Home · News · News Jul 2014 · Jul 02 2014
Wednesday July 02, 2014
News Articles

Bill Moyers Essay: What We Can Learn From Lawrence of Arabia
Bill Moyers | author | 06/27/14

As fears grow of a widening war across the Middle East, fed by reports that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) envisions a region-wide, all controlling theocracy, we found ourselves talking about another war. The Great War – or World War I, as it would come to be called — was triggered one hundred years ago this month when an assassin shot and killed Austria’s Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Through a series of tangled alliances and a cascade of misunderstandings and blunders, that single act of violence brought on a bloody catastrophe. More than 37 million people were killed or wounded.

In America, if we reflect on World War I at all, we think mostly about the battlefields and trenches of Europe and tend to forget another front in that war — against the Ottoman Empire of the Turks that dominated the Middle East. A British Army officer named T.E. Lawrence became a hero in the Arab world when he led nomadic Bedouin tribes in battle against Turkish rule. ... Read more

Now Wall Street Is Calling for Climate Sanity. Don't Expect the Right to Listen.
MotherJones | Chris Mooney | 06/30/14

Hank Paulson and Robert Rubin are teaming up to make the business community's case for addressing climate change. But will it matter?

... We'll get to that, but first, witness the latest attempt, which is aimed at swaying the business community. This weekend on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, two former treasury secretaries, Henry Paulson (a Republican) and Robert Rubin (a Democrat), went on the air to discuss climate change and, in particular, the new "Risky Business" report with which they're closely affiliated. The report, emerging from a partnership that also includes Michael Bloomberg and the environmentalist billionaire Tom Steyer, makes the case that climate change will have dire economic costs. On the air, Paulson said point blank that climate inaction entails "radical risk taking." Rubin added that the risk is "catastrophic." ... Read more

*Risky Business report
PBS | Risky Business Project quantifies climate change costs (06/25/14) [9:28]
Risky Business Report Press Conference (06/24/14) [40:34]
Risky Business report press conference webcast. Michael Bloomberg, Henry Paulson, Tom Steyer, Robert Rubin, Henry Cisneros, Greg Page Donna Shalala, and Al Sommer on their involvement with the report which quantifies the economic impacts of climate change in the US.
Risky Business website
Protect the Environment While They Still Can
Truthloader | Kiribati: The country killed by climate change (06/18/14) [5:11]
Kiribati is a tiny nation of 100,000 people living on dozens of islands over a huge area of the South Pacific. And it is set to become the first state completely destroyed by climate change. The government estimates the country will vanish beneath the waves by 2050 due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion, and has an official policy of evacuating the native population. At the same time, it is doing everything it can to protect the pristine ocean environments within its territorial waters, so that even once the country is gone the nature will survive. It's a pretty sad story.
Tiny House Builder

Living large in 150 square feet: Why the tiny house movement is taking off
Salon | Lindsay Abrams | 06/28/14

Come across one of the many photos of the “tiny houses” circulating on blogs and Pinterest, and your first reaction will probably be how cute they are — itty, bitty, bite-size domiciles straight out of a fairy tale. Your second reaction, depending on who you are, is either: How do people fit in there? Or simply, why? Or, for a select group of individuals: How do I get one of my own?

Ryan Mitchell became enamored with the idea of tiny houses back in 2008, he tells Salon. He’s been an enthusiastic member of the movement since then, blogging about the homes at TheTinyLife.com and publishing a book, out July 14, that functions both as a treatise of the tiny house lifestyle and how-to guide for “building and living well in less than 400 square feet.” On the eve of — at long last — moving into a 150-square home he’s built himself, Mitchell spoke with Salon about the economic and environmental benefits of tiny living. ... Read more

Tiny House on the Bay
(click picture, then scroll to bottom of article)
DemocracyNow Daily News
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Wednesday, July 02 [11:13]
DN | Almedalen Week: At Sweden's One-of-a-Kind Festival, All Political Parties Gather in One Place (07/02/14) [7:03]
DN | Despite Peaceful Reputation, Sweden Is a Major Weapons Exporter to Human Rights Abusers (07/02/14) [10:08]
DN | Swedish Lawmaker: "We Need to Solve Our Climate Problem in a Modern Way" (07/02/14) [9:48]
DN | After 2 Years of Confinement, Will Sweden Resolve Assange's Case? Swedish Foreign Minister Won't Say (07/02/14) [6:27]
TRNN News
TRNN | Michael Hudson: EU Association Agreement with Ukraine Is a Gift to Kleptocrats (07/01/14) [10:58]
TRNN | Aleksandr Buzgalin discusses: Rebellion in Eastern Ukraine: Separatism or Self-Determination? (07/01/14) [9:28]
Bill Moyers
*Bill Moyers | Jim Hightower: Grass Roots Grow Against Greed. (07/02/14) [24:24]
James Allen "Jim" Hightower (born January 11, 1943) is an American syndicated columnist, progressive political activist, and author who served from 1983 to 1991 as the elected commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture.
*Bill Moyers Essay | What We Can Learn From Lawrence of Arabia (06/27/14) [3:48]
Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence Of Arabia (preview [4:45] + rental for $2.99 [3:47:05]) PBS | Lawrence of Arabia The Battle For The Arab World, Part 1 (06/17/14) [54:47], Part 2 [54:49]
Born to unmarried parents in the strict Victorian era, Lawrence is embarrassed by his illegitimacy. He spends most of his childhood alone, driving for physical and academic achievement. At Oxford, his passion for medieval history results in an expedition to study the great crusader castles of Syria, where he gains invaluable knowledge of the Arabs. While employed as an archaeologist, he is recruited by British intelligence to monitor Turkish activities. He also befriends an Arab who will deeply influence his views towards Arabs and their cause. After World War I begins, Lawrence becomes an intelligence officer in the British Army. His mission is to gather information about an Arab Revolt planned against Turkish rulers. In return for a promise guaranteeing their independence, the Arabs join the war on the British side. But a secret agreement between the British and French will shatter this dream. Torn by conflicting loyalties, Lawrence continues to assist the Arabs, becoming more deeply entrenched in their fight. Against all odds, he leads the Arabs in a daring attack on the Turkish port of Aqaba. It is a stunning success and a turning point for Lawrence, the Arabs, and the British.
Blood and Oil: The Middle East in World War I (2013) [1:53:13]
The Making of the Modern Middle East: Lawrence of Arabia and King Faisal I (04/04/14) [1:28:26]
How much blame for the current troubles in the Middle East lies with the decisions made by the West in 1919 -- when the Ottoman Empire was carved up arbitrarily into the modern states we know today? Is it true that Arab society has tended to define itself less by what it aspires to become than what it is opposed to: colonialism, Zionism, and Western imperialism? That era seems to be coming to an end with the recent Arab Spring movements. As ethnic and religious loyalties intensify, will new lines be drawn? And will they lead to greater harmony in the region or exacerbated conflict?

T. E. Lawrence is one of Britain's most romantic historical figures. In 1914 he was an archaeologist excavating ruins in the sands of Syria. By 1917 he was battling both the Turks and his own government to bring about the vision he had for the Arab people. A new biography of him, Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East, by the American author Scott Anderson, has sold over 150,000 copies in the US and won the New York Times Notable Book award.

Faisal was a battle-hardened military leader who with the help of Lawrence organised the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. He went on to become king of both Iraq and the first independent state of Syria. Faisal I of Iraq is the latest book by Ali Allawi, Iraq's first post-war civilian Minister of Defence who has been acclaimed for his knowledge and insight into Islamic society.
The History Of The Ottoman Empire (12/19/13) [1:30:20]
The Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish), also historically referred to as the Turkish Empire or Turkey, was an empire founded by Oghuz Turks under Osman Bey in northwestern Anatolia in 1299. With the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed II in 1453, the Ottoman state was transformed into an empire.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful states in the world, a multinational, multilingual empire controlling much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.

With Constantinople as its capital and control of vast lands around the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for over six centuries. The empire was dissolved in the aftermath of World War I, leading to the emergence of the new state of Turkey in the Ottoman Anatolian heartland, as well as the creation of modern Balkan and Middle Eastern states.
Other Videos and Documentaries I Ran Across
Note: I don't endorse any of the videos in this section.
As I construct My News Pages I constantly run across a lot of NEW videos, and since I find YouTube frustrating trying to re-find videos, I save the links in this section so I can find them again.
Lawrence of Arabia - Conversation with Stephen Spielberg (08/27/08) [8:49]
A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1992) [1:43:52]
In 1919, the great English military man T. E. Lawrence tries to help the king of the Syrian in the Conference of Peace in Paris. The film shows the hero of the movie Lawrence of Arabia (1962) in a phase of reflection and politics, defending the Arabs against the pretensions of England and France.
BBC | The Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia, Part 1 (2014) [58:53], Part 2 [58:51]
Lawrence of Arabia - Teaser - In Search for Lawrence (2008) [5:00]

07.02.2014. 11:32



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