'Ice and Snow World' in Harbin, China Español: Invierno en Harbin. עברית: 'עולם הקרח והשלג' בחארבין Polski: Festiwal Rzeźb Lodowych w Harbinie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Wandering around the streets, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
China, Shibangou Bridge underpass, Fuling, Yangtze river (Photo credit: bilwander)
Montage of various Harbin images (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
J.A.M Trans Nissan DFV-949 (fleet No A-950) and five other buses on layover in the Lawton area of Manila, Philippines. (Photo credit: express000)Cis, Trans, and Privilege
I'm not one to rail on about Gender Politics. I'm interested in Human
Rights, especially as they effect Trans and Intersex people. I'm interested
in the Science of Sex and Gender. The sociology, politics, and ideology,
not so much. There's an awfully low signal-to-noise ratio there,
unevidenced conjectures declaimed with much conviction, and often inhuman
cruelty.
This blog is intended to be educational and informative, about a matter
that should be of interest to everyone. A matter of "public concern",
mixing education about the science, and information about how Trans and
Interse... more »
Mohawk Nation News 'Old Hat'
OLD
HAT
Posted on January 12, 2014
Mohawk Nation News
Jan. 12, 2014: Unfortunately for Canada’s Prime Minister Harper and his
corporate overlords’ plans to control the world, soon the old technology
they use will become obsolete. Their tyranny of us and our mother will
be as extinct as they will become. Bill C38 is Harper’s version of
Hitler’s “enabling act” of 1933, to get money for
"I wish I could add a fond remembrance" (Jane Mayer on Reagan press sec'y Larry Speakes)
*"I wish I could add a fond remembrance of Larry Speakes . . . . There have
been plenty of accolades, and I'm sure there will be more. But it's worth a
note about how Speakes treated reporters who strayed from the company
line."*
-- *Jane Mayer, in a newyorker.com "News Desk" post,*
"Crossing Larry Speakes"
*by Ken*
Is there such a thing as a good White House press secretary? In this day
and age, maybe the interests of an administration and the media have
diverged to the point that there can't be. You can think of the
administration as either "just trying to get our story out" or ... more »
China Plans To Seize South China Sea Island From Philippines, Says "Battle Will Be Restricted" ..... I other news , Japan holds military drill as S. China Sea islands dispute widens
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-12/china-plans-seize-south-china-sea-island-philippines-says-battle-will-be-restricted
China Plans To Seize South China Sea Island From Philippines, Says "Battle
Will Be Restricted"
[image: Tyler Durden's picture]
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/12/2014 19:00 -0500
- China
- Japan
- Obama Administration
- recovery
inShare
Following Japan's proclamations that it will take over another 280
'disputed ownership' islands, it appears the increasingly dis-approved of
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's path of militarism and provocation... more »
Trans Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership updates January 10 , 2014 - Obama Lame Duck Watch: House Democrats Stymieing Trade Deal “Fast Track;” Silicon Valley Surveillance Payoff Language Published ...... Congress introduces Obama fast-track authority on global trade pacts like TPP ....... Trade Expert: Why TPP — “NAFTA on Steroids” — Must Be Stopped
Catharsis Ours - 1 hour ago
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/01/obama-lame-duck-watch-house-democrats-stymieing-trade-deal-fast-track-silicon-valley-surveillance-payoff-language-published.html<b
Does this school really care for the children?
From a Georgia school: Yes, this is what education has become. I have no
words. Please feel free to comment below.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD:
Musings from the Chalk Face
China's fairytale theatre of ice sculptures- Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Though myself and so many others were freezing earlier this week...
Unusually so. In Harbin, China they are enjoying themselves at their yearly
Ice and Snow Festival .I gotta admit this icy cold display is pretty darn
awesome! I will post a few images. And link to the rest.
Or here
*"It took 7,000 artists to create this sprawling 6,458,400 square feet of
winter wonderland in Harbin, China's tenth most populous city in the
northeastern province of Heilongjiang, where winter temperatures drop to a
low of -40 degrees Celsius.* *Countless blocks of crystal ice were cut from
the frozen... more »
We’re rock stars
*Sex, Drugs and Rock'N'Roll 13** by chrismaverick on **deviantART*
WELL, LOAD UP ON drugs and bring your friends, because New Zealand is being
talked up as the “rock star” economy for 2014.
Hee haw!
This, by the way, is predicated on three things underlying what economists
call “growth” that these groupies see as fairly foregone conclusions:
1. The dairy boom.
2. The housing boom.
3. The Canterbury RebuildTM
But there are problems with each of these—the first problem being in the
way these alleged economists measure growth.
YOU SEE, IF IT is to mean anything at all, ... more »
The Ravitch Conference, Featuring Randi Weingarten
Diane Ravitch and Anthony Cody started a new organization a year or so ago
called the Network for Public Education. Board members were chosen, and
the chosen board members chose Ravitch as President and Cody as Treasurer.
As NPE president, Ravitch will be the Keynote Speaker at a UTexas based
two-day conference in early March that, according to Cody, will "bring
together activists from around the country to network and learn together,
from one another, so as to strengthen our ability to act in defense of
public education."
Prominently noted on the conference poster at the NPE webs... more »
WAR CRIMINALS GATHER FOR WAR CRIMINAL’S FUNERAL
The war criminal Tony Blair will be present for Ariel Sharon’s funeral as
will be Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop. Bishop was a member of
the Australian war criminal John Howard’s government that was part of the
group of nations that waged unprovoked war against Iraq knowing that Iraq
had no weapons of mass destruction and knowing that Iraq was not a threat
to Australia.
Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s decision to send Bishop to
Sharon’s funeral exposes the Australian government’s support of ruthless
Israeli Zionist policies against the Palestinian people and a ... more »
Richard Dawkins on Retiring Essentialism
As someone who exists in the real world, I'm always interested in the
annual "big question" event organised by edge.org, the online home for
clever folk who keep it real by talking about the real. This year, the
question posed by this forum of what the *Graun* likes to call the "world's
most brilliant minds" was "which scientific idea would you retire, and
why?" Interesting. You can read Ian McEwan's polemic against arrogance,
Azra Raza on the use of mouse models in science, and Stewart Brand on the
linear no-threshold radiation dose hypothesis. By all means, take a look.
It's inte... more »
Toss another book on the fire
Yeah, it's an old toon recycled for Steve's Libricide :
*CBC Fifth Estate : Silence of the Labs*
I see Steve has also recycled Dimitri Soudas back into play.
I like how Dimitri's new rug really ties the room together.
Quakes offshore Chiba and the new volcano growing offshore of Tokyo - are there connections between these two different events and perhaps a precursor of a large seismic event ?
5 continuous quakes offshore Chiba→JP Gov “New irregular diastrophism
on-going offshore different from 311″
Posted by *Mochizuki* on January 12th, 2014 · No Comments
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*Note : If you are from the international mass media, Don’t read this site
before having a contact with me.*
Following up this article.. *5 quakes Chiba east offshore within 7 hours on
1/2/2014* [URL]
The continuous earthquakes are assumed to be “slow earthquake [wikipedia]“,
according to Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Th... more »
Sunday Classics: Now we hear Mahler's heartbreaking "Kindertotenlieder"
*Baritone Matthias Goerne sings "Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n" ("Now
will the sun rise just as brightly"), the opening song of Mahler's
Kindertotenlieder, with Jonathan Nott conducting the Mahler Youth
Orchestra, at a Proms concert in the Royal Albert Hall, Sept. 4, 2009.*
Now will the sun rise just as brightly
as if no misfortune had happened in the night.
The misfortune happened to me alone;
the sun shines for everyone.
Your must not hoard the night within,
it must be absorbed into the eternal light.
A little lamp in my shelter has gone out;
hail to the joyful light of the wo... more »
Top 100 Movies by Body Count
Full list over at MovieBodyCounts.com. Also thanks to Business Insider for
entering that data and drawing this graph.
North Carolina's Unemployment Misery Made Unbearable By Koch-Funded State Rethuglicans, But Not To Worry - Plantations Being Gov't-Funded To Return!
January 11, 2014 The Raleigh Experiment North Carolina is an interesting
place these days, and I mean that in the worst possible way. It’s a
southern state, but one with a major technology complex, growing foreign
investment, and what seemed until recently to be a moderating, increasingly
sophisticated political culture. But then came the Republican wave of 2010,
and NC was taken over
"Do ‘Question Time’ audiences need to be quite so hostile?"
It's interesting that Nigel Farage seems to have come to the same
conclusion as James Delingpole about the problem with BBC One's *Question
Time.*
Just as Dellers "totally believes" that the *QT* team tries its best to
ensure that their audiences reflect the political spectrum, so Nige also
says (in today's* Independent*) that he's "not pointing the finger of blame
at the *QT* team" for the peculiar hostility he and other UKIP members so
often face from *Question Time *audiences, and the evident fact that *QT *audiences
generally do *not* seem to reflect the political spectrum. ... more »
Visual Stimulation for a Sunday evening
[image: Someone at work finally paid attention to my warning sign.]
[image: Watch out!]
[image: Bilbo Baggins, everyone.]
and just in case you don't think that your eyes are the projectors ....
US Senator Ted Cruz speaks at Texas Public Policy Foundation's Policy Orientation 2014...
*take the time to listen. *
You won't be sorry...
Promise.
Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, January 12th, 2013
Sunday.... And again time for my usual rant that will both surprise you and
piss many people off at the same time...
First, I want again to thank everyone for their support over the last while
during a time when I was led to believe that I had a heart condition... I
went for the followup this last week, and the doctor stated that my heart
is perfectly fine. There is no blockage and all the EKG and blood work
readings are back to normal. I can almost safely state that the cause of
all the commotion in the first place was most probably due to one heck of a
viral infection in my che... more »
The legendary megapod
Clive James is stilling writing beautiful TV reviews at the *Daily
Telegraph*. Here's an extract from his latest piece:
Having painstakingly disguised an underwater camera as a tuna, BBC One was
rewarded with an entrée into a so-called “megapod” of dolphins. We were
assured that this was the first time ever that a megapod had been seen. And
indeed* Dolphins: Spy in the Pod *featured some stunning footage, if
stunning footage is what you go for. Personally, after the first thousand
or so dolphins had surrounded the dummy tuna, I started to get a bit blasé.
When so many dolphins mee... more »
'Soft power' and Fat Boy Kim
Kim Jong-un
*The Sunday Times* had a bit of a scoop this morning, reporting that
William Hague and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are "helping" BBC
Worldwide to negotiate with the sick, mass-murderous regime in North Korea
to encourage them to allow various BBC programmes to be broadcast on the
totalitarian dictatorship's airwaves - an exercise in 'soft power' by the
British government.
[This is probably the sort of thing that gets our friend Tom wound up about
the BBC. Has he given up already?].
*The Sunday Times*'s headline went for one BBC programme in particular - *Teletu... more »
What is the "Holocaust" story really all about?
Jewish leaders in Hungary are up in arms about a *"planned monument to
victims of the Germany occupation for ignoring Hungary’s complicity in the
Holocaust,"* according to an article recently published by the *Jewish
Telegraph Agency*.
The Hungarian government is *planning to build* a monument commemorating
*all* alleged "victims" of the "German occupation" of Hungary during WWII,
not merely the alleged Jewish victims of the fake "Holocaust" story.
Essentially, the organized Jewish community in Hungary is upset because
their racial and religious kinsmen are not receiving all the att... more »
Spin
Stats are great. Really they are.
The problems start when people start spinning the stats.
Here's an example.
The statistic that 24,000 families who do not live in the UK receive child
benefit, costing millions of pounds, is "crackers", according to the *Daily
Mail*.
The same figure - without any mention of the 'millions of pounds' cost -
was mentioned by Shaun Ley on this morning's *Broadcasting House. *
He, however, spun presented it as being *only* 24,000 families, describing
the numbers as "smaller" than might be expected.
Spinning the stats then.
*Broadcasting House ... more »
Ayn Rand on science, altruism, and the U.S. businessmen's treason
Ayn Rand (1905-1982; she moved from the USSR to the U.S. in 1931) was an
originally Russian Jewish, later U.S. author, philosopher, and a
libertarian guru. Several folks have pointed out to me that her thinking
was close to mine.
I have never been exposed to her work and thoughts – a fact that is not too
surprising given my 16 years in a communist country plus 10 years in the
U.S. Academia. But finally today, when Willie Soon recommended me the
52-minute talk above – named "The Sanction of the Victims" – that she gave
in 1981, a year before she died of a heart attack (it was her l... more »
Ravitch Announces Randi's "Decoupling" of Common Core from VAM
With light diminishing between Diane Ravitch and Randi Weingarten's
positions, Dr. Ravitch posted this this morning. My comment at her blog
follows.
*A reader who calls himself or herself “Democracy” left comments
criticizing me for defending Randi Weingarten–or perhaps for not attacking
her.*
*Here is my response to Democracy:*
*Democracy, you ask a good question, and I will answer as best I can..*
*As you know, I have criticized the Common Core in many posts. I have
criticized the lack of transparency and the lack of educator participation
in its development. I have criticized the... more »
Why Debbie Wasserman Schultz Should Never Be Speaker Of The House
Sugar is just one reason to keep her away from power; more later
Since 1990, Big Sugar has given just over $34.3 million in legalistic
bribes to Members of Congress and candidates to Congress. The biggest
recipient in the House is corrupt Blue Dog Collin Peterson (MN), once
chair, now ranking member, of the den in inequity known as the House
Agriculture Committee. He's banked $321,627 so far. The current Ag
Committee Chair, Frank Lucas (R-OK) has gobbled up $205,000 from the sugar
barons so far. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has done nicely as
well-- just about $100,000 b... more »
THE BUTCHER OF SABRA AND SHATILA IS DEAD; WHO AMONG THE WORLD’S LEADERS WILL BE THERE FOR HIS FUNERAL?
It’ll be interesting to see who of the world’s leaders will turn up for
this war criminals funeral. Will the mainstream Western media whitewash his
crimes or simply ignore them?
See here for an accounting of Sharon’s part in the crime.
Thailand: Thaksin Supporters Threaten to Kidnap & Kill Daughters of Army Chief
*Image: Thai Army Commander-in-ChiefPrayuth Chan-ocha's twin daughters
havebecome the target of kidnapping and deaththreats by the supporters of
ThaksinShinawatra.**January 12, 2014* (ATN) - The Bangkok Post has
confirmed that craven threats by Thaksin supporters have been made
against Thai Royal Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha and his
twin daughters. In it's article, "Abduction threat on Prayuth's daughters,"
the Bangkok Post would report:
The Royal Thai Army on Sunday condemned an anti-coup activist and supporter
of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra afte... more »
Mike Sledge on The Realist Report
*Reconstructions Live w/ Mike Sledge - Renegade Broadcasting*
Subscribe to *The Realist Report on YouTube*
Poverty Gold
President Obama has marked the 50th Anniversary of LBJ's War on Poverty
speech with yet another cynical dog whistle to Wall Street. In announcing
the formation of "Promise Zones" in five carefully selected communities,
Obama effectively assured the ruling class that their record windfalls will
continue, unimpeded and unabated. There's gold in them thar blighted hills
and dales, so the free market is cordially invited to line its pockets from
so-called Poverty Pockets.
As CounterPunch's Mike Whitney so saliently observes (h/t AnneEnigma),
Obama's promise zones are nothing more than... more »
Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative
(or if it’s anything to do with Israel, eliminate the positive and
accentuate the negative)
Of all the media coverage of ‘Ariel Sharon the man’ I’ve looked at today, I
don’t think the BBC’s has been the most biased. Yesterday they dwelt far
too much on the bitter reactions of Israel’s enemies, though there are some
grudging attempts at balance, frequently qualified by those obligatory
‘buts’.
I understand there are individual BBC Twitterers who would have it
otherwise. No balance and no buts.
The comparison between the overall coverage of Sharon’s life and death and
Mandela’s has... more »
Ariel Sharon Dead
Stephen Harper is very saddened.
Sharon who butchered Palestinians mercilessly.
*Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, described Sharon as "one of the
architects of modern-day Israel" and one of its "staunchest defenders" in a
statement of condolence."A renowned military leader, Mr. Sharon pursued the
security of Israel with unyielding determination that was recognized by
friends and foes alike."* CBC
I wonder what rest of the folks think.
Rethinking “Creative” in the Common Core Era: “Let’s not tell them what to write”
Rethinking \”Creative\” in the Common Core Era: \”Let\’s not tell them what
to write\”. via Rethinking “Creative” in the Common Core Era: “Let’s not
tell them what to write”.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
A Friend
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131216154851.htm
*Global Warming: Four Degree Rise Will End Vegetation 'Carbon Sink',
Research Suggests*
*Dec. 16, 2013* — Latest climate and biosphere modelling suggests that the
length of time carbon remains in vegetation during the global carbon cycle
-- known as 'residence time' -- is the key "uncertainty" in predicting how
Earth's terrestrial plant life -- and consequently almost all life -- will
respond to higher CO2 levels and global warming, say researchers.
Carbon will spend increasingly less time in vegetation as the negative
i... more »
Cattle Mutilations: “Some Animals Survive” - Interview with Daniel U. Padilla
*Cattle Mutilations: “Some Animals Survive”*
*A Radio Interview with Daniel Ubaldo Padilla in Chepes, La Rioja –
December 13 2013*
*[Intro omitted]*
*Daniel U. Padilla*: Just let me clarify a few things. While I am
identified as an ufologist within the UFO community in Argentina my
specialty is the subject of mutilations. There is no question that the UFO
phenomenon is tightly related with the cattle mutilations phenomenon, which
I have been studying for eleven years, I want to be objective about this.
While the ETH or the UFO theory of beings that may not be from here is
invo... more »
Still Chugging along....
[image: IMG_2779]
...but I probably won't be posting here for a few days. Insanely busy.
_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its
sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores
of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
Untitled
*VIDEO: Large crowd greets Saints upon return ~WWLTV *
*James Gill: How the Brits feel about the War of 1812 ~New Orleans Advocate*
*Richard Campanella Cityscapes: How New Orleans House Numbers Came To Be
~Eve Troeh, WWNO*
*Exhibition: ‘Photography at NOMA’ at The New Orleans Museum of Art ~Dr.
Marcus Bunyan, Art Blart*
Today's cardinal number: 19
Poor Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.
On the day Pope Francis makes him a cardinal, the BBC's report on the
Pope's move relegates his good news to the final two paragraphs.
Yes, the good old internationalist BBC is far more interested in the new
cardinals from the Global South.
This is how they begin their report:
Pope Francis is to appoint 19 new cardinals next month, including churchmen
from Haiti and Burkina Faso, reflecting his commitment to the poor.
Well done Cardinal-to-be Vincent!
The Costs of Common Core?
Funding public education constitutes a large percentage of many states’
total budget, and thus, over the past three or four decades, the role of
governor has become necessarily one that impacts education policy strongly.
I believe that increased connection between partisan politics and
conducting public schools has been powerfully and negatively influential.
When I posted Millions […]
Arik, Dieudonne, vicars under attack, Flesh and Blood, Bethlehem Unwrapped, Paul Goggins, a codex, and the devil
This morning's *Sunday* began with a short appraisal of the life of *Ariel
Sharon* from the BBC's Kevin Connolly, beginning with Mr Sharon's role in
"what Israelis call their war of independence" (as Edward Stourton put it).
One area that interested Kevin and Ed was the changing nature of Zionism.
We now tend to think of Zionism as being "associated with Orthodox
religion", said Kevin, but in the early days it was largely a secular,
socialist movement driven by the urge to build a new kind of society based
on the principles of the Left, and the Sharon family belonged to that
secul... more »
More from Gilad Atzmon on the censorship of Dieudonné & la quenelle
Thanks again gallier!
gallier2January 12, 2014 at 5:42 AM
New intervention from Gilad Atzmon about Dieudo
What do you think about the issues raised by Gilad?
Here He Comes
So you thought the election was in 2015. And now, like Humphrey Bogart --
who went to Casablanca for the waters -- you discover that you have been
misinformed. The election campaign has begun. Don Martin writes:
Stephen Harper photo-ops are being booked across the country. Advance
squads deployed to handpick participants to ensure partisan purity, gender
balance and ethnic diversity. Film crews have been hired to document it
all. Editors will varnish over any negative optics. And a velvet-voiced
narrator will script the action during breaks in the Maple Leaf Forever
soundtrack.
... more »
Why Steny Hoyer Should Never Be Speaker Of The House
Hoyer: Two portions for K Street, drippings for working families
Members if Congress tell me if Hoyer ever gets the gavel every single bill
will go through K Street for revision and nothing worthwhile will veer get
done. Hoyer is the worst kind of centrist and has always fought for his
wing of the Democratic Party-- the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.
This week he was doing just what you would expect some old, out of touch
white guy to do-- campaigning against progressive efforts to end marijuana
prohibition. Even while his own state's dynamic, progressive gubernatorial
hope... more »
Fukushima Updates January 9 , 2014 - Unvarnished news , articles and views regarding the unfolding global disaster otherwise known as the Fukushima debacle .....
Catharsis Ours - 13 hours ago
Ex - SKF
#Fukushima I NPP: Data on Strontium in Water Hasn't Been Published for 6
Months, and Will Not Be Published Until TEPCO Figures Out What's Wrong
What's worse is (as usual) TEPCO didn't say anything until now.
What's even worse is that TEPCO is not going to release the data until it
fully investigates why the new results differ from the old results.
Nuclear Regulation Authority was openly expressing doubt about the data
that came from TEPCO on radioactive materials measurement, and that was
about 6 months ago.
From Yomiuri Shinbun (1/9/2014):
東電、ストロンチウム濃度公表せず…測定誤り？
TEPCO... more »
FEMALE MP IN PEDOPHILE RING
*Andrew Ash, who was abused by members of a pedophile ring, which included
a female member of parliament.*
A female member of the UK parliament sexually abused a thirteen-year-old
boy called Andrew Ash.
Andrew Ash was brought from a government children's home, to parliament, to
be sexually abused.
*Female MP abused boy in care* - Express.co.uk
*Female MPs.*
The female MP was part of a pedophile ring 'at the heart of government', a
ring that included Sir Jimmy Savile.
Andrew was also trafficked to Amsterdam on a number of occasions.
*Female MP abused boy in care* - Express.co.... more »
Greece updates January 12 , 2014 - Yanis Varoufakis: Greek Finance Minister Reveals Advanced Case of Stockholm Syndrome ........ Troika arrival likely to be postponed Target date for an agreement with the country’s creditors will be deferred to February as talks hit snags..... Greece's industrial output continues to suffer - suffering since 2008 !
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/01/yanis-varoufakis-greek-finance-minister-reveals-advanced-case-stockholm-syndrome.html
Yanis Varoufakis: Greek Finance Minister Reveals Advanced Case of Stockholm
SyndromePosted on January 11, 2014 by Yves Smith
*By Yanis Varoufakis, professor of economics at the University of Athens.
Originally posted at his blog*
This is a stupendous story. Possibly for the first time in its tainted
history, the International Monetary Fund had a major change of heart and
tried to do the right thing by a ‘program’ country, only to be turned down
by that very ... more »
Another Republican, Another Bridge to Nowhere
(By *American Zen*'s Mike Flannigan, on loan from Ari.)
“*Time for some traffic problems* in *Fort Lee*.” -Former Chris Christie
Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly, pictured above, returning to the
scene of the crime
It's tough, if not outright impossible, to provide additional news or
even original commentary to the Bridgegate episode of September 9-13, 2013
that Rachel Maddow hasn't already covered since she's been screaming about
this from the rafters of MSNBC's sound stages. Suffice it to say that while
the 2000 pages of documents consisting of damning emails and text... more »
Thor News - NeoWise 'asteroid hunter' back online - planetary spiral orbits
I love Thor News; he is Texas's answer to BBC Sky At Night's Sir Patrick
Moore. Here he is telling us that infrared object detector NEOWISE is back
online since they 'fixed the fridge' on it.
Lovely diarism.
*ADDITIONAL SPACE GUBBINS:* did you know that our Solar System is in the
Milky Way Galaxy? Of course you did. But did you know that the plane of
rotation isn't flat to our galaxy. In fact it's close to a ninty degree
tilt. This means that the planets, as they rotate round the sun are forming
a SPIRAL PATH through the cosmos. I was *umming* and *arring* about
actually posting ... more »
BBC News - Ariel Sharon death: Ex-PM to lie in state in Israel
Unlike with Nelson 'the second Christ' Mandela, on whose death no negative
comments were allowed, the BBC's report of the death of Ariel Sharon
contains mention of his 'crime':
'... after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 he was found to have
been responsible by an Israeli inquiry of failing to prevent the massacre
of Palestinians by Christian Phalangist militia in Beirut's Sabra and
Shatila refugee camps.'
I don't recall Nelson Mandela's terrorist past getting much if any coverage
on the BBC. Nor was Nelson Mandela held responsible for failing to prevent
his wife's fondness f... more »
WAR CRIMES DOSSIER NAMES WALL
*Wall and Blair.*
*General Sir Peter Wall*, the head of the British Army, could be prosecuted
for war crimes.
*Dossier on 'abuse' by UK forces in Iraq goes to ICC* - The Independent
A 250-page dossier names Sir Peter Wall and gives details of beatings,
electrocution, mock executions and sexual assault.
The dossier has been presented to the* International Criminal Court.*
The former UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and the former UK Defence
Minister Adam Ingram are also named in the report.
*Iraq torture.*
The dossier is the result of several years' work by Public Interest Lawyers ... more »
Roger Roger
Reading the *Biased BBC* blog for many years, I've been able to follow the
extraordinary saga of the Freedom of Information battle between dogged
blogger Tony Newbery of Harmless Sky and the almost-as-dogged BBC over a
2006 seminar organised by the corporation's environment analyst Roger
Harrabin.
As is its way (think of the Balen Report), the BBC made a determined and
legally costly effort to keep all information about the controversial
seminar secret, for its eyes only. The legal battle came to an end last
month with Mr Newbery's final victory over the BBC.
*The Mail on Sunda... more »
inBloom, Clever, and Student Privacy: More “Big Data” Considerations
My last few posts have focused on the issue of student data collection,
storage, and dissemination to “education vendors.” Meanwhile, I have also
been reading about the call to separate the Common Core State Standards
(CCSS) from assessments. I maintain that the spectrum of reforms are
intended to be a package deal and are promoted as such by the […]
EXPOSED: Fake "Respect My Vote" Protest Abuse Fellow Protester
*January 12, 2014* (ATN) - Thai demonstrators donning white shirts,
lighting candles, releasing white balloons and carrying placards stating
"Respect My Vote," are portrayed as ordinary people who simply want to
defend the democratic process against growing anti-regime protesters.
However, it was clear from the beginning that it was nothing more than a
rebranding of the regime's "red shirt" enforcers in an effort to confuse
the public both in Thailand and internationally.
*Image: The regime believes the Thai people, and more importantly,
international audiences are as ignorant as ... more »
War watch January 9 -11, 2014.... Iran nuclear talks with P5 + 1 hit snag over Tehran's nuclear centrifuge research ....... Syria rebel infighting continues as Rebel forces attack two chemical weapon sites..... Iraq's chaotic situation in Anbar continues as tribes want neither Iraq's military nor Al Qaeda in their midst .....
Catharsis Ours - 21 hours ago
Iran.......
Obama WH: Pro-Sanctions Senators Should Admit They Want War With Iran
John Glaser, January 10, 2014
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As Jason Ditz highlights in the news section today, congressional
support for heaping additional sanctions on Iran, even as the interim deal
plays out ahead of further negotiations on a final deal, is picking up in
the Senate. Up to 58 senators have committed to voting yes on new
sanctions, an action the Obama administration and Iranian negotiators have
said would kill good faith negotiations.
But the Obama White House seems to be steppin... more »
Central African Republic President Michel Djotodia Resigns
Americans don't know much about the Central African Republic. Until the
last couple of weeks it hadn't been in the American news cycles since 1979
when French paratroopers ousted self-proclaimed Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa,
who had been eating school children. He was found guilty of related charges
but they never proved the cannibalism charges-- nor did they try very hard
since it was seen as a national embarrassment-- and he served 7 years of
his life-in-prison sentence. He was posthumously pardoned in 2010.
One of Africa's most brutal dictators, accused of cannibalism and feedin... more »
Video - What is the White Man March?
Subscribe to *Renegade Broadcasting on YouTube*
A Moral Outrage: Albert Woodfox's 41 Years in Solitary Confinement, Despite Three Overturned Convictions --An interview with Rev. Dr. Patricia Bates
Sign the Amnesty Intl. petition for Albert Woodfox!
*(PHOTO: On behalf of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Rev.
Dr. Patricia Bates speaks in support of Albert Woodfox at the Louisiana
State Capitol in Baton Rouge on October 21, 2013.)*
*A Moral Outrage: Albert Woodfox's 41 Years in Solitary Confinement,
Despite Three Overturned Convictions *
*--An interview with Rev. Dr. Patricia Teel Bates*
*By Angola 3 News*
This past Fall, Herman Wallace of the Angola 3 made news headlines around
the world when his conviction was overturned and he was dramatically
released from pr... more »
How to fix Toronto for good
Toronto needs better hard power or infrastructure and better soft power or
cultural efficiency. Both powers are best practiced on a generational
timeline.
Children continually hear they are the future, but its always admonished in
a glib nebulous way, " you can be anything you want" sorry no you cant, you
have opportunities, but in fact everyone can not be anything they want.
This is the foundation of the lie politicians use to win short sighted
victories.
The TDSB should have a *How to be the Future curriculum*. In the early
years its mostly stories of heroes and villains. Rob ... more »
Neiman Marcus also has sustained a cyber attack customer data breach ( back in mid- December ) involving credit and debit cards used at Neiman Marcus ! Only after Brian Krebs made inquiries , did Neiman Marcus acknowledge the mid - December breach and that it is working with the U.S. Secret Service to investigate a hacker break-in that has exposed an unknown number of customer cards. ! Neiman Marcus spokesperson Ginger Reeder said the company does not yet know the cause, size or duration of the breach, noting that these are details being sought by a third-party forensics firm which has yet to complete its investigation. But she said there is no evidence that shoppers who purchased from the company’s online stores were affected by this breach. In that regard , the breach at Neiman Marcus is similar to the Target breach ( online stores were not affected in the Target breach. ) And as of today , the Target breach remains an unsolved crime. next question - how many other stores might have suffered breached between black Friday and Xmas ?
As to the additional breaches - several more yet to be revealed and the
Target hack attack grow larger.....
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-more-well-known-u-retailers-victims-cyberattacks-024345910--sector.html
Exclusive: More well-known U.S. retailers victims of cyber attacks - sources
By Jim Finkle and Mark Hosenball
BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Target Corp and Neiman Marcus are not the
only U.S. retailers whose networks were breached over the holiday shopping
season last year, according to sources familiar with attacks on other
merchants that have yet to be publicly disclos... more »
Breaking GMO News From Kauai, Hawaii
BREAKING: Pioneer, Syngenta & DOW Chemical file suit against Kaua'i to
invalidate Bill 2491, which requires them to disclose the pesticides they
spray and to maintain buffer zones for safety. Looks like they've just shot
themselves in the f...oot. More publicity to show the world how evil they
are.
READ THE NEWS:
http://news.yahoo.com/agrichemical-companies-sue-block-anti-gmo-law-hawaii-171141482--sector.html
READ about the link between this birth defect and the herbicide atrazine:
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/02/05/link.between.birth.defect.gastroschisis.and.agricul... more »
Untitled
I find it amazing how low our mainstream media has stooped, lazy, bought
off and complicit in propping up both a corrupt and inept BC Liberal
Government, Gordon Campbell was corrupt as the day is long and nothing has
changed under the guidance of Christy Clark, if anything it has gotten
worse, when will the media remember their job is to hold Government to
account and not just cheerlead and read press releases..
Can`t they figure out why no one wants to buy newspapers anymore, or listen
to talk radio, the public needs critical thought, actually the public would
appreciate even a lit... more »
Alex Rodriguez suspension decision released - 162 games ( full regular season ) and post season ban for the upcoming season set by Independent Arbitrator Frederic Horowitz ..... 60 Minutes will interview Anthony Bosch ( formerly of Biogenesis ) and MLB COO Rob Manfred - discussion of the case against A- Rod...... meanwhile A- Rod plans to head to Federal Court to seek an injunction !
http://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-news/2014/1/11/5299642/alex-rodriguez-suspended-steroids-evidence-anthony-bosch-60-minutes/in/5062745
Alex
Rodriguez suspension: MLB's evidence to be presented on 60 Minutes
Sunday night
By Tanya Bondurant @TanyaBondurant on Jan 11 2014, 8:00p 5
Patrick McDermott
Biogenesis clinic owner Anthony Bosch and MLB COO Rob Manfred will
appear
during primetime to hash out details of the case against A-Rod.
TWEET (10) SHARE (8) SHARE 5 COMMENTS
The world will get a look at the details of MLB's case against Alex
Rodriguezthat led to his 162-game suspe... more »
In re. Smartypants Researchers v. James Bond, I'm inclined to side with 007
*Caption from the medical journal BMJ:* "*James Bond’s weekly alcohol
consumption by year of book publication*"
*by Ken*
When it comes to awe for doctors, my friend Peter had his pretty well
derailed by going to school with a sizable number of schlubs who were fated
to go on to become same. As a result, in his mind, medical degrees and
licenses notwithstanding, they remained pretty much the same schlubs he had
known in high school and college.
And so in approaching this research into the drinking habits of Commander
James Bond, aka 007, I'm inclined to bear in mind that the resear... more »
TV Watch: Searching for bright spots in this cataclysmically awful TV season
*Even though, or perhsps because, the comic-book store has descended into
ghostly solitude, Stuart (Kevin Sussman) has amply rewarded the increased
attention of The Big Bang Theory's producers -- and the other "supporting"
characters are coming up aces too.*
*by Ken*
I haven't been doing much "TV Watch"-ing lately, which might be because I
haven't been doing much TV watching, but anyone who knows me knows that
that's a laugh. Especially with two shiny new TVs, I've probably never
watched more TV in my life. It's just that less and less of it is, you
know, *TV*. At least not curren... more »
JFK50: "Lyndon Did It".
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Defaming The Dead:
A Legal Remedy for Absurd Charges That LBJ Murdered JFKBy JOHN W. DEANFriday,
Mar. 12, 2004
In October 2003, Barr McClellan published *Blood, Money & Power: How L.B.J.
Killed J.F.K.*. As its title suggests, the book makes an astounding claim
that former President Lyndon Johnson, and other deceased officials and
persons, were involved in a conspiracy to murder President Kennedy. This
claim is patently absurd. Yet according to the *New York Times*, over
75,000 copies of the book have been sold.
McClellan is a retired Texas attorney who says h... more »
Musical Interlude: Yanni, “To the One Who Knows”
Yanni, “To the One Who Knows”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF3kxNYTmsk
A scheduled Harperectomy . . .
SOCIAL
MEDICINE:People like the Koch brothers, Stevie and Rob Ford are
actually mentally-ill from the POV of rational humanist social norms.
By their lights, though, their greed is 100% rational and desirable,
regardless of cost to others. The sad truth of history is that other
people who think like that have managed to do a lot of damage before
they were stopped.THE POLITICAL SCALPEL:
Many rivers to cross for Christie
While I continue to think Christie's bridge scandal will ultimately lead
nowhere, the story has a lot longer legs than I first anticipated. The
hundreds of pages of documents will keep the media busy for at least a
couple of weeks and if it turns out the lane closures were illegal somebody
could get indicted. It could become a enduring scandal of his
administration. But hell, we're talking about Jersey. Politicians and their
operatives are always getting caught in scandals. It's part of the fabric
of life in The Garden State.
Everybody who's not a gullible, hardcore conservative kn... more »
Guided Reading in Kindergarten is one of the many dramatic outrages of #commoncore
As the regular reader knows, I am now teaching Kindergarten in SE
Washington, DC this year. Enjoying it so much more than teaching at the
university level. This entire school year for DCPS, for whom I worked
previously over a decade ago, there has been an obsession with the use of
Guided Reading. My expertise […]
Think you better slow your Mustang down
I'm still moving slow this week. So have some funky music.
We're One and we're done.
With the completion of this experiment on humanity, a wide diversity of
emotions surface. Anger, disbelief, fear, exhaustion and skepticism are
among them. What can be trusted? Who has our best interests at heart? How
do we discern assistance from manipulation? What are the motives of anyone
in power; of anyone period?
Each question leads ultimately back to you. It depends always on your
point of view. We are sharing a pivotal moment. Each of us decided to
join this party for our own reasons. As of late, those reasons are coming
into sharper focus as our paths diverge. I... more »
Coming out of the Cold
January 11, 2014 We went from zero for a high (with a low of -10) on
Monday or Tuesday of last week to thirty-four for a low tonight and sixty
degrees for a high tomorrow. Like much of the country, … Continue reading →
Canada Stupid, Norwary Smart
Every citizen of Norway is now a millionaire. The same would be true in
Canada if PET had not lost to Brian Mulroney.
“Rich People on Spending Sprees May Find One Day That Income Inequality Bites Them in the Wallet”
*“Rich People on Spending Sprees May Find One Day*
* That Income Inequality Bites Them in the Wallet”*
By Lynn Stuart Parramore
“For the past five years, the market for luxury goods has been on a roll,
even as the rest of the economy sputtered. Fancy cars are flying off the
production lines. Tiffany and Prada are in the pink. Even Big Tobacco is in
on the action, doing brisk business in high-end cigars. Consumer spending
is up! the latest headlines shout. Rejoice! But wait — if a big chunk of
this is driven by sales of luxury goods, is that ultimately a good thing
for the economy?
... more »
We On The Grind In... Georgia
In Georgia, they want Medicare expansion and they want to keep their crazy
anti-healthcare Governor. Maybe they listen to too much Hate Talk Radio and
watch too much Fox News and have wound up with addled brains, but an
Atlanta *Journal-Constitution* poll released today yields a portrait of one
very confused electorate. Let's start with this interesting finding among
Peach State respondents: 57% of them favor Medicaid expansion. OK, that
makes sense and is pretty much in line with what voters in other red states
without Medicare expansion want. But the guy who's preventing Medicare... more »
Are the Greens Progressive?
Are the Greens a progressive party? Are they enemies of the labour movement
that need combatting alongside the Tories, UKIP, LibDems and the rest? I
ask because, as *Graun* readers may have seen, Ian Sinclair posed the
question last week; "why does the left ignore the Green Party?" It's a fair
enough question to ask. Ian provided a list of policies most Labour types
wish we would take on board. Wild ultra-leftist promises like
renationalising rail and public utilities, which also happen to be backed
by the public at large. All progressive, all would go some way to making
Britain a ... more »
BEN ALI, THEY FOOLED US!
It is now three years since the CIA, NATO and Mossad overthrew Zine
Ben-Ali, the man who ensured Tunisia was peaceful, easy-going and
increasingly prosperous.
As a result of the CIA-NATO-Mossad coup, crime and poverty have soared.
On 7 January 2014, protesters were out in force.
The cry one could hear in streets across Tunisia is: *"Ben Ali, they fooled
us! Come back soon!"*
*'There has been a surge of nostalgia' for Ben Ali in Tunisia *- FRANCE 24
- Jan 10, 2014
In Tunis, the words* 'Vive Ben Ali'* have been written on the walls of
buildings.
A Facebook page entitled *'Forg... more »
Assorted observations
In the wake of all those uplifting pro-immigration stories and items
featuring irreproachable Bulgarian and Romanian professional individuals
who intend coming here, or who are here already, I was stunned when a
little upcoming item on local BBC TV was trailed....... “How easy it is for
immigrants to claim welfare.” The link has disappeared from the BBC iPlayer
(it was there earlier) so you'll have to take my word for it.
*“They call this country 'a field of wonders!' ”* At least I'm pretty sure
that’s what this Russian interpreter who helped them apply for their
benefits said. Howev... more »
“Terrorist Baloney - The Al-Qaeda Scam”
*“Terrorist Baloney - The Al-Qaeda Scam”*
by Eric Margolis
“How did al-Qaida, a tiny anti-Communist group in Afghanistan that had no
more than 200 active members in 2001 become a supposed worldwide threat?
How can al-Qaida be all over the Mideast, North Africa, and now much of
black Africa? This after the US spent over $1 trillion trying to stamp out
al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan?
The answer is simple. As an organization and threat, al-Qaida barely
exists. But as a name, al-Qaida and “terrorism” have become the west’s
handy universal term for armed groups fighting western in... more »
Solar Update: ...... Something stinks.
Well after the events of past 4 days it is, in my opinion, absolutely
conclusive that NASA, NOAA and there sister agencies are lying through
their teeth, or completely incompetent.
On Wed I published a Solar Update HERE, mostly focused on the X class flare
from spot 1944 and the predicted upcoming geomagnetic storm caused by the
CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) generated by the X Flare.
"NOAA is giving a risk 80% of M Class and 50% of X Class flares for
today.... I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I give it 100% chance
of an MClass flare today from 1944/6, and I expect we'll see ... more »
Will Obama Raid Your Pension To Bailout Bankers? ...
*you betcha.*
It *will* happen.
And you better keep your eyes on your 401K and savings accounts, too
From: The Western Center for Journalism
Will Fukushima Daiichi Kill Vast Swathes of Life in the Pacific Ocean?
(Hat tip: The argument outlined here was suggested in a careful assemblage
of Enenews headlines, particularly this one:
Radiation jumps around Fukushima plant — Now ~1,000% previous levels —
Tepco kept strontium-90 data secret for months — Officials knew of increase
but ‘too busy’ to do anything — Gov’t holds Friday meeting about what can
be done. I've made the argument explicit using additional data.)
The nuclear village is prepped for the propaganda war.
Nuclear scientists are lined up ready with their research to minimize the
impact. Even non-biased scientists may grossly underes... more »
A Week's Worth of 'Newsnight'
As promised earlier this week, here's a review of this week's *Newsnight.*
OK, before I begin I've got to say that I almost immediately regretted
promising to make 2014 *Is the BBC biased?*'s year of *Newsnight*. I'd
nearly forgotten that I don't actually enjoy watching *Newsnight. *It's
fair to say that I've now experienced 'total memory recall' though - and,
no, I still don't like watching *Newsnight*.
And now that ex-*Guardian* assistant editor Ian Katz is in charge it's
becoming more *Guardian-*like than ever - full of *Guardian*-geared topics
and hip-'n-happening features abo... more »
Satire: Andy Borowitz, “Christie Unaware He Was the Governor”
*“Christie Unaware He Was the Governor”*
by Andy Borowitz
TRENTON (The Borowitz Report)— “At a hastily called press conference today,
Chris Christie revealed that he only became aware that he was the governor
of New Jersey in the past seventy-two hours. “Unbeknownst to me, some
people I thought I could trust were secretly working to elect me governor
of this state,” a visibly stunned Christie told reporters. “I have acted
swiftly and fired them all.” While asserting that he had terminated all of
the people who were involved in the scheme to elect him, he said that, if
he finds add... more »
Nationalism
*"For Mazzini, a nationality means a race, a fixed array of behavior like a
breed of dog or a species of animal. *
*He is not thinking of a national community united by a literate language
and a classical culture to which any person can become assimilated through
a political choice. *
*For Mazzini, race is unchangeable, and race is destiny. *
*It is a matter of blood and soil. *
*Cats fight dogs, French fight Germans, Germans fight Poles, and so on
through all eternity. These hatreds are the main datum of sensory
perception.*
*Each of Mazzini’s organizations demands immediate nationa... more »
New cover for iron buddhas
Iron Buddhas
By Risa Bear
View this Author's Spotlight
Paperback, 185 Pages
[image: Iron Buddhas]
Preview
Price: $11.99
Ships in 3-5 business days
Iron Buddhas is a lightly fictionalized memoir of a woman's experiences
tree planting and fire fighting in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s.
Stephanie Smith sets out from Georgia to Oregon in the winter of '75
seeking work in the woods. She finds that and more. By the author of
Starvation Ridge.
*PDF $1.99Epub $2.99*
The price of the paper edition, alas, had to go up, but the epubs have not
changed in price, and there is a blov... more »
US DOE's Guiding Principles: School Climate and Discipline
Reblogged from Ward 8 DC Teacher: Guiding Principle #1, creating a safe and
supportive school environment, is a great first step. However, we must move
beyond expressing idealistic principles, and more towards implementing
pragmatic best practices. Schools consisting of low-income, high-trauma,
and at-risk student populations need targeted approaches. My school, a DCPS
traditional public middle […]
THIS ISSUE ON CORPORATE WELFARE
My latest public access TV show with guest Orlando Delogu who is a retired
law professor at the University of Southern Maine. He specializes on
corporate welfare issues and helped us tremendously in our recent campaign
here in Bath to try to block the requested tax break by General Dynamics
that owns Bath Iron Works. We were able to trim about one million dollars
from this proposed corporate tax break. A bit more money for the local
people and less for those at the top of the war machine.
Shelley Moore Capito Says She "Stands With West Virginia Against Obama’s War On Coal"-- As Her Constituents Line Up For Bottled Water
Most West Virginians never seem to learn any lessons about the natural
resource exploitation companies that hold absolute power in their state.
Their bottom lines-- the only priority they care about-- trump the
well-being of the rest of society. That simple. It's why healthy societies
protect themselves from predators with regulations and effective
government. Now people in Charleston and 9 surrounding counties are praying
the trucks of bottled water arrive and keep arriving, courtesy of the
National Guard-- 9 counties where they can't use their regular water
sources for drinking... more »
Speaking of Long, Strange Trips
[image:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZPb4hyphenhyphenqD1O5pk4uWz50t7eH3LTOJSJzcZn9hxFWbDf6kxOYhPwdgHu1mrW1Kxm9Y2GLOm1I4s_AWnXRxvbp27DYyTdyWfgG_XCVGACPildsXlQ84KBENHi-Y3jASFMZlT2dPQg/s1600/DSC_0449.JPG]
I'll just get it out of the way right now. As this New Year has
already been strange and thick for us here at Pottersville, rarely if ever
in a good way, I can tell you that by the 29th, I will have already
forgotten that my 9th anniversary as a blogger is coming up. Coming up 13
days before that, or in the next five days, is my 55th birthday.
As I've stated recently, everything is hitting me all at once, namely
annual auto inspection, the renewal of my license and regist... more »
Question: Could the mess in Fort Lee, New Jersey have been a bungled attempt at a study?
*SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014*
*Its ostensible purpose:* Is it possible?
Is it possible that the mess in Fort Lee really was some sort of bungled
traffic study?
After scanning the new cache of documents released yesterday, we can’t
exactly say. Before we offer our reasons for saying that, we’ll offer an
overview:
We liberals are inclined to want to believe the worst about a pol like
Christie. All over the globe, we humans have always been so inclined.
That said, our public discourse has been a viper’s nest of bungled and
misleading narratives for the past many years. Examples:
In ... more »
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