Saturday, February 01, 2014

1 Feb - Blogs I'm Following

1:58pm MST

Introducing: Transpicuous News: reading between the lines

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 11 minutes ago
Good evening everyone (good afternoon, good morning and good night)!! I'd like to introduce you all to my newest website: Since I already spend hours a day pouring through the news, and have the worlds best research team to help me, and I regularly have people asking me what I'm reading.... it just made sense to put it all down in one place that is easy to access and to keep track of breaking news stories. My plan at the moment is to make a daily post that includes all the news stories I've sorted through that day. I will include the story headline, usually a brief paragraph or... more »

“Beyond Orwell's Worst Nightmare”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 15 minutes ago
*“Beyond Orwell's Worst Nightmare”* by Marjorie Cohn "Big Brother is Watching You," George Orwell wrote in his disturbing book 1984. But, as Mikko Hypponen points out, Orwell "was an optimist." Orwell never could have imagined that the National Security Agency (NSA) would amass metadata on billions of our phone calls and 200 million of our text messages every day. Orwell could not have foreseen that our government would read the content of our emails, file transfers, and live chats from the social media we use. In his recent speech on NSA reforms, President Obama cited as precedent... more »

Tomorrow morning...

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 54 minutes ago
Damian Thompson, editor of the *Daily Telegraph*'s blogs, once wrote that Radio 4's S*unday *programme "offers perhaps the most undiluted liberal bias to be found anywhere on the BBC". After paying close attention to it for some time now, I'm far from inclined to disagree with him. Thus, I'm expecting a Noah's flood-style deluge of liberal bias on tomorrow's special edition of the programme on the highly-charged subject of 'Religion and Immigration'. My heart sank when I heard this was coming up, and reading the programme's website in advance hasn't exactly allayed my fears. ... more »

Split country: understanding how West, East Ukraine actually differ

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 1 hour ago
In a previous text about Ukraine, I would talk about the country as a single entity. It was the ultimate cradle of Russia and due to its orthodox religion, it belongs to the cultural East of Europe. But the largely geographic tension between its two halves has been around for decades and it is apparently getting more serious and the "divorce scenario" starts to be discussed as a possibility which is why some "more divided, regional" perspective may be appropriate. Much of the information we are reminded of by the intelligent Czech media is arguably unknown to the typical people in t... more »

Humility-based Libertarianism

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 2 hours ago
On the suggestion of Bryan Caplan, I just read In Praise of Passivityby philosopher Michael Huemer. There is a lot in the article that makes sense to me. As a social scientist, I think there is much we don't know about how the world works, and that intellectual humility goes a long way to explaining my skepticism about many governmental interventions into private behavior. In any event, I also recommend the article.

Anti-Choice Courier???

noreply@blogger.com (fern hill) at DAMMIT JANET! - 2 hours ago
My sweetie, on his way over here, saw this and was so stunned he took a picture. Hmm. Not so easy to read. Above the doors it says: "Supporting Crisis Pregnancy Centres...the most Important Deliveries of All" Well, at least The Messengers are honest. What's Important To Us Providing excellent service and value for our clients. Our firm is based on those two important principles The Golden Rule and Honesty. Everyone, I and the staff at The Messengers International interact with, will be treated as we would like to be treated and we will always be honest in all of our interact... more »

Super Bowl Sunday: Wait for it - I actually agree with Alex Jones (and Reason TV, too)...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 2 hours ago
Let's start with Reason TV's analysis of the the bread and circus we call professional sports, in particular, the NFL. And then we'll move on to Alex Jones, who also "gets it." You heard that right - Alex Jones. While Alex Jones may be a bit rough around the edges, he scores a touchdown with this video. I actually prefer his no nonsense-cut to the chase analysis. Since when did professional sports become the "sport of kings?" Ever check out the prices of NFL tickets? I won't even bring up the cost of Super Bowl tickets, which are obscene. There is no way an average family wi... more »

Maybe Christie And His Mafia Pal Michael Grimm Can Be Roomies In The Federal Pen

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 2 hours ago
No one who reads *DWT* regularly wasn't already sure that Chris Christie directed the scandal now known as Bridge-gate. And of course he's been orchestrating the entire cover-up. Friday night, the *NY Times* broke the story that Christie has been lying his ass off from day one-- which only fools didn't already know. The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge, central to the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, said on Friday that “evidence exists” that the governor knew about the closings ... more »

Five Most Popular Posts for January

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 3 hours ago
The five most read posts of the month were: 1. Sharon O'Donnell and Jumping the Gun 2. The Top 100 Independent Tweeting Bloggers 2013 3. Sex, Power Play, and Trotskyism 4. The Far Left's Prospects in 2014 5. Immigration and Class Politics Who now remembers the Sharon O'Donnell story? It seems an age ago. Unfortunately, the attempt to portray a photo opp about the ridiculous Help to Buy policy as something sinister fell apart like jenga with souffle blocks after the most cursory of butchers. And I wrote this *mea culpa* as someone who enthusiastically tweeted away about it when the "s... more »

From a Former Slave

Sophia Love at AMERICAN KABUKI - 3 hours ago

Schedules

Way Way Up at Fort McMurray Adventures - 3 hours ago
As a kid I never really realized how many different work schedules there could be. It all seemed rather simple then.....work 9pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday and the rest of the time was your own. My parents own a small business so they never really fell into this particular demographic (if it really even existed) but for the longest time I remember assuming that for quite a number of people the 9 to 5'er was the norm. I only bring this topic up because my own work schedule has changed recently. Yes, it's changed in the past as well but this one is very new to me and will no doubt ... more »

The blame game

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 4 hours ago
OK, back to *Newsnight...* First last night's edition, which began with the flooding in Somerset. 'Who's to blame?', was the question. Both presenter Emily Maitlis and reporter Zoe Conway had a pointed dig at UKIP and that councillor who said the floods were God's punishment for British government policy on homosexuality. (Yes, not one dig at the obscure UKIP councillor, but two.) Still, not even *Newsnight *could blame UKIP for the flooding. Instead, Zoe listed the main culprits, first and foremost the government - and, by that, was implied the *present *government, with mini... more »

Huffman "flummoxed" as VAM Canned for Teacher Licensure Renewal

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 4 hours ago
Yesterday we witnessed the beginning of the end for value-added testing for high stakes purposes. If Commissioner Kevin Huffman is, indeed, flummoxed that the Tennessee Board of Education has canned attempts to value-added test results to determine teacher licensure renewal, and if he doesn't have to read the book, he should begin here and here to understand what's going on. Story in the Tennessean by Joey Garrison: In a stunning move, the Tennessee Board of Education overrode Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman and reversed a key piece of controversial new teacher l... more »

Chance Encounters: More Humanoids Among Us

Inexplicata (IHU) at Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology - 4 hours ago
*Chance Encounters: More Humanoids Among Us* *By Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU)* The thought that humankind shares the planet with other sentient species – dolphins and whales – did not become popular until some point in the 1960s or 1970s. Prior to that, we rested comfortably in the thought that no matter where our journeys might take us on the surface of the third planet orbiting the Sun, we would come across fellow humans of various heights and skin tones, but they would always be exactly that: fellow humans. The notion of exobiology -- the branch of biology... more »

A few of the downsides to Scandal Culture!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 4 hours ago
*SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2014* *Excitement and misinformation reign, all other topics get lost:* Kate Zernike was excited. One unreliable person had made a rather fuzzy charge against another. It wasn’t clear what was being charged. No evidence had been presented. But in this case, the second unreliable figure was a preferred journalistic target. So, in her initial report about the charge, Zernike fired up a previously abandoned misstatement: ZERNIKE (1/31/14): The Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swir... more »

Please give us the status of Malcolm X in DC. #DCPS @hendersonkaya

Shaun Johnson at @ THE CHALK FACE - 4 hours ago
We have been nice. We have been doing everything suggested mandated by the District. Now, what do you plan to do? Close us or not? Here’s the problem. I am new to this school, but I’m not new to the issues at play here. I’ve been dealing with this for quite some time. To put […]

Blossom Goodchild - 31 January, 2014

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 4 hours ago
*Interesting timing of this channeling... hehehe... do I sense a little bit of ambivalence with the interoffice memo from HQ? A shift in the divine plan towards the uncharted waters of the absolute plan... -AK* *Blossom Goodchild - 31 January, 2014* ♫Here we are again, happy as can be ♫, all good fun and jolly good company♫! Hello my friends ... it is always lovely to connect up with you, and one always wonders what ‘train of thought’ we shall go through as we commune … to try and assist our beautiful planet Earth and all who sail in her! *Indeed dearest Blossom … is it not tha... more »

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jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 4 hours ago
(Last night, I got an email from a friend in Florida, one responding to a letter I wrote him the year before last! And in this email, he told me that he was better off at 20 than he was now. My friend Bob's a consultant who's worked with NASA and has personally known people whose names you used to read in the headlines all the time. And despite being a highly trained consultant for NASA, he's fallen on hard times as NASA's budget has taken a sledgehammering as have so many of us. This is the full text of the email I'd just sent him and I think it was good enough to explain not only ... more »

FOUR 'MISSILE DEFENSE' SITES CHOSEN FOR STUDY

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 5 hours ago
The Department of Defense, directed by Congress, is undertaking the completion of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for a potential additional 'Ground-based Mid-Course Missile Defense' (GMD) site in the continental United States. (The other current GMD site is located at Fort Greeley in Alaska.) The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has decided that four sites will be evaluated. The MDA has not yet made the decision to proceed with construction of a new missile defense site. It is expected to take approximately 24 months to complete the EIS. The EIS will assess enviro... more »

Who is Valerie Jarrett?...w/Update

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 5 hours ago
*with a great answer from Garnet92 at Nox and Friends - and we thank him. * *Update:* *Did I mention this is a must read? Well it is... * *Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s Puppet Master*

Reactions to Hawking's black hole denial

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 5 hours ago
A week ago, we discussed the media buzz about Hawking's claims that event horizons don't exist. In the following days, I've read numerous reactions of physics bloggers (in the blogosphere) and other physicists (in the e-mail). While I agreed with many detailed statements and much of the spirit of some people's reactions, there are still too many things that I disagree with; many things they haven't said; many things that seem orthogonal to things that matter; many confusions they still have about the actual way how black holes work, and so on. There is clearly nothing such as a "b... more »

Placemen and placewomen

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 5 hours ago
There's a story that's leading the BBC News website at the moment - No 10 'ousting non-Tories from posts' - concerning Labour's Baroness Morgan complaints about being removed as chair of Ofsted. She's blaming David Cameron and accusing Number 10 of trying to stuff public bodies with Conservatives. You may feel that's a bit rich coming from a former close aide to Tony Blair, whose government massively accelerated the trend towards stuffing quangos with as many of your own party's supporters as possible, but that's politics for you! Oddly, though the BBC thinks it's the top story... more »

Thailand: Vote Thaksin or Die

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 5 hours ago
On eve of sham elections, regime openly threatens all who oppose it - literally with death. *February 1, 2014* (ATN) - The regime has once again unleashed its black-clad terrorists against protesters during their "Occupy Bangkok" campaign - this time at Lak Si intersection near government complex, Bangkok, Thailand - this after a 72 hour warning by the regime for protesters to leave their encampments at the complex. Regime gunmen could be seen wearing face masks and concealing weapons as they carried out their assault on the protesters. The regime's "red shirt" enforcers have been ... more »

Doug Noland covers the " Emd of an Era " , referring not to Bernanke's two terms as Federal Reserve Chair - not surprisingly , he considers Bernanke an abject failure , but rather to inflationism / bubble blowing / ultra loose monetary policies ...... Despite Emerging market currency , bond and equity markets turmoil , a generally upbeat Fed keeps its Taper plan in place ..... Noland closes with this summary to consider : Here at home, Bernanke is leaving Yellen and the FOMC in a very tough spot. The course of Federal Reserve policymaking is in a state of high uncertainty; U.S. markets are unsound; and global financial and economic systems are highly unstable. Of course, Bernanke is not fully to blame. Yet he has been the leading proponent – the intellectual mastermind – of contemporary inflationism that is today seemingly at a critical crossroads.

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 6 hours ago
http://www.prudentbear.com/2014/01/end-of-era.html DOUG NOLAND [image: Print Friendly and PDF]End of an EraJanuary 31, 2014 posted by Doug Noland Bernanke chairs his final FOMC meeting. I hope to at some point offer a more complete review of Ben Bernanke’s tenure at the Federal Reserve. I will be fascinated to see how future historians view the Bernanke doctrine. From my perspective, the Bernanke Era has been an abject failure. He was the most outspoken proponent of post-tech Bubble reflation. The noted academic was keen to use the government printing press – not to mention mo... more »

Drought is getting worse in California

LeDaro at LeDaro - 6 hours ago
*Now that California’s Water Board is turning off the tap to certain distributors, and reservoirs are running dry, the cost of water is slated to rise and the impact on the state’s harvest could be devastating to many farmers.* The videos below show the dire situation California is in. This is not a good season for farmers, harder to grow crops or feed livestock. This will affect not only California, but the rest of us, ie. higher food prices. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about ... more »

Unrestrained Nastiness

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 6 hours ago
Yesterday, former soldiers protested the closing of Veterans Affairs Offices across the country. They were told they could be better served on-line. And Julian Fantino, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, simply told them to go away. Bruce Moncour was a member of the delegation which was supposed to "meet" with Fantino last week. It was no meeting. Moncour writes: Minister Fantino didn't show up for the scheduled time, and when he did appear right before our press conference, his behaviour was condemnable. When Minister Fantino was a no-show for the meeting I was not surprised. W... more »

Establishment's Latest Smear: Paranoid Libertarians

Donn Marten at Carrying a Flag - 6 hours ago
Hell bent on trashing criticism of big state fascism and desperate to impugn the credibility of former government contractor turned NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and his supporters the besieged elite have adopted a new meme. With a Bloomberg opinion piece Obama lackey Cass Sunstein uses the dastardly Sean Wilentz New Republic hit piece “Understanding the real motivations of Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, and Julian Assange” as a springboard to engage in his own smear campaign obviously designed to transform thinking Americans into enemies of the state. Sunstein whose sneering... more »

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 6 hours ago
*Fundraiser planned for hospitalized musician beaten in French Quarter ~Tania Dall, WWLTV * *Former jailer says Gusman overcharging the state for deputy pay ~Charles Maldonado, The Lens* *Voter Information From The La. Secretary Of State ~Jason Saul, WWNO* *Slabbed updates Louisiana v Gates as the day of reckoning draws near* *Who Really Murdered the Jeff Davis 8? ~Ethan Brown* *Louisiana gets its first aged whiskey since Prohibition ~Scott Gold, Gambit * Slabbed updates Louisiana v Gates as the day of reckoning draws near - See more at: http://www.slabbed.org/2014/02/01/slabbed-u... more »

Linkfest

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 6 hours ago
*I had some fun shooting bees out in our excellent weather.* ______________ *Daily Links*: - Record 2.85 million Chinese visit Taiwan - The Diplomat: China's Military is Weaker than You Think, and More dangerous - Ma pledges to boost the economy -- with the Free Economic Zones, a 1960s policy, and joining the TPP, which is collapsing of its own odiousness at the moment. - China Post calls for history books to do justice to the Taiwan Republic of 1895 - This piece on America turning Japanese also has lessons for Taiwan - Richard Bush at Brookings on US... more »

LIBERATOR by Mike Philbin - first novel of 2014 - available now in Kindle, ebook and paperback

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET BLOG - 6 hours ago
yesterday, as I was proofing the paperback files for LIBERATOR (free planet novel #2) someone on some thread posted this nostalgic piece of arcana: and I though, "Yeah, that should be the ANTHEM for my new Free Planet novel." It's real catchy. You hear it once and you're humming it all day. Go on, have a listen. You'll not regret it. click to buy Liberator from Amazon Not everything that appeared to happen during the Custodian Liberation happened as a result of Free Planet. There was another parallel drill going. As there always is in the need to know compartmentalised milit... more »

How you doin'?

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 6 hours ago
Irony piled upon irony. The BBC bods at *The Big Questions *decided not to show a close-up of the 'Jesus and Mo' T-shirts, worn by members of their audience, for fear of offending Muslims. Maajid Nawaz, one of the programme's other guests, then tweeted a picture of one of the T-shirts in protest at what he saw as the BBC's craven censorship - and received death threats for his trouble. *Newsnight *(like Channel 4 News) then discussed the controversy and decided *not* to show the cartoon image of Mo, thus compounding the original offence caused to supporters of free speech. Next... more »

Shameless Stupidity of Julian Fantino

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 6 hours ago
Since my last post on him, Fantino has decided to show off even more of his mad skills at being a complete asshole. Turns out that the veterans who had come from all over Canada to try to talk him out of closing their local Veterans Affairs offices, and who were upset that he didn't attend the meeting, and who then expressed their disgust and anger with him when he bumped into them afterwards and gave them some attitude, ... weren't really in control of their thoughts and emotions at all. No sirreee. They were DUPES of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). PSAC paid their w... more »

Nancy Pelosi To Hold Fundraiser For Pennsylvania Republican

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 6 hours ago
The DCCC wants you to contribute money to this wealthy lifelong Republican PA-06 is a swing district in southeast Pennsylvania, primarily Chester County, with significant pieces of Berks, Montgomery and Lebanon counties. The Republican state legislature skewered it towards the GOP in 2010 by taking out blue-blue Coatesville and putting in some red-leaning parts of the Upper Main Line. It went from being a D+2 district to an R+2 district. Romney scraped by in 2012, 174,415 (51%) to 166,0030 (48%) while Obama beat McCain more convincingly in the district in 2008 187,056 (53%) to 161,943... more »

A Critical Truce in the War between Traditionalists and Progressives

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE - 7 hours ago
A Critical Truce in the War between Traditionalists and Progressives. via A Critical Truce in the War between Traditionalists and Progressives.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

Sad news; passing of Justice DiSalle

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 7 hours ago
A sensible and compassionate judge: The Honorable Mario C. DiSalle (August 30, 1935 – January 28, 2014) Passed away suddenly at his residence Tuesday, January 28, 2014 Beloved husband of Mary DiSalle and the late Joan DiSalle. Devoted father to Michael DiSalle (wife Carol) and Lisa DiSalle; step-father to Kevin Woodside (wife Heather) and Darren Woodside (wife Sandy). Loving Nonno to his treasured grandchildren Katelynn, Hayley, Aiden, Emma, Owen, Connor and Ryan. He will forever be remembered by his sister Flavia Tomassini (husband Tarcisio predeceased), brother Con DiSalle (wif... more »

The power of mass awakening to force the abortion of 20140202 Super Bowl False Flag

Jason Leewig at Our Manmade Disasters - 7 hours ago
Have no doubt about the planned accidents and mega disasters along geodetic grid, ley lines or great circles joining key locations. How else could they have planned mega disasters from FED-Titanic fraud to 911 to Boston Bombing over a hundred years? For their global Imperial ambition, a giant stadium drawing board is not big enough. The planet is their giant drawing and planning board. If enough people are awakened to this, they will postpone this Super Bowl false flag to the next round. The same happened to 2012 London Summer Olympics and 2013 Feb 3 Super Bowl. See the failed 2013... more »

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jonjayray at Food &Health Skeptic - 8 hours ago
*The paleo diet: can it really be good for you?* Most reformed serial dieters can remember a defining moment that got them off the starvation treadmill. Mine came in 2008. I was meeting an old friend, the nutritionist Charlotte Watts, for brunch. She walked in and something – everything – had changed. Her skin was clear and glowing, her eyes were bright. Her body looked stronger and leaner. “You look amazing,” I said. “I’ve gone paleo,” she replied. Over the three months since I’d last seen her Charlotte had been “eating the way our ancestors did”: she’d given up sugar, processed... more »

Student Slang 102

Angel Cintron Jr. at @ THE CHALK FACE - 8 hours ago
As a follow-up to the first version, here are a few more slang words and phrases that students use throughout the school day: jonin’: This term has replaced “dissin’ / dissing” from yesteryear’s slang. Example: Student-to-student: “Your sneakers are dirty.” Student reply: “I know you’re not jonin’! dry: This term describes something or someone […]

Spinning

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 8 hours ago
Still sticking to Thursday night's *Newsnight *like a limpet covered in super glue, there was another 'cost of living crisis' report from the BBC's Andy Verity, based on a report by the IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies). Labour seized on Thursday's IFS report, saying that it showed that the coalition government was responsible for a dramatic fall in living standards, and Andy Verity's report gave an interpretation of the IFS's findings that began by offering a little bit of comfort for the government and then, step by step, took away that comfort, resulting in a take on the IFS... more »

Metastases Gulf. Part 15-2: Who had weapons Tesla September 11, 2001?

Jason Leewig at Our Manmade Disasters - 8 hours ago
*This article is written in Russian by Sister Mary, translated to English by Google.original article athttp://via-midgard.info/news/in_midgard/metastazy-meksikanskogo-zaliva-chast-15-2-kto.htmStreet beneath my feet heaving as if it was an earthquake* (I have previously experienced an earthquake, and I know what it is). I saw my way rushing stream of people: firefighters, police officers, doctors. I have not seen, *from which* they escape, but decided it was better to be ahead of the flow and just ran away to the west, towards the river. Very quickly, *we were covered with a lar... more »

CSEC : Spy vs. WiFi

Alison at Creekside - 9 hours ago
So what exactly have we learned here from this 2012 CSEC pilot project that tracked wireless devices across airports, hotels, conference centres, coffee shops, and libraries, starting from a "single Canadian airport WiFi IP address" and "two weeks worth of IP-ID data" from a "Special Canadian Source", using ">300,000 active IDs over two weeks" in a "modest size city" as a control group? 1. As Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, CSEC, and CSEC watchdog commissioner Plouffe have all now explained to us, CSEC wasn't "tracking" these Canadians because that would be illegal and our privac... more »

MURDER MYSTERY - LAWRENCE HAGGART - PART ONE

Anon at aangirfan - 9 hours ago
*Lawrence Haggart* On 16 march 1996, two days after the Dunblane school massacre, Lawrence Haggart, aged 15, was savagely beaten with a blunt instrument and then thrown at the gas fire in his living room. Lawrence was found unconscious in the living room by his older brother John, aged17. *The Murder of Lawrence Haggart, 1996 - The Celtic WikiIncidents, Events and Controversies | About Celtic* *John * Police were called to Lawrence's house at 1:30am. Lawrence lived in Larbert, in Stirlingshire, not far from Dunblane. *Jimmy Savile with Jock Stein, manager of Celtic football cl... more »

By The Way, RIP, Pete Seeger (1919-2014)

Manifesto Joe at Manifesto Joe's Texas Blues - 9 hours ago
It's the passing of an era. My mother was a folkie, and I heard Pete and others with him from an early age. We need a few more protest singers like him. You know, the ones from whom you can actually understand the lyrics. -- mj

The Lost Art Of Music: REAL Music

Manifesto Joe at Manifesto Joe's Texas Blues - 9 hours ago
Something I've run across often on the very far left is people who think that three-chord punk rockers play "real music." One doesn't have to be a reactionary to yearn for music -- the real thing. Here's an example of how the REAL THING is done. This is the great Lee Morgan (1938-1972), one of the great jazz trumpeters and a bandleader in the era of hard bop in the early 1960s. (Too bad he was a junkie, but many were.) http://youtu.be/y6gSF9HJQO0 Enjoy, if you can. I know too well that not everybody digs jazz. -- mj

'People power'?

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago
Still sticking with Thursday night's *Newsnight* (which majored on the conviction of Foxy Knoxy), it's fair to say that some BBC reporters certainly get about... The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse was, I thought, their man in unhappy Central Africa - or, given that he turned up in South Africa for Nelson Mandela's funeral, simply their man in Africa. However, then he turned up in Israel, speaking in an authoritative voice, about the death of Ariel Sharon. Now here he is on *Newsnight*, speaking as if he's an expert, in Ukraine, talking Ukrainian politics. As one of those rare BBC watche... more »

The Powers-That-Be Are Secretly Terrified of the People’s Power

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 11 hours ago
"And a recent study shows that when only 10% of a population have strongly-held beliefs, their belief will often be adopted by the majority of the society. True, governments worldwide are cracking down on liberty with the iron fist of repression. But some argue that this is actually a sign that we are *winning*." The Powers-That-Be Are Secretly Terrified of the People’s Power … And Only PRETEND They’re Firmly In Control [image: George Washington's picture] Submitted by George Washington on 01/31/2014 12:20 -0500 Our Actions Are More Powerful Than We RealizeDavid Swanson writes... more »

A better way to deal with summer loss in reading

skrashen at Schools Matter - 12 hours ago
Sent to the Seattle Times, Jan 31, 2014 There is a much cheaper and much more effective way to deal with summer learning loss than adding 20 days of school to the school year ("How to solve summer learning loss and close the opportunity gap," January 30): Provide more access to interesting reading material. Research tells us that those living in poverty have the least access to books and also show the most summer loss, and that those who read more over the summer make better gains in reading achievement. Let's invest in libraries filled with books and other kinds of material that ... more »

Rutgers giving credits for politicizing Beyoncé

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 13 hours ago
I was defending my PhD on 9/11/2001, 9:30 am, about 43 kilometers from the World Trade Center, more precisely at the Busch Campus which belongs to the New Brunswick campuses of Rutgers. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, also has campuses at two very different places, Newark and Camden. *Beyoncé: Halo* You could argue that the resulting PhD diploma is just a dirty piece of toilet paper and the following story that I was sent by Honza U. supports the validity of such a claim: Beyoncé college course offered at Rutgers University *The Department of Whining Feminists, Sluts... more »

We Are All In This Together

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 13 hours ago
*Come Together & Celebrate - A Poem by M.N. Hopkins*

Censored News: Our top stories

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 13 hours ago
Tarsands and Megaloads Resistance US Mexico border spy towers, tarsands resistance, Keith and Floyd In case you missed these, our top stories  By Brenda Norrell Censored News In case you missed it, Censored News has provided original breaking news over the past eight years, since it was created in 2006. Recently, Censored News published news of a photo exhibit, revealing Australian

Gates Is Funding USDOE Conferences and “Innovations”

deutsch29 at @ THE CHALK FACE - 15 hours ago
What corporate reformers manage to devise continues to amaze me. I know. It shouldn’t. But it does. During my perusal of the latest Gates grants, I stumbled across a find that makes me tilt my head slightly to the right in contemplation of its creepy import: The US Department of Education is taking Gates money. […]

Crash! Boom! Thud! Is that the the sound of the earth opening as NJ Fats's other massive clodhopper falls to the ground?

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
*by Ken* I had it in mind this evening to do a quick progress report on the unraveling of the idiotic lies of NJ Gov. Kris KrispyKreme, ex-VA Gov. "Handsome Bob" MicDonnell, and our newest celebrity thug-liar, NY Rep. "Mikey Suits' Grimm, but I decided to go instead with my latest Super Bowl City update. And now it appears that the sky may be falling down around the carcass of the World's Largest Lying Tub of Shit, NJ Fats, aka the Krispyman. The development concerning the Krispyman's Reign of Terror and Lies had to do with the apparent backup gathering for Hoboken Mayor Kim Zimm... more »

“Amazing Photos Of The Universe By Hubble Space Telescope”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 16 hours ago
*“Amazing Photos Of The Universe By Hubble Space Telescope”* by N. Morgan “A wonderful collection of photos from the Hubble Space Telescope. This collection is just breathtaking and the video maker included history,along with the photos, so you get a real in depth look into the universe and all of its natural wonders! Most of these photos were taken from NASA’s official website, spacetelescope.org and National Geographic.” - http://beforeitsnews.com/

Southern Chiefs respond to release of Hughes' Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry Report

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 17 hours ago
Southern Chiefs’ Organization responds to release of Hughes Inquiry 'Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry Report' Grand Chief Terrance Nelson By Southern Chiefs Organization Censored News WINNIPEG MB -- Grand Chief Terrance Nelson of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) responds to the release of the Hughes Inquiry Report on the tragic murder of 5 year old Phoenix Sinclair. “The 1000 page

Ed Steer's Gold and Silver Report - January 30 , 2014 - Data , News and Views for the precious metals ........Three things to ponder - Ed opines JP Morgan , CitiBank and HSBC USA heading for gold derivative exits..... Ted Butler wonders whether JP Morgan is working for the benefit of China in moving gold from the West to the East .... Renewed Calls From China For a Global Super-Currency To Replace "Bretton Woods II"

Catharsis Ours - 17 hours ago
http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/edition/john-embry-gold-and-silver-at-historic-undervaluation ¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD & SILVER Except for the quick sell-off at the New York open at 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening, the gold price didn't do much of anything until before the low tick was in shortly before 9 a.m. in London on their Wednesday morning. The subsequent rally got capped just before 9 a.m. in New York, just as it about to get out of hand to the upside---and after that the price didn't do much until the FOMC news came out at 2 p.m. EST. At that point the price jumped around a littl... more »

Obamacare Roundup: Great enrollments for Wellpoint; "Bette from Spokane" debunked

Kenneth Thomas at Middle Class Political Economist - 17 hours ago
Via Joan McCarter, we learn that Wellpoint, which runs a number of for-profit Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance plans, reported on an investor's conference call that it expects to add over one million new policyholders this year and that its enrollments are much better than expectations. Of 500,000 enrolled so far, fully 80% of them came to the company via the exchanges. Of that amount, 2/3 were eligible to receive subsidies for their insurance premiums. Of course, for those of us who support single payer, giving money to private insurers is a mixed blessing. We'd be better off witho... more »

Family Food Rally Day In BC, Canada - 10 February 2014

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 17 hours ago
Food for the Future! Family Day Rally to Save the Agricultural Land Reserve – Monday February 10 READ MORE HERE: http://farmlandprotection.ca/ TAKE ACTION OF THE WEEK: http://farmlandprotection.ca/action-of-the-week/ ... Help spread the word for the Rally! http://farmlandprotection.ca/organizing-materials/ Join the event on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/FarmlandProtection Endorse the Rally! Stay informed! #ProtectingourALR #Foodforthefuture #Familydayrally #SavethegLandReserve #gmofreecanada #ALR *Source:* *GMO Free Canada*

Musical Interlude: Era, “Divano”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 17 hours ago
Era, “Divano” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnaL2_oCr9s

Indigenous fighting tarsands get boost from Neil Young

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 18 hours ago
. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N90GlG4dOW0&list=UUrmm_7RDZJeQzq2-wvmjueg&feature=share Published on Jan 30, 2014 First Nations Chief Allan Adam discusses the Tar Sands awareness tour with Canadian musician Neil Young and the health issues that communities face Read transcript at Truth-out: TRANSCRIPT: JESSICA DESVARIEUX, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm

Rob Ford's proposed budget cuts unrealistic and voted down

CM at LILITH NEWS - 18 hours ago
For the last month Rob Ford has been boasting that he had found at least $50 million in waste in the city budget, but in the end they were deemed too ridiculous and unrealistic. Instead only $726,000 worth of cuts went through council yesterday. Ford's 18 motions for Toronto's 2014 Budget included: - eliminating $7 million to plant 97,000 trees - trees that clean up Toronto's air quality, reduce smog, beautify the city, and indirectly boost tourism to Toronto. (Because nobody wants to visit a smoggy city.) - $2.5 million in savings by charging $14 for to register for the Welcome... more »

Rob Ford had his brother-in-law beaten in prison

CM at LILITH NEWS - 18 hours ago
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is being sued by his sister's ex-husband who alleges the mayor conspired to have him attacked in jail to prevent Rob Ford's illicit behaviours from becoming known to the public. Scott MacIntyre, the former common law husband of Rob Ford's sister, says in the statement of claim filed Wednesday that he has known about Rob Ford's crack smoking activities for some time. MacIntyre was in prison in March 2013 after being charged with threatening Ford, when he was deliberately and brutally attacked by a football player who had been coached by Rob Ford during high sch... more »

Archery and Bowhunting booming in popularity

CM at LILITH NEWS - 18 hours ago
By Charles Moffat Archery and bowhunting are booming in popularity in North America - largely due to all the buzz about archery in movies like *The Hunger Games*, *Catching Fire*, *Brave*, *The Avengers*, *Hanna* and also TV shows like *The Walking Dead*, *Game of Thrones* and *Arrow*. This newfound popularity of archery - and by extension, bowhunting - has boosted the number of people doing archery dramatically. Bows are flying off the shelves of archery equipment stores. Waiting lists for hard-to-find bows are getting longer and longer. One young woman reportedly waited 6 months... more »

Barack Obama's State of the Union 2014

CM at LILITH NEWS - 18 hours ago
The big emphasis this year in Barack Obama's State of the Union address was economics and raising the minimum wage of Americans - effectively giving every American a raise.

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 18 hours ago
Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada. Thanks for stopping by.

Gold In 2014: Scramble For Physical Gold As Price Manipulation Unravels ? As we head into the Feb Contract delivery for gold , some news , data and views to ponder ( h/t GATA )

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 18 hours ago
Gold In 2014: Scramble For Physical Gold As Price Manipulation Unravels? [image: GoldCore's picture] Submitted by GoldCore on 01/31/2014 16:44 -0500 - Bond - British Pound - China - Federal Reserve - India - Turkey inShare1 Today’s AM fix was USD 1246.50, EUR 920.538 and GBP 757.336 per ounce. Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,254.00, EUR 922.20 and GBP 761.89 per ounce. Gold fell $26.80 or nearly 2% yesterday to $1,243.00/oz. Silver fell $0.58 or nearly 3% to $19.20/oz. Gold in USD - This Week Gold is marginally higher in all currencies this morning but is tr... more »

Today's Update from Super Bowl City: What to do if if turns out your Super Bowl tickets are fake

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 18 hours ago
*What, you thought you could just walk into MetLife Stadium for the Super Bowl on Sunday? You sad dreamer! If you're already in East Rutherford, NJ (and we won't ask why you're in East Rutherford, NJ), you have to make the long march to Secaucus, NJ (by the time you're making the schlepp from East Rutherford to Secaucus, you should have a strong hint that your life hasn't turned out quite the way you hoped), and then take the NJ Transit train. But you'll have to show your game ticket to board the stadium train.* *"New York, New York, it's a hell of a town.The Bronx is up, and the ... more »

Thailand: Wall Street's Thaksin Shinawatra Prepares War Against 99%

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 19 hours ago
In Pol Pot-esque threat, Wall Street-backed billionaire prepares war of terror against Thai population in the name of purging the "elite." *January 31, 2014* (ATN) - The London Telegraph published a disturbing admission taken directly from deposed dictator Thaksin Shinawatra's "red shirt" leader Wuttipong Kochthammakul, also known as "Ko Tee." The Telegraph admitted: "This is already a war, but so far it is an unarmed war," said Ko Tee. "If there is a coup, or the election doesn't happen, then it definitely becomes an armed war." If anyone doubted the abyss into which Thailand c... more »

SAVE THE CHILDREN OF NORTH EAST JAPAN

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 19 hours ago
I found a troubling article at *The Mainichi *about 'problem behaviors' in preschool children, including dizziness, nausea, headaches. The behaviors were identified by a survey using the internationally recognized Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The survey was conducted in Miyako, Rikuzentakata and Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture; Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture; and Fukushima, Iwaki, Minamisoma and Tomioka in Fukushima Prefecture: 1 in 4 disaster-hit children needs mental care for problem behavior: study http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140127p2a00m0na013000c.html ... more »

“It’s Later Than Men Think”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
*“It’s Later Than Men Think”* by Tom Purcell “The illusion was good while it lasted. I speak of the male biological clock. Yet another study, reported at PsychCentral.com, finds that children of older fathers are more likely to suffer “from mental health issues, including schizophrenia, mood disorders, neurotic disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders and other developmental and childhood disorders such as autism and mental retardation.” And this news is a real bummer for middle-aged fellows. Oh, how glorious things used to be before these male biological constraints wer... more »

Detroit Bankruptcy proceedings updates January 31 , 2014 -Bankruptcy In The USSA: Detroit Bondholders About To Be GM'ed In Favor Of Pensioners ...... Detroit wins retiree health care concessions ; barriers to water deal remain

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 19 hours ago
Bankruptcy In The USSA: Detroit Bondholders About To Be GM'ed In Favor Of Pensioners [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/31/2014 14:24 -0500 - CDS - Chrysler - Creditors - Detroit - Eurozone - Goldman Sachs - goldman sachs - Obama Administration - recovery - Wall Street Journal inShare4 First, the Obama administration showed during the course of the GM and Chrysler bankruptcy proceedings, that when it comes to Most Preferred Voter classes, some unsecured creditors - namely labor unions, and the millions o... more »

Why This Former Harvard Economist ( Terry Burnham ) Is Pulling All His Money From Bank Of America - except 10,000 bucks ! Read his missive , decide whether it makes sense and decide what you should do if you bank at Bank of America ( or JP Morgan or Citibank for that matter ! )

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 20 hours ago
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-31/why-harvard-economist-pulling-all-his-money-bank-america Why This Harvard Economist Is Pulling All His Money From Bank Of America [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/31/2014 19:25 -0500 - AIG - Alan Greenspan - American International Group - Bank of America - Bank of America - Bear Stearns - Ben Bernanke - Ben Bernanke - China - default - Dow Jones Industrial Average - Fail - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Federal Reserve - Gallup - Germ... more »

Former ally burns his bridges with Christie

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 20 hours ago
I've said all along that Christie would survive the bridge closing unless and until proof positive emerged tying him directly to Fort Lee's traffic problem. Well, today David Wildstein delivered the smoking gun. Thus does Wildstein exact his revenge after Christie threw him to the wolves in order to save his own prodigious ass. Now that Port Authority has refused to pay Wildstein's legal bills, it's every man for himself. Wildstein's lawyers released this bombshell statementtoday. One might think Gov. Blowhard was expecting this turn of events. Christie responded shortly thereaf... more »

Why Is The Fed Tapering? What will unravel? The financial system or American power? Roberts and Kranzler team up again to provide an answer.

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 21 hours ago
------------------------------ *Why is the Fed tapering?* ------------------------------ January 30, 2014 | Original Here Go here to sign up to receive email notice of this news letter Why is the Fed tapering? Paul Craig Roberts and Dave Kranzler On January 17, 2014, we explained “The Hows and Whys of Gold Price Manipulation.” http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/01/17/hows-whys-gold-price-manipulation/ In former times, the rise in the gold price was held down by central banks selling gold or leasing gold to bullion dealers who sold th... more »

How the Blogosphere Helps Junior Scholars?

Burcu Bayram at Duck of Minerva - 21 hours ago
Dear Readers, In this post, I would like to focus on the few ways in which the blogosphere and social media more generally help junior scholars. I will use myself as an example. It is not easy for me to reach out to senior colleagues and start a dialogue. I find it much easier to Continue reading

Bully for him!

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 22 hours ago
Sticking with Thursday night's *Newsnight*, there was an extended section based on Ed Miliband's admiration for U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt: A report from the BBC's Allan Little, an interview with one of Teddy's biographers and a studio discussion between a Tory and a Labourite. Unconsciously, I suspect, the Labourite - Rafael Behr of *The New Statesman* - gave us right-leaning bias-sniffers a big hint as to why *Newsnight *might have been covering this story. His opening words to Kirsty Wark were: Well, it's certainly clear that Ed Miliband would like us to be having th... more »

“Your Comfort Zone Refuge: Create a Soft Place to Land”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
*“Your Comfort Zone Refuge: Create a Soft Place to Land”* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM “Create a soft place to land in your home, a refuge from the stress of the day. Our day-to-day demands can quickly take their toll on our well-being if we are not vigilant about caring for ourselves as best we can. One way we can ensure that we have an opportunity to relax and recuperate each day is to create a soft place to land when we arrive home. This landing pad, whether it is an entire room or merely a small corner of a larger area, can provide us with a safe and comforting refuge in which... more »

QEG : Quantum Energy Generator

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 22 hours ago
For more details see this article http://xi4.com/2014/01/31/qeg-quantum-energy-generator-released/ PS: I'd like to see this thing in operation and the voltage readings on the device in the video...unfortunately that's missing from the video.

Of lesbians, lyric poetry and Kirsty Wark

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 22 hours ago
As I'm somewhat demob happy, having excused myself from having to pay attention to *Newsnight* ever again - and also because it's Friday night and there's no more work till Monday - the following posts may seem a wee bit 'off topic'. That said, both Sue and I love going 'off topic' and they do all relate to this week's editions of *Newsnight. *So that's all right then. Last night's edition of *Newsnight *ended with the news of the discovery of parts of two poems by the ancient Greek poetess Sappho. Sappho appeals to both *Newsnight *types and feminist classics professors as she'... more »

Forget "Getting To Know A District"-- Bill Maher Wants To Flip One!

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 22 hours ago
*The Colbert Report* Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive Back in 2006, Stephen Colbert was regularly skewering Members of Congress. His Lynn Westmoreland episode (above), for example, is probably better known, certainly nationally, than anything else about the reactionary Westmoreland. But the hilarious show was comedy for the sake of comedy. No one in their right mind could have possibly thought the Colbert appearance would have wrecked Westmoreland's career, even to the extent that the video went viral. GA-08 had a PVI of R+21 at the time. Today, after another r... more »

D.'s New Blog: Transpicuous News

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 23 hours ago
Dani from Removing the Shackles blog has a new blog devoted to breaking news articles. Take a look at http://transpicuousnews.blogspot.com and bookmark it in your browser. The RTS blog is not being abandoned, this is new effort by her using her excellent research staff. -AK

Coyote, his little brother!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 day ago
*FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014* *Pete Seeger lived a long life:* In an odd fact, Pete Seeger and John F. Kennedy were classmates at Harvard, class of 1940. (According to cable logic, that means they were “best friends in college,” perhaps even “childhood friends.”) As it turns out, Seeger and Kennedy *weren’t* best friends in college. Seeger dropped out in his sophomore year. He was soon doing things like this: BARNES (1/29/14): He worked briefly in the folklore archives of the Library of Congress, and *for a time he traveled through the state of New York, painting watercolors of house... more »

Milton: A Master of Run-On Sentences

mollymew at Molly'sBlog - 1 day ago
MILTON: A MASTER OF RUN-ON SENTENCES: I'm about halfway through the collected works of John Milton. It's a project that's taking some time. Mercifully the poetry is at the front of the volume. That's good because most of Milton's prose writings have little intrinsic interest. Aside from a few exceptions they are religious polemics against the high church prelates of his day. Reading such things tends to lower one's estimate of the author. Especially as their tone is beneath even the usual level of political polemics. I'll see if the tone improves with the more political pieces ... more »

Raw: Brahimi Says No Progress in Syria Talks (Source: AP)

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
Brahimi is a demonstration of the bankruptcy of the United Nations as a vehicle for solving conflicts in the world. The young fanatical Jihadists in Syria who have been recruited, indoctrinated, and armed by world and regional powers for a victory-or-death war against Assad will never listen to the United Nations. So there is really nothing that the UN and Brahimi can do to stop the war in Syria. They are actually standing in the way of peace. They are prolonging the war by talking up a storm instead of committing to a definitive, honest, and realistic plan to end hostilities. The o... more »

what am i ?

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 1 day ago
what am i to you ?

Affidavit of John Anthony Hill: The Fraudulent Coronation of Queen Elizabeth

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
The Fraudulent Coronation of Queen Elizabeth

7/7 Ripple Effect

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
Interesting videos on the British false flag terrorist event of July 7, 2005 that was not seen on American TV....

The Times bears down on the Christie machine!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 day ago
*FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014* *A look at that recent report:* In Wednesday morning’s New York Times, Kate Zernike reported on the way the Christie political team— In truth, we aren’t entirely sure what she *did* report. To read her report, click here. In an earlier post, we chuckled at the way Zernike included detailed floor plans for the New Jersey State House. Beyond that, we’ll have to admit that her piece struck us a mouse that hadn’t roared. Others saw it differently. Chris Matthews frothed on Hardball that night. In a much more serious vein, Kevin Drum saw more than we did in Ze... more »

Disney on Ice is back in Salt Lake City March 5-9 2014

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 1 day ago
I have been given tickets to Disney on Ice in exchange this post and subsequent giveaway. All opinions are 100% my own. I just got word that Disney on Ice is headed back to Salt Lake City in March with a brand new show. We are so excited to get to see Merida on ice skates, something my 5-year-old has been waiting for since Brave came out. The show, Rockin' Ever After will feature some of our favorite princess adventure stories. We have watch the Rockin' Ever After Video over and over again this morning. Jam to a Scottish jig as a group of royal contenders from the latest Disney•P... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

Local Council By-Elections January 2014

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 1 day ago
Party Number of candidates Total vote % +/- Dec Average/ contest +/- Dec +/- Seats Conservative 9 3,812 25.2% +8.4% 423 +178 -4 Labour 8 4,935 32.6% +1.1% 617 +7 +1 LibDem 8 1,139 7.6% -1.6% 142 -49 +1 UKIP 7 1,960 12.9% -1.6% 280 +59 +1 SNP* 2 1,190 7.9% +2.1% 595 -245 0 Plaid Cymru** 0 -5.8% -393 Green 3 331 2.2% -0.7% 36 -71 0 BNP 0 -0.3% -41 TUSC 1 43 0.3% -0.9% 43 -6 0 Independent*** 3 1,679 11.1% -0.7% 560 -249 +1 O... more »

Classroom Video Camera Project Spending Millions to Extend Teacher and Student Surveillance, Part 2

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 1 day ago
In Part 1 of this story, we shared how a little-known Gates Foundation grant pumped over $3 million into the Tennessee Department of Education to create a classroom video collection and sharing project, with video data and notes stored on a server owned by the camera company, *thereNow.net*. From talking with the camera project director, Courtney Seiler, the TDOE never had a plan for how children’s images would be protected. In fact, the TDOE left data security to each system to manage on its own, with varying results. For instance, Putnam County officials indicated that letters w... more »

The Economy: Gerald Celente: “We Are In A Global Depression”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*Gerald Celente: “We Are In A Global Depression”* By Live Free or Die “Gerald Celente comes right out and says it how it is; we are now in a global depression. While countless Americans believe that we are somehow still in a ‘recovery’, followers of alternative news understand that we are anything but ‘recovering’. This is a jam packed 11 minute video with Alex Jones and Gerald Celente that sugar coats nothing.” - http://beforeitsnews.com/

Piercing the Corporate Veil

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 day ago
Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. v. 6470360 Canada Inc. (Energyshop Consulting Inc./Powerhouse Energy Management Inc.), 2014 ONCA 85: [43] I agree with Shoppers that the motions judge did not refer to *Fleischer*. *Fleischer* is the appropriate test to apply to piercing the corporate veil in Ontario. In*Fleischer*, Laskin J.A. stated that only exceptional cases that result in flagrant injustice warrant going behind the corporate veil. It can be pierced if those in control expressly direct a wrongful act to be done. At para. 68, he stated: Typically, the corporate veil is pierced w... more »

Income Inequity

Southern Man at Southern Man - 1 day ago
There has been much wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth of late about "income inequity" or the idea that some people having more money than others is a Very Bad Thing. Southern Man will now explain why income inequity is inevitable and why you shouldn't worry about it and why it is actually a Good Thing. Capitalism and free enterprise are the greatest engines of wealth that the world has ever seen. They are engines of wealth because they enable people to provide goods and services that other people want. And even in their highly regulated and overly taxed form here in the goo... more »

Online Media Caucus at the ISA: The Time Is Now-ish

Steve Saideman at Duck of Minerva - 1 day ago
The events of the last week within the International Studies Association indicate that there is much ignorance about social media and its role in 21st century IR scholarship and teaching. On the bright side, the reactions to the ISA’s misguided proposal demonstrated that there is a vibrant community of scholars who rely on “web 2.0″ Continue reading

Russell Investments' chief economist found dead in Tacoma

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
Mike Dueker - Chief Economist Russell Investments *Russell Investments' chief economist found dead in Tacoma* The Associated Press January 30, 2014 Updated 19 hours ago Russell Investments chief economist Mike Dueker was found dead Thursday, and police said it appeared he had taken his own life by jumping from a ramp near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. An officer who knew Dueker was missing in the area spotted the body about 8:30 a.m. at the base of a 40- to 50-foot embankment for a state Route 16 ramp, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. Dueker’s car was parked at nearb... more »

Arctic Bay Promo

Way Way Up at Fort McMurray Adventures - 1 day ago
This post actually has nothing to do with Fort McMurray or even Alberta, but I felt compelled to do it anyway after seeing an amazing video promo of one of the communities in Nunavut where I was privileged to live prior to moving out here. It was created by InMotion, based out of Ottawa and posted on Facebook by Clare Kines, current Economic Development Officer in Arctic Bay. Truly a magical place. For me it was definitely a treat to see a professionally-done video about a place I woke up in almost every morning for 4 years. I instantly recognized the mountain I climbed a handf... more »

Guest Post From A Steve Israel Constituent

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
There are no words to describe the contempt I feel after reading an op-ed by my Congressman, Steve Israel, entitled *The State of Our Middle Class*. How pretentious that the same man whose mortgage obligation was forgiven by "friendly" banksters would opine on the struggles of the middle class. People all across Long Island are struggling under the weight of upside down mortgages, and most could never get the sweetheart deal that Congressman Israel obtained. It is therefore rather shocking that Steve Israel is the current Congressman in our district. He and his second former wife ... more »

YANG'S LONG JAIL SENTENCE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
Professor Yang Yoon-Mo hits his 365th day in prison today (January 31). Tomorrow is his birthday. It is Yang's 4th imprisonment for trying to block Navy base destruction vehicles on Jeju Island. He still has about six more months on this jail sentence. During his previous times in jail Yang has undertaken hunger strikes that nearly killed him. He was a renowned professor and movie critic in South Korea and came back to his native Jeju to fight against the Navy base. An earlier interview with Yang, filmed before the Gangjeong villagers were removed from their sacred rocky coast,... more »

A STONES THROW FROM HELL

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
Footage of what appears to be a group of cheering Afghans stoning a wreck of a Predator drone. The MQ-1 Predator drone is used extensively by the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan for surveillance and to deliver airstrikes which frequently kill innocent civilians. Drone crashes are normally not reported by the Pentagon or the CIA, which operate them in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. Some transparency campaigners say the DoD is stonewalling their Freedom of Information requests for drone crash records. Yet such incidents happen fairly often, especially with the fl... more »

Sorry, not sorry kids, there's no free lunch

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 1 day ago
There are some conservatives who would call this a teaching moment. One wonders what lesson they think they're teaching these children. Up to 40 kids at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City picked up their lunches Tuesday, then watched as the meals were taken and thrown away because of outstanding balances on their accounts — a move that shocked and angered parents. ason Olsen, a Salt Lake City District spokesman, said the district’s child-nutrition department became aware that Uintah had a large number of students who owed money for lunches. [...] As a result, the child-nutritio... more »

THE STATE OF THE UNION IS: Fatuous, sad!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 day ago
*FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014* *Part 4—A celebrified Planet Bullshit:* “My fellow Americans, the state of the union is fatuous—celebrified, sad!” The president didn’t say it. It certainly would have been true if he had! Consider a rarely discussed historical fact: As many others have reported, John Kennedy was elected president in November 1960. In his iconic book about that campaign, Theodore White described the scene as Kennedy announced that he would be running. You can read the description on page 58. Senator Kennedy announced he was running on January 2—January 2 of 1960, the s... more »

Brooks Whigs Out

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 1 day ago
(graphic by Kat Garcia) David Brooks, concerned that the president he frequently canoodles with is in "stately decline," has a solution. Barack Obama can battle Lame Duck Syndrome by appointing commissions made up of the Davos/Aspen Ideas Festival crowd to lay out the framework for his successor's agenda! Obama can become a Whig, and follow in the pragmatic footsteps of Lincoln! Never mind that Abe forsook Whiggery because of its regional factionalism and became a Republican. Brooks is counting on readers not to have boned up on any actual history. In the world of David Brooks, Ob... more »

Definition of irony - A Friday night Rule 5 lipstick lesbian post

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
I hear that one of the bands chosen to open the Winter Olympics in Sochi on February 7 may be t.A.T.u. Back in 2003 tATu and especially the video for their single 'All The Things She Said' were accused of promoting homosexuality among teenagers. This would seem to be somewhat contrary to Vladimir Putin's stance on homosexuality. Actually it seems that neither of the singers in t.A.T.u, Lena Katina (the red-head) or Yulia Volkova (the brunette), were in fact lesbians and that the video was just to garner them some attention, a tactic that really worked. Just in case you are too yo... more »

From all viewpoints, string theory is "just right" to go beyond QFT

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 1 day ago
*From QM to QFT to ST* Tomorrow, the Physics Stack Exchange should experience a silent completion of a Holy Trinity. Users are given a golden "tag" badge when the answers by a single user to questions with a particular tag reach the score 1,000. I have just learned it has to be from at least 200 questions now. A third "tag" is waiting to join the elite club; it had the score 998 and 195 questions today. After the daily update, it should break through both thresholds, unless I am overlooking some other condition in which case I apologize for the wrong rumors in advance (update: it *... more »

Obama's Suicide Pact with the Death Worshippers of Capitalism

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 1 day ago
It's time to drink your kool-aid or turn over the tub. We can't wait for our grandchildren to act, as they are being cognitively disabled to make resistance impossible. From Alternet: Are there any self-respecting environmental organizations out there that are still behind President Obama? After his State of the Union on Tuesday it's hard to imagine there could be. In his address, Obama proudly declared, "The 'all the above' energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today America is closer to energy independence than we have been in decades." Based what we kno... more »

KIPP Teacher's Nude Photos Shared by Students

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 1 day ago
Something that is not in the Doug Lemov miracle book of behaviors to make you a great teacher is the admonition to leave your phone home, at least the one with your nude pics. Perhaps this KIPP high school teacher did not have time to download her nudies to a personal phone after another evening of being on call to 10 PM. Anyway, the phone was on the desk, she was not in the room, and some KIPPster was not as KIPPnotized as he should have been. The results:

Of War and Murder

Len Hart at The Existentialist Cowboy - 1 day ago
*by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy* The following joke is attributed to Hermann Göring who was at the time on trial in Nuremberg, charged with conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war-crimes; and crimes against humanity: One Englishman --an idiot; Two Englishmen --a club; Three Englishmen --an empire! One German --a scholar; Two Germans --an army; Three Germans --a war! A mere joke, in bad taste! But consider the source. It is also a simple, if simple-minded, analysis of data. It even hints at the science of emergent ... more »

VETERANS SPEAK ON PALESTINIAN ISSUE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
I went to our Veterans for Peace monthly meeting last night in Augusta. We made final plans for this exciting event tomorrow evening in nearby Brunswick. Two of my favorite activists in the US are coming to speak about their recent trip to Palestine. Tarak Kauff and Ellen Davidson (both from New York) are active members of Veterans for Peace and are really dedicated and fun people. They've been up to Maine before and we are glad to have them coming back again. Yonatan Shipira will be with us via Skype to report on his experiences in the Israeli occupation forces. If you can ma... more »

State of disunion for working "folks " - Obama offers the sheeple MyRA - just recall the Poland example "folks " ..... Most food stamp payments issued to working Americans for first time ....... speaking of food stamp programs , note another attempt to block transparency shot down by Federal Courts - -- A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture can’t use an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act to keep secret how much businesses receive annually for participating in the food stamp program.

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-28/obama-introduces-myra-no-risk-guaranteed-return-retirement-savings-bond ( Does MyRA stand for " My Ripped Arse " ? Which would be the case if the Poland example comes into play ... ) [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Obama Introduces MyRA: The "No Risk, Guaranteed Return" Retirement Savings BondSubmitted by Tyler Durden on 01/28/2014 - 22:32 *"Today, most workers don’t have a pension. A Social Security check often isn’t enough on its own. And while the stock market has doubled over the last five years, that doesn’t help folks who don’t have 401... more »

The Prime Directive: Do Nothing

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 1 day ago
When it comes to managing the Canadian economy, Tom Walkom writes, the Harper government's prime directive is do nothing and let the American economy drag us along. The strategy is nothing new: It is, in fact, a classic Canadian strategy. The Liberal government of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin used it to great political effect during the downturn of the ’90s. But it requires the U.S. to play ball. The Americans, somehow, have to goose their own economy. The problem this time is that Barack Obama faces a House of Representatives who believe in the same mythology which infects the ... more »

Screaming Headlines, Old News: The Media Hype Over Iran Continues

Nima Shirazi at Wide Asleep in America - 1 day ago
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, before the Senate Intelligence Committee. (Photo Credit: AP Photo / Pablo Martinez Monsivais) On January 29, 2014, the Times of Israel published what seemed to be some truly alarming news. “Iran now has all the technical infrastructure to produce nuclear weapons should it make

Reduce GHGs or Increase Energy Access?

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Pielke, Jr.) at Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog - 1 day ago
At the Center for Global Development Todd Moss and Ben Leo have a provocative analysis up about an obscure but consequential decision facing the US Congress. It has to do with a little-known US government agency called the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Moss and Leo explain: President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, launched in June 2013, aims to increase electricity generation and access to modern energy services in six low-income countries. The success or failure of this effort will be determined in large part by the investment decisions of a dozen or so US government ... more »

Racism Takes A Pivotal Role In Determining Republican Party Immigration Agenda, According To Lindsey Graham

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
Matt Hildreth works for America's Voice and his tweet (above) about the GOP immigration dilemma went right to the point: are they the Party of Abe Lincoln, the Great Emancipator or the Party of Jeff Sessions, a KKK sympathizer. Yesterday, Ted Cruz (R-TX) warned House Republicans not to support the Republican leadership's plan for comprehensive immigration reform. He called their plan to give legal status to immigrants "amnesty," code among Republicans that the world is coming to an end. “I think it would be a mistake if House Republicans were to support amnesty for those here ille... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 day ago
*Vitter likely to leer over state Legislature as he preps for 2015 governor’s race ~Tyler Bridges, The Lens* *Atlas Shrugging ~Library Chronicles * *Battle of the brands: A newspaper war in New Orleans ~Roger Yu, USA Today* *U.S. Catfish Farmers Emerge As Big Winners in 2014 Farm Bill ~Dan Flynn, Food Safety News *

Friday Nerd Blogging

Charli Carpenter at Duck of Minerva - 1 day ago
May the bard be with you. See also “The Empire Striketh Back.”