Fair Use Note

WARNING for European visitors: European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies. You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. Learn more about this notice and your responsibilities.

Thomas Paine

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

19 November - Weekend Edition - Feedly

U.S. Navy Mechanized Landing Craft (LCMs) are ...Image via Wikipedia

Lagoa Rodrigo de FreitasImage by andreasnilsson1976 via Flickr
Cristo Redentor statue on top of Corcovado, a ...Image via Wikipedia
On the Cable Car to Pão de Açucar - Rio de Jan...Image by Juan_Carlos_Cruz via Flickr
Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio de JaneiroImage by Andre Havro via Flickr
Flibe Energy
will develop small modular reactors based on liquid-fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) technology.

How Online Learning Companies Bought America's Schools

policies designed to boost the bottom lines of education-technology companies are cast as mere attempts to improve education through technological enhancements, prompting little public debate or opposition.

Vyacheslav Danilenko, Nuclear Weapons Scientist?

Juan Cole questions the accuracy of the IAEA report on Iran. “A key allegation in the IAEA report on Iranian nuclear activities has fallen apart,” he says. He bases this claim on an article by Gareth Porter, which supposedly shows that “Vyacheslav Danilenko, a Russian scientist referred to without being identified in the report, is not a nuclear weapons expert.” Instead, Cole says, “His field is nanotechnology (making tiny machines), and Iran has been looking into making diamonds with nanotechnology, bypassing the middle man.”

Cole’s concern is understandable, given the way the Iraq war was sold. A number of circumstances are different this time:* the Obama administration is not explicitly looking for war as was the case with the Bush administration, and this report comes from an international body, the IAEA, rather than the American government.

* There's an assertion challenged by the Nobel Peace Prize winner's love of drones and the opening up of new killing fields - not to mention undercover assassinations of Iranian military and government officials, the Green Revolution and BBC Persia ( our UK partners masters in world economic domination )


 We Are the Many - Mankana


Vulture's Picnic - Greg Palast Investigative Fund

Chapter One of Vultures’ Picnic by Greg Palast

 In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates and High-Finance Carnivores

Occupying American Foreign Policy

"The nexus of power that Occupy is looking to challenge in this country does not stop at Wall Street. Military profiteering is an integral part of the system and it should be challenged."

The IPCC report on extreme climate and weather events


Cassioaeapia
The Wave Series. “The Wave” is a term used to describe a Macro-cosmic Quantum Wave Collapse producing both a physical and a “metaphysical” change to the Earth’s cosmic environment theorized to be statistically probable sometime in the early 21st century. This event is variously described by other sources as the planetary shift to 4th density, shift of the ages, the harvest etc., and is most often placed around the end of 2012. The Wave Series includes a UFO abduction account, a transcript of an actual hypnotic regression session, that refers to a global cataclysmic change. Please note that we do not, however, subscribe to the notion that such events can be exactly predicted as to whether or when they might occur. Quantum physics talks about statistical probabilities, not prophetic certainties.
The Wave series of articles demonstrates the unique nature of the Cassiopaean Experiment. In her skillful collecting of the pieces of the puzzle from throughout the transcripts, in-depth research, personal experiences, then weaving them into a finished product, Laura brings added depth and dimension to the original transmissions. Laura presents what the Cassiopaeans – We are YOU in the future – have to say about the eventuality of The Wave – FROM the future – including an exploration of the limitations of man’s present estate, in cognitive, biological, historical and ontological terms.


storyful.com
Greenpeace activists poured oil and created oily bird footprints on a Rio de Janeiro sidewalk on Friday, as part of efforts to highlight an oil spill in the Atlantic ocean.

www.petroleumnews.com
In advance of an upcoming hearing on whether BP violated its criminal probation in Alaska, federal prosecutors and company lawyers on Nov. 14 filed briefs outlining their positions on the matter. If the paperwork is any indication, the hearing promises to be feisty. Prosecutors say a November 2009 p...

A federal judge has decided that Alabama and Louisiana cannot rely on state laws to recover damages for the August 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill accident. But the states may use federal statutes to collect monies from companies found responsible in federal courts for the environmental disaster.

www.allgov.com
He based his decision on the fact that the Deepwater Horizon oil platform was operating in federal waters, which meant maritime law trumps state law
Washington, Nov 19 (IANS): British oil giant BP has agreed to sell its Pompano and Mica oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico to Stone Energy Offshore, a subsidiary of Stone Energy Corp, for $204 million in cash, the British company said.
www.daijiworld.com
BP to Sell Two Gulf of Mexico Assets

In the space of one weekend, I was able to appreciate the talent and dedication of our local residents. Recently, the American Conservation Film Festival in Shepherdstown kicked off a weekend of movies related to the environment. A movie about the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill was followed by a panel discussion. John Amos, a local resident and founder of SkyTruth, used satellite imagery to prove the oil spill was much, much larger than BP claimed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/17/scientists-criticise-project-geoengineer-climate

www.guardian.co.uk
Advisers call into question decision to announce test date before sufficient public discussion of the project's implications
richmondiww.org
MINNEAPOLIS- In a major victory for the nation’s first fast food union, the National Labor Relations Board filed a legal complaint against Jimmy John’s today, validating union claims that the franchise owners Mike and Rob Mulligan violated labor rights by firing six workers who blew the whistle on c...
cupe.ca
To mark this important day, CUPE is calling on members to contact their MP in support of Bill C-279 - protections against discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression.

Weekend Edition The best content from your favorite sites


Politicol News 
Occupy America -Grab the Old Ladies
Politicol News - Independent Politicol News Occupy America -Grab the Old Ladies Occupy America -Grab the Old Ladies reminds one of a few lines in Neil Diamond songs for some reason, the feeling that arresting an 87 year old lady protesters just seem to be wrong. Grab the Old Ladies That is just what happened in Occupy Wall Street, a few [...]You just finished reading Occupy America -Grab the Old L
Gallery: Star-studded nominees of the American Music Awards
The biggest names of pop, hip-hop, country and beyond are up for awards at this year's glitzy and glamorous American Music Awards. Take a look at a few of the nominees.
"I Have Not Failed. I Have Just Found 10,000 Things That Do Not Work."
2 This quote from brilliant inventor Thomas Edison reminds us that even when our efforts don't seem to provide results, that doesn't mean we've failed or should give up. Consider them part of the process of finding what does work. More »

b

A Thanksgiving Feast: Recipes for an Unusual and Sustainable Dinner!
If there’s one thing we’re thankful for, it’s you, our dedicated readers. You’re curious about the world, and how to make it a better place. You’re dedicated to the planet you call home, and to finding new and fun ways to keep it (and yourself) healthy and happy. One of the [...]
84-Year-Old Woman Pepper Sprayed by Cops at Occupy Seattle
Well, this'll teach those lazy kids. Thankfully, the good men and women of law enforcement are here to help keep these dangerous mobs from getting out of hand!. Get a job, hippie! Am I right, Fox "News"?! * * * UPDATE 11/17/11: Wow. Olbermann's interview below with the woman seen above, the remarkable 84-year old Dorli Rainey --- who grew up in Nazi Germany(!) --- is an absolutely MUST SEE. Curr
Maple-Vanilla Panna Cruda - A Recipe from Full Moon Feast
This is an excerpt from Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection, by Jessica Prentice. The first peoples to harvest maple sap were the indigenous peoples of the northern woodlands, where the sugar maple, Acer saccharum, is both native and prodigious. For many cultures—the Anishnabeg (or Ojibway or Chippewa), Abenaki, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquody, Penobscot, Potawatomi, [...]

WordPress

Bare ruined choirs
I guess it’s the fall. I guess it’s the weather today. The harsh lead-and-pewter clouds, the promise of cold rain, the last of the leaves fading and ragged on the skeletal trees, their recent iridescent glory shrunk to this little measure of mottled brown. The ground poulticed thick with death and the wet smell of rot fogging the air.  It’s a cycle. That’s what we say.  That death has no dominion,
You want a tax on your fries with that? How to make taxes more fair
OK smarty pants, you say, you’ve been whining about economic inequality, and you’ve tossed out some ideas on Social Security and tax shelters, but let’s see you solve the whole freakin’ problem. OK, if you insist. For purposes of our discussion, you’ll need to refer to the accompanying chart. Before we get to the specifics of the proposal, let’s consider some interesting facts. With total US consu
All politics is local, and I think I need an anesthetic
Maybe it’s our neighborhood. Lots of old folks around, and they (I guess I’m getting to the age where I should say we) tend to vote. Plus, the area’s pretty white, pretty conservative, so I guess if I’m in charge of sending canvassers out to collect signatures to get Republicans on the ballot, I’d send them here, too. But they are starting to irk me. They must be running some kind of right-wing, c
Some thoughts on Occupy Wall Street and class warfare part three: Gimme Shelters
Everybody’s heard of tax shelters, but few U.S. citizens could tell you what they are, how they operate or what they cost the U.S. every year in lost tax revenue.  Which is curious.  Current U.S. Treasury Department estimates place lost tax revenue from individual tax payers due to foreign tax shelters at $70 billion a year.  By comparison, the Department of Defense spent about $80 billion last ye


Loading.Suzie-Q


Reefer Madness in Obama’s White House
Ethan Nadelman of Drug Policy Alliance calls a spade a ‘f’ – ing Shovel. salem-news.com Nov-08-2011 Dr. Phil Leveque (MOLALLA, Ore.) – I am completely flummoxed by the complete u-turn made by our president regarding medical marijuana. Nadelman in the NY Times on 7 November points the artillery and fires, what’s going on? In October 2009 he defended the use of medical marijuana and he promised
Mr. President: An Iran Attack on Israel Is Attack on US
A devious bit of propaganda from a couple of new York rats. I’s not like we haven’t noticed all of the right wing hawks chanting the same mantra about Irans nuclear capabilities. Global Warfare: Targeting Iran: Preparing for World War III Global Research, November 3, 2011 by Michel Chossudovsky The military deployment of US-NATO forces is occurring in several regions of the World simultaneously.
UK and U.S. ‘draw up joint plan to attack Iran’: Evidence of nuclear programme raises tension in Middle East
Whitehall figures say Iran is ‘newly aggressive – and we are not sure why’ Iran ‘has enough enriched uranium for four nuclear weapons’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushing for invasion Tel Aviv test-fires rockets capable of carrying nuclear warheads into Iran Report reveals China continues to supply Tehran with missiles and other conventional weapons Obama says nuclear programme rema


Local Food, meet Local Legislation
While Congress Cooks Up a Secret Farm Bill, Some Towns Get Creative in Supporting Small-Scale Agriculture
Farmageddon Uncovers Government’s Insane Campaign Against Small Farmers
New Documentary Film Examines Attack on Raw Milk Producers, Ranchers
Is Climate Scepticism a Largely Anglo-Saxon Phenomenon?
New Study Shows Sceptics Feature More Prominently in the UK and US media Than in Other Countries
PETA Lawsuit Might Force Us to Rethink our Relationship with Animals
“Orca Slavery” Case Against SeaWorld Questions Our Authority to Treat Other Living Beings As Property
Hunters Have Killed More than 180 Wolves in the Northern Rockies
Without Federal Protection, Bloodbath is Underway
Lies, Damned Lies, and the Public Relations Industry
In an Age of Information Warfare, We Must All be Forensic Scientists and Rhetoricians

Interview 412 – Pepe Escobar
Pepe Escobar, roving correspondent for the Asia Times Online, joins us once again for an in-depth discussion of “Pipelinestan,” the network of pipelines hardwiring the countries of Central Asia, Russia, and Europe in a strange and intricate energy corridor dance. We discuss some of the main pipelines and projects in the Caspian Basin and what these mean for the geopolitics of Eurasia.
Interview 411 – Julien Teil
Today we talk to Julien Teil, the creator of an important documentary on the lead up to war in Libya called “The Humanitarian War.” We discuss the background research that shows how well-connected NGOs constructed a case for intervention in Libya without any evidence whatsoever to prove what they were alleging. We also talk about the possibility that we are watching the exact same events playing o
New World Next Week – 2011/11/17
Welcome to http://NewWorldNextWeek.com – the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in alternative news and open source intelligence. This week: Story #1: Super Globalist to Replace Italy’s Berlusconi http://ur1.ca/5voe1 Update: Reserved Anti-Berlusconi Mario Monti Sworn In As Italy’s Prime Minister http://ur1.ca/5voe6 Greece’s Papad
Interview 410 – James Evan Pilato
Welcome to http://NewWorldNextWeek.com – the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in alternative news and open source intelligence. This week: Story #1: Super Globalist to Replace Italy’s Berlusconi http://ur1.ca/5voe1 Update: Reserved Anti-Berlusconi Mario Monti Sworn In As Italy’s Prime Minister http://ur1.ca/5voe6 Greece’s Papa
Corbett Report Radio 013 – The Solution
The problems are many, and we are all well aware of them: endless wars of aggression for the furtherance of empire; an economic system that has been engineered to put us into unpayable debt; an encroaching police state that is trying to cinch the noose of control even tighter around our necks. Tonight on Corbett Report Radio we take your calls with wide-open phone lines as we provide the answer to
Interview 409 – Wayne Madsen
Today we talk to investigative journalist Wayne Madsen of WayneMadsenReport.com about his new article, “War Clouds Form over Iran,” detailing the latest indications that Washington is heading to open confrontation with Iran at the behest of Israel. We discuss the signs that a war with Iran is being prepared, talk about Israel’s interest in confronting Iran and explore how the Israeli lobby is atte


Why I’m not a Labour supporter
I recently said why I’m not a Tory. In the interests of balance, I’ll say why I’m not a Labour supporter. On Liberal Conspiracy I recently posted that: Public spending went up from 36% of GDP in 2000 to 48% of GDP in 2010. If the UK economy grew at an average rate of 2% over those years, that’s an increase of 63%. This is a vast sum of money, and if public services did improve by 63%, I certainly
Libyan militias fight each other
CNN: The Libyan war may be over, but rivalries rage on among some regional militias, leading to a mutual distrust that poses a challenge to the new leadership. Earlier this week, the rivalry was evident when dozens of fighters clashed at a Tripoli hospital in what residents said was the biggest armed confrontation in the capital in weeks. The National Transitional Council needs to put a lid on thi
Occupiers, Pirates, and the Labour Party
Jon Worth sees similarities between the Occupy movement and the Pirate Party: The Occupy movements are about the values of the left [...] They have Mac laptops and use the free wifi at Starbucks, to the consternation of the right wing blogosphere. These are the very sorts of people who, from the late 1960s onwards, formed themselves into punk and green movements, creating the Green Party in German
Democracy is tolerated until it threatens the 1%
From Charles Hugh Smith (my emphasis): Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s call for a citizens’ referendum to decide the future of Greece is direct participatory democracy in action. Yet the European leadership and the Elites who need global markets to remain in nosebleed territory are outraged by this unscripted emergence of democracy. The absurdly hostile reaction to democracy in action rev
Why I’m not a Tory
The pay of directors of top companies rose by 50% last year, compared with averages rises in private sector pay of just 2.6%. Commenting on the injustice of this, Tim Montgomery says: Earlier today a report from Income Data Services noted that pay for the directors of Britain’s top businesses rose by 49% over the last year once salary, benefits and bonuses were counted. These increases were much g
Should Britain have a referendum on withdrawal from the EU?
So, should we? In the general case, the people should have a referendum on whatever policies they want to. These will typically be ones that the people conside important and where the government is perceived to be thwarting the will of the majority. The way to decide if that’s true of a particular question would be to use a revamped version of the government’s epetition websites. If the number of


Qurtaba released “Urdu Writer App”
  Qurtaba has launched a mobile app  named “Urdu Writer”, the app allows you to write in Urdu language using your iPhone keyboard and you can send it as a SMS, email, share it on social media (Facebook, Twitter and on other social media sites). This app allows people to use urdu language for communication, it will specially be attractive to people who live abroad but want to some times feel the sw
Of People and a website; Pakistan’s Social Media scene
Social media needs to introduction; it is so intrinsically sewed into today’s marketing and technology DNA as furniture is to a home. For something so infant, it has grown rather rapidly. To say it has matured would perhaps be incorrect, as the innovation and evolution is still underway. Perhaps we can all agree that while internet provided the world with a connected global village, social media f

Help Increase Nuanced Racial Representation in The Media
If you can  spare a few bucks (every dollar helps) please consider kickstarting this great film project!   Synopsis Cedric and Tiffany, two college friends, realize their feelings for each other and after an illicit night together, decide to make a pact. They vow to end their respective relationships in order to build one together. When one of them cannot follow through on their promise, the oth
I Got Your Book: Signal Boosts
I’m still reading — and enjoying Moondancer Drake’s Ancestral Magic. Until I get the chance to do an actual review, here’s a couple of fabulous signal boosts. :) Ahem! Delux_Vivens linked to Inside the Favelas Linda Addison has a new collection out, entitled How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop continues to wow  Nisi Shawl gets interviewed Amal El-Mohtar ha


TV show "All-American Muslim": An all-American reality show
A new unscripted show about a handful of Muslim families from Dearborn premiered on TLC this weekend. Like many other American Muslims, I waited anxiously for the show “All American Muslim,” hoping it would put a more human face on our community through a mainstream media outlet. I watched patiently as one Arab family after another introduced themselves and tried to highlight how their multiple id
Conflict in Somalia: A message to Al Shabaab
An alarming call recently arrived from Somalia. The intended audience was Somali youth — like me — living in Canada. According to CBC News, the Al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group Al Shabaab has released an audiotape calling for terrorist attacks in a host of countries — including Canada. A suicide bomber, believed to be an American citizen, urges young people to rise up and murder non-Muslims.
Hajj 2011: A Democrat’s prayer in Mecca
O Lord, here I stand, in front of the house that Abraham built, to ask for Your mercy. Here I stand, together with millions of pilgrims from every corner of the earth, to ask for forgiveness, seek Your blessings and affirm Your majesty. At this most ancient of rituals, I circle the Ka'ba, walking softly upon the cool marble of this sacred house, as if I were but a drop of water in a sea of hum
Eid al-Adha: Some prayers last longer than others
There are millions of Muslims on the verge of concluding their pilgrimage (hajj) in Mecca; by the time you read this, they're already finished, exhausted and sharing the meat of a sacrificed animal with family, neighbors and the poor. Across the world, hundreds of millions more are putting on their Sunday finest -- thanks to God and the moon and the curvature of space-time for complying with the s

EDL leader continues to reveal his disturbing attitudes
English Defence League leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka “Tommy Robinson”) gave an interview to Adrian Goldberg at BBC Radio West Midlands on 22 October 2011. It’s available via Youtube here. Yaxley-Lennon made some particularly self-incriminating statements towards the end: “The black community and the white community in Birmingham are treated with iron fists. The Islamic community are treated wi
We’re planning to disrupt Anjem Choudhary’s Remembrance day demo
Extremist Muslim group Muslims Against Crusades are planning their annual Remembrance Day stunt again, on 11th November. The Daily Mail, which always reports on their actions in advance, says the demo, which will mock the charity for injured soldiers Help for Heroes, is due to take place outside the Royal Albert Hall, the same location where a poppy was burned last year. The Muslims Against Crusad
New report into the EDL shows most political overlap with the BNP
The think-tank Demos have published a report into the English Defence League. There report is here. They say: While leaders of the EDL claim they are a pluralistic, liberal movement that is fighting Islamic extremism, chants heard at demonstrations and the vitriol frequently posted on the EDL’s chat forums suggest otherwise. It is in this context that we have undertaken the first ever large-scale
Happy Diwali
Pickled Politics would like to wish our Sikh and Hindu readers a very Happy Diwali. Hindus around the world celebrate Diwali (the “festival of lights”) for a range of reasons, most popularly to commemorate the return of the victorious Hindu deity Rama to the city of Ayodhya, as described in the Ramayana. The inhabitants of the city decorated it with lamps to celebrate Rama’s return. The festival

Nature Jumps Into the Sexism Morass
I saw this the other day, read the first few sentences and couldn't figure out what was going on. Or didn't want to believe that Nature, the premier British scientific journal, was publishing adolescent male musing on how different the female sex really is. But there it is. I found this today, from the Journal of Are You Fucking Kidding, of which the editor-in-commandant is apparently a sister che
Bits and Pieces - November 18, 2011
I think we need to continue to hear about that Norwegian massacre last spring, but I'd also like to hear about how the Norwegian people are recovering. The American MSM aren's much covering either.This isn't good. OTOH, doesn't seem like there's much of a move toward intervention in Syria anyway.The legions and the auxiliaries in Rome and America.Are psychologists sexing up their research?Seymour
What Kind of Innovation Do We Need?
The Atlantic's website is featuring a section on innovation. I would like to subscribe only to certain parts of that website, but that doesn't seem to be possible, so I'm getting this innovation stuff too.I grew up during the fifties and sixties, so I was as wide-eyed about innovation and space and transistors and computers and cars and neat stuff as any math-crazy young girl of that period. It wa
Vyacheslav Danilenko, Nuclear Weapons Scientist?
Juan Cole questions the accuracy of the IAEA report on Iran. “A key allegation in the IAEA report on Iranian nuclear activities has fallen apart,” he says. He bases this claim on an article by Gareth Porter, which supposedly shows that “Vyacheslav Danilenko, a Russian scientist referred to without being identified in the report, is not a nuclear weapons expert.” Instead, Cole says, “His field is n
Cattley Guava
Photo by mmmavocado, Flickr
Bits and Pieces - November 13, 2011
CBS did a poll on the topics covered in Saturday night's Republican debate before the debate. The country doesn't agree with the candidates.Photos of a new volcanic island growing off El Hierro in the Canary Islands.A really good review by Henry Kissinger of a new biography of George Kennan by John Lewis Gaddis.Resources on Fukushima from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.How s


Me and my left knee
We were on the train last night coming back from London to Cambridge when WotN pointed out that I was sitting with my left knee jutting out into the corridor, where it might obstruct people. My immediate thought was to pull my knee in and so remove the potential obstacle, but I hesitated. Should I treat my knee as a simple adjunct of myself and deny it any autonomy? Perhaps it had decided to join
Empathy for the Iranian regime
Arguing for the rationality of Iran's wanting to acquire nukes, Mehdi Hasan writes this paragraph:Then, of course, less than a thousand miles to the west, there is Israel, your mortal enemy, in possession of over a hundred nuclear warheads and with a history of pre-emptive aggression against its opponents.Mortal enemy, with a history of pre-emptive aggression. You might easily gain the impress
Occupy to forget
I suppose some allowance ought to be made to each generation so that it may think it has invented the wheel. But if its spokespeople want this indulgence they should at least try to give the claim a certain style, a bit of panache. Here's a guy, James Rose ('media consultant, blogger and author'), who is praising the Occupy Movement for having colonized 'social and cultural space&#
Streep as Thatcher
Meryl Streep is an actor I admire enormously, one of the greats of her generation; but in The Iron Lady she's now playing the part of Margaret Thatcher, a politician I detested. Assuming Streep does the brilliant job on this that we can expect of her - as by some accounts she does - will I have enough detachment that her performance will overcome the intense desire not to look, not to hear that vo
Wrath about Philip
I know it's kind of pointless to argue over differences of literary taste. Love Jane Austen? There are others who don't. Dickens? Ditto. And in fact it doesn't matter who the writer is. He or she will get up somebody's nose. Still, if there's an opposing point of view on a writer you like, you're going to want to point out why you're more impressed with that writer'
The need for Holocaust accuracy
In a discussion of Simon Baron-Cohen's The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty Lawrence Langer charges its author with a series of mistakes, of a more or less serious kind. These relate to the Holocaust - as Langer comments, an obvious source for examples of 'cruelty and evil in our time'. One might think that, given the number and the scope of the horrors involved,


More Fashionable Left Stupidity
The fashionable left continues its attempt to co-opt and elevate gangsters and violent thieves by an extremely poor article in the Guardian on the Duggan shooting. The Guardian acknowledge that Duggan had a gun, and that it was loaded, but call him “unarmed” on the basis that it was in a shoebox. The police, incidentally, deny that. It is still completely beyond me why so many commenters on this
St Andrews Iran Debate
I am happy to report that at St Andrews the motion “This House Would Resort to War to Prevent a Nuclear Iran” was defeated by about 90% to 10%. More down to the students good sense than to my speech, I think. As St Andrews is not exactly a bastion of left liberalism, I was rather pleased by this. Particularly as the debate took place not far from the Werritty parental home…
Executed Britons
The two British men executed by US drone attacks in Pakistan were not killed in combat. They were assassinated while going about normal life. This is a most barbarous practice, which amounts not just to execution without trial, but to inaccurate execution killing many who were never accused in the first place. Being British does not make these particular victims more important than the thousan
Patriotism Cloaks the Scoundrels
It is very sickening to see Cameron, Osborne and Johnson dressing up their opposition to a financial transaction tax as a defence of the UK against Europeans. Reducing the attraction of multiple financial speculative transactions is an obvious step in reforming the crazed world of fantasy finance. If it did reduce the concentration of speculative centres in the City of London that would in the l
Bibi’s Official Genocide Policy
Much is made in the rush to war with Iran of Ahmadinejad’s alleged saying that Israel should be “wiped off the map”. I am not an Iranian speaker and not qualified to enter the debate as to whether that is, or is not, an accurate statement. I view Ahmadinejad as a thug anyway, irrespective of any linguistic quibble. But it is quite astonishing that Netanyahu’s decalred, published and open inten
Iran War Debate
I may not be able to post tomorrow as I am travelling all day from Ramsgate up to St Andrews to take part in a debate, speaking against the motion that “This House Would Resort to War to Prevent a Nuclear Iran”. The debate will be in Lower Parliament Hall in St Andrews, starting at 19.30 on 17 November. I am sorry I can’t tell you yet who else is participating, because as with all highly topica


Occupy Houston Holding Meeting On Next Steps
Occupy Houston is holding a meeting later today about the next steps of the movement here in Houston. I won’t be able to attend, but you should try to attend if you are able. There is so much to be hopeful about as we move ahead. Here are details of the meeting— Nov. 19th from 2- 4:45pm in the Program Room of the Houston Public Library Come out to this discussion where we will be addressing 3 main
Occupy Dallas Not Giving Up Despite Attack On Freedom Of Assembly—Occupy Dallas Rally On 11/19
Despite being raided, Occupy Dallas is not giving up. You can bet that no Occupy effort in the nation will give up because they have been raided. Here is the Occupy Dallas website.  Hard work and sticking to it is what made this nation great. This is the etchic that will lead Occupy Wall Street and related efforts to success. See above for an Occupy Dallas event later today on 11/19. Here is the
Occupy Houston And Occupy Wall Street Moving Ahead—Please Consider Taking Part In An Occupy Effort Near You
Thank you to the Occupy Houston protestors to marched yesterday in Downtown Houston. Regretfully, I was not able to attend this march which was held in part to mark two months since the beginning of the Occupy effort in New York city. (Both photos in this post are from the Occupy Houston Facebook page. Above are folks in Market Square Park getting set to march yesterday afternoon. Below are non-v
You Have To Stay Your Own Course
When the police state raids Occupy camps, the Tea Party and libertarians are nowhere to be found protesting an aggressive and violent government. When finally a movement starts that opposes economic injustice, many progressives calculate if and when it will be safe to support it. When a new Hispanic opportunity Council district is created in Houston after much fuss, hardly anybody votes. When the
Houston City Parks Have “First Amendment Expression Areas”—Why Is This The Case?
Did you know that Houston city parks have designated “First Amendment Expression Areas?” (Above–Houston City Hall Plaza is well-protected from any misplaced outbreak of free speech.)   They sure do. You might have thought that every part of a Houston city park was a “First Amendment Expression Area.” You’d be wrong at least as we are told by our Houston Parks and Recreation Department. From the P
Gingrich The Latest To Wade Into The Republican Far Right Tar Pit Of Oblivion
Newt Gingrich is currently the  leading anybody-but-Romney choice of far-right Republican extremists. At first it was Donald Trump who held this position. Then Michelle Bachmann. Then Rick Perry. Then Herman Cain.  And now, as mentioned above, it is Mr. Gingrich’s turn. This all reminds me of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. At the La Brea Tar Pits back in Ice Age times, a creature would fall

Police Pepper Spray Occupation at UC Davis
UPDATE: For additional video of the incident, go here. Amazingly, UC Davis is defending the actions of the officers by saying that they feared for their safety. Curiously, they didn't look very frightened as UC Davis police lieutenant John Pike calmly sprayed the students again and again.INITIAL POST: I arrived at UC Davis at 4:45pm shortly after today this afternoon for my public affairs progra
Over 3,900 Occupy Together Arrests in the US Since 9/24
UPDATE 2: Another Democracy Now! gem: AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to bring Stephen Graham into the discussion right now. We started speaking to him yesterday. He wrote the book Cities Under Siege: The New Military Urbanism. Just in from Britain, in Philadelphia. Can you talk about—as we were just speaking with the former police chief, Norm Stamper, of Seattle, and he oversaw the Battle of Seattle, how t
Occupy Wall Street Day of Action
UPDATE 7 (11:26 PM PST): Marchers in Greece in support of Occupy Wall Street: Note the lines of police officers on the right side of the picture.UPDATE 6 (4:27 PM PST): The NYPD estimates over 32,000 people in the process of entering the Brooklyn Bridge and crossing over it. Marchers extend from one end of the bridge to the other as they walk along the median passageway between traffic going in b
Occupation at Bank of America Building in San Francisco
55 people have been arrested during an occupation which is ongoing at the Bank of America building in San Francisco. Most of the participants are from UC Santa Cruz, with others from the occupations in Oakland and San Francisco. ABC 7 in San Francisco has live video of the police arresting protesters inside the bank on the first floor, which is also a high rise office building. For a ustream of
Tents Going Up in Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley
Apparently, Robert Reich is also about to speak to the crowd.

Pesticide Action Network
18 unread articles
mark these articles as read

Occupy the Pesticide Industry!
There are two things that PAN and Occupy hold deeply in common: (1) We know that corporate control of our government, economy and food system undermines our attempts to push forward real change. And (2) As government has failed to rein in the corporate occupation of our food and farms, we believe we must hold them to account ourselves. And so we move forward. PAN will bring the Big 6 pesticide c
Nourishing the roots of food justice
What a week! PAN and over 1,000 food movement activists from around the country have just wrapped up the Community Food Security Coalition’s 15th Annual National Conference, Food Justice: Honoring our Roots, Growing the Movement, which filled five days with stimulating field trips, workshops and discussion in Oakland and around the Bay area. As Jim Embry of Sustainable Communities Network in Ken
Panel finds EPA lowballing atrazine/cancer link
Atrazine is in the news yet again, as a panel of independent scientists call into question EPA's conclusion that the widely used herbicide is "not likely to be a human carcinogen." For several specific cancers — including ovarian, thyroid and non-Hodgkins lymphoma — there is clear "suggestive evidence" linking atrazine exposure to increased cancer risk, according to a r
Safer fields for farmworkers long overdue
Today, PAN and our partners at Earthjustice and Farmworker Justice filed a legal petition demanding that EPA act quickly to better protect farmworkers from hazardous pesticides. These much needed changes would be the first improvements in farmworker protection rules since 1995. The move is long overdue. read more
Simmering in strawberry country
Despite the cooler weather, things are simmering in California’s strawberry country this week. Santa Cruz County passed a unanimous resolution against methyl iodide on Tuesday, and other local governments are also stepping up in the effort to ban the cancer-causing pesticide. But pesticide manufacturers and fumigant applicators aren’t taking the news sitting down; they’re doing everything in t
Dangerous rat poison still on shelves
Back in 2008, EPA declared that certain pesticide products designed to kill rats pose an “unreasonable risk” to children, pets and wildlife. Agency officials recommended these products be pulled from the market immediately. So they should have disappeared from store shelves long ago, right? Wrong. Sadly, the national law governing pesticides (including rat poisons) is so old, weak and cumberso

Armed cowards in masks
Reading Harebell's excellent take on my post about Blake's Balaclava law, I thought I might juxtapose a few images. The top is a riot cop at the G20 last year in Toronto. The second one is an Ulster Defence Force gunman, and the last is his opposite number in the Irish Republican Army.What these three individuals have in common is a demonstrated willingness to hide their identities like cowards wh
#jackbootshit: Five years for wearing a mask?
"Trouble...mob...riot?" Judging by his language, Alberta MP Blake Richards seems to see any protest gathering as something that should be illegal, because it is clearly "trouble" starting. “When trouble starts, people intent on criminal activity depend on being able to 'mask up' to conceal their faces with bandanas, balaclavas or other means to avoid being identified and being held accountable f
"Talkin' about a revolution"
Chris Hedges. Even NattyPo. H/t Bob.
Fetch the smelling salts, someone said "Fuck" on the internet
As I write this, the number one story under Canada on Google news is the report by the privacy commissioner about the government collecting too much information about us, especially at airports. The number two story is about a carpenter from Winnipeg saying "fuck you" someone (who was definitely asking to be told) on the Internet.Normally this would not be a story, but the carpenter in question is
"but commanders won't allow them..."
"...to write fuck on their airplanes because it's obscene."Go Pat.
Omg . . .
FIRST THERE WAS "METH MOUTH", now there's Krokodil Korrosion. According to a frightening report from Keith Veronese at io9, "Krokodil: Russia’s Designer Drug That Will Eat Your Flesh", some clever Russkies have developed a new designer drug that has horrific side-effects.It sounds like a direct-to-Netflix horror movie plot — a cheap, addictive drug available in a foreign land, that turns the user'

Sanctions Bite; Do Not Attack Syria; The Harasta Attack; The Arab League Delays as Damascus Contemplates Observers
An Aleppine friend writes: The mazout (fuel-oil) problem in Aleppo is coming from transportation risks. Trucks are being hit as they travel from Homs and Banias and their mazout is being either stolen or destroyed. Without safe transportation routes, Aleppo is finding it hard to get the needed mazout to be delivered. Another Aleppine answers: Yes I heard that the pipes serving Aleppo with fuel hav
Syrian Official Says Administration to Could Collapse in Six Weeks
The unnamed Syrian official who is interviewed in this article copied below from Hurriyet is quite knowledgeable about internal matters in Syria. He says that the sanctions strategy is working and will lead to regime collapse. He argues that most Sunnis remain loyal because of fear and have been prepared exit strategies. 60% of the 360 Syrian diplomats abroad are Alawi. Most importantly, he says,
Will Sanctions Bring Down the Syrian Regime?
Will Sanctions Bring Down the Syrian Regime? It is doubtful that sanctions alone will cause regime-change in Syria. Economic deprivation and reduced government spending does not usually lead to regime-change. It is hard to think of a Middle Eastern government that has been brought down by sanctions. Some of the countries that have faced sanctions for decades are Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Sudan. Of co
“Let’s Call Bashar’s Bluff” by Reinoud Leenders
Let’s Call Bashar’s Bluff By Reinoud Leenders Guest Opinion Piece Those who say that the Arab League initiative on Syria is already dead and buried, as could have been expected from anything generated by this dysfunctional and toothless ‘talk shop’, can and should be proven wrong. True, nothing tangible was achieved after the Arab League on 2 November committed the Syrian regime to withdrawing its
Off the Wall on Ghalioun’s Eid Speech
Off the Wall, who has begun writing a key blog on Syria, wrote this about a friend’s comment on Burhan Ghalioun’s Eid speech. It is worth copying in full. OFF THE WALL | November 8, 2011 at 8:00 am Dear All, Here is my detailed response to Joshua’s Friend’s comments, which i think were very sympathetic to the revolution. I will get probably get some heat for this, but we are not here only t
Opposition Parties Fight in Cairo; Feltman Claims Sanctions Effective and Assad’s Days Numbered, Eyes on Turkey
Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser has been travelling to Russia, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanese banks are being asked not to open any accounts in Lebanon to any Syrian even in euro…without Lebanese residency. Syrian troops have been withdrawing from Homs after a bloody confrontation with protesters there who have been demanding regime change and freedom. Over 100 people have

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka...
The former army chief who blew the whistle on the war crimes committed in the final stage of the country's civil war has just been sentenced to another 3 years in prison. Seeing as the evidence that atrocities were committed is overwhelming, we should remind ourselves that it wasn't so long back that our former defence secretary (with Adam Werritty in tow, naturally) was visiting the country to d
A further dalliance in the wonderful world of Nadine Dorries.
For those like me who have become a little tired of the way Nadine Dorries has been turned into a bogeywoman by the internet left in this septic isle of ours (and my own very small role in that is not beyond criticism) then it's worth giving Tim Ireland's on-going dissection of the letter sent by the MP for mid-Bedfordshire to the then chief constable of her patch a read. Not only does she accuse
"This country really is fucked, isn't it?"
Earlier in the year I had the pleasure of seeing Simon Munnery's latest show, which he performed to about 25 of us in the salubrious location of a cafe masquerading as a comedy venue. Feeling obliged to say something to him after what must have been a discouraging turnout, I mentioned his appearance on Newsnight a few weeks before (which sadly it seems has not made it onto YouTube), appearing on
It never ends (or some pun involving the prime of Mr Brodie (Clark)).
One of the main reasons why politics attracts the most anally retentive of obsessives, such as people who write interminable blogs for years on the subject, is simple: it never fucking ends. Well, it sort of doesn't: most sports at least have a close season, although in football this has since been replaced by endless transfer rumours, interrupted only by the World Cup or Euro Championships every
Stupid question, stupid answer.
Health secretary Andrew Lansley is to announce that he is prepared to sack NHS bosses who attempt to save money by rationing treatment or making patients wait longer for operations.So when exactly is Lansley going to sack himself?

Ron Paul, The Invisible Candidate, Scores Big In Another Iowa Poll
by Walt Thiessen:    For the second time in the same week, an independent poll shows Ron Paul in a statistical tie with Herman Cain for the lead heading into the Iowa Caucuses.
Direct Democracy?
by Modern Socialist:    Can we maybe rely on direct democracy to solve our country problems?
Ron Paul Exceeding Expectations In Iowa
by Walt Thiessen:    The invisible candidate is confounding his critics and conventional wisdom by rising to the top of the latest Iowa poll with just six weeks left before the caucuses.
A Palin supporter's review of Newt's legislative proposals...
by Mark Vogl:    Sealing the border, repealing Obama Care, balancing the budget, Gingrich may be gaining strength as GOP primary voters look at Gingrich's Contract with America!
Eurocrisis and Bankster Government: Diminishing the Free World
by John Kusumi:    We must begin to think of Greece and Italy as we used to think of East Germany: occupied by a marauding, evil, sociopathic force. We must deplore the situation, respond as best we can, and look forward to the day when Greece and Italy are free again.
The Rebel flag, a failed lesson in citizenship!
by Mark Vogl:    In Texas, a small group of patriots lost the fight for a license plate without firing shot!
Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments:

Post a Comment