Good morning 99percenters!
You may have noticed a few aesthetic changes to the site over the last week. Some of the site vernacular has been changed, the articles on the front page are now called "Featured Editorials" rather than "Featured Diaries" and on the community page they have been changed to "Community Writers" rather than "Community Diaries", with essays now being used rather than diaries to describe the written articles. The menu listings have also been changed to reflect these changes. There were also some changes made to the Front Page sidebar, the greeting were expounded on and a "Featured Editorials" list was added as a teaser for any non-members who may happen upon the site.

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The quest for a new site name still goes on. The crux of the problem is coming up with a catchy name that isn't already used. The early favorite "the99.com" and "99.com" are already being used. "the99.org" is already used but "99.org" seems to maybe be open. Personally, I'd like us to use a .com extension if possible, but there are several different extension that could possibly be used. Another early favorite was "citizen99.com" which is already in use, but "citizen99.org" seems to be open. Also "citizens99.com" seems to be open also. Let me list these early favorites out to make it more clear:

Used
the99.com and the99.org
citizen99.com

Appears to be open
citizens99.com

Here are a few new ones I came up with:

The Lifeboat99
Lifeboat99
Citizen Lifeboat99

neo99
neo quorum99
neopolis99
agora99

united99

PortSideDeckChairs.com
Another one that I like that's kind of catchy but a bit subtle is: "Port Side Deck Chairs" port side being the left side of a ship and deck chairs being a reference to the Titanic. Personally I like this but I can understand where maybe some wouldn't. Anyway, keep it in mind and if you have any new ones, let us know.

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New members from the last week:

CTuttle
tardis10
triv33

Welcome all.

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I'm still looking into a way to easily monitor user comments, something similar to what's used at DailyKos in the user profiles. I'm confident that eventually I'll come up with something close. In the meantime check out the "Content Stream" and "Comment Stream" features in the left sidebar.

The Content Stream monitors all the content (essays and open threads) that's published at this site. it lists the "Title", the "Author", "Replies" (Both the total count and new replies), the "Post Date", the "Last Post", and has a "Add New Comment" link. In the replies column whenever a new reply has been made, a "New" link pops up making it a simple task to click it and read and/or reply to the comment. This Content Stream feature makes it very easy and convenient to monitor both posts and comments as they happen in real time. An example of usage of this feature would be: if you have an article you've posted and you want to monitor the new comments made in it you could simply bookmark the page and pop in at any time and see if there has been new comments made and if there is it's easy to click the link to read them. This feature is a great time saver if you would learn how to use it and is very close to the user comments page that is currently under development. I have seen several members asking for a way to monitor their comments, well this is a way to do just that.

The Comment Stream monitors all comments made at this site in real time. It lists (as thry happen) the "title" of the article the comment was made in, the "Author" of the comment, the "Date and Time" the comment was posted, the "Title" of the comment, the body of the comment itself, and a "Reply" link. This makes for a easy and concise way to monitor all comments.

So for you members that are looking for a way to monitor your posts and/or comments, then take a look at these two features, they are not that hard to learn how to use.

This is an Open Thread so talk the talk.

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Climbing into Bed with Al-Qaeda

After years of hemming and hawing, the Obama administration has finally come clean about its goals in Syria.  In the battle to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, it is siding with Al Qaeda. This has become evident ever since Jisr Ash-Shughur, a small town in the northeastern part of the country, fell on April 25 to a Saudi and Turkish-backed coalition consisting of the Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham, and an array of smaller, more “moderate” factions as well.

Al Nusra, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, is Al Qaeda’s official Syrian affiliate. Ahrar al Sham, which is heavily favored by Qatar, is also linked with Al Qaeda and has also cooperated with ISIS. The other groups, which sport such monikers as the Coastal Division and the Sukur Al Ghab Brigades, are part of the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army and are supposedly as anti-terrorist as they are anti-Assad.  Yet they nonetheless “piggybacked” on the offensive, to use The Wall Street Journal’s term, doing everything they could to further the Al-Nusra-led advance.

American clients thus helped Al Qaeda conquer a secular city. But that is not all the U.S. did. It also contributed large numbers of optically-guided TOW missiles that the rebels used to destroy dozens of government tanks and other vehicles, according to videos posted on social media websites. A pro-U.S. rebel commander named Fares Bayoush told The Wall Street Journal that the TOW’s “flipped the balance of power,” giving the Salafists the leverage they needed to dislodge the Syrian army’s heavily dug-in forces and drive them out of the city.

With Syria charging the Turkish military with providing “logistical and fire support,” it appears that the rebels transported the missiles across the Turkish border, located less than eight miles to Jisr Ash-Shughur’s west.  Whether the pro-U.S. factions or Al Nusra carried the TOW’s over is unknown. But there is little question as to the ultimate source.

Baltimore rioter slapped with $500k bail as cops charged in Freddie Gray murder walk free

An 18-year-old Baltimore rioter who smashed a police car window during heated protests against the death of Freddie Gray, and then turned himself in, has been set a bail of $500,000 – more than any of the six police officers charged in Gray’s murder case.

The cost of freedom for those inside and outside the US justice system is strikingly different, recent Baltimore events have shown.

The facts are simple: Caesar Goodson, a 16-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department has been charged – among other things – with second-degree murder in the case of Freddie Gray. His bail has been set at $350,000. All six officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray and detained in connection with his murder have been released on bonds of between $250,000 and $350,000.

On the other end of the scale is Allen Bullock, an 18-year-old who turned himself in after vandalizing a car with a traffic cone during last week’s protests-turned-riots in Baltimore. Bullock’s bail is set at $500k, according to the Guardian.