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| The Flower of the East Marina, a multi-billion dollar FDI project in the tourism sector in Iran. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
![EU Foreign Direct Investment [SEMINAR]](http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8312/8073888838_e9c6c38ac7_n.jpg) |
| EU Foreign Direct Investment [SEMINAR] (Photo credit: ALDEADLE Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EU) |
Vegan Recipe - Soy Chorizo Chili with Rosemary Polenta
*Please welcome Andrea, owner of The Green Queen of Moderation. I first met
Andrea via our Meet & Greet series. Her blog is full of great content!
Posts are organized into four categories: The “Re” Words, The Green Garden,
Green Choices, and Simple Gifts. I headed straight for the garden section
and was rewarded with posts about wildflowers, pollinators, and an
interesting article about plants going to seed. Each post includes stunning
photos.The Simple Gifts section has terrific ideas for meaningful,
earth-friendly gifts. And the "Re" Words section offers tips for recycling,
... more »
FDIs, Hong Kong Democracy and China Communism
This 2013 data does not include foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows,
only inflows and thus, the net inflow is not shown. Still a useful data.
For European economies in this list, including the fiscally-unstable ones
like Spain and Italy -- and note, France is not in the top 20 -- most of
those FDI inflows I think are from EU members also. I am interested to see
the net or balance (inflows minus outflows). In the ASEAN for instance,
Malaysia has high FDI inflows but FDI outflows are also high, so net inflow
is negative for 2012 and 2013. I don't remember where I saw the data.
... more »
Christopher Clark Lecture - The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War In 1914
*"The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War In 1914"* by Christopher Clark
(2013).
Christopher Clark - The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War In 1914.
Source: Fritt Ord. Date Published: November 24, 2013. Description:
'How Europe went to War in 1914' - lecture by Christopher Clark, held at
the House of Literature (Litteraturhuset), Oslo, Saturday 23 November 2013.
Part of 'The War to End War' - public lectures and debates on the Outbreak,
Development, and Aftermath of the First World War.
More deep tweets
Slowly emerging from my hiatus, I see Obama was in Texas today. Governor
Good Hair doesn't look like he's enjoying the meeting. But hey, photo op.
This shot is going to make a great image for his presidential campaign.
No, War and Peace is not a book about a guy named Warren Peas. Oh, man,
this guy. pic.twitter.com/zPXDfT9vIs
— netw3rk (@netw3rk) July 10, 2014
Deep tweets - updated
No idea what's happening here but pretty sure crushing a car with a fleeing
suspect in it never happened when I was a young lass. Not even in the
movies.
#Breaking Swat has multiple trucks on scene of police stand off after
chase. Car being crushed suspect still inside pic.twitter.com/bEnaHlD5Tk
— MyFoxHouston (@MyFoxHouston) July 10, 2014
Update: It appears the suspect in question is a crazed mass murderer.
Still, crushing him in his car without due process feels a bit barbaric.
Hard to believe it's legal.
#KHOU source confirms a 6th victim of the mass shooting has died.
http://... more »
World Cup fallout: Does the prospect of pancakes (or even waffles) justify the scourge of soccer? And what about the scourge of Twitter?
*Can the World Cup really be unreservedly evil if it leads to the
possibility of pancakes (or even, hypothetically, waffles)?*
*by Ken*
Let's dispose of the obvious questions about Matthew Barzun first.
(1) He's currently the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom -- or in
fancier lingo, ambassador to the Court of St. James. So you can tell he
must have raised a lot of money for President Obama's presidential
campaign(s). Ding-ding-ding-ding! In the first Obama presidential campaign,
according to Wikipedia:
Barzun’s small-dollar fundraisers were supporter-driven via online event
... more »
The New Blitzkrieg, Part II
As I wrote a few days ago, a new pattern of warfare is emerging in the
Middle East and Africa. This “new blitzkrieg” isn’t really new, but it is
asymmetric warfare at its best, pitting swarms of fast-moving, lightly
armed fighters operating as a network against hidebound hierarchies of
Western-trained and equipped “professional soldiers”. These
Continue reading
SEE HOW THEY LIE
ABC News’ Diane Sawyer misidentifies scenes of the aftermath of Israeli
missile strikes in Gaza as destruction caused by Palestinian rocket fire.
Sawyer’s bald misreporting reflects either a deliberate lie by ABC News or
willful ignorance so severe that Palestinian death and misery is invisible
even when it’s staring ABC producers right in the face.
I posted the story on FaceBook and got this comment from Fred Morris:
Incredible, but not surprising. ABC-News has long been a platform for the
State Department's agenda. This reporting is total lies.
Back in 1984, when I was local pr... more »
BOYCOTT SODASTREAM
I rode my scooter to Brunswick today for a 5:00 pm protest at WalMart in
support of the boycott of SodaStream carbonation devices or other products
made by this company.
SodaStream manufactures these machines within an Israeli settlement in
occupied Palestinian territory. These settlements are illegal under
international law and are obstacles to peace.
We began in front of the doors into WalMart and after a few moments their
staff told us to leave. We just ignored them and they called the police.
It took another 20 minutes for the cops to arrive and during that time we
keep a m... more »
Dahmer
Serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer (1960-1994) graduated from Revere
High School in Bath, Ohio in 1978. On page 145 of the school's Minuteman
yearbook, the following text appears on the right side: "JEFF DAHMER: Band
1; Lantern 3; Tennis Intramurals 2, 3, 4; Ohio State Univ. (Business)..."
In The Jeffrey Dahmer Story author Don Davis depicts Dahmer as a prankish
drunk at Revere who was shy around girls. So well-known were the future
murderer's gags that classmates referred to generally outrageous behavior as*
"Doing a Dahmer."** During the senior class trip to Washington, D... more »
The State Board of Ed, the Uneducated Educated, and the Unelected
By Doug Martin
Despite letter after letter and a strong physical presence in support of
our democratically elected supt. of public instruction, the Pence/state
board/CECI trio today set the ball in motion to steal more power from
Glenda Ritz to carry on the billionaires' corporate-theocratic agenda I
detail in my book *Hoosier School Heist*.
The whole attack against Glenda Ritz is, in essence, an attack against
women who make up the majority of the teaching workforce. It is the same "Father-Knows
Best" mentality that was at play with Mitch Daniels, which I wrote about a
few yea... more »
Amazon Seriously Needs to Go Fuck Itself, Posthaste
To those of you who've been paying attention, you know that Hachette,
the nation's fourth biggest publisher, is engaged in a battle of wills with
Amazon.com over the pricing of ebooks. In fact, I'd written about it last
month (not that anyone gave a shit because I'm supposed to be completely
ignored as a political pundit, not as a publishing pundit, which I am.).
Well, the reason why I'm again writing about this two giant tug-o-war
with authors and readers in the middle is because of Amazon's newest
brilliant proposal: Let's let all Hachette authors keep 100% of the revenue... more »
Obama makes statement about the border situation...
*allow me to sum it up for you.*
It's someone else's fault.
Give me a few billions dollars and I'll fix everything.
It's Congress's fault.
Make Congress give me money.
It's for the children.
Republicans need to compromise and negotiate.
Ramble
Uh
Ah
Ramble
Ramble
Uh
Ah
Ramble
Good grief. This man sure likes the sound of his voice.
He appears to have been imbibing in the new legal weed he got in Colorado.
We now have a new name for "give me a bunch of money" - supplemental.
Ooops. Taking a swipe at Bohner.
It's for the children.
No, it's really for the children.
Bur... more »
Meeting Gods
"My specific take on Superman’s physicality was inspired by the “shamanic”
meeting my *JLA* editor Dan Raspler and I had in the wee hours of the
morning outside the San Diego comic book convention in whenever it was, ‘98
or ‘99.
I’ve told this story in more detail elsewhere but basically, we were trying
to figure out how to “reboot” Superman without splitting up his marriage to
Lois, which seemed like a cop–out. It was the beginning of the
conversations which ultimately led to *Superman Now*, with Dan and I
restlessly pacing around trying to figure out a new way into the character... more »
"An Incomplete Understanding: Feeling Lonely"
*"An Incomplete Understanding: Feeling Lonely"*
by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM
"If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company."
- Jean-Paul Sartre
"When we are feeling lonely, we have lost the idea that we are all one and
none of us are separate from the whole. We all have days when we feel
lonely, but the very idea of loneliness comes from the false notion that we
are separate and isolated parts in a world filled with other separate,
isolated parts. In truth, we can no more be separate from our world than a
fish can be separate from the water in which it swims. When w... more »
“This Is Disgusting- And the Food Sounds Gross Too”
*“This Is Disgusting- And the Food Sounds Gross Too”*
by John Rubino
“It is by now generally understood, at least in the sound money community,
that inflation is much higher than the government admits and that the true
extent of the problem is being hidden in various ways. But the specifics
keep getting more and more disturbing. Here’s a recent Phoenix Capital note
(via Zero Hedge) on the adulteration of our “food.”
Last week we noted that inflation has already entered the economy. It isn’t
showing up in nominal price hikes because it never does at first… As we
noted last week… Let... more »
An (Unofficial) DCPS Feeder Patterns & School ESEA Classification
Originally posted on EdCentrist:
?
Greenwald Story: NSA and FBI Targeting American Muslims
I must admit that I am more than a little bit underwhelmed by the latest
Glenn Greenwald story based on the NSA documents from former government
contractor and patriotic whistleblower Edward Snowden. The big story, the
one that Greenwald and the new Pierre Omidyar media venture *The Intercept* had
pulled hours prior to publication last week at the behest of the government
is that the NSA is targeting Muslims as if that is any surprise given the
broiling hatred that has existed in this country since September 11, 2001 -
the day that changed everything. The story was published on *Th... more »
Nearing the End of the World Cup Linkage
This might be might last football related post, what with the World Cup
coming to a close and host country Brazil departing ignominiously from the
competition by a margin of 7 to 1 in the semifinal against Germany. I’ve
got a few football/Brazil related links for this week. I’m sitting on a
goodly number of climate change and
Continue reading
Oh, Glennie! And We Waited Soooo Long for Your Well-Advertised (Funded by Ukrainian Revolution Co-Funder Pierre Omidyar) Stunning Announcement! (And We Thought We Knew You So Well . . . .) And Not-To-Be-Overexpected Richie Riches Screw Up Again (Rental Scams Equity Market Gambit)
So, now we know. And my heart's breaking. I had such liberal/progressive
hopes. Still. However, it has been revealed at its source (by its source -
you) that only Reagan-loving Republicans need apply to your (Glenn
Greenwald's) much-kept-secret-but-now-revealed list of those whose personal
data were accessed and used inappropriately by the much-superior to
everyone else in recorded
“Why Do You Still Argue From A False Premise?”
*“Why Do You Still Argue From A False Premise?”*
by Karl Denninger
“At some point you're forced to step back from whatever you do when it
becomes apparent that you're simply preaching to the choir, or worse,
preaching at a group that has plugs in its ears and is trying to find a way
to rob you irrespective of the fact that they know that they're doing
something wrong.
I'll give you a recent example; someone I know and who is hard-left on the
liberal side of the aisle was recently pontificating about how "America,
love it or leave it" is an invalid expression. He in fact put forward... more »
Ramadan Kareem
By Capt. Fogg
"I didn't want to wish you Ramadan Kareem on the air. . ." said Jake Tapper
just now on CNN, thinking his mike was off. He had just interviewed some
lawyers irate at being under surveillance without any reason save for their
being Muslim.
His mike was on and I wonder -- just why was he unwilling? Is there a *war
on Ramadan*?
Omnipresent Pang
And this made me laugh too:
*Chris Patten to take up media adviser role to Pope Francis*
Former Conservative MP takes up new role only two months after dramatically
quitting as chairman of BBC Trust due to heart problems
How on earth does Chris Patten end up in every single job on earth. Is he
actually a lizard person?
— Ed West (@edwest) July 9, 2014
Why people hate the number 745
On a lighter note (and, boy, don't we need it!), *The Infinite Monkey Cage *returned
for its tenth series this week.
It talked maths, and was funny and fascinating.
I could transcribe some of the most interesting bits - the mathematical
bits - but I won't. Instead, I'll just transcribe a couple of the
audience's answers at the end of the programme, both based on the question,
"What is your least favourite number, and why?":
*Answer 1*: "3.141592653589793238462643383279...because it reminds me of
food, and I am on a diet."
*Answer 2*: "7.45. Thought for the Day".
That last one... more »
Arkansas Senate Race-- Who Believes In God, And Talking Snakes, More?
We haven't really been covering the Arkansas elections this cycle.
Basically, all the contests are classic lesser or two evils situations--
Democrats rated D or F and Republicans rated F-minus. Is there anything
less than an F these days? All the grotesque DCCC recruits will lose
spectacularly, wasting immense amounts of money that could have been used
to win actual seats for actual progressives in actual swing districts--
like MI-06 (Upton vs Clements) and WA-08 (Reichert vs Ritchie)-- or could
have been put to work on 2 cycle plans to take back relatively easy seats
the DCCC is... more »
Untitled
*High quality NOAA Data Show U.S. in Decade-Long Cooling*
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s most accurate,
up-to-date temperature data confirm the United States has been cooling for
at least the past decade. The NOAA temperature data are driving a stake
through the heart of alarmists claiming accelerating global warming.
Responding to widespread criticism that its temperature station readings
were corrupted by poor siting issues and suspect adjustments, NOAA
established a network of 114 pristinely sited temperature stations spread
out fairly uniformly throughout ... more »
Untitled
*New Orleans is famous the world over for its property values ~Library
Chronicles *
*Why New Orleans’ Katrina Evacuation Debacle Will Never Happen Again ~Katy
Reckdahl, Next City*
*David Waggonner: Pensacola’s flood solutions will be tough ~Rob Johnson *
*Overnight Reputation Announces Reputation Management Service Expansion to
Include New Orleans ~Digital Journal*
The Economy: “Zombie Attack!”
*“Zombie Attack!”*
by Bill Bonner
“Dear Reader, we write with a Zombie Update. As you know, annual GDP growth
rates in the US have been trending lower since the end of World War II.
Frequently touching on 10% in the 1950s and 1960s... we're now lucky to get
2%. And to get that we have to pump in trillions of dollars in new
liquidity into the financial system... take on staggering amounts of new
debt... and bludgeon the statistics, too.
After the disastrous first quarter, which saw an annualized drop in output
of 2.9%, it will be hard to get back to decent figures for this year. JP... more »
Pre-Assassination Moments : Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad, 1994
*You Don't Take One Out Unless You Can Put One In.You Don't Take One Out
Unless You Can Put One In."Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House
of Representatives (1) condemns the speech given by Kahlid Abdul
Muhammad as outrageous hatemongering of the most vicious and vile
kind; ""It is the sense of the Senate that the speech made by Mr. Khalid
Abdul Mohammad at Kean College on November 29, 1993, was false,
anti-Semitic, racist, divisive, repugnant and a disservice to all Americans
and is therefore condemned."Congressional Black Caucus Backs Away Fro... more »
Defending the Local Government Panel
There are ripples disturbing the surface of the tiny Stoke-on-Trent
politics bubble, ripples conveying the fall-out of recent local government
selection interviews in which three party members were turned down. As
ever, I won't be commenting on those decisions directly, especially as they
might be subject to the appeals process. In this spirit, I will not be
accepting any comments about those cases. But what is worthwhile commenting
on is the way the Labour Party here in Stoke *and everywhere else* selects
its local council candidates. Yes, it's hardly up there with intersectionalit... more »
Israel
*"Israel" *means* "Struggles with God"*
And people wonder why they're unrighteous...
" The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants,
and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them
and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob
was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip
socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then
he said, *“Let me go, for the day has broken.*” But ... more »
The Robot who loved me
By Capt. Fogg
It's about 2 O'Clock in the afternoon as I write. That's a bit late for
Carmen's first call of the day. But I know she's faithful and that she will
always call. After all I provide her a phone number to call at any time
without asking. Once she called at 2:30 AM.
Carmen from Cardholder Services calls me on average twice a day, seven
days a week. Sometimes it's once sometimes three times, but she has rarely
missed a day in these last two years. It's no secret I'm avoiding her but
as a robot she never seems to catch on, to tire, to take the hint. She's a
robot aft... more »
Supplemental: What Clinton said in 1986!
*WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014*
*This is gaffe culture on acid:* It’s hard to get one’s arms around the
dumbness of our post-journalistic culture.
For the latest example, we submit the latest thrilling case—the case of
what Hillary Clinton said in 1986 about something she did in 1975.
Tapes of the 28-year-old conversation in question surfaced last month. For
some reason, MSNBC has created a second round of conversations about this
matter, first on yesterday’s Morning Joe, then on last night’s Hardball.
Can we go over the facts once again? We’re talking about what Clinton said *28
years a... more »
Jews urge Obama, Congress to 'welcome the stranger'
In yet another act of blatant, unacceptable hypocrisy coming from the
organized Jewish community, Jewish groups in America - all of whom
vehemently support the Jewish state of Israel and demand that it remain the
"homeland of the Jewish people" - are demanding President Obama and
Congress welcome the thousands - perhaps millions - of illegal aliens
criminally entering the United States. The *Jewish Telegraph Agency*
reports:
Twenty Jewish organizations urged President Obama and Congress to deal
humanely with the unaccompanied children and refugees from Central America
who are cross... more »
THE GENERAL'S SON
Abby Martin interviews peace activist and author, Miko Peled on the latest
violence gripping Gaza, following the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers
and the militarized response by Israel's defense forces.
Israeli ground operation "unintended escalation" with Syria & Hezbollah?
Israeli ground operation in Gaza increasingly likely, risking unintended
escalation involving Syria and Hizbullah
Hamas is seeking to draw Israel into a ground invasion of Gaza, as the
group's military wing seeks to re-establish itself as the key
decision-maker, and to return the movement to its origins as a resistance
organisation.
Hamas is drawing Israel into a ground invasion? Nonsense. Israel wants a
ground invasion!
The Hamas-Israel conflict is unlikely to end in the coming week or two, and
a ground invasion in which Israeli troops will be vulnerable to ambush and
anti-t... more »
my religion
"My religion
is very simple.
My religion is kindness."
H. H. the 14th Dalai Lama
Steve Israel's DCCC Has Thrown Away The Advantage Democrats Had With Gun Safety
In 2006, Blue America backed Kirsten Gillibrand for Congress when she ran
against corrupt, drunken wife-beater John Sweeney. We helped her raise
consciousness about what a crook Sweeney was and we helped her raise money
and we even got the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Rickie Lee Jones to do a song
for her campaign which got a ton of airplay on the local radio stations.
So, of course, we were very disappointed when she joined the Blue Dogs
after being elected-- pretending to be a progressive-- and we were
mortified when she showed herself to be a total shill for the NRA. She
seemed to... more »
World Cup Netherlands vs Argentina
I think it was Dennis Bergkamp who scored this goal in 1998. If there is
goal half as good tonight we should consider ourselves lucky.
Witness President Ribbon Cutter as he laughs it up in a Denver bar when offered a hit of pot...
*but he doesn't have time to visit the border when he was in Texas?*
He is by far one of the most repulsive individuals I've ever seen. And the
people who voted for him are equally repulsive.
Watch how cute he thinks he looks as he tosses his head and laughs like a
little girl.
from YouTube:
President Barack Obama visited Denver, Colorado Tuesday evening and while
he was there, some strange stuff happened. For one, this guy asked him,
"Want a hit, man?" and posted the video of the president laughing in
response on Instagram
Obama’s New Landmine Policy: Change I Can Believe In, Tentatively
This is a guest post by Matthew Bolton, Assistant professor of political
science at Pace University and author of Foreign Aid and Landmine
Clearance. He blogs at Political Minefields. Imagine never knowing whether
your next step will be your last, whether your children are safe in the
fields around your house, whether objects they find in
Continue reading
TRANSFORM THE WAR ECONOMY
The latest edition of *This Issue* features Miriam Pemberton from the
Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC. She was recently in Maine
to speak at a public forum in Bath about conversion/diversification of the
military production network across the nation. She particularly emphasizes
the need for peace groups to work with unions, church groups, environmental
groups and other interested parties to push for diversification planning
councils to be established at the state levels.
TAKE BACK OUR SOUL
This happened to me
growing up behind
barbed wire fences
Air Force bases
my mind was
hollowed out
and inside was poured
nationalism
and militarism
I still see the old man
in Wiesbaden
with his fingers
wrapped around the
base fence
staring right at me
as we played
American baseball
in the middle of
his city
his eyes said
go home
The Lakota
whose land was taken
to eventually build
Ellsworth AFB
I learned to love
their drums
and the smells
of sage
I too enlisted
and marched
and saluted
but found the truth
and learned outrage
inside the barracks
as GI's
helped me take back
my own mind
and... more »
Iraq’s Southern Front Babil Province Where The Islamic State Has Free Reign
Most of the attention on Iraq has been focused upon the deteriorating
security situation in Anbar in the west, and Ninewa and Salahaddin in the
north. In the south however in Babil province the insurgency has been
growing in strength since late-2013. The government has launched six
security operations in the northwest section of the governorate this year,
deployed militias there, and claimed success every time, but the sheer
number of offensives points to the failures of the Iraqi Security Forces
(ISF). More importantly the Islamic State (IS) has been able to use its
bases in nor... more »
NATO's Syrian "opposition" annoints Hadi al Bahra- boo hiss boo hiss
*I mentioned this impending selection the other day.*
Syrian NATO backed 'oppositon" to "select new leader"
*A choice that is always limited to Western intelligence linked stooge #1
or Western stooge #2, # 3 or perhaps # 4?*
*The top candidate for the job is senior coalition members are Hadi Bahra *
Of course it was Hadi al Bahra that was selected. Not by the Syrian people.
The NATO backed 'opposition' simply picked one of their own. NATO can't
lose when the game is rigged.
*Of course he is Saudi backed. Which means he is US/UK and Israeli backed *
Syria's Western-backed opposi... more »
ETHNIC CLEANSING
Israel's massive attack on Gaza is really intended to make life impossible
for the Palestinian people. It is ethnic cleansing - genocide. The people
of the world must react now.
The US sends Israel $3 billion each year to build the wall that puts
Palestinian people into virtual prisons and for military hardware. I'm
always reading about Pentagon advisers working with the Israeli military on
installing and testing various new high-tech space technology weapons
systems. The US military industrial complex makes huge profit from the
Israeli program of endless war.
This same $3 bi... more »
Bored scientists now just sticking random things into LHC
What are the LHC physicists doing when they're not on vacations, guest
blogging, or insulting members of the TRF community? ;-)
Bored Scientists Now Just Sticking Random Things Into Large Hadron Collider
It's posted here so that you may see it before you learn it from the BBC,
MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, or another mainstream source.
I wouldn't be quite shocked if this were turned into a real news story with
many journalists! The video above is a joke, if you didn't get it, but some
people's anti-scientific sentiments are pretty much exactly and seriously
equivalent to what ... more »
A Rogue By Any Other Name
Barack Obama apparently is one embarrassed, pissed-off dude. So the *New
York Times* is again obligingly acting as the White House farm tool which
spreads the manure of blame on anybody and everybody who is not Barack
Obama:
*When President Obama placed a call to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany
last Thursday, he had a busy agenda: to consult with a close ally and to
mobilize wavering Europeans to put more pressure on Russia to end its
covert incursions in Ukraine. *
*What Mr. Obama did not know was that a day earlier, a young German
intelligence operative had been arrested and ... more »
Short shorts for Wednesday
*Parking as close as possible to the door. After all, no one else exists.*
With the elections due in 4 months, the news is slowly trickling in and the
KMT appears to be in fear... The KMT's candidate in Keelung, long a KMT
fiefdom, was yanked from the election this week as corruption allegations
swirl about him. Rather strange since Keelung has a long history of
electing corrupt KMT candidates, but in this case he was also taking a
beating in the polls.
More serious, in what has now become a kind of traditional prelude to any
election season, the special investigations division (SI... more »
Ignoring the Job Market (and How We Do Our Jobs) When Studying Teachers’ Job Satisfaction
“Estimating the Effects of No Child Left Behind on Teachers and Their Work
Environments and Job Attitudes,” by Jason Grissom et. al., uses NCES
polling data from 1993-94 to 1999-2000 to 2003-04 to 2007-08. It begins by
reviewing and challenging “anecdotal” evidence from great journalists and
education writers. As I explained previously, I believe the […]
The Collapse of the Status Quo in Israel.
Just over a week ago – two days before the discovery of the bodies of the
three abducted Israeli teenagers and four days before the abduction and
revenge killing of Muhammed Abu Khdeir — I sat in the family quarters of a
young Palestinian shop owner in Jersusalem’s Old City sipping mint tea with
two colleagues.
Continue reading
Untitled
* ACLU, ADF Call "Foul" Over University's Treatment Of The First Amendment*
Idaho's Boise State University ("BSU") is world-famous for its telegenic
"blue turf" football field and a roster of impressive bowl game
appearances. But if current trends continue, the school might be on its way
to fame of a different sort: on the same weekend that Americans celebrate
their nation's founding and their liberties, BSU is simultaneously under
fire from three separate legal defense groups all of which are alleging
violations of students' free speech rights.
The concerns have emerged from two ... more »
IN THE YEAR 2525: Krystal Ball explains gaffe culture!
*WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014Part 2—Why pundits are forced to “guess:”* During
Campaign 2012, the Washington Post’s Philip Rucker was busy patrolling the
gaffes.
Candidate Romney was visiting a Polish war memorial. At Politico, Dylan
Byers described the excitement which followed:
BYERS (8/23/12): *Philip Rucker, the Washington Post reporter who famously
shouted "What about your gaffes!?" at Mitt Romney*, arrived on the
campaign's press plane yesterday with a homemade t-shirt that read, "What
about your gaffes!?"
Rucker then sought Romney's signature, which he obtained.
The memorable... more »
Want to know how much a billion is?...
*sure you do. *
*This is too true to be funny.*The next time you hear a politician use the
word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about
whether you want the 'politicians' spending
YOUR tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,
But one advertising agency did a good job of
putting that figure into some perspective in
one of its releases.
*A BILLION*
Freedom in the US vs Costa Rica
My husband posted this picture on his facebook wall today that he found
online.
This sign documents really well why we don't think the US is free.
Everywhere you turn, there is a law, a rule, somebody telling you what to
do, judgmental people. There is a car accident, and someone runs out and
names a new law, naming it after the person who just died. LAW after LAW
after LAW. It is never ending. And the US people seem to be fine with it,
most thinking that the laws are there to protect them and keep them safe.
It's pathetic. I have no desire to live someplace where my every ... more »
Supplement: Krystal Ball’s full text!
*WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014*
*Every word, just as she said them:* On June 17, MSNBC’s Krystal Ball
discussed the NEW jihad which had started to form around Hillary Clinton.
In the year 2525, this will be regarded as an iconic text. To watch the
videotape, you can just click this:
BALL (6/17/14): What are we to make of the Hillary Clinton book tour that
is so much more than a book tour? The down-to-the-second, precision
interactions, perfectly calculated to make sure visitors don’t feel jilted
while maximizing the number of signatures. The planned pop-ups of old
friends who just happe... more »
End times for Isreal
its end times for Israel
the facts of history
are comming home
and it will not be swell
Gaza is blowing up
and the Hamas still suck
But so does Lukid
and both sides fail to remember
the other side has kids
If only the Russians loved their
children was true
the world is full of colours
but humanity is all really grey
Yet when the time comes for action
its always black and white
Who was wrong, who was right
when the blades come out
this is no longer a debatable
part of the fight
A fight to the death
has no rules
as long as your not suicidal
This is my final solution
an easier cure th... more »
A Teacher's Take on Common Core
From Labor Notes:
*. . . .There’s debate among teachers about the idea of replacing the
status quo, state standards, with national ones. But the implementation has
been roundly unpopular.*
*Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have adopted the national
standards, which cover English and math. Students will be tested on them
every year, kindergarten through 12th grade.*
*Lessons at all grade levels are supposed to advance college- and
career-readiness. That’s a big change in how to approach teaching, say,
kindergarten.*
*The Chicago Teachers Union has denounced the standa... more »
Greenwald Reveals American Targets of NSA Snooping
[image: Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...]
Glenn Greenwald promised he had at least one more major story originating
from the documents leaked by Edward Snowden. He has now provided what he
had pretty much promised: the names of a handful of Americans who were
under surveillance by the FBI and National Security Agency (NSA). He and
Murtaza Hussain detail five targets at *The Intercept*:
• Faisal Gill, a longtime Republican Party operative and one-time
candidate for public office who held a top-secret security clearance and
served in the Department of Homeland Securi... more »
Kansas-- A Laboratory For Ultra-Conservative Ideas Throughout The Entire Country-- Is A Bust
Last month, Chris Hayes repeatedly brought up a state-- Kansas-- that few
Democrats ever see as a realistic election target (above). Far right
extremist Sam Brownback's gubernatorial reelection is not looking like a
sure thing anymore. Unless you consider being down 47-41% against your
Democratic opponent, Paul Davis, "a sure thing."
Kansas, the Koch-owned state, has no Democrats in federal office and was
one of the only states in the country where voters gave Obama less than 40%
in 2012. The state has a lopsided Republican legislature-- 31 Republicans
and 9 Democrats in the stat... more »
Wall Street teams up with intel / cyber spooks ( but did they decide in a secret meeting in upstate NY ? ) Wall Street Joins U.S. Intelligence Cronies To Form Fascist "Cyber War Council" What could go wrong with this one ?
*George Mapp* @Dobroyeutro · 4m
CIA Involved in US Spy Operation Against Germany http://buff.ly/1xRBOjp #
CIA #BND #Snowden pic.twitter.com/IePlW0DBLf
[image: Embedded image permalink]
*George Mapp* @Dobroyeutro · Jul 7
Exclusive: CIA had role in #Germany #spy affair http://buff.ly/1jhGPP7 #CIA
#BND #DoubleAgent pic.twitter.com/FBEQfLQStJ
[image: Embedded image permalink]
-
Wall Street Joins U.S. Intelligence Cronies To Form Fascist "Cyber War
Council"
[image: Tyler Durden's picture]
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/08/2014 23:05 -0400
- Alan Grayson
- Florida ... more »
photorealist artist - Zaria Forman - ultimate finger painting
Zaria Forman produces large-scale artworks that are moving and dramatic but
the most impressive part...? They're not paintings, they're pastel
*drawings* that she finesses with her *FINGERS*.
There are plenty more of her astonishing pastel drawings on her website,
especially The Maldives Set and the stunning Greenland Set (not featured
above).
Aboriginal DNA provides human migration clues
Scientists have used DNA evidence from a lock of hair found in WA in the
1920s to map the early migration of humans from Africa to Australia. Here's
a look at the Aboriginal Timeline not necessarily discussed in the
following summarised i.e. dumbed down, mainstream media report on the
research.
*400,000Mitochondrial DNA puts the origin of Homo Sapiens much further back
and indicates that the Australian Aborigines arose 400,000 years ago from
two distinct lineages, far earlier than any other racial
group.120,000Analysis of pollen and charcoa... more »
Germany finds a second spy working for the US and against Germany ! How many more will they find ? Key point - The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, without naming sources, that the man being investigated worked in "the military field" and is suspected of spying for the United States.......
Never one cockroach in a cupboard......
Second US Spy Busted In Germany In One Week
[image: Tyler Durden's picture]
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/09/2014 07:59 -0400
- B+
- Brazil
- Deutsche Bank
- Germany
- national security
- SPY
inShare
It just hasn't been a good week for the CIA. A year after Edward Snowden
revealed that the US was bugging Angela Merkel's cell phone, first one
then, moments ago, Suddeutsche Zeitung revealed that a second "spy case"
involving the US (read CIA) have been revealed. According to SZ, an
unidentified man working in mili... more »
The Circus May Soon Be Over.
http://www.aol.com/
Since emerging from rehab, Rob Ford has worked very hard to control his
message. At his first news conference, he spoke to a select group of
reporters. But that tactic hasn't worked. Reports are now emerging of
Ford's time in rehab. Kevin Donovan writes in the *Toronto Star* that:
Mayor Rob Ford pushed and scuffled with fellow rehab residents and was so
verbally abusive that he was kicked out of his group therapy program,
according to people who have knowledge of his two month ... more »
The Universe
“Life is a chance to do things your way; not the cheapest way, not the most
popular way,
and not how others think you should. And a very, very, very precious
chance, at that.”
“Got chills?”
The Universe
“Thoughts become things... choose the good ones!”
- www.tut.com
SHAIRA: UNA MENSAJERA DE VIDA VICTIMA MORTAL DE LA VACUNA CONTRA EL PAPILOMA HUMANO por Pablo Emilio Obando Acosta
Dulce Sahira
SHAIRA: UNA MENSAJERA DE VIDA VICTIMA MORTAL DE LA VACUNA CONTRA EL
PAPILOMA HUMANO
por Pablo Emilio Obando Acosta
AAVP
Hay crónicas que nunca me gustarÃa escribir, esta es una de ellas. Y no
porque carezca de interés periodÃstico, sino, simple y sencillamente,
porque los ojos de esta niña me dicen que aún no era su tiempo de partir,
porque he visto en ellos ese dolor irrefrenable que nos hace pensar que
algo no está bien, que alguien se equivocó, ¡que no debió ser asÃ!. Pero
sucedió y justamente cuando sus alas empezaban a sentir que el viento las
impulsaba, cuando e... more »
Syria Updates ( July 9 , 2014 ) .... Rapidly becoming a story of Syria's Government forces winning on the battlefield and ISIS dominating among the Opposition / Insurgent Forces......
Syria......
ISIS drawing in new forces.....
1,000-Strong Syrian Rebel Brigade Defects to ISISFSA Rebels Demand US Arms,
Threaten to Quit War
by Jason Ditz, July 08, 2014
Print This | Share This
The Syrian Dawud Brigade, a 1,000-strong group of fighters formerly allied
to the Islamic Front umbrella, has left its position in the Idlib Province
and gone to Raqqa to join ISIS.
The brigade brought with it 100 vehicles, including 10 tanks seized from
the Syrian Army during various battles, and is the largest defection so far
to ISIS from any rival rebel faction.
The Islamic Front’s “Sh... more »
Girls night with Kathryn Marshall and BC4P
This past February, Kathryn Marshall, former spokesy for *Ethical Oil*, and
Brittany Allison, Interim Executive Director of *British Columbians For
Prosperity*, had a "girls night" at a West Vancouver restaurant.
You'll recall Ethical Oil's Kathryn Marshall, formerly of the Koch-funded
Fraser Institute :
"Successfully recruited major prospects for donations and sponsorships and
built and maintained relationships between the Fraser Institute and donors.
May 2008 – July 2009 "
... and her hapless tv stints raving against "foreign special interests and
their deep pockets" that ... more »
Iraq Updates ( July 9, 2014 ) -- Even as the Iraq Parliament now says it will meet July 13th , rather than August 12th , to try to form a new Government - there's absolutely no reason to believe any such Government will be formed ..... The latest news from Kurdistan , relating to the political and security situations , the latest state of play !
Vineyard of the Saker...
July 9th Iraq SITREP by Mindfriedo
NB: Please note that I am not mentioning/addressing the Israeli Palestinian
conflict in these SITREPs. I expect very little to change there in terms of
(im)Balance of Power, unless Hezballah decides to step in (unlikely for
now). The suffering of the people there, is endless.
Correction: In yesterday's SITREP I referred to Tom Malinowski as the US
Ambassador to Bahrain. He is not, he is the US Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, a diplomat only. Thank you anonymous
for pointing this out.
8th... more »
Treacherous Senate Rolls Out New Cybersecurity Bill
The number one enemy of the American people and enablers of the ongoing
spree to gut the US Constitution is at it again with yet another attack on
privacy. The Senate, led by the impenetrable firewall of cellulite that
protects the NSA Stasi - California's Dianne Feinstein - has just passed
out of committee a new cybersecurity bill that represents the
institutionalized rottenness of the legislative body in all of it's
resplendent putrescence. The onerous bill, the Cybersecurity Information
Sharing Act (CISA) was voted on in secret to avoid that always pesky public
scrutiny and wit... more »
Untitled
*Climate Science Paper Censored By American Meteorological Society Journal*
Research that questioned the accuracy of computer models used to predict
global warming was “censored” by climate scientists, it was alleged
yesterday.
One academic reviewer said that a section should not be published because
it “would lead to unnecessary confusion in the climate science community”.
Another wrote: “This entire discussion has to disappear.”
The paper suggested that the computer models used by the UN’s
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were flawed, resulting in
human influence... more »
Russia Presents Unique Drone at Innoprom-2014 Exhibition
[image: Chirok drone]Russia’s United Instrument-Making Corporation, a
Rostec subsidiary, presented the unique and innovative Chirok drone at the
Innoprom international technology exhibition, the press service of the
state corporation reported.
"The innovative technology, air-cushion landing system, allows the drone to
take off without an air strip. This technology is absolutely unique. The
drone is able to take off from soft soil, water, marshy terrain and loose
snow. It can also land on these surfaces, whereas other aircraft can
neither take off from nor land on them," the press se... more »
Musical Interlude: The Eagles, "The Last Resort"
Eagles the last resort *by legrenierdetontonfred*
The Eagles, "The Last Resort"
- http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9lvzs_eagles-the-last-resort_music
Aegis Combat System’s Newest Baseline Demonstrates Over the Horizon Capability in Series of Three Tests
[image: SM-6 Launch]The Lockheed Martin and U.S. Navy team’s Baseline 9
Aegis Combat System recently completed multiple exercises including the
longest-range engagement ever tested with a Standard Missile-6 (SM-6).
This is the first major series of tests for the integrated air and missile
defense (IAMD)-equipped USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53), and highlights the
system’s accuracy in identifying and destroying threats from beyond the
radar horizon.
The first of three Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA)
exercises involved a long-range mission, known as AS-2A, which used... more »
Aging nuclear missiles a concern
[image: LGM-30 Minuteman III Missile]The nuclear missiles hidden in plain
view across the prairies of northwest North Dakota reveal one reason why
trouble keeps finding the nuclear Air Force. The “Big Sticks,” as some call
the 60-foot-tall Minuteman 3 missiles, are just plain old.
The Air Force asserts with pride that the missile system, more than 40
years old and designed during the Cold War to counter the now-defunct
Soviet Union, is safe and secure. None has ever been used in combat or
launched accidentally.
But it also admits to fraying at the edges: time-worn command posts,
co... more »
Axing The F-35's Alternative Engine Was An Incredibly Stupid Move
[image: F-35 Engine fire]The DoD painted the F-35's alternative jet engine
as a huge unneeded expense, one that was more about congressional pork than
necessity or logic. Now with the fleet grounded due a mystery engine fire,
we are reminded of how stupid it was to cancel the jet's other engine.
*A Tail Of Two Engines...*
The Joint Strike Fighter was envisioned with having two engine options
since early on in the program's history. These included the F135, based on
the F-22's Pratt & Whitney F119 turbofan and the General Electric/Rolls
Royce F136 turbofan based on the competitor of ... more »
Aerostar completes MiG-21 upgrade for Mozambique
[image: Mozambic MiG-21 Fishbed]Romanian aerospace company Aerostar has
completed the overhaul and modernisation of the Mozambique Air Force's
eight MiG-21 Fishbed fighter aircraft.
Under a contract signed in 2013, the company upgraded six single-seat and
two double-seat MiG-21 trainer variants at its facility in Bacau.
New equipment such as a GPS system and an advanced digital flight data
recorder were installed on the aircraft. Each overhaul took 120 days.
Read more
Croatia to take charge of fighter aircraft only after removal of all flaws
[image: MiG-21bis Fishbed]The Croatian Ministry of Defence said in a
statement on Tuesday it would take charge of the MiG-21 fighter planes
recently overhauled in Ukraine only after the completion of all necessary
tests and the removal of the observed faults on the aircraft.
The ministry said it was displeased that the repair and upgrade process was
not faster as expected.
All the aircraft must be in good working order, and the ministry will not
accept any compromises, as was the case with the previous overhaul of
MiG-21 aircraft, the statement said.
Read more
UK hopes to oust France from Indian fighter jet order
[image: Eurofighter Typhoon]The UK still has hopes of ousting France's
Rafale from a multi-billion-dollar combat jet order, with Foreign Secretary
William Hague lobbying for the Eurofighter today.
Hague and Chancellor George Osborne held intergovernmental talks with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's new team, on a two-day visit to bolster trade and
investment ties with Asia's third-largest economy.
Britain is hoping that a stalled deal for India to buy 126 Rafale jets from
France's Dassault Aviation may yet collapse, perhaps opening the door to a
new deal involving the Eurofighter Typh... more »
IAI unveils BirdEye 650D, mini-UAV designed for 24 hour missions
[image: BirdEye 650D]Israel Aerospace Industries has unveiled its BirdEye
650D mini unmanned air vehicle (UAV) at the recent IDAS-BMD symposium in
Tel Aviv.
The new version is a third variant of the BirdEye 650 mini-UAV. The 650D is
extending the platform’s mission endurance from two and three hours to 24.
Previous versions required committing two or three UAVs to achieve a 24
hour cycle.
The BirdEye platform was launched with the BirdEye 400 electrically powered
variant, carrying 1.2 kg (2.6lb) typically carrying the 1 kg (2.2lb)
MicroPOP stabilized EO payload.
Read more
RAAF Heron mission to Afghanistan extended
[image: RAAF Heron UAV]The mission to Afghanistan of the RAAF 5 Flight’s
IAI Heron unmanned aerial system will be extended by six months to the end
of 2014 following a request from the International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF).
The three unmanned aircraft and the supporting detachment are based at
Kandahar and are tasked to perform information, surveillance and
reconnaissance capability in support of ISAF forces during the traditional
northern summer fighting season.
The aircraft and much of their in service support are leased from Canadian
firm MDC.
Source
Global Hawk Takes Part in NATO Exercise to Evaluate Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Capability
[image: RQ-4 Global Hawk]Northrop Grumman Corporation has participated in
Unified Vision 2014 (UV14), NATO's largest trial of Joint Intelligence,
Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) capability aimed at demonstrating
and evaluating the Alliance's ability to coordinate and deploy crucial
Allied ISR systems.
During the 10-day trial, U.S. European Command, in close coordination with
and in support of NATO flew the high altitude long endurance unmanned
aerial system (UAS), Block 30 Global Hawk, in three successful full-day
sorties from Ørland Main Air Station, Norway.
The trial comp... more »
Centre set to approve Rs 19,000 crore for INS Vikrant
[image: INS Vikrant]After Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself witnessed
the raw combat power exuded by an aircraft carrier sailing on the high seas
last month, his government is now all set to approve the much-delayed
infusion of funds to finish the ongoing construction of INS Vikrant at
Cochin Shipyard.
Defence ministry sources say the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is
slated to meet this week, probably on Wednesday itself, to approve the
allocation of around Rs 19,000 crore for the Phase-II and III building of
the 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC).
Current es... more »
GAO examines LCS program
The U.S. government’s Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the U.S.
Navy should take a closer look at the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program.
Some of those ships are built at Austal USA in Mobile, which is the area’s
largest manufacturer with 4,000 employees.
The Government Accountability Office is an independent, nonpartisan agency
that works for Congress, investigating how the federal government spends
your tax dollars.
Read more
Thales signs Adelaide-class frigate maintenance contract
[image: Adelaide-class frigate]The Australian Ministry of Defence has
awarded the Royal Australian Navy's Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate
(FFG) group maintenance contract to Thales.
The four-and-a-half-year agreement, which has extensions that could bring
the value to $130m, is likely to provide both industry and navy with
improved certainty and stability in the repair and maintenance of the
frigates.
Australia Minister for Defence Senator David Johnston said that this is the
second of the grouped-asset, long-term, performance-based contracts for the
repair and maintenance of... more »
Navy Finally Admits It Can’t Afford Fleet, Esp. New SSBNs
[image: Ohio class SSBN]“Unsustainable.” That’s the Navy’s own official
assessment of the spending rates required to keep the fleet large and
modern enough to do its missions.
For the service to state this in writing ratchets up not just the rhetoric
but the likelihood of future budget battles in the Pentagon and on the Hill
— especially over the immensely expensive program to replace aging
Ohio-class nuclear missile submarines (SSBNs), which the Navy desperately
wants someone else to pay for.
Every year, the Navy publishes a 30-year shipbuilding plan. Every year,
both partisan an... more »
Poland launches tender for assault helicopters
[image: Mi-24 Hind]Poland on Tuesday launched a tender for assault
helicopters as part of its 33.6 billion euro drive to upgrade its
Soviet-era military equipment.
Analysts estimate the tender, which is open until August 1, to be worth
nearly a billion euros ($1.4 billions) and said Russia's annexation of
Crimea from Ukraine had helped to accelerate the purchase.
The defence ministry did not specify the number of choppers it is planning
to buy.
Read more
“Sleep Deprivation Leads To Schizophrenia Symptoms”
*“Sleep Deprivation Leads To Schizophrenia Symptoms”*
by University of Bonn
“Psychologists at the University of Bonn are amazed by the severe deficits
caused by a sleepless night. Twenty-four hours of sleep deprivation can
lead to conditions in healthy persons similar to the symptoms of
schizophrenia. This discovery was made by an international team of
researchers under the guidance of the University of Bonn and King's College
London. The scientists point out that this effect should be investigated
more closely in persons who have to work at night. In addition, sleep
deprivation ma... more »
Palin on the Hannity show re: Impeachment of Obama...
*I know lots of people don't like Hannity. *
Heck - my own husband turns the radio off when his program starts.
Unlike Rush, Hannity has hoards of great guests.
I want to hear what Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Trey Gowdy (sigh), and
Sarah Palin have to say.
So I listen to Hannity.
Sarah Palin speaks truth...
How much are you willing to put up with?
Germany vs. Brazil - The essential highlights
Germany vs. Brazil - The essential highlights
BBC Media Action: Transforming lives through media around the world
Does it surprise you that the BBC received 6,744,151 euros in funding from
the European Union last year? (h/t Alan at Biased BBC)
The information comes from the European Commission's own website - an
easily checkable database. Just search for 'BBC' and up pop the results.
So which BBC projects did the EU fund last year?
4,975,000 euros went to *Med Media: towards media sector reform in the
Southern Mediterranean.*
1,125,987 euros went to* Consolidating Media Freedom in Iraq.*
643,164.16 euros went to *Shaping the future of Syria's Media by promoting
independent voices and fosteri... more »
The input that matters most
Sent to the Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2014
Joshua Lipshutz ("The legal road map to better schools," July 8) points out
that "...the easiest inputs to measure are not necessarily those that
matter most to student learning." Vergara judge used one that doesn't
matter: Teacher quality as measured by gains on standardized tests. A
number of studies have shown that rating teachers using test score gains
does not give consistent results. Different tests produce different
ratings, and the same teacher’s ratings can vary from year to year,
sometimes quite a bit. Also, using test score g... more »
Final Game for the Ticos
Saturday, Kurt and I headed into town to watch the Holland vs Costa Rica
game. We ended up at Surf Dogs, and it was packed in downtown Jaco! Los
Amigos' tables were all reserved almost 2 hours prior to the game. Crazy.
Anyway, we had lunch (split from appetizers) and watched the game, which
went down to the end and Costa Rica lost in penalty kicks. It was
horrible. But, I was so impressed with the Costa Ricans watching.
Everyone got up, post loss, and started cheering for their team. In the
US, people would just be pissed they lost, look for excuses as to why,
blame someone ... more »
New York Magazine Writer Thinks Ravitch Will “Make” Unions “Go Republican”
I just finished writing a post about American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
President Randi Weingarten’s allegiance to the Democratic Party above all
else, and what link do I open up next? That of a New York
Magazine article by Jonathan Chait, entitled, Teachers Unions Turn Against
Democrats. Now that’s funny. Apparently Chait is upset that the two
political parties are not […]
Federal hearings finally put a spotlight on empowered sex workers
While I'm offended as a Canadian that the future of my country is in the
hands of people as uninformed, close-minded and unworldly as Justice
Minister Peter MacKay, it's a wonderful thing to see Canada's sex workers
stepping up to speak their own truths to combat all the lies that are being
told about them right now.
I saw footage from the justice committee meetings in Ottawa this week
as the debate around Bill C-36 gets underway. I totally love seeing
empowered and passionate sex workers putting it all on the line to
challenge the Conservatives' proposed new anti-prostitut... more »
Musical Interlude: The Moody Blues, “Tuesday Afternoon”
The Moody Blues, “Tuesday Afternoon”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odUxMlud0Xg
Organ Harvesting in Ukraine Goes Unreported
*July 9, 2014* (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Unlike the terrorist offenses in
Libya, Syria, and now Iraq, backed by the United States, the UK, the EU,
members of NATO as well as regional collaborators such as Saudi Arabia,
Israel, and Qatar, where any attempts to stop extremists from seizing
entire nations is met by the West's howling indignation and accusations of
"human rights abuses," the unmitigated brutality executed by literal Nazis
in Ukraine against breakaway provinces in the east are accompanied by a
hypocritical silence from the West. Refugees streaming away from encircled
an... more »
Poroshenko: we will move money from "useless" science to weapons
Two days ago, the de facto president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko offered us
another explanation why I classify the current leaders of the country as an
inhumane and counterproductive fascist junta that is making things worse.
This July 7th press release on Poroshenko's website (EN) says:
"There will be no more spending of billions of people's money, taxpayers'
money on research programs that nobody needs and that have only served to
the elements of theft. Today, the Ukrainian production will be occupied
with precision weapons systems, Ukrainian drones, and everything that the
Ukrain... more »
METRO EVENT | Alice Embree : Defending Palestinian rights
Interfaith group protests Israel’s ongoing ‘reign of terror’ in the West
Bank and Gaza and the murder of Palestinian civilians. By Alice Embree |
The Rag Blog | July 8, 2014 Event: Protest against Israeli Reign of Terror
in Gaza … finish reading *METRO EVENT* | Alice Embree : Defending
Palestinian rights
Christian Coalition vs. Progressive Caucus in Hawaii
Yes, anti-equality Democrats in Congress are a dying breed. But they are
perhaps about to get a boost from an unlikely source: a 70-percent Obama
district in his home state of Hawaii.
In Hawaii’s First Congressional District, State Senator Donna Kim is the
frontrunner in the August 9th Democratic primary, despite a strident
anti-LGBT record that has led the Christian Coalition to label her
“fantastic.” She’s studiously courted the Religious Right throughout her
three decades in various elected offices, even participating in February
with evangelical pastors in a panel discussion t... more »
Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) - Greening the kitchen
Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)!
Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we
challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're
already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop
Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet.
Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World!
If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a
complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.
This post contains great information and I encourage ... more »
Cedar on Cedar
________________
More to come folks...
The Straight Goods
The Ukrainian Experience: Modern History of Ukraine
Video Title: The Ukrainian Experience: Modern History of Ukraine. Source:
UkeTube. Date Published: July 30, 2013. Description:
The Ukrainian Experience: A Lecture by Roman Onufrijchuk. Part IV "Modern
History of Ukraine"
Produced by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, B.C. Provincial Council (1993)
DETROIT WATER DEBATE INTENSIFIES
God bless Maureen Taylor, state chairwoman of the Michigan Welfare Rights
Organization. We need more like her.
The Genocide Of The People Of Gaza Begins: When A Gag Order Becomes A Crime In Itself!
Today, I am sickened by what I am watching happening right now to the
innocent people living in the open air concentration camp known as the Gaza
Strip... The criminal and most evil nation of Israel is now launching its
long awaited and well planned strikes on the Gaza Strip for what they claim
is "revenge" for the supposed "murder" of those three Israeli youths last
month.... To this day, I am NOT convinced at all that these three were
"murdered" by agents of Hamas, and I am sticking to my first thought that
either these three were purposely killed by the Israelis to justify their
... more »
Randi Weingarten, Twitter, and “Secret Society” Membership
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is a corporate reformer’s gift. He
appointed Stefan Pryor, the co-founder of a major charter chain as state
education commissioner. Even as traditional public education in Connecticut
is underfunded, the number of charter schools grows. Malloy also
believes in evaluating teachers using student test scores. He publicly
stated that teachers “only have to show up for four years” in […]
Judaism Is NOT A Faith, But The Geopolitical Project Of A Hysterical, Incestuous, Master-Race Cult!
I have long been troubled by the mentality of the Jews as a whole for a
very long time, and why they are hell bent on murder, destruction, and the
enslavement of everyone else, thinking that they alone are the "chosen
ones" of this planet.....But I have also long known that the problem seems
to be inherent with these disgusting excuses for human beings, and their
twisted religion called "Judaism".....
For this article, I want to present a very excellent article that was first
sent to me about a week ago, and then forwarded to my friend, Whitewraithe,
who writes the excellent website... more »
My favorite newscaster, Abby Martin, interviews my favorite civic activist, Mark Crispin Miller, on the subject of historical books made to disappear by the "powers that be" in order cover up some of the most heinous crimes of our government. Truth in advertising: I am the author of a chapter in one of MCM's many books "Loser Take All -- Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, 2000-2008".
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http://youtu.be/RcHRaxN-u5U
These 5 Censored Books Tell a History the Establishment Wants Hidden
breakingtheset
*Published on Jun 25, 2014*
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Abby Martin speaks with NYU media studies professor, Mark Crispin Miller,
about five historical books that have been actively suppressed and hidden
from the American public.
Cherchez la Verite
Tom Hayden : BOOKS | Counterinsurgency architect Kilcullen on the ‘coming age of the urban guerrilla’
David Kilcullen leaves Iraq and Afghanistan behind to concentrate on how to
keep malignant masses of desperate people at bay in a coming urban
apocalypse. By Tom Hayden | The Rag Blog | July 8, 2014 [Out of the
Mountains: … finish reading Tom Hayden :
*BOOKS* | Counterinsurgency architect Kilcullen on the ‘coming age of the
urban guerrilla’
Since Sammy "The Hammer" Alito is such an obvious liar, LGBT folk can't have employment-discrimination protection
*Hobby Lobby Goal*
Pat Begley [*click to enlarge*]
*"If a private company can take its own religious beliefs and say you can't
have access to certain health care, it's a hop, skip and a jump to an
interpretation that a private company could have religious beliefs that
LGBT people are not equal or somehow go against their beliefs and therefore
fire them."*
*-- National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) ExecutiveDirector Rea
Carey, to the* Washington Post* (see below)*
*"[A] coalition led by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and
the National Center for Lesbian Rights... more »
The Poet: Arlene Gay Levine, "The Road"
*"The Road"*
"Here is the road: the light
comes and goes then returns again.
Be gentle with your fellow travelers
as they move through the world of stone and stars
whirling with you yet every one alone.
The road waits.
Do not ask questions but when it invites you
to dance at daybreak, say yes.
Each step is the journey; a single note the song."
~ Arlene Gay Levine
“I Have Learned”
*“I Have Learned”*
Posted by Paulo Coelho
(This text, which I found on the Internet, is attributed to me. I did not
write it, but I think worth reproducing here. - PC)
"I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be
someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them;
I’ve learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don’t care
back;
I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to
destroy it.
I’ve learned that you can get by on charm, for about fifteen minutes. After
that, you’d better know something;
I’ve learned that eithe... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Sharp telescopic views of magnificent edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 3628 show
a puffy galactic disk divided by dark dust lanes. Of course, this deep
galactic portrait puts some astronomers in mind of its popular moniker, The
Hamburger Galaxy.
*Click image for larger size.*
The tantalizing island universe is about 100,000 light-years across and 35
million light-years away in the northern springtime constellation Leo. NGC
3628 shares its neighborhood in the local Universe with two other large
spirals M65 and M66 in a grouping otherwise known as the Leo Triplet.
Gravitational interaction... more »
"We Are All Alone..."
"We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and - in spite of "True Romance"
magazines - we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in
spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely- at
least, not all the time- but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what
makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect
yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your
happiness."
- Hunter S. Thompson,
“The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman”
Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet: Self-Knowledge"
*"Self-Knowledge"*
"And a man said, Speak to us of Self-Knowledge.
And he answered saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.
And it is well you should.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to
the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasu... more »
"The Limits Of The World..."
“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of
the world.”
- Arthur Schopenhauer
More about Costco and Dinesh D'Souza's book otherwise known as the distracting shiny object...
*and I am ashamed at the comments I'm reading on conservative websites and
on Costco's Facebook page.*
Do you really believe that the CEO of Costco has nothing better to do than
pull a Fahrenheit 451 on a book. One book?
That's not even rational.
Allow me to repeat: They are running a publicly traded company.
As I said to one of my commenters (who has a* fine blog of his own*) on *my
original post:*
Sub - I know for a fact that Costco runs one of the tightest ships in
retail.
Everything is done by the numbers. It's why they count people coming in the
door. That number is giv... more »
“How Do We Humans Ever Make Good Decisions?”
*“How Do We Humans Ever Make Good Decisions?”*
by Jim Taylor, Ph.D.
“It’s a wonder that good decisions are ever made by the species known as
Homo Sapiens. The reality is that the cards are stacked against us whenever
we are faced with choices, especially when the decisions are of
consequence. Think about all of the horrendously bad decisions that have
been made in recent history and how obviously bad they look in our
rear-view mirrors. The Iraq war, securitizing mortgages, Congress not
voting for background checks on gun purchases, another season of The
Bachelor, the list goes on. ... more »
Chet Raymo, "Tenderness and Silence"
*"Tenderness and Silence"*
by Chet Raymo
“It's been a long, long time since I read “Justine”, the first volume in
Lawrence Durrell's “Alexandrian Quartet”, but one phrase sticks in my mind.
As I recall, Justine, the woman with whom the narrator is having an affair,
is questioning him as to why he doesn't take seriously their friends'
philosophical conversations. You always sit there smiling, she chides, or
something to that effect. He tells her that anyone who takes really
seriously the inextricable tangle of human thought can only respond with
"ironic tenderness and silence."
W... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
León, Castilla y Leon, Spain. Thanks for stopping by.
Washington Wants A Hundred Year War In The Middle East Between Sunnis And Shiites
*"Covert action should not be confused with missionary work." - Henry
Kissinger. Enjoy hellfire you son of a bitch. *
An excerpt from, *"Over Easy: ISIS and the Hundred Year War"* by
yellowsnapdragon, FDL, July 8, 2014:
Over at the Saker’s place, Mindfriedo linked to a fascinating interview of Nabeel
Naiem, former leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Naiem discusses some
important background on ISIS, the relationship between Al Qaeda and ISIS,
it’s funding, it’s leader Al Baghdadi, and it’s plans in Iraq and the
Middle East. Below are some excerpts.
Nabeel Naiem: *He (Zawahri) asked ... more »
“7 Vilest Right-Wing Statements This Week"
*“7 Vilest Right-Wing Statements This Week:*
* Laura Ingraham Hates Immigrants More Than O'Reilly Does”*
by Janet Allon
*“1. Laura Ingraham: Mass deportation is the way and the light. *Laura
Ingraham did the impossible this week. She managed to make Bill O’Reilly
seem almost reasonable. Her anti-immigration fervor is surpassed by no one.
She was right there in spirit with the anti-immigration protesters who
turned up in Murrieta, California with hateful signs and slogans and spit
to turn back busloads of undocumented women and children. For some reason,
many of these people have no ... more »
The Economy: Greg Hunter, “Social Unrest Basically Guaranteed – John Rubino"
*Greg Hunter, “Social Unrest Basically Guaranteed – John Rubino"*
By Susan Duclos
“Greg Hunter is joined by John Rubino to discuss the financial crisis
facing the US as Rubino calls the situation “uncharted territory,” and
states that “social unrest is basically guaranteed. If you look around the
rest of the world you are seeing it, and that will happen on some scale
here.”
Rubino, who has a Masters in Business and is a former Wall Street trader
and analyst, also recommends avoiding dependence on fiat currencies,
stating that is the “epicenter of this latest biggest bubble.” For t... more »
The Gild Is Already Off the Lily, But She is Golden for Gates
No sooner was the NEA president's office cleared of the sickly sweet stench
of corrupt corporate lackey, Dennis Van Roekel, than a new CorpEd chief
enabler was enthroned as head of the nation's largest
dress-up-and-go-to-lunch teachers' professional organization.
Enter Stage Right, Lily Eskelson Garcia, with her guitar and plenty of cute
protest songs to titillate teachers who prefer to dance to their deaths,
rather than fight for their lives. Why is Lily the Oligarchs' choice for
NEA chief, besides the fact that she thinks "tenure" is a dirty word? Here's
why:
. . . . Eskelsen G... more »
Dinesh D'Souza: America. Imagine the World Without Her...
*You need to see this!*
From their website:
Synopsis
Someone once observed: "America is great because she is good; if she ever
ceases to be good she will cease to be great." Today that notion of the
essential goodness of America is under attack, replaced by another story in
which theft and plunder are seen as the defining features of American
history—from the theft of Native American and Mexican lands and the
exploitation of African labor to a contemporary foreign policy said to be
based on stealing oil and a capitalist system that robs people of their
"fair share".
Our foundin... more »
Geldof - A Psychological Profile
As noted previously in numerous earlier posts, Bob Geldof KBE presents as
someone display a broad range of reliable indicators associate with those
of a high-functioning psychopath with sociopathic and self-aggrandising
overtones and signature tell-tale pathologies.
His primary motivational driver in life is the furtherance and growth of
his own personal stature and recognition, veiled behind a tissue-thin
vineer of false modesty, to the extent of patronising and belittling those
around him that offer to him either sincere (or misguided) praise and
flattery - those who approach hi... more »
Crime And Punishment-- National Security Style… Forget Dostoevsky
Over the long 4th of July weekend many of us turned to *The Guardian* for
news. An Edward Snowden/Hillary Clinton article from that paper got picked
up by dozens of U.S. outlets all during the weekend. The gist of it was
that Hillary thinks Snowden, who has been charged with three separate
violations of the Espionage Act (which doesn't distinguish between a spy
and a whistleblower) should return to the U.S. if he is serious in engaging
in the debate. Hill: "If he wishes to return knowing he would be held
accountable and also able to present a defence, that is his decision to
make... more »
Satire: “LeBron to Announce Decision at United Nations”
*“LeBron to Announce Decision at United Nations”*
by Andy Borowitz
NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)— “N.B.A. superstar LeBron James said Tuesday
morning that he would announce the name of the team that he is signing with
on Thursday at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly to
be convened especially for that purpose. “This decision affects everyone on
the planet,” James said. “I want to let all the nations on Earth know at
the same time.” An emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on
Tuesday was deadlocked on the issue, with seven members wanting James to
rem... more »
The Secretary’s 50 State Plan for #teacherequity
I’m reading the original letter sent to state school officers. Is that
Times New Roman? This is the best the highest office in education in the US
can do, am I correct? Wow. From Education Week: But addressing that problem
won’t be easy. States have a limited authority and capacity to ensure that
districts distribute […]
Doug Martin's Letter to the Indiana State Board of Education, July 8, 2014
Dear State Board of Education:
As you seek to dismantle public education and democracy, I want to remind
you of my book, *Hoosier School Heist*, which is becoming quite popular.
Although it's hard to determine (since I don't have billionaires behind me
to pay for someone to track the data), my educated guess is at least
250,000 people know about this book. The FBI even reads *Hoosier School Heist*.
ABC *Nightline*is working with me and others on a possible show about a
rightwing free-market Christian school highlighted in my book that Governor
Pence's associate Mark Terrell ... more »
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