Ron Paul presidential campaign, 1988 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Ron Paul blimp. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ron Paul, member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Musical Interlude: “Homeless Boy Steals The Talent Show”
“Homeless Boy Steals The Talent Show”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ46Ot4_lLo
Thursday Morning Linkage
On this awful news week, I’m feeling like some Thursday Morning Linkage
needs a little opening joy before launching into the useful reads of the
week: Here are some useful Africa-centric readings on this awful, awful
news week: Cullen Hendrix examines the links between food price rises,
regime type, and subsidy policies in Africa Jennifer
Continue reading
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, the star factory known as
Messier 17 lies some 5,500 light-years away in the nebula-rich
constellation Sagittarius. At that distance, this degree wide field of view
spans almost 100 light-years. The sharp, composite, color image utilizing
data from space and ground based telescopes, follows faint details of the
region's gas and dust clouds against a backdrop of central Milky Way stars.
*Click image for larger size.*
Stellar winds and energetic light from hot, massive stars formed from
M17's stock of cosmic gas and dust have slowly carved ... more »
Chet Raymo, “Cultivating Amazement”
*“Cultivating Amazement”*
by Chet Raymo
“There is only one question, says the poet Mary Oliver: "How to love this
world." So here I am scanning a recent copy of the journal “Nature”, with
articles titled "Parvalbumin neurons and gamma rhythms enhance cortical
circuit performance" and "F-box protein FBX031 mediates cyclin D1
degradation to induce G1 arrest after DNA damage." What is this stuff to
me, and how does it help me love the world?
In her poetry, Oliver brilliantly evokes the sensate stimuli of love: the
"lapped light" of pond lilies in the black pond, the goldfinch ... more »
Paulo Coelho, "The Cry Of The Desert"
*"The Cry Of The Desert"*
by Paulo Coelho
"As soon as he arrived in Marrakesh, Morocco, a missionary decided he
would stroll through the desert at the city’s boundary every morning. On
his first stroll he noticed a man lying on the sand, caressing the ground
with his hands and leaning his ears towards the earth. “He is mad,” the
missionary said to himself. But he saw the man every morning during his
walks and after a month, intrigued by that strange behavior, he decided to
approach the stranger.
He knelt beside him and asked, in broken Arabic, “What are you doing?”
“I keep ... more »
Welcome To The Ron Paul Institute... No, Really
We won't have to argue about Ron Paul's anti-Choice fanaticism or his weird
religious beliefs or his sympathy for militant fringe right-wing groups.
His new eponymous institute is something any red-blooded American can get
behind. Here's the media advisory he sent out last week (and posted on his
Facebook page):
Ron Paul to Launch New Policy Institute
The neo-conservative era is dead.
Former Congressman Ron Paul will hold a press conference this Wednesday to
launch his next big project: the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and
Prosperity. After decades in and out of the US House of ... more »
GOP dances on the graves of the dead children of Sandy Hook
By now you've heard Senate Republicans killed the gun safety bill by
filibuster today. Within minutes of the vote, even as the victims of gun
violence were weeping in the gallery, Mitch McConnell posted this gloat on
his facebook page:
The 90% of America who wanted better protection against allowing lethal
weapons to fall into the hands of homicidal maniacs responded:
I'm too disgusted to say anything tonight and really I can't put it better
than this:
"Today, the U.S. Senate decided to do the unthinkable about gun violence
--- nothing at all," - Gabby Giffords
And to add i... more »
BOOKS / Ron Jacobs : 'Love Goes to Buildings on Fire'
Love
Goes to Buildings on Fire:
New York City, just like I pictured it
From the steamy streets of the South Bronx and the future that would
become hip-hop to the steamier bathhouses and clubs in lower Manhattan
that became world-famous dens of disco, Hermes relates his tale.
By Ron Jacobs / The Rag Blog / April 17, 2013
Love Goes to Buildings On Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed
ANZAC AFL
Anzac Day next week in Wellington represents a significant milestone in
Australia-New Zealand sporting relations: the first time AFL teams play for
points outside Australia.
The world’s most libertarian sport is “a fast paced, high scoring contact
sport requiring a blend of speed, power, strength and skill, which will
certainly appeal to all New Zealanders. It is the most watched sport on
Australian television … it can be a difficult game to explain to those new
to it, far better to show you!”
AFL is best seen live, and this is every NZer’s chance. Saint Kilda
reckons they’ll h... more »
Johan Huizinga On The Need For A Spiritual Regeneration of The Individual And A Rebirth of Humanity
**
"A new culture can only grow up in the soil of a purged humanity." - Johan
Huizinga.
*Wikipedia:*
Johan Huizinga (December 7, 1872 – February 1, 1945), was a Dutch historian
and one of the founders of modern cultural history.
In 1942, he spoke critically of his country's German occupiers, comments
that were consistent with his writings about Fascism in the 1930s. From
then until his death in 1945, he was held in detention by the Nazis. He
died in De Steeg in Gelderland, near Arnhem, just a few weeks before Nazi
rule ended, and he lies buried in the graveyard of the Reformed Ch... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Magdalena, New Mexico, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
2013 Yale Ferguson Award: Call for Nominations
The Yale H. Ferguson Book Award The Yale H. Ferguson award, presented by
International Studies Association-Northeast, recognizes the book that most
advances the vibrancy of international studies as a pluralist discipline.
Any book or edited volume published within the field of international
studies in the previous calendar year is eligible for consideration. The
award winner
Continue reading
FILM / Dave Zirin : '42' is Jackie Robinson's Bitter Pill
A Review of '42':
Jackie Robinson's bitter pill
This was a man tortured by the fact that his own experience was used as a
cudgel against building a public, fighting movement against racial
injustice.
By Dave Zirin / The Rag Blog / April 17, 2013
See "Dave Zirin Writes from the Busy Intersection of Sports and
Politics" by Thorne Dreyer at Truthout, and listen to Dreyer's March 22,
2013,
U.S.A.-- A Country Of Economic Refugees
Not my housekeeper, Juana
My housekeeper, Juana, is from El Salvador. The only way I know she's an
American citizen is that we talk about who she's voting for every time
elections roll around. Unlike Mitt Romney, I'm not running for office so I
have no idea who's on the gardening crew. I know Roberto, the main guy, is
American because he was born in L.A. But I'm not sure what the status of
his employees are. I suspect the Gang of 8 proposals aren't really meant to
make their lives any easier. As Joshua Holland explained in The Fifteen
Biggest Lies About The Economy, "the idea that im... more »
Satire: “No Information Found On CNN”
*“No Information Found On CNN”*
by Andy Borowitz
BOSTON (The Borowitz Report)— “Authorities who have spent the past
forty-eight hours combing CNN in the hopes of finding any information
whatsoever have called off their search, they confirmed today. “After
monitoring every minute of CNN’s broadcast since Monday, we have found
hearsay, rumors, falsehoods, and a steady stream of inane commentary,” one
authority said. “Everything but information.”
The announcement was the second black eye today for CNN, which earlier in
the afternoon recanted all of its reporting dating back to ... more »
HEATING UP IN VENEZUELA
Venezuela's post-election crisis is growing deeper, with at least seven
people killed during clashes between the opposition and police.
President-elect Nicolas Maduro says he has proof that the US embassy is
financing the ongoing protests.
The deaths occurred on Monday, when hundreds of protesters took to the
streets in various parts of Caracas and other cities. The demonstrators
blocked streets, burned tires, and fought with security forces.
The fatalities include two people shot by opposition sympathizers while
celebrating Maduro's victory, state media reported. One person d... more »
The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Dangerous Levels Of Radio-Nucleotides Appearing In Drinking Water - US Government Solution: Raise The Permissable Level Of Nuclear Radiation In Drinking Water!
With all of the news the last few days around the world focused in on the
Boston Marathon false flag attack, it is important to realize again that
there is some very important news happening elsewhere in the world.
One news story that has been ongoing now for over 2 years is the nuclear
disaster at Fukushima Japan. It is surprising that there have been few
reports anywhere in the Jewish controlled media about this horrific
situation that has no solution in sight, and it does fall on us in the
alternative media to bring any new reports to light...
I came across a most disturbing ne... more »
Arrested Developments
Wolf Blitzer is not in custody. John King is apprehensive but not
apprehended. As a matter of fact, he made a significant breakthrough in a
dramatic shift, falsely alerting the public to a dark-skinned man in a
hoodie and backwards baseball cap. Homeland Security maven Fran Townsend is
still at large after getting out ahead of herself with her trusted
sources. Chris Cuomo is conflicted, simultaneously applying the brakes and
"accelerating incredibly quickly".
An arrest has been made, no arrest has been made, an arrest has been made.
In case you missed the afternoon's adventures in... more »
Reality imitates art
After the bill was passed last night legalising gay marriage, this was
posted at satire site The Civilian:
*[image: image]**Marriage Destroyed Forever*
The institution of marriage was destroyed forever this evening after
Parliament voted overwhelmingly to make it more widely available and
redefine it as a consensual, loving relationship between any two people.
The Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, written by Labour
MP Louisa Wall, aimed to destroy marriage by making it more common and
allowing it to be partaken in by two members of the same sex. It passed its
... more »
Own your own Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece
[image: Own a Piece of Architectural History:]
If you have a lazy US$4.5 million burning a hole in your portfolio (maybe
you made some paper money shorting gold last week?), you could do worse
than buy this Pasadena, California, textile block beauty built by Wright
all the way back in 1923.
[image: 021009lloydwrightfloorplans01.jpg]
La Miniatura, built in 1923 for Alice Millard, was the first of Wright's 'textile
block' houses. Seeking a departure from the Prairie style for which he was
best known, Wright created a series of homes from simple concrete blocks,
patterned with motif... more »
Help a Student!
A student I know (specifically, my older son) is trying to collect some
survey data. Click here if you are willing to participate. The
survey will take about 15 minutes.
The Economy: “The Lies That Will Bring Down America”
*“The Lies That Will Bring Down America”*
By Terry Weiss
"Despite the current stock market rally, legendary investor Jim Rogers say
the U.S economy is poised for a major crash and is warning investors to
protect themselves immediately. In a riveting interview on Fox Business,
Rogers warned Americans not to trust any of the positive economic news
coming from world governments. "I don't trust the data from any government,
including the U.S., Rogers said. "We know that governments lie to us.
Everybody's printing money, but it cannot go on. This is all artificial."
Rogers, who ... more »
Thank-you . . .
RIP, RITA. Thank-you for this incredible song, and a host of others.
"Force Majeur"
“Force majeure (French for "greater force") is a common clause in
contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation
when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the
parties, such as war, strike, riot, crime, act of God (e.g., flooding,
earthquake, volcano), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their
obligations under the contract. Under international law it refers to an
irresistible force or unforeseen event beyond the control of a State making
it materially impossible to fulfill an international obligation. Force
majeure pre... more »
Karl Denninger, “Wake Up!”
*“Wake Up!”*
by Karl Denninger
“I've been warning people that all is not well in the world. This morning
I'm *standing* on the red button.
*Click image for larger size.*
We are, right here and now, sitting on key support for copper. If it
fails, and given the pattern I believe it will, we're going under $3 and
could see an all-on crash in copper prices. Why is this important? Because
it's a measure of industrial demand - that is, industrial production on a
global basis.
Europe is a damned basket case. That their markets haven't collapsed are
testament to the litany of l... more »
Pt.2:Cristiano Tinazzi: A spook that ties Libya to Syria and arms from Italy via Croatia
*First, a brief digression.*
Another individual who plays a role similar to that of Cristiano Tinazzi
& Marie Colvin is *Wisam Tariff, *who reappeared in this post US leads
world in “humanitarian” assistance to Syria after first portraying himself
as a* 'humanitarian activist*', 18 months ago. Though he was and is still
obviously involved in moving guns and mercs from Libya into Syria via
Turkey. As is Cristiano. As was Marie Colvin.
It looks as if we have individuals operating under the umbrella of NATO war
machine who pass themselves off, on the surface, as journalists and
h... more »
Pt.2: Dr Colin Ross: Mind control and more
If you did not listen to Part 1 it is linked below. Give it a listen.
An Interview with Dr. Colin A. Ross, pt. 1 – “What is Mind Control?” Then
feel free to enjoy Part 2 on video:
*Audio Version: *
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:24 — 62.1MB)
The discussion begins with R. Gordon Wasson, mushrooms etc. Then moves on
to psychiatry, meds and more. Ewan Cameron and his atrocious human
experiments in Montreal, Canada are discussed.
This being psychic driving, massive electroshock and drugging.
There will be a Part 3
Old Story that Casts Insight Into How Government 'Accidentally' Colludes With Industry
Majia here: I was searching my files and I happened to see this article I
had saved from 2008.
The article illustrates the corruption that occurs with our regulatory
agency through outsourcing.
NIH Drops Contractor For Conflict of Interest
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 14, 2007; A08
[Excerpted] The federal government yesterday fired a contractor it had
hired to review the safety of chemicals after discovering the company has
been simultaneously working for the chemical industry.
Alexandria-based Sciences International was in the fourth year of a... more »
ACTION: Boycott Regal Cinemas
Boycott Regal Movie Theaters aka Regal Cinemas
Regal Entertainment Group, which operates more than 500 theaters in 38
states, last month rolled back shifts for non-salaried workers to 30 hours
per week, putting them under the threshold at which employers are required
to provide health insurance. The Nashville-based company said in a letter
to managers that the move was a direct result of ObamaCare.
If they go out business – they won’t have to worry about providing
healthcare and their employees can get low-paying, non-benefit jobs
somewhere else - or - if they are lucky, they ... more »
Fascovereign Weltanschauung - a new blog fighting the international menace.
On a day when the UK has been the site of a ludicrous tribute to the dead
puppet, Thatcher, and on which the aftermath of the stage-managed bombing
of the Boston Marathon is looking ever-more like it was contrived to
facilitate a crackdown on freedom-loving Americans, it would seem that the
doom-mongers who argue that all is lost, have been given some credibility
by the tragic turn of events. Those who would use these set-backs as an
excuse for giving up the struggle, may feel justified in abandoning us all
to the enemy, but they are very, very wrong. It is precisely when the
ene... more »
Testing now, instruction next year!
*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013*
*The Empire State’s new tests:* In Tuesday’s New York Times, Kyle Spencer
described the tension surrounding New York’s new statewide tests.
Quick rule of thumb: If you have to prepare for testing this way, something
is wrong with your tests:
SPENCER (4/16/13): At Public School 10 on the edge of Park Slope, Brooklyn,
parents begged the principal to postpone the lower school science fair,
insisting it was going to add too much pressure while they were preparing
their children for the coming state tests.
*On Staten Island, a community meeting devolved into... more »
Untitled
*Corps of Engineers awards $614.8 million contract for permanent pump
stations at mouths of New Orleans canals*
More Bits, More Pieces Than I Actually Intended: Rubio And The Know Nothing Caucus
*Bob Perry ist tot*
What do you say when the poisonous snake who financed swiftboating drops
dead? It never seems good form to cheer that anyone dies. It's possible
that right-wing Texas billionaire Bob Perry was kind to a grandchild or a
pet, although, publicly he'll always be associated with the money-- a
minimum of $65 million-- that went into financing a neo-fascist resurgence
within the Republican Party. He gave tens of millions to right-wing causes
and candidates and the one Democrat he seems to have liked enough to
contribute to is extreme right-wing Blue Dog, Henry Cuellar... more »
FBI to media: STFU you idiots
The New York Post made a mockery of the concept of responsible journalism
on Monday, splashing one inaccurate report after another on their front
page. Today CNN led the media fail of the century, erroneously reporting a
suspect in the Boston bombing had been IDed and arrested. The FBI is not
amused:
Contrary to widespread reporting, no arrest has been made in connection
with the Boston Marathon attack. Over the past day and a half, there have
been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources
that has been inaccurate. Since these stories often have uninten... more »
The Secret of Every Successful Empire
*Wikipedia*: Paul Anthony Cartledge is the first A. G. Leventis Professor
of Greek Culture at Cambridge University, having previously held a personal
chair in Greek History at Cambridge.
Below is an excerpt from Paul Cartledge's book, *"Alexander the Great."*Vintage: 2005. Pg. 192-93.
It seems that, like most of the Achaemenids, Alexander sought in general to
act on the principle of invisibility. This secret of empire (as Tacitus
might have called it) was most succinctly expressed by a British Viceroy of
India in 1879: 'It may not be flattering to our *amour propre* but I feel
su... more »
boston, pakistan, terrorism, and perspective
From "A Tale of Two Terrorisms"In the midst of tragedy, it's hard to talk
about perspective.
My niece lives in Boston, a short walking distance from where the bombs
went off. She was on the spot less than an hour before the explosions.
And, having lived in New York City before, during, and after September 11,
2001, I know something of what the people of Boston are experiencing.
What happened in Boston is a horror and a tragedy and a crime.
For families and friends of the three people who were killed, there is no
perspective. There is only loss. For people who lost limbs, life is f... more »
Charles Moore v the BBC
Charles Moore of *The Daily Telegraph*, talking on the BBC News Channel
just before *News at Six, *launched another strong attack on the BBC's
reporting following the death of Lady Thatcher.
Here's a transcript of that interview:
*Jane Hill (BBC)*: Let's reflect on today and how it has gone and whether
it was appropriate. I'm joined by Charles Moore, who I'm sure you know is
writing the authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher. He joins us from the
studios at *The Daily Telegraph*. Charles Moore, hello to you. I know you
were at the ceremony here at St. Paul's Cathedral at lun... more »
BOXING IN SYRIA
The first US Patriot missiles are operational outside the town of Gaziantep
in Turkey, 43 kilometres from the Syrian border. Three NATO countries - the
United States, Germany and the Netherlands - are involved in the operation.
This is one more example how US-NATO are now sticking themselves into every
conflict on the globe as they attempt to justify an ever expanding military
role for the capitalist-serving alliance.
The Global Network will be sending two of our board members (from the UK
and Sweden) to Turkey for a peace conference at the end of April. Because
these so-called ... more »
More supernature
There’s a book review in the Guardian that gives a spotlight to a
fascinating idea – shadow ecology, a stealth biosphere based on an
alternative organic chemistry, undetected, right here on Earth, not even
imagined until now.
This idea is perfectly congruent with natural selection. At the point when
life was formed on Earth there was a lot of biochemistry, energy and time.
Most of the history of life on Earth is dominated by single-cell life. By
many measures bacteria are still the dominant mode of existence.
Multi-cellular life is the comparative exception. There would be no
curr... more »
Puerto Rico: A New Spree of Chupacabras Attacks in Guayama
*Puerto Rico: A New Spree of Chupacabras Attacks in Guayama*
*By José Pérez, PRMUFON*
José Pérez is a field researcher with a wide range of unpublished
experiences in Puerto Rican ufology. He collaborated with the defunct
ENIGMAS magazine for many years with researcher/journalist Jorge Martin.
During the first week of April 2013, Mr. Rey D. RodrÃguez – better known as
“Chaka” to his friends – was rounding up cattle to bring them back to their
barn, assisted by his nephew in this operation.
They were driving along in a pickup truck, lighting up the sections where
they tended to l... more »
BBC News - Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'worse than fossil fuels'
' The UK's "irrational" use of biofuels will cost motorists around £460
million over the next 12 months, a think tank says.
A report by Chatham House
says the growing reliance on sustainable liquid fuels will also increase
food prices.'
Green policy failure...
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22127123
The Syria Endgame: A Way Forward
With the increased likelihood that Assad will fall, even were he to hang
on until a Gaddafi-style bitter end, pressure is mounting on the U.S.,
Europe, and Turkey inter alia to come up with a game plan for the
post-endgame. The good news is progress is rapidly being made: stepped
up aid from the
Continue reading
Greens Outpolling Liberals on Vancouver Island
If the polls hold for the next four weeks, the governing B.C. Liberals will
be handed a third place, as in last place, finish on Vancouver Island when
voters get their say.
The NDP has a commanding lead in island ridings with the Greens in second
place two to three points ahead of the incumbent Libs.
Vancouver Island has always been a comfortable place for the New Democrats
but the Right is failing badly so far in this campaign.
Even the IMF Thinks Tory Austerity Has Gone Too Far
Britain's Tory Cameron government has been nothing if not resolute in
rejecting criticism of its austerity fetish. To Cameron and his
chancellor, George Osborne, it doesn't matter a whit that their slash and
burn budgeting is harming the country. It is irrelevant that their
policies are failing to generate the miracles they had promised. When
rating agencies lower Britain's credit rating, it is of no matter.
Now it's the International Monetary Fund adding its voice to the choir.
IMF chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, has accused chancellor Osborne of "*playing
with fire.*"
*In... more »
The Only Hope Is to Depose the King
And the King is still coal.
The head of the International Energy Agency warns that the drive to
renewables and alternative energy has stalled.
*"The drive to clean up the world's energy system has stalled," said Maria
van der Hoeven, the IEA's executive director, at the launch of the agency's report
on clean energy progress.*
*"Despite much talk by world leaders, and a boom in renewable energy over
the past decade, the average unit of energy produced today is basically as
dirty as it was 20 years ago."*
*Global clean energy investment in the first quarter fell to its lowest
leve... more »
Peru: The "Ribbon of Holes"
Contributing Editor *Guillermo D. Gimenez* has posted a photo of one of the
most unusual formation in Latin America: The "Banda de Agujeros"
(literally, the "ribbon of holes") near the Peruvian valley of Pisco, on
the plain of Cajarmarquilla. Thousands of man-sized holes were drilled into
rock at some unknown period in the past, covering over a mile of terrain.
Archaeologists have speculated that these structures functioned as
granaries - an unlikely possibility - as some of them are shallow while
others plunge to depths of seventy-five feet. -- SC.
Inexplicata Podcasts covering i... more »
The end is where we start from
As I'm recording the day's coverage on the BBC News Channel for later
scrutiny, this post will merely provide a few initial impressions of the
big event - the funeral of Baroness Thatcher - or, more accurately, the
reactions of others to the BBC's coverage.
As it's my favourite blog (except for *Is..? *of course), I always keep up
with the comments at *Biased BBC*.
I was amused today to see these two comments come in within a minute of
each other:
*Submitted on 2013/04/17 at 3:35 pm - *BBC coverage of state occasions used
to set the benchmark. something somewhere went wrong. I ... more »
Living Through Financial Collapse: David Nghiem on The Robert Wenzel Show
SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2013
*Living Through Financial Collapse: David Nghiem on The Robert Wenzel Show*
This Week's Guest Is: David Nghiem
When the airlines wouldn't take his return flight tickets because his
ticket agency went bankrupt, American born adventurer David Nghiem, made
other plans. With the funds he had left over, he bought a ticket to Panama
City, then biked 2000 miles across Central America.
David discusses his first hand experience in Latin America as he witnessed
the economic collapse in Argentina in 2001. His book Jackfruit: A Bicycle
Quest Through Latin Amer... more »
Excerpts from the column below: "Save a handful of corrupt banks, screw the American public – that is the Fed’s policy. Like almost every other American institution, the Fed represents the mega-rich." "The attack on gold is a desperate attempt to protect the US dollar from the Fed’s policy of quantitative easing. But the attack on bullion has apparently failed. The price was driven down, but the demand for physical possession has hit new highs." "What we are witnessing is the failure of a policy of financial corruption."
------------------------------
*Update to the Update: The Attack on Gold — Paul Craig Roberts*
------------------------------
April 16, 2013 | Find Original Here
Tuesday, April 16. The orchestrated attack on bullion in the paper gold
market took the spot prices of gold and silver down on Friday and Monday,
but actual physical purchases rose during this period. The sales were of
paper claims, not of real metal.
The demand for physical possession of bullion rose so strongly that large
wholesalers such as www.tulving.com and large retailers such as Gainesville
Coins reported sold out ... more »
Common core: An attempt to solve a problem that doesn't exist
No decline in reading
Sent to the Cincinnati Enquirer
The first line of “Common Core a ‘monumental shift’”(April 16, 2013) is not
supported by any real data. There is no evidence that “reading has been
declining in the nation’s schools for more than two decades.” Students are
reading as much as ever. According to my analysis, teenagers today are
reading as much as teenagers did in 1999 and in 1946. In addition, reading
scores on our national test, the NAEP, have been increasing modestly since
1992.
The Common Core appears to be an attempt to solve a problem that doesn’t
exist.
Stephe... more »
Now a Blogger-Columnist at US News and World Reports
I now have a column at the US News and World Reports "Economic Intelligence"
blog. I will be covering issues of interest to the middle class every
Wednesday. Here are the links to my first two articles:
"Want Jobs Back? Axe Tax Subsidies"
"The Tide is Turning Against Tax Havens"
Enjoy!
Egyptian Salafi Cleric Murgan Salem: Boston Bombing Was Meant to Deliver a Message; Similar Attacks Expected in France
http://www.memri.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3807.htm
Boston Marathon
Back in his graduate school days - that would be thirty years and about
eighty pounds ago - Southern Man was an avid long-distance runner. We would
run just about every day, on the indoor track or on the outdoor
quarter-mile track or in long loops around the city. And we got pretty
good; there's a fair collection of trophies back there where we ran as a
team in the name of our department, and Southern Man has dozens of personal
awards and *hundreds* of race shirts. He's going to make a quilt out of
them someday. So it was with particular sorrow that he read of the bombing
at the fi... more »
AND YOUR ACT TOO.....
- Helen Caldicott reports: The Obama administration has given final
approval for dramatically raising permissible radioactive levels in
drinking water and soil following “radiological incidents,” such as nuclear
power-plant accidents and dirty bombs. The final version is a win for the
nuclear industry which seeks what its proponents call a “new normal” for
radiation exposure among the U.S population. Issued by the Environmental
Protection Agency, the radiation guides (called Protective Action Guides or
PAGs) allow cleanup many times more lax than anything ... more »
Manchin-Toomey and the Filibuster
The background checks portion of the bill will be defeated today. It was
being added as an amendment to the bill, and under a consent agreement all
amendments needed 60 votes; it's not going to get there.
Some notes:
1. The correct thing to say about this is that the amendment was defeated
by filibuster. It's a little tricky, but that's the essence of it. The UC
agreement under which the amendment (and all amendments to this bill) is
considered requires 60 votes; that's agreed to in order to avoid a cloture
vote, which is necessary because of the standing GOP plan to filibuster
eve... more »
Crown burden on appealing an acquittal
R. v. Berbeck, 2013 ONCA 241 reminds us of the heavy burden the Crown faces
on appealing an acquittal:
[14] In *R. v. Graveline*, 2006 SCC 16, [2006] 1 S.C.R. 609, the
majority of the Supreme Court of Canada set out the Crown's burden when it
appeals the acquittal of an accused. At para. 14 of his reasons, Fish J.
for the majority stated:
It has been long established, however, that an appeal by the Attorney
General cannot succeed on an abstract or purely hypothetical possibility
that the accused would have been convicted but for the error of law.
Something more must be s... more »
La Reforma Integral De La Inmigración
Gang of Eight
Early this morning, 1:30 this morning, the Gang of 8 formally filed their immigration
reform bill. The Senate's Know Nothing caucus of unreconstructed bigots and
anti-Latino hatemongers, led by Ted Cruz (R-TX), David "Diapers" Vitter
(R-LA), Jefferson Beauregard Sessions (KKK-AL), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chuck
Grassley (R-IA) is coordinating with Steve King's House Bigotry Caucus and
Kris Kobach, the Mitt Romney advisor who came up with the
"self-deportation" strategy that helped the GOP lose last year's elections. Their
strategy is to use delays and parliamentary maneuv... more »
The Taxpayers Once Again Pay for the Screwing Up of US: Shining A Bright Light On the Poverty-Creation Industry
Paying off the banksters for the bailouts needed for their inept financial
screwing of the populace was just the start. We're now told that the
taxpayers (not the corporations who pay very little if any taxes already)
are going to pay for all cleanups needed for the environmental damages of
privatization. Brought to us by and large by the banksters who finance it.
Time for another round of
fascism and the corporate state
Fascism is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism that came to
prominence in mid-20th century Europe. Fascists seek to unify their nation
through a totalitarian state that promotes the mass mobilization of the
national community, relying on a vanguard party to initiate a revolution to
organize the nation on fascist principles. Hostile to democracy,
liberalism, socialism, and communism, fascist movements share certain
common features, including the veneration of the state, a devotion to a
strong leader, and an emphasis on ultranationalism, ethnocentrism, and
militarism. Fasci... more »
Innocent children around the world!
*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013*
*Sheth gets it right at Salon:* We’ve found it hard to watch a lot of the
cable coverage of the Boston bombing.
We’ve found it hard to watch some of the usual cable suspects with their
usual trademarked bluster. But then, we were also disappointed by the way
Daniel D’Addario began a piece at Salon.
In his piece, D’Addario explained why we hear so much misinformation after
such an attack. But sure enough! In this, just his third paragraph, he
authored a very shaky claim about the misinformation:
D’ADDARIO (4/16/13): *False information also spread yester... more »
Bob Feldman : Civil Rights, SDS, and Student Activism in Austin, Texas, 1954-1973
Massive march against the War in Vietnam, Austin, Texas, circa 1969. Image from The Rag Blog.
The hidden history of Texas
Part 13: 1954-1973/2 -- Student Activism and the Anti-War Movement at the University of Texas
By Bob Feldman / The Rag Blog / April 17, 2013
[This is the second section of Part 13 of Bob Feldman's Rag Blog series on the hidden history of Texas.]
Inspired by the early
Celebrity foe of climate science Christopher Monckton may retire from public speaking – ‘On this side of the case, there’s no money at all’
[image: British climate change denier Christopher Monckton talking about
global warming in 2009. Photo: supplied / New Zealand Herald]
By Peter Sinclair
8 April 2013
*New Zealand Herald:*
New Zealand’s top climate change scientists have rallied together to slam a
visiting sceptic who is touring the country to proclaim global warming as a
myth that should be ignored.
Dr James Renwick, associate professor of physical geography at Victoria
University, dismissed Lord Monckton’s views as “rubbish”.
“He’s a great showman and speaker, and climate change is a vehicle to
self-publicis... more »
Boston Marathon False Flag Attack: Brought To You By Cops Posing As Terrorists - The Big Sleep!
I have received some very disturbing comments over the last few days that
shows again how much the propaganda of the media and government, as well as
the dumbing down chemicals, have indeed worked so well on the American
public. Most of those comments contained some very colorful metaphors and
have called me the usual whack job, nutter, and even c***sucker.... I truly
have to laugh at some of them, and yet it disturbs and saddens me to see
how badly the American public has been brainwashed into a false reality
concocted by the criminals that run their own government, and the Jewish... more »
Will the common core claim credit for bogus test score improvement?
Sent to the New York Daily News.
We have been told that the new tests based on the common core will result
in low scores (“Just what the kids need,” April 15). What has not been
mentioned is that new tests typically result in low scores, and then scores
rise for the next few years as teachers and students get used to the test
format and content, and teachers learn how to teach to the test. This has
been confirmed in studies by Prof. Robert Linn of the University of
Colorado.
The common core will claim the credit for this bogus “improvement.” The
improvement will stop after a few ... more »
Week Update In Pictures
Southern Cousins at the Ancestral Manor
Lunch with area geocachers
Southern Father hard at "work."
At a singles dance. Sadly, Southern Man has not yet mastered the new camera
to the point that the low-light dance-floor pics came out. Too bad, as many
of them were pretty funny. And by "not mastered the new camera" he means he
leaves it in full auto mode and ignores the rest of the settings.
Also, Southern Man has learned how over-ride Blogger's default photo-size
settings so he will be going through the blog and up-sizing photos as time
and interest permits. It sure beats working!
An Islamic Bomb
Philosopher Sam Harris has the dubious honour of sharing fellow "New"
Atheist Christopher Hitchens' bigotry against Muslims. (Richard Dawkins
appears to think that Islamic fundamentalism is the worst sort of
fundamentalism but I'm not sure that he supports the US-backed invasions of
their countries.) While it's not out of line for an atheist to see many
things in Islam that are insane and dangerous, it is out of line to believe
that Islam is more insane and dangerous than any other religion and to
target their populations with military assault (all protests that when one
calls for m... more »
Banks to pay for illegal Foreclosures
*This is a very big deal what this means to you is be CAREFUL not to give
up your rights for just 50 thousand dollars...*
*The first thing you must do is get yourself the services of a title agency
to review the CHAIN OF TITLE to see who had the right to foreclose on the
property any error, discrepancy, Wrong date on any notarized document, you
get the Idea... Abraham Ben Judea*
*Any way read the excerpt below pay attention to the underlined part.*
Independent consultants, approved by the *Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency* and the *Federal Reserve*, will review nearly 4.5 m... more »
MEDIOCRITY ALL THE WAY UP: Professor, professionalize thyself!
*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013*
*Part 3—Harvard man’s fun with Finland:* It’s the mediocrity of public
school teachers that gets Jal Mehta’s goat.
Sitting in his office at Harvard, the young assistant professor can see
their mediocrity quite distinctly. Last Saturday, he explored the failure
of this group in a very lengthy column in the New York Times.
“America’s overall performance in K-12 education remains stubbornly
mediocre,” the troubled young professor wrote—just before he cherry-picked
a mountain of data to help Times readers get the impression he wanted to
convey.
In our view... more »
Appeal Courts will use deference in reviewing interlocutory injunctions
*R v Conseil Scolaire Fransaskois*, 2013 SKCA 35 is a useful case for the
proposition that the determination of whether an interlocutory injunction
ought to be granted will be considered with deference by an appeal court:
[14] In general terms, this Court approaches appeals involving
interlocutory injunctions with a reasonable measure of deference. Jackson
J.A. described the applicable standard of review as follows in *Culligan
Canada Ltd. v. Fettes*, 2009 SKCA 144 (CanLII), 2009 SKCA 144, [2010] 6
W.W.R. 420:
13 As a preliminary matter, it is important to underscore the stand... more »
2013 Provincial Elections Look To Maintain The Current Political Deadlock In Iraq
Early voting for Iraq’s provincial elections began on April 13, 2013 with
the security forces going to the polls. Like the last balloting in 2009,
this year’s will take place in fourteen of the country’s eighteen provinces
with Kurdistan following its own timetable, and Tamim being excluded,
because of its disputed territories. It is unclear as yet whether the 2013
vote will be a game changer like the 2009 one was.
Members of Iraq’s Election Commission training for the 2013 vote (*AFP*)
The 2009 election was about issues, which resulted in wholesale changes in
Iraq’s local gover... more »
Untitled
*Corps will increase flow down the Atachafalaya ~Nikki Buskey*
*Levee berm expected to contain sinkhole brine, oil ~David J. Mitchell *
*Vieux Carré panel backs Morning Call proposal ~Danny Monteverde *
*Bugs & Brew for Drew ~Blackened Out*
*New Orleans Earth Day Festival and Green Business Expo *
WotW: Taking Care of Your Digital Life After You're Dead
If you die, and no one is around to see it, who gets all your email?
Weird question, but it bears asking. If you die, what happens to all your
online data? Is it really yours? Does it become the property of your
nearest relative? Do online companies have an obligation to release that
data to your family? And does it matter?
Ten years ago, nobody would have been asking these questions. Today, they
are the stuff of lawsuits. So much of our lives are tied up in various
online accounts. We journal online (blogs and social media), our pictures
and videos are online, our reputations ar... more »
Misty Mountains
A long, long time ago the junior-high-aged Southern Lad and his friends
were at a *Star Trek* convention where in one corner were a couple of girls
and a guitar. We'd already discovered the wonders of J.R.R. Tolkien by that
time and we sat spellbound at their feet as they sang of elves and dwarves
and the cold distant Misty Mountains.
From *The Hobbit Part I*; music by Howard Shore.
A somewhat briefer version of the above.
From the animated Rankin-Bass version of *The Hobbit*.
A favorite fan cover. This one always takes me back to that convention so
long ago...
Boston Marathon False Flag Attack: Planting The Seed Of Propaganda - Media Readily Suggests Patriots Are Responsible For Boston Marathon Bombing!
I am truly surprised that most people cannot see this latest bombing in
Boston Massachusetts for what it really is... A definite false flag attack
to strike FEAR into the American public.... What needs to be understood is
the psychology of Fear itself, and how people who are stricken by fear will
want to quickly find a remedy or a solution to dispel that fear... In most
cases when a general populace is stricken by fear, they turn to their own
government for solutions... And unwittingly allow corrupt governments to
pass horrible laws to take away their freedoms! The Israeli Mossad ... more »
How The Economist got it wrong on climate sensitivity
[image: Various estimates of climate sensitivity. Graphic: Knutti and
Hegerl, Nature Geoscience]
By Dana Nuccitelli and Michael E Mann
12 April 2013
(ABC Environment) – *The Economist* recently published a lengthy
articleabout Earth's climate sensitivity — how much the planet's surface
will warm
in response to the increased greenhouse effect if the amount of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere doubles relative to pre-industrial levels
(something that will happen in a matter of decades if we continue with
business-as-usual fossil fuel burning).
While we are pleased that *The Economi... more »
We Lost Another Great Canadian With The Passing Of Rita MacNeil ...
* "Rita MacNeil, the Canadian singer-songwriter from Cape Breton with the
sweetly powerful voice, passed away Tuesday night following complications
from surgery. She was 68.*
*** MacNeil’s longtime promoter, Brian Edwards, says MacNeil had entered
hospital a few days ago because of an infection. She was advised to undergo
what he described as a “routine surgery,” but then developed complications
during the recovery.*
*** “The operation itself went well and then shortly afterward, she went
into a coma and never actually came out of it,” Edwards told CTV’s Canada
AM Wednesday morn... more »
'Jewish claims'
*The Commentator* highlights a remarkable reply to one of its readers from
the BBC Complaints department.
The reader had complained about the headline the BBC News website article
about Lord Ahmed, a Labour peer suspended for making anti-Semitic
accusations that Jews were responsible for his prison sentence following a
fatal motorway crash:
Labour peer Lord Ahmed suspended after 'Jewish claims'
The reader complained that the BBC's headline avoided the correct word -
'anti-Semitism'. Others complained that the headline was also confusing -
i.e. that it might easily misled readers ... more »
The Obama Budget in One Infographic...
*from The Foundry - and we thank them.*
Rapid City Journal accused of 'tearing an ugly scab' to sell newspapers
The
Rapid City Journal, and bordertown newspapers across the US, continue
to agitate hate crimes
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
RAPID CITY, S.D. -- The United Urban Warrior Society said the Rapid City
Journal, near Pine Ridge, has a history of writing false and damaging
newspaper articles about Native Americans.
The Warrior Society's resolution points out
WOW: Women are not Humans - They are Things
Women - thy name is vagina.
From HuffPo
State Rep. Peter Hansen (R) made the comment, first reported by New
Hampshire political blogger Susan the Bruce, in an April 1 email debate
with colleagues about a "stand your ground" gun bill. Hansen's colleague,
Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R) had delivered a lengthy floor speech about the
benefits of retreating instead of using deadly force, to which Hansen
replied in an email:
The full email from Daily Kos
From: Hansen, Peter
Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 8:32 PM
To: ~All Representatives
Subject: RE: HB 135 Speech
The Representative from Ma... more »
Cattle Mutilations: Commotion over Animal Attack in Pellegrini, Santiago del Estero
*Source: Vision Ovni (A.P. Simondini)
Date: 04/9/2013*
*Cattle Mutilations: Commotion over Animal Attack in Pellegrini, Santiago
del Estero*
Residents found young goats with incisions, without organs and entrails,
and with no traces of blood in the area. No reliable explanation has been
found.
Interior. In recent days, residents of the provincial interior have been
shocked by two cases involving animal mutilations that ocurred in remote
localities, but having similar characteristics.
The first event took place in the Quebrada Esquina wilderness, department
of Pellegrini, where a f... more »
Is Obama Throwing Seniors Under The Bus So He Can Keep The Military-Industrial Complex Pork Rolling Along?
Millions of Democrats were outraged that Obama-- apparently in cahoots with
Boehner and McConnell-- put forward a proposal, Chained CPI, to reduce the
cost of living adjustments for seniors and veterans who depend on meager
Social Security payments to live. Although over 100 Republicans already
voted for this catastrophic cut to Social Security as part of the
reactionary Republican Study Group budget, not even one Democrat voted for
it. Obama stuck it in his budget anyway.
Plenty of Obama-supporters have wondered how he could possibly betray the
most basic and fundamental princip... more »
Have I Got A "Flood" Of Remarkably Easily Offended People For You
The *Daily Mail* anticipated the day of the funeral of Margaret Thatcher (a
beautiful, extraordinary service) by publishing a piece about BBC bias.
More than 100 complaints flood in following BBC's Have I Got News For You
quiz show mocking Baroness Thatcher's death
- The BBC1 show has drawn 107 complaints since it was broadcast Friday
- Guest Ken Livingstone joked about declining an invitation to her
funeral
- Other jokes were aimed at her son Mark and her former Tory cabinet
By PAUL REVOIR
*PUBLISHED:* 21:03, 16 April 2013 | *UPDATED:* 23:38, 16 April 2013
The a... more »
CORE-outsourcing/Amanda Lang/iGATE - on the milk carton
On Saturday I posted a screencap of CBC's 'senior business correspondent' Amanda
Lang as keynote speaker at the upcoming CORE-Outsourcing's 8th Annual
Conference* : Fast Forward - What's Next for Outsourcing?*.
CORE displayed Lang's bio above the logos of their 'Corporate Sponsors' -
which unhappily included iGATE. My link to that page subsequently went
down over the weekend:
"Oops! The page you are looking for cannot be found."
This seemed most unlikely for an "annual global conference" about to open
in 6 days so I fixed it. It went down again. Go ahead - try it yourself. I... more »
Read Stuff, You Should
Happy Birthday to Kristine Sutherland, 58.
Also, good stuff:
1. Kevin Drum highlights an Elena Kagan dissent.
2. Scalia, not so much with the judicial temperment; Rick Hasen has it.
3. Ed Kilgore notes that Rand Paul's Howard speech seems to have adopted
Kevin Williamson's version of party history. To me, that raises the
question: could Paul have sounded like a jerk because he really didn't know
what he was talking about? Once again, there are costs for having an
information structure within a party dedicated to fooling you own followers.
4. And Alyssa Rosenberg has some advice f... more »
The Great Grind Down
Tom Walkom writes that The Great Recession has not been like The Great
Depression:
This slump is not like the Depression of the ’30s. It is not a time of
total economic collapse. Rather it is a time of relentless grinding down.
Unions are being ground down; wages are being ground down. Jobs are being
ground out of existence. With the economy so weak and foreign competition
so fierce, domestic firms find it harder to expand.
For many, the only solution is to squeeze their workers.
Before the Great Recession, goods moved easily across borders. So did
capital.
But what’s new about... more »
Earthquake swarm Japan - is another BIG ONE due?
Free Planet doesn't normally DO earthquake swarms posts because they happen
all the time, but one's going on RIGHT NOW off the east coast of Japan i.e.
on the Fukushima side, that started in the far south of Japan in the range
of 4.6 and above and has just started unleashing 5.6's and above off/around
Sendai.
Here's a list this far today off of USGS's (so-called realtime) earthquake
monitor:
Mag Location Time UTC
Lat Lon Dep km
5.7 18km ENE of Ishinomaki, Japan 2013-04-17 12:03:31 38.478°N 141.494°E
4... more »
FALSE FLAG meme goes global
"My complication got a complication..."
Brazil (1985) was about a bureaucrat in a retro-future world who tries to
correct an administrative error and himself becomes an Enemy of the State.
It was about the IRA (and UK gov's association with it) and an ex-Mayor of
London suggests that MI5 were at least complicit in either 'terror attacks'
and/or 'child porn rings' as leverage tools against politicians in
positions of power. And we all remember Operation Gladio... and the US Air
Force standing down on September 11th 2001...
James Corbett (brave man that he is) illustrates in vivid de... more »
Remember Timothy McVeigh?
Oklahoma City bombing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist bomb attack on the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19,
1995. It would remain the most destructive act of terrorism on American
soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Why are the majority of people assuming, first and foremost, that the
Boston terrorist is a foreign national? The first major terrorist attack in
the US was a homegrown, domestic terrorist.
BTW: McVeigh was RWNJ
'Anti-Indian Conference' exposed by Intercontinental Cry
Anti-Indian Conference
By Jay Taber
Intercontinental Cry
Reposted with permission at Censored News
The April 6, 2013 NW Round-Up Regional Educational Conference in Bellingham, Washington was sponsored by the
foremost Anti-Indian organization in the United States, the Citizens Equal
Rights Alliance.
Excerpt:
" ... Brendale’s wife is a lobbyist and media expert with Eagle Forum, a
Music funds KXL Resistance 'A Mother's Letter to TransCanada, Big Oil'
"A
Mother's Letter to TransCanada & Big Oil" from
Phyllis Cole-Dai on Vimeo.
Fast for the Earth Co-Founder Creates Video, Sells Music to Fund KXL
Resistance
Posted at Censored News
www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Fast for the Earth co-founder Phyllis Cole-Dai
http://www.phylliscoledai.com/ has just released "A
Mother's Letter to TransCanada & Big Oil"
<https://vimeo.com/64122215 a video
BBC says it won't use "anti-Semitism" because the word is... too long?! - The Commentator
' Apparently the word "anti-Semitism" is too complicated or too long for
the BBC to use, says an e-mail from the News Online complaints team...'
A staggering story of BBC protecting a Muslim Peer.
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3269/bbc_says_it_won_t_use_anti_semitism_because_the_word_is_too_long
NO NEED TO FEAR
*11-year-old Aaron Hern was one of the victims in the Boston Marathon
bombings. abclocal.go.com*
*
**How should we react to the victims of the Boston Bombs?*
Can we feel compassion without feeling some of the suffering of the
injured?
*1.* *Imagine you are a doctor entering a hospital ward where there is a
child victim.*
It does not help you, nor the child, if you are shaking and weeping.
The good doctor, while feeling compassion, detaches himself from suffering.
The good doctor detaches himself from his selfish ego.
*It is the selfish ego which produces anger, grief, worry, and ... more »
Dogon Astronomy and Sirius
This item captures out present understanding of Dogon knowledge of Sirius.
What disappoints me is that we see no suggestion that our star also orbits
Sirius which unfortunately suggests that it is more complicated than all
that. What we do know is that we are traveling against the motion of the
galaxy in the direction of Sirius. Sirius may thus be part of a super
cluster and we are not directly orbiting it. This appears to fit our
present knowledge.
The knowledge on display was not accessible using bronze age technology.
Thus the scenario rings true and explains the impor... more »
Nanocellulose Breakthrough
This will ultimately be huge. This may be a natural substitute for a wide
range of products we presently make from plastic. It will be an important
feedstock that can even be produced down on the farm as a matter of course.
It will still need consumables and farms are used to dealing with this sort
of stuff.
This is an important breakthrough and a nice result of genetic engineering
that no one eats.
We will see it enter the supply chain in perhaps five years and that will
produce a flood of replacement solutions hopefully broadly across industry.
That will depend on c... more »
Lazarus Effect
The science of resurrection continues to advance and we are now to the
point is which serious decisions need to be made to improve outcomes. Read
this item carefully. I survived a twenty minute interruption of heart
activity because the right things were done and I should have survived. Yet
in the time and place I won the lottery. Since my event and because of
similar survivals, it is now standard to start and maintain CPR. The rest
described here needs to also become standard.
In my ward, my sense is that a number left in body bags who should also
have survived. The habit of... more »
Climate Switch at 5000 BP
The swiftness of this collapse is surprising but also tells us that a
humid wet climate existed until just before the Great Pyramid was built.
It also tells us that full climatic restoration could be possible provided
our conjectures regarding the Pleistocene nonconformity and the impact of
goat husbandry. The moisture has not gone away, it is merely no longer been
captured and once that changes, there is ample reason to expect that the
Sahara can be fully clothed in vegetation.
The long existence of the sphinx is also supported as geological work
shows us thousands of ... more »
Is there really a crisis in science and math education?
Sent to the Austin-American Statesman, April 16, 2013
Lonny Stern’s claim that “Investment in science, math is good business”
(April 15) is based on his assertion that there are 2.5 STEM jobs available
for every unemployed person.
Mr. Stern may want to consult research done by Rutgers Professor Hal
Salzman, who concludes that there are two to three qualified graduates for
each science/tech opening: There appears to be surplus, not a shortage, of
STEM-trained workers.
Studies have also shown that there is a “PhD glut”: According to the
Atlantic (Feb, 2013), the US is producing mor... more »
The Bishop of London's Lesson at Lady Thatcher's funeral
Very nicely delivered with stories of Lady Thatcher's humanity that showed
a side of her that the left and the left's leaders (such as the BBC) would
prefer we did not know. I also liked the Tolpuddle martyrs hiustory lesson,
something for the BBC to remember, not that they will.
I think it's clear why The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Richard Chartres DD KCVOhas not
become Archbishop of Canterbury!
A Guest Post & Insight by Michael Brine
Source:
http://spacefellowship.com/news/art20300/picture-of-the-day-hubble-observes-the-large-magellanic-cloud.html
**
**
*The Stars may try to guide us and the mind try to find answers, but in the
end we must get out of our own way, for only the love that flows between
our souls can guide us, towards each other in the fulfilment of our
destinies.*
**
Michael Brine
To read more of Michael's writings visit:
*http://www.missionignition.net/btb/*
If someone tells you that things couldn't get any worse, show them this picture...
Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama 2016 - Now that's seriously scary!
Dark matter may be a complicated sector
Among the hints of dark matter, I believe that the three apparently decidedly
non-background-like events seen by CDMS II represent the strongest hint of
a dark matter particle we have seen so far.
However, there are other hints, too. Even though the AMS-02 folks haven't
told us everything they know yet, it seems very plausible that they have
already seen somewhat clear evidence of a rapid drop of the positron
fraction at high energies.
CDMS suggests a WIMP mass of \(8.6\GeV\); AMS-02 indicates \(300\GeV\) or
more; and we also have the Weniger line at Fermi which would imply a WIMP
... more »
What does "reside" mean on the context of bail?
*Gravino*, [1991] O.J. No. 2927 (C.A.), at para. 1:
On the authorities, the word "reside" is a word of flexible meaning. While
its usual meaning is that it refers to where one sleeps, it has also been
held that where a person leaves a residence for a temporary purpose, with
the intention of returning, he continues to reside at the same residence.
This was a criminal proceeding with penal and monetary consequences and so,
in our opinion, the requirement in the recognizance for judicial interim
release, that the appellant "reside with his mother" does not preclude
temporary absences ... more »
MAN OF STEEL - inspirational trailer - you are not alone
We are all *SUPERMAN*, and this is our Free Planet.
On my world *Free Planet* means HOPE.
*BONUS MATERIALS - YOU ARE NOT ALONE:* a ransom demand for the People of
Earth, how very corporate.
April 15, 1973 (part one)
PRESIDENT: Yeah. I had a call from Kleindienst.
EHRLICHMAN: Yeah. I heard you did and I thought you ought to take it.
PRESIDENT: Oh sure, sure, I didn't, I didn't refuse. He said "I should see
you, and I'd like to see
you alone this afternoon. Today." I said fine.
That's from a morning conversation this Sunday, April 15. Kleindienst,
having finished hearing about Dean's testimony, arranges to report to the
president. At this point, however, there's been no deal struct between
Justice and Dean -- and if there's no deal, then Dean can still, according
to the rules, withdraw his tes... more »
Boston Highlights the Illusion of Terror & Security
*April 17, 2013* (LD) - Sometime before 1775, American Founding Father,
Benjamin Franklin wrote:
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Across much of the West, after September 11, 2001, we have indeed given up
our essential liberty, and more over, our dignity in exchange for the
illusion of safety. Our streets and public events are filled with
militarized police and very literally soldiers wielding machine guns and
riding around in armored vehicles. And yet with this militarized security,
invasive Constit... more »
BOSTON BOMBS AND THE CIA
*Department of Homeland Security 2010 warning on Pressure Cookers*
*Boston Marathon bombs:*
*Inspire magazine, said to be run by the CIA, taught pressure cooker
bomb-making techniques.*
Investigators say pressure cooker bombs were used in the Boston Marathon
attack.
"In fact, most analysts remain convinced the *Inspire* article was the
brainchild of X.... an American .... and was edited by Y..... another
American citizen...
"Last October Z .... accused of attempting to bomb a Federal Reserve Bank
building in New York, was said by prosecutors to have read *Inspire*..."
His car b... more »
Interviewed For Fareed Zakaria’s GPS on CNN
I was interviewed for this article by Afeef Nessouli “Can Iraq meet its oil
potential?” which appeared on Fareed Zakaria’s GPS on CNN.
A3 Newsletter: Four Score and One Too Many Years
*(Artwork by Emory Douglas)*Today, April 17, 2013, marks 41 years that
Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace have been unjustly incarcerated in
solitary confinement in Louisiana. This is 41 years of living in concrete
and metal cages of 6 x 9 feet; 41 years of being separated from their
families and loved ones; 41 years of being wrongly accused of a murder they
did not commit.
Over 41 years ago, prison officials at the Louisiana State Penitentiary
(aka 'Angola'), an 18,000-acre former slave plantation, were first
confronted by the Angola 3's challenge to the obscene human rights
atroci... more »
Mircea Eliade On Going Down Into The Belly of A Monster
Related:
*Mircea Eliade On The Modern Man's Passion For Historiography*.
*Mircea Eliade On The Eleusinian Mysteries*.
*Mircea Eliade On The Fury of The Berserkers*.
Below is an excerpt from Mircea Eliade's book, *"Myths, Dreams and
Mysteries: The Encounter Between Contemporary Faiths and Archaic Realities."
* Harper & Row, Publishers: New York. 1960. Pg. 225.
What we have here is an initiatory adventure undertaken to gain an item of
secret knowledge. One goes down into the belly of a giant or a monster in
order to learn *science* or *wisdom*. That is why the Lapp shaman remai... more »
Drink up, and be happy
[image: image]
Happiness is nowhere near as complex as you might have been led to believe.
For scientific research now confirms merely a taste of beer can trigger a
rush of chemical pleasure in the brain.
Proving again that beer didn’t just build our civilisation, it made it
happy too.
Or as Benjamin Franklin was supposed to have said,
*"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."*
Cheers! (Hic.)
Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission
to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Suspected Faults Under Oi Nuclear Reactors in Japan: Court Rejects Shutdown Request
Reuters (2013, April 16) Court rejects request to shut down Oi nuclear
reactors, The Asahi Shimbun,
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201304160084
[Excerpted] A Japanese court rejected a petition to close down the
country's only two operating nuclear reactors, in the country's first legal
ruling on atomic power since the Fukushima disaster a little over two years
ago...
...The country's new nuclear regulator is still investigating whether the
suspected fault under the station is active. [end]
Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)
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
How did your Eco-friendly spring cleaning go last week? I made the switch
to natural cleansers quite some tim... more »
When Miss McConnell Passes Will "Ding Dong" Top The Charts?
The British Establishment-- and the kind of American Tories who fought on
the British side against the Patriots during the American Revolution-- are
busy trying to make Margaret Thatcher a right-wing saint. Millions of
ordinary Britons don't feel that's merited and responded by driving the
1939 classic "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead," from *The Wizard of Oz* up the
music charts. Tens of thousands of Brits rushed out to buy the single but
Conservatives warned the BBC, which plays chart songs, not to dare play it.
They played a 5-second version (once) with the network's new boss, Tony... more »
The Game
This is about all that you have ever believed was real and true and how
all of that is about to change. You are not only what you see in the
mirror. Your worth comes from a place unseen by human eyes.
It is not so much what work you do in this physical world that you are
here doing. It *is* that, yes, for things that you came to experience and
to learn about. Yet while you sleep on this earthly plane, you are still
working and doing. Not so much learning; yet it is true that learning is
something you cannot escape – but DOING. It is in your ‘dream work” that
you are f... more »
Adrian Dix And Christy Clark, A Contrast In Leadership
Today Adrian Dix showed what I call "real Leadership"...After accepting the
candidacy of Dayleen Van Ryswyk to run in the riding of Kelowna-Mission..
Clearly the vetting process failed, on the first day of the writ period it
was leaked that this woman has uttered some very racist slurs towards
French Canadians and Canada`s First Nations, there is no need to repeat
what she said, these statements in the form of comments on an internet site
were uttered in 2009...
Racism comes in all forms, Dayleen Van Tyswyk will have to live with those
statements, no doubt the locals will forgive ... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to
our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful M81. This grand spiral galaxy lies
11.8 million light-years away toward the northern constellation of the
Great Bear (Ursa Major).
*Click image for larger size.*
The deep image of the region reveals details in the bright yellow core,
but at the same time follows fainter features along the galaxy's gorgeous
blue spiral arms and sweeping dust lanes. It also follows the expansive,
arcing feature, known as Arp's loop, that seems to rise from the galaxy's
disk at the upper ... more »
Chet Raymo, “A Universal We?”
*
*
*“A Universal We?”*
by Chet Raymo
“I have a few words to say about Oxford anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse,
and his thoughts on ritual as "the glue that holds social groups together."
I was drawing on a story in the 24 January issue of “Nature.” He is quoted
further: "Emotionally intense rituals have bound us together and pitted us
against our enemies throughout the history of our species. It was only when
nomadic foragers began to settle down did we discover the possibilities for
establishing much larger societies based on frequently repeated creeds and
rituals." The big... more »
"After All..."
"A chain is no stronger than its weakest link,
and life is after all a chain."
- William James
"A Civilized Society..."
"Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we didn't
have any kind of prison. Because of this, we had no delinquents. Without a
prison, there can be no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys and therefore
among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he couldn't
afford a horse, a tent or a blanket, he would, in that case, receive it all
as a gift.
We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property. We
didn't know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being
was not determined by his wealth. We had no written l... more »
Attack Ad Against Justin Trudeau
I'm really unhappy about Justin Trudeau. Seems to me that he's what stands
between the bankrupt Liberal Party of Canada (a "vision" for Canada that
appears to be some incoherent mish-mash of corporate inhumanity and vaguely
progressive rhetoric) and its eventual demise. With his name and his looks
he'll kindle enough interest to help spoil the NDP's chances of reducing
the harpercons to a minority.
Regardless of all that (and not that I have any high hopes for the NDP
under Mulcair) I find those harpercon attack ads against Trudeau to be
sickening. I'm tired of these asinine attac... more »
The Realist Report with John Friend
On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined by Scott Roberts
of *The Forbidden Truth*. Scott and I will be discussing a variety of
subjects, including his awakening to the problems facing our nation and
race, his thoughts on Christianity, religion, and spiritual matters, the
need to overcome our differences and work together productively, his
thoughts on the American Nationalist Association, and related matters. Be
sure to check out *Scott's TruTube.TV page*, where you can find a number of
videos he has produced. Calls will be taken throughout the conversation.
You c... more »
Will Thatchers Legacy Become the US's ALEC Led Reality???
A little ALEC / Thatcher background to start.
*ALEC Policy Forum 2002*
Privatization as we know it began in the late 1960s, mainly practiced by
local governments. In the 1980s Ronald Reagan brought the idea to the
federal government at the same time Margaret Thatcher was revolutionizing
Britain through the same process.
*ALEC Atlantic Connection 2006*
Chris Heaton Harris (International ALEC Legislator)
It reminded me a lot of growing up in the late 1980´s in a confident Great
Britain that had been economically transformed by Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher.
*Inside ALEC 2007*... more »
Issue Estoppel
*Penner v. Niagara (Regional Police Services Board*) 2013 SCC 19 deals with
issue estoppel.
The legal framework governing the exercise of the discretion not to apply
issue estoppel is set out in *Danyluk v. Ainsworth Technologies*, 2001 SCC
44, [2001] 2 S.C.R. 460. This framework has not been overtaken by the
Court's subsequent jurisprudence.
While finality is important both to the parties and to the judicial system,
unfairness in applying issue estoppel may nonetheless arise.
First, the prior proceedings may have been unfair.
Second, even where the prior proceedings wer... more »
Glenn Greenwald and the Leveretts Talk Iran—and How Two Former Spear-Carriers for Empire Got “Radicalized”
*Glenn Greenwald and the Leveretts Talk Iran—and How Two Former
Spear-Carriers for Empire Got “Radicalized”*
*By Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett *
*GoingToTehran.com *
*Published on April 10, 2013 *
Glenn Greenwald interviewed us for a “Podcast Discussion with Two of
America’s Leading Iran Experts: The Leveretts,” now published by the *Guardian
(*click on the podcast screen above or here). We admire Glenn deeply for
all he has done and continues to do to bring reality and principle back
into America’s ongoing debates about national security and about civil
liberties—and to... more »
Elizabeth May's Pipeline Warning to You Eastern Canadians.
Her e-mail is self-explanatory. When it comes to Stephen Harper and
bitumen pipelines, you can keep your opinions to yourself.
*Enbridge's Line 9 pipeline runs straight through major Canadian cities,
including Sarnia, the GTA and Montreal, passing 9.1 million people, and
nearly 100 towns and cities.*
**
*Installed in the mid-1970s, this aging pipe system is set to be modified.
A proposal is in place to reverse the flow of this pipeline and expand its
carrying capacity.*
**
*But if you are one of the millions of Canadians along its route who wish
to communicate legitimate concerns ab... more »
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