24 Sept - Blogs I'm Following II

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. Penguin paperback (2004). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and Liberal M.P. Bob Rae visit a Khalsa celebration in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Français : Le chef libéral Michael Ignatieff et Député libéral Bob Rae participent à une célébration du Khalsa à Toronto, en Ontario, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4:22pm MDST

Iggy's Back - Slamming Dion, Rae & Layton

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 40 minutes ago

Michael Ignatieff has a reputation for smearing others, even where they've been right and he's been wrong, and he appears to have lost none of his appetite for that sort of thing. In his new book, *Fire and Ashes*, Iggy takes swipes at Stephane Dion, at Bob Rae and at Jack Layton - everyone it seems *except* Stephen Harper. And as for Harper soaring to a majority on the back of Ignatieff's hapless leadership? Well that's the voters' fault, not Iggy's. “*So instead of getting the democracy they deserve, voters end up paying for their own disillusion.*” Thanks, Mike. You're all... more »

Lapham Visits Death

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 40 minutes ago

*For 40 years during the Cold War, the American government,* * both Democrat and Republican, deployed the shadow of death (i.e., the constant threat of nuclear annihilation) * *to limit the freedoms and quiet the voices* * of the American people.* * The surveillance apparatus now waging the perpetual* * war on terror is geared to control a herd of trembling obedience.** * * * So writes American intellectual (and Ben Mulroney father-in-law) Lewis Lapham in an ode to Death. It is not unnatural once one passes the threshold of 60 to pay a bit more attention to the subject. It's not as tho... more »

Council of One via Gillian MacBeth-Louthan: You Hold the Geometries of What Is Sacred

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 44 minutes ago

* * * * *Council of One via Gillian MacBeth-Louthan: You Hold the Geometries of What Is Sacred* Posted by Janice Collins on September 22, 2013 http://www.thequantumawakening.com We have existed long before you were created. We will exist after earth has turned to a star. We come forth from a place that has always existed as Light. You hold memoirs of us within your genetic encodings. We are the ‘Council of One’ and each one of us is stationed at a sacred access and exit on Earth. We align with what has been holy, long before the Earth was fit for life. We align with what was holy b... more »

Second Grade - Skills Strand Lesson 1: Thanks Engageny

antiqueteacher60 at @ THE CHALK FACE - 55 minutes ago

Reblogged from An Antique Teacher: So, today, I did the Core Knowledge Skills Strand Lesson 1 from Module 1. This is the lesson that SHOULD HAVE been taught on Day 1 of Second Grade. There were many materials that I didn't have - flip picture cards (hat, cat, sad, etc), and some things I didn't […]

Coates continues to seem to flip concerning the Zimmerman trial!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 59 minutes ago

*TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013* *A favorite blogger, a struggling progressive culture:* Ta-Nehisi Coates is easily one of our favorite bloggers. Two reasons: He has his own subject matter and he has his own point of view. He doesn’t roll out the twenty familiar topics and say the thirty familiar things, with one or two of the standard points ever so slightly adjusted. That said, Coates has seemed to be doing something unusual in the past week. Unless we’re reading him incorrectly, he’s been changing his stance on the Zimmerman trial, without explaining why. The process continues toda... more »

The Story of the Jews (Part 4)

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 hour ago

Chagall, Russian Wedding Simon Schama's *The Story of Jews *is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the best things the BBC has done in years. A good deal of the credit for that goes to Simon Schama himself. As a story-telling historian, few can match him. This week's episode, Over the Rainbow*, *took us from Eastern Europe to the United States and back again - from the Pale of Settlement to *The Wizard of Oz, *and then (leaving a lump in this viewer's throat) to a village in Nazi-occupied Lithuania - homeland of Simon Schama's own family, on his mother's side. Just one Jewish surv... more »

Some random Cup questions

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 1 hour ago

How do you manage to go sideways in one race for the Auld Mug just when you’re catching up, and then put yourself dead in the water at a start in another one—putting your boat right in the way of the other boat—*just at the moment it looks like you’ve taken the advantage?* From 8-1 down to 8-7 (or 8-9 if you exclude the court’s penalty against Oracle) *are we witnessing the greatest comeback ever in any major sporting contest?* *Isn’t that a reason to admire James Spithill and Russell Coutts*, *instead of denigrating them?* Given that sailors are saying Oracle is a better boat b... more »

“Washington’s Tyranny”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago

* * *“Washington’s Tyranny”* by Paul Craig Roberts "The war criminal Barack Obama has declared his “outrage” over the 62 deaths associated with the takeover of a Nairobi, Kenya, shopping mall by al-Shabaab fighters. But the attack on the shopping mall was Obama’s fault. Al Shabaab spokesmen said that the attack on the Nairobi mall was a retaliatory response to the Kenyan troops sent to fight against them in Somalia. The Kenyan troops, of course, were sent to Somalia as a result of pressure from Washington. Just as the outbreak of violence in Mali resulted from the fighters that O... more »

"Brush Fires..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago

“The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv'd them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas'd them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle; or be cheated out of them by the artifices of f... more »

Nazi Takeover In North Dakota?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 hour ago

Leith, North Dakota is on the map. Actually it isn't *literally* on the map, just in the news. The town was founded in 1910 along a railroad line that was abandoned in 1984. Since there were no highways going through Leith it started losing population. At its height in the 1930s there were 174 people. Today there are 24. It's in Grant County (pop.- 2,394), named for Ulysses S. Grant. Last year Grant County gave Romney 1,012 votes (73%). It also went for defeated Republican Senate candidate Rick Berg by 61% (842) and for winning Republican House candidate Kevin Cramer by 65% (912). ... more »

Saudi Arabia Proxy Wars: Past and Present

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 1 hour ago

* This oped piece *feels like the perfect follow up to yesterday's post-Israel Sides with Syrian Jihadists Different author. Same theme. *Saudi Arabia appears resolute: It wants Bashar Al-Assad out of Damascus.*The Saudis view the fighting in Syria with the same intensity that they did the civil war in Yemen that raged in the 1960s—as a conflict with wide and serious repercussions that will shape the political trajectory of the Middle East for years to come. *The Syrian war presents the Saudis with a chance to hit three birds with one stone: Iran, its rival for regional dominance, Teh... more »

DC Insiders See Bleak Future for CCSS

Michael Paul Goldenberg at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 hour ago

Reblogged from Diane Ravitch's blog: This poll of DC insiders shows a deep pessimism about the prospects for Common Core and reauthorization of NCLB. Most interesting observations: • “Any bandwidth Congress has seems to be devoted to re‐litigating the health care act.” • “There’s no sense of compromise and no incentive on either side to […]

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago

"You know, I've been around the ruling class all my life, and I've been quite aware of their total contempt for the people of the country." - Gore Vidal • Oh, the feeling's mutual, Gore, and growing stronger every single day... A little tune for the "Elite", the parasites... whatcha gonna do? And they are coming... 300,000,000 of them.

Disaster Capitalism and Charter Schools: Revisiting New Orleans Post-Katrina | the becoming radical

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 hour ago

Disaster Capitalism and Charter Schools: Revisiting New Orleans Post-Katrina | the becoming radical.

Comet ISON closing in on Mars

address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 1 hour ago

link: http://youtu.be/E6Yd-TiNiyU Comet C/2012 S1 ("ISON") is closing in on the planet Mars. It should miss Mars by a "hair-length" of about 10 million kilometers. While on its way to the Sun ISON can be found near Mars in small telescopes. NASA has 3 Mars visitors capable of viewing the comet: the Mars Reconnaisance Orbitor and 2 rovers. Within a few weeks we might be able to see what ISON looks like in the Marsian skies. The open question remains as explained in the film: will ISON become "the comet of the century", or will it simply fade away? From daily observations it appears t... more »

Virginia Is For Lovers - Provided They're Married and It's Missionary Position Only

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 2 hours ago

If you enjoy politics, there's no end of fascinating stuff coming out of Virginia in the runup to state elections. State Republicans are in a tizzy at the prospect of Democrats taking the governor and lieutenant-governor slots. After all, the GOP put up Ken Cuccinelli, the guy who, despite the clear ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, wants to recriminalize anal and oral sex, even between consenting, heterosexual married couples. Recent polls show the Democrat, McAuliffe, up by 5 to 8 %. So vexed are the Repugs that they're raising money to run this hilarious TV ad. But, goo... more »

Underestimating Climate Change is "Absurd."

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 2 hours ago

British economist, Lord Nick Stern, says it would be "absurd" to downplaythe risks that climate change poses to the world. *The former World Bank chief economist and author of the key 2006 Stern review on the economics of climate change also warned that scientific projections and economic predictions were underestimating the risks of global warming.* *While scientists recognised some potential impacts such as the melting of permafrost, which would release powerful greenhouse gas methane, could be very damaging, they were left out of models because they were hard to quantify.* *Ma... more »

President Obama Lies At The UN, Again

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 2 hours ago

"Some may disagree, but I believe America is exceptional, in part because we have shown a willingness to through the sacrifice of blood and treasure to stand up not only for own narrow self-interest, but for the interests of all. I must be honest, though. We're far more likely to invest our energy in those countries that want to work with us, *that invest in their people instead of a corrupt few*, that embrace a vision of society where everyone can contribute." - President Obama lying at the UN on Tuesday, September 24, 2013. Does Saudi Arabia ring any bells, Mr. Obama? In Saudi... more »

"OnlineCourses.com"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 2 hours ago

* "OnlineCourses.com"* “Although the concept of free, research-based educational material seems too good to be true, that’s exactly what open courseware provides today. Access to online university courses has become available to anyone, and the quality of content available has drastically improved over time. At OnlineCourses.com you’ll find more than 500 of the best free online college classes, right at your fingertips in one easy-to-access platform, which provide you the opportunity to make use of research-based academic resources from some of the world’s best universities. Yo... more »

Sentencing for a home invasion

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 2 hours ago

R. v. Hill, 2013 ONCA 572: [4] The sentencing objectives of protection of the public, general deterrence and denunciation are given priority in home invasion cases. Sentences in such cases have fallen within a range of as low as four or five years, to as high as 11 to 13 years: *R. v. Wright** (2006)*, 83 O.R. (3d) 427 (C.A.), at paras. 23 and 24. This broad and loose range reflects the fact that a "home invasion" can be committed in a myriad of ways, by a wide range of offenders. As Blair J.A. wrote, at para. 24 of *Wright*, sentencing in a home invasion case "require[s... more »

Ed Miliband's Canny Speech

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 2 hours ago

Our friends in the post below didn't like Ed Miliband's speech because they're scared. They're scared because for over a generation their party has not had to face a serious, social democratic challenge. A bit like a company management that hasn't seen strike action for a very long period of time and all of a sudden workers are balloting for action, the Tories cannot answer the policy offerings Labour's 2013 conference has placed on the table. Tax rises for the very rich. An end to land banking. Sector-specific minimum wages. No more free schools. A million new homes. Tax cuts for ... more »

Satire: “Republicans Warn Iranian President Against Shaking Obama’s Hand”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 3 hours ago

* * *“Republicans Warn Iranian President Against Shaking Obama’s Hand”* by Andy Borowitz WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)— “Republican leaders warned the newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that they would frown on his shaking hands with President Obama at the United Nations today, saying that any embrace of Obama would signal that Iran was not serious about abandoning extremism. “We welcome President Rouhani’s moderate rhetoric,” said Senator Rand Paul (R-Ken.). “But those words are rendered hollow if he is willing to shake the hand of a notorious extremist.” “This i... more »

The Realist Report with John Friend

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 3 hours ago

On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined once again by long time pro-White activist and scholar *John de Nugent*. John and I will be discussing the philosophy and views of Oswald Spengler and Adolf Hitler. Be sure to read John's essay published in The Barnes Review entitled, *Oswald Spengler vs. Adolf Hitler: A comparison of the vary beliefs of two Teutonic nationalists*. Also, I highly encourage everyone to subscribe to both *American Free Press*and *The Barnes Review*! American Free Press and The Barnes Review truly are world-class publications. Please visit *Th... more »

THIS IS SATIRE! : Help Kick Start World War III

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 3 hours ago

From the humor of Second City TV

Tory Responses to Ed Miliband's Speech

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 3 hours ago

To be fair, there have been a couple of thinking responses from the blue corner. Peter Oborne continues his trajectory as a sort-of Tory Dan Hodges, minus the bile and the blockheaded Blairism circa 1997. Anyone who regularly reads his offering knows Oborne is finding it increasingly difficult to hide his admiration for the Labour leader. Hostile, but thoughtful nonetheless is Benedict Brogan's take. Beneath the bluster he faithfully reproduces from CCHQ, he's come to the realisation the Tories face a much tougher opponent than their ridiculous Weak Ed meme suggests. However, I thi... more »

Children should not be allowed to behave like children

skrashen at Schools Matter - 3 hours ago

Testing will finally put an end to all the kindergarten tomfoolery. Published in the Statesman Journal (Oregon), Sept 17, 2013 It's wonderful to know that children in Oregon will be tested on a uniform test just after starting kindergarten ("Oregon kindergartners tested to help gauge first steps in school," Sept 9). Testing at the beginning of kindergarten testing will ensure that preschools will take firm steps to make sure that children are ready for the rigors of kindergarten, as well as encourage parents to follow strict, sequential standards in teaching their toddlers to count a... more »

A Flood Foretold

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Pielke, Jr.) at Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog - 3 hours ago

Back in 1975 Gilbert White and Eugene Haas co-authored a book titled "Assessment of Research on Natural Hazards" (MIT Press) which became a classic of the field. In it, they describe three future disasters, in Miami, San Francisco and Boulder. I have scanned in their 6-page description of the "hypothetical 1975 Boulder flood." It is here in PDF.

The missing core

skrashen at Schools Matter - 4 hours ago

The core of all successful literacy programs Sent to the Greenville (South Carolina) News, Sept. 23, 2013. "Education officials hope new reading program will put students on track to success," (Sept. 21) does not mention the one essential ingredient in all programs aiming to improve literacy: Access to interesting books. There is massive evidence that self-selected reading, or reading what you want to read, is responsible for most of our literacy development. Readers have better reading ability, know more vocabulary, write better, spell better, and have better control of complex gr... more »

Yes, the 2016 Campaign Is On -- But Stop Gaming Out Iowa

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 4 hours ago

Yes, the 2016 nomination battles are on, and reporting on them is a great idea. That said: let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's too early to game out Iowa, much less the events after that. It's too early to declare a candidate (say, Marco Rubio) has already lost his chance. It's not too early to say how policy positions are affecting the contest right now -- but it's still too early, for most issue areas, to have a real sense of how things play out in 2015 among party actors, and certainly too early in most cases to know how they play out among voters in 2016. On the other hand, ... more »

A bizarre 7pm news on BBC Radio 4

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 4 hours ago

The usually most politically correct and pro left wing 7pm BBC Radio 4 news bulletin today was rather odd. First the report on Ed Miliband's conference speech concentrated on the fuel price proposal but had someone from Centrica as the only comment. Second the report on the Nairobi terrorist attack referred to the perpetrators as 'terrorists', not 'militants'. Most peculiar, has someone with some sense infiltrated the BBC newsroom?

How To Tell If Your Employer Is Spying On You

Donna Ballman at Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home - 4 hours ago

You may know that your employer can legally spy on you at work (and outside of work) in several ways. But how do you actually know if your employer is snooping? Here are some signs that your employer may be spying on you: Read more at Jobs Week on AOL Jobs.

What a Great Idea! I'm Tired of Upgrading phones for a Faster Processor and more Memory!

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 4 hours ago

Maybe someone can create some components without NSA backdoors? And how about replacing the unhealthy microwave transceivers with quantum entanglement ones? Hmmmm.... -Bill Posted at: http://www.dudeiwantthat.com/gear/phones/phonebloks-modular-cell-phones.asp * * *Phonebloks - Modular Cell Phones* Dave Hakkens has the perfect cell phone for you. Or rather, he has a Santa Claus sack of bloks you can use to build the perfect cell phone for you. It's called Phoneblok. It's genius. For as many reasons as bloks comprising it. First, Phoneblok's modular nature--a compilation ... more »

Because in Vlad Putin's Russia, This is Piracy

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 4 hours ago

A few inflatable boats delivering a handful of protesters to a massive Russian oil rig in the Arctic and, according to Vlad Putin, that's piracyfor which they could be slammed up in some dingy Russian prison for up to 15-years. In the non-totalitarian world, piracy has always had an element of robbery or violence at its core. But this is the totalitarian world, Vlad Putin's Russia, and he decides what's a crime and what's not. Apparently handing out information pamphlets is also subterfuge, a crime against the Russian state. Can someone remind me why we're taking part in their... more »

Guest blog: on applications of holography

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 5 hours ago

*By Andreas Karch, physics professor at University of Washington* Having recently made my first appearance in the comment section of a physics blog about the general question of "what has AdS/CFT done for us lately?", Luboš offered me the opportunity to write a guest post about the general topic of "AdS/anything", which I'll prefer to call "Applications of Holography". This entry will be loosely based on variety of very similar colloquium level talks I've given about this topic in the last two years. While I'll try to keep this blog post mostly free of technicalities, readers intere... more »

The Economy: “If This Is Success, Then Give Us Failure!”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago

* * *“If This Is Success, Then Give Us Failure!”* by Bill Bonner “The Dow fell 49 points yesterday. Gold fell $5 an ounce. Nothing proven one way or t’other. But the lack of follow through, after the Fed’s historic announcement last week, leaves us wondering: Have equity investors already priced in “QE Forever”? If so, is there nowhere left to go but down? We will leave that thought on the table… get up… and look out the window. It’s been six years since Bear Stearns went broke and five years since Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. What, exactly, has changed? We wish we had b... more »

A Hot Time at the U.N.

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 5 hours ago

Everybody is getting candid all of a sudden. Maybe the new Pope, Francis, is setting an example. At the United Nations, Barack Obama actually cut Iran a little slack, telling the General Assembly that the US gave Iran plenty of reason to remain suspicious back in 1953 when the CIA engineered a coup of Iran's democratically elected government. *The president, speaking a the United Nations general assembly in New York, acknowledged that the mistrust between the two nations had "deep roots", including "America's role of overthrowing the Iranian government in the Cold War".* *He s... more »

Mohawk Nation News 'Roller War'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 5 hours ago

ROLLER WAR Posted on September 22, 2013 MNN. Sept. 21, 2013. The goal of corporate rulers is to kill as many as possible as soon as possible to bankrupt, defeat and control nations. A few “major” multinational states control various sectors of every economy: transport, Food, Communications, Housing, Luxury, and Energy. Not this! Corporate society is the consumer. Wars happen

Cheney Really Was The President In All But Name

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 5 hours ago

I've come late to Barton Gellman's 2008 thriller, Angler-- the Cheney Vice Presidency. The *Washington Post* staff writer won a Pulitzer for covering Cheney for the paper in 2007 and *Angler* expands on that work. The book is beyond gripping... also beyond horrifying when you consider what this inherently evil and seditious man was able to achieve against American democracy with a team of right-wing fanatics. Even before the startlingly partisan Supreme Court stopped the vote count in Florida and awarded Bush-Cheney the White House, Cheney had sewn up control for himself using the... more »

DIGGING IN THE DIRT

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 5 hours ago

- I brought in wood this morning and filled up the racks near our two wood stoves. The weather is turning here, getting colder at night, and time to prepare for the change. - I also started digging up one of our potato beds - rough on the back - but very satisfying to find big and small taters beneath the black dirt. Had to take a break and will do more later today and tomorrow. Need to run to Brunswick and drop off the DVD's from my latest TV show to the station there and check the mail. My Italian scooter, had it about three months now, is provi... more »

The Passing of a Giant of the Bar - Austin M.Cooper Q.C.

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 5 hours ago

A great loss to the bar. He was a true and honourable counsel and a great Canadian.

Blackhole geology

Abraham Ben Judea at Abraham says - 5 hours ago

It has been confirmed that some black holes spin. Some black holes spin at different rates. Some black hole are really massive to the extend of being thousands of times bigger than our Sol. Yet these supper massive objects spin. What forces in the universe make those objects spin? The answer lays in the topology of the Black hole itself. In order for a Black hole begin spinning what forces are needed? The accumulation of matter upon the Black hole as it grows is not enough to make such a large object spin X revolutions per second. (Insert pic of illustration blackhole spinning/e... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 5 hours ago

*Public Forum on what is at stake in the lawsuit filed by the South Louisiana Flood Protection Authority- East against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies* Dear 15706456, Please join me at an important public forum. WHAT: Public Forum on what is at stake in the lawsuit filed by the South Louisiana Flood Protection Authority- East against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies WHEN: Wednesday, September 25, 2013, 6:30 – 8:00 PM WHERE: Basin Street Station, 501 Basin Street, New Orleans In the weeks since the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East (SLFPA-E) filed suit dem... more »

Long Walk 4 Photos near Emporia, Kansas Sept. 24, 2013

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 6 hours ago

By Censored News EMPORIA, Kansas -- The Longest Walk 4 Return to Alcatraz is walking toward Emporia, Kansas today, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. Thanks to Carl 'Bad Bear' Sampson, Western Shoshone, for sharing photos with Censored News. There's more photos from Bad Bear from yesterday at: http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2013/09/long-walk-4-photos-west-of-topeka-kansas.html Today,

We’re surprised that Nocera is stupefied!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 6 hours ago

*TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013* *Pundit makes no suggestions:* In this morning’s column, Joe Nocera issues some standard remarks about mental illness and guns. We don’t necessarily disagree with his remarks. We’re just surprised that Nocera seems to have so little to offer. What are Nocera’s standard remarks? He starts by noticing this: NOCERA (9/24/13): *What has been most stupefying about the reaction to the Navy Yard rampage is how muted it has been.* After the horror of Newtown, people were galvanized. This time, the news seemed to be greeted with a resigned shrug. “Is this the n... more »

Greetings from Global Warming. Now Pay Up or Else.

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 6 hours ago

It doesn't matter how certain they are that climate change is a hoax. They're still going to have to pay up. The U.S. federal flood insurance programme (private sector insurers said 'adios' long ago) is bringing home the reality of climate change in the form of massive premium increases for homeowners in coastal or flood prone areas. From *Reuters:* *Carol Giovannoni, 51, of St. Pete Beach, a barrier island community off Florida's west coast, is one of the people dreading October 1, when the law takes effect. Giovannoni said the annual flood insurance premium on her standard 1... more »

City Of Regina Using American Communications Company (also used by Conservative MPs) To Sway Water Referendum Vote ...

leftdog at Buckdog - 6 hours ago

** *It looks as if the City of Regina has its own version of 'Watergate'!!* *An American communications company is getting a piece of the city's referendum campaign budget for its involvement in Mayor Michael Fougere's telephone town halls.* *Front Porch Strategies, based in Delaware, Ohio, was hired by the City of Regina's polling firm, Direct Marketing Services in Saskatoon, to help carry out three teleforums, said the city's communications manager Deb McEwen.* *Front Porch Strategies' website says "our passion is helping Republican candidates, elected officials, and conservat... more »

Stephen Harper: Exit

LeDaro at LeDaro - 6 hours ago

I did this picture on September 2008 . He was giving a speech standing near an exit. I added "Now" and animation. I am still waiting. It is about time for him to take that exit. All the other signs are there - low poll ratings, Senate scandal, Robocalls .....

Ignore Those Polls! (Shutdown Edition)

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 7 hours ago

There are polls out that have people opposing a shutdown over the ACA; there's also at least one poll out that has blame split if there is a shutdown. Ignore those polls! The later -- "who would you blame?" type polls -- are particularly not to be trusted. People aren't very good at predicting their own reactions to things, especially things they don't know much about and haven't thought much about. But I'd be somewhat skeptical of the first set, as well. It's one thing for (even) Republicans say they are against a description of the Ted Cruz/Mike Lee shutdown strategy; it's quite ... more »

Why Poverty Matters and Is an Excuse

Judy Rabin at Schools Matter - 7 hours ago

Diane Ravitch has been getting a lot of press lately as she tours the country promoting her latest book, *Reign of Error, The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools.* The book's popularity is sending shockwaves through the corporate ed deformer community who thought they could continue their smoke and mirrors show that started more than three decades ago. However, the hoax is over as more parents opt their kids out of the tests and the push back turns fierce. The school privatization movement, once thought to be a crazy conspiracy theory is r... more »

The Failure of Human Agency

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 7 hours ago

I wrote this in a recent comment and thought I'd expand upon it. Larger forces (environmental, economic, technological) are going to have to blindly guide blind humanity towards a different form of social organization. We are incapable of doing it ourselves. (By "we" i mean the better sort of humanity, like us, who act as our species' rational conscience.) Our elites, meanwhile, will lead us to ruin. In other words, human beings are incapable of thinking about a better world, seeing what needs to be done in order to attain that world, and doing the work necessary to see that that ... more »

Right focus

risa bear at A Way to Live - 7 hours ago

Action, to be correct action, must spring from focus. If we react mainly to provocation, or take action aimlessly, our contribution will be correspondingly small. If we visualize a worthwhile project, and concentrate on it day and night, our impact will be the greater. First we ascertain that our vision is "worthwhile." Then, whether we mean to create a one-acre food forest or manage a great nation's food system, we must focus on the task at hand and give it our all. We can see, as we work through these principles, how each of them is a facet of a single principle. It becomes clea... more »

GREAT ACTION IN DC

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 7 hours ago

This is a video of activists working in the coalition FlushTheTPP.orgdropping multiple banners from the US Trade Representatives Building in Washington, DC to protest the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). The groups sought to expose the secret negotiations that have been ongoing throughout the five years of the Obama administration and mobilize people concerned about workers, the environment, banking, food, water, Internet freedom and other issues to take action to oppose the TPP. The TPP will give large transnational corporations absolute power over our lives and make them more p... more »

Iraq’s Federal Court Returns Chief Justice To Top Position

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 7 hours ago

Opponents of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have recently focused upon the judiciary as one way to lesson his power. They have targeted Chief Justice Medhat Mahmoud who dominates the courts as head of the Supreme Judicial Council, the Federal Supreme Court, and the Cassation Court. In December 2012, parliament passed a law separating the head of the Judicial Council from the Supreme Court, and then the Accountability and Justice Commission attempted to remove Judge Mahmoud from office for his work under Saddam Hussein. The very courts that Mahmoud controls overturned both of those... more »

RADIO FREE IRAQ VIDEO: Photographic Exhibition In Iraq

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 7 hours ago

GMO-Riddled ‘Lucky Charms’ Makes it to UK Supermarket, Parents Outraged by Elizabeth Renter

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 7 hours ago

GMO-Riddled ‘Lucky Charms’ Makes it to UK Supermarket, Parents Outraged by Elizabeth Renter Natural Society, 24 September 2013 In the U.S., we tend to live in a bit of a bubble, accepting everything we are exposed to on a daily basis as normalcy. We forget it isn’t the same in other countries around the world. *Case in point: Lucky Charms, an artificially-colored, GMO-riddled cereal popular in the U.S., recently made its way to U.K. store shelves, and parents are outraged.* Lucky Charms, made by GM, is a common breakfast cereal here in the U.S. I imagine many older individuals... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 8 hours ago

*City revenues won’t keep pace with costs ~Amdrew Vanacore, New Orleans Advocate* *Pres Kabacoff outlines $1 billion vision to redevelop New Orleans’ urban core ~Tyler Bridges, The Lens* *Amoeba meeting packs St. Bernard chambers ~WVUE* *Gulf Coast Chapter Meeting Set for November ~Dredging Today* *Calling all contraptions: Marigny party promises freewheeling fun for sci-fi fans ~Ian McNulty*

AMANDA RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT BY LAW: Invention of “the Polish miracle!”

bob somerby at the daily howler - 8 hours ago

*TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013* *Part 2—Plus, the actual facts:* Do Poland’s students achieve high scores on international tests? Has Poland “scaled the heights of international test-score rankings in record time?” Do Polish students “handily surpass Americans’ mediocre performance” on such tests? The answer to all those questions is no—unless you read the New York Times or the Washington Post. In those newspapers, a Polish miracle has now been invented by two journalists, one of whom ought to know better. We expect little from Annie Murphy Paul, a climber of a familiar type who wa... more »

Which Republican Fed The Oppo Research On Right Wing Extremist Ted Cruz To Fox News' Chris Wallace?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 8 hours ago

Karl Rove was on *Fox News Sunday* this week when Chris Wallace announced that "as soon as we listed Ted Cruz as our featured guest this week, I got unsolicited research and questions, not from Democrats but from top Republicans, to hammer Cruz." Accusations started flying across the wingnut blogosphere. McConnell, panic-striken, immediately denied that it was him or any of this staffers trying to undermine Cruz. Palin, sensing an opportunity for some attention, jumped into the fray, demanding, via Twitter, Wallace release the names of the guilty Republicans. The Tweet, which she... more »

Desperation Is The Harvest Of Failure.

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 8 hours ago

Stephen Harper is desperately trying to get Canada's First Peoples to buy into the Northern Gateway Pipeline. But, Michael Harris writes, they will not be snookered by Mr. Harper. They know the man too well: Stephen Harper’s trust account is badly overdrawn. Native leaders will not soon forget how the Conservatives blithely walked away from the work-in-progress that was the Kelowna Accord. Although former prime minister Paul Martin wasn’t around long enough to implement a program that aimed at ending native poverty in a decade, his plan enjoyed wide support and created something ... more »

DC Fiscal follies - Budget and debt ceiling debate.....Continuing spending resolution set to go down to the wire.....

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 8 hours ago

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303983904579091652200060412.html?mod=WSJ_Election_LEFTTopStories Clock Ticks as Senate Begins Budget WorkConflict Between Two Chambers Expected as Oct. 1 Deadline Nears - By - KRISTINA PETERSON - CONNECT WASHINGTON—Senate leaders will start work Monday on a bill to fund federal agencies into the new fiscal year, but it remains unclear whether Congress can finish the job in time to avoid a partial government shutdown. Congress is locked in a partisan dispute over the terms for funding the government for the fiscal ... more »

Some Observations on Minimum Wages

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 8 hours ago

John Cochrane has a nice post on minimum wages. I was recently discussing the topic of minimum wages with a friend who favors them. (He is a prominent economist, whose name you would surely recognize, but conversations with friends are off the record). As justification for his view, he pointed me to this paper by Lee and Saez, called "Optimal minimum wage policy in competitive labor market." What was notable to me about this paper is the incredibly strong assumptions they need to make their case. In particular, Assumption 1. Efficient rationing: Workers who involuntarily lose the... more »

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 9 hours ago

Happy Birthday to Megan Ward, 44. I'm sure people who didn't go to Wesleyan can enjoy PCU; just not sure I get why they would. The good stuff: Here's good news: Thomas is being phased out. Good news for racing? Hey, that is good news. Lydia DePillis on higher yearling sales prices as a sign of economic recovery. Yes, I know that most (okay, almost all) of you don't care. Emma Roller on Ted Cruz, college debater. Double-extra warning: we know how memory works, or doesn't work. We know how partisanship works. It's highly likely that liberals remembering Ted Cruz from years ago would... more »

A major earthquake strikes Pakistan - 7.8 in magnitude , with a strong aftershock measuring 5.9 following shortly thereafter !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 9 hours ago

Major 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake, 5.9M Aftershock Shakes Pakistan, India [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/24/2013 08:01 -0400 - headlines - India - Reuters inShare A few minutes ago headlines hit that as a result of a strong earthquake, buildings shook in Delhi, India. Moments later, the USGS confirmed that a major 7.8 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter 9 miles below the Awaran/Balochistan region in Pakistan had struck, some 43 miles NNE of Awaran, and close to the India border. It is unclear yet if the two quakes were the same alt... more »

UN General Assembly meeting set for September 24 , 2013 - Syria , Iran and NSA spying set to dominate the meeting as tensions run high around these situations and issues presented by same ...

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 9 hours ago

Thaw provoking? Iran ‘ready for engagement’ at UN General Assembly as US, Russia talk Syria Published time: September 24, 2013 11:59 Get short URL [image: United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters, in New York.(Reuters / Chip East)] United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters, in New York.(Reuters / Chip East) Share on tumblr Tags Arms, Conflict, Iran, Politics, Russia,Security, Syria, USA Syria and Iran will be the key items on the agenda at the 68th General Assembly that opens in New York on Tuesday. The stakes are high, with world leaders from nearly 200 member s... more »

Syria updates - some good signs on the chemical weapons issue front - UN chemical weapons experts set to return to Syria Wednesday , while US concedes Syria's list of chemical weapons is substantially complete !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 9 hours ago

Moscow: UN chemical weapons experts to return to Syria Wednesday Published time: September 24, 2013 07:52 Edited time: September 24, 2013 09:02 Get short URL [image: A vehicle of the UN arms experts, inspecting a site suspected of being hit by a deadly chemical weapons attack last week on August 28, 2013 in the Eastern Ghouta area, Syria (AFP Photo / Mohamed Abdullah)] A vehicle of the UN arms experts, inspecting a site suspected of being hit by a deadly chemical weapons attack last week on August 28, 2013 in the Eastern Ghouta area, Syria (AFP Photo / Mohamed Abdullah) Share on tum... more »

If You Ask, They Will Answer

P. L. Thomas at Schools Matter - 10 hours ago

I have recently asked, Whatever Happened to Scientifically Based Research in Education Policy? And it appears that the USDOE has come forward with an answer, as reported by Valerie Strauss: The U.S. Education Department routinely awards millions of dollars in grants to states and organizations, but it seems that it doesn’t have enough money to maintain its “Doing What Works” Web site.... The site has already disappeared. According to Massie Ritsch, the department had no money for Doing What Works. He said in an e-mail: "The ED office managing Doing What Works did not have suffi... more »

If You Ask, They Will Answer

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE - 10 hours ago

I have recently asked, Whatever Happened to Scientifically Based Research in Education Policy? And it appears that the USDOE has come forward with an answer, as reported by Valerie Strauss: The U.S. Education Department routinely awards millions of dollars in grants to states and organizations, but it seems that it doesn’t have enough money to maintain its […]

peace of mind

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 10 hours ago

"We have a largely materialistic lifestyle characterized by a materialistic culture. However, this only provides us with temporary, sensory satisfaction, whereas long-term satisfaction is based not on the senses but on the mind. That’s where real tranquility is to be found. And peace of mind turns out to be a significant factor in our physical health too"...His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Best Practices of ALEC Legislators

2old2care at Because I Can - 11 hours ago

ALEC legislators are always telling the press they get together to share best practices. ALEC BEST PRACTICES - just a few - financial de-regulation - privatization of government goods and services - sale of government lands and buildings to corporations - the elimination of unions - privatization of public pensions - the disenfranchising of student voters - the disenfranchising of senior citizens voters - the disenfranchising of minorities voters - the elimination of the minimum wage - the elimination of a living wage - the elimination of pay equity ... more »

Tablet, Phablet or Smartphone?

Martyn Daniels at Brave New World - 12 hours ago

So how much would you pay for a tablet, or would you rather have a Phablet, or just a good smartphone? Does size matter? Do you have to be been seen with a 10”, 8”, 7” or a 5.5” device? We find ourselves constantly asking what we want and what is the best fit for us? What is clear is that the only word that matters is ‘convergence’ and tablets may be just a stepping stone and far from the answer. We have seen the emergence of eink readers and also their decline. Yes they may still sell and yes they may be good reading devices, but you don’t find many calculators around today as th... more »

Tired!

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 12 hours ago

Today's religious wars

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 12 hours ago

While discussing the mall attack in Nairobi and a church bombing in Pakistan this weekend a friend said "well, it's a religious war". That aside gave me pause. Growing up in Canada in the 1960s the very concept of religious war seemed impossibly ancient. Yes, there was Northern Ireland and Israel's battles but those were easy to view as political or ethnic rather than religious disputes. Northern Ireland divided up people along religious lines but almost no one ever was arguing over, say, the issue of transubstantiation. Similarly Israel could be seen as fighting hostile nations ... more »

The Field, by Lynne Mc Taggert

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 13 hours ago

The Field - Lynne Mc Taggert by noora_laz

O.P.A.L. TOUR

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 13 hours ago

Posted at: http://www.5dmedianetwork.com/opal-tour-2/ O.P.A.L. TOUR The inspiration for the O.P.A.L. Tour began with you. We are guided by the many voices and hearts which reach out for community, unity and being together with the knowing that You are NOT alone anymore. *We are the ones we’ve been waiting for…and we’re DONE waiting* Our Mission: To follow the energetic trail that calls us forth, empowering awakened hearts and minds across the country. To unite our human family by creating a safe, open space for people to connect, commune and share as One People in peace, love,... more »

Heaven Letter 4684

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 13 hours ago

Jack Nicholson Explains the Last 70 Years...

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 13 hours ago

"This Is Your Life..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 15 hours ago

“This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. Every breath is a choice. Every minute is a choice. To be or not to be. Every time you don't throw yourself down the stairs, that's a choice. Every time you don't crash your car, you re-enlist. If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character... Would you slow down? Or speed up?" - Chuck Palahniuk

Dennis Edney on Omar Khadr

Alison at Creekside - 15 hours ago

Reposting this moving clip of Omar Khadr's lawyer Dennis Edney from 2010 : "We cannot rely upon governments or others to help us make society better. Each and every one of us has to be our own leader." Today : Michelle Shephard : "Khadr’s legal odyssey began when he was shot and captured at the age of 15 following a July 27, 2002, firefight with U.S. Special Forces. U.S. Delta Force soldier Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer was fatally wounded by a grenade blast at the end of the battle. The Pentagon accused Khadr of throwing the grenade and charged him with “murder in violation... more »

August/September, 1973

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 15 hours ago

I've fallen behind again, and so this will be a catch up post leading into the major events of October. The Spiro Agnew story finally broke publicly in August, leading to a drawn out set of negotiations, feints, and jousting. Agnew battled through August and into September, but it was no good. He even attempted, at one point, to get the House to open impeachment proceedings against him, presumably figuring that party loyalty might save him in the Senate. But he was thwarted in that one by Majority Leader Tip O'Neill, who had, as Fred Emery says, another impeachment in mind. With th... more »

"Life is A Journey- Don't Be Afraid"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 15 hours ago

"Life is A Journey- Don't Be Afraid" Author Unknown "Life is a journey filled with lessons, hardships, heartaches, joys, celebrations and special moments that will ultimately lead us to our destination, our purpose in life. The road will not always be smooth; in fact, throughout our travels, we will encounter many challenges. Some of these challenges will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith. Along the way, we may stumble upon obstacles that will come between the paths that we are destined to take. In order to follow the right path, we must overcome these obstacles... more »

SAS IN MALL WHEN ATTACK BEGAN

Anon at aangirfan - 15 hours ago

*At the Kenyan mall, the man with the gun is in the UK's Special Air Services (SAS). * According to the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph: "The SAS soldier shown above was having coffee at the Westgate mall (in Kenya) when it was attacked. "With a gun tucked into his waistband, he was pictured helping two women out of the complex. "He is said to have returned to the building on a dozen occasions, despite intense gunfire. "Sources said the soldier was with the SAS, but he cannot be named for security reasons. "A friend in Nairobi said: 'He went back in (the mall) 12 times." *Read... more »

"An Issue of Human Survival: Fukushima Fuel Pool at Unit 4. Humankind’s Most Dangerous Moment"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 15 hours ago

*"An Issue of Human Survival: Fukushima Fuel Pool at Unit 4.* * Humankind’s Most Dangerous Moment"* By Harvey Wasserman "We are now within two months of what may be humankind’s most dangerous moment since the Cuban Missile Crisis. There is no excuse for not acting. All the resources our species can muster must be focussed on the fuel pool at Fukushima Unit 4. Fukushima’s owner, Tokyo Electric (Tepco), says that within as few as 60 days it may begin trying to remove more than 1300 spent fuel rods from a badly damaged pool perched 100 feet in the air. The pool rests on a badly d... more »

James Naughtie: Mr Impartiality?

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 16 hours ago

Last Wednesday marked the start of a year's worth of BBC coverage of the September 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Leading Radio 4's coverage of the story will be *Today*'s very own Scotsman, James Naughtie. He will still be doing *Today*, as well as presenting a twice-weekly stint on Radio Scotland's *Good Morning Scotland, *and acting as Radio 4's chief reporter on the story. So a busy year for him then. Last Wednesday's *Today* kicked things off Jim's big year, and gave Radio 4 listeners their first chance to here how even-handed James Naughtie would (or wouldn't) be in... more »

Untitled

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 16 hours ago

Low tide at the Bay of Fundy. [photographer unknown]

Leaked IPCC report, summary, June 2013 version

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 16 hours ago

The summary for policymakers will be officially out on Friday but the nearly final version completed in June 2013 had been leaked – some people say that it was leaked deliberately to prepare the obedient alarmist inkspillers in the media to make their hype easier. Long after these journalists, we could finally obtain the document, too. I have to start with the usual disclaimer before I give you the link: *Disclaimer:* All events, data, and mechanisms appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real events, past or future, is purely coincidental. -----------------------... more »

Mainstream Media and the Truth that Matters is like Father Ted Kicking Bishop Brennan up the Arse

NO ONE TO VOTE FOR at NO ONE TO VOTE FOR - 16 hours ago

. When Father Ted had to kick Bishop Brennan up the arse (as a forfeit for cheating in a football match) he expected to get away with it. He knew that the suggestion he had kicked his excellency up the arse WAS SO UNSPEAKABLE IT COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE TRUE. NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE SUCH AN OUTRAGE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED. And so it proved for a while. In spite of the fact that the exact moment of the event was photographed by Ted's assistant, Fr. Dougal.........in spite of the physical evidence showing at least six inches of Ted's boot invisible between the cheeks of the good ... more »

SACK KENNY

Anon at aangirfan - 16 hours ago

*Kenny * "Lockerbie campaigners have called for a group of international prosecutors to investigate the Scottish government’s handling of complaints about the inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing. "Pressure group Justice for Megrahi says the *International Association of Prosecutors* (IAP) should examine *Scottish justice minister Kenny MacAskill * and* Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland*’s “objectivity and independence”. "The group has made eight separate allegations against police and the Crown Office over the investigation that led to the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi for carryi... more »

Civil War In Iraq: A Matter of When?

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 17 hours ago

*Photo Source: Reuters/Azad Lashkari (July 2013).* In July, Geoffrey Ingersoll wrote an article for the Business Insider called, *"Why Iraq Is On The Brink Of Civil War."* An excerpt: "Iraq's massive prison break made big headlines, but Baghdad has worse problems than 500 escaped jihadis. Namely, looming civil war. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — a partisan Shi'ite — tried to blame Iraq's sectarian unrest on the Syrian Civil War, but Iraq's problems run far deeper than that. Now the country is on the brink of total dissolution, the Kurds are acting autonomously, and the rise ... more »

Who's to blame

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 17 hours ago

It couldn't be more clear. The damn Republicans broke our government, exactly as they promised to do on the day President Obama was sworn into office. And that public announcement was not made by the crackpot caucus. As Steve Benen said: "Blame both sides" instincts notwithstanding, there's an objective truth here for those willing to acknowledge it. Radicalized congressional Republicans, who refuse to compromise, are ignoring election results and relying on extortion politics to try to advance their far-right agenda. It's actually quite obvious. Democrats "are opposed to everyth... more »

If there are actually any Republicans out there looking to "learn lessons," here's one: "Be afraid. Be very afraid"

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 18 hours ago

*If I were to tell you that "the answer is Jeb Bush," could you guess what the question might be?* *by Ken* As regular readers know, here at *DWT *we're not big fans of washingtonpost.com's "Fix"-master, Chris Cillizza, that fearless champion of Village-sanctified reality, and in a moment I'm going to offer an example of why. For now, while I'm not going to make a big point of urging you to read his post "Republican Party could learn a lot from the Democrats of 1989," I'll say I think it's worth a look. He's taking off from a piece in the fall issue of *Democracy: A Journal of Id... more »

Guest Post - Why Bamboo Flooring is the Eco Friendly Alternative to Wood

Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints - 18 hours ago

The trouble with wood flooringWood flooring can be a gorgeous addition to any home, as wood is often both more beautiful than carpeting and also more durable. A good wood floor can improve the property value of your home as well, and as wood floors are relatively easy to install, the cost of making the switch is relatively low. However, as with any major change to your home, wood floors present unique challenges to the homeowner. One of your biggest concerns when installing a wood floor may be the environmental impact of the change, since the creation of a beautiful hardwood floor r... more »

Governments That Are Deaf To The Opinions And Sentiments of Their People Always Collapse In The End

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 18 hours ago

"Deafness to public opinion ought to be deprecated. But there are times when it is right for a man to stand up against the people as did Noah, Elijah, Luke, John the Baptist, Savonarola, and Wendell Phillips. God bless them for what they did, and their courageous action shown. Many men are caught up by public opinion like Aaron and his calf. How many there are who have not the courage of their convictions because public opinion stands against them." - P.S. Henson D.D., *"P.S. Henson D.D. On Public Opinion." * The international community must look beyond the deaf and bankrupt U.S. ... more »

My Top Ten Favorite Sequels

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 18 hours ago

I almost always feel a little sad when I finish a good book. The one thing that helps is knowing there is a sequel waiting for me. Sometimes the sequels are terrible and sometimes I love them. Here are some of my favorites. Linking up with The Broke and The Bookish. Lola and the Boy Next Door- I know a lot of people didn't love this one as much as Anna and the French Kiss, but I am enamored with it. I really loved Lola's bright, fun personality and the story unfolded beautifully. I especially loved see a little bit more of Anna. The Malloren- This is an entire sequel series to the... more »

Nauseating Health Care Idiocy from Forbes

Kenneth Thomas at Middle Class Political Economist - 19 hours ago

A non-blogging friend points me to this new article at *Forbes* by Chris Conover purporting to show that the "typical family of 4" will see its health care spending rise by $7450. He quotes the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), saying "in its first ten years, Obamacare will boost health spending by 'roughly $621 billion' [that's the CMS quote] above the amounts Americans would have spent without this misguided law." How stupid is this? Let us count the ways. First of all, this is not $7450 per year, but over the entire 10-year (or more likely 9-year; he usually refer... more »

Nasrallah's Statements On Turkey And Saudi Arabia Don't Go Far Enough

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 19 hours ago

*Death To Saudi Arabia. Death To Turkey. Death To Qatar.* In a speech on Monday, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah criticized Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries for their negative and destructive role in fueling the war in Syria. It is well known that both Turkey and Saudi Arabia *have been funding and arming al-Qaeda* as well as other Jihadist terrorist groups in Syria*. *They aim* *to destroy Assad's regime and suppress Kurdish rights and the rights of other minorities. Below is an excerpt from the article, *"Nasrallah Warns Turkey, Gulf on Syria"* by Ali Hashe... more »

Syria's Bashar al-Assad condemns US over 'war' threat

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 19 hours ago

Title: Syria's Bashar al-Assad condemns US over 'war' threat. Source: telegraphtv. Date Published: September 23, 2013. Description: Syrian President Bashar Assad told Chinese state TV that his government will work with international experts to allow access to its chemical weapons sites, but attacked the US over its "excuses for war".

And now..... We play!!!

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 19 hours ago

* * * * *WEDNESDAY, 23 JANUARY 2013* Posted by D. at: http://removingtheshackles.blogspot.com/2013/01/and-now-we-play.html And now..... We play!!! Now it's time for Play Time. Imagination is all you need. * Think about it * Imagine it * Draw it * Sing it * Dance it * Haiku it http://kauilapele.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/an-exercise-playing-with-gold-energy-that-is/ AN EXERCISE… “PLAYING WITH GOLD (ENERGY, THAT IS…)” There are occasional OPPT type communications that arrive to my computer. And occasionally, something is sent/posted which hits my heart, backside, Innards, Inne... more »

Right work

risa bear at A Way to Live - 20 hours ago

From right doing, right work naturally flows. It is understandable if one has had to keep working at a fast-food place to help support one's children, but one must also keep an eye out for a better livelihood, as fast-food places poison the population. In general few *jobs* meet this principle, as the world system has grown toward wage slavery to enrich those already rich, to most of whom the prospect of such enrichment doing harm to the population is of little or no concern. It can be helpful to learn a craft or trade that may provide safe and nutritious food, clean water, goods... more »

With Merkel's third term taken care Sunday , on Monday ECB President Draghi just happens to note that he ready to whip out the LTRO Bazooka once again ! And coincidentally , all of the sudden the Troika is displeased with Greece again ( primary surplus doubts ) ! And funny how italian bank Monte Paschi just decided to bail in bondholders by halting 650 million in coupon payments ! And Iceland decided to drop deposit insurance over 100, 000 euros ..... One has to wonder what tomorrow will bring ?

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 20 hours ago

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/09/europe-hooked-on-easy-money-too-ecb.html ( Funny how this has come out the day after the German Election... ) Monday, September 23, 2013 12:21 PM Europe Hooked on Easy Money Too: ECB President Draghi Threatens Another LTRO, Sings Praises of Excess Liquidity ECB president Mario Draghi is in on the no-normalization act along with the Fed. Of course, a mere reduction in asset purchases by the Fed from $85 billion a month to $75 billion is not even a baby step towards normalization. Anyway, it's liquidity full throttle in the Eurozone... more »

Mining 34: EITI, Taxes and Other Costs of Regulations

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 20 hours ago

* This is my article yesterday in Mining Week. --------- The World Bank and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) International Secretariat will hold a “Conference on the Adoption of the 2013 EITI Standards” this coming 26-27 September 2013, at Crowne Plaza Galleria in Ortigas. EITI is a non-government, non-UN, non-foreign aid international system that requires both the government and the private enterprises in the extractive industry (petroleum, gas, mining) to report among others, information like how much government has collected and how much private enterprise... more »

Pope Francis, Here. Today's Sermon - Globalization Sucks!

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 20 hours ago

Know what Pope Francis likes about globalization? Nothing. Big fat zero. *Visiting an Italian region especially hard hit by the European economic crisis, Pope Francis blamed high unemployment on globalization driven by greed and said those who give charitable aid to the poor must treat their beneficiaries with dignity. "We want a just system, a system that lets all of us get ahead," the pope said Sept. 22, in his first address during a full day on the Italian island of Sardinia. "We don't want this globalized economic system that does us so much harm. At its center there should... more »

Who Said "It's Wrong That Millions Of People Are Going Out To Work Unable To Afford To Bring Up Their Families?"

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 21 hours ago

Maybe you saw Emily Jane Fox's CNN story over the weekend on what it takes to raise a family on three minimum wage jobs. The story takes place in Chicago: Between the two jobs, Jackson is working about 70 hours a week. He makes $8.75 an hour at Chick-fil-A and $10.22 at Walgreens, where he's been working for three years. He's also studying to get his bachelor's degree in criminal justice and psychology so that one day he only has to work one job, one shift. His children's mom works at Walgreens, too, making $10 an hour. The kids are in daycare all day, which costs them $150 eac... more »

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago

“South of Antares, in the tail of the nebula-rich constellation Scorpius, lies emission nebula IC 4628. Nearby hot, massive stars, millions of years young, radiate the nebula with invisible ultraviolet light, stripping electrons from atoms. The electrons eventually recombine with the atoms to produce the visible nebular glow, dominated by the red emission of hydrogen. * Click image for larger size.* At an estimated distance of 6,000 light-years, the region shown is about 250 light-years across, spanning an area equivalent to four full moons on the sky. The nebula is also cata... more »

Kenyan Bloodbath: State-Sponsored Sophistication & Motivation

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 21 hours ago

Anti-ICC Kenyan President and his government appear to be the target of US-bolstered Al Qaeda attack. [image: San Diego woman Elaine Dang was injured in the Nairobi shopping mall attack Saturday. She was escorted to safety and later tweeted a picture of her recovery in the hospital.]SIEGFRIED MODOLA/REUTERS *September 24, 2013* (Tony Cartalucci) - What are the chances that family members of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta just so happened to be visiting Nairobi's Westgate Mall in the midst of an unprecedented cross-border attack by Al Qaeda Al Shabaab terrorists - and that these fami... more »

"The Battle..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago

“The whole course of human history may depend on a change of heart in one solitary and even humble individual- for it is in the solitary mind and soul of the individual that the battle between good and evil is waged and ultimately won or lost.” - M. Scott Peck

Chet Raymo, “The Sadist Next Door”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago

* “The Sadist Next Door”* by Chet Raymo “The current TLS (“Times Literary Supplement”) has an absorbing review of American Historian Joel Harrington's book on the manuscript diary of a 16th-century German executioner, Franz Schmidt of Nuremberg. Remarkably, Schmidt kept a full record of the criminals he executed, the crimes they perpetrated, and the gruesome ways they met their fate. It is a tale that would chill most 21st-century readers. Hangings, beheadings, burnings at the stake, and breakings with the wheel. In the latter custom, a heavy cartwheel is dropped onto the person... more »

New York Times Editorial Board BLASTS Stephen Harper For Muzzling Scientists To Promote Oil Industry Interests ...

leftdog at Buckdog - 21 hours ago

*OTTAWA — The New York Times editorial board is taking the Harper government to task for allegedly silencing publicly funded scientists, a strategy the Times says is designed to ensure oilsands production proceeds quietly.* *The strongly worded Sunday editorial comes as the PR fight over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline is heating up, with U.S. President Barack Obama yet to make a decision on whether to approve the project that would transport bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands to the U.S. Gulf Coast.* *Silencing Scientists* *Over the last few years, the government of Canada — led b... more »

Notice how cut scores are a choice, not a measure of proficiency. #DCPS

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE - 22 hours ago

I’m sure you’ve heard of this. DCPS, the system in which I teach, “chose” math cut scores to perhaps load more positive results, thus trying to make the argument that prevailing reforms, largely propagated by huckster Michelle Rhee, “worked.” Note that CUT SCORES are political choices, nothing scientific or verifiable. They are subjective. This is […]

RESIST THE DRONES

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 22 hours ago

On September 19th the Congressional Drone Caucus had a joint party and exhibit with the drone lobby AUVSI. Horrified by the smug relationship between our elected officials and the merchants of robotic death, CODEPINK decided to remind party goers about all the innocent people killed by their drones. Learn how you can resist drones and the war machine at the 2013 CODEPINK Drone Summit- more info can be found *here*

Score Reports: Send ‘em Back

Chris Cerrone at @ THE CHALK FACE - 22 hours ago

In a state-wide effort to protest the lack of validity, loss of instruction time, and educational harm caused by mandated state assessments, New York State Allies for Public Education has called for parents to “send the scores back”. Parents around New York will be sending back to their children’s score reports to NYSED Commissioner John […]

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 23 hours ago

Martinez, California, USA. Thanks for stopping by.

What DO you Create?

Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 23 hours ago

If you could create anything, anything at all, with no limits..... what would you create? Take a moment and think about that. One of my favorite authors of all time was Robert A Heinlein, and one of my favorite books was actually one of the last that he wrote before he passed in 1986. The book was called "The Number of the Beast". In my opinion it was hugely misunderstood by the vast majority of fans and critics alike - as was Heinlein himself. The basic premise of the story is that the 4 main characters hop into a flying car that had been retrofitted with a mechanical device tha... more »

More From Jeremy at ASD Responding to My Education Agenda

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 23 hours ago

Jeremy had some responses to my earlier 7 points for improving schools: 1) socioeconomically integrate the schools (biggest bang for the achievement buck ever); 2) return public schools to the public, rather than handing them over to corporations; 3) extend Medicaid to poor students; 3) demand more qualified teachers, rather than replacing teachers with unprepared temps from TFA; 4) base curriculum and instruction decisions with teachers and researchers, rather than contractors from the Gates Foundation or TFA alums who don't even know how ignorant they are; 5) adequately fund TN scho... more »

“7 Vile and Ridiculous Moments From the Country's Right-Wing Fringe This Week”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 23 hours ago

* * *“7 Vile and Ridiculous Moments From* * the Country's Right-Wing Fringe This Week”* By Janet Allon *“1. Christian radio hosts says Colorado floods caused by homosexual activity. *However much he excels at it, Pat Robertson is far from the only televangelist who blames natural and unnatural disasters on gay people; plenty of young, up-and-coming, ultra-right, impervious-to-science bible-thumpers agree. So it was that this week, Christian pastor and radio host Kevin Swanson said abortion, marijuana legalization and “decadent homosexual activity” were the causes of the catastrop... more »

This is the speech I intended to give at the Southern Education Foundation Public Education conference this weekend. . . .

Michael Paul Goldenberg at @ THE CHALK FACE - 23 hours ago

Reblogged from Crazy Crawfish’s Blog 9/23/13 This is the speech I intended to give at the Southern Education Foundation Public Education conference this weekend. . . ..

Last Year A Leading Iraqi Shiite Cleric Compared Kurds To Rogues And Said Imam Mahdi Will "Save" Them

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago

Last year, *Jalal al-Din Ali al-Saghir*, a leading Iraqi Shiite cleric who is a former member of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and served as the chairman of the Paris Mosque in France when he was in exile, compared the Kurds of Iraq to rogues in a religious sermon and said that they will be annihilated by the Shiites' long-awaited saviour Imam Mahdi. The racist and hateful speech, titled, "The Kurdish Movement and the Dawn of Mahdi Vanguards," describes Kurds as "rogues" and "renegades" who have departed from religion and morals*. *Shiites believe that Kurds will be "saved" by... more »

Scranton careens toward bankruptcy , Philly schools a hot mess , Detroit in bankruptcy , Chicago following the same path as Detroit ....... troubles in Muniland ! Is the US becoming a Banana Republic ?

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/09/scranton-pennsylvania-careens-towards.html Friday, September 20, 2013 10:16 AM Scranton, Pennsylvania Careens Towards Bankruptcy; Real Whiff of Union Priorities; Reflections on Municipal Bonds With public unions threatening to seize Scranton assets including fire trucks, how long will it take for Scranton to do the smart thing and declare bankruptcy? The Times-Tribune reports Scranton police/fire unions get $21M judgment against city; may seize assets to collect. Scranton's police and fire unions have received a judgment against ... more »

Why Southern Sweden's Police Should Immediately Create a Registry of Police Officers and their Families

noreply@blogger.com (Christian Munthe) at Philosophical Comment - 1 day ago

So here's the not so very tasty news from my country today, broken by our largest daily, *Dagens Nyheter*: The police force of southern Sweden has been running a registry, based on biological/genetic/familial/genealogical principles worthy of any classic nazi or racial biologist, of roma or "traveller" people, comprising of over 4000 persons, among which are 1000 plus children – and also some long deceased ancestors. Read English reports here, here and here (some other Swedish reports are here, here, here, here). One of the family-tree structures look like this (click it for more ex... more »

Updated Peltier Tribunal Witnesses and Judges

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 day ago

INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL TO FREE LEONARD PELTIER Preliminary Agenda October 2-4, 2013 Sponsored by the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee – International Office Oneida Nation in Green Bay, WI Day 1: October 2, 2013 Welcome 9:00 – 9:20 a.m. – Opening Prayer Ceremony 9:20 – 9:40 a.m. – Welcome Dorothy Ninham, Director of Wind Chases the Sun, Inc., and Fmr Oneida

Fukushima updates - September 23 , 2013 - a great photo essay from Ryuichi Kino - Time frozen in Ex - Evacuation Zone in Fukushima...... Energy News items of the day - things are far worse than the public is being told regard the extent of ongoing radiation contamination....

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

The desert of the real....... MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 Photo Essay by Ryuichi Kino: Time Frozen in Ex-Evacuation Zone in #Fukushima Independent journalist Ryuichi Kino went to Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in June 2013, his fourth. Along the way, he went inside the ex-evacuation zone (no-entry zone within 20-kilometer radius from the plant) and took these photos, and posted onhis Flickr site. (Copyright: Ryuichi Kino, all rights reserved.) Kino wonders aloud in his tweet, *"How do they expect the residents to live here? Will the tanks full of contaminated water and the reacto... more »

The Realist Report with John Friend

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 1 day ago

On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined by *Lenon Honor*. We'll be discussing Fear Based Mind Control and psychological warfare. Please visit *The Realist Report* on TalkeShoe to download this and past episodes. Below are relevant links and video for this program: - *Book Review - The 911 Fear-Based Mind Control Program* by John Friend - *Endless Fukushima catastrophe: 2020 Olympics contamination threat* by Dr. Helen Caldicott (Be afraid, be very afraid!) - *Propaganda* by Edward Bernays: *THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habi... more »

Mind controlled manchurian candidates - is this one thread the thing that ties together Aaron Alexis ( Naval Sea Command Center shootings ) , John Holmes ( Aurora Colorado " Batman theatre showing shootings ) and Adam Lanza ? That coupled with the everchanging facts of each case and the " curious " conduct of law enforcement and other Authorities present in each situation ....

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/archives/9654 CIA, mind control & mass shootings – Is there a correlation? *By Douglas J. Hagmann* *23 September 2013:* Consider the common public characterizations of the perpetrators of the last several mass shootings in the U.S., such as John Holmes (the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting), Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook Elementary School) and most recently, Aaron Alexis, the named shooter at the Naval Sea Systems Command inside the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast Washington, D.C. Even the most skeptical among us would have to agree that ther... more »

Florida Becomes #4 to Withdraw from Corporate Common Core

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 1 day ago

First there were Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Missouri. Now you can addFlorida as the latest state to withdraw from PARCC, with bills pending in Michigan and Ohio. Meanwhile, Arne Duncan creates a straw man and labels it a liar in order to cover his own mendacity. No one is claiming that ED wrote or mandated the Rotted Common Core, but we are claiming that ED was in total agreement with the contracted work on the Core done by David Coleman and paid for the Oligarchs, and then ED actively bribed states to adopt the Core in order to have a chance at Race to the Top money. Without the... more »

Why Daniel Elsener Must Be Removed from the Indiana State Board Of Education Now

Doug Martin at Schools Matter - 1 day ago

Below are more than enough reasons why Daniel Elsener needs removed from the Indiana State Board of Education now. This information comes from my soon-to-be-released book, Hoosier School Heist. Below the entry please also read the statement from the Education Community Action Team & Parent Power Indianapolis, and be sure to email the necessary individuals listed below to voice your protest against Elsener and the state board: v Daniel Elsener is Indiana governor Mike Pence’s henchman on the Indiana State Board of Education and is trying to take all power away from the democratic... more »

Iran readies for nuclear talks and has its new team making the rounds - can they find honest brokers to deal with though ?

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-230913.html *Zarif turbocharges Iran's diplomacy* By Kaveh L Afrasiabi NEW YORK - Dr Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's new foreign minister, is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly meeting and at the same time advance Iran's foreign policy priorities at a delicate time in Middle East politics which is wrought with multiple conflicts and endemic insecurities. Since his appointment and subsequent enthusiastic approval by the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), Zarif has traveled first to Iraq and then Central Asia, for the Shanghai Cooperat... more »

The Economy: “Janet, What's a Nice Lady Like You Doing in a Place Like This?”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

*“Janet, What's a Nice Lady Like You Doing in a Place Like This?”* by Bill Bonner “Bad day for US stocks on Friday… And after all that stimulus too! You put in about $3 trillion of QE... $700 billion of TARP... $23 trillion of credit guarantees... $5 trillion of fiscal deficits… and this is all you get. What a disappointment. From British newspaper The Telegraph: "The net loss of jobs over the summer months has been entirely among men, mostly aged 25 to 54 and university educated. The cohort aged over 55 has been growing, so this is not happening because baby boomers are retir... more »

“evil” @DianeRavitch said do what’s right and save your soul.

Timothy D. Slekar at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago

Last night Shaun and I had the chance to talk to one of our favorite guests—Diane Ravitch. We talked about her new book—Reign of Error—and the possibilities of ending the reform movement. Diane gave me a brand new kick in the arse! Simple yet powerful. How do we fight the reform movement? We do […]

Peace With Iran? Warmonger Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL): "I Miss Ahmadinejad."

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago

Right-wing extremists are pissed off at the thought of peace Kerry and his little cabal of imperialistic interventionists failed to force Obama into bombing Syria and failed in their attempt to make Kerry "President for Foreign Affairs." But that's not going to slow down McCain and Lindsey Graham, ironically, two of Kerry's top allies in the power struggle. Latest freakout is over Obama's diplomatic interaction with Iran's moderate new president, Mohamed Rouhani. Extremists in Iran seem, for once, less extreme than extremists in Washington. Hawkish fundamentalists, including the eli... more »

Elsewhere: GOP, Shutdown

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 day ago

Two new columns out, one over the weekend and one hot off the presses today: At TAP, I run down the likely scenarios, and incentives, after a shutdown starts. I don't think we're going to see one, but here's a guide to the next steps if we do. And over at Salon, I sketch out the relationship between the post-policy GOP and the ability of the Crazy Caucus to bully the sane mainstream conservatives. This one sort of follows up on my "they need a Pope" post from last week: basically, mainstream conservatives need some way of proving their conservative credentials, and without policy (o... more »

Ben Fulford: Gold is just a yellow metal that you cannot eat September 23, 2013

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago

* * *Use your internal resonance as usual... comments in red are mine solely... -Bill* * * *Ben Fulford Gold is just a yellow metal that you cannot eat * *September 23, 2013* Posted at: (Before It's News) Benjamin Fulford There has been a lot of frenetic activity in the past week and a lot more turbulence is expected over the coming days as the death throes of the corporate so-called government of the United States continue. There is also so much fog and disinformation surrounding this event that good old fashioned analogue reporting is needed. To this end last week I talked to fo... more »

Better than STUNEX, NSA attack Germany inteligence

Abraham Ben Judea at Abraham says - 1 day ago

*Cyber war report*... Stuxnet is old Must read report of *panic in Germany* and in the highest intelligence levels...NSA uses new form of internet virus...soon to come back to bite us... Abraham Ben Judea Donate for the Cryptome archive of files from June 1996 to the present ------------------------------ 23 September 2013 *Belgacom Hack (EN)* ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 14:32:57 +0200 Subject: Re: Belgacom Hack From: Matthijs Koot To: John Young I posted the below at http://blog.cyberwar.nl/2013/09/belgacom-on-brink-of-catastrophe.html Use this content ... more »

Saudia Arabia threatens to end career of AP Journalist Dale Galvlak - who exposed the involvement of not just the syrian rebels as being behind the August 21 , 2013 chemical weapon alleged attack in Syria ( through which the US was almost thrust into the Syria War on behalf of Al Qaeda influenced rebel forces ) , but also the involvement of the Saudis ! And the threats seems to be folowed through on as AP has suspended Gavlak indefinitely with no public explanation from AP !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

http://www.infowars.com/saudi-arabia-threatens-to-end-career-of-ap-reporter-over-chemical-weapons-story/ Saudi Arabia Threatens to “End Career” of AP Reporter Over Chemical Weapons Story - [image: The Alex Jones Channel][image: Alex Jones Show podcast][image: Prison Planet TV][image: Infowars.com Twitter][image: Alex Jones' Facebook][image: Infowars store] Journalist who exposed how rebels were behind August 21st attack faces intimidation *Paul Joseph Watson* Infowars.com September 23, 2013 Associated Press reporter Dale Gavlak has been threatened over her involvement in ... more »

Gun Lobby: An armpit which stinks - a killer stink

LeDaro at LeDaro - 1 day ago

*Matt Bors: Political cartoonist for Medium. Author of Life Begins At Incorporation*

Evidence for My School Priorities

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 1 day ago

Someone asked, and please include your name if you want your comment printed, to provide evidence that my "fixes" could work better than another generation of the corporate status quo based on more testing accountability, segregation, and blaming teachers. I will start with the first one: 1) socioeconomically integrate the schools (biggest bang for the achievement buck ever); Find blog posts here and here and here, with citations to some of the research. Other evidence here and here, and here is my essay review ofGerald Grant's must read book, Caught Between Hope and Despair. . .... more »

Video Interview of Edward Snowden's Lawyer

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 1 day ago

*Published on Sep 23, 2013* ** Who pays for Snowden's security in Russia? Where is he living? Does he like it in Russia, has he made any friends? Why could nobody find him in Sheremetyevo Airport? Scores of questions have been surrounding Snowden's summer landing in Moscow, but the whistleblower is maintaining media silence. The only person known to have access to him is his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena. We decided the best way to figure out what's currently happening with Edward Snowden was to invite his counselor for a chat. FOLLOW SophieCo on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SophieCo_RT... more »

"True, True..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

"The great thing about the internet is that you get to meet people you would otherwise only meet if you were committed to the same asylum." - Robert Brault • Related: “5 Seemingly Crazy Behaviors the Internet Says Are OK” - http://www.cracked.com/

CAROLINA MASON LINK TO KENYA MALL ATTACK?

Anon at aangirfan - 1 day ago

The Kenyan *Daily Post* has "identified different codes" used by the group that attacked the Kenyan Mall on 21 September 2013. *DAILY POST: Codes used by AL SHABAAB * *Reportedly, the codes relate to Masonic lodges in Charlotte, North Carolina.* *Harvey Point, in North Carolina, is used for CIA paramilitary and 'counter-terrorism' courses that involve high explosives and ballistics. * Harvey Point was used by Navy SEAL Team Six to train for the raid that pretended to kill Osama bin Laden, in a scale mockup of the secret compound. [3][4] *Reportedly, Somalia's al-Shabaab t... more »

Long Walk 4 Photos west of Topeka, Kansas

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 day ago

Thanks to Western Shoshone Long Walker Carl 'Bad Bear' Sampson for today's photos of the Longest Walk 4 walking west from Topeka, Kansas! www.returntoalcatraz.com From Buck Sampson Greetings Walkers, Runners and Staff Carriers of the Longest Walk 4,On Behalf of one of the oldest A.I.M. charters in the United States, which is 40 years old from Reno, Nevada, we welcome you and

Stephen Harper having fun with his friends

LeDaro at LeDaro - 1 day ago

Stephen Harper pro-rogued the Parliament for a reason. He needed more time to have fun with his friends.

Pakistan: Attack on Christians

LeDaro at LeDaro - 1 day ago

George W. Bush spread 'democracy' in Afghanistan. Now Obama is spreading 'democracy' in Afghanistan. Some of that 'democracy' has spilled over into Pakistan. Violence has become norm in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now Taliban are targeting Christians. Christians are already poor and underprivileged in Pakistan/India. And now their lives are in danger. *There are about 70,000 Christians in the city of * *Peshawar, capital of deeply conservative Khyber * *Pakhtunkhwa province* *"But some of the violence against Christians is organised and directly related to American-led war in Afghanis... more »

Entertainment News!

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 1 day ago

Bono has just revealed he was chased by angry anarchists down a street in Germany... in 2007. "I was chased down the street by a bunch of anarchists at the G8 summit, wielding placards and shouting 'Make Bono History' - which even as I was running for my life I thought was a pretty good line". We at TtSD are doubtful of this story. How is Bono faster than all the anarchists in Germany?

Quote of the Day: On the IPCC's new report

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 1 day ago

Publication of the IPCC AR4 in 2007 was received with international acclaim....Six and a half years later and a week before the release of the IPCC 5thAssessment Report (AR5), substantial criticisms are being made of leaked versions of the Report as well as of the IPCC process itself... What happened? The IPCC was seriously tarnished by the unauthorized release of emails from the University of East Anglia in November 2009, known as Climategate. These emails revealed the ‘sausage making’ involved in the IPCC’s consensus building process, including denial of data access to individua... more »

Right doing

risa bear at A Way to Live - 1 day ago

* ** *Key to understanding why there are eight parts to the long-established Buddhist way and twelve principles to the more recent Permaculture way is this concept of "right doing." If we are alive, we do some things. But perhaps some of them are thoughtless things. Then it behooves us to think this through. To do well, it may help to have (and keep to) a plan. (If we are uncomfortable calling what we do by the names given here, we may use other names. The important thing is the action.) The Buddhist way may in general practice be reduced to the Golden Rule: do not do to others wh... more »

Some good things a GOP congressman said!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 day ago

*MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013* *Possible guideposts for our own emerging liberal culture:* Personally, we wouldn’t be inclined to vote for Rep. Tom Cole. Cole is a Republican congressman from Oklahoma. He’s a House deputy whip and a former chief of staff for the RNC. As a general matter, we don’t share Cole’s policy views. But in this profile of Cole in the New York Times, we saw him expressing some values that we liberals might want to consider as we go about the task of building our new liberal culture. In other posts this week, we will look at some of the problems with the new cu... more »

佩洛西女士是错误的。有很多地方进行切割

Barbara Diamond at American Scofflaw - 1 day ago

我 们可以先被送到以色列的所有的钱，现在总数的四倍以上，阿波罗登月计划的全部费用。以色列并不需要我们的帮助，为自己辩护，因为他们现在承认是一个核大 国。 再就是救助华尔街。美国应该做的冰岛做了什么，在经历2008年的按揭抵押证券欺诈，这是，来折腾监狱的刑事银行家，火，帮助他们掠夺人民的政府，并注销 所有债务由欺诈。当然，在冰岛工作，将在这里工作。 再有就是这个庞大的间谍系统，旨在在每一个守法的美国。精确的成本进行分类，但所有这些数据中心在美国各地有能力保存人类在过去的7年中所作的每一通电 话，不能便宜。鉴于其活动明显违反了宪法第四修正案，这些应关闭和报废出售。毕竟，没有停止，总监控波士顿轰炸或美国海军的院子里拍摄。我已经证明了三 次，真正的罪犯和恐怖分子可以很容易地逃避国家安全局的密码专家。我们为什么要浪费金钱奖励故障？这让我想起，我们应该转储的协议。在他们多年的经营，他 们洗劫一空的行李（丢弃并砸坏我的笔记本电脑之一） ，摸索着数以百万计的裤裆，谁知道多少性病的蔓延，看着裸体的人很多，引发皮肤癌的流行（甚至在他们自己的工作人员） ，破坏了旅游业在美国，但在所有的时间，他们还没有真正找到一个真正的恐怖！我们可以删除BATF ，因为它是没有意义的一个政府机构，试图控制另一个机构手中的枪，而他们去墨西哥贩毒团伙通过“速度与激情”。 再就是侵略的战争中，我们老百姓不支持它们，因为这... more »

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 1 day ago

Basque Country, Spain. [photographer unknown]

Kurdistan is the graveyard of Al-Qaeda

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago

Below is an excerpt from the article, *"Turkey Stands With al-Qaeda Against the Kurds"* by Youssef Sheikho, published in Al Akhbar English on September 23, 2013. Turkey continues to support armed Islamist groups in their campaign against Kurdish militias along Syria’s northern front. *Yet the growing body count of al-Qaeda fighters in the north suggests that Turkish efforts are not entirely successful.* Qamishli – The Turkish government is arguably the strongest backer of the armed Syrian opposition, especially the factions led by the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Turkey is also believed... more »

If any of my Democratic friends still believe that Bill Clinton and Al Gore did right by our humanist hopes and wishes, this extremely well researched article by Jeffrey St. Clair and Alexander Cockburn puts an end to our credulity once and for all. Read it and weep.

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 1 day ago

------------------------------ ------------------------------ September 23, 2013 | Original Here Go here to sign up to receive email notice of this news letter Guest Column — The War On The Poor — Jeffrey St. Clair & Alexander Cockburn The American poor are being driven into the ground. Not only is owning a home out of the question, but also the poor can’t even afford to rent. They lack the money for a damage deposit, and they lack the cash for the large deposits that utility companies require in order to have utilities connected.... more »

Anniversary of Lambert who proved that \(\pi\) is irrational

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 1 day ago

Tomorrow, we commemorate the death of Swiss mathematician Johann Heinrich Lambert (26 August 1728 – 25 September 1777) who left school when he was 12, remained creative, and when Frederick II of Prussia asked him in what science Lambert was best at, he humbly answered "All". So the king sponsored him. In some sense, the simplicity of the 18th century funding schemes could serve as an inspiration for the overly bureaucratic present era. Has the progress really been positive? I don't want to write Lambert's biography here which you may find elsewhere. Instead, I want to spend some tim... more »

Security Going From Bad To Worse In Iraq

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 1 day ago

The security situation in Iraq is already bad, but recent anecdotal stories could be pointing to things getting much worse. In Basra, there are reports of threats and killings of Sunnis in retaliation for attacks upon Shiites in the rest of the country. In Diyala and Dhi Qar there have been stories of families fleeing intimidation, while in Baghdad an angry mob burned a suspected suicide bomber and bodies have been found dumped and executed. These are all happening in the midst of the government’s latest security operation, which is proving as ineffective as the last one. These re... more »

VIDEO: Dragging And Burning Of A Terrorist Who Tried To Blow Himself Up In Baghdad

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 1 day ago

PRESS TV VIDEO: Iraq's Kurdistan Region Votes In Parliamentary Polls

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 1 day ago

Convoluted Legislative Weirdness Won't Matter

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 day ago

I do recommend everyone read Sarah Binder's explainer about the parliamentary situation with the CR and defunding. But I do want to add my two cents to one aspect of this that's had some people talking. I don't think it will make any real difference at all that technically the defunders are asking Republican Senators to filibuster a bill which, at that point, will actually contain the provision they want. Nor, come to think of it, should it. On whether it will make a difference: c'mon. The main audience for this whole thing is the Fox News/Limbaugh conservative marketplace. If they ... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

“To The iSheeple: Now You're REALLY Stupid”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

* * *“To The iSheeple: Now You're REALLY Stupid”* by Karl Denninger "Now I've seen it all... "Apple reassured users that the feature (ed: fingerprint scanner) is secure by explaining 'all fingerprint information is encrypted and stored securely inside the device's chip' adding the prints are not stored on an Apple server, or backed up to iCloud. Concerns were raised that it could lead to thieves taking drastic action, such as cutting off people's fingers, in order to access a phone." Except that this was already hacked, which means your finger can be hacked off and used to unloc... more »

OAKLAND A's ARE TEAM TO BEAT IN BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

Allen L Roland, Ph.D at Allen L Roland's Weblog - 1 day ago

** ** *Closer Grant Balfour and Mike Norris celebrate another Oakland A's win* *The one team any post season American league team does not want to meet in the upcoming payoffs is the Oakland A's ~ for this audacious group of over-achievers has set the San Francisco East Bay on fire with their balanced hitting, home runs, effective pitching and savvy 2012 American League manager of the year, Bob Melvin. But it's their obvious infectious joy and delight of just playing baseball together as a team that has captured my heart as well as the East Bay: Allen L Roland * *I se... more »

Burlap Halloween Wreath

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 1 day ago

I have a house that faces the sun most of the day. I love it for growing season, but it is killer on my wreaths. I find my wreaths usually only last one holiday season on my door, because of this I usually make a new wreath for each holiday. I want wreaths that are easy to pull together, but still look fantastic on my door. This Halloween wreath will only take you about an hour to pull together and it looks darling and shabby for the Halloween season. You will need: 1/4 yard of both black and orange burlap Wood Letters- BOO Scrapbook Paper Mod Podge Scissors Wreath Form... more »

Satire: “In Poll About Debt-Ceiling Crisis, Americans Totally Excited About New iPhone”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

* * *“In Poll About Debt-Ceiling Crisis, * *Americans Totally Excited About New iPhone”* by Andy Borowitz WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)— “In a poll taken over the weekend about the looming debt-ceiling crisis and government shutdown, most Americans said that they were totally excited about the new iPhone 5s. When asked about the prospect of a debt-ceiling logjam leading to a downgrade of the U.S. economy, seventy-two per cent of those surveyed said that the new iPhone looks like the most awesome iPhone yet. Questioned about the disastrous impact of the U.S. government defaulti... more »

Free Download: George Orwell, "!984"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

"From the moment when the machine first made its appearance it was clear to all thinking people that the need for human drudgery, and therefore to a great extent for human inequality, had disappeared. If the machine were used deliberately for that end, hunger, overwork, dirt, illiteracy and disease could be eliminated within a few generations. But it was also clear that an all-round increase in wealth threatened the destruction - indeed, in some sense was the destruction - of a hierarchical society. The most obvious and perhaps the most important form of inequality would already ... more »

Debating the War on Syria

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 1 day ago

*Eric Draitser of StopImperialism.com appears on Press TV to debate the war in Syria, its causes, and long-lasting effects. Draitser debunks some of the disinformation regarding the so-called "rebels" and their militant and ideological roots. He examines the geopolitical motivations of the regional and international players in Syria in order to provide the context necessary for understanding the conflict. Draitser also points out the long historical record of the United States as an exporter of terrorism and how this should inform any examination of the war on Syria.* 

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