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Thomas Paine

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

Saturday, December 24, 2011

24 December - My Feedly

English: Reverse of the Great Seal of the Unit...Image via Wikipedia

Weekend Edition 

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Featured

Al Jazeera English
Shoe sparks stampedes across US
2 Police use pepper spray and make arrests as shoppers scuffle over Nike's limited release Air Jordans.
Hang Wrapping Paper Rolls in a Closet Ceiling
16 If you like to keep several rolls of wrapping paper on hand but don't have a handy place to store them consider screwing in anchors and running wire in a closet ceiling to create a gift wrap storage area that utilizes wasted space. More »
Corbett Report Radio 039 – Canada vs the New World Order
It may be Christmas Eve eve, but the New World Order never stops and so neither does The Corbett Report. Join us on this edition of “Friday Night Highlights” as we dip into The Corbett Report archives for important interviews on Canada’s role in the New World Order, and examples of people who are fighting back. Works Cited: The Globalization of War – GRTV Backgrounder Dr. James Beck on The Corbett

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How Amazon is cheating in its fight against your local bookstore
I don’t have a book on the market yet, so I don’t officially have a dog in the Amazon-versus-independent booksellers fight yet.  But I like to think I will someday, so maybe I have dog fetus.  You’ve heard the basic arguments, I suppose. Independent booksellers are the guardians of our reading culture – local businesspeople who care deeply about the titles they stock, staffed with book lovers that
To thine own self be true – Why I won’t be self-publishing
Nothing to do with self-publishing, but hey, it's the holidays I’ll be clear up front. I’ve got nothing against self-publishing per se. I’ve seen examples of kick-ass writers who couldn’t break through the traditional gatekeepers, but who built huge audiences online and either then have continued down that route to a new kind of publishing fame and fortune, or who then have signed blockbuster
In which I go all poetical on your ass V
I’m not a poet, but from time to time, I like to drop a poetry bomb on ya’ll just to keep you on your toes.  Hell, if I string some words together about pretty much anything and I don’t have somewhere else to put them, then they’re going up on the old bloggy-wog.  I’m not a blogging machine like Chuck Wendig, so I gotta use any chunk of word buffalo I find lying around just to keep the engine turn
The Gulf of Mexico is Dying
A Special Report on the BP Gulf Oil Spill By Dr. Tom Termotto It is with deep regret that we publish this report.  We do not take this responsibility lightly, as the consequences of the following observations are of such great import and have such far-reaching ramifications for the entire planet.  Truly, the fate of the oceans of the world hangs in the balance, as does the future of humankind. The

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Suzie-Q
5 unread articles
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Newt Gingrich Calls For Moving U.S. Embasy in Israel to Jerusalem
Well, it’s anther Christmas in Hooland and “The Grinch” just can’t stand it. With copious amounts of unpremeditated gall, he re-affirms his alliance with AIPAC, and CUFI “Christians United for Israel, Reverand John Hagee’s religious empire that has heavy ties with the occupation of Jerusalem. The old Grinch has decided to go sledding again, and we better be ready for him…G% OpEdNews December 22,
The Dictator
The Great Dictator is a comedy film by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940. Like most Chaplin films, he wrote, produced, and directed, in addition to starring as the lead. Having been the only Hollywood film maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was Chaplin’s first true talking picture as well as his most commercially successful film.[1] More import
The Republicans: They Are Who We Thought They Were
Addicting Info December 16, 2011 By Bryian Revoner After watching this latest Republican Debate on Fox News, one thing becomes clear, and that is the very real split between the insane and the reasonable. For whatever reason, there just does not seem to be any middle-ground in this GOP nomination grouping or the conservative trademark overall. This is why the conservative voters have had such a
Tea Party Patriots Founder Arrested On Gun Charges At Airport
Mark Meckler, founder of the influential Tea Party Patriots, was arrested early this morning at LaGuardia International Airport in New York City after he “tried to board a flight with a semi-automatic handgun and its ammunition in his luggage.” Meckler was charged with second degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony that could carry up to 15 years in prison, but he was released on his reco

The EnvironmentaList
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Sweden’s Forestry Industry Not So Green After All
Logging Companies Routinely Abuse Country’s “Freedom with Responsibility” Forestry Framework
Returning to Our Roots in Farming Can Help Tackle Climate Change
Agricultural Soil Across the World Can Reduce CO2 Levels by 13 Percent, Says Expert
Commonsense: Mercury in Fish Ain’t Good for You
Yet EPA’s Plans for New Mercury and Air Toxic Standards Face Sabotage by House Republicans
Mekong River Commission Postpones Decision on Controversial Dam in Southeast Asia
But it Might be too Early to Celebrate a "Reprieve" for the Mekong River
The Top Environmental Issues of 2011 — and the Year to Come
Challenges to EPA, Ozone Regulations, Mining in Powder River Basin, and Keystone XL Pipeline Among Top Concerns

The Corbett Report
66 unread articles
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The Globalization of War – GRTV Backgrounder
by James Corbett GRTV.ca December 23, 2011 A series of steps toward open confrontation with Iran, Syria and Pakistan have been making headlines for months now in both the alternative and mainstream media. Covered as essentially separate stories, however, few have so far connected these supposedly isolated incidents into a larger story about the creation of a zone of instability that is in fact eng
Corbett Report Radio 038 – Don’t Trust the Media
We often make the point on Corbett Report Radio that the corporate media is not to be trusted; they spin, lie, deceive, dissemble and confuse to further the political agenda of the powers that shouldn’t be. But that doesn’t mean that the alternative media is always right. Join us on tonight’s broadcast as we confront the corporate media lies about “Ron Paul’s Racist Newsletters” and correct a fals
New World Next Week – 2011/12/22
Welcome to http://NewWorldNextWeek.com – the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in open source intelligence news. This week: Story #1: The Changing Face of Pyongyang – Hereditary Succession Under Close Scrutiny of Elite US Policy Makers http://ur1.ca/6vbpr Related: Kim Jong-il Is Dead, Long Live Kim Jong-un! http://ur1.ca/6vbpx U
Interview 439 – 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 open source intelligence news. This week: Story #1: The Changing Face of Pyongyang – Hereditary Succession Under Close Scrutiny of Elite US Policy Makers http://ur1.ca/6vbpr Related: Kim Jong-il Is Dead, Long Live Kim Jong-un! http://ur1.ca/6vbpx
Corbett Report Radio 037 – Press for Truth with Dan Dicks
Dan Dicks of PressForTruth.tv joins us tonight to talk about the New World Order from a Canadian perspective. We cover the latest on the new Canada-US border agreement that threatens to further erode our national sovereignty, a new lawsuit in Canadian court to make the government use the Bank of Canada the way it was intended, and Canada’s pull out from the Kyoto protocol. We also listen to some o
The Manas Question: Drugs, Revolution, and Terrorism
[CLICK HERE to watch the full report on BoilingFrogsPost.com] by James Corbett BoilingFrogsPost.com 21 December, 2011 The Manas Air Base, situated near the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, has played a key role in the increasingly important Central Asian region since its inception. First opened in December 2001 to support the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the Manas Air Base plays host to the US Ninth

bastard.logic
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A Giraffe Hunter in a Ditch is Worth Two in the Bush. Or Something.
by matttbastard Newt teh Perfessor outdoes himself on the future of gender in an excerpt from a mid-90s lecture: Traditionally, he said, “if combat means living in a ditch, females have biological problems staying in a ditch for thirty days, because they get infections and they don’t have upper body strength.” On the other hand, in the space age, “if combat means being on an Aegis class cruiser m
…and Michael Moore is FAT!
2 Terry Glavin, last True Leftist™ in Canada, finds the late, lamented Kyoto treaty (and environmentalism in general) wanting — and apparently it’s all Al Gore’s fault. No, really: Kyoto could have been an instrument to force technological innovation in the world’s advanced economies in such a way as to clear a path for eventual and meaningful global reductions in greenhouse gases. But it didn’t tur
Priorities. They Can Has.
by matttbastard Noted w/o comment: Time Magazine covers – December 5, 2011 h/t

(title unknown)
7 unread articles
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A Christmas Lesson
A few weeks ago I took my 4 year old son Christmas shopping. At the church we attend, our family participates in a yearly charity sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse called “Operation Christmas Child”. We pack a shoe box with a variety of gifts, which is sent to children in “Third World” countries. I pack one for a boy while my wife packs one for a girl. I took my son to help me pick out the gifts. I 
“Silencing of the Black Conservative” by Lisa Fritsch
Op-ed submission by Project 21 Glenn Beck was more ahead of his time than I realized in 2009 when he aired his first program to prove the existence of black conservatives. Despite Beck’s assistance, we remain largely unseen on the news channels. As a black conservative advocate of how blacks should (and, in many instances, do) embrace conservative values for more than a decade, the media does not
sat’day riddymz
The late Puerto Rican song writer, Tito Curet Alonso, composer of about 2000 salsa songs, gave us some memorable songs. Here the late Puerto Rican Sonero Mayor, Ismael Rivera sings one of Curet’s most beautiful and inspiring song : Las Caras Lindas de mi Gente Negra – The Beautiful Faces of my Black people. Mr. Rivera in this song talks about how proud he is of his black race. He says that black p
“Why Kenya’s doing Bashir’s laundry?” by Nkwazi Mhango‏
Wrangles evidenced recently between Kenyan Judiciary and the executive over the ruling that Sudanese strong man, Omar Bashir, be apprehended shall he visit Kenya, left many analysts flabbergasted. One judge, Ncholas Ombija, made a historical ruling when ordered the Minister for Internal Security to see to it that when Bashir sets foot on Kenyan soil, he be apprehended and handed over to The Hague

Syria Comment
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Suicide Bombing Changes Nature of the Syrian Revolution
From Foreign Affairs Two suicide bombs outside of government security locations in Damascus killed 40 civilians and soldiers and wounded 100 according to Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad — as reported by the government’s Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The attacks have come after one of the most violent weeks since the beginning of the Syrian regime’s crackdown on uprisings nearly ten
Opposition Meets in Tunisia as Arab Observers Enter Syria and Deathrate Rises
As the economic situation in Syria deteriorates steadily and the death-rate rises with an increasingly militant opposition, there seems no resolution in sight to the fighting in Syria. The Arab League is sending observers to report on the violence, but it is unclear whether they will act as a balm or catalyst to the conflict. Both regime supporters and opposition may well try to demonstrate wherev
Assad’s Parallel Universe Suggests a Long Struggle
Assad’s ABC Interview with Barbara Walters – The parallel universe. This interview suggests that President Assad continues to see his fight to be against terrorists and external plots, as he has argued from the beginning. He denied that he is killing his own people and suggested that more Syrian soldiers have been killed than Syrian innocents. Whether he remains convinced of his rectitude, whether
Syria Places 30% Tariff on Turkish Goods; Conditionally Accepts Arab League Observers; Syrian Muslim Brotherhood: “To Hell with Syrian Identity”
Syria struck out at Turkey in response to Turkish sanctions by imposing 30% tariffs on Turkish imports. This will bring trade to a standstill between the two countries that had expanded their trade to well over 2 billion dollars a year. Syria also pulled out of the Barcelona Agreement for EU Partnership in reaction to EU sanctions. Aleppo and Damascus consume more than half of Syria’s mazoot (fuel
Burhan Ghalioun, Leader of Syria’s Main Opposition Group, Interview with Wall Street Journal.
Burhan Ghalioun, the leader of the Syrian National Council, Syria’s main opposition group, spoke with The Wall Street Journal Wednesday at his home in south Paris. It was his first major interview as SNC president. Below, an edited transcript. The Wall Street Journal: Do you feel there is momentum, despite criticisms that the Syrian opposition didn’t organize as quickly as the Libyans, building
Free Syrian Army getting attention
Turkey has slapped sanctions on Syria and floated the idea of a cross-border military operation, shortly after the Arab League imposed its own sanctions on the Syrian regime. From China Hand at China Matters According to Milliyet, as cited by IRNA, France has sent its military training forces to Turkey and Lebanon to coach the so-called Free Syrian Army — a group of defectors operating out of Turk

altmuslim
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"All-American Muslim" controversy: A litmus test
Talk to anyone in the Muslim-American community, and they are bound to give you a different take on TLC’s new, and now controversial show “All-American Muslim.” Some say that the show hits the nail right on the head in its portrayal of the entire spectrum of Muslims – from ultra-liberal, to moderate to orthodox. Conversely, many criticize the show as not being representative of the American Musl
Religion & politics: From Iowa to Cairo
Guess where in the world candidates for political office are pandering to religious conservatives, using religious imagery in political advertisement and participating in political forums in houses of worship? Where some voters are unwilling to support candidates because they do not belong to the majority faith, dismissing a candidate because they are women, and using religious purity as a litmus
Reflections: The Islamic tradition of courtesy
Since I woke up late that morning, I had to rush out without my morning coffee fix and ran toward London's Edgware Road station -- just five minutes away from the apartment where my family has enjoyed many summers. I finally reached the tube station and lined up to buy a ticket, because I did not have the right change for the machine. While I was waiting, I started calculating if a day pass would
Documentary "The Light In Her Eyes": The spiritual roots of a revolution
Women have been the heart and backbone of Islam from its beginnings. From the courage of Khadija, Prophet Muhammad's first wife and first convert, to the scholarship and fiery independence of his later wife Aisha; from the political genius of Muslim queens such as Egypt's Shajarat al-Dur and India's Nur Jahan to the spiritual wisdom of female saints such as Rabia of Basra, Islam has been shaped an

WORLD TRUTH TODAY
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Notification
This blogs entries have been moved to http://worldtruthtoday.wordpress.com/ I will no longer post anything here, although site will remain open for a while. Thanks Grace

Green & White
5 unread articles
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Tradekey.com
TradeKey.com is the world’s leading and fastest growing online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace that connects small and medium businesses across the globe for international trade.“We want to be one of the world’s biggest companies,” says Junaid Mansoor, the founder and CEO of Tradekey. According to Mansoor, an analysis conducted by a third-party expert valued the company at around $700 milli
Nokia Care Protect
Karachi -23rd November, 2011: Nokia Care Protect, extended warranty offer was launched at a local hotel today. Adding to consumer convenience, Nokia Care Protect is an extended warranty that can be purchased for nominal charges and offers mobile phone warranty service for additional 12-months after the original Nokia warranty expires. Based on our research, average phone life for a consumer in P
Stay for the work not the perks
This is a revelation that came to me when I recently quit my comfy corporate job for the second time. If you are below 40 and some one asks you about how is your job going and your answer is not in tune of “I like my job because I love the work”.  You need to pause and asses your career, last time I answered this question my answer was “I like the job, because the benefits are good”, and that made
Bloodline wins second runners up at Global Innovation through science & technology
Bloodline, which was a winner of first round of P@SHA Social Fund has also won globally. In the Global Innovation of Science and Technology (GIST) recently being held in Istanbul, Turkey Bloodline has been awarded a 2nd Consolation Prize of USD 5000. Bloodline aims to connect blood donors and people in need of blood through different mediums which include a central call center, mobile apps and fac

The Angry Black Woman
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This is a Facebook message I just found hidden in my inbox (sometimes Facebook...
2 This is a Facebook message I just found hidden in my inbox (sometimes Facebook’s habit of hiding messages works out in a person’ favor), from someone named Cameron Baird. I know people usually blot out the names of people who say ignorant things on Facebook. But, so much of my life went on display after Salon picked up my post about my medical abortion that I don’t feel like letting people like
What Happens When Class Warriors Ignore Race?
8 One of the things I think progressives who ignore history don’t understand is that just like racism is taught, so is distrust. Especially in Af-Am households where our parents & grandparents who have lived through Jim Crow, Cointelpro, Reaganomics, & the War on Drugs (better titled the War on Inner City Communities) talk to us early & often about how to stay out of trouble. My

Phronesisaical
24 unread articles
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Peace on Earth
Seems to be something we've sort of forgotten. Nicholas Burns asks if the word "peace" is disappearing from our national conversation.Stephen Walt points out that only those espousing a muscular (read: military-driven) foreign policy need apply for posts in Washington. Christmas is, as Walt points out, looked upon as the season of peace. The Prince of Peace. Peace on Earth. Peace to all our reade
Science and Secrecy - Continued
Here are some thoughts on the subject from Michael Eisen, who knows a lot more about building viruses than I do. His uncertainties are worth considering, although I disagree with his bottom line and will explain why.One of the things I should have written, but didn't, in my previous post (I know, no credit for that!) was that we don't know how well these modified viruses will survive in the real w
Science and Secrecy
Biological weapons have a serious drawback: they consist of entities that reproduce themselves. That means that they can get out of control and infect everyone, not just those they are aimed at. This is the reason that bioweaponeers look for diseases most of us find exotic: they want bacteria that will infect the targets but not spread so easily that they are a danger to those using them.The big n
Solstice
O dark dark dark. They all go into the dark,The vacant interstellar spaces, the vacant into the vacant,The captains, merchant bankers, eminent men of letters,The generous patrons of art, the statesmen and the rulers,Distinguished civil servants, chairmen of many committees,Industrial lords and petty contractors, all go into the dark,And dark the Sun and Moon, and the Almanach de GothaAnd the Stock
Bits and Pieces - Vaclav Havel Edition
Some very good material in these three links and their links. Havel retained his integrity under the Soviet regime and then helped to remove it.Vaclav Havel on Intellectuals in Politics.Vaclav Havel's Critique of the West.Vaclav Havel on true leadership in times of crisis.
Christopher Hitchens - Updated 12/20/11
Christopher Hitchens died this week. Death by esophageal cancer is ugly, and it must have been a terrible year for him and his family.But he’s not one of the writers I’ve looked forward to reading. I’ve read many of his pieces because they were talked about, or because they appeared in magazines I read. They were smoothly done, and I appreciated an occasional phrase or sentence.Of the articles I’v

red
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Reindeer For Rent
I am thinking that if Santa Claus needs any new or additional reindeer, he should consider the young’un cat. As can be seen in the photo below, the young’un cat’s eyes are extremely googly; they put out plenty of light, and are not bound by space or time. Paired with Rudolph, there at the head of the team pulling the sleigh, the young’un cat would guarantee that Santa would never get lost, no matt
Despertar Al Alba
(And so this is solstice. A time when humans, over many tens of thousands of years, have devoted themselves to Deep Thoughts. In the spirit of which, a piece that examines the “Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything.” That is: 42. An earlier version of this piece rambled on to red here.) In the cosmology of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, the “Ultimate
Flying Through Space
    Filed under: Eros, Into The Light, La Musica, Variations In B-Flat
Legend Of A Mind
It is Known that Rick Perry is a farm animal, the result of a failed Dr. Moreau-type experiment that sought to cross a man with a steer. It is further Known that this experiment was pursued by extraterrestrial beings, who have bred and/or assembled all the 2012 GOoPer candidates for the presidency; it apparently satisfies their alien sense of humor, this mucking about with the American political s
Many Mansions
(Here now the annual red reflection on the multi-dimensional Jesus of Nazareth, man of many multi-verses. Originally inscribed in 2009.) * * * In my Father’s house are many mansions. —John 14:2 Christmastime again is here, and so be Santa, and so be Jesus. A couple years ago, in contemplating Santa and Jesus, the two began to get confused in my mind. Santa Claus, for reasons that have never really
March Of The 차려입 펭귄
(A variant on a piece posted here in December 2010.) People are strange. It’s in all the reports. Let’s look at the Koreans. For they, in these times, have Christmas in their country, for no reason that makes any sense at all. Because Christmas is first of all about a martyred Jewish mystic who was snapped up by Saul the Roman carny-barker and transformed into a weirdsmobile pagan sun-king, in whi

News Center PK
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Memo Issue- Irrational Leadership Behviour
By Brig Zaheerul Hassan On the late night of December 21, 2011 another twist was given to the memo scandal, when the federal government, through the Ministry of Defence, conceded before the Supreme Court that it had no operational control over the armed forces as well as the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Next day, Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gillani in an irresponsible manner outsp
Christmas Day: Anti-Christian Campaign in India
By Sajjad Shaukat Although Christians are celebrating Christmas Day all over the world with fervour and zeal, yet like other religious minorities of South Asia, they have also remained target of other majority groups which include religious extremists in their ranks and files. As a result, these incidents take place when some biased leaders instigate the members of their parties against the Christ
Memo Issue – Baseless Maligning Pak Security Forces
By Brig Zaheerul Hassan Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) while rejecting reports of British newspaper said that DG ISI, Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha did not meet with any Arab Leaders from May 1-9 2011. DG ISI visited the Arab countries according to preplanned schedule and visit was aimed at discussing issues related with intelligence sharing with his counterparts. British newspaper publishe
Disreputing the Key Institutions for Vote Bank
By Sajjad Shaukat Scholars of international affairs agree that foreign affairs are too foreign to the citizens of a country. A renowned scholar, Prof. Hoslti opines that “issues and situations” have “influence on public opinion, which in turn influences the objectives and actions.  Judging in these terms, Pakistan is facing a number of challenges of grave nature, while Pakistan’s security agencies
Connections of the Memogate Scandal
By Sajjad Shaukat Although day by day, memogate scandal is unfolding new revelations, yet Pakistan’s defence analysts, political leaders and media anchors have ignored the real connections of the issue in wake of controversial debate. On December 15, this year, the Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and ISI Chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha submitted their concise statements in the Supreme
Bargaining Leverage in Pak-US Ties
By Sajjad Shaukat Bargaining leverage plays a key role when controversy arises over some issues between two countries. Unlike the major states, small countries are more vulnerable to the demands of big powers as our world system reflects unequal order, giving good leverage of bargaining to the US-led most developed countries. In political terms, powerful states impose their decisions on the weak c

Obsidian Wings
18 unread articles
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Words we need to import into English so I can describe my day
by Doctor Science A German friend points out that English could really use: Verschlimmbesserung, noun [from Verbesserung (improvement) and Verschlimmerung (deterioration/worsening)]: intended improvements or upgrades that end up making everything worse. Verb form: verschlimmbessern kaputtreparieren, verb ("kaputt" + "repair"): repair or tinker with a thing to the point that it becomes broken.
Sol Invictus
2 by Doctor Science Thea Gilmore, at YouTube. Link from R.G. The Claw of the Conciliator is the second part of Gene Wolfe's series The Book of the New Sun. It has the following epigraph, from Osip Mandelstam: In the distance disappear the mounds of human heads. I dwindle -- go unnoticed now. But in affectionate books, in children's games, I will rise from the dead to say: the sun!Wolfe says:Mande
where's the love?
2 by russell This had me in stitches.  Then, I was profoundly depressed for a couple of minutes.  Then, I scratched my head for about a half hour.  Then, I laughed some more. My favorite bit: Cooperman, 68, said in an interview that he can’t walk through the dining room of St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, without being thanked for speaking up.  The folks in the dining room of the S
How cleanliness sat down next to godliness
4 by Doctor Science I've been on a Dutch painting of the Golden Age kick recently, so I dug out Simon Schama's The Embarrassment of Riches and was noodling around in it, looking especially at how women's lives and work were portrayed. The most distinctive aspect of Dutch women's work was the constant cleaning:The spick-and-span towns shone from hours of tireless sweeping, scrubbing, scraping, burn
Baby you can drive my car
2 by Doctor Science Sorry about the lack of posting, gang. In addition to doing a lot of that "work" thing, I've been shopping for a used car. I don't know if anyone predicted, back in 1996 or so, how much that old-school business would change in the next ten years. Now, although buying a used car is still a pain in the butt, it's not a *nightmarish* one. Cadillac Ranch. I hadn't realized that t
Your teach the world open friday post
by liberal japonicus When you read the title, you should be hearing a bunch of louche pop stars sing-shouting out of tune. "Let them know it's Christmastime'. After you have finished muttering imprecations about me putting that song in your head, read on. The 'let them know it's Christmastime' is something that I've been thinking about a lot lately in regard to my dau

Texas Liberal
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What Is Open On Christmas Day?—Do You Really Need To Go There And If You Must Then Please Tip Very Well
What is open on Christmas Day? Whatever is open on Christmas Day, do you really need to go out to anyplace that is open on the holiday? If you do, please treat the staff of such places very well. Please tip very well. It is true that I often went out to a bar where a band was playing on Christmas night when I was younger. Christmas night was always a big bar night. Convenience stores are open on
Felony Charges Against Occupy Houston Protestors—When Will We Realize That The Freedom Of All People Is Connected?
The Occupy protestors arrested by Annise Parker’s police and charged with a felony  for engaging in civil disobedience by alleged moderate DA Pat Lykos are a matter of concern for every liberal, progressive, and civil libertarian in Houston and Harris County. (Above–A scene from the day the arrests in question took place.)  The freedom of all people is connected. This is the case if the issue is
The Occupy protestors arrested by Annise Parker’s police and charged with a felo...
The Occupy protestors arrested by Annise Parker’s police and charged with a felony by alleged moderate DA Pat Lykos are a matter of concern for every liberal, progressive, and civil libertarian in Houston and Harris County. The freedom of all people is connected. This is the case if the issue is the Houston police beating of Chad Holley, or the fact that gay folks in city employment in Houston are
Terrifying Santa Face Breads Want To Kill Us In Our Sleep
Here are some terrifying Santa face breads that I saw at the supermarket a few hours ago. I think they yearn for nothing more but to come to life and cut our throats as we sleep on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.
Occupy Houston Commentary On Felony Charges For Civil Disobedience
Occupy Houston and Occupy Austin protestors are facing felony charges for taking part in civil disobedience earlier this month outside the Port of Houston. The felony charges had at first been dismissed by a judge, but have now be reinstated by a Harris County grand jury empanelled by the Harris County District Attorney’s office. There is little doubt in my mind that these charges are about scarin
Occupy Des Moines Occupies Obama 2012 HQ
Occupy Des Moines patriots have set up shop at the Iowa headquarters of the Obama 2012 campaign. From the Des Moines Register– “Following two Saturday protests, Occupy Des Moines demonstrators have decided to establish an around-the-clock occupation outside of President Barack Obama’s Des Moines campaign office. The demonstrators teamed with Veterans for Peace and Iowa Citizens for Community Impro

Obsolete
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Don't walk away.
Merry time of the year to all visitors of this septic isle. I'll back at some point next week with my usual insipid ramblings on the state of music this year. Until then.
The revolution betrayed.
Great piece on the takeover of Egypt by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, via Paul Sagar.
As if things couldn't get any worse for Steve Kean...
Veterans of what used to be the terraces at football grounds are for the most part a tough, difficult to shock bunch. When even some of them then walk out during the first half of a game, not because of the performance of their team but because of the truly poisonous atmosphere their fellow fans have created, it's time to sit up and take notice. Regardless of how poor a manager Steve Kean, the f
The fading memory of Piers Morgan.
There are many unfathomable things in life. Sandwich toasters spring to mind. Robbie Savage. Mariah Carey. Jack Whitehall. How Nick Clegg keeps managing to get up in the morning. None however are quite as inscrutable as the success of Piers Morgan. Imagine for a second that a newspaper editor in the United States had published photographs purporting to show US soldiers urinating on an Iraqi
Lazy links.
'Tis the season for roasting turkeys, and Unity today ably carves up Nadine Dorries. Hopefully there won't be a fight over the parson's nose.Also worth a gander (groan), via the comments at B&T, is this piece from 2001 by Christopher Hitchens on North Korea. His politics may have become corpulent, but boy, could he write when he felt like it. Not sure he would have been pleased to have been

Centauri Dreams
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A Break for the Holidays
Best holiday wishes to all from Centauri Dreams. I’m now going on an abbreviated schedule, with no post today or on Monday. I’ll follow the same pattern next week as we close in on the New Year. The next regular post, then, will appear Tuesday December 27, and we’ll see what interesting news items accumulate between now and then. Let me also add thanks to the entire readership for high-quality com
Planets Survive Red Giant Expansion
The most interesting thing about the worlds known as KOI 55.01 and KOI 55.02 is not just the fact that they are — if current thinking holds — the smallest planets yet detected around an active star other than our Sun, but that they are evidently survivors of the most extreme kind of experience. KOI 55, their host star, is of subdwarf B class, the exposed core of a red giant that has lost most of i
Kepler Finds Earth-Sized Planets
I’m delighted that we keep finding solar systems so different from our own. The discovery of two new planets that are roughly the size of the Earth just confirms the feeling — in a galaxy of dazzling fecundity, every system we look at has its own peculiarities to instruct and delight us. The system around the star called Kepler-20 (from its designation by the space observatory studying planetary t
Update on Innovative Interstellar Explorer
by Ralph McNutt Because of the interest that the Innovative Interstellar Explorer mission generates whenever I write about it, I was pleased to receive Ralph McNutt’s latest update on IIE. This was written in response to a recent article in these pages on the Voyager missions and refers to several of the comments in that thread. I first talked to Dr. McNutt about interstellar precursors back in 20
Into the Planetary Rainforest
So-called ‘super-Earths,’ planets larger than the Earth but smaller than Neptune, pose problems to our theories of planet formation. The most recent illustration of this came in the announcement that the candidate planets found by Kepler had now reached 2,326. Remember, many of these will not be confirmed — they’re candidates — but taken in the aggregate, what is interesting here is that one-third
Spaceflight and Legends: A Dialogue with Michael Michaud
4 I’ve been hoping to publish a dialogue between Michael Michaud and myself ever since talking to him at the 100 Year Starship Symposium and pondering his paper “Long-Term Perspectives on Interstellar Flight.” Centauri Dreams readers will know Michael as the author of the must-have Contact with Alien Civilizations: Our Hopes and Fears about Encountering Extraterrestrials (Springer, 2006), and will a

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The Daily Dig: Can the FAA Stop Tired Airplane Pilots from Flying?
• After a deadly plane crash was blamed partly on pilot fatigue, the FAA announced new work rules this week to try to ensure that passenger airplane pilots are given enough time to sleep, so they aren’t too tired to Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Why the EPA is Cracking Down on Harmful Industrial Mercury Emissions
• The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday new limits on mercury emissions from oil- and coal-burning power plants and said the rules will save thousands of lives and bring other economic and health benefits. (NYT) (AP) • Police officers Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Is China’s Housing Bubble About to Burst?
• Because of a tightening in lending standards by the Chinese government, the white-hot housing market in that country appears to be slowing down after years of record sales and high prices. (LATimes) (Bloomberg) • A small plane headed to Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Why Are Airplane Passengers Forced to Turn Off Their Electronic Devices?
• An article by New York Times reporter Nick Bilton says that there is little evidence that electronic use by passengers impairs the ability of pilots to fly their planes safely during take-offs and landings. (NYT) • Cornell University announced Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Can Americans Make the Switch from Driving to Biking to Work?
• A cool new infographic touts the myriad health and environmental benefits of biking to work. (HuffPost) • An opinion article looks at why building out a high-speed rail system in the U.S. is a good way to revitalize America’s Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Why the Feds Continue to Back California’s High-Speed Rail Project
2 • Federal officials testified in front of a House committee on Thursday to voice strong support of the California Central Valley high-speed rail project, which has come under criticism from Republicans and others for cost over-runs. (LAT) (McClatchy) (SFGate.com) • Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Why Washington, DC’s Union Station Needs an Upgrade 2
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