Is Alex Jones the Conspiracy?

"Those familiar with radio host Alex Jones were not surprised by his fiery performance Monday night on Piers Morgan (part 1 – part 2), where Jones called the CNN host a "hatchet man of the New World Order" during an impassioned tirade in support of the second amendment."*
Alex Jones' ridiculous, crazy ramblings are no surprise to the TYT viewer. Well, after his legendary freak out on Piers Morgan's CNN show, Jones has some more conspiracy theories about who's out to get him now.

TYT - Related: Alex Jones Shirtless Rant Against TYT

Whole Lotta Helter Skelter

Led Zeppelin vs The Beatles (Soundhog)

China Might End System of Forced Labor Camps

A top government official in China has indicated the country plans to reform its forced labor camps.

Atheist TV host boots ‘piece of shit’ Christian for calling raped girl ‘evil’

Hosts of the Atheist Experience cable access show in Austin hung up on a Christian caller over the weekend after he suggested that God might not stop the rape of a little girl because the victim was also “evil.”

A Christian viewer from Phoenix named Shane called in to Sunday’s show with the hopes of convincing host Matt Dillahunty and co-host Tracie Harris that the fact that even atheists had a “moral code” proved of the existence of God.

“Why is God so immoral?” the caller asked. “I don’t think that God exists but if we’re talking about the God character in Bible as God is represented, you know, it’s a pretty horrible, jealous, angry being that advocates slavery,” Dillahunty pointed out. “I don’t know why he’s that way. Maybe he’s just a dick.”

“You either have a God who sends child rapists to rape children or you have a God who simply watches it and says, ‘When you’re done, I’m going to punish you,’” Harris agreed. “If I could stop a person from raping a child, I would. That’s the difference between me and your God.”

“First of all, you portray that little girl as someone who’s innocent, she’s just as evil as you,” the caller shot back.

With that comment, Dillahunty disconnected the call. “Goodbye, you piece of shit!” he exclaimed. “You know what? I was a better Christian than you when I was a Christian, and I still am.”

The entire the Atheist Experience broadcast is available here.

More on Raw Story

Indian Guru Suggests Late Gang Rape Victim 'Was Equally Responsible For Attack'

A popular Indian guru has caused mass offence after suggesting the Indian gang rape victim who died on December 30 was equally responsible for the attack.

Addressing his followers, Asaram Bapu said upon being confronted by her attackers, the woman: "...should have taken God's name and could have held the hand of one of the men and said I consider you as my brother and should have said to the other two 'Brother I am helpless, you are my brother, my religious brother.'

"She should have taken God's name and held their hands and feet... then the misconduct wouldn't have happened." According to the Hindustan Times, Bapu went on to say: "Galti ek taraf se nahi hoti hai (mistake is not committed from one side)." Bapu is said to have added: "The accused were drunk. If the girl had chanted hymns to Goddess Saraswati and to Guru Diksha then she wouldn't have entered the bus."

Huffington Post

Millionaire Boy Racers

New Form Of ‘Whites Only’ Signs

To people from my generation the thought of a “whites only” sign is absurd. We were not alive when this was commonplace and, although we acknowledge racism exists and is alive and well, we rarely see it so prominently displayed.  That’s what I thought until I saw this sign posted outside the playground at Lulu Ross Elementary School in Milford, Delaware, USA.

As you can see the sign looks much like any other playground sign. There is a message in English stating that you must have parental or guardian supervision to play, and that playing is at your own risk. It is when you read what the Spanish portion of the sign that you realize this sign isn’t friendly at all and the people who put it up clearly didn’t want Spanish-speaking children playing on their playground.  According to Google Translate, the Spanish portion of the sign says: “You must have a permit to play in that field,” with the small writing underneath stating, “Violators will be subject to police action.”

addictinginfo.org

Christopher Hitchens at the "Festival of Dangerous Ideas"

Christopher Hitchens Starts at 4:00 the 'Festival of Dangerous Ideas' at the Sydney Opera House in October 2009.

Inside your Head

Philip Glass opera shows Walt Disney's fantasy world in a new light

A British-designed and directed opera about Walt Disney which premieres in Spain this month before coming to London has been forced to tell the great cartoonist's story without any of the images of the characters that made him a household name. Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy, not to mention Mickey Mouse himself, will not be appearing on stage with the singers.

The Perfect American, the latest work by the acclaimed composer Philip Glass, concentrates on the last years of Disney's life, when he lay dying of lung cancer while planning to have his body frozen. It portrays Disney as a megalomaniac with McCarthyite, racist and misogynist tendencies, so it is clear why the global entertainment corporation has denied rights.

Yet, ironically, the most damaging charge the new opera levels at a man whose vision continues to dominate children's culture is probably the claim that he did little actual work on the drawings that made him famous.

More on The Observer

The Enemies of Reason

Richard Dawkins

The Secrets of Scientology

The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive

Stephen Fry

Satan Loves Anal Sex

Ex-gay porn star becomes heterosexual Christian. (hèhèhè) from onkneesforjesus.blogspot.nl, you must be fuck’n joking…

Indigenous Peoples in Canada Launch Actions in Support of Chief's Hunger Strike

Hunger strike by Chief Theresa Spence against new government legislation and long term denial of indigenous rights sparks nation wide movement

The Real News - Indian Country, Today Media Network

President Obama has utterly failed the first test of his second term

President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 on Wednesday, despite his own threat to veto it over prohibitions on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Civil liberties advocates had roundly criticized the bill over Guantanamo and a separate section that could allow the military to indefinitely detain American citizens on suspicions of supporting terrorism. Just as he did with last year's version of the bill, however, Obama decided that the need to pass the NDAA, which also sets the armed forces' $633 billion budget for the 2013 fiscal year, was simply "too great to ignore," according to a presidential signing statement released in the early morning hours Thursday.

Members of the human rights coalition that had urged Obama to follow through on his veto threat blasted his decision as a cave to congressional Republicans. "President Obama has utterly failed the first test of his second term, even before inauguration day,” American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement. “His signature means indefinite detention without charge or trial, as well as the illegal military commissions, will be extended.”

Huffington Post

Also see: A Death at Guantanamo on The Atlantic

Putin offers Gérard Depardieu Russian citizenship

The Kremlin's announcement that Putin had signed official papers granting Russian citizenship to French national hero Gérard "Gégé" Depardieu hit home. It also turned what had seemed a somewhat comic hissy fit between the actor and his government into an international spat. Hollande should have seen it coming. Ever since Depardieu, 64, entered the political ring to spar with his country's leadership over taxes weeks ago, this was a punch waiting to be landed.

Enraged at having his decision to leave France for fiscal exile in neighbouring Belgium described by French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault as "shabby", Depardieu, star of the Hollywood film Green Card, had turned bellicose, threatening to give up his French passport. And there, given that France's civil code requires a citizen to have another nationality in order to relinquish being French, the melodrama might have ended, had Putin not joined the fray.

On Thursday Moscow praised the actor, saying Depardieu had earned his new passport for his contributions to Russian culture and cinema. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, told the Interfax news agency that Depardieu's portrayal of Grigory Rasputin, notorious for the hypnotic power he wielded over Tsar Nicholas II's imperial family, in a new film was "daring and new".

The Guardian

PLASTICIZED

PLASTICIZED is a intimate account of a first-hand journey aboard the Sea Dragon with the 5 Gyres Institute on the very first scientific expedition, focused on plastic waste, through the centre of the South Atlantic Ocean. An eye-opening story about the institute's global mission to study the effects, reality, and scale of plastic pollution around the world.
To find out more about the film, head to: plasticizedthemovie.com

Saudi Religious Leader Calls for Gang Rape of Syrian Women

A prominent Saudi cleric has issued a fatwa(a religious ordinance) that calls for the gang rape of Syrian women.  Expressing frustration that the “warriors of Islam” fighting in Syria may be getting weary for the lack of sexual pleasure, the religious leader issued a decree that promotes hours-long “intercourse marriages.”

The cleric, Muhammed al-Arifi, who is a leading jihadist religious figure, made it clear that his edict called for the gang rape of Syrian women and girls. He specified that the “intercourse marriages” last only a few hours “in order to give each fighter a turn.” As to who is an eligible bride, the cleric approves any girls or women over the age of 14 who are widowed or divorced. Yes, you read that right. Any girls over the age of 14.

Read further on Alternet

Israel Recruits Teenagers to Fight Cyber Warfare

Israel is poised to launch a fresh national programme aimed at training young people in cyber defence in response to growing concern about online attacks from Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the programme, named Magshimim Le'umit, will provide a three-year course and targets students aged 16-18.

During an address at the Ashkelon Academic College, the Jerusalem Post claims Netanyahu said Israel's systems are under attack from Iran, adding: "We are bolstering our ability to deal with these threats via the Israel National Cyber Bureau (INCB) that we established." The prime minister continued by saying that children are the "future interceptors" for the state of Israel, and that: "We are one of the world's

International Business Times

From grainy CCTV to a positive ID: Recognising the benefits of surveillance

Professor Mark Nixon has “had a few fights” with civil liberties groups in his time. As a world-leading expert in developing biometric techniques to identify people using CCTV – every anti-surveillance campaigner’s Big Bother bête noir – he knows all too well what they think of his work. “They say we’re ruining their privacy,” he says. “I don’t think their personal liberty is in danger.” The techniques he has pioneered “have been used to put murderers away – and I agree with that”.

Through the work of Prof Nixon and Dr John Carter at Southampton University, it is becoming increasingly easy for authorities to monitor us all. Research at the School of Electronics and Computer Science – funded by the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence among others – means technology can spot and identify criminals in surveillance footage with increasing accuracy.

Now Prof Nixon’s department has received extra funding from GCHQ to form part of the national Cyber Security Centre of Excellence, with Southampton specialising in biometrics: ID-ing people using personal traits or physical characteristics. It’s a controversial area of science which Prof Nixon can claim to have helped father. One of the key aspects is gait analysis: allowing people to be identified by their body shape and the way they walk.

See The Independent for more

Benito Mussolini: a dictator for all seasons in Italy?

Sixty-eight years after the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was strung up with piano wire from a petrol station in Milan following his crushing of Italian democracy, his racist laws and his disastrous alliance with Adolf Hitler, Mussolini has quietly taken his place as an icon for many Italians.

Among his adherents today are the masked, neo-fascist youths who mounted raids on Rome schools this autumn to protest against education cuts, lobbing smoke bombs in corridors and yelling "Viva Il Duce". The cult of Il Duce has also slipped into the mainstream. The decision by a town south of Rome to spend €127,000 (£100,000) of public funds this year on a tomb for Rodolfo Graziani, one of Mussolini's most blood-thirsty generals, was met with widespread indifference.

Other more mundane examples include the leading businessman who proposed renaming Forli airport in Emilia Romagna – the region of northern Italy where the dictator was born – as Mussolini airport, or the headmaster in Ascoli Piceno who tried to hang a portrait of the dictator in his school.

The man who gets some credit for dusting off Mussolini's reputation is Silvio Berlusconi, who famously described the dictator's exiling of his foes to remote villages as sending them on holiday. Berlusconi's subtle rehabilitation of Mussolini came as he brought Italy's post-fascists, led by Gianfranco Fini, into his governing coalition in 1994 and 2001, following the "years of lead" in the 1970s and early 80s, when neo-fascists and communist sympathisers battled in the streets.

More on The Guardian

Crazy

Noah cover of "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (Ray LaMontagne Version)

But I'm Not Wrong

Bill Maher (2010)