Tuesday, May 07, 2013

7 May - Blogs I'm Following

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All good things must come to an end!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 28 minutes ago
*TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2013* *So too with our fund-raising drive:* All good things must come to an end. So too with our fourth or fifth non-annual fund-raising drive. As you may have discerned, this is our way of telling you this: You still have this one final chance! We’re working with the analysts on their letter-writing skills. They’ll be getting in touch with all the kind persons who chose to take part in this drive. For ourselves, our non-annual drive did serve one peculiar purpose. In our fifteen years at this post, we’ve done a lot of accurate work. Examples: In the early ye... more »

Will George Zimmerman receive a fair trial?...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 30 minutes ago
*I'm not holding my breath.* Wild Bill wants this video passed on to as many people as possible.

Fires, floods, and heavy snow: An extreme May weather situation in North America

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 41 minutes ago
[image: Wind map for North America, 2 May 2013 at 18 GMT. The jet stream pattern for Winter Storm Achilles showed a very high-amplitude trough over the Midwest U.S., which allowed record-breaking cold air to flow southwards out of Canada. Graphic: wunderground.com] By Dr. Jeff Masters 3 May 2013 (wunderground.com) – A highly unusual jet stream pattern is bringing a bizarre combination of heavy May snows, flooding, extreme fire danger, and well below average severe thunderstorm activity to the U.S. A strong "blocking" high pressure system has set up over Greenland, blocking the n... more »

F22 Raptor...Unusable

Abraham Ben Judea at Abraham says - 43 minutes ago
The Headline An F-22 Raptor malfunctioned in mid-flight, leading to a crash that killed its pilot, the Air Force went into damage-control mode. Gen. Norton Schwartz, the chief of staff, insisted there was no way that the oxygen generator on his prized stealth jet — a system widely suspected of being dangerously flawed — caused the crash. And even now that an internal inquiry seems to contradict Schwartz, the Air Force is still blaming Capt. Jeffrey Haney for the crash that cost Haney his life. *Commentary* *What some in the military think is a top secret technology is actually ... more »

Teamsters - Speak Out on ALEC

2old2care at Because I Can - 54 minutes ago
*James P. Hoffa* * * *General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters* * * *ALEC's War on Workers * *PLEASE read the whole thing* * * *>>>>HERE<<<<* SNIPS Corporations are upping the ante in their attempt to take control of the political process. Under the guise of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation's most powerful are drafting legislation that is appearing in statehouses across the country. And the target is not just union members, but the entire middle class. ALEC's goal is clear. It wants less regulation and fewer worker protections in ord... more »

Liberal Hack Economists Remain MIA (ACA Edition)

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 57 minutes ago
To return to an oldie but goody: it's still striking to me that no one has jumped up to fill what appears to be a market opening for hack economists on the liberal side. This comes to mind this time from the reaction of economists, including liberal economists, to the sudden decrease in health care inflation over the last few years. As Annie Lowrey reports: Major new studies from researchers at Harvard University, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and elsewhere have concurred that at least some of the slowdown is unrelated to the recession, and might persist as the economy recov... more »

A Spot of bother

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 1 hour ago
I might as well mention the edition of HardTalk featuring Lord Patten, Chairman of the BBC Trust. His interrogator was Stephen Sackur. This programme sets out, per se, to give the interviewee a hard time so no use complaining when the going gets tough. In any case, Chris Patten could do with a good grilling because of his failure to wisely guide the BBC through its recent tribulations; oh yes, and a couple of his biases. The issue here is not that Sackur did his browbeating too well, or too badly. It’s about the fact that amongst BBC types it’s a given that being pro-Israel is a ... more »

Central America’s largest forest under siege by colonists – ‘Even we the Mayangna don't touch these forests, that's where the animals we hunt reproduce. If they destroy that, they will destroy our people.’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 1 hour ago
[image: Cattle in Nicaragua's Bosawás Biosphere Reserve. Invading land speculators and peasants have destroyed 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres) of rainforest in the reserve, according to the Mayangna and Miskito indigenous peoples who call this forest home. Photo: Independent Mayangna Nation of Nicaragua] By Jeremy Hance 6 May 2013 (mongabay.com) – In the last four years, invading land speculators and peasants have destroyed 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres) of rainforest in Nicaragua's Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, according to the Mayangna and Miskito indigenous peoples who call t... more »

Annie Lowrey enacts Goldberg’s Law!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 hour ago
*TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2013* *Reports that Medicaid is no good and that it’s highly effective:* We’ve often cited a famous old joke allegedly known as Goldberg’s Law: “The man with one watch always knows the time. The man with two watches is never quite sure.” We often think of that joke when we read different reports about some event in our nation’s newspapers. You always think you know what occurred—until you read the second newspaper. Last Thursday, Annie Lowrey managed to enact Goldberg’s Law all by herself! She did so in the third and fourth paragraphs of an important news report i... more »

Reasons need not be elaborate in a brief trial

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 hour ago
*R. v. P.S*. 2013 ONCA 297 is a useful source for the proposition that, in brief trials, a trial judge's reasons need not be elaborate to be sufficient: [3] Second, the appellant argues that the trial judge failed to assess the reliability of the testimony of Cormier and Joamie before accepting their evidence. We do not agree with this argument. This was a short trial and, in the circumstances of this case, it was unnecessary for the trial judge to expressly analyze the reliability of the evidence of these two witnesses before accepting it.

A Quiz To See How Badly Your Brain Is Infected By Zionism!

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 1 hour ago
I have been indeed watching the events unfolding in Syria over the last few days with deep disgust... I am truly shocked that the American government and its Jewish controlled media continues to propagate the outright LIE that this unjustifiable attack by the criminal and terrorist state of Israel against the innocent nation of Syria was due to the need to "stop weapons transfers into Lebanon"... Nothing could be further from the truth, and the lack of anger in the American public to their own government's total subservience to that criminal entity fills me with deep disgust! I came... more »

Protest against Gendercide: The Perfect Opportunity to Inculcate Misogyny in Children

noreply@blogger.com (fern hill) at DAMMIT JANET! - 1 hour ago
The annual March for Lies is scheduled for this Thursday, May 9. It is always held on a weekday so that hundreds of Catholic schoolchildren can be bussed in for an educational day of indoctrination in misogyny. Read what Amanda Watson, former Catholic student and participant, has to say about the event. A year ago, when a young girl, no more than 16 years old, extended a sign to block my path that read, “Maybe if you kept your legs shut you wouldn’t need an abortion,” I decided to take myself home. Awww, isn't that sweet? Encouraging witless young women to attack other women on a s... more »

“I Would Prefer Not To”: A Call for Non-Cooperation

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 hour ago
Writing about a call for a moratorium on implementing and testing Common Core State Standards (CCSS) from union leadership, Anthony Cody ends his blog post with three questions: What do you think? Should we join Randi Weingarten in pushing for one year’s delay in the harsh consequences attached to Common Core assessments? Will this year put the [...]

FLUSH THE TPP

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 hour ago
Critics of the Trans-Pacific Partnership say it's an attempt to impose an American system on Japan and would threaten Japanese public healthcare system.

Nevada: Native Americans walk to protest water theft scheme

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 hour ago
Native Americans begin 272 mile walk/run to protest water theft scheme By Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation http://dgrnewsservice.org/2013/05/06/native-americans-begin-272-mile-walkrun-to-protest-water-theft-scheme/ On Saturday, May 4, 2013 approximately 70 Native Americans representing the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Wells Colony, Elko/TeMoke Tribe,

Understanding Iraq’s Protest Movements, An Interview With Kirk H. Sowell, Editor of Inside Iraqi Politics

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 2 hours ago
The recent government crackdown upon demonstrators in the town of Hawija, and the ensuing violence has highlighted Iraq’s protest movement. People began taking to the streets in Anbar province after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government issued an arrest warrant for former Finance Minister Rafi Issawi’s bodyguards for terrorism. Activism quickly spread to northern Iraq. Rather than being a monolithic group with a central leadership however, these protests have involved a variety of tribes, political parties, and insurgent groups across many different cities and towns. They ha... more »

Article On Current Violence In Iraq for Tom Rick's Best Defense Blog

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 2 hours ago
I wrote an article analyzing the current security situation in Iraq for Tom Rick’s Best Defense Blog “The real problem in Iraq is the stalemate behind the current surge in violence there.”

Included In Al Jazeera's Listening Post Report On Iraq's Media

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 2 hours ago
I submitted a short video to this report by Al Jazeera’s Listening Post on the state of Iraq’s media and its coverage of the country’s politics.

THE PROFESSORIATE FAILS US AGAIN: Reinhart and Rogoff pretend to explain!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 2 hours ago
*TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2013* *Part 4—The New York Times lets them pretend:* In early 2010, two highly-regarded Harvard professors authored a bungled study. Their paper proved to be quite influential, in some destructive ways. But the paper included some gruesome mistakes—and for reasons no one has yet explained, it took three years for the world to find out. On April 19, Paul Krugman described “the story so far” in his New York Times column. Near the start of his piece, he described the paper’s key finding. He also described the acclaim the paper received: KRUGMAN (4/19/13): At the beg... more »

An important graphic on comparing apples to apples #poverty #capeducation

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 hours ago
This is an issue of social class, pure and simple. Of course poor kids can learn, no question. But let’s give them what they need to succeed and the sky’s the limit. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: data, pisa, poverty, testing

Some links....

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 2 hours ago
*Local train on the coast line.* When will the busy days pass? Enjoy some links... so much I want to blog about, can't find the time.... - Gov't mulling underground water storage - Yoho Bike Hotel, often featured in news reports, is unapproved structure. Businessman simply blew off regulations and built WTF he wanted. Imagine that happening in Taiwan. Hard to believe, eh? - J Michael Cole on why the youth movement matters - Religion in the Matsu Islands: Bradt Travel Guide - China's three-pronged Taiwan strategy - Taiwan's land reform museum - Taiwanese arre... more »

Douglas County, CO, we’re worried about you.

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 hours ago
We have many friends in Colorado. Douglas County, a very conservative part of the state, keeps coming up in terms of propagating the worst corporatized education reforms have to offer. We have a document here from the District that discusses Reinventing American Education based on the CCSS and something called the ATCS2. Any help out [...]

Will Immigration Reform Go The Same Way As Gun Safety Reform?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 2 hours ago
Have you noticed that Congress isn't going along with some of the broad preferences of the American people lately. Something between 86 and 91% of Americans-- depending on which poll you prefer-- support background checks on arms purchases in order to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, criminals, wife beaters and the mentally ill. Perhaps because most Republican legislators are terrorists, criminals, wife beaters and/or the mentally ill, they were able to filibuster the law to death. The House was able to duck voting on it altogether but 46 NRA shills were able to use a pro... more »

Disgusting habits! Have any?

address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 3 hours ago
Link: http://youtu.be/5c5t9kP04dw ... only those ones? Do you have any not in this clip? John

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 3 hours ago
*Happy 295th Birthday New Orleans!* ~Plan of New Orleans the Capital of Louisiana; With the Disposition of Its Quarters and Canals as They Have Been Traced by Mr. de la Tour in the Year 1720.

Native Sun News: Tough editorials on hijacking the voice

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 3 hours ago
Native Sun News Editor Brandon Ecoffey exposes columnists hijacking the conversation, and reporters plagiarizing the hard work of others By Brenda Norrell Censored News In these days of collapsed journalism, Native Sun News Editor Brandon Ecoffey in South Dakota exposes what is happening in the world of Indian country, national and non-Indian media. Ecoffey, Lakota, writes of those

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 3 hours ago
Happy Birthday to Pete Domenici, 81. A good reminder that the Republican Party wasn't always a post-policy mess. Good stuff: 1. Nice one on networks, discrimination, and job markets from Jonathan Capehart. 2. What about the ACA and full-time vs. part-time workers? Sarah Kliff has a pretty good explainer. 3. Ike and Obama, from Andrew Sprung. 4. Jonathan Chait is as dismayed as everyone by the Virginia Governor race, but is looking on the bright side. 5. And I suppose I'm obliged to link to this one. Without comment, if only because I haven't played the game.

ACTION: March Against Monsanto (ALEC) May 25th

2old2care at Because I Can - 3 hours ago
*March against Monsanto taking place everywhere May 25* Lance Devon Natural News May 6, 2013 With President Obama’s recent signing of the Monsanto Protection Act, food safety advocates are up in arms. As GMOs fill grocery store shelves at an alarming rate, more people are growing aware of the health risks associated with genetically altered organisms. People are growing tired of this disease-promoting, genetically manipulated food. They are sick of controlling multinational corporations like Monsanto dictating their food supply. That’s why on May 25th 2013, rallies across the worl... more »

Canadian Class Warfare

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 3 hours ago
Linda McQuaig writes that, until the temporary foreign workers program blew up in its face, the Harper government was able to keep one of its key initiatives -- class warfare -- under the radar: Apart from this clumsy fiasco, the Harperites have been adroit at keeping their anti-worker bias under the radar. Instead, they’ve directed their attacks against unions, portraying them as undemocratic organizations run by “union bosses” who ignore the interests of ordinary workers. It’s revealing that this harsh critique of unions largely comes from business think-tanks and conserva... more »

"Resisting Tyranny", Domestic Terrorism or Treason?

2old2care at Because I Can - 3 hours ago
As Ed Kilgore puts it in a piece this morning: As Brother Benen notes this morning, the National Rifle Association’s new president, James Porter of Birmingham, Alabama, likes to talk about the importance of the Second Amendment as a way to ensure the American people will be able to “resist tyranny”—i.e., shoot and kill law enforcement officers, members of the U.S. armed services, and presumably anyone else (you know, like their neighbors) who might disagree with their definition of their essential “liberties”—at some undefined point in the future. Am I perhaps being unfair to the... more »

Morning news front - Europe , Asia and what's on the table for the US - global markets overview !

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 4 hours ago
http://beyond.blogs.france24.com/article/2013/05/06/hollande-france-glasses-dupont-aignan-anniversary-mystery-present-0 Mon, 05/06/2013 - 09:35 Hollande handed spectacles in anniversary prank One of France’s most outspoken politicians delivered François Hollande a pair of spectacles on Monday “in order for him to see the suffering of the French people,” as the beleaguered presidentcelebrated his first anniversary in power. “I’ll be at the Elysée Palace on Monday at 10 am to present the president with a gift and a formal letter,” Nicolas Dupont-Aignantweeted late on Sunday, not menti... more »

How Imagination Shapes Your Reality

Mark Daniels at GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING - 4 hours ago
*--by Gabriel Cohen, Original Story, May 07, 2013* Do you have a lemon in your kitchen? Put this magazine down for a moment, go cut the fruit in half, and squeeze some juice into your mouth. Notice how you react. Don’t have a lemon? Try this little thought experiment: Imagine that you have one. Picture yourself slicing through the bright yellow rind, exposing the translucent fruit inside. See yourself holding it up, squeezing it, and letting a stream of tart juice splash onto your tongue. Can you feel yourself puckering and salivating—not in your mind’s eye, but in “real life”? ... more »

First 3D-Printed Handgun Successfully Test Fired; Ready to Hit the Web

Mark Daniels at GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING - 4 hours ago
Updates and Downloads *HERE* *Activist Post* *This is an update to Defense Distributed's ongoing progress with 3D printed weapons. * The eyes of the world are on the innovation of 3D printing. Naturally, whenever a new technology is created that offers open source DIY opportunities to the average individual, it is going to make governments and their protected corporate interests very nervous. Such is the case with 3D weapons manufacturing. Defense Distributed has been offering sets of computer files for free through their DEFCAD online library. Their progress has been documented o... more »

Disclosure is on - dying whistle blower says, "UFOs exist," should we believe him?

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 5 hours ago
*Stargate SG1's THOR Asgard - * *this is how the Roswell aliens look - TV's not a mind game, right?*Allegedly 'anonymous' (I'm sure his family/friends/colleagues know him) whistle blower claims Dwight D. Eisenhower was going to INVADE Area 51 with the First Army (out of Colorado, at the time). This whistle blower's dying, so should we believe him where other whistle blowers like Bob Lazar are pilloried in the mainstream/alternative press? He could have seen 'the Roswell UFO' or he could have just witnessed whatever the Americans 'borrowed' from the Nazi space race. Sure, ALL THI... more »

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 5 hours ago
*America's 10 Worst Prisons: NOLA ~Mother Jones* *Louisiana has dozens of missing kids, some for decades* *Commander's Palace chef Tony McPhail wins James Beard award for Best Chef: South* *Transportation nonprofit warns of ‘major’ impacts if Algiers ferry service is lost* *Mississippi River flooding north Louisiana farmland* *Far From Home in Louisiana’s Crawfish Fields – An Immigrant Worker’s Story* *Press Release From Save Markey Park* *Al Jazeera America to open New Orleans bureau* *George Clinton Day in New Orleans* *Jazz Fest clean up, sobering up begins*

Remind me which is the 'apartheid state'?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 5 hours ago
Israel or Saudi Arabia And which one the screaming idiots of the left complain about and which they don't.

GMO Pesticide Resistence

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 6 hours ago
Let us make it simple. GMO pesticide protocols are failing however it is jigged and in jig time. We have seen this play out now with pesticide strategies for close on seventy years and it is not getting better. The only real escape is into the organic protocol and that is coming anyway. The Monsanto model is facing steadily increasing resistance from both its financial model but also the attempts to create GMO protocols. These protocols do have merit, but demand a far more costly scientific workup than ever imagined and a slow introduction. Yet even that may not be good eno... more »

European Commission latest control / power grab - their attempt to criminalize basically all seeds and plants not registered with the EU ! Government mantra - register everyone , everything - and of course tax the heck out of folks to support the latest bureaucratic onslaught of civil servants as the EU plots to completely dominate and control all aspects of life and living in Europe !

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 6 hours ago
http://www.naturalnews.com/040214_seeds_European_Commission_registration.html BREAKING: European Commission to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants not registered with government Monday, May 06, 2013 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) 18K**159 (NaturalNews) A new law proposed by the European Commission would make it illegal to "grow, reproduce or trade" any vegetable seeds that have not been "tested, approved and accepted" by a new EU bureaucracy named the "EU Plant Variety Agency." It's called the *Plant Reproductive Material Law*, and... more »

All Change At Tools of Change

Martyn Daniels at Brave New World - 6 hours ago
Often knowing when to stop and move on is harder than continuing to plough the same old furrow. Last week Tim O’Reilly decide to call it a day on his well respected ‘Tools of Change’ adventure. Many applauded him for the work he had done in moving the digital agenda forward, whilst others said he should continue and owed it to his follows to keep up the work. We are not able to say what tipped his thinking to flip his attention elsewhere, but will say that we should never expect any party to go on forever. Tools of Change arrived at the right time. It fed the appetite of many t... more »

Random, Double-Blind Study Affirms Ginger’s Cancer-Fighting Benefits by Elizabeth Renter

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 6 hours ago
Random, Double-Blind Study Affirms Ginger’s Cancer-Fighting Benefits by Elizabeth Renter Natural Society 7 May 2013 In the scientific world, nothing is truly fact until it has undergone significant testing with rigorous standards. Try and tell a scientist that results in rats are “good enough” and you’ll be laughed at. Really, randomized, double-blind placebo studies are considered solid. They are done on humans and done in such a way as to reduce the chances of results being nothing more than an anomaly. I say all of this to introduce a new study *showcasing how ginger truly ... more »

Election Watch 5: Sin Tax Law, Hospital Over-regulation and Senatoriables

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 7 hours ago
The Senatorial and local elections are just six days away. Yesterday and today, two groups in the health sector released their own separate statements endorsing certain Senatorial candidates with their respective reasons. I got this today from the President of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PHAPI) and a friend, Dr. Rustico "Rusty"Jimenez. This is a joint statement of PHAPI and the mostly government hospitals association, the PHA. They also endorsed four party list (PL) groups, but am skipping those. Am not interested in any of those groups, I am boycot... more »

Happiness. A Zen Interpretation.

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 7 hours ago
*I found this on my wanderings in cyberspace and thought that I would share this Zen like cartoon with all whom find their way to my blog. * ** *Certainly makes sense, or shall I say,* "c*ommon sense".* ** ** Source: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Rm4Cg .

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Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 8 hours ago
From the BBC : 'Eight people - four Saudi nationals and four Tanzanians - have been arrested in connection with the bombing of a new Roman Catholic church in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha on Sunday.' More Islamist terrorism against Christians and the culprits include more Saudi Arabian nationals, does anybody not realise what's going on in the world?

Hilarion May 5, 2013

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 8 hours ago
May 5, 2013 Beloved Ones, Throughout the cosmos, alignments are taking place which have been anticipated for several thousands of years. These are opening up greater access to the knowledge held within each soul, for each of you hold a vast store of knowledge through many ages that have come and gone. It is a time for spending in stillness and a state of listening within as your world is reconnected to the rest of the galaxy - an event which heralds the understanding that humanity is not alone in the endless sea of other stars, planets and worlds. This means that the Earth is ... more »

Serena Ryder: Stompa

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 8 hours ago
*Love this tune. The triangle symbols behind the targets are: Earth, Air, Fire, Water. * *Still researching the symbol on her neck. -AK* Stompa lyrics by Serena Ryder. People, working every night and day Never give yourself no time Got too many bills to pay Slow down, nothing’s gonna disappear If you give yourself some room To move to the music you hear Gotta get up, listen to me Clappa your hands, stompa your feet People, looking for the great escape Looking for the greener side Trying to find a better way Slow down; open up your big brown eyes Feel the rhythm ... more »

Fukushima debacle updates - May 6 , 2013..... Focus - Reactor Number 3

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 8 hours ago
02:05 PM EST on May 6th, 2013 | 13 comments Ex-Fukushima Nuclear Worker: Concern about land subsidence at plant due to pumping up groundwater — “I think Tepco knows” 11:09 AM EST on May 6th, 2013 | 24 comments Study: Vast area of 60 million people contaminated from Fukushima disaster (PHOTO) 08:23 PM EST on May 5th, 2013 | 5 comments ‘Happy’ Fukushima nuclear plant worker interviewed: “It’s like a war zone” 03:52 PM EST on May 5th, 2013 | 28 comments Gundersen: Extremely radioactive rubble on Fukushima Reactor No. 3 has to be nuclear fuel… from either spent fuel pool or reactor! — Can’t... more »

Freedom to Heal

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 8 hours ago
http://adaptingtograce.com/2013/05/06/freedom-to-heal/ * * *Freedom to Heal* May 6, 2013 Posted by 1Akabal I had a beautiful and inspiring experience today that I wanted to share. Perhaps it will simply be a reminder that there are lovely people out there BEing and DOing that have been humbly and heartfully helping human beings to heal the soul – not because it is a job, but because it is their passion. I imagine this is not a typical program that is funded and/or recommended by the system, so it warmed my heart that this program, “Freedom to Heal” is real, highly successful, and... more »

Short questions often require long answers and proofs

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 9 hours ago
Several debaters as well as complexity theorist Boaz Barak religiously worship their belief that it must be that \(P\neq NP\) and that the question whether the proposition holds is extremely deep because \(P=NP\) would revolutionize the whole world. Most of their would-be arguments are examples irrational hype, fabricated justifications of the limited progress in a field, and group think. I will primarily focus on a single major wrong thesis they promote, namely the idea that a mechanical or polynomially fast or efficient algorithm to solve a problem specified by a short prescriptio... more »

Arctic Ocean 'Acidifying Rapidly'

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 9 hours ago
This is one effect that is measuring up well. Our atmospheric bench mark is about to cross the 400 point and the anthropomorphic linkage appears unassailable. Thus the steady measurable rise in Arctic ocean acidity when it is a natural trap and natural sink at the same time conforms powerfully. That it may also have coincided also with a modest rise in Ocean temperatures needs to be kept in mind but not as securely as these two linkages. The anthropomorphic effect of CO2 production will naturally peak over the next generation and then enter a precipitous decline. The ge... more »

Clenching Fists to Improve Memory

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 9 hours ago
The unexpected result is that the brain is hugely affected by essentially external effects way more than seems likely. A big one for me is to know that merely walking through a door can erase short term data. So adding a physical activity to a memory training activity is potentially useful. Part of that could be simply be that the body hates been idle while the brain is working. Thus I find that pondering a target problem goes best while the body is engaged in merely walking. Trying the same thing while the body is idle merely produces jitters. There is a lot to lea... more »

The Real Problem with GMO Food with Thierry Vrain

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 9 hours ago
What is becoming clear is that the GMO fad is on the way to been one of our greatest mistakes. Let me spell it out. All out knowledge has been based on a simple paradigm in which we have assumed that adding one genetic protein will modify one key protein that is beneficial to our needs. So far so good. Yet it turns out that the modifier also affects other proteins and generates rogue proteins that we often do not know even exist. These are capable of biting us and the following story of a corn rash conforms perfectly. With the paradigm wrong we are obviously not even ... more »

PRETEENS NEED LOVE

Anon at aangirfan - 9 hours ago
Dominic is age seven. "Dominic is a lovely boy, but last year he started getting agitated and aggressive. He was doing badly at school and then he got into a fight," says Dominic's mother. *dailymail.* * * *"Boston Bomb victim."* * * "More than 145,000 New York City kids between the ages of 6 and 12 - about 20 percent of the population - struggle with mental health conditions." *Twenty percent of New York pre-teens have mental issues — RT USA* *In the USA a survey has found that, in children under six years of age, the rate of mental disabilities has nearly doubled over the la... more »

Motorola mistreated place in Apple patent dispute

Megaan at Current news updates, World current news - 10 hours ago
*According to EU officials, Google-owned Motorola Mobility abused its position in Germany's mobile marketplace when it filed a patent injunction against Apple.* Motorola won an injunction over Apple products that used patents connecting to data communication technology in February 2012. Motorola's innovation is deemed crucial to the GPRS data broadcast standard used by GSM cellular networks across the world. Apple offered to pay Motorola a license fee for with the patents; however the two companies could not agree on a price. Several models of the Smartphone, and the iPad, were ... more »

An investigative reporter with 40 years experience discovers that despite the presence of "rent-a-soldiers" at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the lamestream media made no attempt to investigate who they were hired by and for what purpose. Instead the media repeatedly played movies of the Tsarnaev brothers (recorded by whom?) and regurgitated the official government position that they were solely responsible for the bombing. Read below to see some of the many puzzling things the media ignored or failed to question.

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 10 hours ago
------------------------------ *Craft International Services hired guns at the Boston Marathon:* Why Such Secrecy about Private Military Contractor’s Men Working the Event? Thu, 04/25/2013 - 14:09 by: Dave Lindorff Speaking as an investigative reporter with almost 40 years’s experience, I can say that when government officials won’t talk, they’re generally hiding something embarrassing or worse. I tried, and nobody will talk about those Craft International Services private security personnel who were widely observed and photographed near the finish line of the Boston Marath... more »

Top 10 Books I Read When I Need Something Light and Fun

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 10 hours ago
Have you entered the giveaway for a 1-hour free massage in Utah AND the Giveaway for a Cricut Expression and DSLR camera or KitchenAid? Sometimes when I read a book, I just want something easy that I don't have to think too much about. A book that is perfect for a lazy day at the pool. These 10 books are some of my favorite light reads, a lot of them are middle school reads, some of which read as a child, but most of which I found as an adult. Linking up with The Broke and the Bookish. 1. Artemis Fowl - Underneath the the world of humans lies a whole secret world of Faeries, a w... more »

dream - Andrew Lundwall and the town of Lund

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 10 hours ago
*inside Lund Cathedral, SE*I have NO IDEA what this dream was about ... well, these two very vivid dreams. i) was on the *local bus* trying to remember which town to tell the *bus conductor* I was getting off at ... both seemed very normal ... eventually, I remembered LUND, the town of Lund. ii) a cat is stolen (carried off by the tail) by a pair of ruffians, one is cross-eyed and has on a blue tracksuit, all the village turn against this pair: Andrew Lundwall is mentioned as a hero. I guess I need to look up who or what these two Lund-based relevancies are: i) the town of Lund ... more »

Monitoring Training This Saturday!

Alex Lotorto at Stop The Tennessee Pipeline! - 10 hours ago
*Pipeline Watch Training* * Sat, May 11, 2013 ** 10:00AM to 12:30PM* *RSVP for location to:* Faith Zerbe Monitoring Director Delaware Riverkeeper Network 610-291-1403 (cell) faith@delawareriverkeeper.org DRN’s Pollution Hotline – 1-800-8-DELAWARE Is Tennessee Gas Pipeline taking over your neighborhood building a fracked gas pipeline? Join Delaware Riverkeeper Network for a pipeline watch training for local volunteer monitors this Saturday in Milford PA. Learn more and register here: http://delawareriverkeeper2.givezooks.com/events/pipeline-watchdog-training Delaware Riverkeeper N... more »

The Tweet Is On!

Nima Shirazi at Wide Asleep in America - 11 hours ago
This little tweet of mine, from a couple days ago, was mentioned by both Glenn Greenwald and Andrew Sullivan today in their respective posts about the recent Israeli airstrikes in Damascus. If Syrian planes bombed Israel's Ramat David Airbase because it houses US-supplied weaponry, what would the appropriate Israeli reaction be? — Nima Shirazi (@WideAsleepNima) May 4, 2013 Click below to

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 11 hours ago
You can keep your hat on. Kentucky Derby. Lots more hats here. [click to embiggen.]

The Realist Report with John Friend

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 12 hours ago
On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined by Colin Flaherty, author of *"White Girl Bleed A Lot": The Return of Racial Violence and How the Media Ignore It*. Colin Flaherty is an award winning author who has written extensively about the reality of racial violence in America, and the epidemic of brutal and truly barbaric Black on White violent crime. Tune in for what will surely be a controversial, yet powerful, conversation! You can download the entire program *here*, or subscribe to the American Nationalist Network via iTunes *here*. Thanks for listening everyone!

Guest Post - How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint When You Travel

Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints - 12 hours ago
Flying, driving and cruises are known for being bad for the environment but are also the most common and popular ways of travelling. Most of us want to travel at some point in our lives - whether it’s an annual two-week summer holiday, a teenage gap year, or a round-the-world trip when we retire; and it’s easy to see why - meeting new people, seeing world-famous sites, understanding and experiencing different cultures - there are numerous benefits to travelling. But as the impacts of climate change are starting to be felt, many of us are looking for ways to reduce our carbon footpr... more »

Tomorrow South Carolina Voters Decide Between Colbert's Sister And The Obsessive Sex Fiend

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 12 hours ago
Actually, it's not all of South Carolina. We're talking about SC-01, along the coast, a district that's not as crazy and extremist as the up-country congressional districts where talk of secession is still a hot topic. It's next door to SC-06, into which the legislature managed to gerrymander every conceivable African American in the area. SC-06 gave Obama 70.9% of its vote in November and reelected Jim Clyburn without opposition. Of South Carolina's 6 other--basically all white-- districts Obama went above 40% in only two-- SC-05 (with African-American-majority Fairfield and Lee ... more »

Australia's Headless Chickens

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 12 hours ago
This made me laugh, shades of America's Jib Jab political cartoons...

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 13 hours ago
“Is that a spaceship or a cloud? Although it may seem like an alien mothership, it's actually a impressive thunderstorm cloud called a supercell. Such colossal storm systems center on mesocyclones- rotating updrafts that can span several kilometers and deliver torrential rain and high winds including tornadoes. *Click image for larger size.* Jagged sculptured clouds adorn the supercell's edge, while wind swept dust and rain dominate the center. A tree waits patiently in the foreground. The above supercell cloud was photographed in July west of Glasgow, Montana, USA, caused minor... more »

Fukushima, National Disasters, and Militarized Civil Defense

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 13 hours ago
Great find by Emmerson Hakim Yusuf Biggins posted in Banned by IAEA He suggests we see page 9 in this 2013 US Department of Defense report about "Homeland Security" about the possibility of Fukushima-type disaster in the US: US Department of Defense (2013) "Strategy for Homeland Defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities," http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/policy/dod/homeland-defense-dsca-2013.pdf [Excerpted from page 9] Hazards: The 2011 Great Eastern Japan earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor disaster created a complex catastrophe of immense scope. A si... more »

Looking at Democracy via Zencomix

Batocchio at Vagabond Scholar - 13 hours ago
Blogger Zencomix/Dave Dugan writes: I've entered a contest sponsored by the Illinois Humanities Council and The MacArthur Foundation called Looking At Democracy. There's $100,000 worth of prize money, and $5000 of that money is a "People's Choice" Award. Voting is open to the public, and you can help me win the $5000 by voting for my submission. You can vote for his entry (pictured above), "

New Websites: Absolute Data Exchange & Free Speech Australia

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 13 hours ago
*New Websites: Absolute Data Exchange & Free Speech Australia* May 6, 2013 Here is the direct link to the site: http://www.absolute-data-exchange.com/ *About* The Absolute-Data-Exchange is a site where you can source documentation, contact addresses, and guidance, to help you make a clear statement to the Powers-that-Were, telling them that their day is over, and we – the people – are taking back our freedom, our value, and our sanity. Our CRM is a highly advanced database driven portal giving you the opportunity to select OPPT documentation and send it directly to organisat... more »

With carbon dioxide approaching a new high, scientists sound the alarm

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 13 hours ago
[image: Students members of 350.org in Minneapolis, seeking steps to cut atmospheric carbon levels to 350 parts per million, thought by some to be the safe level. Photo: Stephen Maturen / The New York Times] By CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE 6 May 2013 THE HAGUE (The New York Times) – If uncertainty runs rampant in the global-warming debate, it is in part because scientific data is often too complex to be well understood by anyone but climate scientists. This month, however, the world is likely to reach a scientific milestone that appears impressively scary even to those with only a curs... more »

SPORT / Dave Zirin : RGIII Is Trending with Muhammad Ali

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 13 hours ago
Robert Griffin III. Photo courtesy of Muhammad Ali Center. Image from The Nation. What did RGIII learn at the Muhammad Ali Center? The social-media-savvy RGIII tweeted, 'What Ali stood for and the way he expressed it from the boxing ring to the streets of everyday life would have him trending for weeks.' By Dave Zirin / The Rag Blog / May 6, 2013 See Thorne Dreyer's articles about

ISRAELI CHUTZPAH OVER THE SYRIAN RAID

According to a report in the *Washington Post* an Israeli official has said “that their fight was not against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or the rebels fighting his regime but against the Lebanese political and militant organization Hezbollah…” So I guess the US would have no problems then if the Syrians blew up a munitions storage facility inside the US in order to prevent them being transferred to Israel. Arrogance and hypocrisy; the values that ‘they’ hate about ‘us’. *UPDATE* For an interesting article on this very subject, have a read of this.

Reality v deniers

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 14 hours ago
While small minds manufacture “consensus” on global warming by counting up the number of warmist journal articles, it seems reality continues to defy these deniers’ best wishes… *Click to enlarge**.* HT Joe Bastardi] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

North Korea climbs down off missile launching ledge - I'm sure China slamming shut their pursue strings had a lot to do with North Korea losing face but quietly slinking away .....

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 14 hours ago
http://ransquawk.com/headlines/bank-of-china-3988-hk-closes-account-of-north-korea-s-foreign-trade-bank-ceases-fund-transfer-for-north-korea-trade-bank-account-and-no-date-was-given-for-the-closure-07-05-2013 Bank of China (3988 HK) closes account of North Korea's foreign trade bank, ceases fund transfer for North Korea trade bank account and no date was given for the closure http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/05/07/68/0301000000AEN20130507003651315F.HTML (LEAD) N. Korea lifts highest combat alert: Seoul gov't source SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to have lift... more »

Video: Bee dieoff accelerates in U.S., threatens farmland – ‘This year it seemed like it got the whole nation’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 14 hours ago
By Anne Thompson 6 May 2013 (NBC Nightly News) – Brian Williams: This is just the time of year when gardens across so much of our country should be buzzing with activity. beehives of activity, in fact. But those same bees that scared us to death as kids, we came to appreciate as adults for the work they do. The problem is those bees are scarce these days. something is killing the honey bees. it's having a huge ripple effect. Our report tonight from our chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson. Denise Qualls: Hey, Gary. Denise Qualls, how are you? Anne Thompson: D... more »

Tucson: Protest CCA private prison, profiteering from migrant misery

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 14 hours ago
Tucson Rally, Press Conference Marking 30th Anniversary of Corrections Corporation of America By Caroline Isaacs cisaacs@afsc.org  Censored News Tucson- A Quaker group that has been advocating against prison privatization in Arizona is organizing a demonstration and press conference for CCA's 30th anniversary. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and other organizations and

Deep Undergound Military bases ! Yes , they exist and have been built continuously for decades ! How many - as of 1995 , there were 131 known deep underground bases - which means that as of 2013 , there are more such bases ! Discussion of the base allegedly underneath the Denver Airport - and the weird artwork inside the Airport itself............

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 14 hours ago
http://intellihub.com/2013/05/06/deep-underground-military-base-intelligence-briefing/ Deep Underground Military Base Intelligence Briefing 12 [image: Print Friendly] Deep Underground Military Base Intelligence Briefing – Intellihub.com Launches Intelligence Briefing SeriesIntelligence Briefing [image: Denver’s International Airport] Denver’s International Airport Completed in 2004, the massive, 1,200- by 240-foot facility features a striking “mountain range” canopy that utilizes Birdair’s innovative steel cable systems and durable PTFE Teflon-coated fabric membrane. By *Avalon & Shepa... more »

Too much Money being spent on Education: Not! by John Stoffel

Timothy D. Slekar at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 15 hours ago
To every person who comments on an Indiana online newspaper article with, “We continue to throw more money at education and we aren’t getting any better results…” I say, “I couldn’t disagree with you more.” Millions of dollars to McGraw-Hill for an online ISTEP test is not money spent on education. Millions more dollars for [...]

Mexico's New Blood Money: Tolls for Migrants

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 15 hours ago
HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDY LIVED BY HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS on May 1,  IN VERACRUZ By Lety Gutierrez Censored News Mexico City May 5, 2013 TO THE MEXICAN STATE. TO THE MEXICAN COMMUNITY. TO THE MEDIA, FOR ITS RELEASE “We are afraid, very afraid (...) this is why we don’t want to file a complaint, we are traumatized by what we saw and experienced in Veracruz; there was gunfire, machetes, people

Lamar W. Hankins : Talking Guns with Wayne

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 15 hours ago
Cartoon by Steve Breen / San Diego Union Tribune. Image from The English Blog. The liberty to live: Talking guns with Wayne Wayne seemed to be growing frustrated with our discussion. 'I don’t want kids killed,' he said, 'but I don’t want anyone taking away my right to own an AR-15 semi-automatic.' By Lamar W. Hankins / The Rag Blog / May 6, 2013 I had a talk with my old friend Wayne the

Mississippi Prepares New Push on Miseducation

freetoteach at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 15 hours ago
Report just in from ABC: Improvements are toughest in areas such as Clarksdale, where per capita income is about 78 percent of the national average and the unemployment rate was 13 percent in March. Half of all county children live in poverty, and 90 percent of Clarksdale’s 3,200 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. [...]

Chet Raymo, “Men And Their Guns”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 15 hours ago
* “Men And Their Guns”* by Chet Raymo “The morning of July 1, 1916, was the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. Thousands of British, French and Belgian troops went over the top of their own trenches and assaulted the German lines. As instructed by their officers, they walked steadily across no-man's-land as German machine guns mowed them down like wheat. On that first day alone, the British suffered more than 50,000 casualties. Before the battle dragged to its sorry conclusion in November, more than 1 million men on both sides were killed or wounded, all for a few kilometers ... more »

Chris Ware shares the thinking behind his lovely "two moms" Mothers' Day cover for this week's "New Yorker"

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
*"[L]aughing at [Archie Bunker] allowed one to take the first step towards changing one's own biases, whether one knew it or not. . . . Fortunately, we humans are incessant editors, never happy with the first draft of anything."* *-- Chris Ware, writing about his "two moms" New Yorker cover* *by Ken* This exceedingly cool Mothers' Day cover is the work of graphic novelist and longtime *New Yorker* cartoonist-artist Chris Ware. Evidently Chris has been thinking about the way we humans "edit" the stuff we think, as he notes in the "Cover Story" he posted on the magazine's "Culture D... more »

Superstorm Sandy aid center on Staten Island fights order to leave – ‘Six months later, we're still feeding people’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 15 hours ago
[image: A cat explores the rubble of a home damaged by Superstorm Sandy in October in the New Dorp area of Staten Island, 1 February 2013. A volunteer aid center has been told to leave a park, but many victims living in temporary housing say they still need its help. Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times] By Tina Susman 6 May 2013 NEW YORK (Los Angeles Times) – It has been six months since Donna Graziano packed a barbecue into her car, drove 15 miles from her Brooklyn home to Staten Island, and began cooking for residents of a neighborhood ravaged by Superstorm Sandy. Her one-woman e... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 15 hours ago
Bay Springs, Mississippi, USA. Thanks for stopping by.

Only If The U.S. Press Was Completely Controlled By Israel, Could There Be A Headline Like This (Harry Whittington Redux)

Big Dan at Big Dan's Big Blog - 15 hours ago
*SYRIA: WE'RE SORRY FOR GETTING BOMBED BY ISRAEL* (I made up the above headline, but it may as well BE the headline, because the REAL headline is below, and it's just as ridiculous!) Just to set the record straight...ISRAEL attacks SYRIA over the past two days. But today's headline, syndicated probably throughout the country but this is the headline in my local Wilkes-Barre Times Leader: *"ISRAEL BRACES FOR ATTACKS"* unFUCKINGbelievable!!! Could you IMAGINE if ANY country (we'll call them "COUNTRY X") attacked Israel, what the headline would be? I know what it WOULDN'T be: "COUNT... more »

Louisiana sinkhole updates - h/t Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle , Freedomrox and The Advocate !

Catharsis Ours - 15 hours ago
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Call it treason dammit

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 15 hours ago
There's no other definition for what's going on among the crackpot con crowd. The same people who held mass burnings of Dixie Chick albums because they had the audacity to say out loud they were embarrassed by George W Bush (former wingnut hero, now disowned) and demanded we not criticize the Commander in Chief because, respect for the office, are now openly calling for armed rebellion against the US government. There's an huge industry making millions, if not billions, on anti-Obama paraphenalia and that's okay because, that blackity black guy in *their* White House is not the POTU... more »

Wreck of the Maud, Cambridge Bay, NU

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 15 hours ago

Europe Financial and Political News wrap for May 6 , 2013 - Greece , Spain , Europe's Shadow Economy , The Sovereign Bond Market ( with Japan closed , yields move wider on the day ) ....... Third Anniversary of Flash Crash Numero Uno !

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 16 hours ago
Europe wrap - items of note for the day..... http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/senior-eurozone-official-as-spain-goes.html ( Of course the Euroland Technocratic Dictators actually desire and require additional chaos to steal more powers and controls over the Eurozone... ) Monday, May 06, 2013 2:37 PM Senior Eurozone Official: "As Spain Goes, So Goes Slovenia" The spotlight is once again on Slovenia. Olli Rehn, the European commission’s economic chief is unhappy with economic progress in Slovenia and is threatening to put the country into an "excessive imbalances... more »

plato's cave

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 16 hours ago

In defence of Aaron Gilmore

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 16 hours ago
Aaron Gilmore is in good company. The last time we saw a feeding frenzy like this it was about something Paul Henry said, and before that something John Banks said, and before that something Alasdair Thompson said, and before that something Paul Holmes said, and between and before that… In the economics twitterverse there’s a feeding frenzy going on at the moment about something historian Niall Ferguson said. In Arizona there’s outrage about a school holding a “Redneck Day.” In Europe there’s outrage that a Turkish airline has banned its trolly dollies from wearing red lipstick.... more »

Protests mount on use of BP Gulf spill funds

CREEKKEEPER at BP Slick - 17 hours ago
May 6, 2013 6:50 pm Protests mount on use of BP Gulf spill funds By Ed Crooks in New York A plan to build a convention centre in Alabama using money given by BP to restore the coast of the Gulf of Mexico has angered environmentalists, raising concerns over how funds to improve the environment are spent. The plan is part of projects worth $594m announced last week by BP and the five coastal states affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, funded out of the $1bn that the company promised in 2011 for early restoration of the Gulf. Groups including the National Wildlife Federatio... more »

Bitcoin has caught the attention of the CFTC ! Yeah , the same CFTC that has been investigating silver manipulation for 5 years and has yet to act...... But with Bitcoin , expect swift action !

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 17 hours ago
Following the bouncing bitcoin ball...... Last week we saw the Coinlab lawsuit against Mt Gox and began to wonder when the hammer on Bitcoin might fall..... From my prior post ..... http://fredw-catharsisours.blogspot.com/2013/05/coinlab-sues-mt-gox-for-75-million.html Friday, May 3, 2013 CoinLab sues Mt Gox for 75 million dollars - various acts / non actions , malfeasance / misfeasance claims for breach of contract to transition Mt Gox's US and Canadian customers to Coinlab's systems appears to be the major cause of action (dollars not bitcoins sought by the way ) , 75 million , ... more »

Syria and Iran in focus - Israel heats up activities against Syria - while the Us ponders what to do with Syria . Meanwhile , Iran attack placed on US agenda after Iran's Elections in June !

Catharsis Ours - 17 hours ago
Israel jets fly over E. Lebanon, head north over Beirut, after striking targets in Syria DEBKAfile Special Report May 4, 2013, 12:48 PM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Iran, Syria, Hizballah, IDF, bunker-busters, Lebanon, [image: Israeli troops in combat gear on Golan border] Israeli troops in combat gear on Golan border Israeli military activity is reported in Lebanon Saturday, May 4 and not just over Syria. US sources said earlier Israeli warplanes had struck targets in Syria including a chemical weapons depot outside Damascus, firing missiles remotely from Lebanese air space and the Golan s... more »

Israel: Strikes in occupied Golan or a play for pity?

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 17 hours ago
* Israel does play the pity card regularly.* And appears to playing it again today with the arrest of some 93 year old alleged guard. The *Simon Wiesenthal* Center listed Lipschis as one of its most wanted *... (Number 4)* So asking if the arrest along with the reports of shelling are pity plays is fair questioning? Someone should tell Simon Wiesenthal Center that most of the NAZI's went to the US. Via Operation PaperClip *After all where would NASA/USA have been without the NAZI Rocket Man??* *Hits in Golan?* *Rockets?* Rockets fired from Syria strike Golan Heights May ... more »

Education Week publishes an “apology” for Duncan at #AERA13

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 17 hours ago
The horror. Our Secretary of Education, who is the CEO of disaster as far as many of us are concerned, got a few boos during a speech at AERA. Pearl clutching ensued. I’m sure folks are very, very sorry. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: AERA, boos, Duncan, education week

Fantasy Economics from Fauxed Foxes Ferreted OUT (Don't Miss the Comments!)

Want a free top-notch political history/economics lesson in less than 10 minutes? If you do, are you ever in luck! And don't miss the comments below the essay which are from some of the best educated readers in the world. May 5, 2013 The Chutzpah Caucus By Paul Krugman At this point the economic case for austerity — for slashing government spending even in the face of a weak economy —

HOLD THE INVASION!

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 18 hours ago
US government officials have claimed that Bashar al-Assad's government used chemical weapons against the citizens of Syria, but according to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry that may not be the case. According to the findings of the commission, there is evidence that suggests the anti-government rebels in the country are guilty of these allegations. Israel has launched air strikes against the worn torn country in an attempt to stop the movement of weapons allegedly coming in from Iran, but what is really going on the ground? See more on this story by Reuters ... more »

Now a Palestinian rock thrower has been killed by a thrown rock, will BBC & other anti Israel bodies stop reporting rock throwers as if a joke?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 18 hours ago
'A Palestinian Authority Arab who stoned cars in Samaria was killed by one of his own rocks, police have concluded. A Jewish man held in connection with the death has been released. The Arab teenager hurled heavy stones at Israeli-owned vehicles along a Samaria highway last Tuesday evening. He managed to hit one car, which was driven by a resident of the nearby town of Emmanuel. ... A final forensic report, released over the weekend, showed that the attacker was killed when a stone he threw hit the car driven by the man from Emmanuel. The stone hit the car's tire and bounced back... more »

Claude Megson: McMurray Rd townhouse

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 18 hours ago
At present you have three opportunities to buy a home designed by the late Claude Megson, whose homes sometimes didn’t look much from the outside, but at their best created a world for those within that almost seemed to encompass the whole universe. [image: 264738548] As British architectural critic Geoffrey Broadbent said of Claude’s work some years ago, This is work of a very high international standard indeed. ...One is constantly struck by the surprise around the corner, the bright shaft of light penetrating from above into the softer glow of the main living spaces -- espec... more »

Things Never Ever Ever Ever To Debate

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 18 hours ago
Thomas Roberts tweets: "From Monday's show -- Is Obama a lame duck?" Apparently in an effort to scare off anyone who might otherwise be tempted to watch his MSNBC show. Just cut it out, everyone, right now. It's not an interesting question. It's not a question that's worth debating. It's not a question that's going to shed any light on anything that we really want to know. It is useful, in my view, to speculate or to analyze a president's current reputation with people in Washington, and to assess how that might affect a battle in Congress or in the bureaucracy. Sure. Regular reader... more »

Claude Megson: McMurray Rd townhouse

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 19 hours ago
At present you have three opportunities to buy a home designed by the late Claude Megson, whose homes sometimes didn’t look much from the outside, but at their best created a world for those within that almost seemed to encompass the whole universe. [image: 264738548] As British architectural critic Geoffrey Broadbent said of Claude’s work some years ago, This is work of a very high international standard indeed. ...One is constantly struck by the surprise around the corner, the bright shaft of light penetrating from above into the softer glow of the main living spaces -- espec... more »

The Holographic Universe 5 Part Documentary Series

Mark Daniels at GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING - 19 hours ago
Is our reality just a hologram? The Holographic universe suggests that the physical world we believe to be real is in fact an illusion. Energy fields are decoded by our brains into a 3D picture to give the illusion of a physical world. *Free eBook: Butterflies are Free to Fly * Enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter: Delivered by FeedBurner Be the Change! Share this using the tools below. Sharing on Reddit and Newsvine will help the most.

"Desperate Courage..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
“Desperate courage makes One a majority.” - Andrew Jackson

Sunbelt State Republicans In A Bind Over Solar Power

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 19 hours ago
As we saw yesterday, the American conservative movement is a captive of-- and virtually inextricable from-- the self-sustaining, cash-soaked universe of Big Oil and Gas. Conservative politicians' careers have been financed by Big Oil and they will fight to the death for their corporate masters. Unfortunately, the death their fighting for is our death, our country's and our planet's death. As Bill McKibben mentioned in his sermon, tiny Bavaria in southern Germany (27,239 square miles-- smaller than South Carolina) now more solar panels functioning to create cheap, clean electricity ... more »

“Andrew Jackson And The War Against the Bank”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
*“Andrew Jackson And The War Against the Bank”* by U.S. History "Gentlemen! I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let ... more »

Call for Nominations: ISA Theory Section Book Award

Daniel Nexon at Duck of Minerva - 19 hours ago
The International Studies Association Theory Section Book Award The International Studies Association Theory Section Book Award recognizes the best book or edited volume published over the past two years that contributes to the theorization of world politics. The award is open to all forms and styles of theorization. Criteria include such considerations as innovativeness, quality of argumentation, Continue reading

Search Delayed for New Memphis Superintendent Until Dirty Work Wrapped Up

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 19 hours ago
All the pieces were in place for the installation of Eli Broad’s choice for the new Shelby County/Memphis superintendent when suddenly someone in the office of the search firm, PROACT, called a time out. Over the next few months, there is plenty of dirty work to be done, and no one at PROACT wants their [...]

Freedom is in the gunsights of the holder

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 19 hours ago
Save us from 25 year old glibertarians with big brains and little vision. Defense Distributed successfully test-fired their 3D printed, nearly all plastic gun this week. It took some amount of nerve to actually fire it by hand since an earlier string pulled test with a higher caliber bullet exploded the whole damn gun. We should qualify that the gun does have one non-plastic component, "a common hardware store nail used as its firing pin." It also incorporates a strip of non-functional metal somewhere in the body in order to render it detectable to security gates. The owner of ... more »

Post # 22,200: "The Greatest Lie the Fed Ever Told"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
*"The Greatest Lie the Fed Ever Told"* by Bill Bonner "Public life bumbles along under a combination of false pretenses and self-imposed delusions. At the start of last week, it was widely reported that US central bankers had gone as far as they were willing to go. There were voices in the Fed, said the news, urging caution. There would be no further monetary stimulus measures, said the commentators. Investors grew cautious. But by the end of the week, they were rolling the dice again. The Fed was working hard to fight the impression that it had either lost its nerve or recov... more »

Tillis (NC-ALEC) : "A Moderate" Give Me a Break!

2old2care at Because I Can - 20 hours ago
Did ALEC suggest ALEC state legislators who attended the Oklahoma City spring meeting - that they try to act like moderates - that they claim more moderate stances. Would make sense to me that they would - considering that the word extremist is appearing in the press more and more in relation to ALEC and ALEC legislators. But - we'll never know, cause ALEC meetings are held in the strictest secrecy. Hypothetically, why would ALEC tell their members to lie to the public? Because ALEC wants more of their members in Congress (and Tillis is running for Congress in 2014) It's harder... more »

Fulford: Netanyahu Summoned to China, Cabal Purge Begins in UK

Jason Leewig at Our Manmade Disasters - 20 hours ago
Reposted from: Benjamin Fulford. One of the world’s leading terrorists, the Satan worshipping mass murderer Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has been summoned to China where he will be confronted with evidence of his involvement in the March 11, 2011 nuclear and tsunami terror attack against Japan, according to Chinese government sources. The evidence is a tape recorded phone call to then Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in which Netanyahu threatened to destroy all of Japan’s nuclear reactors if Kan did not order the Japanese government to write off its holdings of US government debt,... more »

这似乎是最简单的解释,适合所有可用的事实:奥巴马需要一个宣传噱头。

Barbara Diamond at American Scofflaw - 21 hours ago
*American Scofflaw* ** * *因此,这里是我认为这是怎么回事。 在9月的民意调查显示,总统竞选的脖子和颈部。许多媒体公开预测罗姆尼的胜利 奥巴马迫切需要一个宣传噱头。 “盖达”恐怖分子,或者是有人会进入一个小团队领事馆和绑架大使和他的工作人员。奥巴马将让戏剧构建了几天,让媒体炒作的故事,然后发送海豹突击队“救市”人质。 我们知道中情局操作工附件可以听到枪声从领事馆。寻找在领事馆通过谷歌地球,看到人口稠密的居民区不到半英里(0.8公里)到东部和西南部,毫无疑问听到枪声来自领事馆。同情抗议在整个中东爆发在这个事件中,很明显,该地区的反美火药桶等待火花。此特技的火花! 在地面上,至少有200人参加暴动,失控,从而导致到大使和他人的死亡。 奥巴马精心准备好,为了让自己看起来像一个英雄瞬间成为一个史诗般的失败。 这似乎是最简单的解释所有可用的事实。 哦,是啊..不要忘记你的奶奶

SOME TOP JEWS

Anon at aangirfan - 21 hours ago
*Netanyahu family.* *1.* *Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu * 50 most influential Jews in the world - Jerusalem Post Reportedly, the US Secret Service guarded Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his attendance at a 'homosexual sexual bondage performance' in New York in November 2010. "A source within the U.S. Secret Service... informed *Wayne Madsen Reports*that while on a 'business trip' to New York on November 8, 2010, Netanyahu visited a performing arts theater in West Greenwich Village. "The performance involved extreme sado-masochistic, as well as homosexual th... more »

I Did Not Know That

Jay Allbritton at Jay Allbritton - 21 hours ago
Even after a million hours of World War II documentaries I had somehow never heard of the Battle of Engineer Hill until today. The event is in the news because this month marks the 70th anniversary of the struggle for the Alaskan Island of Attu, which represents the last battle between warring nations to be fought in North America. Not a bad run. The warring nations in question were the U.S. and Japan. The *Anchorage Daily News* looks backat the battle that left over 2,000 Japanese and over 500 Americans dead. Here's some old school news reel footage:

The long view

risa bear at A Way to Live - 21 hours ago
Many neighbors set out tomatoes last week and the destruction wreaked among those by the unexpectedly heavy freeze is awful to behold. If I had known, I might have planted far more starts and had some to give away. Might anyhow. Tomatoes and a few other things hardening off in pots. The bin is for watering from the bottom, which helps prevent damping -- mold attacking the plants at the base of the stem. These are Stupice and Sungolds. When the chives begin to blossom it cheers us up considerably. The mint returns. As always it looks for greener pastures and a lot of it has to be... more »

Arctic Ocean Acidifying Rapidly

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 21 hours ago
Oh well, we probably won't even think about this once the oil spills begin but it turns out that cold sea water is especially absorptive of CO2. And, that is why the Arctic Ocean is rapidly acidifying. Scientists from the *Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme* report widespread changes in the ocean chemistry. They conclude that even if emissions stopped today it would take tens of thousands of years for Arctic waters to return to their pre-industrial state. *Chemical effects related to acidification have also been encountered in surface waters of the Bering Strait and the C... more »

Human Rights Treaties are Like Virginity Pledges, Part Deux

amurdie at Duck of Minerva - 21 hours ago
A little over a month ago, I wrote about the growing academic literature concerning human rights treaties and their lack of influence on human rights practices. Based on my own experiences growing up in parts of the U.S. where it’s assumed we can “[Rebuild] Our Culture One Purity Ball at a Time,” I likened human rights Continue reading

Revisiting the Nineties: Chupacabras Activity

Inexplicata (IHU) at Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology - 22 hours ago
*The Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU)* is reissuing some '90s works that are no longer in circulation (or were cannibalized for magazine features) on SCRIBD. It is our hope that this information - while old - will be of interest to our readers. We are also trying to secure permission to publish our translations of othher authors' that never found a place at Stateside publishing houses. *Nemesis: The Chupacabras* at Large was originally available on the late Robert Girard's *Arcturus Book Service*, whose encouragement made possible the distribution of our initial publication, *S... more »

Once Upon A Time...

Southern Man at Southern Man - 22 hours ago
*Once upon a time Once when you were mine I remember skies Mirrored in your eyes I wonder where you are I wonder if you think about me Once upon a time, in your wildest dreams... *

Five Books on Marx and Marxism

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 22 hours ago
It was that there Karl Marx's 195th birthday yesterday, and things would be remiss if this blog didn't mark it in some way. So here are my five favourite books on Marx and Marxism. What books have you particularly enjoyed and/or had the biggest impact on you? *Selections from the Prison Notebooks* by Antonio Gramsci (1971). A long time ago I wrote a series of posts that aimed to comment on the entirety of this brick-thick tome, but I only got as far as finishing off the section of The Modern Prince before life intervened and said no to more blogging. I digress. Taken as a whole, the... more »

Mohawk Nation News 'Spy vs. Spy'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 22 hours ago
SPY vs. SPY Posted on May 6, 2013 MNN. May 6, 2013. Prime Minister Harper just announced at the G20 meeting he is personally dismantling the non-“sovereignty” of Canada, to be governed by a new world order. Canadian Security and Intelligence Service CSIS revealed that foreign governments have taken control of Canadian politicians and bureaucrats, Harper may be one of

Leave to appeal

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 22 hours ago
*Tomic v. Tough,* 2013 BCCA 212 deals with the criteria for granting leave to appeal [22] The criteria for granting leave to appeal were addressed by Saunders J.A. in*Goldman, Sachs & Co. v. Sessions*, 2000 BCCA 326 (CanLII), 2*000 BCCA 326** *at para. 10 (in Chambers). They include: (1) whether the point on appeal is of significance to the practice; (2) whether the point raised is of significance to the action itself; (3) whether the appeal is prima facie meritorious or, on the other hand, whether it is frivolous; and (4) whether the appeal w... more »

Moving Out

Southern Man at Southern Man - 22 hours ago
It has been an *insanely *busy week. It's not just that Southern Man is moving on and must clear out his office - that office suite is scheduled for renovation so he actually has to be out in the middle of the last week of classes. So on top of his usual duties he has been busily packing and moving and lugging and hauling his fifteen-year accumulation of books and papers and various other academic junk out to The Barn. Which as of today contains *everything he owns*. Like this, only piled higher and with substantially less organization. And he has managed to reduce not only all th... more »

GOP - We Screw the Workers - Becausewecan

2old2care at Because I Can - 22 hours ago
*From HuffPo* *Overtime Pay Alternative Sought By Republican Lawmakers* *We Screw the Workers - Becausewecan* *Just remember throughout* *FOR SOME PEOPLE – MONEY **IS MORE IMPORTANT* WASHINGTON -- It seems like a simple proposition: give employees who work more than 40 hours a week the option of taking paid time off instead of overtime pay. FORCING EMPLOYEES TO TAKE TIME OFF INSTEAD OF PAY The choice already exists in the public sector. Federal and state workers can save earned time off and use it weeks or even months THEY HAVE UNION CONTRACTS AND REPS THAT PROTECT THEM Repu... more »

DCCC Has A Candidate For IL-13, Chief Judge Ann Callis

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 23 hours ago
IL-12 and IL-13 are two of the nine districts in the U.S. with exactly even PVI scores. They are the ultimate swing districts-- at least by the numbers. Of the nine, only three have Republican congressmen, NV-03 (Joe Heck), IA-03 (Tom Latham) and IL-13 (Rodney Davis). And Obama won all those districts last November except IL-13, which he lost 48.9- 48.6%, one of the closes races in he country. The congressional race was also one of the closest in the country, Davis winning 136,596 over progressive Democrat David Gill 135,309. The two were evenly matched, with Davis raising $1,400,... more »

Save Marriage

PM at Duck of Minerva - 23 hours ago
Well, the American Community Survey’s “number of times married” question. I’m reprinting the following (mass) email from the Minnesota Population Center about pending changes to the ACS that will dramatically affect our ability to know how many times Americans have been divorced or married. Social science solidarity! Dear IPUMS User, I am writing to alert Continue reading

It's Still About the Broken GOP

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 23 hours ago
I have to commend Ezra Klein for push, push, pushing everyone to understand the place of the presidency in the US political system. As he says, that system "is centered around Congress rather than the White House," and he's been doing terrific and incredibly valuable work explaining to people what this means in terms of the limits of what presidents can do. I do hope everyone reads his latest essay on the topic, from his Wonkblog on Friday. That said, I continue to dissent from what Klein, Rick Hasen, and others say about polarization. Oh, there's no question about the levels of par... more »

Arctic Ocean ‘acidifying rapidly’ – ‘Even if we stop emissions now, acidification will last tens of thousands of years. It is a very big experiment.’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 23 hours ago
[image: Cover of the AMAP report, 'Arctic Ocean Acidification Assessment: Key Findings', May 2013. Photo: AMAP]By Roger Harrabin, Environment analyst 6 May 2013 (BBC) – The Arctic seas are being made rapidly more acidic by carbon-dioxide emissions, according to a new report. Scientists from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) monitored widespread changes in ocean chemistry in the region. They say even if CO2 emissions stopped now, it would take tens of thousands of years for Arctic Ocean chemistry to revert to pre-industrial levels. Many creatures, including c... more »

Sleepy Monday

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 23 hours ago

and we're off

laura k at wmtc - 23 hours ago
Today we're packing and giving final instructions to our friend and dogsitter, the divine Essie Ash, and tonight we fly to London. In London, we'll see R, who we know from our Brooklyn days, and who we haven't seen in nearly 15 years, and Mara (of Abortion Support Networkfame), who I know from my time with the Haven Coalition. By coincidence (or not), we all met originally through pro-choice activism, and now R and Mara know each other through me. Life is strange and wonderful. I'm totally psyched for this trip. Except for missing the pups. But I know they'll be fine. The real rea... more »

Hey, ALEC - Ag-Gag Is NOT about PERSONAL Privacy

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
This quote by ALEC's Poobah of PR has been bothering me ever since I saw it in print: In 2002, ALEC introduced a piece of mock legislation titled the Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act, which labels people who interfere with any animal operations “terrorists” and made it illegal for anyone to enter “an animal or research facility to take pictures by photograph, video camera, or other means with the intent to commit criminal activities or defame the facility or its owner.” And ALEC continues to support these bills, “At the end of the day it’s about personal property rights or... more »

Cinco De Mayo!

Southern Man at Southern Man - 1 day ago
Lured by the promise of Mexican food, unlimited margaritas, and "hot, beautiful women" (yes, that's a quote, sort of) Southern Man wandered Down South for a Cinco De Mayo party. Of course he did a little sightseeing and nabbed a couple of geocaches on the way... Texans are particularly good at honoring our veterans. Another was by this train siding. Southern Man likes trains. The dogs got lots of loving. Photo by T. Southern Man holds court. Photo by T. Two of the many lovely ladies present. "The name is Bond...Stacey Bond..." Good folks, good food, good drink, good conve... more »

Syria is Escalating into Chaos Because of Outside Influences

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 1 day ago
Reuters. (2013, May 5). UN. has testimony that Syrian rebels used sarin gas: investigator Sun May 5, 2013 6:13pm http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/05/us-syria-crisis-un-idUSBRE94409Z20130505 [Excerpted] - U.N. human rights investigators have gathered testimony from casualties of Syria's civil war and medical staff indicating that rebel forces have used the nerve agent sarin, one of the lead investigators said on Sunday. The United Nations independent commission of inquiry on Syria has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons, which are banned un... more »

May The Fourth Be With You!

Southern Man at Southern Man - 1 day ago

Fletcher (CA - DEM, Again) ALEC Snake in the Grass

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
ALEC’s 37th Annual Meeting -2010 “I am honored to be a member of ALEC; it’s a wonderful organization that helps us draw on your ideas and strengths, on successes in other states and it’s also a great gathering of collaborative thinking.” – Nathan Fletcher, State Assemblyman, CA 75th District Member of ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force 2010 *In 2012 he blatantly LIED about his affiliation with the American Legislative Exchange Council.* In an interview with CityBeat, however, Fletcher claimed no affiliation with the conservative group. He said, "I was never a membe... more »

Friend David Green’s #TFA commentary @nytimes comes at a good time

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago
I’m starting to feel as if the TFA brand is getting a tad tarnished. It’s not fooling a lot of people anymore, as is apparent from many of the responses Mr. Greene received. When I spoke at the 92Y last month, I was right after Wendy Kopp. She left immediately after her talk, the prima donna [...]

Will OSF Follow Through With Hannah?

John Carroll at Dying in Haiti - 1 day ago
Forum: Will OSF follow through with Hannah? shar.es/lwL3N via @sharethis — John A. Carroll (@haitianhearts) May 6, 2013

PBS NEWSHOUR VIDEO: As Tensions Boil Over, How Might Iraq Prevent Return To Chronic Violence?

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 1 day ago
Watch How Might Iraq Prevent Return to Chronic Violence? on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Obama's Sugar Mama

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 1 day ago
What do James Bond and Barack Obama have in common besides suaveness, subterfuge, stealth, and secrecy? Moneypenny! While Ian Fleming named his fictional character ironically, she being a mere secretary, Barack wouldn't know irony if it bit him in the tush. (example: his standard "This is not who we are" verbal vs. defacto policies for drone strikes, Gitmo, a record number of whistleblowing prosecutions, a record number of deportations, a record amount of campaign contributions, a slew of unregistered lobbyists in his White House, restriction of Plan B contraceptives only ho... more »

RETURN TO SYRACUSE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
- I have to make the eight-hour return trip to Syracuse, New York for my second appearance before the Dewitt Court on May 7. Mary Beth is taking a couple days off work and coming with me so we will leave this morning and drive half-way there and stay with a friend in Massachusetts and then make the second-half of the journey Tuesday morning. I don't really know what to expect from this trip but doubt that it will be much of anything. Likely just a decision by the court that I don't qualify for a court appointed attorney because our combined income puts me... more »

Mekong region has lost a third of its forests in 30 years, may lose another third by 2030

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 1 day ago
[image: Forest area has been reduced from approximately 140 million hectares (73% of land area) in 1973 to under 100 million hectares (51%) in 2009 (green color), a 31% decrease (in red). Graphic: WWF-Greater Mekong Programme based on multiple datasets] 3 May 2013 (mongabay.com) – The Greater Mekong region of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and Vietnam will lose a third of its remaining forest cover by 2030 unless regional governments improve management of natural resources and transition toward a greener growth model, warns a new report issued by WWF. The report lays ... more »

UK energy secretary urges education secretary to reinstate climate change on curriculum

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 1 day ago
[image: Ed Davey, the UK Liberal Democrat energy secretary, says the role of teachers in helping children understand climate change should be safeguarded. Photograph: Richard Saker / The Observer] By Patrick Wintour 2 May 2013 (The Guardian) – Ed Davey, the energy secretary, has written a private letter to Michael Gove, the education secretary, urging him to rethink his plans to downgrade climate change in the new national curriculum. Amid protests from environmentalists and some students, Gove has removed debate about climate change from the draft geography curriculum. Davey, a... more »

Larry Summers on Reinhart and Rogoff

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 1 day ago
Here.

GAIA PORTAL: Intensities of Gaia Transform Energies is Maximizing…

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
*Intensities of Gaia Transform Energies is Maximizing…* by ÉirePort The intensity of all energies, solar, galactic, cosmic, on all Higher D levels is increasing, and will soon maximize. The purpose of this "maximization" is to first, burn off all lower dross that has infected Gaia for millenia, and second, to peak the energetics of each individual Hue-man upon Gaia at this time. This is to be followed by a lessening (rather, a stabilization) of the intensities to allow for integration. No further intense energy increases are anticipated for the following week [or] next several da... more »

Appellate intervention is warranted where a material inference of fact is not supported by evidence

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 day ago
1250264Ontario Inc. v. Pet Valu Canada Inc., 2013 ONCA 279 holds: [69] Appellate intervention is warranted where an inference of fact is not supported by any evidence and where an improper inference has a material effect on the outcome: see *Housen v. Nikolaisen*, 2002 SCC 33, [2002] 2 S.C.R. 235, at paras. 22-23. The conclusion reached by the motion judge, at para. 75, that there is "a reasonable probability" that many franchisees decided to opt out due to "unfair pressure amounting to intimidation" is based on the inferences he drew. In my view, these inferences lack a val... more »

Plans to harness Chinese river’s power threaten a region – ‘Why can’t China have just one river that isn’t destroyed by humans?’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 1 day ago
[image: Ke Shouyi, 47, a farmer in the Lisu ethnic group, prods his cow to plow the remote rural area near the Nu River in China’s Yunnan Province. The Nu’s days as one of the region’s last free-flowing rivers are dwindling. The Chinese government stunned environmentalists in 2013 by reviving plans to build a series of hydropower dams on the upper reaches of the Nu Photo: Sim Chi Yin / The New York Times] By ANDREW JACOBS 4 May 2013 BINGZHONGLUO, China (The New York Times) – From its crystalline beginnings as a rivulet seeping from a glacier on the Tibetan Himalayas to its broad,... more »

This Monster Duck is Coming to Eat You. And Your Family Too.

Daniel Nexon at Duck of Minerva - 1 day ago
Many, many people have emailed or tweeted this image to me. But the best version, by far, is the one above. It has been making the rounds on Facebook and comes from “OP.”

Why Are Americans Fat And Getting Fatter? Ronald Reagan

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
NJ Gov. Chris Christie wants to be removed from this picture-- but without changing his eating habits I fast every Sunday. It's a habit I picked up in the '70s when I worked at de Kosmos in Amsterdam, a meditation center. I was there for around 4 years and when I came back to the States, that Sunday fast was something I brought with me. In Amsterdam, I also used to do a 10 day fast-- just water-- once a year. I don't do that anymore, though I kind of wish I could. This weekend I decided I had eaten one too many restaurant meals lately and I had a nice salad Friday evening and began ... more »

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 day ago
Happy Birthday to John Flansburgh, 53. Here's a little of the good stuff: 1. I sort of think that I should leave that Oregon study alone unless I'm willing to read it myself. Still, I'll link to Kevin Drum's latest try at what to make of the empirical findings. 2. And since I complain a lot about the post-policy GOP, I also should link to Ross Douthat's distillation of the emerging conservative position on health care. 3. And worth reading: John Harwood interviews David Axelrod.

The primal ooze...

noreply@blogger.com (deBeauxOs) at DAMMIT JANET! - 1 day ago
Yesterday I went to see _2001: A Space Odyssey_ with a friend. I had forgotten how tedious the first act is, as the primates - most likely nasty chimpanzees and not collaborative Bonobos - become weaponized and discover how to dominate the rival clan by killing their leader. My companion found that bit quite entertaining; it reminded him of recent carnage - more specifically, the take-over of the Conservatives by the Reform Party, when Peter MacKay morphed from an insipid PC into a weaponized, yet still insignificant, greedy opportunist. Do you recognize any of the scoundrels? T... more »

An Ad in Kinmen local newspaper advocates putting nuke waste dump there.

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 1 day ago
This ad appeared in yesterday's 金門日報 (Kinmen Daily News), which appears to be a government news organ. The ad first describe how the Koreans approved a waste dump with a 70% turnout and 90% support in a referendum. It then advocates that the people of Kinmen do no less than the South Koreans did, follow gov't policy, and approve via referendum a low-level nuke waste dump, apparently on Kinmen. The bottom line says it comes from Taipower. The paper and ad are online here. _______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for event... more »

End NJ Tax Subsidies for High Stakes Testing “Monster” Pearson

freetoteach at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago
Pearson, Inc: Bad tax subsidies for bad education policies. End NJ Tax Subsidies for High Stakes Testing Giant Pearson, Inc. TUESDAY, May 14TH, 12:00PM Hoboken River Ferry, 1401 Frank Sinatra Drive, Hoboken NJ • End corporate welfare and fund our public schools! • Protest tax subsidy ‘payoffs for layoffs’ to test publishing giant Pearson! [...]
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