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No one was prouder of Jordan Peele's Oscar win than Keegan-Michael Key
Find yourself a friend who loves you this much. Jordan Peele had a
historic moment last night when he won the Academy Award for Best
Original Screenplay for his debut solo film, Get Out. He became the
first African-American screenwriter to win this category—and no one was
prouder of him than his old Key and Peele partner, Keegan-Michael Key.
Key and Peele were the creators of the aptly titled ske
Jordan Peele tweeted the perfect caption for his Oscar photo
If you have an Oscar, it'd be wrong not to show that thing off on
Twitter. SEE ALSO: Here's the full Oscars 2018 winners list Jordan Peele
knows. On Sunday, he attended the Academy Awards and came away with one
for the Original Screenplay category. I just won an Oscar. WTF?!? —
Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) March 5, 2018 The next day, Peele took to
Twitter to share a photo of his growing collection
'Alien fossils' found on Mars, claims scientist
Geomicrobiologist
Barry DiGregorio maintains that the Curiosity rover has found evidence
of alien life forms. The controversial claim concerns photogr...
Largest ever family tree links 13 million people
Covering
11 generations over a period of 500 years, the family tree is thought
to be the largest ever created. Providing insight in to the
genealogica...
Youtube Deletes Entire Health Ranger Video Channel
The
Health Ranger YouTube channel is currently returning: “This account has
been terminated for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines.” Well, I
went through being added to Google’s shit list over a decade ago. So… I
have no idea why people who deal with alternative information continue
to rely on Google’s platforms, given the company’s long history […]
Men’s Sperm Counts Are Dropping, and Scientists Don’t Know Why
Via:
Yahoo News: The topic of overpopulation has been much discussed over
the past few decades, but what if the real issue is a severe decline in
population? It sounds like something straight out of a dystopian
nightmare, but new research shows sperm counts are drastically dropping
across the Western world. Researchers from Hebrew University-Hadassah
[…]
news
World's oldest message in a bottle found by beachwalker in Australia
Gin bottle was thrown overboard from a German ship before ending up on a
beach in Western Australia 132 years later The world’s oldest message
in a bottle has been found on a beach in Western Australia by a couple
who thought it might “look good on a bookshelf”. Tonya Illman found the
132-year-old gin bottle in the dunes near Wedge Island in January. Her
husband, Kym Illman, told Guardian Austral
Philip Pullman calls for authors to get fairer share of publisher profits
His Dark Materials author condemns way book industry ‘allows corporate
profits to be so high at a time when author earnings are markedly
falling’ Philip Pullman has called on publishers to stop damaging “the
ecology of the book world” and start giving authors a fairer share of
the money their books earn. Speaking in his capacity as president of the
Society of Authors, the His Dark Materials autho
Netanyahu Takes Reporter Questions Ahead Of APIAC Speech
Reporters traveling with Benjamin Netanyahu were allowed to ask the
Israeli prime minister questions. On Tuesday, Netanyahu addresses the
pro-Israel group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. (Image
credit: Evan Vucci/AP)
Sri Lanka Declares Emergency After Mob Attacks on Muslims
Anti-Muslim
violence has been rising in Sri Lanka in recent years, as officials
struggle to contain the nationalist fervor of the majority Sinhalese
Buddhists.
Making Elementary School A Lot More Fun: Like Preschool!
In Boston, the thinking is that play, student-led activities and lots
of choices work just as well for older kids. Plus, it keeps the gains
kids make in preschool from fading later on. (Image credit: Sophia
Pappas for NPR)
Is Donald Trump a cult leader? Expert says he “fits the stereotypical profile”
(Credit: Getty/Mandel Ngan) Let’s review: Donald Trump is a
petit-fascist and aspiring demagogue who has threatened violence against
his political enemies and shows no respect for the rule of law. He lies
persistently and repeatedly, about matters small and large, in an
effort to create a malignant new reality. Trump’s policies — and those
of the Republican Party that overwhelmingly backs him — h
science
Washington State Enacts Net Neutrality Law, in Clash with FCC
Washington Governor Jay Inslee Monday signed the nation’s first state law intended to protect net neutrality.
Without 46 million year-old bacteria, turtle ants would need more bite and less armor
You've
probably heard about poop pills, the latest way for humans to get
benevolent bacteria into their guts. But it seems that a group of ants
may have been the original poop pill pioneers—46 million years ago.
Tough Talk As Oklahoma's Wind Industry Becomes A Political Target
Though the wind industry was once a political darling in the state,
some say Oklahoma can no longer afford the tax breaks that helped it
thrive. (Image credit: Joe Wertz/StateImpact Oklahoma)
Science too must tackle the gender pay gap
It’s
high time countries enforced equal pay laws, as a New Scientist/SRG
survey reveals the magnitude of the gender pay gap in science and
engineering
Dying for the group: What motivates the ultimate sacrifice?
Whether
idolized as heroes or demonized and labelled terrorists, throughout
history people have been willing to die for their groups and the causes
they believe in. But why? New research suggests that there is a unique
psychological process that may play a crucial role in motivating the
ultimate sacrifice: identity fusion.
Ancient farming techniques could help mitigate climate change
High
technology is being deployed to uncover long-forgotten irrigation
systems and other features concealed in landscapes that farmers
developed hundreds of years ago to nurture their land.
youtube
Jennifer Lawrence Answers Ellen's 'Burning Questions'
Jennifer Lawrence was in the hot seat for Ellen's "Burning Questions,"
and we learned a lot about her hypochondria, and relationship with her
dog Pippi. From: TheEllenShow
Heavy Rains Submerge Hiking Trails in Crystal Clear Waters | National Geographic
Usually, you’d be able to walk these paths. But the Olho D'Água river
had submerged these hiking trails in Brazil’s Recanto Ecológico Rio da
Prata. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National
Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for
science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class
scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat
A Friendly Arctic Fox Greets Explorers | National Geographic
In the frozen landscape of the Canadian Arctic, one Arctic fox got very
curious about one human visitor. ➡ Subscribe:
http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National Geographic: National
Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration,
and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers,
journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that
ma
Second Hand Lovers / Oren Lavie
A modern day bachelor shares his apartment with the memory of all his
past lovers put together. In his fantasy they all share a harmonious
loving relationship, synced into one being. The fantasy falls apart when
he meets a real woman and has to choose between the safety of
daydreaming and the challenges of real love. SECOND HAND LOVERS is the
award winning 2nd installment in the BEDROOM TRILOGY,
The Papermaker
„The Papermaker“ is a short documentary about one of the last
handcrafting papermakers in Europe and his great love for paper. Gangolf
Ulbricht makes unique tree- free papers by hand. For international
artists, conservators, photographers, printers and many more. He learned
his uniqe craft in Germany, Japan, France and England. In this short
film we see him producing his fine paper in his basemen
Pōhaku
"Fire releases the spirit. Water cleanses it." - Pōhaku Oahu native Tom
Pōhaku Stone shares the journey that led him to revive the ancient
Hawaiian tradition of hand-shaping surfboards from wood. To contact
Pōhaku about his artwork, email: pohaku@hawaiibc.com Client: Hawaii
Tourism USA Agency: MVNP Creative Director: Vince Soliven Agency
Producer: Jenni Katinsky Director: Bradley Tangonan Produce
The Corbett Report
Episode 332 – The Weaponization of Social Media
[audio
mp3="https://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/episode332-lq.mp3"][/audio] Now
openly admitted, governments and militaries around the world employ
armies of keyboard warriors to spread propaganda and disrupt their
online opposition. Their goal? To shape public discourse around global
events in a way favourable to their standing military and geopolitical
objectives. Their method? The Weaponization
Interview 1349 – The Ripple Effect on ETs, UFOs and Other Unknowns
[audio
mp3="http://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/2018-03-01%20Ripple%20Effect.mp3"][/audio]
James Corbett joins Ricky Varandas (The Ripple Effect podcast) and
Vinnie Caggiano (vincognito) for another edition of The Ripple Effect
roundtable. In this wide-ranging conversation we discuss aliens,
unidentified objects, government psyops, military technologies, and how
conspiracies may be implanted in the
Interview 1348 – The Last American Vagabond on Social (Media) Engineering
[audio
mp3="http://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/2018-02-26%20American%20Vagabond.mp3"][/audio]
Were we led to believe that long-told lies were finally being exposed,
only to lull the masses back into a state of subservience and blind
patriotism? How would that even be done? What type of massive control
structure would be needed to execute such a manipulation? Is that even
possible?
The Weaponization of Social Media
Now openly admitted, governments and militaries around the world employ
armies of keyboard warriors to spread propaganda and disrupt their
online opposition. Their goal? To shape public discourse around global
events in a way favourable to their standing military and geopolitical
objectives. Their method? The Weaponization of Social Media. This is The
Corbett Report.
Episode 330 – The White Helmets Are A Propaganda Construct
[audio
mp3="https://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/episode330-lq.mp3"][/audio]
Contrary to what its multi-million dollar international PR campaign
would have you believe, the White Helmets are not a group of volunteer
search-and-rescue workers that sprang spontaneously out of the Syrian
soil. When you peel back the layers of foreign financing and reveal the
foreign intelligence operatives and murky lo
The EnvironmentaList
The Syrian Seed Bank that Keeps Operating through the War
Employees without the means to flee the crisis have preserved the occupied facility, at considerable risk to themselves
‘Mega-Colonies’ of Penguins Discovered in Antarctica
Finding shows remote area is a vital refuge for wildlife and should be protected, scientists say
CA Court Blocks State Ag Department from Spraying Pesticides
Agency failed to adequately review impacts or provide proper notice of pesticide use, rules judge
International Fishing Trawlers are Driving Up Demand for Ocean Bushmeat in West Africa
Faced with depleted fish stocks local fishermen are hunting more and more dolphins, whales, and sea turtles
New Agreement Could Help Environmental Defenders in Latin America, Caribbean
If
ratified, regional accord would require nations to promote the rights
of environmental activists and prevent attacks against them
Natural Pest Control Method Taking Flight
Farmers from Israel to California are embracing barn owls over toxic rodenticides
A Closer Look: Jody Paterson
Utila and I: A Love Story
Downtown Utila What is it about this place that makes me love it? It’s
not particularly pretty, and in a few places it’s kind of smelly. There
are even hellish sand flies at certain times of day that will motivate
you to douse yourself with Deet before even considering hanging out at
one especially bad beach. (I’m dabbing cortisone cream on several
blistering bites at this very moment.) Yet from
A Different Perspective
Why I'm Beginning to Dislike UFOlogy - Part One
This might be the beginning a new series to be published periodically
when I discover that something nearly everyone agrees is a hoax,
misidentification or misinterpretation of some natural phenomenon that
is again promoted as something real. It seems to me that every few
years, cases and reports that we thought had been solved to almost
everyone’s satisfaction resurfaces with some sort of new li
Don Schmitt, Adam Dew and the Roswell Slides
Adam Dew In the last several weeks, I have been asked if Don Schmitt
had ever said anything about the interview I had conducted with Adam Dew
in November 2017 on the X-Zone Broadcast Network. Since I interviewed
Don a couple of times, I thought that those interested could figure out
on their own what his reaction might be. Listen to what Don said and
what Adam said, compare the two and decide who
Oxnard UFO Sighting - 22/23 March 1957
Sometimes I chase footnotes and sometimes I’m just following up on a
case and sometimes I just stumble into something that is important. This
time I was researching a case from 1957, which is something we all
should do… take a long look at some of the old reports to see if we can
learn anything new about them not Dick Hall just look at cases from
1957. This particular sighting, one that Dick Hall
Rob Mercer and the Black Vault
I learned this morning (February 19) that many of the documents from
the Project Blue Book days located by Rob Mercer through some very nice
detective work, can now be accessed at the Black Vault, hosted by John
Greenewald. As most of you know, the Black Vault is a huge site of
documents recovered through FOIA John Greenewald (Photo copyright by
Kevin Randle) requests filed by John, and other doc
Curse of Oak Island - They Hit an Obstacle
I don’t know how many of you caught it, but on the Curse of Oak Island ,
there was a big reveal. Remember, they brought in all this expensive,
modern equipment so that they could dig down in what they thought was
the money pit. They were lining the excavation with huge hollow, steel
tubes, in an effort to defeat the alleged booby traps that had
confounded treasure hunters for two centuries plus.
Project Blue Book and the Missing Cases
As happens so often, I’m working on one project and get diverted to
another. This time I was looking through the Project Blue Book file
index and noticed that many of the reports were labeled as “case
missing.” There was a solution attached to the sightings, but, of course
the index told me nothing of the case. I made a quick count, and given
that there are a couple of pages missing in the copy o
Activist Teacher
Liberal Trudeau government Canadian federal budget 2018
Social
justice is the absence of injustices against individuals in society.
But social justice is also a Liberal brand that powerfully connects
citizens to the Liberal government, via superficial and institutionally
manufactured "good person" self-identity. The gravy train is back with
the latest federal budget. Canned high-impact Liberal social justice
programs have hit the jackpot. In
Can the principle of freedom of expression be used in propaganda that supports censorship?
Stephen
Pollard By Denis Rancourt, PhD Yes it can. Here is a good example.In
this article, "[a]s editor of the country’s leading Jewish newspaper,
The Jewish Chronicle," Stephen Pollard, pays lip service to freedom of
expression by being critical of “snowflakes”. Snowflakes are not the
state. Snowflakes do not use lethal violence to silence dissidents and
political participation in the
Academic Freedom? How Nasty Can a University Be?
By
Denis Rancourt (First published at Dissident Voice.) The present era of
reactionary institutional responses to violations of political
correctness is exposing the fact that “academic freedom”, of both
professors and students, does not really mean much, except what it has
always meant. In the concluding paragraphs of her chapter on academic
freedom in her 1986 book No Ivory Tower,
Denis Rancourt's letter to president Jacques Fremont of the University of Ottawa, Canada
By
Denis Rancourt READ MY LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
OTTAWA, CANADA (Direct link to the PDF file is here) I'm not going to
stop seeking and speaking the truth as I see it, regarding science,
society, and institutional malfeasance; including helping students,
teachers and others who suffer the consequences of speaking out or
acting to change things. But we who resist the
Amused Cynicism
Twitter gets message order wrong
Imagine you were designing an online messaging system. On your system,
people could write messages, and other people could reply to them. And
people could reply to the replies, and so on. So imagine you had a
sequence of 5 messages, [1] to [5], where each is a reply to the last.
In what order would you display them on the screen? I’d like you to
think about that for a bit before you scroll down…
Brexit “won’t be like Mad Max”
Mad May:
Why Star Wars is Crap
Charlie Stross has the same aversion to Star Wars as I do: When George
Lucas was choreographing the dogfights in “Star Wars”, he took his
visual references from film of first world war dogfights over the
trenches in western Europe. With aircraft flying at 100-200 km/h in
large formations, the cinema screen could frame multiple aircraft
maneuvering in proximity, close enough to be visually disting
Angola 3 News
Albert
Woodfox’s Release: Celebrating and Reflecting Upon the Two-Year
Anniversary --An Interview With Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell
(PHOTOS: Albert's 71st Birthday party held this weekend at his home in
New Orleans. Happy Birthday, Albert!) Albert Woodfox’s Release:
Celebrating and Reflecting Upon the Two-Year Anniversary --An Interview
With Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell By Angola 3 News On February 19,
2016, following 43 years in solitary confinement, Albert Woodfox of the
Angola 3 was released from prison on his 69th b
ArmsControlWonk
KCN-eh? February’s Other North Korean Developments
Two
Canadians review the last month of North Korean developments as they
try to ignore Canada’s Olympic performance in curling and hockey. Andrea
talks to Matt Korda about Olympic diplomacy, DPRK proliferation
networks, maritime deception practices, and the most recent set of
sanctions. Links of Note: The transcript of the 2008 Burmese military
delegation …
Putin’s Nuke-a-palooza
Russian
president Validimir Putin presented his annual address yesterday. He
showed off a bunch of new or recent nuclear weapons systems, designed to
defeat US missile defenses. The weirdest idea of all is a nuclear power
cruise missile with global range. You read that right. Nuclear powered.
Aaron, Jeffrey, and Scott convene to discuss Russia’s …
Escalating to De-escalate
Quote
of the week: “In light of the certain prospect of retaliation there has
been literally no chance at all that any sane political authority, in
either the United States or the Soviet Union, would consciously choose
to start a nuclear war. This proposition is true for the past, the
present, and the foreseeable future…” …
Justice and the Bomb
Quotes
of the week: “Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t
stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will
be he who has stalled There’s a battle outside And it is ragin’.” — Bob
Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin’” “There is no justice. The rich
win; …
Nuclear Posturing
Quote
of the week: “If deterrence were really stable… it would cease to
deter. If the probability of nuclear weapons going off were zero, they
would not deter anybody.” — Kenneth Boulding The Trump administration’s
Nuclear Posture Review, as advertised, is devoid of new diplomatic
initiatives to reduce nuclear dangers and endorses new, low-yield
nuclear …
Public Speaking Tips for Aspiring Wonks
Quote
of the week: “Speech is the index of the mind.” — Seneca Three of the
keys to professional success to reduce nuclear dangers are sharp
analytical, writing, and pubic speaking skills. One way to sharpen your
public speaking skills is to prepare talking points — guideposts for the
listening journey you want to take …
Buckdog
'Guilty until proven innocent' Has NOT Been A Policy of The New Democratic Party Until Jagmeet Singh's Leadership
T
en days after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh suspended MP Erin Weir, details
on the 'investigation' and timeline have finally revealed on CTV's
'Question Period'. While no allegations against Mr. Weir had been
received by Mr. Singh, a personal attack by a fellow caucus member saw
the suspension of Mr. Weir from Caucus meetings. Mr. Weir is my MP, I
voted for him and tried to help with his election. I
Jagmeet Singh's 'Amateur Hour' In The Federal NDP Caucus Office ....
Those of us who are closely following the story concerning allegations
against Erin Weir are asking the following questions of Leader Jagmeet
Singh: -what is being investigated? -who is conducting the
investigation? -what is the delay in concluding the investigation? -Do
you have any idea of what you are doing sir??
Cherchez la Verite
In
his reascent speech Putin revealed the existence of new Russian nuclear
weapons that make it indisputably clear that Russia has vast nuclear
superiority over the United States and its pathetic NATO vassal states.
However, he declared that Russia has no territorial ambitions, no
hegemonic ambitions, and no intention to attack any other country. Putin
described the weapons as the necessary response to the West’s firm
refusal year after year to accept peace and cooperation with Russia,
instead surrounding Russia with military bases and ABM systems. But he
Putin stressed that Russia’s nuclear weapons are reserved for
retaliation, not for offense, but that any attack on Russia or Russia’s
allies will receive an immediate response “with all that it implies.”
Putin’s State of the Union By: 3 | 01 March , 2018 | Putin’s State of
the Union Paul Craig Roberts Putin has given a remarkable address to the
Federal Assembly, the Russian People, and the peoples of the world. In
his speech Putin revealed the existence of new Russian nuclear weapons
that make it indisputably clear that Russia has vast nuclear superiority
over the United States and its pathetic N
Craig Murray
Skripal is no Litvinenko
There is a major difference between Alexander Litvinenko and Sergei
Skripal, which is not being reflected in the media. Litvinenko was a
good man who attempted to expose abuses of power within Russia, in
defence of the rights of Russians. Skripal is a traitor who sold the
identities of Russian agents abroad to the UK, in exchange for hard
cash. This may very well have caused the deaths of some of
Scared of my Own Thoughts
In Doha last week I watched on TV an utterly contemptible speech by
Theresa May in which she grasped for ideas to shore up the increasingly
eroded Establishment control of the political zeitgeist. Yet more
pressure would be put on the social media companies to curtail the
circulation of unauthorised truths as “fake news”. Disrespectful
questioning of the political class will be a new crime of “in
Assange Judge’s Husband Runs Security Firm With Ex Head of MI6
“Security Intelligence Consultancy” SC Strategy Ltd has only three
directors . One is the husband of the judge in yesterday’s Assange
ruling. One is the former Head of MI6, Sir John Scarlett, who is
synonymous with crooked security operations and personally wrote the
notorious dossier of lies on Iraqi WMD, thus causing the subsequent
deaths of millions of people. One is Lord Carlile, who was nota
All Pretence is Over in Persecution of Assange
The “judge” who dismissed Assange’s case yesterday was “Lady Arbuthnot
of Edrom”, wife to Tory peer, former Tory junior Defence Minister and
government whip Lord James Arbuthnot. Arbuthnot was naturally Eton
educated, the son of Major Sir John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot. Of course
Lady Arbuthnot’s children were all sent to Eton too. At the first
hearing, I was stunned by reports of completely inap
DAMMIT JANET!
Valentine's Day
Some Valentines. (A little late, I know.)
How to ID a Fake Clinic
What they do Fake clinics, or "crisis pregnancy centres," exist to
dissuade pregnant people from having abortions. They pretend to be
medial clinics or helpful advice agencies. They are not. They are the
front line of anti-choice. Too often they are literal Christian missions
out to deny pregnant people's rights, and ultimately to ban abortion.
They lie. About the stage of pregnancy ("too late to
FREE PLANET
Electric Universe - EYE OF THE SAHARA - an electric discharge feature?
look to Mars, dear reader... Mars has a scar, a scar that runs one
third of the way around its equator. It's called the Valles Marineris
and it's a Grand Canyon-like structure with tightly scalloped edges may
have been carved from the Martian surface by insanely brutal electric
forces i.e. when Electric Worlds Collide'd, some time in the
not-too-distant past. And by that I mean, "Not billions of
Jeremy Corbell - Patient Seventeen - not from this GALAXY
Patient
Seventeen is out there; I'm not concerned how you see it, just see it.
In this rivetting documentary from film-maker Jeremy Corbell, a thing is
pulled from a patient's leg by surgeon Dr Roger Leir r.i.p. and it
contains a wierd hotch-potch of sometimes ultra-poisonous metals in
isotopic ratios that are just 'not from this planet' nor (it seems) from
this part of our galaxy. Find it, and wa
Tutankhamun - Tuthmose - where's the difference?
Buried in a woman's tomb? this is almost brilliant.
Electrical Engineers - Electric Universe - Dark Matter and Dark Energy
it's
about time Standard Cosmology and Astrophysical Scientists start
investigating the Electric Universe, now. Maybe the Electrical Engineers
can help them see the REAL universe for what it is...
Bukkakeworld - Planet of the Owls - Tenth Anniversary Editions...
published in 2008 as trade paperbacks by Silverthought Press of N.Y.,
rights were returned to Chimericana Books a couple years after and
re-editioned in new covers. Bukkaworld: a book about YOU, the corporate
lackey, the indentured, the subordinate. Stuck in a job you cannot
stomach, under a manager you want to annihilate, in a corporation that
wants to grind you into nothing more than human grea
Brien Foerster - Paracas elongated skulls of Peru - mitochondrial DNA results are in
trade winds suggest a logical route below Australia? about 3,000 years
ago, elongated skull people from (wait for it) GEORGIA between the Black
Sea and the Caspian Sea, made their way to the Indian Ocean and then
the Pacific Ocean and arrived on the coast of Peru. They have very large
eye sockets, no sagittal suture in the skull like normal humans,
different mother pelvis arrangment, and a strang
Grass Based Health
Podcast Roundup
It occurred to me that I should assemble a list of the podcasts that
I've appeared on. Here's as complete a list as I can produce. If I've
omitted one, I sincerely apologize. Please let me know and I'll add it.
Thank you to all the hosts who asked me to be a part of your programs!
Here's the first part of a conversation I had with Jimmy on his Inner
Fire Podcast (Jan 3, 2018) - http://innerfirepo
Greg Mankiw's Blog
What I've Been Watching
The End of the F***ing World . A compelling coming-of-age/crime/love
story, like a merger of The Breakfast Club and Bonnie and Clyde . On
Netflix in eight brief episodes. Most definitely binge-worthy.
President Trump unites the country
How often do Jeffrey Sachs and the Wall Street Journal editoral writers agree?
The Case for Free Trade
Click here to read my column in Sunday's NY Times .
Summer Camp at Hoover
A weeklong program for undergrads .
Left I on the News
Putin’s gamble is paying off big-time?
The
subject line, minus the question mark, is the title of a truly
remarkable opinion article by Max Boot in the Washington Post.
Remarkable, even if you were to believe (which is simply assumed in this
column) that Putin was responsible for Russian “meddling” and that
those efforts were responsible for Trump’s election, both remarkably
dubious assertions. The article compares the pros and cons of
How important are political posts on the Internet anyway?
Now that the horse has left the barn and everyone is all verklempt
about Russian meddling in the election (and indictments have even just
been issued against 13 Russians) along comes the New York Times with an
article which finally makes clear that the importance of these things
has been vastly overblown, thanks to a number of factors, including A)
It's hard to change people's minds; B) Most peop
What lies behind the DNI warning that "the Russians are coming in 2018"?
Earlier
this week, the heads of the FBI, CIA, and NSA testified before the
Senate Intelligence Committee, along with DNI head Dan Coats. They were
testifying about the latest DNI report about "threats to the United
States" but here's the interesting thing. The report is 28 pages long,
and covers a wide variety of threats (or perceived or alleged threats).
But virtually all the news coverage of tha
Colin Powell at the U.N., 15 years later
15
years ago today, Colin Powell delivered his infamous speech at the
U.N., the speech which cemented the support of the U.S. political and
media establishments for the invasion of Iraq, under the pretext of
"weapons of mass destruction". This blog came into existence in August,
2003, a few months later, as one of the very first (if not the first)
radical left blogs on the internet (there were a f
Morton's Musings
Trudeau right to comment on jury selection
Neither
the Prime Minister nor Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould made a
specific comment on whether the Gerald Stanley case was rightly decided.
But they did say that the way juries are assembled in Canada can lead
to a perception of partiality. Recognizing that and taking steps to
revise the jury system to make sure it is, and is seen to be, impartial
is exactly what elected officials are sup
Guilty Plea Not Always Leading to Mitigation of Sentence
R. v. F.H.L., 2018 ONCA 83: [22] A plea of guilt does not entitle an
offender to a set standard of mitigation. The amount of credit a guilty
plea attracts will vary in each case. In R. v. Faulds (1994), 1994
CanLII 770 (ON CA), 20 O.R. (3d) 13 (C.A.), at para. 14, this court held
that "[t]he effect of a guilty plea in setting the appropriate sentence
will vary with the circumstances of each case.
Obsidian Wings
We're All Gonna Die - Open Thread
by Ugh Well then. This has been, uh, a quite something of a week.
Latest is that McMaster is on his way out as NSA and one of the possible
replacements is....John Bolton! Mr. "Let's Launch a Preemptive Strike
on North Korea Because Wheeee!" These are not the good times you're
looking for. And woke up this morning to Trump tweeting that "trade wars
are good!" and, more substantively, that Darrell
Bread - Part Two of X
by JanieM Part One: Bread on the Table Part Two: Bread off the Table
About twenty years ago I was diagnosed with an auto-immune skin
condition. The dermatologist said that as with other auto-immune
diseases, the cause was unknown, there was no cure, and the condition
might come and go. There were much worse manifestations than the
symptoms I had, but there was no telling whether my outbreaks woul
Until the next time
by liberal japonicus With this comment , the names of the 17 people
killed by a legally purchased AR-15 have been posted in the comments.
Unlike the Las Vegas shooting, all of the victims were living in the
same area, so I used the local paper to provide the links, except for
the first identified victim, Jamie Guttenberg. Most lists order them in
terms of last name, I've listed with the youngest
Gin, Guns, Gab and Galt
by Ugh I don't drink anymore due to an issue with rather excessive
consumption over a long period that now is four and a half years in the
past (knock on wood). Gin & Tonic really wasn't my drink, but damn
those gin hangovers were awful when that's what I was drinking. Aside my
individual circumstances, alcohol causes a great deal of problems in US
society at large. 10,000 people died from alcoho
Whatever Open Thread
by Ugh I guess the Olympics are going on. Adam Rippon is kicking a$$ in
interviews and twitter. Otherwise, this week reminds me of a line from
Se7en "Ernest Hemingway once wrote 'The world is a fine place and worth
fighting for'. I agree with the second part." You do you. UPDATE: No
puppet! No puppet!
Podcast of Doom Open Thread
by Ugh The radio reception in my car suddenly turning sh1tty and me too
lazy/incompetent/scared to get it fixed has finally given me cause to
start listening to podcasts (this is also in me keeping up with my
aspiration to be at least 5 years or more behind the times technology
wise). Man, there's a lot of stuff out there. Have started to listen to
the NYTimes "The Daily" in the morning. Listened
Paying attention
My Tyee column: How the Chinese government took control of BC seniors’ homes
Great. The lives of seniors in B.C. care homes, where they are already
over-drugged and under-supported, now depend in part on the Chinese
government. On Friday, the government seized control of Anbang Insurance
Group, a financial giant with investments around the world. It cited
corruption, fraud and a risk the whole $390-billion company could go
broke. Last year, Anbang spent an estimated $1 bi
NDP wins with bold BC budget
Give Finance Minister Carole James full marks for a bold budget
approach and the skill to sell it. The new government was in a tough
spot. It had lots of campaign promises to deliver, and no money because
of the BC Liberals’ reckless decision to halve MSP premiums without any
plan to replace the revenue. Conventional wisdom has been that tax
increases of any kind would bring all kinds of abuse. S
Pesticide Action Network
EPA weakens worker protections. Senators fight back.
EPA announces rollback to farmworker protection standards, including
requirements which prohibit children under 18 years old from applying
pesticides. Learn more Slideshow Category: Flex Slider
EPA weakens worker protections. Senators fight back.
In October 2015, we celebrated with farmworker unions and advocates
when a much-improved Worker Protection Standard ( WPS ) was approved.
The WPS is the only federal rule that protects farmworkers from exposure
to hazardous pesticides on the job, and hadn't been updated in more
than 20 years. Not surprisingly, the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) recently announced that it is planning to put
Future of food? Ask farmers, not DowDuPont
What were they thinking over at The Atlantic ? Last week, the normally
fact-focused magazine and media company hosted an event entitled "
Harvest: Transforming the Food We Eat " in New York City — and the
evening was wholly underwritten by the Agricultural Division of
DowDuPont. Event promotional materials touted innovators who are “making
the global food system more sustainable and productive.”
Native voices on food and farming
PAN board member Kyle Powys Whyte holds the Timnick Chair in the
Humanities at Michigan State University. He is Associate Professor of
Philosophy and Community Sustainability and a member of the Potawatomi
Nation. PAN’s Executive Director Kristin Schafer recently chatted with
Kyle about Indigenous food sovereignty and how PAN’s work intersects
with his own. What brings you to PAN’s board? I’m pri
Science for Solutions: Farmer-scientists driving social change
This post is part three in our “Science for Solutions” blog series that
amplifies scientist voices and underscores the importance of
independent science as the foundation for evidence-based policymaking
and narrative shifts. On a brilliant day in July, twenty-some years ago,
I stood ankle-deep in the cool mud of a fragrant rice field in central
Thailand, listening to the farmers around me discuss
These are dark days for science
I try to be optimistic, but the past year hasn't been a great one for
science. The "war on science" you hear people talking about? It's real,
and we're already seeing its results. Without input from researchers on
the leading edge of science, policymakers are less equipped to make
informed decisions — and it's easier for industry lobbyists to get their
way. Vacant posts, less advice The numbers t
Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home
My #1 Prediction For 2018: More Shootings. Here's How We Can Stop Them.
I
promised that my next post would be my employment law predictions for
2018. Frankly, I've been putting it off because it's so depressing.
However, in light of yesterday's shootings only a few miles from my
home, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, I had to weigh in. Not
only will there be more school shootings this year, but there will be
more workplace shootings. That is a 100% certainty.
My 2018 Predictions
Okay,
okay. So I've been promising these for awhile. It has taken me a bit to
wrap my head around things that have happened so far since the
presidential election. The good news is that the GOP remains the party
that couldn't shoot straight (no pun intended). So far, little has been
done against employees on the legislative front. It's mostly been done
by executive order. So what can we expect for
Syria Comment
The Militias in Iraq, From Popular Mobilization to Political Interference
Hashd al-Sha’bi militia fighters parading after the liberation of
al-Qaim village, Nov. 3, 2017 By Sylvain Mercadier and Araz Muhamad
Arash The Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic,
formed in 2014 following a fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,
played a major role in countering the expansion of the Islamic State and
in bringing about its ultimate demise in Iraq. As t
Follow-Up and Correctives on Hashd al-Sha’bi Article
By Sylvain Mercadier and Elijah Magnier After the publication of my
article “ The militias in Iraq, from popular mobilization to political
interference ”, Al Rai chief international correspondent and analyst
Elijah Magnier commented on the article and provided some additional
observations that either supplement or contradict some information
presented in it. The following are points provided by M
The Earth and Man: Setting the Stage
An Imbalance In Modern Thought
I submitted the following comment on the American Thinker site, in
response to another comment stating that the United States suffers now
from an "ideological imbalance" -- specifically, towards the far Left,
or Democrat end. It may, and should be, of interest here (and, by the
way, I will take no political comments on this science blog): The
ideological imbalance came from cutting man off from t
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