24 December - My Feedly! - 2 of 2

This is a guest post by Lahoma Thomas , a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. This piece on reflexivity and positionality emerged from a panel she organized at APSA 2016, titled: “Race in the Field: Understanding How Identity Frames Field Research”and has evolved as one of her primary research agendas. Follow her on Twitter at @LAHOMAthomas . Th

Somewhat cranky and slightly under the weather Putin graced the foreign journalists with his presence for almost 4 hours. Starting right off the bat with some optimistic economic indicators (that he used to be able to juggle without any papers), the conference progressed with its predictable pace and predictable plot points: a bunch of questions on economy, token booed Ukrainian question, some da

This is a guest post from Kate Neville , an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and School of the Environment at the University of Toronto, and Matthew Hoffmann , a Professor in the Department of Political Science and Co-Director of the Environmental Governance Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto . [1] Things are not good.

On Sunday, the US Border Patrol fired tear gas into Mexico at migrants, including children, attempting to enter the US near the San Ysidro border crossing between Tijuana and San Diego. The use of a chemical weapon banned in war against families rightly provoked widespread condemnation (Border Patrol agents also used pepper spray against migrants in 2013, fired tear gas and pepper spray into Mexi

The United States is closing in on the 18 th anniversary of its first wartime death in Afghanistan, that of CIA operative Mike Spann, providing a melancholy opportunity to emphasize the role of grand strategy as a policymaking tool. To this end, I ask why the United States has done relatively poorly in so many of its so-called small wars, wars against much weaker adversaries. Its poor record is s

David Brook’s latest column in the New York Times, banging on the same themes about “the kids are just not right,” raises some questions about what it means to engage in radical politics in the Trump era. Brooks compares the younger generation’s belief “that the system itself is rotten and needs to be torn down” to accomodationist and gradualisms. He continues on to speculate about how these new

I don't feel there is anything of scientific value (other than as illustration of scientific incompetence of the "experts", and mass delusion on the part of the public) in the ongoing political climate debates, but in the interest of informing the many who still do not understand the most basic underpinnings of the debate (or war), I have made the following response, on the American Thinker site,

I have submitted the following comment to the American Thinker site, in response to an article about the degeneration of Scientific American magazine into a kind of "church organ" of materialistic science and, now, the Insane Left brought to political correctness by Barack Obama. I am of course most mindful of the sorry state of science today, not the political dissolution: First there was Charle

So there are two "progressive" video bloggers in the USA who I've been following. The first one I encountered is Sam Seder's " Majority Report " and the second one is Jimmy Dore's " The Jimmy Dore Show ." I've since discovered that Seder was originally the co-host of the show with Janeane Garofalo and that it ran on " Air America " and Dore began as part of an ensemble cast of a show on " The You

Last week Cardinal George Pell was found guilty of sexually abusing children by an Australian court and was subsequently fired by Pope Francis because he was “elderly.” https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/12/12/cardinal-pell-top-advisor-pope-francis-found-guilty-historical-sexual-offenses This is huge news in the secret world of finance, because Pell was the person in charge of financial m

The announcement on October 24, 2018 by Rothschild & Co that they are getting out of the trust business (i.e., managing other people’s money) is a major historical turning point that almost slipped by unnoticed. https://www.rothschildandco.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2018/10/24/rothschild-and-co-signs-agreement-sale-of-trust-business/ It was in 1769 that Mayer Rothschild, the founder of the dy

November 27, 2018: Manchu royal family members called today to warn of a Zionist plot to start World War III by provoking incidents in Korea and Crimea. “The people behind [French President Emmanuel] Macron are doing this,” the sources say. So it appears that the Zionists, fearful of imminent mass arrests for crimes against humanity, are attempting a Hail Mary maneuver to start their long-planned

In what future historians will look back on as a huge watershed event, the P2 Freemasons—worshipers of the Black Sun and creators of both fascism and communism—are suing for peace, White Dragon Society sources say. This, coming with the removal of the Rothschild family from control of central banks, means the world is about to enter uncharted historical waters. The P2 Freemasons are proposing tha

Since the death of Nazi Fourth Reich Fuhrer George Bush Sr., the battle for control of the world’s financial system, and thus of the process of deciding humanity’s future, is now centering on control of the SWIFT international interbank electronic transfer system. A final battle is taking place between the 13 bloodlines which have traditionally controlled the planet, and the meritocratic Gnostic

Greetings from Australia, Ben: Thank you so much for the narrative you provide us with on a weekly basis and for your direct involvement in the demise of “malevolents” by attempting to bring equality to those presently incarnated on this beautiful planet. The pictures below are of a naturally occurring phenomenon that usually occurs at the end of the dry season, when the atmosphere is all but dev

That's just horribly wrong. For the business boys. As for the children and the poor . . . . The horror! Steve, Gary: Couldn’t you just put a new tax on food stamps or check-cashing? You’re killin’ us. This could not possibly get worse, except if you hadn’t just engaged in the biggest transfer of wealth in the wrong direction in human history. Whaaaa, it can? Under the new tax law,

[Note: This is the fifth sample from my rough draft of a far from finished new book, Wild Free & Happy. I don’t plan on reviewing more books for a while. My blog is home to reviews of 199 books, and you are very welcome to explore them. The Search field on the right side will find words in the full contents of all rants and reviews, if you are interested in specific authors, titles, or subjects.]

Wild Free and Happy Sample 04 [Note: This is the fourth sample from my rough draft of a far from finished new book, Wild Free & Happy. I don’t plan on reviewing more books for a while. My blog is home to reviews of 199 books, and you are very welcome to explore them. The Search field on the right side will find words in the full contents of all rants and reviews, if you are interested in specific

Stephen Pyne is among the world’s foremost experts on fire, and the author of many books. California: A Fire Survey presents a blazing discussion on how fire has perplexed and bedeviled the Golden State. One of every nine Americans lives in California. Thanks to the arrival of industrial civilization, 170 years of rapid growth, and a culture devoted to the hardcore pursuit of wealth and excess, t

Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse on a light, lovely November 30, delightfully sans tourists By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1850 The rocky ledge runs far into the sea, And on its outer point, some miles away, The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry, A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day. Even at this distance I can see the tides, Upheaving, break unheard along its base, A speechless wrath, that r

Sharm-El-Sheikh, 29th November 2018 : The 14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ended today with an agreement on the preparatory process for a post-2020 global framework, moving us closer to a transformational New Deal for Nature and People in 2020 - a vital step to ramp up global efforts to halt today's unprecedented and dangerous b

The Conference of the Parties (COP 14), of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is currently being held in Egypt. The meeting will end 29 November and has the post 2020 objective of increasing national and international efforts to stop and reverse the loss of biodiversity and protect natural ecosystems that support our life on Earth. The program Colombia Heritage played a

Like his genuinely popular and admired successor, Charles Kennedy , Paddy Ashdown cut a charismatic if not avuncular figure among the big beasts and creepy crawlies of the Westminster jungle. As the publisher's blurb for his 2010 autobiography says, "Ashdown’s appeal ... is that he transcends party political allegiances, and is seen as a genuinely honest and decent man unafraid to take on the har

The parliamentary choreography was clumsy, but we got there in the end. Mid afternoon Twitter was all aflutter with the news that Jeremy Corbyn was going to table a no confidence vote, something he'd been under pressure to table since Theresa May pulled her vote . Corbyn's threat, for that is what it was, promised a no confidence vote in the Prime Minister if she didn't name a date for the vote o

And so government is planning for a Threads Brexit after all, the sort that will see imports held up, medicines vanish from hospital pharmacies and 3,500 troops on the street to "assist" the authorities. As Theresa May is accused of deliberately running the clock down to get her Brexit deal through, Amber Rudd is doing her heir apparent best to assure the world that no deal's not going to happen,

Overall, 109,066 votes were cast over 55 local authority (tier one and tier two) contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. For comparison you can view Quarter Three's results here . Party Number of Candidates Total Vote % +/- Q3 +/- Q4 2017 Average +/- Seats Conservative 54 35,358 32.4% -2.0% +0.0% 655 -2 Labour 51 34,292 31.4% +0.7% -3.3% 672 -1 LibDem 47 21,769

This month saw 28,494 votes cast over 12 local authority (tier one and tier two) contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. Just two council seats changed hands in total. For comparison with November's results, see here . Party Number of Candidates Total Vote % +/- Nov +/- Dec17 Average/ Contest +/- Seats Conservative 12 6,732 23.6% -13.5% -2.5% 561 0 Labour 10 8,6

Call me perverse, call me morbid. For years I've looked forward to attending a funeral. This isn't to mark the death of some hated acquaintance or public figure. No, the dream is the demise of an institution, the entirely welcome expiration of the Conservative Party. I want to be there when it is lowered into the ground, to make sure the earth is heaped upon its blasted coffin and check, check, a

and the commie/marxist/libtards swoon. Daily Mail hails this as "dressing for success." Uh, okay. Last minute deals at Amazon . If you Prime, you'll get them before Christmas.

you really should watch this - at least twice. We can thank the media for a good part of the ills of this world. There are bad people. There always will be bad people. There are good people, and always will be good people. The media is going to make damn sure you only hear from and about the bad people. Governor Bevin is talking about our degraded culture, driven by the media in my opinion, to gl

is ignorance really bliss? For the past week having sketchy internet service has prompted me to discover a few things. The first thing I discovered is when you know that your access may only last for five to fifteen minutes, you eliminate a gazillion sites you usually spend waste time perusing. Take time to enjoy the beauty of the world The second thing I discovered is that the surfing aimlessly

perfect representatives for the party of commie/marxist/libtards. Watching this travesty of a "debate" with Nancy Pelosi waving her hands about and actually making an opening statement referring to the meeting as "coming together to have a prayerful" debate should set your teeth on edge. Pelosi makes it known that she would much rather have a "private" meeting and then maybe go out and spin some

the reason? Gonzaga University’s vice president of student development, Judi Biggs Garbuio, denied the school’s College Republicans chapter’s request to bring Shapiro to campus, citing protests and safety issues, and arguing that such an event would go against Gonzaga’s mission statement. Mr. Shapiro’s appearances routinely draw protests that include extremely divisive and hateful speech and beha

and you should believe me. Mueller is so stupid that he doesn't even realize he just dumped all over his "star" witness. If a man lies under oath once, he'll do it again. The only people buying into this nonsense are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome™ and will believe anything that they think shows Trump in a bad light. President Trump’s former attorney — Michael Cohen — has pleaded guilt

I think of Apollo 8 in terms of transformation. As Al Jackson explains so well in the essay that follows, a lunar mission in December of 1968 seemed impossible for NASA and pushed technologies and procedures not yet tested into immediate action. But if Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders got Apollo back on its arbitrary and highly dangerous schedule, they did something as well for a college

Centauri Dreams posts will unfortunately be sporadic over the next couple of weeks as I attend to some unrelated matters. But I do have several excellent upcoming articles already in the pipeline, including Al Jackson on Apollo 8 at the end of this week. Al, you’ll recall, was involved in Apollo as astronaut trainer on the Lunar Module Simulator, so his thoughts on the program’s extraordinary suc

Voyager 2 has now gone interstellar, making it not only NASA’s single longest-running mission but one of only two spacecraft that have crossed over from the heliosphere to true interstellar space, what scientists call the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM). On that note, it’s interesting to put the Solar System in context. Depending on how you define the term, the Solar System takes in a great deal

Some relatives of a friend recently made me realize how routine exoplanet discoveries have become to the public. These are anything but astronomy buffs, but they know that planets can be found without ever being seen. My acquaintances may not understand radial velocity or transits to any high degree, but they accept that the methods are there and have proven reliable. “Someday,” said one, “I gues

The right kind of atmosphere may keep a planet habitable even if it crowds the inner region of the habitable zone. But atmospheric evolution involves many things, including the kind of geological activity our own planet has experienced, leading to sudden, deep extinctions. Centauri Dreams regular Alex Tolley today takes a look at a new paper that examines the terrestrial extinction of marine spec

Almost all the exoplanets we know have been detected in evolved stellar systems, places where the protoplanetary disk has dissipated and the planets around the star can be observed. Seeing inside a disk in formation is tricky business, though prominent studies at stars like Beta Pictoris have told us much about the evolution of these disks as planets do begin to emerge. But just how common are di

Even the neo-con warmongers’ house journal The Guardian, furious at Trump’s attempts to pull US troops out of Syria, in producing a map to illustrate its point, could only produce one single, uncertain, very short pen stroke to describe the minute strip of territory it claims ISIS still control on the Iraqi border. Of course, the Guardian produces the argument that continued US military presence

The right wing Ecuadorean government of President Moreno continues to churn out its production line of fake documents regarding Julian Assange, and channel them straight to MI6 mouthpiece Luke Harding of the Guardian. Amazingly, more Ecuadorean Government documents have just been discovered for the Guardian, this time spy agency reports detailing visits of Paul Manafort and unspecified “Russians”

The British state can maintain its spies’ cover stories for centuries. Look up Eldred Pottinger, who for 180 years appears in scores of British history books – right up to and including William Dalrymple’s Return of the King – as a British officer who chanced to be passing Herat on holiday when it came under siege from a partly Russian-officered Persian army, and helped to organise the defences.

London’s Supreme Court, sitting in judgement on its Scottish colony, has ruled that parts of the Scottish Government’s UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill exceed the powers of the Scottish Parliament. The judgement is absolutely specific that the Scottish Bill breaches both the Scotland Act, the original devolution settlement, and the Tory/DUP government’s rec

I have only ever been able to discern two underlying motivations in Theresa May’s career; a love of office and a hatred of immigrants. It is possible to love office without loving power; loving power means you want to do something with it, whereas loving office is just for prestige and personal economic opportunity. I do not imagine May’s hatred of immigrants is driven by actual racism, easy thou

Regular readers know I have largely steered clear of discussing Brexit for the three years its possibility then prospect has dominated the UK political agenda. I used to be enthusiastically pro-EU, as part of my general outlook of supporting international law and organisations. I was however shocked, deeply, by the enthusiastic support of all three institutional strands – council, commission and

Happy Holidays! It may take a few days for its perpetrators to admit this, but Alberta has all but certainly already passed Peak Separatism. The current 2018 spasm of Alberta separatist sentiment peaked late last week, probably some time Thursday afternoon. By the time we’re all saying Happy New Year to each other, the Alberta independence “threat” will be fading into history, again, worth a chuc

Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended Dec. 16, 2018. The lists are compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Kingdom of the Blind – Louise Penny 2. This Wound is a World – Billy-Ray Belcourt * + 3. French Exit – Patrick deWitt 4. Split Tooth – Tanya Tagaq 5. By

There’s smoke! Is there fire? On Friday, StarMetro’s Edmonton and Calgary editions reported that the Office of the Elections Commissioner has hired a retired Edmonton Police detective to dig into reports Jeff Callaway’s 2017 “kamikaze” United Conservative Party leadership campaign was illegally funded. Ken Brander, who has a background investigating fraud, money laundering and organized crime, wi

With the announcement of the Freedom Conservative Party’s election platform yesterday, leader Derek Fildebrandt appears to have taken Alberta’s already bizarre case of Trudeau Derangement Syndrome to a new level – one that is actually deranged! To do so, Mr. Fildebrandt had to execute a rare political triple flip-flop. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. If there’s ever a move to r

It was nice for Alberta’s New Democratic Party Government that the first thing the price of Alberta heavy crude did the morning after Premier Rachel Notley’s announcement her government would cap production of Alberta oil by 8.7 per cent for three months was to squirt upward. On Friday night, Western Canadian Select was trading at $21.93 US per barrel. By the end of the day yesterday, the Alberta

Recent political developments in France and Alberta, though quite different in tone, suggest carbon taxes may not be a viable way to address climate change – leastways not without reaching an unlikely consensus they must be imposed. You may not believe me yet, but you can count on it, politicians on the right, left and centre are all paying attention to the problems encountered by carbon taxes an

From Jenna Orkin SACHA BARON COHEN’S ‘WHO IS AMERICA?’ DELETED SCENE MAY HAVE EXPOSED ELITE PEDOPHILE SEX RING "According to Baron Cohen, the FBI decided against pursuing the tip." NOW MATTIS ADMITS THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE ASSAD USED POISON GAS ON HIS PEOPLE: OPINION Certain antibiotics may cause aortic aneurysm, FDA warns Some evangelicals are opening their homes to help Central American asylum se

From Jenna Orkin Declassified Records Show CIA's Involvement in Effort to Discredit Daniel Ellsberg Roger Stone admits to InfoWars lies, settles lawsuit A.G. Underwood And Acting Tax Commissioner Manion Announce Record $330 Million Settlement With Sprint In Groundbreaking False Claims Act Litigation Involving Unpaid Sales Tax Education as Dumbing Down Tool 2018 was going to be the year Mark Zucke

From Jenna Orkin Europe Bans Airport Scanners for Health and Safety Concerns McCain Was Responsible For Steele Dossier Leak Major British airport forced to shut down for at least 19 hours by someone flying drones over the runway Peak Deep Fake - Nvidia's Scary AI Generates Humans That Look 100% Real Romania Stocks Plunge 12% On Proposed Bank "Greed Tax" The massive ocean cleanup device invented b

From Jenna Orkin US Added to Most Dangerous Country for Journalists for First Time Why Flint Still Doesn't Have Clean Water What happens when an earthquake hits near a nuclear plant? Earthships post . UK Puts 3,500 Troops On Standby, Reserves Space For 'Emergency Supplies' As May Ramps Up 'No Deal' Planning In Drastic Reversal, US Set For "Full Withdrawal" From Syria As Trump Claims Victory Over

From Jenna Orkin TRUMP WANTS TO RECLASSIFY RADIOACTIVE WASTE FROM NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO 'LOW LEVEL' SO DISPOSAL IS CHEAPER Vet who posed next to dead lion he killed falls 100ft to his death while ... China made an artificial star that's 6 times hotter than the sun and it could be the future of energy Facebook admits it allowed Netflix and Spotify to access your private messages Wall Street Turns Apo

From Jenna Orkin Inside the Mysterious Intelligence Firm Now in Mueller’s Sights Illinois is officially a ‘sanctuary state’ for immigrants Home-Schooling Parent In Worcester Was Arrested In Her Home. Now She's Suing Malaysia files criminal charges against Goldman Sachs and two ex-bankers seeking 'well in excess' of $2.7 billion China Press Warns To "Prepare For Escalation Of Conflict With Canada"

* This is my article in BusinessWorld last December 11, 2018. Singapore — Freedom means mobility and more mobility means more freedom. The modern symbols of mobility are comfortable and fast cars, buses, motorcycles, airplanes, fast crafts and roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ships. I am attending here the official launching of the ASEAN Prosperity Initiative (API) today at Intercontinental Singapore. API

A good analysis of the GreenPeace (GP) business model was made by five scientist-authors including GP co-founder Patrick Moore. They noted that "Although Greenpeace relies heavily on marketing, advertising, and free market principles, they promote socialist and anti-capitalist ideals in their messaging." They further observed, "Greenpeace is a very successful business. Their business model can be

* This is my column in BusinessWorld last December 7, 2018. The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons reaching the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) championship this year was so spectacular, the spectacle is easily seen in two things: quick scarcity of game tickets and hyper-inflation of available ones. UP became the UAAP champion in men’s basketball only tw

A friend, citizen scientist Willis Eschenbach , posted in fb below and I am sharing/reposting it. Trump is correct in pulling US troops out of Syria. Mattis strongly objected to this move, among others, then it is good that he resigned. I like Mattis' sending of US warships at the WPS/SCS as part of their FONOPs, these are non-permanent structures or bases. But I don't like continued, long-term U

* This is my article in BusinessWorld last December 05, 2018 “The rapid economic advance that we have come to expect seems in a large measure to be the result of this inequality and to be impossible without it. Progress at such a fast rate cannot proceed on a uniform front but must take place in echelon fashion, with some far ahead of the rest.” — Friedrich Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty (196

Last September, I have a brief email discussion with some friends and former classmates from UPSE in the 80s. A summary of those points: 1. On scale of economy -- PH economy has momentum mainly because of our big population. Our GDP size doubles about every two decades on average. 2. Poverty reduction, what to do -- Adam Smith the poor. Don’t give too many freebies, forever subsidies. But if the

Vicomte Leon de Poncins (1897-1976) a traditional Catholic French intellectual, was the author of 30 books that exposed the Masonic Jewish (Illuminati) conspiracy which today holds mankind in its thrall. Most Jews (and Christians) are not aware that Judaism is defined by the Talmud & Cabala, not the Old Testament. They are unaware that Judaism is a satanic cult which uses them to politically and

(Left, the Hermit card from 2017 Economist Cover. Yellow vests say no to EU and TTIP fuel tax.) The Yellow Vest revolt may be genuine but French citizen Jean L raises some red flags. There is evidence the bankers initiated it as false opposition but may have lost control. by Jean L (henrymakow.com) Last week my grandson informed me of two curious facts about the current movement of the Yellow Jac

If we don't create our own reality, society will do it for us. When I say, "it's all in your head," I do not mean that there is no objective reality. I mean that we largely determine our experience by virtue of the thoughts we entertain. Our minds have been hijacked, programmed by society and our personal demons. We want to feel good but are driving ourselves crazy instead. We feel helpless but f

US companies also violated the US boycott of Iran but their executives were not arrested. Neocon Jews are trying to embarrass Trump and exacerbate relations with China and Iran. Trump says he is willing to intervene if it helps secure a trade deal. Meanwhile China may have detained a second Canadian in retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Ms Meng Wanzhou, who has been granted bail

( Left. Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (1798-1857) Over 160 years ago, the Freemason August Comte wanted to perfect society by removing men from procreation. Disguised as "gender equality," women would be elevated to "goddess" status. This occult (satanist) plot has succeeded in destabilizing society because women are naturally hypergamous (seeking someone of higher status and power.

( Cardinal Francis George (1937-2015) tried to resist Jewish pressure. Conservative Catholics helped crucify him.) "Catholic traditionalist movement" exerts a subtle but devastatingly masochistic influence on the wider Catholic culture. Indeed, if the Catholic trad movement didn't exist, the globalists would have had to invent it. Then again perhaps they did." -Jude Duffy By the early nineties, s

As House Democratic leaders prepare to reclaim power this January, they are clamping down on insurgent progressive initiatives like the Green New Deal, which could be sidelined in favor of a broader climate committee with limited powers. Despite pledges from at least 43 Democrats to support a Green New Deal select committee—including prominent representatives like Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and John

In response to reports on Thursday that the Democratic leadership is taking steps to revive a defunct climate change panel, progressive groups and youth climate leaders warned that the move is an attempt by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and others to kill the surging demand for a Green New Deal Select Committee and called it a failure to fight for "solutions on the scale we need"

TRENTON, N.J.—One day after being arrested and charged with possession of a weapon in November 2017, Brandon Darby, 51, was ushered into a room with three small cubicles, each with its own small television screen. A judge, communicating virtually through the screen, read Darby his charges and told him his score from New Jersey’s new risk-assessment algorithm. On a scale of one to six (six being t

de • growth noun 1. A decrease in the energy and raw material used by human economies, and a managed decline in GDP 2. The movement to bring about this decrease in an equitable, sustainable and democratic manner An economic decline—isn’t that called a depression? It’s true that economic contraction usually hits the poor the hardest. But, degrowthers contend, economic expansion doesn’t always help

In many ways, 2018 was a political garbage fire of a year. From the confirmation of conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to the imposition of fascist border policies to President Trump’s continued attacks on everything from workers’ rights to the very planet itself, the year saw plenty of reasons for dismay. But it wasn’t all bad. There were a number of important victories ov

Conservatives are generally understood to have won the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court has a far-right conservative majority, which is poised to further weaken federal regulatory agencies, civil rights and unions . The Court has moved so far to the right that Chief Justice John Roberts—who has presided over the most pro-corporate Court in recent history— may now be the Court’s new “swing vote.” Si

This month there have been several large (in excess of 7.0) earthquakes in Russia ( here ), in the South Pacific ( here ), and now in Indonesia an active volcano caused a tsunami that just killed in excess of 43 people and injured in excess of 584 ( here ). Is the ring of fire more active than usual? In May of 2018, a blogger at Accuweather responded NO to this question but I have to wonder wheth

There are many populisms - not one. See this discussion by Paul Street at Counterpunch here . Street's analysis offers many insights but may over-generalize and polarize "good" and "bad" populisms in his account. Efforts to capture populism in media and academic representations are prone to categorization and simplification but what is critical about populism is that established symbolic and inst

Lisa Girion (2018, December 14). Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its baby powder. Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/johnsonandjohnson-cancer/ Reuters has produced a significant collection of evidence incriminating Johnson&Johnson in the deliberate cover-up of asbestos risks from its baby powder . I remember in high school my friends and I woul

My disaster ap says the first one was 7.3 epicenter 83km WSW of Nikol'skoye Russia and the second one was 5.6 epicenter 73km W of the same locale. Third one is 5.6, epicenter 91km WSW same locale. Map available here: https://www.sfgate.com/earthquakes/article/Magnitude-7-4-earthquake-strikes-near-11295162.php

The Mainichi is reporting good news for Fukushima evacuees, as Japan's Supreme Court orders TEPCO to compensate voluntary evacuees. In my 2 books on the subject, Fukushima and the Privatization of Risk (2013, Palgrave) and Crisis Communications, Liberal Democracy and Ecological Sustainability (2016, Lexington) I address the disastrous evacuations resulting from poor communications and unwillingne

Nuclear proliferation is a direct effect of the nature and operations of the nuclear complex. In the US, both Democrats and Republicans have promoted nuclear technology abroad to enrich US and allies' nuclear industries and to entice countries into the US nuclear fold, whose limits on recycling and enrichment are clearly ignored by some nations. Today the Saudis are eager for developing their "ci

Donald Trump's buffoonery can leave you in despair. But Michelle Goldberg writes , in The New York Times , that there is reason to hope: The Democratic landslide in the midterms proved that the laws of political gravity haven’t been suspended; Trump’s incompetence, venality and boorishness had electoral consequences. Further, it was a year of justice and accountability for at least some of those

In Ontario, things get more Trumpian by the day. Martin Regg Cohn writes : Loyalty to the leader is paramount. Fidelity to law enforcement comes second. Sound familiar? Just ask our American friends, who have been wrestling with the spectre of obstruction of justice ever since Donald Trump won the presidency — and trampled on the FBI by firing its director, James Comey. Now, Ontarians are facing

Theresa May faces a non confidence vote today, Ian Birrell writes in The Guardian: It is hard not to conclude that the Tory hard right are intent on destroying their party and handing the country to Jeremy Corbyn as they move to depose Theresa May at this point in the corrosive Brexit process. Yes, she has made a series of dire mistakes, including triggering article 50 with no idea of how to achi

Donald Trump and his acolytes insist that "a vast left wing conspiracy" is trying to do the president in. Lawrence Martin writes : That’s a frequent claim by Mr. Trump’s defenders, including former campaign operatives like David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski in their new book The President’s Enemies: How The Deep State is Undermining The Presidency. The authors blame the old ruling class, as does

I''ve just discovered a raft of of comments that I didn't know were made to this blog. I apologize for their tardiness. Apparently, not all comments have come to my email. I'll make a point of checking comments on the blog, not just my email.

Republicans have been rigging elections for decades. But, after the November mid-terms, they're on steroids, making sure that Democrats don't take control. E. J. Dionne writes : Not so the Republicans in Wisconsin. Having lost the governorship, they’re using a lame-duck session of the legislature to strip Evers of many powers they were perfectly content to see Republican Gov. Scott Walker exercis

Sunday.... And with 2 shopping days left until Christmas, here comes my usual rant... First, I have indeed been suffering from some intense back and shoulder pains this last while... Part of it is due to my own stupidity when I was doing some home renovations about a month and a half ago and I tweeked my back... But rather than actually take a break and stop doing some heavy lifting and some majo

My apologies to my readers for my absence this last while... As many are aware, I have been suffering from some severe neck and back problems lately, and after consulting a doctor, I have decided to take a little "mini break" for some much needed rest and relaxation to allow it to heal properly and to alleviate some stress that may be the cause of my pains.. I am therefore going to have to lessen

I have been tracking the events happening in Syria for years now, with the emphasis on how that entire 'civil war' was nothing of the sort, but actually an attempt by the most evil and diabolical so called "criminal cabal" composed of the US, Israel, and NATO, to turn the nation into a puppet state so that they could extract Syria's oil wealth for next to nothing as well as have their newest Oil p

I have been following the so called "war" in Yemen now for years, and I have had no qualms in stating the real truth that this war is absolutely a genocidal war being conducted by the criminals in the Saudi regime with the goal being the mass murder of Yemen civilians... It is also a fact that the US Government has aided the Saudis in the mass slaughter of Yemen's people through their weapons sale

It is Sunday again... And 8 shopping days until Christmas... And here comes my usual weekend rant.. I was out and about yesterday, doing a lot of personal business as well as doing some Christmas shopping... But as usual I have found it hard to find anything for my better half, for she always says these days that she does not need anything.... It is typical and leaves me with having to figure out

OK... OK... I have received a lot of emails and some comments asking WHY I have not put in my own "two cents worth" in terms of the revolt happening right now in France against the criminal Rothschild controlled Macron regime that has ruined the French nation.... I had put in a lot of my own thoughts already in my last few weekend rants, but some feel that was not enough... So I will indeed delve

This BBC report https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46665615 shows a lack of enthusiasm with the Israeli technology: 'Authorities finally regained control over the airfield early on Friday after the Army deployed unidentified military technology. It is believed that the Israeli-developed Drone Dome system, which can jam communications between the drone and its operator, was used. However, exper

https://youtu.be/8I0teMkQfZo

From The Daily Mash https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/features/jeremy-corbyns-guide-to-a-progressive-socialist-christmas 'WITH shopping to do and parties to go to, it's easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas – international socialism. Here's how to have a left-wing festive season. Avoid militarist films Reject capitalist war profiteering by not watching militarist propaganda like The Great Esc

Guido Fawkes reoirtsyhttps:// order-order.com/2018/12/17/junckers-christmas-pay-rise-gives-e32700-month/ that: 'President Juncker will be able to afford a many more boozy lunches in 2019. As a result of a Christmas pay rise, from January bureaucrats in the EU will be paid more than €20,000 a month, Commissioners will be paid €26,600 a month, and President Juncker will be paid a whopping €32,700 a

'British taxpayers are still funding 'lessons in hate' at Palestinian schools more than a year after ministers were told they could be inciting violence against Israel. It emerged last year that the Department for International Development has helped pay the salaries of officials who drew up a new curriculum that teaches children the virtues of becoming a jihadi. Plays put on at schools and summe

The BBC report https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-46576716 have a one-sided view of the status of Jerusalem. 'The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel regards Jerusalem as its "eternal