The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: South China Sea....A refugee woman cares for three small children on the replenishment oiler USS Wabash, AOR-5. Twenty-eight boat people were picked up from their wooden boat by a whaleboat from the oiler., 08/05/1979 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Maritime claims in the South China Sea (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Map of the South China Sea (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The South China Sea coast at Hainan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Iraq Is Still On The Brink After One Year Of War Against The Islamic State
*ABC News (Australia)/AFP*: *Islamic State: One year since IS assault began, Iraq still on the brink* *A year after the Islamic State (IS) group launched a brutally effective offensive, Iraq is struggling to survive as a unified nation, gripped by seemingly endless violence, sectarianism and humanitarian tragedy.* *IS began the offensive on June 9, 2014, and overran a third of the country, declaring it and areas in neighbouring Syria a "caliphate" and carrying out atrocities from beheadings and mass executions to enslavement and rape.* *The jihadists have been driven out of some ... more »
U.S. Still Searching For A South China Sea Strategy
*Financial Times*: *US struggles for strategy to contain China’s island-building* *China’s efforts to dredge new land on remote coral atolls in the South China Sea have left the US struggling to come up with a response.For Washington, Chinese land-creation has helped make allies of former adversaries now fearful of military domination by an assertive China. The latest example was the trip to Vietnam last week by Ashton Carter, US defence secretary, who pledged US patrol craft to the Vietnamese navy.But there is a limit to how far countries in the region are willing to present ... more »
British 'World-Record Sniper' Talks About PTSD
A British sniper team in Afghanistan (Credit: ABC) *ABC News (Australia):* *Craig Harrison: World-record-holding British sniper haunted by visions of men he killed* *The former British army marksman who holds the record for the longest range sniper kill in combat says he has lost all trust in the armed forces because of the way he has been treated.* *Craig Harrison, who served as a sergeant in the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment, killed a Taliban machine gunner with a shot over a distance of 2.5 kilometres - the length of 25 football fields, and almost twice as long as his rif... more »
A Former U.S. Navy SEAL Critiques A Video On The Islamic State's ‘Navy SEALs’
*We Are The Mighty:* *Watch a Navy SEAL hilariously critique a video of ISIS ‘Navy SEALs’* *ISIS has elite Navy SEALs. Well, at least that’s what they want you to think.* *The terror group released a five-minute propaganda video in April showing fighters coming out of the water with AK-47s at the ready and learning martial arts. Then there were the masked men sneaking up and taking out clueless guards using nothing but knives.* *A few weeks ago, Independent-Journal Review decided to ask real U.S. Navy SEAL Jonathan T. Gilliam to analyze and critique the video. It turned out to b... more »
Unfreezing the Status Quo & Moving Toward Real Change
This is a mural from one of the walls on the Pitzer College campus where our conference 'track' has been meeting the last three days. There are several colleges linked together here but I saw more political murals on the Pitzer campus than on the others. This mural I particularly love because it expresses the reality of America as I see it. People of color know the score but have little voice. They don't have the money, the power, nor the institutional connections to effectively speak. They are often repressed when they try to speak by police, courts, educational systems and... more »
Legalizing the Rhino Horn Trade: A Terrible Idea? Pt. 1
Two weeks ago, Foreign Affairs published a provocative piece (paywall, free version here) by Alexander Kasterine from the UN/WTO International Trade Center on legalizing the trade in wildlife, namely for rhino horn, but conceivably for other species that are currently illegal to trade under the Convention on the International Trades in Endangered Species (CITES). Indeed, South Africa, […]
Quote of the Day: “The Greens are as dead in the water as Labour…”
*“The Greens are as dead in the water as Labour: they’ve gone about as far as they can go … Just as Labour has lost its working class roots through the disappearance of the working class [by prosperity], so the Greens have lost their environmental roots as the environment outlook looks better than ever.”* - Jo Holmes, from her post ‘Metrosexual Greens need to stop blubbering’ at the JoHolmes blog Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
An In-depth Look At U.S. SEAL Team 6
Navy SEAL Team 6 is best known for killing Osama bin Laden in 2011. In the past 14 years, special forces have been involved in tens of thousands of operations in the Middle East, but a New York Times investigation raises questions about oversight of these missions. Here, U.S. Navy SEALs exit a C-130 Hercules aircraft during a training exercise in Fort Pickett, Virginia. U.S. Navy *New York Times:* *SEAL Team 6: A Secret History of Quiet Killings and Blurred Lines* *The unit best known for killing Osama bin Laden has been converted into a global manhunting machine with limited out... more »
The Conflict In Ukraine is Splitting Families And Friends
*Voice of America:* *Ukraine Conflict Divides Families, Friends * *KRAMATORSK, UKRAINE - The conflict in Ukraine may have galvanized those who support a united, independent country, but it has also sewn divisions between them and neighbors, friends and family who lean toward Russia. The political tensions have severed relationships and even led some couples to seek divorce.* *Lyudmila and Denis Sakhno married 17 years ago and expected to spend the rest of their lives together. But marital tensions spiked when Russia-backed rebels took advantage of a power vacuum in Kyiv to seize ...more »
Musical Interlude: Chuck Wild, Liquid Mind: “VI Spirit - Through My Eyes (Nebulae)”
Chuck Wild, Liquid Mind: “VI Spirit - Through My Eyes (Nebulae)” - http://www.youtube.com/
"A Look to the Heavens"
“The universe is filled with galaxies. But to see them astronomers must look out beyond the stars of our galaxy, the Milky Way. For example, consider this colorful telescopic view of spiral galaxy NGC 6384, about 80 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. At that distance, NGC 6384 spans an estimated 150,000 light-years, but this close-up of the galaxy's central region is about 70,000 light-years wide. *Click image for larger size.* The sharp image shows details in the distant galaxy's blue spiral arms and yellowish core. Still, the individual star... more »
"Forever And Forever And Forever..."
“For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.” - James Baldwin
Chet Raymo, “Beyond The Porch-light of Language”
*“Beyond The Porch-light of Language”* by Chet Raymo “The title of this post is another phrase from the poet Pat Boran. It struck me, I suppose, because of the way readers sometimes refer to this blog as "the porch." (I forget who first suggested the image; was it you, Theresa?) A lovely image, evoking friends in rocking chairs sipping ice tea or gin-and-tonics on a drowsy summer night. Out there in the darkness lightnin' bugs flash their sleepy semaphores. Somewhere afar off heat lightnin' illuminates the horizon. Our language drifts into the dark. We have words too for stars, fo... more »
"Never Look Down..."
"Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road." - Dag Hammarskjold
“Tiahuanaco: Gateway to the Gods”
“Tiahuanaco: Gateway to the Gods” by Dan Eden . "Ask most people who are the oldest civilization or where the oldest civilization lived and you'll hear answers like Mesopotamia (Iraq), Egypt or Iran. While these cultures can be traced back to 4000 B.C., the mysterious ruins of Tiahuanaco, in Bolivia, could be 14,000 years old! If you think the Great Pyramid in Egypt is a technological marvel, wait until you see what artists and engineers were doing in Tiahuanaco. This culture thrived at the breathless, oxygen deprived elevation of 13,000 feet. They managed to somehow move stones weig... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Longview, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
Walt Whitman, "Animals"
*"Animals"* "I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self contain’d; I stand and look at them long and long, They do not sweat and whine about their condition; They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins; They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God; Not one is dissatisfied — not one is demented with the mania of owning things; Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago; Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth." - Walt Whitman
“Desperate Courage..."
*“Desperate courage makes One a majority.”* - Andrew Jackson A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SACHK-W4o1E
CSOs and State 20, Gawad Kalinga and Housing for the Poor
Below are some thoughts from *Benito Claudio*, a friend of my former professor in UP Diliman in the 80s, Dr. Doy Romero. This was posted last week by Benito and sir Doy in fb and was read by many people. I like this very successful civil society initiative, Gawad Kalinga (GK). It is very successful that it is being replicated in other Asian countries, and there are GK offices in the US, Europe, other countries. Reposting this with my comments below. The images I got from the web and adding them here. ---------- *Doy I speak from my personal participation in three project sites of ... more »
Can Governor Krispy and his coven of legal KrispyKronies successfully cover up the Bridgegate cover-up?
*Amazing! Somebody at Crain's has the idea (click to enlarge) that the Big Rat Bastard Gummer of NJ was "acquitted of all charges in Bridgegate in March 2014"! Is this just sniveling incompetence, or aiding and abetting the Big Rat Bastard's cover-up?* *by Ken* "Acquitted of all charges"? I assume that by now the person who wrote this rot has been fired, or at least subjected to a fire-and-brimstone talking-to. Ironically, while the Crain's story merely skims the story of recent developments in Bridgegate, the head and deck do at least get the story more or less right. The head:... more »
"Life Choices - Facing Difficult Decisions"
"Life Choices - Facing Difficult Decisions" By Jennifer Mclynch "We have all been at a point in our lives where we have to make a difficult decision, and we just don’t know how. We spend countless hours thinking about it, contemplating all of the options, and trying to sort out all of the complex emotions that go along with the decision. We make pro and con lists, go for long walks, or write down our feelings until we come to a place where we can be comfortable with the decision that we have made. The question is, how can you be sure that it is the right decision, and how can you p... more »
Battle Footage On The Battle For The Ukrainian Town Of Maryinka (Top Video is From The Rebel Side, Bottom Video From The Ukrainian Army Side)
*From YouTube:* Ukraine War 2015 - Heavy Clashes As Novorossian Rebels Launch Major Offensive On Marinka. Heavy clashes between Novorossian rebels and the Ukrainian army in the battle for Marinka. *From YouTube:* Battle rages for Marinka... As UNIAN reported earlier, on the morning on June 3 Novorossina rebels launched a major attack on the positions of Ukrainian troops near the village of Maryinka in Donetsk region, as well as attacking in other areas. Five Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the fighting (four at Maryinka) and 39 were reported injured. *WNU Editor*: Hat Tip to M...more »
"Think For Yourself..."
"Think for yourself, question authority." - Timothy Leary
"The Power of Doubt"
"The Power of Doubt" by don Miguel Ruiz "Have you ever asked yourself if something you heard was actually true? Have you ever wondered if someone was lying to you, or worse yet, have you ever wondered, "Am I lying to myself?" Do you believe those voices in your head that are giving you opinions? Do you tend to believe other people's opinions? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will understand when being skeptical is a good thing. Right now, you're delivering a message to yourself and to everyone around you. You're always delivering messages, and you're always receiv... more »
Ukraine Crisis News Updates -- June 7, 2015
*NYT*: *Hardening of Positions Undercuts Ukraine Peace Accord * *SHYROKYNE, Ukraine — The trenches near this battered town in southeastern Ukraine slice surreally for miles across fields of sunflowers, in places running in three lines separated by a mile or two of mined ground, Ukrainian commanders say.* *A feature not just of this bitterly contested ground, the trenches extend in varying degrees of completeness all the way to the northern limits of the line separating Ukraine from the separatist regions in the east. To some extent, they reflect a military necessity, with daily sk... more »
Campaign 2016: When Bribery Meets Coercion
More than a year before the actual election, presidential politics and personalities have supplanted all else in what we love to call our Great National Narrative. The big plot twist this time around is how the hoi polloi have discovered, much to our great chagrin, that our democracy has suddenly turned into an oligarchy while we were glued to *Dancing With the Stars*. Political dynasties and big money have supplanted untold hordes of poor but deserving and qualified candidates aspiring to higher office. It's all the fault of that Supreme Court and its hideous Citizens United ruling.... more »
ACT acting on voluntary euthanasia.
Since we gave David Seymour a hard time not so long ago about refusing to back a bill supporting voluntary euthanasia – the ultimate expression that your life is your own – it’s only appropriate now to praise him now. Lecretia Seales’s very sad case has certainly concentrated a few minds. It has thrust the issue back on the public agenda with a very concrete case. The judge in Lecretia Seales’s petition for the right to have a doctor assist her death decided it was ultimately a matter for parliament, not the courts. And, right on cue, ACT leader David Seymour has confirmed he is... more »
AT list of remarkable professional persons -- v2.0
Note: For older and newer versions of this list, click on the label "AT List". Newest additions are marked "*". Please make suggestions in comment. This is version-2.0 of a tentative list of outstanding persons who have used their professional status to fight injustice, and who have thus disturbed power and suffered significant consequences. Based on living professionals, these are folks who
Report: Russian Soldiers In Ukraine
A member of the armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic stands guard near a destroyed vehicle at a bus station after shelling in Donetsk, February 11, 2015. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters *Maksymilian Czuperski , John Herbst , Alina Polyakova , and Damon Wilson, Newsweek*: *Putin’s Secret Warriors: Russian Soldiers Sent to Fight in Ukraine* *On March 2, 2015, U.S. Army Europe Commander Ben Hodges estimated that 12,000 Russian soldiers, including “military advisers, weapons operators and combat troops,” are active in eastern Ukraine.* *There have been hun... more »
U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey Comments On Today’s Russia
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin Dempsey (Reuters / James Lawler Duggan) *Wall Street Journal:* *Putin and the Doctrinal Definition of Threat* *Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey looks at today’s Russia * *President Barack Obama and other leaders of the Group of Seven leading nations are meeting beginning Sunday in Germany, a gathering that will be dominated by concern over Russia and its actions in stoking the civil war in Ukraine.* *The Wall Street Journal spoke recently with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the rekindled stra... more »
“Real wages are, virtually to their full extent, the product of past labour”
*Folks, let’s do an experiment. Australian economist Steve Kates posted this on Friday, and he reckoned few Australian readers grasped the point. An important point. I reckoned NZ readers would be much smarter. See if you can prove me right in the comments …* Folks, I know no modern economist would think this way, but what worries me more is that I doubt they would even know what he is saying. This is from the great F.W. Taussig in his 1896 *Wages and Capital: an Examination of the Wages Fund Doctrine*. Moreover, it is from pages 26-27 of a 325-page book where he seeks to dispose... more »
Russian President Putin: No Need For The West To Fear Russia
*BBC*: *President Vladimir Putin tells West not to fear Russia* *Russia is not a threat to Nato, President Vladimir Putin says.* *"Only an insane person and only in a dream can imagine that Russia would suddenly attack Nato," Mr Putin told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.* *The Western alliance is bolstering its military presence in its eastern European members in response to their fears of Russian threat, following its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.* *Nato says that Russia is backing rebels in Ukraine - a claim denied by Moscow.* *More News On Russian President Putin... more »
Only One Party Has Moved Out Of The Mainstream And Into Fringe Politics
Last week Chris Ingraham, writing in the *Washington Post*, said that the GOP has swung drastically right while the Democrats have *not* been moving left. This flies in the face of Beltway reporting but, unlike Beltway reporting, is backed up by the facts. "Republicans," Thomas Mann of Brookings explains, "have become a radical insurgency-- ideologically extreme, contemptuous of the inherited policy regime, scornful of compromise, unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence, and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of their political opposition." Thomas Paine... more »
Youngsters v oldsters
Excitement erupted on the local Twitterverse Saturday morning about a “battle of the generations” hosted by the very TV network most of that section of the Twitterverse had vowed never to watch again after John Campbell's departure. But most of this Twitterverse are immune to irony. The debate, on TV3's *The Nation*, pitted “baby boomers” Michelle Boag, Tau Henare & Simon Chapple against “Team Gen X and Y,” Geoff Simmons, Julie Anne Genter and Asher Emanuel over who is really doing it tough.” “Have the Boomers really reaped the benefit of a free education and cheaper houses and...more »
Christy Clark Promotes Trophy Hunting And Welcomes The World`s Big Game Assassins
I have no words to describe this outrage... I count seven bears and two wolves.. Trophy hunting.. Statistics reveal decade-long increase in B.C. hunting licences for grizzlies and black bears by Travis Lupick on March 25th, 2015 at 11:34 AM http://www.straight.com/news/416931/statistics-reveal-decade-long-increase-bc-hunting-licences-grizzlies-and-black-bears *Dressed in a black cowboy hat, B.C. Premier Christy Clark beams at the camera as she accepts the President's Award from the Guide Outfitters Association of B.C. The year is 2012, and the outfitters are gathered for thei... more »
Gaza Rocket Strikes And israeli Air Strikes Resume
*Reuters*: *Israeli aircraft strike, PM accuses world of ignoring Gaza rockets* *Israeli aircraft struck the Gaza Strip on Sunday after the latest in a series of Palestinian rocket attacks that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the international community of ignoring.* *The Omar Brigades, a Palestinian group that supports Islamic State, claimed responsibility for Saturday's salvo, which, like the Israeli strike, caused no casualties.* *Israel closed its border crossings with the Hamas-controlled enclave and Netanyahu hinted at a stronger Israeli military response if the ... more »
How the Conservatives Can Win Again
I hate being wrong, but there's no point running away when you do screw things up. In politics and the analysis thereof, when you make mistakes you have to ask where you went wrong and, crucially, why. And so, the Conservatives winning the general election. That was a turn up for the books. No one expected it, and - embarrassing for me - I spent the last two-and-a-half years telling anyone who'd listen that the Tories increasing their vote, let alone getting a majority, was so improbable it wasn't worth thinking about. How could my argument have been so wrong? When you're trying to... more »
A Hug(h)e Statue
Sticking with this morning's *Broadcasting House* on Radio 4, blog favourite Hugh Sykes was reporting from Mozambique. Now, much as I found Hugh's report to be interesting, well-crafted and not overly verbose, I did smile at the *Guardian*-like focus of his report: gender equality and sexism in Mozambique. "How very *Guardian! *How very Hugh! How very BBC!", I thought (though not at the time I must admit). Hugh is off to report from other African counties in the coming days (hence his recent lack of tweets). Will he be checking the privilege of successful people in Ethiopia? ... more »
The BBC at War
I’m going to have to mention this. It’s in the Sunday Times, but there’s enough visible copy before you hit the paywall to glean that not only did the BBC initially oppose airing Richard Dimbleby’s original report about the liberation of Belsen, but they cut the report short, and for some unimaginable reason saw fit to erase any mention of the fact that most of the victims were Jews. Jonathan comes up with what he “thinks” is an explanation. “The BBC needed more sources to support what happened to the Jews”, and if you mentioned one group of peop... more »
Should Guilt be Inherited?
@docrocktex26 It's a manifestation of white paranoia of Angry Black Man Syndrome, which is predicated on white guilt. We know what we did. — Robert Crawford (@jurassicpork59) June 7, 2015 What you see above is part of an exchange I've recently had with my psychiatric advisor for *Tatterdemalion*, nicknamed Propane Jane. "Jane's" a psychiatrist in the Houston area and she tweets regularly (and vehemently) about police brutality and racism aimed at her fellow African Americans. (The subject was the McKinney, Texas pool party that got broken up in typical white cop fashion, resul... more »
June 7: Much of what we believe in the news is based on what we believe in history.
We believe that we are good people. We believe that from the versions of our history we get in education, on TV, and in movies. Ever read a history book about our soldiers murdering prisoners? Well. They did. Most militarys do that. Most militarys also rape, loot and murder. How many history books have you read that said that? England's great Richard the Lion Heart went on crusades party to slaughter Jews on the way. Ever read about that? (And he never had a chat with Robin Hood like the movies say. He couldn't speak English, only French - and he preferred to live in France.) Read ... more »
Complaints from the Echo Chamber
Here's a secret from the world of 'BBC bias blogging' (one I'm dead certain that my blogging compatriots at *B-BBC, BBC Watch, *etc, will be more than familiar with): We actively hunt out accusations of bias against the BBC (like ultra-sound-guided, BBC-hating bats). The problem with one key potential source, Twitter - due to it largely being a left-wing echo chamber with little connection to the mood of the British people as a whole -, is that most accusations of 'BBC bias' there tend to come from what peer-reviewed academic journals might (or might not) describe as "left-wing mo... more »
Jerry Brown's head oil regulator resigns after RICO suit filed
Photo of oil waste injection courtesy of DOGGR. Jerry Brown's head oil regulator resigns after RICO suit filed by Dan Bacher Censored News Mark Nechodom, the controversial director of the California Department of Conservation, the agency that oversees the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), resigned on Thursday, June 4. DOGGR is the agency charged with
Stealing an AKP win? HDP = Divisive Identity Politics- NGO's counting ballots
*I've talked Identity Politics previously-* *As defined :** Identity Politics just more divide and conquer:* *- Win by getting one's opponents to fight among themselves.* *- A way of keeping yourself in a position of power by making the people under you disagree with each other so that they are unable to join together and remove you from your position* *Identity politics* is a *political* style that *focuses on the issues relevant to various groups* defined by a wide variety of shared characteristics, including, but not limited to, race, social class, religion, sex, gender, ethnicity... more »
HILARION - JUNE 6, 2015
*HILARION's WEEKLY MESSAGE* by Marlene Swetlishoff June 6-12, 2015 Beloved Ones, As the days move forward there will continue to be more weather anomalies as the Earth strives to bring balance within. There are many ancient energies that were buried in the past now being brought to the surface. These are recognizable as feelings of sadness, anxiousness and worry, for in the past, many were the people who lived in constant fear, for their lives were not their own. They were subjugated and literally owned by others who controlled their daily lives with an iron fist. There was n... more »
"Caitlyn Jenner" to be guest of honor for Tel Aviv Gay Pride week?
Municipal officials in Tel Aviv, *declared* the "world's best gay city" in 2012, have asked "Caitlyn Jenner" to be the guest of honor for Gay Pride week in that debauched city. *The Jewish Daily Forward* reports: The City of Tel Aviv invited Caitlyn Jenner to be a guest of honor at its Gay Pride Week celebration. Jenner, 65, the former reality show star and Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete, has not responded to the invitation announced Thursday. She has garnered the media spotlight with her recent transition to become a woman. Tel Aviv’s Gay Pride week, which begins on Sunday, ... more »
Why Malthus Was Wrong: Our Ecological Proxy Politics In History
In general, there are many arguments against Malthusian constructions of environmental degradation, and it has been said in many ways by others. It might be summarized by saying that Malthusian population models of human populations fail to work, while they do work well for other species. However, natural sciences trained specialists get out of their depth when they think that they understand human environmental impact with their mere biological models. However, such Malthusian models fail to work for humans so well since *we are a networked species*--that we live and have environme... more »
truth and reconciliation, past and present: why this matters to all of us
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has just completed its week-long closing event in Ottawa. The Commission was part of the historic settlement between the Canadian Government and the survivors of the former Indian Residential Schools. Its mandate is to inform all Canadians about what happened in Indian Residential Schools (IRS). The Commission will document the truth of survivors, families, communities and anyone personally affected by the IRS experience. This includes First Nations, Inuit and Métis former Indian Residential School students, their families, communi... more »
US "Total Army": Contractors, Survival Kits, Deep Base Bunkers.....?
I have had a hard time swallowing the seemingly majority opinion that Jade Helm is a "martial law" take over. It really just doesn't resonate with me. BUT I cannot deny that the creation of Jade Helm as an "exercise" is highly dubious. That there is an underlying reason for this military "exercise" is a 100% certainty, but the question remains: WHY? As you know, I keep a close eye on earth movements and solar activity. While Sol hasn't been quite as volatile as we expected it would be, the Earth is more than making up for the lack of solar dance extravaganzas. Earthquakes and ... more »
Mohawk Nation News 'Canada, You're Screwed!'
CANADA, YOU’RE SCREWED! Posted on June 7, 2015 Mohawk Nation News Please post and distribute. Nia:wen. MNN. June 6, 2015. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is an incorporated product. Though usually toothless, it will bite its maker. It revealed Canada’s excuse for their practice to erase, disappear and rob us of everything. They are trying to say they are better now and so we
US factories killing children in Mexico with toxic river dumping
. RIVER OF DEATH Reporter Steve Fisher with photographer Jason Jaacks in Jalisco An 8-year-old boy falls into one of Mexico’s most contaminated rivers. Eighteen days later, he’s dead. Fusion investigates how factories--many of them U.S. owned--get away with illegally dumping toxic chemicals into one of the country’s main waterways, with potentially deadly consequences MORE: http://
Sunday Classics snapshots: LIfe among the Druids
*The first page of Bellini's Norma autograph score* *BELLINI: Norma (1831): Overture* *Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Antonino Votto, cond. Live performance, Dec. 7, 1955* *Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Tullio Serafin, cond. EMI, recorded Nov. 5-12, 1960* *London Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Felice Cillario, cond. RCA, recorded September 1972* *National Philharmonic Orchestra, James Levine, cond. CBS-Sony, recorded 1979* *About the performances*: *I really admire the weight that Votto brings to the Overture without stretching or padding it, as Serafin... more »
A Delayed Answer to a 2011 comment on Advantages of Nuclear Power
In 2011 I wrote this post as well as a second post on Mark Z Jacobson's anti-nuclear arguments. Jacobson argues that by adopting nuclear power, we chose a path that will lead to nuclear war. The argument that building on nuclear power pllants in the United Stats will lead other states to acquire nuclear weapons is weak. States have options for acquiring nuclear weapons, without building Nuclear Power Plants. This reality, unlike Jacobson's speculations is based on proven facts. States like Isreal, South Africa, Pakistan, and North Korea have acquired Nuclear weapons with out possing ... more »
Speaking of Corruption...Who's investigating THIS?!
*Google Censoring Independent Media* *The US is suddenly investigating corruption in FIFA. * But, who's investigating the recent crack-down on independent media like *We Are Change* ---by cutting off the pittances they used to receive in ad revenues? Who's trying to curtail THE ALTERNATIVE MEDIA'S constitutionally "protected" rights to free speech??? I have mentioned my concerns in the past, about some of the "google math" used in calculating blog statistics on Google's Blogger....it just doesn't add up. More importantly....why is the US FBI not investigating the $500 million in ... more »
"If you knew then what you know now..."
It started with Jeb Bush, since his brother George was President when the decision was made to invade Iraq in 2003. Since then, it has become standard practice in the media to ask every one of the more than a dozen people running for President the same question: "If you knew then what you know now, would you have invaded Iraq?" Readers who weren't politically active in 2003 might be forgiven if they thought that this question was serving some kind of progressive role, discrediting the invasion, occupation, and continuing U.S. military role in Iraq. Nothing could be further from th... more »
Caroline in Putinland
In the spirit of open and honest blogging, I think I'm duty bound to record that this morning's *Sunday *on Radio 4 was excellent. Putting my yellow (jaundiced) hat on, however... ...the programme certainly lived up to my caricature of it as being *Tablet*-fixated on Pope Francis: This edition was a special from Russia whose explicit starting point was the Pope's meeting with President Putin. And it also allowed me to triumph again at the popular game of *Sunday Bingo *by having a Muslim representative (this time speaking with a strong meerkat accent) assert (without challenge) th... more »
Tsipras vs Juncker
*Eurocratic mainstream is finally throwing Syriza under the bus* In 2010 and 2012, European officials were totally scared of a Greek bankruptcy. The sky would fall, everyone would say. The bankruptcy of an unimportant and largely isolated country would be like fire that would soon destroy all other countries including Germany, the world economy, and the Solar System, thanks to the contagion and domino effect and so on. So a large part of the debt underwent a haircut (most of the interest on the Greek debt was pretty much deleted and their only task is to repay the principal!) and... more »
Inappropriate Trial Judge Interventions
R v Crawford, 2015 ABCA 175: *The Trial Judge's Interventions* [6] The appellant alleges that the trial judge's numerous interruptions rendered the trial unfair. He has provided a catalogue of illustrations that he says supports this complaint. I have reviewed the transcript and I am concerned both with the number and nature of the interventions throughout the trial. [7] All understand that ours is an adversarial system requiring adjudication by a judge who is, and must be seen to be, impartial: *Bizon v Bizon*, 2014 ABCA 174 (CanLII) at para 33, [20... more »
A New Kind Of Being Will Begin......M.N. Hopkins
*Yes, new beings or a new kind of being will begin to enter into your world soon with the knowledge and wisdom necessary to the task of evolving a new consciousness that accepts and understands all life. They are the one's who will lead the way and found and develop new institutions of learning that will benefit all mankind.* M.N. Hopkins
Swallowing an Old Wife's Tale
TL: *House martin*; TR: *Swallow*; BL: *Swift*; BR: *Sand martin* On *Springwatch *this week, Martin Hughes-Games gave us a memorable lesson in how to tell a swift from a swallow and a house martin from a sand martin. (I recall the latter being easy to differentiate by the fact that the former's song sounds uncannily like *Caravan of Love* while the latter sounds like *Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?*). Along the way he dismissed the popular misconception about swifts having no legs. Swifts *do* have legs. They're just very, very short. (Even shorter than Ernie Wise's. Or mine for that matt... more »
Woman Defeats Mine, Saves Wilderness, Wins $175,000
*Morgan Erickson-Davis* - When a mining operation threatened this pristine piece of wilderness, she acted. The post Woman Defeats Mine, Saves Wilderness, Wins $175,000 appeared first on Waking Times.
BAND OF BROTHERS (HWH) #16 / HEALING WOUNDED HEARTS BY FINDING THE LIGHT WITHIN
*Once again six combat veterans with PTSD realize their life has really been a QUEST to re-discover the light within themselves ~ in seven weeks ~ by participating in Healing The Wounded Heart (Band of Brothers) Workshop # 16. Through the power of love and gratitude their hearts are awakened from a long slumber as they realize their military experience, regardless of their individual trauma, has been another important step of service in preparation for the ultimate service from their soaring hearts: Allen L Roland, Ph.D* *“What happens when people open their hea... more »
Time Team Special - the boats that made Britain - Brythonic Pirate Race?
over the inquisitive years, I've seen many (almost all) of the Time Team episodes, but not this one. And it's key to the whole WE ARE AN ISLAND RACE i.e. by necessity a nation of boat builders, an invaded place more importantly, an import/export country. Britannia rules the waves, and all that... *NB: dovetail joint for curving prow**This wooden prehistoric boat, discovered in September 1992, is thought to be some 3,000 years old. The boat's excavation was an internationally important archaeological discovery. After seven years of research and conservation, the Dover Boat is back i... more »
Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, June 7th, 2015
[image: rant-jpeg-b] Well, it is indeed that time of the week again when I fire off my weekly rant.... I have indeed missed out on some important articles and subjects, and that is why I do these rants as a means of catching up and giving my perspective on these matters..... I have come under some fire again for my posting of two articles last Friday concerning the fraudulent Sandy Hook "shooting"..... I have long claimed with so many articles in the past that "shooting" was indeed an operation conducted for the sole purpose of scaring the crap out of the gullible American public... more »
The GOP Sees Its #1 Job To Build The Power Of An American Aristocracy
Last week we looked at a video from the History Channel about how Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller and JP Morgan worked together to subvert the 1896 election and steal it from William Jennings Bryan (D) for Wall Street shill William McKinely (R). Their machinations led to the greatest wealth inequality in American history and, inevitably, the Great Depression. That kind of inequality-- nearly half the wealth in the country in the grasping paws of just 1% of the people-- is back... and not by coincidence. Republicans and conservative Democrats-- Blue Dogs and New Dems-- have work... more »
New Blogs May/June 2015
New month, new blogs: 1. charlottesayshmmm (Unaligned/anti-cuts) (Twitter) 2. Communist Explorations (Unaligned) (Twitter) 3. Consented (Unaligned) (Twitter) 4. edstradling (Unaligned) (Twitter) 5. I'm a JSA Claimant (Unaligned) Twitter) 6. Indygal Inspired (SNP) 7. Mutterings from the Left (Unaligned) (Twitter) 8. News from Nullspace (Unaligned) (Twitter) 9. Politics, Journalism, Etc. (Unaligned) (Twitter) 10. Policy Sketchbook (Unaligned) (Twitter) 11. Red Left Scotland (Unaligned) Twitter) 12. Ruth Rosenau (Labour) (Twitter) 13. Talking Policy (Unaligned) (Twitter) 14. The Fifty Percent...more »
Another Wayne Easter Digression
Before getting on to more actual testimony, ... Wayne Easter has something to say. *Hon. Wayne Easter (Malpeque, Lib.): * Mr. Chair, I'm not exactly sure of the procedure here, but when the Minister of Justice appeared at the last committee meeting, he said some not too pleasant things about the British oversight committee. Quite honestly, the Minister of Justice was talking about history and was not up to date. I have before me a report that was tabled in the British Parliament by their Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, which explains what they do and s... more »
Hedges On Bill C-51
http://peakmoment.tv/ Back in March, Chris Hedges planned to address a demonstration on Bill C-51. However, his plane was delayed getting into Toronto, so the crowd never heard what he had to say. Nonetheless, his speech has been made available at rabble.ca. It's well worth reading. The corporate state has won, he writes, and it's up to us to do something about it: There are no internal constraints left to halt totalitarian capitalism. Electoral politics is a sham. The media is subservient to corporate power. The working class is ... more »
Untitled
*Desperate Ivies* *"Diversity" at all costs. A reasonably qualified Hispanic is like gold* A HIGH school senior in southern California has achieved a surprising academic clean sweep — he has been accepted to every Ivy League school. Seventeen-year-old Fernando Rojas, the son of Mexican immigrants whose schooling stopped in the eighth grade, is planning on attending Yale University. The national speech and debate champion from Fullerton High School tells The Orange County Register in Saturday’s editions that he applied to all the elite schools hoping he might be accepted to one....more »
Untitled
*Reviving the global warming "hiatus" * "Hiatus" is actually a Warmist term. "Halt" would be less inferential. Orwell taught us about how language can aid thought control but for the sake of continuity I will use "hiatus". The skeptical blogosphere has erupted in a storm of scorn at the attempt by Karl et al.to "adjust" the sea surface temperature record so that the terrestrial surface temperature shows some marginal warming in the 21st century. I liked David Middleton's comment under the heading "Gavin says the funniest things!". He says in one short paragraph what I used a l... more »
Sand Trash?
If Saudi Arabia received the same media attention as Iran or even Russia we would be reading about a very despicable place with a long history of thwarting human development. Internationally there is a good case to be made for the number one sponser of Islamic terrorism. Now a brash young man has been given the car keys. Expect a hell of a crash.
Economic News , Data and Views ( June 7 , 2015 ) - Broader Europe Updates ( Spain -- First Poll Since Regional Elections - Ciudadanos Support Drops , PP Gains In Madrid - Whose Town Hall Is Literally On Fire , PSOE and Podemos To Join Forces Against Right - But Can This Continue For National Elections ? ) ....... ( Italy Updates - Corruption and Graft , Refugees and Economic Stagnation Concerns Highlighted ) ...... ( Germany Updates - C-CEO's ad Deutsche Banks planning to resign ? World Cup Controversy Reaches Germany , G-7 commences in Germany ) ..... ( Greece Updates - Juncker Rebuts Tsipras Account and Calls From New Proposals From Greece , Additional Internal and External Political Commentary On State of Play With Creditor Talks - Note Growing Frictions )
Tweets... Broader Europe *The Spain Report* @thespainreport 1h 1 hour ago LATEST: First Metroscopia Poll Following Elections Suggests Drop In Support For Ciudadanos https://www.thespainreport.com/16598/first-me troscopia-poll-following-local-elections-suggests-sharp-drop-in-support-for-ciudadanos/ … [image: Embedded image permalink] *The Spain Report* @thespainreport 17h 17 hours ago The PP won 10 seats in Brunete Town Hall (Madrid) during the local elections on May 24, up from 6 in 2011. [image: Embedded image permalink] *The Spain Report* @thespainreport 18h... more »
Ethan Siegel's misconceptions on quantum gravity
Ethan Siegel is such a reasonable man when it comes to "ordinary" topics in physics and science. But he didn't hesitate to write about something that self-evidently goes well beyond his expertise, namely quantum gravity and string theory. The result is a repetition of the most widespread, cheapest, and most incorrect laymen's misconceptions that you may hear from generic dirty homeless beggars on the street, except for the smartest and cleanest ones. ;-) His Ask Ethan #91: Does Quantum Gravity Need String Theory? (medium.com) starts with an important quote by Edward Witten: I j... more »
"Nice guy in a nasty situation"
Channel 4's Jon Snow has been making the news again - well, at least on Twitter. Even by his standards, this is extraordinary: Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz has died in jail: Nice guy in a nasty situation - made no better by Bush/BLair's Shock and Awe — Jon Snow (@jonsnowC4) June 5, 2015 Here's a flavour of some of the reaction: @jonsnowC4 You have to be kidding re Tariq Aziz, Jon. He was the ‘beard’ on a fascist government. The Ribbentrop of Iraq. — David Aaronovitch (@DAaronovitch) June 5, 2015 @jonsnowC4 "Nice guy"? On what basis do you make that judgement - he was ... more »
(No Shortage of Acolytes for Rich Whites, and If Blacks Parrot Proper Paradigm, Whites Are Overjoyed) Why CEO Pay Brings Inferior Results (See Citigroup History) Rattlin' Wall Street! (JPMorgan Chase Waivering Letter of Aquittal at Losers) King George's Revenge? (Hyper-Rich Ready To Seize Total Power)
I hope my readers saw the all-too-evident new (but extremely familiar) hope for right-wingers' ability to write their own fantastic versions of history (reality), and attempt to fool a whole country, once again, with this recent story: Lessons from Carolina: Paying People to Not Work is Losing Policy, Tax Cuts and Reforms do Work Except of course that it's a lie and uses fabricated figures to
Harper History, Part 6A - Con Majority - Election Fraud
*Spring 2011 & Subsequent Fallout* *This** article in my series that attempt to detail the contempt that Harper and his cohorts have for Canadian Democracy will not only cover the 2011 election period but will also detail the many “allegations” of election wrongdoing arising from it. It also details the efforts to date to establish what occurred and who was involved. As I write this some 4 years later some aspects of the “allegations” remain unresolved, particularly for calls that occurred outside the Guelph Riding, mostly due to the Harper Regimes refusal to cooperate with either ... more »
Transpicuous News: No Weekend Update Tonight
Good morning my friends. I am letting everyone know that there will not be a Transpicuous News Weekend Report tonight. The next TN report will be Wednesday June 10th- and there is a strong possibility that Next Sunday's Weekend report may also be cancelled. I'm sorry my friends, I have a LOT on my plate at the moment and I have had to make a choice of where to put my energy and attention right now, as there is only so much that I can do in a day. We are Launching Our Gaia's Garden this week, and I am working on getting things ready for the launch of The Untangled Gathering this ... more »
DCNS Unveils an Evolution of Its Scorpene 2000 SSK Submarine at UDT 2015
At UDT 2015 the Undersea Defence Technology exhibition and conference currently taking place in Rotterdam, DCNS unveiled an evolution of its Scorpene 2000 diesel-electric submarines (SSK). Xavier Mesnet, Submarine Marketing Director, told Navy Recognition during UDT 2015 that this evolution of the Scorpene 2000 design shows how DCNS integrates the latest technologies unveiled at Euronaval last year (such as the second-generation fuel-cell AIP, UUV deployment and recovery, Vipere multifunction buoy...) as well as industrial challenges and customer requirements. The new Scorpene 20... more »
U.S. begins flight testing advanced missile defense interceptor
[image: SM-3 Launch]The U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) conducted the first flight test of the Raytheon Company Standard Missile-3 Block IIA. The interceptor's bigger rocket motors and more capable kill vehicle will engage threats sooner and protect larger regions from short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. "The SM-3 Block IIA program reflects the MDA's commitment to maturing this capability for the defense of our nation, deployed forces, and our allies abroad," said Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "The success of this test kee... more »
U.S. aims to have hypersonic weapons systems by 2023
[image: X-51A Waverider]The United States Air Force is looking to have an unmanned aircraft that can go five times the speed of sound in the skies by 2023. The so-called hypersonic aircraft could potentially transform the nature of modern warfare. An aircraft is considered hypersonic if it can travel at least 3,791 miles per hour. This is five times the speed of sound and is also referred to as mach 5. Hypersonic weapons will allow the military to strike targets far more quickly. Currently, the time lag between ordering a missile strike and the actual impact allows targets to get a... more »
PLA's MIRV-equipped missiles may pose threat to US
[image: DF-31 (CSS-9) ICBM]As China's missile defense technology develops, the country's anti-ballistic technology has seen a parallel rise, according to Sina's military news web portal. In the Cold War era the US and Russia armed their anti-ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. The US Sentinel Program and the Soviet A-35 system were the biggest profile anti-ballistic missile systems of the time. Although these two systems could theoretically intercept ballistic missiles, the nuclear warheads would explode over their home territory at a high altitude, leading to irreparable dam... more »
Apache-Chinook choppers deal to be signed soon
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[image: AH-64E Apache]Government is likely to soon clear a contract worth over US $ 2.5 billion for 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers with US aviation giant Boeing. Defence sources said the file relating to the offset conditions for the contract was cleared by the Defence Ministry last week and now the deal will come up for discussion in the Cabinet Committee on Security. The extended validity period of the price quoted by Boeing is ending this month. Read more
Stratcom Deploys Bombers Near Baltics
[image: B-52 Stratofortress]Three nuclear-capable bombers deployed to Europe this week for large-scale military exercises near Russia, the Strategic Command announced Friday night. The B-52s from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, are currently operating from a base in Britain and joined maritime naval exercises in the Baltic Sea called Baltops 15, the largest naval exercise by NATO forces in the region this year. The exercises are being held on and above international waters in the Baltic Sea and in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia—the Baltic states—and Poland. Read more
State-funded trolling
The *Sunday Telegraph* has a fascinating article about paid pro-Putin trolls : Ms Savchuk says that for two months, she worked as one of scores of "internet operators" in a secretive “troll factory” called Internet Research, an anonymous four-storey building on a back street in St Petersburg, Russia’s former tsarist capital and Mr Putin’s hometown. Ms Savchuk’s job was to spend 12 hours a day praising the Kremlin and lambasting its perceived enemies on social networks, blogs and the comment sections of online media. And the curious thing is that below that very article is a comme... more »
Ukraine, Poland to Develop New Generation Patrol Plane
[image: An-148]Ukrainian aircraft producer Antonov Bureau announced on June 4 that it was looking for collaboration with Polish industry in a bid to bring its aircraft up to Western standards. Antonov is looking to focus on upgrading, with Polish help, the An-148, An-158, and An-178 regional aircraft. The collaboration with Polish companies will help to bring Antonov's products in line with Western standards and integrate Western equipment onto its aircraft. Antonov deputy director Oleh Bogdanov unveiled the project during the Polish-Ukrainian meeting on the “westernization of Anton... more »
Navy awards huge contract to Newport News shipyard for future USS John F. Kennedy
[image: USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79)]The Navy has awarded a multi-billion dollar contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries for the construction of the future USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier. The John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) will be the second in the Gerald R. Ford class of nuclear powered aircraft carriers. The first steel for the ship was cut in December of 2010. Read more
Work to start on new base
Work is due to start on a new British naval base in Bahrain that aims to deter regional threats and maintain security in the Gulf and wider region. UK Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond signed a memorandum of understanding with Bahrain's government in December to set up a permanent naval base here. It is expected to accommodate Britain's new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and Type 45 destroyers. Read more
China continues to expand Navy: report
[image: Type 052D (Luyang III) class DDG]China is actively expanding its Navy, aiming to have 415 ships, including four aircraft carriers, by 2030, the U.S. Defense News reported Saturday, citing a former United States Navy officer. China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will "continue to expand for the next 15 years," retired U.S. Navy Captain James Fanell was quoted as saying at a recent conference sponsored by the U.S. Naval War College 's China Maritime Studies Institute. The PLAN will grow to include 99 submarines of all types, four aircraft carriers, 102 destroyers and ... more »
Royal Navy to let sailors smoke e-cigarettes on nuclear submarines as 'they aren't fire risk'
[image: Astute class SSN]Sailors are set to be allowed to puff e-cigarettes in their nuclear submarines. The move follows a fugitive whistleblower claiming unauthorised vaping was a safety risk. Royal Navy medical officers now think there is no risk – and e-cigs would help ratings to give up real cigarettes, reports the Sunday People. Weapons engineer William McNeilly, 25, went on the run after publishing an online dossier of alleged safety failings in the four-sub Trident fleet. Read more
Someone's opinion
Should BBC presenters challenge their paper reviewers if they say something partisan (or false)? Or should they let them speak and allow heir viewers to judge for themselves? I was wondering about that question during this morning's paper reviews on BBC One's *Breakfast*, featuring Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain as their guest reviewer. The shaykh was talking about an article in *The Observer *which warns us about what we'd lose if we left the EU (and which was read from at some length). He ended his commentary by saying this: My personal view is that I th... more »
Sunrise at Ribandar - A Photo by Lovell D'souza
*Reflections on the calm Mandovi river.* Source: *Happy Feet*
Uchiyama is right
While moving hoses, I found this tomato turning. What's remarkable about that is that it's about sixty days ahead of schedule. We are in a small heat wave, which is unusual for June here; also there was no winter to speak of and these tomatoes (Stupice) were planted a month earlier than they ordinarily would be, so if this was ever going to happen, this would be the year. While dragging hoses I carelessly knocked a young turnip out of the ground, so hosed it off and hung it on the fence to take in for lunch. The cherries are also ahead of schedule, so I'm doing acrobatics. This... more »
Bear Aware
A couple of weeks ago I undertook some rather unique training at work. Following last year's tragedy where a young woman was mauled by a black bear, Suncor rolled out some new bear awareness training. The first part was basic background information about bears, how to read their behaviour and how to act (or not act) if you should happen to encounter one. The second part, which I completed a few days later involved how to properly use bear deterrents, namely bear spray. I've had a couple of black bear encounters in my life, the most
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