11:01 pm MST
White House Photographer Shares His Favourite Images Of President Obama In 2016
The president meets with the National Security Council in the Situation Room on March 18, 2016. Souza said it was a difficult room to shoot in since he has trouble moving around *Daily Mail*: *Bye, bye Barack! White House photographer shares his favorite images of Obama in 2016 as his presidency draws to a close* * Chief White House Photographer Pete Souza upheld annual tradition of culling his favorite images of the year * Some photos document historic events, while others offer a personal, behind-the-scenes glimpse at Obama * Souza acknowledged the end of Obama's two terms, callin... more »
Hopiest. New. Year. Ever
This might be a silly question. But would all the pseudo-mourners who seem blissfully exempt from any real trauma in their own lives be proclaiming that 2016 was the worst year ever if Hillary Clinton had won the election? Correction: make that *The. Worst. Year. Ever.* Because enlarging the font to apocalyptic proportions and adding superfluous periods in between words is the cool way for serious churnalists to broadcast their rhetorical expertise. Lake Superior State University has just come with its annual list of banished words and phrases. But in my opinion, they jumped the gun... more »
Year In Pictures 2016
Two days after the election, Obama sat down with president-elect Donald Trump. Obama called Trump a 'very good man' while the business tycoon said they had 'great chemistry' *WNU Editor*: A year in pictures from a number of news sites. I will be updating this post throughout New Years Day. Year in pictures 2016 -- BBC Pictures Of The Year -- Reuters The year In Pictures 2016 -- New York Times The Year in Photos -- Washington Post The Year In Photos -- Foreign Policy The Year in Pictures: 2016 -- NBC 2016: The year in pictures -- CBS News The Year in Photos 2016 -- US News and World Re... more »
Trump Ain’t Bringing Any Jobs Back— Quite The Opposite
Trump has always made a big deal about how brilliant he is— high IQ, great college education, “all the best words,” etc— but in reality, he has a very average IQ, higher than his supporters, of course, but probably the lowest of any legitimate American president. As for his education… he flunked out of Fordham, which isn’t a top school to begin with, and his daddy them bought him a spot in a special real estate program at Wharton, where he failed to make any kind of impression on anyone for the months he was there. And, it isn’t likely he learned much at Wharton or in the greater ... more »
DOE office focusing on atomically precise manufacturing
Longtime Foresight member Dave Forrest is leading DOE's Advanced Manufacturing Office in advocating atomically precise manufacturing to transform the U.S. manufacturing base.
Ten Elections To Watch in 2017
*James M. Lindsay, Council of Foreign Relations:* *Ten Elections to Watch in 2017* Millions of people around the world went to the polls this year. The results provided plenty of surprises. British voters defied the pollsters and voted to leave the European Union. Colombians did much the same in rejecting their government’s peace deal with FARC, though Colombia’s president found a way to complete the deal a few months later without a vote. The biggest electoral surprise of all might have been in the United States, where Donald Trump defied the political experts and defeated Hillar... more »
Bonus Quote of the Day: Here, now
“*It’s a rare gift, you know, to feel reverence for your own life and to want the best, the greatest, the highest possible, here, now, for your very own. To imagine a heaven and then not to dream of it, but to demand it.”* — from *We the Living*, by Ayn Rand [Hat tip Anoop Verma] [image: Posted with Blogsy]Posted with Blogsy Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Permission to republish is granted, with attribution.
China Issues Its 'Red Lines' For 2017
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a New Year speech at 7:00 o'clock Beijing time on December 31, 2016.[Photo: Xinhua] *Bloomberg:* *China’s Xi Vows to Defend Maritime Interests, Sovereignty in ’17* * New Year’s speech focuses on reforms to help more people * Nation will adhere to peaceful development in new year: Xi Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country will deepen reforms as he vowed to safeguard its sovereignty and maritime interests in 2017, a year that will present fresh international and domestic challenges for the leaders in Beijing. In a New Year’s speech publis... more »
A Look Inside Liberated Aleppo
French reporter Charlotte d'Ornellas shares what she learned from Aleppo. What she saw there is not what western mainstream media have been saying in the last weeks.
Nigeria's Boko Haram Leader Vows To Continue The War
*The Hill:* *Leader urges Boko Haram members: 'Kill, slaughter and abduct'* The leader of terror group Boko Haram instructs fighters to "kill, slaughter and abduct" in a new video message, according to the Associated Press. "Kill all the infidels and detonate bombs everywhere," Abubakar Shekau says in the video. "Yes! I want you to kill, slaughter and abduct." Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari said earlier this week that “the terrorists are on the run,” claiming the military had pushed Boko Haram out of its last territory in the northeast part of the country. *Read more* .... ... more »
Massacre At Istanbul Nightclub That Was Celebrating New Years Eve
*Daily Mail*: *Terrorist caught on CCTV dressed as Father Christmas shoots 35 dead and wounds 40 in Istanbul celebrity nightclub as terrified New Year's Eve revellers dive into Bosphorus to survive * * The gunmen appear to be wearing Santa costumes in CCTV footage * The pair opened fire in the Reina nightclub, one of Istanbul's most popular venues * The city's governor said 35 people were killed in the New Year's Eve attack * A police officer is among the dead, Vasip Şahin revealed * An estimated 17,000 police officers are believed to be on duty tonight in Istanbul * Nightclub owne... more »
Happy New Year from all of us here at DWT!
*by Ken* For this new year, I thought I'd bring back a Sunday Classics triple toast (with trimmings) I whipped up for last New Year's, with assists from assorted participants in that greatest of operettas, Johann Strauss Jr.'s *Die Fledermaus*, beginning with this immortal (if hard to translate-in-song) pearl of wisdom: *Richard Leech (t), Alfred; Kiri Te Kanawa (s), Rosalinde; Vienna Philharmonic, André Previn, cond. Philips, recorded November 1990* [in English] *Richard Tucker (t), Alfred; Marguerite Piazza (s), Rosalinde; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Li... more »
Happy New Year 2017!
Happy New Year, folks! Live long, and prosper! "May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder." - John O'Donohue
On The Front-lines In Ukraine
President Poroshenko, U.S. Senators visit command post near Shyrokine in Donbas. Facebook.com/pg/petroporoshenko *Daily Mail*:* It looks like a scene from WW2 but this is the frontline in Ukraine at Xmas 2016 as troops take to TRENCHES in the fight against pro-Russian rebels* * Ukrainian soldiers using trenches to fight pro-Russian rebels in country's east * Images show troops sheltering in icy man-made ditches near Luganske village * It comes amid reports of gunfire between the two sides despite a recent truce These are the crude battle trenches being used by Ukrainian troops on ... more »
Team Optimist
Image via verywell.com.On behalf of Steve's holiday relief squad, and seeing as how Steve is a world-class pessimist, one of the things I try to bring here is a touch of sunny idiocy, as contrast, especially appropriate for the season of fresh starts and resolutions. And pretty challenging this time around, if we're talking politics, as we lurch into what seems certain to be the worst US presidential administration at least since Buchanan's, probably ever, led by a walking personality disorder in an impasto of pumpkin-colored pancake makeup. And that's just for starters. Is it pos... more »
Sentineli
I have a story to tell, a story about freedom, and a wild society we call the Sentineli. In an age of big craziness, they inspire pleasant daydreams. It’s almost impossible for me to imagine how perfectly free they are, or to comprehend just how far modern society has drifted from the freedom enjoyed by my wild ancestors. The Andaman archipelago lies in the Bay of Bengal. These tropical islands are part of India. North Sentinel Island is inhabited by the Sentineli, a society of negrito pygmies who have short stature, dark skin tone, and peppercorn hair. Outsiders can somet... more »
Famous Istanbul Night Club- 2 Santa Gumen, New Years Eve Attack
* CTV* *I just had a feeling.....When no one is paying attention- * ISTANBUL -- Turkey's state-run news agency says an armed assailant has opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul during *New Year's celebrations*, wounding several people. The Anadolu Agency said the attack occurred in Istanbul's Ortakoy district. Footage from the scene showed at least six ambulances with flashing lights and civilians being escorted out. Media reports said police have cordoned off the area and an operation is ongoing. * Link * Gunmen have attacked a famous nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's Eve c... more »
Nuclear Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) Does Not Protect People in India (Nor elsewhere)
India signing the CSC (Convention on Supplementary Compensation) was pushed for by the US-India Business Council when India-American Richard Verma … Continue reading →
Everybody Is Taking Selfies In The Battle For Mosul
Lt. Gen. Abdel Wahab Saadi, Iraqi Special Forces commander, center, does not have a Facebook account but has posed for enough selfies that troops recognize him - and request more. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times) *Chicago Tribune/L.A. Times:* *In the battle for Mosul, everybody's taking selfies — and some of them may be incriminating* With the offensive to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul now in its third month, smartphones are everywhere on the battlefield, where the appetite for selfie photos is proving to be irresistible — and problematic. Troops and commanders pose ato... more »
The Battle For The Iraqi City Of Mosul -- News Updates December 31, 2016
*Reuters*: *Baghdad blasts kill 29 as Mosul fighting intensifies* Three bombs killed 29 people in Baghdad on Saturday as fighting intensified in the northern city of Mosul, where Iraqi government forces are trying to rout Islamic State militants from their last major stronghold in the country. Blasts, including one suicide attack, tore through a busy market in the Sinak neighborhood, police said. A pro-Islamic State news agency said the target was Shi'ite Muslims, whom the militants regard as apostates. A third blast later in the day killed four people in the eastern New Baghdad ... more »
Water Is Life: Standing Rock light show illuminates Times Square in New York City
This billboard has been live in Times Square in New York City since Dec. 24th and will be there for the New Year's Celebration! Indigenous Environmental Network, Honor the Earth and Sacred Stone Camp sourced up funding for this billboard in collaboration with the International Indigenous Youth Council. Divestment campaigning in the financial and trading centre of the United States and world... Times Square in New York City became a stage for images of the water protectors. Brilliant signs were held by the protectors with the slogans "Water is life" and "Keep the oil in the soil."... more »
Gerald Celente: Big Trends for 2017–Economic Disorder, Trump’s Corporate Cabinet, China and Russia
Dandelion Salad RT on Dec 31, 2016 In this New Year’s Eve episode of the Keiser Report Max and Stacy discuss the outlook for 2017: from Trump’s first 100 hours, not days to fake news and a market crash following the biggest rally since Hoover. In the second half Max is joined by Gerald Celente […]
India Must Black-list French Nuclear Suppliers: Former Power Secretary writes after Exposé in France
Via Dianuke.org: “India Must Black-list French Nuclear Suppliers: Former Power Secretary writes after Exposé in France NOVEMBER 23, 2016 E.A.S.Sarma 14-40-4/1 … Continue reading →
Elizabeth Warren Fires A Shot Over The Bow Of The Fakest "Progressive" In Congress
Elizabeth Warren Fires A Shot Over The Bow Of The Fakest Progressive In Congress We’ve written a lot lately about how right-wing opportunist Tulsi Gabbard, a classic Fox News Dem, is not, despite her commendable backing for Bernie during the primary, a progressive. As we’ve discussed before, Gabbard’s record in the Hawaii legislature was pitiful and her record in Congress has earned her an “F” from ProgressivePunch. What few on the mainland understand— but what everyone who follows politics in Hawaii does know, is that the ravenously ambitious Gabbart plans to challenge progressiv... more »
Untitled
*Ego-centrics balloon into visibility* by ÉirePort Ego-centrics balloon into visibility. Recognitions are complete and thorough. Generations are cycled and spiral into the Light of Truth. Galactics prevail in the New Era. ÉirePort | December 31, 2016 at 09:09 | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p2sFUY-Bb
New Years Eve Prediction for 2017---More Fake News
*Post by well-known Canadian Activist* *Betty Krawczyk in Radical Press* December 31st is the last day of the Year AND my birthday. So every year it's like an accountant's report....done up to the last day of the year with a new "fiscal" starting on January 1st. Quite convenient. I want to take this opportunity to wish all my readers from around the world a very Happy and Healthy New Year 2017. I always include "healthy" in with "happy" because I've learned that good health is one of the foundations/pillars of earthly happiness. Along with wishing everyone a Happy New Year...an... more »
CSC Protects the Nuclear industry, Not Nuclear Victims
From Greenpeace.org: “Greenpeace condemns the new International Nuclear Liability Convention CSC protects the nuclear industry, not nuclear victims Press release … Continue reading →
The Syrian Archive Is Documenting The Atrocities Of The War Online
A man being treated after what activists claimed was a nerve gas attack in the Damascus suburbs of Jesreen in August 2013. Photograph: Reuters *DW:* *Syrian Archive catalogues war atrocities online* Two Berliners have developed a new database to catalogue and standardize video footage of atrocities in the war in Syria. The Syrian Archive was presented at the Chaos Computer Club conference in Hamburg. Two young men working from their homes in Berlin with 3,000 euros ($3,130) in funding have created a database of atrocities in the Syrian war that is being used as a source by the Unit... more »
Quote of the Day: Advice …
*"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."* ~ Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda [Hat tip Andy Clarkson] . Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Permission to republish is granted, with attribution.
Wolves Howling For A 2017 New Year Message and Beyond.
The United Nations Environment Program estimates that 150 to 200 species go extinct every day, which is about 10 to 100 times the "background," or natural, rate of extinction. One problem facing endangered species, particularly in developing countries, is poaching. Driven in part by the demand for animal parts in traditional medicine cures in parts of Asia, poaching (and capture of animals for the pet trade) has only increased — dramatically — in the past decade. But humans are animals who come from a world replete with other creatures and forms of life. Even now, surrounded as man... more »
The One Who Never Got Away: Trader Vincent McCrudden’s Relentless Reckoning
In the wreckage of the 2008 financial crisis many Americans looked for someone to blame. The official explanations came in waves. First there was the “these things just happen” story. It was essentially what Wall Street and Corporate America wanted people to believe, which the mainstream media (owned by them) The post The One Who Never Got Away: Trader Vincent McCrudden’s Relentless Reckoning appeared first on Shadowproof.
Russian Special Forces Wear Hezbollah Patch In Syria
Russian Special Forces in Aleppo, via @MH17_RUS pic.twitter.com/gyNjPzdC0w — BM-27 Uragan (@bm27_uragan) December 30, 2016 *Tyler Rogoway, The Drive*: *Russian Special Operations Commando Seen Wearing Hezbollah Patch In Syria* It’s not like the US hasn’t been accused of doing similar things recently. Russian special operations forces, which have been increasingly modeled on those of the US, were critical in realizing the fall of Aleppo. The longtime rebel holdout has been blitzed by a surge of Russian and Syrian air power, Assad’s troops, Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters and Russ... more »
$600 Million in CIA Funds at Work? WaPo Runs Another Fake Story on Russia Hacking US Power Grid
[image: russia]The Washington Post published yet another fake news item, this time claiming Vermont's electrical grid had been hacked by the Russians, but there might be a good reason for its Red Scare hysteria.
Things I wish would go away in 2017...
*the obvious being Odumbo, of course.* Nothing I'm about to say is even a tiny bit PC. These are things I find repulsive, silly, ugly, and obnoxious. Notice how many of them relate to jungle savagery. * Man buns:* This ones falls in the silly category. Only a beta male would do such a thing as tie his hair up in a poor facsimile of a women's "do." These types are often covered in tattoos - another thing that needs to die a speedy death. Man buns combined with faux manly beards are particularly ugly. *Face piercings:* I find it almost impossible to carry on a c... more »
An Insult to Self-Published Authors
Longtime and long-suffering reader CC sent me this link last night knowing it would infuriate me. Sometimes I think he does this just to help keep me informed. Other times, I suspect he regards me as his trained monkey and delights in seeing me blow my top. Either way, any indie author reading this post needs to read, even if only out of morbid curiosity or self masochistic need, this incredibly arrogant, ignorant, nasty and mean-spirited screed by Laurie Gough, who's written three memoirs (meaning she likes to write about just herself). The following paragraphs are a somewhat... more »
Syrian Truce Unravelling After Only Two Days
*Reuters*: *Syrian rebels threaten to abandon truce if violations continue* Syrian rebel groups threatened on Saturday to abandon a two-day-old truce if violations continued, and urged the U.N. Security Council not to endorse the deal until the Syrian government and its ally Russia had shown they would respect it. The deal, brokered during the week by Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides, reduced the level of violence, but firefights, air strikes and shelling continued in some areas. Factions belonging to the Free Syrian Army - a loose alliance of militias excluding more ... more »
The Answer to the 2016 Spike in Cop Deaths is Ending the Drug War
[image: prohibition]The number of officers killed in the line of duty rose 10 percent, but the greatest number of cops killed in the line of duty happened under prohibition.
2017 – A Return to the Path, A Return to the Sacred
*Dylan Charles* - The only remaining truth today is the truth within. The post 2017 – A Return to the Path, A Return to the Sacred appeared first on Waking Times.
Democrats Should’ve Known
[image: democrats-should-ve-known] Donald Trump's win shouldn't have been such a surprise to Democrats. In April 2008, for instance, presidential candidate Barack Obama talked about the political anger and widespread dissatisfaction in the Rust Belt and the Midwest during a political fundraiser in San Francisco, making the same points Presidential candidate Donald Trump would successfully make eight years later about how trade, imports, and American businesses relocating abroad were decimating U.S. factories, destroying jobs, boarding up small towns, and abolishing a way of life.
UPDATED! -UN Security Council Approves Russian Drafted Resolution
* Following up on: *UN Security Council To Vote on Syrian Ceasefire Agreement- 11:00 am EST *RT: * *The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution drafted by Russia that endorses a nationwide Syrian ceasefire, which was earlier brokered by Moscow and Ankara. * *Details to follow * The draft resolution prepared by Russia was officially presented to the UNSC on Friday, a day after* Moscow sent the texts of two agreements signed by the Syrian government and seven armed opposition groups to the UN body. * The documents that *“establish a ceasefire as well as obliges the... more »
Lang may yer lum reek – especially in Alaska
In Scotland, traditional New Year greeting is *Lang may yer lum reek* meaning “long may your chimney smoke”. So may you never be short of fuel for your fire. So, if I understand this article rightly, this might be a bit difficult for Alaskans in 2017. *EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm* read more
U.S. Senator McCain: Russian Cyberintrusions Are An 'Act Of War'
*CNN*:* McCain: Russian cyberintrusions an 'act of war'* (CNN)Sen. John McCain said Friday that Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election amounted to an "act of war." The Arizona Republican, who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also has scheduled a hearing for next week on foreign cyberthreats to the US, which will also focus on Russian cyberhacking, a committee aide told CNN earlier Friday. McCain, who is one of Washington's most prominent foreign policy hardliners, has criticized the recent sanctions and expulsions announced by the Obama adm... more »
Amazon Wants to Change How You Communicate With Your Technology
Amazon is wading into the voice-activated technology fray with its new "Alexa Fund." It's all about creating the successor to touch-based devices by accelerating the evolution of voice recognition and response technology. The post Amazon Wants to Change How You Communicate With Your Technology appeared first on Futurism.
Mosul Campaign Day 75, Dec 30, 2016
In the two days since the Mosul campaign officially restarted there has not been much movement. On the first day the Qudsneighborhood in east Mosul was freed for the fourth time. On the second day a pharmaceutical plant in Bawiza outside of the Mosul to the north was liberated, and the Iraqi Forces (ISF) were trying to secure the Mosul-Tal Skurf road. The new plan is to attempt a double pincer move with army and police pushing from the north and south meeting with the Special Forces Golden Division in the center. So far the ISF have only been trying to secure areas that they have ... more »
Wassermann Schultz And The Rest Of The Democratic Grandees Gave Trump The Perfect Foil— The Only One He Could Have Beaten?
The Democratic Establishment hates Thomas Frank the way a 4 year old hates his cough medicine. In his day-after-election day OpEd in *The Guardian* Frank blamed them for the ascension of Trump to the White House and made the always obvious— now provable— point that “Clinton was exactly the wrong candidate: a technocrat who offered fine-tuning when the country wanted to take a sledgehammer to the machine.” They should have been reading his books and listening to him on Tom Hartmann’s radio show. Should have been— but with an open mind that might not be in their own personal financia... more »
YEAR(S) IN REVIEW: Utter dismay in Tinton Falls!
*SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2016Conclusion—Those by whom you've been failed:* Last Sunday—it was Christmas morning—Name Withheld was pulling very few punches. Her letter, to the New York Times Book Review, came from Tinton Falls, New Jersey, a borough in Monmouth County. We reprint that letter in full: To the Editor: *I was utterly dismayed when I read the list of the 10 Best Books of the year.* This is the worst selection in over 40 years. However, I should not have been surprised, as I have been very disappointed in the Book Review for some time. Name Withheld TINTON FALLS, N.J. ... more »
The Biggest Killer of US Troops in the Middle East Is Not ISIS — It’s Suicide
[image: suicide]Newly released Pentagon statistics show that suicide -- not combat -- is the leading killer of US troops deployed to the Middle East.
Blog stats, late 2016
After breaching the 1 million pageviews mark in early October 2016, my blog has been getting about 500 views a day in October-November (vs. around 340 a day in previous months), mainly from US readers. By December though, this blog was attracting around 800 views a day. And mainly from Russian readers. And I'm not even writing about Russia, or Crimea or Ukraine. I think they are ordinary folks there reading about Asia and the Philippines. Thank you readers from Russia, and America, Philippines, Germany, other countries.
Morning Musical Interlude: Paul Mauriat, "Love is Blue", 1968
Paul Mauriat, "Love is Blue", 1968 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjsNNcsUNzE
“Of Time, Turnings, Stars & Wars”
*“Of Time, Turnings, Stars & Wars”* by Uncola "Like nature, history is full of processes that cannot happen in reverse. Just as the laws of entropy do not allow a bird to fly backward, or droplets to regroup at the top of a waterfall, history has no rewind button. Like the seasons of nature, it moves only forward." - Strauss and Howe: “The Fourth Turning”, First Edition, page 255 "Contemplating the concept of time can be quite confounding, to say the least. In the extreme, considering the paradoxical nature of time’s passage will stretch the mind causing thoughts to invert like taff... more »
Thank you 2016, Happy new year 2017
Thank you and goodbye, 2016. Lots of problems of course, but lots of improvement too in human development and welfare. The list below I got from the fb wall of Johan Norberg. #1 is the most important achievement, of course. We are entering or we have entered a period of rising prosperity and declining poverty despite rising inequality. The poor before used to ride carabaos, horses and bicycles, now they ride motorcycles, e-bikes, 2nd- or 3rd-hand cars, or at least commute in air-con vans and buses from time to time. There are still people who ride horses and bicycles but they are n... more »
Happy New Year 2017
*Happy New Year to All. Have a lovely as possible 2017.*
In His Weekly Address President Obama Hints That He Will Be Active After He Leaves Office
*Washington Examiner*: *Obama: I won't leave on Jan 20* President Obama used his final weekly address in 2016 to assure Americans that he will remain committed to defending the "progress" made by his administration after handing over the White House to Donald Trump on Jan. 20. Offering what might be the clearest indication yet of his plan to stay in the political scene post-presidency, Obama said Saturday, "As I prepare to take on the even more important role of citizen, know that I will be there with you every step of the way to ensure that this country forever strives to live u... more »
Russian President Putin Congratulates President-Elect Trump But Ignores President Obama In His New Year's Message
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS *TASS:* *Putin congratulates world leaders on New Year* Putin has congratulated the American people in the person of US President-elect Donald Trump rather than outgoing US President Barack Obama MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the heads of the G7 Group of industrialized nations with Christmas and the coming New Year, the Kremlin press office reported on Friday. The congratulatory messages address the leaders of the United Kingdom, including the British Queen, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the Unite... more »
The Sisterhood and a Profound Weariness: Unbiased Analysis
Having for decades been exposed to the hostility of radical feminists, to the enormous harm they have done the schools and universities and the military, to relations between men and women, to their ashen tediousness and endless fury, their victimhood, I … Continue reading →
6yo Boy Kidnapped from School By Police, Locked in Psych Ward for 3 Days — for Temper Tantrum
[image: boy]For throwing a temper tantrum at school, a 6-year-old boy, with ADHD, was taken by police, driven to a mental hospital, and locked up for days.
China Launches A Global Television News Network
*Asia Times:* *CCTV launches global platform in Xi push to rebrand China* 'China needs to know better about the world and the world needs to know better about China,' Xi says. But only the good stuff China’s leading television network, CCTV, is launching a new global media platform aimed at rebranding the country. The announcement was made on the state-owned company’s website, but the force behind the initiative was made clear in comments from President Xi Jinping carried by Xinhua news agency. “The relationship between China and the rest of the world is undergoing historic change... more »
China Moves To Contain Taiwan
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks on the phone with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at her office in Taipei, Taiwan, in this handout photo made available December 3, 2016. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo *Reuters*: *China considering strong measures to contain Taiwan: sources* China's military has become alarmed by what it sees as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's support of Taiwan and is considering strong measures to prevent the island from moving toward independence, sources with ties to senior military officers said. Three sources said one po... more »
"Sanity, Or Not..."
“The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.” - Rita Mae Brown “You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” ~ Robin Williams "That's why crazy people are so dangerous. You think they're *nice* until they're chaining you up in the garage." - Michael Buckley Ray Stevens, "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!" A little fun, lol... what? What's that look for? Couldn't be *me*, no, no... Could it?
Starting a War with Russia?
John McCain and Lindsay Graham are beating the drum for a cold war with Russia in the US Senate. It's as good of a reason to build more and better war machines as any other, but before we start the war, we need to take a long look in the mirror. The USA has been engaged in a cyber war with Russia for a long time. In fact, we're engaged in cyber espionage every single day of the year not only in Russia but elsewhere in an effort to *covertly engage our 'enemies' and reduce their economic capacity. *A covert operation differs from a clandestine operation in that emphasis is placed o... more »
Same old same old same old same old (etc)
Hopefully you will already have read it, but if you haven't David Keighley has a powerful end-of-year message at *The Conservative Woman*, and it's not a particularly cheerful one for those of us who have monitoring BBC bias. He begins: The BBC heads into 2017 almost unchanged – and unscathed. Yet again during a cycle of so-called Charter renewal, the Corporation has repelled all boarders in terms of meaningful reform. In effect, its partisan position as a political advocate of the liberal Left, facilitated by its self-serving concept of ‘due impartiality’, has been cemented. It... more »
Multiple Miami Cops Fired for Saying they Use Black Neighborhoods as a Shooting Range
[image: black]Three rookie cops were fired just before days Christmas after saying in chat logs they want to use Miami’s black neighborhoods as a shooting range.
2016 Strikes Again: America’s Oldest African Lion Euthanized at Zoo for Being Too Old & Inactive
[image: lion]2016 has managed to cram another death into its busy schedule – that of America’s oldest African lion, 25-year-old Zenda.
Untitled
SMILING BROWN PROJECT/PLAY UPDATE: Rather than saying good riddance to 2016 or bemoaning 2017, instead, here is some great news as we close 2016 and enter the New Year… The Smiling Brown: Gente de Bronce – People Color of the Earth play is set for Sunday, March 12th 2017, from 2:30pm- 5pm in the ILC 141 at the University of Arizona during the Tucson Festival of Books. The play will be a combination of live testimonios, audio, video and actos, poetry and music, and most importantly, a dialogue with the audience. At the moment, it is envisioned as a 90-120-minute play. March 12 will b... more »
"I received some abuse on social media..."
"I've seen a lot of bad things in more than 30 years as a journalist. I am *not *made of stone and what I have witnessed has left me with some mental wear-and-tear." So said Jeremy Bowen on this morning's *From Our Own Correspondent.* It was a strikingly defensive talk at times. Criticism on social media has clearly riled him: I've posted a lot of photos of Middle Eastern street food on social media. Someone even combined them into an online slideshow under the admirably business-like title of 'Jeremy Bowen is hungry'. I received some abuse on social media for daring to suggest ... more »
Weekend reads: Fake news in science; how not to stress about science; another hilarious sting
The final week of 2016 at Retraction Watch featured the retraction of a high-profile paper on diabetes from Harvard, and the retraction of a JAMA article on whether zinc was useful for the common cold. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: Fake news: It’s not just a problem in politics, it’s a problem in science, too. Our […] The post Weekend reads: Fake news in science; how not to stress about science; another hilarious sting appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Did Russia Try To Hack Into A Vermont Power Utility?
*Bloomberg*: *Russian Hacking Code Found in Vermont Power Utility Computer* * Utility said the laptop wasn’t connected to the power grid * Homeland Security alerted power providers to search for code Computer code connected to Russian cyberattacks by U.S. intelligence agencies has been found hidden in a laptop at a Vermont public utility, a development that emerged a day after the Obama administration hit Russia with sanctions for hacking in this year’s U.S. election. The laptop wasn’t connected to the power grid at the time, the Burlington Electric Department said in a statement F... more »
Here Are Some Of The Famous Figures Who Died In 2016.
PHOTOS: Here are some of the famous figures who died in 2016. https://t.co/WBUAyuQVv6 pic.twitter.com/FJ2QisMM5P — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 31, 2016
Dr Usama is Leaving for Manchester
Today's *From Our Own Correspondent *featured yet another attack on the Hungarian government by the BBC's Central Europe correspondent Nick Thorpe. In it he fulminated (in mellifluous prose) against the Hungarian government's behaviour during the migrant crisis and the "xenophobia" now rampant in Hungary. He then focused on one individual: a nice Syrian doctor called Dr Usama who's done great things in Hungary and who inspired one kindly old Hungarian woman to welcomed the "refugees". Nick just couldn't get his head round the polling evidence that barely one in five Hungarians ... more »
Undoing the Military-Corporate Complex
Even as the malicious pretenders of climate change denial are installed by the Trumpists throughout Washington to keep the lid on any effort to halt the coming environmental catastrophe imposed by lethal energy extraction and use, the power brokers who have chosen certain death for their and our descendants, as a residual cost of doing business as usual, are not going down without a well-funded fight to maintain control to the bitter and certain end. The Pentagon, which cannot afford the homicidal luxuries that the Koch Brothers and Exxon-Mobil's deadly pretenses provide to the ec... more »
Untitled
*From Jenna Orkin*Disappearance of Clinton Foundation CEO Eric Braverman NATO Auditor General Found Shot Dead The Mosul Dam Is Failing Virtual Reality Allows the Most Detailed, Intimate Digital Surveillance Yet Home Ownership Among 25-Year-Olds in England and Wales Has Halved in 20 Years Body in burned car in Brazil raises fears for missing Greek ambassador Huge crowd joins Mexican teen's party after invite goes viral How to Make Money Rebuilding Reputations: Have Them Destroyed First WTF: White Nationalist Inks 6-Figure Book Deal With Simon & Schuster And... A New Year's Ev... more »
Universities Severely pinched... + Links
[image: DSC03813] The KMT news organ reported.... According to statistics released Thursday by the Ministry of Education (MOE), in terms of registration rates for undergraduate programs, 17 universities across the nation saw less than a 60 percent enrollment rate, among which Nan Jeon University of Science and Technology (南榮科技大學) was the worst, with an 18.74 percent enrollment rate. Moreover, several universities and colleges in Taiwan failed to enroll any student in some of their doctoral programs for the 2016-2017 academic year. ......... The statistics also showed zero enrollmen... more »
Recount for President: No Change, but Holes Exposed in Voting Systems
[image: recount-for-president-no-change-but-holes-exposed-in-voting-systems] University of Michigan faculty members J. Alex Halderman and Matt Bernhard, both computer scientists, stated that in their limited recounts, they found no evidence that the election was hacked. But, they emphasized, that was not the same as finding solid affirmation that the election* wasn't* hacked.
Fukushima Update: "Your Radiation This Week, December 31, 2016"
*Publishing Note: *Due to Bob Nichol's other commitments the city-specific radiation reporting will now be published every 2 weeks until further notice. The next such report will be on January 14, 2017. I will update the weekly Hiroshima bomb equivalents information. This is to keep you as aware and informed as possible, not alarm you, though you should be alarmed, and is scientific *FACT*, not sensationalistic nonsense. Everything here is active-linked for your own verification, or not; I encourage you to do so. The radiation's not going anywhere, folks, but we are... - CP *"**You... more »
"Brexit, Trump, the refugee crisis, wars across the Middle East, terrible terrorist attacks"
If you were thinking that 2016 has been a good/great year politically-speaking (especially with the Brexit vote), then Kate Adie's introduction to this morning's *From Our Own Correspondent *might strike you as being strongly biased in the other direction. She had a little list: Hello. Today, last day of the year, and we have something different on the menu. Quite a year! And many might say a thankful 'goodbye' to it. Brexit, Trump, the refugee crisis, wars across the Middle East, terrible terrorist attacks. What's the view from our correspondents far away?
Steve Martin on Carrie Fisher: Can a Man Still Notice a Woman’s Beauty?
[image: steve-martin-on-carrie-fisher-can-a-man-still-notice-a-woman-s-beauty] Most of us wouldn’t criticize a man mourning a friend, but most of us aren’t the politically correct thought police. Never shy about crashing a party — or a funeral — they reared their heads again when comedian Steve Martin paid tribute to his friend Carrie Fisher, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 60.
A U.S. Army Colonel Explains Why He Has Doubts That The U.S. Military Is The Best In the World
U.S. military vehicles parading near Russia's border in Narva, Estonia on Feb. 24. (Estonian Defense Forces) *Thomas E. Ricks, Foreign Policy*: *Hey, shut up about being the best military in the world, because we might not be * So writes Army Lt. Col. Terrence Buckeye in the new issue of ARMOR magazine. After two years of teaching at the Australian Army’s School of Armour, he reports, “My primary takeaway from this assignment is that Australian mounted tactics training at the company level and below is much better than our U.S. tactics.” They’re notably better at live fire training... more »
German Chancellor Angela Merkel: 'Islamist Tterrorism Is The Biggest Challenge Facing Germany Today'
*BBC*: *Merkel: Islamist terror is 'greatest threat' to Germany* Islamist terrorism is the biggest challenge facing Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said in her New Year message. Referring to the deadly truck attack in Berlin by a Tunisian asylum seeker, she said it was "sickening" when acts of terror were carried out by people who had sought protection. She said 2016 had been a year of "severe tests". But she also said she was confident Germany could overcome them. "As we go about our lives and our work, we are saying to the terrorists: 'You are hate-filled murderers, but y... more »
No Time For Complacency
Tomorrow, we enter our 150th year. In 1867, John A.Macdonald's dream seemed like a shot in the dark against Manifest Destiny. We've flirted with failure, but we've managed to survive in North America's Attic. And we've survived because we've refused to become complacent. Now that 150 is just around the corner, Peter MacLeod writes, we must not become smug. There are all kinds of questions which we must face head on: Does a mature and self-respecting country tolerate the systemic injustices that persist between its indigenous and nonindigenous citizens? Is it satisfied after 150 y... more »
The Year That Was
As you can imagine, for anyone living in Fort McMurray, it's truly been one hell of a year. Low oil prices, economic uncertainty, lay offs and rumours of lay off, followed by yet more lay offs. And then, of course, there was the Beast, the most costly natural disaster in Canadian history that saw roughly 88,000 people abandoning their work, their houses and their everyday routines of life and fleeing for safety. In a very real way, I've come to more fully appreciate the value of human life and living safely. More than one firefighter here sacrificed his home in order to help sav... more »
Would The Senate Democrats Be Better Off With Schumer Or With A Steaming Pile Of Pig Poop As A Leader?
I don’t remember Jason Zengerle having been at James Madison High School in Brooklyn. In fact, even if he did go to school there, it would have been many years not just after Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Bernie Sanders, but many years after I went was there at the same time as Norm Coleman and Chuck Schumer. And in his new feature for *New York* I don’t think he meant too write a story about what an inadequate pile of crap Schumer is for the job of Democratic Senate Leader. I suspect it was meant to be a paean to the retiring Harry Reid— trying to prepare his Democratic colleagues to ba... more »
2017 Open Thread
This thread is well-and-truly open. It could not be more open. If it was any more open it would risk becoming infinite, and then Professor Brian Cox would be bound to turn up. And that would probably mean Robin Ince too. All the very best for 2017, and thank you for reading us!
For Auld Lang Syne
*Soul Music *can often be a Radio 4 highlight. It can take you deep into a piece of music and into people's reactions to a piece of music. It often gets the balance right but sometimes overdoes the 'moving' element (as I think this episode did). Moving as the various reflections were they were, as a whole, rather too moving and, thus, rather too depressing - despite always ending in some strong note of consolation. Anyhow, this week's subject was *Auld Lang Syne *and I'm still grateful to this programme for encouraging me to read the original Robert Burns poem and to try and unde... more »
UN Security Council To Vote on Syrian Ceasefire Agreement- 11:00 am EST
*Salon* UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will *vote Saturday* on a resolution that would *endorse the cease-fire agreement in Syria brokered by Russia and Turkey,* and reiterate support for a roadmap to peace that starts with a transitional government. The resolution also calls for “rapid, safe and unhindered” access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country. And it looks forward to a meeting in late January between the Syrian government and opposition in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana “as an important part of the Syrian-led political process facilitated by the... more »
Top Ten Dance Songs 2016
Crises may come and go, but each year still yields quality dance tunes for everyone to enjoy. And 2016 was no exception. Here is the sole reason you come to this blog: 10. *Hear Me (Aly & Fila Remix)* by Mohamed Ragab feat. Jaren 9. *It Ain't Easy (Andrey Exx & Troitski Remix)* by CRAM 8. *The Sun (Kyau & Albert Rework)* by Frida Sundemo 7. *Meteora* by The Noble Six 6. *The Pop Kids* by Pet Shop Boys 5. *We Can Fly* by Jorn van Deynhoven 4. *Mangata* by Dimension 3. *Once Upon a Time* by Schiller 2. *Love Heals You* by Roger Shah & Leilani The tectonics in dance music have shifted agai... more »
Age of Autism Weekly Wrap: Dearly Departed
By Dan Olmsted Dear Readers: In an instance of synchronicity, my sister's ex-husband and the father of her two children died this morning after this column was posted. -- Everybody dies, and everybody knows it, but even so it’s been...
Same old same old same old
Similarly, this morning's *Farming Today This Week *was another Brexit-focused look-ahead to 2017. Previous Brexit-based panel discussions on *Farming Today*, post-referendum, have been striking in their lack of balance. One soon after the referendum had 4/4 guests who had been pro-Remain in the referendum. Another one in October had 3/3 guests who had been pro-Remain. This edition had 2/3 guests who had been pro-Remain and 1/3 who didn't take a position at the time but was, from her contributions, clearly like-minded. On the 'hard' v 'soft' Brexit question *all three of today's ... more »
Untitled
*Is college a scam?* By Natalia Castro Millennials are quickly realizing college is not all it’s cracked up to be, or rather, all it’s priced up to be. College was meant to assist students to enter the workforce with a competitive edge which would drive up higher employment, instead Millennials are failing to enter the labor force, often returning home to their parents with nothing but debt. Billy Williams became social media famous for dropping out of school after his 4.0 first semester, in his Facebook post he claimed, “Yes I have dropped out after finishing my first semester (... more »
Untitled
*How To Tell Who's Lying To You: Climate Science Edition* If you are a reasonably intelligent person, and you are willing to spend a few hours on an issue, there is a very workable method to discern which side of a debate is not playing straight with you. This method is the same method generally used by judges and juries in deciding which side is going to win a trial. The method is this: look to which side has and provides the best answers to the hard questions posed by the other side. If one side refuses to answer hard questions, or is evasive, or refuses to provide the underl... more »
Same old same old
The year ends but BBC bias goes on. Regulars won't be surprised that *Dateline London*'s look-ahead to 2017 began with Brexit and with *all four guests* (from various parts of the left-liberal spectrum) being heavily downbeat about Brexit - so much so that even Gavin Esler called them "all you gloom-mongers" at one point. That's all that really needs saying about it.
Taiwan News #6 and more on the KMT!
*Anime drawing of KMT Chairman Hung Hsiu-chu posted to her Facebook page. It says "Chu-chu" (a cute diminutive form of her name) will not lead the KMT to "New Partyization". We have to let the members of the New Party and the People's First Party will come back to the KMT, it says.* My latest for Taiwan News... Supporting Yang was Sufin Siliko (Liao Kuo-tung,廖國棟), the KMT's legislative caucus whip, an Amis aborigine, who called on Hung to step down for being a chairperson who "brazenly violates the party's internal rules." Liao warned that if the party did not follow its rules, the... more »
The Folies Farage
If ever a Twitter avatar told you everything you need to know about the bias of a particularly BBC programme then this is probably it: That episode of *15 Minute Musical* came not from The Folies Bergère but The Folies Farage. (Yes, that was the kind of joke you missed if you didn't listen to it). The previous day's episode, *Lady and the Trump*, contained such quips as this (sung to of *The Lady is a Tramp*): *Hillary*: "He don't like dark skins". *Trump*: "You got that right!"
Today in Hull
Mishal Husain in Hull *Today* sent Mishal Husain to Hull (today) to mark the start (tomorrow) of Hull's year as UK City of Culture (next year). (Did her train run behind the backs of houses, cross a street of blinding windscreens? Did she smell the fish-dock? Probably not the latter these days.) She evidently brought her own concerns along for the ride, particularly Brexit. Her interview with Finbarr Dowling of Siemens (just after 7.30) was particularly obsessive - and fruitless. Instead of summarising it myself, here are some reactions from Twitter which sum it up very well: ... more »
The Most Read 16 of 2016
2016 was awful, but it turns out awfulness does wonders for reality-based socialist blogging. Page views surged to 936,000 over the course of this year, working out at roughly 78,000 a month, or 2,500 a day. Enough, Google informs me, to make a princely £28.10/month were I to AdSense this place up to the eyeballs. Still, it's good to know there's still a solid audience 10 years into this game. The old Facebook page could do with more likes though (hint, hint). The collapse of the mainstream centre left into liberal virtue signalling and covering for Saudi Arabia in Parliament, and... more »
How "Rumour" becomes "fact": Research is VITAL
A video was posted yesterday in the UnFuckers Unite Facebook group and want to use it as an example of how important it is to Research. My comments are not aimed at the original poster at all, and in fact I'm really glad the video was posted because it's an excellent example of what I want to discuss. This is the video that was posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIWWHkvh94Q&feature=share And the website it was taken from: http://helenastales.weebly.com/…/something-strange-happenin… It is VITAL that people learn the skills of researching information when we are continuously d... more »
Draining the Swamp?
Will it be possible for President Trump's Administration to drain the swamp during a four-year term in office? The answer to the question is that he may be able to chip away at it, but the business of America is government. The monster is just that big. *How big?* (I hear you ask) Federal government spending accounts for about 22% of the total economy. The states add another 11% of direct spending. To get a clearer picture, we must include the government-driven health industry (12%), the government-driven defense industry (3%) or the government-driven banking and insurance industri... more »
Digital Trends - Trump is a Media Virus
We’ll likely never touch the man, sit in the same room, or establish rapport with him. But he has nonetheless infected all of us quite intimately — some of us willingly, and some less so. That’s because he is less invasive as a person than he is as a virus. Yes, Donald Trump is a media virus, in the truest sense of the term. http://ieet.org/images/trump-1843504_960_720.jpg
How One College Professor Learned to Love Homeschoolers
I admit that i was not expecting this. The fact is that the t4acher is highly motivated and was surely a motivated student in his or her own right. Thus it was never taken lightly. Better yet goals were met continously. So yes this is good news. Now wee need to learn how to apply these skils in the school system.. *How One College Professor Learned to Love Homeschoolers * * Annie Holmquist * *Sunday, December 18, 2016* * https://fee.org/articles/how-one-college-professor-learned-to-love-homeschoolers/* *College professor Ali Gordon wasn’t always a fan of homeschool studen... more »
How the Soviets Stole Christmas
Does it ever occur to these fools that these ancient traditions serve an important cultural and community need.? An exchange of gifts is a great way to make amends for oversights and slights acquired during the year and allows the slate to be either wiped clean or to establish a new position for the coming year. That religion grabbed on to it was natural. That the kooks did not try to dismiss it is awfully telling. In the end it all washed away. Even our materialism cannot ruin Christmas simply because it is meant to be a time of sharing and how better. *How the Soviets Stol... more »
The Timeless Wisdom of Adam Smith
In the end, Adam Smith caused all economic thinkers to attend to the natural metrics of free trade. This has equally led to the emergence of the vital concept of liberty and that led directly to a fresh development protocol we call democracy. Free trade demands free exchange which demands empowering the Demos. The true danger to all this has been external intervention such as flooding a local market with cheap goods in order to produce a financial monopoly. That was not so apparent in the time of Adam smith. I think that the solution to all that is to establish a ten percent... more »
There Is No Possible Reform for HUD
This is a long sad story that has simply driven the actual decline of the inner city. It should be obvious that declining neighborhoods need to be swiftly condemned and completely redeveloped preferably with paying customers. This forces the population of low income earners to spread out into the city to take much better basement suites while helping to support that housing. We have learned that the best solution for a rundown district is a blanket redevelopment that accomplishes what ever is useful to the city. It also is a reminder that allowing an eyesore to develop is non... more »
How AI can bring on a second Industrial Revolution
Over the next 20 years, he says, our penchant for making things smarter and smarter will have a profound impact on nearly everything we do. Kelly explores three trends in AI we need to understand in order to embrace it and steer its development. “The most popular AI product 20 years from now that everyone uses has not been invented yet,” Kelly says. “That means that you’re not late.”
Tweet For Today
Russia remains generally unpopular among EU citizens: https://t.co/wOsZwDaP9p pic.twitter.com/mtTGmFYpcU — RFE/RL (@RFERL) December 27, 2016
Picture Of The Day
*Supporting Iraqi Forces* U.S soldiers execute a fire mission to support Iraqi security forces during the Mosul counteroffensive in northern Iraq, Dec. 24, 2016. The soldiers are assigned to Battery C, 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force Strike, which is supporting the Iraqi forces with indirect fire in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Army photo by 1st Lt. Daniel Johnson
Russia Starts To Open Up On Its Bolshevik Past And How Their Brutal Rule Resulted In Famine And The Death Of Millions
The suffering of the Russian people did not end with Wold War I, the Bolshecik Revolution, and the Civil War. The destruction and devastation resulted in a terrible famine, made worse by the Bolshevik willingness to use food as a weapon. The most vulnerable were the children. This photograph was taken somewhere in the Volga region (1921-22). *Daily Mail:* *The communist cannibals: Shocking images reveal the depravation suffered by peasants forced to eat HUMANS during the 1920s Russian famine* * The Russian famine of 1921–22, also known as Povolzhye famine, occurred in Bolshevik Ru... more »
The ER-EPR correspondence does deserve the time of Hollywood actresses
After a one-year-old 12-minute video about Stephen Hawking, Paul Rudd, and quantum chess that got over 2 million views, Caltech has released another 11-minute video Quantum is calling where actress Zoe Saldana along with Stephen Hawking promote Juan Maldacena's ER-EPR correspondence whose title page was kindly signed by Lenny Susskind, too. ;-) These short films also feature Keanu Reeves, Simon Pegg, and John Cho. I admit that I haven't watched either film in the entirety yet – I plan to fix the bug soon. Well, I still faithfully watch every second of *The Big Bang Theory* where si... more »
Musical Interlude: Kevin Kern, “Above The Clouds”
Kevin Kern, “Above The Clouds” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgdjnK6I2u0 "For I have learned To look on nature, not as in the hour Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes The still, sad music of humanity, Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To chasten and subdue." - William Wordsworth, "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798"
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Tidally locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its familiar nearside to denizens of planet Earth. From lunar orbit, the Moon's farside can become familiar, though. In fact this sharp picture, a mosaic from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's wide angle camera, is centered on the lunar farside. *Click image for larger size.* Part of a global mosaic of over 15,000 images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011, the highest resolution version shows features at a scale of 100 meters per pixel. Surprisingly, the rough and battered surface of the farside looks v... more »
The Poor People Who Voted For Trump And For Republicans May Soon Learn What That Means To Their Families
Going into 2017, the *Christian Science Monitor* reminded its readers that boosting low wages has become less controversial as conservatives looked elsewhere to inflict their deadly ideology on working families. 19 states are about to see a rise in the minimum wage, causing the pay of more than 4 million workers go upon one fell swoop. Conservatives still make the same discredited, utrterly false argument about the minimum wage they’ve been making since the Black Plague decimated the English working class in 1348, prompting King Edward III to set a *maximum* wage, making it illegal... more »
Dog paddling, footnote
Jaffa, 19th century, print by A. Kohl., via National Maritime Museum, Haifa.Comment on a comment that grew too long. Philo, I think international law is on the side of decolonization everywhere it can be practiced, with the principles of self-determination and peaceful resolution (1919 and 1928) applying retroactively from the UN's Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples of 1960. So it took a long time between 1945 and 1960 to get there, especially for the French in North Africa and Indochina and the Dutch in Indonesia, but everybody would ulti... more »
Paulo Coelho, "Closing Cycles"
*"Closing Cycles"* by Paulo Coelho "One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through. Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters– whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished. Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden? You can spend a long time wondering ... more »
"Morality..."
"Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace." - Oscar Wilde
A cartoonists' eye view of 2016: great moments from the "New Yorker" "Daily Cartoon's"
*"I blame the media."* *by Ken* "It's definitely been one year," concedes *The New Yorker*'s Colin Stokes as he looks back on 2016 in introducting "2016: The Year in Cartoons, a slide show drawn not from the heap of cartoons published in the magazine but from the website's "Daily Cartoon" blog, for which, on a rotating basis, stalwarts from the magazine's Cartoon Corps stand watch over the cartoonable universe, "getting up every day, " notes Colin, "reading the news, and forming it into a cartoon." It has to be, you would think, a markedly different process from their normal creat... more »
Plutocracy I: Political Repression in the U.S.A. + Plutocracy II: Solidarity Forever (must-see)
Dandelion Salad Part I originally published Jan. 2, 2016 by Scott Noble Dissident Voice December 31, 2015 Plutocracy is the first documentary to comprehensively examine early American history through the lens of class. A multi-part series by filmmaker Scott Noble, Part I focuses on the the ways in which the American people have historically been divided on the basis of […]
Bonus Quotes of the Day: On fake news
*“By all means: Let’s confront and defeat the menace of Fake News. But to do so, it’s critical that one not be selective in which type one denounces, and it is particularly important that one not sanction Fake News when it promotes one’s own political objectives. Most important of all is that those who want to lead the cause of denouncing Fake News not convert themselves into its most prolific disseminators whenever the claims of a Fake News account are pleasing or self-affirming."* ~ Glenn Greenwald from ‘The Guardian’s Summary of Julian Assange’s Interview Went Viral and Was C... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 30, 2016
*Al Jazeera/Inside Story:* *How will a Trump presidency impact sanctions on Russia?* *Moscow opted to wait for Trump's move rather than retaliate after US expulsion of Russian diplomats.* US President Barack Obama slapped sanctions on Moscow and gave 35 Russian diplomats just 72 hours to leave the United States over alleged Russian interference in the US election. Russia's foreign minister recommended Moscow does the same, but Russian President Vladimir Putin decided against that. Putin wants to know where President-elect Donald Trump stands on the issue. US intelligence agencie... more »
Reducing Sunspot activity indicates Global COOLING.
From NASA: (link) Sunspot Numbers In 1610, shortly after viewing the sun with his new telescope, Galileo Galilei (or was it Thomas Harriot?) made the first European observations of Sunspots. Continuous daily observations were started at the Zurich Observatory in 1849 and earlier observations have been used to extend the records back to 1610. The sunspot number is calculated by first counting the number of sunspot groups and then the number of individual sunspots. The "sunspot number" is then given by the sum of the number of individual sunspots and ten times the number of groups. Si... more »
Global Warming Alarmist NY Times Discovers Cold Is 17 Times Deadlier
[image: global-warming-alarmist-ny-times-discovers-cold-is-17-times-deadlier] But don’t expect the *Times* to pull back on its non-stop global-warming propaganda and fake news.
World News Briefs -- December 30, 2016 (Evening Edition)
*BBC: **Syria conflict: Clashes reported despite truce* Fighting between government and rebel forces has been reported in parts of Syria despite a nationwide truce coming into force early on Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said there had been fierce clashes and air strikes in northern Hama province. It added that rebel-held Wadi Barada near Damascus was also bombarded. But the military denied doing so. There has been no comment from Turkey and Russia, which brokered the truce. *Read more *.... *MIDDLE EAST* Former Nusra Front critici... more »
AEC 18, Some presentations during the BWorld ASEAN regional forum
The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is one year old today, I am reposting some slides of some presentations during the BusinessWorld ASEAN Regional Forum last November 24, 2016, http://bweconomicforum.com/index.php/morning-session/ These two slides are from the keynote speech by Fernando Zobel de Ayala, "Building Globally-Competitive Enterprises". Mr. Ayala is the President and COO of the big conglomerate, Ayala Corporation. Yes, the AEC is our big partner, big ally, in the world. Big population, big consumers, big pool of workers and entrepreneurs, good mixture of cultural divers... more »
If You Were Chief of CIA Consciousness Ops
*Jon Rappoport* - Brain=computer=consciousness is the greatest covert op on the planet. The post If You Were Chief of CIA Consciousness Ops appeared first on Waking Times.
Science Discovers A Song that Reduces Anxiety by 65 Percent – Listen
*Anna Hunt* - Music soothes the savage beast. The post Science Discovers A Song that Reduces Anxiety by 65 Percent – Listen appeared first on Waking Times.
Giving Driver's Licenses to Illegal Aliens Makes Illegal Voting a Real Possibility
[image: giving-drivers-licenses-to-illegal-aliens-makes-illegal-voting-a-real-possibility] An estimated 806,000 illegal aliens have received driver’s licenses in California and a law letting voters register through the DMV could result in illegal aliens voting.
"Fate..."
"Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that has nothing to do with you, This storm is you. Something inside you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step. There's no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense... more »
"I'll Never Understand..."
"I'll never understand why some people can't just let others live their lives, you know," Danial said. "You don't have to understand. You don't have to agree. Just leave people alone. When I look at the moon and planets and stars, all that narrow-mindedness and hate seem so petty. The universe is such a big place. One hundred thousand light years just from one end of the Milky Way to the other. One hundred. Thousand. Light years. In the time it's taken for light to travel from one end of our galaxy to the other, thousands of generations have passed. It really makes you realize how s... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Mandelieu, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France Thanks for stopping by!
"Mu"
*"Mu"* "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play." - Joshua, "War Games" "There is a word, a concept, in Zen Buddhism that doesn't quite translate perfectly into the English language: Mu. Mu is the response given by a Zen monk to a question that cannot be meaningfully answered. It suggest that the question's premises are not real, that there is a state of emptiness that lies beyond yes and no, that the asker should unask the question - indeed, that anyone who would ask such a question in the first place might well to question his entire perspective on life. Though the... more »
Finding trust and understanding in autonomous technologies
David Danks, Professor of Philosophy and Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University at Science + Technology – The Conversation - 1 day ago
In 2016, self-driving cars went mainstream. Uber’s autonomous vehicles became ubiquitous in neighborhoods where I live in Pittsburgh, and briefly in San Francisco. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued new regulatory guidance for them. Countless papers and columns discussed how self-driving cars should solve ethical quandaries when things go wrong. And, unfortunately, 2016 also saw the first fatality involving an autonomous vehicle. Autonomous technologies are rapidly spreading beyond the transportation sector, into health care, advanced cyberdefense and even autonomous wea... more »
President-Elect Trump Praises Russian President Putin Amid Hacking Expulsions
Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2016 *BBC*: *Russia-US row: Trump praises Putin amid hacking expulsions* US President-elect Donald Trump has praised Vladimir Putin after the Russian president ruled out a tit-for-tat response to the expulsion of diplomats in a row over hacking. Mr Trump tweeted: "Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!" Mr Putin had earlier said Russia would not stoop to "irresponsible diplomacy". Washington expelled 35 diplomats over hacking relate... more »
Growing Doubts On The U.S. Russian Hacking Story
*Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone:* *Something About This Russia Story Stinks* Nearly a decade and a half after the Iraq-WMD faceplant, the American press is again asked to co-sign a dubious intelligence assessment. In an extraordinary development Thursday, the Obama administration announced a series of sanctions against Russia. Thirty-five Russian nationals will be expelled from the country. President Obama issued a terse statement seeming to blame Russia for the hack of the Democratic National Committee emails. "These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed ... more »
Quote of the Day: On the demonisation of Israel
Today’s long quote is from Joshua Muravchik’s book Making David into Goliath: How the World Turned Against Israel*:* “[Around the world] Jews face mounting peril… [T]he number of places on Earth where Jews can reside in peace and security has been shrinking, and the question of the day is whether the countries of Europe will continue to be among them… “It makes little difference which comes first, hatred of Jews or hatred of Israel. The peril does not arise because the hatred is spreading: indeed it may not be spreading. The peril arises because the hatred is growing more ... more »
Would There Ever Be a “Problem of Blackness” Course?
[image: would-there-ever-be-a-problem-of-blackness-course] “The white race* is* the cancer of human history,” insisted writer Susan Sontag in 1967. Since then, anti-white race-hatred has gained enough currency to breed “white-privilege” theory, a college professor expressing a desire for “white genocide,” and “Problem of Whiteness” courses in academia — the latest example being one disgorged by the University of Wisconsin.
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