Tuesday, April 02, 2013

2 April - Blogs I'm Following

English: Map of Lake Erie. Category:Michigan mapsEnglish: Map of Lake Erie. Category:Michigan maps (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Bath Iron Works (BIW), a shipyard located on t...Bath Iron Works (BIW), a shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine (USA). BIW was purchased in 1995 by General Dynamics and is one of the largest private employers in Maine. Visible are three Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers being fitted out. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: This is a picture of Syncrude's base ...English: This is a picture of Syncrude's base mine. The yellow structures are the bases of pyramids made of sulphur - it is not economical for Syncrude to sell the sulphur so it stockpiles it instead. Behind that is the tailings pond, held in by what is recognized as the largest dam in the world. The extraction plant is just to the right of this photograph and most of the mine is to the left. Deutsch: Tagebau der Syncrude Canada Ltd. zur Verarbeitung der Athabasca-Ölsande in Alberta (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Athabasca Oil Sands NASA Earth Observ...English: Athabasca Oil Sands NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon using EO-1 ALI data courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Holli Riebeek. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
2009 Total Solar Eclipse Over Thimphu2009 Total Solar Eclipse Over Thimphu (Photo credit: Bhutan-360)
11:59am MDST

Total SA dumps Canada oil sands project for $1.65 billion loss

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 1 minute ago
[image: A Landsat satellite took this natural-color image of the Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada on 15 May 2011. Photo: Robert Simmon / NASA Earth Observatory] [Hopefully, the market will decide against further expansion of this disaster.] By Jen Alic, OilPrice.com 31 March 2013 France’s Total SA (NYSE: TOT) will sell its 49% stake in its Canadian oil sands project to Suncor Energy Inc. for $500 million, netting the French oil giant a $1.65 billion loss on the beleaguered project. Total would have had to spend another $5 billion (at least) on the Alberta oil sands Voyage... more »

Of the Not Normal, We're Really Not Normal

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 hour ago
Look, there was a thing going around the blogs yesterday about the twitters, which started when Nick Beaudrot said something smart. Or at least, it sounded smart to me. And then Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias and Kevin Drum all said things about it. Beaudrot has a follow-up today. I could get into it more, in which case I'd probably take a position about twitter working differently for different people, and not being for everyone. But here's the problem: Drum talked about "the verbal, well-educated, politically conscious social group that most bloggers belong to," but the truth is tha... more »

A day in the life

risa bear at A Way to Live - 1 hour ago
After coffee and breakfast, Risa lets the poultry out, checks their food and water, collects duck eggs, and waters the flats in the "greenhouse" (potting shed with glass south wall). Besides the potting bench in the greenhouse, she keeps a "spring bench" on the north wall of the house, halfway to the garden, for hardening off. Not only is this easy on the back, it's a far piece for slugs and snails to get into the pots. Here we have peas, yellow storage onions, and assorted greens. Below is the garden kneeler, some suds "chitting," and the planting-out tray. The flats, tray and b... more »

Record-sized Lake Erie algae bloom of 2011 likely to become regular occurrence, study says – ‘Everything is trending in the direction of conditions conducive to more large blooms’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 1 hour ago
[image: This sequence of satellite photos of Lake Erie's western basin shows the progress of the 2011 algae bloom. A: June 1, soon after a surge of fertilizer-loaded storm runoff from the Maumee River has flowed into the lake basin; B: July 19, as the bloom begins to grow; C: July 31, about two weeks after the bloom's start; D: August 11, as the bloom spreads east toward the central basin; E: Sept. 3, as the bloom reaches the central basin and a second phase forms on the basin's north shore; F: Oct. 9, as the bloom begins to decline in the western basin. Photo: University of Wisco... more »

CUT DOWN BY MANGANESE

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 2 hours ago
International steel magnate Samancor is charged with putting profits before workers' rights. Former employees at their Johannesburg, South Africa plant are dying from manganese poisoning. There is growing concern that many workers at Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Maine are exposed to manganese poisoning as they cut steel to make Navy destroyers. The dust created is inhaled and over time destroys the person. There are stories that many workers have been developing symptoms similar to those in this video but when they went to the doctors provided by BIW they were asked if they "wanted t... more »

Monbiot on the "Inveterate Bastards" Who Have Hijacked Our Democracy

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 2 hours ago
He writes of the plight of Britons but he could as easily be speaking to you. *Most of the world's people are decent, honest and kind. Most of those who dominate us are inveterate bastards...* *"With a most inhuman cruelty, they who have put out the people's eyes reproach them of their blindness." This government, whose mismanagement of the economy has forced so many into the arms of the state, blames the sick, the unemployed, the underpaid for a crisis caused by the feral elite – and punishes them accordingly. Most of those affected by the bedroom tax, introduced today, are disa... more »

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 2 hours ago
White bird. [Charles Glatzer photo]

Video: Two very different reports on China’s ghost cities

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 2 hours ago
Desdemona has been following the “ghost city” story since *Business Insider*first collected satellite photos of new, empty cities in China in 2010. NBC News did a story on the ghosts that haunt China’s landscape in 2012. *Business Insider *has a new story for 2013: Scary new satellite pictures of China’s ghost cities. Now, Wade Shepard provides another perspective. First, here’s the *60 Minutes* report from 3 March 2013. Contrast that with the *Vagabond Journey* report from 29 March 2013. By Wade Shepard 29 March 2013 (Vagabond Journey) – “We discovered that the most populated ... more »

Air pollution linked to 1.2 million premature deaths in China

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 2 hours ago
[image: Shanghai in January. Researchers said the toll from China’s pollution meant the loss of 25 million healthy years in 2010. Photo: Aly Song / Reuters] By EDWARD WONG 1 April 2013 BEIJING (The New York Times) – Outdoor air pollution contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths in China in 2010, nearly 40 percent of the global total, according to a new summary of data from a scientific study on leading causes of death worldwide. Figured another way, the researchers said, China’s toll from pollution was the loss of 25 million healthy years of life from the population. The da... more »

Iraq’s Oil Exports Recover in February 2013 After Two-Month Decline

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 2 hours ago
December 2012 and January 2013 saw a large drop in Iraq’s exports from what were record highs in the previous months. Finally, in February, foreign shipments were able to recover, while prices went up as well. Iraq’s oil industry is still at a plateau, which has happened in the last several years. Tanker docked in southern Iraq. The southern pipeline carries the majority of the country’s exports and saw an increased flow in Feb. 2013 (*AFP*) The flow through Iraq’s two major pipelines increased in February 2013. The southern pipeline saw an average of 2.196 million barrels a day ... more »

Chris Hedges Takes Down Intellectual America - Iggy's On His List Too

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 2 hours ago
To Chris Hedges, America's *intelligentsia* are a pack of sell-outs who showed their true colours when they lined up to support George w. Bush's war on Iraq. And Hedges is naming names: *The war boosters, especially the “liberal hawks”—who included Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Al Franken and John Kerry, along with academics, writers and journalists such as Bill Keller, Michael Ignatieff, Nicholas Kristof, David Remnick, Fareed Zakaria, Michael Walzer, Paul Berman,Thomas Friedman, George Packer, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Kanan Makiya and the late Christopher Hitchens—did what th... more »

...And Hilarity Ensued: The CKS Design Contest Pwned

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 2 hours ago
*The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall website at about 6 pm today. The CKS Design Competition is on the right sidebar, in glorious pink.* The Ministry of Culture really did it this week with its announcement of a CKS Design Contest (event website). The purpose of the contest -- no I'm not kidding you, please finish chewing all the food in your mouth and don't drink anything for the next minute or so -- was to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Soong Mei-ling, celebrate the love that Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling had for one another, and of course, celebrate Chinese culture. Th... more »

ACTION: Nobel Peace Prize to Bradley Manning

2old2care at Because I Can - 2 hours ago
From common Dreams Published on Monday, April 1, 2013 by Common Dreams An Outpouring of Love and Support for Bradley Manning to Receive the Nobel Peace Prize by Norman Solomon During the last week of March, more than 30,000 people signed a petition urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Bradley Manning. While the numbers continue to mount on the petition website, so do the comments from individual signers.Pfc. Bradley Manning (Portrait by Robert Shetterly / AmericansWhoTellTheTruth.org) Thousands have already written personal notes to explain their... more »

Former TFA Corps Members Planning TFA Protest in Chicago

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 3 hours ago
Click to enlarge.

Earth-cooling schemes need global sign-off, researchers say – ‘How do you get a consensus with seven billion-plus stakeholders?’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 3 hours ago
[image: Grimsvotn volcano erupts in Iceland in 2011. Solar radiation management schemes spray particles into the atmosphere to simulate cooling effects of volcanic eruptions. Photo: Egill Adalsteinsson / EPA] By Ian Sample, science correspondent 31 March 2013 (The Guardian) – Controversial geoengineering projects that may be used to cool the planet must be approved by world governments to reduce the danger of catastrophic accidents, British scientists said. Met Office researchers have called for global oversight of the radical schemes after studies showed they could have huge and... more »

ACTION:A Million Comments Against Keystone XL

2old2care at Because I Can - 3 hours ago
from 350.orgDEADLINE - April 22nd Easy to do - a VERY EASYLess than a minute of your timeA Million Comments Against Keystone XL The State Department's official public comment period on Keystone XL Pipeline is now open -- and it's a crucial opportunity for us to flood them with comments. We'll take your comments and deliver them directly and immediately to the the State Department. *If you missed the hints* *Click >>>HERE<<<<*

Mexico: Paranormal "Shadow Play" in Yucatan

Inexplicata (IHU) at Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology - 3 hours ago
*Source: Revista Voces del Misterio Date: 04.02.13* *Mexico: Paranormal “Shadow Play” in Yucatan* *By Jorge Moreno – SIPSE* Today it is our readers’ turn to tell us their paranormal experiences and stories. This time, Mr. Sebastian Pech contacted us about an “evil shadow” that can be seen in such places as Sitpach and Cholul, commissariats of Mérida located right across from each other. Sebastián says that his uncle, whose name is Marcial Pat, told him that a long time ago his grandfather spoke of “the shadow that chases you”, referring to a shadow that had a life of its own and... more »

GATEKEEPERS DOWN: Sisters’ fact at the Washington Post!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 3 hours ago
*TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013* *Part 2—Close enough for newspaper work:* Are white males disproportionately numbered among the nation’s mass shooters? Presumably, it depends on how you define “mass shooter.” However you define the term, we will assume that males *in general* are disproportionately numbered among that group. That said, among the men who engage in mass shootings, are *white* men disproportionately numbered? We have no idea—and there is no particular sign that Charlotte Childress and Harriet Childress know the answer either. That said, facts and logic aren’t required when y... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 3 hours ago
*State Farm never called Katrina 'water' storm, adjuster testifies ~Anita Lee, Sun Herald* *A “Nowdygram” on the latest developments in USA Ex Rel Rigsby v State Farm ~Slabbed* *Student newspaper editor sues LSU governing board over search for president * *A Quick Drink: Brandy ~Blackened Out* *Rescue Effort for Tujague’s, a New Orleans Mainstay ~Roger Simonson, NYT* Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2013/04/01/4563908/state-farm-never-called-katrina.html#wgt=rcntnews#storylink=cpy

Raise your Integrity

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Pielke, Jr.) at Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog - 3 hours ago
At the *Financial Post* (Canada) Ross McKitrick has a very good op-ed on the Marcott mess and its larger consequences: In recent years there have been a number of cases in which high-profile papers from climate scientists turned out, on close inspection, to rely on unseemly tricks, fudges and/or misleading analyses. After they get uncovered in the blogosphere, the academic community rushes to circle the wagons an denounce any criticism as "denialism." There's denialism going on all right -- on the part of scientists who don't see that their continuing defence of these kind of prac... more »

My Favorite Book "Boyfriends"

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 3 hours ago
Have you linked your projects/book reviews up to Creative Showcase yet this week? My husband always jokes that he has to share me with all of my "boyfriends." I have loved to read ever since I was a child and I read anywhere between two and eighteen books in a single week, so he has often found himself eating cold cereal while I enjoy dinnertime with a favorite read. Here are some of my favorite "swoon worthy" men from my latest reads. I am linking up with the Broke and the Bookish. 1. Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices- In the first Infernal Devices book Will is abra... more »

Are South Carolina Republicans Going To Hand Elizabeth Colbert Busch A Path To Victory Today?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 3 hours ago
Today is run-off day in South Carolina's first congressional district, a strip of coast below Myrtle Beach and Georgetown almost as far as Savannah's suburbs (including white Charleston south of Calhoun Street). On Saturday we pointed out that underdog Curtis Bostic had Man-On-Dog Rick Santorum campaigning for him-- as well as hilarious endorsements from Ann Coulter, religious right charlatan James Dobson, and the district's former congressman, once-removed, Henry Brown. Conventional wisdom has it that this deeply red district-- Romney beat Obama 58.3-40.2% (mostly because the lat... more »

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 4 hours ago
Happy Birthday to Clark Gregg, 51. Good stuff: 1. Melissa Harris-Perry on NSF Funding and Political Science. 2. Good catch from Dave Weigel: once sequestration hit, people lost interest, at least in "sequestration" as a topic. Presumably fully media and politician driven. 3. While sequestration actually is doing pretty much what was expected, as Sam Stein and Amanda Terkel report. 4. And Dylan Matthews has a nice in-on-chart on the various budget proposals. My main caveats: it matters how detailed the plans are (Ryan's, notoriously, are not). It matters, too, as a few of us discu... more »

Why I Am Going to DC April 4-7

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 4 hours ago
JIM HORN: WHY I AM COMING TO OCCUPY THE DEPT. OF ED. IN DC Posted on March 3, 2013 I am coming to ODOE2 to remember and honor so many who cannot come and for so many of the forgotten victims of high stakes standardized testing. I am coming to DC for that Louisiana 4th grader in 2002 whose heart could be heard pounding across the desk by the teacher who had to tell him he would be in the 4th grade for the third time because he didn’t pass the state test. I am coming to DC for that other 4th grade child who scooted from his wheelchair and hid under the bed, for god’s sakes, because he... more »

Profoundly Ignorant

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 4 hours ago
Natalie Brender writes, in the *Toronto Star*, that the federal government's decision to withdraw from the UN anti drought convention is an enigma: The Harper government’s latest nose-thumbing at the UN is a baffling move that lacks any obvious political advantage to balance out the sizeable blows it inflicts on the government’s domestic and international credibility. It is taking this government’s foreign policy past the sphere of contentiousness into the realm of unfathomability. The reasons offered for the decision make no sense: The $350,000 savings to taxpayers from leavi... more »

April Is World Autism Awareness Month

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 4 hours ago
Source: http://www.homefromhomecare.com/

ALEC Ag-Gag Bills Cannot Be Ignored

2old2care at Because I Can - 4 hours ago
If you think the current edition of the ALEC ag-gag bills can be ignored - because you are not an animal acitivist - think again. There is so much more that has to be considered. Remember amendments to laws happen all the time!!! The history of the ALEC Ag-Gag Bill Most people don’t realize that the Ag-Gag Bill by ALEC has been around for over 10 years. In an article written in 2003 the following snips are important to remember about the initial intent of the ALEC ag-gag bill. 9/29/2003 Model Legislation Targets Ecological Terrorists Model legislation creating penalties for perso... more »

Christian Exodus in Middle East

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 6 hours ago
The immediate and easy answer to Muslim oppression is migration to any part of the Non Islamic world. What is worse, it has become progressively easier. Traditional ties to the land have become irrelevant with the full advent of modernism. You really do not want to live there anymore. All of my many ancestors left small tracts of hereditary land and centuries of folk traditions behind and left their so called homelands. Those were proud traditions but still completely dispensable. The twentieth century saw many such corrective migrations. All eliminated oppression ... more »

Flow Batteries Advancing

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 6 hours ago
We are still in the laboratory, but the technology is so basic that the technical problems will be overcome. Type is not mentioned here and cost does matter. The real take home is that inexpensive and stable energy storage is a huge fix to our present system. It will easily double our available energy if not a lot better than that. Add this to automotive energy storage and you have a densely distributed energy system that can run full out 24/7 filling batteries as efficiently as possible. It also becomes immune to grid failure. This is a huge boost in reliability as ... more »

Rutile Reveals History

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 6 hours ago
Yes rutile will survive and gather information. It also happens to be the best mineral for titanium extraction which pretty well explains its ability to survive. This sounds as if we are able to do far more with a scant sample than we ever imagined. Thus rutile will serve a key application as a pathfinder to mineral deposits and their ancient formation. *A tiny grain helps reveal the history of a rock* * by Staff Writers* * Gothenburg, Germany (SPX) Mar 27, 2013* * "We can identify the rock from which the rutile originates, even if we only have a tiny grain of rut... more »

Fable of the Dragon Tyrant

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 6 hours ago
I have not fully voiced this paradigm, but life extension is now becoming feasible. It is even hinted at in the cultural data and powerfully stated in the original colonizing report in Genesis. The rate of understanding is accelerating and it is becoming reasonable to expect this outcome. Generally though, we will chose our time of death and this will be generally in the third century. Obviously that is a superior outcome to the present dispensation. This curious fable makes the argument that it is time to invest heavily. On the other hand, it is more correct to note ... more »

UCSC study: sea lions like Backstreet Boys

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 6 hours ago
*...but the metronome is pretty good, too...* The University of California in Santa Cruz – where I spent the first half of the year 2000 – has done research into the question which mammals aside from humans like Backstreet Boys. And I must emphasize that this is not an April fool's joke. The winner is Ronan, a sea lion. You might conjecture – and people have conjectured – that pinnipeds and similar mammals are way too primitive. Unlike humans and parrots – the latter are role models for many humans while they see other humans as their role models, sea lions don't display vocal... more »

Obama use school shooting to disarm America? posted August 2010, thread locked.

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 7 hours ago
I've tried, as much as possible, to stay out of ANY debate on the Sandy Hook school slaughter incident. Why? It was just rotten, rotten to the core. I mean, I did a little piece about it, about Sandy Hook, in fact about the Sandy Hook Tribute To The Victims which arrived on Vimeo and other video sharing sites in NOVEMBER of 2012. Even if you believed that 'some hacker' group or individual had gone about glad-fingeredly altering datestamps on relevant FB and YT files, you didn't even need to look into it. You didn't need to 'get involved'. There was so much 'factionism' and 'in-figh... more »

Five Lessons from the Financial Crisis

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 7 hours ago
From Olivier Blanchard.

IPR and Medicines 27: More on Glivec and India's SC Decision

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 7 hours ago
A friend in our local health coalition, CHAT, commented in my earlier article, Novartis' Glivec and India's IPR Ruling and argued that *(A) medicine to be patentable should be NEW. This in essence only disallows evergreening of patents which seems to be what Novartis tried in the India case. And which most super power countries like the US and EU where most MNCs are from, would like to change through the insertion of TRIPs plus provisions in bilateral FTAs. * *Precisely why the TRIPs flexibilites are in place is to promote the primacy of public health and ensure that developing and... more »

Quarter One Local By-Election Results 2013

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 8 hours ago
Polls have their place, but only actual, real elections quench the psephological thirst of many a politics anorak. Wishing to "give something back" to "the community", I've been tracking local by-election results over the course of this last quarter. You can find them below. Party No. Contests % Vote % Average Wins +/- Conservative 36 97 13,322 21.9 370 6 -7 Labour 33 89 23,033 37.8 698 18 +3 LibDem 28 76 7,750 12.7 277 8 +4 UKIP 24 65 5,668 9.3 236 2 +2 SNP* 3 2,223 3.6 741 0 -1 Plaid Cymru** 1 54 0.1 54 0 0 Green 15 40 1,929 ... more »

dream - massive most insane global alien invasion dream ever - where do I get the sensory resolution and the emotional depth?

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 9 hours ago
*where do they get this scale from?*how do people do it? how do us 'mere humans' go about organising the internal turmoil, grief and panic to create such spectacular scenes such as Global Alien Invasion? how are dreamers like you, me and all those before us able to imbue our nightly 'domestic sorting duties' with such spectacularly apocalyptic detail, in terms of both pixel resolution, sound and entities within the simulation, if these things aren't a) real events from our past or future b) real events from a different 'dreamer' planet or c) we're just a lot more creative AT EVERY L... more »

At last something for every lefty in Britain - Guardian Goggles'

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 9 hours ago
I presume that this is an April Fools Day spoof, but I am sure that there are many at the BBC just crying out for such a device.

CREATING YOUR REALITY?

Anon at aangirfan - 9 hours ago
"Recently I took a trip from California to the East Coast with my older very bossy and vocal cat, who has never been outdoors except for annual visits to the vet. "She cries out loudly every time she is put into the carrier and shivers nervously until we are on our way home. "I knew that the plane ride could either be a nightmare with her being upset, meowing loudly and disturbing other passengers, or shivering and causing me alarm... "I told my kitty we were going on an adventure. "I said, 'You’ll be with me every moment. You’re going to feel safe, loved and secure and you’ll b... more »

Time and the Soul - Interview with Dr. Jacob Needleman

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 11 hours ago
*Wikipedia:* Jacob Needleman (born October 6, 1934) is an American philosopher. He is professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University. He was educated in philosophy at Harvard University, Yale University and the University of Freiburg, Germany. Needleman has published many books, most of which draw from G. I. Gurdjieff. Video Title: Time and the Soul - Interview with Dr. Jacob Needleman. YouTube Video Description - [Channel: Michael Goorjian. Uploaded on May 22, 2012]: Based on the writings of internationally acclaimed philosopher Jacob Needleman, Time and the Soul f... more »

Anti-Smoke Belching Racket, Part 5

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 11 hours ago
The Anti-Smoke Belching Units (ASBUs) of various city governments in Metro Manila are now among the modern highway robbers and road terrorists. These photos I took last February 14, 2013, afternoon. I was riding an air-con bus and have a good, elevated view of the other side of Buendia, Makati CBD-bound. These people flag down closed vans, AUVs and pick ups that run on diesel engines. They NEVER stop jeepneys or government (red plate) vehicles that also run on diesel engines. Below are some troubling comments from ordinary motorists. The 5th comment, below, was made only this morn... more »

GLADIO; TURKEY

Anon at aangirfan - 12 hours ago
*Gladio B* - Genie at The world we swim in "Connecting NATO's Gladio operations to Turkish paramilitaries and ultra-nationalists... "How the operation continues through cooperation with terrorists and the Islamization of Central Asia and the Caucasus. "From Abdullah Çatlı's remarkable life (and death) to the rise of Fethullah Gulen's $25 billion (CIA-supported) Islamic network to the NATO takeover of the Afghan poppy crop in the wake of 9/11, you won't want to miss a moment of this riveting conversation." *Air Force chemtrails manual extracts* Tapestry at the tap

Wanna Know How Cyprus (And the Rest of the Countries Already In Line) Could Crash the Currency-Centered Crowd? Clusterfuck Alert!

Here's how John Mauldin tells the tale (and it's a long'un so get a tall drink before you get started): . . . Cyprus is a former British colony that gained independence in 1960 after years of resistance. The island covers a total of 9,251 km² (roughly half the size of Connecticut) and is split along ethnic lines between the northern third, which is largely Turkish Cypriot, and the southern

The Humor Of The Global Warming Nutters Never Ceases To Amaze Me: Irish Newspaper Claims That Spring Snows Are A Sign Of Global Warming (!)

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 12 hours ago
Right now, there is about 3 feet of snow still on the ground around here, and daytime temperatures in this part of Canada are hovering some 5-10 degrees Celcius below seasonal normals. We just completed what may be one of the coldest months of March on record, and there is little change now starting in April. It is again further proof that the nutjobs behind the Global Warming scam should be running to the hills for trying to continue to claim falsely that the world is heating up! But fear not, for the nuts behind the Global Warming scam are still trying desperately to convince ... more »

Pinos en la orilla del rio de agua clara

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Pinos en la orilla del rio de agua clara] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de árboles* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Hermoso amanecer en las montañas de flores

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Hermoso amanecer en las montañas de flores] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de amaneceres* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Hada blanca con su varita magica

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Hada blanca con su varita magica] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de hadas* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Cascada de agua verde rodeada de flores

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Cascada de agua verde rodeada de flores] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de cascadas* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Caballo negro corriendo en los pastizales

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Caballo negro corriendo en los pastizales] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de caballos* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Bella isla junto a las montañas cubiertas de nieve

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Bella isla junto a las montañas cubiertas de nieve] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de islas* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Love And Marriage, Horse And Carriage... Conservatism And Corruption

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 12 hours ago
A few days ago I happened to mention-- just in passing-- that there is no way, and has never been a way, to separate conservatism from corruption. The two have always gone hand in hand, as they do today. And I'm not just talking about the Republican Party, the Blue Dogs and New Dems or even just the United States. All through history and all over the world conservatism and corruption have had a symbiotic relationship. Tyler Durden uncoveredhow it worked in the big Cyprus bank robbery. A little background: Cyprus' new president, Nicos Anastasiades, is a right-wing hack politician, h... more »

Thinking about my summer vacation in Chicago...

2old2care at Because I Can - 13 hours ago
I've got cabin fever - time for sunshine and other things. MM...MM...MM August 7 - 9

This Is No Joke: Newest Canadian Budget Has Made Bank Accounts In Canada As Safe As Those In Cyprus!

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 13 hours ago
It is April 1st, and traditionally, this is the date that many pranksters come out and pull their puns on unsuspecting individuals, only to finish the prank by saying "April Fool"..... But what I have seen in a recent article from the Activist Post website, at www.activistpost.com, is absolutely no joke... For it appears, according to this article, entitled: "Canadian Deposits As Safe As Cypriot Deposits", that the criminal Canadian Harper Regime in Ottawa has quietly and sneakily placed a major provision in their 2013 Canadian federal budget that calls for Canadians to be on the h... more »

EUROZONE: The Finance Ministers’ Salon

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 13 hours ago
* * * * *The Finance Ministers’ Salon* by Paula Humfrey April 1, 2013 I can't help it: the whirl of 'Eurozone finance minister' imagery in the articles that I've been reading since Cyprus' crash began in earnest last week is so evocative that there's no way I can resist bi-locating back to Paris, to the weeks just before the start of the French Revolution. Think 1789. The Bastille is still standing, but it won't be for much longer. We already know this. I find myself channeling Julie Lespinasse, one of the more storied salonnières of the French Enlightenment. She knew how to brin... more »

Fool's Day 2013

Batocchio at Vagabond Scholar - 14 hours ago
Happy Fool's Day! This time, in honor of the purity wars, I thought I'd feature an Emo Philips story I referenced last year: (Given my nom de blog, the Italian subtitles are a nice bonus.) Here's an animated version.

Video Interlude With Nature: James Horner, Soundtrack, “Legends Of The Fall”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
James Horner, Soundtrack, “Legends Of The Fall” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtxdl36WnC8

Re-post from January: A Conversation w/Heather Tucci-Jarraf

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 14 hours ago
*Re-post from January: A Conversation w/Heather Tucci-Jarraf* Thanks D for the idea of re-posting this video. This is the first recorded conversation we had with Heather from back in early January. Many people have reported to have gone back and re-listened to this dialogue and it helped them to put some of the pieces together. One day soon, the need to find answers beyond ourselves will be a thing of the past. Until then, I am happy to continue pointing those searching in the direction of Truth. Much Love and Gratitude to ALL <3 ~ Brian

"A Look From The Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
"Many wonders are visible when flying over the Earth at night. A compilation of such visual spectacles was captured recently from the International Space Station (ISS) and set to rousing music. Passing below are white clouds, orange city lights, lightning flashes in thunderstorms, and dark blue seas. On the horizon is the golden haze of Earth's thin atmosphere, frequently decorated by dancing auroras as the video progresses. The green parts of auroras typically remain below the space station, but the station flies right through the red and purple auroral peaks. Solar panels of... more »

Chet Raymo, “Into The Pool”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
*“Into The Pool”* by Chet Raymo “Let's start with a bit of late-Victorian soft porn, “Hylas and the Nymphs”, painted in 1896 by the Pre-Raphaelite John William Waterhouse. (Click to enlarge.) Hylas is one of the Argonauts, sailing with Jason in quest of the Golden Fleece. While the ship is stopped at an island, he goes in search of fresh water. As he stoops to fill his jug at a woodland spring he encounters a bevy of naiads, who fall madly in love with the heartbreakingly handsome youth. They invite him into the pool- and he is never heard from again. Did he find with thos... more »

Do-it-yourself gated communities and police in Honduras

paul at Paying attention - 15 hours ago
Gated communities are different in Honduras. New subdivisions in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, the two big cities, tend to be built behind walls and gates. But that happens in North America too. But people in existing neighbourhoods also throw up their own barricades and gates, blocking city streets into the neighbourhood with concrete blocks or corrugated steel and allowing limited, controlled entrance. There are no permits, or traffic studies. One day you can drive through, and the next you can’t - at least without showing ID and explaining where you’re going. La Prensa reported ... more »

Is this photo grounds for death?

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 15 hours ago
[image: One of the pictures Amina posted on social media.]Should this photo be grounds for death? It is in a Moslem country: Two weeks ago, a young Tunisian woman known only by the name “Amina” posted political self portraits to Facebook to protest the continued oppression of women in the Arab world’s first democracy. Posing topless, one photo (right) featured Amina smoking with the Arabic declaration “my body belongs to me, and is not the source of the honour of anyone” scrawled across her chest; the other showed Amina standing defiantly, her middle fingers raised to camera... more »

Wherein I praise Lady Gaga for the first time

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 15 hours ago
I appreciate her worth ethic and her originality but I've never cared much for her music. Nonetheless, I'm impressed Lady Gaga turned down $1 million to perform for the RNC. And they pitched hard to get her: Jennings, whose company is being sued by AAN, was instructed by Meachum to try to make the offer to Lady Gaga more tempting by telling her it would be an event "honoring women who run for public office." "Also, tell them that $150,000 will go towards a domestic violence shelter," Meachum further instructed Jennings in an effort to make the offer harder for Lady Gaga to refuse.... more »

U.S. dominated global disaster losses in 2012: Swiss Re

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 15 hours ago
[image: This photo provided by 6abc Action News shows the Inlet section of Atlantic City, N.J., as Hurricane Sandy makes its approach, 29 October 2012. Sandy made landfall at 8 p.m. near Atlantic City, which was already mostly under water and saw a piece of its world-famous Boardwalk washed away earlier in the day. Photo: Dann Cuellar / 6abc Action News / AP Photo] By Andrew Freedman 1 April 2013 (Climate Central) – The insurance industry had its third-most expensive year on record in 2012, with global economic losses from natural catastrophes and manmade disasters totaling $186 ... more »

Cease & Desist Orders for Bankers

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 15 hours ago
On Apr 1, 2013, at 2:00 PM, Paula Humfrey wrote: AK, following below is a manifesto to park in front of Eurozone Cease & Desist orders for bankers (also found below): Manifesto: There was always destined to be a single trigger to bring down the Eurozone, which is recognized as an inherently unstable system. Cyprus appears to be pulling that trigger. Derivatives will take down the entire zone very shortly, and the global cascade that follows this event will be immediate. There is no ‘ring fencing’, no preventative to ‘contagion’, when the exposure of even the smallest of Eurozo... more »

Let's hear directly from AZ GOP Rep. Matt Salmon's gay son Matt

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
*The "It Gets Better" video posted by "Matt in Phoenix"* *"It's impossible to be brave without first being afraid."* *-- young Matt, replying to a comment posted on his video* *by Ken* Howie wrote this morning ("Republican Homophobia in Arizona? Jeff Flake Vs Matt Salmon") about the weekend TV babbling of a couple of Arizona right-wingers, Rep. Matt Salmon and Sen. Jeff Flake, dancing around the issue of same-sex marriage. The interesting wrinkle is that Representative Salmon has a son who happens to be gay. The congressman made clear that on the issue of marriage equality he's n... more »

Legacy Lollapalooza

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 16 hours ago
What's more absurd -- the national obsession over a *New York Times*obituary co-celebrating a female rocket scientist's domestic and professional skills, or the national obsession with the legacy of a president who's only halfway through his eight-year gig? There are tasteless obits and then there are tasteless obits. But to be frank, I find the hoopla over Stroganoff-gate to be no less silly than the endless awful offal about how every Obamian burp, tooth-flash and fart will contribute to his almighty Legacy. Google "Obama Legacy" and you get 94,100,000 hits. Google "President Clin... more »

Morality of Capitalism

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 16 hours ago
Is capitalism in crisis? Is it in *moral* crisis? Is capitalism itself moral? Important questions. Ayn Rand Institute head Yaron Brook answers them, respectively: no, no, hell yes, Philosopher David Schweickart responds, by contrast: yes, yes, hell no. They debate: [Hat tip Laissez Faire] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

Ave exótica volando entre los árboles

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 16 hours ago
[image: Ave exótica volando entre los árboles] *Nota:* Click aquí para ver más *imágenes de aves* Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

OLIVER STONE ON JEJU

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 17 hours ago
Regis Tremblay interviewed filmmaker Oliver Stone for his new documentary on Jeju Island. Here are some outtakes from the interview that took place last week.

Removing the Shackles: Notes from Heather and D from April 1st

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 17 hours ago
*AK Note: The following is from D's blog post today. I have fixed some of spellings and formatting for this blog, and changed the Galactic Federation from a mix of GFL and GF to only GF. There appears to be a bogus group run by the divines posing as the Galactic Federation of Light (GFL), and then there's the Galactic Federation (GF) a real group of Galactics who are here to help out. Its a different brand name if you will... You've probably noticed a sharp decline in channelings from GFL sources since January. The channelers mean well, the "divines" and immortals fooled many p... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 17 hours ago
Torrance, California, USA. Thanks for stopping by.

“The Adventure of My Defunct Hard Drive”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 17 hours ago
*“The Adventure of My Defunct Hard Drive”* by Alexander Reed Kelly “In the everyday game between man and corporation, it is taken for granted that the house always prevails. Apple’s winning streak hit a snag last week however, when I won an exception to the company’s policy governing the replacement of warrantied hard drives. My laptop stopped working late at night Friday. When I sat down at my desk, an icon of a folder with a question mark in the middle blinked in and out of the screen’s white glow, while a soft clicking came from beneath the keyboard. I bought the machine... more »

ALEC Legislators Forced to Eat Hotel Food

2old2care at Because I Can - 17 hours ago
Couldn’t help thinking about this today: From about a week ago – a right-winger whining about ALEC being picked on and he wrote: The New Hampshire branch of the liberal wing-nut industry is anchored by Granite State Progress. Their current obsession is the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. ALEC invites members of state legislatures to go to conferences, eat hotel food, sit through PowerPoints, and share legislative ideas. Oh my – those ALEC members are going to be forced to EAT HOTEL FOOD. forced to EAT HOTEL FOOD forced - - - - - - to EAT HOTEL FOOD Well – a cou... more »

Satire: “Citing Exhaustion, Kim Jong-un To Stop Threatening The World On Weekends”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 17 hours ago
*“Citing Exhaustion, Kim Jong-un To Stop * *Threatening The World On Weekends”* by Andy Borowitz PYONGYANG (The Borowitz Report)— ”Saying that he could “no longer keep up the punishing pace of sabre rattling seven days a week,” North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un said today that beginning this month he will take weekends off from vowing to incinerate the world. After the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a revised April Threat Schedule showing that Kim’s declarations of war and doomsday ultimatums would be limited to Monday through Friday, North Korea’s Supre... more »

American English

Russell Potter at History of the English Language - 17 hours ago
The history of American English usage marks the most recent, and in some ways the most dramatic set of changes in English since the days of Chaucer and Shakespeare. And yet, in this change, there was no single author, no single literary or political influence to credit, or blame; like the United States itself it was a patchwork affair, arrived at by degrees and with contributions from both immigrants and indigenous peoples over a period of more than four hundred years. There is, however, one name that is often linked to some of the key changes in spelling and usage which made Amer... more »

Kierkegaard On Martyrs of Truth

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 17 hours ago
Related: * * *Kierkegaard On Socratic Ignorance*. *Kierkegaard On "Man."** * *Kierkegaard On Socrates And The Immortality of The Soul.* *Kierkegaard On God's Love.* *Kierkegaard On Passion.* Below is an excerpt from, "The Soul of Kierkegaard: Selections from His Journals." Edited by Alexander Dru. Dover Publications, Inc: Mineola, New York. 2003. Pg. 229-30. There is one thought which has been in my soul and occupied it from my earliest years, inexplicably deeply rooted, a thought which has to do with Socrates as a model, the man to whom I have been inexplicably related from ... more »

"I Insist On The Right..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 17 hours ago
"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." - James A. Baldwin • Me too, James, me too... and I will. We can do *so* much better, *be* so much better... - CP

Cyprus and the Unravelling of Fractional-Reserve Banking

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 18 hours ago
[image: Photo of Joseph T. Salerno]*Why is Cyprus important? Because for one moment the curtain slipped, and modern banking was revealed again as just the latest version of the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes.’ Guest poster Joseph Salerno explains:* The “Cyprus deal” as it has been widely referred to in the media may mark the next to last act in the the slow motion collapse of fractional-reserve banking that began with the implosion of the savings-and-loan industry in the U.S. in the late 1980s. This trend continued with the currency crises in Russia, Mexico, East Asia, and Argentina in ... more »

DOWN TO THE DOCTOR’S: My Asian Expedition, (the Other) Hitchens on Guns, and Cowperthwaite on Statistics

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 18 hours ago
*[image: _McGrath001]This week, **Libertarianz** leader Dr Richard McGrath has been allowed out.* I write this from the "land of the free" - from a country never colonised by Western powers: Thailand. More specifically, my better half and I are spending a few days at the Sheraton Hotel in Hua Hin, three hours drive from Bangkok. And I've got to say, it's pretty damn good here - we're staying at a luxury resort on the western coast of the Gulf of Thailand, with cooling offshore winds that offer relief from the otherwise unrelenting heat (lately 35 degrees during the day, dipping to... more »

The Realist Report with John Friend

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 19 hours ago
On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined by Rodney Martin, Director of *World View Foundations* and Co-Founder of the American Nationalist Association. This is the premier broadcast of The Realist Report on the American Nationalist Network, the new home for the American Nationalist Association. Rodney and I will be discussing the *Statement of Purpose and Statement of Objectives of the American Nationalist Association*, including our position on *Christianity, religion and spiritual matters*and on *the necessity of combining nationalism with historical revisionism* ... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago

Ginsburg and the Senate

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 19 hours ago
Over the weekend, I had a Salon column arguing that Ruth Bader Ginsburg should retire at the end of the current Supreme Court term (with retirement taking effect upon confirmation of her replacement). Today, I did a follow-up looking at where the votes would fall in the Senate. A few more thoughts...first: I don't understand the objections that this line of thought is insulting to Ginsburg, or what I think is a related argument that SCOTUS should be above politics. I think that's a real misunderstanding of the Court. It's true that Supreme Court justices don't, and shouldn't, simply... more »

Ex-CNN Reporter, Amber Lyon: I Received Orders to Manipulate News to Demonize Syria and Iran

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 19 hours ago
*Ex-CNN Reporter, Amber Lyon: I Received Orders to Manipulate News to Demonize Syria and Iran* * * *http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6f8_1364689575 * * * PRAGUE, (SANA)- Ex-CNN reporter Amber Lyon revealed that during her work for the channel she received orders to send false news and exclude some others which the US administration did not favor with the aim to create a public opinion in favor of launching an aggression on Iran and Syria. Lyon was quoted by the Slovak main news website as saying that the mainstream US media outlets intentionally work to create a propaganda ag... more »

The Lucy Lawless Law [updated]

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 19 hours ago
The job of government is to protect individual rights. So whose rights are being infringed with Simon Bridges’s new law that “would stop deep sea protesters ‘from doing dangerous acts, with business interests with ships”, he said. This could result in 12 months’ jail or a $50,000 to $100,000 fine depending on whether it was for an individual or body corporate…’”? [image: _Lucy Lawless]This new law is in direct response to Steve Abel’s efforts off the East Cape, and those of Lucy Lawless and a grab-bag of fellow fruitcakes in occupying an oil exploration ship berthed at New Plymout... more »

God Save Me From A Normal Life — Part Four

What Is Sustainable at What Is Sustainable - 19 hours ago
OK, so our modern civilized world is lost, but we’re starting to wake up to the notion that we’ve travelled a long ways down a dead path, because we have been guided by a dead vision. We didn’t create this vision, we inherited it, and we have (so far) been unable to summon the power to acknowledge its fatal defects, reject it, and outgrow it — a long and difficult process. Luckily, as we move beyond the temporary bubble of abundant energy, the unfolding collapse will undermine the dead vision. The portion of the vision related to perpetual growth and insatiable consumption will ... more »

Karl Denninger, "Yes, The Looting IS In The Open"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
*"Yes, The Looting IS In The Open"* by Karl Denninger "The simple fact of the matter is that we have now degenerated from a society based on the Rule of Law to one that is based on stealing whatever is not nailed down and half of what is, use the guns that government has to suppress the "little people", and do your level damndest best to take their guns lest they shoot you- which, incidentally, is exactly what a looter both deserves and under the law is entitled to receive. Money laundering by large international banks has reached epidemic proportions, and U.S. authorities ar... more »

Stick to Impartiality, sir!

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 19 hours ago
The long-running debate about whether the teaching of skills or the teaching of facts is more important has become highly charged recently, given that Michael Gove is leading the charge to get 'hard facts' - or 'content' - back into schools. The idea is that all of us need to know certain facts, concepts, works of literature and the like to be effective citizens and that this needs to be brought about in a structured way. As many children don't have the good fortune to grow up in homes where such knowledge is the stuff of everyday experience, Mr Gove believes that schools can mak... more »

The Economy: "Depositor Haircuts: The New Normal"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
*"Depositor Haircuts: The New Normal"* by Stephen Lendman "On March 29, Cyprus Mail said banks opened Thursday. They did so amid calm. Long lines queued. People waited patiently. A feared stampede didn’t materialize. Whether it’s the calm before the storm remains to be seen. Looting Cypriot bank accounts reflects the new normal. It set a precedent. It did so for Europe. More on that below. Wall Street banks operate the same way. So did MF Global. Grand theft reflects official policy. Money is made the old-fashioned way. It’s stolen. Nothing’s done to stop it. Corrupt politic... more »

Hunting-- At Least For Animals-- Has Exactly Nothing To Do With The Gun Safety Debate

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 19 hours ago
Can you even call it a debate? All the NRA cares about is protecting the interests of the gun and ammo manufacturers who finance the organization and the comfy lifestyles of the people who work for it. That's not part of the debate. Theoretical debate. There is no debate. Why can't Obama get on TV with one of the extreme right-wing filibusterers-- Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio-- or even Miss McConnell if the other three are beneath his dignity-- and have it out? That's easy, the Republicans have no real leg to stand on. The extremists who are fueling the anti-gun safety jihad a... more »

The Final Dissolution Of The Iraqi National Movement?

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 20 hours ago
The Iraqi National Movement (INM) was formed before the 2010 parliamentary elections with Iyad Allawi as its leader to challenge Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his State of Law. The INM, otherwise known as Iraqiya, was always a divided list, because it was made up of so many different parties and individuals with divergent views. As soon as negotiations started for a new government, Iraqiya began to fracture. In the latest episode, Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, and several ministers decided to return to the cabinet, breaking a boycott by the INM. Mutlaq and the others ... more »

Pass or fail?

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 20 hours ago
How would you mark this: Me, I’d give her an A+. Maybe with a point off for misspelling the rectangle’s name. [Via 22 Words, HT Noodle Food] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 20 hours ago
All the cool kidz and other important journos are having a little snarkfest over Obama's poor showing on the basketball court this morning. Seems clear to me these people either have never hung around with children or else are the kind of cutthroat competitors who would stop at nothing to beat a youngster at a game. I look at this video and see a man who isn't trying to win. Seriously, look at Obama's form on these shots. Especially his hands. Not saying he didn't legitmately miss a couple of those, but does it really look like he was focused on sinking most of those shots? It doe... more »

HELP Stop the Spread of "Florida Formula Flu"

P. L. Thomas at Schools Matter - 21 hours ago
This isn't an April Fools' joke, but I wish. My home state of SC is considering legislation that would model state reading and grade retention policy on Just Read, Florida. Adult leadership in a high-poverty state has expressed support for holding back children based on test scores that show that those children have the audacity to be impoverished.... SC is one of many states addicted to punishment but blind to inequity... PLEASE read more HERE and share.

Breakfast with Auden during Nam!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 21 hours ago
*MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013* *The things people do with their lives:* One week back, in the Sunday New York Times, James Atlas mentioned a college classmate of ours—a classmate who didn’t think much of his Harvard so-called education. If memory serves, we didn’t know this classmate from the street-fighting Class of 69. That said, we *definitely* recognized his complaint: ATLAS (3/24/13): Lately I've been hearing about a new trend—think of it as extreme adult education. I get a call out of the blue from a college friend whom I haven't heard from in more than 40 years. *Richard Hyland, now... more »

CENSORED BY CNN

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 21 hours ago
RT interviews former CNN Investigative Journalist, Amber Lyon, about CNN's corrupt media empire, calling into question a media establishment where censorship can be bought.

Hamas law promotes gender segregation in Gaza schools

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 21 hours ago
Some news that you won't find reported on the BBC. 'GAZA (Reuters) - New rules from the Education Ministry of the Islamist Hamas movement ruling the Gaza Strip will bar men from teaching at girls' schools and mandate separate classes for boys and girls from the age of nine. The law, published on Monday, would go into effect next school year and applies throughout the coastal enclave, including in private, Christian-led and United Nations schools. Critics of the new measures say the Islamist movement is trying to force its ideology on society, but proponents say they merely want to c... more »

Easier, more pleasant, less expensive path

skrashen at Schools Matter - 21 hours ago
SENT TO The State (South Carolina) NOTE: This newspaper typically does not accept letters out-of-state. But I submitted it anyway. NOTE: The State is running a poll: The question and the results: Should South Carolina toughen standards that would hold back more third-graders not reading at grade level? 71% say yes, 29% say no. An easier, more pleasant, less expensive path to high literacy South Carolina is eager to require children to read “proficiently” by grade three. If they do not, they will be retained and given special remediation (“Education leaders: Florida holds key to SC li... more »

Don't Rush On Our Account

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 21 hours ago
The federal information commissioner has finally, at long last, been pushed to investigate the Harper government's policies and practices for muzzing Canadian government scientists. *The office of Suzanne Legault is responding to a detailed complaint lodged by the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria and the ethics advocacy group Democracy Watch.* ** *Their lengthy report filed last month laid out repeated examples of taxpayer-funded science being suppressed or limited to pre-packaged media lines across six different government departments and agencies.* * * *In a l... more »

Maarten Horst Interviews Dr Joseph Marra

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 21 hours ago
* * * * *My apologies to Maarten Horst, I didn't realize the show was today, you should still be able to listen to the show even after it has aired live. -AK* Tune in today at 11 AM Pacific Time, 2 PM Eastern Time and 22:00 Central European Time on www.findingvoicesradio.com for a fantastic show with Dr. Joseph Marra. Dr. Marra is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and had an established practice in Altoona, Pennsylvania called the Urgent Care Center, until June 30, 2011. Practicing traditional medicine in conjunction with the more holistic approaches, Dr. Marra is also a Hypnotherapi... more »

April Fools...

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 21 hours ago
The Fool is the spirit in search of experience. He represents the mystical cleverness bereft of reason within us, the childlike ability to tune into the inner workings of the world. -Wikipedia *April Fools * By Seraph April 1, 2013 9:50 AM Your government is real, and is there to help. Your bank has your best interest at heart, and your currency has real value. Your schools are designed to help you grow as a person and actually help you become financially free. Your legal system is real, and seeks real justice. Cops pull you over only when you have done someon... more »

Three Day Weekend

Southern Man at Southern Man - 22 hours ago
Southern Man seldom resorts to this but given the nature of Good Friday (the university closes at noon) he dismissed his Friday morning lab (and there was much rejoicing) to give himself a three-day weekend. Of course there was geocaching. One was hidden behind this tree. Oh, there it is! Southern Man spent some quiet time at the Ancestral Manor as well. Southern Son demonstrates his musical talents. Southern Man does not count "rapping" as one of these. Southern Father With the completion of some new homes near the Manor the crews had left a couple of cubes of brick out ... more »

A NRA Award Winning Gun Owner??????

2old2care at Because I Can - 22 hours ago
Iowa man hurt by ricochet after shooting a tree 6 hours ago • Associated Press LANSING, Iowa (AP) — Northeast Iowa authorities are investigating a shooting where a 27-year-old man injured himself. The Allamakee County Sheriff's office says the incident happened about 4:30 a.m. Sunday at a home near Lansing. Authorities say Logan Bunn fired a gun at a tree outside the home, but the bullet bounced back and hit him. Police were notified after Bunn showed up at a La Crosse hospital. Bunn is expected to survive. The sheriff's office says no foul play is suspected.

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 23 hours ago
*OPP one of the worst jails in the U.S., jail expert testifies ~WWLTV*

Guardian Goggles

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 23 hours ago
Now that's how to send yourself up!!

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 23 hours ago
Central Park in the spring. [source unknown]

PA English Prof Opts Out Son from PSSA Test

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 23 hours ago
We need a hundred more examples like this one, and we will see the house of cards come tumbling down. From the *Pittsburgh Post Gazette*: _________________________ Why I Won't Let My Son Take the PSSA By Kathy M. Newman I am an English professor. So you can imagine how my pride was hurt when my 9-year-old son Jacob started bringing home low scores on his practice reading tests for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment. My husband and I have been helping Jacob with his test-prep reading homework every weeknight this year, and it has been a grim slog. At times I have found myse... more »

The Pill Too Bitter to Swallow

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 23 hours ago
Oddly enough, they tend to be Republicans or at least they were in years past. Most of them were prominent insiders in Republican administrations up to but rarely past the Reagan days. And in slightly different keys they're all singing the same tune, "it's over." People like Paul Craig Roberts, Kevin Phillips and, of course, David Stockman are looking over the devastation *their* governments have unleashed and what they're seeing is ruin heading their country's way, unstoppable. Stockman began his epiphany several years ago. It led him to write this telling op-ed in *The New... more »

Egypt's Jon Stewart: Yousef Bassem

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 23 hours ago
*The Daily Show with Jon Stewart* Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook *The Daily Show with Jon Stewart* Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 23 hours ago
*Photos From the 100th Louisiana Derby ~WWNO* *State audit: $2.7 million of equipment unaccounted for by RSD ~Fox 8 WVUE* *Aaron Neville Plays Not My Job ~Tom Bodet* *30 Things To Do In New Orleans While In Town For French Quarter Festival ~GO NOLA*

Not Every Homophobe In Congress Is Republican-- And The DCCC Wants To Spend Your Money On Anti-Gay "Democrats" Running For Reelection

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 23 hours ago
Jim Matheson (D-UT), a face of the Mormon bigotry against the LGBT community. Last year the DCCC funneled $1.3 million into reelecting him When you contribute to the DCCC, most of the money that gets earmarked for candidates goes to Frontliners, vulnerable incumbents viewed as having the worst chances to be reelected. There's a list. Most of them, though not all, wind up on the list because they vote like Republicans and local Democrats hate them and don't contribute to them or even vote for them. Like Mike McIntyre... who came within 650 votes of losing in November, will face a pri... more »

Listen to this radio interview with economists Paul Craig Roberts and Michel Chossudovsky. As explicitly stated by the latter, by listening to these interviews you will learn more about today's grave economic situation than a Ph.D. student in economics. Don't laugh. I've experienced the same sort of thing in "pure" science, where certain "truths" become dogma and any scientist who dares to disprove them risks losing his livelyhood. “In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” -- George Orwell

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 1 day ago
------------------------------ *Welcome to PaulCraigRoberts.org* My new book, The Failure Of Laissez Faire Capitalism And Economic Dissolution Of The West, is available in ebook form at Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com. Click Here. *PCR interviewed by KPFA California* ------------------------------ March 30, 2013 | Original Here http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/90132 *Guns and Butter* "The Bubble Economy" with Paul Craig Roberts and Michel Chossudovsky. The three bubbles in the U.S. economy: the bond market, the stock market, and the dollar; a negative real interest rate; of... more »

ASSORTED NUGGETS

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
- I taped another edition of my public access TV show this morning and had Richard Rhames from Biddeford, Maine on as my guest. In my ten years of doing the show Richard has been my guest more than any other person. He's a vegetable farmer and long-time activist in the state and he's been doing public access TV in his community for more than 20 years. We talked about corporate agriculture killing small farms; 10-years since Bush II launched shock and awe against Iraq and the impact of US wars on the people; Obama's drone kill list; the drone bill now in ... more »

The Dream Of Life

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
*The Dream Of Life* * * The time has come for ALL to wake up from the dream <3 ~ Brian

Next in Line, Again

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 day ago
I like some of David Frum's advise to Democrats about 2016 and dislike some of it, but I'm afraid I'll mostly have to nitpick his premise. Yeah, it's the old next-in-line fallacy: Hillary Clinton came second in the nomination fight of 2008. If she were a Republican, that would make her a near-certainty to be nominated in 2016. Five of the past six Republican nominees had finished second in the previous round of primaries. (The sixth was George W. Bush, son of the most recent Republican president.) Democrats, by contrast, prefer newcomers. Six of their eight nominees since 1972 had ... more »

Raping the Land for Oil Exports

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 1 day ago
The recent oil spill in Arkansas illustrates the perils of transporting oil. Exxon Mobil pipeline leaks ‘a few thousand’ barrels of crude oil in Arkansas by S. Mufson March 31, 2013 The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/exxon-mobil-pipeline-leaks-a-few-thousand-barrels-of-crude-oil-in-arkansas/2013/03/31/6868d6f6-9a2e-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines [Excerpted] Exxon Mobil said that one of its pipelines leaked “a few thousand” barrels of Canadian heavy crude oil near Mayflower, Ark., prompting the evacuation of 22 homes and reinforc... more »

1 in 5 High School Aged US Boys Have Diagnosis of ADHD

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 1 day ago
A.D.H.D. Seen in 11% of U.S. Children as Diagnoses Rise by A. Schwartz and S. Cohen 2013, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/health/more-diagnoses-of-hyperactivity-causing-concern.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130401&_r=0[excerpted] Nearly one in five high school age boys in the United States and 11 percent of school-age children over all have received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.... The figures showed that an estimated 6.4 million childr... more »

April Fool's Day 2013...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 1 day ago
*and I have nothing but random thoughts.* *This post has not been edited so I would implore the grammar Nazis to ignore the misplaced commas, heavy use of dashes (I love dashes), parenthetical thingys around just about everything (I love those too), ellipses (total infatuation), and anything else that makes you squirm. Thank you...* Thank you to all who wished me a happy Easter. My schedule is such that I've been unable to respond one to one. My bad... If anyone has had a doubt that the world is spinning out of control, the news for the past few weeks should be rattling some c... more »
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