TIL that Sweden pays high school students $187 per month to attend school.

There are three different kinds of study allowance (studiehjälp). Read more

13 Republican Climate Deniers Who Want to Be President

The Flat-Earthers, Born-Again Flat-Earthers, Do-Nothings, and Dodgers of the GOP.

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/08/meet-climate-deniers-who-want-be-president

We’re Talking About Depression All Wrong

The suicide of beloved comedian Robin Williams has launched a collective dialogue about mental illness. Many have poignantly noted the ways depression... Read more

Microsoft Ditches ALEC In Latest Blow To Conservative Group

Microsoft said on Tuesday that it will end its involvement with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the conservative advocacy group, reportedly... Read more

McConnell Promises Government Shutdown Wars In A GOP Majority

The government shutdown battles are poised to make a comeback if Republicans win control of the Senate this fall... Read more

ACLU Demands Removal Of Officer Who Told Protestor: 'I Will Kill You'

 The American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Missouri is demanding that the state's highway patrol identify and remove a... Read more

Michigan Is Taking The Radioactive Fracking Waste That Other States Rejected

Other states have rejected radioactive fracking waste due to stricter regulations. The post Michigan Is Taking The Radioactive ... Read more

Doctors Outraged By Claims That Health Officials Ignored Residents Sickened By Drilling

Doctors and other health professionals called for an independent investigation into the claims, and reform of the Pennsylvania ... Read more

U.K. Ad Council Rules ‘Clean Coal’ Isn’t Clean, Bars Peabody Energy From ‘Misleading’ Public

The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority has barred Peabody Energy from using the term "clean coal" to imply coal is ... Read more

Oklahoma Gets Hit With 20 Earthquakes In One Day

More than 2,500 small earthquakes have hit Oklahoma in the past five years, and scientists have linked nearly all of them to ... Read more

After Promising The End Of Government Shutdowns, Mitch McConnell Threatens Another Government Shutdown

Is McConnell re-embracing the government shutdown?The post After Promising The End Of Government Shutdowns, Mitch McConnell ... Read more

Robert Reich: American Democracy Is Diseased

New study shows Americans have never felt more powerless.

 ... Read more

How to Break Free from Organized Religion

"...Does freedom from religion apply to those who feel the need to break free of organized religion? How do you walk away from, as well as feel internally free, from a religion you regard today as having lost its way?
Or, worse, has gone mad? If and when you have felt incarcerated like a prisoner inside a religion, how do you break free?..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-mcswain/freedom-from-religion-how_b_5689179.html

VIDEO: John Oliver's Brilliant Rant on Why Police Must Have Their Military 'Toys' Taken Away

'If they can go a whole month without killing an unarmed black man, they can have their f*cking toys back.'
 ... Read more

http://youtu.be/KUdHIatS36A

The Whine Of The Never Satisfied: Religious Right Complains Because GOP Isn’t Theocratic Enough

The most gifted politician in the world wouldn’t be able to perfume a political concept – theocratic government – that is festering with rot from within and that has shown itself, repeatedly throughout history, to be incompatible with democracy, freedom and fundamental human rights.
... Read more

Israel bars Amnesty, Human Rights Watch workers from Gaza

"Israel has been refusing to allow employees of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to enter the Gaza Strip in order to conduct their own independent investigations into the fighting, using various bureaucratic excuses..."Read more

Mining Spill Near U.S. Border Closes 88 Schools, Leaves Thousands Of Mexicans Without Water

A toxic wastewater spill from a large copper mine in northern Mexico is keeping 88 schools closed starting Monday due to ... Read more

Paul Ryan: Looting Is Lawless And So Is President Obama

Everyone on the couch was swooning over the failed Vice Presidential Candidate and alleged policy wonk, Paul Ryan this morning. He asserted, like any ... Read more

The Obamacare Headline That The GOP Doesn't Want You To See

The headlines were all too predictable when Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announced in June that it would request an average 12.5 percent premium incr... Read more

Jet Stream Changes Driving Extreme Weather Linked Again To Global Warming, Arctic Ice Loss

In recent years you may have noticed a quantum jump in record-smashing extreme weather events and suspected that it's linked to ... Read more

At Least 5 Children Murdered After Deported Back to Honduras

Yet, the U.S. continues to send kids back.

... Read more

Globally, Last Month Was The Fourth Hottest July On Record

NOAA also ranks this January-July period as the third-warmest such period on record.The post Globally, Last Month Was The ... Read more

1 In 6 Food Charities Could Close Down Soon, And 5 Other Disturbing Facts From A New Hunger Report

Statistics from a massive new report add some upsetting details to the story of American hunger.The post 1 In 6 Food Charities ... Read more

More U.S.-Made Wind Turbines Are Being Sold Overseas As Congress Fails To Support Wind Power

"Importers ... [said] it was hard to justify sales efforts in the United States without consistent policy support at the ... Read more

The Percentage Of Americans Who Can't Afford Food Hasn't Budged Since The Recession Peaked

On a recent night last week, dinner for Jill Taormina and her family was Totino's Pizza Rolls with a side of canned pears. There was no other food on ... Read more

225 Jewish Survivors of Nazi Genocide Condemn the Massacre of Palestinians

225 Jewish survivors and descendents of Jewish survivors of the Nazi genocide have signed a letter condemning Israel’s massacre in Gaza and calling for an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people. In the letter, they also speak out against the abuse of their histories to promote the dehumanization of Palestinians.

Read more

Prayer: What Is It Good For?

"...The 1969 protest song "War" asks "What is it good for?" and answers "Absolutely nothing!" If I substituted "Prayer" for "War," I would qualify my answer with "Almost nothing."...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/herb-silverman/prayer-what-is-it-good-fo_b_5678466.html

Now streaming: Atheist TV

Atheist TV is a project of American Atheists, launched in 2014, to provide a counter-balance to the myriad of religious programming available on television. By partnering with content creators within the atheist community, AtheistTV is a place for atheists to find quality content that is not available elsewhere and goes where no one else has: into the living rooms of millions of Americans.

Featuring content from the Richard Dawkins Foundation (including interviews, speeches, and educational programming), the Atheist Community of Austin (producers of The Atheist Experience), American Atheists, the Reason Rally, and stand up comedians, AtheistTV brings hundreds of hours of programming to one place. As the channel matures, AtheistTV will begin producing and airing original content exclusive to AtheistTV. We are already working with Emmy-nominated producer Liz Bronstein, executive producer of Whale Wars, and Paul Provenza, executive producer of The Aristocrats and Showtime's The Green Room with Paul Provenza.

Watch via the URL below or on Roku. If you are using an iOS device, you can send the stream via AirPlay to your Apple TV.

http://www.atheists.org/atheistTV/live

[OC] Three and a half great powers: How the US, EU, China and Russia stack up on military and economic measures of power

Read more

Alabama Lawmaker: Proposed 10 Commandments Monument Has ‘Nothing To Do With Religion’

"The Ten Commandments is a historical document (in this context) and it has nothing to do with religion," Count Commissioner ... Read more

Week In The News: Ferguson, Iraq And Remembering Robin Williams (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Explosive anger, sorrow and maybe a little catharsis this week over deadly force in Ferguson, Missouri and shocking scenes of the gross militarization of American police.  This story’s not over.  In Iraq, US special forces on the ground, sizing up a crisis.  More US bombing, and a new Iraqi leader.  From Russia, a convoy on the move to Ukraine.  In Africa, Ebola now moving on an unprecedented scale.  We’re in new territory.  And at home, a national outpouring over the death of Robin Williams.  This hour On Point:  Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines. / Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
https://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/08/15/ferguson-iraq-ukraine-robin-williams-death

Friday News Roundup - Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

Protests continue in Missouri over the shooting death of Michael Brown. A federal appeals court clears the way for same-sex marriages in Virginia. And the nation mourns the deaths of actors Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.
 

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-08-15/friday-news-roundup-domestic

 

 

Friday News Roundup - International (Diane Rehm Show)

American airstrikes and Kurdish fighters break the siege on Mount Sinjar in Iraq. Negotiators for Israel and Gaza continue to work for a lasting truce. And Ebola deaths in Africa surpass 1,000. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
 

Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-08-15/friday-news-roundup-international

Toxic Bacteria Devours Tumors With Precision

A bacterium found in soil that can cause flesh-ravaging infections in its natural state has been converted — with a few genetic tweaks — into a precis... Read more

Paul Krugman: Want to Strengthen the Recovery? Stop Listening to Paranoid Inflationistas

If the "too-muchers" triumph over the "not-enoughers," economic weakness could become permanent depression. ... Read more

Middle East friendship chart

Read more

Rob roy valley - New Zealand (-44.427391, 168.676538) [5472 x 3648] [OC]

Read more

How the New Monopoly Capitalism Will Crush You to Smithereens

Journalist and author Barry Lynn sounds the alarm about one of the greatest threats to our liberty today.

 ... Read more

How the Right Wing Has Been Wrong on the Question of Virginity

A new study shows women don't feel that bad about giving up their virginity.

 ... Read more

7 Astounding Facts About the Insane Cost of War

The stark facts of incredibly costly warfare.

... Read more

GOP Candidates Kiss the Ring Of the Radical Christian Right

Gatherings of Christian conservatives play a role in moving the Republican Party further to the right. ... Read more

Study Says Energy Companies Are Fracking Through Water Supplies

Basically, the study's authors say that fracking companies are acting without regard to the aquifers of drinking water, but they can't prove the compa... Read more

Comcast Spent $110K On Dinner For FCC Commissioner, Doesn't See The Problem

Comcast insists that there is nothing untoward going on and that we should be ashamed of ourselves for thinking so.
... Read more

Fox And Friends Find Reverend Uncle Ruckus To Badmouth Black People

Hasselbeck and the two stooges find the one minister who disagrees with the entire NAACP and sides with the cops. Why? Because, Samuel 15:23 "Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft." Black people need to quit being "so uptight" about officer stops.
.. Read more

Christie's Campaign Team Was In Close Contact With Pension Board

Despite previous denials, it looks like Christie's campaign team might have working a little pay for play.

... Read more

Rick Perry Indicted For Abuse Of Power

It doesn't pay to threaten public corruption investigators with defunding when you're a public official, as Rick Perry has now discovered. Washington... Read more

Chemical Air Pollution Around The Tar Sands Is Getting Worse, Data Shows

Though two-thirds of the air quality monitoring stations that reported higher levels were near tar sands facilities, the ... Read more

Unsafe Drugs Are Making Their Way Onto Pharmacy Shelves

A new study has prompted calls for the federal government to strengthen its drug approval process. The post Unsafe Drugs Are ... Read more

Humans Overtake Ice Ages As Main Driver Of Glacier Melt

Glaciers have been retreating globally since the end of the "Little Ice Age" in the mid-19th century, but now humans are the ... Read more

In Australia, Businesses Are Getting Hit With A $500 Fee Designed To Kill Solar Power

The fee makes it so businesses in Queensland have no monetary incentive to lower their electricity consumption by installing ... Read more

Fox News’ #1 fear: Atheists

Why is the network so freaked out by people who don't believe in God?

http://www.salon.com/2014/08/15/fox_news_1_fear_atheists_partner/

Local police get billions in military equipment

Local police departments are looking more and more like small armies, stocked with billions of dollars worth of military-grade equipment.
Read more