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Most of my liberal friends reluctantly support President Obama's re-election, because the alternative is so much worse. Invariably, they invoke the effects of a Romney presidency on judicial appointments, especially those to the Supreme Court (ironically, Obama's two appointees just voted with the majority to decline to hear the Guantanamo case, if effect, putting another nail in the coffin that is burying habeas corpus). For those few still on the fence, the attached article by one of the President's former law professors provides useful food for thought.
Chuck Spinney
San Remo, Italy
JUNE 20, 2012Obama's Former Law Prof Declares: “Obama has failed the progressive cause.”Why Obama Must be Defeatedby RUSSELL MOKHIBERNot Ralph Nader. Not Amy Goodman. Not Noam Chomsky. Not Chris Hedges. Not Cornel West. Not Alexander Cockburn. Not one of the great left critics in the United States have dared say what Harvard Law School Professor Roberto Unger said last week. “President Obama must be defeated in the coming election.”In 1976, at age 29, Roberto Unger became the youngest tenured professor at Harvard Law School. Obama took two classes from Unger – Jurisprudence and Reinventing Democracy. During the 2008 campaign, Unger was reportedly in frequent contact with candidate Barack Obama via email and Blackberry.But here he is today saying that “President Obama must be defeated in the coming election.”
Youth, Governance, Peace-Building and the Role of Social Media
June 26-27, 2012
Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and an Online Global Webinar
“Young people everywhere deserve the power to get information, to connect and to ask hard questions – about justice, equality and opportunity. Our job is to listen to youth and answer their calls.”
Ban Ki-moon Secretary General, United Nations
What is a webinar? A way to attend a seminar without leaving home; using your computer and/or a telephone, you will be able to listen to speakers, see presentations and interact with presenters and other participants during the program.
Photovoltaic (PV) cells, onshore wind turbines, internet technologies, and storage technologies have the potential to fundamentally change electricity markets in the years ahead. Photovoltaic cells are the most disruptive energy technology as they allow consumers of all sizes to produce power by themselves—new actors in the power market can begin operating with a new bottom-up control logic. Unsubsidised PV markets may start to take off in 2013, fuelling substantial growth where PV power is getting cheaper than grid or diesel backup electricity for commercial consumers.
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Managing loads and achieving a good match between power consumption and weather-dependent power production will likely become a key issue. This consumption—production balance may trigger massive innovation and investment in energy management technologies involving different kinds of storage and controls. Increasing autonomy and flexibility of consumers challenges the top-down control logic of traditional power supply and pushes for a more decentralised and multi-layered system. How rapidly and smoothly this transformation occurs depends to a large extent on the adaptation speed of the regulatory framework and on the ability of market players to develop appropriate business models. The paper discusses conflicts of interest; hurdles and drivers; opportunities; and traps for this perspective.
If you believe in taking rebel ideas to the core of our society, if you believe in your right to think in brand new ways, if curiosity is your passion and insight is your ecstasy, then join me in a crusade. A crusade for a perceptual revolution, a crusade to change the way we see. Go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1870526265/the-god-problem-how-a-godless-cosmos-creates-book pick a reward, and invest in driving new ideas home.
Phi Beta Iota: Howard Bloom is a moral and intellectual force that should not be ignored. We strongly recommend his work. Below are links to three other books he has done.
U.S. veterans have told the Japan Times that the Marine Corps buried a massive stockpile of Agent Orange at the Futenma air station in Okinawa, Japan. This buried stockpile has possibly poisoned the base's former head of maintenance and is potentially contaminating the ground beneath the base, as well as nearby residents. The former mayor of the nearby town of Ginowan said local authorities had never been told of the 1981 Agent Orange find, and that he was worried about the potential level of contamination in the ground water and land, which consists of many caves and natural springs. ‘If the dioxin is still in the soil, then we can confirm its presence with sampling. But the Japanese government won't grant permission to conduct such tests within U.S. installations in Okinawa,' Iha said. 20 schools and 109 more elementary schools are in close proximity to the barrels' location…
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Under Japanese law, the U.S. military is not responsible for cleaning up former bases returned to civilian usage, and apparently has a bad track record of polluting its installations in Okinawa.
ROBERT STEELE: Marines like to claim they are the “gold standard” for integrity. This is delusional idiocy. The fact is that the entire US Government, each Cabinet Department, each agency, each service, have devolved into little cesspools of fraud, waste, and abuse. There is neither intelligence nor integrity in the US Marine Corps, or the rest of the US Government. A Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with integrity would insist–demand–and implement an intelligence program that began with “Ground Zero.” Until we get the truth on the table about what, when, where, why, and how of our past crimes against humanity and the Earth, we will not be in a position to deal with it. Absent that truth as a starting point–and absent strategic intelligence that is holistic (ten threats, twelve policies, eight demographics)–the US Government cannot–even with the best of intentions that are nowhere apparent–act in the public interest.
“Toxic Leadership–What Are We Talking About?,” by Lieutenant General (Retired) Walter F. Ulmer, Jr. Article appears in June 2012 issue of Army Magazine, the Army's professional journal published by the Association of the United States Army.<
I think LTG(R) Ulmer generally captured the situation accurately: we know at least generally what toxic leaders are and how to recognize them, we know they exist within the force, and the Army is extremely (perhaps overly) cautious about dealing with them.
From my own experience, I know that toxic leaders abound throughout the Army.
Got a birthday, anniversary, or wedding coming up?Let your friends know how important this election is to you—register with Obama 2012, and ask for a donation in lieu of a gift. It’s a great way to support the President on your big day. Plus, it’s a gift that we can all appreciate—and goes a lot further than a gravy bowl.
