Thursday, December 26, 2013

26 Dec - Blogs I'm Following

Iraq map karbalaIraq map karbala (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Millions of Shia Muslims gather around the Hus...Millions of Shia Muslims gather around the Husayn Mosque in Karbala after making the Pilgrimage on foot during Arba'een. Arba'een is a forty day period that commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn bin Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and seventy-two of his followers at the Battle of Karbala in the year 680AD. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
11:01am MST

My Best Books in 2013

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 11 minutes ago
This year I am joining The Perpetual Page Turner in an end of year book survey. If you want see all 110 books I read this year, I would love for you to friend me on Goodreads. 1.Best Book You Read In 2013 by genre? - Contemporary YA – The Fault in Our Stars, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic – The Testing - Historical Fiction – Dark Triumph and Grave Mercy - Paranormal – Clockwork Princess and the Vampire Academy Series - Science Fiction – Parallel - Fantasy – Siege and Storm - Fairy Tale – Entwined 2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought ... more »

Crackdown On Protest Site In Iraq’s Anbar Province Seemingly Averted

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 15 minutes ago
After several attempts at reconciliation between Anbar’s provincial government and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to end the on-going protests there events turned for the worse in December 2013. The premier claimed that the demonstration sites were a base for Al Qaeda and demanded that they be ended, and hinted at a crackdown. Just before that Sheikh Hamid al-Hayes accused the death of his nephew upon the Ramadi protests as well, and threatened to use violence unless the perpetrators were turned over to him. It seemed like either the government or Hayes’ tribe was about to storm ... more »

Interview With Global Politics On Iraq In 2014

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 15 minutes ago
Here’s a recent interview I did with Bob Tollast for Global Politics entitled “Who can bring unity to Iraq in 2014?”

Celebrating Arbaeen In Iraq's Karbala Dec. 22-23, 2013

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 41 minutes ago
In the middle of December 2013 thousands of Shiites from around the world celebrated Arbaeen by making a pilgrimage to the holy city of Karbala where the Shrine of Imam Abbas resides. These pictures are from Agence France Presse's Mohammed Sawaf showing pilgrims in Karbala on Dec. 22 and 23, 2013.

"In Praise of America's Bureaucrats"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 43 minutes ago
*"In Praise of America's Bureaucrats"* by Bill Bonner "It's been "Bureaucrat Appreciation Week. Just when we had lost all respect for them, we notice a countertrend. It's time for us to get in step. So, today, we take time out from our regularly scheduled programming to thank the people who rule us... To the TSA agents at airports... to the IRS agents who audit our tax returns... to the NSA agents who read our emails... and to zombies everywhere... To all of you, we'd like to say a heartfelt "Go f***k yourself." No... no... no... We meant to say THANK YOU! Yes, dear reader, we'v... more »

TRIMMING THE SAILS

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 hour ago

World's BIGGEST blog - day 4

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 1 hour ago
Lake Superior - the world's BIGGEST lake

Trifecta: How to Make Obamacare "Cool"...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 1 hour ago
*hear the latest bad healthcare idea.* "Embrace the suck young Americans" Young people are not interested in enrolling in Obamacare. Some have suggested making Obamacare cool. Is this even possible, and will Obamacare "cool" encourage the young and uninsured to sign-up for Obama's signature health care plan? Find out.

EPIDEMIC RADIATION EXPOSURES AND DEATHS IN JAPAN DUE TO THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR MELT-DOWN HAVE BEEN COVERED UP BY THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT. ALSO COVERED UP HAVE BEEN LOWER BUT UNRELENTING QUANTIES OF WIND-CARRIED RADIONUCLIDES REACHING NORTH AMERICA. THIS RADIOACTIVE FALL-OUT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AT LEAST TO 2020. SO EDUCATE YOURSELFS AND YOUR LOVED ONES OF THIS THREAT AND LEARN TO PROTECT YOURSELVES ACCORDINGLY!

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 2 hours ago
------------------------------ Gundersen: All of Japan is contaminated, gov’t covering up enormous exposures to public; Epidemic is just beginning — Evacuee: We are in fact dying in Fukushima; What happened to us will soon affect all Japanese people (VIDEOS) Published: December 16th, 2013 at 8:54 pm ET Original Here By ENENews Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer at Fairewinds, Dec. 16, 2013: The Japanese parliament has just passed the state secrets law. It’s really an information ‘iron curtain’ that’s preve... more »

Our Politics And The Loss Of Community

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 3 hours ago
*The Tyee* has dusted off a piece which Murray Dobbin wrote four years ago. It's worth a read. Dobbin maintains that progressives have been infected by the same consumer culture that is destroying our politics and our planet: We have known for years that our consumer culture is out of control and our obsession with having more and more stuff has reached the status of a virus. Our consumer-driven global economy is a lethal threat to the planet and every one of its ecosystems. The lock that consumerism has on Western so-called civilization is formidable -- a virtual death-grip on o... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 3 hours ago
*We thought the LSU football story was a joke; now we learn Koch & smart-ALEC is buying entire university departments ~Louisiana Voice* *Washington Post: U.S. Loss of Ecologically-Sensitive Wetlands Staggering ~Gulf Seafood Institute* *Wood product said rotting in 'green'-built homes ~Richard Thompson, New Orleans Advocate*

Predictions 2014

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 3 hours ago
God Reveals. This is the year all the teasers of this cycle of civilization are revealed. Men now have the power of Gods at their fingertips. The wisdom gap remains huge. Stephen Harper. He drops out. Well not quite he gets a seven figure job. Jim Prentice is the new leader of the PC. USA Congress goes back to democrats. Americans will no longer pay to eat a shit sandwich. Afghanistan goes back to normal. A medivels society where pedophilia is not only part of the culture, it defines the problem. After defending pedophilia for a decade, the west says, so hard to turn around a perve... more »

Christmas Was Yesterday-- But It's Never Too Late For These Words Of Warning From The AFL-CIO

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 4 hours ago
The New York State AFL-CIO did the above video in regard to their own state. But there isn't a state in the Union that it doesn't apply to. Where is this not relevant: "We need to start looking at things from the perspective of the workers who call our state home, not the corporations who call Ne York their tax break layover." And they offer solutions that aren't in the forefront of politicians who cater to the 1%-- the entire Republican Party and the whole Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- Blue Dogs, New Dems, Third Wayers, et al. "We need to develop industries that crea... more »

Pointless Sacrifice

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 4 hours ago
Thinking Aboot Edward Snowden. Will his sacrifice make any difference? Thinking Aboot the fate of the Chinese Tank Commander. And IO9 reminds me how Superman Man of Steel went off the rails. Movies cost millions to make, is there no one left who can say, thats just stupid, cut it out? BTW I do not Think Aboot the video as gospel. I was in Hong Kong that day, it was fantastic, and millions in the streets protested. It changed nothing.

Cadillac a metaphor for America

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 4 hours ago
When I was growing up, a very common expression was it was the Cadillac of something. Thats the Cadillac of hockey sticks. Thats the Cadillac of steaks. etc etc. I think this idea ended the day they brought the Cinarom to market. Today Cadillac is fighting its way back to the top. Sadly it can no longer carry America in its trunk.

Local shop

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 4 hours ago
So. The M & S thing turned out to be a molehill, not the mountain it was cracked up to be. The current ‘truth’ appears to be (at the time of writing) that one solitary devout Muslim checkout assistant refused to handle pork’n’booze, whereupon the management okayed their fundamental right to practice quaint cultural practices. So. Not, as was recklessly disseminated in the media, M & S management dictating a policy of appeasement with all the unforeseen ramifications and counter-productivity entailed. It seems that the group who most objected to this impracticable proposal were M... more »

"[T]he only [U.S.] data from 2011 that we had was on newborns with hypothyroidism. Every baby in this country, every newborn baby is tested for certain diseases, one of which is hypothyroidism. And we looked at California ... and we looked at the changes in the rates of hypothyroidism for the nine months after Fukushima compared to the previous year, and we found a 26 percent increase in the rate of hypothyroidism." "[T]he doses in Japan are hundreds, thousands of times higher than they were on the West Coast. Unfortunately, there have really been no studies in Japan except for one, and that is one that's being done by the Fukushima Medical University. They haven't looked at hypothyroidism, but what they've done is this: they have taken 200,000 children under age 18 who live relatively close to Fukushima, and they tested for two things ... [one of which] was thyroid cancer. And they have found up to 59 children have thyroid cancer. In a normal population, it's very rare in children. In a normal [case] we would expect one or two. They have 59." "Second thing that they found is they through ultrasound look at the child's thyroid gland for precancerous lumps, you know, what they call cysts and nodules. And so far, 56 percent of children near Fukushima do in fact have a precancerous cyst or a nodule. And every year it gets higher--two years ago, 35 percent, last year 45 percent, this year 56 percent. Pretty soon we're going to find that almost every child in the area has a precancerous growth on their thyroid gland."

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 5 hours ago
------------------------------ Original Here *Scientists Link Spike in Thyroid Disease to Fukushima Disaster* Nuclear expert and researcher Joseph Mangano explains his research in connecting the increase of hypothyroidism in newborns on the West coast to the Fukushima nuclear disaster - *December 23, 2013* More at The Real News *Bio* Joseph Mangano MPH MBA is a health researcher, and Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP). The group is the only one in the U.S. with a specific mission of producing research on health hazards of nuclear ... more »

War Watch December 26 , 2013 - US Sends Drones, Missiles to Iraq to ‘Fight al-Qaeda’ , meanwhile Baghdad Christians targeted during Christmas holiday ......Iran MPs Push Enrichment Bill to Retaliate for US Sanctions .....Truce Set to End Siege on Town Outside Damascus - The rebel-held town of Moadamiyet al-Sham, on the outskirts of Damascus, is set to disarm as a condition for the military ending its siege against the town.

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 5 hours ago
Iraq....... US Sends Drones, Missiles to Iraq to ‘Fight al-Qaeda’Experts Doubt Move Will Halt Soaring Violence by Jason Ditz, December 25, 2013 Print This | Share This Eight months of worsening violence in Iraq have many concerned, and the Obama Administration is rush shipping large numbers of drones and missiles to the Maliki government to “confront al-Qaeda” with. Sectarian violence has been soaring in Iraq throughout the summer and into the winter, with spillover from Syria and internal resentment over Maliki’s reneging on power-sharing agreements combining to start a bloody civil... more »

The Etymology of "Miracle": On the Politics of Lies

P. L. Thomas at Schools Matter - 5 hours ago
My doctoral work was a trifecta of marginalized scholarship since I attained an EdD (shunned second cousin to the PhD) by preparing a qualitative dissertation (closeted step-cousin of the sainted quantitative paradigm)—an educational biography (a mish-mash of a non-academic field, education, with a popular but lowly literary genre, biography) of Lou LaBrant (Thomas, 2001). My scholarship on biography helped me understand the roots of why academia shuns the biography: Biography began as hagiography, fabrications spun to praise manufactured heroes instead of scholarly tomes crafted to... more »

If you want to believe

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 5 hours ago
More non truther evidence.

Jaws in 30 seconds, performed by cartoon bunnies

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 5 hours ago
Sheer genius!

wmtc winter break goes low-tech

laura k at wmtc - 6 hours ago
Every year I seem to break the holiest commandment of the holiday season: I'm not busy. I always hear how "everyone is so busy this time of year" and "this is such a crazy time of year, you can't get anything done," but that never reflects my experience. We don't travel to see family, we have no extra social events, and we don't do Christmas shopping. Many years ago, we used to send a huge pile of winter-holiday cards, but we've gone digital with that, and we don't do it every year. So Christmas is an extra day off, and here in the Commonwealth, we have Boxing Day, too. Two days o... more »

Genesis of Planetary Energetic Healing streams completes preparation phase of Gaia Ascension Vehicle

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 7 hours ago
*Genesis of Planetary Energetic Healing streams completes preparation phase of Gaia Ascension Vehicle* by ÉirePort Genesis of Planetary Energetic Healing streams completes preparation phase of Gaia Ascension Vehicle. Planetary Energetic Healing streams are purposed to hu-being energetic correction as well as Hue-Being energetic upgrading. Birthing of what has been called "Nova Gaia" is now in process, and likely completes within the so-named "2014" period. Mastery classes are ongoing for all Hue-Beings, at Higher Levels of awareness. ÉirePort | December 25, 2013 at 19:47 URL: h... more »

Johnny Depp - Transcendance - full trailer

Mike Philbin at PROGNOSIS II - 9 hours ago
We've all seen The Lawnmower Man... ...actually, we haven't. Only I saw it, with a few of my pervy chrome-sex friends; one night at a teenage video+beer party. It looks like Johnny Depp has now remade that film, sorta ... calling it TRANSCENDANCE. Filed under: NUCLEAR WEAPONS because this is where the future lies, irradiated.

JFK, THE MAN IN THE MASK, SATANISM, STEPHEN WARD

Anon at aangirfan - 9 hours ago
*Stella Capes, aka Mariella Novotny. "Mariella was part Jewish, she was actually quiet proud of that and spoke Hebrew." *(NightHawk: The Czech Night Hawk) *Mariella Novotny* played a sex game, called 'nurse and patient', with *JFK.* She was suspected of being a Communist from Czechoslovakia and of being a tool of the British security services. She may have been used by some shadowy elite that involved agents of Mossad, the KGB, the CIA and MI6. According to fellow prostitute Christeen Keeler, Mariella was originally Stella Capes, but she changed her name to Mariella Novotny beca... more »

Edward Snowden's Christmas Message Video 2013

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 9 hours ago
*December 25, 2013 * NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has delivered his 'Alternative Christmas Message' via a British TV channel. The whistleblower called for an end to mass spying by governments, stating that a child born today will have "no conception of privacy." READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/vkc7ab

Don't Be Foolish By Those In Authority In 2014

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 9 hours ago
Washingtons Blog, 24 December 2013 Don’t Be Foolish Albert Einstein said: A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of the truth. Indeed, scientists have shown that people will go to *absurd lengths *- and engage in mental gymnastics – in order to cling to their belief in what those in authority have said. Part of the reason so many are so vulnerable to naive belief in authority is that we evolved in small tribes … and we assume that the super-elites are just like us. In reality, there are millions of psychopaths in the world … and they are largely *running* D.C. and on ... more »

Edward Snowden - Christmas Message - Asking is Always Cheaper than Spying.

Mike Philbin at PROGNOSIS II - 10 hours ago
So, it's 'all very nice' that whistleblowers like Edward Snowden have taken it up themselves to unsheet the spectre of surveillance that was haunting all our movements, transactions, ways of life. He was even kind enough to deliver a Christmas Day Message from his new home in Russia: But what is THE SECRET SERVICE really for? It's definitely NOT for 'our safety at home and abroad'. The Secret Service exists to maintain 'the security of corporate ownership' via patents pending where profit is won or lost on the random revelations behind some corporate non-disclosure agreement. Th... more »

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 11 hours ago
Frosted bluebonnets in Texas. [RC McKee photo]

Arnold Keyserling On Trance Consciousness And Dancing, Documentary on Origins of Trance Music, Ecstasy As A Treatment For PTSD, And Sufi Whirling Dervishes

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 12 hours ago
*I. Arnold Keyserling On Trance Consciousness And Dancing.* *Wikipedia: * Count Arnold Alexander Keyserling (February 9, 1922 – September 7, 2005) was a German philosopher and theologian. He is the son of Hermann Graf Keyserling and great-grandson of Otto von Bismarck. Quote from the video below: *"One thing is common to all transformation rites, the so-called rites of passage. These assume that man has two levels of consciousness. The normal, everyday consciousness, and that of joy or ecstasy. Whilst, for Western psychiatry, trance is an extra-ordinary experience, religion views... more »

Thursday Morning Post X-Mas Linkage

Josh Busby at Duck of Minerva - 12 hours ago
Well, I hope you survived the crush of end of term and then the crush of family and holiday stuff, if you are in to that kind of thing. In the meantime, if you stepped away from the media, what did you miss? Well, South Sudan is on the brink while the Central African Republic Continue reading

"The Wolf Of Wall Street" Opened Today

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 13 hours ago
It's another Scorsese-DiCaprio project-- there have been 5 so far-- so there has been plenty of fanfare. Based on the true story of Wall Street swindler Jordan Belfort, anyone who had hoped the movie-- or the discussion around it-- would serve as an opportunity to take a serious look at Wall Street corruption will be sorely disappointed. It's as if Scorsese made a conscious effort to avoid it, and left out-- like 100% left out-- the ties between the Republican Party and the breathtaking Belfort scandals. There was no Senator Alfonse D'Amato character in the movie taking bribes. An... more »

Thailand: Regime Police Fire Rubber Bullets at Protesters' Heads

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 13 hours ago
Regime violence will only increase number, resolve of protesters - sham elections being disrupted. *December 26, 2013* (Tony Cartalucci) - Several protesters have been sent to the hospital as police began firing tear gas, rubber bullets, and using chemical laden water fired from water canons at the Thai-Japanese Stadium in Din Daeng, Bangkok. Reports and images from the clashes indicate that police have been firing rubber bullets at the heads of protesters, an illegal method that will only escalate tensions and attract more protesters - as was seen early December when protesters b... more »

2012: The Year That "Idiocracy" Moments Broke the Scale, Part 1

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 16 hours ago
*As our friend Bil pointed out in a comment on our colleague Noah's Sunday evening post "Need a last-minute Christmas gift suggestion?," Noah has not done one of his traditional blockbuster multipart end-of-year holiday series. I'm afraid plates have been rather full in the Noah household this holiday season, but I thought what we might do is to repeat last year's enormously popular series based on one of Noah's favorite films, Mike Judge's Idiocracy.* -- Ken *2012 was the year of the memorable "Idiocracy moment" when a Republican presidential candidate couldn't count to 3.* *b... more »

Christmas Eve in Holten, Netherlands

Alison at Creekside - 16 hours ago
At 4:30pm on Christmas Eve, hundreds of Dutch schoolchildren set a candle before each of 1,394 burial plots marking the graves of Canadian soldiers who died liberating their town a few days before the end of the Second World War over 60 years ago. An unofficial remembrance ceremony marked every year by the people of Holten, Netherlands. I reckon if Steve were to attend, he would likely spontaneously burst into flames. .

South Sudan

Paul Coker at News Spike - 17 hours ago
*Salva Kiir Mayardit, the first President of South Sudan. * *His trademark hat was a gift from United States President George W. Bush.* "The oilfields in the South have kept the region's economy alive since 1999. South Sudan has the third-largest oil reserves in Sub-Saharan Africa. The economy of South Sudan is one of the world's most underdeveloped with South Sudan having little existing infrastructure and the highest maternal mortality and female illiteracy rates in the world as of 2011. South Sudan exports timber to the international market. The region also contains many ... more »

Merry Merry

noreply@blogger.com (fern hill) at DAMMIT JANET! - 18 hours ago
DJ! has been kinda sleepy lately, for which we apologize. But we'd like to wish all our readers a safe and serene holiday, if you get/celebrate one. And to our Toronto friends and others hit by the ice storm and power outage, here's hoping you get through crap this as well as you can. ((((hugz))))

A Christmas Message from Edward Snowden

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 18 hours ago
[image: Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...] RuTube Edward Snowden’s alternative Christmas message demanding an end to mass surveillance was broadcast at 4:15 p.m. GMT. Original post follows below the video. British television’s Channel 4, known for broadcasting “unusual but relevant” figures’ holiday messages as opposed to the Queen of England’s annual speech, has chosen whistle-blower Edward Snowden to convey this year’s address. Snowden, who is responsible for opening our eyes to the omnipresence of the National Security Agency’s surveillance, was recorded by ... more »

Un invented App Un App sin Inventar

Abraham Ben Judea at Abraham says - 18 hours ago
Every a single person alive and dead has said the following words, "Remind me" Every one has said it and will say it.... The App that would be the most useful to the Mrs. and me would be a voice activated run in background just waiting for you to say those words...This app would then Via voice prompt ask you a few questions, such as, "Remind you what?" It would then take notes and say, "When? More, Mas Seed Newsvine

Leaving This Town

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 18 hours ago
I followed Sam Youngman for only a short while on the twitter. I found him to be pretty much a pompous ass promoting bad policy. As the kids say, ain't nobody got time for that. So guess I missed his metamorphosis because I was surprised his longish goodbye note to DC was so self-aware. It's Politico, so be warned, but it's worth reading in full. Not even going to excerpt it, except this one line which captures the theme: In Washington, a divided America is good for business. And good for the insiders who run the place. Rare to find a insider that would say that out loud, but the... more »

The world's BIGGEST blog - day 3

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 19 hours ago
Big Time Sensuality Big Audio Dynamite Big Yellow Taxi

Rockerfeller's Bane - The Biggest Boondoggle of Them All

Paul Coker at News Spike - 20 hours ago
*"...Machiavelli notes '..there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things...' "* "Following the attacks, Silverstein filed TWO insurance claims for the maximum amount of the policy (*$7B*), based on the two -- in Silverstein's view -- separate attacks. The insurance company, *Swiss Re, paid Mr. Silverstein $4.6 Billion — a princely return on a relatively paltry investment of $124 million.* There’s more. You see, the World Trade Towers were not the re... more »

It's a Wonderful Life... : COMMUNIST INFILTRATION OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY

Paul Coker at News Spike - 20 hours ago
*To: The Director* *D.M. Ladd* *COMMUNIST INFILTRATION OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY* *(RUNNING MEMORANDUM)* There is submitted herewith the running memorandum concerning Communist infiltration of the motion picture industry which has been brought up to date as of May 26, 1947.... With regard to the picture "It's a Wonderful Life", [redacted] stated in substance that the film represented rather obvious attempts to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a "scrooge-type" so that he would be the most hated man in the picture. This, according to these sources, is a commo... more »

Vito Rizzuto, Canadian mobster, dies age 67

CM at LILITH NEWS - 20 hours ago
Montreal mobster Vito Rizzuto has died. He suffered heart failure yesterday at the age of 67. Rizzuto was the head of Canada's biggest crime syndicate. More info to come.

"A Hallelujah Christmas" by Cloverton...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 21 hours ago
A Hallelujah Christmas by Cloverton. www.clovertonmusic.com "Hallelujah" originally written by Leonard Cohen Video by Wooten Media Productions LYRICS I've heard about this baby boy Who's come to earth to bring us joy And I just want to sing this song to you It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift With every breath I'm singing Hallelujah Hallelujah A couple came to Bethlehem Expecting child, they searched the inn To find a place for You were coming soon There was no room for them to stay So in a manger filled with hay God's only Son was born, oh Halleluj... more »

Kaliningrad

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 21 hours ago
Sweden's former prime minister Goran Person once described Kaliningrad this way: "It is heavily polluted. There are illnesses there like AIDS and tuberculosis. There is atomic waste. You find almost every imaginable problem in Kaliningrad."

Micah Ali: "How Can Children Learn If Their Parents Are Unemployed?"

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 22 hours ago
Micah Ali talks with a father at drop-off time outside McKinley Elementary's preschool classroom Micah Ali is an old friend of mine who I met through People For the American Way's Young Elected Officials Network. Blue America has endorsed him in an election next year for a seat in the California state Assembly. But right now he's still the head of the Compton School Board. This week Deepa Fernandes of KPCC hailed him as Compton's foot soldier for universal pre-K. Born and raised in Compton, Ali has spent six years on the school board-- a job that pays $0-- because he says he wants ... more »

A Christmas Wish

ancient clown at GlobaLove Think Tank - 22 hours ago
*ancient's BIBLE* It is my Christmas Wish for people to recognize, understand and share the Spiritual TRUTH that religions and corruption have distorted. The GOLDEN RULE, by which ALL others shall fall into place. It is NOT; "Do unto others..." It IS; "LOVE Thy Neighbor as you LOVE GOD and LOVE thyself." LOVE your humble servant, Pope Vincent

North Korea: Jang Song-thaek's Aides Executed With Anti-aircraft Machine Guns: Report

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 23 hours ago
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un *Jang Song-thaek's Aides Executed With Antiaircraft Machine Guns: Report* The Huffington Post | By Alana Horowitz Posted: 12/24/2013 2:30 pm EST http://goo.gl/tlPznT Shocking new details have been revealed about the execution of Jang Song-thaek, Kim Jong Un's uncle. The New York Times reports that the Jang's death was the end result of a brutal gun battle between Jang supporters and those of the regime over who controlled key land. As the Times tells it, Kim's forces were ordered to take back control over important fishing grounds that Jang had prev... more »

The Winds of North Africa

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
Thought you might find this satellite image interesting. The bands of wind and rain coming out of Africa heading for Rome.... The weather forecasts say the winds are only 35mph here but we know that to be false, trees are down all over here, and winds are gusting up to 80mph and more.... *CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE...*

Shiny Brass Plates on Banks

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago

Happy holidays

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 1 day ago
If it's in keeping with your celebration...

Iraq Christians Celebrate Mass In Baghdad's Karrada

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 1 day ago
The following pictures are from Agence France Presse's Sabah Arar showing Christians in Baghdad's Karrada attending mass at the Virgin Mary Chaldean Church on Dec. 15, 2013.

Your house was paid for when you signed the note.

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
*We said this a year ago but its good to see the information is getting more mainstream... I learned something new here in Morocco that I didn't know before. In Morocco the car title stays with the car even when you rent one. Its the renter's obligation to carry the title with them at all times in case the rental car is stolen. I asked Heather why that was a requirement here but not in the USA. She told me that all USA car titles are owned by the World Bank, which they monetize, and even when you request your title after you pay off a loan it says on the back "this is not a car ... more »

How they made Gravity

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 1 day ago
Warning spoilers do not watch before you have seen the movie

War watch December 25 , 2013 .... Israel Sees Western Jihadists in Syria as a Future Security Nightmare ..... Pentagon Probes its biggest Afghanistan Supplier for Using Iran Supply Route ( possible US Iran sanctions violation ) ...... Appeals Court: Bagram Detainees ‘Beyond the Reach’ of Constitution ....... ‘Thousands Dead’ as UN Sends More Troops to South Sudan

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
Israel Sees Western Jihadists in Syria as a Future Security Nightmare20 Percent of Foreign Jihadists Are From Western Nations by Jason Ditz, December 24, 2013 Print This | Share This For a long time, the Israeli government was trying to paint the Syrian Civil War in the simplest terms, believing anything that weakened Bashar Assad was a net positive. That’s undergoing a major rethink now, as Israeli officials are taking major note of the number of Western jihadists fighting alongside al-Qaeda in Syria, and the long-term problems they pose. That’s because Western citizenship means West... more »

Turkey corruption scandal update December 25 , 2013 ... The ongoing corruption scandal claims Turkish Economy , Interior and Environmental Ministers , who have resigned on Christmas Day ! Bitter battle between AKP and followers of Fetullah Gulen explodes as police officers are beng fired or transferred in response to the ongoing corruption investigation slamming AKP ! Prime Minister Erdogan urged to step down as well by former Environment and Urban Planning Minister Bayraktar !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-economy-interior-environment-ministers-resign-amid-graft-scandal.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60102&NewsCatID=338 Turkish economy, interior, environment ministers resign amid graft scandal ANKARA Print PageSend to friend » - - - - - Share [image: Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and Interior Minister Muammer Güler announced their resignations this morning. CİHAN photo] Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and Interior Minister Muammer Güler announced their resignations this morning. CİHAN photo Turkish Economy Minister Zaf... more »

Xmas in Pottersville

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 1 day ago
This is the first Xmas at my current residence in which we had a real-honest-to-God tree. I'm still peeling sap off my body. The stockings were hung over the... uh, gas heater with care... I spent last Christmas and New Year's totally alone, so having my baby back for the holidays, while it may sound like something out of a tears-in-your-beer Christmas song, makes this one especially sweet. Nothing makes Mrs. JP smile like getting a Stevie Ray Vaughan DVD. She stood there for two and a half hours reading it before opening her next present. A true bibliophile.... more »

Syria signs oil exploration deal with Russia

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 1 day ago
*Can't resist*-* Syria signs oil exploration deal with Russia* Syria's state news agency says the oil ministry has signed a deal with Russian oil and gas company Soyuzneftegaz to explore in the Mediterranean Sea. SANA's report Wednesday did not say where the deal was signed, though it said the exploration will take place off the Syrian coast. Earlier this year, Syrian Oil Minister Suleiman Abbas discussed with the ambassadors of China and Russia the possibility of exploring for oil and gas off Syria's Mediterranean coast. Most of Syria's oil and gas fields in the country's east are u... more »

JEJU GHOST DANCE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
Artists gather in Gangjeong village to cast away the evil spirits of militarism. Video made by Grace Kim.

Is Ted Cruz Leading The GOP Over Another Cliff, This Time On Immigration Reform? What Would Susan Collins Say?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
Polling indicates that Ted Cruz would be the easiest Republican for a Democratic presidential nominee to beat in 2016. That may be because he's the most extreme and radical right-winger the GOP has ever come close to nominating, or it might just be because the polls are measuring a lack of name recognition. But there is no lack of name recognition on the far right fringes. Out there, especially in the former slave-holding states that rebelled against the U.S. and tried to set up their own right-wing paradise, Cruz is the top choice among conservative Republicans to run in 2016. Af... more »

It's a Blunderful Life

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 1 day ago
(*Editor's note*: When in doubt, bring back the classics, such as this gem from 2005. Enjoy and Happy Holidays.) (CAMERA PULLS UP from the Failey ranch and travels up through the sky until it is above the falling snow and moving slowly toward a firmament full of stars. As the camera stops we hear the following voices talking, and as each voice is heard, one of the stars twinkles brightly.) “I wouldn’t have gotten those six budget-busting tax breaks if it wasn’t for George Failey.” “Conservative evangelicals wouldn’t be back on the map but for George Failey.” “George Failey made... more »

Merry Christmas!

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 1 day ago
Click here for some Christmas humor.

My Christmas Post

deutsch29 at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago
On most mornings, as part of my morning routine, I listen to T.D. Jakes of the Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas. As my Christmas present to my readers, I offer one of my favorite Jakes sermons. It is about love. I think it will surprise most listeners. Merry Christmas.

Which was the 'worst government ever' of Britain? According to Al Murray

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IOO-xQ_Vew&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Pagan Sun Worship - Happy Winter Solstice - Happy Feast of Saturnalia

Mike Philbin at PROGNOSIS II - 1 day ago
*here's Unlce Attis in his festive cap*FEAST OF SATURNALIA and the WINTER SOLSTICE Merry Christmas to you all, hope Santa brought you all your worthies, you slaves to the Roman Empire. What, Mike? It's been proven (again and again) that *Christ-Mass* is nothing more than a cynical amalgamation of all sorts of pre-historic, Pagan and Roman nature-worship all schlammed together so that you'll be a compliant-if-fractious bunch of goggle-eyed fucking half-wits at this time of year running round Consumerist Marketplaces or MAUL(sp)s elbowing each other out of the way to buy, buy, buy t... more »

Blessed Christmas...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 1 day ago
*Now may the Godof hope fillyou with all joy and peacein believing, sothat you will aboundin hope by the powerof the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13*

From when children weren't treated as passive imbeciles by broadcasters - Merry Christmas

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
An excerpt from "Pinky and the Brain" season 1, episode 48: 'KS: I am honoured by your visit. Let me show you our assembly line. First, sheets of sheer synthetic sheepskin are slit into several Kicky-Sack shoe shapes in shapely shoe sizes by six sitting sheet slitters. B: I only see five sitting sheet slitters. KS: The sixth sitting sheet slitter's sick. His son Sammy's subbing 'til the sick sixth sitting sheet slitter's back, sitting pretty. P: You're not the sheet slitter? S: No, I'm the sheet slitter's son. P: Well.... You keep on slitting sheets until the sheet sli... more »

PROJECTION AND LOVE-BOMBING

Anon at aangirfan - 1 day ago
"Christmas time," explains the psychologist Oliver James, "is a fixed ritual setting which triggers historic enmities like nothing else... *"The shit really hits the fan at this time of year...* To avoid the usual tensions, Oliver James suggests that we identify what role we occupy in our family, then do the exact opposite. OLIVER JAMES Recently I was at a Christmas party, feeling reasonably jolly and beneficent, when a lady came up to me and said that I looked rather unhappy. As the lady looked utterly miserable, I assumed that this was an example of what Sigmund Freud called ... more »

Gaudete!

Zoe Brain at A.E.Brain - 1 day ago

Tom Lehrer - A Christmas Carol

Zoe Brain at A.E.Brain - 1 day ago

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Zoe Brain at A.E.Brain - 1 day ago

Thailand's Upcoming Sham "Elections"

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 1 day ago
Like tyrants throughout history, Thaksin will use "elections" to lend himself legitimacy he otherwise doesn't have. *December 25, 2013* (Tony Cartalucci) - Elections alone do not make any given regime legitimate. Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, held regular elections - of course, Hussein was the only viable candidate running and easily was returned to power, time and time again (See BBC's "Saddam 'wins 100% of vote'"). He enjoyed immense popularity especially as he stood up against the unwarranted aggression of the United States, however no one would describe his government as particul... more »
Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments: