About 7:15 pm MDST
Last 13 hours of posts
Last 13 hours of posts
14 Signs That The World Economy Is Getting Weaker
Michael Snyder, *Contributor*
The United States is not the only one with massive economic problems right
now. The truth is that just about wherever you look around the globe things
are getting even worse. China is experiencing a substantial economic
slowdown, and Japan has resorted to yet another round of money printing in
an effort to keep the Japanese economy moving. Unemployment in Europe
continues to get even worse, and the riots this week in Spain and in Greece
have been absolutely frightening at times.
In the United States there are a whole host of signs that another reces... more »
Today in History for Sept. 27: Release of The Warren Report
*September 27, 1964: Release of The Warren Report.*
"From the very beginning, the Powers that Be have treated the Warren Report
as if it is the word of God, come down from on high, etched in stone. In
the picture above, that big book almost looks like a stone tablet. Why, it
might was well be Moses himself placing it in Lyndon Johnson’s awaiting
hands. Later, he would tell Walter Cronkite that he never believed in the
lone gunman theory." - George Bailey, "The Sum Of All Things."
AP: Today in History for Sept. 27
Confirmed Again: Statin Drugs Calcify The Coronary Arteries
Sayer Ji, *Contributor*
A new study published in the journal Atherosclerosis found that statin use
is associated with a 52% increased prevalence and extent of coronary artery
plaques possessing calcium.[i] This study, published on August 24th, was
preceded only three weeks earlier by one in the journal Diabetes Care,
which found that coronary artery calcification "was significantly higher in
more frequent statin users than in less frequent users," among patients
with type 2 diabetes and advanced atherosclerosis.
Coronary artery disease is one of the primary risk factors for hear... more »
"Education Nation" might be a more inspiring rubric if it applied to a nation that actually had some respect for education
*"Education Nation is NBC News' year-round initiative to engage the country
in a solutions-focused conversation about the state of education in
America."*
*-- from NBC News's Education Nation website*
*by Ken*
The phrase "Education Nation" has a nice ring, though the ring rings a tad
hollow when you consider that the nation in question is supposed to be our
own, which has never been an education nation ans in modern times has
devolved into an anti-education or mis-education nation. Nevertheless,
under that rubric NBC News and the New York Public Library have been
cosponsoring a w... more »
These guys . . .
REMEMBER
VALERIE PLAME? These guys sure do. The story ain't over, and it's gonna
make a hell of a mini-series, working title, Washington Weasels.
H/T — Helmut
“Life's Crossroads: How To Thrive in Times of Change”
*“Life's Crossroads: *
*How To Thrive in Times of Change”*
by Linda Durnell
“Life's crossroads create opportunity for us to choose between different
options, and when we see someone embracing the moment when choices are
decided upon, it can be awe-inspiring. A crossroads is about change.
Choices must be made - not just when things are not working out as we had
planned, but also during positive moments when we must choose to continue
the course or veer off into something new. When we experience an ending in
a marriage, a change in careers, political upheavals, the end of
childre... more »
Friday Morning Ramble: Let’s get started
*The media are still talking about John Banks. And Kim Dotcom. I can’t be
arsed. Let’s take a ramble…*
More on China…
- “The most frightening thing was not the violence, but the violence
being called natural and just. The Cultural Revolution was just like this.”
*Xian Japanese car owner beaten, video exposed then censored* – CHINA
SMACK
- $585 billion of “stimulus,” and just a crack-up boom to show for it?
Even the Keynesian *NY Times*’s analysis is bearish.
*China Politics Stall Overhaul for Economy* – NEW YORK TIMES
- A summary of a turbulent week…
... more »
10 Simple Steps Toward Self-Sufficiency
Gaye Levy, *Contributor*
In a utopian world, we would be 100% self-sufficient. We would have enough
food, enough water, enough power, and enough fuel, and perhaps most
important, enough money to live a well-rounded, healthy and comfortable
life. We would have to work hard, yes, but at the end of the day we would
have the satisfaction of being able to take care of ourselves without
selling out to greedsters or taking a handout from the government.
Alas, everywhere you look there are roadblocks to achieving this state. Not
the least of these roadblocks is our dependency on transpor... more »
Gov. Gary Johnson at Duke University
This is what an American leader looks like.
Presidential candidate Gary Johnson speaking on September 20, 2012, at Duke
University:
The Nuns Story - Roswell Edition
It has been a matter of controversy, only on this blog, as one of the
critics has demanded information about a footnote in *The Truth about the
UFO Crash at Roswell*. I believe he suspected some deceit on my part, and I
have refused to bow to his demand to answer his questions simply because I
didn’t care for the tone of his comments on the blog, not to mention that I
had supplied most of that information to him in the past. I had planned to
hold off on this until we were ready to publish all our results, but that
doesn’t seem to be close at hand, so, I decided to explain this here ... more »
FAIL: Merck's Statin Drug Found No Better Than Coconut Water
Sayer Ji, *Contributor*
In a 2008 study published in the journal *Food Chemistry & Toxicology* titled,
"Comparative evaluation of the hypolipidemic effects of coconut water and
lovastatin in rats fed fat-cholesterol enriched diet,"1 the beverage
coconut water was found as effective as a popular cholesterol-lowering drug
in positively modulating blood lipid levels in rats.
The conclusion of the study was as follows:
Coconut water has lipid lowering effect similar to the drug lovastatin in
rats fed fat-cholesterol enriched diet.
Studies like this, of course, will never make it to... more »
"For Nothing Is Fixed, Forever and Forever and Forever..."
"For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed;
the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does
not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we
are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The
sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling
to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the
light goes out."
- James Baldwin
Is the CDC's Mandated Vaccine Schedule a Health-Disguised Compulsory Sterilization Program?
Dees Illustration William Davies
Wikipedia mistakenly defines Compulsory Sterilization as "Compulsory
sterilization (or sterilisation), also known as forced sterilization (or
sterilisation), programs are government policies which attempt to force
people to undergo surgical sterilization.
But surgery is not necessary to sterilize. During WWII, the Nazis
experimented on people at Auschwitz to develop vaccines that sterilize at
routine doctor's appointments under the guise of medical treatment.
In July 1942 Lieutenant General Rudolf Brandt, Himmler’s personal advisor
(Strzelecka 1... more »
South African Banks Must Pay Out Big Time
SA Banks must pay out big time
[image: newera-logo-small.jpg]****
Dear Citizen,
Up to a trillion rand could be refunded to South African customers by the
banks. This is precisely the kind of cash injection that will help bring
our country out of debt slavery and into a new age of prosperity.****
Millions of South Africans who have loans or credit could see their
monthly repayments reduced substantially. And tens of thousands of people
who have had judgments against them over the past two decades may be
eligible for compensation. Garnishee orders should be slashed and sm... more »
Voters - Wake the F#ck Up!!!
I found this on think Progress tonight.
Samuel Jackson in one of his best roles!!!!!
I KNOW
you KNOW
at least one person you could send this to.
Julian Assange, International Intrigue and What’s Going On With Ecuador
2012 AUGUST 29
*
* *Julian Assange, International Intrigue and What’s Going On With Ecuador*
*This article was found by Jeannie, a member of The 2012 Scenario
Discussion Group. It is from an Italian-language blog called ‘Free Thought:
The Home of the Italian Exiles at Home’ by Sergio Di Cori Modigliani . The
original is in Italian here: *
*
* *
http://sergiodicorimodiglianji.blogspot.it/2012/08/lattacco-alla-repubblica-del-ecuador.html
*
*
* *Sergio describes his blog’s philosophy thus: “the purpose of this blog
is to contribute to the spread of free thought without ideological ti... more »
"American Militarism"
*"American Militarism"*
by Dave Lindorff
"There is a massive deception campaign in the US, and in its global
propaganda, which seeks to portray the United States as a poor set-upon
nation that would like world peace but just has to keep a military
stationed around the globe to “police” all the world’s “trouble spots.” In
fact, nothing could be further from the truth. That truth is that the US is
the biggest war-monger the world has ever known.
Let’s start with its budget. The US, in fiscal year 2012, budgeted a total
of $673 billion for the military, plus another $166 billion fo... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Waynesville, North Carolina, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
“Chronic Stress: The Hidden Health Risks”
*“Chronic Stress: The Hidden Health Risks” *
By Meryl Davids Landau
“According to a recent American Psychological Association poll, nearly a
quarter of Americans confessed to currently feeling under "extreme stress."
Respondents especially blamed money, work, and the economy—a feeling
50-year-old Sue Wasserman knows all too well. In February, the public
relations manager left Atlanta after her job was eliminated by a corporate
restructuring and took a new post in Asheville, N.C. When that proved a bad
fit, she struck out on her own as a freelance writer and publicist. Though
Was... more »
"Other People’s Agendas: Appreciating Suggestions"
*"Other People’s Agendas: Appreciating Suggestions"*
by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM
"When other people are always offering suggestions on how we should live
our life, there is often a void in their own life. As children, our parents
had dreams for us. They wanted us to do well in school, and to do whatever
was necessary to reach our highest potential. Later in life, friends may
try to set us up with their idea of the perfect partner or the perfect job.
Spouses may have agendas for us, too. People close to us may have ideas
about how we should live our lives, ideas that usually co... more »
too. People close to us may have ideas
about how we should live our lives, ideas that usually co... more »
*"The Conservative Status of Women Minister who voted in favour of
Wednesday night’s failed motion to study the legal rights of the fetus was
hit with a torrent of criticism overnight from pro-choice Canadians. *
* MPs voted overwhelmingly against the motion, but 10 Conservative
ministers – representing more than a quarter of Prime Minister Stephen
Harper’s cabinet – supported it. Dozens more backbench Conservative MPs and
four Liberals also voted in its favour."*
Globe & Mail
You Might be A Conspiracy Theorist if.....
A public service announcement:
In front of global audience, Netanyahu draws his red line (on his ridiculous bomb cartoon)
MondoWiess
Adam Horowitz
Last year it was the "Insatiable Crocodile of Militant Islam", this year it
was a bomb torn from the pages of Spy v.s. Spy. For the highlight of
Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the UN General Assembly today see the
screenshot above.
Here's a roundup of some of the immediate reaction on Twitter:
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I CAN HAS IR THEORY?
I'm presenting PTJ's and my "End of IR Theory" paper at Berkeley next week.
Here's a sneak peak at some of the lecture slides.
Unfortunately, my LOLspeak is rusty.
What did the snail say when he hitched a ride on the turtle’s back?
*Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! *
Dear God: Save The Jews From This FUCKING MORON!
*May God save the people of Israel from this FUCKING MORON!*
Bush is an astronaut compared to Netanyahu. This imbecile brought out a
magic marker on the stage of the United Nations! And the sad thing is that
the brainwashed children in the United States and Israel who believe
Netanyahu and listen to him are even bigger morons.
"As Hitler created the first Holocaust of the Jews, Netanyahu will be
responsible for the second Holocaust of the Jews in the 21st century. He
will be the Hitler of the 21st century to the Jews.
On this New Year’s eve this is what I say about Netanyahu: He ... more »
N.Korean Agent 'Ordered to Kill Kim Jong-nam', KIm Jong-Un's brother
A North Korea agent who came to South Korea posing as a defector told
police he was on a mission to assassinate Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of
former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The North Korean agent, identified
only by his surname Kim (50) was arrested on Sept. 12.
Kim told police he was ordered by the North's State Security Department in
July 2010 to kill Kim Jong-nam, who lives mostly in Macau. Intelligence
officials are investigating whether the account is true.
Kim had been an agent in Beijing and other parts of China for a decade ago
and came to South Korea in June thi... more »
Tarpits, Honeypots and Venus Fly Traps
By American Kabuki,
This is a very strange time. All around us the spring crispness of change
is occuring. Structures, institutions and energies of oppression crumble
and disappate. Amazing pieces of information are flooding into our
consciousness from so many different sources about what lies ahead. We've
come a long ways actually, we no longer puzzle of what, we pretty much know
that. We are also learning the how. The when we do not know, nor do we
know the pace of the change.
We get frustrated because we know we are surrounded by such a great cloud
of witnesses. Galacti... more »
(Political) Scientists
Fellow Duck Brian Rathbun has a new piece in *International Studies
Quarterly* comparing international relations scholars' paradigmatic
preferences to their political preferences, based on TRIP survey data:
Are international relations scholars objective observers of political
events, or do our political preferences influence the way in which we see
the world? This article explores that question using data from a survey of
international relations scholars. It develops and tests hypotheses about
how we might expect adherents of particular paradigms to identify
themselves politi... more »
Sex Selective Abortion: Latest SHRIEEEEK!
People are all up in arms because Rona Ambrose, Cabinet Moron Responsible
for the Status of Women, voted in favour of Woodworth's Wank, aka The
Motion to Determine When the State Gets Up Into Our Hoo-haws.
This should be no surprise. She has voted for fetal rights before.
But here her 'worry' is simply ridiculous.
The federal cabinet minister responsible for the status of women has
offered at least a partial explanation for why she voted in support of a
pro-life motion in the House of Commons.
Rona Ambrose says on Twitter that she's long been worried about
discrimination against g... more »
Are Democrats And Republicans Just The Same Establishment Crap?
I'm no fan of Obama's. He's been pretty good on some stuff and much less
than any good on other stuff. He's an inspirational figure for obvious
reasons but it hasn't gone much beyond the obvious reasons. I have feint
hope-- self delusion at best, most likely-- that he'll be any better in his
second term. Alas, though, there is not *one* issue on which Romney would
be better. In fact, Romney would be far worse on *every* issue. So... as
Chris Hedges opined for TruthDig earlier in the week, How Do You Take Your
Poison?
Before we get to Chris' very solid reasoning, Romney (or Newt o... more »
A Broken Heart in a Cholera Treatment Center
Luckner
In June of 2011 I was notified by a physician friend of mine, Dr. Jen in
Port-au-Prince, that she had a young patient named Luckner with a serious
heart problem. She wanted to know if I would examine him and evaluate him
as a candidate for heart surgery through Haitian Hearts.
I agreed to do this but I was located in central Haiti about three hours
north of Port-au-Prince. I was working at a Cholera Treatment Center at
Albert Schweitzer Hospital. I asked Dr. Jen if Luckner could come up to
Schweitzer and I would examine him. She said he would make the trip.
At the Cholera ... more »
#NZ Post, and a tale of three parcels [updated]
As Ian Fleming almost said, once is happenstance, twice is coincidence and
three times is rank incompetence.
Speaking of rank incompetence, as we were yesterday morning, let me give
you the performance of NZ Post. I don’t mean their performance in
“returning a dividend” to the government, or in administering the Anderton
Bank—I mean in doing the core job of a postal system: delivering the mail.
Remember mail?
Here’s the story of three parcels.
About this time last year, I bought several books from overseas, of which
one never arrived (William Hutt’s *Rehabilitation of Say’s Law*,... more »
Benjamin Netanyahu: Master of Show-and-Tell
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likes using visual aids.
In laying out the perennial threat of an ever-imminent, terrible,
horrible, no good, very bad Iranian nuclear bomb that will set the stage
for a second Holocaust with the deftness and finesse of a third-grade
show-and-tell artist, Netanyahu has brought to the podium Xeroxed copies
of old letters, meeting minutes and, now, a
When liberals refuse to marry those people!
*THURSDAY,
SEPTEMBER 27, 2012*
*As it turns out, our sons and our daughters are not beyond our
command:*Yesterday, Kevin Drum ran an intriguing post about a possible
trend.
At one time, people said they wouldn’t want their children to marry
someone
of some other race. Or of some other religion! So vile!
Today, the terms of blanket rejection have changed. Drum quoted Claude
Fischer discussing a recent survey:
FISCHER (9/24/12): From the late 1970s through the late 2000s, Americans
rated their own political party pretty consistently, at about an average
of
70 on the scale. However, Am... more »
Environics: National Voter Intention - New Democrats Lead
*A slip in the polls by the Conservatives has left the New Democrats in the
lead nationally. *
*
**Environics.ca*
Thank heavens, we are a little safer from cheese smugglers
It seems I was wrong and the "tough on crime" program is working!
Story here
A Canadian police officer was among three people charged as the country's
authorities announced they had busted a major cheese-smuggling ring.
A joint US-Canadian investigation found C$200,000 of cheese and other
products were illicitly brought over the border into southern Ontario.
The smugglers sold large quantities of cheese, which is cheaper in the US,
to restaurants.
Dollar Hegemony In The Empire Of The Damned
One issue that I constantly cover in this blog is of course the world
economy....Lets face it, readers, the world is presently teetering on the
edge of total economic collapse, as we watch the situation in Europe become
more of a mess every day with both Greece,and now Spain, coming apart due
to the people rising up against criminal IMF imposed austerity measures.
Europe may be bad enough, but what most Americans are unaware of is that
the situation with the United States economy is beyond dire, and right now
the entire American economy is compared to a person who is clinically brain... more »
"A Chime Of Words..."
"Yes there is a meaning; at least for me, there is one thing that matters-
to set a chime of words tinkling in the minds of a few fastidious people."
- Logan Pearsall Smith
What the Fuck?
Except some concepts I'll get to in the unfinished piece here, I don't
think Margaret Wente's sufferings are terribly important. It is a fun topic
though, so that's why I'll write about this:
The incidents of plagiarism uncovered by blogger Carol Wainio on her Media
Culpa blog, while certainly a legitimate topic for reporting, do not seem
to me to be particularly egregious examples of the cutting and pasting of
other people's intellectual property.
That said, Wente is an exceptionally bright woman, and it seems unlikely to
me that she didn't know what she was doing when she borr... more »
Free Planet - END MY GAME - you can do better!
I had a very interesting talk with Sanri, in the Oxfork Cafe on Magdalene
Road, Oxford, today. We talked about Agenda 21. We talked about chemtrails.
We talked about hauntings and spiritual events. We talked and talked and
talked. And it dawned on me...
I can't tell you what FREE PLANET is.
Woah, why the aggressive/dismissive attitude with us, *your loyal readers*,
Philbs?
It's neither necessarily aggressive nor dismissive. It's just a FACT. I can
shoot my mouth off all I want, on this blog or on alternative
radio/podcasts. I can say whatever I want in a supposed Free World. I c... more
Moyers - US of ALEC - BEST Trailer on Democracy Now!
Moyers
was on Democracy Now promoting his upcoming documentary by Bill
Moyers – airing this weekend.
*The United States of ALEC: Bill Moyers on the Secretive
Corporate-Legislative Body Writing Our Laws*
Watch the Democracy Now piece – including a much better trailer than I
have
seen so far - for the documentary!! 20 minute preview of Moyers show!!!
*Get ready for this weekend*
*Get others interested to watch the whole thing by sending them this
trailer!!!*
Here’s the link to the Democracy Now segment
*>>>>>>>>>>HERE<<<<<<<<<<<<<*
Give Charter Schools an "F"
C. Charter Schools? They Flunk.
Milton Friedman's 1955 article, "The Role of Government in Education,"
argued for a voucher system that would allow parents to purchase the school
of their choice for their children. Just as Friedman's supply-side
free-market beliefs have been proven wrong, so also the notion of
privatizing education is doomed to failure.
Read this on Common Dreams and thought of ALEC
Also thought of that nasty new ALEC movie that is out promoting the
parent-trigger (it can’t be linked to ALEC directly , but I’m sure the
screenplay writers didn’t come up with that sto... more »
N. Korea sharply increases training flights of fighter jets
North Korea’s air force has sharply increased training flights of its
fighter jets since July, with the number of sorties reaching as many as 100
a day, a government source said Thursday.
The move is uncommon because North Korean pilots usually focus on ground
training in summer.
The communist nation is also showing signs of large-scale artillery
exercises along its west coast, and activity of small submarines has also
increased, the source said.
These moves could be part of the North’s attempt to raise tensions ahead of
South Korea’s presidential election in December.
On Wednesd... more »
A Return to Summer?
The meme of the summer meets the graphic du jour:
The Currency Experiment Has Failed
*In 1971 President Nixon closed the window that allowed US Dollars to be
sold for gold owned by the US. Just before that, the price of gold was $35
an ounce. Since then gold has been called a 'barbarous relic', a term used
in an earlier era by Keynes, the famous economist. *
From that time on, the world's currencies stood merely on the confidence
their governments engendered and the control they exercised over
international financial dealings of all kinds. That confidence lasted until
2007 when the credit crunch brought government financing on both sides of
the Atlantic into questi... more »
Abbas accuses Israel of 'ethnic cleansing'
*UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel
of ethnic cleansing Thursday for building settlements in east Jerusalem.*
"It is a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people via
the demolition of their homes," Abbas said in his speech to the U.N.
General Assembly.
Shortly after, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked Abbas in
his own address to the assembly.
"We won't solve our conflict with libelous speeches at the U.N.," Netanyahu
said.
Israel conquered the eastern part of Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967
Mideast War. It... more »
THE ROAD TO WORLD WAR III RUNS THROUGH CHICAGO
*All wars require a definitive trigger event in order to come to fruition.
Subsequently, at the beginning of all wars lies a governmental apparatus
which seeks to justify the outbreak of hostilities. Due to horrific nature
of war, all governments feel the need to convince, conscript and control
its population in order fulfill its need for war.*
Over 2500 years ago, Sun Tzu, renowned author of the Art of War, stated
that war is only a means to an end. A false flag attack upon the
inhabitants of Chicago will likely prove to be the means to commence World
War III. and impose a draconi... more »
Mount Marapi: Volcano erupts in Sumatra, Indonesia, spews ash
*The most active volcano in Sumatra island of Indonesia erupted on
Wednesday, spewing volcanic ash by up to 1.5 kilometers to the west, Head
of National Volcanology Agency Surono said here.*
Mount Merapi locally known as Gunung Merapi located in West Sumatra erupted
at 16:39 p.m. Jakarta time (0939 GMT), and the agency has warned the people
to stay away from the radius of three kilometers from the crater, said
Surono.
"If rains come down, the people living in downstream of s river whose
upstream is on the slope of Merapi must be cautious over the flood of
lava," Surono told Xinhua... more »
Mexican Volcano Popocatépetl Eruptions Increase
*Mexico, Sep 25 (Prensa Latina) At least 26 eruptions accompanied by steam
and gas, as well as a volcano tectonic quake were registered as a
consequence of the Mexican volcano Popocatépetl activity during the last
hours, it was reported Tuesday.*
The National Center of Disaster Prevention (Cenapred) said eruptions were
of low and medium intensity with no ash expulsion in any of them.
According to the institution, the volcano tectonic quake was registered at
11.54 local time (16:54 GMT).
At this moment, the alert light of volcano activity remains yellow phase 2
and the surrounding ... more »
5.0 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS - 27th September 2012
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake has struck SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS at a depth
of 515.1 km (320.1 miles), the quake hit at 16:54:44 UTC Thursday 27th
September 2012
The epicenter was 473 km (293 miles) South of Ndoi Island, Fiji
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
It's only a harvest boom
Not an earthshaking revelation, but another chip off the myth that private
equity has anything to do with job creation. In this 1985 clip, where he's
pitching investors Romney makes clear Bain was about harvesting profits.
Unsaid, but understood, by harvesting he means, bleeding the company dry of
assets and walking away with all the money.
[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]
Bible Quiz Road Trip Day 1
placeholder, will update when camera pics are downloaded tomorrow »Bible Quiz Road Trip Day 0
placeholder, will update with pics
4.8 Magnitude Earthquake TARAPACA, CHILE - 27th September 2012
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck TARAPACA, CHILE at a depth of 94.3 km
(58.6 miles), the quake hit at 16:38:59 UTC Thursday 27th September 2012
The epicenter was 113 km (70 miles) East of Iquique, Chile
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
Ecuador, Britain fail to reach deal on Assange
*NEW YORK — Britain and Ecuador failed to reach agreement on the fate of
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Thursday at a meeting of their foreign
ministers here, officials said.*
"We see no immediate solution," Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino
told reporters after meeting with British Foreign Secretary William Hague
on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Hague told Patino "that the UK was under an obligation to extradite Mr
Assange to Sweden," a spokesman for the British foreign secretary said in a
statement.
"The concept of 'diplomatic asylum', while well-establishe... more »
About that Flip to Responsibility....
So, it turns out that Mitt Romney may be walking back his shift to having a
reality-based tax plan after all.
At least, sort of. To recap, the Romney tax plan calls for a 20% cut in tax
rates, protecting certain current tax treatments of investment, revenue
neutrality, and no tax increases for middle-income filers. The numbers,
however, don't work; something has to give -- it's what Matt Yglesias calls
"Romney's trilemma." Earlier in the week, a Romney adviser said that the
numbers do so work, but if they didn't then the fix would be to lower the
rates by less.
Now, however, we get... more »
Brazil plans 23 new dams for heart of Amazon rainforest – ‘Wreaking an incalculable human and environmental toll in the Amazon’
[image: The Uru-eu-Wau-Wau are one of the tribes who are affected by the
Madeira River dams in Brazil. © Fiona Watson / survivalinternational.org]
By Ben Tavener, Senior Contributing Reporter
25 September 2012
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian government is planning to build at
least 23 new hydroelectric dams in the country’s Amazon region, of which
seven are set to be installed in the heart of the region, in previously
untouched areas of one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, *O
Globo* newspaper reports. After the long-running dispute over the Belo Montedam, envi... more »
Fifty years after Silent Spring
Conservationism or environmentalism as an ideology has its roots in Nazi
Germany and one could probably go even further.
But the Western environmentalism in the form we are familiar with today was
born exactly 50 years when Rachel Carson began to release her book Silent
Spring. It's such an inconvenient anniversary that most of the articles
about the anniversary listed by Google News have been written by the
critics of environmentalism.
-->
Some good articles were penned by Ronald Bailey, Roger Meiners, Matt Ridley,
John Tierney, and Charlie Stenholm with John Block. Links via ... more »
Conservatives don't like nice
Thing about the GOP base, especially the 27%ers, is they see being polite
as a weakness. They want to see their opponent in a bloody pulp on the
floor. Not sure if this crowd reaction at a Romney rally was solely because
of this line in Mittanic's speech:
"Look, I know the president cares about America and the people of this
country," he told the roughly 3,500 supporters gathered in a convention
center here. "He just doesn't know how to help them. I do. I'll get this
country going again."
Maybe they look that way through the whole thing. Their expressions are an
exquisite mix of s... more »
OBAMA'S LIES; AL QAEDA; SYRIA
*1.* The CIA, Mossad, MI6 and NATO are using al Qaeda against Assad in
Syria.
"In 1999, the French Parliament commissioned a thorough investigation of
global money-laundering...
"Their report concluded that up to 40 British banks, companies, and
individuals were associated with bin Laden's network, including
organizations in London, Oxford, Cheltenham, Cambridge, and Leeds..."
The House of Saud: British-Programmed Killer of Muslims
*2.* Turkish television has broadcast a tape recording of telephone calls
made by Mossad agents in Syria.
'*Mossad* Agents Active in Syria, near Turk... more »
Untitled
*Army Corps of Engineers’ Suppresses Public Comments ~Levees.org*~*Today,
we learned that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has banned the receipt of
all public comments submitted through the widely used advocacy system
called Convio.*
Untitled
*Entergy to raise rates in New Orleans *
*Coal facility, Mississippi River diversion project planned for same site
~Zoe Sullivan, The Lens*
*More land at sinkhole falls in~The Advocate BR*
*Project could dwarf Nucor*
*$37.5 million FEMA trailer settlement approved*
*And they're worried about paddling in school? *
*Running the Table: Pool in New Orleans ~He Said/She Said NOLA*
*Alligator Festival! Luling, La*
Why should you vote for Obama?
This Cleveland voter knows why she's going to vote for Barack Obama -
Apparently for the free phones...
"Everybody in Cleveland, low minorities, got Obama phone. Keep Obama in
president, you know. He gave us a phone, he gonna do more... You sign up!
If you on food stamps, you on social security, you got low income, you
disability…"
Is what this lady saying correct? Are phones being given away?
5 Foods NOT to Eat While Sick or Battling a Cold
Elizabeth Renter
It’s almost that time of year, where we start passing around colds like we
pass around the holiday dishes. While there are numerous sources out there
for natural cold remedies (garlic, ginger, hydration, etc.), it’s also good
to know which foods to avoid while sick or battling a cold. By eliminating
these foods, while hopefully consuming immune-boosting foods, you can
recover more quickly and reduce the severity of your symptoms.
*1. Alcohol*
Alcohol weakens your immune system and dehydrates you. Both of these can
make your colds more miserable and leave you wi... more »
is CBC pulling our leg?
*I think CBC is having a bit of fun with this story .... I can't imagine it
being true*.
*However, a few years ago, Brad Wall ran into trouble with a misspelling of
the word 'Saskatchewan' in one of his political TV ads (see above).*
*Just Wow ... **except it's a joke!*
*(Click to enlarge ...)*
*On Twitter #renameSASK*
*UPDATE:*
*... yup! Nice try! ;)*
Think tank director: ‘we could get nastier’ with Iran, further promoting terrorist activity
Madison Ruppert, *Contributor*
Earlier this year former Mayor of New York City Rudolph Giuliani openly
promoted using terrorism as a way to stop the non-existent Iranian nuclear
weapons program (for more confirmation of this fact see statements from
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and the U.S. intelligence community).
Similarly, Israel’s current Vice Prime Minister and Strategic Affairs
Minister and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Moshe
Ya’alon, has made a thinly veiled statement promoting using terrorism
against Iran.
Given that a known terrorist org... more »
'Yeti' sightings on the rise in Russia
A group of yetis are on the loose in Sibera, fishermen and a forestry
worker have claimed.
There were three reported sightings in recent weeks.
One person who reported spying the beast said “We shouted, ‘Do you need
help?’ They rushed away, all in fur, walking on two legs, making their way
through the bushes and with two other limbs, straight up the hill.
The person who made the report added: “It could not be bears, as the bear
walks on all fours, and they ran on two. Then they were gone.”
On a second sighting on the bank of the Mras-Su River several days later,
an unnamed fisherm... more »
DISAGGREGATION NATION: Molly Ivins made a mistake!
*THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012*
*Part 2—Why Maine seemed so special:* Friend, do you want to use test
scores in reading and math to judge a school or school district? To judge
an entire state’s schools?
To compare school performance in one state to school performance in another?
If you have reliable test scores to use, that’s a sensible thing to do. But
if you want to evaluate schools that way, you have to “disaggregate” test
scores.
You can’t compare the *overall* scores from some state to the overall
scores from another. You have to break the test scores down to see how
different... more »
Is US Economic Growth Over?
My latest column is up at The Breakthrough Institute --Is Economic Growth
Coming to an End? How Robert Gordon Misreads the Data and What It Tells Us
About the Dismal Science.
Here is how it starts:
Over that past month there has been much discussion of a new paper by
Robert Gordon, a prominent economist at Northwestern University, which
carried the provocative title: Is US Economic Growth Over? Faltering
Innovation Confronts the Six Headwinds.” (See for instance, Annie Lowrey
here, the Economist here and David Keohane here).
In what Tim Harford called “the summer’s most tal... more »
Surprise Fact of the Day
"Economics undergraduates have been found to be the most promiscuous
students on campus."
Source.
Obama Voter Says Vote for Obama because he gives a free Phone
Mohawk Nation News 'Mohawks v. the Queen. Kanekota.'
MNN: MOHAWKS V. THE QUEEN. KANEKOTA.September 27, 2012
**
*MOHAWKS V. HER MAJESTY. FEDERAL COURT, TORONTO: *
*October 1, 2012. Re: Kanekota** *
http://mohawknationnews.com/blog/?p=1433
*MNN. Sep. 27, 2012. The hearing is o**n Monday October 1 at 10 AM, 180
Queen Street West. Toronto. Thahoketoteh will be arguing Rule of Law with
the Attorney General on the issue of Kanekota. ** All welcome.*
*Kanekota, “where the water comes from the earth”, is a 525 sq. mi. tract
in the northern portion of the Haldimand Tract. The Royal Proclamation of
1783 provides that Canada has the responsibili... more »
Pigou Club Alert
Click here to vote for a carbon tax.
Syria: Besieged by Internationalists and Fanatics
Syria is a nation under siege. The terrorists of the so-called Free Syria
Army, are mercenaries in the pay of the International financial elite, and
fundamentalist fanatics, literally hell-bent on imposing Wahhabi rule over
the nation. These rats are motivated by greed and by religious insanity.
The experience of Libya is now being repeated in Syria, and should the
legitimate government be overturned by the enemies of humanity, the
terrorists will simply be redeployed to continue their diabolical mission
elsewhere.
The Zionist media has lied to the people. According to the Zion... more »
Annual DFA Heroes And Villains Poll
DFA is asking who are the biggest villains and the greatest heroes in
Congress. You can vote-- you don't have to be a member-- right here. The
top slots have been pretty stable but I want to look at who the voters are
picking as the 15 greatest villains in a second. First, just a brief
run-down of the other categories. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has been #1 in the
Senate heroes section since the poll opened. He should be #1... he's the
best Member of the Senate. Blue America is recommending 2 candidates this
year who could wind up giving him a run for his money or-- putting it a
differ... more »
It seems that being a sheep rather than a goat is 'normal'
*
'This Japanese video shows 32 metronomes set rocking on a wobbly surface.
They begin in a state of chaos, and as they feed motion into the table,
they begin to influence one another, until, 4 minutes later, they attain
synchrony.'*
I see myself as the pink metronome front row on the right... But will I too
eventually have to march to the same beat as everyone else? *Thanks to Boing
Boing for the video spot.*
4.5 Magnitude Earthquake GUATEMALA - 27th September 2012
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck GUATEMALA at a depth of 228.7 km
(142.1 miles), the quake hit at 13:14:30 UTC Thursday 27th September 2012
The epicenter was 0 km (0 miles) NNE of San Juan Atitan, Guatemala
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
4.5 Magnitude Earthquake NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA - 27th September 2012
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA at a depth of
32.9 km (20.4 miles), the quake hit at 12:38:43 UTC Thursday 27th September
2012
The epicenter was 50 km (31 miles) Northeast of Xitieshan, China
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
TransCanada worker attempts to drop tree on peaceful blockader Day 4
VIDEO: TransCanada Worker Attempts to Drop Tree on Peaceful Blockader (Day
4)
http://tarsandsblockade.org/video-transcanada-worker-attempts-to-drop-tree-on-peaceful-blockader-day-4/
TransCanada has only continued to jeopardize the safety of our friends as
we move forward on the fourth day of our sustained tree-sit. A worker
operating a feller buncher, a heavy machinery used for clear-cutting
forests, attempted to drop a felled tree on a peaceful blockader late
Tuesday.
After Tuesday’s incident in which blockader’s witnessed TransCanada
supervisors actively encouraging the... more »
Link: The Invention of Political Consulting
American Chronicles The Lie Factory How politics became a business. by Jill
Lepore September 24, 2012. The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/09/24/120924fa_fact_lepore#ixzz27glFMw4Q
[Excerpted] Political consulting is often thought of as an offshoot of the
advertising industry, but closer to the truth is that the advertising
industry began as a form of political consulting. As the political
scientist Stanley Kelley once explained, when modern advertising began, the
big clients were just as interested in advancing a political agenda as a
commercial one.
Monop... more »
Experimenters, SUSY, frustrations, and anthropic ideas
High-energy phenomenologists and experimenters may be entering a
psychological stage that was predictable – and that, in fact, many of us
including your humble correspondent were predicting. The LHC is a great
machine that works very well and pushes many frontiers but it's not a
"miracle machine" that may answer all open questions about physics, at
least not within two years.
*Fashion for naturalness*
So almost everyone who is building his or her interest in fundamental
physics on accessible experiments seems to be frustrated these days. The
discovery of the Higgs boson may have ... more »
A New Media Caucus at the ISA?
Should there be a blogging (or, perhaps, "New Media") caucus at the
International Studies Association (ISA)?
Despite being in the ISA-NE hierarchy and having served in various
positions for the International Political Sociology (IPS) section, I've
never paid that much attention to the internal structure of the ISA.
But now I'm involved in the creation of the Historical International
Relations (HIST) section and a bid for *International Studies Quarterly*,
so I've been on a steep learning curve.
It seems to me that there are good reasons to form a blogging caucus, but
it also doesn... more »
Now hear this
I was given an outdated surround-sound system. Had no use for the big DVD
changer, but was intrigued with the possibilities of the amplifier. I
bought a new mid-range turntable from Sony, plugged it into the CD input,
and εὕρηκα! it works. We held onto our LPs from days of yore, and now they
are back in service. Beloved has musicals and artists like Judy Collins,
Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell, and I have operas and collections like Bach
cantatas, Mozart concertos, Haydn quartets, and, umm, Joni Mitchell. We
each have copies of "Blue" and "Ladies of the Canyon."
Some of the artists ... more »
Inexplicable -- or Epistemic Closure?
Kevin Drum is baffled by the GOP's willingness to follow Paul Ryan over a
cliff on Medicare.
Really, it's pretty amazing. Just two years ago, Republicans walloped
Democrats in the midterm election, at least partly due to a tsunami of ads
accusing them of taking money away from Medicare. And Republicans have been
on the receiving end of Medicare attack ads too. So they know perfectly
well just how sensitive this issue is and how much damage it can do. And
yet, somehow they convinced themselves that Paul Ryan had some kind of
magic fairy dust that would make the American public sit up... more »
Democracy Now! Has US designated Wikileaks Assange 'enemy of the state'
*By Democracy Now!*
In the wake of a speech given by Julian Assange addressed to the United
Nations, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange may have been designated an "enemy of the
state" by the United States. For more on the new developments Democracy
Now! has Assange's speech as well as an interview with the president
emeritus of the CCR and legal advisor to Julian Assange, Michael Ratner.
watch: http://youtu.be/e-m8bV9KGVE
Michael Ratner was on Democracy Now! this morning! to talk about the U.S.
Air Force counter-intellig... more »
A Little Too Ironic
Maybe
you're not 44 and so are not conversant with the movie *Reality
Bites*(its genesis and presentation 20 years past), but I am.
The down-and-out 20-something "losers" (heed my punctuation, please) in
that film did not exemplify me. I had a job as an English teacher in a
parochial high school in St. Louis, MO and was raking in a massive 18k.
The mise-en-scene of this movie with which I did not identify was the
marketing juggernaut called "Seattle Grunge." In any event the
protagonists have relationship issues, job issues, artistic issues,
Pearl
Jam shows up, maybe Alice in Chai... more »
There you are!
We are completing our Quest right now. Today is the last day of this
journey and we can see our destination.
Although it’s always been there, it may well have been invisible. Wrapped
in blinders of shoulds and judgments, you could not see Agape. It is
obvious to you now. Clear vision is available to us always, yet it
sometimes shows up in surprising ways.
“Hook” (2003) is a story of finding yourself again, after a long time of
loss. The three clips here illustrate the journey. Peter Pan has
forgotten how to fly. What he needs is simple; he must find his happy
tho... more »
Weekend waterspouts across Great Lakes ‘shatter the old record of 94 waterspouts reported in 2003’
[image: This waterspout formed over Lake Erie on Sunday, 23 September 2012.
The photo was taken looking east towards Cleveland, Ohio, from Lorain,
Ohio. ICWR.ca observer via usnews.nbcnews.com]
By Miguel Llanos, NBC News
24 September 2012
The Cleveland Browns football team hosted a special pregame show on Sunday:
a waterspout seen from the lakeside stadium before sputtering out
harmlessly. It was one of 13 waterspouts reported over Lake Erie on Sunday
and part of what's already a record year for sightings on the Great Lakes.
"2012 has seen so far a total of 154 waterspouts," Wade ... more »
Job Available With 20 Weeks Vacation Per Year — Interested?
After passing the healthcare reform bill
that Obama is so proud of, Congress celebrated
by granting itself an impromptu vacation.
Because, you know, they decide stuff like that.
When they go on vacation. Brandon Pierce, *Contributor*
The average American who is fortunate enough to have a job gets 18 days
paid vacation per year. On average, we said. That’s less than three weeks.
But like we said, it’s an average. There are plenty of Americans,
especially those new in their jobs, who get zero days vacation and plenty
of loyal workers who have built up substantial vacation allotments, a... more »
Rona Ambrose .. Minster Responsible For The Repression Of Women.... SHAME!
Bob Tuskin And The Building 7 Challenge
*YouTube -- NotForSale2NWO*
Bob Tuskin is at it again with “The Building 7 Challenge”.
It only takes 6 seconds.
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Obama at the table - Updated
Gratefully getting to the home stretch of this endless campaign. President Obama
has a new ad in a format that favors him:
The ad features Obama speaking directly to the camera for two minutes,
beginning by telling viewers, "If I could sit down with you, in your living
room or around the kitchen table, here's what I'd say."
Obama ticks off four main policy points -- creating new manufacturing job,
expanding American energy, strengthening education and balancing the budget
by raising taxes on the wealthy -- before concluding: "It’s time for a new
economic patriotism, rooted in the ... more »
A Culture of Delusion
Anthony Freda Art Paul Craig Roberts, *Contributor*
A writer’s greatest disappointments are readers who have knee-jerk
responses. Not all readers, of course. Some readers are thoughtful and
supportive. Others express thanks for opening their eyes. But the majority
are happy when a writer tells them what they want to hear and are unhappy
when he writes what they don’t want to hear.
For the left-wing, Ronald Reagan is the great bogeyman. Those on the left
don’t understand supply-side economics as a macroeconomic innovation that
cured stagflation by utilizing the impact of fiscal pol... more »
Law Enforcement snooping on your Wi-Fi is now literally part of the training
James Smith, *Contributor*
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will scan or grope your body at
airports whether you like it or not. Cameras will scan your face and
behavior in the streets. Your phone calls are being intercepted and fed
into a major FBI database for threat analysis. And now the DHS’s Federal
Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) has requested something besides an
ungodly amount of ammunition – The ability to locate and “read” the data or
phone calls from your home.
(1) *Agency and Contracting Activity*. The Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) Federal L... more »
How rich!
In all the fuss over Mitt Romney's tax returns and what percentage of
earnings he paid in tax, including or excluding his charitable giving, a
couiple of things caught my eye. First that the Democrats Senate Majority
Leader, Harry Reid, the man who claimed Mitt Romney hasn't paid taxes for
ten years on the Senate floor because "someone" told him that was the case,
is refusing to release his own tax returns. The second is just how rich
some of these members of the US Congress are. RollCall has a list of the
richest 50 members of Congress:
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) $305.46 Million... more »
I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own: A Psychological Profile of Mitt Romney
In the 10th episode of Season 4 of *The Office*, Michael Scott, the
self-centered, bumbling manager of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch office,
goes on a blind date set up by one of his subordinates. He'd just broken up
with Jan, his boss, and wanted to start dating again. He goes to the coffee
shop and he says out loud he needs to look for a brunette wearing blue
jeans and a black top, sees a hot blonde wearing a skirt and instantly
deludes himself into thinking they're the same woman.
Scott tries to introduce himself to her and she completely ignores and
brushes past him. When hi... more »
Publication ban proper to protect identity of bullied person however nonidentifying information to be made public
*A.B. v. Bragg Communications Inc., *2012 SCC 46 was just released. The
Supreme Court upholds publication bans insofar as they protect the identity
of people subjected to bullying on the basis that the specific identity is
but a “sliver” of information. Nonidentifying information however, is to
be made public, as there is no harmful impact on the bullied person since
the information cannot be connected to the bullied person. The public’s
right to open courts –and press freedom – therefore prevail with respect to
the nonidentifying content. The Court writes:
* *
[10] ... more »
Woodworth's Wank: A Personal Reaction
I watched the vote on Woodworth's Wank yesterday online. People had been
predicting/guessing how many yeas it would get. I said 58. Kady O'Malley,
the CBC House reporter who had in effect told us not to worry our purty
little heads about it, weighed in with her number: 30 to 50. (I think she
refined it later to 50, but I'm not sure.) Of the ones I saw or that used
the #M312bet tag, Aaron Wherry won the fruit basket with 90. (It was 203 to
91.)
As MPs bobbed up and down for yeas and nays, my head was spinning and my
gut was clenched. I quickly lost track of the count, but it was crys... more »
Episode 27 of The Disarming Grannies Of The UK Documentary Series: "Outer Mongolia"
27 September 2012
Campaigning Life Resumes*EPISODE TWENTY SEVEN: “Outer Mongolia”*
With the trial over, Helen and Sylvia re-focus their energies on
campaigning and decide to surprise RAF Fylingdales by arriving under the
cover of darkness to display banners outside the base. It seems, for now,
that their humour, wit and cheeky banter has returned as they battle
against the unforgiving conditions of the Yorkshire moors to try, once
more, to promote their messages of peace.
To find out more about Fylingdales please visit the official *RAF site*
To find out more about Yorkshire CND... more »
MS-NPR Plays Softball with Arne
Ever since NPR and PBS got serious about fund raising among the
oligarchs--Gates and the Koch Bros.--their coverage has suffered and their
objectivity has been thrown to the wind. Can we imagine a more
inappropriate scenario than the ecology-killing Koch Boys sponsoring PBS's
most prominent science program, NOVA? Straight out the imagination of
Hunter S. Thompson, may he rest in peace.
Well, yes, I can think of something as inappropriate, at least: The
Gates-owned NPR interviewing Arne Duncan about the Chicago Teachers Strike
last Sunday morning.
Scott Simon asked not a single ... more »
Supreme Court to rule on Facebook privacy case today!
A Nova Scotia teenager who wants to sue the people she alleges bullied her
on Facebook will find out Thursday whether she’ll get to keep her name and
details of the case private.
The Supreme Court of Canada is set to rule on what’s called the “open court
principle,” the right of the public to understand what's happening in the
courts and to scrutinize its judgements.
At stake is whether the teen’s desire to keep her identity and the details
of what was allegedly said about her private should override the public’s
right to an open court.
Read more:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/supr... more »
Read Stuff, You Should
Happy Birthday to Mike Schmidt, 63. There are four positions where
"greatest ever" is contested, and four where it's uncontested. Of the
uncontested, only two are recent: Barry Bonds in LF, and Michael
Jack.Schmidt (I'm assuming that Alex Rodriguez counts as a worse SS than
Wagner, and not as serious competition for Schmidt). How about top-ten in
the NL in OPS+ almost every year beginning in 1974 and going through 1987,
missing only once, and leading the league at one point five years running
and six out of seven? And a great glove. Wonderful, wonderful, baseball
player.
The good s... more »
Rational Iran and the Great Power Games
Steve Pieczenik
Since the 1950’s when the CIA under the leadership of covert operatives F.
Roosevelt Jr and Schwarzkopf Sr. initiated a coup against the Iranian
Nationalist leader Mossadegh to install the Shah of Iran who was more
"sympathetic" to our oil interest, the US has been playing games in Iran.
Along with the US geopolitical partners - Britain, Russia, France, Russia,
and Israel---Iran became a pawn as well as major power player in the Middle
East for the next sixty five years. Not once in that period of time under
Iran’s respective leaders—Shah Pahlavi, Ayatollah Khomeini... more »
Who Remembers When Boehner And Cantor Said They Would Crack Down On Corruption Inside Their Caucus?
When they took over Congress, Boehner and Cantor publicly crowed about how
they would have a zero tolerance policy towards corruption among Republican
Members of the House. Republican Members of the House have, by and large,
ignored them-- some with a passion. Staten Island mobster Michael "Mikey
Suits" Grimm has been on a crime spree since before he took office and
California's most prominent crooked Mormon, John Boehner crony Buck McKeon,
is drowning in so many corruption scandals that no one can keep track of
them all.
But it looks likely that the first of the batch Boehner a... more »
The Diffusion of Oil Income Transparency
* This is a guest post by Jeff Colgan, an assistant professor in the School
of International Service at American University.*
Policy responses to the resource curse are diffusing in the international
community. In August, the U.S. enacted rules that could reduce corruption,
promote political accountability, and maybe even reduce the probability of
war. The decision was encouraged transnationally by actors from developing
countries. Now the European Union and other countries are taking up the
torch. All of this points to an intriguing transnational pattern of policy
diffusion of whi... more »
Herbert Lom R.I.P.
The great Herbert Lom has passed away. Here are some extracts from the Pink
Panther films to remember him by.
Herbert Lom will be greatly missed, he also starred in one of my favourite
films of all time - The Ladykillers...
EU wants $12 billion annual trade sanctions on U.S. in Boeing row
*(Reuters) - The European Union asked the World Trade Organization on
Thursday for the right to impose annual trade sanctions worth up to $12
billion on the United States in retaliation for illegal subsidies to
planemaker Boeing (BA.N).*
The request is the latest legal move in the world's biggest trade dispute,
over subsidies for Boeing and its European rival Airbus (EAD.PA), which has
lasted more than seven years so far.
"This follows the EU's assessment that the United States had not lived up
to its obligation to remove its illegal subsidies in the aircraft sector,
as required b... more »
Spanish magazine publishes Mohammad cartoon
*Reuters) - Spanish political satire magazine El Jueves has published a
cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad on its cover, soon after violent protests
rocked the Muslim world over a U.S. film and French caricatures deemed
insulting to Islam.*
El Jueves' latest edition, which hit Spanish newsstands on Wednesday, shows
several Muslims in a police lineup under the title "But...does anyone know
what Mohammad looks like?"
Any depiction of the prophet is considered blasphemous by Muslims but the
issue has also caused a debate in the West about censorship and freedom of
speech.
The magazine ... more »
Netanyahu to set "clear red line" for Iran in U.N. speech
* (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will set out, in
his speech at the United Nations on Thursday, an ultimatum for Iran to halt
its disputed nuclear drive or risk coming under military attack, an Israeli
official said.
*
Netanyahu faces the world body after U.S. President Barack Obama
disappointed some Israelis, in his own address to the annual assembly, by
not calling for a deadline to be imposed on Tehran - though he did say time
for diplomacy "is not unlimited".
Israel sees a mortal threat in a nuclear-armed Iran and has long threatened
to strike its arch-fo... more »
4.0 Magnitude Earthquake GULF OF CALIFORNIA - 27th September 2012
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake has struck the GULF OF CALIFORNIA at a depth of
10.2 km (6.3 miles), the quake hit at 11:24:11 UTC Thursday 27th September
2012
The epicenter was 32 km (19 miles) NNE of La Paz, Mexico
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
The China Japan Dispute Over Diaoyu Islands: Historical Analysis
Global Research
Chandra Muzaffar
*Tensions are rising in the dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu
Islands —- 5 tiny islands and 3 rocks covering a mere 7 square kilometres
in the East China Sea. It is unfortunate that this is happening especially
when Chinese-Japanese economic ties have reached a new level since the end
of last year with the two countries agreeing to use their respective
currencies in their bilateral trade, instead of the US dollar.*
*To de-escalate tensions, Japan should make the first move. It was the
Japanese government’s purchase of three of the isla... more »
Thursday Morning Linkage
Do a google image search for "nerd duck public domain";
Charli's image comes up pretty quickly.
Not sure what that means.
- Colin Kahl defends the Obama Administration's Middle-East
foreign-policy record on CNN.
- Juan Cole does something similar at his blog.
- Han Xudong argues that trade ties will prevent current tensions in
East Asia from escalating to war (via Taylor Fravel).
- Emmanuel at *IPEZone*: "Meet China's Real Challenger, Mexico (No
Kidding)."
- Corey Wallace assesses developments in Australia-Japan cooperation.
- A short note on podcasts:... more »
4.8 Magnitude Earthquake TIMOR REGION, INDONESIA - 27th September 2012
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck the TIMOR REGION, INDONESIA at a
depth of 98.1 km (61 miles), the quake hit at 10:28:40 UTC Thursday 27th
September 2012
The epicenter was 32 km (19 miles) Northwest of Naisano Dua, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
Alicia Williams and David Platt whose bodies were found in the swollen River Clywedog in North Wales may have drowned trying to rescue one of their pet dogs
*The body of a 27-year-old woman, named locally as Alicia Williams, was
found on a sand bank in a shallow part of the river near Erddig last night
by someone walking their dog.*
A search team found the body of a man, identified as David Platt, 25, in
the early hours of this morning.
Police said the two people were a couple and were with their five dogs when
the accident took place. All five dogs have since been accounted for.
Both are from the Wrexham area. Post-mortems will be carried out later.
Chief Inspector Mark Pierce told a press conference the deaths were not
being treated... more »
I'm sorry but words fail me
The news that, as the BBC put it, 'Social services and police "missed
opportunities" to stop the sexual abuse of young girls in Rochdale, a
report into a grooming scandal has revealed.' has shocked but not surprised
me. Political correctness has been made so important that the Police and
other arms of the state are often too scared of causing offence to take
action against certain 'minorities'.
*The Times* has been printing much more detail than the BBC has been
reporting and some of The Times' reports have left me lost for words. Here
are some extracts from The Times courtesy of Ga... more »
Architectural Mini-Tutorial: Ceiling Decks
[image: Hamilton Organic Architecture]
Open plan living is a vast improvement on life in a box -- or in a series
of boxes, which is what describes most traditional houses, unfortunately.
But it’s not enough just to be “open plan.” The biggest open plan space is
just a field, right? *Good* open-plan living still requires a delineation
of spaces within the larger space – it’s just more difficult for the
designer to ensure the right degree of separation between the sub-spaces,
and the right amount of integration of each sub-space with the main space.
In a well-designed open space, ... more »
Following In Nixon's Footsteps
On the day Stephen Harper will receive the Statesman of the Year award from
the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, Yves Engler writes a Swiftian op-ed,
suggesting that Harper should really receive the first ever Richard Nixon
Prize. "The decision to grant Harper the Richard Nixon Prize," Engler
writes, "was made after a thorough review of his foreign policy:"
The grantees cited Harper’s “consistent backing of the interests of North
America’s top 1% of income earners, with a special emphasis on supporting
those who make their billions from resource extraction, weaponry and
banking.”... more »
Debate Questions for Paul Ryan From an Employment Lawyer
This is part of our series on what questions employment law practitioners
would ask of the candidates in the debates. Today, I propose some questions
I'd ask Paul Ryan.
*During your acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, you
talked about an automobile plant in your district. You said this, " Right
there at that plant, candidate Obama said: 'I believe that if our
government is there to support you … this plant will be here for another
hundred years.' That’s what he said in 2008.Well, as it turned out, that
plant didn’t last another year. It is locked up and empty to... more »
Leaked EU Cyber 'Terror' Proposal Would Erode Civil Liberties
*EFF*
A new project aimed at “countering illegal use of the Internet” is making
headlines this week. The project, dubbed CleanIT, is funded by the European
Commission (EC) to the tune of more than $400,000 and, it would appear,
aims to eradicate the Internet of terrorism.
European Digital Rights, a Brussels-based organization consisting of 32
NGOs throughout Europe (and of which EFF is a member), has recently
published a leaked draft document from CleanIT.
On the project’s website, its stated goal is to reduce the impact of the
use of the Internet for “terrorist purposes” but “... more »
How to Identify a Psychopath
*DTOM*
The Mask Of Sanity: An Attempt To Clarify Some Issues About The So-Called
Psychopathic Personality
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Calling U.S. Drone Strikes 'Surgical' Is Orwellian Propaganda
The Atlantic
Conor Friedersdorf
*A moment's reflection is enough to understand why intellectually honest
people should shun the loaded metaphor.*
*
*
The Obama Administration deliberately uses the word "surgical" to describe
its drone strikes. Official White House spokesman Jay Carney marshaled the
medical metaphor here, saying that "a hallmark of our counterterrorism
efforts has been our ability to be exceptionally precise, exceptionally
surgical and exceptionally targeted." White House counterterrorism adviser
John Brennan attributed "surgical precision" and "laser-like focus" t... more »
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department ‘on a routine basis has been using unreasonable force’ in jails
Gabriel Carrillo - Credit: SoCal ACLU Madison Ruppert, *Contributor*
A report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern
California revealed that jailers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department have routinely struck inmates in the head unnecessarily with
various objects, fists and even against jail bars causing “horrific head
injuries.”
This is the same department looking at operating drones over Los Angeles,
even though drones are already being operated domestically by the U.S.
military in concert with law enforcement, and the same department whose
deput... more »
Oh, the irony! ‘Smart grid’ control software maker gets hacked
Image credit: Telvent Madison Ruppert, *Contributor*
In an incredibly ironic piece of news, Telvent, the company behind a
control system designed to be used in concert with the so-called “smart
grid,” recently announced that their network had been breached by hackers
who “accessed project files related to a control system used in portions of
the electrical grid,” according to *Threat Level*.
The smart grid system, which companies like Telvent (which is owned by
Schneider Electric) are involved in, is currently being pushed by
corporate-sponsored studies as well as major legislativ... more »
UN Seeks to Limit Free Speech After Muslim Protests
Youtube
[image: OffgridOutpost.com]
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The War Stops Here
*Gary Johnson*
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Assange slams Obama's claims of advocating freedom of speech
PressTV
The founder of the WikiLeaks website has ridiculed US President Barack
Obama’s claim of supporting free speech in the Middle East while
persecuting his group for publishing leaked US diplomatic cables.
Speaking Wednesday in a New York event via a video feed from the Ecuadorean
embassy in London, where he is holed up for fear of being extradited to the
US by British officials, Julian Assange mocked President Barack Obama for
defending free speech in Muslim nations during his Tuesday address to the
UN General Assembly as he underlined his own case of being targeted by US
a... more »
U.S. Attempts to Instigate World War III
Youtube
[image: OffgridOutpost.com]
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