English: Medical Marijuana surrounding a vaporizer for healthy intake of the medicine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Discount Medical Marijuana cannabis shop at 970 Lincoln Street, Denver, Colorado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
10:38pm MDSTSouth Australia's Hottest March
*Guest Post: Chris Gilham* *The News, Adelaide, 27 March 1940* The 90.2ºF (32.3ºC) by 27 March 1940 was, according to CDO, followed by four days at West Terrace of 36.8ºC, 36.9ºC, 33.6ºC and 18.7ºC. That should have resulted in a March 1940 average max of 31.7C. March 1940 ended up 31.3ºC (88.3ºF) at West Terrace according to RAW and 31.8ºC according to ACORN. However, the 88.3ºF (31.3ºC) for March 1934 is 30.1ºC in RAW and 30.6ºC in ACORN. Was the West Terrace screen change to Stevenson between 1934 and 1940 and is that the justification for altering both RAW and ACORN? March 2016... more »
After Chemo
I get up at 4 am and slave away at the computer all day. I consider myself lucky that I can take some time out to swim and hike and do some errands. I still haven't found the time to do my taxes. But when a neighbor told me one of her dearest childhood friends was doing badly with a lung disease and couldn't eat or sleep I took them both to an above board medical marijuana dispensary. It was strange because here I was driving to a marijuana place with a frail little lady with an oxygen tank, telling me she's a Republican and wanting to debate me about Choice. She's vehemently anti... more »
Elephant in the Room
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year and change, its hard to ignore the fact that the price of oil tanked (no pun intended) and things are very different from the way the used to be. Paradoxically, I've found work very busy the past few weeks due to plant outages and maintenance but I'm wary of the fact the despite the steady work it isn't all sunshine and roses. November through most of January was actually very slow and I found myself getting anxious at times about the proverbial hammer falling. Indeed I've seen a number of people who have decided to move on... more »
Fukushima’s Former Residents Return Home To Ghost Town | 3tags
In “Retracing Our Steps,” French photographers Carlos Ayesta and Guillaume Bression asked some of the 80,000 nuclear refugees forced to evacuate areas near Fukushima to return to the places they once knew, a process that took nearly four years of detective work and jumping through administrative hoops. What they found was a world that had become almost unrecognizable, but also stories that were deeply human, calling to mind Auden’s famous poem “Musée des Beaux Arts...” *more: Fukushima’s Former Residents Return Home To Ghost Town | 3tags* no nukes (ever) – – – whats up nuclear blog
Edward Snowden Is Still Optimistic That Whistle-Blowers Will Still Disclose Secrets
Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. © Mark Blinch / Reuters *The Guardian*: *Edward Snowden: 'I'm not an unhappy ending' for future whistleblowers* Speaking at a conference Snowden refused to be seen as a warning sign to future leakers, saying of his time in Russia: ‘I am actually more effective now’. It’s not hard to argue that Edward Snowden is a warning to future leakers of government secrets. He’s stuck in Russia. Can only show up at parties as a video screen. And many of the western surveillance programs he outed continue three years later. But i... more »
Is The U.S. Now Spying On Reddit?
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman: "I've been advised not to say anything one way or the other." (IBTimes UK) *CNN:* *Reddit hints that U.S. now spying on its customers* It seems that the federal government has made a demand -- in a controversial secret court -- to spy on Reddit users. Normally, the discussion website Reddit would never be allowed to even acknowledge that it received such a request. But thanks to a legal hack, the company has tipped off its customers. Federal agencies have a tool of mass surveillance called a "National Security Letter." It's a formal request that's usually... more »
Film Review: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
"He has the power to wipe out the entire human race and if we believe there is even a one percent chance that he is our enemy, we have to take it as an absolute certainty." - Bruce Wayne I'm going to do my best to avoid any big spoilers in this review though I'm sure a little will slip through. I've a tough time deciding how I felt about *Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice *(henceforth referred to as BvS). I think the thing that keeps coming to mind is I don't think Zack Snyder really gets the appeal of Superman. In the comic books Superman is clearly a force for good. Despite ... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
"Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud by chance has assumed this recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is some 1,500 light-years distant, embedded in the vast Orion cloud complex. *Click image for larger size.* About five light-years "tall", the dark cloud is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is visible only because its obscuring dust is silhouetted against the glowing red emission nebula IC 434. Stars are forming within the dark cloud. Contrasting blue reflection nebula NGC 2023, surrounding a hot, young star, is at the low... more »
The Poet: Langston Hughes, “Life is Fine”
*“Life is Fine”* "I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn't, So I jumped in and sank. I came up once and hollered! I came up twice and cried! If that water hadn't a-been so cold I might've sunk and died. But it was Cold in that water! It was cold! I took the elevator Sixteen floors above the ground. I thought about my baby And thought I would jump down. I stood there and I hollered! I stood there and I cried! If it hadn't a-been so high I might've jumped and died. But it was High up there! It was high! So since I'm still here livin', I guess I w... more »
Kahlil Gibran, "The Madman"
*"The Madman"* by Kahlil Gibran "It was in the garden of a madhouse that I met a youth with a face pale and lovely and full of wonder. And I sat beside him upon the bench, and I said, “Why are you here?” And he looked at me in astonishment, and he said, “It is an unseemly question, yet I will answer you. My father would make of me a reproduction of himself; so also would my uncle. My mother would have me the image of her seafaring husband as the perfect example for me to follow. My brother thinks I should be like him, a fine athlete. And my teachers also, the doctor of philosophy, ... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Oakes, N. Dakota, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
Winslow Police Protest 'Justice for Loreal' Photos Klee Benally
Photos by Klee Benally Native Americans joined by Southwest residents protested the Winslow, Arizona, Police Department today, April 2, 2016. Loreal Tsingine, 27, Navajo, was shot five times and killed this week by a white police officer. Winslow, located on the southern border of the Navajo Nation has a long history of violence toward Native Americans. Read
NYT Owners Outed as Clintonistas (Clinton Campaign Collapse/Deb Was Schultz to Resign?) Neoliberalism/Neofeudalism Destruction and Playing the Identity Politics Card Against Trump Whites? (Max & Stacy Out the Bums)
Were Changes to "New York Times" Sanders Article "Stealth Editing?"Because if so, the owners have been revealed fatally as not only Clinton backers, but journalistic integrity quislings. Click the link and decide for yourself. (Right-click for a private window.) Then read the 1000+ comments like the ones immediately below, and after pausing to get a grasp, attempt to count the horrified
This Is How The NSA Can Listen In On Undersea Cable Communications
*Popular Mechanics:** NSA Used Submarine Probes To Listen In on Undersea Cable Communications* Spying in plain sight. LinkedIn is the stodgy, respectable sibling to the business-casual feel of Facebook or the teens-past-curfew chic of SnapChat. Filled with work-centric blogposts aimed at thinkfluencers and colleagues, the network is a soft, focus-grouped level of gray, as thrilling as a watercolor conversation about quarterly reports. That blandness is deceptive: sometimes people's resumes reveal secret programs, like that time the NSA used submarines to splice into underwater ca... more »
DARPA Unveils Game-Changing High-Tech Weapon
*WNU Editor: *Before anyone blows a gasket .... this video is just satire (maybe).
Did The Paul Ryan For President Campaign Leak The Information About Cruz And The DC Madam?
Everyone's going to think it was Trump, right? I mean, it was certainly Trump who got his pal Pecker to run the *National Enquirer* piece Rubio had been unsuccessfully shopping around for months that claimed Cruz had had affairs with at least 6 women (nearly as many as Rubio's had). But the sudden revelation that of the old DC Madam phone numbers include Ted Cruz's phone number did not-- we've been told confidentially-- come from anyone connected to Trump. My source, who I don't know well enough to vouch for, would only say it rhymes with Cruz's first name. I started guessing. Fre... more »
Help a New Teacher Avoid a Big Mistake
This showed up in the comment box today: I'm about to graduate in May and after receiving an invitation to interview at a KIPP school recently, I received a folder of candidate resources where essentially all of their procedures were spelt out. I was confused by whether I was looking at a juvenile detention center or a school? I started doing some research and came across your blog, wow. How can these places exist? Discount has been extended by publisher--20 percent off Rowman & Littlefield price or at other online booksellers. The perfect, and potentially career saving, gift for ... more »
April 2: a child in Yemen. And you and me.
Yesterday evening, I watched BBC News. It opened with some of the most dreadful footage I have ever seen. It was of the children of Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world. There was a picture of a baby with the hideous facial bloating and the dead eyes that can come from malnutrition. There was a boy of 9 or 10. His eyes were dead. His body was very thin and hideously scarred - as were his legs which were also twisted, crippled - and will be for the rest of his life. I saw a school class - in a school missing most of it walls and ceilings. The children, perhaps of grad... more »
From Joe's Vault, April 2011: Tax Time Again
By Manifesto Joe In the five years since this post first appeared, I've gotten in trouble with the IRS. Looks like I may end up getting an attorney before this is over. Conservatives may laugh, but hey -- if not for your moronic Iraq War, and your giving zillionaires and big corporations a tax pass, perhaps I wouldn't owe so much. BTW, I didn't post for a few months, but I've been busy with a little thing called life. One week ago I got out of the hospital after surgery and am recovering at home. I finally have a lot of time on my hands, so I'm back on the blog trail. Without furt... more »
Mormon Leader Urges Tolerance of Those With Other Religious, Political Views
[image: People walk near the Salt Lake Temple on the way to the opening session for the semi-annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Saturday, April 2, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Mormon leaders are set to deliver guidance to their worldwide membership in a series of speeches this weekend during the religion's semiannual conference in Salt Lake City. More than 100,000 Mormons will attend the five sessions over two days, with millions more watching live broadcasts from their homes. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)] SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Mormon leaders called o... more »
What Will It Cost To Rebuild Iraq?
Destroyed buildings are seen in the city of Ramadi, Iraq, Jan. 16, 2016. (photo by REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani) *Omar al-Jaffal, Al-Monitor*: *What it will cost to rebuild Iraq* BAGHDAD — “Ramadi has turned into ruins,” said Ouda, a soldier who has been fighting in the Iraqi army’s Seventh Division since mid-2015. Ouda took part in the liberation of Anbar province from the Islamic State (IS), which took hold of the city of Ramadi in May 2015. Al-Monitor met Ouda (a pseudonym), who is a resident of Baghdad, in one of the cafes of the capital during his day off. He recalled, “We fought... more »
Are Russian Attack Helicopters And A Few Thousand Soldiers Form Hezbollah And Iran The Reason Why Syria's Assad Is Winning The War?
Technicians at Syria's Hmeimim airport where Russian aircraft are deployed. © Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti *James Miller, Foreign Policy:* *Putin’s Attack Helicopters and Mercenaries Are Winning the War for Assad* *Taking advantage of a ceasefire, the Russian strongman is doubling down in Syria — not withdrawing.* The George W. Bush parallel was lost on very few analysts when Vladimir Putin proudly announced that he was withdrawing a significant amount of Russia’s forces from Syria because their “mission is accomplished.” The announcement came just four days after the Atlantic... more »
"Real Glory"
[image: B4INREMOTE-aHR0cDovLzIuYnAuYmxvZ3Nwb3QuY29tLy1wU2RZY3NsZ1FQdy9VNXVIdWxNcGZCSS9BQUFBQUFBQlRKcy9lNEwwTDAtX0xhUS9zMTYwMC9icnVjZS1sZWUtcXVvdGUtZGVmZWF0LWUxMzU1MzI1MDk0MTgyLnBuZw==] “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” - Maya Angelou *“How Buster Douglas Beat Mike Tyson” * by johnnysmack7 “Going into the fight, Mike Tyson was the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He held the WBC, WBA, and ... more »
"Three Positions..."
"The image that comes to mind is a boxing ring. There are times when... you just want that bell to ring, but you're the one who's losing. The one who's winning doesn't have that feeling. Do you have the energy and strength to face life? Life can ask more of you than you are willing to give. And then you say, 'Life is not something that should have been. I'm not going to play the game. I'm going to meditate. I'm going to call "out". There are three positions possible. One is the up-to-it, and facing the game and playing through. The second is saying, Absolutely not. I don't want to s... more »
"Fukushima- The Real Story"
*"Fukushima- The Real Story"* Lecture by Helen Caldicott, M.D. "Dr. Helen Caldicott is co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and she is author/editor of "Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe," The New Press, September 2014. For over four decades Dr. Caldicott has been the embodiment of the anti-nuclear banner, and as such, many people around the world classify her as a “national treasure”. She’s truthful and honest and knowledgeable.In late 2014, Dr. Caldicott gave a speech about Fukushima at Seattle Town Hall... more »
"What’s Really Going on at Fukushima?"
*"What’s Really Going on at Fukushima?"* by Robert Hunziker (June 15, 2015) "Fukushima’s still radiating, self-perpetuating, immeasurable, and limitless, like a horrible incorrigible Doctor Who monster encounter in deep space. Fukushima will likely go down in history as the biggest cover-up of the 21st Century. Governments and corporations are not leveling with citizens about the risks and dangers; similarly, truth itself, as an ethical standard, is at risk of going to shambles as the glue that holds together the trust and belief in society’s institutions. Ultimately, this is an ex... more »
Fukushima Update: Your Radiation This Month, March 12 to Apr 2, 2016"
*"Your Radiation This Month, March 12 to Apr 2, 2016"* By Bob Nichols "I didn't say it would be easy. I just said it would be the truth." - Morpheus (San Francisco) April 2, 2016 – "Good Day, this is “Your Radiation This Week.” These are the Top Fifteen (15) cities with recorded radiation highs exceeding 1,000 CPM that affected people for the past four weeks in Your Rad Weather around the United States. Let’s get right to it. *All Radiation Counts reported are partial Counts. Uncounted types of radiation include Alpha, Beta, **Gamma, Neutron and X-Ray radiation. **Uncounted radiat... more »
Bilingual education has the data and the research!
Sent to the Dallas Morning News, April 2, 2016 "Pioneers in bilingual education to reunite at TWU in Denton" (April 1) concludes with an important statement by Prof. Martha Morolez-de Anda: “We have the data, the research, and the skills, but not enough bilingual education teachers.” The public is not aware of how right Prof. Morolez-de Anda is. Studies done over several decades have shown that bilingual education works: students in bilingual programs outperform students with similar backgrounds in all-English programs on tests of English reading. The data and research supporting ... more »
UFO's and the National Security State
UFO's and the National Security State complete lecture
Two-Year-Old Twin Dies After Routine Vaccination
An 18-month old twin baby has died 24-hours after receiving a “routine vaccination” at the doctors office. Shannon McDonald said she took her 2-year-old twins to the doctors to receive routine vaccinations, and the very next day one of the twins, Nevaeh Kennedy, was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead. McDonald told CTVnews.ca that she felt something was wrong the entire time. “Something in my chest was telling me,” McDonald told CTV Atlantic. “That big scary feeling that every mother has — that they’re going to walk into a room and their kid who is supposed to be slee...more »
Putin: Illuminati Plans To Use Islam To Spark World War 3
Brave Vladimir Putin is determined to destroy the Illuminati, describing the destruction of the world’s most elusive organisation as the ‘most important legacy’ he could possibly leave behind, and according to Kremlin sources he understands the role of Islam in the Illuminati’s plan is to start World War 3. In Russia there is an old saying that roughly translates to ‘If you don’t understand the past, you won’t be able to understand the present, or shape the future.’ Putin lives by this saying. According to sources he has been studying the history of the Illuminati so he can understa... more »
Trump Urges Tennesseans To Rise Up Against The Establishment
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is having a hard time against the establishment. After snookering himself over the last couple of weeks by giving interviews to the establishment media and being led down the garden path in tricky question and answer sessions, the Donald is now fighting back to secure the delegates he won in Tennessee. Trump has tweeted for his followers to rise up against the Tennessee Republican Party on Saturday raising concerns over security, according to Politico. “We won the votes. They are trying to steal them. I can’t believe I am writing thi... more »
Eugenics: CIA Plot To Exterminate Haitian Population Exposed
In 1937 the CIA authorised a plan to ethnically cleanse the entire Haitian population by orchestrating Plan Osorio – a U.S. government-backed project that allowed the brutal murder of 6,000 Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Over the next few decades, the U.S. government continued its eugenics program on the Haitians via biological and weather warfare. Abreureport.com reports: The dictator of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo, was not a very articulate man, and he was a poor orator; most Dominicans today would not recognize his voice. Even after he perpetrated genocide in th... more »
Sailing to F***ing Byzantium
As part of the BBC's exhaustive commemoration of the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, Monday-hating Bob Geldof will be presenting a 90-minute film on BBC Four called *Geldof On Yeats.* In the BBC's blurb, the Boomtown Rats singer (still?) "reflects on the events of 1916 in Ireland and the f***ing impact they had on the f***ing works of WB Yeats". *This morning's Today* plugged the programme (as *Today *is wont to do). During his discussion with Bob Geldof, Nick Robinson said that a Yeats poem had been read at his own wedding, which was nice.... ....especially as the poem ... more »
Turks Protests Against Migrants’ Return From Greece and Turkey, Greeks Protest Their Remaining in Greece
[image: Residents gather to protest against plans to build a refugee camp under the new EU-Turkey deal in Aegean resort of Dikili, Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, April 2, 2016. Under the new deal refugees and migrants who arrived on Greek islands after March 20 will be sent back to Turkey starting on Monday. The placards read: " No to a refugee camp! " and " Don't touch my Dikili! "(AP Photo/Mehmet Guzel)] IDOMENI, Greece (AP) -- Anti-migrants protesters staged demonstrations in Turkey and Greece against the plan to send back migrants from Greece to Turkey that is set to be implemented sta... more »
ISIS Plan To Use Nuclear Drones To Attack West
British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned the public that ISIS terrorists are planning to spray nuclear material over Western cities using drone technology – in a horrific “dirty bomb” plot uncovered by intelligence services. According to Cameron, ISIS militants are buying basic drone hardware online and preparing them to transport deadly radioactive material into the heart of major European and U.S. cities. Telegraph.co.uk reports: Mr Cameron on Friday met world leaders, including the presidents of America, France and China, to plan how they would react to such an attack. Fo... more »
Researchers Find LSD Makes You Happier, Smarter and Healthier
Scientists have begun experimenting with the therapeutic effects of LSD drugs again, years after the government declared a “war on drugs” and dissuaded the medical community from studying them. Researchers have found that despite the prevalent misconception that LSD is “dangerous” they have had success at healing various ailments with the hallucinogen. Washingtonpost.com reports: They helped alcoholics drink less; terminal patients eased more gently into death. And it’s not just the infirm who are helped by the drugs. Psychedelics can make the healthy healthier, too. On this subject... more »
People disagreeing on the internet
As a fairly long-term inhabitant of the blogosphere, and still a close reader of other, like-minded blogs, I just can't stop myself from being fascinated by some of the exchanges that go on elsewhere. That said, I try *not *to stick my oar in these days. But nevertheless, here goes... Stonecrops - the cause of so much grief on the blogosphere today There's a rumpus going on at *Biased BBC *tonight over this afternoon's *Woman's Hour *omnibus. Someone said something at *Biased BBC*. A 'troll' slagged her off for saying it. Claim and counter-claim have been flying about ever since... more »
A future of coastal, connected cities | David Kilcullen | TEDxSydney 2014
*"Out of the Mountains: The Coming Age of the Urban Guerrilla" By David Kilcullen. * *Title: A future of coastal, connected cities | David Kilcullen | TEDxSydney 2014. Source: TEDx Talks. Date Published: May 26, 2014. Description:* Did you know that one and a half billion more people own a cell phone than have access to a toilet or running water? In this thought-provoking talk David Kilcullen explores the major trends, including a rapid increase in access to technology, shaping the most populous, troubled cities on the planet. He lays out a plan for using this connectivity, in pa... more »
An Update On The Story Of A Russian T-90 Tank Being Hit By A U.S. TOW Missile In Syria
Here's the T-90 allegedly hit by Suqur al-Jebal #TOW last 26th Feb.in W. #Aleppo. Right Shtora broken. @MinsterTX pic.twitter.com/oBUrHj0TJk — Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) March 20, 2016 *Defense Tech*: *On the Russian Tank Damaged by a US Missile in Syria* The incident involving a Russian-made T-90 tank that was struck by a U.S.-made TOW missile in Syria is making headlines again after a picture surfaced allegedly showing the damage. Last month, a YouTube video was published that depicts a Syrian rebel in Sheikh Aqil, a town near Aleppo, firing a BGM-71 TOW (for tube-launched... more »
On The California Campaign Trail With Bill Ostrander-- Getting Special Interest Money Out Of Elections
Bill Ostrander's e-mail sign-off is "Elections must depend upon the Voters, not the Funders." You get an idea where he stands right away. And lot of independent-minded voters are starting to question the Establishment case for the "inevitability" of Salud Carbajal, the anointed candidate of the DCCC. When I started talking to Bill in March I thought the race had been neatly wrapped up and it was too late to do anything to help the real progressive in the contest for a blue California seat that Obama won in 2008 57-41% and in 2012 54-43%. Generally speaking, in a presidential year... more »
Israeli Cyber Security Helped FBI Unlock Apple iPhone
The FBI used an Israeli cyber security firm to unlock San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone. Israel’s cyber security industry with its military connections is a flourishing business and has an eye out for expansion. The recent battle between Apple and the FBI to unlock San Bernardino shooter’s mobile phone has aroused the interest of many involved in Israel’s security industry. The Independent reports: Not least because at the American government’s request, a recent court hearing in the FBI’s legal fight to force Apple to unlock the iPhone was cancelled, with the FBI say... more »
Eerie Baby Faces Keep Popping Up Near Denver Airport
Mysterious baby doll faces have been appearing in and around Denver Airport for the last few months, and authorities have said they are unable to explain what the eerie faces mean. Freaked out members of the public have posted various photo’s of the faces on social media that have appeared on curbs, medians and buildings. Kdvr.com reports: “I’ve seen one over at Capitol Hill and another at Speer and Downing at the bridge,” Elaine Wahlquist said. “I’ve commented to my husband, ‘Look at those.’ But he never seems to notice them.” Most of the faces are pink and less than 6 inches long... more »
Los Angeles Father Charged With Killing Son For Being Gay
A father from Los Angeles has been charged with killing his child for being gay. NBC News reports: Shehada Khalil Issa, 69, was arrested Tuesday after police responding to 911 calls at the family’s home discovered the body of Issa’s wife and his 29-year-old son, Amir Issa. The felony complaint includes a special allegation that Issa “personally and intentionally” shot his son “because of his sexual orientation.” It is “alleged that the murder was committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation and because of the defendant’s perception of that status and the victims’ associatio... more »
Gene Therapy For Children Approved In Europe
In a global first, gene therapy that could prove life-saving for children has been recommended for approval in Europe. The pioneering technology to fix faulty genes has been developed by Italian scientists and GlaxoSmithKline FOX News reports: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday it had endorsed the therapy, called Strimvelis, for a tiny number of children with ADA Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (ADA-SCID) for whom no matching bone marrow donor is available. Around 15 children a year are born in Europe with the ultra-rare genetic disorder, which leaves them unable t...more »
WW3 Drum Beat: U.S. Plans 3rd Patrol of South China Sea Islands
Some believe that China’s dispute with America’s allies in The South China Sea may be the cause of the next world war. Now, the U.S. Navy has announced plans to patrol the disputed islands in the South China Sea in April. This mission comes after China has repeatedly told the United States to stay away from its international affairs. According to The New York Times: The exact timing of the exercise and which ship would travel inside a 12-nautical mile limit around a disputed island was not immediately clear. The United States has conducted what it calls “freedom of navigation” exerc... more »
Brazil Arrests Worlds Richest Banker
The government in Brazil have arrested and charged one of the world’s richest bankers, Joseph Safra, for bribing officials in order to avoid paying tax. Brazilian prosecutors say that Safra had knowledge of a 2014 plan by executives at his Banco Safra SA to bribe federal tax auditors with $4.2 million dollars. Reuters.com reports: The accusation is based on tapped phone calls between Banco Safra executive João Inácio Puga and tax officials, the statement added. Safra, who alongside his family owns Banco Safra SA and a number of private-banking institutions including Switzerland’s J... more »
The Caucasus: Fighting Breaks Out Between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Armenia and Azerbaijan have started hostilities in the disputed Caucausus region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Overnight fighting saw Azeri and Armenian forces clash with tanks, mortar and artillery, resulting in casualties on both sides. Defense ministries of both nations have accused each other of provocation. Russia Today reports: Azerbaijan said Armenian troops opened fire 127 times over 24 hours along the border. They were using mortars and heavy machine guns, the statement released on Saturday morning said. Armenia said Azeri troops went on the offensive overnight and were using tanks,...more »
Bigfoot? US Wildlife Officials Post Photo of Discovered Species
Is this “Bigfoot”? The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have posted a photograph of a mystery species that has been “discovered”on Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness. According to GeoBeats News: According to the agency’s Mountain Prairie Region department, “Thanks to a series of leaked photos, news of this discovery has gone viral and our offices are overwhelmed with phone calls, emails, and social media messages. We ask that you please exercise patience as we attempt to ascertain the biological identity of the specimen we captured.” The image shows a grainy picture in what looks like se... more »
"Just in Time" Nuclear Weapons?
Over the last week, Japan's governmental authorities have insisted publicly that the nation has the constitutional right to possess nuclear weapons: Abe Cabinet says Article 9 does not ban possessing, using N-weapons. THE ASAHI SHIMBUN April 2, 2016 http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201604020026.html The Abe Cabinet has decided that war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution does not necessarily ban Japan from possessing and using nuclear weapons. In an April 1 written answer to opposition lawmakers in the Diet, the Cabinet also says the government “firmly maintains a policy... more »
Saudi Arabia Oil Apocalypse Plan Is a $2 Trillion Piggy Bank
[image: An oil refinery in Saudi Arabia.] Saudi Arabia is preparing for a future without oil by taking its national oil company partially public and reinvesting $2 trillion worth of profits into a public investment fund. Saudi Deputy Prince and Defense Minister Mohamed bin Salman told Bloomberg... more »
Quote of the Day: On so-called “wage slavery”
*“To call low pay ‘wage slavery’ is to insult both employers and slaves. As economist George Reisman notes: ‘The difference between freedom and slavery is as sharp as day and night, even when a worker must work to avoid the pain of hunger. For even in this case it is not the capitalist employer who causes the worker’s hunger. On the contrary, he provides the means of satisfying the worker’s hunger. The worker works for the capitalist always in order to receive a positive— his wages. The difference between a free worker and slave can always be seen in this: A slave is someone who... more »
Economic News & Views ( April 2 , 2016 ) Items For Saturday - 1. Greece Wants Clarification Over IMF Leaks Distributed By Wikileaks. 2. Refugee Crisis - Daily Items For Saturday . 3. UK Referendum - Pro And Con Views. 4. Brazil In Focus - Politics & Economy. 5. Libya Updates - HoR's Saleh Speaks Regarding EU Sanctions , GNA , Presidential Council !
Greece...... *zerohedge* @zerohedge 25m 25 minutes ago Greek Prime Minister Sends Angry Letter To Christine Lagarde Over IMF Leak http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 2/greek-prime-minister-sends-angry-letter-christine-lagarde-over-imf-leak … *Yannis Koutsomitis* @YanniKouts 2m 2 minutes ago Lenders eye start of Greek debt relief talks at #*IMF* meetings in mid-April http://reut.rs/1Y77Dkt /via @*reutersJanS* #*Greece*# *debtreliefGR* *Yan³is* @iGlinavos 2h 2 hours ago We Are Vlakes https://iglinavos.wordpress.com/2016/04/02/we-are-vlakes/ … ... more »
Sea Monster-like Creature Filmed In River Thames
A “sea monster” that looks like it could be related to the infamous Loch Ness Monster was spotted on March 26, 2016 moving under the water of the River Thames. The creature then came above the surface for a short amount of time. UFOSightingsHotSpot.com reported on the video: Are there whales in the Thames or could it be a pod of dolphins? Maybe, but there’s still a huge shadow under the water that just looks like one giant sea creature with two large humps at the rear. Whatever it is, it’s big.
New Video Exposes Classified Anti-Gravity Craft
As the popularity of Nikola Tesla continues to grow globally, the interest in his “zero-gravity” anti-gravity and free-energy inventions also grows. A video was recently put online which was reportedly created by James Allen who died of supposed radio isotope poisoning, according to according to Military-aeronautical illustrator Mark McCandish According to ThePhaser.com: McCandlish was riding a wave of success creating visual images of top secret projects for the military-industrial and aeronautical publications. But then McCandlish, based only in his experience, imagination and int... more »
At The End Of His Turn President Obama Turns His Attention To U.S. Nuclear Forces
Unarmed Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, as part of a test, December 11, 2002. REUTERS/Tom Rogers *Lawrence Korb, Reuters*:* Money for Obama’s nuclear upgrades better spent on conventional weapons* As they prepare to leave office, presidents often seek to do something about nuclear weapons. President Bill Clinton tried to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, only to be blocked by a Republican Congress. President Ronald Reagan negotiated a treaty with the Soviet Union banning intermediate-range nuclear... more »
Did President Obama Nixed A CIA Plan To Oust Syrian President Assad And That Could Have Also Stopped ISIS?
President Barack Obama (L) announces a shake up with his national security team by nominating CIA Director Leon Panetta (2nd L) as Secretary of Defense and U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus (C) to replace Panetta, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, April 28, 2011. Obama also announced Ryan Crocker (R) as his nomination to be the new Ambassador to Afghanistan and U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen (2nd R) to be the commander of allied forces in Afghanistan. REUTERS/Jason Reed *NBC News:* *Obama Nixed CIA Plan That Could Have Stopped ISIS: Officials* The CIA in 2012 proposed a d... more »
20 Percent Of The World Will be Obese by 2025 – Report
According to a new study more people in the world are obese than underweight, and by the year 2025 roughly 20 percent of the world’s population will be considered medically obese. Analysis conducted by the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Risk Factor Collaboration looked at 19.2 million participants and discovered that the global obesity epidemic is set to become much, much worse. Tctmd.com reports: Researchers led by Mariachiara Di Cesare, PhD (Imperial College London, England), looked at BMI trends of adults living in 186 countries between 1975 and 2014. Using global models to calc...more »
South Carolina Police Conduct Roadside Cavity Search
Police officers in the South Carolina city of Aiken recorded themselves as they exposed an African-American driver’s breasts and searched her partner’s rectum. The disturbing dashcam video from 2014 shows at least one member of the police Department search inside the man’s rectum for the ‘crime’ of being a passenger in a car with a temporary paper license plate, which is not illegal in South Carolina. According to the Washington Post, the car belonged to a woman named Lakeya Hicks, who had the paper tags because she had recently purchased the vehicle. The tags had not expired, and ...more »
EFN Asia 60, Conference 2014 in Hong Kong, part 5
Continuation of notes made by *Karthik Chandra* during Conference 2014. ---------- Day 2: November 7, 2014 Session 7: CALD – EFN Asia Joint Session MC: Andrew Work *Jules Maaten* Head of FNF Philippines and former Member of European Union Parliament • Introduced the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD, politicians) and EFN (network of think tanks and liberal activists/individuals) *Dr. Chee Soon Juan* Secretary General, Singapore Democratic Party & Former Chairperson, CALD • The state of democracy in Singapore (SG) and HK is of great interest to the entire world itself. ... more »
Of cabbages and things
One of my favourite Radio 4 programmes, *More or Less*, began its latest run this week. As it's a statistics-based programmes, I wonder what the chances were (statistically-speaking) that its opening item would be something about the EU referendum? And, as an additional question, what do you reckon the chances were that its first Brexit-related item of the series would debunk a *pro*-Brexit statistical claim (made this week by a right-wing thinktanker on Twitter and a right-wing journalist)? Here's the offending tweet: And here's how the *More or Less *website introduced the f... more »
Crown System
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announces the latest in cutting-edge military technology in this promotional video released exclusively through Reason TV. The new Cranial Response Online Weapons Network will allow instant executive branch-level command of U.S. military resources, without the need for congressional authority, debate, or national unity.
Serbian Ultra Nationalist Seselj Acquitted At The Hague
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at the Hague, has found Serbian far-right nationalist Vojislav Seselj, whose volunteers helped to start the war in Croatia in 1991, not guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The former Serbian deputy Prime Minister was charged by ICTY with crimes against humanity and war crimes in Croatia and Bosnia in 1990s Royal Gazette reports: It isn’t the “not guilty” verdict that is shocking or necessarily wrong; it is the tribunal’s reasoning, which contradicts much of what this court has taught us about the war over th... more »
These Are the Chinese Weapons Deployed On The South China Sea Disputed Islands
A HQ-9 TEL vehicle on Woody Islands in the Paracels fires off a 200km range missile during recent live fire exercises. Yexu, at China Defense Forum *Popular Mechanics:** The South China Sea Arsenal: These Are the Chinese Weapons Deployed On Disputed Islands* Long range missiles and Gatling cannons The People's Liberation Army Navy has made waves across the South China Sea by rotating heavy missile launchers to the Paracel Islands, also disputed by Taiwan and Vietnam. In addition to YJ-62 anti-ship missiles, recent television footage shows PLAN air defense units engaged in live fire... more »
U.S. Navy To Conduct Another Patrol Near The Disputed South China Sea Islands
The U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ships USS Bonhomme Richard (bottom) and USS Boxer (second from top) are pictured in the East Sea during Exercise Ssang Yong 2016 March 8. PHOTO: REUTERS/U.S. MARINE CORPS/CPL. DARIEN J. BJORNDAL/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS *Reuters:* *U.S. plans third patrol near disputed South China Sea islands: source* The U.S. Navy plans to conduct another passage near disputed islands in the South China Sea in early April, a source familiar with the plan said on Friday, the third in series of challenges that have drawn sharps rebukes from China. The exact timing of ... more »
Sixteen women "journalists" send letter to Trump...
*did any of these sixteen "journalists" bother to proof read the letter?* Apparently not. And why, in this age of "we're all equal", do they have to designate themselves as "females?" Here's your weekend challenge: Take the list of these self-professed "journalists" to the grocery store. Ask the first 100 people you bump into who they are. Don't be surprised when they have no idea of the identity of these women. Michelle Fields (may I never have to speak of her again), reached out to grab at Trump. Mr. Trump is under the protection of the Secret Service, as are the other candi... more »
Still some misinformation out there about #optout2016
I’m not necessarily talking about whether or not parents have the right to opt their children out of standardized testing. Opt out of testing groups, of which the NPE is now involved, are doing a pretty good job of getting that bit out there, although it’s still not reaching, from where I stand, the real […]
A Tale Of Two Indices
By Paul Homewood https://rclutz.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/a-tale-of-two-indices/ I mentioned the other day that claims of “record low” Arctic ice foundered on the fact that the difference involved was so small to have been well within any margin of error. Ron Clutz updates the situation, comparing MASIE with the Sea Ice Index, used for public consumption by […]
Man Charged With Killing Son Because He Was Gay
A 69-year-old Los Angeles father has been charged with one count of premeditated murder for fatally shooting his son for being gay. Father Charged With Killing Son for Being Gay Amir Issa was found dead outside the family home in North Hills on Tuesday, the result of what prosecutors say was a hate crime. Shehada Issa told police he shot his son Amir in self-defense after he discovered his wife’s dead body in the house. NY Daily News reports: Shehada Khalil Issa faces murder charges after his son Amir Issa was found shot dead outside their North Hills home on Tuesday, the result of ... more »
Hillary and Bernie Vilify Sheriff Joe Arpaio for His Hard-Fought Battle Against Illegal Immigration
[image: MARSHALLTOWN, IA - JANUARY 26: Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R) of Maricopa County, Arizona endorses Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prior to a rally on January 26, 2016 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Trump said today he would not participate in the next Republican debate hosted by Fox.] The Democrats don’t like Arizona’s popular Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his strong enforcement of the laws against illegal immigration. He’s one of their poster children for Republican white men who don’t care about people, especially immigrants. Even better, he’s what The New York... more »
North Korea Test Fires New Anti-Missile System
Defying UN sanctions, Kim Jong-Un personally supervised the testing of North Korea’s new anti-missile system on Saturday. The test was the latest in a series of missile trials as tensions run high on the divided Korean peninsula. It also came as a two-day nuclear security summit was being hosted by Barack Obama in Washington, at which North Korea was the focus of the US president’s talks with leaders from China, South Korea and Japan. The North Korean ambassador to the UN said on Friday that NK would pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile program in defiance of the United States a...more »
The Militant Tendency
Just as a P.S. to the previous post... Some of us who have been watching the BBC for some time have been 'living with' the BBC's opposition to the use of the word 'terrorist' to describe terrorists for so long now that it no longer shocks us. Yes, it still appals us, but we've kind-of grown accustomed to it. It still evidently has the power to shock to shock others though - particularly people who haven't paid much attention to the BBC's news reporting before, such as the young Mancunian poet Richard Mather. *Arutz Sheva* has re-posted a piece of his called *The BBC's militant ... more »
Demands For Wasserman Schultz To Step Down As DNC Chief Are Growing On A Grassroots Level
John Fetterman, the Bernie supporter and progressive mayor in the Pennsylvania Senate race, called on Debbie Wasserman Schultz to resign as DNC chair in an interview on Pittsburgh TV station, WTAE. He then sent out a tweet (above) endorsing her South Florida primary opponent, Tim Canova. The *Huffington Post* reported that when he was asked by WTAE anchor Jackie Cain if his opposition to Wasserman Schultz was "a bold move," he said it was more a matter of common decency. “I wouldn’t call it a bold move. I would call it an appropriate one given her collusion with the sub-prime, pa... more »
Could the Ice Wall be Producing All of this Steam?
The emissions are incredibly high despite dry streets at the Futaba cam. Perhaps what we see here is a result of the ice wall, which was supposedly going to be activated any day now:
Campaign watch: Haberman tries to embarrass Trump!
*SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016Quotes him word for word:* In an obvious attempt to embarrass Candidate Trump, Maggie Haberman has quoted him word for word. She did so for the New York Times. She quoted part of what the candidate told John Dickerson in an interview which will be broadcast tomorrow on Face the Nation. Trump was discussing his recent chat with Chris Matthews about abortion law. Believe it or not, these are accurate quotes. Nothing has been left out: HABERMAN: [Trump's] comments Friday are likely to give fresh ammunition to conservatives who are eager to make abortion illeg... more »
Can we predict what physics, world will look like in 2116?
*We can but the predictions are almost certain to be wrong.* Physics Today will pay you $7,500 if you write the best essay, according to a jury of physicists, about physics in 2116 and if you submit it by June. In the new issue of Physics Today, Frank Wilczek has already attempted to win: Physics in 100 years He's great but do I think he has succeeded? Do I think it's possible to succeed at all? One hundred years is a very long time and it's hard to make predictions, especially those about the future. But the 21st century isn't the first century in which people are intelligent ... more »
Heavy Fighting Being Reported Between Azerbaijan And Armenia Forces In Nagorno-Karabakh
*DW: **Fighting erupts on Nagorno-Karabakh front lines* Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have clashed along the front lines of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region. Both sides have reported numerous casualties, while trading blame for the renewed fighting. Officials from Armenia and Azerbaijan on Saturday both accused each other of violating a cease-fire after fighting broke out on the front lines of the rebel Nagorno-Karabakh region, which lies inside Azerbaijan, but is under the control of ethnic Armenians. The Armenian Defense Ministry said Azerbaijan used warplanes, tanks and... more »
Antisemitism. Something’s gotta give
Antisemitism is in the news. Antisemitism of the left, antisemitism among students, politicians, academia, the media, and presently and particularly, in relation to the Labour Party; outside of the dedicated “BBC bias” blogs, however, the BBC’s part in this hardly gets a mention. The BBC has succeeded in mainstreaming anti-Zionism and establishing pro-Palestinian advocacy as the norm. In fact nowadays it’s so much the norm that no-one thinks twice about it. Hardly anyone, I mean. Alongside the belief that the left is right and the right is wrong, it’s just the norm. At the risk of... more »
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*From* *Jenna Orkin* Some Nut Just Made His Own Thermite Launcher Reddit hints that it received a secret order from US spies that may have been on the hunt for Edward Snowden STUDY: Belgium is the largest contributor of foreign fighters to Syria in proportion to its population State Department Suspends Probe Of "Top Secret" Clinton Emails Gas Pipeline Uses 160 Eminent Domain Suits To Get Property In 3 States JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Rothschild Yanked Into Probe Of Goldman-Backed Malaysian Slush Fund The FBI asked the US State Department to stop investigating Hillary Clinton's...more »
Ex-CIA clandestine services officer Robert David Steele on false flags, OSINT
*Robert David Steele just did a long and informative interview with Defense and Intelligence Norway. Excerpt:* *We in Europe are reeling from the Belgian attacks, and also being heavily criticized by the Americans for being ineffective at counterintelligence. What are your thoughts? * My first thought, one that many will find difficult to ingest, is that the attacks in Belgium as well as the two Paris attacks are false flag state-sponsored or rogue neo-Nazi attacks intended to frighten the public and perpetuate the “deep state” that continues to loot public treasuries with aband... more »
Fanning the flames
There's a very powerful piece by Karen Harradine over at *The Conservative Woman *called Corbyn and his lackeys fan the flames of appalling anti-Semitism, which both Sue and myself would urge you to read - if you haven't done so already (and many *have*, judging by the deluge of comments there). One of Karen's points... *Corbyn and his cronies have managed to achieve such cognitive dissonance between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism that they cannot comprehend why anti-Semitism is such an issue. Jew-hatred is insignificant to them in comparison to their fight against Israel.* ...h... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 2, 2016
Alex Emmons, The Intercept: *Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit Neglects 98 Percent of the World’s Bomb-Ready Uranium* AT PRESIDENT OBAMA’S fourth and final nuclear security summit taking place this week, world leaders are confronting the danger posed by nuclear terrorism — specifically, by reducing the ways that terrorists could get their hands on the uranium they would need to build a nuclear bomb. But critics have pointed out that the summits have only focused on highly enriched uranium in civilian possession, which, according to the Department of Energy, only accounts for 2 to 3 ... more »
Foreign Fighters Are Evading Europe’s Security Net
[image: In this file image originally made available Thursday, March 24, 2016, by Haberturk newspaper, showing Ibrahim El Bakraoui pictured in July 2015 by Gaziantep police. When Ibrahim El Bakraoui blew himself up in the Brussels airport check-in area, killing and maiming scores of travelers, it was at least the third time he had passed unimpeded through an airport terminal in recent months. But according to reports Saturday April 2, 2016, including testimony from government ministers, extracts of documents and conversations with police, as well as border and aviation officials, a ... more »
Illinois Town Among New Fronts on Nation’s Right-to-Work Map as Supreme Court Deadlocks
[image: Chicago teachers picket during a one-day strike on April 1, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union Local 1 are demanding that lawmakers provide the funding needed for proper education and other programs. The strike affect over 300,000 students across the city. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)] Despite the lack of a definitive ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of mandatory union dues, workers across the nation have ample opportunity to challenge why they're forced to pay for political activism they don't support.... more »
ISIS & Brussels airport hired 50 people together; 900 no-go zones in the EU
The Balkan route was basically sealed so the number of illegal migrants arriving to the bulk of Europe has dropped dramatically. Ironically enough, this improvement meant that Angela Merkel's approval rate went up – even though this evolution towards an improvement was exactly what she's been fighting against all the time. Most of the news we're getting are about the mess in Greece and Turkey and the flaws of the EU-Turkey deal that really seems dysfunctional as we expected. To make things worse, some U.N. officials yell that the deal is illegal because the illegal migrants always h...more »
I do remember those days… #optout2016
My how things change. I do remember those days around 2010 when opting out of standardized tests was considered the most radical thing one can do. Foolish, silly, self-destructive. And now, not so much. How much farther would the movement have been if support for the strategy came on day one? At this point, my […]
Sphere Alliance #141 Winston Shrout's Off-world Contacts
Winston Shrout just claimed to have off-world contacts: http://mainerepublicemailalert.com/2016/04/01/may-day-may-day-alert/ AK *Winston Shrout claims to have off * *planet contacts, who is his handlers? From what Galactics is he?* *DEAR ONE/AK/TERRAN. THE ONE/WINSTON SHROUT "HAD" OFF PLANET CONTACTS. NOW DIS CONNECTED. THE FORMER "HANDLERS" WERE OF A PLEIADIAN ORIGIN NOT OF THE SHERR-AN 'CONNECTIONS'. DATA COLLECTORS. STAN.X. END.* AK *Who are they?* *DEAR ONE/AK/TERRAN. THE PLEIADIANS WHO HANDLED THE ONE/WINSTON SHROUT ARE KNOWN AS THE BLUE STAR. THE BLUE STAR HAVE ALSO CONT... more »
Weekend reads: Calls for retraction a bad idea?; is scientific fraud a crime?
This week at Retraction Watch featured an unusual excuse for missing data, and a guilty plea in court for misconduct. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: Hey NFL, calls for retraction are generally a bad idea. Our latest for STAT. (Here’s The New York Times’ response to the NFL’s call to retract a story in the newspaper, […] The post Weekend reads: Calls for retraction a bad idea?; is scientific fraud a crime? appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Whose Schools? THEIR Schools!
Except that we pay for them! A new report from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform looks at charter school governance in Massachusetts. You may expect other states to be even more corporate friendly. A clip: The dominant voices--31 percent--on charter governing boards in Massachusetts are from financial and corporate sectors. Professionals from the financial sector alone--executives at banks, investment companies, or hedge funds, for example--represent 12 percent of all trustees. In some schools, the board of trustees is striking for its lack of educational expertise....
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RELIVING THE TRAUMA OF POLICE VIOLENCE IN PURSUIT OF SACRED JUSTICE by Roberto Cintli Rodriguez Cephus Johnson, the uncle of Oscar Grant, who was killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer in Oakland in 2009, speaking at an event in 2012. When a family loses someone to police violence, many times, "they are shocked into silence. Sometimes they are just shocked," says Johnson. (Photo: Wendy Kenin / Flickr) Once again I find myself among grieving families, among families who bleed and tremble when they speak, all the while insisting they are witnesses or survivors, not victims. ... more »
Thugs
One on the complainants on this week's *Newswatch *raised a similar point to one made by someone at *ITBB* a few days back. It concerned the reporting of Damian Grammaticas from a far-right protest in Brussels, including this passage from one of his pieces: *Police reinforcements arrived. Officers here are overstretched already by the terror alerts. The riot squad moved in. There were cheers. The thugs beat a hasty retreat.* The point made by the *Newswatch *viewer was: *Your correspondent describes the protesters as 'thugs', which shows a bias and opinion that should not be ex... more »
Identity
Another 'BBC season' is upon us. Last Autumn we had a major season on 'race and gender'. This Spring we're getting a season on' identity'. *As we become more connected and mobile than ever, BBC World News and BBC World Service examine how our individual identities are changing. A month-long series of content looks at how the movement of people and the increasing exchange of ideas and information are changing who we are and how we live.* Looking at what they' have in store for us, don't hold your breath for anything focusing on, say, English national identity, or being part of a t...more »
World News Briefs -- April 2, 2016
*BBC*: *Nuclear terrorist attack would 'change our world', says Obama* The threat from terrorists trying to launch a nuclear attack that would "change our world" is real, President Barack Obama has said. The world has taken "concrete" steps to prevent nuclear terrorism, he told the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. But the so-called Islamic State (IS) obtaining a nuclear weapon is "one of the greatest threats to global security," he added. More than 50 nations were represented at the summit. *Read more* .... *MIDDLE EAST* Syrian opposition not optimistic *about Geneva peace... more »
Michelle Alexander on Politics and Race
Please take 14 minutes to watch and listen and learn.
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 2, 2016
U.S. special forces soldiers. (VOA) *Reuters*: *Exclusive: U.S. weighs ramping up deployment of special forces to Syria* The U.S. administration is considering a plan to greatly increase the number of American special operations forces deployed to Syria as it looks to accelerate recent gains against Islamic State, U.S. officials told Reuters. The officials, with direct knowledge of the proposal's details, declined to disclose the exact increase under consideration. But one of them said it would leave the U.S. special operations contingent many times larger than the around 50 troo... more »
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*Cruz: Abolish Dept of Education, Block-Grant Money to States, End Common Core, Allow School Choice* In response to a question about how to help U.S. companies find “talented and qualified” employees for growing companies, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said one place to start is education reform, by getting the federal government out of it, abolishing the Department of Education, block-granting money to the states, ending Common Core, and allowing more school choice. “Now, in terms of getting new and able workers, we need to do several things,” said Sen. Cruz during CNN’s town hall ...more »
Physical Detection of Spirit Orbs
This item was a surprise but it should not have been unexpected. I already knew rare individuals can see spirit bodies. This polices all that up be providing true independent verification. Yes, they have been showing up on digital cameras. The take home is that we can all see them once we train ourselves to see them. The mind simply has to stop filtering the data This represents additional confirmation of the second tier of matter and its crystalline like nature. However it is not so packed as to prevent physical movement of our orbs. It is better thought of as an i... more »
Return of the Inner Sun
We are sharing two important insights here today. The minor one is a shared insight that the Andes were thrust up recently in human history. This happens to be an independent cultural source of which i have been unaware. I came to the same conclusion through evaluating the consequences of the crustal shift that was triggered around 12,900 years ago. I also observed that the Himalayas arose at the same time and realistically the entire parts of the extended arcs as well. The mechanical driver was from shift induced curvature change. This also induced offsetting subsidence t... more »
Freemasonry and the Pillars of the Porch
It is remarkable what was understood. This is saying that the spirit body consisting of second tier matter and its latice of photonic energy is merely clothed in its physical body which is exactly what i am how discovering and saying. This an important teaching in terms of modern physics as i have laid it out, but also now central to understanding Bronze Age cosmology as well. That it happens to be correct is a bonus. Without an additional esoteric nudge it happens to be true that i would never have walked this path nor contemplated this symbolism coming to us by way... more »
Tatzelwurm: Rockwurm of the Alps
Also the source of the mythological Basilisk as well. What i do see described is a potent lizard with well developed front limbs designed for burrowing and pulling rocks aside as well to dig out a meal. This leads to an odd form of bipedal motion with the hind limbs tucked up. This is not unreasonable and works as we can imagine an effective life way. It also makes real sense in order to navigate over a rock field. Been a lizard, it can likely go dormant during cold weather rather easily. Haylofts, and burrows show us how it may survive. It is no trick to line a burrow with l... more »
Maple Syrup Could Help Protect against Alzheimer's, Research Suggests
This sounds like a compound that could be synthesized. If so and it can pas the digective tract we could be on to something useful. It will not be a cure and that looks to be in the form of an antibiotic anyway, but preventing damage akin to clotting blocks physical damage to the brain. This is good research news along with other recent work and we may now be on track to having useful protocols we can use. It is still a long road however. . *Maple syrup could help protect against Alzheimer's, research suggests * *Maple syrup isn't only delicious, it could also be good for t... more »
Oldest Ever Human Genome Sequence may Rewrite Human History
More correctly the histories presently constructed are at best premature. Those reading my posts know that i have also mapped out a putative human timeline as well based on a transformation event in which biologically modern man emerged directly around 200,000 years ago and in which the loss of natural mind to mind communication occurred 45,000 years ago precipitating our cultural advance through to modernity before 12900 BP and the Pleistocene Nonconformity and then again to the present. That raw timeline continues to hold up as new evidence comes in. Prior to ... more »
Is There An Ancient Civilisation Buried Under The Amazon?
Of course there was. Better yet it surely numbered in the millions and potentially could have numbered in the tens of millions. The reason i make that argument is that the agricultural protocol used terra preta soils which held nutrients in a sustainable growth cycle. With that a mere garden plot of perhaps an acre easily supplied a family with ample food. Cassava and Maize were used as staples but a range of other plants made up the diet. That been the case a square mile could support 640 families or 2500 people. That is a natural town consisting of a dozen natural villages... more »
NASA Confirms Super Human Abilities Gained Through Sungazing
What is described here i have posted on before. The claims are generally amazing but all that means is that we start in ignorance. What is important though is that it is creditable and represents a clear practice. What i want to share here is that our physical body is completely operated by our spirit body or astral body which term i use to describe the galaxy of independent processors operating individual cells. All this is a superconductor and quite able to absorb useful radiation and to channel it. Our optic system is then acting as the wave guides used to flow useful rad... more »
4 Facts That Prove Obamacare Isn’t Aging Well
[image: WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 03: U.S. President Barack Obama gestures during a news conference, the day after Republicans gained 60 seats in the House of Representatives in midterm elections, in the East Room of the White House November 3, 2010 in Washington, DC. As of Tuesday morning, the Republican party had won 239 seats in the House, giving the GOP control of the chamber for the first time since 2006. The power shift could jeopardize Obama's legislative plans for the next two years. (Photo by Alex Wong)] Millions of Americans are faced with rising healthcare costs and higher tax... more »
Kids Born in 2016 Hold $42,000 in Public Debt
[image: In this photo taken September 17, 2012, President Barack Obama reaches over a crowd of people to shake hands with a young girl.] Out of control spending drives national debt to unsustainable levels and the government knows it. The recently published 2017 fiscal year House Congressional Budget Resolution even features a chart titled "Spending is the Problem." But Congress needs to practice what... more »
Disarming Onward Christian Soldiers
[image: Onward Christian Soldiers Edited - 900] Liberal post evangelical/emergent commentator Brian McLaren has rewritten Onward Christian Soldiers to remove the “Islamophobia, xenophobia, overt and covert racism” purportedly corrupting the old hymn. Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore has offered a fine rebuttal in defense of the hymn’s spiritual purpose. But more... more »
Thank goodness!
April 1st has come and gone, so when I write: Guess what today's *Dateline London *discussed for the umpteenth week in a row? Yes, Donald Trump - and someone called him "a brute"!... ...it's not a joke. This really did happen today. And *this *happened as well: During the opening discussion of the Cameron government's difficulties and the crisis over the Tata steelworks at Port Talbot, Gavin Esler brought up the subject of Brexit... ...and, yes, he really did ask pro-EU/anti-Brexit guest Annalisa Piras (Bill Emmott's co-writer, director and producer on the BBC's wildly contro... more »
Double-bluffing myself
The problem with April Fools' Day is that you can begin to hear 'April Fools' stories' everywhere. I was driving to work yesterday morning, listening to *Today, *and heard something about a viola player suing the Royal Opera House because his hearing had been damaged during performances of Wagner's *Ring.* The music - especially the brass - was too loud, it seems. The *Today *segment itself sounded quite convincing - but, then, all good April Fools' jokes *should* sound a bit convincing. But "a viola player" (the butt of most orchestral jokes)? And "being deafened by Wagner"? Tha... more »
What Will Obama's Presidential Library Cost The Progressive Movement?
When Obama stabbed Joe Sestak in the back during the 2010 Pennsylvania primary in the ill-conceived establishment rush to support Republican-turned-faux-Democrat Arlen Specter, Specter was up by 30 points. The earliest polls *all* showed Spector crushing Sestak. Three months after Specter switched parties, the July 19, 2009 Quinnipiac poll, for example, had Specter running away with it, 55-23%. The whole corruption-ridden Democratic Establishment, especially corporate Democrats Ed Rendell, Harry Reid and Joe Biden put pressure of Sestak to drop out. Obama offered Sestak a cushy j... more »
Syrian Army Unearth Dozens Of ISIS Victims In Palmyra Mass Grave
The Syrian army has unearthed a mass grave containing at least 40 corpses in Palmyra city Many of the victims were women and children who had been tortured and butchered by ISIS in the recently liberated ancient city. RT reports: The grave was discovered by engineers and “popular defense forces” in the Masakin al-Jahizia neighborhood of the city, which lies only 500 meters from the ancient ruins, SANA reports. So far the army has recovered 25 corpses. Among those killed by IS were three children and five females. As the excavation proceeded, 15 more corpses were unearthed – all of t... more »
If an accused behaves so as to make a preliminary inquiry impossible that accused is deemed to waive the preliminary
*R v Grant*, 2016 ONCJ 170: A preliminary inquiry is not automatic and is to be held only following a request from either the Crown or the accused. In this case the conduct of the self-represented defendant made it impossible to conduct the hearing and the court deemed this to be an effective withdrawal of the earlier request to hold a preliminary inquiry. As a result the accused ordered to stand trial.
Mass Graves Are Being Found In Palmyra One Week Since Its Recapture By Syrian Forces
*Reuters*: *Mass grave found in Syria's Palmyra after city recaptured from Islamic State: state media* Syrian troops found a mass grave containing around 40 bodies in Palmyra city, captured from Islamic State last Sunday, Syrian state news agency SANA said on Friday. SANA said the grave, which contained many women and children, was in the north-eastern edge of Palmyra. Some of the bodies had been beheaded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which monitors the five-year-old Syrian conflict through a network of sources on the ground, said that Islamic State had killed a number... more »
Untitled
*Warmist fear of the truth* I won't go into details but I had an email conversation a few weeks ago with a woman whom I had last seen in the '70s. I had a small item that she wanted so I suggested that she call in to pick it up. She lives only about 15 minutes drive away so that would be no burden. And she seemed keen to do that. As part of polite catching up she asked me about my mathematician son. One of the things I said was that he was like me in regarding global warming as absurd to the point of hilarity. Since I had last seen her, however, she had become a global warming... more »
How is Britain going green? By shutting down industry
By Paul Homewood http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/04/how-is-britain-going-green-by-shutting-down-industry/ There are a number of articles out today about the UK steel situation. Bill Carmichael of the Yorkshire Post goes straight to the heart: Take a bow, you fashionable eco-warriors and your craven enablers in the political establishment. Give yourselves a hearty pat on the back, […]
Pentagon Enrolls Syrian Rebels In New Training Program
The US is training “dozens” of Syrian rebels to fight ISIS in Syria, despite the failure of the Pentagons previous multi million dollar effort. Washington previously struggled to define which fighters ‘deserved’ to get US funds and equipment, with most of the equipment and recruits somehow getting lost or ending up on the side of terrorists. RT reports: “Dozens of people are now being trained,” US Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the US-led coalition, confirmed to reporters. “It’s still relatively small as we see if this works,” he said, while refusing to c... more »
Megyn Kelly: O’Reilly, CNN Should Have Done More for Me
[image: In this Jan. 28, 2016 photo, Moderator Megyn Kelly waits for the start of the Republican presidential primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa.] NEW YORK (AP) -- Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly is taking notes on who she feels could’ve been more supportive when she was attacked by Donald Trump. Fox’s Bill O’Reilly and CNN are both on her list. Kelly, in an... more »
Walker Says Cruz Victory in Wisconsin Will Unite Party — Against Trump
[image: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is greeted by Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark, left, and Gov. Scott Walker before he speaks as The Milwaukee County Republican Party hosted a Presidential Dinner in Milwaukee on Friday, April 1, 2016. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)] MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, in his first joint appearance with former presidential rival Ted Cruz, implored hundreds of Republican Party activists and insiders on Friday to back the Texas senator, saying a win for him next week...more »
Islamic State Leader's Ex-Wife Speaks Out
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS's reclusive leader, makes his first public appearance and delivers his first sermon as the group's "caliph" at a mosque in Mosul, Iraq, July 5, 2014. REUTERS/SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE VIA REUTERS TV *Washington Post:* *Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the murderous Islamic State leader, was once just a ‘normal family man’, claims ex-wife* When Saja al-Dulaimi talks about her ex-husband, to whom she was married briefly in 2008, it’s almost as if she’s speaking of three different men. There was the man named Hisham Mohammad, just “a normal person,” a “university lecturer”... more »
Obama, World Leaders Urge Action on Nuclear Security, Terror
[image: President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Friday, April 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)] WASHINGTON (AP) -- World leaders declared progress in safeguarding nuclear materials sought by terrorists and wayward nations, even as President Barack Obama acknowledged the task was far from finished. Closing out a nuclear security summit on Friday, Obama warned of... more »
Trump Now Says Abortion Laws Should Be Left As Is
[image: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves as he gets into his vehicle in Washington, Thursday, March 31, 2016, following a meeting at the Republican National Committee. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump now says abortion laws should not be changed. It’s a pendulum swing for the Republican presidential contender on an issue that’s caused him grief since he said earlier in the week there should be “some... more »
Ukraine-EU Association: From Self-Determination to Foreign Domination
*April 2, 2016* (Ulson Gunnar - NEO) - Though none actually leading the 2013-2014 Euromaidan putsch would seriously claim that the unrest was aimed at preserving Ukrainian self-determination and independence, many who took to the streets believed this to be so. They believed that Russia possessed unwarranted influence over their nation and sought to move out from the shadows they felt they still dwelt in from the era of Soviet rule. Would the rank and file who have been led first into the streets against their own elected government, then onto the battlefield against their own bro... more »
Islamic State Has Converted Mosul University Into A Center For Research On Making Bombs
*Wall Street Journal:* *Islamic State Hijacks Mosul University Chemistry Lab for Making Bombs* U.S.-led coalition bombed campus in March, but extent of any damage unknown. Islamic State has been using a well-stocked university chemistry lab in Mosul, Iraq, for the past year to concoct a new generation of explosive devices and train militants to make them, according to U.S. and Iraqi military officials and two people familiar with the university. Gen. Hatem Magsosi, Iraq’s top explosives officer, said the facilities at the University of Mosul have enhanced Islamic State’s ability t... more »
Russian Tourist Mauled To Death By Crocodile In Paradise Island
The body of a Russian tourist has been discovered in West Papua, Indonesia, showing signs of a crocodile attack. Sergey Lykhvar, 37, went missing a few days ago while scuba diving in the idyllic waters of the Raja Ampat archipelago. The Mirror reports: The Russian tourist’s body was found on the coastline of one of the islands four days after he went missing – and there was a well-defined bite on his hip. Head of the local rescue service Pracetuo Budiarto said: “We believe that this man was attacked by a crocodile. “The body had one hand missing. There was a well-defined bite on the... more »
ISIS Using German Tactic ‘Auftragstaktik’ To Achieve Victory
A recent issue of an ISIS propaganda magazine describes a method for carrying out attacks using an adaptation of a 19th century German military philosophy. The command tactic ‘Auftragstaktik’ allows subordinate terrorists to individually carry out specific orders without being burdened with anything else except achieving their objective. Russia Today reports: The Dar al-Islam issue, published in French, states that the terror group is using a version of Auftragstaktik, a combat doctrine previously used by the German Army. The tactic involves giving terrorists a target, which they mu... more »
President Obama Is Troubled By The 'Troubled Path' That Turkey Is Taking
*AFP*: *Obama warns Erdogan's Turkey headed down troubling path* Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama admitted Friday he was "troubled" by the path President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking Turkey down, amid rows over press freedom and the war in Syria. "It's no secret that there are some trends within Turkey that I have been troubled with," Obama said, when asked whether he considers the Turkish leader an authoritarian. "I think the approach they have been taking toward the press is one that could lead Turkey down a path that would be very troubling." Obama said he had ex...more »
North Korean Envoy: Semi State Of War Exists In Peninsula
The North Korean ambassador to the UN told reporters that a semi-state of war exists in the divided Korean peninsula. Pyongyang remains defiant in the face of threats of a nuclear first strike and will pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile programs as a deterrence measure against US and South Korea, according to top Pyongyang envoy So Se Pyong. Reuters reports: So Se Pyong, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, denounced the huge joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises taking place which he said were aimed at “decapitation of the supreme leadership of the DP...more »
Obama Indirectly Poo-Poos Donald Trump’s World Policies
President Barack Obama has indirectly attacked Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, saying he knows very little about foreign policy and not much when it comes to “the world generally.” Obama was referring to Trump’s latest proposal to arm Japan and South Korea with their own nuclear weapons to fight it out with North Korea and China themselves. Trump believes America is not a great nation any longer and needs to sit it out and count the pennies while the rest of the world sort out their own problems, including nuclear proliferation and such other important global mat... more »
Russian UN Ambassador: Turkey Supplying Weapons And Military Hardware To The Islamic State
Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin (file photo) *RT:* *Turkey is key supplier of weapons, military hardware to ISIS - Russian envoy to UN* Moscow has submitted data on Turkey’s illegal arms and military hardware supply to Islamic State in Syria to the UN Security Council. Supplies are supervised by the Turkish intelligence service, Russian UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said as cited by Russian media. "The main supplier of weapons and military equipment to ISIL fighters is Turkey, which is doing so through non-governmental organizations. Work in this area is oversee... more »
US Drone Strike Kills Top Al-Shabab Leader In Somalia
Somali policemen look at the wreckage of a car after a bombing in Mogadishu, March 9, 2016. A leader of the Islamist group al-Shabab was killed by a U.S. airstrike Thursday, March 31. PHOTO: REUTERS/FEISAL OMAR *Voice of America*: *US Drone Strike Kills Top Al-Shabab Assassin in Somalia* An attack by an unmanned U.S. aircraft in Somalia has killed a senior member of the al-Shabab militant group, a U.S. official with knowledge of the operation said Friday. The victim of the U.S. drone attack, Hassan Ali Dhore, led a team of al-Shabab assassins, according to Somali officials. He was... more »
Russia’s Newest Military Robot Is Ready For Battle
The Russian infantry’s weapon of choice for hazardous missions is the Uranus 9 Military robot. Russia Insider reports: Deadly Russian War Robots Are Now Reality (Video) The war in Syria has served as a magnificent laboratory for research and testing. Benefits gained have not been limited to equipment developed years ago but hitherto never tested in combat, but also to experiment with new kinds of technology in a real-world, battlefield environment. Russia has used all sorts of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), small robots and integrated systems to improve modern warfare and infantry... more »
HELP! I Am Trying to Love
[image: Chained Sad Heart - 900] I've had it with exhortations to love more, or better, or longer. In my youth I sang the song, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love..." I know we should love our neighbors, heck, even our enemies. I... more »
President Obama: Trump Doesn't Know Much About Foreign Policy Or Nuclear Weapons
*NYT*: *Obama Rebukes Donald Trump’s Comments on Nuclear Weapons* WASHINGTON — President Obama on Friday questioned Donald J. Trump’s fitness for office after statements from the Republican front-runner that the United States and its allies should move away from decades of constraints on the use of nuclear weapons. “We don’t want somebody in the Oval Office who doesn’t recognize how important that is,” Mr. Obama said. Speaking to reporters at the end of a summit meeting devoted to nuclear security, the president said the comments by Mr. Trump reflected a person who “doesn’t know m... more »
New U.S. Commander of Special Operations: Special Forces Trained To Seize And Disable Nuclear Or Radioactive Bombs
Army Gen. Raymond Thomas delivers remarks after assuming command of U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., March 30, 2016. Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the previous commander, assumed leadership of U.S. Central Command in a separate ceremony. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Angelita M. Lawrence *Bloomberg*: *U.S. Commandos Trained to Stop Terrorists With `Dirty Bombs'* * Special operations forces a resource as summit weighs threat * Pentagon plans to spend $1 billion through 2021 on technology U.S. commando units have been trained to seize and disable nuclear or ... more »
China And The U.S. Agree To Curtail North Korea's Nuclear And Missile Program
*VICE News: **North Korea Fires Yet Another Missile as China and US Say They Will Work Together to Combat Threat* North Korea launched another missile this morning, just hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly reaffirmed his country's commitment to recent United Nations sanctions against its neighbor during a meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington. The projectile was fired from a region near the North's east coast, a South Korean military official told Reuters by telephone. Another official at the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said it was a short-rang... more »
Sunday Linkfest
*Hualien mountain roads: there isn't much there...* _________________ *Daily Links*: - Alison and Andrew's amazing Bike Tour of Taiwan. Hope I can get old like Andrew - New Bloom: Taiwan's rancorous discourse on capital punishment - DPP puts forward draft bill on X-strait talks. China has already criticized the idea of submitting X-strait agreements to democratic oversight. See Reuters, which uses the abusive, factually incorrect, and politically loaded term "anti-China" to describe pro-Taiwan types. - Thinking Taiwan: Tsai Faces many challenges. Among these c... more »
North Korea Jams GPS Signals And Blocks Access To Websites Like Twitter, Facebook, And YouTube
*VOA:* *N. Korea Jams GPS, Blocks VOA, Twitter, Facebook, Other Media* SEOUL—North Korea has begun jamming GPS signals in South Korea, affecting some communications and navigation systems, and it also said Friday it is blocking a number of popular websites. Government officials in Seoul said North Korea should immediately cease its "dangerous and reckless" jamming activity. Many computer networks and software programs rely on signals sent from the worldwide network of global-positioning satellites. North Korea has been sending signals from ground-based transmitters on frequencies ... more »
Don Knuth's argument supporting his belief that \(P=NP\)
Almost a year ago, Scott Aaronson wrote an essay about mysteries in mathematics for Aeon.co. Now, a very similar essay by the same author was published there: The great mystery of mathematics is its lack of mystery (by Aaronson) And Luke and Mel have pointed out that without compensating me in any way at all, Aaronson has sextupled the attractiveness of his essay for the readers by having used the name "Motl" five times. Two years ago, the Czech string theorist and notorious conservative blogger Luboš Motl accused theoretical computer scientists such as me of believing the ‘\(P\neq... more »
North Korean Ambassador: Will Continue To Pursue Its Nuclear And Missile Programs
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the ballistic rocket launch drill of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) at an unknown location, in this undated file photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on March 11, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA/Files *Reuters:* *Exclusive: North Korea to pursue nuclear and missile programs - envoy* North Korea will pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile program in defiance of the United States and its allies, a top Pyongyang envoy said on Friday, adding that a state of "semi-war" now existed on the divid... more »
Video: Cruel Judge Orders Cop To Electrocute Peaceful Man In Courtroom
A sadistic judge was caught on camera instructing a cop to electrocute a man representing himself in a Maryland court with 50,000 volts of electricity. Judge Robert Nalley instructed the court’s Sheriff to electrocute Delvon King due to the fact that he continued speaking after the judge had asked him to stop. Thefreethoughtproject.com reports: Judge Robert Nalley pleaded guilty in February to depriving the defendant of his civil rights and video of the horrific incident was released this week. Nalley was facing up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000 after pleading gui... more »
New Mexico Bans Forcibly Drugging Children With Psychiatric Drugs
The state of New Mexico have introduced a new law that protects children from being forced to take psychiatric drugs from the government, in defiance to the federal government’s plan to conduct mandatory mental health screening for all teenagers. Despite the big push by the Obama administration to force ‘depression screening’ on all U.S. teenagers, New Mexico’s refusal to implement the program may inspire other states to follow suit. Thenewamerican.com reports: The bi-partisan New Mexico legislation, which passed almost unanimously in both chambers and received widespread public su...more »
Nuclear Summit Ends -- News Round-up
*The Guardian:* *Obama at nuclear summit: 'madmen' threaten global security* US president issues warning to leaders but says that since first summit six years ago, the world has taken ‘concrete, tangible steps’ to reduce nuclear terrorism Barack Obama used his final nuclear security summit on Friday to deliver the stark warning that “madmen” could kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people using only plutonium the size of an apple. “The danger of a terrorist group obtaining and using a nuclear weapon is one of the greatest threats to global security,” said Obama, con... more »
Military Photo of the Day: April 2, 2016
[image: 40th Division Panay Island Philippines 1945 - 900] Troops of the 185th Inf., 40th Div., take cover behind advancing tanks while moving up on Japanese positions on Panay Island, P.I. This is one of the shots salvaged from the camera of Lt. Robert Fields who was killed in... more »
What is wrong with income redistribution? Government and private companies both redistribute wealth. Private companies take from the many to give to the few. Government should not be ashamed to take from the few to give to the many.
Straight after George Osborne's March 2016 Budget Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory party leader and former cabinet minister at the Department for Works and Pensions, abruptly resigned from the government. In his resignation letter Duncan Smith stated: "I have for some time and rather reluctantly come to believe that the latest changes to benefits to the disabled and the context in which
Tweet For Today
Sorry...Trump's Not Really An Outsider https://t.co/9TXSltEFMM pic.twitter.com/gH4BgrZL4u — Ron Paul (@RonPaul) March 21, 2016
State Dept Halt Clinton Email Investigation As FBI Intensify Theirs
The State Department have announced that they have halted their investigation into whether Hillary Clinton misused emails containing top secret information whilst she was Secretary of Stat in order to clear the way for the FBI to ramp up their own investigation. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau confirmed on Friday that the State Department’s review was on hold so that they didn’t interfere with the ongoing FBI investigation. AP.org reports: She said the decision was made after the department sought the FBI’s advice on how to proceed with the review and received word that it should fol... more »
Messages from Bees - A Japanese Documentary
*Title: Messages from Bees - A Japanese Documentary. Source: LanikaiFarms. Date Published: August 16, 2012. Description: * Privately produced research proving the dangers of pesticides to bees and humans.
The Mistakes and Missing History of CFR's #ThisDayinHistory Tweet on Iran
As part of its "This Day in History" series on social media, the Twitter account for the Council on Foreign Relations posted the following this morning: #ThisDayinHistory, 1979: Iran is declared an Islamic republic after 55 years of rule under the Pahlavi dynasty. pic.twitter.com/KvnmSukZmP — CFR (@CFR_org) April 1, 2016 At first glance a couple things are off about this tweet, admittedly
Will Alex Law Actually Hoist The Norcross Machine On Its Own Petard?
*Team Alex* It's been a long hard climb for Alex Law in his campaign for South Jersey's first congressional district, currently controlled by the blatantly corrupt Norcross Machine, which installed Donald Norcross last year when their last puppet, Rob Andrews, was told my federal investigators to either resign immediately or face prison. Two more months to go and Law continues gaining momentum in the district across the river from Philly, a district where the media doesn't even pretend that they can't cover the race in any way that would offend the Norcross Machine. In fact, the No... more »
Russian UN Ambassador: Turkey Supplying Weapons And Military Hardware To The Islamic State
Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin (file photo) *RT:* *Turkey is key supplier of weapons, military hardware to ISIS - Russian envoy to UN* Moscow has submitted data on Turkey’s illegal arms and military hardware supply to Islamic State in Syria to the UN Security Council. Supplies are supervised by the Turkish intelligence service, Russian UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said as cited by Russian media. "The main supplier of weapons and military equipment to ISIL fighters is Turkey, which is doing so through non-governmental organizations. Work in this area is oversee... more »
US Drone Strike Kills Top Al-Shabab Leader In Somalia
Somali policemen look at the wreckage of a car after a bombing in Mogadishu, March 9, 2016. A leader of the Islamist group al-Shabab was killed by a U.S. airstrike Thursday, March 31. PHOTO: REUTERS/FEISAL OMAR *Voice of America*: *US Drone Strike Kills Top Al-Shabab Assassin in Somalia* An attack by an unmanned U.S. aircraft in Somalia has killed a senior member of the al-Shabab militant group, a U.S. official with knowledge of the operation said Friday. The victim of the U.S. drone attack, Hassan Ali Dhore, led a team of al-Shabab assassins, according to Somali officials. He was... more »
“The Universalisability of Western Civilisation”
If we are to defend western civilisation, we must at least understand it. I’ve heard it argued, for example, that the defining characteristic of western civilisation is that it is Ango-Saxon. This is not just nonsene; it’s nasty – and in today’s interconnected world, it’s dangerous nonsense. The truth, as George Reisman so patiently explains below, is that Western civilisation is neither Anglo-Saxon nor Semitic: it is the property of no particular race or of any particular ethnic group. This is of course one of its many great virtues. It’s a very important concept for would-be... more »
April 1: you have to learn to hate...
...luckily, it's easy to teach. Section A has its usual display of non-news - like court reports, government announcements that it's getting ready to do something. It's trivial; but it's cheap; and it requires no digging at all for information. As for the editorial, well, if you missed yesterday's propaganda 'news' that the Atlantic Insitute of Market Studies (an institute with a history of Irving connections) says we should lower taxes, the editorial repeats it for us. And it adds the old, rallying cry for all the workers of this province who depend on government medicare, free pu... more »
Hillary Caught On Tape Lying About Bernie Again-- In A Big Way
Donald Trump may be the biggest liar in the 2016 field but without that freak of nature in the campaign, it would certainly be Hillary Clinton in the #1 spot. She lies in a more standard politician fashion, like Cruz and Kasich. Her campaign is built on lies by professional liars (lobbyists). Her political career is built on lies. But all over the media ythis morning was her statement from yesterday: "I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me." Despite her bout of well-rehearsed anger, the problem is that she's, once again, full of crap. The Sanders campaign isn't lying ... more »
Musical Interlude: 2002, "Another Answer Came"
2002, "Another Answer Came" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILt_GZqJzjQ&feature=related
"A Look to the Heavens"
“The beautiful Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20, is easy to find with a small telescope in the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. About 5,000 light-years away, the colorful study in cosmic contrasts shares this well-composed, nearly 1 degree wide field with open star cluster Messier 21 (top right). *Click image for larger size.* Trisected by dust lanes the Trifid itself is about 40 light-years across and a mere 300,000 years old. That makes it one of the youngest star forming regions in our sky, with newborn and embryonic stars embedded in its natal dust and gas clouds. Es... more »
Chet Raymo, "The Imperfect Is Our Paradise"
*"The Imperfect Is Our Paradise"* by Chet Raymo "'The Anecdote of the Jar" by Wallace Stevens: "I placed a jar in Tennessee, And round it was, upon a hill. It made the slovenly wilderness Surround that hill. The wilderness rose up to it, And sprawled around, no longer wild. The jar was round upon the ground And tall and of a port in air. It took dominion every where. The jar was gray and bare. It did not give of bird or bush, Like nothing else in Tennessee." It is reasonable to ask, why, in a cyberspace teeming with millions of blogs, I... more »
“Humanity Accelerating to What Exactly?”
*“Humanity Accelerating to What Exactly?”* By Richard Mills "We humans have been changing the world around us for tens of thousands of years. It's pretty much what we do, we shape and we change the existing environment through design and then indifference to the results of our actions. The sheer scale and lightning fast speed of change since the 1950s has been almost unbelievable. So incredible and so sweeping are the changes scientists call the last 65 or so years the 'Great Acceleration'. *Click image for larger size.* Our exploding population, our accelerating demand for the wor... more »
The Poet: Joy Harjo, "Eagle Poem"
*"Eagle Poem" * "To pray you open your whole self To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon To one whole voice that is you. And know there is more That you can't see, can't hear Can't know except in moments Steadily growing, and in languages That aren't always sound but other Circles of motion. Like eagle that Sunday morning Over Salt River. Circles in blue sky In wind, swept our hearts clean With sacred wings. We see you, see ourselves and know That we must take the utmost care And kindness in all things. Breathe in, knowing we are made of All this, and breathe, knowing We are truly blessed bec...more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Backus, Minnesota, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
Mississippi Legislature Passes Sweeping Religious Liberty Bill
[image: Mississippi_New_State_Capitol_Building_in_Jackson -900] The Mississippi Legislature passed a religious freedom bill Friday that would prohibit the government from punishing businesses, social workers, religious groups and public employees for denying services based on “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.” Mississippi’s House of Representatives approved the... more »
Setting the Record Straight: North Carolina Law Protects Everyone’s Bodily Privacy
[image: Demonstrators protesting passage of legislation limiting bathroom access for transgender people stand in front of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 31, 2016. Approximately 100 people gathered for the rally, many chanting and carrying signs. (AP Photos/Skip Foreman)] The Charlotte City Council passed an ordinance Feb. 22 that was a direct attack on the long-acknowledged truth that maintaining sex-specific bathroom facilities preserves the privacy and safety of women and girls. If enacted, this ordinance would have allowed men... more »
California charter school industry bill attempts to eliminate only source of public oversight
*“…charter schools have used their public characteristics to qualify for public funding under state constitutional law, while highlighting their private characteristics to exempt themselves from other laws that apply to public schools.”—Professors Preston C. Green and Joseph Oluwole* [image: Save Public Schools! Adult Education Students protest school privatizer Monica Garcia in Koreatown after she voted to shut down all adult schools and use the money for privately managed charters.] School privatization promoting Nonprofit Industrial Complex (NPIC) *EdSource* has long been a sou... more »
Dr Jill Stein | Full Talk and Q&A | Oxford Union
*Title: Dr Jill Stein | Full Talk and Q&A | Oxford Union. Source: OxfordUnion. Date Published: March 24, 2016. Description: * Becoming the most successful female presidential candidate in US history when she ran as the Green Party nominee in the 2012 general election, Dr Jill Stein is a graduate of Harvard Medical School. In 2015, she formally announced her intention to seek the Green Party's nomination once again for the 2016 presidential race. As a fierce advocate for environmental issues, she has outlined a 'Power to the People Plan' which includes a 'Green New Deal' and deep sys... more »
Spirit Camp Defenders Ride into Cannonball Photos by Waniya Locke
Breaking News Dakota, Lakota and Nakota Defenders Rode into Cannonball, ND, to defend Sacred land and water from Dakota Access Pipeline on Standing Rock Nation. Thank you Waniya Locke for sharing your photos with Censored News. Photos copyright Waniya Locke Read more: http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/03/standing-rock-spirit-camp-to-block.html?m=0
The US Training "Syrian Rebels". Again.
So much for that commitment to peace? *Pretty sure I have a post somewhere back making the case that the US will buy time until the election.* And when Hillary wins.... *Because she is truly evil*. There will be more war then before. If that's even possible? The US/NATO and Israel have been remaking the middle east since 2001. The take down of Iraq in 2003 told us all these psychos were in it for the long haul- *"If we just let our vision of the world go forth, and we embrace it entirely, and we don't try to piece together clever diplomacy but just wage a total war, our children wi... more »
A New, Free Middle East Is Rising from the Ashes of Syria’s Civil War. Why is Geneva Ignoring Them?
[image: Kurdish fighters Syria YPG] How many people from Western countries would believe that there is actually a sizeable and growing area in the Middle East in which democracy, freedom of religion and equality of men and women are simple facts of life? An area... more »
NY Reaches Deal to Phase in a $15 Minimum Wage
[image: Andrew Cuomo - 900] New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers reached a tentative deal Thursday to increase the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour over a few years. The Republican majority in the state Senate was the biggest obstacle until the two sides came... more »
VA Coached Employees on Wait Time Manipulation Answers
[image: veterans VA] Management at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers in California selected and coached employees on exactly what to tell investigators about wait time manipulation, according to new inspector general reports. According to two whistleblowers, management handpicked medical support assistants and... more »
Trump Is No April Fool's Joke
Because Trump's not part of the GOP crackpot Band, he's not politically correct *within* the finely attenuated right-wing circles where everyone knows you're never supposed to say out loud what he clumsily stumbled into it, that *of course* women would go to prison for getting an abortion in Republican-world. Even Mike Huckabee, who's been hoping some crumbs would fall his way from a Trump administration, was on *Morning Joe* admitting that Trump "handled that poorly… It was a terrible answer. Nobody is going to defend what he said." Nobody is right! Ken Blackwell, senior fellow... more »
HEAVEN LETTER #5607 The Path of a Blossoming Heart
*HEAVEN #5607 The Path of a Blossoming Heart* God said: Beloveds, I am not a hard-hearted God. I build your strength with all of My might. Nor do I see you as weak no matter how you may whittle yourself down. You cry out that where you believe you are is, sadly and mistakenly, where you actually are. You say: "God, the One and Only God, Who exists in my front yard, so to speak, and touches my heart, plays it like a piano, wrests me from despair and loves me, simply loves me, doesn't mind my idiosyncrasies and listens to my heart as if that is the Wholeness of me. God, have You s... more »
U.S. City Outlaws Vegetable Garden, Orders Family To Destroy Front Lawn
A family from the United States have been forced to destroy their vegetable garden due to new city zoning laws in the city of Sugar Creek, Missouri. Nathan Athans has been told to trash the family vegetable patch, or face prosecution, as Orwellian new rules were introduced in April without any notices to residents. Americanintelligencereport.com reports: Athans backyard only gets 2 hours of sunlight, preventing various vegetables from growing so he chose to plant one in his front yard, putting a large target on his property by the city. He loves tending to his garden and is very fo... more »
UN Report: Turkey Is Main Supplier Of Weapons To ISIS
Moscow has submitted evidence of Turkey’s illegal arming of ISIS militants in Syria to the UN Security Council, saying that Turkey are the biggest sponsor of terrorism and supplier of weapons to ISIS fighters than any other country. Russian UN envoy Vitaly Churkin announced, “the main supplier of weapons and military equipment to ISIL fighters is Turkey, which is doing so through non-governmental organizations. Work in this area is overseen by the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey“. RT.com reports: According to the envoy, transportation “mainly involves vehicles, includ... more »
HPV Vaccine Users Sue Government In Japan In Landmark Case
A class action lawsuit has been filed in Japan from victims suffering the side effects of the HPV vaccine who now have severe cognitive problems as a result. The victims have filed the suit against makers of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervarix and Gardsil, as well as the Japanese government who had originally recommended the vaccine to citizens. Japantimes.co.jp reports: “The victims wish to live a peaceful life and prevent further suffering by finding out the truth (about the vaccine side effects),” Minaguchi added. She said the defense team will seek additional plaint... more »
U.S. Sends Thousands Of Troops And Weapons To Russia’s Border
The U.S. military are going to deploy thousands of troops to the Russian border in an effort to protect NATO’s eastern borders from “aggressive Russia”. Around 4,500 soldiers armed with 250 tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Paladin self-propelled howitzers, and over 1,700 vehicles will station themselves at the border in the biggest deployment of its kind since the end of the Cold War. Vice News reports: They will conduct military exercises across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, according to a statement from US European Command. The extra troops’ ... more »