Bikes versus Cars: Politics Of….
Building a More Secure Internet
Evading NSA is Simple – Avoid the Internet
Eagle: US Adults Dumber Than Average Human
03 Economy, 04 Education, 11 Society, Academia, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy
Did not make this up! Associated Press says so.
US adults are dumber than the average human
Associated Press, 8 October 2013
WASHINGTON — It’s long been known that America’s school kids haven’t measured well compared with international peers. Now, there’s a new twist: Adults don’t either.
In math, reading and problem-solving using technology – all skills considered critical for global competitiveness and economic strength – American adults scored below the international average on a global test, according to results released Tuesday.
Continue reading “Eagle: US Adults Dumber Than Average Human”
Owl: Dominionists — Rabid, Stupid, and Unchecked by a Government That Lacks Integrity
Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy
Chris Hedges: Ted Cruse and Radical Republicans Implementing Dominionst/Christian Reconstructionism Agenda, “They seek total cultural and political domination”
Hedges explains one of the largest pieces of the puzzle on why the Republicans are willing to go for broke in the battle of the budget default and government shutdown and unlikely to halt the stalemate with Obama and the Democrats. The prize they seek to gain is, for them, well worth the chaos and breakdown they seek to precipitate to gain that prize, which is nothing less than total domination and control of all aspects of life in America.
Looking for which highly organized and intellectually developed manifestation – articulated over the course of decades and much longer if we factor in John Calvin's profound inspiration on them – of American fascism and which is waiting in the wings, still half-hidden, but perhaps soon to be center-stage? Look no further than the Dominionists, who counts Ted Cruz's father as a rabid and influential member. Chris Hedges, a graduate from major theological seminary and former NYT reporter is well-qualified to recognize their real character, and plans:
Rickard Falkvinge: US Corporations Lie, Abuse, and Ignore European Privacy Data Regulations
Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption
Posted: 09 Oct 2013 01:57 AM PDT
Privacy – Henrik Alexandersson: US corporations routinely ignore and abuse the strict privacy rules of European private citizen data, which they have accessed under the “safe harbor” agreement of the European Union. This surfaced in this week’s Europarl hearing on mass surveillance, causing the European Parliament’s rapporteur to call for a complete scrapping of the safe harbor arrangement right in the middle of the hearing. This is a further erosion of already-brittle trust in privacy respect by the United States.
John Steiner: The World Community Must Take Charge at Fukushima
07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, 11 Society, Ethics, Government, Officers Call
The World Community Must Take Charge at Fukushima
By Harvey Wasserman (Contact)
To be delivered to: Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General, United Nations and Barack Obama, President, United States of America
Petition Statement
At Fukushima Unit 4, the impending removal of hugely radioactive spent fuel rods from a pool 100 feet in the air presents unparalleled scientific and engineering challenges. With the potential for 15,000 times more fallout than was released at Hiroshima, we ask the world community, through the United Nations, to take control of this uniquely perilous task.
Petition Background
The danger of huge radiation releases from Fukushima 4 has taken on a new dimension; the world community must step in!
There are currently 73,056 signatures
NEW goal – We need 75,000 signatures
Review (Guest): The Nearly Free University and the Emerging Economy: The Revolution in Higher Education
6 Star Top 10%, Economics, Education (General), Peace, Poverty, & Middle Class, Survival & Sustainment, Values, Ethics, Sustainable Evolution
Charles Hugh Smith
Publisher's Overview: With the soaring cost of higher education, has the value a college degree been turned upside down. College tuition and fees are up 1000% since 1980. Half of all recent college graduates are jobless or underemployed, revealing a deep disconnect between higher education and the job market. It is no surprise everyone is asking: Where is the return on investment? Is the assumption that higher education returns greater prosperity no longer true? And if this is the case, how does this impact you, your children and grandchildren? We must thoroughly understand the twin revolutions now fundamentally changing our world: The true cost of higher education and an economy that seems to re-shape itself minute to minute. The Nearly Free University and the Emerging Economy clearly describes the underlying dynamics at work – and, more importantly, lays out a new low-cost model for higher education: how digital technology is enabling a revolution in higher education that dramatically lowers costs while expanding the opportunities for students of all ages. The Nearly Free University and the Emerging Economy provides clarity and optimism in a period of the greatest change our educational systems and society have seen. The Nearly Free University and the Emerging Economy offers everyone the tools needed to prosper in the Emerging Economy.
>Smith has the genius to find the words to distill observations which become clear to all By Graham H. Seibert TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on October 4, 2013
Smith has the genius to find the words to distill observations which become clear to all when he reduces them to the succinct text that others seem not to have managed.
Smith opens with the observation that education is a dinosaur of an industry. It is delivered the same way it was in Aristotle's day, by assembling the students in the physical presence of a teacher. That was necessary when there were no books, and when books were too expensive for individuals to own. The reason that the situation perpetuates itself has more to do with the rich benefits which accrue to teachers and administrators in the University itself rather than any benefits to the students.
Education is a protected cartel. The right to accreditation is controlled by the state, and it is doled out to institutions which conform to the traditional mold. All participants in the industry have an interest in and its perpetuation, except students. Students are powerless and not very well informed, so the system continues as it is.
Eagle: Charles Huge Smith on US Reaching Peak Jobs
03 Economy, 11 SocietyIt's Definitive: We've Reached Peak Jobs
he U.S. has reached Peak Jobs–at least the sort that can support a household.
There has long been a quasi-magical belief in the U.S. that capitalism's intrinsic dynamic of creative destruction will always create more jobs than it destroys. The evidence is compelling that this belief is no longer reality-based.
Please examine these charts of employment, keeping in mind that only full-time jobs can support households and pay sufficient taxes to fund entitlements paid by payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) and pay enough income taxes to support the rest of government.
Full-time jobs: the number of full-time jobs is essentially unchanged from 1999 while the U.S. population has increased 28%.
