Ronald Reagan gives a televised address from the Oval Office, outlining his plan for Tax Reduction Legislation in July 1981. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So you liked The Power of Myth... (Photo credit: jay mann)
US journalist and commentator Bill Moyers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)what i'm watching: the office (u.s.) finale
In my fine tradition of watching TV shows and movies - and then writing about them - months or sometimes years after their release, I recently finished the final season of The Office (U.S.). I had seen many episodes of this show in re-runs and in random order over the years. When we started streaming Netflix, I re-started the whole series from S1e1. (Watching shows and movies end-to-end is my favourite thing about streaming. I'm completely gaga over it.) There was a brief pause while I waited for the final season (S9) to hit Netflix, then I finished it last week. I was surprised ... more »
more moyers: democracy and plutocracy don't mix
I found the preceding rtod post buried in Blogger drafts, something Allan saved there years ago. I never got around to posting it, but I never had the heart to delete it, either. If you're not familiar with Bill Moyers, he is an American independent journalist, producer, and public intellectual. Earlier in his career, Moyers served as White House Press Secretary under the Johnson administration, but he's better known for the many shows he has produced and hosted on PBS. Moyers has always been liberal, but over the past decade, he has become increasingly radicalized as he reacts to... more »
rtod
Revolutionary thought of the day: The Gilded Age returned with a vengeance in our time. It slipped in quietly at first, back in the early 1980s, when Ronald Reagan began a "massive decades-long transfer of national wealth to the rich." As Roger Hodge makes clear, under Bill Clinton the transfer was even more dramatic, as the top 10 percent captured an ever-growing share of national income. The trend continued under George W. Bush – those huge tax cuts for the rich, remember, which are now about to be extended because both parties have been bought off by the wealthy – and by 2007 the... more »
Imploding The MYTH Of Israel!
I have long said that the criminal and terrorist state of Israel is a nuclear armed madhouse of psychopaths and murderers, that was created by a fraud religion under the false beliefs that their "god" had given them all the land of Palestine, and that their "god given" land stretches from the Nile River, to the Euphrates River.... It is a terrible fact that the majority of the troubles and problems in the world today can be linked to the actions of this truly criminal state, ever since it was created from stolen land back in 1948. To again show how truly sick the state of Israel tru... more »
Flipping the Classroom
I’m going to try it out this spring with my Introduction to International Relations class. (I’ll also post my lectures online, which I believe will make mine the second Intro IR course available to the general public—though if you know of others, please provide links in the comments.) Have any of you tried it? If Continue reading
NBC Nightly News Reports on Iran from 1979 and 1980
NBC Nightly News report: "Iran's American Battleground," November 7, 1980 34 years ago this week - on November 4, 1979 to be precise - Iranian students seized control of the American Embassy in Tehran. Y'know, just like in Argo! Except not at all. Sigh. Below are two reports from NBC Nightly News, one from the day the embassy was taken, the other from a year later, broadcast exactly 33 years
Gingham Dress
* * * * * * *Gingham Dress* http://www.rense.com/general96/gingham.html A True Story By Malcolm Forbes 11-6-13 A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walked timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard & probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge .. "We'd like to see the president," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped... more »
Dr Richard Mackarness meets low-carb and Paleo pioneers in 1958
[image: MackarnessRichardThm] Dr Richard Mackarness In Chapter 7 of his influential 1970's book on food allergies "Not All In The Mind" U.K. physician Dr Richard Mackarness describes his encounters with the pioneers of low-carb medicine when he visited the States in 1958. That same year Dr Mackarness wrote "Eat Fat and Grow Slim". "His first book, Eat Fat and Grow Slim (1958), exposed the "calorie fallacy" and proposed a non-carbohydrate "Stone Age" diet of protein and fat with no restriction as to the amount eaten. The book was immensely popular and went through six editions." [im... more »
Important Health News: Cancer The Hidden Cures, And How Dichloroacetate Cures Cancer!
I have been busy the last few days catching up on some family business.... Much has been neglected over the last week while I fought off a sinus infection..... It is now that I am basically doing some catching up on what I have been missing... Just the other day, I was shocked when a coworker of mine finally came forward and told myself and a few others that his wife has been going through chemotherapy treatment for Cancer for the last few years... I was especially annoyed when I asked the question if he and his wife had sought out any alternative treatments, considering that radiat... more »
Elizabeth Drew remembers the speakership of Tom Foley, his relationship with Bob Michel, and the horrors that have followed
*"In a cynical age, I still believe that we must summon people to a vision of public service . . . for, in the end, this ethic determines more than anything else whether we will have citizens and leaders of honor, judgment, wisdom, and heart."* *-- from the program for former House Speaker Tom Foley's memorial service, quoted by NYRB's Elizabeth Drew* *by Ken* I don't think we have to pretend that the period when Tom Foley was speaker of the House (1989-94), and Bob Michel was minority leader, was a golden age of legislation to recognize that the House was a fundamentally different... more »
Photo Standing Strong on Mi'kmaq Land
Photo by Marius Paul, published with permission at Censored News, thank you! By Marius Paul Censored News Marius said, "I traveled to Elsipogtog rez, near Rexton, New Brunswick where of recent, our senses were assaulted by images of the RCMP manhandling women, children, and jailing the men who made a stand against such unbridled, disrespectful and hateful display of police powers against
Bank Of Canada Unveils NEW $5 and $10 Polymer Bills ...
(Click on image to enlarge ... ) *The Bank of Canada has unveiled the new Five and Ten dollar polymer bills for circulation.* [image: Progressive Bloggers]
“Inside the Psyche of the 1%
* * *“Inside the Psyche of the 1%- Many Actually Believe * *Their Ideology of Greed Makes for a Better World”* By Don Fitz “Do the rich and super-rich tend to be psychopaths, devoid of guilt or shame? Are the 1% lacking in compassion? Does their endless accumulation of possessions actually bring them little to no happiness? To each of these, the answer is “yes”—but a very qualified “yes” with lots of subtleties. Even more important is what these issues suggest for building a society which does not ravage the last remnants of wilderness and rush headlong into a climate change tipp... more »
Friday Morning Ramble: The sandwich-making edition
Tweet of the week: [image: image] Runner up: [image: image] Nanny’s sense-of-humour bypass continues. *Concern 'end of school year' pranks have gone too far* – NEWSTALK ZB The Wall Street Journal likes NZ’s privatisations, failing however to spot that we haven’t had any. *Privatization Raises Billions in Australia, New Zealand* – Gillian Tan, WALL STREET JOURNAL Great idea! *NZ Taxpayers' Union offers prize to Aucklander with the largest percentage rates increase* – TAXPAYERS UNION Price-fixing, infrastructure failure, monopolistic clusterfuck--thank goodness government can... more »
Satire: “Study: Americans Safe from Gun Violence Except in Schools, Malls, Airports, Movie Theatres, Workplaces, Streets, Own Homes”
* * *“Study: Americans Safe from Gun Violence Except in Schools,* * Malls, Airports, Movie Theatres, Workplaces, Streets, Own Homes”* by Andy Borowitz WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)— “A new study released today indicates that Americans are safe from the threat of gun violence except in schools, malls, airports, movie theatres, workplaces, streets, and their own homes. Also: highways, turnpikes, libraries, places of worship, parks, universities, restaurants, post offices, and cars. Plus: driveways, garages, gyms, stores, military bases—and a host of other buildings, structures,... more »
“Demise of the Global US Fiat Dollar Reserve Currency: Entire Fiat Money System is Bankrupt”
* * *“Demise of the Global US Fiat Dollar Reserve Currency: Entire Fiat Money System is Bankrupt”* by Matthias Chang “Major issues or trends do not change on a daily or even monthly basis. A trend may take a few years to run its course and unless there is a major factor that may affect the trend, there is hardly any need to comment any further on the trend or outcomes. The events unraveling post Bernanke’s decision not to taper QE is most significant because it confirms our analysis that the banking crisis has not been resolved in any significant way after five years of money pr... more »
The Economy: "Aiming for Aristotle’s Head"
* * * "Aiming for Aristotle’s Head"* by Bill Bonner "Wowee! More highs in the stock market. The Dow rose 128 points yesterday. Is the US stock market headed for a bubble? Maybe… but what do we know? Our guess is that the people who are buying stocks today have a lot more confidence in the Fed than we have. As near as we can tell, today’s stock prices owe a lot to the Fed’s manipulation of asset prices and little to the fact that the companies are more intrinsically valuable… or more likely to produce higher earnings per share. In fact, as Chris reported yesterday, earnings-per-sh... more »
Bizarre Asteroid with Six Tails Spotted by Hubble Telescope
*What if its not an asteroid? -Bill* * * *Bizarre Asteroid with Six Tails Spotted by Hubble Telescope* By Megan Gannon, News Editor | November 07, 2013 03:49pm ET http://www.space.com/23506-asteroid-six-tails-hubble-telescope-photos.html Astronomers have spotted a never-before-seen phenomenon in our solar system's asteroid belt: a space rock with six tails, spewing dust from its nucleus like spouts of water radiating from a lawn sprinkler. Scientists using the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope at the summit of Maui's Haleakala volcano in Hawaii first detected the six-tailed asteroid in ... more »
Commodity Central
I didn't know this. Clearly a family of high achievers and the holiday gatherings must be interesting. One can imagine the conversations around the dinner table ... Jon Stewart's brother, NYSE COO Larry Leibowitz, who must get really sick of people pointing that out pic.twitter.com/6prc0MkdyG — John McDuling (@jmcduling) November 7, 2013
Updates On Syria: Turkey May Stop Supporting Al-Qaeda, Kurds Confront Turkey-Syria Border Wall, Turkish Companies Sold CW To Jihadist Terrorists
"A Kurdish mayor on hunger strike in Turkey to protest the building of a barrier on the border with Syria accused Ankara on Tuesday of putting up a "wall of shame"." - Fulya Ozerkan, *"Turkey mayor on hunger strike over Syria 'wall of shame'"* AFP, November 5. An excerpt from, *"Syrian Kurdish leader: Turkey may end proxy war"* by Amberin Zaman, Al Monitor, November 7: Saleh Muslim, the co-chairman of Syria’s most powerful Kurdish party, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), has been holding talks in Geneva with Russian and Western officials in preparation for the planned Geneva II ... more »
Executions of Political Prisoners On The Rise Under Rouhani's "Reformed" Government
*Barack Hussein Obama and Hassan Rouhani are really, really good at executing innocent prisoners and innocent villagers. * An excerpt from, *"Iran Executed Another Kurdish Political Prisoner Without Alerting Family or Lawyers"* International Campaign For Human Rights In Iran, November 4: Ahmad Saeed Sheikhi, one of the lawyers representing Shirkoo Moarefi, a Kurdish prisoner who was executed November 4, confirmed news of his execution and told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, “I learned about my client’s execution from news websites. I tried to contact his f... more »
Update on Syria: KSA And Pakistan Are Pouring Gasoline On The Syrian Fire, USrael Stands In The Background With More Matches
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are al-Qaeda's main regional Sunni backers, along with Turkey and Qatar. Al-Qaeda's international backers include America, Israel, France, and England. *Photo Source: Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia*. An excerpt from, *"Saudis 'turn to Pakistan to train army for Syria war'*" UPI, November 7: Sayigh stressed that Riyadh, exasperated with U.S. indecision and seemingly obsessed with toppling Assad's Iranian-backed regime at any cost, is taking a big gamble. "The Saudi drive to build an unmistakably Sunni army may increase the potential for rebel fragmentat... more »
The Decadence of BAE Systems
1,775 manufacturing jobs go up in smoke and few, if anyone, on the left has anything to say. Mighty organs of the class *Socialist Worker* and *The Socialist* don't mention it - despite the abandonment of ship building in Portsmouth and the loss of jobs on the Clyde being announced on Monday. To its credit, the *Morning Star* does, but our commentariat have been uncharacteristically quiet. It's almost as if these groups of workers are deemed to be in the wrong jobs. Whether you're of the "not a penny, not a man for this system" school of revolutionism, or a "be excellent to each ot... more »
MORE FROM STONE
Oliver Stone speaks about JFK and the untold history of America in this uncensored interview with Buzzsaw. Stone debunks the white lies and mythology of American history, and goes into the roots of the cold war and war on terror, and how they have been used to keep people oppressed from the former Soviet Union to the current American collapse. Obama and the willingness of presidents to play ball with warhawks is laid out cold in this talk with hosts Tyrel Ventura, and Stone's own son, Sean.
Smoke On The Water
With the end of the unnatural abomination that is Daylight Savings TimeSouthern Man actually leaves The Land *after* dawn rather than before on work days and on this cool and crisp morning was greeted by this sight... It's good to live out here. *Thank you, Lord, for beautiful mornings. Amen.*
The Cash Prize: A Decision Experiment
Tomorrow, my great friend and coauthor Dursun Peksen and I will collect our $200 for winning the best paper award at the annual meeting of ISA-Midwest in St. Louis. The paper, which I’ve talked about a little bit before at the Duck, is actually forthcoming now at the Journal of Politics.[1] Dursun has won quite a Continue reading
Is The Tea Party Making Normal Conservatives Quit? Take Jon Runyon (R-NJ)
Run off by some goofballs in tri-corner hats? New Jersey's third congressional district, a swath of the south-central part of the state starting between Toms River and Asbury Park and crossing clear to the Philadelphia suburbs through the Pine Barrens, really is a Democratic congressional district-- despite having a Republican congressman, Jon Runyan. Last year Runyan beat the candidate the DCCC recruited-- and then failed to back-- Shelley Adler, the widow of the Blue Dog Democrat Runyan originally beat in 2010, another victim of the Great Blue Dog Apocalyopse. Last year, while Obam... more »
LATEST FROM FUKUSHIMA
Japan is bracing itself for the most dangerous operation at the Fukushima nuclear plant since it was crippled by a quake and tsunami in March 2011. The company running the facility plans to move radioactive fuel rods to safe storage. RT's Alexey Yaroshevsky is in Japan for us. Christina Consolo, Founder and Host of Nuked Radio, doubts that engineers will be able to pull this off - given the level of damage at the plant.
What happened to the gender gap in Virginia?
*THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013* *You won’t find out from Rachel:* Tuesday night, we watched Rachel Maddow report Terry McAuliffe’s win in Virginia. As she did, she repeated a peculiar claim three times: “the Beltway press” had been mystified by the gender gap which appeared in Virginia polling. They just couldn't figure it out! For details, see yesterday’s post. That claim seemed highly unlikely to us. As it turned out, Maddow never provided any examples. But as Maddow spoke on Election Night, we were puzzled by the relatively small gender gap which was being displayed on the screen....more »
Untitled
*Super Typhoon Haiyan Closes in on the Philippines With 190 mph Sustained Winds ~Dr. Jeff Masters, Wunderblog* ~MODIS satellite image of Super Typhoon Haiyan taken at 4:25 UTC November 7, 2013. At the time, Haiyan was a Category 5 storm with top winds of 175 mph. The Philippines are visible at the left of the image, and the Caroline Islands at the lower right. Image credit: NASA. Super Typhoon Haiyan is one of the most intense tropical cyclones in world history, with sustained winds an incredible 190 mph, gusting to 230 mph, said the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in their 15 UTC (10 am... more »
Untitled
*Jonathan Vilma done for season ~Mike Triplett, ESPN* *Lee Zurik Investigation: Contribution questions to Jindal go unanswered ~ WVUE* *The Louisiana sinkhole: It gets even worse ~Stuart Smith* *DHH issues emergency rule regarding drinking water ~WDSU* *With Few Official Resources, a Community Builds Its Resilience From the Ground Up ~Nathan C. Martin, Resilient Cities*
Europe Between the Oceans
I’ve long been interested in learning more about my wild ancestors, the indigenous hunter-gatherers of Europe, in order to better understand who I am. Descriptions of them recorded by the ancient Greeks and Romans were too meager to satisfy my curiosity. Recently, I came across Barry Cunliffe’s book, *Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC – AD 1000*. Cunliffe is an archaeologist, and ongoing research is discovering many new pieces for the puzzle. His book serves readers a staggering amount of information. Cave paintings have preserved beautiful memories of the wild paradise of ice... more »
MYSTERIOUS ELVIS PRESLEY
*Nelson Rockefeller, Elvis's father Vernon (2nd from left), stepmother Dee (next to Elvis) and Dee's sons Ricky, David and Billy Stanley who became part of Elvis's Memphis Mafia. *http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ Elvis was mind controlled at an early age? 'Dee' Presley, the second wife of Elvis Presley's father Vernon, died in September 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee. It was Dee who said that: *1.* Elvis had an incestuous affair with his mother Gladys, Vernon's first wife. *2.* Elvis was gay. *3.* Elvis's marriage to Priscilla in 1967 was forced upon Elvis. *Elvis and Gladys.* Dee... more »
Likable Enough
I did a post over at PP a couple of days ago about Christie and personality, pointing out that personality -- whether people actually liked the candidate -- can matter quite a bit in nomination contests, but is mostly unimportant in general elections. It's worth elaborating on that just a bit, because it turns out the way that personality works is actually a bit complicated. I can think of at least three ways that personality matters in nomination contests. In each case, I'm using "like" here to refer to personality, not issues or governing abilities or any of the other reasons some... more »
House Democratic Party Inside Baseball
Becerra, Grayson, Ellison-- actual leaders, not money-grubbers I'm never really comfortable with a corrupt out-of-touch Beltway committee parachuting into an American congressional district and telling the Democrats there who their candidate for Congress should be. In the old days, even the worst DCCC chairmen-- think Rahm Emanuel-- used to tip-toe, at least publicy, around interfering in primaries. Not so the cloddish, reptilian Steve Israel. He's interfering in more Democratic primaries-- and pretty much always on behalf of the more conservative and more corrupt candidates-- than a... more »
You Can Keep Your Plan. Period
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With all the furor of cancelled insurance policies you'd think that the President would be backing away from his false promises but a visit to whitehouse.gov today shows otherwise... Screen shot taken 7 November 2013. Click to enlarge and read the highlighted print. Apparently they meant "If *we* like your plan, you can keep your plan. And we don't like your plan. Period."
An excellent message from Rev. Michael Bresciani...
*and we thank him.* From: Canada Free Press: America Enters Stage Three of the Prophetic Message ObamaCare is now sliding or perhaps slithering into home plate and has finally gotten the attention of most Americans. Democrats, the main stream media and the most goggle-eyed pundits like Bill Maher have all sat up and noticed that the Liar in Chief has put one over on them. So what could an old preacher possibly have to say about ObamaCare; isn’t it totally out of his purview and field of expertise? Not on your life—it is the very heart of my message. For upwards of 38 years I have ... more »
Has Corporate Education "Reform" Earned Another 25 Years to Complete the Resegregation and Privatization Agendas? Part I
With a series of conservative SCOTUS decisions beginning with the Nixon Court, and with a particular hostility by the Reaganites toward the equity and equality agenda that grew from the War on Poverty in 1960s, the resegregation of public schools Original chart by Orfield & Lee, 2006took hold in earnest in 1988, and it has continued unabated since then (click chart to enlarge). It is not surprising, then, that the most recent NAEP 2013 summary report does not include the achievement gap numbers from years prior to 1990, when the achievement gaps between whites and minorities, from... more »
Raised on Hatred - NYTimes.com
' As a child growing up in a Muslim family, I constantly heard my mother, other relatives and neighbors wish for the death of Jews, who were considered our darkest enemy. Our religious tutors and the preachers in our mosques set aside extra time to pray for the destruction of Jews.' More here http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/opinion/global/ayaan-hirsi-ali-morsis-comments-on-jews.html
Barack Obama lied? No shit Sherloch
' The newspaper called the White House effort to blame insurance companies "a classic case of misdirection. Between 75 and 95 percent of the problem stems from the effective date, but the White House chooses to keep the focus elsewhere."' More here http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/07/two-major-fact-checkers-are-saying-president-obama-isnt-telling-you-the-full-truth
Christians are Disappearing from the Middle East except in Israel
'The Christian population in the Muslim Middle East has plunged from 20% a century ago to less than 5% today—and it's falling fast.Arab Christianity, for centuries a dominant force in Middle East culture, religion and politics, now faces extinction in nearly every country in the region. Discrimination and persecution by Muslim governments, as well as murderous attacks by Islamic extremists, are driving Christians from their homelands by the millions. In fact, the only country in the Middle East in which Christians are safe—and where their numbers are growing—is Israel.' More here ... more »
Masked al-Nusra fighters search Syrian civilians
Just three pictures. So interesting. The masked fighters aka hired killers/mercs Nationalities and identity obscured. So convenient for controlling and promoting a specific narrative and obfuscating of fact & reality [image: http://d24pg1nxua23qm.cloudfront.net/contentAsset/image/03c5d6e4-887f-4d54-b19a-81719800a4ea/image/byInode/1/filter/Resize,Jpeg/jpeg_q/90/resize_w/604]Fighters from the Islamist (not) Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra search civilians at the Karaj al-Hajez crossing, a passageway separating Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr, which is under the rebels' control, and Al-Ma... more »
Enbridge Pipeline-Pound Sand
This Time The Straight Goods will let this musical video speak to truth. Created by K Eriksen Music by Adele "*Eyes are placed in front because it`s more important to look ahead than back"* I present you*.....* *Enbridge pipeline-Pound Sand ** * K Eriksen, I personally applaud you for that marvelous composition, you touched my soul.. Good Day. The Straight Goods Cheers Eyes Wide Open
Lessons from the frontlines: If at first you don't succeed, reevaluate
With less than five months left in my Cuso posting, I'm reflecting more and more on how I'm doing. I have the rather challenging and nebulous task of building capacity in communications for the Honduran non-profit that I work for, and as the end draws nearer I am thinking a lot about how it's gone. In all honesty, I had only the vaguest idea of what I was supposed to be doing when we arrived in Honduras in January 2012. I had a great title - Communications and Knowledge Management Facilitator - and an idea that I would be doing work similar to what I'd been doing in B.C. for... more »
R v Vu 2013 SCC 60 - significant Supreme Court search decision
The traditional legal framework holds that once police obtain a warrant to search a place for certain things, they do not require specific, prior authorization to search in receptacles such as cupboards and filing cabinets. The question in this case is whether this framework is appropriate for computer searches. Computers differ in important ways from the receptacles governed by the traditional framework and computer searches give rise to particular privacy concerns that are not sufficiently addressed by that approach. The first issue that... more »
Should Colorado have passed that amendment?
*THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013* *A wide range of spending on schools:* In Colorado, voters rejected Amendment 66 this week. In this morning’s New York Times, Jack Healy reports the basics: HEALY (11/7/13): Had the referendum passed, the current flat state income tax rate of 4.6 percent would have been replaced with a two-tier system. Residents with taxable incomes below $75,000 would have paid 5 percent; taxable incomes above $75,000 would have been taxed at 5.9 percent. *The measure would have poured money into poor, rural school districts, expanded preschool, bought new technology ... more »
On my last Sunday's post you listened to Bill Moyers interview two savvy economists on the horrors of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) being negotiated in private to enable big business to pick our pockets even more than they are now. Well, today's post treats the "monstrous assault on democracy" that is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). George Monbiot: "Wake up, people we're being shafted."
------------------------------ This transatlantic trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy Brussels has kept quiet about a treaty that would let rapacious companies subvert our laws, rights and national sovereignty ------------------------------ George Monbiot The Guardian, Monday 4 November 2013 20.31 GMT ------------------------------ David Cameron with Barack Obama at a state dinner in Cameron's honour in 2012 at the White House. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Remember that referendum about whether we should create a single market with the United States? Yo... more »
Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville set to rebuild Manchester shul | The Jewish Chronicle
The weirdest Jewish Chronicle story ever? Apparently 'Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs are set to become the first Premier League footballers to own and run a synagogue.' More here www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/112958/ryan-giggs-and-gary-neville-set-rebuild-manchester-shul
How big was the turnout in Virginia?
*THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013* *We’re always amazed by this:* How big was the turnout in Virginia this week? This morning, Trip Gabriel reports on the way some Republicans in Virginia are responding to the loss of the State House. At one point, Gabriel discusses the size of this week’s turnout in the state. The Times is supposed to be our smartest newspaper. We’re always amazed by this sort of thing: GABRIEL (11/7/13): For Democrats, the great lesson of the night was that they had the ability to reassemble significant parts of President Obama’s coalition even when he was not on the ...more »
NAEP? Nope: Why (Almost) Everyone Will Misread (Again) Data on Gaps
NAEP? Nope: Why (Almost) Everyone Will Misread (Again) Data on Gaps. via NAEP? Nope: Why (Almost) Everyone Will Misread (Again) Data on Gaps.
The Economy: “Are You Prepared for a US Bank Bail-In?”
* “Are You Prepared for a US Bank Bail-In?”* by Jeff Berwick “If you have cash in a US bank, you can expect to have the federal government take it all the next time US banks find themselves in trouble. The days of the federal government stealing money from taxpayers, or borrowing it from the Federal Reserve, to save troubled banks — as in they did in the 2008 crisis — may be over. Congress is considering imitating the theft in Cyprus and letting troubled banks “bail-in” depositor money in order to make themselves solvent. Jim Sinclair, chairman and chief executive officer of Tan... more »
THE PROGRESS, THE GAPS AND THE SCANDAL: “Pshaw,” the widely praised author said!
*THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013* *Part 4—Where do our gaps come from:* We still have large achievement gaps here in the U.S. (For details, see yesterday’s post.) We have large gaps between different states. We have large gaps based on family income. We still have large gaps based on race. Black kids and Hispanic kids have been scoring much better in recent decades. But white kids have been improving too. The gaps based on race have gotten smaller, but they’re still quite large. This raises a fairly obvious question—where do our large gaps come from? By now, almost everyone knows the...more »
Suck On This
Is it me, or is President Obama sounding more and more like a vacuum cleaner salesman who shows up at your door unannounced, immediately launching into a spiel about how wonderfully well his product sucks? He finagles his way into your living-room before you even have a chance to protest, throws down a handful of his magical pixie dust on your threadbare carpet, and dares you to try out your old clunker. You thought you liked it and could keep it, but once he whips out that $1,000 Kirby of his, you guiltily realize that all this time, you've been endangering your loved ones by allo... more »
Responses to Bazilian and Pielke on Global Energy Access
*Issues in Science and Technology* has just published in its Fall 2013 issue four letters in response to our article, Making Energy Access Meaningful (here in PDF). Three of the responses are constructive, one is somewhat less so. This post offers a summary of our original paper, the letters and a few thoughts in response. In a nutshell here is what our paper argued: Our distinctly uncomfortable starting place is that the poorest three-quarters of the global population still use only about 10% of global energy—a clear indicator of deep and persistent global inequity. Because a m... more »
Please, Please, Please Giuliani Is Not a Christie Comp
Can we please get this stopped already? Chris Christie's presidential campaign is not at all similar to Rudy Giuliani's disastrous 2008 bid. Not similar. Not comparable. Okay? Just cut it out. I'm seeing this all over the place, and it's just terrible. Viable presidential candidates share two characteristics. They have conventional credentials, and they are within the mainstream of their parties in their positions on matters of public policy. Granted, sometimes it's a bit tricky to judge. Did House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt have "conventional credentials" in 2004? No one from... more »
Assessment of a lawyer's account will be allowed customarily
Versailles Convention Centre Inc. (2074874 Ontario Inc.) v. William Ross Gilmour (Gilmour Barristers), 2013 ONCA 674 is another example of when a lawyer's account will be assessed even after the permissible time to assess has passed. As a practical matter it's seldom worth opposing an application for an assessment.
Thursday Morning Linkage
Here are a few articles for your consideration. For those of you interested in conservation, we have had a disturbing pattern of stories about rapid declines in species around the world, some of them due to poaching, what has been described as an “environmental crime wave,” and others as a result of disease. All of this Continue reading
Desecuritization and Iran
It is shocking how little attention Iran’s recent efforts to satisfy the international community’s demands on nuclear question have received in the news media and academic discourse. As I write this, there are 1182 related news stories on news.google.com related to Rob Ford’s struggles with the crack cocaine and only 85 related to Iran’s nuclear Continue reading
Untitled
The Hollow MenT. S. Eliot *Mistah Kurtz—he dead.* *A penny for the Old Guy* *I* We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats’ feet over broken glass In our dry cellar Shape without form, shade without colour, Paralysed force, gesture without motion; Those who have crossed With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom Remember us—if at all—not as lost Violent souls, but only As the hollow men The stuffed men. *II* Eyes I ... more »
Currency interventions are immature assaults on free markets
*Expletives appropriate after the insane war was declared against the Czech crown* A few hours ago, the Czech National Bank has done something insane that hasn't taken place for 11 years: interventions against the Czech currency. Within minutes, the exchange rate weakened by stunning 4 and 6 percent relatively to the euro and the U.S. dollar, respectively. Their stated purpose is to encourage inflation (they look like an arsonist who boasts that he set a big building on fire) and they expect this thing to add 1 percentage point to the inflation for the next 12 months. *CZK 2,000 ... more »
Continued Maintenance Work Keeps Iraq’s Oil Exports Down In October 2013
The maintenance work on Iraq’s southern oil infrastructure, which started in September 2013 continued into the middle of October. This is important construction as it is supposed to lay the foundation for further expansion of the industry that is planned for next year. As a result of the work however exports have been down for the last two months. The Oil Ministry wanted to boost output in October to make up for the cutbacks in September. The figures did go up last month, but were still down from the yearly average. October’s export numbers were better than September’s, but still b... more »
Gates, Bloomberg, and Corporate Welfare Are Losers in Colorado Vote
With support from major plutocrats who own the U. S. Department of Education and most state departments of education, the plan to turn Colorado’s PreK-12 urban schools into segregated corporate reform schools has gone down in flames with an overwhelming rejection by Colorado voters, 65-35. For a measure to aid education to be paid for with a tax increase, voters have to know that there is some value to be added. What they know from decades of corporamental meddling in Colorado and elsewhere is that, over the past 20 years, public schools have been retooled by corporate know-noth... more »
Police State updates November 7 , 2013.....Adam Kokesh pleads guilty to gun and pot charges , faces 6 years in prison....One should expect to see the hammer droppe here...... TSA sought firing range for weapons training - two weeks before LAX shooting ? Cops taser Dad trying to save child from burning house .......
http://www.infowars.com/adam-kokesh-pleads-guilty-to-gun-marijuana-charges-faces-six-years-in-prison/ Adam Kokesh Pleads Guilty To Gun & Marijuana Charges, Faces Six Years In Prison - [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] *Kristin Tate* Ben Swann.com November 7, 2013 Libertarian activist Adam Kokesh was arrested in July for uploading a video of himself loading a shotgun in D.C.’s Freedom Plaza. Image: Wikimedia Commons. D.C. gun laws are some ... more »
Bitcoin news of the day November 5 - 6 , 2013 .... On the positive side , we have seen Bitcoin prices surge recently as wider adoption indicates possibilities for Bitcoin as an alternative currency has potential ..... On the negative , note the " Selfish Mining " weakness noted in the Cornell study - Bitcoin subject to cartel attack ? With a market value now almost three billion and Bitcoin still a wild west for hackers and manipulators , just a word for the wise !
Catharsis Ours - 14 hours ago
Pro ....... http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-06/why-bitcoin-surging Is This Why Bitcoin Is Surging? [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/06/2013 18:13 -0500 - Bond - China - Fail - Federal Reserve - Google - Paul Volcker - Quantitative Easing inShare Bitcoin, an online-only currency scarcely four years old, is breaking out to new highs this week and now sports a total value of $2.8 billion. *Just a few months ago, it looked like this economic experiment as the world’s first decentralized technology-based form ... more »
Former PM Joe Clark's New Book Accurately Describes Stephen Harper's 'Adolescent' Administration ...
** [image: Progressive Bloggers]* * *"Canada now talks more than we act, and our tone is almost adolescent … full of sound and fury," * *Joe Clark* *Former Prime Minister of Canada * *"In a recent excerpt of the new book (it comes out this week) in the Toronto Star, Clark claims that, with the exceptions of Afghanistan and trade, there has been a recurring pattern in the Harper government actions: "It is unusually assertive in its dramatic gestures and declarations," but then retreats from actions designed to actually resolve critical problems abroad.* * **That why Canada has "dra... more »
Your moment of Zen
It's always sunset somewhere. [Kenny Mars photo, via Jay]
Crackman: A new kind of hero for a new kind of society
*" Crackman saves a dozen normal size crackheads by blocking the shooter"* If Rob Ford is not going to stand down, he better gear up. Crackhouses are notorious for stabbings and shootings. We cannot have the Mayor of Toronto taking unnecessary risks. I think his chances of re election would soar if the public knew he was taking some precautions, and was not just another reckless crackhead. He needs a new suit. http://thinkingaboot.blogspot.ca/2013/11/bulletproof-biz-suit-made-in-canada.html Would Rob Ford in a bulletproof suit not be a super hero, Crackman. The Mayor of Toronto sum... more »
KILLING THE WHALES
*Blackfish*, a powerful new documentary film by Gabriela Cowrperthwaite explores the inhumane capture and treatment of killer whales by marine entertainment parks. The documentary takes the viewer on a roller coaster ride from breathtaking footage of orcas swimming in the wild to the cruel capture of orca babies. In their natural habitat, these magnificent mammals swim 100 miles a day. In captivity, they are barely able to move around, damage their teeth on metal railings, and act out aggressively towards each other. Interviewee John Crowe cried as he describes the legacy of orca... more »
Read Stuff, You Should
Happy Birthday to Guy Sularz, 58 Want some good stuff? 1. Ed Kilgore makes the point I also made yesterday, but in more depth: yes, the "establishment" candidate won in AL-1, but the Tea Partier did well enough to keep the focus on primaries. 2. Kristen Soltis looks at the numbers carefully and it turns out my quick glance is probably correct: it was the Libertarian candidacy which accounts for the polling in VA-Gov. 3. Harry Enten looks at the exit polls. I agree with his main points for the most part, but one word of caution: be very careful about putting too much weight on exit... more »
A Sensible Odyssey: East Texas Congressional Candidate Michael Cole Explains Why He Switched Parties
The other day, we met Jason Thigpen, a progressive Republican congressional candidate in North Carolina who realized his positions are more in line with the Democratic Party than with the Republican Party. He switched. Some Republicans, like Jason, become Democrats because of values. Others, like conservative Florida Democratic congressman Patrick Murphy, for example, switch for expediency or political opportunism. There's a difference, a really big one. In the eastern Texas suburbs around Houston, from Baytown up to backward Jasper in KKK country, the congressman is domestic terro... more »
The Brothers Ford, in reruns
Seven years ago, a loud and drunken Rob Ford, then a city councillor, was at a Maple Leafs game at the Air Canada Centre. He was shouting things like "My sister was a heroine addict and was shot in the head" by way of making conversation at people seated near him. A couple seated two rows in front of him asked him to “tone it down a little” and Ford blew up at them, as quoted in various accounts : "Who the fuck do you think you are? Are you some kind of right wing Commie bastard? Are you a fucking teacher? Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?" He... more »
Burning The Bridge
Conservatives are congratulating themselves. They believe that -- having disposed of Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau -- they have achieved a great victory. But, Michael Den Tandt writes, it was no victory at all: For clues as to why, let’s examine Canadian Conservatism today from the point of view of a voter from, say, southwestern Ontario. We look to these folks because they are at the heart of the East-West coalition that propelled Harper to a majority in 2011. These are, as a rule centrist pragmatists; people who supported premier Mike Harris’s provincial Tories back in th... more »
The Case for physical media
Like most I want to own my media. From on of the few pop culture blogs I read daily a pretty good read on why owning is better than renting. Unlike the author I do not get all warm and fuzzy about holding something in my hand. Yes LP Albums are a trip, but a jewel case not so much. Also the sound of an LP compared to copying it, editing it with Audacity , and playing it up-scaled to 24 bit leaves analog in the dust. I would prefer to have all my stuff on a backed up hard drive.
Bulletproof Biz Suit made in Canada
For the paranoid and prepared the ultimate in business wear. The perfect icon for our era. The fabric has to be cut with a bandsaw. At $20,000 each I doubt they are going to outsell Hugo Boss. However bulletproof daily wear a flashing red sign of the times. Expect this fashion to become commonplace, oh the humanity. H/T to Gizmag but I think I saw it in the Star as well. "In relatively informal tests, Garrison's bullet-resistant suit proved capable of stopping 9 mm and .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) handgun rounds, in addition to the stabbing attacks by the Garrison employees. "
Before traveling to New Mexico , read this shocking article ! Shocking personal violations and apparent violation of the Fourth Amendment by body cavity searches - keyed by an uncertified canine sniffing non existent drugs ! And both cases arose from minor traffic stops ?
http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/2013/11/06/man-claims-he-was-anally-probed-8-times-following-traffic-stop-for-drugs/ Man Claims He Was Anally Probed 8 Times Following Traffic Stop For DrugsNovember 6, 2013 7:13 AM Share on email1.5K View Comments [image: File photo of a courtroom. (credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)] File photo of a courtroom. (credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Filed UnderNews Related Tagsanal probe, David Eckert,Deming Police Department,Gila Regional Medical Center, Shannon Kennedy *DEMING, N.M. (CBS Las Vegas)* — A New Mexico man claims he was anally probed several times... more »
The ECB shows it has no problem with making muppets out of traders ! Today's " surprise " ECB rate cuts ( main refinancing rate cut by 25 bps to 0.25 % , marginal lending rate cut by 25 bps to 0.75 % ) set up perfectly by Wednesday's alleged MNI " Sources " saying there would not likely be a rate change at today's ECB Confab ! Max pain / Max impact set by sending signals contrary to true intentions - Draghi has learned well from Ben Bernanke !
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-07/stunning-move-ecb-cuts-rates-25-bps-euro-plunges In Stunning Move, ECB Cuts Rates By 25 bps, Euro Plunges [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/07/2013 07:52 -0500 - European Central Bank - Monetary Policy inShare Perhaps it is not surprising that with the absolute majority of economists and strategists, or 67 of 70, predicting *no rate cut by the ECB*, this is exactly what the ECB just did, when in a stunning move it cute rates for both the main refi rate and the marginal lending facility by 25 bps, to ... more »
War watch November 7 , 2013 - As the Iran talks continue between Iran and the P 5 + 1 Group , discussion of limited sanctions relief bubbles to the surface - whether that can be sold either in the US or Iran remains to be seen ... Syria talks stalling on absence of creditable Rebel leaders to actually participate or willing to participate at Geneva 2 .... Has growing Saudi diechantment with US foreign policy over recent years ( drawn in sharper focus with recent developments concerning Syria and Iran US foreign policy and actions / inactions ) led Saudi Arabia to work out an arrangement with Pakistan to supply the Saudis nuclear weapons on demand by the Saudis ? And as the US and EU have yapped for years about the alleged dangers of an Iranian nuclear program , why not any comments concerning what Pakistan and the Saudis have been cooking up ( with apparent US knowledge for years ) ? With Israel having already bombed Syria repeatedly and Saudis on the record as threatening to split with the US regarding dealing with Iran / Syria situations , the Saudi threats have to taken in a different light if they have ready access to nukes from Pakistan !
Iran....... US to Offer Iran ‘Limited’ Sanctions Relief in Latest TalksBoth Sides Holding Out Hopes for an Interim Agreement by Jason Ditz, November 06, 2013 Print This | Share This Though details are still scant, the White House has made an unusual public comment on the P5+1 talks with Iran, saying that they will propose a “phased approach” that will reportedly include “limited sanctions relief.” The plan reported involves a “six month halt” to Iran’s nuclear program, though it isn’t clear what exactly this means, nor was there any information on the “limited and reversible” sanctio... more »
Texas-Sized Island of Japanese Debris to Hit the West Coast of North America In The Next Few Years
Texas-Sized Island of Japanese Debris to Hit the West Coast of North America by Wahingtons Blog Global Research Canada, 6 November 2013 All At Once? We’ve been reporting for years that huge quantities of debris from the Japanese tsunami would hit the West Coast of North America. And see this. The Independent reports: An enormous floating island of debris from Japan’s 2011 tsunami is drifting towards the coast of America, bringing with it over one million tonnes of junk that would *cover an area the size of Texas*. The most concentrated stretch – dubbed the “toxic monster” by ... more »
Central Bank Opposes Financial Free Trade in FTZ
[image: keehike_big064.JPG] *Strongpoint overlooking Keelung.* The Ma government keeps looking for an end around Taiwan's conservative financial regulations, which have protected the island fairly well from the stupidity and criminality that goes on elsewhere. Financial integration is a key goal of putting the island into China's orbit. President Ma himself noted in his Double Ten Day speech last month that he hoped the "free economic zones", 1960s style development zones, would include financial services, effecting getting them out from under Central Bank and other regulation. He s... more »
Smooth Nokia Lumia 525 mottled
*A new Nokia Lumia receiver, identified as Lumia525, has been spotted. Press images of the handsets were available on **Face book, a social networkingsite.* Previously identified as Nokia Glee, the handset is extensively expected to be the upgraded version of the accessible Nokia Lumia 520 which currently available in India for around Rs 8,500 and comes with Windows Phone 8 operating system, 5 megapixel rear camera, 4 inch IPS touch screen, 1 GHz dual core processor, and 64 GB expandable storage slot. As per previous reports, the Lumia 525 is said to come with a 4-inch WVGA IPS L... more »
Schools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of Hand
Schools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of Hand. via Schools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of Hand.
Union Leadership as Political Sleight of Hand
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is nearly stereotypical as a bully, so much so that if he weren't in a position of power, he would be a walking satire of himself. When he yelled at a female teacher recently, reasonable people across the U.S. responded with disgust, as Jersey Jazzman did: Some think this misogyny is part of Christie's "Jersey-style" charm. Let me tell you something: I was born in New Jersey. And I, like millions of other men from this state, was raised to never disrespect women in this way. This isn't being "frank" or "speaking your mind"- *it's sexism, straight up*. ... more »
Good Reads Best Sci Fi of 2013
Were living in a Sci Fi world. If you have not read Peter F Hamilton, get r done. Also on the list Margaret Atwood. I am not a huge fan but the Crake and Onyx universe is spectacular.
How the Government’s Vaccine Policy is Infected by Corruption by Dr. Robert Murdoch
Source: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Living-with-Common-Sense/154468647938561 How the Government’s Vaccine Policy is Infected by Corruption by Dr. Robert Murdoch Green Med Info, 21 October 2013 Annually we receive warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of an impending influenza epidemic. Each year the CDC recommends the *influenza vaccine*. Are the warnings justified? Is the advice that the CDC provides appropriate and supported by scientific findings? Are there any conflicts of interest that would sway what the CDC tells health agencies, health prof... more »
Remembering the fallen. Part 1
Remembrance Day, when we are all expected to observe a time to pay our respect to the fallen of the wars past, is near upon us. As the 11th of November approaches some of you will be feeling the pressure to attend a ceremony at a local cenotaph. And, I know, some of you are feeling uncomfortable or maybe just inconvenienced about the thought of pulling yourself out into the bitterness of a
No More Neocon Faux-Cassandra Posturing: American Defense is not “in Decline”
Two pieces got emailed to me in the last few days that nicely illustrate just how entrenched semi-imperial thinking has become in Washington, how wildly disconnected from the reality of US security our foreign policy community’s threat assessments have become, and the hysteria that greets serious debate on DoD’s size in this post-Great Recession era Continue reading
Boltzmann brains: politeness means misunderstanding
In August 2013, I discussed a crazy paper by Boddy and Carroll that has argued that a Higgs instability that will destroy the Universe soon is a good thing because it will save us from a paradox – namely from the unexpected conclusion that there will be many people after us so we're special because we're among the relatively early ones. If no friendly apocalypse arrives, the Universe might exist indefinitely which, Boddy and Carroll believe, is a bad thing because the Boltzmann Brains will be formed many times in this infinite future and such a cosmology automatically predicts tha... more »
SAUDI NUKES?
[image: A little face at DUSK, Medina] *Saudi Arabia, By Nayeem KALAM* *If Israel wants to persuade the USA to attack Iran*, Israel needs to claim that there is a danger of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. Israel could leak a story that *Saudi Arabia is planning to get nuclear weapons.* *Or*,* if the USA is going to steal Saudi Arabia's oil*, it needs an excuse to attack Saudi Arabia. The USA could claim that *Saudi Arabia is planning to get nuclear weapons.* The BBC is suggesting that: *Saudi nuclear weapons are 'on order' from Pakistan* [image: young Saudi Qhatanis! Wa... more »
Another for the Reference Library
*Transsexual patients’ psychiatric comorbidity and positive effect of cross-sex hormonal treatment on mental health: Results from a longitudinal study* -- Marco Colizzi,Rosalia Costa, Orlando Todarello * Psychoneuroendocrinology*, Volume 39, January 2014, Pages 65-73, The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presence of psychiatric diseases/symptoms in transsexual patients and to compare psychiatric distress related to the hormonal intervention in a one year follow-up assessment. We investigated 118 patients before starting the hormonal therapy and after about 12 months. We ... more »
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Exposing Wall Street's Hidden "Code"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-04/exposing-wall-streets-hidden-code Exposing Wall Street's Hidden "Code" [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/04/2013 18:47 -0500 Having been the *first to warn the world about the perils of high frequency trading* nearly 5 years ago, when momentum ignition, layering and quote stuffing were still incomprehensible buzzwords to all but a select few algo traders from Citadel, GETCO and DE Shaw, and warning about such top-down systemic lock ups like flash-crash over a year in advance; as well as the bott... more »
Palestinian politicians, sharing their people's pain?
http://visualizingimpact.org/index.html
Two "Super Keys" to understanding the New World Order
Many thanks to *El Buggo* for producing the following YouTube video, which consists of an excerpt of a recent edition of *The Realist Report*: If you really want to understand what is going on in this world, what has gone on, and who is largely behind it all, you simply must understand these concepts.
JFK50: Lax Presidential Security Precautions in Dallas
Just look at this shit: GASP! - A rope! Better hope none o' those crazy crackers brought scissors...
Vice President Joe Biden makes another gaffe but don't expect any coverage on the pro US Democratic Party BBC
When Marty Walsh won the Boston mayor's race, Vice President Joe Biden was quick to pick up the phone to congratulate him. However the Marty Walsh who Biden had called wasn't the Marty Walsh who had been elected to succeed longtime Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. The Marty Walsh who Biden had a was a former aide to the late US Senator Edward Kennedy. If a Republican President, Vice President or senior figure had made such a gaffe it would be gleefully reported by the BBC as an example of right wing stupidity. However as Joe Biden is a Democratic Party Vice President, I confidently ...more »
Merkabas Caught Cutting a Crop Circle at Windmill Hill, Wiltshire, UK
This crop is very interesting! Grain tied up into sheaves by Merkabas! Sheaves of grain is a symbol of a harvest. This crop circle sits about 1/2 mile from where I used to live in England from 1988-1989. I know this location well.
Arne's approach to education in high-poverty situations
Sent to the Miami Herald, Nov 5. Arne Duncan's reaction to the high poverty (80%) and resulting (and well-documented) "deplorable conditions" in schools in Haiti was to recommend "clear data systems" in order to keep track of enrollment and student progress ("US Education secretary visits Haiti classrooms," Nov 5). Next he will recommend that fire departments invest in expensive and highly precise thermometers so that firefighters get the exact temperature of dangerous and rapidly spreading fires before trying to put them out. Stephen Krashen original article: http://www.miamiher... more »
Learning standards and real life.
Sent to the Baltimore Sun, Nov 6 Arnold Packer is right: "The Common Core won't help the common man," (Nov. 5). As Packer points out, the math standards are skewed to the college path. So are the English Language Arts standards: Susan Ohanian has remarked that they seem to be made for English majors. John Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, spoke to this problem in 1961:"The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philo... more »
The Official Story of 911 was written in the NY Times on 9 12 2001
Click on headlines and photos to read the full text of all articles Hijacked Jets Destroy Twin Towers and Hit Pentagon By SERGE SCHMEMANN Published: September 12, 2001 Hijackers rammed jetliners into each of New York's World Trade Center towers yesterday, toppling both in a hellish storm of ash, glass, smoke and leaping victims, while a third jetliner crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia. There was no official count, but President Bush said thousands had perished, and in the immediate aftermath the calamity was already being ranked the worst and most audacious terror attack ... more »
Steve Israel Leads The DCCC Into Another War Against Women-- This Time In Indiana
Steve Israel and his latest anti-Choice recruit-- looking for a knock out Indiana's 2nd district-- the north-central part of the state from South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen, and LaPorte down to Wabash and Peru-- used to be a swing district with a PVI of R+4. In recent times it was represented by far right extremist Chris Chocola, current head of Club for Growth, and Blue Dog Joe Donnelly who used it for a springboard to an unlikely Senate win last year. Donnelly decided too run for the Senate because he knew he'd have no chance to win in the newly redistricted second. The Republican state... more »
Enbridge Oil Spill, Breaking News
NTSB Press ReleaseNational Transportation Safety Board *Peter Knudson* *July 10, 2012** **WASHINGTON - Pervasive organizational failures by a pipeline operator along with weak federal regulations led to a pipeline rupture and subsequent oil spill in 2010, the National Transportation Safety Board said today.* * **On Sunday, July 25, 2010, at about 5:58 p.m., a 30 inch-diameter pipeline (Line 6B) owned and operated by Enbridge Incorporated ruptured and spilled crude oil into an ecologically sensitive area near the Kalamazoo River in Marshall, Mich., for 17 hours until a local ut... more »
Going Commando
Lionel Beehner and Joseph Young write in The National Interest that while targeted killing by drone strike is increasingly denounced (and decreasingly used by states), cross-border incursions by counter-terror ground troops are an increasingly accepted practice – despite the fact that both violate state sovereignty. Citing the capture of Abu Anas Al-Libi by US special ops Continue reading
Musical Interlide: Deuter, “Earth Shadow”
Deuter, “Earth Shadow” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COAvH95xojY
Where’s the tar and feathers?
*“The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the crowd.” - Ida B. Wells-Barnett, “Lynch Law in America,” *The Arena,* January 1900* It’s fair to say that NZers like their issues small and provincial. Rarely do NZers *en masse* display their emotions or grapple with big issues. But give them a flawed person on whom they can unleash those pent-up feelings and invite their moral outrage—a politician calling his colleagues “front bums”; an employers’ representative talking about wome... more »
Consumerism and culture: immersive TV...
Here is another interesting article discussing the rise of immersive television and novels. Put simply, TV and books are getting longer and longer. Particularly notable is the rise of the story-arc. Narrative is becoming more and more intricate. Audiences/readerships are committing to long, drawn out stories, though whether this is delayed gratification is another matter. A story arc can be arranged so there to leave cliff-hangers at important points. Does this defy the digital trend to reduced attention span? In one sense it does. But what’s actually going on? Is this just an int... more »
Newly retired Denver Broncos' guard John Moffitt looks forward to not having to carry that 319-pound bulk around
*"Everybody, they just don't get it and they think it's crazy. But I think what I was doing is crazy."* -- *now-former NFL offensive lineman John Moffitt, in* a phone interview with the Associated Press *by Ken* Two observations about the sudden retirement of Denver Broncos third-year guard John Moffitt: • It may be that the writings of the Dalai Lama and Noam Chomsky are not conducive to an NFL player's gung-ho attitude. • The head that the *Sporting News* at least put on the AP report, "John Moffitt walks away from NFL, $1 million," is problematic. As if the Denver Broncos didn'... more »
Kahlil Gibran, "The Seven Selves"; "How I Became A Madman"
* * *"The Seven Selves"* by Kahlil Gibran "In the silent hour of the night, as I lay half asleep, my seven selves sat together and thus conversed in whispers: *First Self:* Here, in this madman, I have dwelt all these years, with naught to do but renew his pain by day and recreate his sorrow by night. I can bear my fate no longer, and now I must rebel. *Second Self:* Yours is a better lot than mine, brother, for it is given me to be this madman's joyous self. I laugh his laughter and sing his happy hours, and with thrice winged feet I dance his brighter thoughts. It is I that ... more »
Mohawk Nation News 'Slavery'
SLAVERY Mohawk Nation News MNN. NOV. 6, 2013. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and Prime Minister Stephen Harper grew up In West Toronto, lived and shopped at the same plaza!! Canadians and world elites are supporting these degenerates! Ford is on a video smoking crack. Harper bribed a senator. They both think, “We can do anything we want.” The masses are slaves to tyrants? The elites protect each
Greece updates November 6 , 2013 - Another 24 Hour General Strike as the Troikans visit their Greek serfs once again demanding more blood , sweat and tears.....Golden Dawn Shootings - the murders of two Golden Dawn members caught on CCTV.......
http://rt.com/business/greece-troika-creditors-austerity-298/ Cash-strapped Greece protests against further austerity Published time: November 06, 2013 12:28 Get short URL Protesters shout slogans outside the Greek Finance Ministry during the meeting of the Greek Finance Minister with the EU and IMF officials in Athens, 2013. (AFP Photo/Aris Messinis) Download video (34.03 MB) Share on tumblr Tags Crisis, Global economy, Greece Public and private services have shut down across Greece as unions hold a 24-hour general strike against additional austerity cuts in the recession-plagued cou... more »
How Do I Get Out Of My Noncompete Agreement?
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has recently announced that he supports efforts to make noncompete agreements unenforceable in Massachusetts. Patrick's Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, Gregory Bialecki, said this about noncompete agreements: Non-competes stifle movement and inhibit competition and we do not want that. The evidence is clear-we are not seeing the kind of spin-offs and start-ups at the same rate that previously made Massachusetts an enviable model. Individual career growth is good for the Commonwealth: We encourage our talent to be creative, to be innov... more »
Uranium mine threatening Supai sacred land Grand Canyon temporarily halted
Energy Fuels Resources decided to place the Canyon Mine in non-operational status. The halt is expected to last until a December 2014 court decision. The Canyon Mine poses a critical threat to Red Butte, sacred place of Havasupai Nation -- Indigenous Action Media By Roger Clark, Grand Canyon TrustRobin Silver, Center for Biological DiversitySandy Bahr, Sierra Club Censored News“Zombie”
Žižek on Ideology
I have finally got round to reading Žižek's *The Sublime Object of Ideology*and it is absolutely fascinating. I'd like to share this very short extract because a) I'm too lazy to blog properly tonight and, b) I'll never look at ideology the same way again. Some context is necessary. The traditional Marxist understanding of ideology - and by traditional I mean dominant - positions it as a sort of naive consciousness. That is people under the spell of ideology misrecognise the true state of affairs. They cannot identify their real position in the order of things, nor apprehend society... more »
The Diplomat: Constructing China's Claims to the Senkaku
*Tongluo train station*. The Diplomat has a piece from me this week: Constructing China's Claims to the Senkaku. _______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
Living in a Chinese bubble
No, you can’t see bubbles when you’re in them, said Bubble Master Alan Greenspan. No, there’s no way to tell if you’re a in bubble, said his apprentice Ben Bernanke. No, no one can see a bubble at the time, says Ben’s successor Janet Yellen, echoed by every central banker in the world busy inflating their bubbles. Which means there’s nothing at all to see in China. [Hat tip Hugh Pavletich] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Long Live Russia, an example to us all
George Orwell wrote in his work, 1984, that in the future there would be a perpetual state of war, with the official enemies and allies changing place with barely anyone noticing the manipulation of what we perceive as reality. Well, that future is now, and the media manipulation of what we refer to as news, has certainly created the bizarre reality of our old allies becoming enemies, and vice versa. Russia was always a staunch ally of the UK, fighting on the same side in the Napoleonic Wars, and both World Wars. Then, through the media lie that State Communism and Finance Capital... more »
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