Home · News · News Aug 2017 · Aug 31 2017
Thursday August 31, 2017

Groups call for immediate shutdown of South Texas nuclear power station in advance of continued Harvey flooding
BeyondNuclear.org | author | 08/28/17

... Beyond Nuclear and Texas watchdog groups Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) Coalition and the South Texas Association for Responsible Energy had called upon the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the operators of the South Texas nuclear power plant to put the reactors into "in its safest condition, cold shutdown" in advance of predicted flood waters that prompted Bay City authorities to declare a "mandatory evacuation" before emergency evacuation routes flooded.

The unprecedented rainfall in the region broke a U.S. continental record. The groups had warned that the NRC and the South Texas Nuclear Operating Corporation have previously recognized that there is a credible threat from a nuclear accident initiated by a breach in a 12-mile long perimeter embankment wall that surrounds the 7,000 acre Main Cooling Reservoir for the two reactors. ... Read more

Houston, Before and After Harvey | Times | 08/28/17 | 1:17

Fire Rages At Texas Chemical Factory
HP | Ryan Grenoble , Alana Horowitz Satlin | 08/30/17

... "There were different organic peroxides that were released and created a pop in the containers where they were stored," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. "Smoke initially emanated from it and that turned into black smoke."

... The factory lost power early Sunday, which it needs to refrigerate volatile chemicals. Those chemicals ignite if they get too warm, said the company's CEO, Richard Rowe. "Materials could now explode and cause a subsequent intense fire," Rowe said. "The high water that exists on site, and the lack of power, leave us with no way to prevent it." ... Read more

Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America by John Nichols

Donald Trump has assembled a rogue's gallery of alt-right hatemongers, crony capitalists, immigrant bashers, and climate-change deniers to run the American government. To survive the next four years, we the people need to know whose hands are on the levers of power. And we need to know how to challenge their abuses. John Nichols, veteran political correspondent at the Nation, has been covering many of these deplorables for decades. Sticking to the hard facts and unafraid to dig deep into the histories and ideologies of the people who make up Trump's inner circle, Nichols delivers a clear-eyed and complete guide to this wrecking-crew administration.

The reality beneath Trump's tax reform talk
Politico | Brian Faler | 08/31/17

While he emphasizes benefits to regular taxpayers, much of the push is about cutting corporate rates.

Trump argued that his plans to cut the 35 percent corporate tax rate for the first time in 30 years would benefit regular wage earners by putting more money in corporate coffers, which he said business leaders would then use to hire more people and raise wages.

But most economists say companies' shareholders would be the primary beneficiaries of a corporate tax rate cut. That's because it would make companies more profitable, which would boost their stock price while also leaving them with more money to pay out dividends.

The official Joint Committee on Taxation, as well as the Treasury Department and the independent Tax Policy Center, all say shareholders bear roughly three-quarters of the burden of the corporate tax, and therefore would be the main winners were it cut. ... Read more

Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer by Dean Baker

There has been an enormous upward redistribution of income in the United States in the last four decades. In his most recent book, Baker shows that this upward redistribution was not the result of globalization and the natural workings of the market. Rather, it was the result of conscious policies that were designed to put downward pressure on the wages of ordinary workers while protecting and enhancing the incomes of those at the top. Baker explains how rules on trade, patents, copyrights, corporate governance, and macroeconomic policy were rigged to make income flow upward.
Poll: 56 percent say Trump 'tearing the country apart'

Naomi Klein: Face It, the Flooding Disaster Is Climate Change
AlterNet | Amy Goodman / Democracy Now! | 08/30/17

The World Meteorological Organization announced Tuesday that Hurricane Harvey's devastation is linked to climate change. All past U.S. rainfall records have been shattered, and the devastating storm is expected to bring even more rainfall to Louisiana and Texas in the coming days. Still, the corporate networks have avoided linking the record-breaking storm to the climate crisis. We examine storm coverage with Naomi Klein, best-selling author of several books, including "This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate."

Read more
*Naomi Klein's Message to the Media Covering Houston: Now is the Time to Talk About Climate Change | DN | 08/30/17 | 8:57

Trump and DeVos fuel a for-profit college comeback

"Rapidly Intensifying" Hurricane Irma Barreling Straight Toward The East Coast
ZeroHedge | author | 08/31/17

... In a few days, the hurricane will be moving over warmer waters with light shear shown by all of the model guidance. This should promote further strengthening of Irma, and the NHC forecast shows an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane next week, similar to the solutions provided by the HWRF and the ECMWF models. ... Read more

Models show BIG CAT 5, Tropical Storm IRMA, to form in Atlantic and threaten the East Coast by next Friday 09/08/17
Would Impeaching Trump Truly Lead to Civil War? (#114) | Keith Olbermann | 08/30/17 | 5:46
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Thursday, August 31 [11:38]
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Thursday, August 31 (FULL) | 59:02
Note: on the full 59:02 video look for small white (or black) circles on the Progressbar they denote the different news stories. You can move the pointer on the Progressbar to jump to each story, and around the video.
Note2: You might have to scroll the windows down 1/2 inch to capture the full video.
  1. Headlines
  2. Surrounded by Oil Refineries, Port Arthur, TX Faces New Environmental Crisis Following Harvey Floods
  3. George Monbiot: We Can't Be Silent on Climate Change or the Unsustainability of Capitalist System
  4. Deandre Harris Was Savagely Beaten by White Supremacists in Virginia. Why Only Two Arrests So Far?
*Ex-NASA Scientist James Hansen: There is a Clear Link Between Climate Change & Stronger Hurricanes | DN | 08/30/17 | 11:26
*John Nichols: "Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America" | DN | 08/30/17 | 31:36
*Investigative Journalist Christian Parenti says -> Climate Change Is Creating A New Urban Crisis | TRNN | 08/30/17 | 18:49
*Col. Lawrence Wilkerson -> The New York Times Gives Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Free Advertising | TRNN | 08/30/17 | 9:56
*Economist Dean Baker says -> Trump's Tax Cut Plan Alienates His Base | TRNN | 08/31/17 | 9:32
Tomi Lahren Hired By Fox News. | TYT | 08/30/17 | 7:57
REPORT: Trump Sad And All Alone | TYT | 08/30/17 | 5:29
Hurricane Harvey Aftermath Only Beginning | TYT | 08/30/17 | 5:26
The1a.org
How To Help After Harvey | 1a.org | 08/31/17 | 1hr
A crisis can bring out the best in people ... and the worst. We see this on display as Harvey causes severe flooding in Texas and along the Gulf Coast. Many people have rushed to donate to disaster relief, but warnings about scams have also proliferated. How can you make sure your goodwill goes to help those in need?
The Smartphone Generation: Less Sex, Fewer Drinks, More Depression | 1a.org | 08/31/17 | 1hr
People who are growing up with smartphones are having less sex and drinking less alcohol than previous generations, some research indicates. Other studies also show this generation is more depressed, lonelier, more isolated and getting less sleep.

Psychologist Jean M. Twenge says these young consumers, a group she calls iGen, is "on the brink of a mental-health crisis." Has the smartphone harmed an entire generation? ...
PBS NewsHour full episode Aug. 30, 2017 | TYT | 08/30/17 | 51:54
Explosion Expected From Hurricane Harvey Damaging Arkema Chemical Plant | MSNBC Rachel Maddow | 08/31/17 | 22:36
Donald Trump Wants Alfa Bank Trump Tower Clean-Up Lawyer In Key DoJ Role | MSNBC Rachel Maddow | 08/31/17 | 10:25
In A Focus Group, Donald Trump Voters Express Frustration | MSNBC Morning Joe | 08/31/17 | 19:11
Chris Cuomo OWNS Kellyanne Conway, "Answer The Question, Will Trump Pay for HARVEY or the WALL?" | CNN | 08/30/17 | 19:43
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Confederate Statues: Some See Culture, Some See Racism | Trevor Noah | 08/30/17 | 6:36

08.31.2017. 13:21



Special Interest Important stuff
GOOD Shorts Videos

Note: To view a video, click on code at left of the title

I'm still working on this

GOOD Short Videos
Newer Documentaries You Might Not Have Seen

Note: To view a video, click on code at left of the title

I'm still working on this

Newer Documentaries
Documentaries You've Never Seen

Note: To view a video, click on code at left of the title
Documentaries (small | pop-up)
Documentaries (big | full screen)
Good YouTube Documentaries

Note: To view a video, click on its name/title
Great YouTube Docs. (small | pop-up)
Good YouTube Docs. (big | full screen)

Lindsey Graham Mashups
Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the quiet part aloud on why he’s still so close to former President Donald Trump: because we can use him for our goals. "President Trump has gotten people who wouldn't give me or Romney or anybody else the time of day. They believe he is on their side," the senator told the America First Agenda Summit crowd on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Environment & Climate Change
Environment

The term "climate change" is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change (also known as global warming). Anthropogenic climate change is caused by human activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth's natural processes.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
AI - Artificial Intelligence | Machine Learning | Deep Learning
AI - Artificial Intelligence

AIArtificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by animals including humans. AI research has been defined as the field of study of intelligent agents, which refers to any system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of achieving its goals.

The term "artificial intelligence" had previously been used to describe machines that mimic and display "human" cognitive skills that are associated with the human mind, such as "learning" and "problem-solving". This definition has since been rejected by major AI researchers who now describe AI in terms of rationality and acting rationally, which does not limit how intelligence can be articulated.
Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Quantum mechanics | AI - Artificial Intelligence
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles.  It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
Classical physics, the collection of theories that existed before the advent of quantum mechanics, describes many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at small (atomic and subatomic) scales. Most theories in classical physics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation valid at large (macroscopic) scale.
Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Economy, Wall Street and Banksters

Wall Street and Banksters

Wall Street is an eight-block-long street running roughly northwest to southeast from Broadway to South Street, at the East River, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, the American financial services industry (even if financial firms are not physically located there), or New York-based financial interests.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Intelligence Agencies/Deep State?

Intelligence Agencies/Deep State?

An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, and foreign policy objectives. Means of information gathering are both overt and covert and may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis,.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Daniel Ellsberg | Pentagon Papers
Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg and Paul Jay explore Ellsberg's latest book, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. In the introduction to the book, Ellsberg writes: "No policies in human history have more deserved to be recognized as immoral or insane. The story of how this calamitous predicament came about and how and why it has persisted over a half a century is a chronicle of human madness".

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Nukes
Nukes

Nuclear weapons have come a long way and come in all types of different sizes. Some are relatively small while others are enormous, so big they boggle the mind at what they can be capable of, i.e. the Soviet 'Tsar Bomba' is/was 3,000 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Rana Foroohar and Fall of American Business
Rana Foroohar

Ms. Foroohar says financialization delivers stagnant wages, inequality and economic crisis; the Financial Times columnist and author of "Makers and Takers" says the financial sector represents only 7 percent of the U.S. economy, but takes around 25 percent of all corporate profit while creating only 4 percent of all jobs.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone & Petere Kuznick

The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone & Petere Kuznick | 2014 | 10 Episodes

Oliver Stone and American University historian Peter J. Kuznick began working on the project in 2008. Stone, Kuznick and British screenwriter Matt Graham cowrote the script. It covers "the reasons behind the Cold War with the Soviet Union, U.S. President Harry Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, and changes in America's global role since the fall of Communism." Stone is the director and narrator of all ten episodes.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Kuznick Interviews

Kuznick Interviews

Historian Peter Kuznick says Eisenhower called for decreased militarization, then Dulles reversed the policy; the Soviets tried to end the cold war after the death of Stalin; crazy schemes involving nuclear weapons and the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba put the world of the eve of destruction - with host Paul Jay

The Untold History of the United States by Kuznick, Peter.mobi | Book | 6.99 MB

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
China Valley of Tunnels

China Valley of Tunnels

A report written by a Georgetown University team led by Phillip Karber conducted a three-year study to map out China’s complex tunnel system, which stretches 5,000 km (3,000 miles). The report determined that the stated Chinese nuclear arsenal is understated and as many as 3,000 nuclear warheads may be stored in the underground tunnel network.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
911
911

On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists attacked the Unites States. They hijacked four airplanes in mid-flight. The terrorists flew two of the planes into two skyscrapers at the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact caused the buildings to catch fire and collapse. Another plane destroyed part of the Pentagon (the U.S. military headquarters) in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Officials believe that the terrorists on that plane intended to destroy either the White House or the U.S. Capitol. Passengers on the plane fought the terrorists and prevented them from reaching their goal. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's ten-part, 18-hour documentary series, THE VIETNAM WAR, tells the epic story of one of the most consequential, divisive, and controversial events in American history as it has never before been told on film. Visceral and immersive, the series explores the human dimensions of the war through revelatory testimony of nearly 80 witnesses from all sides--Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as combatants and civilians from North and South Vietnam. Ten years in the making, the series includes rarely seen and digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th Century, historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies, and secret audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Trump's Mashups
Trump's Mashups

Donald Trump talks a lot, but what is he actually saying? VICE News' "Trump Talk" mashup series tries to answer that. And, we're happy to say, it was just nominated for two Webby Awards. Now you can watch all the nominated videos.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Trump's Sexcapades
Trump's Sexcapades.

Jessica Leeds (1980s)
Kristin Anderson (1990s)
E. Jean Carroll (1995 or 1996)
Lisa Boyne (1996)
Cathy Heller (1997)
Temple Taggart McDowell (1997)
Karena Virginia (1998)
Mindy McGillivray (2003)
Jennifer Murphy (2005)
Rachel Crooks (2005)
Natasha Stoynoff (2005)
Juliet Huddy (2005 or 2006)
Jessica Drake (2006)
Ninni Laaksonen (2006)
Cassandra Searles (2013)
Allegations of pageant dressing room visits(1997)
Mariah Billado,
Victoria Hughes,
and three other Miss Teen USA contestants
Bridget Sullivan (2000)
Tasha Dixon (2001)
Unnamed contestants (2001)
Samantha Holvey (2006)

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Trump's Speeches | Rallys |Interviews
Trump's Speeches | Rallys

Donald Trump talks a lot, but what is he actually saying? Watch Trump at some of his rallys and see what you think.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Sponsors

I'm looking for sponsors to financially help with this site.  If you might be interested please send me a message using the Contact form.

Donation


I am one of those "once" middle class, over 60, over educated, under-employed, semi retired, soon to be poor workers, that everyone is talking about. 
But I have a modest standard of living so I plan to give all extra donation, beyond my immediate needs, to several of my favorite charities.

save-the-children

News Pages
News June 2024
News May 2024
News April 2024
News March 2024
News February 2024
News January 2024

News December 2023
News November 2023
News October 2023
News September 2023
News August 2023
News July 2023
News June 2023
News May 2023
News April 2023
News March 2023
News February 2023
News January 2023

News December 2022
News November 2022
News October 2022
News September 2022
News August 2022
News July 2022
News June 2022
News May 2022
News April 2022
News March 2022
News February 2022
News January 2022

News December 2021
News November 2021
News October 2021
News September 2021
News August 2021
News July 2021
News June 2021
News May 2021
News April 2021
News March 2021
News February 2021
News January 2021

News December 2020
News November 2020
News October 2020
News September 2020
News August 2020
News July 2020
News June 2020
News May 2020
News April 2020
News March 2020
News February 2020
News January 2020

News December 2019
News November 2019
News October 2019
News September 2019
News August 2019
News July 2019
News June 2019
News May 2019
News April 2019
News March 2019
News February 2019
News January 2019

News December 2018
News November 2018
News October 2018
News September 2018
News August 2018
News July 2018
News June 2018
News May 2018
News April 2018
News March 2018
News February 2018
News January 2018

News December 2017
News November 2017
News October 2017
News September 2017
News August 2017
News July 2017
News June 2017
News May 2017
News April 2017
News March 2017
News February 2017
News January 2017

News December 2016
News November 2016
News October 2016
News September 2016
News August 2016
News July 2016
News June 2016
News May 2016
News April 2016
News March 2016
News February 2016
News January 2016

News December 2015
News November 2015
News October 2015
News September 2015
News August 2015
News July 2015
News June 2015
News May 2015
News April 2015
News March 2015
News February 2015
News January 2015

News December 2014
News November 2014
News October 2014
News September 2014
News August 2014
News July 2014
News June 2014
News May 2014
News April 2014
News March 2014
News February 2014
News January 2014

News December 2013
News November 2013
News October 2013
News September 2013
News August 2013
News July 2013
News June 2013
News May 2013
News April 2013
News March 2013
News February 2013
News January 2013

News December 2012
News November 2012
News October 2012
News September 2012
News August 2012
News July 2012
News June 2012
News May 2012
News April 2012
News March 2012
News February 2012
News January 2012

News December 2011