Saturday, April 29, 2017

My Feedly! 2 of 2


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New in Paying attention

Which Christy Clark response on the health firings is to be believed?
“I did ask a lot of questions at the time. The assurances that we all received was that these were absolutely justified and the right thing to do.” - Premier Christy Clark, responding Friday to reporters' questions on the health firings. "Premier Clark did not recall ever being briefed about the decision to terminate the employees." - Ombudsperson Jay Chalke on Clark's evidence, under oath, taken
Postmedia hits the wall
Last week's quarterly report from Postmedia was predictably grim. Canada's largest newspaper company reported revenues had fallen 13.4 per cent from a year earlier. Plunging revenues have been a hallmark of Postmedia's six-year existence. The corporation has slashed costs, but not enough to keep up with revenue losses. Postmedia took in $181 million in the quarter, $28 million less than the previo

New in Pesticide Action Network

Pesticides are not the answer to Malaria
As we honor World Malaria Day, we in the PAN International network stand with communities around the world suffering from the scourge of this disease. At PAN Africa, we also continue our community work to share better information about environmental strategies for mosquito control — with great progress in communities near Dakar, Senegal, where we've been working since 2012. We are heartened to no
Pruitt's EPA ignores science, bows to Dow
On Wednesday, Scott Pruitt signed his first official action as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The New York Times headline captures it well: "EPA Chief, Rejecting Agency's Science, Chooses Not to Ban Insecticide." Well, then. Let's break this down. First, the insecticide in question is chlorpyrifos , a widely used neurotoxic chemical that study after study has shown is
Marching for science by & for the people
This Saturday, Pesticide Action Network will be in the streets of San Francisco, marching for science. We march because we believe that the freedom and ability to conduct independent science, by and for the people, is critical to our collective ability to create a healthy, just and sustainable world. We march to reclaim science from corrupt corporations and to defend the practice of science from
Pesticide drift works overtime
California officials are close to finalizing new policies that could result in some of the strongest rules on pesticide use near schools. But will they fall short? Until April 4, California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is accepting public comment on a proposal to limit the use of the most hazardous pesticides near schools — but thanks to loopholes, this proposal doesn't offer nearly
Pruitt's EPA draws heat on chlorpyrifos
Chlorpyrifos might not quite be a household word yet, but it's getting there. The story of the astonishing decision by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to reverse course on agency plans to pull this child-harming insecticide off the market has captured headlines across the country and around the world. It could be this is getting so much attention because it was EPA's first major decision under the
Standing with farmworkers
Thanks to everyone who joined us in celebrating Farmworker Awareness Week March 24-31, 2017. Read on for ways to honor the important contributions farmworkers make to our communities, and how to raise awareness about farmworker health, labor conditions and immigration reform throughout the year. This Farmworker Awareness Week, please join me in celebrating the two million men and women who toil t

New in Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home

Fox Proves It: Sexual Harassment Is Contagious
I've always said that sexual harassment is not about sex: it's about power. In that way it's just another form of bullying. And if you remember your playground bullies, if they got away with it once, they accelerated their behavior. Sexual harassers, like bullies, engage in more and more extreme behavior until someone stops them. The other thing about playground bullies is that their behavior is c
States With Pro-Employee Laws: No Asking About Applicant Salary History
In a movement that started in Massachusetts, states and cities are starting to ban employers from asking applicants about their salary history. The reason behind the legislation is that basing pay on prior salary can lock in pay discrimination. The sponsor of the Philadelphia ordinance explained: “Simply put, when a woman is paid less at the beginning of her career she will continue to earn less t
Trump Says It's Okay For Federal Contractors To Break Employment Laws
Another week, another prediction sadly fulfilled. On December 2, I did a list of executive orders protecting employees of federal contractors that I predicted would be rescinded under Trump. A very important one just bit the dust. The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rule provided two important protections for employees that are now gone: Blacklisting for employment/labor law violations : Anyone apply

New in Syria Comment

Revisiting the Malki Affair – By Christopher Solomon
Revisiting the Malki Affair By Christopher Solomon @Solomon_Chris For Syria Comment – April 23, 2017 On April 22, 1955, a charismatic young Syrian army officer was gunned down on a football field. The assassination of Adnan al-Malki brought about the one of the first political crackdowns in Syria’s history. The Malki Affairs and its aftermath shed light on one of the country’s earliest shifts tow
Reconciliations: The Case of al-Sanamayn in North Deraa
By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi Photo from al-Sanamayn, April 2017. It is often thought that the regime has a grand strategy for suppressing the rebellion in the western half of the country that constitutes the main conflict within the Syrian civil war. In reality though, there is no one-size-fits-all approach , and the question of how the regime deals with restive areas very much depends on area and c
Paradise Lost: The Rise and Fall of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by Tam Hussein
By @tamhussein I entered Najiyeh, a small town of no consequence, without their permission . The town claimed to be an ISIS principality. The claim seemed ridiculous but as we drove in to the town it seemed less so. They had fixed the prices, the markets were bustling, even the gold shops were open. It was a stark contrast to what I had heard about their ‘state’. I understood why the people accep
Katibat Dir’ al-Watan: New Sub-Unit of the Fifth Legion
By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi Emblem of Katibat Dir’ al-Watan. On top: Dir’ al-Watan. On bottom: “The Special Force.” Note the Russian and Syrian flags in the emblem’s centre. Note also the cedar of Lebanon on the bottom of the emblem. When the Fifth Legion (V Corps) was announced in November 2016, it was debatable how far this new formation would emerge as a real fighting force. Indeed, recruitment
Russia’s Escalation in Syria: Making It Tougher to Fight ISIS? – By Nicholas A. Heras
Russia’s Escalation in Syria: Making It Tougher to Fight ISIS? By Nicholas A. Heras – Bacevich Fellow, Center for a New American Security @ NicholasAHeras For Syria Comment: April 8, 2017 On Thursday, the Trump administration decided to fire 59 cruise missiles from U.S. naval vessels in the Mediterranean at the Al-Shayrat airbase, an important Syrian military airbase in central-western Syria. Pre
Century Foundation Roundtable on Syria
by Aron Lund A lot of Syria writing tends to be focused on current events, veering toward the very small, the very recent, and the very local. We’re all breathlessly racing to keep up with the latest developments in a stunningly complicated conflict, and only rarely do journalists and researchers get a chance to step back and look at the bigger picture. Instead, we find ourselves debating questio

New in The Earth and Man: Setting the Stage

This Age of Scientific Dogmatism
I have made two comments to an American Thinker article, "The Left's Vicious Intolerance In Science". I'll just say here that arguing about science is not science. I am a scientist, by the way--in fact, THE scientist, who has made the greatest discovery in history--directly impacting every field of human inquiry--which few in our time, on either the Left or the Right--or the middle, for that matt
On "Global Warming: Science or Dogma?"
I have submitted the following comment to an article, "Global Warming: Science or Dogma" on the American Thinker site, in response to other comments there which hew to the dogma that there is a CO2 (carbon dioxide) greenhouse effect in the atmosphere: Those scientists who think they are experts in talking about CO2 absorption of radiation from the planetary surface are over-educated and mis-educa

New in The Galloping Beaver

You humans do not have time...
...for another fucking war. Warmly, The Earth

New in The High-fat Hep C Diet

Counsels of perfection
Counsels of perfection A recent critique of the US dietary guidelines, which made some very good points about the failure to recommend that people stop eating processed foods, suggested that the phrase in the dietary guidelines “Consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day” be replaced with “Eat natural foods, meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts and seeds and the natural sodium contained there

New in The Straight Goods

LNG Curse Continues, Blogtalk Radio, BC Election 2017
Just Click the above picture and listen....LNG, the dirty secret of unreported methane emissions and more...LNG leakage starts just past the 10 minute mark...Everything you need to know about LNG as it pertains to British Columbia.. And more blogtalk radio here.....LNG, politics, corruption.. Here is episode III between Me and Canadian Glen .. LNG, A Bridge Fuel Too Far http://www.blogtalkradio.c
Christy Clark, She`s Come Undone..2017 redux
Written by grant G The entire BC Liberal Government and party are in disarray, words and phrases are being tossed around like final death throes , end of a dynasty , thunderstruck , dying days , point of no return and they are all fitting though I prefer to use phrases and words like crime family gunned down , corruption rooted out , zombies exposed to sunlight melt and my favorite, ding dong the
Christy Clark's LNG Sham Turns To Pixie Dust--2017 B.C. Election Edition
Written by Grant G It's time for a B.C. LNG update...what's going on with LNG in British Columbia....The answer is nothing but meaningless staged photo-ops and gobbly goop press releases churned out by Christy Clark's 220 member gang of public affairs propagandists...Christy Clark is still trying to sell a promise of untold riches deriving from technologies of the past....The riches from LNG will
No More Bridge Tolls....John Horgan's Election Winner Explained
John Horgan with a stroke of brilliance....The removal of the BC Liberal's unfair bridge tolling debacle.. First off...The Port Mann bridge and Golden Ears bridge have both been losing $millions of dollars every year....Treo, and TI are losing money and will require government bailouts...FACT _____________ The Port Mann Bridge continues to lose money faster than originally projected but the gover
John Horgan, Christy Clark and Andrew Weaver, The News 1130 Debate..Unplugged
Written by Grant G Well, the first of two election 2017 leaders debate has ended.....all I can say is...Fail, on all sides. http://www.news1130.com/2017/04/20/watch-live-news-1130-leaders-debate/ full disclosure, i'm not a registered member of any political party, however, I am definitely partisan...Andrew Weaver will not form government, either the BC Liberals or the BC NDP is going to win.FACT,

New in thwap's schoolyard

Non-Violent Logic
Here's a video of women in India beating up a couple of rapists: ... Strange how you can access some videos on YouTube but not via the "blogger" video upload system. Oh well. Basically, I've seen a few videos of different instances where a large group of Indian women have one or two men, caught in the act of attempted rape, and are beating the men with sticks and any other objects that came to ha

New in Vaccine Awakening

The Vaccine Revolution for Truth
Posted 4/20/2017 By Barbara Loe Fisher Revolution for Truth Rally | March 31, 2017 | Washington, D.C. To activate and view hyperlinked references, please click here once and then click any superscripted number below to access a hyperlinked reference, or scroll down to the bottom of the article to view all hyperlinked references. We are gathered in our nation’s Capitol representing many thousands

New in Viva Bolivia

Puma Punku
While most people know about the Pyramids, and wonder how they could have been built, few in the US have any knowledge about Puma Punku, built around 536 AD. Some of the stones in this mysterious structure weigh over 100 tons, and have remarkable precision in the carving. Who did this? No one seems to know. Linda Stasi of the New York Daily News is on her way to the jungles of Bolivia to find out.

New in Welcome to Pottersville 2 (Blogging Against Fascism!)

Napkin Voodoo Economics Redux (Deep State Captures Trump?) Looting Was the Point of Neoliberalism (ISIS Friend or Foe?) Off-Shoring Deep-Sixes Unexceptional America (New Old Dems Still Blame Stealthy Russia) Nobody's GOT To Use the Internet!) Boring 500-Pound Bombs Hit Passersby (America's Regressing Into Developing Nation But Where's President Trump?) ISIS Benefits from Assad's Downfall
One napkin was shown to Ronald Reagan who, foreshadowing Trump, was too thick to understand it. Like Trump, the Gipper thought that it proved that, 'the lower the tax, the more tax revenue collected.' George Bush Sr. called that "voodoo economics."Not voodoo, no; but here’s the key — pay attention, A students! — it’s a CURVE. When "marginal" tax rates are ABOVE 90%, cutting to, say, 85
(Bill O'Gone) Rebranding Universal Basic Income As Money-Maker for Hedge Funds (President Pussy) Trump Tilt Back to Goldman Sachs (Soul Stagnation Strikes) Pundits Syrian Swoon: Good Soldiers All (Billions Missing) Twitter Governance Strategy (A Year of Blind Rats? Or Mice?) Lee & Max & Stacy & Lee!
Consider the reality of O'Reilly's career. ... He worked for Fox News for about 20 years, spewing the most vicious pack of hatred and lies he possibly could. For this he was paid millions; his salary at the end being about $18 million a year. So let's be cautious here and guess that, over the years this scum was paid about $200 million for his contribution to the country's well-being. Just

New in What Is Sustainable

The Art of Tracking
Right now, your eyes are following a track of squiggly scratches, and your mind is comprehending meaning from them. This morning, my mental processes created those tracks, and they contain specific meaning for those who have learned the ability to interpret them. The farther you are able to follow my tracks, the more you will learn. Similarly, animals leave behind tracks and other signs as they m
The Origin of Science
NOTE: To better understand the following, you might read my review of The Art of Tracking first. Back in the 1800s, folks on the cutting edge of Western science were perplexed. Evolution had apparently provided hunter-gatherers with essentially the same brains that we moderns have, yet they appeared to be severely retarded — no clear-cuts, mines, cities, insane asylums. What was wrong with them?
Savages
One day in 1991, a strange letter arrived at the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco, where Joe Kane was working. It was from members of the Huaorani tribe of Ecuador, wild folks who have lived in the Amazon rainforest for thousands of years. Their jungle home had fantastic biodiversity, including many species that live nowhere else on Earth. The letter said that DuPont-Conoco was planning

New in wmtc

what i'm reading: swing time by zadie smith
Zadie Smith is on my list of "authors I will follow anywhere". I may not love everything about every book she writes, but that's unimportant. For me, her books are always worth reading -- the writing is beautiful, the characters feel real, the insights into the human condition are interesting and thought-provoking and ring true. I'm always excited to hear Smith has published a new book, and Swing
egypt photos are online
Our photos from Egypt and Jordan are now on Flickr . Below are the various albums. I've also added links to the individual wmtc posts . egypt / giza egypt / pyramids view inn egypt / cairo / egyptian museum egypt / cairo egypt / saqarra, dahshur, memphis egypt / dendara egypt / abydos egypt / luxor / luxor museum egypt / luxor / luxor temple egypt / luxor / karnak egypt / luxor / deir el-medina eg
what i'm reading: giovanni's room by james baldwin
James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room , a landmark in LGBT literature, is one of our library's current "Raves & Faves". The 1956 novel takes place in Paris, narrated by a young American man who is trying to come to terms with his sexuality. In the past, this was said to be a "gay novel;" now it is seen as "bisexual novel". Leaving aside the obvious fact that novels don't possess sexuality, those labels
things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #23
Girl: Do you have this book, something like, "keeping a secret about you"? Me: Let's take a look in the catalogue. [Stalling for time while scrolling through titles in my mind.] Hmm, do you mean Keeping You a Secret ? Girl: Yes! I took a bus all the way from the South Common branch to here to get this book so I hope you have it. I recognize it as a good LGBT title by Julie Peters, excellent writer
we movie to canada: wmtc annual movie awards, 2016-17 edition
I'm actually getting to the annual wmtc movie awards while the baseball season is still young -- a sign that I have a bit more time to myself, as our new local ticks along under the guidance of an awesome team. First, the annual recap: - Canadian musicians and comedians (2006-07 and 2007-08) - my beverage of choice (2008-09) - famous people who died during the past year (2009-10) - where I'd like
best of wmtc, 2016 edition
Even though I don't blog very much anymore, my editor still manages to find some highlights. Best of wmtc, 2016 edition.

New in WPB/NYC and Anything Else; A Green Rights Collection

New in A Very Public Sociologist

How Opinion Polling Works
Which of these is most representative of public opinion at large? A heavily gamed voluntary poll of 160,000-odd people done on the behest of This Morning that shows a commanding lead enjoyed by Jeremy Corbyn over Theresa May; or any of the recent spate of polls by professional polling companies who show very much the opposite consistently on the basis of samples between 1,000 and 1,800 people. I
The Absurdity of Theresa May
British politics has long had an absurd streak , and in this regard we should commend the Prime Minister for preserving this fine tradition. Consider these exhibits from the last week of general election campaigning: Theresa May visits a factory. She refuses to take questions from the press and the employer forbids workers from talking to the hacks. Theresa May visits North Derbyshire and is inte
Eurovision 2017 Preview
We may be bidding farewell to the European Union, but thankfully Britain remains a fully committed to the one supranational body that matters: the European Broadcasting Union. And so, with two weeks to go, it's time for our annual trudge through the highlights of this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Remember, I don't do predictions any more. Especially as Theresa May has gone and done one all ove
The Scottish Tory Resurgence
This general election is very interesting. Particularly Scotland. Last weekend, Survation for the Sunday Post had the Tories on 28% to the SNP's 43%. This could net them eight seats at the nationalists' expense. Panelbase for the Sunday Times has them down for 33% , or 12 seats. As this is a social science blog that prefers facts over nice illusions, how can this uptick in Tory fortunes be explai
Waiting for Jolyon
Political parties are more or less the expression of classes or class fractions. They organise classes, articulate and arrange their interests, and are a means by which they become conscious of themselves. The durability across nearly all the advanced nations of parties that represent business, that represent labour, that represent small employers and layers of professionals, and how all party sy
Local Council By-Elections April 2017
Party Number of Candidates Total Vote % +/- Mar +/- Mar 16 Average/ Contest +/- Seats Conservative 8 5,303 39.2% +3.1% +2.2% 663 +3 Labour 7 4,137 30.6% +2.7% +15.6% 591 -2 LibDem 6 2,189 16.2% +1.8% +1.0% 365 +1 UKIP 3 339 2.5% -8.2% -4.5% 113 -2 Green 6 778 5.8% +0.5% +3.9% 130 0 SNP* 0 0 PC** 0 0 Ind*** 2 752 5.6% +0.5% -4.9% 376 0 Other**** 0 0 * There were no by-elections in Scotland ** Ther

New in Adrienne's Corner

Books: The good, the bad, and the very ugly...
with the ugly starting to outweigh the good. The older I get the less patience I have with books that rely on bad language, over-the-top depictions of sex, and are part of a series - all of which are now in plentiful supply. Reading is one of my greatest pleasures. It has been so since I started reading at about 4 years old. Every week during the summer my mom walked us the mile and a half to the
Wild Bill: Democrats - The Party of the Damned...
manages to say in two and half minutes what I've been thinking about all morning - and I thank him. The capacity to be shocked is still alive and well in my mind and heart. Witnessing a woman who was raised Catholic volunteering at a Planned Parenthood clinic is one such occurrence that not only shocks, but elicits profound sadness. The first thing that pops into my mind is, "How could you do suc
I'm predicting a super fun weekend of riots and beat downs...
let's all hope I'm wrong. First up: The 11th Annual 82nd Avenue of the Roses Parade cancelled due to threats of violence from far left Antifa. They've got their panties all twisted up because the Multnomah County Republicans are marching in the parade - something they do every year. A carnival has also been cancelled that's part of the festivities this upcoming weekend. PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - The
Sean Hannity, Free Speech, and Due Diligence...
free speech is under assault. (This is a post I started yesterday before we lost power. We did what any right thinking people would do in the case of a power outage by visiting our favorite Mexican restaurant and chowing down until power was restored.) Sean Hannity (emphasis mine) “In all seriousness, we are at a turning point,” Hannity began, “a huge turning point when it comes to freedom of spe
Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity will be the first to agree with me...
followed closely by about every man in this country. It's damn tough to be a man having to deal with feminist women. These women running about accusing men of sexual "harassment" are the embarrassing outcome of their so-called drive for equality. They parade around looking like street hookers on steroids and then complain if a guy so much as says, "Nice dress." Good grief - if I had a dollar for
RIP Patriot and Vietnam Vet "Mad Jack" Watson...
you will be missed. Frequent commenter and friend to this blog and so many other blogs passed into eternal life this afternoon after a lengthy battle with cancer. May his soul and the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace. Please take a moment to pray for Jack's soul and comfort for his loving wife, Kathe. Jack loved kittehs, his grandchildren, the Constitution, and his beautiful wife. T

New in ArmsControlWonk

The Great North Korea War Scare
Today’s news continues, or perhaps renews, the weird sense of self-imposed crisis surrounding U.S. North Korea policy: Entire U.S. Senate to go to White House for North Korea briefing: https://t.co/wbRa4H0IOA pic.twitter.com/l3E4BSEqBR — Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) April 24, 2017 Why not just have a hearing? But anyhow. Having declared an end to the era …
Skin in the Game: Why Worry about North Korean ICBMs?
Around these parts, North Korea’s ICBM program is the national-security obsession du jour. That’s validating for someone like me, sure. But why? And why now? As I see it, there are good reasons and bad reasons to be concerned, and focusing on one set or another will lead to very different conclusions. Let’s start with the good reasons. The …
Nuclear Learning
Quote of the week: “The [U.S. Strategic Bombing] survey’s task was to measure as precisely as possible the exact effects of the two [Hiroshima and Nagasaki] bombs – in other words, to put calipers on the problem so that people back home would have a factual frame of reference within which to draw conclusions about …
Kerr on the JCPOA
My friend Paul Kerr — the original second blogger at Arms Control Wonk — has taken time from his day job to write an essay that focuses on the enduring value of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’s prohibition on “activities which could contribute to the development of a nuclear explosive device,” a prohibition that permanently define’s the terms of Iran’s …
DPRK Wound Filament Airframes
High-resolution photographs of the airframe for North Korea’s Pukguksong submarine-launched ballistic missile have a surprise. The airframe appears be wound filament, not the simple metal airframes we’ve seen on North Korea’s space launchers. That opens up a lot of possibilities for North Korea — and ticks off an important requirement for North Korea to build …
A Three-Person Rule for Nuclear First Use
Quote of the week: “We still tend to conceive of national security almost solely as a state of armed readiness, a vast, awesome arsenal of weaponry… We are haunted by this concept of military hardware.” —Robert S. McNamara, The Essence of Security Whiffs of grapeshot and sarin gas are in the air – enduring conflicts in …

New in Catharsis Ours

New in Centauri Dreams

Speculations on Habitable Zone Waterworlds
What to make of Fergus Simpson’s new paper on waterworlds, suggesting that most habitable zone planets are of this type? If such worlds are common, we may find that most planets in the habitable zones of their stars are capable of evolving life, but unlikely to host technological civilizations. An explanation for the so-called ‘Fermi Paradox’? Possibly, but there are all kinds of things that coul
Further Work on TRAPPIST-1
A closely packed planetary system like the one we’ve found at TRAPPIST-1 offers intriguing SETI possibilities. Here a SETI search for directed radio transmissions aimed at the Earth gives way to an attempt to overhear ongoing activity within another stellar system. For it’s hard to conceive of any civilization developing technological skills that would turn away from the chance to make the compar
Breakthrough Listen Data Becoming Available
Andrew Siemion (Berkeley SETI Research Center) presented results from the first year of the Breakthrough Listen initiative last Thursday at the Breakthrough Discuss meetings in Palo Alto. The data can be acquired here , with the caveat that file sizes can be gigantic and the data formats demand specialized software. Background information and details are available on this BSRC page . Working with
Cassini Through the Gap
Sometimes it pays to step back and try to look at spaceflight with fresh eyes. Go out and find Saturn in the sky and consider it as the ancients did, a moving celestial ember. And as you stand there, realize all over again that we’ve built a spacecraft that has been operating around that world since 2004, feeding us a datastream as its path was tweaked to look at interesting targets. The sheer ma
Planetary Discovery around Ultracool Star
I have a special enthusiasm for microlensing as a means of exoplanet discovery. With microlensing, you never know what you’re going to come up with. Transits are easier to detect when the planet is close to its star, and hence transits more frequently. Radial velocity likewise sends its loudest signal when a planet is large and close. Microlensing, detecting the ‘bending’ of light from a backgrou
New Findings on Enceladus, Europa
Jim Green, who is director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA headquarters, clearly loves his job, and he got so excited during Thursday’s news conference that he kept interchanging Enceladus with Europa in his remarks. Both were in play during the discussion, and the context made it clear what he intended, but I always get a kick out of seeing that kind of enthusiasm showing forth in scie

New in Craig Murray

Theresa May’s Fake “Meetings”
The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed that many of those forming the “audience” for Theresa May’s speech in Crathes looked even less enthusiastic than usual. The real Tories are very obvious to spot. But when you look at the BBC video from which this picture is taken, you can see that the others not only do not look enthusiastic, they do not join in the clapping. Do not take my word for it,
Tories Support Pre-Emptive Nuclear War
On Radio 4 this morning Defence Secretary Michael Fallon argued not just for Trident missiles, but for first use of nuclear weapons and “pre-emptive nuclear war”. There was no misunderstanding or circumstance – he was queried very specifically on the exact point. Not only do the Tories support having weapons of mass destruction, they support using them when none have been used against us. The who
There Are No Rape Charges Against Julian Assange in Sweden. There Are Espionage Charges Against Julian Assange in the USA.
A few months ago I asked Julian whether he expected that Donald Trump would end the case against him in the United States. WikiLeaks had after all published the DNC and Podesta emails, which revealed the corruption at the heart of the Clinton campaign and the way the Democratic primaries had been rigged against Bernie Sanders. Julian replied that no, he expected the opposite to be true. Trump wou
Blairites: When the Money Stops, They Go Away
Blairite wipeout in Scotland teaches us an important lesson about them. They have no particular beliefs other than in their own careers. Progress was always more about career progress than societal progress. When politics stops being a nice little earner, the Blairites will very easily give it up. If they had strongly held principles and beliefs, they would continue fighting for them even if they
The North Korean Danger
Military technology has moved on since the Vietnam war. The defeat of the United States by an army employing basic artillery and machine guns supplemented by creative use of bamboo, has left an indelible impression on the western psyche. But it is in many ways a false one. Many trillions of dollars have been spent since on military technology, and the gap in resources between the USA and most pot
Blog Housekeeping Point
Marine LePen is an actual racist and fascist. Anybody arguing for her will be permanently banned from commenting on the blog. Fair warning. The post Blog Housekeeping Point appeared first on Craig Murray .

New in David Climenhaga's Alberta Diary

Few hints about coming NDP workplace law reform in minister’s speech to Alberta Federation of Labour
PHOTOS: Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray at the Alberta Federation of Labour Convention in Edmonton yesterday. (Photo: Dave Cournoyer.) Below: AFL President Gil McGowan and Labour Code review chair Andrew Sims. As you might expect, Labour Minister Christina Gray got a very warm welcome from delegates to the Alberta Federation of Labour’s convention at Edmonton’s […] The post Few hints about
Good news-bad news for Tory candidate Maxime Bernier as Boston Stranger packs up his carpet bag and heads home
PHOTOS: Kevin O’Leary, until yesterday a front-running candidate to lead the Conservative Party of Canada. (Photo: Ontario Chamber of Commerce.) Below: CPC candidates Maxime Bernier and Kellie Leitch (both from Wikipedia); and Ron Paul, the crazy uncle of the American Right, whose economic views are similar to Mr. Bernier’s. The good news for Maxime Bernier? […] The post Good news-bad news for To
Gord Downie’s Secret Path tops Audreys Books’ Edmonton Fiction bestseller list; poetry sales appear
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended April 23, 2017, compiled on April 25, 2017, by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Associations of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Secret Path – Gord Downie, Jeff Lemire 2. Homes – Winnie Canuel […] The post Gord Downie’s Secret Path tops Audreys Books’ Edmonton Fiction bestsel
Please stand by … while AlbertaPolitics.ca fixes a problem with disappearing illustrations
The test pattern of the British Amateur Television Club, circa 1960. As regular readers of this blog will be aware, AlbertaPolitics.ca recently moved to a new web hosting service in response to some problems with the previous service provider. The transfer seems to have have resulted in a situation in which certain photographs and other […] The post Please stand by … while AlbertaPolitics.ca fixe
Donald Trump helps build the case for Rachel Notley’s social license policy on energy exports
PHOTOS: U.S. President Donald Trump – he’s lookin’ at you, Canada. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, Flickr.) Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. If Alberta’s conservatives imagined U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision immediately after his election last November to push the Keystone XL Pipeline project forward would provide an opening for them to attack the Alberta NDP […] The post Donald Trump helps
Make American Dairy Farms Great Again! Adopt supply management
PHOTOS: Dairy cows in a mass milking machine at a U.S. farm, a pretty well run one from the look of this photo from the Wikipedia. Below: Not what dairy farming looks like any more; U.S. President Donald Trump, hero to the Globe and Mail editorial board, giving Canada, or someone, the what for. Never […] The post Make American Dairy Farms Great Again! Adopt supply management appeared first on Alb

New in From the Wilderness' Peak Oil Blog

From Jenna Orkin Brazil protesters, police clash in first general strike in decades Canada Hit By Countrywide Internet,...
From Jenna Orkin Brazil protesters, police clash in first general strike in decades Canada Hit By Countrywide Internet, TV And Phone Outage As Shaw Goes Dark "This Is A Coup": Masked Men Storm Macedonia Parliament - Live Feed Poll Reveals Los Angeles Residents Fear Major Riots Are On The Horizon No Roads Needed: Google-Backed Flying Cars For Sale By End Of 2017 'A slap in the face': China is gloa
From Jenna Orkin Feds Say It's Too Dangerous To Share Dakota Access Oil Spill Report Why We Have A 2nd Amendment: Venez...
From Jenna Orkin Feds Say It's Too Dangerous To Share Dakota Access Oil Spill Report Why We Have A 2nd Amendment: Venezuela Plans To Give Firearms To Loyalists To Purge Growing Resistance Formerly Imprisoned Journalist Barrett Brown Taken Back Into Custody Before PBS Interview Massive Explosion Reported Near Damascus International Airport Following Israeli Airstrikes Facebook tracks scary-specifi
From Jenna Orkin This analytics firm uses one trillion Facebook and Twitter posts to predict stock movements French int...
From Jenna Orkin This analytics firm uses one trillion Facebook and Twitter posts to predict stock movements French intelligence report says Assad forces are behind April sarin attack Shocking Exposé Reveals Trump Associates & ISIS-Linked Vigilantes Are Attempting Coup in Indonesia The amazing life of the Australian bungee-jump inventor now building an airship for Google co-founder Sergey Brin Se
From Jenna Orkin 'Whole cities will have to be EVACUATED' Warning tsunami could hit Spain and Portugal A huge pharma mi...
From Jenna Orkin 'Whole cities will have to be EVACUATED' Warning tsunami could hit Spain and Portugal A huge pharma middleman just lost its biggest customer — and it shows how drug pricing really works Washington D.C. To Hold Massive "Coordinated Terror Attack" Drill This Wednesday Ron Paul Rages At Trump: "Assange Is A Hero... Don't Declare War On The Truth" Nasdaq hits 6,000 for the first time
From Jenna Orkin Trump: I said NATO was obsolete 'not knowing much about NATO' Afghanistan's defense minister and army ...
From Jenna Orkin Trump: I said NATO was obsolete 'not knowing much about NATO' Afghanistan's defense minister and army chief of staff resign over Taliban attack that killed more than 140 soldiers Russia has boosted its military spending to record levels despite sanctions Labour printed thousands of leaflets urging people to vote on the wrong day Outrage After At Least 5 EU Nations Elect Saudi Ara
From Jenna Orkin Yesterday's Broad Power Outage Likely Caused By Geomagnetic Storm Here's what's behind the US-Canada d...
From Jenna Orkin Yesterday's Broad Power Outage Likely Caused By Geomagnetic Storm Here's what's behind the US-Canada dairy spat that has Chuck Schumer agreeing with Trump "The Retail Bubble Has Now Burst": A Record 8,640 Stores Are Closing In 2017 North Korea Arrests US Citizen, Threatens To Sink US Aircraft Carrier As Japan Deploys Warships Surgeon General Dismissed By Trump Administration Brai

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