12:09pm MST
Moving Day
Yes, boxes are being packed and unpacked at Plain Blog world headquarters
today for the big move...well, figuratively at least. But in fact the big
day is tomorrow.
Bloomberg View is here. And they already have a page for me, here. Empty
now, but by late morning tomorrow there should be something there. I'm
afraid at first there won't be a dedicated rss feed, but they're actually a
few weeks away from a redesign, and among other things one of the benefits
will be rss feeds for the authors. I'll have all of that easy to find here
once it happens. Meanwhile, you can use that bio page ... more »
"Retired Air Force Colonel With Three Graduate Degrees Is Homeless And Sleeps In A Van"
*"Retired Air Force Colonel With Three Graduate*
* Degrees **Is Homeless And Sleeps In A Van"*
by Michael Snyder
"What advice would you give to a retired Air Force Colonel that has three
graduate degrees and that cannot even find work as a janitor? 59-year-old
Robert Freniere once served as a special assistant to General Stanley
McChrystal, and he has spent extensive time in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
But now this man who once had an office in the heart of the Pentagon cannot
find anyone who will hire him. In addition to his story, in this article
you will also hear about severa... more »
The Realist Report - Sandy Hook debate
** Michael Collins Piper backed out of the debate late last night. I
received an email from him this morning when I woke up stating that he was
having health issues, and would be unable to participate in the debate. **
On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined by *Dr. Jim Fetzer*and *Michael
Collins Piper*. We will be debating the alleged shooting at the Sandy Hook
Elementary School on December 14th, 2012. Calls are welcomed during the
second hour.
You can download the mp3 for this program *here*, or visit *The Realist
Report* on BlogTalkRadio to subscribe via iTune... more »
Albert Woodfox's Hour in the 5th: A reportback on Albert's January 7 oral arguments
*MEDIA: **Lauren McGaughy, Times-Picayune* *II* *Daily Journal /
Associated Press* *II* *UPI*
*VIEW / DOWNLOAD:* *A3 info flyer for Jan. 7* *II* *Listen to audio from
the oral arguments* *II* *Rev. Patricia Bates / NRCAT statement*
*(PHOTO: A3 supporters at the Court on Jan. 7)*
For those who were unable to attend, Albert's oral argument in the 5th
Circuit Court of Appeals, defending Judge Brady's decision to overturn his
conviction for a third time, is now complete (click here to listen). As
expected, the proceedings were brief and rather mystifying. It was clear
that m... more »
Anthem for High Stakes Testing Era (with apologies to Country Joe McDonald)
To be sung to the tune of “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die” by Country Joe
and the Fish (see video below)
Well come on all you teachers and tykes,
Uncle Sam’s made a problem he’s tryin’ to hype,
He got himself some pressure to privatize,
All the schools in the nation right before our eyes,
So put down your books and grab a #2,
We've got a whole lot of testin’ to do.
And its 1,2,3 what are we learning for?
Don't ask me I don't have a say,
It's examination day,
And its 5,6,7 send in Melinda Gates,
Well there ain’t no time to do your best,
WHOOPEE we've all got more tests.
Well come... more »
A Different Look at the Income of the 99%
Research by Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty is fundamental to debates over
inequality. They have documented that a larger share of US income has been
going to the top 10% -- and especially the top 1% -- of all earners. Their
data is shown in the graph at the top of this post.
Here is how the New York Times recently characterized their work:
The top 1 percent took more than one-fifth of the income earned by
Americans, one of the highest levels on record since 1913, when the
government instituted an income tax.
The figures underscore that even after the recession the country remain... more »
Looks Like Humpty Dumpty Is Falling Off A Bridge-- Will Chris Christie Resign?
"They are the children of Buono voters."
When Blue America endorsed Barbara Buono for governor of New Jersey last
year, it wasn't because she's pretty and it wasn't because she's a
Democrat. It's because she's an outstanding, principled progressive and
because she was running against the corrupt transpartisan New Jersey
political machine headed by one of America's worse governors ever, Chris
Christie. New Jersey voters, basking in their ignorance and pigheadedness,
elected Christie 1,252,100 (60.4%) to 790,245 (38.1%). Hudson County
(Jersey City, Bayonne, Hoboken, Union City) was th... more »
How Pinteresting: An Easy Way To Keep Track Of Medicine Doses
[image: Keeping Track of Medicine, Children's Medicine]
I realized this morning that is has been more than year since I tested a
Pinterest pin and shared the results. This idea is a simple one, when you
or your child have a medication that needs to be taken daily for a set
number of days, you take a black marker and mark a box for all of the doses
on the side of a bottle.
I had this pin in my back of my mind for a long time, but didn't have the
occasion to use it until just a couple of months ago when my daughter had
an ear infection. I have to say it was an absolute life saver. I d... more »
Twisted Logic: The Kafkaesque Saga Continues
Imagine if you dunked the Obama Pretzel into a cup of your favorite
winter-time comfort beverage. Not only would it get increasingly soggy, it
would inevitably dissolve into a pathetic clump of dough, never to be a
popular taste sensation again.
That now appears to be the fate of the secrecy-obsessed president. Even
with a complicit federal court actually agreeing that we the citizens have
no right to see all the sorry excuses the Justice Department has dreamed up
over the years to cover up for the human rights abuses perpetrated both at
home and abroad, there is no longer much pub... more »
Why do you not comment
I comment way to much. I take risks with my commentary. So if you think I
am sane or even suffer insanity, please comment just one damm time, it
would mean so much to me.
I said the wrong thing
No you did not, you said what in your heart was true,
Who can we blame when our real life romances
do not even measure up to the first act of any Hollywood advance flame
So far we do not have GPS to direct lonely hearts to
their best possible address
I do not want tech to know
how I love
and how other users
could use that for
there personal freak show.
I love my wife, I love my kids
and its not my first rodeo.
If you want to search my files
and sell my joy
then I would say
to the military
get me a drone
I have identified
an Al Queda suspect
and speaking as a tourist
I think he is doing so... more »
Alan Dershowitz Leaves Harvard for Hasbara
(Photo
Credit: Sun Sentinel)
Often times, when powerful and public figures – from government
officials and politicians, community leaders, high-powered corporate
CEOs, NFL coaches, and countless local TV news anchors - leave their
longtime positions, they say their decision was influenced by wanting
“to spend more time” with their families and loved ones.
Such a stated reason is often a
What Linda Darling-Hammond said!
*WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2014*
*Frankly, we don’t get it:* Over Christmas, we were surprised by several
statements from leading “educational experts.”
One such expert was Professor Linda Darling-Hammond, who guested on Morning
Edition. Early on, tape was played in which she said this:
GREENE (12/26/13): This is Morning Edition from NPR News. Good morning. I'm
David Greene.
The United States has spent a decade trying to improve the standing of its
schools compared to the rest of the world. *Education researcher Linda
Darling-Hammond says the result is disappointing.*
DARLING-HAMMOND... more »
Standards Won’t Change Inequity: A Reader
Standards Won\’t Change Inequity: A Reader. via Standards Won’t Change
Inequity: A Reader.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
Untitled
*Former Mayor Ray 'Baby Head' 'Chocolate Don' 'Ack Ack' 'Soft Hand' 'Mr.
Goddamnit' Nagin's attorney says he is ready for trial*
*RSD’s school closure process has uneven effect on students at failing
schools ~Jessica Williams, The Lens*
*New Mardi Gras laws would keep all ladders six feet from the curb ~Robert
Morris, Uptown Messenger*
*Coming soon to Algiers: a herd of Masai giraffes ~Chad Calder, The
Advocate*
*Ian McNulty: Breakfast, and biscuits, on Banks ~New Orleans Advocate*
O’Reilly and Beck have nice things to say!
*WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2014*
*O’Reilly heaps praise on Maddow:* Everyone is dumb on occasion, as
everyone understands.
Yes, it was dumb to ask for jokes about that Romney family photo. When
we’re using our heads, we don’t do that.
That said, we were glad to see Bill O’Reilly take a walk on the mild side
last week. He spoke up for Harris-Perry:
O'REILLY (1/2/14): Now Miss Perry has apologized to the Romney family, but
this seems to be a never-ending saga over at MSNBC.
Joining us from Washington, Miss Laura Ingraham. *So I don't think Miss
Harris-Perry meant to be malicious here,*... more »
DUMBNIFICATION STUDIES: It spreads!
*WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2014*
Part 3—MSNBC too: Within our journalistic culture, it isn’t polite to
notice, mention, cite or complain about the dumbnification.
You’re allowed to talk about media bias. You’re even allowed to say that
some statement or viewpoint is wrong.
But it isn’t considered polite to talk about the spread of The Dumb, even
as it worms its way into every aspect of the nation’s journalistic life.
Within our spreading, democratized press corps, almost everyone is surfing
The Dumb at this point. The right to engage in the dumbnification makes
everyone’s life a little... more »
John Karhiio Kane 'Here We Go Again'
Here
We Go Again
By John Karhiio Kane (Mohawk)
Censored News
I'm sorry, but I can't resist the temptation. As we rip open a new
calendar I can't help but reflect on the past year and the one that is
now before us.
I won't attempt to list all those who completed their time with us in
this last trip around our eldest Brother, the Sun. We have had people
close and intimate to us as well as
Children's Book Corner: The United States of Bubba
Once upon a time, there was a mighty nation named the United States of
Bubba. Bubba used to be part of a much larger country called the United
States of America but, fearing government infringement on their states'
rights, Bubba seceded from the union and founded its own neo-confederacy
and named it Bubba.
Bubba's national motto was "Fuck, Yeah! Fuck you!" and its flag
consisted of a revamped Confederate flag with a giant red, white and blue
finger pointed at the rest of the earth in the center.
For many of the people in these new United States, this was a
paradise. ... more »
THE GEMINI PLANET IMAGER - first pictures just in.
a yearning for an upbeat and positive news story amongst all the doom-laden
FLOOD STORIES from my current country of residence and Solar X-class flares
led me to this encouraging story: THE GEMINI PLANET IMAGER.
images c/o geekquinox
*The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) took almost 10 years to complete, and began
its first observations back in November 2013. One of the first targets the
astronomers pointed it at was the young star HR4796A (pictured above),
which is the central partner in a binary star system with a distant red
dwarf companion.* [source GEEKQUINOX]
Lovely stuff, and ... more »
VIDEO: Tribal Rebels In Ramadi
Videos like these show that many of the fighters in Anbar are not from the
Islamic State of Iraq as the media keeps on reporting.
To BE Community
Welcome my friends to our new website for our new Community!! We are still
working on the crowdfunding page, which I will post as soon as it's ready
to go!
http://to-becommunity.blogspot.com/
*REAL LIFE CHANGE. REAL WORLD CHANGE. COMPLETE CHANGE.*
*The BEginning:* The building of a community, unified in the creation,
exploration and education of a FULLY self sustaining cooperative village.
*The Road Less Traveled:* To BE the Changes we wish to see in the world,
we need to change the paradigm of what obviously does not work.
The Implementation of CHANGE starts from the gr... more »
Most Poguenet Song of the Century
It does not matter what war is in question. The pawns sacrifice and if they
do not die in the first wave when they come home damaged the government of
the time does the best to bury them. So all you gung ho wannabes should
consider in reality war is hell, hell for the losers, hell for the victors
and hell for all the ancillary persons . Winston Churchill was no shrinking
violet but he famously said
"Jaw Jaw is better than war war"
Even if you can conduct a war with push button ease, listen to the Pouges
and the pain that must be believed.
Dreams get smaller; but start big!
There's a series of advertisements for York University where young people
fantasize about what they will achieve in the years ahead.
Some of the achievements are quite spectacular and speak to an apparent
self confidence that is astounding. Indeed, my grumpy initial reaction was
"such arrogance - they'll be lucky to find a job of any kind if they even
get a degree".
But then I thought again.
If university students don't dream big who will?
Yes over time our dreams shrink - the slings and arrows of daily living
make it clear that the adults we became won't, say, bring peace to... more »
NO US BASES ON OKINAWA
*STATEMENT*
*We oppose construction of a new US military base within Okinawa, and
support the people of Okinawa in their struggle for peace, dignity, human
rights and protection of the environment*
We the undersigned oppose the deal made at the end of 2013 between Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe and Governor of Okinawa Hirokazu Nakaima to deepen and
extend the military colonization of Okinawa at the expense of the people
and the environment. Using the lure of economic development, Mr. Abe has
extracted approval from Governor Nakaima to reclaim the water off Henoko,
on the northeastern... more »
JFK Was Right: The CIA Should Have Been Splintered Into A Thousand Pieces And Scattered To The Winds
After Kennedy took office, he was unaware that the CIA, in accord with an
OK from President Eisenhower and working with the Belgians, had overseen
the gruesome torture and brutal murder of the Congo's popular first prime
minister, Patrice Lumumba. With Lumumba already dead a month and his body
dissolved in sulphuric acid, Kennedy called for him to be reintegrated into
the new nation's government. The CIA-- Allen Dulles, who JFK foolishly kept
on as director-- hadn't told him that they had carried out Eisenhower 's
orders to have him murdered as a commie dupe. According to Stephen ... more »
Insanity Drives The Bus
Stephen Harper he is all about strengthening the economy. Not so, writesTom Walkom. He is abandoning it:
The reasons are political. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his finance
minister, Jim Flaherty, now have only one goal in mind — the 2015 federal
election.
And they are determined to slash government spending in order to balance
Ottawa’s books before then.
They calculate that a fiscal surplus in 2015 will allow their party to
offer voters a platter of tasty tax cuts that will win it four more years
in power.
As a political strategy, it has worked before. It's been all ab... more »
The Truth (but not necessarily the whole truth)
Brilliant
Isn’t hindsight brilliant? - as that character on the fast show might have
said. I mean, just look at the Arab Spring. The way the the BBC
kindergarten eulogised the antics in Tahrir Square, even after, or was that
during, the sexual assault of Lara Logan.
Oh how we crowed when the BBC turned out to be mistaken. Of course there’s
no ‘turned out’ about it. Like all history, it’s an evolving, never-ending
situation, and who are we to jump to premature conclusions. On the other
hand, if you can see an imminent car crash when others are still lost in
euphoria while hurtling ... more »
Libya updates January 8 , 2014 - Political insecurity continues .......... Armed Groups In Libya Are Selling The Oil They Seized
Protestors besiege Congress demanding it sack the Prime Minister
*By Ahmed Elumami.*
[image: Zeidan GNC]
The Prime Minister at Congress when he was appointed
*Tripoli, 7 January 2014*:
The General National Congress was blockaded this afternoon by protestors
demanding that it pass a vote withdrawing confidence in Prime Minister Ali
Zeidan. Members were prevented leaving by the protestors – estimated at
around 100 – unless they voted to sack Zeidan.
The situation was chaotic. Some members who had left the building after the
morning session were called back. Others were prevented from ret... more »
Cyberwarfare greater threat to US than terrorism, say security experts ......The FBI Admits Its Primary Focus Is "Not" Law Enforcement
Cyberwarfare greater threat to US than terrorism, say security experts
by Michael Pizzi @michaelwpizzi January 7, 2014 5:00PM ET
Intelligence and defense officials warn of 'cyber Pearl Harbor'
Topics: War Technology National Security
[image: NSA]
The headquarters of the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland.NSA
via Getty Images
Cyberwarfare is the greatest threat facing the United States – outstripping
even terrorism – according to defense, military, and national security
leaders in a Defense News poll, a sign that hawkish warnings about an
imminent “cyber Pearl Harbor” have... more »
War watch - January 4 , 2014 - Iraq sees more turmoil as the miscalculation by Prime Minister Maliki to impose a violent crackdown on protests in Ramadi has led to not just political turmoil , but also gave Al Qaeda an opening to attack both Ramadi ( and seize chunks of that city ) and capture Fallujah .....Americans finally questioning why so many have died for nothing in Iraq ? Meanwhile in Syria , the Rebels continue their fight against each other - this time in North West Syria ...... House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Seeks New House Resolution to Kill Iran Talks ...... In Afghanistan , Kafka still rules the roost as the Afghan Review Boards backs down to US pressure and agrees to hold off releasing 88 Bagram detainees against whom no credible evidence of wrongdoing has been produced by the US - key head jarring points ( The US Army has argued that they wouldn’t have been detaining them for years without charges if they weren’t “dangerous,” and has also insisted the Review Board was never meant to have the power to release anyone, but rather only could choose between prosecuting those for whom evidence exists, or lacking that to carry out “further investigations” to look for some evidence. )
Catharsis Ours - 7 hours ago
Iraq.......
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/06/Maliki-urges-Fallujah-tribes-to-expel-militants.html
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Monday, 6 January 2014
The United States said on Monday it is accelerating its military sales and
deliveries to Iraq to help the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government
fight al-Qaeda-linked militants in the restive Anbar province.
The United States is looking to provide additional shipments of Hellfire
missiles as early as this spring, White House spokesman Jay Carney told
reporters in a briefing, according to Reuters.
... more »
Just what are Old Spice saying?
Two very odd Old Spice adverts...
Gerald Celente is an American trend forecaster, publisher of the Trends Journal, business consultant and author who makes predictions about the global financial markets and other events of historical importance. -- Wikipedia
------------------------------
http://youtu.be/pn_B6NTybVE
Celente Trends 2014: Global Economies Tanking and Gold Prices Rising
TheAlexJonesChannel
*Published on Jan 3, 2014*
http://www.trendsresearch.com/
Stay in the know - Follow Alex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealAlexJones
Cherchez la Verite
Savage Society And Broken Codes Of Conduct
*Written by Grant G*
Stories written from the inside, shadows and light,
directions and decisions, blinking road signs and soon one finds a road
most traveled, a one-way road to where destiny grips your grasping hands...
Valerie starts her day with a chocolate bar and a hit off the crack pipe,
nourishment for a member of an outcast community, heroin thrice daily to
keep her drug sickness from kicking in, crack and meth for street courage,
darkness descends on a cold city and out they come, it seems like only
yesterday when Valerie was the newest hot young babe offering her soul... more »
Five HEP papers
The visitor number 10 million came to this blog around 11 am, Central
European Time, today, from the whitehouse.gov domain. Congratulations (it
was 5 am locally over there!). It's a coincidence because most of the
recognizable visitors' domains seem to be academic and during the European
morning, U.S. visits in general score less than 10% (over 50% when all
times are included, however).
I will just mention five new papers on the arXiv – two hep-ph papers and
three hep-th papers.
Chul Kim, Ahmad Idilbi, Thomas Mehen, and Yeo Woong Yoon discuss another
interesting possible route fo... more »
Solar Update: Lights Camera Action!
The lovely Sol is dancing a tango again. For the past week we've seen
elevated levels of flares, leading up to yesterdays set of exciting set of
boogie woogie disco moves.
In the past 48 hours we had 3 major flares- two from spot 1944- an M 7.2
and an X 1.2, and a parting shot from 1947 of M3.2 as it rotated off the
western limb. The Xflare by 1944 - which is Beta Gamma Delta- was
interactive with 1946 right above it (Beta Gamma). The X Class and M7.2
were both directly Earth facing and geoeffective. 1944 has also been
spouting off constant C Class flares for the past 24 hours.
... more »
WILLIAM HAGUE; SEX SCANDALS
*Christopher Myers and William Hague, who shared a hotel bedroom. *
Britain's Foreign Secretary, the government minister responsible for the
security service MI6, is William Hague.
*1.* *William Hague wrote a book about a gay Prime Minister called William
Pitt the Younger.*
"Scurrilous verses and lampoons appeared drawing attention to Pitt's
relationship with Tom Steele, a young man with whom he spent a number of
holidays in Brighton."
Gay William Pitt
*Hague and very close friend Sebastian Coe (now Lord Coe)*
*2.* *William Hague's wife Ffion has written a book, The Grand Tour,... more »
A Fantastic Summative Comment on My Data Mining Post
On January 3, 2014, I posted a piece entitled Beware of Data Sharing
Cheerleaders Offering Webinars. On January 5, Diane Ravitch featured the
post on her blog due to the post’s active commentary on both sides of the
issue, including that of an inBloom representative. It is January 7, and
the comments are still live (167 comments). […]
Did You Think Ken Cuccinelli And EW Jackson Were Extreme? Wait Til You Meet Brat, A Teabagger Running Against Cantor
Crazy Brat
Steve Israel, whose Long Island district has a rare 0 PVI (equally split
between Democrats and Republicans) doesn't challenge any Republican
leaders. All the House GOP leaders-- every single one of them-- has
immunity and in return, Israel, the worst choice as a DCCC chair in
history, is the *only* incumbent in a 0 PVI district that isn't a
battleground. The RNC undermines Israel's Republican opponents, the same
way Israel undermines anyone who tries to run against Boehner, Cantor,
Ryan, Upton, Rogers, Camp or any senior Republican Hoiuse leader. Clearly,
Pelosi had lost ... more »
Climate Change Deniers are Science is real deniers
I would put that up there with Kirk Cameroon explaining that a Banana has
a zipper therefore evolution never happens. Climate change deniers are
science is a fact deniers. The fact is and even if you do not believe it
its still true is that if you increase the concentration of CO2 in a
atmosphere it will retain more heat. No one denies the concentration of CO2
in the atmosphere has been rising dramatically over the last one hundred
years. We can debate about the source, if you said the majority was natural
you would be wrong. Remember that volcano is Iceland that shut down air
tra... more »
Sunny el perrito del Presidente Barack Obama - Cute little pet
Sunny, es nombre de la mascota del Presidente Barack Obama. Se trata de un
hermoso cachorrito de color negro que acompaña a la familia del Presidente
en la Casa Blanca. Actualmente comparte la fama con Boo. Un precioso
animalito que hasta parece de peluche.
Erdogan Cleans House, Purges Police of Opponents, Gulen Loyalists
*Source of photo: The London Economic*.
An excerpt from, *"Turkey purges police amid graft scandal"* by Fulya
Ozerkan, AFP, January 7:
*Turkey purged hundreds of police and launched an investigation into
prosecutors Tuesday in the latest twist in a vast corruption scandal that
has rocked Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.*
*A government decree published at midnight announced the sacking of 350
police officers in Ankara, including chiefs of the financial crimes,
anti-smuggling, cyber crime and organised crime units, media reports said.*
Turkey's top judicial body, ... more »
The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Cover Up: "The Levels Of Radiation At The Crippled Fukushima Site Are Through The F***ing Roof!
It is indeed good to be back... I have had to take a bit of additional time
to allow my right arm to heal properly from the Angiogram, and to get some
strength back..... I really have a lot of catching up to do, and I figure I
would start off by tackling the REAL situation with the Fukushima disaster,
and not the absolute bullcrap that the Jewish controlled media and our
criminal Jewish controlled governments continue to spew...
I came across this most interesting article today that I want to share with
all of my readers right here... It comes from the "SHTFplan.com" website,
at www... more »
Global terror-fighting turns out to be a bit beyond the reach of the NYPD
*If sheer scowling determination could foil global terrorism, maybe
Commissioner Ray could have led the NYPD to glory. In the real world, alas,
it doesn't seem to have worked out that way.*
*by Ken*
It's true that at the moment I'm not feeling especially charitably disposed
toward former NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who finished out his
tenure as commander of Emperor-Mayor Mike's Imperial Paramilitary Guards
looking like a self-glorifying buttwad. But I really don't want to be
jumping ugly on him just for the sake of jumping ugly on him.
So when Commissioner Ray got the idea... more »
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Passive House
A passive house is a super insulated air impermeable house with low thermal
bridging. To function it must have a heat ex-changer pictured on the left
of the drawing.IMHO especially in Canada it should be the new standard
build.
New trial ordered where trial judge took into account in assessing credibility that a Muslim chose to affirm and not swear
R v TRJ 2013 BCCA 449.
As a practical matter delving into why someone swears or affirms is NEVER
prudent.
Exercise of partial right to silence ought not to be held against an accused
In *R. v. Wilson*, 2013 ONSC 7830 the Court held that a witness/accused who
told the police only part of what happened ought not to be found less
credible. The reasoning was that a partial exercise of the right to
silence ought not to be held against an accused. Some might argue this
encourages an accused to give police a vague story, bereft of all detail,
with a more detailed concoction presented at trial. The Court holds:
[16] I am satisfied that in accordance with the legal principles set
out in *Palmer*, *G.L., *and *R. v. Rivera*, 2011 ONCA 225 (CanLII), 2011
ONCA 225,... more »
Dr. Denis Rancourt files application to the Supreme Court of Canada for his right to an impartial court
An
Ontario superior court judge had strong personal, family, emotional,
and contractual financial ties to a party intervening for the plaintiff
in [the] case, and also to the law firm representing the party in court,
and did not disclose any of these ties. This party was also the
employer of the plaintiff in the lawsuit, and funded the plaintiff’s
litigation. The judge was tasked with
Cruising Under Sail
"Cruising Under Sail has for many years enjoyed a considerable reputation
as an important work which covers every practical aspect of cruising for
the beginner and expert alike. The author's unrivaled experience in
long-distance cruising has commanded an enormous following of dedicated
readers and his sensible, practical approach to sound seamanship has great
appeal to those wishing to learn and improve the art of safe cruising.
"Cruising Under Sail combines Hiscock's classic books, "Cruising Under Sail
and "Voyaging Under Sail. Topics include: stability; cockpit and steering
arran... more »
Why Harper loves all thing U.K.
I have been reading about these new laws in the UK. In summary the police
can arrest anyone over ten at any time for no reason. Wow!
Alan Wieder : Bill Ayers' 'Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident'
In
his ongoing journey, and with his new memoir, 'Public Enemy,' Bill
Ayers continues to bring the radical 'spark' forward.
Image from Uprising Radio.
By Alan Wieder | The Rag Blog | January 7, 2014
Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn will speak at "Underground Goes
Overboard," a launch party for TheRagBlog.com, at 7 p.m., Friday,
January 17, at the 5604 Manor Community Center in Austin.
John Yudkin on Dietary Instinct, plus examples from experiments with Wistar Rats and Orphans
*Arguments for a Soda Tax are sometimes based on the specific metabolic
effects of fructose, but for most people these effects are only slightly
more stressful than the effects of glucose, and probably not worth worrying
about too much. A more convincing argument to my mind is that sugar
availability promotes overconsumption of energy, and carbohydrate energy in
particular. Not to mention azo dyes and similar unappreciated toxins, which
are mainly consumed associated with sugars. This allows the sugar industry
to say "it's the calories" when analysing the data. But does restricting... more »
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Hanna Skandera’s Reforms Cause More Than ‘Discomfort’
Education Secretary-Designate Hanna Skandera recently wrote an editorial to
the Albuquerque Journal stating more untruths, vague ideas, and plenty of
blame against those who are questioning her initiatives. She suggests that
there will be some “discomfort” during her period of reforms. I suggest
that discomfort isn’t the problem; what we’re fighting against is the
actual […]
The Debate: Insurgent Infighting in Syria- Broader destabilization
*What a fortuitous find. What an excellent debate.*
Eric Draitser hits all the right notes! I was literally cheering him on.
And, why wouldn’t I?
He is singing from the songbook I know so well.....
*And the clip of that evil horrible witch Hillary Clinton?! Grrr......*
*FYI: Eric Draitser runs the excellent site- Stop Imperialism*
Perma linked in the sidebar at the right
*“ Draitser explains how both (rebels) are part of the broader
destabilization campaign orchestrated by the US and its regional clients.
Additionally, he argues that the distinction between the two sides is more
a ma... more »
No shit, Sherlock!
Left-wing political messages smuggled none-too-subtly into a popular BBC
drama programme? Could that really be true? (Please see the title of this
post!):
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has criticised the "biased" BBC after
he was attacked during an episode of Sherlock.
In a mocked up newspaper which flashed up on screen on Sunday night
programme makers took a swipe at the “dithering, incoherent, and
self-interested” Mayor and his “hair-brained” (sic) schemes.
Responding to the attack, which was seemingly unrelated to the rest of the
show, Mr Johnson said: “It is elementary m... more »
Summer is for quizzes: What kind of libertarian are you?
So on this one, you can discover (according to the quiz’s authors) what
kind of libertarian you are. Apparently, I’m a “small ‘l’ libertarian.”
leaning towards “agorism.” Whatever the hell that means.
You Scored as *"Small L" libertarian*
Small l libertarians are libertarians, usually of the minarchist variety,
who do not particularly identify with the official Libertarian Party or are
not active in it, or may even actively oppose it. Small l libertarians are
likely to view the Libertarian Party as moving in too moderate of a
direction. Small l libertarian may ten... more »
A longer (21-hour?) school day?
Sent to the Telegraph (UK), Jan. 7
It is inspiring to read about Education Minister Truss' desire to lengthen
the school day ("Schools should adopt Chinese-style lessons, says
minister," Jan. 3). Her proposal to add an extra 30 minutes for
"enrichment" and an extra hour for homework, however, fall far short of
what is needed.
Let's push ahead and consider an even longer day.
A study published in the Journal of Irreproducible Results in 1991
concluded that a 21-hour school day is optimal, with continuous classes and
no breaks, except for two breaks for meals and one lavatory visit.
Am... more »
'Newsnight': A tsunami of bias
Arbitrary as it might be (and despite the reservations of psychologists),
New Year always feels like a good time to begin a new project.
As this blog focuses (mainly) on the issue of BBC bias, this is probably
the time to begin a new, year-long BBC bias-monitoring project. (Well, time
for me to start it anyhow. Sue has much less time on her hands!!)
So all that's needed then is to select the right project.
Maybe choose a prestigious BBC current affairs programme and monitor it for
an entire year?
Sounds reasonable to me (if a bit overfacing). But which one?
Well, *Today *is... more »
H index and H University
A friend writes:
Glen Ellison has a very neat study (ungated version) of adjusted h-index
measures of citation performance that he shows have great predictive power
for where people end up getting tenure (among other things).
What I thought you would find more interesting is that:
i) Harvard comes out first in citations to its faculty members. See table
5 page 84.
ii) Table 6, page 87, has a list of the top 5 economists by decade. In the
two cohorts of people with PhDs after 1996, I was struck that 5 out of 10
have Harvard PhDs (with 3 MIT, 1 Chicago, and 1 Berkeley rounding the l... more »
RU-486 Is Back, Now With Godwin's Law
Health Canada is an odd organization, isn't it?
Back in November, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published a
commentary advocating for the approval of RU-486, the preferred medical
abortion drug, unaccountably not yet sanctioned in pro-choice Canada.
It explained:
A manufacturer must apply to bring the drug to market in Canada. Health
Canada, citing confidentiality laws, would not confirm whether it is
currently studying such an application.
However, [Dr. Sheila] Dunn said an application had been made within the
last year. She said it may have taken time for a manufactu... more »
Councils’ “experts” among the last still drinking Al Gore’s Kool Aid
Al Bore’s absurdist 2006 film also showed alarmist maps and videos of sea
levels rising 20 feet by the by the year 2100 – a rise that would bury a
big two-storey house under the sea.
None of the UN’s IPCC reports ever supported this surreal fantasy (or his
entirely made-up claim that “New Zealand may be refuge as rising sea levels
displace hundred of millions of people”). Indeed the latest UN IPCC report
continues to dial back its alarmism, with figures showing sea level rise
exhibiting no rate of acceleration at all: rising over the last 100 years
at the roughly constant rate of... more »
We're living the good life on "death bets," says Ian Welsh, and the IOUs may come due sooner than we gamblers thought
*The difference between a "death bet" and this kind is that at least with
roulette you've got a shot at winning. With the death bet, you know the
debt is going to fall due; you only "win" by dying before it does.*
*"In its pure form, the death bet is just that, a bet that when the bill
comes due, you’ll be dead. If you live a good life and die owing millions,
well, what do you care?"*
*-- Ian Welsh, in a new post,* "The Death Bet"
*by Ken*
Ian Welsh has been doing a fair amount of wide and deep looking at the way
societies fit together, and I haven't known quite how to chronicle th... more »
Your moment of Zen
Blue butterflies in the Amazon. [photo via]
Ranking IR Journals
Editor’s note: this is a guest post by Brian J. Phillips, of the Center for
Research and Teaching in Economics. What are the best International
Relations journals? How do we know if one journal is better than another?
And how should this affect your decision about where to send a manuscript?
I recently worked on
Continue reading
RONNIE BIGGS, A CHILD STAR, MERCENARIES
*Ronnie Biggs (top left) and his pop-star son Mike (bottom left)*
*Ronnie Biggs* was a small-time London crook.
In 1963, Biggs helped to steal from a mail train the sum of £2.6 million.
This is the equivalent today of £50 million or $80 million.
*Some people believe that the brains behind this Great Train Robbery was a
group of well-connected mercenaries who wanted the money to finance various
coups.*
*Bevins*
Reginald Bevins, the government minister in charge of the post office,
issued a statement stating that the Great Train Robbery was likely to be
"an inside job".
Mail tra... more »
Shouldn’t we call it the “having-a-husband” penalty?
As Jennifer Grose at Slate reported this morning, a paper by Wendy Stock
and John Siegfried at the most recent AEA meetings, had some very
disturbing – but not surprising – findings in regarding women academics and
marriage. The Slate article calls it the “wife penalty.” I’d prefer it to
be called the “having-a-husband penalty.”
Continue reading
“People Vanishing In Clusters, Unexplained – What’s Happening?”
*“People Vanishing In Clusters, Unexplained – What’s Happening?”*
By Susan Duclos
“The video below at the 1:07 mark shows a news report that is chilling,
shocking and inexplicable. Clusters of people simply vanishing, sometimes 2
or 3 but up to 20 and 30 people disappearing from the same locations
across the US in national parks, sometimes right from under the noses
people that are with them. Young, old and in between, some of them are
found in places that are termed as “inaccessible,” or in areas that had
already been searched. Stranger still is the reaction of the Federal
agenci... more »
FBI burglars who exposed 'COINTELPRO' come out of the shadows
Above:
Democracy Now! Read
transcript: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/8/it_was_time_to_do_more
New York Times
The FBI burglars who first exposed the word 'COINTELPRO' came out of the
shadows after 43 years.
"Among the grim litany of revelations was a blackmail letter F.B.I.
agents had sent anonymously to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.,threatening to expose his extramarital affairs
The Nation’s most valuable book of the year!
*TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013*
*Ravitch’s Reign of Error:* Yesterday, we saluted The Nation for naming
Marc Steiner’s radio program the most valuable program of the year.
Right above Steiner in the list of awards, John Nichols selected the year’s
most valuable book of the year. It’s a book we’ve been reading, musing
about:
*MOST VALUABLE BOOK: Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error*
Yes, she really did serve as an assistant education secretary for George
H.W. Bush, and yes, she once supported George W. Bush’s “No Child Left
Behind.” But Ravitch refuses to cling to failed strategies, as she exp... more »
Concentration Camp Gaza
http://www.israellycool.com/2014/01/02/concentration-camp-gaza-obesity-edition/
Tuesday Pre-Dusk Linkage
With the year barely begun, we have already seen much over-the-top, endless
self-promotion, so I will try to avoid that trap. Instead, we should note
that while the Duck is not just about applying pop culture to IR and vice
versa, it does seem to be with us, including shedding insight on events in
Ukraine.
Continue reading
“Everything You Wanted to Know About the 'Polar Vortex' That's Engulfed Much of N. America with Freezing Temps”
*“Everything You Wanted to Know About the 'Polar Vortex'*
* That's Engulfed Much of N. America with Freezing Temps”*
By Emily Atkin
“On Sunday night, a reporter for The Weather Channel stood in a Minnesota
snowstorm, talking about local efforts to move homeless children into
heated shelters. “How cold is it supposed to get?” the anchor, back in the
studio, asked. The reporter replied: “Colder than Mars.”
Indeed, recent temperatures across the U.S. have been Mars-like. Forecasts
in the midwest call for temperatures to drop to 32 below zero in Fargo,
N.D.; minus 21 in Madison, W... more »
Whose chillin' in the Polar (Arctic) Vortex? And, how 'bout that ship in Antarctica?
Me. Me. Me..... How about you?
*Day 2 of the super chill.* The furnace hasn't stopped. It is so windy, it
keeps you up at night.
Temp- Minus 16 C. Wind chill- Minus 29 C.
White out conditions
[image: Weather map showing how the polar vortex is bringing freezing
weather to the US]Today
[image:
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72103000/jpg/_72103346_polar_vortex1.jpg]
Yesterday
Parts of the US and Canada are braced for potentially record-breaking low
temperatures as a blast of arctic air blows across North America.
A winter storm has already blanketed areas of Canada and th... more »
The survivors of Palestinian terrorism deserve recognition too
http://www.israellycool.com/2014/01/05/blind-taste-test/
Tone, pt. 4: Dystopian Fiction, Passion, and the Education Reform Debate
Tone, pt. 4: Dystopian Fiction, Passion, and the Education Reform Debate.
via Tone, pt. 4: Dystopian Fiction, Passion, and the Education Reform
Debate.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
Soundproofing your basement Cave
Roxul Safe n Sound
Acoustic Foam
Acoustic Drywall
Acoustic tuning
Stephen Harper and climate demonstrator
Will Harper do anything about climate change? I have my serious doubts. He
is an oil salesman. He works for oil companies,rich people and
corporations.
Picture:
Messiah - Temple of Dreams
C'mon, give me a break. My train was *two hours late* this morning! So I'm
having a break from blogging this evening to read and play retro video
games. Hence why I'm treating you lucky, lucky people to this:
Did I dream that you dreamed about me?
It's Tuesday: Let's do the Neutron Dance...
*m'kay?*
*Hollywood Movie Dance Tribute: *
The Realist Report - Jason Erb: Exposing Faux Capitalism
On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined by Jason Erb, host
of *Exposing Faux Capitalism* on the Truth Frequency Radio Network. Jason
and I will be discussing a variety of subjects, including the Federal
Reserve and capitalism, media fakery and deception, the fake "Holocaust"
narrative of WWII, and other matters.
You can download the mp3 for this program *here*, or visit *The Realist
Report* on BlogTalkRadio to subscribe via iTunes and view past programs.
Cold Out, Right? Now Boehner And His GOP Colleagues Will Determine Whether To Force Unemployed Workers Into Penury And Starvation-- Yes, Here In America
Yesterday the Senate postponed voting on extending unemployment insurance
for the 1.3 million Americans whose benefits expired last week and for even
more people whose benefits will expire between now and July. Reid sensed he
could get 5 Republicans to cross the aisle and back the American people,
instead of their own party's determination to make Obama fail by making
America fail. It worked. This morning, the Senate voted 60-37 (Collins,
Murkowsky, Coats, Heller, Ayotte and Portman crossing the aisle to got with
all the Democrats) to shut down the Republican filibuster against ext... more »
The Conservative Party of Canada: a Criminal Organization?
Fascism and Contemporary Canada. Locating the Present Conservative
Government Led by Stephen Harper. Part X
*The Conservative Party of Canada: a Criminal Organization?*
*Written by Robin Mathews*
Send this column to a Conservative voter.
Old Canadian Conservatism is gone. The present government in power is a
gathering of neoliberal goons for whom Canadian democracy is an impediment
to be erased with all speed. That is not a foolish or extreme statement …
as we shall see.
One of the iconic Old Canadian Conservatives, Hugh Segal, is leaving the
Senate. Prepar... more »
"Incidentally"
Curious
word, that.
Once upon a time spy agencies were tasked with monitoring legitmate
defence-related threats, say the Soviets and their allied and proxy
forces, armed insurrectionists in Canada and abroad (e.g. FLQ, armed
Aboriginal groups, Islamist terrorists), or Canadians in the habit of
trading defence secrets to enemy powers. Part of how this game was
played would have involved
"It wouldn't be B.C. without it"
The
words issued by the so-called prime minister of Canada when a protester
managed to breach his security yesterday.
Wouldn't it now?
In other words, Harper expects to come to BC, (as little as possible),
and be faced with people who vocally express their displeasure with his
wrecking-ball policies, his smear politics, and his lying, cheating
performance behind the doors of his office.
The
If David Brooks was in a Cop Show
and now a word from our sponsor
H/T Driftglass
Don Cheadle on Inferior Goods
A friend emails me:
Entertainment Weekly asked Don Cheadle what his last splurge was. Here is
his reply:
"I went to Giorgio Baldi restaurant [in Santa Monica]. When I was a broke
student and a very poor actor, I made a deal with myself that when I
started to make money, I would spend it on meals so I didn't have to just
eat ramen, potatoes and Kraft mac and cheese."
Real life in the apartheid state of Israel
http://www.israellycool.com/2014/01/07/photo-of-the-day-near-jerusalem-central-bus-station/
What is the Official Poverty Rate?
The notion of a “poverty rate” is pretty simple: come up with a definition
of “poverty,” determine a quantitative measure that corresponds to that
definition, and then count up the number of people who are in “poverty”
under that measure.
Being in poverty is of course a subjective determination which can be
defined in many different ways. This post focuses on the “poverty rate” as
defined by the Census Bureau of the US government. The official US poverty
rate is the focus on much informed public discussion. For instance, the New
York Times referred to the “poverty rate” 248 times o... more »
When Corruption Trumps Economics
Going forward, Stephen Harper's strategy appears to be ride out the
scandals and crow about the economy. If he had any sense of history -- even
recent history -- the prime minister might re-evaluate that strategy. He
would only have to revisit Paul Martin's tenure as prime minister. Michael
Harris writes:
If anyone saved Canada from going into the abyss of Mulroney-era deficits,
it was the former finance minister in Jean Chretien’s government. As
Preston Manning observed, Canada dodged a bullet in the financial meltdown
of 2008 precisely because Martin got the deficit under contr... more »
Cold weather: comments welcome
In previous days, we in Central Europe have experienced near-freezing (0
°C, 32 °F) temperatures with a very small amount of snow. Things improved
today: we enjoyed an almost sunny day with temperatures reaching almost 10
°C, 50 °F. Slightly more than 1/2 of the TRF readers are located in the
U.S. (which I still consider the leader of the civilization, greetings).
North America has suffered a weather that is almost a mirror image of what
we have in Europe.
*The purple color feels chilly; it is near 0 °F.*
One may perhaps blame this asymmetric fate on the counterclockwise winds in ... more »
My Top 10 Bookish Resolutions
[image: Book Resolutions, Reading Resolutions]
I love New Years Resolutions. I know most resolutions are forgotten about
by part of the way through the year, but I love the opportunity to sit and
evaluate what I want out of the year. Every year I post a list of my
resolutions, but usually under each resolution is 5 or 10 sub-resolutions
that I don't post. Since the link-up for the Broke and the Bookish is
bookish resolutions, here are my book sub-resolutions.
1. Read the books I have purchased and haven't gotten around to yet. I have
copies of The Elite and Crown of Midnight sittin... more »
Untitled
*Are the Saints Destined for Redemption? ~John Hendrix, Who Dat Dish*
Mohawk Nation News 'Free Loaders'
FREE
LOADERS
Posted on January 7, 2014
Mohawk Nation News
MNN. JAN. 6, 2014. Prime Minister Harper, the CEO of the Corporation of
Canada, is setting up full-time war just like the US. These spongers
have never worked. They only want to live off the backs of others. They
want to keep stealing, selling our possessions and then pocketing the
money.
Canada has lost business in
Harry Potter and the Questionable Metaphors: Sino-Chinese Addition
People may have wondered why spend so much time thinking about what pop
culture says about international relations. They have have pondered
whether dedicating entire class sessions to Harry Potter and the
International Relations of Ethnic Conflict might be misguided. I can now
officially and completely say to such un-named people: feh! Feh, I say!
Continue reading
Why I hate JetBlue just now
I was supposed to be on my way to St John's today, but then this happened.
With Fighting Still Going On In Anbar Province Iraq’s Premier Maliki Continues To Issue Arrest Warrants For Protest Leaders
The fighting in Anbar has not stopped Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from
going after the leaders of the country’s protest movement. One of the
original causes of the conflict in the governorate was the arrest of Iraqi
Islamic Party Parliamentarian Ahmed Alwani who was known for giving
inflammatory speeches about Shiites at the Ramadi sit-in square. Now
Baghdad has warrants out for Sheikh Ali Hatem Sulaiman and Sheikh Mohammed
Taha Hamdun both prominent members of the demonstrations.
(*Radio Nawa*)
On December 28, a story ran in the Iraqi press that there were orders to
detain Sh... more »
DUMBNIFICATION STUDIES: The year of Salon!
*TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013*
*Part 2—Joining a decades-old culture:* For us, the dumbnification of Salon
was the most striking media event of the past year.
Salon was created in the 1990s as a magazine which was politically
left-of-center and intellectually brighter than average.
In the dumbnification we honor today, Salon has joined a deepening,
decades-old culture—a culture in which liberals and progressives have
played active *and* passive roles.
Our political discourse has been very dumb for a good long many years. As a
sampler, let’s consider a few of the themes we have explore... more »
Quantitative Research of 2013 that Reflects Reality, Part II
The inherent flaws of attaching stakes to value-added estimates of teacher
effectiveness were obvious from the beginning. Even if a statistical model
magically found a way to control for poverty, race, and other factors,
there was no guarantee that systems would adopt the model that was most
fair. Even if an algorithm was devised that was reliable for all types of
schools across the country, there was no reason to believe, in this
teacher-bashing environment, that if would be used in a valid manner. Above
all, it invited more testing, perhaps tripling or quadrupling of subjects
wher... more »
An odd double standard
Imagine walking into a German restaurant in London and finding a portrait
of Adolf Hitler on the wall; very, very unlikely.
Imagine walking into a Russian Restaurant in London and finding a portrait
of Josef Stalin on the wall; equally unlikely.
However walk into London's Baozi Inn in Newport Street, part of London's
Chinatown, and there's a picture of Chairman Mao on the wall.
Hitler's Nazi regime is estimated to have been responsible for the deaths
of around 12 million people, Stalin's Soviet Russia for the deaths of
around 9 million people but Mao's Communist regime in China fo... more »
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