Floatin' Powa News Service: Truths Told Out of Season ...

...are the same as lies.

The Zombies
Time Of The Season

In Jordan, pope stresses Christian-Muslim harmony

WOE UNTO HIM. Apologist. Appeaser. Coward.
JEWSUS SEES YOU!

"Muslims and Christians, precisely because of the burden of our common history, so often marked by misunderstanding, must today strive to be known and recognized as worshippers of God, faithful to prayer, eager to uphold and lift by the Almighty decrees," the pontiff said in an address at the King Hussein Bin Talal mosque in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

Israel sees no reason to sign 'ineffective' NPT

That's right.

Gaza's Little Helpers
What a drag it is getting old....

Germany's Steinmeier Calls on Israel to Support Two-State Peace
I got two words for Steinmeier. From one state.

Israel FM to run 'strategic dialogue' with US: sources
If I were him I would tell us absolutely ZERO.

Israel-Palestinian talks must address core issues: Blair
This from the man who was go between for Hamas and Gerry Adams.
Okeedokee then.

Netanyahu: Israel in Golan for good
This better be more than lip service, BiBi.

Israel Says Its Foreign Minister Has Been Invited To Egypt

We have all heard about this by now:
Obama to Address Muslim World From Egypt

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood dismisses Obama speech
Al Ikhwan is not impressed.

A Talk with President Obama's Advisor on Muslim Affairs, Dalia Mogahed

Q) How do you feel about being the first Muslim appointed to the Obama administration?

A) I am not actually the first Muslim. Other Muslims have been appointed to Obama’s administration. I am also not the only Muslim on the Whitehouse advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership. I join Dr. Eboo Patel as the second Muslim on the council. I am however the first Muslim woman in this council and I feel very honored for the privilege to serve in this way, but I also recognize the responsibility that I’ve agreed to take on. I see my role much more in terms of what needs to get done rather than a historical accomplishment. I believe the accomplishments are yet to be fulfilled.

Q) Do you experience any problems wearing the Hijab in America and do you feel that it is necessary to wear it to express and identify yourself as a Muslim?

A) Hijab of course immediately identifies me as a Muslim which is an identity I wear with tremendous pride. However, I wear Hijab because, like the majority of Muslim women who wear it, I understand it to be a tenant of my faith, not to make any specific statement. Though it isn’t easy looking different in any country, I believe the US is one of the most accepting societies in the world. Most importantly, we hold religious freedom as a sacred value, and we have been a beacon and an example of this for the world. Our nation is strengthened, not threatened by allowing each person to practice their faith freely. As President Obama so eloquently said, “Our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.”

Mogahed Gets Around:

Mogahed travels the globe engaging diverse groups on what Muslims around the world really think. Her audiences have included the High-Level Group of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the Community of West and Islam Dialogue (C-100) group of the World Economic Forum, the Brookings Institution's U.S.-Islamic World Forum, British parliamentarians, American senators, and religious leaders from every faith. She has discussed Gallup findings with a wide range of opinion leaders, including Madeleine Albright, Deepak Chopra, Stephen R., Covey, Quincy Jones, and Jeffrey Sachs; Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman; evangelical leader Richard Land; bestselling author Karen Armstrong; U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel; Muslim activist and teacher Amr Khaled; and Sheikh Habib Ali al-Jifri, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, Her Majesty Queen Rania al Abdullah of Jordan, as well as two of the highest authorities of Sunni Islam, the Grand Muftis of Egypt and Bosnia, their Excellencies Dr. Ali Gomaa and Dr. Mustafa Ceric.

Gen.: Taliban Hit Civilians, Blamed US

US to meet Pakistan's security needs

The U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense William "RAYTHEON" Lynn has assured President Asif Ali Zardari that his country will meet the security needs of Pakistan, to enable it defeat militancy and promote peace and security in the region.

Pakistan faces full scale war against the Taliban

Pakistani offers assurances on nuclear control
Is it wrong that I am laughing maniacally now?

You call it aid. We call it JIZYA

The first of the two packages is a $90 billion supplemental request for funding this year for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that includes nearly $1 billion in emergency aid to Pakistan. That money would include $400 million in new military aid, mostly for equipping and training Pakistani security forces for counterinsurgency operations. Also in the package is $500 million in economic aid to Pakistan and nearly $1 billion for economic development in Afghanistan.

The second proposal is a five-year, $7.5 billion aid package to Pakistan that would shift the emphasis of US assistance from the Pakistani military, where it was lavished during the Bush administration, to development and services-building projects aimed at improving the lives of average Pakistanis.

But the Pakistani military would not go begging under the Obama administration requests, which call for $3 billion in aid to Pakistan’s military over the next five years. Last week Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking on Capitol Hill, outlined a plan to basically use wartime powers in Pakistan to quickly move new Pentagon funding into providing counterinsurgency training and equipment.

Washington committed to seeking Syria-Israel deal
NATURALLY!

US envoy on new 'constructive' visit to Syria
NATURALLY!

Senior US envoy Jeffrey Feltman said he held "constructive" talks on Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, on his second visit in two months to try to improve ties with Damascus.

"We noted in our discussions improvement in our ability to work bilaterally with the Syrians since our last visit here two months ago," said Feltman, acting secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.

Despite US Outreach, Syria Affirms Iran Ties

Iran's former PM vows to improve ties with world
Oh those whacky Glow Ballin' Mythical Moderate Taqiyyalopes!

Senators Explore Engagement with Iran
Behold the Compliciot Whores of Your Caliph Fate

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is exploring the pros and cons of talks with Iran, proposed by six major world powers including the United States. The talks would discuss Tehran's nuclear program. US Senator John Kerry says the U.S. is not interested in promoting regime change and instead is focusing on engagement.

CNN: Iran could have enough material for nuke in months

Iranian Nuclear Work Unhindered by Sanctions, CIA Report Says

Claims of 'brisk' Activity at North Korea Nuclear Site
Oh I'll bet.

Obama Releases Details Of Budget Plan

Obama's Budget Eliminates New Funding for Nuclear Detection

Senate Passes Overhaul of Defense Procurement

Obama budget allocates $130 billion for 2 wars
One suposedly against them, one definitely against you
(SEE: OTHER RISKS AND CONTINGENCIES)

President Barack Obama's proposed defense budget includes $130 billion for the nation's two wars, a figure that may not be enough.And his Democratic allies in Congress are threatening to set conditions that must be met before that money is handed out.

Obama sent to Congress on Thursday details of his proposed $664 billion Pentagon spending plan for the budget year starting in October. It includes $534 billion for base defense programs and $130 billion for overseas operations, including the wars he's ramping down in Iraq and ramping up in Afghanistan.

The budget aims to cover what the Defense Department needs "to fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years ahead, while at the same time providing a hedge against other risks and contingencies," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a statement released in Washington as he traveled in Afghanistan.

Egypt, Uzbekistan seek to boost cooperation in trade, energy sectors

Senior officers of MIA of Uzbekistan removed from their posts
The Purge is on!

Medvedev & Putin congratulate Turkmenistan on Victory Day!
GLORIOUS TURKMEN VICTORY AKBAR

Obama pursues better Russia ties
Bad Vlad thinks you are a total bufoon. And he is correct!

Clinton looks for "new level" of Russia ties
Bad Vlad thinks you are a dangerous craven whore of ambition. And he is correct!

Al JaZeera's take: US and Russia hold nuclear talks

Russia shows military power in Soviet-style parade

2 Americans Convicted of Spying on Gazprom

A Moscow court has convicted an American who once worked at oil firm TNK-BP and his brother of spying on Gazprom and handed them suspended sentences, the Federal Security Service said Thursday.

Ilya Zaslavsky and his brother Alexander received one year suspended sentences and two years probation on charges of industrial espionage, filed last year during a high-profile power struggle between the Russian and British owners of TNK-BP.

Former TNK-BP Employee Convicted For Spying On Gazprom

EU Signs a Pact on a Pipeline for Gas From the Caspian Sea
Bad Vlad laughs at your silly meaningless pact, Ha Ha!
Nabucco is the phantom of our Opera, gleeking plebe.

EU Pledges Aid to Former Soviet States
Ha Ha! You will not have money to send aid after you recieve your energy bill.
~ Bad Vlad

Analysis: Amid global recession, Russia's energy prices to rise
God Bless "analysts". In Mensa, they belong, I tell ya!

Moscow Pressuring Ukraine on its EU Pipeline Deal

Gazprom shadow falls over Hungary

Russian energy giant Gazprom may be preparing to take over a large part of the Hungarian domestic gas distribution network. A highly opaque deal is in the works as a result of which Hungary's energy security could be threatened.

ROMANIA: Videanu will meet the Gazprom representatives

SIBERIA: Population rejected Gazprom drilling plans

USA: Exxon denies deal to sell Sakhalin-1 gas to Gazprom

USA:ExxonMobil starts work on Shanghai tech centre

ExxonMobil, along with and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, the country's largest oil refiner, and Saudi Aramco have a joint venture

USA: Chevron Confirms Discovery Offshore Republic of the Congo

Total discovers oil off Congo

UN Hides As War Criminal Bosco Surfaces in April 4 Congolese Army

When it comes to working with war criminals, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is willing and even wants to be deceived. Bosco Ntaganda, indicted by the International Criminal Court, appears in minutes of an April 4 meeting of the Congolese Army, known by its French acronym FARDC.

UN denies working with alleged war criminal in DR Congo

Congo rebel Nkunda sues Rwanda for wrongful arrest

From SPLEEN 10/28/08: Missing Links: Africa Screams:

So, why did I post all this Congo stuff, you may ask? Well, I'll tell you:

The world is in a race to own and exploit Africa's natural resources - if you follow the missing links posts you will have seen plenty of links related to that over the past 6 months.

Islam wants the entire continent Muslim, a base for global war, and they have been killing people at breakneck speed in order to achieve that. Diamonds from Africa (among other things) fund Al Qaeda and have for quite a long time. You may be wearing a diamond right now that was mined in blood.

Russia, China and to a lesser extent the US are all in a race right NOW to co opt African resources (especially the oil, Nigeria has a greater output than Iraq for instance) and buy the various Kleptocracies favor through World Bank and UN "grants", etc.

It appears to me that all sides are attempting to use the jihad as an infantry, a proxy, like a fire that goes in first, destroys everything, but out of that destruction the land is cleared for planting. It also seems to me no one I speak to cares how many die in Africa. No one. Not Democrats, not Republicans, not Christians, not Jews, not black people, not white people, not anyone. The deaths from the various tribal wars and the jihad are in the millions, every year. Millions of Christian and Animist Africans, dead, every year. Millions more raped and enslaved. Even the so called UN Peacekeepers who are supposed to protect them rape them. And then ministries and celebrities go through the UN or UN bodies in their money raising efforts for Africa? How is throwing money at them going to help anyway, even if the UN COULD be trusted? All it does is assuage the guilt of the money thrower. It's all bullshit. Practically no one truly cares about Africa.

GOD forgive us.
Africa Screams.

Congo: Amnesty Passed for Illegal Armed Groups

Congo grants amnesty to militia figures

Recent Cannibalism in the Congo

2003:
Marauding rebels are massacring and eating pygmies in the dense forests of north-east Congo, according to UN officials who are investigating allegations of cannibalism in Ituri province, where fighting between several rebel groups has displaced about 150,000 people in the past month. Many of the displaced tell of rebel fighters capturing and butchering pygmies, Manoddje Mounoubai, spokesman for the UN ceasefire monitoring mission in Congo, said yesterday. The UN had sent six officials to investigate the accusation as well as other human rights abuses, he said. Other UN officials in the capital, Kinshasa, and the eastern city of Goma said that widespread cannibalism had already been established.

2005: Cannibalism shock as Congo atrocities revealed:

Militiamen grilled bodies on a spit and boiled two girls alive as their mother watched, UN peacekeepers have charged.

Cannibalism has been added to a list of atrocities allegedly carried out by one of the tribal groups fighting in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The area is suffering the world's worst current humanitarian crisis, with a death toll outstripping that in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland said on Wednesday.

"In terms of the human lives lost . . . this is the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today and it is beyond belief that the world is not paying more attention," he said.

Militiamen grilled bodies on a spit and boiled two girls alive as their mother watched, UN peacekeepers have charged.

Militiamen who have JUST RECIEVED AMNESTY.

Congo Ignored, Not Forgotten

Paying attention to the Congo would also mean reporting on the main factor fueling the conflict: the plunder of the country’s resources, which primarily benefits multinational corporations. The conflict areas of the Congo are rich with minerals like copper, tin, gold, diamonds, cobalt and coltan, a mineral used for cell phones and other common electronic devices. Rebel groups who hold these areas sell off the minerals at cut-rate prices, using the profits to maintain power as big companies look the other way. As happened with conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone and Angola, activists are pushing for a mechanism to make corporations verify that they aren’t buying the Congo’s conflict minerals.

Congo volcano 'may soon erupt'
Just a volcano?
I would not be a bit suprised if the entire place suddenly spontaneously combusts and dissapears from the face of the earth.

Israel: Shari Arison fights back: This is creeping nationalization

At a press conference ahead of Bank Hapoalim's (TASE: POLI; LSE:80OA) board meeting, controlling shareholder Shari Arison launched a naked assault on Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer. She gave full backing to the conduct of chairman Dan Dankner.

Arison said, "This isn't control. This is a raid. It is creeping nationalization, and rapid creep. I won't lie to myself, and I won't do something that I don’t believe in just to placate a demand that I consider utterly unjustifiable. I feel very hurt. An arrow was fired and the target was drawn around it. There's a feeling of McCarthyism - no law, no justice. This is simply a frame-up just because someone doesn’t like somebody else."

Czar Paulson did it, not us!

"Secretary Paulson's words were his own," the spokesman said. "(Fed) Chairman (Ben) Bernanke did not instruct him to indicate any specific action the Fed might take," a spokesman for Paulson said in a statement.

Friedman Says "I Followed The Rules" In Goldman, NY Fed Ties

Stephen Friedman, who resigned as chairman of the New York Federal Reserve Bank amid concerns about his ties to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), said on Friday that he "followed the rules" regarding his overlapping roles at both organizations.

Bernanke on Regulation
He must regulate you!

Regulators Seize Bank in Washington State

Impending Fund Regulations Call For Adoption Of “Best Practices”

As regulatory responses to the global economic crisis develop, managers of hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds are bracing for new and comprehensive regulations. While many proposed laws and rules have not yet been finalized, government agencies, legislators and investors around the world are in the process of formulating and debating proposals that will almost certainly result in far stricter conditions for the operation of hedge funds and other private investment vehicles than are presently imposed..

Federal Workers, Regulations to Increase
WE MUST REGULATE YOU!

Goldman says banks need total capital of about 86.6 billion
Fire up the printing press and fill the Gold Man's Sacks.

Goldman's Test Stresses Morgan Stanley

Were the tests' assumptions "stacked in Goldman Sachs' favor?" asks Michael Hecht at JMP Securities.

Global Financial Crisis 'Vastly Worse' Than 1930s, Taleb Says

“This is the most difficult period of humanity that we’re going through today because governments have no control,” Taleb, 49, told a conference in Singapore today. “Navigating the world is much harder than in the 1930s.”

Enter the GLOW BALL GOVERNING BODY to make it all right.
Clop Clop Clop!

Investors urged to subscribe to a new world order
THERE'S that damn phrase again.
But none of this is happening, STFU!

Venezuela's state takeovers under Chavez

Venezuela's Bonds Tumble as Chavez Moves to Seize Oil Assets

Chavez's Oil Seizures May Cause 'Substantial' Output Decline

Argentines Fear Nationalization of Grain Market
As well they should.

Free Market Road Show Set to Begin as West Slouches Toward Socialism

The Free Market Road Show will gather top economists, politicians and academics to travel through eight capitals of Europe, providing not only a rationale for the free market system, but also to explain why free-market economics are essential for individual liberty, prosperity, and civil society. In light of the financial crisis and the temptation to return to failed economic policies, it is critical that experts and believers in free-market economics share their experience of freedom to bolster and protect the newly and yet fragile economies of these nations.

TICK TOCK to the nationalization of the Aerospace Industry:
Boeing Loses $4.4 Billion Deal, Has Net Order Loss

The Frock-Coated Communist
Somehow they always manage to forget the millions upon millions of dead when waxing rhapsodic about dear old Marx & Engles.

The Guardian: This epochal crisis requires us to resolve the paradox of capitalism
"Moral Capitalism" alert...

Grassley Staying Put On Senate Finance Committee

Late last week, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Charles Grassley, was said to be readying to move to a higher position within the Judiciary Committee. The idea of the shift left the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration (FDA) and Big Pharma

hopeful, and would have made Grassley the senior Republican on Judiciary, according to a recent Wall Street Journal piece.

Now, according to a new Journal article, Grassley is planning on staying put in his position as Republican head of the Senate Finance Committee. According to the Journal, the seat is “one of the centers of power in the health reform debate.” Jeff Sessions will be the Republican Head of the Judiciary until Grassley is able to move into that position at the end of 2010, said the Journal, citing the Associated Press (AP). The Republican slot in the Judiciary opened last week when Arlen Specter changed parties.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy Hearing

Senators Offer Their Support to FDA Nominee

New Drug Achieves FDA Approval for Treatment of Schizophrenia
THEY MUST DRUG YOU. But do not dare smoke a joint. It's illegal.

Spying in the UK: Lockheed Martin Promises to "Master the Internet"

Spy chiefs are already spending hundreds of millions of pounds on a mass internet surveillance system, despite Jacqui Smith's announcement earlier this week that proposals for a central warehouse of communications data had been dumped on privacy grounds.

Raytheon's financials lure investors
NATURALLY!

US EPA honors Raytheon
Well, shouldn't we all.

Hellooooooooo EPA? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me.
Raytheon reveals new plan for dealing with toxic plume

4/30/2009
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA — Raytheon wants to zap the toxic plume spreading under the Azalea neighborhood with a combination of hot electrodes and chemical doses designed to neutralize the pollution, according to its latest plan filed this week with state environmental regulators.

Forsooth and Behold, Proples, Pleebles and Serfs!
The Grand High Obamanable Hath Issued The Royal Proclamation!
Obama's National Day of Prayer Proclamation Mentions God Only Once

Obama’s proclamation mentions God once – “I call upon Americans to pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms and blessings and to ask for God’s continued guidance, grace and protection for this land that we love” – and also refers to people who don’t believe in God, which is tied to a reference to the U.S. military.

Brooking Institution: Refining American Interrogation Law
So very refined, indeed.

Sri Lanka arrests 3 UK television journalists

White House aide resigns over NY flyover
There.... they threw you your bone, now STFU!

Dallas Police Department's Fusion Center outsmarts criminals
Propaganda piece promoting all the good work of this Fusion Center.

Texas Fusion Center issues one for Lobbyists, Muslims & Leftists:

The North Central Texas Fusion System bulletin states that it is "imperative for law enforcement officers to report" the activities of lobbying groups, Muslim civil rights organizations and anti-war protest groups in their areas.

Obama to propose $1.25B for black farmers
WTF difference does it make what COLOR the farmer is?

President Barack Obama is proposing that the government provide $1.25 billion to settle discrimination claims by black farmers against the Agriculture Department.

The White House said the money would be included in the president's 2010 budget request to be unveiled Thursday.

Obama had taken criticism earlier this year from black farmers and lawmakers who said the federal government was neglecting the need for more money to fund claims under a decade-old class-action lawsuit against the government.

Obama Wants Tax Money To Fund DC Abortions

Coercive sterilization and abortions to get US aid

The Kemp-Kasten Amendment is a U.S. law which prohibits "population assistance" funds from going to any organization that "as determined by the president of the United States, supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization."

During most years since 1985, this law has blocked funding for the United Nations Population Fund. H.R. 1105, which was passed by the House of representatives in February, contained language which exempted UNFPA from Kemp-Kasten.When the bill came before the Senate on March 5, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., offered an amendment, No. 607, to remove the exemption.Both senators in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia voted against the amendment; President Obama signed the bill on March 11. The amendment failed by a 55 to 39 vote.

Dr. Alan Keyes and 20 Demonstrators Scheduled to Go to the Hooskow

On Thursday, May 7, Dr. Keyes was unexpectedly approached at a press conference on public property by two plain clothes Notre Dame Policemen, and told that if he walks on Notre Dame's campus for any reason, he will be arrested.

Dr. Keyes was shocked. He stated:

"I have not even stepped foot on the campus, and they give me this warning? They told me: 'We are just doing our job.' I told them I am just coming to witness for the truth."

A special spot in hell for sinners against truth, Archbishop warns

In his circles of Hell, Dante places the people with sins of passion at the very brim -- barely burned. But at the core are those who sinned against the truth.

Vatican Is Silent on Furor Over Obama, Notre Dame
Woe. Unto. Them.

UC Berkeley Health Service Data Stolen By Overseas Criminals

New adrenaline sport sees boarders surf down active volcano
Is that right? I'm rooting for the volcanoes.

CA: 4.2 in the midst of the fires

5.2 at Panama's border with Costa Rica

5.5 shakes central Chile

The Beach Boys
Seasons In The Sun
Bet ya never knew this existed!

WFRL: Wah Wah

George Harrison & Friends
The Concert for Bangladesh ~ 1971
Wah Wah

WFRL: RIP, Red Balls ~

Jim Carroll Band
People Who Died

WFRL: Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues

The Kinks
Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues

I'm too terrified
to walk out of my own front door,
They're demonstrating outside
I think they're gonna start the third world war,
I've been to my local head shrinker,
To help classify my disease,
He said it's one of the cases
of acute schizophrenia he sees.
Well the milkman's a spy,
and the grocer keeps on following me,
And the woman next door's
an undercover for the K.G.B.,
And the man from the Social Security
Keeps on invading my privacy,
Oh there ain't no cure for acute schizophrenia disease.
I've got acute schizophrenia
paranoia too,
Schizophrenia, schizophrenia,
I've got it,
you've got it,
we can't lose...

But... We don't WANT your normal, Siggy Fraud!

Queensryche
Roads to Madness

Most of this is memory now
I've gone too far to turn back now
I'm not quite what I thought I was
But then again... I may be more

The blood-words promised, I've spoken ~
Releasing the names from the circle...

Maybe I can leave here now and
Transcend the boundaries

For now, I'm standing here
I'm awaiting this grand transition
The future is but the past forgotten
And we're on the road to madness

Hat Tip: Chief Glowing Clackers of Nanuk

LISTENING TO MADNESS

Alissa Quart ~ NEWSWEEK

Why some mentally ill patients are rejecting their medication and making the case for 'mad pride.'

We don't want to be normal," Will Hall tells me. The 43-year-old has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, and doctors have prescribed antipsychotic medication for him. But Hall would rather value his mentally extreme states than try to suppress them, so he doesn't take his meds. Instead, he practices yoga and avoids coffee and sugar. He is delicate and thin, with dark plum polish on his fingernails and black fashion sneakers on his feet, his half Native American ancestry evident in his dark hair and dark eyes. Cultivated and charismatic, he is also unusually energetic, so much so that he seems to be vibrating even when sitting still.

I met Hall one night at the offices of the Icarus Project in Manhattan. He became a leader of the group—a "mad pride" collective—in 2005 as a way to promote the idea that mental-health diagnoses like bipolar disorder are "dangerous gifts" rather than illnesses. While we talked, members of the group—Icaristas, as they call themselves—scurried around in the purple-painted office, collating mad-pride fliers. Hall explained how the medical establishment has for too long relied heavily on medication and repression of behavior of those deemed "not normal." Icarus and groups like it are challenging the science that psychiatry says is on its side. Hall believes that psychiatrists are prone to making arbitrary distinctions between "crazy" and "healthy," and to using medication as tranquilizers.

"For most people, it used to be, 'Mental illness is a disease—here is a pill you take for it'," says Hall. "Now that's breaking down." Indeed, Hall came of age in the era of the book "Listening to Prozac." He initially took Prozac after it was prescribed to him for depression in 1990. But he was not simply depressed, and he soon had a manic reaction to Prozac, a not uncommon side effect. In his frenetic state, Hall went on to lose a job at an environmental organization. He soon descended into poverty and started to hear furious voices in his head; he walked the streets of San Francisco night after night, but the voices never quieted. Eventually, he went to a mental-health clinic and was swiftly locked up. Soon after, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He was put in restraints and hospitalized against his will, he says. For the next year, he bounced in and out of a public psychiatric hospital that he likens to a prison. The humiliation and what he experienced as the failure of the medication were what turned him against traditional treatment. Since then, Hall has been asking whether his treatment was really necessary. He felt sloshily medicated, as if he couldn't really live his life.

Hall and Icarus are not alone in asking these questions. They are part of a new generation of activists trying to change the treatment and stigma attached to mental illness. Welcome to Mad Pride, a budding grassroots movement, where people who have been defined as mentally ill reframe their conditions and celebrate unusual (some call them "spectacular") ways of processing information and emotion.

Just as some deaf activists prefer to embrace their inability to hear rather than "cure" it with cochlear implants, members of Icarus reject the notion that the things that are called mental illness are simply something to be rid of. Icarus members cast themselves as a dam in the cascade of new diagnoses like bipolar and ADHD. The group, which now has a membership of 8,000 people across the U.S., argues that mental-health conditions can be made into "something beautiful." They mean that one can transform what are often considered simply horrible diseases into an ecstatic, creative, productive or broadly "spiritual" condition. As Hall puts it, he hopes Icarus will "push the emergence of mental diversity."

Embracing "mental diversity" is one thing, but questioning the need for medication in today's pill-popping world is controversial—and there have been instances in which those who experience mental extremes harm themselves or others. Icaristas argue that some of the severely mentally ill may avoid taking medication, because for some the drugs don't seem to help, yet produce difficult side effects. And while some side effects like cognitive impairment are surely debilitating, others are more subtle, such as the vague feeling that people are not themselves. Icaristas call themselves "pro-choice" about meds—some do take their drugs, but others refuse.

Mad pride has its roots in the mad-liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s, when maverick psychiatrists started questioning the boundaries between sane and insane, and patients began to resist psychiatric care that they considered coercive. But today the emphasis is on support groups, alternative health and reconsidering diagnostic labeling that can still doom patients to a lifetime of battling stigma. Icarus also frames its mission as a somewhat literary one—helping "to navigate the space between brilliance and madness." Even the name Icarus, with its origin in the Greek myth of a boy who flew to great heights (brilliance) but then came too close to the sun (madness) and hurtled to his death, has a literary cast.

Although Icarus and Hall focus on those diagnosed as mentally ill, their work has much broader implications. Talking to Hall, I was acutely aware just how much their stance reflects on the rest of us—the "normal" minds that can't read through a book undistracted, the lightly depressed people, the everyday drunks who tend toward volatility, the people who "just" have trouble making eye contact, those ordinary Americans who memorize every possible detail about Angelina Jolie.

After all, aren't we all more odd than we are normal? And aren't so many of us one bad experience away from a mental-health diagnosis that could potentially limit us? Aren't "normal" minds now struggling with questions of competence, consistency or sincerity? Icarus is likewise asking why we are so keen to correct every little deficit—it argues that we instead need to embrace the range of human existence.

While some critics might view Icaristas as irresponsible, their skepticism about drugs isn't entirely unfounded. Lately, a number of antipsychotic drugs have been found to cause some troubling side effects.

There are, of course, questions as to whether mad pride and Icarus have gone too far. While to his knowledge no members have gravely harmed themselves (or others), Hall acknowledges that not everyone can handle the Icarus approach. "People can go too fast and get too excited about not using medication, and we warn people against throwing their meds away, being too ambitious and doing it alone," he says.

But is this stance the answer? Jonathan Stanley, a director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit working to provide treatment for the mentally ill, is somewhat critical. Stanley, who suffers from bipolar illness with psychotic features, argues that medication is indispensable for people with bipolar disease or with schizophrenia. Stanley's group also supports mandatory hospitalization for some people suffering severe mental illness—a practice that Icarus calls "forced treatment."

Scholars like Peter Kramer, author of "Listening to Prozac" and "Against Depression," also take a darker view of mental extremes. "Psychotic depression is a disease," Kramer says. As the intellectual who helped to popularize the widespread use of antidepressants, Kramer is nonetheless enthusiastic about Icarus as a community for mad pride. Yet he still argues that mental-health diagnoses are very significant. "In an ideal world, you'd want good peer support like Icarus—for people to speak up for what's right for them and have access to resources—and also medication and deep-brain stimulation," he says.

For his part, Hall remains articulate, impassioned and unmedicated. He lives independently, in an apartment with a roommate in Oregon, where he is getting a master's in psychology at a psychoanalytic institute. He maintains a large number of friendships, although his relationships, he says, are rather tumultuous.

Nevertheless, it's not so easy. Hall periodically descends into dreadful mental states. He considers harming himself or develops paranoid fantasies about his colleagues and neighbors. Occasionally, he thinks that plants are communicating with him. (Though in his mother's Native American culture, he points out, this would be valued as an ability to communicate with the spirit world.)

On another night, I had dinner with eight Icarus members at a Thai restaurant in midtown Manhattan. Over Singha beer, they joked about an imaginary psychoactive medication called Sustain, meant to cure "activist burnout." It was hard to imagine at the dinner what Hall had suffered. While he and his "mad" allies were still clearly outsiders, they had taken their suffering and created from it an all-too-rare thing: a community.

David Bowie
All the Madmen

And I'd rather stay here
With all the madmen
Then perish with the sad men
Roaming free
And I'd rather play here
With all the madmen
For I'm quite content
They're all as sane as me

WFRL: In the Lap of the Gods ~

Queen
Hammersmith ~ 1975
In the Lap of the Gods (revisited)

No beginning, there's no ending

There's no meaning in my pretending
Believe me, life goes on and on and on
Forgive me when I ask you
where do I belong
You say I can't set you free from me
But that's not true
It's in the lap of the Gods
I can see what you want me to be
But I'm no fool

WFRL: Some Heads Are Gonna Roll

Judas Priest
Some Heads Are Gonna Roll

You can look to the left

and look to the right
But you will live in danger tonight
When the enemy comes he will
Never be heard
He'll blow your mind
And not say a word
Blinding lights--flashing colors
Sleepless nights
If the man with the power
Can't keep it under control
Some heads are gonna roll
The power-mad freaks
who are ruling the earth
Will show how little they think you're worth
With animal lust they'll
Devour your life
And slice your word to bits like a knife
One last day
burning hell fire
You're blown away
If the man with the power
Can't keep it under control
Some heads are gonna roll....

WFRL: Badass Babalu

Desi Arnaz
Babalu

Floatin' Powa News Service: Purple Proles of the Apocalypse

Gogol Bordello
Start Wearing Purple
Start wearing purple
wearing purple
Start wearing purple for me now
All your sanity
and wits
they will all vanish
I promise,
it's just a matter of time...

So, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:

"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone
for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts
will never be dismayed.
~ Isaiah 28

Ten attorneys general defend Israel
Gee. All they need now is 15 jugglers and 5 believers.

Israeli police bust Palestinian artifact thieves

Israeli authorities have arrested two Palestinians who tried to sell a looted 1,900-year-old papyrus document in Hebrew worth millions of dollars, police said Wednesday.

Hamas claims responsibility for attack

Barkat presents first master plan for Jerusalem in 50 years
There is only one master plan for Jerusalem and it's a hell of a lot older than 50 years.

Vatican Presses for Possession of Jerusalem Sites

'Arab world formulating new peace plan'
We call it KILL THE JEWS.
It is remarkably like the old peace plan.

Jordan says new approach to Mideast peace emerging
DIE JUDEN DIE!

Biden says viable Palestinian state 'must be achieved'
Over our dead bodies. Literally.

Secret US-Israel Nuclear Accord in Jeopardy
How secret can it be if I am posting it here?

US wants Israel, India in anti-nuclear arms treaty

Israel brushes off call to sign nuclear arms pact

Man stoned to death in Iran for adultery

Iran planning to execute juveniles

Dissident Cleric Allegedly Tortured in Iran

Iraq protests Iran air raid on Kurd villages

Iran 'continues PJAK bombings in Iraq'

Morgenthau: Iran Threat 'Deadly Serious' to US

Foreign analysts cite Iran bomb progress

US still open on Iran, Gates says

Though discouraged by Iran's moves since the Obama administration extended its "open hand," the United States is "not willing to pull the hand back yet," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

When you do pull it back you will be horrified to observe you have only a stump left.

Gates: US will not abandon our Arab allies to Iran

Gates tells top brass: Talk to me before Congress

The Pentagon's top military and civilian leaders have been reminded by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to alert him, before Congress, of any "unfunded requirements" they detect in President Barack Obama's fiscal 2010 budget request.

Zardari flies to US amid fears over Pakistan's nukes
POCKEEESTAAAANNNNN!

Thousands of civilians flee Pakistani war zone

Taliban holds human shields in battle with military

Khushhal Khan, the senior government official in Swat, said: "The Taliban are using the people as shield. Taliban aren't allowing the people to through the checkpoints in Kanju and the surrounding areas."

Free the Lone Pig of Afghanistan!

Syria backs Philippines on OIC bid

Yemen takes part in preparatory meeting of OIC FM

OIC's "relief convoy" leaves for Gaza

Saudis Turn Down Moscow's Request to Boost Russia's Haj Quota

Iran sez: We can meet Europe's growing energy needs
Talk about being stuck between the devil and the deep red Vlad.....

Wary of Russia, EU works on eastern ties

Putin's energy Royal Flush, Ukraine's Dead Man's Hand

Amnesty says rights in Russia remain weak

Obama to host Russian foreign minister Thursday

Obama will hope his invitation will help smooth relations ahead of his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in July.

Few Russians believe Medvedev controls power
They oughta know.

IMF in Kazakhstan to discuss economic crisis

The International Monetary Fund sent a delegation to Kazakhstan this week to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on Central Asia's biggest economy, officials said on Thursday.

The World Bank has suggested Kazakhstan should consider a precautionary stand-by deal with the IMF to ensure additional money is available in an emergency but the oil-rich nation says it has enough state cash to fight the crisis.

Some analysts have speculated that the deepening crisis may force Kazakhstan to change its position.

Kazakh PM meets with new head of Exxon Mobil
Some heads are gonna roll.

Kazakhstan moves to tighten Internet, media controls

The Kazakh Parliament made a first step on April 29 towards tightening state controls over the Internet and the media, in a move criticized by human rights watchdogs.

If adopted, the law would allow courts to block websites, including foreign ones, and enable prosecutors to suspend media operations. It would also treat blogs and chatrooms as media.

Assistant General Public Prosecutors of Kazakhstan appointed

Soviet geologists once boasted that Kazakstan was capable of exporting the entire Periodic Table of Elements

Russia boots Canadian diplomats

Canada will ask the Russian ambassador to explain why two Canadians who worked at the NATO Information Office in Moscow had their diplomatic accreditation revoked, Canada's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Georgian war games launch despite Russia's fierce objections

Croatian officers to join NATO exercises in Georgia

Gazprom's Murky Games in Hungary

Uzbekistan Improving Relations With Israel

Saudi Arabia Sez: Uzbekistan beckons

Egypt: Foreign Minister receives Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan receives second Korean Air A-300-600 cargo plane

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will remain the focus of Obama's administration in Central Asia

It is important to notice that U.S. supports current policy of the Turkmen President and routinely sends its envoys to Turkmenistan attaching importance to the prospect that Turkmenistan might become a long-term energy supplier to the world markets.

Belarus and Europe inch closer..

TURKMENISTAN:
BELARUS ENTERS UNCHARTED MINING TERRITORY

Belarusian mining concern Belgorhimprom is to invest in Turkmenistan’s first facility to mine and enrich potassium salts for fertilizer compounds, the semi-official Turkmenistan.ru news website reported May 4

NUCLEAR Coolant:

A substance circulated through a nuclear reactor to remove or transfer heat. The most commonly used coolant in the United States is water. Other coolants include heavy water, air, carbon dioxide, helium, liquid sodium, and a sodium-potassium alloy.

....and a sodium-potassium alloy

Potassium IODIDE is also an anti radioactive compound..

Turkmen Media Workers Thirst for Freedom

Tehran protests Turkmen mistreatment of Iranians

Iran summons Turkmen ambassador

UNESCO director general arrives in Turkmenistan

Goldman Sachs's $100 Million Trading Days Hit Record

Goldman Sachs exec, bank VP spend $5.55M in Key Biscayne

World Bank May Lend Russia 'Several Billions' of Dollars

Speaking of the World Bank:

The Bank Information Center, along with several other civil society representatives from across the globe, participated in the Washington, DC round of consultations on the World Bank’s Policy on Disclosure of Information as part of the 2009 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF. The consultation consisted of a brief presentation by the World Bank on their recently released approach paper entitled “Rethinking the World Bank’s Disclosure Policy” followed by a Q & A session with civil society representatives.

Ex-Democratic fundraiser pleads guilty in NYC
Hsu?

US Senate debates future of newspapers in a digital age
Nationalize your Pravda, and fill it with the Purple Proles of Oymerika!

MTA bailout deal reached

GM loses another $6 billion

FDIC's Bair calls for 'systemic risk council'

Bernanke: Regulators Must Be More Vigilant, Forceful
Ach Tung Mine Fucko.

Judicial Reform Proposal Is a Political Trojan Horse

Obama Wants Additional $300 Million for FDA
SWINE FLU AKBAR!

GE to invest $6 bln by 2015 in healthcare push
SWINE AFFLUENZA AKBAR!

Obama Seeks a Global Health Plan

Raytheon Awarded up to $138 Million for Information Assurance
Information Assurance....

Government Secrets Found on Computer Sold on eBay

Secret details about the U.S. missle defense system were found on a computer hard drive bought on eBay during an investigation into personal data stored on computers being carelessly discarded, the Guardian reported.

Homeland Defense and the US Military
Basically it says we have no discernable strategy in place to defend our Homeland.
And we don't. Everything they said was instituted to defend our Homeland is actually being used to destroy it and us from within.

Pentagon plans 20,000 new jobs to manage arms-buys

President Barack Obama's Defence Department plans to create 20,000 new jobs to manage a revamp of the way the United States buys billions of dollars of weapons each year, the Pentagon's No. 2 official told Congress.

The Pentagon also plans to tie more contract fee structures to performance and will make sure that multiyear contracts are awarded only when "real, substantial" savings result to taxpayers, Deputy Defence Secretary William Lynn told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.

The Pentagon's top suppliers by prime contract value, in order, are Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, BAE Systems and Raytheon.

Alaskan volcano showing increased activity

Right Wing Bob

Santa Barbara fire burns homes, spur evacuations

No Sign of Poet Lost in Japan
I'm tellin ya.. MFer jumped in the crater in a fit of neopagan shitty poet lust.

Obama breaks from Bush on prayer day

While former President Bush held formal events in the White House each year to mark the National Day of Prayer, Obama is opting today for a private observance and will later issue an official proclamation.

AN OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION, even. I can't wait.

Alan Keyes to be Arrested at Notre Dame
Meet us at the Red House, Alan!

Somali pirates seize Dutch boat, chase US ship

CT:Wesleyan suspect targeting school, Jews
STFU!
He is only trying to achieve Glow Ball Peace Through Jew Shooting!

Deep Purple
Perfect Strangers

I am returning
the echo of a point in time
Distant faces shine
A thousand warriors I have known
And laughing as the spirits appear
All your life
Shadows of another day
A strand of silver hanging through the sky
Touching more than you see
The voice of ages in your mind
Is aching with the dead of the night
Precious life
Your tears are lost in falling rain
And if you hear me talking on the wind
You got to understand
We must remain
Perfect strangers