3:50pm MDST
"NSA Surveillance: American As Apple Spy"
Rep. Alan Grayson, "NSA Surveillance: American As Apple Spy"
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffSD2zRX-kQ&html5=1
•
Verizon, huh? You mean like those clowns from Ashburn, Virginia
who have spent so much time right here on this little blog lately?
- CP
Brian's Blog: Fix The World Documentary & A Quick Update
*Fix The World Documentary*
June 17, 2013
My apologies to all of those patiently waiting for me to write about
my thoughts and perceptions of the trip to Morocco. The day after I got
back I was already back in the car on a trip up the California coast to
visit a few of Brittany's friends for a BBQ/Engagement party. So, today is
the first day I've had to unwind from the long journey. I'm sure I will
have an opportunity to discuss some of the details on tonight's radio show,
but I promise to also put together a blog post (with plenty of pictures!)
to fill in the gaps for w... more »
Open borders: not have, or not to have—that is today’s question.
The Freeman website hosts a ‘debate’ between two allegedly libertarian
authors on the subject of open borders: to have, or not to have.
The allegedly libertarian A.M. Fantini argues that if we “apply libertarian
principles to the real world” then “if an immigrant arrives who eschews
assimilation, derides local customs, rejects cultural norms and mores, and
believes in ideas and values that are directly opposed to classical
liberalism … then even the staunchest advocate of open borders should think
twice.” Grounds then, you would have thought, for mass eviction in most
polities—and... more »
Chicago's Busy Fathers' Day Weekend
Big Fathers' Day weekend in Chi-town. 46 people shot in under 72-hours.
That's approaching Baghdad-level violence.
What do kids buy Dad for Fathers' Day in Chicago - ammo?
*While mass shootings are more likely to attract the headlines — by
ThinkProgress’ count there have been 14 since December — everyday gun
violence in the U.S. adds up to a Newtown every single day (Slate counts
more than 5,000 gun deaths since December). *
**
*Gun advocates tend to use Chicago to argue that gun violence laws are not
effective. Chicago has some of the strictest laws in the nation — it had a
ban ... more »
"Orwell Revisited: Privacy in the Age of Surveillance"
* *
*"Orwell Revisited: Privacy in the Age of Surveillance" *
By John W. Whitehead
“You had to live- did live, from habit that became instinct- in the
assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in
darkness, every movement scrutinized.”
- George Orwell, "1984"
"There’s a reason George Orwell’s 1984 is a predominant theme in my new
book "A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State." It’s the
same reason Orwell’s dystopian thriller about a futuristic surveillance
society has skyrocketed to the top of book charts in the wake of recent
revelations... more »
How Long Is The World's Memory?
*Source of photo*.
The U.S. government is constantly trying to reshape perceptions about past
events, mold the world's memories to its liking, and alter perceptions of
the consequences of U.S. wars. With the helpful aid of the "mainstream"
media, they've done a pretty good job at creating fake memories about the
most important events of this century, especially the 9/11 false flag
attacks and the fake assassination of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
One of the reasons Washington is able to get away with crimes against
humanity like funding Jihadist terrorists in Syria, which it has ... more »
Jonathan Bernstein captures the culture!
*MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013*
*There’s no harm in rumor and guesswork:* At the Columbia Journalism
Review, Brendan Nyhan observed the inane reactions to Hillary Clinton’s
recent tweets, as we did last week. He then asked a question which pretty
much answers itself:
“Will all 2016 coverage be this dumb? TBD...”
Will *all* the coverage be this dumb? Based on twenty-plus years of
precedent, the answer will almost surely be yes. Nyhan’s piece would have
been much more valuable if he had simply said that.
Will the inanity persist through another White House cycle? Almost surely,
the answer ... more »
Breaking: Boehner Is Constrained By His Conference.
There's a lot of nonsense on the "Hastert Rule" going around, and a lot of
nonsense on John Boehner as a "weak" Speaker.
I've talked about many times, but here's the short version:
There's just no way that a Speaker is going to habitually do things that
his conference doesn't want. Any Speaker who did that wouldn't last very
long at all. A Speaker isn't "weak" because he's constrained that way;
Nancy Pelosi was equally constrained by her caucus, and so were Jim Wright
and Newt Gingrich, and so are all of them.
That doesn't need to be incorporated into any formal rule; it's just how ... more »
Will We Have To Go Back To Drinking Wine Instead of Water Because Of Corporate Pollution?
If you were listening to NPR Saturday, you may have heard their report
about water rights in the U.S. "Oil was probably the fluid of last century
where there was a lot of turmoil, and I think water is the fluid of this
century," explained Michael Walsh, a major general with the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers.
So often, we take water for granted. We turn on the faucet and there it is.
We assume it's our right in America to have water. And yet, water is a
resource. It's not always where we need it, or there when we need it.
Rivers don't follow political boundaries-- they flow throug... more »
SELLING HIGH TECH WAR
This is video of the Directed Energy Weapons lobby set up in the Rayburn
House Office Building in Washington. The Military Industrial Complex is not
shy about courting members of Congress. They had models of all of their
little (big) weapons on display, sandwiches and drinks, chocolates and
little gadgets to give away.
Untitled
*New Orleans alt-weekly fires ‘know-it-all’ columnist for plagiarism ~Jim
Romenesko*
On Speaking Out Loud....
By American Kabuki
My friend Carmelle came along right before my encounter with Heather
Tucci-Jarraf and paved the way for me as to how to live in the now and
manifesting my own reality. The universe manifested this wonderful being
to get me up to speed for my encounter with the OPPT.
One of the things Carmelle has said is to speak my needs out loud. I am
not so good at that kind of thing, you probably notice I don't do a whole
lot of Internet radio shows, and I need to change that. When I was a child
I spoke my mind quite openly, but that was not too popular with my father
a... more »
Have Canadians Won the Man-Powered Helicopter Challenge?
The Canadian team, AeroVelo, may have won the prize for the first,
man-powered helicopter flight.
Here's the tweet they sent yesterday:
"*Hit 3.3 metres & 65 sec on our flight. Submitted the flight to the
American Helicopter Society; waiting for validation before commenting.*"
The competition requires helicopter flight, solely human-powered, to a
height greater than 3-metres for a duration of 60-seconds. The helicopter
has to remain within a small, 10-square metre area.
The winner takes the Sikorsky prize of $250,000. Here's the AeroVelo
Atlas. The pilot is on the bicycle in th... more »
The perverse joys of anti-capitalism
Turkish trade unions are calling for a 24-hour general strike on Monday
with demonstrations to converge on the recently cleared Taksim Square in
Istanbul. It's a perverse comfort that no matter where you go the main
unions are a little bit crap. What do we need, comrades? I'll tell you what
we need. We need a token one-day strike after the movement has been
battered off the streets. We need one more belated gesture, comrades, one
more - that'll show 'em!
Snowden isn't lying, he's bragging
Been processing this story for a while now and reviewing the sum of
Snowden's leaks so far. The more Snowden talks the less credible he seems,
particularly when he has to revise the dramatic details of his life as
Edward Snowden, international spy.
Looking at his language carefully, he's not so much telling us what the
government *is* doing. He's describing what he *can* do, as a paid outside
agent of the government. Or at least he *could* have done if he had stayed
undercover. Meanwhile as Snowden makes the story about himself, an
important point is being lost. Namely, Snowden is ... more »
Nuclear Logic (Why Lautenberg Probably Doesn't Matter)
Greg
has some reporting out today on the concerns among Senate Democratsthat
Frank Lautenberg's death may tip things against majority-imposed
reform; with several Democratic defections possible and at least a
couple
likely, losing that one sure vote for reform could be the difference.
I don't question his reporting -- that is, I'm sure that Democrats are
saying what he reports they're saying -- but I don't really believe it. I
continue to believe it's highly unlikely that the Democrats will act
unless
they're very close to being unanimous. One defection, maybe; two,
perhaps;
more, a... more »
Abortion? What a Riot!!!
Bloggers rejoice! What could possibly go wrong with the RAPEublicans' plan
to make abortion funny.
“How do you make abortion funny?” That was a key question mulled at a major
conservative gathering Friday on how to make social conservatism appealing
to young people, after an election where Republicans got trounced in the
battle for millennial voters (who are are moving even further and further
away from the Christian-right on marriage and other issues).
Abortion has to be made funny, the thinking goes, because funny sells on
social media, and that’s where one goes to court young peo... more »
Blog Comments have been turned on...
I have turned back on blog comments and will do my best to moderate them as
I can. There was simply no way for me to keep up with the work load
earlier so we'll see how this goes on a trial basis.
-American Kabuki
The manuscript of survival – part 324
*
* *
* *The manuscript of survival – part 324 *
June 16, 2013
Aisha North
Fear, pain, struggle and toil. For many, this will be a very accurate
description of the last few days, and for all of you, you have been in
touch with at least one component of this heady mix of conflicting symptoms
lately. For yes, they are indeed symptoms of a profound transformation
taking place within you all, and as all symptoms go, they can in may ways
effectively mask the reason for their appearance. For all of these
unpleasant effects can easily be classified as negative, and for some, even
be cons... more »
DAVID ICKE EXPLAINED
*David Icke. Does the CIA use 'holographic reptile imagery', and drugs, as
part of its mind control programme? *
In a recent edition of Rupert Murdoch's Zionist *Sunday Times, *Will Storr
had an article about David Icke.
It's a jungle out there | The Sunday Times
Storr attempts to discredit Icke.
*Will Storr*
Will Storr would appear to be a Materialist, who has had a few problems in
life.
"Plagued by 'delusional jealousy, pathological drinking and theft', Will
Storr just about retained the ability to function in his own life, but
clung none the less to the presumption that pe... more »
You have no idea of the wonders that await you
*
* *
* *You have no idea of the wonders that await you*
06/16/2013 by John Smallman
When the moment for humanity’s awakening arrives – as it most surely will
because it is God’s Will – joy and amazement will engulf you all. You have
no idea of the wonders that await you – wonders that will uplift and
inspire even the most skeptical among you. Once humanity has awakened you
will find yourselves in a different world, one that has changed out of all
recognition, and yet, it will also be the same world! That is indeed a
paradox, one that you will understand with absolute clarity wh... more »
Iraq Prime Minister Maliki’s State Of Law Fighting Back For Control of Provinces
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law (SOL) was the biggest winner
in the 2013 local elections, but things have not worked out the way it
planned. It came away with wins in seven provinces, Baghdad, Basra, Babil,
Qadisiyah, Dhi Qar, Karbala, and Muthanna. The premier was hoping that this
would be a stepping stone to the 2014 parliamentary vote. Things quickly
turned against him however, when the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI)
broke an early deal with State of Law, and aligned with the Sadr Trend’s
Liberal bloc to try to shut out him out. Maliki is now fighting back ... more »
Told You So: New World Order Proceeds On Schedule - Answering More (Than Assange's) Questions About the Media's New Favorite Treasoner (Leaker)
If you haven't figured out yet why all the great leakers leave 9/11 alone .
. . you've got some more surprises upcoming. UK's Cameron Rallies World
Leaders to N.Ireland Sweeping US-EU Trade Talks To Start in July Investors
Guess Fed's Actions, Push Stocks Higher Food Companies Work To Make It Look
Natural Billionaire's Coal Struggles Irking Biz Owners "When you do
business with a
Tommy and Andrew, the day after
The above post seems to have generated an unprecedented number of
page-views, at least for this modest blog. Since Craig and I are not in the
business of self-promotion and don’t self-link or Tweet, the attraction
must have been the title ‘Andrew and Tommy’ which pops up near the top of
the list when you Google Andrew Neil and Tommy Robison. Note to self: must
remember Google when blogging.
It was written in the heat of the moment, obviously. It might have been a
little knee-jerk and reflexive. Later I read other interesting takes, but
apart from the Huffpo article most bloggers a... more »
Syria- G8. Why the chemical weapon lie? John Bolton opines
*Geez.* The Western media is so full of nonsense and bravado today! No
wonder most citizens from the so called ‘civilized nations’ are
soooooo..... ignorant. Trying to find an article of substance regarding the
G-8 meeting is difficult. Thankfully Chinese media had a decent one.
*Xinhua-U.S., Russia able to overcome differences on Syria by "minimum
consensus"*
Despite disagreements on the Syrian crisis, the United States and Russia
are expected to reach at least "minimum consensus" on ways to overcome the
obstacles facing the Geneva peace conference likely to take place in July,
an... more »
Out of This World - What Does Walt Natynczyk Have That Canada Needs for Space?
In my humble opinion, no Canadian general directly associated with the
fiasco of our war in Afghanistan should be a candidate for government
perks. That's certainly true for Rick Hiller who, by all accounts misled
then prime minister Martin, into approving Canada's shoestring Kandahar
combat caper. It should likewise hold true for the army general who
succeeded Hillier and headed the armed forces for the past four years, Walt
Natynczyk.
Afghanistan wasn't Walt's only failed war. He also led the 35,000 strong
Multi-National Corps (Iraq) during *Operation Iraqi Freedom*, the
disa... more »
Assad Says Europe's Backing of Jihadist Opposition Will Harm Long-Term European Interests
Source of Interview with Assad: *German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung (FAZ)*.
Source of Translation: *"friday-lunch-club" blog*.
"The Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad has warned the European
nations against
supplying weapons to the Syrian rebels. "If the Europeans
deliver these
weapons to Europe's backyard, and Europe will pay the price for
it," Assad
said in an exclusive interview with the *"Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung"*in Damascus. "Hardened terrorists
will learn how to use these weapons &
return to Europe equipped with extremist ideology.": A series
of arms
shipments to ... more »
Glitter 2x4 Flag
*Have you entered the giveaways for tickets to The Princess Festival at
Thanksgiving Point, Mugging Mixes from Shirley J or the HUGE book stashyet?
*
I am a little obsessed with glitter right now. I had this 2x4 Flag
displayed in my house and while I liked it, I didn't love it, so I decided
it needed a little glitter. With a little glitter paper and some loose
glitter, it is now one of my favorite holiday decorations.
You will need:
a 2x4 cut into pieces, you need two 7-inch blocks and 3-3.5 inch blocks
Contact paper or a large star sticker
Red, White and Blue paint
American... more »
We Need A Nobel Peace Prize Winner In The White House-- One Who Earned The Award
No one knows exactly why Obama got a Nobel Peace Prize before he had done
anything other than run for president as a vaguely pro-peace candidate,
unless it was just the Nobel committee trying to express their relief that
Bush was out of the White House. I wonder how embarrassed they are about
their selection now?
So what's new on the peace front? Well... Iran sent 4,000 Revolutionary
Guard troops to Syria to bolster Assad. And Putin warned David Cameron that
arming the Syrian rebels would be a mistake.
Putin, who has made no secret of his opposition to US president Barack
Obama... more »
Nigella Lawson in happier times
I hear that Nigella Lawson is having a difficult time of it at the moment,
this weekend's story in The People was rather disturbing.
I know that I've posted this piece of video before but I think it worth a
repeat, as Nigella talks dirty..
Do follow that link for more Nigella Lawson innuendo.
When He's Not Kissing Ass, He's Kicking Ass - It's the Only Game Harper Knows
He used to lambaste the Chinese - before he became Beijing's *bitumen
bumboy* - but Sideshow Steve Harper has shown he still has game when it
comes to Russia and Vlad Putin.
On the eve of the G8 summit, Steve has denounced Putin for backing "*the
thugs of the Assad regime*" in Syria. And then, as though that wasn't
enough diplomacy, Steve added another Putin smackdown, “*I don’t think we
should fool ourselves. This is G7 plus one. OK, let’s be blunt.*”
Steve has a convenient recollection of history. The only reason Canada
got into the G7, or shall we call it the 'G6 plus One'... more »
Privacy
Some people argue that loss of privacy to Facebook, Google, etc. is the
same as the loss of privacy to government, so why complain? But this is a
completely fallacious argument. First of all, my loss of privacy on FB,
Google etc. is *voluntary*. Secondly, FB gives me a great tool to keep in
touch with friends and family, make new friends, etc., all for free; in
return, they sell ads to show me, just like TV only "better" because they
are targeted. I accept that trade. Likewise for Google. Safeway uses their
"courtesy card" to keep track of everything I buy, but in return gives me
co... more »
PAR NoT PARCC in New Jersey
Looking to replace the test driven, evaluation and merit pay systems
dreamed up by the psycho psychometricians, know-nothing politicians and
hacks, who are funding and benefitting from this multi-billion dollar
sorting complex and “metric based” profit scheme? I thought so, me too.
Montclair, NJ is leading the way against the Common Core Standards in New
[…]
KIPP in Arkansas Gives “Whatever It Takes” New Meaning
Recent conversations with KIPP high school teachers reveals many cracks in
KIPP’s Five Pillars. Apparently, KIPP’s Helena, AK high school has
interpreted “whatever it takes” to include violating state laws for student
transcripts and what can count as course credits. From The Inside Scoop
Online: The Arkansas Department of Education has determined that the
Helena-West […]
Chinese Dissident Says We're Becoming Just Like Them
Chinese artist and persecuted dissident, Ai Weiwei, has an interesting take
on the U.S. NSA Prism scandal in today's *Guardian* in which he says
America is behaving like China.
*I lived in the United States for 12 years. This abuse of state power goes
totally against my understanding of what it means to be a civilised
society, and it will be shocking for me if American citizens allow this to
continue. The US has a great tradition of individualism and privacy and has
long been a centre for free thinking and creativity as a result.*
*In our experience in China, basically there is no... more »
Untitled
*Steve Gleason's Son Rivers Fuels His Motivation to Continue to Fight ALS*
*Guest MMQB: Steve Gleason on his life with ALS, mission for a cure ~Peter
King*
*Tropical depression two has formed off the coast of Belize*~According to
the National Hurricane Center, the center of the storm was is located at
16.2 north and
longitude 87.6 west. The depression is moving toward the west-northwest
near at 13mph. The center of the depression will move inland over southern
Belize Monday afternoon. The depression could emerge into the Bay of
Campeche on Tuesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 3... more »
The More Things Change....
Back in the mid-70's I managed to snag a quick interview with the head
prosecutor of the Quebec crime commission while the fellow was in Ottawa.
I thought I'd hit him with a "gotcha" question. I mentioned something
about how, outside Quebec, Canadians had a perception that Quebec politics
were riddled with corruption. Then I asked, is this really true? I was
floored by his response when he said, "*Yes, but it's getting better*."
That memory came flooding back when I read this morning that Montreal's
"anti-corruption" mayor, Michael Applebaum, had been slapped with
14-corruptio... more »
Finding a House Majority on Immigration
The news on immigration today is John Boehner rejecting the option of
passing a bill with mostly Democratic votes. Or so he says; Jonathan Chait points
out that Boehner's position makes him prone to bluffing. But for now:
"I just don't think that's the winning formula here," Cole told The
Washington Examiner. "What the speaker wants to do is have a hopefully
bipartisan product -- certainly one that has the majority of Republicans --
pass the House. This has got too much emotional, political impact and I
think it really has to be genuinely bipartisan."
I'm sure that the Speaker wants... more »
An excerpt of a new Huffington Post submission, the cult of amateurs
I don’t know why, but some things I reserve for different audiences,
perhaps to speak to a different cohort of people. But for the first time in
about two months, I uploaded a new post to the Huffington Post. Hopefully
it makes it through. If not, then I’ll post it here. But here’s an excerpt
[…]
Why Canada Should be Wary of U.S. Missile Defence
There has been talk that Ottawa might jump aboard the U.S. missile defence
programme out of fear of a rogue missile launch from North Korea.
Before we do, let's make sure it works. There are plenty of dirt cheap
reasons to think otherwise.
America's hyper-expensive missile interceptors (does that sound familiar,
...cough, cough, F-35) are essentially untested. Okay, they've been tested
with reasonable success against target missile warheads. They have not,
however, been tested against the sort of warheads a 21st century enemy
would use, warheads equipped with counter-measures... more »
The Baby Penalty
I keep seeing this article pop around websites this morning: “Rule No. 1
for Female Academics: Don’t Have a Baby.” I’m happy to see all the family
friendly policies mentioned concerning assistant professors. But, as the
article points out, the “baby penalty” is also a concern for graduate
students who are parents. My question: do
Continue reading
Wind Turbine Problems in Miaoli... Wait a second
[image: random_34]
*A protest against the Infravest project in Yuanli winds down.*
The Taipei Times ran an article on the wind power protests in Yuanli in
Miaoli today. I'm a longtime proponent of wind energy, back to when I was
working in Washington DC writing on US energy policy in the early 1990s. It
was then that I became a huge wind enthusiast.
When I first heard about the protests in Yuanli a while back I assumed that
some of the locals were engaging in the common tactic of using public
"protests" as a way to extract some cash from the the big firm. I've
encountered this on ma... more »
Pay: $75-85K to Promote Fascism
Yep - you too can have a job that destroys democracy and promotes fascism.
Here's your chance.
*
**APPLY NOW*
Montclair, NJ Parents Fight to Maintain Integrity of Schools
From Stan Karp: Montclair parents are pushing back against new Supt. Penny
MacCormack’s “strategic plan,” which includes a proposal to implement
quarterly “common assessments” in all district schools. MacCormack is a
former assistant commissioner at NJDOE who was recruited from Connecticut
by NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf to oversee implementation of the
common core standards and […]
ALI ON TURKEY AND STRATEGY
Tariq Ali is a famous writer and filmmaker. He has written more than two
dozen books on world history and politics, and seven novels (translated
into over a dozen languages) as well as scripts for the stage and screen.
He is an editor of New Left Review and lives in London.
CARTOON TIME
United States of Surveillance from MarkFiore on Vimeo.
SYRIA - 'THREATS TO OBAMA'S LIFE'
*Ennis-kill-en*
*Tarpley: Syria, The Shadow Government and Threats to Obama's Life. from Paul
Coker *
*
*
*Bomb kills 11 at Enniskillen*
*
** *
*Tarpley: Syria, The Shadow Government and Threats to Obama's Life. from Paul
Coker on Vimeo.*
An excellent journey to Dreamland!
*MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013*
*Keeping the world alive:* On Saturday, a young relative was experiencing
her final day as a 6-year-old.
She wanted to play us a favorite new song. Luckily, her selection came from
the album, Acoustic Dreamland, “an exquisite selection of classic and
contemporary acoustic songs for bedtime and relaxation.”
In fact, her selection was the album’s opening song, Dreamland. It was
written by Mary Chapin Carpenter, sung quite beautifully by Lucy Kaplansky.
You can hear one minute here. Instantly, we were glad that Carpenter wrote
this song, although we did have o... more »
Read Stuff, You Should
Happy Birthday to Stu Tate, 51. His cup of coffee was in 1989, age 27. He
had 18 remaining professional innings (in AAA in 1991). Pitching is brutal.
Good stuff:
1. Dan Hopkins on the Latino vote.
2. David Roberts is incredibly sensible about the nuclear (power) debate.
3. Nicole Flatow talks to a retired federal judge about the limitations of
the judicial check on intelligence gathering.
4. And, off topic, but: Peter Biskind has tapes of (an aging) Orson Welles
in conversation. Good fun.
Detroit Goes Under: “There Is No Way Out But Collapse”
Mac Slavo
Though most Americans go through their day thinking everything is now
returning to normal, the fact of the matter is the situation is anything
but stable.
With crime rates skyrocketing, home prices dropping to under $500 for a
house, and the local government out of solutions, the city of Detroit is
the latest to join the likes of Stockton, California, having just defaulted
on its loans from creditors.
Despite promises to the contrary, it should come as no surprise that the
city is unable to meet its obligations. And it won’t be the last. City and
state governments all ... more »
When It Happens Again – Will You Be Prepared?
Wikimedia Commons Earl Griffin
The world’s weather is in turmoil.
Odd, dangerous, and deadly weather is in the news everyday it seems. When
the weather is consistently severe the food supply becomes tighter.
Dangerous weather makes it difficult to successfully grow and harvest food
crops. If you are a farmer you know this all too well. If you are not a
farmer you see the reality of it in the grocery store.
Food prices are higher. The cost of food, noticeably beef, has been on the
steady increase for some time. Drought, late frost, hurricanes, monsoons,
and tornadoes are all impac... more »
The Times reports on “ability grouping!”
*MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013*
*We’ll examine that piece next week:* On June 10, the New York Times
featured a front-page report about “ability grouping” in the public schools.
The report was fascinating, in various ways. We don’t necessarily mean that
as a compliment, though we found the report quite intriguing.
We realized we couldn’t do the piece justice in a single report. What has
happened to “ability grouping” in recent years? We plan to look at this
front-page report in a series next week, starting with a basic question:
Questions of quality to the side, why in the world was *this* ... more »
Has World War 3 Already Begun?
*Youtube*
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Native Americans prepare to defend homelands, walk across America
Red Butte Havasupai sacred land Photo Dawn Dyer
Native Americans prepare to defend homelands, walk across America
Longest Walk 1978
By Brenda Norrell
Native Americans focused on defending their homelands and upholding
the Rights of Nature during June, as they prepared for non-violent
resistance to the threats of the tarsands pipeline, uranium mining and
coal-fired power plants
TWO KINDS OF FACTS: A commenter’s wish for the public schools!
*MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013*
*Part 5—One commenter wants information:* On June 9, in the Sunday Review,
the New York Times featured a piece by Hacker and Dreifus about the public
schools.
For part 1 in our series, click this.
In extremely fuzzy prose, Hacker and Dreifus asked a good question about
the effects of the Common Core standards which will soon take effect in the
schools. But alas! Along the way, they included a familiar type of bogus
claim about the performance of American students on international tests.
How well *do* American students perform on international tests? It seem... more »
ALEC - "Not geared to be a fair debate"
Previously I have written about how ALEC members are going to Alberta to be
wined and dined by the tar sands companies.
May 2013 the ALEC blogsite had an article on it
March 2013 the ALEC blogsite had an article on it
Today on PRWatch – there is this paragraph in an article about ALEC and the
tar sands companies that answered a question I consistently had – Who paid
for these trips? (You will note that I use the plural “these trips” –
because I believe that there has been more than one - I think we are
foolish and naive to think this only happened once.)
*ALEC Tours the Tar Sands... more »
Law enforcement accesses increasingly massive facial recognition databases with few legal standards
image credit:
AV-1/Flickr Madison Ruppert
According to a new report, the National Security Agency’s massive
surveillance program isn’t all Americans have to be concerned about.
Searchable facial recognition databases are growing increasingly massive
and few legal safeguards are in place.
Facial recognition systems in the United States are on the rise thanks to a
wide variety of initiatives including the FBI directly sharing facial
recognition software with police departments while also deploying a $1
billion facial recognition system around the country.
Since facial recognition s... more »
New Jersey Has A Senate Front-Runner Nearly As Sickening As It's Gubernatorial Front-Runner
You never know what's going to actually happen in a low turn out, late
summer primary special election. Who will even show up at the polls?
Polling shows a big preference among New Jersey Democrats for the
much-hyped Newark Mayor, Cory Booker. Last week Monmouth University
released a poll that confirms what all the other polls show-- Booker leads
his opponents.
Among potential voters in the August Democratic primary – i.e. registered
Democrats who regularly vote in general elections and say they may vote in
the Senate primary – Booker holds a commanding lead over his challengers,... more »
Criteria for overturning discretionary decisions
*Mission Creek Mortgage Ltd. v. Angleland Holdings Inc*., 2013 BCCA 281
holds a discretionary decision should be overtruned only where the decision
was clearly wrong or the court of first instance gave insufficient weight
to one or more relevant considerations:
[53] This court can interfere with the discretion exercised by the chambers
judge only as discussed by Tysoe J.A. in *Dhillon v. Pannu,* 2008 BCCA 514
(CanLII), 2008 BCCA 514:
*[26] The order under appeal was a discretionary order. The appellate
standard of review in respect of discretionary orders has been expressed in ... more »
Hudak Should Watch His Back
When Tim Hudak was elected the leader of the Ontario Progressive
Conservatives, he came in with Mike Harris' blessing. He was, after all,
one of Harris' young guns. But, since his ascension, Hudak has proved
repeatedly that he can't shoot straight. Two elections ago, he began with
an overwhelming advantage and blew it. In his second contest with Dalton
McGuinty, the man who recently departed Queen's Park with a whimper came
within one seat of a majority government.
And, during Ontario's recent budget negotiations, Hudak simply refused to
play. He assumed that another election was ... more »
Are eBooks An Advert Free Zone?
Yahoo has filed two US patent applications which are based on delivering
adverts to ebooks and even offering a variable price that is dependent on
the advert placement. Some will cry, ‘not on my watch and it will never
happen,’ but perhaps we need to at least consider the implications further
before we dismiss it.
If we step back to the Victorian and Edwardian times, the book was often
full of adverts for goods which had no connection to the genre or story.
The Pamphleteers of the Victorian age also included many adverts in the
‘Penny Dreadful’ and periodicals. Dicken’s own Pickwic... more »
NSA: "But They Would NEVER Do That..."
* "But They Would NEVER Do That..."*
by Karl Denninger
"My oh my you folks have short memories... "Two weeks ago, a US security
company came up with conclusive evidence that the second key belongs to
NSA. Like Dr van Someren, Andrew Fernandez, chief scientist with Cryptonym
of Morrisville, North Carolina, had been probing the presence and
significance of the two keys. Then he checked the latest Service Pack
release for Windows NT4, Service Pack 5. He found that Microsoft's
developers had failed to remove or "strip" the debugging symbols used to
test this software before they re... more »
`Oops, we used up all our water,'
Last year I wrote an entry about how Colorado farmer had been outbid by
fracking companies for water rights in Colorado – asking the question which
is more important, food or fracking.
Today another water/fracking story hit the press on HuffPo.
Think about it
Using water reserves for fossil fuel production
The goal is energy independence
Think about it
You can go weeks without food before you die
You only can go a week to ten days without water before you die.
`Oops, we used up all our water,'
Energy independence means nothing – if you are dead.
The only thing that this energy in... more »
Seeds of Death: Unveiling the lies of GMO
*If you eat food. If you care about your health. You need to watch this. *
*HT Noor @ Snippets & Snappets*
Untitled
*NOPD, protectors of the highest murder rate in the nation, become TV stars*
*Sea change in criminal jurisprudence becomes law**~“It eliminates lawsuits
and appeals,” said state Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie. “It’s easy for a
defendant to say, ‘If I would have known about that, I would have made a
different argument.’ This takes away that ability.”*
*La. delegates totally clueless on NSA data-mining practices*
*Sacramento Levee Risk, a Man-made Disaster in waiting, makes New Orleans a
sister city ~Wunderblog *
*Birds call causeway a place to roost ~Amy Wold *
*Louisiana musicians... more »
The Secret War
Ah yes. What you see in the press is what China has been apparently able
to do. What you do not see is what the counter has been. This also has a
long history and do not for a second think that it has not been effective
and that includes actions defending against China.
We are also seeing an increase in apparent conflict hitting the press with
the USA appearing to be almost inactive. That is nonsense and this article
gives us a glimpse. You cannot operate in the modern world without your
systems been open to penetration and that includes China. Their fire wall
only stiffl... more »
The internet is expanding - The first half will only make sense if you're over the age of 30 and the second half ...
Monkey Dust's view of the expanding Internet and the sad people who live on
it.
The dangers of working from home
The moral being - never buy a laptop with a built-in camera.
What did Tommy Robinson say that was racist?
What I found interesting in the above clip was the number people who kept
telling Tommy that "you've had your chance to talk" whilst shouting him
down and ignoring his points, preferring to use the tried and tested
leftist technique of shutting down debate by calling someone 'a racist'.
Do watch this video clip and please explain what Tommy Robinson said that
was racist.
Argentina: The 2010 Laguna del Monte Case - Revisited
*Source: Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogía & Planeta UFO
Date: 06.17.2013*
*Argentina: The 2010 Laguna del Monte Case – Revisited*
*By Victor Manuel Jara*
[*Readers of INEXPLICATA will recall the strange alleged CE-3 we featured
on July 28, 2010, brought to us by Luis Burgos of the Fundación Argentina
de Ovnilogía and his team. We now present a follow-up on the photo analysis
– SC*]
SAN MIGUEL DEL MONTE is the seat of the district bearing the same name in
the province of Buenos Aires, located 107 kilometers distant from Capital
Federal. Its extensive lagoon and proximity to our cit... more »
The Shadow CIA Was Instrumental In The Taking of American Hostages In Iran
*'Argo' rehashes the popular myths about the Iranian Islamic Revolution of
1979. The film's production was overseen by CIA consultants just like the
film 'Zero Dark Thirty' that dramatized the lie about the official death of
Osama bin Laden. *
"It is not the writers who have reintroduced the devil, but it is our
present world which has forced them to take notice of him again. As a
friend of mine once remarked: ‘I don’t know about angels, but I don’t see
how one can possibly doubt the devil.’ Luther’s advice to laugh at the
devil *quia est superbus spiritus et non potest ferre con... more »
Alex Jones - Obama's Orwellian Panopticon Surveillance Grid
Photo: The President of America monitoring your phone calls (to stop the
terrorists, of course).
Alex Jones - Obama's Orwellian Panopticon Surveillance Grid
Since 2012
Okay. So, since 2012 we've known about the election fraud (on top of
contempt for Parliament, and the cynical abuse of the power of prorogation
to a) avoid a vote of non-confidence and b) avoid scrutiny on war crimes).
This is a fact. The harpercons' abuses have been monumental since 2009 and
they went into overdrive in 2011. From 2011 to today, 2013, we have been
living under a corrupt, anti-democratic, fraudulently elected regime.
And what have we done about it???
What have the Opposition parties done about it?
What have the leaders of the protest movements done about it?
What ha... more »
Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum reportedly in custody CBC News
No details yet. But a story that makes Toronto's follies looks like a
trifle! Quebec is always a leader in Canada,,,
The BBC protecting Barack Obama's reputation in the UK
CNN are reporting that:
'President Barack Obama’s approval rating dropped 8 percentage points over
the last month, and for the first time in his presidency more than half of
the public doesn’t feel that the president is honest and trustworthy, a new
CNN/ORC International poll shows.
A sharp 17-point drop among Americans under 30 fueled the drop in Obama’s
approval rating.
The poll was conducted as the White House has been under siege over
telephone and Internet surveillance, the Internal Revenue Service’s
targeting of conservative groups, its handling of the terror attack on the... more »
Pol. Ideology 43: On BIG Government Fetish
A friend in our UPSE Alumni yahoogroups, a senior government official,
asked if my critique of BIG government has any reference to him/her. I said
NO, my critique is always on the institution, never on any person.
I myself was a fan of BIG, socialist government more than two decades ago.
I wanted the fruits of the profit system and capitalism to be confiscated
by the state, to be given to the poor including the lazy and irresponsible
people.
I prefer to attack institutions that are creators of many urban legends,
like the UN, WWF, Greenpeace for their "man-made" or anthropogenic glo... more »
Kahlil Gibran, "A Poet's Voice XV, Part Four"
"A Poet's Voice XV, Part Four"
by Kahlil Gibran
"You are my brother, but why are you quarreling with me? Why do you invade
my country and try to subjugate me for the sake of pleasing those who are
seeking glory and authority?
Why do you leave your wife and children and follow Death to the distant
land for the sake of those who buy glory with your blood, and high honor
with your mother's tears?
Is it an honor for a man to kill his brother man? If you deem it an honor,
let it be an act of worship, and erect a temple to Cain who slew his
brother Abel.
Is self-preservation the f... more »
"What Is Your Task?"
"Said a philosopher to a street sweeper, “I pity you. Yours is a hard and
dirty task.” And the street sweeper said, “Thank you, sir. But tell me,
what is your task?” And the philosopher answered saying, “I study man's
mind, his deeds and his desires.” Then the street sweeper went on with his
sweeping and said with a smile, “I pity you too.”
- Kahlil Gibran
Monday Morning Linkage
Good morning. Here are some loosely connected articles on development,
bureaucracy, and state power… I am quite take by James Ferguson‘s metaphor
of “swarming state power” as an alternative to James Scott’s “controlling
state power” and thus as a way of understanding contemporary “development”
(a discourse whose objects have apparently all but abandoned progress for
Continue reading
"What Will We Talk About Today, You and I?"
A Comment: Long time readers know there is zero tolerance for racism and
bigotry here. This article contains the vile "N" word, which you will never
see here again, expressed repeatedly by the articles author. In their book
"Cobra II," Michael R. Gordon and Gen. Bernard E. Trainor offer this ugly
comment from a senior officer of the US Army's 4th Infantry Division: "The
only thing these sand niggers understand is force and I'm about to
introduce them to it." While not admitted publicly, that term is widely
used within the American military, along with "ragheads", "jihadis" and
othe... more »
"A Prayer for the World"
* *
*"A Prayer for the World"*
"Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges,
the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations.
Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect.
Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly,
So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin color.
Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness,
So that we can share the joys and feel the sorrow of our neighbors.
And let the... more »
"What Is Life?"
"What is life? An illusion, a dream, a fiction, and the biggest well is
small,
because all life is a dream, and the dreams, themselves are only dreams.'
- Calderon de la Barca
"Bright Terrible Spirit"
* "Bright Terrible Spirit"*
"But in days past, I was a lawyer. Yes, a lawyer, can you believe it? It
seems… ridiculous now, doesn't it? An orderly system meant to govern human
society, to establish justice, to advance the progress and enlightenment of
the human race. Yet that system, that civil cosmos – to which I was so
passionately committed – embraced and protected the most wretched evils,
entrenched the powerful in their unjust privilege, oppressed the poor and
weak most relentlessly and wickedly, yet at every step – at every step –
sang hosannas to itself as some kind of d... more »
Monsanto Video Revolt: Massive Grassroots Campaign Launched Against GMOs, Monsanto
Monsanto Video Revolt: Massive Grassroots Campaign Launched Against GMOs,
Monsanto
Natural Society, 14 June 2013
It is with great excitement that I am able to announce a massive new
grassroots campaign against Monsanto that kicks the intellectual war
against GMOs into warp speed. Following the great success of campaigns like
March Against Monsanto, the new* Monsanto Video Revolt brings the online
revolution against Monsanto to life by enabling powerful activism on and
before July 24th, 2013*.
The Monsanto Video Revolt campaign acts as a proverbial stake into the
barely-beatin... more »
Fighting censorship...
Apparently the Chinese authorities are stopping their population from
seeing this lovely comparison of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger with Chinese
president Xi Jinping and Barack Obama. How cruel...
TOP PEOPLE TURN AGAINST ZIONISTS ON SYRIA
*Zbigniew Brzezinski*
Zbigniew Brzezinski says that the decision to arm the Syrian rebels is a
huge mistake.
Zbig: Obama Syria plan is 'chaos, baffling, a mess, tragedy
*Popular London Mayor Boris Johnson, representing the non-Zionist faction.*
*In the UK, London Mayor Boris Johnson, a rival to the Zionist UK prime
minister David Cameron, says: 'Don't arm the Syria maniacs.'*
*Ex-Army leader Lord Dannatt, and a majority of Cameron's own members of
parliament, agree with Johnson. *
Cameron has been warned that he could be defeated in parliament if there is
a vote on arming the re... more »
If you don't have the time to read the whole article, fast forward to the short video at the end (where the 2006 version of Joe Biden debates the 2013 version of Barack Obama)!
------------------------------
On Prism, partisanship and propaganda
Addressing many of the issues arising from last week's NSA stories
------------------------------
Glenn Greenwald
guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 June 2013 20.17 BST
------------------------------
James Clapper, on Saturday decried the release of the information and said
media reports about it have been inaccurate Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty
Images*(Updated below - Update II - Update III)*
I haven't been able to write this week here because I've been participating
in the debate over the fallout from last wee... more »
All proofs in natural and social sciences ultimately depend on probabilities
Mel B. has sent me a link pointing to a rather incredible attack by an
economics professor on the statistical methods in science that was
published in the Financial Post:
Junk Science Week: Unsignificant statistics
Stephen Ziliak doesn't want to believe the existence of the Higgs boson –
or any other "proof" in science that is based on the notion of statistical
significance. In fact, we learn – in big fonts – that
Statistical significance is junk science, and its big piles of nonsense are
spoiling the research of more than particle physicists.
Wow. It's remarkable because with this... more »
Musical Interlude: Moody Blues, "Dawning Is The Day"
Moody Blues, "Dawning Is The Day"
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRBSsyowtVc
June 16, 1973
The Ervin Committee hearings have been continuing. The most important
witness so far has been Jeb Magruder, but at this point everyone is waiting
for John Dean. On the 16th, Dean does his pre-testimony in a closed
session. That was the standard committee procedure, but Dean had resisted
-- he and his lawyers wanted to stage manage his own testimony, and the
executive session ran the risk that his bombshells would be leaked
according to someone else's agenda.
Dean was supposed to begin his public, televised testimony during the week
of June 18th, but Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leade... more »
FREE WORLD ORDER - Rap Juice Media - Robert Foster does NSA/Prism whistleblower Edward Snowden
did he really just use the phrase FREE WORLD ORDER?
nice
IS THE PUBLIC INTERESTED?
we'll have to wait until nobody says nothin'
Your moment of Zen
He said, she said and the sun don't care. [Photo credit via Saffron606]
Since Brad Wall Is On A Roll ... He Should Ask Stephen Harper To Come Clean With Canadians About The Duffy/Wright Affair...
[image: Progressive Bloggers] * *
*Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is on a roll. His challenge of Justin
Trudeau's speaking fees (while sitting as an MP) garnered lots of
attention. Enough attention that Mr. Trudeau has since reconsidered his
original stance.*
*
**So .. Premier Wall .. you're on a roll. Pick up the phone and call your
old friend, the Prime Minister.*
**
*Ask him how Nigel Wright's 'cheque' went from being an 'honourable act' to
requiring his rapid departure from the PMO.*
*
**Surely Canadians have a right to know what happens with our tax money ...
you know the wage... more »
Drug Price Control 34: No Single National Price, And a Wailing Cat
Among the reasons often cited why some groups propose government price
control of certain commodities is that the local price of the same product
by the same manufacturer is higher compared to other countries in the
developing world. The assumption is that since it is (a) same product (b)
made by the same manufacturer, then the price should be generally the same.
This assumption is intrinsically wrong because it assumes that there is
only one price in one country or city for each product that satisfies (a)
and (b) conditions above. For instance, the price of a can of coca cola
350 ... more »
Happy Father's Day & Updates
Three things I'd like to mention quickly.
*First*, Happy Father's Day Dad, I miss you already. Thanks for being the
honest, hard-working, dedicated father you always have been and always will
be. You truly are one of a kind. I feel blessed knowing I have such a
wonderful, responsible father I can always and forever count on.
Below is a photo of my Dad and I fishing where the Platte River meets the
Missouri River when I was visiting Nebraska recently. Makes me want to
move back to Nebraska!
*Second*, I set up a TalkShoe account where I will be broadcasting The
Realist Report... more »
#SurveillanceState: As I was saying on the phone last night…
As I was saying on the phone last night…
The right to privacy rests largely on a presumption of innocence [says
Wendy McElroy]. It assumes that — in the absence of evidence of wrongdoing
— an individual has a right to shut his front door and tell other people
(including government) to mind their own business.
Today, this assumption has been twisted inside out so that a desire for
privacy means you have something to hide. You are expected to prove your
innocence by revealing every financial transaction, by filling in pages of
government paperwork, by allowing state agents to frisk ... more »
Meet & Greet Monday (#MtaGt) - Crazy 4 Green
Welcome
to Meet & Greet Monday, a regular series designed to grow our
green
community.
[image: A link-up for green blogs on Reduce Footprints Blog]
Banner by Art Ist
Grab our banner for your site:
*The
rules:*
1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or
collection
of environment... more »
*The
rules:*
1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or
collection
of environment... more » Oh no, Pam Spaulding is closing down "Pam's House Blend"
*Thanks, Pam!*
*by Ken*
Just because the bombshell wasn't all that surprising doesn't make it less
of a bombshell, or less of a cause for sadness. Today Pam Spaulding made it
official: "Goodbye Pam’s House Blend: after nine years, closing the
coffeehouse July 1." ("Pam's House Blend" is currently hosted at
FireDogLake.)
All good things must come to an end, even after numerous awards and
accolades, it’s time to acknowledge that I cannot continue to run on fumes
alone. The Blend could continue limping along, but my health and well-being
come first; over the last few years burning t... more »
Jan Brewer, crazy but not stupid
No news because, Father's Day weekend, but didn't get around to posting
this earlier and it's still worth mentioning. She's been a poster girl for
crackpot conservatism, but apparently Jan Brewer understands the value of
free money and figured out the economics of keeping uninsured people out of
the ER is cost effective for the state's finances.
After a marathon session that lasted until nearly 4 in the morning on
Thursday, the Arizona House approved a plan backed by Republican Gov. Jan
Brewer to expand Medicaid under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care
Act by providing health... more »
Does opposing Obama make you a racist?
Does opposing Obama make you a racist?
No?
Then how about opposing the Maori Party?
Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission
to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Click-bait journalism means never having to admit you screwed up
So last night CNet's Declan McCullugh posted a story with the red siren
hed, "NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants — National
Security Agency." You'll be shocked to learn, by this morning Declan's
sloppy click-baiting turned out to be pretty much false, apparently based
on his misinterpretation of a stray comment by Congressman Jerrold Nadler
at some hearing.
Congressman Nadler corrected the misreporting today. [Transcript of the
full convo at the link.] As The Atlantic notes in their piece the NSA
click-baiting is even bigger than just this one point.
Seeing... more »
Business 360 8: TPP, RCEP, SAARC and Free Trade
* This is my article for the June 2013 issue of the business magazine in
Kathmandu, Nepal. The person in the cover is a friend, Robin Sitoula,
President of a free market think tank in Kathmandu, Samriddhi Prosperity
Foundation.
--------
*TPP, RCEP, SAARC and Free Trade*
If people are left alone to buy or sell something, they would wish that
they are given full freedom to choose their buyers and sellers. They would
not wish some external bodies to tell and prohibit them from trading with
certain groups of people or economies.
In the Asia-Pacific area, the Asia Pacific Economic Coope... more »
Political Science 101 . . .
Yup, that pretty much sums 'er up.
AMAZEBALLS: Rachel Maddow's Ignorance on Iran
MSNBC
host Rachel Maddow has a penchant for saying smug, self-satisfied and
generally stupid things about Iran. She has claimed that the Iranian
Revolution in 1979 marked the establishment of a dictatorship in that
country, rather than end of one; one that just so happened to be a
monarchic dynasty that was proudly supported for decades by the United
States government. Just two months ago, she
Quote of the day: Keynes takes a bath
"Keynesians think that you can take water from the
deep end of the swimming pool, pump it into the
shallow end of the swimming pool and somehow
the water level of the swimming pool will rise."
– Thomas Woods
Discuss, with reference to this cartoon…
[image: BrokenWindowsI]
Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission
to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Can Florida Democrats Blow The 2014 Gubernatorial Race?
Last week, Florida politics expert Steve Schale had a cautiously optimistic
analysis of how his state's electorate has changed since 2006 and what it
portends for the future. Since the 2006 election, the total number of
active registered voters in Florida has grown from 10,433.849 to 11,934,446
voters and of those million and a half new voters, 61% are either black or
Hispanic. Here's the kicker: only 6% of them registered as Republicans. On
top of that, over 50% of Hispanic voter registration growth has accrued to
the Democrats, while the Republicans account for only 12%. Schale e... more »
Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, “Whisper To Me”
Liquid Mind, “Whisper To Me”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpfrRz-jcS8
Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, “Whisper To Me”
Liquid Mind, “Whisper To Me”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpfrRz-jcS8
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Sharpless 115 stands just north and west of Deneb, the alpha star of
Cygnus the Swan in planet Earth's skies. Noted in the 1959 catalog by
astronomer Stewart Sharpless (as Sh2-115) the faint but lovely emission
nebula lies along the edge of one of the outer Milky Way's giant molecular
clouds, about 7,500 light-years away.
*Click image for larger size.*
Shining with the light of ionized atoms of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen in
this Hubble palette color composite image, the nebular glow is powered by
hot stars in star cluster Berkeley 90. The cluster stars are likely only
100 ... more »
Chet Raymo, “The Sea Grows Old In It”
* *
* “The Sea Grows Old In It”*
by Chet Raymo
“The poet, like the electric [lightning] rod, must reach from a point
nearer to the sky than all surrounding objects down to the earth, and down
to the dark wet soil, or neither is of use. The poet must not only converse
with pure thought, but he must demonstrate it almost to the senses. His
words must be pictures, his verses must be spheres and cubes, to be seen,
and smelled and handled.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Ah, Mr. Emerson. This seems about as good a description of poetry as one
is likely to find. I love the image. Not a hand r... more »
Washington Aims To Provoke A Sunni-Shiite Conflict To Destroy The Muslim World
*Obama Embraces Neocons' War Against Syria*.
There is no sectarian war in Syria. The war is about political issues, not
religious differences. The Sunni-Shiite rivalry is being played up by
Washington and its money-loving slaves in the Gulf states in order to
divide the Muslim world and eventually destroy it.
Washington is doing this because it does not want Muslims to unite and
challenge its hegemonic policies and Israel's aggressive, expansionist
agenda.
The biggest crime is that Washington is funding the massacre of innocent
Shiite citizens in Syria to get a Sunni-Shiite wa... more »
Piece of Shit
Canadians did not have proper respect for their democracy. And so they
elected cretins and allowed themselves to be fleeced. Some of us went
through the futility of ceremonial protests.
And trolls show up here and snicker and giggle like the demented
shit-stains that they are.
On What I Eat These Days
"I forget most of what I have read, just as I do most of what I have eaten,
but I know that both contribute no less to the conservation of my mind and
my body on that account." - Georg Christop Lichtenberg on food frequency
questionnaires.
I've procrastinated about this ever since Peter Hyperlipid posted his own
classic eating update a while back, trying to contextualize what purpose a
similar post of my own might serve. Ah-Ha! I see. OK then.
Basically, it's good to know these things can be done, are being done, and
the reasons for certain decisions are probably worth revisiting.
M... more »
Paulo Coelho
* *
*"The Code of the Desert”*
by Paulo Coelho
"Two men were crossing the desert when they saw a Bedouin’s tent and asked
him for shelter. Even though he did not know them, he welcomed them in the
way that the conduct of nomads dictates: a camel was killed and its meat
served in a sumptuous dinner. The next day, the two strangers woke early
and decided to continue on their journey. As the Bedouin was not at home,
they gave his wife a hundred dinars, apologizing for not being able to
wait, because if they spent any more time there, the sun would become too
strong for them to trave... more »
The five stages of living in a #SurveillanceState
Over the weekend, the extent of NSA surveillance of Americans became even
more evident:
Not just metadata: "NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without
warrants as well."
So you might say that yesterday's conspiracy theory is today's sad
reality...
Bryce Edwards answers, or tries to, the question that might occur to every
New Zealander about now:
Many have been wondering this week if New Zealanders are routinely spied
upon by the United States’ NSA. International reports would suggest that we
are and many journalists and commentators asking the Government whether it
receiv... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Thanks for stopping by.
(The building pictured, by the way, is a railway station. - CP)
The Economy: “Washington Signals Deep Dollar Concerns”
*“Washington Signals Deep Dollar Concerns”*
by Paul Craig Roberts
“Over the past month there has been a statistically improbable concurrence
of events that can only be explained as a conspiracy to protect the dollar
from the Federal Reserve’s policy of Quantitative Easing (QE). Quantitative
Easing is the term given to the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing 1,000
billion new dollars annually in order to finance the US budget deficit by
purchasing US Treasury bonds and to keep the prices high of debt-related
derivatives on the “banks too big to fail” (BTBF) balance sheets by
pur... more »
Video of Northrop Frye Receiving An Honorary Degree In Zagreb, Croatia In 1990
"I come from a country which has been fortunate in having less violence,
bloodshed, and tyranny, and betrayal, and uprising, than most of the
countries of Europe. Nevertheless, I feel that I have lived through as much
history of the 20th century in Canada as should I have done in any other
country." - Northrop Frye in a speech upon receiving an honorary doctorate
at the University of Zagreb in Croatia in September 1990. Frye "was a
Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most
influential of the 20th century," (*Wikipedia*).
Video Title: Northrop H. ... more »
Washington Arms Cannibals In Syria
An excerpt from *"Putin warns West not to arm organ-eating Syrian rebels,"*by Alexei Anishchuk (Reuters, June 16):
Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned on Sunday why the West would
want to arm Syrian rebels who he said ate human organs, saying plans to
give them weapons contradicted basic human values.
Speaking after meeting Prime Minister David Cameron in London ahead of a
G8 summit on Monday, Putin said both the Syrian government and Syrian rebelswere to blame for the bloodshed.
*"You will not deny that one does not really need to support the people
who not only kill ... more »
Defend Havasupai Sacred Land from Uranium Mining at Grand Canyon June 2013
Protest
reopening of Canyon Uranium Mine June 21, 2013 at Red Butte, Havasupai
land, Grand Canyon
Photos by Dawn Dyer
Censored News
www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
You are welcome to a three day gathering just south of Grand Canyon
National Park, with main gathering happening at dawn June 21st right on
Hwy. 64. We will protest the re-opening of Canyon Uranium Mine on Native
sacred
"Philly Closes 23 Public Schools, Generously Builds $400 Million Prison Where Kids Can Hang Instead"
* *
*"Philly Closes 23 Public Schools, *
*Generously Builds $400 Million Prison Where Kids Can Hang Instead"*
By Kristen Gwynne
"Philadelphia is so broke the city is closing 23 public schools, never mind
that it has the cash to build a $400 million prison. Construction on the
penitentiary said to be "the second-most expensive state project ever"
began just days after the Pennsylvania School Reform Commission voted down
a plan to close only four of the 27 schools scheduled to die. Facing a $304
million debt, the Commission instead approved a measly $2.4 billion budget
that would... more »
End housing inflation now
Property commentator Hugh Pavletich reckons yesterday's TV One *Sunday*programme on house pricesis a “must view.”
The economist Shamubeel Eaqub … explained exceptionally well the massive
risks of bubble housing markets and excessive mortgage debt…
In normal housing markets, housing does not exceed 3.0 times annual
household income, requiring mortgage loads of about 2.5 times. (Lending
multiples must mirror median multiples.)
As Shamubeel Eaqub explained (with Auckland and Christchurch currently on
7 Median Multiples), $100,000 household income families are loading
themselves up... more »
Hilarion June 16, 2013
June 16-23, 2013
Beloved Ones,
The days that are before you bring deeper connections to the light that is
within you. Most of you are now connecting your innate being to Mother
Earth on a daily basis and this is helping you to stay grounded in your
perceptions of the world around you. There is much that is happening that
is helping to create the changes that are necessary to move humanity
forward into greater awareness and consciousness. The awakening on a mass
level is now occurring and this is something that every soul upon the
planet has chosen at their soul level. At soul... more »
Sunday Question for Liberals
Eric Holder: weak link in the Obama cabinet who should be replaced, or
target of a bum rap?
INSIDE THE BASKETBALL STORY
After making basketball history playing alongside the North Korean National
Team, Vice Correspondent, Ryan Duffy and the Harlem Globetrotters sit down
for a meal with the North Korean players, sharing highlights from the game
and reactions to the surprise appearance of the Grand Marshall, Kim Jong Un.
Two years ago . . .
AS
THE PERSECUTION of Julian Assange was getting organized, things were in
their early stages, and on 23 of June, 2011 a secret five hour meeting
took place between Julian and Eric Schmidt, who is the CEO of Google.
Wikileaks has the complete transcript. It gets a bit technical, but you
can get through that, and ponder.
This meeting discusses the current state-of-things, and gives an
Inventor of the Day: Leo James
[image: James-Leo_1]I’d like to help bring back an almost-forgotten word:
the word “inventor,” being a person taken for granted by economists and
politicians yet without whom our lives would be very much worse. Or, to
put it positively, a person who by ingenuity or imagination produces a new
means by which human life is made better—demonstrating the fundamental role
that reason plays in furthering human life.
This post then is the first in an occasional series on this blog of
inventors who’ve improved, or will improve, our lives.
Our inventor of the day today is Leo James and hi... more »
Reactionary New Dems Help GOP Pass A Fatally Flawed National Defense Authorization Act
On Friday, the House passed Buck McKeon's tragically flawed National
Defense Authorization Act, 315-108. All but 18 Republicans voted YES. The
Democratic minority was much more split. Hoyer and Steve Israel led 103 of
the more corrupt and conservative Democrats over to the Republican side of
the aisle, while Pelosi, Clyburn and Becerra led a contingent of 90 more
progressive Democrats against it, folks like Alan Grayson, Barbara Lee,
Raul Grijalva, Keith Ellison, John Conyers, Mark Pocan, Jerry Nadler, Jan
Schakowsky. As always, uber-corrupt New Dem Colleen Hanabusa, who takes
imm... more »
Sunday Question for Conservatives
Chris Christie: half (at least) RINO who at best is the best to hope for in
New Jersey, but certainly should be nowhere near a national ticket? Or: a
promising conservative presidential candidate?
Elder of Ziyon: Egyptian cleric recommends viewers read "Protocols of Elders of Zion"
More news from Egypt that you won't hear on the BBC... including:
'*The confrontation [with the Jews] is inevitable. Our Prophet does not lie*.
He told us that there would be a confrontation between the Muslims and the
Jews before the Day of Judgment, and that the Muslims would vanquish them
to the point that the Jews would hide behind the stones and the trees, but
the stones and the trees would say: "Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there
is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." *Prepare for that day, for it will
surely arrive*, because the divine revelation harbors no lies.'
More h... more »
SATANIC SAVILE
*Satanist?*
*The following is from:*
*Interview prep........*
"I remember a man who I think was Savile sticking his tongue in my mouth
when I was a toddler and a group of men in suits laughed about it.
"After that I was taken to various places by various rings and was
introduced to someone who definitely was Savile and was told not to let on
I had met him before...
*William Hague, UK Foreign Secretary, with his friend Savile.*
"We moved out to the country when I was four... I have a strong sense of
ritualised abuse becoming very normal to me very early...
"One time he took me... more »
Princess Festival at Thanksgiving Point Giveaway!
I am so lucky to have a sweet little princess in my life. She is full of
spunk and most of all curiosity. She loves to dress up as any numbers of
things, but princesses rank at the very top. Our trip to Disneyland this
year fell through and she was really disappointed that we weren't going to
be able to see "real princesses," I was completely delighted to find the Princess
Festival and to know that I can make her dream come true. I can't wait to
see the look on her face when we walk into the festival this week.
The Largest and Longest Running Princess Adventure Event in America,... more »
Is that that the reflection of a cornflower, Steve Case, or an egret in the ionosphere?
Here is a link to a list of words that get you marked out by the NSA as a
potential terrorist. These are merely some of the highlights:
Firewalls
Archives
Spookwords
SASP
SACLANT
BECCA
CONUS
WANK
TEXTA
Spetznaz
Reese
15kg
Cornflower
Iris
Talent
Trump
Reflection
Guppy
Ionosphere
Data havens
Keyhole
Artichoke
Daisy
Egret
Sugar Grove
Retinal fetish
Bess
Railgun
1997
8142
1911
1984
Squib
Primacord
Becker
Nerd
Fangs
Sneakers
Steve Case
Sunday Classics: Father's Day special -- Wagner's Daland usually knows better than to trust in the wind
*DALAND*: [*coming down from the cliff*]: No doubt! Seven miles away
the storm has driven us from safe port.
So near our goal after a long voyage,
this trick was saved up for me!
*STEERSMAN* [*on board, shouting through cupped hands*]:
Ho! Captain!
*DALAND*: On board with you -- how goes it?
*STEERSMAN* [*as before*]: Good, captain!
We have firm grounding.
*DALAND*: It's Sandwike! I know the bay well.
*Damn! I already saw my house on the shore.
Senta, my child, I imagined myself already embracing.
Then came this blast from the depths of hell.
Who trusts in wind trusts in Satan's mercy.
Wh... more »
"Gangsta Government"
* *
*"Gangsta Government"*
by William O'Connor
“I’ll let you have the $10,000 for three points. That’s only because I know
you.” I’m listening to Tony yak, my Shylock. Yak, yak has earned the
moniker. He never gives his mouth a rest. Yak’s giving me the loan at
street price: $30 for every $1,000. That’s “juice.” Every week I’ll pay
$300, but nothing comes off the top.
Usury’s a felony. The Yak did a three-and-a -half year stretch for it.
That’s the way it was back in the day. Now, credit card companies make cash
loans at 28 percent with Congress’ blessing. Many Credit card compan... more »
Hillary Mann Leverett On American-Iranian Relations: "We Need To Stop Making This A Zero-Sum Game"
"We need to stop making this a zero-sum game, the United States and our
allies vis-à-vis Iran. It is destroying the Middle East. We need to come to
terms with Iran, accept it, and have constructive relationships with these
countries as they are." - Hillary Mann Leverett, former director of Iran
and Afghanistan Affairs at the National Security Council.
Source: CNN.
SYRIA: BRZEZINSKI ATTACKS INTERVENTION; Hands Off Syria Rally - Sydney
Hands OFF Syria | Facebook
*Brzezinski attacks intervention in Iraq, Libya and Syria.*
*Pro-Assad in Australia*
Merkel in trouble ? Bild polls indicate the answer might be yes ! AFD polling much stronger than let on.....
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/06/germany-election-update-afd-soars-in.html
Sunday, June 16, 2013 1:16 PM
Germany Election Update: AFD Soars in Online Poll
Reader Bernd from Germany (not Bernd Lucke, AfD anti-euro party leader) has
emailed me several times since Friday about polls conducted by the German
tabloid Bild.
Emphasis must be placed on the the word "tabloid" because intellectuals and
academics do not tend to read the paper, nor even acknowledge its existence.
Nonetheless, Bild is the number one readership paper in Germany, by far,
with about 20 million r... more »
NO JUSTICE IN NIGERIA
What would white folks say if their communities were turned into oil
cesspools like this? Why do Nigerians have to live this way?
“Inside 'Prism' Success: Even Bigger Data Seizure”
* *
*“Inside 'Prism' Success: Even Bigger Data Seizure” *
By Stephen Braun, Anne Flaherty, Jack Gillum and Matt Apuzzo
WASHINGTON — “In the months and early years after 9/11, FBI agents began
showing up at Microsoft Corp. more frequently than before, armed with court
orders demanding information on customers. Around the world, government
spies and eavesdroppers were tracking the email and Internet addresses used
by suspected terrorists. Often, those trails led to the world's largest
software company and, at the time, largest email provider. The agents
wanted email archives, accoun... more »
'PM'
Some of my recent posts have rather slipped away from my original intention
to avoid cherry-picking, but the cherries were ripe and hanging low, so I
picked them. Time then to rummage through a whole supermarket shelf of
flavoursome fruits instead, and do so without a pre-prepared shopping list.
(OK, I'll stop that metaphor now!)
How about listening to a whole week's worth of editions of Radio 4's *PM*?
Any bias? Individual segments may seem unbalanced, but what about the
entirety of the programme's output over all its available episodes? If *PM*is strongly biased, some evidence of... more »
Consequences? Did Anyone Say "Consequences?"
Glasnost On the Potomac Under Obama? Not Quite WelL, it would be just like
it except that this praise belongs to those who sold out their progressive
followers by instituting Bush III government. But if you truly think that's
a good thing (even just for security's sake), then you perhaps should move
back (in time) to Soviet Russia, which collapsed due to the inward rot
occurring because the
Forgotten Libya news - Militia mayhem ......Qatar faces regime change - due to health concerns or US pressures ? Depends on whom you believe......
Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
Libya news of note ..... Militias still calling the shots.....
http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/06/13/34848/
Qatar Airways suspends Benghazi flights
*By Maha Ellawati and Aimen Eljali.*
Qatar Airways suspends flights to Benghazi
*Benghazi/Tripoli*.
Qatar Airways has suspended flights between Benghazi and Doha following an
incident yesterday at Benghazi’s Benina Airport when protestors prevented
non-Libyan passengers arriving from Doha from going through passport
control. Said to be mostly Bangladeshis, they were forced to fly back to
Qatar. Libyan passengers heading to Doha were also... more »
Zapatistas Events Summer 2013
Photo street artist Banksy
Space full in communities for the Zapatista little school Zapatista Army for National Liberation Mexico
Seminar Tata Juan Chávez Alonso' open to
all in CIDECI, San
Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, beginning on August 17, 2013
June 2013
Espanol: http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2013/06/17/scuola-posti-esauriti/
Reposted from Enlace Zapatista at Censored
Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, June 16th, 2013
It is Sunday again, and time for my weekly rant about exactly what the hell
is happening in our sick world....
First and foremost.... Today is of course Father's Day, and I want to send
out a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.... We do indeed do a
lot, and put up with a lot.... It is nice to have one day for us....
My father passed away almost 13 and 1/2 years ago due to the ravages of
Alzheimer's Disease... He was in the last stages of Dementia, and his mind
was finally shutting down. It was sad to have to pull the plug on him and
watch him pass away, though peacefully.... more »
Your second moment of Zen
A Lady Liberty, photo taken in 1925. [via]
GAIA PORTAL: Shifting and Reversal of Selected Gateways and Portals…
*
* *Shifting and Reversal of Selected Gateways and Portals…*
by ÉirePort
Shifting and reversal of selected gateways and portals occurs at this
moment. Required to accommodate slowing of some Light worker's ascension
patterns, some of these will revert to prior energetic states, whereas
others will retain the new configuration.
Much occurs during the 6-15-13 (a 6-6-6) to the 6-18-13 (6-9-6) period.
ÉirePort | June 16, 2013 at 07:59 | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:
http://wp.me/p2sFUY-mw
Mohawk Nation News 'Bums Rush'
BUMS
RUSH
Posted on June 16, 2013
Mohawk Nation News
MNN. Jun 15, 2013. We are the biggest contributors in history. Our real
estate, Great Turtle Island, has been illegally put up by foreigners for
the largest economy in the world! The crooks are rushing to eject us
from our land to try to squeeze the last bit of our rights and ever
growing $105 trillion Indian Trust Fund. They will
Obesogens - Have you ever heard of obesogens?
The first paragraphs from an article on Mother Jones – made me take a
journey this morning – I had not planned to make.
I found it interesting and after I found the third source – I felt
comfortable to take the tin foil hat off
– and ask the question, “Why aren’t we seeing this reported anywhere else?”
A chemical common in food packaging—Bisphenol-A (BPA)—has for years been
scrutinized for potential links to reproductive problems, heart disease,
cancer, and even anxiety. And now new research suggests BPA, which leeches
out from things like aluminum cans, drink straws, plastic packa... more »
NSA admits to warrantless wiretapping which only needs an analyst's decision ( no national security letter or FISA warrant ) - Snowden proven correct despite all the blather to the contrary..... At this rate , he will be in Hong Kong many years.....
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-16/nsa-admits-warrantless-wiretapping-according-house-judiciary-committee-member
( Hmm , didn't Edward Snowden say an analyst could wiretap any phone ? )
NSA Admits To Warrantless Wiretapping According To House Judiciary
Committee Member
[image: Tyler Durden's picture]
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/16/2013 10:26 -0400
- FBI
- national security
- Verizon
More confusion, or just more lies? You decide.
In an exchange first caught by CNET, Rep Gerrold Nadler, a New York
Democrat, questioned FBI Director Robert Mueller late last we... more »
Escaping from Earth? See Kepler's Catalog for your journey - we may not be alone after all!
address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 1 day ago
link:
http://youtu.be/ZbijeR_AALo
Are we alone in the Cosmos? No, we aren't... Then: where are 'they'?
Hereand
there. Between science-fiction and *science-fact* sits the NASA
KEPLERProject. High-Science of the very best on Earth. It will take
another 2 or
3 years (if the project continues) to deliver *conclusive evidence* that
our planet may not be the single, unique one to support life. The next
step
might be a revision of propulsion methods and systems to venture out
"where
nobody went before". Interesting stuff for travel agents! What about
some
holidays on Gliese 581g? I can hard... more »
Is It Time to Wake Up - People?
*Think about it people!*
*It's really time to stop *
*and think about it.*
Across the United States they are hellbent on destroying any and every
union (which is the most salient representation of democracy in the US).
They came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Across the United States they are hellbent labeling activists terrorist -
whether it is a peaceful rally, an action against XL or actions against
animal cruelty.
I think of the persecution and prosecution of activists like Aaron Schwartz
and members of Anonymous.
... more »
Education Isn't Enough Anymore
On Friday, Paul Krugman wrote that the technological revolution is leaving
even some of the well educated behind:
Today, however, a much darker picture of the effects of technology on labor
is emerging. In this picture, highly educated workers are as likely as less
educated workers to find themselves displaced and devalued, and pushing for
more education may create as many problems as it solves.
I’ve noted before that the nature of rising inequality in America changed
around 2000. Until then, it was all about worker versus worker; the
distribution of income between labor and cap... more »
Harvey Organ's Gold and Silver Report - June 13 , 2013 ! Ed Steer's Report for June 14 , 2013 .....Data , News and Views !
Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/edition/goldmoney-interviews-sprotts-john-embry-on-golds-prospects
GoldMoney Interviews Sprott’s John Embry on Gold’s Prospects
Jun
*14*
- Yesterday in Gold and Silver
- Critical Reads
- The Funnies
- The Wrap
RetweetShare
"We're still stuck in the sub-$1,400 holding pattern in gold."
¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD & SILVER
Gold's attempt to rally in morning trading in the Far East ran into a
seller of last resort around noon in Tokyo...and from there it was all
quietly down hill into the 9:30 open of the New York equity markets. The
subsequent ral... more »
ACTION: Support Bernie Sanders Privacy Act
*This man fights for US every day in every way - he is one of a kind in
today's usele$$ Congre$$.*
*Show him some love by bookmarking his webpage*
*AND*
*Signing the things that he puts on his webpage.*
*The Restore Our Privacy Act *
*Sign your name and support the Restore Our Privacy Act. *
*>>>>HERE<<<*
Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Restore Our Privacy Act to put strict
limits on sweeping powers used by the National Security Agency and Federal
Bureau of Investigation to secretly track telephone calls by millions of
innocent Americans who are not suspected of any wrongdoing.
... more »
We’re #10, We’re #10 !
Ah yes, the public likes lists. We like to quantify even the unmeasurable
and know where we stand. Hence the annual ranking of school districts by a
publication in the Buffalo area that no one ever reads, except when it
publishes a list of “top school districts”. What a great marketing ploy.
And it works. […]
Greek Gamble - muzzling reporting - what about democracy?
address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 1 day ago
Link: http://youtu.be/GNwaVrZa-9o
One might argue that State Television is for propaganda purposes only. But
what competition offer commercial networks? For instance check-out the
German media infrastructure, their state run ZDF and ARD entertainment-,
news- and information programs versus the commercial ones. Take a look at
Bayern TV as well and its bewildering 24/7 naive love-song on the beauty of
the region, only now and then interrupted by mostly conservative political
propaganda and some insignificant documentaries about religion, exotic
foreign sceneries, cooking and rural ac... more »
Did Weyrich Kill the Republicon Party?
An interesting piece *on HuffPo *this morning – if you take the time to
think about it – rather than just read it.
In relation to this – it’s important to remember that is was 40+ years ago
that Paul Weyrich pulled the “Moral Majority” together and did all his
nastiness with other organizations because he felt that the
ultraconservatives in our nation had lost their stronghold on the political
process.
Today, because of tenacity and evilness of Weyrich (and others) that is no
longer the case – the RWNJ’s have too much power. But it's not turning out
to be the success story Weyri... more »
Throwing juice isn't the way to go
Someone, now charged with assault, threw juice at Rob Ford.
Twitter lit up with those cheering her act while others deplored it.
Myself? I just see it as a rather weak media stunt.
When a protestor threw a show towards George Bush it resonated as there was
a deep cultural significance. Ain't no such thing with juice.
I am not an apologist for Mayor Ford. I didn't back him in the last
election; but he did win on a clear mandate. I have concerns for him as a
person - I fear he is deeply unhealthy. I'd prefer him not to be Mayor.
But throwing juice? Just wrong.
Subscription Is Coming
Subscription business often make good business sense to both the service
provider and the consumer. For the service provider it enables them to
build a sustainable and predictable revenue stream where the peaks and
troughs of fads and the unpredictability of demand is cushioned by the
width and depth of offer. They still have to manage down the exposure to
churn, but have the opportunity to build customer loyalty and relationship.
For the consumer it offers the obvious one stop shop and protection from
change in what today is often dynamically changing markets.
Media, technology,... more »
Your moment of Zen
Happy Dad's Day if it fits your circumstances. For me, it's different now.
Second year since my Pop died. Still miss him just as much as the first day
he left but you make peace with the absence over time.
Mr. Obama! Mr. Cameron! We Must Arm The Turkish Rebels Now!
.
Recent polls show that only 48% of the country living outside Instanbul
support Turkey's Prime Minister, Mr Erdogan while inside Istanbul that
figure collapses to a mere and shocking 30%.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/163061/turks-grew-discontent-leaders-freedom-unrest.aspx
Similar polls in Syria as revealed by NATO sources, no less, reveal that Mr
Assad enjoys 70% support from the Syrian people while only 10% oppose his
rule.
http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/05/31/nato-data-assad-winning-the-war-for-syrians-hearts-and-minds/
Mr Obama! Mr. Cameron! Of course we must arm the Syrian ... more »
WI GOP - Being 50 of 50 A-OK!!
There is a diary on Daily Kos this morning – that kinda helps to lift a
cloud of confusion. It is about Wisconsin - but applies almost anywhere ,
I suspect.
A recent survey on Wisconsin – begins to remove the fog around the "WTF?"
That the rest of us are mumbling every day.
It is well worth your read – It’s not horribly long – and even though you
will be saying WTF? throughout – it will start to lift the fog.
And the scary part if that this is not just limited to Wisconsin - I bet if
you took a different state where an economic distaster has happened under a
RepubliCON legislatu... more »
TURKISH NIGHT
Last night at 9.00 PM police forces intervened against the Istanbul Gezi
Park resistance violently, following the speech of Prime Minister Erdoğan
in Ankara.
This is an obvious declaration of war against the people.
All main highways of Istanbul were occupied by demonstrators. Tens of
thousands of people were in the streets, trying to march to Taksim square.
Police uses not only tear gas but also rubber bullets.
Prime Minister Erdoğan also ordered that doctors and medical volunteers who
were treating the victims of police violence should be arrested and many
were. One hotel in t... more »
Saudi cleric promises Jihadists that their 72 virgins will be fair-skinned white women
More here
http://topconservativenews.com/2013/06/saudi-cleric-promises-jihadists-that-their-72-virgins-will-be-fair-skinned-white-women/
More from the apartheid state of Saudi Arabia.
Don't expect any reporting of this on the BBC for whom Israel is the only
apartheid state and Islamic states are beyond criticism.
Does The Pope Refuse To Live In The Papal Apartments Because He Knows The Curia Will Try To Kill Him?
When the College of Cardinals elects the new Pope, they don't have a magic
wand to give him-- and he's stuck with an entrenched, conservative Curia.
And like all conservatives-- *very* corrupt. There's been a lot in the news
lately about Pope Francis remarking on the "gay lobby" (or, more
accurately, a gay subculture) in the Vatican. That's not really the story
though. This week NPR interviewed Robert Mickens, Vatican correspondent for
the British Catholic weekly *The Tablet*, who reminded them that "many of
these people in the Vatican that are gay, and even acting out, are
extre... more »
Multiple New Polls Show Americans Reject Wholesale NSA Domestic Spying
image source Mark M. Jaycox
*Electronic Frontier Foundation*
In the 1950s and 60s, the NSA spied on all telegrams entering and exiting
the country. The egregious actions were only uncovered after Congress set
up an independent investigation called the Church Committee in the 1970s after
Watergate. When the American public learned about NSA's actions, they
demanded change. And the Church Committee delivered it by providing more
information about the programs and by curtailing the spying.
Just like the American public in the 1970s, Americans in the 2010s know
that when the governmen... more »
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