As The World Sleeps

The Time-Wasting Network (How Facebook takes the hard work out of goofing off) National Review ^ | 05/18/2012 | Rich Lowry, Posted on Fri May 18 2012 22:31:27 GMT+0800 (China Standard Time) by SeekAndFind, FreeRepublic, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

‘If time be of all things the most precious,” Benjamin Franklin said, “wasting time must be the greatest prodigality.” But he had never heard of a status update.

Facebook is the world’s foremost purveyor of information you shouldn’t care about. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is to uselessness what Henry Ford was to the automobile. He has mastered it on an industrial scale and is riding it to a vast fortune. At more than $100 billion, the valuation of Facebook equals the annual GDP of Morocco or Vietnam, countries that don’t top anyone’s list of economic powerhouses, but do actually produce some things of value.

Sri Lanka Supreme Court slams door on websites by Bob Dietz, CPJ Asia Program Coordinator, Sri Lanka Guardian, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

( May 18, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) On Wednesday, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court slammed the door on a case about the shutdown of four websites that had failed to register with the government. In handing down its decision, the Court appeared to rule that freedom of expression in Sri Lanka is not an absolute right and can be restricted--and you don't need to pass a law to do so. The three-judge panel told the petitioners who brought the case--Sunil Jayasekara, convener of the Free Media Movement, and Udaya Kalupathirana, a member of the movement's executive committee--that they saw no reason for the court to hear any further arguments.

Mullivaaikkaal Remembrance Message by Visvanathan Rudrakumaran and Rev Dr S J Emanuel Global Tamil Forum, Sri Lanka Guardian, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

( May 19, 2012, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Today ( May 18) marks the third anniversary of the genocidal events that the Tamils had to endure in Mullivaaikkaal. On this day, we remember with deep sorrow and solemn responsibility all the people who perished in Mullivaaikkaal and in the long freedom struggle of Eelam Tamils in preceding years.

Many thousands of civilians were murdered by the Sri Lankan government forces in inhumane ways, under the guise of a war on terrorism, having abandoned all international norms and conventions of war. History has recorded the abject failure of the international community, including the United Nations, to take any form of sensible action to prevent the mass killings of Tamils in Mullivaaikkaal.

Facebook's Zuckerberg changes status, weds Chan AFP News – 2 hours 42 minutes ago, YahooNews, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg capped the week of a lifetime, changing his own status to married after wedding Priscilla Chan just a day after his company went public, he announced.

Zuckerberg posted a wedding picture with his bride, where else but on his Facebook page.

"Mark added a life event to May 19, 2012 on his timeline: Married Priscilla Chan," was the only description of the shot of the bride in white and the groom -- famous for his attachment to casual clothes -- all smiles in a dark suit and tie on his other big day.

Facebook stumbled on its first trading day Friday as shares ended barely above the starting price after a glitch-plagued market debut on the Nasdaq that failed to live up to its enormous hype.

Is Al Gore about to Clone Himself? May 19, 2012, Economic Policy Journal, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

I know, the thought shudders the mind.

...things seem to have worked out for Al Gore. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former VP has a serious girlfriend, we’ve learned. 

The G-8 Plotter's Plot,  May 19, 2012, Economic Policy Journal, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

As the eurozone teeters on the edge of collapse, President Obama hosts a plotting session in Laurel Cabin during the G8 Summit at Camp David, Md., Friday. 

US Armed Forces Day Pride In The Mass-Murder Of Millions By Jay Janson, 19 May, 2012, Countercurrents.org, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

"Presidential Proclamation -- Armed Forces Day, 2012

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

With every assignment and in every theater, America's men and women in uniform perform their duties with the utmost dignity, honor, and professionalism. Through their dauntless courage and dedication, they live up to our Nation's highest ideals in even the most perilous circumstances. On Armed Forces Day, we pay tribute to the unparalleled service of our Armed Forces and recall the extraordinary feats they accomplish in defense of our Nation."

ISRAEL- PALESTINE: "Peace-making" without "Mediators" Global Research, May 19, 2012, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

A surplus of mediators have been around all the time, including the heavy weight Quartet of the UN, U.S., EU and Russia, as well as heaps of terms of reference of UNSC resolutions, bilateral signed accords and “roadmaps,” in addition to marathon bilateral talks that have left no stone unearthed, international as well as regional conferences were never on demand to facilitate the “peace process,” which has been lavishly financed to keep moving.

However the Palestinian – Israeli peace-making is still elusive as ever as Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” has been, without a glimpse of light at the end of the endless tunnel of Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory and people.

Chicago Militarized for NATO By Stephen Lendman, Saturday, 19 May 2012 08:43, MediaWithConscience, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

Ready or not, NATO arrived on May 19 and 20. Chicago's in virtual lockdown. Residents feel occupied. Building occupants got special instructions.

This writer's residence advised "leaving town between May 18 - 22." Otherwise limit city travel. Have essentials on hand, including food and water. Consider working at home. Avoid certain parts of the city. Observe curfew and other mandates.

No large deliveries will be allowed. Special precautions are being taken. Visitors must have verifying photo IDs. Vehicular restrictions will be enforced. Portions of the building will be locked and inaccessible. Avoid large gatherings if at all possible. Stay close to home.

Chicago: My kind of (NATO) town by Pepe Escobar, Saturday, 19 May 2012 11:11, MediaWithConscience, http://www.astheworldsleeps.org

ock down. A ring-of-steel. An ocean of Chicago cops. The Secret Service. The National Guard. Security perimeters. Steel fencing. Concrete barriers. Upgraded riot gear. Mayor Rahm Emanuel - former White House Chief of Staff and President Obama confidante - targeting "strategic areas". "Extraction teams" ultra-ready to snatch and grab pinpointed protesters in a "low intensity conflict" environment.

Last but not least, the LRAD (long-range acoustic device) - a sound cannon more lethal than Metallica on a bad night, bound to "ensure a consistent message is delivered to large crowds", according to the Chicago Police Department.

What's that? Baghdad under the surge? A remake of The Blues Brothers, starring the ghost of John Belushi and Obama as Aretha Franklin (or James Brown)?