The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid holding an information session in Vari Hall. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: View of Jaffa Gate (left) and the Tower of David (right). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
"Mandela on Israeli apartheid by Carlos Latuff (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Gaza! (Artwork made for the "Israeli Apartheid Week"). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Jerusalem, Jaffa Gate Deutsch: Jerusalem, Jaffa Tor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Voting Israeli apartheid move (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Jerusalem - the zero mile of Israel in the Jaffa Gate plaza (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The 'apartheid state' of Israel - for @DD1958
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
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 ingenuous. 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 FDR'... more »
And the winner is … no one: everybody missed Monday’s biggest story
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
*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
[image: navidad]
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Obliteration
Radical Joy for Hard TimesI 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 disas... more »
Mujer en el altar vestida de novia y rodeada de flores blancas
[image: Bodas]
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Our ranking journalists just can’t explain What Susan Rice Actually Said!
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
[image: Navidad]
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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
[image: Cascadas]
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A Semi-Canadian Perspective on the Academic-Policy Divide Debate
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
Untitled
*Hurricane Sandy vs. Hurricane Katrina ~NYT*
Tres angeles cantando coros navideños
[image: Angeles cantando coros]
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You Don't Love Me, You Just Love My Gangnam Style
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
[image: paisajes de otoño]
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Make Them Stay
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
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
[image: Playa y santa]
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SECRET STATE - CONFIRMED
*"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
*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
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
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)
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)
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/reported-shot-stabbed-slashed-nyc-monday-article-1.1209204
The 'apartheid state' of Israel - for @DD1958
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
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?
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
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
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
[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’
[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
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
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/11/27/churches-increasingly-rent-out-steeples-as-cellphone-towers/
Pakistan test-fires nuclear-capable missile
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/20201856/pakistan-test-fires-nuclear-capable-missile
Hundreds of websites urging girls to 'starve for perfection'
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
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?
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. T... more »
Drought-parched Mississippi River is halting barges
[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
*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!
*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
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
[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
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
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
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 »
Untitled
*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
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
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
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
*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
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
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 »
Open Warfare
With Bill C-377, the Harper government has declared open war on labour. Tom
Walkom writes in today's *Toronto Star* that:
The real target of Conservative MP Russ Hiebert’s private member’s bill is
union financing.
To be precise, the target is the automatic check-off — also known as the
Rand formula. Mandated by law in six provinces (including Ontario), it
requires all employees in a bargaining unit that has democratically chosen
a union to pay union dues.
It’s a particularly Canadian solution and is named after Ivan Rand, the
Supreme Court justice who pioneered the idea in 1946.... more »
The Coming Tax Hikes
Donald Marron of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center explains the tax
increases that are part of the upcoming fiscal cliff.
Next Media Parceled Out to Five Buyers
*Tea pickers on the slopes of Alishan*
Adventures in Charity, episode #249:
I'm buying tickets at the Chiayi train station on Sunday with a big pile of
100 NT notes. A girl behind me in line leans forward and asks if I could
loan her $100. I said sure, no problem, and slipped her a 100 NT note. She
then asked me how she could pay me back. "What's your phone number?"
"Forget it," I said, "I don't live here. You don't have to pay me back."
Suddenly she looked at me crossly. "Hey!" she barked. "What kind of
attitude is that?"
I put that tale there because you'll need some light humor... more »
"Change Lane Not in Safety" and "Fail to Drive in Marked Lane", are not lesser and included offences of "Careless Driving"
*Greater Sudbury (City) v. McNeil* 2012 ONCJ 157, 99 W.C.B. (2d) 754 has a
careful analysis of what is, and more important is not, included as a
lesser offence for careless driving. Especially note the passage “I would
go so far as to say that unless particulars are provided which would spell
out a manner of committing "Careless Driving" that includes all of the
essential elements of another offence then there can be no lesser and
included offences for "Careless Driving."”:
13 Section 55 of the Provincial Offences Act states as follows:
"Where the offence charged include... more »
Doug Ford to run in byelection if mayor can't
Story
TORONTO, Ont. - While Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's lawyer prepares to apply for
a stay in the conflict-of-interest ruling, a report suggests the Ford
election machine is revving up with Councillor Doug Ford possibly running
for the top job.
The primary plan is still to try to get the stay so that Rob Ford can
remain in the mayor's chair while the appeal process plays out.
Dividing Household Chores
Advice from economist Emily Oster. A good reading to assign when teaching
the theory of comparative advantage.
A Warning From Access Now: Yahoo Mail Isn’t Safe
**
*Yahoo! Mail isn’t safe* but their executives aren’t doing anything about
it.
Yahoo doesn’t use HTTPS encryption technology to protect the privacy
of it's users. *Meaning every email sent to and from a Yahoo! address in a
web browser is out in the open*, unprotected from hackers, governments, or
anyone who uses widely available tools to break into these vulnerable email
accounts. *Even if you don’t use Yahoo! Mail - the privacy of your emails
are at high-risk of being exposed.*
“It’s coming." That’s what Yahoo! said to us 3 years ago. Yahoo! has a new
CEO and board who are ... more »
US-Taiwan Sustainable Cities and Ports Forum in Kaohsiung Next Month
This looks interesting: a US-Taiwan forum on Creating Sustainable Cities
and Ports, held in K-town in Dec.....
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Kaohsiung Branch Office is pleased
to announce the 2012 *U.S. – Taiwan Sustainability Symposium: Creating
Sustainable Cities and Promoting Sustainable Ports in the Asia Pacific
Region*, which will take place in Kaohsiung on December 10-12, 2012.
The 2012 sustainability symposium will be a comprehensive, two-day forum
focused on the sustainable development of communities and the ports. This
forum is organized on two tracks: Creating Sus... more »
Heating Bills 'Rise 63% In Five Years'
The average cost of heating a home has soared by 63% over the past five
years, according to research.
The price comparison website, uSwitch, calculates that the bill is up £227
over the period - hitting a new annual average total of £587.
http://news.sky.com/story/1017576/heating-bills-rise-63-percent-in-five-years
Egypt: Major Protest Against President Morsi
More than 200,000 people packed Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against
Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi's new 'pharoah' powers.
They accused the Islamist leader of seeking to impose a new era of
autocracy after he issued a decree that expanded his powers and barred
court challenges to his decisions.
The demonstration in the iconic plaza was as large as some of the protests
during last year's uprising that drove ex-president Hosni Mubarak from
power.
http://news.sky.com/story/1017162/egypt-major-protest-against-president-morsi
Syria Rebels Car Bomb Blasts Rock Damascus kills at least 34 People
At least 34 people have been killed after two suspected car bombs exploded
in the Syrian capital Damascus, state TV quoted the interior ministry as
saying.
Addounia television said the blasts occurred early in the morning in the
eastern district of Jaramana.
It broadcast footage of firefighters hosing down two vehicles. Debris from
damaged buildings had crushed other cars in the area.
http://news.sky.com/story/1017564/syria-deadly-car-bomb-blasts-rock-damascus
5.6 Magnitude Earthquake NORTHERN PERU - 28th November 2012
Magnitude
5.6
Date-Time
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 03:09:49 UTC
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 10:09:49 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
4.508°S, 76.051°W
Depth
120 km (74.6 miles)
Region
NORTHERN PERU
Distances
80 km (49 miles) ENE of Barranca, Peru
5.5 Magnitude Earthquake BANDA SEA - 28th November 2012
Magnitude
5.5
Date-Time
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 08:56:16 UTC
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 05:56:16 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
5.404°S, 131.112°E
Depth
56 km (34.8 miles)
Region
BANDA SEA
Distances
184 km (114 miles) W of Tual, Indonesia
Scientist Claims to Have Sasquatch DNA
A frame from the October 20, 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film many believe depict
a sasquatch. Photo courtesy: Yahoo!News
A Texas scientist claims to have sequenced the DNA of Sasquatch, a creature
whose very existence is mysterious to many and purely mythological to most.
"Our study has sequenced 20 whole mitochondrial genomes and utilized next
generation sequencing to obtain 3 whole nuclear genomes from purported
Sasquatch samples," Dr. Melba S. Ketchum of Nacogdoches, Texas, says in a news
release.
"The genome sequencing shows that Sasquatch mtDNA is identical to modern
Homo sapiens,... more »
Breaking: Western-backed Terrorists in Syria Slaughter Christians in Bombing
Al Qaeda terrorists, backed, armed, funded, and diplomatically recognized
by the West, have detonated 2 car bombs in Christian-Druze quarters in
Damascus, killing dozens.
*November 28, 2012* (LD) - Twin car bombs carried out by the Western-backed
so-called "rebels" have killed dozens of civilians in a Christian-Druze
neighborhood in Damascus, highlighting the sectarian extremism, not
"democratic" aspirations, as well as the level of depravity, driving
opponents of the Syrian government. Immediately after the explosions, and
as casualty figures began trickling in, Associated Press (... more »
The trouble with plebs
A tweeter who goes by the name PLEB Donovan (@DD1958) keeps stating that
Israel is an 'apartheid state'. I've posted here before to show how this is
a nasty lie - take a look here, here, here and here for some evidence, as
opposed to hatred.
Meanwhile I spotted this in YNet:
'Anet Haskia is not the typical mom of a soldier serving in the Israel
Defense Forces. A Muslim Arab, who grew up in a mixed Arab-Jewish city in
the north, Haskia is breathing a little easier this week.
For Haskia, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision not to
enter the Gaza Strip last week was ... more »
Health Warning Your Doctor May Not Have Told You About
One of my favourites. Photo courtesy: saturdayeveningpost.com
A nutraceutical is a food or part of a food that allegedly provides
medicinal or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of
disease. Grapefruit juice has been touted as containing many compounds that
can reduce hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and even the risk of
cancer. Grapefruit juice can, therefore, be justifiably referred to as a
classic nutraceutical. However, for many persons taking certain
medications, grapefruit juice might actually better be termed a
"nutrapollutical!"
It turns out ... more »
Five greatest physicists' sex scandals
This is an extremely, extremely light topic. Popsci.com wrote a new article
5 Of Physics's Greatest Sex Scandals
A TRF guest blogger finds himself in a pretty good company.
Their list is the following:
- Paul Frampton and his sweetheart in Argentina, a cocaine-equipped fake
Czech-born model Denise Milani (a recent news video at YouTube)
- Albert Einstein had a relationship with his cousin Elsa already when
he was married to his hard-working first wife Mileva Marić
- Marie Curie who fell in love with his freshly dead husband's
ex-student, Pierre Langevin. The Fr... more »
Weekly Find: Tempo Doeloe, Amsterdam
*Weekly Find: Tempo Doeloe, Amsterdam*
Last week I went to Amsterdam to see the sites. I have never really known
much about dutch food other than the amazing smell of dutch waffles. So
when I found out that most of Amsterdam's food scene is based on Indonesian
food, I was pretty surprised. Amsterdam was filled with Indonesian
restaurants, some looked better than others... The typical meal is called a
Rijsttafel (rice table) and consists of many small indonesian dishes served
with rice.
So to try this specialty I brought my 7 friends and went to a restaurant
called Tempo Doeloe tha... more »
HOW DO YOU PROVE A CONSPIRACY?
How do you prove that a conspiracy is true or untrue?
*Czech logician Kurt Godel (1906-78) showed that it is impossible to prove
anything 100%.*
This is because any attempted 'proof' is based on 'propositions' or
assumptions.
And these 'propositions' or assumptions may not necessarily be true.
(Kurt Gödel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
If you ask certain Evangelical Christians why they think that Israel should
be expanded in size, they will reply 'because that is what the Bible says.'
But, are their assumptions about the Bible correct?
And, is it possible that the Palesti... more »
Study: High-Fructose Corn Syrup Causing Diabetes by Anthony Gucciardi
Study: High-Fructose Corn Syrup Causing Diabetes, US Citizen Eats 55 Lbs
Per Yearby Anthony Gucciardi
Natural Health, 28 November 2012
A new study reveals what the ‘Big Food’ industry simply does not want you
to know — high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is making you fat, giving you
diabetes, and taking the entire United States healthcare system down with
you. Despite repeated (and laughable) propaganda attempts made by those
making billions off of the *mercury-containing*, GMO garbage known as
high-fructose corn syrup such as the Corn Refiners Association and others,
this latest st... more »
In memory of Harvey Milk: teacher witch-hunts are nothing new
First published on Robert D. Skeels for School Board on November 27, 2012.
------------------------------
*"Gay people have been slandered nationwide. We've been tarred and we've
been brushed with the picture of pornography." — Harvey Milk*
[image: Harvey Milk]The current crop of teacher-bashing political
opportunists including Michelle Rhee, Ben Austin, Peter C. Cook, Gloria
Romero, and Andy Smarick, are nothing new. While it's always been in vogue
to attack the female dominated profession, teachers have really been in the
crosshairs of reactionaries ever since they won the modic... more »
Hitler, Charisma, and Leadership
The classical German sociologist Max Weber famously wrote about charismatic
leadership and authority. Of it, he noted charisma derived from the
leader's personality, which in turn inspired their followers to internalise
self-discipline and duty. But in a dialectic of mutual exchange, the leader
is under constant pressure to affirm their worthiness by performing deeds.
Support therefore is conditional on the delivery of promises. You could be
forgiven for thinking he was writing of Hitler, had Weber not died three
years before the Nazis attracted national attention. Nevertheless, des... more »
The Voice of Bigfoot
The problem we have here is that we have only one excellent example. Most
likely, besides, the language shifts readily across geography anyway.
However, this is excellent work and it informs us that formal communication
is totally possible and certainly desirable.
It has to be noted that folks living in a primitive life way normally have
an excellent propensity to acquire a working vocabulary. Perhaps these
tapes need to be listen to by Bushmen and native speaking Aboriginals.
I have posted another report in which an older Sasquatch chose to
communicate once and did ... more »
Global Temperature in Decline?
The bad news for our true believers is that after a dozen years of
effectively flat lining about a half degree above the Holocene Norm while
the CO2 rise continued unabated whatsoever, it has now begun to fall. This
probably reflects the Antarctic maximum been achieved and plausibly
injecting cooler waters into the Atlantic basin. This down tick may even
turn out to be quite sharp before it is finished.
Watching this happen also gives us a tentative explanation for the abrupt
temperature declines observed at the onset of the so called little ice age.
In fact I think th... more »
Vancouver First City to Use Recycled Plastic in Asphalt
This is a compelling application of recycled plastic. The fact that it
saves 20% in fuel costs and can be applied in colder weather are both major
payoffs. Let us hope then that it stands up.
It also surely can be used to process plastic waste not otherwise properly
usable. That it is wax like suggests some sort of interim refining for the
task. All this get a problem to where it is an asset. The market size is
likely larger than any of us understand and every recycled road bed will
soon be adopting this I am sure.
At least every city is collecting waste plastic ... more »
Kids Need at Least 7 Minutes Daily of Vigorous Exercise
I walk by small parks today and rarely see kids playing vigorously. This
is not right. Parents must arrange their schedules in such a way as to
provide preteen children two hours in the morning when not in school and
ideally an additional two hours in the evening all for playing on the
park's hardware.
For the parent involved, this is a great time to read and use other media
and all that.
Kids are programmed to run off their surplus energy and it is critical to
organize their lives to take advantage of that. I recall my young daughter
developing real calluses on her ... more »
Wallmart, Polo Shirts to Ashes, भगवान आपके आत्माओं को आशीर्वाद
Before you read this story, I am still having that glitch problem, to read
this story without the interference below(a link from another post mid
stream) click the story title and read story solo, not as part of the front
page, sorry for the technical issue..Grant G
Wallmart, Polo Shirts to Ashes, भगवान आपके आत्माओं को आशीर्वाद by Grant G
Maybe I`m old school, for as long as I can remember railing against cheap
goods made in China and India was the norm, racism was not the issue nor
was Canadian and American pride in our domestic quality, protection of my
fellow equal and job secur... more »
The legal case for Israel - If you watch only one video today, watch this one.
An absolutely fascinating piece of video where Professor Eugene Kontorovich
first explains which bodies can make international laws and which can't and
how that affects the status of Israel. More fascinating is the part from
around 7 minutes in where there is a history lesson that the BBC and others
would do well to watch and learn from.
[image: Watch on TorahCafé.com!]
Did you see the Armistice Agreement between Israel and Jordan from 1949 (at
22:38)?
'the Armistics Demarkation line is not to be construed in any sense as a
political or territorial boundary, and is delineated with... more »
Hang Tight Folks!
*For those with ears that hear and eyes that see... big solar sun spot
rolling around... Lunar eclipse on the 28th...*
*"The Event will be a special kind of light from the Sun that permeates
the earth and humanity, it will calm humanity in the light of love energy -
its an energy not seen before on earth, the banking system will stop,
accounts and currencies reset, and arrests will be made..." Cobra 11/26/2012
*
*I've got approval to post my POOF Interview video **in two days.*
*And now this...*
http://removingtheshackles.blogspot.com/2012/11/update-just-few-words.ht... more »
Graphoganda!, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love George Jahn's Embarrassing Nonsense
This
week in shameful Iran nuclear scare crapoganda:
The Associated Press' favorite conduit for pathetic Israeli garbage,
George Jahn, came out with another doozy on Tuesday. Under a banner
touting a "Big Story," Jahn published an article headlined, "AP
Exclusive: Graph suggests Iran working on bomb," which purported to show
proof that "Iranian scientists have run computer simulations for a
Time To Shine Your Phlashlight
http://bethechange777.wordpress.com/
House Ethics Committee Puts The Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm Investigation On Hold-- On Behalf Of The FBI
My sister and her Hate Talk Radio-damaged husband live on Staten Island.
Just before the election I asked her if her neighbors care-- or even know--
that their congressman, Michael Grimm, is affiliated with the Gambino Crime
Family. She said they do know and it isn't a matter of not caring-- "they *
admire* him for it; that's Staten Island." She didn't vote for him. But her
neighbors did. It was a low turnout election in the 11th CD but the
Brooklyn part of the district went for Grimm's opponent, Mark Murphy 24,208
(52%)- 22,000 (47%). Staten Island Mafia fans more than made up for ... more »
Wilson Center on Taiwan's Econ, Dec 13
Wilson Center Event, including the excellent Peter Chow:
*Staying Ahead of the Economic Curve:*
*Taiwan and Its Rivals in East Asia and Beyond*
December 13, 2012 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Technology dominates Taiwan’s economy, and the sector is the bedrock of the
nation’s growth engine. Yet companies across the Taiwan are facing numerous
challenges, not least increased competition from China, Vietnam, and
beyond, while the profitability of the technology sector at large remains
in question. What policies, if any, can Taiwan pursue to ensure that it
remains a technological powerhouse? Can the ... more »
Awakening From The Abyss: End of 9/11 Conspiracy Theories
"Adolf Hitler claimed that communists burned down the Reichstag and that
Polish troops had crossed the frontier and attacked Germany. With 9/11
americans experienced Washington’s version of these grand lies. An
omniscient bin Laden dying from terminal illnesses in distant Afghanistan
defeated the American National Security State and drove his attack through
the walls of the Pentagon itself, requiring for our defense a “war on
terror” that destroyed US civil liberties and financially ruined the
country in order to prevent the triumph of a man who died of natural causes
in December ... more »
Bryan Farrell : The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You, Keystone XL
Four
activists are locked down to construction equipment on a recently
clearcut easement leased by Keystone XL pipeline builders TransCanada.
Inset photos below show local residents supporting the demonstrators and
treesitters in the 50-foot pines at the rural East Texas site. Photos
by Bryan Farrell / Waging Nonviolence.
Hey, Keystone XL:
The eyes of Texas are upon you
As the sheriff’s
Cultural Survival Quarterly 'Free, Prior and Informed Consent'
*Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Protecting Indigenous Peoples' rights to
self-determination, participation and decision-making*
*By Agnes Portalewska*
Navajos protest relocation at Big Mountain
*Cultural Survival Quarterly*
*Under current international law, governments are obligated to consult
Indigenous communities before any development affecting their lands and
resources takes place, and even more broadly, any decisions directly
affecting Indigenous Peoples and their self-determination require their
consultation and consent. The final study on Indigenous Peoples and the
rig... more »
A mother understands what a child does not say.
Hasidic Proverb
Radiation Contamination of Seawater From Fukushima Increases
Radioactivity
density of the seawater is increased at 57% of tested
locations offshore Fukushima
Posted by *Mochizuki* on November 27th, 2012 ·
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/11/radioactivity-density-of-the-seawater-is-increased-at-57-of-tested-locations-offshore-fukushima/
ALEC Wins Award!!!! Celebrates in DC
*American Legislative Exchange Council *
*Wins Prestigious Agriculture Award*
*Celebrates at the ALEC Policy Summit being held in Washington DC*
*Congratulations are in order for the award announced October 2012 *
The winners of last year’s “Land of 10,000 Lagoons” awards presented at the
World Dairy Expo were the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and
American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology (AFACT).
Both AFACT and ALEC had major roles in orchestrating state legislation and
manipulating public opinion to the benefit of corporate agribusiness and... more »
Quote of the Day: Whose happiness matters?
“Why is it moral to serve the happiness of others, but not your own?
If enjoyment is a value, why is it moral when experienced by others,
but immoral when experienced by you? If the sensation of eating a
cake is a value, why is it an immoral indulgence in your stomach, but
a moral goal for you to achieve in the stomach of others? Why is it
immoral for you to desire, but moral for others to do so? Why is it
immoral to produce a value and keep it, but moral to give it away? And if
it is not moral for you to keep a value, why is it moral for others to
accept it?”
- Ayn Rand, from “... more »
Taoyuan vs the Aborigines
*The gorgeous 159A between Shijhuo and Chiayi.*
Meant to get this up yesterday, but sooooo busy... An interesting situation
sheds light on one of the reasons for the upgrades to municipalities that
several counties have undergone in the last few years (TT):
“At the moment, Fusing Township (復興) in Taoyuan County is designated an
Aboriginal township with a mayor and a council elected by all residents,
and based on the law, the post of mayor can only be filled by an
Aborigine,” Yabu Eyo, a representative from a Fusing-based Atayal
Aborigines self-help organization, told a news confere... more »
HUGE Miss on ALEC
*ALEC* States & Nation Policy Summit 2012 November 28-30, 2012 Washington, D.C. *AFL-CIO* Washington DC, Nov. 27– Local AFL-CIO leaders from across the country and other working family advocates from 33 states are in Washington on November 27 and 28 *Huge opportunity missed here.* *HUGE!!!! * *Too bad we can’t get people to talk with one another.*Related articles
The real Israeli apartheid(israelmatzav.blogspot.com)
Most Israelis say, it's apartheid. Not that there's anything wrong with that!(mondoweiss.net)
Poll: Most Israelis support apartheid against the Palestinians(msamba.wordpress.com)
Disconnecting the Dots on Israel-Palestine: Is Apartheid Only A Crime When Committed Against Blacks?(sott.net)
Haaretz changes tack on major story that alleged widespread 'apartheid' attitudes in Israel(timesofisrael.com)
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