Dawn light (Photo credit: exquisitur)
Inner and outer crater, Deriba Crater, Jebel Marra, Darfur, Sudan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A village in South Sudan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Picture of IDP camp in Sudan resulting from the Darfur conflict. Original captions states: "Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) use sticks and scraps of plastic to construct makeshift shelters at Intifada transit camp near Nyala in South Darfur. These shelters are characteristic of many IDP settlements in Darfur." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
-Khartoum,Sudan- (Photo credit: Vít Hassan)
Darfur Rally - Proverbs 21:13 (Photo credit: nickinglis)
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Romney To Deliver Commencement At Anti-Gay Liberty University
Think Progress By Igor Volsky on Apr 19, 2012 at 11:48 am Mitt Romney — who at an earlier point in his career had promised to advance the equality of gay and lesbian people — is scheduled to deliverthe Commencement address at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University on May 12, an Evangelical Christian college that refuses to recognize people or ideas that don’t adhere to its social conservative worldvi
Lilly Ledbetter Slams Mitt Romney, GOP On Fair Pay Issue
Huffington Post Posted: 04/18/2012 4:05 pm By- Laura Bassett Lilly Ledbetter, the woman who famously sued her employer after discovering she was being paid less than her male colleagues and who inspired the first piece of legislation President Barack Obama signed upon entering office, fired back against likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney after he declined to say whether he would have sig
New Digital Calculator Compares American’s Tax Rates to Mitt Romney’s
CHICAGO, IL — Today, Obama for America released a newdigital calculator that individuals can use to see how their tax rate stacks up against Mitt Romney’s – and then see what the Buffett Rule would do to make the tax code more fair so that we can help reduce the deficit and grow the economy. The calculator highlights President Obama’s efforts to close loopholes and end special tax breaks that le
Corbett Report Radio 115 – OKC Updates and Food World Order
In the first half of tonight’s program we are joined by James Lane and Holland van den Nieuwenhof of Radio Free Oklahoma to discuss the 17th anniversary of the OKC false flag attack of April 19, 1995. We discuss recent events and updates to the case since the release of their groundbreaking film, A Noble Lie. In the second half of the program we are joined by regular Thursday guest James Evan Pila
Interview 500 – Eric Draitser on Balochistan and Pipeline Politics
Eric Draitser of StopImperialism.com joins us for a discussion about Balochistan, a region in Southwest Asia that straddles Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Rich in oil and gas reserves and mineral deposits, and covering a geostrategic area, Balochistan is increasingly in the sights of both Washington, which is increasingly advocating for intervention in the area in the name of “human rights.” Also
New World Next Week – 2012/04/19
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: Becoming Full Member, India Will Strengthen SCO http://ur1.ca/91bkf Background: Meet the Shanghai Cooperation Organization http://ur1.ca/5ztd4 Related: Children of Immigrants to US Expatriating Th
Interview 499 – New World Next Week with 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: Becoming Full Member, India Will Strengthen SCO http://ur1.ca/91bkf Background: Meet the Shanghai Cooperation Organization http://ur1.ca/5ztd4 Related: Children of Immigrants to US Expatriating T
Corbett Report Radio 114 – The CAFR Swindle
It seems governments at all levels are constantly crying over their budget shortfalls, but what if those are crocodile tears and the shortfalls are actually windfalls? Tonight we shed some light on the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, the second set of books by which governments hide mind-boggling amounts of income from the public even as they pretend to be broke and ask for an even-greater
Tigers migrate to China…in pieces
Customs officers in Primorsky Province in Russia’s Far East have arrested a suspect found attempting to smuggle three Amur tiger paws across the border into China. The arrest comes only a day after Primorsky police and the Federal Security Service discovered a large quantity of illegally obtained animal parts - including bear paws and pelts as well as two Amur tiger skins - in the province’s por
Javan rhinos now safer under closer scrutiny
Jakarta – The only remaining population of Javan rhinos will be better safeguarded following the quadrupling of video camera traps to monitor the critically endangered animals in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia. WWF and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) recently donated 120 cameras to the park, bringing the total number of camera traps to 160. The need to have additional video camer
Mexico passes ambitious climate change law
Mexico City – The Mexican Senate has passed the developing world’s first climate change law, placing the nation within a small group of innovative countries that are taking firm action against climate change, says WWF. With 78 votes in favor and none against, the new law makes Mexico and the UK the only two nations to have enacted ambitious and comprehensive approaches to climate change legislat
Habitable Zones in Other Galaxies
We often speak of habitable zones around stars, most commonly referring to the zone in which a planet could retain liquid water on its surface. But the last ten years has also seen the growth of a much broader idea, the galactic habitable zone (GHZ). A new paper by Falguni Suthar and Christopher McKay (NASA Ames) digs into galactic habitable zones as they apply to elliptical galaxies, which are ge
Closing in on Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is irresistible, a bright beacon in the southern skies that captures the imagination because it is our closest interstellar target. If we learn there are no planets in the habitable zones around Centauri A and B, we then have to look further afield, where the next candidate is Barnard’s Star, at 5.9 light years. Centauri A and B are far enough at 4.3 light years — that next stretch
Coulter: GOP Supports Arming Blacks to Defend Against Dems
In Superman comics, Bizzaro World is a cube-shaped planet on which all normal rules of reality are reversed and everything is the opposite of the way it is on Planet Earth. It is also the only place imaginable where Ann Coulter’s assertion that “For more than a hundred years, Republicans have aggressively supported arming blacks, so [...]
Wisconsin Planned Parenthood Clinic Damaged in Bombing
A homemade bomb exploded and caused a small fire last night at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Grand Chute, Wis. – the second attack on an abortion clinic in 2012. Authorities say the device, fashioned from a plastic bottle filled with incendiary chemicals, was placed on a windowsill at the clinic. It went off at about [...]
Will the Pirate Party replace the Liberal Democrats?
Over at Edinburgh Pirates, I’ve written a post asking whether the Pirate Party will replace the Liberal Democrats.
DPRK ICBM Items
I am a little baffled that the media isn’t making a bigger deal out of the fact that North Korea paraded six road-mobile ICBMs through Pyongyang. Six road-mobile ICBMs. Hey! Look! ICBMs! Road-mobile ICBMs! Just like Gates said! As best I can tell, reporters don’t really understand that this isn’t the same missile as the Unha-3. It’s not. It’s different. This is important. 1. One set of iss
Syria Comment
The US Looks for a More Muscular Response to Syria; Damascus Sells Gold in a Sign of Poverty
Syria seems to be trying to sell Gold from its reserves in Dubai. A sign that it’s money is running low due to sanctions and revolt. The Obama administration insists that it is about to make some important changes to its Syria policy. Everyone expects that it will assume greater leadership by helping to arm the opposition. So far Washington has raised the rhetorical bar while refusing action. Sanc
The US Looks for a More Muscular Response to Syria; Damascus Sells Gold in a Sign of Poverty
Syria seems to be trying to sell Gold from its reserves in Dubai. A sign that it’s money is running low due to sanctions and revolt. The Obama administration insists that it is about to make some important changes to its Syria policy. Everyone expects that it will assume greater leadership by helping to arm the opposition. So far Washington has raised the rhetorical bar while refusing action. Sanc
Just Wondering
if the fetishizing of law-enforcement personnel after 9/11, the assault vehicles for ordinary police departments, the Darth Vader protective gear, the chemical weapons, the excessive force that police are allowed, the humiliating TSA procedures, if all those things might just have gone to the elite Secret Service cops' heads to convince them they're above petty rules.
GE corn & sick honey bees - what's the link?
No farmer in his or her right mind wants to poison pollinators. When I spoke with one Iowa corn farmer in January and told him about the upcoming release of a Purdue study confirming corn as a major neonicotinoid exposure route for bees, his face dropped with worn exasperation. He looked down for a moment, sighed and said, “You know, I held out for years on buying them GE seeds, but now I can’t
Pesticides & Parkinson’s: Connection clearer than ever
This kind of evidence can't be ignored. Scientists report that the risk of Parkinson’s Disease is significantly greater for individuals with a history of exposure to pesticides. They reached this conclusion after reviewing data from six decades of research. The results were strongest for exposure to weedkillers and insecticides; not so strong for those pesticides designed to kill disease-c
2,4-D corn: Another bad creation
Spring has sprung, and farmers across the country are preparing for planting season. One of their biggest headaches will be dealing with the millions of acres of cropland that have been infested with superweeds and new generations of superbugs. These superpests have evolved as the direct — and inevitable — consequence of Monsanto’s aggressive promotion of its genetically engineered “RoundUp-Re
A better Food & Farm Bill - now!
Congress is hard at work writing the 2012 Farm Bill, and people across the country are calling for food and farming policy that creates jobs, invests in farmers and ensures healthy food is widely available. Farm Bills happen twice a decade, and they are a confusing mess every time. But you don’t need to be an expert to understand that we deserve a Food and Farm Bill that uses tax-payer moneys
Mother takes on Monsanto, wins global prize
Hats off to this mother of three who got fed up and took charge. Thirteen years ago, Sofía Gatica's newborn died of kidney failure after being exposed to pesticides in the womb. After the despair came anger, then a fierce determination to protect the children in her community and beyond. Today, she's one of six grassroots leaders from around the world receiving the Goldman Environmenta
Chile stands up to Monsanto
On March 21, the Chilean Transparency Council stood with its citizenry against Monsanto and other global seed corporations to protect Chileans' right to know about genetically engineered (GE) crops. The Council's decision ensures that farmers, beekeepers and rural residents can find out exactly where GE crops are planted — basic information that is critically important as they seek to
I’ve Got To Walk Further Out—Metaphor And The Solid World Give Each Other Substance
Above is a picture I took in Galveston, Texas last month. To walk out on that jetty, you’ve got be willing to get over the gaps in the concrete, and get around the water that fills the gaps. I think this a useful metaphor. The solid world and the metaphoric world each give substance to the other. I’m not tired of this blog. But I have to admit that I’m tired of some of the things I’ve been writin
I’m Certain I’ll Blog Again About Local Affairs In Houston And Texas Soon Enough
I could blog about local affairs here in Houston and in Texas on the blog today. I imagine I will offer such blogging soon enough. It is just that our leaders—and many of our fellow everyday citizens as well—are thieves who steal our time and our best energies with an endless load of idiocy, self-centeredness, and anything else that is annoying and a waste of time. And so I’m just going to leave
Diverging
Above is photo I took in Cincinnati in March of 2011. I took this picture a few days before my dad died in Cincinnati. I made a post about the picture at the time, and noted that my father would soon be leaving the main track or be taking a diverging course. I think about this picture often. There are things I’d like to do differently in life, and ways I wish things were different in our society.
Everybody Is A Sinner
Here is a list of sins that will get you tossed into the pit. I took this picture in a Houston park a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to the young lady for her nice wave. I got the sense that she and the gentleman in the picture were used to having their picture taken. What struck me about this list, beyond the mentioning of witches, was that it seemed to include the entire population. Is there a sin
Veteran Suicides A Major Problem—Before We Kill You With Neglect, We Tell You How Much We Care
Opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times recently wrote about suicides of American veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Here is some of what Mr. Kristof said— “HERE’S a window into a tragedy within the American military: For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands. An American soldier dies every day and a half
Occupy Wall Street: Houston Is Up And Running
Here is the latest newsletter from Occupy Wall Street: Houston. OWSH is an affort to restart Occupy Wall Street in Houston. All are welcome. There are details about getting involved in the newsletter. I’ll have more to say about this in the days ahead. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Forward to a Friend Upcoming Events Thu Apr
From bean to cup, they fuck up.
Omnishambles. The more time that goes by, the more I'm convinced that The Thick of It is the best comedy of 00s; yes, Peep Show is superb and the first series at least of Nighty Night is great, but neither compare with the sheer majesty of Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker and the virtuosity of the writing. The great irony is that even as the language of the show is apparently being used in Number
"Give them the respect they deserve."
There really doesn't seem to be any great need to make lengthy comment on the trial of Anders Breivik. One of the great myths that crime writers and films have promoted is that serial killers are interesting, when the reality is that the vast majority of them are not. They tend to lead boring lives and have banal thoughts precisely because if they didn't they'd be caught much sooner: look at Den
100 days to go...
and across the country channels are changed, entire newspaper sections go unread and holiday bookings fly in. The anticipation is truly unbearable.
Abu Qatata, finally?
Credit where credit is due then: the government could have taken the advice of the head bangers on the Tory backbenchers (and head banger is the only way you can possibly describe Peter Bone, whose surname seems to be lacking something) or followed the wonderful example set (allegedly) by the French and Italians, and just stuck your friend and mine Abu Qatada on a plane to Jordan (the country, not
Why Ken is going to lose to Boris. Again.
Dave Osler asks why it seems that Boris is heading for a second term as London mayor. The answer, sadly, is that nothing has changed since he lost four years ago. I wrote a post back then on why exactly it was that Ken lost, and those self-same reasons will be why he won't win this time.Why for instance did Labour think that Ken could win again when he'd been rejected so soundly after eight year
Citizens United and the 19th Amendment
When the Supreme Court handed down the Citizens United decision in January 2010, President Obama described it as "devastating to the public interest" and promised that he would work to "repair the damage that has been done." It was supposed to be among his top priorities. If working to reverse Citizens United has been one of Obama's priorities, though, it's been a well-kept secret. He rarely men
No Vacancies: Squatters Move In
After three years of staying in her sister's living room, Tene Smith decided to move her family into a home that had sat vacant on Chicago's South Side for more than two years. With the help of Liberate the South Side, a Chicago-based organization that targets vacant homes for re-occupation and spent months renovating the house, Smith and her three children moved in during a public ceremony atten
Will Sanity Prevail on CBS?
Watching network TV morning shows tends to be like listening to strangers yelling at you inside your kitchen: "Wake up, America! We have hot, young one-percenters to show you! Plus the latest in home appliances!" Charlie Rose and Gayle King, anchors of the new CBS This Morning, are not loud and overly energized. Their 60 Minutes-talk show-morning program hybrid, which premiered in January, is slo
Collateral Insanity in Afghanistan
War makes people crazy. The war in Afghanistan has taken a devastating toll on mental health--from depression to suicide, domestic violence to murderous rampages. And financial and family strains, as well as attempts at self-medication, have exacerbated the casualty count. I am talking about the war's effect on Afghans. But after U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales allegedly massacred at least 1
The Bungled Hunt for 9/11’s Mastermind: KSM
While waging the so-called war on terrorism, U.S. government agencies and the military have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory over and over. It is now well documented that bureaucratic feuding and miscommunications between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation allowed aspiring suicide bombers to make discoverable, suspicious journeys into the United States.
Our Bodies, Their Politics
The first "women's group" that I was involved in was not born out of feminist theory or organized by intellectual women on campus. Rather it was in 1966 in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, and its members were poor African-American moms on welfare and thirtysomething (looking 50) Appalachian women, newly arrived from Kentucky and West Virginia. Not much older than me, many of the women in the group
The Brothers' Numbers
The Egyptian electoral commission’s decision to ban the country’s top three presidential candidates has made it very difficult to predict anything about the upcoming vote. However, once the initial shock from the surprise disqualification of Muslim Brother Khairat al-Shater, Mubarak right-hand man Omar Suleiman, and Salafi Hazem Abu Ismail dies down, we’re still dealing with the same electorate th
Google Ads, you try my patience
First, I see an ad for Islamist candidate Muhammad Selim al-Awa (a blowhard with some rather nasty remarks about Christians in his past, even if he says he was misunderstood now) appear on the site: And then, a reader in the US sends me a screenshot showing yet another ad for Israel: Nohing I can do about it — I asked Google several times... I'd love to get off Google Ads and onto a private
Is this where the Egyptian center is at?
In the media, Egypt's die-hard (mostly leftist) revolutionaries, the Muslim Brothers and their vision of a "renaissance" for Egypt, and the Salafists and their "back-to-8th-century-basics" approach get the most coverage. But there is also a wide part of Egyptian society that wants credible action, social peace, and economic improvement — and the presidential candidate that can appeal to these peop
Daniel Levy vs. Benny Morris, part 2
The other day I linked to Daniel Levy taking Benny Morris to task for "attempting to give a veneer of intellectual respectability to the well-rehearsed propagandist whining of apologists for Israeli policies and Israeli settlements." It was a great piece that you should read. Since then Morris wrote a lengthy rebuttal which ends in this way: Lastly, Levy objects to my occasional use, in the past,
The Mufti and Jerusalem
Egypt's Grand Mufti, Ali Gomaa, visited Jerusalem yesterday — sparking a huge controversy and earning the condemnations of the Muslim Brotherhood and countless others for the visit. Mufti Ali Gomaa said on his Twitter account that he had visited Jerusalem, entering from the West Bank via Jordan and not from the Israeli side. He said he prayed in the al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, i
Why I won't bother reading Peter Beinart
For several months now there's been a huge hullabaloo about Peter Beinart, who has gone from establishment Jewish-American golden boy to near-pariah figure for his book, The Crisis of Zionism, which essentially appears to be of the anguished "Israel-is-losing-its-soul" variety but is nonetheless important because it's an insider's rebellion and has ruffled feathers. I think I'll pass reading it, h
U.N. in Last Ditch Bid to Finalise Rio+20 Action Plan
The Rio+20 sustainable development summit, scheduled to take place in Brazil in June, is billed as a key meeting of world leaders who are expected to renew their political commitment and approve a wide-ranging plan for a greener future.
Caribbean to Take Strong Stance at Rio+20 Summit
The mandate will be very clear. Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegates are going to Brazil in June for the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development determined to show that it will not be business as usual.
Guyana Strives to Protect Forests and Coast from Climate Change
Its accolades include being labelled the breadbasket of the Caribbean as well as the Amazon adventure. But the natural environment for which the South American country of Guyana is famous is also reeling from the effects of climate change.
Crocodiles Edged Out of Habitats in Sri Lanka
Reacting to a series of deadly crocodile attacks, the Sri Lankan government has drawn up plans to capture the free-ranging beasts and confine them to parks. Conservationists oppose this move.
Buenos Aires Unprepared for More Intense Storms**
The 18 deaths caused by a storm that hit Buenos Aires earlier this month tragically demonstrate the lack of preparedness for the ever more frequent and powerful weather events faced by the Argentine capital and its suburbs.
Sea Level Rise Threatens Mekong Rice
With Vietnam's fertile Mekong delta threatened by rising sea levels and salt water ingress, the country's future as a major rice exporter depends critically on research underway in the Philippines.
Afghan war whistleblower Daniel Davis: ‘I had to speak out – lives are at stake’
By Paul Harris in Washington guardian.co.uk, Saturday 14th April 2012. Find Full Article Here:- Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis claims US generals are lying to the public about the military campaign in Afghanistan. Photograph: Observer “I am – how do you say it? – persona non grata,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Davis, as he sat sipping a coffee and eating a chocolate sundae in a shopping ma
Steve Bell on David Cameron’s Far East visit – cartoon.
Steve Bell guardian.co.uk, Friday 13th April 2012. PM offers incentives to Burma as a reward for introducing political reforms.
Steve Bell on George Osborne’s ‘shock’ at rich people avoiding tax – cartoon.
Steve Bell guardian.co.uk April 10th 2012. The chancellor says he has found that some of Britain’s richest people have regularly paid ‘virtually no income tax’
DHS won’t explain its order of 450 million hollow point bullets.
April 4th 2012. Find Full Article Here:- After 9/11, the United States government created the Department of Homeland Security to prevent future acts of terrorism and deal with other domestic issues. Now in order to keep doing such, the agency is asking for 450 million hollow point bullets. The DHS has signed off on an “indefinite delivery” from defense contractors ATK that will include, for some
Dental X-rays Linked to Twofold Increase in Brain Cancer.
Mike Barrett NaturalSociety April 10th, 2012. Find Full Article Here:- How often does your dentist insist on giving you a dental X-ray just to make sure all is well? While a dental x-ray may be justifiable if there is some serious risk, research is pointing out that too many of these X-rays may result in a twofold risk increase in a brain cancer known as meningioma.
EPA-approved GMO insecticide responsible for killing off bees, contaminating entire food chain.
By Jonathan Benson April 9th 2012. Find Full Article Here:- Early last year, leaked documents obtained by a Colorado beekeeper exposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA) illegitimate approval of clothianidin, a highly-toxic pesticide manufactured by Bayer CropScience that the regulatory agency knew was capable of killing off bees (http://www.naturalnews.com/030921_EPA_pesticides.htm
Just two days to go before France votes..
What are the best bets? The first round of voting in the French Presidential election takes place on Sunday with the second round scheduled for a fortnight later. The system is that the top two this weekend go forward to the final round provided no candidate has got more than 50% of the vote. At the PB party last night the consensus was that the Socialist contender, Francois Hollande, would win b
As postal voting starts for the May 3rd elections….
..is a CON majority becoming an impossible dream? The chart shows the latest LAB leads in the eight pollsters featured and the top six present a very glum picture for the Tories. The chart shows that last night’s YouGov 32/45/8 is not out of line – certainly in terms of the LAB lead over CON. The exceptions, ICM and Ipsos-MORI, with just 1% LAB leads, are the oldest in the list and are from Marc
PB NightHawks after another PB party night
This is the place for PB’s easy going overnight conversation. Have a good evening. Just heading home from Dirty Dicks. More later @MikeSmithsonOGH
The big move to UKIP seems to confined to online polls
Why the difference with the telephone pollsters? The big polling story this wekk, apart from the London mayoral race, has been the very high UKIP shares that have been reported. To track it I put have together the above chart showing the latest UKIP shares across the range of pollsters. The difference is very clear – the online firms appear to have much bigger numbers. As can been seen the lat
May 3rd set to be a bloody night be for the coalition partners
Who’ll survive with fewer losses – the blues or the yellows? The above charts are from the presentation by Professor Colin Rallings at the briefing on the May 3rd local elections organised by the Political Studies Association. Each year Rallings, together with his academic partner at the University of Plymouth, Michael Thrasher, compute a national equivalent vote share based on the local electi
Greetings to Wednesday’s PB NightHawks
This is the place for PB’s easy going overnight conversation. Have a good evening. @MikeSmithsonOGH
Why’s UKIP giving Dave a free run?
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