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| Paul Craig Roberts on The Alex Jones Show 2_3-The Ugly Truth (Photo credit: The Alex Jones Show) |
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| Paul Craig Roberts (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken", 1874 - 1963 (Photo credit: Tony Fischer Photography) |
Who is our greatest president?
The Davis Enterprise, this week, asked people on the street, *"Who is our
greatest president?"* Most of the respondents got it wrong.
“I guess I would have to say *Obama*, I think because he’s an excellent
mediator.” ... “*Woodrow Wilson*, because of his idealism.” ... “*Bill
Clinton,* because he fixed things.” ... “*Bill Clinton*. He’s a great
president; he should be a king. Policies, charisma, leadership, you name
it.”
Two, at least, had smart choices, although the person who picked Franklin
Roosevelt had poor reasoning:
“FDR, I guess, because I like social programs.” ... “... more »
Israel Matzav: Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler
http://israelmatzav.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/soccer-dads-middle-east-media-sampler_16.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&m=1
What Mattered This Week?
Well, it was SOTU week; that matters. On policy, I think the big question
isn't whether Obama makes much progress on his preschool plan -- he
probably won't -- but whether it starts moving up on the priority list of
Democrats, which it certainly might.
It's hard to see how the North Korea nuke test matters.
That's what I have -- what about you? What do you think mattered this week?
LOL @ This Piece of Shit
An excerpt from *"Senior Saudi official: Danger of terrorism still persists"
*:
Prince Turki bin Mohammed al-Saud tells international conference on
security that terrorist threat remains, urges global cooperation to combat
it.
RIYADH - A senior Saudi official told an international conference on
security on Saturday that the "terrorist" threat remains and urged global
cooperation to combat it.
"The danger of terrorism and terrorists still persists and affects several
countries," Prince Turki bin Mohammed al-Saud of the foreign ministry told
delegates at the opening of the two-... more »
Comments have been turned back on.
I turned the comments back on. Vacation is over.
Paul Craig Roberts, a man with bona fide right-wing credentials, reflects on the natures of the political left (supporting government power) and right (supporting private-sector power). But, says Roberts, today's left and right both have TOO MUCH power and, worse, they are ONE AND THE SAME "...beholden to a private oligarchy, consisting of the military/security complex, Wall Street and the financial sector, the Israel Lobby, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, and the energy, mining, and timber businesses, with the power to shut down people’s protests at their exploitation by robber barons and government alike." The blogger, with fair-to-middling left-wing credentials, is in 100% agreement with this view.
------------------------------
*While Left And Right Fight, Power Wins–Paul Craig Roberts*
------------------------------
February 14, 2013 | Go to Original
My experience with the American left and right leads to the conclusion that
the left sees private power as the source of oppression and government as
the countervailing and rectifying power, while the right sees government as
the source of oppression and a free and unregulated private sector as the
countervailing and rectifying power. Both are concerned with restraining
the power to oppress, but they take opposite positio... more »
Ban Ki-moon: Seriously, Go Fuck Yourself
Sincerely,
humankind.
Print your own parts, tools and guns
Metalic printers are here to stay....Just like we can now print plastic
coffee mugs and other things, we can now print guns and rifles just copy
the parts.
Abraham Ben Judea
Below are some of the things that can be done with modern plastic printers.
http://3dprintingsystems.com/products/up-plus-3d-printer/
Below is a metalic powder 3d printer that is about to do an IPO in the
exchange..
These new printers will be in just about every house that has a computer.
A real time to invest early on new technology. like buying stock on early
cable co's
http... more »
Mohawk Nation News 'Paleface Privilege'
MNN: PALEFACE PRIVILEGE
Posted on February 16, 2013
PALEFACE PRIVILEGE
MNN. Feb. 16/13. Fundamentalist whites think they
are always right. Prime Minister Harper cruelly and coldly told
Indigenous women victims of horrific assault and sexual abuse crimes by
the RCMP to go to their rapists to file reports. This is a disrespectful
white privilege remark to fuel racism.
Ice-free Arctic Ocean in 2030?
[image: This image of Greenland summer 2012 air temperature anomalies at
the 925 hPa level (about 3,000 feet above the surface) shows that all of
Greenland experienced warmer than average temperatures, with the strongest
warming along the west coast. Temperatures are compared to the 1981 to 2010
average. Graphic: National Snow and Ice Data Center / NOAA/ESRL Physical
Sciences Division]
By Gerard Wynn
15 February 2013
LONDON (Reuters) – Vast uncertainty remains over the causes of melting
Arctic sea ice and when it may disappear altogether during the summer,
which would have conseq... more »
As New England fisheries struggle, debate heats up over how to help – ‘I really just don’t see a way at the moment’
[image: The harbor in Gloucester, Massachusetts, part of the Northeastern
fishery declared a disaster by the Commerce Department last fall. Photo:
Gretchen Ertl / The New York Times]
By JESS BIDGOOD
15 February 2013
GLOUCESTER, Massachusetts (The New York Times) – B. G. Brown, a
second-generation fisherman who chases cod and haddock from this port city,
spent a recent morning rigging up his 31-foot commercial vessel to be
manned alone. He had just lost his only crew member to the more lucrative
lobster fishery, days after fishery regulators last month approved a 77
percent cut in... more »
Four U.S. states introduce Keystone XL pipeline resolutions, lifting language directly from ALEC and TransCanada
[image: Comparison of language from Missouri HCR 19 and the ALEC Resolution
in Support of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Legislators in four states have
introduced bills supporting the controversial TransCanada Keystone XL
pipeline, with language lifted directly from a 'model' American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC) bill and from TransCanada's own public relations
talking points. Graphic: PR Watch]
16 February 2013
By Brendan Fischer
(PR Watch) – Legislators in four states have introduced bills in recent
weeks supporting the controversial TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, with
l... more »
STOP WAR GAMES, START PEACE TALKS
**
**
*Statement Opposing U.S.-South Korea Joint Military Exercises Key Resolve
Foal Eagle*
The Korean War, known in the United States as “The Forgotten War,” has
never ended. Every year, the United States stages a series of massive
joint war games with its ally, South Korea (ROK). These coordinated
exercises are both virtual and real. Among other things, they practice
live fire drills and simulate the invasion of North Korea—including
first-strike options.
While we - peace, human rights, faith-based, environmental, and Korean
solidarity activists – are deeply concerned about... more »
Many long years ago
Going to be a slow news weekend with the entire Village having fled for the
holiday. Including POTUS and FLOTUS on -- gasp -- separate vacations. So
how about a little US history for a Saturday afternoon? The Atlantic posts
a fabulous gallery of 50 iconic photographs from 1963. (Added bonus -- all
on one page). This one still brings a tear to my eye ever time I see it.
Definitely click through to view the whole gallery. Good reminder that as
bad as it seems now, back then it was actually worse.
Faith Based Science Policy
Brian Cox is a physicist and largely doe to his ubiquitous presence on the
BBC, he is the Generation X face of British science. He also has more than
a million Twitter followers. Today he tweeted this:
It’d be wonderful if Russian meteorite were enough to make Nobel Prize
winner Andre Geim’s Davos dream come true ft.com/cms/s/0/ad8e9d…
— Brian Cox (@ProfBrianCox) February 16, 2013
Readers here may recall my critique of Geim's piece, which centered on his
wish for an asteroid to be on a collision course with the Earth in order to
motivate policy makers to open their wallets for scie... more »
The Midnight Archive - Art and the Occult
YouTube Video Description - [Channel: Ronni Thomas]:
Art And The Occult -- The very venerable Pam Grossman (phantasmaphile.com)
shares her views on the 'Magic of Art'. A noted voice in the world of the
esoteric and the art scene, you'll learn about her very unique and
compelling perspective on how there is a magical transference when viewing
particualr works of art. For more information and far more images, visit
www.phantasmaphile.com
Saturday Linkage
Belated Valentine’s from the Duck of Minerva. Brad DeLong wants Cosma
Shalzi to figure out what the Chelyabinsk meteorite strike means for
policy: “What should this piece of information do, decision-theoretically,
to change our view of the situation we find ourselves in?” I’m not a
statistics whiz, but I’d say: probably nothing. There’s no indication (yet)
Continue reading
How Many Congressmembers Will Their Reactionary Stand On The Minimum Wage Cost The GOP In 2014?
Wednesday we talked a little about the longstanding Republican Party
obsession with opposing minimum wage bills and statutory increases. Steven
Dennis at *Roll Call* also took up the GOP obsession with the minimum wage,
but from a different perspective. He was looking at how their knee-jerk
opposition to the modest increase President Obama suggested in the State of
the Union, could lead to congressional defeats for them next year. Boehner
took the bait by immediately attacking the proposal in the tired and
ineffectual language conservatives have used against it since the 1930s.
Ex... more »
"By Any Measure, the Jobs Disaster Continues"
Editorial by Mortimer Zuckerman published in the Wall Street Journal Feb
16-17 2013 p. A13
[Excerpted] After four years America remains in a jobs depression as great
as the great Depression....
More than 48 million Americans are in the food stamp program--an almost
incredible record...
The only work that has increased is part-time, and that is because it
allows employers to reduce costs through a diminished benefit package or
none at all.
The broadest measure of unemployment today is approximately 14.5%....
The read unadjusted figures for January show that nearly 2.8 million jobs... more »
ROSA PARKS AT 100: Four lessons!
*SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2013*
*Conclusion—Amy Goodman's approach to the facts:* We began exploring the
topic we leave today because of a column by Charles Blow. The column made a
claim which struck us as highly implausible.
When Rosa Parks died in 2005, was her life “sanitized and sugarcoated for
easy consumption” in “nearly every account?” More specifically, was her
life “sanitized and sugarcoated” in the ways Blow described?
That claim struck us as highly implausible. After maybe five minutes of
fact-checking, we had begun to see how absurd that claim really was.
(For one more e... more »
“U.S. Military Faces Fire as It Pulls Out of Afghanistan”
*“U.S. Military Faces Fire as It Pulls Out of Afghanistan”*
By Matthew Rosenberg
STRONG POINT HAJI RAHMUDDIN II, Afghanistan — "When the last American
soldiers to occupy this squat, lonely outpost in southern Afghanistan
pulled out this week, they left the same way earlier units had arrived:
ready for a fight. They were leaving this violent patch of land outside
Kandahar, the south’s main city, just as Taliban fighters were filtering
back in from winter havens in Pakistan. It was, as First Sgt. Jason Pitman,
35, bluntly put it, “no time to get stupid.”
The Americans knew they w... more »
Nuclear Waste Cannot be Successfully Contained
Enformable: Washington Governor confirms radioactive waste leaking from
underground tanks at Hanford Nuclear Reservation
http://enformable.com/2013/02/washington-governor-confirms-radioactive-waste-leaking-from-underground-tanks-at-hanford-nuclear-reservation/
Napoleon On Alexander The Great
Related:
*Napoleon On Men of Destiny*.
*Napoleon On Speculators And Profiteers*.
*Napoleon On An Age of Transition & The Dangers of A Militarist Government
*.
From, *"The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection from His Written and Spoken
Words,"* edited and translated by J. Christopher Herold. Columbia
University Press: New York. 1955. Pg. 58-59.
[Conversation, 1816] Alexander had barely outgrown his boyhood when with a
handful of men he conquered a portion of the globe: but was this, on his
part, a mere irruption, a kind of deluge? No--everything was calculated
deeply, carried out... more »
Images from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields boom – ‘This is changing the landscape so fast. I grieve now when I leave North Dakota.’
[image: Aerial view of an oil pipeline cutting through the prairie near
White Earth, North Dakota. Photo: Terry Evans]
By DYLAN WALSH
15 February 2013
(The New York Times) – For Elizabeth Farnsworth, the story began when she
was walking her dog at a highway rest stop off Interstate 94 in North
Dakota.
“My husband and I met a trucker who was making $100,000 per year,” said Ms.
Farnsworth, a freelance filmmaker and special correspondent on PBS NewsHour.
“That’s when I got interested in the oil boom.”
In collaboration with Terry Evans, a photographer and longtime friend, Ms.
Farns... more »
How To Know When Your Charter School Sucks
Wisdom by Mark Naison:
1. It's leader calls himself/herself a CEO.
2. The CEO's salary is more than three times the salary of the highest
paid teacher in the school.
3. The board of the school is full of hedge fund executives [or
corporate directors].
4. Teachers in the school are terrorized and students treated as though
they were in prison or on the verge of being sent to prison.
5. The construction company who built the school is owned by a relative
of a politician or a powerful community organization.
6. The school teaches that those who practice some... more »
CHALLENGE TO BBC COVERAGE OF 9 11; OSCAR FOR BEST PROPAGANDA; CHILD ABUSE
*Historic case to challenge BBC’s coverage of 9/11*
On 25 February 2013, in the town of Horsham in the United Kingdom, 3 hours
of detailed 9/11 evidence is to be presented and considered in a court of
law.
The BBC will be challenged over the inaccurate and biased manner in which
it has portrayed 9/11.
Over the last 16 months, the BBC has been challenged strongly by
individuals in the UK over two of its documentaries.
Formal complaints were lodged with BBC over the inaccuracy and bias of
these documentaries, which, according to 9/11 activists, was in breach of
the operating requi... more »
and one great read from harper's: nicholson baker on "why i'm a pacifist: the dangerous myth of the good war"
After finally getting Jill Lepore's "Lie Factory" posted on this blog, I
will go back even further, to something I've wanted to post for nearly two
years. No matter the date, this piece is timeless, and more relevant with
every passing day.
This lengthy essay by Nicholson Baker ran in *Harper's* in May of 2011: "Why
I’m a pacifist: The dangerous myth of the Good War". It's available by pdf
download with a *Harper's* subscription, or (I hope) at your local library,
or from me by request. (Artwork from the Swarthmore College Peace Collection,
Swarthmore, PA.)
Baker charts his evoluti... more »
Blowback: Greed Edition
"Where are all the customers? And where's all their money?" frets a Walmart
vice president in some panicky emails revealed today by *Bloomberg News*.
Cameron Geiger, who runs the hilariously-named U.S. Replenishment Division
at the world's largest retailer, might start looking at his own employees,
whose crappy average $8/hour paycheck has shrunk even further thanks to the
rising price of food and medical care and the demise of the two-year
payroll tax holiday. Walmart workers are also Walmart's best customers.
What's earned in Walmart is spent in Walmart. And the world's biggest
re... more »
Nick Cave: Higgs Boson Blues
I have listened to lots of songs by Nick Cave because he's been among the
most favorite musicians of my former German Australian roommate (this is how
he moved in except that I didn't have that much furniture yet). ;-) Your
humble correspondent only became fond of his duet with Kylie Minogue that
Oscar Pistorius apparently picked as his role model. The "pure" Cave & Bad
Seeds songs are too wild for me.
At any rate, Sean Carroll noticed an interesting new Spring 2012 song,
Higgs Boson Blues.
*Sean's version of the video contains the lyrics rather than a live concert.
*
Be careful:... more »
Another Day, Another Warning
The American Association for the Advancement of Science annual convention
is underway in Boston and climate change seems to be what everyone is
talking about.
*Heat waves have become more frequent across the United States, with
western regions setting records for the number of such events in the 2000s,
said Donald Wuebbles, a geoscientist with the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.*
*But the Midwest and Northeast have experienced a 45 percent and 74 percent
increase, respectively, in the heaviest rainfalls those regions have seen
since 1950.*
*The extreme drought that pla... more »
Society is Designed for a Family of Four
*Warning:
All three of the following links will count against your monthly free
access to the Globe And Mail website.
The Globe and Mail has had a series of articles detailing the issues
around falling fertility rates. Doug Saunders has written a couple of
excellent articles. Sheryl Ubelacker wondered why Canadian families are
settling on having only one or two children and came up empty.
The
two great reads from the new yorker, part 2: jill lepore on political advertising
The current *New Yorker* stories by Joseph Mitchell has given me an
opportunity to post something I've been meaning to share for ages.
Last September, Jill Lepore unearthed an incredible bit of history, a piece
of the American past that is alive with us today, and more dangerous than
ever. (I am generally interested in anything Lepore writes; last year I
gushed over her reviews of books about Clarence Darrow, one of my abiding
heroes.)
In this piece, Lepore writes about the roots of political advertising - the
falsehoods and trickery, the lies and slander, the deception and
distor... more »
Caturday Blogging
*"Yes, peasant?" *
Whether or not he can pick up on our occasional emotional distress, I
still envy Popeye because he doesn't have any idea of how desperate our
financial situation is getting. It must be nice having no concept of money,
bills, eviction, liens, etc. It's a peace of mind I haven't known since I
was a kid and now I understand why the old man used to tell me that I
didn't know how good I had it.
So please help us out because if we get kicked out of here after this
month, we'll never hear the end of it from our cat. And God knows what'll
happen to him if worse... more »
A Morose, Vindictive Man
Speaking at the Salt Spring Forum in December, Tom Flanagan -- Stephen
Harper's former *eminence gris* -- said of his former pupil:
He is an unusual package of characteristics. He can be charismatic in small
groups, morose, secretive, suspicious and vindictive. These may not be
traits you want in your next door neighbour, but they are very useful in
politics."
Harper himself provided an illustration of those characteristics this week
when, Carol Goar writes, he told a Burnaby audience that
he would change the Criminal Code, giving prosecutors the power to
designate some of thes... more »
MOVE TO AMEND IN MAINE
Across the state of Maine 37 local cities and towns have passed resolutions
in support of banning corporate $$$ in our elections. Eleven states have
either passed resolutions at their state legislature or held statewide
referendums in support of an amendment to the constitution that says
campaign spending is not a form of speech protected under the First
Amendment.
Last week town councilors in neighboring Brunswick voted 6-3 in support of
such a constitutional amendment. On March 6 Bath City Council will vote on
a similar resolution. In order to help make this happen I've been ... more »
two great reads from the new yorker, part 1: joseph mitchell on himself
*The New Yorker* has given us a singularly rare gift: new writing by Joseph
Mitchell.
Joseph Mitchell wrote about New York City and the multiplicity of people
who inhabit it. Mitchell wrote nonfiction portraits of quirky people,
overlooked trades, unknown professions, obsessive collectors. His warm,
meticulous prose brought people to life before your eyes. He wrote
beautifully, and with great respect for the endless diversity of humanity,
long before diversity was a buzzword.
First edition, found here.Mitchell wrote from 1929 to 1964. Then he stopped
writing - stopped completely,... more »
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Know If The Banksters Are Too Big For Trial
Last year over 800 Blue America contributors put up some money for
Elizabeth Warren's campaign for the Senate. As you know, she ousted the
incumbent, Wall Street shill Scott Brown. This week was her first
opportunity to question witnesses from her new position on the Senate
Banking Committee. I think if you chipped in-- or even just rooted for
her-- you'll be proud of Senator Warren's first official indication of what
her job performance is going to be like for the next six years. There's a
new sheriff in town! And the worst nightmare of the predator banksters is
coming true. Ban... more »
Ernest Moniz, MIT: Chu's successor?
Some sources including Reuters speculate – or spread rumors – that Barack
Obama is considering a nuclear physicist at MIT, Ernest Moniz, as a
replacement for Steven Chu.
I don't think I have ever met him. His CV reveals that he's worked both on
nuclear power and nuclear weapons. He is a nuclear bull. His publication
record is non-empty yet modest – surely relatively to e.g. Steven Chu.
Moniz is a "nuclear bull" but the true underlying reason for this fact is
less encouraging. He is the director of an institute that gets funding from
BP, Chevron, and Saudi Aramco. Before you rejoi... more »
Media's Misguided "Miracle" Meme
Paul Tough has built a career on "no excuses" approaches to teaching "other
people's children" in the charter school racket, most recently touting the
importance of "grit" (see "Paul Tough Is Way Off-Base. And Stop Saying
'Grit'" by Katie Osgood to understand why Tough is misguided).
More recently, David Kirp has offered a call to re-invest in public
education, not charter schools, by triggering the same "no excuses"
argument embedded in a favorite meme among journalists, the "miracle"
school!
Tough and Kirp follow in the footsteps of David Brooks, who literally
christened the Harl... more »
Untitled
*Gulf of Mexico Gas Well Evacuated Due to Leak ~Jason Saul, WWNO*
*Scientists say pelicans can be fearsome mascot ~Nikki Buskey, Daily Comet*
~Above: Editilla cruisin'da scene, always on da'lookout fo'dem who would
oppose us, Sinn Féin.
*When the New Orleans Hornets announced they were changing their name to
the Pelicans late last month, there was some collective grumbling about the
supposedly less-than-fearsome choice. But pelicans, in addition to being a
long-serving symbol of Louisiana, are more than meets the eye. When the New
Orleans basketball team adopts its new logo for the 20... more »
Jimmy Savile report: Whitewash fears as BBC is accused of cutting criticism | Mail Online
'Fears of a BBC whitewash over the Jimmy Savile scandal grew last night
amid claims 'key criticisms' have been 'gutted' for 'legal reasons' from a
review of its handling of the affair.
Corporation chiefs are planning to release thousands of pages of evidence
given to former Sky News boss Nick Pollard – who oversaw an independent
inquiry into why a Newsnight investigation into the late entertainer's
paedophile past was shelved.
But last night a source claimed 'heavy redactions' have been made to
critical comments about BBC bosses. They added that it no longer gave 'an
honest pictur... more »
Monsanto Keeps on Moving Toward a Lock on the World’s Food System by John Funiciello
Vernon H. Bowman
Monsanto Keeps on Moving Toward a Lock on the World’s Food Systemby John
Funiciello
Global Research Canada, 16 February 2013
*Arguments are scheduled to begin next week before the U.S. Supreme Court
about whether an Indiana farmer is right when he claims that the seeds he
planted should not be considered under the control of Monsanto, the giant
transnational chemical and seed monopoly, through its patenting of the
seeds.*
Some are calling it a “David versus Goliath” contest but the farmer, Vernon
H. Bowman, of southeastern Indiana, told *The Guardian *that... more »
Jews - "human pieces of filth"
More clips of Muslim leaders religious and secular decribing Jews as "human
pieces of filth", as "the scum of mankind", as "satan in human form", of
course as "the offspring of apes and pigs" and so on.
Particularly revealing is the segment from 13:30 to 16:46, how terrible a
slur to call someone in Egypt - Jewish.
Racism and anti-Semitism are rife across the Muslim Middle East not that
you'd know if it from the coverage of the BBC for whom Israel is the
problem and Islam the solution.
Using Documentary as Manipulation: The Dishonesty of ‘The Gatekeepers'
https://www.standwithus.com/app/iNews/view_n.asp?ID=2587&buffer_share=5e62c&utm_source=buffer
FIFA's Double-Standard Against Israel - Op-Eds - Israel National News
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/12881#.UR9k7bvyRWw
Grape Seed Extract Outperforms Chemo in Killing Advanced Cancer Cells by Susan Patterson
Grape Seed Extract Outperforms Chemo in Killing Advanced Cancer Cells
by Susan Patterson
Natural Society, 15 February 2013
Patients with colorectal cancer may benefit from the
cancer-growth-inhibiting power of grape seed extract. Researchers from the
University of Colorado Cancer Center report that the more aggressive the
cancer cells are, the more effective the grape extract works at targeting
and stopping the growth. Grape seed extract is amazing in that it attacks
the cancer cells but leaves the healthy cells untouched. This is a
departure from conventional cancer treatments th... more »
Why $9?
Since the State of the Union address, the minimum wage has heated up again
as a political issue. You can read my previous posts on the topic by
clicking here. (Unfortunately, some of the links in these old posts are
now dead.)
There is one question I would like to see some reporter ask Alan Krueger,
the president's chief economist: How did they decide that $9 per hour is
the right level? Why not $10 or $12 or $15 or $20? Presumably, the
president's economic team must believe that the adverse employment effects
become sufficiently large at some point that further increases are
u... more »
How relentless Andrew Neil carved up Ed Davey on the Sunday Politics show | CYBERBORISjohnson
http://cyberboris.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/how-relentless-andrew-neil-carved-up-ed-davey-on-the-sunday-politics-show/
Most Arctic Ice Gain Ever Recorded | The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF)
http://www.thegwpf.org/arctic-ice-gain-recorded/ reports that :
'With a few weeks of growth still to occur, the Arctic has blown away the
previous record for ice gain this winter. This is only the third winter in
history when more than 10 million km² of new ice has formed.'
I await the BBC's coverage of this story. Sorry, who am I kidding; the BBC
will either not report this news or will hide it away, there's a narrative
to spread and inconvenient facts must be ignored.
Al Gore, president of Earth Inc, didn't mention climate for 1 minute
Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore uploaded a new video to YouTube – the
first video on his YouTube channel – in which he announced a new company,
Earth Inc.
The video has attracted more than 1,000 viewers in three days. Well, it was
probably 200 viewers seeing it 5 times but it's still impressive for a
former vice-president and a major party's presidential candidate in a
country with 300 million people. We may be going to double the number of
views. ;-)
Al Gore advertises printers that may print whole houses within a day as
well as new Al Gore Rhythms that increase the efficienc... more »
With Hot Air Treatment, Bacteria Fly the Coop
This could even be rigged up quite cheaply with a heater and a blower. It
certainly applies to all animal handling situations and looks to be a
simple add on to a wash down. At least it promises to be cheap to
accomplish and manpower would be on hand anyway attending to other tasks.
At least we know that it is effective enough.
It is also a handy tip for the individual pet owner who can apply a hair
dryer to pet bedding and devices and make it better.
*With Hot Air Treatment, Bacteria Fly the Coop*
*
by Rosalie Marion Bliss for USDA News*
*
Athens TX (SPX) Feb 01, 20... more »
Meditation is Not What You Think
Perhaps but there is also the experience of luminous dreaming which
meditation opens the way to. Meditation and its practice stills the mind.
It takes time and practice to do this well. Once luminous dreaming is
encountered the experiences appear rather similar although I suspect that
there are several types encountered.
Once experienced it is clear where the concepts of heaven come from what
ever other conclusions you may reach.
In my own one and only such experience, I was clearly invited into the
afterlife or abode of my mother. I extracted new information during th... more »
Ketchum Bigfoot Paper Uproar
We are presently witnessing the present struggle of Dr Melba Ketchum to
introduce her scientific DNA work into the science world. This represents
the first serious DNA study of purported Bigfoot samples. This delivers a
mass of unique data points and some conclusions that support the existence
of a North American hominid. It may or may not be a human hominid hybrid
and the mass of third party reports does support just that prospect, but it
certainly a hominid confirmed over a wide spectrum of samples.
What is outrageous is the blanket of authoritative dismissive attacks
t... more »
Fighting Back Against Citrus Greening
As with most crops, nasty diseases take their toll in production. We have
here a key problem with orange production and learn to what extent it is
possible to continuing the harvest of affected trees. Pretty well it turns
out although production itself is curtailed. At some point the tree itself
will still come out early.
This impacts the citrus trade and will be a problem for years to come. The
result will be an underlying taste of bitterness in processed orange juice.
That may have to be neutralized if it can be. If I recall correctly it has
been done in other cases.
P... more »
MADELEINE McCANN AND RUSSIA
The hunt for Madeleine McCann 'has switched to Russia and the Ukraine',
after 'a confession from pedophile Raymond Hewlett that she could be in
Russia or the Ukraine'.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
*Raymond Hewlett*
Hewlett - who died three years ago from cancer - is reported to have told
his son that he knew who had abducted Madeleine in 2007.
*Malinka from Russia*
"Inconsistencies in Sergey Malinka's account of his relationship with
Robert Murat emerged: 'he had said he had not contacted Murat in a year but
Murat’s mobile phone records allegedly show he called Mr Malinka at 23:... more »
Roman Church admits the Pope’s Guilt: Joseph Ratzinger to Evade Justice and Hide out in the Vatican for his own legal immunity and “protection”
*
*
http://itccs.org/2013/02/16/roman-church-admits-the-popes-guilt-joseph-ratzinger-to-evade-justice-and-hide-out-in-the-vatican-for-his-own-legal-immunity-and-protection/
*
*
*Roman Church admits the Pope’s Guilt: Joseph Ratzinger to Evade
Justice
and Hide out in the Vatican for his own legal immunity and “protection”*
Posted on February 16, 2013 by itccs
Exclusive Breaking News: Friday February 15, 2013
12 midnight GMT
*An Urgent Update from the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church
and
State (ITCCS) – Brussels*
Rome:
In a statement to Reuters today, Vatican officials anno... more »
Richard Bush catches up
*On cycling vacation in Borneo with my man Michael C. That's him above on
his recumbent somewhere between Kota Kinabalu and Papar last week. *
My how things change. Last week former AIT head and longtime US gov't
Taiwan expert Richard Bush observed (TT):
The returns on* cross-strait economic exchanges may be diminishing because
the Chinese economic model is changing*, former chairman of the American
Institute in Taiwan Richard Bush said on Wednesday.
“Taiwan was a real beneficiary of export-led growth relying on essentially
cheap labor, abuse of the environment and local corruption... more »
Pope will have security, immunity by remaining in the Vatican
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/15/us-pope-resignation-immunity-idUSBRE91E0ZI20130215
*Pope will have security, immunity by remaining in the Vatican*
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY | Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:59pm EST
(Reuters) - Pope Benedict's decision to live in the Vatican after he
resigns will provide him with security and privacy. It will also offer
legal protection from any attempt to prosecute him in connection with
sexual abuse cases around the world, Church sources and legal experts say.
"His continued presence in the Vatican is necessary, otherwise he might be
defensel... more »
A Powerful Voice, Soon To Be Many Powerful Voices
Water, land, air, sustainability for generations to come, Enbridge will be
defeated, this fight is for the future, a fight we can`t afford to lose..
I have no more words to add, this young girl speaks for real British
Columbians..
The Straight Goods
Cheers Eyes Wide Open
SYRIA: REALITY OVERWHELMS NEOCON DREAMS
The neocon dream of the Syrian people rising up to overthrow President
Bashir al-Assad and replacing him with a Western-friendly secular democracy
is turning into a nightmare for them as it becomes increasingly obvious
that Islamists are clearly gaining control of the Syrian revolution and the
government that replaces al-Assad is as unlikely to be any more friendly to
Israel and the US than al-Assad was. Indeed, if anything, it’s beginning to
look as though it’s a case of ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ as
far as the Israelis and the neocons are concerned to the point where... more »
Friday Baseball Post
Nothing
long today, because I'm actually working on a longer baseball
thing, but: Pitchers and Catchers Report! Are there better words in the
American language? Not that I know of.
I've talked before about how great it was growing up in Phoenix in the
earlier days of the Cactus League, when the ballparks were not crowded,
and
everything was smaller scale. And how we used to drive to Francisco
Grandeevery spring to see the Giants workouts. Back then, there were
only a
handful of teams, and they weren't all in the Phoenix area -- the Angels
were in Palm Springs, the Padres in Yuma, the... more »
When Lies Are Legal, The Truth Is A Crime
I want to present a recent article by John Kaminski (www.therebel.org) that
was also picked up and posted by John Montecristo, who writes for Lasha
Darkmoon's blog, Darkmoon, at www.darkmoon.me, here for all of my own
readers to view for themselves. It is entitled: "When Lies Are Legal, The
Truth Is A Crime", and is a definite must read by everyone, especially now
when we are watching the downfall of the once great United States of
America happen right before our very eyes... Here is that article, and I do
have some of my own thoughts and comments to follow:
When Lies are Legal, t... more »
A Gentle Reminder
This one's just a tiny meteor, not an asteroid. It's no bigger than a
Greyhound bus. Travelling 30 km/sec though....
Sunday Classics chronicles preview: Remembering Charles Rosen (1927-2012)
*Cézanne's "Pierrot and Harlequin" (1888)*
*SCHUMANN: Carnaval, Op. 9:*
*2. Pierrot*: Moderato (2/4)
*3. Arlequin*: Vivo (3/4)
2. "Pierrot" (Moderato) is a revolutionary work of pure instrumental music
in its use of the grotesque. It is a character piece: relentless,
deliberately monotonous, but with sudden jerky movements like the personage
of the *commedia dell'arte*; it makes no pretensions to beauty or charm.
The drama arises from the cumulative crescendo towards the end with a final
and very original pedal effect, as the penultimate chord gradually frees
itself of all the heav... more »
Adolfo Nicolás: "The globalization of superficiality"
"The world is becoming very superficial. We have more information than
ever, but less ability to think, to reflect, to digest that information. So
there is a globalization of superficiality. . . And even if the first news
are totally biased or prejudicial, that's what sticks in the mind. And we
don't have the ability to confirm, to study, to see whether this is true or
whether this is balanced." - Adolfo Nicolás, the thirtieth and current
Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
Elizabeth Warren goes back to Washington
The talk of the toobz today was about Elizabeth Warren kicking the SEC's
ass at her first Senate Banking Committee hearing. She politely asked why
no banksters had been brought to trial. This apparently unexpected inquiry
left the SEC flailing, and failing, to come up with an adequate answer.
Our intrepid Senator Warren then proceeded to explain in great detail why
the failure to meaningfully prosecute the banksters was not a particulary
effective deterrent to criminal manipulation of the financial markets. And
her sidebar on the double standards of the justice system was a thing o... more »
Canada Gets New Flag - February 15th, 1965
*Here's your political history lesson for the day: *
"From the Tory benches the prime minister (Pearson) was greeted by jeers
and hoots and shouts of derision. 'Vote with pride', "All right," exclaimed
Mr. Pearson, "they have turned it down with jeers and insults, but we will
vote with pride."
Shouts, screams, desk-banging - even obscene gestures - marked the final
phase of the Conservative fight against the red Maple Leaf Flag.
Introduced in senate today, and even with the last vote they declared that
they would not quit and that the fight would go on in the senate, where a
simi... more »
A conviction based on a not overwhelming case may not be unreasonable
R. v. Bryan, 2013 ONCA 97 holds:
[4] We conclude that on the whole of the circumstantial evidence
in this case, the verdicts are ones that a properly instructed jury, acting
judicially, could reasonably have rendered. In particular, on this record,
a properly instructed jury could reasonably conclude that the appellant's
guilt was the only rational conclusion. See *R. v. Biniaris*, 2000 SCC 15;
*R. v. Beaudry*, 2007 SCC 5; *R. v. R.P.* (2012), 282 C.C.C. (3d) 435
(S.C.C.).
...
[13] Viewed cumulatively, we are persuaded that these factors were
sufficient to support... more »
A conviction based on a not overwhelming case may not be unreasonable
R. v. Bryan, 2013 ONCA 97 holds:
[4] We conclude that on the whole of the circumstantial evidence
in this case, the verdicts are ones that a properly instructed jury, acting
judicially, could reasonably have rendered. In particular, on this record,
a properly instructed jury could reasonably conclude that the appellant's
guilt was the only rational conclusion. See *R. v. Biniaris*, 2000 SCC 15;
*R. v. Beaudry*, 2007 SCC 5; *R. v. R.P.* (2012), 282 C.C.C. (3d) 435
(S.C.C.).
...
[13] Viewed cumulatively, we are persuaded that these factors were
sufficient to support ... more »
Ban Ki Moon, Go Fuck Yourself
"We should not give much more time to the Iranians, and we should not waste
time," Ban said. "We have seen what happened with the DPRK." For more
quotes, read: *Ban Ki Moon Is A Bad Diplomat*.
The Connecticut Elementary School Shooting: Sandy Hook Tragedy - Corporate Media's "Lone Gunman" Storyline Losing Ground!
I have been busy again the last two days taking care of family business...
It does not appear to ever end!
I sometimes feel that I have been letting down my readers, due to lately
having to take care of family concerns and not doing any articles in this
blog... So, to make up for some lost time, I want to focus on a real
important subject here that is still very much in everyones' minds....
The stories about the Sandy Hook Operation (and Yes, everything still
points at it definitely being an Operation!) put out by the liars in the
Mainstream media continue to try to spin and promote... more »
Urban Gadabout: Some highlights of the MAS March-May schedule
*The only image I could find of Ada Louise Huxtable's 1961 book Four
Walking Tours of Modern Architecture in New York City, which Matt Postal
points out is long out of print, was pathetic and unusable. So here's a
really lovely photo of Ms. H.*
*by Ken*
Talk about a happy coincidence! This weekend I have walking tours in
three
boroughs with three of my very favorite tour leaders, all of whom I've
written about here frequently: Clinton Hill (Brooklyn) with *Matt
Postal*on Saturday, and "New York in the Time of George Washington" in
Lower
Manhattan with *Francis Morrone* and and "*Th... more »
An Airship Photograph
I am probably one of the worst people when it comes to promoting my work.
I think that others should do that and that each book should generate
interest because of what is in it rather than what I have to say about it.
But, sometimes, there are reasons to promote what I have written… and
sometimes it is important to report what others have done to make the book
even better.
Such is the case with *Alien Mysteries, Conspiracies and Cover-ups*. One of
those who was helping find illustrations made a telephone call that I
hadn’t thought about. He found a photograph that I didn’t know ex... more »
Vallejo Calif. 'Idle No More' Feb. 23, 2013
YOU
ARE INVITEDSHOW SOLIDARITY WITH IDLE NO MOREat VALLEJO,
CaliforniaSATURDAY FEB 23 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Unity Plaza, 505 Santa Clara
St. (intersection of Georgia St.), Vallejo, California 94590
Below excerpts
from http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/02/03/18731271.php
Idle No More calls on all people to join in a revolution which honors
and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty which protects
Mohawk Nation News 'Women, Put Your Boots On'
MNN: WOMEN, PUT YOUR BOOTS ON!
Posted on February 15, 2013
WOMEN, PUT YOUR BOOTS ON!
MNN. FEB. 15, 2013. Elimination of Indigenous women
is government policy. We are being sacrificed for private profit. The
bankers fear the women as the owners of the land and for having the
power to stop the war. Who created the misconceptions of Indigenous
women? Fur traders,
“Taking a Time Out: You Are Not Crazy”
*“Taking a Time Out: You Are Not Crazy”*
by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM
“Sometimes as adults, we just need a time out to refocus and gather
ourselves before starting out again. Most of us feel a little crazy from
time to time. Periods of high stress can make us feel like we’re losing it,
as can being surrounded by people whose values are very different from our
own. Losing a significant relationship and moving into a new life situation
are other events that can cause us to feel off kilter. Circumstances like
these recur in our lives, and they naturally affect our mental stability... more »
Democracy in Palestinian Territories
' President Abbas's term ended four years ago. He has clung to power as an
unelected autocrat for nearly half a decade.'
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/opinion/palestines-democratic-deficit.xml
NYT: Palestine's Democratic Deficit
Free speech in Palestinian Territories example 1
' LAST week, a 26-year-old Palestinian activist, Anas Awwad, was sentenced
in absentia by a court in Nablus, the West Bank, to one year in prison for
"extending his tongue" against the Palestinian Authority's president,
Mahmoud Abbas, on Facebook. Thousands have joined a Facebook group to show
their solidarity with Mr. Awwad, but the damage has been done. Free speech
has been set back, and a chill sent throughout Palestinian society.'
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/opinion/palestines-democratic-deficit.xml
Message from the Guardians
IT'S A MISTAKE LYRICS
- MEN AT WORK
Jump down the shelters to get away
The boys are cockin' up their guns
Tell us general, is it party time?
If it is can we all come
Don't think that we don't know
Don't think that we're not trying
Don't think we move too slow
It's no use after crying
Saying
It's a mistake, it's a mistake
It's a mistake, it's a mistake
After the laughter as died away
And all the boys have had their fun
No surface noise now, not much to say
They've got the bad guys on the run
Don't try to say you're sorry
Don't say he drew his gun
They've g... more »
Hillary Mann Leverett: Does Obama Want Regime Change in Iran?
Related: *Flynt Leverett: Nixon's China Visit as a Blueprint for Obama &
Iran*.
Video Title: Does Obama Want Regime Change in Iran? YouTube Video
Description - [Channel: carnegiecouncil]:
American University lecturer Hillary Mann Leverett says that Obama wants
"soft regime change" and "tremendous concessions" from Iran. She explains
how many Democrats thought the 2009 Iranian election would make these goals
easier to achieve.
Syria: Assassination attempts and Saudi casualty count = more lies
Believe it or not, I have been paying attention to Syria
It appears as if the NATO mercs *are *making another push on that
beleaguered country.
Things would improve if NATO and Israel would call off their hired killers
*Hired Killers. May Karma strike them down...*
*The propaganda war is on an upswing. *
*There was an alleged car bomb explosion a few days ago at the
Syrian/Turkey border.*
I mentioned this in the comments section a few days back..
The external opposition is spinning this as an attempt to derail talks
offered by SNC.
Bullocks! Pure showmanship.
*Let's have a look at th... more »
Guess Who Reportedly Made $1B+ Betting Against the Yen
Getty Images
http://www.nesaranews.blogspot.ca/2013/02/guess-who-reportedly-made-1b-betting.html
Friday, February 15, 2013
*Guess Who Reportedly Made $1B+ Betting Against the Yen*
George Soros, founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, at the World Economic
Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 25, 2013. (Photographer: Simon
Dawson/Bloomberg).
Has he struck it rich (again)?
Billionaire philanthropist and liberal activist George Soros has reportedly
made $1 billion since November 2012 by betting against the Japanese yen, Bloomberg
reports.
“The Japanese wager helped the firm retu... more »
Friday Nerd Blogging, Hiatus Ends Appropriately
We have fallen short of our Friday responsibilities, but given the theme of
the week, this video seems most appropriate. Of course, this raises all
kinds of possibilities and re-definitions of “bad” PR. My guess is that the
best episode of this series of six web-isodes will be the next one. The
third will be
Continue reading
Support for SWP Central Committee Statement
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Charlie Kimber
To: Charlie Kimber ext email [redacted]
Sent: Friday, 15 February 2013, 11:01
Subject: Deadlines, support for CC statement, and faction meetings
*Deadlines for motions and IB, support for CC statement, and faction
meetings.*
Dear comrade,
Here is some information in the run-up to the SWP special conference on 10
March.
*Internal bulletin and motions*
May I remind you that the *deadline for the internal bulletin* is 10am,
Friday 1 March. This is also the deadline for *motions*. Motions must be
passed by a properly-organised branch... more »
The Zombies Keep Shambling On (The Full Zombie Fatal Attraction Depicted In Living Color)
After listening to the nonsensical response to the State of the Union
address of the Rethugs' savior, Marco Rubio, it seems clear that either
they don't know anything about economics, finance, and business in
general (or what caused the financial catastrophe of 2008-forever for the
lower classes), or they are just lying about it and pretending not to
understand the ramifications of it at all.
State Terrorism
'Afghans Blame Coalition Airstrike for Civilian Deaths' by M. Abi-Habib &
H. K. Totakhil. The Wall Street Journal, Feb 14, 2013 p. A11
[excerpted] "A coalition airstrike in Afghanistan killed 10 civilians,
mostly women and children, Afghan official said... According to the Aghan
officials, five of the 10 dead were women and four were children..."
'America Doesn't Torture'—It Kills by Katha Pollitt The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/article/172896/america-doesnt-torture-it-kills?rel=emailNation#
[excerpted] Whatever happened to arresting people, extraditing them, giving
them lawye... more »
BREAKING NEWS: What’s it like on a big cruise ship when the toilets won’t flush?
*FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013*
*Inquiring scribes want to know:* Early this morning, at 1 AM, we flipped
over to CNN. We wondered what topic Anderson Cooper was going to deal with
first.
Normally, Cooper’s program re-airs at 1 AM. But this morning, good lord!
There was Erin Burnett! And the chyron said she was on the air LIVE,
dealing with BREAKING NEWS.
Had war broken out in some distant port? Was A-Rod back on the human growth
hormone again? Actually no, it was worse than that!
We’ll let Erin and her sidekick, Martin Savidge, explain what news was
BREAKING:
BURNETT (1/15/13): I'm... more »
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise
I love to travel but I've never felt the urge to take a cruise on a giant
oceanliner. For one thing if I cared about endless buffets and cheezy floor
shows, I'd go to Vegas where at least you get the added benefit of the neon
lights. And the drinks are free at the casino.
For another, the idea of being trapped on a boat, no matter how big, with a
bunch of American tourists is not in any way appealing. Being trapped on a
broken ship with virtually no services like the doomed Carnival cruise is
my worst nightmare. Nothing brings out the ugly in the ugly privileged
American like a ... more »
REMOVING THE SHACKLES: Looking for Absolute Data: IQD & the new financial system The Wizards behind the curtain have been busy this week.
Come Visit the New RTS Community!!
http://removingtheshackles.net/forum/index.php
FRIDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2013
*Looking for Absolute Data: IQD & the new financial system*
*The Wizards behind the curtain have been busy this week.*
So have their puppets.
For those of you holding foreign currency, waiting for a knock on the door
and waiting for that grand announcement or your banking codes, well.....
there is a shit load of stuff going on in the back ground right now. Some
of the stuff going on makes it very clear to anyone watching, with even any
amount of neutrality and the ability t... more »
Peer-Reviewed Survey Finds Majority Of Scientists Skeptical Of Global Warming Crisis - Forbes
' Only 36 percent of geoscientists and engineers believe that humans are
creating a global warming crisis, according to a survey reported in the
peer-reviewed Organization Studies
. By contrast, a strong majority of the 1,077 respondents believe that
nature is the primary cause of recent global warming and/or that future
global warming will not be a very serious problem.'
Here's the report.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2013/02/13/peer-reviewed-survey-finds-majority-of-scientists-skeptical-of-global-warming-crisis/
I
won't hold my breath waiting for the BBC to cover this... more »
Bad Freshmen, Bad, Bad, Bad... A Letter
Patrick Murphy & his political mentor, sleazy opportunist Charlie Crist
Last week 5 or 6 progressive freshmen called me to warned me that lifelong
Republican Patrick Murphy (D-FL) was working all the freshmen for some idiotic
statement of "bipartisanship" he had concotted. I mentioned it Thursday and
it was made public this morning, much to the delight, no doubt, of Beltway
Media Broderists.
Almost no Democrats signed his pathetic, badly crafted letter-- but lots of
Republicans did. So disappointing to see Ann Kuster (D-NH) lending her good
name to this foolhardy initiative. Most of ... more »
Motrin Case One in a Million
*"Fewer than 1 in 1 million cases"*
"Family awarded $63 million in Motrin case" by Todd Wallack and Kay
Lazar | Globe Staff, February 13, 2013
The family of a Plymouth-area girl who nearly died and was left legally
blind after taking one of the country’s most common household medicines,
Children’s Motrin, was awarded $63 million Wednesday by a Massachusetts
jury that found health care giant Johnson & Johnson failed to warn patients
adequately about the painkiller’s potential side effects.
The family of Samantha Reckis, who was 7 at the time she suffered the
severe reaction, said ... more »
Operation Arctic Shield
*Got stuck in the ice!*
"Coast Guard expands patrol in Arctic; Role to grow as global warming melts
icy waters" by Kirk Johnson | New York Times, July 22, 2012
BARROW, Alaska — The effort, called *Arctic Shield*, began this month as a
pilot project combining search and rescue responsibilities with disaster
response and maritime safety enforcement. It will presumably only expand,
Coast Guard officials say, as global warming melts these once ice-locked
waters....
“The Arctic has been identified as a priority,’’ said Commander Frank
McConnell, the operations coordinator for Arctic S... more »
Bad Lawrence plays with his A-S-bombs!
*FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013*
*And our tribe gets more like theirs:* The NRA is one of the dumbest and
least constructive of all major lobbying groups.
It also has a large membership. It adopts positions its members don’t
share. Almost surely, many of its members don’t understand how absurd its
conduct is.
NRA president Wayne LaPierre is pretty much out of his mind at this
point—or at least he’s prepared to pretend. But then again, so is Lawrence
O’Donnell. Lawrence made this all too clear on Wednesday evening's program.
Lawrence began to tease a certain segment midway through the p... more »
Flynt Leverett: Nixon's China Visit as a Blueprint for Obama & Iran
Video Title: Nixon's China Visit as a Blueprint for Obama & Iran. YouTube
Video Description - [Channel: carnegiecouncil]:
Penn State professor Flynt Leverett says that the United States needs to
come to terms with Iran for its strategic interests in the Middle East. He
explains that Nixon and Kissinger's visit to China in 1972 could be a model
for how Obama should approach a trip to Tehran.
About that Gallup LGBT Survey
In a nifty contribution to our understanding of LGBT politics, Gallup has
surveyed more than 200,000 Americans to ask if they identify as LGBT or
not. This gives us what Gallup claims and I’ll accept as the first
state-level estimate of this dataset. But Gallup mistakenly interprets
their own findings (or, rather, do not fully
Continue reading
The Christian Taliban Strikes Again
Fetus
fetishists revel in any injury or complication associated with
abortion. Almost daily, LifeShite and others like it crow about
*'another'*ambulance reported -- by one of their clinic harassers of
course -- taking
someone to hospital from a clinic.
They dance in the streets when a clinic is investigated for any cause,
often at their own instigation.
They worship predatory quacks as anti-heroes.
But what really gets them creaming their Depends is a death that can be
linked to abortion.
There's been one such recently in the US but what they are doing with
this
one is utterly d... more »
Supporting Derechos Humanos: A Humanizing Campaign
*By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez *
XColumn@gmail.com - http://drcintli.blogspot.com/
For several thousand years, Arizona was a great place to live. Then Gov.
Brewer became governor… joining Sheriff Joe Arpaio as the undisputed rulers
of this now, godforsaken desert… Actually, Arizona is still a great place
to live, primarily because it is the home of numerous human rights
organizations, including Tucson’s *Derechos Humanos*, perhaps the premier
immigrant/human rights organization in the nation. And now, Derechos needs
our assistance.
The Tucson/Arizona desert is where migrants d... more »
Looks like the asteroid missed
Asteroid 2012 DA14 has safely passed by Earth, according to NASA. The
closest approach was 17,500 miles above Indonesia.
"It has passed closest approach and this asteroid is going away," said Paul
Chodus of the Near Earth Object team.
The asteroid is estimated to be about 150 feet (45 meters) across with an
estimated mass of 130,000 metric tons. Its flyby was the closest ever for
an object this large, according to NASA.
Looks like I was wrong...
The NATO of Trade Deals
*More globalization, more centralization, more corporatization, more
enslavement.... no thanks.*
"US-EU talks set on free trade; Meal starter kits get a fresh twist" by Don
Melvin | Associated Press, February 14, 2013
BRUSSELS — The European Union and the United States said Wednesday that
they have agreed to pursue talks aimed at achieving an *overarching
trans-Atlantic free trade deal*.
The 27-country European Union said such an agreement, first announced in
Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Obama, would be the *biggest
bilateral trade deal ever negotiated*.
Any... more »
Economist Paul Krugman debunks the G.O.P. reply by Senator Marco Rubio to Obama's State of the Union Address.
------------------------------
OP-ED COLUMNIST
Rubio and the Zombies
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 14, 2013 611 Comments
The State of the Union address was not, I’m sorry to say, very interesting.
True, the president offered many good ideas. But we already know that
almost none of those ideas will make it past a hostile House of
Representatives.
On the other hand, the G.O.P. reply, delivered by Senator Marco Rubio of
Florida, was both interesting and revelatory. And I mean that in the worst
way. For Mr. Rubio is a rising star, to such an extent that Time magazine
put h... more »
Alan Singer: What has Race to the Top achieved?
President Obama said “that his signature education program, Race to the
Top, was 'a competition that convinced almost every state to develop
smarter curricula and higher standards, for about 1 percent of what we
spend on education each year.' I am not sure why Obama felt entitled to
brag. Race to the Top has been in place for four years now and its major
impact seems to be the constant testing of students, high profits for
testing companies such as Pearson, and questionable reevaluations of
teachers. It is unclear to me what positive changes Race to the Top has
actually achieved.”
... more »
Should we build a defense system against meteorites?
We were promised that today, the 2012 DA14 asteroid would pass just 27,700
km away from the surface of Earth today (watch live later tonight). That
would be the closest distance recorded by humans for an object of this or
larger size (diameter about 50 meters).
Also, we were told that no object would actually hit the surface of Earth
on Friday 15th, 2013. Technically speaking, that was wrong. ;-) An
unrelated meteor (Google News) was seen – and affected – the Chelyabinsk
region in central Russia, 300 km South from our (Pilsen's) twin city of
Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk, named... more »
Silent Doctors
Why Doctors Remain Silent nyti.ms/12pTk17
— John A. Carroll (@haitianhearts) February 15, 2013
Friday funny
OMG! Larry fell down. Whew! He's alright. (Admit I watched this more once
in a row).
"Oh, they don’t always get to ride the roller coaster. Sometimes they only get to spin the teacups"
One of my favourite Big Bang Theory lines, in context...
Mrs Cooper: I hear that Leonard has a new girlfriend. How are you doing
with all that?
Penny: Oh, fine. You know, it’s been a while. I’m getting back out there.
Mrs Cooper: Let me ask you, when you get back out there, are you wearing
this? *(Holds up a skimpy top)*
Penny: Well, it’s super cute on. That top has paid for itself in free
drinks like ten times what it cost.
Sheldon: Yes, Penny has a lot of her money tied up in promiscuity futures.
Mrs Cooper: Hon, you think maybe the reason why you’re having trouble
finding a gu... more »
Crowdfunding - The Way to Get Help Where It's Needed
It's easy to balk when you're asked to donate a hundred bucks to this cause
or that or to take on an open-ended, monthly donation to help some
individual or cause on the other side of the planet or the other side of
town.
That's where crowdfunding comes in. What if you could just kick in five
bucks to help famine relief in the Sahel or to promote the next big
idea? If enough people chip in just a little it turns into a lot very
quickly.
*By visiting Web sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, you can give money
to any number of causes. These Web sites collect small amounts fro... more »
When the "Personal" is Party Business
One more quick one on Chuck Hagel. Kevin Drum argues that GOP opposition to
Hagel is personal, based on his lack of loyalty to the party: "It's crazy
and off the rails, but it's also personal."
I think it's reasonable to suspect that Hagel's turncoat actions made him a
target, and I think Drum is right to say that it's been underappreciated
(including by me, in my item earlier today). But if it's really exactly
that -- what an article Drum quotes from lists as tacit support for Obama
over McCain in 2008, and support for Bob Kerrrey over Deb Fischer in last
year's Nebraska Senate con... more »
Science is the Shortcut
There is a new paper out by Brysse et al. in *Global Environmental Change* (here
$) which includes as co-authors Naomi Oreskes (author of *Merchants of Doubt
*) and Michael Oppenheimer (long-time IPCC contributor and a contributing
lead author for the AR5). The authors report a remarkable finding -- they
have identified a shortcut to divining the true state of knowledge of the
science of climate change.
As the authors' explain:
Evidence from recent analyses suggests that scientists, particularly acting
in the context of large assessments, may have underestimated the magnitude
and ... more »
Napoleon On An Age of Transition & The Dangers of A Militarist Government
Related:
*Napoleon On Men of Destiny*.
*Napoleon On Speculators And Profiteers*.
From, *"The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection from His Written and Spoken
Words,"* edited and translated by J. Christopher Herold. Columbia
University Press: New York. 1955.
"[Conseil d'Etat, 1806] My usual reading fare, when I go to bed, is the old
chronicles of the third, fourth, and fifth centuries. I read them or have
them translated for me. *Nothing is more curious, or less known, than the
change from the old way of life to the new*, than the transition from the
ancient political bodies to the n... more »
Is The BBC Losing Its Way?
The BBC now appears to be losing its way in a sea of redefinition and a
constant stream of new Director Generals. This week they announced a
significant restructuring and rebranding within their organisation. Gone is
the name ‘vision’ to be replaced by ‘television’ and also gone is ‘audio
and music’ and in steps ‘radio.’ Yes the BBC is planning for the future by
defining itself in the past!
Children’s TV has its own channel with associated brands, merchandise and
trading rights. There is an argument that it would make sense to do the
same with sport, drama, news but irrespective p... more »
ROSA PARKS AT 100: Embellished facts right there on page 1!
*FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013*
*Part 8—To what extent does it matter:* Does it matter if new myths and
legends are created about Rosa Parks?
Does it matter if people are fed new bogus “facts?” Truth to tell, it
doesn’t *hugely* matter.
Today, Rosa Parks is one of the best-known people of the past century. That
said, most people don’t know that she (bravely) worked for the NAACP long
before her famous refusal to stand.
But in truth, that doesn’t gigantically matter. Nor will it gigantically
matter if people start thinking that her personal hero was Malcolm X,
although there’s littl... more »
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