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Cover of Crystal SingerSimply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time
Police Pepper Spray Occupy Albany Resisters for Clinging to “Info Tent”
I see that the PTB have had a talk with the leaders in Albany and let them know who they actually work for. Albany was a small bright spot in this dark repressive country but that small light has been crushed out.Petitioning the PTB will not get their attention, they have already made their intentions clear.
( Anne McAffrey wrote a delightful trilogy on Powers That Be. It took a space opera for them to `get theirs`...well before Avatar. I still haven`t finished the Crystal Singer stories. As for the Dragonriders of PERN....have you been under a rock not to know of them )
Fire Hydrant
Volkswagen shuts down after-hours e-mail, allows employees to have lives again
Who`s on First
World of Warcraft: Who's the Tank?
Stop Poisoning the Great Lakes
The Best Photography Blog Posts of 2011
You might say that blogs are a blessing and a curse – on the one hand, the freedom and ease of blogging means that almost anyone can do it, and so there are a million blogs out there to help you devour every topic imaginable; and on the other hand, anyone can do it and there are a million blogs out there making plenty of clutter…
The Real Iran the U.S. Doesn`t Want You to See
World War Three set up by the Elites
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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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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 Green Movement has Done a Really Bad Job at Inspiring People’
Interview: David de Rothschild
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
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
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
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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
bastard.logic 3 unread articles mark these articles as read
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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!
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
Syria Comment 8 unread articles mark these articles as read
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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
altmuslim 5 unread articles mark these articles as read
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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 2 unread articles mark these articles as read
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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 4 unread articles mark these articles as read
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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 2 unread articles mark these articles as read
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This is a Facebook message I just found hidden in my inbox (sometimes Facebook...
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?
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
red 37 unread articles mark these articles as read
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You Say It’s Your Birthday
Earlier this annum came the tale of the Mississippi man who attempted to abscond from a Winne Dixie supermarket with two bags of jumbo shrimp, a pork loin, and two live lobsters, wriggling abundantly there in his pants. I assumed at the time that this was a one-off. I assumed wrongly. For now we learn of the North Carolina man who elected to celebrate his 45th birthday by strolling into a Food Lio
It Is Accomplished
“I would like to go to the Lion’s Gate,” Raziel told him. The Romanian volubly refused. When Raziel realized that his driver’s mind was not about to be changed, he got out of the taxi and set out on foot for the Old City. Approaching the end of the Via Dolorosa, almost at the Lions’ Gate, above the shouting he heard a voice he knew. It was the voice of Adam De Kuff speaking from the upper quadrant
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
Craig Murray 23 unread articles mark these articles as read
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Merry Christmas to our Family
Having a wonderful family Christmas, and thinking of our community of blog commenters, hoping that nobody is lonely today. As regular readers know, my favourite carol is “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear”. Search for the lyrics and you will find that this verse is routinely censored out (missing from 8 of the first 10 versions on a google.com search for “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear Lyrics”): Yet
Free Speech for the Unlovely
I always seem to get back from Africa physically exhausted. I now have to tackle all the organisation of a family Christmas at the last minute. It is both the charm and disadvantage of this blog that the blogging is just me – it has no staff, and no revenue. That is not to devalue the contibution of the volunteer comment moderators – who help out with other things too – and the technical help f
Rent Culture
Ghana in general is a well balanced society with a good education system and a large middle class. But there is a huge social problem affecting those at the bottom of the ladder, which there appears no will at all among the political class even to acknowledge, let alone tackle, and that is rent. Ghana’s agricultural production has never collapsed, unlike Nigeria, and the traditional patterns of s
Military Rule
I have been against the hosting of the Olympics since the inception. It seemed a vainglorious waste of money, to enable politicians to wave the patriotic flag, even before they gave away all our money to the bankers. Now it is just crazy. It is also scarey. It has been announced that 13,000 military personnel will be policing the event together with 8,000 private contractors and 12,000 police.
Christopher Hitchens RIP
UPDATE In response to the outraged, my position is simple. The Iraq War killed hundreds of thousands and maimed millions. Dead or wounded included over a million children. Those who planned the Iraq war, including those who used media positions to propagandise for it, have lost entitlement to the signs of society’s respect. The world will undoubtedly be a duller place without Christopher Hitch
Thinking of Bradley Manning
My thoughts today are with Bradley Manning, on trial in the USA. He has been subject to solitary confinement, abuse and humiliation, with the sexual humiliation overtones (being kept naked) which seem to permeate US military culture in so many ways. The BBC is a disgrace. The reporter on BBC World just questioned “Whether Julian Assange manipulated and controlled an impressionable young man?” T
Texas Liberal 41 unread articles mark these articles as read
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Please Have A Nice And Safe Christmas Day
Please have a nice and safe Christmas Day. Thanks for reading Texas Liberal. Now step away from the computer or turn away from the mobile phone, and go say hello to family and friends. If you’ve had enough of such people by now on the holiday, then go read a book.
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
Pickled Politics 13 unread articles mark these articles as read
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Merry Christmas
Pickled Politics would like to wish our readers a very Merry Christmas. I think we’d all agree that 2011 turned out to be not only surprisingly eventful but also very unpredictable. A great deal has happened around the world during the past year, and it makes one wonder what is in store for the human race in 2012. Regardless of whether you regard Jesus as the messianic son of God, a prophet, a sa
Christopher Hitchens death is no reason to avoid criticism of him
The death of any prominent individual – let alone one who held controversial views – always results in a certain amount of aggravation as the skeins of supporters flock to various forms of media to have one final fight about the irreplaceable stature or utter irrelevance of the recently deceased. It’s the ‘real life’ equivalent of trying to have the last word BTL. To those involved its of upmost
Sunday Times investigation unmasks EDL’s wealthy strategists
The Sunday Times have formally investigated the English Defence League’s backers and have confirmed that two key individuals in particular are involved. You can read the full article here. A few extracts: A property tycoon and a City-based financier quizzed by police over his links to the gunman who slaughtered 69 people in Norway are exposed today as key figures behind the rise of the far-right E
‘Moral relativism’ – what Orwell actually said
This paragraph from Glenn Greenwald caught my eye: One other point: whenever you dare to suggest a comparison between the United States of America and whatever country happens to be the New Hitlers of the moment, you get accused of moral relativism. That has always struck me as so bizarre, because moral relativism actually refers to precisely what Orwell described: “Actions are held to be good or
EDL leader agrees with Anders Breivik, but psychiatrists declare Breivik insane
The mass-murdering Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik has been declared insane. In a 243-page psychiatric report following 13 meetings between Breivik and a team of psychiatrists, Breivik has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a severe psychotic mental disorder. It has been recommended that Breivik should be indefinitely confined to a secure unit at a psychiatric hospital, potentially for
Phronesisaical 20 unread articles mark these articles as read
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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
News Center PK 30 unread articles mark these articles as read
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Memo Issue- Irrational Leadership Behviour
By 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 outspokenl
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 17 unread articles mark these articles as read
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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
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?
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
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
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
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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
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