One very common tactic for enforcing political orthodoxies is to malign the character, "style" and even mental health of those who challenge them.
...
Nobody has been subjected to these vapid discrediting techniques more than Noam Chomsky. The book on which I'm currently working explores how establishment media systems restrict the range of acceptable debate in US political discourse, and I'm

A “gate to hell” has emerged from ruins in southwestern Turkey, Italian archaeologists have announced.

Known as Pluto's Gate -- Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin -- the cave was celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology and tradition.

Historic sources located the site in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, now called Pamukkale, and described the opening

Citing the essay “Argentina, the Church, and Debt” by Thomas Trebat, Mathews argues that, at the height of the debt crisis in 2002, Bergoglio was a leading voice in calling for a debt restructuring in which social programs would be considered more important than repaying and servicing existing financial debt. Statements by the Argentine bishops at that time diagnosed the main problems of the Arge

After outrage and protests erupted, four businesswomen set up Safecity.in, a website for victims of harassment to channel their anger.
The site encourages them to “Pin the Creeps” by reporting incidents of harassment and abuse — ranging from catcalling to rape — which are added to an online map and sent to those requesting alerts.
Mumbai-based Elsa D’Silva, a founder of the site, said social me

.. some analysts speculate that the revelations from the leaks at the very least accelerated Benedict’s decision to resign. In early 2012, he appointed three trusted cardinals to investigate beyond the criminal case involving his butler. They interviewed widely inside the Curia and out, and delivered their final report in December. Its contents are sealed, though speculation is rife that the card

If a homeowner's real-world equity is effectively zero, then what do they actually own? They own a mortgage, i.e. a promise to pay a debt. As long as they are current on payments, this acts more as a claim on future ownership, i.e. full ownership when the mortgage is paid off, or a long-term lease.

If their equity is 10% of the mortgage, there is no way to extract this equity short of selling

A century ago, Benedict XV was an energetic and courageous man who mobilized the Vatican diplomatic corps to end World War I and to arrange a negotiated peace. Benedict XV was hated especially by the British, who considered him a sympathizer of the Central empires.

Something of the spirit of Benedict XV lived on in Wojtyla, the Polish pope. When the Panamanian leader Noriega took re

"In my view, film is the only way to truly show the scale of the subject – the significance of Richard III's grand ambitions and the disastrous defeats.

"I know how hard it is to find backing for ambitious projects – especially when they concern history."

http://kingrichardarmitage.rgcwp.com

"This is not a normal war, it looks nothing like the October (1973 war against Israel). It is not the enemy we knew. This time the enemy is from our family, our neighbours and neighbouring countries supplying arms and spreading fundamentalist thinking. They kill and slay Syrians. This is a savage war," she says.

GMO: Should Californians Have the Right to Know?

No matter whether Obama or Romney wins the coming presidential election, American working people will face a savage assault on their economic rights starting after the vote. The asset stripper Romney and his sidekick Ryan have openly demanded the shredding of the existing social safety net, while channeling the proceeds to parasitical bankers and hedge fund operators. Obama, using his usual metho

On Tuesday, for example, The Journal published an op-ed by Michael Mukasey making the ludicrous and unsubstantiated assertion that President Obama may release the mastermind of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. Mukasey was identified as a former US Attorney General and federal judge.

As Media Matters noted, Mukasey is also an adviser to the Romney campaign, an extremely relevant fact

Think about it. Who the hell is going to loan Nakoula — a guy guilty of freakin’ bank fraud — the sum of five million dollars? Even if the actual budget was $50,000, how would this jailbird scrape up the dough? He was sent to prison for 21 months in 2010; how did he secure an early release?

You can’t make a movie of any kind — even a student film — if you can’t communicate via the internet.
H

Margie Bashfield may mould the eating habits of millions of Australians in her role as the executive producer of MasterChef Australia, but she doesn’t like cooking.

She readily admits her food journey so far hasn’t resulted in a highly refined palate. "I've got really simple tastes," she tells The Power Index, as we chat in the plain conference room of the MasterChef offices in Sydney’s Alexan

WHEN Rupert Murdoch came to Melbourne in October 2008, he met with Herald Sun editor-in-chief Bruce Guthrie and other senior News Limited executives. After expressing satisfaction at how his Melbourne tabloid was progressing, but wanting to lift circulation further, Murdoch asked, “How is the Age faring these days?” His managers ventured the opinion that Melbourne could be a one-newspaper town in