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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.

Monday, January 7, 2013

7 January -- Blogs I'm Following

12:11 pm MST

PC knocked unconscious by gang of ten youths - one as young as 14 - in 'disgraceful' street attack

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 1 minute ago
A police officer was attacked and knocked unconscious in the street when he approached a gang of youths. The PC was on patrol in Preston, Lancashire, when he went to speak to a group of ten youths when he was hit from behind and knocked to the ground. A member of the public alerted his colleagues shortly after the assault on Saturday and he was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital where he later regained consciousness. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258286/Disgraceful-attack-PC-knocked-unconscious-gang-youths.html

Satire: "G.O.P. Freshmen Saddened by Failure to Shut Down Government on First Day”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 3 minutes ago
*"G.O.P. Freshmen Saddened by Failure to * *Shut Down Government on First Day”* by Andy Borowitz WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)— “Just hours after being sworn in at the U.S. Capitol, the freshman class of House Republicans said that they were disappointed that they failed to shut down the government on their first day in office. “We were all like, ‘O.K., we’re sworn in, let’s shut this thing down,’” said freshman Rep. Byron Ernie (R-Kentucky). “We were all pretty bummed that the government just kept running.” Rep. Ernie acknowledged that it might have been “overly optimistic”... more »

'The threat to the euro is over': EU chief Barroso claims single currency will not implode

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 4 minutes ago
The threat against the survival of the euro has been overcome, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said today. 'I think we can say that the existential threat against the euro has essentially been overcome,' Mr Barroso told a conference in his native Portugal. 'In 2013 the question won't be if the euro will, or will not implode.' http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258446/EU-chief-Jose-Manuel-Barroso-claims-euro-implode.html

NPR Speaks to Brandon Sanderson, Harriet McDougal About A Memory of Light

Jay Allbritton at Jay Allbritton - 5 minutes ago
The Last Battle is at hand. NPR reports. Make sure to click on the full interviews near the bottom of the article.

That's nuts! Three fire engines sent to rescue tiny SQUIRREL from pond after it fell out of tree

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 minutes ago
It must have been a quiet day at the Watford fire station yesterday as a team of seven firefighters turned out to rescue a hapless squirrel stranded on reeds in the middle of a town pond. The firefighters arrived in three fire engines after a member of the public called to say the squirrel was stuck. The squirrel could not climb back up the steep concrete walls and had taken refuge on a small island of rocks in the high street pond in Watford, Hertfordshire yesterday. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258432/Three-engines-sent-rescue-tiny-SQUIRREL-Watford-pond-fell-tree.html

Norovirus: Patients treated in hospital car parks as norovirus continues to wreak havoc across the country

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 minutes ago
More than 100 ambulance patients had to wait to be admitted to hospital as staff struggled to cope with demand due to winter sickness bugs. Hospitals say they have been so overwhelmed by people suffering from sickness bugs that paramedics were forced to care for 999 patients and ambulances stacked up outside hospitals. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2258546/Norovirus-Patients-treated-hospital-car-parks-winter-sickness-bug-continues-wreak-havoc.html

The Merkely/Udall Senate Reform Proposal

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 12 minutes ago
After I wrote a post this morning about post-cloture time, I realized I've now written on each of the four provisions in the Merkley/Udall Senate reform proposal, but not gathered it all together. So here's the short version of my critique of their proposal, along with links to what I've said in more depth about each bit. Overall, I think it's a disappointing proposal, although overall I do think it would be at least somewhat better than the status quo. Perhaps the problem isn't so much Merkley and Udall, but the Senators they much build support from...it's very hard to tell, and if... more »

Bank of America in $10B-plus mortgage settlement

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 19 minutes ago
Associated Press/Charles Krupa - In this Dec. 13, 2012 photo, a customer stops at a Bank of America ATM office in Boston. http://news.yahoo.com/bank-america-10b-plus-mortgage-settlement-141939585--finance.html * * *Bank of America in $10B-plus mortgage settlement* Associated Press – 2 hrs 52 mins ago Bank of America Corp. says it will spend more than $10 billion to settle mortgage claims …more CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bank of America says it will spend more than $10 billion to settle mortgage claims resulting from the housing meltdown. Under the deal announced Monday, the bank will p... more »

DC Charters Kick Out the Problem Children and Keep the Compliant Ones

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 23 minutes ago
A clip from an investigative report by WaPo that details expulsion of 6 year old KIPP student: . . . .Greenfield said the D.C. school system is far from perfect and too often relies on suspensions, including long-term suspensions of up to 90 days, to deal with bad behavior. The city’s traditional public schools use long-term suspensions more often than charter schools, imposing nearly twice as many in the past academic year, according to school data. That year, 2011-12, 601 students were suspended from traditional schools for more than 10 days as punishment for a single incident; ... more »

Why India is not safe for solo women: Georgia Arlott recounts her gap year travels around India, during which sexual harassment was a constant problem.

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 24 minutes ago
It was in the second month of my gap year in India that I learned to get aggressive. It certainly didn’t come naturally. Like most happy teenagers, my three friends and I left our all-girls school full of optimism and eager to please. But from the very first day in the vivid, colourful and thrilling country of India, wandering hands were a constant problem for all of us. Giddily piling into rickshaws, I was the first to discover that sitting in the front seat means that many drivers will look for the ‘radio’ between your thighs. Hands were slipped underneath our trousers while we wa... more »

Based on how unemployment was calculated in the 1980s, economist John Williams reported the true number for December to be 23%. It's a "new (post WW II) high," he said.

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 26 minutes ago
------------------------------ *America's Lackluster December Jobs Report* *By Stephen Lendman (about the author)* Permalink *OpEdNews Op Eds 1/7/2013 at 01:21:16 * opednews.com *America's Lackluster December Jobs Report* *Official numbers belie weakness.* by Stephen Lendman Headlines belied its weakness. Economist John Williams reengineers economic data based on reliable decades earlier modeling. U-3 unemployment rose 0.1% to 7.8%. U-6 is broader. It's 14.4%. It includes: (1) Marginally attached workers wanting jobs but not actively looking in the pa... more »

Lord Strathclyde resigns as Leader of House of Lords

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 26 minutes ago
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lord-strathclyde-resigns-as-leader-of-house-of-lords-8441247.html *Lord Strathclyde resigns as Leader of House of Lords* Timing of his announcement caused an unwelcome distraction to the Coalition NIGEL MORRIS MONDAY 07 JANUARY 2013 David Cameron suffered a blow to the “relaunch” of the Coalition government as one of his most experienced Cabinet ministers announced his resignation. Lord Strathclyde stood down with immediate effect as Leader of the House of Lords explaining that he wanted to resume his career in the private sector. T... more »

Life In a Box

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 28 minutes ago
One bright idea that has received almost no attention in North America is Britain's ShelterBox. Yet these compact little lifesavers in their thousands are beginning to make their way to relief zones around the world. Here's what a ShelterBox looks like unpacked: It's survival for ten people. Tools, shelter, blankets, stove and cookware, water containers and purification products all in one neatly stackable, easily transportable box. It doesn't look like much except to anyone who doesn't happen to have any of these things, someone who has lost everything to conflict or natural... more »

At the Ford hearing

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 38 minutes ago
A mad house -- never seen such a packed courtroom. My prediction? A reserve judgment and then dismissal -- then a Mayor will be appointed. Whether that is what should be is another issue... .

The Security State Ramps Up

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 43 minutes ago
Newly extracted FBI documents show that, under Barack Obama, it's business even worse than usual for the American security state. Chris Hedges, writing for *TruthDig.com,* warns that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have been unleashed on ordinary Americans, "*to silence the voices and obstruct the activity of citizens who question corporate power.*" *Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the [Partnership for Civil Justice Fund], said in a written statement about the released files: “This production [of information], which we believe is just the tip of th... more »

“Zombie Nation”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 58 minutes ago
*“Zombie Nation”* by Bill Bonner "Creating and sustaining a nation of zombies is expensive. Large sections of the US population have been turned into zombies. Retirees. Medicare dependents. Food stamp recipients. Disabled people. They are not necessarily bad people. They are not necessarily dishonest or lazy. But rather than add to wealth, they consume it. And when you have too many of them, your society consumes more wealth than it produces and you are on the road to The Downside. But the feds are not only creating individual zombies, they are also creating corporate zombies. A... more »

Jyoti Singh Pandey Blamed for her attack by Indian guru Asaram Bapu

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 1 hour ago
Asaram Bapu said that Jyoti Singh Pandey, whose fate has drawn the sympathy of the world and been treated as a national tragedy within India, was 'as guilty as her rapists'. He added that she should have been more friendly to her attackers if she wanted to preserve her own life. Politicians and web users have reacted with fury to the 71-year-old guru's comments. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258422/Fury-Indian-guru-blames-Jyoti-Singh-Pandey-vicious-gang-attack-killed-her.html *His sick, evil and ignorant comments came as 5 of the 6 attackers appeared in Court for the Murd... more »

Fukushima and The Privatization of Risk IV

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 1 hour ago
I’ve been editing my book on Fukushima and the Privatization of Risk. I've blogged on it here: Majia's Blog: Fuksuhima and the *Privatization of Risk*: Introduction Dec 17, 2012 Fuksuhima and the Privatization of Risk: Introduction. Every morning I look at the Fukushima webcam and I wonder at what I am seeing. I see strange brownish-purplish colors in vertical shafts, auras of blue-green, and *...* http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/ Majia's Blog: *Fukushima and the Privatization of Risk* 2: What is the *...* Dec 18, 2012 Fukushima and the Privatization of Risk 2: What is the Privatizati... more »

What Is It With Bubbles?

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 1 hour ago
There's something about bubbles we must find enormously comforting or somehow rewarding. Look at the Americans. They had the Savings & Loan fiasco. Then it was Enron and a gaggle of similar cooked companies. Who can forget the Dot.Com bubble where billions in notional wealth were conjured out of thin air to snare unwary pensioners. And of course the housing/sub-prime mortgage bubble that rocked markets around the world. Now, still very much reeling from the Great Recession of 2008, we're drifting about inside this fossil fuel bubble that, by some accounts, could be ready t... more »

Miss McConnell Threatens To Shut Down The Government If He Doesn't Get To Cut Social Security And Medicare

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 hour ago
Last night, Ken made it clear why he feels the 113th Congress is likely to be as much of a pilonidal cyst on the ass of American governance as the 112th was. And one of the reasons Congress has been so much more a cause of problems than a solution to problems is bad leadership, i.e.- Mitch "Miss" McConnell, for one. Friday we saw how Miss McConnell leads Senate Republicans into dysfunctional obstructionism to please his big corporate campaign donors, who want the free hand that results from weak and underfunded government. And yesterday Josh Marshall, sickened by the same *Meet t... more »

Sara Ege jailed for life after beating her 7 year old son to death for failing to learn the Koran by heart

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 1 hour ago
A mother has been jailed for life after beating her son to death for failing to learn the Koran by heart and then burning his body to hide the evidence. Sara Ege, 33, collapsed as the sentence was delivered at Cardiff Crown Court and had to be helped, trembling and sobbing, from the dock. Ege had been praised as a "brilliant mother" to seven-year-old Yaseen but was convicted of his murder by a jury at the same court last month. http://news.sky.com/story/1034500/mother-jailed-for-murdering-son-over-koran

Derek Shrout Arrested Over US School Explosion Threats

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 1 hour ago
A 17-year-old student has been accused of planning to use homemade explosives to attack his school. Derek Shrout, who attends Russell County High School in Seale, eastern Alabama, was due to appear in court in Russell County on assault charges. The teenager was detained last Friday after a teacher found a diary the boy had left in a classroom. http://news.sky.com/story/1034531/teen-held-over-us-school-explosion-threats

“The Magician’s Con: Renewing FISA and the NDAA Under Cover of the Fiscal Cliff Debates”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago
*“The Magician’s Con: * *Renewing FISA and the NDAA Under Cover of the Fiscal Cliff Debates”* By John W. Whitehead “If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects.”- Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis “What characterizes American government today is not so much dysfunctional politics as it is ruthlessly contrived governance carried out behind the entertaining, distracting and disingenuous curtain of political theater. And what political theater it is, diabolically Shakespearean at times, full of sound and fury, yet in t... more »

My Pantry Makeover

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 1 hour ago
*Have you entered the LeanMoms giveaway yet? * This project has been almost a year in the making. At the beginning of 2012 I completely changed our family's diet. We replaced fruit snacks and Pop-Tarts with raisins and cranberries, totally shaking our little girl's world for awhile there. When we changed our diet our old pantry had to go. We weren't eating anything in there any more and it wasn't suiting our needs as a family. I am almost embarrassed to show you the before picture. Not only is it full of unhealthy foods, it is so messy. I even spy an entire container of Valent... more »

The TFA PR Machine Even Works in the Critics

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 1 hour ago
Walt Gardner has a post on the TFA PR machine, and in it he shows exactly how effective the TFA PR machine is by perpetuating the lie that TFA teachers perform as well as, or better than, professionally-prepared teachers. The protracted recession has caused many graduates from top-tier schools to put their real career plans on hold and take their knowledge and skills to the classroom through TFA.* I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they perform as well as, or even slightly better than, traditionally certified teachers. *To the extent that such performance helps stud... more »

Sunday Globe Special: Negative Nader

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 1 hour ago
*I still wrote him in for president.* Student activism is alive and well Ralph Nader said that today’s college students lack “fire in the belly.” Indeed, according to published accounts of the talk, he’d said, “It is harder to get a rise out of college and university students today than any time in my 45 years of activity.” Did I think this was true, she asked. Was it all hopeless? I’m certain Nader was trying to inspire, not discourage — why else would he still be out on campuses? But, in my experience, it’s not true. At least in the climate change movement, where I’ve spent the l... more »

It's That Season Again. Might As Well Find the Humour

The Mound of Sound at The Disaffected Lib - 1 hour ago
Vancouver and other parts of B.C. are falling victim to widespread norovirus. Plenty of Vancouverites are "down" with the highly infectious bug and they're not alone. There's plenty of it in the U.K. at the moment which led *The Guardian's* Charlie Booker to offer up this not so whimsical take on norovirus: *Everyone hates the norovirus, with the exception of two distinct groups. First: scientists. Professor Ian Goodfellow, who has spent the past decade studying it, has lovingly dubbed the norovirus "the Ferrari of the virus world", not because it makes the contents of your stoma... more »

How Much Wood Can the Log Cabins Chuck?

jurassicpork at Welcome Back to Pottersville - 1 hour ago
Let's get one thing straight: I never liked Chuck Hagel. I was never impressed about him volunteering to fight in a clearly unjust war in Southeast Asia. He's a typical right wing homophobe and Obama nominating him to head up the Pentagon is just another wearisome sign that he will never wean himself from the right wing douchebags that have largely gotten us into the seemingly insoluble fix we're in. Tolerating Chuck Hagel when he was in the Senate was like tolerating getting Hepatitis B because it's still better than having Hepatitis C. But, speaking as a bisexual lib... more »

4.9 Magnitude Earthquake OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN - 7th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 2 hours ago
Magnitude 4.9 Date-Time Monday, January 07, 2013 at 13:53:49 UTC Monday, January 07, 2013 at 10:53:49 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 37.817°N, 142.356°E Depth 48.3 km (30.0 miles) Region OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN Distances 107 km (66 miles) SE of Ishinomaki, Japan

The Crass Argument for Teaching More Math In Poli Sci Courses

PM at Duck of Minerva - 2 hours ago
A few months back, we had a lively debate about what to teach undergraduates in political science. As I prepare to motivate 20 undergraduates to learn elementary statistical analysis tools AND basic R skills, I’ve been thinking about this subject a lot. I think that we both should aim to teach political science to undergraduates–that Continue reading

Good Stalker/Bad Stalker

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 2 hours ago
Did you know that the same federal government which just renewed its intention to spy on you with impunity, and re-declared its right to arrest you without ever charging you, and jail you forever for reasons it never even has to divulge, has declared January to be National Stalking Awareness Month? Although it is widely acknowledged that the National Security apparatus eavesdrops on, and collects the emails of, millions of American citizens, and is even building a new $2 billion facility in Utah to store all the data, the government still pretends to need to hear from you person... more »

A Live Filibuster Plan Even I Could Support

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 2 hours ago
This one is about the third plank of the Merkley/Udall reform package: reducing post-cloture time on nominations. I'm for it, but would do it in a slightly different way than they do. Why is there 30 hours of post-cloture time? I mean -- why is there any post-cloture time at all? I don't really know, but I assume that it was originally a concession to those who opposed the cloture rule, and it was justified on the basis of protecting the right of Senators to speak. I do know (from Greg Koger's book) that the 1975 reform that set cloture to 60 Senators included 100 hours of post-clot... more »

Dine-Haber symposium in Santa Cruz

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 2 hours ago
Between Friday and Sunday, particle physicists organized a spectacular symposium in Santa Cruz to celebrate the 60th birthdays of Michael Dine (left) and Howard Haber (right). The website of the symposium shows that the program was impressive and included speakers such as Gross, Seiberg, Witten, Arkani-Hamed, Kane, Susskind, Allanach, Grossman, and others. I've spent the first half of the year 2000 in this department inside the UCSC campus – with lots of redwoods around – so I know these two great physicists. Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote a few words about the event. Congratul... more »

Panda cub

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 2 hours ago

Michelle Rhee yes, the real facts no!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 2 hours ago
*MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013* *The Times continues to fawn:* Who the Sam Hill is Motoko Rich? Until this very day, we had very little idea. Rich moved to the New York Times education beat in June of last year. That said, it’s hard to find biographical info about major journalists. We’re sure that Rich is a very nice person—and it seems she’s plenty smart. Luckily, the Times published a bit of a bio of Rich when she married Mark Topping in 2003. We assume he’s a nice person too. In our experience, most people are: *Motoko Rich, Mark Topping* Motoko Rich and Mark Harrison Topping were... more »

Costs to a losing litigant

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 2 hours ago
William v. British Columbia, 2013 BCCA 1 is a highly unusual case where a losing party is awarded costs: [34] While it is very rare for a court to award costs to a losing party, the jurisdiction to do so does exist: *Okanagan Indian Band* at para. 30, citing *B.(R.) v. Children's Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto* , 1995 CanLII 115 (SCC), [1995] 1 S.C.R. 315. [35] In the case before us, the public interest in having the issue of Aboriginal title determined by the Court was high. The need for jurisprudential development in this area was adverted to in the Court's ju... more »

Sunday Globe Special: Power Grab by State Inspector General

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 2 hours ago
*They served up a subpoena on a Sunday!* "Inspector general seeks greater powers" by Sean P. Murphy | Globe Staff, December 02, 2012 Five months after appointment as state inspector general, Glenn A. Cunha is moving to strengthen his office’s power to compel witnesses to provide sworn testimony in investigations of waste, fraud, and abuse in state and local government agencies. Cunha, a longtime prosecutor, last month *without fanfare filed a bill*with the Legislature that, if passed and signed into law, would *significantly expand the powers of his office* by giving it the *unfet... more »

Mohawk Nation News 'Indian Affairs War Room'

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 3 hours ago
MNN: INDIAN AFFAIRS WAR ROOM Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com INDIAN AFFAIRS’ WAR ROOM  MNN.  Jan. 2, 2013.  During the 1970s pipeline protests, the Department of Defense set up a secret “war room” on the 14th floor of Indian Affairs in Ottawa. The windows were blacked out, a large map of Canada sat on a table in the middle, with

N.Korea 'Seeks German Help to Open Economy'

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 3 hours ago
North Korea is preparing to open up its economy with help from German experts, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported Saturday. The daily said Pyongyang is secretly seeking advice from German economists and lawyers to come up with new economic policies and attract foreign investment. According to the advisors from leading German universities, North Korea is currently devising investment laws and already has finalized a master plan with the goal of opening up by the end of 2013. One unnamed economist on the team told the paper that North Korea does not want to follow the Chines... more »

Dr Judy Wood interviewed by Anne Hess

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 3 hours ago
for those of you who enjoyed Catherine Austin Fitts interviewed by Anne Hesshere's a treat for you ... and even though I "don't necessarily like" the DISINTEGRATION RAY theory of 9/11 these claims from Dr Judy Wood refuse to go away. And her evidence (people who survived in WTC stairwells) is a powerful debunk of my favourite alternative WTC-demolition theory, i.e. deep underground nukes c/o Dimitri Khalezov's presentation. And never forget Hurricane Erin which headed DIRECTLY towards Manhattan for ten days prior to 9/11 before veering off east into the Atlantic the day of the event.... more »

Michael Hoffman On Usury

NO ONE TO VOTE FOR at NO ONE TO VOTE FOR - 4 hours ago
. This very serious talk demands the full attention of all who consider themselves serious Christians: .

HEAT VERSUS LIGHT AMONG LIBERAL ELITES!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 4 hours ago
*MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013* *Part 1—Heat versus light at Salon:* Is America facing a new Civil War? That’s what it says at Salon. A few weeks ago, Andrew O’Hehir was trashing Quentin Tarantino for clowning around, in Django Unchained, about the American Civil War. On Saturday, O’Hehir said we face a *new* Civil War. For our money, his rhetoric was perhaps a bit overheated: O’HEHIR (12/5/13): *So even though it’s a truism of American public discourse that the Civil War never ended, it’s also literally true. We’re still reaping the whirlwind from that long-ago conflict, and now we face... more »

Politicians As CEO's

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 4 hours ago
When Brian Mulroney first ran for prime minister, his sales pitch was that he would run government like a business. Mike Harris liked to refer to himself as Ontario's CEO. George W. Bush's calling card was that he possessed a Harvard MBA. All three were successful politicians but lousy mangers. Donald Savoie writes that the notion that government should be run like a business is wrongheaded: The notion that public administration could be made to look like private-sector management has been ill-conceived, misguided and costly to taxpayers. Management in the private sector has ev... more »

Migrating wolf packs spark ‘emergency’ in Sakha, Russia

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 4 hours ago
[image: An influx of wolves preying on reindeer herds has triggered a state of emergency in the Sakha Republic, in north-eastern Russia. AFP]7 January 2013 (BBC) – An influx of wolves preying on reindeer herds has triggered a state of emergency in the Sakha Republic, in north-eastern Russia. Squads of hunters will pursue the wolves in a three-month "battle" from 15 January, officials say. The most successful hunters will get bonuses. The vast, sparsely populated region is also known as Yakutia. Experts quoted by Russian media believe a shortage of mountain hares has caused the ... more »

Over 100 missing in Tasmania as ‘catastrophic’ fire conditions sweep Australia – ‘Perhaps the worst fire danger the state has ever faced’

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 4 hours ago
[image: Smoke billows high into the atmosphere as fires rage across Tasmania, 6 January 2013. A 'dome of heat' pushed temperatures above 40 degrees, creating 'catastrophic' fire conditions, called 'the worst fire danger the state has ever faced'. Reuters] 6 January 2012 (BBC) – Australian police are searching fire-ravaged towns in southern Tasmania looking for 100 unaccounted people. Tasmania's police commissioner said he feared lives may have been lost in the wildfires which swept through parts of the island in recent days. Almost 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes... more »

‘Horrible’ sea level rise of more than 3 feet plausible by 2100, experts say

Jim at Desdemona Despair - 4 hours ago
[image: Shaded relief maps of Antarctica and Greenland showing regions of enhanced flow (in colour) and areas of the ice sheets grounded below sea level (hatched). Also shown are regions discussed in the text. JI refers to Jakobshavn Isbrae, a glacier that doubled in velocity during the late 1990s. J. L. Bamber & W. P. Aspinall, 2013]By John Roach, NBC News 6 January 2013 Melting glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland may push up global sea levels more than 3 feet by the end of this century, according to a scientific poll of experts that brings a degree of clarity to a murky and co... more »

Israel building Golan Fence in Syria since 2011

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 5 hours ago
You could be forgiven, based on reading the latest round of thousands of msm news stories, for believing that the Israeli theft, by stealth, of Syrian homeland in the Golan Heights was a recent development. However, if you ‘believe’ that you would be:* wrong*. Very wrong. If you continue to believe this obfuscated 'news' after reading what is posted below you are choosing to be willfully blind. Or foolishly naive? Just plain ignorant? Uninformed? Propagandized? Whichever? Why would anyone choose to fall under any of the previous descriptor categories? [image: ... more »

Read Stuff, You Should

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 5 hours ago
Happy Birthday to Mark Allen Shepherd, 52. And on to the good stuff: 1. Really nice 5 Myths column from Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein about the Ignominious 112th. Also, from earlier last week, a nice one from Ezra Kleinon the 112th . 2. Speaker elections scholar Jeffrey Jenkins on Nancy Pelosi, trend-setter. 3. Ashley Parker on what's up with Paul Ryan. 4. The House has a new history site. 5. And is steroids nonsense really just another example of the evils of baby boomers? I don't know, but Scott Lemieux makes the case.

Untitled

Disaster MapNet at New Orleans Ladder - 5 hours ago
*Sen. Reid: Hurricane Katrina "nothing in comparison" to Hurricane Sandy* *Vancleave company's invention may save lives after disaster* *Will high cost sink levee plan?* *Experts say sinkhole gas burning off slowly * *Back in the High Life: The Grill Room at the Windsor Court ~He Said/She Said NOLA* *Happy Hour - Re-rockin' The Columns** **Rolling With Kings: The Story of the Krewe of the Rolling Elvi* *Nell Nolan Talks Debs and Carnival Balls*

The Art of the Possible Part 1

Way Way Up at Fort McMurray Adventures - 5 hours ago
I happened across a photo off of Facebook recently that caught my attention in many ways. It's from a small community on Baffin Island in Nunavut where I worked before moving to Alberta. On the surface, it may not appear that interesting to the average person....community members playing some traditional Inuit games to pass the time during the dark season. What caught my attention was actually up in the rafters. See that sports banner hanging up there on the right-hand side? It has a story to tell. And what a great story it is. If you've ever thought something was impossibl... more »

Regarding the "climate cliff": Time is not on our side -- Bill McKibben and Tom Engelhardt remind us

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 5 hours ago
*We can just continue to watch the Arctic ice melting. Oh wait, that's already the "plan" we have in place.* *"We could postpone healthcare reform a decade, and the cost would be terrible -- all the suffering not responded to over those 10 years. But when we returned to it, the problem would be about the same size. With climate change, unless we act fairly soon in response to the timetable set by physics, there’s not much reason to act at all."* *-- Bill McKibben, in* "Obama Versus Physics: Why Climate Change Won't Wait for the President" *by Ken* Environmental activist and polemic... more »

Best WeAreChange Confrontations of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Daniels) at Global Political Awakening - 5 hours ago
*Editor's Note:* Luke Rudkowki's hard hitting interviews of the criminals running the United States of America! *Enjoy this article? Vote it up the 'Vine! You can support this information by voting on Reddit, AllVoices and Current.* Enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter: Delivered by FeedBurner Be the Change! Share this using the tools below. Sharing on Reddit and Newsvine will help the most.

Hovey (CT-ALEC) - One Nasty Piece of Work

2old2care at Because I Can - 5 hours ago
*From CNN last Thursday* (CNN) -- The former Arizona congresswoman who survived a mass shooting in her district roughly two years ago paid a visit Friday to Newtown, Connecticut, where last month a gunman killed 27 people and himself in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Gabrielle Giffords made the trip with her husband, Mark Kelly. The couple met with local and state leaders to discuss gun control legislation, mental health identification and treatment, and "concerns for the erosion of our societal values such that we are increasingly desensitized to violence," ... more »

4.0 Magnitude Earthquake WESTERN TURKEY - 7th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 6 hours ago
Magnitude ML 4.0 Region WESTERN TURKEY Date time 2013-01-07 11:40:44.0 UTC Location 38.74 N ; 27.52 E Depth 11 km Distances 4 km W Saruhanli, Turkey

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA - 7th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 6 hours ago
Magnitude ML 4.5 Region CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA Date time 2013-01-07 10:19:32.0 UTC Location 27.96 S ; 67.19 W Depth 162 km Distances 149 km W Catamarca, Argentina

4.1 Magnitude Earthquake COQUIMBO, CHILE - 7th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 6 hours ago
Magnitude ML 4.1 Region COQUIMBO, CHILE Date time 2013-01-07 08:13:36.0 UTC Location 29.56 S ; 71.04 W Depth 36 km Distances 43 km NE La serena, Chile

my magic number is 13

laura k at wmtc - 6 hours ago
Today I begin my last term of grad school. There are thirteen weeks to a term, so as of today I am counting down weeks to the finish line. My courses may be interesting this term: graphic novels and comic books in the library, which I'm excited about, and issues in children's and youth services, which is at least relevant to my career. The term itself will be difficult, because both classes are at night, plus I will be working at least one night a week, possibly two. Working at night is fine, and standard for the public library, but night classes are tough for me. I am a total morn... more »

Life in Palestine under the brutal Israeli occupation - Warning these images may be disturbing

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 7 hours ago
That brutal Israeli occupation and blockade of building materials is really hitting hard isn't it?

No shit Sherlock

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 7 hours ago
' The 'Palestinians' are not preparing for a state because they have no desire to run schools, collect garbage, and provide water and electricity to their 'people.' The only reason - the ONLY reason - they demand a 'Palestinian' state is that they want to replace the State of Israel. That's the real goal and it's the only goal that matters to them.' http://israelmatzav.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/palestinian-nationalism.html

BBC - Masters Snooker 2013 - the art of snooker promo

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 7 hours ago
I'm a British lad from the north so I love my snooker, both watching and playing, AND I'm a sucker for artistic visual excess - what better then than this 3D rendered fluid dynamics-enhanced BBC Masters Snooker 2013 'the art of snooker' promo? "Right classy," VIDEO HERE, once I've found it, online.

Do you want David Cameron to remain PM until 2020?

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 7 hours ago
Do you want Cameron to remain PM until 2020? 8%Yes 92%No http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/poll/2013/jan/06/david-cameron-prime-minister-2020

Bahrain top court upholds sentences against uprising leaders

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 8 hours ago
Bahrain's highest court upheld prison sentences against 13 leaders of the 2011 uprising on Monday, a defence lawyer said, a ruling that could stir up further unrest in the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state. The case has drawn international criticism from rights groups and come under scrutiny from U.S. officials keen for acquittals to help restore calm in a country it counts as a regional ally against Iran. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/07/uk-bahrain-leaders-idUKBRE90604920130107

Stuart Hall Denies Child Sex Abuse Charges

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 8 hours ago
Veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall has appeared in court to plead not guilty to the sexual abuse of three girls. The 83-year-old former It's A Knockout star gave his full name as James Stuart Hall when he was called before the bench for the brief hearing at Preston Magistrates' Court. Hall was asked by the clerk of the court if he understood that he faced three separate charges of indecent assault and if he wanted to enter a plea. He replied: "Yes I do. Not guilty to all three charges." http://news.sky.com/story/1034395/stuart-hall-denies-child-sex-abuse-charges

China newspaper journalists stage rare strike

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 8 hours ago
Journalists at a major Chinese paper, Southern Weekly, have gone on strike in a rare protest against censorship. The row was sparked last week when the paper's New Year message calling for reform was changed by propaganda officials. Staff wrote two letters calling for the provincial propaganda chief to step down. Another row then erupted over control of the paper's microblog. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20929826

Syria conflict: Iran backs Assad speech

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 8 hours ago
Here’s more on Iran’s reaction to Bashar al-Assad’s televised address to Syrians yesterday. Ali Akbar Salehi, the Iranian foreign minister, said: "This plan rejects violence and terrorism and any foreign interference in the country and outlines a future for the country ... through a comprehensive political process." He urged world and regional powers to support attempts to end the crisis through a “Syrian solution”. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2013/jan/07/syria-conflict-iran-backs-assad-speech

Shanghai Market Fire: Six People Killed

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 8 hours ago
Six people have been killed after a fire tore through a wholesale market in Shanghai. The blaze broke out at around 8.30pm on Sunday, but firefighters were unable to control it for several hours. Rescuers are still searching for casualties inside the gutted market, located in the city's Pudong district. http://news.sky.com/story/1034307/shanghai-market-fire-kills-six-people

Depardieu shows off new Russian passport......as he turns his back on the Wonderful EU

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 8 hours ago
You know things are getting bad when a European chooses to get a Russian Citizenship

Exclusion drives CAR revolt, France steps back

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
The French dubbed it the neglected "Cinderella" of their African colonial empire; modern observers have called it a "phantom state". Landlocked, isolated and poverty stricken despite reserves of gold, timber, uranium and gemstone quality diamonds, Central African Republic has been racked by rural rebellions for more than a decade. In the latest flare-up, loosely-allied insurgents, demanding an end to years of exclusion from government, closed in on the capital Bangui over Christmas and the New Year, forcing President Francois Bozize to agree to talks about his future. http://www.re... more »

Doom scenario far-fetched but euro gloom to deepen

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
It would be fair to say that U.S. hedge-fund manager Kyle Bass does not expect the explosion in global debt in recent years to turn out well. "This ends through war," Bass, the founder of Hayman Capital Management in Dallas, said. "I don't know who's going to fight who, but I'm fairly certain that in the next few years you will see wars erupt, and not just small ones," he told a recent conference. But while many investors have, like Bass, bet heavily on chaotic sovereign default in countries such as Greece, three years of dogged diplomacy in Europe have so far wrong-footed the dooms... more »

U.S. nuclear lab removes Chinese tech over security fears

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
A leading U.S. nuclear weapons laboratory recently discovered its computer systems contained some Chinese-made network switches and replaced at least two components because of national security concerns, a document shows. A letter from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, dated November 5, 2012, states that the research facility had installed devices made by H3C Technologies Co, based in Hangzhou, China, according to a copy seen by Reuters. H3C began as a joint venture between China's Huawei Technologies Co and 3Com Corp, a U.S. tech firm, and was once called Huawei-3Co... more »

Free Planet - 'your' COUNTRY is already dead - one ring to bind them.

Mike Philbin at FREE PLANET - 9 hours ago
one of the major issues people might have with the Free Planet idea is that ALL COUNTRIES MUST DIE. After all, for centuries, national pride has been ingrained into every soldier willing to give their lives to protect 'this sceptred isle' from invaders from foreign lands or defend 'that commercial interest' from the competition i.e. other r.i.s.k. game players. We have always been divided, as a world view, so that each side (each country) can be played off against the other. Red vs Blue. Us vs Them. Good vs Evil. But these are all constructs, concepts clothed in maritime flags ... more »

Prime Minister Medvedev reveals extraterrestrials secrets in Russian MIB documentary

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s off-air comments that Russian Presidents are given a secret file about extraterrestrials living among us created much media interest. Most news reports claimed that Medvedev was simply joking. His apparent reference to the Men In Black movie as a source of information on a super secret agency that monitors extraterrestrials on Earth was commonly cited as key evidence that he was in fact joking. The reasoning is that no political leader would refer reporters to a comedy to clarify national policy. It has now emerged that Medvedev was not referring to... more »

Police Chief's Warning To Belfast Rioters

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
Northern Ireland's police chief has said loyalist violence over the flying of the Union flag in Belfast will be firmly dealt with for as long as necessary after a fourth night of rioting. Matt Baggott's warning came just hours before fresh disturbances erupted in the east of the city, with police once again coming under attack. A mob hurled steel barriers, bricks, fireworks and bottles at officers patrolling Castlereagh Street. http://news.sky.com/story/1034234/police-chiefs-warning-to-belfast-rioters

Costa Concordia: 'Stupid' Tourists Rescued

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
Coastguards have criticised five German cruise ship passengers who hired an inflatable boat to get a close-up look of the wrecked Costa Concordia liner. The group, including two children, had to be rescued after their tiny boat was swamped by waves, whipped up by storm force winds. All were suffering from the effects of the cold. http://news.sky.com/story/1034333/costa-concordia-stupid-tourists-rescued

India Gang Rape: Five In Court Amid Tight Security

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
Noisy protests have led to the first court appearance by five men accused of gang raping a medical student to be heard behind closed doors. The magistrate presiding over the case, Namrita Aggarwal, said: "The court has become jam-packed. It has become impossible for this court to conduct proceedings." The hearing had been delayed by rowdy protests by some lawyers denouncing other advocates who have stepped forward to defend the accused and police were called in to restore order. The defendants have been named as Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta.... more »

Barack Obama’s $7 million Hawaii vacation is an insult to America’s struggling middle class

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
$16.4 trillion – that’s the latest figure for America’s massive national debt. Nearly $6 trillion of this debt was racked up in the first term of the Obama presidency – a 50 percent increase. It is horrifying to imagine what the debt will be when Obama leaves the White House in 2016, unless Congress has the willpower to stand in the way. Meanwhile, as the world’s superpower is literally drowning in debt, President Obama is basking in the warmth of the beaches of Hawaii, at an exclusive resort way beyond the financial reach of most Americans. The president pays the cost of his own f... more »

Family Farmers to Travel to Washington, D.C. to Take on Monsanto

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
Dozens of family farmers, Plaintiffs in the landmark lawsuit Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al v. Monsanto, will travel from across America to Washington, D.C. next week to take on Monsanto and demand the right to farm. They will attend the January 10th Oral Argument in the Appeal of Dismissal to be aired before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A Citizen’s Assembly in support of family farmers at 10am in Lafayette Square will coincide with the beginning of the Oral Argument inside the court room. http://www.pakalertpress.com/2013/01/06/family-farmers-... more »

FIRE CREWS SENT TO DEFEND HOMES IN VICTORIA'S SOUTH-WEST

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
Firefighters have been sent to defend homes in Victoria's south-west as a wind change sends a large blaze towards small communities. The Country Fire Authority (CFA) has issued an emergency warning for Drik Drik, which is in the path of the fire that is burning in remote bushland near Portland. The CFA is warning the fire could put lives and property at risk, and people should follow their bushfire survival plans. http://au.news.yahoo.com/full-coverage/australian-bushfires/a/-/article/15775676/fire-crews-monitor-wind-change-on-south-west-fire/

Australia D-Day: NEW SOUTH WALES FACES 'WORST EVER' FIRE DANGER DAY

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
A total state-wide fire ban will be imposed in New South Wales from midnight as authorities prepare for temperatures to soar above 40 degrees. The fire danger in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and southern ranges is expected to be catastrophic, with many other areas expecting extreme danger levels. National parks, reserves and state forests across the state will be closed and anyone in parks should immediate prepare to vacate camping areas. http://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/latest/a/-/latest/15776338/nsw-faces-worst-ever-fire-danger-day/

5.2 Magnitude Earthquake TAIWAN REGION - 7th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 9 hours ago
Magnitude 5.2 Date-Time Monday, January 07, 2013 at 06:49:07 UTC Monday, January 07, 2013 at 02:49:07 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 24.535°N, 122.913°E Depth 73.3 km (45.5 miles) Region TAIWAN REGION Distances 108 km (67 miles) E (94°) from Su-ao, Taiwan

SANDY HOOK; OPERATION SUNFLOWER

Anon at aangirfan - 10 hours ago
*Brown eyes or blue?* "Adam Lanza was a vegan because he ‘didn’t want to hurt animals’." "The Sandy Hook Elementary School was in an up-market area of Connecticut, shown by the large majority of its children being from Jewish families." JAMES FETZER: Jan 6, 2013... *Obama in mourning in Connecticut after the shootings.* * * Alleged victims Noah Pozner and Ben Wheeler are Jewish. Youngest victim in Newtown school massacre, 6-year-old ... - Haaretz Veronique Pozner at the funeral Francine Wheeler, September 2012 *Steve King, Colorado State Senator.* * *King is the founder a... more »

Hyperinflation Fears

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 11 hours ago
No, there will be no hyperinflation simply because we have been deflating a credit bubble by printing the necessary money to covered the accumulated losses built up to 2008 that became real losses then. Hyperinflation occurs when the demand for money is flooded way past the absorption rate of the economy. To happen it is necessary to distribute this hot coin widely. Try doubling pension payouts for example. Big ticket items simply will not do it because the real market is too small. All other ways are quickly sponged up in the financial products system to be doled out prud... more »

Sports Domes and Emergency Planning

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 11 hours ago
For once we have a good sense solution. The domes are there and most can stand up to the winds. Making them the focus of disaster preparedness is obvious and can be readily accommodated even in the ones already built. A little attention during design could readily expand this usage. In time we will have a network that is both utilitarian and visible. This model can be applied to other forms of disaster also simply because the domes are always well engineered to survive when nothing else may be. Even a flood is going to do little to concrete. At least emergency stores ... more »

Living Large in Small Houses

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 11 hours ago
Per foot price pressure is forcing innovation on housing everywhere. This item shows us a little of the evolution taking place and much more needs to be done. Every person needs access to a water service, a power service, a sewage service, a food service all of which can be delivered cheap enough. After that it is about a sleeping system and a work station and some extra room in which to swing the cat. Toss out the land budget and it is all modest. The real creativity comes in designing effective storage. Every other need can be part of a shared environment because the... more »

Dairy Cliff?

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 11 hours ago
You know that they are going to fix this one, but a little unwanted drama may develop. Otherwise, read this item to just understand what is going on if someone gets excited about it all. Legislative gamesmanship and its like is becoming decidedly wearing, particularly when problems are hoisted up as an outright cover to churn through a wish list of earmarks. The US economic system demands serious reform and general overhaul. I continue to see no meaningful progress at all while the general economy remains deflated with little serious recovery even yet four years after ... more »

11 Home Remedies for Various Ailments by Lisa Garber

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 11 hours ago
11 Home Remedies for Various Ailments by Lisa Garber Natural Society, 6 January 2012 The next time you think about taking a trip to the drug store, check back here for some various home remedies. Admittedly, some old-fashioned cures are best left in history books, but the ones we’ve included here are backed by modern researchers and scientists and great-grandma’s stubborn insistence. She didn’t have Neosporin in her bathroom cabinet growing up, and what with all the ills of modern allopathic medicine and toxin-ridden pharmaceuticals, maybe you shouldn’t either. Nature, after al... more »

Two terms not enough to change America?

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 12 hours ago
H.J.Res.15 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.113th Congress (2013-2014) Overview: House Joint Resolution Sponsor:Rep. Serrano, Jose E. [D-NY-15] (Introduced 01/04/2013) See the resolution here http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-joint-resolution/15 Imagine if such a resolution had been proposed during Ronald Reagan's second term as President or George W. Bush. Can you see the headlines and the ... more »

January 6, 1973

Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics - 12 hours ago
Continuing the recent theme: according to Stephen Ambrose's biography of Nixon, today was Chuck Colson's turn, again, to tell Nixon that "this could stretch into the White House." Nixon asked, "You mean Bob and John?" Which was exactly who Colson meant -- Haldeman and Ehrlichman. The biggest development of the day was outside of the Oval Office, however. Two days before the trial was scheduled to start, the White House Counsel was hard at work making sure nothing would go wrong. That meant John Dean called Gordon Liddy, telling him (according to Liddy at least) that "Everyone's goi... more »

With the NHL back on the ice, why not let Chinese taxpayers subsidize Canada’s billionaires?

David Climenhaga at Alberta Diary - 12 hours ago
The Great Leap Forum: what Edmonton’s luxurious new ice hockey palace could look like with a little gesture of internationist solidarity from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Communist Chinese friends. Conceptual art by Dave Cournoyer used with permission. It’s a moment of such perfect convergence that it’s astonishing Alberta’s Wildrose Party, which last week proposed paying ... more »

Swiss bank Wegelin to close after guilty plea

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 13 hours ago
* * *Swiss bank Wegelin to close after guilty plea* By Nate Raymond and Lynnley Browning NEW YORK | Fri Jan 4, 2013 8:27am EST (Reuters) - Wegelin & Co, the oldest Swiss private bank, said on Thursday it would shut its doors permanently after more than 2 1/2 centuries, following its guilty plea to charges of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes through secret accounts. The plea, in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, marks the death knell for one of Switzerland's most storied banks, whose original European clients pre-date the American Revolution. It is also potentially a major tur... more »

Economist Bill Black: "The fundamental insanity at all times was that [Obama and the Congress] put together, one, we must avoid the fiscal cliff because that's austerity and it'll throw us into recession, and two, therefore we must make far greater budget cuts, adopt far greater austerity. Now, obviously, that's insane logic.

David L Griscom at Cherchez la Verite - 13 hours ago
------------------------------ * the**REALnews Permalink* January 3, 2013 *Cliff Deal a "Moderate" Betrayal* Bill Black: Compromise on tax hikes on rich and allowing payroll taxes to rise sets the ground for a "grand betrayal" yet to come More at The Real News *Bio* William K. Black, author of THE BEST WAY TO ROB A BANK IS TO OWN ONE, teaches economics and law at the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC). He was the Executive Director of the Institute for Fraud Prevention from 2005-2007. He has ta... more »

Mystery of half-charred body of naked woman found on New York beach

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 13 hours ago
The half-charred body of a naked woman has been discovered on a secluded New York City beach. The body was reported to police at 7.15am on Sunday by a hiker who was walking through the Marine Park nature preserve in Brooklyn. Detectives are trying to determine what befell the woman and whether she was murdered. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258250/Mystery-half-charred-body-naked-woman-New-York-beach.html

'They're starting to seriously worry': Aides growing increasingly concerned about low turnout at Obama inauguration

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 13 hours ago
Crowds may have flocked to the National Mall to see President Obama make history in 2009, but the team behind the president's 2013 inauguration bash later this month are bracing themselves for a ton of empty seats. The ceremony that Washington will stage in a few weeks won't be the historic affair it was in 2009, when nearly 2 million people flocked to the Capitol o watch Obama take the oath of office. This time, District of Columbia officials expect between 600,000 and 800,000 people for Obama's public swearing-in on the steps of the Capitol on Monday, January 21. http://www.daily... more »

Sonny Archuleta who left three dead in latest Aurora shooting lost his own brother to gun violence only a year ago

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 13 hours ago
The second gunman to open fire in Aurora, Colorado in so many months has been identified by neighbors as 33-year-old Sonny Archuleta. The gunman shot dead three people yesterday at a house near the cinema where another lone shooter gunned down 12 people at a screening of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ in July. Archuleta’s MySpace and Twitter pages reveal that he was deeply religious and lost his brother Pat to gun violence only last year. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258008/Sonny-Archuleta-Gunman-left-dead-latest-Aurora-shooting-lost-brother-gun-violence.html

Hitler novel tops German chart: Comic novel follows the Nazi leader as he falls asleep in 1945 and wakes up in 2011

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
A comic novel about Adolf Hitler falling asleep in 1945 and waking up in Berlin in 2011 has stormed to the top of the bestseller lists in Germany. Some 250,000 copies of Timur Vermes’ Er Ist Wieder Da, translated as He’s Back, have been sold, along with 75,000 audiobooks. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258178/Hitler-novel-tops-German-chart-Comic-novel-follows-Nazi-leader-falls-asleep-1945-wakes-2011.html

Enough illegal migrants to fill THREE cities the size of Newcastle: Home Office reports that 863,000 are living in the UK

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Britain is hosting enough illegal immigrants to fill three cities the size of Newcastle, according to border officials. A Home Office report says an estimated 70 per cent of the 863,000 illegal migrants are living in London. The study also reveals that 10,000 foreigners who had no legal right to live in Britain have been granted permission to stay under the so-called 14-year rule. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258216/Enough-illegal-migrants-cities-size-Newcastle-863-000-UK-study-finds.html

Deport first, ask questions later: 'Fed up' Cameron reveals plans to remove terror suspects before they launch appeals

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Terror suspects could face a new system of being deported before they get the chance to hold a full appeal, David Cameron revealed yesterday. The Prime Minister said he was ‘fed up’ with the likes of hate-preacher Abu Qatada using a string of human rights appeals to remain in the UK. Mr Cameron went on: ‘That’s why I’m keen to move to a policy where we deport first, and suspects can appeal later.’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258243/Deport-ask-questions-later-Fed-Cameron-reveals-plans-remove-terror-suspects-launch-appeals.html

Let's get serious about Mitch McConnell. Doesn't he always look like he knows he's just been caught?

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 14 hours ago
*Miss Mitch and the look that says, "Rats, they caught me!"* *by Ken* Not that I normally feel any need to defend my practice of steering clear of all the Sunday TV gabfests, but on a day like today it seems like the merest common sense. I mean "Miss Mitch" McConnell on CBS, NBC, and ABC? Aren't there laws about that sort of thing? Even before the rat opens his mouth, you know he wouldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it. And then he opens his mouth . . . *NYTIMES.COM* *G.O.P. Senate Leader Says No to More Tax Revenue* January 6, 2013 By BRIAN KNOWLTON WASHINGTON -- The ... more »

Coming Crisis January 72-Hour Help-a-thon Begins! (Please give this month if you haven't already done so and keep us going strong)

Matt at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
*Have you contributed this month?* *Do you visit us each day?* *Would you like us to stay online?* *Want to be able to say you've done your part?* *Contribute right now and be proud. * Countless others have now joined our community as supporters and trusted friends. Can you count yourself among them? Your financial support allows us to do all the work we do, including delivering the news to you and broadcasting freedom, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year,* even on holidays*. You can give a one-time support donation, or support us monthly, both of which help tremendously. ... more »

Northern Irish militants seen hijacking flag protests

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Pro-British militant groups are instigating riots that have rocked the Northern Irish capital Belfast in the past month, a police officers' representative said on Sunday as officers came under attack again. The violence stems from protests over the removal of the British flag over Belfast City Hall. It has been among the province's worst since a 1998 peace accord ended 30 years of conflict in which Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland fought British forces and mainly Protestant loyalists. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/06/uk-irish-riots-idUKBRE9020RO20130106

James Holmes: Batman Shooting Suspect In Pre-Trial Hearing

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Prosecutors will today begin to outline the case against the student accused of a shooting rampage which left 12 dead and dozens wounded at a Batman movie premiere. A week-long preliminary hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to put James Holmes on trial on more than 160 counts of murder, attempted murder and firearms offences. Holmes is accused of opening fire during a showing of The Dark Knight Rises in the Denver suburb of Aurora. http://news.sky.com/story/1034261/aurora-shooting-suspect-james-holmes-in-court

Belfast: Loyalist Call For Peaceful Protest

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Leading loyalists have held talks with Northern Ireland's chief constable Matt Baggott, as fresh disturbances erupted in Belfast. In a statement after the meeting, Billy Hutchinson - who leads the Progressive Unionist Party, the political wing of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force - welcomed attempts by church leaders to ease tensions and called for all protests to be peaceful. http://news.sky.com/story/1034234/belfast-loyalist-call-for-peaceful-protest

Briton Dies After Falling From Oz Waterfall

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
A British tourist has died after falling from a waterfall in New South Wales, Australia. A 20-year-old man was walking with friends in the Blue Mountains near Sydney when he slipped over the edge of Wentworth Falls, according New South Wales Police. Police, paramedics and rescue teams were called and the man, who has not been named, was declared dead at the scene. http://news.sky.com/story/1034228/briton-dies-after-falling-from-oz-waterfall

Teenage Girl Killed In Police Pursuit Crash

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
A 13-year-old girl has died in a crash involving a car which was being pursued by police in south east London. The teenager was travelling with her mother, father and brother in Ilderton Road, between New Cross and South Bermondsey, on Sunday when their Volkswagen Polo and a Peugeot 308 that was being chased by a marked police car collided. The girl, who was in the rear of the car, died at the scene from her injuries, Scotland Yard said. http://news.sky.com/story/1034250/teenage-girl-killed-in-police-pursuit-crash

4.1 Magnitude Earthquake FRANCE - 7th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Magnitude ML 4.1 Region FRANCE Date time 2013-01-07 04:20:24.0 UTC Location 44.77 N ; 6.71 E Depth 5 km Distances 2 km W Arvieux, France

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION - 7th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Magnitude 4.4 Date-Time Monday, January 07, 2013 at 03:33:23 UTC Sunday, January 06, 2013 at 07:33:23 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 49.035°N, 128.715°W Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) Region VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION Distances 206 km (128 miles) W of Tofino, Canada

4.3 Magnitude Earthquake STRAIT OF HORMUZ - 7th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Magnitude 4.3 Date-Time Monday, January 07, 2013 at 00:41:57 UTC Monday, January 07, 2013 at 04:41:57 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 26.839°N, 56.184°E Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) Region STRAIT OF HORMUZ Distances 15 km (9 miles) SW of Qeshm, Iran

4.3 Magnitude Earthquake GREECE - 6th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Magnitude 4.3 Date-Time Sunday, January 06, 2013 at 23:22:32 UTC Monday, January 07, 2013 at 01:22:32 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 40.153°N, 21.819°E Depth 11.8 km (7.3 miles) Region GREECE Distances 1 km (0 miles) S of Aiani, Greece

4.9 Magnitude Earthquake EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS - 6th January 2013

Lynsey at The Coming Crisis - 14 hours ago
Magnitude 4.9 Date-Time Sunday, January 06, 2013 at 19:39:03 UTC Monday, January 07, 2013 at 05:39:03 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 45.676°N, 154.077°E Depth 27.2 km (16.9 miles) Region EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS Distances 487 km (302 miles) E of Kuril'sk, Russia

Sunday Globe Special: The Lincoln Lush

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 14 hours ago
"Man charged with driving drunk with child in car" by Gal Tziperman Lotan | Globe Correspondent, November 24, 2012 Police in Lincoln arrested a man they said was driving drunk with a child in his car around 2 a.m. Saturday. Dingsit Yam, 27, who has numerous addresses in Massachusetts, was stopped on a civil violation on Route 2, Lincoln police Sergeant Paul Westlund said. Police determined Yam was drunk and charged him with operating under the influence of liquor and endangering the welfare of a child. Westlund said he did not know the child’s age, gender, or relation to Yam. A f... more »

Sunday Globe Special: Swansea Mystery

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 14 hours ago
Swansea woman’s death investigated No arrests have been made, and no further details were immediately available.

The Wise Old Man tells American Muslims: "Man Up!"

John Friend at John Friend's Blog - 15 hours ago
My good friend Zan Overall, better known as the Wise Old Man, has an important message to the Muslim community generally, and the American Muslim community specifically: Man Up! Israel and her criminal network of sayanim and stooges controlling America and the West did 9/11, NOT Muslims! The Jews carried out 9/11 and then blamed it on Muslims to kick start the fraudulent and genocidal "Global War on Terror"! It's a damn shame a white man has to show up at a pro-Palestine, pro-Muslim rally to speak the truth about 9/11 and the genocidal Jewish agenda against the Muslim world! Be su... more »

Cold

Lori Anne Haskell at Adventures with Kurt and Lori - 15 hours ago
It has been so freaking cold here. It almost makes you not want to do anything that requires leaving the house. Ugh. I asked Kurt if he was working out with me tonight (which requires walking to the basement of our house) and he said "no, I am too cold to change". And our house is not even cold, LOL. Had a nice weekend of NOT working. We ran some errands on Saturday (had to pick up a package from FedEx, stopped at the office to pick up my phone charger & sunglasses I forgot and get the weekend deposit, picked up my car from the shop), and then I went on to finish family holida... more »

Have I Got Your Number Then, harperscum trolls?

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 15 hours ago
So, let's see if we're clear here. Chief Spence of Attawapiskat is corrupt. That's why here reserve has been crying out for years and years, for a goddamned school and for houses for people whose homes are mold-infested hellholes? Becaubse for years and years she's been corrupt? And now her very public hunger-strike is an attempt by her to sweep her (so-far) unverifiable transgressions under the carpet? ???? Okay. Whatever. But what of the fact that for the majority of these years the federal government has co-managed Attawapiskat?? Oh! I see! It's entirely possible that the federa... more »

Sunday Globe Special: She's a Little Runaway

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 15 hours ago
*She's **Daddy's little girl**....* "Runaway’s parents seek to help others; Social media helped Wayland couple find runaway teen" by Bella English | Globe Staff, November 25, 2012 “Don’t look for me. I’m not lost. I’m found.” ********************** Middle school can be a difficult time, especially for girls, said Christina, 47. “Allie was struggling with the normal issues of being a teenager. I remember being miserable at that age.” Allie found the suburbs boring, and her parents weren’t surprised when police learned two days into the search that she had taken a Peter Pan bus to... more »

Decision making

Bill Robertson at GlobaLove Think Tank - 16 hours ago
*Decisions are mostly intuitive, logical explanations catch-up milliseconds later ~ Robert Sapolsky [ link ]*

Sunday Globe Special: Libyan Attack Led to Accelerated AmeriKan Occupation of Africa

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 16 hours ago
"Libyan attack exposes shortcomings in military command; Pentagon group in region needed outside troops" by Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordon | New York Times, November 04, 2012 WASHINGTON — The assault, on the *anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks * on the United States, has *exposed shortcomings* in the *Obama administration*’s ability to secure diplomatic missions and act on intelligence warnings. * **Hmmmmmm. * *Related(?)*: *The President Who Lost Afghanistan* *And now he's lost Libya. * But this *previously undisclosed episode*, described by several US officials, poi... more »

FUKUSHIMA UNAWNSWERED QUESTIONS

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 16 hours ago
HOW MUCH RADIATION WAS RELEASED ATMOSPHERICALLY AND INTO THE OCEAN? HOW CONTAMINATED ARE THE SOIL, WATER, AND FOOD SUPPLY OF JAPAN AND OTHER NATIONS IMPACTED BY FALLOUT? HOW MUCH RADIATION IS STILL BEING RELEASED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE AND OCEAN? HOW FREQUENTLY ARE TRANSIENT CRITICALITIES OCCURRING AT DAICHI? WHAT IS THE LIKELIHOOD OF ANOTHER VERY LARGE RELEASE? WILL THE RELATIVELY SLOW RELEASE ACROSS TIME BE AS DEADLY IN THE LONG RUN? WHAT EFFECTS ARE PREDICTED BY THOSE WHO HAVE RELIABLE AND VALID DATA ON TOTAL AND ONGOING RELEASES? HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THE CURRENT RISK MODELS PRES... more »

Will Taiwan Independence Rock the World in 2013?

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 16 hours ago
*Love getting out in the morning to see what bugs are hanging. Alas, he spun just as I hit the shutter.* Michael Mazza, longtime commentator and observer on things Taiwan, argues in Foreign Policy that in 2013 Taiwan independence could be an issue that rocks the world, with three other similar "surprise" issues: *+++++++++++* *Taiwan Independence* .......But while Taiwan's businesspeople enjoy closer ties with China, the average Taiwanese voter continues to move toward independence. Over the last 20 years, the portion of citizens of Taiwan identifying as "Taiwanese" has increased ... more »

Sunday Globe Special: A Bad Idea For Canada

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 16 hours ago
"Global domination? Whoa, Canada! McGill University historian Gil Troy, in an essay published last spring in the Canadian magazine Policy Options, he argued that it’s no longer enough for Canada to be “the nice nation”—that to fulfill its potential, it must rise up and become a “leading player in the Western democratic West.” For Troy, that means *passionately supporting Israel*, denouncing Iran, and being willing to stand up, militarily, for its ideals. The emphasis on peacekeeping, Troy said in an interview, “curdled at a certain point—it turned, and became too concerned with appe... more »

Personal Light Pillars

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 16 hours ago
Frame captured from unrelated YouTube video http://youtu.be/YzFk15wRlBk A reader writes: So, AK, I’m writing to share a lightworker story and I don’t know another good medium to share it. I’ve been following your blog for about a year I think. I’m a Usui Reiki Master, a lightworker, a truther, and a PhD chemist. I had a pretty remarkable experience over New Years with eleven other lightworkers in various stages of their spiritual journey. I’ve felt changes all around me since Ascension and since this trip, and I want to share my experience and see if it fits in with other peopl... more »

Sunday Globe Special: Europe Splitting Apart

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 16 hours ago
"Separatist groups are gaining ground throughout Europe" by Edward Cody | Washington Post, November 04, 2012 ANTWERP, Belgium — Old *demons* of regional *separatism*.... Belgium’s prosperous Flanders region.... Independence-minded nationalists also have made recent gains in Spain’s Basque Country and in Catalonia.... In Scotland.... ‘‘*Secessionist temptations* are legion on our continent these days,’’ Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a Green representative in the European Parliament, warned in a recent column. On the other side of the ledger, *two long-term separatist strains* have receded... more »

What Beijing Fears

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 16 hours ago
People in China copying the Taiwanese WantWant media monopoly protest tactic in criticizing the government's closure of a newspaper there. _______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

Jihadist Terrorists Became Beloved Rebels In The Public Imagination

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 16 hours ago
When President Obama announced that he ordered the death of Bin Laden, an untruthful claim, his *zombie-like followers gathered at the White House*to cheer the end of Al-Qaeda's decade of terror. But, while they were busy cheering, their leader was secretly supporting Al Qaeda in its armed struggle against Assad. This fact was at first suppressed, but now the whole world knows that Al Qaeda is leading the fight against Assad while being backed by the Obama administration, Turkey, Israel, France, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. According to neoliberal and neoconservative interventionists who... more »

Sunday Globe Special: North Korea Better Than U.S.

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 16 hours ago
*Hard to believe, but.... * * **"a country that sends political dissenters to gulags, wobbles under food shortages, channels money to the military, and uses the occasional satellite launch as a way to show off a ‘‘thriving nation.’’" * * **We have the secret torture sites, the hunger crisis, and the military-industrial complex, Americans; however, we are **now missing** the space program.* "North Korea’s plan to launch rocket seen as missile test" by Chico Harlan | Washington Post, December 02, 2012 SEOUL — Security analysts say the North could be using the launch as a way to fir... more »

Sunday Globe Special: The Land of the Setting Sun

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 17 hours ago
*And where it is now rising*: "Once-powerful Japan finds few believers in its recovery" by Chico Harlan | Washington Post, November 04, 2012 TOKYO —An alternative — and increasingly accepted — school of thought about Japan: The country is not just in a prolonged slump but also in an inescapable decline. There’s frequent evidence for that in economic data, and the current doom is a sharp reversal from several decades ago, when Japanese companies bought up Columbia Pictures and Rockefeller Center, and Americans argued whether Japan was to be feared or envied. Like a separate but r... more »

GAIA PORTAL: Elementals have Inspired the Clear Higher Dimensional Air

        AMERICAN KABUKI at AMERICAN KABUKI - 17 hours ago
* * *Elementals have Inspired the Clear Higher Dimensional Air* by ÉirePort Elementals have inspired the clear Higher Dimensional air. There comes now an inbreath of all Hue-manity (and humanity general) of this Elemental-clarified air. The Essence of the new Gaia. As this Essence is embodied generally, planet wide, Gaia total, including all humanity, animality, plants, elementals, express the Higher D vibrations. Energetic landmarks have been attained. Up-steps continue, at a pace suited for each. "humanity" continues to develop to "Hue-manity". Rainbow Humanity. Signs a... more »

Sunday Globe Special: Chinese Sexism

Rocker at MSM Monitor - 17 hours ago
Women remain barely visible in Chinese Communist ranks ‘‘Many women don’t want to adjust themselves to the current political culture — the boys’ club, the drinking culture.’’ Women have had more success advancing in the private sector. * **Private sector? In a Communist country?*
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