10:37pm MDST
Vulture Banking Meets Its Maker
My search for understanding the banking system began as quite a young man.
My high school years were rather unspectacular. I thought I was not too
bright, after all my grades were Bs and Cs, and that report card meant to
me and my parents that I wasn't that bright. Throw in slight case of
undiagnosed dyslexia and I convinced myself I was none too bright. My
limits were set low. What I really was in high school, was bored and
unchallenged. I found out I was smarter than I thought when I went to
University.
My high school guidance counselor advised me to "go into the trades", ... more »
John W. Perry: Visionary Experience or Psychosis (excerpt) - Thinking Allowed w/ Jeff Mishlove
YouTube Video Description - [Channel: ThinkingAllowedTV]:
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a 30-minute DVD.
http://www.thinkingallowed.com/2jperr...
The psychiatric community errs in treating visionary experience as a form
of mental illness, says Jungian psychotherapist John Weir Perry, M.D.. The
late Dr. Perry was the author of many books including The Heart of History
and The Far Side of Madness. He suggests that psychiatric labelling and the
use of anti-psychotic drugs serve to stifle the valuable integration of
life's mythic dimensions.
Can Our National Parks be Saved from Mining?
From the Center for American Progress (5 minutes)
The story of the assault on Theodore Roosevelt National Park is only one
example of how energy development and land conservation are out of balance
on our public lands. Over the past four years, the Obama administration has
leased two-and-a-half times more acres of public lands to oil and gas
companies than it has permanently protected. It’s time for the
administration to put policies that protect and conserve our public lands
and national parks for future generations on equal ground with policies
that promote more oil and gas drill... more »
GOP In Tumult? Scott Brown And Peter King
So he's an unrepentant Islamophobe... the Dems will take him anyway
Defeated Republican Senator Scott Brown wants to get back into the Senate
but polls showed him that Massachusetts voters had had enough of him and he
passed on the prospect of running against Ed Markey. But he hasn't passed
on running altogether. Maybe he finds lobbying demeaning after being the #1
target of lobbyists affection for so long. So he's been hinting he could
run in New Hampshire against Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, the most popular
political leader in the state, with a career-high approval rating. "In the
mos... more »
Two Minutes Hate
New must watch video from *The End of Zion*:
Chain of fools
In the interests of my blood pressure, decided long ago to save my outrage
for things that are clearly imminent. So I'm not all that exercised about
Obama's new budget even though it's said to offer up the chained CPI on
Social Security. Matt thinks it's dangerous but it's not scaring me yet.
Looks like just another deal that isn't meant to happen.
It's a budget proposal. A political document that has more to do with
messaging than policy. I do agree with Charlie Pierce though. Offering up
yet another dismal grand bargain with these kind of optics is stupid
politics and reinforces ... more »
Antarctic melt shakes up food chain
[image: Major changes to the food chain, weather and landscape of
Antarctica have provided stark evidence of the impact of global warming, a
report on a polar expedition has revealed. The preliminary report on the
research by scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division and the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institute near Boston suggest significant changes at the
lowest level of the food chain, a vital source of sustenance for seabirds,
seals, and whales. Photo: Steve Jones]
By Tim Barlass
7 April 2013
(Sydney Morning Herald) – Major changes to the food chain, weather, and
lands... more »
"Fuck Off!!! We ARE a Beacon of Light!!!"
We are being watched by everyone. The story of our “Breaking Free” has
been headline news in the Universe for quite some time. The most
fascinating part is that it’s a reality show that’s lasted lifetimes. Sort
of like the Truman Show, only with multiple generations of “Trumans” AKA
“Humans”.
Do you remember the part where a light from the set falls from the sky
and he see’s it? That’s the part we’re at now folks. The artificial
lights are dropping like flies.
For your consideration; this posting from my light warrior sister, D, at
Removing the Shackles: Be you... more »
John Weir Perry On The Psychic History of Man
Below is an excerpt from John Weir Perry's book, *"Lord of the Four
Quarters: Myths of the Royal Father."* 1966. Collier Books: New York. Pg.
26-27.
"Inasmuch as the cosmology of myth is the exteriorized self-portrayal of
the inner psychic world, we may now attempt a paraphrase of its features
from the image-language of mythology into the conceptual language of
psychology. Man's everyday life is bounded by a spiritual world above and a
chthonic world below, the former associated with the Father, the latter
with the Mother (these cosmic parents having been separated by a hero's a... more »
Rooftop Campout 2013
One of the things that impresses me about Fort McMurray is how generous the
community is when it comes to supporting various charities. Its a
little-known fact that on a per capita basis Fort McMurray residents have
been the biggest supporters of organizations such at United Way for a
number of years. Unfortunately, things like often get forgotten in the sea
of ignorance and negativity that the city can get in the media.
When I heard a group of local firefighters (6 in all i believe) had been
camping out on the rooftop of a local pub to raise money for local
charities here I made a ... more »
North Carolina Republicans-- Anti-Democracy Authoritarians At Work
A few days ago we looked at some of the craziest things Republicans are
doing in their national crackup. And we started with North Carolina's
attempt to set up some kind of official religion. The next day, after an
incredible uproar from outraged citizens, the Speaker of the state House,
Thom Tillis, killed the nonsense, despite 14 Republicans having had already
signed on as cosponsors. Although the bill wasn't going to pick between
Christian sects-- just make "Christianity" the state religion-- North
Carolina has a considerable number of non-Christians including around
25,000 Je... more »
Lead Stories
Hmm. I've been out and about this evening and have come back to find that
the obviously newsworthy matters of tax, the Philpott welfare row, Fatboy
Kim's North Korean madness and the British lady murdered in Kashmir are
dominating the news headlines. Understandably so.
The Guardian, as you might expect, goes on the tax issue with Families 'to
lose £4,000 a year' under tax changes (quoting that nice Ed Balls). The
paper's second story is N Korea warns embassies over safety. (Apparently
young Kim is threatening to eat them. The *Grauniad* seems a bit behind the
curve on that one, ... more »
Electric cars - really an option?
address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 8 hours ago
Link: http://youtu.be/qvPosSzUGVI
Having read about the "Fisker" troubles and its tremendous subsidies to (as
is claimed) not produce a single car since July last year, seeing my
personal electro-favorite "Tesla Motors" going forward, I wonder if
electric cars will ever make it on the heavy and very expensive, low
lifetime, huge and costly batterypacks. Portugal and Spain have great
interest in opening this market. If I had the money to spend on a Tesla car
I would buy and test one here, in our high and rough scenery. On our
highways going up to 4.000 feet (1300 meters) and down to... more »
Either with us, OIRA against us
This is the scariest thing I've read in months. I had no idea that buried
in the subterranean depths through which our federal legislation flows
there exists the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (known as
“OIRA”) which effectively renders all our regulatory agencies as mere
figureheads. All regulations, including "rules on worker health,
environmental protection, food safety, health care, consumer protection,
and more" must pass through OIRA before they're allowed to go into effect.
Or not.
In his revealing book, Sunstein tells us why: It is because he, Sunstein,
had t... more »
Armchair Nationalists - Ineffective and Reactionary
A reader sent in a comment critical of 'armchair nationalists. The thrust
of his argument can be summarised as follows:
- Nationalists in general seem to be desperately waiting for somebody
else to act or a saviour to rise from the swamp of depravity in which we
live
- The Establishment is your bitterest enemy, its paid servants are not
on your side and they never will be: 'Help For Heroes', my arse -
Historically there was never much pity for mercenaries, why should there be
now?!
- Most nationalists are just reactionaries, longing for a return to a
1... more »
What is so special about the Palestinians?
Is it because they are the only people 'oppressed' by Jews?
http://twitter.com/MichalZach1/status/320607716538212352/photo/1
Chronicles of a Fallen Love
One of the greatest tunes from last year. I never rated the Bloody
Beetroots, but this is something else.
Has Everyone Lost Their Minds? No, But the Entire Elite Has Been Influenced by Economic Myths of the Robert Rubin-Pete Peterson-Fix the Debt Propagandists and GMO Toxic Chemical Pushers
Krugman rules again. So what’s this about? The answer, I fear, is that
Obama is still trying to win over the Serious People, by showing that he’s
willing to do what they consider Serious — which just about always means
sticking it to the poor and the middle class. The idea is that they will
finally drop the false equivalence, and admit that he’s reasonable while
the GOP is mean-spirited
Republicans Introduce NEW way to Steal Elections
My emphasis
Bozeman Democratic Senator Mike Phillips (R) holds a copy of the
Legislature's rule book in Helena, Montana April 5, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Dan Boyce
By Dan Boyce
HELENA, Mont | Sat Apr 6, 2013 11:10am EDT
(Reuters) - Over loud objections from Democrats, *Montana's
Republican-controlled Senate* on Friday voted to put proposals on the 2014
ballot that would tighten voter registration and *restrict the rights of
third parties to compete in general elections*.
The measures, which are expected to be approved by the Republican-majority
House, do not need approval from the ... more »
Five die in sectarian clashes in Egypt | ITV News
Good enough reason for people to die?
'... the violence broke out yesterday when a group of Christian children
were drawing on a wall of a Muslim religious institute.'
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-04-06/five-die-in-muslim-christian-clashes-in-egypt/
Anyone care to bet how many of the dead are Christians and how many
Muslims?
She Makes Me A Slave
*Willgesta
(Photo by John Carroll--April 6, 2013)*
*
*
*
*
*Mom speaks fast. No one usually listens. She needs her say.*
*
*
*Willgesta is 11 months old and was born at home. She has been sick for two
months.*
*
*
*The spaces between her tiny ribs suck in with each breath. But she fights
like a tiger. *
*
*
*Please give her the breast, her cry is bad. *
*
*
**
*I have been to five hospitals and clinics and doctors.*
*
*
*No one does anything for her.*
*
*
*Receipts she has paid spill onto the table from a black garbage sack.*
*
*
*They say she has a hole in her heart. Her echo report is ... more »
Free Planet Counselling - is this where my future lies?
last night, I took the bus to Burwell Hall in Witney to attend a
demonstration by Guest Spiritualists. Not a 'mass' on this occasion i.e.
there was no catholic hymn singing, I did all my choiring in my childhood
thank you very much. It wasn't a 'service' to 'god' or 'jesus', it was just
three experienced and two trainee 'mediums' giving their opinion of the
family auras and presences that supposedly surround us in our everyday
humdrum lives.
If you believe all that stuff; and for me there's no decisive evidence
either way - I'm open to REALITY, whatever form it takes, by whichever ... more »
Movie review: SWITCH
[image: Logo of the Geological Society of America's Switch Energy Awareness
campaign. Graphic: GSA]
By Ray Pierrehumbert
2 April 2013
(RealClimate) – This year, the Geological Society of America is rolling out
their Switch Energy Awareness campaign. The centerpiece of the campaign is
a documentary film, *Switch*, which purports to be about the need for a
transformation in the world’s energy systems. Recently, I attended the
Chicago premier of the film, presented as part of the Environmental Film
Series of the Lutheran School of Theology. I had high hopes for this film.
They wer... more »
What Mattered This Week?
Probably wishful thinking, but: Harry Reid is threatening majority-imposed
Senate reform, and soon. If it produces reform, it matters; if it gets a
few more judges confirmed, it matters. If everyone ignores it and he
doesn't follow through...
I don't really have much for "doesn't matter" during this slow news
week...I suppose I continue to believe that the North Korea saber-rattling
doesn't matter very much, so I'll go with that.
That's what I have. What about you? What do you think mattered this week?
IT'S ALL ABOUT CORPORATE MINING
Obama is promising $100 million (as he goes after Social Security and
Medicare) to launch a mission that is aimed at helping scientists capture
asteroids. This mission is really about testing the technologies to fly to
an asteroid and prepare to mine them. The taxpayers are paying for this
research and development phase and when it becomes technically possible to
carry out the missions the process will be privatized. Thus the public
finances the aerospace industry start-up costs and gets very little in
return.
I've noticed Al Jazeera is increasingly more conservative by touting ... more »
THE BAYLIS BOYS 'KIDNAPPED'; A BABY SNATCHED
*The Baylis Boys.*
"We are, *Kevin Christian Baylis,* 15 Years old, DOB 11th October 1996,
South African citizen with dual nationality with America due to our father,
and *Jenvey Trevor Baylis*, 12th years old.
"We were abducted by fraud and trafficked to the United Kingdom by ........
(Mr N.)
"He had the support of the United Kingdom embassy.
"We need to state this is not the first time he did it.
"We would you like you to reunite us with our loving parents Jeremy Lynn
Baylis and Maryna Baylis."
*APPEAL TO THE U.N. + MESSAGE FROM JENVEY BAYLIS.*
DISCLAIMER: THE POSTING OF STO... more »
Canadian Special Forces Take Third Place in International Competition
Special forces teams from around the world gathered in Amman, Jordan, to
strut their stuff. Thirty-five teams representing 18-countries, including
the United States, Britain, France and Russia competed. Events included
hostage rescue, aircraft assault, building entry and casualty handling.
Out of the 35 teams, Canada got a respectable podium finish. So, who took
the gold and the silver? The United States? Nah. Britain? Nope.
Russia then surely. Nyet.
First and second place went to Chinese teams. China's Snow Leopard
commando unit took first with second going to a team f... more »
The Honest Sheikh Imran Hosein: Turkey Will Be Called Upon To Attack Syria
* The Three Stooges Have Reunited. Obama, Netanyahu, and Erdoğan are not
statesmen, they are clowns that history will not remember fondly.*
Below are quotes from the interview that Morris of the YouTube Channel
'108Morris108' had with Sheikh Imran Hosein. *Visit his website* to learn
more about him. Here is a brief bio that's taken from his site:
He was born in the Caribbean island of Trinidad in 1942 from parents whose
ancestors had migrated as indentured labourer from India. He is a graduate
of the Aleemiyah Institute in Karachi and has studied at sevaral instutions
of higher l... more »
Fracking. The One Per Cent. Collapsing Canadian Courts. Jessica Ernst of Rosebud, Alberta.
*
*
*Fracking. The One Per Cent. Collapsing Canadian Courts.
Jessica Ernst of Rosebud, Alberta.*
*By rmathews@telus.net*
The One Per Cent, we know, control ‘the banks too big to fail’ and the
corporations too powerful to regulate – which includes (among other things)
fracking enterprises worldwide. The Canadian courts, we are beginning to
know, operate - increasingly - outside the Rule of Law in matters
concerning The One Per Cent … and fracking.
All over the globe fracking is fouling drinking water, lowering water
tables, and endangering agriculture in the search, espe... more »
Angry summer down under: Murdoch paper hosts op-ed that attacks scientists while Australia sizzles
[image: Summary of extreme weather events in Australia that are consistent
with global warming. Graphic: Australian Climate Commission]
By Brenda Ekwurzel, climate scientist
5 April 2013
(UCS) – You know something really weird is happening when in a single
season more than 123 records are broken. That was the news from my home
country, Australia, last month. The Australian Climate Commission, a
government-sponsored science group, released a report confirming that the
country’s climate has changed dramatically and will change even more if
heat-trapping emissions continue to pile u... more »
Hey - I'm officially a member of an extremist group...
*no, not the Tea Party - the Catholic Church ranked right up there with al
Qaeda and the Ku Klux Klan.*
Ya Hoo!!
*
**Bunkerville has the details: *
Military ready to purge Catholics and Protestant Evangelicals?
Argentina politicians jeered after flash flood ‘catastrophe’ – Flood called the largest weather-related disaster in the history of Buenos Aires province
[image: A couple looks at their flooded street from behind their home's
window in La Plata, in Argentina's Buenos Aires province, Wednesday, 3
April 2013. At least 35 people were killed by flooding overnight in
Argentina's Buenos Aires province, the governor said Wednesday, bringing
the overall death toll from days of torrential rains to at least 57 and
leaving large stretches of the provincial capital under water. Photo: AP]
By Michael Warren and Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires
4 April 2013
LA PLATA, Argentina (AP) – Argentine police and soldiers searched house to
house, in c... more »
Sahara went from green to desert in a flash
[image: A large, swirling mass of dust, measuring several hundred
kilometers across, was blowing from the Western Sahara over the Atlantic
Ocean on 4 September 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image.
Photo: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA / GSFC]
By Becky Oskin, LiveScience
5 April 2013
(NBC News) – From lakes and grasslands with hippos and giraffes to a vast
desert, North Africa's sudden geographical transformation 5,000 years ago
was one of the planet's most dramatic climate shifts.
The t... more »
Bill Maher - Libertarians Morphed into Creepy Obsession - Free Markets
Enjoy - Four minutes
Please note that by playing this clip You Tube and Google will place a
long-term cookie on your computer. Please see You Tube’s privacy statementon their website and Google’s
privacy statement on theirs to learn more.
Walker (WI-ALEC) Woke Up One Monring and ....
*Found this on Common Dreams*
*After Wisconsin's Scott Walker published a self-serving editorial about
his budget and all the groovy things he's done for the state - tax
giveaways to corporations, school budget cuts, screwing the working poor,
making the state 44th in the nation in job creation - the Green Bay
Progressive took him to task, point-by-full-of-it point, to show what a
crock it all is. Nice job. *
Had to share - hadn't seen it before
The BBC'll fix it
As if the BBC isn’t dumbed down enough already. If anyone’s been tempted
for a nanofraction of a millisecond to watch “The Voice”, and I understand
very few people have, it could be because trails and unavoidable promos
suggest to watch it would be to embark on a voyeuristic journey towards
eye-ache, nausea, self loathing and ordinary loathing.
Evie Rose Lane is Allison Pearson’s daughter and you won’t be hearing her
on The Voice. She fell for the BBC’s assurance that all prospective
contestants would be given a fair and equal chance to pass through the
auditions and vetting proce... more »
Big Brother Wants More, More, More-- Demands Apple Share Encryption Codes
If Obama isn't bad enough, imagine what's probably coming next
The Big Oil and Gas companies endangering the rest of society in their
insane pursuit of profits, have refused to tell regulatory agencies which
cocktail of toxic chemicals they shoot into the earth during fracking
operations. They claim the formulas are "trade secrets." Apparently, our
e-mails aren't.
The DEA has been trying to hack into Apple's encrypted messaging system but
have thus far failed. They're making a lot of noise about Apple turning
over the keys to the encryption technology to government agencies. The
lib... more »
CASTRO ON KOREA
*The Duty to Avoid a War in Korea*
"A few days ago I mentioned the great challenges humanity is currently
facing. Intelligent life emerged on our planet approximately 200,000 years
ago, although new discoveries demonstrate something else.
This is not to confuse intelligent life with the existence of life which,
from its elemental forms in our solar system, emerged millions of years ago.
A virtually infinite number of life forms exist. In the sophisticated work
of the world’s most eminent scientists the idea has already been conceived
of reproducing the sounds which followed the Bi... more »
Obama, beauty, and sexism
I had to laugh when I learned that Barack Obama who has often benefited
from political correctness has been caught to the PC trap himself. A very
loud third of the Americans – the batshit crazy Americans – apparently
think that the following comment about Kamala Harris is "sexist".
“You have to be careful to, first of all, say she is brilliant and she is
dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you'd want in anybody
who is administering the law, and making sure that everybody is getting a
fair shake. She also happens to be by far the best-looking attorney general
in the c... more »
LolOfficer
A Sussex police officer chased himself after his suspicious activity was
registered on CCTV. He followed himself for twenty minutes before he was
told of the mistake. It's lucky they found out before he caught himself,
pinned his own body to the ground and pumped eleven bullets into his head.
CO2 Climate Sensitivity Vs. Reality
Anyone who has followed the climate debates on the internet knows that even
most "skeptics" of runaway global warming (and all of those who ever make
the news or have a large audience on their blogs) accept the consensus
"greenhouse effect" and the idea of a "CO2 climate sensitivity", or
theoretically expected global mean surface temperature (GMST) increase with
increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2--due, everyone is brainwashed to
believe, in increasing fossil fuel consumption by man). Anthony Watts has
posted yet another article by one of his fellow-believers, arguing for a
... more »
Why is Tepco Admitting Loss of Power at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant and Why Isn't the World Responding?
It is very unusual for Tepco to admit any significant problems at Daiichi.
So, I am perplexed as to why it would publicly acknowledge loss of power
needed for spent fuel pool cooling at Daiichi twice over a 3 week period:
*Fukushima nuclear plant's cooling system goes offline for 3 hours (2013,
April 5) *http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201304050069
*M. Fackler (19 March 2013) ‘Blackout Halts Cooling System at Fukushima
Plant’, The New York Time,*
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/world/asia/blackout-halts-cooling-system-at-fukushima-plant.html?_r=0
Majia h... more »
Labor Opportunities in the US Shrink, Workforce Slowly Impoverished
Majia here: The new jobs report confirms that we are in the weakest
‘recovery’ for the bottom 80% of the US population in over a hundred years:
Cronin, Brenda (2013, April 6-7) ‘Job Growth Slows to a Trickle’ Wall
Street Journal, p. A1, A2
[Excerpted] Worst report in almost a year spooks investors; Nearly
half-million people quit looking for work in March. Employers added fewer
jobs in March than in any month in almost a year… Just 88,000 jobs were
created last month…” [end]
Casselman, B. (2013, April 6-7) ‘Worrisome Indicator: Workforce Dropouts’
The Wall Street Journal, p. A2
[E... more »
TODAY - 4/6 Exposing ALEC Panel - Livestream from NCMR
Livestreaming – Free Speech TV
National Conference for Media Reform
SATURDAY APRIL 6TH
2:00 pm -3:30 pm - Exposing ALEC: Corporations, Media, and Democracy
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a corporate-backed
organization that creates controversial bills that it pushes through state
legislatures. Some of these include broad anti-immigration measures like
Arizona’s SB 1070, Stand Your Ground laws designed to shield users of
firearms and laws that prohibit communities from building their own
broadband networks. Two years ago, an ALEC whistleblower leaked copies of
... more »
We're missing a blogger
I've tweeted a few times asking about JJ, The Unrepentant Old Hippie.
But Twitter is ephemeral, so I thought I'd blog too.
Here's her most recent blog-post dated November 17, 2012.
It's a typical JJ take on fetus fetishists in general and the Fetal Gore
Tour gang and their FetusMobile in particular.
Nothing like another post of hers from December 2010 when she announced
she'd had it with blogging, which prompted this from us.
She returned after that one and I think I've heard that she'd hung 'em up
before that too.
(There's something addictive about blogging. I should know.)
She ... more »
ACTION: Sanders Petition on the "Grand Bargain"
*Send a Message to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Reid and House
Speaker Boehner: No Budget Deal on Backs of the Elderly, the Children, the
Sick and the Poor.*
At a time when the middle class is disappearing, poverty is increasing and
the gap between the rich and everyone else is growing wider, we demand that
the federal budget not be balanced on the backs of the most vulnerable
people in our country.
A federal budget that reduces the deficit by cutting cost-of-living
adjustments for Social Security and disabled veterans, raising the Medicare
eligibility age and lower... more »
Christ on a cracker
Long time readers know how much I love these stories. This one isn't a
Jesus manifestation but this woman found a message from God on a Goldfish
cracker:
The cracker in question has two markings, or imperfections, on its surface.
Burke says the first marking is of a cross with a circle around it. The
second marking, near the head of the fish, represents a golden crown.
“When I picked this one up, I knew he was special,” she said. “Something
I’ve never seen before out of all the Goldfish I’ve eaten.”
Burke admittedly has been working from a large sample size, consuming
between tw... more »
A bit more background on Kind Hearted Woman!
*SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2013*
*Two things the film-maker said:* Since yesterday, we’ve read a few more
synopses of Kind Hearted Woman, the Frontline/Independent Lens film now
available to you right there on your home computer.
To watch the film, click here.
For our money, Elizabeth Jensen’s treatment in the New York Times may give
you a sense of this film’s purview and range. Her opening thumbnail sketch
ends with a key observation:
JENSEN (3/24/13): *It took a powerful, disturbing dream from which she
awoke sobbing to convince Robin Charboneau, an Oglala Sioux and member of
North Da... more »
Air Force One: Your tax dollars at work... (video)
*making sure the Obama's live like royalty. *
Asses and Asteroids
Included in Barack's Budget is $100 million for NASA to go into space and
lasso a 500-ton asteroid to bring back to earth. Maybe he can use his space
junk to beat the old, the young, the sick and the poor to death
quickly instead of imposing slow starvation upon them through his austerity
manifesto. Or else, he can pay a few McWorkers $7.50 an hour to have them
sledge-hammer it into a million tiny pieces, sell them in the online Obama
Store, and use the proceeds for construction of his billion-dollar
Presidential Cathedral. On second thought, he'll use unpaid interns, call
them gras... more »
The President's Latest Bad Idea
Apparently, President Obama's budget is going to include some kind
of penalty for people who have accumulated more than $3 million in
retirement accounts. The details are not yet known, but I think we know
enough to say that this is a terrible idea.
A sizable body of work in public finance suggests that consumption taxes
are preferable to income taxes. Completely replacing our tax system with a
better one is, however, hard. Retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401k
plans, are one way our tax code has gradually evolved from an income tax
toward a consumption tax. The use of thes... more »
Untitled
*Even Bobby Jindal's own paid consultants criticize his "Jeep" neo-juveniletax idea
*
**
~At right, Governorcist Bobby "Jeep" Jindal explains to Earnstwhile and
Young, the pricey consulting firm hired by his administration for economic
analysis of his tax plan, why it doesn't matter that sales taxes on
services bought by businesses are bad ideas because companies pass those
costs to customers or shrink economic activity in a state where such taxes
are levied:* "Jeep hungry. Eat! Fun!"*
*Judge rejects BP's attempt to 'reinterpret' multi-billion-dollar
settlement ~David Hammer*
*Nat... more »
How Many House Democrats Are Still Unevolved On LGBT Equality?
Boehner happily swearing in a very unevolved Pete Gallego (D-TX), the one
freshman Blue Dog
With Bill Nelson (D-FL) finally getting on board the equality train there
are no Democratic senators left except for ones who probably go back and
forth in their minds every night about whether they should switch to the
Republican Party or not, like the idiot from Arkansas who bragged on film
about his sadly low IQ. He also has the lowest score on LGBT equality
issues of any Democrat in the Senate, a 50%, same as Susan Collins (R-ME),
closet case Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and John McCain (R-AZ). ... more »
TIME OUT - BIG START FOR ORIOLES
The Baltimore Orioles, my favorite baseball team, are off to a great
start. They are 3-1 to begin the season but the best story is first
baseman Chris Davis.
Davis drove in a career-high five runs yesterday, giving him 16 RBIs this
season, the most of any player through his team's first four games since
RBIs became an official stat in 1920, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Davis also became just the fourth player in major league history to homer
in his team's first four games — joining Willie Mays (1971), Mark McGwire
(1998) and Nelson Cruz (2011).
I was born in Maryland bu... more »
Ignorance Is Strength
George Orwell published *1984* sixty-five years ago. He did us all a great
public service. Michael Harris writes:
After all, it was Orwell who lifted the curtain on how the end of free
thought was creeping across western democracies. In the end, stripped of
the very language needed to form ideas, future citizens would be shuddering
under a government colossus whose most efficient agency was the Thought
Police.
The central premise of Orwell’s horror-scape dystopia, 1984, is that the
facts are mutable.
Simple really: if there are no objective facts, there is no knowledge. That
le... more »
Digital Evolution: Part 1 Music
When we look at today’s digital revolution we often see disruptive change.
Many shout, ‘out with the old and in with the new,’ but we have to often
ask if the new is really ‘new’, or merely a reiteration of the past? What
once worked, but became uneconomic, or inefficient, or was often
constrained by the technology of the day, can often come back, without the
baggage that once burdened it in its previous days. Suddenly we have a
renaissance, a new opportunity, a new dawn.
*Music* is a classic example where the constraints of the technology
inhibited or defined the form. What was o... more »
The dark Joy of Gossip
Christians are not the only ones who should resist the dark joy of gossip,
as the the new Pope Francis advised his flock. H/T Damian Thompson. The
BBC, take note.
“I hear they have little horns and pointy tails”
The disclaimers on Twitter do little to conceal the true feelings of
hundreds of reporters and journalists employed by an organisation that is
supposed to be - is obliged to be - impartial.
As well as its usefulness in relaying as-it-happens news and stories,
Twitter exposes their biases, their wishful thinking, their gullibility in
unquestioningly relaying propaganda, and ... more »
Why Today's "Stealth" Bigots Are Worse Than Old-School Racists
*By MARC McDONALD*
In a perfect society, there would be no bigots and no racism. Of course,
America will never be mistaken for a perfect society. And despite our
national delusion that we've become a "colorblind" society that has made
progress in moving away from racism, the truth is more complex.
In some ways, it's actually harder to fight racism these days in America
than it was, say, 30 years ago. For one thing, a lot of people
(particularly Republicans) deny that racism even exists today. In fact,
most of these people insist that *white people* are the "victims" of racism.
In t... more »
OPEN TO US MILITARY BASES - SCOTLAND
*In New York, Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland, and leader of the
Scottish National Party.*
*Scotland open to US military bases*
ALEX Salmond has held talks with US representatives about entry to Nato for
an independent Scotland.
He indicates that he would allow American bases on Scottish soil after
'independence'.
The suspicion is that, if Scotland becomes 'independent', Scotland will be
a colony of the USA.
*Diego Garcia*
*
*
*aangirfan: AN 'INDEPENDENT' SCOTLAND WOULD NOT BE ...*
The Seeds Of Suicide: How Monsanto Destroys Farming by Dr. Vandana Shiva
Source:
http://wakeup-world.com/2012/10/29/india-signals-it-is-rearing-to-kick-monsanto-out/
The Seeds Of Suicide: How Monsanto Destroys Farming
by Dr. Vandana Shiva
Global Rearch Canada, 5 March 2013
Monsanto’s talk of ‘technology’ tries to hide its real objectives of
control over seed where genetic engineering is a means to control seed,
“Monsanto is an agricultural company.
We apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world
\produce more while conserving more.”
“Producing more, Conserving more, Improving farmers lives.”
These are the promises Monsanto Ind... more »
Jordan is Palestine
I know that I keep saying this, but only because it's true.For some
background, why not read my post dedicated to @tweet_palestine?
IPR and Medicines 28: Politicizing Innovation, Rewarding Rent-Seeking
Indian government's intellectual property rights (IPR) system for medicines
seems hazy. For instance, it did not give full patent protection for
medicines before, until India joined the WTO in 2005. Even then, many
innovator drugs have no IPR protection, like the case of popular
anti-leukemia drug molecule imatinib, brand "Glivec" or "Gleevec" made by
Novartis.
According to wikipedia, anti-chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) drug
imatinib, *"more than 90% of patients will be able to keep the disease in
check for at least five years, so that CML becomes a chronic, manageable
conditio... more »
Turning the tide
Another win for Owen Jones. We desperately need a genuine anti-austerity
front, ideally a left party that multiplies these arguments and starts to
turn the tide. The mainstream political logjam is stifling. Owen is right,
enough is enough, though it's been that way for nearly five years now.
More evidence corroborating Professor Krashen and exposing the contrived skills and STEM crises
*"...the impending shortage of scientists and engineers is one of the
longest running hoaxes in the country" — Gerald W. Bracey*
[image: Dr. Krashen has long been a critic of the fact-free Myth: STEM and
skills crises]*Schools Matter*'s Professor Stephen Krashen has been a long
time critic of the media promulgated mythology that there's a shortage of
qualified workers, particularly those in the Science Technology Engineering
Math (STEM) fields. A quick survey of his posts here reveal his ongoing
work to counter the skills/STEM propaganda that is most often used to
justify some of ... more »
RONAN PARKE - NOT LIKE JUSTIN BIEBER
Ronan Parke @RonanParke20h
"Switzerland tomorrow for a private gig with my main man Ben Pryer"
@Ben_Pryer
The good news is that Ronan has not yet followed the 'scandal ridden' path
of Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga or Rihanna.
Justin Bieber's Tsunami Wave Of Scandal: A Recap! | PerezHilton.com
Some people suspect that certain music stars are being mind-controlled by
the spooks.
Has Ronan escaped from the allegedly 'bad influences' in the music industry?
Ronan is no longer linked to Simon Cowell or Sony.
*Sony share price, in decline.*
Sony made a mess of Ronan's first al... more »
Taxing Matters
There's a sharp difference of emphasis between certain media outlets
concerning the changes to the tax system which come into effect today.
The most striking difference is between the main articles on the Sky News
website and the BBC News website.
The obvious contrast is the way the BBC places a strong emphasis on one
particular element of the tax reforms - the abolition of the top rate of
tax for higher earners. Their headline, the opening paragraphs and the
closing section all concentrate on that drop from 50% to 45%.
Sky News, in contrast, chooses a more general headline tha... more »
Education "Reform" with David Sirota
*YouTube Introduction*What's really happening in education politics? Would
you believe it's a battle between greedy school teachers and corporate CEOs
who want what's best for the children? Well, not so much. Charter schools
backed by these so-called "education reformers" aren't necessarily better
than standard public education - it's actually been proven that they
aren't. Charter schools do however make sense as a business strategy,
allowing corporations to make big money off school children. How does this
strategy work? David Sirota explains.
Dyson: Climatologists are no Einsteins
The New Jersey Star Ledger printed a nice interview with Freeman Dyson:
Climatologists are no Einsteins, says his successor (Star Ledger)
------------------------------
Beginning in the GWPF (Benny Peiser et al.)
They mention that when Einstein was still around, Dyson was hired by the
Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton after the search for the
planet's most brilliant physicist. He has done quite some work to justify
these labels although I wouldn't say that it has put him at the #1 spot.
He's still one of the giants of the old times who keep on walking on the
globe.
At any ... more »
Puente peligroso en medio del bosque
[image: Puente peligroso en medio del bosque]
*Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de puentes*
Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com
Pareja de gatos en el pasto
[image: Pareja de gatitos en el pasto]
*Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de gatos*
Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com
Pajaritos amarillos en las ramas de los árboles
[image: Pajaritos amarillos en las ramas de los árboles]
*Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de pajaros*
Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com
El tigre robot en la antigua ciudad
[image: El tigre robot en la antigua ciudad]
*Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de tigres*
Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com
Chica triste con un hermoso ramo de rosas
[image: Chica triste con un hermoso ramo de rosas]
*Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de mujeres*
Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com
Bella isla en un hermoso amanecer
[image: Bella isla en un hermoso amanecer]
*Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de islas*
Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com
April 5, 1973
An Ehrlichman day.
Still in California, he meets first with Paul O'Brien, the Committee to
Re-elect lawyer who has been working with Dean and involved in the hush
money. O'Brien is in California to tell the president what's been going on
(not realizing that Nixon, of course, is fully informed of everything).
Ehrlichman spends two hours listening to O'Brien tell him what's been going
on -- and to his analysis that the big problem is John Dean, the
coordinator of the payments.
Next, a two plus hour meeting with Haldeman and Nixon.
Later, Ehrlichman meets with a new candidate for FBI ... more »
Another chapter in the online testing boondoggle
The situation described here is not a problem for computer companies. In
fact, it is good news. More computer sales! They are not worried how Union
Local will find the money: they are sure that the local community,
enchanted with technology thanks to massive propaganda in the media, will
find a way. A bond issue, a tax increase, benefits, raffles and lotteries,
all ways of taking money from the needy and giving it to the greedy.
And those new computers will need to be updated and upgraded regularly, and
replaced every few years ….
Note: Windows 95: born 1995- died (no longer suppo... more »
Sunday Classics preview: "Small House of Uncle Thomas"
*King Simon of Legree, in "Small House of Uncle Thomas"*
*by Ken*
Late in Act I of Rodgers and Hammesterin's *The King and I*, the King of
Siam informs the new governess for his many children, Anna, that a British
diplomatic delegation is coming to Bangkok, and he wishes her to help
prepare a reception.
For the gala event, which takes place early in Act II, Tuptim (the young
Burmese girl who has been given by her king as a present to the King of
Siam) prepares a version of *Uncle Tom's Cabin*, a stylized ballet called *Small
House of Uncle Thomas* -- a fairly audacious choice to p... more »
DILBIT featuring Oily the Splot
Yes it's a mashup rip from Dilbert.
You remember Oily the Splot, right? Korncob Kory Teneycke's little critter.
Oh crap. Reuters reports "a discharge of 700 barrels of crude oil from a
16-inch pipeline due to unknown reasons in Harris county, Texas" two days
ago.
How come we're getting this news from *Bangalore*?
Ok, one more ...
.
Excellent primer on sex work as the big court date approaches
A great read from Canadian advocate and activist Joyce Arthur, who
interviewed sex workers about what they think will happen if the Supreme
Court of Canada decides to decriminalize the adult, consensual sex industry
when the matter goes to court June 12.
I have a good feeling that this just might be the case that gets our
country past the poorly considered laws that cause so much harm to sex
workers. Whatever your opinion of sex work, surely nobody wants laws that
harm more than help the tens of thousands of Canadians who work in the
industry. Yet that`s exactly what happens as a re... more »
Bookplates worth a thousand words
I just can't with the intertoobz today. Everybody pissed off about
something different and sniping at each other. Too much noise. Not enough
contemplation. So here's bookplates of the famous. Worth the click to see
all 34 more (all on one page) at the link.
Dr. Steve Pieczenik: Controlled Agitation Propaganda
*Photo Source:** NY Times - Saul Loeb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images.
*
Video Title: Dr. Steve Pieczenik: Controlled Agitation Propaganda. YouTube
Video Description - [Channel: TheAlexJonesChannel. Uploaded on April 5,
2013]:
Dr. Steve Pieczenik is a critically acclaimed author of psycho-political
thrillers and the co-creator of the New York Times best-selling "Tom
Clancy's Op-Center" and "Tom Clancy's Net Force" book series. He is also
one of the world's most experienced international crisis managers and
hostage negotiators. His novels are based on his twenty years experie... more »
Opinion 250 Interview Christy Clark(updated..Ben Meisner feels the heat, opens up comment thread)
*UPDATED HERE...It was after this post was published, 2 hours later Ben
Meisner feeling the heat opened up the comment thread /April 6th/2013..9:54
am*
I wrote a post about about 18 months ago about the truth and information
Nazis who dwell at Opinion 250 online news..
Opinion 250 allowed comments under their stories, that all changed during
the BC Liberal leadership campaign, all stories at Opinion 250 about the BC
Liberal leadership campaign Ben Meisner eliminated the comment sections, he
did that for a reason, people, commenters were leaving links to harsh
stories about Christ... more »
My First 1 Million Page Views (Hits)....
I have reached an important milestone today.... As of this date and time,
this blog has officially passed the One MILLION page view mark at
Blogspot...
It is truly a remarkable achievement, considering that this blog started
off basically from complete scratch... Through the years my audience has
increased primarily through only word of mouth, and by my presenting
truthful information, along with own honest and truthful views of what I
see is really happening in our world....
Many people have talked to me recently about what I should do with this
blog to try to reach a larger audi... more »
Hope Keeps Us Alive
Marie-Claude
(Photo by John Carroll, April 1, 2013)
Hope Keeps Us Alive....blogs.pjstar.com/haiti/2013/04/…
— John A. Carroll (@haitianhearts) April 6, 2013
New Video Narrated By "Snordelhans": We'll Kill The Dollar!
I have been like everyone else in this, the real truth movement, in
watching with great dismay how our economies are collapsing. I have for
years, in many articles at this blog, been warning readers that this
collapse has been imminent. It is truly sad that the majority of people
have not reacted sooner to this horrific collapse, and have done nothing to
go after the criminal Jewish bankers responsible for our demise....
I came across a very important video today that I want to share with
everyone here... It is a narration by none other than Patrick Willis, aka
"Snordelhans", of ... more »
Bob Mankoff pays tribute to "New Yorker" cartoonist Ed Fisher and cartoon-caption writer Roger Ebert
*"It seems to me that ordination of women
might brighten the place up a bit."*
*by Ken*
*New Yorker* cartoon editor Bob Mankoff tells us that Ed Fisher contributed
to the magazine from 1951 to 2000 and over that time published over 700
cartoons there. The above is the last one, which Bob says --
works as well today as it did when it was published, more than ten years
ago. In its masterful art, its gentle wit, and its continuing relevance,
this cartoon is echt Ed at the top of his form.
I think it's sublime.
As you may have guessed, the reminiscence is occasioned by Ed's death "a
... more »
You Are The Gold
*You Are The Gold: The Grandmother's Speak*
Amazon faces renewed risk from cattle – ‘Trade is emerging as a key driver of deforestation in Brazil’
[image: Aerial view of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest to clear
space for beef and soybeans. Photo: Reuters]5 April 2013 (Reuters) – Rising
foreign demand for beef and soybeans will tempt Brazil to clear more of the
Amazon rainforest, in a reversal of recent success in slowing forest
losses, a study said on Thursday.
About 30 per cent of deforestation in Brazil in the decade to 2010 was due
to farmers and ranchers seeking land to expand export production of beef
and soybeans, against about 20 per cent in the 1990s, the report said.
"Trade is emerging as a key driver of defo... more »
Friday Baseball Post
Well,
I was going to write a rejoinder to Christina Kahrl and Joe Sheehanon
the DH...basically, it's what I said last week: I would like to
re-establish the difference between the leagues, and the DH is a part of
that, along with separate umps (preferably with the different styles of
chest protectors!), different balls, separate league offices for stuff
such
as suspensions...the whole thing.
(In fact, I'm open to other suggestions. The AL used to have a different
curfew rule; I assume they don't have that any more, so I'd want that
back.
What else would work? Different rainout rules,... more »
SO WHO’S PROVOKING WHO OVER KOREA?
Yesterday the White House said that North Korea ‘should stop making
provocative threats’ but, when one examines the extent of the threats and
counter-threats that have been made over the last few weeks, one finds that
it is the US and their allies that have by far been the most provocative.
All the North Korean leader has done is wave his hands around a lot and
been a bit noisy with his rhetoric threatening to do things he can’t
possibly do with stuff which in all likelihood he hasn’t even got while, at
the same time, parading around his massive toothless army whose primary
skills s... more »
No More Oil Can
The final chapter on a well-known downtown fixture was written this past
week as the Oil Can Tavern was demolished after having sat vacant since
last summer. The building had been around since the 1930's, and for good
or for ill, helped give Fort McMurray its reputation as a boom town.
Even in death, there remains some controversy as the block on which it is
located is part of a downtown redevelopment plan involving the construction
of a 6000-7000 seat arena. I'm not sure of the wisdom of such a structure
smack dab in the downtown core in a city already plague with traffic and
... more »
can money buy happiness? yes. no. sometimes. maybe.
My friend Impudent Strumpet writes a series of posts that dispute the
oft-repeated notion "money can't buy happiness". (Here's an example.) I
find this idea very thought-provoking. I've definitely subscribed to the
idea that money doesn't equal happiness - that making the acquisition of
riches a primary life goal does not lead to a happy life. Imp Strump's
posts led me to think more clearly about this axiom and see what kinds of
truths it might or might not hold.
*If money doesn't buy happiness, try living without any*
For people who live in poverty, money undoubtedly could buy a g... more »
Report: Asian carp may have reached Great Lakes
[image: In this 22 June 2010 file photo provided by the Illinois Department
of Natural resources, a 20-pound Asian carp is held after being caught in
Lake Calumet, about six miles downstream from Lake Michigan. A scientific
report released Thursday, 4 April 2013 says at least some Asian carp
probably have reached the Great Lakes, but there's still time to stop them
from becoming established. Photo: Illinois Department of Natural Resources
/ AP Photo]
[Des called it for the Asian carp back in 2010. Here’s more evidence
strengthening the case, unfortunately.]
By JOHN FLESHER
4 Apr... more »
AFL-CIO - Maybe .................. maybe ALEC did it.
This is why we need citizen journalists and activists.
From the AFL-CIO webpage – today:
Asbestos Victims' Family, Workers Speak Out vs. AB19/SB13
This Republican-backed legislation is a clear giveback to the corporate
elite who have funded the campaigns of many GOP lawmakers in Madison. *This
bill appears to be linked to the American Legislative Exchange Council, or
A.L.E.C*. A.L.E.C. is a corporate back entity that allows for global
corporations and state politicians to use “model bills” in an attempt to
rewrite state laws that reach into almost every area of American life an... more »
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment