Morton-Rutledge Station (Photo credit: Roadgeek Adam)
Español: Cerro Mohan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
10:43pm MSTThe Christmas Truce of 1914
A moment of sanity amidst the infinite stupidity of war.
In the end, we have more in common with the furthest flung foreign common
man than the closest corporate-fascists that presume dominion over our
lives. If only the British & Germans realized it was the greed of their own
banking houses that had them in the trenches and not some irreconcilable
difference amongst themselves... Knowledge is power, ignorance literally
can mean death. When will we start being leaders in our homes, communities,
counties, and provinces - driving our own destiny rather than being
driven?
....
Time For A Joni Mitchell-Morrissey Story
Like Obama's, this was a tough year for Morrissey. When his band wasn't
being food poisoned at gigs, he was in the hospital with serious health
problems. He was forced to cancel so many concerts that he lost the ability
to get tour insurance. On the other hand his book, *Autobiography* entered
the British charts at #1 and sold more copies its first week than Keith
Richards' did. The year started with Morrissey stepping into a political
controversy, telling an interviewer he had toyed with the idea of voting
for England's version of the Tea Party, UKIP. "I nearly voted for Ukip. I
... more »
Mistaken Gender: 5-Alpha Reductase Hermaphroditism and Biological Reductionism in Sexual Identity Reconsidered
Another for the reference library. Also.. a bit too close to home, the way
some were treated.
Mistaken Gender: 5-Alpha Reductase Hermaphroditism and Biological
Reductionism in Sexual Identity Reconsidered Gilbert Herdt, Academic Room
2012
Hermaphroditic infants are sex-assigned as *kwolu-aatmwol*, not as male.
Those assigned as female are mistaken as normal females. Hermaphrodism is
regarded as a sad and mysterious quirk.
The *kwolu-aatmwol*, unless distinguished as a shaman or war leader, is
quietly disparaged. Yet several *kwolu-aatmwol* are well known in local
history, and one... more »
The Boy
When he's not occupied by his fascination for trains or ride-on lawn
mowers, charming the ladies with his deep blue eyes or playing the part of
a GQ junior model, the boy just loves to relax of course. Merry Christmas,
son. Daddy loves you.
Who is Watching the President...? - Part 3849
This is a good one.
Bare in mind, the woman on the left is the Commander in Chief of the
Arizona National Guard, commanding 5,206 troops and a total of 7,627 men at
arms during this conversation.
And none of them like him very much.
They just had a liberal congresswoman shot in the head over there.
*This is not safe.*
Expert evidence
Cinar Corporation v. Robinson 2013 SCC 73:
[49] For expert evidence to be admitted at trial,
it must (a) be relevant; (b) be necessary to assist the trier of fact; (c)
not offend any exclusionary rule; and (d) involve a properly qualified
expert (*R. v. Mohan*, [1994] 2 S.C.R. 9). These criteria apply to trials
for copyright infringement, as they do in other intellectual property cases:*Masterpiece
Inc. v. Alavida Lifestyles Inc.*, 2011 SCC 27, [2011] 2 S.C.R. 387, at
para. 75.
[50] The Cinar appellants argue that the second
crit... more »
Agreement expert qualified to give opinion evidence does not add weight to expert's opinion
R. v. Strickland, 2013 NLCA 65:
[18] The issue regarding expert evidence as argued on the appeal did
not extend to all aspects of the test for admissibility of expert evidence
as set out in *R. v. Mohan*, 1994 CanLII 80 (SCC), [1994] 2 S.C.R. 9 [1994]
S.C.J. No. 36 ("*R. v. Mohan*"). *R. v. Mohan* requires the trial judge
to consider four criteria: (i) relevance, (ii) necessity in assisting the
trier of fact, (iii) the absence of an exclusionary rule, and (iv) a
properly qualified expert. It was criterion (iv), whether Constable
Emberley was a properly qualified expert, on... more »
Christmas 2013: Christmas and Civil Society
*Merry Christmas friends. Nice weather here, cloudy everyday, brief rain
showers sometimes in the afternoon. Wish you nice vacation. Me, have
articles to edit, and a PH economic review to submit before the year end.
Am not complaining, I like writing. Cheers, and merry Christmas once again.*
I posted that message in my fb wall yesterday, thanks to 80+ likes from
friends, plus comments. My two girls complained yesterday why I could not
join them and their mama in the malls, well I was stuck in the office. But
no complains. J
I left the office 7pm yesterday, dinner, then I drove the ... more »
I09 picks Upstream Color as top film of 2013
My review is way better eh! However I09 is the leading Sci Fi site on the
web and it gives me some satisfaction
when their learned opinion agrees with mine. Upstream color was also my
runner up for movie of the year. Certainly if I was choosing Sci Fi movie
of the year it would be hands down,
This year its going to be hard to beat Gravity. Its not a great sci fi
movie but its a very well made movie that knows how to tug on the old
emotions.
Gail Collins on Chris Christie's Internet gambling vision: "This cannot possibly be a step in the right direction"
*"Earlier this year, Governor Christie signed a bill legalizing Internet
gambling in New Jersey. The idea was to help resuscitate the Atlantic City
economy and raise a projected $150 million in tax revenue. Very few people
believe the state will really make that much, but the number did help
Christie to run for re-election waving what appeared to be a balanced
budget."*
*-- Gail Collins, in her NYT column*
"Candy Crush and Mr. Christie"
*by Ken*
Gail Collins, it seems, has some forebodings about the sociopolitical
vision of a certain governor of a state tucked between New York and... more »
Phil Robertson Returning To Duck Dynasty as A& E and Cracker Barrel quickly beat a retreat.... Whether you like the Show or Phil Robertson , a message to take away is that the threat of a serious protest directed to corporate interests ( and which the corporate interests deem serious ) , will cause folks to back up and back away ....Whether it's the " Endless War Policies " , NSA spying , Bankster plundering , excessive governmental inrusions such ObamaCare - Americans need to do more than whine - boycotts the corporate and political interests pushing thes policies and they will back away from them if the financial and political pain is substantial enough...
- Phil Robertson Returning To Duck Dynasty
-
[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]
*Robert Rich*
Microconservative.com
December 23, 2013
It has now been revealed that Phil Robertson will be returning to Duck
Dynasty on January 15. A&E said they have no plans to fire the star.
Image: Phil Robertson (YouTube).
It appears as though the war on Phil Robertson and his freedoms of free
speech and religions aren’t quite so savage. Although *A&... more »
Wut We's Got's To Do
My point about the lack of a response to the TTC fare increase was that I,
who have been told several times that my plans are too grandiose, am
pointing out the sheer invisibility of the standard leftist response to
problems. If I had my druthers, I'd be organizing a transit-users' strike,
or an occupation of City Hall and Queen's Park, until said powers-that-be
find the goddamned revenues from out of their tax-cuts for the rich or
their general corruption funds, to pay for the existing service levels and
to invest the billions more that are needed to restore the system to a
state o... more »
Now why would Nick Clegg push that line?
It is reported that Nick Clegg has issued a warning that he won't accept
any further curbs on immigration from the European Union.
How ridiculous, until you remember that his EU pension is, at least, partly
dependant on his not going against the EU's interests.
Whatever It Takes
You would think that Stephen Harper's recent troubles might spur a little
self examination. Not so. Jeffrey Simpson writes:
Instead of rethinking, the Prime Minister has doubled down on his long-term
strategy, which depends on polarizing the electorate and identifying and
mobilizing the Conservative vote. He reshuffled his cabinet to add younger
ministers of the same type as the more experienced ones: hard-edged
communicators and sharp-elbowed partisans. He regrouped people in his
office and at party headquarters who are unreserved loyalists. There are no
even mildly discordant vo... more »
NOT SO HOLY LAND
Richard Falk, who is a professor Emeritus of international law at Princeton
University, was appointed in 2008 to a six-year position as the UN’s
special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian
territories.
Falk is catching hell from the Obama administration and other Israeli
allies. I say good for Richard Falk for just telling the truth about the
current plight of the Palestinian people.
Conniving CONs . . .
THE
SENATE HOO-HA'S origins, as seen by my friend Scanner, who I believe
has created an accurate account of how things came to be. I wish the
RCMP every success, good luck and good weasel-hunting.
I have written this before but in light of SJH's unequivocal answer to
the question whether he was aware at the time of a plan to have the
Conservative party reimburse Mike Duffy for his
Pope's Mass: Our souls should not have a 'do not disturb' sign
Video Title: Pope's Mass: Our souls should not have a 'do not disturb'
sign. Source: romereports. Date Published: December 23. Description:
December 23, 2013. In his daily morning Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis
talked about what it really means to prepare for Christmas. Amid all the
parties and celebrations, he said, there must be room for God.
The #ChristmasMyths #6: The Slaughter of the Innocents
*Part of a continuing series looking at the pagan origins of the Christmas
Myths,* one day at a time. Today, the story and pagan origins of the story
of King Herod’s slaughter of every child under two…*
[image: File:0 Le Massacre des Innocents d'après P.P. Rubens - Musées
royaux des beaux-arts de Belgique (2).JPG]*Massacre of the Innocents*,
Peter Paul Rubens
The story is familiar enough in the telling. The infant is put in danger by
the ruler’s fear that the new baby will usurp his reign:
A heavenly voice whispered to the foster father … and told him to fly with
the child across... more »
Why The Inland Empire Congressional Race Is In The National Spotlight This Year
If you're a Blue America member, you already saw the letter we sent out
from Eloise Reyes, the progressive running to win the bluest seat in
America held by a Republican, CA-31, the Inland Empire (San Bernardino,
Uplands, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Loma Linda, Colton). A typical DCCC
misstep-- backing an empty suit who is too conservative for the district,
Pete Aguilar-- cost the Democrats this D+5 district in 2012. Aguilar was
beaten by *two* Republicans and because of him there was no Democrat on the
general election ballot when Obama beat Romney 57-41%. Instead, the
district ... more »
Is the real world?
...not one book ...not one painting.I don't think
it's a coin toss
between love or fear,
I think it's a myth
that we are.
We never are,
until the moment
of our death,
happy.
Tonight,
a dream?
Apocalyptic Planet
Craig Childs is a nature writer and globetrotting adventure hog. He’s been
thinking a lot about apocalypse lately. It’s hard not to. The jungle
drums are pounding out a growing stream of warnings — attention! — big
trouble ahead.
The Christian currents in our culture encourage us to perceive time as
being something like a drag strip. At one end is the starting line
(creation), and at the other end is the finish line (judgment day). We’re
speeding closer and closer to the end, which some perceive to be the final
Game Over for everything everywhere. Childs disagrees. “We are n... more »
Quiz: Radio 4 presenter anagrams
As every website seems to feel the need to do a Christmas quiz, here's one
for you tonight.
Can you unscramble the following anagrams of BBC Radio 4 presenters?
1. Dire media (5,4)
2. Hoard clerics (7,5)
3. Aha, me using jet! (5,8)
4. A rotund red swot (6,8)
5. I shun Islam? Ha! (6,6)
The answers lie in the comments section below.
Hard things to think Aboot
Canadian Voters take note.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-23/former-goldman-banker-head-cmhc-canadas-mortgage-monster
If the wolf is not at the door, is it in your bedroom?
The Maned Wolf - a lesson in deductive dentition
This is a South American canid, the Maned Wolf.
[image: File:Maned Wolf 11, Beardsley Zoo, 2009-11-06.jpg]
This "dog" is a true omnivore, not unlike homo sapiens. It supplements a
diet of meat (frogs, fish, lizards and other small game) with fruit,
tubers, and sugarcane. These supply up to 51% of its diet. It does not do
well in captivity without vegetable foods, In the wild it is susceptible to
infestation by the Giant Kidney Worm (*Dioctophyme renale)**, *a
potentially lethal roundworm it is exposed to by eating fish. It prefers
the fruit of the Wolf Apple (*Solanum lycocarpum*) o... more »
Juventud eterna, ya a la venta?
Conjunto compuesto anti-edad para ensayos en humanos después de dar vuelta
el reloj para ratones
Profesor Nueva Gales del sur en Estados Unidos revierte los indicadores
clave del envejecimiento para hacer two-year-old ratones aparecen seis
meses de edad
Investigadores australianos y estadounidenses esperan un compuesto
anti-ageing podría ser probado en seres humanos tan pronto como el próximo
año, tras un avance clave que vio el proceso de envejecimiento invertido en
ratones.
El estudio, que incluyó la Universidad de Harvard y la Universidad de NSW,
descubrió una manera de rest... more »
The Infinite Monkey Cage
I do rather like Radio 4's *The Infinite Monkey Cage*.
It's a robustly pro-science programme in the network's overwhelmingly
arts-dominated schedule and almost every edition features *bona
fide*scientists sharing their insights with the listening public. The
results
can often be fascinating and informative and the programme has covered a
vast range of scientific fields over the course of its nine series.
Today's edition, for example, featured immunologist Dr Sheena
Cruickshank
of Manchester University. She specialises in parasitic worms and shared
something that I found very inter... more »
Death of a Gunsmith: Mikhail Kalashnikov 1919 - 2013
What a legacy he has. Kalashnikov often expressed regret at the killing
power he had unleashed. However he put the blame squarely on failed
leadership not good design. Because of the perfection of the 1946 design
who can say how many have been made, but well over 100 million for sure.
Sixty eight years later it remains to be the gold standard in assault
rifles.
"The deadliest weapon in the world is an American Marine and his rifle"
-General Black Jack Pershing
1918
It was not until 1962 that US Marines were issued a modern assault r... more »
Duty of disclosure and presiding Justice of the Peace in provincial regulatory matters
R. v. Ul-Rashid, 2013 ONCA 782 grants leave to the Court of Appeal to
decide whether the Crown must ensure disclosure have been provided,
regardless of request, and the presiding Justice must inquiry as to such
delivery, for provincial regulatory matters. Additionally leave is granted
to review the scope of assistance required of the presiding Justice for an
unrepresented accused.
Quaere, should not an unrepresented accused have some burden to investigate
the nature of their rights before and during trial?
The Court holds:
[42] The applicant raises the issue of whether a... more »
Turkey: Halkbank - Role in Iran Gold Transactions Legal
*Ht anonymous commenter!*
*UPDATED BELOW *
Pertinent background:
**Turkish PM Erdogan threatened/challenged by Fethullah Gulen?*
**Turkey & Ukraine afflicted with EU/ private banking/business parasites*
As usual I will highlight the interesting bits. * Halkbank Says Role in
Iran Gold Legal After CEO Arrest*
Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS (HALKB),* the state-run bank* that slumped 19
percent since a graft probe implicating four ministers erupted last week,
said it has acted lawfully after police arrested its chief executive
officer.
*Payments made by the bank on behalf of companies ex... more »
And Some Songs, You Just Feel in Your Soul...
Gov't Mule, “Forevermore”
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3YFgSwmRww
This Time The Sex Predator Is A Democrat-- Well A Certain Type Of Democrat… Meet Dennis Gabryszak
Gabryszak-- from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party
Poor New York state Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak. Not many people outside
of Buffalo (and Albany) ever heard of him until he entangled himself in a sexual
harassment scandal that's ending his political career. So now all they know
about him is that the 62 year old Democrat from Cheetowaga is that he's
married with 2 children and that he was hitting on young female staffers--
at least 5 so far-- to a point behind merely creepy. He brought one woman,
in her 20s to a massage parlor within 2 weeks of hiring her and he had a
hab... more »
Jingoist Rock
Jingoists, Jingoists, KKK hoods
Jingoists swing their Jingoist bats
Snowjobs, and blowing up Planned Parenthoods
Now the Jingoist pointy hats.
Jingoists, Jingoists, Jingoist tools
Jingoists mansplain like Banshees in pain
Dancing and prancing like racist fools
As they’re put on the air.
What a white time, it's the right time
To lock your rights away
Anytime is a swell time
To hunt gays for us to slay.
Giddy up, Robertson, embarrass your clan.
You shouldn’t be sucking cock.
Mix in some racism if you can
Cracker Barrel’s keeping you in stock.
(Dingbats, Dingbats, yeah, Dingbats, Dingbat... more »
THIS IS HOW WE ARE TRAINED
Trained into servility......it's the militarization of our culture. Can
you say Israeli style?
To learn more about the TSA push back go *here*
SOLIDARITY GETS PERSONAL
I'm closely following the current developments from South Korea - maybe it
should be renamed the "Corporate state of South Korea". This week's
right-wing government "surprise" was to bust into the multi-storied
headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) on Dec.
22. The current fascist government in the corporate state of South Korea
is cracking down hard these days on anyone that dares to peep their head
into the clouds. Everyone is supposed to look down and bow directly to the
corporate dominated consumer culture they are being shackled with.
On previous ... more »
Making Teachers Better by Using Someone Else's Bogus Scores for Evaluation
Beyond the idiocy of using unreliable, invalid, and unfair test score gains
to evaluate teachers, there is the insanity of claiming the evaluations are
about improving teachers by using scores that are someone else's. Is there
any other profession that allows such treatment of its members? Where is
Randi and her bullhorn, where is doddering Dennis?
From the NYTimes:
. . . .Proponents of the reforms said the goal was not just to refine the
grades, but also to improve teaching through more detailed and regular
feedback.
But some teachers said the process felt like a game of “gotcha.... more »
What goes around comes around
By Capt. Fogg
So here's me looking at this guy in the hardware store selecting Christmas
lights. He's got a little kid with him - shorts and tank top and skin
covered top to bottom with graffiti like a subway car from the 60's. Looked
like Bible quotes.
*"What the fuck you looking at? You like my legs, huh?"* It's one of
those "shoulda said" in retrospect moments, but I didn't say *"if you
didn't want anyone to read it you should have tattooed it on your ass," *discretion
being very much the better part of valor particularly for someone who's
left his Colt .380 at home since t... more »
Phoenix Rising
*I originally wrote this post after attending a lecture by David LeBlanc at
ORNL. I wanted to capture some of the excitement David created with his
lecture. This reposting is dedicated to Rod Adams and the readers of his
Blog, Atomic Insights.*
I attended David LeBlanc's lecture at ORNL yesterday (May 18, 2010).
Jess Gehin, our host, took the opportunity to do a set of show-and-tell
presentations about molten-salt-related programs at ORNL. It is safe to
say, from what I saw yesterday, that the phoenix is rising at ORNL.
David's talk was exciting. David has been in contact with re... more »
Iraqi Women Before And After The 2003 Invasion, Interview With Prof Nadje Al-Ali Univ of London
Professor Nadje Al-Ali is a professor of gender studies at SOAS, University
of London. She has authored several books and articles on the history and
present state of Iraqi women including *Iraqi Women: Untold Stories From
1948 to the Present *and *What Kind of Liberation?: Women and the
Occupation of Iraq*, and was one of the editors of *We Are Iraqis:
Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War*. The Iraq War has given rise to a
number of contradictory stories about women in Iraq. One is that Iraqi
women were liberated and on the rise under Saddam, and then all that was
reversed a... more »
Returns to Skills Around the World
From a new working paper:
On average, a one-standard- deviation increase in numeracy skills is
associated with an 18 percent wage increase among prime-age workers. But
this masks considerable heterogeneity across countries. Eight countries,
including all Nordic countries, have returns between 12 and 15 percent,
while six are above 21 percent with the largest return being 28 percent in
the United States. Estimates are remarkably robust to different earnings
and skill measures, additional controls, and various subgroups.
Intriguingly, returns to skills are systematically lower in coun... more »
FED up? Hundred years of manipulating the US dollar
*Posted by D. *
http://removingtheshackles.blogspot.com/2013/12/fed-up-hundred-years-of-manipulating-us.html
*FED up? Hundred years of manipulating the US dollar*
Ahhhhhhhh! Isn't that funny? I guess I'm not the only one with an intense
desire to insure that people understand that the Federal Reserve Bank is
not "Federal", it "reserves" nothing, and is nothing like a "bank". An
excellent Main Stream Media article to really push that information home.
"This explains why when in late 2002 Saddam Hussein decided he would do his
UN-sanctions authorized “One Billion Dollars Iraqi O... more »
REPRESSION GROWS IN SOUTH KOREA
*Police break down the glass door at the Korean Confederation of Trade
Union headquarters during a government raid of KCTU in Seoul on December
22.*
*Umbrella trade union KCTU sets Dec. 28 for a general strike*
By Jeon Jong-hwi, Im In-tack and Lee Jung-gook, staff reporters
the Hankyoreh
The Park Geun-hye administration, which has maintained an “uncommunicative
and proud of it” approach on contentious social issues, is ramping up its
use of force and rejecting dialogue.
In the latest development, police stormed the offices of the Korean
Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) on Dec. 2... more »
UFO UpDates Fades to Black
I had noticed over the last few months that there were fewer posts to UFO
UpDates than there had been in recent years. I’m not sure why there was a
decline, but there is fallout from it. Errol Bruce-Knapp who ran the list
for many, many years, has posted the following:
Not, perhaps, the merriest Christmas news for some subscribers and readers
to/of UFO UpDates, but the time has come...
The world has moved on, apparently beyond the need of a centralised service
such as this List - witness the dramatic drop in List-bound traffic of the
last few years.
So, the plan is to mothball the... more »
Egypt's Full Circle: Dark Days in Egypt
*Egypt has come full circle*- *Through a series of developments that lead
back to the original source, position* . The NYT’s call it* “Dark Days in
Egypt”*
*I call it..... exactly as I had suspected *
“Immediately after the psyop coup you may recall my comment “cue the civil
war”. That is how I interpreted that event. An inevitable push towards
chaos.* The whole meme for the coup was ‘well democracy just can’t work for
those people”* I made reference to “white mans burden” and other of the
usual western drivel”
*Dark days???? My how the narrative has changed.*
Last week*, Egypt... more »
We’re more than the Common Core
We wake up early, every morning, ready to teach, and we look forward to
opening our classroom door. We quietly ponder which student we’ll reach,
because we’re more than the Common Core. We spend countless hours planning
lessons ahead, and we genuinely want our students to soar. We reflect on
each school day before resting in […]
THE NEW JESUS
Jesus Rebranded from MarkFiore on Vimeo.
Cyclops: One-Eyed Aliens in Laguna Blanca, Argentina (1969)
*Date: 22 December 2013Source: Planeta UFO, Visión Ovni and ORBITA CERO*
*Cyclops: One-Eyed Aliens In Laguna Blanca, Argentina (1969)*
*By Dr. Roberto Banchs*
On Thursday, October 9, 1969, the area of Laguna Blanca to the east of the
Province of Chaco (Argentina) was the stage for a unique incident,
witnessed by a former police officer and farmer. Broadly disseminated
through the Saporiti news agency (1), the item notes that a strange machine
was seen resting on a tree, crewed by three unusual creatures of short
stature, long blond hair and with a single eye.
The journalistic in... more »
On The 100th Anniversary Of The Federal Reserve Here Are 100 Reasons To Shut It Down Forever
[image: Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...]
Michael Snyder
December 23rd, 1913 is a date which will live in infamy. That was the day
when the Federal Reserve Act was pushed through Congress. Many members of
Congress were absent that day, and the general public was distracted with
holiday preparations. Now we have reached the 100th anniversary of the
Federal Reserve, and most Americans still don't know what it actually is or
how it functions. But understanding the Federal Reserve is absolutely
critical, because the Fed is at the very heart of our economic problems. ... more »
Untitled
*Our Views: Building on water ~N.O. Advocate*
*TARNADO!!! Official predicts La. beaches will be under assault for 100
years ~Bob Marshall*
*BP, Chevron Accused Of Illegally Dumping Toxic Radioactive Drilling Waste
Into Louisiana Water ~Emily Atkin, Climate Progress*
*Church hopes to restore 160-year old bell tower ~Carolyn Scofield, WVUE*
Battle Over Health Care Reform Rages On In California-- And Today Is The Deadline For CoveredCa Sign Ups
Over the weekend, Lee Rogers, a nationally known surgeon and the former
spokesperson for the National Diabetes Association, sent out a notice to
his Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Antelope Valley neighbors that today
(Monday) is the deadline to enroll in Covered California for insurance in
2014 under the Affordable Care Act. "As a doctor," he wrote "I have a
strong interest in making sure everyone gets affordable health insurance. I
recently spoke at a Covered California symposium where I answered questions
and concerns. I also put to rest some of the rumors that have been going
arou... more »
Bond market strangeness December 23 , 2013 ..... US and China in focus !
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-23/china-folds-un-tapers-repo-rates-remain-elevated
China Folds, "Un-Tapers"; But Repo Rates Remain Elevated
[image: Tyler Durden's picture]
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/23/2013 21:09 -0500
- China
- Reverse Repo
inShare
*For the first time in 3 weeks, the PBOC un-tapered* and added CNY 29
billion liquidity (via reverse repo). Despite the Chinese governments
denial of any liquidity crisis, the decision to "fold" reflects a clear
indication that, as Monex strategist Eimear Daly notes, "*China's
attempting to incrementally liber... more »
Elf's Lament: Don't Forget The Underpaid Workers This Holiday Season
If you're like me, you're probably doing some last minute holiday shopping.
While you're loading up on gifts at one of those mega-stores open 24 hours
or on holidays, remember that more than 1 in 10 Americans who work full
time are still poor. You're probably handing your credit card to someone
who lives below the poverty line. About 1 in 4 private sector jobs pays
below $10/hour.
I'm on vacation, so rather than make my argument I'll let someone else do
it for me. You can even listen to my favorite pro-employee Christmas song,
Elf's Lament (about the travails of Santa's workers), e... more »
This Is the Common Core You Support?
You have plenty of Urban Legend and baseless conspiracy theories swirling
around the Common Core, and none of that really serves anyone well. But you
also have evidence (and from what I can tell, that doesn’t carry much
weight). So for all those who support the Common Core, and tend to ignore
the evidence-based arguments […]
We’re going out to clean the pasture spring!
*MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2013*
*Christmas lands on the 25th:* The analysts tell us that Christmas lands on
the 25th this year.
For that reason, we’re going out to clean the pasture spring! We don’t
expect to post again until Saturday.
We leave you the post directly below, concerning test scores in D.C. and
the desire to say they don’t count.
The year of living propagandistically!
*MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2013*
*Strauss pulls a Rhee at the Post:* In many ways, this has been the year of
living propagandistically.
It has been the year when liberal entities followed Fox and Rush and Sean
down a wormhole of bogus claims and propagandistic misrepresentations.
This has been especially true when it comes to public schools. Consider
this recent post by the Washington Post’s Valerie Strauss.
Strauss became an education reporter at the Post in 1994. Since 2009, she
has been writing The Answer Sheet, an education blog.
In her recent post, Strauss discusses, or pretends to... more »
Foreign affairs
The BBC is reporting more and more Muslim-related news, so they must be
aware that something’s up. Al Qaeda is flourishing in Iraq, Prince Charles
has noticed that Muslim extremists are persecuting Christians in the Middle
East (who knew he was so observant) Marks and Sparks has made some
impracticable concessions to “Muslims” and Anjem Choudary has been “given a
platform” on the Today programme.
Remember the ‘yes/no” game? You know, someone asked a load of quick-fire
questions and if the contestant said ‘yes’ or ‘no’ a gong banged and the
contestant had his head chopped off. Not r... more »
The 100 Year History of the Federal Reserve Bank and who it serves (hint: NOT US)
------------------------------
100 Years Is Enough: Time to Make the Fed a Public Utility
Posted on December 22, 2013 by Ellen Brown
December 23rd, 2013, marks the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve,
warranting a review of its performance. Has it achieved the purposes for
which it was designed?
The answer depends on whose purposes we are talking about. For the banks,
the Fed has served quite well. For the laboring masses whose populist
movement prompted it, not much has changed in a century.
*Thwarting Populist Demands*
The Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913 in respo... more »
World's BIGGEST Blog - Day 1
It's BIGGER on the inside.
Merry Christmas & A Happy 2014 From Me To All Of You
*Wishing all a lovely holiday season.*
*My kindest & warmest regards,*
*Mike*
Your moment of Zen
Beautiful Maze at Longleat, England
Local Council By-Election Results 2013
Party
Number of candidates
Total vote
%
Average/
contest
+/- Seats
Conservative
330
139,982
26.4%
424
-28
Labour
294
171,427
32.3%
583
+25
LibDem
230
62,413
11.8%
271
-2
UKIP
225
75,873
14.3%
337
+12
SNP*
15
14,507
2.7%
967
-4
Plaid Cymru**
9
2,320
0.4%
258
0
Green
114
17,174
3.2%
151
-1
BNP
20
1,343
0.3%
67
0
TUSC
33
2,040
0.4%
62
0
Independ... more »
FED up? Hundred years of manipulating the US dollar
Ahhhhhhhh! Isn't that funny? I guess I'm not the only one with an intense
desire to insure that people understand that the Federal Reserve Bank is
not "Federal", it "reserves" nothing, and is nothing like a "bank". An
excellent Main Stream Media article to really push that information home.
*"This explains why when in late 2002 Saddam Hussein decided he would do
his UN-sanctions authorized “One Billion Dollars Iraqi Oil for Food” trade
with the West in euros instead of dollars, he was quickly visited by the
Fed’s military branch in March 2003. *
* Or take Muammar Kaddafi who in ... more »
I bet you they won't play this song on the radio
Monty Python's wonderful 'I bet you they won't play this song on the radio'
LAND OF CHILD ABUSING CLERGY, POLITICIANS AND POLICE
*The Woodlands Boys Home*
In September 2013, it was reported that a pedophile ring, which included
Christian clergy, sexually abused boys at the Woodlands Boys Home, in
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
The home was run by the church.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/paedophile-ring-used-boys-home
* Woodlands Boys Home*
According to one witness: ''These men just came, got the boys, used them,
and put them back.''
According to another witness: ''These men changed from week to week,
suggesting a larger, organised ring.
''We are aware of a group of men who did come to the home in t... more »
Thailand: Third Mass Mobilization Floods Bangkok's Streets
*December 23, 2013* (Tony Cartalucci) - For the third time in the past two
months, hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters took to the streets
from early morning until late night, paralyzing Thailand's capital of
Bangkok throughout the day. Major roads were turned into walking streets as
tens of thousands of protesters assembled at each of over 10 stages
throughout the city's major intersections.
\
*Images: (Top to bottom) Ratchaprasong, Taksin Bridge, Silom, Asoke, &
Victory Monument. These are images of just some of the separate protest
sites and marches organized acros... more »
Tom Hayden : Progressive Dems See Opening for New Politics
Elizabeth
Warren and the populists say 'No way!' to 'Third Way.'
Conditions ripe for a new politics:
An opening for progressive Democrats
The Democratic progressive base is making clear that Hillary Clinton
must make an adjustment from her hawkish centrism towards the new
populism.
By Tom Hayden / The Rag Blog / December 23, 2013
The sight of progressive Democrats shaming and exposing the
Jack A. Smith : Climate Change Confab Brings Too Little Too Late
Climate
change activists in Warsaw, Friday, November 22, 2013, portray, from
right, French President Francois Hollande, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe, President Obama, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Photo by
Czarek Sokolowski, / AP.
Climate Change meeting in
Warsaw brings too little too late
Given the number of drastic reports about climate change... the
accomplishments at COP19
Lamar W. Hankins : Opportunist Narvaiz Takes On Doggett Again in Gerrymandered 35th
Congressional
candidate Susan Narvaiz and friend. Image from Facebook.
Unsolicited advice, Dept.:
A Narvaiz strategy to defeat Doggett
Narvaiz is a political chameleon who says what she needs to say and does
what she needs to do to protect herself from political accountability.
By Lamar W. Hankins / The Rag Blog / December 23, 2013
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Three years ago, when Susan Narvaiz
Is Marriage Equality Here To Stay... In Utah?
As soon as I had heard there was something big brewing in Utah,the first
person to come to mind for an inside scoop was Ryan Combe, a progressive
Democrat who ran for Congress last year. He said the day had been "shaping
up to be one of the most shocking days in Utah’s political history when
around 2pm a ruling from U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby made certain it
would go down as the biggest day in politics that this state has ever
seen." I asked him to expand on what was going on there from his own
perspective and he sent me this:
I had been glued to my computer all day as I ... more »
Steve Horn : Keystone XL's Houston 'Fork in the Road'
Houston's
refinery row. Image from Gulf Restoration Network / DaSmogBlog.
Keystone XL fork in the road:
TransCanada's Houston Lateral Pipeline
Houston's LyondellBasell refinery is retooling itself for the looming
feast of tar sands crude and fracked oil bounty that awaits the Houston
Lateral's completion.
By Steve Horn / DeSmogBlog / December 23, 2013
Only Barack Obama knows the fate of the
Lo sentimos mucho....We are very sorry
ABOUT the missing photos...
SOBRE las fotos ausentes
Las fotos seran re-puestas...lo mas rapido possible...
The photos will be reposted as soon as possible...
Google is to Blame for uploading the photos posted here to our Cell phones
La culpa la tiene Google por SUBIR las fotos puestas aqui directamente a
los celulares
Seed Newsvine
Gold and silver news , data ( GLD ETF sees 5.4 tons of gold added by an authorized participant - first time in many months - whom and why now , some may be wondering ) and views - December 21 , 2013 - Ed Steer's Saturday Report - with the gold and precious metal data and news updates always provided by Ed - Articles linked include Doug Noland's Friday missive and many additional thought provoking items to ponder this weekend !
Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/edition/lawrence-williams-the-taper-china-and-gold-where-is-this-leading-us
¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD & SILVER
There was a bit of a rally in gold during early trading in the Far East on
their Friday, but by early afternoon it had petered out. The gold price
didn't do much after that until the London p.m. gold fix. That rally took
the gold price back above the $1,200 spot price mark. At that point,
either the rally got capped, or the buyer disappeared. Gold traded flat
for the remainder of the Friday session in New York.
The CME recorded the low and high... more »
i hate christmas 2013: christmas in the public library
My annual I Hate Christmas post is a mixed bag this year.
Last year, I found Christmas less awful than usual, thanks to the absence
of both commercial TV and my law-firm job. Those changes are permanent (at
least I hope they are!), so I may never need to hide from Christmas quite
as much, ever again.
On the other hand, Christmas at the public library is a grand opportunity
for alienation. The decorations, the displays of children's Christmas
books, the Christmas-themed storytimes... and everyone thinks it's all
hunky-dory, as long as we stick to Santa and ignore Jesus. No crosses a... more »
Musical Interlude: Moody Blues, "King and Queen"
Moody Blues, "King and Queen"
Musical Interlude: The Moody Blues, "King and Queen"
The Moody Blues, "King and Queen"
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLD6nPQvlZg
The Importance of Common Core for Nationally-pervasive Ed Reform
A great error made by those combating corporate reform is in viewing the
reforms as separate and distinct one from another. I have noticed as much
in discussions about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). However, the
“standards” were not intended to “stand” without the entire spectrum of
reforms. In fact, the power of a […]
Bitcoin news December 21 , 2013 - BTC China CEO Attempts To Calm The Bitcoin Market After RMB Deposit Shutdown .......... Going forward , one question for Bitcoin will be how do emerging countries and markets view Bitcoin - Jana survey reveals the thinking in 9 emerging markets ......Alleged Top Moderators Of Silk Road 2 Forums Arrested In Ireland, U.S. In International Sweep ...... Additional news items of note for Bitcoin !
Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
Taxing Bitcoin......
How Will the IRS Tax Bitcoin?
*online.wsj.com / Laura Saunders / Dec. 20, 2013 7:10 p.m. ET*
Despite a recent plunge, bitcoin has had a banner year. Now comes the hard
part—figuring out the taxes on it.
For the uninitiated, bitcoin is the most prominent of several “virtual
currencies”—money that exists only online and isn’t backed by any
government. Released in 2009 by an unknown person or group going by the
name Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin is maintained by a decentralized network of
computers, called “miners,” that process and verify transactions. As of
Friday af... more »
Need a last-minute Christmas gift suggestion?
*by Noah*
OK, Chanukah came a little early this year, but for those of you who feel
that special joy of giving a gift for Christmas, here be this year’s prime
suggestions. Special note: I am assuming that you have already graced all
of your friends with last year's Jesus Grilled Cheese-maker or Jesus Toaster.
If not, the Father, Son, and Holy Toast can easily be theirs, but here are
some other great gift ideas!
*1. The Bathe & Brew*
What do you like to do first thing when you get up each glorious day? I
mean *after* that. For me, it’s take some pills, do some exercises and sit
i... more »
Attention the Future your TV has arrived.
Now thats a TV! LG 4K 105 inch Cinematic aspect display.
H/T Canada Hi Fi
Turkey & Ukraine afflicted with EU/ private banking/business parasites
*Found some interesting articles...*
*As usual I will highlight the interesting bits.*
*Turkey is afflicted with the same bloodsucker trying to latch itself onto
the Ukraine.*
*The parasitic EU wants to drain all life from both nations.*
*THE EU NEEDS TURKEY*
* But, does Turkey need or want the EU? Does the Ukraine really want or
need to be part of the EU?*
*We have some interesting parallels here-*
ISTANBUL —* The Turks are increasingly hubristic, and not just in the
Middle East. Having seen their total G.D.P. more than double in the past
decade, many Turks do not feel that they n... more »
Summer Reading
A few of you were distraught* that I hadn't yet posted my bookstack of
holiday reading this year. So here it is, all ready for me to realise I'm
going to need a bigger bag.
* *Distraught,* adjective, di-ˈstrawt, from the Latin *distractus *meaning
somewhere between mildly curious and hardly caring.
[image: Posted with Blogsy]Posted with Blogsy
Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission
to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
The source of true friendship
H/T to Oldpharte and Globallove Think Tank
Chariots of the Gods new revelations
Any question this depicts spacecraft? These are Mayan disks found 8o years
ago. I am not totally sold on extra terrestrial.
Another plausible explanation is that earth has had one or more cycles
where technology surpassed our own. Thus destroying that civilization
so thoroughly we only have a few artifacts remaining.
H/T to American Kabuki and oldephartte(in training)
Christmas less Christian, says survey
Gus Van Horn spotted some more interesting polling data coming out of the
States, summarised by him as "Half of Americans Have Ceased Injecting Faith
into Christmas":
[O]nly a little more than half [of Americans] actually regard the
[Christmas] holiday primarily as a religious celebration.
More than one-third say it's more a cultural holiday, a new poll from Pew
Research's Religion & Public Life Policy found.
This is great news from undeniably the most religious western country, and
hopefully a growing cultural trend. As Gus says
This calls to mind Leonard Peikoff's classic essay... more »
Fair warning!
For the next week, starting tomorrow, once again, Through the Scary door
will be the world's BIGGEST blog. The odds are fairly good that this guy
will make an appearance.
Is There Such A Thing As Too Extreme On The Right-- Or Does It Always Have To End In An Orgy Of Blood?
If you want to find out which Senate Republicans have the most reactionary
and extreme right voting records, you can access that information at
ProgressivePunch. You just scroll down past the most conservative
Democrats-- like Joe Donnelly, Joe Manchin, Mark Warner and Mark Pryor--
and past then garden variety conservative Republicans who are getting
primaries by teabaggers, like Susan Collins, Lamar Alexander, Thad Cochran
and Lindsey Graham, and you get to a land of make-believe. Past right-wing
sociopaths like Ron Johnson, Richard Burr, Marco Rubio, Richard Shelby, you
find the... more »
PASTOR BUM-SEX AND OIL
*American pastor Rick Warren embraces a young man. American pastor Rick
Warren has close ties to the "kill the gays" bill supporter pastor Martin
Ssempa.*
An American called *Caleb Lee Brundidge* admits to having a history of
being GAY.
*nytimes.com*.
One might assume that he may still be GAY.
One might speculate that Caleb Brundidge is paid by the CIA to promote a
policy of 'divide and rule' in Uganda, which has oil wealth.
Caleb Brundidge is one of the American evangelical Christians who went to
Uganda to back the homophobes who want gay people to be executed.
In March 2009,... more »
The Poet: William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming"
*"The Second Coming"*
*․ *
"Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the... more »
The Axiom of the Abandoned: “I Am the Union”
I am pro-union. Teachers need strong representation and advocacy. But
it’s broken right now. Just when I thought that the speeches and editorials
from Dennis Van Roekel and Randi Weingarten were showing a turn-around back
to reality, and just when I thought those two were going to start fighting
for public education and their members, […]
"What Can We Know?"
"What can we know? What are we all? Poor silly half-brained things peering
out at the infinite, with the aspirations of angels and the instincts of
beasts."
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
We Have A Moral Obligation To Fix US Inequality, Orwell Triumphs Regretted As Gov't Lies and Warrantless Wiretapping Continues, and More Cass Sunstein Legerdemain For the Unseeing Masses (Or Will It Ricochet)? Bankers Now Sitting In Barber Chair (Waiting for Trim?) Just A Quick Haircut As BoA Foreclosure Scams Revealed (Rape Victims Names Now A Commodity)
Robert Reich has a Christmas message for US. Ninety-five percent of
economic gains since 2009 have gone to the 1 percent. We have a moral
obligation to fix this. It’s the season to show concern for the less
fortunate among us. We should also be concerned about the widening gap
between the most fortunate and everyone else. the biggest lottery of all is
what family we’re born into. Our life
NSA backlash hits US tech as foreign countries balk at doing businesses due to concerns of NSA spying aided by Big Tech complicity .....
http://www.juancole.com/2013/12/encryption-companies-install.html
NSA bribed Encryption Companies to Install Back Doors: Was the Law Broken?
Did Obama Know?
(By Juan Cole)
Reuters gets the scoop: the National Security Agency gave internet security
firm RSA some $10 million to use an NSA encryption formula in its BSafe
software. RSA is now a subsidiary of the EMC corporation, and they have
urged customers not to use BSafe since the revelations by Edward Snowden
made clear that the NSA’s formula in fact allowed the agency access to all
the information supposedly encrypted with it.
T... more »
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