Sunday, October 27, 2013

27 Oct - Blogs I'm Following II

Osgoode Hall with Canada Life building in the ...Osgoode Hall with Canada Life building in the background (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Interior of Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Canada.Interior of Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
10:22pm MDST

Not All The Bad News In North Carolina Comes From Republicans

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 22 minutes ago
A young member of Congress, Don Young (R-AK), mostly senile these days When Valerie Foushee replaced Ellie Kinnnaird in the North Carolina state Senate, she gave up her District 50 state House seat (Orange and Durham counties), Thursday, a 4 person selection committee, two Democrats from each county) voted to replace her with Graig Meyer. There were 7 candidates, including, Danielle Adams, whose responses to the committee's questionnaire are here-- and very much worth reading. Meyer, a white male with no experience in elective office, will serve out the rest of Foushee's term, just o... more »

Meet & Greet Monday (#MtaGt) - Eco Passport

Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints - 22 minutes ago
Welcome to Meet & Greet Monday, a regular series designed to grow our green community. [image: A link-up for green blogs on Reduce Footprints Blog] Banner by Art Ist Grab our banner for your site:
A link-up for green blogs on 
Reduce Footprints Blog *The rules:* 1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or collection of environment...
more »

12 paisajes naturales de nuestro hermoso planeta tierra

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FOTOFRONTERA - 32 minutes ago

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 hour ago
*Saints Roar Back From Bye Week With 35-17 Win Over Buffalo Bills ~Jason Saul, WWNO*

Is This Why AFT Leadership Sold Its Members Up The Common Core River?

educationalchemy at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 hour ago
It’s pretty widely known by now that American Federation of Teachers (AFT) received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, leading many to question the motives of AFT leadership in their silent acquiescence to the gods of Common Core. But apparently there may be more reasons as well. My friend and trusted colleague Bess Altwerger […]

Michael Mandel dies - a loss to Osgoode

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 hour ago
Just today I learned Michael Mandel, a professor for many years at Osgoode Hall died, perhaps this morning. Michael was a part of Osgoode Hall that no one could ever forget. He would sing and always had a jovial greeting for everyone. His politics were radical beyond belief but on an interpersonal level he was a kind a generous man. As an academic he challenged students to think beyond the obvious. While I was unconvinced by a Marxist theory of law (or anything else for that matter) Professor Mandel made me reexamine my own biases - and this is pushing thirty years ago. His kin... more »

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 1 hour ago
Pumpkin carving party. [Steve Toutant photos]

The Iranian “Smoke and Mirrors Threat” and Washington’s “Human Rights Card”

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 1 hour ago
*In a cycle of habit borne out repeatedly in the mainstream western media, demonization and fear mongering against Iran is picking up pace again in the face of attempts by the new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to rebuild relations with the west and work toward international cooperation. The techniques and methodologies used by the west in perpetuating the geopolitically-motivated, neo-imperialist, agenda against Iran often come across in the media as clumsy and awkward in their reasoning. Before delving into the hard geopolitical reality, a much needed word on the disingenuous l... more »

How We Got Here: History of Heritage Foundation's ACA Health Care (ObamaCare) - Has Obama Caved To the Rethug Tea Partyers?

Are you ready to lose Social Security and Medicare (not to mention Medicaid and all the other safety net programs that Rethugs are gleefully scheduling for the chopping block)? The Democrat’s Version of Health Insurance Would Have Been Cheaper, Simpler, and More Popular (So Why Did We Enact the Republican Version and Why Are They So Upset?) By Robert Reich October 26, 2013 House Majority

NEA and AFT Offer Appeasements; Locals Prefer Democratic Response

Kris Nielsen at @ THE CHALK FACE - 2 hours ago
An article appeared in the Albuquerque Journal recently, titled, Two Teacher Unions Step Up Actions Against PED. The article outlines how the national and state-level unions plan to put pressure on the New Mexico Public Education Department (NM PED) in order to treat teachers more fairly. Read the article here: http://www.abqjournal.com/288936/news/two-teacher-unions-step-up-action-against-ped.html Here is my response: I’m […]

Nobel economist Robert Shiller seems to be saying: I'm right, they're wrong, but we can all be friends

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 3 hours ago
*Why not Nobel Prizes for one and all? says Professor Shiller -- "even if we sometimes seem to come from different planets."* *"Actually, I do not completely oppose the efficient-markets theory. I have been calling it a half-truth. If the theory said nothing more than that it is unlikely that the average amateur investor can get rich quickly by trading in the markets based on publicly available information, the theory would be spot on. But the theory is commonly thought, at least by enthusiasts, to imply much more."* *-- Nobel economist Robert Shiller, in a NYT "Economic View" colum... more »

Lego Minifigs

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 3 hours ago
Who does not love Lego? So its no surprise the minifigs are a cultural totems. H/T to Gizmodo

Lou Reed, 1943-2013

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 4 hours ago
[image: Posted with Blogsy]Posted with Blogsy Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

7.3 Magnitude earthquake hits Japan - links to video footage at Fukushima plant , Tepco says no new damage ....... Ponder whether this might be a foreshock ( as per the foreshock 7.3 quake on March 9 , 2011 , two days before the big quake hit on March 11 , 2011 !

Catharsis Ours - 4 hours ago
Typhoon watch......Francisco and Leika Japan looks like it will not see major impacts from either storm system! Tropical Cyclone Information Select Track Forecast or Wind Probability 3-Day Track and Intensity Forecast 5-Day Track Forecast 50kt Wind Probability (by prefecture) 50kt Wind Probability (map) Tropical Cyclone All Tropical Cyclones13271328 Click on the tropical cyclone to see the enlarged map of its forecast. Notes 21:00 JST, 26 October 2013 [image: All Tropical Cyclones] 13271328 LOW Issued at 12:45 UTC, 26 October 2013 Scale-Intensity-LOWCenter ... more »

BAN TAR SANDS IN MAINE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 4 hours ago
I went down to South Portland yesterday to support the exciting campaign in that city to pass a referendum outlawing a Tar Sands pipeline scheduled to carry that dirty fossil fuel product into the port. The election will be held on November 5. About 200 folks turned out to work the major intersections in South Portland....if you want to reach the American people then stand on a busy street and they will drive by. This campaign has effectiv... more »

RIP Rock N Roll Animal Lou Reed

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 5 hours ago
Lou Reed is one of those people nobody asks "what killed him?" Its more like what did not kill him in his 71 highly influential years. Reflecting today his greatest legacy may have been making being Gay socially acceptable to mainstream baby boomers. His only billboard hit "Walk on the Wild Side" climbed to number 16 in 1973. It was a song unabashedly celebrating homosexuality and drug abuse. A song incomparable to any other on the top 100 at that time. For example the top song was Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak tree, the seminal plastic ballad by Tony Orlando and Dawn. I... more »

California rule raises Obamacare rates

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 5 hours ago
Award for biggest corporate fluffer of the week goes to this annoying hit piece on Obamacare "sticker shock" at the LAT. I've seen this narrative developing in the courtier media for a while now. ZOMG! Some people are seeing their super cheap insurance policies cancelled because, they're crap. Obamacare requires policies to furnish actual coverage for medical care. Wonder hard LAT had to look to find that one disgruntled young healthy person in California? Fine. I see LAT's self-serving anecdote and counter with this guy who is happy his inadequate insurance was cancelled: Anyway... more »

Staying Unsettled Next Week + Another Major Storm Brewing?

rss2009 at Global Cooling & New Ice Age UK - 5 hours ago
*Staying Unsettled Next Week + Another Major Storm Brewing?* After an exceptionally stormy and unsettled start to the new working week (please see weather warning below), it is set to remain rather unsettled for the week ahead too. Low pressure will dominate and allow wet and windy weather to develop across many parts of the country. It will also turn much cooler than of late, with the risk of developing ground frosts in parts of the north by midweek. Another period of very stormy weather and potentially damaging winds is also likely to develop later in the week and into next w... more »

Lou Reed has left the planet

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 5 hours ago
Sweet Jane: Sweet Jane was covered by the Cowboy Junkies also. to bad the credits roll over the video......... more »

As the Detroit bankruptcy proceeds - Detroit pensioners face the staggering possibility of a 16 CENT ON THE DOLLAR RECOVERY - Less than Greece's private bondholders obtained ! And regarding the protection of the State of Michigan Constitution regarding vested pensions , Detroit investment banker says " Not Relevant " asked about same !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 5 hours ago
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-27/detroit-pensioners-face-miserable-16-cent-dollar-recovery Detroit Pensioners Face Miserable 16 Cent On The Dollar Recovery [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/27/2013 11:12 -0400 - Citigroup - Creditors - default - Detroit - Lehman - Lehman Brothers - Meredith Whitney - recovery - Reuters inShare2 If there is ever a case study about people who built up their reputation and then squandered it for first being right for all the wrong reasons, and then being wrong for the righ... more »

Masterminds of spying against Merkel have to be brought to justice

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 6 hours ago
In the previous texts about the global spying by the NSA, I was sort of neutral but times are changing. *Spiegel* and *Bild* claim to have the testimony of an anonymous NSA official who claims that Angela Merkel's phone was not only eavesdropped between 2002 and 2013 but in 2010, Barack Obama explicitly requested the continuation of the program because "he didn't believe her". The U.S. embassy in Berlin – a building near the Brandenburger Gate – was used to collect the information. I am confident that there hasn't been any evidence that Merkel has been involved in terrorist atta... more »

Fill in those bubbles Kindergarteners- this is your future.

Chris Cerrone at @ THE CHALK FACE - 6 hours ago
Not quite as horrible as the learn how to bubble for the sake of test taking skill as Shaun Johnson’s post today, but what the hell are we doing here people? From New York parent Heather: Kindergartners learning to be “college and career” ready by practicing filling in those bubbles? Common Core aligned too! From […]

Sunday Question for Liberals

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 6 hours ago
I'm curious: are there liberals out there who want to see sequestration continue because it's the best shot at cutting military spending, even though it also cuts spending on things they like? (Or to put it in the form of a proper Sunday question: is that your position?)

Longest Walk 4 Walkin' to Montrose Colorado

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 6 hours ago
Longest Walk 4 Return to Alcatraz. Today, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013, walking from Gunnison to Montrose, Colorado, after climbing to the Monarch Pass in the Colorado Rockies, 11,300 feet! Video by Western Shoshone Long Walker Carl 'Bad Bear' Sampson, thanks for sharing with Censored News!

ALAN GREENSPAN, SATANISTS AND THE CIA

Anon at aangirfan - 7 hours ago
Alan Greenspan served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve (central bank) of the United States from 1987 to 2006. When he worked on Wall Street, "he was known as a hack that always gave ... his clients what they wanted instead of something actual".[14] The easy-money policies of the Fed during Greenspan's tenure has been suggested to be a leading cause of the subprime mortgage crisis *Alan Greenspan* Alan Greenspan attended Bohemian Grove one month before he was appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve. *Greenspan's Goblins* Bohemian Grove is said to be a summer camp for top Sata... more »

RIP, Lou Reed

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 7 hours ago
When I woke up this morning, there was a tweet from Lou, The Door. It made me want to say hello; I didn't. And now I never will be able to again. When I was in college, in the mid-60's I never missed a Velvet Underground show in NYC. If they did 4 shows in a week, I schlepped into Manhattan on the Long Island Rail Road 4 times. A Velvets show at the Dom, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, always trumped schoolwork. Decades later, Seymour Stein brought Lou into my life again by signing him to Sire, where I worked. Almost no one believed Lou had it in him to make another great record.... more »

Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, October 27th, 2013

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 7 hours ago
Sunday... Time for my weekly rant....And today, I am one truly pissed off blogger! Yes, I saw that video where that Jewish scumbag, Sheldon Adelson, was speaking in front of a group of Yeshiva University students in the United States, and proclaimed his desire to have a nuclear bomb dropped on Iran just to "make a point" about America's and Israel's resolve to "end Iran's (non-existent) nuclear weapons program". It was remarkable that this piece of s*** was able to spew his lies and to proclaim his bloody desire to have millions of innocent Iranians killed for the glory of his che... more »

US Obduracy in Syrian Crisis

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 7 hours ago
Is the US going to make another push for unilateral action against Syria? Despite the fact that Syria has cooperated fully of it's own accord with the CW inspection? * **US Obduracy in Syrian Crisis* * Excerpt:* Various Western politicians are refusing to comprehend the new situation that has emerged in the Syrian crisis following the Geneva agreement between Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry. The results of the Russian-American consultations have given a real chance for the complete destruction of the chemical weapons arsenal in Syria the... more »

Russell Brand and Revolution

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 7 hours ago
"There is going to be a revolution, it is totally going to happen." So said Russell Brand in his widely-celebrated *Newsnight* interview with Paxo. It would be tempting to view this as the naive aspiration of a dilettante celebrity taking five minutes out from his lavish lifestyle for a political dabble. But this would be a grievous mistake, especially for those of us who spend too much time with our heads in the Westminster goldfish bowl. Purposely, I've avoided *all* comment on Brand/Paxman. Except for Paul Mason's commentary. Why? Because Brand has articulated a disenfranchised ... more »

Sunday Question for Conservatives

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 7 hours ago
Are you hoping that healthcare.gov gets fixed quickly and starts functioning properly? Or are you hoping it doesn't?

Halloween in Turkey

Burcu Bayram at Duck of Minerva - 7 hours ago
Halloween is not celebrated in Turkey. Yet if they were celebrating Halloween, Turks who support democracy, secularism, human rights, and the rule of law would not have a hard time finding a haunted house. The country seems like a haunted house. This group of Turks, “modern bandits” in the eyes of the Turkish Prime Minister Continue reading

Al-Qaeda's Media Channel Blames Syria's Wounded On Assad's Forces Rather Than Foreign-Backed Jihadist Terrorists

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 8 hours ago
*Al Jazeera: Go Fuck Yourself. Your lies are having no effect. * pc blob commented in the video below: "Leave it up to Al Jazeera to take a story about the resourcefulness and heroics of the Syrian people, and use it against them." Syrians turn war debris into prosthetic limbs. Source: Al-Qaeda's Media Channel. Date Published: October 26, 2013.

Sunday Classics: "Up to now I have done nothing even approaching it" (Richard Wagner on Act I of "Die Walküre")

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 8 hours ago
*We've already heard the stormy orchestral introduction to Die Walküre -- in the February 2012 post "Storms that set three great operatic scenes in motion (aka: Musical storms, part 3)."* *Vienna Philharmonic, Sir Georg Solti, cond. Decca, recorded Oct.-Nov. 1965* *Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, cond. Teldec, recorded live, June-July 1992* *New Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, cond. EMI, recorded 1969* *"The score for Act I of The Valkyrie will soon be ready. It is extraordinarily beautiful; up to now I have done nothing even approaching it."* *-- Richard... more »

Senate's Conservative leader is dilly-dallying on suspensation motion

LeDaro at LeDaro - 8 hours ago
Claude Carignan, the Conservative leader in the Senate, now says that he may consider amendments to the motion to suspend Senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, and Pamela Wallin without pay. The pressure is on. ** "*The leader of the government in the Senate, Claude Carignan, says he is open to amendments to a motion that, as it currently reads, would suspend three senators without pay or benefits for two years over allegations of wrongdoing with their expense claims. Carignan told Radio-Canada's television political program Les Coulisses du pouvoir that there is the potential to ... more »

"A stitch-up"

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 8 hours ago
I hope he doesn't mind, but I think it's worthwhile re-posting a comment from historian Ara Sarafian, which was posted on *The Ottomans: The Armenian Genocide* thread. It seems to confirm the sense I had that the BBC Two series *The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors *was engaged in something of a whitewash of the Armenian Genocide. His contribution to the programme was, indeed, remarkably brief and he was, as I wrote at the time, "talked over by Rageh's commentary saying that Turkey dismisses such accounts [those contained in the British Parliamentary Blue Book] as 'war-time propa... more »

Sweet Jane weeps

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 9 hours ago
And the world weeps with her. Another musical icon of my youth -- gone. He wrote a big part of the soundtrack of my life. The music world will never be the same. RIP Lou Reed. Adding, I'm wating for the man. Also too, Lou Reed's last tweet, just six hours before his death.

you know her life was saved by rock and roll: lou reed, 1942-2013

laura k at wmtc - 9 hours ago
Lou Reed, 1942-2013 Songwriter, Musician, New Yorker "One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz." - Lou Reed "The first Velvet Underground album only sold 30,000 copies, but everyone who bought it started a band." - possibly Brian Eno I was shocked and very saddened to learn of the death of Lou Reed at the not-old age of 71. Lou Reed made a lot of really worthwhile music, much of it after VU. I'm grateful that I saw him perform a few times, for his music, and for his politics. I'm really sorry he's gone.

2013 Hertzan Chimera ebooks - the keyboard entity - the sub-atomic unit

Mike Philbin at PROGNOSIS II - 9 hours ago
well, it's been thirty years in the arriving, but here it is, finally, the official expansion of the Dementia 13 fake-science article you've all been waiting for, and a re-edition of a heavily-cropped auto-biography of my invented writing persona who terrorised the small press horror community in the 1990's. They both share the same name, Hertzan Chimera. They both share the same cover concept. They both share the same length 12,000 - 16,000 words. *each title is only $2.99 from all good online distributors*

Lou Reed has died, I am most upset

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 9 hours ago
Lou Reed has died, one of the true greats is no more. This is quite definitely not a Perfect Day. I am a huge Lou Reed fan and I think that I will leave the Internet for tonight and listen to some Velvet Underground and then some solo work.

the struggle !

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 10 hours ago

Miliband duped by union dirty tricks in vote-rigging probe | Mail Online

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 10 hours ago
Some more news that you won't find reported on the BBC. ' Ed Miliband was facing fresh embarrassment over his relationship with Labour's union paymasters last night after secret emails suggested he had been duped by a 'dirty tricks' campaign orchestrated by them. A cache of 1,000 messages was said to have disclosed how bosses at Unite subverted an inquiry ordered by the Opposition leader into vote-rigging claims. In the summer, Mr Miliband suspended the selection process in the safe Scottish seat of Falkirk following allegations that Britain's biggest trade union had packed the ... more »

Animal Anomalies: Is the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster a 'Tipping Point'?

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 11 hours ago
* * I’ve been blogging on the unceasing rise in radiation levels reported by Tepco since July 2013. July 2013 was the big event, which seemed to have precipitated the current downhill trajectory. Fission byproducts were detected from that event** PowerPoint of data examining reports of conditions at the plant and evidence of criticalities, which can be seen here http://www.academia.edu/4314657/Fukushima_Update_Aug_2013 or here https://www.dropbox.com/s/11xz1zjgwcsbpo0/Fukushima%20Update%20Aug%202013.pptx ** Since then, the radiation levels in ground and ocean water samples have be... more »

Detroit Aiprort Clears Venus to Land

KRandle at A Different Perspective - 11 hours ago
(*Blogger’s Note*: Brad Sparks recently published the following on a closed discussion list so I asked permission to make it available to a wider audience. Brad kindly gave his permission, but he asked that I publish a slightly updated version. The following was written and updated by Brad.) Recently, my attention was called to a story in Allan Hendry's *UFO Handbook * of 1979, by a Euroskeptic who was properly cautious in bringing it up, saying "*If cited correctly*" by Hendry, then it might be instructive. Purportedly, the Detroit, Mich., airport controllers had many times "cl... more »

The United Nations and American Public Opinion

Robert Kelly at Duck of Minerva - 12 hours ago
The following is a guest-post from Martin Edwards, professor at Seton Hall’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Martin’s website is here. How do Americans think about the United Nations? The results of recent surveys by the Pew Research Global Attitudes Project and the Better World Campaign offer some insights on this question. These organizations Continue reading

President Bush: I Lied To You In 2007...the Mortgage/Foreclosure/Financial Crisis That Started In 2007 While I Was President Wasn't the "RECKLESS HOMEOWNERS" Fault...It Was The "RECKLESS BANKSTERS" Fault

Big Dan at Big Dan's Big Blog - 12 hours ago
So the mortgage/foreclosure/financial crisis WASN'T caused by the "RECKLESS HOMEOWNERS" in 2007 after all. Have you been following all these stories of BANKSTERS getting multi-million/billion dollar fines for rigging the housing market back in 2007? But do you remember President Bush & the media in 2007 blaming the "RECKLESS HOMEOWNERS" for it? Bush & the media said the "RECKLESS HOMEOWNERS" took advantage of the POOR BANKSTERS!!! Remember? If you DON'T remember, let me refresh your memory with 3 posts I made in 2007 about Bush & the media's "RECKLESS HOMEOWNERS" speech & media bl... more »

DRONE PILOT

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 12 hours ago
Brandon Bryant, a former sensor operator for the U.S. Air Force Predator program. He manned the camera on the unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones. After he left the active-duty Air Force in 2011, he was presented with a certificate that credited his squadron for 1,626 kills. In total, he says he was involved in seven missions in which his Predator fired a missile at a target.

Brand: The Attacks Begin

Paul Coker at News Spike - 13 hours ago
*Brand is sleeping with Princess Diana's Sister.* I felt an immense affinity with comedian and would-be revolutionary vanguardist Russell Brand as I watched his BBC Newsnight interview with dismissive interlocutor Jeremy Paxman. In a highly public forum, Brand ran the frustrating gauntlet of explaining the very basic tenets of radical politics to a defender of the status quo. It’s a maddening position to occupy — as Brand’s intensifying eyes and harried stares at Paxman evidenced — and it’s a position all too familiar for those of us who have ever identified with anarchism or a r... more »

Teacher Quality, Wiggins and Hattie: More Doing the Wrong Things the Right Ways

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE - 13 hours ago
Teacher Quality, Wiggins and Hattie: More Doing the Wrong Things the Right Ways. via Teacher Quality, Wiggins and Hattie: More Doing the Wrong Things the Right Ways.

Kindergarten teachers have really abandoned their professional ethics in favor of…?

Shaun Johnson at @ THE CHALK FACE - 13 hours ago
Can anyone explain this to me, as captured by a friend in Texas? Tagged: bubbles, teachers, testing

A Plague on Earth

gail zawacki at Wit's End - 14 hours ago
*Melencolia I* ~ engraving, Albrecht Dürer 1514 This astonishing film could have been made in any number of places around the world, and still provided a breathtaking indictment of the fiasco that humans have wrought on this planet. We will continue to destroy other creatures and their habitat until there is nothing left, all the while oblivious to the selfishness and shortsightedness and self-destructiveness of our behavior. In less than a half-hour this documentary reveals exactly what a merciless plague species looks like.

SUNDAY SONG

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 14 hours ago

Fact-checking The Economist

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 14 hours ago
Here is a question for students who are learning about compounding. What is wrong with the following passage from *The Economist* magazine? Investors who bought Treasury bonds in 1946, when yields were around current levels, did not suffer a formal default. But over the following 35 years they lost money in real terms at a rate of 2% a year. The cumulative real loss was 91%. By that standard, Greek creditors, who recently suffered a 50% loss via default, were lucky. Answer: The second number is inconsistent with the first. Note that .98^35=.49, so we get only a 51 percent cumulati... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 14 hours ago
*Vargas: Craving QB consistency? Saints are your team ~New Orleans Advocate* *Louisiana oil, gas companies eye growth south of border ~Billy Gunn*

The Nature of Creative Genius

Len Hart at The Existentialist Cowboy - 14 hours ago
*by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy* The genius mentality sees analogies where ordinary minds see only isolated instances. Einstein, for example, made a cosmic leap from a tram departing the clock tower in Bern to a faster than light space craft. Looking backward the tram passenger sees the hands on the clock tower moving forward. Einstein was inspired to conduct one of his famous "thought experiments"; he imagined the same tram exceeding light speed at which time the hands on the Bern clock tower would run backward as his tram overtook light waves that had recently departed the... more »

The Ungovernable

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 14 hours ago
Yesterday, I posted another picture of this same banner: Today, I just thought about what it means. What do these people do day-to-day? How truly "ungovernable" are they? Do they ever access public services? Do they ever obey laws? I'm bitter. I'm a bitter broken man. Lately, my ire is directed at these radical blabbermouths; going on and on about how awesome they are, while remaining nothing but a tiny group of irrelevant people.

The Battle For Social Security Begins Anew

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
I've been wondering if all the *strum und drang* over the typically glitchy launch of the Obamacare website isn't just a shiny object moment to distract attention from what the conservatives among our ruling elites have in mind for us. Friday, Gene Sperling, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, may have given away the game. Obama has Social Security firmly in his sites again. The Grand Bargain he and Boehner cooked up before has been on the back burner and the two of them are determined to roll it out again-- and that means Chained CPI and other benefits cuts fo... more »

The dark side of fair trade

Jody Paterson at A Closer Look: Jody Paterson - 15 hours ago
Copan kids heading into the coffee fields at harvest time When I stand in my Canadian shoes, I am an ardent supporter of fair trade – *comercio justo *as it’s known here in Honduras. Count me in for any practices that try to help small producers in under-developed countries make a decent living from their coffee crops and such. But when I look at fair trade from the perspective of Hondurans, things get a little muddy. That’s especially true around the question of prohibiting child labour. Taking steps to stop children from being forced to work to produce goods for the developed wor... more »

Who Won World War II?

Paul Coker at News Spike - 15 hours ago
*"The allies may have won the Second World War, but unfortunately the ideology that won was not that of Roosevelt, but that of Hitler." * Jose Arevalo, member of the left-leaning cabinet of President Arbenz of Guatemala prior to its overthrown by a CIA orchestrated coup, 1953 "University of Chicago law professor Bernard Harcourt explored this myth in depth in a 2004 article published in the Fordham Law Review. As it turns out, the Weimar Republic, the German government that immediately preceded Hitler’s, actually had tougher gun laws than the Nazi regime. After its defeat ... more »

The Reverse Midas Touch

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 15 hours ago
In 2008, when Stephen Harper cut public funding for political parties, the opposition rose and threatened to take down his nascent government. He prorogued Parliament and bellowed that the other parties were engaged in a conspiracy to deny Canadians the minority government of their choice. In 2011, after being found in contempt of Parliament, he declared that "contempt" merely meant being outvoted, then raged rabidly about "separatist coalitions." Now, when the political threat comes from within his own ranks, he rages at those he appointed. The pattern is pretty clear: Stephen H... more »

Targeting the Mi'kmaq: Cancer alleys and white privilege

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 16 hours ago
Snipers target Mi'kmaq anti-fracking camp Oct. 17 2013 By Brenda Norrell Censored News Investors in Southwestern Energy are being urged to dump stocks, and stand with Indigenous Peoples against police violence initiated by oil and gas companies. Mi'kmaq with eagle feather before RCMP Southwestern Energy of Houston, targeting the Mi'kmaq in New Brunswick, has already been sued in Arkansas

Is the GOP a "Kooky Cult" or a "Crime Syndicate"?

Len Hart at The Existentialist Cowboy - 16 hours ago
*by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy* As it is true of individuals, it is also true of groups: they are what they do! The GOP, like any other group or any individual is defined by what it has done over the years. I am of the opinion that most of what the GOP has "accomplished" has been harmful to American society over all and to individuals in specific cases. This includes the GOP's apparent disdain for the environment, its horrific record with respect to any "class" that is not fabulously wealthy. By its many acts and as many omissions, the GOP has created the ruling elite. I ... more »

Nothing new under the sun

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 16 hours ago
*"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."* Radio 4's liberal religious affairs programme *Sunday* returned to several of its favourite themes this morning. These included: - an interview with a pro-rebel Syrian "Muslim scholar". - a feature about sharia banking in the UK, discussed from an 'ain't this great' and 'what else can be done to make it a success?' standpoint. - an interview with Archishop Vincent Nichols on ethical banking. (The Archbishop tends to appear on the programme either to defend his Church when ... more »

MOCKINGBIRD: How to Cry On Cue

Paul Coker at News Spike - 17 hours ago
9/11 / MOCKINGBIRD : The "Jumpers" from Spike1138 on Vimeo. He saw loads of people heave-ho themselves out of the WTC windows (which DO NOT OPEN), but didn't capture a single one on camera, despite filming the entire event. He just caught "people" falling and waving. He also didn't film anyone LANDING; this area of the plaza was obscured from view. Probably a good thing - he would have filmed them bouncing. I see redness, and much rubbing of the eyes, but not one tear. But he's really trying with that "Blue, blue coat" schtick. Seriously...? September 11th 2001 was a gloriously... more »

Warren

Paul Coker at News Spike - 17 hours ago
*From the Fighting State of Massachusetts.*

This Ongoing War: A Blog: 25-Oct-13: Grenade hurled at people in an Israeli school-bus today. How many more terrorists should we free now?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 18 hours ago
More rock throwing at Israeli civilians, don't wait for the BBC coverage there won't be any. More here http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.co.il/2013/10/25-oct-13-grenade-hurled-at-people-in.html?m=1

Svensmark: “global warming stopped and a cooling is beginning” – “enjoy global warming while it lasts” | Watts Up With That?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 18 hours ago
' It's important to realise that the Little Ice Age was a global event. It ended in the late 19th Century and was followed by increasing solar activity. Over the past 50 years solar activity has been at its highest since the medieval warmth of 1000 years ago. But now it appears that the Sun has changed again, and is returning towards what solar scientists call a "grand minimum" such as we saw in the Little Ice Age.' Much more here http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/09/10/svensmark-global-warming-stopped-and-a-cooling-is-beginning-enjoy-global-warming-while-it-lasts/but not on the wa... more »

POISON MUSHROOMS AND NON-DUALITY

Anon at aangirfan - 20 hours ago
The philosopher Leibniz argued that if the world did not contain various 'challenges', there could be no courage or compassion. The Lisbon Earthquake of 1775 was a 'challenge'. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 helped lead Voltaire to the conclusion that the 'challenges' in this world are sometimes too great. Voltaire mocked Leibniz. *Lisbon Earthquake.* People like Leibniz argued that this earthquake produced courage and compassion and love. Here we come to the word 'Non-Duality' - the idea that, for example, suffering and compassion are two sides of the one thing. *One could sa... more »

Collection of evidence in Boston Bombing Crisis acting training.

Jason Leewig at Our Manmade Disasters - 21 hours ago
Collection of evidence in Boston Bombing Crisis acting.....must see and learn if you aspire to be a well-paid, silent-for-life, infamous crisis actor. Don't worry about your old age pension. "You n'ver git to live that long. D'ey will bump u off, b4 u git 2 infamous." What more proof do you need, folks? Can't accept you had been April-fooled again by OBAMA (Oil Banksters Agenda21 Mafia Association) goons? Too bad. Thank them again for bringing some excite...m..mennnnt & miseries into your lives. Dream on. Peace Man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmEroibLKr4

Sandy Hook Hoax - powerful evidence of photoshopped composites

Jason Leewig at Our Manmade Disasters - 21 hours ago
Sandy Hoax_The_Real_Picture No crime is so perfect as to leave no trace. No photoshop composite fake can be so perfect it cannot be detected. There is no reason to photoshop-compose any picture from an "Accident / Natural Disaster / Tragedy" except when it is a false flag-inside job with psyops objectives. We will be updating this article as more evidence (in prep) are sent to us. Stay tuned. Remember the famous photo of the children being led by police out of school after the shooting. They were told to close their eyes. http://www.businessinsider.com/sandy-hook-elementary... more »

Once Again, Back To My Roots: Truth Hertz Radio Exposes The NASA Apollo Moon Hoax

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 23 hours ago
As someone who has long known some basic truths about our sick world, and the scoundrels behind our demise... I am deeply troubled from time to time by those who call themselves "truth seekers" and cannot even see that one of the biggest "achievements" of mankind, the NASA Apollo Moon missions, were nothing more than complete frauds.... It puzzles me that many can see that the official story behind the Israeli Mossad 9-11 attack on American is a complete lie and sham, and that all of our history is nothing more than a complete lie brought to us by our Jewish criminals.... But for so... more »

ALEC Members Can Now Disavow Actions

2old2care at Because I Can - 23 hours ago
You're not gonna believe this folks. A new disclaimer on the ALEC webpages. Are you ready? *Membership Disclaimer* *ALEC provides a forum to facilitate the exchange of policy ideas from a variety of perspectives. ALEC model policy and resolutions are developed by ALEC members and may or may not reflect the positions of any individual member, company, association, or non-profit.* *AGAIN!* *ALEC model policy and resolutions are developed by ALEC members and may or may not reflect the positions of any individual member, company, association, or non-profit.* *AGAIN!* *ALEC model policy... more »

Photos: Navajo government's cruel roundup of wild horses

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 23 hours ago
Photos by Leland Grass, Dine' for Wild Horses Colonized Navajo tribal government hauls away Dine' wild horses By Brenda Norrell Censored News Photos by Leland Grass, Dine' for Wild Horses Click on photos to enlarge These wild horses in Chilchinbeto and Kayenta were rounded up by the Navajo tribal government (US puppet government), and chapter officials on Friday.

Who Keeps Tabs On The Spies? No One We Can Trust

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
In foreign places, the big news story at the end of the week wasn't about the Affordable Care Act website. It was about NSA spying. Government leaders, apparently, get a lot more angry when the spying isn't on their citizens but on they themselves. And the NSA was publicly exposed for spying on friendly foreign leaders, like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande. When Merkel asked Obama if the NSA was tapping her cell phone, he said "not now and not in the future," a de facto confirmation that NSA had been tapping her phone and a decision had been ... more »

Swamped...

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 1 day ago
*Betel nut stand. Courtesy of Cary Broder.* Swamped. It will be two more days, so until then, puzzle over this strange betel nut stand my man Cary Broder photographed somewhere in the wilds of Taiwan. _______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

The Great Maine Apple Day - October 27, 2013 in Unity, Maine

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 1 day ago
*Sponsored by MOFGA, Fedco, and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension* Sunday, October 27, 2013 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Rain or Shine held at the *Common Ground Education Center* 294 Crosby Brook Rd, Unity Maine $4 for non-members, $2 for members *Celebrate the history, flavor and tradition of Maine apples, while honoring the importance of a diversified, perennial agriculture.* * * * * For more information, please visit: *http://www.mofga.org*

New Article By JB Campbell: Communist America

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 1 day ago
I have been extremely busy these last few weeks, and today was an absolute rat race... I finally have been able this evening to spend some time surfing the Internet, and looking at what my friends in what I call the "real truth movement" have been up to.... I do recommend that everyone take a look at my friend Noor's latest weekly cartoons over at Snippits and Snappits (www.snippits-and-slappits.blogspot.com) for example.. They are hilarious! For this blog post, I want to present the following very important article by JB Campbell (www.jbcampellextremismonline.com) that I found very... more »

Let's all watch the U.S. slip to the rear of the developed world in adult skills

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
Charts adapted by *The New Yorker* from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Survey of Adult Skills [*Click to enlarge*] *by Ken* Remember how *The Newsroom*'s Will McEvoy caused that national shitstorm by refusing to play along with the bromide that America is No. 1? (With the helpful proviso from what he thought was a hallucination prompting him from the audience: "But we can be.") I think this is one of the fault lines that has the country so violently divided at the moment. The Right insists on enforcing this lie even as it has infected a large segment of ... more »

CONSEQUENCES OF EXPANDING MILITARISM

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
- Michael Hadfield, Professor of Biology, University of Hawai'i, writes: "Pagan Island, one of a string of volcanic islands that make up the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas [in the Pacific Ocean], is an ancient home to the Chamorro people and the habitat of unique animals and plants, many of them endemic, rare and endangered. Those natural and cultural resources are being put at risk by a plan by the U.S. Marines to use the island as a live-fire training ground. In scoping documents related to the environmental impact statement required for that plan ... more »

a small green victory: more plastics now recyclable in peel

laura k at wmtc - 1 day ago
*Yes!* A few years back, I blogged about discovering that many of the plastics I had been putting in my recycling bin were not, in fact, recyclable. A few months after that, I unpacked a typical environmental dilemma: organic lettuce. Organic lettuce is the perfect example of a green paradox. It's unquestionably better for the local water supply, and for the health of the people who pick it and who eat it. On the other hand, it requires a huge amount of energy to stay fresh, and is often packed in non-recyclable plastic. We can ask, "Which is better?" but the answer is another quest... more »

Lupe Castillo explaining rationale for shutdown of Operation Streamline on Oct 8 in Tucson

Roberto Rodriguez at Dr Cintli - 1 day ago
Lupe Castillo explaining rationale for shutdown of Operation Streamline on Oct 8 in Tucson. First of several videos re Tucson/Arizona Oct 2013 Uprrisng http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upyBCtS_o90&feature=share

Hermosa coleción de Imágenes para Navidad

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FOTOFRONTERA - 1 day ago

Saturday night to Sunday morning

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 1 day ago
Please overlook the fact the dingus who posted this can't spell electric and just... enjoy.

Jewish Prime Minister selling UK out to Islamic Infiltrators

Rufus News From Atlantis at News From Atlantis. - 1 day ago
The UK is in trouble: serious trouble. The treacherous Jewish Prime Minister, David Cameron, has made a point of giving greater power to the muslim immigrants who infest our shores; proving yet again that Judaism and Islam are one and the same, and that both must be thoroughly rooted out if indigenous Europe has any chance of survival. David Ben Cameron, on the official UK government website, wrote the following treasonous drivel: "I want Britain to be one of the world’s centres of Islamic finance - from the highest and mightiest financial institutions all the way to start-ups. We... more »

Can leaders be activists?

Timothy D. Slekar at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago
I have been very critical of just about every implementation facet of the common core standards and I have always but forth the reasons for my criticism. The standards were not developed with input from experts. Teachers, childhood development specialists and parents were supposedly “consulted” but the actual work was done by a secret panel—and […]

Al-Qaeda's Media Channel Says The Syrian Government Is Bombing "Schools, Hospitals, And Power Plants"

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
Propaganda from Al Jazeera, Al-Qaeda's media channel, is getting hilarious. Near the end of the video below the channel accuses the Syrian government of bombing "schools, hospitals, and power plants." This is asinine. Al-Qaeda's media channel wants the world to believe that the Syrian government is destroying its own infrastructure and killing its own people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just the other day, the Saudi-Qatari-Turkish-US-British-French-Israeli backed Jihadist terrorists *bombed a gas pipeline*, which led to a temporary blackout. Al Jazeera stands with these... more »

It Takes A Congress Of Morons To Hold Us Back

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
-by Noah Sometimes satirists have a very hard time satirizing Congress. Case in point: the current Congressional hearings about glitches in the allegedly satanic, marxist, communist, Muslim jihad-influenced Affordable Care Act; aka, dare we say it out loud, Obamacare. How does one satirize a bunch of morons in suits who have but one discernable talent-- satirizing themselves, whether intentionally or not, better than anyone else could ever hope to? Satirist Andy Borowitz makes a valiant effort below. In an impressive white-knuckle performance on live television today, members ... more »

Another grim year for Postmedia, and what lies ahead

paul at Paying attention - 1 day ago
It’s tough to pick the biggest problem for Postmedia, Canada’s largest newspaper company. And it’s just as hard to figure out where the corporation is going. Postmedia released its quarterly and year-end results Thursday. They were grim, and things are getting worse, not better. (The corporation's Powerpoint presentation on the results is here.) Print advertising, about 60 per cent of total revenue, fell 13.4 per cent in the fiscal year ending Aug. 31. That’s worse than the 10.3-per-cent drop in 2012. For national and retail advertising, about 60 per cent of total print ad revenue, ... more »

Problems in Paradise

theozarker at The Conflicted Doomer - 1 day ago
October 26, 2013 Other than our ticking off at least thirty-five national leaders – several of them, our close European allies – with our meddlesome NSA spying, more useless Congressional hearings on the lousy rollout of the government’s healthcare site, … Continue reading →

Untitled

rss2009 at Global Cooling & New Ice Age UK - 1 day ago
*Major Damage + Flooding Expected To Make Headline News Stories For October Storm – As Suggested 300 Days In Advance* Due to the overall severity of the upcoming weather events, this forecast has been broken up in to three parts with an analysis of potential conditions. 1. Sunday day 2. Sunday evening 3. Monday day *Sunday day* Sunday will bring a very windy day across parts to the north and west of the country, and some of the wind speeds are likely to be in excess of around 50-60 mph in places (strong gale to stormy conditions). This is likely to produce some large waves a... more »

Longest Walk 4 through Gunnison Colorado Saturday

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 day ago
...... . Photos by Carl 'Bad Bear' Sampson, Western Shoshone long walker The Longest Walk 4 Return to Alcatraz walked through Gunnison, Colorado, today, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013. They are walking on Hwy 50 toward Montrose, Colorado, and then Green River, Utah. Share the love by walking with them, or sharing a stay place, hot meal, or winter camping

Let them eat cake

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago
I didn’t see the debate “should British women wear the niqab.” on Channel Four when it went out, but I watched it online. The debate had Douglas Murray in it for goodness sake. And Yasmin Alibhai Brown! *“A panel including writer Shalina Litt, activist Sahar Al-Faifi, writer Douglas Murray, Islam lecturer Khola Hasan, broadcaster Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Fatima Barkatullah debate the niqab in Britain.”* I won’t let the fact that this was a Channel 4 programme, not BBC, deter me because, well, it was so bizarre. To me that is; someone who hasn’t had to internally normalise mingling... more »

Is the BBC our Radio Moscow?

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago
...asks Christopher Booker in the *Telegraph*: The problem with the BBC director-general Lord Hall’s admission that the corporation has been slow to recognise how much of its output is “biased” is that those who inhabit the BBC are the last people who could recognise how deeply in its culture that bias has become engrained. Many of us could instantly jot down a list of issues on which the BBC has a clear “party line”, which distorts its coverage to the point where its audience is consistently manipulated and misinformed. Wind farms, for instance, it is for; Israel against; public s... more »

Sol Update, and why I'm blabbering on about the Sun

Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 1 day ago
Ok I know you're all getting bored with my constant Solar updates..... But I've got one more (for today, lol), and then I would like to discuss WHY I'm posting them. After reporting on the X Class flare in yesterday mornings update, yesterday afternoon and evening we had another X Class flare, 2.1, and M Class 1.9, and a M 2.3. And this morning so far we've had another M1.9 All four were from spot 1882 (which I mistakenly called 1862 yesterday- my bad). When 1882 started to swing in around the western limb of Sol, it was a smallish, simple Beta class spot. After reviewing all t... more »

Why the US Spies on Its Allies

Jon Western at Duck of Minerva - 1 day ago
The Guardian article this week that disclosed the story of U.S. eavesdropping on the leaders of several US allies said that the surveillance produced “little reportable intelligence.” This isn’t really a surprise — I can’t really imagine that listening to German Chancellor Merkel’s phone conversations are going to give US analysts and policymakers a whole lot Continue reading

Sheldon Adelson:

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
*Kill yourself.* You miserable piece of shit. Sincerely, all of humanity.

Why is Obama the only one smiling...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 1 day ago
*like a monkey?* He always looks like such a doofus*.* Go ahead. Call me racist. You know you want to...

Watch "The Palestine Myth" on YouTube

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
Pre 1967 there were Jordanians, post 1967 they became Palestinians so as to be able to claim back Israel. I've blogged about this fact before but not seen this chap agree with me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgCRSKDzVUc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments: