Ear to the Ground | Truthdig http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/ Truthdig, a Web magazine that provides expert in-depth coverage of current affairs as well as a variety of thoughtful, provocative content assembled from a progressive point of view. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman. en editor@truthdig.com Copyright 2012 2012-05-26T20:12:32+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/ http://www.truthdig.com/images/rss_feed_promo.gif Truthdig logo Say ‘Hi-Ho!’ as They Strip-Search You http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/BDB5r-p8BCc/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/say_hi-ho_as_they_strip_search_you_20120526/ barack obama, constitution, david lindorff, eighth amendment, first amendment, fourth amendment, kurt vonnegut, occupy, ows, president, strip search police state, supreme court, this can't be happening,

Reflecting on his arrest with Kurt Vonnegut while protesting apartheid outside the South African consulate in the early 1980s, David Lindorff, founder of the news blog This Can’t Be Happening, says he and the author might be treated differently if they were arrested today.

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]]> 2012-05-26T20:12:32+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/say_hi-ho_as_they_strip_search_you_20120526/ Children Slaughtered in Government Attack on Syrian Town http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/lPT4RUGtnJQ/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/children_slaughtered_in_government_attack_on_syrian_town_20120526/ assad, children, dead children, houla, massacre, syria, united nations,

The United Nations has confirmed that 32 children and nearly twice as many adults were killed after Syrian government forces attacked the western town of Houla. Locals are furious that U.N. observers, deployed to monitor a cease-fire between officials and the opposition, did not intervene.

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]]> 2012-05-26T18:41:05+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/children_slaughtered_in_government_attack_on_syrian_town_20120526/ Massive Wildfire Rages in New Mexico http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/bAZa3PzfXHM/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/wildfires_rage_in_american_southwest_20120526/ albuquerque, lightning strike, new mexico, santa fe, southwest, united states, wildfire,

Lightning strikes sparked two wildfires in southwestern New Mexico that have merged and spread over 130 square miles, destroying more than a dozen structures.

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]]> 2012-05-26T18:28:43+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/wildfires_rage_in_american_southwest_20120526/ A Big Buyout at the Postal Service http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/Tw7Z4PU0cHg/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/a_big_buyout_at_the_postal_service_20120526/ buyout, layoffs, post office, unemployment, us postal service, usps,

The money-losing USPS is offering buyouts to 45,000 mail handlers as it moves to slash its payroll and cut the number of processing centers around the country by nearly half.

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]]> 2012-05-26T17:59:48+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/a_big_buyout_at_the_postal_service_20120526/ TED: ‘A Money-Soaked Orgy of Self-Congratulatory Futurism’ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/0YTIhcT6tc8/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/ted_a_money-soaked_orgy_of_self-congratulatory_futurism_20120525/ bill gates, chris anderson, income inequality, inequality, nick hanauer, ted, ted talks, tedx,

In the wake of a recent scandal over TED’s refusal to publish a talk about income inequality, Alex Pareene at Salon performs a neat takedown of the organization’s driving ethos. (Hint: It has to do with the “1 percent” that the Occupy movement is raging about.)

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]]> 2012-05-25T16:14:44+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/ted_a_money-soaked_orgy_of_self-congratulatory_futurism_20120525/ Amazon Is Latest to Bail Out on ALEC http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/lCMVnm9umjI/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/amazon_becomes_16th_corporation_to_ditch_alec_20120525/ ,

Amid pressure from public advocacy groups, the online retail giant has announced that it will not renew its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council—the right-wing lobbying group that has been working behind the scenes to promote conservative legislation since the early 1970s.

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]]> 2012-05-25T15:17:44+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/amazon_becomes_16th_corporation_to_ditch_alec_20120525/ Russia and Exxon Mobil Sign Arctic Oil Deal http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/V3gVAnnQITE/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/russia_and_exxon_sign_arctic_oil_deal_20120525/ arctic, arctic oil reserves, exxon mobil, natural gas, oil, oil reservesa, putin, rosneft, russia, samara,

In a bid to remain the world’s top oil producer, Russia is partnering with Exxon Mobil and a number of other foreign oil companies to develop plans to get at reserves deep beneath the Arctic crust as early as 2020.

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]]> 2012-05-25T14:20:20+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/russia_and_exxon_sign_arctic_oil_deal_20120525/ Male Pill May Be Within Reach http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/-ts93hTE2Zk/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/male_contraceptive_may_be_within_reach_20120525/ contraceptive, infertility, katnal1, katnal1 gene, male contraceptive, plos genetics, sperm, sperm production, university of edinburgh, university of sheffield,

Researchers investigating the cause of male infertility think they’ve spotted a means to male contraception. A group at the University of Edinburgh has identified a gene essential to late-stage sperm production. Developing a drug that turns off that gene or interrupts its functioning could lead to temporary infertility in men without tampering with hormones.

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]]> 2012-05-25T13:39:14+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/male_contraceptive_may_be_within_reach_20120525/ It’s Wait and See as Egypt Counts the Votes http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/EO1sZ8HhTA0/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/with_islamic_leadership_likely_some_egyptians_prefer_stability_20120525/ abdel moneim abul fotouh, arab spring, egyptian election, islam, islamic candidate, mohammed morsi, mubarak, muslim brotherhood, runoff election, stability,

The official results of the Egyptian election won’t be known until Tuesday, but the outlook points to a strong showing by Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi, the possibility of which has scared some Egyptians into voicing support for a candidate from Mubarak’s administration.

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]]> 2012-05-25T13:14:00+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/with_islamic_leadership_likely_some_egyptians_prefer_stability_20120525/ As Deadline Nears, Dueling Student Loan Bills Stall in Senate http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Truthdig/EarToTheGround/~3/HgvB2bGpm_M/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/as_deadline_looms_dueling_student_loan_bills_stall_in_senate_20120524/ congress, democrate, obama, obama administration, republicans, senate, student loan, student loan interest rates, student loans,

Despite agreeing that low federal student loan interest rates should be extended, Democrats and Republicans have not been able to come together to do so. On Thursday, the Senate rejected two competing plans that would have kept student loan rates from doubling to 6.8 percent on July 1.

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