compilation-band-photo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The suspected relationship of BQP to other problem spaces. Nielsen, p. 42 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Bloch sphere, a geometrical representation of a two-level quantum system. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Farm bill fails in the House
Boehner blames the Democrats for not delivering the votes for him.
In a blow to House GOP leaders, the House on Thursday rejected a five-year
farm bill.
Members voted down the $940 billion bill in a 195-234 vote that only won 24
Democratic votes. Most Democrats voted against the bill because it cut food
stamp programs by more than $20 billion.
The 62 crackpot cons voted against it because it didn't cut food assistance
enough. The crackpots think they might pass it if they make bigger cuts. In
which case Boehner better have all the votes on his side because they'll
likely lose the... more »
Ann Barnhardt advocates for a Federal Tax strike and for abolishment of the IRS ! IRS - Gate updates and Tea Party rally Wednesday ! And is the IRS about to tommy hammer Bitcoin ?
Catharsis Ours - 5 minutes ago
http://www.silverdoctors.com/ann-barnhardt-declare-federal-tax-strike-abolish-the-irs/
ANN BARNHARDT: DECLARE FEDERAL TAX STRIKE, ABOLISH THE IRS?
JUNE 18, 2013 BY THE DOC 5 COMMENTS
*Ann Barnhardt, who last summer warned SD readers that “If you’re still in
these markets you’re either stupid or on drugs!” before the first sign of
bail-in risk to depositors emerged in Western markets is back with another
explosive interview with Elijah Johnson. *
*In the wake of the recent IRS scandal targeting tea-party groups,
Barnhardt discusses her tax revolt against the IRS, declares a federal ta... more »
Jacob Heilbrunn: "There really is no accountability when it comes to American foreign policy"
*Obama in Berlin.*
Below is an excerpt from Jacob Heilbrunn's article, *"Obama and the Failure
of the Syria Debate"* (The National Interest, June 20):
Obama’s moves on Syria have not failed to stir a debate among
intellectuals and the press. Professor David Bromwich, one of our leading
intellectuals, has written a masterful dissection of the Obama
administration’s road to war in the *New York Review of Books*. *One of the
proximate causes of the renaissance of the de facto alliance between
liberal hawks and neocons has been the sorry fact that there really is no
accountabilit... more »
"Skynet Rising: Google Acquires 512-qubit Quantum Computer"
* *
*"Skynet Rising: Google Acquires 512-qubit Quantum Computer; *
*NSA Surveillance To Be Turned Over To AI Machines"*
by Mike Adams
"Most people don't know about the existence of quantum computers. Almost no
one understands how they work, but theories include bizarre-sounding
explanations like, "they reach into alternate universes to derive the
correct answers to highly complex computational problems."
Quantum computers are not made of simple transistors and logic gates like
the CPU on your PC. They don't even function in ways that seem rational to
a typical computing engineer.... more »
Tigre bañándose en el pantano
*Ver más colecciones de imágenes*
Steve and Barry have a little chat
Really excellent background from The Tyee on the outing of the numpty
non-issue of charity speaker gig fees that the Cons used to waste the last
week of the House of Commons before summer recess.
Tyee Bonus : Spot the Lickspittle
And as Dammit Janet asks : Why did no other media outlet but that one tiny
paper, the Barrie Advance, realize that the real story here was the PMO
sending out partisan trumped-up *anonymous* leaks on the taxpayers' dime?
.
Reliance damages in tort and contract
PreMD Inc. v. Ogilvy Renault LLP, 2013 ONCA 412 holds:
[65] The ordinary measure of damages in tort is reliance damages.
The court tries to put the injured party in the position it would have been
in had the tort not been committed. The ordinary measure of damages for
breach of contract is expectation damages. The court tries to put the
injured party in the position it would have been in had the contract been
performed.
[66] In some breach of contract cases, an injured person cannot prove
expectation damages or loss of profits, or the contract has been
unprofitable... more »
Turkey, US cooperate on arms (aid ) to terrorists in Syria (rebels) Doha lurks
*Protesting Turks? The collusion between NATO, Turkey and terrorists
continues.*
Turkey and the United States have intensified political and military
dialogue for strategic planning to smoothly deliver U.S. weapons to the
Mercenary Army: Free Syria Army (FSA)
On the political level, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Secretary of
State John Kerry exchanged two phone calls, one on Saturday and the other
late Wednesday, to discuss recent developments in Syria on the eve of a
crucial core group meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People on Saturday
in Doha. Kerry and Davutog(lu a... more »
Why Won't Alberta Do the Right Thing, Refine Their Bitumen There?
Why build two pipelines instead of just one? Why transport dangerous
dilutent from the Pacific coast all the way to Athabasca just so it can be
transported right back again? Why import dilutent only to then export
it? Why run an oversize diluted bitumen pipeline from Athabasca to the
Pacific coast when a much smaller pipeline transporting fully refined
synthetic crude is all that's really necessary? Why not use just a
fraction of supertankers to export fully refined synthetic crude instead of
far more tankers making far more trips to bring in dilutent and carry out
hazard... more »
At the Chalk Face is back, this Sunday, June 23rd, 6PM EST
At the Chalk Face is back, this Sunday, June 23rd at 6PM EST. Educated
educators talking education, this time on the recent NCTQ report on teacher
preparation. Remember, we are at the helm in the BTR chatroom, live
tweeting @thechalkface, and you can always call in to speak with us live,
805-727-7111. Tagged: at the […]
trouble maker
Somebody
asked me
why I do this
my answer was
"If I don't do it,
who will?"
world peace
'Unfettered Free Market' Stock Exchanges TUMBLE At Hints Of A Slow Down To Taxpayer Funded Corporate Welfare Handouts!
*(Click on image to enlarge ....)*
*Corporate welfare mentality is alive and well amongst some of the richest
business entities in both Canada and the US. Even a hint that taxpayer
support to corporate world, sends them into panic.*
*TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slipped on Wednesday after
comments by the U.S. Federal Reserve that it could begin rolling back its
stimulus program this year weighed on investor sentiment and caused
declines across most sectors.*
*Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank expects to slow the
pace of its bond purchases later t... more »
Tuesday, or Not?
One of the biggest surprises to me recently has been the emergence of
National Review as a location for some quality reporting on Republicans.
I've thought of NRO as mostly a cheerleader site, but with Robert Costa
taking the lead, it's now becoming a place to get information beyond what
today's talking points happen to be. That's good!
That said...I'm more than a little confused about today's item, from
Jonathan Strong, claiming that "The Tuesday Group, a moderate-Republican
caucus long ignored within the House GOP, is quietly starting to fight back
against the conference’s right t... more »
Rachel makes fools of her viewers, part 1!
*THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013*
*A truly ridiculous segment:* In Monday morning’s Washington Post, Laura
Vozzella penned a strange report about Virginia governor Bob McDonnell.
Has the state of Virginia been picking up the tab for some of McDonnell’s
personal expenses? It’s impossible to tell from Vozzella’s report, which
was journalistically peculiar. It’s also very hard to care, so piddling are
the offenses the Post scribe tries to establish.
For a full review of Vozzella's report, see yesterday's post.
McDonnell seems to be in some serious doo-doo concerning a separate matter,
in whi... more »
SNAP! Agricultural Subsidies For Wealthy Republicans-- Starvation For Poor Families-- Sinks GOP Farm Bill
During the Vietnam War I never thought I'd actually return to the U.S. I
was so ashamed of what my country was doing to the people of Southeast
Asia. But one morning I woke up in Amsterdam and realized I had been
dreaming in Dutch. I decided to go home and I was back in America within 2
weeks. I had been away for nearly seven years and I had a real period of
readjustment, especially when I washed up in San Francisco, a city I had
never lived in. I was lucky to have some Sufi connections from the
meditation center I had worked in in Amsterdam and I was lucky to have met
Harvey Milk... more »
R.I.P. Michael Hastings
Michael Hastings on President Obama's drone speech on May 23 and his
administration's counter-terrorism policy:
"Look, the two key things that I took away from that speech is that Obama
has enshrined the two most radical principles of the Bush doctrine. The
first is, oh, he got rid of, sort of got rid of torture and sort of got rid
of extraordinary rendition but enshrines targeted assassination. At the
same time, he doesn't apologize for, he won't apologize for the scandal in
Benghazi, he won't apologize for the, really the IRS is a few bad apples,
and he says, “No, the AP and s... more »
Dear Prudence
As a good proportion of readers are political anoraks, I am sure most of
you will of heard of In the Black Labour, the discussion document put out
at the end of 2011. It made the - controversial for some - argument that as
the British state is caught between the rock of the deficit and the hard
place of public sector debt, it would be foolish for the next Labour
government to promise a spending spree. "Responsibility" and "fiscal
conservatism" should be the watchwords as Labour re-presents itself as the
thoughtful and prudent custodian of the nation's finances.
As you can imagine, ... more »
How Bogus Narratives Perpetuate:The Guardian's Bad Facts on Iran Return
Back
in April, The Guardian newspaper published an article in its Business
section on the supposed sanctions-evading trade relationship between
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and the massive British commodities
broker Glencore. The article, written by Rupert Neale, was riddled with
erroneous statements and speculative presumptions posing as facts.
Most egregious of these was the article's
"More DHS Insider From DC"
* *
* "More DHS Insider From DC"*
By Doug Hagmann
"As noted in my June 7, 2013 report titled "DHS Insider: It’s about to get
very ugly", the additional information provided to me that was temporarily
withheld from publication is now being released. The methodical and
incremental release of information was (and is) deliberate, to allow other
things to play out, such as the public exposure to the name Edward Snowden
and his revelations regarding just how extensive the domestic surveillance
apparatus is—and who the surveillance is actually targeting.
*Back to the early hours of Ju... more »
Spotting Lickspittles
Call me naive, but I can't get over this.
The Prime Minister's Office has been giving reporters 'marching orders'
since May.
Kudos to the weekly Barrie Advancefor exposing the way some journalists are
taking their marching orders from Erica Meekes, a flack in the Prime
Minister's Office.
These edicts from Meekes instructing reporters to attack Harper's political
opponents have been the subject of much chatter amongst the hacks in my
small circle since they began arriving in the email box of a pal in May.
We've been using them to play Spot the Lickspittle -- we Google the key
phras... more »
Drive Thru Educational Service
Apparently someone was under the impression that Southern Man's employer
offers drive-through education services and took their brand new Mustang
down a long sidewalk and past numerous obstacles to plant it squarely in
the college front entrance this morning...
Cell phone photo by Nikita (one of Southern Man's summer students).
photo by fellow professor Tad.
Photo cribbed from a news article.
Later that afternoon crews were still at work reparing damage and preparing
to extract the car.
Note how that right front wheel is twisted. Must have hit pretty hard.
The car came down ... more »
The Future of the Real IRS Scandal!
I saw this from Kevin Drum, who sent me to Dave Weigel, and from there to a
brilliant paper designed to fuel infinite resentment for conservatives,
summarized by James Pethokoukis beginning with this gem:
1. Let’s say Tea Party groups had continued to grow at the pace seen in
2009 and 2010.
And ending with the conclusion that the Democrats stole the 2012 election
by suppressing the Tea Party vote by foot-dragging on certifying their
tax-exempt status.
To which my first reaction is: that's nothing! Of course we should assume
that Tea Party groups would naturally group in Years Three... more »
"How to Disappear Without a Trace"
*"How to Disappear Without a Trace"*
by Bill Bonner
"Travel is tiring. Often, it's our laptop computer that shows the signs of
fatigue first. Yesterday, it got fed up and refused to deliver the mail. We
could neither send nor receive mail... neither from our laptop nor from our
iPhone, which normally accesses our email account.
We should have been delighted. We were in Ireland. Now we had an excuse not
to work. We could pay attention to our surroundings... and enjoy them. But
with no means to contact the outside world, we grew anxious. Who was trying
to contact us? What importan... more »
Google's Eye On the World.
Google Alerts is a fine source of news from around the world on almost any
topic that interests you. Every day Google delivers to your inbox an
array of linked headlines that you can then pore over at your leisure.
Some of the topics I monitor through Google Alerts include drought, floods,
the water crisis, climate change, inequality, war and arms races. Through
these alerts you can access a lot of information that would never make it
into our domestic media. Over time you build up a picture of what's
happening where and when and the magnitude of the issue from one region to
... more »
Priests for Life send letter to Pelosi...
*telling her what her bishop should be telling her.*
*From Priests for Life: *
Dear Mrs. Pelosi,
Last Thursday, June 13, you were asked a question in a press briefing that
you declined to answer. The question was, *"What is the moral difference
between what Dr. Gosnell did to a baby born alive at 23 weeks and aborting
her moments before birth?"*
Given the fact that the Gosnell case has been national news for months now,
and that Congress, where you serve as House Democratic Leader, was about to
have a vote on banning abortion after 20 weeks fetal age, this was a
legitimate questi... more »
TRAVEL / David P. Hamilton : Aubervilliers Is Paris 'Red Belt' Suburb That Defies Expectations
Some
public housing units were interspersed with gardens and balconies,
connected by curving pedestrian walkways. Photos by Sally Hamilton / The
Rag Blog.
Paris suburb defies expectations:
Visiting Aubervilliers in the 'Red Belt'
Although Aubervilliers at night might be a scary proposition for an
American senior with less than perfect French, it is safer than hundreds
of places in the U.S.
CONTEST TIME: Nick Ruiz Is Into The Cult
My first serious, non-hippie job-- my friend Andy started calling me
"corporate Howie"-- was working for Sire Records. At the first label
meeting, Seymour Stein assigned me responsibilty for The Ramones, Talking
Heads, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Erasure, The Replacements, Echo and the
Bunnymen, Ice-T, Aztec Camera, Book of Love, Throwing Muses, the Tom Tom
Club, Ofra Haza, Yaz, Seal, k.d. lang, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, My Bloody
Valentine, Dinosaur Jr. and The Pretenders. Seymour said I looked glum.
"What's the matter? You're not getting Madonna." I responded, "I don't want
Madon... more »
Get Lucky - Five pianist style
That's The Daft Pianists
This is the Daft Punk original
Untitled
“The apocalypse is not something which is coming. The apocalypse has
arrived in major portions of the planet and it’s only because we live
within a bubble of incredible privilege and social insulation that we still
have the luxury of anticipating the apocalypse.”
― Terence McKenna
Iraq’s Kurdistan Postpones Presidential And Constitutional Vote
September 2013 was the date set for voting on the Kurdistan Regional
Government’s (KRG) president and parliament. The balloting was surrounded
in controversy as President Massoud Barzani was attempting to find a way to
run for a third term, despite Kurdish law saying that he could only serve
two times. As part of this effort, Barzani was pushing a referendum on the
region’s draft constitution, which would allow him the opportunity to serve
up to eight more years. The Kurdish opposition was crying foul, and
Barzani’s erstwhile allies the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) were also ... more »
Corporate Welfare Recipients 2 P in Cup
Wouldn't you love to hear that?
*About $59 billion is spent on traditional social welfare programs. $92
billion is spent on corporate subsidies. *So, the government spent 50% more
on corporate welfare than it did on food stamps and housing assistance in
2006.
Let's see that would mean
The banksters for the bailout
Wall Street
Halliburton
IBM
General Electric
Honeywell
Xerox
Dow
Motorola
3M
United Technoloigies
Ford
Dupont
General Motors
Corning
Cummins
J&J
Medtronic
Chevron
Raytheon
Monsanto
Just ... more »
FDA 5: Trade and Investment Promotions
Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will celebrate its 50th
Anniversary at its office in Alabang. Congratulations, FDA Director Dr.
Kenneth Hartigan-Go and staff.
Doc KHG has a new slogan, a "Transformative FDA" where they are "finding
the balance between innovations and sound regulations."
I think it is a good and simple goal. Encouraging innovations while weeding
out the not-so-good guys among the players via regulations and penalties
for violation of certain rules.
Last Monday, June 17, FDA held a training seminar for its top officials and
decision makers from differe... more »
Did Harper Deal BlackBerry a Body Blow?
Is there anything Stephen Harper won't do to degrade his office and our
country? Time and again Harper reveals his chronic dark, gutter side. The
man has the integrity and instincts of a pimp.
I don't know where Harper's bottom line is. I don't even know that he has
such a thing. Perhaps the floor for this character is his sense of
plausible deniability. If his base, his core of supporters, are willing to
believe him or even just give him the benefit of the doubt, it's a green
light for Steve to indulge his instincts.
At times Harper's misfits, or in Tory lexicon his "cabin... more »
Una chica sobre los árboles
*Ver más colecciones de imágenes*
Elefante y garzas
*Ver más colecciones de imágenes*
Jardín japonés en Portland
*Ver más colecciones de imágenes*
Pajarillos descansando
*Ver más colecciones de imágenes*
Niall Ferguson just keeps pouring it on!
*THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013*
*Concerning our miserable failure:* When you’re creating a Standard Group
Story, repetition is very important.
Tuesday night, Charlie Rose spent half an hour with Niall Ferguson, the
gloomy and frequently misinformed world-famous Harvard professor.
Eventually, it had to happen. Ferguson shrieked about American performance
on international tests, with Charlie cheering him on:
FERGUSON (6/18/13): *Let’s just look at education. We are failing,
miserably, at the level of secondary education—high school education.*
ROSE: *Right.*
FERGUSON: *If you look at the... more »
Democratic Underground
If only.
I'd love nothing more than to see that piece of shit website run by a
pervert named Skinner go six feet under. Then again, I'd also love to see
Jon Swift and Steve Gilliard to come back to life, Pam Spaulding to come
out of retirement and Baghdad Burning to make a comeback. But life's full
of disappointments and tradeoffs and perhaps the Blogging Gods will reward
for my Job-like tribulations with a massive server crash that'll put the
kibosh on DU.
Longtime reader KPete was, well, kind enough to link to my last postregarding the obvious murder of Michael Hasti... more »
SILLY SEASON: Greatest teen bimbos of the past!
*THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013*
*Part 3—CNN’s version of Miss Indiana remembers:* It’s hard to get one’s
arms around the emptiness of our modern “journalistic” “elites.”
Despite that, we’re willing to try! Consider the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed
gang at CNN’s new morning program.
The adjectives come from the headline atop Alessandra Stanley’s profile. In
Tuesday morning’s New York Times, she described the cheerful threesome who
have become the face of CNN in morning drive-time.
At the start of her piece, Stanley captured the bushy-tailed trio at play
as their program premiered:
STANLEY (... more »
Does this qualify as “intimidation” from NCTQ? Watch out #highered and #teacherprep
I received an email message the other day from someone at NCTQ regarding an
account I had of a meeting with them in 2011. In my first year as a faculty
member, I decided to meet and speak with a number of education policy and
advocacy organizations to see how folks in my position could get […]
Neil Cavuto talks with Dr. Ben Carson about the upcoming Obamacare disaster...(video)
*it's designed to fail. *
H/T: 1389 Blog
A Letter to Educators Who Embrace the #commoncore
Dear Educator Friends, While the common core may not be an issue for you,
or your school, do know that for others it will be a major issue. And the
problem is this, while the standards might work for you and your school,
there are many standards in CC that do not work for many […]
Ineffective assistance of counsel
*R. v. Buckley*, 2013 NSCA 73 holds:
[3] The standard of review for a claim of ineffective
assistance of counsel is well settled. This court said in *R. v.West*,
2010 NSCA 16 (CanLII), 2010 NSCA 16:
*[268] The principles to be applied when considering a complaint of
ineffective assistance of counsel, are well known. Absent a miscarriage of
justice, the question of counsel’s competence is a matter of professional
ethics and is not normally something to be considered by the courts.
Incompetence is measured by applying a reasonableness standard. There is
a strong ... more »
Steve King's Tea Party rally small but devoted
Crackpot Congressman Steve King was all ready to filibuster the hell out of
all six hours of this Tea Party rally. But not to worry. The usual lunatics
were there to help.
Crowds showed up in droves. One member of Congress after another showed up
to give speeches. The Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector dropped by to
talk about his widely criticized study that the Senate’s immigration bill
would cost $6 trillion (though there was no criticism from this crowd).
For King the outpouring of support from Tea Party groups and likeminded
members of Congress was proof that his efforts t... more »
Lluvia de meteoritos
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Wild Bill: "Rubio is the poster boy for the destruction of American conservative values...
*as he trumpets amnesty for criminals." *
Anything You Don't Say Can Be Used Against You
You no longer have the absolute right to remain silent in Police State USA.
That is the unbelievable gist of a Supreme Court decision issued on Monday.
If the cops don't Mirandize you prior to conducting an informal, friendly
chat, and you clam up at some point in the voluntary interview, your very
silence may now be legally construed as a prima facie indicator of
your guilt. You must verbally self-invoke your right against
self-incrimination, because passive-aggressive sullenness won't cut
it. Even nervous tics can be used as evidence against you.
So as the chip, chip, chipping awa... more »
Extremist GOP PAC Named “Americans for Progressive Action”
Two reasons for this post.
*One* to WARN PEOPLE that all is not as it seems if you get a call asking
for money from these scam artists.
*Two* - the RepoubliCON party is so in the toilet that they now have to use
the word PROGRESSIVE to raise money
- cause no one wants to give to the conservative extremist right-wing
RepubliCONS.
*“Americans for Progressive Action”*
*is a GOP PAC*
*From Think Progress *
*New ‘Progressive’ Super PAC Actually Backing Conservatives, Run By Former
Consultants For Rove And Bachmann*
By Josh Israel on Jun 13, 2013 at 12:30 pm
*A secretive new supe... more »
20 imágenes hermosas
*Ver más colecciones de imágenes*
Mohawk Nation News 'Let's Play Indian'
LET’S PLAY INDIAN
Mohawk Nation News
MNN. June 16, 2013. Why do White People Play
“Indian”? From fake Mohawks at the Boston Tea Party, to Grey Owl, to
Oscar de Corti, to Charlie Smoke, to all those grey-haired academics
creeping around the “Indigenous” scene who suddenly “found” their Indian
roots.
Do they aspire to our third world living conditions?
Your moment of Zen
Sunflowers remind me of driving through Spain. [photo via]
MAINE DRONE VICTORY (OF SORTS)
Yesterday the Maine House of Representatives passed our drone bill 115-33.
(The Maine Senate had previously passed the bill as well.) It was a mixed
victory.
On the positive side, the long sought after police warrant requirement was
in the bill which would allow law suits against the police if they violate
the warrant provisions. The bill also has a two-year moratorium on police
use of drones in Maine.
On the negative side, the bill carried an amendment that allows testing of
weaponized drones in Maine. The bill language reads something like this: *An
unmanned aerial vehicle m... more »
DC AFL-CIO - Promotes ALEC Education
The DC Council is promoting an event by Progressive Maryland for their
members.
This is a very good thing.
*Film: The United States of ALEC *
*Where*
Howard County Library Central Branch; 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway,
Columbia
*When*
Jun 24 * 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm*
Join Progressive Maryland and Common Cause Maryland for a special screening
of Bill Moyers' acclaimed film about corporate control of our laws and
legislatures and how we can take back our government.
Too few people have heard about ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange
Council. But this is a group that everyone s... more »
War Law, the “Public Conscience” and Autonomous Weapons
In the Guardian this morning, Christof Heyns very neatly articulates some
of the legal arguments with allowing machines the ability to target human
beings autonomously – whether they can distinguish civilians and
combatants, make qualitative judgments, be held responsible for war
crimes. But after going through this back and forth, Heyns then appears to
reframe the debate
Continue reading
The CDC is lying to you again: flu reality vs. flu fiction
image source Jon Rappoport
I now have the official CDC flu-death statistics for the year 2010.
They were provided to me by Martin Maloney, who, some years ago, contacted
me to show how the CDC was lying all the way along the line about numbers
of flu deaths. Many thanks, Martin, for your good work.
2010 is apparently the most recent year for which the CDC has issued a
final report. It was released on May 13 of this year.
The report comes through a sub-agency of the CDC, the National Vital
Statistics System (NVSS).
On page 89 of the report, “Deaths: Final Data for 2010,” in Table 1... more »
The Financial Markets Freak Out When The Fed Hints That It May Slow Down The Injections
Dees Illustration Michael Snyder
U.S. financial markets are exhibiting the classic behavior patterns of an
addict. Just a hint that the Fed may start slowing down the flow of the
"juice" was all that it took to cause the financial markets to throw an
epic temper tantrum on Wednesday. In fact, one CNN article stated that the
markets "freaked out" when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested
that the Fed would eventually start tapering the bond buying program if the
economy improves. And please note that Bernanke did not announce that the
money printing would actually slow ... more »
Despite Irrefutable Evidence of Toxicity and Death, Monsanto’s Friends at the EPA Raise Allowable Glysophate Levels
Daisy Luther
Great news! You no longer have to worry about excessive levels of
glyphosate, the toxic chemical found in Monsanto’s Round-up pesticide, in
your food or in the feed that livestock consumes. Why not? Well, the
Environmental Deception Protection Agency has looked over the situation,
and in their infinite wisdom, raised the safety threshold of glyphosate
that is allowed to be in consumable goods.
The EPA’s change of heart means that the the allowed glyphosate level in
animal feed will rise to 100 parts per million (ppm) and 40 ppm in oilseed
crops. Thankfully, there’s n... more »
Think the Anti-GMO Movement is Unscientific? Think Again
Sayer Ji
*"Anyone that says, 'Oh, we know that this is perfectly safe,' I say is
either unbelievably stupid, or deliberately lying. The reality is, we don't
know. The experiments simply haven't been done, and now we have become the
guinea pigs."* ~ David Suzuki, geneticist
Now that the mainstream media is catching on to the public sentiment
against GMO food, or at least against *unlabeled* GMO food, to the tune of
millions of Americans who made it a point to drag themselves out of their
homes to protest Monsanto last month (as well as at least 40 additional
countries), inevitably... more »
Read Stuff, You Should
Happy Birthday to Candy Clark, 66.
Quickly to the good stuff:
1. David Karol on Politico. I'm not saying I really disagree, but I'll
stand by what I said the other day -- they do a lot of real and useful
reporting, and a lot of their weaknesses are fairly harmless.
2. Harold Pollack and Sam Bagenstos on ADA, ACA, Medicaid and reform in
general.
3. And Josh Kraushaar has an Old, Old Senate update.
Real Reactions to NSA Snooping
*Youtube*
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50 More Reasons To Advance The Total Surveillance State?
Gary Gibson
"Our total and unrestricted spying on you has saved your lives."
That's not exactly what General Keith Alexander said to the American public
before a "largely friendly" House committee, but it is certainly what he
meant.
The General, who heads the NSA, claims that the total surveillance spy
program had prevented "potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11"
and that at least ten of those thwarted plots involved targets right here
in the fatherland, including a plot to attack the New York City subway
system. Because the NSA was listening in on every single pho... more »
Gun Control by Proxy: Insurance Companies Vow to Drop Schools if Teachers Carry Concealed Under New Law
Kimberly Paxton
Have gun control proponents figured out a new way to make sure that our
children are not protected in schools?
As Kansas passes a state law that will allow certain teachers and other
employees to carry guns, the insurance company that covers most of the
schools has said they will refuse to indemnify the facilities that allow
concealed carry permit holders to have weapons at school. Because of this,
the state’s school board association has urged the schools NOT to take
advantage of the new law.
EMC Insurance Companies, the state’s main insurer of schools, won’t ins... more »
MIT Students Propose Fast Molten Salt Reactor
MIT Technology Review recently published an article about an ambitious MSR
project being undertaken by two MIT PhD candidates. The project includes
the development of a plutonium burning molten salt reactor.
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/512321/safer-nuclear-power-at-half-the-price/
Mark Massie and Leslie Dewan, PhD candidates at MIT, have formed
Transatomic to develop their reactor design concept. According to the MIT
report, they have raised $1 million in seed money so far. In addition to
the MIT project, money is being raised or has already been raised for MSR
projects ... more »
Louisiana sinkhole updates - Sinkhole boundary way outside berm road .... h/t Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle !
What They Don't Want You to Know About This Depth Survey
JUNE 19, 2013
27
Reblogged from The Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle:
[image: Click to visit the original post]
- [image: Click to visit the original post]
*They do a trick with using no-contrast or tiny type on important graphics.* This
time, with the newer depth survey they outdid themselves with ultra-thin
defining *colored lines*. A hair.
And the reason is apparent when you enhance the graphic! The cave-in is
beyond the berm road to the west and south (red line on art). *The berms
are out of the collapse zone boundaries.*... more »
Obama attempts to defend NSA surveillance program in Germany in response to heavy criticism
image credit:
President of The European Council/Flickr Madison Ruppert
During U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin, Germany, he
attempted to defend the massive surveillance program run by the National
Security Agency (NSA), a program which was heavily criticized in Europe.
Interestingly, the NSA reportedly focused their efforts on Germany more
than any other country according to German news outlet Deutsche Welle.
Despite Obama’s attempts to downplay the seriousness of the program –
something many in Washington have been attempting to do – Germany is still
apparently conc... more »
Rick Weiland Guest Post On His Take It Back Campaign In South Dakota
I've been spending some time on the phone with South Dakota's Democratic
Senate candidate Rick Weiland and with some of his staffers. This week
Digby and John Amato are meeting with him to complete the Blue America
vetting process and I have no doubt our PAC will be endorsing him. He's a
very impressive guy and a dedicated down-to-earth populist. It's not
unusual from time to time for states like South Dakota to raise up populist
firebrands like Rick who are willing to take on the establishment. The DSCC
may have had their heart set on Blue Dog corporate shill Stephanie Herseth
Sa... more »
The Forced Depopulation of America’s Rural Areas
Dave Hodges
Agenda 21 policy calls for dramatically increasing urbanization and forcing
indigenous populations out of rural areas and into densely populated
stack-and pack micro apartments controlled by technocrats with the ability
to control every aspect of one’s life. When completed, this lifestyle will
be a hell on earth.
In Part One, I detailed how the Chinese government, under the direction of
global corporations like Goldman Sachs, is instituting a mass relocation of
its population from rural to urban. At the point of a gun, the Chinese
military is forcibly removing one mil... more »
McDonald's Sued by Employee Over Debit Card Wage Fees
Amanda Warren
When I first heard about the woman suing McDonald's over receiving wages
through a debit card, I wondered, *oh is this another let's see what else
we can sue bloated ol' McD's for*story? I mean, what's the big deal over
receiving wages though a card if you can withdraw and you use cards anyway,
right?? Wrong!
By suing via a class-action law suit filed last Thursday, 27-year-old
single mother, Natalie Gunshannon, has brought to light an absurdly corrupt
practice that had better crawl back under the rock it came out from under.
Gunshannon worked there for a month an... more »
Matt Damon Movie Depicts Singularity as Dystopian Future
*Youtube*
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Obama says at press conference in Germany that reports of an imminent US attack of Syria were not false but exaggerated ? So ,we are going to attack Syria , just a question of timing then ? Or just another false narrative from Obama and the West - like all of the US aid to the rebels , most of which the US has not delivered ! Meanwhile the fight for Aleppo is underway !
Fierce fighting for control of Syria's Aleppo
FSA fighters say they are trying to defend northern stronghold from
government force armed with superior artillery.
Last Modified: 20 Jun 2013 03:14
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Rebel fighters say they need support to battle Syrian government forces in
Aleppo in the country's north.
The Free Syrian Army says it is trying to defend the area from a military
force armed with helicopters, tanks and a lot of artillery - far superior ... more »
Is It A Real Fight? You Bet! (Don't Stop Fighting Against This Future) Dirrty Wars Coming Home?
North Carolina "Moral Mondays" Means Citizens Lining Up for Arrest To
Protest Republican-Controlled Legislative ThuggeryBiggest Protests in 20
Years Sweep BrazilSAO PAULO (Reuters) - As many as 200,000 demonstrators
marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities on Monday in a
swelling wave of protest tapping into widespread anger at poor public
services, police violence and government
Moyers - Update show on ALEC THis Week
This is a good thing.
It is great for the American people that Moyers is choosing to do another
show. The *first expose' he did* on ALEC has been a tremendous asset -
educating people nationwide about the extremist pro-corporate Ameircan
Legislative Exchange Council.
The trailer
*This week, Moyers & Company reports *on the most influential
corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of — ALEC,
the American Legislative Exchange Council. A national consortium of state
politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a
“nonpartisan public-private pa... more »
David Icke on the Real Background of Engineered Syria Conflict
*David Icke*
DavidIcke.com
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False Flag Biological Attack Expected This Summer?
*Activist Post*
Why are role-playing actors being hired to portray biological/chemical
attacks at political events this summer? Could it foreshadow a false flag
attack, or is it just standard training exercises?
The government often hires actors or role players to participate in
training drills to make certain disaster scenarios seem more realistic for
the trainees.
Companies like IIF Data Solutions are contracted by government agencies to
supply "crisis actors" for mass casualty drills. IIF Data, who boasts a
senior staff with "more than 250 years cumulative experience serving ... more »
Zapatistas Marcos Speaks out for political prisoners Gomez, Peltier, Jamal, Manning, Assange, more
Marcos/Photo Brenda Norrell
Marcos speaks out for political prisoners strength and perseverance
Translator
Also see: The
Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) extended an invitation to
Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Alberto Patishtan, among other
"political prisoners in the world, in various legal devices, are in prisons in the world or political asylum status "to
ALEC Nastiness Introduced to UK Labour
This is very good news.
The world is being awakened to the nastiness of the extremist pro-corporate
American Legislative Exchange Council.
Most countries do not realized that ALEC has infested their country through
foreign nationals participating at ALEC meetings (yes, foreign nationals
writing American law at ALEC meetings– BTW).
*WHO?*
UNISON is one of the UK's largest trade unions, serving more than 1.3
million members. We represent full-time and part-time staff who provide
public services, although they may be employed in both the public and
private sectors.
*WHERE?*
* *At th... more »
Homemade Cinnamon Crisps
These Cinnamon Crisps are one of my favorite memories from my childhood.
They are delicious, crispy and need very few ingredients.
You will need:
Egg Roll Wrappers
Cinnamon Sugar
Oil to Fry In
Cut your Egg Roll Wrappers into long thing strip. Heat your oil in your
deep fryer or a pot on the stove until hot. When I fry these on the stove,
is usually keep the oil at a medium-high heat. You don't want them too hot
or they will blacken before they cook. Add them to the oil and fry until
golden brown. I usually flip them with tongs once during drying for an even
browning. Take... more »
In Defense of Me
My
new paper on the One Percent has generated a fair amount of Internet
commentary. I won't respond to the critics. Time is scarce, and I am
busy
with other projects. For better or worse, I will leave the paper to
speak
for itself. (I should note that my paper is part of a forthcoming
*JEP*symposium. I have not seen all the other papers, but from what I
have seen,
the symposium should offer a good, balanced group of perspectives.)
Regarding all that Internet commentary, I did enjoy this defense from
Matt
Nolan. Nolan was apparently a reader of my favorite textbook early in
his
life... more »
Rae The Public Servant
A Trudeau led the Liberal Party when Bob Rae entered the House of Commons.
And a Trudeau leads that party as Rae leaves. The Dippers were never sure
Rae was one of them. And the Liberals were never sure if he belonged in
their camp, either. That is why they never elected him permanent leader of
the party.
But there has always been a remarkable consistency to Bob Rae. He believes
that government can be a force for good. He believes it has a
responsibility to the less fortunate. Like his father, he believes that
Canada can be an honest broker on the international stage. And he belie... more »
Xbox games : Microsoft U-turn
*Microsoft has made a spectacular U-turn over its decision to impose
restrictions on pre-owned titles on its new Xbox One console.* An internet
connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games - after a
one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One; you can have fun any disc based
game with no ever connecting online again.
The company had supposed it would limit the free trade of pre-owned games,
and that an internet connection was required to play all titles. There is
no 24-hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox one anyplace
you want and play your gam... more »
DILBIT : "Every plant and tree died"
9.5 million litres of industrial waste water, the 10th largest spill of its
kind in Alberta in nearly 40 years.
.
Untitled
*Possible jailing draws legal Who’s-Who to lawyer’s defense ~John Simerman,
Advocate*
*Photos of stabbing aftermath draw criticism of Orleans Parish Prison ~WDSU*
*Once A House, Now A Parking Lot: But No Zoning Change? ~WWNO*
* Back door Lot Next Door ~Library Chronicles*
*Letter: N.O. levee failures man-made *
*Funding issues cut service of 2 ferries *
*North Shore residents seek info on flood insurance changes ~WVUE*
*John Kennedy Toole photos, manuscript go to ULL ~Richard Burgess*
*Summer Book Festival Binds Local Publishers in the French Quarter ~NOLA
DEFENDER*
Glyphosate (Roundup) Carcinogenic In the Parts Per Trillion Range
This is one interpretation of these results and a disturbing one. Yet the
low levels may well mean that another unidentified factor is at work.
Regardless, we need to see a lot of work done on this problem to properly
evaluate roundup as a risk factor. This work is at present suggestive.
Roundup has also been implicated in the suppression of amphibian
populations mostly because Roundup is the only obvious human vector. You
can see the problem there. After all we finally got wise to bird flu.
In 1965, we saw Roundup for the first time and my father read the fine
prin... more »
Train UFO Collision
The credibility of this report is excellent from a clearheaded witness
with no obvious agenda. He certainly is who he says he is and the damage
was serious. Better, the UFO survived a crash that demolished steel
superstructure and we have nothing able to do that at all. It simply was
not one of ours.
What is more astonishing however, is the response speed. They had less
that two hours to roll out of bed, suit up and mount up and move in
vehicles to this rail-yard. That means the team was within one hundred
miles of the events. That is almost more unlikely than the actual... more »
Feed Your Brain
This item at least gives us a fresh focus in our dietary choices. Of
course, the lists below are familiar enough and if you arrived there from
another pathway, then you are surely doubly blessed.
It is pretty clear that the dietary drumbeat is slowly reordering our
eating choices, one convert at a time. It may even begin to accelerate
visibly with the setbacks facing the Industrial agricultural sector in the
adoption of GMO foods and continuing revelations on live meat production.
It has long been understood that the correct diet produces a long healthy
life.
*Feed Yo... more »
After the Gold Rush?
As usual they all get it wrong. Gold is driven by demand and supply. The
supply side of the equation is presently coming in at around 2700 tons per
year and is likely stable at that level. In fact, all the long since known
stuff is now been fully exploited and at worst, new production in the
pipeline from old discoveries will tidily cover declines. The long climb in
production actually peaked two decades ago.
All the gold ever mined presently sits at around 165,000 tons. Since
governmental gold is roughly around 100,000 tons, since 1975, private
buyers have been absorbing a... more »
Former GMO Engineer Drops Biotech and Goes Organic by Ken Roseboro
Thierry Vrain, Ph.D
Source:
http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/former-gmo-engineer-drops-biotech-and-goes-organic/
Former GMO Engineer Drops Biotech and Goes Organic
by Ken Roseboro
Organic Connections Magazine, June 2013
The “conversion” of former anti-GMO activist Mark Lynas to GMO promoter
has garnered huge media attention, but Thierry Vrain, Ph.D., a former
genetic engineer who speaks out against the risks of genetically
engineered foods, has far more credibility—and a far more important story
to tell the public.
Thierry Vrain’s career has spanned the full range of... more »
6 Natural Pain Reducing Remedies by Christina Sarich
6 Natural Pain Reducing Remedies
by Christina Sarich
Natural Society, 19 June 2013
Instead of popping an aspirin, or taking one of the many pain medications
on the market today, you can target pain with natural remedies that cause
absolutely no side effects and induce no negative impact on the body.
Frequent use of aspirin can cause everything from intestinal bleeding to
kidney failure while Ibuprofin can cause gastrointestinal discomfort and heart
problems.
So take advantage of these 6 natural pain-reducing remedies.
**
*1. Find Some Good Company - *Whenever we bond and communi... more »
Supersymmetric Google Hangout with John Ellis
According to a 2004 SPIRES survey, the CERN particle phenomenologist John
Ellis of the U.K. was the second most cited physicist in high-energy
physics and, except for the third one (Steven Weinberg), the only one
surpassing 50% of the citations collected by Edward Witten. ;-)
After 2004, he actually added over 170 papers with 6,000+ new citations,
which, along with the new citations earned by the older papers, brought him
from 33,000+ to 53,000+ now. At least in the discipline of citation
collection, you should definitely not forget about John Ellis! You may also
know John Ellis a... more »
Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act
The Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act received Royal Assent and
passed into law yesterday.
Under the new legislation the threshold for loss of appeal rights to the
Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board
(IRB) for permanent residents convicted of offences has dropped from 2
years to six months.
Any permanent resident who is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of *at
least 6 months* (including any credit for time served) on any individual
count will not have a right to appeal any resulting deportation order to
the IAD.
Readers may recall that... more »
Jack A. Smith : Obama, China, and the Middle East
Samantha
Powers, Susan Rice ("two cats among pigeons"), and President Obama.
Photo by Charles Dharapak / AP.
Foreign policy pivot?
Obama, China, and the Middle East
Obama has transferred the brunt of U.S. foreign/military policy away
from the Middle East and the war on terrorism and toward Asia to better
manipulate the conditions of China’s inevitable return to big power
status.
By Jack A.
MOSSAD CONTROLS THE ISLAMISTS
*On 19 June 2013, an Algerian newspaper revealed that Israel's Mossad
controls the Salafi-Wahhabi Islamist groups in Algeria.*
According to the Algerian daily al-Fajr, Mossad is using its Salafi-Wahhabi
Islamist groups to recruit Algerians for the war in Syria.
These Algerians are sent to Syria to help the other foreign-backed
terrorists in the fight against the Syrian people and government.
*Mossad Recruiting Algerian Youths for Fighting Syrians*
*Before World war I, the Salafi-Wahhabi Islamist sect was used by British
intelligence to break up the Turkish Ottoman Empire (in gree... more »
An obstacle to peace the BBC won’t tell you about from BBC Watch
'As long as the BBC continues its campaign to shape audience perceptions by
censoring coverage of real obstacles to peace such as the indoctrination of
the next generation of its rejectors, BBC coverage of the Middle East
cannot comply with its professed standards of accuracy and impartiality and
it will not fulfill the "Public Purpose " defined in its charter of
building "a global understanding of international issues". '
More here
http://bbcwatch.org/2013/06/20/an-obstacle-to-peace-the-bbc-wont-tell-you-about/
Do read the whole article and realise just how biased against Israel... more »
"From The Visitor Log, Your Tax Dollars At Work"
From today's visitor log, without comment...
*Please do click image for larger size.*
By the way, the "Amazon.com" is not really Amazon,
it's a server hub these fine patriots run through...
- CP*
*
Thursday Morning Linkage
Above, I’ve posted another photo of the crack Duck blogging team (that’s me
upper left, my dissertation advisor is lower right). Right now, I’m en
route to a conference in Norway so my 22 month old son has prepared the
following post of Thursday Morning Linkage. (Well, if he had, there would
be lots of
Continue reading
Harry Targ : Waist Deep in the Big Muddy, Again!
Smoke
from fighting in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, December 1, 2012.
Photo by Javier Manzano / AFP / Getty Images.
One more time:
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
The case is clear that increasing the United States' military
involvement in Syria has negative consequences for the Middle East,
international relations, the inspiration of Arab Spring, American
politics, and the people of Syria
June 19, 1973
Everyone is still waiting for John Dean's public testimony to the Senate
Watergate Committee, postponed now until later in the month.
The conversations in the Oval Office are less newsy now; Richard Nixon is
no longer talking to his co-conspirators, but to a new staff who (as far as
we know) don't realize how involved he was in the cover-up and the White
House horrors before that. Typically, Nixon proclaims his innocence, and
rails against Dean, or against Archibald Cox. This morning, he meets with
Haig, Ziegler, and Buzhardt, who is essentially acting as his lead defense
attorney... more »
An interesting update
Further to my piece on the conviction of people for the murder of a
football linesman I received this comment from Alex:
'The first names are reported in the Dutch press. Also notable was the fact
that the name of the team that kicked the linesman was the Buitenboys.
"Buitenlander" is Dutch for foreigner. So much for integration.'
Well he's right about Buitenlander and DutchNews.NL reports that:
'El-Hasan D, 51, was jailed for six years while his son Yassine, 16, was
given 12 months in juvenile detention, two suspended.
The other suspects, aged 16, 17 and 18, were given 24-month sen... more »
Lamar W. Hankins : Government Lies and Secrecy Destroy Credibility
Whistleblower
Edward Snowden. Image from MGN Online.
Government lies and
secrecy destroy credibility
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -- Benjamin
Franklin.
By Lamar W. Hankins / The Rag Blog / June 20, 2013
When a high government official blatantly lies in testimony before
Congress, it is rare that we
Here’s an Austrian economist who would continue “quantitative easing” if named central bank governor
Yesterday Russel Norman was like Neville-No-Mates when it came to support
for his policy of Quantitative Easing. So he’ll be happy to know I’ve found
an economist for him from the Austrian school of economics, one Dr Walter
Block, who confirmed in a recent email to a friend that if named as head of
the US central bank, he would continue the policy of “quantitative easing.”
Yes, you read that right.
Here’s the full email, sent to Bob Wenzel at EPJ:
Dear Bob:
I'm ready to serve my country in this capacity. I promise to do a good job.
My policy will be quantitative easing: easing al... more »
A Perspective Of Gezi Park From An Old Turkish Hippie
In the mid-1970s I was working in the Kosmos, Amsterdam's meditation
center, and I hadn't figured out I was gay yet. I was in love with this
beautiful Dutch woman who was one of the directors of the center. I was
kind of shy but asked her out on a date. She asked me if I'd like to come
over to her apartment for dinner. I was thrilled. When I got there, a
strange local hippie who played sitar at the center, Omar, was helping
prepare dinner. He, it turned out, was the boyfriend. We've been friends
ever since.
He didn't call himself Omar back then; he still doesn't. And he never told... more »
Bob Feldman : Texas Still Ranks High in Poverty and Segregation by Race and Income, 1964-2012
Poverty
in Texas has continued to grow in recent years. Image from
WebGovernments.
The hidden history of Texas
Conclusion: 1996-2012/Final Section -- Texas still ranks high in poverty
and segregation by race and economic status and low in health care and
education.
By Bob Feldman / The Rag Blog / June 19, 2013
[This is the final section of the conclusion to Bob Feldman's Rag Blog
series on
What Was Michael Hastings Working On?
Supreme Court Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter, a Jew, was once
presented with evidence of the Holocaust by a friend. Justice Frankfurter
said he couldn't believe it had happened. His friend responded
incredulously, "Are you telling me you don't believe the Holocaust
happened?" Frankfurter famously replied, "That's not what I said. I said I *
can't* believe it happened." Meaning he couldn't bring himself to believe
it.
That's why I don't go in for conspiracy theories.
For almost eight and a half years, I've been biting my tongue and
refusing to blame Bush and C... more »
The Three Commandments for Editing a Journal
This brief post started life as a comment on a Facebook discussion thread
about peer reviewing practices but I thought it might deserve a wider
readership. The question was raised: is it kosher for a journal editor to
request information about good reviewers from the author of the manuscript?
The general consensus, with which I
Continue reading
Deborah Carter: The Reality of #Teaching
Maryland Teacher and member of the Badass Teacher Association, Deborah
Carter, summarizes the reasons she teaches. This week, a girl called me a
bitch. A mom emailed the same day, demanding that her 11th grade son
receive full credit for an assignment that did not come close to following
the directions (and was turned in […]
News? Media? The joke’s on them.
Comedian Russell Brand finds it difficult to have a real conversation going
on an MSNBC “talk show,” so ends up instead pointing out the triviality of
the modern TV “news” interview.
"Look beyond the superficial, that's the problem with current affairs, you
forget about what's important … don't think about what I'm wearing, these
things are redundant, superficial…”
Says my Facebook friend Paul McKeever who pointed me to it:
This video has been mis-titled. Brand was excellent, whereas the three
people on the MSNBC "Morning Joe" journalistic team were rude, ignorant,
and - especia... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“How many different astronomical phenomena have come together to create
the above vista? Several. First, in the foreground, is Crater Lake- a
caldera created by volcanism on planet Earth about 7,700 years ago. Next,
inside the lake, is water. Although the origin of the water in the crater
is melted snowfall, the origin of water on Earth more generally is unclear,
but possibly related to ancient Earthly-impacts of icy bodies. Next, the
green glow in the sky is airglow, light emitted by atoms high in the
Earth's atmosphere as they recombine at night after being separated during
the ... more »
The Standing Man . . .
Erdem
Gunduz (center) stands in Instanbul's Taksim Square early Tuesday. —
Petr David Josek/AP
THAT PROTEST SHALL NOT PERISH, from the creativity of the human spirit
embodied in a chap name of Erdem Gunduz, who went to Taksim Square, and
just stood there, passively, staring at the Ministry of Culture.
According to NPR's "The 'Standing Man' Of Turkey: Act Of Quiet Protest
Goes Viral", it's
"And In All That..."
"In this galaxy there’s a mathematical probability of three hundred
million Earth-type planets. And in the universe, 100 billion galaxies
like this. And in all that, and perhaps more... only one of each of us."
- Dr. Leonard McCoy, "Star Trek"
"The Chessboard"
"The chessboard is the world; the pieces are the phenomena of the
universe; the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature. The
player on the other side is hidden from us. We know that his play is always
fair, and patient. But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a
mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance."
- Thomas Huxley
"The Denial of Death"
* *
*"The Denial of Death"*
by Ernest Becker
“The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing
else; it is a mainspring of human activity - designed largely to avoid the
fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the
final destiny of man... the irony of man's condition is that the deepest
need is to be free of the anxiety of death and annihilation; but it is life
itself which awakens it, and so we shrink from being fully alive.”
"Yet, at the same time, as the Eastern sages also knew, man is a worm and
food for worms. This is the par... more »
"Twilight of the Psychopaths"
* *
*"Twilight of the Psychopaths"*
by Dr. Kevin Barrett
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're
being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put
away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it." - John
Lennon
When Gandhi was asked his opinion of Western civilization he said it would
be a good idea. But that oft-cited quote is misleading, assuming as it does
that civilization is an unmitigated blessing. Civilized people, we are
told, live peacefully and cooperatively with their fellows, sharing the
necess... more »
"The Orchard"
“The world of existence is like unto an orchard and humanity is like unto
the trees. All these trees are planted in the same orchard, reared through
the heat of one sun, watered with one rain. We must be the cause of the
adornment of this orchard. The world of humanity is like unto a rose garden
and the various races, tongues and people are like unto contrasting
flowers. The diversity of colors in a rose-garden adds to the charm and
beauty of the scene as variety enhances unity. Why should we not look upon
the human world with rose-colored vision?”
- Abdul Baha
Please proceed GOP
In case you had any remaining doubts, this should clear them up. The crackpot
cons are clearly running the asylum.
House Republicans flexed their cultural and conservative muscles Tuesday,
passing the most restrictive abortion measure in years. They also advanced
legislation to crack down on immigrants living illegally in the country,
even as senators pursue a plan that would offer those same millions a shot
at citizenship.
The actions reflect a roiling debate among Republicans over why they lost
two elections to President Barack Obama, and how best to rebuild a winning
formula.
... more »
Rational Choice and Selfishness
In his latest post, PTJ moves us past the worst critiques of “rational
choice theory” and focuses on a few more nuanced concerns.1 I’m glad to
see the conversation progressing, and this type of exchange is one of the
things I love most about academic blogging. However, I find some of PTJ’s
arguments problematic. I argued
Continue reading
China displays blazing red flags as liquidity has gotten even worse , a default by Everbright Bank was ignored by the media and shadow banking in the cross hairs of the chinese regulators .....
JUNE 20TH, 2013 12:09
Time to sober up as America and China remove punch bowl
The US Federal Reserve has refused to blink. The Chinese central bank has
refused to blink.
The authorities in the world's two biggest economies appear determined to
strike a blow against moral hazard and clear the froth in asset markets, at
least until this exhibition of virtue blows up in their faces.
The term "Perfect Storm" is banned by the Telegraph as a lamentable cliché,
so let us just say that this is the moment we long been fearing or waiting
for – depending on taste – when markets are no longer giv... more »
Forgotten Libya and ignored Iraq - updates - June 19 , 2013....
Libya updates - if one consider what a post - Assad Syria might look like -
past is prologue.....
http://www.libyaherald.com/
Huge explosion flattens Benghazi police station – no casualties reported
*By Maha Ellawati and Ayman Amzein.*
The Al-Hadayeq (the gardens) police station in Benghazi was completely
destroyed early this morning by a massive explosion. (*Photo: Abdalha Doma*)
*Benghazi, 19 June 2013:***
A huge explosion totally flattened the police station in the Al-Hadayeq
(the gardens) district of Benghazi early this morning, but miraculously
there are no casualties being rep... more »
FBI drones spying on America
More great news on the domestic surveillance front. FBI director Robert
Mueller told a Senate hearing today the FBI owns several of their very own
drones
“Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on US soil?” Sen. Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa) asked Mr Mueller during an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill
Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Yes,” Mueller responded bluntly, adding that the FBI’s operation of drones
is “very seldom.”
Mueller adds they're "generally used in a particular incident where you
need the capability.” Wonder what he means by "generally." Implies that ... more »
Syria updates - June 17 -18 , 2013.... Lars Schall searches for truth regarding the recent attack on the Turkey - Syria border - was it a staged event ? Putin at the G- 8 - is he calling the shots on Syria - note the body and facial language in the Al Jazeera photo ! Rebel / mercenaries set off huge car bomb killing 60 Syria government troops - or was it Israel striking Syria again .....Saudis provide anti-tank missiles to Sunni / Al Qaeda rebels , Syria threatens Europe if they arms Rebel forces .....
Catharsis Ours - 21 hours ago
http://www.infowars.com/did-israel-attack-syria-again/
http://www.debka.com/article/23054/First-European-NATO-heavy-arms-for-Syrian-rebels-Russian-reprisal-expected
NATO and a number of European governments, most significantly the UK, have
started airlifting heavy weapons to the Syrian rebels poised in Aleppo to
fend off a major Syrian army offensive, according to DEBKAfile’s exclusive
military sources. They disclose that the first shipments were landed Monday
night, June 17, and early Tuesday in Turkey and Jordan. They contained
anti-air and tank missiles as well as recoilless 12... more »
Think You Understand Blowback (and Fear Engendered by Blowback)? History and Current Predictions About What's Upcoming May Surprise You (Blowback City!)
In light of the continuing pursuit of everyone by the Department of
Homeland Security in hope of finding terrorists, who are daily being made
by the thousands in Africa, the Middle East, southern Asia, northern Asia .
. . . And have you seen Jimmy Hoffa's murderer (or body) lately? Another
current pressing question for the mainstream media (MSM) in Obamaland.
Blowback Central Nick TurseJune
The new Men's Wearhouse slogan: "You're going to look like crap probably, but now that the old guy's history, see if we care"
*"You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it."*
*by Ken*
Ah, so that's what it was. It seems that in the three months since Men's
Wearhouse co-founder George Zimmer went from CEO to "executive chairman" of
the national clothing retailer, there has been squabbling between him and
the current management about the direction of the company, according to an
abcnews.com report, which quotes Zimmer as claiming that he was being
"inappropriately" "silence[d]." Today he told CNBC:
"Over the last 40 years, I have built MW into a multi-billion dollar
company with amazing employees... more »
Gandolfini, Dead at 51
HBO has confirmed that actor James Gandolfini has died. Gandolfini, best
known for his role as gangster Tony Soprano, died while traveling in
Italy. He was 51.
Hillary Mann Leverett discusses Claims of Chemical Weapons in Syria
*Breaking News - Obama: Working To Legitimize An Attack Against Syria.*
Title: Hillary Mann Leverett discusses Claims of Chemical Weapons in Syria.
Source: YouTube Channel BizAsiaAmerica. Date Published: June 14, 2013.
Description:
Anchor Anand Naidoo and Hillary Mann Leverett, a professor at American
University, discuss U.S. allegations of chemical weapons in Syria.
Sheikh Imran Hosein On Developments In Turkey
Related:
*The Honest Sheikh Imran Hosein: Turkey Will Be Called Upon To Attack Syria
*.
*The Honest Sheikh: Sheikh Imran Hosein*.
Sheikh Imran Hosein says Turkey is going to invade Syria on the orders of
Washington. As the unrest and protests drag on without a solution, Erdoğan
will be told to create a diversion by attacking Syria. He also says there
will be an alliance between Kurds, Muslims, and Eastern Christians against
NATO in Turkey in the future.
Turkish Unrest Could Encourage An Attack On Syria - Sheikh Imran Hosein.
Source: 108morris108.
Will The Kurds Join In Freei... more »
"The office of Parliament's 'ethics' Commissioner has become a bad, sad joke." - Must Read Article By Francis Russell
**
[image: Progressive Bloggers]
*"The office of Parliament's "ethics" commissioner has become a bad, sad
joke. But the "new" relationship between the RCMP and Public Safety
Minister Vic Toews is alarming for a First-World democracy.*
* *
*Since her office was created in 2007, Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson has
let dozens of Conservatives off the hook for ethics violations and made
more than 80 secret rulings, according to Democracy Watch, a citizens'
advocacy group."*
*-Full Article here from National NewsWatch*
Harvey Organ's Gold and Silver Report - June 17 , 2013 Data , news and views on the PMs !
Catharsis Ours - 23 hours ago
http://harveyorgan.blogspot.com/2013/06/gld-slightly-declinesgoldsilver.html
Monday, June 17, 2013
GLD slightly declines/Gold/silver withstand another raid/
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen:
Gold closed down by $4.50 to $1382.80 (comex closing time). Silver fell by
20 cents to $21.75 (comex closing time)
In the access market at 5:00 pm, gold and silver finished trading at the
following prices :
gold: 1385.40
silver: $21.88
At the Comex, the open interest in silver fell by a rather large 1923
contracts to 148,560 contracts despite silver's rise in price on Friday.
The silver... more »
Robert Jensen : The Craziest Person in the Room
The
craziest person in the room:
Reflections on how a mediocre
white guy can try to be useful
It’s the job of people with critical sensibilities -- those who
consistently speak out for justice and sustainability, even when it’s
difficult -- not to back away just because the world has grown more
ominous.
By Robert Jensen / The Rag Blog / June 18, 2013
[This is an edited version of a
Federal Reserve Open Market Committee Day - risk off reaction Today , we shall see how the Fed's messages have been received and interpreted over the next few days...
Fed Open Market Committee items of note....
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-19/deer-returns-fears-bernankes-training-wheels-are-coming
The Deer Returns On Fears Bernanke's Training Wheels Are Coming Off
[image: Tyler Durden's picture]
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/19/2013 16:05 -0400
- Ben Bernanke
- Reality
One word can describe performance across all asset classes today:
clobbered. Stocks tumble, Commodities slide and *Bonds crash*, with the 5
year suffering the biggest intraday percentage jump in yields... ever! And
why? *Because Bernanke confirmed what everyo... more »
#Occupylafayette, happening now, shaking my head
Parents, students, and educators occupied Lafayette ES in Chicago, slated
for closure. This is a brilliant form of protest, everyone there should be
applauded for their courage. This is quite a beautiful building in the
picture. I cannot imagine what the city is planning to do with it. Below
is an image from a friend […]
"This Administration Wants To Rush To The Aid Of The Al Qaeda Backed Rebels!" Rep Gohmert
All hail common sense! All hail the wisdom of non-intervention!
Source: MOXNEWSd0tC0M.
The League of Extraordinary Terrorists: Obama Defends Al-Qaeda's Lie That Assad Is Using Chemical Weapons
*The Syrian "rebels" are not rebels; they are Al-Qaeda. *
"Where we once had Bush and Blair and the sexed up dossier on Iraqi WMD,
presented to the world by the hapless Colin Powell, we now have Obama and
Cameron’s dodgey chemical weapons reports, presented to a somewhat less
credulous public by fiction writer and deputy national security adviser Ben
Rhodes." - An excerpt from the article, *"Obama and Cameron’s Syrian
chemical weapon scam,"* by the website HumanRightsInvestigations.org.
In the USraeli worldview, there are two types of terrorists - ordinary
terrorists whose fana... more »
Chiefs for #butthurt?
I wanted to quickly follow-up with an image and a question based on Jim
Horn’s post earlier today about Chiefs for Change. Sorry Jim, I had to do
it. Chiefs, are you butthurt? It’s OK, you can tell us. Tagged: butthurt,
Chiefs for Change, common core, Duncan, jim horn
Arribes: Everything Else is Noise - my fascinating encounter with film-maker Zev Robinson
address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 1 day ago
It seldom occurs that by chance one encounters very special people. It
happened to me when a friend asked me to look at a short story-telling film
about Spain from the Canadian-British film-maker, painter, photographer and
art-maker *Zev Robinson*. The film *astonished* me and for a reason. Even
the trailer of the full movie shows rural Spain as it is, as I indeed know
it and can see it each day. Far beyond the average knowledge of tourists
and foreigners who live near and huddle along the beaches from the
Mediterranean Coast. Take a deep breath after viewing this short
story-telli... more »
Chet Raymo “Morning Meditation”
* “Morning Meditation”*
by Chet Raymo
“Crows roost in the trees of Ballybeg, down there at the bottom of the
hill. Their raucous chorus reaches me at my desk, here in my burrow under
the gorse. I look out over the parish, and now and then a solitary crow
drifts into the frame, riding an uplifting wind, taunting me with its
proprietary ownership of the landscape. And I think of Ted Hughes' poem
"Littleblood", from that haunting volume “Crow”:
․
"O littleblood, hiding from the mountains in the mountains
Wounded by stars and leaking shadow
Eating the medical earth."
I'... more »
It Begins With Butter
The world at large will never be convinced of the benefits of
low-carbohydrate diets until the still-vilified "saturated fat" is fully
acquitted of the charges falsely laid in the courts of public opinion.
Butter is the poster child for the defendant saturated fat, and also the
most nutritious and beneficial of the all-fat foods. So any campaign to
vindicate SaFAs should begin with butter.
If anyone needs reminding why it is essential that very low carb diets
enter the medical mainstream today rather than tomorrow, I recommend Toxic's
post on the subject. This is incendiary stuff, a... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
"The Grapes of Wrath" (Excerpts)
"The Grapes of Wrath" (Excerpts)
by John Steinbeck
․
"They breathe profits; they eat the interest on money. If they don't get
it, they die the way you die without air, without side-meat." [referring to
the banks- CP]
"The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men
made it, but they can't control it."
"It ain't that big. The whole United States ain't that big. It ain't that
big. It ain't big enough. There ain't room enough for you an' me, for your
kind an' my kind, for rich and poor together all in one country, for
thieves and honest men. For hunger and ... more »
Do you, can you, watch your sport online? [update]
EVERYONE’S BEEN A-TWITTER over the last few days about the breaking of the
Sky “monopoly,” and the need for English soccer fans to get themselves a
fast enough connection to watch their favourite sport online—either via
their computer, tablet, smartphone, or through an internet-savvy TV or
set-top box—or through any TV they can hook up to their computer, tablet,
or smartphone.
Much gnashing of teeth about the problems. But you’d think that would give
folk enough choice in how they watch their sport.
And also help to demonstrate that as long as regulatory barriers to entry
remain ... more »
"America Feeds the Rich"
* "America Feeds the Rich"*
by Leo Gerard
"The Farm Bill that is expected to pass the U.S. House this week explains
income inequality in America. The Republican-sponsored proposal slashes
food stamps for poor children and pads farm subsidies for wealthy
agri-businessmen.
This comes just a week after Senate Republicans refused to protect the
poorest students from doubled college loan interest rates because that
required closing tax loopholes that benefit big corporations. It comes just
weeks after a new study showed the Walmart heirs, among the richest people
in the world, pay... more »
Buycott - A Smartphone App Whose Time Has Definitely Come
Tired of unwittingly lining the pockets of the same oligarchs who would
happily sell you and your democracy down the river? Wish you could tell
just who was really behind the products lining your store shelves? Well,
there's an App for that.
It's called Buycott, the handiwork of 26-year old freelance programer Ivan
Pardo.
*Pardo decided to create Buycott after hearing Congressional candidate
Darcy Burner (D-Wash.) propose the idea of an app that allows consumers to
see the corporations behind the products on supermarket shelves during her
keynote speech at last year’s netroots... more »
Dancing about architecture
Elvis Costello once famously berated a music journalist for his questions,
saying “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” *
So let’s dance…
[image: Dancing about architecture]
Points and a chocolate fish if you can name at least three of the
architects or buildings cartooned.
* Yes, yes, lots of others have said it too.
[Hat tip Nelson Brackin. Dancing About Architecture illustration by Grant
Snider. You can get a poster here for your architecture/dance studio.]
Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission
to republish: (organon at... more »
New Toys!
So Southern Man has finished his teaching for the day and is puttering
about his new office when The Dean pokes his head in the door and says "I
have your fall contract ready, and if you'll come sign it now I'll give you
a prize!"
Well Southern Man is a sucker for free stuff so he goes over to The Dean's
office and signs the next year of his life away. And the prize was a little
2 TB Passport USB drive for backups and (as promised earlier) a brand new Microsoft
Surface tablet and a 64 GB microSDXC card to go with it.
The iPad is going to get mighty jealous when this baby comes hom... more »
Chiefs for Change Angered by Duncan’s Temporary Flirt with Sanity
As pressure mounts from parents, students, educators, and admininstrators
against high stakes testing and Common Core Corporate Standards, Team Obama
has finally blinked. ED will offer a one year reprieve to those 37 states
formerly bribed with RTTT money to adopt the CC and teacher eval based on
Common Core national tests. Such a move […]
Satire: "U.S. Promises Smooth Transfer of Quagmire from Afghanistan to Syria"
* *
*"U.S. Promises Smooth Transfer of Quagmire from Afghanistan to Syria"*
by Andy Borowitz
DAMASCUS (The Borowitz Report)— "Supporters of the United States’
twelve-year quagmire in Afghanistan cheered the news today that the U.S.
would strive to achieve a seamless transfer of that quagmire to Syria,
effective immediately. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, sought to reassure those who were concerned that the U.S.
withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan signalled a wavering of the nation’s
commitment to being mired in open-ended military muddles. “... more »
Christy Clark, Running Scared
Well, not that I trust pollsters but rumours abound, Christy Clark is not
polling well in Westside Kelowna..
The public, even Alberta/Kelowna rednecks don`t like a candidate parachuted
into their riding, even if that candidate is the leader of the party, the
NDP are not popular in Kelowna and voters aren`t flocking to that party
either, or the BC Conservative party, what is happening is BC Liberal
voters, those who elected Ben Stewart are simply staying home...In an
obvious desperate move, in a blatant electioneering tactic Christy Clark
has temporarily rescinded the pay hikes... more »
So Even a Pathetic Pipsqueak Like Dana Rohrbacher Scares Boehner?
Dana!
Rohrbacher used to be... a surfer, a folk singer, a pot head, a homo,
Congress' #1 supporter of the Taliban and a terrorist in Afghanistan (or at
least someone who dressed up as a terrorist for a photo shoot). Rohrabacher
recognized the affinity between the Taliban and the Republican Party,
backed them for bringing "stability" to Afghanistan and told his
dumb-as-abrick-constituents in Orange County that the Taliban "intend to
establish a disciplined, moral society" and, like Republicans, are just
misunderstood "devout traditionalists, not terrorists or revolutionaries."
And pe... more »
"Lemons..."
"When life hands you a lemon, say
"Oh yeah, I like lemons. What else you got?"
- Henry Rollins
The Great Unwinding
Has America come undone or has it simply reverted to its natural state as
the inner sanctum of social Darwinism? That's the subject of George
Packer's new book, *The Unwinding*.
Packer discusses the question of whether today's America is the "real
America" in an op-ed published in *The Guardian.*
*In or around 1978, America's character changed. For almost half a century,
the United States had been a relatively egalitarian, secure, middle-class
democracy, with structures in place that supported the aspirations of
ordinary people. You might call it the period of the Roosevelt Repu... more »
"Mundus Vult Decipi, Ergo Decipiatur"
"Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur," a Latin phrase, means "The world
wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived." The saying is ascribed to
Petronius, a Roman satirist from the first century, CE.
"The pontifex maximus Scævola thought it expedient that the people should
be deceived in religion; and the learned Varro said plainly, that "there
are many truths, which it is useless for the vulgar to know; and many
falsities which it is fit the people should not suppose are falsities."
Hence comes the adage "Mundus vult decipi, decipiatur ergo."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/
The End Might Be Near for Common Core
Especially in the last few months, John Merrow has hit some tape-measure
home runs. Merrow’s strike outs can be just as amazing. His last whiff is
a doozy. Merrow tried to use some humor and experimental prose to criticize
the recent trend where, supposedly, “the arrival of the Common Core
apparently means the end of the […]
The Economy: "Warning: For Mature Adults Only"
* *
*"Warning: For Mature Adults Only"*
by Bill Bonner
"We're all f**king f**ked! Neil Barofsky, the federal employee in charge
of auditing the TARP program, says the "U.S. is pretty f**ked." The
Huffington Post reports that he is not the first to resort to the F-word to
describe Americans' situation: "Christina Romer... the former chair of
President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, told Bill Maher last year
that the U.S. was "pretty darned f**ked" on the night that Standard and
Poor's downgraded the country's credit rating. Another Washington official
known for his testy la... more »
Quote of the Day: How to build a car
Today’s quote is paraphrased from page 70 of David Friedman’s 1996 book, *Hidden
Order*:
There are two ways we can produce cars. We can build them in Auckland or
Petone or we can grow them in the Waikato.
Everyone knows how we build automobiles. To grow automobiles, we first
grow the raw material from which they are made – grass. We put the grass
through cows and then out onto ships and send the ships up into the
Pacific. They come back with Hyundais and Hondas on them.
From our standpoint, growing Hondas is just as much a form of
production – using New Zealand dair... more »
"The Horrific $1.5 QUADRILLION Derivatives Bubble"
*"The Horrific $1.5 QUADRILLION Derivatives Bubble"*
That's $1,500,000,000,000,000,000
by Michael Snyder
"Today there is a horrific derivatives bubble that threatens to destroy not
only the U.S. economy but the entire world financial system as well, but
unfortunately the vast majority of people do not understand it. When you
say the word "derivatives" to most Americans, they have no idea what you
are talking about. In fact, even most members of the U.S. Congress don't
really seem to understand them. But you don't have to get into all the
technicalities to understand the bigger ... more »
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