April 30, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The massive oil spill, which observers now say may turn out to be bigger and more catastrophic than the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, has reportedly made landfall in Louisiana. The smell of crude oil is reported to have filled New Orleans and reached as far inland as Baton Rouge, according to reporting by NPR. It is now estimated that as much as 5,000 barrels or 200,000 gallons per day are spewing from the damaged drill site, five times what was estimated just a few days ago.
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April 29, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
El estado de Arizona —antiguamente parte del territorio español que vino a ser México, y uno de los estados de mayor población de ascendencia hispana— ha legalizado el perfilamiento racial y la persecución sistemática de los inmigrantes. La ley denominada como propuesta SB1070 no sólo permite, sino exige, a los agentes de policía estatales y municipales pedir los documentos migratorios a cualquier individuo que se les parezca “razonablemente” sospechoso de ser indocumentado.
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April 28, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
When the Deepwater Horizon undersea oil drilling platform exploded, on Tuesday, 20 April, then collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico, last Thursday —on Earth Day— it began pouring huge quantities of crude oil into the water. It is now estimated that 42,000 gallons of crude oil per day are pouring into the already troubled Gulf ecosystem. As of this morning, the slick is reported to have moved to within 20 miles of the Louisiana coastline, and some of the most fragile wetland ecosystems in the region.
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April 28, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
MSNBC reporter and host Rachel Maddow reveals the foundation of clear and overt racist ideology that helped shape and promote the anti-immigrant legislation that has been passed and signed into law in Arizona, requiring policemen to demand documentation of residency from anyone who “looks like” they might be an undocumented immigration.
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April 25, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
The governor of Arizona has signed into law a measure that would allow police to demand proof of legal residency in cases where they believe an individual might be an undocumented immigrant. The same law would also require people to carry proof of legal residency. It is unclear how the law would be enforced without racial profiling and whether or not US citizens would be subject to legal penalties if caught not carrying proof of citizenship.
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April 23, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Today is the Day of the Book, in part spurred by the urge to recognize two of the great progenitors of modern literature, William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, who both died on 23 April 1616, at least according to the official history. Their work and the various arts that go into making books, as such, are celebrated around the world as staples of modern global civilization and the human element of culture. But the book is more than those sweeping historical energies; it is a concrete, observable register of intent and of meaning, which carries evidence of our humanity forward and informs and improves future worlds.
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April 22, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Earth Day 2010 finds our world, in many ways, at a moment of crucial historical importance, on the issue of climate destabilization and environmental stewardship. The combined effects of major scientific advances, which have brought a wealth of hard evidence, the global campaign to raise awareness, and the deteriorating conditions of the carbon fuel sector’s relationship with consumers’ interest, now mean awareness of the urgent need to achieve a more sustainable global economic infrastructure has spread rapidly.
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April 18, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
Share the best practices and legal remedies for preventing identity theft, whether by digital means or wireless harvesting, or in the physical realm of paper, plastic and voice. What laws give consumers leverage in reversing fraudulent charges? What pending legislation will do the most to help protect the sanctity of individual identity? How can we leverage consumer technologies to protect against the most aggressive, innovative attackers? What can the credit scoring universe do to assist and protect consumers?
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April 18, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Pres. Obama’s nuclear diplomacy has already defined one of the most successful periods of progress toward collaboration on international peace and security since the Second World War. His Nuclear Security Summit, hosted this month in Washington, DC, helped further the goal of steering the world toward a moment in which nuclear proliferation is more science fiction than an immediate threat.
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April 17, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
How can the Obama administration’s proposed financial regulatory reforms do the best work of preventing the fictionalization of wealth through abstract, unregulated derivatives trading, while allowing the freedom for the private sector to innovate, negotiate and invest boldly and responsibly?
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April 17, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
There were many causes of the turmoil that ripped through our economy over the past two years. But above all, this crisis was caused by failures in the financial industry. What is clear is that this crisis could have been avoided if Wall Street firms were more accountable, if financial dealings were more transparent, and if consumers and shareholders were given more information and authority to make decisions.
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April 17, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The Environmental Protection Agency, still playing catch-up from years of inaction on key environmental regulatory responsibilities, has for the first time in its history vetoed the approval of a permit for mountaintop removal mining. Last month, the EPA began to apply existing environmental protections for the first time in a way that allowed the agency to put a stop to one of the most radically environmentally degrading practices related to the mining industry.
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April 13, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
[T]oday is an opportunity — not simply to talk, but to act. Not simply to make pledges, but to make real progress on the security of our people. All this, in turn, requires something else, which is something more fundamental. It will require a new mindset — that we summon the will, as nations and as partners, to do what this moment in history demands. I believe strongly that the problems of the 21st century cannot be solved by any one nation acting in isolation. They must be solved by all of us coming together.
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April 13, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
In signing the healthcare reform “fix-it” bill, Pres. Obama also signed a series of reforms that will shift the responsibility for making student loans from commercial banks to the federal government, so that subsidies to those banks can now be saved, and steered toward making student loans more affordable for the students themselves. The reason for the shift is partly to do with banks’ reaction to the credit crisis, where lending fell off sharply and the unraveling of predatory lending practices brought into stark relief the sometimes prohibitive costs of higher education.
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April 10, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (StART) is a major accomplishment for US foreign policy, helping to move the world toward a future without nuclear weapons. The signing caps a year of bold, imaginative diplomacy, kicked off with an historic speech in Prague, in which he declared “clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”
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April 10, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
Swiss-based Solar Impulse has achieved the maiden voyage of its solar-powered aircraft. From here on, the question will no longer be whether solar-powered air travel is possible, but how efficient are the technologies allowing it to compete with combustion-powered air travel.
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April 7, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
In what could be a landmark ruling, a federal court has blocked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from imposing a network neutrality constraint on internet service providers who own the network they administer. There are serious issues of Constitutionality involved in the ruling, and net neutrality advocates say any move away from absolute neutrality would be a violation of the First Amendment protection of press freedom, and possibly of the freedom to assemble.
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April 1, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Pres. Obama has signed the final bill that amends and updates the Senate version of healthcare reform, passed by the House and signed by the president last week. This fulfills the promises made between and among leaders of the Democratic party in both houses to ultimately reach a mutually agreed-upon package of reforms that would be immune to the Republican filibuster threat. It also ensures that Pres. Obama’s major legislative victory, in passing the first comprehensive health insurance reform package in the nation’s history, is not just victory in process, but also in substance.
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