Wednesday, April 10, 2013

10 April - Blogs I'm Following

Medicare & Social Security Deficits ChartMedicare & Social Security Deficits Chart (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
ADAPT Medicaid RallyADAPT Medicaid Rally (Photo credit: SEIU International)
The Lower Mainland of British Columbia is outl...The Lower Mainland of British Columbia is outlined in red, with the dotted lines indicating adjoining settled areas which may be included but are not in the usual historical definition. This boundary does not coincide with various government administrative districts which use Lower Mainland in their titles. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of VermontU.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
11:13am MDST


FDR Is Rolling In His Grave Today

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 12 minutes ago
Yesterday Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mark Takano (D-CA), and Mark Pocan (D-WI), along with folks from AARP and a broad coalition of progressive organizations, reiterated their NO CUTS to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid stand by presenting petitions with 2.3 million signatures on them to the White House. That didn't stop Obama and Boehner from moving forward with their plans to destroy the idea that Social Security is the third rail of American politics. Their plan to cut benefits to seniors and vets through their Chained CPI scheme was part of Obama's budget today. And it's wh... more »

More Ammunition for the B.C. NDP

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 27 minutes ago
Christy Clark must be feeling just a little crispier today. A *CBC Fifth Estate* assessment of hospitals across Canada doesn't speak well of British Columbia's healthcare. There wasn't even one B.C. hospital in the top ten, A+ category. But B.C. is punching above its weight in the D category at the very bottom where it claimed a dominant four of the eight spots for really bad hospitals. All four were from the Lower Mainland and included Vancouver Hospital (VGH), Burnaby, Surrey Memorial and Ridge Meadows. The contest isn't closed yet. You can go here to check out your local ... more »

There is something fundamentally wrong with a country when disgraced politicians...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 29 minutes ago
*think it's okay to run for office.* Really. Anthony Weiner, the famous weeny wagger, is going to run for mayor of New York. Down south, Mark Sanford, who shamelessly used tax-payer money to court his girl friend - without asking his wife and children what they thought of the whole affair, is going to run for congress in South Carolina. Both of these incidents show a complete lack of moral or ethical behavior and speak to the lack of character of either of these men. My question is: Why would they be willing to step back into the political world? The only answer I can conjure up... more »

Dogs, Not Barking

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 hour ago
Here's a special executive branch nominations edition of "Dogs, Not Barking." A quick search found pretty much zilch news about any of these: that's a big story! On the good side, at least the White House has finally updated their nominations page, at least through two weeks ago. On the bad side, 1. Secretary of Commerce: a month ago, Penny Pritzker was reported to be the candidate for this opening, which has existed since June. Since then, nothing much. Can Barack Obama make it a full year without nominating anyone for this cabinet post? 2. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood an... more »

Canada’s commercial seal slaughter opens despite no quota and no demand – Government of Newfoundland and Labrador paid $3.6 in taxpayer subsidies

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 1 hour ago
[image: Welcome to Canada: A Canadian fisherman kills a baby harp seal by slamming its head on the ice during the 2011 slaughter. Photo: AndyC via piaberrend.org] TORONTO, ONTARIO (IFAW) – Canada's commercial seal hunt opens off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador today, despite a lack of demand for seal products and restrictions on seal products in 34 countries. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) questions why the Canadian government insists on wasting millions of tax dollars supporting an industry that is clearly obsolete. "For the second year in a row the com... more »

TWO HUMAN CATASTROPHES CLASHING WITH EACH OTHER

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 hour ago
Amira Hass, the only Jewish-Israeli journalist to have spent almost 20 years living in and reporting from Gaza and the West Bank, recently suffered a torrent of hate mail and calls for her prosecution after she wrote an article defending the right of Palestinians to resist violent occupation. In the article, Hass defended the throwing of stones by Palestinian youth at Israeli soldiers, calling it "the birthright and duty of anyone subject to foreign rule." Hass said Israelis remain in denial about "how much violence is used on a daily basis against Palestinians. They don’t like to... more »

The Netherlands Parks the F-35

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 1 hour ago
The Dutch already have one F-35 and they're due to get another in just a few months. They're the first of what was supposed to be an 85 aircraft purchase. But the Netherlands government and military are getting cold feet for the over-expensive, overdue and under-performing, partially stealthy light attack bomber. So they've decided to park the F-35s while they explore their options. *Newly appointed defence minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert announced the decision to park the test assets in a letter to the Dutch parliament on 4 April. A first example - delivered in late 2012 - ... more »

Woman behind street parties to 'celebrate' death of Margaret Thatcher named - Telegraph

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 hour ago
' Blythe is a drama teacher with a workshop company that visits secondary schools. She specialises in "facilitating workshops for young, excluded and potentially criminalised individuals and uses drama techniques she has developed to explore resolution of conflict and oppression," according to the company's website.' More here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9984646/Woman-behind-street-parties-to-celebrate-death-of-Margaret-Thatcher-named.html Our children's education is in safe hands...

THE WAY WE ARE: Professor entranced by a child with a horn!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 hour ago
*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013* *Part 3—Intellectual squalor spreads:* When you walk through the valley of the shadow of dumb, you may not see The Dumb all around you. That doesn’t mean that The Dumb isn’t there, that it isn’t destroying your culture. Consider the cable discussion of public schools which occurred, among the complacencies of the peignoir, this past Sunday morning. To watch all three segments of this gruesome discussion, click here. For decades, Fox News and its pre-existing culture have made a joke of your discourse. Last Sunday, it fell to Melissa Harris-Perry and a fou...more »

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES

Anon at aangirfan - 1 hour ago
In Belgium, Dr. Steven Laureys and his team have spent many years with patients who have had near-death experiences They report that near-death experiences are 'more vivid than real events'. 'Afterlife' feels 'even more real than real,' researcher says *Comments at the Mail online include:* It's real. It happened to me when I was 8. I am in my 50s now and remember it vividly. The amazing thing is that my memories are so similar to everyone else's near-death experience. - Tee Dee , San Luis Obispo, United States, 10/4/2013 05:06 We don't die....we were never born... We are NOT our... more »

Documentary evidence in provincial offence matters

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 hour ago
Documentary evidence poses a major challenge for the Courts. This is especially so for Provincial Offences – often trials for these matters are conducted rather casually and evidentiary issues are glossed over. Prior to admission all documents must be authenticated and established as relevant before admission. Authentication, that is proving the document is what it purports to be, seldom poses an issue. A person who made or received the document can say it is, in fact, for example, a letter sent or received. Similarly a document found among records can be authenticated as bein... more »

Documentary evidence in provincial offence matters

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 hour ago
Documentary evidence poses a major challenge for the Courts. This is especially so for Provincial Offences – often trials for these matters are conducted rather casually and evidentiary issues are glossed over. Prior to admission all documents must be authenticated and established as relevant before admission. Authentication, that is proving the document is what it purports to be, seldom poses an issue. A person who made or received the document can say it is, in fact, for example, a letter sent or received. Similarly a document found among records can be authenticated as bein... more »

Documentary evidence in provincial offence matters

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 hour ago
Documentary evidence poses a major challenge for the Courts. This is especially so for Provincial Offences – often trials for these matters are conducted rather casually and evidentiary issues are glossed over. Prior to admission all documents must be authenticated and established as relevant before admission. Authentication, that is proving the document is what it purports to be, seldom poses an issue. A person who made or received the document can say it is, in fact, for example, a letter sent or received. Similarly a document found among records can be authenticated as bein... more »

Will the U.S. be Wracked by Violence and Riots by 2020? The Math Says So.

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 2 hours ago
Mathematician Peter Turchin has run the numbers and predicts the United States will face a widespread wave of violence and riots by around 2020. Turchin, a U. Connecticut prof, is the champion of "cliodynamics" which is drawing on mathematical models of the past to foretell the future. The name comes from Clio, the Greek goddess of history. *“We start with questions that historians have asked for all of history,” Turchin says. “For example: Why do civilizations collapse?” — but they seek to answer these questions quite differently. They use math rather than mere language, and accor... more »

We Are All F***ed!: Winner Takes All - The Super-Priority Status Of Derivatives!

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 2 hours ago
I have been following the steadily worsening world wide financial situation for some time now, and have put up dozens of reports at this blog informing everyone to be prepared for a true hurricane of financial collapse that is surely just around the corner (possibly as soon as this summer!). It is startling to realize that most people are totally unaware, or absolutely do not care, that their entire world is about to change, and they could wake up one day, destitute and wondering how the hell did this mess ever happen! We hear constantly about the crushing Usury debt loads that a... more »

Burton (IN-ALEC) - Conflict of interest, Nah!

2old2care at Because I Can - 2 hours ago
Hell - if this doens't constitute some kind of conflict of interest - I have no idea what would. [R58] Rep. Burton appointed to ALEC Financial Services Subcommittee STATEHOUSE — The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has appointed State *Representative Woody Burton (R-Whiteland) as co-chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee.* This subcommittee is an advisory body to the larger Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force. ALEC works at the state level to advance the fundamental principles of free-market enterprise, limited government and federalism. Th... more »

"Liberal / Tory ... same old story" - Stockwell Day Throws Support To Right Wing B.C. Liberal Party

leftdog at Buckdog - 2 hours ago
*KELOWNA, B.C. - A former federal Conservative cabinet minister says he'll be supporting the BC Liberal Party in the upcoming provincial election.* * **Stockwell Day served as trade minister and public safety minister under Prime Minister Stephen Harper but didn't seek re-election in 2011.* * **This past October, he and former Conservative senator Gerry St. Germain told delegates at a Liberal convention that British Columbians had to unite under Premier Christy Clark to keep the New Democrats from office. * * **Day says New Democratic policies will be bad for the economy, adding th... more »

Hump Day Open Thread

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 2 hours ago
Trouble is, the American middle class are the ones getting humped and not just on Wednesday. It's inconceivable that more liberals than we're seeing aren't decrying this Chained CPI Grand Compromise by Obama as the unnecessary evil that it truly is. Remember, folks, this Chained CPI in the 2014 budget proposal is only to be found in the White House's version,* not the GOP's*. The Republicans are smart enough to let Obama shoot himself in the foot and the middle class in the head while keeping their hands clean. That way, when dozens of Democrats are up for reelection in next ye... more »

Something to make you smile...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 2 hours ago
*and the good Lord knows we could use a bit of fun. * H/T Theo Spark

Image of the Day: Satellite view of flooding in La Plata, Argentina, 4 April 2013

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 2 hours ago
[image: NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on 4 April 2013 of severe flooding in La Plata, which claimed more than 50 lives, and forced thousands from their homes in the Buenos Aires region. Many of the casualties occurred in La Plata, situated about 60 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Buenos Aires. Roughly 40 centimeters (16 inches) of rain fell on La Plata in a two-hour period 2–3 April 2013. Photo: NASA / GSFC / METI / ERSDAC / JAROS, and U.S. / Japan ASTER Science Team] Caption by Michon Scott 9 April 2013 In early April 2013, severe flooding claimed more than 50 liv... more »

Pretty girls with firepower...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 2 hours ago
*welcome to Wednesday.* Girls and Guns

What’s To Gain From the Kurdish Alliance’s Boycott Of Iraq’s Government?

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 2 hours ago
The Kurdish Coalition is currently boycotting both the parliament and the cabinet. This came after the 2013 budget was passed without their consent at the beginning of March. Afterward Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani called for a conference on the matter with Kurdish politicians, and they have not gone back to work since then. The Coalition is facing two problems. The first is that the Kurdish parties are not united, and have different views on what action to take vis-à-vis Baghdad, and the second is that the Kurds lack the numbers to have a meaningfu... more »

A FAIR BUDGET FOR ALL

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 3 hours ago
- I had a very busy day yesterday. I spent hours working on the drone bill now pending in Augusta. Tomorrow is the Judiciary Committee work session on the bill so I sent a news release out about our concern with drones snooping on us in Maine. I also sent the drone petition with all the names we've gathered to each member of the Maine House of Representatives and many members of the Senate. (It was interesting to find that Maine Senate Republicans had their emails available while Democrats require you to fill out a form to reach them which didn't allow ... more »

Four charts that show the U.S. spends too little on energy research

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 3 hours ago
[image: Trends in non-defense research and development by function, in billions of dollars, 1953-2013. Graphic: AAAS] By Brad Plumer 9 April 2013 (Washington Post) – At his confirmation hearing this morning, Energy Secretary nominee Ernest Moniz told the Senate that the United States spends far too little on energy R&D. “We are underinvesting by a factor of three,” he said. Is that accurate? Many energy experts have, indeed, argued over the years that the U.S. government should do a lot more to invest in innovative new energy technologies — particularly if we want to address glo... more »

Being Margaret Thatcher

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 3 hours ago
Barack Obama opened his oversized vintage 80s handbag this morning and dumped the entire contents on a sleepy unsuspecting public. No cash -- just a pile of IOUs payable to the Wall Street elites, to be drawn from our Social Security trust fund to go straight to their trillion-dollar tax-free offshore bank accounts and CEO pay packages. The only shocker is that there are still a few hold-outs who are still shocked by the Great Betrayal. Happily, most *New York Times*reader-commenters are up in arms, with one woman (Renee of Manhattan) even suggesting that Barack be dragged bodily fro...more »

Canadian Banks Outsourcing Jobs

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 3 hours ago
Billions of dollars in profits. Multi-million dollar salaries. But still, they want to save a few hundred grand at the expense of the livelihoods of their workers. Who are the main shareholders in Canadian bank stocks? Of course, you'll always find some mainstream economist who will drone on and on about how small this particular incident of outsourcing, automating, down-sizing, whatever is, in the context of the economy as a whole. There'll be some study showing how wages in outsourcing-prone industry aren't any more stagnant than wages in the wider economy so there's nothing to w... more »

Andrew Wiles: 60th birthday

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 3 hours ago
Andrew Wiles, the man who proved Fermat's Last Theorem, is 60 tomorrow. Congratulations. In 1996, Simon Singh produced this 50-minute documentary for the BBC Horizon series. And I just watched it again and liked it a lot. Wiles' father was a chaplain in Cambridge – and a professor of divinity at Oxford. The program convinced me – without saying it – that this religious background was important for Wiles to know how to get concentrated for the years that were needed to complete the proof. Note that he first presented a proof in 1993, one that was seen to have a gap, and he was a... more »

Conservative "Reformers" Oppose and then Support Standardized Testing

John Thompson at Schools Matter - 3 hours ago
Chester Finn’s “Accountability Dilemmas,” in the Fordham Flypaper, seems to be an example of a conservative “reformer” acknowledging at least some of the failure of bubble-in "reform." Finn recognizes that parents “fret” over the overemphasis on testing that “fosters dull, drill-centric classrooms.” Finn is open to some sort of testing hiatus as Common Core is introduced. Turning down the heat on educators would allow them to “focus on what’s coming rather than on the academic expectations that are going out of style.” Teachers could adjust to the new standards “without having to l... more »

Amur leopard population rises to 50 animals, but at continued risk from poachers

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 3 hours ago
[image: Captive Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) snarling in snow. Photo: Lynn M. Stone / WWF] By Jeremy Hance 9 April 2013 (mongabay.com) – In the remote Russian far east, amid pine forests and long winters, a great cat may be beginning to make a recovery. A new survey estimates that the Amur leopard (*Panthera pardus orientalis*) population has risen to as many as 50 individuals. While this may not sound like much, it's a far cry from the a population that may have fallen to just 25 animals. Sporting the heaviest coat of any leopard, the Amur leopard largely hunts hoof... more »

Ice storm tonight!

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 3 hours ago

The War on Workers

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 3 hours ago
In Harperland, the war on workers continues. Carol Goar reports that, this past Sunday, new EI eligibility rules went into effect: Until Sunday anyone living in a region with an unemployment rate above 8 per cent was eligible. Now the benchmark is a 13.1-per-cent jobless rate. Only a handful of regions qualify: parts of Newfoundland-Labrador, eastern Nova Scotia, Gaspésie, Restigouche, northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Under the old rules, laid-off workers in most regions could use their best 14 weeks of earnings when submitti... more »

MI GOP "Let 'em Die" Agenda

2old2care at Because I Can - 3 hours ago
Saw this on Dialy Kos this morning (if you are not aware of the hell Michiganders are going through - wake up and educate yourself - it's coming to a red state near you soon). The Michigan GOP Here's the laundry list: - Over 1,000 workers, roughly 9% of the total staff, would be cut from the Department of Human Services, the state department that, among other things, handles welfare, food assistance and child abuse investigations - Cuts $108.6 million from Governor Snyder’s proposed budget - The three juvenile justice facilities in Escanaba, Grayling and Whitmore ... more »

WPB/NYC and Anything Else on Pinterest

WPB/NYC and Anything Else is now on Pinterest. Have a look and pin articles, videos relevant to Green Rights and politics in general.

Are Ad Hoc, Issue Driven Congressional Coalitions An Option?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 4 hours ago
On any given day there is an odd-- and I mean *odd*-- assortment of Republicans willing to buck their much loathed party leadership and cross the aisle to make common cause with Democrats. That can be as many as 60 members as we saw when the GOP leadership offered an amendment to the Violence Against Women Act on February 28. It was carried by Conference Chair Kathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), #4 in the GOP hierarchy and the intent was to strip out protections for gays and lesbians in the domestic violence bill about to pass the House. 60 Republicans helped defeat the amendment at 11... more »

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 4 hours ago
Happy Birthday to Terre Roche, 60. Right to the good stuff, as I'm glad that I've made it through the first stretch of west coast night games: 1. Larry Bartels on math (don't know that I've ever mentioned it as such, but Bartels is one of the people who you should pretty much always read on every subject). 2. Seth Masket (with Thad Krouser and Eric McGhee): party endorsements in primaries appear to have direct effects on voters. 3. Dean Baker on Social Security disability. 4. One more on Thatcher: Carah Ong has comments from Reagan and Bush administration oral histories about ... more »

ALECer - Newtown Has Nothing to Do With Gun Debate

2old2care at Because I Can - 4 hours ago
From HuffPo Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) told reporters that the coming debate will have nothing to do with the families of the victims from Newtown, Connecticut. “See, I think it’s so unfair of the administration to hurt these families, to make them think this has something to do with them when, in fact, it doesn’t,” Inhofe said and suggested that Obama is manipulating and misinforming the families for political purposes. That is just so damn dumb - I can't comment on it. From Think Progress The Oklahoma senator has an A+ rating from the NRA and Gun Owners of America. He has taken a... more »

Argentina: Cattle Mutilations in Santiago del Estero

Inexplicata (IHU) at Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology - 4 hours ago
*Source: Diario El Liberal, Diario Panorama and Vision Ovni Date: 8 April 2013* *Argentina: Cattle Mutilations in Santiago del Estero* A cattle rancher from Paraje San Miguel, located in the interior of the Quebrachos department, made known the discovery of mutilated cows. *Technical Information: Place: Paraje San Miguel, Department of Quebrachos Location: 2 kilometers from the farmhouse Livestock Producer: Aldo Pineda Number of Animals: 1 Date Reported: 8 April 2013* Type of incision: “Those of us who live in the country and have slaughtered an animal are aware of the difficulty in... more »

WotW: Educate Your Parents on Social Media

Seth R. Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 5 hours ago
Last week, I was at dinner at my parent's place when my mom started talking about the last blog post I wrote about hashtags. Not only was I surprised she read my post, but that reading blogs was even part of her routine. She told me the post was really helpful because she had heard a lot about hashtags, but had no idea what they were. This got me to thinking about what a strange world social media must be to our parents. Now, I'm sure there are some readers of this blog who are the age of my parents, and I applaud you for keeping up with the times. But chances are most of our paren... more »

An Interview with Dr. Colin A. Ross, pt. 1 – “What is Mind Control?”

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 5 hours ago
This episode is with an interview with Dr. Colin A. Ross, titled “What is Mind Control” and is being released on Tuesday, April 09, 2013. This interview with Clint and Burt was recorded on Thursday, April 04, 2013. Dr. Ross is an internationally renowned clinician, researcher, author and lecturer in the field of trauma-related disorders. He is the founder and President of the Colin A. Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma. Dr. Ross is the Executive Medical Director of three trauma programs located at Timberlawn Mental Health System in Dallas, Texas, Forest View Hospital in Grand ... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 5 hours ago
*City formally files to place federal receiver over Orleans Parish Prison* *Something is killing dolphins in the Gulf* *Gulf health questions linger after oil leak* *Offshore extension bill dovetails into red snapper issue* *French Quarter Fest 2013 Food Better ~He Said/She Said NOLA* *Today in New Orleans ~NOLA DEFENDER** *

Winter storm watch for today!

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 5 hours ago
It's springtime, but a winter storm watch is in effect. Environment Canada warns it's not snow we have to worry about. A series of low pressure systems is bringing heavy rainfall warnings. On Thursday, a stronger low will arrive from the southwest and combine with a colder airmass from the north, the national weather network reports. As a result, a large amount of rain is expected to change to ice pellets and freezing rain.

Guest Post – Dave Kang: The Media Coverage of the Korean Crisis is Inflammatory

Robert Kelly at Duck of Minerva - 6 hours ago
My own thinking on the current Korea flap is on The Diplomat. I argue it’s a faux crisis, which promptly got me accused of being an air-head academic in the comment section. Lovely. I was also pleased to respond to Kim Jong Un’s threat that I should leave the country. And I managed not to Continue reading

Let the Panic Begin!

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 6 hours ago
*Wood chips, drying in Hengchun.* New cases suspected.... it's spreading!!!!! Test results have cleared three suspected cases of H7N9 avian influenza infection, as 10 new suspected cases were reported, the Central Epidemic Disease Surveillance Command Center said yesterday. Virus uncovered in poultry markets in Shanghai. Meanwhile, in Taiwan.... Six suspected cases of H7N9 virus found in Taiwan, but four cleared..... CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Chih-hau (周志浩) said on Thursday that six people reported fever symptoms after arriving in Taiwan from China recently. Two of them we... more »

Chamomile Benefits: Growing Your Own Medicine by Elizabeth Renter

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 7 hours ago
Source of poster: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zengrannys-Sage-Gardens/155617971159528 Chamomile Benefits: Growing Your Own Medicine by Elizabeth Renter Natural Society, 6 April 2013 Chamomile marks many people’s first venture into herbalism, and it’s usually because they have problems sleeping. The value of the plant as a mild relaxant has made it a popular choice in prepared teas found in nearly every grocery store. But *chamomile benefits* don’t stop there—this flowering jewel is able to provide an array of health perks. What’s more, growing chamomile at home is quite an e... more »

Margaret Thatcher: Public anger at BBC bias: Viewers hit out at lengthy coverage of poll tax and miners' strike | Mail Online

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 7 hours ago
One excerpt from this Daily Mail piece struck me http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2306564/Margaret-Thatcher-Public-anger-BBC-bias-Viewers-hit-lengthy-coverage-poll-tax-miners-strike.html ' One of Thatcher's arch critics – former Labour MP Tony Benn – was one of the first invited to speak on BBC 5 Live and BBC World Service and was given free rein to criticise Lady Thatcher. He said: 'Margaret Thatcher taught us the meaning of class war, we have paid a very heavy price for it. 'She used the power she had to make war on the miners and the trade union movement . . . and it was ... more »

Physics World on sub-\(46\GeV\) neutralinos

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 7 hours ago
Colin Stuart wrote the following article for Physics World yesterday: Are there signs of SUSY in Planck data? A week ago, AMS showed us much more accurate data about the high-energy positrons and electrons that haven't qualitatively changed our beliefs about the dark matter particle, at least not officially. Very recently, Planck – the successor of WMAP – released its data as well and it contained no clear SUSY smoking guns, either. The Physics World article seems to be mostly based on the following preprint Naturalness of Light Neutralino Dark Matter in pMSSM after LHC, XENON100 a... more »

Molokai MOM - Standing Up to GMOs

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 8 hours ago
Molokai MOM - Standing Up to GMOs Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7D4DB5LSBQ&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs *Published on Mar 20, 2013* ** For more videos about GMO in Hawaii visit:: http://www.youtube.com/user/HawaiiSEE... To connect with Molokai MOM: http://www.facebook.com/MolokaiMOM For More Info on GMO in Hawaii: http://hawaiiseed.org/ For more music by Makana: http://makanamusic.com/ Mercy and her family live downwind from Monsanto's fields. After a dust storm her son falls ill. This sets Mercy on a search to understand why these GMO test crops are being pla... more »

Goodbye Maggie

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 8 hours ago
A lot of this particular article is at best mean spirited, and a last stand on the soap box for the willfully blind before the muse of history puts it all back in balance. The vast majority of the population see their narrow personal interests as the ‘national interest’ when in fact the national interest often demands personal sacrifice. Ask any Soldier. The outrageous behavior of the union movement throughout the twentieth century strangled the national interest just as surely as had the traditional landholders throughout much of history. Neither are pleasant to look a... more »

Elasmosaurus Identified?

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 8 hours ago
This skeleton and a recent report posted in which the creature was outright eyeballed directly from above by trained observers pretty well clinches it. Some of the inferences here are open to controversy, but what we are dealing with can be put to rest. All sea serpent reports and loch Nessie like reports are about this creature and no other. I think that it still retains the capacity to crawl along on land when it needs to. It certainly will be able to flounder around in a marsh. Thus establishing an egg nest in decaying vegetation is practical. While the argument f... more »

Icelands Growing Violcanic Threat

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 8 hours ago
For some reason these researchers have not connected the dots. In 1159 BC Hekla blew and shut down agriculture in Northern Europe for a stunning twenty years, The fact that I think much more than that actually happened does not have to be accepted to confront the reality of tree ring analysis. That describes a horrific disaster. Thus normal volcanic activity as we have seen forever, is a mere inconvenience. Knowing it can be far worse is known also as prudence. The good news is that these events are wonderfully uncommon. However, we have plenty of unfriendly local n... more »

Private Space Industry Enters Orbit

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 8 hours ago
If we ever needed proof of the natural success of the private public model of enterprise development this is surely it. We are not so much inventing anything new, but we certainly exploring all the ways in which the tech can be made to fly. We are on the way to having several lift configurations out there and we have already effectively matched the best past performance in one way or another. As important we are close to having a reusable first stage and even electromagnetic launchers. Space is getting exciting again and it is about to surpass all our drea... more »

Harper's Canada Posts Poor Showing on Child Well-Being

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 9 hours ago
Sideshow Steve Harper doesn't have much time for the plebs, especially the little ones - the dependent-types. UNICEF has just released a report on the well-being of children in the 29 richest countries and we finish in a miserable 17th place. *Canada ranked very low in the category of health and safety, ahead of only Latvia and Romania. According to UNICEF, the category looked at such things as infant mortality, low birth weight, national immunization and overall child and youth mortality.* *Canada had the worst ranking in terms of youth cannabis users at 28 per cent; was 24th i... more »

Dr. Steve Pieczenik - Time to Shutdown The CIA & DHS

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 9 hours ago
these JOKERS gotta leave us alone, it is now time to adopt CUSTODIAN ways on this PLANET so that it can be FREEd from this micc insanity. Remembering, of course, that Dr. Steve Pieczenik is a former top hostage manager, has used psychological warfare to overthrow governments, and founded Delta Force in 1979. So, when he says, "It is now time to shut down The CIA & DHS," do we listen to him or do we listen to NWO bloodline mouthpiece and covert assassin (by his own admission) James Casbolt who suggests, "MI6 created the CIA in 1947 and they're still controlling it." So, who to beli... more »

PRINCE HARRY AND JAMES HEWITT

Anon at aangirfan - 10 hours ago
Prince Charles told Prince Harry that James Hewitt was not his father Aged two, Prince Harry loved James Hewitt's stories of his life in the military. Harry and William liked to chat with 'Mummy's friend'. Harry's most treasured item of clothing was a military uniform which James Hewitt had had made for him. 'Uncle James' took Harry to visit Combermere Barracks, home of the Household Cavalry. *James Hewitt* When Uncle James was posted abroad, Diana began her relationship with James Gilbey and then with Dr Hasnat Khan. In 2002, James Hewitt stated that he was not Prince ... more »

April 9. 1973

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 11 hours ago
There's a Gallup poll in the field that finishes up today; Richard Nixon's approval ratings is at 54% for April 6-9. It had been generally been circling around 60% for most of the last few months, but has now been falling since it spiked up in January (presumably on Vietnam news). So Nixon is still reasonably popular (he had, after all, won a massive landslide in November), but not quite as much so as had been the case. Haldeman's diary: -- Had a long discussion [with Nixon] about the monitoring facilities in his offices and he wants them all taken out, but then he later changed h... more »

Kierkegaard On Truth

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 11 hours ago
Related: * * *Kierkegaard On Socratic Ignorance*. *Kierkegaard On "Man."** * *Kierkegaard On Socrates And The Immortality of The Soul.* *Kierkegaard On God's Love.* *Kierkegaard On Passion.* * Kierkegaard On Martyrs of Truth.* Below is an excerpt from, *"The Soul of Kierkegaard: Selections from His Journals."* Edited by Alexander Dru. Dover Publications, Inc: Mineola, New York. 2003. Pg. 201-202. . . . No, instead of wishing, like the young man, to tear away the veil from divinity, I wish to tear the veil from human twaddle and from the conceited self-complacency with which... more »

"In America truth is offensive, If you tell the truth, you are offensive."

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 11 hours ago
So writes former U.S. deputy treasury secretary, Paul Craig Roberts, in his column for *CounterPunch, America, Land of the Lost*. Roberts recently published the e-book, *The Failure of Laissez-Faire Capitalism*, reviewed on this blog three weeks ago. Plenty of offensive truth-telling there. Now, Roberts confronts the shrill unacceptability of being both honest and open in modern Western culture. *Throughout history truth tellers have suffered and court historians have prospered. It is the same today.* * If you tell readers what is really going on, they want to know why you c... more »

I wonder how The News Quiz will handle Lady Thatcher's death

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 11 hours ago
I note that BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz returns for a new series on Friday, presumably they will be recording the show on Thursday night. I wonder how the assorted lefty 'comedians' will respond. My prediction would be the very nasty and very left-wing Jeremy Hardy to be nastily sarcastic and vicious (in his faux sweet middle class voice) and Sandi Toskvig to have some nicely written barbs of her own against a woman who she could never dream of emulating. I believe the other guests are Phill Jupitus, Daniel Finkelstein, and Roisin Conaty. Phill 'Porky the poet' Jupitus is another r... more »

The Realist Report with John Friend

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 11 hours ago
On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined by Rocky Suhayda, Chairman of the American Nazi Party, and Axl Hess, Director of Outreach of the *American Nazi Party*. We'll be discussing the American Nazi Party, it's history and objectives, *George Lincoln Rockwell*, challenges facing White America, and related issues. Calls will be taken throughout the conversation. Tune in for what will surely be an interesting discussion! You can download the entire program *here*, or subscribe to the American Nationalist Network via iTunes *here*. Thanks for listening everyone!

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 12 hours ago
A view from Ibiza

BOOKS / Ron Jacobs : Vijay Prashad and the Lessons of the Global South

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 12 hours ago
Vijay Prashad's 'possible history': The lessons of the Global South Prashad paints a sweeping indictment of those who want to rule the earth with little or no regard for most of its inhabitants. By Ron Jacobs / The Rag Blog / April 10, 2013 The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South by Vijay Prashad (2013: Verso); Hardback; 300 pp; $26.95. Vijay Prashad is fast becoming

The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights Is Simply Bullshit

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 12 hours ago
An excerpt from the New York Times article, *"A Very Busy Man Behind the Syrian Civil War’s Casualty Count"*: Military analysts in Washington follow its body counts of Syrian and rebel soldiers to gauge the course of the war. The United Nations and human rights organizations scour its descriptions of civilian killings for evidence in possible war crimes trials. Major news organizations, including this one, cite its casualty figures. Yet, despite its central role in the savage civil war, the grandly named Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is virtually a one-man band. Its found... more »

Prisoner Abuse Scandal in L.A. County Jails-- Guest Post From Sheriff Candidate Lou Vince

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 13 hours ago
In 2011, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a report in Federal Court giving L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca’s department a scathing review for his deputies’ treatment of prisoners. A *New York Times* article that year summed up the report: One inmate said he was forced to walk down a hallway naked after sheriff’s deputies accused him of stealing a piece of mail. They taunted him in Spanish, calling him a derogatory name for homosexuals. Another former inmate said that after he protested that guards were harassing a mentally ill prisoner, the same deputies took him into anoth... more »

Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)

Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints - 13 hours ago
Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)! If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far. There's a lot of great information in this post and I encourage you to read through it ... however, if you don't have the time right now, you might find the following quick links helpful: - The #CTWW Gang - The Honor Society - My Final Thoughts on Our Last Challenge - This Week's Challenge Last week we asked the question, *How many CDs/DVDs do you have?* These seemingly harmless discs create a lot... more »

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Giving a bugger

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 13 hours ago
“Key’s announcement that he plans to respond to the GCSB’s habit of illegally spying on New Zealanders by making it legal for them to spy on New Zealanders is the same as National’s previous response when the police were caught illegally spying on New Zealanders. No one gets held accountable, and the law is changed to enable the previously illegal activity. “The message to government agencies – that they can break the law and violate people’s rights with impunity because the government will never prosecute them and will rewrite the law to whatever they want if they get caught... more »

Revealing Some Truths About Britain's So Called "Iron Lady": Margaret Thatcher's Part In The Sinking Of The Argentinian Battleship "General Belgrano"!

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 15 hours ago
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1979 to 1990, and well known as the so called "Iron Lady" by many around the world, passed away yesterday at the age of 87. Much of the news coming out of the United Kingdom for the last two days and many Jewish run media outlets around the world have paid tribute and much accolades to this woman, the United Kingdom's first and only female Prime Minister, and her legacy. From what I have discovered through research about this woman, I do not hold her in the same high regard..... I want to present one article ... more »

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Newest Update - TEPCO "Losing Faith" In Leaking Fukushima Tanks...But Has No Place To Put The Radioactive Water!

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 15 hours ago
It has been a while since I last put up any updates on the still dangerous situation with the failed nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Japan, and I figured that there was no time like the present... I have watched the reports over the last week about the leaking nuclear waste storage facility pits at Fukushima with about as much disgust as everyone else.... It is troubling that now over 2 years since that horrific disaster, we are watching as Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (TEPCO) continue to struggle in almost vain attempts to contain the situatio... more »

MicroSoftNBC Interviews Lawyer on Literacy, Reading, Testing, Homeschooling, and More

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 15 hours ago
The next time that the young guns of The Cycle have a legal issue to talk about, I am wondering if they will find an educator to analyze the issues around the case. After giving the Occupy DOE event thirty seconds of video with clueless voiceover by the host of the show, the producers gave United Way CEO, Sheena Wright, 7 minutes to share her commonplace ignorance on the issues of opting out, testing, home schooling, literacy, and more. But then, with New York City short on educational reform scholars and commentators, what's wrong with a lawyer's advice on school issues? After ... more »

Pol. Ideology 39: Thatcherism

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 15 hours ago
The great, cool “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, UK Prime Minister from 1979-1990, passed away yesterday. RIP, Margaret. Let me start with a few quotes from this great leader. *To cure the British disease with socialism was like trying to cure leukaemia with leeches.* *We want a society where people are free to make choices, to make mistakes, to be generous and compassionate. This is what we mean by a moral society; not a society where the state is responsible for everything, and no one is responsible for the state.* *If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it... more »

Mayors Against Illegal Guns sets the NRA bullies in its sights

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 16 hours ago
*This "Message from Neil Heslin," father of Jesse, is being circulated by Mayors Against Illegal Guns as part of its Demand Action to End Gun Violencecampaign. * *"For too long, the only voice that has been loud enough to influence Congress has been the Washington gun lobby's -- that's how we've ended up with ineffective gun laws that have fueled our country's gun violence epidemic. Now we're working to make sure that the voices of the more than 900 bipartisan mayors in our coalition -- and the 90 percent of Americans who support commonsense reforms like background checks for all gu... more »

make believe

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 16 hours ago
' Tis strange - but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction; if it could be told, How much would novels gain by the exchange! How differently the world would men behold! How oft would vice and virtue places change! The new world would be nothing to the old, If some Columbus of the moral seas Would show mankind their souls' antipodes. Lord Byron, in the satirical poem *Don Juan*, 1823*.*

Your Mission Part 2

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 16 hours ago
*Your Mission Part 2* April 9th, 2013 http://removingtheshackles.blogspot.ca/2013/04/your-mission-part-ii.html I received this message from the awesome Sue, whom I love so much for her amazing energy!! This is a continuation of the visualization I wrote about yesterday HERE. [10:35:50 AM] Sue Harper Todd: I have been DOing. After reading D’s brilliant visualization yesterday I could immediately see everyone at the Party except the divines. I could feel they were having a really hard time letting go of their ‘identity’. I could see them as D described ‘hiding –closeted ... more »

Harry Reid ready to bust out gun control bill

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 17 hours ago
Our Senate Majority Leader tells us he is a patient man, but apparently he's lost his patience today. Harry Reid is forcing a cloture vote on the current Democratic gun reform bill. The kabuki is complicated on this move with the compromise bill still stuck in the back rooms and the above pictured GOPers being joined by Mitch McConnell threatening a filibuster, along a few red state Dems. Not clear how serious they are about the filibuster. Josh says their resolve is failing. Surely, there are long term problems for the Republican party in blocking a vote on a bill that has the s... more »

Larry Ray : The Right of Americans to Love and Marry

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 17 hours ago
There's a problem when the stars and stripes exclude some Americans, forcing them to have their own flag. Image from iHandbill. The right to love and marry: Picking the fly specks out of the pepper Conservative judges on the Supreme Court were literally stewing and sputtering as they questioned attorneys speaking in support of same-sex marriage. By Larry Ray / The Rag Blog / April 9, 2013 It

“Sticking it to the man” by saying “stuff you” to artists

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 17 hours ago
Promoters of economic theft recently have been pointing to Amanda Palmer’s inspiring TED talk—“don’t *make *people pay for music; *ask* them” she says—as grounds for saying the “old model” should die, copyright should go hang, and every artist should be just like AFP*. Palmer argues her outstanding success in getting her fans to support her financially is built in large part on trusting them. “I put myself and my work out there, I ask to be embraced, and I am embraced.” As a promoter of artists rights myself, and also as one of the 24,388 people who trusted her enough to back her ... more »

Send Your Light - In Unity With All The Other You-s

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 17 hours ago

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 17 hours ago
*Gentrification flap rooted in an older debate over New Orleans ‘exceptionalism’ ~C. W. Cannon*

World War One!! ..... it seemed like a good idea at the time

leftdog at Buckdog - 18 hours ago
** *I see that the Conservative Party and their friends in the MSM are getting ready to try and brainwash you into thinking that World War One was a glorious moment in Canadian history. You are being told that Canadian soldiers died for Canada's 'freedom' during the First World War ... to 'protect and preserve our nation'. Nonsense!!!* *Any one with even a fleeting knowledge of history will struggle with this interpretation of the pointless, meaningless conflict known as 'the First World War'.* * **Stop any citizen on the street and ask them what the reason for the First World War... more »

Glenn Alexander Magee - Goethe the Alchemist

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 18 hours ago
Glenn Alexander Magee is Chairman of the Department of Philosophy and an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Long Island University (LIU). Here is a background of his work (*Source: LIU*): If there is a unifying theme to my scholarship and my teaching, it is this: I am interested in the relationship of philosophy to "the irrational." Mysticism claims to provide wisdom in a non-discursive form and typically rejects philosophy's insistence that all truths must be established by reason. However, as my scholarly work demonstrates, throughout history philosophers have in fact been i... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 18 hours ago
*When Boatloads of Federal Money Attack ~Mike Church*~In 1817, President James Madison vetoed(1) Henry Clay and John C Calhoun’s “Bonus Bill” which would have given the Federal Government funding and authority to begin building levees, canals and roads. In his veto Madison wrote “The legislative powers vested in Congress are specified and enumerated, and it does not appear that the power for constructing canals, and improving the navigation of water courses… is among the enumerated powers vested by the Constitution in the Government of the United States.” If only Madison had been aro... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 18 hours ago
*Collapse of Jindal plan spawns unfunded schemes to phase out income tax ~Mark Moseley, The Lens* *Poke a fork in his buns cause Jindal’s Done ~Dakinikat, Sky Dancing *

GAIA PORTAL: Spheres of Light are Released from Gaia Portals at this Time

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 18 hours ago
* * * * *Spheres of Light are Released from Gaia Portals at this Time* by ÉirePort Spheres of Light are released from Gaia portals at this time. As shells of old paradigms are cracked, Spheres of Light are released, as well, from individual beings. This may appear to some as an effervescence of Light, appearing in regions formerly viewed as stagnant or neutral or dark. The Effervescence of Light spheres results from release of ego pressure from individuals as well as cultures of all types throughout Gaia. Resting during periods of physical "tiredness" encourages ego shell crackin... more »

America Becomes Dr. Evil More And More As Each Day Passes

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 18 hours ago
*NY Times: Navy Deploying Laser Weapon Prototype Near Iran*.

What you can learn from the movies

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 18 hours ago
Pssst. Here’s some important cold, hard facts about the world everyone can learn from the movies. The first fact is, the movies are always right… [image: Some movie facts] And the last lesson is, if you ever meet kidnappers with duct tape, be really scared of the tape. Cartoon from 9GAG. Vid from Smithsonian Blogs. Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

EMHN 9: Private Sector Role in India UHC

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 18 hours ago
Another bright and sensible paper from one of our international partners, the Emerging Markets Health Network (EMHN). In a new paper published this week, Indian economist and a friend, Debashis Chakraborty of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Delhi, argued that *"PPPs have the potential to help India achieve its healthcare ambitions, although the government should refrain from using its power to dominate the partnership, and will have to allow private partners greater scope both to plan and manage."* In his new seven-pages paper, The private sector’s role in achieving Univer... more »

The Original Rudeboys - Sunny Days

TQ at GlobaLove Think Tank - 18 hours ago
We identify people by their different characteristics: the contours of their body, the shape of their face, the colour of the hair or the sound of their voice or even of their laugh. Their selfhood or character is summoned up by the powerful blending of all these characteristics. I wish to concentrate on only one of these qualities here, namely the last listed one - the sound of the human voice. Some years back, I remember viewing a TV programme on those poor lost souls - the homeless or those of our number who live on our streets. The most haunting thing about the whole programm... more »

Glenn Gaven : The Sad Saga of Austin's $10 Million Concrete Path

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 19 hours ago
Austin City Councilman Chris Riley on his trusty steed. Image from chrisforaustin.com. Taken for a ride: The sad saga of the $10 million concrete path It is no coincidence that this segment of concrete treasure will run along part of Austin Councilmember Chris Riley’s pet project, a New Urbanist rezoning wet dream known as the Airport Boulevard Renovation Project. By Glenn Gaven / The Rag

clever enough ?

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 19 hours ago

Inanimate carbon rod

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 19 hours ago
But let's be clear, future; not just for the next 5 years but the next 4,000 years, together, with the rod, in positive, serious fightback, together, clear where we're going.

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago

The Iron Lady and the BBC (Part Two)

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 19 hours ago
Many right-leaning critics of the BBC (myself included) expected the BBC to behave badly when Baroness Thatcher passed away. I've read so many predictions (mostly on blogs) in the last few years about this - all certain that the BBC's anti-Tory bias would come foaming across the airwaves from the very moment of her death - that the fact that this has * not* happened has come as a very pleasant surprise to me. Not just to me. If you read through this interesting thread at *Biased BBC* you'll discover a good number of other people (from a similar political standpoint) who have also ... more »

Can’t even get the simplest things right!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 19 hours ago
*TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2013* *The Los Angeles Times tries to report on Los Angeles crime rates:* We’ve spent the afternoon in video-and-transcript Hell, reviewing the horrid pseudo-discussion moderated by Melissa Harris-Perry last Sunday. We’ll discuss that rolling nightmare tomorrow. For today, let’s review a recent post by Kevin Drum. Drum reviewed a news report in the Los Angeles Times—a report about Los Angeles crime rates. The report referred to the city’s “decade-long decline” in crime. But as Drum noted, violent crime in L.A. has actually been on the downward slope since 1991...more »

“Cut Social Security & Veterans' Benefits? Cut the Pentagon Instead”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
*“Cut Social Security & Veterans' Benefits? * *Cut the Pentagon Instead”* by Robert Naiman "The boss organizes the workers, union organizers like to say. Say what you want about President Obama's proposal to cut Social Security and veterans' benefits with the "chained CPI." He did accomplish one thing for liberals that they often have a hard time doing on their own. He united them - in opposition to his proposal. Since Friday, the following groups, among others, have contacted me expressing outrage about and pledging to vigorously oppose the president's proposal: the AFL-CI... more »

Boycott the Royal Bank - Part 2

Alison at Creekside - 19 hours ago
Shorter Gord Nixon : Look, they're not *your* jobs, they're *our* jobs, and if we choose to move *our* jobs offshore to another company without you because it's cheaper, that's just business. Besides, only one of the 13 dudes we brought in to RBC came under iGATE's temporary foreign worker application - the rest of them are house guests. About that one iGATE dude :G&M : The federal government is investigating Royal Bank of Canada’s move to outsource technology jobs and reviewing paperwork submitted by its contractor to bring in temporary foreign workers. The probe centres on what... more »

Adrian Dix Scores The Oscar, Christy Clark Flaps Her Lips

Grant G at The Straight Goods - 19 hours ago
Christy Clark continually utters before thinking, and now Christy Clark has put the BC Liberals in a box.. Before we get started, ....I`m doing a mea culpa, backtracking on an earlier post.. I wrote about the continual race to bottom with subsidies to the movie industry.. Adrian Dix has announced increasing the labour subsidy to BC`s film industry from the current 33% to 40%...This is a fabulous move, it`s being applauded by industry experts, those employed, and especially by those hoping to again become employed in the movie industry.. These new added labour tax breaks still k... more »

A Note on Thatcherism and New Labour

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 19 hours ago
It is oft-noted that when asked what her greatest achievement was, Margaret Thatcher replied "Tony Blair". But is this really the case? Was the dearly departed having a laugh? Or were New Labour and the 'Third Way' a continuation of Thatcherism by other means, one that was all smiles, celebrity-savvy and had a better soundtrack? No. And yes. Steve Bush's provocatively-titled *Progress* piece, Labour Ended Thatcherismis interesting for drawing attention to the discontinuities between Thatcher and Blair, but for all that ventures a fundamentally flawed position. Steve's argument is th... more »

What economics can teach philosophers

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 19 hours ago
[image: 276464_137539366339987_1226509_n] This week, our friends at the Auckland University Economics Group have a special invitation out to philosophers… Hi all, This Thursday we continue our discussion of what philosophy has to teach economics, and vice versa. Last week we looked at what economics takes from the “philosophic tree”—and what it allows economics to do. This week we complete the overview by talking about the important lesson that economics gives back to the “tree”: a conclusion, taught and confirmed by economic thinking, that social philosophers would ... more »

Planetary Boundaries as Millenarian Prophesies: A Guest Post by Steve Rayner

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Pielke, Jr.) at Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog - 19 hours ago
*This is a guest post by Steve Rayner, Oxford University, and is distilled from a forthcoming book chapter that Steve has co-authored with Clare Heyward, also of Oxford University. The full citation is (and please see the original for the broader argument and references):* *S. Rayner and C. Heyward, 2013 (in press). The Inevitability of Nature as a Rhetorical Resource, Chapter 14 in Kerstin Hastrup (editor), Anthropology and Nature (Routledge, London).* *This post follows up an earlier discussion of the politics of planetary boundaries on this blog here and a critique and follow ... more »

Judicial Nominations Update

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 20 hours ago
Two pieces of news today: First, the Senate approved the nomination of Patty Shwartz to the 3rd Circuit appeals court by a 64-34 vote; Frank Lautenberg remains missing, so that's ten Republicans voting for her after the GOP first agreed not to force a cloture vote. Schwartz was first nominated in October 2011 for a seat that has been vacant since June 2011. Progress! This is the fifth appeals court judge confirmed by the Senate this year, leaving 16 such spots on the bench open. Progress! Or not...that's a long time to confirm a nomination, even one that did have significant dissen... more »

Satire: "Right Not to Get Shot Faces Uphill Fight in Senate"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago
*"Right Not to Get Shot Faces Uphill Fight in Senate"* by Andy Borowitz WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Senate Republicans today vowed to filibuster a controversial bill supporting the right not to get shot. G.O.P. leaders lambasted the bill, arguing that the right to go to school, work, or one’s home without fear of being shot was not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. “The Second Amendment makes it very clear,” said Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming). “The right to bear arms shall not be infringed by a tiny minority’s desire not to be shot.” But according to the pollster Harlan... more »

Sirena admirando la hermosa naturaleza

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 20 hours ago
[image: Sirena admirando la hermosa naturaleza] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de sirenas* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Did You Vote For Obama (Or Romney)? Yes?-- Well Eat Your Dog And Cat Meat Burger And Shut Up

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 20 hours ago
Liberty-- though not for Fido, obviously Michael Brenner wrote a powerful piece for AlterNet a few days ago, America Is Ruled By Billionaires, And They Are Coming After The Last Shred Of Our Democracy. Like most Americans-- I'd like to say 99% of Americans but I know that would be wishful thinking-- Brenner is instinctually repulsed by plutocracy. He defines it succinctly in opening his essay and points out that aside from owning everything, the plutocrats have had their political handmaidens take significant actions that "directly favor the moneyed interests." The latter include t... more »

Rana de colores saltando entre las hojas

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 20 hours ago
[image: Rana de colores saltando entre las hojas] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de ranas* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Perrito triste junto a las flores de colores

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 20 hours ago
[image: Perrito triste junto a las flores de colores] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de perros* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Mariposas volando sobre las rosas

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 21 hours ago
[image: Mariposas volando sobre las rosas] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de rosas* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Ding dong etc...

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 21 hours ago
An interesting if grim set of results from the latest Guardian/ICM survey. Asked to assess Margaret Thatcher's term in office and it's legacy a narrow majority of people look favourably on her destroying the basis of social democracy, in this case trade unionism and council housing, but oppose the (some would say logical) result of that destruction, structural unemployment and widening class divisions. Now, we're Gramsicans; we take it as read that median subaltern consciousness in average times is contradictory, that's why we organise. And of course this is just one survey, and sur...more »

Hermosa mujer navegando en el lago entre las flores de loto

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 21 hours ago
[image: Hermosa mujer navegando en el lago entre las flores de loto] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de mujeres* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Enorme oso panda comiendo bambú

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 21 hours ago
[image: Enorme oso panda comiendo bambú] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de osos panda * Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Once again I notice the difference between left and right

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 21 hours ago
I inhabit a pretty civilised personal world but as ever I note that even here, the left and right deal with differences of opinion differently. In several meetings today I felt that some people wanted to talk about Lady Thatcher's death but felt inhibited because whilst they were obviously pro-Thatcher, they weren't sure about me. *I am not how most of you imagine me to be, most people would assume that I am on the left, maybe the far left . * I have noted previously how lefty types feel free to insult politicians on the right and how people on the right will just listen and accept ... more »

Campo de lavanda a orillas de las montañas nevadas

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 21 hours ago
[image: Campo de lavanda a orillas de las montañas nevadas] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de lavanda* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Newark Students Fighting for Their Lives

Judy Rabin at Schools Matter - 21 hours ago
One of the most hopeful signs at Occupy the DOE 2.0 in DC this weekend were the number of students from all over the U.S. who showed up. Students are beginning to stand up for their rights to a quality education and calling out the corporate criminals who continue to suck the life and soul out of public education while fattening their bottom lines and stockholder profits. That's what market driven education looks like, but that is not what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like. Meanwhile, parents in New Jersey are opting their children out of the tests because ... more »

Time waits for no one

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 21 hours ago
You don't have to be a Republican for this list of GOP milestones to make you feel old. I remember the majority of them from having experienced them in real time. The item that seems most relevant to our present day politics is it's been almost 13 years since the first Bush Tax Cuts were signed into law. They promised at the time it was going to make everybody part of the "ownership society." Predictably, 13 years later, the majority of Americans own less while the "original owners" who got the biggest cuts now own almost everything, including our government. And they still want mo...more »

Protest US Border Patrol Murder of Teen in Mexico, April 10, 2013

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 22 hours ago
**español abajo** April 9, 2013 Contact: Hannah Hafter (651) 338 8058 (US) Jeanette Pasos - 631 110 0395 (MX) *What: March and memorial to demand justice in Border Patrol Killing* ***When: Wednesday, April 10, starting at 5:30pm* ** *Where: In Nogales, Sonora, demonstrators will meet in the “placita nueva” near the international port of entry; in the Nogales, Arizona demonstrators will gather at the corner of Grand and Crawford.* ** *Demonstrators, Family to March April 10 to Demand Justice in Border Patrol Killing* *Nogales, AZ- *On Wednesday, April 10 advocates, supporters a... more »

Jimmy Carter

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 22 hours ago
My view of Jimmy Carter is well known so I was interested to read this: Dershowitz: I Challenge Carter to Human Rights Debate at Cardozo I will come, at my own expense, to debate Jimmy Carter on Carter's own human rights record. If Cardozo will have me, I will come and provide the students, the administration and anyone else that is interested, with a first rate debate about the meaning of human rights and they can decide whether what Jimmy Carter has done, constitutes human rights or human wrongs. Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter professor of law at Harvard Law School, has chal... more »

Cheyenne River Indigenous Water Summit May 22 -- 24, 2013

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 22 hours ago
CHEYENNE RIVER HOHWOJU LAKOTA OF THE GREAT OCETI SAKOWIN Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Seven Sacred Council Fires Invites All Indigenous of the Eagle+Condor Nations INDIGENOUS WATER SUMMIT May 22-24, 2013 Seeking a Summer of Solidarity with Indigenous Nations throughout the Western Hemisphere in combating the world water crisis, impacts of climate change and environmental racism, the Cheyenne River Hohwoju Lakota Nation will host a three-day Indigenous Water Summit this spring on Lakota homelands in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. The first annual Indigenous Water Summit will offer a... more »

THE STATE IS NOT WORRIED BY THE BLOGGERS

Anon at aangirfan - 22 hours ago
www.nielsen.com *According to The Economist:* The internet was expected to aid democracy. "Instead, it has enabled the authoritarian state to get a firmer grip." *"Not only has .... authoritarian rule survived the internet, but the state has shown great skill in bending the technology to its own purposes, enabling it to exercise better control..."* *The CIA used the internet to bring poverty and chaos to Tunisia.* The state "has deployed an army of cyber-police... web monitors and paid online propagandists to watch, filter, censor and guide .... internet users... *"Government ... more »

"Don’t Worry, Everything is 'Normal'”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
*"Don’t Worry, Everything is 'Normal'”* by Bill Holter "Yesterday John Embry of Sprott Asset Management wrote “This is headed toward a catastrophic ending. We are in a period in world history that has never been seen before, and the thought that the powers that be have any idea how to get us out of this mess without serious chaos is dead wrong.” Think about this quote, it is exactly correct in all facets. The world IS in a mess no matter how many false statistics global governments release or how many new highs the Dow or other averages make. Everything you see and hear is “m... more »

Kryon: The Time Capsules of GAIA

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 22 hours ago
*"THE TIME CAPSULES OF GAIA"* This live channelling was Given on the Kryon Kundalini Tour February 9, 2013 *To help the reader, this channelling has been revisited [by Lee and Kryon] to provide even clearer understanding. Often what happens live has implied energy within it, which carries a kind of communication that the printed page does not. So enjoy this enhanced message given in Salt Lake City, Utah. * Greetings, dear ones, I am Kryon of Magnetic Service. The message that I give this evening is an extension to the two that I have given previously within the last weeks [in B... more »

Mohawk Nation News 'Fatally Flawed'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 22 hours ago
[image: mnnlogo1] FATALLY FLAWED Posted on April 9, 2013 **** *MNN. APR. 9, 2013.* In Thahoketoteh of Kanekota and the Queen, T2007-12, the decision went against the constitution and “the rule of law”. Federal and provincial laws are applied to Six Nations by violating constitutional law, such as the Royal Proclamation being superseded by Corporation of Canada statutes. Canada is not a constitutional democracy as s. 109 of the British North America Act 1867 is being deliberately ignored. No legal reasons were given other than that Thahoketoteh did not state strong enough facts, f... more »

TODAY - 4/9 - ALEC Economic Webinar Debunking Their LIes

2old2care at Because I Can - 22 hours ago
Join Webinar Debunking Myths Promoted by ALEC Posted by Third and State on *April 8, 2013 3:16 pm* Posted in: - State Budget and Taxes [image: PA Policy Perspectives: A Webinar Series]The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, may have recently abandoned its advocacy of controversial Voter ID and Stand Your Ground laws in the face of public scrutiny — but it hasn’t stopped pushing for fiscal policies that benefit corporations and the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us. Join a webinar on Tuesday, April 9 from 4 to 5 p.m. hosted by the Pennsylvania Budget and P... more »

Social Security Should not be CUT by so Much as a Dime!

Len Hart at The Existentialist Cowboy - 22 hours ago
*By Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy* SS should not be CUT --it should be strengthened! If there is a shortfall, send the bill to the 'ruling elite' which has gotten filthy rich with all sorts of 'tax' avoidance schemes that the middle and poorer classes could only dream about! Elite money winds up offshore; but SS is a boon to the economy. What's up? Has no one bothered to read John Maynard Keynes? Cutting SS would plunge the nation into depression as a result of the LOST PURCHASING POWER of seniors who will be reduced to penury! Many have already been reduced to shopping at ... more »

I see you!

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 22 hours ago

A continuum of cop violence against women: systemic and authoritarian, sexualized and fetishized.

noreply@blogger.com (deBeauxOs) at DAMMIT JANET! - 23 hours ago
From Ayesha, we learn about yet another woman's death, as a the tragic outcome of a desultory police investigation. *In an extensive post on a Facebook memorial page, her mother Leah Parsons described how the straight-A high school student became depressed and suicidal after the incident.* * * *“The person Rehtaeh once was all changed one dreaded night in November 2011. She went with a friend to another’s home. In that home she was raped by four young boys . . . one of those boys took a photo of her being raped and decided it would be fun to distribute the photo to everyone in Rehta... more »

Tony Rooke wins his TV License case by stating the BBC were complicit in 9/11.

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 23 hours ago
seriously, this is EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT in the sense that the BBC didn't mention this before being taken to court by Tony Rooke: and they still haven't talked about it. Points Of View, anyone? The interesting aspect of this, for me, is that not only did Tony Rooke get away with not paying for his TV license due to his claim that the BBC were somehow 'in league with or coordinated with the terrorists i.e. T.H.E.Y.' on the day of 9/11 when the US Air FOrce stood down allowing two commercial airliners to fly over restricted airspace for an hour and then crash into the WTC building... more »

The Filibuster Can't Defeat Gun Control

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 23 hours ago
Today seems to be Beat Up on Harry Reid Day. Dan Savage: Republicans regard first and second graders as expendable. Wish Dems felt the same about the filibuster. And, sure, might as well quote Wil Wheaton: @fakedansavage I wonder if people sending thousands of post cards that say "I told you so" to Harry Reid would get movement on reform? Justin Green notes that Reid has threatened majority-imposed Senate reform over judges, but: But if you're a liberal, don't get your hopes up about Reid doing the same thing to get a vote on gun control. The why is easy: many of the Senators who ... more »

Paradise Becomes a Nightmare

gail zawacki at Wit's End - 23 hours ago
It's wonderful to see that ever more people are waking up to the dangers of pollution, and taking personal risks to stop it that would have seemed outlandish just a year ago - such as this gallant grandma in Oklahoma, who used a bikelock around her neck earlier today to halt excavation for the Keystone XL pipeline. But while the article on the Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance website talks about the health effects in neighborhoods in the path of pipelines, from spills and emissions and chemicals, not once does it mention climate change - let alone the global trend of forest dieback... more »

Why are the Recent Contaminated Water Spills at Tepco so Significant

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 23 hours ago
Majia here: There have been many recent reports of major leaks by most, if not all, of Tepco's water tanks used for containing radioactive water. The reason containment leaks are significant is that the Daiichi site is saturated with water. Contaminated ground water at the site could contaminate the fresh water aquifer (indeed, it probably already has). Furthermore, contaminated ground water will pour into the basements of the reactor buildings. Tepco cannot handle the volume of this water and has not been successful in pumping it all out. The possibility of highly contaminated wa... more »

Arms Race Update: Laser Weapons

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 23 hours ago
*Navy Deploying Laser Weapon Prototype Near Iran by Thom Shanker April 8, 2013, New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/world/navy-deploying-laser-weapon-prototype-in-persian-gulf.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130409&_r=0 * [Excerpted] — The Navy is going to sea for the first time with a laser attack weapon that has been shown in tests to disable patrol boats and blind or destroy surveillance drones. A prototype shipboard laser will be deployed on a converted amphibious transport and docking ship in the Persian Gulf… …The laser is designed to carry out a graduat... more »

Genome Stability and Transgenerational Mutations Caused by Radiation

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 23 hours ago
'Genome Stability: Transgenerational Mutation by Radiation' by Yuri E. Dubrova1,2, Mark Plumb3, Bruno Gutierrez1, Emma Boulton3 & Alec J. Jeffreys1 *Nature* *405*, 37 (4 May 2000) | doi:10.1038/35011135 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v405/n6782/abs/405037a0.html [Excerpted] Parental exposure to ionizing radiation increases the frequency of germline mutations detectable in the next generation1. Parental exposure can also increase the rate of mutation in somatic cells2, 3and confer a predisposition to cancer4, 5, 6 in offspring, suggesting that there could be an indirect effect ... more »

4 Italian Journos kidnapped in Northern Syria: Who did they get photos of ?

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 23 hours ago
Short on time today. Had this one bookmarked. You may have read it. Or not. Four Italian journalists have been detained *(kidnapped)* since Friday in northern Syria, although the circumstances of what happened are unclear. Two of the men and one woman are freelancers, the fourth man works for Italian television station RAI. Authorities in Rome say the are working to ensure the safety of the journalists. euronews spoke to Cristiano Tinazzi, a journalist who has worked in Syria and with one of the reporters detained. “Apparently the journalists saw *a special unit* *known as a Qatib... more »

The conduct of the accused while on bail prior to revocation, if applicable, may be a relevant factor in determining whether to grant enhanced credit

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 day ago
R. v. Morris, 2013 ONCA 223 holds: [15] While the trial judge concluded that lack of remission on pre-sentencing custody is not of itself a factor warranting enhanced credit, she also reasoned, at para. 54, that while the appellant was not detained in custody under ss. 524(4) or (8), "the conduct of the accused while on bail prior to revocation, if applicable, may be a relevant factor in determining whether to grant enhanced credit." She concluded that, in this case, the circumstances were analogous to ss. 524(4) and (8), and therefore did not justify enhanced credit. [16]... more »

ISA Theory Section Book Prize

Daniel Nexon at Duck of Minerva - 1 day ago
Despite the lack of an update at its website, I am now the Chair of the International Studies Association (ISA) Theory Section. Obviously, all ISA members should join and contribute $5 to our budget. But the reason for this post is that we’ve promised public discussion of the wording of our new book award. I’ve Continue reading

Honda vs Khanna-- Substance vs (Bad) Style

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
Here's one member of the Obama team not getting on the Ro Khanna choo choo There was some sense of panic last week in the left blogosphere where it came out that some former Obama campaign operatives-- no one you probably ever heard of-- took jobs from tech-and-publicity-savvy Ro (short for Rohit) Khanna's perpetual campaign to put himself into office. Blue America has long encouraged primaries against bad Democrats. Last year we helped progressive superstar Matt Cartwright beat corrupt Blue Dog Tim Holden in northeast Pennsylvania. We also lent a hand to a young reformer in El Paso,... more »

How green is wind power?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
'Wind companies are not owned and operated by idealistic entrepreneurs. They are run by some of Canada's, and the world's, biggest corporations, including pipeline and pulp and paper companies. Wind contracts are flipped like other financial instruments. NextEra, the outfit that cut down the eagle's nest, is the largest generator of wind and solar power in North America. Because of a lucrative U.S. tax break for wind power, the company has paid no U.S. corporate income tax for several years, despite billions in profits. Big Wind is among the biggest lobbyists in Washington.' Mor... more »

The Time Margaret Thatcher Met One of India's 'God Men' - The Daily Beast

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
A truly odd story... 'Kapil Komireddi sends the amazing story of the day Margaret Thatcher, not yet prime minister, met one of India's leading "God men," as the Indians amusingly call them. The story comes from the memoirs of K. Natwar Singh, a high-ranking Indian diplomat. Chandraswamy did not disappoint Mrs Thatcher. He prophesied that she would be Prime Minister for nine, eleven or thirteen years. Mrs Thatcher, no doubt believed that she would be Prime Minister one day. Nine, eleven, thirteen years was a bit much. Mrs Thatcher put one final question. When would she become a Prim... more »

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