oldephartte(in training): 4 May - Blogs I'm Following

English: The near east report for Syria, The New York Times Current History Magazine for the April-May-June 1919. It depicts the size of the work. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ardolph Loges Kline, Mayor of New York City from September to December 1913 (black and white newspaper engraving taken from photograph) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Postcard image of Fraternity Row at the University of Alabama. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Attempting to block integration at the University of Alabama, Governor stands defiantly at the door while being confronted by Deputy U.S. Attorney General . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

question (Photo credit: cristinacosta)

4:38pm MDST

18+1 Questions for Mayors and Minister’s Blocking Christchurch’s Redevelopment

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 36 minutes ago

The oafish Gerry Brownlee is in denial about the disaster being made of Christchurch by his government’s top-down authoritarian management of the city’s (non) re-development. The latest entrepreneurs to confirm there is nothing in the central city worth moving to is The Enterprise Precinct Innovation Centre (Epic), who are moving out, “saying delays and overpriced land make the project infeasible.” EPIC (Enterprise Precinct Innovation Centre) co-founder Colin Anderson says the group has scuttled plans for an inner-city innovation "village" to house more than 50 small businesses. ... more »

It's Hitler.....Hurry up Americans and Intervene

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 48 minutes ago

Maybe you recall this tidbit of information? *- Social conditioning at work:* Mentioning Hitler makes Americans more willing to intervene in Ukraine- Contained in this previous post -Here "Mentioning Hitler makes Americans more willing to intervene in Ukraine" Only 21% of those asked in the conventional way favored U.S. involvement in the Ukraine. When this question was preceded by the questions about appeasement and comparing Putin to Hitler, support for U.S. involvement rose to 29%. It didn’t change the overall result — a majority of Americans still oppose getting involved in... more »

Watt's Jury Instructions: WITNESSES OF UNSAVOURY CHARACTER (VETROVEC WARNING)

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 hour ago

[1] (NOW) testified for the Crown. There is a special instruction that has to do with his/her evidence. It is an instruction that you must keep foremost in your mind when you are considering how much or little you will believe of or rely upon his/her evidence in making your decision in this case. [2] You have heard that (specify characteristics of witness or other circumstances that require evidence to be treated with caution). [3] Common sense tells you that, in light of these circumstances, there is good reason to look at(NOW)'s evidence with the greatest care ... more »

"How do you define American?" Jose Antonio Vargas -- speaking for many other undocumented Americans -- asks us to think about it

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 hour ago

*"Not Legal, Not Leaving"* A year after coming out about my undocumented status in the New York Times Magazine, I wrote an essay for TIME magazine—this time, addressing provocative questions that everyday Americans around the country, from Alabama to Arizona, have asked me. "Why haven’t you gotten deported?" That’s usually the first thing people ask me when they learn I’m an undocumented immigrant or, put more rudely, an “illegal.” Some ask it with anger or frustration, others with genuine bafflement. At a restaurant in Birmingham, not far from the University of Alabama, an ineb... more »

The Force of Freedom

Sophia Love at AMERICAN KABUKI - 2 hours ago

Sophia

Lamar W. Hankins : The dishonesty of Clemson and its football coach

Thorne Dreyer at The Rag Blog - 2 hours ago

Not only does coach Dabo Swinney use his personal Christian beliefs to recruit, he also uses religion to manipulate, control, and motivate his players. By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | May 4, 2014 For the last half-century, … finish reading Lamar W. Hankins : The dishonesty of Clemson and its football coach

New Blogs March - May 2014

Phil at All That Is Solid ... - 2 hours ago

For the few that care about such things, the new blog round-up hasn't gone away. It was resting. And if you glance at the wee list below, you can see why. There seems precious little in the way of new start ups emerging into what we used to call the blogosphere. Perhaps I've been out of circulation a bit and haven't happened upon the newbies, or could it be this is sign of a coming crisis in political blogging? Have all the established bloggers who've made it into official punditry kicked down the ladder that got them to the top, thereby thwarting the ambitions of would-be writers? T... more »

Fukushima Updates - great video from HexaMedia gives perspective on the devastation more than three years post - tsunami / earthquake / nuclear disasters........ Recent items of note from Energy News and Simply Info ........

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 3 hours ago

Perspective......... Daily Mail......... Fukushima, the aftermath: Eerie drone footage reveals the apocalyptic wasteland of Japan's abandoned east coast - - - - *The footage was taken by Tokyo-based multicopter firm HEXaMedia* - - *During the video, the drone soars over the region’s barren landscapes* - - *Many of these areas are said to be covered in radioactive soil* - - *It travels over the coast capturing destruction caused by the 2011 tsunami* - - *This was triggered by the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and led to the meltdown of Fukushima's nuclear react... more »

Good Times at Pottersville, 5/4/14

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 4 hours ago

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Mystery May 3 , 2014 --- Eleven terrorists with links to Al Qaeda have been " arrested " ( brought in for questioning ) on suspicion of being involved in the disappearance of MH370 ???? Has it come down to blaming Al Qaeda ? Takeaway -- Eleven terrorists with links to Al Qaeda have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the disappearance of MH370 ...... And another mystery ( not the unexplained editing of the recorded conversations between the pilots and air trafic controllers ) but rather the cargo.......Circus over and families told to leave Hotel .......

Catharsis Ours - 4 hours ago

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2619388/What-havent-told-cargo-MH370-Mystery-deepens-missing-flight-claims-loaded-2-3tonnes-items-not-listed-manifest.html Eleven terrorists with links to Al Qaeda have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the disappearance of MH370 - *Suspects were arrested in the capital Kuala Lumpur and the state of Kedah* - - *Said to members of violent new terror group said to be planning attacks* - - *Interrogations came after demands from agencies including FBI and MI6 * - - *Manifest revealed presence of consignment but did ... more »

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Mystery Day 56 May 3 , 2014 --- ( From New Straits Times ) MAS requests media not to expose amount of compensation ..... Police have no plan to reveal findings of investigations now ....... Signals based on aircraft projection: MAS ......... ( From Malaysia Chronicle ) -- MH370: The more they say they have nothing to hide, the more THE WORLD DOUBTS M'SIA ........ WHAT'S GOING ON! M'sia suddenly reveals data from MH370 pilot’s flight simulator still UNRETRIEVED .......

Catharsis Ours - 5 hours ago

Zero Hedge ....... Voice Recording From Missing Flight MH370 Was Edited [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/03/2014 12:15 -0400 - Boeing - NBC inShare It has been nearly two months since Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared without a trace on March 8. Since then, despite the endless coverage of CNN, there has been absolutely no progress in uncovering any clues about the fate of the missing Boeing 777. Perhaps the following may provide some clarity on why. On Thursday, for the first time, 7 minutes of audio recordings of the final co... more »

Here's looking at you, kid

Alison at Creekside - 5 hours ago

Nine out of 12 big telecoms in Canada deigned to reply to Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart with info about their disclosure of customer info to law enforcement in 2011 - Law enforcement agencies made 1,193,630 requests for subscriber data in 2011 - Or, one request every 27 seconds - Three telecom providers alone disclosed information from 785,000 customer accounts - If each request had been for a different subscriber, that would work out to* one in every 28 Canadians including babies* - In 2010, 94% of RCMP requests for name and address were made without ... more »

Blue Dog Kurt Schrader Deserves To Lose His May 20th Primary

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 5 hours ago

More Democrats who act like Republicans? No way! I was at a political fundraiser for Alan Grayson on Friday evening. Among the speakers besides Grayson were NYC Congressmembers Charlie Rangel, Carolyn Maloney, Eliot Engel and Yvette Clarke as well as progressive candidates Rob Zerban (D-WI) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). Among other topics, Grayson talked about how Democrats can't win elections by acting like Republicans, something he's expounded on frequently in the past-- like in this classic video-- and something that flies in the face of DCCC conventional wisdom. Steve Israel... more »

garden of earthly delights

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 5 hours ago

the garden of earthly delights

Teacher Vows to End the Madness

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 6 hours ago

Posted at WaPo: *By Ralph Ratto* *Today was the first day I was ever ashamed to be a teacher.* *Today I finished administering the sixth day of New York State Common Core assessments. I was a facilitator in a process that made my 10-year-old students struggle, to the point of frustration, to complete yet another 90-minute test. * *I sat by as I watched my students attempt to answer questions today that were beyond their abilities. I knew the test booklets I put in front of them contained questions that were written in a way that 95 percent of them had no chance of solving. I even t... more »

Very Sad News

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 6 hours ago

A friend at the University of Chicago reports to me that Gary Becker died last night. He was 83. Gary was one of the greatest economists of the past half century. You can read about his contributions here. I did not know him well, but based on every interaction I had with him, it seems that he was a truly nice man as well as a path-breaking scholar. He will be missed.

BAITING THE RUSSIAN BEAR (CONTINUED...)

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 6 hours ago

I am as distressed as I’ve ever been having watched a 24 minute video yesterday from Odessa, Ukraine as fascist Right Sector thugs set fire to a union hall where unarmed anti-Kiev protesters had taken refuge. You can see the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVXm9nnY-AQ You have to be patient watching the video because it is obvious that a lot of the time the photographer was trying to be discreet as he filmed the pro-western nationalists attacking the people inside the union hall. At one point the photographer runs around to the backside of the building and films police auth... more »

We’ve got your bad explanation right here! (Not really all that wonky)

bob somerby at the daily howler - 7 hours ago

*SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2014* *In search of GodelThink:* Kurt Godel is one of the greats, or so you’ll routinely be told. The leading authority on his work says it went something like this: Kurt Friedrich Gödel (1906-1978) was an Austrian, and later American, logician, mathematician, and philosopher. *Considered with Aristotle and Gottlob Frege to be one of the most significant logicians in history, Gödel made an immense impact upon scientific and philosophical thinking in the 20th century,* a time when others such as Bertrand Russell, A. N. Whitehead, and David Hilbert were pioneering the... more »

Astra successfully test-fired from Sukhoi-30 MKI

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 7 hours ago

[image: Astra BVAMRAAM]Astra, India's first indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile was successfully test-fired from a Sukhoi-30 MKI at a naval range in the Western Sector, marking a major step in missile-aircraft integration. The test-firing met all the mission objectives and the air-launch was captured by side and forward looking high-speed cameras and the separation was exactly as per simulation, according to a press release from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Congratulating the team, Avinash Chander, Sceintific Advisor to th... more »

Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, May 4th, 2014

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 7 hours ago

Yes, it is Sunday.... And it is time for me to take what I see from the liars in the mainstream media and all other bullcrap we have been told for the last while and tear it to pieces... First, and again, I have a real hard time in figuring out people and all their misconceptions about what is really going on in the Ukraine... The liars and sacks of goo in our media and government are continuing their propaganda bull crap and calling those in the Ukraine that seek peaceful referendums and their rights under international law to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, "rebels"..... All ... more »

Celebrities, Thank You, But…

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE - 8 hours ago

Celebrities, Thank You, But…. via Celebrities, Thank You, But….Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

Mike's Story Part 13: Amateur Shrink Gone Wild

Jenna Orkin at From the Wilderness' Peak Oil Blog - 8 hours ago

*By **Jenna** Orkin* If cities had the equivalent of national pastimes, New York's would be psychotherapy. While no match for Woody Allen, I've put in my share of time in therapists' offices and been grateful for what one or two of them had to offer; (the others ranged from indifferent to dishonest to insane themselves.) A well-known side-effect of such therapy is an eagerness to put one's newly acquired knowledge to use with, or on, friends, acquaintances and anyone else who asks. Mike was fertile ground for this amateur "shrink*age,*" as a friend who's an actual Clinical Psycho... more »

Relax for the weekend???

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 8 hours ago

70% Of Employers Think Your Social Media Posts Are Their Business

Donna Ballman at Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home - 8 hours ago

A well-respected management-side firm (and sometimes opposing counsel of mine, I should add), Proskauer, released a study they did on social media this week, and I found it quite disturbing from the employee-side point of view. Their key finding: While nearly 90 percent of companies use social media for business purposes and almost half allow employees to use social media for non-business activities, more than 70 percent of employers report having to take disciplinary action against employees for misuse (a significant uptick from 35 percent in 2012). While the management-side fir... more »

SUNDAY SONG

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 9 hours ago

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 9 hours ago

*Meet Save Lake Peigneur, Inc.* *Stephanie Grace: Pipeline bill has complicated politics* *Questions surround legal case of Marigny homeowner involved in shooting ~WVUE* *Drones deployed over disaster zones raise concerns at FAA ~Mark Strassman, CBS* *Jazz Fest Preview: Glen David Andrews Thinks Big ~My Spilt Milk*

Steve Israel Cedes Another Swing District To The Republicans Without A Fight-- This Time In Florida

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 9 hours ago

Do you want to be in a party where corrupt scumbags like this call the shots? Rahm Emanuel loved recruiting Republicans to run for Congress as Democrats-- Republicans who would then join the Blue Dogs and New Dems and vote with the GOP on crucial legislation... until voters wised up and defeated them. Steve Israel, a pale shadow of Emanuel, likes doing that even more. And he just did it again. After losing Alex Sink the FL-13 special election to a corrupt, unknown K Street lobbyist, David Jolly, Israel tried recruiting self funder and ex-Wall Street bankster, Joel Cantor, who lives ... more »

Untitled

jonjayray at EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL - 9 hours ago

*Catholic School Celebrates 'Year of Lady Gaga'* *Buyer beware those promising a "Catholic education."* Saint Mary's Institute is the Catholic grade school in my wife's New York hometown, Amsterdam. It is affiliated with Saint Mary's Catholic Church, whose pastor Rev. John Medwid pens the opening to the Saint Mary's Institute annual newsletter. "In September at the opening Mass I officially announced that this was going to be the Year of Our Lady at SMI," the letter began. How nice. Except that's not what he wrote. There was someone else he had in mind to honor besides the Virgin... more »

Things Could Get Very Nasty

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 10 hours ago

Kathleen Wynne has three opponents in Ontario's election -- Tim Hudak, Andrea Horwath and Stephen Harper. Her budget represents everything that Harper abhors -- government spending to stimulate the economy, an expanded pension plan and higher taxes on the wealthy. Mr. Harper immediately dismissed the Ontario Pension Plan. And, yesterday, Joe Oliver told Evan Solomon that Wynne's budget was "the route to economic decline, not the route to economic growth or job creation." Wynne is a threat to Harper because Ontario's provincial and federal ridings are congruent. Mike Harris engin... more »

Typical Elements of the “Hero’s Journey” Found in the Ituzaingó CE-3 (1985)

Inexplicata (IHU) at Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology - 10 hours ago

*Typical Elements of the “Hero’s Journey” Found in the Ituzaingó CE-3 (1985)* *By Andrés Salvador* (Appeared originally in Alternativa OVNI, April 2014 No.4) *In all of these cases, the presence of “Aliens”, catalogued as dependent upon, equal to or superior to humans, always takes place with a process of humanization, to the extent that the aberrant ethnography brought about by a variety of alien figure, turns in to a true and correct reservoir of typically human symbols and characters*. - Francisco Ferrini, *Que es verdaderamente ciencia ficción* This paper seeks to establish ... more »

Where adders and wild haggis live side by side

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago

Brickbats down, bouquets out: I thought this morning's *The Living World* was wonderful. It dealt with the unexpected topic of adders living along the shoreline of Loch Lomond, and did so by having an enthusiastic presenter, Trai Anfield, guided around by a very engaging expert, Chris McInerny. There was no background music. There wasn't even a mention of climate change. Bliss. As they say in all enthusiastic radio reviews, 'I was enthralled', and I learned a lot. (I'm resisting all urges to write a pun-based joke about 'slippery adders', 'bonnie banks' and the Royal Bank of S... more »

No Government Should Get to Decide This

Zoe Brain at A.E.Brain - 10 hours ago

Something understood...about nationalism

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 11 hours ago

I remember, many moons ago, how bad a reputation the word 'nationalism' had back in my student days (in the 1980s). Everyone agreed [or felt obliged to agree] that nationalism was a 'bad thing', and that its polar opposite - internationalism - was a 'good thing'. (There were universities at the time that contained Young Conservatives, but not mine). 'Patriotism' was a silly concept only held by 'fascists'. The 'nation state' was 'an outdated construct'. Of course, when some mischievous soul moved the discussion away from British or European or East Asian or American nationalism [s... more »

ECFA's Early Harvest Toll on Taiwan

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 11 hours ago

*After the rain, I went to get some pics.* Commonwealth scores with another great piece on the ECFA early harvest list (kudos also to the translator for a very readable translation, all their translators are great). Another failed policy, which goes a long way toward explaining the widespread public opposition to the services pact. This piece is based on Chinese export data obtained by the magazine. Commonwealth notes: On the surface, since coming into effect in 2011 Taiwan's exports of items to China on the early harvest list have grown by a *sizable 35 percent, outpacing overal... more »

Happy Star Wars Day

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 11 hours ago

For Star Wars Day, if you have to ask then you really are not a fan! Here's the more than two hour hour long 100% fan sourced "Star Wars: A New Hope" fan film... 'In 2009, Casey Pugh asked thousands of Internet users to remake "Star Wars: A New Hope" into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were allowed to recreate scenes from Star Wars however they wanted. Within just a few months SWU grew into a wild success. The creativity that poured into the project was unimaginable. SWU has been featured in documentaries, news features and conferences around the world for its uni... more »

Sunday, Flipping Sunday

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 13 hours ago

This morning's edition of *Sunday *on Radio 4 dwelt on many of its favourite subjects - internal Catholic Church issues, clerical abuse within the Catholic Church, the government's welfare reforms, and rows about women priests and ethnic minority representation within the Church of England. It began though with an interview with Monsignor Paul Fisher of Corpus Christi Church in Leeds about the *murder of teacher Ann Maguire*. Mgr Paul Fisher, whose parish the school is in, told of how the doors of the church had been opened in the wake of the killing. First came parents, then many ... more »

Iran Test-Fires Home-Made Missile with Indigenous Air Defense System

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 13 hours ago

[image: Mersad missile defense system]The Iranian Air Defense Force on Sunday carried out the first operational test of ‘Mersad’ missile defense system paired with ‘Shalamcheh’ indigenous missile. The test was conducted Sunday in the presence of Commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili and a number of high-ranking officials representing the Defense Ministry. During the test, the Shalamcheh missile, launched by the Mersad medium-altitude missile defense system, could successfully hit a domestic drone, dubbed Karrar. Read more

China steps up as exporter of military aircraft

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 14 hours ago

[image: K-8 Karakorum]China has yet to complete tests on its J-31 stealth fighter but already ranks third in the world for export contracts for multi-role fighters for 2010 to 2017, behind the United States and Russia. This shows the country has become a major exporter of military aircraft without relying on fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft. China has exported 1,700 aircraft to other countries since it began to do so 35 years ago. Read more

U2 spy plane delays HUNDREDS of flights from LAX after it overloaded air traffic control system

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 14 hours ago

[image: U-2 Dragon Lady]A U-2 spy plane is being blamed for a software glitch at a Californian air traffic control center which led to delays earlier this week. Hundreds of flights were either cancelled or delayed on Wednesday afternoon and it was a relic from the Cold War that appears to be to blame. According to NBC News, the U-2 was flying at 60,000 feet, but air traffic control computers were attempting to keep it from colliding with planes that were actually miles beneath it. Read more

Another View: Ukraine crisis puts focus on danger of nuclear war

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 14 hours ago

[image: Ohio class SSBN]The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has made it clear that the danger of nuclear war is still with us and may be greater than at any time since the height of the Cold War. What does that mean for United States nuclear policy? There are today more than 15,000 nuclear warheads in the world. The vast majority, more than 95 percent, are in the arsenals of the United States and Russia. Some 3,000 of these warheads are on "hair-trigger" alert. They are mounted on missiles that can be fired in 15 minutes and destroy their targets around the world less than 30 minutes late... more »

Truong Sa submarine denied test site

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 14 hours ago

[image: Nguyen Quoc Hoa and his submarine]The setback came as discouraging news to Nguyen Quoc Hoa, developer of the sub, and other interested scientists. Hoa and his colleagues had been convinced that the testing license was forthcoming from the local authorities, right up until the final decision was made. Vu Manh Hien, Director of the Thai Binh Department of Science and Technology, had told the local press on April 23 that he was certain that the Truong Sa would receive permission to go to sea. “I cannot see any problems with the experiment. All new products need to be tested,” ... more »

Inappropriate wedding songs

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 14 hours ago

Tim Hawkins is probbaly not the guy you want to play at your wedding...

(Dynastic Grifters Arise! You've Nothing To Lose But Sliding Into the Next Position - Selfies on Facebook Become Targets?) Exceptional Americans Can Take Unique Abuse (Imprint of a Violent Logic Repeating - Gotta Revolution? Not Yet) What's Been and What's Next)

Cirze at Welcome to Pottersville 2 (Blogging Against Fascism!) - 15 hours ago

(Latest Outrage (Horrors!): Right Wingers Propagandize Fake Newt/Crazies Economic Video Proving Obama & Liberals Not Dubya & Cheney Caused 2008 Financial Collapse and Implemented Wrong Solution) Behind Blue (Blood-Stained) Eyes Paul Ryan (Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin) (Right click to view both beady eyes.) If the GOP as a whole has pretty much given up on the whole “rebranding” thing,

Untitled

JR at GREENIE WATCH - 16 hours ago

*Meet the Billionaire Obama and Reid Listen To* *Tom Steyer, co-founder of Advanced Energy Economy, speaks to the delegates on the second night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention* You’ve got to hand it to billionaire Tom Steyer. He tells Barack Obama and Harry Reid to jump, and they obediently reply: How high? Mr. Steyer pulled off the policy coup of the year last week when the White House announced it would place the Keystone XL pipeline in regulatory purgatory for another six months at least. Mr. Steyer has promised $100 million to Democrats to beat back Republicans in ... more »

Just a reminder of what the ROC claims

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 16 hours ago

What the ROC claims. Which also includes Mongolia and will, soon in the future, likely include Okinawa. The South China Sea claims are in the text at the bottom. _______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

How To Treat Chronic Fatigue Naturally

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 16 hours ago

Kurt's Blog and Trip Update

Lori Anne Haskell at Adventures with Kurt and Lori - 17 hours ago

For those of you who are interested in following Kurt's journey to Costa Rica and his thoughts on living there, you can follow his new blog at: costaricakurt.BlogSpot.com. We are also keeping this blog running, but it will mostly be my separate blog going forward! For a quick update, Kurt left for Costa Rica on 4/24 at 600 PM and arrived tonight at 1000 PM in Jaco. About a day earlier than expected. Him and his travel partners, Barney and Dean, have checked into two separate hotels in Jaco. Jaco is very busy right now and they could not find two rooms at one hotel that accepted ... more »

"Pressing needs" in American education

skrashen at Schools Matter - 17 hours ago

S. Krashen Diane Ravitch recently observed that there has been a big hurry to implement the Common Core. In 2009, she urged the authors of the Common Core to field test it before implementation, advice they did not follow. Again in 2010, at the White House, she urged field testing, but officials "quickly dismissed the idea. They were in a hurry. They wanted Common Core to be rolled out as quickly as possible, without checking out how it works in real classrooms with real teachers and real children." ( http://dianeravitch.net/2014/05/02/my-reply-to-alexander-nazaryan-of-newsweek/ ) ... more »

It All Comes Out-- I Was In A Mental Institution... With The Cramps And The Mutants

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 18 hours ago

Next month it will have been 36 years since The Cramps and The Mutants played a show at what was then Napa State Mental Hospital northwest of San Francisco. I had some involvement in organizing that Saturday morning excursion and one of the few records of it-- aside from the video up top-- is an article I wrote about it immediately afterwards for the *New York Rocker*. (If you don't want to subscribe, you can read it here on The Mutants' website.) Lately there is a lot of renewed interest and in the last few months I've been interviewed 4 or 5 times about the show. In some cases,... more »

"Chromaradio: Choose Your Own Musical Interlude"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

"Our purpose is to offer a wide range of music selections that fit any style. Ranging between Greek and international mainstream hits, New Age, the sounds of nature, smooth jazz, Soul and Christmas. You just click on the icon representing the stream you want to listen. A pop-up window with flash player will appear to your screen. Music will play automatically. If not you can click on the icons below. A file will be downloaded to your windows, Mac os or linux based PC. Double click the downloaded file (for example playlist-1.asx.asf) and your player will start play the stream. For m... more »

“Beaten Dogs”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

*“Beaten Dogs”* by CoyotePrime “And so, the audit of the Federal Reserve was released in September, 2013... $16 TRILLION dollars of YOUR money, “lent” at 0% interest not only to the Too-Big-To-Fail American megabanks, but trillions of dollars to many foreign banks as well. When was the last time YOU received a 0% loan? Slowly but surely, the truth of how savagely we, the People, have been financially raped, over and over again, is coming out, and as it does, a tiny minority of our population shudders in horror… And fear comes now, at last, to the “Ruling Elite”. Not the fear of fi... more »

Free Download: Aldous Huxley, "Brave New World"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

“Till at last the child's mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child's mind. And not the child's mind only. The adult's mind too- all his life long. The mind that judges and desires and decides- made up of these suggestions. But all these suggestions are our suggestions...” - “Brave New World: Suggestions from the State” • Freely download “Brave New World", by Aldous Huxley here: - http://freepdfdb.com/pdf/brave-new-world

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

"Face-on spiral galaxy M77 lies a mere 47 million light-years away toward the aquatic constellation Cetus. At that estimated distance, the gorgeous island universe is about 100 thousand light-years across. Also known as NGC 1068, its compact and very bright core is well studied by astronomers exploring the mysteries of supermassive black holes in active Seyfert galaxies. *Click image for larger size.* M77 is also seen at x-ray, ultraviolet, infrared, and radio wavelengths. But this sharp visible light image based on Hubble data follows its winding spiral arms traced by obscuring du... more »

"The Wisdom of Satchel Paige"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

“Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter.” “Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.” “Ain't no man can avoid being born average, but there ain't no man got to be common.” “Money and women. They're two of the strongest things in the world. The things you do for a woman you wouldn't do for anything else. Same with money.” “How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?” "Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." - Satchel Paige

"As Far As We Can Go..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

“The development of our cerebral cortex has been the greatest achievement of the evolutionary processes. Big deal. While allowing us the thrills of intellect or the pangs of self-consciousness, it is all too often overruled by our inner, instinctive brain - the one that tells us to react, not reflect, to run, rather than ruminate. Maybe we have gone as far as we can go and the next advance, whatever that may be - will be made by beings we create ourselves, using our own technology. Life forms we can design and program not to be ultimately governed and constricted by the rules of sur... more »

"Eureka!"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

“The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.” - Isaac Asimov

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Thanks for stopping by.

"Fate..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

“Sooner or later, fate puts us together with all the people, one by one, who show us what we could, and shouldn’t, let ourselves become. Sooner or later we meet the drunkard, the waster, the betrayer, the ruthless mind, and the hate-filled heart. But fate loads the dice, of course, because we usually find ourselves loving or pitying almost all of those people. And it’s impossible to despise someone you honestly pity, and to shun someone you truly love.” - Gregory David Roberts, “Shantaram”

"The Answer Why..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

"At last, the answer why. The lesson that had been so hard to find, so difficult to learn, came quick and clear and simple. The reason for problems is to overcome them. Why, that’s the very nature of man, I thought, to press past limits, to prove his freedom. It isn’t the challenge that faces us, that determines who we are and what we are becoming, but the way we meet the challenge, whether we toss a match at the wreck or work our way through it, step by step, to freedom." - Richard Bach, “Nothing by Chance”

Chet Raymo, "Seeing"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

*"Seeing"* by Chet Raymo "There was a moment yesterday evening when the elements conspired to evoke these few lines, spoken by Macbeth: "Light thickens, And the crow makes wing to the rooky woods, Good things of day begin to droop and drowse." The fading light. The crows gliding down the fields to the trees in Ballybeg: "Light thickens, And the crow makes wing to the rooky woods, Good things of day begin to droop and drowse." It's all there, in those few lines- the mysterious power of poetry to infuse the world with meaning, to anoint the world... more »

"Clinging to the Core When Our World Falls Apart"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago

*"Clinging to the Core When Our World Falls Apart"* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM "When external factors shift we have an opportunity to rediscover our core which is the only truly safe place to call home. There are times when our whole world seems to be falling apart around us, and we are not sure what to hold onto anymore. Sometimes our relationships crumble and sometimes it’s our physical environment. At other times, we can’t put our finger on it, but we feel as if all the walls have fallen down around us and we are standing with nothing to lean on, exposed and vulnerable. These... more »

ORDINARY VOICES

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 20 hours ago

This is a very interesting video of various Ukrainian citizens across the east of the country who are non-violently resisting the thugs, fascists, and mercenaries being set upon them by the US-EU sponsored Kiev 'government'. They speak clearly and passionately about the repression they are facing as they organize in opposition to the nationalist forces being armed and controlled by the US installed regime in Kiev. While Crimea has already had a referendum, the situation in other Ukrainian regions is still unstable. People want their voices to be heard and are demanding a vote. Ma... more »

Economist at it again

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 20 hours ago

The Economist's blatant favoritism toward the KMT was on display again this week. Consider the first paragraph: ....When [Lin I-hsiung] began his vigil, he said he would fast to death if necessary, until the government (a reformed and elected KMT) reversed a national energy policy that sees nuclear power as vital for the island. Not wanting to have a martyr on its hands, the government caved in. On April 30th Mr Lin ended his fast. The country’s nuclear policy lies in tatters. "The country's nuclear policy lies in tatters." This pro-KMT remark sets the tone for the entire piece. We ... more »

Economist at it again...

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 20 hours ago

in which I go to paris... with my mother!

laura k at wmtc - 21 hours ago

From my Flickr pageMy mother said, "I want to go to Paris. I want to see Paris one more time while I'm still healthy enough and mobile enough to enjoy it. But..." - here comes the good part - "I have no one to go with." My mom's best friend passed away some years ago, and none of her other travel buddies are available anymore. I almost blurted out, "I'll go with you!" but I thought, better run this by Allan first. Allan and I have each taken small trips without the other, but never for a full vacation, and never to a place we both love so much. Not that Allan would ask me not to go... more »

Health Watch: The menace of toast -- and of French fries fried darker than "golden"

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 21 hours ago

*So you love toast, do you? But does toast love you? This toast is not only not golden, it is surely by any standard dark brown. Why not just swallow poison?* *"Acrylamide [is] a chemical that causes cancer in animals. . . . The FDA suggests these steps to decrease your intake of acrylamide: . . ."* Lightly toast your bread until it's a golden -- not dark -- brown."* *-- from a "Johns Hopkins Health Alert,"* "The Risks of High-Temperature Cooking" *by Ken* What? You mean you're toasting your toast *dark brown*? I'll bet you're also the kind of person who fries your French fries d... more »

"How It Really Is"

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

'Look Up' - A spoken word film for an online generation...(video)

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 23 hours ago

*it carries a strong message.* 'Look Up' is a lesson taught to us through a love story, in a world where we continue to find ways to make it easier for us to connect with one another, but always results in us spending more time alone. Written, Performed & Directed by Gary Turk.

ALEC in Oregon - Preparing for November & Beyond

2old2care at Because I Can - 23 hours ago

Oregon is an interesting state - cause it is the ONLY state of all 50 where the state chair disclosed the current ALEC members . We can hope he was being truthful and listed all the members - but according to a March 2011 memo from ALEC HQ - ALEC state chairs could release a list of members to a public list, only if the legislator agreed to be made public. *How do people get on an ALEC list?* That question comes up all the time. The most common are: They serve on ALEC task forces They have paid ALEC dues through their campaign finances They self identified themselves somewhe... more »

“Palestine Can Be Won in a Street Fight”

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

*“Palestine Can Be Won in a Street Fight”* by Susan Abulhawa “Palestine has always been the underdog, a country slowly being wiped off the map, a society daily and methodically being dismantled by Israel. As a principally unarmed and oppressed indigenous population, Palestinians are perceived as powerless against the military supremacy of Israel's technological death industry, persistently outmanoeuvred by Israel's political cunning and endlessly bullied by a Western world that has made a game of diplomacy and intrigue from our miserable fate. We've lost so much to Israel's boundle... more »

The Big Flatline

What Is Sustainable at What Is Sustainable - 1 day ago

Jeff Rubin is the former chief economist at a major Canadian investment bank. His book, *The Big Flatline*, gives readers an opportunity to see Peak Cheap Energy through the eyes of someone from the executive suites. He spent 20 years flying around the world, hanging out with the rich and powerful, and this was a mind-altering experience. In the process, he lost the rose-colored glasses that are mandatory in his field, and this cost him his job. Rubin’s overview of the current geopolitical state of affairs is fascinating. Energy costs far more than it did a decade ago. Oil was ... more »

Hawai`i Democrats React To Forbes-Hanabusa Military Intensification Bill

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago

McKeon, Forbes, Hanabusa-- 3 crooked warmongers on the take Earlier this week, Republican Congressman Randy Forbes did what he always does (the only thing he does?). He proposed more funding for the Pentagon. This time, it was in the form of the Forbes-Hanabusa Asia-Pacific Region Priority Act. Hanabusa is Hawai`i Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, who chairs the conservative, corporate-sponsored New Democrat Coalition's National Security Task Force and is trying to oust progressive Sen. Brian Schatz in the Aug. 9 primary. As Rep. Forbes notes in his press release, he and Hanabusa hav... more »

WAR is the most undesirable primitive activity that humans continue to practice ...

leftdog at Buckdog - 1 day ago

*Just sayin' ....*

Thank you for the days

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago

Pretentious, Moi? They say everyone's a critic but, in spite of that alleged fact, vanishingly few of us ever get an invite from the BBC to vent our critical feelings on any of the corporation's arts review programmes. That blindingly obvious thought crossed my mind whilst listening to tonight's *Saturday Review *on Radio 4, and I intend to get partial revenge on them for that upsetting fact here in this very blog-post. Now, I haven't listened to *Saturday Review* for years, so this was an encounter with a friend/work colleague/ex I haven't seen for years. I used to be a regular ... more »

UKIP's Lizzy Vaid and Revenge Porn

Phil at All That Is Solid ... - 1 day ago

I'm a bit late to this one. As the shambles surrounding UKIP's farcical poster campaign unravelled last week, it turned out one of the "members of the public" endorsing the party's tedious lies is a paid employee. As it happens Lizzy Vaid is a UKIP events manager and assistant to the dear leader. Responding, Nigel Farage trotted out a factually accurate defence saying she's going to vote UKIP and, um, is a member of the public. Perhaps it's just me. The more UKIP say they're different from the other parties the more they become the same ... Than came the twist. A few days ago it em... more »

The Last of the Roswell Witnesses

KRandle at A Different Perspective - 1 day ago

Just the other day I saw or read something that suggested that the Roswell investigation has transitioned into a new phase with the recent and untimely death of Jesse Marcel, Jr. It was suggested that he was the last of the first-hand witnesses, having held the metallic debris and having heard about the find on the Brazel (Foster) ranch from his Army Air Forces intelligence officer father. But I realized that this isn’t true. While I know that this will generate discussions that have little to do with the posting (I mean look how far afield some of the others have roamed), I would ... more »

US Backed Fascist Thugs Unleashed in Ukraine

Donn Marten at Carrying a Flag - 1 day ago

With the American minds now fully inundated with anti-Russian propaganda and lies as to the composition of the US backed coup government in Ukraine the time has finally come to unleash the goons. After weeks of threats, military buildups and visitations by high US officials to the neo-Nazi/fascist backed "Yats" regime all hell broke loose on Friday. The point of no return - if not already crossed by the duplicity of the US-EU-NATO triad was reached when the occupying government in Kiev sent forth military helicopters against civilians and extremist shock troops began a pogrom in t... more »

Oh the games teachers are forced to play for evaluation

Shaun Johnson at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago

Just a little insight on teacher evaluation. Many of the new teacher evaluation schemes are just that, schemes, scams, and games. I have to learn to play this. I have to learn to mislead, dissemble, and lie. That’s a skill that takes time. I’ve never been good at it. Never. Modern teacher evaluations are largely […]

Benghazi items to ponder May 3 , 2014 -- Questions that need answers , concerns that won't go away ......

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/archives/10644 CIA Whistleblower faces the ire of an angry Justice Department over Benghazi questions [image: hagmann050214] Image courtesy of Canada Free Press *By Douglas J. Hagmann* *Please discuss this article at Canada Free Press – CLICK HERE* *Friday, May 2, 2014: *Longtime former CIA field operative turned whistleblower Robert “Tosh” Plumlee is currently in the crosshairs of a very angry Holder Justice Department for publicly posting 11 “questions” about Benghazi and the illegal weapons running operations being conducted by criminal elements ... more »

Boston to conduct various " Urban Shield " exercises ( active shooter , hostage rescue , explosion on transit system , structural collapse at Moon Island , terrorist takeover at Boston Convention Center exercises highlighted ) Saturday May 3 - Sunday May 4 , 2014 ----- The largest security training exercise in Boston’s history is slated to kick off Saturday morning at 8 a.m. with a simulated active school-shooter drill in Brookline. It will continue with other drills over a full 24 hours and involve about 2,000 state and local personnel........ Since they're publicizing this , expect nothing noteworthy ( but just take a note for reference ... )

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/05/01/participate-massive-security-drill-planned-over-weekend-boston-area/7dBmVJaLqhjWHoqoYsKB8K/story.html Officials to hold largest security drill in Boston’s history By Evan Allen | GLOBE STAFF MAY 01, 2014 - *ARTICLE* - *COMMENTS* [image: Firefighters and hazardous materials teams practiced responding to a suspicious package at Bowdoin Station in a previous security drill.] JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF/FILE 2012 Firefighters and hazardous materials teams practiced responding to a suspicious package at Bowdoin Station in a previous secur... more »

Paul Craig Roberts posted this on his site as a guest commentator. I decided to reproduce it under its original masthead.

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 1 day ago

------------------------------ Commentary ------------------------------ Putting Big Brother in the Driver’s Seat: V2V Transmitters, Black Boxes & Drones * By John W. Whitehead * February 10, 2014 “It’s a future where you don’t forget anything…In this new future you’re never lost…We will know your position down to the foot and down to the inch over time…Your car will drive itself, it’s a bug that cars were invented before computers…you’re never lonely…you’re never bored…you’re never out of ideas… We can suggest where you go next, who to meet, what to read...What’s interesting about... more »

The Amazon.com Ranking of My Book: Thank you!

deutsch29 at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago

I want to thank all who have purchased my newly-released book, A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who in the Implosion of American Public Education. On April 27, 2014, my book became available on on Amazon.com. That was a Sunday night. As soon as I found out, I posted this announcement. The next day, I found out through a […]

Join us this Sunday at 6PM with NJ journo Bob Braun of @BobBraunsLedger

Shaun Johnson at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago

Join us this Sunday at 6PM with NJ journo Bob Braun of @BobBraunsLedger Listen to At the Chalk Face this Sunday at 6PM EST. Join the conversation with Bob Braun, and Tim and Shaun of course, by calling (805) 727-7111.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face Tagged: at the chalk face, bob braun, […]

Tracing the source of catchy melodies

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 1 day ago

Thirty years ago, in the mid 1980s, I would be spending some time with my Commodore 64 – writing some programs in BASIC or the 6510 machine code or playing some games. Or some combinations of those things. *This composition will be one of the main topics of this blog post.* With a few exceptions, the games I possessed were copied from the pirates but what you would expect, especially behind the Iron Curtain. Commodore 64 had the wonderful "sound card", the SID chip with 3 sound generators and more. I still remember some POKE's and PEEK's needed to make this gadget work. The music ... more »

Medicina de las Plantas

Abraham Ben Judea at Abraham says - 1 day ago

Medicina de plantas Suplementos naturales para ayudar a conseguir una mejor salud ... A continuación se presentan las plantas que se pueda restablecer las funciones normales del estómago y del hígado o que se proporciona demasiado daño no se hizo debido a "venenos ingeridos" o intentos de suicidio. *Leche Thysle* La historia cuenta que la planta Thysle leche se cree para dar la las mujeres embarazadas aumentó la lactancia, también se creía que las venas blancas moteadas fueron causadas por las gotas de leche de la Virgen María amamantando al niño Jesús. Aparte de es... more »

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: There Are NO Safe Levels Of Radiation - The Petkau Effect

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 1 day ago

Yes, It has been a while since I last did an article pertaining to the ongoing and seemingly never ending disaster at Fukushima Japan... Now over 3 years since that initial disaster in March 2011 where 3 nuclear reactor cores melted down, the disaster is still going strong with high levels of radiation and radioactive materials spewing into our atmosphere, the Japanese countryside, and especially into the Pacific Ocean.... There have been many reports coming in constantly from the liars in our governments and especially in the Jew spew "mainstream media" that have said that there is... more »

Rendering Ourselves Extinct

theozarker at The Conflicted Doomer - 1 day ago

May 3, 2014 “We are warming, and that comes with consequences. By the way, Earth will survive … Continue reading →

Media Slant

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 1 day ago

Click here to read my column in Sunday's *NY Times*.

Imran Khan: A pragmatist par excellence

Nauman Sadiq at Incredible credulity - 1 day ago

In my previous post: Is democracy consistent with Islam? I made a distinction between politics and culture and said that a democratic system of governance falls in the category of politics while liberalism as a value-system falls in the category of culture. When we say that Islam and democracy are incompatible, we make a category mistake as serious as the Islamists’ misperception that democracy is un-Islamic. They too mix up democracy with liberalism. In my arguments I conceded that there is some friction between liberalism as a culture and Islam as a religion. But democracy isn’t a... more »

NON-VIOLENTLY CONFRONTING U.S.-EU RULE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

Amateur footage shows an angry mob in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine yelling at Kiev forces as a new 'anti-terror operation' is underway. Locals are calling soldiers "fascists" and telling them go back to Kiev because they don't need them in Kramatorsk. Notice that the local people are not armed. They confront 'their government forces' who have come to enforce US-EU corporate rule. I'd like to see this footage with honest reporting in US mainstream media. Obama and Kerry keep complaining about Russia Today (RT) media. The reason why is because RT is telling us what is really happe... more »

May 3: The fat's in the fire....

Graeme Decarie at The Moncton Times@Transcript - Good and Bad - 1 day ago

Two days ago, Zbignew Zbrzenski wrote an open letter which didn't make the Irving press (perhaps it had nobody who was sure how to spell his name.). He demanded war with Russia over the Ukraine. He also said the west would be helped by it's "good friends" in China. Now, this is not just your man off the street. This man has been a major policy advisor to presidents of the US since Jimmy Carter. Obama now listens to him. His general view? The US needs to defeat all regional powers to make itself the world's dominant power. Sound familiar? It should. It's the policy of Project for th... more »

Mohawk Nation News 'Atleo Quits Corporate Control Grid'

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

ATLEO QUITS CORPORATE CONTROL GRID Posted on May 3, 2014 MNN. May 3, 2014. On May 2nd Sean Atleo courageously stepped down as head of the Assembly of First Nations to return to the natural direction we call “tion-heh-kwen”. AFN is an agency of the Corporation of Canada. It is not from us. it is from them. Their job is to pretend to speak for the Indigenous people. They illegally

Guest Post From Derek Cressman

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago

A few weeks ago I stumbled on the video above and was so impressed with Derek Cressman, the progressive candidate running against some corrupt Sacramento insiders, one of whom, Leland Yee, is now in prison, that I invited Cressman to introduce himself with a guest post. Instead of a bio bragging out his accomplishments, he got right to the meat of the matter-- cleaning up the systemic corruption that plagues California state government-- and he got very specific... immediately. *AT&T has California by the Calls-Derek Cressman* Every year at this time, dozens of Democrats serving... more »

Musings On Iraq In The News

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 1 day ago

I was mentioned in “Iraq Votes. But Will It Matter?” which appeared in Andrew Sullivan’s The Dish. Iraq's Al-Mada newspaper reprinted my "Another Election Surprise For Iraq?" article.

Massive evergrowing Louisiana Sinkhole Updates May 1 , 2014 -- Despite the non stop growth of the Godzilla Sinkhole , note Crosstex just jammed 215 , 801 barrels of normal butane in Well 1 ( see map for relation of Cross Tex wells to the Sinkhole ) ..... recent videos , news of note ( H/T Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle and The Examiner.... )

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle ....... Crosstex Crams OVER 200,000 BARRELS of Butane into Well #1 APRIL 30, 2014 3 We thought we’d look to see if *Crosstex* has has an update lately. *Has it ever!* This *update* from April 27 shows they have a huge amount of butane now in the cavern near (soon-to-be-stable) Lake FUBAR! We guess they are handing out e-cigarettes to workers! [image: crosstexAp27_2014] [image: Helicorders_Oct2013] CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE [image: Crosstex_1and2] * MORE on Crosstex’s butane caverns 1 & 2.* Could Floor Heave at WIPP Happen at Bayou Corne? APRIL 25, 2014... more »

Our love affair with bad explanation! (Possibly somewhat wonky)

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 day ago

*SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2014* *Incompleteness incompletely explained:* As we noted a few weeks back,we’ve conducted a long love affair with bad explanation. The affair may have begun in September 1965, when we enrolled in Professor Nozick’s “Problems in Philosophy” class. Who are these “problems” problems *for,* we found ourselves brightly wondering. Years later, we began to suspect that the course had been designed to ensure that no one would major in philosophy. In fairness, though, that was pure conjecture. Whatever! In recent weeks, we’ve been spending our spare time with Professor... more »

A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.S

Paul Coker at News Spike - 1 day ago

People are generally mean, selfish and shallow, especially in groups. That allows you a finer appreciation of those who do not display those qualities in person. For instance, the gay community as a group are monumentally selfish - they seem to be on a Pokemon quest to collect every letter in the alphabet to describe themselves, and they're averaging an additional one every 5 years. Around the year 2000, they moved up to being "*LGB*" - at last count, they were up to "*LGBTQ*". Which is verging on the Pythonesque As if the interests and agendas of militant lesbians are the same as ... more »

Gold and silver news and views May 3 , 2014 -- GoldCore Reports Half of Italy's Gold is Held in New York Fed Vault; Is Repatriation Possible ? Embry warns against paper gold , currency event ..... Harvey Organ highlights ! Silver Doctors looks at CME manipulations , BRICS moving toward a parallel IMF , Russian rejection of the USD and other BRICS following suit ....

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

Gold Core..... GoldCore Reports Half of Italy's Gold is Held in New York Fed Vault; Is Repatriation Possible? Published in Market Update Precious Metals on 2 May 2014 By 6 Today’s AM fix was USD 1,285.00, EUR 927.26 and GBP 761.03 per ounce. Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,283.00, EUR 924.15 and GBP 759.04 per ounce. Gold fell $5.50 or 0.43% yesterday to $1,284.90/oz. Silver slipped $0.13 or 0.68% yesterday to $19.06/oz. Please note *GoldCore is closed for a Bank Holiday, this Monday, May 5th, reopening May 6th.* Gold remained in range bound trading yesterday and into this morning, ... more »

“70% of national legislation comes from European legislation”. Who said that?

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago

One of my favourite BBC Radio 4 programmes, *More or Less, *returned this week and began by tackling the Lib Dems over Nick Clegg's deeply dubious assertion (during his first debate with Nigel Farage) that a mere 7% of our laws derive from the EU legislation. This example of statistical dodginess from the second most powerful politician in the land, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Nick Clegg MP no less, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, must have struck them as something that needed challenging - and rightly so. A clip from an old edition of *More or Less *whe... more »

Mike's Story Part 12: Blogreaders Weigh In

Jenna Orkin at From the Wilderness' Peak Oil Blog - 1 day ago

*By **Jenna** Orkin* News of Mike's flight to Venezuela had become public in August, with Carolyn Baker's description of the days leading up to his departure. That, along with Michael Kane's account of the same period, makes interesting reading in light of Mike's final exit on April 13 of this year. Since the blog had been assuming a greater role as FTW contracted, finally freezing into an archive site, a deluge of comments rushed in*:* Some bore the telltale marks of disinformation. Just as when the computers were smashed, the blog was besieged with messages that attempted to ... more »

ALEC Uses the Press to Mislead Public - Again!

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago

Oh my ... What a web search will turn up early on a Saturday morning. ALECs PR Poobah is back at it again - misleading the public by using the press. He used a recent opinion piece - to bash a "a liberal blogger" who it appears, had the audacity to do a presentation on ALEC. Mr. Meierling (hate using that but his first name is "bill") - spent the whole first paragraph dissing the person who did the presentation. Then he spent three sentences trying to justify why he was correct and she was wrong - more on that next. Then there was a two paragraph, unpaid advertisement for ALEC in... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 day ago

*Councilman tries to make it tougher on fracking ~WWLTV* *Legislature should protect Southeast Louisiana residents, keep levee reforms in place: Editorial* *Federal government rejects Jindal hospital plans ~Marsha Schuler, New Orleans Advocate* *Avoyelles state representative blasts Jindal on Charity hospital scheme* *Teen arrested in Marigny burglary is same teen shot by homeowner in 2013 ~WVUE* *Decades old eyesore coming down in Algiers ~WDSU* *Freelancer’s lament: When will the news biz figure out how to pay us? ~Sam Tabachnik, The Lens*

Coming Soon - Death Aid: The Geldof Genocides

Paul Coker at News Spike - 1 day ago

*"I don't think he killed himself. I'm sorry, just don't."* *- Paula Yates, 1998* Coming Soon - Death Aid: The Geldof Genocides from Spike EP on Vimeo. *"I stepped on stage at Live Aid,* *All the people gave and the poor got paid"* *Run D.M.C. - My Adidas* *"At the end of the war, SAS was disbanded, but it was soon revived to crush the Malay insurgency in Malaysia, and the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya. In his 1960 book Gangs and Countergangs, Col. Frank Kitson boasted that the British were covertly leading several large-scale Mau Mau units, and that many, if not all Mau ... more »

Obama Orders Unusual Review of Cruelty

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 1 day ago

Today in Sociopathic Irony: Fresh from a victory designed to forever keep the grisly details of all his extrajudicial overseas drone executions from the American public, President Obama has deftly pivoted away from his own hypocrisy by calling for a review of capital punishment here in the One Indispensable Nation. That is because in the Land of the Free, as opposed to those anti-free "tribal areas," executions *are* open to the public, albeit by invitation only. And sometimes they don't go as smoothly and as silently as planned. The "botched" execution of an Oklahoma inmate is a ca... more »

MAINE ARTISTS HELP CREATE THE MOVEMENT

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

This is ARRT! from Geoffrey Leighton on Vimeo. ARRT! – The Artists Rapid Response Team -- creates banners and props to promote the work of progressive non-profits across Maine. All members of the Union of Maine Visual Artists are invited to join.

Non- Expert Opinion Evidence

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 day ago

Smith v. Inco, 2012 ONSC 4749: [9] The leading case as to the admissibility of opinion evidence from non-expert witnesses is that of *R. v. Graat*, 1980 CanLII 69 (ON CA), (1980) 30 O.R. (2d) 247 (OCA), aff'd1982 CanLII 33 (SCC), [1982] 2 S.C.R. 819 (SCC). In that case twopolice officers (non-expert witnesses) testified that in their opinion the accused's ability to drive was impaired by alcohol. This opinion evidence was based upon a list of factual observations made by thepolice officers, including observations that the accused's car was weaving on the roadway, the car cross... more »

Molly is no Malala

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago

Did you see Gavin Esler’s interview with the real life mother and daughter as well as the author of a play based on the alleged kidnapping of ‘Molly Campbell’ aka ‘Misbah Rana’ by her Pakistani father? Gavin Esler announced it with such glee that one immediately knew that any dubious and negative Islam-related aspersions from the past were about to be dispelled. In 2006, the story was all about the alleged kidnapping by the father of 12-year-old Molly, with ominous mutterings about forced marriages and such. The mother gave tearful interviews from Scotland, and Molly was shown in... more »

WHO WILL PROTECT INTERNET FREEDOM?

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

Running for president in 2007, Barack Obama pledged to keep the Internet open to all, upholding the principle of Net neutrality. Now his FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, has introduced new rules that have caused an uproar among public interest groups and media reform advocates. They believe Wheeler’s proposed changes break Obama’s campaign promise and will allow providers like Verizon and Comcast to sell faster access to the Web to the highest bidder. The problem, Bill Moyers says, is that “business and government are now so intertwined that public officials and corporate retainers are ... more »

Edweek blogger heads to guess where? College Board.

Shaun Johnson at @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago

Education Weak and corporate reform journalist mouthpiece Michele McNeil is leaving Politics K-12: Starting in mid-May, I’ll be the director of assessment and accountability policy at the College Board Seriously. A non-educator as director of assessment policy? Who’s in charge of hiring, anyway? Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face Tagged: […]

The religious split in Africa

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago

This map shows the scary religious divide in Africa in 2012. I wonder how different it would have looked in 1992 and how it will have changed by 2032. Amazing Maps (@amazinmaps) tweeted at 11:00 AM on Sat, May 03, 2014: Ratio of Muslims to Christians in Africa http://t.co/c5thVYKX9Z (https://twitter.com/amazinmaps/status/462532143940657152)

T-34C crashes off Gulf of Mexico; no injuries

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 1 day ago

Two pilots aboard a training aircraft were uninjured Thursday morning after their plane crashed over the Gulf of Mexico, Naval Air Training Command said in a news release. The aviators, assigned to Training Squadron 28 at Naval Station Corpus Christi, Texas, escaped the T-34 Turbomentor aircraft and were recovered by Coast Guard search and rescue personnel, the release said. The pilots were flying a routine training mission over the inter-coastal waterway when they crashed around 10:20 a.m., central time. They are currently under evaluation at a local hospital. Read more

BAITING THE BEAR

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

Union hall in Odessa burns after fascist Right Sector forces, working on behalf of the Kiev government put in power by the US-EU, set fire to it. Some 46 died in the flames or from jumping out of the burning building. Unrest erupted on Friday, May 2, with a mass fight started by football fans from Kharkiv, Right Sector radicals and members of the so-called “Maidan self-defense” force from Kiev, who had decided to march along the streets of Odessa, thus provoking clashes with the supporters of Ukraine’s federalisation. Obama and the EU leaders blame Russia and Putin for this. The... more »

"I am The Walrus"

Spike EP at News Spike - 1 day ago

*V.I Lenin, Vladymir Illyich Ulianov*

The Growing Religious Self-Righteousness of Science

Harry Dale Huffman at The Earth and Man: Setting the Stage - 1 day ago

Steven Goddard has a post, "My 35th Year as a Global Warming True Believer". My response is the following: *"Global warming" hype is just the latest step in a creeping degeneracy of science--particularly in the earth and life sciences--that has been going on since long before I was born. As a physicist, I am astounded by the poor quality of introductory university physics texts being written today, and can only hope undergraduates are encouraged to study earlier, classic texts, from the first half of the 20th century. In fact, I consider it imperative not to embrace any current theo... more »

God Answers Democratic Prayers In Miami-Dade-- David Rivera Is Back!

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago

NRCC and Marco Rubio are not embracing their old pal Rivera this time around Florida New Dem Joe Garcia has turned out to be a pretty big disappointment. A guy who certainly knows better, he quickly adopted the DCCC strategy of amassing a Republican-lite voting record in Congress. According to ProgressivePunch his abysmal 42.76 crucial vote score is, by far, the worst of any Florida Democrat (including Patrick Murphy), and one of the dozen worst among *all* House Democrats. Garcia votes against progressives even more frequently than reactionary Blue Dogs Jim Costa (CA), Dan Lipinksi ... more »

Untitled

jonjayray at EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL - 1 day ago

*Obama Requests Plan to Teach the Teachers: Wants to Regulate Teacher Prep* Having a "great teacher" in every classroom is critical for the nation's success, the White House said on Friday, as it announced that President Obama has directed the Education Department to come up with a plan to strengthen America's teacher preparation programs. Among other things, the Obama administration will use taxpayer money to pressure states to improve their teacher-prep programs, including those taught at colleges and universities. For example, the administration will hand out TEACH grants only t... more »

Freddie

Spike EP at News Spike - 1 day ago

Here's a thought - if HIV is both man-made (which it is), and neither the sole, main or only cause of AIDS (and it isn't); If you intend to use it from 1985 onwards to depopulate Subsaharan Africa for the purposes of recolonisation; If you organise the world's largest series if concerts as a front for arming Ethiopian anti-Marxist Guerillas and prolonging a civil war under the cover of a man-made famine of biblical proportions; Having a charismatic fellow like this on stage is PROBABLY a mistake that needs be rectified - on Khosshoggi's Ship.... *Legendary Saudi Arms Deale... more »

Horwath Pulls Plug on Wynne's Liberals

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 1 day ago

I have long had mixed emotions about the Ontario political scene. I have long been nauseated with the Ontario Liberal government. McGuinty's contempt for the legislature (learned at the feet of his master, stephen harper) and his ministers' and staff's (technologically incompetent) attempts to erase the records of their criminal waste of over $1 billion makes them unfit to govern. The present premier, Kathleen Wynne, says she had nothing whatsoever to do with that gas-plant fiasco and I believe her. But nonetheless, this whole "look forward, not backwards" mentality for official cri... more »

Mr. Harper And The Judge

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 1 day ago

You can add Beverley McLachlin's name to Stephen Harper's Enemies List. In case your memory needs refreshing, Errol Mendes reviews some of the prominent names on that list: The growing range of individuals that have had to endure such smears have included: academics (myself included); environmental groups labelled as extremists and radicals funded by foreign entities; public servants just doing their job, such as Linda Keen, the former head of the nuclear safety watchdog, Peter Tinsley, the head of the Military Police Complaints Commission and Richard Colvin, the foreign service ... more »

War Watch May 3 , 2014 ..... Libya and Syria in focus -- LIBYA -- Deadly attack in Libya's Benghazi Nine people killed and 24 wounded after gunmen attack security headquarters in eastern city . Gunmen have attacked a security forces headquarters in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi ...... Syria updates - May 3 , 2014 -- Syrian rebels set to withdraw from Homs Hundreds of besieged fighters due to leave under terms of ceasefire which would hand regime forces control of city......... Rebel Offensive Threatens Syria’s Remaining Chemical Stockpile Deadline Missed Because Last Chemicals in a 'Contested Area' .......

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago

Syrian rebels set to withdraw from Homs Hundreds of besieged fighters due to leave under terms of ceasefire which would hand regime forces control of city. Last updated: 03 May 2014 09:08 [image: Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker] [image: Email Article] [image: Print Article] [image: Share article] [image: Send Feedback] The first Syrian rebels are due to withdraw from areas oh Homs after agreeing a ceasefire deal with government forces who had surrounded them. According to activists inside Syria's third largest city, the first of about 1,000 fighters would withdraw from the O... more »