Up to Speed
http://afghanistan.cr.usgs.gov/
assess Afghanistan's natural resources
Mineral Resources Information Packages for Key Areas of Interest (AOIs)
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http://afghanistan.cr.usgs.gov/
assess Afghanistan's natural resources
Mineral Resources Information Packages for Key Areas of Interest (AOIs)
http://www.positivemoney.org/our-proposals/
11:33am MST
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11:33am MST
Please… The Real Marianne Williamson IS Standing Up-- And Always Has Been
Are North Carolina's Moral Mondays too far away for you to really get what they're about? Hint: they're not about anything Wendy Greuel will ever understand. Marianne Williamson isn't a political careerist. And political careerists-- and political careerists-in-the-making-- resent her for it. Many snicker that she's "just" a spiritual teacher or a guru of some kind, a put-down among political careerists. And how dare she not be in one of the two corruption-dominated parties that think they have a God-given monopoly on power in America! The first time I was ever arrested was at th... more »
Lamar W. Hankins : Assassination by technology: The context of America’s drone killings
Brandon Bryant, who spent six years as a drone sensor operator, has stepped forward out of guilt and concern about the killing of American citizens. By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | February 18, 2014 This past week, … finish reading Lamar W. Hankins : Assassination by technology: The context of America’s drone killings
Chris Matthews’ ridiculous present-day conduct!
*TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014* *Last night’s opening segment:* Way back when, Chris Matthews’ appalling conduct almost got somebody killed. For details, see our previous post. During that era, two years of Matthews’ appalling conduct sent George W. Bush to the White House. People are dead all over the world because of the things Matthews did. Our “press culture” being a manifest fraud, nobody cared about this. Manifestly, the children care about making big scratch and becoming big famous TV stars. As a result, Matthews’ ridiculous conduct continues right up to the present. Conside... more »
In The Navy
Cribbed from the USS* Gunston Hall* Facebook page... That's Southern Daughter on the far right. Southern Man is very proud of her. Can you tell?
About Trolls
Boris over at The Galloping Beaver found a study that argues that internet trolls are psychotic fuckwads. That makes sense. I used to go to right-wing sites and argue with them. I'd argue pretty caustically sometimes (given what hateful, racist, war-monger shit-heads they were) but I'd never pretend I hadn't made a mistake when I'd made one. And I'd never return again and again to make mindless, ad hominem insults about the blogger. To do that, one would have to be a psychotic fuckwad. Like a genuine troll. Sorry I don't have anything more valuable to say.
Strangelet commission: Tommaso Dorigo wouldn't care if the Earth were eaten
*Physicists attacked for endangering the planet, for being less alarmist than the climate change cranks* Tommaso Dorigo of CMS discusses a new bizarre proposal to establish a U.S. commission that would evaluate the risks that the RHIC experiment will destroy our blue, not green planet: New U.S. Science Commission Should Look At Experiment’s Risk Of Destroying The Earth One of the two authors of the proposal in *International Business Times*above (a news outlet that is being cited by TRF positively in a vast majority of cases, but not this one!) is a law professor. Recall that the d... more »
The Analogy, Hyperbole Problem: “With explanation kind” (Tone, pt. 5)
The Analogy, Hyperbole Problem: “With explanation kind” (Tone, pt. 5). via The Analogy, Hyperbole Problem: “With explanation kind” (Tone, pt. 5).Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
GIVEN TO ME ON EARTH
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) *To those born later* I Truly I live in dark times! Frank speech is naïve. A smooth forehead Suggests insensitivity. The man who laughs Has simply not yet heard The terrible news. What kind of times are these, when To talk about trees is almost a crime Because it implies silence about so many horrors? When the man over there calmly crossing the street Is already perhaps beyond the reach of his friends Who are in need? It’s true that I still earn my daily bread But, believe me, that’s only an accident. Nothing I do gives me the right to eat my fill. By chan... more »
THE PRESS CORPS [HEART] ACCUSERS: Recalling what Chris Matthews once did!
*TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014* *Part 2—He almost got somebody killed:* As a matter of theory, journalists aren’t supposed to fall in love with accusers. In theory, journalists are supposed to be appropriately skeptical of the claims of accusers. That’s the theory you will encounter in eighth-grade civics texts. Often, though, those who play journalists on TV fall in love with accusers—though it all depends on who the accusers are accusing, and on what they’re accusing them of. Back in May 1999, one of our most prominent “cable news” pseudo-journalists almost got somebody killed. It... more »
It's Tuesday...
*what's going on?* Besides the worst stiff neck ache I've ever had. Clash Daily: *DING DONG: Capital One Reserves Right to Collect at Cardholders’ Home, Work * Hot Air: *Sebelius: Our Spanish-language web portal is mucho buena, you betcha* WZ: *White House On Stimulus Anniversary: “Thanks To The Actions of President Obama, The Economic Picture Today Is Much Brighter”…* iOwnTheWorld: *Obama Plays Water-Guzzling Desert Golf Courses Amid California Drought * Bunkerville: *Hillary Clinton, the FBI, and Travelgate – a lesson about her moral fiber * Conservative Hideout: *Warni... more »
Social Theory Reading List
This list is going to kill me. I've got a wee bit of catching up to do now I'm properly back in the sociological game, so I've made a list of works I need to thoroughly acquaint myself with. It's a monster with some proper beasties on it. Both volumes of Habermas's *Theory of Communicative Action*? Yup. Robert K Merton's *Social Theory and Social Structure*? He's there. It's not an exhaustive list by any means. After all, I would like to try and read every single one. And it's less than comprehensive because I might have read a great deal of a certain thinkers' outputs already. Like... more »
Ford's Theatre of the Macabre
Ford's Theater of the Macabre from Spike EP on Vimeo. *"Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the president, the vice president and the secretary of state, in that order.* *As for now, I'm in control here, in the White House."* *General Alexander Haig, March 30, 1981*
Educational Atrocities 101
If you thought the heinous practice of institutional child abuse ended when Charles Dickens exposed it in his novels, think again. Not only has it survived through the centuries, it's now enjoying something of a renaissance right here in the New Feudal States of America. You've heard of the nefarious School-to-Prison Pipeline. But how about that gateway intramural system preceding it, where jail cells within the schools have become almost as ubiquitous as classrooms? In educational Newspeak, they are euphemistically called "Scream Rooms." They are gulags within gulags. You might th... more »
Am I Being Targeted For Layoff Due To My Age?
An AOL Jobs reader asked me: I work for a large company in Ohio. There are 50 or so employees with my job title working at various locations in the area. The company has decided to eliminate all but 15 of those positions. I am 61 years old. The company first examined our work history, anyone with disciplinary actions were eliminated from the pool. We were informed some positions had been filled and yesterday "group interviews" were conducted. The union negotiated a severance package, one week pay for each year served, the company will continue to pay benefits for three months and t... more »
The White History We Ignore
From Alternet: *February 14, 2014 * | Schools across the country are adorned with posters of the 44 U.S. presidents and the years they served in office. U.S. history textbooks describe the accomplishments and challenges of the major presidential administrations—George Washington had the Revolutionary War, Abraham Lincoln the Civil War, Teddy Roosevelt the Spanish-American War, and so on. Children’s books put students on a first-name basis with the presidents, engaging readers with stories of their dogs in the Rose Garden or childhood escapades. Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Ins... more »
Targeting General Leslie
Andrew Cohen acknowledges at the beginning of his latest column that he is a friend of retired general Andrew Leslie: (A note: I have known Leslie, his wife and children for 10 years. We’re friends). That said, he then reviews the facts: As part of their severance, those who serve 20 years or more are offered a last move, at government expense, after they retire. Soldiers are asked to live in many places; the policy recognizes that the house you occupy at the end of your career may not be where you want to remain. Leslie served 35 years at home and abroad and moved 18 times. Wh... more »
Invoking Hitler Cantor Calls for Eternal War
With Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner now mortally wounded after once again throwing the so-called tea party caucus under the bus once again on the latest debt ceiling deal he will need to watch his back carefully as his ambitious underling Eric Cantor is readying the dagger. Eric Ivan Cantor, the pride of Virginia’s 7th congressional district is ready to pounce now having just delivered a major foreign policy address which coincides with a renewed push for an attack on Iran that is picking up steam. The P5+1 talks to relax economic sanctions in return for concessions... more »
When Will The DSCC Wake Up To The Fact There's A Crucial, Winnable Race In South Dakota?
Rick and Rounds South Dakota isn't really a dependable red state. Sure, in presidential elections it is but the state has had a penchant for sending Democrats to the House and Senate in Washington. Two-thirds of the Senate contests since 1986 have been won by Democrats. This cycle, one of the best populists running anywhere, Rick Weiland, is running an independent campaign against GOP Establishment pick Mike Rounds-- if, as is likely, rounds survives all those Tea Party primary opponents. The DSCC, which had its heart set on former Blue Dog chair Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, hasn't ral... more »
All Purpose Healing Salve by The Paleo Mama
All Purpose Healing Salve The Paleo Mama, 21 January 2014 When you have little ones in the house, there seems to be an endless supply off boo-boos, rashes, bug bites, and itchy skin. I don’t like having a giant medicine cabinet. I like to keep things very simple, which is why I really love essential oils. I have, literally, traded my cluttered medicine cabinet with bottles and pills, over to a very minimalistic shelf with essential oils and some other holistic remedies. My goal in creating this recipe is to minimize your medicine cabinet and prove to you that, once again, nat... more »
Obama's Continuing War on Public Education
A must read by [image: Michael Brenner Headshot] Michael Brenner Become a fan Senior Fellow, the Center for Transatlantic Relations; Professor of International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh
JP Morgan bank and financial employee death toll rises once again - third death ( the latest death involving a FX trader ) in just a matter of weeks ! A Banker Jumped To His Death From The Top Of JP Morgan Headquarters In Hong Kong ...... banking and financial personnel sudden death index rises to either 6 or 7 since late January depending on which events you choose to factor in !
A Banker Jumped To His Death From The Top Of JP Morgan Headquarters In Hong Kong LINETTE LOPEZ 57 MINUTES AGO 1,175 1 - - inShare1 - - - EMAIL MORE [image: hong kong city skyline china] A man jumped off of JP Morgan's Hong Kong headquarters to his death, according to George Chen of the South China Morning Post. This comes at a delicate time for the financial industry, when a spate of deaths — mostly in London — have alarmed observers. Witnesses say that police tried to stop the man from jumping from the 30 story building, 10 floors of which are used by... more »
US Revisits Options on Syria- Seeking Ways to Pressure Syrian government
U.S. Revisits Options on Syria as Talks Stall- the Obama Administration Takes a Fresh Look at Expanding Training, No-Fly Zones *The Obama administration*, exasperated by stalled talks over Syria and seeking ways to pressure the regime and its Russian allies, plans to revisit options ranging from expanding efforts to train and equip moderate rebels to setting up no-fly zones, according to officials briefed on the deliberations. The move means the administration again will consider military, diplomatic and intelligence options that previously were presented to the White House but set... more »
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*Cervical cancer could be prevented with an HIV drug: Tablet kills the virus that causes the disease* *This was a very small trial in Africa so much more work will be needed to replicate the findings in the West. White and African reactions to drugs do sometimes differ* Cervical cancer could be prevented by a commonly-used HIV drug, scientists say. The medicine has been shown to kill-off the human papilloma virus (HPV) that leads to cervical cancer. A husband and wife team from the University of Manchester treated women with lopinavir and found that it wiped out pre-cancerous ce... more »
Magnet Schools as a Tool to End Socioeconomic Segregation
The NYTimes has a piece on the modest resurgence of magnet schools, which are public schools of choice that highlight a portion of the curriculum that is attractive to certain children and parents. They are great alternatives to the corporate charter chains staffed with non-teachers and managed by non-educators. Unless a conscious effort to reduce segregation is included in their magnet planning, however, the same kinds of cognitive and socioeconomic apartheid can result. That is why school systems should view magnet schools as a way to offer parents choice, of course, but to pr... more »
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*Police: Cyclists attacked with baseball bats on Esplanade ~WWLTV* *Tulane offers $1M prize for answer to Dead Zone ecological mystery ~Casey Ferrand* *Why Taxpayers Will Bail Out the Rich When the Next Storm Hits ~Bill Dedman, NBC* *NOAA has predicted a 95 percent risk for flooding this year along the Mississippi River Basin. *
Movie Title Breakup
A couple breaks up with each other (via the use of 154 movie titles), sheer genius.
Bill Whittle: What's really going on in Russia during the Olympics...
*he has something to say. *
Now is the Hour to Listen WITHIN
This message swept through skype rooms and facebook yesterday like a tidal wave of light. When I read the original post that I saw in one of the skype rooms I immediately asked Pete, who'd posted it, if he had a link to the original words. I began searching to "verify" that the post was "authentic" and truly from the Hopi Elders. It wasn't until this morning when I read one link that was debunking this post as having not come from the Hopi Elders that I realized that it didn't matter. When we read something that resonates with us and withIN us, does it really matter where the ... more »
Emigration from America: new dirt in the U.S. tax system
*3,000 renounced their U.S. citizenship in 2013* I have filed 10 U.S. tax returns in my life. Well, in fact, it was 11 – including the "less than 180 days" at the beginning. Well before I began to be harassed by professional "discriminated" feminists, professional "discriminated" blacks, and similar atrocious scum sometime in 2005, I hated that experience. The tax returns had to be combined with almost annual exercises needed to get new visas, prolong them, get new stamps for them, and so on. As you know, it's not just about the federal tax returns. One must also file the tax return... more »
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*Mann and the Oxburgh Panel* The Mann libel case has been attracting increasing commentary, including from people outside the climate community. Integral to Mann’s litigation are representations that he was “investigated” by 6-9 investigations, all of which supposedly gave him “exonerations” on wide-ranging counts, including “scientific misconduct”, “fraud”, “academic fraud”, “data falsification”, “statistical manipulation”, “manipulation of data” and even supposed findings that his work was “properly conducted an fairly presented”. Mann also represented that these investigations we... more »
American Teens More & More Demand Organic Food
[image: Foto: TEENS ARE REJECTING GMOs & PESTICIDES! A whopping 39 percent of teens are choosing organic food options—exciting news for anyone concerned with the future health of our nation. The recently completed teen study by Piper Jaffray & Co. also found that 35 percent of teens are eating more organic food than a year ago. These findings are right on the money, according to Marci Zaroff, board member of both the Organic Trade Association and Teens Turning Green, a student-led advocacy group dedicated to promoting sustainability. READ: http://organicconnectmag.com/across-america... more »
Five questions about the Leslie moving expense furor
Former Canadian Forces lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie - and federal Liberal advisor and prospective star candidate - is being attacked by the Harper Conservatives for claiming $72,000 in retirement moving expenses under a policy that applies to RCMP officers and the military. The Intended Place of Residence policy covers retiring Mounties and military personnel for one last move after they retire. The idea is that if you end your career in Newfoundland, but want to move back to be closer to your grandkids in Saskatoon, the government will pick up the cost. It’s a reward for accepti... more »
Ted McLaughlin : Convicted felons and the right to vote
Eleven states don’t restore voting rights to ex-felons, but a substantial majority of Americans believe this is wrong. By Ted McLaughlin | The Rag Blog | February 18, 2014 Attorney General Eric Holder brought up an interesting topic the other … finish reading Ted McLaughlin : Convicted felons and the right to vote
Musical Interlude: 2002, “We Meet Again”
2002, “We Meet Again” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_OmsxDef9c
Oedipus' Message To Thailand: "Freedom Is Not Easy, Democracy Is Not Easy"
When I started one of the first punk rock record labels in America back in the late '70s, most rock radio stations laughed at our records and refused to play them. The first big station outside of the San Francisco Bay Area to play the 415 Records artists was WBCN in Boston. We went from being a label that measured sales in various Bay Area neighborhood stores to suddenly shipping boxes of albums to stores in Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire. And, because WBCN was such a huge and successful station, other stations around the country started playing the records as well. The pro... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“It is the largest and most complex star forming region in the entire galactic neighborhood. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy orbiting our Milky Way galaxy, the region's spidery appearance is responsible for its popular name, the Tarantula nebula. This tarantula, however, is about 1,000 light-years across. Were it placed at the distance of Milky Way's Orion Nebula, only 1,500 light-years distant and the nearest stellar nursery to Earth, it would appear to cover about 30 degrees (60 full moons) on the sky. *Click image for larger size.* Intriguing detail... more »
An Open Letter to Bill Gates and a Keynote Challenge
Dear Bill, You don’t know me. I have never applied for one of your fat, corporate-reform-promoting education grants. I am not even tempted to even though I have little money. You see, I am a career public school teacher, and I consider your money wielding a detriment to a healthy democratic society. You and other […]
RIOTS AND DEATH AT AUSTRALIA’S MANUS ISLAND CONCENTRATION CAMP
The riots, injuries and death that have occurred on Manus Island, a detention centre in the Pacific where detainees are kept in inhuman concentration camp-like conditions, is the result of Australia’s neo-fascist racist policies designed to keep non-white foreigners from coming to Australia. Scott Morrison, the Australian government’s Minister for Immigration, has defended the indefensible despite at least one detainee having been shot to death and some 77 others being injured, several of them seriously with at least one other with gunshot wounds and another with a fractured skull. ... more »
Chet Raymo,“Take My Arm”
*“Take My Arm”* by Chet Raymo “I'm sure I have referenced here before the poems of Grace Schulman, she who in inhabits that sweet melancholy place between "the necessity and impossibility of belief." Between, too, the necessity and impossibility of love. Belief and love. They have so much in common, yet are as distinct as self and other. How strange that two people can hitch their lives together, on a whim, say, or wild intuition, knowing little if nothing about the other's hiddenness, about things that even the other does not fully understand and couldn’t articulate even if he d... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Cardiff, United Kingdom. Thanks for stopping by.
“The Ocean’s Death March”
*“The Ocean’s Death March”* by Robert Hunziker “Something is out of kilter in the ocean. The problem is found throughout the marine food chain from the base, plankton (showing early signs of reproductive and maturation complications) to the largest fish species in the water, the whale shark (on the endangered species list.) The ocean is not functioning properly. It’s a festering problem that will not go away. It’s called acidification, and, as long as fossil fuels predominate, it will methodically, and assuredly, over time, kill the ocean. Scientists already have evidence of troubl... more »
Re. the Comcast-TWC deal, Paul Krugman asks: "When and why did we stop worrying about monopoly power?"
*"Comcast perfectly fits the old notion of monopolists as robber barons, so-called by analogy with medieval warlords who perched in their castles overlooking the Rhine, extracting tolls from all who passed. The Time Warner deal would in effect let Comcast strengthen its fortifications, which has to be a bad idea."* -- *Paul Krugman, in his NYT column today,* "Barons of Broadband" *by Ken* Both Howie and yours truly have registered horror at the prospect that Comcast and Time Warner Cable can actually get away with the plan they hatched -- remarkably stealthily, in this day and age... more »
Winnemem call on Obama to not support tunnels
Photo of Restore the Delta supporters rallying on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley on February 14. Photo by Dan Bacher. 800_rtd_rally_1.jpg original image ( 5184x3456) Delta advocates, Winnemem call on Obama to not support tunnels by Dan Bacher Censored News Advocates for the restoration of Central Valley salmon and the Delta rallied with colorful signs and banners at
Sandy Hook: Free homes and “big bucks” incentives for leaders and players
VETERANS TODAY Sunday, February 16th, 2014 By Jim Fetzer (with Wolfgang Halbig)*BREAKING NEWS! New Revelations expose the apparently corrupt motives of Newtown authorities and participants in the staged events at Sandy Hook, including free homes and a cut of $27 million (USD) in donations from a sympathetic but gullible public played for saps through the cynical manipulation of their subconscious fears.* [image: Wolfgang]*New research on Sandy Hook reveals powerful financial incentives that appear to implicate the highest officials of Newtown in a conspiracy to fabricate the Sandy ... more »
Globalization, Mobility and Inequality
Yesterday, I gave a talk at 4th year high school students, Honors Class, of La Salle Green Hills (LSGH). Thanks to former UPSE batchmate Malou Roa for inviting me, her son, Mike Roa, is the Class President. Thanks also to Popo Suanes, another batchmate and the first summa cum laude of UPSE, who also came from LSGH, who referred me to Malou. Some 40+ students attended. They have regular guest speakers for their high school economics class. My outline was simple: I. Definition, Theory of Globalization, II. Goods and Services Mobility III. Inequality, and IV. Concluding Notes. I start... more »
What's "neo" about "neoreactionaries"?
So there's this whole discussion that's been running around ALL the internets these past few months about the shocking propositions of people calling themselves "neoreactionaries" or "the""Dark""Enlightenment." To put a long story short, it's just about a bunch of attention-seekers (no criticism implied there there, honest) running around telling the world that women really *should* get-back-in-the-kitchen-and-make-me-a-sandwich and-a-tribe-of-minions-while-you're-at-it and that we really *should* just let plutocrats run our societies because then we won't have to pay for other ... more »
Bob Feldman : A People’s History of Egypt, Part 17, 1954-1962
The Nasser regime steps up prosecution of leftists, expels Jews, implements economic reforms. By Bob Feldman | The Rag Blog | February 17, 2014 [With all the dramatic activity in Egypt, Bob Feldman's Rag Blog "people's history" series, "The Movement … finish reading Bob Feldman : A People’s History of Egypt, Part 17, 1954-1962
Systems Theory and Conservative Sociology
The first sociological theory thrown at me during A-Levels was jolly old Functionalism: the perspective that established social institutions and social behaviours exist because they're functional from the point of view of the social whole. Just as lungs, stomachs and hearts maintain biological organisms, the division of labour, the state, the family work to reproduce society according to established norms. It is tautological - the social order exists because it produces social order - but that is it in a nutshell. As you might expect, oriented as it is toward 'the now' Functionalis... more »
QUOTE OF THE DAY: On the gap between rich and poor
“The poor are not poor because the rich are rich. The two conditions are generally unrelated.” - Robert Samuelson, from his article “The Poor Aren't Poor Because the Rich Are Rich” Discuss… Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
The Realist Report - Eli James: Presidents' Day Special
On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined once again by Pastor Eli James of *Anglo-SaxonIsrael.com*. Pastor James and I will be discussing American history and presidents in honor of Presidents' Day. You can download the mp3 for this program *here*, or visit *The Realist Report* on BlogTalkRadio to subscribe via iTunes and view past programs. Below are relevant links for this program: - *An overview of the early subversion of America* - John Friend - *The Realist Report - Eli James: early American history Part 1* - *The Realist Report - Eli James: early Amer... more »
Darwin doodlings, and more…
You might have missed last week’s Darwin Day, an annual celebration of the great man and his work, but did you know that most of Darwin’s manuscripts can be found online at Darwin Online? True story. Richard Dawkins points out that one of the neat things about many of the original, and valuable, manuscript pages is that his children were apparently allowed to drew all over them, like in this battle of the fruit and vegetable soldiers drawn on the back of one of the original manuscript pages for *The Origins of the Species *… [image: puck] And since we missed Darwin Day, perhaps ... more »
Alan Waldman : ‘New Tricks’ is delightful British mystery series featuring older ex-cops who solve cold cases
The first 87 episodes, airing on PBS, have been witty, dramatic, and major fun. By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | February 17, 2014 [In his weekly column, Alan Waldman reviews some of his favorite films and TV series … finish reading Alan Waldman : ‘New Tricks’ is delightful British mystery series featuring older ex-cops who solve cold cases
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*Sinking levee shows difficulty of protecting New Orleans from flooding ~Bob Marshall, The Lens*
Bankster news February 17 , 2014 -- Chase Imposes New Capital Controls on Cash Deposits ........ As Bank Deaths Continue to Shock, Documents Reveal JPMorgan Has Been Patenting Death Derivatives ........ OHIO BANK ( Fifth Third National Bank ) ERRONEOUSLY FILES MANY OF ITS DEPOSITORS FOR BANKRUPTCY
http://www.infowars.com/chase-imposes-new-capitol-controls-on-cash-deposits/ Chase Imposes New Capital Controls on Cash Deposits - [image: The Alex Jones Channel][image: Alex Jones Show podcast][image: Prison Planet TV][image: Infowars.com Twitter][image: Alex Jones' Facebook][image: Infowars store] Customers have to show ID, can no longer deposit cash into another person’s account *Paul Joseph Watson* Infowars.com February 17, 2014 JPMorgan Chase has irked its customers by imposing new capital controls that mandate identification for cash deposits and ban cash being depos... more »
Ukraine Updates - February 15 , 2014 .....Ukraine protesters offer goodwill gesture after detainees freed - Protesters occupying Kiev city hall said Saturday they stood "ready" to vacate the premises, in a gesture of goodwill after authorities released all those detained in the anti-government unrest rocking the country ..........
Catharsis Ours - 20 hours ago
Ukraine protesters offer goodwill gesture after detainees freed SATURDAY FEB 15, 2014 | MARIANNE BARRIAUX FOR AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Dos partidarios de la oposición charlan este viernes 14 de febrero en la plaza de la Independencia de Kiev Credit: Martin Bureau/AFP NextPrevious - - - Protesters occupying Kiev city hall said Saturday they stood "ready" to vacate the premises, in a gesture of goodwill after authorities released all those detained in the anti-government unrest rocking the country. The "headquarters of the revolution" since the protest movement rocking Ukra... more »
United Opt Out, March 28-30 in Denver
*Join United Opt Out, March 28**th **– 30**th**, 2014 in Denver, CO.* *“Why Denver?” Good question.* We are coming to Denver because we have many friends that need our help. We are devoting the entire event to action on three themes: union organizing, corporate education reform basics, and next steps. When we leave, Denver will have a plan of action stating exactly what parents will do, what students will do, what teachers will do, and what community members will do. They will be ready. And others in attendance will have strategies and new knowledge to take back to their own commun... more »
More Untrustworthy Polling In Hawaii
Brian Schatz and his wife Linda, flanked by Hawaii's favorite son and his wife, Michelle This weekend, the Honolulu *Star Advertiser* put out another one their absurd polls. This one shows Governor Neil Abercrombie and Senator Brian Schatz losing to conservatives. Some people are interpreting it as blowback against Abercrombie and Schatz because of their outspoken support for same-sex marriage, which has been a big political issue in Hawaii for months, with several of the most reactionary churches threatening hell and damnation. But more likely, it's just a faulty poll based on a sm... more »
Harper's Parade of Perps with Perks #9
Whoa, holy bat signal! and a warm welcome to Etobicoke Centre Con MP Ted Opitz to Harper's Parade of Perps with Perks for contributing $9,000 to his nomination campaign, thus exceeding his $2,100 personal contribution limit by nearly $7,000. Oh, and failing to file an election expenses claim. That's Ted there at the back between Nigel Wright and Arthur Hamilton. A week ago Mr. Opitz was on his feet in the HoC applauding the Cons new Fair Elections Act for having .... wait for it .... don't rush it .... "sharper teeth, a longer reach, and a freer hand". Now this is ironic because ... more »
iTunes bricks the iPad
While Southern Man has been in computers for a long time he had never owned an Apple product of any kind - no Apple ][, no Mac, no iPod or iPhone (although he's purchased plenty of both as gifts for the Southern Children) until his former employer bought iPads for everyone. And, yes, the Apple Kool-Aid is sweet indeed and Southern Man loved his iPad enough that he bought it from them when he left their employ. That said, Southern Man is firmly convinced that the unholy abomination that is iTunes is of the Devil's Software Workshop. But as Southern Man was "synching" the iPad the ... more »
China Folds On Reforms - Bails Out 2nd Shadow-Banking Default After "Last Drop Of Blood" Threats ...... lots of short term debt maturing in 2014 ? Will China keep kicking the can ?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-17/china-folds-reforms-bails-out-2nd-shadow-banking-default-after-last-drop-blood-threat China Folds On Reforms - Bails Out 2nd Shadow-Banking Default After "Last Drop Of Blood" Threats [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/17/2014 14:20 -0500 - China - default - Gross Domestic Product - Hong Kong - Moral Hazard - Shadow Banking - Yuan inShare1 As we showed over the weekend, it is *abundantly clear that for all the talk of reform, Chinese authorities have found the gap between words an... more »
Cyber-security items of note February 15 , 2014..... focus on infrastructure , hackers circulating credentials for thousands of FTP sites , Target hack update ........ January round up od data breaches ( Esecurity Planet )
Catharsis Ours - 21 hours ago
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57618976-83/kickstarter-hacked-user-data-stolen/ Kickstarter hacked, user data stolen The crowd-funding site says hackers broke into its systems and made off with data. Apparently credit card numbers escaped the attack. by CNET News staff February 15, 2014 1:54 PM PST Hackers hit crowd-funding site Kickstarter and made off with user information, the site said Saturday. Though no credit card info was taken, the site said, attackers made off with usernames, e-mail addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and encrypted passwords. "Actual password... more »
Israel's Mossad "under rabbinic supervision"
The infamous Israeli Mossad, the usurping Jewish state occupying Palestine's notorious intelligence and spy agency, is *"under rabbinic supervision,"* according to a recent article appearing in *The Jewish Press*. Apparently, the Mossad has been colluding and consulting with rabbinical authorities for quite some time now. *The Jewish Press* reports: *Back in Febuary 2010, the newspapers were packed with descriptions of an alleged assassination of senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai attributed to the Israeli Mossad. Dubai Police said he was murdered by an 11 member hit ... more »
Turkey's Parliament knows how to put legislation through
They must have consulted Rob Ford. ;)
Weekend Update
The big event on Valentine's Day was that The Huyndai turned 100,000. Of course Southern Man didn't take that picture himself while driving at 60 mph. That would be crazy. Southern Man's first car, a '64 Mercury, was *old* at a hundred thousand; The Hyundai is nicely broken in. On Saturday Southern Man wandered out to the Ancestral Manor to help Southern Father erect the scaffolding... Scaffolding is up to repair the roof on the playhouse in the middle of the pecan orchard. ...and to do laundry... Southern Father hangs his laundry. It irks him to no end that Southern Man us... more »
A Fan Letter to Nicholas Kristof.
Dear Mr. Kristof, Since you’re getting so much hate mail from political scientists this week, I thought I’d send you a fan letter. I teach international relations at University of Massachusetts. I am an avid reader of your columns, especially on human rights advocacy. You have put issues like fistula on the global agenda. You Continue reading
Up Yours Rogers! Greenwald Wins Polk Award for NSA Reporting
That very nasty scowl that is permanently affixed to the fat face of Congressman and House Intelligence Committee head Mike Rogers, the thug shoved down the entire country’s throats by voters in Michigan’s 8th congressional district is about to get even worse. In breaking news today the “thief” Glenn Greenwald who is the target of Rogers’ latest vendetta just won the prestigious George Polk Award for his reporting on the Edward Snowden story. Along with Greenwald fellow reporters who also worked on the stories of the former government contractor turned NSA whistleblower - Ewen Ma... more »
'Security'& 'Protection' Leading to Certain Tyranny
Why should we worry about tyrants abroad who would like to strip us of our freedoms? Their ultimate goal is not to hijack our planes so they can fly them into buildings or set off bombs in densely populated areas. Would they be attempting to blow us up if we simply declared *"we surrender, do with us as you wish"*? No, *if we did surrender to the jihadists*, the end result would only be an expedited version of what this President is already orchestrating right before our eyes on a daily basis - with no opposition. The NSA surveillance is tyrannical in and of itself. It is outr... more »
Thai farmers surround PM's office, demand delayed rice payments ...... another political headache for the embattled Prime Minister
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/17/thai-farmers-putpressureonpmoverricepayments.html Thai farmers surround PM's office, demand rice payments February 17, 2014 7:37AM ET Government rice-buying program, plagued by corruption allegations, has racked up losses of $4.4 billion Topics: Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra International [image: Thailand] A collection center worker looks at the quality of rice as a Thai farmer, center, watches in Roi Et, Thailand, on Dec. 4, 2013.Manish Swarup/AP Hundreds of angry Thai farmers breached razor-wire barricades outside the prime minister's t... more »
“Is the Universe a Simulation?”
*“Is the Universe a Simulation?”* by Edward Frenkel “In Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita,” the protagonist, a writer, burns a manuscript in a moment of despair, only to find out later from the Devil that “manuscripts don’t burn.” While you might appreciate this romantic sentiment, there is of course no reason to think that it is true. Nikolai Gogol apparently burned the second volume of “Dead Souls,” and it has been lost forever. Likewise, if Bulgakov had burned his manuscript, we would have never known “Master and Margarita.” No other author would have written th... more »
Harsh weather strikes accross the Globe
*Severe weather is making news from record snowfall in Japan to devastating floods in the U.K.* Following video says it all:
CEOs are paid for performance
In response to my recent article, some commentators (like this one) are prone to say, "Sure, actors, authors, and athletes deserve their good fortune, because they get paid well only if they produce, but hefty CEO pay is unfair because it is not based on performance." Before you are tempted to make that argument, please make yourself familiar with the facts by reading this paper: Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance in the U.S.: Perceptions, Facts and Challenges Steven N. Kaplan Abstract: In this paper, I consider the evidence for three common perceptions of U.S. publi... more »
Tag team keeps pressure on Brown
*Guest post by Stephen Berry from Affordable Auckland * I’ll be teaming up with anti-corruption watchdog Penny Bright to organise this Saturday’s Len Brown Stand Down March: this Saturday, February 22. (Be there! It departs Britomart at noon, travelling up Queen Street to Airedale Street.) In the 2013 election I was the third-placed candidate and Penny was fourth placed. Whatever our differences, and they are many, we are united in the importance of Brown opponents from across the spectrum to work together to unseat the Mayor – hence our support for a new Len Brown Stand Down Coa... more »
On the Border: The life-affirming migration of whales
On the Border: The life-affirming migration of whales By Brenda Norrell San Ysidro by Brenda Norrell Censored News First in a new original series from the US Mexico border TIJUANA, Mexico and SAN YSIDRO, Calif. -- The bright, cherry-red trolley is filled with workers, students, skateboarders, families, and the heaviness of those who have been sleeping on the sidewalks in downtown San Diego
UN Syria Peace Talks Fail [Source: CCTV]
Title: UN Syria Peace Talks Fail. Source: CCTV America. Date Published: February 16. Description: Syrian peace talks at the United Nations ended in a deadlock. No date was set for a third session. CCTV's Jim Spellman delves into the details of the story. Brahimi and Ban Ki-Moon should step down. They are misrepresenting this crisis, and only blaming one party for the failure of the Geneva peace talks, the Assad regime. This is not the reality. It is clear to any objective observer that the foreign-influenced exile opposition which relies on Al-Qaeda terrorists for its battlefield g... more »
Discussion of Extreme Events on Colorado Public Radio
You can hear Kevin Trenberth and me discussing extreme events and climate change on Colorado Public Radio. The audio can be found at the link at the top of that page. In the interview I essentially reflected the IPCC SREX and AR5 views on climate and extreme events. Here is an except from the CPR news story that accompanies it: After big weather events, the question that often comes up is: "Is climate change responsible for this?" That question has popped up a lot in Colorado recently given massive floods and fires over the past year. In September 2013, devastating floods hit the ... more »
THE SELF
*Bridgit for Pope Movement.* Christians, Buddhists, Taoists and others might agree that we should try to be selfless. There is a belief that we can achieve 'the peace that passeth all understanding' by being selfless. Buddhism and Taoism, however, warn against extreme self-sacrifice. *selflessness.* Buddhism has an interesting view of the 'self' and the 'soul'. "If the word 'soul' refers to a non-bodily component in a person that can continue in some way after death, then Buddhism does not deny the existence of a soul.[4] "In fact, persons are said to be characterized by an ev... more »
NATIONAL SECURITY LAWS BLIND REAL JUSTICE
*Lee Seok-ki, center, greeted supporters last fall outside the South Korean National Assembly in Seoul * A South Korean court today sentenced a left-wing lawmaker to 12 years in prison and six colleagues to shorter terms for allegedly plotting a "pro-North Korea rebellion in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula". Prosecutors also asked judges to strip United Progressive Party (UPP) MP Lee Seok-ki of his civic rights for 10 years following his eventual release from prison. The UPP is a small party with only six seats in the National Assembly. In South Korea it is illegal under... more »
No, A Draft Romney Campaign By Richie-Rich Repubicans And Netflix Will Not Save The GOP From Ted Cruz
Romney gave filmmaker Greg Whiteley and Netflix permission to release the docudrama, *MITT*, this year-- rather than in 2009-- because in 2009 he wanted to run for president again… and after the 2012 drubbing, he knew he wouldn't ever be running for anything again. As you can see in the discussion on Fox "News" above, Romney-die hards see the release of the film as the beginning of a third presidential campaign. More likely, it's the beginning of a promotion and marketing campaign by Netflix to sell this dog of a film. Yesterday, the *Boston Globe* concotted a narrative that has ... more »
What's up with all those dead bankers?...
*read this report by Doug Hagmann , founder & director of the Northeast Intelligence Network* and while you're reading it* remember who is hosting Michelle Obama this weekend. * I wrote the above post with a sort of tongue-in-cheek flavor, but this is serious business. *From: Canada Free Press and Doug Hagmann:* I feel that this is one of the most important investigations I’ve ever done. If my findings are correct, each of us might soon experience a severe, if not crippling blow to our personal finances, the confiscation of any wealth some of us have been able to accumulate over... more »
Paul Craig Roberts has recently published a series of articles on current events in Ukraine, which I have refrained from reposting on this blog because I supposed that most of my visitors would not be interested. However, with today's column PCR has solidified his evidence that the US and EU have been paying Ukrainian protesters with the objects of (1) realizing the EU's hope to loot Ukraine as they have already done to Greece and Latvia and (2) realizing the US's hope to admit Ukraine to NATO so that they might install anti-ballistic-missile batteries that would help the west 'win' a nuclear war with Russia. As PCR reported on February 12, "Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, a rabid Russophobe and neoconservative warmonger, told the National Press Club last December that the US has 'invested' $5 billion in organizing a network to achieve US goals in Ukraine in order to give 'Ukraine the future it deserves'.” He concludes his column below with the warning "It was fools like Nuland playing the great game that gave us World War I. WORLD WAR III WOULD BE THE LAST WAR." (capitalization mine)
------------------------------ *US and EU Are Paying Ukrainian Rioters and Protesters — Paul Craig Roberts* ------------------------------ February 17, 2014 | Original Here Go here to sign up to receive email notice of this news letter US and EU Are Paying Ukrainian Rioters and Protesters Paul Craig Roberts A number of confirmations have come in from readers that Washington is fueling the violent protests in Ukraine with our taxpayer dollars. Washington has no money for food stamps or to prevent home foreclosures, but it has plenty of mone... more »
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*Owen Courreges: ‘Dizneylandrieu’ is more than just a clever float ~Uptown Messenger*
On still looking into Hawking’s Brief History!
*MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2014* *How far can non-specialists get:* How far can a non-specialist get in A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking’s famous first book of “popular science” directed at non-specialists? As we noted last week, we returned to that ancient question after a recent Science Times piece. But first, consider the piece which appeared in yesterday’s Sunday Review. Professor Frenkel had himself all tangled up over the mysterious nature of the Pythagorean theorem. Needless to say, the New York Times thought this was good solid stuff: FRENKEL (2/16/14): If Pythagoras h... more »
“Fighting Back Against the NSA”
*“Fighting Back Against the NSA”* by Rick Jensen “While many Americans shake their heads at the feckless backsliding of our current congressional Republican leadership, legislators in a handful of states across this nation are bravely taking a stand against the National Security Agency, a behemoth of unconstitutional breaches of privacy currently recording and logging every one of your calls, emails, text messages and online chats without warrants. Ironically, it was just as House Speaker John Boehner surrendered the future of your children and grandchildren to the Democrats’ push ... more »
"One Vile F***ing Task After Another..."
"In life you have to do a lot of things you don't f***ing want to do. Many times, that's what the f*** life is... one vile f***ing task after another.” "Pain, or damage, don't end the world- or despair or f***in' beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man- and give some back." - “Al Swearengen”, Ian McShane's character in “Deadwood”
“Paranoia, Surveillance and Military Tactics: Have We Become Enemies of the Government?”
*“Paranoia, Surveillance and Military Tactics:* * Have We Become Enemies of the Government?”* By John W. Whitehead “Totalitarian paranoia runs deep in American society, and it now inhabits the highest levels of government… Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, America has succumbed to a form of historical amnesia fed by a culture of fear, militarization and precarity. Relegated to the dustbin of organized forgetting were the long-standing abuses carried out by America’s intelligence agencies and the public’s long-standing distrust of the FBI, government wiretaps and police actions th... more »
DOES THE NEW YORK TIMES KNOW ITS LEFT FROM ITS RIGHT?
Headline on Today’s (2/17/14) NYT front page: ” Common Core Curriculum Now Has Critics on the Left” or another version of ”All the news that fits, we print.” My initial reaction: Wow…finally they are opening their eyes to see how many Democrats and progressives in NYS and beyond have been fighting this fight for a […]
A Critical Look At Iraqi Nationalism and Sectarianism, An Interview With Author Harith Hasan
Harith Hasan is a writer for Al-Monitor and the author of *Imagining The Nation, Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq*. He is part of a new generation of Iraqi writers that are exploring the meaning of nationalism and sectarianism. In his book he made a historical analysis from the Ottoman times to the present of how Iraq as a country was formed by colonial powers, the ruling elite, and their interaction with the public. Rather than seeing nationalism and sectarianism as static ideas, he has argued that they are both concepts that have changed over time b... more »
Signal of neutrino dark matter
*By Dr Adam Falkowski (Résonaances; Orsay, France)* The title of this post is purposely over-optimistic in order to increase the traffic. A more accurate statement is that a recent analysis *Detection of An Unidentified Emission Line in the Stacked X-ray spectrum of Galaxy Clusters* by Esra Bulbul and 5 co-authors (NASA/Harvard-Smithsonian) of X-ray spectrum of galactic clusters claims the presence of a monochromatic \(3.5\keV\) photon line which can be interpreted as a signal of a\[ \large{m_{\nu({\rm ster})} = 7\keV } \]sterile neutrino dark matter candidate decaying into a ph... more »
How does a Wellesley grad end up like this?
*MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2014* *Presumably, it took practice:* Can we share a dirty little secret about the new wave of America’s “press corps?” These people just aren’t very smart. They aren’t especially *serious*people. Manifestly, they aren’t very honest. To get an idea what we’re talking about, consider the new post by Margaret Hartmann at New York magazine. Pitifully, Hartmann’s headline says this: “Christie’s Other Childhood Friend Gave Tour of Fort Lee Traffic Jam.” This implies that David Wildstein was a “childhood friend” of Christie’s. But guess what? *No one believes that!... more »
Mohawk Nation News 'Gone with the wind'
GONE WITH THE WIND Posted on February 16, 2014 Mohawk Nation News MNN. Feb. 16, 2014. Heenan Blaikie is the legal version of Canada’s “economic hit man”. Perkins. ‘Economic Hit Man’. Canada’s largest law firm makes rules so the business of war is “legal”. Our resources are stolen and we are criminalized for resisting. Heenan made contracts for Canadian weapons, warships and even
Love Again - A Quotation
M.N. Hopkins
Live air traffic map
Many of us like realtime maps, like the global wind map (updated every 3 hours). Gene sent me a link to a mesmerizing truly realtime map of commercial aircraft all over the globe: Flight radar 24: realtime air traffic map The map offers you about 6 types of the background (map/satellite etc.: see the menus in the upper right corner). If you hover over a yellow jet, you will learn the name of the flight. If you click at the yellow aircraft, you will be shown additional data about the flight as well as the full trajectory. (Yellow jets are realtime, orange jets are delayed by 5 minu... more »
BOLT OBSESSED OVER A.B.C.OBSESSION ABOUT BOATPEOPLE CONCERNS
The convicted racist and extreme Right-wing propagandist, Andrew Bolt, in his column today has claimed that the ABC is ignoring the Abbott government’s ‘success’ in ‘stopping the boats and the drownings’. He claims that: “The new Abbott Government’s policies to stop the boats, stop the drownings and gradually empty the detention centres are clearly working.” Well, if one happens to be a xenophobic racist who is anxious to keep non-white foreigners out of Australia then the policies of the closet thing Australia has ever got to a fascist government are, indeed, working. But, what nee... more »
Hitched to Everything
Shortly after Hurricane Sandy I wrote to George Monbiot about the damage being done to trees from pollution. Leaving aside the flooding along the coast, the major issue from the storm was the loss of power in the mid-Atlantic region, and that was the result of millions of trees and branches that fell. The reason so many fell, even though the winds were not extraordinary by the time the storm made landfall, is that they are dying prematurely. It was evident from the many photos taken of the aftermath that trees were black with rot on their interiors, and I explained that ozone wea... more »
Will Bill Gates Take the Podium at AERA?
It’s a tough time in higher education, with a growing army of exploited, part-time academic sharecroppers now driving from school to school to fill teaching slots that were once reserved for tenure track professors. See chart below from AAUP: As full-time faculty numbers dwindle, so does the core university value of shared governance, which has been a defining aspect of universities for hundreds of years. Such a shortage, however, offers administrators the opportunity to add new layers of mid-level managers, directors, assistants to this and associates to that all over campus... more »
What to Give Obama for President's Day
What are we supposed to -do- on President's Day? The Lawless One occupying the White House would no doubt make it a day to celebrate himself as one would expect from a Fidel Castro or Kim Jong Un. This President's Day, try to forget about the sabotage being daily employed by this person known as Barack Hussein Obama and instead reminisce about a time when we had a President who didn't daily work to undermine the foundation of this nation. *Articles of impeachment would be the most appropriate President's Day gift this year.* However, that's obviously a fantasy since John Boehn... more »
A quick bite, using the new-new #commoncore math to calculate tips. Nicely done.
Pretty funny!Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face Tagged: common core, math, tips
Building Castles in the Sky
Who has not? Even the lowest slave about to be hanged for looking so good, has a dream. His dream and my dream and yours are all aligned. If your human you want a beautiful sustainable place to live where everybody knows each others name. I expect our current crop of trillionares to build such a place post haste.
Let's start the week with Wild Bill: A liberal confronts Wild Bill...
*"truth and justice are concepts the left finds hard to comprehend."*
My PTSD, I never found the right tree
The truth about advertising. You are a animal being. You can be manipulated as easy as pavlovas dog. You do not believe this, you are a fool. Right now say, I am a fool and I will no longer be moved by animal spirits. Now you are free what will you do? As the biggest monkey in the world what tree will you climb? There are so many trees to choose from. Those closest just give you enough counts to pro create. All the best trees are covered with climbers and you will have to climb over them to get to the top. Many of those you push down will be eternally wounded and some will actually ... more »
THE PRESS CORPS [HEART] ACCUSERS: Kornacki’s latest imagined friend!
*MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2014* *Part 1—He’s no George Washington:* George Washington couldn’t tell a lie, as almost everyone knows. Yesterday, in this news report, Steve Kornacki came pretty darn close. Kornacki should be embarrassed. Yesterday, he invented the latest in the long line of imaginary figures who drive our “press corps’” novelized tales of scandal and high adventure. To its credit, the New York Times has taken a pass on Kornacki’s exciting new invention. Elsewhere, the nation’s brain cells are under attack—in these exciting headlines, to cite just a few examples: THE NE... more »
Can't Muster Enthusiasm to Care About Foreign Affairs
Oh sure. I probably follow things more than the average person, but I find it increasingly hard to see the point of commenting on events in other countries when we can't even do anything about getting control of our own country. You know, I'm long since past the point where I'd say that Canada should "do something" about unspeakable horrors somewhere. Not only do I realize that our governments are controlled by monsters, it's increasingly obvious that we have zero influence and zero ability to gain influence to control these beasts. "Sign this petition!" Of for fuck's sake! "Atten... more »
“8 Deranged Comments from America's Far-Right This Week—Ted Cruz's Achy Breaky Heart Edition”
*“8 Deranged Comments from America's Far-Right This Week—* *Ted Cruz's Achy Breaky Heart Edition”* By Janet Allon *“1.Ted Cruz’s ‘heart weeps’ because of marriage equality gains. *Our favorite nut-job senator from Texas was holding forth again this week, and our ears were hurting. Texas Senator Ted Cruz explained to Family Research Council president Tony Perkins how his proposed State Marriage Defense Act would, “make it more difficult for married same-sex couples to receive legal recognition.” Thanks, Ted. We were worried about that. But the crusading lawmaker didn’t stop there... more »
Joni Mitchell Contest Ends At Noon (PT) Today
At noon today (Pacific Time, so 3pm on the East Coast), Blue America will randomly select 4 "winners" of our Joni Mitchell drawing. It's been a fun little "contest" and we managed to raise around $11,000 for Congress' most essential Member, Alan Grayson, and another $8,000 for California congressional candidate with a similar progressive perspective, Lee Rogers. We feel good-- and we feel grateful to the over 800 men and women who chipped in (here). Thank you. If you haven't entered the contest yet, you have 'til noon at that link above. And if you want to contribute to Alan and L... more »
Mike Philbin new novel(s) plural - the promotional tour that never was - writers aren't whores at the Capitalist gang-bang
in October 2013, I brought out my first 'war world' novel TANDEM via Chimericana Books. It took two months to write and edit. It was liberating; great fun to do. in January 2014, I brought out 'free planet part 2' LIBERATOR via Chimericana Books, the follow-up to CUSTODIAN (free planet part 1) released in early 2013. I had begun Liberator earlier in 2013 and put it to one side until after the writing of Tandem when I realised that 'character writes its own story'. And I noticed something about 'the way my writing mind works'. I was 'distracted' by having to do something els... more »
The Star leaks and the Fair Elections Act
Last week, the Star published a half dozen articles based on secret memos and a 70-page slide show about the Cons' 2015 election war room strategies anonymously leaked to them, as presented to the *Conservative National Council* above by Harper's former dcomm and now executive director of the CPC, Dimitri Soudas : "Everything we do is part of the strategy to ensure we win in 2015 with another majority government" The campaign is slated to start this spring. "Everything" includes a "drive, disrupt, disunity" campaign targeting Justin Trudeau from *within* the upcoming Liberal conv... more »
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*Most efforts to win legal claims for Federal Flood / "Katrina" damage have failed ~Chad Calder, New Orleans Advocate* *Gulf Coast’s industrial boom strains labor pool ~Ryan Holeywell, Fuel Fix* *Meet the Budweiser Clydesdales in City Park!*
Ignoring The American Experience
Some Americans have been warning Canada that following in their footsteps isn't wise. They warned that establishing mandatory minimum sentences fills up jails but does not deter crime. Still, as crime has fallen in this country, the Harperites have insisted that they know more about punishment than judges, and so our prisons are crammed to over capacity. Now, an American lawyer, who has been battling American voter ID laws, warns that the "Fair" Elections Act will cause voter suppression. Witold Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union for Pennsylvania, cites... more »
U.S. Rejoices as Olympic Hockey Team Spanks Russians
The ceaseless U.S. propaganda campaign that has relentlessly smeared Russia and particularly Vladimir Putin since he granted asylum to former government contractor turned NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and then derailed the big push for a war on Syria scored big time on Saturday. The 2014 edition of the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team beat their Russian counterparts setting off a wave of raw nationalist fervor and conjuring up memories of the Cold War era. One of the greatest propaganda triumphs of the latter part of the 20th Century was when the 1980 team defied all odds and bea... more »
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*Type 2 diabetes may NOT be caused by suddenly piling on the pounds: Most patients 'have been overweight for years'* *I have been challenging this supposed causal link for years* Type 2 diabetes might not be caused by piling on the pounds, new research suggests. Researchers discovered people who have been of a stable, but excessive, weight for many years are more likely to develop the condition than those who have recently gained a lot of weight. As a result, they say the best way to reduce the number of cases of diabetes could be to focus on small weight reductions for the whol... more »
Ed Steer's Gold , Silver and Precious Metal Update February 15 , 2014 - Data for Friday , February 14 , 2014 as well as data for the week ..... various articles to consider including Doug Noland's weekly missive ( Transitions ) , items from King World's blog , items from Gata , various commentaries touching on the precious metals ......., .
Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/edition/finance-ministry-in-netherlands-denies-what-its-central-bank-president-admi ¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD & SILVER The gold price didn't do much in Far East trading on their Friday, but was up about six bucks by the time the London morning gold fix was done for the day at 10:30 a.m. GMT. From that point, a more serious rally began that got sold down a bit at the noon GMT silver fix. Another rally began at 8:45 a.m. EST---and that rally was brought to an end at the London p.m. gold fix, which was 10 a.m. in New York. After that, the gold price traded ... more »
Aluminum: Neurotoxin from Hell
Removing The ShacklesSunday, 16 February 2014 I have been studying the effects of Aluminum on humans for a long time now, and in my ever continuing endeavor to educate people on the dangers of vaccines, aluminum has always been the key culprit in the danger zone. A few months ago I wrote an article linking Aluminum in vaccines AND chemtrails as a deliberate attempt by the Powers That Were to block effects of solar rays on our planets consciousness. One of the very blatant dots that has been reinforced over and over is that the world "Governments" are completely aware of ALL of this... more »
Latin America watch February17 , 2014 -- Venezuela expels 3 US diplomats ; President Nicolas Maduro issued the order after Obama administration sided with opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez ; Relatively large student-led opposition protests convened in Caracas, Valencia, Maracaibo and many other cities throughout the country ; the turnout ( 15 , 000 - 20 ,0000 ) and widespread geographic distribution of this week's protests indicate that the movement may be gaining traction. ...... Argentina Fines Walmart For Violating "Fair Price" Pact, Urges Citizens To Denounce "Evil" Retailers
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/17/venezuela-expels3usdiplomatsamidprotestviolence.html Venezuela expels 3 US diplomats February 17, 2014 3:09AM ET President Nicolas Maduro issued the order after Obama administration sided with opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez Topics: Venezuela Nicolas Maduro International [image: Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attend a pro-government rally, one holding a painting of independence hero Simon Bolivar in Caracas.] Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attend a pro-government rally, one holding a painting of... more »
War Watch 2/17/14 - Real reason to continue Afghanistan occupation revealed ? CIA Fears Afghan Pullout Would Stall Their Drone War ....Can't Fly Drones Out if Afghanistan Isn't Occupied ....... US, Syria Trade Blame for Failed Peace Talks Syria: US Created 'Negative Climate' for Talks ........ Iraq news -- Sadr Quits Politics As Attacks Leave 58 Dead, 42 Wounded ...... Iran sanctions news -- Iran's Largest Private Bank Sues UK Government For $4 Billion Over Sanctions
Afghanistan..... CIA Fears Afghan Pullout Would Stall Their Drone WarCan't Fly Drones Out if Afghanistan Isn't Occupied by Jason Ditz, February 16, 2014 Print This | Share This The Obama Administration continues to push the idea that the “zero option,” of leaving Afghanistan outright at the end of the year, remains possible. Despite this, officials across several agencies, including the Pentagon, have insisted it is not under serious consideration. The CIA sees such a pullout as a huge problem, after the Pakistani government chased them out of airfields they were using for drones... more »
Obamacare thread February 15 - February 21 , 2014.....Pelosi: No, there won’t be a mandate delay for the little people because this is sound policy ........ on the hustle for the young bodies needed to prop up Obamacare......Obamacare layoff quandary ..... pass the buch to 2016 game in process.....Will the next government " mandate " be that all doctors participate in Obamacare ?
Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
Pelosi: No, there won’t be a mandate delay for the little people because this is sound policy POSTED AT 7:21 PM ON FEBRUARY 14, 2014 BY MARY KATHARINE HAM A variation on the “you’re gonna love it once it’s fully enacted” chorus of fibs we’ve been hearing since this thing was passed in 2009. It isn’t really news, per se, that Rep. Nancy Pelosi is willing to support a pass for employers for this law that doesn’t go to individuals about to be hit with the mandate tax. It’s not news that she’s willing to ignore the many failings of the law and its implementation and refer to it as ut... more »
Monday Morning Links
Good morning. Here are your links … Bilal Sarwary at the BBC gives us a glimpse of Helmand province that is rarely seen. He writes, “This type of checkpost is the real front line. There are poppy fields on one side, police headquarters on the other and constant fights with the Taliban.” So much for Continue reading
Kill Cold & Infection-Causing Germs Naturally With A Homemade Antibacterial Disinfecting Room Spray
How to Kill Cold & Infection-Causing Germs Naturally: Homemade Antibacterial Disinfecting Room Spray by Andrea Frugally Sustainable, 29 September 2013 A cold and flu preventative. This antibacterial, disinfecting spray contains many germ-killing botanicals and essential oils that have been used historically to treat a variety of infections and diseases. To shorten the duration of someone’s illness — or prevent it all together – I keep the ingredients for this spray handy all year round…spraying it throughout the home whenever necessary. *Pure Air Disinfecting Spray* *Supplies... more »
Denying Tenure and Moving On
For some people this has been a very good month, for others, no so much. Tenure (and by proxy promotion) is the thing most American Professors strive for, desire, believe is the crowning moment in their careers.* I will say for one, tenure denials, whether justified or outrageous – happen. Our careers are determined by Continue reading
ICHR: Human Rights Violations Continue, Increase in the PA and Gaza
'Human rights violations, including death and murder, continued to be practiced by the Palestinian Authority and by the Hamas government in Gaza, this according to as report by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) presenting a comprehensive overview of the major violations during January, 2014, in the Palestinian controlled areas. The report depicts a general state of anarchy and lawlessness in the PA.' More here http://matzav.com/ichr-human-rights-violations-continue-increase-in-the-pa-and-gazabut not on the BBC, a campaigning news outlet that actively su... more »
Radiation Leak: Carlsbad NM Nuclear Waste Site
Well Well Well..... T'would seem that I hit upon something that happened two weeks ago when I posted the information about the US testing the B61 Atomic bomb and the fire in Carlsbad NM later on that day. Last night Reuters quietly published an article stating that the same site experienced: *"Unusually high levels of radioactive particles were found at an underground nuclear waste site in New Mexico on Saturday in what a spokesman said looked like the first real alarm since the plant opened in 1999."* So I think we need to be asking: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN CARLSBAD? In... more »
ALEC Yanks the Chain of Another Media Source
A newspaper gave ALEC a pass when evidently ALEC rebutted an editorial. The newspaper didn't question it - just posted it - which is a disservice to everyone who read that newspaper. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and evidently can distort the truth in anyway they want to get exposure. Doesn't take an idiot to read thru this - but for those of you that are RW idiots or ALEC members - lets clear this up for you. *The papers clarification * An editorial Tuesday stated that the American Legislative Exchange Council is behind the effort to enact state laws that require welfare appl... more »
GAY SCOTLAND
*Sean Connery (acting)* The newspaper* Scotland on Sunday* has produced its annual* Pink Scotland List. * The Scots have always been pretty gay, or bisexual. *King James I* (and VI) had a number of male lovers, including: Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. *Rabbie Burns* had his reputed homosexual relationship. Robert Burns. *Sir Walter Scott* liked gay characters. In Redguantlet, Darsie writes, "my love for Alan Fairford surpasses the love of woman." Darsie Latimer *Cardinal Keith O'Brien (above) was in long-term gay relationship.... more »
Weapons Wall Street Uses To Manipulate US and Tennessee Titanic Sinks
I had an essay that I'd worked on for over six hours today before it was eaten whole by the Blogger dog. Sorry. I'll try to recover it as much as possible tomorrow. In its stead, we can ponder again how the stock market has been so manipulated by the owners of industry that no one in our nation's non-super-rich citizenry should expect fair play from it. Or it could just be voodoo. (H/t to
Has Steve Israel Been Foiled In His Attempt To Sneak Homophobic Blue Dog Chris Carney Back Into Congress?
When I lived in Stroudsburg, it was part of PA-11 and the congressman was a crooked old Wall Street Democrat, Paul Kanjorski. Back then the PVI was D+5 and Bush only managed to win 43% against Gore in 2000 and 47% against Kerry 4 years later. When Pennsylvania's avatar of xenophobia and racism, Lou Barletta first ran against Kanjorski in 2002, Kanjorski beat him 56-42%. Barletta was back in 2008 and made it much closer-- 52-48%. And then the Republican legislature did a major gerrymandering routine with giving Barletta, then the KKK hero mayor of Hazelton, a safe perch from which t... more »
Is A Vegan Diet Healthy?
[image: Is A Vegan Diet Healthy?] Before giving up animal products, I imagined vegans to be lean, fit, and healthy people. I had visions of charging up the side of a mountain with endless energy and never, ever, having to count calories or watch what I ate. During my first month without meat, my vision was becoming a reality. I felt great, lost weight and ate as much as I wanted. Veganism was the panacea ... the ultimate diet for weight control and health. And then, a strange thing began to happen. The weight I had lost began creeping back on. The energy I was enjoying ebbed a bit an... more »
Updates On Syria [2.16]: Brahimi Apologizes To The Syrian People For Geneva II Failure, Israhell Treats Jihadist Terrorists Wounded In Syria
*1. An excerpt from, "Brahimi's apology" by Clovis Maksoud, Al-Monitor, February 16:* Prompting Brahimi’s apology to the Syrian people was the “process” of both Geneva I and II, which constituted motion without movement — a precise description of the futility that characterized these so-called negotiations. The deadlock of the two Syrian parties should provide an impetus to act jointly, not just as power brokers for a speedy solution, but to uphold the doctrine of responsibility to protect civilians and coordinate with the United Nations to effectively end the growing humanitarian t... more »