NOooo Not Again! Oil sheen spreading from Gulf after NEW platform explosion

By ALAN SAYRE, Associated Press Writer
(Breaking)

NEW ORLEANS, La. – A mile-long oil sheen spread Thursday from an offshore petroleum platform burning in the Gulf of Mexico off Lousiana, west of the site of BP’s massive spill.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough said the sheen, about 100 feet wide, was spotted near the platform owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc.

He said Mariner had deployed three firefighting vessels to the site and one already was in place fighting the blaze.

The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the explosion and fire, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the site around 9 a.m. CDT. All 13 people aboard the rig were rescued as they floated in the nearby water in survival outfits called gumby suits.

The platform is in about 340 feet of water and about 100 miles south of Vermilion Bay on the central Louisiana coast. It’s location is considered shallow water, much less than the approximately 5,000 feet where BP’s well spewed oil and gas for three months after an April rig explosion.

All 13 people aboard the rig were found floating in the water, sticking close together, Coast Guard spokesman Chief Petty Officer John Edwards said.

“These guys had the presence of mind, used their training to get into those gumby suits before they entered the water. It speaks volumes to safety training and the importance of it because beyond getting off the rig there’s all the hazards of the water such as hypothermia and things of that nature,” Edwards said.

All were being flown to a hospital in Houma to be checked over. Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said one person was injured, but the platform’s owner, Houston-based Mariner Energy, Inc., said there were no injuries.

“Mariner has notified and is working with regulatory authorities in response to this incident. The cause is not known, and an investigation will be undertaken,” the company said in a statement. It said the platform was located on Vermilion Block 380, approximately 100 miles off the Louisiana coast.

The platform is a fixed petroleum platform that was in production at the time of the fire, according to a homeland security operational update obtained by The Associated Press.

The update said the platform was producing about 58,800 gallons of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The platform can store 4,200 gallons of oil.

Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene from New Orleans, Houston and Mobile, Ala., Ben-Iesau said. She said authorities do not know whether oil was leaking from the site.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was in a national security meeting and did not know whether Obama had been informed of the explosion.

“We obviously have response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water,” Gibbs said.

Mariner Energy focuses on oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico. In April, Apache Corp., another independent petroleum company, announced plans to buy Mariner in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $3.9 billion, including the assumption of about $1.2 billion of Mariner’s debt. That deal is pending.

Apache spokesman Bob Dye said the platform is in shallow water. Responding to any oil spill in shallow water would be much easier than in deep water, where crews depend on remote-operated vehicles access equipment on the sea floor. Mariner said in initial flyover for no hydrocarbon spill.

A company report said the well was drilled in the third quarter of 2008. (under Obama’s watch!)

The platform is about 200 miles west of BP’s blown-out well. On Friday, BP was expected to begin the process of removing the cap and failed blowout preventer, another step toward completion of a relief well that would put a finals eal on the well. The BP-leased rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 people and setting off a three-month leak that totaled 206 million gallons of oil .

NAACP launches coalition watchdog site to ‘monitor’ Tea Party ‘racists’

Daily Caller

The NAACP partnered with Media Matters (Soros), Think Progress and New Left Media to launch teapartytracker.org, a website that will specifically publish and monitor “racism and other forms of extremism within the Tea Party movement.”

Media Matters and Think Progress representatives said their content and reporting haven’t changed and that the NAACP approached their organizations seeking only to republish select content they’ve produced. The NAACP’s new teapartytracker.org is aimed specifically at highlighting “racism” in the Tea Party.

New Left Media, the duo of Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll who use a “Trojan trick” to get interviews with Tea Partiers, is also a partner organization on the new site.

As for what Media Matters, New Left Media, Think Progress and the NAACP plan to do with teapartytracker.org, Think Progress editor Faiz Shakir and Media Matters Vice President for Research and Communications Ari Rabin-Havt said the NAACP contacted them about sharing content related to the Tea Party.

Shakir said the website isn’t meant to attack the Tea Party, only to “hold it accountable.”

“When they display intolerance and the kinds of racial signs that we’ve seen and the kinds of angry rhetoric, there’s nobody pushing back on that rhetoric or to check the record or fact-check it,” Shakir said. “I think it [the website] should be viewed in light of the NAACP being opposed to the intolerant elements of the Tea Party.”

Conservative media guru Andrew Breitbart, who was once a victim of New Left Media’s trickery (though he says he doesn’t object to that type of journalism), said Think Progress and Media Matters shouldn’t, by any means, partner with an advocacy group, especially the NAACP, in trying to the paint the Tea Party a certain color.

“It’s called projection,” Breitbart said. “The alliance of the left, the Think Progress, the Media Matters and the NAACP are projecting onto the Tea Party. The accusations are a projection of who the coordinated, well-funded left is. They are manufacturing the racism. They are the ones who are fomenting the violence, the ones who are the only perpetrators of violence over the last year.”

Shakir thinks his organization, though, unlike the NAACP, has held itself to higher journalistic standards. He said Think Progress is a group of “advocacy journalists,” but that his staff values fact-checking and reporting truth.

“I would argue that we are showing both sides,” Shakir said. “If we’re talking to Tea Party person or putting their picture up, we’re giving you their perspective and, also, obviously, pushing back with our own. Whatever the issue may be, I think we [Think Progress] are taking on all fronts of it, whereas the teapartytrack.org site seems to be a little more focused.”

Rabin-Havt said the NAACP contacted Media Matters about publishing content from its general RSS feed and “we’re more than happy to let anyone use our content and host and so we’re more than happy for them [the NAACP] to use it.”

He continued, “There are elements within the Tea Party movement that display extremism and racism and other aspects that should be noted. Our [Media Matters’] goal is to document
conservative misinformation in the media and document conservative groups.”

Department of Justice Lists Survivalists, Constitutionalists in Extremism Guide

Public Intelligence

A recent Department of Justice guide for investigators of criminal and extremist groups lists “constitutionalists” and “survivalists” alongside organizations like Al-Qaeda and the Aryan Brotherhood. The 120-page, “Law Enforcement Sensitive” guide to “Investigating Terrorism and Criminal Extremism – Terms and Concepts” describes itself as “a glossary designed primarily as a tool for criminal justice professionals to enhance their understanding of words relating to extremist terminology, phrases, activities, symbols, organizations, and selected names that they may encounter while conducting criminal investigations or prosecutions of members of extremist organizations.”

Constitutionalist, defined by Random House’s 2010 Dictionary as an “adherent or advocate of constitutionalism or of an existing constitution”, is described in the report as a “generic term for members of the ‘patriot’ movement”. Survivalists are described in the document as fearing a “coming collapse of civilization” and are trying to prepare themselves for this collapse. Such individuals are said to have “typically stockpiled food, water, and weapons, especially the latter, and instructed themselves on topics ranging from first aid to childbirth to edible plants”.

The guide defines the term “New World Order” as being “used by conspiracy theorists to refer to a global conspiracy designed to implement worldwide socialism”. The Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, and Council on Foreign Relations are described as organizations “targeted by right-wing extremists for conspiring to dominate the world”. The guide also defines “One World Government” as the “concept that there will ultimately be a single governing body that will control the world”, adding that “some right-wing extremists fear this occurring, believing that white people will be in the minority, with Jewish people ultimately controlling the world”.

While the document’s introduction does state that “the fact that an entry appears in this publication does not imply a connection to illegal activity”, it goes on to say that the guide consists of “terms that may be germane to members of an extremist movement” or are “singularly employed by specific extremist groups”. The obvious result of the inclusion of terms such as “Bilderberg Group” and “Trilateral Commission” in a report titled “Investigating Terrorism and Criminal Extremism” is that law enforcement officials unaware of these groups will tend to associate legitimate discussion as “extremist” speech. This diminishes the credibility of any person attempting to rationally discuss such groups and fosters a perception that any discussion of such groups could be associated with a supposedly “extremist” ideology.

Examples of “Extremist” Terminology

To see the full list please visit the U.S. Department of Justice Terrorism and Criminal Extremism Terms 2005-2009.

Black Helicopters: Unmarked dark helicopters allegedly observed by many members of the “patriot” movement, who claim that the helicopters are part of some vast conspiracy, perhaps involving the United Nations or the “New World Order.” Various explanations have been offered for some of the sightings, but the term has since entered the popular vocabulary and is often used as a generic, sometimes satirical reference to conspiracy-related beliefs.

Bilderbergers (Bilderberg Group): Along with the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations, one of the three groups targeted by right-wing extremists for conspiring to dominate the world.

Collection (of Information): The identification, location, and recording/storage of unanalyzed information, typically from an original source and using both human and technological means, for input into the intelligence cycle to determine its usefulness in meeting a defined tactical or strategic intelligence goal.

Concentration Camps: Detention camps supposedly being built or already built by the United States government, according to conspiracy theorists.

Constitutionalists: A generic term for members of the “patriot” movement. It is now often used to refer to members of the sovereign citizen or common law court movement. Sometimes the word “constitutionist” is also used.

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR ): Along with the Bilderbergers and the Trilateral Commission, one of the three key groups that conspiracy theorists claim operate behind the scenes to control the world and to establish the “New World Order.”

Executive Orders: The formal means by which the President of the United States determines the conduct of business in the Executive Branch. Typically, such executive orders take two forms: (1) orders governing administrative or policy matters in Executive Branch agencies or (2) orders for which the authority is derived from congressional authorizations. The “patriot” movement, however, contends that executive orders are “presidential laws” that bypass Congress and subvert the Constitution.

Flag of Peace: The American flag preferred by the “patriot” movement; a red, white, and blue flag without any gold trim, braid, balls, tassels, eagles, fringe, or spear on the flag or pole. Patriots believe that any other American flag is a military flag that denotes military jurisdiction. Only under the “flag of peace” do U.S. citizens receive their constitutional rights and due process.

Globalization: This term generally refers to the denationalization of economies, markets, products, and populations brought about by ever faster travel, improved communications, and advances in technology.

Illuminati: An intellectual society and social club formed by a university professor, Adam Weishaupt (1748–1811), in southern Germany in the 1770s in the spirit of the Enlightenment. It was suppressed by Bavarian authorities in the 1780s. Weishaupt spent the rest of his life writing about the Illuminati. People who believe Illuminati conspiracy theories believe the society never died away but lived on, run by people intent on controlling the world through devious means.

Information Warfare: Synonymous with cyberwarfare, information warfare is the offensive and defensive use of information and information systems to deny, exploit, corrupt, or destroy an adversary’s information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks while protecting one’s own. Such actions are designed to achieve advantages over military or business adversaries.

Jack-Booted Thug (JBT ): A law enforcement officer (especially federal) draped in combat fatigues or other military or paramilitary uniform, wearing a ski mask or similar headgear guaranteeing anonymity, wielding powerful military weapons, and utilizing other military vehicles and gear.

New World Order: A term used by conspiracy theorists to refer to a global conspiracy designed to implement worldwide socialism.

One-World Government: The concept that there will ultimately be a single governing body that will control the world. Some right-wing extremists fear this occurring, believing that white people will be in the minority, with Jewish people ultimately controlling the world.

Open Source Information or Intelligence: Individual data, records, reports, and assessments that may shed light on an investigatory target or event and do not require any legal process or any type of clandestine collection techniques for a law enforcement agency to obtain. Such information is obtained through means that meet copyright and commercial requirements of vendors, as well as being free of legal restrictions to access by anyone who seeks that information.

Patriot Movement: The “patriot” movement is a general term used by its members to describe the collective movements and individuals on the extreme right wing. In one form or another, this practice dates back many decades; in the 1930s, many on the far right referred to themselves as “superpatriots.” In the 1960s and 1970s, it was common to refer to the “Christian Patriot” movement, but this term is less common now than then. Among the types of individuals that can be found within the “patriot” movement are white supremacists, sovereign citizens, tax protesters, militia members, and sometimes antiabortion or anti-environmental groups.

Patriots for Profit: A term used to describe those individuals in the “patriot” movement who perpetrate scams and frauds against other people, usually fellow members of the movement. It also refers to people who attempt to make money by selling various products and “kits” to members of the movement. By far the most numerous of the “patriots for profit” are the people who cater to would-be tax protesters.

Pirate Radio: The operation of radio transmitters without a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Although some of the most notable pirate stations, such as Free Radio Berkeley, have been primarily left-wing in orientation, a large number of pirate stations adhere to right-wing or antigovernment philosophies.

Sovereign Citizen: A term used to describe adherents to a philosophy derived from the group Posse Comitatus that posits that there are two types of citizens: “Fourteenth Amendment Citizens,” who are subject to the laws and taxes of the federal and state governments, and sovereign citizens, who are subject only to “the common law.” Sovereign citizens claim that they have absolute mastery over all their property (including freedom from taxes, regulations, ordinances, or zoning restrictions), that they essentially do not have to pay taxes (aside from tariffs and a few other insignificant taxes), that they are not citizens of the United States but are “nonresident aliens” with respect to that “illegal corporation,” that the only court which has jurisdiction to try them for any matter is a common law court, and that they can never be arrested or tried for a crime or matter in which there is no complaining victim, as well as various other notions. Typical signs that someone is a sovereign citizen include the use of punctuation between their middle and last names (i.e., John Wayne; Doe); a refusal to have a social security card or any paper, license, or document related to automobile ownership or driving; a refusal to use zip codes; and the displaying on various items—from envelopes to paper money, to time cards, or to forms—of the phrase “UCC 1-207,” or variants thereof. Sovereign citizens are often also known as state citizens, freemen, preamble citizens, common law citizens, or other appellations.

Survivalists: The survivalist movement feared a coming collapse of civilization, generally as the result of nuclear war, and tried to prepare themselves to survive it. Survivalists typically stockpiled food, water, and weapons, especially the latter, and instructed themselves on topics ranging from first aid to childbirth to edible plants.

Tax-Protest Movement: A movement consisting of people who do not simply want to avoid paying taxes but generally claim they should not have to pay them. The right-wing movement started in the 1950s and 1960s and has concentrated on interpreting the Constitution, U.S. law, and the tax code, in particular, in such a way as to be able to claim that most people do not have to pay income taxes. The motivating force behind the right-wing tax-protest movement was to find loopholes, actual or manufactured, that would allow people to claim that they had no tax obligation.

Trilateral Commission: A group, along with the Bilderbergers and the Council on Foreign Relations, that is viewed by the “patriot” movement as being one of the major organizations seeking to implement the “New World Order.” Formed in 1973 by David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski, the Trilateral Commission consists of slightly over 300 members from Europe, Japan, and North America (the three main democratic-industrial regions of the world, thus the term “trilateral”). Members include prominent figures in the media, politics, business, and academia. Conspiracy theorists claim it is a group of elitists determined to promote a one-world government.

Related posts:

1. DoJ Terrorism and Criminal Extremism Terms and Concepts Guide
2. Rightwing Extremism
3. Domestic Extremism Lexicon
4. Confidential Montana Department of Corrections Gang Guide
5. (U//FOUO) FBI-DHS Sovereign Citizen Group Calls for Removal of U.S. Governors

Richest lawmakers grew wealthier as economy faltered

The rest of the country is still struggling with high unemployment amid a sluggish-at-best economic recovery — but the wealthiest members of Congress are in high cotton. Indeed, the top 50 wealthiest lawmakers saw their combined net worths increase last year, according to the Hill’s annual analysis of financial disclosure documents.

Combined, the 50 lawmakers were worth $1.4 billion in 2009 — an $85.1 million increase over their 2008 total — the Hill reports. The members’ total combined assets depreciated by nearly $36 million last year — but Congress’ well-to-do set also reduced their debts by a combined $120 million.

The list of 50 lawmakers spans both parties (27 Democrats and 23 Republicans) and both chambers of Congress (30 House members, 20 senators), the Hill reports.

Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts topped the list for the second year in a row; Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas made his debut in the top 10.

Here are profiles for the 10 most flush Hill power-and-money brokers:

1. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.): $188.6 million. Kerry’s worth, which grew by $20 million in 2009, stems from his wife’s assets. Teresa Heinz Kerry, of the Heinz ketchup family, inherited hundreds of millions upon the death of her previous husband, Sen. John Heinz.

2. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.): $160.1 million. Issa actually saw his minimum net worth drop by $4 million, partly due to the poor performance of a single investment fund. Issa’s fortune stems from investments he and his wife made in the electronics market. Their company eventually became the largest producer of car anti-theft devices in the country. They sold the business in 2000.

3. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.): $152.3 million. Harman is married to audio-equipment mogul Sidney Harman; stock holdings from his company, Harman International Industries, helped Harman’s net worth grow by $40 million last year. Sidney Harman is in the process of purchasing Newsweek; the magazine’s massive debts will presumably drag down Harman’s 2010 disclosure numbers a bit.

4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa.): $83.7 million. No surprise here: The Rockefeller family name has for generations been a byword for fabulous riches. (Rockefeller’s great-grandfather John Rockefeller was an oil magnate; inflation-adjusted figures still peg the founder of the Rockefeller fortune as the wealthiest man in history.) But the senator’s uptick in personal wealth last year came mainly from his wife’s investments.

5. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas): $73.8 million. McCaul saw his net worth double last year, mostly owing to stocks held by his wife. McCaul’s father-in-law founded the radio empire Clear Channel Communications.

6. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.): $70.2 million. Warner made millions through investments in the cell phone industry, including the Nextel company.

7. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.): $56.5 million. Before his 2008 election to Congress, Polis made a fortune in online enterprises, transforming his family’s greeting card company into BlueMountain.com and founding ProFlowers.com.

8. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.): $53.5 million. Buchanan grew wealthy as the owner of multiple auto dealerships in Florida.

9. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.): $49.7 million. Lautenberg co-founded a payroll services company in the 1950s that became one of the industry’s global leaders.

10. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.): $46.1 million. Most of the California lawmaker’s wealth comes from real-estate holdings and investments made by her husband.

O’Bomba’s WAR Speech in Perspective

Jack Blood
www.deadlinelive.info
www.renseradio.com
September 1 2010

Phony Liberals blame Bush for all Obama’s troubles, Phony Conservatives credit Bush / Cheney on Victory in Iraq, and blame Obama for everything else.

In a sterile and subdued address to the nation (and the world) last night, cousin Barry, our messiah and Chief pattered though his prepared (by who) speech, clenching his teeth and his butt.

Maybe it’s true that Obama is against war (cough), and he is merely cleaning up the mess the Neo Cons made for us all. Of course this doesn’t explain his authorized, and relentless attacks on half the mid east, using drones that have about as much emotion as his speech, but kill with the same video game precision, as do a leader’s script.

Ok I get it. These are tough times. The world isn’t always a nice place. We get that. It just seems much more dangerous than it was before all the PREEMPTIVE killing, and Occupation. One thing the Obama speech writer got right, is that we can no longer afford to police Iraq. But that’s exactly what we will be doing for the foreseeable future. While some will “get used to it” I will never do so.

Whats interesting is (certainly not Barry’s speech) but how various factions responded to it.

Head Neo O CON, and seed of Trotskites, William Kristol couldn’t have been more complimentary. In his post, “A Note to My Fellow Hawks” the baby faced baby killer Kristol laps it up, with a gag or two:

“President Obama opposed the war in Iraq. He still thinks it was a mistake. It’s therefore unrealistic for supporters of the war to expect the president to give the speech John McCain would have given, or to expect President Obama to put the war in the context we would put it in. He simply doesn’t believe the war in Iraq was a necessary part of a broader effort to fight terror, to change the Middle East, etc. Given that (erroneous) view of his, I thought his speech was on the whole commendable, and even at times impressive.

In sum, the president seemed to me to go about as far as an anti-Iraq war president could go in praising the war effort: “We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people—a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility.”

As for the second topic—”the ongoing security challenges we face”—the president’s discussion of the fight against al Qaeda seemed to me adequate” Blah blah blah…

However, Congressman Ron Paul saw it differently. Seems Rep Paul is calling out the Alleged President, and his manipulation of the facts. For that he should be commended.

Ron Paul today released the following statement on President Obama’s speech from the Oval Office last night:

“The President’s announcement that all U.S. combat troops have left Iraq is no more believable than the ‘Mission Accomplished’ declaration was in 2003.

“Once again, we are being told the mission has been accomplished and our brave men and women are coming back home. Though the people are hopeful they remain skeptical, and rightfully so.

“The biggest problem is that success in Iraq is undefinable since the mission was never defined. The reasons given for the invasion were based on misinformation. Now, the war has cost us hundreds of billions of dollars and this has contributed significantly to our economic woes.

“Forty-four hundred Americans are dead, thirty thousand severely wounded, and more than a hundred thousand are suffering from serious health problems related to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. This alone should tell us that it was not worth the investment and the needless sacrifice of our young people and the taxpayers.

“It is deceitful to imply we will avoid hostilities with this new policy. We still have to contend with:

* the 50,000 troops carrying weapons remain in Iraq
* the 100,000 contractors that remain with more expected to go to Iraq
* the 9,000 special ops personnel trained in assassinations that remain in Iraq
* a huge embassy, bigger than the Vatican, that will remain
* Dozens of military bases that will stay
* Al Qaeda organizations that did not exist before the war
* Muqtada al Sadr, a strong nationalist who has gained much political power
* The fact that Iran benefits tremendously with the Shiites now in power in Iraq and is a close ally of al Sadr

“Osama bin Laden wins by ‘proving’ that America has an agenda of occupation in the Middle East. And, we continue to walk into his trap and hand him up his best recruitment tool in his efforts to incite hatred and terrorism against the United States.

“What’s worse, President Obama made it clear last night that the troops and resources leaving Iraq will not come home to defend our country or ease our economic woes. They will instead be diverted to Afghanistan, perhaps also Pakistan and, I fear, even Iran.

“From my viewpoint we are the losers in this fool’s errand of endless war. Tragically, this new policy is not one of peace but merely a charade that will severely undermine our national security and continue us down the path to bankruptcy—a threat that we best not long ignore.”

However you view the “WAR ON TERROR”, It is and will remain O’Bomba’s war until a new War Puppet is selected. The writing seems to be on the wall now. Perpetual war with an enemy that is US. If Barry doesn’t want to own the fact that the Orders to destroy innocents, the liberties lost at home, and the money we borrow to do it… is HIS mess now… Then he really is no different than his predecessors. Obama remains committed to war, to widening the war, and to sacrificing human existence to do so.
He just does so with a grimmer persona, and a morose demeanor.
(As opposed to George Jr who seems to relish the situation)

Puppet Barry…. Take my advice, tell the TRUTH because we can handle it, and take back your presidency while you still can. In other words… Do the opposite bro.

Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers, Study Finds

By JOHN CLOUD John Cloud – Mon Aug 30, 6:55 am ET

http://bukowski.net/

One of the most contentious issues in the vast literature about alcohol consumption has been the consistent finding that those who don’t drink actually tend to die sooner than those who do. The standard Alcoholics Anonymous explanation for this finding is that many of those who show up as abstainers in such research are actually former hard-core drunks who had already incurred health problems associated with drinking.

But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that – for reasons that aren’t entirely clear – abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one’s risk of dying even when you exclude former drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers’ mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers. (See pictures of booze under a microscope.)

Moderate drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day, is associated with the lowest mortality rates in alcohol studies. Moderate alcohol use (especially when the beverage of choice is red wine) is thought to improve heart health, circulation and sociability, which can be important because people who are isolated don’t have as many family members and friends who can notice and help treat health problems.

But why would abstaining from alcohol lead to a shorter life? It’s true that those who abstain from alcohol tend to be from lower socioeconomic classes, since drinking can be expensive. And people of lower socioeconomic status have more life stressors – job and child-care worries that might not only keep them from the bottle but also cause stress-related illnesses over long periods. (They also don’t get the stress-reducing benefits of a drink or two after work.)

But even after controlling for nearly all imaginable variables – socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support and so on – the researchers (a six-member team led by psychologist Charles Holahan of the University of Texas at Austin) found that over a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest for those who had never been drinkers, second-highest for heavy drinkers and lowest for moderate drinkers. (Watch TIME’s Video “Taste Test: Beer With Extra Buzz.”)

The sample of those who were studied included individuals between ages 55 and 65 who had had any kind of outpatient care in the previous three years. The 1,824 participants were followed for 20 years. One drawback of the sample: a disproportionate number, 63%, were men. Just over 69% of the never-drinkers died during the 20 years, 60% of the heavy drinkers died and only 41% of moderate drinkers died.

These are remarkable statistics. Even though heavy drinking is associated with higher risk for cirrhosis and several types of cancer (particularly cancers in the mouth and esophagus), heavy drinkers are less likely to die than people who have never drunk. One important reason is that alcohol lubricates so many social interactions, and social interactions are vital for maintaining mental and physical health. As I pointed out last year, nondrinkers show greater signs of depression than those who allow themselves to join the party.

The authors of the new paper are careful to note that even if drinking is associated with longer life, it can be dangerous: it can impair your memory severely and it can lead to nonlethal falls and other mishaps (like, say, cheating on your spouse in a drunken haze) that can screw up your life. There’s also the dependency issue: if you become addicted to alcohol, you may spend a long time trying to get off the bottle. (Comment on this story.)

That said, the new study provides the strongest evidence yet that moderate drinking is not only fun but good for you. So make mine a double.

See the top 10 long-forgotten liquors.

Read “Why Nondrinkers May Be More Depressed.”

View this article on Time.com

(song about mind control) – HALFTIME FOR DISCERNMENT by S.T.D.

This track features a line up change and is supposed to be released on the “This is Austin not L.A.”compilation on Bear Bones records.The last thing recorded by S.T.D.

I wanna kick a football inside your mind’s eye
and wake up the little slave that’s hiding
deep inside
You’re sedated by the television and all the other lies

The Time/Warner cable is tightening around your
neck,cutting off the blood supply with every single breath
Afixiate your purpose,the human need to create
and now you’re just a vegatable full of ignorance and hate

It’s halftime for discernment
put your hand over your heart and
settle for cheap satisfaction as your
thoughts are ripped apart
It’s halftime for discernment
your forced mindless pride
you don’t understand the meaning
cuz our Constitution’s died.
with your thoughts inside your hands,
you charge across the lines
you’re now you re own enemy
the opposition is your mind!!!——————

Training Iraqi’s to “defend” themselves – uh oh

Everything is OK – Go back to Sleep

Glenn Beck Cult Holds Creepy Revival at Lincoln Memorial in DC

America 20xy
8/28/10
By Andrew Steele

People gathered Saturday in DC at the Lincoln Memorial as part of an event that Glenn Beck was hosting. The rally was a hybrid neocon pep rally/religious revival, consisting of pictures on a giant TV screen of famous moments from American history, along with inspirational music, waving flags, and talk of destiny and God from a loudmouth Fox News preacher who hides the insincerity in his eyes behind a thick layer of glasses while weeping in breathy sobs to mask his laughter.

A speaker at the event even said “Glenn Beck is one of America’s most trusted and honored citizens”.

With Beck being inserted into the mainstream consciousness as the “patriot” opposition to Barack Obama and his gang of globalist thugs, so many who now wave the Gadsden flag and give lip service to the Constitution watch Beck with fawning adoration, having forgotten or choosing to ignore the kind of person the man really is.

Just a few years ago Glenn Beck implied that Ron Paul supporters were dangerous potential terrorists, contributing to the mainstream media marginalization of Paul’s campaign in favor of neocon candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney who advocated more war and more loss of civil liberties. Beck also led the swarm on grassroots Constitutionalist candidate for TX Governor Debra Medina in a calculated attempt to knock the feet out from under her campaign before she could outshine the mainstream Republicans in the primary.

In 2009, without any basis whatsoever, Glenn Beck falsely stated that the Holocaust museum shooter, James W. von Brunn, was a “hero” to people who question the official story of 9/11– a transparently deliberate attempt to associate the Truth movement with violence.

Even in non-political settings and non-9/11 related issues Beck has shown contempt for average people he considers himself superior to. A good example of this is an old segment on his radio show called “Moron Trivia” in which he would call convenience stores and ask the beleaguered workers there trivial questions about current issues while secretly ridiculing them to his audience. Though Glenn Beck gleefully pretended he was doing the cruel segment against his own will, the fact is that if he truly didn’t want to do it, he wouldn’t have. It’s much like a sadistic husband beating his wife, all the while voicing his regret over what her actions are making him do.

Someone once said, “When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” Though Beck talks of God and stopping injustice, he advocates the hazardous and bloody neocon foreign policies that have killed countless innocents, made America more hated around the world, and further weakened our national security. Indeed, Glenn Beck’s establishment backed rise as a “patriot leader” is simply plan B for shepherding the patriot movement back to the fake left/right machine, and channeling public outrage at Obama’s actions as President into a form that can be manipulated and controlled…the same way Obama did for liberals who opposed the actions of George W. Bush.

Manipulating the people of a country that have been the victims of psyops over and over again, and who are looking for leaders to believe in, is not only self-serving, but mean. Because Beck has the showmanship and organizational backing to pull off his deception he has decided to take his thirty pieces of silver and proudly display them as “Godly”.

Some are falling for it. Many others are not.

The only accidentally true statement Glenn Beck uttered during his speech at the rally is something he said when talking about World War 2 and the memorial in DC– “You cannot coexist with evil”.

Perhaps a few activists in 9/11 Truth shirts should have shown up at Beck’s rally. (If any did, I don’t know.) That way some real patriotism and justice could be injected into Beck’s adoring mob.

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