1023pm MDST
Gender Identity and the Brain - a Round-Table
http://www.hulu.com/watch/807430 Six months ago Charlie Rose and his colleague, Nobel Prize-winning brain scientist, Eric Kandel, began planning their latest instalment of the Charlie Rose Brain Series dealing with gender identity and the brain. In the time since, we met the most famous transgender person in the world — Caitlyn Jenner. In a fascinating hour-long episode, Charlie moderates a brilliant discussion on the topic, joined by: Ben Barres, chair of neurobiology at Stanford University, Norman Spack of Boston Children’s Hospital, Catherine Dulac of Harvard University, Meliss... more »
Is An Iranian Nuclear Deal All About One Man's Legacy?
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attends U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) at the State Department in Washington June 23, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas *Reuters:* *For Kerry, Iran deal would be a legacy hit after many misses* *If U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pulls off a nuclear deal with Iran, it will be a singular achievement in a long career in which the grand prize has eluded him.* *His 2004 presidential election loss, lack of legislative monuments despite 28 years in the Senate, and failure, like many before, to bring peace to Israelis and Palestinians hav... more »
Your President Takes a Day Off After the Gay Bacchanal in the White House...
*arrrrrgh.* Obama Schedule || Thursday, June 25, 2015 Posted on June 24, 2015, 10:25 pm by Keith Koffler • 2 Comments *10:00 am ||* Receives the Presidential Daily Briefing All times Eastern Live stream of White House briefing at 12:30 pm He earns 400K for his job that he rarely does. Make him go away... Please.
Deterrence in Cyberspace and the OPM Hack
I have yet to weigh in on the recent hack on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Mostly this is due to two reasons. First is the obvious one for an academic: it is summer! But the second, well, that is due to the fact that as most cyber events go, this one continues to […]
Ukraine Crisis -- News Updates June 25, 2015
Former prime minister of the self-proclamed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) Alexander Borodai speaks during an interview with Reuters in Moscow, Russia, June 22, 2015. Reuters/Maxim Shemetov *Reuters:* *Russian former leader of Ukraine rebels warns of 'big war'* *A ceasefire is likely to collapse in east Ukraine and Russia could be drawn into a "big war" to cleanse the "sore on its borders", the former leader of the region's pro-Russian separatists said.* *Violence has eased but not halted in east Ukraine under what are known as the Minsk 2 agreements, reached in the Belarussian ... more »
Top Recipients of Big Pharma Cash in California
*Image - *Big pharma donated more than $500,000 to outside campaign spending groups that helped elect some current members of the California Legislature. The post Top Recipients of Big Pharma Cash in California appeared first on Waking Times.
A Look At NATO Defense Spending
*Defense One*: *NATO Members’ Defense Spending, in Two Charts* *The alliance’s easternmost members are ratcheting up their budgets as Russian threats loom.* *Five NATO members are expected to meet the alliance’s 2 percent target for defense spending in 2015, according to data released on Monday. * *Poland joins Britain, Estonia, Greece, and the United States as the only members of the 28-country alliance to meet the threshold.* *NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg commended the change, but warned that total alliance spending will decline by roughly 1.5 percent this year.* ... more »
Did You Ever Have Any Doubt That Nixon Was A Traitor To America?
He was-- but "traitor" is a more appropriate description Writing for *Common Dreams*, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman assert what many people long suspected. The first paragraph of their piece has only 5 words: "Richard Nixon was a traitor." Right-wing clown George Will was the source of their information, which also points to Kissinger's complicity. Nixon's newly revealed records show for certain that in 1968, as a presidential candidate, he ordered Anna Chennault, his liaison to the South Vietnam government, to persuade them to refuse a cease-fire being brokered by President Lyn... more »
Does the Superior Court of Justice have inherent jurisdiction to order a party to undergo an assessment by someone who is not a “health practitioner”, as defined in s. 105 of the Courts of Justice Act?
Yes. Ziebenhaus v. Bahlieda, 2015 ONCA 471: [9] The Divisional Court concluded that s. 105 does not "occupy the field". It noted that the health sciences and patient care have evolved to include a wide range of assessments by experts who are not "health practitioners". Such assessments cannot all be characterized as diagnostic aids to the opinion of a "health practitioner". Precluding their use in the litigation context would be contrary to good public policy. In the light of these circumstances, the court said, at para. 45: The only conclusion that can be drawn from ... more »
What to watch on the box now that winter’s really here
[image: image] I know you’ve all recently been playing games with thrones, going mad about men, confusing houses for cards, and breaking not so well – and you’ve all seemed pretty excited. For me, not so much. None of that lot grabbed. Fact is, outside the sport (of course), few TV shows have grabbed me since, oh, about 1967.1 Until now. Care to hear about a drama series that’s dramatic, where the conflicts are in the plots not the car chases, where it’s the villains who do the killing while the heroes pursue their values? What if I told you it has scenes as dramatic as Victor H... more »
Russia Warns Baltic States That Deployment Of NATO's Anti-Missile Shield Will Make Them 'Targets'
Polish and US soldiers look at a Patriot missile defence battery during join exercises at the military grouds in Sochaczew, near Warsaw, March 21, 2015.Franciszek Mazur/Agencja Gazeta/Reuters *IBTimes*: *Russia Warns Baltic States NATO's Anti-Missile Shield Will Make Them 'Targets' * *The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia could make themselves “targets” if they host elements of NATO’s planned anti-missile shield, a top Russian official warned Tuesday. The threat came hours after the United States announced plans to station heavy weaponry in Eastern European nations n... more »
ECFA success #25904: Exports, Industrial Production Slump
[image: Rift_Jun_2015_330] *Wish I could have gone to Tainan...* FocusTaiwan has the news: Taiwan's industrial production index fell 3.18 percent to 106.71 in May from the previous year, ending 15 consecutive months of growth, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. ........... In a breakdown of the production in the different sectors, the data showed that manufacturing dropped 2.57 percent year-on-year in May, *mining and quarrying increased 4.71 percent,* electricity and gas supply dropped 19.32 percent, water supply fell 4.21 percent, *and build... more »
EVENT: So why are we still allowed to vote?
If you’re in Wellington or Auckland next week, this could be interesting: In Wellington, you’re at Level 12 of the Bayleys Building, 36 Brandon St. In Auckland, you’re at the Uni Business School on Grafton Rd. Registration is essential. But don’t let me tell you what to do. Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
SlimVirgin
Self-portrait of SlimVirgin aka Morag Kerr MI5 Officer Assigned to Lockerbie Counterintelligence *"I was discussing with the Lockerbie relatives whether we couldn’t have some form of public inquiry which would have meant, because the security services were involved, inevitably a certain amount of suspicion – and I wondered whether I couldn’t get a High Court judge to look into the security aspects privately and report to me. * *“If I could get the relatives to agree with that, if I got that done, that would satisfy them. Because when you get into the Lockerbie business – how did... more »
NATO Commits To Working Together To Face Russia
*Reuters*: *NATO says won't be dragged into arms race with Russia* *The head of NATO said on Wednesday the alliance would not be forced into a new arms race with Russia but said what he called Moscow's aggression in Ukraine had compelled it to strengthen its defenses.* *The United States announced plans this week to station tanks and heavy weapons in NATO member states on Russia's border, shortly after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would add 40 missiles to its nuclear arsenal.* *"We will not be dragged into an arms race, but we must keep our countries safe," NATO Secretary-...more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 24, 2015
*Julian Borger, The Guardian:* *Did the Supreme Leader just torpedo the nuclear talks?* *An adamant speech by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seemed to contradict elements of a deal provisionally agreed in Lausanne in April* *Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, made a speech last night to mark Ramadan, and to make a stand a few days before the June 30 deadline for completing a final, comprehensive deal with world powers on his country’s nuclear programme.* *As is his wont, Khamenei framed the issue in terms of Iranian defiance in the face of an American-led campaign to destroy the countr... more »
KMTitanic 13: Hung over an Abyss
[image: Rift_Jun_2015_278] *Taking a morning walk.* *LOVETT: It still gets me every time... to see the sad ruin of the great ship sitting here, where she landed at 2:30 in the morning, April 15, 1912, after her long fall from the world above.BODINE: You are so full of shit, boss.* I do not want to make this blog about Hung Hsiu-chu, but the Discovery of Hung is not only endlessly fascinating, but critically important for the KMT. So for the nonce there's going to be a lot of posts about her. Apologies. Probably the most important bit of news yesterday was the KMT's insistence tha... more »
San Carlos Apache Statement on Repeal of Oak Flat Land Exchange 24
Terry Rambler, Tribal Chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, thanked the support of tribal members, visitors, tribal leaders and Indigenous Peoples during the recent spiritual gathering held at Chi'Chil'Bilda'Goteel (Oak Flat) in Arizona.
Greenpeace: so outraged they’re climbing the walls.
Greenpeace abseilers surfed parliament walls this morning to deliver this message to your tweetphone: [image: image] Which means, I guess, whatever they want it to mean. They think that climbing walls changes climate? That they want government action to stop private action? That waving banners made of fossil fuels is a way to argue against fossil fuels? Anyway, whatevers. (With postmodern protesting it’s all about the outrage, never the point.) So they then dropped a big picture of John Key and installed eight solar panels – just enough to charge their phones and make a point.... more »
World News Briefs -- June 24, 2015 (Evening Edition)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds a pair of crutches as he arrives with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi at the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) at the State Department in Washington June 23, 2015. Reuters/Yuri Gripas *Reuters:* *Kerry heads to Vienna on Friday for Iran nuclear talks: U.S.* *U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will fly to Vienna on Friday to take part in Iran nuclear talks ahead of a self-imposed June 30 deadline, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.The talks between Iran and six major powers aim to reach an agreement und... more »
the mind of god
"If we find an answer to that (why we and the universe exists), it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason for then we would know the mind of God." Stephen Hawking
Musical Interlude: Vangelis, “Essential” (full album)
Vangelis, “Essential” (full album) Composed, Arranged, Produced and Performed by Vangelis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt3zSXmvpWo 01 Nebulae 8:33 02 Arrival 3:11 03 Launch Approval 1:53 04 Up And Running 3:09 05 BR Downtown 2:27 06 Dimitris Bar 3:51 07 At Mr Chews 4:47 08 Vadavarot 4:14 09 Longing 1:27 10 Unveiled Twinkling Space 2:01 11 No Expactation Boulevard 6:44 12 One Alone 2:18 13 Fading Away 3:07 14 Keep Asking 1:26
"A Look to the Heavens"
"A bright spiral galaxy of the northern sky, Messier 63 is about 25 million light-years distant in the loyal constellation Canes Venatici. Also cataloged as NGC 5055, the majestic island universe is nearly 100,000 light-years across, about the size of our own Milky Way. Known by the popular moniker, The Sunflower Galaxy, M63 sports a bright yellowish core and sweeping blue spiral arms, streaked with cosmic dust lanes and dotted with pink star forming regions. * Click image for larger size.* This deep exposure also reveals an enormous but dim arc extending far into the halo above the... more »
"What Is Life?"
"What is life? An illusion, a dream, a fiction, and the biggest well is small, because all life is a dream, and the dreams, themselves are only dreams.' - Calderon de la Barca
"A Part of Your Life..."
"Every time you wake up ask yourself what good things am I going to do today? Remember that when the sun goes down at sunset it will take a part of your life with it." - Native American Saying
Chet Raymo, "Know Thyself"
*"Know Thyself"* by Chet Raymo "The ancient Greek aphorism, attributed to Socrates and others. Good advice, I'm sure. If only we knew what it means. Is it the same as the "examination of conscience" we were asked to perform as young Catholics? "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." Well, yes, it is good to ask ourselves if we have lived up to our highest moral aspirations. But surely "Know thyself" means more than that. Does it mean to be aware of our self-awareness? That is to say, not to act impulsively, but reflectively. Thoreau's "I went to the woods because I wished to live ... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
"No Rainbow..."
"The soul would have no rainbow if the eye had no tears." - John Vance Cheney
June 24: It's been a hectic day....
.....of computer crisis as I spent hours trying to make my computer work. So this is a late one. I've been using computers for over thirty years. But one learns something new every day. Today, I learned that if you want it to work, you have a push a button to turn it on. First, I strongly advise all to read a book by Gwynne Dyer, "With Every Mistake" (Random House Canada). It's a collection of his newspaper columns with frank analysis of each to show where he was proved to be wrong. Best of all, is his introduction which is a crushing analysis of how almost all our news media becam... more »
"No Rainbow..."
"The soul would have no rainbow if the eye had no tears." - John Vance Cheney
"The Karamazov Question"
"Tell me yourself, I challenge you— answer. Imagine that you are creating a fabric of human destiny with the object of making men happy in the end, giving them peace and rest at last, but that it was essential and inevitable to torture to death only one tiny creature... and to found that edifice on its unavenged tears: would you consent to be the architect on those conditions? Tell me, and tell the truth.” - Dostoevsky, "The Brothers Karamazov"
"Reason Enough..."
"Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes to simply be a human. Maybe, we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe, we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate." - "Grey's Anatomy"
UK & Ireland Heatwave To Arrive On Cue? + Little Ice Age
*Britain faces FREEZING winters as slump in solar activity threatens 'Little Ice Age'* A recent Met Office-led study is now warning that Britain faces years of unusually cold winters due to low solar activity. *http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/586404/Britain-freezing-winters-slump-solar-activity* *http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-weather-britain-facing-mini-5933890* James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said: "Solar activity levels, or solar flux, are currently estimated to be at their lowest for the last 100 years. "We will head into another rapid decline throughout t... more »
Quote of the Day: On the Sydney Opera House
[image: image] *“The sun did not know how beautiful its light was until it was reflected off this building.” *- architect Louis Kahn. [Pic by Paul Reiffer] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
With your President, your Senator, and your Representative getting ready to give away your economic future with no ability to defend yourself, who needs a foreign enemy. Listen what Wall Streeter Gregg Hunter and state-operated-bank advocate Ellen Brown have to say about the impending TPP/TTIP/TiSA givaway to the criminal big banks and greedy corporations with no recourse.
------------------------------ USAWatchDog: Obama Secret Trade Deal Serves Corporations and Banks Posted on June 24, 2015 by Ellen Brown https://youtu.be/diRUQBckMn8 Original Here: http://ellenbrown.com/2015/06/24/usawatchdog-obama-secret-trade-deal-serves-corporations-and-banks/ Cherchez la Verite
Auckland Council’s “Long Term Plan” must be stopped
*Guest post by Stephen Berry of **Affordable Auckland* All Auckland councillors vote today on the council’s “Long Term Plan.” All Auckland councillors should vote against it. The proposed rates increase in the plan is intolerable and will hurt every Aucklander, whether property owner or renter. Rates must be kept at the level of inflation and no more. To do this, the Council must make changes. Spending $100,000 on ping pong tables is just one of the many stupid decisions being made by our elected representatives this year. This stupidity is the reason Aucklanders face higher rat... more »
Untitled
*Entergy working with local government, residents during hurricane season ~WDSU*
The Stonewall Inn becomes NYC's first landmark designated solely on LGBT-historic significance
*NYC has its first landmark "based solely upon LGBT history."* *by Ken* It seems only appropriate to get the news from the Greenwich Village Socity for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), undoubtedly the city's most energetic preservation organization, and a major player in a noteworthy development it reported yesterday: History was made and preserved today, as the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to approve landmark designation of the Stonewall Inn at 51-53 Christopher Street, the first such site the Commission has landmarked based solely upon LGBT history. GVSHP fi... more »
"Just For Today"
*"Just For Today"* - Author Unknown "Just for today I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle all my problems at once. I can do something for twelve hours that would appall me if I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime. Just for today I will be happy. This assumes to be true what Abraham Lincoln said, that "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be." Just for today I will adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires, I will take my "luck" as it comes, and fit myself to it. Just for today I will try to strengthe... more »
Down and Out
Since last Monday, I haven't had internet access at my house. Anything I've done online in the last three days has been at the local cafe. If you want a good idea of what I've been through with my ISP, Netzero, just read this list of complaints at Consumeraffairs.com. I could've written half of them. I have received no conflict resolution, nothing remotely resembling customer service or satisfaction and to top things off, early today the cocksuckers accelerated the billing date by a day and stole another $28 from my checking account for service I'm no longer receiving. I've... more »
A Note on Policing and Child Sex Exploitation
The abuse of children is in the news again as a further 300 suspects have reportedly been identified by the authorities. As we know, while young girls were trafficked and gang raped with seeming impunity, this was occasioned by widespread institutional failure, as well as the suggestion of some backscratching cover ups. However, the official report into Rotherham didn't expend as much time as it might on something else that didn't acquit itself at all well: the police. Now, I'm the first to admit that I have no special insights regarding the policing culture or operational challeng... more »
It was ten years ago this week she lost her home …
Actually, Susette Kelo’s homee was never really *lost*. Not as such. In actual fact it was *taken* from her. Taken from her by government and given to private developers. So were her neighbours’ homes. NZ’s Productivity Commission would like to see our government have power to take your home. They’d like the power for our government to take private property and give it to Len Brown. Susette Kelo tells her story. Take careful note. If the so-called Productivity Commission have their way, it might become yours. *No U.S. Supreme Court decision in the modern era has been so quickly ... more »
The U.S. Air Force Is Practicing Bombing Runs On Iran's Buried Nuclear Targets
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit over the Pacific Ocean in May 2006. Wikipedia *Michael Crowley, Politico: **Plan B For Iran* *If the nuclear negotiations go bad, the U.S. has a backup: Obama can drop the MOP, the world’s largest non-nuclear bomb.* *President Barack Obama’s nuclear diplomacy with Iran may yet fail. On Tuesday, exactly one week before a June 30 deadline for an agreement, Iran’s Supreme Leader delivered his latest in a series of defiant statements, setting conditions for a deal—including immediate relief from sanctions, before Iran has taken steps to limit its nuclear... more »
Quote of the Day: On the Sydney Opera House
*“The sun did not know how beautiful its light was until it was reflected off this building.” *- architect Louis Kahn. Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Quote of the Day: On the Sydney Opera House
*“The sun did not know how beautiful its light was until it was reflected off this building.” *- architect Louis Kahn. Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Logic Test: Russian Nukes Bad, U.S. Nukes Good?
Double standards from the German Foreign Ministry on issue of nuclear weapons in Europe. The German government press secretary says that Russian nukes are bad, but new updated American nuclear weapons in Germany will be OK. Someone might want to let the German government know there is still indeed one major military bloc inside Europe today and it is called NATO which has expanded up to the Russian border! The spokesman just really wanted the inquiring media to go away...... more »
Iran Nuclear Talks News Updates -- June 24, 2015
*Washington Post*: *Iran sets strict conditions for nuclear deal* *Just days before Secretary of State John F. Kerry heads to Vienna to join nuclear talks with Iran, the country’s supreme leader is staking out what he considers the “major red lines,” any one of which could sink a deal.* *In a speech Tuesday night, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei laid out several demands, including the lifting of economic sanctions as soon as a deal is reached and before Iran dismantles some of its nuclear infrastructure. He also ruled out a freeze on nuclear research and development, inspections of militar... more »
A True Travesty Of Justice: Innocent Man, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Sentenced To Death For The Fraud Boston Bombing!
Again, while so much focus has been this last while on the very fraudulent Charleston South Carolina "shooting", there has been a lot of important news happening elsewhere around the world, and especially in the economically collapsing United States of America itself.... One very important news article came to my attention today that I found to be absolutely appalling and a true travesty of justice... For according to the following news article from that Jew spew media outlet, CNN, it appears that the so called Boston Bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is ABSOLUTELY an innocent... more »
Supplemental: Chris Hayes asks a basic question!
*WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015In search of the best route to progress:* Chris Hayes asked a very basic question last night. He spoke with Judith Brown Dianis, a specialist in civil rights law. He asked her an important question—a question about the best way to seek further advances in the area of race. The question was very basic. Under the circumstances, we also thought it was perhaps a bit revealing and perhaps a tiny bit strange: HAYES (6/23/15): *We think of unity as a good thing and division as a bad thing.* But there’s also the fact that part of the job of activists, and part of... more »
Gardasil Firestorm in Denmark
*Norma Erickson - *In Denmark, the HPV vaccine Gardasil is being linked to serious medical issues that affect approximately 5,000 women who were vaccinated with it. The post Gardasil Firestorm in Denmark appeared first on Waking Times.
Scientists Pursuing Clinical Trail into How Cannabinoids Can Treat Brain Cancer
*Video - *A team of scientists in Spain plan to show cannabinoids to be effective for the treatment of certain types of cancer. Their clinical trials are scheduled to start in September 2015. The post Scientists Pursuing Clinical Trail into How Cannabinoids Can Treat Brain Cancer appeared first on Waking Times.
China To Include The North Pole In Its Pending National Security Law
China's President Xi Jinping sits during the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 3, 2015. Reuters/Jason Lee *Reuters*:* China to widen draft security law to cover space, sea, polar interests* *China will add its assets and activities in space, the deep sea and polar regions to its pending national security law, state media said on Wednesday, the latest changes to the sweeping and controversial draft legislation.* *President Xi Jinping, who heads a newly established national security co... more »
Newly Unveiled British Intelligence Documents Detail How The U.S. Works With Britain In Targeting Terrorists For Drone Strikes
A United States Air Force drone. Strikes by the unmanned aircraft have come under fresh scrutiny after President Obama disclosed in April that an attack had killed two Western aid workers held hostage by Al Qaeda in Pakistan. Credit Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt/U.S. Air Force, via Reuters *New York Times*: *Documents on 2012 Drone Strike Detail How Terrorists Are Targeted* *WASHINGTON — Early in 2012, worried that suicide bombers might pass through airline security undetected, American counterterrorism officials ordered a drone strike in Yemen to kill a doctor they believed was working ... more »
Human Rights Watch: Colombian Army Killed Civilians to Boost Body Count In The War Against FARC
Relatives carry children’s coffins at a mass funeral in Barranquilla on 11 September 2010 after authorities turned over the corpses of six victims of the army’s ‘false positives’ scandal. Photograph: Reuters *New York Times*: *Colombia Military Accused of Deception on Civilian Deaths* *Many generals and other high-ranking officers in Colombia’s armed forces may have known about a pattern of soldiers killing civilians and passing off the deaths as guerrilla casualties in the campaign against rebel insurgencies, according to a report to be released on Wednesday.* *The report, by Hu... more »
How Pearson will solve its grader problem
Sent to the NY Times, June 24, 2015. Pearson, a company responsible for much of common core testing, employs graders at low wages who are unqualified to evaluate the exams ("Grading the Common Core: No Teaching Experience Required," June 23). I predict that Pearson and other testing companies will confess the error of their ways and invest millions in hiring better qualified graders, training them more thoroughly, and paying them more. They will also cheerfully increase the cost of the tests, adding more to the already staggering amount taxpayers pay to support the common core te... more »
Greece: complete surrender or full collapse
For two or three days, the world was fed by the news that a Greek proposal has impressed the creditors and the deal was around the corner. We heard those things once again. Today in the morning, we learned that a part of the creditors rejects the proposal. Which part? It's no secret that the International Monetary Fund finds the proposal unacceptable. Tsipras and his comrades only want to increase the taxation – by adding and increasing various taxes attacking the rich and the corporations – but the IMF knows that this is no recipe for growth. If Greece has any chance to become a g... more »
Ending an era, CME Group to shutter most futures pits
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) group's Chairman Emeritus Leo Melamed speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo in this June 30, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/Files http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/05/us-cme-group-closure-idUSKBN0L82QJ20150205 Business News | Wed Feb 4, 2015 10:46pm EST *Ending an era, CME Group to shutter most futures pits* By Tom Polansek The world's largest futures market operator will shutter almost all of its open-outcry futures pits by July 2, ringing the closing bell on a once-raucous tradition that has been in decline since the rise of ... more »
President Obama: 'Families Negotiating Ransom For U.S. Hostages Won't Be Prosecuted'
*Voice of America:* *Obama Announces Changes to US Hostage Policy * *President Barack Obama has ordered an extensive reform of U.S. policies about dealing with hostage-takers, and he pledged the government will use "all instruments of national power" to recover Americans being held prisoner abroad by terrorists.* *The government will no longer threaten to prosecute families who try to negotiate with kidnappers, or pay ransom to win their relatives' release, Obama said Wednesday at the White House.* *WNU Editor:* After opening the door with the negotiated release of Sgt. Bergdahl ...more »
Senate Defeats Fast Track Filibuster; Final Passage Almost Certain
*"Yes We Can pass a corporate-written 'trade' agreement. My congressional brothers and sisters, with your help ... yes we can."* *by Gaius Publius* By a narrow vote (but not as narrow as it looked), the Senate passed a standalone Fast Track bill 60–37. As explained by the floor leaders, three senators had trouble getting to the floor, but their votes were known and announced, so there were no undecideds. Five Republicans voted to uphold the filibuster for reasons that can be examined later: - Susan Collins (R-ME) - Ted Cruz (R-TX) - Rand Paul (R-KY) - Jeff Sessions (R... more »
New Islamic State Video Depicts How They Execute Spies (Drownings, Necklace Bombs, Blown Up By An RPG)
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com *Daily Mail:* *Sickening new ISIS video shows caged prisoners lowered into a swimming pool and drowned, shot with an RPG and blown up with explosive-filled 'necklaces'* ** Sickening seven-minute video shows the deaths of several ISIS prisoners * Five men are filmed being drowned in a pool in the ISIS stronghold Mosul * Underwater cameras capture them thrashing before falling unconscious * Another group are shot with a grenade launcher while locked in an old car* Final sequence shows seven prisoners being chained together with e... more »
Nobody for President in 2016: Taking the Auction Out of Election
*Gary ‘Z’ McGee* - “Nobody for President in 2016” is a wakeup call of the first order. The post Nobody for President in 2016: Taking the Auction Out of Election appeared first on Waking Times.
Fighting ISIS Terrorism? Saving Syria? US Airstrikes Advance Kurdish State Creation
*Let's look at some interesting facts, shall we?* *US-led airstrikes over Syria have helped the Kurds advance to connect their cantons/regions* *Keep in mind the vast numbers of dislocated Syrians the western governments and media cry crocodile tears over * Kurds flash the victory sign in Sanliurfa, Turkey on 12 November 2014 "Ain Issa has come under our full control, along with dozens of villages in the surrounding area," YPG spokesman Redur Khalil told AFP. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said IS had withdrawn from the town and YPG and rebel force... more »
Islamic State Starts To Mint Its Own Currency
Pictures posted on social media showed a series of gold sovereigns bearing Isil inscriptions *The Telegraph*: *Islamic State mints its own 'Islamic Dinar' coins* *Group claims one gold coin is worth $139 (£89) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has begun minting its own “Islamic dinar” coins, Syrian activists claimed on Tuesday night.Pictures posted on social media showed a series of gold sovereigns bearing Isil inscriptions, and with a reported value of one gold dinar being with $139 (£89).An anti-Isil activist by the name of Abu Ibrahim Raqqawi, who lives in the Is... more »
The Wood Spike Treasure Dream...
By American Kabuki Yesterday I was looking at my bank account and noticed a bounce charge. It was caused by a software vendor doing an annual subscription renewal against my PayPal account. I had no idea there was an annual subscription for that utility software I purchased a year ago to fix Brian Kelly's laptop. The transaction came at the very worst time of the month against my PayPal account. By default the money came out of my regular bank account one day before my blog ad revenue came in. Not good timing at all. May was not a fantastic month as it was, but I really didn... more »
“The Valley of Despair: Seeds of Light”
*“The Valley of Despair: Seeds of Light”* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM “Even in our darkest times, there are seeds of light within ourselves, we need only call them forward. Anyone who has walked through the valley of despair and come out the other side knows that even in that darkness, seeds of light can be found. Often their tendrils reach out of the gloom and into the daylight alongside the journeyer who emerges from that deep sorrow. When we find ourselves in a place of despair, it can help us to know this, so that we don’t give up. We can stop, take a deep breath, and remind... more »
"How It Really Is"
Of course one must have one's priorities...
World News Briefs -- June 24, 2015
*The Guardian:* *Greek bailout deal hangs by thread as Tsipras rails at creditors * *Two sides remain deadlocked over compromise that would allow Athens to unlock €8bn in financial aid* *A deal to stop Greece from going bankrupt is hanging by a thread, after the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, hit out at his country’s creditors.* *Tsipras is in Brussels for emergency talks with Greece’s creditors, but the two sides remain far apart over a compromise plan tabled by Athens that would allow Greece to unlock desperately needed financial aid.* *MIDDLE EAST* Iraqi Shi'ite spe... more »
More signs of insanity...
*seriously.* Reading the news is dangerous to your mental health. Politicians are still wrangling over the Confederate flag. American Thinker: * Keep the Confederate Flag Flying* People who consider themselves adults think running in "mud races" is fun. What the hell happened to chess and reading a good book? Or how about sitting around in pretty clothes having adult conversations with other adults while enjoying an adult beverage. The Blaze: *Texas Woman’s Horror Story of How Participating in a Mud Run Damaged Her Eyesight* You'll be happy to know that The Stonewall Inn, a ga... more »
“US Criminal Economics: TPP Secret Treaty"
*“US Criminal Economics: TPP Secret Treaty = ‘Constitutional Republic,’ Debt = ‘Money’, * *500 Million+ Dead From Poverty = ‘Necessary.’ Had Enough To Demand Arrests?”* by Carl Herman “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” - William Shakespeare “Psychopaths are unable to form emotional attachments or feel real empathy with others, although they often have disarming or even charming personalities. Psychopaths are very manipulative and can easily gain people’s trust. They learn to mimic emotions, despite their inability to actually feel them, and will appear normal to unsuspect... more »
"Collapse, Part 2: The Nine Dynamics of Decay"
*"Collapse, Part 2: The Nine Dynamics of Decay"* by Charles Hugh Smith "While collapse may be sudden, the decay that generated the collapse had been rotting away the foundation for years or decades. In distilling the vast literature on collapse into nine dynamics, I am drawing upon many other authors’ work, including: • The Collapse of Complex Societies • The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History • The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century • The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Cap... more »
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- June 24, 2015
*The Local.fr:* *US embassy in Paris is 'home to secret spy nest'* *Reports in France suggest the US spied on French presidents from a secret spy nest on the roof of its embassy in Paris, which stands just a stone's throw from the Elysée palace.* *As revelations emerged on Wednesday that the US spied on not one, but three French presidents, focus was being turned to the roof of the US embassy in Paris.* *The embassy is located just a stone's throw away from the Elysée palace where the three presidents Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande all resided over the last... more »
Mulling Alternative to the Euro in Greece- Geuro?
More on Greece: *The Geuro?* *Still looks to be a private central banker currency issued as debt*. *However there are some non central bank, non debt based currencies mentioned and the author plays down their worth, their ability to work and the economic contribution they make- I will highlight that section.* Towards the end of June, Greece is due to pay back a hefty sum to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Right now, the cash-strapped nation would not be in a position financially to do so. At the same time, the lender is holding back a bailout tranche of 7.2 billion euros ($8... more »
Vitamin B17: The Greatest Cover-Up In The History Of Cancer
*Daud Scott* - A control for cancer is known, and it comes from nature, but it is not widely available to the public because it cannot be patented. The post Vitamin B17: The Greatest Cover-Up In The History Of Cancer appeared first on Waking Times.
North American Pacific Coast Eco Collapse and Missing Fukushima Fuel
Enenews is reporting that major media continue to ponder the location of Fukushima Daiichi’s missing fuel: http://enenews.com/ap-biggest-question-fukushimas-melted-fuel-asahi-fuel-mainichi-one-fuel-experts-nuclear-cores-hit-groundwater-could-melted-ground-world-never-case-like-fukushima-fuel-melted-fell-video Yamaguchi, Mari (2015, June 17). What's Ahead for Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/ahead-japans-fukushima-nuclear-plant-31713581 The biggest questions are where the melted fuel is and in what condition. Radiation levels are too high... more »
Follow our live-streamed symposium: Reconsidering Humanity: Big Data, the Scientific Method, and the Images of Humans
One of the things I do since a number of years is to partake in the multi-disciplinary and cross-sectorial *Technology, Institutions and Change* working group of the major independent Swedish humanities and social science research funder Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, RJ. This groups is involved in a number of initiatives, among these book projects, research network funding, support of research education and conference-organisation. Within this context, members expose one another to aspects of the group theme, and initiate educational forays by site-visits to relevant research environ... more »
Heavy Emissions this Morning
Here are screenshots from yesterday: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k0mcyt7z4gypb85/June%2024%202015.pdf?dl=0 Unit 3 and the common spent fuel pool appear to be the primary source of emissions today (no rain visible on Futaba cam):
RED AND BLUE TOGETHER: Our own dissembling never stops!
*WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015Part 2—Our latest narrative spreads:* By now, the evidence seems fairly clear. Dylann Roof, age 21, hasn’t yet achieved his goal of instigating a “race war.” In the early returns, in fact, he seems to have done the opposite. In the past few days, South Carolina has provided us with endless scenes of black and white and brown together—even with scenes of red and blue together! That said, don’t lose hope! None of this means that we the liberals can’t turn this lost soul with a murderous gun into the dynamic figure he crazily dreamed of becoming. Is/was Ro... more »
Ice cold in Gaza
It’s hard to fathom how Roger Hearing got from this to this and this When Roger Hearing went to Gaza for a BBC World Service series about business he obviously went with a load of baggage; if you know what I mean. Now I do realise that the interviews recorded for these programmes need to be edited, so I imagine a good deal of recorded material stays on the cutting room floor, and there’s probably some off the record gossip and chatter as well that goes unreported. In other words, what we end up with is not necessarily the truth, the whole truth (and / or nothing but.) So let’s ju... more »
Satire: "Number of G.O.P. Candidates Now Thirteen, Says C.D.C."
*"Number of G.O.P. Candidates Now Thirteen, Says C.D.C."* by Andy Borowitz DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA (The Borowitz Report)— "The number of official candidates for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination has risen to thirteen, according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control. The count had stood at twelve since the announcement last week by the reality-show host Donald Trump, leading many at the C.D.C. to privately hope that the epidemic was losing steam. But with the entry of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal into the race on Wednesday, the C.D.C. was forced to hold a press con...more »
Pentagon: We Did Not ‘Confirm’ Islamic State Has Material For A 'Dirty Bomb'
*Daily Caller: **Pentagon: We Did Not ‘Confirm’ ISIS Has Dirty Bomb Materials* *The Pentagon says it hasn’t confirmed Islamic State militants have captured enough radioactive material to create dirty bombs.After World Net Daily claimed the Pentagon confirmed the Islamic State obtained sufficient material from Iraqi facilities to create bombs, The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the Department of Defense for clarification.A spokeswoman denied the confirmation, speaking over the phone Monday, but came up short of confirming Islamic State doesn’t have any radioactive ... more »
The U.S. Air Force Wants Zero Civilian Casualties In The War Against The Islamic State In Iraq And Syria
A pair of U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles fly over northern Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria, in this U.S. Air Force handout photo taken early in the morning of September 23, 2014. (Reuters/U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Matthew) *The Hill:* *US aim for ‘zero civilian casualties’ draws criticism* *U.S. and coalition air forces are aiming for zero civilian casualties in airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), frustrating some lawmakers who say the military campaign is progressing too slowly. * *While officials say they can never be absolutely certain... more »
Pentagon: U.S. Soldiers Are Not Sharing An iraqi Base With Iranian-Backed Shiite Militia Units
*Bloomberg*: *Pentagon Says No Shiite Militia Unit Shares Iraq Base With U.S.* *The U.S. military isn’t sharing its new training base in Iraq’s Anbar province with Iranian-backed Shiite militia units, a Pentagon spokesman said.* *In fact, the U.S. required Shiite units to leave the Taqqadum base between Fallujah and Ramadi as a precondition for using it to expand training of Iraqi security forces and encourage the integration of Sunni tribal militia, Army Colonel Steve Warren, the spokesman, told reporters Tuesday.* *It was “fine to have a handful of liaisons there, but one of ou... more »
The Years of Disarray, U.S. Military In Iraq 2003-06, Interview With Tom Ricks
It took the United States four years to get its military strategy in Iraq right. Before that the U.S. was in a state of disarray dealing with the insurgency. First it didn’t want to acknowledge that one existed in Iraq. Many military leaders believed that the American presence was the cause of the rebellion. That led them to advocate for a U.S. withdrawal, which was supported by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. On the ground each U.S. unit basically developed its own tactics in its area of operation with little coordination with others, and then they would be replaced and the... more »
Simple Method for Cleansing and Balancing the Seven Chakras
*Infographic -* Here are the mudras (hand gestures) and mantras (sounds), as well as the method for cleansing and balancing each of the seven chakras. The post Simple Method for Cleansing and Balancing the Seven Chakras appeared first on Waking Times.
SOME GOOD NEWS OR BAD.
[image: The poets poet]Actually it's the same news but good or bad depending on whether you like what I write or post. I haven't posted or blogged for two weeks because I took a marvelous drive around Ireland and Northern Ireland. Pictures have been posted. Nor will I be posting or blogging from Monday,June 29th until I sufficiently recover from the open heart Aortic Valve replacement Surgery I must have because of a congenital defect they call a "bicuspid aortic valve". Oh well, another thing I can blame on my parents. There have been too many reports of things bad ranging from iss... more »
"White supremacists" next target in "Global War on Terror"
In the wake of the alleged Charleston shooting, which has *all the indicators of yet another Sandy Hook-style media PsyOp*, the leaders of the virulently anti-White Southern Poverty Law Center are now arguing that "White supremacists" must be targeted in the next phase of *the Jewish concocted and engineered "Global War on Terror."* In an Op-Ed recently published in *The New York Times* entitled *"White Supremacists Without Borders,"* Morris Dees and J. Richard Cohen, the founder and current president of the SPLC respectively, advance the notion that "racists" and "White supremacist... more »
The U.S. Prepares For War In Space
All US satellites (one illustrated) will be monitored from the operations centre, the first time all the nation’s spy and military satellites will be tracked from a single location. The new facility is part of a $5 billion boost in space security for the Defense Department. It’s unclear exactly how it would protect satellites from attack, though *Daily Mail*: *Will wars soon be fought in SPACE? Pentagon unveils plans for operations centre to protect satellites from attack* ** The Pentagon in Virginia will open the centre in just six months* ** It will coordinate all data from US gov... more »
Car Bombs Have Become The 'Weapon Of Choice' For The Islamic State
*David Enders, VICE News*: *Car Bombs Have Become the Islamic State's Assault 'Weapon of Choice'* *The use of car bombs in guerrilla warfare is not a new tactic, but the Islamic State (IS) has deployed an unprecedented number of them as it has fielded a more conventional force in order to capture cities in Iraq and Syria.In contrast to their use as traps or along roadsides, IS has used vehicles rigged with bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) much as the US has traditionally used air power: as a means of assaulting ground forces and opening up targets to attacks by in... more »
DCNS Transfered the FREMM Frigate Tahya Misr to the Egyptian Navy
[image: Tahya Misr]The ceremony took place in presence of General Sedki Sobhy, the Ministry of Defense of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Ministry of Defense, Admiral Osama Rabie, Commander in Chief of the Egyptian Navy, Admiral Bernard Rogel, the French Chief of Navy and Hervé Guillou, Chairman & CEO of DCNS. This important event marked the transfer of ownership of the FREMM Tahya Misr from DCNS to the Egyptian Navy. Originally named Normandie, the Frigate was intended for the French Navy (second Aquitaine class frigate for the French Navy). Read more
Will Greece's Defense Budget Be Slashed To Help To Balance The Books?
Getty Image *John Hooper, The Guardian*: *Why has Greece only now included defence cuts in its Brussels proposals?* *Athens has been in no hurry to put military spending on the table, but then neither have its creditors, including its main European arms supplier - Germany* *Among the measures Alexis Tsipras’s government has used to swell the package it tabled in Brussels on Monday is a €200m (£142m) cut in next year’s defence budget. Estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) for 2014 suggest that would equate to a reduction of around 5% in Greece’s... more »
A Prominent Psychologist Looks At The GOP Presidential Candidates-- And Hurls
The contenders Dr. Tiffany Sanders has a PhD and is a licensed psychologist and certified Chicago school psychologist. She did a brief psychological analysis of part of the Republican 2016 presidential field-- and it looks pretty piss-poor. She doesn't trust politicians to keep their word when it comes to upholding campaign promises to constituent groups once they're elected and safely in seats that rarely change. She specializes in treatment of depression, anxiety, trauma and other mental health challenges, treatment a lot of Republicans will need late next year... or treatment all... more »
Greek Debt Talks Unraveling
*The Telegraph:* *Greek crisis: deal unravels both sides reject reform measures before crunch finance ministers meeting* *Grexident looming? Tsipras hits back at creditors who reject plan ahead of third Eurogroup meeting in less than a week* *• Tsipras plan rejected by creditors this morning. Counter proposals from creditors have also been rejected by Athens this PM* *• PM summoned to Brussels to meet with IMF, ECB and EC* *• ECB agrees to pump more money into Greek banks• Embattled Alexis Tsipras faces domestic revolt over plans to implement 'harsh' austerity blitz • British to... more »
UNESCO Admits That They Cannot Keep Track Of The Destruction Of Antiquities By The Islamic State
*Emily Feldman, Vocativ:* *Even UNESCO Can’t Keep Track Of ISIS’ Destruction of Antiquities* *With limited access to war-torn parts of Iraq and Syria, experts are struggling to assess the damage * *Rumors began circulating over the weekend that ISIS had planted bombs at the ancient ruins of Palmyra, preparing to blow up the latest world heritage site to fall into the extremists’ hands.* *The chatter started on Facebook, where an anonymous user posted images of three red-capped bottles on a page dedicated to Palmyra’s “antique treasures.” The post claimed the bottles were explos... more »
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*Can genes predict foreign language learning skills?* *High IQ helps* Every frustrated language learner has, at some point, proclaimed that they just "don’t have the gift" of picking up foreign languages. It’s easy to imagine that the aptitude for learning a new tongue exists somewhere beyond our control, perhaps in our blood or brain chemistry, or in the drinking water that flows through Northern Europe and feeds the frustratingly fluent English-speaking Scandinavians from Oslo to Helsinki. Language teachers will explain to students that anyone can learn a foreign language, and t... more »
Islamic State Claims That The Destruction Of The Ancient City Of Palmyra Has Begun
*Daily Mail*: *ISIS begin the destruction of Palmyra: Islamic extremists blow up two mausoleums in the ancient Syrian city... including one belonging to a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed * ** Jihadis reportedly used explosives to destroy ancient religious tombs * ** Resting place of a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed was blown up* ** Tomb of local religious figure Nizar Abu Bahaaeddine was also destroyed* ** ISIS barbarians captured the ancient city in central Syria city on May 21 * ** Capture sparked fears the jihadis would lay waste to its Greco-Roman ruins* *Barbarians fight... more »
Economic News , Data and Views ( June 24 , 2015 ) - Broader Europe in focus ( German IFO falls from 108.5 in May to 107.4 , Spain polling data reflects tightening conditions , Russia overtake Saudis as top crude supplier to China , Renzi declares Europe must have a strategy regarding mediterranean refugee crisis ) ...... Greece Updates ( High hopes of Monday and a deal to resolve Greece situation before the end of June seemingly crumbling today - GR proposals rejected as Troika presents new counter- proposals , Tsipras perplexed by Troika rejections of Greece measures and vents at IMF , Chances for technical agreement at EWG dimming , Back and forth accusations flying already as to who is to blame for impasse )
Tweets... Broader Europe... *Markit Economics* @MarkitEconomics 2h 2 hours ago Ifo Business Climate Index for #Germany falls from 108.5 in May to 107.4 (4-month low) http://ow.ly/i/bsU0J [image: Embedded image permalink] *El País in English* @elpaisinenglish 2h 2 hours ago Vodafone reveals losses of €642m after cleaning up balance sheet of Spanish cable company Ono http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/06 /23/inenglish/1435069628_593829.html … [image: Embedded image permalink] *The Spain Report* @thespainreport 23m 23 minutes ago New Sigma Dos poll for Mediaset: PP 27%...more »
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*Doctors: We were wrong* Below is an excerpt from the latest issue of the "Journal of the American Medical Association". It is about as close as you can get to an official admission that the official diet advice given to Americans for many decades was totally wrong and probably harmful. The message from that is a hard one: Don't rely on official science about anything. You have to look at the evidence for yourself. I have been reading health and diet advice from the early days of Lelord Kordell (he recommended lots of protein) and my response has always been to eat whatever I... more »
The Truth About "Organic" And "Certification"
We have been discussing the use of words to bind and twist, and the tangling of legalities knotted into the very meanings of the words we use daily. Without realizing it, we use the very words that they ("they") have warped, not knowing that they no longer mean what we thought- what we were taught they meant. The words "Organic" and "Natural" are prime examples of words that no longer have any meaning when used to advertise products. I wrote this article for Our Gaia's Garden, to express WHY it is so important that I personally observe and verify every ingredient we will be usin... more »
Another Name For Financial Madness
http://people.opposingviews.com/ Last Saturday, 250,000 Britons marched against Austerity -- something the newly re-elected David Cameron believes is good for the UK. Which raises the question, Who is austerity good for? Duncan Cameron writes: Both social democratic and neoliberal market economists defend austerity, but the reasoning (do not spend more than you receive in taxes) behind the policy is not strong enough to explain why the doctrinaire approach was adopted. Big capitalists support austerity, but cutting public spending is ba...more »
9 Tips for Cutting Out Sugar
I love sweets. Even though I am not a chocolate person, I can name any number of sweets that I crave in any particular day — cheesecake, ice cream, yum! I love them all, but I don't eat any of them. You read that right, I don't eat them. I haven't always been off sugar and I sometimes slip off the bandwagon (ESPECIALLY when I am pregnant,) but in general I stay away from sweets and candies. I know cutting sugar out completely isn't for everyone, but I do it because of how it makes me feel. I feel better and have more energy when I am not shoving candy bars in my mouth and also b... more »
Help Save Net Neutrality In Europe - Take Action Before 29 June 2015
On Monday, June 29, three EU government institutions will be meeting to strike an agreement on the Telecoms Single Market Regulation (TSM). This piece of draft legislation, introduced in 2013, has the potential to enshrine Net Neutrality into EU law. But recent developments show that the EU could end up stripping out provisions that would guarantee the openness of the internet. *There is still time to act. Contact your representatives, and ask them not to make any more compromises and save Net Neutrality.* For almost two years, the EU institutions have been debating the TSM. The EU... more »
Sphere Alliance Message #5
On Jun 24, 2015, at 12:40 PM, Denise wrote: After my declarations, this is what I heard: *Now the fun begins. This is where you [collective you] come in.* *I feel joy.* *Yes, exuberance is the word. We have been waiting for you to hear us*. *Now, it is your turn. This will only take a “moment”. Sit quietly. Inhale. Feel the energy of our love enter you. As you exhale, visualize a stream of pink/rose energy spiraling from your heart center.* *These spirals are the code breakers. * *I can see them.* *Yes, this will not take “long” to do. Just a moment. Once these are ac... more »
Confederate flag has at least the same right to fly as Quran
In Germany and Czechia, among other countries, the sale of the Nazi symbols (and the promotion of these ideas) is regulated by the law and nearly banned. The regime has done terrible things, including the murder of 6 million Jews in a plan that was meant to be the "final solution". The ideology and the people behind the regime got to power by using the excessive tolerance of the democratic system, its toothlessness, and the ban was introduced as a common-sense preventive measure that arguably decreases the probability that a similarly bad evolution is repeated in the future. *The...more »
AEC 14, SEANET-ABAC Meeting, IDEAS-OBG Partnership
The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will materialize in just six months, at end-December 2015. Many people both within and outside the region are excited about this common market project, composed of some 630 million people. Free movement of people and commodities, free mobility of goods and services within the 10 member-countries. That is economic freedom. But not full mobility yet, there are still pockets of protectionism especially in services, in almost all member countries. But the trend is towards gradual phase out of those non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in goods and protectionis... more »
CMS cooling magnet glitch not serious, detector will run
Two weeks ago, Adam Falkowski propagated the following Twitter rumor: LHC rumor: serious problems with the CMS magnet. Possibly, little to none useful data from CMS this year. Fortunately, this proposition seems to be heavily exaggerated fearmongering at this point. On June 14th, CMS published this news: CMS is preparing for high-luminosity run at 13 TeV Jester's rumor was based on a true fact but all of its "important" claims were wrong. The CMS detector has had a problem with the magnet cooling system. After some time, a problem was found in the machinery that feeds supe... more »
Sale of Su-35 fighters to China about to be signed: report
[image: Su-35 Flanker-E]Yuri Slyusar, chairman of United Aircraft Corp, a civilian and military aircraft manufacturer based in Moscow, said his company is about to sign the final contract with China concerning the sale of Su-35 fighters. Slyusar was speaking to reporters at the Paris Air Show and was cited by American defense analyst Zachary Keck n an article written for the Washington-based National Interest magazine. Moscow and Beijing have been negotiating the contract since President Vladimir Putin approved the sale of the Su-35 to China back in 2012. Read more
Bulgarian cabinet could face new fighter jet proposal
[image: JAS-39 Gripen]If Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolai Nenchev keeps to his stated intention, the scheduled cabinet meeting on June 24 could see a proposal tabled on the long-standing issue of the country acquiring new military fighter jets. The issue has been unresolved for more than a decade, since Bulgaria joined Nato in 2004, and even now prospects are not certain given Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s stated reluctance to commit to spending on military aircraft acquisitions when his priorities are pensioners and the education system. But it has become ever more pressing, e... more »
The real reason Greece has a massive tax-evasion problem
UK Business Insider has a great insight that the BBC will never me mention: 'On average, self-employed Greeks spend 82% of their monthly reported income servicing debt. To put this number in perspective, the standard practice in consumer finance (in the United States as well as Greece) is to never lend to borrowers such that loan payments are greater than 30% of monthly income. And that is the upper limit ... A number of banks in southern Europe told us point blank that they have adaptation formulas to adjust clients' reported income to the bank's best estimate of true income, and f... more »
Russia MiG-31 Fighter's Arctic Navigation System Can Operate In Extreme Weather Without Satellites, Official Says
[image: MiG-31 Foxhound]Russia’s MiG-31 fighter planes active in the Arctic will be outfitted with a new navigation system capable of operating independently of satellite feeds and regardless of low temperatures, a Russian manufacturing official said Tuesday. The development was announced weeks after Russia held training exercises for its armed forces by land, sea and air as part of Moscow’s bid to expand its military presence in the Arctic. “This aircraft will be equipped with new navigation means – a strap down inertial navigation system,” Vladimir Mikheyev, an official with Russ... more »
NATO to retire one E-3A AWACS aircraft
[image: E-3A Component (B-707-320B) NATO-OT LX-N 90449]NATO will retire one E-3A AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) aircraft from active service after its last flight departing from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany, NATO said Tuesday. Aircraft 449 is the first NATO AWACS from the E-3A Component to be retired and will be flown to Davis Monthan Air Force Base in the United States where it will be dismantled. The decision to retire one E-3A was made by the North Atlantic Council in an attempt to modernize the fleet and reduce overall manpower and financial costs. Read more
Are You Eating Healthy Nuts & Seeds?
To learn more, visit: *Top Ten Home Remedies*
Could Triton lead drones into civil airspace?
[image: MQ-4C Triton]The U.S. Navy Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton maritime patrol drone is helping to pioneer the ability of unmanned aircraft to sense and avoid nearby airplanes autonomously to avoid mid-air collisions and other complications of aircraft flying in close proximity. The Navy last week awarded a $39.1 million contract to Northrop Grumman, the Triton's designer, to make enhancements to the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) air-to-air radar system in preparation for production decisions over the next few years. The Navy and Northrop Grumman are developing the MQ-4C Triton, a... more »
F-35B performs first launch from ski-jump ramp
The F-35B has marked another milestone – this time the first launch of the aircraft from a ski-jump ramp. BAE Systems Test Pilot Pete ‘Wizzer’ Wilson launched the plane from a land-based ski-jump at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland on June 19th. The launch tests simulate a ski-jump ramp similar to that which will be used on Britain’s new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, according to The Aviationist. Read more
General Atomics Lands Navy Production Contract for JFK Carrier Components
[image: EMALS Launch]General Atomics has secured a production contract from the U.S. Navy to provide the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear for the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) aircraft carrier. The company said Monday its electromagnetic systems group will provide program management, design, engineering and manufacturing services at its facility in Mississippi and subcontract component manufacturing to other U.S. vendors. Dean Key, director of launch and recovery production programs at General Atomics, said the team will build on its experience with... more »
India keen on new ‘Shtil-1’ SAMs for Navy
[image: Shtil SAM]India has shown interest in buying the new Shtil-1 naval surface to air missile (SAM) systems, being installed on frigates 11356 project, Maxim Kuzyuk, Tekhnodinamika General Director, told RIA Novosti. "Now everyone is waiting for the state testing of the first ship of the ‘Admiral series’ (project 11356) to be complete. That is when the new SAM will be accepted into service with the Russian Navy, after which it will be possible to deliver it overseas. Today India has shown interest in acquiring the new Shtil. We are discussing deliveries as part of the upgrade o... more »
Canadian navy will retrofit private ship to replace Canadian supply vessels
[image: HMCS Protecteur (A 509)]Canada’s navy will have to retrofit a private ship to serve as an ocean-going delivery vessel to carry fuel and supplies to Canadian warships deployed on missions, filling an “urgent” gap that has left Canada relying on its allies for high-seas help. Defence Minister Jason Kenney announced Tuesday that the government was having “preliminary” discussions with the Chantier Davie shipyard in Quebec to see whether it could provide an “interim” supply ship at a “cost, time and level of capability acceptable to the Royal Canadian Navy.” But even that stop-g... more »
Beijing steps up efforts to bring Hanoi on side
[image: Pham Binh Minh & Yang Jiechi]China has upped its efforts to pull Vietnam away from the United States amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, says Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet. The Vietnamese foreign minister, Pham Binh Minh, completed a three-day visit to Beijing on June 19, during which he co-chaired the eighth meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation along with Chinese state councilor Yang Jiechi. The key communication channel between the two neighbors is held once a year in principle, with no specified date, ... more »
A Tale of Two Flags
*Confederate Flag flying in South Carolina* Confederate flag pulled from Vancouver shop after church slayings VANCOUVER SUN -- The debate in the U.S. over removing symbols of the Confederacy following the shooting of nine African-Americans in a church in South Carolina is having a ripple effect, with Vancouver-based The Flag Shop saying it will no longer sell the Confederate flag. Susan Braverman, president of The Flag Shop Vancouver, said the corporate office in Vancouver and 12 franchise locations across the country have* pulled the flag from shelves *and will no longer include i... more »
S. Korean military to stage landing drill in Yellow Sea
[image: ROKS Dokdo (LPH-6111)]The Navy and the Marine Corps said Wednesday they plan to kick off a large-scale joint landing exercise this week in the Yellow Sea to bolster their defense posture against North Korea's provocations. The 11-day amphibious exercise starting Thursday will take place in waters off the western island of Anmyeon, joined by some 2,200 sailors and 1,500 marines. The drill is also to involve 23 vessels, including the 14,500-ton amphibious Dokdo ship, Aegis destroyers and submarines, as well as some 45 aircraft from the Army, Navy and Air Force. Read more
Upgraded submarine INS Sindhukirti to boost Navy’s flagging fleet
[image: INS Sindhukirti & INS Sindhudhvaj]India will finally get a desperately-needed shot in the arm for its depleting underwater combat fleet. With INS Sindhukirti set for final "full-power trials" from Friday after being stuck in a refit for a decade, the Kilo-class submarine is expected to be formally handed over to the Navy next month. The 3,000-tonne INS Sindhukirti's re-induction into the fleet is vital since the Navy is down to just 13 old dieselelectric submarines - barely half of them fully operational at present -and one nuclear-powered submarine with out nuclear-tipped m... more »
The Rise and Fall of Sumer and Akkad
The exploitation of irrigation allows a village of a few hundred to grow into a nation of tens of thousands virtually overnight in terms of our ability to judge time with archeology. Add in a growing economy been a vacuum for surrounding tribesmen and you can have a populated nations filling all available lands inside three centuries. The USA did exactly this. thus the ancient question of where they all came from turns out to be irrelevant. We also now clearly understand, in this blog at least the real global reach of the Atlantean sea trade world which clearly mat... more »
5 Alien Species in Contact With Earth Right Now
I share this with you. It contains a lot of information i have not seen before although i have come across the edges often. The central reality is the second tier of matter that all life shares. Once that is understood the rest is easy and expected. From that perspective all this is reasonable. Yes, humanity needs to grow up and actual contact will force the issue now because we all share a group consciousness through the internet.There are claims that the Reptilians remain extant in deep Earth abodes. One assumes then that they interface with the so called Greys. It all m... more »
Out of Australia
[image: http://wakeup-world.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Aborignal-fishing.jpg] Firstly, i do support the original development of pre modern humanity before augmentation some 200,000 years ago as been best accomplished in the Sahul which is the present Archepeligo north of Australia and includes Australia. This region and its surrounds consisted of thousands of tropical bays and lagoons allowing large successful communities to arise and sort themselves out. Similar conditions appear elsewhere but are much more limited and normally severely hostile as is Africa in particular. T... more »
Color Therapy?
An interesting story of empirical research been aborted. The real problem though is that we really do not have a meaningful model to work with and using an infrared bulb seems a poor choice.. A better idea is sunlight and there we need robust filters. We have already posted on the efficacy of using dawn and dusk exposures were the light is been strongly filtered and it is possible to even stare briefly at the sun itself. We also have my experience with coherant light deep in the ultraviolet. This clearly is prospective for empowering the body as it can energize your light bo... more »
Aurora borealis glows in central Virginia, seen as far south as Texas (Photos) and apparent "Sphere Alliance" message confirmation
*Looks like Denise got "a hit" and the message from the Sphere Alliance was verified...and on scehduled! Also got a private double confirmation in an email from Denise of whom she is talking to... which I may write up later... so fun! -AK* http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/06/23/aurora-borealis-glows-in-central-virginia-seen-as-far-south-as-texas-photos/ *Aurora borealis glows in central Virginia, seen as far south as Texas (Photos)* By Angela Fritz June 23 at 10:30 AM A gorgeous aurora was seen on Cape Cod, Mass. last night. (Chris Cook via spacew... more »
Musical Interlude: Deep Forest, “Bohemian Bellet”
Deep Forest, “Bohemian Bellet” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuaTSr1L1Qw
Why so desperate to reach the UK?
This BBC report says that the 'migrant' are desperate to get to the UK but doesn't really ask why. Only Keith Vaz is quoted re this angle: 'Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said the migrant situation was the "biggest crisis" facing Europe. He said migrants were trying to reach the UK because "it's the country they think they can work in illegally".' No mention of our excessively generous benefits system?
Remarks From Iran's Supreme Leader Has Put Into Doubt Key Agreements Already Reached With The West
*New York Times*: *Iran’s Supreme Leader Seems to Pull Back on Nuclear Talks* *TEHRAN — With exactly a week left before the deadline for a final agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s supreme leader appeared to undercut several of the central agreements his negotiators have already reached with the West.* *In a speech broadcast live on Iran state television, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, demanded that most sanctions be lifted before Tehran has dismantled part of its nuclear infrastructure and before international inspectors verify that the country ... more »
Islamic State’s ‘Guerrilla Fighting Tactics’ Are Overwhelming The Iraqi Army
Youtube *Washington Times*: *Iraqi commanders overwhelmed by Islamic State’s ‘guerrilla fighting tactics’* *Iraqi commanders say security forces are having a difficult time countering the Islamic State group’s use of guerrilla warfare.* *The nation’s security forces have struggled to stem the tide of the Sunni radical terrorist group since the fall of Ramadi in May.* *“They are professionals in guerrilla warfare, contrary to our forces which follow an old fighting style,” said Brig. Gen. Nasir al-Fartousi, Reuters reported Tuesday.* *Update:* Islamic State fight requires new tact... more »
Chinese Data Hack Of U.S. Government 4 Times Larger Than Initially Reported
*CNN:* *First on CNN: U.S. data hack may be 4 times larger than the government originally said* *Washington (CNN)The personal data of an estimated 18 million current, former and prospective federal employees were affected by a cyber breach at the Office of Personnel Management - more than four times the 4.2 million the agency has publicly acknowledged. The number is expected to grow, according to U.S. officials briefed on the investigation.* *FBI Director James Comey gave the 18 million estimate in a closed-door briefing to Senators in recent weeks, using the OPM's own internal da... more »
Wikileaks: U.S. Spied On Three French Presidents
*Reuters:* *NSA spied on French presidents: WikiLeaks* *The United States National Security Agency spied on French presidents Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, WikiLeaks said in a press statement published on Tuesday, citing top secret intelligence reports and technical documents.* *The revelations were first reported in French daily Liberation and on news website Mediapart, which said the NSA spied on the presidents during a period of at least 2006 until May 2012, the month when Hollande took over from Sarkozy.* *WikiLeaks said the documents derived from dir... more »
HAWAI'I: King issues Citation of Contempt as Telescope Construction Threat Resumes
From: Lanny Sinkin, Ali'i Mana'o Nui, Kingdom of Hawai'iIn response to the Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory Board decision to resume construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, the King issued the attached Citation of Contempt of Crown. Copies of this document will be distributed to all law enforcement personnel on the Mountain tomorrow.
Elaine J. Cohen : METRO | Casting Judith’s ashes into the big river
Josefina gently poured Judith Rosenberg’s ashes from the bag in the carved wooden box from Mexico. By Elaine J. Cohen | The Rag Blog | June 24, 2015 AUSTIN — The muses are, once again, tugging at my sleeve. Kleio, … finish reading Elaine J. Cohen : *METRO* | Casting Judith’s ashes into the big river
Constantine vs. Emory
*"A personal note - in 1990, I came across someone who was deeply involved with the national security establishment, ah, this was an accident, I had not intended to do this....* *I then received a note... The note read like this :* *"You are a stupid son of a bitch. You are now under surveillance. Two of your associates know this. They lie for us. You got that? Talk to him again, about ANYTHING, and you get microwaves - microwaves to the head. Much cleaner than bullets. Look for cameras, you won't see them. Look for us, you'll see us."* *I was then subjected to not only to what I... more »
If you want to watch, say, a bighorn sheep munching on grass at Yellowstone National Park, it'll cost you more this year
*Washington Post caption*: *"A bighorn sheep munches on a blade of grass in Yellowsone National Park (Photo by Erik Petersen/For The Washington Post)" *[Click to enlarge.] *by Ken* Trust me, I was going to pass on the story anyway, but as soon as I saw the picture, that became the first story for me. I suppose it's possible that a check of the *Washington Post* photo files turned up Erik Petersen's shot of the bighorn sheep munching on a blade of grass in Yellowstone National Park. This would have been a breeze if the *Post* photo library is digitized; just type "Yellowstone" into... more »
Election 14, The Middle Earth of PH Politics, by Doy Romero
The Presidential and local elections in the Philippines are just 10 1/2 months away. Generally it will be a battle between which side of Big Government advocates will prevail. Nonetheless, we can delineate or distinguish them which side will advance Big Government + Big Private Monopolies and Oligopolies, vs. Big Government + Competitive Economy. I think the old and traditional politicians like VP Binay belong to the former while newbies like Sen. Grace Poe may belong to the later, am not sure. What about good governance? For me, Big Government = bad governance There is little or n... more »
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