Sunday, January 12, 2014

12 Jan - Blogs I'm Following II

English: Clipping from The New York TimesEnglish: Clipping from The New York Times (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This advertisement compares instant coffee to ...This advertisement compares instant coffee to the "purity" of white refined sugar. Advert from The New York Times, January 2, 1922. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A raw, paleolithic-style dish: A sashimi (raw ...A raw, paleolithic-style dish: A sashimi (raw fish) dinner set (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Paleolithic-style dish: seafood stewPaleolithic-style dish: seafood stew (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
10:29pm MST

Scientists Don't Want The Moon To Become Like West Virginia

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 28 minutes ago
Imagine Freedom Industries with a charter to operate on the Moon! This week, as the president of Freedom Industries, which is affiliated with the Koch brothers, insisted that there's too much of a fuss being made over the toxic spill on the Elk River, even just *touching*-- not drinking, *touching*-- the water that comes out of their taps induces non-stop vomiting for folks living in tens of thousands of homes in West Virginia. And Freedom Industries is not subject to any permits or inspections by the EPA. The New York Times reported, “According to Department of Environmental P... more »

Widespread Corruption

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 1 hour ago
We have seen it in Quebec, want to bet its not the same in Ontario? Well in England its epidemic. Beyond the Pale. "The thing that corruption stories -- even astounding ones like this -- teach us is that our systems need to account for the possibility that the authorities are corrupt, or sloppy, or duped. Creating laws that give police and magistrates the power to declare anything anyone does illegal, storing massive DNA databases, allowing for secret courts and warrantless surveillance, creatingunaccountable systems of censorship, and letting spies run wild are all examples of sy... more »

So how much of the "Paleo Diet" is based on an actual Paleolithic diet?

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 1 hour ago
Since I stilll have this conversation about this fad diet with someone at least once a week (sigh), here’s TED Fellow Christina Warinner, an expert on ancient diets, answering the question: *So how much of this "Paleo Diet" stuff is based on an actual Paleolithic diet?* The answer is *not really any of it*. Who’s Christina Warinner, and what the hell would she know? Well… Dr. Christina Warinner has excavated around the world, from the Maya jungles of Belize to the Himalayan mountains of Nepal, and she is pioneering the biomolecular investigation of archaeological dental calculu... more »

On the defense of @randiweingarten by @dianeravitch

It’s really quite simple, actually. Simple for me, at least. To begin, you can review Ravitch’s personal defense of the President of AFT. The American Federation of Teachers is a political organization. It must operate in a way that satisfies numerous interests and issues and permutations. I won’t begin to understand that position as I […]

Updates On Syria [1.12]: Assad Is Rallying Sunni Leaders Against Saudi Arabia's Goons, Obama Admin Ensures Geneva II Will Fail By Saying Assad Must Go, Turkish Government Is Arming Al-Qaeda Under The Guise of Humanitarian Aid

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 hour ago
*1. An excerpt from, "Conflicts Forum's Weekly Comment 27 December 2013 - 3 January 2014" Conflicts Forum, January 10, 2014: * Yet, if we stand back from the region, it is clear that the Syrian government, over the last weeks, is rapidly consolidating its military situation. The circumstance of Damascus is far different today from even a few weeks ago (as recent visitors to the city confirm to us). It is true that, at one level, sectarian animosities (particularly Saudi ones) have reached new heights across the region, but a new – and underrated – factor is being felt: Sunnis are fa... more »

Big Law watch - After a Merger Falls Through, Patton Boggs Keeps Looking for the right merger partner...... A look at proposed mergers in big Law tht did not come to pass in 2013 , speculation on another prospective pairing.....

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 2 hours ago
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/after-a-merger-fails-patton-boggs-still-seeks-partners/?_r=0 After a Merger Falls Through, Patton Boggs Keeps LookingBY ELIZABETH OLSON [image: Tom Boggs, partner with the Washington-based law firm of Patton Boggs.]Ken Cedeno/Bloomberg News, via Getty Images Tom Boggs, partner with the Washington-based law firm of Patton Boggs. For over a half-century, the Washington law firm Patton Boggs has been a significant player in the nation’s legal, lobbying and business worlds. The firm has represented corporations like the Mars candy company and Exxon ... more »

Cis, Trans, and Privilege

Zoe Brain at A.E.Brain - 3 hours ago
I'm not one to rail on about Gender Politics. I'm interested in Human Rights, especially as they effect Trans and Intersex people. I'm interested in the Science of Sex and Gender. The sociology, politics, and ideology, not so much. There's an awfully low signal-to-noise ratio there, unevidenced conjectures declaimed with much conviction, and often inhuman cruelty. This blog is intended to be educational and informative, about a matter that should be of interest to everyone. A matter of "public concern", mixing education about the science, and information about how Trans and Interse... more »

Mohawk Nation News 'Old Hat'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 3 hours ago
OLD HAT Posted on January 12, 2014  Mohawk Nation News Jan. 12, 2014: Unfortunately for Canada’s Prime Minister Harper and his corporate overlords’ plans to control the world, soon the old technology they use will become obsolete. Their tyranny of us and our mother will be as extinct as they will become. Bill C38 is Harper’s version of Hitler’s “enabling act” of 1933, to get money for

"I wish I could add a fond remembrance" (Jane Mayer on Reagan press sec'y Larry Speakes)

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 3 hours ago
*"I wish I could add a fond remembrance of Larry Speakes . . . . There have been plenty of accolades, and I'm sure there will be more. But it's worth a note about how Speakes treated reporters who strayed from the company line."* -- *Jane Mayer, in a newyorker.com "News Desk" post,* "Crossing Larry Speakes" *by Ken* Is there such a thing as a good White House press secretary? In this day and age, maybe the interests of an administration and the media have diverged to the point that there can't be. You can think of the administration as either "just trying to get our story out" or ... more »

China Plans To Seize South China Sea Island From Philippines, Says "Battle Will Be Restricted" ..... I other news , Japan holds military drill as S. China Sea islands dispute widens

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 4 hours ago
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-12/china-plans-seize-south-china-sea-island-philippines-says-battle-will-be-restricted China Plans To Seize South China Sea Island From Philippines, Says "Battle Will Be Restricted" [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/12/2014 19:00 -0500 - China - Japan - Obama Administration - recovery inShare Following Japan's proclamations that it will take over another 280 'disputed ownership' islands, it appears the increasingly dis-approved of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's path of militarism and provocation... more »

Does this school really care for the children?

Chris Cerrone at @ THE CHALK FACE - 4 hours ago
…or is this what education has become? From a Georgia school: I have no words. Please feel free to comment below.Filed under: CHRIS CERRONE: The "Parentucator"

China's fairytale theatre of ice sculptures- Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 4 hours ago
Though myself and so many others were freezing earlier this week... Unusually so. In Harbin, China they are enjoying themselves at their yearly Ice and Snow Festival .I gotta admit this icy cold display is pretty darn awesome! I will post a few images. And link to the rest. Or here *"It took 7,000 artists to create this sprawling 6,458,400 square feet of winter wonderland in Harbin, China's tenth most populous city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, where winter temperatures drop to a low of -40 degrees Celsius.* *Countless blocks of crystal ice were cut from the frozen... more »

We’re rock stars

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 4 hours ago
*Sex, Drugs and Rock'N'Roll 13** by chrismaverick on **deviantART* WELL, LOAD UP ON drugs and bring your friends, because New Zealand is being talked up as the “rock star” economy for 2014. Hee haw! This, by the way, is predicated on three things underlying what economists call “growth” that these groupies see as fairly foregone conclusions: 1. The dairy boom. 2. The housing boom. 3. The Canterbury RebuildTM But there are problems with each of these—the first problem being in the way these alleged economists measure growth. YOU SEE, IF IT is to mean anything at all, ... more »

Dawson Barrett : Kurt Cobain, King of the Outcast Teens

Thorne Dreyer at The Rag Blog - 4 hours ago
In recognition of the anniversary of the death of Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain, a host of retrospectives will recognize both the raw potency of Cobain’s songwriting and the tragedy of his heroin use and suicide. They will hide that Nirvana … finish reading Dawson Barrett : Kurt Cobain, King of the Outcast Teens

The Ravitch Conference, Featuring Randi Weingarten

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 5 hours ago
Diane Ravitch and Anthony Cody started a new organization a year or so ago called the Network for Public Education. Board members were chosen, and the chosen board members chose Ravitch as President and Cody as Treasurer. As NPE president, Ravitch will be the Keynote Speaker at a UTexas based two-day conference in early March that, according to Cody, will "bring together activists from around the country to network and learn together, from one another, so as to strengthen our ability to act in defense of public education." Prominently noted on the conference poster at the NPE webs... more »

WAR CRIMINALS GATHER FOR WAR CRIMINAL’S FUNERAL

The war criminal Tony Blair will be present for Ariel Sharon’s funeral as will be Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop. Bishop was a member of the Australian war criminal John Howard’s government that was part of the group of nations that waged unprovoked war against Iraq knowing that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and knowing that Iraq was not a threat to Australia. Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s decision to send Bishop to Sharon’s funeral exposes the Australian government’s support of ruthless Israeli Zionist policies against the Palestinian people and a ... more »

Richard Dawkins on Retiring Essentialism

Phil at A Very Public Sociologist - 5 hours ago
As someone who exists in the real world, I'm always interested in the annual "big question" event organised by edge.org, the online home for clever folk who keep it real by talking about the real. This year, the question posed by this forum of what the *Graun* likes to call the "world's most brilliant minds" was "which scientific idea would you retire, and why?" Interesting. You can read Ian McEwan's polemic against arrogance, Azra Raza on the use of mouse models in science, and Stewart Brand on the linear no-threshold radiation dose hypothesis. By all means, take a look. It's inte... more »

Toss another book on the fire

Alison at Creekside - 6 hours ago
Yeah, it's an old toon recycled for Steve's Libricide : *CBC Fifth Estate : Silence of the Labs* I see Steve has also recycled Dimitri Soudas back into play. I like how Dimitri's new rug really ties the room together.

Quakes offshore Chiba and the new volcano growing offshore of Tokyo - are there connections between these two different events and perhaps a precursor of a large seismic event ?

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 7 hours ago
5 continuous quakes offshore Chiba→JP Gov “New irregular diastrophism on-going offshore different from 311″ Posted by *Mochizuki* on January 12th, 2014 · No Comments Share on deliciousShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailMore Sharing Services *Note : If you are from the international mass media, Don’t read this site before having a contact with me.* Following up this article.. *5 quakes Chiba east offshore within 7 hours on 1/2/2014* [URL] The continuous earthquakes are assumed to be “slow earthquake [wikipedia]“, according to Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Th... more »

Sunday Classics: Now we hear Mahler's heartbreaking "Kindertotenlieder"

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 7 hours ago
*Baritone Matthias Goerne sings "Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n" ("Now will the sun rise just as brightly"), the opening song of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, with Jonathan Nott conducting the Mahler Youth Orchestra, at a Proms concert in the Royal Albert Hall, Sept. 4, 2009.* Now will the sun rise just as brightly as if no misfortune had happened in the night. The misfortune happened to me alone; the sun shines for everyone. Your must not hoard the night within, it must be absorbed into the eternal light. A little lamp in my shelter has gone out; hail to the joyful light of the wo... more »

Top 100 Movies by Body Count

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 7 hours ago
Full list over at MovieBodyCounts.com. Also thanks to Business Insider for entering that data and drawing this graph.

North Carolina's Unemployment Misery Made Unbearable By Koch-Funded State Rethuglicans, But Not To Worry - Plantations Being Gov't-Funded To Return!

January 11, 2014 The Raleigh Experiment North Carolina is an interesting place these days, and I mean that in the worst possible way. It’s a southern state, but one with a major technology complex, growing foreign investment, and what seemed until recently to be a moderating, increasingly sophisticated political culture. But then came the Republican wave of 2010, and NC was taken over

"Do ‘Question Time’ audiences need to be quite so hostile?"

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 8 hours ago
It's interesting that Nigel Farage seems to have come to the same conclusion as James Delingpole about the problem with BBC One's *Question Time.* Just as Dellers "totally believes" that the *QT* team tries its best to ensure that their audiences reflect the political spectrum, so Nige also says (in today's* Independent*) that he's "not pointing the finger of blame at the *QT* team" for the peculiar hostility he and other UKIP members so often face from *Question Time *audiences, and the evident fact that *QT *audiences generally do *not* seem to reflect the political spectrum. ... more »

Visual Stimulation for a Sunday evening

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 8 hours ago
[image: Someone at work finally paid attention to my warning sign.] [image: Watch out!] [image: Bilbo Baggins, everyone.] and just in case you don't think that your eyes are the projectors ....

US Senator Ted Cruz speaks at Texas Public Policy Foundation's Policy Orientation 2014...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 8 hours ago
*take the time to listen. * You won't be sorry... Promise.

Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, January 12th, 2013

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 9 hours ago
Sunday.... And again time for my usual rant that will both surprise you and piss many people off at the same time... First, I want again to thank everyone for their support over the last while during a time when I was led to believe that I had a heart condition... I went for the followup this last week, and the doctor stated that my heart is perfectly fine. There is no blockage and all the EKG and blood work readings are back to normal. I can almost safely state that the cause of all the commotion in the first place was most probably due to one heck of a viral infection in my che... more »

The legendary megapod

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
Clive James is stilling writing beautiful TV reviews at the *Daily Telegraph*. Here's an extract from his latest piece: Having painstakingly disguised an underwater camera as a tuna, BBC One was rewarded with an entrée into a so-called “megapod” of dolphins. We were assured that this was the first time ever that a megapod had been seen. And indeed* Dolphins: Spy in the Pod *featured some stunning footage, if stunning footage is what you go for. Personally, after the first thousand or so dolphins had surrounded the dummy tuna, I started to get a bit blasé. When so many dolphins mee... more »

'Soft power' and Fat Boy Kim

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago
Kim Jong-un *The Sunday Times* had a bit of a scoop this morning, reporting that William Hague and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are "helping" BBC Worldwide to negotiate with the sick, mass-murderous regime in North Korea to encourage them to allow various BBC programmes to be broadcast on the totalitarian dictatorship's airwaves - an exercise in 'soft power' by the British government. [This is probably the sort of thing that gets our friend Tom wound up about the BBC. Has he given up already?]. *The Sunday Times*'s headline went for one BBC programme in particular - *Teletu... more »

What is the "Holocaust" story really all about?

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 10 hours ago
Jewish leaders in Hungary are up in arms about a *"planned monument to victims of the Germany occupation for ignoring Hungary’s complicity in the Holocaust,"* according to an article recently published by the *Jewish Telegraph Agency*. The Hungarian government is *planning to build* a monument commemorating *all* alleged "victims" of the "German occupation" of Hungary during WWII, not merely the alleged Jewish victims of the fake "Holocaust" story. Essentially, the organized Jewish community in Hungary is upset because their racial and religious kinsmen are not receiving all the att... more »

Spin

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago
Stats are great. Really they are. The problems start when people start spinning the stats. Here's an example. The statistic that 24,000 families who do not live in the UK receive child benefit, costing millions of pounds, is "crackers", according to the *Daily Mail*. The same figure - without any mention of the 'millions of pounds' cost - was mentioned by Shaun Ley on this morning's *Broadcasting House. * He, however, spun presented it as being *only* 24,000 families, describing the numbers as "smaller" than might be expected. Spinning the stats then. *Broadcasting House ... more »

Ayn Rand on science, altruism, and the U.S. businessmen's treason

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 11 hours ago
Ayn Rand (1905-1982; she moved from the USSR to the U.S. in 1931) was an originally Russian Jewish, later U.S. author, philosopher, and a libertarian guru. Several folks have pointed out to me that her thinking was close to mine. I have never been exposed to her work and thoughts – a fact that is not too surprising given my 16 years in a communist country plus 10 years in the U.S. Academia. But finally today, when Willie Soon recommended me the 52-minute talk above – named "The Sanction of the Victims" – that she gave in 1981, a year before she died of a heart attack (it was her l... more »

Ravitch Announces Randi's "Decoupling" of Common Core from VAM

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 11 hours ago
With light diminishing between Diane Ravitch and Randi Weingarten's positions, Dr. Ravitch posted this this morning. My comment at her blog follows. *A reader who calls himself or herself “Democracy” left comments criticizing me for defending Randi Weingarten–or perhaps for not attacking her.* *Here is my response to Democracy:* *Democracy, you ask a good question, and I will answer as best I can..* *As you know, I have criticized the Common Core in many posts. I have criticized the lack of transparency and the lack of educator participation in its development. I have criticized the... more »

Why Debbie Wasserman Schultz Should Never Be Speaker Of The House

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 11 hours ago
Sugar is just one reason to keep her away from power; more later Since 1990, Big Sugar has given just over $34.3 million in legalistic bribes to Members of Congress and candidates to Congress. The biggest recipient in the House is corrupt Blue Dog Collin Peterson (MN), once chair, now ranking member, of the den in inequity known as the House Agriculture Committee. He's banked $321,627 so far. The current Ag Committee Chair, Frank Lucas (R-OK) has gobbled up $205,000 from the sugar barons so far. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has done nicely as well-- just about $100,000 b... more »

THE BUTCHER OF SABRA AND SHATILA IS DEAD; WHO AMONG THE WORLD’S LEADERS WILL BE THERE FOR HIS FUNERAL?

It’ll be interesting to see who of the world’s leaders will turn up for this war criminals funeral. Will the mainstream Western media whitewash his crimes or simply ignore them? See here for an accounting of Sharon’s part in the crime.

Thailand: Thaksin Supporters Threaten to Kidnap & Kill Daughters of Army Chief

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 11 hours ago
*Image: Thai Army Commander-in-ChiefPrayuth Chan-ocha's twin daughters havebecome the target of kidnapping and deaththreats by the supporters of ThaksinShinawatra.**January 12, 2014* (ATN) - The Bangkok Post has confirmed that craven threats by Thaksin supporters have been made against Thai Royal Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha and his twin daughters. In it's article, "Abduction threat on Prayuth's daughters," the Bangkok Post would report: The Royal Thai Army on Sunday condemned an anti-coup activist and supporter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra afte... more »

the hidden hand

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 12 hours ago

Mike Sledge on The Realist Report

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 12 hours ago
*Reconstructions Live w/ Mike Sledge - Renegade Broadcasting* Subscribe to *The Realist Report on YouTube*

Poverty Gold

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 12 hours ago
President Obama has marked the 50th Anniversary of LBJ's War on Poverty speech with yet another cynical dog whistle to Wall Street. In announcing the formation of "Promise Zones" in five carefully selected communities, Obama effectively assured the ruling class that their record windfalls will continue, unimpeded and unabated. There's gold in them thar blighted hills and dales, so the free market is cordially invited to line its pockets from so-called Poverty Pockets. As CounterPunch's Mike Whitney so saliently observes (h/t AnneEnigma), Obama's promise zones are nothing more than... more »

Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 12 hours ago
(or if it’s anything to do with Israel, eliminate the positive and accentuate the negative) Of all the media coverage of ‘Ariel Sharon the man’ I’ve looked at today, I don’t think the BBC’s has been the most biased. Yesterday they dwelt far too much on the bitter reactions of Israel’s enemies, though there are some grudging attempts at balance, frequently qualified by those obligatory ‘buts’. I understand there are individual BBC Twitterers who would have it otherwise. No balance and no buts. The comparison between the overall coverage of Sharon’s life and death and Mandela’s has... more »

Ariel Sharon Dead

LeDaro at LeDaro - 13 hours ago
Stephen Harper is very saddened. Sharon who butchered Palestinians mercilessly. *Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, described Sharon as "one of the architects of modern-day Israel" and one of its "staunchest defenders" in a statement of condolence."A renowned military leader, Mr. Sharon pursued the security of Israel with unyielding determination that was recognized by friends and foes alike."* CBC I wonder what rest of the folks think.

Rethinking “Creative” in the Common Core Era: “Let’s not tell them what to write”

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE - 13 hours ago
Rethinking \”Creative\” in the Common Core Era: \”Let\’s not tell them what to write\”. via Rethinking “Creative” in the Common Core Era: “Let’s not tell them what to write”.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

A Friend

gail zawacki at Wit's End - 13 hours ago
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131216154851.htm *Global Warming: Four Degree Rise Will End Vegetation 'Carbon Sink', Research Suggests* *Dec. 16, 2013* — Latest climate and biosphere modelling suggests that the length of time carbon remains in vegetation during the global carbon cycle -- known as 'residence time' -- is the key "uncertainty" in predicting how Earth's terrestrial plant life -- and consequently almost all life -- will respond to higher CO2 levels and global warming, say researchers. Carbon will spend increasingly less time in vegetation as the negative i... more »

Cattle Mutilations: “Some Animals Survive” - Interview with Daniel U. Padilla

Inexplicata (IHU) at Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology - 14 hours ago
*Cattle Mutilations: “Some Animals Survive”* *A Radio Interview with Daniel Ubaldo Padilla in Chepes, La Rioja – December 13 2013* *[Intro omitted]* *Daniel U. Padilla*: Just let me clarify a few things. While I am identified as an ufologist within the UFO community in Argentina my specialty is the subject of mutilations. There is no question that the UFO phenomenon is tightly related with the cattle mutilations phenomenon, which I have been studying for eleven years, I want to be objective about this. While the ETH or the UFO theory of beings that may not be from here is invo... more »

Still Chugging along....

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 14 hours ago
[image: IMG_2779] ...but I probably won't be posting here for a few days. Insanely busy. _______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 14 hours ago
*VIDEO: Large crowd greets Saints upon return ~WWLTV * *James Gill: How the Brits feel about the War of 1812 ~New Orleans Advocate* *Richard Campanella Cityscapes: How New Orleans House Numbers Came To Be ~Eve Troeh, WWNO* *Exhibition: ‘Photography at NOMA’ at The New Orleans Museum of Art ~Dr. Marcus Bunyan, Art Blart*

THE FUNNIES....

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 14 hours ago

Today's cardinal number: 19

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 14 hours ago
Poor Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. On the day Pope Francis makes him a cardinal, the BBC's report on the Pope's move relegates his good news to the final two paragraphs. Yes, the good old internationalist BBC is far more interested in the new cardinals from the Global South. This is how they begin their report: Pope Francis is to appoint 19 new cardinals next month, including churchmen from Haiti and Burkina Faso, reflecting his commitment to the poor. Well done Cardinal-to-be Vincent!

The Costs of Common Core?

plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE - 14 hours ago
Funding public education constitutes a large percentage of many states’ total budget, and thus, over the past three or four decades, the role of governor has become necessarily one that impacts education policy strongly. I believe that increased connection between partisan politics and conducting public schools has been powerfully and negatively influential. When I posted Millions […]

Arik, Dieudonne, vicars under attack, Flesh and Blood, Bethlehem Unwrapped, Paul Goggins, a codex, and the devil

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 15 hours ago
This morning's *Sunday* began with a short appraisal of the life of *Ariel Sharon* from the BBC's Kevin Connolly, beginning with Mr Sharon's role in "what Israelis call their war of independence" (as Edward Stourton put it). One area that interested Kevin and Ed was the changing nature of Zionism. We now tend to think of Zionism as being "associated with Orthodox religion", said Kevin, but in the early days it was largely a secular, socialist movement driven by the urge to build a new kind of society based on the principles of the Left, and the Sharon family belonged to that secul... more »

THE BEAUTIFUL WORDS

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 15 hours ago

More from Gilad Atzmon on the censorship of Dieudonné & la quenelle

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 15 hours ago
Thanks again gallier! gallier2January 12, 2014 at 5:42 AM New intervention from Gilad Atzmon about Dieudo What do you think about the issues raised by Gilad?

SUNDAY SONG

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 15 hours ago

Here He Comes

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 15 hours ago
So you thought the election was in 2015. And now, like Humphrey Bogart -- who went to Casablanca for the waters -- you discover that you have been misinformed. The election campaign has begun. Don Martin writes: Stephen Harper photo-ops are being booked across the country. Advance squads deployed to handpick participants to ensure partisan purity, gender balance and ethnic diversity. Film crews have been hired to document it all. Editors will varnish over any negative optics. And a velvet-voiced narrator will script the action during breaks in the Maple Leaf Forever soundtrack. ... more »

Why Steny Hoyer Should Never Be Speaker Of The House

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
Hoyer: Two portions for K Street, drippings for working families Members if Congress tell me if Hoyer ever gets the gavel every single bill will go through K Street for revision and nothing worthwhile will veer get done. Hoyer is the worst kind of centrist and has always fought for his wing of the Democratic Party-- the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. This week he was doing just what you would expect some old, out of touch white guy to do-- campaigning against progressive efforts to end marijuana prohibition. Even while his own state's dynamic, progressive gubernatorial hope... more »

Fukushima Updates January 9 , 2014 - Unvarnished news , articles and views regarding the unfolding global disaster otherwise known as the Fukushima debacle .....

Catharsis Ours - 16 hours ago
Ex - SKF #Fukushima I NPP: Data on Strontium in Water Hasn't Been Published for 6 Months, and Will Not Be Published Until TEPCO Figures Out What's Wrong What's worse is (as usual) TEPCO didn't say anything until now. What's even worse is that TEPCO is not going to release the data until it fully investigates why the new results differ from the old results. Nuclear Regulation Authority was openly expressing doubt about the data that came from TEPCO on radioactive materials measurement, and that was about 6 months ago. From Yomiuri Shinbun (1/9/2014): 東電、ストロンチウム濃度公表せず…測定誤り? TEPCO... more »

FEMALE MP IN PEDOPHILE RING

Anon at aangirfan - 17 hours ago
*Andrew Ash, who was abused by members of a pedophile ring, which included a female member of parliament.* A female member of the UK parliament sexually abused a thirteen-year-old boy called Andrew Ash. Andrew Ash was brought from a government children's home, to parliament, to be sexually abused. *Female MP abused boy in care* - Express.co.uk ‎ *Female MPs.* The female MP was part of a pedophile ring 'at the heart of government', a ring that included Sir Jimmy Savile. Andrew was also trafficked to Amsterdam on a number of occasions. *Female MP abused boy in care* - Express.co.... more »

Greece updates January 12 , 2014 - Yanis Varoufakis: Greek Finance Minister Reveals Advanced Case of Stockholm Syndrome ........ Troika arrival likely to be postponed Target date for an agreement with the country’s creditors will be deferred to February as talks hit snags..... Greece's industrial output continues to suffer - suffering since 2008 !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 18 hours ago
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/01/yanis-varoufakis-greek-finance-minister-reveals-advanced-case-stockholm-syndrome.html Yanis Varoufakis: Greek Finance Minister Reveals Advanced Case of Stockholm SyndromePosted on January 11, 2014 by Yves Smith *By Yanis Varoufakis, professor of economics at the University of Athens. Originally posted at his blog* This is a stupendous story. Possibly for the first time in its tainted history, the International Monetary Fund had a major change of heart and tried to do the right thing by a ‘program’ country, only to be turned down by that very ... more »

Another Republican, Another Bridge to Nowhere

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 18 hours ago
(By *American Zen*'s Mike Flannigan, on loan from Ari.) “*Time for some traffic problems* in *Fort Lee*.” -Former Chris Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly, pictured above, returning to the scene of the crime It's tough, if not outright impossible, to provide additional news or even original commentary to the Bridgegate episode of September 9-13, 2013 that Rachel Maddow hasn't already covered since she's been screaming about this from the rafters of MSNBC's sound stages. Suffice it to say that while the 2000 pages of documents consisting of damning emails and text... more »

Thor News - NeoWise 'asteroid hunter' back online - planetary spiral orbits

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET BLOG - 19 hours ago
I love Thor News; he is Texas's answer to BBC Sky At Night's Sir Patrick Moore. Here he is telling us that infrared object detector NEOWISE is back online since they 'fixed the fridge' on it. Lovely diarism. *ADDITIONAL SPACE GUBBINS:* did you know that our Solar System is in the Milky Way Galaxy? Of course you did. But did you know that the plane of rotation isn't flat to our galaxy. In fact it's close to a ninty degree tilt. This means that the planets, as they rotate round the sun are forming a SPIRAL PATH through the cosmos. I was *umming* and *arring* about actually posting ... more »

BBC News - Ariel Sharon death: Ex-PM to lie in state in Israel

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 20 hours ago
Unlike with Nelson 'the second Christ' Mandela, on whose death no negative comments were allowed, the BBC's report of the death of Ariel Sharon contains mention of his 'crime': '... after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 he was found to have been responsible by an Israeli inquiry of failing to prevent the massacre of Palestinians by Christian Phalangist militia in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.' I don't recall Nelson Mandela's terrorist past getting much if any coverage on the BBC. Nor was Nelson Mandela held responsible for failing to prevent his wife's fondness f... more »

WAR CRIMES DOSSIER NAMES WALL

Anon at aangirfan - 20 hours ago
*Wall and Blair.* *General Sir Peter Wall*, the head of the British Army, could be prosecuted for war crimes. *Dossier on 'abuse' by UK forces in Iraq goes to ICC* - The Independent A 250-page dossier names Sir Peter Wall and gives details of beatings, electrocution, mock executions and sexual assault. The dossier has been presented to the* International Criminal Court.* The former UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and the former UK Defence Minister Adam Ingram are also named in the report. *Iraq torture.* The dossier is the result of several years' work by Public Interest Lawyers ... more »

Roger Roger

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 20 hours ago
Reading the *Biased BBC* blog for many years, I've been able to follow the extraordinary saga of the Freedom of Information battle between dogged blogger Tony Newbery of Harmless Sky and the almost-as-dogged BBC over a 2006 seminar organised by the corporation's environment analyst Roger Harrabin. As is its way (think of the Balen Report), the BBC made a determined and legally costly effort to keep all information about the controversial seminar secret, for its eyes only. The legal battle came to an end last month with Mr Newbery's final victory over the BBC. *The Mail on Sunda... more »

inBloom, Clever, and Student Privacy: More “Big Data” Considerations

deutsch29 at @ THE CHALK FACE - 22 hours ago
My last few posts have focused on the issue of student data collection, storage, and dissemination to “education vendors.” Meanwhile, I have also been reading about the call to separate the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) from assessments. I maintain that the spectrum of reforms are intended to be a package deal and are promoted as such by the […]

EXPOSED: Fake "Respect My Vote" Protest Abuse Fellow Protester

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 22 hours ago
*January 12, 2014* (ATN) - Thai demonstrators donning white shirts, lighting candles, releasing white balloons and carrying placards stating "Respect My Vote," are portrayed as ordinary people who simply want to defend the democratic process against growing anti-regime protesters. However, it was clear from the beginning that it was nothing more than a rebranding of the regime's "red shirt" enforcers in an effort to confuse the public both in Thailand and internationally. *Image: The regime believes the Thai people, and more importantly, international audiences are as ignorant as ... more »

War watch January 9 -11, 2014.... Iran nuclear talks with P5 + 1 hit snag over Tehran's nuclear centrifuge research ....... Syria rebel infighting continues as Rebel forces attack two chemical weapon sites..... Iraq's chaotic situation in Anbar continues as tribes want neither Iraq's military nor Al Qaeda in their midst .....

Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
Iran....... Obama WH: Pro-Sanctions Senators Should Admit They Want War With Iran John Glaser, January 10, 2014 Print This | Share This | Comment As Jason Ditz highlights in the news section today, congressional support for heaping additional sanctions on Iran, even as the interim deal plays out ahead of further negotiations on a final deal, is picking up in the Senate. Up to 58 senators have committed to voting yes on new sanctions, an action the Obama administration and Iranian negotiators have said would kill good faith negotiations. But the Obama White House seems to be steppin... more »

Central African Republic President Michel Djotodia Resigns

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
Americans don't know much about the Central African Republic. Until the last couple of weeks it hadn't been in the American news cycles since 1979 when French paratroopers ousted self-proclaimed Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who had been eating school children. He was found guilty of related charges but they never proved the cannibalism charges-- nor did they try very hard since it was seen as a national embarrassment-- and he served 7 years of his life-in-prison sentence. He was posthumously pardoned in 2010. One of Africa's most brutal dictators, accused of cannibalism and feedin... more »

Video - What is the White Man March?

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 1 day ago
Subscribe to *Renegade Broadcasting on YouTube*

A Moral Outrage: Albert Woodfox's 41 Years in Solitary Confinement, Despite Three Overturned Convictions --An interview with Rev. Dr. Patricia Bates

angola3news at Angola 3 News - 1 day ago
Sign the Amnesty Intl. petition for Albert Woodfox! *(PHOTO: On behalf of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Rev. Dr. Patricia Bates speaks in support of Albert Woodfox at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge on October 21, 2013.)* *A Moral Outrage: Albert Woodfox's 41 Years in Solitary Confinement, Despite Three Overturned Convictions * *--An interview with Rev. Dr. Patricia Teel Bates* *By Angola 3 News* This past Fall, Herman Wallace of the Angola 3 made news headlines around the world when his conviction was overturned and he was dramatically released from pr... more »

How to fix Toronto for good

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 1 day ago
Toronto needs better hard power or infrastructure and better soft power or cultural efficiency. Both powers are best practiced on a generational timeline. Children continually hear they are the future, but its always admonished in a glib nebulous way, " you can be anything you want" sorry no you cant, you have opportunities, but in fact everyone can not be anything they want. This is the foundation of the lie politicians use to win short sighted victories. The TDSB should have a *How to be the Future curriculum*. In the early years its mostly stories of heroes and villains. Rob ... more »

Neiman Marcus also has sustained a cyber attack customer data breach ( back in mid- December ) involving credit and debit cards used at Neiman Marcus ! Only after Brian Krebs made inquiries , did Neiman Marcus acknowledge the mid - December breach and that it is working with the U.S. Secret Service to investigate a hacker break-in that has exposed an unknown number of customer cards. ! Neiman Marcus spokesperson Ginger Reeder said the company does not yet know the cause, size or duration of the breach, noting that these are details being sought by a third-party forensics firm which has yet to complete its investigation. But she said there is no evidence that shoppers who purchased from the company’s online stores were affected by this breach. In that regard , the breach at Neiman Marcus is similar to the Target breach ( online stores were not affected in the Target breach. ) And as of today , the Target breach remains an unsolved crime. next question - how many other stores might have suffered breached between black Friday and Xmas ?

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
As to the additional breaches - several more yet to be revealed and the Target hack attack grow larger..... http://ca.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-more-well-known-u-retailers-victims-cyberattacks-024345910--sector.html Exclusive: More well-known U.S. retailers victims of cyber attacks - sources By Jim Finkle and Mark Hosenball BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Target Corp and Neiman Marcus are not the only U.S. retailers whose networks were breached over the holiday shopping season last year, according to sources familiar with attacks on other merchants that have yet to be publicly disclos... more »

Breaking GMO News From Kauai, Hawaii

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 1 day ago
BREAKING: Pioneer, Syngenta & DOW Chemical file suit against Kaua'i to invalidate Bill 2491, which requires them to disclose the pesticides they spray and to maintain buffer zones for safety. Looks like they've just shot themselves in the f...oot. More publicity to show the world how evil they are. READ THE NEWS: http://news.yahoo.com/agrichemical-companies-sue-block-anti-gmo-law-hawaii-171141482--sector.html READ about the link between this birth defect and the herbicide atrazine: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/02/05/link.between.birth.defect.gastroschisis.and.agricul... more »

Untitled

Grant G at The Straight Goods - 1 day ago
I find it amazing how low our mainstream media has stooped, lazy, bought off and complicit in propping up both a corrupt and inept BC Liberal Government, Gordon Campbell was corrupt as the day is long and nothing has changed under the guidance of Christy Clark, if anything it has gotten worse, when will the media remember their job is to hold Government to account and not just cheerlead and read press releases.. Can`t they figure out why no one wants to buy newspapers anymore, or listen to talk radio, the public needs critical thought, actually the public would appreciate even a lit... more »

Alex Rodriguez suspension decision released - 162 games ( full regular season ) and post season ban for the upcoming season set by Independent Arbitrator Frederic Horowitz ..... 60 Minutes will interview Anthony Bosch ( formerly of Biogenesis ) and MLB COO Rob Manfred - discussion of the case against A- Rod...... meanwhile A- Rod plans to head to Federal Court to seek an injunction !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
http://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-news/2014/1/11/5299642/alex-rodriguez-suspended-steroids-evidence-anthony-bosch-60-minutes/in/5062745 Alex Rodriguez suspension: MLB's evidence to be presented on 60 Minutes Sunday night By Tanya Bondurant  @TanyaBondurant on Jan 11 2014, 8:00p 5 Patrick McDermott Biogenesis clinic owner Anthony Bosch and MLB COO Rob Manfred will appear during primetime to hash out details of the case against A-Rod. TWEET (10) SHARE (8)  SHARE 5 COMMENTS The world will get a look at the details of MLB's case against Alex Rodriguezthat led to his 162-game suspe... more »

In re. Smartypants Researchers v. James Bond, I'm inclined to side with 007

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
*Caption from the medical journal BMJ:* "*James Bond’s weekly alcohol consumption by year of book publication*" *by Ken* When it comes to awe for doctors, my friend Peter had his pretty well derailed by going to school with a sizable number of schlubs who were fated to go on to become same. As a result, in his mind, medical degrees and licenses notwithstanding, they remained pretty much the same schlubs he had known in high school and college. And so in approaching this research into the drinking habits of Commander James Bond, aka 007, I'm inclined to bear in mind that the resear... more »

TV Watch: Searching for bright spots in this cataclysmically awful TV season

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
*Even though, or perhsps because, the comic-book store has descended into ghostly solitude, Stuart (Kevin Sussman) has amply rewarded the increased attention of The Big Bang Theory's producers -- and the other "supporting" characters are coming up aces too.* *by Ken* I haven't been doing much "TV Watch"-ing lately, which might be because I haven't been doing much TV watching, but anyone who knows me knows that that's a laugh. Especially with two shiny new TVs, I've probably never watched more TV in my life. It's just that less and less of it is, you know, *TV*. At least not curren... more »
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