Wednesday, February 14, 2018

14 February - My Feedly! 1 of 2

Today
The most popular articles in your Feedly

Ever wonder what you get the former president who has everything for Valentine's Day? Michelle Obama has nailed it. Wednesday morning she tweeted out a customized Valentine's Day playlist she made for Barack on Spotify, and we're slowly melting in a puddle of our own happy tears. Did we mention it's 44 tracks? 44 as in 44th President of the United States. Yep, we're totally fine over here. SEE AL
Valentine's Day is a great day to revel in a relationship, but a better day to embrace the existential dread or spiral into doubt about whether love even exists! Netflix and Black Mirror have you covered there with the actual invention of Coach, the Season 4 dating app that tells people exactly how long their relationships will last. In "Hang the D.J.," Amy (Georgina Campbell) and Frank (Joe Cole
A man who claims to have traveled back in time has made several predictions about the future. The anonymous individual, who identifies himself only as...
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Two brothers in Herzberg, Germany have turned an ordinary bathtub in to a flying passenger drone. Philipp and Johannes Mickenbecker, otherwise known o...
L ast time, I appraised three of the magical incantations that are used in the War on Science -- and against every fact-using profession -- in order to discredit all the folks who actually know stuff, while pretending to sound logical. We need to understand these cheats at their most basic level, in order to fight back against weapons-of-darkness. An example from last time: we all know that: "Jus
Great news (though how low is our bar, that it’s “great” that after seven long expensive years Tim Ball can speak freely?). As reported on WUWT: Tim Ball’s free-speech victory over Andrew Weaver – all charges dismissed! Anthony Watts: I got word tonight from David Ball, son of Dr. Tim Ball via Facebook messenger: This morning the judge dismissed all charges in the lawsuit brought against Tim by B
A process known as deformation, where subsurface rocks subtly change shapes, is occurring beneath the surface of Yellowstone which alerts experts. Researchers state deformation occurs when there is a change in the amount of pressure in the magma chamber and experts are keeping an eye on the development. Seismologists from UNAVCO, a nonprofit university-governed consortium, are using "Global Positi
A new analysis published on the website of a London-based think-tank, funded by the world's biggest banking and financial services institutions, warns that the US stock market is on the brink of an imminent crash that could trigger another global recession. The document by a senior US economist and former Houblon-Norman Fellow at the Bank of England is published on the website of the Centre for th
Death deals blow to MDC party in face of resurgent Zanu-PF ahead of possible May poll Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has died aged 65. He had been suffering from colon cancer for at least two years, but his condition deteriorated rapidly in recent days despite treatment in neighbouring South Africa. His death will be an enormous blow to the opposition in Zimbabwe, coming on
Andy Borowitz jokes that, after news of a payout to Stormy Daniels, millions of Americans are demanding compensation for not having sex with Donald Trump.
Foreign secretary says Britons should still work overseas and go on ‘cheapo flights to stag dos’ UK citizens after Brexit should have the freedom to retire to Spain, work overseas, go on “cheapo flights to stag dos” and fall in love with foreigners just as easily as now, Boris Johnson has said, urging remainers to see the benefits of leaving the EU. However, in a Valentine’s Day speech which open
Sean Hannity (Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster) The official portrait of President Barack Obama could be considered revolutionary . The former president broke from tradition and was painted sitting among green foliage, with flowers that represented the three places he’d called home in his life. But Fox News host Sean Hannity didn’t see the flowers or the magnificence. Nor did he have a critical reaction
Because Trump has not nominated someone to head the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Michael Kratsios is the de facto leader -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Because Trump has not nominated someone to head the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Michael Kratsios is the de facto leader -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Train PhD students to be thinkers not just specialists Train PhD students to be thinkers not just specialists, Published online: 14 February 2018; doi:10.1038/d41586-018-01853-1 Many doctoral curricula aim to produce narrowly focused researchers rather than critical thinkers. That can and must change, says Gundula Bosch.
Researchers have found that gradually depleting an enzyme called BACE1 completely reverses the formation of amyloid plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease, thereby improving the animals' cognitive function. The study raises hopes that drugs targeting this enzyme will be able to successfully treat Alzheimer's disease in humans.
A silicon-based quantum computing device could be closer than ever due to a new experimental device that demonstrates the potential to use light as a messenger to connect quantum bits of information—known as qubits—that are not immediately adjacent to each other. The feat is a step toward making quantum computing devices from silicon, the same material used in today's smartphones and computers.
An experimental treatment regimen has enabled a transgender woman to exclusively breastfeed her baby for six weeks, during which time the baby grew healthily
Last year we launched YouTube TV, the best way to enjoy cable-free live TV, and we’ve been working hard to make it better every day. Today we are excited to wish all our members an extra Happy Valentine's Day by bringing more of the networks you love to YouTube TV, including TNT, Adult Swim, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network, truTV, Turner Classic Movies and more! That’s great news for everyone, from Ande
Dax Shepard returned with more love advice for the audience in a special Valentine's Day edition of Dr. Dax! From: TheEllenShow
Fitted with a camera, this sea eagle is giving us a bird's eye view of cliffs in Britain. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past t
During the Valentine’s season, this farm in Ecuador processes 160,000 roses each day. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the e
Love, Death, Fate. Our award-winning CGI short film, “Happy Valentine’s Day” is about how the downfall of a couple triggers the birth of a new love between two strangers. Told in slow-motion, in one unique camera shot and in reverse. #valentinesdayfilm #lovebackwards facebook.com/NeymarcVisuals/ neymarcvisuals.com Written and Directed by THE NEYMARC BROTHERS Visual Effects by MICHAEL TAN & REMY N
A Brief Spark Bookended by Darkness Cast: Brent Green
[audio mp3="https://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/episode330-lq.mp3"][/audio] Contrary to what its multi-million dollar international PR campaign would have you believe, the White Helmets are not a group of volunteer search-and-rescue workers that sprang spontaneously out of the Syrian soil. When you peel back the layers of foreign financing and reveal the foreign intelligence operatives and murky lo
Wracked by allegations of ad fraud and tax evasion, Newsweek's senior editors are resigning and it looks like the whole organization is falling apart...But from this chaos has emerged a tiny sliver of truth amidst the torrent of MSM lies. Could this be a sign that the truth will out when the editorial gatekeepers fall, or is this a mere glitch in the matrix? Stay tuned.
Contrary to what its multi-million dollar international PR campaign would have you believe, the “White Helmets” are not a group of volunteer search-and-rescue workers that sprang spontaneously out of the Syrian soil. When you peel back the layers of foreign financing and reveal the foreign intelligence operatives and murky lobbying groups at the heart of the organization, what you find is that th
[audio mp3="http://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/2018-02-07%20Vanessa%20Beeley.mp3"][/audio] For the past two years, Vanessa Beeley has been doing on-the-ground reporting in Syria exposing the lies of the NATO powers and their terrorist proxies. Her work on the White Helmets in particular has drawn the ire of the warmongers and their media mouthpieces. Today we talk to Beeley about the true nature of
[audio mp3="https://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/episode328-lq.mp3"][/audio] Yes, the blockchain is truly revolutionary. Yes, bitcoin is Tulipmania 2.0. Yes, cryptocurrency is a nail in the coffin of the bankster parasites. Yes, digital currency is a tool of the totalitarian tyrants. No, these statements are not contradictory. But don’t worry if you think they are. You’re just a victim of The Bitcoi
One person's meat-eating can take a big toll on animals, climate, and health over time
Proposal would threaten endangered species and fragile habitats
Urban ag groups are engaging youth to build sustainable community food systems in New York State
Environmental groups launch Twitter storm pushing netork to end its 'climate whiteout'
As Ontario's famous fox recovers from car injury, he serves of a reminder of the perils of feeding wild animals
Proposed hub has a powerful set of political and industry backers

New in A Closer Look: Jody Paterson

Downtown Utila What is it about this place that makes me love it? It’s not particularly pretty, and in a few places it’s kind of smelly. There are even hellish sand flies at certain times of day that will motivate you to douse yourself with Deet before even considering hanging out at one especially bad beach. (I’m dabbing cortisone cream on several blistering bites at this very moment.) Yet from
Yes, I have hit a dry spell. There really isn’t anything new to say about Curse of Oak Island as they chase the Knights Templar and other false leads. They haven’t found anything significant but you have to give them credit for keeping this thing going for so long with so little to show for it. But, in the last couple of days I have been asked a couple of questions and saw a picture of a “spacema
I now understand why the Laginas boys are chasing the Knights Templar again. It has nothing to do with that lead cross recovered during one of the recent metal detector sweeps. I believe it has to do with the upcoming programs on History about the Knights Templar. It is known as cross (forgive the unintentional pun) pollination. But first, I journey into the past. Remember that old program, Chasi
The Money Pit? Let me see if I have this straight. They drilled a huge hole using the best and most modern equipment available. They drilled it right where they had told us all season the original money pit had been dug. They defeated the water traps. The got all the way down to the bedrock. They couldn’t drill any deeper (well, probably they could but it doesn’t seem to be worth the effort and m
Stephen Pollard By Denis Rancourt, PhD Yes it can. Here is a good example.In this article, "[a]s editor of the country’s leading Jewish newspaper, The Jewish Chronicle," Stephen Pollard, pays lip service to freedom of expression by being critical of “snowflakes”. Snowflakes are not the state. Snowflakes do not use lethal violence to silence dissidents and political participation in the

New in Amused Cynicism

Charlie Stross has the same aversion to Star Wars as I do: When George Lucas was choreographing the dogfights in “Star Wars”, he took his visual references from film of first world war dogfights over the trenches in western Europe. With aircraft flying at 100-200 km/h in large formations, the cinema screen could frame multiple aircraft maneuvering in proximity, close enough to be visually disting
The Yorkshire Ranter writes about Ronald Coase’s Transaction Cost Theory and how it relates to the disaster that struck Carillion, and other failures of outsourcing. There are two ways to run an economy: a market economy, where individual economic actors are free to agree amongst themselves what to buy/sell to each other and at what cost, and a command economy, where someone at the top gives orde
The Royal Mail initially weren’t going to issue any commemorative Brexit stamps , but after a valiant campaign led by patriotic Brexiters, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail , they have now relented. The Royal Mail said: We are proud to be celebrating the momentous occasion of the UK freeing itself from the shackles of the EU. These contemporary gifts are likely to be highly sought after by col
(Photo of the Soledad Brothers, with John Clutchette on the left, reprinted for a 1970 poster .) 'Soledad Brother' John Clutchette Granted Parole; Will CA Governor Jerry Brown Reverse the Decision? --An interview with Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell By Angola 3 News On January 12, 2018, the California Board of Parole Hearings granted parole to an elderly inmate named John Clutchette. However,
(Photo of the Soledad Brothers, with John Clutchette on the left, reprinted and used for a 1970 poster created by supporters.) 'Soledad Brother' John Clutchette Granted Parole; Will CA Governor Jerry Brown Reverse the Decision? --An interview with Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell By Angola 3 News On January 12, 2018, the California Board of Parole Hearings granted parole to an elderly inmate na
Quote of the week: “Speech is the index of the mind.” — Seneca Three of the keys to professional success to reduce nuclear dangers are sharp analytical, writing, and pubic speaking skills. One way to sharpen your public speaking skills is to prepare talking points — guideposts for the listening journey you want to take …
Quote of the week: “Labor to keep alive in your bread that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.” — From “110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,” (Rule #110), compiled by French Jesuits in 1595. George Washington copied these by hand as a pedagogical exercise at age 16. Concerns about …
Quote of the week: “If deterrence were really stable… it would cease to deter. If the probability of nuclear weapons going off were zero, they would not deter anybody.” — Kenneth Boulding The Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, as advertised, is devoid of new diplomatic initiatives to reduce nuclear dangers and endorses new, low-yield nuclear …
On 16 January, Canada and the US are jointly hosting a group of foreign ministers in Vancouver to discuss the North Korea issue. For background on the meeting, I wrote an earlier piece for the Canadian International Council at the time the event was announced. I’m pleased the initiative got off the ground, that Canada …
A draft of the Trump Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review has leaked — and its a doozy. Aaron and Jeffrey discuss the history of these reviews and recommendations to develop a new sea-launched cruise missile and a variable yield warhead for the Trident D5 submarine launched ballistic missile. Links of Note: The Huffpost article that originally leaked the …
Quote of the week: “Clearly, five major crises within a twenty-year period indicate a fundamental structural problem… This region has not been stable and peaceful despite the common cultural and geopolitical heritage of its two dominant states.” — Stephen P. Cohen and Sunil Dasgupta, Arming without Aiming: India’s Military Modernization, Brookings (2010) Crises on the …
T en days after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh suspended MP Erin Weir, details on the 'investigation' and timeline have finally revealed on CTV's 'Question Period'. While no allegations against Mr. Weir had been received by Mr. Singh, a personal attack by a fellow caucus member saw the suspension of Mr. Weir from Caucus meetings. Mr. Weir is my MP, I voted for him and tried to help with his election. I
Those of us who are closely following the story concerning allegations against Erin Weir are asking the following questions of Leader Jagmeet Singh: -what is being investigated? -who is conducting the investigation? -what is the delay in concluding the investigation? -Do you have any idea of what you are doing sir??
In the Western World Lies Have Displaced Truth January 28, 2018 | Categories: Articles & Columns | In the Western World Lies Have Displaced Truth Paul Craig Roberts Last year I was awarded Marquiss Who’s Who In America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. This did not prevent a hidden organization, PropOrNot , from attempting to brand me and my website along with 200 others “Putin stooges or agents” for
“Security Intelligence Consultancy” SC Strategy Ltd has only three directors . One is the husband of the judge in yesterday’s Assange ruling. One is the former Head of MI6, Sir John Scarlett, who is synonymous with crooked security operations and personally wrote the notorious dossier of lies on Iraqi WMD, thus causing the subsequent deaths of millions of people. One is Lord Carlile, who was nota
The “judge” who dismissed Assange’s case yesterday was “Lady Arbuthnot of Edrom”, wife to Tory peer, former Tory junior Defence Minister and government whip Lord James Arbuthnot. Arbuthnot was naturally Eton educated, the son of Major Sir John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot. Of course Lady Arbuthnot’s children were all sent to Eton too. At the first hearing, I was stunned by reports of completely inap
In Doha last week I watched on TV an utterly contemptible speech by Theresa May in which she grasped for ideas to shore up the increasingly eroded Establishment control of the political zeitgeist. Yet more pressure would be put on the social media companies to curtail the circulation of unauthorised truths as “fake news”. Disrespectful questioning of the political class will be a new crime of “in
The complete and unmitigated irrationality of the current epidemic of Russophobia does nothing to reduce its incredible virulence as it continues to infect the entire political and media class. There is a zero chance that Russia will launch an attack on the UK, yet the entire corporate and state media is leading today with the “need” to spend billions against that most unlikely threat, as propoun
Here is my personal experience of the great push for the public sector to use the Private Finance Initiative. When I was Deputy High Commissioner in Accra, the British government was paying a very large sum to rent over 80 residential properties in a city where rents are very high for quality properties. However the British government owned a lot of land there, and it was an obvious saving to bui
I am delighted that Sir Patrick Wright, former head of the Diplomatic Service, has confirmed that Margaret Thatcher did support apartheid. There has been a polite media airbrushing of this aspect of Tory history. For the first two years of my life in the FCO I spent every single day trying to undermine Thatcher’s support for apartheid. As I published last year of the FCO’s new official history: S

New in DAMMIT JANET!

What they do Fake clinics, or "crisis pregnancy centres," exist to dissuade pregnant people from having abortions. They pretend to be medial clinics or helpful advice agencies. They are not. They are the front line of anti-choice. Too often they are literal Christian missions out to deny pregnant people's rights, and ultimately to ban abortion. They lie. About the stage of pregnancy ("too late to
I had never heard of Toronto Right to Life before this "abortion clause" (I hate the phrase, but that's what it's being called) kerfuffle . It is a registered charity. It's been in the news as one of the three anti-choice groups (with Guelph Right to Life and Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, aka Fetal Gore Gang) that successfully pressured the government to release Canada Summer Jobs funding

New in Grass Based Health

It occurred to me that I should assemble a list of the podcasts that I've appeared on. Here's as complete a list as I can produce. If I've omitted one, I sincerely apologize. Please let me know and I'll add it. Thank you to all the hosts who asked me to be a part of your programs! Here's the first part of a conversation I had with Jimmy on his Inner Fire Podcast (Jan 3, 2018) - http://innerfirepo

New in Greg Mankiw's Blog

The University of Chicago's Allan Sanderson alerts me to this story about the Chicago real estate market: Condos in Trump International Hotel & Tower sold for an average of $747 a square foot in 2017....That's down almost 12 percent from 2016....In the same period, prices in the downtown condo market overall rose by 2.8 percent.
From The Harvard Crimson : Economics 10B: “Principles of Economics” topped the charts in undergraduate enrollment for the fifth consecutive spring semester, boasting 585 students as of Monday morning, according to the Registrar’s office of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences....[It] enrolls 200 more students than the next most popular course on campus. FYI, here are this semester's guest lecturers:
Organized by my colleagues Eric Maskin and Ariel Pakes and aimed at graduate students, information here .
Click on graphic to enlarge. For more information, click here .

New in Left I on the News

15 years ago today, Colin Powell delivered his infamous speech at the U.N., the speech which cemented the support of the U.S. political and media establishments for the invasion of Iraq, under the pretext of "weapons of mass destruction". This blog came into existence in August, 2003, a few months later, as one of the very first (if not the first) radical left blogs on the internet (there were a f
The claim, widely repeated in the media (e.g., here ), is that “Russian bots” increased the use of the hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo by 233,000 percent! First, without knowing the numbers (from what to what), percent increases are meaningless. An increase from 1 to 2 is a 100% increase. Any low starting number (like 0, before the subject was even raised) can generate huge percentage increases. Nowhere
You get branded a Russian stooge in this country, or perhaps a "Putin puppet", if you dare to speak the truth that what happened in the Ukraine in 2014 was a neo-Fascist led, U.S.-supported (and, to an extent, organized) coup and not any kind of "revolution". Here's where we are today, and please note this is not from any "Russian troll" but rather from an Israeli newspaper — statues to Fascists
AP writes today: The Islamic State's retreat also has forced the U.S. to stretch thinner its legal rationale for operating in Syria. Doing so has raised delicate questions about whether Congress and the American people have truly signed off on a mandate for Syria that goes far beyond killing terrorists. "Stretch thinner"? The U.S.' "legal rationale" for "operating" in Syria is so thin it's transl
Here's the statement from Facebook explaining their plans to restrict news in your news feed based on its "trustworthiness". Starting next week, we will begin tests in the first area: to prioritize news from publications that the community rates as trustworthy. How? We surveyed a diverse and representative sample of people using Facebook across the US to gauge their familiarity with, and trust in,
Remember how we were initially told that "Russia" (in quotes, because we have no idea who actually placed these ads, whether they had any relationship to the Russian government, or whether they were Russian at all) placed 3000 ads on Facebook? Only to learn later that 56% of them were placed after the election, 25% of them were never shown to anyone, 50% had ad budgets less than $3, and 99% of th

New in Manifesto Joe's Texas Blues

Hi, folks. Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately, but 20`7 was a pretty wild year for me, including a bankruptcy, and other worries. Four months into recovery from surgery, I've been having trouble just seeing, let alone blogging. Following are some predictions for 2018: Kenya won't be instantly vaporized in a nuclear first strike, the Kushners will have a family reunion in federal prison, Vla

New in Middle Class Political Economist

A non-blogging friend points me to the announcement today of Maryland's subsidy bid that puts Montgomery County into one of the 20 finalist slots . Shockingly, Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) put in a bid that would pay Amazon almost the entire cost of its facility, depending on what you think a proper discount rate should be now (hint: low). "HQ2," which Amazon has stated will amount to an eventual $
Yesterday (Jan. 18), Amazon announced the 20 finalists for its "HQ2" project, that will supposedly create a second headquarters ( why ?) for the company somewhere in North America, most likely in the United States. With an alleged 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment, this development attracted 238 bids from cities and counties in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The finalists: Atlanta,
Neither the Prime Minister nor Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould made a specific comment on whether the Gerald Stanley case was rightly decided. But they did say that the way juries are assembled in Canada can lead to a perception of partiality. Recognizing that and taking steps to revise the jury system to make sure it is, and is seen to be, impartial is exactly what elected officials are sup
R. v. F.H.L., 2018 ONCA 83: [22] A plea of guilt does not entitle an offender to a set standard of mitigation. The amount of credit a guilty plea attracts will vary in each case. In R. v. Faulds (1994), 1994 CanLII 770 (ON CA), 20 O.R. (3d) 13 (C.A.), at para. 14, this court held that "[t]he effect of a guilty plea in setting the appropriate sentence will vary with the circumstances of each case.
Solely to provide the annual township audit under Section 917 of the second class township code 1933 Act 69, the Board of Supervisors may replace […]
As called out in 1933 Act 69 Section 901 (a), the Lower Nazareth Board of Auditors met at the municipal building on January 3, 2018. […]
Pennsylvania’s congressional districts may shortly be redistricted by the Republocrats in Harrisburg. In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the 2011 gerrymandering of […]
A week or so ago, a young, white, intelligent woman with liberal leanings called the Rush Limbaugh Radio Show and asked Rush, “Where do I […]
Why are the Justice Department, the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and other Intelligence community people, and Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham and […]
The Culture War being fought in America, for the past seventy years, is all about replacing original American values. This battle is a fight for […]

New in Obsidian Wings

by Ugh The radio reception in my car suddenly turning sh1tty and me too lazy/incompetent/scared to get it fixed has finally given me cause to start listening to podcasts (this is also in me keeping up with my aspiration to be at least 5 years or more behind the times technology wise). Man, there's a lot of stuff out there. Have started to listen to the NYTimes "The Daily" in the morning. Listened
by wj Yesterday, in Wisconsin, there was a special election . Governor Walker had nominated a prominent state senator to be his agriculture secretary, so this was to fill his (safe) seat. It wasn't a big deal . . . except it was. The previous (Republican, obviously) state senator was a popular guy. And the Republican assemblyman running to succeed him was also popular. Nothing resembling a Roy Mo
by russell One of his last speeches , an address to the Conference on New Politics, entitled The Three Evils of Society. King's three evils were war, racism, and poverty. It's pretty long, about 45 minutes, but worth a listen IMO. This speech represents some of King's later thinking, when he had broadened the scope of his analysis from racism and race-related civil rights issues, to a broader con
by Doctor Science Ursula K. LeGuin has died . The SFF community knew she was fading, but we hoped, illogically, that there would be a reprieve, time for more encores. For so many of us, she was our mother, our teacher, our grandmother. An icon of what we might do, and even more of what we might strive to be. She was always aware that SFF is the most political of genres and also the most religious
by Ugh Yes I'm rooting for the Patriots. For some reason I like to see records pushed as high as they can go. Thus, Brady wining a 6th ring in his 8th Super Bowl appeals to me. As does Federer continuing to win grand slams (do we really have to wait until Wimbledon to see him again though? Feh!). Will be interesting to see if Lebron ends up as the NBA's all time leaders in points scored. I burnt
by Ugh One of the selling points of the "tax reform" legislation, now commonly known as the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, or TCJA (or the Corporate Tax Lawyer Full Employment Act), is that it would in time increase wages by a certain amount. The economists' view of how this would happen is by decreasing the marginal cost of new investments - by both introducing full expensing and lowering the business tax
Hashd al-Sha’bi militia fighters parading after the liberation of al-Qaim village, Nov. 3, 2017 By Sylvain Mercadier and Araz Muhamad Arash The Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic, formed in 2014 following a fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, played a major role in countering the expansion of the Islamic State and in bringing about its ultimate demise in Iraq. As t
US Policy Toward the Levant, Kurds and Turkey By Joshua Landis January 15, 2018 The State Department has turned the page on Turkey for it no longer views Ankara as a reliable US partner. Many argue that Washington will abandon Syria’s Kurds in order to assuage Turkish anger. I doubt this. Washington expects more anti-US actions from Erdogan. Many in DC believe that Turkey’s rising Islamism, harde
A Sustainable U.S. Policy for North Syria, the Kurds, Turkey and the Syrian Government By Joshua Landis and Matthew Barber Syria Comment – January 24, 2018 This article is a “part-two” to the previous article “ U.S. Policy Toward the Levant, Kurds, and Turkey ,” which warned that the United State’s decision to back Kurdish nationalism in Northern Syria in an uncompromising fashion would provoke n
When the SDF was shocked” – An Azaz Opposition Activist’s Analysis of Russian-Turkish Relations, Afrin, & Why US will Dump the Kurds for Turkey Abd al-Qadir Abu Yusuf interviewed by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi Syria Comment – Jan 31, 2017 Abd al-Qadir Abu Yusuf of Northern Storm. (On right, leaning on his elbow) Taken by Aymenn while on a visit to Northern Storm in Dec 2014. See Special Report: Northe
Raphi Sirt of Break Nutrition interviewed me last week for a podcast. This was a far-ranging interview that took me to some unexpected places - but was a chance to expand on the big-picture stuff and the unanswered questions around the situational hypercholesterolaemia that marks the lean mass hyper-responder phenotype and the lessons about insulin resistance hidden in statin trials. http://breakn
Would you like this deranged homicidal maniac to violently stab you to death, or would you like Hannibal Lector to do it with finesse over a period of a couple of days? Or, are you one of those extremists who would prefer neither? A healthy individual would say "neither." A healthy, intelligent society, when faced with a similar choice would say "neither" as well. If that healthy, intelligent soc
I first came across the word "fluffer" while reading a Dan Savage sex advice column. Apparently some hot girl had a hot boyfriend and some twink asked her if he could join them in a threesome wherein said twink would consign himself to sucking her boyfriend's cock between her boyfriends shtupping her. Savage said (I think) to go for it and to send him some pictures afterwards. But he also talked
Back in the day when Obama was running for president I thought that it was the genius of the US-American political system to convince jaded US-American voters that their political system wasn't a complete waste of time. After 8 years of Bill Clinton "triangulating" policy to capture right-wing "independent" voters, betraying the Democrats' progressive base over and over; and after 8 years of the

New in Vagabond Scholar

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a date picked because of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. This year, I wanted to look again at the work of Primo Levi and his great Holocaust memoir, If This Is a Man (Se questo è un uomo), typically known in the U.S. as Survival in Auschwitz. (A 2010 post featured Levi's accounts of storytelling, human

New in Viva Bolivia

2018 brings us a whole new era in US history. The presidency of Donald J. Trump, and the vicious attacks his critics make on him every day. No doubt he has his faults. But he is not the monster that the left wing extremists in the US make him out to be. For instance, one of his first acts was to sign legislation in support of gay rights. Then he gave away his entire pay on each pay day to a charit

New in Welcome to Pottersville 2 (Blogging Against Fascism!)

Lee Camp is never that subtle when depicting how ignoring global climate change will screw up our lives. Permanently. Although he does exhibit a tad more discretion when pointing out that entities (like the oil/gas/coal/nuclear vampires and Hillary) that are pushing the full-scale destruction of fracking on our way of life are the full-blooded villains of today. With not a hint of sarcasm or
I don't know about you but this is how I've been feeling. Politics has become the new ball and chain. Who'd have believed it would surpass romance? I couldn't stomach viewing the State of the Union address by the greatest President evah, but one of my buddies did, and he did a much better job of evaluating it than many I've seen so far. I watched as much of Trump’s speech to the Reichstag
Happy Birthday, Edith and Virginia! Edith Wharton, "A Backward Glance," 1934 “The real marriage of true minds is for any two people to possess a sense of humor or irony pitched in exactly the same key, so that their joint glances on any subject cross like interarching searchlights.” Virginia Woolf, "The Letters of Virginia Woolf: Volume Three," 1980 “I am reading six books at once, the

New in What Is Sustainable

I grew up in the battered remains of a once vast hardwood forest in Michigan. I was lucky to spend my childhood wandering in a small surviving remnant. My forest was a sacred place. To me, the western plains felt dry, empty, bleak. But my oldest ancestors evolved on the arid savannahs of Mother Africa — grassland with scattered brush and trees. Grassland was where the big game hung out, and they
All life requires energy to survive, and our primary source of energy is the sun, a fireball of nuclear fusion. On Earth, the plant people absorb this energy and convert it into simple carbohydrates. Humans and other animals extract these nutrients from edible plants, and/or from the flesh of plant eating animals.

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