Heidi Minx interview Palden speaks about imprisoned Tibetan filmmaker, Dhondup Wangchen, and China’s reaction to artists. Please watch this interview as it’s extremely important and will change how you look at the way China conducts their human rights activities. Heidi is a well known punk rocker and human rights journalist currently living in India. Do YPA Press and Heidi Minx a favor by sharing this link with your friends so they can better understand the plight of these peaceful people.
An oil spill flows down into Liberty Park Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Salt Lake City. A Chevron pipe broke in the foothills of Salt Lake, sending oil down Red Butte Creek, eventually dumping it into the park's pond. (AP Photo/The Deseret News, Matt Gillis)
By: Political Buzz Examiner Ryan Witt
Most of the country’s attention is understandably focused on the Gulf oil spill given the magnitude of the disaster. However, few know about a much smaller oil spill in Salt Lake City, Utah which is being referred to as a “devastating situation” by Governor Gary Herbert (R).
Unlike the BP oil spill in the Gulf, the Utah spill was caused by a pipeline onshore owned by Chevron. The pipeline spewed out oil at a rate of 50 gallons per minute before being discovered and shut off by Chevron. The Utah spill has already affected a six mile area, including over 150 birds. Officials are concerned the oil may reach more rivers and streams in the state doing more damage.
Over the past few weeks many conservatives have argued that onshore and shallow water drilling remains safe. Some have even accused liberal policies of restricting too much onshore drilling, essentially forcing oil companies to drill in deep water. In fact, most onshore and shallow water sites have been drilled already. The sites that remain are usually located by what are considered environmentally precious areas. As Think Progress notes, just last month the state of Utah threatened to sue the federal government over restrictions of onshore drilling in Utah. No one has checked to see if the Governor will still press for less restrictions given the current situation in Utah.
For environmentalists, the Utah spill proves that any oil drilling, whether onshore or in shallow water, poses significant risks to the surrounding environment. This provides all the more incentive to accelerate the development of other energy sources to replace oil.
Over the past few years a new voice has emerged from the throws of the Republican party. We call her Sarah Palin or for some, like Ed Schlutz, the more fitting name Karabo Barbie. But before we launch into this, lets give a quick synopsis of this woman’s life and career;
Palin went to five different colleges, eventually graduating with a degree in journalism. This no doubt to go into a career in sideline reporting for hockey games. By some dumb stroke of luck she became the Major of Wasilla, Alaska. A town so riddled with Crystal Meth that it’s made the news papers for drug busts on many occasions. After deciding this was not good enough she ran for governor of the state that America forgot. Not shockingly she won, being that Alaskans have little to know idea what’s going on with the rest of the world anyhow.
Finally she was nominated for the Vice Presidency by then candidate Senator John McCain after about twenty minutes of vetting. Obviously (and thankfully) the woman never set foot in the oval office with McCain but that has not kept her from spewing mindless idiocy. We at YPA Press have scowered the internet (okay well it wasn’t that hard really) for some of the most asinine things the digbat from Alaska ever said as well as some fun things that were said about Palin:
“Fuel America with Terrorist-Tarred Oil Instead of Drilling Our Own, Baby?” (this coming after the oil spill off our shores.)
“Great job Sharron! Reid’s overspending will blow up r economy.Stay strong;People see through the spin&sparks.Do well 4 America!” - For those of you who don’t know Sharron Angle is the woman running for congress who believes fluoride in the water is meant to brain wash you and is a member of the John Birtch Society.
“As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border.” –Sarah Palin, explaining why Alaska’s proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience, interview with CBS’s Katie Couric, Sept. 24, 2008 (Watch video clip)“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.” - We don’t even have a witty comment making fun of this….it just is what it is, pure insanity.
“All of ‘em, any of ‘em that have been in front of me over all these years.” –Sarah Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008 (Watch video clip)
“I think on a national level your Department of Law there in the White House would look at some of the things that we’ve been charged with and automatically throw them out.” –Sarah Palin, referring to a department that does not exist while attempting to explain why as president she wouldn’t be subjected to the same ethics investigations that compelled her to resign as governor of Alaska, ABC News interview, July 7, 2009
“[T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.” –Sarah Palin, getting the vice president’s constitutional role wrong after being asked by a third grader what the vice president does, interview with NBC affiliate KUSA in Colorado, Oct. 21, 2008 (Watch video clip)
“Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit.”— Sarah Palin, speaking in Toronto, Dec. 18, 2009
“They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan.” —Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in San Francisco, Oct. 5, 2008
Sarah Palin, on writing notes on her hand during her Tea Party convention speech: ”I didn’t really had a good answer, as so often — is me. But then somebody sent me the other day, Isaiah 49:16, and you need to go home and look it up. Before you look it up, I’ll tell you what it says though. It says, hey, if it was good enough for God, scribbling on the palm of his hand, it’s good enough for me, for us. He says, in that passage, ‘I wrote your name on the palm of my hand to remember you,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m in good company.”’
”Extreme deep water drilling is not the preferred choice to meet our country’s energy needs, but your protests and lawsuits and lies about onshore and shallow water drilling have locked up safer areas. It’s catching up with you. The tragic, unprecedented deep water Gulf oil spill proves it.” —Sarah Palin, blaming the Gulf oil spill disaster on ”extreme environmentalists,” Facebook message, June 2, 2010
“‘Freedom Watch’” is arguably Tea Party TV in its purest form to date,” the New York Times’ Brian Stelter writes about a new Fox Business Network show targeted at libertarians.
The show, hosted by Judge Andrew Napolitano, debuted on TV over the weekend after appearing as a web feature and, writes Stelter, represents a move toward libertarian talk for the network that has struggled to attract ratings:
Fox News already dominates the market for conservative TV talk with hosts like Mr. Beck and Sean Hannity, and has generated billions in revenue to show for it. Now, the upstart Fox Business is making room for libertarian talk, too. An aggressive pro-civil liberties, anti-government streak is evident on both “Freedom Watch” and “Stossel,” a weekly Fox Business show hosted by the former ABC News anchor John Stossel that was added last fall.
As any libertarian will tell you, there are sharp differences in opinions between conservatives and libertarians, and now Fox has programs for both.
Fox News has debuted this show as a “Tea Party Summit” hosting Ron Paul and Sarah Palin amongst other members of the fringe right-wing movement.
“The front line in the fight for the soul of the tea party movement is here on this show,” Napolitano said in the show’s open. “From New York, defending freedom, so long America,” he said to close the show.
