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Thomas Paine

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

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

28 November - Blogs I'm Following II

Rizières inondées à la frontière entre le Viet...Rizières inondées à la frontière entre le Vietnam et le Cambodge (Photo credit: dalbera)
Vietnam 044Vietnam 044 (Photo credit: SwedeBear)
English: Congressional portrait of Congressman...English: Congressional portrait of Congressman Heath Shuler, 112th Congress. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
10:21 pm MST

Tornado Slams Into Europe's Biggest Steel Plant in Italy

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 12 minutes ago
A freak tornado has smashed into Europe's largest steel plant in the Italian city of Taranto, leaving one person missing and dozens injured. Video footage shows the storm rolling in off the sea and tearing through the port city before hitting the huge IVLA site. It brought down a chimney stack and caused significant damage to buildings at the factory's docks. A total of 38 people - including 20 staff at the plant - are reported to be injured and divers have been searching for a worker who is unaccounted for after a dockside crane collapsed. http://news.sky.com/story/1018054/tornad... more »

Rahm's Greatest Hit Has Done All The Damage He Can As A Congressmember-- Now He's Ambling Off To K Street: Heath Shuler DC's Latest Revolving Door Lobbyist

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 21 minutes ago
Sleazy lobbyist Heath Shuler-- the ultimate lame duck If you're a *DWT* regular, I don't have to tell you who North Carolina Blue Dog Heath Shuler is. We've been following him with trepidation since Rahm Emanuel plucked him away from Tennessee Republicans to run as a North Carolina "Democrat" in 2006. Since then he racked up a dismal 37.93 critical vote score from ProgressivePunch, even worse than the other two North Carolina Blue Dogs, Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell. Shuler, an anti-Choice, antigay, anti-immigrant bigot has voted more frequently with Boehner than with Pelosi and ha... more »

presupposition

Bill Robertson at GlobaLove Think Tank - 21 minutes ago
*So true for me*

Fox Doctor Psychoanalyzes Psy And His Gangnam Song

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 21 minutes ago
This is an interesting video. Fox News psychiatrist Keith Ablow talks with Bill O'Reilly about the popular song *"Gangnam Style"* by the South Korean pop artist Psy. Cenk Uygur, the host of the Young Turks, pokes fun at the Fox clip. But the Fox doctor is right. However, he does over-analyze the song and its massive popularity. People have always wanted to listen to catchy tunes, especially during dark times. This is completely normal. The 1920s was all about escapism. But then came the Great Depression and Woody Guthrie. Moods, cultures, and music styles change. The 2000s has also... more »

Fukushima Disaster Is Not Over, Says Chair of Japanese Diet Investigation of Disaster

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 43 minutes ago
Fukushima inquiry reports become bestsellers November 28, 2012 This article was written by Takashi Sugimoto and Koji Kitabayashi.) http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201211280065 [Excerpted] Two of the four inquiries into the Fukushima disaster are selling well in bookstores ahead of national elections in which nuclear power is likely to be a polarizing policy issue.... "The Fukushima nuclear accident is not over yet," said Kiyoshi Kurokawa, who chaired the Diet investigation panel. "Each of us is responsible for the world—and for our children. I hope a wide range... more »

Beijing Does Damage Control on Passport Map

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 49 minutes ago
*A whip scorpion. * Pushback has begun...first, the problem (Guardian): The map, in China's newly designed passport, claims ownership of the entire South China Sea – parts of which are also claimed by Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia – as well as disputed areas on the China-India border and two Taiwanese tourist destinations. The Philippines, Vietnam, India and Taiwan have all vehemently protested against the new microchip-equipped passport, which essentially forces neighbouring countries to validate China's position on contested regions. Vietnam and the Phil... more »

Alex Jones: TSA is Above The Law Meltdown!!

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 hour ago
*TSA: Tyrants Stole America.*

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 hour ago
*Atlanta airport workers egg Saints bus --and btw Fuck the Atlanta Falcons*

Obama opposes Silicon Valley firms on immigration reform

Rich Rifkin at Lexicon Daily - 2 hours ago
Allegedly because it is not part of a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill, CNET is reporting that President Obama opposes "the Republican-backed STEM Jobs Act of 2012, which would make up to 55,000 visas available to foreigners who earned a master's or doctoral degree in certain science or technology area from a U.S. university. Those visas would only be available if immigration authorities certify that no American workers are available to fill the post." Obama has not said he will veto this bill, but that is a possibility. It's rather surprising for a few reasons that the p... more »

What will happen on the Rob Ford appeal

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 2 hours ago
I have predicted this wrongly so far but ... Ford will get a stay pending an appeal. The appeal will be expedited and heard in January. Ford will lose the appeal because the judgment is based on a finding of fact - the donations were not immaterial.

Video: Japan tsunami debris covers Hawaii beach

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 2 hours ago
28 November 2012 (NBC News) – On the Big Island of Hawaii, debris is changing the landscape as thousands of pounds of trash hit Kamilo Beach – much of it from Japan. The refuse is already impacting wildlife such as fish and birds. NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports. Tsunami debris washes up in Hawaii Technorati Tags: Japan,Oceania,pollution,ecosystem disruption,Fukushima,bird decline,fish decline,plastic

Resolution

killing Mother at killing Mother - 3 hours ago
There exists in the world, forces, entities, people, organisms, those who lack the propensity for empathy. Sociopaths. Psychopaths. Those bent on destruction, without remorse. The world we live in is a result of the willful destruction of such existences. Also. There exists in the world, forces of good. Those bent on creation, creativity, preservation, fecundity. Living in a world of productivity and abundance, rather than strife. The battle between life and destruction will never cease. But no other battle exists. What more of substance is there to fight for? Of what value is the ... more »

Teachers' contract includes peer review

Rich Rifkin at Lexicon Daily - 3 hours ago
Education Week is reporting that the teachers' union in Newark, NJ has agreed to a new contract which gives teachers an incentive to perform well in the classroom: A newly ratified teachers’ contract in Newark creates several firsts for New Jersey. Some teachers will have the opportunity to earn up to $12,500 extra for getting a superior performance rating on evaluations, teaching in a low-performing school, or teaching a high-need subject. Also for the first time, peer reviews will become a formal part of the evaluation process. This is an excellent idea. It's not the first s... more »

Yo, Chinese Communist Party: They were only KIDDING about Kim Jong-Un being the sexiest man alive

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 3 hours ago
*“[Kim Jong-Un] has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time.”* *-- The Onion's "style and entertainment editor," Marissa Blake-Zweibel* *"No doubt the women of Beijing are swooning. After all, if you squint really, really hard, you might see a slight resemblance [between Kim Jong-Un and] George Clooney — in that they are both sentient humans."* *-- WaPo's Al Kamen, in* "China takes the Onion's bait" *by Ken* This one definietely comes from our You Can't Make This Stuff Up Dept. Anyone who has tried his hand at satire knows there are... more »

John Friend's Truth Militia Broadcast For Monday, November 26th, 2012

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 3 hours ago
I have been friends with John Friend for sometime now, and fully support his work over at John Friend's Blog (www.johnfriendsblog.blogspot.com). I did, however, miss lstening his show on Truthmilitia Radio ( www.truthmilitia.com) live on Monday, due to family matters. I was finally able to listen to it today on the archives, and it was fabulous. I want all of my own readers to take the time to listen to John's Truth Militia Radio broadcast for Monday. He has a very special guest, Thomas Goodrich, who wrote a very interesting book: Hellstorm, The Death Of Nazi Germany, 1944-1947... more »

Fran Clark : Keeping Watch on the 'School of Assassins'

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 4 hours ago
One at a time, marchers place their crosses in the chain link fence outside Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. Photos by Heidi Turpin / The Rag Blog. By any other name: Protesters keep watch at the 'School of Assassins' Each cross has the name of one of the thousands murdered or disappeared throughout Latin America during decades of violence and oppression. By Fran Clark / The Rag Blog /

Of course they will be only used for humanitarian applications...yeah right...

Obi-Wan Kabuki at American Kabuki - 4 hours ago
*Synthetic Police Are Coming: DARPA Engineering Autonomous Robots* Because of the risks involved in rescue aid workers and human response teams, DARPA awarded Boston Dynamics, Inc. a $10.9 million contract to manufacture humanoid robots that are bi-pedal, built like humans and have a sensor head with on-board computing capabilities. Completion of the project is expected for August of 2014. These robots are being created to assist in excavation and rescue missions, according to DARPA . They could also be employed to evacuation operations during either man-made or natural d... more »

Wednesday Night Linkage

Daniel Nexon at Duck of Minerva - 4 hours ago
Spent the morning recording a podcast. Except that we just chatted and never got around to the actual interview. Then it was off to job talks and child chauffeuring…. Tom Z. Collina doesn’t like the idea of a BMD system for the US east coast. Dan Drezner says that China is involved in a security dilemma Continue reading

The life and times of a reluctant volunteer, by the numbers

paul at Paying attention - 4 hours ago
A day in the fast-paced life of an international development quasi-volunteer, by the numbers. 6:30 - The time in the morning I boarded the bus. 6:45 - The number of hours I spent travelling from Copan Ruinas to Santa Rosa de Copan and back for a two-hour meeting. 146 - The actual road distance travelled, in kilometres. (Which, yes, means an average speed of 22 km/h.) 2: The number of dead cows I saw by the side of the road. One, coming home, was quite deflated. The morning dead cow was fresher - a dog was tugging at its stomach, and about 15 black vultures were waiting their turns. 30... more »

Glenn Greenwald On The Next 4 Years With Obama

Intercept at The Intercept - 5 hours ago
Help Us Transmit This Story Add to Your Blogger Account Put it On Facebook Tweet this post Print it from your printer Email and a collection of other outlets Try even more services

Fortune 500 Awards Tunisian President "Chatham House Prize"

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 5 hours ago
Corporate-financier think-tank Chatham House showers Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki with accolades and praise. *November 28, 2012* (LD) - The Chatham House, a corporate-financier funded think-tank based in the United Kingdom, announced on its website earlier this week that it had awarded President Moncef Marzouki of Tunisia their 2012 "Chatham House Prize." Chatham House claimed on their website that Marzouki has "ensured that Tunisia remains at the forefront of the new democratic wave in the Middle East and North Africa." Marzouki, who accepted the award in person (presented ... more »

Coming Soon: A New Beginning

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 5 hours ago
*By Jay -- Ottawa* ** Don’t look out the window, whatever you do. That guy parading up and down our wide blogger sidewalk every Monday morning – well, he’s back. You know, the would-be prophet wearing boards saying in front, “The End Is Near” and in back, “It’s Global Warming, Stupid.” I think his name is Hedges. Never lets up, does he. Cormac McCarthy can’t hold a candle to him. As youngsters we joked about the kid who didn’t quite catch the number mentioned by the science teacher on how much longer the sun would last. “Excuse me, teacher. Did you say one billion years o... more »

Howard Wooldridge : Rocky Mountain High / 1

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 5 hours ago
Howard "Cowboy" Wooldridge and Misty fight marijuana prohibition in Colorado. Misty and me: Fighting pot prohibition in Colorado Governor Hickenlooper moaned that tourism would decline or, if more tourists came, they would be the 'wrong sort of people.' What a muffin-head he was! By Howard Wooldridge / The Rag Blog / November 28, 2012 Howard "Cowboy" Wooldridge, the founder and director

ALEX JONES: NWO IS IN DEEP TROUBLE

Obi-Wan Kabuki at American Kabuki - 5 hours ago

NOW SCIENTISTS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS DANGEROUSLY AFFECT HUMAN HEALTH ...WHILE GREEDY GMO COMPANYS LIKE MONSANTO UP THEIR PROFITS BY CLAIMING THAT GMO CROPS ARE SO HARMLESS TO HUMANS THAT THEY DON'T EVEN NEED TO BE TESTED.

éminence grise at Cherchez la Verite - 5 hours ago
------------------------------ *How GMO foods alter organ function and pose a very real health threat to humans* http://youtu.be/T-IJikX1144 Uploaded by TheHealthRanger on Feb 3, 2012 The Health Ranger, Mike Adams, explains how studies in cell research have demonstrated the mechanism by which micro RNA from genetically engineered foods may alter organ function in humans. Cherchez la Verite

Man Bites Woman In The Face and Takes Off Running Naked (Sound Familiar?)

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 5 hours ago
http://www.kztv10.com/news/man-bites-woman-in-the-face-and-takes-off-running-naked/#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/1/

The Decline and Fall of FOIA

KRandle at A Different Perspective - 6 hours ago
There are those who believe that the Freedom of Information Act is the gateway to all knowledge about UFOs. If you have a question, just file a FOIA request and the information will be sent to you. Anything you wish to know, you can learn, if you can find the right agency, form your questions intelligently, and if you have a little patience. And I say crapola… Here’s why. In the last century, which of course, means fifteen years ago, I wanted a report that had been issued at the White Sands Proving Ground. I provided the precise name of the document, the name of the author and the ... more »

Chinese man Lu Zhengai blows life savings on ark to escape Apocalypse

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 6 hours ago
Lu Zhengai is so scared by the Mayan apocalypse, that’s he’s spent all his money - $160,000 - on building his very own Noah’s Ark. The barely sea worthy boat, which he claims will save him and his family when flood waters destroy his house, was designed by Lu himself, measures 65 feet and will weigh 80 tons when finished, according to Chinese media. Land lubber Lu, who lives in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of China – thousands of miles from the sea, began building the boat out of fear for the “doomsday” floods, predicted by the Maya calendar for December 21, 2012. http:/... more »

Aspiring Dictator Morsi Falsely Claims 90% of Egypt Stands By Him

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 6 hours ago
** *An estimated 100,000 Egyptians protested against Morsi's decree at Tahrir Square on November 27, 2012. Source of photo: Photograph: Mo OHAMED ABD EL GHANY/REUTERS.* You thought Obama, Romney, and Netanyahu were bad liars? An excerpt from Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's *interview with Time Magazine*: *On whether, in hindsight, he would have handled his decree differently:*Oh, no, I don’t see the situation this way. What I can see now is, the Egyptians are free. They are raising their voices when they are opposing the President and when they are opposing what’s going on. ... more »

Giant 100-meter sarcophagus constructed at Chernobyl nuclear plant

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 6 hours ago
http://rt.com/news/chernobyl-new-safe-confinement-773/

Chinese mogul Wu Jialiang sues Obama

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 6 hours ago
President Obama this year ruled against allowing a Chinese man to build a wind farm in Oregon, calling him a ‘national security threat’. Convinced that the president was biased against the Chinese, the man is taking Obama to court. Wu Jialiang, CEO of Ralls Corp. and one of China’s richest men, is challenging Obama in a federal court today on his refusal to let him build a wind farm on US ground he had purchased – even though other foreigners had built businesses in the same area, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “We are suing the president because we do not accept his findin... more »

Uganda: Nodding Disease Continues to Mystify

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 6 hours ago
While health experts try to identify the cause of East Africa's unexplained nodding disease, children continue to suffer. http://thinkafricapress.com/uganda/nodding-disease-continues-mystify

Untitled

éminence grise at Cherchez la Verite - 6 hours ago
. . *Mexico Officials: Allowing GM Corn Will Devastate Crops* November 22, 2012 | Original Here Lisa Garber, *Natural Society ** * *Waking Times * Despite growing worldwide concern over the health and environmental risks inherent in genetically modified crops, the government of Mexico is toying with the idea of growing GM corn. This is the opposite of what other nations such as India are doing, where scientists gathered in New Delhi to discuss the need for the Indian government to ban GMO trial... more »

Boehner back to the same old battle plan

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 6 hours ago
There's no good reason the House couldn't pass the ready to go Senate bill that locks in the Bush era tax rates for income under $250K a year. They could do it in an hour on any day. There's only one reason not to, and it's that Boehner wants to hold lower income Americans hostage in order to protect the top 2% of wealth holders from a slight tax increase even after they sucked up the bulk of the economic gains in the last 12 years. Some of his high profile Republican brethen apparently got the message of 2012, and are urging him to just pass the Senate bill already, but Boehner i... more »

Just a Few Questions for the Liberal Party of Canada

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 6 hours ago
How long can the Liberal Party duck the fundamental issue of climate change and what it means to our country, to our people and to our world? Here are a few questions I'd like the party and those vying for its leadership to consider and answer. And, once they're finished, I'd put the same questions to the New Democrats. Does the Liberal Party acknowledge the fact that mankind cannot consume more than a small fraction, perhaps just 20 per cent or even less, of known fossil fuel reserves already on the books of energy companies, if we are to have any hope of keeping global warming... more »

Counting Filibusters and Getting Reform Right

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 6 hours ago
Longtime filibuster opponent Hendrik Hertzberg encountered a pretty good Michael Tomasky item on the Reid/Merkley/Udall reform package which wondered whether getting rid of the motion to proceed and forcing talking filibusters would be worth the bother, and was puzzled. Sure, Tomasky eventually concluded that some reform was better than none, but Hertzberg thinks it's obvious (his emphasis): For the past three years, as I noted in that last post, the Republicans have been firing off filibusters at an average rate of a hundred and twenty-nine per year. That comes to very nearly *one ... more »

Liberal child apes Saint John McCain!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 6 hours ago
*WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012* *Salon explains What Rice Said:* The endless attacks on Susan Rice have turned into a graduate course in the (non) science of paraphrase. What did Susan Rice actually say when she went on those Sunday programs? At Salon, Alex Seitz-Wald has now offered this account. We’d say this account is not strong: SEITZ-WALD (11/28/12): Today, for the second straight day, President Obama’s UN ambassador, Susan Rice, whom he may nominate to be secretary of state, met with recalcitrant Republican senators on Capitol Hill to try to assuage them. And today, for the s... more »

Analysis: Egypt & Morsi's Power Grab

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 6 hours ago
*November 28, 2012* (Stop Imperialism) .... Geopolitical analyst Eric Draitser appears on RT to discuss the political crisis in Egypt. He explains the reasons behind President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood's power grab and the possible long-term implications. Draitser also points out the true nature of some elements within the opposition and how the conflict might be resolved.

Yes, please . . .

Edstock at The Galloping Beaver - 7 hours ago
From Occupy Canada.

Shelley Capito Isn't The Only Conservative Being Targeted By Lunatic Fringe Teabaggers

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 7 hours ago
West Virginia Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a career-long tool of the mining industry, has already announced that she's running for the West Virginia Senate seat currently held by Jay Rockefeller in redder and redder West Virginia. (Rockefeller, who will be 77 in 2014 has been long thought to be on the verge of announcing his retirement.) The Tea Party and the far right extremists in the GOP seem unhappy with Capito's announcement. Interestingly, Capito's ProgressivePunch vote score for the 2011-12 congressional session is *identical* with defeated Tea Party fave Allen We... more »

Credit

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 7 hours ago
*By Frederic Bastiat.* [From "That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen," 1850] [image: image]In all times, but more especially of late years, attempts have been made to extend wealth by the extension of credit. I believe it is no exaggeration to say, that since the revolution of February, the Parisian presses have issued more than 10,000 pamphlets, crying up this solution of the *social problem*. The only basis, alas, of this solution, is an optical delusion — if, indeed, an optical delusion can be called a basis at all. The first thing done is to confuse cash with produce,... more »

Exam question of the day: On America’s lost decade

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 7 hours ago
America grew up under an ethic of self-reliance. It now revels in an ethic representing precisely the opposite. [image: image] For your examination question today, discuss whether or not such a situation is sustainable. [Pic from Zero Hedge. Hat tip Keith W.] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

Romney operative declares moral victory

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 8 hours ago
Shorter Stu Stevens, top Romney campaign planner: Miserable Mitt didn't really lose the election. All the rich people and angry white guys voted for him. If the damn poors and coloreds didn't get to vote, Mitt would be measuring for drapes in the Oval Office and I'd be looking at a gig as the new PressSec. Also too, Obama only won because the stupid lamestream media wouldn't vet him because he's a blah man. Next time it will be different. You'll see...

Czech defence minister Alexandr Vondra resigns, citing election loss to corruption scandal

Obi-Wan Kabuki at American Kabuki - 8 hours ago
* * * * *Czech defence minister Alexandr Vondra resigns, citing election loss to corruption scandal* Wednesday, November 28, 2012 By The Associated Press PRAGUE - Czech Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra is resigning from his post, citing a lack of public support. Vondra says Wednesday he decided to resign after he failed to be re-elected to Parliament's upper house in October elections. Prime Minister Petr Necas says Vondra, a former anti-communist dissident and keen supporter of close ties with the United States, was the best defence minister in the last 20 years and desc... more »

Obama Ends Federal Contracts With BP Citing "Lack of Business Integrity"

Obi-Wan Kabuki at American Kabuki - 8 hours ago
* * * * The bodies of 11 workers were never recovered in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. (Gerald Herbert/File/Associated Press) * http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/11/28/wrd-bp-oil-spill-charges-court.html * * **BP suspended from new U.S. government contracts* *2 BP supervisors, ex-executive in court on Gulf oil spill charges* The Associated Press Posted: Nov 28, 2012 8:36 AM ET Last Updated: Nov 28, 2012 1:47 PM ET The Obama administration put a temporary stop to new federal contracts with British oil company BP today, citing... more »

Fly on little wing

Libby Spencer at The Impolitic - 8 hours ago
Dozed off before I posted this last night, so a belated tip of the hat to Jimi Hendrix who would have been 70 years old yesterday. This was always one of my favorites. Wish he was still with us. So many of the best performers of that era died too soon. On the other hand, they could have all ended up like Elvis, which would have been just as tragic.

Ehud Barak, Israel Defense Minister, Quits Politics

Obi-Wan Kabuki at American Kabuki - 8 hours ago
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/ehud-barak-israel-defense_n_2190889.html *Ehud Barak, Israel Defense Minister, Quits Politics* By ARON HELLER 11/26/12 05:16 PM ET EST JERUSALEM — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak abruptly quit politics Monday, potentially robbing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a key ally who enabled his hard-line government to present a moderate face to the world. Netanyahu's party picked a young, more hawkish list of candidates in its primary election on Monday. Barring another comeback by the mercurial former general, Barak's departure mar... more »

Arms Race Update - Asia, Again

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 8 hours ago
India now appears to be on a permanent war footing, ready to respond to a simultaneous attack by China and Pakistan. The strategy, known as "Cold Start" also envisions an optional surprise attack on Pakistan using blitzkrieg tactics. Indian Army T-90s *The world’s second-largest army, which celebrated its 64th Army Day on January 15, is on the cusp of implementing a major transformation in its organizational structure and war strategies to meet a possible combined threat from China and its ally Pakistan.* *The change follows more than half a decade of annual exercises involving on... more »

John David Ebert - On The Dark Knight Rises

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 9 hours ago
*The Dark Knight Rises* *Reviewed by John David Ebert* *Cinema Discourse * *“As above, so below.”* –Hermes Trismegistus There is an ancient Indian myth in which the gods Brahma and Vishnu contend against each other to see which is the mightiest. A cosmic pillar of light suddenly appears, and Brahma, transforming into a swan, flies upward to find out where it ends, while Vishnu turns himself into a turtle and swims into the depths. Neither god ever manages to reach the ends of the pillar, for the pillar is actually the cosmic lingam of Shiva himself, who steps forth as the migh... more »

More pretentious fun...

Roobin at THROUGH THE SCARY DOOR - 9 hours ago
*Get Back* If I get my brain on enough I’ll jam together some trite observations about the Get Back/Let It Be disaster, musical composition, roots music and suchlike, but for now I want make trite observations about The Beatles and Race. The Beatles were very, very lucky people. They found a manager, possibly the only in Britain, who did not want to ruthlessly exploit them for short term gain. They also found the only producer who could cultivate and discipline their talent with tact and grace (practically everything they in terms of song writing and recording was unselfconscious... more »

New science standards: the rip-off continues

skrashen at Schools Matter - 9 hours ago
Next Generation Science Standards “The second public draft of the Next Generation Science Standards, developed by Achieve, is due for release before the new year.” I posted this comment: To enforce the standards, there must be tests. And as is the case with other common core tests, they will be administered online. And they will be revised, updated, changed every year, old equipment will be replaced with new equipment. This means not only an initial boondoggle for the computer and publishing world, but a continuing boondoggle forever. There is no evidence that this will help studen... more »

Al Qaeda FSA Terrorists Destroy Art Statues in Syria

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 9 hours ago
YouTube video description [Channel - Arabi Souri]: Turkey backed Al Qaeda FSA terrorists, the Syrian branch of Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization ruling now in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and elsewhere, shown here destroying art statues in a location they infested. Similar to what their Afghanistan branch, Taliban, did with the Buddhas of Bamiyan statues there, and what Muslim Brotherhood fanatics in Egypt now plan for the pyramids & Sphinx, and of course in the name of freedom and using US taxpayers money and full support. Savages:

Truthout: The United States of War

Roberto Rodriguez at Dr Cintli - 9 hours ago
ben williams libraryAmerica's Future: War and Peace in the 21st CenturyWednesday, 28 November 2012 00:00By Roberto Cintli Rodriguez, Truthout | Op-Ed *Despite the political rhetoric, America is not defined by its division into red and blue states, but by its addiction to imperialism, exceptionalism and a military budget that positions it as The United States of War.* * * ** *In the United States, Arizona has come to represent many things; a super-magnet for the ignorant, the backward and the insane; a home to racial supremacists and xenophobes and, most of all, a laboratory for hate ... more »

since Mike Philbin is not an artist...

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 9 hours ago
seriously, I heard it today, it was put to me like this, slap bang in the middle of 'some other conversation about real artists', "...since you're not an artist." I was stunned, but don't think I showed it. I'm not sure the person I continued chatting with was aware that 'I had form' as a 'psycho-figurative artist' in a former life, so here's a bit of nostalgia for those who remember the sorta oil paintings I've created and a bit of a new item for those who didn't know. oil on hardboard 6ft x 4ft oil on hardboard 3ft x 4ft oil on hardboard 4ft x 4ft oil on paper 22inch x 32inch... more »

A Turbulent Sea of People

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 10 hours ago
Around the world nations are being seriously destabilized by the combined impacts of climate change and food insecurity. One factor in this is population density, the number of people a nation must somehow provide for within a fixed area. Canada has a population density of 9 people per square kilometer. Australia comes in at 8. The United States, 34 per sq. km. Around the world the picture is far different. Here is a list of countries facing serious population density issues. I've chosen only nations with populations greater than 20-million and population density greater... more »

William Hague - deluded or worse?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 10 hours ago
In today's House of Commons address, William Hague made a rather strange assertion, he said: 'Nevertheless, President Abbas has decided to press ahead—a decision we must respect. No one should be in any doubt that he is a courageous man of peace. Our central objective remains that of ensuring a rapid return to credible negotiations in order to secure a two-state solution. This is the guiding principle that will determine the way in which we will vote on any resolution at any time.' President Abbas a 'courageous man of peace', ''secure a two-state solution'. Here's his Head of Forei... more »

Sheldan Nidle - November 27, 2012

Obi-Wan Kabuki at American Kabuki - 10 hours ago
*Sheldan Nidle - November 27, 2012* 3 Cib, 4 Yaxk'in, 9 Eb Dratzo! We return! At present, we continue in blackout mode. We are busy establishing oversight committees to guide our Earth allies' organizations that are responsible for promulgating the new financial and monetary systems for your new realm. These committees will remain active only for the first six to nine months after the new systems come into force. The fiat financial systems still holding sway around your world are getting closer to collapse. The overwhelming debt accrued by your dark cabal is impinging mor... more »

Reform: Get to Conference

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 10 hours ago
Since I wrote about my lack of enthusiasm for eliminating filibusters on the motion to proceed to bills yesterday, I figure I should write one today about a reform that the Senate Democrats are pushing which I do strongly agree with: eliminating filibuster opportunities on getting to conference after a bill has passed. Norm Ornstein and Tom Mann have been complaining about the demise of proper conference committees (the formal, open, procedure in which House and Senate differences are reconciled after a bill passed both chambers) for some time now, and they're correct. Over the last... more »

France Is Helping Saudi Arabia Create "Dictatorial Islamic Zones" In Syria

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 10 hours ago
* France, that great beacon of Western civilization, is sponsoring Jihadist terrorists in Syria against Christians, Alawites, Kurds, and other religious and ethnic minorities. France has joined the United States, England, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar in creating "dictatorial Islamic zones" in Syria.* An excerpt from Thierry Meyssan's article, *"Welcome to the "liberated zone" of Aleppo"*: Thanks to logistical support from France, the new authorities of the "liberated zone" of Aleppo are currently setting up a religious dictatorship inspired by the Saudi model. The reality is ... more »

Really Brad?! ..... Really?

leftdog at Buckdog - 10 hours ago
*"The NDP thinks Saskatchewan's resource economy is a disease."* *Brad Wall* *Premier of Saskatchewan* *Really Brad?! ... Really?* *What diminished level of intellect does someone have to possess in order to believe this ridiculous statement?* *Quit acting like a bloody hillbilly ... you are far smarter than this! Perpetual election campaigns are one thing .... making statements that border on the moronic diminishes the Office of Premier of Saskatchewan!* *-Contrast Alberta's Understanding Of Economics With Sask Premier Brad Wall's Limited Grasp*

Acceptance of contract by conduct

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 10 hours ago
Heydary Hamilton PC v. Bay St. Documents Inc., 2012 ONCA 832 has a nice passage on accepting a contract by conduct: [4] We disagree with the motion judge's conclusion. On the issue of delay, although the appellant did not sign the lease agreement upon receipt and did not promptly return a signed copy by the respondent, there remains at minimum a triable issue as to whether the contract was accepted by conduct. At common law, an offer can be accepted by conduct if a) the conduct was performed with a view to acceptance of the offer and not for some other motive and b) the ... more »

Against "Modern Energy Access"

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Pielke, Jr.) at Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog - 10 hours ago
Access to energy is one of the big global issues that has hovered around the fringes of international policy discussions such as the Millennium Development Goals or climate policy, but which has been getting more attention in recent years. In my frequent lectures on climate policy I point out to people that 1.3 billion people worldwide lack any access to electricity and an 2.6 billion more cook with wood, charcoal, tree leaves, crop residues and animal waste (an additional 400 million cook with coal). The "success" scenarios of climate advocates hoping to power the world with car... more »

The 'apartheid state' of Israel - for @DD1958

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 11 hours ago
Poor PLEB Donovan, spreading lies about Israel being an apartheid state. Here's some pictures to disprove him, courtesy of The Real Jerusalem Streets *Israeli apartheid supporters might find it shocking that in Jerusalem,* [image: "Israeli soldier" "Arab girls" apartheid] * Israeli soldiers walk* on the same streets as Arab girls, *[image: "Palestinian school girls", " Israel soldier" , "Muslim girls"]* * by the Walls of the Old City near the Jaffa Gate* [image: Israeli apartheid, "Palestian woman" "Arab lady'] *and in the city center. Often they seem to not even notice one another.*

Elites Going Into Overgear Waving Around The Fiscal Cliff To Frighten American Workers

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 11 hours ago
If someone-- whether a Fox anchor, a Republican Big Business shill, a New Dem corporate whore or even President Obama-- uses the words "fiscal cliff" in a way to terrorize lo-info Americans about a manufactured faux-"crisis," they are, at best, being disingenuous. A couple weeks ago we saw how medieval French elites used the exact same tactics the exact same way to get free French peasants to give up their liberty and embrace serfdom for themselves and their families... for centuries. Right now, our elites here in America are trying to demolish the progressive agenda embodied in F... more »

And the winner is … no one: everybody missed Monday’s biggest story

david at Alberta Diary - 11 hours ago
Alberta families like this one just stayed home Monday and watched TV. Below: Pollster Janet Brown. So who stayed home? While poll analysts and pundits pontificated yesterday about what the somewhat-less-than-stellar victory of Conservative Joan Crockatt in the Calgary-Centre by-election might mean for the national political parties, the real story went largely unexamined – to ... more »

Syrian rebels take two military bases in heavy fighting

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 11 hours ago
*Interesting report from the Washington Post* Rebel fighters took over two military bases in Syria after heavy fighting Tuesday, an additional sign that the *ragtag force may finally be breaking a weeks-long stalemate* and making progress in its battle against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. *Making progress? Maybe, but keep reading. * In the past week alone, rebels have taken control of about a half-dozen military bases across the country as well as the Tishreen hydroelectric damnear the Turkish border. *No doubt Turkey had a big role in the taking of the hydro elec... more »

Parque con arboles adornados de luces de navidad

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 11 hours ago
[image: navidad] *CODIGO HTML PARA PONER ESTA IMAGEN EN SU BLOG* (Un click para seleccionar, Control C para copiar y Control V para pegar) [image: Imagenes Gratis para Navidad y Año Nuevo 2013] Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Obliteration

Gail at Wit's End - 11 hours ago
Radical Joy for Hard Times I have accumulated a mountain of new information about trees dying from ozone, but other catastrophes have interfered so just for today here is a brief segue into other fearsome territory. As usual there is a thought-provoking post at Collapse of Industrial Civilization, where XRayMike has embedded a talk by Guy McPherson and adds citations from the book "Catastrophism - The Apocalyptic Politics of Collapse and Rebirth". He goes on to discuss this engaging concept of catastrophism, a notion which is new to me - that the populous is becoming numbed to disa... more »

Mujer en el altar vestida de novia y rodeada de flores blancas

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Bodas] *CODIGO HTML PARA PONER ESTA IMAGEN EN SU BLOG* (Un click para seleccionar, Control C para copiar y Control V para pegar) [image: Imagenes Gratis para Navidad y Año Nuevo 2013] Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Our ranking journalists just can’t explain What Susan Rice Actually Said!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 12 hours ago
WE*DNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012* *Blind scribes keep groping the elephant:* At some point, we’ve all heard the famous tale about the blind men and the elephant. The world’s foremost authority on folk tales describes the famous old story this way: WIKIPEDIA: The story of the blind men and an elephant originated in Indian subcontinent from where it has widely diffused. It has been used to illustrate a range of truths and fallacies. At various times it has provided insight into the relativism, opaqueness or inexpressible nature of truth, the behavior of experts in fields where there is... more »

Aves de colores en un paisaje nevado

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Navidad] *CODIGO HTML PARA PONER ESTA IMAGEN EN SU BLOG* (Un click para seleccionar, Control C para copiar y Control V para pegar) [image: Imagenes Gratis para Navidad y Año Nuevo 2013] Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

Much More Than A Broad Sex Scandal (Rethugs Think They've Solved the Latino (Minorities) Problem With Another Pretty But Darker Tanned Bush Boy)

Martha Mitchell’s blunt revelation and the way it got ignored comes to mind as we await the follow-up to Paula Broadwell’s assertion that two prisoners were being held at the CIA “annex” near the consulate in Benghazi at the time of the assault that left Ambassador Christopher Stephens and three other Americans dead. And Watergate was a third-rate break-in about nothing, right? Our newest

Pequeña cascada en el bosque

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Cascadas] *CODIGO HTML PARA PONER ESTA IMAGEN EN SU BLOG* (Un click para seleccionar, Control C para copiar y Control V para pegar) [image: Imagenes Gratis para Navidad y Año Nuevo 2013] Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

A Semi-Canadian Perspective on the Academic-Policy Divide Debate

Steve Saideman at Duck of Minerva - 12 hours ago
The semi-annual policy/academic divide debate is back thanks to discussions about PhDs for the policy world (Drezner v. Foust) and Galluci’s piece on the debate, with Drezner’s response. I would guess that this event is tied to a lunar calendar as it seems to occur often but not always just after Thanksgiving. Anyhow, I posted Continue reading

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 12 hours ago
*Hurricane Sandy vs. Hurricane Katrina ~NYT*

Tres angeles cantando coros navideños

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 12 hours ago
[image: Angeles cantando coros] *CODIGO HTML PARA PONER ESTA IMAGEN EN SU BLOG* (Un click para seleccionar, Control C para copiar y Control V para pegar) [image: Imagenes Gratis para Navidad y Año Nuevo 2013] Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

You Don't Love Me, You Just Love My Gangnam Style

Jay Allbritton at Jay Allbritton - 12 hours ago
I'll admit, I don't know why Psy's "Gangnam Style" is the most popular thing ever to hit YouTube, but watching Bill O'Reilly and a psychiatrist try to come to grips with it on the thin air of Fox News should be even more popular.

Pequeño puente entre el bosque en otoño

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 13 hours ago
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Make Them Stay

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 13 hours ago
The Doha climate change summit now underway appears likely to end inconclusively as have all the international climate change summits that preceded it over the past 18-years. About the only agreement may be where to hold the next climate change summit. By now it should be obvious that the format being used doesn't work. Recalcitrants, like Canada, can show up, drag their heels, get their tickets punched, and they're good to go until the next summit. On and on and on. 18 years worth and counting. Here's a thought. Since anthropogenic global warming is the greatest threat ... more »

Payments on 11% of Student-Loan Balances 90 Days or More Behind

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 13 hours ago
as of the end of September, a jump from 8.9% at the end of June. The *WSJ *article states that student loan debt outstanding exceeds auto and credit card loans, nearing $1 trillion in total. Loans to students in for-profit schools are particularly troubled. 23% have defaulted among those whose loans "came due in the year ended Sep 30, 2009." Mitchell, Josh (2012, Nov 28). Federal Student Lending Swells. The Wall Street Journal, pp. A1, A6. PREVIOUS POSTS Majia's Blog: College *Students* Drowning in Debt Feb 07, 2011 It was announced last summer that total student loan debt, at $83... more »

Santa haciendo un gran clavado a la playa

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FotoFrontera - 13 hours ago
[image: Playa y santa] *CODIGO HTML PARA PONER ESTA IMAGEN EN SU BLOG* (Un click para seleccionar, Control C para copiar y Control V para pegar) [image: Imagenes Gratis para Navidad y Año Nuevo 2013] Por favor visite nuestra página oficial: www.fotofrontera.com

SECRET STATE - CONFIRMED

Anon at aangirfan - 13 hours ago
*"Unless we all start to believe in conspiracy theories and that the officials are lying, that I am lying, that behind this there is some kind of secret state which is in league with some dark forces in the United States... * * * *"There simply is no truth in the claims that the United Kingdom had been involved in rendition".* *Jack Straw NOW confirms the existence of the UK "Secret State in League with Dark Forces in the United States*" - From Class Antagonism of a New World Order: In 2005, Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie chaired the *All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary... more »

Video shows first direct hit of a Surface to Air Missile on a Syrian helicopter

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 13 hours ago
*Added thoughts:* I'm not sure what the cheering is for, since a) it merely struck the HIND and didn't shoot it down, and b) it's a Soviet HIND, which basically laughs at most American missile technology thrown at it. More disturbing is that the "rebels" (most likely Western / Israeli mercenaries combined with real terrorist elements) now have these kinds of weapons at their disposal. A hit on an airliner would definitely not result in a similar bounce-off.

The Gaza Operation: Less a War than an Anti-Iran Coup

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 13 hours ago
http://www.debka.com/article/22568/The-Gaza-Operation-Less-a-War-than-an-Anti-Iran-Coup *Added thoughts:* If this was indeed the mission, it undoubtedly failed. Gaza is nearly fully rearmed, the tunnels are being rebuilt, Iran now actively sends its people to the strip, and other countries, such as Egypt and Turkey, are more glad than ever to invest there. Hamas even learned how to overwhelm the Iron Dome defense system, something that now puts many Israelis in peril. Any show of force will likely never cow Iran, either, since Iran, unlike Israel, has actually gone through a real d... more »

Fitch downgrades Argentina and predicts default

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 13 hours ago
Credit rating agency Fitch has downgraded Argentina, which is locked in a court battle in New York over its debt, and said the country would probably default. Read more here

The stigma of the hidden schizophrenia epidemic (interesting statistics)

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 13 hours ago
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-stigma-of-the-hidden-schizophrenia-epidemic-8360498.html

No one reported shot, stabbed or slashed in New York City on Monday, police sources say (And people celebrate this, sadly)

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 13 hours ago
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/reported-shot-stabbed-slashed-nyc-monday-article-1.1209204

The 'apartheid state' of Israel - for @DD1958

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 13 hours ago
I am sick of people claiming that Israel is an 'apartheid state' and I have blogged about this lie over and over again, take a look at this lengthy post . On Twitter @DD1958 keeps repeating this slur over and over again, maybe he finds the repetition in some way comforting. Elder of Ziyon has produced some posters that make the point rather well and since he has given me permission to reproduce them, here they are for people who need to be made aware of the truth... Still feel willing and able to call Israel an 'apartheid state'? Don't you care about facts? Here are ... more »

David Ian Olive: 1937-2012

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 13 hours ago
Clifford Johnson mentioned some sad news. *Off-topic but good news:* Mathematica 9 is released today and it's big, offering the first useful "predictive interface" with suggestions in the world of software, analysis of social networks, interactive gauges, system-wide support for 4,500 units, systematic addition of legends, support for Markov and random processes, integration of Steve McIntyre's language R, and more British field theorist and string theorist David Olive, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and Fellow... more »

Defending Potato Chips?

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 13 hours ago
Over at the Monkey Cage, Joshua Tucker gets really bent out of shape over comparisons between campaign spending and spending on consumer items -- in the case he cites, potato chips. I disagree! The problem here is one about big numbers. Big numbers used to scare people. So the total spending on a campaign, or in this case on all the campaigns in one cycle put together, adds up to some big number and we are to believe that the system is wrong simply based on that big, scary, number. The virtue of the comparison is that it puts the big, scary, number in context. That's all. It doesn'... more »

Interesting Take on Recent Egyptian Politics

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 13 hours ago
Counterpunch has an interesting article by Eric Walberg about newly elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's power-grab. Given that Morsi's actions are going to be portrayed by the mainstream corporate press in the western countries as "scary, scray Muslim Brotherhood leader assaults nascent Egyptian democracy" (with the sub-text: "We TOLD you that Arabs are incapable of democracy!") and given that this is the same hypocritical bullshit wherein western governments and news media that supported decades-long torturing dictatorships in the past and continue to do so today, I thought ... more »

Trans-Pacific Partnership is No Partnership for Average Americans

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 13 hours ago
Why So Secretive? The Trans-Pacific Partnership By Andrew Gavin Marshall, Occupy.Com 24 November 12 http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/441-occupy/14699-focus-why-so-secretive-the-trans-pacific-partnership [Excerpted] Dubbed by many as "NAFTA on steroids" and a "corporate coup," only two of the TPP's 26 chapters actually have anything to do with trade. Most of it grants far-reaching new rights and privileges to corporations, specifically related to intellectual property rights (copyright and patent laws), as well as constraints on government regulations. The leaked documents r... more »

As Great Lakes plummet, towns try to save harbors

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 13 hours ago
[image: In this 16 November 2012 photo, Jim Simons, who runs a rod and reel repair business in Onekama, Michigan, strolls on a sand bar alongside the Portage Lake channel that leads to Lake Michigan at Onekama. The sand bar normally would be submerged in water, but low Great Lakes levels have exposed the shoreline in many areas, causing problems for boaters and tourist businesses in small harbor towns. The Great Lakes, the world's biggest freshwater system, are dropping because of drought and climbing temperatures, a trend that accelerated with this year's almost snowless winter a... more »

Outcry grows as Canada government undermines climate science – ‘We’re hemorrhaging scientists here’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 14 hours ago
[image: Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Prime Minister of Canada's office]By Katherine Bagley 27 November 2012 (InsideClimate News) – The government of Canada's official position on climate change is that it's real and requires an "aggressive" response. Despite that, Canada's ruling Conservative Party government has been leading a slow and systematic unraveling of environmental and climate research budgets, according to local scientists—including shuttering one of the world's top Arctic research stations for monitoring global warming. Hundreds of researchers have lost their... more »

“Dangerous Neighborhood:” Operation ‘Defensive Pillar’ and its Interpreters

Daniel Nexon at Duck of Minerva - 14 hours ago
This is a guest post by Daniel J. Levine (University of Alabama) and Daniel Bertrand Monk (Colgate University). Daniel J. Levine is author of Recovering International Relations: The Promise of Sustainable Critique. Daniel Bertrand Monk is the co-editor, with Jacob Mundy, of the forthcoming: The Post-Conflict Environment: Intervention and Critique (University of Michigan, 2013). The authors’ Continue reading

Churches Increasingly Rent Out Steeples As Cellphone Towers

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/11/27/churches-increasingly-rent-out-steeples-as-cellphone-towers/

Pakistan test-fires nuclear-capable missile

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/20201856/pakistan-test-fires-nuclear-capable-missile

Hundreds of websites urging girls to 'starve for perfection'

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/hundreds-of-websites-urging-girls-to-starve-for-perfection-8360545.html

Hungarian MP calls for Jewish ‘threat’ list

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/65793d06-38c6-11e2-981c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2DRMZBcZH

Does Israel’s Zionist Project Require the Destruction of Palestine?

Intercept at The Intercept - 14 hours ago
Interview with Gregory Harms Global Research Kourosh Ziabari [image: israel]American journalist and scholar Gregory Harms believes that the recent 8-day Israeli war on the Gaza Strip might have been waged to distract public attention from the internal socioeconomic crises and problems the Israeli regime faces, especially ahead of the January 2013 legislative elections. He believes that launching airstrikes on Gaza may serve to give Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party a secure vote in the upcoming elections. “[P]ushing the Gaza button focuses Israelis on matters of security. The... more »

Drought-parched Mississippi River is halting barges

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 14 hours ago
[image: Landsat 7 captured this image of a stretch of the Mississippi river just south of Memphis, Tennessee on 8 August 2012. The water was several feet below the historic normal stage for Memphis, and many sandbars were newly exposed or greatly expanded. The low water levels followed record-setting temperatures and dry weather. By the end of July, 63 percent of the contiguous United States was in drought, affecting both crops and water supplies. NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Landsat data provided by the United States Geological Surv... more »

An Rx For (Almost) Everything

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 14 hours ago
*By "The Doktor"* To solve the housing crisis, we could start with an agency (We could call it the Submoreme, for Subprime Mortgage Remuneration) with the power to seize bank accounts, and seize the accounts and holdings and property of every single lender, mortgage broker or banker or anyone else who made millions or even hundreds of thousands by writing bad paper to make some easy money. Then create an escrow account and use that money from the crooks, I mean lenders, to pay down the principle on the underwater mortgages. Those lenders and brokers and bankers are the people who... more »

SKOOL DAZE: New York Times delivers a Brick!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 14 hours ago
*WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012* *Part 2—Deceptive snark about skools:* In a rational world, it would be hard to believe the strange things Mark Strama said. Strama is a Democratic member of the Texas legislature. He sits on the public education committee in the Texas House. He’s plainly very bright. (For part 1 in this series, see THE DAILY HOWLER, 11/27/12.) And yet, when Strama spoke at last month’s Texas Book Festival, he made a set of surprising admissions. Until recently, Strama hadn’t known that Texas students score quite well on the National Assessment of Educational Progress... more »

Astonishing

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 14 hours ago
BP suspended from new US government contracts following Gulf spill settlement, EPA says. The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bp-suspended-from-new-us-government-contracts-following-gulf-spill-settlement-epa-says/2012/11/28/7a766a4a-3965-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.htmlMajia here: This is an AP article. It states that the US halted new contracts because of the lack of "business integrity"There is most definitely a back story here. I'll try and track it down today.Hat tip Markww at Enenews UPDATE from Bloomberg Business Week "The action, which doesn’t affect e... more »

Rhino poaching for horns rises rapidly in South Africa – At least 588 slaughtered in 2012

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 14 hours ago
[image: In this photo taken on 22 November 2012, a carcass of a rhino lays on the ground at Finfoot Lake Reserve near Tantanana, South Africa. South Africa says at least 588 rhinos have been killed by poachers this year alone, 8 rhinos at the Finfoot Lake Reserve, the worst recorded year in decades. The number has soared as buyers in Asia pay the U.S. street value of cocaine for rhino horn, a material they believe, wrongly, medical experts say, cures diseases. Denis Farrell / AP Photo] By Jon Gambrell 28 November 2012 By the time ranchers found the rhinoceros calf wandering al... more »

ALEC - Purveyor of Dubious Statistics and Analysis

2old2care at Because I Can - 14 hours ago
As reported by CMD this morning: The critical report, *Selling Snake Oil to the States: The American Legislative Exchange Council's Flawed Prescriptions for Prosperity*, was published today by the non-partisan non-profit organizations Good Jobs First (GJF) and the Iowa Policy Project (IPP), both of which promote public policy fostering economic opportunity and smart growth for states. The report is an in-depth analysis on how ALEC is misleading the public with the information used in their annual report "Rich States, Poor States". This ALEC report is widely referred to across... more »

Breaking Private Manning

Intercept at The Intercept - 14 hours ago
CounterPunch by MICHAEL RATNER By the time the 23-year-old soldier’s court martial starts on February 4, 2013, Bradley Manning will have spent 983 days in prison, including nine months in solitary confinement, without having been convicted of a single crime. This week, in pre-trail hearings, a military court is reviewing evidence that the conditions under which he has been held constitute torture. These conditions include the nine-month period spent 23 hours a day in a six-by-eight-foot cell where he was forbidden to lie down or even lean against a wall when he was not sleeping – ... more »

WotW: Build Your Own Custom Multimedia Playlists with Minilogs

Debra at Housewife Eclectic - 14 hours ago
How many times a day does a friend share a cool YouTube video, or song, or movie trailer with you? You watch it and then forget about it until something sparks your memory. Unfortunately, you didn't save it, so you can't remember what it was called. First world tragedy. Of course, you can avoid this problem by bookmarking the page, but the problem with bookmarks is pretty soon you have a giant pile of them and it's too daunting to sift through to find what you really need. I've shared some resources in the past on how to stay organized with new bookmarking tools, most notably Pocket... more »

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New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 15 hours ago
*Is Neighborland Helping Developers at the Community’s Expense? ~Christine P. Horn* *Associated Press admits error in story about New Orleans Flood ~Levees.org* *Owen Courreges: Can we trust the NOPD with more Tasers?* *Melissa Harris-Perry, former Gov. Buddy Roemer debate lessons of Election 2012 ~Uptown Messenger* *Jefferson Parish contract process ‘appalling’* *Latest Mississippi River Delta News* *BP suspended from new US gov't contracts* *Gulf oil tracts up for bid* *Riffing On the Tradition: Festival de la Clarinette ~Evan Christopher*

Free speech - University of Derby style

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 15 hours ago
From This Is Debyshire on 10 November 2012: 'THE University of Derby's Students' Union has banned one of the candidates vying to be voted in as the county's first Police and Crime Commissioner. The organisation told David Gale yesterday morning that he would not be welcomed at a Q&A session for candidates, which took place at 2pm in the afternoon. In a series of e-mails sent to Mr Gale by the union, he was told he would not be allowed to attend because it had "a no platform policy for UKIP", of which Mr Gale is a member. The event saw the other three candidates, Rod Hutton, Simon S... more »

Urgent Congressional Election This Thursday

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
There's a crucial and defining election coming up tomorrow but unless you've been reading *DWT* you probably don't know about it. I'd be in a state of shock if any of the MSNBC anchors mention it, even Rachel. It's part of the concerted move by the New Dem Coalition-- a corporately funded conglomeration of economically conservative anti-family Democratic sell-outs-- to take over every aspect of the House Democratic Caucus. And they appear to be winning. Tomorrow the main event is a caucus vote to pick the next vice chair of the Caucus. In the year House Democrats are bragging how ... more »

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 15 hours ago
Happy Birthday to Dave Righetti, 54. That's the pitching coach of the World Series Champion (and two-time champion) San Francisco Giants. I don't know of any similar story: he's been retained as the pitching coach under three different managers. Who knows with coaches, but he certainly seems to be first-rate. Also a terrible Giants FA signing, long ago. A little good stuff: 1. Great question from Tim Fernholz: "Why isn't anyone...asking about Lael Brainard for Treasury Secretary?" This blog has been woefully behind on this story; Wesleyan boosterism (Brainard is not only Wesleyan '8... more »

Yaqui Brigadas en Defensa de Agua

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 15 hours ago
*BRIGADAS EN DEFENSA DE AGUA* *By MARIO LUNA SECRETARIO DE LA TRIBU YAQUI* *Nov. 28, 2012* *Censored News* *Yaqui Brigades in Defense of Water* *Yaquis in Sonora, Mexico will defend their rights to the Rio Yaqui, against theft of water by the government for the Independence Aquaduct* SONORA, Mexico -- Ante el lamentable espectáculo que significa el que el presidente Calderon Hinojosa inaugure el ilegal acueducto independencia que no está terminado; la Tribu Yaqui ha decidido manifestar su inconformidad acampando en la carretera internacional#15 en Vicam Sonora…INFORMEN, ORIENTEN Y A... more »

David McReynolds : After the Truce in Gaza

thorne dreyer at The Rag Blog - 15 hours ago
Political cartoon by Paul Jamiol / Jamiol's World / Informed Comment. EdgeLeft: After the truce in Gaza This was not only a victory for Hamas, but also for Israel, which achieved at one stroke a deep division between the two sides of the Palestinians. By David McReynolds / The Rag Blog / November 28, 2012 Let me start this commentary with a note about an Israeli film which has opened in New

The Arctic Sea Ice melting

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 15 hours ago
Thanks to No Tricks Zone for this: When one hears or reads the reports about the Arctic sea ice, it helps to remember that satellite measurement did not begin until 1979. Thus we have data only for a period of just over 30 years. This barely suffices to fulfil the gladly used “climate definition” of a minimum period of 30 years. So we can’t avoid having a suspicious feeling, as we ask what did the sea ice do before satellite measurement began? Can we just simply skip over this and simply add the notation that we just don’t know much about it? Of course not. That would be too easy. ... more »
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