The Corte Bella condominium complex in San Mateo, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Broccoli and Bacon Salad
Labor Day in this house means a great BBQ with some of my favorite sides.
My mom has been making this salad since I was a kid and I absolutely love
it. Who doesn't love anything with bacon? Broccoli and Bacon salad is easy
to throw together and the perfect side for your get together.
Salad:
1/2 lb of bacon
8 C. broccoli florets
1 c. raisins
1/4 c. red onion, minced
1 c. unsalted sunflower seeds
Fry the bacon over high heat until the bacon is crisp, drain and remove
from heat. Chop the bacon. Combine all of the ingredients except the
sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
Dressing:
1 C.... more »
Syrian Chemical Weapons False Flag Attack: Buying A Ticket To War - No Moron Left Behind!
I decided to again turn on the Talmud-Vision this morning to see what the
liars and morons in our Jewish controlled media are spewing today about the
false flag chemical weapons attack in Syria that was most definitely done
by either CIA/Mossad or the so called mercenary "rebel" forces.....What I
saw made me quickly turn the idiot box off... Jew controlled CNN was going
on and on about how the criminal US Secretary of State, John Kohn, was
right and how the latest "intelligence" report shows "evidence" of Assad
"doing the chemical attack on his own people".... It does seem again that... more »
Labor Day in a Jobless Decade
*If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a liar. If
any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool.”*
― Abraham Lincoln
Fast forward a century and a half, and American leaders, foolish as
ever, have taken their fear of people to unprecedented levels by spitting
in labor's face and drum-beating for yet another war. In Abe's day, the
tycoons only had the Pinkerton Agency to crush the oppressed. Now we have
the N.S.A,, the C.I.A, the D.E.A., the T.S.A., the FISA Court, Homeland
Security fusion centers, militarized urban police forces and proba... more »
DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Five frameworks!
*MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013*
*Part 1—The mystery:* Bill Keller is a major American journalist, one with
whom we almost share the old school system tie.
In June 1965, we graduated from Aragon High in San Mateo, California. One
mile down the Alameda, Keller was a student at Serra, a Catholic high
school which later gave us Barry Bonds *and* Tom Brady.
And Bill Keller! Despite his selection of high schools, Keller built a
career which took him to the top of the American press corps. In 1989, he
won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the breakup of the former Soviet
Union.
From 199... more »
No Progress for CLIMATEPROGRESS
I probably first encountered Joe Romm's "ClimateProgress" in 2006 when I
was debating with anthropogenic climate change sceptics. Romm was a useful
and reliable source of information about CO2 and global climate change. I
was at first very favorably disposed towards Joe's work at that time. I
largely ignored his attitude toward nuclear power, however I quickly came
to the conclusion that the argument about climate change had been won. by
spring of 2007 I was ready to move on to supporting a solution. Up until
that time I was favourably disposed towards renewables, but also thought
... more »
Why Jimmy Carter is Awesome
Jimmy Carter describing why he builds houses with *Habitat for Humanity*:
*"From my rural boyhood, when I often spent the night with black neighbors
who lived in unheated and dilapidated shacks, to my years in the White
House when I saw the plight of the homeless and those trapped in poverty
housing worldwide, I have known that shelter matters. And I know, as a
Christian, that I have a responsibility to serve where I can, that as I
treat "the least of these", I treat my Creator."*
Is this "*confused hysteria"*? No, it's common human decency. It's sad when
people have to twist the... more »
Just my two cents - since they monitor any csite with this name
David Koch: Attacking Syria Would Be 'Dead Wrong' Who gives a damn what
David Koch thinks.He hasn't been elected by anyone.He even lost a
presidential bid with all his money.He's a rich old megalomaniac
narcissistic jack@$$ and that's all.
Is this TFA and Reality Israel stuff Anti-Semitic? I’m torn.
There’s an article going around about a widow donating to TFA to provide
some kind of field trip experience to Israel called Reality Israel. Here’s
explanation of the trip via TFA’s website. It’s written by journalist Max
Blumenthal and is making the rounds in leftist media like Alternet. When I
first read Blumenthal’s original article, […]
Joe Lieberman Smells Blood
When Lieberman finally recognized Connecticut's electoral calculus and
retired last year, I was tempted to throw away my collection of Lieberman
art. But something told me not to, that Lieberman still wasn't through
polluting America's public spaces. And, sure enough, the sleazy K Street
lobbyist for Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman, who has always put the
demands of Israel's Likud extremists ahead of America's own interests, and
is now part of the right-wing think tank, the American Enterprise
Institute, was spouting his unique, dark vision of humanity for Fox viewers
yesterday.... more »
Brian Brake House, by Ron Sang
[image: Auckland Architect Brake House]
Nearly forty years ago, photographer Brian Brake asked a young architect to
design a home for him in the Titirangi bush, from which that young
architect, Ron Sang, produced one of his best works—and a model for the
Titirangi bush house.
[image: Auckland Architect Brake House]
Allan Wild, former Head of the School of Architecture at the University of
Auckland, describes the design process:
The site had been found for Brake by Wellington photographer Spencer Digby,
who had apprenticed him. Sculptor Guy Ngan introduced Brake to Auckland
archi... more »
labour day 2013: low-wage workers rising
This week, port truckers went on strike in California, and fast-food
workers in more than 60 cities walked off their jobs.
Today in the US, Labor Day is Walmart's last day to respond before Walmart
workers intensify their nationwide actions on September 5.
In Toronto, hotel workers won a huge victory through their union, the
United Steelworkers, ending their 13-week strike by winning a contract
without the huge concessions their employer was demanding.
Labour rights are *human* rights. And this is how change happens: enjoy
this pics from the fast-food workers' national campaign.
Memory Serves
A generation has passed since Sally Field won an Oscar for her performance
in *Norma Rae*. Most people have forgotten the film. They have forgotten
the battles auto workers waged against Henry Ford. The have forgotten the
Asbestos Strike of 1949, and the battles miners waged against the Quebec
Provincial Police and Maurice Duplessis.
The have forgotten the forty hour work week, vacation pay, child labour
laws and -- if Tim Hudak gets his way -- they will forget the Rand Formula.
In Stephen Harper's Canada, strikes are outlawed before the begin.
Our economy collapsed because we i... more »
EngageNY modules: “So random” is no way to teach.
The New York State Education Department has been pushing Common Core
implementation at a rapid pace, even forcing last spring’s new aligned
state assessments on schools even though teachers had little opportunity
for training and preparation. Giving teachers time to prepare and create
lessons on their own is the key to any quality classroom experience. […]
Morrissey Speaks to the Kids
“*How can you stay with a fat girl who'll say "Oh, would you like to marry
me, and if you like you can buy the ring?"/ She doesn't care about
anything...*”
— Morrissey in "William, It Was Really Nothing"
*What 'William It Was Really Nothing' is about is... it occurred to me that
within popular music if ever there were any records that discussed marriage
they were always from the female's standpoint - female singers singing to
women: whenever there were any songs saying 'do not marry, stay single,
self-preservation, etc'. I thought it was about time there was a male voice
speak... more »
The P&C, Here We Go Again; Or, Let’s Link Journos’ Pay to Doing the Research
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) has yet to see a bad education reform
idea it could reject. This time they are endorsing merit pay and linking
teacher pay to student test scores. I sent this letter to the editor: It is
careless and irresponsible journalism to continue to endorse education
reform that has no […]
Untitled
*Saints final 53-man roster!*
*Coal terminal gets green light for coastal use permit as residents remain
opposed to project ~WDSU*
*The good times roll for retirees in Louisiana ~WWL*
*La. tribes look to change in federal recognition rules ~Jordan Blum, New
Orleans Advocate*
*Saenger Theatre to host free community concert*
Developer of HPV Vaccines Blasts the Vaccines for Dangers, False Claims by Elizabeth Renter
Developer of HPV Vaccines Blasts the Vaccines for Dangers, False Claims
by Elizabeth Renter
Natural Society, 31 August 2013
The first-hand knowledge of one scientist, responsible for helping to
develop two vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV), including Gardasil,
interestingly led her to vocally question the vaccines’ safety and
effectiveness before backtracking and denying she ever questioned them. *She
says that the vaccines are just as dangerous, if not more so, than the
disease they are meant to prevent, all while thousands of children as young
as 9 are being given the v... more »
Electricity price woes continue
*In case you forgot what lovely blue skies looked like...*
One of the many ways state subsidies shape Taiwan is the island's low
prices for electricity, in the news at the end of August.... (China Post):
Economics Minister Chang Chia-juch yesterday said Taiwan has the highest
average electricity consumption per person in Asia and electricity prices
are among the cheapest in the world.
Household electricity prices are the second lowest in the world, while
industrial electricity is the second cheapest in Asia and fourth in the
world, Chang said.
Such a price structure is hindering ... more »
Posting hiatus
I didn't post yesterday and quite enjoyed the freedom, I also didn't Tweet
from Friday night until this morning and that was very freeing.
I think that I need a rest from regular blogging as I am feeling quite
stale, I'll post as and and when I feel the urge, hopefully I'll regain my
enthusiasm sooner rather than later.
Syria: Three Questions for Vince Cable
And so, a pointless war against Syria has been averted - for now. Not that
you would think it as BBC News has been in overdrive since Thursday's vote.
Bulletins jammed with Syrian war porn - classy. But at least some of the
media have been doing a proper job at holding the government to account.
Step forward *The Daily Record* yesterday and *The Indy* this morning.
Unsurprisingly, given successive governments' predilection to sell weapons
and weaponisable components to any tinpot dictator that can stump up the
readies, so it appears our Conservative-led Coalition government - the
a... more »
An apologia for ideas from Hawking's BH bet concession
In Summer 2004, Stephen Hawking conceded his and Kip Thorne's bet against
John Preskill: Preskill was the only one among the three who said in 1974
that the information about the initial state was preserved after a black
hole evaporates. This blog is relatively ancient according to the
blogospherical standards so there was already a story about the concessionin late 2004.
*Off-topic:* Israel Gelfand would celebrate his 100th birthday today.
Kip Thorne hasn't conceded yet; I think that his position has become
indefensible over the years.
In July 2005, Hawking wrote a paper (TRF comme... more »
PRINCESS DIANA AND FACTIONS
*Dodi and Diana*
Princess Diana was threatening to move abroad with Dodi Al-Fayed and take
William and Harry with her.
This is according to *SUE-REID in the Daily Mail*
Dodi had bought an estate in Malibu, in California.
Dodi had told Diana the estate was where they would spend their married
life.
*SUE-REID in the Daily Mail*
Malibu has been home to such people as Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks and Lawrence
Ellison founder of the Oracle Corporation.
Did a faction within MI6 fear that Diana and Prince William would become
assets of some rival faction within the elite?
Based in... more »
Artist Taxi Driver sums up why it's a WAR WORLD, blames the PROFIT game.
IT'S GOVERNMENT'S JOB TO SELL THE WAR WORLD, all wars are Corporate Wars *
for PROFIT*.
Artist Taxi Driver says the shocking shit the media are too afraid to say.
"Eat your roast beef!" man's a genius.
Al-Qaeda And America: Tag Team Terrorists
*Syria is a royal rumble, and Al-Qaeda just tagged America in by staging a
false flag chemical weapons attack and blaming it on Assad, courtesy of
Israel and Saudi Arabia. *
*This is better than world wrestling entertainment. This is world war
entertainment. *
As George Carlin said, enjoy the show.* *
I luv's me sum Michael Prince aka James Casbolt aka Controlled Opposition to Normality
here it is, the latest in a long line of Is he isn't he? or Did he didn't
he? Hopefully, when John Urwin puts Michael Prince aka James Casbolt aka
'Stargate' is a Military Codeword for Syria as it was for Yemen as it was
for Iraq in the Machine, it'll all become clear.
Hopefully.
World To Obama: Do Not Attack Syria, Do Not Cross This Red Line
*Punish Syria? For what? Imaginary crimes based on false evidence?
Washington has no case against Syria. Obama has no right to punish anyone.
And God has already punished America. Its crimes against humanity stink to
high heaven. Add an illegal war on Syria to the list of its war crimes. *
After threatening Syria with military strikes, Assad told Obama to *tread
lightly*.
And, so far, Obama has done just that. He has not yet crossed the red line
of aggressive war. But, that will change when Israel's lapdogs in Congress
vote on whether or not to attack Syria. They will obviously v... more »
Mining 32: Output Contraction in 1st Half 2013
* This is my article in Mining Week yesterday.
--------------
The continuing policy instability in the mining industry has one clear
result, the continued decline in mining output, both metallic and
non-metallic.
The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) released this week the 2
nd Quarter 2013 macroeconomic data. The economy’s gross domestic product
(GDP) was able to grow 7.7 percent in 2nd Qtr 2013 compared to its year ago
level. The main contributors to such high growth in the expenditures and
demand side were investments or capital formation, public and private,
followe... more »
Jedi Mind Tricks - When All Light Dies
Jedi Mind Tricks - When All Light Dies. Source: Babygrande Records.
Arab League wants action on Syria [CNN]
The Arab League can fuck off. It is illegitimate. It has swallowed the
USraeli propaganda that Assad used chemical weapons against his own people.
These idiots will let America and Israel destroy one Arab and Muslim
country after another. When the Arab League takes an interest in the
suffering and imprisonment of Palestinians under USrahell then it should be
listened to.
Arab League wants action on Syria. Source: CNN.
The ZAP Report 9-1-2013
*
* *
* *Greetings and Salutations*
*
* *The Syrian situation is a hotbed of horrid conflict. Once again the
drama is taking the focus away from where it needs to be. When things get
too hot to handle the good ol' guvferment folk create ways to take the
focus away from what needs to be stretched and reviewed as truth, as real
leading to more drama. We already know how to hold for higher outcomes, so
lets do it.*
*
* *Things are moving right along, steadily, as they have been for some
time. The pieces on the chess board are always being moved around and that
brings on more checks an... more »
Tavis Smiley: Barack Obama 'Dishonoring' Dr. King With Syria Strike
*America has rejected Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his values because
America is not a Christian nation. America is a Satanic nation, and that is
just the truth. America is still a great nation, but it is the Great Satan.
*
America conducts wars based on lies. America uses chemical weapons while
falsely accusing others of using them. America uses nuclear weapons while
pretending to be the moral judge that decides who is allowed to build
nukes. If America is the world police then the world is fucked. America is
the devil. America has killed more women and children then Saddam, ... more »
Friday Baseball Post
I was thinking for writing this on time (that is, Friday), but wound up
letting it go...until now, when I just looked at the pitching matchup for
tomorrow. And really: why is Zito starting?
No, really. Why is Zito starting? For that matter, why is Zito on this team?
Seriously. We're talking about a very, very, very, bad starting pitcher.
You want to see his ERA+ with the Giants? From 2007 through this week, in
order: 99, 85, 105, 94, 60, 85, 58. Yes: he's had 23 starts this year
despite zero expectation that he would be any good and then zero positive
results.
So it took them howe... more »
The Myth of Opting Out of Tests and Losing Money
Time to do a little research. Luckily, the hard-working folks at New York
State Allies for Public Education have done much of the groundwork for us!
And that groundwork is a solid foundation of information for all states
with NCLB Waivers. Did you know that No Child Left Behind originally called
for 95% participation since […]
TV Watch: I love AMC's "Talking Bad." Meanwhile, the new show, "Winter Low Heat" (or whatever it's called), isn't doing much for me
*Here's where you can submit your questions for Talking Bad.*
*by Ken*
I didn't think there would be a "TV Watch" this week. After all, though
I've been putting in mountains of tube time, most of my watching has been
pm DVD -- not just the amazing *Friday Night Lights*, which I wrote about
recently, but now also Aaron Sorkin's single-season *Studio 60 on the
Sunset Strip* and -- what else? -- *The Sopranos*. (I had Seasons 1-3 on
VHS, and those tapes got a fair amount of use, and I had Season 4 on DVD,
but I finally took the plunge and bought the complete-series DVDs.)
Whereas stu... more »
Meet & Greet Monday (#MtaGt) - CelloMom on Cars
Welcome
to Meet & Greet Monday, a regular series designed to grow our
green
community.
[image: A link-up for green blogs on Reduce Footprints Blog]
Banner by Art Ist
Grab our banner for your site:
*The
rules:*
1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or
collection
of environment... more »
*The
rules:*
1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or
collection
of environment... more » Syrian Chemical Weapons False Flag Attack: America Totally Discredited!
The insane push for war against the innocent nation of Syria has completely
unraveled now, and America and the criminal state of Israel have been
exposed as the insane war mongering nations they truly are. These
criminals can no longer even keep their lies straight, and the US
Government is desperately looking for any out to save face and to try to
keep its all powerful image alive around the world.... But this Syrian
fiasco has now fully exposed both the US and Israel as the truly criminal
and murderous nations they truly are, and the entire world is no longer
fooled by their lies... more »
Bomb bomb bomb Iran Syria
Three days ago Mint Press News out of Minneapolis published a story written
by MidEast AP reporter Dale Gavlak based on eyewitness accounts from
relatives of Syrian rebels killed in the Aug. 21 chemical 'attack'. They
contend that what actually occurred was an accident caused by the rebels
mishandling their Saudi-supplied chemical weapons cargo :
*EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical
Attack*
Rebels and local residents in Ghouta accuse Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan
of providing chemical weapons to an al-Qaida linked rebel group.
“We were very c... more »
So what did National do about Nanny State then?
You’ll remember back when the Nats were in opposition, they made a meal out
of Helen Clark’s Nanny State.
Looking back at the old poster we did for *The Free Radical* magazine back
in 2007, you can only thank goodness they’ve done so much since then to
remove all the nannying.[image:
[FREE_RADICAL-Nanny_State_Berserk_Poster.jpg]]
And they haven’t done any new nannying, have they. None at all. Well, apart
from siccing their spies onto us, and talking up fatty food bans, and
transforming cities with no-drinking zones, and trying to make legal highs
illegal, and trying to make alc... more »
Mohawk Nation News 'Birth and Death'
BIRTH
& DEATH
Posted on August 31, 2013
MNN. AUG. 31, 2013. Detroit’s funeral directors were informed that the
City “can’t process birth and death certificates because they have no
paper and don’t have money to buy any.” After the July 18, 2013
bankruptcy the creditors want cash! Dying is easy. Proving you’re dead
is getting impossible! Cities are corporations. Bankers are 51% of the
PUNITIVE ACTION OR REGIME CHANGE?
There should be no misunderstandings over what is about to happen in Syria.
When the US and their allies – and the UK may well be joining them yet –
attack Syria it will be for the purpose of regime change and not as a
‘punishment’ for using gas against civilians. The ‘punishment’ or
‘punitive’ rhetoric being used currently is purely for propaganda purposes
in an effort to swing public opinion to support an attack.
The court of public opinion in the West these days, especially when it
comes to the possibility of going to war in the Middle East, is
particularly important to politicia... more »
In 2012 Only Conservative Incumbents Lost Their House Seats
Leaving out redistricting's incumbent vs incumbent primaries, in 2012 only
22 incumbents lost their House seats. Not one of them was a progressive.
Every single one of them was a conservative. Only two Democrats were
challenged by non-incumbents in primaries, Blue Dog Tim Holden (PA) and
ConservaDem Silvestre Reyes (TX). Both were defeated by significantly more
progressive Democrats, respectively Matt Cartwright and Beto O'Rourke, each
of whom went on to win landslide victories in the general election. In
Republicanville, three conservatives lost reelection to non-incumbents in
pr... more »
happy labour day: thank a union, and thank the men and women who made unions possible
If you're enjoying a long weekend, take a moment to acknowledge the blood,
sweat, and tears of the women and men who made that possible. This page
from a regional AFL-CIO affiliate has a partial list of what we enjoy
thanks to organizing labour.
36 Reasons Why You Should Thank a Union
Weekends
All Breaks at Work, including your Lunch Breaks
Paid Vacation
FMLA
Sick Leave
Social Security
Minimum Wage
Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination)
8-Hour Work Day
Overtime Pay
Child Labor Laws
Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
40 Hour Work Week
Worker's Compensation (W... more »
Blessed are the Peacemakers
" and I cannot forget that the *Nobel Peace Prize* was also a *commission*,
a *commission* to work harder than I had ever worked before for *"the
brotherhood of man." *
This is a calling that takes me *beyond national allegiances*, but even if
it were not present I would yet have to live with the meaning of my
commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ.
*Martin Luther King, Jr.*
*Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence*
*Delivered 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City*
To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so
obvious that I sometimes marvel... more »
PORTLAND PROTEST AGAINST SYRIA ATTACK
There was a protest yesterday in Portland, Maine where several groups
joined together to stand against a Syria attack. We marched a bit through
the city and concluded with a closing circle where folks were asked to do
something each day in the coming week to stop this coming attack.
Sadly the top columnist from the *Portland Press Herald* wrote a slam peace
that appeared in the Sunday edition of the paper. I believe the columnist
was trying to do a couple things with his piece. One was to provide cover
for Obama and our congressional delegation to support war by showing peace
mo... more »
I'm reposting here the stirring video featured in my post of August 30, 2013, just in case you missed it. See and HEAR! why Paul Craig Roberts declared British MP George Galloway to be "the only real leader in the entire Western world."
This video is taken from my original re-posting to Cherchez la Verite of an
important article in Veterans News Now.
------------------------------
George Galloway's HEATED Speech British Parliament Debate On Military
Action Against Syria. 8/29/2013
http://youtu.be/Han5fgzy4KU
We need Americans who can, and will, stand up and speak truth to power like
this!
Cherchez la Verite
More and more Americans are changing their beliefs regarding whether or not the U.S. should attack Syria, fueled by John Kerry's incessent lying. We must convinvce our Congress persons and Senators that we'll vote them out of office if they support Obama's intention to commence a war of aggression against Syria.
Blogger's Note: In this post I am putting up snippets from the Huff Post
having to do with John Kerry's assertions that the forces of Bashar
al-Assad were responsible for the murderous chemical weapons attack on
innocent civilians in a suburb of Damascus in the presence of UN observers
(who were ordered away by the UN before they could judge who was actually
responsible.) So where did Kerry get his information? Short answer, he
didn't need information because his intention appears to be to lie about
everything (see Paul Crag Roberts' assessments *here* and *here*). And for
some of t... more »
IN THE GATHERING DARKNESS, A LIGHT GOES OUT / SEAMUS HEANEY 1939-2013
**
**
*Dublin's Seamus Heaney in repose*
*Poetry is the bridge between the mind and the heart where feelings become
words and none was more accomplished at that gift than Dublin's Seamus
Heaney ~ the Irish poet, playwright, translator and lecturer, and the
recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. His light will be missed
in the gathering darkness of our present times: Allen L Roland*
As a writer, columnist and amateur poet, I recognize and relish the power
of poetry and the emotional impact of putting feelings into words but it is
implicit in Seamus He... more »
Some Sunday night listening...
Here's a mild enigma. Early on in David Bowie's career, in his imperial
period, which I would count as from arriving in Haddon Hall in 1970 and
leaving Los Angeles in 1976, he is overflowing with songs. After that point
they dry up. The Berlin albums were a protracted battle against writers
block. They are his best in my opinion. Where did all the songs go? There's
few bootlegs after 1975, the reissues in 1990 and 1999 produced very few
new songs, and according to Pushing Ahead of the Dame there's even precious
little info on studio takes, who played what and so on.
This is the last... more »
Sunday Question for Liberals
Same question as the one for conservatives:
What Democratic politicians, if any, do you tend to trust on Syria?
Outside of politicians: which writers, analysts, or experts do you tend to
trust on Syria?
Willful Ignorance-- A Problem For Representative Democracy?
On Wednesday, Ken pointed out that more Louisiana Republicans blame
Obamafor the poor response to Hurricane Katrina than blame George W.
Bush,
29-28%-- with another 44% "unsure." Perhaps most Louisiana Republicans
didn't recall that they had never heard of Barack Obama in 2005 when
Katrina struck. At the time he had been a U.S. senator for a few months.
"Oh my God," I thought when I heard about this; "are these people
voting?
No wonder David Vitter was reelected!" But, it's hardly just Louisiana
Republicans-- even if Louisiana does have the worst education results of
any of the 50... more »
Sunday Question for Conservatives
I guess I'll have to do Syria this week, even though I've asked about it
recently...
How about this one: what Republican politicians, if any, do you tend to
trust on Syria?
Outside of politicians: which writers, analysts, or experts do you tend to
trust on Syria?
NO !
It is time to evolve from
a world in competition
to a world of cooperation
(paradise or oblivion)
There Must Be a BBC Reporter (Playing with My Heart)
Of course, it's not just the BBC's Phil Mercer who's engaged in what seem
like full-blown campaigning against the 'hardline' immigration policies of
Australia's politicians. His newly-arrived BBC colleague Jon Donnison is,
inevitably, singing from exactly the same biased hymn-sheet in his latest *From
Our Own Correspondent *piece, Australia election: Asylum debate cooks up
anger and uncertainty.
Please allow me to paraphrase this emotionally-charged tosh...
There's cheerful Syrian refugee Kobra and her nice friend Xanthe, a
journalist who welcomed poor Kobra with open arms. They ... more »
Causes of the continuing Great Recession? That Savings Glut vs. Those Low Interest Rates
*If you don’t know what caused the economic collapse, says guest poster David
Howden, what you do to repair it might be making things worse.*
Five years after the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,
economists are still starkly divided as to its causes. Perhaps this is not
too surprising as we are now more than 80 years past the Great Depression
with little end in sight to the debate surrounding the causes of that
downturn.
Most economists fall into one of two camps when explaining where the
imbalances originated that led up to the current crisis. Austrian School
e... more »
Anthony Weiner for the mayor of New York City
Anthony Weiner campaigning on the streets of New York City. He believes in
transparency.
Tandem novel - 20,000 words 'typed in' - cover idea.
*original cover concept*on the day that journalist Glenn Greenwald's
boyfriend is detained for nine hours by border guards in UK and the
Guardian newspaper is forced to DESTROY one of its computers containing
whistleblower Edward Snowden's NSA material, I returned from four weeks
away, on vacation.
I brought back a novel, on three notebooks, written in long hand, which
went through several title changes but finally 'stuck' on *TANDEM*.
Kinda have a problem or three, i) I don't know how long it is, ii) I have
to type it up and iii) as it changed so much 'during' the writing, it's
g... more »
Obama And Syria: The Evolution From Covert War To Overt War
President Obama is criminally misleading his people and the world when he
says that America is planning "limited" and "narrow" strikes against Syria.
The attacks may begin that way on day one, but it won't be long before the
United States is dragged further into the war, along with regional allies
such as Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. So far, these nations have
prosecuted a covert war against the people and government of Syria. *The
Saudi despots even admit it*.
Since early 2011, they have trained, financed, and armed foreign Jihadist
terrorists to terrorize the Syr... more »
Syria: Don't Gloat, Don't Underestimate The Blind Wrath Of America
"Syria hailed an "historic American retreat" on Sunday, mockingly accusing
President Barack Obama of hesitation and confusion after he delayed a
military strike to consult Congress." - Yara Bayoumy and Thomas Ferraro, *"Scornful
Syria hails 'historic American retreat' as Obama hesitates,"* September 1,
2013.
"Don't gloat when your enemy falls, and don't let your heart rejoice when
he stumbles, or the Lord will see, be displeased, and turn His wrath away
from him." - *Proverbs 24:17-18*.
Are Syria's leaders wise? Their latest statement is an insult to America,
and it shows that t... more »
What's wrong with the media
Jake Tapper explains how he conducts an interview:
Most interviews that I do are not super aggressive. They can’t be, and they
shouldn’t be; that would get pretty tiresome. So when there’s an interview
that’s tough or a question that’s tough, it’s something that raises
eyebrows. It’s not easy to do that in the White House briefing room, at a
press conference. That’s never easy. It’s not fun. Because as humans we are
built to try to avoid conflict. Society constantly looks down its nose at
conflict, even if the media doesn’t. And it’s not a comfortable feeling.
It’s absolutely nerve... more »
Thank you for your comment, Satan
Ah, coincidences!
That's all they tend to be but (as Eddie Mair's hero Glenn Greenwald might
put it)...
...the wonderful Seamus Heaney died this week aged 74 and the towering UK
media figure that was Sir David Frost also passed through the keyhole of
mortality this week aged 74. Hardly a coincidence, eh?
Plus we here at *Is the BBC biased?* got 666 visitors from the
pro-Palestinian website Electronic Intifada yesterday - the number of The
Beast. A complaint from Satan himself at us being "a pro-Israeli blog"
perhaps?
Surely.
[For all passing visitors from Electronic Intifada ... more »
Sunday Classics: On our way to focusing on Nedda's scenes with the two baritones of Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci"
*Daniel Sutin as Tonio the clown in Austin, 2012*
*PROLOGUE (sung by the performance's Tonio) -- conclusion:*
And you, rather than our poor
actors' costumes, consider
our souls, because we are people,
of flesh and bone, and since in this orphan
world, just like you, we breathe the air!
I've told you the concept.
Now hear how it worked out.
Let's go -- begin!
*Leonard Warren (b), Tonio; RCA Victor Orchestra, Renato Cellini, cond.
RCA-EMI, recorded January 1953*
*Giuseppe Taddei (b), Tonio; Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala, Herbert
von Karajan, cond. DG, recorded Sept.-Oct. ... more »
'Pain in the Assad'
A ‘pain in the Assad?’ Syrian cartoonist speaks out from exile.
*“Things were starting to give [Assad] *
*a pain in the arse,” says Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat.*
* (Illustration: Ali Ferzat)*
Your moment of Zen
A treasure trove of sea glass. [photo via Mrs Cupid Stunt]
Saddam Was More Compliant With Inspectors
5 TX fertilizer plants carrying same shit that exploded & killed 15 people
last April have refused to be inspected. http://t.co/rajVbT92LV
— Robert Crawford (@jurassicpork59) August 31, 2013
Yeah, you read that right. Nearly a half dozen Texas fertilizer
plants housing ammonium nitrate, the extremely combustible substance that
blew up a West, Texas fertilizer plant that claimed 15 human lives and
injured over 200 others have refused to be inspected and, under Texas law,
or the lack of them, they have that right.
The article goes on to state that lawmakers were "intrigued"... more »
Inspirational . . .
MOTIVATIONAL
POSTERS from an age that seemed to be more simple than ours. SLATE has
an article by Rebecca Onion, “The Colorful Posters That Motivated
Jazz-Age Workers To Strive” that is a delight. Do follow the link in the
article to see a lot more of 'em.
But times change, and ninety years or so later, we arrive at
de-motivational posters that appeal to those who are more objective
about
Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, September 1st, 2013
It is Sunday, the start of the month of September, and again time for my
weekly rant....
First, Many have again wondered why I do not do daily posts like I used
to.... I have been busy the last while with doing a course upgrade for my
job, as well as taking care of some family business.... It has been hard to
keep up with this blog at times, so bear with me.... I am still here, and
very much alive and kicking..
Of course, most of this week's rant will indeed be about Syria....And the
absolutely horrendous actions by the criminals in the United States and
Israel who care not about p... more »
New Left Blogs August/September 2013
Let's have it. Here are the new(ish) left blogs I've caught up with this
month:
1. Ben Robinson Graphic Design (Socialist Party) (Twitter)
2. Christine Quigley (Labour) (Twitter)
3. Cllr Darren Price (Labour) (Twitter)
4. Hollywood Hegemony (Unaligned)
5. Labour Women's Network (Labour) (Twitter)
6. Leemartin1234's Blog (Labour) (Twitter)
7. Left of the Left of the Left (Unaligned/Anarchist)
8. Lost but not Returning (TUSC)
9. Mary Wimbury (Labour) (Twitter)
10. Masters of Suspicion (Unaligned)
11. Mum v Austerity (Unaligned) (Twitter)
12. Oliver Hotham (Unaligned) (Twitter)
13. Organisin... more »
Five Most Popular Posts for August
The five most read posts last month were:
1. Splits and the Socialist Party
2. Top 100 Worst Blogs Poll
3. Review - Cybersexism by Laurie Penny
4. Working for a Member of Parliament
5. Conservative Bias at the BBC
It is an axiom of political blogging that discussing one or more
organisations of the far left will pull down the audience figures, and
further confirmation comes with last month's post about the Socialist
Party. I have something on the back burner about Ted Grant, so we shall see
if that trend continues.
My pick of the month deserving a few more readers is Marx and Dialec... more »
Pontius President
What a way for President Obama to display his contempt for both the
American people and for Congress. Saturday's pullback from an immediate
bomb-a-thon was one of the weirdest simultaneous acts
of ass-covering and imperial power-grabbing in the entire history of his
presidency.
The performance: Do a quickie Pontius Pilate, wash that blurred red line
of blood clean from your hands and punt the case for bombing Syria and its
environs right over to Congress. Be sure to double-signal your absolute
lack of concern over all the thousands of victims of Assad's alleged
chemical attacks b... more »
If this poll holds up, U.S. Congress persons and Senators will not give Obama license to attack Syria. But, hold on! What if the presstitute media should begin to rig the polling?
------------------------------
New Poll: Only 9% Want US To Attack Syria
Educate! Democracy, Wars and Militarism
Original Here
By Max Fisher, www.washingtonpost.com
August 26th, 2013
A Syrian woman stands amid the ruins of her house, which was destroyed in
an airstrike by government warplanes a few days earlier. (AP Photo/Abdullah
al-Yassin, File)
Let’s see whether President Obama cares what the people think in the
“greatest democracy on Earth”New poll: Syria intervention even less po... more »
Barack Obama and Syrian crisis
The cartoon below depicts Obama's quandary quite well.
*Red face**.*
Tim Tebow and the “Hard Work” Myth: No Excuses? | the becoming radical
Tim Tebow and the “Hard Work” Myth: No Excuses? | the becoming radical.
Untitled
*Facing Fire Over Challenge to Louisiana’s Oil Industry ~Campbell Roberts,
NYTs*
*Stephanie Grace: Independence at stake in appointments ~New Orleans
Advocate*
Robert Jensen on US American Democracy
I agree with many of the sentiments here and think they apply to Canada as
well.
Let me be clear: I’m not suggesting that there is nothing democratic about
the contemporary United States, nor am I suggesting that we live in a
fascist state. It’s important to avoid rhetorical overkill. Rather, I’m
simply recognizing that, counter to the mythology of the United States, no
existing nation-state is a democracy in any deep sense. The question is, to
what degree are the features of a society—not just the formal political
process, but the economic and social structures as well—truly democr... more »
Milky Way's giant black hole is a messy eater
I wrote a post earlier that Milky Way's giant black hole is very hungry and
his diet consists of stars. Now a new reports shows that it is not a good
eater.
*"The colossal black hole at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy is a messy
eater. Of all the gas that falls toward the black hole, 99 percent gets
spewed back out into space, new observations show, making the black hole
akin to a toddler whose food ends up mostly on the floor, rather than his
mouth."*
*X-ray: NASA / UMass / Q.D. Wang et al.; IR: NASA / STScI *
*A composite image of the region around Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), *
*t... more »
Barack Obama seeks Congress's approval before launching an attack on Syria
What happens if Congress turns Obama down the way the British Parliament
did to Cameron? The Syria attack story is an unfolding drama. What next?
True or false?
I'm seeing a lot of comments appearing below the line on websites and blogs
stating that it has now been proved that the apparent chemical attack on a
suburb of Damascus was caused by the rebels, not the Assad regime - a
startling claim. Oddly, few links seem to be appearing alongside those
comments to back them up.
After scouring the internet, this looks to be what people are talking
about. It’s a report from a newish U.S. online news organisation called
Mint Press News:
http://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135
/
... more »
Putin orders a massive attack on Saudi Arabia if U.S. attacks Syria?
Interesting news.
*"A grim “urgent action memorandum” issued today from the office of
President Putin to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is ordering a
“massive military strike” against Saudi Arabia in the event that the West
attacks Syria.*
**
*According to Kremlin sources familiar with this extraordinary “war order,”
Putin became “enraged” after his early August meeting with Saudi Prince
Bandar bin Sultan who warned that if Russia did not accept the defeat of
Syria, Saudi Arabia would unleash Chechen terrorists under their control to
cause mass death and chaos during th... more »
RISE OF THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY
Chris Hedges, whose column is published Mondays on Truthdig, spent nearly
two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East,
Africa and the Balkans. He has reported from more than 50 countries and has
worked for The Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, The Dallas
Morning News and The New York Times, for which he was a foreign
correspondent for 15 years. He has written nine books, including "Empire of
Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle" (2009), "I
Don't Believe in Atheists" (2008) and the best-selling "American Fascists: ... more »
Who reads Nuclear Green?
Nuclear Green continues to receive international attention.
Where did these guys and gals come from?
During the last month, Nuclear Green received the following page hits:
Pageviews by Countries
[image: Graph of most popular countries among blog viewers]
EntryPageviews
United States
5198
Norway
1413
China
1145
Netherlands
957
United Kingdom
528
France
468
Canada
467
Germany
452
Poland
266
Russia
166
China we know about, The UK is Kirk Sorensen's territory. The French have
their own ideas about MSRs. The Chinese have let down the great firewall
of China for Nuclear Green! Amazing.
Fred Upton Lies About Republican Healthcare Initiatives For His Pal Boehner
Fred Upton represents a blue-leaning district in western Michigan that
Obama won 53-45% in 2008 and lost to Romney by a handful of votes. The
biggest county in the 6th district, by far, is Kalamazoo. Upton only got
49% of the vote there last year (same as his under-funded opponent). On the
same day, Obama took Kalamazoo County with 56% and Senator Debbie Stabenow
swamped her GOP opponent 57-39%.
The only reason Upton, an out-of-touch hereditary multimillionaire, keeps
winning is because DCCC chairman Steve Israel has given him a free
reelection pass and refuses to back anyone runn... more »
Not-So-Militant Birds
This has absolutely nothing to do with BBC bias but a blog is a blog is a
blog...and I'm bursting to pass on the news that some scientists now
suspect that the massive flightless Terror Birds - which (or so we've
previously thought) stood atop the food chain (long) after the demise of
the dinosaurs, chasing down and devouring mammals with their vicious curved
beaks (you may have seen them starring in an episode of the BBC's *Walking
with Beasts, *scaring the bejesus out of watching children) - may have
been...and sorry to break the news to you...vegetarian.
Scientists assessing t... more »
Untitled
*Entergy labors to reach mark ~Richard Thomas, New Orleans Advocate*
*Flood insurance costs causing drop in St. Charles property values ~WWLTV*
*Navy warns its testing could kill whales and dolphins in Gulf of Mexico ~Leada
Gore*
The Arctic Shadow
Michael Byers, the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and
International Law at the University of British Columbia, writes that during
his recent Arctic Tour Stephen Harper tried to look like Vladimir Putin:
Photos showed Harper standing awkwardly in front of a campfire made of logs
that must have been flown in specially, because the camp was 800 kilometres
north of the tree line. Putin would have killed a seal with his bare hands
and ignited its oil by striking a rock against his teeth.
Harper’s rifle was one of the 65-year-old relics used by the Canadian
Rangers, relics th... more »
Yes Director General
This is interesting, and seems a little reminiscent of *Yes Minister *(and
comes courtesy of Alan at *Biased BBC *and *The Sunday Times, *behind its
paywall)...
Godric Smith CBE worked at Downing Street from 1996-2006, acting as Tony
Blair's Official Spokesman between 2000 and 2004. He worked on London 2012
for seven years as Director of Communications for the Olympic Delivery
Authority and as Director of Government Communications for London 2012. He
was appointed a Non-Executive Director of HS2 in June 2012, and is also a
Non Executive Director at The Cambridge Junction art centr... more »
Feminists demand gender quotas for bodies buried in Panthéon
A 2006 article about the feminist totalitarianism attracted hundreds of
Slovak visitors today because it was linked to in a discussion under a
remarkable Slovak newspaper article about some incredible demands by the
French feminists.
The story sounded like a hoax but Reuters was among the many well-known
news agencies that ran the story which made me believe that in spite of its
nearly comical content, the information is legitimate.
Panthéon, Paris was built sometime in the middle of the 18th century (I've
been there once but that's enough). Between 1791 and 2011, 74 French
figur... more »
The first 'Sunday' of September
As it's Sunday morning, it's *Sunday* review time. ('Oh goodie!' I hear you
cry.)
7.10 *Introduction*, by William Crawley
7.11 *New chief rabbi installed today*. The installation of Ephraim Mirvis
(above) at the new chief rabbi of the UK brought invites to the *Sunday *studio
for Justin Cohen of The Jewish News, and Labour's Lord Glasman.
William asked Justin what people expected from Rabbi Mirvis. Justin said
that his pastoral work is what people talk about, that he's "very much a
people's person". He won't be a "revolutionary "though on issues such as
gay marriage. He will cont... more »
ALEXANDER DUGIN: OPPOSING THE NEW WORLD ORDER
.
The most interesting political analyst out there. Copied from here.
Interview with Alexander Dugin
Alexander Dugin
*Introduction*
In February 2012, Professor Alexander Dugin traveled to New Delhi, India to
attend the 40th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology,
the theme of which was “After Western Hegemony: Social Science and its
Publics.”Professor Dugin was kind enough to take some time away from the
conference to answer a few questions by representatives of Arktos who
attended the event.
In this interview, we attempted to have Professor Dugin clarify some o... more »
Walter Burkert On The Epic of Atrahasis
*Wikipedia:*
Atra-Hasis ("exceedingly wise") is the protagonist of an 18th century BC
Akkadian epic recorded in various versions on clay tablets. The Atra-Hasis
tablets include both a creation myth and a flood account, which is one of
three surviving Babylonian deluge stories.
Below are excerpts from Walter Burkert's book, *"The Orientalizing
Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic
Age."* 1992. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts. Pgs. 88-89
& 100-103.
"Since the rediscovery of the Akkadian epics and of *Gilgamesh* in
particula... more »
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