10:28pm MDST
TONY BLAIR ATTEMPTS TO AVOID BLAME FOR IRAQ CRISIS
Former British Prime Minister and war criminal Tony Blair has written an
essay attempting to deflect blame for the current crisis in both Iraq and
Syria on the actions he and his fellow war criminals, former US president
George W. Bush and former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, committed
themselves to when they lied their way to war against Iraq in March 2003.
In his essay Blair says: “We have to liberate ourselves from the notion
that ‘we’ caused this crisis. We didn't.”
The fact is; ‘we’ did – or, at least, Blair, Bush and Howard and their
neoconservative supporters around ... more »
Who Will Save Iraq Now-- Obama? Rouhani? The Anunnaki? A Negotiated Rational Partition?
The Fertile Crescent-- the Tigris and Euphrates River valley-- has a
history that predates the Nile Valley's. Even if you don't give much
credence to the History Channel's whacky *Ancient Aliens* series that
insists that the Mesopotanians' Anunnaki were extraterrestrials, this
Cradle of Civilization was, over time, dominated by the Sumerians,
Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Medians, Achaemenids, Seleucids,
Parthians, Sassanians, Arabs, Mongols, Turkmen and, between 1533 and 1918,
the Ottoman Turks. The Ottomans had three provinces-- Mosul (kurdish),
Baghdad (Sunni) and Basra (... more »
Weekend Fun 55: Sic O'Clock News, Again
It's "Father's Day" today, our day, cool. And two friends, Jimmy Fabregas
and Ces Quesada, the wacky anchor news guys of the old *Sic O'Clock News*,
have a photo of the gang in their facebook walls, so I thought of producing
Part 2 of the Sic gang Part 1 which I wrote three years ago.
There is one youtube clip of Sic O'Clock. It should have been shown
sometime in 1990, when the Senate was debating whether to renew the stay of
American military forces in Subic Naval Base. The Americans voluntarily
left and abandoned Clark Air Base after a very strong Mt. Pinatubo volcanic
eruption. T... more »
Musical Interlude: Nickelback, “If Everyone Cared”
Nickelback, “If Everyone Cared”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IUSZyjiYuY&ob=av3e
"I'd Pick More Daisies"
*"I'd Pick More Daisies"*
by Don Herold (1953)
"Of course, you can't unfry an egg, but there is no law against thinking
about it. If I had my life to live over, I would try to make more mistakes.
I would relax. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of
very few things that I would take seriously. I would be less hygienic. I
would go more places. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I
would eat more ice cream and less bran.
I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary troubles. You see, I
have been one of those fellows who live prudently and sa... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
"Big beautiful spiral galaxy M66 lies a mere 35 million light-years away.
About 100 thousand light-years across, the gorgeous island universe is well
known to astronomers as a member of the Leo Triplet of galaxies. In M66,
pronounced dust lanes and young, blue star clusters sweep along spiral arms
dotted with the tell-tale glow of pink star forming regions.
*Click image for larger size.*
This colorful and deep view also reveals faint extensions beyond the
brighter galactic disk. Of course, the bright, spiky stars lie in the
foreground, within our own Milky Way Galaxy, but many, smal... more »
Crowfoot, "What Is Life?"
"What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the
sunset."
- Crowfoot, Blackfoot Warrior and Orator
The Poet: Mary Oliver, “The Spirit Likes To Dress Up”
*“The Spirit Likes To Dress Up”*
by Mary Oliver
"The spirit likes to dress up like this:
ten fingers, ten toes, shoulders, and all the rest,
at night in the black branches,
in the morning in the blue branches of the world.
․
It could float, of course,
but would rather plumb rough matter.
Airy and shapeless thing,
it needs the metaphor of the body,
lime and appetite, the oceanic fluids;
it needs the body's world, instinct and imagination,
and the dark hug of time, sweetness and tangibility,
to be understood,
to be more than pure light that burns
where no ... more »
Chet Raymo, “Try To Remember…”
*“Try To Remember…”*
by Chet Raymo
“In a sleepless hour of the night, I was trying to remember the last name
of a person I have known well for more than forty years. When my spouse
stirred in her sleep, I asked her. She couldn't remember either. One again
I started mentally through the alphabet. "I think it starts with B," I
said. Ten minutes later she rolled over and said, "The next letter is R."
Bingo! The name popped into my head. Or I should say, "popped out of my
head." Because it was in there somewhere, recorded in a tangle of neurons
as materially as if it were written on a ... more »
The Iraq Crisis Might Be Used For Air Assaults In Syria: Excellent Report From "X22 Report"
Yes, I laid it out in my last article about what I saw happening right now
in Iraq, and everything that I have seen over the last few days has
absolutely backed up all of my claims.... I see this present crisis in Iraq
as a no-win situation for the United States.... It is also a fact that
right now the peaceful nation of Iran has been sending in their special
forces into Iraq to help stabilize that nation and put a halt to ISIS (or
ISIL or what ever phoney name they like to call themselves) advances on the
capital city of Baghdad.
Someone recently sent me a link to a Youtube user, ... more »
Questions From Tiger Cubs on Iraq , National Security and does anyone allegedly in charge have the slightest idea as to what they're doing ?
One question ....Now we are considering sending drones to bomb jihadist
in Iraq , due to " National Security Concerns " , while financing
jihadists in Syria because we don't like President Assad . But that's not
really what bugs me..... why are M- 13 gang bangers being caught and
released in the US NOT " National Security Concerns " ?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/14/border-agents-lament-mexican-gang-members-entering/
- [image: **FILE** A Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang member.
(Associated Press)]
Enlarge Photo
**FILE** A Mara Salvatru... more »
Blogging from Brazil: Problems of Connectivity
So, at this point, I’ve been all over Brazil, though that’s like saying
I’ve toured the United States in five weeks. That said, I’ve been in five
or six cities all over the country (I’ll load a better map soon), and the
internet speed has invariably been crap, even in pretty expensive hotels.
I’m not
Continue reading
The Daily "Near You?"
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Thanks for stopping by.
Free Download: Aldous Huxley, "Brave New World"
"How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is!
O brave new world, That has such people in't."
- William Shakespeare, "The Tempest"
“Brave New World” is a novel written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley and published
in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540 (632 A.F.—"After Ford"—in the book), the
novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning,
psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that combine to
profoundly change society. Huxley answered this book with a reassessment in
an essay, “Brave New World Revisited” (1958), and with “Island... more »
Is this or is this not a gorgeous photo? Take a gander at Mitch Waxman's beloved Astoria at twilight
*You can click on the photo to enlarge it, but better still is to look at
it a photographer Mitch Waxman's intended size and resolution on his
Newtown Pentacle blog.*
*by Ken*
I've written before about my happy tramping around NYC with Mitch Waxman
(like this June 2012 piece about a visit to the Dutch Kills tributary of
Newtown Creek, at just the time when Mitch was the subject of a big feature
piece in the *New York Times*, "Your Guide to a Tour of Decay," including
video). I've done walks with Mitch from Staten Island to the urban wilds of
the basic surrounding Newtown Creek (Mi... more »
"A Matter of Priorities: Letting Go of the Little Stuff"
*"A Matter of Priorities: Letting Go of the Little Stuff"*
by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM
"When we stop worrying about unimportant matters, we can devote so much
more of ourselves to what is truly important. We experience numerous
disappointments each and every day. Our expectations go unmet, our plans
are blocked by circumstance, our wishes go unfulfilled, and we discover
that our lives are subject to a myriad of forces beyond our conscious
control. In some cases, our response is powerful because we must invest
ourselves and our resources to overcome genuine hardship. In others, ou... more »
Untitled
*Mayor Landrieu passes buck: Up to Jindal to hold energy companies
accountable for wetlands damage ~Jeff Adelson, The Advocate*
*How Bobby Jindal’s Con-Profit and David Vitter’s Super PAC
Undermine Democracy ~CenLamar*
*Jindal budget relies on nearly $1B in piecemeal funding*
*WWNO Announces New Coastal Reporting Team*
*Feds renew tariff on frozen Chinese crawfish ~WDSU *
*New Orleans Convention Center proposes ambitious 47-acre development
~WWLTV *
*New Orleans Bounce Battle Heats Up On Social Media ~Darian Trotter, WGNO*
ATTACK ON RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN KIEV
Hundreds of fascists in Kiev attacked the Russian embassy yesterday in
Ukraine's capital city. Molotov cocktails were thrown at the embassy
building. Then today Russia took a resolution to the UN Security Council
but saw western states block their attempt to condemn the attack.
UN, June 15 ITAR-TASS
Western countries at the United Nations Organisation’s Security Council
have blocked Russia’s draft resolution condemning the attack on the Russian
embassy in Kiev, a source at the organisation’s headquarters told Itar-Tass.
“Western delegations have blocked the draft statement for... more »
"This Ex-Officer's Haunting, Powerful Words About Suicide Could Save Someone's Life" by TED Talks
*"This Ex-Officer's Haunting, Powerful Words *
*About Suicide Could Save Someone's Life"*
by TED Talks
"If you saw someone on the verge of suicide, would you know what to say? As
a patrolman on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, Kevin Briggs helped
bring many people back from the brink. In this moving talk, he gives a
powerful piece of advice to those with loved ones who might be thinking of
taking their own lives."
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
◆
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline.
"The Greatest Plague..."
“War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity, it destroys
religion,
it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it.”
- Martin Luther
◆
"U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman HM1 Richard Barnett, assigned to the 1st
Marine Division, holds an Iraqi child killed in central Iraq in this March
29, 2003 file photo. Confused front line crossfire ripped apart an Iraqi
family after local soldiers appeared to force civilians towards positions
held by U.S. Marines."
- REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
“My heart broke on its shame and sorrow. I suddenly knew how much crying
there ... more »
Obama delivered an ULTIMATUM to Maliki via ISIS- Comply or.....
*I have read and reread this article from Washington Post*
Main stream media is produced in such a way that it is difficult to discern
what is actually being said.
Usually I can cut through the bullshit pretty quick, but, this one took
several attempts to decipher.
-President Obama said that though the U.S. has "enormous interest" in Iraq,
it is "ultimately up to the Iraqis" to resolve their conflicts
Ultimately up to the Iraqis to resolve their conflict? Reads good, but
there is something else contained in this article* that lead me to
conclude- It's clear that an ULTIMATUM has be... more »
US and Japan nuclear debacle weekend report -- June 14-15 , 2014 ---- Focus on the Fukushima Disaster and WIPP debacle in New Mexico , US .....
Energy News.....
11:30 PM EST on June 13th, 2014 | 146 comments
Officials: Leakage seen on “many” nuclear waste drums in WIPP underground —
We think the seals have degraded — Public “should be concerned” about
another explosion — 1,000s of radioactive drums now seen as too risky to
move (VIDEO)
11:14 AM EST on June 13th, 2014 | 394 comments
Official’s 3/11 Notebook: Concern half of Japan to be “covered in nuclear
waste!… Those 60 and older should be prepared to die” at Fukushima plant —
“Fire out of control” at Reactor No. 4
02:40 AM EST on June 13th, 2014 | 88 comments
Japan Officia... more »
Gold & Silver ( and other PM items of note ) Report -- June 14 - 15 , 2014 ...... Ed Steer's Saturday Report - News , Data for the Week , important contributions to consider from a variety of sources .........
http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd
¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD & SILVER
The Friday trading session in gold was very similar to Wednesday, as
nothing much happened in price or volume terms. It traded more or less
flat throughout Far East and early London trading---and only developed a
positive bias worthy of the name starting at the Comex open. Even that six
dollar 'rally' got sold down a couple of bucks in the last hour of
electronic trading in New York.
The low and high ticks aren't worth my effort to look up.
Gold finished the day at $1,275.90 spot, up $2.80 from Thursday's close.
Volume,... more »
STATEMENT BY SANDRA YEUNG RACCO
I would first like to begin by thanking the voters of Thornhill for their
commitment to democracy in Ontario. You voted for a provincial
representative that you trusted and that would ensure your loved ones have
a secure future.
On Thursday night, Elections Ontario published election results showing
that I had won by 85 votes. Yesterday, we learned of inaccuracies in the
results reported by Elections Ontario in various polls, including 13 polls
where the Liberal and PC tallies were affected. The overall riding results
now show Ms. Martow with a lead of 85 votes.
It was obvio... more »
China's missing metal collateral mystery june 14 , 2014 -- Now systemic -- It's official - everyone's involved!According to the 21st Century Business Herald, at least 17 financial institutions involved in copper, aluminum and other nonferrous metals financing business face losses of almost 15 billion Yuan (not including the contagious rehypothecated collateral chains involved) due to the over-invoicing of the Qingdao port. Crucially, it appears that the evaporation of collateral (i.e. multiple loans secured by the same collateral) has been confirmed officially and banks such as Standard Chartered have already ceased any new business via this supposedly secured channel.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-14/chinas-collateral-rehypothecation-fraud-systemic
China's Collateral Rehypothecation Fraud Is Systemic
[image: Tyler Durden's picture]
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/14/2014 14:57 -0400
- Caijing
- China
- Copper
- Google
- Prudential
- Real estate
- Standard Chartered
- Yuan
inShare2
*It's official* - everyone's involved!According to the 21st Century
Business Herald, *at least 17 financial institutions involved in copper,
aluminum and other nonferrous metals financing business face losses* of
almost ... more »
[Exclusive] Footage of Maliki's Army Defending Baghdad
"During the reconstruction of Iraq, the United States spent about $20.2
billion to train and equip Iraqi security forces, about a third of the
total funds spent on reconstruction." (*Source: Slate*).
Did Washington use some of that money to bribe Iraqi commanders not to
fight and instead let Jihadists capture Mosul, *as Prof Michel Chossudovsky
suggests? *
“Behind the Madness in Iraq”
“After sweeping across the porous border from Syria to overrun Mosul,
insurgents aligned with the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
continued to press south down the main north-south highway toward Baghdad.” -
http://www.nytimes.com/
*“Behind the Madness in Iraq”*
by Tom Hayden
“The U.S. had no business invading Iraq. We toppled a dictatorship on a
false 9/11 rationale, which plunged Iraq into a sectarian civil war inside
a war with the United States. We left behind a vengeance-driven Shiite
regime aligned with Iran. Now the sectarian war in Syria is enlarging into
a region... more »
Will Every Democratic Candidate Come Out Against Another Iraq War?
It may be inconceivable to you that there are any Democrats who favor
getting involved in another war in Iraq, especially a civil war based on
bitter religious insanity going back over a thousand years. But it isn't
inconceivable to me. Blue America will have to start asking our candidates
how they feel about it, although since they are all progressives, I',
guessing they will all be opposed. One candidate I won't have to guess
about, though, is Rick Weiland, who's running for the open Senate seat in
South Dakota. Today Rick let South Dakota voters know exactly where he
stands-- n... more »
Crazy Terrorist Rabbits
June 14, 2014 It’s a lovely day here in southwest Missouri, sunny and
seventy-one degrees as I write the blog post although the wind gusts are
rather strong, as the creaks and groans of my old house will attest. Up … Continue
reading →
Savage and Ball and a very old script!
*SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2014*
*Today, we have naming of parts:* Today, we’ll have naming of parts! For
the original war poem, click here.
More precisely, we’re going to name two parts of a long, low-grade, low-IQ
war which the “press corps” has been conducting for several decades now.
In order to name our first part, we’ll post something Hillary Clinton said
to Terry Gross. Below, you see the first exchange in the weird discussion
which helped reignite this long war:
GROSS (6/12/14): This is Fresh Air. I'm Terry Gross, back with Hillary
Clinton. Her new memoir, Hard Choices, is about ... more »
Saudi scholar: Jewry destroys morality through children's TV shows
Nabil Hammad, a Saudi scholar, recently appeared on Saudi TV claiming *"children’s
TV shows and cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse
are all part of a Jewish-Zionist conspiracy to destroy the moral values of
humanity,"* *The Times of Israel* reported. The article continues:
“A normal child, who has been watching TV from the age of two, has been
assaulted by all kinds of films,” Nabil Hammad said in excerpts of the May
15 interview on Iqraa TV, provided by the Middle East Media Research
Institute (MEMRI). “How did the ‘sagging’ pants fashion ever emerge? The ... more »
"Rocky Horror Show - Once in a While"
Rocky Horror Show - Once in a While: http://youtu.be/STDkwyC8DtE The one
song from the stage musical that was cut from the film. This is the scene
cut from the film, never seen that scene until today... I love YouTube!
New Order - World In Motion
Party people, it's Saturday night. The Solid disco pick for the evening is
topical but has somewhat melted into the half-forgotten soup of memory. I
am of course talking about one of the finest footy records ever written. So
crank it up and let your street/block/country estate know who you're
singing for.
US " Catch and Release " policy biting US in the arse , apart from foreign policy incompetence in Syria popping up all over the Middle East .... BIGTIME ( June 14 , 2014 ) ........... Taliban commander exchanged for Bergdahl coordinated with al Qaeda to attack Northern Alliance the day before 9/11......... ISIS Leader: ‘See You in New York’ When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi walked away from a U.S. detention camp in 2009, the future leader of ISIS issued some chilling final words to reservists from Long Island.“He said, ‘I’ll see you guys in New York,’” recalls Army Col. Kenneth King, then the commanding officer of Camp Bucca.........
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/taliban_commander_ex.php#
Taliban commander exchanged for Bergdahl coordinated with al Qaeda to
attack Northern Alliance the day before 9/11
By THOMAS JOSCELYNJune 13, 2014
One of the five senior Taliban leaders transferred to Qatar in exchange for
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl played a key role in al Qaeda's plans leading up to the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mohammad Fazl, who served as the
Taliban's army chief of staff and deputy defense minister prior to his
detention at Guantánamo, did not have a hand in planning the actual 9/11
hi... more »
June 14: Please, Mr. Mayor....
On page A1, Mayor George Leblanc says "...police killings will not define
Moncton."
Mr. Mayor, talk a walk to Victoria Part.There is a monument there with the
many, many names of people from this city who were killed in two world
wars. So many names - but their deaths did not define or crush Moncton. The
very idea that the recent police killings might do what two world wars did
not is absurd.
But you and the TandT have consistently repeated that story. The result of
that sort of repetition does NOT reassure people. What it does is to make
them feel more vulnerable, more anxious.
... more »
Paul Krugman And Bruce Dixon Address The Scourge Of Beltway Politics: Careerism
Steny Hoyer and Al Wynn, a couple of good ole boy Maryland crooks
Actually, Krugman was only addressing right-wing careerism-- and it's role
in the real-time unraveling of movement conservatism-- but much of what he
says can be applied to the political hacks on both sides of the aisle.
Patently dishonest Republican Party strategy has led to the recruitment,
increasingly, of "apparatchiks, motivated more by careerism than by
conviction," he wrote. And that m.o. certainly fits the corporate
Democrats-- led by Steny Hoyer, Joe Crowley, Steve Israel, Ron Kind, Debbie
Wasserman Schultz (p... more »
A Week of American Pathology
Nothing expresses the shallow narcissism and brutal arrogance of the
American political/media complex so much as its reaction to the cataclysm
that is Iraq. To wit:
*"Over the past decade, American troops have made extraordinary sacrifices
to give Iraqis an opportunity to claim their own future.... Obviously our
troops and the American people and the American taxpayers made huge
investments and sacrifices in order to give Iraqis the opportunity to chart
a better course, a better destiny.”* -- Barack Obama. He delivered his
Friday remarks with obvious impatience and haste, Marine O... more »
JOBS ISSUE CRUCIAL IF WE WANT TO END WAR
Bath forum eyes state’s reliance on military spending
6-13-14
The Times Record
BATH, MAINE
A newly-formed citizens’ coalition based in Bath, Midcoast Citizens for
Sustainable Economies, will host a forum from 6:30 to 8 p.m. June 27 for
the exchange of information and ideas about the diversification of Maine’s
military manufacturing sector.
At the forum, which will take place at the Winter Street Church, experts
will review what other states are currently doing to move beyond their
dependence on military spending and seed a discussion about the
possibilities for Maine.
“In 2... more »
Screw you, Gove - BBC's 'Dateline'
Honestly [as the politician said to the voter], I really wasn't intending
to write about *Dateline London *this week, but my chest has been well and
truly sat on by this week's edition...broadcast, as ever, to the world at
large by a proud BBC...and now I really need to get it off.
I managed to get through the Iraq bit, noting that the Iraqi journalist who
writes for an Arabic paper which supports the Saudi Royal Family [Mina al
Oraibi] was most critical of the present (largely Shia) Iraqi government
and that the U.S. liberal - who always seems such a slavish pro-Democrat
comment... more »
Hopelessly Stupid People Talking About Iraq
Back in the day, when perhaps only 500,000 human beings had been killed in
Iraq, I had an exchange with "conservative" blogger "Papa Junker" from the
blog "Celestial Junk." While we were talking about some other subject, he
asked if I'd care to admit that my side had gotten Iraq completely wrong.
Given that there had been no "Weapons of Mass Destruction" found there and
that the occupation had turned into a bloody civil war, I could only sit
stunned as I read his version that, ignoring the naysayers, bush II had
gone in and removed a tyrant from power, freeing the Iraqi people who,
... more »
WHY PARENTS SHOULD NOT FEAR TEACHER TENURE
WHY PARENTS SHOULD NOT FEAR TEACHER TENURE.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD:
Musings from the Chalk Face
We need to remember that the impediments to self-directed learning are by design
[image: Alfie Kohn]
*"When teachers are told exactly what and how to teach, when they feel
pressured to produce results, they in turn tend to pressure their students.
That is exactly what another study found: teachers who felt controlled
became more controlling, removing virtually any opportunities for students
to direct their own learning." — Alfie Kohn*
As always the wonderful Alfie Kohn is right on target. What's left out of
his important analysis is that these conditions are exactly what our ruling
class—namely, but not limited to the Gates, Broad, and Walton Family
Foundation... more »
Silly Saturday
By Capt. Fogg
OK, call it silly Saturday, but they're all the same, all silly and it's a
shame.
Went to the grocery store and grabbed a package of the yogurt covered
cranberries my wife likes and what do you know? They're now *Greek* yogurt
covered cranberries although they taste exactly the same. The revolution is
over. There's no more non-Hellenic yogurt to be had anywhere in any form.
Active, inactive, fruit on the bottom or no fruit at all, it's all Greek,
all the time and forever. Another win for commercial groupspeak. Opa!
The way we talk! I've never heard it before but... more »
"Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, has just been overrun by al Qaeda forces. These are the forces that Washington has claimed a number of times to have completely defeated. These "defeated" forces now control Iraq's second largest city and a number of provinces. The person Washington left in charge of Iraq is on his knees begging Washington for military help and air support against the Jihadist forces that the incompetent Bush regime unleashed in the Muslim world." -- Paul Craig Roberts
------------------------------
*Washington’s Iraq “Victory” — Paul Craig Roberts*
------------------------------
June 14, 2014 | Original Here Go
here to sign up to receive email notice of this news letter
Washington’s Iraq “Victory”
Paul Craig Roberts
The citizens of the United States still do not know why their government
destroyed Iraq. “National Security” will prevent them from ever knowing.
“National Security” is the cloak behind which hides the crimes of the US
government.
George Herbert Walker Bush, a former Director of the Centra... more »
A Samurai’s Creed
A Samurai’s Creed
Anonymous, Circa 1300
I have no parents;
I make the heaven and earth my mother and father.
I have no home;
I make awareness my dwelling.
I have no life and death;
I make the tides of breathing my life and death.
I have no divine power;
I make honesty my divine power.
I have no means;
I make understanding my means.
I have no magic secrets;
I make character my magic secret.
I have no body;
I make endurance my body.
I have no eyes;
I make the flash of lightning my eyes.
I have no ears;
I make sensibility my ears.
I have no limbs;
I make promptness my l... more »
The Establishment New Republic Smears Chris Hedges as a Plagiarist
The New Republic is a preeminent Democratic party pimping mouthpiece from
which some of the most cowardly and dishonest smear campaigns are launched
into the national media cesspool to the benefit of the corrupt
establishment. It was earlier this year that the magazine/website did a brutal
hatchet job on former government contractor turned heroic NSA whistleblower
Edward Snowden and journalist Glenn Greenwald. The epic sliming - which
threw in Wikileaks leader Julian Assange for good measure - was penned by
the longtime pal of the Clintons Sean Wilentz and logging in at ll over
6,... more »
Musings On Iraq In The News
I was interviewed by Rudaw for the article “Kurdish Oil Puts Region at
Political Crossroads” and by Egypt's Ahram Online for "ISIL jihadists push
towards Baghdad." I was quoted in "The Ever-Imploding Iraq" in Andrew
Sullivan's Daily Dish. I talked with the Loopcast about the current
security crisis in Iraq and American Contractor about a number of events
going on as well.
Has the extinction rate increased 1,000 times?
Lots of journalists happily spread the "gospel" about a recent paper in the
Science Magazine,
The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution,
and protection
by S.L. Pimm and 8 co-authors (U.S., U.K., Brazil). The abstract suggests
it is a rather careful, conservative paper with some interesting
statistics. The summaries in the media are not so careful, I think.
The eye-catching figure is that it's being estimated – and as far as I see,
the paper *assumes* it is essentially right – that the "number of species
that go extinct per year" has increased by thre... more »
Pregnant Chelsea Clinton actually appeared in public in this "outfit"...
*I know there are all sorts of really important things going on,
buuuuuuuuuuut you really need to see this (and it's all I can handle
today.)*
Really.
What was she thinking?
A fantastic Stanley Cup Final June 14 , 2014 ( was this the best five game Series you've seen or what ? ) Kings deserving Champs but hats off to the huge hearted Rangers
Deadspin.....
Alec Martinez Was Mic'd Up For His Double-OT Stanley Cup Winner
10,262g
11
[image: Sean-Newell]
Sean NewellProfile
Sean Newell
Filed to: LOS ANGELES KINGS
- STANLEY CUP FINAL
- NEW YORK RANGERS
- ALEC MARTINEZ
- NHL
Today 9:37am
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Los Angeles Kings defenseman Alec Martinez deposited a meaty rebound in the
back of the net at 14:43 in double-overtime, giving the Kings a 3-2 win and
the Stanley Cup. The NHL had Martinez mic'd up for the moment and even
though it's exactly... more »
What about the Children??!11!??
For so-cons, it's aaallll about the children.
The new prostitution bill, C36, among other things, would criminalize the
selling of sex anywhere children might reasonably be expected to be present,
which given the little buggers' omnipresence is literally *anywhere*.
Because as pearl-clutching Focus on the Family lady, Andrea Mrozek, says:
"Parents don’t want to see massage parlours next to ballet schools."
Though, twitterer Voice of tReason points out there is some overlap.
@canadiancynic @fernhilldammit yeah but ya kinda need a sense of rhythm for
both professions
— Voice of tReas... more »
"Unprecedented" 13 Aircraft Simply Vanish from Radar
Disquieting and curious?
*The "undprecedented" disappearances happened on 5 June and 10 June,
hitting control rooms in Austria and neighbouring countries.*
*The relevant EU agencies have been asked to investigate, Austria's flight
safety organisation said yesterday.*
* Marcus Pohanka of Austro Control said the height, location, identities
and other information for a total of 13 aircraft suddenly vanished.*
He said several neighbouring countries had similar incidents and the EU's
Eurocontrol and European Aviation Safety Agency has been asked for a probe.
He did not identify the oth... more »
Let's Hope They Draw The Right Lessons
Ontario -- and Ontarians -- are lucky. So writes Gerry Caplan:
The Liberals’ luck is also Ontario’s luck. The Conservatives, and a good
number of observers, believed Tim Hudak would emerge with the most seats,
though not a majority. By parliamentary tradition, the Lieutenant-Governor
would have been obliged to ask the last premier to form a government if she
could; had Andrea Horwath agreed to support the Liberals – and now we’ll
never know – the latter could have formed another minority. Yet as another
way of scaring voters away from Mr. Hudak, Ms. Wynne took the dubious
gamble o... more »
Ontario Election 2014, Post Thoughts - Part 2
(Part
1 here)
The Ontario election was a referendum on fiscal conservatism. Or so
quite a few opinion pieces amongst various media outlets tell us. (I
know these two are from the Natioal Post, they're the only ones I could
find that were minimally hyperbolic.)
I think that is too simplistic a view of what happened. As I argued in
Part 1, many voters wanted a minority government. When people
Bad Idea For USA: Intervening In Other Countries' Religious Wars
I was in my car a few nights ago and I heard a pompous asshole, Max Boot,
on NPR, introduced as an Iraq expert-- he was an advisor on Iraq to McCain
and Romney's failed presidential campaigns. I wanted to write down the load
of crap he was spewing about how Obama is "losing" Iraq and I was
especially eager to try to remember the nonsense he was babbling about how
the Sunnis and the Shia get along so well. But I couldn't remember and I
just let it pass-- until Thursday night, when Chris Hayes played the above
compendium of McCain's colossal wrongness on Iraq. And there was the sill... more »
Great Works Quotation by Samuel Johnson
Source: http://quoteko.com/
Untitled
*Did This Student Receive a Bad Grade on a College Paper Because She Cited
Heritage Foundation?*
Hayley Waring, a student at Southern Methodist University, has an opinion
piece in The College Conservative about former New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg’s commencement address last month at Harvard. Mayor Bloomberg
criticized left-wing censorship of conservative ideas on campus. Waring
said Bloomberg is correct and discussed her own experience at SMU:
“Last semester, I took a public policy class with a professor who often let
her left-leaning views leak into her lectures while assur... more »
Untitled
*The Stockpile Solution for curbing fossil fuel use*:
*Bryan Caplan is being a bit silly below. Stockpiling a commodity would
raise its price and draw out more supply. And eventually the government
would run out of money to build their ever-bigger stockpiles*
If I were convinced that the fate of mankind hinged on massive reductions
in carbon emissions, I would still be pessimistic about unilateral taxes or
cap-and-trade. As I told Yoram:
National emissions regulations can have perverse global effects. If
relatively clean countries switch to clean energy (via command-and-control... more »
Ukraine Updates June 14 , 2014 -- Dozens dead as rebels down Ukraine army plane Kiev launches air strikes against rebels in Luhansk after 49 people die in downing of plane landing at city's airport - in light of the US State Department commentary Friday that Separatists had accumulated heavy weapons from Russian including tanks and rocket launches , expect to hear drumbeats for more sanctions against Russia . ......... Gazprom-Naftogaz meeting to be held in Kiev on June 14
http://www.moonofalabama.org/
June 14, 2014
Ukraine: These Tanks ... And The State Department Lies Again
The Ukrainian coup government claims that Russian tanks crossed the border
and are in use by federalists in east Ukraine. First claims talked about
three Russian T-72 tanks but later claims changed the type of the tank to
T64s. The tanks can be seen driving here (vid) and here (vid).
The U.S. State Department is now endorsing that claim:
The State Department said Friday that Russia had sent tanks and other heavy
weapons to separatists in Ukraine, supporting accusations Thursday b... more »
Open Thread: If You're Going to Fuck the World, Might as Well Use Plenty of Lube edition
Still working like a fiend on *Tatterdemalion*. What's going on in
*your* neck of the woods?
Mike's Story Part 50 - Shaking
*By **Jenna** Orkin*
*February 25, 2007*
* For whatever reason, Mike overcame his misgivings about meeting a
stranger so we got together with L, a lean Vermonter, who treated us to
lunch at a Midtown hotel with a panoramic view.*
* He'd heard a lecture by one of Mike's former colleagues who is now
peddling investment services to poor dairy farmers. Then he pulled out his
phone (unless it was another electronic gadget in 2007) and showed us
pictures of his beautifully appointed house, set up to have a fighting
chance of surviving collapse. We were invited to come whenever we w... more »
Ontario Election 2014, Post Thoughts - Part 1
With
the latest round of voter malaise given voice by the recent Ontario
election, Alheli Picazo took aim at the 'Decline your Vote' meme that
started to gain popularity. While I agree with the spirit of the
argument, I find that I cannot accept the logic of it.
She had two main points, "declining your ballot succeeds in 'sending a
message' about as well as abstaining achieves a 'total
Turkey Updates ( June 12 , 2014 ) .......Turkey's hubris and arrogance that led to involvement in the Syria War ( and the training funding , providing safe harbor and weapons to Islamists has blown up in Turkish faces !
Catharsis Ours - 18 hours ago
Turkey.....
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Hurriyet...
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-not-working-on-new-mandate-for-military-action-in-iraq-minister.aspx?pageID=238&nID=67700&NewsCatID=510
Turkey
not working on new mandate for military action in Iraq: Minister
ANKARA - Reuters
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[image: Bekir Bozdağ during a speech at Parliament. AA Photo]
Bekir Bozdağ during a speech at Parliament. AA Photo
The Turkish government is not working on any new mandate to authorize a
cross-border military operat... more »
Why did 'Newsnight' apologise?
So what was that *Newsnight* apology about then?:
*"On 7 March the Ten O'Clock News and Newsnight broadcast a report alleging
a possible police cover-up over an allegedly corrupt officer, DC John
Davidson. The claims should have been put to the Met, an omission for which
we apologise. The Met, in fact, says that it did not claim in its evidence
to the Ellison Review that there were no records of the officer's links to
a separate investigation into the murder of Daniel Morgan and it does not
accept that the BBC produced evidence of a possible cover-up. We were wrong
to suggest the ... more »
I don't think you're supposed to say that out loud
On April 29, 2014, General Petraeus, former director of the CIA and
commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, gave a talk on
"leadership skills" in the "global war on terror" to members of the
National Guard, some of whom had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He was introduced by the Treasurer of North Dakota [bold : mine]
"Good evening. My name is Kelly Schmidt and I'm the Treasurer for the state
of North Dakota. It is my pleasure to have spent the day today
with retired General David Petraeus. David and I have been out in the
western portion of North Dakota where we have sh... more »
IAI, Rheinmetall integrating anti-missile systems
[image: Rheinmetall MASS Decoy System]Naval self-defense systems to counter
sensor-guided missiles are being combined by Israel Aerospace Industries
and Rheinmetall of Germany.
IAI said its plan will see the ELM-2222S Navguard advanced radar system
integrated with the German company's Multi Ammunition Softkill System, or
MASS.
In testing of the integration, the resultant system performed successfully
against incoming sea-launched and land-launched missiles.
Read more
Multi-million pound revamp for RAF Marham
The Ministry of Defence is planning millions of pounds of upgrades to RAF
Marham in Norfolk, to support the operating of the next generation of
fighter aircraft.
The proposals, which are still in the early planning stages, will see an
estimated £7.5m injected into the creation of new concrete vertical landing
pads to support the operation of the RAFs brand new Joint Strike Fighter
aircraft, due to enter service in the coming years.
Able to land and take-off vertically, the new F-35 aircraft are currently
under testing with manufacturer Lockheed Martin in the United States.
Source
Modi aboard India's largest aircraft carrier
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday reached Goa and went aboard INS
Vikramaditya, the largest and most powerful aircraft carrier inducted into
the Indian Navy, marking his first visit to a military facility after
assuming office last month. He also hopped into the cockpit of a MiG-29 K
fighter jet.
The prime minister took the salute and also met and interacted with the
crew on board INS Vikramaditya.
Modi was accompanied by navy chief Admiral R.K. Dhowan, and was accorded a
ceremonial guard of honour.
Read more
Coast Guard upgrades from 32-year-old aircraft
[image: HC-144 Ocean Sentry]Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi’s first
HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft will replace a 32-year-old Falcon jet used to
aide the maritime patrol and search and rescue missions in South Texas,
according to a news release.
The medium-ranged, twin-engine aircraft is the first of three aircrafts
that can be used to help mariners located more than 400 miles from shore.
The aircraft, also used to locate and identify illicit maritime activities,
can carry 40 passengers, as much as 9,400 pounds of cargo and can be
configured to carry litters for medical patients.
R... more »
Navy Prepares F-35C for Carrier Landing
[image: F-35C Lightning II]Navy test pilots are conducting numerous
shore-based test landings of the F-35C of the next-generation Joint Strike
Fighter in anticipation of its first at-sea landing on an aircraft carrier
later this year, service officials said.
The shore landings, taking place at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.,
are designed to replicate the range of conditions which the F-35C is likely
to encounter at sea – to the extent that is possible.
Test pilots are working on what they call a structural survey, an effort to
assess the F-35C’s ability to land in a wide rang... more »
Iraq Crisis: US Moves Aircraft Carrier To Persian Gulf As Obama Weighs Military Options
[image: USS George H.W. Bush]The U.S. aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush is
being moved to the Persian Gulf in case President Barack Obama authorizes
airstrikes in Iraq, CNN reported Friday.
Iraq is in turmoil after an al Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria, made advances this week in the north and north-central portions
of the country, including the seizure of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city.
On Thursday, Obama said he was mulling all options on Iraq, saying, "I
don't rule anything out." His spokesman, Jay Carney, later clarified,
saying the president is not consid... more »
DARPA, Navy want long-range ISR drones for smaller ships
[image: Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN)]Long-range
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions are important to
military operations, but they require either an aircraft carrier or a
ground base from which to launch aircraft. Pentagon and Navy researchers
want to change that, by developing unmanned aircraft that can launch from
smaller ships without having to modify their decks.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval
Research recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement on a joint program
called Tern, which seeks to build a proto... more »
German Navy Flight Operator Achieves 3,000 Flight Hours During Flight With EU Naval Force
[image: German P-3C Orion]On Wednesday 4 June, a flight operator in the
Djiboutian based German Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA)
P-3C Orion crew reached an impressive 3,000 flight hours’ milestone.
The German Navy flight operator reached his 3,000 hours during an
operational flight with the EU Naval Force counter-piracy mission,
Operation Atalanta. The flight operator started his career in the German
Navy Aeronautical Service in 1998.
Speaking about his role, the senior Chief Petty Officer stated “As an Above
Water Warfare (AWW) operator, I am responsible for the h... more »
'Newsnight' - 9-13 June
*Newsnight* had to apologise again this week.
The apology came at the end of last night's edition of the programme:
*"On 7 March the Ten O'Clock News and Newsnight broadcast a report alleging
a possible police cover-up over an allegedly corrupt officer, DC John
Davidson. The claims should have been put to the Met, an omission for which
we apologise. The Met, in fact, says that it did not claim in its evidence
to the Ellison Review that there were no records of the officer's links to
a separate investigation into the murder of Daniel Morgan and it does not
accept that the BBC produ... more »
How To Make Natural Ginger Ale
[image: Foto: How To Make Natural Ginger Ale
http://www.herbsandoilsworld.com/how-to-make-natural-ginger-ale/ This
naturally fizzy soda is packed full of beneficial enzymes and probiotics,
it tastes delicious, is incredibly refreshing and packs a real health punch
due to the almost magical properties of ginger. Click the link to find out
how to make it.]
Wellness Mama, 20 June 2014
It turns out that soda hasn’t always been the high fructose corn syrup and
artificial flavor concoction in an aluminum can that we know today.
For hundreds of years (and probably much longer) cultures... more »
The End of The Iraqi State?
*An excerpt from, "Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Sistani Issues Call to Arms to
Fight al-Qaeda" by Jason Ditz, Antiwar, June 13, 2014: *
Notoriously reluctant to involve himself in security affairs, Grand
Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the top Shi’ite religious leader in Iraq, has issued
a call to arms today, urging everyone who is able to do so to take up arms
and fight the advancing al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
*Sistani’s unprecedented call has seen considerable response already, as
volunteers are loaded into trucks and sent northward, toward the AQI front.
The Iraqi Army, by contrast, continues to d... more »
Musical Interlude: Medwyn Goodall, “Vision Quest”
Medwyn Goodall, “Vision Quest”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIUuyoRfbvw
"A Look to the Heavens"
“How massive can a normal star be? Estimates made from distance, brightness
and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24
over 200 times the mass of our Sun, nearly making it the record holder.
This star is the brightest object located just above the gas front in the
above below.
*Click image for larger size.*
Close inspection of images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, however,
have shown that Pismis 24-1 derives its brilliant luminosity not from a
single star but from three at least. Component stars would still remain
near 100 solar masses, making ... more »
Doonesbury Watch: Ms. Caucus goes to law school (with Saturday UPDATE)
*The Caucus family tree*
*by Ken*
I've made no secret of the fact that of all the *Doonesbury* characters, it
seems to be Joanie Caucus who exerts the strongest pull on me, and one
thing that the apparently unending world of *Doonesbury* weekday reruns
archival flashbacks has made possible for us is to revisit the long path
Joanie has traveled, from her flight from an abusive husband to the
position of day-care provider for the Walden Commune on up to her coming
out of retirement to join the Senate staff of Elizabeth Warren -- and also
embracing, or at any rate falling into, the r... more »
Lies And Crime
Lies And Crime
*Written By Mark Taliano*
Hanna Arendt describes a peculiar dynamic of mob mentality in her classic The
Origins Of Totalitarianism that resonates with the world today.
She explains that “one could make people believe the most fantastic
statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given
irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism;
instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest
that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire
the... more »
Chet Raymo, “This View of Life, With Its Several Powers”
* “This View of Life, With Its Several Powers”*
by Chet Raymo
“Somewhere in his "lost" notebooks Loren Eiseley writes of the pleasure of
exploding a puffball in a woodland clearing, or shaking seeds out of their
pods. As I recall, he takes a gleeful satisfaction in messing with
evolution, in hurrying the process along.
I remember identifying with that sentiment when I read it. I like exploding
puffballs too. Dropping insects into spider webs. Picking up turtles that
are half-way across a road and placing them in a ditch on the other side.
Most of all I like breaking off the stalks ... more »
From Snowy Ski Slopes to Sun-Kissed Shushtar:Two 4-Minute Videos of an Iran Rarely Seen
Earlier
this month, a freak sandstorm swept through Tehran, effectively
shutting down the metropolis and tragically taking the lives of at least
five people. Such an event might not seem like such an anomaly to those
whose conception of Iran’s landscape resembles Lawrence of Arabia
rather than reality. This past February, Tehran also experienced the
largest snowfall the city had seen in half a
Apple, Starbucks, Others Under EU Tax Investigation
No sooner do I comment on the difference between tax planning and tax
avoidance than Richard Murphy points out that several multinational
corporations are having their tax deals looked at for potential violations
of the European Union's state aid rules. As The Guardian and The Wall
Street Journal report, there are three cases currently under investigation
by the European Commission, but more investigations may be opened in the
near future.
First is Apple in Ireland. What a surprise! It has a subsidiary it claims
is taxable nowhere, incorporated in Ireland but managed from California... more »
Toxic Culture of Education
Orlando SentinelFrustrated Orange teacher decries 'toxic culture of
education'
By Leslie Postal, Orlando Sentinel
6:26 PM EDT, June 12, 2014
Fed up and fired up, algebra teacher Josh Katz this spring took to the
stage for a 17-minute denouncement of what he called the "toxic culture of
education" in Florida's public schools.
Since then, nearly 30,000 people on YouTube have viewed the University High
School teacher's impassioned attack on high-stakes testing, Common Core
academic standards, private education companies and the false "narrative" that
"public schools are teeming with h... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Thanks for stopping by.
"Dogtown!"
"Dogtown"
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more
than you love yourself." ~ Josh Billings
"It's not just a sanctuary - it's Dogtown! Dogtown is the most welcoming
place on earth. They may have been homeless, but none of the dogs here are
sad and forlorn. Everywhere you go, you're greeted with wagging tails,
whelps of excitement and big, friendly eyes. This is truly a neighborly,
all-American town.
Best Friends Animal Society is guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to
animals builds a better world for all of us. In the late 1980s, when Best
Friends was in its early... more »
"The Rules"
"The rules may be stupid, irritating and arbitrary,
but God help you if you break them."
"The Biggest Questions"
"*The Biggest Questions"*
Compilation by CP
"When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the
eternity before and after, the little space which I fill and even can see,
engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant and
which know me not, I am frightened and am astonished at being here rather
than there; for there is no reason why here rather than there, why now
rather than then. Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have
this place and time been allotted to me? 'The remembrance of a guest that
tarries but a day.'”
- Blaise Pascal
... more »
Untitled
*What's next for the Charity Hospital building? ~WVUE*
*March from Grand Ilse to Baton Rouge June 21st, rally at Governor's
Mansion June 28th*
*Cityscapes: Richard Campanella on New Orleans' Second-Largest Flood*
*Business And Political Leaders Gather For Flood Insurance Meeting ~WWNO*
*Canal Street ferry to operate for longer hours ~Jeff Adelson, New Orleans
Advocate*
*Business leaders, railroad industry hope to reroute train traffic on west
bank ~WDSU*
*LA- US bishops hear controversial speaker in New Orleans ~SNAP*
*New GSI Executive Director Margaret Henderson, An Influential ... more »
The Poet: Rainer Maria Rilke, "Do You Remember?"
"Do you remember still the falling stars
that like swift horses through the heavens raced
and suddenly leaped across the hurdles
of our wishes - do you recall?
And we did make so many!
For there were countless numbers of stars:
each time we looked above we were
astounded by the swiftness of their daring play,
while in our hearts we felt safe and secure
watching these brilliant bodies disintegrate,
knowing somehow we had survived their fall."
- Rainer Maria Rilke
"Gotcha, bitch!" screamed Scott Brown at NH Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Only the cannonball landed on his own foot, which happened to be in his mouth at the time
*"Ooh, gotcha!" apparently thought once and would-be-future Sen. Scott
Brown. "Bitch'll never know what hit her!" Maybe, maybe not.*
*by Ken*
Normally the modern blood sport of "gotcha" politics thrives on ignorance
and stupidity, a perfect match for the virtually achieved right-wing dream
of an electorate -- and a snoozemedia gang -- dominated by people with
absolute-zero functional IQs (fIQs). Every now and then, though, this dream
of a world where political intercourse is squeezed free of any intelligence
quotient encounters a hiccup.
It turns out that in America in the year 20... more »
War watch June 11 , 2014 -- Iraq focus -Al-Qaeda Seizes Iraq’s Mosul, Moves on Kirkuk Maliki Declares 'State of Emergency' After Troops Routed , ISIL takes more Turkish drivers hostage in northern Iraq as 500,000 flee Mosul ........... Syria focus - Hundreds killed as ISIL insurgents gain ground in east Syria ......... Iran nuclear talks update !
Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
Iraq......
http://www.alliraqnews.com/en/index.php/component/content/article/41-2011-11-19-15-21-19/53928-sadr-rejects-involving-his-followers-in-war-created-by-qwrongq-political-actions
Sadr
rejects involving his followers in war created by "Wrong" political
actions
Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:19 | [image: PDF] | [image: Print] | [image:
E-mail]
*[image:
b_280_189_16777215_0___images_idoblog_upload_1853_images_804.jpg]*
*Baghdad (AIN) –The head of the Sadr Trend, Muqtada al-Sadr, rejected
involving his followers in a war created by "Wrong" political actions.*
*In a press statement re... more »
wmtc: happy birthday to me
I have been alive and kicking on this planet for 53 years today. I'm pretty
damn happy about it.
I'm celebrating my birthday by taking the day from work, reviewing my talk
for this weekend's Marxism conference, getting caught up on some personal
business, having a play date with Allan (also ditching work) and the pups,
then tonight, having dinner at Kaji, my go-to place for birthday
celebrations in recent years.
Then I can celebrate all weekend by engaging in discussion, education, and
solidarity: Resisting a System in Crisis: Marxism 2014. This year I'm
stewarding a room, and I wa... more »
“When Things Go Wrong”, "Don't Quit"
*“When Things Go Wrong”*
by Zen Gardner
“Things going “wrong” aren’t easy tasks to handle, for sure. No matter how
much we prepare for or try to avoid seeming wrong eventualities, they
happen. It can be anything, from a wrong turn to lost or stolen items or
nagging financial matters. It can be a health issue or a serious accident.
Shift happens. It’s part of life.
Handling these matters is nothing new as life progresses, but they can set
you back and even throw you off, some times a lot more than others. Clearly
conscious awareness must prevail to see beyond the circumstances and th... more »
"Real Glory..."
"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact,
it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are,
what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it."
- Maya Angelou
"The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back.
That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it."
- Vince Lombardi
◆
*"How Buster Douglas Beat Mike Tyson” *
by johnnysmack7
“Going into the fight, Mike Tyson was the undefeated and undisputed
heavyweight champion of the world. He held the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles.
Despite the several controversies tha... more »
Inequality 18: Piketty, Fabella, Equity-Efficiency Nexus and EPIRA
A good artice from my former teacher at UP School of Economics. The
italics-red highights are mine, meaning I like them. The italics-blue
highlights after the article are observations that I am skeptical or
disagree with. Enjoy.
------------
*Power and the pursuit of equity*
Introspective
Raul V. Fabella
Posted on June 08, 2014 08:09:32 PM
INEQUALITY is back. The trigger is the book *Capital in the Twenty-First
Century* by Thomas Piketty. Three allusions to the book have appeared in
the BusinessWorld opinion section in the last month alone. Piketty claims
that ever-rising income i... more »
Obama "urgently" considering airstrikes on Syria as well as Iraq
Well wasn't that "unexpected" attack on Mosul very fortuitous for NATO's
designs on Syria?
Of course, I am being facetious. If you can't get to your destination via
one path there are many other roads that can be travelled
*The Obama administration is urgently considering an air assault on Islamic
extremists* that officials told the Guardian *could be directed at targets
in Syria as well as Iraq.*
President* Obama announced on Friday that in the "days ahead" he will
decide on a package of military and diplomatic options to halt the rapid
advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the... more »
Friday Nerd Blogging Extra: GoT Games
Too good and with the finale coming up, we need to double dip:
Dey do do dat dough don't dey dough
The 'North West Tonight' studio tonight - and most nights
As Iraq and the world falls apart, what better time for another
introspective post...and something about Hillsborough?...
When we started this blog I was absolutely determined to be as impartial
and fair-minded as could be. I also meant to write in an uptight,
scrupulous fashion - as free from the spirit of ranting as possible.
Well, some of that spirit hopefully remains, but I've definitely slipped
over time.
Like subsidence, bias will always out itself, if it's there - whether it be
*my* bias or the bias of a BBC report... more »
The Economy: “Little By Little, We Went Insane”
*“Little By Little, We Went Insane”*
by Tim Price
“Are we finished ? The answer is no.” - Mario Draghi, President of the
European Central Bank, 5th June 2014, having just cut ECB deposit rates to
minus 0.1 percent.
“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency;
the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a
permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic
opportunists.” - Ernest Hemingway.
“The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones
of taxation and inflation.” - Vladimir Lenin.
If it look... more »
Hollywood Accredits the Memes: The Big Libowski
*Walter was in 'Nam.*
*He didn't refuse. And as far as we know, he didn't frag his Second Looey. *
*He isn't a patriot. And in the film, he enthusiastically supports Desert
Storm.*
*If there is a patriot, hero and man of peace in the Big Libowski other
than The Dude, it's the man he's about to point that gun at in the aisle -
Smokey was a Conscientious Objector.*
*Fuck Walter. *
*Walter's a fascist.*
*And a Zionist. By choice.*
*He's shoma shabbas.*
*"This aggression cannot stand."*
*"This aggression cannot stand."*
*"This aggression can not stand, Man!"*
Why Is Republican John Kline Blocking Student Loan Re-Financing? Just Follow The Money Flowing Into His Shady Career
The battle over refinancing student debt has been playing out-- badly-- in
the Senate. Senate Republicans have filibustered Elizabeth Warren's bill so
that it couldn't even be formally devoted on the floor.
And in the House? Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman, John
Kline, has bottled up the House version, H.R. 4582, proposed by John
Tierney (D-MA) and cosponsored by 111 Members of Congress, although not
even one Republican. He and House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Dave
Camp (R-MI), won't even schedule hearings on the bill.
Mike Obermueller, the progressive Demo... more »
"Stop... Eating Carbs"
*"Stop... Eating Carbs"*
by Karl Denninger
"About 29.1 million Americans—nearly 10% of the U.S. population—now has
type 2 diabetes, according to a new report. Of those Americans with the
illness, 27.8% of them are undiagnosed, according to the U.S. Centers of
Disease Control and Prevention’s 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report
released Tuesday. The report uses data collected between 2009-2012, as well
as national surveys.
That's an insane statistic. Equally-insane is the claim that this costs
nearly 1/4 of a trillion dollars a year, with most of it (~$175 billion)
being dire... more »
最好的朋友 LOL
http://www.vice.com/read/republicans-try-to-win-back-asian-americans-if-white-bankers-in-hong-kong-count
和
http://youoffendmeyouoffendmyfamily.com/white-is-the-new-asian-gaze-on-the-faces-of-asian-republicans/
An Academic Woman’s Rant of the Week: Negotiation
Sorry, faithful Duck readers, for the radio silence – I’ve been traveling
for much of the last month and then – ugh – just started teaching a daily
undergrad class. I promise – real blog posts are coming! In the meantime,
I wanted to fill you in on some information I’ve been digesting in the
Continue reading
Why Tenure is Essential
I usually find it easier to communicate with conservative reformers like
Mike Petrilli or Rick Hess. Unlike their liberal counterparts, they don’t
have to contort themselves into crusaders for equity and justice. They
don’t have to pretend that attacks on teachers and other workers is some
sort of civil rights crusade. These defenders of Scott […]
South Carolina Officially Vamboozled
South Carolina Officially Vamboozled. via South Carolina Officially
Vamboozled.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
A few thoughts on #Vergara and Inequality
Why don’t the billionaires encourage parents to sue because of large class
size creating inequality? Why don’t the billionaires encourage parents to
sue because of a lack of school nurses & counselors creating inequality?
Why don’t the billionaires encourage parents to sue because of a lack of
music & art creating inequality? Why don’t the […]
Supplemental: Hillary Clinton and the word gap!
*FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014*
*Concerning the way our world works:* Just last month, Hillary Clinton
discussed the 30 million word gap.
She spoke at the New America Foundation Summit. This is part of what she
said about the gap:
CLINTON (5/16/14): When I left the State Department, I joined my husband
and daughter at The Clinton Foundation. I wanted to continue my lifelong
work pursuing ways and answers and solutions that could help more people
live up to their own God-given potential.
[...]
*I was very struck by how difficult it was for so many children to be
successful in school, des... more »
Republican Civil War Hurtling Towards D Day In Mississippi
Competing with Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity just endorsed this
anti-American garbage
June 24 is the date of the next round of exciting primaries. Although we're
most interested in seeing if Heather Mizeur can confound the odds and win
in Maryland and if Tom Guild can beat a ConservaDem for the Democratic
nomination for the open Oklahoma City congressional seat, there are also
contests in Colorado, New York, Utah and, of course, the big run-off in
Mississippi pitting Dave Brat against Eric Cantor Chris McDaniel against
Thad Cochran. Smart money is on McDaniel, more so after the Cantor... more »
Michael Hastings Was Investigating Bergdahl's Capture Before He Died - As Usual, the Radical Conservatives React To Empathy Issues In Wrong Way (Opposite To Their Stated Beliefs)
Michael Hastings, pen maître (and undisputed maître of the clearly
devastating but unlikely C250 Mercedes coupe explosion) had been
documenting the circumstances around Bergdahl's disappearance in
Afghanistan at the time of his shocking death. He had also just told
friends the day before that the FBI was tracking his every move and that he
needed to get off their radar screen (so to speak). Who
KIEV USES WHITE PHOSPHORUS BOMBS
In recent days the US-NATO puppet project in Kiev has been using white
phosphorus bombs against their own citizens in the east of Ukraine. The
reason? They will not submit to full corporate fascist authority. Simple
as that.....and Russia is next on the list.
I'm reading a very good book called Gladio: NATO's Dagger at the Heart of
Europe, The Pentagon-Nazi-Mafia Terror Axis by Richard Cottrell. I highly
recommend it.
In the book Cottrell shares this important insight while discussing the
dangerously expanding role of NATO:
A military pact ostensibly grounded on the principl... more »
THE ROLE OF THE GAPS: At 18 months!
*FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014*
*Part 5—Thirty million words:* The achievement gaps are very large within
our student population.
In this morning’s New York Times, a former teacher offers a perfectly
sensible thought about this state of affairs. These large gaps must be
nipped in the bud, the writer essentially says.
The writer refers to Robert Balfanz’s struggles to keep ninth-graders in
school, which he described in an essay in Sunday’s New York Times. (For our
previous report, just click here.)
Balfanz works with high school and middle school students who are likely to
drop out. But ... more »
KIEV USES WHITE PHOSPHORUS BOMBS
In recent days the US-NATO puppet project in Kiev has been using white
phosphorus bombs against their own citizens in the east of Ukraine. The
reason? They will not submit to full corporate fascist authority. Simple
as that.....and Russia is next on the list.
I'm reading a very good book called Gladio: NATO's Dagger at the Heart of
Europe, The Pentagon-Nazi-Mafia Terror Axis by Richard Cottrell. I highly
recommend it.
In the book Cottrell shares this important insight while discussing the
dangerously expanding role of NATO:
A military pact ostensibly grounded on the principle... more »
Five observations on the Ontario election
1) A record of corruption and incompetence doesn’t disqualify a party from
forming government. The Ontario Liberals cost taxpayers almost $1 billion
when they cancelled two power plants in 2011 to improve their election
chances, and were either dishonest or incompetent in covering up the real
costs. It wasn’t enough to get them kicked out of office. In fact, their
share of the popular vote rose from 38 per cent in 2011 to 39 per cent this
week.
Opposition parties can't count on voters to punish parties for past
wrongdoing.
2) Changing leaders, as the Liberals did, appears to be like... more »
Letter from Canadian sex worker clarifies dangers of Bill C-36
As a Canadian practically ready to flee the country just because I hate
the current federal government so much, I'm feeling empathy with all those
poor Americans who endured all those humiliating years under the presidency
of George W. Bush.
OK, the Conservatives aren't quite up there with Bush in terms of
outrageous, poorly informed decisions. But this new anti-prostitution bill
they've put forward certainly puts them much closer to the zone. Why would
a government of a country known all around the world for its humane laws
table a bill that will not only fail to protect sex ... more »
No wonder moms can't get anything done
I've been back in a life with young children again for the last six weeks,
helping out with three of our grandsons for a couple of months while their
parents get up to various things. There’s much that is quite lovely about
it, but being able or willing to do my usual amount of writing is not one
of them.
This new life has helped me see that in fact, I had become quite used
to having time alone for writing and reflecting. But when you’re living in
a house with children, forget it.
At this moment, my 14-year-old grandson is madly playing some iPod game
a mere metre away ... more »
Continued Collapse Of Iraqi Security Forces And Fighting In Baghdad Leads to Militia Mobilization And Arrival Of Iran
The continued collapse of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) along with the
advance of the insurgency towards Baghdad has brought out both the militias
and Iran. June 12, 2014 there was more news that police and army units were
disintegrating in the face of militants. In Diyala police and army units
started pulling out of the Sadiya area throughout the day. A Baathist
Military Council later posted several videos of it burning parts of an
abandoned ISF base in that part of the province. In Anbar, soldiers withdrew
from Kubaisa near Hit in the west after fighting with insurgents. To the... more »
What The HELL Is Going On In Iraq? ISIS Looming Iraq Victory Is Fruit Of Decade Of Failed US Policy!
I have been watching all the reports over the last few days about the so
called "ISIS" (Islamic State of Iraq in Syria) "army" that has already
conquered most of northern Iraq, and is presently bearing down on the Iraqi
capital of Baghdad as I write this report.... It is startling to see how
quickly this army of "insurgents" has seized so much of Iraq, and may very
quickly take full control of Iraq away from the US puppet regime in Baghdad
itself.
I first want everyone that needs a better understanding of what has really
been happening so far in northern Iraq to turn to some amazing... more »
Mike's Story Part 49 - Furies
*By **Jenna** Orkin*
* From Mike to Ray 2-20-2007*
* I really want to talk to them [this probably referred to the Ashland
Police Department] as the victim also. I have nothing tohide and I wouldn't
mind if they asked me questions.No 5th amendment issues.You tell me.*
* From: "Mike Ruppert" stgeorge119@gmail.com To: "Ray Kohlman" Subject:
Ashland PD Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:43:21 -0500 Can we get a letter from
Ashland PD stating that I am not a suspect n the burglary? I still kind of
want to let them know about [two employees.] *
*February 21 2007 *
* Two days after ... more »
James Clerk Maxwell: a birthday
*Off-topic, geology:* The world ocean may have just quadrupled. A Science
article brings evidence that at the depth of 410-660 km, there is a huge
amount of so far overlooked water hiding in ringwoodite, a sponge-like
stone, whose volume is 3 times the surface oceans' combined.
James Clerk Maxwell was born on June 13th, 1831, i.e. 183 (similar digits)
years ago, which was fortunately for him Monday and not Friday we have
today ;-), to a wealthy advocate from a family of Conservative Party
lawmakers, and he died on November 5, 1879 (deja vu without MathJax). He
was probably the mos... more »
Chinese Government Settles Pielke vs. Krugman
Last week I had a letter in the Financial Times in which I explained the
simple but powerful logic of the Kaya Identity for understanding efforts to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions (for some nice discussions see here, here
and here). The letter was motivated by a proposal floated by a Chinese
academic that China should "cap" its emissions in the near term. I used the
logic of the Kaya Identity to conclude:
It should thus not come as a surprise that carbon caps have not led to
emissions reductions or even limitations anywhere. China will be no
different.
In response, Paul Krugman o... more »
Iraq is burning and Obama heads to Palm Springs...
*right after disrupting the locals in Bismark, ND so "President Ribbon
Cutter" can have a round-table discussion with some teenagers.*
*10:00 am ET ||* Receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
*11:25 am ET ||* Departs White House
*1:45 pm CT ||* Arrives Bismarck, North Dakota
*2:40 pm CT ||* Participates, with Mrs. Obama, in a roundtable discussion
with Native American Youth; Cannon Ball Elementary School
*3:45 pm CT ||* Attends the Cannon Ball Flag Day Celebration and delivers
remarks; Cannon Ball Powwow Grounds
*5:20 pm CT ||* Departs Bismarck, North Dakota
*6:20 pm PT ||* Arrives Pa... more »
Absent urgency police need judicial authorization to get IP address
R. *v.* Spencer, 2014 SCC 43: Whether there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in
the totality of the circumstances is assessed by considering and weighing a
large number of interrelated factors. The main dispute in this case turns
on the subject matter of the search and whether the accused's subjective
expectation of privacy was reasonable. The two circumstances relevant to
determining the reasonableness of his expectation of privacy in this case
are the nature of the privacy interest at stake and the statutory and
contractual framework governing the ISP... more »
RADIO FREE IRAQ VIDEO: Families Continue To Flee Fighting In Iraq's Mosul
Related articles
Tony Blair rejects 'bizarre' claims that invasion of Iraq caused the crisis(theguardian.com)
' Ukraine Prime Minister Orders Government to Prepare to Stop Russian Gas Imports '(acenewsservices.com)
' US Gearing Up with Arms and Unmanned Drones for Shipment to Iraq '(acenewsservices.com)
' Two Street Preachers Win Their Legal Battle to Clear Their Name and Enshrine Their First Amendment Rights '(acenewsservices.com)
VIDEO: What is behind the struggle for Iraq?(bbc.co.uk)
And Bush's Idiocy Keeps Coming Back to Bite Us All(wolfessblog.wordpress.com)
Notes on Iraq(blogs.independent.co.uk)
Tony Blair: 'Iraq civil war will vindicate our actions'(themorningbabel.com)
Iraq blocks Twitter, Facebook, YouTube amid growing ISIS threat(rt.com)
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