Monday, August 11, 2014

11 August - Blogs I'm Following

2:44pm MDST

Cardinal Filoni: “My mission in Iraq is to give moral, spiritual and psychological support”

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 17 minutes ago
Cardinal Filoni: “My mission in Iraq is to give moral, spiritual and psychological support." Source: romereports. Date Published: August 11, 2014. Description: Pope Francis met with Cardinal Fernando Filoni yesterday at Santa Marta before the prelate travels to Iraq.

“West Coast Devastation Continues: Seals, Oysters, Pelicans, Fish, Squid- All Sick, Dying Or Failing To Breed”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 32 minutes ago
*“West Coast Devastation Continues: * *Seals, Oysters, Pelicans, Fish, Squid- All Sick, Dying Or Failing To Breed”* by Ethan A. Huff “The makings of a mass-level extinction event in the world's oceans appear disturbingly imminent, as marine species after marine species washes ashore on the Pacific West Coast. Ailing seals, dead fish, missing pelicans and much more are being reported in the media as scientists struggle to figure out what, exactly, is causing entire marine ecosystems to suffer and die, seemingly inexplicably. Much of the carnage is being reported in California, wher... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 32 minutes ago

Civil Unrest Breaks out in MO After Cop Kills Unarmed Teen

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 37 minutes ago
*Civil strife broke out in St. Louis this weekend after a police officer was seen fatally shooting an unarmed African American teen from behind as he fled.* *by *Barry Donegan According to *Fox News*, 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot in broad daylight by police last Saturday in St. Louis while walking to his grandmother’s house.Eyewitness reports allege that the teenager was unarmed, fleeing, and had his hands held high when an unidentified officer from the St. Louis-area Ferguson Police Department opened fire multiple times, killing him. St. Louis Police ... more »

The Islamic State Is Worse Than Any Other Terrorist Group Including Al Qaeda

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 43 minutes ago
Reuters/Stringer *Why ISIL Is Worse Than al-Qaeda—And Any Other Terrorist Group That Came Before -- Bobby Ghosh, Quartz* Now the world has finally turned its attention to the carnage sweeping through northern Iraq, many are struggling to place the perpetrators—the death cult known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL—in the context of modern-day terrorism. I’m getting the same questions from friends and fellow journalists: Are these guys the new al-Qaeda? Or are they like the Taliban? Or is this movement more like Hezbollah… Boko Haram… Hamas? Led by the self-appo... more »

Gaza Mea Culpa

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 54 minutes ago
If I were Kelvin Brown of the BBC (ever heard of him? ) I wouldn’t go aTweeting that Hamas has never intimidated the BBC. That’s not so much a boast; more a mea culpa. As DB has written over at Biased-BBC, it’s been established quite clearly that Hamas uses threats and pressure to prevent journalists from providing objective reports. The Foreign Press Association: *“protests in the strongest the blatant, incessant, forceful and unorthodox methods employed by the Hamas authorities and their representatives against visiting international journalists in Gaza over the past month.”* *... more »

Baghdad- New PM picked/Maliki ousted?/ Biden calls Kurdish Prez for 'attaboy'

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 1 hour ago
*Following up on* *Baghdad Coup attempt? Kerry dictates to Maliki & the Iraqis- Comply or else!* *Attaboy defined*- The US is definitely trying their hardest. The pressure is on! It should come as no surprise to anyone that* the Kurdish president: not elected, but selected, has handpicked this man for the office of Prime Minister* despite Maliki winning an actual election in Iraq. *As the U.S. tries to pressure Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to step aside*, *Vice President Joe Biden called Maliki's disputed successor Monday to urge him to form a new government.* *And what about... more »

Why Are the Neolibs (Dare We Day It?) Lying To US About The State Of Social Security? (Best Colbert EVUH!)

Why are "they" (both parties' neolibs) in such a big hurry to change (or disappear) a system that won't have any difficulty paying out at a 100% benefit level for over 20 years? Because they have the power now. And they fear (in this age of "slowly connecting the U.S. through the internet") that they won't later. (Also you could factor in their willingness to replace this very low-cost and

A Look At The State Of The Ukraine Army As It Continues It's Fight Against Pro-Russsian Rebels

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 hour ago
A Ukrainian military convoy moves along a road near Donetsk August 9, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko *Ukraine’s Army Slogs Through the Merciless Donbass -- Robert Beckhusen, War Is Boring* Blood, borscht and BTRs The Ukrainian military is close to defeating the rebels that have caused so much trouble in the country’s east during the past two months. The rebels are now surrounded and Kiev’s army is pummeling them with artillery. But it’s been a slog for the troops tasked with sweeping the towns and cities of the heavily-armed, Russian-backed separatists. It’s tough to gra... more »

Great Moments in Passive Journalism

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 1 hour ago
This is about the Michael Brown murder a few days ago in Ferguson, MO and was written and posted by, to my eternal surprise (/sarcasm), the *New York Times*. If this sentence was any more passive, it would be wrapped in latex, have a ball gag and a safe word. And, really, using the passive voice here and making it sound as if the gun seemingly went off all by itself in loving defense of its owner, shows just how passive the mainstream media is in reporting establishment violence. The sinecured moron who wrote this story was obviously parroting what the Ferguson Chief of Po... more »

Supplemental: All this week, playing with dolls!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 hour ago
*MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2014* *Walsh helps define the question:* Personally, we were less than thrilled when Rachel Maddow played with her dolls on her cable news program. It struck us as pathetically silly. But then, we’d had a somewhat similar reaction when we watched Maddow playing with her remote control toy car the night before. (For background, see this morning’s report. The toy car segment at least made some objective sense.) Will progressives ever learn how to win friends and influence voters? Or will our avatars line their pockets by sillily playing with their toys on our tri... more »

Today’s menu

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 1 hour ago
A strange, superficial kind of balance was in evidence on the Today programme this morning. I suspect the producers, or the editors or whomsoever is responsible for selecting the morning menu are the thirteen-year-olds that Jeremy Paxman was complaining about the other day. On the face of it they could claim they were pitching an item about antisemitism against a few about Gaza. But that would be facile. An item presented by Caroline Wyatt about antisemitism in France preceded the usual Israel-bashing items. I hadn’t realised that Ms. Wyatt is now the BBC’s religious affairs (instea... more »

Huge Round Robin Instagram Giveaway!

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 1 hour ago
Today I have a awesome Instagram giveaway going on with 28 other bloggers. We are all giving away our own prizes and it is super easy and FAST to get entered! You will have chances of winning cool prizes from every single blogger. Fun, right? *MY GIVEAWAY*: 1 Lucky Housewife Eclectic (@Wifeeclectic) Instagram Follower will win a $50 Amazon Gift Card! *TO ENTER*: You MUST head to Instagram and follow @Wifeeclectic. Then, leave a comment on the giveaway photo that says what you would do with the giftcard. After you leave your comment, you can hop over to the next person in the... more »

Amnesty International: Pentagon Concealed U.S. Troops' War Crimes In Afghanistan

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 hour ago
*U.S. Special Forces Killed Pregnant Women, Tampered With Evidence, Report Alleges -- Washington Post* Did U.S. troops tamper with evidence to cover up civilian casualties in Afghanistan? That’s a central premise of the accusations outlined in a new report released Monday by Amnesty International. The human rights organization accuses the U.S. military of systematically covering up examples of civilian casualties, failing to investigate cases it knew about and participating in torture and brutality. The report, “Left in the Dark: Failures of Accountability for Civilian Casualties ... more »

LATEST NEWS

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 2 hours ago
- We had another Gaza support vigil yesterday here in Bath, Maine. A dozen folks turned out. We'll do it again next Sunday at noon. - There is an article in the Portland Press Herald today about the Pentagon's 'Missile Defense Agency' public hearings in our state this week. I was quoted in the article saying that Maine Veterans for Peace (VFP) is opposed to the proposed deployment of ground-based missile defense systems in Maine. I'll be driving up to Rangeley (in the western mountains) on Wednesday to attend the hearing and to then do a second drive ... more »

Satire: “The Slacker Congress”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 2 hours ago
*“The Slacker Congress”* by Will Durst “More fun than fourteen barrels of flunkies watching our elected officials exit Washington like scared rats streaming out of a sewer to escape Godzilla. And really, who can blame them. Anybody who’s ever spent a summer in DC can tell you the climate is real similar to Hell. With humidity. Then again, not sure even Hell has winged insects the size of footstools. It’s not called Foggy Bottom because that’s the first thing that springs to mind when Diane Feinstein walks away, you know. Funny thing is, this is the same Congress that lies on the ve... more »

Ukraine And Russia 'Agree' To A Red Cross-Led Humanitarian Aid Mission To The Rebel Stronghold Of Luhansk

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 2 hours ago
*Ukraine And Russia 'Agree' To Aid Mission To Luhansk -- BBC* *Ukraine and Russia say they have agreed to a Red Cross-led humanitarian aid mission to the eastern Ukrainian rebel stronghold of Luhansk.* The Kremlin earlier announced it was working with the Red Cross to send a humanitarian aid convoy to the region. The EU Commission chief has warned Russia not to carry out unilateral military action "under any pretext". Ukraine and Western governments had previously objected to Russia sending any aid into the region. The Red Cross has not yet commented on the latest announcements. ... more »

The Cruel Jest of American ‘Humanitarian Aid’ to Iraq

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 3 hours ago
By Juan Cole *U.S. soldier stands in front of an Iraqi woman’s house during a search for three missing soldiers in Al Thobat, Iraq in 2007. The U.S. Army (CC BY 2.0)* *This post originally ran on Juan Cole’s Web page.* The United States of America has no claim on the language of “humanitarian aid” to Iraq after what it did to that country. It is rather as though Washington should send Meals Ready to Eat to the good people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One is happy that the U.S. has dropped food aid for the Yezidis trapped on a mountain after they escaped the ... more »

Withdraw Consent

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 3 hours ago
*YouTube* A collage of memes, quotes and provocative questions about the role we play in giving our consent to being ruled. (No audio) *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

Lamar W. Hankins : REPORT | Child murder in Texas

Thorne Dreyer at The Rag Blog - 3 hours ago
Is the Church of Wells, considered by many to be a cult, sacrificing children at the altar of religious belief? By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | August 11 2014 WELLS, Texas — The death of 3-day old … finish reading Lamar W. Hankins : *REPORT* | Child murder in Texas

Media Will Use Oscar Pistorius Verdict To Hide 9/11 Awakening

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 3 hours ago
*Hang The Bankers* *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

Are Elites Always Going To Be Above The Law?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 3 hours ago
Nixon may or may not have made a deal with Jerry Ford, but he got a pardon and never faced a trial, let alone a prison sentence. He said what many politicians feel about politicians who get caught breaking the law: "the punishment of resignation is more than adequate for the crime." Our corporate elites couldn't agree more. Accountability is for poor people with no power, but for elites with lots of it. Only 15 senators and 5 congressmen have ever been expelled-- and almost all of them were Confederate sympathizers during the Civil War. Censure is a less severe measure, while oft... more »

THE WORD IN 1968

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 3 hours ago
A 1968 episode of William F. Buckley's Firing Line, featuring a drunken Jack Kerouac, the Fug's Ed Sanders and a clueless academic, Lewis Yablonsky, discussing the "Hippie" movement.

The Shootdown Of Malaysian Flight MH370 (The Reported "MH17"): Is Israel Involved?

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 4 hours ago
When that infamous Malaysian flight "MH17" was "shotdown" over Ukraine now almost a month ago, I smelled a rat immediately... We had the Jew spew media and the Jewish controlled American government fingering Russia almost right off the bat with shooting down this aircraft, which is way too quick without proper evidence. That alone should have raised red flags with everyone..... Then we had the reports of how this aircraft "mysteriously" was flying some 300 miles north of its proper flight path which put it right over the region of eastern Ukraine where the civil war between the cri... more »

The Malaysian press trumps the U.S. government and its presstitute media's no-evidence claim that Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was brought down by Russia.

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 4 hours ago
------------------------------ *OpEdNews Op Eds 8/9/2014 at 23:17:06* Malaysian press charges Ukraine government shot down MH 17 *By Alex Lantier (about the author)* Permalink opednews.com Cross-posted from WSWS A plane somewhat resembling Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 that crashed in Ukraine (image by YouTube) A Thursday article in the *New Straits Times*, Malaysia's flagship English-language newspaper, charged the US- and European-backed Ukrainian regime in Kiev with shooting down Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17 in east Ukraine last month. Given the tightly... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 4 hours ago
*5 Things I Want to See in “Living Color” for Saints vs. Titans ~Barry Hirstius, Who Dat Dish* *Letter: John Barry has right idea on coastal issues ~Len Bahr * *Terrebonne pitching versions of billion-dollar sediment project ~Xerxes Wilson, Daily Comet* *Follow Along With The Coastal Desk's 'Vanishing Coast' Tour Of Chauvin ~Kaplan-Levenson & Hardman, WWNO *

PLAYING WITH DOLLS: And with a toy car!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 5 hours ago
*MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2014* *Part 1—Maddow’s paper dolls:* Rachel Maddow has been on vacation. There’s nothing “wrong” with that! Maddow may have needed her break, which started on July 31. You see, on Wednesday night, July 30, she was (literally) playing with dolls, right there on the air. One night before, she had played with a battery-powered remote control car. Right there on the air! A cynic will say that Maddow was possibly trying to juice her ratings with bits of entertainment. Others will say that she may have been experimenting with alternative forms of news presentation. ... more »

A World Full of Hate

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 5 hours ago
*Alternative News Network* *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

Happy Ending? Or Happy Now

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 5 hours ago
*by Zen Gardner* No matter where I turn the awakening is screaming out at me. Every event and announcement of intention by the dark side, no matter how destructive and disturbing, is only precipitating more conscious awareness and very present, personal involvement by humanity. It’s a thrilling time. If it weren’t for what we consider to be terrible and tragic events being perpetrated on humanity, our tidal wave of awakening would not have the momentum it has gathered and continues to gain. I’m not saying to bring on the madness, but I am... more »

Made in the USA

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 5 hours ago
This is refreshingly journalistic, at least more nuanced compared to the deja-vu American chest thumping for freedumb being spewed in the news these days: *BAGHDAD — When American forces raided a home near Falluja during the turbulent 2004 offensive against the Iraqi Sunni insurgency, they got the hard-core militants they had been looking for. They also picked up an apparent hanger-on, an Iraqi man in his early 30s whom they knew nothing about.* *The Americans duly registered his name as they processed him and the others at the Camp Bucca detention center: Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-B... more »

Charter School Education in the U. S.: It's All About the Real Estate

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 6 hours ago
When ignorant or purchased Ohio politicians jumped on the charter school bandwagon almost 20 years ago to "provide more choices for poor families" and to "cut bureaucratic oversight to allow educational innovation," they opened the floodgates for corruption, larceny, and educational fraud promoted under the guise of helping poor kids. As a result, charter kingpin, David Brennan and his White Hat Management Co. have carried off mountains of taxpayer money to fund Brennan's isolating, depressing, and cellar-performing charter storefronts. Finally faced with the reality over years of... more »

“The Urge To Solve”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
*“The Urge To Solve”* by TEDTalks “Magician and New York Times crossword puzzle wizard David Kwong says we're wired to solve puzzles and make order out of chaos- and he's got a trick to prove it.” - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Let it Go!!

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 6 hours ago
I would like to introduce you to a new blogger with lots to say. This is a new site, set up by a friend of mine who has made the massive jump from completely asleep to fully awake in less than a year and is currently on a journey to discover just how deep the rabbit hole is. Mel has been living and breathing in all that we have been doing for the past few months- experiencing the unseen as a brand new world of reality. A Journey we are all on.... http://www.iam-melb.blogspot.co.uk/ Inspired by music LET IT GO!! <3 I''ve realised during my awakening/remembering period that I ha... more »

Baghdad Coup attempt? Kerry dictates to Maliki & the Iraqis- Comply or else!

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 7 hours ago
*I am going to begin this post by reminding everyone, because it needs to be kept in mind, that Nour al Maliki won the Iraqi election. *Fair and square. And overwhelmingly so. *This was the first election not held under full US occupation.* And, Maliki won. The US/UK/Israeli/NATO war machine then wound up their Islamist jihadi soldiers and began to destabilize with the plan of wielding those final death blows to the nation of Iraq as we know it. With the goal of it being Iraq in name only. *Regime Change* If the regime change agenda is new to you reread this post from two months a... more »

CDC Criteria For Ebola Transmission: “Being Within 3 Feet” or “In Same Room” Can Lead To Infection

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 7 hours ago
*The Pontiac Tribune* *Public health officials and the corporate media haven’t been telling you the truth regarding the Ebola outbreak.* For months, any time you heard mainstream news discuss the topic, they have made it a priority to insist Ebola is only transferred by exchanging bodily fluids. SCG News has suspected for some time now that this is not true. Recent changes made by CDC criteria for Ebola transmission seem to suggest this claim is correct. From the CDC update: “*A low risk exposure includes any of the following:* - *Household member or other casua... more »

New Blue America Endorsement: Zephyr Teachout And Tim Wu

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 7 hours ago
We've been talking about the eye-popping corruption of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo-- and Democratic Party version of shady Republican governors Christie, McDonnell, Walker, and Deal, all of whom, like Cuomo, are under federal investigation. Cuomo, to put it mildly, has been in bed with Wall Street, serving their interests and ignoring the interests of New York's working families-- just what we would expect from a Republican or from a "Democrat" from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. He picked one of the most conservative Democrats in the state, Kathy Hochul, who twice... more »

Oil And Democracy

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 7 hours ago
http://www.slate.com/ Oil and Democracy -- like oil and water -- don't mix. And, when oil is allowed to call the tune, democracy suffocates. That, Andrew Nikiforuk writes, is the lesson behind premier Allison Redford's resignation: Every petrostate, including Texas and Russia, suffers from an exclusive form of narcissism: oil exporters think they are better than everyone else because they are sitting on piles of the world's most lucrative commodity. In turn, that feeds an arrogant culture of entitlement. ... more »

Hmm... looks like Germany had a conversation with Kiev -- Ukraine Quickly Backs Off Threat Of Halting Russian Gas Transit After Europe Screams....

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 7 hours ago
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-11/ukraine-quickly-backs-threat-halting-russian-gas-transit-after-europe-screams Ukraine Quickly Backs Off Threat Of Halting Russian Gas Transit After Europe Screams [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/11/2014 07:42 -0400 - Counterparties - European Union - Germany - national security - Natural Gas - Ukraine inShare2 That didn't take long. A few short days after Ukraine's always entertaining puppet government, whose very existence is to benefit its western overlords and certainly Victori... more »

Untitled

jonjayray at EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL - 8 hours ago
*Fired Texas Principal Speaks Out: ‘It Would Be Best to Speak English in Classrooms’* On November 12, 2013, Amy Lacey, the principal of Texas’ Hempstead Middle School, was placed on administrative leave and subsequently fired when she made a simple request to students: speak English. Now that the gag order has expired, Lacey is speaking out about what happened that day, dispelling rumors that she banned Spanish from the school’s campus. “I informed students it would be best to speak English in the classrooms to the extent possible, in order to help prepare them for [state] tests,”... more »

Azerbaijan buys medium-range missiles

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 8 hours ago
[image: Shaheen I]Azerbaijan has gained the medium range ballistic missiles EXTRA of Israeli production (130 km) and long-range missiles (2,000 km) made in Pakistan. Oxu.Az reports citing Haqqin.Az that the information was provided by hurriyet.com.tr. It has to be noted that in order not to disturb the balance of power, Russia does not sell long-range ballistic missiles to Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time, Russia has installed operational-tactical missile complexes "Iskander" with nuclear warheads on a military base in Armenia near the Turkish border. Read more

John Wayne Movies, Biker and outdoor Movies from 1960s and 70s... Gorgeous Blue Skies, Not One Chemtrail - Links to the movies

Sherrie at Sherrie Questioning All - 8 hours ago
I have found movie after movie that were filmed outside in the 1960s and 70s. They all have one thing in common. They all have Gorgeous Blue skies without chemtrails. I searched for movies that were filmed outside during those decades as they take months to film and if there were chemtrails at that time, they would have been seen. Well, after going through many movies that would have

We teachers are often the ones lacking imagination

Shaun Johnson at @ THE CHALK FACE - 8 hours ago
From Facebook (take it with a grain of salt). But if this image is true, then we teachers are our own problems. What a simple, superfluous, insipid little assignment. Not that everything I’ve done is perfectly genius. In what universe is this an exemplar of “effective” teaching? Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the […]

Ukraine situation ( August 9 , 2014 ) --Donetsk militia ready for ceasefire to prevent further humanitarian catastrophe ........ Ukraine sanction blitz against Russia to be voted upon Tuesday , really is squarely focused on Europe once one considers blockage of natural gas transit ..... A review of Ukraine's escalation into extreme violence - even as the West continues to arm Kiev ......... Maidan protesters back off a bit - agree to leave Kiev Administration Center ...... Russia may redirect oil for Europe away from Ukraine ...... US issues threat against Russia regarding humanitarian aid efforts i South East Ukraine .......

Catharsis Ours - 8 hours ago
http://rt.com/news/179212-ukraine-militia-ready-ceasefire/ Donetsk militia ready for ceasefire to prevent further humanitarian catastrophe Published time: August 09, 2014 13:41 Edited time: August 09, 2014 15:54 Get short URL [image: A dental clinic in downtown Donetsk shelled by Ukrainian forces. (RIA Novosti/Mikhail Voskresenskiy)] A dental clinic in downtown Donetsk shelled by Ukrainian forces. (RIA Novosti/Mikhail Voskresenskiy) 63721130 Donetsk region militia says it is ready for a ceasefire to stop the humanitarian catastrophe deteriorating, the self-proclaimed Republic's prime... more »

“(Conditioned) Human Nature Within the Insane Asylum”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
*“(Conditioned) Human Nature Within the Insane Asylum”* By Cognitive Dissonance "I wish I had a silver dollar for every time I’ve heard the phrase “It is human nature…” or some such derivative or derivation. Alan Greenspan recently popped to the surface of his personal cesspool to proclaim it is human nature to create financial bubbles, thus absolving himself of any blame for a runaway fiat candy machine. His exact words were “Bubbles are functions of unchangeable human nature.” I will stifle the urge to flush Greenspan back down the commode where he belongs and instead focus upon t... more »

Fukushima Updates August 11 , 2014 - Lead article showing Japan is massively contaminated ----Nuclear fuel found 15 miles from Tokyo suburbs — Fukushima uranium in ‘glassy’ spheres transported over 170 km — Structural materials from the nuclear reactors also present .......

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 8 hours ago
Energy News ....... 10:47 PM EST on August 10th, 2014 | 39 comments Nuclear fuel found 15 miles from Tokyo suburbs — Fukushima uranium in ‘glassy’ spheres transported over 170 km — Structural materials from the nuclear reactors also present (PHOTOS) 10:58 AM EST on August 10th, 2014 | 140 comments Japan Professor: Outbreak of cancer is now underway in Fukushima children; Clear evidence of an epidemic — All of Japan is still being exposed to nuclear radiation — Gov’t Official: It will be ‘disastrous’ if we have to conclude there’s an actual increase in thyroid cancer from Fukushima 08... more »

Iraq Updates ( August 11 , 2014 ) - As Iraq spirals in political chaos as Maliki refuses to stand down and appears to have enacted a coup in Baghdad , while ISIS and other Sunni Rebels appear to have taken advantage of the political chaos to attack Baghdad , while the overall status of Iraq as one nation and not three potential partitioned states seems to hang by a thread - the US still intends to ramp up its new Iraq war ?

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 9 hours ago
Tweets ..... Retweeted by (س) Ghāzī *Ali Khedery* ‏@akhedery 1h Senior Shia Islamist politico from deep inside the Green Zone: Maliki will appear on TV again at 3PM following Abbadi nomination - "trouble *Rudaw English* @RudawEnglish · 2m #BREAKING: National Iraqi alliance chooses Haydar Abbadi as a candidate for Iraq's Prime Ministerial post. http://fb.me/2FDWGqeJV - *The New Yorkers* @TischNewYorkers · 12m Al-Maliki's slaves in Baghdad are shouting "Allah - Al-Maliki" #Iraq - *The New Yorkers* @TischNewYorkers · 18m Al-Maliki's loyal forces have closed Abu Nawwas... more »

Editor's Note

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 9 hours ago
I am in court today. Fear not .... I am not the one who has the legal dispute. I am a witness for a friend in a contract dispute. I am hopeful that this will be wrapped up by mid-day. Today's news briefs (Military And Intelligence News Briefs, World News Briefs, Iraq, Ukraine, Gaza, etc. .... this will all be updated when I return this afternoon). *Update 13:00 EST*: Court rooms .... yecchhhh. It did not go well for my friend. I should be posting soon.

Has The White House's Iraq Policy Backfired?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 9 hours ago
President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki walk from the Oval Office for a joint press availability in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy *U.S. Helped Push Iraq’s Politics To A Breaking Point, And Now Is Pushing Maliki Out -- Josh Rogin, Daily Beast* America’s rush to pressure Iraq’s political process may have backfired, analysts say—contributing to the crisis that threatens to tank the new government before it gets started. President Obama has said that more U.S. help to Iraq in fighting I... more »

Pesident Obama On Vacation

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 9 hours ago
The Obamas will return to Martha's Vineyard today to vacation in this 17 room, $12 million home *War On Golf: Obama Is Escorted By SWAT Team And Two Snipers As He Enjoys Second Day On The Course As Conflict Rages In Iraq -- Daily Beast* * President Obama was escorted to the Farm Neck Golf Club, in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, Sunday by a huge motorcade, which included a SWAT team and two snipers * Sporting a United States Secret Service baseball cap, Obama seemed reasonably relaxed despite the hefty protection * Moments before he flew to Martha's Vineyard Saturday, he held a press co... more »

Words of peace from Hamas official Osama Hamdan

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 11 hours ago
Top Hamas Official Osama Hamdan: http://youtu.be/VC3VNm3rgUo

The Humanitarian Crisis of the Gaza Mall

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 11 hours ago
The Humanitarian Crisis of the Gaza Mall: http://youtu.be/QxaDmAyt84g

For Man Must Learn To Co-operate & Care For Each Other - M.N. Hopkins

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 11 hours ago
*For Man must learn to co-operate and care for each other or all life on your planet will surely perish in time. Man refuses to look for new ways of being in his world, but rather clings to the old ideas and beliefs, which no longer have the power necessary to hold or bind together Man's communities.* *Yes, new beings or a new kind of being will begin to enter into your world soon with the knowledge and wisdom necessary to the task of evolving a new consciousness that accepts and understands all life. They are the one's who will lead the way and found and develop new institutio... more »

One Day.You Will Be A Memory

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 11 hours ago

Russian President Putin Mediates Azerbaijan-Armenia Border Dispute

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 11 hours ago
RIA Novosti / Alexey Druzhinin *Putin Mediates Talks Between Armenia, Azerbaijan On Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict -- Wall Street Journal* *Violence in Region Has Escalated in Past Week* MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts on Sunday, calling for a negotiated and peaceful resolution to the armed conflict in the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The meeting, held in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, was the first face-to-face engagement between Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh Sargsyan since the recent surge of vio... more »

Photobathroomism - the art of Lee Price - Lemon Slices series

Mike Philbin at Mike Philbin's free planet blog - 12 hours ago
Lee Price is an American figurative realist painter. Her work focuses on the relationship between women and food. I've focussed, here, on her LEMON SLICES series. Remember, these are PAINTINGS, oil on linen.

Did The Russian Navy Chase Away A U.S. Submarine?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 12 hours ago
Russian Anti-Submarine Destroyer "Vice-Admiral Kulakov". © Photo Press office of Russian Northern Fleet *Russia Forces US Submarine Out Of Boundary Waters -- RIA Novsoti* MOSCOW, August 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Northern Fleet's anti-submarine forces have detected and forced out a US submarine from Russian boundary waters, a high-ranking source in Russia's Navy told RIA Novosti Saturday. "On August 7, 2014, the patrol forces of the Northern Fleet detected a foreign submarine, supposedly a US Navy Virginia-class one, in the Barents Sea. A seaborne anti-submarine group, as well as a... more »

A Belated Review to the Film "1408"

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 13 hours ago
I stayed up very, very late, waiting for some people to arrive. (They did and all is right with the world.) In the process, I became very, very drunk. So there's this post now. Because I decided to watch the film "1408" again. And I think it's a damn good spooky movie. Whatever its weaknesses, *1408* holds you captive. The film may seem like a one-room version of THE SHINING, condensed and tight rather than big and sprawling like the Kubrick movie, but Hafstrom does an impressive job of keeping its limited space visually interesting for feature length, and when all else fails the s... more »

Indian missiles languish in South Korea due to Gaza conflict

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 13 hours ago
[image: LR-SAM]The eponymously named Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM), being co-developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is already two years late. Now, because of Israel's invasion of Gaza, the delay will get longer. Business Standard has learnt that four LR-SAM rocket motors, built in India and despatched to Tel Aviv for trials, have been lying in Seoul, South Korea, for close to a month. The DRDO confirms that the rockets, filled with highly combustible propellant, were despatched on a commercial airline... more »

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan Has Won His Country's First Direct Presidential Election

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 13 hours ago
Turkey's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters / Umit Bektas) *Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins Turkish presidential election -- BBC* Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won his country's first direct presidential election. With almost all the votes counted, Mr Erdogan had won about 52%, against 38% for main rival Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. The huge margin of victory means there is no need for a run-off. Mr Erdogan, who has vowed to bolster the power of the president, promised supporters a "social reconciliation period", saying: "Let's leave the old di... more »

AquaShield: Protecting Israel's Maritime Border

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 13 hours ago
After Hamas terrorists attempted to infiltrate Israel via an amphibious landing from the sea, the thwarted terror attacks underlined the need to continually maintain security across Israel’s shoreline, stretching hundreds of kilometers on the Mediterranean sea. The answer has come from Israeli defense technology firm DSIT Solutions. DSIT has developed a new sonar and electronic detection system designed to protect all forms of maritime assets which include beaches, bays, ports, ocean-based installations (like oil rigs), piers, and maritime energy terminals, of which Israel has more... more »

Pentagon Ordered to Better Track Threats to Taiwan

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 13 hours ago
[image: The Pentagon]Several members of Congress have added language to the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act aimed at better preparing the Pentagon to assess and confront Chinese military expansion and its implications for potential threats to Taiwan. The language, incorporated into the House Armed Services Committee’s passed version of the defense bill, asks the Defense Department to better assess anti-access/area-denial threats in the Asia-Pacific region, submit a report on the cross-strait balance of forces between China and Taiwan, and better estimate China’s fast-growing... more »

The dangers of SSBN proliferation in Indo-Pacific Asia

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 13 hours ago
[image: Type 094 (Jin) class SSBN]It has become commonplace to lament the arms races underway in Indo-Pacific Asia. China's military modernisation over the last two decades has helped provoke heightened political tensions and growing concern in capitals from Tokyo to New Delhi to Washington and Moscow. North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems keeps tensions in Northeast Asia high. The Indian subcontinent is home to two nuclear powers that have fought four wars over the last 65 years. Many countries in the Asian littoral have undertaken seriou... more »

David Icke - Rothschild Zionism - running the world from Israel

Mike Philbin at Mike Philbin's free planet blog - 13 hours ago
it's been a while since Free Planet did a piece on Isle of Wight resident David Icke, but he's *SO CONVINCING* and even when he totally trashes the American Administration with his claims of Chicago-derived infiltration by Rothschild Zionism you gotta listen. Ready for some truth? so, got that? Well, it gets even more interesting, and I'm not totally sure where this then takes his assertion, but let's hear it. Khazars and the Israeli infiltration of 'the truth'. Confused? *Need to know* dictates that.

If We Could Look Into Each Others Hearts - by Marvin J. Ashton

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 13 hours ago
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Sketch Factor App: For Unsafe Areas in Racial Discrimination Line

Megaan at Current news updates, World current news - 14 hours ago
Sketch Factor App which launched on Friday uses crowd-sourced data from users to pinpoint sketchy areas as well as to provide safe walking directions. The app allows users to submit sketchy reports and others to vote on whether or not the tips are helpful. Sketch Factor is just one of many products that aim to crowd source safety information about the areas in which users live and walk - and it is not the first to be hit with the racial discrimination label. In fact, several alarming red flags pop up when one looks at the region around the bureau. But in reading the comments, so... more »

METRO PODCAST | Thorne Dreyer : Community activists Bill Oakey & Roger Baker on Austin transportation politics

Thorne Dreyer at The Rag Blog - 14 hours ago
Affordability blogger Oakey joins The Rag Blog’s Baker in a lively discussion of the city’s proposed billion dollar transportation bond election and other community issues. Interview by Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | August 7, 2014 [Also read Roger … finish reading *METRO PODCAST* | Thorne Dreyer : Community activists Bill Oakey & Roger Baker on Austin transportation politics

A New 3 Day Ceasefire Between Israel And Hamas Takes Hold In Gaza

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 14 hours ago
*Gaza Conflict: New Three-Day Ceasefire Holds -- BBC* *A fresh three-day ceasefire agreed between Israel and Palestinian faction Hamas in Gaza was holding on Monday.* The agreement, which began at midnight (21:00 GMT Sunday), came after days of intense mediation by Egypt. If the truce continues to hold, Israel will send negotiators to Cairo on Monday for talks on a longer-term deal. About 2,000 people have died in the conflict, which began on 8 July when Israel launched an operation intended to deter militant attacks from Gaza. Those killed include more than 1,900 Palestinians, m... more »

Blaming Maliki For Everything That's Gone Wrong In Iraq Is Dishonest

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 15 hours ago
*Photo Source: EPA/BGNES.* The rise of ISIS in Iraq has been squarely laid at the feet of Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki in the US-European press. They say he has disenfranchised the Sunni minority, criminalized its political representatives, and as a result they have been forced to join the arms of the genocidal madmen in the Islamic State. Much of this criticism is true. Maliki is nowhere near a perfect politician. He has a big head. His overconfidence is blinding his judgment. He has been described as an idiot. *Recent research studies have proven that power makes people stupid*, ... more »

Thorne Dreyer : PODCASTS | Listen to Rag Radio interviews with Chris Tomlinson and David Bacon

Thorne Dreyer at The Rag Blog - 15 hours ago
Award-winning journalist Tomlinson discusses his acclaimed new book, ‘Tomlinson Hill,’ and photojournalist Bacon addresses the role of U.S. policies in causing the current immigration crisis. Interviews by Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | August 11, 2014 Journalist and author … finish reading Thorne Dreyer : *PODCASTS* | Listen to Rag Radio interviews with Chris Tomlinson and David Bacon

Maliki: "He who starts a fire will be destroyed by fire in the end"

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 15 hours ago
*Source of photo: Photo by Andy Rain-Pool/Getty Images.* Below are quotes taken from *Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki's interview with Russia Today in October 2012* about the war in Syria and its spillover effects across the region: We have repeatedly said that we take the Syrian crisis as our own problem. It is a very important country, with its own political position. We did warn everyone earlier – and keep reminding – that the fire that started in Syria will spill over the borders to engulf other countries of the region and, in the end, it will have a global impact. The Middle East ... more »

What Countries Are Currently At War? A Complete List

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 15 hours ago
*WNU Editor:* The complete list* is here.* *Update:* 11.7% Of The World's At War: Global Geopolitical Risk Mapped -- Zero Hedge

Al Qaeda Fighters And Affiliates Are Rushing To Join The Islamic State

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 16 hours ago
Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) (Reuters) *Fighters Abandoning al-Qaeda Affiliates To Join Islamic State, U.S. Officials Say -- Washington Post* U.S. spy agencies have begun to see groups of fighters abandoning al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen and Africa to join the rival Islamist organization that has seized territory in Iraq and Syria and been targeted in American airstrikes, U.S. officials said. The movements are seen by U.S. ­counterterrorism analysts as a worrisome indication of the expanding appeal of a group known as the Islamic State that has overwh... more »

Are We Doomed To Suffer From Political Corruption Forever? Only Voters Can Really Put A Stop To It

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 16 hours ago
Not all corrupt politicians are Republicans: Gina & Andy I haven't read Matt Taibbi's new book, The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap, yet. But Matt Taylor did an interview with him at Vice.com that gives you a good idea about which trees Taibbi is barking up. Taylor asked him about the assertions in the book that the Bush administration was much tougher on financial crime than the Obama White House. "How much of the blame for that," he asks, "can we lay on Attorney General Eric Holder and how much can be attributed to Obama and his prerogatives?" Taibbi didn't ... more »

Meet & Greet (#MtaGt) - August - Garry Rogers Nature Conservation

Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints - 16 hours ago
Welcome to Meet & Greet, a regular series designed to grow our green community. [image: A monthly link-up party for green blogs on Reduce Footprints] Banner by Art Ist Grab our banner for your site:
A monthly link-up party for green 
blogs on Reduce Footprints *The rules:* 1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or collection of ...
more »

U.S. Diplomatic Staff Are Starting To Leave Iraq

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 16 hours ago
*U.S. Relocates Some Staff From Embassy, Consulate In Iraq -- NBC* The U.S. has removed some staff from its embassy in Baghdad and its consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region threatened by militants, the State Department said Sunday. A travel warning posted Friday cautioning U.S. citizens from travelling to Iraq due to the "high risk for kidnapping and terrorist violence" was updated to say that "a limited number" of U.S. Consulate and U.S. Embassy staff members were relocated to Amman, the capital of Jordan, and Basrah, a southern Iraqi city. *Read more* .... *... more »

amnesty international urgent action network, writing for rights all year round

laura k at wmtc - 16 hours ago
I knew working full-time would mean cutting back on activism. What time I can squeeze out, I'm investing in my own union, where I have much to contribute and feel I can really make a difference. I still belong to the War Resisters Support Campaign, of course, but it's been a long time since I've been able to attend weekly meetings.* Still, I knew there was more I could do, if only from my computer. I recently took a step that will add a bit more relevancy to my life, something that seems fairly easy to do and can have an impact: I've joined Amnesty International's Urgent Action Netw... more »

the courage and compassion of dr. willie parker, the last abortion doctor in mississippi

laura k at wmtc - 16 hours ago
"The Pink House", the last abortion clinic in Mississippi. The owner painted it pink so it would stand out, in defiance.I've thought a lot about heroes, that tremendously overused word, about who my heroes are and why I love them. Moral courage, as you may know, is my highest value. Now, reading this story in *Esquire* about Dr. Willie Parker, the last abortion doctor in the state of Mississippi, I realize there's another ingredient shared by all my heroes: an abundance of compassion. Dr. Parker, a committed Christian, embodies both physical and moral courage, refusing to run despite... more »

Factchecking David Cunliffe

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 16 hours ago
In the absence of a completely dedicated NZ Factcheck site, which even a fully-staffed 24-hour version thereof would be kept sorely busy this election cycle, welfare blogger Lindsay Mitchell is as close as we get. Fact-checking David Cunliffe’s campaign launch speech on child poverty, she discovers Cunliffe gets it wrong twice in as many minutes: “We’ll tackle child poverty by increasing the minimum wage,” says Silent T. But as Lindsay points out: In the *Child Poverty in New Zealand* book by left-leaning Johnathan Boston and economist Simon Chapple there is a lengthy discussion a... more »

BREAKING NEWS: Is Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki Staging A 'Coup' In Iraq Right Now?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 17 hours ago
*Iraqi Troops And Tanks Surge Into Baghdad Amid Political Turmoil -- CNN* (CNN) -- Iraqi troops, security forces and tanks surged into Baghdad on Sunday as political turmoil deepened over who should lead the country. Military tanks were deployed to several neighborhoods in central Baghdad, two Iraqi police officials told CNN. The officials said there are also significantly more troops in Baghdad's Green Zone, the secure area where many government buildings, the military headquarters and the U.S. Embassy are located. The stepped-up troop presence comes as Iraqi forces battle Islami... more »

Untitled

JR at GREENIE WATCH - 17 hours ago
*“Climate-smart” policies for Africa are stupid, and immoral* *Obama-Kerry policies would perpetuate energy poverty, malnutrition, disease and death* Paul Driessen The 2014 US-Africa Leaders Summit hosted by President Obama this past week brought together the largest-ever gathering of African government officials in Washington, DC. They discussed ways to bolster trade and investment by American companies on a continent where a billion people – including 200 million aged 15 to 24 – are becoming wealthier and better educated. They have steadily rising expectations and recognize the ... more »

Hillary Clinton Unleashed! Criticizes President Obama's Approach To Foreign Policy

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 17 hours ago
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters *Hillary Clinton: 'Failure' To Help Syrian Rebels Led to The Rise Of ISIS -- Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic* The former secretary of state, and probable candidate for president, outlines her foreign-policy doctrine. She says this about President Obama's: "Great nations need organizing principles, and 'Don't do stupid stuff' is not an organizing principle." President Obama has long ridiculed the idea that the U.S., early in the Syrian civil war, could have shaped the forces fighting the Assad regime, thereby stopping al Qaeda-inspired groups—like the one ram... more »

Headline Hooters: Nothing worse than a machete gone crazy...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 18 hours ago
*lock up all crazy machetes. Now.* * Machete wielding machete arrested for burglary on lower South Hill* H/T * KREM2 News Spokane* The machete was taken into custody without incident, but managed to cut through his restraints and is on the loose. heh

Kiev risking a chemical disaster in Donestsk ? ( August 11 , 2014 ) 'Chemical threat': Disaster looms as Kiev shells fall near Donetsk plant

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 18 hours ago
http://rt.com/news/179336-chemical-disaster-donetsk-plant/ 'Chemical threat': Disaster looms as Kiev shells fall near Donetsk plant Published time: August 11, 2014 01:28 Get short URL [image: STIROL chemical plant in the town of Gorlovka in the Donetsk region (Reuters / Valery Belokryl)] STIROL chemical plant in the town of Gorlovka in the Donetsk region (Reuters / Valery Belokryl) 3471312 Trends Ukraine turmoil Tags Accident, Army, Blast, Conflict, Ecology,Health, Military, Security, Ukraine ,Violence Ukraine is at risk of an environmental disaster as Kiev’s army continues to bomb the ... more »

Losing land to foreign owners? [updated]

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 18 hours ago
Property rights theorist Armen Alchian has a point to make to Winston Peters, David Cunliffe, Metirua Turei … to all the various xenophobes queuing up to ban sales of New Zealand land to foreigners on the basis that, when New Zealanders sell their land, New Zealand somehow loses land -- an argument bizarre on its face. Especially because, as Armen Alchian points out, sellers in any given market don’t sell the *thing*, they sell *rights* *in the thing*. In markets, you trade rights back and forth rather than goods, and that makes a big difference. The reason being, as Irving Fish... more »

Watching Justin Amash's amazingly uncivil victory speech might make you care about politics again

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 19 hours ago
*Washington Examiner* Rep. Justin Amash went legend last night, telling his vanquished primary challenger that "I ran for Congress to stop people like you." The Michigan Republican survived a brutal race against Brian Ellis that featured moments like Devin Nunes, R-Calif., calling Amash "al Qaeda's best friend in Congress" and a local lawyer describing Amash as "among the most anti-Israel members of Congress." Amash also drew the ire of the Chamber of Commerce for seeking to end the Export-Import Bank. His entire rant is worth viewing. If you think it's bad to be mean to an oppo... more »

NEOCONSERVATIVE PSYCHOPATHY: THEIR MADNESS IS SPREADING AMONGST THEM

Yesterday, regular readers may recall, I wrote briefly about the psychopathy of Daniel Pipes and his ludicrous beliefs relating to Hamas and its struggle against Israel’s attempts to destroy the Gaza Strip. Today, it seems, that psychopathy is spreading among other neoconservatives. Jonathan Tobin, writing in *Commentary* magazine says: *As bad as the situation there [the Gaza Strip] is, the Israelis have done their best to limit their fire to those shooting at them. As is the case with all wars, including those fought by the United States, sometimes mistakes happen and civilians so... more »

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
“Have you ever seen the Milky Way's glow create shadows? To do so, conditions need to be just right. First and foremost, the sky must be relatively clear of clouds so that the long band of the Milky Way's central disk can be seen. The surroundings must be very near to completely dark, with no bright artificial lights visible anywhere. Next, the Moon cannot be anywhere above the horizon, or its glow will dominate the landscape. Last, the shadows can best be caught on long camera exposures. *Click image for larger size.* In the above image taken in Port Campbell National Park, Victoria,... more »

QUOTE OF THE DAY: On ‘Liberals’

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 19 hours ago
"The majority of those who are loosely identified [today] by the term ‘liberals’ are afraid to let themselves discover that what they advocate is statism. They do not want to accept the full meaning of their goal; they want to keep all the advantages and effects of capitalism, while destroying the cause, and they want to establish statism without its necessary effects. They do not want to know or to admit that they are the champions of dictatorship and slavery." - Ayn Rand, in her essay "Conservatism: An Obituary," later appearing in her book *Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal* Con... more »

The Road to Singularity: Potential Annihilation, Utopian Visions, Will Liberty Prevail?

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 19 hours ago
Daniel Taylor *Dreams of the far future destiny of man were dragging up from its shallow and unquiet grave the old dream of man as god…* – C.S. Lewis, *That Hideous Strength*, 1945 In 1945, George Orwell, famous for his stunningly accurate portrayal of a future police state in *1984*, commented on prominent author C. S. Lewis’ book *That* *Hideous Strength*. *Hideous Strength *revolves around the National Institute for Coordinated Experiments (NICE) and the organization’s plot to seize control of all life. Orwell’s commentary was published in the Manchester Evening News in 1945 w... more »

Closed for repairs that aren't being made: Is this why we hate the gummint?

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 19 hours ago
*The artwork comes and goes, but the "I.R.T. SUBWAY 191st ST. ENTRANCE" remains -- leading down a flight of stairs (or a steep concrete ramp) to the three-block-long tunnel that links those of us on Broadway to the subway -- though not so well when the stairway on the left is closed for "repairs" that aren't happening. (Pay no attention to the "NO BICYCLE RIDING IN SUBWAY TUNNEL" sign, which was dismantled by the kids who use the tunnel as a bike speedway. But that's another story.)* *by Ken* Maybe I'm getting carried away with this "why we hate gummint" business, when what this r... more »

p corso

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 20 hours ago

John Kerry’s demonstrates green inhumanity to man

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 20 hours ago
In case anyone still doubts that environmentalism is inimical to human life, says Per-Olof Samuelsson, they should take note of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s admonition to African political leaders at last week’s U.S.-Africa summit: Starving Africa Shouldn’t Build More Farms Because It Would Contribute to Global Warming. This, while continuing to run his 500 foot diesel-powered yacht and 1 in 4 Africans suffer from chronic hunger. Kerrys “argument:’ [image: _Quote5]Certain agricultural processes can actually release carbon pollution and actually contribute to the problem i... more »

Noam Chomsky, the monster [updated]

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 21 hours ago
[image: image]"What we're looking at with Chomsky is a man who has dedicated essentially his entire public life to political evil. I think we are justified in calling such a person a monster." So says Yaron Brook, commenting on Michael J. Totten’s post, “Noam Chomsky: The Last Totalitarian .” Chomksy was a structuralist,* a supporter of Pol Pot, and the left’s go-to man for hate-filled intellectual venom. The post on which Yaron comments is an interview with Benjamin Kerstein, author of the book *Diary of an Anti-Chomskyite.* Asked to boil his case against Chomsky down to a few p... more »

"In The Face Of Life..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago
"Maybe we accept the dream has become a nightmare. We tell ourselves that reality is better. We convince ourselves it's better that we never dream at all. But, the strongest of us, the most determined of us, holds on to the dream or we find ourselves faced with a fresh dream we never considered. We wake to find ourselves, against all odds... feeling hopeful. And, if we're lucky, we realize in the face of everything, in the face of life- the true dream is being able to dream at all." - "Dr. Meredith Grey", "Grey's Anatomy"

The Poet: Mary Oliver, “The Spirit Likes To Dress Up”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago
*“The Spirit Likes To Dress Up”* by Mary Oliver "The spirit likes to dress up like this: ten fingers, ten toes, shoulders, and all the rest, at night in the black branches, in the morning in the blue branches of the world. ․ It could float, of course, but would rather plumb rough matter. Airy and shapeless thing, it needs the metaphor of the body, lime and appetite, the oceanic fluids; it needs the body's world, instinct and imagination, and the dark hug of time, sweetness and tangibility, to be understood, to be more than pure light that burns where no ... more »

The joke is on us

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 21 hours ago
One debate and two political party campaign launches over the weekend, and this is supposed to be a political blog. So I’ll try not to yawn. Labour’s campaign launch at the Auckland Viaduct, an easy walk from David Cunliffe’s house, was overshadowed in news headlines by the antique joke of his near-neighbour Winston Peters, and in campaign strategy by National’s announcement they will launch in South Auckland. Of the joke, not much can be said. It was funny once, but that once was very long ago. In the context of calling for bans on land sales to Chinese, it was hardly funny at ... more »

Chet Raymo, "What Not to Believe”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
*“What Not to Believe”* by Chet Raymo “In Stacy Schiff's biography of Cleopatra, I came across this epigraph from Euripides: "Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe." I have no idea which of Euripides' plays the quote is from, but it strikes me as a suitable source for reflection. Credulity is the default state of a human life. Children are born to believe, to accept as true what they are told by adults. An innate credulity has survival value in a dangerous world. If a grown-up says "There are crocodiles in the river," it is probably best to stay out ... more »

Psychology: "What Is The Zeigarnik Effect?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
*"What Is The Zeigarnik Effect?"* by PsyBlog "One of the simplest methods for beating procrastination in almost any task was inspired by busy waiters. It's called the Zeigarnik effect after a Russian psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik, who noticed an odd thing while sitting in a restaurant in Vienna. The waiters seemed only to remember orders which were in the process of being served. When completed, the orders evaporated from their memory. Zeigarnik went back to the lab to test out a theory about what was going on. She asked participants to do twenty or so simple little tasks in the l... more »

"Unknowingly..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
"Unknowingly, we plow the dust of stars, blown about us by the wind, and drink the universe in a glass of rain." - Ihab Hassan

Morally indefensible

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 23 hours ago
Israel won’t talk while rockets are being fired from Gaza! Also, Hamas won’t accept preconditions. So hang on. Hamas won’t accept preconditions; it will send rockets, deal or no deal. The BBC recounts this demand with scrupulous impassivity lest they commit a value judgment. Later the BBC passes on the news that Hamas *will* contemplate a ceasefire, but only if Israel meets its demands. This looks like a precondition, smells like a precondition and walks like a precondition. Hamas’s demands are: 1.) Israel lifts the blockade. 2.) Israel ends the occupation. Hamas reserves the... more »

We Must Look Back With Anger

Phil at All That Is Solid ... - 23 hours ago
My home village was built on coal. All the local mines had shut before 1984 and open casting was the name of the game. Up until I left home you could see great mountains of slag and earth crouching on the horizon, the engines and buzzers of diggers echoing across the landscape early every morning. There were plenty of current and ex-miners living locally and yet my memory of the time during the Miners' Strike draws a blank. As I was seven year at the time, there was only the dimmest of dim awarenesses that something called 'a strike' was happening with the miners. I can remember it ... more »

Can Montana Democrats Get Back In The Hunt? You Bet They Can!

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 23 hours ago
On Thursday we updated our Montana post about the likelihood that centrist Democrat John Walsh-- who the DSCC brain surgeons had forced on Montana Dems-- would withdraw by announcing he had just dropped out. He had no real chance to win anyway and should have never been selected over more populist choices. Now the Montana Democratic Party will pick his replacement as their candidate at a nominating convention next Saturday (August 16, 9AM) at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds in Helena. There are something like 175 local and state Democratic elected officials and party officia... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 23 hours ago
Khartoum, Al Khartum, Sudan. Thanks for stopping by.

Israel Murders Gazan Health Workers

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 23 hours ago
Dees Illustration Stephen Lendman Israel wages genocidal wars without mercy. Even doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and other health workers are targeted. Civilians are as vulnerable as combatants. It's longstanding Israeli policy. On August 7, Amnesty International (AI) headlined "Mounting Evidence of deliberate attacks on Gaza health workers by Israeli army." Former prime minister Ehud Barak once outrageously called it "the most moral army in the world." It's a lawless, ruthless killing machine. As a former prime minister, defense minister, foreign minister, and chief of ... more »

The Era Of Cyborg Nanotechnology Has Begun

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 23 hours ago
*Update on the merger of human and machine* Nicholas West Technology seems to be on a runaway course either to free humanity or to enslave us. On one end we see massive continued investment in replacing humans with robots, both economically and socially. Parallel to this trend, we are seeing advancements in neuroscience being made from global projects like the BRAIN initiative in the U.S. and its counterpart in Europe, the Human Brain Project. These projects seek to decode the human brain and tailor it for "treatments," as well as to enable the realization of full brain-computer-... more »

Adventures in Canning: Remind me to never can these again...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 1 day ago
*the wrong kind of plum.* Errrk! What a waste of my time. *The plum tree:* I think they're Santa Rosa. *The plums:* *The results:* Ugh! I expected chunks of plum, not baby food. *The mess:* Dear Lord in heaven. Look at my stove. I HATE a dirty stove. Get me my Bar Keepers Friend!! *I'm not discouraged. I have three Italian Prune Plum trees loaded with fruit. I've learned my lesson and will can them whole.*

The Real Reason The US Is Bombing Iraq

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 1 day ago
image source Brandon Turbeville Only a day after Obama’s announcement that he had authorized “targeted strikes” inside Iraq in order to combat the Islamic State (IS) advance, the United States has indeed followed through with their threat. At least two waves of airstrikes against a variety of targets have already taken place inside Iraq. One of the airstrikes apparently struck an IS mortar position and an IS convoy near Erbil. IS fighters had advanced to within a half hour’s distance from Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region. According to a Pentagon spokesman, two FA-18s th... more »

Vile opportunist Alex Johnson's shameless accusations of paid Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsements

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at Schools Matter - 1 day ago
*I would say Marguerite is turning in her grave, but her family hasn't even had time to bury her before the very forces she fought against on the Board and political opportunists are seeking to harm the schools and children she fought so passionately to protect. — Celes King IV* [image: Alex Johnson's latest lie libels Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Dr. George McKenna] Tuesday, August 12, 2014 there is a special election in Los Angeles. It is critical in that it is for the District 1 board seat on the nation's second largest school system, Los Angeles Unified... more »

Australia to require "the phonics method"

skrashen at Schools Matter - 1 day ago
*Sent to the Sydney Daily Telegraph (Australia)* *Re the new "phonics requirement": ("*Education minister orders universities to teach phonics or face losing accreditation," August 10) *"Phonics" could mean "systematic, intensive phonics,": teaching all phonics rules to all children in a strict sequence. Research done by Prof. Elaine Garan shows that systematic intensive phonics results only in better results on tests in which children are presented with words in a list and have to pronounce them outloud. It does not produce better results on tests in which children have to unders... more »

Lastest Posting by Heather Ann Tucci-Jarraf: THE WILL OF I AM: Update from Heather

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
Heather has posted a message for everyone on her web site: http://www.heatheranntuccijarraf.info/ We received this Skype message moments ago.... [8/10/14, 4:46:21 PM] HeatherAnnTucciJarraf I: To every One: I love you all more than you have ever known....and I move forward to experiencing the pure love you be, that I have for each and every One....in pure love....thank you for BE'ing and DO'ing.... Some last words before we all meet up in body: [8/10/14, 4:46:27 PM] HeatherAnnTucciJarraf I: http://www.heatheranntuccijarraf.info/ [8/10/14, 4:46:49 PM] HeatherAnnTucciJarraf I: Be... more »

"Compassion..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity." - Pema Chödrön

“What Doesn’t Kill You Really Does Make You Stronger”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*“What Doesn’t Kill You Really Does Make You Stronger”* by Benedict Carey “Character is a fine thing to admire, all right — once the storm has passed and the rigging is repaired. But when people are truly sinking, because of job loss, illness, debt or some combination of ills, they have no idea what mix of character, connections and dumb luck will be enough to pull through. To use the psychologists’ term, they don’t know how “resilient” they are, or how much resilience even matters. Do I have the right stuff? Or is this sinkhole simply too deep? “As with so many of life’s experience... more »

"This I Believe..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
“This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.” - John Steinbeck

"Compassionate Homeless Man Shares Meal With Stranger When Others Wouldn't In Food Court"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*"Compassionate Homeless Man Shares Meal With* * Stranger When Others Wouldn't In Food Court"* By Robbie Couch "There's no correlation between the size of your bank account and the size of your heart. A video originally posted on July 28 by Facebook group Spread the Message reminded us of just that, exposing a stark contrast between some haves and have-nots in Santa Monica, California. In the video, a man asks unsuspecting strangers in a food court if they could spare some of their meal, and every one of them rejects the request. He then asks a homeless man in a public space the same... more »

Shame

Capt. Fogg at The Impolitic - 1 day ago
By Capt. Fogg People get killed in almost any kind of racing and everyone knows it. It's a rough sport, like the sports Americans love the most. People get hurt playing football. People get killed on ski slopes and while surfing and skateboarding. People go out during hurricanes to kite surf and board surf and when they get killed in the process the responsibility is usually clear. People run out into highways, people walk around on railroad bridges and they get hurt and nobody blames anyone but the fools who do it, but that's in the real world, not the strange world of journali... more »

Another introspective post

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago
I think I can speak for Sue as well as myself in saying that things are rather depressing at the moment... ....what with some Muslim version of the Khmer Rouge in Iraq and Syria pronouncing genocidal edicts on anyone who doesn't share their expensive-Rolex-watch-wearing Caliph's Islamic faith, and what with supporters of that self-same Caliph coming from (and doubtless soon returning to) our very own shores; and with parts of North Africa falling apart; with tidal waves of deserving refugees fleeing towards our shores (or begging to be allowed to flee to our shores); with Afghani... more »

Meanwhile, on the Foothills of Parnassus...

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 1 day ago
For you poor, eternally-disappointed souls who have been contributing to P'ville these past several years and have come here day after day to find no new examples of my so-called wit and wisdom, I profusely apologize for the paucity of political posts (How's *that *for alliteration?). As always, I'm endeavoring to set aside time for the type of blogging you've come to expect of me (especially since the midterms are coming up, one that'll, obviously, set the tone for President Obama's agenda for the rest of his term). But to those of you who've been following me on a regula... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
Inspired by this famous scene, no doubt...

"Insanity Is Relative..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage." - Ray Bradbury

"The IDF’s ‘Hannibal Protocol’ and Two Criminally Insane Governments"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*"The IDF’s ‘Hannibal Protocol’ * *and Two Criminally Insane Governments"* by Dave Lindorff "The sickness of present-day Israel, on display over the past horrible month of the one-sided slaughter of nearly 2000 Palestinians (including over 400 children) in the fenced-in ghetto of Gaza, has finally reached its nadir with the ugly case of the deliberate Israeli Defense Force murder of captured IDF 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin. According to an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, once it was determined that Goldin had been captured by Hamas fighters in the Gaza town of Rafah, the IDF ini... more »

"Insanity..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"Humanity is the spirit of the Supreme Being on earth, and that humanity is standing amidst ruins, hiding its nakedness behind tattered rags, shedding tears upon hollow cheeks, and calling for its children with pitiful voice. But the children are busy singing their clan's anthem; they are busy sharpening the swords and cannot hear the cry of their mothers." - Kahlil Gibran ◆ “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 day ago
*Size of Orleans jail, whom it will house still a matter of debate, Sheriff Gusman continues to obfuscate ~Jim Mustian, N.O. Advocate * *RTA: St. Charles Ave. streetcars to return to full service Sunday ~WWL* *Shark attacks child in Lake Pontchartrain ~Meg Gatto* *Developer buys New Orleans theater ~AP, via Miami Herald*

Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, August 10th, 2014

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 1 day ago
[image: rant-jpeg-b] Sunday, time for my usual weekly rant… There is so much to cover that has been happening in our sick world over the last week and beyond, and I will do my best to give everyone my perspective on as much as possible… The Ebola Virus "pandemic" seems to be gaining traction in the Jew spew mainstream media, and as I have stated in several articles concerning this rising fear I am not sold yet that this is a pandemic. In fact I do believe that there is something very sinister when it comes to this sudden Ebola "outbreak", and I am smelling a rat…. First, I have... more »

METRO EVENT | Beverly Baker Moore: The tribe gathers

Thorne Dreyer at The Rag Blog - 1 day ago
‘Friends of New Journalism’ come together to party and hail ‘Rag Blog’ editor Thorne Dreyer on the occasion of his 69th trip around the sun. By Beverly Baker Moore | The Rag Blog | August 10, 2014 AUSTIN — The … finish reading *METRO EVENT* | Beverly Baker Moore: The tribe gathers

“6 Bonkers Right-Wing Statements This Week: Peace Prizes for Warmongers Edition”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*“6 Bonkers Right-Wing Statements This Week: * *Peace Prizes for Warmongers Edition”* By Janet Allon *“1. Ayan Hirsi Ali: Bibi Netanyahu deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Say what? *Unless the whole definition of peace was suddenly changed without our knowing it, we’re a little befuddled at noted Somali-born, anti-Islamic author and activist Ayan Hirsi Ali’s suggestion that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. For waging war. According to Salon, the suggestion came during an interview published Friday by Israel HaYom, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Isr... more »

THE TIME IS NOW TO UNITE AS A HUMAN RACE

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 1 day ago
*Join PFC’s global movement to change the world through music. This is your chance to be the change by directly supporting outstanding musicians and music students around the world.* Playing For Change Visit Playing For Change today! *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Permanent War for Permanent Profits

Donn Marten at Carrying a Flag - 1 day ago
*“Name me someone that’s not a parasite and I’ll go out and say a prayer for him”* *- Bob Dylan (Visions of Johanna)* A 2001 piece at satirical website The Onion entitled “Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'” published shortly after his inauguration was astonishing in the uncanny ability to so accurately predict the future. Not only did Bush and Cheney use the September 11, 2001 attacks to justify the invasion of the bane of empires that is Afghanistan but also to launch a “Shock and Awe” attack on Iraq, a country that had no connection to ... more »

Ghost of Sunday Classics: Prince Hilarion's mission of the heart

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
*"The world is but a broken toy"*: *Disguised as students of the woman's college established by the Princess Ida, Florian (William Whitefield), Cyril (Patrick Hogan), and Prince Hilarion (Colm Fitzmaurice) meet Ida, Hilarion's betrothed (Kimilee Bryant), in the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players' January 2008 Princess Ida.* *by Ken* We've already dealt somewhat with the more martial aspects of *Princess Ida*, the mortal struggle between Kings Gama and Hildebrand -- the fathers of the bride and groom, respectively -- over the consummation of the union between Princess Ida and Pr... more »

Bitcoin a NSA - CIA project ? ( August 10 , 2014 ) -- Have to say , when I first worked on this post , I merely considered this as a seemly " odd duck " type story . If this wasn't a article in the IBT or some other major media outlet , the amateur tone and non existent sourcing ( hitting the link for the alleged WikiLeak document does NOT link to a WikiLeak document , the existent of which I can't find by a Google search anyway ) ....... Upon further reflection , the fact that this has been put out there at all is probably very good for Bitcoin - because floating crap like this shows Bitcoin is terrifying some one real bad !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bitcoin-suspected-be-nsa-cia-project-1460439 ( Editor note : DO NOT TAKE THE POSTING HERE AS AN ENDORSEMENT OF AUTHOR's VIEWS !!! As noted in the Headnote , this appears to be a crock of crap piece. But why was this even put out is the question in my mind ??? Disinformation maybe from CIA - NSA to discredit Bitcoin - that this article has been floated actually might be a sign Bitcoin is scaring someone big time ! Might this be a factual and a warning from a previously unknown Group - to me timing is odd , the Group seems odd looking at the website for a mi... more »

THE WILL OF IAM: Update from Heather

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 1 day ago
This is the Latest updated from Heather's own website. I have embedded one of the videos, but please go to the original website to view all of the videos: http://www.heatheranntuccijarraf.info/ THE WILL OF I AM: NOW, ALL I AM, BE AND DO I AM!!! THE WORD OF I AM: I AM!!! "I AM making visible the choice of I AM to BE and DO I AM transparently within all I AM...sooooo any and all tools previously used to "not be I AM" are being reconciled back to pure energy for reissuance in I AM frequency, by The Will and The Word of I AM. I AM dedicating this page for the NOW Data and tools I... more »

Ukraine Civil War News Updates -- August 10, 2014

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
Fighting has forced at least 300,000 of Donetsk's one million residents to flee [Reuters] *Ukraine Crisis: Army Pounds Rebels In Donetsk -- BBC* Ukraine's military has pounded the main pro-Russian rebel stronghold of Donetsk with artillery fire, causing massive damage throughout the city. A military spokesman said the rebels were in "panic and chaos" and had begun to desert en masse. Ukraine is mulling the possibility of allowing a humanitarian mission into the area, as residents struggle without power or reliable sources of food. Some 1,500 people are estimated to have died since... more »

Gaza Talks On Brink Of Collapse As Israel And Hamas Exchange Fire

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*Israel Says Won't Talk Under Fire, New Gaza Truce Plan Mulled -- Reuters* (Reuters) - Israel said on Sunday it was prepared for protracted military action in Gaza and would not negotiate under rocket fire as Egypt crafted a new truce plan to try to keep indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks alive. Israeli air strikes and shelling killed three Palestinians in Gaza, including a boy of 14 and a woman, medics said, in a third day of renewed fighting that has jeopardized efforts by Egypt, which also borders the enclave, to end the month-old hostilities. Since a three-day truce expired on... more »

The More We Hope and the More Things Change, the More Things Stay the Same

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 1 day ago
I never thought I'd live in a USA in which Joe McCarthy, the Klan, Jim Crow and Ted Nugent would make successful comebacks but here we are. — Robert Crawford (@jurassicpork59) August 9, 2014

Ukraine situation ( August 10 , 2014 ) -- Ukrainian Federalists float ceasefire possibility , which was promptly rejected by Kiev unless the Separatists surrender and put down their guns ......... Death dealing will continue it would appear

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.nst.com.my/node/20925 ( Note this is a media source , not a wide eyed blogger... ) US analysts conclude MH17 downed by aircraftBY HARIS HUSSAIN - 7 AUGUST 2014 @ 8:20 AM KUALA LUMPUR: INTELLIGENCE analysts in the United States had already concluded that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by an air-to-air missile, and that the Ukrainian government had had something to do with it. This corroborates an emerging theory postulated by local investigators that the Boeing 777-200 was crippled by an air-to-air missile and finished off with cannon fire from a fighter that h... more »

First Western Reporter Sees Widespread Death Among Trapped Iraqi Yazidis. Is Told That 70 Per Cent Are Dead Or Will Be Dead. U.S. Aid Has Been 'Useless'

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*Iraq Crisis: 'It Is Death Valley. Up To 70 Per Cent Of Them Are Dead' -- The Telegraph* *On board Iraqi army helicopter delivering aid to the trapped Yazidis, Jonathan Krohn sees a hellish sight.* Mount Sinjar stinks of death. The few Yazidis who have managed to escape its clutches can tell you why. “Dogs were eating the bodies of the dead,” said Haji Khedev Haydev, 65, who ran through the lines of Islamic State jihadists surrounding it. On Sunday night, I became the first western journalist to reach the mountains where tens of thousands of Yazidis, a previously obscure Middle ... more »

WHO VALUES LIFE THE MOST?

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
*Young boy in Syria sleeps between the graves of his parents* One familiar refrain from politicians and media in the US is that 'we value life' more than others around the world This is of course totally ridiculous absurd and spin intended to provide moral justification for the Pentagon's endless wars for resource extraction The air strikes in Iraq began just hours after Obama authorized them in a televised address he said that the US had an obligation to protect its personnel in Iraq and prevent a potential genocide of minority groups by ISIS (ISIS who the US/Jordan/Saudi Arabia/ Engl... more »

Was accidentally wearing my sunglasses while looking up some stuff online. #theylive

Shaun Johnson at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago
Filed under: PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face, SHAUN JOHNSON Tagged: Duncan, education, they live

"A Hideous Atrocity": Noam Chomsky on Israel’s Assault on Gaza & U.S. Support for the Occupation

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 1 day ago
Noam Chomsky Democracy Now Hideous. Sadistic. Vicious. Murderous. That is how Noam Chomsky describes Israel’s 29-day offensive in Gaza that killed nearly 1,900 people and left almost 10,000 people injured. Chomsky has written extensively about the Israel/Palestine conflict for decades. After Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009, Chomsky co-authored the book "Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians" with Israeli scholar Ilan Pappé. His other books on the Israel/Palestine conflict include "Peace in the Middle East?: Reflections on Justice and Nation... more »

The Princes Of Hot Air

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 1 day ago
http://dinlarthelwa.org/ The Harper government has been slashing government spending. But, if you take Deep Throat's advice, and follow the money -- to where it's spent and not spent -- Gregory Thomas writes that you get a real portrait of who these people are: Despite the Harper government’s avowed objective to reduce the federal public service by 19,000 positions, the ranks of communications staff have grown by 163 since the Conservatives took office, while costs have risen by $48 million. The combined payroll of fe... more »

Libertarians, Anarchists and Libertarian Socialism

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 1 day ago
Right off the bat, I'm a libertarian socialist. Unlike self-described, plain, old "libertarians," I believe there's a call for "collectivism." United action organized by the state, which is the institution that carries out the democratically agreed upon wishes of the citizenry. (This does not mean that the Canadian state is, at present, the tool of the democratic majority in Canada. Canada is not a libertarian socialist country.) "Anarchists" share my left-wing values, but share the anti-state proclivities of the libertarians. How one arrives at social justice without a state is som... more »

Crisis in the Middle East: The end of a country, and the start of a new dark age

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 1 day ago
Photo by Khalid Albaih (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) In a terrifying excerpt from his essential new book, ‘The Jihadis Return: Isis and the New Sunni Uprising,’ veteran Middle East correspondent Patrick Cockburn describes the native barbarous forces overwhelming the region around Iraq, and the kind of society—thanks in large part to the failed U.S. intervention there—they look set to succeed in creating. He begins, in an excerpt published exclusively at his paper, The Independent: Iraq has disintegrated. Little is exchanged between its three great communities – Shia, Sunni and Kurd – except... more »

Which is worse, the International Monetary Fund, a vulture fund billionaire, or the conflict of interest of Biden's son becoming the leader of the Ukraine gas company? In any case, the struggling people of Ukraine and Argentina are about to be screwed again thanks to Obama's treachery.

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 1 day ago
------------------------------ Originals Here Top Bottom *NO ADVERTISING, CORPORATE OR GOVERNMENT FUNDING * *How The World Bank & IMF Plan to "Dismantle" Ukrainian Economy* Michael Hudson: The West looks to ramp up gas production as Vice President Biden's son named leader in Ukrainian gas company Buris... more »

GAIA PORTAL: Extremes of Light and shadow present at the current moment

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
http://gaiaportal.wordpress.com/2014/08/10/extremes-of-light-and-shadow-present-at-the-current-moment/ *Extremes of Light and shadow present at the current moment* August 10, 2014 Extremes of Light and shadow present at the current moment. Gaia supports the visualization of all such contrast points, which exemplify final stages of duality. Light streams encompass the planet whole at this time and will remain. Embracing of the Gaia Higher Purpose of all visible to eyes events is the preferred mode for Hue-manity and hu-manity.

Musical Interlude: Dr. John, “Right Place Wrong Time”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
Dr. John, “Right Place Wrong Time” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5zPqgQ67yo

Two paths to Copenhagen: Weinberg and Lovins Repost

Charles Barton at The Nuclear Green Revolution - 1 day ago
*Rod Adamsw debated Amory Lovins, and writes about it on his blog. Eod is not the first nuclear advocate to debate Lovins, Alvin Weinberg was. Some 5 years ago, I pointed out how Weinberg's argument demonstrated the flaws in Lovins ethical argument, and that Weinberg had pointed out how Lovins argument supported the interest of coal aginst nuclear power. Thus nearly 40 years ago, Lovins was aware of how coal would contribute to global warming, but chose to ignore the problem. Thus Lovins' ethical pose was nothing short of hypicritical.* In 1975 Alvin Weinberg left his final post ... more »

Susan O's Letter to the NYTimes

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 1 day ago
Posted August 8: To the Editor: I witnessed the educational abuse of South Korean children documented in “How South Korea Enslaves Its Students,” by Se-Woong Koo (Sunday Review, Aug. 3), when I was asked by the Korean teachers’ union in 2007 to speak about the dangers the No Child Left Behind law brought to American schools. I asked if I could go early and visit schools in Seoul. While Seoul kindergartens were filled with the playhouse items that once filled our own kindergartens, Seoul middle schools provide study carrels so that students can eat dinner at school and return to their... more »

OUR JOB IS TO BOMB BROWN PEOPLE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

The Matrix: Shackles for the Mind

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
http://removingtheshackles.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-matrix-shackles-for-mind.html SATURDAY, 9 AUGUST 2014 The Matrix: Shackles for the Mind There are movies out there that every time you watch them you catch something new- something that you hadn't noticed when you watched it previously, something that you didn't remember, or perhaps didn't recognize for what it was. Some times when you watch a movie - even one that you've seen many times before- when you literally have a huge WOW moment when suddenly you "get it". I'm currently working through another abscessed tooth (*sigh* ... more »

The Optics Of President Obama's Presidency

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
President Obama golfs in Oahu. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza *No Optical Illusion: Obama Balances World Crises With Golf, Time Off -- Reuters* (Reuters) - President Barack Obama gave Americans an update on U.S. military strikes in Iraq on Saturday from a podium on the White House lawn with Marine One, the presidential helicopter, parked in the background. Four hours later, he offered an altogether different tableau: a golf game with friends at a lush course on Martha's Vineyard, the upscale Massachusetts island where the president and his family began a two-week vacatio... more »

SUNDAY SONG

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

After Spending Years Opposing The Iraq War, President Obama Has Now Engaged America In A New Iraq War

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
US President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks to the media on the situation in Iraq on the South Lawn of the White House, before his departure for vacation at Martha's Vineyard, in Washington August 9, 2014. — Reuters *Obama’s New, Undeclared Iraq War -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast* Obama’s new Iraq war began modestly. By the end of his press conference on Saturday though it got a bit bigger. President Barack Obama’s war in Iraq just got more ambitious. Speaking to reporters before departing for a two week vacation with his family on Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama said the U.S. had... more »

Racist Fanatic William Colmer Has A Minority Majority School In Pascagoula Named After Him-- Plus Hawaii Update

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
The William M. Colmer Middle School is in Pascagoula, Mississippi. 46% of the students are African-Americans and 15% are Hispanic. 79% of the students are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch program, somewhat higher than the average for Mississippi (71%). The school is named for Representative William M. Colmer who died on September 9, 1980 (age 90) and is buried at Machpelah Cemetery right their in Pascagoula. The students can walk over to the cemetery and visit their school's namesake. Perhaps they should read a little about the 20-terms congressman from Mississippi's Gulf... more »

Untitled

jonjayray at EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL - 1 day ago
*UK: Toddlers at risk of extremism, warns Education Secretary* Nurseries are at risk of being taken over by religious extremists, the Education Secretary will warn as she announces that toddlers are to be taught “fundamental British values”. In her first major policy announcement, Nicky Morgan will say that local authorities will be obliged to use new powers to strip nurseries of their funding if they are found to “promote extremist views”. She will also say that toddlers should be taught “fundamental British values in an age-appropriate way” as part of a drive to protect children ... more »

U.S. Air Strikes In Iraq Are Continuing As Well As Reports Of Mass Murder Of Yazidis Refugees (Sunday Morning Update)

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
Desperate masses: Stranded Yazidi men, women and children rush towards a Kurdish helicopter carrying aid today, as IS fighters surround mount Sinjar *Exclusive: Iraq Says Islamic State Killed 500 Yazidis, Buried Some Victims Alive -- Reuters* (Reuters) - Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of Iraq's Yazidi ethnic minority during their offensive in the north, Iraq's human rights minister told Reuters on Sunday. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the Sunni militants had also buried alive some of their victims, including women and children. Some 300 women were kidnappe... more »

Peacekeepers ignored by Harper.

Rural at Democracy Under Fire - 1 day ago
Today our Canadian military members and veterans as well as police officers come together in ceremonies across the country to honour and remember all Canadian peacekeepers who have served or are currently serving in support of peace operations around the world. Among those who will NOT be there are PM Stephen Harper, Veterans Minister Julian Fantino, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney and National Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, Veterans Affairs have condescended to send a parliamentary secretary provided that the *Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping *wr... more »

Jerome Keating meet up featuring the wonderful Tammy Turner

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 1 day ago
I am still taking time off blogging for another week, but Tammy Turner, Jerome K's guest for the next meet up Aug 16, is someone I like and admire very much... sure wish I could be up in Taipei to hear her speak. +++++++++++ Topic: Revolution Gardening August 16, 10 am Tammy Turner, a 28 year resident of Taiwan, originally from the US is a Permaculture educator and designer who is dedicated to connecting people with the natural environment and the traditional wisdom of indigenous cultures thorough holistic learning and design processes. She is also co-owner of Pristine Communicati... more »

Middle East Reaction To U.S. Airstrikes

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*How Do Iraq's Neighbors Feel About U.S. Airstrikes? -- CBS* Middle Eastern leaders have watched the violent disintegration of Iraq over the last several months with a growing sense of alarm, quietly pushing the United States to do something to turn the tide against the steady advance fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). And on Friday, Iraq's neighbors got what they asked for. In a significant escalation of U.S. involvement in the bloody civil war, American planes dropped bombs on the insurgents advancing on Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish... more »

Obama’s War Against Russia Backfires

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 1 day ago
*Written by Eric Zuesse.* U.S. President Barack Obama’s war against Russia isn’t only causing Russia to cooperate more strongly with the other BRIC countries to break the U.S. dollar’s reign as the global reserve currency, but it’s also causing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s job-approval rating in Russia to soar, and the confidence that the Russian people have in their own Government to soar likewise. The latest of these signs came on August 5th, 2014 in a report from Gallup Analytics (by subscription only) headlined “*Russians’ Confidence in Many Insti... more »

Imagine A World In Which People Are.....

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 1 day ago
Source: https://www.indiegogo.com/ *That would be nice.*

DANIEL PIPES: EXTREMIST NEOCONSERVATIVE PSYCHOPATH

In his latest piece published on the neoconservative online magazine National Review Online, Daniel Pipes demonstrates the extent of his utter lunacy by writing: *Hamas’s greatest strategic weapon in its effort to damage Israel’s reputation and ostracize it was neither rockets nor tunnels but wrenching photographs of dead civilians purportedly killed by the IDF.* *This leads to the bizarre situation in which Hamas seeks the destruction of Palestinian property, compels civilians to sustain injuries and death, inflates casualty figures, and may even intentionally attack its own terri... more »

Heavenletter #5006 God Hears Our Cries

Americani Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
Heavenletter #5006 God Hears Our Cries August 9, 2014 By Gloria Wendroff God said: I hear My children cry out: “To God, dear God, I speak to You, and I know You hear me and You talk to me, and You love me. Why am I not the happiest person in the world? God, why aren’t I?” I answer: Habit. It is the premise you start from, that you do not have Me, that you have to attain. You have attained. You have attained Me. What you actually have attained is your awareness of Me, but not just of Me, of our Oneness. There is some residual within you of Our sitting across from each other tha... more »

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
“One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful M81. This grand spiral galaxy lies 11.8 million light-years away toward the northern constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major). *Click image for larger size.* The deep image of the region reveals details in the bright yellow core, but at the same time follows fainter features along the galaxy's gorgeous blue spiral arms and sweeping dust lanes. It also follows the expansive, arcing feature, known as Arp's loop, that seems to rise from the galaxy's disk at the upper righ... more »

"The World Is Too Much With Us..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!" - William Wordsworth, 1770- 1850

The Poet: Mary Oliver, "Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
* "Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches?"* "Have you ever tried to enter the long black branches of other lives- tried to imagine what the crisp fringes, full of honey, hanging from the branches of the young locust trees, in early morning, feel like? Do you think this world was only an entertainment for you? Never to enter the sea and notice how the water divides with perfect courtesy, to let you in! Never to lie down on the grass, as though you were the grass! Never to leap to the air as you open your wings over the dark acorn of your heart! No wonder we hear, in y... more »

Chet Raymo, “This View of Life, With Its Several Powers”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
* “This View of Life, With Its Several Powers”* by Chet Raymo “Somewhere in his "lost" notebooks Loren Eiseley writes of the pleasure of exploding a puffball in a woodland clearing, or shaking seeds out of their pods. As I recall, he takes a gleeful satisfaction in messing with evolution, in hurrying the process along. I remember identifying with that sentiment when I read it. I like exploding puffballs too. Dropping insects into spider webs. Picking up turtles that are half-way across a road and placing them in a ditch on the other side. Most of all I like breaking off the stalks ... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
Martinez, California, USA. Thanks for stopping by.

"Amber..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why." - Kurt Vonnegut

Libya Updates ( August 10 , 2014 ) -- In one word .... CHAOS

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Aug-10/266694-heavy-shelling-resumes-in-libyan-capital-tripoli. TRIPOLI: Heavy shelling resumed in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday after three days of relative calm following more than a month of street fighting between rival armed factions battling for control of the city's airport. The North African OPEC oil producer is facing the worst violence since the 2011 war that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, with more than 200 people killed. Many Western embassies and international companies have evacuated staff members. Southern Tripoli was ... more »

One Nellis aggressor squadron being deactivated

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago
The next time fighter jets take off from Nellis Air Force Base for a Red Flag air combat exercise, there will be fewer would-be “bad guys” to battle. Up-and-coming pilots who will be flying their first 10 simulated combat missions will face an adversary force that has fewer sparring partners, a sign of the times as the military reduces its planes and personnel and U.S. combat operations wind down in Afghanistan. That’s the word from Lt. Col. Greg “Papa” Wintill, commander of the 65th Aggressor Squadron — one of two squadrons at Nellis that play would-be enemies for Red Flag trainin... more »

US takes aim at Israeli antitank missiles in Indian arms market

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago
[image: FGM-148 Javelin]Israel, better watch out! The US is going all out to shoot down the Israeli 'Spike' antitank guided missile (ATGM) with its own "Javelin" missile in the lucrative Indian arms market. Given the huge size of the Indian ATGM project, upwards of $3 billion, Israel is sure to strike back. But for now, the US seems to have gained the upper hand. After earlier being rebuffed by India for not agreeing to "full" transfer of technology (ToT), the US is now promising to not only "co-produce" the third-generation Javelin ATGMs, but also "co-develop" its fourth-generation... more »

The Yak-130: The Russian Army’s ‘flying iPhone’

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago
[image: Yak-130]The Yakovlev Yak-130 is Russia’s newest trainer aircraft, capable of being programmed to recreate a range of different flight conditions for trainee pilots as well as functioning as a ground-attack craft. Russia now hopes to take advantage of the plane’s export potential. Within the next two or three years, Moscow intends to present the Yakovlev Yak-130, its newest trainer aircraft, to a wider world market. In comments made at the recent Farnborough International Airshow outside London, Sergei Kornev, head of the Department for Exports of Aircraft and Special Proper... more »

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on 'Sunday'

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are very busy at the moment. (Their poor horses must be well and truly knackered.) Conquest, War, Famine, and Death are galloping around many countries and this morning's *Sunday* turned its eyes towards some of them. Here's what happened (with, as ever, quotes from the *Sunday* website as headings): *1. "Last week on Sunday the Bishop of Manchester called on the Government to give refuge to Iraqi Christians. This week, as the situation for Christians and other religious minorities worsens, Cardinal Vincent Nicholls *(sic) *and the Archbishop o... more »

Sleeping beauty thirders' rudimentary Markov chain error

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 1 day ago
Last time when I talked about the Sleeping Beauty Problem a week ago, I wanted to convey two points. One of them – the woman's visit to Guantanámo Bay – was that the belief in \(P=1/3\) is equivalent to a major flaw in thinking that turns many people into conspiracy theorists: they think that even if some scenario is very unlikely (e.g. that the woman is transferred to the facility in Cuba), the low value of the probability may be "beaten" and made irrelevant by inventing "huge implications" such as a very long sequence of torture and interviews. But it isn't the case. If the proba... more »

Commander: Russian army to start receiving newest T-50 jet fighter from 2016

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago
[image: Su T-50 PAK-FA]Russia’s fifth-generation T-50 jet fighter will begin to be supplied to the Armed Forces from 2016, Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev said on Saturday. “It [T-50] has already participated twice in the Aviadarts show and performed aerobatics figures in pairs with other planes. I think it has a bright future,” he told the Russian News Service radio, adding that plane was being created using stealth technology. Several such planes have already begun testing at the Akhtubinsk range in the southern Astrakhan region. Read more

A short update on the energies

Americani Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
*I so relate to this post... the sense of the familar human behaviors being curious or even odd at times... the unmooring from the matrix we call reality "the real world" (and what is "real" but a Spanish word for Royal? Do the elites define your world still?) and feeling adrift...and then connected for brief moments with everything that is truly real...and back again... -AK* *A short update on the energies* By Aisha North August 9, 2014 As the floodgates open, many of you will feel as if swept away by these incoming energies, and rightly so. For now, nothing will be left bobbing... more »

US bombs Islamic State

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago
US fighter jets and drones have repeatedly bombed Sunni extremists in northern Iraq targeting Isis artillery units and convoys advancing on the Kurdish regional capital, Irbil. The airstrikes ramped up America's involvement in Iraq where the Isis movement has been seizing control of towns and key infrastructure in an advance that has forced hundreds of thousands to flee. Islamic State fighters, who have beheaded and crucified captives in their drive to eradicate unbelievers, have advanced to within a half hour's drive of Arbil, capital of Iraq's Kurdish region and a hub for US oil ... more »

China's development of a new long-range missile is a significant boost for the military, say analysts

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago
[image: Dongfeng 41]China's development of a long-range missile capable of hitting anywhere in the United States suggests the PLA has made a significant leap in countering American military might through its strategy of "asymmetrical" warfare. The approach, which has its roots in Sun Tzu's The Art of War, avoids trying to match strength with strength, and instead seeks to create threats that draw an opponent into making a costly response. Amid such calculations, China appears set to introduce the Dongfeng-41, which analysts say will have repercussions at the global and regional lev... more »

PH buying two frigates; ammo price at P2.5-B

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago
[image: BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15)]The defense department will spend P2.5 billion for the ammunition of the two frigates it will acquire for the Philippine Navy. Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said security officials have decided to separate the purchase of ammunition from the frigate acquisition project, citing international arms restrictions. “There will be two (projects). The acquisition of armaments will be treated as a separate project,” Velez told The STAR in a recent interview. Read more

Russia Forces US Submarine Out of Boundary Waters

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago
[image: Virginia class SSN]Russia's Northern Fleet's anti-submarine forces have detected and forced out a US submarine from Russian boundary waters, a high-ranking source in Russia's Navy told RIA Novosti Saturday. "On August 7, 2014, the patrol forces of the Northern Fleet detected a foreign submarine, supposedly a US Navy Virginia-class one, in the Barents Sea. A seaborne anti-submarine group, as well as an anti-submarine airplane Il-38, was sent to the region to search and track it down," the source said. The Russian navy forced the submarine out of Russian waters after a 27-minu... more »

Critics Of President Obama's Iraq Strategy Are Now Starting To Speak Out

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*TWO Retired Four-Star Generals Blast Obama For Failing To Use 'Decisive' Force in Iraq With 'Pinprick' Attacks For 'Political Posturing' -- Daily Mail* * Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey laid into Obama on Friday, saying bombing runs against ISIS positions are political posturing * 'These are political gestures using military power,' he said, lamenting the president's lack of commitment to a full-blown military campaign * Obama ran for president on a platform of getting US military out of Iraq but began bombing runs Friday morning in the country's northern region * White House Press Se... more »

Kaggle Higgs: approaching 3.85

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 1 day ago
If you follow the preliminary leaderboard of the Higgs ATLAS Kaggle contest where 1,288 teams from various places of planet Earth are competing, you may have noticed that I have invited Christian Veelken of CERN to join my team. He kindly agreed. I believe he is one of the best programmers who reconstructs the Higgs properties from the tau-tau decays in the CMS team, the other big collaboration at CERN aside from ATLAS whose folks organize the competition. The current decision is that so far the viable scores were obtained predominantly by me so I own 90% of the team which is enough... more »

Untitled

JR at GREENIE WATCH - 1 day ago
*When obscenity trumps the facts* *Obscenity is a strange way to make a scientific point. I have never seen it before. But I think I know why the guy below used it. He is desperate. He must be aware of the latest findings in his own field and the latest finding is that current changes in the Arctic, particularly in thermokarsts, have a net COOLING effect. See "A shift of thermokarst lakes from carbon sources to sinks during the Holocene epoch". That study concerns CO2 but the Warmist below makes no attempt to offset that finding against the methane observations that are giving him ... more »

RSD School Construction Overspending and Substandard Concrete: Time for Jindal Admin to Expand Its Audit

deutsch29 at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago
As of June 18, 2014, Louisiana State Superintendent John White has found himself to be the focus of Office of Contractual Renewal (OCR) and Division of Administration (DOA) investigation for his questionable methods regarding Louisiana’s assessment contracts. White has publicly complained that such is evidence that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is out to get him. […]

Are U.S. Airstrikes Enough To Defeat The Islamic State In iraq?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*Are U.S. Airstrikes Enough To Defeat ISIS In Iraq? -- CBS* ERBIL, Iraq - President Barack Obama warned Saturday that America's latest incursion into Iraq will not be brief. Airstrikes on ISIS, and air drops for the people the militants have trapped, began Friday. They will likely continue for months. On Saturday evening, there was word of new U.S. airstrikes, this time targeting ISIS armored personnel carriers. The ISIS militants are members of the Sunni branch of Islam, at war not just with Iraq's Shiite majority, but also with other ethnic and religious minorities, including K... more »

How The Decision To Launch Air Strikes Against Islamic State Forces In Iraq Was Made

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
President Barack Obama meets with the National Security Council in the Situation Room of the White House in Washington, in this handout photograph taken and released on August 7, 2014. Credit: REUTERS/Pete Souza/White House/Handout *Obama Iraq Decision Followed Limo Ride Talk With General -- Bloomberg* President Barack Obama’s decision to approve airstrikes and humanitarian air drops in Iraq began to come together at nightfall on Aug. 6, between the end of the African leaders’ summit he’d hosted and a dinner with his wife and some friends. During a five-minute limo ride back to th... more »

luna cognito

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 1 day ago

If You Want To Vent Your Racism On Facebook, Maybe You Shouldn't Run For Congress

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
They all look the same to me; which one is Mark Walker? After the North Carolina Republican primary runoff last month, many people were stunned by what happened in NC-06 (think Mayberry), where a heavy Establishment favorite, Phil Berger's son, Phil, Jr., was defeated by fringe right-wing extremist, Baptist Choral Pastor/gun nut Mark Walker. As we explained at the time, Walker is a Science denier who wants to abolish the minimum wage and raise the Social Security retirement age to 70. And Walker is not just anti-choice, but believes women who are the victims of rape or incest should ... more »

A Look At The U.S. Military Forces That Have Been Deployed To Attack The Islamic State In Iraq

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) is shown under way in the Atlantic Ocean conducting sea trials on Jan. 27, 2010.(Photo: Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Jason Winn, U.S. Navy) *Ready So Strike: How The US Is Armed To The Teeth In The Middle East After Moving Ships, Jets And Troops Within Striking Distance... And Britain Has Its Base In The Med To Drop Ai -- Daily Mail* * U.S. forces have spent last two months moving ships, weapons and troops within close proximity of conflict zone * Two F/A18 fighters flew from American 'supercarrier' in Persi... more »

photos from france, may 2014

laura k at wmtc - 1 day ago
GivernyI have been avoiding the photos I took on my trip with my mom in May. I suspected they were going to be pretty crappy and I didn't want to see them. But finally I did go through them, got rid of the worst offenses, and posted the rest on Flickr for safekeeping. I'm not happy with them, but... oh well. If you're curious: they are here. There are some nice photos of my mom, and I'm even allowing a few of me to stay up, as intensely camera-shy as I am.

The Iraqi Army Does Not Have The 'Heart' To Fight. The Kurdish Fighters Do Not Have The Bullets

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
Kurdish peshmerga troops participate in an intensive security deployment against Islamic State militants in Makhmur, on the outskirts of the province of Nineveh August 7, 2014. Credit: REUTERS/Stringer *ISIS Beating Iraqis and Kurds As One Lacks 'Heart' And The Other Ammo -- ABC News* The Islamic militia ISIS has been able to roll back both the Iraqi army and the Kurdish peshmerga force because one lacks the "heart" for a fight while the other lacks the firepower, according to Americans familiar with both forces. ISIS has easily swept the Iraqi army from Anbar province in the sout... more »

Islamic State Unleashes A Propaganda War Against The U.S.

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
Obama's Red Line. @ShamiWitness , @HazemIbnAlBaraa . @ghazishami @Afghananalyst @AbuYazidMuawiya @AbuBakr1924 pic.twitter.com/anZIwyyISe — Jizya Collector (@unseenocean) August 9, 2014 *'A Message From ISIS To The US': Islamist Militants Tweet Gruesome Images Of Dead American Soldiers And Vow To Blow Up Embassies As Terrorist Convoy Is Wiped Out In SECOND Round Of Airstrikes -- Daily Mail* * WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: Militants who support the terror group ISIS tweeted threats to America on Friday after Barack Obama began airstrikes in Iraq * Some warn of car bombs at embassies wh... more »

Iraq's Minority Communities Feel the Wrath Of Islamic Militants

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*'A Catastrophe': Yazidi Survivor Recalls Horror Of Evading ISIS And Death -- CNN* Irbil, Iraq (CNN) -- Which is worse: Running desperately for your life, or seeing others' lives end without enough to eat or drink? It's an impossible question to answer. Then again, it's difficult to fathom most anything thousands of minority Yazidis have endured in recent weeks as they've fled from ISIS militants into remote, rugged, sparse mountains of northern Iraq. "With my own eyes, I saw dogs feeding off dead bodies," one of those Yazidis, a man named Tariq, told CNN. "It's not a crisis. It... more »

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