AdamSmith

Thanks for posting this. Just one of the myriad things the newly Republican NC legislature + governor are doing to cast us back into the 1800s.

You sound like you are on 'Mad Men' writing ad copy for a feminine hygiene product.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Snowden had traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow using a letter of safe passage provided by an Ecuadoran official. That is incorrect: Snowden traveled using his U.S. passport. This version has been corrected. Julian Assange: Edward Snowden is ‘marooned in Russia’ By David A. Fahrenthold, Updated: Sunday, June 30, 3:00 PM The Washington Post Edward Snowden — the fugitive former U.S. intelligence contractor — appears to be stuck in Moscow, unable to leave without a valid American passport, according to interviews Sunday with two men who had sought to aid him: WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa. Snowden, 30, arrived at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport last weekend, after previously taking refuge in Hong Kong. Moscow was only supposed to be a stopover. WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization, had said Snowden was headed on to Ecuador — whose leftist president has been critical of the United States — and that he would seek asylum there. Now, however, both men said Snowden is unable to leave. “The United States, by canceling his passport, has left him for the moment marooned in Russia,” said Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.” The United States canceled Snowden’s passport last weekend. Assange criticized the United States, saying: “To take a passport from a young man in a difficult situation like that is a disgrace.” Correa spoke to the Associated Press in Puerto Viejo, Ecuador. For now, Correa told the AP, Snowden was “under the care of the Russian authorities.” “This is the decision of Russian authorities. He doesn’t have a passport. I don’t know the Russian laws, I don’t know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can’t,” Correa said. He said that the case was now out of Ecuador’s hands. “If [snowden] arrives at an Ecuadoran Embassy, we’ll analyze his request for asylum.” Snowden traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow on his U.S. passport. Although the U.S. had already revoked it, Hong Kong authorities said they hadn’t received the official request to cancel the passport before Snowden left. An official at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London (where Assange himself has been holed up for a year, avoiding extradition to face sex-crimes charges in Sweden) had also issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. But Snowden apparently did not use it for his trip to Moscow. And it doesn’t appear that the Ecuadoran government would make a similar gesture again. On Sunday, Correa told the AP that an Ecuadoran official at that embassy had committed “a serious error” by issuing the first letter without consulting officials back home. Correa said the consul would be punished, although he didn’t specify how. Correa’s tone seemed to have shifted after a conversation with Vice President Biden on Friday. Where Correa had earlier been defiant, he now voiced respect for U.S. legal procedures. “If he really could have broken North American laws, I am very respectful of other countries and their laws, and I believe that someone who breaks the law must assume his responsibilities,” Correa said, according to the AP. Snowden’s escape plan — if it could be called a plan — was unlikely from the beginning. After revealing himself as the leaker, he sought to hopscotch 12,000 miles from Hong Kong to Russia to Ecuador (perhaps by way of Cuba) — evading both U.S. law enforcement and the world’s news media on a trip to the other side of the world. Now, that plan seems to have led Snowden to a Russian airport terminal. And a shrinking set of options. If he is not actually being detained by Russian authorities — and Russian officials have said that he is not — Snowden could continue to stay in the airport. Officially, he would not have entered Russia, since he would not have crossed passport control. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Snowden is free to leave again by plane — if he can buy an airline ticket. But, to buy a ticket, Snowden would probably need a valid passport, and he now doesn’t have one. Snowden could also try to exit by land. If he could get past passport control, he might make it to the Ecuadoran Embassy — or simply apply for asylum in Russia. There have been mixed signals on that front: A spokesman for Putin said Sunday that Snowden is not the Kremlin’s concern. But the spokesman also said that public opinion must be taken into account in deciding what to do with him. That could perhaps be a nod toward the possibility of asylum. Or not. This month, U.S. authorities charged Snowden with “theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.” The charges were filed in the federal court in Alexandria, whose jurisdiction includes the headquarters of contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, Snowden’s former employer. On Sunday, Assange argued that the Alexandria court was fundamentally hostile to cases like Snowden’s. “The jury pool is made up of the CIA, Pentagon, etc.,” Assange said. “There’s a 99 percent chance that — a 99.97 percent chance that if you’re a target of the grand jury you’ll be indicted. And a 99 percent chance that if you’re indicted by a grand jury you will be convicted.” The Department of Justice did not immediately respond Sunday when asked whether Assange’s statistics were accurate. Assange said that WikiLeaks also had been in contact with Snowden’s father, Lonnie Snowden, who told the “Today” show that he felt his son was being manipulated by WikiLeaks. “We have established contact with Mr. Snowden’s father’s lawyer to put some of his concerns to rest,” Assange said. “But, I mean, this isn’t a situation that, you know, WikiLeaks is in charge of, if you like. This is a matter for states at a very serious level to understand and sort out and behave responsibly.” Assange was asked by Stephanopoulos whether WikiLeaks was in possession of other secrets that Snowden took with him. “Look, there is no stopping the publishing process at this stage,” Assange said. “Great care has been taken to make sure that Mr. Snowden can’t be pressured by any state to stop the publication process.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/julian-assange-edward-snowden-is-marooned-in-russia/2013/06/30/67ed243e-e191-11e2-9960-65d66450db63_story_1.html

Ecuador president: Snowden can't leave Moscow MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN 1 hour ago PORTOVIEJO, Ecuador (AP) — Edward Snowden is "under the care of the Russian authorities" and can't leave Moscow's international airport without their consent, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told The Associated Press Sunday in an interview telegraphing the slim and diminishing possibility that the National Security Agency leaker will end up in Ecuador. Russian President Vladimir Putin has distanced himself from the case since Snowden arrived in Russia last week. But Correa portrayed Russia as entirely the masters of Snowden's fate. Putin insists the 30-year-old former NSA contractor remains in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport and that as long as he has not legally entered Russia, he is out of the Kremlin's control. However, the Kremlin also said Sunday that it will take public opinion and the views of human rights activists into account when considering Snowden's case, a move that could lay the groundwork for him to seek asylum in Russia. "This is the decision of Russian authorities," Correa told the AP during a visit to this Pacific coast city. "He doesn't have a passport. I don't know the Russian laws, I don't know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can't. At this moment he's under the care of the Russian authorities. If he arrives at an Ecuadorean Embassy we'll analyze his request for asylum." ." Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, center, jokes as he prepares before an interview with The Associa … Last week, several members of Russia's Presidential Council for Human Rights spoke out in support of Snowden, saying he deserved to receive political asylum in the country of his choice and should not be handed over to the United States. And a handful of protesters picketed outside the Moscow airport in what appeared to be an orchestrated demonstration on Friday, holding signs reading "Edward, Russia is your second motherland" and "Russia is behind Snowden." Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Ekho Moskvy radio that while Snowden is not Russia's concern, the Kremlin is aware of the viewpoints of Russian experts and representatives of human rights organizations. "Public opinion on the subject is very rich," Peskov said in the radio interview. "We are aware of this and are taking it into account." Correa said he had no idea Snowden's intended destination was Ecuador when he fled Hong Kong for Russia last week. He said the Ecuadorean consul in London committed "a serious error" by not consulting officials in Ecuador's capital when the consul issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. He said the consul would be punished, although he didn't specify how. Analysts familiar with the workings of the Ecuadorean government said Correa's claims that the decision was entirely Russia's appeared to be at least partly disingenuous. They said they believed Correa's administration at first intended to host Snowden, then started back-tracking this week when the possible consequences became clearer. ." Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, laughs during a interview with The Associated Press in Portoviejo … "I think the government started to realize the dimensions of what it was getting itself into, how it was managing things and the consequences that this could bring," said Santiago Basabe, an analyst and professor of political sciences at the Latin American School of Social Sciences in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito. "So it started pulling back, and they'll never tell us why, but I think the alarm bells started to go off from people very close to the government, maybe Ecuador's ambassador in Washington warned them about the consequences of asylum for Snowden." Correa said Snowden must assume responsibility if he broke U.S. laws, but added the broader legitimacy of Snowden's action must be taken into consideration. He said Ecuador would still consider an asylum request but only if Snowden is able to make it to Ecuador or an Ecuadorean Embassy to apply. The U.S. is seeking the former NSA contractor's extradition for leaking secret documents that, among other things, detail U.S. surveillance of international online activity. On Sunday, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that classified documents taken by Snowden also revealed U.S. spies had allegedly bugged European Union offices. Correa never entirely closed the door to Snowden, whom he said had drawn vital attention to the U.S. eavesdropping program and potential violations of human rights. But Correa appeared to be sending the message that it is unlikely Snowden will ever end up in Ecuador. He repeatedly emphasized the importance of the U.S. legal process and praised Vice President Joe Biden for what he described as a courteous and appreciated half-hour call about the Snowden case on Friday. He similarly declined to reject an important set of U.S. trade benefits for Ecuadorean exports, again a contrast with his government's unilateral renunciation of a separate set of tariff benefits earlier in the week. ." Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, speaks during a interview with The Associated Press in Portoviejo … "If he really could have broken North American laws, I am very respectful of other countries and their laws and I believe that someone who breaks the law must assume his responsibilities," Correa said. "But we also believe in human rights and due process." He said Biden had asked him to send Snowden back to the United States immediately because he faces criminal charges, is a fugitive from justice and has had his passport revoked. "I told him that we would analyze his opinion, which is very important to us," Correa said, adding that he had demanded the return of several Ecuadoreans who are in the United States but face criminal charges at home. "I greatly appreciated the call," he said, contrasting it with threats made by a small group of U.S. senators to revoke Ecuadorean trade privileges. "When I received the call from Vice President Biden, which was with great cordiality and a different vision, we really welcomed it a lot." Ecuadorean officials believe Russian authorities stymied the country's efforts to approve a political asylum application from the former NSA systems analyst, according to government officials with direct knowledge of the case. ." Ecuador's President Rafael Correa sings during his weekly live broadcast "Enlace Ciudadano," or "Cit … Those officials said Ecuador had been making detailed plans to receive and host Snowden. One of the officials said Russia's refusal to let Snowden leave or be picked up by Ecuadorean officials had thwarted the plans. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the case by name. One of the officials said Snowden had intended to travel from Moscow to the Ecuadorean capital of Quito. The official said Ecuador had also asked Russia to let Snowden take a commercial flight to meet Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino in Vietnam or Singapore, where Patino was on an official trip. The Russians rejected all of Ecuador's requests to let Snowden leave Moscow, or to let an Ecuadorean government plane pick him up there, the official said. Asked Sunday about those accounts, Correa responded, without elaborating, "We don't have long-range aircraft. It's a joke." Snowden's path to Ecuador would have gone through Cuba, which said little about the case all week, including whether it would have allowed him to use its territory to transit. Cuban leader Fidel Castro praised Correa's rejection of U.S. trade pressure, expressing his "sympathies" for the Ecuadorean leader in a Sunday editorial in the state press. http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-president-snowden-cant-leave-moscow-145434970.html Ecuador's Correa says Snowden's fate in hands of Russia Alexandra Valencia 1 hour ago .View gallery Ecuador's President Rafael Correa gestures during an interview with Reuters in Portoviejo June 30, 2013. … By Alexandra Valencia PORTOVIEJO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Sunday the fate of former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden is in the hands of the authorities in Russia, where he is holed up in hope of obtaining asylum in the South American nation. Correa said his government cannot begin considering asylum for Snowden, wanted by Washington for leaking confidential information about a surveillance program, until he reaches Ecuador or an Ecuadorean embassy. The 30-year-old former National Security Agency contractor has not been able to leave the Moscow international airport. "It's up to the Russian authorities if he can leave the Moscow airport for an Ecuadorean embassy," Correa said in an interview with Reuters in the coastal city of Portoviejo. "He will be treated just like any other citizen even though he does not have a passport. We are clear that this is a special situation." Correa's comments provide further confirmation Ecuador is unlikely to help Snowden escape his current limbo. His passport has been revoked and countries around the world are under pressure not to let him continue his journey. Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected U.S. calls to expel Snowden to the United States and says Snowden should choose a destination and leave the Moscow airport as soon as possible. A presidential spokesman said the issue was not on Putin's agenda and suggested it was being handled by Russia's domestic intelligence agency. The asylum request has helped Correa boost his profile within the region and could help him take on the mantle of late Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chavez, who for more than a decade was Latin America's loudest critic of Washington. "This may be the largest espionage case in this history of humanity," Correa said. Correa, who has repeatedly confronted the United States since first being elected in 2006, said on Saturday he had a "cordial" phone conversation with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who asked that Ecuador not grant Snowden asylum. Correa said he would take into account the opinion of the U.S. government when making the decision. BACKING FOR ASSANGE Correa on Sunday sent his regards to Snowden, whom he has thanked for revealing information about espionage efforts by the United States that go beyond its own borders. "Keep your spirits up and be brave," Correa said. "You have to know how to assume your responsibilities, but if you acted in good conscience then you can be at peace with yourself." The fallout over U.S. spying operations, the revelation of which has been a major embarrassment for U.S. President Barack Obama, appeared to expand on Sunday as the European Union confronted Washington on reports of spying by the National Security Agency. Ecuador said on Thursday it was pulling out of a U.S. trade benefits program in protest of pressure from the United States for having considered Snowden's asylum request. "Ecuador will not be pressured or blackmailed by anyone," Correa said. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, granted asylum last year in Ecuador's London embassy, has not lost the country's support despite apparently contributing to confusion over a travel document Ecuador's government issued to Snowden, Correa said. "In these crises when there is need to respond with urgency, it's also possible to make mistakes. But Mr. Assange continues to enjoy our support, respect and appreciation," he said. Ecuador's London consulate issued Snowden an unauthorized safe-passage document, potentially as a result of communication with Assange, Correa said on Saturday. Assange had said that Snowden received refugee papers from the Ecuadorean government to secure safe passage as he fled Hong Kong for Russia, which Correa's government had originally denied. Correa's critics have in recent days accused him of letting Assange take charge of crucial foreign policy matters. Assange, who is wanted in Sweden for questioning on sexual assault allegations, has not been able to leave the London embassy because Britain will not give him safe passage. http://news.yahoo.com/ecuadors-correa-says-snowdens-fate-hands-russia-160420467.html

Another one for hitoall...

...sort of a visual joke (consider it a placebo til the Tambourine Man can get here!)...

New Allegations Say Paula Deen Paid Black Employees in Alcohol posted by DeadState June 26, 2013 Adding to disgraced chef and cooking show host Paula Deen’s woes, new allegations have surfaced from a former employee who worked at one of Deen’s restaurants. The oyster cook, who is African American, claimed that during his time at the restaurant, Deen regularly made him and other employees work the parties on her Savannah estate without pay — instead being compensated with alcohol. Paula and [her brother] just gave us beer and alcohol and I don’t even drink. It was insulting and unfair. I was like, ‘Pay me!’ She knew I had just gotten married. I had a baby on the way. I needed the money and I was the only one to step up and complain over it because half the kitchen just needed their jobs. I was fired over it in the end because I’m not afraid to speak my mind. Deen allegedly threatened to fire the restaurant employees if they refused to work the parties. The new allegations come on top of a lawsuit filed against Deen and her brother Bubba Hiers, which claims the pair discriminated against black employees — even constantly referring to one as “my little monkey.” http://deadstate.org/new-allegations-allege-paula-deen-paid-black-employees-in-alcohol/

In like vein... Pat Robertson: ‘Sophisticated’ Americans are Less Likely to Experience Miracles posted by DeadState April 2, 2013 inShare This Monday, televangelist Pat Robertson told his viewers that “sophisticated” Americans are less likely to experience divine miracles because they are prone to believe in more scientifically-based things. On his CBN show The 700 Club, Robertson responded to a viewer who asked why “amazing miracles happen with great frequency in places like Africa” and not here in the United States. “People overseas didn’t go to Ivy League schools,” Robertson replied. “We’re so sophisticated, we think we’ve got everything figured out. We know about evolution, we know about Darwin, we know about all these things that says God isn’t real.” “We have been inundated with skepticism and secularism,” he went on to say. “And overseas, they’re simple, humble. You tell them God loves them and they say, ‘Okay, he loves me.’ You say God will do miracles and they say, ‘Okay, we believe him.’” Watch The 700 Club segment in the video below. Video at http://deadstate.org/pat-robertson-sophisticated-americans-are-less-likely-to-experience-miracles-video/

Dept. of Can't Make This Stuff Up... Fox News Guest: The Age of Enlightenment Led ‘Down the Dark Path to the Holocaust’ posted by DeadState May 2, 2013 Appearing on Fox & Friends, Penny Nance, the CEO of Concerned Woman for America, launched into a critique of President Obama’s transportation nominee Anthony Foxx, making the bizarre claim that his declaration of a National Day of Reason was reminiscent of events that led to the Holocaust. To coincide with Thursday’s National Day of Prayer, Foxx (the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina and Obama’s pick to head the Department of Transportation) issued a proclamation for the National Day of Reason in his city. Penny Nance found much to criticize in Foxx’s very public endorsement of the Constitution’s requirement of a separation between church and state. “You know, G. K. Chesterton said that the Doctrine of Original Sin is the only one which we have 3,000 years of empirical evidence to back up. Clearly, we need faith as a component and it’s just silly for us to say otherwise,” she said. Nance even went to attack the The Age of Enlightenment and Reason, saying that it “gave way to moral relativism, and moral relativism is what led us all the way down the dark path to the Holocaust.” Foxx has endorsed the National Day of Reason for two years in a row now. “The application of reason, more than any other means, has proven to offer hope for human survival on Earth,” his proclamation read. Watch Penny Nance on Fox News in the video below. http://deadstate.org/fox-news-guest-the-age-of-enlightenment-led-down-the-dark-path-to-the-holocaust-video/

One more headache for Francis... Disgraced Priest: Underage Prostitution Ring is Operating Within the Vatican Italian investigators have opened an inquiry into claims by a convicted paedophile priest that an underage prostitution ring has been operating inside the Holy Roman Church with clergymen hiring rentboys for sex inside churches. Don Patrizio Poggi, 46, told Italian authorities that a former Carabinieri pimped boys for nine clergymen. Poggi, who served a five-year sentence for abusing teenage boys while he was a parish priest at the San Filippo Neri church in Rome, said he made the allegations to “protect the Holy Church and the Christian community.” The boys were chosen because they were starving and desperate, he claimed, according to Il Messaggero newspaper. The former policeman used to recruit the boys, mostly eastern European immigrants, outside a gay bar named Twink near Rome’s Termini train station. He reportedly sat in his Fiat Panda – marked “Emergency Blood” to avoid parking fines – to make his selection. He was helped in the recruitment process by a friend who ran a modelling agency. He lured underage boys into prostitution through “false work offers for modelling and acting roles”, Poggi said. The agent also looked for rentboys at gay discos, saunas and gyms across Rome. An accountant was also said to be involved. The boys were paid €150-€500 (£130-£425) to perform sex acts in church premises across the capital. Poggi also accused the former Carabinieri of selling consecrated hosts for satanic rites. Poggi reportedly presented documentary and photographic evidence to police in the company of two senior Vatican clergymen who vouched for his credibility. Poggi identified the nine clergymen, including two senior church officials and a religion lecturer. Three people have been placed under formal investigation. The allegations were rejected by the Vatican. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, head of the Catholic Vicariate of Rome, said the priest made false claims out of a desire for vengeance and personal resentment. The Vatican refused to reinstate Poggi after he served his term. “The cardinal expresses his full confidence in the magistracy and declares himself full convinced that this slander will be demolished, demonstrating Poggi’s claims to be untrue,” Vallini said. “God will hold everyone accountable for their deeds.” (Source: International Business Times) http://deadstate.org/disgraced-priest-underage-prostitution-ring-is-operating-within-the-vatican/

(One of these is Texas Gov. Rick Perry... )

GOP Congressman Suggests Children Should Be Taught Gender Roles posted by DeadState June 19, 2013 inShare During a speech on the House floor this Tuesday in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) suggested that young boys and girls should be enrolled in courses that teach gender roles so they can learn “what’s important.” “Maybe part of the problem is we need to go back into the schools at a very early age — maybe at the grade school level — and have a class for the young girls and have a class for the young boys and say, you know, this is what’s important,” Gingrey said. “This is what a father does and this may be a little different — maybe a little different, maybe a little better than the talent that mom has in a certain area and same things for the young girls, you know, this is what a mom does and this is what’s important from the standpoint of that union — which we call marriage,” he continued. “And we have called that from the beginning of this country and long before the beginning of this country.” Gingrey made news earlier this year when he said that former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin was “partly right” when he made his infamous “legitimate rape” comments. Gingray is a medical doctor, which made his siding with Akin all the more controversial. Watch Gingrey’s full remarks in the video below. http://deadstate.org/gop-congressman-suggests-children-should-be-taught-gender-roles-video/

Today being Sunday...