Saturday, August 24, 2013

24 August - Blogs I'm Following

A title card still from the April 4, 1968 edit...A title card still from the April 4, 1968 edition of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, the evening of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
TITLE: D.C. riot. April '68. Aftermath SUMMARY...TITLE: D.C. riot. April '68. Aftermath SUMMARY: Photograph showing a soldier standing guard on the corner of 7th & N Street NW in Washington D.C. with the ruins of buildings that were destroyed during the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. FORMAT: Film negatives 1960-1970. REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA CARD #: 2003688168 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
4:35pm MDST

It's Not "Military Intervention" - It Is Called Aggressive War, Fucking Morons

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 16 minutes ago
Anyone who stands behind "military intervention" in Syria or anywhere else stands behind "aggressive war." This won't end pretty, especially not for America and Israel. It will get to the point where the Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinians, etc, will HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE and they will burn Israel down to the ground along with any American invader stupid enough to tag along in this Zionist-led mass murder journey. Spreading lies about Syria, causing sectarian and ethnic division across the Middle East, killing innocent people, all these are tactics of weak armies and weak nations... more »

Hope Springs Infernal

gail zawacki at Wit's End - 40 minutes ago
On the 29th of last October I walked up to the village to survey the damage from the Sandy storm. Massive trees had fallen, exposing their centers, rotted from pollution. This maple was by no means the largest but its condition was typical. The interior was a festering black, and the leaves were speckled with the classic spots from stomata absorbing ozone. Given the millions of trees that fell it's very impressive how quickly they were cleared out. The owner of this house replaced the dead tree in the spring, a younger version which began turning fall colors even before August. No do... more »

HOLD A LOCAL EVENT DURING SPACE WEEK

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 54 minutes ago
*No Missile Defense*** * No to NATO Expansion * *End Afghanistan Occupation* *Stop the Drones Surveillance & Killing* *No Nuclear Power in Space or on Earth* *End Corporate Domination of Foreign/Military Policy* *Convert the Military Industrial Complex* *Resources* - Download our full-size *space week poster* at: http://www.space4peace.org/actions/Keep%20Space%20for%20Peacer%20Poster%202013.pdf * * - ***The award winning documentary Pax Americana & the Weaponization of Space** is now available online at: * http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tR... more »

I Have a Dream

Paul Coker at News Spike - 59 minutes ago
Evidence of Revision: The Assassination Of Martin Luther King Jr from Spike1138 on Vimeo. Billy Kyles from Spike1138 on Vimeo. "Thirty year later at a Press Conference, he slipped... Because God do baffle your mind, sometimes...." The Other Hole in Martin King's Face.... from Spike1138 on Vimeo. Bill Pepper's a great lawyer - but in all the 18 years he worked non-stop on James Earl Ray's post-Conviction Defence, he was NEVER given access to the "Ray" Rifle or the bullet fragments - a ballistics analysis never became a realistic topic for discussion and was in any case irreleva... more »

“The Most Honest Three Minutes In Television History”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago
*“The Most Honest Three Minutes In Television History”* Strong Language Alert * * - http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/

Will Wentworth Miller's coming out embarrass Russia's rampaging official homophones just a little? One can hope

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 hour ago
*by Ken* To be honest, I never heard of Wentworth Miller before now. He is, I gather, the star of *Prison Break*, and lots of people have heard of him. And now he has picked what seems to me an excellent moment and method for coming out. This letter he wrote to the St. Petersburg (Russia) International Film Festival is posted on the GLAAD website. August 21, 2013 Re: St. Petersburg International Film Festival / "Guest of Honor" Invitation Dear Ms. Averbakh: Thank you for your kind invitation. As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of R... more »

Internet Activism, Politics and Protest

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 2 hours ago
I just want to make some points about this article by Joe Rivers that appeared on the *New Statesman* website today. 1. Despite its title, 'Let's stop pretending internet activism is a real thing', it's not really about that at all. I can only assume it was subbed with that heading to pick up a few Facebook likes and retweets on what is traditionally a slow day for all bloggers. But the idea the internet and social media particularly offers a facsimile of activism is absolutely nothing new. Remember 2009's battle for the Christmas Number One? An internet-based grassroots movement m... more »

Spacey Questions 'Yeterday's' Media Practices

Martyn Daniels at Brave New World - 3 hours ago
When someone of the status of Kevin Spacey does a keynote speak at the Edinburgh International Television Festival about media and content we have to listen. The speech centred on the lessons he had learned from his successful remake of the ‘House of Cards’ series. His first point was that in making the series they refused to be drawn into the US TV pilot route forced on the market by the networks. He cites that some 113 pilots were made last year of which only 35 made it to full adoption and that of these only 13 were renewed. This year there are some 146 pilots and 35 take ups.... more »

Sourcebook: The Straw Man Attack

Paul Coker at News Spike - 3 hours ago
The Brennake Gambit: Guarding Against Straw Man Disinformation Stings from Spike1138 on Vimeo. Old School Journalism - get two sources who will confirm on the record, plus deep background. Only fight for what you KNOW to be provebly true. Or they with Dan Rather you.... Also referred to as "memogate," Rathergate is the scandal surrounding the 60 Minutes II story aired on CBS in 2004 about George W. Bush's National Guard service. Memos providing the basis for many of the claims in the report were supposedly created in 1973 and found in the files of the late Lieutenant Colonel Jer... more »

The Glass Half Empty: Gendered Problems in Academic Networking

Laura Sjoberg at Duck of Minerva - 3 hours ago
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, Professor and Department Chair of Political Science at the University of Iowa. It is Part 1 of a 2-part discussion. Many recent posts (e.g., posts here by David Lake, Dan Nexon, and Laura Sjoberg, and elsewhere by Christian Davenport and Steve Saideman) have discussed professional networking Continue reading

Why I Am No Longer a Light Worker -- Part I

Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 3 hours ago
Cameron..... I cannot thank you enough for this AMAZING article! and a HUGE thanx to Brian for screaming at me to read it "RIGHT NOW". This article sums up so many things that I have been talking about, thoughts that I have been trying to convey for months now. Please repost this article as it needs to go viral. THIS may actually be the message that shatters the illusion of us vs them and light vs dark and good vs evil. Please read this with an open heart and an unfettered mind. This isn't about separation. it's about oneness. love D Original article: http://www.ascensi... more »

killing me softly fukushima

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 3 hours ago
Oil spills in the gulf of mexico wasn't good enough... now you have to irradiate the pacific ocean with radioactive cesium 137 from fukushima... what's next, atomic bombs ?

Syria: Crunch Time

Paul Coker at News Spike - 3 hours ago
*Obama still says "No."* To Quote Depp on Polanski: "Why Now....?" "Signed, Shah Reza Pahlavi, Emperor of Persia, King of Kings". This is an enormous deal. Forget Syria. Someone is trying to derail something truly historic. http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB435/ *Washington, D.C., August 19, 2013* – Marking the sixtieth anniversary of the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, the National Security Archive is today posting recently declassified CIA documents on the United States' role in the controversial operation. American and British involvement i... more »

"Getting it about right"

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 4 hours ago
So, as might be expected, left-wingers on Twitter are reacting with glee to the report from Cardiff University 'proving' BBC bias in favour of right-wing perspectives. (For my take on it, please see below and for DB's take on it at *Biased BBC* please click here). This report, part-funded by the BBC Trust and part-written by the BBC's former head of news Richard Sambrook, will doubtless be used by the BBC to say that they are criticised from the Right and the the Left - and, thus, they must be getting it about right. That's as inevitable as the punchline of a Marcus Brigstocke jo... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 4 hours ago
*The Film That Will Get Goodell Fired ~Jason Calbos*

O brave new 'PM' that has such people in't

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 4 hours ago
My first encounter with the David Miranda story came when I drove home from work listening to *PM* on Monday night. The programme led with the story and how it reported it is worth describing in some detail. What struck me at the time of hearing was the initial sketching-in of the background to the story from Eddie Mair, which came across (to me) as presenting Glenn Greenwald (star *Guardian *journalist, David Miranda's especial friend) in a flattering light, recounting all his recent scoops and their earth-shaking impact without even so much as a hint that their accuracy has been... more »

Countdown

theozarker at The Conflicted Doomer - 4 hours ago
August 24, 2013 The NSA keeps spying, spying; The leaders keep on lying, lying While drones just keep on flying, flying And people below keep dying, dying, Leaving children to do the crying. And rich old men are farting, farting … Continue reading →

What Mattered This Week?

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 4 hours ago
The events in Syria this week, and the emerging world reaction, mattered. Not sure what I have for "didn't matter," although someone did report a poll in some state matching Hillary Clinton against one of the Republicans for 2016. Obviously, Ignore those polls! What do you have? What do you think mattered this week?

Is Harper Suppressing Climate Change Information?

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 4 hours ago
Canadians are supposed to receive an annual accounting of our federal government's efforts and progress on fighting climate change. It's overdue and Environment Canada won't say why or when it will be released. *“Environment Canada is currently preparing the 2013 Canada’s Emissions Trends report,” said spokesman Joshua Kirkey, in an email sent on Friday. “Therefore, they are best positioned to comment on this report.”* ** *The last report, released on Aug 8, 2012, revealed that Canada’s climate performance was improving slightly with annual greenhouse gas emissions projected to be 1... more »

The Mysterious Bookshop Finds A Survival Answer?

Martyn Daniels at Brave New World - 5 hours ago
Sometimes we miss news, or items, which at the time didn't make our radar. Today we come across one such story, which at a time when many bookshops are struggling to see the way ahead, may well offer some food for thought. Driven by the realism of the book market for independent bookshops, Otto Penzler woke in the middle of the night and had an idea. Otto thought that if he asked some of his author friends to write a profile of their series characters, he could then print them and give them away with a book purchase as a special souvenir. Otto is the owner of the Mysterious Booksh... more »

Banking on Neptune

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 5 hours ago
Researchers hope they'll be able to give Victoria and Vancouver a 30- to 50-second warning in advance of the megaquake when it occurs off Vancouver Island. That doesn't sound like much but it might be enough to shut down gas lines and activate emergency systems that will be needed to cope with the quake and aftershocks. The Neptune monitoring network deployed off the western coast of Vancouver Island comprises a number of seabed nodules or monitoring stations. It's hoped these sensitive instrument clusters will detect and report the primary wave of the mega-thrust earthquake, ess... more »

How do we transmit values (GOOD values, that is)? E. J. Dionne Jr. provides a case in point

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 5 hours ago
*"If you stand for something, you will always make enemies. That is part of the price of being principled. What you should avoid are entirely unnecessary fights that advance no cause but create bitter feelings."* -- Washington Post *columnist E. J. Dionne Jr., in a tribute this week to his "second father,"* "Unearned blessings" by Ken Probably it's too facile to say that right-wingers don't acknowledge their roots, the human sources that nourished them into the people they became. After all, Paul Ryan acknowledges the inspiration he drew from that great thinker Ayn Rand, or at least... more »

Egyptians Are Right Not To Trust The Muslim Brotherhood And The Obama Administration

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 5 hours ago
Watch the video below by journalist and author Max Blumenthal called, *"What pro-military Egyptians think of Obama, the Brotherhood."* In an article published at Mondoweiss on Friday, August 23, called, *"Egyptians rally in DC for General Sisi, rattling off conspiracy theories recycled from Islamophobes"* Blumenthal wrote: On August 22, several hundred Egyptians and Egyptian-Americans hit the streets of Washington DC to show their support for General Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi and the regime that overthrew the elected President Mohamed Morsi in a military coup on July 3. After surrounding... more »

Creating Education: Work Room

Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 5 hours ago
Over the course of the past year and a half I have spoken about Education several times- mostly about the lack of true education and the design of the current educations system to train children into little automatons with no ability to think. As I said in June: I think that most parents who are even marginally awake can see that the main stream education system is so FUBARed that it's beyond redemption. I'm not even talking about their ulterior motive of brainwashing kids into being good little automatons that will listen to Big Brother and go through their lives unquestioning "a... more »

MOTUS nails Obama's bus tour...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 6 hours ago
*no, really - and we thank her* *A Recap of This Week’s College-Bound and Down Tour*

Newest Syrian Chemical Weapons False Flag Attack: Experts Doubt Syrian Chemical Weapons Claims

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 6 hours ago
I have been busy the last few days taking care of other business... But I have been keeping tabs via watching the garbage so called "Mainstream Media" news, about the lies perpetrated by the Jews running the US Government, as well as the shills in the media continuing to pipe the false claims, that this latest chemical weapons attack in Syria was conducted by Assad's government forces. Common sense would indeed dictate to everyone that since Assad has the full support and the love of his people, he would indeed be insane to conduct such a ghastly operation against his own people..... more »

The Geopolitical Anchor Around the World's Neck.

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 6 hours ago
For all our wealth and sophistication, our nations still interact in ways remarkably akin to those that drove great power politics in centuries past. In *OurWorld2.0*, Manu Mathai warns that, unless we change and soon, the political models to which we are so tightly lashed may take us down. *...great (and aspiring) power politics is also a driver of environmental degradation. The possession of power in international relations, whether “hard”, “soft” or “smart”, is sustained in great measure by the size of a country’s GDP. And despite claims of dematerialization, GDP remains correlat... more »

Is Nuclear Green Progressive?

Charles Barton at The Nuclear Green Revolution - 6 hours ago
I have to credit Meredith Angwin for including Nuclear Green Revolution with other progressive pro nuclear bogs. My impression, at one point, a few years ago was that most pro nuclear bloggers were progressives. Even Kirk Sorensen who has identified himself as being conservative has many ideas that are strictly progressive in their nature. Among current bloggers, I have fewer opinions because my reading handicapped prevents me from reading extensively. My reading handicapped is due to damage to my vision caused by glaucoma. My actual views are complex and I do share a few attitudes ... more »

"One Quadrillion Pennies"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
"One Quadrillion Pennies" by Quadrillion.com ․ "One quadrillion, sixty-seven billion, eighty-eight million, three hundred and eighty-four thousand pennies. One cube measuring 2,730 x 2,730 x 2,730 feet. What a stack of 1 Quadrillion (U.S.), 1,000,067,088,384,000 pennies might look like: 1,000,067,088,384,000 One quadrillion, sixty-seven billion, eighty-eight million, three hundred and eighty-four thousand pennies. Here we have the buildings we used for scale back at a trillion, but they're now a bit dwarfed by our new cube of pennies. This is a quadrillion, or a thousand time... more »

"The Horrific $1.5 QUADRILLION Derivatives Bubble"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
*"The Horrific $1.5 QUADRILLION Derivatives Bubble"* That's $1,500,000,000,000,000,000 by Michael Snyder "Today there is a horrific derivatives bubble that threatens to destroy not only the U.S. economy but the entire world financial system as well, but unfortunately the vast majority of people do not understand it. When you say the word "derivatives" to most Americans, they have no idea what you are talking about. In fact, even most members of the U.S. Congress don't really seem to understand them. But you don't have to get into all the technicalities to understand the bigger pi... more »

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 6 hours ago
A peace garden in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Rob Ford makes international news - Reported by MSNBC

LeDaro at LeDaro - 6 hours ago
Rob Ford and Hulk Hogan arm-wrestle. Rob Ford wins? It looks fix to me. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"Billionaire Sprott: World To Witness A Frightening Collapse"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
* * *"Billionaire Sprott: World To Witness A Frightening Collapse"* by King World News "Today billionaire Eric Sprott warned that the world is in for a massive and frightening collapse. He also startled KWN when he revealed what his biggest fear is when the mega-collapse takes place. Below is what Sprott, who is Chairman of Sprott Asset Management, had to say: *Eric King:* “Ron Rosen has been watching these markets for almost 60 years now, but he told KWN in an interview very recently that the stock market was going to have a massive collapse- he was talking (about a) 66% (declin... more »

The ALEC Revolution: Extremism of the 1990's

2old2care at Because I Can - 7 hours ago
"Alec was founded in 1973 by the LOSERS" "They (the American Legislative Exchange Council) have never forgotten that they were founded by people who couldn't win elections. So they put a lot of their energy on gaming the electoral process." That's kinda been my attitude - that they were a bunch of conservative losers until the mid 90's and that is when they became the *extremist*pro-corporate American Legislative Exchange Council. And they WERE extremists in the mid 90's. I have to share with you what Lyndon LaRouche (I know - I know - he was fringe - but so is ALEC, so who better to... more »

Over a thousand people gathered at the Spokane Eagles Club to honor Delbert "Shorty" Belton...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 7 hours ago
*did you know that the reason he was sitting in his car was so he could safely escort his lady friend into the club when she arrived?*

Linda Ronstadt unable to sing...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 7 hours ago
*a great loss to the world.* Guest post by Harold Streeter: Having just learned that Linda Ronstadt, age 67, was diagnosed 8 months ago with Parkinson’s disease, resulting in her not being able to sing anymore, let alone physically navigate without the aid of a walker or wheel chair, this revelation is a huge loss to me. As a professional musician, aside from her leftist political leanings, and aside from her misguided early excursions or experiments in romance, i.e. Jerry Brown (once again current governor of California), to me, Ms. Ronstadt has always been a musical inspiratio... more »

SYRIA-DEADLY GAS-US READY TO BOMB

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 7 hours ago
Syrian army soldiers have found chemical agents when they entered rebel tunnels in Damascus suburb of Jobar, Syrian TV reports, adding that some of them started suffocating. The US Navy's expanding its presence in the Mediterranean with a 4th cruise-missile armed destroyer. The move is a response to the escalating conflict in Syria. For more on this RT is joined by Paula Slier. A lifetime of watching the US war machine in action leads me to believe that the US-NATO are behind the chemical gas story in Syria. They always fabricate the pretext for war - the phony Gulf of Tonkin inci... more »

Google and the NSA: Who’s holding the ‘shit-bag’ now? by Julian Assange

Mike Philbin at PROGNOSIS II - 7 hours ago
this is a story attributed to Wikileaks' Julian Assange - real or what? *Google and the NSA: Who’s holding the ‘shit-bag’ now?* *by Julian Assange* * * *Jared Cohen was the co-writer of Eric Schmidt’s book, and his role as the bridge between Google and the State Department speaks volumes about how the US securitocracy works. Cohen used to work directly for the State Department and was a close advisor to both Condolezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. But since 2010 he has been Director of Google Ideas, its in-house ‘think/do’ tank.* * **Documents published last year by WikiLeaks obtained f... more »

THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 7 hours ago
Desperate for any kind of job, low-paid workers in the UK are being caught in the trap of what's become known as zero hour contracts. RT's Polly Boiko looks at a world where employment doesn't mean there's any work ... or any money.

His Highness Stephen Harper did not want to take a question from a Chinese reporter

LeDaro at LeDaro - 7 hours ago
A Chinese reporter travelling with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Northern tour was hauled away by RCMP after grabbing a microphone to ask a question.

Martin Luther King: "I have a dream"

LeDaro at LeDaro - 7 hours ago
This week is the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King when he gave the speech, "I have a dream". It is considered one of the best speeches ever given. This is a shorter version of his speech. 

Imagining 10 dimensions

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 7 hours ago
Peter F. sent me a link to this video, *Imagining 10 dimensions*. It has 104 minutes but based on various hints and a quick selection, I believe it must be a pretty good one for an apparent amateur creator! Correct me if I am wrong but I hope you won't! ;-) I hope that at least one more reader will find the required spare time to watch it. Note that Imagining 10 dimensions is also a blog. For others who are more busy, a homework problem: Where have you seen the background color under the Calabi-Yau manifold from the video at 1:39:06? ;-) It's actually an originally Mathemat... more »

Sunnanæfen Commentary and Linkage

Daniel Nexon at Duck of Minerva - 7 hours ago
I still believe that some of Snowden’s disclosures, and his actions, have forfeited his whistleblower status. But if he’d been a bit more circumspect about what he’d leaked and how he had done it–e.g., not brought US government secrets into the range of Russians and Chinese intelligence agents–that would emphatically not be the case. His disclosures Continue reading

I'm Sick Of The Jewish Owned & Run U.S. Mainstream Media Talking About Arabs All The Time

Big Dan at Big Dan's Big Blog - 8 hours ago
(Above: where are all the MUSLIMS running the news or being lead news characters? THERE ARE NONE! They're only the targets OF the "news". We need some AFFIRMATIVE ACTION in the "news" to get more diversified news, instead of one group controlling the "news" and making it pro-Israel/pro-Jewish & anti-Muslim all the time.) Is there anything going on in the world, let alone the United States, besides stories to do with Arabs? Pick up any local paper lately, I'll just randomly pick up today's Citizens Voice, and here are the top stories: - Suicide bombing in Park, attacks kill 36... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 8 hours ago
*Corps announces proposed route for St. John levee ~Richard Thompson, New Orleans Advocate* *Leaders weigh in on Army Corps flood protection plan ~WDSU* *ExxonMobil Baton Rouge fined by Louisiana environmental officials ~Lauren McGaughy* *Families call for city to save deteriorating historic Holt Cemetery ~WWLTV* *St. Bernard gets $3.75M to replace water intake *

David McReynolds : Reflections on the '63 March on Washington

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 8 hours ago
A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin on the cover of Life Magazine, September 6, 1963. A socialist remembers: Reflections on the March on Washington The climate in Washington, D.C. that day was timorous. White Washingtonians feared some riotous upheaval. By David McReynolds / The Rag Blog / August 24, 2013 August 28th will be the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and

Lamar W. Hankins : The March for Jobs and Freedom After 50 Years

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 8 hours ago
50 years later: The March for Jobs and Freedom While King's 'I Have a Dream' speech is clearly worthy of distinction, our memories of the event have shunted aside one of the primary purposes of the March: to push for a $2-per-hour minimum wage. By Lamar W. Hankins / The Rag Blog / August 24, 2013 [A series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and

DOD Documents Label Freedom-Seeking Colonists as Extremists

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 8 hours ago
[image: Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...] Paul Lawrance Department of Defense educational documents imply that US colonists who fought for freedom against British kingship are extremists. Judicial Watch was able to obtain the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request asking for “any and all records concerning, regarding, or related to the preparation and presentation of training materials on hate groups or hate crimes distributed or used by the Air Force.” The Documents were provided by the Air Force but originated in a DOD office. The 133 pages given ... more »

New Encryption Company May Go Offshore - "Privacy rights don't exist in US anymore"

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 9 hours ago
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US Arms Sales vs China's Military Build Up

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 9 hours ago
*A delicate damselfly.* Two counterpoints in the Taipei Times today. First, longtime Taiwan supporter Randy Shriver, speaking at a conference this week, urged the continuance of US arms sales.... However, despite the economic, diplomatic and political improvements, the PLA has not “removed a single missile, a single military unit,” he said. “They have done nothing to reduce the posture opposite Taiwan in a way that reduces their military capability and presence,” he added. In fact, the Chinese military buildup opposite Taiwan has “continued apace” while Taiwan’s own military budg... more »

Listen Now - A Poem by M.N. Hopkins

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 9 hours ago
* **Listen now* * **Listen to the sounds of life* * **Feel the vibrations* * **Feel the tones* * **Feel the notes* * **That caress* * **And * * **Bring comfort* * **To your human bodies * * **And minds* * **Remember again* * **These beautiful notes* * **That make up this song of life* * **This song sung* * **By the most beautiful of voices * * **These voices that lie dormant in you* * **Waiting to be heard again* * **These voices * * **Waiting to sing again* * **Waiting to sing* * **Their songs of creation* * **Their songs of love* * **Their songs that awaken* * **Again* * **That which is... more »

Pentagon Preps for Cruise Missile Attack on Syria

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 9 hours ago
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SOPA Has Returned, Time to Kill it Again

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 9 hours ago
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The Canadian Candidate

Capt. Fogg at The Impolitic - 9 hours ago
*Or is it the Cuban Candidate?* By Capt. Fogg Birthers, or at least the ones I've heard from, like to disassociate their theory about Obama's African origins from racism and pretend instead a real concern for constitutional propriety, but the lack of enthusiasm for pursuing the same line of 'thinking' as it applies to Ted Cruz's eligibility for Canadian citizenship and perhaps even Cuban citizenship is a bit like a porthole in a septic tank. All the shit is on display. But a cynic has to be grateful for having the Tea Party to quote, its members being far, far too stupid to conc... more »

Obama to Fill Prisons with File Sharers Instead of Pot Smokers?

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 9 hours ago
[image: Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...] *The most ridiculous provisions of the defeated SOPA are put back on the table. Obama Administration wants online streaming to be a felony.* Eric Blair As a pro-marijuana activist, it's a joy to watch the Berlin Weed Wall come tumbling down. I even found some pleasure this week in Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement for reduced sentencing for non-violent drug offenders. It's not everyday some liberty is yielded back to the people, however small. Yet my joy is tempered by cynicism. The private prison-industrial com... more »

Saturday Linkies

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 9 hours ago
*Building facades in Shiluo, Yunlin. I actually spent three days in Yunlin this week. It's so wonderful that some kind soul invented hard liquor....* Some links for you to survive the rain in: - Commonwealth, always an excellent read, explains Why Hong Kong is Smitten with Taiwan. - J Michael says writes that China is buying Taiwan. Cole says that China wants to increase Chinese in positions of authority in Taiwan. Hey, we already have that, it's call the KMT. China's strategy is many pronged. More important than a few hundred executives is the coming financial ... more »

Don't Everybody Comment at Once ...

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 9 hours ago
So, I typed a plan ... competing (perhaps) with all the other plans to do something about harper's desecration of our democracy and our human rights ... and I'd like some feedback please. It's the previous four posts. Maybe it's the most asinine plan in the world. Maybe it's realistic, when all is said and done. I won't know unless you tell me.

Congress' Most Corrupt Member Thinks Chelsea Manning Got Off Too Lightly

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 9 hours ago
Just over a year ago, we reported how House Armed Services Committee chairman Buck McKeon had a serious conflict of interest stemming form the 6-figure gambling debts he had racked up in Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas casino. This is especially dangerous in light of Adelson's status as a billionaire being completely in the hands of the Chinese government. I was assured by a Republican Member of the House Armed Services Committee that McKeon was being investigated on several levels and that he had personally spoken with Boehner and asked him to fire McKeon as committee chair. But, as ... more »

Government's repressive tactics against protesters

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 9 hours ago
Over at Far Eastern Sweet Potato J Michael scribes on the government's ugly campaign of intimidation: It gets worse. On Aug. 20, the Bureau of Energy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Presidential Human Rights Advisory Committee held a meeting in Taipei to discuss the matter of adequate distance for wind turbines and, we are told, to “maximize public participation.” However, there were so many procedural problems with the meeting, which was termed an “experimental hearing,” that it is difficult not to regard it as a joke — if only public money were not wasted on it. * For one ... more »

Refusing to See Them

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 10 hours ago
Stephen Harper's Northern Tour was supposed to be a political triumph. He delivered red meat speeches about the "vacuous" and "dangerous" opposition. And he announced that he was running in the 2015 election. But, yesterday, the tour ended with a vivid picture of how the prime minister defines power. Michael den Tandt, who has been following the prime minister on his northern trek, writes: The final public event on Stephen Harper’s annual summer tour was very nearly derailed Friday after a journalist from China’s state-owned newspaper got into a shoving match with a female staffer... more »

Guardian London

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago
Oh lovely! *Dateline London *is talking Syria, Egypt and the arrest of David Miranda. Gavin Esler's guests are the inevitable Abdel Bari Atwan, Thomas Kielinger of *Die Welt *and, in an absolutely classic *Dateline* move, Michael White...of the *Guardian *and Rachel Shabi [above]... of the *Guardian*. I can hardly wait for their discussion of the arrest of David Miranda, Glenn Greenwald and the *Guardian*. (Please imagine music playing while you're on hold on the phone) Well, how did that particular discussion go? The opening couple of minutes went surprisingly well, with Micha... more »

CODZ: Opposing the US Zionist state's intimidation of academics

Denis Rancourt at Activist Teacher - 10 hours ago
COMMITTEE FOR OPEN DISCUSSION OF ZIONISM Oh boy, can you hear the loud voices of protest from the ranks of tenured professors against the imposition of Zionism doctrine in US academia..., not! There are small seeds, which are reminders that sanity is still barely rooted on the sterile ground of the continent's intellectual farms. One such seed is CODZ.

Vital migrant I.D checks scrapped: Stowaways no longer fingerprinted at Calais | Mail Online

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 11 hours ago
'"It seems odd that ordinary travellers are subject to 100 per cent checks when those travelling illegally are not subject to this regime. People attempting to enter the UK concealed in freight vehicles, who are discovered by Border Force, are no longer fingerprinted at Calais."' Read more here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401168/Vital-migrant-I-D-checks-scrapped-Stowaways-longer-fingerprinted-Calais.html Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. Sometimes I think this country deserves all it gets, pathetic.

5 notorious myths for this weekend

address-withheld@my.opera.com.invalid (Dr. John v. Kampen) at - 11 hours ago
Link: http://youtu.be/CultO7cPnJA I like this guy. He always has nice items to see or discuss. *Marques Brownlee* calls himself "YouTube personality", but is an independent video producer from New York, who you can find on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. A myth he missed is "92% of computer users use Windows". The percentage may in reality be about 75% or less. That producers put Windows on computers to be sold doesn't imply Windows is used. Only some 60 million users use Windows 8 according to the link before. Good for Microsoft still, stupid for producers seeing their sales dwindl... more »

The Fall of the House of Bo

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 11 hours ago
Pepe Escobar Asia Times Online * * * I have no spur* *To prick the sides of my intent, but only* *Vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself* *And falls on the other.* - *Macbeth* by *William Shakespeare* China does Macbeth. With a slight Hollywood tweak. Disgraced princeling Bo Xilai's day in court may not be the "trial of the century" - although it's the biggest legal show since the Gang of Four's in 1980/1981. The script is meticulously pre-ordained. But no one lost money betting on Bo, The Man Who Would be President, to inject extra drama in this... more »

Farms in China With Tom Philpott

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 12 hours ago
This gives us a current snapshot of the condition of China’s agriculture and it is suffering a serious degradation that is impacting a good third of the available resource. This is never good news. Yet after saying that, we are likely looking at the low point as policy is now attending to the reversal of these trends. They have shown that they are able to actually do this rather well. In the meantime, their products must be monitored closely for two reasons. The first is that the risk is real and the second is that circumvention of testing is the national sport. Th... more »

Solar Tower to Split Out Hydrogen

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 12 hours ago
This is a solid way to produce hydrogen at what appears to be maximum efficiency and free of waste- materials. The system itself already exists to produce hot salt, so taking it up a notch to produce hydrogen is a far better idea and provides a convenient supply of shippable hydrogen. That certainly is what the market demands. We have suffered years of hydrogen economy press releases with little sign of any hydrogen. Now that can end with a solid supply. And yes, why not the gulf of California for all this? All solar systems suffer from serious thermodynamic losses... more »

Watching Catalysts at Work - at the Atomic Scale

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 12 hours ago
We are actually getting better at understanding catalytic processes as this shows. This is good news for process chemistry and presages future improvements. Breakthroughs in process chemistry rarely make headlines but they are hugely important. We are now beginning to approach the resolutions we really need. Thus we can expect a flowering in process chemistry. *Watching catalysts at work - at the atomic scale* * by Staff Writers* * Berlin, Germany (SPX) Aug 01, 2013* * Fundamental processes: Charge donation/backdonation in the [Fe(CO)5] model catalyst in solution ... more »

Detroit Bail in of Pensioners

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 12 hours ago
The USA has created serious problems for itself in terms of the various laws put in place to protect the super banks who have simply taken everyone to the wall and said ‘or else’. It really cannot stand. The market will respond by shunning the super banks and creating local institutions able to do all of it. In the process this will also curb union power which is bent on the same behavior as our super banks. What everyone has learned the hard way is that when the government is actually the lender and equity source of last resort, it is really stupid to allow overc... more »

Syria

Paul Coker at News Spike - 12 hours ago
Brzezinski vs. Bernstein on Syria and Russia from Spike1138 on Vimeo. Brezynski does damage to Russia for recreation. And HE says this is a bad idea. You are risking a nuclear war over Black Sea access and the Dardanelles. It's sheer folly and madness. The Horrors of Romney - Webster Tarpley from Spike1138 on Vimeo. *"Too many Allowites in the Government..."* * * * * George Galloway Lambasts Gulf Arab Yuppie-Larvae and Wannabe Jihadis for Killing Sons of Syria from Spike1138 on Vimeo. "There are Arab countries where thre is no freedom, or liberty, at all; which have one-famil... more »

'USA ORGANISED GAS PLOT IN SYRIA'

Anon at aangirfan - 13 hours ago
*John Hart, head of a Chemical and Biological Security Project in Stockholm, says none of the images of victims shows pinpoint pupils. Pinpont pupils would indicate a nerve gas attack. **Evidence* It looks as if the USA organised 'the gas attack' in Syria. Having allegedly organised 'the gas attack' in Syria, "the Pentagon is moving forces closer to Syria... "Media reports say the US Navy is strengthening its presence in the eastern Mediterranean..." *Syria crisis: US weighs military options* Reportedly, the USA put its forces into Syria *before* 'the gas attack'. It would seem t... more »

Twitter Tweets- home built ticker tape machine

Megaan at Current news updates, World current news - 13 hours ago
A web developer from Cumbria has built a modern version of a 19th Century ticker-tape engine which prints out tweets. The creator Adam Vaughan supposed the 'twitter tapes' device was built from scratch using second-hand parts from clocks and other sources. The wooden foot hides a thermal printer and a micro-controller. Share prices were conventionally disseminated via telegraph lines and printed out on ticker-tape machines. They were invented in 1867 and some unique machines are now considered to be high value antiques. According to Adam Vaughan, One day I thought it would be n... more »

"The Trouble With The World..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
“The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so.” - Mark Twain

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
“In the 1920s, examining photographic plates from the Mt. Wilson Observatory's 100 inch telescope, Edwin Hubble determined the distance to the Andromeda Nebula, decisively demonstrating the existence of other galaxies far beyond the Milky Way. His notations are evident on the historic plate image inset at the lower right, shown in context with ground based and Hubble Space Telescope images of the region made nearly 90 years later. By intercomparing different plates, Hubble searched for novae, stars which underwent a sudden increase in brightness. He found several on this plate and... more »

"Dreamers"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." - T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), "Seven Pillars of Wisdom"

“High Flight”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
*“High Flight”* “Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . . Up, up the long, delirious burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or ever eagle flew - And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The hi... more »

"Cognitive Dissonance And the Human Mind"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
"Cognitive Dissonance And the Human Mind" by Dan Eden "When “Robbie” the robot was told to shoot a weapon at a man in the movie Forbidden Planet, his electronic brain sparked and short-circuited. His creator had programmed him to never harm a human and so the conflicting ideas paralyzed him. Human beings often are presented with opposing thoughts also, but our brains have developed a way of resolving these conflicts through a process call cognitive dissonance. We are taught, like “Robbie,” that killing is prohibited — but what about war? And many anti-abortionists support the d... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
Umm Al Fahm, Haifa, Israel. Thanks for stopping by.

"Fate"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
“Sooner or later, fate puts us together with all the people, one by one, who show us what we could, and shouldn’t, let ourselves become. Sooner or later we meet the drunkard, the waster, the betrayer, the ruthless mind, and the hate-filled heart. But fate loads the dice, of course, because we usually find ourselves loving or pitying almost all of those people. And it’s impossible to despise someone you honestly pity, and to shun someone you truly love.” - Gregory David Roberts, “Shantaram”

When?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
"When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?" - Chuck Palahniuk

Psychology: “The Backfire Effect”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
* * *“The Backfire Effect”* by David McRaney “*The Misconception:* When your beliefs are challenged with facts, you alter your opinions and incorporate the new information into your thinking. *The Truth:* When your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger. “’Wired,’ ‘The New York Times,’ ‘Backyard Poultry Magazine’ - they all do it. Sometimes, they screw up and get the facts wrong. In ink or in electrons, a reputable news source takes the time to say "my bad." If you are in the news business and want to maintain your reputation for ... more »

“Reflections of Self: We Are All Mirrors for Each Other”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
* * *“Reflections of Self: We Are All Mirrors for Each Other”* by The DailyOm “People you feel drawn to reflect your inner self back at you, and you act as a mirror for them as well. When we look at other people, we see many of their qualities in innumerable and seemingly random combinations. However, the qualities that we see in the people around us are directly related to the traits that exist in us. “Like attracts like” is one of the spiritual laws of the universe. We attract individuals into our lives that mirror who we are. Those you feel drawn to reflect your inner self bac... more »

"The Answer Why..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
"At last, the answer why. The lesson that had been so hard to find, so difficult to learn, came quick and clear and simple. The reason for problems is to overcome them. Why, that’s the very nature of man, I thought, to press past limits, to prove his freedom. It isn’t the challenge that faces us, that determines who we are and what we are becoming, but the way we meet the challenge, whether we toss a match at the wreck or work our way through it, step by step, to freedom." - Richard Bach, “Nothing by Chance”

Musical Interlude: 2002, “Time Stands Still”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 14 hours ago
2002, “Time Stands Still” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQoETb06INI&html5=1

Miranda rights - and wrongs

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 15 hours ago
The nine-hour detention at a British airport of the *Guardian *journalist Glenn Greenwald's partner David Miranda under police anti-terrorism powers certainly sharply divided opinion - at least among the people who were interested in the story. (I've not personally heard anyone talk about it or show the slightest interest in it though, at work or outside of work - though that *may* say more about more about me, who I know and where I live than it does about the matter at hand!). There are those who support the *Guardian*'s position, such as Nick Cohenwho thinks Glenn Greenwald an... more »

Why Forcillo's Five-Second Pause Matters

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 15 hours ago
From the outset it's been apparent to me that Sammy Yatim's death resulted from two, distinct shooting events. The first was the initial, 3-round salvo that took two seconds. After that there was a pause of nearly 5-seconds. Only after that pause did Forcillo resume firing the remaining six rounds in his sidearm. He fired 4-rounds, paused, the eighth round, paused, and then the final, ninth round. That the pause is of critical significance is explained by Toronto defence counsel, Reid Rusonik, in the *Toronto Star:* * ...there may also be grounds in the second volley of shots fire... more »

Friday Baseball Post

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 18 hours ago
I was going to argue with Jonathan Chait over the question of why college football is popular when minor league sports are not, but Scott Lemieux beat me to it and basically nailed it. Chait: [I]f college sports would work just as well if it’s turned into a minor league, why aren’t minor-league sports popular? I can’t think of a single example anywhere in the world of a minor-league sport that even approaches the popularity of the major-league version. The reason college athletics is the sole exception is that it’s college athletics, and not a minor-league sport. The top 500 colleg... more »

Sunday Classics postscript: Poor Arthur Sullivan never knew how well he had succeeded as a "serious" composer

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 18 hours ago
*GILBERT and SULLIVAN: The Mikado: Act II: Song, Yum-Yum, "The sun whose rays are all ablaze"* *In the film Topsy-Turvy (of which I might say I'm not a big fan), Shirley Henderson fake-rehearses, then fake-sings, Yum-Yum's Act II spoken dialogue and song, "The sun whose rays."* *YUM-YUM* [*looking at herself in her mirror*]: Yes, I am indeed beautiful! Sometimes I sit and wonder, in my artless Japanese way, why it is that I am so much more attractive than anybody else in the whole world. Can this be vanity? No. Nature is lovel, and rejoices in her loveliness. I am a child of Nature... more »

Masters in the Making?

Way Way Up at Fort McMurray Adventures - 18 hours ago
If my blog has been rather silent this summer I do have a good reason for it as I've been spending many an evening looking into applying to graduate school. A Masters degree is something I always figured I'd eventually end up doing and lately I've found myself taking a serious look at it. I began giving it some serious thought back in the spring, checking out various school and programs and I'm pleased with how things have gone so far. Initially I felt I might be at a disadvantage since its been some time since I've done any sort of academic work and would be a bit rusty. On seco... more »

help fund "let them stay", the book

laura k at wmtc - 18 hours ago
Some of you may remember when wmtc was obsessed with the War Resisters Support Campaign, a fact that was noticed in some very interesting places. * (Hi CIC! Are you still reading?)* I joined the Campaign in 2007, then in 2009, I began school for my Master of Information degree. I managed to stay active in the Campaign during my first two years of school, but by fall of 2011, night classes plus my library page job on top of my regular paid employment forced me to take a back seat. I thought I'd reactivate immediately after graduation... then over the summer... and now I'm aiming for ... more »

how you can support chelsea manning

laura k at wmtc - 18 hours ago
Here are two important things you can do to help support Chelsea Manning. 1. Do whatever you can to work for her pardon. You can sign the petition to President Obama here. You have to create an account, but that only takes a few moments, and the form accepts Canadian postal codes. Please sign and share widely. 2. Write her. According to her support team, she's looking forward to being able to correspond with her supporters for the first time. The mailing address will say Bradley Manning, as that's the only name the military will recognize. But you can and should use her chosen name ... more »

Ayatollah Khamenei's Positive Words For Western Culture

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 19 hours ago
*"In my opinion, Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is the best novel that has been written in history." - Ayatollah Khamenei.* Reading the statements by Ayatollah Khamenei in the article below brings joy. This means several things. One is that there is middle ground and room for reconciliation between America and Iran. And second, Iran's leader is intellectually and spiritually sensitive to the glorious scientific, artistic, cultural, and political achievements of America and Western civilization. The regime in Tehran is not a Taliban regime. It is not led by small-minded fundamental... more »

Update

Lori Anne Haskell at Adventures with Kurt and Lori - 19 hours ago
Bad at blogging these days, so I am going to try to do a quick update, with bullet points! :) - Learning Spanish. I know that it will take living in Costa Rica to get really good, but I at least want to have a good base before I go, knowing a lot of phrases and words. So, I bought Rosetta Stone for Kurt and I, and have been trying to do the program at least once a day, even if only for 10 minutes. I am learning a lot and really like the program thus far. I also got a great deal on the set. - Went to the Tigers game twice in the past week, which was super fu... more »

Right action and the second toolbox

risa bear at A Way to Live - 20 hours ago
Grassroots Garden, Food for Lane County, Eugene, Oregon, USA A continued discussion of Permaculture ethics, realms and principles in the light of Buddism. "Earth care" is right action. Preventing soil loss, water pollution, excess atmospheric carbon, and radiological contamination are examples. "People care" is right action. Active listening, feeding with good food, offering clean water, assisting with shelter and teaching right action are examples. "Fair share" is right action. Living within one's means and finding small means sufficient opens up possibilities for others are example... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 21 hours ago

We Were Doing Just Fine, Thanks (Book Excerpt)

Kris Nielsen at SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE - 21 hours ago
The following is an excerpt from my latest book, Uncommon: The Grassroots Movement to Save Our Children and Their Schools. Before NCLB (and even during those years, for some), public education was moving along quite well in many places under locally controlled entities, such as districts. With local determination of how children learn, taking into […]

How happy for the NFL that ESPN has decided -- entirely of its own free will -- not to pile onto the league's violence problem

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 21 hours ago
*HuffPost reproduced this series of tweets from Sports Business Journal's John Ourand in which both the NFL and ESPN proclaim their innocence of collusion in ESPN's sudden withdrawal from collaboration with PBS's Frontline investigation into the NFL head-injury mess.* *by Ken* I suppose it's possible to believe it's possible that ESPN suddenly withdrew yesterday from its collaboration with PBS's *Frontline* on an investigation into the concussion-and-head-injury mess confronting the NFL without any consideration of its business relationship with that same NFL. Which is to say it's... more »

President Obama: Don't Attack Syria For Israel's Sake. Please Be Smarter Than That.

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 21 hours ago
"What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income — to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression. *That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.*"* - *President Obama, *from his famous speech he made on October 2, 2002*, in opposition to the Iraq war. President Obama, please do not deceive your peop... more »

A glowing future . . .

Edstock at The Galloping Beaver - 21 hours ago
THE GENIE IS OUT OF THE BOTTLE with DNA, and Martin Lukacs, who posts on the TRUE NORTH blog created by The Guardian, is rightly concerned, with a post, “Kickstarter must not fund biohackers' glow-in-the-dark plants” about what is called biohacking, in this case, a Kickstarter effort to get fluorescent plants created. But the US Department of Agriculture says it's OK, so fasten your seatbelts.

Musical Interlude: Dire Straits, “Private IInvestigations”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
Dire Straits, “Private IInvestigations” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DPrPgm_n2w&html5=1

The West Coast needs to get ready for Fukushima radiation contamination ! What folks aren't being told : 1) The Pacific Ocean won't neccessarily dilute Fukushima radiation - thus pockets and streams of highly contaminated radioactive materials may impact the West Coast ; 2) West Coast radiation could be ten times higher than in Japan ; 3) nuclear pollution may be becoming MORE concentrated as it approaches the West Coast , with little dispersion ; 4) time scale for nuclear pollutants reaching the West Coast vary from 3.2 and 3.9 years ( Zero Hour May 2014 - December 2014 roughly )

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 22 hours ago
http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/the-saturday-essay-fukushima-disasters-owners-tepco-admit-three-leaking-tanks-were-second-hand/ THE SATURDAY ESSAY: Fukushima disaster’s owners Tepco admit three leaking tanks were second hand Why the wages of Fukushima spin is Death *In today’s (Saturday) press conference of 24th August 2013, Tepco announced that the three leaking tanks have been reused – ie, recycled. It stated that the three tanks were initially installed in a different area, which then had 20cm of land subsidence in July of 2011. The base concrete sank underground. Inst... more »

The world according to Derp

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 22 hours ago
Damn Dimmocrats: [I]n Lincoln, Ill., GOP Rep. Aaron Schock told an audience at a coffee shop that the Democratic-controlled Senate had "sat on their hands" while the House sought to repeal Obama's health care law. "The president right now is doing a very good job of trying to make it look like the House is dysfunctional," Schock said. "Really what we're trying to do is carry out the wishes of the people." Because surely, the American dream has always been overpaying insurance corporations for crappy health care.

Dueling charts - Updated

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 22 hours ago
Well, this is an editorial so clearly it "was not intended to be a factual statement." For one thing this is not "Obama's Recovery," this is your future under Republican economics. You might think the editors of the Investors Business Daily would have some interest in telling the whole story because rising tide lifts all ships or something like that. Oh wait, no they don't. The recovery has sucked for almost everyone except the very wealthy investor class, who want corporate friendly Republicans in power. So they won't mention the GOP's obsession with austerity and draconian cuts i... more »

The first toolbox as right action

risa bear at A Way to Live - 22 hours ago
[image: Young man volunteering at Grassroots Garden kitchen] The Young Man volunteering at Grassroots Garden kitchen *Primum non nocere, *which which we ended the preceding note, means, "First, do no harm."* It's rough out there.* That it's rough out there can be taken as a given. Some of us are insulated from the consequences of inappropriate *action *through the inequitable accumulation of resources, but the effect is temporary and I think a kind of self-harm accrues, to ourselves and our loved ones. Certainly harm comes to others. Hence: *"**it's rough because we (whether ourselv... more »

Don’t Stress About Networking

Jon Western at Duck of Minerva - 23 hours ago
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Professor Peter M. Haas of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Finding myself on the grey haired side of the academic divide and having experienced both sides of the process, let me reiterate David Lake’s points about networking with senior faculty. While networking to make friends is Continue reading

Syria: Australia at UN & planning war with US- Activists smuggling samples etc.,

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 23 hours ago
*2 new updates below- ominous stuff* *Just some quick news stories I found interesting:* *Australia will lead the international debate on Syria as of Sept 1/201, when they take the helm at the UN * *AS president of the UN Security Council* from September 1, Australia will lead the international debate on the worsening Syrian crisis amid growing pressure on Moscow and Beijing to bring the Assad regime into line. Australia takes the chair of the Security Council during the federal election "caretaker period", which means Kevin Rudd and Senator Carr would have to consult closely with... more »

Gold and Silver Report - August 23 , 2013 --- JP Morgan still in dire need for actual physical gold ( I thought they cornered the COMEX market - oh yeah , that's paper.. ) ......Meanwhile , where is COMEX physical gold - higher prices but the gold is not building , still near record low levels ? Key to gold is looking at what' going on in China and India these days.......

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-23/hello-scotia-mocatta-its-jpmorgan-yes-again-we-need-more-gold "Hello Scotia Mocatta, It's JPMorgan... Yes, Again... We Need More Gold" [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/23/2013 16:39 -0400 It happened again. And like the last time JPM plundered 20K ounces of Scotia gold on August 8... ... JPM took *directly from Scotia's registered gold inventory*. We wonder how regular, non-TBTF customers of Scotia would feel if they learned that their registered gold was now in the "possession" of JPMorgan. Finally, as a remind... more »

LNG And The Blender, Pass The Salt Please

Grant G at The Straight Goods - 1 day ago
Christy Clark blathered about a $trillion dollar industry, how LNG would eliminate our debt, pay off crown corporation debt, pay for new hospitals and new schools, plus $100 billion in a separate prosperity fund for future generations, Christy Clark and the BC Liberal MLAs went even further and said LNG revenues would eliminate tolls on bridges and our provincial sales tax, ... We were also told by Christy Clark that we were in a race with Australia....If we are in a race against Australia, East Africa, Mozambique, Russia, Qatar and so many more countries shouldn`t we at least st... more »

Stephen Harper's Micromanaged Unwillingness To Answer Media Questions Now Having International Implications ....

leftdog at Buckdog - 1 day ago
[image: Progressive Bloggers] * * *News Bureaus and media organizations pay a huge sum to have reporters accompany the Prime Minister of Canada on junkets and official visits. Imagine paying the fee, attending every event day after day and NOT being able to ask even 1 question of Stephen Harper - virtually nothing to file back home from the trip - Mr. **Li Xue Jiang deserves an apology from the PMO.* *A Chinese reporter was hauled away by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s RCMP security detail Friday after he grabbed a microphone and tried to ask Harper a question during a news con... more »

The BBC: Conservative, Eurosceptic and pro-business. Apparently.

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago
Oh, I do like statistically-based reports about BBC bias. There's a new report out from Cardiff University that's making a few waves, claiming as it does that the BBC is indeed biased - albeit not in the way right-wingers think. The study comes bearing the intriguing statement that "The funding for some of the research discussed in this article was provided directly by the BBC Trust." Just as intriguing is the fact that one of its listed authors is none other than Richard Sambrook, former director of BBC News, the BBC World Service and BBC Global News. (Wonder which bits *he* wr... more »

The Realist Report with John Friend

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 1 day ago
On this edition of *The Realist Report*, we'll be joined by Marine Corps veteran *Angelo John Gage*. Angelo recently made a video about White genocide that has gone viral. We will be discussing a number of different subjects relating to the White race and brainstorming effective strategies for pro-White advocates. Please visit *The Realist Report* on TalkeShoe to download this and past episodes.

Elsewhere: Gerrymanders, Obamacare/ACA, more

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 day ago
A new column at the Prospect today defending odd-shaped House districts, and arguing that gerrymandering in general isn't that big a deal. Note that you don't have to believe the latter in order to believe the former. One important point I didn't make in the column: compact, "pretty," districts have a predictable bias in any jurisdiction, and the people who fight over how the lines will be drawn (or at least the smart and informed ones) know what they bias is and who it helps. Also...there's news on the ACA/Obamacare front, with a bit more reporting confirming my view that people wo... more »

Republicans' "Market-Oriented" Health Care Reforms Won't Work, Part 1

Kenneth Thomas at Middle Class Political Economist - 1 day ago
This has been a week of Republicans saying they have actual ideas for replacing Obamacare, rather than just repealing it. The centerpiece has been an article by Karl Rove in the *Wall Street Journal* (paywalled) detailing all the swell ideas Republicans have. In addition, a non-blogger friend points me to an earlier analysis based ultimately on a group called Docs 4 Patient Care that sounds essentially identical to Rove's article. Before I get back to Rove, let's talk first about the earlier analysis, which highlights two supposed alternatives: selling alternatives across state lin... more »

Is This The Most Pathetic Sting Operation the U.S. Government Ever Concocted?

Nima Shirazi at Wide Asleep in America - 1 day ago
Ali Baba by Maxfield Parrish (1909) It is well-known that the law enforcement and national security arms of the United States government routinely hatch and orchestrate elaborate sting operations, and then claim victory over thwarting nefarious plots that they themselves manufactured, planned, coordinated, funded and sometimes even led. An extensive 2011 Mother Jones investigation by

"Another 'Patriotic' Step on the Road to Tyranny"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*"Another 'Patriotic' Step on the Road to Tyranny"* by Bill Bonner "First, a quick look at the markets. The Dow rose 66 points yesterday. Gold stayed flat. Will we be proved right? Has the US stock market turned? Have Treasurys finally entered a bear market? And gold – has it resumed its upward march? Maybe! Stay tuned. Meanwhile, here’s the latest from Bloomberg: "As many as 50,000 stray dogs roam the streets and vacant homes of bankrupt Detroit, replacing residents, menacing humans who remain and overwhelming the city’s ability to find them homes or peaceful deaths. They are a... more »

Mohawk John Kane: Radio and TV Sun, Aug 26, 2013

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 day ago
Native American commentator John Kane will dominate mainstream radio and TV in two U.S. media markets on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2013 By Liz Hill Censored News WASHINGTON – On Sunday, Aug. 26, Native American radio and television commentator John Kane will be featured on mainstream commercial radio and TV throughout the day in two U.S. media markets: Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minn. and Buffalo,

The First Openly Gay Baseball Player?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
Who was the first active professional male athlete in a major American sport to come out? Conventional wisdom would point to NBA player Jason Collins, who has played for the Celtics, the Hawks, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, NJ Nets and, most recently, the Wizards and apparently not to soon be on the Detroit Pistons. The 7 foot tall center, a 34 year old Stanford grad, penned a cover story for *Sports Illustrated* in April talking about being gay. "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team ... more »

Rachel Maddow may have gotten it right!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 day ago
*FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013* *A fascinatingly naked challenge in the Tarheel State:* In the past few years, the analysts have had quite a few complaints about Rachel Maddow’s work. We can’t really say they’re wrong, especially when they complain about the mugging, the clowning, the all too frequent thumb on the scale and the constant pretense, widely swallowed by viewers, that Maddow loves to correct her mistakes, which she plainly doesn’t. We often fight back against the analysts, noting that Maddow covers some important topics, like voting rights out in the states and state restri... more »

Don't Place The Military's "Massacres" In Egypt At America's Feet

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
*Source: Mike Keefe, Cagle Cartoons. (August 23).* This cartoon is intellectually idiotic because it goes against reality and truth. This is anti-Americanism taken to an absurd and nonsensical level, based on a groundless belief that the Egyptian military is controllable by Washington. The reality is that the Egyptian military took it upon itself to remove Morsi, who was an ally of Washington and was planning to join in USrael's war against Syria and expand the sectarian war in the region by bringing Egypt into the mix. That's the first and most important thing that needs t... more »

Lists, for no raisin

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 1 day ago
*Non-exhaustive list of Californian Amphibians* Sonoran desert toad Arroyo toad Southern Pacific chorus frog Great Basin Spadefoot Lowland leopard frog California giant salamander Fairview slender salamander Wandering salamander Kern Plateau slender salamander Rough-skinned newt *List of Active Bulgarian Military Aircraft* SU-25 Frogfoot MiG-21 Fishbed MiG-29 Fulcrum *Non-exhaustive list of Crayola Crayon Colours* Apricot Beaver Caribbean Green Desert Sand Electric Lime Fuzzy Wuzzy Golden Rod Hot Magenta Inchworm Jazzberry Ram Lemon yellow Macaroni and Cheese Neon Carrot Outer Space Pe... more »

Give the people a living wage

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 1 day ago
Alec MacGillis asks a good question: Liberals have spent years now agonizing over why it is that many working-class white Americans vote for the party whose policies on taxes, organized labor and much more work against their own economic interests—the "What's the matter with Kansas" problem. Well, here is an issue where lower-income people who vote Republican are quite clear about what's in their own interest—that is, they state a preference at direct odds with their party's line. Maybe it would be a good idea for Democrats to try to peel them away by actually talking up that issue... more »

film - ryan gosling - the place beyond the pines

Mike Philbin at PROGNOSIS II - 1 day ago
I'm not going to give ANYTHING away, I'm just simply gonna say, "This film is something *really fucking special*." And while it was a looooong-ish film, at two hours fifteen running time, I still wouldn't have minded some of the missing scenes in the Extras to have been included. They fleshed out what was (at times) a sometimes-sporadic character-stalking narrative. Big bonus on the disc, the Victorian TWIX advert with its 'sharing an * ill-designed* driveway' was there in all its full-length splendour. Yay!

Second suspect identified in beating death of WWII vet Delbert Belton...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 1 day ago
*he'll be in custody before the end of day (IMO)* *Good job, Spokane police. * SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane Police have identified the second suspect in the beating death of WWII veteran Delbert Belton as Kenan Adams-Kinard. Kenan Adams-Kinard, 16, is identified as a black male, 5'10", 174 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. The other suspect in Belton's murder, 16-year-old Demetrius Glenn, was arrested Thursday night. He is being held in juvenile detention and will be charged as an adult on counts of First Degree Murder and First Degree Robbery.

Dear Ban Ki-moon: Go Fuck Yourself!

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
*Related: Ban Ki-moon: Seriously, Go Fuck Yourself.* *Ban Ki-moon: Fuck you and your false accusations against Syria. They won't stick, you piece of shit.*

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 day ago
*State officials, flood authority continue their very public spat over oil, gas lawsuit ~Bob MArshall, The Lens* *"Proposed" St. John the Baptist levee would lower risk from surge in 100-year storms ~Mark Schleifstein* *River Interests Want Deeper Dredging To Accommodate More Vessels ~WWNO*

Justice and Justices of the Peace

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 day ago
From the current edition of the Law Times, an Ontario newspaper for the legal profession: Judges and justices of the peace have their remuneration determined in a peculiar way. Contract negotiations are forbidden and the government is not permitted merely to establish a pay scale by fiat. Instead, a commission is established to consider what is fair and reasonable and, after hearing from witnesses and reading submissions, that commission recommends a compensation package. The idea is that an independent body is responsible for what judicial officers get paid. The next commis... more »

Do appeals need transcripts? Courts say yes!

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 day ago
Most appeals do not really need the transcripts; the appeal is argued and the dusty red books of transcripts remain unopened. This is especially true in civil cases. The appeal is based on what the court of first instance said and not much more. All that said, appeals are generally not heard unless the transcripts have been provided. *Ocean v. Economical Mutual Insurance Company*, 2013 NSCA 90 is a good source for the view that an appeal (absent remarkable circumstances) cannot go ahead without transcripts: [11] The compelling reasons for the need of t... more »

Your moment of Zen

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 1 day ago
A butterfly in the hand...

You Say Let's Talk Severance/Your Employer Hears I Quit (Or, Employees Are From Pluto, Employers Are From Uranus)

Donna Ballman at Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home - 1 day ago
As sometimes happens when you've been practicing as long as I have (hint - I may have had a pet with a name ending in -saurus), you find yourself chatting with an opposing counsel with whom you've had many encounters over the years. These conversations can sometimes lead to some frank exchanges. I had one of these conversations a few days ago. The topic was what it means when an employee says they want to talk about a severance package. He insisted it meant the employee had resigned. I hear this all the time from management-side lawyers, and I understand where they're coming from. ... more »

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 day ago
*Scott Fujita added to 'Saints On 6' primetime team ~WDSU*

Nazis and Communists an alliance of the like-minded

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
Lest we forget, today is the 74th anniversary of the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Russian communist state and the German Nazi state. There are some who claim that this was just a non-aggression pact, it was much more than that. The treaty also included a protocol that divided the various territories of Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland into Nazi and Soviet "spheres of influence", anticipating the potential "territorial and political rearrangements" of these countries. The Russian Communists were happy to have a pact with Nazi Germany, to d... more »

Miles de imágenes gratis para ver, disfrutar y compartir.

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 1 day ago
[image: Imagenes, Fotos y Postales gratis el día del Amor y la Amistad - San Valentín - 14 de Febrero][image: Colección especial de fotos de gatos, mininos y gatitos - Cats and Kittens] [image: Colección especial de fotos de perros, cachorros y perritos - Dogs and Puppies] [image: Colección especial de fotos de caballos, yeguas y potros - Horses][image: Amaneceres y Puestas de Sol - Sunset] [image: Tigres de bengala y tigres siberianos - Tigers] [image: Fotografías de ríos cruzando por los bosques, selvas, montañas y planicies. - Rivers][image: Portaretratos, marcos y frames psd y p... more »

Still thinking

risa bear at A Way to Live - 1 day ago
The following can be regarded as a pair of ethics toolboxes for designing a life. I'm still not clear on how to merge them into one, so this is practically a repost. If you've seen it all before, think of me as my own target audience, thinking out loud. The first is derived from Buddhism. I find its core survives Occam's razor. Its basics are: four truths. And: eight ways for those truths to be manifested in your life. Truth one: it's rough out there. Truth two: it's rough because we (whether ourselves or others) want things to be different than they are. Truth three: Not much w... more »

Conservative Bias at the BBC

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 1 day ago
The BBC is beholden to an agenda that is anti-British, pro-union, and left-wing. Or so the argument goes. Thing is, there's no evidence for it. Back in November, I had a bit of fun asking if the BBC's *Question Time*was biased. This little study, based on the political allegiances of guests appearing on the programme between December 2008 and November 2012 found there was bias - the number of rightwing panelists outweighed guests from the left. Now a group of academics at Cardiff University have performed a wider content analysis. Funded by the BBC itself, it wanted to know how impar... more »

Passive Radicals: The Manufactured Myth — Writers on Writing — Medium

plthomasedd at SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago
0 0 1 100 570 Furman 4 1 669 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:”"; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”;} With the annual and somewhat functional recognition of certain versions of the life and […]

That's it George, Israel is always to blame

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 1 day ago
Thanks to Guido Fawkes I learn that George Galloway has been blaming Israel again At least George Galloway is consistent in his hatred of Israel and adoration of Arab tyrants.

The Economy: “CRASH ALERT!”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
* * *“CRASH ALERT!”* by Bill Bonner “Our operating hunch is that US stocks, Treasurys and gold have all turned over recent months. After 33 years of falling, Treasury yields are now climbing higher... After two years of correcting, gold prices are rising again.... And after 4 years… or 12 years… or 31 years of rising prices, depending on how you count it, US stocks are starting to look vulnerable to a real setback. It’s still summertime. We don’t expect much action in the next few days. But already, kids are going back to school and parents are getting back to work. And pretty so... more »

And... They're Off! Congressional Candidates Are Vacuuming Up Contributions And Corporate Bribes For The 2014 Elections

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
Electing rich Republicans and New Dems won't help-- quite the contrary Recently I asked a very plausible candidate running for Congress why the DCCC wasn't helping him raise money. He told me that they wanted him to raise $500,000 by himself first and that then they'd revisit the discussion. Do you know enough people in raise $500,000 to run for Congress? It seems like a barrier for ordinary citizens, especially working and middle class ones, don't you think? Earlier this week, *The Hill* broke a story, widely reported everywhere, about the richest Members of Congress. Some of them a... more »

A politician at work - Wiesbaden, western Germany

LeDaro at LeDaro - 1 day ago
*Volker Bouffier, state premier of the western federal state of Hesse and top candidate of the Christian Democratic Union for regional elections, fixes an election poster with his own image in Wiesbaden, western Germany.* Looks like he is combing his hair.

The Big Lies of History

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 1 day ago
In this video I explain the Big Lies of History: the official narrative of 9/11 and WWII. I also explain why I think most people simply cannot objectively investigate what we have been told about these events. *John Friend's TruTube.TV Channel*

Greenpeace: A very interesting picture - Warsaw Poland

LeDaro at LeDaro - 1 day ago
*A Greenpeace activist dressed as an oil company worker pours oil on other activists during a protest in Warsaw, Poland, against oil search drilling in the Arctic Sea.* The picture says it all. There is a need to raise awareness about the fossil fuels and its impact on the environment.

What the heck is a misquotation?

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 day ago
*FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013* *Disputatious minds don’t want to know:* Maureen Dowd has generated quite a few fake quotations down through the years. Usually, she can at least explain where she was when the fake quotation didn’t occur. In Wednesday’s column, she wasn’t even sure about that. Did she talk to Bill de Blasio’s wife at the Good Times coffee shop, the Good Stuff Diner or perhaps at the Good Vibrations tanning salon? Given Dowd’s postmodernist lean, it’s very hard to be sure. Still, we were surprised by commenters at several sites who disputed the claim that Dowd had actuall... more »

Come walk with me

Jody Paterson at A Closer Look: Jody Paterson - 1 day ago
The ever-changing field near the river. I have a 15-minute walk to work every morning. Today's was particularly interesting, what with me stepping out the door and immediately getting into a discussion with a neighbour about the swollen vulva of the wandering young dog sleeping on our patio, which he told me meant she was in heat and thus in need of one of the mystery injections they give dogs down here to stop pregnancy. But every day's walk is interesting in its own way. I make a point to say good morning to everyone I pass, having come to see that gringos are in general not... more »

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Americani Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 1 day ago

Catch of the Day

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 1 day ago
You probably read about that PPP poll result in which Louisiana Republicans blamed Barack Obama for Katrina. Great fun for liberals! But do read Mark Blumenthal and Ariel Edwards-Levy for a round up of coverage and their analysis of the question, especially this: The problem with this question should be obvious: It was asked only of Republicans and offered just two choices: Bush, who was president at the time and Obama, who was still a junior senator from Illinois. "If you ask the vast majority of Louisiana Republicans to identify the leader most responsible for the Katrina response... more »

Justin's Splif Slip

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 1 day ago
Time will tell but it was probably a bone-headed thing to do. Why did Justin Trudeau volunteer that he had smoked pot recently? Did he think it would make him look cool? Was he hoping to attract the youth vote? I don't think it's going to work. A good many of us won't be bothered that he apparently smoked a bit of pot as much as we will be put off by him seeming to boast about it, to place himself in a spotlight of controversy. "*I not only own the company, I'm a customer*." Okay for the Hair Club for Men, not so good when you're vying to become prime minister. This certainly... more »

Spokane's finest arrest 16 year old Demetrius Glenn for beating death of WWII veteran Delbert Belton...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 1 day ago
*no doubt his POS buddy will be in custody by the end of the day.* Exactly what I predicted this morning at the breakfast table. The Gang Squad in Spokane knew exactly who these two vile animals were and where to find them. * * From *KHQ *in Spokane: *BREAKING NEWS:* The 16-year-old arrested in the Delbert Belton case is identified as Demetrius Glenn, he's facing 1st degree murder and robbery. *BREAKING NEWS:* Major crimes investigators have just confirmed that one teenager has been arrested in the beating death of WWII veteran Delbert Belton. One suspect remains on the loose. Cha... more »

Friday Morning Linkage

Jon Western at Duck of Minerva - 1 day ago
Update on the international community’s reaction to events in Syria: Russia calls on Assad to cooperate with the weapons inspectors. Says it has evidence the attack was propagated by the opposition. Pressure building in Washington and Europe to do something. Obama announces that the time frame for U.S. action may have shortened. Kerry’s diplomatic efforts. Congressional doves Continue reading

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 day ago
*Louisiana Attorney General's Office Rebukes John Barry in Levee Board Lawsuit* ~What the AG's office says: *"Absolutely no representation was ever made by Mr.Kanner that Mr. Barry’s suit was not detrimental to the state’s B.P. litigation. It never happened." * *What John Barry said*: *We have been told our suit may interfere with the BP trial. Our attorney checked with the attorney representing the state and was told our suit would not interfere. How could it? The BP trial will be over long before our trial starts. And at Garret’s request we waited until the first phase of the t... more »

CSEC spies on Canadians : watchdog report

Alison at Creekside - 1 day ago
While whistleblower Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald have published reports about the USA's NSA and UK's GCHQ joint electronic surveillance of Brits and Americans, we've been pretty much in the dark in Canada about our own government's surveillance of us. An annual report tabled two days ago from the independent watchdog commissioner for Canada's electronic eavesdropping agency* Communications Security Establishment Canada* elicited the following timid headlines repeated throughout yesterday's press coverage. Post Media : Canadians may be victims of illicit spying NaPo : Canada’... more »

ONLY GOOD NEWS TODAY

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago
- Housemate Karen told me this morning that my blog today ca only be filled with good news. So here I go. - Our friend Phui Yi from Malaysia arrived back here late last night after a 25-hour trip from home for her summer vacation. She is a student at nearby Bowdoin College and is a wonderful peace and justice activist. Mary Beth helped her learn to drive during the last semester. This morning we were joking about places with the craziest driving conditions and I said my #1 in that category was Nagpur, India when at one intersection I saw cars,... more »

Smoke, Shills and Shrillionaires

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 1 day ago
(Say three times fast.) Well, knock me over with a Lucky Strike. Michael Bloomberg, lord mayor of the fiefdom of New York, 10th richest American plutocrat, 20th wealthiest man in the universe, is taking on the Transpacific Partnership (TPP). More specifically, he is taking on President Obama's "cave" to Big Tobacco, which is demanding the right to spread cancer and sell ciggies to kiddies the wide world over. Under the new agreement, the tobacco cartel will be granted the power to actually supersede local laws governing the sale of its products. In an op-ed published in today's *Ne... more »

Haslam, Bush, WGU, and McGraw-Hill

Jim Horn at SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE - 1 day ago
In 2002 Stephen Metcalf documented the financially incestuous relationship between the Bush family and McGraw-Hill that resulted from a long-established familial system of mutual back-scratching and “cross-pollination and mutual admiration” between the the two fiefdoms. Today that system of good ole boy corruption, cronyism, and corporate welfare continues in State Houses and governors’ mansions around […]

RODEO CLOWNS: From Rush to Crump!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 1 day ago
*FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013* *Part 5—Good decent person gets hurt:* Rodeo clowns have been driving the right for at least thirty years now. Let’s be clear on what we mean by that statement. We don’t mean that the right has been driven by *actual* rodeo clowns—by people like Tuffy Gessling, whose clown act two weeks ago led *metaphorical*rodeo clowns to compare him to the Klan and the Westboro Baptist Church. We mean that the right has been driven by people who are *like* rodeo clowns, although most actual rodeo clowns are probably much better people. For one example, consider what Rus... more »

It's Only a Matter of Time

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 1 day ago
When reports come out about computer hacking they tend to be either espionage or a "denial of service" campaign by activists/radicals to take down some corporate miscreant. So far no one has been causing our chemical plants to explode or taking down our electrical grid, not yet anyway. Perhaps hackers know they would be hunted down like dogs or hostile nations know it would be an act of war triggering uncontrollable consequences. But that doesn't mean it can't be done. A recent article in the I.T. section of the *Brisbane Times* warns that "Hacking is Way Too Easy." *Hacking p... more »
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