Hydrologic cycle in serious trouble - Gas & Oil Party and corporate media engaging in distracting circus

AP/Nati Harnik

The Fort Calhoun nuclear power station, in Fort Calhoun, Neb., is surrounded by flood waters from the Missouri River, earlier this month.

How Bad is the Texas Drought? “In Austin, They are Praying for a Hurricane” | ThinkProgress: "More than 6.8 million acres in the central United States have been swamped after record spring rainfall overwhelmed rivers already swollen from the melting of a heavy winter snow pack….
Meanwhile, the southern United States is dealing with one of the most extreme droughts since the dust bowl of the 1930s, and the dry conditions have led to massive and uncontrollable wildfires."

Free 'Big Society' bus service for Bristol due to start | Bristol24-7

Free 'Big Society' bus service for Bristol due to start | Bristol24-7: "A free bus service launching this Saturday in Bristol, and funded entirely by local residents, aims to provide a glimpse of what David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ should look like.
Freebus is the first group in the UK to offer community funded public transport that is free at the point of use. The project is launching further services across the city later this year and aims to develop a model for communities across the country to take control of their public transport systems.
The initial service links Temple Meads station with the city centre. Chair Jack Phillips said the group were “amazed” by the interest the project had generated."

Corporations Sitting On A Record Amount Of Cash | ThinkProgress

Corporations Sitting On A Record Amount Of Cash | ThinkProgress: "CORPORATIONS SITTING ON A RECORD AMOUNT OF CASH | CNBC reports that “the current members of the S&P 500 are sitting on about $800 billion in cash and cash equivalents, the most ever, according to data by Birinyi Associates, even as the unemployment rate has ticked back above 9 percent.”"

The American suburbs are a giant Ponzi scheme | Grist

Not real wealth, just the illusion of wealth.Photo: John "K"
The American suburbs are a giant Ponzi scheme | Grist: "The reason we have this gap is because the public yield from the suburban development pattern -- the amount of tax revenue obtained per increment of liability assumed -- is ridiculously low. Over a life cycle, a city frequently receives just a dime or two of revenue for each dollar of liability. The engineering profession will argue, as ASCE does, that we're simply not making the investments necessary to maintain this infrastructure. This is nonsense. We've simply built in a way that is not financially productive."

Just as in Egypt, cops disappear, thugs appear.

Former Sen. Dave Zein in the wheelchair, alleged right wing extremists standing with him. Photo: Anna Liska, Facebook.

Man arrested for battery in Capitol altercation - JSOnline: "Madison - A Green Bay man was arrested for battery for an altercation in the Capitol involving members of a pro-union singalong and a former state senator.

Around 1 p.m. Tuesday, a group of protesters was participating in their daily singalong in the Capitol rotunda, when two men along with former state Sen. David Zien began interrupting their singing."

More here:  http://wiscoprogressive.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/gun-toting-tea-hadist-punches-solidarity-singer-at-wisconsin-capitol/

The people of Wisconsin are fighting the Koch-puppet Governor who has said he has considered using agents-provocateurs against them. To keep up follow #wiunion on twitter or see fare-free Wisconsin.

Transportation For America » Most Aging Baby Boomers Will Face Poor Mobility Options

Transportation For America » Most Aging Baby Boomers Will Face Poor Mobility Options: "By 2015, more than 15.5 million Americans 65 and older will live in communities where public transportation service is poor or non-existent, a new study shows. That number is expected to continue to grow rapidly as the baby boom generation “ages in place” in suburbs and exurbs with few mobility options for those who do not drive."

Movement for free public transport in Brazil [MPL]

http://mpljoinville.blogspot.com/2011/06/video-da-participacao-do-mpl-jlle-na.html

Benefits of free public transport outweigh cost

...Cleaner air by dint of less traffic on the roads, and far fewer accidents. Fewer police tied up with chasing motorists, and therefore available for more pressing matters. The country would require much, much less crude oil and petrol. It would be possible, even desirable, to scrap much of the UK’s internal air traffic.

The unemployed would be truly liberated. Instead of getting on their bikes, they could get on the train instead. With a fare-free transport system, not only would mobility increase, but people would be willing to work for less, which in turn would stimulate the real economy. And so on. Indeed, society would become totally restructured....

Read more... at http://www.financialreform.info/f_r_free_travel.html

Chile: National student strike demands free public transit - The China Post

16 cops injured, 46 people detained in Chile protests - The China Post: "High school and university students have been protesting for days to press for demands including free public transit passes and better quality education.

Police estimated the crowd of protesters at about 7,000. In addition to students, it included hundreds striking copper mine workers."

Video: http://newsite.ntn24news.com/videos/university-students-go-national-strike-chile

The real reason the U.S. military is in Afghanistan

AFP: China, Kazakhstan eye doubling of trade: "ASTANA — China and Kazakhstan on Monday signed a strategic partnership deal and vowed to double trade as President Hu Jintao visited the energy-rich Central Asian state to tighten already close ties."

Farmers face water shortage as climate changes: FAO | Reuters

Farmers face water shortage as climate changes: FAO | Reuters: "(Reuters) - Farmers, governments and regulators should take preventive action to improve water management, because climate change will tighten water supplies for agriculture, the United Nations' food agency said."