Monday, June 17, 2013

17 June - Blogs I'm Following

3:50pm MDST

"NSA Surveillance: American As Apple Spy"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 minute ago
Rep. Alan Grayson, "NSA Surveillance: American As Apple Spy" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffSD2zRX-kQ&html5=1 • Verizon, huh? You mean like those clowns from Ashburn, Virginia who have spent so much time right here on this little blog lately? - CP

Brian's Blog: Fix The World Documentary & A Quick Update

Brian Kelly at AMERICAN KABUKI - 2 minutes ago
*Fix The World Documentary* June 17, 2013 My apologies to all of those patiently waiting for me to write about my thoughts and perceptions of the trip to Morocco. The day after I got back I was already back in the car on a trip up the California coast to visit a few of Brittany's friends for a BBQ/Engagement party. So, today is the first day I've had to unwind from the long journey. I'm sure I will have an opportunity to discuss some of the details on tonight's radio show, but I promise to also put together a blog post (with plenty of pictures!) to fill in the gaps for w... more »

Open borders: not have, or not to have—that is today’s question.

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 4 minutes ago
The Freeman website hosts a ‘debate’ between two allegedly libertarian authors on the subject of open borders: to have, or not to have. The allegedly libertarian A.M. Fantini argues that if we “apply libertarian principles to the real world” then “if an immigrant arrives who eschews assimilation, derides local customs, rejects cultural norms and mores, and believes in ideas and values that are directly opposed to classical liberalism … then even the staunchest advocate of open borders should think twice.” Grounds then, you would have thought, for mass eviction in most polities—and... more »

Chicago's Busy Fathers' Day Weekend

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 7 minutes ago
Big Fathers' Day weekend in Chi-town. 46 people shot in under 72-hours. That's approaching Baghdad-level violence. What do kids buy Dad for Fathers' Day in Chicago - ammo? *While mass shootings are more likely to attract the headlines — by ThinkProgress’ count there have been 14 since December — everyday gun violence in the U.S. adds up to a Newtown every single day (Slate counts more than 5,000 gun deaths since December). * ** *Gun advocates tend to use Chicago to argue that gun violence laws are not effective. Chicago has some of the strictest laws in the nation — it had a ban ... more »

"Orwell Revisited: Privacy in the Age of Surveillance"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 15 minutes ago
* * *"Orwell Revisited: Privacy in the Age of Surveillance" * By John W. Whitehead “You had to live- did live, from habit that became instinct- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.” - George Orwell, "1984" "There’s a reason George Orwell’s 1984 is a predominant theme in my new book "A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State." It’s the same reason Orwell’s dystopian thriller about a futuristic surveillance society has skyrocketed to the top of book charts in the wake of recent revelations... more »

How Long Is The World's Memory?

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 36 minutes ago
*Source of photo*. The U.S. government is constantly trying to reshape perceptions about past events, mold the world's memories to its liking, and alter perceptions of the consequences of U.S. wars. With the helpful aid of the "mainstream" media, they've done a pretty good job at creating fake memories about the most important events of this century, especially the 9/11 false flag attacks and the fake assassination of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. One of the reasons Washington is able to get away with crimes against humanity like funding Jihadist terrorists in Syria, which it has ... more »

Jonathan Bernstein captures the culture!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 36 minutes ago
*MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013* *There’s no harm in rumor and guesswork:* At the Columbia Journalism Review, Brendan Nyhan observed the inane reactions to Hillary Clinton’s recent tweets, as we did last week. He then asked a question which pretty much answers itself: “Will all 2016 coverage be this dumb? TBD...” Will *all* the coverage be this dumb? Based on twenty-plus years of precedent, the answer will almost surely be yes. Nyhan’s piece would have been much more valuable if he had simply said that. Will the inanity persist through another White House cycle? Almost surely, the answer ... more »

Breaking: Boehner Is Constrained By His Conference.

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 48 minutes ago
There's a lot of nonsense on the "Hastert Rule" going around, and a lot of nonsense on John Boehner as a "weak" Speaker. I've talked about many times, but here's the short version: There's just no way that a Speaker is going to habitually do things that his conference doesn't want. Any Speaker who did that wouldn't last very long at all. A Speaker isn't "weak" because he's constrained that way; Nancy Pelosi was equally constrained by her caucus, and so were Jim Wright and Newt Gingrich, and so are all of them. That doesn't need to be incorporated into any formal rule; it's just how ... more »

Will We Have To Go Back To Drinking Wine Instead of Water Because Of Corporate Pollution?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 50 minutes ago
If you were listening to NPR Saturday, you may have heard their report about water rights in the U.S. "Oil was probably the fluid of last century where there was a lot of turmoil, and I think water is the fluid of this century," explained Michael Walsh, a major general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. So often, we take water for granted. We turn on the faucet and there it is. We assume it's our right in America to have water. And yet, water is a resource. It's not always where we need it, or there when we need it. Rivers don't follow political boundaries-- they flow throug... more »

SELLING HIGH TECH WAR

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 hour ago
This is video of the Directed Energy Weapons lobby set up in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. The Military Industrial Complex is not shy about courting members of Congress. They had models of all of their little (big) weapons on display, sandwiches and drinks, chocolates and little gadgets to give away.

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 hour ago
*New Orleans alt-weekly fires ‘know-it-all’ columnist for plagiarism ~Jim Romenesko*

On Speaking Out Loud....

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 2 hours ago
By American Kabuki My friend Carmelle came along right before my encounter with Heather Tucci-Jarraf and paved the way for me as to how to live in the now and manifesting my own reality. The universe manifested this wonderful being to get me up to speed for my encounter with the OPPT. One of the things Carmelle has said is to speak my needs out loud. I am not so good at that kind of thing, you probably notice I don't do a whole lot of Internet radio shows, and I need to change that. When I was a child I spoke my mind quite openly, but that was not too popular with my father a... more »

Have Canadians Won the Man-Powered Helicopter Challenge?

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 2 hours ago
The Canadian team, AeroVelo, may have won the prize for the first, man-powered helicopter flight. Here's the tweet they sent yesterday: "*Hit 3.3 metres & 65 sec on our flight. Submitted the flight to the American Helicopter Society; waiting for validation before commenting.*" The competition requires helicopter flight, solely human-powered, to a height greater than 3-metres for a duration of 60-seconds. The helicopter has to remain within a small, 10-square metre area. The winner takes the Sikorsky prize of $250,000. Here's the AeroVelo Atlas. The pilot is on the bicycle in th... more »

The perverse joys of anti-capitalism

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 2 hours ago
Turkish trade unions are calling for a 24-hour general strike on Monday with demonstrations to converge on the recently cleared Taksim Square in Istanbul. It's a perverse comfort that no matter where you go the main unions are a little bit crap. What do we need, comrades? I'll tell you what we need. We need a token one-day strike after the movement has been battered off the streets. We need one more belated gesture, comrades, one more - that'll show 'em!

Snowden isn't lying, he's bragging

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 2 hours ago
Been processing this story for a while now and reviewing the sum of Snowden's leaks so far. The more Snowden talks the less credible he seems, particularly when he has to revise the dramatic details of his life as Edward Snowden, international spy. Looking at his language carefully, he's not so much telling us what the government *is* doing. He's describing what he *can* do, as a paid outside agent of the government. Or at least he *could* have done if he had stayed undercover. Meanwhile as Snowden makes the story about himself, an important point is being lost. Namely, Snowden is ... more »

Nuclear Logic (Why Lautenberg Probably Doesn't Matter)

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 2 hours ago
Greg has some reporting out today on the concerns among Senate Democratsthat Frank Lautenberg's death may tip things against majority-imposed reform; with several Democratic defections possible and at least a couple likely, losing that one sure vote for reform could be the difference. I don't question his reporting -- that is, I'm sure that Democrats are saying what he reports they're saying -- but I don't really believe it. I continue to believe it's highly unlikely that the Democrats will act unless they're very close to being unanimous. One defection, maybe; two, perhaps; more, a... more »

Abortion? What a Riot!!!

noreply@blogger.com (fern hill) at DAMMIT JANET! - 3 hours ago
Bloggers rejoice! What could possibly go wrong with the RAPEublicans' plan to make abortion funny. “How do you make abortion funny?” That was a key question mulled at a major conservative gathering Friday on how to make social conservatism appealing to young people, after an election where Republicans got trounced in the battle for millennial voters (who are are moving even further and further away from the Christian-right on marriage and other issues). Abortion has to be made funny, the thinking goes, because funny sells on social media, and that’s where one goes to court young peo... more »

Blog Comments have been turned on...

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 3 hours ago
I have turned back on blog comments and will do my best to moderate them as I can. There was simply no way for me to keep up with the work load earlier so we'll see how this goes on a trial basis. -American Kabuki

The manuscript of survival – part 324

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 3 hours ago
* * * * *The manuscript of survival – part 324 * June 16, 2013 Aisha North Fear, pain, struggle and toil. For many, this will be a very accurate description of the last few days, and for all of you, you have been in touch with at least one component of this heady mix of conflicting symptoms lately. For yes, they are indeed symptoms of a profound transformation taking place within you all, and as all symptoms go, they can in may ways effectively mask the reason for their appearance. For all of these unpleasant effects can easily be classified as negative, and for some, even be cons... more »

DAVID ICKE EXPLAINED

Anon at aangirfan - 3 hours ago
*David Icke. Does the CIA use 'holographic reptile imagery', and drugs, as part of its mind control programme? * In a recent edition of Rupert Murdoch's Zionist *Sunday Times, *Will Storr had an article about David Icke. It's a jungle out there | The Sunday Times Storr attempts to discredit Icke. *Will Storr* Will Storr would appear to be a Materialist, who has had a few problems in life. "Plagued by 'delusional jealousy, pathological drinking and theft', Will Storr just about retained the ability to function in his own life, but clung none the less to the presumption that pe... more »

You have no idea of the wonders that await you

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 3 hours ago
* * * * *You have no idea of the wonders that await you* 06/16/2013 by John Smallman When the moment for humanity’s awakening arrives – as it most surely will because it is God’s Will – joy and amazement will engulf you all. You have no idea of the wonders that await you – wonders that will uplift and inspire even the most skeptical among you. Once humanity has awakened you will find yourselves in a different world, one that has changed out of all recognition, and yet, it will also be the same world! That is indeed a paradox, one that you will understand with absolute clarity wh... more »

Iraq Prime Minister Maliki’s State Of Law Fighting Back For Control of Provinces

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 3 hours ago
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law (SOL) was the biggest winner in the 2013 local elections, but things have not worked out the way it planned. It came away with wins in seven provinces, Baghdad, Basra, Babil, Qadisiyah, Dhi Qar, Karbala, and Muthanna. The premier was hoping that this would be a stepping stone to the 2014 parliamentary vote. Things quickly turned against him however, when the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) broke an early deal with State of Law, and aligned with the Sadr Trend’s Liberal bloc to try to shut out him out. Maliki is now fighting back ... more »

Told You So:  New World Order Proceeds On Schedule -  Answering More (Than Assange's) Questions About the Media's New Favorite Treasoner (Leaker)

If you haven't figured out yet why all the great leakers leave 9/11 alone . . . you've got some more surprises upcoming. UK's Cameron Rallies World Leaders to N.Ireland Sweeping US-EU Trade Talks To Start in July Investors Guess Fed's Actions, Push Stocks Higher Food Companies Work To Make It Look Natural Billionaire's Coal Struggles Irking Biz Owners "When you do business with a

Tommy and Andrew, the day after

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 4 hours ago
The above post seems to have generated an unprecedented number of page-views, at least for this modest blog. Since Craig and I are not in the business of self-promotion and don’t self-link or Tweet, the attraction must have been the title ‘Andrew and Tommy’ which pops up near the top of the list when you Google Andrew Neil and Tommy Robison. Note to self: must remember Google when blogging. It was written in the heat of the moment, obviously. It might have been a little knee-jerk and reflexive. Later I read other interesting takes, but apart from the Huffpo article most bloggers a... more »

Syria- G8. Why the chemical weapon lie? John Bolton opines

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 4 hours ago
*Geez.* The Western media is so full of nonsense and bravado today! No wonder most citizens from the so called ‘civilized nations’ are soooooo..... ignorant. Trying to find an article of substance regarding the G-8 meeting is difficult. Thankfully Chinese media had a decent one. *Xinhua-U.S., Russia able to overcome differences on Syria by "minimum consensus"* Despite disagreements on the Syrian crisis, the United States and Russia are expected to reach at least "minimum consensus" on ways to overcome the obstacles facing the Geneva peace conference likely to take place in July, an... more »

Out of This World - What Does Walt Natynczyk Have That Canada Needs for Space?

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 4 hours ago
In my humble opinion, no Canadian general directly associated with the fiasco of our war in Afghanistan should be a candidate for government perks. That's certainly true for Rick Hiller who, by all accounts misled then prime minister Martin, into approving Canada's shoestring Kandahar combat caper. It should likewise hold true for the army general who succeeded Hillier and headed the armed forces for the past four years, Walt Natynczyk. Afghanistan wasn't Walt's only failed war. He also led the 35,000 strong Multi-National Corps (Iraq) during *Operation Iraqi Freedom*, the disa... more »

Assad Says Europe's Backing of Jihadist Opposition Will Harm Long-Term European Interests

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 4 hours ago
Source of Interview with Assad: *German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)*. Source of Translation: *"friday-lunch-club" blog*. "The Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad has warned the European nations against supplying weapons to the Syrian rebels. "If the Europeans deliver these weapons to Europe's backyard, and Europe will pay the price for it," Assad said in an exclusive interview with the *"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"*in Damascus. "Hardened terrorists will learn how to use these weapons & return to Europe equipped with extremist ideology.": A series of arms shipments to ... more »

Glitter 2x4 Flag

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 4 hours ago
*Have you entered the giveaways for tickets to The Princess Festival at Thanksgiving Point, Mugging Mixes from Shirley J or the HUGE book stashyet? * I am a little obsessed with glitter right now. I had this 2x4 Flag displayed in my house and while I liked it, I didn't love it, so I decided it needed a little glitter. With a little glitter paper and some loose glitter, it is now one of my favorite holiday decorations. You will need: a 2x4 cut into pieces, you need two 7-inch blocks and 3-3.5 inch blocks Contact paper or a large star sticker Red, White and Blue paint American... more »

We Need A Nobel Peace Prize Winner In The White House-- One Who Earned The Award

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 4 hours ago
No one knows exactly why Obama got a Nobel Peace Prize before he had done anything other than run for president as a vaguely pro-peace candidate, unless it was just the Nobel committee trying to express their relief that Bush was out of the White House. I wonder how embarrassed they are about their selection now? So what's new on the peace front? Well... Iran sent 4,000 Revolutionary Guard troops to Syria to bolster Assad. And Putin warned David Cameron that arming the Syrian rebels would be a mistake. Putin, who has made no secret of his opposition to US president Barack Obama... more »

Nigella Lawson in happier times

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 4 hours ago
I hear that Nigella Lawson is having a difficult time of it at the moment, this weekend's story in The People was rather disturbing. I know that I've posted this piece of video before but I think it worth a repeat, as Nigella talks dirty.. Do follow that link for more Nigella Lawson innuendo.

When He's Not Kissing Ass, He's Kicking Ass - It's the Only Game Harper Knows

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 4 hours ago
He used to lambaste the Chinese - before he became Beijing's *bitumen bumboy* - but Sideshow Steve Harper has shown he still has game when it comes to Russia and Vlad Putin. On the eve of the G8 summit, Steve has denounced Putin for backing "*the thugs of the Assad regime*" in Syria. And then, as though that wasn't enough diplomacy, Steve added another Putin smackdown, “*I don’t think we should fool ourselves. This is G7 plus one. OK, let’s be blunt.*” Steve has a convenient recollection of history. The only reason Canada got into the G7, or shall we call it the 'G6 plus One'... more »

Privacy

Left I on the News at Left I on the News - 5 hours ago
Some people argue that loss of privacy to Facebook, Google, etc. is the same as the loss of privacy to government, so why complain? But this is a completely fallacious argument. First of all, my loss of privacy on FB, Google etc. is *voluntary*. Secondly, FB gives me a great tool to keep in touch with friends and family, make new friends, etc., all for free; in return, they sell ads to show me, just like TV only "better" because they are targeted. I accept that trade. Likewise for Google. Safeway uses their "courtesy card" to keep track of everything I buy, but in return gives me co... more »

PAR NoT PARCC in New Jersey

freetoteach at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 hours ago
Looking to replace the test driven, evaluation and merit pay systems dreamed up by the psycho psychometricians, know-nothing politicians and hacks, who are funding and benefitting from this multi-billion dollar sorting complex and “metric based” profit scheme? I thought so, me too. Montclair, NJ is leading the way against the Common Core Standards in New […]

KIPP in Arkansas Gives “Whatever It Takes” New Meaning

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 hours ago
Recent conversations with KIPP high school teachers reveals many cracks in KIPP’s Five Pillars. Apparently, KIPP’s Helena, AK high school has interpreted “whatever it takes” to include violating state laws for student transcripts and what can count as course credits. From The Inside Scoop Online: The Arkansas Department of Education has determined that the Helena-West […]

Chinese Dissident Says We're Becoming Just Like Them

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 5 hours ago
Chinese artist and persecuted dissident, Ai Weiwei, has an interesting take on the U.S. NSA Prism scandal in today's *Guardian* in which he says America is behaving like China. *I lived in the United States for 12 years. This abuse of state power goes totally against my understanding of what it means to be a civilised society, and it will be shocking for me if American citizens allow this to continue. The US has a great tradition of individualism and privacy and has long been a centre for free thinking and creativity as a result.* *In our experience in China, basically there is no... more »

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 6 hours ago
*Steve Gleason's Son Rivers Fuels His Motivation to Continue to Fight ALS* *Guest MMQB: Steve Gleason on his life with ALS, mission for a cure ~Peter King* *Tropical depression two has formed off the coast of Belize*~According to the National Hurricane Center, the center of the storm was is located at 16.2 north and longitude 87.6 west. The depression is moving toward the west-northwest near at 13mph. The center of the depression will move inland over southern Belize Monday afternoon. The depression could emerge into the Bay of Campeche on Tuesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 3... more »

The More Things Change....

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 6 hours ago
Back in the mid-70's I managed to snag a quick interview with the head prosecutor of the Quebec crime commission while the fellow was in Ottawa. I thought I'd hit him with a "gotcha" question. I mentioned something about how, outside Quebec, Canadians had a perception that Quebec politics were riddled with corruption. Then I asked, is this really true? I was floored by his response when he said, "*Yes, but it's getting better*." That memory came flooding back when I read this morning that Montreal's "anti-corruption" mayor, Michael Applebaum, had been slapped with 14-corruptio... more »

Finding a House Majority on Immigration

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 6 hours ago
The news on immigration today is John Boehner rejecting the option of passing a bill with mostly Democratic votes. Or so he says; Jonathan Chait points out that Boehner's position makes him prone to bluffing. But for now: "I just don't think that's the winning formula here," Cole told The Washington Examiner. "What the speaker wants to do is have a hopefully bipartisan product -- certainly one that has the majority of Republicans -- pass the House. This has got too much emotional, political impact and I think it really has to be genuinely bipartisan." I'm sure that the Speaker wants... more »

An excerpt of a new Huffington Post submission, the cult of amateurs

Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 hours ago
I don’t know why, but some things I reserve for different audiences, perhaps to speak to a different cohort of people. But for the first time in about two months, I uploaded a new post to the Huffington Post. Hopefully it makes it through. If not, then I’ll post it here. But here’s an excerpt […]

Why Canada Should be Wary of U.S. Missile Defence

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 6 hours ago
There has been talk that Ottawa might jump aboard the U.S. missile defence programme out of fear of a rogue missile launch from North Korea. Before we do, let's make sure it works. There are plenty of dirt cheap reasons to think otherwise. America's hyper-expensive missile interceptors (does that sound familiar, ...cough, cough, F-35) are essentially untested. Okay, they've been tested with reasonable success against target missile warheads. They have not, however, been tested against the sort of warheads a 21st century enemy would use, warheads equipped with counter-measures... more »

The Baby Penalty

amurdie at Duck of Minerva - 6 hours ago
I keep seeing this article pop around websites this morning: “Rule No. 1 for Female Academics: Don’t Have a Baby.” I’m happy to see all the family friendly policies mentioned concerning assistant professors. But, as the article points out, the “baby penalty” is also a concern for graduate students who are parents. My question: do Continue reading

Wind Turbine Problems in Miaoli... Wait a second

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 6 hours ago
[image: random_34] *A protest against the Infravest project in Yuanli winds down.* The Taipei Times ran an article on the wind power protests in Yuanli in Miaoli today. I'm a longtime proponent of wind energy, back to when I was working in Washington DC writing on US energy policy in the early 1990s. It was then that I became a huge wind enthusiast. When I first heard about the protests in Yuanli a while back I assumed that some of the locals were engaging in the common tactic of using public "protests" as a way to extract some cash from the the big firm. I've encountered this on ma... more »

Pay: $75-85K to Promote Fascism

2old2care at Because I Can - 6 hours ago
Yep - you too can have a job that destroys democracy and promotes fascism. Here's your chance. * **APPLY NOW*

Montclair, NJ Parents Fight to Maintain Integrity of Schools

Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 hours ago
From Stan Karp: Montclair parents are pushing back against new Supt. Penny MacCormack’s “strategic plan,” which includes a proposal to implement quarterly “common assessments” in all district schools. MacCormack is a former assistant commissioner at NJDOE who was recruited from Connecticut by NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf to oversee implementation of the common core standards and […]

ALI ON TURKEY AND STRATEGY

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 7 hours ago
Tariq Ali is a famous writer and filmmaker. He has written more than two dozen books on world history and politics, and seven novels (translated into over a dozen languages) as well as scripts for the stage and screen. He is an editor of New Left Review and lives in London.

CARTOON TIME

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 7 hours ago
United States of Surveillance from MarkFiore on Vimeo.

SYRIA - 'THREATS TO OBAMA'S LIFE'

Anon at aangirfan - 7 hours ago
*Ennis-kill-en* *Tarpley: Syria, The Shadow Government and Threats to Obama's Life. from Paul Coker * * * *Bomb kills 11 at Enniskillen* * ** * *Tarpley: Syria, The Shadow Government and Threats to Obama's Life. from Paul Coker on Vimeo.*

An excellent journey to Dreamland!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 7 hours ago
*MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013* *Keeping the world alive:* On Saturday, a young relative was experiencing her final day as a 6-year-old. She wanted to play us a favorite new song. Luckily, her selection came from the album, Acoustic Dreamland, “an exquisite selection of classic and contemporary acoustic songs for bedtime and relaxation.” In fact, her selection was the album’s opening song, Dreamland. It was written by Mary Chapin Carpenter, sung quite beautifully by Lucy Kaplansky. You can hear one minute here. Instantly, we were glad that Carpenter wrote this song, although we did have o... more »

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 8 hours ago
Happy Birthday to Stu Tate, 51. His cup of coffee was in 1989, age 27. He had 18 remaining professional innings (in AAA in 1991). Pitching is brutal. Good stuff: 1. Dan Hopkins on the Latino vote. 2. David Roberts is incredibly sensible about the nuclear (power) debate. 3. Nicole Flatow talks to a retired federal judge about the limitations of the judicial check on intelligence gathering. 4. And, off topic, but: Peter Biskind has tapes of (an aging) Orson Welles in conversation. Good fun.

Detroit Goes Under: “There Is No Way Out But Collapse”

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Daniels) at Global Political Awakening - 8 hours ago
Mac Slavo Though most Americans go through their day thinking everything is now returning to normal, the fact of the matter is the situation is anything but stable. With crime rates skyrocketing, home prices dropping to under $500 for a house, and the local government out of solutions, the city of Detroit is the latest to join the likes of Stockton, California, having just defaulted on its loans from creditors. Despite promises to the contrary, it should come as no surprise that the city is unable to meet its obligations. And it won’t be the last. City and state governments all ... more »

When It Happens Again – Will You Be Prepared?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Daniels) at Global Political Awakening - 8 hours ago
Wikimedia Commons Earl Griffin The world’s weather is in turmoil. Odd, dangerous, and deadly weather is in the news everyday it seems. When the weather is consistently severe the food supply becomes tighter. Dangerous weather makes it difficult to successfully grow and harvest food crops. If you are a farmer you know this all too well. If you are not a farmer you see the reality of it in the grocery store. Food prices are higher. The cost of food, noticeably beef, has been on the steady increase for some time. Drought, late frost, hurricanes, monsoons, and tornadoes are all impac... more »

The Times reports on “ability grouping!”

bob somerby at the daily howler - 8 hours ago
*MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013* *We’ll examine that piece next week:* On June 10, the New York Times featured a front-page report about “ability grouping” in the public schools. The report was fascinating, in various ways. We don’t necessarily mean that as a compliment, though we found the report quite intriguing. We realized we couldn’t do the piece justice in a single report. What has happened to “ability grouping” in recent years? We plan to look at this front-page report in a series next week, starting with a basic question: Questions of quality to the side, why in the world was *this* ... more »

Has World War 3 Already Begun?

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 8 hours ago
*Youtube* Subscribe to Storm Clouds Gathering StormCloudsGathering.com Enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter: Delivered by FeedBurner Be the Change! Share this using the tools below.

Native Americans prepare to defend homelands, walk across America

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 8 hours ago
Red Butte Havasupai sacred land Photo Dawn Dyer Native Americans prepare to defend homelands, walk across America Longest Walk 1978 By Brenda Norrell   Native Americans focused on defending their homelands and upholding the Rights of Nature during June, as they prepared for non-violent resistance to the threats of the tarsands pipeline, uranium mining and coal-fired power plants

TWO KINDS OF FACTS: A commenter’s wish for the public schools!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 8 hours ago
*MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013* *Part 5—One commenter wants information:* On June 9, in the Sunday Review, the New York Times featured a piece by Hacker and Dreifus about the public schools. For part 1 in our series, click this. In extremely fuzzy prose, Hacker and Dreifus asked a good question about the effects of the Common Core standards which will soon take effect in the schools. But alas! Along the way, they included a familiar type of bogus claim about the performance of American students on international tests. How well *do* American students perform on international tests? It seem... more »

ALEC - "Not geared to be a fair debate"

2old2care at Because I Can - 8 hours ago
Previously I have written about how ALEC members are going to Alberta to be wined and dined by the tar sands companies. May 2013 the ALEC blogsite had an article on it March 2013 the ALEC blogsite had an article on it Today on PRWatch – there is this paragraph in an article about ALEC and the tar sands companies that answered a question I consistently had – Who paid for these trips? (You will note that I use the plural “these trips” – because I believe that there has been more than one - I think we are foolish and naive to think this only happened once.) *ALEC Tours the Tar Sands... more »

Law enforcement accesses increasingly massive facial recognition databases with few legal standards

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Daniels) at Global Political Awakening - 8 hours ago
image credit: AV-1/Flickr Madison Ruppert According to a new report, the National Security Agency’s massive surveillance program isn’t all Americans have to be concerned about. Searchable facial recognition databases are growing increasingly massive and few legal safeguards are in place. Facial recognition systems in the United States are on the rise thanks to a wide variety of initiatives including the FBI directly sharing facial recognition software with police departments while also deploying a $1 billion facial recognition system around the country. Since facial recognition s... more »

New Jersey Has A Senate Front-Runner Nearly As Sickening As It's Gubernatorial Front-Runner

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 8 hours ago
You never know what's going to actually happen in a low turn out, late summer primary special election. Who will even show up at the polls? Polling shows a big preference among New Jersey Democrats for the much-hyped Newark Mayor, Cory Booker. Last week Monmouth University released a poll that confirms what all the other polls show-- Booker leads his opponents. Among potential voters in the August Democratic primary – i.e. registered Democrats who regularly vote in general elections and say they may vote in the Senate primary – Booker holds a commanding lead over his challengers,... more »

If Andrew Marr wasn't such a leftie

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 8 hours ago
We can but dream.

Criteria for overturning discretionary decisions

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 8 hours ago
*Mission Creek Mortgage Ltd. v. Angleland Holdings Inc*., 2013 BCCA 281 holds a discretionary decision should be overtruned only where the decision was clearly wrong or the court of first instance gave insufficient weight to one or more relevant considerations: [53] This court can interfere with the discretion exercised by the chambers judge only as discussed by Tysoe J.A. in *Dhillon v. Pannu,* 2008 BCCA 514 (CanLII), 2008 BCCA 514: *[26] The order under appeal was a discretionary order. The appellate standard of review in respect of discretionary orders has been expressed in ... more »

Hudak Should Watch His Back

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 9 hours ago
When Tim Hudak was elected the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, he came in with Mike Harris' blessing. He was, after all, one of Harris' young guns. But, since his ascension, Hudak has proved repeatedly that he can't shoot straight. Two elections ago, he began with an overwhelming advantage and blew it. In his second contest with Dalton McGuinty, the man who recently departed Queen's Park with a whimper came within one seat of a majority government. And, during Ontario's recent budget negotiations, Hudak simply refused to play. He assumed that another election was ... more »

Are eBooks An Advert Free Zone?

Martyn Daniels at Brave New World - 9 hours ago
Yahoo has filed two US patent applications which are based on delivering adverts to ebooks and even offering a variable price that is dependent on the advert placement. Some will cry, ‘not on my watch and it will never happen,’ but perhaps we need to at least consider the implications further before we dismiss it. If we step back to the Victorian and Edwardian times, the book was often full of adverts for goods which had no connection to the genre or story. The Pamphleteers of the Victorian age also included many adverts in the ‘Penny Dreadful’ and periodicals. Dicken’s own Pickwic... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 9 hours ago

NSA: "But They Would NEVER Do That..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 9 hours ago
* "But They Would NEVER Do That..."* by Karl Denninger "My oh my you folks have short memories... "Two weeks ago, a US security company came up with conclusive evidence that the second key belongs to NSA. Like Dr van Someren, Andrew Fernandez, chief scientist with Cryptonym of Morrisville, North Carolina, had been probing the presence and significance of the two keys. Then he checked the latest Service Pack release for Windows NT4, Service Pack 5. He found that Microsoft's developers had failed to remove or "strip" the debugging symbols used to test this software before they re... more »

Horatio

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 9 hours ago

`Oops, we used up all our water,'

2old2care at Because I Can - 9 hours ago
Last year I wrote an entry about how Colorado farmer had been outbid by fracking companies for water rights in Colorado – asking the question which is more important, food or fracking. Today another water/fracking story hit the press on HuffPo. Think about it Using water reserves for fossil fuel production The goal is energy independence Think about it You can go weeks without food before you die You only can go a week to ten days without water before you die. `Oops, we used up all our water,' Energy independence means nothing – if you are dead. The only thing that this energy in... more »

Seeds of Death: Unveiling the lies of GMO

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 9 hours ago
*If you eat food. If you care about your health. You need to watch this. * *HT Noor @ Snippets & Snappets*

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 9 hours ago
*NOPD, protectors of the highest murder rate in the nation, become TV stars* *Sea change in criminal jurisprudence becomes law**~“It eliminates lawsuits and appeals,” said state Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie. “It’s easy for a defendant to say, ‘If I would have known about that, I would have made a different argument.’ This takes away that ability.”* *La. delegates totally clueless on NSA data-mining practices* *Sacramento Levee Risk, a Man-made Disaster in waiting, makes New Orleans a sister city ~Wunderblog * *Birds call causeway a place to roost ~Amy Wold * *Louisiana musicians... more »

The Secret War

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 10 hours ago
Ah yes. What you see in the press is what China has been apparently able to do. What you do not see is what the counter has been. This also has a long history and do not for a second think that it has not been effective and that includes actions defending against China. We are also seeing an increase in apparent conflict hitting the press with the USA appearing to be almost inactive. That is nonsense and this article gives us a glimpse. You cannot operate in the modern world without your systems been open to penetration and that includes China. Their fire wall only stiffl... more »

The internet is expanding - The first half will only make sense if you're over the age of 30 and the second half ...

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 10 hours ago
Monkey Dust's view of the expanding Internet and the sad people who live on it.

The dangers of working from home

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 10 hours ago
The moral being - never buy a laptop with a built-in camera.

What did Tommy Robinson say that was racist?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 10 hours ago
What I found interesting in the above clip was the number people who kept telling Tommy that "you've had your chance to talk" whilst shouting him down and ignoring his points, preferring to use the tried and tested leftist technique of shutting down debate by calling someone 'a racist'. Do watch this video clip and please explain what Tommy Robinson said that was racist.

Argentina: The 2010 Laguna del Monte Case - Revisited

Inexplicata (IHU) at Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology - 10 hours ago
*Source: Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogía & Planeta UFO Date: 06.17.2013* *Argentina: The 2010 Laguna del Monte Case – Revisited* *By Victor Manuel Jara* [*Readers of INEXPLICATA will recall the strange alleged CE-3 we featured on July 28, 2010, brought to us by Luis Burgos of the Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogía and his team. We now present a follow-up on the photo analysis – SC*] SAN MIGUEL DEL MONTE is the seat of the district bearing the same name in the province of Buenos Aires, located 107 kilometers distant from Capital Federal. Its extensive lagoon and proximity to our cit... more »

The Shadow CIA Was Instrumental In The Taking of American Hostages In Iran

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 10 hours ago
*'Argo' rehashes the popular myths about the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979. The film's production was overseen by CIA consultants just like the film 'Zero Dark Thirty' that dramatized the lie about the official death of Osama bin Laden. * "It is not the writers who have reintroduced the devil, but it is our present world which has forced them to take notice of him again. As a friend of mine once remarked: ‘I don’t know about angels, but I don’t see how one can possibly doubt the devil.’ Luther’s advice to laugh at the devil *quia est superbus spiritus et non potest ferre con... more »

Alex Jones - Obama's Orwellian Panopticon Surveillance Grid

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 10 hours ago
Photo: The President of America monitoring your phone calls (to stop the terrorists, of course). Alex Jones - Obama's Orwellian Panopticon Surveillance Grid

Since 2012

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 10 hours ago
Okay. So, since 2012 we've known about the election fraud (on top of contempt for Parliament, and the cynical abuse of the power of prorogation to a) avoid a vote of non-confidence and b) avoid scrutiny on war crimes). This is a fact. The harpercons' abuses have been monumental since 2009 and they went into overdrive in 2011. From 2011 to today, 2013, we have been living under a corrupt, anti-democratic, fraudulently elected regime. And what have we done about it??? What have the Opposition parties done about it? What have the leaders of the protest movements done about it? What ha... more »

Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum reportedly in custody CBC News

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 10 hours ago
No details yet. But a story that makes Toronto's follies looks like a trifle! Quebec is always a leader in Canada,,,

The BBC protecting Barack Obama's reputation in the UK

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 11 hours ago
CNN are reporting that: 'President Barack Obama’s approval rating dropped 8 percentage points over the last month, and for the first time in his presidency more than half of the public doesn’t feel that the president is honest and trustworthy, a new CNN/ORC International poll shows. A sharp 17-point drop among Americans under 30 fueled the drop in Obama’s approval rating. The poll was conducted as the White House has been under siege over telephone and Internet surveillance, the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups, its handling of the terror attack on the... more »

Pol. Ideology 43: On BIG Government Fetish

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 11 hours ago
A friend in our UPSE Alumni yahoogroups, a senior government official, asked if my critique of BIG government has any reference to him/her. I said NO, my critique is always on the institution, never on any person. I myself was a fan of BIG, socialist government more than two decades ago. I wanted the fruits of the profit system and capitalism to be confiscated by the state, to be given to the poor including the lazy and irresponsible people. I prefer to attack institutions that are creators of many urban legends, like the UN, WWF, Greenpeace for their "man-made" or anthropogenic glo... more »

Kahlil Gibran, "A Poet's Voice XV, Part Four"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 12 hours ago
"A Poet's Voice XV, Part Four" by Kahlil Gibran "You are my brother, but why are you quarreling with me? Why do you invade my country and try to subjugate me for the sake of pleasing those who are seeking glory and authority? Why do you leave your wife and children and follow Death to the distant land for the sake of those who buy glory with your blood, and high honor with your mother's tears? Is it an honor for a man to kill his brother man? If you deem it an honor, let it be an act of worship, and erect a temple to Cain who slew his brother Abel. Is self-preservation the f... more »

"What Is Your Task?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 12 hours ago
"Said a philosopher to a street sweeper, “I pity you. Yours is a hard and dirty task.” And the street sweeper said, “Thank you, sir. But tell me, what is your task?” And the philosopher answered saying, “I study man's mind, his deeds and his desires.” Then the street sweeper went on with his sweeping and said with a smile, “I pity you too.” - Kahlil Gibran

Monday Morning Linkage

Vikash Yadav at Duck of Minerva - 12 hours ago
Good morning. Here are some loosely connected articles on development, bureaucracy, and state power… I am quite take by James Ferguson‘s metaphor of “swarming state power” as an alternative to James Scott’s “controlling state power” and thus as a way of understanding contemporary “development” (a discourse whose objects have apparently all but abandoned progress for Continue reading

"What Will We Talk About Today, You and I?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 12 hours ago
A Comment: Long time readers know there is zero tolerance for racism and bigotry here. This article contains the vile "N" word, which you will never see here again, expressed repeatedly by the articles author. In their book "Cobra II," Michael R. Gordon and Gen. Bernard E. Trainor offer this ugly comment from a senior officer of the US Army's 4th Infantry Division: "The only thing these sand niggers understand is force and I'm about to introduce them to it." While not admitted publicly, that term is widely used within the American military, along with "ragheads", "jihadis" and othe... more »

"A Prayer for the World"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 12 hours ago
* * *"A Prayer for the World"* "Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations. Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect. Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows. Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken. Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly, So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin color. Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness, So that we can share the joys and feel the sorrow of our neighbors. And let the... more »

"What Is Life?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 12 hours ago
"What is life? An illusion, a dream, a fiction, and the biggest well is small, because all life is a dream, and the dreams, themselves are only dreams.' - Calderon de la Barca

"Bright Terrible Spirit"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 13 hours ago
* "Bright Terrible Spirit"* "But in days past, I was a lawyer. Yes, a lawyer, can you believe it? It seems… ridiculous now, doesn't it? An orderly system meant to govern human society, to establish justice, to advance the progress and enlightenment of the human race. Yet that system, that civil cosmos – to which I was so passionately committed – embraced and protected the most wretched evils, entrenched the powerful in their unjust privilege, oppressed the poor and weak most relentlessly and wickedly, yet at every step – at every step – sang hosannas to itself as some kind of d... more »

Monsanto Video Revolt: Massive Grassroots Campaign Launched Against GMOs, Monsanto

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 13 hours ago
Monsanto Video Revolt: Massive Grassroots Campaign Launched Against GMOs, Monsanto Natural Society, 14 June 2013 It is with great excitement that I am able to announce a massive new grassroots campaign against Monsanto that kicks the intellectual war against GMOs into warp speed. Following the great success of campaigns like March Against Monsanto, the new* Monsanto Video Revolt brings the online revolution against Monsanto to life by enabling powerful activism on and before July 24th, 2013*. The Monsanto Video Revolt campaign acts as a proverbial stake into the barely-beatin... more »

Fighting censorship...

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 13 hours ago
Apparently the Chinese authorities are stopping their population from seeing this lovely comparison of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger with Chinese president Xi Jinping and Barack Obama. How cruel...

TOP PEOPLE TURN AGAINST ZIONISTS ON SYRIA

Anon at aangirfan - 13 hours ago
*Zbigniew Brzezinski* Zbigniew Brzezinski says that the decision to arm the Syrian rebels is a huge mistake. Zbig: Obama Syria plan is 'chaos, baffling, a mess, tragedy *Popular London Mayor Boris Johnson, representing the non-Zionist faction.* *In the UK, London Mayor Boris Johnson, a rival to the Zionist UK prime minister David Cameron, says: 'Don't arm the Syria maniacs.'* *Ex-Army leader Lord Dannatt, and a majority of Cameron's own members of parliament, agree with Johnson. * Cameron has been warned that he could be defeated in parliament if there is a vote on arming the re... more »

If you don't have the time to read the whole article, fast forward to the short video at the end (where the 2006 version of Joe Biden debates the 2013 version of Barack Obama)!

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 14 hours ago
------------------------------ On Prism, partisanship and propaganda Addressing many of the issues arising from last week's NSA stories ------------------------------ Glenn Greenwald guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 June 2013 20.17 BST ------------------------------ James Clapper, on Saturday decried the release of the information and said media reports about it have been inaccurate Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images*(Updated below - Update II - Update III)* I haven't been able to write this week here because I've been participating in the debate over the fallout from last wee... more »

All proofs in natural and social sciences ultimately depend on probabilities

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 14 hours ago
Mel B. has sent me a link pointing to a rather incredible attack by an economics professor on the statistical methods in science that was published in the Financial Post: Junk Science Week: Unsignificant statistics Stephen Ziliak doesn't want to believe the existence of the Higgs boson – or any other "proof" in science that is based on the notion of statistical significance. In fact, we learn – in big fonts – that Statistical significance is junk science, and its big piles of nonsense are spoiling the research of more than particle physicists. Wow. It's remarkable because with this... more »

Musical Interlude: Moody Blues, "Dawning Is The Day"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
Moody Blues, "Dawning Is The Day" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRBSsyowtVc

June 16, 1973

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 15 hours ago
The Ervin Committee hearings have been continuing. The most important witness so far has been Jeb Magruder, but at this point everyone is waiting for John Dean. On the 16th, Dean does his pre-testimony in a closed session. That was the standard committee procedure, but Dean had resisted -- he and his lawyers wanted to stage manage his own testimony, and the executive session ran the risk that his bombshells would be leaked according to someone else's agenda. Dean was supposed to begin his public, televised testimony during the week of June 18th, but Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leade... more »

FREE WORLD ORDER - Rap Juice Media - Robert Foster does NSA/Prism whistleblower Edward Snowden

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 15 hours ago
did he really just use the phrase FREE WORLD ORDER? nice IS THE PUBLIC INTERESTED? we'll have to wait until nobody says nothin'

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 15 hours ago
He said, she said and the sun don't care. [Photo credit via Saffron606]

Since Brad Wall Is On A Roll ... He Should Ask Stephen Harper To Come Clean With Canadians About The Duffy/Wright Affair...

leftdog at Buckdog - 16 hours ago
[image: Progressive Bloggers] * * *Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is on a roll. His challenge of Justin Trudeau's speaking fees (while sitting as an MP) garnered lots of attention. Enough attention that Mr. Trudeau has since reconsidered his original stance.* * **So .. Premier Wall .. you're on a roll. Pick up the phone and call your old friend, the Prime Minister.* ** *Ask him how Nigel Wright's 'cheque' went from being an 'honourable act' to requiring his rapid departure from the PMO.* * **Surely Canadians have a right to know what happens with our tax money ... you know the wage... more »

Drug Price Control 34: No Single National Price, And a Wailing Cat

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 17 hours ago
Among the reasons often cited why some groups propose government price control of certain commodities is that the local price of the same product by the same manufacturer is higher compared to other countries in the developing world. The assumption is that since it is (a) same product (b) made by the same manufacturer, then the price should be generally the same. This assumption is intrinsically wrong because it assumes that there is only one price in one country or city for each product that satisfies (a) and (b) conditions above. For instance, the price of a can of coca cola 350 ... more »

Happy Father's Day & Updates

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 17 hours ago
Three things I'd like to mention quickly. *First*, Happy Father's Day Dad, I miss you already. Thanks for being the honest, hard-working, dedicated father you always have been and always will be. You truly are one of a kind. I feel blessed knowing I have such a wonderful, responsible father I can always and forever count on. Below is a photo of my Dad and I fishing where the Platte River meets the Missouri River when I was visiting Nebraska recently. Makes me want to move back to Nebraska! *Second*, I set up a TalkShoe account where I will be broadcasting The Realist Report... more »

#SurveillanceState: As I was saying on the phone last night…

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 17 hours ago
As I was saying on the phone last night… The right to privacy rests largely on a presumption of innocence [says Wendy McElroy]. It assumes that — in the absence of evidence of wrongdoing — an individual has a right to shut his front door and tell other people (including government) to mind their own business. Today, this assumption has been twisted inside out so that a desire for privacy means you have something to hide. You are expected to prove your innocence by revealing every financial transaction, by filling in pages of government paperwork, by allowing state agents to frisk ... more »

Meet & Greet Monday (#MtaGt) - Crazy 4 Green

Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints - 17 hours ago
Welcome to Meet & Greet Monday, a regular series designed to grow our green community. [image: A link-up for green blogs on Reduce Footprints Blog] Banner by Art Ist Grab our banner for your site:
A link-up for green blogs on 
Reduce Footprints Blog *The rules:* 1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or collection of environment...
more »

Oh no, Pam Spaulding is closing down "Pam's House Blend"

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 17 hours ago
*Thanks, Pam!* *by Ken* Just because the bombshell wasn't all that surprising doesn't make it less of a bombshell, or less of a cause for sadness. Today Pam Spaulding made it official: "Goodbye Pam’s House Blend: after nine years, closing the coffeehouse July 1." ("Pam's House Blend" is currently hosted at FireDogLake.) All good things must come to an end, even after numerous awards and accolades, it’s time to acknowledge that I cannot continue to run on fumes alone. The Blend could continue limping along, but my health and well-being come first; over the last few years burning t... more »

Jan Brewer, crazy but not stupid

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 18 hours ago
No news because, Father's Day weekend, but didn't get around to posting this earlier and it's still worth mentioning. She's been a poster girl for crackpot conservatism, but apparently Jan Brewer understands the value of free money and figured out the economics of keeping uninsured people out of the ER is cost effective for the state's finances. After a marathon session that lasted until nearly 4 in the morning on Thursday, the Arizona House approved a plan backed by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer to expand Medicaid under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act by providing health... more »

Does opposing Obama make you a racist?

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 18 hours ago
Does opposing Obama make you a racist? No? Then how about opposing the Maori Party? Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

Click-bait journalism means never having to admit you screwed up

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 19 hours ago
So last night CNet's Declan McCullugh posted a story with the red siren hed, "NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants — National Security Agency." You'll be shocked to learn, by this morning Declan's sloppy click-baiting turned out to be pretty much false, apparently based on his misinterpretation of a stray comment by Congressman Jerrold Nadler at some hearing. Congressman Nadler corrected the misreporting today. [Transcript of the full convo at the link.] As The Atlantic notes in their piece the NSA click-baiting is even bigger than just this one point. Seeing... more »

Business 360 8: TPP, RCEP, SAARC and Free Trade

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 19 hours ago
* This is my article for the June 2013 issue of the business magazine in Kathmandu, Nepal. The person in the cover is a friend, Robin Sitoula, President of a free market think tank in Kathmandu, Samriddhi Prosperity Foundation. -------- *TPP, RCEP, SAARC and Free Trade* If people are left alone to buy or sell something, they would wish that they are given full freedom to choose their buyers and sellers. They would not wish some external bodies to tell and prohibit them from trading with certain groups of people or economies. In the Asia-Pacific area, the Asia Pacific Economic Coope... more »

Political Science 101 . . .

Edstock at The Galloping Beaver - 20 hours ago
Yup, that pretty much sums 'er up.

Polar Bears

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 20 hours ago

AMAZEBALLS: Rachel Maddow's Ignorance on Iran

Nima Shirazi at Wide Asleep in America - 20 hours ago
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has a penchant for saying smug, self-satisfied and generally stupid things about Iran. She has claimed that the Iranian Revolution in 1979 marked the establishment of a dictatorship in that country, rather than end of one; one that just so happened to be a monarchic dynasty that was proudly supported for decades by the United States government. Just two months ago, she

Quote of the day: Keynes takes a bath

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 20 hours ago
"Keynesians think that you can take water from the deep end of the swimming pool, pump it into the shallow end of the swimming pool and somehow the water level of the swimming pool will rise." – Thomas Woods Discuss, with reference to this cartoon… [image: BrokenWindowsI] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

Can Florida Democrats Blow The 2014 Gubernatorial Race?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 20 hours ago
Last week, Florida politics expert Steve Schale had a cautiously optimistic analysis of how his state's electorate has changed since 2006 and what it portends for the future. Since the 2006 election, the total number of active registered voters in Florida has grown from 10,433.849 to 11,934,446 voters and of those million and a half new voters, 61% are either black or Hispanic. Here's the kicker: only 6% of them registered as Republicans. On top of that, over 50% of Hispanic voter registration growth has accrued to the Democrats, while the Republicans account for only 12%. Schale e... more »

Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, “Whisper To Me”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 20 hours ago
Liquid Mind, “Whisper To Me” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpfrRz-jcS8

Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, “Whisper To Me”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago
Liquid Mind, “Whisper To Me” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpfrRz-jcS8

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago
“Sharpless 115 stands just north and west of Deneb, the alpha star of Cygnus the Swan in planet Earth's skies. Noted in the 1959 catalog by astronomer Stewart Sharpless (as Sh2-115) the faint but lovely emission nebula lies along the edge of one of the outer Milky Way's giant molecular clouds, about 7,500 light-years away. *Click image for larger size.* Shining with the light of ionized atoms of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen in this Hubble palette color composite image, the nebular glow is powered by hot stars in star cluster Berkeley 90. The cluster stars are likely only 100 ... more »

Chet Raymo, “The Sea Grows Old In It”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago
* * * “The Sea Grows Old In It”* by Chet Raymo “The poet, like the electric [lightning] rod, must reach from a point nearer to the sky than all surrounding objects down to the earth, and down to the dark wet soil, or neither is of use. The poet must not only converse with pure thought, but he must demonstrate it almost to the senses. His words must be pictures, his verses must be spheres and cubes, to be seen, and smelled and handled.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson “Ah, Mr. Emerson. This seems about as good a description of poetry as one is likely to find. I love the image. Not a hand r... more »

Washington Aims To Provoke A Sunni-Shiite Conflict To Destroy The Muslim World

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 21 hours ago
*Obama Embraces Neocons' War Against Syria*. There is no sectarian war in Syria. The war is about political issues, not religious differences. The Sunni-Shiite rivalry is being played up by Washington and its money-loving slaves in the Gulf states in order to divide the Muslim world and eventually destroy it. Washington is doing this because it does not want Muslims to unite and challenge its hegemonic policies and Israel's aggressive, expansionist agenda. The biggest crime is that Washington is funding the massacre of innocent Shiite citizens in Syria to get a Sunni-Shiite wa... more »

Piece of Shit

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 21 hours ago
Canadians did not have proper respect for their democracy. And so they elected cretins and allowed themselves to be fleeced. Some of us went through the futility of ceremonial protests. And trolls show up here and snicker and giggle like the demented shit-stains that they are.

On What I Eat These Days

George Henderson at The High-fat Hep C Diet - 21 hours ago
"I forget most of what I have read, just as I do most of what I have eaten, but I know that both contribute no less to the conservation of my mind and my body on that account." - Georg Christop Lichtenberg on food frequency questionnaires. I've procrastinated about this ever since Peter Hyperlipid posted his own classic eating update a while back, trying to contextualize what purpose a similar post of my own might serve. Ah-Ha! I see. OK then. Basically, it's good to know these things can be done, are being done, and the reasons for certain decisions are probably worth revisiting. M... more »

Paulo Coelho

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago
* * *"The Code of the Desert”* by Paulo Coelho "Two men were crossing the desert when they saw a Bedouin’s tent and asked him for shelter. Even though he did not know them, he welcomed them in the way that the conduct of nomads dictates: a camel was killed and its meat served in a sumptuous dinner. The next day, the two strangers woke early and decided to continue on their journey. As the Bedouin was not at home, they gave his wife a hundred dinars, apologizing for not being able to wait, because if they spent any more time there, the sun would become too strong for them to trave... more »

The five stages of living in a #SurveillanceState

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 22 hours ago
Over the weekend, the extent of NSA surveillance of Americans became even more evident: Not just metadata: "NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants as well." So you might say that yesterday's conspiracy theory is today's sad reality... Bryce Edwards answers, or tries to, the question that might occur to every New Zealander about now: Many have been wondering this week if New Zealanders are routinely spied upon by the United States’ NSA. International reports would suggest that we are and many journalists and commentators asking the Government whether it receiv... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Thanks for stopping by. (The building pictured, by the way, is a railway station. - CP)

The Economy: “Washington Signals Deep Dollar Concerns”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
*“Washington Signals Deep Dollar Concerns”* by Paul Craig Roberts “Over the past month there has been a statistically improbable concurrence of events that can only be explained as a conspiracy to protect the dollar from the Federal Reserve’s policy of Quantitative Easing (QE). Quantitative Easing is the term given to the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing 1,000 billion new dollars annually in order to finance the US budget deficit by purchasing US Treasury bonds and to keep the prices high of debt-related derivatives on the “banks too big to fail” (BTBF) balance sheets by pur... more »

Video of Northrop Frye Receiving An Honorary Degree In Zagreb, Croatia In 1990

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 22 hours ago
"I come from a country which has been fortunate in having less violence, bloodshed, and tyranny, and betrayal, and uprising, than most of the countries of Europe. Nevertheless, I feel that I have lived through as much history of the 20th century in Canada as should I have done in any other country." - Northrop Frye in a speech upon receiving an honorary doctorate at the University of Zagreb in Croatia in September 1990. Frye "was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century," (*Wikipedia*). Video Title: Northrop H. ... more »

Washington Arms Cannibals In Syria

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 22 hours ago
An excerpt from *"Putin warns West not to arm organ-eating Syrian rebels,"*by Alexei Anishchuk (Reuters, June 16): Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned on Sunday why the West would want to arm Syrian rebels who he said ate human organs, saying plans to give them weapons contradicted basic human values. Speaking after meeting Prime Minister David Cameron in London ahead of a G8 summit on Monday, Putin said both the Syrian government and Syrian rebelswere to blame for the bloodshed. *"You will not deny that one does not really need to support the people who not only kill ... more »

Defend Havasupai Sacred Land from Uranium Mining at Grand Canyon June 2013

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 22 hours ago
Protest reopening of Canyon Uranium Mine June 21, 2013 at Red Butte, Havasupai land, Grand Canyon Photos by Dawn Dyer Censored News www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com You are welcome to a three day gathering just south of Grand Canyon National Park, with main gathering happening at dawn June 21st right on Hwy. 64. We will protest the re-opening of Canyon Uranium Mine on Native sacred

"Philly Closes 23 Public Schools, Generously Builds $400 Million Prison Where Kids Can Hang Instead"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 23 hours ago
* * *"Philly Closes 23 Public Schools, * *Generously Builds $400 Million Prison Where Kids Can Hang Instead"* By Kristen Gwynne "Philadelphia is so broke the city is closing 23 public schools, never mind that it has the cash to build a $400 million prison. Construction on the penitentiary said to be "the second-most expensive state project ever" began just days after the Pennsylvania School Reform Commission voted down a plan to close only four of the 27 schools scheduled to die. Facing a $304 million debt, the Commission instead approved a measly $2.4 billion budget that would... more »

End housing inflation now

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 23 hours ago
Property commentator Hugh Pavletich reckons yesterday's TV One *Sunday*programme on house pricesis a “must view.” The economist Shamubeel Eaqub … explained exceptionally well the massive risks of bubble housing markets and excessive mortgage debt… In normal housing markets, housing does not exceed 3.0 times annual household income, requiring mortgage loads of about 2.5 times. (Lending multiples must mirror median multiples.) As Shamubeel Eaqub explained (with Auckland and Christchurch currently on 7 Median Multiples), $100,000 household income families are loading themselves up... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 23 hours ago

Hilarion June 16, 2013

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 23 hours ago
June 16-23, 2013 Beloved Ones, The days that are before you bring deeper connections to the light that is within you. Most of you are now connecting your innate being to Mother Earth on a daily basis and this is helping you to stay grounded in your perceptions of the world around you. There is much that is happening that is helping to create the changes that are necessary to move humanity forward into greater awareness and consciousness. The awakening on a mass level is now occurring and this is something that every soul upon the planet has chosen at their soul level. At soul... more »

Sunday Question for Liberals

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 day ago
Eric Holder: weak link in the Obama cabinet who should be replaced, or target of a bum rap?

INSIDE THE BASKETBALL STORY

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
After making basketball history playing alongside the North Korean National Team, Vice Correspondent, Ryan Duffy and the Harlem Globetrotters sit down for a meal with the North Korean players, sharing highlights from the game and reactions to the surprise appearance of the Grand Marshall, Kim Jong Un.

Two years ago . . .

Edstock at The Galloping Beaver - 1 day ago
AS THE PERSECUTION of Julian Assange was getting organized, things were in their early stages, and on 23 of June, 2011 a secret five hour meeting took place between Julian and Eric Schmidt, who is the CEO of Google. Wikileaks has the complete transcript. It gets a bit technical, but you can get through that, and ponder. This meeting discusses the current state-of-things, and gives an

Inventor of the Day: Leo James

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 1 day ago
[image: James-Leo_1]I’d like to help bring back an almost-forgotten word: the word “inventor,” being a person taken for granted by economists and politicians yet without whom our lives would be very much worse. Or, to put it positively, a person who by ingenuity or imagination produces a new means by which human life is made better—demonstrating the fundamental role that reason plays in furthering human life. This post then is the first in an occasional series on this blog of inventors who’ve improved, or will improve, our lives. Our inventor of the day today is Leo James and hi... more »

Reactionary New Dems Help GOP Pass A Fatally Flawed National Defense Authorization Act

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
On Friday, the House passed Buck McKeon's tragically flawed National Defense Authorization Act, 315-108. All but 18 Republicans voted YES. The Democratic minority was much more split. Hoyer and Steve Israel led 103 of the more corrupt and conservative Democrats over to the Republican side of the aisle, while Pelosi, Clyburn and Becerra led a contingent of 90 more progressive Democrats against it, folks like Alan Grayson, Barbara Lee, Raul Grijalva, Keith Ellison, John Conyers, Mark Pocan, Jerry Nadler, Jan Schakowsky. As always, uber-corrupt New Dem Colleen Hanabusa, who takes imm... more »

rtod

laura k at wmtc - 1 day ago
Revolutionary thought of the day: No healthy democracy can endure when the most consequential acts of those in power remain secret and unaccountable. Glenn Greenwald

Sunday Question for Conservatives

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 day ago
Chris Christie: half (at least) RINO who at best is the best to hope for in New Jersey, but certainly should be nowhere near a national ticket? Or: a promising conservative presidential candidate?

Elder of Ziyon: Egyptian cleric recommends viewers read "Protocols of Elders of Zion"

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
More news from Egypt that you won't hear on the BBC... including: '*The confrontation [with the Jews] is inevitable. Our Prophet does not lie*. He told us that there would be a confrontation between the Muslims and the Jews before the Day of Judgment, and that the Muslims would vanquish them to the point that the Jews would hide behind the stones and the trees, but the stones and the trees would say: "Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." *Prepare for that day, for it will surely arrive*, because the divine revelation harbors no lies.' More h... more »

SATANIC SAVILE

Anon at aangirfan - 1 day ago
*Satanist?* *The following is from:* *Interview prep........* "I remember a man who I think was Savile sticking his tongue in my mouth when I was a toddler and a group of men in suits laughed about it. "After that I was taken to various places by various rings and was introduced to someone who definitely was Savile and was told not to let on I had met him before... *William Hague, UK Foreign Secretary, with his friend Savile.* "We moved out to the country when I was four... I have a strong sense of ritualised abuse becoming very normal to me very early... "One time he took me... more »

Princess Festival at Thanksgiving Point Giveaway!

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 1 day ago
I am so lucky to have a sweet little princess in my life. She is full of spunk and most of all curiosity. She loves to dress up as any numbers of things, but princesses rank at the very top. Our trip to Disneyland this year fell through and she was really disappointed that we weren't going to be able to see "real princesses," I was completely delighted to find the Princess Festival and to know that I can make her dream come true. I can't wait to see the look on her face when we walk into the festival this week. The Largest and Longest Running Princess Adventure Event in America,... more »

Is that that the reflection of a cornflower, Steve Case, or an egret in the ionosphere?

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 1 day ago
Here is a link to a list of words that get you marked out by the NSA as a potential terrorist. These are merely some of the highlights: Firewalls Archives Spookwords SASP SACLANT BECCA CONUS WANK TEXTA Spetznaz Reese 15kg Cornflower Iris Talent Trump Reflection Guppy Ionosphere Data havens Keyhole Artichoke Daisy Egret Sugar Grove Retinal fetish Bess Railgun 1997 8142 1911 1984 Squib Primacord Becker Nerd Fangs Sneakers Steve Case

Sunday Classics: Father's Day special -- Wagner's Daland usually knows better than to trust in the wind

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
*DALAND*: [*coming down from the cliff*]: No doubt! Seven miles away the storm has driven us from safe port. So near our goal after a long voyage, this trick was saved up for me! *STEERSMAN* [*on board, shouting through cupped hands*]: Ho! Captain! *DALAND*: On board with you -- how goes it? *STEERSMAN* [*as before*]: Good, captain! We have firm grounding. *DALAND*: It's Sandwike! I know the bay well. *Damn! I already saw my house on the shore. Senta, my child, I imagined myself already embracing. Then came this blast from the depths of hell. Who trusts in wind trusts in Satan's mercy. Wh... more »

"Gangsta Government"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
* * *"Gangsta Government"* by William O'Connor “I’ll let you have the $10,000 for three points. That’s only because I know you.” I’m listening to Tony yak, my Shylock. Yak, yak has earned the moniker. He never gives his mouth a rest. Yak’s giving me the loan at street price: $30 for every $1,000. That’s “juice.” Every week I’ll pay $300, but nothing comes off the top. Usury’s a felony. The Yak did a three-and-a -half year stretch for it. That’s the way it was back in the day. Now, credit card companies make cash loans at 28 percent with Congress’ blessing. Many Credit card compan... more »

Hillary Mann Leverett On American-Iranian Relations: "We Need To Stop Making This A Zero-Sum Game"

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
"We need to stop making this a zero-sum game, the United States and our allies vis-à-vis Iran. It is destroying the Middle East. We need to come to terms with Iran, accept it, and have constructive relationships with these countries as they are." - Hillary Mann Leverett, former director of Iran and Afghanistan Affairs at the National Security Council. Source: CNN.

SYRIA: BRZEZINSKI ATTACKS INTERVENTION; Hands Off Syria Rally - Sydney

Anon at aangirfan - 1 day ago
Hands OFF Syria | Facebook *Brzezinski attacks intervention in Iraq, Libya and Syria.* *Pro-Assad in Australia*

Merkel in trouble ? Bild polls indicate the answer might be yes ! AFD polling much stronger than let on.....

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/06/germany-election-update-afd-soars-in.html Sunday, June 16, 2013 1:16 PM Germany Election Update: AFD Soars in Online Poll Reader Bernd from Germany (not Bernd Lucke, AfD anti-euro party leader) has emailed me several times since Friday about polls conducted by the German tabloid Bild. Emphasis must be placed on the the word "tabloid" because intellectuals and academics do not tend to read the paper, nor even acknowledge its existence. Nonetheless, Bild is the number one readership paper in Germany, by far, with about 20 million r... more »

NO JUSTICE IN NIGERIA

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
What would white folks say if their communities were turned into oil cesspools like this? Why do Nigerians have to live this way?

INTELLIGENCE REPORT

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

“Inside 'Prism' Success: Even Bigger Data Seizure”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
* * *“Inside 'Prism' Success: Even Bigger Data Seizure” * By Stephen Braun, Anne Flaherty, Jack Gillum and Matt Apuzzo WASHINGTON — “In the months and early years after 9/11, FBI agents began showing up at Microsoft Corp. more frequently than before, armed with court orders demanding information on customers. Around the world, government spies and eavesdroppers were tracking the email and Internet addresses used by suspected terrorists. Often, those trails led to the world's largest software company and, at the time, largest email provider. The agents wanted email archives, accoun... more »

'PM'

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago
Some of my recent posts have rather slipped away from my original intention to avoid cherry-picking, but the cherries were ripe and hanging low, so I picked them. Time then to rummage through a whole supermarket shelf of flavoursome fruits instead, and do so without a pre-prepared shopping list. (OK, I'll stop that metaphor now!) How about listening to a whole week's worth of editions of Radio 4's *PM*? Any bias? Individual segments may seem unbalanced, but what about the entirety of the programme's output over all its available episodes? If *PM*is strongly biased, some evidence of... more »

Consequences? Did Anyone Say "Consequences?"

Glasnost On the Potomac Under Obama? Not Quite WelL, it would be just like it except that this praise belongs to those who sold out their progressive followers by instituting Bush III government. But if you truly think that's a good thing (even just for security's sake), then you perhaps should move back (in time) to Soviet Russia, which collapsed due to the inward rot occurring because the

Forgotten Libya news - Militia mayhem ......Qatar faces regime change - due to health concerns or US pressures ? Depends on whom you believe......

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
Libya news of note ..... Militias still calling the shots..... http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/06/13/34848/ Qatar Airways suspends Benghazi flights *By Maha Ellawati and Aimen Eljali.* Qatar Airways suspends flights to Benghazi *Benghazi/Tripoli*. Qatar Airways has suspended flights between Benghazi and Doha following an incident yesterday at Benghazi’s Benina Airport when protestors prevented non-Libyan passengers arriving from Doha from going through passport control. Said to be mostly Bangladeshis, they were forced to fly back to Qatar. Libyan passengers heading to Doha were also... more »

Zapatistas Events Summer 2013

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 day ago
Photo street artist Banksy Space full in communities for the Zapatista little school Zapatista Army for National Liberation Mexico Seminar Tata Juan Chávez Alonso' open to all in CIDECI, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, beginning on August 17, 2013 June 2013  Espanol: http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2013/06/17/scuola-posti-esauriti/ Reposted from Enlace Zapatista at Censored

Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, June 16th, 2013

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 1 day ago
It is Sunday again, and time for my weekly rant about exactly what the hell is happening in our sick world.... First and foremost.... Today is of course Father's Day, and I want to send out a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.... We do indeed do a lot, and put up with a lot.... It is nice to have one day for us.... My father passed away almost 13 and 1/2 years ago due to the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease... He was in the last stages of Dementia, and his mind was finally shutting down. It was sad to have to pull the plug on him and watch him pass away, though peacefully.... more »

Your second moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 1 day ago
A Lady Liberty, photo taken in 1925. [via]

GAIA PORTAL: Shifting and Reversal of Selected Gateways and Portals…

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago
* * *Shifting and Reversal of Selected Gateways and Portals…* by ÉirePort Shifting and reversal of selected gateways and portals occurs at this moment. Required to accommodate slowing of some Light worker's ascension patterns, some of these will revert to prior energetic states, whereas others will retain the new configuration. Much occurs during the 6-15-13 (a 6-6-6) to the 6-18-13 (6-9-6) period. ÉirePort | June 16, 2013 at 07:59 | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p2sFUY-mw

Mohawk Nation News 'Bums Rush'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 day ago
BUMS RUSH Posted on June 16, 2013 Mohawk Nation News  MNN. Jun 15, 2013. We are the biggest contributors in history. Our real estate, Great Turtle Island, has been illegally put up by foreigners for the largest economy in the world! The crooks are rushing to eject us from our land to try to squeeze the last bit of our rights and ever growing $105 trillion Indian Trust Fund. They will

Obesogens - Have you ever heard of obesogens?

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
The first paragraphs from an article on Mother Jones – made me take a journey this morning – I had not planned to make. I found it interesting and after I found the third source – I felt comfortable to take the tin foil hat off – and ask the question, “Why aren’t we seeing this reported anywhere else?” A chemical common in food packaging—Bisphenol-A (BPA)—has for years been scrutinized for potential links to reproductive problems, heart disease, cancer, and even anxiety. And now new research suggests BPA, which leeches out from things like aluminum cans, drink straws, plastic packa... more »

NSA admits to warrantless wiretapping which only needs an analyst's decision ( no national security letter or FISA warrant ) - Snowden proven correct despite all the blather to the contrary..... At this rate , he will be in Hong Kong many years.....

fredw at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-16/nsa-admits-warrantless-wiretapping-according-house-judiciary-committee-member ( Hmm , didn't Edward Snowden say an analyst could wiretap any phone ? ) NSA Admits To Warrantless Wiretapping According To House Judiciary Committee Member [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/16/2013 10:26 -0400 - FBI - national security - Verizon More confusion, or just more lies? You decide. In an exchange first caught by CNET, Rep Gerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, questioned FBI Director Robert Mueller late last we... more »

Escaping from Earth? See Kepler's Catalog for your journey - we may not be alone after all!

address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 1 day ago
link: http://youtu.be/ZbijeR_AALo Are we alone in the Cosmos? No, we aren't... Then: where are 'they'? Hereand there. Between science-fiction and *science-fact* sits the NASA KEPLERProject. High-Science of the very best on Earth. It will take another 2 or 3 years (if the project continues) to deliver *conclusive evidence* that our planet may not be the single, unique one to support life. The next step might be a revision of propulsion methods and systems to venture out "where nobody went before". Interesting stuff for travel agents! What about some holidays on Gliese 581g? I can hard... more »

Is It Time to Wake Up - People?

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
*Think about it people!* *It's really time to stop * *and think about it.* Across the United States they are hellbent on destroying any and every union (which is the most salient representation of democracy in the US). They came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Across the United States they are hellbent labeling activists terrorist - whether it is a peaceful rally, an action against XL or actions against animal cruelty. I think of the persecution and prosecution of activists like Aaron Schwartz and members of Anonymous. ... more »

Education Isn't Enough Anymore

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 1 day ago
On Friday, Paul Krugman wrote that the technological revolution is leaving even some of the well educated behind: Today, however, a much darker picture of the effects of technology on labor is emerging. In this picture, highly educated workers are as likely as less educated workers to find themselves displaced and devalued, and pushing for more education may create as many problems as it solves. I’ve noted before that the nature of rising inequality in America changed around 2000. Until then, it was all about worker versus worker; the distribution of income between labor and cap... more »

Harvey Organ's Gold and Silver Report - June 13 , 2013 ! Ed Steer's Report for June 14 , 2013 .....Data , News and Views !

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/edition/goldmoney-interviews-sprotts-john-embry-on-golds-prospects GoldMoney Interviews Sprott’s John Embry on Gold’s Prospects Jun *14* - Yesterday in Gold and Silver - Critical Reads - The Funnies - The Wrap RetweetShare "We're still stuck in the sub-$1,400 holding pattern in gold." ¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD & SILVER Gold's attempt to rally in morning trading in the Far East ran into a seller of last resort around noon in Tokyo...and from there it was all quietly down hill into the 9:30 open of the New York equity markets. The subsequent ral... more »

ACTION: Support Bernie Sanders Privacy Act

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
*This man fights for US every day in every way - he is one of a kind in today's usele$$ Congre$$.* *Show him some love by bookmarking his webpage* *AND* *Signing the things that he puts on his webpage.* *The Restore Our Privacy Act * *Sign your name and support the Restore Our Privacy Act. * *>>>>HERE<<<* Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Restore Our Privacy Act to put strict limits on sweeping powers used by the National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation to secretly track telephone calls by millions of innocent Americans who are not suspected of any wrongdoing. ... more »

We’re #10, We’re #10 !

Chris Cerrone at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago
Ah yes, the public likes lists. We like to quantify even the unmeasurable and know where we stand. Hence the annual ranking of school districts by a publication in the Buffalo area that no one ever reads, except when it publishes a list of “top school districts”. What a great marketing ploy. And it works. […]

Greek Gamble - muzzling reporting - what about democracy?

address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 1 day ago
Link: http://youtu.be/GNwaVrZa-9o One might argue that State Television is for propaganda purposes only. But what competition offer commercial networks? For instance check-out the German media infrastructure, their state run ZDF and ARD entertainment-, news- and information programs versus the commercial ones. Take a look at Bayern TV as well and its bewildering 24/7 naive love-song on the beauty of the region, only now and then interrupted by mostly conservative political propaganda and some insignificant documentaries about religion, exotic foreign sceneries, cooking and rural ac... more »

Did Weyrich Kill the Republicon Party?

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
An interesting piece *on HuffPo *this morning – if you take the time to think about it – rather than just read it. In relation to this – it’s important to remember that is was 40+ years ago that Paul Weyrich pulled the “Moral Majority” together and did all his nastiness with other organizations because he felt that the ultraconservatives in our nation had lost their stronghold on the political process. Today, because of tenacity and evilness of Weyrich (and others) that is no longer the case – the RWNJ’s have too much power. But it's not turning out to be the success story Weyri... more »

Throwing juice isn't the way to go

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 day ago
Someone, now charged with assault, threw juice at Rob Ford. Twitter lit up with those cheering her act while others deplored it. Myself? I just see it as a rather weak media stunt. When a protestor threw a show towards George Bush it resonated as there was a deep cultural significance. Ain't no such thing with juice. I am not an apologist for Mayor Ford. I didn't back him in the last election; but he did win on a clear mandate. I have concerns for him as a person - I fear he is deeply unhealthy. I'd prefer him not to be Mayor. But throwing juice? Just wrong.

Subscription Is Coming

Martyn Daniels at Brave New World - 1 day ago
Subscription business often make good business sense to both the service provider and the consumer. For the service provider it enables them to build a sustainable and predictable revenue stream where the peaks and troughs of fads and the unpredictability of demand is cushioned by the width and depth of offer. They still have to manage down the exposure to churn, but have the opportunity to build customer loyalty and relationship. For the consumer it offers the obvious one stop shop and protection from change in what today is often dynamically changing markets. Media, technology,... more »

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 1 day ago
Happy Dad's Day if it fits your circumstances. For me, it's different now. Second year since my Pop died. Still miss him just as much as the first day he left but you make peace with the absence over time.

Mr. Obama! Mr. Cameron! We Must Arm The Turkish Rebels Now!

NO ONE TO VOTE FOR at NO ONE TO VOTE FOR - 1 day ago
. Recent polls show that only 48% of the country living outside Instanbul support Turkey's Prime Minister, Mr Erdogan while inside Istanbul that figure collapses to a mere and shocking 30%. http://www.gallup.com/poll/163061/turks-grew-discontent-leaders-freedom-unrest.aspx Similar polls in Syria as revealed by NATO sources, no less, reveal that Mr Assad enjoys 70% support from the Syrian people while only 10% oppose his rule. http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/05/31/nato-data-assad-winning-the-war-for-syrians-hearts-and-minds/ Mr Obama! Mr. Cameron! Of course we must arm the Syrian ... more »

WI GOP - Being 50 of 50 A-OK!!

2old2care at Because I Can - 1 day ago
There is a diary on Daily Kos this morning – that kinda helps to lift a cloud of confusion. It is about Wisconsin - but applies almost anywhere , I suspect. A recent survey on Wisconsin – begins to remove the fog around the "WTF?" That the rest of us are mumbling every day. It is well worth your read – It’s not horribly long – and even though you will be saying WTF? throughout – it will start to lift the fog. And the scary part if that this is not just limited to Wisconsin - I bet if you took a different state where an economic distaster has happened under a RepubliCON legislatu... more »

TURKISH NIGHT

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
Last night at 9.00 PM police forces intervened against the Istanbul Gezi Park resistance violently, following the speech of Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan in Ankara. This is an obvious declaration of war against the people. All main highways of Istanbul were occupied by demonstrators. Tens of thousands of people were in the streets, trying to march to Taksim square. Police uses not only tear gas but also rubber bullets. Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan also ordered that doctors and medical volunteers who were treating the victims of police violence should be arrested and many were. One hotel in t... more »

Saudi cleric promises Jihadists that their 72 virgins will be fair-skinned white women

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
More here http://topconservativenews.com/2013/06/saudi-cleric-promises-jihadists-that-their-72-virgins-will-be-fair-skinned-white-women/ More from the apartheid state of Saudi Arabia. Don't expect any reporting of this on the BBC for whom Israel is the only apartheid state and Islamic states are beyond criticism.

Does The Pope Refuse To Live In The Papal Apartments Because He Knows The Curia Will Try To Kill Him?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
When the College of Cardinals elects the new Pope, they don't have a magic wand to give him-- and he's stuck with an entrenched, conservative Curia. And like all conservatives-- *very* corrupt. There's been a lot in the news lately about Pope Francis remarking on the "gay lobby" (or, more accurately, a gay subculture) in the Vatican. That's not really the story though. This week NPR interviewed Robert Mickens, Vatican correspondent for the British Catholic weekly *The Tablet*, who reminded them that "many of these people in the Vatican that are gay, and even acting out, are extre... more »

SUNDAY SONG

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

Multiple New Polls Show Americans Reject Wholesale NSA Domestic Spying

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 1 day ago
image source Mark M. Jaycox *Electronic Frontier Foundation* In the 1950s and 60s, the NSA spied on all telegrams entering and exiting the country. The egregious actions were only uncovered after Congress set up an independent investigation called the Church Committee in the 1970s after Watergate. When the American public learned about NSA's actions, they demanded change. And the Church Committee delivered it by providing more information about the programs and by curtailing the spying. Just like the American public in the 1970s, Americans in the 2010s know that when the governmen... more »

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