Fair Use Note

WARNING for European visitors: European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies. You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. Learn more about this notice and your responsibilities.

Thomas Paine

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

Saturday, August 30, 2014

30 August - Blogs I`m Following

Pleiades (M45, Seven Sisters) open cluster - i...
Pleiades (M45, Seven Sisters) open cluster - infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Pleiades
Pleiades (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
10:34pm MDST

Who's This Benton Bribery Character Miss McConnell Just Fired?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 8 minutes ago
The day after Rachel's report (above), McConnell fired Jesse Benton as his campaign manager. BOOM! Out! McConnell didn't like him much anyway, since Benton has been quoted and requoted telling Kentucky libertarians that he was "sort of holding my nose for two years because what we're doing here is going to be a big benefit for Rand in 2016." Benton, a longtime Paul family retainer, is married to Ron Paul's granddaughter, Valori Pyeatt (Rand's niece). Before remaking himself into a Paulista, though, he worked for Louisiana sleaze bag David "Diapers" Vitter. He was Rand Paul's campa... more »

Musical Interlude: Yanni “Live at the Acropolis, - Acroyali/Standing in Motion”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 11 minutes ago
Yanni “Live at the Acropolis, - Acroyali/Standing in Motion” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67sx66QV0eI

Musical Interlude: Yanni, “Live at the Acropolis - Until the Last Moment”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 16 minutes ago
Yanni, “Live at the Acropolis - Until the Last Moment” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgjAlBMKRJM

choose love

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 1 hour ago

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago
“Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you have, you probably have never seen it like this: all dusty. Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though, the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very evident. The below exposure took about 30 hours and covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon. *Click image for larger size.* Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiad... more »

Chet Raymo, "Thank God, It's Doomsday"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago
*"Thank God, It's Doomsday" * by Chet Raymo “OK, folks. Here's what's awaiting you. The End Times. The Apocalypse. The Rapture. The Final Reckoning. Oh, I could pick any one of a thousand representations of the Last Days from centuries of Western art. This one is Luca Signorelli's "The Damned Cast Into Hell," in the Capella Nuova chapel of Orvieto Cathedral, painted around the year 1500 (click to enlarge). Why were these scenes of souls in extremis so common? Exhortations to be good? A reminder of what awaits us if we don't contribute to the Sunday collection? A local bishop trying... more »

The Poet: Margaret Atwood, "The Moment"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago
"The Moment" "The moment when, after many years of hard work and a long voyage you stand in the centre of your room, house, half-acre, square mile, island, country, knowing at last how you got there, and say, I own this, is the same moment when the trees unloose their soft arms from around you, the birds take back their language, the cliffs fissure and collapse, the air moves back from you like a wave and you can't breathe. No, they whisper. You own nothing. You were a visitor, time after time climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming. We never belonged to you. You never found ... more »

Anthropology: “Monogamy May Sound Sweet, But Why It Evolved Isn't”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago
*“Monogamy May Sound Sweet, But Why It Evolved Isn't”* by Seth Borenstein WASHINGTON (AP) — “Only a few species of mammals are monogamous, and now dueling scientific teams think they've figured out why they got that way. But their answers aren't exactly romantic. The answers aren't even the same. One team looked just at primates, the animal group that includes apes and monkeys. The researchers said the exclusive pairing of a male and a female evolved as a way to let fathers defend their young against being killed by other males. The other scientific team got a different answer afte... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 hour ago
Tijeras, New Mexico, USA. Thanks for stopping by.

"13 Cliches to Live By"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 2 hours ago
"13 Cliches to Live By" by MensHealth.com "1. I*t ain't over till it's over.* 2004. Red Sox down 0-3. If Mariano Rivera can let one slip, think how your buddy Phil's bladder quivers as he prepares to shank the serve on match point. On the flip side, when you're 1 point from victory, it's no time for experimentation. End it. 2. *Do unto others.* It doesn't guarantee reciprocation, but you'll never lose. No one's going to scoff, "You delivered as promised? Congrats on being elected mayor of Chump City!" 3. *You can't save someone from himself.* You can try - and you will - but you'll f... more »

"Recognizing Happiness: Analyzing the Path"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 2 hours ago
*"Recognizing Happiness: Analyzing the Path"* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM "When we take the time to recognize when we are happy and what that feels like, it becomes easier to recreate. Those of us on the path of personal and spiritual growth have a tendency to analyze our unhappiness in order to find the causes and make improvements. But it is just as important, if not more so, to analyze our happiness. Since we have the ability to rise above and observe our emotions, we can recognize when we are feeling joyful and content. Then we can harness the power of the moment by savoring ... more »

I Wish Richard Kahlenberg Could Be Right, But . . .

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 2 hours ago
In the August 30 NYTimes, Richard Kahlenberg and Halley Potter offer us a pipe dream of a high performing charter school world, one with diverse student populations and unionized faculty, where pedagogical innovation and shared governance are realities of everyday life. Sadly, Kahlenberg and Potter offer a thinnest sprinkle of evidence that *either* integrated *or* unionized charter schools are anything more than wishful thinking, and they cite exactly 2 out of 6,000 that are both integrated and unionized. I like Richard Kahlenberg's work on the importance of social capital and ... more »

Producers Death Murmur

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 3 hours ago
There is not enough genuine news to keep the 24 seven cycle alive.

Ghost of Sunday Classics preview: Attention, please!

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 3 hours ago
*Can you imagine a more ravishing musical attention-getter?* *London Symphony Orchestra, Charles Mackerras, cond. Philips-Mercury, recorded July 1961* *by Ken* What we hear above is really and truly a *preview*; we're not going to hear any more of this piece until tomorrow's Ghost of Sunday Classics post. Many of you will recognize it (we've actually heard it before), but for now I just want to focus on this ravishing opening. This is a talent, I think, the ability to grab a listener's attention musically. Not in a mechanical, conk-over-the-head way, which I suppose can be done ... more »

Just saw another self improvement headline

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 3 hours ago
As if i believed what I needs to make me fit better was found on info commercials or someone telling me do not be yourself you will be more happy if I got an addition its a describer that most would wish for man made and easily taken but for the deeper stuff like where is my soul on Gods GPS I say keep your hands off my wavelength I was born this way and will die happy knowning' no shaman convinced me to live any other way we all got a path some lead to trouble others to greatness but no one is going to prevent those paths from crossing and the only event that you need is to know you ... more »

ISIS is comming

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 4 hours ago
they are going to attack us motherfucking people who are against everything they blelive like women are property and marriage between a 13 year old and some one sixty or more was GODs will Bring it on badass we will fuck you up the ass so hard you will think it was your regular session with ' a Camel but this time on Viagra.

Is Tokyo Fukushima uninhabitable

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 4 hours ago
I wish someone would say without a half life less than the time it takes to hear what they know

Walking Around Alchool tolerance

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 4 hours ago
This is the lie you will not see on the TV not Canadian or Blue or talk to Madd There needs to be more light and heat to this mostly barely fueled susbsidy

I love to here and see a plane fly over

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 4 hours ago
Because despite all we have done nothing inspires my sense of wonder more than the gravity denying ones.

Syrian "rebels" despite strengthening their hold at Golan pose NO security threat to Israel

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 4 hours ago
Of course they don't. Why would they? *They are on Israel's team*. They are NATO/US/Israel's Islamist fighters- They will terrorize Syrians. They will terrorize Iraqis.* Because they are paid to do just that.* But, they will not threaten Israel. Mentioned this blatantly obvious fact, *not for the first time*, just the other day in this post * ISIS = Smoke & Mirrors. Giving cover now for strikes on Syria* Of course, Israel, has nothing to fear because the NATO/US/Israeli Islamist fighters aren’t interested in fighting against Israel* - Jihadists in Syria not likely to open a new front ... more »

Some Different Views On The Popular Uprising In Pakistan

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 5 hours ago
*An excerpt from, "Pakistan Protesters March on PM's Residence" ABC News, August 30, 2014:* Pakistani police charged with batons and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at thousands of protesters marching toward the prime minister's official residence and the adjacent parliament building in Islamabad on Saturday, blanketing the route with clouds of white smoke and scattering demonstrators. Nearly 125 people were injured in the clashes between police and demonstrators demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The protest leaders, cricket-legend-turned politician Imran... more »

The ISIS Panic Dynamo (Gunter Grass Was Right) Militarist Lunatics In Charge At Price of Decent Civilization?

Does the link below sound familiar? It should. Seems we all live in our cars now. They had nice plans for our country back in the good ole days (of the amiable Reagunites), didn't they? And it took 30 years to go into full effect. Progress - our most important product. BREAKING: Woman Dies in Her Car While Taking a Nap Between Working Four Jobs Various people were quite upset when

Ringing Brothers and Barnum & Bailey coming back to Salt Lake City

Debra Hawkins at Housewife Eclectic - 5 hours ago
I was given tickets to Ringling Brothers in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own. I am so excited for the Circus to come to town this year! Last year was my first ever experience at the Circus and we had so much fun. I think the acrobats and the human cannonball were my absolute favorite parts. My daughter loved the silly clowns and the elephants. She can't way to get to see them this year. This time around Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be performing their show Legends. Legends features some fantastic things new this year. You can read more about it be... more »

Psychology: "Maslow's Pyramid Gets a Much Needed Renovation"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
"Maslow's Pyramid Gets a Much Needed Renovation" by PhyOrg.com "If you have ever felt that your children are your life's work, then you may in fact be recognizing a high-level psychological need. Caring for your children, feeding them, nurturing them, educating them and making sure they get off on the right foot in life - all of the things that make parenting successful - may actually be deep rooted psychological urges that we fulfill as part of being human. Maslow's original hierarchy of needs: This is according to a team of psychologists who have updated a cornerstone of modern ps... more »

Musical Interlude: Chris de Burgh, "Carry Me (Like a Fire in Your Heart)"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
Chris de Burgh, "Carry Me (Like a Fire in Your Heart)" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl5cWaBE-gA

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago

"The Philosophy Of Being"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
* "The Philosophy Of Being"* By E D Detetcheverrie "Outrageous to some, clarifying for others, a strange conversation meant to provoke further thought... Now I know why they explain it in metaphors. The truth seems surreal. We are inadequate to describe it concisely. Ask not if you have strayed from the path; there is only one path, one way, and you are always on it... *Do they call it enlightenment because there is a light?* It is not mere photons, and light is only one part of it. *Who is in charge of it all?* Yes, we are. *Do the wicked receive their just reward?* We shall all, ... more »

"Life..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
"Play with life, laugh with life, dance lightly with life, and smile at the riddles of life, knowing that life's only true lessons are writ small in the margin." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

August 30: understanding the news.

Graeme Decarie at The Moncton Times@Transcript - Good and Bad - 6 hours ago
At last, the front page (for August 31) had a headline that caught my eye. "Metro schools to target absenteeism". It seems the Moncton area schools are going to deal with absenteeism as something that requires discovering the cause, not just punishing the absentee student. And that's good thinking. The reasoning is that absenteeim is common among children who lack "....certain internal developmental assets such as commitment to learning, positive values and social competencies" - as well as support, empowerment, and boundaries and expectations. That certainly spoke to me because... more »

Self, self, self!

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 6 hours ago
Will Self used this week's *A Point of View* on Radio 4 to launch an attack on George Orwell. Yes, George Orwell. For Will, Orwell is the "supreme mediocrity", self-geared to serve the needs of large numbers of mediocre English people. He was also an elitist. (Square that if you can). Will Self entertained us with a snide impersonation of Orwell at one point, making him sound like a silly 'Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells' type, which was surely intended to provoke, to grate and irritate. Will is nothing if not a showman. Even on radio his flair for out-Kenneth Williamsing Kenn... more »

I know a lawyer with Ninja limbs, kicking Legal ass may never be the same!

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 6 hours ago
You surely ski some blackstuff with the build. Am I the only one in the world that knows we are living in a Star Trek society? No its not that we are being observed and graded on our deficiency. The world the world is a fucking great place and its big as a one G planets go and we live hear among all the plant life and animals that we see to be determined to eliminate if there is some profit and our timeline is a soon as possible. Lets just take flyer about the UN this was a master solution to a problem that humanity treated past and present with some wet towels to a dictators rage Eve... more »

"Invictus"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
*"Invictus"* by William Ernest Henley "Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how straight the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

Leaders you got to trust

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 7 hours ago
And that is why we have institutional paralysis and a whole lot of parasite moving into the vacuum with the idea that you should build your own highway or supertanker maybe a prison or two and while you at it make a hospital. Some leader needs and will break through the slime Lee Quan Yee style Yep the man has a kick but he has got a plan and look what he accomplished in resource nothing mosquito infested swamp land the really funny thing was that the government of Malaysia gave away the thing barbecue they thought it would be a drain on the mainland Similarly it was Chaing Kia Shek ha... more »

The Air Force and the McMinnville UFO Photographs

KRandle at A Different Perspective - 7 hours ago
For the last several weeks I have been researching my new book and I stumbled across a bit of information that suggests the Air Force was less than enthusiastic in their investigations of UFOs. I wondered what their conclusion of the McMinnville photographs was. These are the two pictures taken by Paul Trent on May 11, 1950 of a disk-shaped object near his farm in Oregon. I’m not going to debate the merits of the pictures here, merely look at the Air Force response. According to the Project Blue Book files, they came to no conclusion. In fact, they didn’t bother to investigate the ... more »

Obama’s “Lack” of Strategy Towards ISIS

Heather Roff at Duck of Minerva - 7 hours ago
The last two days have seen a maelstrom of media attention to President Obama’s admission that he currently does not have a strategy for attacking or containing ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) in Syria. It is no surprise that those on the right criticized Obama’s candid remarks, and it is equally not Continue reading

Big Money Interests Investing Heavily In Their Most Subservient Political Handmaidens

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 7 hours ago
I would call this Horsey cartoon from yesterday's *L.A. Times* pretty risqué. It uses an image of a cocaine snorting Miss McConnell to portray and mock his addiction to extreme right-wing Koch brothers cash. David Horsey is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the *Times* and he can get away with stuff like this. He also wrote the piece the cartoon accompanied. "The dilemma," he wrote, "facing the true grass-roots tea party believers-- the dilemma they do not acknowledge-- is that their primary goal of whittling and whacking away at big government undercuts their seco... more »

The Summer so Far

theozarker at The Conflicted Doomer - 7 hours ago
August 30, 2014 Labor Day weekend is upon us and amidst the end of summer/pre-fall barbeques, vacations, staycations and general revelries, here’s what’s happening in my neighborhood: We hit 101 degrees last week, but after a run of 98 and … Continue reading →

Triage

Boris at The Galloping Beaver - 7 hours ago
Putin's Russia and the Islamic State are short-term distractions from the serious problems of climate change and resource depletion. We simply don't have time to fuck around with some new fangled Cold- luke-warm-War or to humour the Islamic State. The global policy response should be robust, and aimed at walling off these two entities in every way possible so that we in the rest of the world can

Once More, With Feeling

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 8 hours ago
When I first began writing the series of template articles, my intention was to publish them all within a day of each other, if not all at the same time. Unfortunately time and internet issues managed to derail that initial plan somewhat. With some of the articles being published days apart- with weeks between the first one and the last one- some of the message was lost. After discussing this aspect with Lisa and Heather and Nick, I decided that I would re-publish the set of 5 articles, in reading order, all at one time. Below are all 5 of the Template articles. I am posting them... more »

“What is Going On?”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
*“What is Going On?”* by David Stansfield “We have now reached the point in our story where we no longer know what is going on. Moore’s law still reigns supreme over the technological playground, but it appears that our toys have outgrown us – or are very, very close to doing so. Each prediction about what this will mean for the human race is wilder than the next. The wildest prophecies of all cluster around a concept known as “the singularity.” Now there’s a word. Something to do with single, with singleness, oneness, with one or perhaps, The One. All of that and more is wrapped u... more »

Foreign Fighters Volunteering to Fight Against Ukraine Military

greencrow at Greencrow As The Crow Flies - 10 hours ago
Fighters from throughout Europe are forming a "Europe United" brigade in Ukraine to fight alongside the Novorossian militia. I guess this is why NATO is calling for a 10,000 soldier force to confront Russia in Ukraine.....the biggest "civil war" in history seems to be shaping up. Canada is "considering" whether it will contribute to this force. Of course, the choice is not ours to make. The NATO henchmen make all those kinds of decisions...all we do is receive back into our country the mentally and physically broken soldiers from these kinds of combats.

Don Lincoln's introduction to particle detectors

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 11 hours ago
Fermilab's Don Lincoln has recorded a couple of videos promoting and explaining physics concepts. In this new 10-minute film, he presents particle detectors as subatomic bomb squads. To make his point clearer, he first detonates himself, goes to Heaven, and returns to Earth. A moment later, he makes his not so luxurious villa explode, too. Meanwhile, beginners may learn something about the methods that physicists used to reconstruct what happened during the explosion or collision.

Obama Awards Contract to Student Loan Predators Who Swindled 60,000 Veteran Families

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 11 hours ago
Sallie Mae has a long, dirty history (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) of preying on those dependent upon student loans for a college education. Recently, the dirty bastards spun off a company, which according to Forbes, is really the old, rotten version of Sallie Mae that we have come to hate: The new company which is being spun out – Navient – is equivalent to the old Sallie Mae. It will continue to service the existing loans in the Sallie Mae portfolio, as well as service new loans via contracts with the Department of Education. It will also focus on servicing priva... more »

Sasha & Heather on TCI: raw unedited video footage

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 11 hours ago
Good evening everyone! Here is the raw, unedited video footage of The Collective Imagination Interview with Heather Tucci-Jarraf and Sasha Stone that was recorded on Tuesday August 26th, 2014. As many of you probably have already heard, we had some technical issues with getting the broadcast live on Tuesday. The round table discussion with Lisa Harrison, Brian Kelly, myself, and Sasha and Heather was recorded on skype and this is the unedited version that is embedded here. While the awesome technical team is putting together an awesome production of this discussion, using mult... more »

Can Peter King Add This To The Republican Law Suit Against President Obama?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 11 hours ago
“No way any of us can excuse what the president did yesterday… a week after Jim Foley was beheaded"- Peter King Roland and I have been traveling all over the world for decades. He'd eat grasshoppers, snakes, monkeys and, in Beijing, dog. So when I wondered if I knew anyone who watched the video of Jim Foley's beheading, I asked Roland. "Are you kidding," he declared in disgust. "I'd never watch the savage garbage." OK, so I don't know any friends or family who did. I asked a few congressmembers too and they all said no. I couldn't get an answer from Peter King's office but I bet he ... more »

UNDERSTANDING ISIS

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 11 hours ago
The Islamic militant group ISIS, formerly known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and recently rebranded as the so called Islamic State, is the stuff of nightmares. Would it interest you to know who helped these psychopaths rise to power? Would it interest you to know who armed them, funded them and trained them? Would it interest you to know why?

NATO'S RING OF STEEL

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 11 hours ago
NATO uses fear to increase their 'security state' in Wales for their annual summit. More money wasted at the very time that austerity measures are ripping communities to pieces. Say no to the NATO endless war machine!

Supplemental: The Clintons earn too much money again!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 11 hours ago
*SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2014Adopting Fawn Brodie’s procedures:* Early next year, our nation will embark on it latest White House campaign. The two-year campaign will be endless. Increasingly, the coverage of these campaigns is built around journalistic cartoons. Did we see one such cartoon growing again in today’s New York Times? Chelsea Clinton is leaving her post at NBC News. This is a strikingly trivial matter. That said, did we spot a certain cartoon in the Times? Headline included, Amy Chozick’s news report started like this: CHOZICK (8/30/14): *Chelsea Clinton to Leave ... more »

Friday Beaver - fear edition

Demeur at Demeur - 12 hours ago
Life of late is cheap which makes one wonder if it was always this way or did we just not see it? Was it hidden behind some veil of secrecy? Eventually atrocities creep out. How could a city stand and watch boxcars crammed full of humanity pass by and not wonder what was going on? Justice it seems is only for those holding all the cards, the boys with the most fire power. This truly has turned Orwellian. Good is bad and bad is good. Who would Jesus bomb? Rights? You actually think you have rights? Shut up. They just slap a label of enemy on your back and you get a visit from a d... more »

Editor's Note

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 12 hours ago
Taking some badly needed R&R today. Blogging will return later tonight.

George Galloway 'beaten over Israel comments'

British MP attacked in London street by man said to have been shouting about the Holocaust Tags: UNITED KINGDOM OCCUPIED PALESTINE AKA ISRAEL PALESTINE

UK seeking to bar Russia from using SWIFT banking network

The British government will press other European nations at a meeting in Brussels on Saturday to block Russia from using the SWIFT banking network, Bloomberg reported, in what could be a dramatic expansion of sanctions. Tags: RUSSIA UNITED KINGDOM EUROPEAN UNION BANKING SANCTIONS

Woman working 4 jobs to make ends meet dies while napping in car between shifts

A New Jersey woman who worked four jobs, who sometimes “wouldn’t sleep for five days,” according to a co-worker, died Monday while napping between shifts in her car on the side of the road. Tags: UNITED STATES LUNACY ECONOMY

Italy's unelected Prime Minister slams Russia's elected President, Vladimir Putin, for 'escalation' in Ukraine

Italy's de-facto dictator, Matteo Renzi, called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to warn of "very serious consequences" after reports that Moscow has sent troops into Ukraine. Tags: ITALY RUSSIA HYPOCRISY

Washington Piles Lie Upon Lie — Paul Craig Roberts

The latest Washington lie, this one coming from NATO, is that Russia has invaded Ukraine with 1,000 troops and self-propelled artillery. Tags: UNITED STATES RUSSIA NATO UKRAINE PROPAGANDA

Irish carpenter who is desperately fighting eviction is thrown into Mountjoy Prison

Michael O’Neill, 46, has been imprisoned in Mountjoy for two days on foot of a High Court warrant which said to stay away from his home in Dunmanway, Co Cork. Tags: IRELAND BANKING CRIMINALITY FASCISM

EU to Discuss More Russian Sanctions, Possible Weapons Embargo – Danish Foreign Minister

The European Union plans to discuss more sanctions against Russia and is ready to consider a weapons embargo, Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard told reporters Friday. Tags: RUSSIA EUROPEAN UNION SANCTIONS

Cold War - Family Business for Brzezinskis

As US President Barack Obama prepares for his address at the NATO Summit in Wales and for chairing the United Nations Security Council in September, the children of Zbigniew Brzezinski, the aging anti-Russian strategist who advised Obama during his first presidential campaign, have been actively working on implementing their father's Cold War schemes. Tags: RUSSIA UNITED STATES SWEDEN

Donetsk Republic leaders ready to provide corridors for encircled troops

Leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic are ready to provide humanitarian corridors for encircled Kiev-loyal troops on condition of their disarmament. Tags: UKRAINE RUSSIA

Obama threatens Russia with new sanctions over Ukraine

US President Barack Obama has threatened his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin with new sanctions over the growing crisis in Ukraine. Tags: UNITED STATES RUSSIA UKRAINE SANCTIONS

Saudi Arabia's King Issues A Warning To The West; The Jihadists Are Going To Strike You Next

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 13 hours ago
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud speaks before a meeting with the US Secretary of State at his private residence on June 27, 2014 in the Red Sea city of Jeddah (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski) *Saudi King Warns West Will Be Jihadists' Next Target -- AFP* Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has warned that the West will be the next target of the jihadists sweeping through Syria and Iraq, unless there is "rapid" action. "If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month," he said in remarks quoted on Saturday b... more »

Israel's Embedded American Operatives Aid the Genocide in Gaza

Donn Marten at Carrying a Flag - 13 hours ago
Extremist Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu enjoys an overwhelmingly accommodating media in the United States. along with a treacherous Congress packed with corrupt and cowardly weasels, lickspittles and religious fanatics whose dedication to a foreign country stabs their actual constituents in the back. The fealty that Netanyahu receives was evident when he received 29 standing ovations during an address to the U.S. Congress in 2011. He also is able to play the corrupt state-corporate media like a Stradivarius to receive an unprecedented forum on national televisio... more »

Stephen Harper, Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Alison at Creekside - 13 hours ago
Not content with awarding Stephen Harper their Gold Medallion human rights award and pledging to create a *Stephen Harper Centre for Human Rights*, B’nai Brith Canada announced yesterday they will be nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Frank Dimant from their statement : “Moral clarity has been lost across much of the world, with terror, hatred and antisemitism filling the void,” said Frank Dimant, CEO, B’nai Brith Canada. “Throughout, there has been one leader which has demonstrated international leadership and a clear understanding of the differences between those who wou... more »

Ignoring The Obvious

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 14 hours ago
http://www.breitbart.com/ Stephen Harper has just completed his ninth tour of the North. These tours provide the prime minister with an opportunity to serve up warm rhetoric. On this occasion, Harper saved his most heated words for Vladimir Putin. But he said nothing about the North's increasingly warm atmosphere. Jeffrey Simpson writes: Nowhere in Canada is the impact of climate change more increasingly evident than the North. And yet, the words “climate change” are never heard from Mr. Harper in the North, as if the idea... more »

Ukraine / Russia situation ( August 27 , 2014 ) -- Daily update on the state of play regarding South East Ukraine battlefield , sanctions watch ( US/EU/Ukraine and Russia ) , Peace Talks / Mediations , Natural Gas Situation....

Catharsis Ours - 14 hours ago
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-28/ukraine-accuses-russia-launching-invasion-then-promptly-retracts Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Launching Invasion, Then Promptly Retracts [image: Tyler Durden's picture] Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/28/2014 07:24 -0400 - BTFATH - European Union - Greenlight <li class="taxonomy_term_9184" style="display: inlin

What A U.S. Military Intervention In Syria Really Means

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 14 hours ago
Badra Mamet/Reuters *What Going To War In Syria Would Really Mean For The U.S. -- Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic* A brutal dictator, a violent terrorist group, and the morally fraught tradeoff that interventionists face Attacking Adolf Hitler's Germany benefited moral monster Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union. That inescapable fact of World War II doesn't mean it wasn't worth fighting Nazis. Under the circumstances, allying with Stalin to beat Hitler was the right call. But the consequences of that fraught alliance were themselves horrific. To ignore its downsides would be to misund... more »

The Economist: one drop in the tsunami of stoopid

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan - 14 hours ago
*Another lovely Taiwan riding day*. I'm blogging on this because I fear that if you read this article in which the Economist explains why China and Taiwan are divided, your IQ may plummet. Just consider this my small public service in defending the world from the ongoing tsunami of stoopid in the media. Why O why can't we have a better media? The stoopid starts at the very beginning. With the title: "China and Taiwan are divided." But of course, China and Taiwan aren't "divided." The KMT and CCP governments wish to annex Taiwan to China, whose sovereignty over Taiwan is not suppor... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 14 hours ago
*Nine ~Disenfranchised Citizen* *New Orleans on a roll, but 9th Ward stymied 9 years after Katrina ~Rob Masson, WVUE* *Abortion clinics ask federal judge to rule new state law unconstitutional ~WWLTV * *Nighttime burglar ransacks Treme funeral home, steals hearse ~Danny Monteverde, New Orleans Advocate * *It's GameDay! LSU Football vs. Wisconsin *

US hands over first upgraded KC-135 Stratotanker to France

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 14 hours ago
[image: ALAT KC-135RG Stratotanker]The French Air Force (ALAT) has taken delivery of the first modernised KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft from the US at Air Base 125, near Istres, France. A total of three French KC-135RG tankers have been upgraded by the US to primarily ensure compliance with the RENO global air traffic management (GATM) standard. The new interface is claimed to enable navigation standards identical to those of US KC-135s and more efficient and secure integration into general air traffic. Read more

Taiwan to spend US$2.5b on anti-missile systems

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 14 hours ago
[image: Tien Kung 3 (Sky Bow 3) missile]Taiwan plans to spend TW$74.8 billion (S$3.1 billion, US$2.5 billion) in the next nine years to acquire anti-missile systems to boost its aerial defences against China, a lawmaker and media said Saturday. The defence ministry aims to purchase the locally-made Tien Kung 3 (Sky Bow 3) surface-to-air missile system between 2015 and 2024 to replace the ageing Hawk missile systems, said lawmaker Lin Yu-fang of the parliament's defence committee. T his will be the biggest procurement of domestically-made weapon systems in recent years, Lin said, ci... more »

The End of the Cobra Era

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 14 hours ago
[image: AH-1Z Cobra]The IAF has quietly retired one of its oldest and most venerable weapon systems recently. The AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter OrBat, which entered service in 1975, was demobilized pursuant to a decision (in the context of the recent cuts in the defense budget) to discontinue using the outdated helicopters. The demobilization process was executed in three stages: on July 29, 2013 the attack helicopter flight of the Red (Aggressor) Squadron was demobilized. Read more

Iran Nuclear talks hit impasse ( August 30 , 2014 ) - US rolls out more sanctions and Iranian response to same ...

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 15 hours ago
Tweets.... *Hassan Rouhani* @HassanRouhani · 6m Our broad sense in the nuclear negotiations is that all 7 countries want to solve the issue. - *Hassan Rouhani* @HassanRouhani · 9m The recent measures taken against #Iran by the US are against the spirit of the Joint Plan of Action and confidence building. - *Hassan Rouhani* @HassanRouhani · 28m Hope #nuclear negotiations will be fruitful. If counterparts avoid excessive demands outcome would benefit all parties. #WinWin #RouhaniLive - http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/29/U-S-imposes-new-sa... more »

Why Would You Vote For Anyone Opposed To Increasing The Minimum Wage?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
No doubt Labor Day is about barbecuing for many people… or an extra day off from work that can be spent with friends and family or in blissful solitude. But this morning, in his weekly address, Presdient Obama chose to discuss the minimum wage, particularly since Mitch McConnell had just prostrated himself before the Koch brothers and some equally heinous billionaires and viewed he would never allow an increase in the minimum wage to even come up for a vote if he wins reelection. It probably angered Peter King again, but the president decided to talk about economic issues that fa... more »

With Syrian Rebels Intensifying Their Attacks, UN Peacekeepers Flee Into Israel From Their Posts In The Golan Heights

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 15 hours ago
*Philippine Syria Troops 'Attacked' -- BBC* Philippine peacekeepers trapped by rebels in the Syrian Golan Heights are "under attack", Philippine Defence Minister Voltaire Gazmin says. He said the assault had started early on Saturday, but gave no details on any casualties. In recent days the Syrian rebels have taken 44 Fijian peacekeepers hostage in the area and surrounded 75 Filipinos manning two separate UN posts. The rebels have also seized a crossing point into the Israeli-occupied Golan. They are believed to include members of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syri... more »

Death is not the end. Our Struggle is Eternal

Rufus News From Atlantis at News From Atlantis. - 15 hours ago
The death of a loved-one is never easy. It is that much harder when the one you lose suffers excruciating pain before death. This month has been a particularly difficult one, with the loss of a confidant, a listener, an individual who was forthright yet compassionate, took no nonsense but wasn't patronising, and was in every way a kindred spirit. Due to the nature of my writing, I cannot give the name or any other details of the great individual who has departed this world. Why not? Because to do so would put the rest of my family in danger due to the malicious behaviour of tho... more »

Untitled

jonjayray at EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL - 15 hours ago
*TX: Some teachers packing heat, school district signs alert visitors* A school district outside Dallas will reportedly continue to allow some teachers to carry guns in school, and posted signs on school campuses warning that teachers "may use whatever force is necessary to protect our students." NewFix's CW33 reported that Argyle teachers will continue to be allowed to be armed on campus under the state's Protection of Texas Children Act. The report said these gun-toting teachers are required to have a handgun license, pass a psychological test and go through emergency response t... more »

A War Which Would Kill 40,000,000 Americans in an Hour

Spike EP at News Spike - 15 hours ago
*LBJ: "Dick...it has already been announced and you can serve with anybody for the good of America and this is a question that has a good many more ramifications than on the surface and we've got to take this out of the arena where they're testifying that Khrushchev and Castro did this and did that and kicking us into a war that can kill 40 million Americans in an hour. "* Everyone ignores the direct, personal role played by Bobby Kennedy in bringing the Warren Commission into existence - Bobby asked Earl Warren to serve on the Commission, in person, TWICE, *BEFORE* LBJ asked hi... more »

APSA Fire Update

Josh Busby at Duck of Minerva - 16 hours ago
Well, the main APSA hotel at the Marriott last night caught fire last night in what might be an act of arson, but we really don’t know. For those of us staying at the Marriott, we awoke at 1am to alarms and recorded messages to evacuate the building. We stayed outside until around 4:30 or Continue reading

Winter watch ( August 30 , 2014 ) - Are Russia and Germany conniving to work around recalcitrant Ukraine regarding natural gas for Europe ? Association of European Businesses urges EU to refrain from sanctions against Russia ...... European Commission recommends Ukraine to start repaying Russian gas debt

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 16 hours ago
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/747385 ( Ukraine needs 3 billion for their war with Novorussians and billions more to pay for Russian natural gas...... Pony up time , boys and girls ! ) Barroso suggests EU’s increased financial aid for Ukraine World August 30, 20:12 UTC+4 “More than half a billion euros in loans and 250 million euros in grants have already been mobilized by the European Commission as part of this package,” the president of the European Commission said © AP Photo/Yves Logghe BRUSSELS, August 30, /ITAR-TASS/. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Sat... more »

Saturday Interview: Howard Fuller

Phil at All That Is Solid ... - 16 hours ago
Howard "Howie" Fuller is a PCS activist from London. Among his sins are a penchant for comics and prog rock. He blogs at Howie's Corner and has proven so far resistant to Twitter's lure. - Why did you start blogging? I actually came to blogging by accident rather than design. For several years I had run (and still do) an e-mail list in the PCS union which managed to get up the noses of the Socialist Party/Left Unity leadership. So much so in fact that in late 2012 I received a phone call from John McInally, a PCS Vice President (and SP Grandee) asking me to desist in my criticisms... more »

Ukraine Updates ( August 30 , 2014 ) -- Ukraine Demands Arms, NATO Membership as Rebels Advance on Mariupol Kiev Cries 'Invasion,' But Still Has No Evidence ....... Ukraine Claims ‘Thousands’ of Russian Troops Invaded, Offers No Evidence Rebels Advance, But No Sign of Putative Russian Backing ....... Next Week’s NATO Summit to Focus on Escalations Against Russia Expected to Reach Deal on More Eastern Europe Troops ........ NATO planning 'rapid-deployment force' of 10,000 troops to counter Russia ...... Updates from the battlefield and Political minefields......

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 16 hours ago
Anti War..... Vineyard of the Saker...... SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2014 “Russian Invasion” – How long is screaming ‘Wolf!’ having an impact of the Western Populations? – Until Full Spectrum Dominance has been attained? by Peter Koenig "*The separatists are backed, trained, armed, financed by Russia. Russia determined that it had to be a little more overt in what it had already been doing, but it's not really a shift*." Barak Obama, 29 August 2014. "*If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.*” Joseph Goebbels Interestingly, most of us who are seeking the truth are primaril... more »

Map On Wall In Office Of Governor Of Donetsk People's Republic Shows The Territory That They Want

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 16 hours ago
Map on wall in office of governor of Donetsk People's Republic shows territory they want in #Russia. pic.twitter.com/iFKx7pRXrm — Alexander Marquardt (@MarquardtA) May 12, 2014 *My Comment:* It is not going to happen .... but some are now proposing such a split to solve the crisis .... *A Split Is Possible Way Out Of Ukraine Crisis -- Analysts* ( Marcel Michelson, Forbes)

Ukraine Civil War News Updates -- August 30, 2014

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 16 hours ago
*Mariupol Digs Its Trenches And Awaits An Attack From The Troops Of 'New Russia' -- The Telegraph* Ukrainian forces in the port city of Mariupol believe Russian troops are poised to take their stronghold – but Moscow denies that its troops are serving across the border "They're different to the fighters in Donetsk. We know what they're like, we've fought them before. These guys are different. Their kit, their uniforms, everything – they're Russian armed forces." Standing among the sandbag redoubts dotting the grounds of the Azov battalion's headquarters in Mariupol, the city of ... more »

Who's really hit a nerve with Jon Donnison?

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 16 hours ago
Someone is very sore about *BBC Watch. *You might also say *#obsessed. * Jon Donnison, though back in Oz (where his job is to report on Australian affairs), is still obsessively tweeting about Gaza at the moment. And about *BBC Watch* and *CiF Watch*. And, yet again, he's happily scrapping with an Israeli spokesman, this time Yiftah Curiel, Spokesperson of the Embassy of Israel in London. Here's what's been happening so far: I hope lone voice behind @bbcwatch is being paid by the word, or must be most monumental waste of time since England picked Carlton Palmer. — Jon Donnison (@Jo... more »

Iraq / Syria Regional War Updates ( August 30 , 2014 ) -- US has no strategy for ISIS yet is bombing away in Iraq , UK playing a " Chicken Little Game " crying terror threats , UN being dragged into the Syria campaign by al Nusra .......

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 17 hours ago
Anti War..... No ISIS Strategy; Obama’s Rare Moment of CandorHawks Push Escalation, But Lack of Strategy Not an Oversight by Jason Ditz, August 29, 2014 Print This | Share This Nothing is more unwise for politicians than honesty, and President Obama was caught in a pretty significant moment of candor with his admission that “we don’t have a strategy yet” for the ISIS war. The comment sparked immediate condemnation from hawks pushing him to escalate the ISIS war even more precipitously, with claims that he isn’t taking the situation seriously enough. Yet the lack of a strategy isn’t s... more »

Coup Underway In African State Of Lesotho. Prime Minister Has Fled the Country

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 17 hours ago
*Military Coup Under Way In Lesotho -- Al Jazeera* Prime Minister, who has fled to South Africa, confirms with Al Jazeera that army has taken over government buildings. Military units in Lesotho have surrounded government and police buildings and gunfire has been heard in the small mountainous southern African kingdom, in what diplomats said appeared to be an attempted coup. The military seized control of the tiny police headquarters and jammed radio stations and phones in the early hours on Saturday, a government minister and member of the ruling coalition told the AFP news agency... more »

NATO Plans To Establish A 'Rapid-Deployment Force' Of 10,000 Troops

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 17 hours ago
German troops who are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) (Reuters / Omar Sobhani) *NATO Planning 'Rapid-Deployment Force' Of 10,000 Troops To Counter Russia -- RT* NATO is reportedly working towards the creation of an expeditionary force composed of 10,000 troops from seven different member states as a result of escalating tensions with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. According to the Financial Times, the force’s creation will be spearheaded by Britain and involve contributions from Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, and the Netherla... more »

Ukraine Wants To Join NATO

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 17 hours ago
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko (L) greets NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen during their meeting in Kiev, August 7, 2014. Rasmussen on Thursday called on Russia to pull its troops back from the border with Ukraine and "step back from the brink". REUTERS/Mykola Lazarenko /Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters *Ukraine To Seek Nato Membership, Says PM Yatsenyuk -- BBC* *Ukraine's prime minister has said he will ask parliament to put the country on a path towards Nato membership.* Arseny Yatsenyuk said the government was sending a bill to MPs urging... more »

Poland Closes It's Airspace To The Russian Defense Minister's Plane From Flying Over

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 17 hours ago
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu (RIA Novosti / Igor Russak) *Poland Closes Airspace To Russian Defense Minister's Plane, Demands 'Non-Military' Flight Status -- RT* *Poland has allowed the plane of Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to fly over its territory, after the plane changed its status from military to civilian. Earlier the country barred its airspace to the plane.* The Russian defense minister’s plane has left Bratislava’s airport, according to the Slovak Interior Ministry, RIA Novosti news agency reported. The plane has received permission to fly over Poland af... more »

U.S. High-Altitude Missile System For S. Korea Upsets China, N. Korea, Russia, Poses Problems For South

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 18 hours ago
[image: THAAD launcher]The specter of Chinese warplanes buzzing U.S. and Japanese planes adds urgency to U.S. pressure for high-altitude defense in Asia against a still more formidable threat: that of missiles fired by North Korea and maybe even China. Both the Pentagon and Japan’s defense ministry have protested the close calls with Chinese planes while China threatens still more of them and complains about U.S. dreams of installing a “Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense” system in South Korea. China, North Korea and, most recently, Russia all seem to fear that installation of the... more »

Sweden to buy next-generation jets despite Swiss pullout

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 18 hours ago
[image: Saab JAS-39 Gripen E/F]Sweden said Friday it would go ahead with the purchase of a new generation of Saab Gripen fighter jets, despite Switzerland pulling out of a major co-financing deal. "Global developments and Russian action in Ukraine, with troops in the country, underline the importance of us pursuing the acquisition of the next generation fighter aircraft," defence minister Karin Enstroem told public broadcaster SVT. "This is also about our security and defence capability in the future," she said. Read more

Rare footage: F16 low level test over beautiful Greenland landscapes

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 18 hours ago
Thanks to Major John Kristensen of the Royal Danish Airforce you get to see Greenland like you have never seen it before, flying low in an F16 fighter jet. Jacob Michaelsen, wing commander on the mission said, "the video combines the best of two worlds; F16 flying and the breathtaking scenery over Greenland". Major Kristensen originally recorded the video as documentation but was given permission from Tactical Air Command Denmark to share it with the World after he edited it and showed them. Source

Accurate and Up-To Date Maps are Important.

Spike EP at News Spike - 18 hours ago
*Remember Yalta - Yalta is extremely Important to remember.*

Transport Econ 13: On Prohibiting S. Luzon Provincial Buses to Enter M.Manila

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 18 hours ago
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will soon prohibit buses from southern provinces to enter Metro Manila. Their analysis says that these provincial buses contribute significantly to Metro Manila traffic; thus, the solution is to ban and prohibit them from entering the metropolis. Is this a good analysis? In July 2013, MMDA proposed a two days a week cars-not-allowed in M.Manila, from the current one day a week. Public adverse reaction was high and MMDA was forced to abandon it. Then in August 2013, MMDA prohibited provincial buses from Cavite and western Batanga... more »

Pratt halted F-35 engine shipments in May over titanium

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 18 hours ago
[image: F-135 test]United Technologies Corp's Pratt & Whitney unit briefly suspended delivery of the engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet in May because of questions about titanium provided to a parts supplier. Pratt said on Friday it discovered conflicting documentation in late May that raised questions about the origin of the titanium, which was also used in parts for engines made by its Pratt & Whitney Canada division. The Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 strike fighter is the Pentagon's costliest weapons program. Pratt determined very quickly that the material did not pose a fl... more »

US Air Force's Secretive X-37B Space Plane Passes 600 Days in Orbit

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 18 hours ago
[image: X-37B Space Plane]The U.S. Air Force's mysterious unmanned space plane has winged beyond 600 days in orbit on a classified military mission that seems to have no end. The X-37B space plane is carrying out the Orbital Test Vehicle-3 (OTV-3) mission, a long-duration cruise that marks the third flight for the unpiloted Air Force spaceflight program. The Air Force launched the miniature space shuttle into orbit on Dec. 11, 2012 using an expendable Atlas 5 rocket. By the end of Friday (Aug. 29), the space plane had spent 627 days in orbit. That's one year, eight months, 19 days ... more »

Russia, India to Continue Joint Air Force Drills in November

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 18 hours ago
[image: Su-30MKI Flanker]The second phase of joint Russian-Indian Air Force exercise “Aviaindra-2014” is set to take place in India in November, deputy chief of the Russian Air Force's General Staff, Aleksandr Lyapkin, told reporters Friday. “The second phase of the exercise will take place in India after the end of monsoon season, on November 10-21. The location isn't known yet, this will become clear in October, when planning is finished,” Lyapkin said. Russia is currently hosting the first ever Russian-Indian air force drills, which involve joint flights with mixed Russian-Indian... more »

UCLASS RFP Delayed Again Following Pentagon Meeting

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 18 hours ago
[image: X47B Night Deck Handling]The final request for proposal (RFP) for the Navy’s planned carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been delayed pending a review of the service’s information, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) portfolio as part of the service’s budget process this fall, Navy officials told USNI News on Friday afternoon. “Defense officials will be including [Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS)] in its ISR portfolio review to be conducted in conjunction with the normal budget review process this fall,” Cmdr. Thurraya S. Kent... more »

Del Pilar class frigates to be fitted with CIWS, Harpoon missiles

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 18 hours ago
[image: BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15)]“Our initial target is for the Del Pilar frigates to have the same capabilities as the Hamilton-class did when they were in US service, such as having the Phalanx CIWS and Harpoon anti-ship missiles,” Marine Colonel Eric Nicanor, commander of the PN’s Naval Communications, Electronic and Information Center and chairman of the technical working group for the Del Pilar-class frigate upgrade told IHS Jane’s. He also said that they are looking to possibility of fitting Del Pilar class firgates with weapon and sensor system same with the upcoming br... more »

Japan defence ministry asks for record US$48.7b budget

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
[image: Kawasaki P-1 MPA]Japan’s defence ministry yesterday made its biggest ever budget request, as Tokyo bolsters its military amid worries over China’s expanding naval reach. The ministry wants 5.05 trillion yen (US$48.7 billion) for the year, with the focus on boosting protection of a string of southern islands that stretches from Kyushu to waters near Taiwan. The request, if approved, would mark the third straight annual defence budget increase and a 3.5 per cent rise from the budget for the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2015. The trend reflects Prime Minister Shinz... more »

"Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart"

Spike EP at News Spike - 19 hours ago
*"Smash your left hand down about right here three times, then twice up in this area, then three times right about here... * *That's 'Louie Louie' "*

Green signal for anti-sub sensors

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
[image: INS Kolkata]Defence minister Arun Jaitley today asked the navy to procure anti-submarine warfare suites for two classes of warships from within the country. The Telegraph had reported last week that the Prime Minister and Jaitley had this month commissioned warships INS Kolkata and INS Kamorta despite their platforms not being fully equipped with anti-submarine sensors. The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC), chaired by Jaitley, today asked the navy to speed up procurement of ASW (anti-submarine warfare) sensors worth up to Rs 1,700 crore for a class of frigates and destroye... more »

French supplier faltering, deadlines breached; Scorpene may take another hit says defence shipyard

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
[image: Scorpene class SSK]The alarm bells have gone off. After nine long years of waiting, the Indian Navy couldn't have expected a worse time for it to happen. Suffering from two debilitating underwater losses within a year and tardy acquisition process, its only hope, Project 75 involving the construction of six Scorpene submarines based on transfer of technology from the French firm DCNS, is on the verge of taking a hit, resulting into the fourth straight extension of delivery deadline. The Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), which is building the boats with DCNS' assistan... more »

Petition

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 19 hours ago
Disputed figures on Gaza casualties. Petition to change the BBC's boilerplate "mostly civilians" phrase while the figures are inadequately verified. Change BBC boilerplate on Gaza casualties to reflect disputed figures Almost uniquely among news organisations the British Broadcasting Corporation has a duty to impartiality that is not just implied by the professional journalism they claim to practice but also legally by Royal Charter:*"The BBC is required to deliver duly impartial news by the Royal Charter and Agreement and to treat controversial subjects with due impartiality"*[BB... more »

General Dynamics Delivers Submarine North Dakota To U.S. Navy on Schedule and Under Target Cost

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
[image: USS North Dakota (SSN-784)]General Dynamics Electric Boat today delivered the nuclear-powered attack submarine North Dakota (SSN-784) on time and more than $30 million below target cost. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. North Dakota is the 11th ship of the Virginia Class, which provides the Navy with the capabilities required to retain undersea dominance well into the 21st century. North Dakota will join the fleet in a commissioning ceremony Oct. 25 at the Navy submarine base in Groton. North Dakota is also the first of the eight-ship group of ... more »

Kenya Navy destroys ship with Sh1 billion worth of heroin as Uhuru watches from his military chopper

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
President Uhuru Kenyatta witnessed the destruction of the stateless Al Noor ship with 370 kgs of heroin aboard a military chopper, 16 nautical miles South of Mombasa. The ship was destroyed at around 4:20pm by the Kenyan Navy officers who ringed the ship with explosives which were later denoted. Journalists watched from a distance as the ship exploded in a ball of fire and sunk 500m down the sea bed. Read more

Conflict – Emotion, Bias and Objectivity

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 19 hours ago
*Conflict – Emotion, Bias and Objectivity* That’s the heading to the promotional material for the event that was to have taken place at the Frontline Club next week. It was fully booked, but it has now been postponed, which must have been inconvenient for all concerned. “An event discussing media coverage of the recent Israel-Hamas conflict has been cancelled, following plans by the ZF to protest outside it. “Reporting the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict – Emotion, Bias and Objectivity,” organised by the Frontline Club, was scheduled to be held on Sept 3 at the Shaw Theatre.” Perhap... more »

Rasmussen: Ukraine free to seek Nato membership

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 19 hours ago
[image: Anders Fogh Rasmussen]Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said Ukraine is free to pursue membership of the Western alliance despite Russian opposition. He told press in Brussels on Friday (29 August): “I’m not going to interfere in political discussions in Ukraine. But let me remind you of Nato’s decision at the Bucharest summit in 2008, according to which Ukraine ‘will become a member of Nato,’ provided of course, Ukraine so wishes and fulfills the necessary criteria”. “We adhere to the principle that each and every country has the right to decide [its foreign and securit... more »

Stratbase 2: On Power and Jobs

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 19 hours ago
* Reposting this from Business Mirror. --------- Group urges P-Noy to focus more on power generation andjob creation 27 Aug 2014 Written by David Cagahastian CIVIL-SOCIETY group Citizenwatch has proposed several action plans that the Aquino administration should focus on in its last two years in office, particularly in the areas of power generation and promotion of medium-scale enterprises to create more jobs. In a recent roundtable discussion among the conveners of Citizenwatch, the need to lower the costs of power and to provide for a reliable source of power for industries was ... more »

Incitement

sue at Is the BBC biased? - 20 hours ago
Incitement George Galloway provides conclusive proof of his own guilt. *Update*. Racially/religiously aggravated assault! That’s the charge we’re told the assailant will face. It looks as though the ‘racist’ element of the above crime (racially aggravated assault) normally concerns the ‘victim’. If A hits B because B is black/foreign/ Jewish/ Muslim etc etc. then the assault is considered to be racially aggravated. George Galloway is none of the above. Unless being a annoying, provocative, racist antisemite is a race. I suppose it could be a religion. George was acting in a racia... more »

George Galloway taken to hospital after street attack - BBC News

Not a sheep at Not a sheep - 20 hours ago
The BBC are almost ecstatic to report that it may have been a supporter of Israel that carried out this attack on Galloway. Read here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28992601

Farming Today

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 20 hours ago
Following *Prayer for the Day *came Farming Today - another daily staple of the Radio 4 schedule. The BBC is sometimes accused of having a metropolitan, anti-farmer bias, so having this as a regular part of its day is an important gesture (even if it is scheduled at 5.45am). Does the programme itself, however, show a metropolitan, anti-farmer bias in its concerns? Well, there were four topics on this edition of the Tuesday 26th August edition of the programme. The first subject was land access, specifically the tension between the public's rights over footpath use in the country... more »

Fukushima:"Officials: About 2 Trillion Becquerels of Fukushima Radioactive Material Flowed Into Ocean Every Month During 2013"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
*"Officials: About 2 Trillion Becquerels of Fukushima * *Radioactive Material Flowed Into Ocean Every Month During 2013"* by ENENews.com "Officials reveal about 2 Trillion becquerels of Fukushima radioactive material flowed into ocean every month during 2013 — “Deadly strontium” releases now more than double cesium — “Strontium gets into your bones… it changes the equation” (VIDEO) Strontium 90 = 5 billion Bq Cesium 137 = 2 billion Bq Tritium = 15 billion Bq Total daily outflow into the port = 22 billion Bq Senior Scientist: 100 times more strontium than cesium in water at Fukushima... more »

The U.S. Navy Wants It's Future Fighter Jets To Have An Aritificial Intelligence Platform

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 23 hours ago
Boeing concept for F/A-XX. Boeing Image *Navy’s Next Fighter Likely to Feature Artificial Intelligence -- Dave Majumdar, USNI News* Artificial intelligence will likely feature prominently onboard the Pentagon’s next-generation successors to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. “AI is going to be huge,” said one U.S. Navy official familiar with the service’s F/A-XX effort to replace the Super Hornet starting around 2030. Further, while there are significant differences between the U.S. Air Force’s vision for its F-X air superiority fighter and the ... more »

Musical Interlude: Clannad, “Mystery Game”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
Clannad, “Mystery Game” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIDzqVRFr5c

Here's Where We Think The World's Nukes Are Stored

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
An image from the U.S.'s May, 1953 "Grable" test of a 280-mm nuclear cannon. U.S. Department of Energy *Here's Where We Think The World's Nukes Are Stored — And What It Says About Global Security -- Armin Rosen, Business Insider* Nuclear security scholars Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris published a study of the worldwide deployment of nuclear weapons on August 27th in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, their first such survey since 2009. As they stress throughout their paper, tracking the number and location of the world's nuclear warheads is an inherently uncertain end... more »

Rumors Are Spreading That Now Retired Special Operations Admiral Bill McRaven May Be Hillary Clinton's Running Mate in 2016

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*Photo:* Ret. Adm. William Harry McRaven. Wikipedia *Special Ops Commander Swears: I Won't Be Hillary's VP -- Kimberly Dozier, Daily Beast* He commanded the bin Laden raid—and expanded U.S. commandos’ global footprint. Now Adm. Bill McRaven is leaving the military. He promises—promises—that politics won’t be next. Admiral Bill McRaven left command of U.S. special operations this week as a somewhat bewildered man – surprised, stymied, and in some cases burned by the fame and notoriety that launched his three years there, as the military commander of the 2011 raid that killed terror... more »

Yes, we know, guns don't kill people

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
*"Much like the long-running national debates about jumping off a roof, licking electrical sockets, and gargling with thumbtacks, the vexing question of whether children should fire military weapons does not appear headed for a swift resolution. " 'Like the issue of whether you should sneak up behind a bear and jab it with a hot poker, this won't be settled any time soon,' [pollster Davis Logsdon] says."* *-- from The Borowitz Report* *by Ken* Yes, we know, guns don't kill people. Sometimes nine-year-old moppets frolicking with Uzis on gun ranges kill people {"Child firing Uzi a... more »

A Look At The U.S. Spy Planes That Will Be Used To Gather Intelligence On The Islamic State

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
The RQ-4A Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance system designed to provide military field commanders with high-resolution, near-real-time imagery of large geographic areas. (CREDIT : REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Reynaldo Ramon) *The U-2 And Global Hawk, The US Spy Planes That Will Help Hunt ISIS in Syria -- International Business Times* The United States has begun surveillance flights over Syria in an attempt to spy on ISIS fighters. While the U.S. Department of Defense refused to comment on what type of aircraft will be used, one milita... more »

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
“To the eye, this cosmic composition nicely balances the Bubble Nebula at the lower right with open star cluster M52. The pair would be lopsided on other scales, though. Embedded in a complex of interstellar dust and gas and blown by the winds from a single, massive O-type star, the Bubble Nebula, also known as NGC 7635, is a mere 10 light-years wide. * Click image for larger size.* On the other hand, M52 is a rich open cluster of around a thousand stars. The cluster is about 25 light-years across. Seen toward the northern boundary of Cassiopeia, distance estimates for the Bubble Neb... more »

Paulo Coelho, “Closing Cycles”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*“Closing Cycles”* by Paulo Coelho “One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through. Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters – whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished. Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden? You can spend a long time wondering... more »

"Willingness to Feel: Opening to Understanding"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*"Willingness to Feel: Opening to Understanding"* by The DailyOM "When we are resisting something based on a limited understanding, we must then open ourselves to willingness. There are times when we may find ourselves struggling or even fighting with our thoughts and emotions. We may feel that something must be done in a certain way or not at all, or there may be some other situation that feels absolutely black and white. But life is not this way—it’s the way we are looking at our experiences that is causing the turmoil within us. When we become aware that the struggle we are havi... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
Coppenbrügge, Niedersachsen, Germany. Thanks for stopping by.

A Maze Or Labyrinth..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"The difficulty in dealing with a maze or labyrinth lies not so much in navigating the convolutions to find the exit but in *not entering* the damn thing in the first place. Or, at least not yet again. As a creature of free will, do not be tempted into futility." - Vera Nazarian

Chet Raymo, “Whence Ourselves?”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*“Whence Ourselves?”* by Chet Raymo “I recently thought of David S. Goodsell's "The Machinery of Life," and I found myself reading the book again. There is nothing I didn't already know, but it's worth reading again for the same reason one might read, say, Anna Karenina or Moby Dick several times in the course of a life. In fact, Goodsell's book would be a good candidate for the one science book I would recommend to someone stuck on a desert island. Step by step he takes us through the molecular machinery shared by all life on Earth. Humans have a lot more in common with a bacteriu... more »

The Poet: Wendell Berry, “Leavings”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
“In time a man disappears from his lifelong fields, from the streams he has walked beside, from the woods where he sat and waited. Thinking of this, he seems to miss himself in those places as if always he has been there. But first he must disappear, and this he foresees with hope, with thanks. Let others come.” - Wendell Berry, “Leavings”

Consider This Dispatch a WAR-WARNING

Spike EP at News Spike - 1 day ago
*"The current threat level from international terrorism for the UK is assessed as SEVERE"* - If an attack should occur before, during or after the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales, DON'T think ISIS, Don't think Putin, Don't think Syria: think *NATO Intelligence.* *#warwarning #nato*

I am afraid of Carbon Fiber as a mission critical resouce

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 1 day ago
It blows up at failure and give you little warning watch the NHL for evidence no way I am riding a bike made of carbon fiber.

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 1 day ago
*Environmental businesses as a New Orleans economic asset: See the data points ~Mark Waller*

Tonight's Movie Is 'The Bunker'

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago

Oh no, the evil ISIS terrorists are waterboarding! How dare those dastards . . . oops!

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
*Kids, don't try this at home! But I've got some suggestions of blowhards who deserve to undergo a lovely round of waterboarding -- at the hands of professional CIA torturers technicians. (Artwork by Simon Scarr/Reuters Graphic.)* *"Critics of waterboarding have said for years that the practice endangered Americans, putting them at risk of being subjected to the same brutal treatment at the hands of the enemy."* *-- from "Captives held by Islamic State werewaterboarded" on washingtonpost.com* *by Ken* Let's try not to make *too big* a deal of it, but since the Lying LIars of the... more »

Hey Hackers: Join the NSA, It's like a Rave Party

Mark Daniels at Global Political Awakening - 1 day ago
*DoD* *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

Singapore Singapore Singapore

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 1 day ago
Austria Austria Austria, Denmark Denmark Denmark, Germany Germany Germany. Of all the treys only Germany is a significant country but man they can move like a little one and treat the citizens to a good life despite the troubled seas that surround them and the lack of natural resources that enrich the stupid ones. But I say to you all, Singapore is the place that has been playing civilization since 1964 and winning every round. Take a look folks, no wires our mirrors just good, not good great goverment. Social housing is the foundation and good goverment over all is the salvation ... more »

Crushed [updated]

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 1 day ago
Gutless, and gone? *UPDATE*: Good riddance. A shame she wasn’t sacked for all her real offences . Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

Breaking News: greencrow's option "None of the Above" pondered by Federal Liberal caucus

greencrow at Greencrow As The Crow Flies - 1 day ago
GREENCROW'S SUGGESTION FOR BALLOT REFORM - *'NONE OF THE ABOVE' ADDED TO BALLOT* - IS BEING CONSIDERED BY LIBERAL CAUCUS Greencrow proposed the "None of the Above" (NOTA) option to Minister for Democratic Reform Pierre Poilievre and MP James Moore back last February, 2014. Neither of them bothered to respond to my e-mail....but it looks like the Liberals have accepted my suggestion for a change to the ballot. The Liberals have, however, framed it as a "mandatory vote"...which I don't think will fly and is a totally unnecessary march down the path to totalitarianism. http://www.v... more »

Kissinger Defines His View Of What Is Necessary For A New World Order

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*The Assembly Of A New World Order -- Henry Kissinger, Wall Street Journal* The concept that has underpinned the modern geopolitical era is in crisis Libya is in civil war, fundamentalist armies are building a self-declared caliphate across Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan's young democracy is on the verge of paralysis. To these troubles are added a resurgence of tensions with Russia and a relationship with China divided between pledges of cooperation and public recrimination. The concept of order that has underpinned the modern era is in crisis.The search for world order has long b... more »

No comments:

Post a Comment