not a big fan of hydroponically grown crops because he said they lack nutrition and flavor:
"Here we’re in a riverbed. Minerals have come through for centuries and centuries, so all those minerals in that spectrum are in that soil for that plant to be able to absorb," Brammer said.
Brammer said he likes Martella’s vertical farm concept, but says he'll continue to weather the climate and stick with the dirt.
"I’ve never had a greenhouse tomato that’s tasted like a good vine ripe outdoor tomato," he said.
Back in downtown San Diego, Martella is hoping a developer will sprout some interest and build his vertical farm on what is now a parking lot on First Avenue and Island Street.
I picked that site because it’s a very dynamic site, there’s the trolley stop right there, you get a lot of activity from that, the convention center is right across harbor you have high-end residential with kind of middle-range residential and then even long term hotels.
“I think he’s come upon an excellent concept in the sense that he’s proposing to mix agriculture in a downtown urban fabric, so that’s novel," said Sherry Ryan, professor of city planning at San Diego State University's School of Public Affairs.
Ryan said her only critique is that she thinks his design is too big for downtown.
"And it kind of sticks out, and so what I’d like to see Martella do is to try to take that same concept and blend it into the suburban fabric that is San Diego. He could for example go to south eastern San Diego or Encanto. There’s a lot of vacant land there," Ryan explained.
But Martella said he’s set on adding some green in the San Diego city skyline.
"And the tomatoes aren’t going to taste like a swimming pool – they’re going to probably taste like the best tomato you’ve ever had," he said.
