Friday, July 03, 2015

3 July - Blogs I'm Following

10:17pm MDST

Mohawk Nation News 'July 4: Is it Independence?'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 5 minutes ago
JULY 4 – IS IT “INDEPENDENCE”? Posted on July 3, 2015 Please post & distribute. MNN. July 4, 2015. The Great Peace showed that we are not independent unless we understand how we are dependent and how we can come to one mind. July 4th is a religious day to show how to worship the Golden Calf, the falsest god, and to celebrate being owned by the corporation of the United States of America

5 Paintings of the Revolutionary War

Amelia Hamilton at The Stream - 15 minutes ago
Art has always documented the important moments in history. The moments that move and define us, the moments that change the world. The fight for liberty that was America’s move from colony to country was a monumental shift in the relationship... The post 5 Paintings of the Revolutionary War appeared first on The Stream.

Why is Chick-fil-A America’s Favorite Restaurant?

RJ Moeller at The Stream - 15 minutes ago
Writing at Acculturated.com, RJ Moeller explores the reasons behind the remarkable success of America’s favorite restaurant: Chick-fil-a. When you ask your friends which fast food establishment they like best, Chick-fil-A is typically the trump card that takes the winning hand.... The post Why is Chick-fil-A America’s Favorite Restaurant? appeared first on The Stream.

TGIF

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 47 minutes ago

The Fourth is a Time to Fight

John Zmirak at The Stream - 1 hour ago
This weekend we unfurl the flag and shoot off fireworks to honor the principles upon which our country was founded, the freedoms and virtues that our republic was born to embody. We remember the countless Americans who marched beneath our... The post The Fourth is a Time to Fight appeared first on The Stream.

Apache Stronghold National Caravan Embarks July 5, 2015

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 1 hour ago
. Apache Stronghold to begin Caravan to Washington, D.C. By Wendsler Nosie Censored News Phoenix, AZ - On Sunday, July 5th, Apache Stronghold will embark on a caravan through Indian Country to pick up supporters for a protest to be held at the nation’s Capitol July 21-22. The two week cross country journey will make stops in Arizona, New Mexico, Denver, Pine Ridge,

Hillary Won't Take A Backseat (Pants Suit On Fire)

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 2 hours ago
Hillary was a hipster in the 60's I'm not a Hillary hater. I'm very enthusiastic about Bernie Sanders, not because of who *she* is but because of who *he* is. And although at this point I can't imagine voting for her if she wins the primary, I know myself well enough to admit I'll be rooting for her over Bush or Trump or Walker or Cruz or whichever garbage wins the clown car derby. That said, I was shocked today when Hillary-- visiting New Hampshire progressive bastion Hanover-- told a medium-sized crowd, "I take a backseat to no one when you look at my record of standing up and figh... more »

"If you become stuck in a boring July 4 hot air speech, distract yourself with this question: Are the values that Western civilization allegedly represents still extant? You don’t need to get heavy into philosophy. See if you can find any of the professed values reflected in current events." ---- "What is happening to Greeks has been happening to Americans. The financial crisis was used to focus Federal Reserve policy on the needs of the small handful of “banks too big to fail” at the expense of the American people." -- Paul Craig Roberts

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 2 hours ago
------------------------------ *Greece and Other Musings On July 4th — Paul Craig Roberts * ------------------------------ July 3, 2015 | Original Here Go here to sign up to receive email notice of this news letter Greece and Other Musings On July 4th Paul Craig Roberts If you become stuck in a boring July 4 hot air speech, distract yourself with this question: Are the values that Western civilization allegedly represents still extant? You don’t need to get heavy into philosophy. See if you can find any of the professed values reflected in cu... more »

Uninformed about learning to read

skrashen at Schools Matter - 2 hours ago
Comment posted in response to: How Phonics is Taught Can Affect How Well a Child Learns To Read (the THE Journal). July 3, 2015 Stephen Krashen An article in the THE Journal reports on a study involving adults learning “made up scripts”: For one script, learners were asked to link each embedded letter to a sound within the word (known as a "grapheme-phoneme mapping" in learning parlance). For another script entire words had to be memorized.” Sounding out letters activated the left hemisphere, memorizing whole words the right hemisphere. The sounding out group did better reading new... more »

The Stink of Varoufakis & the Greek Mess

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 3 hours ago
Hat tip to *james@wpc* for leaving the link to this most excellent article. It clarifies, for me at least, some of the mixed signals I've been picking up from this Greek drama *Something stinks very bad about Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and the entire Greek mess that has been playing out since the election victory of the nominally pro-Greek Syriza Party in January. I am coming to the reluctant conclusion that far from being the champion of the hapless Greek people, Varoufakis is part of a far larger and very dirty game. * The brilliant psychologist Eric Berne, author... more »

Is America Really the Land of the Free?

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 3 hours ago
*Pao L. Chang* - Are you aware that there are two versions of the US Constitution? The post Is America Really the Land of the Free? appeared first on Waking Times.

Interfaith Peace Treaty - An Introduction

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 3 hours ago
*Video Title: Interfaith Peace Treaty - An Introduction. Source: IIPSGP1. Date Published: April 28, 2015. Description:* Dr Thomas Daffier explains the complex thinking and years of experience underline the Interfaith Peace Treaty; he also invites colleagues to read the treaty in full and to sign as a declaration of commitment to humanity at peace. Website: https://interfaithpeacetreaty.wordpress.com/

Tonight's Movie Is 'The Great Escape'

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 4 hours ago
From *Wikipedia*: The Great Escape is a 1963 American World War II epic film based on an escape by British and Commonwealth prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough. The film is based on Paul Brickhill's 1950 book of the same name, a non-fiction first-hand account of the mass escape from Stalag Luft III in Sagan (now Żagań, Poland), in the province of Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany. The characters are based on real men, and in some cases are composites of several men. The film was made by the Mirisch Co... more »

Peabody Coal Crashes and Burns Financially

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 4 hours ago
By Brenda Norrell Censored News Peabody Coal is crashing and burning financially. The CEO resigned. So, now that Peabody may not be buying off the media in Indian country with its ads, maybe there will be headline news stories on how Peabody Coal/Navajo Generating Station has long been one of the most polluting, dirty, coal-fired power plants in the world.  Is southern Arizona scrambling to

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- July 3, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 5 hours ago
*Phillip Inman, The Guardian*: *A decade of overspending: how Greece plunged into economic crisis * *Athens was poorly prepared for the 2008 crash - living off easy credit, while spending on wages and defence soared, and taxes began to fall awayHow did Greece get into this state?Greece was badly prepared for the 2008 financial crisis after a decade of overspending. In many ways, the weakness of its economy and public finances was akin to that of Spain, Ireland and Portugal, which also found themselves brutally exposed after 10 years of living beyond their means. Greece, though... more »

World News Briefs -- June 3, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 5 hours ago
*Daily Mail*: *Violence arrives on the streets of Athens: Protesters attack police with flagpoles and tear gas is sprayed at demonstrators in rallies ahead of Greece's debt crisis referendum* ** Helmet-clad riot police make human wall to protect themselves against 'No' campaigners in torn central Athens* ** Greek capital will tonight see supporters of both sides of Sunday's referendum gather less than a kilometre apart* ** Each protest is set to draw in crowds of more than 12,000 on the night of the last day of nationwide campaigning * *Clashes have broken out between a group of y... more »

Gender and Management in Fallout Shelter

Phil at All That Is Solid ... - 6 hours ago
To piss off any gamergaters stumbling on this post, let me note that when Anita Sarkeesian says ... The pregnancy mechanics in Fallout Shelter are super troubling. The primary way to progress is to impregnate as many women as possible. — Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) July 2, 2015 ... she is right. The further observations made by Eugene Fischer are also right. Then again, saying you cannot grow your population in *Fallout Shelter* quickly *without* pregnant women - as noted by @catherinebuca (since deleted) - mirrors life is also correct. Cue confusion for those wedded to either/or... more »

President Reagan’s Independence Day Speech: July 4, 1986

The Editors at The Stream - 6 hours ago
On July 4, 1986, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation from the USS John F. Kennedy. With the newly refurbished Statue of Liberty behind him, the nation’s 40th president gave one of his most inspiring, patriotic speeches to help America... The post President Reagan’s Independence Day Speech: July 4, 1986 appeared first on The Stream.

Feds: Suspect in San Francisco Pier Murder Deported Five Times

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 6 hours ago
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal agency says a man suspected in the shooting death of a woman at a busy San Francisco tourist destination has seven felony convictions and has been deported five times, most recently in 2009. U.S.... The post Feds: Suspect in San Francisco Pier Murder Deported Five Times appeared first on The Stream.

Questions Remain: CNN Saw an ISIS flag at London's Gay Pride Parade and Wondered Where the Outrage Was

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 6 hours ago
*"[T]he only bad mimicry I could see was CNN's impression of a reputable news organization."* *-- Paul Coombs, creator of the London Pride dildo flag* *by Noah* CNN wonders where the outrage is? I've got your outrage right here, CNN. I'm outraged that you exist, and I have been for over 20 years! Yeesh, and some people think that FOX is the only cable news outlet that sees things that are not there, jumps the shark, and reports on them. Sure, FOX is the master of such things. What can you say about a "news" outlet that uses *The Onion* as a source? Or uses the *Duck Dynasty* gu... more »

The Aspirin Alternative Your Doctor Never Told You About

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 6 hours ago
*Sayer Ji* - Millions use aspirin everyday without knowing how dangerous it is. The post The Aspirin Alternative Your Doctor Never Told You About appeared first on Waking Times.

Evolution Begins at Home: 4 Ways to Apply the Alchemy of Self-Overcoming

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 6 hours ago
*Gary ‘Z’ McGee* - Going from a preconditioned state to a reconditioned state is no picnic, but the alternative is worse. The post Evolution Begins at Home: 4 Ways to Apply the Alchemy of Self-Overcoming appeared first on Waking Times.

Oglala Commemoration Celebrates AIM Warriors and Legacy

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 6 hours ago
. 16th Annual Oglala Commemoration – June 26, 2015By Lisa Reinhold Censored News Greetings to all, this year’s event was a success and many thanks to everyone who planned, travelled, cooked, volunteered, cleaned, made music, ran and danced to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Incident at Oglala.  This year’s event was marked with loss, after illness, Roselyn Jumping

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- July 3, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 7 hours ago
Reuters / Ricky Best RT: *Somalia is home to two secret US drone bases – report* Up to 120 US military personnel are operating out of two secret drone bases in Somalia, carrying out attacks on Al-Shabab militants and working with African Union peacekeepers, a new report has revealed. Somali officials have confirmed a secretive US presence in the southern port city of Kismayo, according to Foreign Policy correspondent Ty McCormick. Another base, at the airfield of Baledogle near Mogadishu, is being used for both drone strikes and for contractors training Somali security forces. *... more »

Nine Reasons Greece Is Imploding

Jonathan Witt at The Stream - 7 hours ago
Greece is in the financial equivalent of complete and total panic right now, and the rest of the European Union is trying to figure out what to do with them. Though Greece has been facing financial trouble for a while,... The post Nine Reasons Greece Is Imploding appeared first on The Stream.

On Iran's Nuclear Program, Ghosh's "Gotcha" is Nothing But Smoke

Nima Shirazi at Wide Asleep in America - 7 hours ago
Bobby Ghosh "Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted in important affairs." -Albert Einstein Bobby Ghosh, former TIME contributor and currently managing editor at Quartz, decided on Tuesday to produce some absurd, mouth-breathing click-bait - the kind of deliberately sloppy disinformation that serves only to further chum the waters of public opinion with the

NSA-French Flap Confirms Euro-Servility

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 7 hours ago
*July 4, 2015* (Ulson Gunnar - NEO) - For those who labor under the misguided delusion that Europe defines its own destiny independently, no clearer wake up call could have been given than the latest US-French spying scandal. It is a wake up call not because of revelations that the United States has been spying on the French government, but because the French government, like its neighbor Germany who was also a victim of US spying, has predictably let the matter drop with no apparent repercussions for the perpetrators. Time magazine, recognized widely as a mouthpiece of the US Stat... more »

Inside The Islamic State's Special Forces That Are Composed Of Foreign Fighters

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 7 hours ago
New ISIS recruits are seen in a classroom for their "graduation" ceremony after having completed the Islamic State special forces training program, March 27, 2015. Media Office Wilayat Khayr *IBTimes:* *Inside 'The Caliphate Army': ISIS's Special Forces Military Unit Of Foreign Fighters * *In the year since it declared its self-styled caliphate, the Islamic State group has marketed itself as a government, a judicial institution and a religious authority, but at its core it is an army with the capability of seizing and maintaining territory. Unlike many of its other functions, very... more »

Aboriginal people and Canadian Criminal law

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 7 hours ago
The Criminal Code and the Youth Criminal Justice Act have parts that consider the unique legal status of Aboriginal people in Canada. So Section 718.2 of the Criminal Code says: 718.2 A court that imposes a sentence shall also take into consideration the following principles: … (e) all available sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances should be considered for all offenders, with particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal offenders. Similarly Section 38 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act says: 38. (1) The purpose of sentencing under se... more »

Social Media Is Rapidly Becoming The Medium Of Choice To Showcase Images of Violence And Death For Both Terror Groups And Governments

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 8 hours ago
Daily Beast Via Facebook *Adam Taylor, Washington Post:* *The Islamic State routinely shares gruesome images of those it kills. But governments do it, too.* *The Islamic State has shown time and time again that it is willing to both document its acts of extreme violence and then share these acts on social media. This tactic appears to serve a dual purpose: While these gruesome images anger and disgust much of the world, they also excite and entice the extremist group's online "fanboys" to action.* *However, the Islamic State does not have a monopoly on using social media to share... more »

Mimicking Their Tactics Syrian Rebels Execute 18 Islamic State Fighters

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 8 hours ago
Revenge: The rebels, dressed in orange - attire usually worn by ISIS's victims - has executed 13 ISIS militants (pictured) *Daily Mail*: *Syrian rebels turn tables on ISIS fighters by releasing slick execution video of them shooting jihadis while dressed in orange jumpsuits* ** Propaganda video shows Jaysh Al-Islam fighters executing ISIS militants* ** Jaysh commander calls ISIS the 'most serious calamity for our jihad today'* ** Group calls itself the Army of Islam and commands up to 25,000 soldiers* ** It battles both Islamic State and the Syrian regime in the war-torn country * ... more »

13 Things Not to Say to Your Liberal Friends at Your 4th of July Cookout if You Want to Avoid Fireworks

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 8 hours ago
There’s no escaping it. It’s been a rough couple weeks for those of us who believe in conservative principles and the Constitution. The principles that built this country are being smashed up and tossed aside like old drywall and studs. The threat... The post 13 Things Not to Say to Your Liberal Friends at Your 4th of July Cookout if You Want to Avoid Fireworks appeared first on The Stream.

Pro-Marriage? You’re NOT ALONE

John Zmirak at The Stream - 8 hours ago
In the midst of this week’s rainbow-flag-waving celebrations, CatholicVote.org’s ad ‘Not Alone’ is being noticed — and it has hit a nerve. Both religious and secular sites caught wind of the provocative video, which features 6 young adults who ‘come out’ as... The post Pro-Marriage? You’re NOT ALONE appeared first on The Stream.

What the Declaration of Independence Says about the American Character

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 8 hours ago
The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson famously wrote, was “intended to be an expression of the American mind.” Although not intended as such, it was also an expression of the American character. Woven throughout the text are insights into the... The post What the Declaration of Independence Says about the American Character appeared first on The Stream.

Vile and Vicious Lesbians are Still Vile and Vicious, and you are losing your freedoms sooner rather than later...

Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner - 8 hours ago
*and according to the original complaint, one of them is now fat as a result of not having a cake baked for their lesbian "nuptials." How weird is that? * Juxtaposed with the war on history and the Confederate flag, it becomes obvious we are in deep doo. In my *original post* of April 27th I said: If you think this has nothing to do with you, you may want to think it through a bit more thoroughly. There is a war being waged on Christians and if you consider yourself a Christian, you are in the cross hairs. Next up will be an attack on the churches. Notice these vile creeps nev... more »

The Four Horsemen of the Weather Apocalypse

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 8 hours ago
*Catherine J Frompovich* - Weather Geoengineering, Chemtrails, Aluminum and Alzheimer’s. The post The Four Horsemen of the Weather Apocalypse appeared first on Waking Times.

July 3: A sad day at the beach...

Graeme Decarie at The Moncton Times@Transcript - Good and Bad - 8 hours ago
Yesterday, I went down to the Northumberland Strait shore and its wonderful beaches. I took my five-year old grandaughter out at low tide for a walk through the shallows and over the sandbars. I remember my own first such walk very well. On that first occasion, it was a shock for this city boy to walk in shallows that had hundreds, probably thousands; of very small fish. Dozens of crabs scuttled in the shallows and onto the bars. And dozens of tiny holes in the sandbars showed where clams had dug down to wait for a rising tide; and gulls swooped to track down those tiny holes ... more »

Smokey

Way Way Up at Fort McMurray Adventures - 9 hours ago
Thankfully the air seems to be clearing up here after a few days of thick smoke brought on by numerous forest fires in Alberta and Saskatchewan. I'm sure by now most people have heard of the disruption brought about by this. Fortunately, we seem to have escaped the worst of it here. If you've seen satellite photos of the smoke in the media in recent days, Fort McMurray lay just to the south of the worst of it. The morning sun on Monday and Tuesday had a pretty striking orange/red hue to it as I waited for my bus to work. Monday was the worse day in terms of visibility (to me an... more »

The Truth About Money

WTStaff at Waking Times - 9 hours ago
*Film - *When money drives almost all activity on the planet, it would make sense that people understand it. Yet simple questions often get overlooked, such as: where does money come from? Who creates it? Who decides how it gets used? The post The Truth About Money appeared first on Waking Times.

Vietnam’s Communist Party Chief to Make Landmark First Visit to the US Next Week

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 9 hours ago
Vietnam’s Communist Party chief will visit the United States next week in a landmark trip that could prove pivotal in Washington’s bid to bolster its Asian alliances in the back yard of an increasingly assertive China. Nguyen Phu Trong will... The post Vietnam’s Communist Party Chief to Make Landmark First Visit to the US Next Week appeared first on The Stream.

Feedback loop

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
Call them 'conspiratorial', but some people feel that the whole row between the BBC and David Cameron over what to call Islamic State is too good to be true (for both sides) - especially given that the BBC pioneered the way when it came to calling IS "so-called Islamic State" and has even outstripped most politicians when it comes to vigorously projected the message that IS has nothing to do with true Islam. Suspicions therefore followed of a possible collusion between the BBC and the government (a fake row designed to reinforce a socially cohesive message that won't hurt the feel... more »

The Lougheed Martin F35 Flying POS: F35 Joint Strike (Out) Fighter - A $1.5 TRILLION Lemon!

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 9 hours ago
I have done many articles now that expose the fraud of the Lougheed Martin F35 "Lightning II" so called "Joint Strike Fighter" that is absolutely the WORSE defense program imaginable for the United States and other nations that are stupid enough to buy this flying piece of s***..... And I have found some recent articles that show again how terrible this flying lemon truly is, that I want to share with my readers here... I first want to share with my readers a very important article that I just came across today, that comes from the 21st Century Wire website, at www.21stcenturywire.c... more »

Don’t Give Up on America

David Limbaugh at The Stream - 10 hours ago
As I’ve said, I was very alarmed, though not particularly surprised, by the two Supreme Court decisions last week in which the court’s majority blithely bastardized the English language, the Constitution, the rule of law and the very idea of... The post Don’t Give Up on America appeared first on The Stream.

Islamic State Continues Their Destruction Of Historical Artifacts

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 10 hours ago
The Lion of al-Lat in Palmyra, Syria, was destroyed by Islamic State militants, Syria's director of antiquities said. File photo by Mappo/Wikimedia *BBC:* *Islamic State militants 'destroy Palmyra statues'* *The Islamic State group has published photographs of militants destroying what it says are artefacts looted from the ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria.* *Six statues are shown being hit with sledgehammers while a crowd looks on.* *The jihadist group said the statues had been seized from a smuggler, who was pictured being whipped as a punishment.* *Meanwhile, the UN's cultural... more »

Let Them Eat Air Conditioners

Gaius Publius at DownWithTyranny! - 10 hours ago
*The jet stream pattern over Europe on July 1, 2015 (click to enlarge; source).* *by Gaius Publius* This seems to have been a week of partial news. There's Greek news, but not much of it until the weekend. (Then look out.) There's Clinton news, but not much of it. There's Other Clinton news, but nothing you didn't expect. And there's horrible weather news, which climate delayer Judith Curry wants to turn into a "more carbon please" investment opportunity — in air conditioning, in Pakistan. Shorter Judith Curry — "Let them eat air conditioners." And there's Bernie Sanders news, b... more »

Biased interviewing from Jeremy Vine

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago
Maybe I ought to start monitoring Jeremy Vine's programme on BBC Radio 2, because this lunchtime's edition began with one of the most biased pieces of BBC broadcasting I've heard in a long time. I was going to transcribe the biased section, to show you it in all its horror, but that would take far too long and I'm off out soon. So please listen for yourselves. It's near the start of the show (beginning at 6:53). The question was: Should the UK bomb IS in Syria? There were two interviews. The first was with the SNP's Alex Salmond (against UK strikes on Syria), the second with Colon... more »

More Odd Phenomena at Fukushima Daiichi

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 10 hours ago
It appears there may have been another emission event the evening of July 3, 2015 (Japan time), as documented by webcam watchers at Enenews.com: Discussion Starts Here at Enenews forum Flying Cuttlefish took a number of screenshots, including one of more police at the Futaba intersection: https://flyingcuttlefish.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/july3_trafficcam.jpg https://flyingcuttlefish.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/july3b_fukushima.jpg https://flyingcuttlefish.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/july3_fukushima.jpg It is unusual to have two "significant" events, as defined by what appear t... more »

David Gross', Nobelists' painful AGW publicity stunt

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 10 hours ago
Sixty years ago, on July 15th, 1955, Max Born, Werner Heisenberg, Hideki Yukawa, Otto Hahn, and 14 other Nobel prize winners signed the Mainau Declaration against the use of nuclear weapons. It was a decade after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the fear made sense. The superpowers had accumulated lots of nukes and their destructive character had been observed. These days, there is another meeting of the Nobel laureates at Lindau. Nobel prize winners including David Gross performed something that cynics in Deutsche Welle call "a stab at relevance" or "a publicity stunt": the 2015 Mainau... more »

Supplemental: Joan Walsh and Chris and our discourse oh my!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 10 hours ago
*FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015The fraudulence of Our Own Press Corps:* For fraudulence and sheer inanity, it would be hard to top yesterday’s piece by Salon’s Joan Walsh. According to Walsh, the mainstream press is promoting Candidate Sanders. Below, you see the way her piece began. Her claims are absurd, even ugly, in fairly obvious ways: WALSH (7/2/15): If only the great Michael Harrington had lived to see this. So many brave Americans fought in vain to spread socialism in the United States, but it’s advancing in the summer of 2015 thanks to an unlikely vanguard: lazy and apolitical pol... more »

Syrian Rebels Launch Massive Offensive To Seize Aleppo

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 10 hours ago
*Daily Mail:* *Syrian forces mount heavy air strikes against rebels in strategic town of Aleppo * ** Operation aimed at repelling insurgent offensive on Assad-controlled areas* ** Dozens of rebels killed by government forces in largely ineffective attack* ** Gruesome images show Assad's troops stood triumphantly above corpses * ** Aleppo is of vital importance and is currently split by insurgents and Assad* ** It was once Syria's most populous city before descent into civil war in 2011* *Syrian government forces launched heavy air strikes on rebel positions in and around the north... more »

Where Is China's Silk Road Actually Going?

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 10 hours ago
http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/where-is-chinas-silk-road-actually-going/ *Where Is China's Silk Road Actually Going?* *At the Boao Forum, China provided the clearest overview yet of its ambitious Silk Road plans.* By Shannon Tiezzi March 30, 2015 The Boao Forum for Asia, an annual economic dialogue held in China’s Hainan Province, was an especially high-profile meeting this year; Chinese President Xi Jinping himself delivered the keynote address. The reason for the special emphasis was clear: Beijing selected the Boao Forum as the venue to deliver the first in-depth explanation ... more »

Solar-Powered Plane Lands in Hawaii after Flight from Japan: Shatters Record

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 11 hours ago
KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) — A plane powered by the sun’s rays landed in Hawaii Friday after a record-breaking five-day journey across the Pacific Ocean from Japan. Pilot Andre Borschberg and his single-seat aircraft landed at Kalaeloa, a small airport outside... The post Solar-Powered Plane Lands in Hawaii after Flight from Japan: Shatters Record appeared first on The Stream.

Everything You Need to Know About the BP Oil Settlement

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 11 hours ago
Why BP Is Paying $18.7 Billion (July 2, 2015). The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/02/us/bp-oil-spill-settlement-background.html …By mid-August, more than 7,000 birds, sea turtles and dolphins were found dead or debilitated in the Gulf since the oil spill began. Scientists expected the ultimate environmental damage from the spill to last for years. Stanley Reed and Clifford Krauss (July 2, 2015) After Settlement, Relief at a Diminished BP. The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/business/energy-environment/diminished-bp-in-deepwater-horiz... more »

What Fireworks Does ISIS Plan for the 4th of July?

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 11 hours ago
What to make of reports that ISIS may try to pull off a terrorist attack on Independence Day? Let’s look at the facts. It is not the first time after 9/11 that U.S. authorities have expressed concerns about possible terrorist attacks timed... The post What Fireworks Does ISIS Plan for the 4th of July? appeared first on The Stream.

Cartoon: ‘Bernie Sanders for President’

Michael Ramirez at The Stream - 11 hours ago
The post Cartoon: ‘Bernie Sanders for President’ appeared first on The Stream.

Greece Debt Crisis News Updates -- July 3, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 11 hours ago
*The Telegraph*:* Greek banks down to €500m in cash reserves as economy crashes* *The daily allowance of cash from many ATM machines has already dropped from €60 to €50, purportedly because €20 notes are running out * *Greece is sliding into a full-blown national crisis as the final cash reserves of the banking system evaporate by the hour and swathes of industry start to shut down, precipitating the near disintegration of the ruling coalition.* *Business leaders have been locked in talks with the Bank of Greece, pleading for the immediate release of emergency liquidity funds (... more »

California Mandatory Vaccine Debate Heats Up as Celebrities Speak Out

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 11 hours ago
*Jed Shlackman* - The recent passage of California's mandatory vaccine legislation is causing outrage. The post California Mandatory Vaccine Debate Heats Up as Celebrities Speak Out appeared first on Waking Times.

FryDay Beaver

Demeur at Demeur - 11 hours ago
Don't know if our trusty beavers will be out today. The network gods seem to be angry and keep dropping connections. Hotter than a $2 pistol around here. It's so hot ... (fill in your own answer cause it's too hot to think of one on my end.) Stick a fork in Greece it's done. Now to the next entree. Will it be Portugal Spain or Italy or maybe some other unsuspected country? Rah Rah Happy (fill in the blank) be it Canada, the U.S. or the tiny republic that everybody forgot and got taken over by yet another dictator Day. Is it national throw out the moldy leftovers from the fridge day... more »

George Washington’s Rules of Civility Much Needed in Nation’s Capital

Kathryn Jean Lopez at The Stream - 12 hours ago
Somewhere in the rainbow celebrations and dissensions of late, we may have missed something. Pope Francis gave us a clue as to what that missing something is when, just a few days before the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage,... The post George Washington’s *Rules of Civility* Much Needed in Nation’s Capital appeared first on The Stream.

ANALYSIS: Here’s One Rape Culture the Media Wants to Be Fake

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 12 hours ago
“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” With that colorful statement two weeks ago, Donald Trump declared his views on illegal immigrants. Since then, several media outlets have spent countless ounces of... The post ANALYSIS: Here’s One Rape Culture the Media Wants to Be Fake appeared first on The Stream.

6.4-magnitude earthquake in China's Xinjiang: USGS

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 12 hours ago
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/6-1-magnitude-earthquake/1958148.html *6.4-magnitude earthquake in China's Xinjiang: USGS* *A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has struck China's far western region of Xinjiang, about 164km northwest of the city of Hotan. * POSTED: 03 Jul 2015 09:57 UPDATED: 03 Jul 2015 12:46 The epicentre was in Pishan county, 164km northwest of the city of Hotan and 131km southeast of Shache, known as Yarkand in Uighur, the language of the local mainly Muslim minority. It was 20km deep according to USGS, which initially gave the magnitude as 6.1. A serie... more »

Greece: a Shakespearean Tragedy

Jeffrey Stacey at Duck of Minerva - 12 hours ago
In the Greek bailout episode the Greek government has been behaving much like the self-pitying Antonio from “The Merchant of Venice,” while the EU has been posing as a rather heavy-handed Shylock. Despite being aware of the damaging consequences of a Greek default and potential exit from the Eurozone, the EU seems intent of having […]

This Week

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 12 hours ago
I spotted some *#bbcbias* tweets bemoaning the fact that Douglas Murray was on *Question Time *last night and Tom Holland was on *This Week* straight after. Where were the Islamic scholars?", the twitterers twittered. If you haven't seen it yet, *This Week*'s discussion of the Islamic State nomenclature row, featuring Tom Holland, Andrew Neil, Michael Portillo and Alastair Campbell, is a much-watch - quite unlike pretty much anything else you'll have ever seen elsewhere on BBC TV....and a million miles away (or more) from the kind of discussion you're ever likely to hear on Radio... more »

City of Kawartha Lakes

Dana at The Galloping Beaver - 12 hours ago
Well, here I am right in the stultified heart of the Big Stupid. The City of Kawartha Lakes is a fictionally urbanized rural misconfiguration brought about by Big Mike's Common Sense Revulsion. A Progressive Conservative MPP named Laurie Scott and a Conservative MP named Barry Devolin. The federal riding is right next door to that of former MP, Cabinet Member, Harper happy lappy dancer and

"The so-called British Broadcasting Corporation"

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 13 hours ago
Over at *The Spectator,* Isabel Hardman castigates politicians for "trying to boss the BBC around" over the issue of what to call Islamic State. Now, she's undoubtedly correct that there's a lot of deflection going on here from hapless UK politicians, As she says, ...while language is powerful, this sort of thing is what people who are supposed to be powerful end up talking about when they feel powerless, when an issue feels just too big to take hold of at once. ...but her main concern is that the letter from 120 MPs calling for IS to be re-branded as 'Daesh' is "an attempt by po... more »

Editor's Note

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 13 hours ago
Stuck in meetings this morning. Blogging will return at 12:00 EST

New Record in Australia: Most Protests in One Day

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 13 hours ago
Great video with terrific ending about confronting the military industrial surveillance complex. Latest documentary by multi-award winning Australian filmmaker, David Bradbury. A window into the passions and politics of the modern Australian peace movement. Shot during the action-packed 2014 Canberra Peace Convergence at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Waging Peace tracks a convoy of activists who set out to break the world record for the most protest actions on a single day - 28 were held. Featuring Senator Scott Ludlum, US Iraq War veteran, Vince Emanuele and Bundjalung Elder Vinc...more »

Gallup Poll: Fewer ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 14 hours ago
Fewer people are “extremely proud” to be American, according to new polling from Gallup. The pollster finds that 54 percent are “extremely proud” to be American, which is down from around 70 percent between 2002 and 2004. The percentage may... The post Gallup Poll: Fewer ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American appeared first on The Stream.

She'll be back

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 14 hours ago
Not BBC-related, but I thought this was quite charming from the *FT's *employment correspondent, Sarah O'Connor:

Legalization Of Medical Marijuana Is Inevitable-- But There Is Still Money To Be Made By Politicians Opposing It

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 14 hours ago
When Congress legalizes medical marijuana-- and that's coming-- dozens and dozens of ineffective, highly toxic prescription drugs, many with ghastly side effects, will cease providing bounties to the industrial drug makers that manufacture and market them. These pharmaceutical conglomerates have appealed-- so far successfully-- to Congress to at least wait for them to make some minor, inconsequential change to marijuana before they legalize it. That way they can patent and sell some iteration of marijuana as if they invented it. Several Members of Congress have been working hard t... more »

Never Doubt That A Small Group Of........A Quotation by Margaret Mead

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 14 hours ago
*Source:Goodnet*

"The Times claims..."

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 14 hours ago
I noticed something while watching the News Channel's two paper reviews last night (which can be seen here and here). During Martine Croxall's opening run-through of the front pages, she would use various forms of words to introduce each newspaper's front page - e.g. "The Guardian has...", "The Mirror also leads on...", "The Mail has...", "The Express forecasts...", etc. Intriguingly - and uniquely - the lead story in today's *The Times* was introduced, during *both* paper reviews, with the following form of words: The Times claims... Oddly enough, exactly the same happened on ... more »

American Flag Facebook Profile Feature Generating Controversy on Independence Day Weekend

Rachel Alexander at The Stream - 14 hours ago
Last week, Facebook offered an option for users to put a rainbow tint over their profile photos, in order to celebrate the Supreme Court’s same-sex ‘marriage’ decision. Almost immediately afterwards, with Independence Day coming up, Right Wing News decided to offer its... The post American Flag Facebook Profile Feature Generating Controversy on Independence Day Weekend appeared first on The Stream.

Tom Mulcair Tells Me There Will Be Investigations

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 14 hours ago
My big C-51 project is on indefinite hold because it has developed that I'm a single parent with a part-time job. From roughly 7 am to 9 pm I am responsible for entertaining an 8-year old, walking a dog, and doing my part-time job. (And this week I'm travelling across town to check in on my friend's cat.) So I really just have time to compose nothing posts of personal opinion until September, when things change again. So I went to the Canada Day bbq hosted by Davenport NDP MP Andrew Cash. (A friend asked me to go.) I went to give a cash donation to the party, and to try to convey t... more »

Lefties at the BBC • Bruce On Politics

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 15 hours ago
This article http://www.bruceonpolitics.com/2015/06/15/lefties-at-the-bbc/ is right on the money, up until where it says that the BBC is pro Israel, that's insanity to claim.

Sorry, Donald Trump Has a Point

Rich Lowry at The Stream - 15 hours ago
You are hardly a name-brand company if you haven’t dumped Donald Trump during the past seven days. NBC, Univision and Macy’s all have thrown The Donald under the bus, in the heaviest blow to schlock culture in this country since... The post Sorry, Donald Trump Has a Point appeared first on The Stream.

Obama’s Counterterrorism Policy Facing Mounting Criticism

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 15 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — At the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, it was a cause for celebration: Meticulous intelligence analysis backed by Hellfire missiles had paid off, once again. The CIA launched a drone strike last month on a Yemeni beach at three... The post Obama’s Counterterrorism Policy Facing Mounting Criticism appeared first on The Stream.

Obama Finds It’s Surprisingly Tough to Eliminate His Own White House Wage Gap

Rachel Alexander at The Stream - 15 hours ago
Data recently released by the White House has revealed President Barack Obama’s staff continues to have a large pay gap between male and female employees, a reality that suggests Obama’s campaign against a “discriminatory” gender pay gap rests on shaky... The post Obama Finds It’s Surprisingly Tough to Eliminate His Own White House Wage Gap appeared first on The Stream.

They Never Offer Bribes

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 15 hours ago
http://news.nationalpost.com/ This week, Pierre Poilievre made sure that the public saw him handing out cheques. Michael Harris writes: There he was, in all his obsequious glory, standing beside the massive press run of the expanded Universal Child Care Benefit outbound cash flow. It looked like a reprinting of the Oxford English Dictionary, so thick were the sheaves of cheques. One hundred and sixty bucks a month for kids under six — and a brand new $60 a month for those 6 and over. Mind the fine print; the UCCB is taxable in the c... more »

Xinjiang aims to become regional financial hub on Silk Road economic belt

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 15 hours ago
http://en.xinfinance.com/html/Economies/Regional/2014/19382.shtml *Xinjiang aims to become regional financial hub on Silk Road economic belt* Xinhua Finance 2014-12-15 16:36share URUMQI, Dec.15 (Xinhua Finance) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region aims to become a regional financial center on the Silk Road economic belt, said Guo Hongchuan, vice-director of local financial affair office. The official said last Thursday at a meeting that local authorities will make plans for related developments when it is appropriate, proposing that Xinjiang could *open financial... more »

PODCAST: The Stream‘s John Zmirak Talks Supreme Court Antics with Eric Metaxas

The Editors at The Stream - 15 hours ago
The Stream‘s John Zmirak was back on the air this week with his old Yale buddy Eric Metaxas. And he wasn’t there to talk about their old days in New Haven. Rather, the topic was the new world being created out... The post PODCAST: *The Stream*‘s John Zmirak Talks Supreme Court Antics with Eric Metaxas appeared first on The Stream.

An ISIS Rival Gives the Terror Group a Taste of Its Own Medicine

Rachel Alexander at The Stream - 15 hours ago
Hardline Syrian rebels executed alleged Islamic State jihadis while wearing orange jumpsuits, mimicking one of the terror group’s signatures. Jaysh al-Islam, meaning Army of Islam in Arabic, released a video of fighters summarily executing 18 purported Islamic State militants, BBC reports. Islamic State is known for executing... The post An ISIS Rival Gives the Terror Group a Taste of Its Own Medicine appeared first on The Stream.

Massive Gold Mine Discovered in China's Xinjiang Province

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 15 hours ago
*New discovery in China's Xinjiang province could have up to 200 tonnes of gold (Reuters)* http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/massive-gold-mine-discovered-chinas-xinjiang-province-1459136 *Massive Gold Mine Discovered in China's Xinjiang Province* Nigel Wilson By Nigel Wilson July 31, 2014 10:27 BST 18 5 Geologists have discovered a massive gold mine in China's restive Xinjiang province, according to state news agency Xinhau. The new find, close to the border with Kyrgzstan, has proven gold reserves of 127 tonnes, Xinhua said. If the estimates are correct, the reserves could be worth aroun... more »

Xinjiang herdsman finds 17-pound gold nugget

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 16 hours ago
http://www.icrosschina.com/news/2015/0205/8597.shtml *Xinjiang herdsman finds 17-pound gold nugget* 2015-02-05 URUMQI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A herdsman in China's far western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region found a 17-pound (7.85-kilogram) gold nugget that was "practically lying on bare ground". The Kazak herdsman, Berek Sawut, from Qinghe County in Altay Prefecture made the extraordinary discovery around 5 p.m. last Friday. The estimated price for such an unexpected luck, assuming the nugget is 80 percent pure (Nuggets are usually 80 to 90 percent pure), is a whopping 1.6 mi... more »

An Unexpected Effect of Improper Food Combining

WTStaff at Waking Times - 16 hours ago
*Video - *Improper food combining can have a significant affect on how much nutrition you get from your food, but it also affects something that you might not expect. The post An Unexpected Effect of Improper Food Combining appeared first on Waking Times.

BP to Pay Record $18.7 Billion to States Affected by Gulf Spill

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 16 hours ago
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — More than five years after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history fouled beaches, coated seabirds in thick goo and threatened delicate marshes, BP has agreed to pay a record settlement to affected states in... The post BP to Pay Record $18.7 Billion to States Affected by Gulf Spill appeared first on The Stream.

Greece Bailout Referendum Too Close to Call

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 16 hours ago
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The brief but intense campaign in Greece’s critical bailout referendum ends Friday, with simultaneous rallies in Athens supporting “yes” and “no” answers to a murky question in what an opinion poll suggests could be a very... The post Greece Bailout Referendum Too Close to Call appeared first on The Stream.

Greece Special Report and Updates ( July 3 , 2015 ) - Two days before the historic referendum ( assuming it's not declared unconstitutional or otherwise shelved ) , a check on state of play - polling ( too close to call between yes and no votes ) , capital control and financial impacts , political state of play domestic and international , great commentary and opinion pieces - as usual ! )

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 16 hours ago
Tweets..... *Dealingroom* ‏@Dealingroom_EN 5m 5 minutes ago meanwhile in Greece... Capital Controls Day 4! photo #6 [image: Embedded image permalink] *Dealingroom* ‏@Dealingroom_EN 21m 21 minutes ago meanwhile in Greece... Capital Controls Day 4! photo #5 [image: Embedded image permalink] *Diane Shugart* ‏@dianalizia 27s28 seconds ago tsipras live. *Diane Shugart* ‏@dianalizia 7s 8 seconds ago tsipras says IMF report is a huge vindication for the greek government *Diane Shugart* ‏@dianalizia 2m 2 minutes ago tsipras: this postion never presented by the credito... more »

Judgment Day: July 19th.

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 16 hours ago
*Could the KMT disappear into the distance?* Wow. New Zeitgeist: The Journalist's lead article on wed is about the KMT splitting. Wednesday night's talk show on Next TV was 2 hours of on the possibility of the KMT splitting. Radio Taiwan International also did one. It's all over the media. The rumors, stories, and news of the KMT implosion are flying about -- one can hardly keep up. Some highlights... *UPDATE*: Taiwan Take, the Coming Collapse of the KMT, part 2. From the KMT news organ: Hung Hsiu-Chu (洪秀柱), Deputy Legislative Speaker and KMT Presidential candidate in-waiting, ... more »

Sir Nicholas Winton won't get his Peace Nobel Prize anymore

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 16 hours ago
Sir Nicholas Winton died on July 1st at age of 106+ years (respiratory problems). He has been repeatedly nominated for the Peace Nobel Prize but the committee has repeatedly chosen someone else, often someone profoundly unworthy. The British press has nicknamed him the "British Schindler", a German guy who saved about 1,200 Jews by employing them in his factory. Winton has saved 669 Czechoslovak children, mostly Jews, by organizing (one big train in) the so-called "Kindertransport". Winton was born in 1909 (like my maternal grandfather) in London to parents who were German Jew... more »

California Enacts Vaccine Law That Forces Parents to Choose Between Human Rights and Civil Rights

urupiper at Yesterday 's Lies - 16 hours ago
NVIC 7/1/2015 From flash to bang, it took the politically powerful corporate, medical trade and government lobbyists just six months this year to gut the human right to informed consent to medical risk taking and the civil right to a school education in California. They did it by enacting a new law (SB 277) signed by Governor Jerry Brown on June 29, 2015 that denies parents the legal right to file a personal belief exemption to vaccination for religious and conscientious beliefs so their children can attend school. In order to sign the bill into law, Governor Brown had to aband... more »

Officials to Begin Lifting Evacuation Order after Tennessee Train Derailment

Al Perrotta at The Stream - 17 hours ago
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Preparations began Friday to allow thousands of eastern Tennessee residents to return to their homes after a CSX train car carrying hazardous material derailed and caught fire. About 5,000 people within a mile-and-a-half radius of the... The post Officials to Begin Lifting Evacuation Order after Tennessee Train Derailment appeared first on The Stream.

State Silences Bakers Who Refused to Make Cake for Lesbian Couple, Fines Them $135K

Jonathan Witt at The Stream - 17 hours ago
Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian finalized a preliminary ruling today ordering Aaron and Melissa Klein, the bakers who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, to pay $135,000 in emotional damages to the couple they denied service. “This... The post State Silences Bakers Who Refused to Make Cake for Lesbian Couple, Fines Them $135K appeared first on The Stream.

The Vaccinated Girls - "De vaccinerede piger" - A Danish Documentary

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 17 hours ago
TV2 Denmark Documentary on HPV Vaccine Shows Lives of Young Women Ruined *TV2 Denmark has done something no mainstream media network in the United States will dare to do: look into the controversial HPV vaccine that many have claimed has ruined the lives of so many young women, and publish an investigative report. * *To learn more, please click on the link provided below:* *Health Impact News*

Chinese Stock Markets in the Middle of ‘Unprecedented’ Slide

Jonathan Witt at The Stream - 18 hours ago
State monetary policy has failed to fix the situation, and Beijing is growing desperate In what analysts are describing as an unprecedented economic situation, China’s stock indexes are currently tumbling into a free fall, with panic taking the place of... The post Chinese Stock Markets in the Middle of ‘Unprecedented’ Slide appeared first on The Stream.

Best of Enemies

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 18 hours ago
I recently had the pleasure of seeing several films at the Nantucket Film Festival. My favorite was *Best of Enemies*, a documentary about the TV debates between William Buckley and Gore Vidal during the 1968 presidential nominating conventions. It is being released later this month. Here is the trailer:

Vietnam, Russia closing in on deal for 2 Gepard-class frigates

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
[image: Project 11661 (Gepard 3.9) class FS]Vietnam and Russia are in the final stages of negotiation for the sale of two Gepard-class (Project 11661) light frigates, sources familiar with the matter told RBTH. Vietnam has four such Russian-made light frigates, with two of them undergoing weapons fitting at the moment. A deal could be reached by the end of the month, the sources said. Read more

Greg Hunter, "Weekly New Wrap-up, 7/3/2015"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 19 hours ago
*"Weekly New Wrap-up, 7/3/2015"* By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com "Whether it is Greece or Puerto Rico, the story is the same—the debt is unpayable. Greece is going through a referendum and they are taking a que from the Clash song “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” Meaning, should Greece stay or leave the European Union? I say it is not going to make much difference. The Greeks, as everybody else in the world, have been living beyond their means. There are going to be big cuts to everything no matter what. The Greeks want a debt cut. The Greek Finance Minister says he’d rather “cut o...more »

Iron Dome gets mysterious upgrade

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
[image: Iron Dome]Israel has successfully upgraded its Iron Dome missile-defense system, the Defense Ministry said Thursday, without elaborating on the specific improvements. A series of tests was performed to “widen the capacity and improve the performance” of the system, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It added that Israel faces “an unprecedented array of threats” presumably ranging from mortars to long-range missiles from a variety of origins. The Iron Dome system was developed, after much nay-saying, to counter the rocket threat from Gaza, a territory from which Hamas ... more »

Russia In Talks To Supply Armenia With Iskander-M Missiles As Battle Lines Drawn Across Europe

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
[image: Iskander-M (SS-26 Stone) SRBM]Russia is poised to sign a contract with the Armenian military to provide Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles, reported Tass, a Kremlin-owned Russian website, on Thursday. The supply of weapons, and long-range missiles in particular, to its former Soviet allies underlines Russia’s continued influence in Eastern Europe and showcases its growing military reach on the ever-fractured continent. "The contract has not been signed, talks are underway," a military source told Tass, while also mentioning that "all information on such contracts is ... more »

Former CSIS officer warns C-51 Terror Bill will lead to lawsuits and embarrassment

greencrow at Greencrow As The Crow Flies - 19 hours ago
*UP DATE JULY 3, 2015 - * I have updated my "Solving 9/11 Page" with a new link: Why Did Navy Staffers at the Pentagon Fail to Respond to the Attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11? *Hell in a Handbasket* Well, if *C-51* leads to "lawsuits and embarrassment" as former CSIS officer Francois Lavigne says...it will be *business as usual *for the Harper Conservatives. *The National Post*...which has a nasty reputation as a noxious, far right, globalist, ziofascist rag...has broken the set and published an interview with a former CSIS officer who speaks out forcefully against the Con... more »

B-52s Demonstrate Strategic Reach in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: B-52 Stratofortress]Two B-52 Stratofortresses assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, returned today from a 44-hour, non-stop mission to Australia. The mission, which was closely coordinated with the Australian Department of Defence, demonstrates the United States' ability to project its flexible, long-range global strike capability and provided unique opportunities to synchronize strategic activities and capabilities with a key ally in the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) area of operations. "These flights are one of the many ways the U.S. demonstr... more »

RADA to Deliver Tactical Air Surveillance Radar to a European Customer

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
Israel’s defense electronics company RADA Electronic Industries announced it has recently received an order to supply an RPS-42 tactical air surveillance radar to a leading European defense contractor. The new radar, a member of RADA’s S-band multi-mission hemispheric radar (MHR) family of systems, will be delivered later this year. According to company sources, several customers have selected the RPS-42 for aerial surveillance missions. Read more

Singapore Navy launches first of 8 new warships

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: The christening of a Littoral Mission Vessel]The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) launched the first of eight new warships, titled Independente, on Friday (Jul 3). The new Littoral Mission Vessels (LMVs) – which were designed, planned and built locally – will eventually replace the existing Fearless-class Patrol Vessels, which have been in service for 20 years. Compared to the Patrol Vessels, these LMVs have various customisable mission modules, including medical containers and unmanned systems, that can be reconfigured to respond to different circumstances and roles from c... more »

RAF faces struggle to find extra firepower after cuts

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: RAF Tornado]The admission by the UK government that it would not increase the small number of combat aircraft committed to the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in Iraq should it get a mandate to launch strikes in Syria reflects the reality that the Royal Air Force would struggle to muster much extra firepower. After five years of relentless defence cuts, the armed forces are struggling to sustain the current level of commitments after more than a decade of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Under strategic planning assumptions, which were... more »

China conducts 'live-fire' sea drill

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: Liaoning CV]China's military carried out a "live-fire confrontation drill" on Thursday in the Yellow Sea in an exercise combining sea, air and land-based forces, state media reported. The practice involved the firing of "various missiles, dozens of torpedoes and hundreds of shells", the official Xinhua news agency said in a dispatch from the eastern city of Qingdao, home of China's North Sea Fleet which participated in the exercise. Citing a military statement, Xinhua said that the firing was for intercepting "water-surface, underwater and airborne targets", adding that the... more »

Aegis Ashore: Navy Needs Relief From Land

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
Take my mission — please. The armed services are notorious for overselling their capabilities and grabbing turf to justify budgets. But when it comes to ballistic missile defense, the Navy feels so overburdened that it is talking up land-based alternatives as superior to its vaunted Aegis ships. “Anything that goes ashore…is the best way to defend ashore,” Rear Adm. Peter Fanta, director of surface warfare, told reporters after a June hearing on the Hill. “It allows more power, more aperture [for sensors], and a permanent presence there to cover that area.” An Aegis Ashore site, li... more »

Russia's Once-Mighty Fighter Jet Firm MiG Struggling as Rivals Make Gains

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB Fulcrum]Once one of the world's most famous aircraft designers, Russia's MiG aircraft company has fallen on hard times. Though MiG aircraft continue to populate almost 30 world air forces, the firm has not won a major design competition or aircraft tender in its post-Soviet history. Russia is the world's second-largest arms exporter after the United States, and its aircraft companies made up a substantial $4.4 billion of the country's overall $13 billion in arms exports in 2014, according to data collected by defense industry consultancy IHS. Read more

ECONOMY - what is it good for - pictorial commentary

Mike Philbin at Mike Philbin's free planet blog - 20 hours ago
"*War, what is it good for?*" we all know the damning answer to this age-old question, but what happens if we swap the word WAR out for the word ECONOMY? It's something (I bet) they never tell the gooey-eyed freshers of Economics 1.01, "Today we will teach you the basics of corporate-killing millions of beautiful innocent people so that we can maintain the EMG or Economics Money Game." They never tell you that your hard-earned cleverness will mean the death of millions to support your so-called career i.e. your role as a high class hooker for the CDM or Corporate Death Machine.

Navy Launches New Affordability Plan for Ford-Class Carriers

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)]The Navy plans to invest $25 million a year beginning in 2017 in techniques to lower the cost of building its new Ford-class aircraft carriers, service officials said. "We will use this design for affordability to make new improvements in cost-cutting technologies that will go into our ships," said Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, director of Air Warfare. The Navy has received much criticism from lawmakers and government watchdog groups for cost overruns on its first two Ford-class carriers -- the USS Ford, CVN 78, and the USS Kennedy, CVN 79. Read more

N. Korea releases ‘satisfactory’ new SLBM test details

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: Photoshopped North Korean SLBM]North Korea released further details of its alleged May submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in its most recent issue of the monthly Pictorial Korea magazine, declaring all aspects of the text to have been successful. A short paragraph in an article entitled “Full Display of Self-reliant National Defence Industry” describes some of the test’s purposes. “The test-firing proved that the noise level inside the submarine, recoil, missile’s speed at the surface of waters, flying angle and all the other elements of launch fully satisfied the r... more »

Rosoboronexport Exports US$21 Billion Naval Hardware in 15 Years, Order Book at US$5 billion

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
[image: Project 12322 (Zubr) class air cushion landing ship]Rosoboronexport has exported over US$21 billion worth naval hardware over the past 15 years and is currently processing an order book worth US$5 billion. The Russian state intermediary agency for export and import services announced Wednesday that it has delivered over 40 pieces of equipment, of which one third is accounted for by submarines and the remaining by surface ships and boats. One of the significant “naval” contracts fulfilled by Rosoboronexport in the period from 2000 to till now is supply of Project 956E and Pro... more »

Military Photo of the Day: July 3, 2015

Tom Sileo at The Stream - 21 hours ago
A U.S. Marine Corps M777A2 lightweight 155 mm howitzer fires a projectile on June 29, 2015, at the Bradshaw Field Training Area in the northern territory of Australia. As Independence Day weekend begins, we thank all of our troops stationed... The post Military Photo of the Day: July 3, 2015 appeared first on The Stream.

Vietnam's Kilo-class submarines a threat to PLA: Kanwa

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
[image: hanoi (Kilo) class SSK]Vietnam's six Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines purchased from Russia may present a serious threat to the People's Liberation Army Navy's five Type 094 Jin-class ballistic missile submarines operating in the disputed South China Sea, reports the Kanwa Defense Review, a Chinese-language military magazine based in Canada. The fourth Kilo-class submarine, codenamed HQ-185 Da Nang, arrived at Cam Ranh Port in southern Vietnam on June 30. It was launched on March 28 last year at the Admiralty Shipyards in St Petersburg. After a sea trial in the Baltic ... more »

Thai navy approves US$1.1b plan to buy submarines from China

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
[image: Type 041 (Yuan) class SSK]Thailand's navy approved Thursday (Jul 2) a 36 billion baht (US$1.1 billion) plan to buy three submarines from China, according to Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon. An army-led coup toppled Thailand's elected government in May last year, after months of street protests. The coup was widely condemned by Western nations, which downgraded diplomatic ties with Thailand, but the military rulers claimed to have support from China following the move. Since then, Thailand - a traditional ally of the United States - has sought to improve ties with neighbour... more »

Nigeria Boko Haram crisis: Militants 'kill 150' per BBC News

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 21 hours ago
This news http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33369713 of another 150 civilians killed in Nigeria is deemed only worthy of an article. If Israel had killed 150 Palestinians it would be front page top story. So is the BBC racist, deeming the murder of black Africans less newsworthy than that of Arabs, or anti Israeli? Maybe releasing the Balen Report would give us an idea...

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 22 hours ago
*Brees: Saints' O filled with future 'household names' ~Marc Sessler, NFL,com*

Nihigaal bee lina: Walking the good road to Coppermine

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 23 hours ago
Dine' Walkers on foot to the sacred mountains on the Navajo Nation, walking for future generations By Nihigaal bee lina Censored News Today we have 22 miles to walk! We started at the gas station at Bodaway/Gap this morning and are heading to Coppermine on highway 20! WE NEED A FEW ITEMS TO SUSTAIN THE WALKERS:Eggs, Potatoes, Cheese, Baking Powder, Flour, Cooking Oil, Salt, Fruit, Fresh

Faith, Freedom, and the Fourth

Jim Tonkowich at The Stream - 23 hours ago
“Now, this little party is something we’ve been doing every year,” President Obama said at the 2014 White House Fourth of July Cookout, “because there’s no group that we’d rather spend time with on this most American of holidays than... The post Faith, Freedom, and the Fourth appeared first on The Stream.

Why the Culture Wars Refuse to Die

Heather Wilhelm at The Stream - 1 day ago

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One Weedy Species

gail zawacki at Wit's End - 1 day ago
Following is the transcript for my Fifth Dispatch from the Endocene. The Extinction Radio Link is embedded at the end, where my segment begins at 1:29 minutes in. The next installment airs Sunday, July 5. Thanks to all the producers and contributers for a truly unique show! Greetings listeners, and welcome to the fifth Dispatch from the Endocene. I want to thank Extinction Radio for hosting another episode on their website, where they will be posting links for further reading on the topics in this segment. Last week I said I expected to be talking about the ghastly moose situa... more »

Quote of the Day: On trusting your newspapers ...

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 1 day ago
“Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. Paper's full of them. In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national o... more »

Late night musing , playing the " What If's " on things bugging me about Greece ....

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 day ago
Art of War..... Pian One.... - *If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.* Pian 6 ..... *All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved* Pian 11 [11.01] The principles of ... more »

Survey Shows New Attitudes About Food Safety, Shopping Preferences & Food Allergiess

WTStaff at Waking Times - 1 day ago
*Infographic - *A growing share of the public is calling for GMO labeled foods and prefer organic foods. Here are some findings about shopping preferences based on a recent survey. The post Survey Shows New Attitudes About Food Safety, Shopping Preferences & Food A