Saturday, January 19, 2013 / Slaughter Awareness Day (Photo credit: Patrick Feller)
Soleil vert / Soylent Green (Photo credit: David_Reverchon)
Prayer flags on Renjo La (Photo credit: Oliphant)
50 doomiest graphs of 2012
In 2012, “the new normal” is how observers from Christiane Amanpour to *The Onion* characterized the various forms of extreme weather that wrought havoc around the globe. This is a practical definition of “climate change”, and Dr. James Hansen showed clearly what this means quantitatively: [image: Frequency of occurence (y-axis) of local temperature anomalies divided by local standard deviation (x-axis) obtained by binning all local results for the indicated region and 11-year period into 0.05 frequency intervals. Area under each curve is unity. Standard deviations are for the 195... more »
Praying Man
January 19, 2013--Medical/Dental Clinic Cite Soleil (Photo by John Carroll)*Who is this Praying Man and why is he praying?* * **He is a slum dweller from Cite Soleil and is praying that our dentist would pull one of his painful and rotted teeth. Yesterday he was in line in our medical/dental clinic in a notorious neighborhood in Soleil. He patiently waited for hours sitting on a wooden bench with dozens of other people. **However, it wouldn’t be. The hour was late and the patient before Praying Man turned out to be our last dental patient. This last patient was a very afraid thin yo... more »
1 Sun Nooz Regiment
Apparently that station gives these patches to Canadian Forces members, which might explain why my recent long-serving sparring partner had so much trouble with loyalties and political structures. Six years of Conservative oral and some of the troops have lost their bearings. I'm reading the comments below the site where this was posted, and it's all military people thanking SunNooz and
Good People Still Exist: Woman Offers Apology to Shop Owners Seven Years After Deceiving Them
Now here’s a tale that will warm the cockles of your heart. A married couple in China had their faith in humankind restored earlier this month when a woman who intentionally used a counterfeit 100 Yuan note in their shop seven years ago returned to apologise and make amends. Despite having long since forgotten the incident, the couple were overjoyed to receive a sudden visit from the woman, who had bourne feelings of guilt ever since the day she tricked the pair into accepting the fake cash. Mr. and Mrs. Lee opened their small clothes shop in the city of Baoji, Shaanxi, in 2006. O... more »
Untitled
*New sinkhole seismic events studied* *Sinkhole to be seen in 3-D* *Krewe du Vieux (71 photos) * *TODAY: Undefeated Divas rolling 12-4pm. Finally getting our stride back! ~Red Cotton* *Today in New Orleans ~NOLA DEFENDER*
Natalija Belova and The Sun's Benefit Lies
*The Sun* is to journalism what syphilis is to good sexual health. And the latest proof is this deliberately misleading, scurrilous article. Entitled 'You're a Soft Touch' and with the webpage by-line "IMMIGRANT sponger living off handouts REFUSES full-time job" (caps theirs), *The Sun* tells us how Lithuanian Natalija Belova (pictured) has been in receipt of £14,500/year worth of benefit payments that, in the paper's words, "fund her love of designer clothes, jaunts to the Spanish sun and nightclubbing". Contributing in its inimitable manner to a fair and reasoned debate about mig... more »
What really happened at Sandy Hook last month? How can we possibly know? How well do the published facts fit the official story? This video has been viewed 11 MILLION times in just about 12 days!!! Do you know what this means? It means that virtually everyone who has viewed it has recommended it to friends. This is the meaning of going viral. By contrast, this blog is only visited by about 1000 viewers a month...
------------------------------ *The Sandy Hook Shooting - Fully Exposed* http://youtu.be/Wx9GxXYKx_8 *ThinkOutsideTheTV* Published on Jan 7, 2013 First off I would like to thank the users that contributed to this video, including IDAHOPICKER, MAX MALONE and OneTruth4Life. This is not meant to offend anyone but merely to raise questions that need to be answered. I am not pointing the finger because there is too much confusion, but it seems something is going on! LINKS: Helicopter footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9YwnXAtm4k Multiple Shooters: https://www.youtube.com/wat...more »
Snowpocalypse Russia: 'Snow tsunami' swallows streets, cars, buildings (PHOTOS)
On Friday, Moscow was on a verge of traffic collapse as more than 10 inches of snow fell on the city, which is more than half of January’s average. Thousands of passengers were stranded overnight in the capital’s major airports, as several dozen flights were delayed. Muscovites woke up and found their cars, driveways and houses buried under a thick layer of snow, with city workers unable to get to smaller streets. Moscow’s Yandex app showed traffic at level 10, the highest possible, as strong winds created blizzard conditions and built imposing snow drifts. http://rt.com/news/winte... more »
ALEC - Lying by Ommission, Again????
Well – the American Legislative Exchange Council is jerking the press around again – this time the New York Times. Last week the NY Times did an editorial on the NRA entitled “The Gun Challenge The States Confront Gun Violence” – on Friday they added this correction at the bottom of the article(my emphasis):: This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: January 18, 2013 An earlier version of this editorial stated that the N.R.A. currently contributes to the American Legislative Exchange Council. *ALEC says it stopped receiving money from the N.R.A. ... more »
what i'm reading, children's books edition: # 4
*Still Classic?* *A Wrinkle in Time*, Madeleine L'Engle, 1962 *A Wrinkle in Time* has always been one of my favourite books. Although I have re-read it a few times over the years, I approached it for this series with some trepidation, a bit concerned that I might no longer recommend it to young readers. I needn't have worried. The book - continually in print since it was first published in 1962 - was reissued last year in a special 50th anniversary printing, and with very good reason. From the moment we begin, we are drawn to Meg - confused and frustrated, feeling like she can't d... more »
Paul Krugman: Conscience of a Liberal: You Know Nothing of Our Work
*by Paul Krugman * Some readers may have noticed a recent op-ed by King and Soneji alleging that Social Security projections understate life expectancy and are therefore far too optimistic. This claim will, I’m sure, become part of what all the serious people think they know. But the Social Security actuaries have replied (pdf), offering among other things one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of a brutally polite intellectual takedown: King and Soneji developed their own projection methodology for mortality and made a series of assertions in their op-ed about the methods used by... more »
A new blog...
And a mighty fine one it is too: the International Socialism blog.
Preferred allocation method in investment frauds where a deficiency exists
*Boughner v. Greyhawk Equity Partners Limited Partnership (Millenium)*, 2013 ONCA 26 holds that in the context of an investment fraud the appropriate method for tracing funds where there is a deficiency is the lowest intermediate balance rule or LIBR. The rule is described in *In re Dameron* 155 F.3d at 724 as follows: [P]ursuant to the lowest intermediate balance rule, if the amount on deposit in the commingled fund has at all times equaled or exceeded the amount of the trust, the trust’s funds will be returned to their full amount. Conversely, if the commingled fund has been depl... more »
Bill Cash's Stone Constituency
An observation. Here is a map of the so-called 'Second Reich', the German Empire of 1871-1918. The borders were established in the victorious wake of the Franco-Prussian war which, once and for all, affirmed Prussian hegemony over the patchwork of petty states that comprised the Germany of the time. The House of Hohenzollern rose to the imperial throne, but retained their sovereignty over the Kingdom of Prussia until the house fell from power in 1918. The borders of the German Empire officially ceased to be with the Treaty of Versailles one year later. Interestingly, though the Fed... more »
Algeria expects heavy hostage toll as West defends ally
Algeria said on Sunday it expected heavy hostage casualties after its troops ended a desert siege, but Western governments warned against criticising tactics used by their vital ally in the struggle with Islamists across the Sahara. An Algerian minister acknowledged the death toll would rise, and a private television station reported that 25 bodies had been found at the gas plant near the town of In Amenas after forces staged a final assault against the Islamist hostage-takers on Saturday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/uk-sahara-crisis-idUKBRE90F1K220130120
Bogus 9/11 Coins: US Seller Settles Claims
A US company selling 9/11 commemorative coins that purportedly contained silver from Ground Zero has agreed to pay $750,000 (£473,000) to settle charges that it deceived consumers. The National Collector's Mint was accused in a Federal Trade Commission complaint of failing to properly identify its coins and of charging customers for items they never ordered. The company, based in Port Chester, New York, sells 9/11 coins and other memorabilia. http://news.sky.com/story/1040447/bogus-9-11-coins-us-seller-settles-claims
Arab Dominoes?
When the French were defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, they asked President Dwight Eisenhower to help them re-establish their hold in Vietnam. Eisenhower -- who was a dark realist when it came to sizing up battles -- refused their invitation. But his successor, John Kennedy -- humiliated by Nikita Khrushchev early in his administration -- decided to draw a line in Southeast Asia. Some historians claim that he quickly saw the folly of his decision and that he planned to remove American troops from the rice paddies by the end of his first term. Unfortunately, Kennedy was ... more »
John Mica-- A Pig's Anus? Or Calamari?
Sometimes things aren't what they seem-- like calamari and pig anuses. And is there any way of thinking about a pig's anus without congering up an image of Florida Republican John Mica? Even Allen West was disgusted by this guy. Hopefully in 2014 DCCC Chairman Steve Israel won't give Mica another "Re-election Free Pass" since Mica lost his committee chairmanship. There's a progressive Democrat, an old friend of Blue America's, Nick Ruiz, already in the race. Below is a guest post he did for us about Mica's hypocrisy concerning SuperStorm Sandy. If you'd like to help Nick beat Mica... more »
Lake Victoria: 'Most dangerous lake' kills 5,000 a year
Straddling three East African countries -- Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya -- Lake Victoria has for centuries been a vital resource for the millions of people living along its vast coastline. The massive lake, which stretches some 70,000 square kilometers, is the world's second-biggest freshwater body and the biggest of its kind in Africa, as well as the chief reservoir of the Nile. Home to a stunning archipelago of more than 80 islands, Lake Victoria provides a livelihood for the fishermen navigating its waters and the businesses dotting its shores. But for many that comes with a risk... more »
Five wounded at U.S. gun shows
At least five people -- three in North Carolina, one in Indiana and one in Ohio -- were injured after weapons went off at gun shows Saturday, officials said, at a time when there's been renewed discussion about private gun sales at such shows. The most casualties came at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, where attendees bolted -- with at least one woman wiping out in the frenetic scene -- when gunfire rang out around 1 p.m., as seen on video captured by CNN affiliate WRAL. Police later explained that a a 36-year-old man from Wilmington, North Carolina, was unfastening the ca... more »
Clashes in Alexandria
Egyptian protesters clash with security forces in Alexandria ahead of the trial of police officers accused of killing protesters during uprising.
Blast, drone kill 13 al Qaeda-linked militants in Yemen
More than 10 suspected al Qaeda operatives were killed by an explosion in a house in south Yemen where they were making bombs and at least three others died in a drone strike, tribal and official sources said on Sunday. A bomb ripped through a house in the province of al-Bayda on Saturday night, the state news agency Saba and a local official said. Three other suspected militants were killed in a drone strike in the central province of Maarib, also on Saturday, tribal sources and the Ministry of Defence said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-yemen-violence-idUSBRE90J03T2... more »
Assad's overthrow "red line" for Iran: supreme leader's aide
A senior aide to Iran's supreme leader warned against the overthrow of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, saying his fate was a "red line", in one of the Islamic state's strongest messages of support for the Damascus government. Iran has steadfastly backed Assad's rule since an uprising against his rule began almost two years ago and regards him as an important part of the axis of opposition against arch-foe Israel. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-syria-crisis-iran-idUSBRE90J08320130120
Amityville killer Jonathan Thompson confesses to punching his girlfriend's four-year-old godson to death because he wouldn't take a nap
A judge ordered a Long Island man held without bail Saturday after prosecutors said he confessed to killing a 4-year-old boy in his care by punching him twice in the stomach when the tot wouldn't take a nap. Jonathan Thompson, 31, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of the youngster, Adonis Reed, who was found unconscious on a couch in an apartment in the New York town of Amityville on Wednesday afternoon. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265294/Amityville-killer-confesses-punching-girlfriends-year-old-godson-death-wouldnt-nap.html
Invasion of the foreign supercops: Minister wants to hire U.S. crimebusters to take over British police
Foreign crimebusters such as US supercop Bill Bratton will be given the chance to take over British police forces under radical new plans to be unveiled by Home Secretary Theresa May. And former Army officers will be recruited as police superintendents in an attempt to end the ‘closed shop’ police culture blamed for bungled investigations and corruption. The changes, set to be fiercely opposed by police chiefs, rip up the centuries-old tradition of only British citizens serving in the police. They also abolish the rule that senior policemen have to work their way up from being a b... more »
British man who 'vanished' after being stripped of citizenship claims he was tortured and forced to confess by the CIA
A British man who disappeared after being stripped of his citizenship claims he was tortured in an African prison before being handed over to the CIA and forced to sign a confession. Mahdi Hashi, who vanished last summer in Somalia, has described for the first time his 'horrific' ordeal at the hands of the secret police in the neighbouring state of Djibouti, who he claims worked closely with US interrogators. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265185/British-man-vanished-stripped-citizenship-claims-tortured-forced-confess-CIA.html
'How Music Works'
'How Music Works' is not an autobiography on the life of musician and writer David Byrne, but is what it says on the tin, an insight into how music works. It is told by an artist who has lived they highs and lows, through one of the most turbulent periods of music, where music itself has gone through many changes. During these last decades how the industry invests and rewards its artists, how music is recorded and now captured, how we as consumers pay for it, listen to it , share it and value it and above all the way artists earn from it have all have changed. Many have written ... more »
'There's no chance we're leaving': Lavish lifestyle of the Lithuanian single mother who gets more than £1,000-a-month in benefits after moving to UK
Natalija Belova, 33, said she was shocked at how much she would be entitled to from the State after she moved here four years ago and fell pregnant. Her handouts total £279 a week which includes housing benefit, child tax credit and child benefit. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265341/Theres-chance-leaving-British-benefits-daughter-good-life-Migrant-enjoys-lavish-lifestyle-raking-1-000-month-benefits.html Restrict Bulgarian and Romanians from entering the UK: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/41492
4.3 Magnitude Earthquake SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 4.3 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 12:01:07 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 09:01:07 AM at epicenter Location 31.769°S, 69.251°W Depth 98.7 km (61.3 miles) Region SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA Distances 74 km (46 miles) WSW (251°) from San Juan, Argentina
5.5 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHEASTERN SAKHA, RUSSIA - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 5.5 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 10:48:47 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 09:48:47 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 64.791°N, 146.601°E Depth 12.2 km (7.6 miles) Region SOUTHEASTERN SAKHA, RUSSIA Distances 163 km (101 miles) ENE of Ust'-Nera, Russia
The Benefits of Growing Thyme Plants: Grow Your Own Medicine by Elizabeth Renter
Source of Picture: http://loveofherbs.co.uk/planning-ahead-six-medicinal-herbs-you-can-groThe Benefits of Growing Thyme Plants: Grow Your Own Medicine by Elizabeth Renter Natural Society, 20 January 2013 You probably have the dried variety of this herb in your spice cabinet. But, you may or may not know all of its benefits. Thyme (thymus vulgaris) has a rich history as a healing herb. Not only does it smell good and add a fragrant flavor to many dishes, it has a wide array of medicinal uses and it’s easy to grow! Read on to see exactly why you should start growing thyme right n... more »
CYRIL SMITH, JIMMY SAVILE, SATANIC ORGIES, HINDLEY AND BRADY, MADELEINE McCANN
*Victim: Michael Roberts, whose devil-worshipping stepdad Michael Horgan organised abuse.* The *Sunday People* newspaper reports that Pervert Member of the UK Parliament Sir Cyril Smith was pals with a satanic child sex monster *According to the Sunday People:* Paedophile MP Cyril Smith was in league with a child sex abuser who organised satanic rituals and raped children as young as two. Victim Michael Roberts says he was only six when he was sexually abused by 29-stone Sir Cyril Smith. *Michael Horgan* Michael Roberts says his devil-worshipping stepfather Michael Horgan organi... more »
Splenda’s Many Secrets: Gut Flora Destruction, Side Effects by Lisa Garber
Source of poster: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/12/03/sucralose-dangers.aspxSplenda’s Many Secrets: Gut Flora Destruction, Side Effects by Lisa Garber Natural Society, 20 January 2013 It’s becoming increasingly clear that aspartame is bad news. But what about the other artificial sweetener, sucralose (Splenda)? *Is Splenda safe*? Known commercially as Splenda, sucralose is a synthetic product—a chlorinated sugar molecule—of McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Splenda continues to be avidly used by consumers watching their weigh... more »
Allocating Inauguration Tickets
Here is a good topic for class discussion. Background: The Congress allocates free tickets to the presidential inauguration, often by lottery. Some winners of the lottery try to sell them for thousands of dollars. Senator Schumer objects to the resale. Question 1: When David, a lottery winner, sells his ticket to Ann, both David and Ann are better off. Who is worse off? Question 2: Senator Taxcut proposes auctioning off the tickets and rebating the revenue lumpsum to all taxpayers. Who would be better off? Who would be worse off? Which group is larger? Question 3: Senator De... more »
BBC tastelessness
You would have thought that the BBC would by now have managed to ask all their producers to advise them of what footage of, or references to, Jimmy Savile they had in their programmes and to have instructed them not broadcast said programmes. That's what a responsible, efficient organisation with income in the £billions would do, hell it's what I would have organised in companies with turnover in the low £millions. However the BBC seems not to have been able to manage even that simple task. The BBC report that: 'CBeebies has apologised after a character from the children's TV progra... more »
POLICE SEIZE ELM HOUSE FILES
According to *The Sunday People* newspaper, Child abuse cops, investigating the Elm Guest House in London, have seized a VIP list: Politicians, an MI5 agent, a Royal aide and pop stars are all named "First arrests are expected soon." "A list of names seized by police probing allegations of child abuse includes ministers, members of the royal household and a world-famous pop star, the Sunday People can reveal. All were recorded as visitors to the Elm Guest House that operated as a gay brothel. "Now *some* could be suspects in an investigation into a network of powerful people w...more »
Syria & Russia "Hang Tough" Against NATO Assault
*January 21, 2013* (Tarpley.net - PressTV) Also read Dr. Webster Tarpley's report, "North Syria learns to hate FSA occupation, NATO errs to add new front."
The PirateBox & Internet Freedom
*January 21, 2013* (LocalOrg) - There has been a big response regarding the PirateBox mentioned in "WiFi + USB Drive = Your Own Mini-Internet (Freedom)" ranging from mostly excitement to some confusion and many questions in between - especially on how to get involved. The PirateBox is software that can be used to turn your WiFi enabled computer into a local router. It can also be used to make actual "PirateBoxes," which are stand alone devices that likewise create a local network. The advantage of a local network, not connected to the Internet is that you can file share and commun...more »
Tom Bellmont: Student goes berserk and tries to 'rip face off' after overdosing on drug used for psychiatric patients
*Class A drug: 2CB was first used in treatment of psychiatric patients* A screaming students clawed at his head and tried to 'rip his face off' after taking a party drug, it was reported today. He was taken to hospital and put on a ventilator after frantic friends called the emergency services. Tom Bellmont, 20, refused to let anyone near him when he went berserk at flats in Marketgate, Bristol, at around 2am. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265351/Student-goes-berserk-tries-rip-face-overdosing-drug-used-psychiatric-patients.html *Sound Familiar?: Another witness told the ... more »
Some of our Spitfires are missing: Doubts over existence of 160 WW2 fighter planes in Burma
As the media frenzy over the search for Spitfires allegedly buried in Burma ran out of steam last week, with doubts raised about their very existence, the man chiefly responsible for getting the project off the ground was sorely tempted to say "I told you so". Excitement at the prospect of exhuming up to 160 of the historic warplanes, which, it was claimed, the British had buried at the end of the Second World War, threatened to curdle after the man leading the search, the Lincolnshire farmer David Cundall, called off a press conference on Thursday because the search at Mingaladon a... more »
Guest post: food supply
*A guest post by Killian O'Brien.* * * Global Grain Stocks Drop Dangerously Low as 2012 Consumption Exceeded Production And so it begins. It was a year-and-a-half ago, at least, that I had a sudden and visceral realization that neither Peak Oil and other resource limits, nor climate disasters *per se* were going to be our most immediate global impact from the process of collapse and the condition of overshoot. It's the food supply, Stupid. The logic was incomprehensibly obvious, so I was shocked I hadn't realized it years ago. Well, I *had*, but thought of it as a mid-century issu... more »
US warns its citizens of travel dangers in Algeria
The US State Department is warning American citizens about the risks of travel to Algeria and is authorising the families of State Department staff to leave the country if they choose. The warning comes after the Algerian government reported that special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert to end a standoff with Islamist extremists. Algerian officials say at least 23 hostages and all 32 militants involved were killed. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-warns-its-citizens-of-travel-dangers-in-algeria/article4325717.ece
Germany's Merkel rattled by Lower Saxony vote
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping for a victory for her CDU party in Lower Saxony. She has been in the region to show her support for David McAllister, who is in a tight race to retain his position at the head of the local government. McAllister is being challenged by Stephan Weil of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) in the first of a series of local elections in Germany. http://www.euronews.com/2013/01/20/germany-s-merkel-rattled-by-lower-saxony-vote/
Ford and BMW warn against UK exit from EU as David Cameron readies historic speech
David Cameron was expected to deliver one of the most keenly awaited political speeches in recent years on Friday, but it was cancelled because of the Algerian hostage crisis. However, excerpts show that the Conservative leader is prepared to raise the prospect of Britain leaving the EU without major changes to the relationship. "All countries should have their sovereignty, but don't discuss leaving a trading partner where 50pc of your exports go," said Stephen Odell, chief executive of Ford in Europe. "That would be devastating for the UK economy." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/financ... more »
What's missing in U.S. gun control scramble? Bullets
In tracking down illegal weapons, the smoking gun may not be a gun at all. Bullets are one thing Sacramento Police Detective Greg Halstead can count on to root out weapons that otherwise would be impossible to find. They are also largely missing from the gun control debate in Washington. Since 2008, California's capital has required ammunition dealers to take names and thumbprints of bullet buyers. They send the information electronically to police computers, which compare the names to an FBI criminal database. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-usa-guns-ammunition-idUSBR... more »
SANDY HOOK; TURF WAR; JEWISH COUPLE; LANZA STREET; ST ROSE OF LIMA SCHOOL; LIEBERMAN
*Aaron Greene, linked to Sandy Hook?* *1.* Yoichi Shimatsu, at *rense*, suggests that the Sandy Hook event was carried out by certain mob-linked police officers, in order to kill off certain other mob-linked police officers linked to a rival government agency. *Mop-Up... Inter-Agency War* * * "By the 1980s, CIA director Bill Casey ... favored the Winter Hill Gang led by the gunrunner Whitey Bulger. "Back in 1950s, the Dr. Sydney Gottlieb personally conducted LSD research on Bulger... Bulger emerged from MK-ULTRA as a highly respected contract killer for the CIA. "With Bulger abo... more »
Myanmar rebels say army ignoring president's ceasefire
Myanmar troops attacked rebel positions in northeast Kachin on Sunday despite a ceasefire order from the president and an invitation to the rebels to take part in peace talks, a rebel spokesman and a local source said. President Thein Sein issued the ceasefire order to troops in the La Ja Yang area of Kachin near the border with China, where fighting has been fiercest. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-myanmar-kachin-idUSBRE90J03820130120
Four dead, four missing as fumes fill Russian coal mine
At least four miners died when fumes filled the shaft where they were working in Russia's main coal-producing region on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported. Searches for another four missing men had to be suspended after levels of methane in the mine in the Kuznetsk Basin reached dangerous levels, the RIA and ITAR-Tass news wires said. Sixty-nine miners managed to escape, they added. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-russia-mine-accident-idUSBRE90J03L20130120
Algeria ends desert siege with 23 hostages dead
Algerian troops ended a siege by Islamist militants at a gas plant in the Sahara desert where 23 hostages died, with a final assault which killed all the remaining hostage-takers. Believed to be among the 32 dead militants was their leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri, a Nigerien close to al Qaeda-linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, presumed mastermind of the raid. An Algerian interior ministry statement on the death toll gave no breakdown of the number of foreigners among hostages killed since the plant was seized before dawn on Wednesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-... more »
Rallies across U.S. assail Obama's proposed gun curbs
Pro-gun activists held "high noon" rallies across the United States on Saturday to defend the right to own firearms that they say is being threatened by President Barack Obama's gun-control proposals. The U.S. debate over gun control erupted in mid-December after a man armed with an assault rifle killed 20 first-graders and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut - the deadliest of a string of U.S. shooting sprees last year. "We are law-abiding citizens, business owners, military, and we are not going to be responsible for other people's criminal actions," former... more »
Paul Santos Attacked by a tiger shark, Hawaii
A man who was surfing in Kiholo Bay off the Big Island with a friend said he never thought that sharks were a big threat there until he heard his friend scream. Steve Macres said he was surfing Wednesday with Paul Santos, just as they had done for many years, when the tiger shark, estimated at between 15 feet and 18 feet, attacked. "I turned around to go on a wave and heard him. I heard that blood-curdling scream. It was just so primordial. It was unbelievable, and it went into an echo so I could tell while he was screaming, he went underwater," Macres told KITV-TV. http://www.mau... more »
Record radioactive cesium levels 2,540 times the government's safety standard found in Fukushima rockfish
A rockfish caught in the port of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was found to have radioactive cesium 2,540 times the government's safety standard for foodstuffs, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant operator, said Jan. 18. Caught in December, the rockfish had a reading of 254,000 becquerels per kilogram, the largest reading found in seafood since the nuclear disaster of March 2011. The rockfish was caught near an unloading point north of the No. 1 through No. 4 reactors. No fishermen operate in the nuclear plant's port. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/A...more »
Obama's Gun Controls 'Will Fail', Says Gun Lobby
The organiser of America's first Gun Appreciation Day has told Sky News that any government attempt to limit access to firearms is destined to fail. Gun owners across the United States were encouraged to rally at gun shops and shooting ranges to demonstrate their opposition to President Obama's calls for new gun controls. http://news.sky.com/story/1040358/obamas-gun-controls-will-fail-says-gun-lobby
Modbury, Devon: Murder Probe After Body Of Boy, 2, Discovered
Police have begun a murder investigation following the death of a two-year-old boy. Officers were called to a home in Modbury, Devon, on Saturday morning after the little boy's body was discovered by a member of the public. Police confirmed they have arrested a woman and she is being questioned by officers on suspicion of murder. http://news.sky.com/story/1040355/murder-probe-after-body-of-boy-2-discovered
4.5 Magnitude Earthquake GUERRERO, MEXICO - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 4.5 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 08:12:20 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 02:12:20 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 16.922°N, 98.178°W Depth 29.2 km (18.1 miles) Region GUERRERO, MEXICO Distances 16 km (9 miles) NNE of Xochistlahuaca, Mexico
4.5 Magnitude Earthquake BANDA SEA - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 4.5 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 07:58:42 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 04:58:42 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 6.620°S, 130.162°E Depth 158.8 km (98.7 miles) Region BANDA SEA Distances 194 km (120 miles) NW of Saumlaki, Indonesia
4.9 Magnitude Earthquake NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 4.9 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 00:45:57 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 01:45:57 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 39.831°S, 174.349°E Depth 117.8 km (73.2 miles) Region NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND Distances 13 km (8 miles) SW of Patea, New Zealand
4.1 Magnitude Earthquake ARAUCANIA, CHILE - 19th January 2013
Magnitude 4.1 Date-Time Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 20:03:56 UTC Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 05:03:56 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 39.056°S, 73.117°W Depth 11.5 km (7.1 miles) Region ARAUCANIA, CHILE Distances 39 km (24 miles) SSW of Nueva Imperial, Chile
So, they're admitting there's a TRADE IN CHILDREN on this planet?
Kinda sorta uber-blatant, but masquerading as *entertainment*, hey let's torture some innocent women so some CHILD TRAFFICKERS can continue to ply their filthy trade, for profit. This is how we're ENTRAINED by the corporate media machine; cinema is our global MK Ultra.
Trolling America
Earlier this week, Rachel Maddow presented a fantastic segment analyzing the bulk of conservative discourse as trolling: A key portion transcribed: Trolling is a key part of the conservative entertainment slash media business model. These guys say stuff all the time that they do not intend to be persuasive. They’re not trying to explain something, or bring people along to their way of
Snow, what are you doing?
dogs having funSo, you're all snowed in and you've no work to go to... I mean, it's proper sad that, if this continues for too long, the repayments on your home (which you RENT on a 25-year lease) or your car (which you never legally own, only license) will be in jeopardy, your family will go hungry and your boss is gonna be looking for an employee who can combat this foul weather more successfully that you, to 'make it in' like a good little slave to profit. But (ignoring all that invented nonsense, all that pap) what are you doing, with yourself, with your family, with your commun... more »
Between Heaven And Earth
We stand this present moment, between heaven and earth, Gaia and Sol. Surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses on land, sea and space, who both fear our duality and praise our promise of Oneness and rebirth. We give great honor to those who have journeyed far from their star, to visit ours. We thank you for the messages you’ve sent, channeled through being, media, music and art. We’ve tried to listen, even while our perception was attenuated by the interlopers. Signal received. Time lines are converged. WE ARE READY. You’ve sent your own sons and daughters to be born... more »
Mapping all possible physical theories
*Young people should get some clue about all possibilities, avoid dead ends* I am kind of – albeit not obsessively – observing young, emerging physicists who have a chance to bring a new significant conceptual development or "revolution" to physics. It's hard to see whether such a future "revolution" will be an accidental side effect of some "modest" technical work or whether it will arise from some people's attempts to think really deeply and conceptually. It seems to me that on this planet, the number of people below 30 who have independently understood the structure of the "space... more »
Is this some sort of a joke??...
*I think it is.* *Seriously - it must be. *
5 People Shot At 3 Different US Gun Shows On Gun Appreciation Day
*"If the gun advocates behind this year’s inaugural Gun Appreciation Day had hoped to use the day’s festivities to build support for their anti-regulation platform, they are going to have to wait another year.* * * *Emergency personnel had to be called to the scene of the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, North Carolina after a gun accidentally discharged and shot two people at the show’s safety check-in booth just after 1 pm. Both victims were transported to an area hospital, and the Raleigh Fire Department announced that the show would be closed for the rest of the day.* ***Gu...more »
Quest of Nishiyuu: Trekking across a frozen river
Crossing a frozen river. Photo by John George Cree youths continue their quest, trekking from northern Quebec to Ottawa
Strange but true: With all these outbursts of gun violence, the NRA may not have to bother with recruiting drives
Anyone who says that there is anything unsettled or unknown or unclear about the relation between gun control and gun violence is either lying or ignorant, or both. Many things in our social life are complicated and multivalent; this one is not. Guns do not protect people, or families. Any anecdote that can be mined to claim that they do -- and many of those stories evaporate on probing -- is overwhelmed hundreds of times over by the number of well-documented accidents, suicides, and domestic disputes turned into murderous occasions produced by the presence of a gun at homes. A g...more »
"It Seems To Me..."
“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas… If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you… On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones.” - Carl Sagan
Cut Off
It's been an interesting past 48 hours here in Wood Buffalo, with nasty weather and deplorable driving conditions. Things got so bad that Highway 63, along with a few other northern roads, were closed to traffic. I recall reading that at one point, police had responded to as many as 60 vehicle mishaps. Considering how many potential hospitalizations that could have potentially been, the decision to close 63 was a smart one and, as McMurray Musings rightly notes, we can't very well bitch about it. While Highway 881 provides a secondary link, it isn't designed to carry great volume... more »
Friday Baseball Post
RIP to two great Hall of Famers, Stan Musial and Earl Weaver. On Musial...I don't have much to say other than the obvious. I've always thought that Albert Pujols was the modern-day comp for him: came into the league hitting, and just never stopped. As good as they come, an obvious inner circle HOFer. Weaver? Great, great, manager. I'm always interested in managerial families. Weaver's first Orioles team produced two great ones: Davey Johnson, who for my money is the best of his generation, and Frank Robinson, who is an underappreciated manager (take a look at what he did with what ... more »
Conflict in the Congo: Geopolitics of Plunder
*January 20, 2013* (excerpt from Nile Bowie's Congo’s M23 conflict: Rebellion or Resource War?) - It must be recognized that Kagame controls a vastly wealthy and mineral-rich area of eastern Congo – an area that has long been integrated into Rwanda’s economy – with total complicity from the United States. As Washington prepares to escalate its military presence throughout the African continent with AFRICOM, the United States Africa Command, what long-term objectives does Uncle Sam have in the Congo, considered the world’s most resource-rich nation? Washington is crusading against C... more »
George Steiner on the incompleteness of life
"We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic." - E. Merrill Root. "I had some intuitive sense that in life and in the substance of the world there was a strangeness which would always defy and even mock our attempts at understanding." - George Steiner.
Want a Drink of Water - Grab Your Water ATM Prepay Card
Last week I posted a blog entry where in a video clip the President of Nestle’ talking about the free market. This video is an example (if the close captioning is correct) of the extremist views held by corporations who hold a free market philosophy. Access to water is not your right believing you have a right to water - is an extreme belief Water is a raw material and a "foodstuff" that should be privatized and commercialized. The conclusion I drew from that video was: This video is an example of the extremist free mark... more »
Why are states not required to submit the names of all people who need antipsychotic medication to the NICS?
A story today by John Bentley, Paul Bogosian and Phil Hirschkorn on the CBS News website outlines some of the faults in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS, when it comes to reporting the names of mentally ill people. The story does not get into the fact that 40 percent of all gun sales are private transactions, and none of those require any background check at all. Since 1998, when the FBI launched the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS, the database has grown to include the names of more than 8.3 million people proh... more »
Sunday Globe Special: Put the Blame on Plame, Boys!
"Pentagon threatens suit against Navy SEAL who wrote bin Laden book" by Elisabeth Bumiller and Julie Bosman | New York Times, September 01, 2012 WASHINGTON — Bissonnette’s lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, represented Karl Rove when Rove, then a top adviser to President George W. Bush, was under investigation for his role in the leak of the name of Valerie Plame Wilson, a former undercover CIA operative. After months of maneuvering between Luskin and the prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, Luskin announced in June 2006 that no charges would be filed against Rove.... It is unclear ... more »
Musical Interlude: Vangelis, “Fields of Coral”
Vangelis, “Fields of Coral” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad1wFWdmZUs
Man Outsources Job to China
This is not Bob. Photo courtesy: Yahoo!News A Verizon case study recently revealed that some people will go to great lengths in order to be able to watch cat videos all day. We first heard about it on TNW. The study documents the scam of a developer, who is referred to as Bob. He worked at a "critical infrastructure" company in the U.S. and started outsourcing his work to China underneath his company's nose, and would only pay those people less than one fifth of his six-figure salary. Here's how it was possible. Bob's company had started letting employees work remotely from home o... more »
WiFi + USB Drive = Your Own Mini-Internet (Freedom)
*Editor's Note: There seems to be some confusion over the concept of the PirateBox. The entire point is not to be connected to the controlled, restricted, & monopolized Internet, and begin using local alternatives leveraging technology to go around draconian laws and regulations. * * * *A PirateBox is the smallest, but easiest way to connect with others locally and wirelessly,as well as anonymously, without connecting at all to the Internet. It is the first step to building larger local mesh networks, and eventually a parallel Internet built using mesh architecture designed, maintain...more »
Shots fired on gun appreciation day
On this date in history, angry Second Amendment absolutists organized a collective action to show solidarity for their cause -- Gun Appreciation Day. A day to show the world they are many. They are strong. They are armed with cash and high-caliber firearms. And they are *not* afraid to use them. Shots were literally fired. So far we know five people were shot accidentally at three different gun shows today. Three of the gunshot victims were at one show, at a safety checkpoint for private sellers. Sounds like something that might happen at a fly-by-night flea market, not so much lik... more »
Sunday Globe Special: Women Hate War
"Women’s military roles slow to evolve; Little interest in front-line action" by Pauline Jelinek | Associated Press, January 06, 2013 WASHINGTON — If or when the Pentagon lets women become infantry troops — the country’s front-line warfighters — how many women will want to? The answer is probably not many.... In fact, the Marines asked women last year to go through its tough infantry officer training to see how they would fare. Only two volunteered and both failed to complete the fall course. None has volunteered for the next course this month. The failure rate for men is roughly ... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“A gaze across a cosmic skyscape, this telescopic mosaic reveals the continuous beauty of things that are. The evocative scene spans some 6 degrees or 12 Full Moons in planet Earth's sky. At the left, folds of red, glowing gas are a small part of an immense, 300 light-year wide arc. Known as Barnard's loop, the structure is too faint to be seen with the eye, shaped by long gone supernova explosions and the winds from massive stars, and still traced by the light of hydrogen atoms. *Click image for larger size. * Barnard's loop lies about 1,500 light-years away roughly centered on ... more »
Chet Raymo, “Backwards Or Forwards”
*“Backwards Or Forwards”* by Chet Raymo “If you wanted to divide humankind into two categories, none might be more relevant to the present state of the world than 1) those who look to the authority of the past, and 2) those who put their hope in the future. In the first category are those who give their conceptual and intellectual allegiance to ancestors, holy books, tradition, or venerable prophets. In the second category are the children of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment. The idea of progress was pretty much an invention of 17th-century Europe. Not that the intell... more »
Why Are Virtually All The News Sources Covering Up Slavery In Mali?
A few days ago I posted about Mali on my travel blog again. I've been covering their civil war on the travel blog because I spent time in the country a few years ago and have been writing about it ever since. Not many Americans had ever even heard of it-- let alone gone there-- until this year. But another old friend of mine, Rick Streicker, who worked as an attorney at Warner Bros when I was there, had also been there and left this post on my Facebook page. The whole race/slavery angle is shockingly evident the minute you set foot in northern Mali even if you haven't read the h... more »
"Remember..."
"Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck." - The Dalai Lama
The Daily "Near You?"
Bolton, United Kingdom. Thanks for stopping by.
[Video] Going to Tehran: Prospects for U.S.-Iranian Engagement
*Leveretts Discuss Going to Tehran at the Carnegie Council:* "To offer an in-depth presentation of the key drivers underlying *Going to Tehran*, we appeared in New York at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs this week. A transcript and edited video and audio recordings will be available on the Carnegie Council Web site soon. In the meantime, for an unedited video of the event, including both our presentation and the subsequent discussion with the audience, click here." Video streaming by Ustream
The Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "What If?"
*"What If?"* "What if you slept? And what if, In your sleep You dreamed? And what if, In your dream, You went to heaven And there plucked A strange and Beautiful flower? And what if, When you awoke, You had the flower In your hand? ... Ah, what then?" - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
80 percent of Australia’s Warrumbungle National Park incinerated
[image: Charred trees in the Warrumbungle National Park, 19 January 2013. 80 percent of the heritage listed Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran has been destroyed by the most destructive fire in more than a decade. Photo: Jacky Ghossein] By Tim Barlass 20 January 2013 The impact of the Coonabarabran fires is revealed in a startling new map obtained from the Rural Fire Service. Overlaying the heritage-listed Warrumbungle National Park with the area devastated by fire shows the nature reserve to be almost obliterated. Only a small area in the south-west of the park, the j... more »
Mercury emissions threaten aquatic environments – ‘It was amazing how fast the mercury got into the fish’
[image: Fishing boat in Ilulissat, Greenland, 2 July 2008. Greenlanders are highly exposed to mercury because their diet is almost completely reliant on contaminated marine life. Photo: Kristine Riskær / flickr] By Brian Bienkowski, Environmental Health News 18 January 2013 (Scientific American) – As United Nations delegates end their mercury treaty talks today, scientists warn that ongoing emissions are more of a threat to food webs than the mercury already in the environment. At the same time, climate change is likely to alter food webs and patterns of mercury transport in place... more »
Melt ponds cause Artic sea ice to melt more rapidly – ‘Climate change will permit more sunlight to reach the Arctic Ocean’
[image: Melt pond on Arctic sea ice. Photo: Stefan Hendricks / Alfred Wegener Institute] Bremerhaven, 15 January 2013 (AWI) – The Arctic sea ice has not only declined over the past decade but has also become distinctly thinner and younger. Researchers are now observing mainly thin, first-year ice floes which are extensively covered with melt ponds in the summer months where once metre-thick, multi-year ice used to float. Sea ice physicists at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), have now measured the light transmission through the Arc... more »
Why Mali? France Launches War In Mali In Bid To Secure Resources And Stamp Out National Rights Struggles
With all the news here in Canada and the United States still focused on the aftermath of the fake Sandy Hook elementary school "shooting", there has definitely been much news happening elsewhere. We are seeing a new "War for Resources" opening up in the western African nation of Mali, that has many people scratching their heads, and wondering for themselves... Why Mali? To help answer the "why" for this latest invasion by the criminals in NATO, especially France and the United States, into the impoverished and helpless nation of Mali, I want to turn to the following article that co... more »
"Mars Covered In Oceans Of Water: How The Red Planet Might Have Looked Billions Of Years Ago"
* "Mars Covered In Oceans Of Water: * *How The Red Planet Might Have Looked Billions Of Years Ago"* by Tibi Puiu "Using combined imagery delivered by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and recent color channel data, the European Space Agency has recently discovered the vestiges of an ancient river that used to flow through Mars’ highlands. The river is 1,000 miles long and at some points 4 miles wide and 1,000 feet deep. *Click image for larger size.* The images are simply stunning and it’s enough to catch a glimpse for imagination to take care of the rest. A stunn... more »
"Stress..."
"Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there’." - Eckhart Tolle
This Is Outrageous: Kindergarten Student In USA Labeled As "Terrorist Threat" After Toy Bubble Gun Threat (!)
First, I had already informed my readership that I would be taking more time this last week in taking care of personal and family business. It has indeed been a hectic week for me, and therefore little time to do much work in this blog. I want to thank everyone for their continued support and their patience. Everything should be back to normal hopefully by next week..... With the continuing clamp down on American rights and freedoms by the criminals in their own government, we have seen some pretty outrageous acts against American citizens for the most trivial and laughable acti...more »
Incompetent Assassin Gets The Shit Kicked Out of Him
Go *here* to read the story.
What Would You Create If You Had What You Need?
From: Palmi Subject: Hello my belowed lightworker Date: January 19, 2013 9:06:29 AM PST Thank you so much for all your work regarding our new world. I´m not sure what I want to do with this but I somehow felt that I needed to write this to help people better understand what we are going through. I live in Iceland and I sure I am on this planet for a good reason like yourself and that I´m trying to think about how one can contribute to our efforts in getting the message out to the rest of the world and what we should DO in the near future. It´s important for people to start realiz... more »
Grassroots Natives end century of censorship in Indian country
The people bring an end to a century of media control and censorship Six Nations shut down developer Jan. 15. Photo Wesley Elliott By Brenda Norrell Censored News http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com TUCSON -- Grassroots First Nations and Native Americans delivered a final blow to a century of censorship in Indian country this week, as they provided their own news coverage. The news that was
Help Ontario wildlife . . .
DALTON'S DASTARDLY DEMONS are at it again. The David Suzuki Foundation has a fine blog, with a post by Jode Roberts, "Driving a hole through Ontario's Endangered Species Act". Seems that some trolls in the Ministry of Natural Resources are proposing that a lot of protection should evaporate. Click on the link to help. Unfortunately, last month the Ministry quietly put out a notice that they
Scotland Avalanche: Four Climbers Killed
Four people have been killed and a woman is seriously hurt after a group of six climbers were caught up in an avalanche in the Scottish Highlands. Emergency services were alerted to the accident on Bidean Nam Bian, in Glencoe, at about 2pm and a major search operation involving two mountain rescue teams and police dogs was launched. Northern Constabulary said four people, two men and two women, were found and have since been pronounced dead. http://news.sky.com/story/1040289/scotland-avalanche-four-climbers-killed
President Obama takes a stand for D.C.
I imagine there was a good reason for it once, but this is 2013. It feels like it's long past time for the District of Columbia to have fair representation in Congress and unrestricted self-governance. So I was happy to see President Obama put this plate on his president limo. [Susan Walsh photo/AP] President Obama’s motorcade sported “Taxation Without Representation” license plates for the first time on Saturday. [...] The White House decision earlier this week to use the license plates was considered a victory for D.C. statehood advocates. Obama had avoided using the plates du... more »
OPPT: Individual UCC Filing Templates with Tutorial
Here's a list of individual UCC filing templates as compiled by Paula Humfrey and Desmond Grundy. Desmond has also created a nice concise summary of how to use these documents. I know a lot of you have been asking how to use these documents, and frankly I didn't know what to tell you other than get the questions to people who can answer them. I am not a lawyer. But there are a number of very bright people coming to the fore who are knowledgeable in this area of UCC law. Below is a very good synopsis of what the OPPT has done... *Another reader wrote: *On Jan 18, 2013, at... more »
4.2 Magnitude Earthquake FYR OF MACEDONIA - 19th January 2013
Magnitude M 4.2 Region FYR OF MACEDONIA Date time 2013-01-19 21:49:19.0 UTC Location 40.98 N ; 21.18 E Depth 10 km Distances 8 km S Capari
Adolf Hitler Calls Out the British (Jew) War Mongers, War Criminals and War Profiteers
Just a reminder: I'll be discussing Adolf Hitler, National Socialist Germany, and WWII with Jim Condit, Jr. this Monday at 6pm PST on *The Realist Report with John Friend* on Truth Militia Radio. Be sure to tune in if you can!
How Does Congressional Gerrymandering Manifest Itself? Take Pennsylvania For Example
Pennsylvania has 18 congressional districts and the Republican-controlled legislature carved them up in such a way as to create 5 Democratic seats and 13 Republican seats, despite Pennsylvania having more Democratic voters than Republican voters. Obama took 2,990,274 votes in November (52%) and Romney took 2,680,434 (47%). Obama only won a dozen of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, but he won the big ones with the most population: *•* Philadelphia- 1,526,006 *•* Allegheny- 1,223,348 *•* Montgomery- 799,874 *•* Bucks- 625,249 *•* Delaware- 558,979 *•* Lehigh- 349,497 *•* Luzerne- 320,918... more »
America's Mental Health Epidemic - Assault Rifles
I am a gun owner. I own two rifles. They are both single-shot rifles. One is a hunting rifle although I use it for predator protection. The other is a .22 rifle for plinking down at the local range. I do not own a semi-automatic rifle of any description, which means either a semi-automatic hunting rifle or an assault rifle like an AK-47 or an AR-15, the weapon of choice in American massacres. It's hard to keep track of what weapons are legal in Canada and what are prohibited. Mine are what are called "non-restricted" firearms. As a general rule, handguns and some military-t... more »
"The ‘Busy’ Trap"
*"The ‘Busy’ Trap"* By Tim Kreider “If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.” Notice it isn’t generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the I.C.U. or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy the... more »
Monsignor Meth
Rather refreshing to see a Catholic church sex scandal that isn't about pedophilia. This one is consensual activity between adults all the way. Cross-dressing meth priest liked sex in rectory: The Catholic priest busted for allegedly dealing crystal meth was suspended after church officials discovered he was a cross-dresser who was having sex in the rectory at Bridgeport's St. Augustine Cathedral. [...] In his post-priesthood, Wallin, 61, bought an adult specialty and video store in North Haven called Land of Oz that sells sex toys and X-rated DVDs. Investigators believe the shop h... more »
The Economy: “Ending Up Like The Joneses…”
*“Ending Up Like The Joneses…”* by Simon Black “There’s a funny take on the Fiscal Cliff floating around the Internet that several of our keen subscribers have passed along. Like most things floating around the Internet, though, the details are inaccurate. So I’ve gone back and modified the parody with accurate numbers, and a bit more plot. What follows is 100% accurate based on 2012/2013 data: • 2012 US Tax Revenue: $2,469,000,000,000 • 2012 Federal budget: $3,796,000,000,000 • 2012 Budget deficit: $1,327,000,000,000 • US Federal Debt as of January 18, 2013: $16,4... more »
Thank You Rick Nolan - Exposing Congressional Lack of Work Ethic
I have written about this often on this blog. Maybe - we need to bring back legislators that know how the US Congress is suppose to be. Legislators like recently re-elected Rick Nolan from Minnesota - who tells America how it is. If people choose not to listen to bloggers - maybe they will listen to an actual Congressional member. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Study: Good bacteria in the intestine prevent diabetes,
This new field of medicine is amazing.... Good bacteria in the intestine prevent diabetes, study suggests Seed Newsvine
Satire: "Fox News to Shut Down for Routine Maintenance Monday Morning at 11:30"
*"Fox News to Shut Down for Routine * *Maintenance Monday Morning at 11:30"* by Andy Borowitz NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)— "Fox News Channel announced today that it would shut down for what it called “routine maintenance” Monday morning at 11:30 E.T. Fox News president Roger Ailes explained the timing of the shutdown, which will be the first in the history of the network: “We wanted to pick a time when we were positive nothing would be happening that our viewers would want to see.” Mr. Ailes said that Fox had considered shutting down only once before, exactly four years earl... more »
Farage: UK stuck in shrinking, old-fashioned Europe
Sign this petition to allow UKIP to take part in the 2015 TV election debates: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43153
4.7 Magnitude Earthquake ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE - 19th January 2013
Magnitude M 4.7 Region ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE Date time 2013-01-19 19:20:44.5 UTC Location 23.52 S ; 69.30 W Depth 76 km Distances 112 km E Antofagast, Chile
The Strange Confluence of Right and Left
This is a fascinating glimpse into the chaotic directions of our imploding Empire...with Hedges on conspiracy theorists: "The worse it gets the less people can confront it". Update: Bill Maher is arrogant and sexist, but he's funny anyway:
4.4 Magnitude Earthquake WEST CHILE RISE - 19th January 2013
Magnitude M 4.4 Region WEST CHILE RISE Date time 2013-01-19 19:03:25.1 UTC Location 36.99 S ; 96.25 W Depth 10 km Distances 1994 km W Ancud
Syrian opposition in new search for transitional government
Syria's opposition leaders on Saturday launched their second bid to form a transitional government, with their credibility at stake as the country slides deeper into civil war. Agreement among the National Coalition, an umbrella group for the Syrian opposition, could help address international concern about the risk of Syria disintegrating along ethnic and sectarian lines if President Bashar al-Assad falls. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-syria-crisis-opposition-idUSBRE90I0DZ20130119
Pro-gun rallies across U.S. attack Obama's curbs on firearms
Pro-gun activists plan rallies in 49 states at "high noon" on Saturday to support the right to own firearms they say is under attack from President Barack Obama's proposals to reduce gun violence. The rallies, to be held mostly at state capitals, were being organized by a group called Guns Across America that was launched by Texas airline pilot Eric Reed. The U.S. debate over gun control flared in mid-December when a man killed 20 first graders and six adults in a matter of minutes at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, using an assault rifle. http://www.reuters.com/artic... more »
Banks Sock It to Schilling
*They beat him until he was bloody.... * "Schilling may have to sell ‘bloody sock’" by Todd Wallack | Globe Staff, October 04, 2012 The *bloody sock* that came to symbolize one of Curt Schilling’s *greatest victories* could also play a starring role in one of his *biggest losses*. The former Boston Red Sox pitcher could be *forced to sell* a “bloody sock” he wore while leading the Sox to their first championship in 86 years, *among other cherished items*, to help *pay back millions of dollars in loans* he guaranteed for his failed video game company, 38 Studios. The sock, worn ... more »
What Mattered This Week?
I'll take an easy and obvious one: the GOP retreat on the debt limit. If you thought that was a sure thing all the time, then you may not think it mattered; I thought it was at least a solid possibility they would run right up to it, and do at least a bit of harm to the economy. Democrats admitting they'll vote for the president's nominee for Secretary of Defense? No great surprise there, to me. The real ballgame there has always been whether 60 votes would be required, and if so whether Hagel can get five Republicans. As far as I know from the coverage, we don't know that part of i... more »
Algeria Hostage Crisis: At Least Five Britons Feared Dead
Five British nationals and one UK resident are dead or unaccounted for after the Algerian hostage crisis drew to a bloody end, the Foreign Secretary William Hague has said. Seven hostages were reportedly killed and 16 others freed amid a "final assault" by Algerian special forces on the complex that had been taken over by Islamist militants. The latest fatalities, reported by the Algerian state news agency, are in addition to the reported deaths of 12 detainees and 18 terrorists earlier on in the crisis. http://news.sky.com/story/1040172/algeria-at-least-five-britons-feared-dead
Assassin aims gun at Bulgarian opposition leader's head and pulls the trigger... but victim survives after weapon misfires
Ahmed Dogan, leader of a liberal party which represents the Turkish minority in Bulgaria, survived the astonishing assassination attempt while giving a speech at a conference in the capital Sofia (left). Television footage shows a man storming the stage and aiming a gun at his head. But the weapon misfired and Mr Dogan, 58, escaped unharmed. Security guards and delegates then wrestle the man to the ground and began beating and kicking him. The 25-year-old suspect was led away covered in blood (right). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265002/Ahmed-Dogan-Heart-stopping-moment-...more »
50 doomiest graphs of 2012
In 2012, “the new normal” is how observers from Christiane Amanpour to *The Onion* characterized the various forms of extreme weather that wrought havoc around the globe. This is a practical definition of “climate change”, and Dr. James Hansen showed clearly what this means quantitatively: [image: Frequency of occurence (y-axis) of local temperature anomalies divided by local standard deviation (x-axis) obtained by binning all local results for the indicated region and 11-year period into 0.05 frequency intervals. Area under each curve is unity. Standard deviations are for the 195... more »
Praying Man
January 19, 2013--Medical/Dental Clinic Cite Soleil (Photo by John Carroll)*Who is this Praying Man and why is he praying?* * **He is a slum dweller from Cite Soleil and is praying that our dentist would pull one of his painful and rotted teeth. Yesterday he was in line in our medical/dental clinic in a notorious neighborhood in Soleil. He patiently waited for hours sitting on a wooden bench with dozens of other people. **However, it wouldn’t be. The hour was late and the patient before Praying Man turned out to be our last dental patient. This last patient was a very afraid thin yo... more »
1 Sun Nooz Regiment
Apparently that station gives these patches to Canadian Forces members, which might explain why my recent long-serving sparring partner had so much trouble with loyalties and political structures. Six years of Conservative oral and some of the troops have lost their bearings. I'm reading the comments below the site where this was posted, and it's all military people thanking SunNooz and
Good People Still Exist: Woman Offers Apology to Shop Owners Seven Years After Deceiving Them
Now here’s a tale that will warm the cockles of your heart. A married couple in China had their faith in humankind restored earlier this month when a woman who intentionally used a counterfeit 100 Yuan note in their shop seven years ago returned to apologise and make amends. Despite having long since forgotten the incident, the couple were overjoyed to receive a sudden visit from the woman, who had bourne feelings of guilt ever since the day she tricked the pair into accepting the fake cash. Mr. and Mrs. Lee opened their small clothes shop in the city of Baoji, Shaanxi, in 2006. O... more »
Untitled
*New sinkhole seismic events studied* *Sinkhole to be seen in 3-D* *Krewe du Vieux (71 photos) * *TODAY: Undefeated Divas rolling 12-4pm. Finally getting our stride back! ~Red Cotton* *Today in New Orleans ~NOLA DEFENDER*
Natalija Belova and The Sun's Benefit Lies
*The Sun* is to journalism what syphilis is to good sexual health. And the latest proof is this deliberately misleading, scurrilous article. Entitled 'You're a Soft Touch' and with the webpage by-line "IMMIGRANT sponger living off handouts REFUSES full-time job" (caps theirs), *The Sun* tells us how Lithuanian Natalija Belova (pictured) has been in receipt of £14,500/year worth of benefit payments that, in the paper's words, "fund her love of designer clothes, jaunts to the Spanish sun and nightclubbing". Contributing in its inimitable manner to a fair and reasoned debate about mig... more »
What really happened at Sandy Hook last month? How can we possibly know? How well do the published facts fit the official story? This video has been viewed 11 MILLION times in just about 12 days!!! Do you know what this means? It means that virtually everyone who has viewed it has recommended it to friends. This is the meaning of going viral. By contrast, this blog is only visited by about 1000 viewers a month...
------------------------------ *The Sandy Hook Shooting - Fully Exposed* http://youtu.be/Wx9GxXYKx_8 *ThinkOutsideTheTV* Published on Jan 7, 2013 First off I would like to thank the users that contributed to this video, including IDAHOPICKER, MAX MALONE and OneTruth4Life. This is not meant to offend anyone but merely to raise questions that need to be answered. I am not pointing the finger because there is too much confusion, but it seems something is going on! LINKS: Helicopter footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9YwnXAtm4k Multiple Shooters: https://www.youtube.com/wat...more »
Snowpocalypse Russia: 'Snow tsunami' swallows streets, cars, buildings (PHOTOS)
On Friday, Moscow was on a verge of traffic collapse as more than 10 inches of snow fell on the city, which is more than half of January’s average. Thousands of passengers were stranded overnight in the capital’s major airports, as several dozen flights were delayed. Muscovites woke up and found their cars, driveways and houses buried under a thick layer of snow, with city workers unable to get to smaller streets. Moscow’s Yandex app showed traffic at level 10, the highest possible, as strong winds created blizzard conditions and built imposing snow drifts. http://rt.com/news/winte... more »
ALEC - Lying by Ommission, Again????
Well – the American Legislative Exchange Council is jerking the press around again – this time the New York Times. Last week the NY Times did an editorial on the NRA entitled “The Gun Challenge The States Confront Gun Violence” – on Friday they added this correction at the bottom of the article(my emphasis):: This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: January 18, 2013 An earlier version of this editorial stated that the N.R.A. currently contributes to the American Legislative Exchange Council. *ALEC says it stopped receiving money from the N.R.A. ... more »
what i'm reading, children's books edition: # 4
*Still Classic?* *A Wrinkle in Time*, Madeleine L'Engle, 1962 *A Wrinkle in Time* has always been one of my favourite books. Although I have re-read it a few times over the years, I approached it for this series with some trepidation, a bit concerned that I might no longer recommend it to young readers. I needn't have worried. The book - continually in print since it was first published in 1962 - was reissued last year in a special 50th anniversary printing, and with very good reason. From the moment we begin, we are drawn to Meg - confused and frustrated, feeling like she can't d... more »
Paul Krugman: Conscience of a Liberal: You Know Nothing of Our Work
*by Paul Krugman * Some readers may have noticed a recent op-ed by King and Soneji alleging that Social Security projections understate life expectancy and are therefore far too optimistic. This claim will, I’m sure, become part of what all the serious people think they know. But the Social Security actuaries have replied (pdf), offering among other things one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of a brutally polite intellectual takedown: King and Soneji developed their own projection methodology for mortality and made a series of assertions in their op-ed about the methods used by... more »
A new blog...
And a mighty fine one it is too: the International Socialism blog.
Preferred allocation method in investment frauds where a deficiency exists
*Boughner v. Greyhawk Equity Partners Limited Partnership (Millenium)*, 2013 ONCA 26 holds that in the context of an investment fraud the appropriate method for tracing funds where there is a deficiency is the lowest intermediate balance rule or LIBR. The rule is described in *In re Dameron* 155 F.3d at 724 as follows: [P]ursuant to the lowest intermediate balance rule, if the amount on deposit in the commingled fund has at all times equaled or exceeded the amount of the trust, the trust’s funds will be returned to their full amount. Conversely, if the commingled fund has been depl... more »
Bill Cash's Stone Constituency
An observation. Here is a map of the so-called 'Second Reich', the German Empire of 1871-1918. The borders were established in the victorious wake of the Franco-Prussian war which, once and for all, affirmed Prussian hegemony over the patchwork of petty states that comprised the Germany of the time. The House of Hohenzollern rose to the imperial throne, but retained their sovereignty over the Kingdom of Prussia until the house fell from power in 1918. The borders of the German Empire officially ceased to be with the Treaty of Versailles one year later. Interestingly, though the Fed... more »
Algeria expects heavy hostage toll as West defends ally
Algeria said on Sunday it expected heavy hostage casualties after its troops ended a desert siege, but Western governments warned against criticising tactics used by their vital ally in the struggle with Islamists across the Sahara. An Algerian minister acknowledged the death toll would rise, and a private television station reported that 25 bodies had been found at the gas plant near the town of In Amenas after forces staged a final assault against the Islamist hostage-takers on Saturday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/uk-sahara-crisis-idUKBRE90F1K220130120
Bogus 9/11 Coins: US Seller Settles Claims
A US company selling 9/11 commemorative coins that purportedly contained silver from Ground Zero has agreed to pay $750,000 (£473,000) to settle charges that it deceived consumers. The National Collector's Mint was accused in a Federal Trade Commission complaint of failing to properly identify its coins and of charging customers for items they never ordered. The company, based in Port Chester, New York, sells 9/11 coins and other memorabilia. http://news.sky.com/story/1040447/bogus-9-11-coins-us-seller-settles-claims
Arab Dominoes?
When the French were defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, they asked President Dwight Eisenhower to help them re-establish their hold in Vietnam. Eisenhower -- who was a dark realist when it came to sizing up battles -- refused their invitation. But his successor, John Kennedy -- humiliated by Nikita Khrushchev early in his administration -- decided to draw a line in Southeast Asia. Some historians claim that he quickly saw the folly of his decision and that he planned to remove American troops from the rice paddies by the end of his first term. Unfortunately, Kennedy was ... more »
John Mica-- A Pig's Anus? Or Calamari?
Sometimes things aren't what they seem-- like calamari and pig anuses. And is there any way of thinking about a pig's anus without congering up an image of Florida Republican John Mica? Even Allen West was disgusted by this guy. Hopefully in 2014 DCCC Chairman Steve Israel won't give Mica another "Re-election Free Pass" since Mica lost his committee chairmanship. There's a progressive Democrat, an old friend of Blue America's, Nick Ruiz, already in the race. Below is a guest post he did for us about Mica's hypocrisy concerning SuperStorm Sandy. If you'd like to help Nick beat Mica... more »
Lake Victoria: 'Most dangerous lake' kills 5,000 a year
Straddling three East African countries -- Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya -- Lake Victoria has for centuries been a vital resource for the millions of people living along its vast coastline. The massive lake, which stretches some 70,000 square kilometers, is the world's second-biggest freshwater body and the biggest of its kind in Africa, as well as the chief reservoir of the Nile. Home to a stunning archipelago of more than 80 islands, Lake Victoria provides a livelihood for the fishermen navigating its waters and the businesses dotting its shores. But for many that comes with a risk... more »
Five wounded at U.S. gun shows
At least five people -- three in North Carolina, one in Indiana and one in Ohio -- were injured after weapons went off at gun shows Saturday, officials said, at a time when there's been renewed discussion about private gun sales at such shows. The most casualties came at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, where attendees bolted -- with at least one woman wiping out in the frenetic scene -- when gunfire rang out around 1 p.m., as seen on video captured by CNN affiliate WRAL. Police later explained that a a 36-year-old man from Wilmington, North Carolina, was unfastening the ca... more »
Clashes in Alexandria
Egyptian protesters clash with security forces in Alexandria ahead of the trial of police officers accused of killing protesters during uprising.
Blast, drone kill 13 al Qaeda-linked militants in Yemen
More than 10 suspected al Qaeda operatives were killed by an explosion in a house in south Yemen where they were making bombs and at least three others died in a drone strike, tribal and official sources said on Sunday. A bomb ripped through a house in the province of al-Bayda on Saturday night, the state news agency Saba and a local official said. Three other suspected militants were killed in a drone strike in the central province of Maarib, also on Saturday, tribal sources and the Ministry of Defence said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-yemen-violence-idUSBRE90J03T2... more »
Assad's overthrow "red line" for Iran: supreme leader's aide
A senior aide to Iran's supreme leader warned against the overthrow of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, saying his fate was a "red line", in one of the Islamic state's strongest messages of support for the Damascus government. Iran has steadfastly backed Assad's rule since an uprising against his rule began almost two years ago and regards him as an important part of the axis of opposition against arch-foe Israel. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-syria-crisis-iran-idUSBRE90J08320130120
Amityville killer Jonathan Thompson confesses to punching his girlfriend's four-year-old godson to death because he wouldn't take a nap
A judge ordered a Long Island man held without bail Saturday after prosecutors said he confessed to killing a 4-year-old boy in his care by punching him twice in the stomach when the tot wouldn't take a nap. Jonathan Thompson, 31, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of the youngster, Adonis Reed, who was found unconscious on a couch in an apartment in the New York town of Amityville on Wednesday afternoon. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265294/Amityville-killer-confesses-punching-girlfriends-year-old-godson-death-wouldnt-nap.html
Invasion of the foreign supercops: Minister wants to hire U.S. crimebusters to take over British police
Foreign crimebusters such as US supercop Bill Bratton will be given the chance to take over British police forces under radical new plans to be unveiled by Home Secretary Theresa May. And former Army officers will be recruited as police superintendents in an attempt to end the ‘closed shop’ police culture blamed for bungled investigations and corruption. The changes, set to be fiercely opposed by police chiefs, rip up the centuries-old tradition of only British citizens serving in the police. They also abolish the rule that senior policemen have to work their way up from being a b... more »
British man who 'vanished' after being stripped of citizenship claims he was tortured and forced to confess by the CIA
A British man who disappeared after being stripped of his citizenship claims he was tortured in an African prison before being handed over to the CIA and forced to sign a confession. Mahdi Hashi, who vanished last summer in Somalia, has described for the first time his 'horrific' ordeal at the hands of the secret police in the neighbouring state of Djibouti, who he claims worked closely with US interrogators. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265185/British-man-vanished-stripped-citizenship-claims-tortured-forced-confess-CIA.html
'How Music Works'
'How Music Works' is not an autobiography on the life of musician and writer David Byrne, but is what it says on the tin, an insight into how music works. It is told by an artist who has lived they highs and lows, through one of the most turbulent periods of music, where music itself has gone through many changes. During these last decades how the industry invests and rewards its artists, how music is recorded and now captured, how we as consumers pay for it, listen to it , share it and value it and above all the way artists earn from it have all have changed. Many have written ... more »
'There's no chance we're leaving': Lavish lifestyle of the Lithuanian single mother who gets more than £1,000-a-month in benefits after moving to UK
Natalija Belova, 33, said she was shocked at how much she would be entitled to from the State after she moved here four years ago and fell pregnant. Her handouts total £279 a week which includes housing benefit, child tax credit and child benefit. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265341/Theres-chance-leaving-British-benefits-daughter-good-life-Migrant-enjoys-lavish-lifestyle-raking-1-000-month-benefits.html Restrict Bulgarian and Romanians from entering the UK: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/41492
4.3 Magnitude Earthquake SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 4.3 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 12:01:07 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 09:01:07 AM at epicenter Location 31.769°S, 69.251°W Depth 98.7 km (61.3 miles) Region SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA Distances 74 km (46 miles) WSW (251°) from San Juan, Argentina
5.5 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHEASTERN SAKHA, RUSSIA - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 5.5 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 10:48:47 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 09:48:47 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 64.791°N, 146.601°E Depth 12.2 km (7.6 miles) Region SOUTHEASTERN SAKHA, RUSSIA Distances 163 km (101 miles) ENE of Ust'-Nera, Russia
The Benefits of Growing Thyme Plants: Grow Your Own Medicine by Elizabeth Renter
Source of Picture: http://loveofherbs.co.uk/planning-ahead-six-medicinal-herbs-you-can-groThe Benefits of Growing Thyme Plants: Grow Your Own Medicine by Elizabeth Renter Natural Society, 20 January 2013 You probably have the dried variety of this herb in your spice cabinet. But, you may or may not know all of its benefits. Thyme (thymus vulgaris) has a rich history as a healing herb. Not only does it smell good and add a fragrant flavor to many dishes, it has a wide array of medicinal uses and it’s easy to grow! Read on to see exactly why you should start growing thyme right n... more »
CYRIL SMITH, JIMMY SAVILE, SATANIC ORGIES, HINDLEY AND BRADY, MADELEINE McCANN
*Victim: Michael Roberts, whose devil-worshipping stepdad Michael Horgan organised abuse.* The *Sunday People* newspaper reports that Pervert Member of the UK Parliament Sir Cyril Smith was pals with a satanic child sex monster *According to the Sunday People:* Paedophile MP Cyril Smith was in league with a child sex abuser who organised satanic rituals and raped children as young as two. Victim Michael Roberts says he was only six when he was sexually abused by 29-stone Sir Cyril Smith. *Michael Horgan* Michael Roberts says his devil-worshipping stepfather Michael Horgan organi... more »
Splenda’s Many Secrets: Gut Flora Destruction, Side Effects by Lisa Garber
Source of poster: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/12/03/sucralose-dangers.aspxSplenda’s Many Secrets: Gut Flora Destruction, Side Effects by Lisa Garber Natural Society, 20 January 2013 It’s becoming increasingly clear that aspartame is bad news. But what about the other artificial sweetener, sucralose (Splenda)? *Is Splenda safe*? Known commercially as Splenda, sucralose is a synthetic product—a chlorinated sugar molecule—of McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Splenda continues to be avidly used by consumers watching their weigh... more »
Allocating Inauguration Tickets
Here is a good topic for class discussion. Background: The Congress allocates free tickets to the presidential inauguration, often by lottery. Some winners of the lottery try to sell them for thousands of dollars. Senator Schumer objects to the resale. Question 1: When David, a lottery winner, sells his ticket to Ann, both David and Ann are better off. Who is worse off? Question 2: Senator Taxcut proposes auctioning off the tickets and rebating the revenue lumpsum to all taxpayers. Who would be better off? Who would be worse off? Which group is larger? Question 3: Senator De... more »
BBC tastelessness
You would have thought that the BBC would by now have managed to ask all their producers to advise them of what footage of, or references to, Jimmy Savile they had in their programmes and to have instructed them not broadcast said programmes. That's what a responsible, efficient organisation with income in the £billions would do, hell it's what I would have organised in companies with turnover in the low £millions. However the BBC seems not to have been able to manage even that simple task. The BBC report that: 'CBeebies has apologised after a character from the children's TV progra... more »
POLICE SEIZE ELM HOUSE FILES
According to *The Sunday People* newspaper, Child abuse cops, investigating the Elm Guest House in London, have seized a VIP list: Politicians, an MI5 agent, a Royal aide and pop stars are all named "First arrests are expected soon." "A list of names seized by police probing allegations of child abuse includes ministers, members of the royal household and a world-famous pop star, the Sunday People can reveal. All were recorded as visitors to the Elm Guest House that operated as a gay brothel. "Now *some* could be suspects in an investigation into a network of powerful people w...more »
Syria & Russia "Hang Tough" Against NATO Assault
*January 21, 2013* (Tarpley.net - PressTV) Also read Dr. Webster Tarpley's report, "North Syria learns to hate FSA occupation, NATO errs to add new front."
The PirateBox & Internet Freedom
*January 21, 2013* (LocalOrg) - There has been a big response regarding the PirateBox mentioned in "WiFi + USB Drive = Your Own Mini-Internet (Freedom)" ranging from mostly excitement to some confusion and many questions in between - especially on how to get involved. The PirateBox is software that can be used to turn your WiFi enabled computer into a local router. It can also be used to make actual "PirateBoxes," which are stand alone devices that likewise create a local network. The advantage of a local network, not connected to the Internet is that you can file share and commun...more »
Tom Bellmont: Student goes berserk and tries to 'rip face off' after overdosing on drug used for psychiatric patients
*Class A drug: 2CB was first used in treatment of psychiatric patients* A screaming students clawed at his head and tried to 'rip his face off' after taking a party drug, it was reported today. He was taken to hospital and put on a ventilator after frantic friends called the emergency services. Tom Bellmont, 20, refused to let anyone near him when he went berserk at flats in Marketgate, Bristol, at around 2am. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265351/Student-goes-berserk-tries-rip-face-overdosing-drug-used-psychiatric-patients.html *Sound Familiar?: Another witness told the ... more »
Some of our Spitfires are missing: Doubts over existence of 160 WW2 fighter planes in Burma
As the media frenzy over the search for Spitfires allegedly buried in Burma ran out of steam last week, with doubts raised about their very existence, the man chiefly responsible for getting the project off the ground was sorely tempted to say "I told you so". Excitement at the prospect of exhuming up to 160 of the historic warplanes, which, it was claimed, the British had buried at the end of the Second World War, threatened to curdle after the man leading the search, the Lincolnshire farmer David Cundall, called off a press conference on Thursday because the search at Mingaladon a... more »
Guest post: food supply
*A guest post by Killian O'Brien.* * * Global Grain Stocks Drop Dangerously Low as 2012 Consumption Exceeded Production And so it begins. It was a year-and-a-half ago, at least, that I had a sudden and visceral realization that neither Peak Oil and other resource limits, nor climate disasters *per se* were going to be our most immediate global impact from the process of collapse and the condition of overshoot. It's the food supply, Stupid. The logic was incomprehensibly obvious, so I was shocked I hadn't realized it years ago. Well, I *had*, but thought of it as a mid-century issu... more »
US warns its citizens of travel dangers in Algeria
The US State Department is warning American citizens about the risks of travel to Algeria and is authorising the families of State Department staff to leave the country if they choose. The warning comes after the Algerian government reported that special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert to end a standoff with Islamist extremists. Algerian officials say at least 23 hostages and all 32 militants involved were killed. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-warns-its-citizens-of-travel-dangers-in-algeria/article4325717.ece
Germany's Merkel rattled by Lower Saxony vote
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping for a victory for her CDU party in Lower Saxony. She has been in the region to show her support for David McAllister, who is in a tight race to retain his position at the head of the local government. McAllister is being challenged by Stephan Weil of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) in the first of a series of local elections in Germany. http://www.euronews.com/2013/01/20/germany-s-merkel-rattled-by-lower-saxony-vote/
Ford and BMW warn against UK exit from EU as David Cameron readies historic speech
David Cameron was expected to deliver one of the most keenly awaited political speeches in recent years on Friday, but it was cancelled because of the Algerian hostage crisis. However, excerpts show that the Conservative leader is prepared to raise the prospect of Britain leaving the EU without major changes to the relationship. "All countries should have their sovereignty, but don't discuss leaving a trading partner where 50pc of your exports go," said Stephen Odell, chief executive of Ford in Europe. "That would be devastating for the UK economy." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/financ... more »
What's missing in U.S. gun control scramble? Bullets
In tracking down illegal weapons, the smoking gun may not be a gun at all. Bullets are one thing Sacramento Police Detective Greg Halstead can count on to root out weapons that otherwise would be impossible to find. They are also largely missing from the gun control debate in Washington. Since 2008, California's capital has required ammunition dealers to take names and thumbprints of bullet buyers. They send the information electronically to police computers, which compare the names to an FBI criminal database. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-usa-guns-ammunition-idUSBR... more »
SANDY HOOK; TURF WAR; JEWISH COUPLE; LANZA STREET; ST ROSE OF LIMA SCHOOL; LIEBERMAN
*Aaron Greene, linked to Sandy Hook?* *1.* Yoichi Shimatsu, at *rense*, suggests that the Sandy Hook event was carried out by certain mob-linked police officers, in order to kill off certain other mob-linked police officers linked to a rival government agency. *Mop-Up... Inter-Agency War* * * "By the 1980s, CIA director Bill Casey ... favored the Winter Hill Gang led by the gunrunner Whitey Bulger. "Back in 1950s, the Dr. Sydney Gottlieb personally conducted LSD research on Bulger... Bulger emerged from MK-ULTRA as a highly respected contract killer for the CIA. "With Bulger abo... more »
Myanmar rebels say army ignoring president's ceasefire
Myanmar troops attacked rebel positions in northeast Kachin on Sunday despite a ceasefire order from the president and an invitation to the rebels to take part in peace talks, a rebel spokesman and a local source said. President Thein Sein issued the ceasefire order to troops in the La Ja Yang area of Kachin near the border with China, where fighting has been fiercest. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-myanmar-kachin-idUSBRE90J03820130120
Four dead, four missing as fumes fill Russian coal mine
At least four miners died when fumes filled the shaft where they were working in Russia's main coal-producing region on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported. Searches for another four missing men had to be suspended after levels of methane in the mine in the Kuznetsk Basin reached dangerous levels, the RIA and ITAR-Tass news wires said. Sixty-nine miners managed to escape, they added. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-russia-mine-accident-idUSBRE90J03L20130120
Algeria ends desert siege with 23 hostages dead
Algerian troops ended a siege by Islamist militants at a gas plant in the Sahara desert where 23 hostages died, with a final assault which killed all the remaining hostage-takers. Believed to be among the 32 dead militants was their leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri, a Nigerien close to al Qaeda-linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, presumed mastermind of the raid. An Algerian interior ministry statement on the death toll gave no breakdown of the number of foreigners among hostages killed since the plant was seized before dawn on Wednesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-... more »
Rallies across U.S. assail Obama's proposed gun curbs
Pro-gun activists held "high noon" rallies across the United States on Saturday to defend the right to own firearms that they say is being threatened by President Barack Obama's gun-control proposals. The U.S. debate over gun control erupted in mid-December after a man armed with an assault rifle killed 20 first-graders and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut - the deadliest of a string of U.S. shooting sprees last year. "We are law-abiding citizens, business owners, military, and we are not going to be responsible for other people's criminal actions," former... more »
Paul Santos Attacked by a tiger shark, Hawaii
A man who was surfing in Kiholo Bay off the Big Island with a friend said he never thought that sharks were a big threat there until he heard his friend scream. Steve Macres said he was surfing Wednesday with Paul Santos, just as they had done for many years, when the tiger shark, estimated at between 15 feet and 18 feet, attacked. "I turned around to go on a wave and heard him. I heard that blood-curdling scream. It was just so primordial. It was unbelievable, and it went into an echo so I could tell while he was screaming, he went underwater," Macres told KITV-TV. http://www.mau... more »
Record radioactive cesium levels 2,540 times the government's safety standard found in Fukushima rockfish
A rockfish caught in the port of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was found to have radioactive cesium 2,540 times the government's safety standard for foodstuffs, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant operator, said Jan. 18. Caught in December, the rockfish had a reading of 254,000 becquerels per kilogram, the largest reading found in seafood since the nuclear disaster of March 2011. The rockfish was caught near an unloading point north of the No. 1 through No. 4 reactors. No fishermen operate in the nuclear plant's port. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/A...more »
Obama's Gun Controls 'Will Fail', Says Gun Lobby
The organiser of America's first Gun Appreciation Day has told Sky News that any government attempt to limit access to firearms is destined to fail. Gun owners across the United States were encouraged to rally at gun shops and shooting ranges to demonstrate their opposition to President Obama's calls for new gun controls. http://news.sky.com/story/1040358/obamas-gun-controls-will-fail-says-gun-lobby
Modbury, Devon: Murder Probe After Body Of Boy, 2, Discovered
Police have begun a murder investigation following the death of a two-year-old boy. Officers were called to a home in Modbury, Devon, on Saturday morning after the little boy's body was discovered by a member of the public. Police confirmed they have arrested a woman and she is being questioned by officers on suspicion of murder. http://news.sky.com/story/1040355/murder-probe-after-body-of-boy-2-discovered
4.5 Magnitude Earthquake GUERRERO, MEXICO - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 4.5 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 08:12:20 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 02:12:20 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 16.922°N, 98.178°W Depth 29.2 km (18.1 miles) Region GUERRERO, MEXICO Distances 16 km (9 miles) NNE of Xochistlahuaca, Mexico
4.5 Magnitude Earthquake BANDA SEA - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 4.5 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 07:58:42 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 04:58:42 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 6.620°S, 130.162°E Depth 158.8 km (98.7 miles) Region BANDA SEA Distances 194 km (120 miles) NW of Saumlaki, Indonesia
4.9 Magnitude Earthquake NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND - 20th January 2013
Magnitude 4.9 Date-Time Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 00:45:57 UTC Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 01:45:57 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 39.831°S, 174.349°E Depth 117.8 km (73.2 miles) Region NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND Distances 13 km (8 miles) SW of Patea, New Zealand
4.1 Magnitude Earthquake ARAUCANIA, CHILE - 19th January 2013
Magnitude 4.1 Date-Time Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 20:03:56 UTC Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 05:03:56 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 39.056°S, 73.117°W Depth 11.5 km (7.1 miles) Region ARAUCANIA, CHILE Distances 39 km (24 miles) SSW of Nueva Imperial, Chile
So, they're admitting there's a TRADE IN CHILDREN on this planet?
Kinda sorta uber-blatant, but masquerading as *entertainment*, hey let's torture some innocent women so some CHILD TRAFFICKERS can continue to ply their filthy trade, for profit. This is how we're ENTRAINED by the corporate media machine; cinema is our global MK Ultra.
Trolling America
Earlier this week, Rachel Maddow presented a fantastic segment analyzing the bulk of conservative discourse as trolling: A key portion transcribed: Trolling is a key part of the conservative entertainment slash media business model. These guys say stuff all the time that they do not intend to be persuasive. They’re not trying to explain something, or bring people along to their way of
Snow, what are you doing?
dogs having funSo, you're all snowed in and you've no work to go to... I mean, it's proper sad that, if this continues for too long, the repayments on your home (which you RENT on a 25-year lease) or your car (which you never legally own, only license) will be in jeopardy, your family will go hungry and your boss is gonna be looking for an employee who can combat this foul weather more successfully that you, to 'make it in' like a good little slave to profit. But (ignoring all that invented nonsense, all that pap) what are you doing, with yourself, with your family, with your commun... more »
Between Heaven And Earth
We stand this present moment, between heaven and earth, Gaia and Sol. Surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses on land, sea and space, who both fear our duality and praise our promise of Oneness and rebirth. We give great honor to those who have journeyed far from their star, to visit ours. We thank you for the messages you’ve sent, channeled through being, media, music and art. We’ve tried to listen, even while our perception was attenuated by the interlopers. Signal received. Time lines are converged. WE ARE READY. You’ve sent your own sons and daughters to be born... more »
Mapping all possible physical theories
*Young people should get some clue about all possibilities, avoid dead ends* I am kind of – albeit not obsessively – observing young, emerging physicists who have a chance to bring a new significant conceptual development or "revolution" to physics. It's hard to see whether such a future "revolution" will be an accidental side effect of some "modest" technical work or whether it will arise from some people's attempts to think really deeply and conceptually. It seems to me that on this planet, the number of people below 30 who have independently understood the structure of the "space... more »
Is this some sort of a joke??...
*I think it is.* *Seriously - it must be. *
5 People Shot At 3 Different US Gun Shows On Gun Appreciation Day
*"If the gun advocates behind this year’s inaugural Gun Appreciation Day had hoped to use the day’s festivities to build support for their anti-regulation platform, they are going to have to wait another year.* * * *Emergency personnel had to be called to the scene of the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, North Carolina after a gun accidentally discharged and shot two people at the show’s safety check-in booth just after 1 pm. Both victims were transported to an area hospital, and the Raleigh Fire Department announced that the show would be closed for the rest of the day.* ***Gu...more »
Quest of Nishiyuu: Trekking across a frozen river
Crossing a frozen river. Photo by John George Cree youths continue their quest, trekking from northern Quebec to Ottawa
Strange but true: With all these outbursts of gun violence, the NRA may not have to bother with recruiting drives
Anyone who says that there is anything unsettled or unknown or unclear about the relation between gun control and gun violence is either lying or ignorant, or both. Many things in our social life are complicated and multivalent; this one is not. Guns do not protect people, or families. Any anecdote that can be mined to claim that they do -- and many of those stories evaporate on probing -- is overwhelmed hundreds of times over by the number of well-documented accidents, suicides, and domestic disputes turned into murderous occasions produced by the presence of a gun at homes. A g...more »
"It Seems To Me..."
“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas… If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you… On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones.” - Carl Sagan
Cut Off
It's been an interesting past 48 hours here in Wood Buffalo, with nasty weather and deplorable driving conditions. Things got so bad that Highway 63, along with a few other northern roads, were closed to traffic. I recall reading that at one point, police had responded to as many as 60 vehicle mishaps. Considering how many potential hospitalizations that could have potentially been, the decision to close 63 was a smart one and, as McMurray Musings rightly notes, we can't very well bitch about it. While Highway 881 provides a secondary link, it isn't designed to carry great volume... more »
Friday Baseball Post
RIP to two great Hall of Famers, Stan Musial and Earl Weaver. On Musial...I don't have much to say other than the obvious. I've always thought that Albert Pujols was the modern-day comp for him: came into the league hitting, and just never stopped. As good as they come, an obvious inner circle HOFer. Weaver? Great, great, manager. I'm always interested in managerial families. Weaver's first Orioles team produced two great ones: Davey Johnson, who for my money is the best of his generation, and Frank Robinson, who is an underappreciated manager (take a look at what he did with what ... more »
Conflict in the Congo: Geopolitics of Plunder
*January 20, 2013* (excerpt from Nile Bowie's Congo’s M23 conflict: Rebellion or Resource War?) - It must be recognized that Kagame controls a vastly wealthy and mineral-rich area of eastern Congo – an area that has long been integrated into Rwanda’s economy – with total complicity from the United States. As Washington prepares to escalate its military presence throughout the African continent with AFRICOM, the United States Africa Command, what long-term objectives does Uncle Sam have in the Congo, considered the world’s most resource-rich nation? Washington is crusading against C... more »
George Steiner on the incompleteness of life
"We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic." - E. Merrill Root. "I had some intuitive sense that in life and in the substance of the world there was a strangeness which would always defy and even mock our attempts at understanding." - George Steiner.
Want a Drink of Water - Grab Your Water ATM Prepay Card
Last week I posted a blog entry where in a video clip the President of Nestle’ talking about the free market. This video is an example (if the close captioning is correct) of the extremist views held by corporations who hold a free market philosophy. Access to water is not your right believing you have a right to water - is an extreme belief Water is a raw material and a "foodstuff" that should be privatized and commercialized. The conclusion I drew from that video was: This video is an example of the extremist free mark... more »
Why are states not required to submit the names of all people who need antipsychotic medication to the NICS?
A story today by John Bentley, Paul Bogosian and Phil Hirschkorn on the CBS News website outlines some of the faults in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS, when it comes to reporting the names of mentally ill people. The story does not get into the fact that 40 percent of all gun sales are private transactions, and none of those require any background check at all. Since 1998, when the FBI launched the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS, the database has grown to include the names of more than 8.3 million people proh... more »
Sunday Globe Special: Put the Blame on Plame, Boys!
"Pentagon threatens suit against Navy SEAL who wrote bin Laden book" by Elisabeth Bumiller and Julie Bosman | New York Times, September 01, 2012 WASHINGTON — Bissonnette’s lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, represented Karl Rove when Rove, then a top adviser to President George W. Bush, was under investigation for his role in the leak of the name of Valerie Plame Wilson, a former undercover CIA operative. After months of maneuvering between Luskin and the prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, Luskin announced in June 2006 that no charges would be filed against Rove.... It is unclear ... more »
Musical Interlude: Vangelis, “Fields of Coral”
Vangelis, “Fields of Coral” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad1wFWdmZUs
Man Outsources Job to China
This is not Bob. Photo courtesy: Yahoo!News A Verizon case study recently revealed that some people will go to great lengths in order to be able to watch cat videos all day. We first heard about it on TNW. The study documents the scam of a developer, who is referred to as Bob. He worked at a "critical infrastructure" company in the U.S. and started outsourcing his work to China underneath his company's nose, and would only pay those people less than one fifth of his six-figure salary. Here's how it was possible. Bob's company had started letting employees work remotely from home o... more »
WiFi + USB Drive = Your Own Mini-Internet (Freedom)
*Editor's Note: There seems to be some confusion over the concept of the PirateBox. The entire point is not to be connected to the controlled, restricted, & monopolized Internet, and begin using local alternatives leveraging technology to go around draconian laws and regulations. * * * *A PirateBox is the smallest, but easiest way to connect with others locally and wirelessly,as well as anonymously, without connecting at all to the Internet. It is the first step to building larger local mesh networks, and eventually a parallel Internet built using mesh architecture designed, maintain...more »
Shots fired on gun appreciation day
On this date in history, angry Second Amendment absolutists organized a collective action to show solidarity for their cause -- Gun Appreciation Day. A day to show the world they are many. They are strong. They are armed with cash and high-caliber firearms. And they are *not* afraid to use them. Shots were literally fired. So far we know five people were shot accidentally at three different gun shows today. Three of the gunshot victims were at one show, at a safety checkpoint for private sellers. Sounds like something that might happen at a fly-by-night flea market, not so much lik... more »
Sunday Globe Special: Women Hate War
"Women’s military roles slow to evolve; Little interest in front-line action" by Pauline Jelinek | Associated Press, January 06, 2013 WASHINGTON — If or when the Pentagon lets women become infantry troops — the country’s front-line warfighters — how many women will want to? The answer is probably not many.... In fact, the Marines asked women last year to go through its tough infantry officer training to see how they would fare. Only two volunteered and both failed to complete the fall course. None has volunteered for the next course this month. The failure rate for men is roughly ... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“A gaze across a cosmic skyscape, this telescopic mosaic reveals the continuous beauty of things that are. The evocative scene spans some 6 degrees or 12 Full Moons in planet Earth's sky. At the left, folds of red, glowing gas are a small part of an immense, 300 light-year wide arc. Known as Barnard's loop, the structure is too faint to be seen with the eye, shaped by long gone supernova explosions and the winds from massive stars, and still traced by the light of hydrogen atoms. *Click image for larger size. * Barnard's loop lies about 1,500 light-years away roughly centered on ... more »
Chet Raymo, “Backwards Or Forwards”
*“Backwards Or Forwards”* by Chet Raymo “If you wanted to divide humankind into two categories, none might be more relevant to the present state of the world than 1) those who look to the authority of the past, and 2) those who put their hope in the future. In the first category are those who give their conceptual and intellectual allegiance to ancestors, holy books, tradition, or venerable prophets. In the second category are the children of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment. The idea of progress was pretty much an invention of 17th-century Europe. Not that the intell... more »
Why Are Virtually All The News Sources Covering Up Slavery In Mali?
A few days ago I posted about Mali on my travel blog again. I've been covering their civil war on the travel blog because I spent time in the country a few years ago and have been writing about it ever since. Not many Americans had ever even heard of it-- let alone gone there-- until this year. But another old friend of mine, Rick Streicker, who worked as an attorney at Warner Bros when I was there, had also been there and left this post on my Facebook page. The whole race/slavery angle is shockingly evident the minute you set foot in northern Mali even if you haven't read the h... more »
"Remember..."
"Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck." - The Dalai Lama
The Daily "Near You?"
Bolton, United Kingdom. Thanks for stopping by.
[Video] Going to Tehran: Prospects for U.S.-Iranian Engagement
*Leveretts Discuss Going to Tehran at the Carnegie Council:* "To offer an in-depth presentation of the key drivers underlying *Going to Tehran*, we appeared in New York at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs this week. A transcript and edited video and audio recordings will be available on the Carnegie Council Web site soon. In the meantime, for an unedited video of the event, including both our presentation and the subsequent discussion with the audience, click here." Video streaming by Ustream
The Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "What If?"
*"What If?"* "What if you slept? And what if, In your sleep You dreamed? And what if, In your dream, You went to heaven And there plucked A strange and Beautiful flower? And what if, When you awoke, You had the flower In your hand? ... Ah, what then?" - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
80 percent of Australia’s Warrumbungle National Park incinerated
[image: Charred trees in the Warrumbungle National Park, 19 January 2013. 80 percent of the heritage listed Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran has been destroyed by the most destructive fire in more than a decade. Photo: Jacky Ghossein] By Tim Barlass 20 January 2013 The impact of the Coonabarabran fires is revealed in a startling new map obtained from the Rural Fire Service. Overlaying the heritage-listed Warrumbungle National Park with the area devastated by fire shows the nature reserve to be almost obliterated. Only a small area in the south-west of the park, the j... more »
Mercury emissions threaten aquatic environments – ‘It was amazing how fast the mercury got into the fish’
[image: Fishing boat in Ilulissat, Greenland, 2 July 2008. Greenlanders are highly exposed to mercury because their diet is almost completely reliant on contaminated marine life. Photo: Kristine Riskær / flickr] By Brian Bienkowski, Environmental Health News 18 January 2013 (Scientific American) – As United Nations delegates end their mercury treaty talks today, scientists warn that ongoing emissions are more of a threat to food webs than the mercury already in the environment. At the same time, climate change is likely to alter food webs and patterns of mercury transport in place... more »
Melt ponds cause Artic sea ice to melt more rapidly – ‘Climate change will permit more sunlight to reach the Arctic Ocean’
[image: Melt pond on Arctic sea ice. Photo: Stefan Hendricks / Alfred Wegener Institute] Bremerhaven, 15 January 2013 (AWI) – The Arctic sea ice has not only declined over the past decade but has also become distinctly thinner and younger. Researchers are now observing mainly thin, first-year ice floes which are extensively covered with melt ponds in the summer months where once metre-thick, multi-year ice used to float. Sea ice physicists at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), have now measured the light transmission through the Arc... more »
Why Mali? France Launches War In Mali In Bid To Secure Resources And Stamp Out National Rights Struggles
With all the news here in Canada and the United States still focused on the aftermath of the fake Sandy Hook elementary school "shooting", there has definitely been much news happening elsewhere. We are seeing a new "War for Resources" opening up in the western African nation of Mali, that has many people scratching their heads, and wondering for themselves... Why Mali? To help answer the "why" for this latest invasion by the criminals in NATO, especially France and the United States, into the impoverished and helpless nation of Mali, I want to turn to the following article that co... more »
"Mars Covered In Oceans Of Water: How The Red Planet Might Have Looked Billions Of Years Ago"
* "Mars Covered In Oceans Of Water: * *How The Red Planet Might Have Looked Billions Of Years Ago"* by Tibi Puiu "Using combined imagery delivered by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and recent color channel data, the European Space Agency has recently discovered the vestiges of an ancient river that used to flow through Mars’ highlands. The river is 1,000 miles long and at some points 4 miles wide and 1,000 feet deep. *Click image for larger size.* The images are simply stunning and it’s enough to catch a glimpse for imagination to take care of the rest. A stunn... more »
"Stress..."
"Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there’." - Eckhart Tolle
This Is Outrageous: Kindergarten Student In USA Labeled As "Terrorist Threat" After Toy Bubble Gun Threat (!)
First, I had already informed my readership that I would be taking more time this last week in taking care of personal and family business. It has indeed been a hectic week for me, and therefore little time to do much work in this blog. I want to thank everyone for their continued support and their patience. Everything should be back to normal hopefully by next week..... With the continuing clamp down on American rights and freedoms by the criminals in their own government, we have seen some pretty outrageous acts against American citizens for the most trivial and laughable acti...more »
Incompetent Assassin Gets The Shit Kicked Out of Him
Go *here* to read the story.
What Would You Create If You Had What You Need?
From: Palmi Subject: Hello my belowed lightworker Date: January 19, 2013 9:06:29 AM PST Thank you so much for all your work regarding our new world. I´m not sure what I want to do with this but I somehow felt that I needed to write this to help people better understand what we are going through. I live in Iceland and I sure I am on this planet for a good reason like yourself and that I´m trying to think about how one can contribute to our efforts in getting the message out to the rest of the world and what we should DO in the near future. It´s important for people to start realiz... more »
Grassroots Natives end century of censorship in Indian country
The people bring an end to a century of media control and censorship Six Nations shut down developer Jan. 15. Photo Wesley Elliott By Brenda Norrell Censored News http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com TUCSON -- Grassroots First Nations and Native Americans delivered a final blow to a century of censorship in Indian country this week, as they provided their own news coverage. The news that was
Help Ontario wildlife . . .
DALTON'S DASTARDLY DEMONS are at it again. The David Suzuki Foundation has a fine blog, with a post by Jode Roberts, "Driving a hole through Ontario's Endangered Species Act". Seems that some trolls in the Ministry of Natural Resources are proposing that a lot of protection should evaporate. Click on the link to help. Unfortunately, last month the Ministry quietly put out a notice that they
Scotland Avalanche: Four Climbers Killed
Four people have been killed and a woman is seriously hurt after a group of six climbers were caught up in an avalanche in the Scottish Highlands. Emergency services were alerted to the accident on Bidean Nam Bian, in Glencoe, at about 2pm and a major search operation involving two mountain rescue teams and police dogs was launched. Northern Constabulary said four people, two men and two women, were found and have since been pronounced dead. http://news.sky.com/story/1040289/scotland-avalanche-four-climbers-killed
President Obama takes a stand for D.C.
I imagine there was a good reason for it once, but this is 2013. It feels like it's long past time for the District of Columbia to have fair representation in Congress and unrestricted self-governance. So I was happy to see President Obama put this plate on his president limo. [Susan Walsh photo/AP] President Obama’s motorcade sported “Taxation Without Representation” license plates for the first time on Saturday. [...] The White House decision earlier this week to use the license plates was considered a victory for D.C. statehood advocates. Obama had avoided using the plates du... more »
OPPT: Individual UCC Filing Templates with Tutorial
Here's a list of individual UCC filing templates as compiled by Paula Humfrey and Desmond Grundy. Desmond has also created a nice concise summary of how to use these documents. I know a lot of you have been asking how to use these documents, and frankly I didn't know what to tell you other than get the questions to people who can answer them. I am not a lawyer. But there are a number of very bright people coming to the fore who are knowledgeable in this area of UCC law. Below is a very good synopsis of what the OPPT has done... *Another reader wrote: *On Jan 18, 2013, at... more »
4.2 Magnitude Earthquake FYR OF MACEDONIA - 19th January 2013
Magnitude M 4.2 Region FYR OF MACEDONIA Date time 2013-01-19 21:49:19.0 UTC Location 40.98 N ; 21.18 E Depth 10 km Distances 8 km S Capari
Adolf Hitler Calls Out the British (Jew) War Mongers, War Criminals and War Profiteers
Just a reminder: I'll be discussing Adolf Hitler, National Socialist Germany, and WWII with Jim Condit, Jr. this Monday at 6pm PST on *The Realist Report with John Friend* on Truth Militia Radio. Be sure to tune in if you can!
How Does Congressional Gerrymandering Manifest Itself? Take Pennsylvania For Example
Pennsylvania has 18 congressional districts and the Republican-controlled legislature carved them up in such a way as to create 5 Democratic seats and 13 Republican seats, despite Pennsylvania having more Democratic voters than Republican voters. Obama took 2,990,274 votes in November (52%) and Romney took 2,680,434 (47%). Obama only won a dozen of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, but he won the big ones with the most population: *•* Philadelphia- 1,526,006 *•* Allegheny- 1,223,348 *•* Montgomery- 799,874 *•* Bucks- 625,249 *•* Delaware- 558,979 *•* Lehigh- 349,497 *•* Luzerne- 320,918... more »
America's Mental Health Epidemic - Assault Rifles
I am a gun owner. I own two rifles. They are both single-shot rifles. One is a hunting rifle although I use it for predator protection. The other is a .22 rifle for plinking down at the local range. I do not own a semi-automatic rifle of any description, which means either a semi-automatic hunting rifle or an assault rifle like an AK-47 or an AR-15, the weapon of choice in American massacres. It's hard to keep track of what weapons are legal in Canada and what are prohibited. Mine are what are called "non-restricted" firearms. As a general rule, handguns and some military-t... more »
"The ‘Busy’ Trap"
*"The ‘Busy’ Trap"* By Tim Kreider “If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.” Notice it isn’t generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the I.C.U. or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy the... more »
Monsignor Meth
Rather refreshing to see a Catholic church sex scandal that isn't about pedophilia. This one is consensual activity between adults all the way. Cross-dressing meth priest liked sex in rectory: The Catholic priest busted for allegedly dealing crystal meth was suspended after church officials discovered he was a cross-dresser who was having sex in the rectory at Bridgeport's St. Augustine Cathedral. [...] In his post-priesthood, Wallin, 61, bought an adult specialty and video store in North Haven called Land of Oz that sells sex toys and X-rated DVDs. Investigators believe the shop h... more »
The Economy: “Ending Up Like The Joneses…”
*“Ending Up Like The Joneses…”* by Simon Black “There’s a funny take on the Fiscal Cliff floating around the Internet that several of our keen subscribers have passed along. Like most things floating around the Internet, though, the details are inaccurate. So I’ve gone back and modified the parody with accurate numbers, and a bit more plot. What follows is 100% accurate based on 2012/2013 data: • 2012 US Tax Revenue: $2,469,000,000,000 • 2012 Federal budget: $3,796,000,000,000 • 2012 Budget deficit: $1,327,000,000,000 • US Federal Debt as of January 18, 2013: $16,4... more »
Thank You Rick Nolan - Exposing Congressional Lack of Work Ethic
I have written about this often on this blog. Maybe - we need to bring back legislators that know how the US Congress is suppose to be. Legislators like recently re-elected Rick Nolan from Minnesota - who tells America how it is. If people choose not to listen to bloggers - maybe they will listen to an actual Congressional member. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Study: Good bacteria in the intestine prevent diabetes,
This new field of medicine is amazing.... Good bacteria in the intestine prevent diabetes, study suggests Seed Newsvine
Satire: "Fox News to Shut Down for Routine Maintenance Monday Morning at 11:30"
*"Fox News to Shut Down for Routine * *Maintenance Monday Morning at 11:30"* by Andy Borowitz NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)— "Fox News Channel announced today that it would shut down for what it called “routine maintenance” Monday morning at 11:30 E.T. Fox News president Roger Ailes explained the timing of the shutdown, which will be the first in the history of the network: “We wanted to pick a time when we were positive nothing would be happening that our viewers would want to see.” Mr. Ailes said that Fox had considered shutting down only once before, exactly four years earl... more »
Farage: UK stuck in shrinking, old-fashioned Europe
Sign this petition to allow UKIP to take part in the 2015 TV election debates: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43153
4.7 Magnitude Earthquake ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE - 19th January 2013
Magnitude M 4.7 Region ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE Date time 2013-01-19 19:20:44.5 UTC Location 23.52 S ; 69.30 W Depth 76 km Distances 112 km E Antofagast, Chile
The Strange Confluence of Right and Left
This is a fascinating glimpse into the chaotic directions of our imploding Empire...with Hedges on conspiracy theorists: "The worse it gets the less people can confront it". Update: Bill Maher is arrogant and sexist, but he's funny anyway:
4.4 Magnitude Earthquake WEST CHILE RISE - 19th January 2013
Magnitude M 4.4 Region WEST CHILE RISE Date time 2013-01-19 19:03:25.1 UTC Location 36.99 S ; 96.25 W Depth 10 km Distances 1994 km W Ancud
Syrian opposition in new search for transitional government
Syria's opposition leaders on Saturday launched their second bid to form a transitional government, with their credibility at stake as the country slides deeper into civil war. Agreement among the National Coalition, an umbrella group for the Syrian opposition, could help address international concern about the risk of Syria disintegrating along ethnic and sectarian lines if President Bashar al-Assad falls. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-syria-crisis-opposition-idUSBRE90I0DZ20130119
Pro-gun rallies across U.S. attack Obama's curbs on firearms
Pro-gun activists plan rallies in 49 states at "high noon" on Saturday to support the right to own firearms they say is under attack from President Barack Obama's proposals to reduce gun violence. The rallies, to be held mostly at state capitals, were being organized by a group called Guns Across America that was launched by Texas airline pilot Eric Reed. The U.S. debate over gun control flared in mid-December when a man killed 20 first graders and six adults in a matter of minutes at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, using an assault rifle. http://www.reuters.com/artic... more »
Banks Sock It to Schilling
*They beat him until he was bloody.... * "Schilling may have to sell ‘bloody sock’" by Todd Wallack | Globe Staff, October 04, 2012 The *bloody sock* that came to symbolize one of Curt Schilling’s *greatest victories* could also play a starring role in one of his *biggest losses*. The former Boston Red Sox pitcher could be *forced to sell* a “bloody sock” he wore while leading the Sox to their first championship in 86 years, *among other cherished items*, to help *pay back millions of dollars in loans* he guaranteed for his failed video game company, 38 Studios. The sock, worn ... more »
What Mattered This Week?
I'll take an easy and obvious one: the GOP retreat on the debt limit. If you thought that was a sure thing all the time, then you may not think it mattered; I thought it was at least a solid possibility they would run right up to it, and do at least a bit of harm to the economy. Democrats admitting they'll vote for the president's nominee for Secretary of Defense? No great surprise there, to me. The real ballgame there has always been whether 60 votes would be required, and if so whether Hagel can get five Republicans. As far as I know from the coverage, we don't know that part of i... more »
Algeria Hostage Crisis: At Least Five Britons Feared Dead
Five British nationals and one UK resident are dead or unaccounted for after the Algerian hostage crisis drew to a bloody end, the Foreign Secretary William Hague has said. Seven hostages were reportedly killed and 16 others freed amid a "final assault" by Algerian special forces on the complex that had been taken over by Islamist militants. The latest fatalities, reported by the Algerian state news agency, are in addition to the reported deaths of 12 detainees and 18 terrorists earlier on in the crisis. http://news.sky.com/story/1040172/algeria-at-least-five-britons-feared-dead
Assassin aims gun at Bulgarian opposition leader's head and pulls the trigger... but victim survives after weapon misfires
Ahmed Dogan, leader of a liberal party which represents the Turkish minority in Bulgaria, survived the astonishing assassination attempt while giving a speech at a conference in the capital Sofia (left). Television footage shows a man storming the stage and aiming a gun at his head. But the weapon misfired and Mr Dogan, 58, escaped unharmed. Security guards and delegates then wrestle the man to the ground and began beating and kicking him. The 25-year-old suspect was led away covered in blood (right). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265002/Ahmed-Dogan-Heart-stopping-moment-...more »
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