Monday, January 01, 2018

1 January - My Feedly! 1 of 2

Mary's dock, Slidell, Louisiana; smashed by Hu...
Mary's dock, Slidell, Louisiana; smashed by Hurricane Katrina storm surge. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today
The most popular articles in your Feedly

New in blogger-following

Guy arrested for 'Nigerian prince' email scams is definitely not Nigerian royalty
The "Nigerian prince" email scam is one of the most notorious cybercimes out there, and the people behind it may have hit a bit of a snag after one of their alleged co-conspirators was arrested in Louisiana on Thursday. Police arrested a 67-year-old man in Slidell, Louisiana after an 18-month investigation in connection with Nigerian prince email scams. The man is suspected of being a middle-man
Boeing unveils stingray-shaped military drone
The state-of-the-art MQ-25 drone has been designed to provide the US Navy with refueling capabilities. Drone technology has become so sophisticated ov...
The pattern: from Jim Crow to Smog, Tobacco, Ozone, Leaded Gas... and now...
First: I am told I should announce: “Just so you know: there are no 3rd party ads on my site. No guest posts. No one can buy a slot or a referral. I try always to attribute quotations, especially lengthy excerpts. And yes, I write this much. Phew.” Meanwhile... alas... there is so much that's "political" that mass media doesn't cover well. That's why you come here , right? == Step back and see th
Australian Banks Reportedly Freeze Accounts of Bitcoin Users
Disclosure: I hold cryptocurrencies. — At some point, the fiat outflows will cause liquidity problems. That’s my guess as to why they fear cryptos so much. At the link below, see the comments by user CPL that start out with: Means they are just about to rob the Australians of their savings and are cutting […]
Happy New Year for 2018
New Years Eve 2017 … Wishing everyone here the best of health and happiness for the coming year. Thanks for your help in making this possible! Cheers to every independent soul who stands on their own two feet. And cheers to those who can’t tonight, but would like to. Rating: 9.4/10 (59 votes cast) Rating: 9.4/ 10 (59 votes cast)
Poor, unfortunate soul gets his penis stuck in a London subway gate
He paid the price. A London Tube passenger this week snagged his inner-thigh and penis in the fare gate while trying to jump over the barriers to avoid paying. The jumper remained stuck and screaming for several minutes while authorities struggled to dislodge him. SEE ALSO: Man attempts to slide down tube escalator, instantly regrets life choices A video of the incident was posted on Facebook Thu

New in news

SOTT FOCUS: Trump Claims US Defeated ISIS, But Terrorists Still Emerging from US Bases in Syria
Last Thursday, US president Donald Trump posted what appeared to be a self-congratulatory tweet on the achievements of the US military in the war against ISIS: These numbers may or may not be accurate, but the implicit message is that they are the result of the efforts of the US-led coalition rather than the combined Russian, Iranian/Hezbollah and Syrian/Iraqi forces. Trump's Pentagon numbers conf
SOTT FOCUS: Social Justice Targets Personal Trainers: Check Your Thin Privilege and Anti-Fat Bias
PJ Media posted a report on a new academic article written by two professors at the Oregon State University, and published in the journal Fat Studies (yes, apparently there's an academic journal thoughtfully named Fat Studies. Who knew?). The article, written by Vicki Ebbeck, a professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at OSU, and Shannon Austin, a graduate teaching assistant at
Ministers consider using volunteers to guard UK borders
Home Office says it is discussing plan to bolster Border Force with scheme similar to police use of special constables Volunteers could be deployed to help plug gaps in the UK’s Border Force, which has undergone drastic cuts under successive Conservative-led governments. The plan, similar to the use of special constables in the police, is being considered in Whitehall. Critics, however, say doing
Mike Pence’s vacation neighbors trolled him with ‘Make America Gay Again’ sign
Mike Pence (Credit: Gett/Joe Raedle) Mike Pence is vacationing in Aspen this week for the holiday, and neighbors reportedly used it as an opportunity to silently protest. According to a report in the Aspen Times , Pence’s neighbors posted a rainbow banner saying “Make America Gay Again” at the end of his driveway. Sheriff Deputy Michael Buglione told The Aspen Times that Pence’s vacation neighbor
Chief Justice Roberts Promises To Evaluate Sexual Misconduct Policies
In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said recent events have "illuminated the depth of the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace." (Image credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Can you solve it? Do your nut with the squirrel puzzle
Bury yourselves in this rodent riddle, plus a prize challenge Happy New Year guzzlers! Today’s first problem concerns squirrels. Have a nibble - it’s not too hard a nut to crack. Continue reading...

New in science

Source code for Apple's 1983 Lisa computer to be made public next year
Before there was an iPhone, iMac or Macintosh, Apple had the Lisa computer.
Full Wolf Moon: New Year's Supermoon Is the Biggest of the Year
New Year's Day is a time for resolutions and hangovers, but this year, it also provides a chance to see the moon in all its glory.
Single metalens focuses all colors of the rainbow in one point
Metalenses—flat surfaces that use nanostructures to focus light—promise to revolutionize optics by replacing the bulky, curved lenses currently used in optical devices with a simple, flat surface. But, these metalenses have remained limited in the spectrum of light they can focus well. Now a team of researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has de
18 Exponential Changes We Can Expect in the Year Ahead
Where will the trajectory of the tech world, from cryptocurrencies to Silicon Valley culture, take us in 2018?
China Shuts Down Its Legal Ivory Trade
Two years after a joint pledge with the United States to ban the domestic trade in ivory, all of China’s government-licensed carving factories and ivory retailers are about to close.
Someone Has Reportedly Stolen $300,000 From Comics Legend Stan Lee
Image: Marvel Studios Earlier this week, Stan Lee, creative partner to Jack Kirby and towering comics legend, celebrated his 95th birthday. But all was not well, true believers. According to a report by The Blast , the Beverly Hills Police Department is conducting an investigation into an apparently fradulent check cashed from the Marvel icon’s bank account to the tune of $300,000. The check, whi

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TWISTED
In 1996, an urban legend was born when the Can-View Drive-In was hit by a tornado during a screening of the movie Twister. The story spread throughout town and the unbelievable event was covered by national media. But what's most amazing is ... it might not have happened. "TWISTED" is this week's Staff Pick Premiere! Read more about it here: vimeo.com/blog/post/staff-pick-premiere-twisted Cast: J
History of Auld Lang Syne | National Geographic
The soundtrack to the ball drop and midnight kisses, "Auld Lang Syne" is the quintessential New Years song. Learn how this Scottish poem became a holiday tradition, what the lyrics mean, and how the instantly recognizable melody has shifted over the years. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, expl
The Mess
Directed by Dorothy Allen-Pickard Writer / Performer: Ellice Stevens As Ellice gets low, her room gets messy - she never sees it coming, but it always happens. There seems to be no way to break out of the endless highs or lows that make up bipolar, or even to pick up her clothes up off the floor. Cast: Homespun and Dorothy Allen-Pickard
Watch Baby Sea Turtles Run on Treadmills—for Science | National Geographic
Baby sea turtles undergo an arduous journey from the moment they hatch, crawling from their nest to the ocean. Scientists recently tested their endurance by employing an uncommon tactic .... tiny turtle treadmills. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their worl
The best selfie camera
We tested five new phones to figure out which one takes the best selfie. We shot all the photos on automatic and only tinkered with beauty filters, which definitely matters when it comes to selfie tech. Subscribe: https://goo.gl/G5RXGs Check out our full video catalog: https://goo.gl/lfcGfq Visit our playlists: https://goo.gl/94XbKx Like The Verge on Facebook: https://goo.gl/2P1aGc Follow on Twit
What is Life?
Cast: No Bad Days Tags: simulation , simulation theory , Elon Musk , Simulation Hypothesis , Max Tegmark , Niel Degrasse Tyson , The Sims , Evolution of video games , No Bad Days , Emanuel Danneman , Gidge , Gidge Eyes Open , Virtual reality and VR

New in The Corbett Report

A Message From Santa
Ho ho ho! Merry Corbettmas, everyone! James is taking some much-needed time off, so in the meantime please leave your suggestions for "Best of the Year" videos to be featured on the home page. Also, stay tuned for the winner of the Pentagon headline contest and use coupon code "HAPPYNEWYEAR" at checkout for 25% off any DVD(s) from The Corbett Report shop.
Episode 325 – The Information-Industrial Complex
[audio mp3="https://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/episode325-lq.mp3"][/audio] Half a century ago, outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower coined the term "military-industrial complex" to describe the fascistic collusion between the Pentagon and America's burgeoning armaments industry. But in our day and age we are witnessing the rise of a new collusion, one between the Pentagon and the tech industry
Interview 1334 – New World Next Week with James Evan Pilato
[audio mp3="http://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/2017-12-14%20James%20Evan%20Pilato.mp3"][/audio] This week on the New World Next Week: the World Bank helps ring in the technocratic future with climate financing; pigs fly as the Pentagon gets an audit; and Facebook rolls out machine-learning suicide-predicting algorithms.
The Information-Industrial Complex
Half a century ago, outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower coined the term “military-industrial complex” to describe the fascistic collusion between the Pentagon and America’s burgeoning armaments industry. But in our day and age we are witnessing the rise of a new collusion, one between the Pentagon and the tech industry that it helped to seed, that is committed to waging a covert war against p

New in The EnvironmentaList

Tiny Bubbles Wrapped in Feathers
The delicate work of raising and releasing orphaned baby hummingbirds
For the Love of Parks
It’s time for Congress to step up and help preserve our public lands
When Big Apple Comes to Town
How a small community in the Italian Alps put out a clarion call for a pesticide-free future
Barry Myers, Trump’s Nominee for NOAA Administrator, Raises Red Flags
Critics point to potential conflicts of interest and lack of scientific training
Norway Leads the Way on Electric Cars
Nearly a third of all new cars sold in the country this year will be plug-in models and experts expect that share to skyrocket
Toward A Plastic-Free Future
Simply recycling just doesn’t cut it; we need a major lifestyle shift. Here are some options

New in @ the chalk face

General Human Rights
Human Rights are a term heard often, all over the world. Many people cannot define this term and also do not know that they have these rights. So, what are Human Rights? A “Right” is something that we are allowed to do, or to have, and to be, simply by being human. There are 30 basic Human Rights included in “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. This document is seen as a milestone in the

New in The Rules of Exposition

Grandma stands corrected
Our 8-year-old grandson is here for the holidays. It's time for bed. "Do you want to say goodnight to everyone, Jake?" Grandma asks. "Everyone is in the dining room and Grandpa is in the red room." Without a moment's hesitation, Jake asks: "How can Grandpa be in two places at once?" "Well," Grandma replies, "Grandpa is in the red room, and everyone else is in the dining room."
Maybe that's why I have so many readers I can count them on one hand
Writing for my econ blog, I change It doesn't work like that to It doesn't work that way. Why? because I like the alliteration in work that way . That's alliteration, right? Is it worth doing? Yeah. Writing is like making somebody eat something they don't want to eat. I try to make it like a live eel, slippery, so it goes down easy. You may have to grit your teeth, but at least it goes down easy.

New in A Closer Look: Jody Paterson

Three stories to knock that Christmas cheer right out of you
'Tis the season for sharing, which in this case means sharing some of the stories that caught my attention today. Putting them into a blog post will not only add (incrementally) to their profile, but will ensure I have them here for whenever I need them, to remind me why my favourite bumper sticker of all time was "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." Plus it's my birthday today,

New in ArmsControlWonk

Year-End Assessment
Quote of the week: “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” — George Bernard Shaw It has been a bad year. Any year is a bad year when Mar-a-Lago and the White House are common ports of call. Donald Trump walks both manicured grounds, …
Evil
Quotes of the week: “Evils can be created much quicker than they can be cured.” — Winston Churchill, 1951 “It is much easier at all times to prevent an evil than to rectify mistakes.” — George Washington, in a letter to James McHenry, 1798 My best man at our wedding stayed in touch while rising …
Fantasyland
Quote of the week: “The easiest thing of all is to deceive oneself; for we believe whatever we believe.” — Demosthenes How did half of my beloved country get swept up by Donald Trump? How did a reality-based Democratic Party with sensible five point plans lose almost complete touch with so much of the vast …
Up Close and Personal with the Qiam
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley gave a dog-and-pony show with debris from the recent Houthi missile strikes against Saudi Arabia. Jeffrey and Aaron go over the debris, explaining why the U.S. thinks the Yemeni Burkan-2H is actually the Iranian Qiam and asking what that means. Links of Note: DVIDS Hub link to …
No First Use
Quote of the week: “A ‘no first use’ policy would be the end of flexible response and thus of the very credibility of the Western strategy of deterrence.” – Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig, speech at Georgetown University’s Center for Strategic and International Studies on April 6, 1982 How can it be that the United …
Crisis Management Gets More Complicated between Pakistan and India
Quotes of the week: “The ability to win a local war cannot be translated into the ability to fight it safely and therefore cannot provide a firm foundation for either deterrence or coercion.” — Robert Jervis, The Meaning of the Nuclear Revolution (1989) “The problem…is not that one’s own nuclear weapons might prove insufficiently frightening …

New in Cherchez la Verite

Over the past decade, the federal government has seized more than $28 billion. But that’s done absolutely nothing to deter crime. he government steals more from the American people through confiscations than is lost outright to robberies and muggings. It’s been reported that in 2015 civil forfeitures exceeded the amount stolen by all robbers.
Justin’s note: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants to steal your property. Since taking office in February, he’s done all sorts of idiotic things. He’s threatened to crack down on the legal marijuana market. He’s attacked gay rights. And he even wants to amp up asset seizures. This is when the government takes money and property from people. You don’t even need to be convicted of a crime. I
Paul Craig Roberts states that "Russiagate is an orchestrated hoax. That has now become so aparent that even insouciant Americans are catching on, even those low IQ ones who sit in front of TV news. I often disparage Congress, but here is a member who is admirable, Republican Representative Jim Jordan from Ohio." Be sure to play the videos two and eight paragraphs below. In the second one Republican Representative Jim Jordan from Ohio tells it like it is!!!
De Facto Travel Restrictions Now Exist For Americans December 21, 2017 | Categories: Articles & Columns | Dear Friends, I apologize for dumping this on you at Christmas, a time for peace and joy. But these are the facts. We can ignore them only at our peril. De Facto Travel Restrictions Now Exist For Americans Paul Craig Roberts Green Party presidential Candidate Jill Stein is being investigated
Beware. The U.S. is a police state. U.S. cops kill innocents without reason and get away with it.
We’ve all been there before. You’re driving along and you see a pair of flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror. Whether or not you’ve done anything wrong, you get a sinking feeling in your stomach. You’ve read enough news stories, seen enough headlines, and lived in the American police state long enough to be anxious about any encounter with a cop that takes place on the side of the road. F

New in Craig Murray

A Great Day
My body and mind are still in Ankara, fully engaged with the Syrian peace talks. But my heart is in Catalonia. A great day. The achievement is colossal – a pro-independence majority achieved despite the leadership being in jail or in exile, and on an 84% turnout. The lies being spewed out day by day by the neo-liberal media about a “silent majority” are well and truly exposed, as is the EU’s cont
Russophobia Goes Comic
I am feeling particularly hostile to Donald Trump after his incendiary move on Jerusalem. But it remains the case that I have enough direct knowledge of events to be aware that the entire premise of the Russophobic “election-hacking” conspiracy theory is simple nonsense. I am therefore most amused that my friend Randy Credico, who stayed with Nadira and I in Edinburgh a few months ago, has now be

New in DAMMIT JANET!

2017: A Very Good Year
After the dismal Harper decade in which pro-choice forces had to fight rear-guard actions and stay alert for more sneak attacks on our rights, we racked up some significant WINS in 2017. Locally and nationally, activists pushed the "Pro-Abortion Agenda." And won. Here, in rough chronological order are the highlights. (If I've missed anything, please add it in the comments.) In January, we learned
Lies, Damn Lies, and BAD Science
The War on Truth and Science continues. Today, another story about women regretting abortion. A majority of American women who aborted their unborn babies say that their lives didn’t improve at all or refused to answer a question about any positive effects of aborting, a new study reports. Roughly 54 percent of women said that their lives post-aborting weren’t any better than before they had their
MASSIVE Temper Tantrum over Canada Summer Jobs
OK, it was to be expected that Fetus Freaks would freak out over having their funding threatened, but not even long-time observers (ahem) of their hilarious hyperbole saw this banshee-like SHRIEEK-fest coming. Here are just a few of the terms used to characterize the very modest change to Canada Summer Jobs program eligibility (insert mandatory exclamation marks after each entry!!!!!): "thought/be

New in Dr Cintli

Between Black and White: Red-Brown Color Consciousness
Monday, December 18, 2017 By Roberto Rodriguez , Speakout | Op-Ed The large banner outside the prestigious National Museum of Art in Mexico City reads: "Discursos de la piel." Translation: "Discourses on skin." The accompanying image is that of a mulatta from Mexico's colonial era. When I first saw the banner, my mind automatically added the word "color" after the word "skin." I assume that my mi
How the U.S Census Historically Whitewashes Non-White Populations
My earlier column for Truthout posed the question: "Are Mexicans Indigenous?" The context of this question complicates the answer(s). De-indigenized Mexicans and Central Americans in the United States generally share a maiz culture, as do most Amer-Indigenous peoples of the continent who also share in those 7,000-year-old roots. Yet, how are these peoples, which include Mexican Americans or Chica

New in Greg Mankiw's Blog

A Quick Quiz
According to the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, before the recent change in the tax law, taxpayers earning more than $1 million a year were scheduled to pay 19.3 percent of all federal taxes in 2019. What impact does the new tax law have on this percentage? (a) It falls to 17.8 percent. (b) It falls to 18.7 percent. (c) It stays the same. (d) It rises to 19.8 percent. Find the answer he
Tax Cuts for the Rich?
As I have stated repeatedly , I have mixed feelings about the tax bill going through Congress. There is a lot of it that I don't like. But I nonetheless disagree with much of the commentary of its critics. A common refrain is that the bill entails big tax cuts for the rich. I am not so sure. True, the top tax rate is reduced by 2.6 percentage points. But for those in states with a personal income
Paul Krugman...Sigh
I usually refrain from commenting on all the silliness found over at Paul Krugman's blog. But in a post a couple days ago, Paul is especially dyspeptic and calls me out by name. Let me offer a few comments. 1. Paul says I have never admitted to making a math error. Well, I would if I thought I made such an error. I make them all the time. But in this case I am not convinced. Neither is University
A New, More Affordable Way to Read My Favorite Textbook
From Inside Higher Ed : The new offer, called Cengage Unlimited , will give students access to more than 20,000 Cengage products across 70 disciplines and 675 course areas for $119.99 a semester.
The Case Against Taxing Higher Ed
Click here to read my column in Sunday's NY Times .
I talk with NPR

New in Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology

The Allure of Forbidden Treasures
The Allure of Forbidden Treasures By Scott Corrales © 2017 Anyone who ever read Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island , or was otherwise entranced by stories of daring pirates and corsairs burying chests of plunder on desert islands, or even brave explorers recovering the wealth of the ancient world from forgotten tombs, has felt the allure of treasure. The word alone elicits mental images of
Haunted Deserts: UFOs in the Emptiness
Haunted Deserts: UFOs in the Emptiness By Scott Corrales (c) 2017 Many years ago I wrote an article for FATE magazine about lost civilizations in our planet’s desert areas – regions that may have once been suitable for large, organized communities, even cities, but had which had succumbed to erosion and were now simply uninhabitable. Even in the Sahara Desert we find the ruins of Roman settlement
Argentina: Not a Bird, Not a Plane...Was there a UFO Over Las Heras?
Source: MDZ (Argentina) and Planeta UFO Date: December 10, 2017 Argentina: Not a Bird, Not a Plane...Was there a UFO Over Las Heras? A small light shone in the skies over Mendoza. It was hard to tell whether it was a drone. See the video. It happens often and goes unnoticed. At this rate, technology gives us many tools to find an answer when a strange object appears in the sky, particularly a UFO
Chile: UFO Recorded in Cajón del Maipo
Source: Publimetro.cl and Planeta UFO Date: 12.5.2017 Article by Jaime L Liencura Chile: UFO Recorded in Cajón del Maipo It happened on Saturday, November 25 in Cajón del Maipo. it was past 2 am when a group of at least ten people was in the dark on a sky watch, looking for this sort of phenomena. At least four of them were distracted, whether making coffee or sheltering from the cold inside thei
Mexico: Cab Driver Records UFO Over San Luis
Source: La Neta (www.lanetanoticias.com) and Planeta UFO Date: 12.04.2017 Article by Iván Gómez Mexico: Cab Driver Records UFO Over San Luis Mankind appears not to be alone, judging by the presence of beings from other planets who come to our own Earth for still unguessed-at reasons. Recently, a taxicab driver became part of paranormal activity as he returned from dropping off a fare at Villa Mer

New in Left I on the News

Looking for me? Check Twitter!
It's been a while since I've been writing long-form blog entries. But I'm still doing what I've been doing since 2003. You'll find me on Twitter at @leftiblog. Follow me there!

New in Middle East Today

Unite Nation’s Rebuke: President Trump Political Blunder
Recently, President Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that the US Embassy will be relocated in it. Such political decision is in violation of all UN resolution and of International Law. Jerusalem and the West Bank were illegally occupied during the 1967 war. The occupation was condemned by the UN. It instructed Israel to retreat to the 1967 boundaries as stated by the UN Reso
The US Corrupt Political System
On December 6, 2017 President trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Such a political policy is in violation of all United Nations Resolutions and International Law. Prior to Trump declaration many world political leaders from Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China and Pope Francis as well opposed such a policy. They maintained that such policy should be part of an Israeli-Palesti

New in NolanChart.com

NOTES FROM MEET THE PRESS, Sunday, December 17th, 2017
MEET THE PRESS is one of the Sunday morning “news,” (news being a questionable term – more like mainstream media narrative talk shows) that discuss […]
The Trump Era Glossary
The rise of Donald Trump has brought the United States of America into a new era, an era as yet unnamed. We are no longer […]
How do the Alabama results mean concerning MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN?
Most folks will chalk this win up to the Ruling Elite, they actually out general-ed the Moore campaign. I say the Moore campaign and not […]
Republicans Flirting with Treason
Various Republicans have been flirting with treason for a number years now, even decades. In the late 1980s, the Reagan administration sold arms to Iran […]

New in Obsidian Wings

Your Boxing Day Open Thread
by Doctor Science Mister Doctor Science had the peroneus tendons on his left foot reconstructed on Friday. He'd managed to completely rupture the brevis tendon, and longus was in pretty bad shape. The surgeon was able to reconstruct them into a single useful tendon that is predicted to make it possible for Mr Dr to keep fencing. For the next 6 weeks, though, he can't put any weight on that leg, s
Slavery and the Southern roots of conservative economics
by Doctor Science I've been reading a lot of books about slavery and antebellum America over the past few years, and I keep noticing how many current "conservative", Republican economic principles were already held by Southern enslavers and their politicians. "Low taxes" was always their watchword. They were doubtful about infrastructure spending (then called "improvements") and public education.
Talking Past Each Other on #metoo
--by Sebastian I wonder if some of the reason we are talking past each other on sexual harassment in employment is colored by true experiences that people we personally know have had with companies that dealt with things very differently. I used to work in employment law in California (an employee friendly state). I’ve thankfully gotten out of an area of law that makes me want to wring people’s n
Wednesday books: fic and non
by Doctor Science I just engulfed & devoured the new book in "James S. A. Corey" (Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck)'s Expanse series, Persepolis Rising . This work begins the final three volumes of the series, and may possibly be self-contained enough to read if you haven't read the previous volumes; I'm a poor judge. The timeline leaps ahead 30 years, to a point where most of the main characters from
A collection of enjoyable books
by Doctor Science Trying to get back into the swing of Wednesday book reviewing, here are some books I've read recently that are *enjoyable*, that made me happy and not like I'm living in a satiric dystopia . I heard about Harry Connolly's A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark on File770, but by the time I got around to reading it I'd forgotten what people were saying about it and came to it fresh
Sweet Home Alabama -- Election Open Thread
by wj I was intending to put up a thread like this Monday evening, on the thought that we might have something to say as events unfolded in Alabama Tuesday. But today brought something worth starting early. The election in Alabama seems to be very close , with the result hinging on (primarily) turnout, and (secondarily) how many staunch Republicans will vote for someone not-Roy-Moore. Both of tho

New in Paying attention

Why I'd kill Site C
I have no idea what the government will do about Site C. (I do know that anyone who claims it’s an easy choice to kill the project or go ahead is not to be taken seriously.) But if it was up to me, I’d opt for cancellation. The people pushing for completion rely heavily on three flawed arguments. First, that BC Hydro has already spent $2 billion, so despite the certainty of delays and cost overru
Carole James’s Big Budget Problem
(Belatedly posting my recent Tyee column.) Finance Minister Carole James put a good spin on this week’s quarterly update on the province’s finances. But the update highlights big problems the NDP government faces in crafting its first budget, due in mid-February. Without tax increases, the government won’t be able to deliver on its election promises or provide the changes supporters expect. The S

New in Pesticide Action Network

Killing two birds with one seed
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released several scientific assessments that found commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) can kill and harm birds of all sizes. This comes on the heels of new research from the University of Saskatchewan, with experimental evidence finding dramatic effects of neonics on birds inhabiting farmland or open countryside — causing migr
A year like no other
What an incredible — and challenging — year this has been. On the national stage, we've seen several key issues we work on here at PAN move into the spotlight like never before. Thanks to ill-advised federal policy decisions, it is now common knowledge that pesticides harm children’s health, and that farmland can be devastated by pesticide drift. The corporate capture of our public agencies has b
A year like no other
What an incredible — and challenging — year this has been. On the national stage, we've seen several key issues we work on here at PAN move into the spotlight like never before. Learn more Slideshow Category: Flex Slider
Support a Farm Bill for the future!
Call on Congress to pass a Food and Farm Bill that includes strong support for family farmers and ecological farming practices. Add your signature Slideshow Category: Flex Slider
Yup, chlorpyrifos is bad for brains
Following a clear body of science, California just listed the widely used pesticide chlorpyrifos as a "developmental toxicant." Learn more Slideshow Category: Flex Slider

New in Philosophical Comment

A Thought on the "One State Solution" to the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Since the Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995 initiated what has become known as the "Oslo Process", the recognised vision of how to resolve the longstanding violent conflict between the state of Israel and Palestinian representatives, organisations and people have been the so-called Two State Solution, where the state of Israel is to mostly withdraw to its original 1947 borders, and a state of Palesti

New in Sardonicky

Hillary Is the Least Most Admired Woman In the USA
Although Hillary Clinton has again won the Gallup prize as the "most admired woman" in the United States, her slim margin of victory over Michelle Obama essentially makes her the least popular winner in the entire history of this horribly annoying poll. In another wipe-out, Donald Trump narrowly lost to Barack Obama. If nothing else, this result is sure to engender a torrent of new "it was rigged
Classy American Christmas
Yes, Virginia, there was not always a Santa Claus. In the early 19th century, Washington Irving, in the guise of a venerable colonialist of the ruling Knickerbocker dynasty, borrowed the old Dutch legend about Saint Nicholas and re-purposed it into the prototype of the American Santa Claus. A scant hundred years later, Coca-Cola re-purposed the re-purposing, and created the mass market image of S
Bill Clinton's Ruling Class Lament
As part of the great national wokeness serving to expose and shame the predators in the highest echelons of media and political power, the New York Times has graciously allowed former President Bill Clinton to perform his own reckoning, in his own words. Clinton reckons that the biggest problem that America faces is not that the powerful and the rich are exploiting and assaulting the poor and the
The Bright Side of Despair
The Democrats have been so caught up in the witch-hunts of RussiaGate and selective #Me-Tooism that the blitzkrieg known The Great Tax Reform Bill of 2017 has them looking more like castrated deer in the headlights than usual. Far from erupting into a state of rebellion over the passage of the bill, they're cowering in a state of mass confusion when they aren't alternately complaining and seeing
The Seven Dirty Words of American End-Times
George Carlin's estate really ought to think about suing the Trump administration. That's because the reality TV mogul's ironically-named Health and Human Services subsidiary has outright plagiarized the routine that made the late comic so famous. Carlin riffed on the Seven Dirty Words you can't say on TV; Trump's goon squad has made a list of the Seven Dirty Words you can't say if you work at th
Democrophobia Strikes Deep
One of the more common explanations offered by the liberal pundit class for the elevation of Donald Trump to the highest office in the land is that there is an excess of "democracy" in this country. The conventional elite wisdom is that even though the majority of Americans are stupid, they were tragically still functional enough to tear themselves away from Fox News for the little time it took t

New in Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home

Aftermath of #MeToo? I Predict Ugly Backlash
In the wake of Al Franken's resignation over eight women's allegations of forced open-mouthed kissing, butt grabbing and boob groping, there has been much angst. Many of my fellow liberal Democrats are beginning to understand what many HR folks have had to go through when the top salesperson, popular CEO or much-loved manager is accused of sexual harassment. The overwhelming temptation is to deny,

New in The High-fat Hep C Diet

Fibre and the risk of Type 2 Diabetes - the InterAct meta-analysis
Recently the Australian government publicised claims generated by Nutrition Australia, in an opinion paper funded by Kellogg's, that Australians increasing their cereal fibre intake could reduce the cost of CVD and diabetes to the Australian economy: “ This research demonstrates that if Australian adults use grain fibre to increase their intake of dietary fibre to target intake levels for chronic

New in The Intercept

Note: This is not associated with First Look's site Entitled "The Intercept"
First Look purchased the url, "The Intercept" in January, 2014. "The Intercept", aptly named, originally consisted of the posts below with many reposts of articles and blogposts collected to share. They consists of stories that we thought were the most important and verifiable news/opinions at the time. There are some originally written posts covering various topics we happened to be knee-deep in

New in thwap's schoolyard

Random Thoughts on Canadian Political Scene
Rabble's Karl Nerenberg has a fair and balanced piece on why Trudeau needed to apologize for an all-expenses paid vacation at the Aga Khan's island: The Aga Khan himself does not do business with Canada. The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) does. It functions, in the Canadian context, as a non- governmental organization (NGO), receiving Government of Canada funding to provide services in the d

New in Vagabond Scholar

Jon Swift Roundup 2017
(The Best Posts of the Year, Chosen by the Bloggers Themselves) (A Jon Swift lolcat for a little fun. After all, Godwin's "law" was never meant to shut down serious discussion.) Welcome to the 2017 edition! It's been a bizarre year. This tradition was started by the late Jon Swift/Al Weisel, who left behind some excellent satire and would have had a wealth of material this year. He was also

New in Welcome to Pottersville 2 (Blogging Against Fascism!)

(Special Ops Rules Over All?) Bye Bye Reliable Internet & Monitor WSJ for Reporting by Comcast & Spectrum? (WAR! What/Who Is It Good For?) Analysis-Suppressing Mental Munchkin (Flim-Flammery of Tax Cuts) Leda & the Swan Redux? (How It All Happened) Dubya Is Still Either the Dummy or the Smarty (The Enemy of One's Enemy Is . . .?)
Donald Trump's First Year Sets Record for US Special OpsAmbassadors of the traditional kind? Who needs them? Diplomats? What a waste! The State Department? Why bother? Its budget is to be slashed and its senior officials are leaving in droves ever since Donald Trump entered the Oval Office. Under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, hiring is frozen, which means those officials are

New in What Is Sustainable

Kitchi-Gami
In the Ojibway language, Kitchi-Gami means Lake Superior. Johann Georg Kohl (1808-1878) was a German travel writer, geographer, and ethnologist. In 1855, he spent six months visiting trading posts and missions in Ojibway country near Kitchi-Gami, mostly at the Apostle Islands off the north coast of Wisconsin, and at the settlements at the base of Keweenaw Bay, in northern Michigan. Kohl’s book, K
Kitchi-Gami
In the Ojibway language, Kitchi-Gami means Lake Superior. Johann Georg Kohl (1808-1878) was a German travel writer, geographer, and ethnologist. In 1855, he spent six months visiting trading posts and missions in Ojibway country near Kitchi-Gami, mostly at the Apostle Islands off the north coast of Wisconsin, and at the settlements at the base of Keweenaw Bay, in northern Michigan. Kohl’s book, K
Kitchi-Gami
In the Ojibway language, Kitchi-Gami means Lake Superior. Johann Georg Kohl (1808-1878) was a German travel writer, geographer, and ethnologist. In 1855, he spent six months visiting trading posts and missions in Ojibway country near Kitchi-Gami, mostly at the Apostle Islands off the north coast of Wisconsin, and at the settlements at the base of Keweenaw Bay, in northern Michigan. Kohl’s book, K

New in wmtc

what i'm reading: what i haven't read and am not reading
Like most avid readers, my to-read list contains far more titles than I could ever read in a lifetime, even if I did nothing but read. Although I add books at a considerably faster rate than I tick them off, I do still keep The List, and I consult it when I'm looking for my next book. I do this with movies, too. I also read books not on my list, much more so now that I work in a library, and my re
new year's un-resolutions
I don't do New Year's Resolutions, but I do enjoy using the revolution of our Earth around the Sun as an excuse to take stock in where I am and think about where I'm going. This is not a Big Promise To Do Something; it's not even goal-setting. In my ongoing work to free myself from a strong tendency towards All Or Nothing , to not paint myself into a corner, to not create Rules which I then use to
what i'm reading: rolling blackouts, graphic novel asking many big questions
I see by the wmtc tag "graphic novels" that I intended to write about graphic books I read and enjoyed...and I see by the scant number of posts with that tag that I have not been doing so! The last wmtc post tagged for graphic novels is from four years ago , almost to the day. In any event, I want to tell you about a graphic book I just finished and really enjoyed: Sarah Glidden's Rolling Blackout
why i write for rights and how you can too... redux #write4rights
Trying to compose my annual Write For Rights post, I thought I would recycle a good one from 2014... only to learn I had already recycled it in 2015! And here it is again -- slightly edited, with new cases linked below. Tomorrow, December 10, is Human Rights Day . The date commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, the first
i hate christmas 2017: the return of a wmtc tradition and then some
Last year, I took a break from my annual "i hate christmas" post. I don't remember the circumstances, but it was probably related to getting ready for our trip to Egypt. We lost Tala a few days later, but for better or worse, we were ignorant of that until the day before. This year I revive the fine wmtc tradition and then some. I did a stupid thing and it caused me to remember just how much I ha
listening to joni: #3: ladies of the canyon
Ladies of the Canyon , 1970 Original Front Cover I put this album on for the first time in probably three decades, and I thought, ah, here's Joni. Ladies of the Canyon , Joni's third album, is the first time we hear the seeds of the future Joni, the first glimpses of elements in her music which would become old friends. It's the first time we hear her on piano. The first time

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