Tuesday, August 14, 2018

14 August - My Feedly! 3 of 3

For the person wondering where is 2 of 3 ---- it will not post.  Blogger gremlins like to strike this roster.

THE VIEW FROM TAIWAN

Miramar Developers withdraw

Local news reports that the developers of the destructive eyesore Miramar hotel have withdrawn from the project (Video above in English) and are suing Taitung County government for zillions in compensation. This post has background and links. As an observant person remarked on Facebook, the government will let the corpse sit for a while, then sell it to another developer who will begin the cycle
Stratfail

Dried fruit chips are especially good if you mix them with dust, automobile exhaust, and tire particulates. It's a mark of the general improvement in things since I opened this blog over 13 years ago (OMG) that there is less and less garbage out there that unthinkingly replicates China's discourses on annexation of Taiwan. But today Stratfor treated us to its wisdom on China's urgent need to "reu
...and the KMT marches on

The KMT is having a competition to select a mascot for the party. The number one choice of netizens is this chicken.... ( Hong Kong Free Press ) “Since the KMT mascot design competition stresses on freshness and energy, I picked a chicken as the design which symbolises youthful spirit,” the description for the proposed mascot said. “But I wanted to make him funnier and younger, so I decided to ma
"Ethnic Chinese" Round 2

Beetle in aboriginal colors Financial Times reporter Ben Bland tweeted this Twitter thread around . 1. Here follows a short thread on why Beijing’s ratcheting up of pressure on Hong Kong and Taiwan should be issues of global concern, highlighting a wider clash of values as the world’s most powerful authoritarian state grows in influence and determination. It would be great if this idea got into t
Nelson Report: Congressional Republicans Support Greater US-Taiwan Ties

Haystacks await collection The Nelson Report sent this around: +++++++++++++++ Congressional Republicans Support Greater US-Taiwan Ties 19 Jul 2018 Terrence Matsuo, Nelson Report Statements by Congressional Republicans on Wednesday suggest the US will deepen ties with the Republic of China, but experts say policymakers should focus on substance and not symbolism. Speaking at two separate events,
Does cross-Strait tourism induce peace? Evidence from survey data on Chinese tourists and non-tourists"

On the 193 in Hualien, one of my favorite roads. From "Does cross-Strait tourism induce peace? Evidence from survey data on Chinese tourists and non-tourists" Hsin-Hsin Pan, Wen-Chin Wu, and Yu-Tzung Chang, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Volume 0, (2018) 1–33. The authors surveyed Chinese who had never been to Taiwan (China sample), and Chinese who had come as group tourists and inde

ORGANIZING NOTES

Getting the word out opposing war in the heavens.....

There is quite a lot of action against Trump's proposed Space Force on social media. The mainstream media is lacking critical pieces about this arrogant grab of the heavens by the aerospace industry and their fundamentalist followers. Do they think they will be closer to God - or do they think they are God? It's been exciting for me to see so much activity because when Obama increased 'missile de
Aerospace industry 'space farce'

Will Griffin's latest video does a superb job of reviewing background of US military space operations and shares where the aerospace industry is trying to take us in the years to come. Griffin is on the board of the Global Network and is an Iraq and Afghanistan Army veteran. He's also active in Veterans For Peace. Please help spread this video around - particularly as we build-up to Keep Space fo
Two of the better analysts out there.....

Mr. Big is losing his battle to turn us all into slaves - high-tech feudalism. Hollywood has been showing us the future for years - wearing the spirit of the public down so they will surrender to corporate control. One of the few things we have available to deal with our technological caging is ironically the Internet. The crackdown to take that awayt from us has begun. This video delves into thi
"We must have American dominance in space"

I've been working on space warfare issues since 1983. At that time I lived in Orlando, Florida (one hour from the space center) and it was easy to pay attention when Ronald Reagan announced Star Wars - SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). It's never been about defense. The US space program was essentially created by the former Nazi rocket scientists brought over to the US after Hitler was defeated

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Lavrov in Ankara to talk Syria and 4 Party Summit

DS Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Ankara yesterday for talks that will continue today to discuss issues related to Syria. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would visit Ankara on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the four-way meeting with his Turkish counterpart. The statement also said that a four-way Syria summit "is pla
The Sun Doesn't Rise Because the Rooster Crows: Turkey's Currency Crisis Created To Force an IMF Bailout

I've been reading about Turkey's currency crisis 'round the net. There seem to be some authors that are confusing correlation with causation. These op/eds put forth the idea that the fundamentals of Turkey's economy are the reason for the currency crisis. I disagree and suggest that these persons are confusing correlation and causation. Explainer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Latin: ‘after this, th
Danforth Shooting & the Gun Control/Police State Push in Canada

I’m not a gun grabber. If that bothers you stop reading now. Canada already has very stringent gun laws . They’ve been in force for many years . Until recently Canada has NOT had a “gun problem” But suddenly it does. Or so we're told? The media has been spinning on gun deaths for a while now. This skews perceptions. Would you be surprised to know that Canada was working on tighter gun laws before
Toronto Shooting Distracts from Canada's "Legal Obligation" to Resettle White Helmets?

I'm going long. Been working on this post for a couple of hours this morning. Commit to reading it all before commenting . That would be appreciated a great deal. The Toronto Shooting sure takes the heat off of the Trudeau governments support for terrorists and terrorism. First covered this information on Friday: Canada, US & Britain to Rescue Terrorist "White Helmets" At Golan Yesterday, Sunday,
Israel’s Implausible, Dark Night & Torches Heist of Iranian Nuclear Secrets

National Post “Last year, the spies began planning a heist that one senior Israeli intelligence official said bore a strong resemblance to George Clooney’s adventures in “Oceans 11.” This absurd tale is the reason, so we’re told, that Trump was convinced to pull out of the JCPOA/P5+1. It’s so Hollywood . The whole narrative. Complete with the above reference to George Clooney’s Oceans 11. But not
Trump/Putin Press Conference Highlights

Yup, I watched and took notes. Trump was, surprisingly, diplomatic. Well spoken. Not verbose or brash. Putin, via a translator, was his usual self. Which means he spoke much as he does, every time I’ve watched/listened to him speak previously- Putin and Trump were both pragmatic. Putin spoke of first steps. Fine tuning dialogue. Apparently the START treaty was discussed. IMF. No weapons in space.

PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK

Court to EPA: Chlorpyrifos ban is on!

As of Thursday morning, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has 60 days to finalize its ban of the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. This was the ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on August 9. The judges determined that EPA broke the law by allowing continued use of the pesticide despite scientific evidence linking it to harmful impacts on children’s developing brains. "Child
Monsanto’s dicamba crisis: guilty as charged

It’s mid-July and temperatures are soaring. So are the numbers of dicamba drift-related crop injuries sweeping across rural America. Also rising: the outrage of farmers, gardeners and rural residents, as they watch this unnecessary chemical debacle unfold, once again. Watching unperturbed from the sidelines: Monsanto (recently acquired by Bayer) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Chem
A Dow alum nominated to USDA. Again.

Earlier this week, a new appointment for chief scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was announced, and it’s a 30-year veteran of Dow Agrosciences. Really? Administration officials are touting the fact that Scott Hutchins is actually a scientist — unlike their last pick. The nomination of Sam Clovis, an openly racist radio talk-show host and Trump campaign team alum, was withdraw
PAN Fellows build a brighter tomorrow

Small farmers, farmworkers, Indigenous Peoples and rural communities disproportionately bear the burdens of our chemical-dependent industrial agricultural system. This can include chronic illnesses, contaminated air, water and soil, inadequate on-the-job protections and unfair laws rooted in racism and oppression. At PAN, we believe the best way to address these problems is by supporting and grow
Muslims kill a kid and get out of jail on 20K bond...

what am I missing here? Let's see if I'm missing anything: Eleven starving kids living in filth with no bathroom facilities Remains of dead 3 year old Training the kids to be school shooters Multiple "wives" Guns up the wazoo They were released on a "signature bond" meaning that the muslims don't pay anything unless they violate the conditions of their release. Judge Sarah Backus said she wasn't
Dinesh D'Souza: Death of a Nation...

excellent! I apologize for my silence lately, but the fact is I had nothing to say. Rather than waste my time, and more importantly - your time, I refrained from cobbling together posts just to post. We also had a mini-heat wave reaching a staggering (for us) 107° degrees on August 10th. Even though our portable air conditioner did a magnificent job of keeping us comfortable the heat, accompanied
It's a wonderful Monday - the commie/marxist/libtards have melted into puddles...

time to get it together . In case you were wondering how much crazier the left could become, check out what Brian Stetler of CNN Fake News has to say: Newsbusters: ‘Cannot Be Trusted’: CNN Promotes Conspiracies After Slamming Liar Trump President Trump was set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, and the liberal media were in full campaign mode as they pushed speculation the Pr
Hannity on Fire: FISA court was abused for political gain...

when are heads going to roll??? When!? More: Bunkerville: Clapper rats out Obama – Obama behind the whole Trump thing Virtual Mirage: A Note on Sealed Indictments Super Deals at Amazon Today's Deals in Health and Personal Care Back to School Supplies I love back to school even though it's been decades since I've "gone back to school." Who doesn't need 6 rulers in different colors or erasers shape
Everything you need to know about the DOJ/FBI FISA Application...

not compliments of moi. I've been way too busy to even read the heavily redacted papers, but I will 'cause I'm nuts like that. Scroll down and head over to Conservative Treehouse who does a masterful job of dissecting the papers - and we thank him. Donald J. Trump ‏ Verified account @realDonaldTrump More Looking more & more like the Trump Campaign for President was illegally being spied upon (sur
If Russians can hack Amazon Prime Day...

why not elections? Only kiiiiddiiing. The fake news and the commie/marxist/ libtards have gone completely bonkers. Anyone one subjects themselves to the wild stories, speculation, and downright insanity of the left should check themselves into the nearest hospital on a 72 hour hold for observation. As Bunkerville said: Recall when Bill Clinton meddled in Russian Election? Putin extracts revenge?

THE REFERENCE FRAME

Quintessence is a form of dark energy

Tristan asked me what I thought about Natalie Wolchover's new Quanta Magazine article, Dark Energy May Be Incompatible With String Theory , exactly when I wanted to write something. Well, first, I must say that I already wrote a text about this dispute, Vafa, quintessence vs Gross, Silverstein , in late June 2018. You may want to reread the text because the comments below may be considered "just a
Search for ETs is more speculative than modern theoretical physics

Edwin has pointed out a new tirade against theoretical physics, Theoretical Physics Is Pointless without Experimental Tests, that Abraham Loeb published at pages of Scientific American which used to be an OK journal some 20 years ago. The title itself seems plagiarized from Deutsche or Aryan Physics – which may be considered ironic for Loeb who was born in Israel. And in fact, like his German role
Most references to long-term thinking are just Marxist delusions

These days, we've heard the phrase "long-term thinking" from Elon Musk and his fans. But I am running – and many of you must be running – to various arguments where the opponents refer to the "long-term thinking" and "long-term visions" very often. Just to be sure: I am not saying that there is a universal law or a logical argument that would imply that "long-term thinking" must always be an excus

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