OntheWilderSide

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A former judge has lost his court argument that a Long Island county's red-light camera system is unconstitutional. In a ruling last week, state Supreme Court Justice Anthony Parga denied Samuel Levine's claim that he should be able to confront in court those who installed Nassau County's red light cameras. Parga said he made his decision because Levine does not face a criminal conviction, but rather a violation of the vehic … Read More

via CBS New York- News, Sports, Weather, Traffic and the Best of NY

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When you get that sort of response you never know if it is representative of the bigger picture. There could be any number of reasons one polling station or area or city supports a particular candidate and until that point there was no reason to believe the polls that gave Marina around 14 percent of the vote were substantially incorrect. Even though a lot of people said they supported her, it was hard for me to believe that she was really going to make an impact.

It was only when the results came in and she got 19 percent that I realized what I had seen was no fluke

I wrote two stories today recapping and analysing the weekend election results. One piece appeared in Time magazine, which is basically a short analysis of what we can expect in the second round. And this one in the Christian Science Monitor is a straighter report of the weekend’s winners and losers. The big surprise of course was the performance of Green Party candidate Marina Silva. I spoke to a number of people outside a polling station in Bra … Read More

via Andrew Downie's Brazil Blog

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The earlier Washington Post Style Page would have snapped up the suggestion in all its engrossing dimensions. This rejection, in favor of regular style features of entertainers and celebrities filled with strange angst, is representative of the contemporary media’s aversion to covering up-and-coming civic leaders as they did in the Sixties and Seventies. In those times, worthy civic advocates could become well known and attract the attention and engagements of the public for societal betterment.

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/ by Ralph Nader The Nader Page Oct. 5, 2010 Imagine interviewing a woman who has done something that no other woman in the recorded history of the world has accomplished. The remarkable Roz Savage has rowed solo across the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. She intends to row solo across the Indian Ocean early next year startin … Read More

via Dandelion Salad

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I have observed that it was one thing to be anti-Bush, but to be anti-war in the age of Obama is not to be tolerated by many people. If you will also notice, the only people who seem to know about the raids are those of us already in the movement. There has been no huge outcry over this fresh outrage, either by the so-called movement or the corporate media.

I submit that if George Bush were still president, or if this happened under a McCain/Palin regime, there would be tens of thousands of people in the streets to protest. This is one of the reasons an escalation in police state oppression is so much more dangerous under Obama – even now, he gets a free pass from the very same people who should be adamantly opposed to such policies.

by Cindy Sheehan Featured Writer Dandelion Salad Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox Blog Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox crossposted from Al Jazeera October 5, 2010 “The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.” – Albert Camus Recently, the Federal Bureau of … Read More

via Dandelion Salad

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Since the corporations control the government (and I mean exactly that) it really makes no sense that the labor unions of this nation should support the Democratic Party. Ask yourself this simple question; why should unions support a political party that is in the control of corporate interests that the unions were designed to thwart in the first place? How can the unions get better pay and benefits for its workers when the political party they support is controlled by management? This isn’t rocket scientist stuff, folks, it’s just a simple question with a simple answer…they shouldn’t. Especially when you consider that many corporations are trans-national corporations that could care less about the plight of the American worker! It is utter nonsense to support a political party that is in bed with the management of corporate entities that the unions must deal with in the support of their workers. Does that make any sense?

By Timothy V. Gatto Featured Writer Dandelion Salad liberalpro.blogspot.com Oct. 5, 2010 When I attended the One Nation Rally on October 2, I was gratified that the public has become so aware of the corporate control that has gripped both political parties. The graft, the campaign financing using practices such as “bundling” donations, the offers of employment at lobbying firms should a politician retire or lose his or her seat and the many “perk … Read More

via Dandelion Salad

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Earlier this month, Congress approved Obama’s nomination of Catherine Woteki, the USDA’s undersecretary for research, education, and economics. The appointment drew little attention in the press, including the sustainable-food blogosphere. That’s surprising, because Woteki comes to her new position after a five-year stint as global director of scientific affairs for Mars, Inc., the multinational junk-food giant.

By Tom Philpott Grist The long-simmering debate about Obama's ag policy — whether it represents a new paradigm, agribusiness as usual, or some enigmatic combination — has a new data point to consider. Earlier this month, Congress approved Obama's nomination of Catherine Woteki, the USDA's undersecretary for research, education, and economics. The appointment drew little attention in the press, including the sustainable-food blogosphere. That's … Read More

via Food Freedom

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Though some of this could be fictional and Hollywood-ized, it was pretty sad to watch all this. For such an intelligent film, I wonder if anyone else picked up on the misogyny. The film was cleverly made to put all these incidents together to paint the picture of the men involved as fiercely struggling with egos, loyalty, business ethics, and 20 year old hormones. The characters lacked both the skill in dealing with women as full equal people, and in any inclination to see deeper than skin. I suppose this is typical college guy behavior? If so, it’s pretty scary. Ironic that the founder of a social network left much social acumen to be desired. I hope the real life Mark knows better.

The current movie about the creation of Facebook paints its founder Mark Zuckerberg to be an a-hole. After an obsessive rant about how badly he wants to get into the top fraternity at Harvard (though he’s a computer geek), and a competitive argument about future success, his first girlfriend leaves him saying that though he may fear girls won’t like him because he’s a nerd, it will really be because he’s an a-hole. He runs back to his dorm, and i … Read More

via Ecobeth

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