6:00 PM Link Dump

It was pointed out to me sort of by accident that I spend a lot of time posting links on Facebook and Twitter where they kind of go to die if I don't put them somewhere I can find them later. So I'm going to try to start collecting the mess on the blog more frequently. Here's the first shot at it.

Today in links:

Greenwald: Anti-WikiLeaks lies and propaganda - from TNR, Lauer, Feinstein and more

Gulf Oil Spill: Why Size Mattered From the Very Beginning, Especially for BP

BP faces billions in fines for the oil that spewed from its damaged Macondo well into the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year. So, it was hardly shocking to hear that BP disagrees with the government’s estimates of how much oil flowed into the Gulf. Here’s where it get wacky: BP believes the government was off by as much as 50 percent.

N.O. inspector says hotels aren't paying fair share

The cash-strapped New Orleans city government is likely losing millions of dollars each year from hotels that either do not pay sales taxes or under-report their revenue, according to an analysis released today by the city's inspector general.

Borders trying to buy out or merge with Barnes & Noble:

Revulsion of the Day: Here's an edition of Pat Robertson's 700 Club from Sept 7, 2010 featuring Drew Brees talking about his book and his faith and keeping your chin up and positivity and other such crap.



Here is an otherwise mediocre interview between Stephen Colbert and new Hornets "owner" NBA Commissioner David Stern from Nov 15 where Stern makes a very telling slip in describing himself as an "internationalist" which he defines as different from "American".

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
David Stern
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

It's a revelatory comment in that Stern cannot nor can anybody in his above-the-law class identify in any meaningful way with sports fans whose passion derives from pride in their sense of place. Not only does someone like Stern not care about franchise relocation, he's fundamentally incapable of even empathizing with the fans who lose out as a result.

After the NBA assumed ownership of the Hornets, Stern estimates the franchise's value jumped by $50 million. Obviously he's looking to shop the team to an "internationalist" pool of potential buyers.

Meanwhile, Deadspin: The New Orleans Hornets' Sad Financial Documents

Speaking of selling out, read this impassioned speech by Hillary Clinton back in January about "Internet Freedom" just for laughs.

Pro-science textbooks win this time around in Louisiana

The Lens: Gusman won’t be charged in woman’s restraining death

Gambit: Some clueless Mormon tourists think "Katrina did New Orleans a World of Good" Which is... idiotic of course, but it's an occasion to remind ourselves that it makes more sense to worry about the people who actually live here and hold positions of power and influence who frequently display the same attitude. And I'm not just talking about Erroll Laborde. Katrina gave a lot of plutocratic New Orleanians the opportunities they thought they'd never have to break the teachers' union, to privatize school management, to reduce access to affordable housing.

There was a time when the perceptions of outsiders mattered but that media war has already been lost. Time to focus on the real problem.

Watch Cornell West say it. Barack Obama doesn't care about jobless people.



And finally, The Lens: Don’t plan on recycling bottles from New Year’s Eve bash

The much-touted recycling program for most of the city, announced as a sweetener in the recent contract negotiations with Metro Disposal and Richard’s Disposal, will not start with the new year, an attorney for the companies said, and it’s unclear just how soon residents will be putting out their paper, plastic and glass.