Thursday, April 04, 2013

4 April - Blogs I'm Following II

10:23 pm MDST

The balcony is closed

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 6 minutes ago
I'm sure you know by now Roger Ebert died today. I don't have any anecdotes about some personal connection with him. My sense of loss comes only from long memories as a fan so I'll spare you yet another eulogy. Instead I'll just pass on what I thought was the best tribute I've seen since the sad news broke. [Scott Stantis, Chicago Tribune]

April 4, 1973

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 10 minutes ago
John [Dean] called me on the phone to say that his lawyers say the U.S. Attorneys Silbert and Glanzer, and just sat and listened to take their temperature as representatives of Dean, regarding what will happen going to the grand jury. He finds that first, he will be called, probably next week, the same as Mitchell. Same basis -- no cameras, and not announced until afterward. Second, Dean is not a target of the grand jury, also Haldeman is not. They don't believe they'll have to call Haldeman except as perhaps a way to corroborate other statements [...} -- That's from Haldeman's di... more »

Record rains flood Argentina, overall death toll rises to 52 – ‘Such intense rain in so little time has left many people trapped in their cars, in the streets, in some cases electrocuted’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 13 minutes ago
[image: A man with a boy in his arms wades through a flooded street in La Plata, in Argentina's Buenos Aires province, Wednesday, 3 April 2013. At least 35 people were killed by flooding overnight in Argentina's Buenos Aires province, the governor said Wednesday, bringing the overall death toll from days of torrential rains to at least 41 and leaving large stretches of the provincial capital under water. Photo: Natacha Pisarenko/ Associated Press] By Cristian Kovadloff in La Plata and Almudena Calatrava; Debora Rey and Michael Warren in Buenos Aires contributed to this story 3 Apr... more »

Pol. Ideology 38: Branding Via Clans, Not Philosophy

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 13 minutes ago
* This is my 5th guest post in antipinoy.com, posted today. ------------ Late February this year, I posted this short comment in my facebook wall, “I googled "Nancy Binay", nothing significant, nada. So this is true.” 39 years old, no prior elective post, held only family-managed NGOs. Never joined a prestigious corporation. Simply being a "Binay". She's likely to win, and she will author Senate bills that will regulate private enterprises, private individuals, civil society. A friend told me that she went to UPSE in the 90s, but did not finish there, transferred to another colleg... more »

Vegan Recipe - Western Scramble & TVP Preparation

Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints - 23 minutes ago
*Welcome to the first Friday of the month ... the day we set aside for featuring a delicious vegan recipe. Why does a blog about green living include recipes? Because choosing a meatless meal is one of the easiest ways to live green. Simply put ... plant-based foods are easier on the environment than animal-based foods. Before becoming vegan, we enjoyed special weekend breakfasts ... omelets, frittatas and scrambled eggs. I looked forward to these treats. Vegan breakfast options are great but ... they just aren't the same. In truth, it's been the hardest meal for me to "switch over... more »

Seriously, Is The Republican Party Cracking Up?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 23 minutes ago
Yesterday everyone was talking about the Republican plan in the North Carolina legislature to establish a state religion, something clearly prohibited by the Constitution, not to mention centuries of common practice in the U.S. People were scratching their heads and wondering if the proposal was just something from Tea Party crackpots with no influence. Well one of the sponsors, Edgar Starnes, is certainly a Tea Party crackpot but he's serving his 10th term and he's the GOP Majority Leader of the House. He represents tiny, somewhat backward Caldwell County which voted 23,069- 10,7... more »

Lightning Round--Majority Supports Marijuana Legalization, Chocolate Shortage, Norm MacDonald Doing Video Podcast, Fallon In Leno Out, Arrested Devolpment Back May 26, Jedi Cat, More...

Jay Allbritton at Jay Allbritton - 48 minutes ago
*Just Say Now*: For the first time, a Pew poll shows majority public support for marijuana legalization.52% support, 45% oppose. *Hullabaloo*: Will lack of chocolate wake the masses to the perils of climate change? It certainly will if the 52% cited above get their way on marijuana legalization. *Splitsider*: Norm MacDonald has a video podcast. Episodes will be airing live Mondays from 9 to 10pm, but since it's a podcast, you can get it after the fact as well. I do respect that MacDonald, along with a lot of Earwolf shows and an increasing number of podcasts across the board are go... more »

US Trying To Get A New War Started With North Korea: Left In The Dark, Secret US Military Flights Carried Officials And Equipment To North Korea!

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 1 hour ago
I have watched like everyone else over the last few weeks with increasing alarm the sudden rush to war by the United States and its allies against the nation of North Korea. We have already seen over the last week how the media and other officials have mistranslated Kim Jong Il's official statements, and tried to twist them into somehow being both threats and a declaration of war against America. We have also watched as both the United States and China have been rushing forces to the borders of North Korea.... It does seem that we are just a hair trigger away from this becoming ... more »

Hans Zimmer on Composing

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 hour ago
Source: YouTube Channel MastersofWisdom. Source: YouTube Channel Antiga Prime. Source: YouTube Channel ResurrectedXII.·

This Is Hillarious: Alex Jones Now Says The Chinese Control The Media(!)

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 1 hour ago
I spent yesterday evening visiting my mother in her new digs.... I figure that I would let everyone know who has asked me about her status that she is doing much better and seems happy in her new environment. The ill effects of the stroke have mostly worn off due to the new medication that she has been taking, and the fact that she is now much happier and actually putting in an effort to try to take better care of herself.... Again, I want to thank everyone for their patience with me and this blog! Now, onto other news.... Many are well aware that the so called big kahuna in the "t... more »

Amazing Aerial Footage of Arkansas Tarsands Oil Spill April 2013

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 hour ago
Published on Apr 2, 2013 Tens of thousands of gallons of oil have flooded some of the streets and yards of Mayflower, Arkansas. The Exxon tar sands oil spill is small taste of what we would see if the Keystone XL Pipeline is approved. The media is largely being kept away from this spill. In the video you can see that Exxon's plan to clean it up consists mostly of hoses and paper towels. Go to http://www.NoKXL.org and http://www.350.org to learn more and lend your support to the fight of people over profit. UPDATE: The FAA has restricted flight over the area - http://tfr.faa.gov/sav... more »

Sayings of Pythagoras

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 2 hours ago
Video Title: Sayings of Pythagoras. Source: YouTube Channel MastersofWisdom.

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 3 hours ago

US Border Patrol responsible for beatings, dragging migrants through desert

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 3 hours ago
*Family Seeks Answers as Customs and Border Protection Abuse Case Reaches Two-Year Milestone* ** ** *By No More Deaths and Border Communities Coalition* *Censored News* *www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com* ***LOS ANGELES --* On March 30, 2011, José Gutierrez Guzmán, a 41 year-old immigrant from Los Angeles, was hospitalized after being beaten unconsciousby border agents inside the San Luis Port of Entry in Arizona. This past Saturday marked the two year anniversary of the case, and the expiration of the federal statute of limitations for civil litigation against the responsible agents. Yet U... more »

THE HISTORY TELLS THE STORY

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 3 hours ago
*US B-2 bombers seen over Korean peninsula last week simulating nuclear attack on North Korea* •1950 Truman threatens Chinese over Chosin Reservoir, Korea. •1951 Truman approves military request to attack Manchuria. •1953 “Operation Big Stick” Eisenhower threatens China to force end to Korean War •1954 Secretary of State Dulles offers French three tactical nuclear weapons to break Dienbienphu siege •1958 Eisenhower orders JCS to prepare nuclear attack vs. China during Quemoy •1967 Johnson's nuclear threats against Vietnam to break siege at Khe Shan. •1968 Johnson threatens nuclear a... more »

Greg Hunter, John Williams: “May 2013- End of the Road”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 3 hours ago
*John Williams: “May 2013- End of the Road”* Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com Anybody who thinks the U.S. is in a so-called recovery isn’t listening to economist John Williams. He contends, “We haven’t had a recovery and we’re not about to have one, and it’s getting worse.” Williams says it’s because, “The consumer is in very serious trouble. The average guy is not making it. His income is not keeping up with inflation.” As far as Congress getting the budget and debt ceiling under control, Williams says, “Both sides are faced with devil’s choices.” If Congress does not get its f... more »

"The gun-lobby goons were at it again" (Dana Milbank)

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 3 hours ago
*By amazing coincidence, the "independent" report commissioned by the NRA, brandished here by old-school loon former Rep. "Itchy Asa" Hutchinson at Tuesday's big armed press conference, is solidly percent behind the its loony scheme to make the schools "safe" by filling them with armed goons. One difference: The "independent" task force wants those goons to be professionals, rejecting the vigilantes envisioned by the NRA.* *"By journalistic custom and D.C. law, of course, reporters don't carry guns to news conferences -- and certainly not when the person at the lectern is the NRA's... more »

Gordon Wilson, Lost In The Wilderness or A Man With A Money Induced Agenda?

Grant G at The Straight Goods - 3 hours ago
*What Happened to Gordon Wilson* *Written by Grant G* There are times when stories need to be told, I had no intention writing about this political has-been, however when Gordon Wilson injected himself into the current political process, a few facts needed to be put on the record.. Gordon Campbell hijacked the BC Liberal party, a political party that Gordon Wilson resurrected from the ashes, at the time I thought Gordon Wilson was a decent man, perhaps I was wrong, Wilson was a man on the rise and maybe it`s something about politicians named Gordon, for a public figure a... more »

The American Nationalist News Wrap Up

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 4 hours ago
Join us for a brief news wrap up! John and Rodney will be covering a number of recent news items, and offering commentary from a nationalist perspective. Calls will be taken throughout the program. You can download the entire program *here*, or subscribe to the American Nationalist Network via iTunes *here*. Thanks for listening everyone!

DON'T WORRY THE PIPELINES ARE SAFE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 4 hours ago
- The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has imposed an indefinite no-fly zone over the area in Arkansas recently affected by a broken pipeline oil spill. It's sparked concern that the Exxon Mobil oil company may be trying to keep the TV cameras away from the scene. - More than one thousand protesters snaked though the mansion-lined streets of San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood yesterday in an attempt to convince Barack Obama, in town for a Democratic party campaign fundraiser at the home of Ann and Gordon Getty, to block the construction ... more »

FRIDAY MORNING RAMBLE: The four-day week edition

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 4 hours ago
*Oh look, it’s Friday…* Shop owners should be allowed to decide for themselves whether they open on Easter Sunday, says the Retailers Association spokesman Barry Hellberg. This I agree with entirely. However … *The Retailers Association Is Confused* – AUCKLAND BANNER Public-private partnerships of the sort that is the Key Government’s flagship policy “are less honest than true socialism.” *The Problem With Public-Private Partnerships* – Fred Smith, OPEN MARKET How bad is both unemployment and the “degrees for everyone” phenomena in the US? Well, you now need a demands bachelor's ... more »

New Zealand drought effects to last well into autumn

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 4 hours ago
[image: In this photo taken on 11 March 2013, farmer Peter Brown walks on the dry ground at his dairy farm near Ohinewai, New Zealand. A drought in New Zealand's North Island is costing farmers millions of dollars each day and is beginning to take a toll on the country's economy. Photo: Brett Phibbs / New Zealand Herald / AP Photo] 2 April 2013 (APNZ) – The drought is likely to be felt well into autumn, as river and soil moisture levels in the North Island take some time to recover, climate scientists predict. NIWA's seasonal climate outlook for April to June has predicted higher ... more »

Music Video: Shining Soul 'Get Up'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 4 hours ago
Published on Apr 2, 2013 Phoenix Hip Hop duo, Shining Soul, drops their first single 'Get Up' of their next full length project, Sonic Smash. Video directed by: Thug Hippy For more Shining Soul, check us at these links below: http://shiningsoul-music.blogspot.com/ https://twitter.com/shiningsoulphx www.facebook.com/ShiningSoulMusic1 http://shiningsoulmusic.bandcamp.com WHO WE ARE Straight outta occupied O'odham je:wed in southern Arizona, Shining Soul is a grassroots duo based in Phoenix. Shining Soul's unique vintage means of beat production, and down to earth, empowering rhyme ... more »

Poll: 3 in 8 Americans believe global warming is a hoax

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 4 hours ago
[image: Roughly three of every eight registered voters in the U.S. believes that 'global warming is a hoax', according to a national poll released Tuesday by the firm Public Policy Polling (PPP). Graphic: Public Policy Polling] By Nick Wiltgen 4 April 2013 (Weather Channel) – Roughly three of every eight registered voters in the U.S. believes that "global warming is a hoax," according to a national poll released Tuesday by the firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) [pdf]. The automated telephone poll asked 1,247 American registered voters their beliefs on a wide range of topics broadl... more »

Amazon tribe threatens to declare war over Brazil dam project – ‘It is unacceptable and illegitimate for the government to impose dialogue at the tip of a bayonet’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 5 hours ago
[image: 'We don't want Belo Monte' reads a sign at an anti-dam rally in front of the Brazilian parliament building in Brasilia. Photo: AFP / Getty Images] By Jonathan Watts 3 April 2013 Rio de Janeiro (guardian.co.uk) – An Amazonian community has threatened to "go to war" with the Brazilian government after what they say is a military incursion into their land by dam builders. The Munduruku indigenous group in Para state say they have been betrayed by the authorities, who are pushing ahead with plans to build a cascade of hydropower plants on the Tapajós river without their permi... more »

U.S. scientists warn climate change will double wildfire risk in Western forests – ‘It’s just unprecedented things happening. We’re getting into extreme events that seem to be having more and more effects across broader landscapes.’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 5 hours ago
[image: The Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs, which ravaged the Mountain Shadows subdivision, proved to be one of the most destructive in Colorado history. The hotter, drier climate will transform Rocky Mountain forests, unleashing wider wildfires and insect attacks, federal scientists warn in a report for Congress and the White House. Photo: RJ Sangosti / Denver Post] By Bruce Finley 3 April 2013 (Denver Post) – The hotter, drier climate will transform Rocky Mountain forests, unleashing wider wildfires and insect attacks, federal scientists warn in a report for Congress an... more »

Secret files expose global impact of shadow banking – ‘I’ve never seen anything like this. This secret world has finally been revealed.’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 5 hours ago
[image: Secrecy for Sale: A cache of 2.5 million files has cracked open the secrets of more than 120,000 offshore companies and trusts, exposing hidden dealings of politicians, con men and the mega-rich the world over. Graphic: Tim Meko / ICIJ] [*cf*. Shadow banking grows to $67 trillion industry, regulators say] By Gerard Ryle, Marina Walker Guevara, Michael Hudson, Nicky Hager, Duncan Campbell, and Stefan Candea 3 April 2013 (icij.org) – A cache of 2.5 million files has cracked open the secrets of more than 120,000 offshore companies and trusts, exposing hidden dealings of poli... more »

Russian War Games send a Strong Message against NATO Intervention in Syria?

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 5 hours ago
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya *Is there a connection between events in Syria (maybe even US tension with North Korea) and Russia’s impromptu Black Sea war games that started on March 28, 2013?* While on his way from Durban in South Africa, where the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — announced they were forming a new development bank to challenge the IMF and World Bank, Russia’s Vladimir Putin gave the go ahead for unscheduled war games in the Black Sea. By themselves the games mean little, but in a global context they mean a lot. According to the Kremlin, the war ... more »

New Hampshire Legislature Reveals U S Federal Government is a Corporation Operating with a Fraudulent Constitution

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 5 hours ago
http://oppt-in.com/new-hampshire-legislature-reveals-u-s-federal-government-is-a-corporation-operating-with-a-fraudulent-constitution/ April 4, 2013I M PowerNo CommentsNews *New Hampshire Legislature Reveals U S Federal Government is a Corporation Operating with a Fraudulent Constitution -* “the Act of 1871, created a corporation in the District of Columbia called the United States of America. The act revoked prior legislation relative to the district’s municipal charter and, most egregiously, led to adoption of a fraudulent constitution in which the original Thirteenth Amendmen... more »

"ALERT: All Of The Money In Your Bank Account Could Disappear In A Single Moment"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
*"ALERT: All Of The Money In Your Bank Account * *Could Disappear In A Single Moment"* by Michael Snyder "What would you do if you logged in to your bank account someday and it showed that you had a zero balance and your bank had no record that you ever had any money in your account? What would you do if all of the money in your bank account suddenly disappeared in a single moment? If you had not kept any paper records, which most Americans do not, it would be exceedingly difficult to prove to the bank that you actually had any money in the bank. If you don't think that somet... more »

I AM

Sophia at AMERICAN KABUKI - 6 hours ago
Thank you. Your out pouring of love is an unprecedented declaration of unity, support and compassion. Ryan and I are overwhelmed and thrilled with the energy you’ve directed our way; and return it without restraint. We feel you and hear you and know you. We are One. I was woken up about 3 AM this morning with Truth – I sat upright with the power of it. (Not normal 3 AM behavior, for sure!) Shooting through me was a knowing. It is a challenge to put it in English, but I’ll try. I AM Absolute. There is nothing between me and Source. I know who I AM. I AM Po... more »

Remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., (Whose True Murderers Were Revealed in Court Over a Decade Ago)

I read the news over a decade ago, oh boy, when it said plainly that a jury had found that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the victim of a government plot to assassinate him over three decades before. I wondered then why no official action was taken to find and punish the murderers and let the obvious scapegoat off. And why the populace of the US wasn't enraged and in the streets. I'm still

A conservative approach to teacher evaluation

skrashen at Schools Matter - 7 hours ago
Sent to the Washington Post, April 4, 2013 Gates’ suggestions ("A fairer way to evaluate teachers," April 3) assume that there is something seriously wrong with teacher quality and teacher evaluation in the United States. I question both assumptions. We are always interested in improving teaching, but there is no evidence of a teacher quality crisis: When poverty is controlled, American students’ scores on international tests are near the top of the world. Our overall scores are unspectacular because there are so many children living in poverty in the US, 23.1%, the second highest... more »

A Primer on DilBit Spills in a Corporatist State

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 7 hours ago
If you want an idea of what's in store for British Columbia if Harper/Redford/Enbridge/Beijing *et al* manage to drive their pipelines through to the coast, you need only look to the most recent dilbit spill in Arkansas. *AlterNet* offers a handy summary, *6 Things You Need to Know About the Arkansas Oil Spill.* ExxonMobil which is allegedly dealing with the Arkansas clean-up has so much clout it somehow got the FAA to declare the airspace over the pipeline leak a no fly zone. Exxon now has control of the airspace over its damned fiasco and it's even trying to throw a blanket ove... more »

Ron Paul Thinks The Russian Mafia Got Its Billions Safely Out Of Cyprus

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 7 hours ago
As you already know, Tuesday, as rumors have predicted, Cyprus' right-wing finance minister, Austerity backer and former chairman of Laiki, the country's second largest bank, Michael Sarris quit the government. Monday evening we looked at the stench of corruption pervading Cyprus' right-wing government and how the new conservative president's family made out like bandits days before Anastasiades shut down the banks. It looks like the Russian criminal oligarchs, like Dmitry Rybolovlev, who helped finance his rise to power, also made out just fine, at least according to Ron Paul's Te... more »

Sample Chemtrail Courtesy Notice

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 7 hours ago
Click to enlarge view I received this in my email yesterday, thought I would share one individual's efforts in Washington State against the spraying of Chemtrails. We've been getting them very severely here in San Diego the past two weeks. In June of 2011 after a very heavy chemtrail spraying I came down a lung clot that required 9 months of Coumadin therapy. The doctors could find no source of the clots in my legs or abdomen which where they usually come from. -AK Sample Chemtrail Courtesy Notice

What happens on the first day of school!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 7 hours ago
*THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013* *Eduardo Porter writes about kindergarten:* In yesterday’s New York Times, Eduardo Porter devoted his weekly column to the potential rewards of early education, especially for low-income kids. Eventually, he touches a topic we have questioned before. He paints a picture of low-income kids on their first day traditional school, the day they begin kindergarten: PORTER (4/3/13): Research by Mr. Heckman and others confirms that investment in the early education of disadvantaged children pays extremely high returns down the road. It improves not only their cogn... more »

Best Western Hotel Grand Opening in Haiti

John Carroll at Dying in Haiti - 8 hours ago
Ismael (Photo by John Carroll--April 4, 2013)

How the NRCC redesigned their website

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 8 hours ago
The GOP decided their only problem is they're not selling their "starve granny to feed the rich more caviar" agenda well enough. So in an effort to win the affection of the cool kidz, the National Republican Congressional Committee redesigned their site by stealing from others. Yes. The committee that elects Republicans to the House is taking BuzzFeed's advice to heart... by copying BuzzFeed itself. The committee spent hours poring over BuzzFeed's site map and layout, studying how readers arrived at its landing pages and bounced from one article to the next. Unsurprisingly, a ton ... more »

Time for some cuteness overload...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 8 hours ago
I'm headed off to work. Today I'm serving up rice pilaf with smoked sausage and chicken. Lovely...

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 9 hours ago
At the State Fair. (personal collection)

The Fight for Real Journalism: Spotting the frauds in journalism

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 9 hours ago
*By Brenda Norrell* *Censored News* http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com A return to authentic journalism requires the halt to 'copy and paste' journalism, which is plagiarism. Before posting news articles from sources like Indian Country Today, or Huffington Post, readers should check the web to see if the article is a rewrite, and the theft of someone's genuine hard work, for the benefit of a paycheck, an ego, or both. Many times you will see the original article on Google, on Google News or Web. If not, e-mail the reporter and ask: 'Were you there?' 'If not, did you use a brief pho... more »

MONTH OF DRONE ACTIONS NATIONWIDE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 9 hours ago
Washington's overseas drone strikes and their surveillance use at home has long attracted the attention of activists. Groups across the U.S. political spectrum say the strikes breach American law and hurt the country's international standing. Now a month-long anti-drone campaign has kicked off, with a protest in Manhattan. Here in Maine our drone effort is focused on trying to get the state government to pass a bill to require law enforcement agencies to obtain a legal warrant before using drones for domestic surveillance.* *Even this will be an uphill struggle for us because th... more »

Educating Girls (Part Two)

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
*Craig*: Continuing on from Sue's *Educating Girls* post... Rawan Yaghi isn't quite the bookish, apolitical innocent Jon Donnison's article makes her out to be. She has her own Twitter feed which shows a rather different side to her: [image: Rawan] Rawan@MyFreePal We write for Palestine. #*Gaza* #*Palestine* #*Resistance* #*Rights*#* English* Expect babysitting tweets. Gaza- Palestine · http://wresist.wordpress.com/ She's also a blogger: We Resist | Because our children deserve better lives. wresist.wordpress.com/Feb 6, 2013 – Because our children deserve better lives. (by Rawan ... more »

A 'fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law'?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 9 hours ago
The BBC report on what they call a 'fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law'. Apparently: 'The UK has urged Saudi Arabia not to carry out a reported sentencing of paralysis for a Saudi man as punishment for paralysing another man. A Foreign Office spokesperson said London was "deeply concerned" by the sentence, describing it as "grotesque". Such punishment was "prohibited under international law", the official added. Saudi media reports earlier said the 24-year-old man could be paralysed from the waist down if he could not pay his victim £250,000 in compensation. Ali al-K... more »

Ideology Isn't the Natural Basis of Politics

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 9 hours ago
I hope everyone has read the latest Ta-Nehisi Coates NYT item, this one about Benjamin Carson and other Obama-era black conservatives. It's as good as you would expect it to be. It sparked a series of tweets from Jamelle Bouie about a distinction between the people Coates is talking about, "black conservatives," and what Jamelle calls "conservative blacks." Conservative blacks are simply black people with conservative views. They’re folks like my parents: Church-going military veterans. They care deeply about black people, and hold views that are recognizably conservative. In a le... more »

While You Slept

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 9 hours ago
Reblogged from: http://adaptingtograce.com/2013/04/04/while-you-slept/ *While You Slept* *by Eileen Meyer* Thursday Apr 4, 2013 I had a long talk with an old friend yesterday – a fellow light-worker, or angel on Earth. We both shared quite honestly what we were feeling right now at this stage of the awakening, with the current OPPT Movement and all. We both agreed that we held some unexpressed feelings of pain and exhaustion, and both had experienced a very real sense of being “done”, along with a wondering if it was time to move on from this plane. I cannot tell you how heali... more »

Causation

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 9 hours ago
*Ediger v. Johnston*, 2013 SCC 18 restores a multi-million damages award to a B.C. girl whose health and future were severely compromised by a birthing-room error. In a ruling today, the court restored a $3,224,000 damages award to Cassidy Ediger, who is now 15 years old and suffers from permanent spastic quadriplegia and cerebral palsy. The Court held: The Legal Test for Causation [28] This Court recently summarized the legal test for causation in Clements v. Clements, 2012 SCC 32, [2012] 2 S.C.R. 181. Causation is assessed using the “but for” test: Clements, at paras. 8 and 13; R... more »

Bill Maher's Take on Christianity and Just About Everything Else

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 10 hours ago
Maher, on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and it is hilarious.

Croatian Language Courtesy Notice

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 10 hours ago
Croatian Language OPPT Courtesy Notice

Agreeing to a summary judgment

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 10 hours ago
It is becoming common in civil matters for parties to agree a case is fit for summary judgment. In effect the parties agree to a modified stated case. The Court of Appeal accepts this - an example is Ivandic v. Bank of Nova Scotia, 2013 ONCA 214 where the Court notes: [1] The parties agree that this case was an appropriate one for summary judgment

Oil Spill: Who Pays for Clean-Up?

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 11 hours ago
hat tip: Gail (thanks!) *Exxon's Duck-Killing Pipeline Won't Pay Taxes To Oil Spill Cleanup Fund * [excerpt] “the pipeline was carrying “low-quality Wabasca Heavy crude oil from Alberta.” This oil comes from the region of Alberta where the controversial tar sands are located. Heavy crude is strip mined or boiled loose from dense underground formations that often contain a large amount of bitumen. This oil is very thick and needs to be diluted with lighter fluids in order to flow through pipelines…A 1980 law ensures that diluted bitumen is not classified as oil, and companies transp... more »

Would You Like To See John Boehner Lose His Seat In 2014? Let's Get Started

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 11 hours ago
When EMILY's List started they were the bee's knees-- an inspired organization meant to help put progressive women into political office in numbers more commensurate with their share of the population. In recent years, I've come to distrust EMILY's List as I see them backing horribly conservative and unqualified women against sterling progressive men who are better on women's issues-- and everything else-- than their miserable sadsack candidates. The worst example, though by no means the only, was in 2008 when they ran right-wing anti-Semite Nikki Tinker against Steve Cohenin Memph... more »

Mohawk Nation News 'Canada Demonstrates Corporatism'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 11 hours ago
[image: mnnlogo1] CANADA DEMONSTRATES CORPORATISM Posted on April 4, 2013 ** *MNN. APR. 4, 2013.* Canada is the first corporate state that the bankers want to model all other states after for the one world order. Minister of Foreign Affairs, John, Baird is used to the banker-controlled Canadian press, not to answering real questions. He confirmed that Canada is a corporation that depends on money, bribery and lies, as all corporations do. The Foreign Affairs Minister’s job is to deliver the bribe, eg., “Sign this, or vote like this, or you won’t get any money”. [image: Arabs see a... more »

Last Call for Tony Blair

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 11 hours ago
I'm gonna miss the New Democratic Party and, by the sounds of it, I'll be missing it more than they will. At least Tommy didn't live to see it. It seems the New Dems have seen the error of their ways. Or perhaps they've discovered that standing on principles, no matter how lofty, is for losers. And so the NDP leadership is heading to that great outhouse in the woods to take a massive, ideological dump. *NDP brass are taking a second shot at jettisoning some of the socialist baggage that many — including party leader Tom Mulcair — feel might hold them back in the next federal el... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 11 hours ago
*Two AmeriCorps teams pulled from New Orleans following member’s death~Uptown Messenger *

Archery Lessons for Businessmen in Toronto

Lilith eZine at LILITH NEWS - 11 hours ago
It is not just little kids who are getting into archery as a sport (thanks to the Hunger Games, Brave, The Avengers, Arrow and similar films/TV shows). It is also adults and even people you wouldn't normally see doing archery - including businessmen. That is right. CEOs, bankers, investment managers, stock market analysts... your boss! In other words people you would normally expect to be playing golf or tennis are taking up archery instead. So does this mean that in the future many golf and tennis clubs will start offering archery ranges as an additional service? Maybe. It is en... more »

Lawrence just can’t quit Mr. O!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 11 hours ago
*THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013* *The latest from Brokensoul Mountain:* Last night, the constantly horrible Lawrence O’Donnell went out and did it again. To watch the full segment, just click here. Although we’ll warn you: Lawrence devoted a full eight minutes to this latest pile of crap. To understand what Lawrence did, we have to go back to Keith Olbermann. In the old days, KO wasn’t able to spend his whole hour making smutty remarks about young conservative women, or even about Kirsten Dunst. (Conventionally attractive women seem to make KO mad.) For that reason, he devoted endless se... more »

House of Pain

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 11 hours ago
Here's my problem with much of the media coverage of the gratuitous and cruel imposition of national austerity known as Sequestration -- or if you will, "The Sequester." No human faces or names are even being appended to it anymore. The generic Congress Critters gave birth in their laboratory, and abandoned the baby. And we, to paraphrase a line in H.G. Wells's *The Island of Dr. Moreau*, have become the bubbles blown by the baby. So, instead of "President Obama and hundreds of bought-and-paid-for politicians in Congress are cutting thousands of poor children from Head Start", we'r... more »

BANGING THE WAR DRUMS

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 11 hours ago
The media is talking war with North Korea and slapping China around a bit as well. The American people are frozen in fear and depression and most won't be able to respond. The mass of the people are economic basket cases and have yet to verbally connect the US military empire's endless wars to their local financial ruin. Many are worried about losing their guns to the feds, but they don't seem to notice that they've already lost their tongues - and the precious right to speak out and demand real change. If people wait just to use their guns then it will be much too late.

Walmart Employee Cuts Leave Shelves Bare

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 12 hours ago
Clifford, S. (2013, April 3). Walmart Strains to Keep Grocery Aisles Stocked. The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/business/walmart-strains-to-keep-grocery-aisles-stocked.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130404&_r=0 [Excerpted] Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer and grocer, has cut so many employees that it no longer has enough workers to stock its shelves properly, according to some employees and industry analysts.... Before the recession, at the start of 2007, Walmart had an average of 338 employees per store at its United States stores and Sam’s Club loc... more »

Mohawk Nation News 'Sexual Rev'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 12 hours ago
[image: mnnlogo1] SEXUAL REV Posted on April 4, 2013 **** *MNN. Apr. 3, 2013. *Pedophilia is promoted at the highest level of the Canadian corporate structure, the PMO [Prime Minister’s Office]. The need to indulge in the desire for natural sex is the most potent human emotion to create action. The state is continually trying to control it to their advantage. *The goal of the Sexual Revolution is to change the moral compass off of true north and bring it under the control of evil. By manipulating the data, perversion and the occult have almost become the norm. Dr. Albert Kinsey ... more »

the edge

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 12 hours ago
don't be a victim

Thursday Morning Linkage – ISA Special

Josh Busby at Duck of Minerva - 12 hours ago
Arriving in the middle of the International Studies Association annual meeting, here is your Thursday morning linkage… Man tries to smuggle 10% of endangered Madagascan tortoise population into Thailand DRC military facilitating poaching and pillaging in UNESCO world heritage site Just when the French thought it was safe to go home: suicide bombers in Timbuktu Bad Continue reading

North Korea and the Drums of War

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 12 hours ago
There are two sides to every crisis, and the dangerous situation developing on the Korean Peninsula is no different. Unfortunately, the commentary coming out of the BBC sets the tone for the British press. It's the idea that the collective senility that grips the North Korean regime (and what we all like to have a laugh about, including this blog) explains why Kim Jong-un is banging the drum of war. The South, the USA, they're so much innocent bunnies caught in the DPRK's nuclear-tipped headlights. Kim is simply a mad man holding the world to ransom simply because he can. Well, no.... more »

Cyber Battle Report; Anonimous in court

Abraham Ben Judea at Abraham says - 12 hours ago
The more laws a nation has in the books the more corrupt that nation is.... The HB Gary CIA case continues.... *Barrett* *Brown*’s Mother faces Prison | *Hacking* Tricks & Security … *hacking*stuffs.com/2013/03/31/*barrett*-*browns*-mother-faces-prison Anonymous hacktivist *Barrett* *Brown*’s Mother faces Prison for hiding Evidences. The legal troubles of *Barrett* *Brown*, the alleged spokesperson of the *hacking* ... Anonymous member *Barrett* *Brown* Arrested by FBI - *Hacking* News the*hacker*news.com/2012/09/anonymous-member-*barrett*-*brown* -arrested.html A... more »

Put Your State Funding Where Your RepubliCON Mouth Is.

2old2care at Because I Can - 12 hours ago
The Righties want less government - let's start The sequestration - which seems to be a HUGE hit with the repugs - should start in their states first. Kinda a prize for winning. The state is hardly unique. It's one of many shutting air traffic control towers, gutting Head Start preschool services and making adjustments as U.S. budget cuts become reality. What sets Kansas apart is that it's home to some of the sequester's strongest backers. Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) referred to sequestration as "the first significant tea party victory" in Washington, while Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-... more »

Guess who's coming here?...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 12 hours ago
*Bill Whittle!* *We already have our tickets... * *Dinner with the Virtual President Bill Whittle* [image: Bill Whittle] 6:30 pm, Saturday, April 20, 2013 Coeur d'Alene Inn - 506 Appleway in Cd'A No host bar $30 per person. The Reagan Republicans are getting two or three tables so if you are interested in going please call Ron Lahr at 509-435-6349. Bill Whittle is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, director, screenwriter, editor, pilot, and author. He is best known for his PJ Media internet videos and short films, one of which, "Three and a Half Days", has be... more »

Follow Up to Courtesy Notice

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 12 hours ago
* * *Follow Up to Courtesy Notice* April 4, 2013 Hello all, Our Canadian friend Donna has written this beautiful Follow-up Letter to CN, and we believe that by making it public it will benefit a lot of people. "Here is my followup letter (not sent yet to my credit card company) ~ comments invited... April 4, 2013 John last name c/o P.O. Box XXXXX, STN XXX X Toronto, ON MXX XXX Reference Number Alleged: XXXXXXXXXXXX Dear John, I understand your confusion over my last letter to you accompanying my Courtesy Notice of March 6, 2013 as evidenced by your phone call message... more »

GATEKEEPERS DOWN: Thomas L. Friedman expounds on the schools!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 12 hours ago
*THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013* *Part 4—Letting the amateurs try:* You live in a world without journalists. On the street where you live, an education reporter with a fine pedigree can be so preternaturally clueless that she doesn’t even know how to access the simplest educational dats. She doesn’t know why D.C. schools display an unusually large black-white achievement gap. That said, such cluelessness is quite routine within the guild we still describe as the American “press corps.” Alas! In fact, your mainstream “press corps” is a guild and a club—a club whose members no longer funct... more »

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists - secrecy for sale - inside the global offshore money maze

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 12 hours ago
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (==ICIJ==) has obtained an unprecedented cache of information about cash in tax havens and begun to publish its findings. *The names of thousands of people have been revealed and their wealth management plans disclosed. Many involve secret companies set up in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).* * **Several high-profile politicians have been named and potentially shamed. French President Francois Hollande's campaign manager Jean-Jacques Augier has links to a BVI company. While the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and m... more »

Gossip costs lives

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 12 hours ago
This article illustrates the BBC’s habit of promoting gossip and tittle-tattle and presenting it as news (or comment) BBC Watch’s Hadar Sela has detailed what’s wrong with it. Donnison omits relevant factors concerning the deceased prisoner: *“Abu Hamdiyeh was connected to both the PA security forces and the terrorist organization Hamas or to note that he was known to be involved in recruitment for paramilitary activities, weapons training, providing weapons and finance for terror and bomb-making in addition to his role in the attempted suicide bombing of Café Caffit in Jerusale... more »

Can Religion Kill ALEC's "Stand Your Ground" Laws?

2old2care at Because I Can - 13 hours ago
Sounds like a good idea to me. Something useful for religion to focus on for a change. Hopefully - the higher power will give you folks a hand. *Black churches target ‘Stand Your Ground’* Anthony Evans Posted: Thursday, April 4, 2013 12:05 am By American staff | 0 comments The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African Americans, has authorized 3500 black churches in Florida to work with Representative Alan Williams to overturn the Stand Your Ground Law. The most important living memor... more »

I Hate When I Agree With Newt About Anything

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 13 hours ago
Yeah, he's right about this: At a National Review breakfast briefing on Thursday, Gingrich called the RNC’s push for regional primaries and a limited number of primary debates is a “total waste of time.” It’s one of the few parts of the RNC’s post-election report where he disagrees with the party’s recommendations. The regional primary thing, Newt says, is a waste of time because it's not going to happen. He's right! It's not going to happen; it's also very difficult to see why it's a particularly good thing, even if it was possible. As far as debates, Newt obviously has a dog in ... more »

LDC's Are Closing In On Us

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 13 hours ago
It seems they've called our bluff. "We" are the First World, the developed countries, the big producers and consumers of fossil fuels, the big emitters. We are also the rich countries. "They" are the LDCs or Least Developed Countries. They're the poor countries; the places we think are really backward, NatGeo spots; and they're the people who are the smallest emitters of greenhouse gases. They're also the people who are most likely to be left to deal with the worst impacts of our greenhouse gas emissions, the climate change impacts we have largely manufactured for them. Sha... more »

Planetary Boundaries as Power Grab

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Pielke, Jr.) at Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog - 13 hours ago
Writing at the Huffington Post UK, Melissa Leach, Director of the STEPS Centre at Sussex University, asks a provocative question: When the cover of the *Economist* famously announced 'Welcome to the anthropocene' a couple of years ago, was it welcoming us to a new geological epoch, or a dangerous new world of undisputed scientific authority and anti-democratic politics? The occasion for raising this question was Prof. Leach's participation last month in a United Nations meeting of experts on the development of new sustainable development goals. Leach describes a meeting in which ... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 13 hours ago
*President of LSU Faculty Senate speaks to Levees.org on expenses relating to Ivor van Heerden lawsuit*~*“The $457,000 that LSU has expended on legal costs for the Ivor van Heerden case brings the total cost of this shameful episode, including the $453,000 settlement, to at least one million dollars. What else could the expenditure of that sum have done? It could easily have paid Dr. Van Heerden’s salary until his retirement, an action that would have put LSU’s support for free inquiry and free speech beyond question. Alternatively, that sum would cover the cost of a ½% goodwill sal... more »

Surprise! Canadians Do Want the Opposition to Cooperate!

noreply@blogger.com (fern hill) at DAMMIT JANET! - 13 hours ago
The poll I helped pay for has been released. And guess what? All those pundits saying Canadians don't want cooperation among the Fucking Useless Opposition® are wrong. *Canadians support electoral reform, would vote for cooperation candidates – new national poll* April 4 – Toronto – A new national Environics poll shows that Canadians think our democratic system is broken, overwhelmingly favour proportional representation, and are willing vote for cooperation candidates to defeat Conservative MPs in the next federal election. The telephone poll, which sampled 1,004 voters, comes j... more »

'Substantial Portion' of Libor Suits Dismissed

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 13 hours ago
The 'Libor' scandal concerns the London interbank offered rate, which according to *The Wall Street Journal* is "the benchmark for interest rates on trillions of dollars of loans to individuals and businesses around the world" (Enrich & Munoz, A1) I learned about the specifics of how the libor rate is set at Max Keiser. http://maxkeiser.com/2012/07/ 15 big banks submit records of the inter-bank interest rates they pay and the Libor rate is supposed to be averaged from these records of the 15 big banks. However, the banks colluded in emails to submit falsified records in order ... more »

Iraq Sees Progress In U.N.’s Human Development Index, But Is Still At Bottom Of The Middle East

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 13 hours ago
For the last thirteen years, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been tracking the growth of countries in Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Pacific. Instead of looking at just economic statistics, the Human Development Index (HDI) also ranks life expectancy, education, and control of resources. Since 1990, the UNDP has seen steady growth in developing nations. Of 132 countries that were tracked only two had lower scores from 1990 to 2012. This even occurred while the richer nations ran into a recession in the mid-2000s. Iraq has seen progr... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 13 hours ago
*Explosive gas found under house slabs near Texas Brine Sinkhole* *Louisiana science advocate Zack Kopplin will be a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher tomorrow * * Audit: $700 million in Katrina, Rita aid may have been misspent* *Inspired by Federal Flood of N.O. 8/29/05, North Dakota enables citizens unmolested access to firearms* *Disaster communications: covering the ‘last mile’ ~Jacobo Quintanilla* * Trinity Artist Series* *Krewe of Alla says without more riders, they'll be forced to move to Uptown route* *Freret Street Festival this weekend!* *Treasures form the Point this ... more »

Bee Colony Collapse in California Accelerates Rapidly this Year

Majia's Blog - 13 hours ago
A New York Times video here: The bees are dying and cannot be kept alive in California. 40% to 50% of insects lost to colony collapse disaster since last year. A new class of pesticides is seen as responsible. An article addressing the bee collapse is here: Mystery Malady Kills More Bees, Heightening Worry on Farms March 28 2013 by M. Wines NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/science/earth/soaring-bee-deaths-in-2012-sound-alarm-on-malady.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130329&_r=0 [excerpted] BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A mysterious malady that has been killing honeybees en mass... more »

RIP MLK and Liberalism

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 13 hours ago
Five years ago, *WaPo* columnist EJ Dionne wrote a column on the 45th anniversary on the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and it was entitled "When Liberalism's Moment Ended." It was the rare article that would prove to be transformative to me as both a human being and a liberal and helped pinpoint for me the answer to a nagging question that had been bothering me like a cat hair in the eye: When, exactly, did liberalism die? I didn't know and wasn't even sure it could be traced back to a split second in time, to a specific number of square feet, to a s... more »

"Reformers" Seek to Overturn California Education Laws Based Solely on Evidence-Free Beliefs, Part Two

John Thompson at Schools Matter - 14 hours ago
As I explained last week, the "astroturf" school "reform" organization, Students Matter, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group want to strike down five education laws that supposedly "are destroying California's public education system, demoralizing the teaching profession, and robbing California children of their future." In *Vergara v California*, they claim "California's Schools Hire And Retain Grossly Ineffective Teachers At Alarming Rates." So, they want the court to strike down five laws protecting the rights of teachers. *Vergara* also demands that schools use teacher "eff... more »

Why "a Blind Eye" about KIPP?

P. L. Thomas at Schools Matter - 14 hours ago
Former Rutger's basketball coach Mike Rice is the outrage of the moment, but his firing took months and a viral video: Video shows Mike Rice's ire Maybe a moral response to Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) requires a viral video. Apparently that is what it takes for organizations and the public to respond to inexcusable but prevalent behavior—especially when that behavior is mostly by white men in authority at the expense of mostly African American young men who are essentially powerless. Charles Blow confronts and names the culture surrounding Rice's behavior as a coach: Fro... more »

Public alarm over climate change grows, Yale study shows – ‘There is something fundamentally different in the way Americans are engaging with the issue of climate change’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 14 hours ago
[image: Results of the ongoing Yale study, 'Global warming's six Amercas' for September 2012. The number of Americans alarmed about climate change has increased from 10 percent in 2010 to 16 percent in 2012, while the dismissive group has decreased in size, from 16 percent in 2010 to 8 percent in 2012. Graphic: Yale Project on Climate Change Communication] By Emma Goldberg, Staff Reporter 2 April 2013 (Yale Daily News) – Yale researchers have found that Americans are growing increasingly alarmed about climate change. On March 15 Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on... more »

James Hansen retires from NASA to fight global warming – ‘As a government employee, you can’t testify against the government’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 14 hours ago
[image: James E. Hansen of NASA, who retired in 2013 to fight global warming with activists, reflected in a window at his farm in Pennsylvania. Photo: Michael Nagle / The New York Times] By JUSTIN GILLIS 1 April 2013 (The New York Times) – James E. Hansen, the climate scientist who issued the clearest warning of the 20th century about the dangers of global warming, will retire from NASA this week, giving himself more freedom to pursue political and legal efforts to limit greenhouse gases. His departure, after a 46-year career at the space agency’s Goddard Institute for Space St... more »

In Mexican villages, few are left to dream of U.S. – ‘It’s a new Mexico, it’s a new United States, and the interaction between them is new’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 14 hours ago
[image: So many residents of villages like Genaro Codina, in Zacatecas, Mexico, are already in the United States that it is unclear whether eased American citizenship rules would prompt any other Mexicans to try to immigrate. Photo: Adriana Zehbrauskas / The New York Times] By DAMIEN CAVE 2 April 2013 EL CARGADERO, Mexico (The New York Times) – The pretty houses in the hills here, with their bright paint and new additions, clearly display the material benefits of having millions of workers move to the United States over the past few decades. But these simple homes also reveal why... more »

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 14 hours ago
Happy Birthday to Robert Downey, Jr., 48. Surprised how many of his movies I've seen; I count at least nine movies he's been in that I've seen, despite that I never have watched Weird Science. And some good stuff: 1. Alex Pareene on "the Mark Penn test." 2. Iraq dead-enders, from Dan Larison. 3. The future of marriage; Reihan Salam's view. 4. Yeah, I agree with Matt Yglesias about immigration, except I think I might be more pro-immigration than he is. 5. Ezra Klein on GOP health care policy. 6. And Abby Rapoport looks at NoDak populism.

The Four H's

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 15 hours ago
The Conservative attack machine is primed and ready to go. When Justin Trudeau becomes leader of the Liberal Party in ten days, the Conservatives will unleash the same kind of smear campaign they used on Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff. Their message will be that Trudeau is a lightweight with a thin resume. But Bob Hepburn writes in the *Toronto Star* that the Harper Party would be wise to rethink that strategy. Both the federal and the Ontario Tories have chosen leaders who, at the time of their ascension, offered pretty thin gruel: In comparison, Harper’s work resumé when ... more »

Homemade Thai Fried Rice

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 15 hours ago
My 4-year-old is a picky eater. A VERY picky eater, that being said, rice is our magic ingredient. For whatever reason, she LOVES rice and so most of our food revolves around it in one form or another. We often end up with containers of unused rice in our fridge and until we discovered this recipe it would sit for a few days before being chucked. This delicious Thai Fried Rice changed all that, in fact I find myself purposely making too much rice so there will be leftovers. You will need: 4 cloves of garlic, minced Pork loins, cut into strips 2 cups day old rice (cold) 1 cup Kal... more »

Imagine A Liberal Lion Replacing New Dem Vice Chair Allyson Schwartz In Congress: Daylin Leach

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
Admirably, Allyson Schwartz has been a real fighter for Women's Choice. Unfortunately, her progressive credentials stop there. PA-13-- Northeast Philadelphia -- is one of the most liberal districts in Pennsylvania. Obama beat McCain 65.4-33.7% in 2008 and did even better last year-- 66.2-32.9%. Schwartz was reelected with 69% of the vote, 66% in Montgomery County and 74% in the parts of the district within Philadelphia. She's always been extremely cautious to not get out ahead on any contentious issues and tends to vote very conservatively for a Democrat in a safe seat, especially... more »

Graham Ovenden - there's no smoke without fire - sex criminal artist.

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 15 hours ago
Well, if you look at Graham Ovenden's art, it's no real surprise that Ovenden was 'up to no good' LOOK AT IT. *Graham Ovenden sex crimes: Tate removes artist's work.* *Prints by the artist Graham Ovenden have been removed from the Tate's online collection following his conviction for child sex offences. Ovenden was found guilty at Truro Crown Court on Tuesday of six counts of indecency and one of indecent assault against girls in the 1970s and 80s.* [source BBC ] *'mild' compared to some of the prints* *Lord McAlpine owned Ovenden “art”* *That other “Elite” paedophi... more »

Saying no to debt servitude and other slavish behaviours

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 16 hours ago
*Debt is a drag on your future earnings.**: DEBT IS A DRAG ON ALL YOUR FUTURE EARNINGS*. Therefore debt should be taken on, only with the greatest of consideration and thought. For the sole reason that it leaves you poorer for the foreseeable future.* That's right debt leaves you poorer in the future*: Don’t expect a banker/ credit card pusher to tell you that one! Bankers/ credit card pushers are like just like big pharma- They want you hooked for life. They want debt enslavement to be your lifestyle drug habit. *Don’t become a debt junkie.* That said, let's move onto this articl... more »

Beauty in Soleil

John Carroll at Dying in Haiti - 16 hours ago
Photo by John Carroll (April 3, 2013)The "worst slum in the western hemisphere" is filled with people like this. John A. Carroll, MD www.haitianhearts.org

Climbing

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 16 hours ago

Mining 11: Big Projects in the US, UK, Canada and Australia

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 16 hours ago
Among the arguments hurled against large scale mining in the Philippines is that the rich countries are heavily regulating if not closing some of the big mining projects there to protect their environment, so we should not allow -- or at least heavily regulate -- big mining to continue in our country and protect our own environment too. The message here, both explicit and implicit, is that "mining = environmental destruction". So the policy implication is that "less or no mining = less or no environmental damage." This is wrong. As repeatedly argued in my previous articles here, no ... more »

Mobile phone completes 40th anniversary

Megaan at Current news updates, World current news - 17 hours ago
The initial mobile phone call was completed 40 years ago yesterday, on 3 April 1973.Marty Cooper, a senior engineer at Motorola, called a rival coworker at other telecoms company and announced he was speaking from "a 'real' cellular phone”. A report accepted by the International Telecommunication Union found that there were six billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide in 2012. Martin Cooper, now aged 85, is well-known as the "father" of the mobile phone. He was also satisfied to have been one tread ahead of the competition. *According to Dr Mike Short CBE, former president of ... more »

Educating Girls

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 17 hours ago
Craig alerted me to this, so hat tip to Craig. It’s Jon Donnison *again*. Groans and sighs please.. It's at about 40:50 in, on this link, which is to yesterday's Eddie Mair's PM programme. It's another one about a Palestinian student - from Gaza - a topic that is in danger of becoming one of Eddie's favourites? "There are 7 universities in Gaza" announces Jon. "Palestinians put a high value on education" opines he. Ingratiatingly, opines me. [...........]"adventurous is a word to describe *what it's like here*. We've had an Israeli airstrike and Palestinian rockets being fired i... more »

Some anti-monarchists need educating

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 17 hours ago
The BBC and various anti-monarchist groups like to misrepresent the cost of the UK monarchy and this annoys me. This piece repeated the familiar misrepresentation that: 'The total cost of keeping the monarchy was £38.2m during the 2009-10 financial year, a drop of 7.9% (£3.3m) on the previous year.' This looks at just one side of the equation: the costs of the Civil List which is soon to be replaced by the awfully named "sovereign support grant". The other side that is as usual ignored is that in 1760 it was decided that the entire cost of the Civil List should be paid by Parliamen... more »

Stop the Eviction of Lehman Brightman, founder United Native Americans

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 18 hours ago
* Fighting (L to R) Black Americans and American Indians United San Francisco, 1976 Clyde Bellecourt, Kathleen Cleaver, Lehman Brightman Elder Abuse By Contra Costa County & Wells Fargo Bank* Press statement Posted at Censored News *Stop the Eviction of Lehman and Quanah Brightman* When: April 4th 2013 Where Richmond Court 100 37th street Richmond Ca, 94805 Time:1:00pm We are asking our Community of Home Defenders & Indigenous Warriors to Gather in Support of Stopping the Eviction of the Brightman Family from their Home of 26 years. We Believe It's Time for Contra Costa County to H... more »

an.oth.er night of uber-vivid dreaming - The Quickening?

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 18 hours ago
it was literally another night of emotionally profound and maddeningly realistic dreaming. *one:* family taken for a ride (I wonder if this means literally) by a plastic-hulled river boat captain down a swirling river assault course. You steered the boat by pushing on the front of it and leaning left and right. We were then taken back to the start and allowed to have a go on our own. Woke up with the fear as soon as it 'started looking a lot more difficult than he'd made it look'. *two:* dream *suckubus* literally 'drank me dry', with gulping glee. I also knew she shouldn't have b... more »

Silver's Effect on Cancer and Healing

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 19 hours ago
There is important information toward the end of this article. It turns out that silver induces a dedifferentiation of cancer cells and other fibroblasts to produce embryonic cells able to assist the healing process. This could be both safe and hugely important. It is only a matter of time before these research threads are picked up and fully developed. The other argument pursued here is that more needs to be done in terms of silver based antimicrobial activity. Our present protocols have turned out to be fleeting and this is were silver holds an edge. It is clear tha... more »

Mapping Breakthrough for Plant Insect Bipomes

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 19 hours ago
The take home of course is that DNA extraction of insect stomach contents will now allow us to thoroughly map an insect’s preferred biome right across the whole spectrum of plants and insects. There will still be omissions, but I think that with some care that those will be scant. Once understood and fully mapped, both plants and insects will become natural pathfinders to each other. You also could hardly ask for a better description of a particular biome when you are making plans to manage that biome. So I expect this work to become profoundly important to establish ... more »

Defining Democracy

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 19 hours ago
I will add one key item to the general discussion. It is that effective power must be shifted downward. It is not enough to elect a king and call it democracy. In fact, the lesson we can take from China is that lower levels are operationally autonomous and potentially quite annoying to any centrists. The solution is to drive demos at the municipal level at least and then allow higher levels of polity to arise as demanded until it naturally feeds the universal demos that elects the national heights. Otherwise we are treated to an unending series of faux elections and ... more »

Water and Plant Consciousness

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 19 hours ago
This item deepens our understanding and perceptions regarding plant life and perhaps reminds us that we are the ultimate protectors. The observation of the tetrahedral geometry impressed upon water's freezing is helpful. I can go further than that because another 'form' of water crystallizes into a long stack. I published my thoughts on this in my unpublished manuscript titled 'Paradigms shift'. Critically this other form of water can be used to accelerate burn and wound healing and additionally sharply reduce death by shock and third degree burns. Although I have no... more »

Thim on Defense

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 19 hours ago
Over at the superb China Policy Institute blog, Michel Thim has a piece on Defense Policy under President Ma... after reviewing the continuity between the Chen and Ma Administrations in some areas of defense policy, including the Hard ROC policy, Thim observes: Defence-planning notwithstanding, there are several challenges, some temporary, some embedded in the specific conditions in Taiwan, all of which the Ma administration ought to address sooner rather than later. One of the most urgent matters is the imminent fighter jet gap. A significant component of the current jet fleet (F-5... more »

MICK PHILPOTT; JIMMY SAVILE; KRAY TWINS; CHILD ABUSE

Anon at aangirfan - 20 hours ago
*Ann Widdecombe and Mick Philpott.* Ann Widdecombe, the daughter of a Ministry of Defence civil servant, was a minister in the UK government department responsible for the police in England, and the UK security service MI5. *In 2007, Ann Widdecombe spent a week living with the Mick Philpott family for a television documentary.* On 2 April 2013, Mick Philpott was found guilty of the manslaughter of six of his children. In 2007, Philpott also appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, which is similar to the Jerry Springer Show. The six Philpott children died as the result of the Allenton... more »

I don't play golf but one of these could tempt me

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 20 hours ago
Bubba Watson's hover golf cart. *Thanks to Theo Spark for the video spot.*

Reframing string theory in terms of observer horizons

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 20 hours ago
Yasunori Nomura and Jaime Varela – sometimes with Sean Weinberg – wrote several papers that explain a reason why the argument by AMPS that black hole firewalls have to exist isn't warranted. If I try to summarize the error by AMPS as phrased by these authors, I must say that AMPS assume that the equivalence principle holds for the "entire state vector" and they impose a "one size fits all" classical background geometry for all possible quantum states. In reality, the equivalence principle only holds for states that respect a classical background and different classical backgrounds... more »

The Nationalist Hour with Rodney Martin

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 21 hours ago
In this inaugural broadcast of *The Nationalist Hour with Rodney Martin*, legal basis for racial preservation will be explored. ANA Co-Founder Rodney Martin will showcase Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart, a devout Christian German legal scholar who was also a NSDAP Party Member from 1930 through 1945 and served in the Interior Ministry and co-authored significant laws relating to racial preservation. The following will be discussed: - Hitler’s thoughts on U.S. Racial Policy in 1928, which he described as "racially successful" - Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor ... more »

So, we’re at ISA

PM at Duck of Minerva - 23 hours ago
Posting will be light.

Are any ALEC legislators on those lists?

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
*Secret Files Expose Offshore's Global Impact* * * *Center for Public Integrity** *| Posted: 04/03/2013 6:01 pm EDT | Updated: 04/03/2013 6:56 pm EDT Dozens of journalists sifted through millions of leaked records and thousands of names to produce ICIJ’s investigation into offshore secrecy By Gerard Ryle, Marina Walker Guevara, Michael Hudson, Nicky Hager, Duncan Campbell and Stefan Candea International Consortium of Investigative Journalists A cache of 2.5 million files has cracked open the secrets of more than 120,000 offshore companies and trusts, exposing hidden dealings of... more »

Can You Imagine Lady Gaga Playing A Republican Convention-- Neither Could She, Despite The Million Dollars They Offered

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
Mitt wanted his convention to look hip and happening. They got Journey instead When I was first coming up in the music business I avoided the whole idea of ever being forced to sell out by starting my own independent label. Others used to have to ponder the age-old question, "what if someone asks you to work Journey, Foreigner or REO Speedwagon?" In the world of progressive activism I was aghast when "liberal" politics operatives would explain how they had to go to work for a Blue Dog or New Dem-- or even a Republican-- because they had to feed their family. What a horrible position... more »

Why Isn't ALEC Bragging About Their Part in the XL Pipeline?

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
Why Isn't ALEC Bragging About Their Part in the XL Pipeline? Why? They hide behind blogs written on an ALEC supported webpage - but they don't have the guts to come out and state that ALEC state legislators at the state and federal level are helping move the XL Pipeline along. Bunch of cowards - hiding in the shadows. A one paragraph snip – if you want to read the whole thing – go find it – I’m not going to link to it. Alberta Bound: Observations from the Canadian Oil Sands ALEC Blog Team | April 3, 2013 | Add a comment Alberta Bound: Observations from the Canadian Oil Sands By the ... more »

Lollapalooza Single-Day Passes Sell Out

Jack Will at Yaya Blog's - 1 day ago
*Lollapalooza Single-Day Passes Sell Out*. Single-day tickets for Lollapalooza sold out in less than two hours on Wednesday. The single-day passes for the music festival in Grant Park went on sale at 10 a.m., and by 11:45 a.m., the promoters announced tickets had sold out. [image: Lollapalooza Single-Day Passes Sell Out] Three-day passes also sold out last month, in less than three hours; VIP passes sold out on Tuesday. The only tickets left for Lollapalooza are through pricey Travel Packages, which include three-night stays at Chicago hotels, plus general admission or VIP tickets f... more »

Shain Gandee Dead - MTV Buckwild Star Dies at 21

Jack Will at Yaya Blog's - 1 day ago
*Shain Gandee Dead - MTV Buckwild Star Dies at 21*. MTV Buckwild star *Shain Gandee *and two others were found dead in his car in West Virginia on Monday. He was 21. Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper of West Virginia, where Gandee lived, told People magazine that the reality TV personality was discovered unresponsive in his car with his uncle, David Gandee, 48, and another person. [image: Shain Gandee Dead - MTV Buckwild Star Dies at 21] Carper said that the family notified authorities on Sunday that they were missing since Saturday. He added that MTV had been filming all week... more »

KOREA: WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF ANOTHER WAR?

It’s not really a historians function to delve into the ‘what ifs’ of history but it’s not unreasonable to ponder what may have happened had the USSR turned up to that UN Security Council meeting in June 1950 and vetoed the decision to militarily intervene in the invasion of South Korea by the North. Instead, the USSR chose to boycott the UN meeting in protest against the UN allowing the Chinese Nationalist government based in Taiwan to represent the Chinese people and the UN voted to intervene and we ended up with the Korean War that resulted in millions of casualties and brought th... more »

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