Media/Memes: Trayvon Manson, Titanic Tax Day

We've been tracking most of these stories for several weeks and now it seems as though they're converging. We also have tax day, Lincoln's assassination anniversary and many more memes... Stay tuned!

'Titanic,' like Obama, focuses on class divisions*
Titanic Myths and the End of Consumer Capitalism*
The Titanic: The Mass Murder That Created the Federal Reserve Bank and the New World Order’s 20th Century?*
100 Years Ago, the Titanic Disaster Captivated New York City*
Titanic sinking 100 years later:
A night that lives on in film, books, television, theater*
The Iceberg Was Only Part of It:
A New Look at Nature's Role in the Titanic's Sinking*
@RollingStone: #Titanic3D and #AmericanReunion - Which movie is worth seeing?*
Titanic-related artifacts to be auctioned in New York*
Video: Buying Titanic memorabilia 'is not weird'*
Titanic unlikely to sink again, says prof - apparently*
Northern Ireland pinning hopes on Titanic resurgence*
Titanic memorial cruise reaches Cobh in Irish Republic*
Video: Memorial cruise sets sail for site where Titanic sank*
Buying Titanic memorabilia 'is not weird'*
Memorial cruise sets sail for site where Titanic sank*
Titanic Memorial Cruise Sets Sail*
Video: Titanic cruise ship Balmoral turns around*
Fukushima Update | Japanese ghost ship shows up off Canadian coast*
'Battleship' Film Review - The Hollywood Reporter*
Video: 'Titanic 2' on @NavigateNetflix*

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@jeremyscahill: Is the cast of The Hunger Games standing behind Santorum?*
Santorum’s daughter, ‘Bella,’ hospitalized again*
Edwards syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia*
Katniss Everdeen, a New Type of Woman Warrior*
Edmund Epstein Dies at 80 - Gave ‘Lord of the Flies’ Wings*
Twilight Language: F35 Into CBC Building*
Pilots in Navy jet crash had few options*
JetBlue 191 Jumble: False Flag Flight?*
Foreign Box Office: 'Wrath of the Titans' Holds at No. 1*

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Mass Murderer Charles #Manson Boycotts Parole Hearing*
Video: Bugliosi Says Manson should stay behind bars*
Calif. prison panel denies Manson's bid for parole*
Helter Skelter "prosecutor claimed the phrase reflected Manson's twisted idea that he could cause a racewar"*
Video: Charles Manson Denied Parole After Saying He Is a 'Very Dangerous Man'*

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Dear Media: America Doesn’t Want Your New Race War*
Amy Goodman: Black in White Plains - The Police Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain*
Zimmerman to be charged in killing of Trayvon*
Armed Neo-Nazis Occupy Sanford, Protecting 'Whites'*
Tyson on Zimmerman: 'It's a disgrace that man hasn't been shot yet'*
Bad Timing for a Comedy Called ‘Neighborhood Watch’*
Video: 'Neighborhood Watch' Movie Trailer*
Trayvon Martin Case: George Zimmerman Charged With Second Degree Murder After 44 days*
Zimmerman booked on 2nd-degree murder charge*

Developing...

#Newspurge: Gimme the Finga

Geopolitiks:
Prize-winning NYTimes writer dies on assignment in Syria*
2 More Western Journalists Killed as Syria Shells Homs*
Marie Colvin's killing piles pressure on Assad as civilian death toll rises*
Clinton Suggests Syrian Rebels Will Get Arms*
Video: Washington WarWhores Call for Arming Syrian Rebels*
Meanwhile, Airborne Laser Program Dumped After 16 Years and Billions Spent in Development*
India Allows Request to Charge U.S. Citizen in 2008 Attacks*
Video: US Senate Backs Military Force on Iran*

Media/Memes:
Nicki Minaj kind of blue for Vogue's eye-catching photo shoot*
Adele flips the bird at Brit Awards*
Betty White Flips Off Shocked Driver in LA*
Video: Black Sheep 'Gimme the Finga'*
'Amazing Race' prod. Jeff Rice may have died from cocaine overdose, not poison attack*

Obamessiah Updates:
Rahm, Daley Named Obama's Chicagoland Campaign Muscle Co-Chairs*
Maher pledges $1M to Obama PAC*
Sheriff says he's gay, quits Mitt*
Santorum Criticizes Education System*

Oregon Oddities:
NY Judge Sets $5M Bail for Head of Oregon Firm*
Detention hearing for man in fraud case*
U.S. Postal Service To Close 4 Oregon Mail Processing Facilities*

Police State Updates:
Supreme Court Justices Remain Security Exceptions*
Northampton "opts out" of federal law*
Video: NYPD monitored Muslim college students*
Terror scenario rehearsed in pre-Olympics security test*
Video: C-SPAN audience rejects 'Underwear Bomber' farce*

WV Worry:
West Virginia mine boss charged with fraud*
West Virginia Report On Mine Disaster Points To State's Shortcomings*

#Newspurge: How Will I Know?

9/11 Updates:
London-based oil executive linked to 9/11 hijackers*
Remains of another 9/11 victim identified in NYC*
Stephen M. Levin, Who Ran a Clinic for 9/11 Responders, Dies at 70*

Biowars/Envirohealth:
Video: Ground water contamination cause of mystery illness?*
Bill Gates funding climate denial group*
Video: EPA a tool for UN Agenda 21*

Drugwar:
Warning: Antidepressants May Lead to Suicidal Tendencies*
Why is the Obama Administration Suddenly Fixated on Stomping out Medical Pot?*
Doctors scour drug supplies after fake Avastin found*
Video: Everything's a disorder in American Psychiatric Association's new diagnostic manual

Econocrash:
Judge approves WaMu bankruptcy plan*
Gas prices are highest ever for this time of year*

Geopolitiks:
Greece still to convince Europe over rescue deal*
Graphic of the Greek economy's 'downward spiral'*
The Road To Tehran Goes Through Damascus*
Resource Rapture: Syria’s Untapped Assets Desired By Allies And Enemies Alike*
Video: In Libya, chaos reigns as militias run wild*

Murder/Mayhem:
FBI arrests man suspected of plotting attack on Capitol*
Twilight Language: ICE Kills*
'Speed Freak Killer' was paid $33,000 to guide search for victims*
Woman Who Leapt From Radio Tower Identified as Alori Joh, Singer and Kendrick Lamar Collaborator*
Honduras prison fire kills more than 350 inmates*
Mountain man scares owners of remote Utah cabins*

Obamessiah Updates:
The mixed bag of Obama’s campaign song playlist*
US fighter jets intercept plane flying close to Obama helicopter*
Santorum Faces Questions on Women in Work Force*
Megadeth Frontman Dave Mustaine Endorses Rick Santorum*
Veterans for Ron Paul march on the White House*
Paul gains ground on Romney in Maine caucus*

Oregon Oddities:
Mysterious Metal Boxes Found On West Coast Beaches?*
Couple Arrested Over Valentine’s Day Role Play*
'Piggyback Bandit,' previously banned from Oregon high school sports events, pops up elsewhere*
Home again, Oregon man wonders why he was questioned by FBI in Tunisia after Libya visit*

Police State Updates:
When Will Being a Non-TSA Airport Become a Competitive Advantage?*
Video: U.S. Coast Guard Patrolling Persian Gulf*

armageddon time!

rapture ready: the unauthorized christians united for israel tour

from raw story: After attending the College Republican convention, Nation journalist Max Blumenthal took his camera to the Christians United for Israel's annual Washington-Israel Summit in D.C. Founded by right-wing mega-church pastor John Hagee, the group has "added the grassroots muscle of the Christian right to the already potent Israel lobby," "forging close ties with the Bush White House and members of Congress."

That evangelical support for Israel is largely based on "End Times" theology is largely irrelevant to the Israeli politicians who share the goal of expanding settlements into the West Bank and a military strike on Iran, but it is anything but irrelevant to the rank-and-file members and even one former House Majority Leader.

Blumenthal opens the video by interviewing Tom Delay, who when asked how much the "Second Coming" plays into his support for Israel, says, "obviously, it's what I live for, I hope it comes tomorrow."

Delay closed by saying, "we have to be connected to Israel to enjoy the second coming."

While Hagee and others have stated that "End-Times" theology or eschatology plays no role in their support for Israel, the people Blumenthal interviewed tell a different story. Former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Dore Gold, also claims that it plays no role and is not concerned with the apocalyptic undertones of such a group, claiming only the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad purports to want Armageddon.

Blumenthal then interviews a string of conference-goers who explain how when Jesus returns all of the Jews will be "saved" after realizing the divinity of Christ. He also speaks to several people who say they are looking forward to Armageddon, because it will bring about the "cleansing of the earth."

He is also hounded by a pair of PR flacks who want to make sure he is not asking questions about "End Times" or conversion of Jews, which according to them are questions, "okay to ask, but just not now."

Hagee stressed the need for a preemptive military attack on Iran to "prevent a nuclear holocaust" as he introduced Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to thunderous applause from the crowd. Lieberman compared Hagee to Moses and pointed out a visiting Rick Santorum as a "worker for what is good in our society."

Other conference attendees were quick to note that Muslims are satanic, and that the anti-Christ would most likely be a "man of peace." Much like the College Republican convention, Blumenthal is eventually kicked out after confronting Hagee with a passage from his book that blames the Jews for their own persecution.

Watch whole video here.

santorum suggests new terror will change view of war

from paul joseph watson: In an alarming display of fearmongering, former Republican Senator Rick Santorum has suggested that a series of "unfortunate events," namely terrorist attacks, will occur within the next year and change American citizen's perception of the war.

Appearing on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, Santorum also hyped the necessity of "confronting Iran in the Middle East," and predicted that Giuliani, Romney and Tommy Thompson would be the three surviving Republican candidates who would go head to head in the race for the nomination.

Santorum went on to clearly imply that terror attacks will occur inside America which will alter the body politic and lead to a reversal of the anti-war sentiment now dominating the country.

"Between now and November, a lot of things are going to happen, and I believe that by this time next year, the American public’s going to have a very different view of this war, and it will be because, I think, of some unfortunate events, that like we’re seeing unfold in the UK. But I think the American public’s going to have a very different view," said the former senator from Pennsylvania.

Is Santorum expressing foreknowledge of some coming atrocity or is he merely using a tactic familiar to the leadership of his party - exploiting the fear of terror for the purposes of political rhetoric?

Last month, the new chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party Dennis Milligan said that there needed to be more attacks on American soil for President Bush to regain popular approval.

"At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001]," Milligan told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "And the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country," he concluded.

Yearning for new mass casualty terror attacks for political gain is a GOP strategy - Milligan is merely parroting what was written in a leaked confidential memo that was circulated among senior Republican leaders in late 2005.

"A confidential memo circulating among senior Republican leaders suggests that a new attack by terrorists on U.S. soil could reverse the sagging fortunes of President George W. Bush as well as the GOP and "restore his image as a leader of the American people,"reported Capitol Hill Blue on November 12, 2005.