11:18 pm MDT
U.S. Defense Secretary: The Pentagon Will Never Use Robotic Systems That Decide On Their Own When To Kill
*McClatchy News:* *Pentagon won’t use robots that decide on their own when to kill* *WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is devising some whiz-bang autonomous weaponry, but Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday that the U.S. military would never use robotic systems that decided on their own when to kill.* Dozens of Defense Department labs and engineering centers are working on keeping the U.S. military “on the cutting edge” with weapons like swarming drones in the sea and air, Carter said. But Carter told a conference at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies that th... more »
Picture Of The Day
*Missile Loaders* Paratroopers load an anti-tank missile during weapons training at a range in Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, Oct. 22, 2016. U.S. and Polish forces joined to demonstrate deterrence capabilities through airborne assault and combined defensive operations. Army photo by Sgt. William A. Tanner
America's Allies Pour Cold Water On U.S. Plans To Attack The Islamic State Capital Of Raqqa
*VOA*: *Allies Resist US Plan to Attack Raqqa* A proposed U.S.-backed offensive on the Islamic State terror group’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa is encountering problems, because Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists the Syrian-Kurdish YPG — the only militia currently up to the task — can play no part. America’s European allies also are raising objections and expressing strong skepticism about any major role for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG. They fear that having the Kurds in the vanguard of an assault on Raqqa, historically a predominantly Arab city, woul... more »
Leaked Document (Not From Russia): What Does Patrick Murphy Think The Weakest Parts Of His Record Are?
Trump didn't, but most serious political campaigns do an opposition research look at their own candidate in order to be ready for likely attacks. At the end of 2013, as his campaign was preparing for re-election, they took a look at Patrick Murphy from how they thought his opponents might see him. The report leaked-- and, if you know anyone as stupid as Rachel Maddow yelling about saving the seat for Team Blue, please make sure they see it. Keep in mind, it was primarily written from the point of view of defending against an attack from the right, not much from the left, which is ... more »
“India Attacks Pakistan, Heavy Fighting, Pakistan Reports 60 Troops Killed in First Hour”
*“India Attacks Pakistan, Heavy Fighting, * *Pakistan Reports 60 Troops Killed in First Hour”* by Newsroom "What began several weeks ago as an attack upon "terrorist camps" inside Pakistan, by India, which escalated to harsh words between the tow governments, has just escalated into actual fighting between the Indian and Pakistani armies! India launched an attack about an hour ago, around 1:58 PM eastern US time, which is ongoing. Reports from the "line of control" where the fighting is taking place indicate there is now "heavy" fighting between the two armies. Pakistan says at l... more »
"Clinton Campaign in Collapse! Cancels All Events In 3 CRITICAL Swing States: FL, OH and NC"
*"Clinton Campaign in Collapse! * *Cancels All Events In 3 CRITICAL Swing States: FL, OH and NC"* by Newsroom "The reopening of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server has officially sent her campaign into chaos. Her campaign is looking to re-coup and re-organize, but Hillary will be getting some more rest. Hillary has cancelled all campaign events in FL, OH, and NC. The plan is to start working in states she’s lost serious ground in- like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Michigan. Hillary’s campaign is sounding the death knell. There is no elec... more »
Musical Interlude: Medwyn Goodall, “Night Protection”
Medwyn Goodall, “Night Protection” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgYMUNtT2Og
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Spooky shapes seem to haunt this jeweled expanse, drifting through the night in the royal constellation Cepheus. Of course, the shapes are cosmic dust clouds faintly visible in dimly reflected starlight. Far from your own neighborhood on planet Earth, they lurk along the plane of the Milky Way at the edge of the Cepheus Flare molecular cloud complex some 1,200 light-years away. *Click image for larger size.* Over 2 light-years across and brighter than the other ghostly apparitions, vdB 141 or Sh2-136 is also known as the Ghost Nebula, seen at the right of the starry field of view. ... more »
U.S. Special Forces Want These New Weapons
*We Are The Mighty*: *Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 want these new weapons* Long range precision machine guns. Nearly silent carbine uppers. A new sniper rifle that can change between three calibers at the twist of a barrel. These are just a few of the new technologies America’s top special operators are looking for to help them go after the bad guys of the future. According to an announcement released last month, the Joint Special Operations Command — the folks in charge of so-called “Tier 1” commandos, including SEAL Team 6 and Delta Force — is asking industry for help developing... more »
U.S. Army In A Leaked Video Warns On What Future Conflicts In The World's Biggest Cities Will Look Like
*The Intercept*:* Pentagon Video Warns of “Unavoidable” Dystopian Future for World's Biggest Cities* THE YEAR IS 2030. Forget about the flying cars, robot maids, and moving sidewalks we were promised. They’re not happening. But that doesn’t mean the future is a total unknown. According to a startling Pentagon video obtained by The Intercept, the future of global cities will be an amalgam of the settings of “Escape from New York” and “Robocop” — with dashes of the “Warriors” and “Divergent” thrown in. It will be a world of Robert Kaplan-esque urban hellscapes — brutal and anarchic... more »
Trump's Rightwing Media Deplorables
People seem to be having a brain cramp and are forgetting that if you vote for Trump, you are also getting these rightwing media deplorables, racists, white supremacists, Archie & Edith Bunker's, homophobes, islamophobes, off-the-wall paranoid KOOKY conspiracy theorists, and more. I don't understand how anyone who's not an older white guy can vote for Trump with this crew coming in tow with him: In the top collage, 2nd picture top row, there's racist woman-hater *Rush Limbaugh* who never met a black group he didn't like. He hates the NAACP, BLM (black lives matter), ACORN, the B...more »
Lithuania Warns Its Citizens To Be Prepared For A Russian Invasion
*IBTimes*: *War In Europe: Lithuania Prepares For Russian Invasion As NATO Sends Troops To Eastern European States* More than two years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, Lithuania is warning its citizens of a possible similar fate in the former Soviet Union republic. Lithuanian government officials have published tens of thousands of copies of a 75-page guide on how to survive a Russian invasion, BBC News reported Saturday. The civil defense booklet stresses that Russia is capable of using military force against its neighbors to get its way and warns civilians to call a ... more »
Saudi Airstrike On Prison In Yemen Kills Dozens
*BBC*: *Yemen conflict: Dozens killed as air strikes hit prison in Hudaydah* Dozens of people have been killed at a Yemeni prison complex in air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, reports say. Strikes hit a building used as a prison in the al-Zaydiya security headquarters in the western port of Hudaydah, security and medical officials say. The city is under the control of Houthi rebels, who have been battling the government since 2014. Rebels and inmates were among more than 30 dead, officials said. Houthi media put the death toll at 43. *Read more* .... *More News On Reports ... more »
Did Yemen's Houthi Rebels Launch A Missile At Mecca?
*Al Jazeera:* *Yemen’s Houthis accused of firing missile at Mecca* *Saudi Arabia says it intercepted ballistic missile heading towards Islam's holy city, sparking denial from Yemen rebels.* Yemen's Houthi rebels have been accused of targeting Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca by launching a long-range ballistic missile from 500km over the border. The rebels and their ally Iran vehemently denied the allegation on Friday. The Saudi-led military coalition - which is backing Yemen's pro-government forces in the conflict with the Shia fighters - said the missile was "intercepted and ... more »
Hillary Clinton Cancels Public Events Amid Media Blackout
Hillary Clinton has cancelled all upcoming campaign events following the FBI’s announcement that they are reopening their email server investigation. The reopening of the case has sent the Clinton campaign into complete chaos, according to reports. According to “Citizens for Trump” Special Projects Director Jack Posobiec, Hillary is looking to get out of the media spotlight for a while. In a tweet, he stated: “Hillary has cancelled all campaign events in FL, OH, and NC.” The Clinton campaign want to focus on states that Hillary lost serious ground in – like Pennsylvania, New Hamps... more »
The Students for Liberty - Philippines (SFL PH)
Last October 20, 2016, the Students for Liberty - Philippines (SFL PH) launched their facebook and twitter pages. Congrats guys. I am happy that the liberty movement among the Philippine youth is taking shape formally. And when we say liberty, it is individual liberty, not national or class or clan liberty. From Joseph Bautista, President of SFL PH, October 20: "We're pro-peace, pro-individual, pro-market, and pro-liberty.. We're part of the bigger Students For Liberty network around the world. We have students from the USA, Indonesia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Afric... more »
Citing Terror Threats The U.S. Has Ordered Family Members Of The U.S. Consulate Staff In Istanbul To Leave The Country
*VOA:* *US to Evacuate Istanbul Consulate Workers' Families* Citing extremist threats in Turkey, the United States has ordered family members of the U.S. consulate staff in Istanbul to leave the country as a safety precaution. The State Department said the evacuation order announced Saturday was based on intelligence showing extremist groups were continuing "aggressive efforts to attack U.S. citizens in areas of Istanbul where they reside or frequent." No specific threats were listed. Officials said the U.S. consulate in Istanbul would remain open and fully staffed despite the ev... more »
OPEC Fails To Agree To A Production Cut
*Wall Street Journal*: *OPEC Fails to Finalize Proposal to Implement Production Cut* *Cartel’s leader says there will be dire consequences for industry if OPEC doesn’t proceed with plan.* VIENNA—A weekend marathon of talks between major oil producers failed to finalize plans to implement an output cut, threatening the viability of an agreement reached last month to reduce production between by as much as 2%. The discussions held at the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries were supposed to pave the way for a detailed proposal on how to cut producti... more »
Did Hillary Clinton's Closest Aide Perjured Herself?
Huma Abedin and Hillary Clinton. Reuters *Daily Beast*: *Huma Abedin Swore Under Oath She Gave Up ‘All the Devices’ With State Dept. Emails* *The FBI found emails pertinent to its Clinton investigation, reportedly on a computer from her aide’s home. That doesn’t jibe with she told lawyers this summer.* In a normal election year, a normal candidate’s close aide who caused even minor embarrassment to a campaign so near to Election Day would be whisked away as quickly as possible to avoid becoming a distraction. But Huma Abedin is not simply a close aide, she’s a critical member of ... more »
Satire: “Queen Offers to Restore British Rule Over United States”
*“Queen Offers to Restore British Rule Over United States”* by Andy Borowitz LONDON (The Borowitz Report)— “In an unexpected televised address on Saturday, Queen Elizabeth II offered to restore British rule over the United States of America. Addressing the American people from her office in Buckingham Palace, the Queen said that she was making the offer “in recognition of the desperate situation you now find yourselves in.” “This two-hundred-and-forty-year experiment in self-rule began with the best of intentions, but I think we can all agree that it didn’t end well,” she said. The... more »
British Government Admits Marijuana Has ‘Medicinal Value’
The British government have finally admitted that marijuana has medicinal value in helping to treat a number of different illnesses and diseases. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced that Cannabidiol (CBD) has restorative, correcting or modifying effects on “physiological functions” when administered to humans. In other words, cannabis has the potential to cure illnesses without the need for pharmaceutical drugs. Anonhq.com reports: Observers say this new development in Britain is a potential milestone that will help marijuana campaigners ... more »
Sanders Asks Obama To Intervene In Dakota Access Pipeline Dispute
Bernie Sanders sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Friday requesting that he intervene to protect Native Americans who have been peacefully protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. In a statement issued on his official U.S. Senate website, Sanders asked Obama to halt construction of the pipeline until federal officials properly conduct a cultural and environmental review. At least 140 people were arrested at the construction site on Wednesday after hundreds of police in riot gear moved in with tanks, using sound cannons, pepper spray and rubber bullets. Sanders.Senate.gov r... more »
U.S. Attorney General Lynch Pleads The Fifth On $1.7 Billion Payment To Iran
*Daily Mail*: *Loretta Lynch 'pleads the fifth to avoid answering questions' on $1.7bn payments to Iran* * Sen Marco Rubio and Rep Mike Pompeo blasted Lynch in a letter Friday * Said Attorney General had refused to answer 'straightforward' questions * Fifth Amendment keeps people from being witnesses against themselves * The United States paid $1.7bn to Iran as settlement for failed arms deal Loretta Lynch is 'pleading the fifth' to dodge questions about $1.7 billion payments made by the United States to Iran, two members of Congress have claimed. Senator Marco Rubio and Representat... more »
DCCC Fakeout In Michigan
Michigan is another state about which Trump boasted, early and often, that he would win. It was in the bag. Obama won the state against McCain 57-41% and against Romney 54-45% but Trump assumed his racist clarion call to "poorly educated" white workers would win him the state. It hasn't been working out that way. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Hillary beating him by 6 points. In fact, Hillary is beating Trump in every Michigan county Obama won *and* in 4 counties that Romney won: Menominee, Benzie, Berrien & Lenawee counties. And that was *before* it came out that Tr... more »
“Watch 30 Years of Arctic Ice Shrinkage in Chilling NASA Timelapse Video”
*“Watch 30 Years of Arctic Ice Shrinkage in Chilling NASA Timelapse Video”* by RT "A new animation from NASA shows the movement of Arctic sea ice, the large mass of frozen water on the Arctic Ocean, in a stunning time-lapse spanning three decades. The Arctic sea ice is shrinking, and as it loses mass, it becomes more at risk from warming waters and atmosphere. Scientists at the University of Colorado came up with a way to monitor Arctic sea ice movement and age using satellite passive microwave instruments, weather and data from buoys.The instruments detect ‘brightness temperature’ ... more »
Music Review: Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
We move under cover and we move as one Through the night, we have one shot to live another day We cannot let a stray gunshot give us away We will fight up close, seize the moment and stay in it It’s either that or meet the business end of a bayonet The code word is ‘Rochambeau,’ dig me? Rochambeau! You have your orders now, go, man, go! And so the American experiment begins With my friends all scattered to the winds "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside)" What first got my attention about the music from Hamilton was how bad-ass Lin-Manuel Miranda and his cast made The Battle of Yorktown... more »
"Sometimes..."; "Be That Guy"
"Sometimes a person must fight for what he or she feels is right, even against the majority. Something that is wrong does not change to right just because the majority approves it, ignores it, or the government says it is right. It is still wrong." - Kenneth Ead *"Be That Guy"* by Scott Faith "We’re frequently told “don’t be that guy,” often with good reason. Drunk and stupid at a party? Don’t be that guy. Park in a spot someone else shoveled out of the snow? Don’t be that guy. Chow thief at Ranger School? Definitely don’t be that guy. But sometimes situations arise where you DO ne... more »
Justice Department Tried Banning FBI From New Clinton Investigation
Attorney General Loretta Lynch attempted to stop FBI Director James Comey from reopening the Hillary Clinton email investigation this week, according to law enforcement officials connected with the case. Lynch and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates were unhappy with the FBI’s decision to notify Congress and embarrass Hillary about their reviews of new Clinton emails. Abc-7.com reports: While there was no explicit order not to send the letter, department officials expressed concern that what Comey wanted to do was contrary to how the department does business given how close this w... more »
Turkey’s Erdogan Introduces Death Penalty For Political Dissidents
Erdogan’s dream of reinstating Turkey’s death penalty is set to become reality after a new bill looks set to pass in Parliament. Recep Tayyip Erdogan will make good on his promise of cleansing Turkey of “traitor citizens” and “political dissidents” – by sending them to their deaths. Yahoo News reports: Addressing crowds in Ankara on Saturday, Erdogan said he would ratify such a bill once it passed despite any objections it might spark in the West. Erdogan made the comments in response to public chants calling for the death penalty, which Turkey abolished in 2004 as part of its bi...more »
Washington Recruit Al Qaeda To Help Oust Assad From Syria
Washington has authorised a CIA program of training and arming Al Qaeda in order to help them oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to various reports, a huge new effort to supply weapons to so-called ‘moderate opposition’ groups in Syria is underway, as the U.S. finds themselves unable to defend themselves against Russian and Syrian air power and artillery. Southfront.org reports: The secret CIA program of training and arming ‘moderate terrorists’ has been the core of American strategy, aiming to overthrow Assad and set a puppet government in Syria, since the start of ... more »
Brazil To Release Millions Of Mutant GM Mosquitoes
Scientists in Brazil are planning on unleashing millions of genetically modified mosquitoes into the public in an attempt to stop the spread of the Zika virus. Despite the fact that evidence shows that GM mosquitoes were responsible for the deadly virus spreading across the globe, scientists have been given the go-ahead by the government to release the GM mosquitoes into the wild. Phys.org reports: They will mate with the females of the ordinary mosquitoes, spawning babies with a genetically inbuilt flaw that causes them to die quickly. With their work done, the modified father mo... more »
Clinton Campaign Illegally Pay Halfway House Patients $300 To Vote
A Californian man caught on camera today has exposed a plot to convince halfway house residents to vote for Hillary Clinton – in return for a $300 rebate check. Asked why he won’t vote for Donald Trump, the man replies that “Hillary will give you a rebate check for $300.” His interviewer asks, “That’s if you have SSI? Who told you she gives you the rebate?” The man then claims that the manager of his boarding care told him. How will Hillary’s army of Correct The Record trolls try and cover this one up? If you are in California and know of any instances of voter fraud or bribery, y... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Grass Valley, California, USA. Thanks for stopping by!
The Poet: gk thomas, “Wretched of the Earth”
*“Wretched of the Earth”* By gk thomas “Poor kids, wretched of the earth, why should we feed you? Why shouldn't we empty our sea of bullets into your swollen bellies or poison you with toxic chemicals or depleted uranium? Why should we care, we who are living well? Where is it written in stone that you deserve better? Or that we are not animals subject to the law of nature: kill or be killed? You suspect us of being cruel, but we are kind. Our god tells us so. It is yours that lies. So you cry at night, shivering in the cold or sell yourselves for a slice of bread. What is that to thos... more »
"These Downbeat Times..."
"In these downbeat times, we need as much hope and courage as we do vision and analysis; we must accent the best of each other even as we point out the vicious effects of our racial divide and pernicious consequences of our maldistribution of wealth and power. We simply cannot live in the twenty-first century at each other's throats, even as we acknowledge the weighty forces of racism, patriarchy, economic inequality, homophobia, and ecological abuse on our necks. We are at a crucial crossroad in the history of this nation- and we either hang together by combating these forces that ... more »
"Democrats Should Ask Clinton To Step Aside"; “Criminal-In-Chief Hillary?”
*"Democrats Should Ask Clinton To Step Aside"* by John Kass "Has America become so numb by the decades of lies and cynicism oozing from Clinton Inc. that it could elect Hillary Clinton as president, even after Friday's FBI announcement that it had reopened an investigation of her emails while secretary of state? We'll find out soon enough. It's obvious the American political system is breaking down. It's been crumbling for some time now, and the establishment elite know it and they're properly frightened. Donald Trump, the vulgarian at their gates, is a symptom, not a cause. Hillar... more »
Melting Glaciers In Bolivian Andes Leave Communities At Risk
Glaciers of the Bolivian Andes receded by 43% between 1986 and 2014 according to the findings of a new study. Rising temperatures in the Andes have left people living at high altitudes with a water crisis. The study was published in The Cryosphere, an European Geosciences Union journal. “On top of that, glacier recession is leaving lakes that could burst and wash away villages or infrastructure downstream,” says lead-author Simon Cook, a lecturer at the Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. European Geosciences Union reports: Receding glaciers also put water supply in the ...more »
Evil Mum Kept Young Son In Closets For 3 Years Before He Died
An evil Mother kept her 11-year-old son locked up in tiny closets for three years sedating him with liquid sleeping aids before he died. The badly beaten and emaciated body of Yonatan Daniel Aguilar, 11, was found in his mother’s home in Los Angeles earlier this year. The LA Times reports: When people asked Veronica Aguilar where her son was, she told them he had been placed in an institution in Mexico, according to court records. Only her three other children — two of whom slept on a bed just outside the closet door — knew the truth, and they said they were forbidden by their moth... more »
Bits & Pieces from the Peace Walk
- I've still yet to recover from the peace walk. Sore legs and low energy. Others I've spoken with have similar ailments. When I went to the chiropractor yesterday he found one leg was 1/2 inch shorter than the other which indicates my body was really out of whack. - Yesterday I worked on the walk budget report and it appears after all bills are paid we will have just over $800 left. That would not have been possible without substantial in-kind donations from several of the walkers. My considerable staff time spent on the walk essentially donated ...more »
Fukushima Update, October 29, 2016: "Fukushima Equals 13,280.55 Hiroshima Bombs Today"
*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 reports will be on November 5 and 19, 2016. 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 *"*... more »
Damned if He Does, Damned if He Doesn't
Poor James Comey. Right about now, he must feel like a circus animal tamer with his head in a lion's mouth while a tiger's teeth is buried in his ass. Now he's in a damned if he does, damned if he doesn't situation. And I'm sure the FBI Director can tell you all about both ends of that equation. It came out yesterday that Comey was taking it upon himself to reopen the Hillary Clinton email investigation, with many Trump and Bernie/Jill supporters hoping he gets it right this time. This came about because of the bombshell discovery at the Bureau that emails from Hillary... more »
The Battle for our Grasslands and Livestock
*By Viv Forbes, Albrecht Glatzle and others* *Any quotes below may be attributed to Viv Forbes*Grasslands and arable land cover just 10% of Earth’s surface but (with the oceans) they produce all of our food and fibre. But the productivity and health of our grasslands, farms and livestock are under threat from global warming alarmists and green preservationists. We are afflicted by climate crazies and methane madness. It is poor public policy that condones restrictions on grazing operations, or taxes on grazing animals, based on disputed theories that claim that bodily emissions fr... more »
what i'm reading: the underground railroad by colson whitehead
Colson Whitehead is a literary genius. In *The Underground Railroad*, he has found a way to tell the story of 400-plus years of African-American oppression without delivering an awkward march through history, and without using characters as billboards for ideas. Instead of linear time, Whitehead employs a geography of time: different eras, different historical moments, occur simultaneously but in different places, all the locations connected by an underground railroad. At one stop is something very like the Tuskegee Experiment and the "Mississippi appendectomy". At another stop, mi... more »
Maddow May Not Get It, But Supporting Progressives Like Russ Feingold And Zephyr Teachout Isn't The Same As Backing ConservaDems Like Patrick Murphy And Pete Gallego
Early voting has started and, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Hillary leads Trump by a whopping 15 points among the 19 million Americans who have already cast their ballots-- leading not just in blue states but in Ohio, Arizona and, yes, even Texas. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are out on the road, working their asses off for Democratic candidates-- and although they've been smart enough and shown enough integrity to avoid pimping the worst of the Democratic establishment monstrosities (like Evan Bayh, Patty Justice, Ann Kirkpatrick and, worst of all, Patrick Murphy, who... more »
Oct. 29: Monton's wealthy admitted to hall of fame. clap, clap, clap
The irving press is its usual, sloppy and ill-informed self. The headline says that the leader of New Brunswick's 'leading literacy program for children' is outraged by falling literacy scores at the grade 2 level. "Leading literacy program"? In fact, this is a volunteer group - and a worthy one - but what makes it the leading literacy program? Does it have more expertise than the education system has? And just how many literacy programmes are we comparing this to? And why be shocked at the drop in literacy? This is a province which really doesn't give much of a damn about liter... more »
Ending 'The Excavator'
It had to be done. No explanation is needed. It's just time to find a new and healthier passion. Thank you for visiting and reading this blog, whether it's everyday, once a week, or only rarely. Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, Happy Everything. Goodbye.
Hugh Sykes on 'Regrexit'
We've not had a tweet from BBC tweeter Hugh Sykes for a while. Here's one of his latest (so good he sent it twice): He tweets elsewhere, "But I know many people who now believe they were lied to by #Leave much more than by #Remain, & want to reconsider". (Wishful thinking on Hugh's part there most likely.)
U.S. Undermining ISIS Fight To Get A Foothold In Syria
The Pentagon’s plan to launch an offensive against ISIS in Syria is only aimed at undermining a successful attempt by the Syrian government and its allies to defeat the terror group, according to American political commentator James Petras. Petras says the US is desperately seeking to gain a foothold in Syria. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told NBC News on Wednesday that the Pentagon is laying the groundwork for an offensive to oust ISIS from the Syrian city of Raqqa, the terror group’s de facto capital in the country. Carter said the operation would start within weeks and Ru... more »
SPHERE ALLIANCE MESSAGE #212 THE VERY FIRST Sphere Alliance shuttle ship shimmers into view in Kansas!
*SPHERE ALLIANCE SHUTTLE SHIMMERING* *INTO VIEW IN LAWRENCE KANSAS,* *IMAGE STACKED AND ENHANCED FOR BRIGHTNESS.* *Shawn to Denice:* You may have received this already but *[redacted] *took this over Lawrence Kanssas a few minutes ago. She just told me it's still there, just more "cloaked" and she is sending it love. * [Shawn has been doing healing work on [redacted] and her pets]* *Denice: * Yes! It is happening! Crown is swirling. *Stan X:* *DEAR ONE/SHAWN. INDEED THIS IS AN ENERGY SIGNATURE OF A SPHERE ALLIANCE SHUTTLE CRAFT. WE ARE CERTAIN. DATA COLLECTORS. STAN.X. END.* 2n... more »
Sunday Question: “Would religions survive if …?”
Tweeter Atheist Republic asks a sensible question *Do you think religions would survive if instead of teaching one religion, children were taught the basics of all religions old and new?* I’d add one further point. *Do you think religions would survive if instead of teaching one religion, children were taught * - *the basics of all religions and mythological systems old and new (to see their similarities and differences); and * - *the secular and psychological meaning and importance of ritual (to grasp that rituals giving meaning to life and existence can just as ... more »
Clinton Campaign Responds To DAPL Protests Saying A Lot Of Nothing
Protesters have been calling for Hillary Clinton to take a stand on the controversial pipeline for months. As the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests heat up and militarized police forcibly remove hundreds of water protectors from the protest site, Clinton’s campaign finally responded by saying ‘pretty much nothing’ about the volatile dispute. Common Dreams reports: The statement was delivered via email to a handful of Indigenous journalists and news outlets and was said to be in response to a letter that Native leaders had sent to the former secretary of state asking for her h... more »
Saturday Interview: George Aylett
*In the hot seat this week is George Aylett, a well-known Labour activist and Jeremy Corbyn supporter. One of the youngest-ever Parliamentary candidates, he stood in South West Wiltshire for Labour at the 2015 general election and managed to increase the party's proportion of votes. George has begun a foray into blogging, and you can find him tweeting away at @GeorgeAylett* *In both Labour leadership elections, you backed Jeremy Corbyn. Was this an easy decision to make? And why do you think Jeremy still attracts a huge following in the party, despite the well-publicised criticisms... more »
Pentagon: Russian And US Jets Flew Dangerously Close In Syria
*AFP:* *Russian, US jets had near miss over Syria: US officials* Aboard a US military aircraft (AFP) - A Russian fighter flew dangerously close to a US warplane over eastern Syria, US defence officials said Friday, highlighting the risks of a serious mishap in the increasingly crowded airspace. The "near miss" occurred late on October 17, when a Russian jet that was escorting a larger spy plane manoeuvred near an American warplane, Air Force Lieutenant General Jeff Harrigian said. The Russian jet came to "inside of half a mile" of the US jet, he added. Another US military officia... more »
Scientists Say Melanesians Carry DNA Of Unknown Species
People from Melanesia contain traces of DNA belonging to an unknown species, according to an exciting new computer analysis. Scientists say that Melanesians, people from a region in the South Pacific, contain DNA of an unknown human species in their genetic makeup. Ryan Bohlender told the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics that the DNA was very unlikely to be Neanderthal or Denisovan – but is likely a third, unknown “human” relative. Sciencealert.com reports: “We’re missing a population, or we’re misunderstanding something about the relationships,” Ryan Bohl... more »
2006 Audio Captures Clinton Proposing To Rig Palestinian Election
Hillary Clinton proposed rigging the Palestinian parliamentary elections while she was a US senator in 2006, according to a newly emerged recording. The decade-old audio exposes then-Senator Hillary Clinton saying the US should have manipulated Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 to prevent a Hamas victory. The US Democratic presidential nominee lamented that the US didn’t “determine who was going to win.” The result of that election was a victory for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas over the US-favored Fatah political party. RT reports: “I do not think we should ...more »
Angelina Jolie’s Father Speaks Out Against Illuminati
Angelina Jolie’s father, Jon Voight, has publicly spoken out against the illuminati elite’s that he says are attempting to prevent Donald Trump from winning the Presidency. In a video uploaded to YouTube, Voight slammed both George Soros and Hillary Clinton, claiming they are attempting to turn America into a country of tyranny. “May God protect the real truth and may Donald Trump win this presidency. He will save our America, and he will certainly make it great again,” he said. Daily Mail reports: Voight has repeatedly supported Trump throughout the election cycle despite the bu... more »
Deep State Preparing to toss Losing Hillary Overboard
*Hillary's eyes don't match* *But...that's the LEAST of her problems* New FBI inquiry reinjects Clinton emails into 2016 raceFBI will investigate whether there is classified information in newly discovered emails The FBI will investigate whether there is classified information in newly discovered emails related to its probe of Hillary Clinton's private server, reinjecting a toxic political issue into the presidential campaign less than two weeks before election day Folks, this was always in the cards. Many months ago, but long after Hillary was anointed Deep State Candidate, the... more »
The FBI And The U.S. Justice Department Are In Deep Disagreement On How The Clinton Email Investigation Should Be Handled
*NBC: **Justice officials warned FBI that Comey’s decision to update Congress was not consistent with department policy* Senior Justice Department officials warned the FBI that Director James B. Comey’s decision to notify Congress about renewing the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server was not consistent with long-standing practices of the department, according to officials familiar with the discussions. Comey told Justice officials that he intended to inform lawmakers of newly discovered emails. These officials told him the department’s position “that we don... more »
United Nations Human Rights Council a Sick Parody
The Mainichi is reporting on recent elections to the UN Human Rights Council, which seems to me to be a complete SHAM. Here is its mission: UN Human Rights Council: What we do http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/WhatWeDo.aspx As the principal United Nations office mandated to promote and protect human rights for all, OHCHR leads global human rights efforts speaks out objectively in the face of human rights violations worldwide. We provide a forum for identifying, highlighting and developing responses to today's human rights challenges, and act as the principal focal point of human...more »
Fukushima Remains Steamy Looking / Netc Continues to Show Elevated Radiation Levels in Japan and US
October 29, 2016 00:51 October 30, 2016 1:48 Don't know what is going on in the US South but looks hot:
Hillary Clinton has described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “the new Hitler” …yet a few days ago Germany reported their plan to send their best tanks to the border between Lithuania and Russia to augment the armies of other NATO countries now abutting Russia, since the US had long ago reneged on its promise NOT to move NATO forces to the boundary. Given that Hitler’s Germany attacked Russia (not the other way around) and that Russian casualties in World War II were the highest of any other country (over 20 million!!!), doesn’t it seem that Hillary and the US “mainstream media” are inviting WW III …presumably on the false supposition that Russia is weak? When I was in grade school the “Cold War” was on, and the media constantly told us to crawl under of desks if a Russian attack was imminent. However, that was back when nuclear weapons were in their infancy, so the thought of monster weapons that could kill us all was not yet possible. So why are Hillary, her neocon compadres in Washington, and the collaborating “prestitute” media drumming up a nuclear war with Russia …without saying a word about the grave danger that such a war would be to the American people? The short answer is that they are all insane. However, if you read this article, you will see that Vladimir Putin and his country have not been sleeping. Instead they have been secretly creating superior weapons, regular as well a nuclear, light years ahead of the incompetent US “military/industrial complex,” whose incompetence I learned first-hand in my last decade (1990 – 2001) working as a materials scientist in a US Government laboratory.
------------------------------ *OpEdNews Op Eds 10/28/2016 at 00:09:51* Russia Calls the War Party's Bluff *By Pepe Escobar * opednews.com Headlined to H2 10/28/16 Snowden/Obama -- Double Focus Prism Cold War 2.0 has reached unprecedented hysterical levels. And yet a hot war is not about to break out -- before or after the November 8 US presidential election. From the Clinton (cash) machine -- supported by a neocon/neoliberalcon think tank/media complex -- to the British establishment and its corporate media mouthpieces, the Anglo-America... more »
Standing Rock Camp Live: Labor Union Workers Arrive to Support -- Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016 -- Breaking News: DAPL workers are laying razor wire on the Sacred Sites they bulldoze in the hills east of Highway 1806 as they near the Missouri River with Police Armored vehicle cover! Share! Confirmed with my own eyes. DAPL will have the pipeline complete up to the river in 5-7 days if nothing changes!Calling all Water Protectors! -- Johnny D. We must
The Saturday Morning Song You Won't Be Able To Get Out Of Your Head
I'm thinking this video got lost last night in the post You Know "California" Is A Spanish Word, Right? so... I decided to feature it again this morning. The point is still the same: Trump and Triumpism is encouraging a huge surge in Latino voter participation-- 1,960.060 newly registered Latino voters in California alone,unprecedented numbers of early vote by mail ballots already cast in Hispanic neighborhoods... and major trouble for entrenched Republican congressional incumbents like Jeff Denham, Darrell Issa, Steve Knight, David Valadao, maybe even Kevin McCarthy! To put 1,96... more »
Iceland’s Pirate Party To Form Anti-Establishment Government
Iceland’s anti-establishment Pirate Party have plundered an historic victory in Iceland’s general election and are set to form government as the senior partner in a coalition of alternative parties. The remaining votes are still being counted, but reports suggest Iceland will have a centre-left coalition of the Pirates and three, or possibly four, other non-establishment parties. Governments in Iceland are usually cobbled together coalitions, but the Pirates announced they will not consider working with a mainstream party. Birgitta Jónsdóttir, the Pirates’ parliamentary leader, sa... more »
Rape culture
I haven’t written anything on Poldark yet, but I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit. It has been dissed by people who don’t see it like I do - as a kind of strip cartoon; no pun on Aidan Turner’s physique intended. Some of the casting is a bit odd, as is the generic, “Westcountry” accent that directors always settle for, as if they think Cornwall is so far from civilisation that if they can’t be arsed to capture the Cornish accent with the precision routinely applied to the American one, no-one will notice. I have to say, however, that some of the Poldark cast have made a braver... more »
Diverse matters re 'Autumnwatch'
The newly-famous (and, apparently, now very popular) ladybird spider I very much enjoyed this week's *Autumnwatch.* It had everything from sika deer to ladybird spiders, from edible dormice to golden eagles, from sand hoppers to spoonbills, from fungi to (that fun guy) Martin Hughes-Games. Plus it had a daily mouse maze competition which, frankly, put the likes of *Strictly Come Dancing *and the *Great British Bake (Off to Channel Four) *to shame in terms of sheer excitement. I learned a lot too. I didn't know that our poor old red squirrels now have leprosy to contend with (on to... more »
Classic 'Newswatch' interview with a BBC editor
Toby Castle We often joke about BBC editors always going on programmes like *Feedback* and *Newswatch* and trotting out their old, favourite, tired and easily-debunked argument, "We get complaints from both sides. Therefore, we must be getting it about right", to any complaint about BBC bias." The joke (such as it is) only works because it's true. They *do *say that, again and again. The BBC's coverage of the clearing of the Calais migrant camp was the main topic on this week's *Newswatch*. Two complaints were read out criticising the BBC for broadcasting the views of a 'racist' m... more »
Cable news buys latest burger!
*SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2016Big fun with boners and weiners:* When he first entered the White House, Bill Clinton put on a pair of shorts and jogged to a local McDonald's. The press corps mocked him for his shorts and for his embarrassing palate. That said, no one has ever been more "Clintonesque" than the mainstream press corps itself. This extends to their taste in fast food. Every day, especially on cable, they stop whatever it was they were doing and purchase that day's nothingburger. Yesterday's burger came from the potent but changeable Comey the God. In July, he'd been a h... more »
Is Donald Trump's Assessment On The Battle For Mosul Is Correct?
*ABC News*: *Donald Trump Says He'll Teach Military Expert 'a Couple of Things' About Mosul* Donald Trump went on the offensive against a military expert and former dean of the Army War College, Jeff McCausland, who said the Republican nominee’s comments this weekend about the battle to reclaim Mosul in Iraq show he doesn’t have a firm grasp of military strategy. “You can tell your military expert that I’ll sit down and I’ll teach him a couple of things,” Trump told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview. On Sunday, Trump tweeted that the ongoing offensive against ... more »
Assad Aide: US May ‘Navigate & Direct’ ISIS From Mosul Into Syria
According to President Assad’s media adviser, the way the US-led coalition is conducting its operation in Mosul suggests that Washington may be planning to “navigate” ISIS terrorists into Syria in accordance with its longstanding strategy for the region. Islamic State terrorists fleeing from Mosul into Syria would become a “huge danger to our sovereignty, to our country,” Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban told RT adding that “Russia and Syria are looking at this issue extremely seriously. We’re not going to sit and watch… The way they encircle Mosul shows they would like these terrorists to m... more »
Police Depts. Paid AT&T Millions To Scrutinize Our Texts & Chats: EFF
Adam Schwartz, a senior lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). explains how the government spies on people using a powerful phone surveillance tool built by AT&T called Hemisphere. Every day AT&T stores billions of call records and sells the information to Sheriff’s and police departments around the country who each pay upward of $1 million a year for the communications metadata. In his article AT&T Requires Police to Hide Hemisphere Phone Spying Schwartz says law enforcement officials kept Hemisphere “under the radar” for many years—hidden from courts, legislators, a... more »
Iraqi Volunteer Forces To Help Syria Fight Terrorists
Volunteer fighters from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units say they will cross the border to join the Syrian government and its allies in the ongoing fight against terrorists. A spokesman said on Saturday that the fighters plan to cross the border into Syria to fight alongside President Bashar al-Assad after clearing northern Iraqi territories from the ISIS terrorist group. Press TV reports: “After clearing all our land from these terrorist gangs, we are fully ready to go to any place that contains a threat to Iraqi national security,” Ahmed al-Asadi said during a briefing with jou... more »
What Happens After Mosul Is Liberated?
*Patrick Cockburn, The Independent:* *If you want to know what will happen to Mosul after Isis is pushed out, look back to the fall of Saddam Hussein* *The anti-Isis forces involved in seizing Mosul may be temporary allies, but they are also longstanding rivals.* I visited Mosul on the day it fell to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and a small detachment of US Special Forces on 11 April 2003. As we drove into the city, we passed lines of pick-up trucks piled high with loot returning to the Kurdish-controlled enclave in northern Iraq. US soldiers at a checkpoint, over which waved the ... more »
Water Protectors Jailed in Dog Kennels, Assigned Numbers as Concentration Camps
Water protectors caged in dog kennels after arrests on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 They were also given numbers instead of names, as was done in concentration camps. By Brenda Norrell Censored News MANDAN, North Dakota -- Morton Country Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier caged Standing Rock water protectors in "dog kennes" and wrote numbers on their arms, as was done in concentration camps. After
The Forgotten Palestinians
In her first on-the-ground report from Palestine, Abby Martin gives a first-hand look into two of the most attacked refugee camps in the West Bank: Balata and Aida camps. With millions of displaced Palestinians around the world, hundreds of thousands are refugees in their own country—many have lived packed into these refugee camps after being ethnically cleansed from their villages just miles away.
The Battle For Mosul -- News Updates October 29, 2016
*Al Jazeera*: *ISIL 'using thousands as human shields' in Iraq's Mosul* *Fears grow for Iraqi civilians held hostage near Mosul after mass execution of more than 200 people.* Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant appears to be using tens of thousands of people as "human shields" in and around Mosul, where Iraqi forces are waging an offensive aimed at retaking the country's second biggest city. The UN human rights office also said on Friday it received reports of more than 200 people being killed for refusing to follow orders from ISIL, also known as ISIS, or previously belonging to... more »
Allies Resist US Plan to Attack Raqqa?? What's Going On Here???
*I've noticed the past week or so...** Russia is not flying over Aleppo.* *Turkey is not flying over Syria.* *Straight up, I don't believe Turkey is not flying because of warnings from Syria. Nor do I believe that Russia was unaware of the airstrikes made against the kurdish militias on syrian territory- Putin and Erdogan were talking immediately preceding the airstrikes.* * A news story was making the rounds about some 'close encounter' between a Russian and US plane over Syria, BUT, it was old news * * Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeff Harrigan said the incident happened on Oct. 17 when a... more »
Dickileaks - FBI Reopens Email case
Federico Freddy Cardella Wilmington, NC, United States WATCH THIS FBI THING: SHE"S THE ARCH WITCH & SUPREME MANIPULATOR THUS FAR. But I don't think she will succeed this time. She's scheming again- plotting to undo the weighty letter & findings that FBI Director Jim Comey has just formerly sent to the people's CONGRESS... As usual and on cue, Hillary is trying to flip this thing around with FBI. Thankfully, I just don't think she can do it this time. THE PLOT THICKENS: Comey has too much dissension and a revolt going in within his own agency amongst FBI regulars who believe he has a... more »
"Domestic U.S. Politics Of War With Russia"
*"Domestic U.S. Politics Of War With Russia"* by Eric Zuesse "First, the context in which the issue of war against Russia is being raised: Syria’s government is allied with Russia’s government, and ‘The West’ is trying to overthrow Syria’s government and is bringing into Syria, and arming, tens of thousands of jihadists there, as the footsoldiers to do it. Syria and Russia are bombing the people that we are bringing in. The Presidential candidate of the U.S. Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, is a longstanding and ardent proponent of the U.S. establishing a “no-fly zone” over at le... more »
Ron Head: The Tipping Point - The Council
Tipping Point – The Council October 28, 2016 *Tipping Point – The Council* We know that most of you feel somewhat lost, at sea, and bewildered by what you see going on around you right now. The process of dismantling all that needs to be replaced has indeed begun. The thought that this is what is happening does cross your minds from time to time, but that does not make it much easier to deal with. And telling you that we forewarned you would not serve either. Much that needed to be renewed has already been shown to you and new ways have begun to be tried. This has been very suc... more »
Mosul Campaign Day Twelve, Oct 28, 2016
The next phase of the Mosul operation opened on October 28 when the Hashd opened the western front pushing towards Tal Afar. The United Nations also documented thousands of people being kidnapped by the Islamic State to be used as human shields. The insurgents also continued their wholesale slaughter of civilians. Finally, Turkey issued more statements attempting to assert themselves into the campaign. The Hashd finally entered the battle on a large scale on October 28. They took twotowns west of Mosul heading towards Tal Afar. Up to this point the Islamic State’s corridor to Syr... more »
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*From Jenna Orkin *"This Is About Whiteness" UC Berkeley Students Segregate Campus, Block Bridge With Human Wall Hillary Clinton is reportedly considering Joe Biden as her secretary of state LaGuardia Airport Closed After Mike Pence's Campaign Plane Skids Off Runway Philippine mayor killed in police shoot-out after being threatened by President Rodrigo Duterte It looks increasingly like the Icelandic Pirate Party will win the country's election this weekend Singapore prime minister on Trans-Pacific Partnership: 'How can anybody believe in US anymore' 7 members of militia group acqui... more »
Shiite Militias Now Involved In The Battle For Mosul
Reuters: *Shi'ite militias launch offensive to seal off western Mosul* Iraqi Shi'ite militias said on Saturday they had launched an offensive towards the west of Mosul, an operation that would tighten the noose around Islamic State's Iraq stronghold but could inflame sectarian tension in the mainly Sunni region. The battle for Mosul is expected to be the biggest in the 13 years of turmoil unleashed in Iraq by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion which toppled former president Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim, and brought Iraq's majority Shi'ite Muslims to power. A spokesman for the Shi'ite m... more »
Accurate AI Machine Predicts Trump Presidency
An artificially intelligent machine that predicted the outcomes of the last three U.S. presidential elections says Republican candidate Donald Trump will win the imminent election. MogAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) system created in 2004 by Sanjiv Rai, founder of Indian startup Genic.ai correctly predicted the results of the Republican and Democratic Primaries. “If Trump loses, it will defy the data trend for the first time in the last 12 years,” Raj told CNBC. The AI machine uses 20 million data sources from places like Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to make its decisi... more »
Sphere Alliance Message #211 Sudden decrease in SSP sightings in space
Martha to Denice: S *[Greek amateur astronomer] *has a question he's wondering about. Can Stan find info for him? S: *"...if you could ask, why the silence [no ships spotted in solar system] since the 21st? Nothing is moving or appears to be moving. Several of us are puzzled by the increase of movement being turned to a complete silence."* *DEAR ONE/MARTHA. ALL VISIBLE CRAFT WERE OF THE SSP. THE SUDDEN HALT OF TRAFFIC INDICATES THE SLOWING AND ENDING OF THESE PROGRAMS. THERE IS A STRONG PROBABILITY THAT FUNDS ARE DIMINISHED AND MANAGEMENT HAS BEEN BENCHED. THIS BRINGS ALL ON... more »
Keeping Score
Justin Trudeau ran on the slogan, "Real Change." Lately, the change appears to have been to the slogan -- which now reads, "More Of The Same." To make sure that we won't be getting More of the Same, a conference is being held this weekend at Carleton University. Susan Delacout writes: This weekend, Carleton University’s School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies is holding a conference about this whole business of criticizing the government. It’s called “After the Deluge: Reframing/Sustaining Critique in Post-Harper Canada.” Conservatives might well see this conference as evidence... more »
FBI Rocks The U.S. Presidential Race By Opening A New Inquiry ON the Hillary Clinton Email Case
*New York Times:* *Emails in Anthony Weiner Inquiry Jolt Hillary Clinton’s Campaign* WASHINGTON — The presidential campaign was rocked on Friday after federal law enforcement officials said that emails pertinent to the closed investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server were discovered on a computer belonging to Anthony D. Weiner, the estranged husband of a top Clinton aide. In a letter to Congress, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, said the emails had surfaced in an unrelated case, which law enforcement officials said was an F.B.I. investigation into illicit text... more »
Witten's autobiographical lecture in Japan
V. H. Satheeshkumar has brought my attention to an 8-page document Adventures in physics and math (a commemorative popular lecture) in Witten's folder of a server at Princeton's IAS. It's a lecture Edward Witten gave somewhere in Japan – but I don't know when he gave it. Those 8 pages are large and dense – maybe designed to save the paper and forests. (When I was printing lectures, I surely liked to save the paper – and time of printing – as well. An example.) I recommend you to read it because the talk is very interesting. Below, you may find just some sketches of the informatio... more »
By the Pricking of My Thumbs
Something Clicked This Way Comes Just a few quick thoughts on the latest thrilling episode of *Hillary's Life of Scandal.* --While a hypothetical President Clinton would not have the power to fire FBI Director James Comey for trying to spoil her election, she would - theoretically anyway - have the power to abolish the entire agency. Teddy Roosevelt did a sneaky summer end-run around an adjourned Congress in 1908 by unilaterally creating his own executive police force. Congress had refused to go along with the formal creation of such a federal agency, rightly fearing that it would ... more »
Weekend reads: Bad peer reviews; crimes against science; misconduct at Oxford
The week at Retraction Watch featured an exclusive about a prominent heart researcher being dismissed, and a look at signs that a paper’s authorship was bought. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: Bad peer reviews: Kingsley Purdam is gathering examples. (Times Higher Education) Crimes against science: The Grumpy Geophysicist has some suggestions for an updated list. […] The post Weekend reads: Bad peer reviews; crimes against science; misconduct at Oxford appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Standing Rock and the Earth vs Big Oil
Bill McKibben has an op-ed in the NYTimes on the latest global warming flash point and human rights atrocity in the making in North Dakota. A clip: . . . . Originally, the pipeline was supposed to cross the Missouri just north of Bismarck, until people pointed out that a leak there would threaten the drinking water supply for North Dakota’s second biggest city. The solution, in keeping with American history, was obvious: make the crossing instead just above the Standing Rock reservation, where the poverty rate is nearly three times the national average. This has been like watchin... more »
Americans Prepare For Potential Violence On Election Day
As the end of the 2016 presidential election approaches concerns about violence on election day seem to be escalating. November 8th election day could see violence erupt between voters and police in an already divided country. Activist Post reports: Several schools have announced that they will not hold classes when the polls are open due to fears of potential violence. According to a recent survey of voters, “A 51% majority of likely voters express at least some concern about the possibility of violence on Election Day; one in five are ‘very concerned.’” Voters have been very obs... more »
Bush Administration Official On The Post-Election GOP: "I don’t think the Party survives"
Thursday night, after Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), one of the first high-ranking Republicans to disavow Trump, flubbed his debate with Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth-- and flubbed it spectacularly. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Con-Man immediately tweeted some *Schadenfreude* his way. The Trump camp is eager to see Republicans like Kirk, John McCain (AZ), Kelly Ayotte (NH), Rob Portman (OH), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Pat Toomey (PA), and Joe Heck (NV)-- each of who is in a competitive Senate race-- lose. Same for House incumbents Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Carlos Curbelo (FL), To... more »
Untitled
*‘Jackie’ says she was pressured to give Rolling Stone discredited rape story* THE former University of Virginia student who claimed she was gang raped at a fraternity house in a since-discredited Rolling Stone article testified Monday that she was “naive” and felt pressured into participating in the story. “I remember she said there was no way to pull out,” the woman, identified only as “Jackie”, said of journalist Sabrina Erdely in a taped deposition from April, the audio of which was played at the defamation trial against Rolling Stone. “I don’t remember specifically but I re... more »
Tory Councillor Say Homeless People Should Be ‘Eliminated’
A Tory councillor believes that homeless people in Bradford city centre should be ‘grabbed by scruff of the neck’ and ‘dealt with’. The comments by David Heseltine, a Conservative Party Councillor in Bradford caused outrage during a meeting of the Council’s regeneration overview and scrutiny committee. He said: “The tramps and drunks sleeping in doorways. What we need to do is get them by the scruff of the neck and deal with them. People have said they’d go into Bradford if they were eliminated.” He claimed that while plans to redevelop the city centre were all well and good, the ... more »
Untitled
*Why does our planet experience an ice age every 100,000 years?* *More Warmist rubbish -- confusing cause and effect again. Of course there was more CO2 dissolved in the oceans during cooler periods. That is what cooler water does. It dissolves more CO2. Your Coca Cola would not fizz otherwise. So they really have no causal explanation at all for the matter they discussI add the journal abstract following the popular summary below. The opening comments of the abstract indicate that the period of cyclicity was cooler as a whole. I quote: "The ~100 k.y. cyclicity of the lat... more »
Worst of Both Worlds
Alan D. Viard and Sita Nataraj Slavov say the U.S. tax system is the wrong compromise between Republican and Democratic ideals.
Amnesty Warns Against Using White Phosphorus In Mosul Operation
Amnesty International have received credible witness and photographic evidence of white phosphorus projectiles exploding in the air over an area about 20 kilometres east of the Iraqi city Mosul. Evidence white phosphorus used in area near Mosul, Iraq posing deadly risk to civilians fleeing the fighting https://t.co/TWuLGbokS0 pic.twitter.com/BVROVe91i1 — AmnestyInternational (@AmnestyOnline) October 28, 2016 The human rights watchdog has urged the Iraqi government and US-backed coalition not to use white phosphorus in the vicinity of Mosul, warning of devastating health consequenc... more »
New article on the ethics of risk online
Just a little heads-up that a few days ago I submitted a new article for a coming special issue on the ethics of risk, and has made the "preprint" (my msubmitted manuscript before peer review and editing) available for free reading and download. The article critically assesses the notion of basing an ethics of risk on the core assumption of "defeasible" basic individual moral rights against being exposed to risk by others, and the abstract runs like this: This article critically assesses recent proposals that an ethics of risk developed independently of standard "factualistic" ethi... more »
Economic News , Data & Views.....October 29 , 2016......Quick hits For Saturday - 1) Market Wrap : Bond Market Rout Bloodies Stocks ; Federal Reserve December Rate Hike Odds Fall Notably - Aftershock From Renewed Clinton Email-gate Probe ; Oil Rocked On Friday - Iran & Iraq Refuse To Freeze Output , OPEC Yet To Agree On Details For Output Reduction Plan , Friday Meeting Stretches Into Saturday. 2) Around The Horn For Europe : Greece In Focus - Creditor Talks ( Second Review - State Of Play ) , TV Auction Controversy Update , Economic Developments Update , President Obama Visit Update ; Europe Financial Headlines - Rating Actions , NIRP , Draghi ; Deutsche Bank Travails - Demand Europe Provide 150 BL To Bail Out Banks ( Again ) , Deutsch Bank " Fall Of The House Of Usher " Detailed ; Spain Political Updates - PSOE & United Left In focus . 3) US Election Shocker - FBI Re-Opens Email-Gate Probe. 4) Libya In Focus : Domestic Politcs ; International Politics & Meddlers Updates ; Security Or Lack Thereof In Libya.
Markets..... *fred walton* @fredwalton216 37s 37 seconds ago Credit Bubble Bulletin: Weekly Commentary: Peak Monetary Stimulus http:// creditbubblebulletin.blogspot.com/2016/10/weekly -commentary-peak-monetary-stimulus.html?spref=tw … Alway interesting & useful ! *Holger Zschaepitz* @Schuldensuehner 1h 1 hour ago Good morning from Cologne. Global stocks have lost $271bn in mkt cap this week as bloodiest bond rout in 3yrs dent risk sentiment. *Holger Zschaepitz* @Schuldensuehner 12h 12 hours ago December Fed Rate-Hike odds slide below 70% on FBI Clinto... more »
"Fears of 'False Flag', National Guardsmen in Multiple States Get Call-up for 3:30 AM Saturday - Multiple Military Convoys Departing Multiple Bases Throughout USA"
*"Fears of 'False Flag', * *National Guardsmen in Multiple States Get Call-up for 3:30 AM Saturday- * *Multiple Military Convoys Departing Multiple Bases Throughout USA"* by Newsroom "The Internet has begun roaring with postings from people all over the country, reporting multiple and very large military convoys on the move, National Guardsmen being called-up and ordered to report at 3:30 AM Saturday Morning, and tremendous amounts of unusual activity at almost every major US military installation in the 48 contiguous states. Some conspiracy-types believe there is a horrific "false f... more »
AI Predicts Trump Becoming Most Popular President In Modern History
An artificial intelligence (AI) system that correctly predicted the last three Presidents has now predicted that Donald Trump will win the 2016 election. The MogIA system has calculated that Donald Trump will not only win the election, but will prove to be a more popular choice than Barack Obama was in 2008. CNBC reports: MogIA was developed by Sanjiv Rai, the founder of Indian start-up Genic.ai. It takes in 20 million data points from public platforms including Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in the U.S. and then analyzes the information to create predictions. The AI system... more »
WikiLeaks: Clinton Team Told To ‘Undermine Benghazi Hearings’
WikiLeaks have released emails showing Hillary Clinton’s team discussing potential strategies for undermining the Benghazi hearings in 2014. One email from a batch of leaked Podesta emails reveals that Hillary Clinton ordered her team to distract the public’s attention away from the fact that she allowed four U.S. servicemen to be killed in the 2012 Benghazi attack. Wikileaks.org reports: *From:* Jennifer Palmieri [mailto:jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com] *Sent:* Thursday, October 1, 2015 7:20 PM *To:* Robby Mook ; Oren Shur < oshur@hillaryclinton.com> *Cc:* ... more »
In Russia’s Religious Rebirth, Putin is a New Pope with Lawrence Solomon
Not quite of course but what this item does is recognize something i had suspected but had not seen confirmed. Putin has led a complete revival of Russian Christianity and this has now led to a rebirth of population and cultural moral. This will just as clearly strengthen Russian democracy after Putin, while utterly cleansing Russia of the last vestiges of Communism. It is a great turn around and sets the stage for Russian confrontation of Islam. He has also understood that the prophetic road map laid out for centuries for the triumph of Christianity is also a good business pla... more »
World’s Oldest Pyramids Found In Alaska
This is hugely important and what we learn is that a major pyramid is intact and buried in Alaska. This has obviously been put under a dark research program by the military. We also learn that an additional site has also been located mostly under ice. Better yet it appears that the military one produces a huge anomaly near mt McKinley and this led to its discovery. Whistle blowers have indicated that a shaft has been sunk to explore this pyramid. As this all began in 1990, it is unlikely that they have accomplished a lot more than reported in the video below. That is still q... more »
Confirmation Tianjin was Nuked
The argument has been made that all three buildings of 911 had tactical nukes in their basements. Certainly the collapse was delayed but once started was continuous. A basement shock would have precipitated such a collapse on the weakened floors of the aircraft impacts and the descending mass would have neatly finished the job.Here we have something much more direct. No truck in the basement here. We have a potential container but actually we also have something else. It was aimed to produce a minimum loss of life. this makes it either a drone or a space weapon. The lack o... more »
Genesis for the New Space Age with John Leith - Chpt XX - A New Age Dawning
This wraps the tale up. Difficult to read as it is i can make a couple of observations. 1 The depth of apparent first hand information is substantial and all wraps around the so called round wing which is certainly nothing of the kind. Thus i suspect that this book happens to be a history of the development of gravity control vehicles perhaps inspired by an off planet source during the second war and then placed under Joint USA Canadian and British control for rapid development. I suspect a comparable German effort was then folded in as well, mirroring then rocket work.... more »
What is a sociopath?
How completely self absorbed! Considering the real power of the subconscious to make a difference it begs the question of just what is happening at that level. It appears that the physical aspects of human cognition are flawed. An imbalance in the chemistry of emotion is certainly indicated and the flawed logic applied to ones reactions with others is marked. Yet most suffering from this form of dysfunction are also skilled at hiding it all. Yet it is reasonable to consider this as a physical problem. Several functionalities operate in our physical brains in some form of ... more »
Natural Conspiracy - Britain' VIP Pedophile Ring
This horrid tale provides us with a key insight. I would never have thought of it otherwise. It is that the unnatural crime of pedophilia must produce Natural Conspiracies. In the natural world of human interactions a conspiracy fails or prospers simply because it needs to be underwritten with money. Thus corporations and governments thrive as accepted conspiracies because they satisfy everyone's need for income. Political conspiracies usually need to succeed quickly because of the money problem. Thus i am not terribly exercised over most purported conspiracies which mostly c... more »
Leaked Audio Of Hillary Clinton Proposing ‘Rigging Election’
Hillary Clinton proposed rigging a foreign election in a 2006 meeting with Jewish Press editors, and now the leaked audio has been posted on the web to prove it. Speaking to the editorial board of the Jewish Press at their office in Brooklyn, Clinton also said it was a mistake to allow Palestinians to hold a democratic election. “I do not think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake,” said Senator Clinton. “And if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who... more »
Stock Market Plunges As FBI Re-Open Clinton Investigation
The stock market plunged as the FBI announced it is reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private e-mail and mishandling of classified information, a politically explosive development just 11 days before the presidential election. FBI Dir just informed me, "The FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation." Case reopened — Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) October 28, 2016 “In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation,” Directo... more »
Chief Arvol Looking Horse to Obama -- Own your words, stop the pipeline
Chief Arvol Looking Horse
Musical Interlude: 2002, “Inner Light”
2002, “Inner Light” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkTCTmajRI
"A Look to the Heavens"
"This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the edge-on profile of the slender spiral galaxy NGC 5775, which is surrounded by a halo of gas that astronomers suspect is kicked up by star explosions like a galaxy-size fountain. A photo from the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed what scientists have called a veritable galactic "fountain of youth," one that would turn the fictional pirate captain Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean films green with envy. Journeying to the mythic Fountain of Youth is Sparrow's goal in in the adventure film franchise, "Pirates of the Cari... more »
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