2:13 am MST
Another Trumpfest *sigh*
*A duck enclosure. The white ones are farmed. They don't fly away because they are too fat -- ducks are like dogs, we were told, they eat and eat. The black ones are wild visitors living the easy life.* So much headache this week. I think I'm going to invest all my retirement funds in tranquilizers, since everyone in DC must be taking them by the handful now... Before we get to the stupidity of Trump, let's look at the Tsai Administration Defense Minister's comments: Should Chinese military aircraft flying near Taiwan request permission to land because of mechanical issues or *con... more »
Reviewing Space developments in 2016 and the next big future in space
This is one of the Nextbigfuture article series reviewing developments in 2016 and looking ahead to developments over the next few years. Here we look at 2016 in space. Later articles will look at medicine, life extension, energy and other areas. Previously we reviewed computers and artificial intelligence The biggest developments in space in 2016 * Spacex had several successful launches and landed several rocket stages but had an accident which has grounded Spacex. They hope to launching again in January 2017 * Spacex test fired the new Raptor engine * Blue Origin made progress in 2... more »
Education & The Election
There is plenty of analysis on why Trump narrowly won the crucial states that gave him an electoral college victory—Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan—even though Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2.5 million votes. But what was particularly striking was how, even if we control for race and income, educational levels best predict how people voted in the election. Of course this was expected, but I was shocked by how much a difference education made in terms of voter preference. http://ieet.org/archive/donald-trump-1818953_960_720.png
4 Steps for Optimizing Situational Awareness and Visual Intelligence
Amy Herman teaches visual intelligence to doctors, intelligence analysts and the NYPD. Here she runs through how to make decisions you can defend under questioning: ones that are perceptive and informed
Syrian army liberates Aleppo
*Off-topic, business:* Pilsner Urquell, the beermaker in my hometown that gave the name to 90% of the world's beer, was sold by SABmiller to Asahi, a Japanese beer company, for $7.8 billion, along with four less well-known post-communist European breweries. Because of anti-monopoly legislation, SABMiller+Anheuser Busch was forced to sell *some* breweries. The City of Pilsen, descendants of the old 19th century owners, and some Czech billionaires were among the prospective buyers. The Battle of Aleppo is finally over. It lasted for more than four years – since July 2012. It's a ver... more »
LPP Fusion reviewed at Mars Conference
Gerald Black - Nuclear Fusion is the solution to energy problems and to advance space propulsion Read more »
Rump May Make Russia Great Again
By Manifesto Joe Each day seems to bring new confusion. I've never been a fan of the CIA. As an organization, it doesn't appear to understand the simple concept of "blowback," instead embracing myopic "U.S. interests" that see ahead as far as about a couple of days rather than a couple of decades. The 1953 overthrow of a democratic government in Iran is an example. Wow, and now so many folks there hate us? Who could imagine? But to have a "president-elect" pick a fight with them before even taking office? Not smart. Resident-elect Donald J. Rump took time from his busy schedule of ... more »
Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, “Laguna Indigo”
Liquid Mind, “Laguna Indigo” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVMUw2yyp_0
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Sometimes galaxies form groups. For example, our own Milky Way Galaxy is part of the Local Group of Galaxies. Small, compact groups, like Hickson Compact Group 87 (HCG 87) shown above, are interesting partly because they slowly self-destruct. Indeed, the galaxies of HCG 87 are gravitationally stretching each other during their 100-million year orbits around a common center. The pulling creates colliding gas that causes bright bursts of star formation and feeds matter into their active galaxy centers. * Click image for larger size.* HCG 87 is composed of a large edge-on spiral galaxy ... more »
"I Pity You..."
"Said a philosopher to a street sweeper, “I pity you. Yours is a hard and dirty task.” And the street sweeper said, “Thank you, sir. But tell me, what is your task?” And the philosopher answered saying, “I study man's mind, his deeds and his desires.” Then the street sweeper went on with his sweeping and said with a smile, “I pity you too.” - Kahlil Gibran
"Attitude..."
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” - Kahlil Gibran
Ever Get Caught Up In A Revolution? Guest Post From Eden Unger Bowditch
*Cairo, revolution* I met Eden Unger because I used to do a alt-metal rock show on KUSF in San Francisco and she was in an all girl hard core band, Rude Girl. Great band! Eventually, Sandy Pearlman (Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, The Clash) was going to produce their debut album for my record label and CBS, which had bought my company, was going to release it. But it never happened and I can't remember what exactly why or what transpired next. I remember Eden being a metal sculptor working with a blow torch and then the next thing I knew decades had passed, she was an author with ... more »
British Town Mass-Medicating School Children with Free Fluoridated Milk
*Anna Hunt* - Fluoridated milk is now available via the town’s free school breakfast program. The post British Town Mass-Medicating School Children with Free Fluoridated Milk appeared first on Waking Times.
Hillary Furious After Wisconsin Recount Increases Her Loss
Hillary Clinton lost Wisconsin by over 22,000 votes as the finalised recount total on Monday reaffirmed Donald Trump’s victory in the state. Hillary Clinton is reported to be “furious” after Donald Trump picked up an extra 162 votes following Jill Stein’s $3.5 million push to recount ballots in the state. Despite arguments from Green Party candidate Jill Stein that voting machines in Wisconsin were susceptible to hacking, the recount results prove, once and for all, that Russia did not hack the election – Hillary simply lost. Wisconsin Recount Ends, Trump Picks Up 162 Votes "No cr... more »
Hillary’s Russian Hackers Story Was Concocted During Final Debate
Hillary Clinton’s carefully concocted plan to accuse Russian hackers of helping Donald Trump win the election was openly hinted at during the third and final debate. The video below shows Hillary pivoting away from a question about domestic immigration to raise the unexpected issue of Russian President Vladimir Putin “hacking the Democrats’ emails” in an attempt to “influence the outcome of the U.S. election”. Was she laying down the foundation for the fake news scandal that currently plagues the mainstream media? The transcript reads: “Finally, will Donald Trump admit and condem... more »
“The Secret to Letting Go of Every Fear”
* “The Secret to Letting Go of Every Fear”* By VividLife “Are you afraid of some condition in your life? Here’s a life-transforming secret: that seemingly scary condition, whatever it may be, is not the problem. It is your reaction that is fearful. This is why if you will become conscious of your condition instead of afraid of it, you will change forever your relationship with fear. It is only within this special kind of inner-relationship that there is real safety, because now you are interacting with fear in an entirely new way. You are no longer letting it dictate to you how to ... more »
It’s Christmas in Venezuela
*[image: venezuela_santa]* *Its socialist rulers having taken the means of production into the toilet, and with its currency now worth less than the toilet paper you won’t find there, Venezuela’s socialist apparatchiks have now done a reverse Scrooge – confiscating toys from toy makers so they can be seen to be Santa. But quite apart from the moral outrage of blatant theft, Dan Mitchell points out in this guest post that the practical problem with raiding toy makers to redistribute toys is that next year, there won't be any toy makers to raid.This is what socialism looks like... more »
Who Would Trust the CIA?
*US Intel Vets Dispute Russia Hacking Claims* December 12, 2016 As the hysteria about Russia’s alleged interference in the U.S. election grows, a key mystery is why U.S. intelligence would rely on “circumstantial evidence” when it has the capability for hard evidence, say U.S. intelligence veterans. *Veteran Intelligence Professionals for SanityMEMORANDUMAllegations of Hacking Election Are Baseless* A *New York Times *report on Monday alluding to “overwhelming circumstantial evidence” leading the CIA to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin “deployed computer hackers... more »
Spacex efficiency and the efficiency of the Raptor engine
*Bill Nye talked about some of the Efficiency of Spacex* Spacex makes everything in one place and does it very efficiently. *Elon Musk talks about efficiency of the new Raptor Engine* The Raptor engine has three times the operating pressure of the Merlin Engine. It has three times the thrust but is the same size. Spacex can use the same production techniques that have been honed with Merlin. Spacex is making 300 Merlin engines per year. Although they use 51 Raptors for the Interplanetary space transport. They could make about 6 Interstellar space transports per year without incre... more »
These Are The Global Conflicts To Watch In 2017
*Uri Friedman, The Atlantic:* *Global Conflicts to Watch in 2017* *The greatest unknown for U.S. interests in the world might be the United States itself.* Over the last several years, concern about a particular threat to the United States has been steadily rising in a survey of American foreign-policy experts and government officials by the Council on Foreign Relations. On an annual basis, hundreds of respondents estimate the likelihood and impact on U.S. interests of 30 possible conflicts in the coming year. These conflicts are then divided into three tiers of risk to the Unite... more »
"The Cycle of Life: Aging Parents"
*"The Cycle of Life: Aging Parents"* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM "Dealing with an aging parent is part of the challenges and blessings that are part of the cycle of life. For most of us a natural part of the cycle of life is when our roles as children start to shift from that into caretaking roles where are parents are concerned. This can be as major moving a parent into a retirement facility, or coming to the realization that it's necessary to check in with them more often than usual. Whatever the case, such a shift is momentous as it signals a time of confronting our own morta... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand. Thanks for stopping by!
Trump Is A Fascist-- Americans, Get Ready For The Fight Of Our Lifetime, A Personal View
*-by Helen Klein* Yesterday I was perusing the headlines of the *Washington Post*. It is about all I can take these days, as reading the details in each piece is too nauseating. I also find watching the news on television way too difficult, as looking at Trump’s face and listening to him speak about his plans and appointments make me ill. (And I thought looking at Johnson, Nixon and Bush’s countenances was bad!) What struck me in the *Post* was the Op Ed piece entitled, Donald Trump Is Actually A Fascist. Hey, let’s call a spade a spade. Howie is already on it. While more and more... more »
Respected Nurse Shuns Oncology and Radiation to Survive Breast Cancer
*Alex Pietrowski* - What would you do if you knew how the system worked? The post Respected Nurse Shuns Oncology and Radiation to Survive Breast Cancer appeared first on Waking Times.
What Happened to the 'Fiscal Conservatives'?
It's Advent season which means we are holding our weekly vigils at Bath Iron Works (BIW) here in Maine declaring our desire to see the Navy shipyard converted to build sustainable technologies like commuter rail systems, wind turbines, tidal power systems and solar power. The military has the largest carbon bootprint on Mother Earth and if the future generations are going to have a future we need to stop waging endless war and instead build for the future. But it won't happen unless we keep making the demand and continue to build support for the idea. Mary Beth Sullivan wrote an ... more »
“I Don’t Think We Can Stop It:” The Future of Automation and Job Loss
Expert Martin Ford believes the shift toward automation that benefits both consumers and retailers, like that used to power Amazon's cashier-less grocery store, is inevitable. Amazon Go is an example of how tech that exists right now could replace retail salespersons and cashiers, two jobs that had the highest employment numbers in the U.S. in May 2015. The post “I Don’t Think We Can Stop It:” The Future of Automation and Job Loss appeared first on Futurism.
Need a House Built Quickly? Bring In Hadrian
Hadrian builds houses four times faster than humans. The post Need a House Built Quickly? Bring In Hadrian appeared first on Futurism.
UK & US climate developments
As the Trump presidency and cabinet appointments raise hopes that the politicisation of climate science may at least be challenged politically, if not arrested, a new report reveals that Britain’s global warming fantasy tale has already cost it over £300 billion, mostly in “rising costs borne disproportionately by the less well off, the elderly and the vulnerable.” You would think that those who usually presume to talk for the less well off, the elderly and “the vulnerable” would all be up in arms at the news – except those who are usually most vocal to that end have been largel...more »
With The Fall Of Aleppo Inevitable, Some Are Wondering If The Syrian Army Is Actually 'Fragmenting'
Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad flash victory signs and carry a Syrian national flag on the edge of the historic city of Palmyra in this handout picture provided by SANA on March 26, 2016. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters *Jonathan Marcus, BBC*: *Syrian conflict: Assad's fragmenting military* The pendulum swing of military advantage in Syria is well-illustrated by the contrasting fortunes of the Syrian government forces in Aleppo and Palmyra. In Aleppo the pro-regime offensive is continuing to squeeze rebel fighters into a smaller and smaller sector of the easter... more »
... terrorists are pretending to be refugees per Daily Mail Online - No Shit Sherlock
'Germany has admitted Schengen zone nations must bring back border checks amid fears terrorists pretending to berefugees are moving freely across the continent.' Terrorists pretending to be refugees in order to move freely across Europe, No Shit Sherlock. They've told us that this is what they will do, why are we surprised that they are doing it? Daily Mail article here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4024098/Germany-admits-Schengen-zone-nations-bring-border-check-terrorists-pretending-refugees-moving-freely-continent.html The BBC report on this, is nowhere.
Mohawk Nation News 'Quitters Never Win. Winners Never Quit.'
QUITTERS NEVER WIN. WINNERS NEVER QUIT. Posted on December 12, 2016 Please post & distribute. MNN. Dec. 12, 2016. Chairman Archie Archambault of Lakota Inc. shows what a loser does. He jumps completely into their boat and tries to get everyone else out of the canoe and into the boat with him. Chairmen only exist in corporations. Their main job is to ensure ever growing dividends for
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 12, 2016
*Patrick Cockburn, The Independent*:* If Assad takes eastern Aleppo he thinks he will have won the war* The insurgents are losing because Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are not coming to help them The Syrian armed forces are close to capturing the remaining rebel-held districts in the enclave of east Aleppo, bringing them their biggest victory in five years of war. The insurgent armed forces, that were originally estimated to number between 8,000 and 10,000 fighters, have been retreating or giving up more readily than had been expected. It is still possible that a hard core will ... more »
Kenny Frost -- Stockpiled Supplies and the Chairman's Deal at Standing Rock
This is just one corner of one many warehouses where the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe stockpiled donations that were received in recent months. The boxes, marked by the senders for specific camps of water protectors, are in the process of being distributed today. Tribal workers said the packages had been there since October. Kenny Frost, Ute Elder and Water Protector who made this public today
JARED KUSHNER IS A DEADBEAT, TOO
DNAinfo reports: EAST VILLAGE -- Con Edison has slammed a row of East Ninth Street buildings owned by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, with notices threatening to shut off service because Kushner's company failed to pay hundreds of dollars in electric bills. Kushner's company, Westminster Management, has let $700.47 in unpaid electric bills pile up, according to a service turn-off notice delivered to the row of buildings spanning 329-335 E. Ninth St., and never paid a $525 security deposit. The company must pay up within the coming weeks to avoid a service turn-off, acco... more »
Clinton Demands Electoral College Overturn Results
Hillary Clinton’s team have urged the Electoral College to respond to claims by the CIA that Russia influenced the US elections by overturning the election results. Hillary’s top aide, John Podesta, says the Clinton campaign will support members of the Electoral College in addressing serious concerns over “our national security” as a result of Russian hacking. Podesta has urged members of the College to take resposibility and rectify the problem by potentially overturning the results, claiming it is their Constitutional duty to do so. “The bipartisan electors’ letter raises very ... more »
Celebrations In Aleppo As City Is Liberated By Syrian Army
Aleppo has been officially liberated after the Syrian army ousted rebels from their remaining bastions in the eastern part of the city. 🇸🇾✌️Joy and excitement of the people in Aleppo tonight as they celebrate the Syrian Army victory after 4 long years of battle pic.twitter.com/6hidFTlaYl — M Green (@MmaGreen) December 12, 2016 Syrian forces made significant advances earlier on Monday leaving only three residential blocks in the hands of anti-government forces and hundreds of rebels laid down their arms and surrendered to the Syrian army. Residents have poured onto the streets to ... more »
Life’s much better when you quit “the news”
We have friends who will religiously cut short whatever social or emotional gathering they are in, and resolutely head indoors at 6pm: they have to watch “the news,” they say. Having given up “watching the news” some years ago because of the slops being shovelled out as brainfood, I find myself more in agreement with David writing at Raptitude on the many blessings of giving up “the news”: *To be clear, I’m mostly talking about following TV and internet newscasts here. This post isn’t an indictment of journalism as a whole. There’s a big difference between watching a half hour... more »
World News Briefs -- December 12, 2016 (Evening Edition)
The collapse of Aleppo's rebel resistance ©Kun TIAN, Simon MALFATTO, Laurence SAUBADU (AFP) *Daily Mail:* *Thousands of Syrians take to the streets to celebrate the 'final phase' of the battle for Aleppo after forces say they now have control of '98% of the east of the city'* * Syrian troops have captured the Sheikh Saeed and Saliheen districts of Aleppo * They have also taken control of al-Fardous, which the rebels held since 2012 * Zakaria Malahifji, a rebel, said: 'The situation is extremely difficult today' * Assad's regime, backed by Russia, has taken advantage of US politica... more »
Obama’s Legacy: Institutionalizing Assassination Complex For Any President To Play Judge, Jury, And Executioner
As President Barack Obama’s administration comes closer to an end, the number of civilians killed by United States drone strikes in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen is at least 500, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Nearly all of the drone strikes were a part of the The post Obama’s Legacy: Institutionalizing Assassination Complex For Any President To Play Judge, Jury, And Executioner appeared first on Shadowproof .
Nvidia is the new Intel and its chips are used by most of the 3000 AI startups worldwide
In a fascinating bit of silicon serendipity, it turns out that the same technology that can conjure up a gorgeous alien landscape or paint a picture-perfect explosion is also nearly optimal for the hottest area of AI: deep learning. Deep learning enables a computer to learn by itself, without programmers having to code everything by hand, and it’s leading to unparalleled levels of accuracy in areas like image and speech recognition. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon are buying ever larger quantities of Nvidia’s chips for their data centers. Institutions like Ma... more »
Russia planning to build up to 38 small 300 MW cogerating nuclear reactors to reduce fossil fuel usage
Four Russian cities have expressed an interest in using small reactors to supply heat and power, according to Yuriy Kuznetsov of NA Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET). A Rosatom feasibility study has concluded that up to 38 cogeneration reactors could potentially be deployed at 14 sites for this purpose. In many Russian cities district heating is a common feature that sees a local power plant supply up to around 250 MWe to the grid, as well as process heat to a communal system to warm homes, schools, factories and offices. These systems have t... more »
Bill Gates and other billionaires have a New Model for Investing in Energy Innovation and will ramp funding to $30 billion by 2020
By the middle of this century, the world will use twice as much energy as we use today. There’s good news in this: more energy means better lives and stronger economies. But it also means the world needs a new energy supply—one that doesn’t contribute to climate change. Climate change is a serious threat, especially in the poorest parts of the world. Bill Gates (and other wealthy friends) announced the launch of Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), a fund that will invest more than $1 billion in scientific breakthroughs that have the potential to deliver cheap and reliable clean e... more »
German Nuclear Fusion Stellerator operating with error rate of less than one in 100,000
A team of researchers from the US and Germany have now confirmed that the Wendelstein 7-X (W 7-X) stellerator is producing the super-strong, twisty, 3D magnetic fields that its design predicted, with "unprecedented accuracy". The researchers found an error rate less than one in 100,000. "To our knowledge, this is an unprecedented accuracy, both in terms of the as-built engineering of a fusion device, as well as in the measurement of magnetic topology," the researchers write in Nature Communications. W 7-X isn't actually intended to generate electricity from nuclear fusion - it's sim... more »
Trump: Russia Hack Claims Are ‘False Flag’ Operation
Trump’s team have accused the CIA of conducting a “false flag operation” in falsely accusing Russia of influencing the U.S. election. On Sunday, Donald Trumps deputy secretary of state appointee, John Bolton, described CIA reports that Russia meddled in the US election as a “false flag” designed to overturn the results and win Hillary the Presidency. Dailywire.com reports: In an interview with Fox News’ Eric Shawn, the former ambassador used the phrase “false flag operation” in reference to the CIA’s purported assessment which concluded that Russia deliberately interfered with th... more »
176,000 Gallons Of Crude Oil Allowed To Spill Over Dakota Camp
A staggering 176,000 gallons of crude oil was allowed to spill near the Dakota Access Pipeline camp where protestors are camped out. According to the North Dakota Health Department, electronic monitoring equipment failed to detect a rupture in the pipeline, allowing it to spew thousands of gallons of crude oil in the nearby North Dakota creek, located just two and a half hours from Cannon Ball where protestors are camped out. Cnbc.com reports: The leak was contained within hours of the its discovery, Wendy Owen, a spokeswoman for Casper, Wyoming-based True Cos., which operates the ... more »
UK Ambassador: Russia Hacking Claims Are “Bullsh*t”
Former UK ambassador Craig Murray has called the CIA’s claim that Russia hacked the DNC in order to help Trump win the election as “bullsh*t”. Murray claims that he has met the hackers personally, and they’re most definitely not Russian. “I know who leaked them,” Murray told the UK’s Guardian newspaper. “I’ve met the person who leaked them, and they are certainly not Russian and it’s an insider.” Zerohedge.com reports: I had a call from a Guardian journalist this afternoon. The astonishing result was that for three hours, an article was accessible through the Guardian front page w... more »
Washington Insider, Not Russia, Behind Clinton Leaks
According to whistle-blower and former British ambassador Craig Murray, the Podesta and Democratic National Committee emails were not leaked by Russian hackers but by a Washington insider. Murray has already said that the leaks were the work of a Washington insider; and has now confirmed that he knows the identity and has even met with the person. The Clinton campaign has repeatedly insinuated that Russian agents were responsible for the release of the emails, but even the FBI are now casting doubts that the DNC and Podesta leaks were the work of Russia. Alexander Mercouris via Th... more »
Dear peer reviewer, you stole my paper: An author’s worst nightmare
“Deeply disturbing,” “heinous intellectual theft,” erosion of the “public’s trust in medical research:” These are just a few words used to describe a rare type of plagiarism reported in this week’s Annals of Internal Medicine. Although we’ve only documented a few cases where peer reviewers steal material from manuscripts and pass them off as their […] The post Dear peer reviewer, you stole my paper: An author’s worst nightmare appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Today, Pope Francis Issued the Catholic Church’s First Statement on Nonviolence—Ever by Rev. John Dear
Dandelion Salad by Rev. John Dear World Beyond War December 12, 2016 Today, Pope Francis released the annual World Day of Peace Message for January 1, 2017, called “Nonviolence—A Style of Politics for Peace.” This is the Vatican’s fiftieth World Day of Peace message, but it’s the first statement on nonviolence, in the tradition of […]
What John Key once told the ‘Wall Street Journal’
With all the *in memoria* issued to John Key’s premiership, both gushing and otherwise, I’m surprised no-one remembered to repost or to raise Key’s astonishing 2008 *Wall Street Journal* interview. Astonishing in that he was playing Adam Smith to investors abroad while ramping up to be a Mini-Maynard Keynes at home. “You can’t spend your way out of a crisis” he told the *WSJ*, then went on to prove it. Test out his testimony then against what you know now of his record: *"We don't tell New Zealanders we can stop the global recession, because we can't," says Prime Minister John... more »
Islamic State Consolidates Control Of The Syrian City Of Palmyra
*CNN*:* Reports: ISIS retakes ancient Syrian city of Palmyra* (CNN)ISIS forces have retaken the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, according to Syrian government media, the ISIS media wing and a human rights monitor. Syrian news agency SANA reported that over 4,000 militants swarmed the city from "various directions," despite having suffered heavy losses from bombardments by the Syrian air force. The Russian Defense Ministry had earlier reported that its aircraft had also taken part in the air campaign. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed that Palmyra... more »
Syrians Celebrate Aleppo's Liberation
Made me cry.... I've been covering this since 2011- Most likely being the first person to have noticed the start of the destabilization IN March of 2011. *March 24/2011: Western backed Social Media "revolution" coming to Syria* Nearly six years and more then 1200 posts here at the blog regarding Syria and all the going's on in the neighbourhood.The remake the middle east /north africa agenda which Syria is just one part of. *It's not over. But it's nice to see the Syrian people happy. * * Press TV* Residents in Syria’s Aleppo have poured onto the streets to celebrate the immin... more »
Dec. 12: apologies for lateness
I pass lightly over an irving press story that announces a study showing that the provincial government spends too much money on us worthless slobs who are the citizens. There is no mention of how much it spends on rich slobs. Worse, the paper does not tell us anything about the organization that released this study. It is the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies. This is a propaganda house sponsored by the wealthiest people in the province. It's purpose is to tell us what the rich want us to think. That's why if never tells us about the taxes the rich (don't) pay, nor what they g... more »
The Republican Wing Of The Democratic Party Picks A New Leader-- Meet Jim Himes
It's worth reading Sunday's *Salon* post by Sean McElwee, Jesse Rhodes (the singer-songwriter?) and Brain Schaffner about the pernicious impact big Republican donors-- like Sheldon Adelson, Robert Mercer, Ken Griffin, Liz Uihlein, Paul Singer, Joe Ricketts, Ron Cameron, Diane Hendricks and Bernie Marcus-- have had on the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. "The donor pools, they wrote, "for both Republicans and Democrats, in both presidential and congressional elections, are dominated by the wealthy. Millionaires make up a mere 3 percent of the population, but nearly half of all... more »
The Red Scare?
(By Cyril Blubberpuss, Conservative-American) "Well," I said to my chauffeur right after I directed him to splash a puddle of ice cold rain water on someone who looked like a Bernie Bro, "starting with The Donald essentially turning Trump Tower into Blair House, things are really going to change in this old joint!" Let's take a look at the Federalist Papers by a forgotten President named Alexander Hamilton. In #68, he wrote (when he wasn't writing shitty musicals about himself), as pertains to the election of the President (emphasis mine)- Nothing was more to be desired tha... more »
UNICEF: Child Malnutrition At “All Time High” In Yemen
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) warn that hunger among Yemen’s children has reached an “all time high”, with nearly 2.2 million in need of urgent care. The agency added that round 1.7 million, were suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. These children are suffering from the highest ever recorded rates of malnutrition amid scarcity of food supplies due to Saudi Arabia’s devastating military campaign against its poor neighbor. Press TV reports: The UN agency said close to half a million children in Yemen were also grappling with severe acute ... more »
Obama To Open ‘Ministry Of Truth’ Propaganda Agency
Congress has approved funding for the first ever ‘Ministry of Truth’ propaganda agency in the United States, which Obama is expected to sign into law before he leaves office. Amid a heavy-handed crack down on independent media outlets under the guise of countering Russia propaganda, the U.S. government have introduced a number of emergency measures to ban subversive news from appearing online and to counter them with their very own propaganda. The House previously passed “H.R. 6393, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017“, at the end of November, which will allow U.S.... more »
Skype provides realtime language translation for nine languages works with skype, mobile phones and landlines
Microsoft Skype just expanded its feature allowing users to translate their speech in real time. The company announced that Skype Translator, previously only available for calls made between one Skype client and another, will now include all calls to mobile phones and landlines. The Translator feature currently supports nine spoken languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic, and Russian. That represents a sizeable chunk of the native languages spoken by the world’s population. But the feature is still far from perfect. The co... more »
The Battle For The Syrian City Of Aleppo -- News Updates December 12, 2016
*Washington Post*: *Syrian forces push Aleppo rebels to brink as city nears ‘total collapse’* BEIRUT — Syrian forces in the northern city of Aleppo pinned down rebel fighters to a sliver of territory on Monday as President Bashar al-Assad’s troops appeared close to capturing their biggest battlefield prize and delivering a crushing loss to the opposition. Taking full control of Aleppo — whose eastern districts were among the last urban strongholds of the rebels — would not end the more than five-year-long conflict that has ravaged Syria and scattered millions of war refugees acro... more »
Charlie Pierce, Patti Smith get it right!
*MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016What Bob Dylan said:* Charlie Pierce gets it right in this brand new post. Included is Patti Smith's beautiful rendition of A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, live and direct and on videotape from the Nobel ceremonies. Assuming Dylan was involved in this presentation, we'd say he's given his requisite lecture. It turns out to have been a spectacular, moving address. For a slightly fuller tape of Smith's performance, you can just click here. Did Dylan write that 1962 song in some sort of time warp? Pierce notes that the song is "suddenly relevant;" he selects a ... more »
Edgar Cayce’s Prediction Unfolds – Antarctica Splitting Open
A giant crack opening up across Antarctica confirms a prediction made by psychic Edgar Cayce who said the Earth would go through major changes in the coming years. According to Cayce, the presence of the 130 kilometer crack is a precursor to massive earth changes that will see the destruction of the west coast of America. Cayce predicted: “The earth will be broken up in many places. The early portion will see a change in the physical aspect of the west coast of America. There will appear open waters in the northern portions of Greenland.” “There will be seen new lands of the Caribb... more »
Clinton Team Support Elector Demands For An Intelligence Briefing Before The Electoral College Votes To Certify Trumps' Election Win
*(Click on Image to Enlarge)* *Politico:* *Electors demand intelligence briefing before Electoral College vote* *The request represents the latest effort by Democratic electors to look to the Electoral College as a possible bulwark against a Trump presidency.* In its first show of public support for efforts questioning the legitimacy of Donald Trump's victory, Hillary Clinton’s campaign said it is supporting a request by members of the Electoral College for an intelligence briefing on foreign intervention in the presidential election. “The bipartisan electors' letter raises very g... more »
University of Washington develops passive Wi-Fi that uses 10,000 times less power and should be commercially available by 2018-2019
A team of University of Washington computer scientists and electrical engineers has demonstrated that it’s possible to generate Wi-Fi transmissions using 10,000 times less power than conventional methods. The new Passive Wi-Fi system also consumes 1,000 times less power than existing energy-efficient wireless communication platforms, such as Bluetooth Low Energy and Zigbee. A paper describing those results will be presented in March at the 13th USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation. “We wanted to see if we could achieve Wi-Fi transmissions using almost no ... more »
FBI Agents Prepare To Counter CIA Coup Against Trump
FBI agents have had their holiday leave cancelled amid fears of an attempted coup by the CIA to overthrow President-elect Donald Trump. According to reports, all 35,000 agents are on standby to stop a bid by the Central Intelligence Agency from overthrowing the democratically elected president of the United States. The FBI have relocated most of its SWAT teams to the MacDill Air Force Base in Florida where they have been placed under a joint command structure with the US Militaries Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The move comes after President Obama told U.S. soldiers dur... more »
US ‘Concerned’ That Japan Is Allowing Putin Visit
The United States views the warming of ties between Russia and Japan with concern, as Japan is Washington’s principal ally in Asia. Japan defied US objections to planned talks between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which are set to take place in Tokyo later this week. A Japanese government source told Kyodo news agency: “Although Japan needs to play a role as a G7 member, it is also natural for us to pursue national interests and holding a summit meeting in Tokyo causes no problem” RT reports: Earlier this week, Japan formally announced the talks fo... more »
NASA: Lost Civilization May Exist Beneath Antarctica
Photo’s released by NASA appear to vindicate the conspiracy theory that an ancient civilization exists beneath the Antarctica ice sheets. The huge icy continent is thought to have once been home to the Lost City of Atlantis over 12,000 years ago, when large parts of Antartica were ice-free. Photo’s released earlier this year from NASA appear to verify these claims, as images taken by NASA’s Operation IceBridge mission show what internet detectives claim to be a “lost underground city”. Google Earth images also show a pyramid poking out of the ice, which some experts claim is furthe... more »
U.S. Military ‘Accidentally’ Kill 90 Iraqis In Massive Airstrike
The United States Air Force has apologised for “accidentally” killing 90 innocent Iraqis in a massive airstrike over Mosul in Northern Iraq. Over 90 Iraqi soldiers lost their lives when American fighter jets from the USAF struck them, mistaking them for ISIS militants. According to an Iraqi official, the US military had attacked Iraqi soldiers on Friday, destroying eight infantry fighting vehicles and wounding 100 soldiers belonging to the 9th Armored Division. Presstv.ir reports: On Saturday, the commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, s... more »
Cop Gets Measly 180 Day-Sentence for Killing an Unarmed Man on Video for No Reason
[image: feaster]A cop who shot and killed an unarmed man for no reason as he climbed from a wrecked car, was found guilty and sentenced to only 180 days in jail.
“Terminally Ill Boy Dies in Santa’s Arms”
*“Terminally Ill Boy Dies in Santa’s Arms”* by Newsroom “All a terminally ill Nashville boy wanted for Christmas was to meet Santa Claus- and he did, and then died in Old St. Nick’s arms. The 5-year-old was minutes away from death when a nurse at the Tennessee hospital where he was being treated called Eric Schmitt-Matzen, a 300-plus-pound mechanical engineer who looks like a real-life Kris Kringle. The 60-year-old, who slips into a Santa outfit for about 80 events a year, didn’t even have time to change into his regular getup. He rushed to the hospital 15 minutes later in only his... more »
Midday Musical Interlude: Gandalf, “A Seagull's Tale”
Gandalf, “A Seagull's Tale” - https://www.youtube.com/
Visitors
To say it's bit a wee bit nippy that past few days would be a bit of an understatement. I supposed I've lived up north long enough to be more or less used to it, although having said that, that doesn't necessarily mean I always like it. Thankfully I've been on my days off so I take solace in knowing that I don't have to be out working in it. While I've had somewhat of a sedentary existence the past week, I've been fortunate to have a few visitors around. In total, there's something like 10 to 12 species I can regularly expect to see this time of the year without having to leave... more »
“Health Care Hither and Yon: An Invitation to Scream about Socialism”
*“Health Care Hither and Yon:* * An Invitation to Scream about Socialism”* by Fred Reed "Almost all advanced countries, if not all, have national medical care. It is telling that in the debate over Obamacare, few looked at systems in other countries to see how well what worked. The reason seems to have been a mixture of the classic American arrogance and lack of interest in anything beyond the borders. Characteristically, discussion usually turned on the evils of socialism– for some reason, Europe is thought to be socialist– and who was going to make money. The results are what on... more »
New Bill In US Senate Puts Jews Above The Law! (As If They Are Not Already?)
While the attention of most Americans has been so focused in on the ongoing ridiculous attempts by the criminals in the Democratic Party to still steal the Presidential Selection away from Donald Drumpf, and other focus has been on ridiculous American reality shows and sporting events, something very insidious is about to take place in Washington DC that should have every American on alert.... It is diabolical and will basically strip away the 1st amendment rights of every American citizen.... And lo and behold it involves the criminal tribe of Jewish criminals! Right now, I want to... more »
"How You Bear It..."
“Without an antagonist prowess fades away. Its true proportions and capacities come to light only when action proves its endurance. You must know that good men should behave similarly; they must not shrink from hardship and difficulty or complain of fate; they should take whatever befalls in good part and turn it to advantage. The thing that matters is not what you bear but how you bear it.” - Seneca
Ruminations on the meaning of "hacked!"
*MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016Three possibilities concerning Russkie involvement:* Yesterday morning, on Meet the Press, Chuck Todd and Reince Priebus spent eight minutes spreading gorilla dust about those alleged Russian hacks. Tomorrow, we may try to catalog the confusion. In our view, two agents created this ball of confusion. One of them was the underprepared, under-specific Todd. For today, we'll post a single question. What does Priebus mean when he says the RNC wasn't hacked? Yesterday, Priebus and Todd went round and round on this and a hundred other points. Repeatedly, Prie... more »
The Move To Overturn The U.S. Presidential Election Intensifies
U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears at a campaign roundtable event in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., October 28, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo *Washington Times*: *Russian hack story fuels bid to reject Trump in Electoral College* A liberal group Monday used reports about Russian hackers helping Donald Trump in effort to get Electoral College members to switch their votes and elect Hillary Clinton president. Progressive Change Committee sent an email to supporters calling for protests when Electoral College meets next Monday at state houses in each... more »
FBI Rejects CIA Claim that Russia Assisted Trump in Presidential Election as “Fuzzy and Ambiguous”
[image: cia]The FBI is not buying the Post propaganda piece that was parroted across the 24-7 media echo chamber crowing about anonymous CIA officials.
Google’s Timelapse Tool
By Paul Homewood http://world.time.com/timelapse/ Google have released a new tool, called Timelapse. It uses satellite images to produce a slideshow of how the Earth has changed over the course of the last thirty years. It covers a number of topics, such as urbanisation and deforestation. But inevitably it has attracted media attention over […]
“Spoils” and Trump's worst sin, spitting on the defeated.
Amid this Twilight Zone episode we’re living through, what’s my *personal* grievance? I had hoped by now to swing my attention fully back to *writing* science fiction, rather than living it. Oh, there were chillingly accurate SF’nal forecasts. Not Orwell (not yet.) But I’ve mentioned Robert Heinlein’s prophesy of America enduring “crazy years” and a fundamentalist tyrant “Nehemiah Scudder.” Even more depressingly apropos is Ray Bradbury’s “The Sound of Thunder.” Watch a short film version here. Some have sent emails commenting on how my “Holnists” in The Postman resonate with the... more »
Wells Fargo Fake Accounts Scandal Spreads To Life Insurance Business
Prudential Financial announced it would suspend the distribution of a low-cost life insurance policy through Wells Fargo. The post Wells Fargo Fake Accounts Scandal Spreads To Life Insurance Business appeared first on Shadowproof.
98% of East Aleppo Reclaimed; 100,000 Civilians Evacuated; Massive ISIS Attack on Palmyra
The Syrian coalition has recaptured some 98% of East Aleppo and SOHR said the battle is over, and more in our round-up of news from around the world. The post 98% of East Aleppo Reclaimed; 100,000 Civilians Evacuated; Massive ISIS Attack on Palmyra appeared first on Shadowproof.
TRUMP HAS MADE A BOLD AND SURPRISING MOVE TO THE RIGHT ... OR MAYBE HE'S JUST LAZY
Writing for *National Review,* John Fund expresses surprise at the level of ideological purity in Donald Trump's incoming administration: The biggest surprise Donald Trump has provided as president-elect is just how conservative a cabinet he is putting together. “This is a more conservative cabinet than Reagan assembled in 1980,” says Ed Feulner, a key Trump transition adviser. As president of the Heritage Foundation at the time, Feulner provided guidance for Reagan’s choices. The conservative cast of the nominees thus far is somewhat unexpected, given Trump’s well-known reputation... more »
The Economy: "Financial Black Hole Will Be Filled- Gregory Mannarino"
*"Financial Black Hole Will Be Filled- Gregory Mannarino"* By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com "Analyst/trader Gregory Mannarino says the bond market and stock market are way out of kilter and look for a big correction. Mannarino explains, “Something has to give here. Either a lot of cash has to go back into the bond market, and I don’t know where it’s going to come from, or the stock market has to come down to normalize this. Right now, the market is trying to price in a new President here with his outlook on the economy, lowering corporate taxes and trying to create jobs.” Mannarino... more »
Hexagonal diamond Lonsdaleite created in Australia and it is 58% harder than regular diamond
The Australian National University (ANU) has led an international project to make a diamond that's predicted to be harder than a jeweller's diamond and useful for cutting through ultra-solid materials on mining sites. ANU Associate Professor Jodie Bradby said her team - including ANU PhD student Thomas Shiell and experts from RMIT, the University of Sydney and the United States - made nano-sized Lonsdaleite, which is a hexagonal diamond only found in nature at the site of meteorite impacts such as Canyon Diablo in the US. "This new diamond is not going to be on any engagement rings... more »
U.S. Companies Continue To Dominate The Global Arms Trade
*(Click on Image to Enlarge)* *Forbes:* *U.S. Companies Dominate The Global Arms Trade **[Infographic]* According to new data on the international arms industry released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), the world's top 100 arms companies sold $370.7 billion worth of military equipment in 2015. Despite a 2.9 percent decrease on 2014, companies in the United States continue to dominate the trade, with 2015 sales amounting to $209.7 billion. Arms sales by Western European countries increased 6.6 percent to $95.7 billion while Russian firms sold $30.1 bi... more »
Chess is Smart and Sexy! The Mysterious Psychology of Chess Intelligence 3/3
[image: Judit Polgar - Greatest Female Chess Player of All Time] read more
Entomology journal retracts 2016 study with flawed analyses
An entomology journal has issued its first retraction during the current editor’s nearly 30-year tenure — for a 2016 study with serious flaws in the analyses. After the Journal of Medical Entomology (JME) published the study — about the identification of genes that enable an insect to detect odors — an outside researcher wrote a letter to the […] The post Entomology journal retracts 2016 study with flawed analyses appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Lavrov: US Proposal To Declare Pause In Aleppo Lead Up Blind Alley- Aleppo Recovery 100%?
Lavrov :US proposals to declare pauses in hostilities in Aleppo lead up blind alley BELGRADE, December 12. /TASS/. US proposals to declare pauses in hostilities for coordinating corridors for the withdrawal of gunmen and civilians from eastern Aleppo lead up a blind alley, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. *"The US has returned to its old and dead-end position which is that before coordinating the corridors [for the withdrawal of refugees and gunmen] a pause of three, four and seven days must be declared*," he said. *"We have already gone through this. Thi... more »
Kissinger Says Give Trump A Chance
Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger has warned against pre-judging the president elect, telling critics to judge Trump on his policies, rather than his rhetoric. He said that the personality of Donald Trump has “no precedent” in modern US history, but he should be given a chance to put forward his policies. Kissinger warned critics not to judge the president-elect based on his campaign rhetoric and highlighted his potential to shape global politics and keep to the US tradition of “building world peace.” Press TV reports: “International debate should be over evolving Ameri... more »
Ukraine has rebuilt 250,000 person army but Russia will hold escalation advantage for years
Russia and Ukraine are the two countries with the largest land armies in Europe. They have been locked in a conflict for three year and have repeatedly come close to escalating to all-out war. On Dec. 1, Ukraine announced it had successfully tested 16 medium range surface-to-air missiles within a designated airspace over the Black Sea. More than 10,000 soldiers and civilians have already died in the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops are squared off in static, trench warfare against a combined force of pro-Russian separatists and Russian regulars. Ukraine now ha... more »
The World Spent $1,575,000,000,000 On The Military For 2016
*(Click on Image to Enlarge)* *The Telegraph*: *$1,570,000,000,000: how much the world spent on arms this year* Increased fears about global stability and the rise of new military powers is driving a return to steady growth in worldwide defence spending. A new analysis of arms spending from Jane’s Defence Budgets report found that outlays on weapons, equipment rose 1pc in 2016, to a global total of $1.57 trillion. The uptick marks a turning point in defence spending, according to Fenella McGerty, principal analyst at Jane’s, after a “lacklustre” period with budgets constrained b... more »
Iran Stages 'Massive' War Drills
*Washington Free Beacon*: *Iran Stages Massive War Drills In Show of ‘Supremacy’* *Unveils new drone technology.* Iran has been conducting a series of massive war-drills meant to demonstrate the Islamic Republic’s “supremacy” and show Western forces that the country is prepared to attack forces stationed in the Persian Gulf region, according to Iranian military leaders and reports in the country’s state-run media. The war drills, which began on Sunday in southeastern Iran and continued into Monday, include ground and air forces as well as unmanned drones. The war games coincided... more »
BREAKING: Electoral College to Determine if “Trump is Fit to Serve as President” on News of Russia Hacks
[image: electoral]Electoral College is demanding further investigation and that Trump prove he accepted no Russian assistance in order to determine if he is 'fit' to be president.
Michigan’s New Laws Put Self-Driving Cars on Road Without Human Drivers
Michigan has officially become the first state to adopt legislation dealing with the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles. While the legislation is a huge step forward for autonomous vehicles, many experts are calling for uniform federal laws to avoid a patchwork of state-to-state regulations. The post Michigan’s New Laws Put Self-Driving Cars on Road Without Human Drivers appeared first on Futurism.
Afghan Taliban Rejects Peace Talks And Boasts Its Continuing Alliance With Al Qaeda
*Long War Journal: **Taliban rejects peace talks, emphasizes alliance with al Qaeda in new video* The Taliban rejects “peace talks” with the West and advertises its continuing alliance with al Qaeda in a newly released video entitled, “Bond of Nation with the Mujahideen.” The video was produced by Manba’ al-Jihad Media for Production, which has long been affiliated with the Haqqani Network and was folded into the Taliban’s media arm years ago. The production was disseminated on the Taliban’s websites and social media, including on accounts affiliated with the group’s spokesman. ... more »
World News Briefs -- December 12, 2016
*ABC News Online:* *Syrian army claims it is in final stages of taking control of Aleppo as rebels retreat* The Syrian army and its allies are in the "final stages" of recapturing Aleppo after a sudden advance that has pushed rebels to the brink of collapse in an ever-shrinking enclave, according to a Syrian general. A Reuters journalist in the government-held zone said the bombardment of rebel areas of the city had continued non-stop overnight, and a civilian trapped there described the situation as resembling "Doomsday". *Read more* .... *MIDDLE EAST* Aleppo operation in final... more »
We Await the Crisis...
*by Gaius Publius* *From my mother's sleep I fell into the State* —Randall Jarrell I'll have a whole lot more to say about this subject later. But so this piece doesn't turn into an essay, let me expand just briefly on a theme I've been discussing by borrowing a few words from Chris Hedges. The theme? That the nation is in a pre-revolutionary condition, has been for a while, from which could easily erupt a "rolling civil war." Hedges writes about the Trumpian State's reaction to rebellion, whether by Black Lives Matter in unruly opposition to the next murder-by-cop, or the Dakota... more »
American Indian Genocide Museum 'The Homestake Gold Mine'
Cheyenne, Little Big Horn The Homestake Gold Mine Steve Melendez, Paiute, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony President, American Indian Genocide Museum Censored News The Homestake Gold Mine, in Lead, South Dakota, operated for 125 years and produced 41 million troy ounces of gold (over $48 billion dollars at today’s
Mohawk Nation News 'Hard Cold Fascism'
HARD COLD FASCISM Posted on December 12, 2016 Please post. MNN. DEC. 12, 2016. We grassroots people along with all life can never “bend our knees”. Creation programmed us to fight for freedom. US President-elect Trump plans to try to privatize our communities to be owned by the banks. He announced he plans to try to push through all the pipelines. Will he preside over the real American
Treasure Quest, PTSD and a Sheridan Resort Hotel
For those of you keeping score at home, I had sworn off publishing anything more about *Treasure Quest – Snake Island*(which has nothing to do with Snake Island this season) but the last episode outraged me. Keith “Cappy” Plaskett had collapsed in the jungle and when the rest of the team reached him and touched him, he began screaming and curling up into a ball. He then said something about Vietnamese and later we’re told he had a flash back to his Vietnam service. I’m always suspicious of those claims and read a statistic that suggested there are only 880,000 Vietnam Vets still ali... more »
Mail Bag
From faithful reader CC. My response is in italics. I refuse to link to the Puff Ho so I won't. And Sanders gets a ton of his vitriol. "Despite having begrudgingly supported Clinton following his primary defeat, both at the Democratic National Convention and on the campaign trail through November..." If Sanders gave begrudging support for Clinton after July, he wouldn't have disappointed so many of his supporters. These mainstream Dems are what's wrong with the Democratic Party. Instead of investigating allegations of Republican voter suppression and even looking in... more »
Trump attacking government and military procurement spending problems via tweet shaming
Donald Trump is bent on reforming government spending, one tweet at a time. This morning just before 9a.m., the president-elect lashed out at the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program on Twitter, promising to change the game after he enters office. Trump did not clearly state what he planned to do after he becomes president, the tweet sent ripples across the defense community and had an immediate impact on the stock market value of Lockheed Martin Corp., the manufacturer of the F-35. Within hours of the tweet, the company’s stock had dropped more than 4 percent, multiple outlets report... more »
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- December 12, 2016
*The Hill*: *Trump transition team reviewing military rules of engagement* President-elect Donald Trump's transition team at the Pentagon is looking into loosening the rules of engagement for troops fighting overseas, according to a report. The Trump team has asked for a list of restrictions, limitations and other "rules of engagement" on U.S. troops operating overseas, according to an NPR report. That includes rules on how close U.S. special operators can get to the fight in Iraq and Syria and who they can target on the battlefield and how. Trump often blasted the rules of en... more »
Police Say Video of Cop Bashing Innnocent 16-yo Boy’s Head is ‘Insufficient Evidence’ to Charge Him
[image: baton rouge]Video evidence of Baton Rouge police beating an innocent teen boy was not sufficient enough to bring charges against any of the officers involved.
DRUM AND JONES—AND US: Drum and Jones say the problem is Us!
*MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016Part 1—Commenters can't seem to see it:* Last Tuesday, we recommended Van Jones' hour-long CNN town hall special, The Messy Truth. Over the weekend, we finally watched the program. In our view, it was a very weak effort. For starters, the program suffered from the scattershot staging typical of such "town halls." Jones spent thirty seconds speaking with representatives of every imaginable group. Such drive-by conversations are pointless. Even worse, he spent a lot of time talking to Rick Santorum, who had been chosen, for some reason, to represent the st... more »
What I Have Mostly Been Watching
I watched Fern Britton’s interview with Michael Gove yesterday.”Fern Meets” etc. The religious content usually puts me off this programme, but my curiosity was aroused when I discovered Michael Gove was the subject. The details of wee Michael’s early life were fascinating, and he came across as a nice man, with a refreshing willingness to admit to his own mistakes and offer (carefully considered) straight answers to some tough questions. This seems to be a fashion embraced by the current crop of political mavericks. Of course it could have been a cynical and calculated exercise ... more »
Fukushima Extra Steamy Today
It appears to be raining at Fukushima daiichi today based on the atmospheric conditions visible on TEPCO cam 1. However, the Futaba cam shows dry streets. Weather conditions: There are no updates on conditions at the site since the sizeable November earthquake. I wonder whether the ice wall failed entirely with the result of more water encountering melted corium under the plant. The site looks terrible.
President-Elect Donald Trump Criticises F-35 Costs
The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016 *Wall Street Journal:* *Donald Trump Targets F-35 Program in Latest Dig on Defense Spending* Shares of Lockheed Martin and suppliers United Technologies and BAE Systems were lower in early trading President-elect Donald Trump took aim at one of the Pentagon’s costliest programs on Monday, saying on Twitter the “program and cost” of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “is out of control.” This... more »
Mosul Campaign Day 56, Dec 11, 2016
On December 10 the Golden Division announcedit freed one more neighborhood of east Mosul. That was a total of five for the day although half of those had been gone through already. On December 11 the Golden Division freedone new area and attackedanother, which had been liberated before. The Iraqi forces are now far enough into the city that they were able to shell the western half for the first time. Some neighborhoods continue to switch hands but the Iraqi forces are still pushing forward almost every day. In Hamam al-Alil south of Mosul the Federal Police capturedIslamic State ... more »
Newt Gingrich: Propaganda Media has No Relationship with News...
*propaganda: * noun 1. information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc. 2. the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc. 3. the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement. *Newt Gingrich:* The larger point for all Americans is* you now have a propaganda media that has no relationship with the news. It’s aligned with a Washington establishment which is corrupt and dishonest.* And they are in a state of total shock and denial because the American people c... more »
Fmr US Ambassador to UN: Russia Hacks Could be ‘False Flag Operation’ By Obama Admin
[image: russia]A former US ambassador now suggests hacks of the two political parties were an Obama administration false flag, not Russia.
WATCH: Kissinger Says Allow Trump Administration to ‘Put Forward Its Vision of International Order’
[image: kissinger]The 93-year-old globalist, Henry Kissinger, just told the world to accept the Trump presidency as it will aid in ushering in the new international order.
How Many Nukes Does It Take To Destroy The World?
Photo Wikipedia *Business Insider*: *Here's how many 'super nukes' American scientists thought it would take to destroy the world in 1945* Shortly after the end of World War II, the scientists who developed the atomic bombs dropped on Japan tried to envision the kind of nuclear event that could lead to the destruction of not just cities, but the entire world. A declassified document shared by nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein gives the verdict that scientists at the Los Alamos laboratory and test site reached in 1945. They found that "it would require only in the neighborhood of ... more »
The British Royal Navy Is Now Down To Only 26 Combat Vessels
The U.K. Royal Navy Invincible-class aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (R 06), and Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in 2007. US Navy Photo *Robert Beckhusen, National Interest*: *The Royal Navy Only Has 26 Combat Vessels (And Is Now Killing-Off Its Only Aircraft Carrier)* HMS Illustrious, the last of the Royal Navy’s Invincible-class carriers, has set sail from Portsmouth to meet her doom at a Turkish scrapyard. The British government chose to sell her for scrap in 2014, but Illustrious’ final journey nonetheless signa... more »
Would Legalizing The Opium Trade Help America Win The War In Afghanistan?
Afghan men gather raw opium. (Reuters/Parwiz) *Abigail Hall-Blanco, Quartz*: *America risks losing the war on terror in Afghanistan unless it legalizes the opium trade* According to a recently released report by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), opium production in Afghanistan has risen by 43% in the last year. The country’s drug trade employs some 2.9 million people—12% of the Afghan population—and generates approximately $68 billion in revenue a year. This increase comes despite the fact that drug eradication polici... more »
These Are The Ten Reasons Why China Will Have Trouble Fighting A Modern War
Photo: World Affairs Board *Dennis J. Blaskof, War On The Rocks:* *Ten Reasons Why China Will Have Trouble Fighting a Modern War* China's new weapons and rising defense spending make headlines in the Western press, but there are 10 factors that raise serious questions about the China's ability to fight a modern war. The introduction of new weapons and platforms into the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has captured the attention of much of the world for well over a decade. However, new equipment is only one element of the PLA’s long-term, multi-dimensional modernization process. The... more »
Tesla Is About to Crush a Test That Will Silence the Skeptics
Following Tesla's best-ever year for delivering cars, auto analyst Adam Jo predicted that the Tesla Model 3 will not launch in 2017. However, this author asserts that, by spring 2017, we should start to see photos and videos of the Model 3 being tested in the wild. The post Tesla Is About to Crush a Test That Will Silence the Skeptics appeared first on Futurism.
Cop Arrested After Video Showed Him Stomp Handcuffed Man’s Head So Hard It Bounced
[image: stomp]In spite of his fellow cops covering for him, video evidence of the violent cop stomping a handcuffed man's head has led to his arrest.
Homeless People Sprayed With Water As They Sleep On British Streets
Homeless people are finding British streets to be increasingly hostile places for rough sleepers who say they are being targeted with “deliberate noise pollution”, “defensive architecture,” and attempts to spray them with water as they sleep. According to the homelessness charity Crisis, 20 percent of homeless people that they surveyed claimed to have experienced deliberate attempts to disturb their sleep and force them away from public spaces. RT reports: Respondents to the survey said these measures included playing loud music, bird song and traffic noise from speakers, as well a... more »
Centcom: US Backed SDF (90%+ Kurds) Initiate Next Phase of Raqqa Isolation (Annexation?)
* Flashback: November 6/16: Whose Timeline Will Win In Raqqa-Was the US forced Into a Move on Raqqa?* **As mentioned previously if Aleppo was to be taken back by Syria- The US and Kurds would need Raqqa for leverage over Damascus. It seems the US backed terrorists will lose Aleppo.* *We see today Aleppo has been taken back. Making the move on Raqqa a necessity * - Syria Recovers 98% Of Aleppo City- Operation is in Final Stages *Centcom: US Backed SDF Initiate Next Phase of Raqqa Isolation * SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 12, 2016 — The Syrian Democratic Forces on Dec. 10 announced the s... more »
China - Japan Trade Accusations Over Recent Air Incident Near Okinawa
A Chinese military plane H-6 bomber flies through airspace between Okinawa prefecture's main island and the smaller ''Miyako island' in southern Japan, out over the Pacific, in this handout photo taken October 27, 2013 by Japan Air Self-Defence Force. *Reuters:** Japan protests over China's complaint about fighter jets* Japan said on Monday it had protested to China over a Chinese complaint that Japanese fighter jets had engaged in "dangerous and unprofessional" behavior when they scrambled at the weekend as Chinese aircraft flew near Japanese islands. Chinese military aircraft on... more »
What Is The Chinese Point Of View On The Possible Appointment Of Exxon's Rex Tillerson
Rex Tillerson shakes hands with China National Offshore Oil Corp. chairman Fu Chengyu. Credit: REUTERS/Susana Vera *Yahoo Finance:* *What the Chinese think about Exxon's Rex Tillerson* BEIJING, China — ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s expected nomination as the next US secretary of state is perplexing some informed business people in Beijing. The questions take two different tracks. The first relates to Tillerson’s experience. “Is he qualified?” asked an executive in the banking industry. “It looks like Trump is filing up his Cabinet with people with no government experience.” When... more »
WPTPN: Civil Society Resistance in Liberal Democracies in a Time of Rising Non-Accountability
This World Politics in a Time of Populist Nationalism (WPTPN) guest post is written by Dr Cynthia Banham, a University of Queensland Post-Doctoral Fellow at the School of Political Science and International Studies. She is also a Visitor at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) at the Australian National University. Her forthcoming book, […]
When Hell Freezes Over—Will Generals (and Admirals) Stop Global Warming and Bring Peace and Human Rights to the Trump White House?
It now looks like the candidate who boasted that he knew more than the generals will be a President who appoints them and asks their advice. There has been considerable criticism of this from those concerned about a concentration of civilian power in the hands of former military brass. This is well-reasoned, because a pipeline […]
Journal’s new program: Choose your own reviewers – and get a decision in days
Peer review has numerous problems: Researchers complain it takes too long, but also sometimes that it is not thorough enough, letting obviously flawed papers enter the literature. Authors are often in the best position to know who the best experts are in their field, but how can we be sure they’ll choose someone who won’t […] The post Journal’s new program: Choose your own reviewers – and get a decision in days appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Tell you later
Black macaque reserving judgment When I first started blogging I often used go through my ‘prose’ and take out all the “I”s and “me”s because I thought too much first person in a blog was naff. As you can see, I no longer bother. Let the naff all hang out. I’m not intentionally trying to make myself look virtuous - you, know, virtue signal alert - but the reason I tend to confine my opinions to the one issue is because - on broader, party political issues - I keep seeing both sides of the story. That might sound like a boast, “look what a good person I am”, but in fact it’s a bit o... more »
The Syrian War To Free Itself From The Evil US/Israel/NATO Criminal Cabal: Updates On Present Situation, And Yes, Aleppo Is Indeed About To Be Liberated!
The news coming out of Syria over the last few days has had its both highs and lows... Presently, the good guys, the Syrian government forces and their Russian and Arabic Allies, are within days now of taking total control of the city of Aleppo.... The "rebels" and "terrorists" still holed up in eastern Aleppo have now been squeezed into an increasingly small pocket and have no hope of escape or winning against the superior Syrian forces.... But while Aleppo is about to fall, elsewhere there has been some setbacks for the Syrians, especially in and around the central Syrian city of... more »
Bigger Then Watergate? MUCH Bigger... Much, Much, Much Bigger
How did Obama allow Russia to set up a hacking operation powerful enough to threaten democracy in France, Holland, Germany, install puppet governments in Hungary, Moldava and Bulgaria and determine the outcome of the presidential election in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio? And why are-- usually investigation-happy-- congressional Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan determined to prevent thorough look into this? Over the weekend Lindsey Graham (R-SC) unleashed a twitter storm obliquely warning of Russian intentions: And yesterday, he joined with Democrat... more »
DEMOCRATS HAVE NO ONE TO GUIDE THEM ON WHICH KNIFE TO BRING TO THE GUNFIGHT
Donald Trump is about to become president, and Politico reports that Democrats have no response plan: As Donald Trump’s inauguration draws near, Democrats fear they remain woefully unprepared to fight the new president’s agenda. The party loses its standard-bearer once President Barack Obama leaves office, and the Democratic National Committee won’t get a permanent chairman and staff until March, two months into the presidency. That Democratic power vacuum has raised concerns about the party's ability to provide a united message -- or even to stand up a centralized rapid response o... more »
Trumping O'Leary and Trump
Unlike his father, Justin Trudeau doesn't wear a rose in his lapel. To many Canadians, however, Justin was a rose. Lately, the bloom has been coming off that rose. Michael Harris writes: - If you are an environmentalist tired of Harper’s abuses, two, maybe three tar sands pipelines, and a monster LNG project were not exactly what you had in mind when you voted for Trudeau. If you happen to be a member of the First Nations living in British Columbia, you may believe along with Grand Chief Stewart Philip that Trudeau has “completely failed” in his duty to protec... more »
US Claim Of Killing 50,000 ISIS Terrorists ‘Fairytale’: Ex Diplomat
The US government’s claim of killing thousands of terrorists in the fight against ISIS is the “stuff of fairy tales” and far removed from reality, according to former American diplomat, J. Michael Springmann. Springmann, who had been a high-ranking US diplomat in Saudi Arabia, made his remarks after a senior American military official said that the US-led coalition conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria had killed terrorists in the two countries since 2014. Press TV reports: The latest assessment by the unidentified official even exceeded the 45,000 estimate announced in August b... more »
“Fake News Versus Misleading News”
*“Fake News Versus Misleading News”* by Scott Adams “I’m watching the mainstream media have fits over so-called “fake news.” The theme they are pushing is that fake news stories are more damaging to society than normal news that includes the following: 1. True stories told out of context to intentionally mislead. 2. Biased reporting that the media doesn’t realize is biased. 3. Giving a spotlight to people who are lying. 4. Misleading by putting emphasis on some things and not others. 5. True stories too complicated for the public to understand. 6. True reports of sources that happen to... more »
Syria Recovers 98% Of Aleppo City- Operation is in Final Stages
*Good news for Syria!* Syrian forces on Monday managed to reclaim several more areas from Takfiri terrorists in eastern Aleppo, and are now only steps away from the full liberation of the embattled northwestern city. Link According to Tasnim dispatches, the army troops and their allies seized control of the areas of Karem al-Afandi, Karem al-Da’da, al-Salehin, and al-Firdous on Monday after inflicting major losses on the terrorists in eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo. The forces are now advancing toward Jiser al-Hajj, al-Jlom, Bab al-Maqam, al-Firdous and Qal’et al-Sahreef. The rep... more »
Aristotle for Objectivists
*Aristotle for Objectivists * *Robert Mayhew* In this lecture Robert Mayhew provides an analysis of the good ideas that those who follow Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism can hope to find in Aristotle's works. Ayn Rand has called Aristotle the “Philosophical Atlas who carries the whole of Western civilization on his shoulders.” She has said: “Whatever intellectual progress men have achieved rests on [Aristotle’s] achievements.” (“Review of Randall’s *Aristotle*” by Ayn Rand; *Voice of Reason*) Yet Rand is also critical of several Aristotelian ideas. She has said that Aristotle... more »
Untitled
*UK: Why I’m fighting my University's ban on popular newspapers* *Banning the sale of tabloids is slippery censorship and should be opposed* I feel like I watched campus democracy finally die last night. In an extraordinary act of authoritarian virtue-signalling at Queen Mary University in London (QMUL), where I’m a student, 13 student councillors revealed their inner tinpot totalitarian by deciding to ban the sale of newspapers on campus. Like medieval cardinals, these censorious 13 decreed that the content of newspapers such as the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Express is unaccept... more »
Untitled
*It’s Official: Record Drop Of Global Temperatures Confirmed* New official data issued by the Met Office confirms that world average temperatures have plummeted since the middle of the year at a faster and steeper rate than at any time in the recent past. The huge fall follows a report by this newspaper that temperatures had cooled after a record spike. Our story showed that these record high temperatures were triggered by naturally occurring but freak conditions caused by El Nino – and not, as had been previously suggested, by the cumulative effects of man-made global warming. T... more »
Egypt's Precarious Balancing Act
*December 12, 2016* (Ulson Gunnar - NEO) - In 2011, the United States successfully overthrew the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak amid the regional so-called Arab Spring. In place of President Mubarak's government, rose the Muslim Brotherhood, a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) backed political front that has served their, and their Western sponsors' interests for nearly a century post-Ottoman Empire. The Muslim Brotherhood was also instrumental in setting the stage for destabilization and eventually war in Syria. To no one's surprise then, under the post-Arab Spring gov... more »
Britain Facing Energy Crisis–OFGEM Senior Executive
By Paul Homewood h/t Philip Bratby http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/11/britain-facing-energy-crisis-could-could-see-families-pay-extra/ From the Telegraph: Britain’s increasing reliance on "intermittent" renewable energy means that the country is facing an unprecedented supply crisis, a senior Ofgem executive has warned. Andrew Wright, a senior partner at Ofgem and former interim chief executive, warned that households could be forced […]
Anti-Semitism: Official definition 'will fight hatred' per BBC News
The BBC's report http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38281950 of Teresa May's plans to fight antisemitism in the UK gets a grudging welcome from the BBC in an article that ends thus: 'Labour, which has faced accusations that it has failed to tackle anti-Semitism in its own membership, welcomed the move. A spokesman for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said hatred towards Jews was "as repugnant and unacceptable as any other form of racism". Earlier this year Baroness Chakrabarti, the former director of civil liberties group Liberty, chaired an inquiry into anti-Semitism in the party.It found ... more »
Untitled
*From Jenna Orkin* THE CIA MOVES TO INVALIDATE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS BY BLAMING RUSSIAN HACKING Paolo Gentiloni, Renzi's 'dull' foreign minister, becomes Italy's new prime minister Some colleges are refusing to call themselves 'sanctuary' campuses because states could cut their funding Spanish police took down a European hub for counterfeits, seizing nearly $8.5 million in fake goods Some Amazon warehouse workers are reportedly sleeping in tents to save money This rainbow tree is real — and it grows naturally in the Philippines Trump's reported pick for secretary of state has lo... more »
Terror arrests: Five men and one woman arrested in police raids per BBC News
Apparently: 'Six people have been arrested on suspicion of offences under the Terrorism Act. Four men from Derby, a man from Burton upon Trent and a woman from London have all been arrested on suspicion of engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism.' Will anyone give me odds as to the backgrounds of these five 'men' and one 'woman'? More here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-38287126
They Need New Chicken Bones
The Democrat Party has continually crowed (through their Ministry of Truth proxies in the mainstream media) that they understand America, Americans and the political future of the nation. We have been blanketed by their predictions and progressive wisdom. Nobody casts the bones better than Rep. Pelosi, who despite her assertions to the contrary, is the best friend that the Republican Party has ever had. “I think we could, today, win everything. Bless his heart. Donald Trump is the gift that keeps giving to us,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in June. And with the death of ... more »
Deceptive excuses for Bohmian mechanics
Three days ago, PBS Spacetime explained the event horizon. I have only watched parts of the video but I do believe that it does correctly explain what's special and what's not special about the black hole event horizon – and how the Penrose diagrams work. Sadly, PBS Spacetime keeps on producing wildly deceptive videos about quantum mechanics. In late October, they promoted the many worlds "interpretation" which I discussed two weeks ago. The November 30th video embedded above promotes Bohmian mechanics – the pilot wave theory. The 12-minute-long video (plus four minutes not relate... more »
Happy Holiday! A.I. Writes and Sings Christmas Song
It’s finally the last month of the year and you know what that means – the holiday flood known as Christmas. Celebrated by many, it’s a time of the year where presents are exchanged and songs are sung. Only this year one of those songs won’t be sung (let alone written) by a human being. Nope, this time an artificial intelligence is giving it a go! http://ieet.org/archive/holiday-image.jpg
Venezuela replacing largest bill with coins with inflation at about 2000%
The Venezuelan government has announced it will replace the country's highest-denomination banknotes with coins within 72 hours. It hopes swapping the 100-bolivar notes will help to stop smuggling and tackle shortages of food and other items. The 100-bolivar note has lost most of its value over the past few years and is now worth about 2 US cents (£0.015). The government last published figures for inflation in December 2015, putting it at 180%, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that next year's prices will rise by more than 2,000%. India recently scrapped 500 ($... more »
IEET Fellow Prof. S. Sorgner nominee in the category Ethics for the World Technology Awards 2016
IEET Fellow Prof. S. Sorgner was a nominee in the category Ethics for the World Technology Awards 2016 (http://www.wtn.net/summit-2016/nominee)
How Monsanto Promotes Worldwide Infertility
I had already reached this conclusion but i had linked it to Roundup. This put persuasively into the environment and is almost impossible to avoid. At the same time we have an ongoing collapse in amphibian populations using the same likely biological pathways. That other lessor chemicals could also be as much a problem was not obvious. Worse, is that management cannot not know and have decided to proceed no matter. Proving the case is a challenge unless we capture documents and that is unlikely. . *How Monsanto Promotes Worldwide Infertility* * http://humansarefree.com/201... more »
Study Reveals Cannabis May Offer a Breakthrough Treatment for Alzheimer’s
This is very promising and suggests that at the least that a cannabis protocol will slow the progress of the disease. Perhaps stop it cold. This is more great news on this problem. A whole series of effective protocols are springing up with cannabis. all this is adding to the momentum to correctly legalize it ASAP. . *Study Reveals Cannabis May Offer a Breakthrough Treatment for Alzheimer’s* *November 30, 2016* *A study out of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California has demonstrated that the psychoactive compound in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), re... more »
Dangers of HPV Vaccine Revealed Yet Again in Scientific Paper that Was Retracted, Now Republished
In a perfect world, a vaccine would be produced and diluted with a saline solution matching blood salinity. We all assumed that something like that must be happening. No such luck. We use preservatives instead which by definition are not obviously blood system compatible. Some of those ingredients are undigested organics which can easily not unreasonably trigger a serious allergenic reaction. In fact it appears to be the sole source for the peanut butter allergy epidemic. And just why have we flooded the pipeline with so many vaccines at all? I understand known childhood ... more »
Adolf Hitler's Real Religion and Twisted Beliefs
An awfully good question really. It has been one that has always bothered me mostly because no one wished to own up. More reasonably he was a typical secularist who drifted and never became grounded as his career skyrocketed. More seriously he did develop a belief in the naive ideas of eugenics quite popular in his formative period and this was then attached to the anti Semitic gestalt he grew up with. Nothing prepared him to be critical of all this and this informed his book Mein Kampf. He was also attracted to the romantic vision of pre Christian German paganism and he obvi... more »
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
It’s the eternal quandary of thinking about the intersection of international politics and global health: where does Elton John fit in? We now have an answer. It’s where we try to understand issues of moral and legal responsibility of an international organization. About a month ago, I wrote about cholera and global health. One of […]
Chief tester F-35 says F35 will not be ready for combat testing til 2019-2020 and F35C wings are not strong enough to carry missiles
Pentagon officials have been preparing a misleading assessment of progress on Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35, the costliest U.S. weapons program, the Defense Department’s chief tester warned. “If not changed, the existing responses would at best be considered misleading and at worst, prevarications,” Michael Gilmore, director of operational test and evaluation, wrote in an internal memo criticizing the draft response to questions about F-35 testing from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain. Gilmore challenged passages in the Defense Department’s draft response to McCa... more »
Why Socrates Hated Democracy
We’re used to thinking hugely well of democracy. But interestingly, one of the wisest people who ever lived, Socrates, had deep suspicions of it.
Cray and Microsoft accelerate deep learning training to minutes instead of weeks
A team of researchers from Microsoft, Cray, and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) have been working on a project to speed up the use of deep learning algorithms on supercomputers. They accelerated the training process. Instead of waiting weeks or months for results, data scientists can obtain results within hours or even minutes. With the introduction of supercomputing architectures and technologies to deep learning frameworks, customers now have the ability to solve a whole new class of problems, such as moving from image recognition to video recognition, and from sim... more »
Tweet For Today
So Bill Murray walks into the Oval Office... #GetCovered https://t.co/X4R4hhC5Fe — The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 12, 2016
The Economy: "The Crony’s Recipe for Building a Fortune"
*"The Crony’s Recipe for Building a Fortune"* by Bill Bonner "‘Behind every great fortune is a crime,’ said French novelist Honoré de Balzac. Even our modest little pile owes much to a crime, though not our own. But what is behind Wilbur Ross’ billion-dollar fortune?In this series, we are describing how crony capitalism works. The cronies don’t break the law; instead, they make the law. That is, they work with their elected representatives, government employees, regulators, and lobbyists to sculpt the field on which they do battle. Naturally and inevitably, they give themselves the... more »
5 Presents Kids Can Make for their Grandparents
Some of the items were provided by Oriental Trading. All ideas and opinions are my own. My kids love making presents for their grandparents and I always let them help make whatever we are giving them. This year, we decided to pull together out favorite ones to share with you. These are all easy enough that my 8-year-old can make them with just supervision and my two-year-old can make them as long as I cut everything out. I love that they are so excited to give this year! 1. Hand Print Flowers in Chalkboard Pots You will need: - white cardstock - acrylic paint in your d... more »
Musical Interlude: James Taylor, "You Can Close Your Eyes"
James Taylor, "You Can Close Your Eyes" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2hTQjK1Fa4
Picture Of The Day
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (L) gives his acceptance speech during the awards ceremony of the Nobel Peace Prize held on December 10, 2016 in Oslo, Norway. © AFP 2016/ TOBIAS SCHWARZ
The IPCC Reports Quickly Evaluated by Prof. Frederick Seitz
"The IPCC is pre-programmed to produce reports to support the hypotheses of anthropogenic warming and the control of greenhouse gases, as envisioned in the Global Climate Treaty. The 1990 IPCC Summary completely ignored satellite data, since they showed no warming. The 1995 IPCC report was notorious for the significant alterations made to the text after it was approved by the scientists – in order to convey the impression of a human influence. The 2001 IPCC report claimed the twentieth century showed ‘unusual warming’ based on the now-discredited hockey-stick graph. The latest IPCC ... more »
An Inside Look At How The CIA Interrogated Saddam Hussein
*New York Daily News*: *CIA analyst John Nixon's grilling 'Interrogation of Saddam Hussein' left the dictator whining about scrapes as he gave up answers* The end was not pretty for Saddam Hussein. On Dec. 13, 2003, U.S. special-ops soldiers dragged a haggard, white-bearded man from a spider hole in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq. Before his captors could inform President George W. Bush that one of the largest manhunts in U.S. military history had ended in victory, the prisoner’s identity needed confirmation. Enter CIA analyst John Nixon. “Debriefing the President: The Interrogation o... more »
Israeli PM Netanyahu Wants To Work With President-Elect Trump To Undo The Iran Nuclear Deal
*The Guardian:* *Netanyahu aims to discuss 'various ways' to undo Iran deal with Trump* Israeli prime minister tells CBS he has ‘about five’ options in mind as he hopes to undo nuclear agreement after president-elect takes office. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said he means to discuss with Donald Trump “various ways” to undo the Iran nuclear deal, after the president-elect moves into the White House next month. “I think what options we have are much more than you think,” Netanyahu told CBS’s 60 Minutes in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday. “Many more. An... more »
Is Trump Really Thinking Of Naming Rick "Oops" Perry Energy Secretary?
Or is Trump just enjoying humiliating Perry, the way he humiliated poor pathetic Mitt Romney by publicly dangling the Secretary of State job over his head, forcing him to prostrate himself at Trump Tower and then be photographed eating frogs' legs at a foo-foo restaurant. And to top it all off, Trump then named someone who's probably not confirmable to the post. Why would Trump do that to former Governor Perry? You forgot? Watch-- while remembering that Trump is a vindictive asshole and is proud of that aspect of his repulsive personality: Or maybe Trump figures Perry's from Te... more »
FBI Agents Kicked Out Of Iceland For Framing Julian Assange
According to a former Icelandic minister, Iceland sent a “planeload of FBI agents” back to the USA after they attempted to frame Julian Assange. In 2011 the Obama administration infiltrated Iceland with FBI agents under the guise of helping Iceland’s authorities to tackle a fake hacking threat. According to Ogmundur Jonasson, in June of 2011, Iceland politicians became suspicious when the U.S. became unusually eager to “help” with a hacking problem they had never heard of. “U.S. authorities made some approaches to us indicating they had knowledge of hackers wanting to destroy softw... more »
In 2016 Supercomputers merged with AI and by 2018 there will AI machines with Exaflop power
Nextbigfuture will have several articles over the next few weeks reviewing developments in 2016 and looking ahead to developments over the next few years. Here we look at 2016 in computers. Later articles will look at medicine, life extension, energy, space and other areas. The biggest developments in computing * The Google Deep mind AI beat a worldclass champion Go player * Current and future Supercomputers are mainly being built and targeted to advanced deep learning and artificial intelligence * Deep learning is better than people at * China made a supercomputer nearly three times ... more »
Snouts in the Trough, Hooves in the Till: Why You Shouldn't Donate to a Police Charity
*Tax-subsidized embezzlers: Mark and Sara Furniss * To understand why the public cannot confide in government-employed police to protect private property, it is useful to consider how frequently police steal from each other – and members of the public who ingenuously donate to police-operated charities. This isn’t because police officers are under-paid; it is because their occupation cultivates a sense of privilege and contempt for other people’s property. The median annual household income in Idaho is roughly $49,000. Mark Furniss, 46, was making almost $20,000 a year in excess o... more »
North Korea Conducts Drills Simulating A Takeover Of Seoul
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guides the combat drill of the service personnel of the special operation battalion of KPA Unit 525 in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on December 11, 2016. KCNA via REUTERS *Reuters*: *North Korea's Kim guides special operations drill targeting South* North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a special operations drill targeting the South, the North's media reported on Sunday, as rival South Korea remained on alert for any attempt by the North to take advantage of political turmoil in the Sou... more »
Russian TV Shows For The First Time Russian Special Forces Operating In Syria (Video)
*Zero Hedge:* *Russia Releases First Ever Video Footage Of Its Special Forces Operating In Syria* In a first of its kind event, Russian television today showed what it says is the first footage of Russian special forces fighting on the ground in Syria. Elite Russian units in Syria take part in search and rescue operations, assassinations of key rebel figures and coordination of air strikes, according to footage broadcast on state-owned channel Rossiya 24 on Sunday. Groups of heavily armed soldiers were shown coordinating sniper attacks, using robotic tanks and inspecting rebel c... more »
More Financial Insanity In Venezuela
A cashier counts Venezuelan bolivar notes at a market in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, December 7, 2016. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino *BBC*: *Venezuela to swap highest denomination banknotes for coins* The Venezuelan government has announced that it will replace the country's highest-denomination banknotes with coins within 72 hours. It hopes this will help to combat smuggling and tackle the chronic shortage of food and other basic items. President Nicolas Maduro says gangs that operate in border areas will not have time to repatriate the money. The 100-bolivar bill has lost most of it... more »
Is Rex Tillerson's Friendship With Russian President Putin Enough Of A Reason To Deny Him The Post Of U.S. Secretary of State?
Rex Tillerson meets with Vladmir Putin. Yahoo Finance *The Guardian:* *Rex Tillerson: an appointment that would confirm Putin's US election win* The president-elect is reportedly favouring the Exxon Mobil CEO but experts say the Senate may bridle over a realpolitik choice that would benefit Russia. If Rex Tillerson is nominated as the next secretary of state, it would confirm Vladimir Putin as one of the strategic victors of the US presidential election. Barack Obama has ordered an inquiry into covert Russian intervention in the campaign, which the CIA says was designed to secure... more »
Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, “Night Light”
Liquid Mind, “Night Light” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5VzYAPBVJc
Obama Signs Executive Order Protecting Citizens From Alien Species
President Obama has signed an Executive Order to prepare American citizens for a potential invasion by an alien species on Earth. Executive Order 13112, also known as “Safeguarding The Nation From The Impacts Of Invasion Species (Aliens),” was published by the White House on the 5th December. The ominous Order says it will help “prevent the introduction, establishment, and spread of invasive species [that] pose threats to prosperity, security, and quality of life.“ Whitehouse.gov reports: Executive Order — Safeguarding the Nation from the Impacts of Invasive Species EXECUTIVE ORDE... more »
House Passes Bill Allowing Americans To Be Tracked Via Microchips
The House of Representatives passed an Orwellian bill on Thursday allowing for the routine tracking of American citizens via microchips. H.R. 4919 (also known as Kevin and Avonte’s Law) which passed with an overwhelming 346 to 66 majority, allows authorities to create, establish and operate “locative tracking technology programs.” Dailycaller.com reports: The programs mission would to find “individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, or children with developmental disabilities, such as autism, who have wandered from safe environments.” Additionally, the bill w... more »
ISIS Recapture Palmyra in Syria As Pentagon Do Nothing
Thousands of ISIS militants have recaptured the key Syrian city of Palmyra, according to Russian military sources who say that the Pentagon are doing nothing to help. 4,000 Islamic State terorrists launched an assault on the ancient city, reinforced by tanks and heavy military hardware. “IS has dispatched a considerable force to Palmyra from the area of Raqqa, where militants, backed by the US and the international coalition ceased combat action against the terrorists this week,” a Russian military source says. Aljazeera.com reports: Russia, Syria’s ally, had launched a flurry of a... more »
Jimmy Savile Boss Found To Be Behind Pizzagate Cover-up
The newspaper leading the way in attempting to cover-up the Pizzagate scandal is run by a man who also helped protect notorious UK pedophile Jimmy Savile. New York Times CEO, Mark Thompson, was Director-General of the BBC at the time that the UK’s most prolific pedophile, Jimmy Savile, raped hundreds of children and murdered countless others. Savile, who had been knighted by the Queen at the height of his child abuse activities, had his crimes covered up for years by Mark Thompson who ran the BBC between 2004 – 2012. Thompson is now the CEO of the New York Times, and is leading th... more »
Vatican To Fire Priests Who Do Not Believe In Man-Made Global Warming
The Vatican have concluded man-made global warming is real and have threatened to fire priests who do not agree. The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences has conducted a study which concludes that global climate change is real, and is as a result of human activity. Catholic.org reports: This is important to the Church because creation care is part of our mission. We are called to be stewards of creation. It’s also important because climate change can exacerbate the ills of poverty. Poor people in much of the world are the most vulnerable to changes. In the western, industriali... more »
Technology leaders will meet with Trump on Wednesday in New York
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk plans to be in attendance at President-elect Donald Trump’s meeting of tech-industry executives this Wednesday in New York, according to people familiar with the matter. Musk is the chief executive of electric-car maker Tesla Motors and rocket company Space Exploration Technologies Corp., and is a close associate of Peter Thiel, the tech investor and entrepreneur that backed Trump during the campaign. Thiel sits on the transition team and is helping to organize this Wednesday’s meeting. He and Musk were both founders of payments company PayPal, and... more »
Homeless Activists Go Organic, Feed an Entire Shelter with Rooftop Garden
*Steven Maxwell* - Instead of processed foods given through donation, they eat from their rooftop garden. The post Homeless Activists Go Organic, Feed an Entire Shelter with Rooftop Garden appeared first on Waking Times.
Mexico’s War On Drugs Has Been Going On For 10 Years
*(Click on Image to Enlarge)* *Stratfor*: *A Decade Into Mexico's War on Drugs - Analysis* Today marks the 10th anniversary of Operation Michoacan, and to many, the start of Mexico's deadly war on drugs. But a decade later, the country's prospects for security and peace don't seem much better than they did when the massive crackdown on Mexican cartels began in 2006. Most people point to Felipe Calderon's presidency as the moment when things began to go wrong for Mexico. In the face of rising crime, and under mounting pressure from the United States to stem the flow of drugs across ... more »
Top U.S. Commander in Iraq: 2,000 ISIS Fighters Killed Or Gravely Wounded In Mosul Since October
Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve and Col. Brett G. Sylvia, commander, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, travel to visit troops with Task Force Strike, 101st Airborne Division, Qayyarah West Airfield, Iraq. Coalition troops arrived to Qayyarah West Airfield to enable the Iraqi Security Forces to defeat Da'esh by providing logistical, engineering and artillery fires in support of the liberation of Mosul. The mission of Operation Inherent Resolve is to defeat Da’esh (an Arabic acronym for ISIL) in Iraq and Syr... more »
Bill Gates will lead a new $1 billion fund for breakthroughs in Energy
Bill Gates is leading a more than $1 billion fund focused on fighting climate change by investing in clean energy innovation. The Microsoft co-founder and his all-star line-up of fellow investors plan to announce tomorrow the Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund, which will begin making investments next year. The BEV fund, which has a 20-year duration, aims to invest in the commercialization of new technologies that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in areas including electricity generation and storage, transportation, industrial processes, agriculture, and energy-system efficiency. “An... more »
Lockheed Martin Is Winning 'Big Time' With The F-35
*FOX News:** F-35 Is a Massive Win for Lockheed Martin Stock* Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) F-35 stealth fighter jet is a marvel of technology. It could also do marvelous things for Lockheed Martin's stock. Lockheed Martin is the nation's largest pure-play defense contractor, producing at one and the same time the world's most popular fighter jet (the F-16 Falcon Opens a New Window. ), the most popular military aircraft that's not a fighter jet (the C-130 Hercules Opens a New Window. ), and the most popular combat helicopter as well (the Sikorsky Black Hawk Opens a New Window. ). A... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“South of Antares, in the tail of the nebula-rich constellation Scorpius, lies emission nebula IC 4628. Nearby hot, massive stars, millions of years young, irradiate the nebula with invisible ultraviolet light, stripping electrons from atoms. The electrons eventually recombine with the atoms to produce the visible nebular glow, dominated by the red emission of hydrogen. *Click image for larger size.* At an estimated distance of 6,000 light-years, the region shown is about 250 light-years across, spanning over three full moons on the sky. The nebula is also cataloged as Gum 56 for Aust... more »
Chet Raymo, "The Great Silence"
*"The Great Silence"* by Chet Raymo "If there is one word that should not be uttered, it is the name of - no, I will not say it. Any name diminishes. In the face of whatever it is that is most mysterious, most holy, we are properly silent. It is appropriate, I think, to praise the creation, to make a joyful noise of thanksgiving for the sensate world. But praising the Creator is another thing altogether. When we make a big racket on His behalf we are more than likely addressing an idol in our own image. What was it that Pico Iyer said? "Silence is the tribute that we pay to holines... more »
The Spiritually Dead Gatekeepers of Mainstream News
*Jon Rappoport* - Centralized information-reality is on the way out. The post The Spiritually Dead Gatekeepers of Mainstream News appeared first on Waking Times.
The GOP-Led Senate Adjourns-- By Passing 2 Major Bills Selling Out Trump Voters
*The queen of coal country screws the retired miners* Friday night was this Senate's last. When they adjourned-- actually it was around 6 Saturday morning-- it was for the last time. In January it will be a new Senate with 5 new Democrats-- Kamala Harris (CA), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Chris Van Hollen (MD), Maggoe Hassan (NH) and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) and 2 new Republicans Todd Yoiung (IN) and John Kennedy (LA). There will be 2 more Democrats than there were this session and Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid will be replaced by the odious Wall Street-owned slimeball Chuck Sch... more »
Paulo Coelho, "The One Guilty Man"
*"The One Guilty Man"* by Paulo Coelho "Wise King Weng asked to visit the palace prison. And he began listening to the prisoners’ complaints. ‘I’m innocent,’ said a man accused of murder. ‘I’m here simply because I wanted to give my wife a fright, but I accidentally killed her.’ ‘I was accused of taking a bribe,’ said another, ‘but all I did was accept a gift.’ All the prisoners declared their innocence to King Weng, until one of them, a young man of only twenty or so, said: ‘I’m guilty. I wounded my brother in a fight and I deserve to be punished. This place has made me reflect on... more »
Meet Salto: The Most Vertically Agile Robot To Date
Roboticists from UC Berkely have engineered a robot modeled after the high jumping galago (bushbaby) that can jump over a meter high. The combination of biology and engineering design has already led to some interesting developments, the continued marriage of the disciplines may have much more in store. The post Meet Salto: The Most Vertically Agile Robot To Date appeared first on Futurism.
4 Ways Legal Medical Cannabis Benefits Society
*Paul Armentano* - The evidence is clear; medicinal cannabis is good for people and good for society. The post 4 Ways Legal Medical Cannabis Benefits Society appeared first on Waking Times.
The Daily "Near You?"
Camden, New Jersey, USA. Thanks for stopping by!
"The Search for Truth"
"The Search for Truth" By David Chandler “Some people might wonder what motivates a physics teacher to get up and talk about religion and world issues. I am not a professional political scientist or sociologist or theologian. But I am a concerned citizen and a thinking person. To be a scientist does not mean you have to be a one-dimensional person out of touch with life beyond the lab. Physics used to be called natural philosophy. It is a branch of philosophy in that it is part of the quest for truth. The same thing that motivates me to ponder the true nature of the physical world l... more »
The Poet: Anne Sexton, "Courage"
*"Courage"* "It is in the small things we see it. The child's first step, as awesome as an earthquake. The first time you rode a bike, wallowing up the sidewalk. The first spanking when your heart went on a journey all alone. When they called you crybaby or poor or fatty or crazy and made you into an alien, you drank their acid and concealed it. Later, if you faced the death of bombs and bullets you did not do it with a banner, you did it with only a hat to cover your heart. You did not fondle the weakness inside you though it was there. Your courage was a small coal that you kept swallo... more »
More investment needed in quantum computing
The United States needs to invest more in quantum computing according to White House assistant director of cybersecurity Tim Polk. While the federal government has been funding quantum research for decades—quantum refers to a computing paradigm that relies on particles known as qubits instead of the traditional ones and zeros in classical computing—its global leadership position is "certainly under siege. "There are significant quantum programs in Canada, in the U.K., in the Netherlands, the [European Union], China," Polk said at an event hosted by the Information Technology and Inn... more »
When It Comes to Fake News, the U.S. Government Is the Biggest Culprit
*John W. Whitehead* - Let’s talk about fake news stories, shall we? The post When It Comes to Fake News, the U.S. Government Is the Biggest Culprit appeared first on Waking Times.
World’s Giraffes Now Threatened with Extinction by Human Activities
*Anna Hunt* - A new report warns of the impending extinction of this great animal. The post World’s Giraffes Now Threatened with Extinction by Human Activities appeared first on Waking Times.
The Gift of Death
*George Monbiot* - Pathological consumption has become so normalised that we scarcely notice it. The post The Gift of Death appeared first on Waking Times.
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