Wednesday, May 09, 2018

9 May - My Feedly! 1 of 2

Today
The insights you need to get the inside edge

Favorites

Bill Ottman on Minds.com
Continuing The Corbett Report's exploration of alternative social media platforms, today James talks to Bill Ottman about Minds.com.
The EPA Says Burning Wood to Generate Power Is ‘Carbon-Neutral.’ That’s Not True.
Converting forests into fuel will not help us avoid disaterous climate change
Barclays bank busted for misleading customers on solar home “investment” that loses money
Tell me again how solar power is cheaper than fossil fuels People in the UK have been misled into taking out loans to put solar panels on their roof — they were told the panels would “pay for themselves” but discovered they were losing money. The UK Ombudsman has received around 2,000 complaints. Barclays bank hit by solar scandal Solar manufacturers paired up with banks to install and finance so
Interview 1357 – Bill Ottman on Minds.com
[audio mp3="http://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/2018-05-08%20Bill%20Ottman.mp3"][/audio] Continuing The Corbett Report's exploration of alternative social media platforms, today James talks to Bill Ottman about Minds.com.

blogger-following

Zigazig ah, the Backstreet Boys dressed up as the Spice Girls
Backstreet's back, guys, but with a little more girl power this time. Your favourite '90s American boy band that isn't *NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, dressed up as your favourite '90s British girl group, the Spice Girls, and balance was restored to the galaxy, I guess. SEE ALSO: One musician's string quartet arrangement of your '90s TV faves will get you nostalgic Seriously though, this actually ha
Seth Rogen's mom tweets awkward yoga experience, gets response from Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen's mom Sandy is well worth a follow on Twitter. SEE ALSO: Stormy Daniels appears in not one but TWO Seth Rogen movies She's previously trolled her son for not returning her phone calls and made him cringe with her awkward sex-related tweets — and now she's at it again. On Tuesday, Sandy tweeted this: In yoga when you can see the very private parts of the woman in front of you through he
Scientists train spider to jump on demand
Jumping spiders are capable of launching themselves six times their body length from a standing start. For the experiment, researchers at the Universi...
Google Demonstrates New AI Having Phone Conversations with Humans
Via: Guardian: Google’s virtual assistant can now make phone calls on your behalf to schedule appointments, make reservations in restaurants and get holiday hours. The robotic assistant uses a very natural speech pattern that includes hesitations and affirmations such as “er” and “mmm-hmm” so that it is extremely difficult to distinguish from an actual human […]
How Silicon Valley Elite Store Billions of Dollars Worth of Bitcoin
Via: Bloomberg: Behind the guards, the blast doors and down corridors of reinforced concrete, sit the encrypted computer servers — connected to nothing — that hold keys to a vast digital fortune. Argentine entrepreneur Wences Casares has spent the past several years persuading Silicon Valley millionaires and billionaires that Bitcoin is the global currency of […]

news

3 Americans Are Released From North Korea, Trump Says
The president said that North Korea had released the American detainees in a good-will gesture as the two countries prepare for a meeting between their leaders.
North Korea has just released 3 American hostages
This is a big win for their families — and President Donald Trump. Tony Kim. Kim Hak-song. Kim Dong-chul. Those are the names of three American hostages North Korea held for months — and just agreed to release. They’re accompanying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in North Korea for official meetings, back to the United States, according to President Donald Trump. Last week, in what was se
Is war with Iran coming next? Now that Trump has dumped the Iran deal, he may seek regime change
AP/Getty/Photo Montage by Salon Back in August of 2015, Donald Trump told Chuck Todd of "Meet the Press" that Iran is "going to be such a wealthy, such a powerful nation. They are going to have nuclear weapons. They are going to take over parts of the world that you wouldn't believe. And I think it's going to lead to nuclear holocaust.” However, he also said that as president he would not violate
Europe must make Trump pay for wrecking the Iran nuclear deal | Simon Tisdall
Britain should cancel the president’s visit and join with allies to impose diplomatic and economic sanctions on the US Donald Trump’s torpedoing of the Iran nuclear deal on highly specious and misleading grounds is an act of wanton diplomatic vandalism fraught with dangers. While the 2015 agreement may not yet be wholly sunk, it is holed below the waterline. Many in Tehran will see the sweeping re
Birth of a “Troll Nation”: Amanda Marcotte on how and why conservatives embraced the dark side
Peter Cooper I had no role in editing Amanda Marcotte's new book, which bears the amusing and highly appropriate title, "Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set on Rat-F*cking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself." None of it previously appeared in Salon, to be clear; this isn't one of those volumes by journalists that repurposes old stuff from the bottom of the birdcage.
In The Coal Counties Of Central Appalachia, Will Trump's Promises Come True?
Donald Trump promised coal miners: "You're going to be working your asses off!" NPR spent more than a year in the coal counties of central Appalachia and found hope, cynicism and some surprises. (Image credit: Carol Guzy for NPR)

science

78,000 year cave record from East Africa shows early cultural innovations
A project led by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History has excavated the Panga ya Saidi cave site, in the coastal hinterland of Kenya. The excavations and analyses represent the longest archaeological sequence in East Africa over the last 78,000 years. The evidence for gradual cultural changes does not support dramatic revolutions, and despite being close to the coast, there is
Why the Heck Do So Many Koalas Have Chlamydia?
The the John Oliver Koala Chlamydia Ward will treat the sick marsupials. But how do they get the disease in the first place?
Moving magnetic fields disrupt ice nucleation
Great science stems from curiosity and hard work. In this case, it all began with a broken freezer.
Exiled asteroid discovered in outer reaches of solar system
Astronomers have used ESO telescopes to investigate a relic of the primordial solar system. The team found that the unusual Kuiper Belt Object 2004 EW95 is a carbon-rich asteroid, the first of its kind to be confirmed in the cold outer reaches of the Solar System. This curious object likely formed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and has been flung billions of kilometers from its orig
Human MAIT cells sense the metabolic state of enteric bacteria
A little-explored group of immune cells plays an important role in the regulation of intestinal bacteria. Changing metabolic states of the microbes have an effect on defense cells at different stages of alert or rest.
Doctors overseas spend way less time taking notes
US doctors’ clinical notes are, on average, four times as long as those of their counterparts in other countries, new research finds. Three physicians—whose work sometimes entails helping with the launch of electronic health record software in hospitals both in the United States and abroad—noticed something curious when they traveled overseas. “The highly trained American physician… has become a

youtube

Google I/O 2018 keynote in 14 minutes
Google’s I/O 2018 keynote had a bunch of major announcements about Android P, Google Assistant, and more. Here’s the most important news to know. Subscribe: https://goo.gl/G5RXGs Check out our full video catalog: https://goo.gl/lfcGfq Visit our playlists: https://goo.gl/94XbKx Like The Verge on Facebook: https://goo.gl/2P1aGc Follow on Twitter: https://goo.gl/XTWX61 Follow on Instagram: https://g
An Unforgettable Performance by Panic! At the Disco
Panic! At the Disco gave an unforgettable performance as they took the stage to perform "Say Amen (Saturday Night)." From: TheEllenShow
"FAR ALAMO". Short Film.
« FAR ALAMO » ’The Alamo » is attacked by BUGS! When John Wayne meets Paul Verhoeven… Movie Mashup & Fan Film Starring LAURENCE HARVEY JOHN WAYNE RICHARD WIDMARK Guest Stars CHARLES BRONSON YUL BRYNNER JAMES COBURN CLINT EASTWOOD HENRY FONDA TERENCE HILL STEVE MCQUEEN GIAN MARIA VOLONTE LEE VAN CLEEF ELI WALLACH Music by JAMES HORNER (Glory , Legends of the Fall, The Mask of Zorro) ENNIO MORRICON
Google Lens new features hands-on
Google Lens, the company’s AI and AR platform for understanding the world and parsing language, is going to be everywhere soon. It now lives in the native camera of Pixel devices and other Android handsets from LG, Xiaomi, and others. It’s also getting much smarter: it’s now able to do real-time object recognition and parse text from real-world objects like books and dinner menus. Subscribe: http
Ellen Welcomes Amazing Dutch Dancer Siblings
Sisters Rosa, Yarah, and Norah from the Netherlands took the stage to show Ellen their amazing dance routine, and later tried to teach Ellen some Dutch phrases! From: TheEllenShow
Sand In The Sky
Traveling with a baby is an interesting thing. They add all sorts of challenges to any trip you do. Long flights, strollers, nap schedules, and car seats all seem to pile up and complicate what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation. Sometimes, you may even find yourself wondering...is all this effort worth it for a baby who won't even remember the trip? All these experiences and memories will eve

The Corbett Report

Episode 336 – 4 Ways the Crime Lab Can Frame You
[audio mp3="https://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/episode336-lq.mp3"][/audio] Television has taught us that the crack CSI experts and their state-of-the-art technology can solve any crime through the power of science. In reality, more often than not the crime-detection technology of the past has turned out to be pseudoscience at best, and outright fraud at worst. And, of course, it has been used to p
4 Ways the Crime Lab Can Frame You
Television has taught us that the crack CSI experts and their state-of-the-art technology can solve any crime through the power of science. In reality, more often than not the crime-detection technology of the past has turned out to be pseudoscience at best, and outright fraud at worst. And, of course, it has been used to put innocent people in jail. Here are 4 Ways The Crime Lab Can Frame You.
Syria Chemical Weapons Attack: An Open Source Investigation
No sooner has the idea of a US withdrawal from Syria been floated than Assad launched a chemical weapons attack on the suburbs of Damascus...or so we are being asked to believe. But this is not the first time we have been lied to about chemical weapons claims. What is the evidence about this situation, and what are the latest developments with regard to the international response? Corbett Report m

The EnvironmentaList

Wolves Are Losing Ground to Industrial Logging in Southeast Alaska
Clear-cuts reduce security and prey for a struggling wolf population on Prince of Wales Island
An Environmental Leader Is One Who Strives to Inspire, not Impress
Anyone can become a leader by creating awareness and taking action to reduce harm to our planet
Humans Have Paved the Way for a Global Lyme Disease Epidemic
Carved-up forests, biodiversity loss, and climate change may not have caused the tick-borne scourge, but they have enabled it
Amur Leopard Population Triples — to 103
Thanks to protective efforts in Russia, there's hope these critically endangered big cats will avoid extinction
A Nonnative Tree, an Invasive Beetle, and the Endangered Bird Caught in the Middle
Court says federal government must clean up the mess it helped make of riparian ecosystems in the US Southwest

The Rules of Exposition

Quick! What's this sentence about?
From How inequalities of wealth matter for consumption by Nick Bunker: A person would only change his or her consumption patterns if his or her lifetime income changed, but wouldn’t change his or her spending much if he or she experienced a temporary increase or decrease in spending. First reaction: The sentence seems to be about gender politeness. Second reaction: I'm not reading another sentence

A Way to Live

A meditation on four propositions
1. On the truth that life hurts. 1.1. I don't know much (though I have been told a great deal, all my life) about past lives or an afterlife, but I'm pretty sure I'm living a life now, and, given that I was a tree planter amid the mountains of the Pacific Northwest for ten years, I can assure you there is physical pain. What we know as psychological pain or mental anguish is also physical pain. 1

Activist Teacher

Kim and Moon KOREA
Why renewed peace now, after decades? Here is my tentative answer: USA global hegemony is visibly eroding. Nations have less and less incentive to be oppressed servants of USA domination. The new multi-polar world (with an emerging Eurasia, etc.) has many more advantages than servitude to USA human and natural resource extraction, including stability, security and peace. Kim has the
Canadian Societal Depravity is Anchored in Medical Care
Where good will provides cover for predatory population enslavement by Denis Rancourt, PhD This article was first published on Dissident Voice (LINK). A society of socially engineered individuals who cannot identify their own anthropological dissonance is a depraved society. Its depravity is further established by its managers who do not experience profound discomfort in the face of

ArmsControlWonk

A Nobel Prize for Brinkmanship?
Quote of the week: “If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” — Moshe Dayan A bandwagon is underway urging the selection committee for the Nobel Peace Prize to make Donald Trump its newest Laureate. Some of the President’s harshest critics have joined Trump supporters on this …
KCN-eh? April’s other North Korea Developments – Part 2
A Canadian reviews the last few weeks of North Korea news with a special guest. Andrea chats with Antoine Bondaz from the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. They dissect the optics and outcomes of the recent inter-Korean summit, analyse the responses, and look at some of the stories you may have missed amongst the flashbulbs. Links …
The Logic of Nuclear Superiority
Quotes of the week: “You show me a Secretary of Defense who’s planning not to prevail [in a nuclear war] and I’ll show you a Secretary of Defense who ought to be impeached.” — Caspar Weinberger, New York Times, August 24, 1982 “Strategic flexibility, unless wedded to a plausible theory of how to win a war …
Netanyahu and the Atomic Archive
Bibi showed off Iran’s bomb. And its pretty crappy. The slide show added some titillating details to what the world already knew about Iran’s nuclear weapons program and, in doing so, made the case for why the JCPOA is so important. The real news was not the documents or their provenance, but what they revealed …
A Passive U.S. Approach to the Next India-Pakistan Crisis?
Quote of the week: “Escalation is inherent in war both because the desire to win and the need not to lose.” – V.R. Raghavan, “Limited War and Escalation Control,” Nonproliferation Review, 2001. One common thread among the comings and goings of top national security advisers to President Trump is that none have much experience with …
Trump and Kim Upend Diplomatic Protocol
Quote of the week: “Americans, being a moral people, want their foreign policy to reflect the values we espouse as a nation. But Americans, being a practical people, also want their foreign policy to be effective.” ― George P. Shultz When the ice begins to thaw after an endless freeze, expect the unexpected. Donald Trump …

Buckdog

Sexual Harrassment Survivor Brings Forward Complaint Against NDP MP Christine Moore ...
NDP MP Christine Moore, who alleged improper conduct by a fellow MP, is facing troubling accusations herself -CBC
A Message To Every Sitting Member Of The Federal NDP Caucus ......
Shame on you for how MP Erin Weir has been treated. You consider yourselves the Party of Tommy Douglas and Jack Layton??!!!! Shame!!!
I Have Been A Member Of The Federal NDP Since 1981 ... Until Today
Jagmeet Singh has no clue of how to lead a Canadian Federal Political Party. The Party has fallen from just over 19% support in the last Federal Election to about 10% today. Since February 1, 2018 he has conducted the worst possible investigatory process imaginable concluding in a character assassination of my elected NDP Member of Parliament, Erin Weir. As of today, with 37 years of Party member

Cherchez la Verite

The Period of American Dominance Has Passed. Russian Missile Tech has Made America’s Trillion Dollar Navy Obsolete. Russia’s new missiles can be launched from thousands of kilometers away, are unstoppable, and it takes just one to sink a destroyer and just two to sink an aircraft carrier.
The Period of American Dominance Has Passed April 29, 2018 | Categories: Guest Contributions | The Period of American Dominance Has Passed Russian Missile Tech has Made America’s Trillion Dollar Navy Obsolete Dmitry Orlov For the past 500 years European nations—Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, France and, briefly, Germany—were able to plunder much of the planet by projecting their naval
Here Paul Craig Roberts analyzes why the US Secretary of War, Mattis backed down on Trump's illicit plan to attack Syria. He knew that if the U.S. Navy ships were to approach the Syrian shores and open fire, they would be destroyed by the Russians.
Are We Over the US/UK Fomented Crisis In Syria? April 14, 2018 | Categories: Articles & Columns | Are We Over the US/UK Fomented Crisis In Syria? Paul Craig Roberts It appears from the very limited US missile attack, most of which were intercepted and destroyed by Syrian air defenses, that the US military prevailed over the crazed John Bolton and carefully avoided a strike that would have resulte
Even though the Scenario turned out to be the best ever, if you are truly interested you should play the link below, which will tell you what is really going on in Syia. Hint: it is opposite of what you would hear in the U.S., UK, and EU. (They are all liers)
The Worst Case Scenario Is Now Our Reality April 13, 2018 | Categories: Guest Contributions | Felicity Arbuthnot Lays It On The Line https://www.globalresearch.ca/trump-and-syria-the-worst-case-scenario-is-now-our-reality/5635749 Cherchez la Verite
Ten Days Before The End Of The World. Do you believe it? Do you even think about it? Well, I do. The people who are pushing this are in the U.S. (particularly Trump and his insane warmongering govement). I hope that the Russians handel it well to save the world.
Ten Days Before The End Of The World April 12, 2018 | Categories: Articles & Columns | Ten Days Before The End Of The World Paul Craig Roberts The criminally insane governments of the US, UK, and France are sending a flotilla of missile ships, submarines, and an aircraft carrier to attack Syria in the face of Russian warnings. What is the likely outcome of this outrageous act of aggression based
The idiocy of Trump, French president Macron, and UK prime minister May may be bringing the end of the world.
Idiocy Is Bringing The End Of The World April 11, 2018 | Categories: Articles & Columns | Idiocy Is Bringing The End Of The World Paul Craig Roberts Here is Jason Ditz on the coming end of the world: https://news.antiwar.com/2018/04/10/trump-builds-coalition-for-war-against-syrian-government/ Vladimir Soloviev explains the failure of Putin’s policy of appeasement: https://russia-insider.com/en/br

DAMMIT JANET!

Make Up Your Minds, Guys
It seems that some Catholic agencies in Canada did not get the memo , which reads in part, "The government has handed us a perfect opportunity for a persecution shit-fit. No Catholic group is to interfere with this martyrgasm."* That opportunity is, of course, the new attestation required for applicants to the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program. The CSJ program will ‎not fund organizations whose pri
Religious Groups in Saskatchewan Who Respect Charter Rights
In the "kerfuffle" over the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) attestation, the spin put on by the media and the Conservatives has been astounding. Despite the tons of research done by Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) volunteers, the usual suspects continued to paint it as "ideological coercion" etc. This from today is typical. Waaah! Thousands of jobs lost to "Liberal forced speech" in Saskatchew

Dr Cintli

Support the MAS Women's Plaza Honorees Campaign
As part of the Raza Studies continuing struggle, many of the mostly young women who took direct action, including: getting arrested after HB 2281 was signed in 2010; taking over the school board on April 26, 2011; and getting arrested at the highly militarized meeting on May 3, 2011, are being honored as part of the MAS Women's Plaza Honorees Campaign Project at the University of Arizona. Initial
It's Time for Arizona's School Board to Implement a Court's 2017 Raza Studies Ruling in Good Faith
It's Time for Arizona's School Board to Implement a Court's 2017 Raza Studies Ruling in Good Faith TRUTHOUT Despite a favorable 2017 court decision, the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) school board continues to refuse to abide by a historic ruling against the state of Arizona in regards to the 2010 legislation HB 2281. This Orwellian legislation outlawed the teaching of courses that promote

FREE PLANET

Electric Universe - Alien Sky - Pyramids in an electric environment
if you live in a(n Ancient Egyptian-era) world where GALACTIC ELECTRICITY is far more prevalent in the universe, in fact you live on a far more electrical world than today, then you can TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT by making all kinds of monuments and gadgets that DON'T MAKE ANY FUNCTIONAL SENSE AT ALL today. So, anything round about 10,000 BC when the Earth could have last been subject to these electric
Star Citizen - one hand thrust control - Star Map scanning interface
simple and intuitive control sphere basically, I'm fed up with the convoluted keyboard-mapped speed-control flight-models of space games like Star Citizen by Cloud Imperium Games. So, I've come up with a lovely unified control system that can be controlled with the mouse hand alone. The pointed moves along the surface of a sphere. Shift Key is a local rotation override for the ship within the thr
Electric Universe meet Atlantis - Discourses on an Alien Sky - brand new episode
According to legend, the Gods have always been the stars and comets and planets of our recently-revealed SKY. Here David Talbott talks about the most infamous of all places we regurgitate from mythology or legend, ATLANTIS. Crackin' archetypical investigation, as always.
Electric Universe - giant stone balls - Olmec heads etc...
because I graze around the alternative fringe of Science all the time, I sometimes come across things I wouldn't normally have found if I was a simple researcher within my chosen field. Case in point, THE STONE BALLS OF COSTA RICA. But they're not. They're everywhere. All over the world. Some are small, there are lots of them. Some are the size of Olmec Heads, you know the ones, it's (probably) a
Star Citizen - story mode vs sandbox mode - the depression realisation
For the longest time, I've (somehow) convinced myself that parts one, two and three of Squadron 42 will be where CIG takes the player on a military journey through some war with some alien race, and that Star Citizen was an MMO sandbox game set in the same universe. Two completely different products. Spent a bit of time on Star Citizen's subreddit, and after much insane and obstructive debate cam
Star Citizen - IFS or Intentional Flight System - theblindmanshandsout control prototype
I realise Star Citizen's all about the machine I'm driving, currently... but that's because Star Citizen is still suffering from the legacy of its narrative-game military-cousin, Squadron 42. In S42, as it's abbreviated, the player flies the status-relative ship and shoots the shit that the game throws at him. The story-machine knows where you are and can offer you timer'd events to deal with. It

Greg Mankiw's Blog

Digital Textbooks
This podcast (from last summer, but new to me) offers a good discussion of the benefits of digital textbooks.

Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology

Uruguay: Was It A UFO?
Source: PLANETA UFO and ElPais.com Date: May 8 2018 An Article by Magdalena Martinez Uruguay : Was it a UFO? National authorities mobilize the Flying Object Report Reception & Investigation Committee (CRIDOVNI) after receiving several phone calls. The strange light turned out to be a commercial flight. The live rebroadcast with which Channel 30 (Punta Cable) of Punta del Este, Uruguay interrupted
Mexico: UFOs Recorded in the Skies over Coahuila and Monterrey
Source: PLANETA UFO and 'Venga la Alegría' (TV show, Canal Azteca, Mexico) Date: 05.08.2018 Mexico: UFOs Recorded in the Skies over Coahuila and Monterrey Researcher Yohanan Díaz presented these images on Tuesday in the 'Venga la Alegría' TV show. The contributor to El Grafico also made known the material documented by Ross Cantú, considered a extraterrestrial contactee, on the TV program, broadc
Mexico: UFO Sighting at Peña de Bernal
Source: PLANETA UFO (Argentina) and El Diario de Querétaro (México) Date: 05.08.2018 Mexico: UFO Sighting at Peña de Bernal Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) reports are emerging from Pueblo Mágico de Bernal as a consequence of the spring equinox. UFO experts have also detected them in different parts of Chile. Luis Alfonso Lopez, president of the Asociación OVNI Querétaro, said in this regard tha
Argentina: Strange Creature Slays Two Dogs in Santa Fe
Source: PLANETA UFO and El Perfil (www.perfil.com/trends) Date: 04.13.2018 Argentina: Strange Creature Slays Two Dogs in Santa FE The creature's shape is striking, as it has not been connected with any known animal. Residents of Totoras in the province of Santa Fe report that a creature is wandering the streets and has even slain two dogs. The photograph, taken and night and somewhat blurry, has
The Threat of UFO Invasion
The Threat of UFO Invasion By Scott Corrales © 2018 "A communication disruption can only mean one thing: Invasion." --Sio Bibble, Queen Amidala’s prime minister in Star Wars Episode I – Attack of the Clones Despite the sage courtier’s assertion in the first installment of George Lucas’s second round of space epics, we might sooner believe that a planet-wide interruption of communications, or a co
Mexico: Lens-Shaped UFO over MCIA
Source: Alfonso Salazar Date: 04.14.2018 Mexico: Lens-Shaped UFO over MCIA We have received the following information and image from aviation technician Alfonso Salazar : "A luminous UFO flying over the airport this Saturday, 14 April 2018, the time being 9:00 in the evening. I, Alfonso Salazar, in the company of three aviation technicians, witnessed a very bright flying object flying over Mexico

Left I on the News

DNC sues Wikileaks
Headline : "Democrats file suit alleging Russia, Trump campaign, WikiLeaks conspired to interfere in 2016 campaign" Leave aside the question of suing Russia and the Trump campaign, and focus on Wikileaks. When Wikileaks released emails from the DNC and Podesta, the Clinton campaign said as vociferously as they could that no one should read them because they were fake. In fact, however, they weren
Headlines for Friday, April 13, 2018
Boxer wears ‘America 1st’ shorts in bout with Mexican, finishes second Nothing like a little schadenfreude. And kudos to the headline writer, because finishing “second” in a boxing match is commonly called “losing”. Kids don't know about the Holocaust because schools are pre-occupied with social justice What on actual earth does this even mean? There are museums and days and history books and man
The latest "chemical attack" in Syria
If you think Trump is wrong and lies about literally everything, but is suddenly telling the truth about a chemical attack by the Syrian government, perhaps you need to think more deeply. Here are two simple facts for you: 1) The Syrian government and the rebels holed up in Ghouta reached an agreement this weekend that the rebels would leave within 48 hours (Syria had already defeated and driven o
Additional headlines for April 9, 2018
Fox News is less trusted than CNN and MSNBC, Fox News graphic shows That’s Fox News host Howard Kurtz asking for someone to take down this graphic, which was shown at the wrong point during a “Media Buzz” segment on Sunday: ‘That is not the graphic we are looking for. Hold off. Take that down, please.’ ICC says Israel, Hamas acts may be war crimes So, burning tires is now a war crime? Well actual

Middle East Today

The US Presence in Syria
During the last week of March 2018, president Trump mad a public statement regarding the American military involvement in the Middle East. He pointed out that during the past 17 years the US government spent more than 7 trillion dollars as a result of the military forces involvement in wars in the region. What did we get as a result of the involvement, did president Trump ask? Nothing, nothing, n

NolanChart.com

When a ten year old incident dominates national news …
Let’s see: Economy booming after Trump de-regulation and tax cuts! Unemployment at its lowest since World War II! Serious negotiations concerning nuclear North Korea are […]
Trump’s Environmental Jihad
The GOP-denied, slow-release timebomb of environmental degradation now seems to be on a hair trigger with Scott Pruitt as head of the Trump EPA. Never […]
Newt Gingrich identifies the domestic threats to the idea of America
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich has created a six part course titled Defending America. Newt is a former college professor who taught history. […]
Rush explained how capitalism cannot meet the demand for conservative electronic media!
Rush took a question that posed what I have asked for years. The questioner started with a statement about the American people, and their ideological […]

Not Quite Unhinged

If Microsoft Wrote Rental Agreements A prospective tenant is looking to rent an apartment from Microsoft, and has just r...
If Microsoft Wrote Rental Agreements A prospective tenant is looking to rent an apartment from Microsoft, and has just reviewed the rental agreement. The tenant looks up with a glazed and slightly panicked expression. “This is so confusing. I don’t understand what I am allowed to do here.” The Microsoft rep smiles comfortingly, “We know, and we sympathize, but this agreement is designed to be

Obsidian Wings

Corporate Power & Responsibility
by Ugh Back in the day I suggested that perhaps the higher ups at VW would not run into any trouble for the emissions scandal. Indeed, informed commentators deemed it "highly unlikely" that gaming the emissions system was a senior management decision and was "relatively contained" in VW. Well, it seems my and others' surmisings were wrong: Volkswagen AG ’s former Chief Executive Officer Martin Wi
Wolf at the door open thread
by liberal japonicus Not really a great title, but I've been taking in a little of the discussion about Michelle Wolf's monologue at the WHCD. And we are in need of an open thread and it's a bummer seeing "What is racism?" every time in the sidebar (and yes, that is privilege talking, cause I can step back from it) Anyway, stuff below the fold. Here's Michelle Wolf's full monologue, if you haven'
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
by Ugh So I won't have fraud and noted stupid spineless squish Paul Ryan to kick around any longer. So sad, so sad. I'm sure he will go on to that great K Street suite in the sky. But I will miss his ability to gracefully and with strangely weird-eyed aplomb sh1t on the poor, weak, and elderly while maintaining a sterling reputation for "wonkery" with the Beltway Press when all it really was warm
When your relatives' DNA squeals on you
by liberal japonicus Maybe I'm reaching for a cute headline, but that's what seems to have happened. A cursory reading suggests that they compared the DNA they had with DNA profiles on genealogical sites to get a familial match. The article references the Grim Sleeper case. On July 7, 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that an arrest had been made. District Attorney Steve Cooley identified the
what is racism?
by russell My wife and I had dinner with a friend recently. She was talking about the conflicts she feels as a liberal living in the SF bay area. One thing she discussed was the more or less unconscious bias she often experiences when she interacts with black and brown people. Especially black and brown people who don't appear to share her socio-economic position. What is that?, she wondered. Whe
Still Ice
by JanieM Three weeks ago I wrote that it wasn’t going to be an especially late ice-off this year. In a post about unpredictability, I hazarded a prediction. Here’s the view from the town beach this afternoon: It's usually at least a few days from the time when the ice starts to break up into big sheets until it's all gone. Right now it's still all in one piece. We've had February weather in Marc

Pesticide Action Network

EU bans neonics; U.S. bees not so lucky
After years of strong scientific evidence and even stronger advocacy, this week European officials decided to make a temporary ban on three bee-harming pesticides permanent. This is very, very good news for bees in Europe. The decision reflects years of hard work by our PAN partners and many others. It also spotlights just how far behind we are in the U.S. — not only with our pollinator protectio
Chlorpyrifos ban imminent in Hawaiʻi
This week, the HawaiÊ»i legislature made a momentous decision to pass a bill that would ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. The bill, SB 3095 , includes several other protections from and disclosures around pesticides that can harm children, including buffer zones around schools. The bill now heads to HawaiÊ»i Governor David Ige — who can sign or veto the legislation. A collaborative effort
Monsanto merger approved: What's next?
Despite widespread opposition, The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has green-lighted the Bayer-Monsanto merger. The Bayer-Monsanto merger was approved on the heels of the authorization of the Dow-DuPont and Syngenta-ChemChina mergers. As a result, just three corporations will control 59 percent of the seed market and 64 percent of the pesticide market — globally. DoJ’s approval… and farmer resis
Farm Bill: Pollinators & people at risk
The Farm Bill debates are moving full steam ahead. Many pieces of the complex federal legislation introduced in the House will clearly be harmful to farmers, rural communities, workers and the environment. This blog is the first in a series from PAN focusing in on key issues of concern to those in our network. We’ll start with one of the most egregious proposals in the draft bill: a provision all
A federal Food and Farm Platform for the future
**NOTE: If you're visiting from our GroundTruth blast on May 4, 2018, please click here for the blog "EU bans neonics; U.S. bees not so lucky." We're working on fixing the link. Thank you! Yesterday, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) introduced a draft of the 2018 Farm Bill. While federal food and farming policy — and particularly the Farm Bill process — can seem complex an
PAN in Rome: Agroecology as the future
In early April, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International participated in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) second International Symposium on Agroecology in Rome. From nine countries and five regions — including North America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and Latin America — PAN leaders highlighted the need to transition from chemical-intensive practice

Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home

Employer Agreeing Not To Poach Competitor's Employees? That's A Jailing
The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division is serious about going after employers who agree not to poach a competitor's employees. So serious, that they announced in 2016 they would start criminally prosecuting violators, and they recently announced some prosecutions are imminent . In a joint publication with the Federal Trade Commission titled Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professiona
Are You A Liar? Arbitration Is The Forum For You
Arbitration is very popular with employers, and no wonder. It's a liar's forum that employees can be blackmailed into. While courts penalize litigants for lying with heavy sanctions and dismissal of their claims/defenses, there is little a court can do when a litigant lies in an arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S. Code § 10(a) provides: In any of the following cases the United States

Syria Comment

The Syrian Social Nationalist Party’s (SSNP) Expansion in Syria – By Jesse McDonald
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party’s (SSNP) Expansion in Syria By Jesse McDonald – @ JJMcDonald10 For Syria Comment – April 22 What does the future hold for political groups operating in the Syrian theater? The plethora of loyalist militias and whether they fall under the central governments authority is something to monitor. However, there are forces also politically represented who have remain
Creating a New Syria: Property, Dispossession, and Regime Survival — by Erwin van Veen
Bulldozers remove barriers from a road in Harasta, east of Damascus (SANA via AP) By Erwin van Veen While all eyes were fixed on the US-led military response to the alleged chemical attack in East Ghouta, a little-noted event occurred that could potentially have a much greater impact on Syria’s future. About 10 days ago, President Assad’s regime passed Law no. 10 . The law foresees the creation o
Syria, Deterrence of Chemical Weapons and U.S. Policy in the Middle East – By Joshua Landis
Syria, Deterrence of Chemical Weapons and U.S. Policy in the Middle East By Joshua Landis For Syria Comment – April 12, 2018 President Trump has been provoked into action by the terrible videos coming out of Syria. They are horrifying. He can uphold the Obama policy, which is to stand by the international norm of prohibiting the use of chemical weapons if it is proven that Assad used chemical wea
The Last Thing the Middle East Needs Now Is Another War – By Robert Rabil
The Last Thing the Middle East Needs Now Is Another War By Robert Rabil – @ robertgrabil For Syria Comment – April 27, 2018 The growing vocal call to punish the Syrian regime for its flagrant violation of human rights, including its recent alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people, has become the peg on which to hang the coordinated efforts to cast the regime as a threat to the natio
Peak Fragility: Why The Middle East Is Doomed — by Ehsani
By Ehsani The Mideast is doomed. Egypt alone needs to create 700,000 jobs every single year to absorb the new job seekers out of its 98 million population. A third of this population already live below the poverty line (482 Egyptian Pounds a month, which is less than $1 a day). The seeds of the vicious circle that the Mideast region finds itself in today were planted at least five decades ago. Ex
Trump May Be Right – By David W. Lesch
Trump May Be Right By David W. Lesch For Syria Comment – April 17, 2018 In the wake of the recent US targeted attack in Syria, President Trump’s comments a couple of weeks ago that the US needs to get out of Syria as soon as US-backed forces mop up the remnants of the Islamic State has run up against elements in the administration who want a sustained US presence in the country. They

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