Global seafloor map reveals stunning details of Earth's depths
Bleeping computer
New material steals oxygen from the air: One spoonful absorbs all the oxygen in a room
humpback is captured leaping out of the water
Bleeping computer
Bleeping Computer is a community devoted to providing
free original content consisting of computer help and tutorials in such a
way that the beginning computer user can understand.
10:24pm MDST Oct 3
The New Yorker cartoon dept. takes us behind the scenes, revealing stunning cartoon secrets
*"This island isn't big enough for two clichés."*
*by Ken*
They're a pretty tight fraternity, those *New Yorker* cartoonists. Which
makes it all the more remarkable that this week the cartoon dept. is taking
us behind the scenes and revealing some of their most closely held secrets:
the locations of some of the most heavily used cartoon settings. (It's said
that to be admitted to the guild every cartoonist has to produce a
successful cartoon using at least one of these locations.)
"Yhis week," says cartoon editor Bob Mankoff in his
e-newsletter-slash-blogpost, "The Secrets Behind ... more »
amazing but true: mlb does the right thing and increases fans' access to the postseason
The biggest surprise of the 2014 baseball postseason isn't the absence of
both the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. It isn't the Baltimore
Orioles, making the postseason for the first time since 1997, or the Kansas
City Royals, playing baseball in October for the first time since 1985.
The biggest surprise of the 2014 postseason is Major League Baseball's
decision to put fans ahead of corporate contracts.
After years of ensuring that baseball fans could only watch the playoffs
and World Series if they subscribed to certain television providers, MLB
has finally reversed cours... more »
Dear Gallopimg Beaver
thank you for the right to say
thanks
for
Eddie Izzard
and
Amy
Whinehouse...
The Daily "Near You?"
Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. Thanks for stopping by.
Chet Raymo, “A One-Minute Course In The Philosophy Of Science”
*“A One-Minute Course In The Philosophy Of Science”*
by Chet Raymo
"There was a time in my life, many years ago, when I immersed myself in the
philosophy of science. I wanted to understand what science was and on what
basis it could lay claim to truth. I read everyone from Plato to Popper. I
sat in on classes with Paul Feyerabend at the London School of Economics
and wondered what the hell the great man was saying. I gobbled up Thomas
Kuhn and Jacques Monad like candy. And when it was all over, I didn't know
much more about science than when I started. The history of science is
inf... more »
The Poet: Mary Oliver, "When Death Comes"
*"When Death Comes"*
“When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps his purse shut;
when death comes like the measle-pox;
When death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering;
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,
And I think of each life as a flower, a... more »
"We All Stumble..."
“Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.
That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.”
- Emily Kimbrough
"Show Your Soul..."
"One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a
stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like
gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up
flares, builds signal fires... causes proper matters to catch fire. To
display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these - to be fierce and
to show mercy toward others - both are acts of immense bravery and greatest
necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit
and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one
... more »
Tonights Movie Is Stalag 17 (1953)
*My Comment*: William Holden is great in this film .... a must see.
Urban Gadabout: It's off to D.C.! ('Cause they're making me go!)
*by Ken*
Thanks to the miracle of modern blog scheduling technology (which works
more or less like that great space-age technological innovation the alarm
clock), by the time you read this (or don't), I should be back with NYC
limits after my whirlwind descent on Washington, D.C. (*POST-TIME UPDATE*:
A post-time update follows this post, which for reasons I hope will be
obvious was written last night, allowing a few hours' sleep before my alarm
went off at 4:50am.) That's if all went according to plan, which is not one
of those assumptions I like to assume, especially when the fir... more »
British Aid Worker Alan Henning Beheaded By ISIS
*BREAKING NEWS: British Aid Worker Alan Henning Beheaded By ISIS Brute
'Jihadi John'... Who Threatens To Kill US War Veteran Next -- Daily Mail*
* Video claiming to show beheading of aid worker Alan Henning posted online
* Militant appears to be Jihadi John, and has the same thick London accent
* David Cameron brands group 'repulsive' saying killers will be hunted down
* American war veteran Peter Kassig is threatened with execution next
British aid worker Alan Henning has been beheaded by ISIS fighter Jihadi
John in a video posted by the terror group.
Before he is killed, a gaunt a... more »
President Haig
Haig was also Deep Throat.
Haig was fired, June 25th 1982.
Here's how Bob Woodward reported it on the front page of the Washington
Post:
"...unnamed sources had told him that Haig had been 'set up' by White House
rivals. Bob quoted a Haig deputy as saying, 'There was a master plan to get
rid of him.' Bob reported that the Haig associate named George Bush, James
A.Baker, Michael Deaver and Richard Darman as the four White House insiders
responsible for his ouster. The Haig ally, Bob wrote, believed that the
General was ousted as a result of personality and policy differences with... more »
The Proclamation of Baghdad - General Maude, 1917
The following proclamation was issued to the inhabitants of Baghdad on
March 19, 1917, by Lieut. General Sir Stanley Maude, shortly after the
occupation of the city by British forces.
To the People of Baghdad Vilayet:
In the name of my King, and in the name of the peoples over whom he rules,
I address you as follow:-
Our military operations have as their object the defeat of the enemy, and
the driving of him from these territories. In order to complete this task,
I am charged with absolute and supreme control of all regions in which
British troops operate; but our armies do n... more »
Some Further Developments on Brian Leiter and the PGR, following the September Statement and the Advisory Board Letter that Urges his Resignation
This is following up on the events a week or so back, which resulted in two
posts here and here. A string of unprovoked harassments, bullying and
threats towards various academic colleagues online by Brian Leiter, famous
philosophy blogger and coordinator of the *Philosophical Gourmet Report* (a
sort of home-cooked, informal ranking of English-speaking philosophy
departments based on mutual appraisal or lack of such by said
departements), finally led to a storm of protests. These were especially
strong in support of Leiter's latest victim, Carrie Ichikawa Jenkins and
documented in ... more »
MY FRIEND EVAN
is a Nazi.
Think about it.
My friend Davey is an Anarchist.
Would you lay your life down for them?
I would.
Sweden to recognise state of Palestine
© Janerik Henriksson, TT/ AFP | Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven after
declaring his government recognise a Palestinian state
http://www.france24.com/en/20141003-sweden-recognise-palestinian-state-says-new-pm/
*Sweden to recognise state of Palestine*
Latest update : 2014-10-03
Sweden’s new prime minister said Friday that his government will recognize
a Palestinian state, a move that drew praise from Palestinian officials.
In a declaration listing his government’s priorities, Social Democratic
leader Stefan Lofven told lawmakers that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
can only be ... more »
Hey Masters, Pay Attention!!!
You've come to understand the world is not as it has always seemed. In a
very 3D way, many things you may have assumed were rock solid and of pure
intent are in fact not solid at all. In many cases they are motivated by
some form of self interest rather than altruistic goal.
By now, these things do not surprise you as it seems there has been
revelation after revelation. No part of your institutional systems has been
left untouched. Your very schools, the places where you dutifully send your
precious offspring, are in more cases than not factories for a very
specific type of mind... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 3, 2014
*Ebola Isn’t The Big One. So What Is? And Are We Ready For It? -- The
Guardian *
*Humanity is locked in a millennia-old battle to the death with diseases.
The current outbreak of Ebola reminds us that as our cities get bigger and
international travel easier, the risks in an outbreak grow even higher.*
The Black Death swept into Europe on boats from the East in the 14th
century and killed as much as half the population of the continent,
somewhere between 75 and 200 million people.
The Spanish flu of 1918, carried around the world by soldiers bound for or
returning from the butcher... more »
LA Times will support John Deasy so long as their customers are corporate advertisers, rather than LAUSD schoolchildren
*I was interested in the fact that the scandal over Deasy's PhD hit the
headlines at the same time he was hired by Gates. His financial connections
with Robert Felner date back to his Santa Monica days — Susan Ohanian*
[image: Plutocratic priest of privatization LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy]Reaching
dizzying heights of comedic apologetics for beleaguered Broad
Superintendent Academy graduate John Deasy, the *Los Angeles Times* has
penned daily editorials and articles pleading the public to pressure our
elected school board into laying down and ignoring Deasy's latest batch of
f... more »
World Conference on Indigenous: Canada and Mexico expose themselves
By
Brenda Norrell
Censored News
To recap, let me know if I missed anything: First, a former CIA employee
tried to take control of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples
planning session near San Diego. Next people flew around the world
planning it. Next, the North American Caucus called for cancellation of
the conference. Next it was made clear that grassroots Indigenous could
not
World News Briefs -- October 2, 2014 (Evening Edition)
*Mob Attacks Hong Kong Protesters; Students Cite 'Triads and Thugs' --
Bloomberg*
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrators were attacked by hundreds of men at
two sites in the city, prompting student leaders to shelve talks with the
government aimed at ending weeklong street protests still engulfing the
city.
The city’s embattled leader, Leung Chun-ying, appealed for calm last night
after the baying mobs, which began gathering in the afternoon, tried to
remove barricades, shouted abuse and tussled with students. Student
federation leaders in a Facebook posting accused the governme... more »
Brooklyn coffee shop owner: Jews "function via greed and dominance"
Michael Aliva, the owner of The Bushwick Coffee Shop in Brooklyn, New York,
is under fire after posting a rambling but heartfelt screed criticizing
Jews on his company's social media platforms. *The Algemeiner* reports:
A Brooklyn *coffee shop* proprietor is in a bitter brew over calling Jews
“greedy infiltrators,” who “function via greed and dominance,” apparently
over neighborhood gentrification, on his business’s Instagram and Facebook
pages, a neighborhood website noted on Thursday.
The Bushwick Coffee Shop owner, Michael Avila, who, may have missed his
morning double latte caff... more »
Yet, another ISIS beheading- just in time for the weekend media spin
*Breaking news: Islamic State video purports to show beheading of UK
captive Alan Henning*
Islamic State militants fighting in Iraq and Syria released a video on
Friday which purported to show the beheading of a man identified as British
citizen Alan Henning.
*Reuters could not immediately verify the footage on YouTube, to which
pro-Islamic State Twitter feeds provided links.*
*Reuters could not immediately (or ever) verify the footage on YouTube. Not
that it matters.*
*Foreign Policy is running with this 'news' *
*British officials couldn't immediately verify the authenticity of ... more »
Barrow Is The Loneliest Number
This morning *The Economist* published a Broderesque story about Georgia
reactionary John Barrow, The Loneliest Man In Congress. “Will 2014,” they
ask, “spell doom for the last white House Democrat in the Deep South?” I
guess it depends how you define Deep South. Apparently North Carolina,
Florida and Texas aren’t deep enough, at least not viewed from a British
perspective. Anyway, we should only be so lucky to see Barrow, the worst
and most useless Democrat in the House finally go down to defeat. His
voting record is absolutely abysmal and he votes with Boehner on crucial
roll c... more »
Nine U.N. Troops Killed In Northern Mali
UN peacekeepers patrol in the northern town of Kidal, July 17, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Stringer
*Nine U.N. Troops Killed In Worst Attack Yet On Mali Force -- Reuters*
(Reuters) - Nine United Nations peacekeepers in Mali were killed when
heavily armed gunmen on motorbikes ambushed their convoy on Friday, the
deadliest attack yet on U.N. troops in the west African nation, the mission
said.
The attack on the peacekeepers from Niger took place in the region of Gao
and highlighted a sharp increase in strikes on foreign troops based in Mali
to prevent the return of al Qaeda-linked Islamis... more »
Keenan could'nt answer how JFK could have signed the 1965 & 1966 BS Certs filed in his C&D order
*Notice that Conman Keenan & Drake could not answer simple questions posted
to both Drake & Keenan on their websites. How could President JF Kennedy
have signed those BS certs ( or perhaps they were BS after all) in 1965 &
1966? He was assassinated on 11.22.1963.*
*Direct quote from Keenan's blog. *
MONTH: AUGUST 2012 (PAGE 4 OF 5)
News from Neil Keenan, August 21, 2012
AUGUST 22, 2012 / THE KEENAN TEAM, TOO / 0 COMMENTS
Source: American National Militia
To Drake from Neil Keenan…
[1:46:30 PM | Edited 1:46:40 PM] Neil Keenan: Notice: The drums ar... more »
Killing People to make a better world
How may times does history
have to say
this will only increase the body count
and at the end of this violence
you will have created deep
secreted
ennimies for life
The New Ebola Scare: Alfred Webre: Expose Massive Ebola/Martial Law False Flag And Prevent Mega De-Population
I have been like everyone else the last few days... Searching for real
answers about this so called "Ebola" outbreak and scare that seems to be
going ballistic right now, especially in the United States... We have the
Jew spew media screaming about Ebola now in America and there are so many
doomsday reports coming out everywhere claiming that some 90% or more of
the people of the United States could die from this outbreak and pandemic...
However, we find many other disturbing reports that show so called health
care workers working with so called Ebola victims using absolutely no
pro... more »
U.S. Vice President Biden: The Post-World War II Order Is 'Literally Fraying At The Seams'
*Biden: International Order 'Literally Fraying At The Seams' -- Weekly
Standard*
Speaking at the John F. Kennedy Forum at Harvard Kennedy School in Boston,
Massachusetts last night, Vice President Joe Bidengave an extensive rundown
of foreign policy challenges and crises that the world and the Obama
administration are facing today. Although the vice president expressed
confidence in President Obama's policies and leadership, he painted a
rather bleak picture of the modern world, quoting as he often does Irish
poet William Butler Yeats:
Folks, “all’s changed, changed utterly. A te... more »
The Islamic State Is Wiping Out Syria's And Iraq's Cultural, Religious, And Historical Heritage
*Antiquities Lost, Casualties of War -- New York Times*
In Syria and Iraq, Trying to Protect a Heritage at Risk
Yasser Tabbaa, a specialist on Islamic art and architecture, remembers
taking many trips to a 13th-century shrine dedicated to the Imam Awn
al-Din, in Mosul in northern Iraq. The building was one of the few to
survive Mongol invasion, never mind the destructive effects of weather and
time. And this shrine had a stunning vaulted ceiling, like a honeycomb.
“It is a beautiful pyramidal tower at the edge of the Tigris,” said Mr.
Tabbaa, who taught at New York University Abu ... more »
"The information war for Ukraine" Satirical German program "Die Anstalt" (Eng Subs)
h/t Anthony
AnonymousOctober 2, 2014 at 10:18 AM
Hi Penny,
Here is a satirical piece about western hypocrisy in the Ukraine (with
subtitles) from a mainstream German TV channel ZDF. Well worth watching.
Well done. German media spins exactly the same as Canadian & US media.
Imagine my surprise....? Nah, not really.
It is after all NATO media? Agenda pushing all the time.War mongering
constantly.
True Democracy as illusive as the search for Intelligent life on other planets
Thinkaboot it. What if intelligent life on other planets was all Chinese
Empire.
Eunuchs control the bureaucracy and knowledge was under Imperial Control.
Sure life conditions are rare in our galaxy. But in the whole universe is
it not
totally narcissistic to believe we are the only ones.
We live in a evolutionary environment. How did we wrestle control from
the silverback?
This is something to consider in the infinite wisdom of the universe where
every probability due to the infinity of the calculation is a fact.
Supplemental: The Washington Post [HEART] billionaires!
*FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014Last Sunday’s non-myth myths:* Can the nation’s
billionaires affect the political process?
Just offhand, we’d say they can! But then we read last Sunday’s Washington
Post, which seemed to say they can’t.
We refer to last week’s “Five Myths” feature, a weekly rumination in the
Outlook section. Last Sunday, the feature was written by Darrell West, a
honcho at the Brookings Institution.
West’s feature bore this headline: “Five myths about billionaires.”
Somewhat strangely, this was the first “myth” West listed and discussed:
*1. Billionaires can buy elections... more »
The Strange Death of Liberal Zionism
This is a guest post from Ariel I. Ahram (@ariel_ahram), an assistant
professor of government and international affairs in Virginia Tech’s School
of Public and International Affairs in Alexandria, Va. He is the author of
Proxy Warriors: The Rise and Fall of State Sponsored Militias (Stanford
University Press, 2011). Laments over the state of Israel have
Continue reading
World Conference on Indigenous violated by presence of Mexico's president
MEXICO:
Indigenous Leaders repudiate "double talk" of Mexican President Peña
Nieto at UN HighLevel Plenary Meeting in NY
Rosa Rojas / La Jornada
Source: La Jornada
Translation by Tonatierra
The discourse of the Mexican government before the so-called World
Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) organized by the United Nations
in New York "is a fork-tongue discourse"
100.000 page views
I am in awe of my power. 100,000 individual people or web crawling robots
have viewed something I wrote. I average about 100 page views a day. So if
I lived in a town of one thousand I would have a 10% share.
I love my blog it is better than a dog. Its my best friend and it never
gets sick, hit by a car or dies. Yeah I love dogs to much. Doubt I will
ever get another one. Its like a programmed groudhog day, dear sir your pet
is dead. How many times in a lifetime can you deal with such sadness, I
stopped at three. And the third was the worst.
I am proud of my blog because for the... more »
White House Fires Back At Panetta's And Clinton's Criticisms Of U.S. Policy Towards Iraq And Syria
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
*Obama Team Circles Wagons As Panetta Hits White House On Iraq, Syria And
More -- FOX News*
The Obama administration found itself on defense Friday after former
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta criticized the White House for its policies
on Iraq, with the State Department and others publicly disputing his
claims.
Panetta chided the president's team in his forthcoming memoir, excerpts of
which have been published in the media. He alleges the White House didn't
try hard enough to strike a deal with Iraq in 2011 to leave a residual
force of ... more »
Former CIA Director And U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: Faults White House For Pulling US Forces Out Of Iraq
*Leon Panetta Says Obama Administration Brushed Aside Push For Troops To
Stay Behind In Iraq Because It Was 'Eager To Rid Itself Of' The War --
Daily Mail*
* Leon Panetta, who ran the CIA and the Defense Department for Obama,
argued for a 'residual force' to stay behind in Iraq to stabilize the
country
* The White House, he writes in a new book, fell down on the job and didn't
negotiate a security agreement with the al-Maliki government in Baghdad
* Obama has said it was Iraq, not the US, that scuttled any chance for
American troops to stay past 2011
* The power vacuum left when Ob... more »
I axe the English was it all worth it?
Before the British Empire
did a devolving world
really exist
In China and Japan
they had cool tech
for making swords
and fireworks
pottery and such
but the change
was mostly finished
like life was so perfect
any advancement
would not be on side
The English broke
pottery everywhere
and as a result
always faced a new challenge
and the need for a better way
for a bunch of fascists to control
the world from far away.
Concentration camps
gas warfare
and torture
beyond the pale
were all tools
used in full view
Now England has collapsed
but the best of their empire
has progressed
There is a... more »
Las mejores fotografías de los mejores fotógrafos II
Andre VilleneuveLikehe ZenAhmad Zulharmin FarizaNick AbbreyMiguel Ángel DiazLikehe
ZenCarl LoveallEnrico FossatiBruce HoodKaterina FolprechtovaEsto es un
tributo a los mejores fotógrafos del mundo. En una serie especial, rendimos
homenaje a estos grandes maestros de la lente que día con día captan esos
instantes únicos para inmortalizarlos en una hermosa fotografía. Es a ellos
a quienes va dirigida esta colección y se incluye el nombre de cada autor
abajo de cada una de las imágenes. En breve otra colección de los mejores
fotógrafos de la red. Saludos en la distancia.
Koch, MS, Wal-Mart, Blue Cross, Verizon, Exxon, Comcast, Pfizer Buy Statehouses? (Don't Kid Yourself That It's Only Congress)
It's so thoughtful that someone has collected the names of the what you
might call freedom offenders in one essay, isn't it? (Not that these are
the only guilty parties, of course. North Carolina personally salutes
Duke/Progress Energy who (as companies are people, right?) brings Gov. Pat
McCrory to the forefront of the lack-of-freedom marketplace!) Thanks, Jim!
The corporate purchase of
Bombing ISIS
*Image of a Patsy*
Despite my intelligence reasoning this is the biggest con job since Saddam
ordered his troops to throw babies out of incubators I support it. The
table has been rigged Canada really has no choice but to let the military
industrial complex take us to the cleaners. I would love to hear Justin or
Thomas say we are being played nevertheless.
The endgame remains the destruction of the Assad regime. Sure its a good
idea, but what will take its place? I am really starting to wonder if
Saddam, Quaddafi Duck and others were not better than democracy. We should
have leaned... more »
Another Cold & Snowy Polar Vortex United States U.S. Winter 2014-15 ? - Weather Forecast
http://www.exactaweather.com/USA_Long... (more detailed forecast
information)
https://www.facebook.com/ExactaWeather (free weather updates on Facebook)
Is the United States U.S. set for another cold and snowy winter throughout
2014-15? Exacta Weather correctly identified the coldest U.S. winter in 100
years of 2013/14 due to stratospheric warming events and jet stream/polar
vortex displacement from several months in advance.
Weingarten Pumps Common Core--Cites Gates Phony Research
As a dues-paying member, I get AFT Online. This from today:
*Common Core can work if teachers get supports*
A new poll from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Scholastic
reinforces what educators say all the time: The Common Core State Standards
can work if teachers have the time, tools and trust to implement them, and
if the standards are decoupled from the testing fixation that has taken
hold in this country thanks to No Child Left Behind and Race to The Top,
AFT President Randi Weingarten says. "It's not surprising that the testing
fixation and its detrimental impact are at... more »
Supplemental: Counting the threats against Obama!
*FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014The Post and the Times diverge:* On the front page
of today’s New York Times, Peter Baker reports a concern in the black
community—a fear that the Secret Service doesn’t especially care whether
President Obama gets attacked.
At the end of Baker’s report, Representative Emanuel Cleaver is quoted
saying that’s bunk. Along the way, we were struck by these assessments
about the number of threats which have been made against Obama:
BAKER (10/3/14): [W]hen Mr. Obama took office in January 2009, the Secret
Service recorded an alarming surge in threats against him.... more »
The Economy: “Illusionary Growth”
*“Illusionary Growth”*
by Paul Craig Roberts
“It is amazing how the government manages to continue selling Brooklyn
Bridges to a gullible public. Americans buy wars they don’t need and
economic recoveries that do not exist. The best investment in America is a
highly leveraged fund that invests only in large cap companies that are
buying back their own stocks. Many of the firms repurchasing their stocks
are borrowing in order to push up their stock prices, executive
“performance bonuses,” and shareholders’ capital gains. The debt incurred
will have to be serviced by future earnings... more »
Happy Anniversary, Government Shut Down Zombie Fred Upton
If politics was rational *Roll Call*'s list of the 10 most vulnerable House
Members might look very different and possibly include other congressional
sociopaths besides Staten Island Mafia thug Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm.
Almost everyone but Grimm on the list-- Carol Shea-Porter excepted-- is
just some dull 3rd rate hack backbencher. Largely due to DCCC Chair Steve
Israel's policy of never taking on any GOP leaders or committee chairs--
not even extremely vulnerable ones in districts Obama won-- there are never
any of the real Republican congressional villains on the list. No Bud... more »
Treatment orders for accused cannot be made without consent of treating professionals
*R. v. **Conception,* 2014 SCC 60:
A treatment order regime in Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code is intended to
bring mentally ill accused persons to the cognitive threshold required to
proceed to trial. Consent of the treating physicians is required for the
disposition order in its entirety, not simply to the treatment aspect of
it. A court may not make a disposition order directing that treatment
begin immediately if the hospital or treating physician does not consent to
that disposition unless the situation is a rare case in which a delay in
treatment would breach the accused’s r... more »
U.S. Vice President Biden Blames U.S. Allies In The Middle East For The Rise Of The Islamic State
*Biden Blames US Allies In Middle East For Rise Of ISIS -- RT*
US Vice-President Joe Biden has accused America’s key allies in the Middle
East of allowing the rise of the Islamic State (IS), saying they supported
extremists with money and weapons in their eagerness to oust the Assad
regime in Syria.
America’s “biggest problem” in Syria is its regional allies, Biden told
students at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Institute of Politics at
Harvard University on Thursday.
“Our allies in the region were our largest problem in Syria,” he said,
explaining that Turkey, Saudi Arabia... more »
The Free Syrian Army is Not Supporting U.S. Air Strikes
*Why Does The Free Syrian Army Hate Us? -- Jamie Dettmer, Daily Beast*
On the Turkish-Syrian border it quickly becomes clear why the FSA—the
“moderate” rebels the Obama administration wants to train—have learned to
loathe him.
KILIS, Turkey — The border gate was a bustling mass of human
comings-and-goings—of trucks unloading bags of cement, piping and
corrugated iron for no-doubt doomed efforts repairing battle damage in what
many here believe is a war fated to be endless. There was a two-way traffic
in combatants, with haggard Syrian rebels coming out hugged by buddies
relieved t... more »
Islamic State War News Updates -- October 3, 2014
Turkish soldiers stand guard near Mursitpinar border crossing as smoke
rises in the Syrian town of Kobani, seen from near the southeastern town of
Suruc in Sanliurfa province, October 3, 2014.
Credit: REUTERS/Murad Sezer
*Kurds Warn Of Massacre By Islamic State, Turkey Stops Short Of Action --
Reuters*
(Reuters) - Kurdish fighters defending a Syrian border town warned on
Friday of a likely massacre by Islamic State insurgents as the Islamists
encircled the town with tanks and bombarded its outskirts with artillery
fire.
Turkey said it would do what it could to prevent Kobani, a pr... more »
Unrest In Hong Kong -- News Updates October 3, 2014
*Violent Clashes Break Out In Hong Kong After Counter-Protesters Storm
Sit-In -- The Guardian*
About 1,000 people opposed to pro-democracy movement fight 100
demonstrators after Leung Chun-ying’s talks offer
Violent scuffles broke out in one of Hong Kong’s most famous and congested
shopping districts on Friday, as supporters of Chinese rule stormed tents
and ripped down banners belonging to pro-democracy protesters.
In the gritty, bustling district of Mongkok – considered one of the most
crowded places on Earth with its high-rise apartment blocks packed closely
together over neon... more »
Ukraine Crisis News Updates -- October 3, 2014
*Ukrainian Rebels Keep Up Attacks On Government-Held Airport In Donetsk --
Reuters*
(Reuters) - Ukraine accused Russian forces on Friday of helping separatists
step up pressure on government troops holding the main airport in the
eastern city of Donetsk, threatening a fragile ceasefire.
Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Ukrainian forces had repelled
several separatist attacks on the airport in the past 24 hours but
"non-stop fighting" continued and "significant numbers of armor, heavy
artillery and troops" had moved into the area.
*Read more* ....
*Ukraine Crisis News Updat... more »
THE HOUSES OF NANTUCKET COUNTY: Chris Matthews, dearly beloved!
*FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014Part 6—The nightmares of Corporate County:* On
Thursday, October 5, 2000, did someone possibly make a phone call from The
Houses of Nantucket County?
We’d guess that someone almost certainly did! The key to that judgment
involves the peculiar presence of Rush Limbaugh on that day’s Hardball
program.
Let’s recall what occurred:
On Tuesday, October 3, 2000, Candidate Bush and Candidate Gore staged their
fateful first debate. We’re now entering our second war in Iraq because of
what the “press corps” did in response to that event.
For all previous posts in t... more »
Fried Pickles and other tailgating recipes
I love everything about fall. The leaves, the pumpkins, the football. Years
ago, I never thought football would be included on that list, but I can
truly say I love a good game and I love cooking for a game. A staple for
watching football games in our house is as many fried foods as we can think
of. We started making these a year or so ago and they are completely
addictive. If you like pickles, you are going to LOVE these.
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- dill pickle chips for frying
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-... more »
Paisajes de Nuestro Planeta (10 Imágenes Hermosas)
Tula Top PhotographyShuchun DuTrevor AndersonCandace BartlettCandace
BartlettLeonid TitTrevor AndersonTrevor AndersonLeonid TitLos *paisajes
naturales* se han convertido en una de nuestras grandes especialidades. Es
por eso que hoy y para no perder la costumbre, le traemos hasta sus
pantallas una nueva colección con *10 escenarios naturales de nuestro
fascinante planeta*. Esperamos que sean de su completo agrado y nos leemos
en una próxima entrega de Fotofrontera. Gracias por ser parte de nuestra
comunidad.
Dwayne Johnson to star in new Baywatch film - Maroon 5 Animals - sex sells
THIS IS A TEST >> THIS IS A TEST >> THIS IS A TEST
as this is the Free Planet blog, dealing with art and literature of an
alternative or anti-corporate nature, I've been getting some weird spikes
in hits whenever I plump for one of these mainstream media stories or
forthcoming-film trailers.
I must admit, I'm more than a little confused by the Free Planet (covert)
readership and the supposed 385 Members of this blog. This is not even a
joke, it's a legitimate concern of mine. Well, let's go for the ultimate in
banal testage and together enjoy this MEGA-RIPE story borrowed directly
... more »
Harperism : From Harper and Hayek to Koch and Coyne
Neo-liberalism : trickle-down, deregulating, deunionizing, globalizing free
market privatization of government.
When Stephen Harper was studying under the "Calgary school" in the 80's, he
became so enamored with the neo-liberalism of Austrian philosopher
Friedrich von Hayek - guru to Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, the Chicago
boys, the IMF, and the WTO - it formed the basis of his 1991 political
economics thesis.
Why, wondered Harper at the time, did the conservative revolution of
Thatcher and Reagan bypass Canada and what could be done about it?
Happily, the* Mont Pelerin Soc... more »
Friday Pussy - Is tired
Friday already?
The world is wearing out. Face facts. The days of hot rod cars with chrome
bumpers are over. Who can afford the gas? The planet is doing a quiet death
knoll scream and we aren't listening. Any iron ore deposits left in the
U.S.? Oh forgot we outsourced steel making decades ago and only thing left
are specialty metals and recycled. Let us not forget the mountains of
garbage flowing down the Swanee and out to the ocean garbage islands now
purported to be the size of Texas.
Just don't make em like they used to. Isn't that... more »
World News Briefs -- October 2, 2014
*US Ebola Patient's Friends Quarantined At Home Under Armed Guard -- The
Guardian*
Girlfriend and her family are forced to remain in quarantine as officials
admit they failed to clean apartment where sufferer was staying
Four members of a household with whom the US Ebola patient had been staying
were confined to their Dallas apartment under armed guard on
Thursday as authorities faced tough questions over a series of mis-steps in
their handling of the case.
Towels and sweat-ridden bedclothes remained for two days in the Dallas
apartment where an undiagnosed Ebola sufferer – Liber... more »
Missile Defense: A Trojan Horse
*A protest at US NSA/NRO space spy base at Menwith Hill in England*
I was looking through some old US Space Command documents last night in
preparation for a talk on the militarization of space that I will do on
Saturday here in Maine. The New England War Tax Resistance group has their
29th annual meeting in Kennebunk, Maine this weekend and I will speak along
with CodePink Maine coordinator Lisa Savage.
Inside the Space Command's Long Range Plan (published in 1998) I found a
paperclip on page 74 and in a section called 'End State' was something I
marked many years ago with a yellow... more »
The Children's Crusade for Plutocracy
One of the creepiest aspects of the predatory class's insidious takeover
of public education is the way they're using little kids as human shields.
To say that hordes of children dressed in sloganized shirts are reminiscent
of the Hitler Youth movement isn't really all that hyperbolic. Fascism, be
it Homeland-style or Fatherland-style, is still fascism.
Taking a page from the Koch Brothers' Tea Party playbook, the hedge fund
billionaires' front group known as "Students First" has co-opted
struggling parents from poor neighborhoods, sending them and their kids out
on forced unwit... more »
More US-NATO War Games on Russian Border
The US is deploying troops and tanks to Poland and the Baltic states. The
move is part of Operation Atlantic Resolve – a NATO response to alleged
Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine.
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- October 3, 2014
U.S. sailors handle F/A-18E Super Hornets on the flight deck of the U.S.
Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the
Persian Gulf, Oct. 1, 2014. The George Washington and its embarked air
wing, Carrier Air Wing 5, are supporting maritime security operations,
strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed, and theater security
cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy
photo by Seaman Everett Allen
*Pentagon "Slush Fund" Pays For ISIS Airstrikes, Irking Some In Congress --
CBS*
Fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria ... more »
Quick Quiz
Name the person who uttered the following words:
"I actually believe that capitalism is the greatest force for prosperity
and opportunity the world has ever known. And I believe in private
enterprise -- not government, but innovators and risk-takers and makers and
doers -- driving job creation".
Was it:
A) Mitt Romney
B) Rand Paul
C) John Boehner
D) None of the above.
Answer will be provided in an upcoming post. Meanwhile, anyone who can Name
That Conservative within the next 10 minutes will receive a free
subscription to Sardonicky.
Update: Congratulations to Fred Drumle... more »
Untitled
*East bank levee authority's environmental damages suit against energy
companies has produced $642,000 in legal expenses, $1.2 million in
'political costs' through August ~Mark Schleifstein*
*Bayou Corne sinkhole at center of insurance fight ~Janet McConnaughey *
*$1 billion cost estimate prompts Louisiana to rethink coastal project
~John Snell*
Bill Whittle: A BEHEADING IN OKLAHOMA...
*workplace violence?*
No one believes that.
Reaping and Sowing is Always in Effect (Law of Attraction) Understanding complaining affects your life
Reaping and Sowing is always in Effect. The Law of Attraction is Always in
affect. When we complain about something we get back our thoughts. We all
need to truly understand the magnetic's of the Universe! Together we need
to all understand the Truth. As it has been said, we can not change things
in the same energy it was created. We can not change things through
Fear, Anger, Hate. We
Avoiding the White LIght?
By American Kabuki
October 3, 2014
D. has a new article up on the Lily Earth interview and the Wingmakers
material. The interviews were done at my house (due to my internet link
which is not half bad right now) so I got to hear most of the shows (at
least when my cat was behaving).
D's article is here:
http://removingtheshackles.blogspot.com/2014/10/wingmakers-and-lily-earth-what.html
I am taking a neutral position on the Wingmakers and Lilly info, much of it
resonants strongly but there are elements for me that do not. There are
also redaction issues with the Wingmaker mate... more »
Harvard astrophysicists favor revival of Pluto the planet
*Off-topic, everyday life:* I returned from an "extreme reunion" with 1st
and 2nd grade classmates whom I haven't seen (in almost all cases) for over
32 years because I moved to another school (moreover, the class I left got
slightly expanded afterwards). Pretty cool to meet someone who was arguably
one's best friend at age of 7, and so on. How many of you have ever
attended such a reunion after a longer break than me? ;-)
Eight years ago, 9,000 astronomers gathered in Prague, the Czech capital. A
somewhat important vote took place on the last day when most people had
left. Only 4... more »
States With Pro-Employee Laws: Ban The Box
Or, States That Don't Suck For Employees, Part VI
You may have heard the term “ban the box” but not know what it means. These
laws generally prevent employers from asking about applicant arrests or
convictions at the beginning of the application process, and only allow
inquiries after the applicant passes their initial screening. Why? Because
about 70 million Americans have some criminal record, and the majority of
them are minorities. An entire class of citizens has been made almost
completely unemployable due to criminal records that have nothing to do
with their ability to do jobs... more »
How Arkansas Extremist Tom Cotton Pissed Off Top Chef Tom Colicchio
With Steve Israel's policy of never targeting GOP leaders, policy makers
and committee chairman keeping the DCCC out of the MN-02 race that pits
progressive Mike Obermueller against reactionary incumbent John Kline--
chair of the powerful and destructive House Committee of Education and the
Workforce-- Blue America was over the moon that Bill Maher has stepped into
the breach. Maher is bashing Kline up but good and bringing his repulsive
anti-family record to the attention of voters in southeast Minnesota. This
was a Maher tweet from early Thursday morning:
Blue America is work... more »
Hong Kong Democracy Protests ( October 3 , 2014 ) -- Day 6 shows some chaotic situation , perhaps protest fatigue , talks set between protesters and CEO Leung's Representative .....
Tweets.....
SCMP News retweeted
*Danny Lee 李嘉洪* @JournoDannyAsia 57m57 minutes ago
Our @SCMP_News page 3/4 for Saturday, Oct 4: "The far too thin blue line" /
"Businesses call for halt" #OccupyCentral
*SCMP News* @SCMP_News · 24m24 minutes ago
Protest site in Mong Kok attacked by anti-Occupy groups last night slowly
being rebuilt: http://goo.gl/jAz1FI
[image: Embedded image permalink]
*SCMP News* @SCMP_News · 2h2 hours ago
Protesters deliver supplies to police in Admiralty after refusing to allow
officers to do so: http://goo.gl/jAz1FI
[image: Embedded image per... more »
Not For You
http://www.ipolitics.ca/
Stephen Harper tells us that there are lots of things we can't afford --
like veterans affairs offices, lawyers to check the proposed
constitutionality of legislation, and home mail delivery. But last week we
paid the tab -- $300,000 -- to fly two European representatives round trip
to celebrate the Canada European Trade Agreement.
Linda McQuaig wonders what, exactly, there is to celebrate:
According to Harper government hype, routinely repeated uncritically in the
media, the trade deal will be a boon for all... more »
Russia Prepares For A Financial Crisis As The Price For Oil Continues To Drop
*As WTI Drops Under $90, Russia Prepares For Great Financial Crisis With
$60 Oil "Stress Case" -- Zero Hedge*
The plunge in the price of crude oil in the last few months has many
global-recovery-truthers questioning their assumptions. Between slowing
growth expectations, US (and Libya and Iraqi Kurds and Russia) supply, and
Saudi Aramco cutting prices (argued as maintaining market share but has the
smell of a quid pro quo over Syria), oil prices have broken below $90 today
to 17-month lows. However, for some major suppliers there is concern that
more pressure is to come, as Reuters... more »
Hoosier School Heist Carrying Indiana
by Doug Martin
Since I'm still extremely busy travelling Indiana, speaking at
universities, libraries, UAW meetings, and *Rise Above the Mark* movie
events, to name a few places, I wanted to give everyone an update on my
book *Hoosier School Heist*. *Hoosier School Heist* is now being read in
almost 100 cities and towns and close to 60 counties (out of the 92) in
Indiana. It is also being studied in 14 states and the District of
Columbia.
*(People need to know the information in my book because it is only going
to get worse. The main billionaire and million group responsible ... more »
JAPAN: State secret law to take effect Dec 10
Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe
AP photo
http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/state-secret-law-to-take-effect-dec-10?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2014-10-03_PM
*State
secret law to take effect Dec 10*
POLITICS OCT. 03, 2014 - 02:40PM JST ( 38 )
State secret law to take effect Dec 10
TOKYO —
A controversial law on protecting state secrets will go into effect on
Dec
10, the government said Thursday.
The government of *Prime Minister Shinzo Abe railroaded the bill through
the Diet last December*, despite strong protests from opposition
parti... more »
Mexico: UFO "Went Upward Until It Completely Vanished"
*Source: www.sipse.comDate: 2 October 2014*
*Mexico: UFO "Went Upward Until It Completely Vanished"*
*A report by Jorge Moreno, SIPSE*
MERIDA, Yucatan - A new report concerning the presence of an unidentified
flying object came in from the port of Progreso, were it is said several
strange lights were seen last weekend.
According to the information provided by Manuel Loría Alejos, a fan of the
UFO subject for over 20 years, he went to the port on Friday, 26 September
[2014] to spend the weekend at his family's home, an activity they have
been doing for several years.
"For nearly t... more »
Cartoon For Today
*(Click on Image to Enlarge)*
The Real Reason Why U.S. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson Resigned
*EXCLUSIVE: Ousted Secret Service Chief Was 'Sandbagged' By 'P***ed Off
Agents Who Had Had Enough' Of Her And Thought She 'Was A Joke From Day One'
-- Daily Mail*
* A former Secret Service agent told MailOnline that rank-and-file thought
Julia Pierson 'was a joke from Day One'
* Pierson enraged the rank-and-file when she reduced security measures
during the US-Africa Leaders Summit so traffic wouldn't be affected
* Secret Service supervisor said 'she doesn't know anything about security
planning in a post-9/11 world'
* Another said she discussed making the elite corps that guards t... more »
Islamic State Is Now Threatening Family Members Of U.S. Military Personnel
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
*Army Warns US Military Personnel On ISIS Threat To Family Members -- FOX
News*
An Army intelligence bulletin is warning U.S. military personnel to be
vigilant after Islamic State militants called on supporters to scour social
media for addresses of their family members – and to “show up [at their
homes] and slaughter them."
The assessment, obtained by Fox News, came from the Army Threat Integration
Center which issues early warnings of criminal and terrorist threats to
Army posts worldwide.
The advisory warns military personnel and thei... more »
Aisha North: A short update on the energies
http://aishanorth.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/a-short-update-on-th-energies/
*A short update on the energies*
October 2, 2014
by Aisha North
You have by now taken a whole lot of pressure off your shoulders dear ones,
and even if you might argue that it feels more like the opposite is true,
this is indeed the case. For as you have allowed yourselves to further this
expansion, you have also served to alleviate the pressure from the old. For
even if many of you like to think that it is the incoming energies that are
adding to the pressure, it is more correct to say that it is in fact the... more »
Atlanta Airport Protester: The CDC is Lying
As America continues to react to the news about the first domestic victim
of the Ebola virus the professional damage control teams are scrambling to
avoid a mass panic. The infected, a man from Liberia named Thomas Eric
Duncan who was visiting his girlfriend in Dallas when he fell ill was
initially sent home by a local hospital allowing him to spend days where he
could have spread the virus. This could be big trouble in the U.S.A.
especially when considering that children who were exposed to Duncan went
to school where they were in contact with hundreds of other kids.
When you liv... more »
UAE requests more HIMARS, tactical ballistic missiles
[image: HIMARS]The US government has approved the sale of an additional 12
High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launchers and 100 Army
Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US
Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 29 September.
Mounted on a Medium Tactical Vehicle, HIMARS can carry a pod with either a
single 610 mm ATACMS with a range of 300 km or six 227 mm guided
multiple-launch rocket systems (GMLRS) with a range of 70 km.
The UAE's request included 65 M31A1 GMLRS pods, as well as 12 resupply
vehicles, two recovery ... more »
Austria says Eurofighter has part problem, some deliveries halted
[image: Eurofighter Typhoon]A manufacturing problem has been discovered
with the fuselage of Eurofighter combat planes, halting some deliveries,
but none of the jets have been grounded, European military officials said
on Wednesday.
The problem was caused by the way rivet holes were drilled in part of the
rear fuselage of the European warplane, which is operating in the air
forces of six countries.
German defence ministry spokesman Ingo Gerhartz described the problems as
"annoying".
Read more
New radar stations to start operating in western Russia, Siberia
Mishelevka Radar Station, Irkutsk
New Voronezh-DM and Voronezh-M radar stations of the Russian system of
early warning against missile attacks will be commissioned according to
schedule, the designer general said.
The director-general of the Minth Radio Technical Institute and designer
general of the missile warning system, Sergei Boyev, said that stations,
currently under state tests, will begin operating in the Irkutsk region,
Siberia, and western Russia’s Kaliningrad region this year.
Other two stations are being prepared to be put into service in Barnaul and
Orsk, he said.
Rea... more »
North Korea overhauls launch site to fire longer-range missiles, says US think tank
[image: Unha-3 rocket at Tangachai-Ri Space Centre]North Korea has
completed a major overhaul of its rocket launch site enabling it to fire
larger, longer-range rockets, according to a US think tank.
Reclusive North Korea, which is already heavily sanctioned by the United
Nations for its missile and nuclear tests, is technically still at war with
the South after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace
treaty. It routinely fires short-range missiles or rockets into waters off
its east and west coasts.
A longer-range capability would be bound to concern its sworn enemies,... more »
Redundant synonyms of decoherence
Wojciech H. Zurek – the father of decoherence, if we use a somewhat pompous
language – wrote an article for Physics Today,
Quantum Darwinism, classical reality, and the randomness of quantum jumps,
which you will probably be unable to access because the server will
probably demand $30 from you and you will probably think that it's too much
to pay, especially because you may get older, almost identical texts by the
author, as well as a newer 2009 free article in Nature.
You know, decoherence is a genuine process. The insights about it are right
and probably needed to explain some asp... more »
Behold the newest, fastest, most badass attack helicopter in the world
The S-97 Raider—Sikorsky new attack helicopter—is out and it is not only
gorgeous. It's absolutely badass. It is based in the same technology as
their X2 technology demonstrator, which broke the world helicopter speed
record in 2010: 260 knots—that's 299.2mph (481.5km/h) vs the 172mph of
conventional helicopters.
According to Sikorsky's Mike Miller, it "is an all-new helicopter, all-new
configuration. We haven't seen something this new in 30 years." The Raider
uses counter-rotating rotor blades with a push propeller on the tail. This
unique combination allows it to pulverize all sp... more »
Greg Hunter, “Weekly News Wrapup, 10/3/2014"
*“WNW 160-ME War, Economy Sours, US Ebola Threat”*
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
“We are headed for a much wider war in the Middle East, and headlines like
this one are forecasting it. Speaker of the House John Boehner lays out a
case that “Airstrikes Not Enough” to defeat ISIS. Boehner said, “At some
point, somebody’s boots have to be on the ground.” ISIS has half of Bagdad
surrounded, and I predict the U.S. will send ground troops sooner than
later. The coalition is building with countries such as the UK, Belgium and
France, but they will not bomb in Syria—only Iraq. I suspect ... more »
Ten Buck Friday: Week Five...
Week Five of a Nine Week Mission, to Seek new life for the Senate, to
Boldly Throw Out clueless Harry Reid and his equally clueless supporters!
Focusing on the Senate races, is it worth ten bucks a week to you (a
matinee and a small box of popcorn?) to eliminate Reid's control and give
the Senate responsible leadership again?
With that in mind, this week we look to the Senate seat in LA. Can you
contribute just $10 to Senate candidate Bill Cassidy in his race against
Mary Landreu, (D-Washington DC)?
*Real Clear Politics* has Cassidy up 1.3 points on the average, and rates
the s... more »
This Incredible Wave-Cutting Stealth Ship Could Be The Future Of Naval Warfare
A private company has developed what could be the future of naval warfare -
a multi-use stealth ship that cuts through waves on blade-like pontoons.
Juliet Marine Systems' Ghost exhibits a combination of "stealth fighter
aircraft and attack helicopter technologies," and is designed to combat
naval swarm attacks of fast enemy boats, waterborne improvised explosives,
and piracy.
As its name suggests, Ghost is intended to have zero radar signature, and
the vessel is supposedly difficult for the enemy to spot, let alone target.
Read more
China to buy 700 fifth-generation fighter planes: Report
[image: J-31A Gyrfalcon]Fifth generation fighter planes are going to be the
future of armed forces across the globe.
According to a senior defence consultant Edward Hunt, several countries,
including India, are pulling out all the stops to bolster their arsenal
with the state-of-the-art machines.
Hunt, a consultant at Defence and Security, wrote in an article published
in UK-based Jane's Defenc e weekly that China is planning to acquire close
to 700 5th generation fighter planes.
Read more
LCA Navy's second fighter ready to take off
[image: Tejas LCA]India’s second home grown carrier-borne fighter aircraft
is expected to fly within a month, but its induction into the Navy is still
several years away.
“The NP (naval prototype)-2 is now ready. It is undergoing ground testing.
The first flight is likely in the next 15-20 days,” K Tamilmani, director
general in charge of aeronautical systems at Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) told Deccan Herald here.
The first Light Combat Aircraft of the Navy, NP 1, flew on April 2012 for
22 minutes after taking off from HAL airport in Bangalore. NP 1 was a
t... more »
‘Low’ F-35 price tag is too high
[image: F-35C Lightning II]It’s not yet clear exactly how much the
Pentagon’s fancy new F-35 combat jet will cost or when any of these stealth
fighters will become operational. But the F-35 already shows great promise
in the tough competition to become the most expensive weapons program ever
undertaken.
Because of the jet’s projected eye-popping price tag of up to $344.8
million each, we at Taxpayers for Common Sense have always kept an eye on
the F-35. And we were appalled by a request from the Pentagon in early
September to shift funds from the so-called Overseas Contingency Opera... more »
Navy to base 100 F-35Cs at Lemoore
Naval Air Station Lemoore
The Navy will base its West Coast F-35Cs at Naval Air Station Lemoore in
California, the Navy announced Thursday.
A total of 100 F-35C jets will gradually replace 70 aging FA-18 Hornets,
increasing the number of aircraft at Lemoore by 30 by 2028, the Navy said,
though the number will be similar to 2013 levels.
The Navy’s joint strike fighter variant will be assigned in seven Navy
Pacific Fleet squadrons of 10 jets each, and a Fleet Replacement Squadron
will have 30 jets.
Read more
Dutch selling armored vehicles to Estonia
[image: Dutch CV90]The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands will sell 44
of its new CV90 infantry fighting vehicles to Estonia, it was announced on
Thursday.
The sale, announced in the Estonian capital of Tallinn during a visit by
Dutch Minister of Defense Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, comes amid tension in
Estonia over Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and
machinations elsewhere in that country.
"Every day we are witnessing cases that demonstrate that peace is fragile
and therefore it is not to be regarded as self-evident," Hennis said. "We
cannot sit back and wa... more »
The U.S. President's 'Nuclear Football'
From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the nuclear
"football." (Jamie Chung)
*The Real Story Of The "Football" That Follows the President Everywhere --
Michael Dobbs, Smithsonian Magazine*
Take a peek at the mysterious black briefcase that has accompanied every
U.S. president since John F. Kennedy
It is the closest modern-day equivalent of the medieval crown and scepter—a
symbol of supreme authority. Accompanying the commander in chief wherever
he goes, the innocuous-looking briefcase is touted in movies and spy novels
as the ultimate power accessory, a doomsday... more »
Newport News Shipbuilding Installs USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Anchor on USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)
Although the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) is scheduled to be
decommissioned in 2016, its legacy lives on, and so does one of its
anchors. Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division
recently installed one of Enterprise’s anchors on younger carrier USS
Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).
USS Enterprise, originally built by Newport News in the 1960s and refueled
for the third and final time in the early ’90s, is currently docked at the
shipyard’s Pier 2 for inactivation. After more than 50 years of service,
the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is being p... more »
Navy Upgrades Maverick Air-to-Ground Missile
[image: AGM-65 Maverick]The Navy is upgrading the guidance control systems
on its inventory of 500 air-launched AGM-65 Maverick missiles in order to
give the weapon semi-active laser targeting technology, Raytheon officials
said.
The upgrades are converting the Navy’s infrared-guided AGM-65 F-model
Mavericks into laser-guided AGM-65 E2 variants.
“The enhanced laser Maverick is backward compatible with a number of
platforms, including the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet,” said
Gordon McKenzie, Raytheon business development, Maverick.
Read more
What it Means That Japanese Forces Can Now Fight Overseas
[image: Soryu class SSK]In a decisive move, in July 2014, Japan decided to
lift the ban on its armed forces fighting overseas, marking not only the
first change to its 70-year-old pacifist constitution but also
demonstrating to what extent Asian dynamics in the past decade have been
changing. From now, Japanese forces will be able to fight overseas
alongside its allies were they to come under attack.
In the past, the Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF) created at the end of
the U.S. occupation of Japan were restricted to deal with internal threats
and national disasters, while any ex... more »
Thales refutes new arms deal allegations
[image: Valour (Meko) class frigate]Thales has emphatically denied
allegations that fixer Ajay Sooklal facilitated a R500 000 a year bribe for
President Jacob Zuma and arranged perks for him when he faced corruption
charges linked to the arms deal.
On the weekend the Sunday Times published an article based on documents it
obtained which apparently detail Sooklal’s activities as a lawyer and
secret fixer for Thales over six years.
The newspaper said the documents are transcripts of testimony given under
oath before retired Judge Phillip Levinsohn at confidential arbitration
hearing... more »
China Conducts Flight Test of New Mobile ICBM
[image: DF-31 missile]China’s military has conducted the first flight test
of a new variant of one of its road-mobile intercontinental ballistic
missiles in a sign that Beijing is increasing its strategic strike
capability against the United States.
The test of a new DF-31B missile was conducted Sept. 25 from a missile test
range in central China.
A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to provide details of the test.
Read more
More than 100 new nukes in northern waters
[image: Bulava test launch]The Bureau of Arms Control with the U.S.
Department of State released the latest exchange of data under the New
START treaty with Russia on October 1st.
Compared to October 1st 2013, Russia’s number of both deployed nuclear
warheads and deployed launchers has increased substantially. The number of
deployed ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles), SLBMs (Submarine
Launched Ballistic Missiles) and Heavy Bombers (Tu-95 and Tu-160) increased
from 473 in the autumn 2013 to 528 this autumn.
The increase in deployed nuclear warheads was 243, from 1,400 a yea... more »
Russia's 5 Most Lethal Weapons of War in the Water
[image: Yasen class SSN]At the time of its breakup, the Soviet Union had
the largest navy in the world. After the breakup of the USSR in 1991,
Russia inherited the bulk of the Soviet Navy. This didn’t do Russia any
great favors as her economy could not support a large fleet. Large numbers
of ships, planes and submarines were cast aside, or simply tied up at the
dock to rust.
Like the rest of the Russian military, what has emerged nearly twenty-five
years later is a service equipped with a mix of old, familiar and new.
Veterans of the Soviet Navy serve alongside updated designs. Th... more »
Air Show Stages Dramatic Napalm Drop by Fighter Jet
*My Comment:* Marshmallows anyone?
Are you wondering why the BBC's usual anti-Conservative reporting has become that much more aggressive in recent days?
Are you wondering why the BBC's usual anti-Conservative reporting has
become that much more aggressive in recent days?
The reason is that David Cameron's Conservative Party Conference speech was
so well received, especially the part about cutting taxes that the Labour
Party had a familiar panic. The BBC so often fulfils the role of the Labour
Party's propaganda arm that it upped the anti-Conservative coverage. The
BBC seem obsessed by how the Conservatives will fund the tax cut, I don't
remember the BBC similarly asking the Labour Party how they would fund
their reckless rise in pub... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Seen as a seagull and a duck, these nebulae are not the only cosmic clouds
to evoke images of flight. But both are winging their way across this broad
celestial landscape, spanning almost 7 degrees across planet Earth's night
sky toward the constellation Canis Major. The expansive Seagull (upper
left) is itself composed of two major cataloged emission nebulae. Brighter
NGC 2327 forms the head with the more diffuse IC 2177 as the wings and
body. Impressively, the Seagull's wingspan would correspond to about 250
light-years at an estimated distance of 3,800 light-years.
* Click image... more »
The Poet: Amelia Peart Macdonald, "Upward Reaching"
*"Upward Reaching"*
"The soul of man, to what end is it striving?
What is the destiny, what is the goal?
This constant upward reaching of the soul–
What force behind it does the ceaseless driving?
Upward reaching but implies a quest
Unending, for the things we deem the best,
For that which goes to make the perfect whole–
Insatiable striving for a better role.
With what speed, then, is man’s success arriving?
Endowed with instincts meant to goad him on
Toward the infinite, from dawn to dawn,
From his struggle, how much good deriving?
Man’s speed, or progress, toward that holier sphere,
Is... more »
“Staying Afloat: Riding the Wave of Life”
*“Staying Afloat: Riding the Wave of Life”*
by The DailyOm
“While riding the wave of life you must also practice stillness so you can
flow with, rather than resist the wave’s motion. Our lives are continually
in motion, buoyed by the wave that is the universe’s flow. As the wave
rises and falls, we are carried forward, through life’s high and low
points. The universe’s flow may take us to a place in life where we would
rather not be. As tempting as it can be to fight the direction and size of
this wave that propels us, riding the wave is intended to make life easier.
When you ride ... more »
Chet Raymo, “The Dark Angel”
*“The Dark Angel”*
by Chet Raymo
“The American Civil War claimed an estimated 620,000 lives, approximately
the same number as in all of the nation's other wars put together. Compared
to the size of the country's population, six times as many young men died
between 1861 and 1865 as in World War II. Few American families, north or
south, were unaffected.
Lincoln insisted at Gettysburg "that these dead shall not have died in
vain." Drew Gilpin Faust, historian and President of Harvard University,
has written a book that tries to measure the effect on the American psyche
of the apoca... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
"The Pathetic Truth..."
"The pathetic truth is that most people fear genuine independence more than
they fear death itself. So desperate are they for "acceptance" and so
fearful of being thought "peculiar," they will deny the evidence of their
own eyes and mindlessly repeat the lies and ignorance of others. When it
comes to a subject like economics or foreign policy, they think: "Oh,
that's so hard! I can't understand that. I'll just listen to what the
'experts' say. They know best."
- Arthur Silber
- http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/
"Knowledge..."
“The beginning of knowledge is the discovery
of something we do not understand.”
- Frank Herbert
"A Home Beyond What This World Knows..."
"You can chain my body
But you cannot chain my soul.
You can enslave my body
But you’ll never own my soul.
You can whip my body,
But you cannot touch my soul.
For my soul is mightier than your chains,
My soul endures all your blows,
My soul is eternal, eternally remains,
My soul has a home beyond
what this world knows.
You can imprison my body,
but you cannot jail my soul.
You can break my body,
But you’ll never break my soul.
My soul is free as the eagle flying so high,
Vast like a dark, starry sky,
Deep as the ocean, wider than the sea,
My soul is forever, eternally free,
my soul is fore... more »
Psychology: “Washing Away Good and Bad Luck: People Believe It Works”
*“Washing Away Good and Bad Luck: People Believe It Works”*
by Science Daily
“Do people believe good and bad luck can be washed away? Yes, according to
an advanced online publication in the Journal of Experimental Psychology
that was co-authored by Rami Zwick, a University of California, Riverside
marketing professor in the School of Business Administration. Zwick,
working with Alison Jing Xu of the University of Toronto, and Norbert
Schwarz of the University of Michigan, designed two experiments that showed
risk taking depends on whether participants recalled a past episode of good... more »
Four-particle amplitude of \(\NNN=4\) free of power-law singularities
*...up to all orders in the pertubative expansion...*
The first hep-th paper today,
On the Singularity Structure of Maximally Supersymmetric Scattering
Amplitudes
was written by Nima Arkani-Hamed, Jacob L. Bourjaily, Freddy Cachazo, and
Jaroslav Trnka and exploits their vast knowledge of the \(\NNN=4\) gauge
theory amplitudes that they have accumulated when they were successfully
uncovering new methods to calculate them – via recursive relations,
twistors, Grassmannians, amplituhedrons, and similar transcendent animals.
In this paper, they claim that one-loop, two-loop, as well as ... more »
Is The U.S. Military About To Run Out Of Tomahawk Missiles In it's War Against The Islamic State?
The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea launches a Tomahawk cruise
missile as seen from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the
Persian Gulf, Sept. 23, 2014. The George H.W. Bush and the Philippine Sea
are part of Carrier Strike Group 2, supporting maritime security operations
and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of
responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Garst
*Defense Leaders Warn of Tomahawk Missile Shortage -- Washington Free
Beacon*
Military could run out of key weapon in fight against ISIL
As the United S... more »
Libya Updates ( October 3 , 2014 ) Latest items of note ...... Libya Suicide Bombers Kill 40 Troops Loyal to Coup General Militias Aim to Seize Airport by Saturday ....... State of play regarding political crisis ......
Anti War ....
Libya Suicide Bombers Kill 40 Troops Loyal to Coup GeneralMilitias Aim to
Seize Airport by Saturday
by Jason Ditz, October 02, 2014
Print This | Share This
Four separate suicide bomb attacks hit the Benina airport today outside of
the key Libyan city of Benghazi, killing at least 40 soldiers loyal to former
General Khalifa Hifter’s faction, which is attempting to take the country
over as well.
The Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shura Council claimed credit for the attacks,
saying they were carried out with the help of Ansar al-Sharia, the militant
faction the US has blam... more »
Ebola Updates ( September 27- 28 , 2014 ) Recent items of note from the news , different perspectives on the current outbreak ....
Catharsis Ours - 22 hours ago
http://en.ria.ru/world/20140927/193358264/Conspiracy-Theories-Help-Fuel-Ebola-Outbreak-in-West-Africa.html
Conspiracy Theories Help Fuel Ebola Outbreak in West Africa
Topic: Ebola Outbreak in West Africa
[image: As the Ebola death toll continues to rise across West Africa, some
residents are refusing to go to medical clinics to seek treatment because
of widespread conspiracy theories that they are being killed by doctors]
As the Ebola death toll continues to rise across West Africa, some
residents are refusing to go to medical clinics to seek treatment because
of widespread conspiracy... more »
Picture Of The Day
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Kevin Johnson, right, returns fire after receiving
contact from insurgents during a security patrol in Washir district in
Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 29, 2014. Johnson is a machine gunner
assigned to 2d Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. John A. Martinez Jr.
Is North Korea Continuing To Dig 'Invasion Tunnels' To The South?
*Is North Korea Still Digging Tunnels To The South? -- Paula Hancocks, CNN*
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Gen. Hahn Sung-Chu never believed North Korea
could dig a tunnel that reached Seoul -- until now.
Standing inside a basement of an apartment block in the heart of the
capital, the former two-star general in the South Korean military says,
"This is a kind of invasion, North Korean soldiers working underneath us."
Hahn says residents had complained of underground vibrations, but the
subway does not run beneath them.
He says dowsers detected three tunnels, 13 to 16 feet (4 to 5 met... more »
Steve Israel Undercuts More Of His Own (Terrible) Recruits
As we've been mentioning lately, Steve Israel's abysmal candidate
recruitment in targeted districts is resulting in chillingly bad campaigns
and horrifying polling. And all that has led, inevitably, to the DCCC
cutting their worst candidates loose to sink or swim-- mostly just sink--
on their own. Jerry Cannon (MI), Aaron Woolf (NY) and Ann Callis (IL) were
three recent examples of candidates from whom Israel has withdrawn
financial backing.
And those three are far from the only Red-to-Blue candidates Israel is
stiffing this cycle. The DCCC's House Majority PAC, ostensibly control... more »
Is This The A-10 Warthog's Last Mission?
Flares are launched from two A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, based at Moody Air
Force Base, Ga., on Aug. 18. Photograph by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter/U.S.
Air Force
*U.S. Sending A-10 Plane to Combat While Trying to Kill It -- Bloomberg
Businessweek*
Another batch of Cold War-vintage A-10 “Warthogs” is on its way to
Afghanistan, even though the Pentagon says it no longer needs the plane.
About a dozen of the snout-nosed “flying guns” will arrive in Afghanistan
early this month as part of a six-month deployment for the 122nd Fighter
Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard, according to U.S. ... more »
In A Major Reversal By The Pentagon Troops Are Now Eligible For Campaign Medals In The War Against The Islamic State
*Photo*: Marines
*Pentagon Makes Troops In Fight Against ISIS Eligible For Medals -- The
Hill*
Pentagon officials on Thursday announced a fix that would make U.S. troops
deployed to Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
(ISIS) eligible for certain medals.
Officials have decided to treat the new mission in Iraq as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. fight against terrorism, for the
purpose of awarding honors and medals, according to a report.
“Troops deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Enduring Freedom are
eligible for the Global War on Terror... more »
Mohawk Nation News 'Secrets from the Scottish Closet'
SECRETS
FROM THE SCOTTISH CLOSET
Please post and distribute. Nia:wen.
MNN. SEP. 20, 2014. Surprisingly some Canadian Metis support the Scots
in their quest for sovereignty. The relationship between the Scots and
us is still that of colonizer and colonized. The Scots came over to get
“free” Indian land that was advertised by the colony of Canada.
It’s time to reveal Scottish
First U.S. Military Death In The War Against The Islamic State
An MV-22 Osprey lost power on take-off Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, and two
crew members bailed out into the ocean. One was recovered, but the search
for the second Marine was unsuccessful and has been called off. The Navy
said he is "presumed lost at sea." Here, an MV-22 with Marine Medium
Tiltrotor Squadron 163 (Reinforced) launches from the flight deck of the
amphibious assault ship Makin Island in August.(Photo: MC2 Christopher
Lindahl, U.S. Navy)
*Search And Rescue Ops Conclude Unsuccessfully For Missing Aircrew --
Navy.mil*
MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- U.S. forces in the North Arabi... more »
Photo Casey Camp addresses Willie Nelson, Neil Young on tarsands fight
By
Bold Nebraska
Censored News
Casey Camp of the Ponca nation addresses Willie Nelson and Neil Young,
who were honored by the Rosebud, Oglala, Ponca and Omaha Nations for
their dedication to family farmers, ranchers and native families.
The "Harvest the Hope" concert featuring headliners Willie Nelson and
Neil Young took place on Sept. 27, 2014 at the Tanderup farm near
Neligh, NE, which
There Are Now More Deployed Nuclear Warheads In Russia Than In The U.S.
Russia has begun the mass construction of new generation 955 Borei vessels,
which will become the main component of Russia's nuclear naval triad.
Source: Press Photo
*Russia Now Has More Deployed Nuclear Warheads Than The U.S. -- Michaela
Dodge, Daily Signal*
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) that the U.S. State
Department and the Obama Administration championed has been a bad deal for
the U.S. Despite the fact that the U.S.’s international security
obligations are vastly different from Russia’s, the treaty codified that
the U.S. will have the same number of nucl... more »
China Tests It's New Mobile ICBM
DF-31A mobile missile
*China Conducts Flight Test of New Mobile ICBM -- Washington Free Beacon*
DF-31B is Beijing’s sixth road-mobile nuclear strike system
China’s military has conducted the first flight test of a new variant of
one of its road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles in a sign that
Beijing is increasing its strategic strike capability against the United
States.
The test of a new DF-31B missile was conducted Sept. 25 from a missile test
range in central China.
A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to provide details of the test.
“We continue to monitor China’s milita... more »
Iguala, Guerrero and the Pacific: Balance of darkness and hope
One
half million people lined the streets and crowded Zocalo Plaza with a
heroes
welcome in Mexico City at the end of the Zapatista caravan
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
There are two places in the news that I have loved, one is now a place
of tragedy and horror, and the other is a place of valiant courage and
hope like none other.
The first is Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico.
On the Zapatista
Jim Shelton, One of Duncan's Remaining Rats, Jumps Ship
From WaPo:
Jim Shelton, the deputy secretary and second in command at the U.S.
Department of Education, will resign his government job by the end of the
year, department officials said Wednesday.
Shelton, 47, has held several posts at the department since joining the
agency in 2009 and has had a significant influence over the agency’s
policies. Shelton ran the department’s innovations program and was a force
behind its Promise Neighborhoods, a grant program that gives “cradle to
career” help to students in selected poor communities.
Shelton grew up in Washington, the son of a cab ... more »
The Great Ebola Catastrophe Should Be Treated The Same Way As The Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons
*Ebola Virus: Pandemic Should Be Treated 'The Same Way' As Threat Posed By
Nuclear Weapons, Security Officials Say -- The Independent*
*Special report: The Government has admitted that the virus spreading
across Africa will 'get worse'*
The Ebola virus spreading exponentially across Africa and killing thousands
of people “will get worse”, the Government has admitted, amid calls for the
full involvement of the international military to contain the disease.
Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, said that
ministers had been shocked by a prediction from the US pu... more »
Pacific Climate Warriors to Block World's Largest Coal Port in Canoes
Pacific
Climate Warriors will Block the World’s Largest Coal Port
By Aaron Packard
Indigenous Resistance
In October this year 30 Pacific Climate Warriors from 12 different
islands will arrive on Australian shores to stand up to the coal and gas
industry.
We are now excited to announce that on October 17th, the Pacific Climate
Warriors will use the canoes they have built to paddle out
UN's Ebola Response Chief Raises 'Nightmare' Prospect That Virus Could Mutate And Become Airborne
A burial team remove a Ebola victim's body from isolation in Sierra Leone
*Doomsday Warning: UN Ebola Chief Raises 'Nightmare' Prospect That Virus
Could Mutate And Become Airborne - Making It Much More Infectious -- Daily
Mail*
* UN warns Ebola virus currently plaguing West Africa could become airborne
* The longer it moves between human hosts the greater possibility of
mutation
* The risk grows the longer virus is living within the human 'melting pot'
* NGOs have said the Ebola virus is currently infecting five people every
hour
* More than 3,300 people have died from Ebola since th... more »
PACIFIC Video Vanuatu: Climate Warriors of Coal Industry
Vanuatu
climate warriors celebrate their traditional canoe which will be part
of a flotilla of canoes from 12 Pacific Island nations that will travel
to Australia to protest the expanding coal industry.
There Are No Longer Any 'Good Rebel Fighters' In Syria
Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters
*Goodbye To The Last of Syria’s Good Guys -- Joshua Hersh, Daily Beast*
Let’s dispense with wishful illusions. The idealists who started the Syrian
revolution have been killed, quieted or forced out of the country.
In November of 2012, Iyas Kadouni, an activist from the town of Saraqeb in
northwestern Syria, grew disenchanted with the abuses of some rebel
brigades in the area. A few days earlier, a YouTube video had been posted
online showing rebels beating and executing captive government soldiers,
and Kadouni took to Facebook to condemn it. “We don’t want t... more »
"Study: Main Ingredient Found In Beer Can Help Improve Memory"
*It's all in the hops.*
*by Ken*
I wouldn't want to suggest that the *only* items my friend and former
coworker Paul passes along are beer-related. He covers the field from
left-wing politics to pop music to late-night TV talkers to great Shorpy
photos of 20th-century America. But let's just say that when Paul *does*
pass along a beer-related item, I doubt that anyone on his distribution
list is surprised.
And this head: "Study: Main Ingredient Found In Beer Can Help Improve Memory"!
I can just see Paul's face light up when he glommed onto that one! But by
the time he did his e-p... more »
don't drink the kool-aid
drinking the kool-aid
nightmare in paradise
Bolivia President Morales at UN Climate Summit 2014
.
Watch video at link:
Press conference and Climate statement
http://webtv.un.org/watch/evo-morales-bolivia-press-conference/2688678100001
STATEMENT
OF H.E. EVO MORALES AYMA PRESIDENT OF THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF
BOLIVIA SESSION ON "VOICES OF CLIMATE CHANGE"New York, September 23,
2014
Brother Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Co-Chair of this thematic discussion,
sisters and brothers
The Rise Of The Warlord Era In The Middle East
*Islamic State Leads Mideast Into Warlord Era as Nations Dissolve -- Glen
Carey, Bloomberg*
The Middle East may be sliding toward a warlord era, with nation-states
increasingly struggling to control all their territory and millions living
under the rule of emergent local chiefs and movements.
Armed irregular forces hold effective power over growing areas of Iraq,
Syria, Yemen and Libya where central government authority barely reaches.
Motivated by religious ideology or regional separatism, they have grabbed
oil facilities and weapons, imposed taxes or changed school curriculums,
... more »
The Economy: "Why Rising Interest Rates Will Cripple the Economy"
*"Why Rising Interest Rates Will Cripple the Economy" *
by Bill Bonner
"The Dow fell 238 points yesterday. And Treasury debt rallied. The yield on
the 10-year T-note fell the most in nine months – to 2.4%. News reports
blamed "geopolitical challenges" in Hong Kong, the Middle East, Ukraine and
elsewhere. That may be part of it. But this is also October – the month QE
is expected to end.
Between 2009 and 2014, the Fed bought $3.6 trillion of US government and
mortgage-related notes and bonds. During that time $5 trillion has been
added to the value of the US stock market. And the p... more »
U.S. Special Forces Were Prepared To Attack Al Qaeda Targets In Syira In June
*Exclusive: U.S. Special Ops Readied Syria Attack In June -- Eli Lake,
Daily Beast*
Months before the U.S. started bombing Syria, American commandos made
detailed plans to hit al Qaeda planners there. But the targeting packages
weren’t even sent to the White House.
In late June, the U.S. military and the U.S. intelligence community had
concluded that a shadowy network of al Qaeda veterans in Syria were
planning to attack airliners flying to the United States.
Within the American government, the threat was considered serious enough
that the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command—t... more »
Colonel Howard McCoy and MJ-12
There is another aspect to this MJ-12 nonsense that hasn’t been mentioned
and that is Colonel Howard McCoy. Here’s the situation we find ourselves
in. In the early 1940s, McCoy was involved in the investigation of the Foo
Fighters. In 1946, McCoy was pulling records and observing the Ghost
Rockets in Scandinavia and in late 1946, he was tasked with setting up an
unofficial investigation into these “aerial phenomena.” And finally, in
September 1947, McCoy was the man who drafted the letter signed by
Lieutenant General Nathan F. Twining in which it was concluded that the
phenomenon w... more »
Supplemental: The elimination of all nonbelievers!
*THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014ISIS, ourselves:* In Tuesday’s New York Times,
Roger Cohen authored a column comparing the rise of ISIS to the reign of
the Nazi death camps.
After quoting Primo Levi on Auschwitz, he made the leap. In the process, he
made us think about life as it’s lived over here:
COHEN (9/30/14): “There is no why here.” The phrase has been reverberating
in me since I watched a henchman of the organization that calls itself
Islamic State behead two American journalists, James Foley and Steven
Sotloff, and a British aid worker, David Haines. The men had been broken by... more »
Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- October 2, 2014
ISIS-held Syrian oil refineries before and after coalition airstrikes.
*US-Led Airstrikes In Syria Are A Dangerous Half-Measure -- Frederic C.
Hof, Business Insider/Atlantic Council*
The decision of the Obama administration to strike Islamic State targets
(as well as some associated with another al-Qaeda derivative) in Syria is
laudable. The participation of multiple Arab partners is commendable: the
fight against this vacuum-filling band of murderers, torturers, and thieves
is, in its essence, an Arab fight against pagan barbarism.
To the extent, however, that the number one catal... more »
I had a lenthy argument with myslef
Which one of us was the crazy fucker?
We concluded neither but it was a great discussion nevertheless.
Oh Dear Lord in Heaven - Did Obama just call Holder's doctor wife an OB Gynee?????
*and this is the smartest man in the room?*
Maybe Mooch went to an OB Gynee when she was pregnant, but the rest of us
ladies were attended to by OB G-Y-N's.
H/T Weasel Zippers
Friday Morning Ramble–The Weekend After the Week After
[image: image]
Alleged #dirtypolitics by blog overwhelmingly rejected by voters, but drums
still beating for censorship of blogs.
*Blogs Back on the Agenda* – John Drinnan, HERALD
“Cash-strapped, spendthrift council wants to issue its own currency. What
could possibly go wrong?” – Bernard Darnton
*Citizens could be working for rates* – STUFF
And how convenient, just in time to send 800 police out to arrest someone
who may or may not have been planning a beheading.
*Spooks can monitor all of Aussie net* – STUFF
Australia to Legalise Medical Cannabis?
*The Federal Government Will... more »
America's Failed Drug War: Georgia Woman Jailed for SpaghettiOs
In another tale of bogus meth madness, Georgia cops arrested and jailed a
23 year old woman because of a suspicion that a residue coated spoon in her
car was evidence that she was a drug user. Ashley Gabrielle Huff of
Commerce, GA was arrested by Gainesville City police officers during a
routine traffic stop after one of the deputy dawgs overreacted in
misidentifying the substance on the eating utensil. She was arrested,
jailed and then ordered to attend mandatory drug counseling sessions. When
she missed a session she was re-arrested and kept in jail for well over a
month until t... more »
Turkey, at the forefront, allowing the US and Israel to lead from behind
*All the while propping up their, mutual, phony ISIS pretext* Turkey vows
to fight ISIL(S) and guns for Assad’s exit *The real agenda. Same as it
ever was. Ousting Assad. *
*Turkey will fight against ISIL and other terrorist groups in the region*
but will stick to its *aim of seeing* Syrian dictator *Bashar Al Assad
removed from power,* Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday .
* The aim was always removing Assad. It's never changed. Not once. In all
these years.*
“We will [also] continue to prioritise *our aim to remove the Syrian
regime*, to help protect the territor... more »
World News Briefs -- October 2, 2014 (Evening Edition)
*Up To 100 Possibly Exposed To U.S. Ebola Patient; Four Isolated -- Reuters*
(Reuters) - Up to 100 people may have had contact with the first person
diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, and four people were quarantined
in a Dallas apartment where sheets and other items used by the man were put
in sealed plastic bags to prevent infection.
Health officials said on Thursday that 12 to 18 people had direct contact
with the patient, who flew to Texas from Liberia via Brussels and
Washington two weeks ago, and they in turn had contact with scores of
others.
*Read more* ....*MID... more »