10:36pm MDST
Zemanta
Islamic State Militants Take Credit For This Weekends Deadly Attacks In Sinai
*BBC*: Egypt's Sinai Peninsula hit by deadly bomb attacks *At least 14 people have been killed in separate bomb attacks in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, security forces have said.* *Eight people died and 45 others were injured in an explosion outside a police station in El-Arish.* *At least six soldiers lost their lives and two were wounded in an attack on an armoured vehicle, near the northern town of Sheikh Zuweid.* *Militants from the Sinai Province group, affiliated to Islamic State, have said they carried out the attacks.* *More News On This Weekends Insurgent Attacks In Sinai... more »
Protesters Rally Against Brazil's President
*CNN*: *Protesters in Brazil push to impeach President Dilma Rousseff* *Sao Paulo, Brazil (CNN)Throngs of protesters packed the streets of major Brazilian cities on Sunday, pushing for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.* *Fueled by mounting anger over a corruption scandal that has implicated politicians in Rousseff's party, demonstrators chanted "Out with Dilma" and "Time for change."* *Police estimated that 275,000 demonstrators marched in Sao Paulo. A sea of protesters dressed in the green and yellow of the Brazilian flag used decades-old rallying cries to fire up the... more »
Islamic State Takes Credit For Today's South Korean Embassy Shooting And Moroccan Embassy Bombing in Libya
*Reuters*: *Islamic State militants claim attacks on embassies in Libya* *(Reuters) - A bomb exploded at the gate of the Moroccan embassy in the Libyan capital early on Monday, causing some damage but hurting nobody, a security official said, only hours after gunmen attacked South Korea's mission in Tripoli.* *Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State said on twitter they were responsible for both attacks, the latest strikes against foreigners, embassies or oilfields in Libya. It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the claims.* *Islamic State militants have exploit... more »
Meet & Greet (#MtaGt) - April - Pollution Pollution
Welcome to Meet & Greet, a regular series designed to grow our green community. [image: A monthly link-up party for green blogs on Reduce Footprints] Banner by Art Ist Grab our banner for your site:
For 2015, Meet & Greet will operate a bit differently than previous years. This year, I'll be... more »
For 2015, Meet & Greet will operate a bit differently than previous years. This year, I'll be... more »Sorry, Campbell who?
May I interrupt the almost wall-to-wall social media handwringing about the demise of the John Campbell show to say that I don’t give a flying fuck? Thank you. I am one of the 96% who don’t watch him (the four percent of NZers who do not being sufficient, it’s reliably suggested, to justify shareholders subsidising his show). Truth be told, I don’t watch the other mob at 7 either – or any mob at all for that matter. Too much insulting viewers’ intelligence on* all* channels for my money, and that’s all channels both here and overseas bother to do. So my TV stays hooked up to my c... more »
What they really think....
However, if they and you think you can intimidate the human race into bowing down to your perverse agenda, you had better guess again. You cannot hide the reality of your condition and motives forever. WE are the human race and you are tolerated only to a point., -- Steven Mark Pilling, Chair of the Harris County TX GOP, on Intersex kids. Source
Iran Accuses Saudi Arabia Of Launching Cyber Attacks On Its State Media
*Sputnik*: *Iran’s State TV Says Hacked by Saudi Arabia for Yemen Coverage* *The Twitter account and YouTube channel of Iran’s state-run Al-Alam TV came under attack of Saudi hackers, the channel said in a statement Sunday.* *MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to the Twitter account and YouTube channel of Iran’s state-run Al-Alam TV, the intruders accessed its Twitter account to publish false news about the death of Abdul-Malik Houthi, the leader of Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels, in control of parts of the country. The TV outlet claimed that the hack was prompted by Riyad's fury over Al-A... more »
Against equality….
None but morons, socialists and vicious redistributionists (but I repeat myself) still call for equality of *outcome*. The mantra these days, instead, is equality of *opportunity*. But this, explains George Reisman, is equally moronic. This essay shows that the goal of *equality* of opportunity is both absurd and vicious. Achieving it would require that children all be raised in the same environment and have the same genetic inheritance. In contrast, the essay shows that what we should actually strive for is the *freedom* of opportunity. Freedom of opportunity means the ability to... more »
Quote of the Day: “The truth is the government cannot give if it does not take from somebody”
From Ludwig Von Mises’s book *Bureaucracy*. Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
U.S. Widens Its Involvement In The Yemen War
*Wall Street Journal:* *U.S. Widens Role in Saudi-led Campaign Against Yemen Rebels* *Washington has concerns about Riyadh’s goals in the conflict * *The U.S. is expanding its role in Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen, vetting military targets and searching vessels for Yemen-bound Iranian arms amid growing concerns about the goals of the Saudi-led mission, according to U.S. and Arab officials.* *U.S. officials worry mounting civilian casualties will undermine popular support in Yemen and in other Sunni Arab countries backing the campaign. At least 648 civilians have been killed si... more »
Saudi Arabia: 'We Are Not At War With Iran'
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal at a news conference in Riyadh in March. On Sunday, he said his country’s intervention in Yemen has been at the request of Yemen’s president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Photo: Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters *WSJ:* *Saudi Foreign Minister Says His Country ‘Not at War With Iran’* *Yemen intervention aimed at protecting ‘the legitimacy of the state’* *RIYADH—A top Saudi official said his country is “not at war with Iran” in Yemen, where it has led a coalition in airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels for more than two weeks.* *Yemeni pres... more »
Yemen War News Updates -- April 12, 2015
*Reuters*: *Saudi Arabia dismisses Iran calls for Yemen ceasefire* *(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia dismissed Iranian calls to end air strikes on neighboring Yemen on Sunday as Saudi-led attacks hit a military camp in the Yemeni city of Taiz, killing eight civilians according to a medical source.* *Riyadh said Tehran should not interfere in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began air strikes against Iranian-allied Houthi militia fighters over two weeks ago to try and prevent them making further advances.* *The air raids on the central Yemeni city targeted a site held by soldi... more »
Meet the Ferguson court clerk who says she feels like she's been raped by being fired for sending those insanely vile racist e-mails
*See and hear Mary Ann Twitty talk about the clean-cut fun she had swapping those hilarious e-mails with other Ferguson law-enforcement folks, and how she felt like she'd been raped by being fired for it, visit this KMOV Web page.* *by Ken* You remember Mary Ann Twitty, right? The court clerk in Ferguson, MO, who got caught swapping racist e-mails with, among others, "Captain Richard Henke, who was the second in charge of the Ferguson Police Department, Sergeant William Mudd, who was the fourth in charge of the Ferguson Police Department and the supervising officer of Darren Wilso... more »
Another FALSE FLAG Rigged Court Show Trial Is In The Books For Another FALSE "OFFICIAL STORY"
*The PATSIES didn't have the backpacks:* *...but THESE GUYS did:* *...but YOU wouldn't know that, if you listen only to the mainstream media!!!* Just another day in the country that used to be the United States: The Boston Marathon False Flag rigged court trial is now over. Another false "Official Story" is in the books. The complicit mainstream media can now employ the 1967 CIA tactic developed for the JFK assassination of ridiculing those who question the FALSE "OFFICIAL STORY" of the Boston Marathon false flag "CONSPIRACY THEORISTS". Here's how the "trial" went: the defend... more »
Who is the Aggressor?
Who is the big daddy? The one poking the stick into the global hornet's nest? Who constantly says one thing but does another? Who is the supreme hypocrite and biggest threat? Who is the real Mr. Chaos? the evil empire? Mr. Big? the mobster? The one busting knee caps breaking down doors and shelling homes, schools, hospitals, churches and mosques? Who leads the world in exporting weapons? Who is really the aggressor? Who is always threatening more war? Who needs to be stopped by the World Criminal Court for crimes against the peace? Who can't handle the truth?
Musical Interlude: 2002, “Remember Now”
2002, “Remember Now” - http://www.youtube.com/ "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A. A. Milne
The rates are too damn high!
I”m happy to hear there are other Aucklanders “who are sick and tired of the Council wasting ratepayer money.” Auckland Board Member of the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, Gabrielle O’Brien, says, “Traditionally it’s been the business and property groups that have stuck up for fiscal responsibility within Auckland’s local government. Unfortunately most Auckland business groups are now heavily reliant on ratepayer money and find it difficult to bite the Council hand that feeds them.” “With rates digging deeper and deeper into the pockets of Aucklanders, residents need an organisatio... more »
So, which part of the cycle are we in now?
[Hat tip Statism Is Slavery] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Why Do Right-Wingers Lie So Much? The Facts Don't Matter To Them, But Goebbels' Big Lie Does
By Manifesto Joe It's hard to figure out how to begin this post, because the BS is so deep. One of the problems with the Internet is that any psychopath with a broadband connection can circulate swill all over cyberspace. The U.S. political right wing has developed a specialty in this. They are shameless liars. One screed that's been traveling about the Web is called "Two States in the Middle of America." The "comparison" is between Illinois (Now Obama's home state, of course) and Oklahoma (home to half-witted climate-change deniers like Sen. James Inhofe). The fallacies run throug... more »
How QE stacked the deck
Hillary Clinton is not alone in thinking “the deck is still stacked in favour of those at the top.” But is she going to take a swing at the largest dealer stacking the deck that way? Not a chance. Who is that large dealer? It’s the US Federal Reserve Bank, architect since 2007 of Quantitative Easing, “the effect [of which] on the middle class, savers, and financial market stability is catastrophic and unlike the purported benefits of QE, the negative effects grow (in some cases exponentially) with each iteration.” The end result is an entire class of savers devastated by negativ... more »
Musical Interlude: Josh Groban, “Gira Con Me”
*Josh Groban, “Gira Con Me”* - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bYD38yomIw ◆ English Lyrics: *"Gira Con Me Questa Notte"* *"Turn With Me Tonight"* "The world turns with me tonight. Small steps that I make with you. I follow your heart, and I follow the moon So hidden far from me. The world turns with us tonight, Ah, if only far from here there existed A place where to discover my heart, To know if it can love you or not. And it will turn, and it will turn, My heart together with you, And the earth will turn, And my life will turn, And one day, yes, it will understand. It's you who turn... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
"Barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903 is only some 20 million light-years distant. Popular among amateur astronomers, it shines in the northern spring constellation Leo, near the top of the lion's head. That part of the constellation is sometimes seen as a reversed question mark or sickle. One of the brighter galaxies visible from the northern hemisphere, NGC 2903 is surprisingly missing from Charles Messier's catalog of lustrous celestial sights. *Click image for larger size.* This colorful image from a small ground-based telescope shows off the galaxy's gorgeous spiral arms traced by y... more »
Chet Raymo, “Mortal Soul”
*“Mortal Soul”* by Chet Raymo “Once, many years ago, I made my way to the hillside farm in New York's Catskill Mountains where John Burroughs was born and where he was buried in 1921 at age 84. He was one of the two John's who established the genre of nature writing in America: John Muir was "John o' Mountains", and John Burroughs was "John o' Birds." It was a hardscrabble farm. Burrough's grave had to be blasted out of the Devonian sandstone with dynamite. Not much farming thereabouts today; when I visited there were few signs of human activity in the broad vista over the valley...more »
Hillary announces [updated]
“The new Hillary is humble and gracious….” UPDATE: - Hillary Clinton To Nation: ‘Do Not Fuck This Up For Me’ – THE ONION Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
The Daily "Near You?"
Thessaloníki, Thessaloniki, Greece. Thanks for stopping by.
The Poet: Charles Simic, “The White Room”
*“The White Room”* by Charles Simic “The obvious is difficult To prove. Many prefer The hidden. I did, too. I listened to the trees. They had a secret Which they were about to Make known to me- And then didn't. Summer came. Each tree On my street had its own Scheherazade. My nights Were a part of their wild Storytelling. We were Entering dark houses, Always more dark houses, Hushed and abandoned. There was someone with eyes closed On the upper floors. The fear of it, and the wonder, Kept me sleepless. The truth is bald and cold, Said the woman Who always wore white. She didn't leave he...more »
"The Awe..."
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams
“Your Radiation, This Week”
*“Your Radiation, This Week”* by Bob Nichols (San Francisco) April 10, 2015 – “Good Day, this is “Your Radiation, This Week.” These are the recorded Radiation Highs that affected people this week around the United States and in your neighborhood. Let’s get right to it.” *RADIATION CPM* CITY STATE* (*Counts per Minute, 50 CPM is an alert level. Levels are in Gamma unless noted.) 289 CPM Boston, MA 184 CPM New York City 404 CPM Raleigh, NC New 275 CPM Atlanta, GA 454 CPM Miami, FL 200 CPM Chicago, IL 194 CPM St Paul, MN 489 CPM Lincoln, NE, Gamma and Beta Radiation Combined CPM. 236 C... more »
Time for a Jubilee
As we complete this conversation, keep a few things in your heart. First, there is nothing wrong about your life or how you’ve chosen to be inside of it. Regardless of what label you stick to what you do, you can’t help but love. Loving is what you’ve been doing in each and every relationship. There are things you have done or things that have been done to you that on the surface seem abhorrent and/or the opposite of love. Yet, we have come to serve as comfort and/or contrast, help and/or hindrance for each other – there are no exceptions. These truths do not imply you have to ... more »
Ending Barbaric Anti-Gay Conversion Therapy
Last year when Blue America endorsed Ted Lieu for the open congressional seat on the West Side of L.A. (Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Venice, Malibu, Westwood, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance), Alan Grayson sent a letter to his own supporters asking them to consider supporting Ted Lieu as well. Grayson had plenty of reasons to get behind Lieu's progressive vision of governance, but the one he focussed on was Lieu's heroic-- and highly successful-- fight against anti-gay conversion therapy. Right-wing cranks and fools haven't come up with a "cure" yet for stupidity, greed,... more »
Turning "Collaboration" into a Bad Word
Turning “Collaboration” Into a Bad Word By Ken Derstine The disastrous budget that Governor Cuomo has achieved in New York deepens the attack on teachers and public education. Among its many regressive measures, the budget includes evaluating teachers based on standardized test scores. This is despite the American Statistical Association estimating that teachers affect test scores by a factor of 1% to 14% , and that evaluating teachers by scores may actually reduce quality. The development of a national teacher evaluation system based on standardized tests has been the ten-year go... more »
"If It Looks Like A Duck..."
“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family Anatidae on our hands.” - Douglas Adams
"Rightwing Nuthouse: Fox Newsians Scramble to Explain Scott Murder"
*"5 Unhinged Right-Wing Moments This Week: * *Fox Newsians Scramble to Explain Scott Murder"* by Janet Allon *"1. Geraldo Rivera: That cop was ‘boiling mad’... so it's not murder. *Well, now we know why cops shoot unarmed people with alarming frequency. Geraldo Rivera has explained it. It’s because the cops are really really mad. Boiling mad. Friday morning, Fox News’ Rivera was feeling very relieved because the release of the new dashcam footage of the initial traffic stop that ended in the shooting death of Walter Scott had been released. The footage made Rivera feel so much bette...more »
George Osborne's Car Crash Interview
If a confrontation with Paxo or Brillo is like going ten rounds with a grizzly bear, spending time on Andrew Marr's sofa is the political equivalent of a smooch by a pound puppy. Yet this giver of the most gentle of interviews had George Osborne on the ropes in seconds. Of course, if you ask Dan Hodges this is all part of a master plan. We're told there's a genius essence at work beneath the appearance of dogmatism and rank incompetence. In fact, the Tories' rare foray out of the gutter again underlines a campaign that is deeply dysfunctional. The pledge to squash inheritance tax ... more »
Colonel Thomas Ferebee and the Roswell Crash
Terry Lee Arbegust has posted an interview with a Colonel Thomas Ferebee who has said he was assigned to the base at Roswell in 1947. You can listen to the interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcy0Fdt7IV0&feature=share In keeping with tradition, the first thing I did was look to see if he was in the Roswell Yearbook, but he is not. I do remember that Walter Haut told me that ten to twenty percent of the people assigned to the base were not included in the Yearbook, so this is not a fatal error. I did look in the base telephone directory and he is there in 1947 grouped in... more »
ADL hyping "right wing extremism" ahead of OKC bombing anniversary
The Anti-Defamation League, one of the most sinister and subversive anti-American organizations operating in the United States, is hyping the alleged threat of "right wing extremism" ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. According to a recent *press release* from the ADL: Twenty years since the Oklahoma City bombing, anti-government extremists and white supremacists who share an ideology and worldview similar to that of Timothy McVeigh still pose a threat to society, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors the activities of extreme right-... more »
50,000 mexican farmworkers are on strike, and almost no one in north america knows about it
Did you know that 50,000 Mexican farmworkers are on strike? If your answer is no, you have plenty of company. The *Los Angeles Times* is the only English-language mainstream media venue to regularly cover the strike. Canadian media, predictably, only wants to know how it will affect food prices. These farmworkers harvest the fruits and vegetables that fill our supermarkets and our tables. They are paid $8 *per day* - that's right, not per hour, per day. They are gouged at company stores where they must purchase necessities, and see their pay routinely withheld without explanation. ... more »
"How It Really Is"
"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first." - Ronald Reagan ◆ Related, though she'd much rather you not read this... “As Hillary Clinton Announces, Let's Revisit Her Work on the Corporate Lecture Circuit” - http://www.alternet.org/ “Hillary Clinton and the Truth-O-Meter” - http://www.politifact.com/
Adam Osmayev- yet another curious Chechen...
Chechens &Chechnya? For some reason the western narrative concerning Chechens gives me a 'Kurdish' vibe... Complete with a mythologizing that is over the top. And of course always accompanied by calls for respecting their human rights and right to self determination. The NATO nations talk a good talk, but, do nothing of the sort in reality. So, when it comes right down to it, talk of Kurds, like Chechens, and Uighers for that matter needing to have a homeland, the righting of historical wrongs is always, actually about something else entirely *Recall the fierce Chechen that appeared... more »
Garry Wills, "The Future of Catholicism with Pope Francis"
*Title: Garry Wills, "The Future of Catholicism with Pope Francis." Source: Politics and Prose. Date Published: March 18, 2015. Description: * Historian, Pulitzer Prize winner, and one-time seminarian, Wills follows Why Priests? with this look at the Catholic Church. Presenting seven case studies of doctrinal shifts in the last century, Wills notes that none were brought about by the Pope single-handedly, and he outlines what may be within the scope of Francis, the first Jesuit and the first South American to become Pontiff, to achieve.
Mohawk Nation News TROOP TRAINS MOVING WEST ALERT!
TROOP TRAINS MOVING WEST ALERT TROOP TRAINS MOVING WEST ALERT Please post & distribute. Nia:wen. MNN. Apr. 12, 2015. Military is moving weapons of war to the West. Trains are loaded with tanks, trucks, jeeps. armour... View on mohawknationnews.com Preview by Yahoo
Viet Vet Says No Thanks for Next Pentagonian Celebration of Murderers (Rahmbo Wins - We Lose) Why Decent People Are Ashamed of the Democrats (And Don't Even Start On the Unashamed Republicans) Billionaires Owe You Thanks
(Watch Richard D. Wolff on Link TV Sunday evening at 6:00 PM, and Monday morning at 1:00 AM. Also watch "Manufacturing Consent" on Link TV Monday at 3:00 AM, "Ecological Collapse" at 6:30 AM and "Consumerism" at 9:00 AM. And "Do the Math" anytime you can find it on. You'll be sobered up.) Inside The Koch-Backed History Lessons North Carolina Wants To Teach Students Nice to have someone of
Why Isn't Anyone Saying the "G" Word?
No doubt that Okie cop's reason for shooting #EricHarris was he thought he was one of the Columbine shooters. #blacklivesmatter — Robert Crawford (@jurassicpork59) April 12, 2015 Perhaps it's a semantic term relying heavily on sheer numbers. That is, after, a prerequisite when looking at definitions of the word "genocide" in our most esteemed lexicons. Yet one cannot argue against the definition's expansion on reading the 1944 interpretation of Raphael Lemkin, the Polish Jewish jurist: By 'genocide' we mean the destruction of an ethnic group... Generally speaking, genocide d... more »
More of the Same from Fukushima
Some readers may wonder why I continue to post jet screen maps and screenshots of atmospheric emissions from Daiichi. I sometimes ask myself that question as well. The answer is that I am trying to document the ongoing assault from the worst nuclear disaster in human history. I realize that the main contamination event is occurring out of sight, in the ocean, as fresh water contaminated by melted nuclear fuel seeps and gushes into the Pacific Ocean. Ocean contamination signs and symptoms are found in TEPCO press releases, acknowledging dumping and spills of contaminated water, an... more »
Canned Pathology
With a Congressional vote as early as this week to give President Obama fast track authority to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the racketeers of the ruling class are out in full force. They're trying to force a gigantic financial tapeworm down our collective gullet by hiding it in containers of frothy propaganda product. The actual taste sensation of financial parasitism depends upon what part of The Castle's right wing kitchen its political chefs work within. One popular bipartisan flavor resembles Neapolitan ice cream. But instead of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, the... more »
Sunday Classics snapshots: "Is life a boon?"
*Longtime D'Oyly Carte Opera Company principal tenor Thomas Round was not only long gone from the company but, unfortunately, in his late 50s by the time he made the recordings below.* Is life a boon? If so, it must be befall that Death, whene'er he call must call too soon. Though fourscore year he give, yet one would wish to live another moon! What kind of plaint have I, who perish in July? who perish in July? I might have had to die perchance in June! I might have had to die perchance in June! Is life a thorn? Then count it not a whit! Man is well done with it soon as he's born. He s... more »
Pigs, Midwest Version
For unarmed black men across America, death goes on. Excuse this time: I meant to use my taser. Followed by this: The more disturbing portion of the video, however, comes after Harris suffers the gunshot wound. Screaming in apparent pain, Harris can be heard telling the officers “He shot me! He shot me, man. Oh, my god. I’m losing my breath,” to which he did not receive any aid. “Fuck your breath. Shut the fuck up,” an officer can be heard replying to Harris’ pleas as he is held down by the neck. He was pronounced dead an hour later. Story here.
Become my Colleague! Senior Lecturer Positions in Practical Philosophy Open at my Department
My department is currently announcing vacancies for at least one (tenured/permanent) fulltime senior lecturer in practical philosophy – including ethics and moral philosophy of all kinds (including applied), ditto political philosophy, philosophy of law, of religion and of the humanities and social sciences, and philosophical aesthetics; that is, all philosophy that deals somehow with values and human action and practices. At our department, applied normative ethics, metaethics and moral responsibility (in a broad sense) are currently dominant research areas, and we collaborate clo... more »
HILLARY JUMPS IN WITH ALL HER BAGGAGE
*The coronation of the imperious Hillary Clinton is now officially underway with Hillary's declaration today but she brings with her candidacy much baggage ~ which includes her chief advisor and former president Bill Clinton. Hillary's announced low key campaign cannot hide the fact that she is already a high risk lightening rod, obviously in bed with the global elite and Wall Street and seemingly out of touch with an increasingly impatient and skeptical progressive base: Allen L Roland, Ph.D* *“Those of us who follow politics seriously rather than view it as a game show do not... more »
Kiev Army Steals from the People
From Donetsk in eastern Ukraine
Manifest unitarity and information loss in gravitational collapse
*Guest blog by Prof Dejan Stojkovic, University of Buffalo* Dear Lubos, First, I would like to thank you very much for his kind invitation for a guest post. I am certainly honored by this gesture. We recently published a paper titled “Radiation from a Collapsing Object is Manifestly Unitary” in PRL. The title was carefully chosen (note the absence of the term “black hole”) because of its potential implications for a very touchy issue of the information loss paradox. I will use this opportunity to explain our points of view. The information loss paradox is one of the most persist... more »
AEC 8: Trade, Competition and Innovation in the ASEAN
November last year, I attended the Philippine Economic Society (PES) annual conference. Several panel discussions to choose in the afternoon sessions. I think I missed this STRIDE panel because I attended the panel on energy policy. Copy-pasting portions of this presentation by Dr. Rafaelita Aldaba, formerly with PIDS and been Assistant Secretary at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). I think many of the analytical tools and recommendations here can apply to the rest of ASEAN and other countries. Some useful data on R&D spending for some ASEAN countries. *Part II. Li... more »
April 12: This is not a sermon...
......this is a about the disaster that we call organized religion. And that ain't no sermon. Nor do I care about the hocus pocus of The Bible - about whether there is a heaven or hell or Jesus walked on water, or whether there is a God who can do the 100 metres in nine seconds flat. Worse, these things are based on self-interest. And self-interest is NOT what religious teaching is about. (or it shouldn't be.) Religion should be a force that gets out noses out of our own belly buttons so we can see the world around us, and can make informed judgements about how we should behave tow... more »
Editor's Note
It is Russian Orthodox Easter today .... which means eating, drinking, and talking today. Blogging will return when everyone has left later tonight.
Back to Andy...
Just a few more thoughts on this week's *Andrew Marr Show...* I don't think there can be too much complaint about the spread of guests, politics-wise (except from ungenerous political partisans). It spread from left to right, going from Natalie Bennett through Harriet Harman and Lesley Riddoch to George Osborne and Peter Hitchens. (And, for any Scots Nats, Lesley was there to put the nationalist point of view too.) If we were to draw a scale of hostility between Andrew Marr's all-guns-blazing interview with George Osborne and his less intense interview with Harriet Harman, where wo... more »
U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence: A Massive Chinese Naval Buildup Is Occurring
U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence *Washington Times/Washington Free Beacon*: *U.S. warns of giant Chinese naval buildup: ‘Major qualitative improvements’* *China has deployed a new high-speed anti-ship cruise missile and is sharply expanding an armada of advanced guided-missile warships and submarines, according to a naval intelligence report made public Thursday.* *The Office of Naval Intelligence, in its first unclassified assessment of the Chinese navy in six years, revealed deployment of the new YJ-18 supersonic anti-ship cruise missile on warships and submarines that analys... more »
These Are The 5 Key Demands That The US Dropped During The Iranian Nuclear Talks
Foreign ministers from other world powers joined Secretary of State John Kerry in an effort to reach the outlines of a nuclear accord with Iran by a midnight Tuesday deadline. Credit Pool photo by Brendan Smialowski *The Hill:* *5 key demands US dropped in Iran talks* *The framework deal on Iran's nuclear program has come under heavy scrutiny as the Obama administration seeks to sell the agreement to skeptical lawmakers.Many of the terms mark a shift from President Obama's stated goals at the start of negotiations 18 months ago.Democrats and the White House say those change... more »
Tennessee's Deal with the Devil
*Part 1: NAEP and ACT* When Tennessee accepted the millions of dollars and grant-writing help from the corporate foundations to get their state application in shape to win the $501 million grant from Race to the Top in 2010, Tennessee accepted the role as poster state for corporate education reform, along with all the visibility that comes with it. In doing so, a deal was made that cost the state that tiny part of its educational soul and integrity that had not already sucked away by 25 years of value-added testing. Arne Duncan has visited Tennessee a number of times (with and wit... more »
Angles and Mishaps
Just to share a couple of other election-related observations... Firstly, do *you* detect a particular angle being pushed on the Tories' latest election pledge in the following framing remarks from Mark Mardell on Radio 4 and John Pienaar on Radio 5 Live?: *Mark Mardell*, *Broadcasting House*: We're in Glasgow looking at what could turn out to be *the* defining story of the general election - the predicted SNP surge - and I've been out and about in Edinburgh seeing if Labour and the other parties are managing a fight-back. I'll be talking to some of the party leaders here in Scotl... more »
Behind Oil Prices
This week, writing for the energy news site Oilprce.com, Dan Doyle tried to shed some light on the dozen media misconceptions about oil prices that have the public the most confused. Doyle penned his article for the sake of investors. But I wonder how many policy-makers have bought into these misconceptions as well. *Misperception #1:* Goldman Sachs knows what is going on. This is incorrect. Goldman Sachs should not be quoted extensively. They are notoriously wrong when forecasting tops and bottoms. What they are good at is jumping on the band wagon and stoking fires. Their forec... more »
A Look At The Last Bilderberg Meeting
The US supreme allied commander in Europe, General Philip Breedlove (left), leaves the Marriot hotel in Copenhagen after discussing Ukraine PR *The Guardian:* * Bilderberg on Ukraine: military chiefs, arms bosses and billionaire speculators* *A gathering of those who stand to make a killing out of knowing where and when the bombs might fall, how many and on whomJust before lunch on Friday, two cars left the Marriott hotel in Copenhagen in quick succession. First to leave was laden down with US military brass. It carried the supreme allied commander in Europe, General Philip ... more »
Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, April 12th, 2015
[image: rant-jpeg-b] Yes, it is Sunday again, and as usual, it is time for my weekly rant... I personally am most disgusted by what I am watching happening in our sick world today... Everywhere I turn I see so much despair with people everywhere walking around in a daze while the world goes to heck... It does appear that the lunatics that run our nations are now rushing headlong into what looks like World War III and most do not give a damn about the consequences, especially the thought that such a war could indeed mean the end of civilization as we know it... Just the other day, ... more »
Sunday Song
Ukrainian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa was recently scheduled to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra but the show was cancelled due to her support for the self-defense forces in eastern Ukraine who are currently battling the US-NATO sponsored regime in Kiev. Russian folk singer Pelageia
Kanaka Monitor Mauna Kea During Temporary Halt of Construction
KANAKA CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA. THEIR MOVEMENT HAS GALVANIZED DURING A TEMPORARY HALTING OF CONSTRUCTION Media Contacts: Kaiulani Milham Kamahana Kealoha sacredmaunakea@gmail.com (MAUNA KEA, Hawai'i Island, April 11, 2015) — Kanaka protectors and supporters continue to maintain their vigil at 9,000 feet above sea level to protect Mauna Kea, also
Contempt - Always And Everywhere
http://www.thespec.com/ Evidence emerged last week that, when concerns were expressed about Mike Duffy being appointed to the Senate from P.E.I., Stephen Harper brushed them aside as irrelevant. The evidence should remind us that Harper's default position -- on everything -- is contempt. Frances Russell writes: As Parliament and Canadians ready themselves for the unrolling of one of the juiciest Conservative scandals in Canada’s colourful history – the Mike Duffy, Pamela Walin, Patrick Brazeau Senate Expenses Affair – one of the co... more »
Economic News and Views ( April 12 , 2015 ) - Recap of Greece Situation ( Creditor Talks , Internal and External Politics Touching on Greece - News and Views ) ..... Europe in Focus ( Spanish Polling Numbers , QE , Eurozone Economic Issues , Brussels )
Tweets.... Greece.... The Greek Analyst retweeted *Hugo Dixon* @Hugodixon · 21h21 hours ago Happy Greek Easter [image: Embedded image permalink] Yannis Koutsomitis follows *Trending Greece News* @greekolizer 2m 2 minutes ago Varoufakis: ‘Very Confident’ on Greek Deal by April 24... http:// greece.trendolizer.com/2015/04/varouf akis-very-confident-on-greek-deal-by-april-24.html … [image: Embedded image permalink] Parina Stiakaki and 5 others follow *Aliki Chapple* @amaenad 4h 4 hours ago This is very good, but I don't think they can "speak with one voice"... more »
Untitled
*What do we want? To be treated like children!* It’s springtime in London and the air is once again thick with student revolt and dry shampoo. Over recent weeks, student occupations have sprung up at the London School of Economics (LSE), Goldsmiths, the University of the Arts London (UAL) and King’s College London, as shower-dodging young radicals have camped out in meeting rooms, lobbies and academic buildings in what one King’s student has dubbed ‘a nationwide protest against our increasingly neoliberal, undemocratic and restrictive education system’. Taking their lead from a si... more »
A Look At 9 DARPA Projects
*We Are The Mighty/Business Insider*: *The 9 weirdest projects DARPA is working on* *The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) works on some very outlandish projects.* *One of its stated mission goals is to cause “technological surprise” for America’s enemies. They want enemy fighters to get to the battlefield, look at what they’re facing off against, and go, “What the hell?”* *These are some DARPA projects that could help make that a reality.* *WNU Editor*: I like #1 .... Airships that can haul 2 million pounds of gear (see above video).
One Last Look At The Real Economy Before It Implodes - Part 4
Brandon Smith In the first three installments of this series, we examined the realities behind supply and demand, unemployment and personal debt, and national debt. As has been proven in each consecutive article with ample evidence, mainstream establishment numbers are, for the most part, utter garbage. They are not legitimate. They are meaningless. The figures and stats that do have some truth to them are so obscured from the public view and unreported by the media that they may as well be state secrets. The average person has no clue of their existence because his primary sourc... more »
Untitled
*Microbes eating melting Artic soil will add 'substantial amounts' of carbon to the atmosphere, researchers warn* *A good thing, then, that temperatures seem to be insensitive to CO2 levels* Frozen Arctic and sub-Arctic soil that thaws from global warming will add substantial amounts of carbon to the atmosphere in the form of greenhouse gases, accelerating climate change the rest of the century, but it won't come in a sudden burst, researchers say in a new paper. A review by government and academic experts concludes that harmful carbon dioxide and methane generated by microbes dig... more »
West Midlands Tory Party Shambles
I was out doing my bit for the Tories' coming defeat in Stafford yesterday with Kate Godfrey and the local Labour team. As we were busily knocking on doors and stuffing letter boxes, Kate bumped into a postie out on his rounds. And what he had to say was very interesting. For once, the posties were relatively pleased with the Tories. Royal Mail had authorised Saturday overtime to deliver their election address. This wasn't the free distribution each candidate standing is entitled to as part of our postal service's contribution to the democratic process. This was something the Torie... more »
Former CIA Agent Is Being Charged with Terrorism and Murder Over Drone Strike
Carey Wedler Two former CIA employees will be charged with murder, terrorism, conspiracy, and waging war in Pakistan regarding the agency’s highly-criticized drone program in the Middle East. This week, Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad high court in Pakistan ordered former CIA station chief, Jonathan Banks, and former CIA general counsel, John Rizzo (who gave the legal approval for the strikes), to be charged. Though the United States has performed over 400 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, the charges stem specifically from a 2009 incident that killed the son and... more »
Your Local Police Gets Federal Money To Work With Shadowy Surveillance Companies
Jake Anderson Before the events of 9/11, surveillance practices were fairly limited in scope for local police departments. Warrants would be obtained for phone logs, wiretaps and searches; while some departments abused those privileges, most complied with federal and state laws. Now, however, a new type of surveillance has arisen and police departments today are loath to let the public in on their practices. Funded by grants from the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement agencies are using equipment that the average citizens not only does not know about, but is a... more »
Syria: America's Democratic Terrorists?
Tony Cartalucci Making headlines recently has been Al Qaeda’s temporary seizure of the city of Idlib, in Idlib province, northern Syria. The embattled city lies just miles from NATO-member Turkey’s borders. With the Syrian Arab Army controlling the south of Idlib, it is clear that militants based in and supplied via Turkey took part in the operation, leading the Syrian government itself to accuse the NATO member of directly supporting Al Qaeda. Reuters in its article, “Syrian military source alleges Turkish role in Idlib offensive,” noted: A Syrian military source accused Turke... more »
The TPP Paves The Way For World Government
By Dan Dicks A coalition of major business groups is urging Stephen Harper to take a “leadership role” in completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Dan Dicks of Press For Truth breaks down the latest news on the TPP front. Visit PressForTruth.ca *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email
Paradise Stolen - The Myth of Terrorism
Anthony Freda Art *Activist Post* Part 1 of this video series from Stefan Verstappen was a warning to children about a world that was stolen from them. It offered a stark condemnation to adults who continue to ignore the reality of the wicked ways in which government has used their money, both donated and extorted. Part 2 suggested that the innate practicality of small, sustainable communities is a solution to the massive mismanagement by a government dedicated solely to a megacorporate/banker/war economy. Our modern economic system is actually not one built upon efficiency, as ... more »
NASA Puzzled By Massive Methane Cloud Above Miles of Fracking Wells
*YouTuber only needs seconds to help solve methane mystery that has establishment scientists puzzled.* By Dutchsinse News broke early morning April 9, 2015 that a giant cloud of methane has been detected over Southern Colorado / Northern New Mexico near the Four Corners region where Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico meet. NASA + NOAA , as well as several other organizations are puzzled about the source of the methane.. blaming natural causes, and coal operations? Maybe they don't have access to Google Earth, which might explain why they don't know the "cause" of the giant ... more »
Big Brother Used to Levy Fines and Cut Services to Water Wasters
By Truthstream Media Welcome to Agenda 21 meets 1984. During this historic drought in California, so-called "water wasters" are not only being hunted down via their smart meter data and fined up to $500 a day for "wasting water" outside their restricted use times, but now people who have been labeled "water wasters" are also being threatened with having their water completely shut off! Neighbors all over California are also being turned into see something, say something Nazi-esque State Snitches against one another in a "droughtshaming" campaign that's used by the establishment t... more »
''Al-Qaeda Linked Rebels'' Are Al-Qaeda
Anthony Freda Art Brandon Turbeville Since the beginning of the Western-backed foreign invasion of jihadist terrorists into Syria in late 2010, the American and Western mainstream media has attempted to present the death squad fighters on the ground as two-sided – one group being Islamist extremists and the other being “moderate rebels.” As I have documented extensively, this characterization is entirely inaccurate as there is no such thing as a moderate rebel in Syria. Still, this information has not stopped major media outlets from producing presentations in stark contrast to... more »
School Idiocy: Ban All the Things!
Aaron Dykes and Melissa Melton Have you seen the movie *Idiocracy*? Nothing is too absurd for our public (government indoctrination camps) schools to ban and punish children over these days. Today’s headlines read more like *The Onion* than reality, but it’s actually not even remotely funny that the majority of our nation’s kids are being subjected to this idiotic lunacy every single day. The extension of zero tolerance policies on guns to toy guns, fake guns and wild imaginations has baffled parents and instituted a culture of fear that aims punish children for seemingly innoc... more »
Media Pushing the Idea That Fukushima Radiation Is Just Fine For Swimming In
Melissa Melton The mainstream media and their experts are finally openly admitting that radiation from the crippled nuclear reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the initial meltdown of which was equivalent to 168 of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima during World War II, has reached North American shores, *but don’t worry*. Everything, according to the system, is just fine and dandy. Via the Statesman Journal, April 6, 2015: It’s the first time radioactivity from the March 2011 triple meltdown has been identified on West Coast shores. Woods Hole chemical oce... more »
Spoils of War: How Private Military Contractors Legally Steal From Taxpayers
By Brave News Films War companies like Halliburton and Kellogg Brown and Root use "cost plus" arrangements to legally steal from taxpayers. This must-watch clip is from the documentary film, "Iraq For Sale" WATCH THE FULL FILM: http://bit.ly/1Htzl63 Visit BraveNewFilms.org *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email
Can Drones Give Us a Greener World?
*Video - *Lauren Fletcher explains his vision of helping the environment by using drones to automate industrial scale reforestation. The post Can Drones Give Us a Greener World? appeared first on Waking Times.
That Oil Spill
I got nothing to say about it that Alison at Creekside didn't already say, except that the brilliance of closing coast guard stations and marine traffic control centers, in a place where you plan on increasing oil tanker traffic is just typical harpercon thinking, through and through. Closing necessary services to afford useless tax-cuts for the wealthy? That's been standard operating procedure in Canada for decades now. But just stack this up beside making veterans with amputated limbs fill out forms every year saying their conditions haven't changed, ... heck, put it down with ... more »
Medical Choice Under Attack as SB277 Passes CA Health Committee
Jefferey Jaxen As parents and concerned citizens rallied in Sacramento to oppose Senate Bill 277, the Senate Health Committee advanced the bill with a 6 to 2 vote. In what the Sergeant at Arms described as “The biggest turnout I’ve seen in 15 years,” the signed bill now faces further challenges on the way to law. In California, where solutions appear to always remove rights from the citizen and replace them with control, hope for individual freedoms is getting hard to come by. While the state grapples with laughable solutions put forward by Gov. Jerry Brown to end a drought, paren... more »
The 3D Printed Firearm Has Been Taken to the Next Level
Joshua Krause When Cody Wilson unveiled the first 3D printed firearm in 2012, it was earth-shattering news. Even though the gun had limited practical applications in the real world, it was still an incredibly novel concept with huge implications for the future. Since that time, several additional homemade firearm designs have caused both outrage and adoration from the public, especially in regards to 3D printed AR lowers. However, it seems like the whole 3D printing scene has cooled off a bit. It’s a little under the radar now. People are getting used to the concept, and as the t... more »
Balanced-Budget Law, fiscal or political?
With Canadians still waiting to see whats in the much delayed budget Finance Minister Joe Oliver has just *announced plans for a balanced-budget law* (as promised by the Conservatives in the 2013 throne speech). Call me a cynic but after having *inherited a 13.8 Billion surplus* from the Liberals and having then *spent it all *BEFORE the recession hit and then produced 7 consecutive budget deficits is this more about handcuffing any incoming government from fixing their mess than concern about the national debt? *"The only acceptable deficit would be one that responds to a recessio... more »
Untitled
*Voters to decide on tax hike for public libraries ~Liz Reyez, WVUE* *Keith Gee remembered by friends as lifelong Saints fan and Louisiana horse racing advocate ~Katherine Terrell* *Sheriff’s Office doesn’t pay deputies for all time worked, federal labor suit alleges ~Charles Maldonado, The Lens* *St. Roch Consumer Price Index ~Library Chronicles* *IndyCar cancels qualifying in New Orleans ~SpeedCafe.com* *Five years later, no final judgment on oil spill’s effect on Gulf wildlife ~The Advocate*
Andy is mean to George
This morning on Twitter *#marr *was, for a while, the No.1 trending hashtag in the UK. What had driven the Twitterati into a maenad-like ecstatic frenzy was Andrew Marr's interview with George Osborne. People who comment on Twitter about *#marr *tend to be overwhelmingly (and aggressively) left-wing, which is why their regular accusations of pro-Tory bias on Andrew Marr's part should be taken with several mountains of salt... ...and such complaints of pro-Tory bias were still coming in right up to the George Osborne interview. Then they stopped. Suddenly, endless tweets began ... more »
Defending the Sacred in Hawai'i
Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL Hawai‘i News Now – Hundreds rally against Thirty Meter Telescope at UH Manoa campus
Su-27 Intercepts US Spy Plane Heading Into Russian Airspace
[image: Su-27SM3 Flanker]The US RC-135U reconnaissance plane was flying towards the Russian border with its transponder switched off, a Defense Ministry spokesman said in Moscow Saturday. Maj.-General Igor Konashenkov said that an unidentified airborne target was spotted over the Baltic Sea by Russian air defenders on April 7 flying directly towards the Russian border. A Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled to inspect the target. Moving up to the unidentified aircraft the Russian pilot flew around it several times, made sure it was a US RC-135U reconnaissance plane and reported its tail ... more »
Can America's 6th Generation Fighter Jets Rule the Skies?
[image: F/A-XX concept]The U.S. Navy’s sixth generation F/A-XX replacement for the service’s aging fleet of Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters should be designed primarily for an air-to-air role. A strike capability can be treated as a secondary concern, at least that’s the view of some industry officials. According to some industry insiders with deep knowledge of both the Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter and the Super Hornet, neither jet can adequately handle new threats like the Chinese Chengdu J-20 or the Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA. The Chinese J-20 is parti... more »
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me every five years - that's democracy!
What's in a manifesto? Politicians make their careers more promising by promising more. Most of all during a closely fought general election where no party expects a majority. In these tight contests a goon with a gatling could not fire off promises faster nor more recklessly. Party manifesto writers confidently disregard truth because win or lose politicians will get away scot-free with
Israeli Drone Maker Has $6 Billion Backlog and a Red-Hot Stock
[image: Hermes 900 UAS]U.S. military spending may be flat, but that’s not proving to be much of a problem for Israeli defense company Elbit Systems Ltd. That’s because the company, while long dependent on the U.S. for much of its sales, has been shifting its focus to faster growing markets in Asia and Latin America. Elbit said last month that demand from those regions helped push up its backlog of orders to $6.3 billion at year-end, an 8 percent jump from 2013. The stock has rallied 13 percent since, touching a record $74.55 in New York on April 7. Read more
China's J-31 stealth fighter may have VTOL capability: expert
[image: J-31 Gyrfalcon]In building up its military might in the South China Sea, China is likely to re-design its second fifth-generation stealth fighter, the J-31, with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, according to Vasily Kashin, a Russian military expert cited in the Moscow-based Sputnik News. China is constructing its first amphibious assault ship to prepare the People's Liberation Army Navy for possible conflict in the disputed regions of the South China Sea. Once construction of the vessel is completed, only fighters with vertical takeoff and landing gear will be ab... more »
Valuable contracts to scrap Navy ships being lost to foreign companies
[image: HMS Invincible is scrapped]A British family firm is fighting to end the forlorn sight of once-proud Royal Navy warships being torn to pieces for scrap on foreign beaches. Swansea Drydocks is vying for the contract to break up three decommissioned British frigates. The company is hoping to beat foreign competition - primarily from Turkey - to win the tender to recycle unwanted Type 42 destroyers HMS Edinburgh, HMS Gloucester and HMS York. However, Swansea Drydocks Ltd (SDL) says it is facing an uphill battle on the soon to be announced contract because of cheaper labour costs... more »
Iran to launch new submarine soon: Navy commander
[image: Ghadir class SSM]Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says the Islamic Republic will soon launch a new domestically-manufactured submarine. Sayyari said Saturday that Iran is also working on a new destroyer and expressed hope that the vessel would join the Navy by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19, 2016). He added that the new destroyer features a variety of new military equipment and weapons. Read more
Food Watch: "One Grilled Cheese Is Not Enough, Two Grilled Cheese Are Too Many" (Beejoli Shah)
*by Ken* In case your calendar isn't already marked, tomorrow is National Grilled Cheese Day. In case you already have plans that don't involved grilled cheese, or a one-day celebration just won't cut it in your faith, April is also Grilled Cheese Month. Last year here at DWT we really did it up, National Grilled Cheese Day ("Don't Forget to Celebrate National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day"). Yes, we had it all: not only the $100 grilled-cheese sandwich but an assortment of variations on the theme that I can now reveal were made up in-house with a view to seeing how much assaul... more »
#NothingToDoWithIslam (2)
This morning's *Sunday *featured an interview with the former Chief Prosecutor for the north-west of England, Nazir Afzal, who worked to prosecute Muslim grooming gangs in Rochdale. Here's an extract from that interview: *Edward Stourton*: Some people would make a link between the religion of these men and what happened. Do you think there's anything there? *Nazir Afzal*: No. I mean, I'm a Muslim myself and I'm forbidden to drink, I'm forbidden to take drugs, I'm forbidden to abuse anybody, I'm forbidden to have sexual contact outside of marriage - all those things. Yet these perp... more »
Arab Gas Stations Threaten Pakistan For Taking Neutral Stance On Yemen; US-Turkey-Israel-Arab Gas Stations Create ISIS Terrorist State In Syria
*Photo: The murderers of the Yemeni people and the destroyers of mankind in the White House.* *An excerpt from, "UAE minister warns Pakistan of ‘heavy price for ambiguous stand’ on Yemen" Dawn.com, April 11, 2015:* Pakistani lawmakers’ call for the government to remain neutral on the escalating crisis in Yemen has evoked a strong response from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “The vague and contradictory stands of Pakistan and Turkey are an absolute proof that Arab security — from Libya to Yemen — is the responsibility of none but Arab countries,” UAE’s Minister of State for Foreig... more »
#NothingToDoWithIslam (1)
Here's a tweet that was sent to Radio 4's *Sunday* before it went on air: The 'abduction of girls in Nigeria' issue. Will we hear that it's #NothingToDoWithIslam during the @BBCR4Sunday programme this morning? — Ken Bromfield (@KenBromfield1) April 12, 2015 I bet the tweeter guessed the answer in advance. (Lots of people seem to be cottoning on to the BBC's ways). If so, he probably wouldn't have been surprised when this happened: @obyezeks Terrorists should not use religion for the savagery that they carry out. #bringbackourgirls — BBC Radio 4 Sunday (@BBCR4Sunday) April 12, 2015
Life As A Drone Pilot
*The Telegraph*: *Armchair killers: life as a drone pilot* *In the film Good Kill, Ethan Hawke plays a drone pilot troubled by his work. What's it really like to take a life from thousands of miles away with the push of a button? Its nickname is Predator Porn, and Paul Rolfe used to watch it 12 hours a day. Sometimes it was horrific, sometimes it was life affirming; mostly it was just dull. But whenever fellow soldiers at his airbase in Nevada wandered past the "live feeds" from his console, he'd notice how their eyes would wander to the screen and have trouble looking away.... more »
Smolin's lie about Dyson and Einstein
I need to apologize because my intuition about an episode of the history of science wasn't right. A commenter found a story about Dyson's and Einstein's interactions at Princeton on the Internet. And I found it totally plausible. Andrew of PopularTechnology.NET was skeptical and as of now, he has provided me with enough evidence that his skepticism was justified and my attempts to humiliate his skepticism were not substantiated. What was it all about? The story that the commenter found may be seen on this web page, The Trouble With Einstein, and it is an excerpt from the infamou... more »
Grounded: A Documentary About Earthing
*Film - **Grounded* is a film about earthing, a belief that the earth can cure all of man’s ailments. The post Grounded: A Documentary About Earthing appeared first on Waking Times.
Iraq Wants U.S. Arms But Wants To Pay For Them Later
Iraq's Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi speaks during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad March 31, 2015. Reuters/Ahmed Saad *Reuters: Exclusive: **Iraq's leader to seek arms, with deferred payment, on U.S. visit* *(Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister will seek President Barack Obama's help to acquire billions of dollars in drones and other U.S. arms to fight Islamic State during a U.S. visit next week but wants to defer payment for the purchases, a senior Iraqi official said.Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi is grappling with an insurgency by militants from Islamic St... more »
Retired PLA General responds to J Michael Cole
J Michael Cole's recent essay on Taiwan defense brought out the worst in a retired PRC general who, irate, called Cole elementary school playground names and then outlined how the PRC would assault Taiwan. Missile strikes on the west coast, subs blockading its ports, missile attacks from ships on the big air force base in Hualien (Google satellite image)(h/t to Solidaritytw). _______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
Unhealed wound of WWI: Armenia, Kurdistan and Palestine
*The eternal flame at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.* 100 years after the Armenian genocide, history is repeating itself around the same area. American-Turkish-British-French-Israeli-NATO-Saudi backed ISIS terrorist gangs in Syria and Iraq are committing new genocides under the pretext of liberating those countries from Shiite rule. They don't want to hear that Assad leads a secular government in Damascus, and that the central government in Iraq is not sectarian, because facts are inconvenient things. While they shout "down with the dictator Bashar" to attract the world's ... more »
President Obama: Partisanship On The Iranian Nuclear Talks Has 'Crossed Boundaries'
*Politico:* *Barack Obama to John McCain: Back off John Kerry* *The president responds to McCain's statement about Kerry being "delusional."* *Barack Obama wants John McCain to leave John Kerry alone.* *The president blasted the Arizona senator on Saturday for his recent comments questioning how forthcoming the secretary of state has been about what’s contained in the preliminary nuclear deal with Iran.* *During a press conference in Panama City, Obama praised Kerry’s service to the country, noting that he’s a former senator and a Vietnam veteran.* *For McCain (R-Ariz.) to imply ...more »
President Obama: Iran’s Leaders Using Nuclear Talks for Political Spin
U.S. President Barack Obama holds a news conference at the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama April 11, 2015. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst *Bloomberg: **Obama Says Iran’s Leaders Using Nuclear Talks for Political Spin * *U.S. President Barack Obama disputed Iranian leaders’ assertions that immediate sanctions relief would spring from a final nuclear accord, and faulted Senate Republicans for injecting partisanship into the negotiations.* *Obama said that phased reduction of penalties on the Islamic Republic was part of a preliminary accord reached last week... more »
A Very Brief Meeting Between Venezuelan President Maduro And President Obama At the Summit Of The Americas
U.S. President Barack Obama (front row, L) and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (top row, R) attend the inauguration ceremony of VII Summit of the Americas in Panama City April 10, 2015. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins *Reuters*: *Obama meets Venezuela's Maduro at time of high tensions* *(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro privately at a regional summit on Saturday and tried to ease tensions that surged after the United States recently placed sanctions on Venezuela.* *Maduro had earlier challenged Obama to discuss his decision to sancti... more »
Presidents Obama And Castro Meet In Panama
*BBC*:* Obama says Castro meeting a 'turning point' in US-Cuba relations* *US President Barack Obama has said that his meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro could be a "turning point".* *He described the meeting on the fringes of the Summit of the Americas as "candid and fruitful".* *Mr Obama said that the former foes would continue to have differences but that they could advance their mutual interests.* *The meeting was the first formal talk between the two countries' leaders in half a century.* *WNU Editor:* Will the Castro brothers change and put Cuba on a different path .... more »
UN: Humanitarian situation in Yemen getting worse by hour
*The House of Saud will fall. The two big questions are: Will it bring down the rest of the Middle East along with it? And will the U.S. stay on for the ride? The answers are probably yes and yes.* Title: UN: Humanitarian situation in Yemen getting worse by hour. Source: CCTV News. Date Published: April 10, 2015.
Yemeni Americans Left To Die By Shameless And Morally Bankrupt U.S. Government
s *In Yemen, China and India have rescued trapped citizens from other countries, but the shameless and morally bankrupt U.S. government will not even rescue its own citizens.* When shit hits the fan, and Armageddon comes, the U.S. government will not take care of its citizens. It will abandon them. It doesn't matter if you're in Yemen or Montana. It doesn't matter if you're a first responder or not. That's the truth and don't ever forget it. You have to be self-reliant and prepare ahead of time for disasters and traumatic events. Just because the U.S. is a superpower doesn't mean sh... more »
Singapore, LKY and the PH Archipelago
The quick development and modernization of Singapore (expelled from Malaysia August 1965) into an industrialized economy in just about two decades is indeed phenomenal. The role of former PM Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) as Singapore strongman plus the market-oriented economy it adopted were key to this fast development. Why LKY was able to develop Singapore, compared to Marcos of the PH and Suharto of Indonesia? A friend of a friend has a witty but good explanation: LKY and Singapore (and Korea, Japan, Taiwan, HK, China) are Confucian. Marcos and Suharto were just confused. :-) A friend pos... more »
This Animation of the Fibonacci Sequence Will Take Your Breath Away
*Video -* Breathtaking animation of the Fibonacci sequence in all of its glory. The post This Animation of the Fibonacci Sequence Will Take Your Breath Away appeared first on Waking Times.
OFW Death, PH Embassy in Riyadh and Al Rajhi Bank
Last May 07, 2014 or almost one year ago, my sister in law, Gemma B. Oplas, a nurse at King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), died of MERS CoV. I wrote it here, Two issues followed: (1) repatriation of her body back to our province in Negros Occidental, and (2) getting the benefit package that KFMC gave to Gemma's family, my younger brother Bonifacio/Bobong and their only child, Lois. After the mandatory body freezing + several problems with an airline, I wrote it here, Gemma's body was finally repatriated and buried the same day as its arrival in... more »
Los Angeles-- A Great City Plan For Going Into The Future
I met Eric Garcetti at the home of a mutual friend years and years ago. He was running for City Council and he was happy to talk with me about the issues facing Los Angeles. But he didn't talk about the issues everybody else was talking about. Garcetti, the son of former L.A. District Attorney Gil Garcetti, studied urban planning at Columbia University and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford. I remember being more impressed by his urban studies education and his vision for L.A. than I was with the specifics of standard politics. Eric was a champion of environmental... more »
George Carlin, “The American Dream”; Strong Language Alert!
*Strong Language Alert!* *George Carlin, “The American Dream”* “There's a reason for this, there's a reason education sucks, and it's the same reason it will never ever ever be fixed. It's never going to get any better. Don't look for it. Be happy with what you've got... because the owners of this country don’t want that. I'm talking about the real owners now... the real owners. The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. *The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You d... more »
Satire: “Heinous Waste of Money Officially Begins”
*“Heinous Waste of Money Officially Begins”* by Andy Borowitz WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)— “The two major political parties’ unconscionable waste of money officially commences this weekend, as Democrats and Republicans will soon begin spending an estimated five billion dollars of their corporate puppet masters’ assets in an unquenchable pursuit of power. The billions, which could be spent rebuilding the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, improving schools, or reducing the scourge of malaria in Africa, will instead be squandered in a heinous free-for-all of slander and personal... more »
Back-from-the-dead Ringers
*Dead Ringers *is a Radio 4 institution - though it's one that seemed to die a natural death a few years ago, after the Blair-Brown government passed into history. Its humour always combined something of the lightness of Blair [minus the wars] with the great clunking fist of Brown, so its revival a year ago seemed somewhat out-of-its-time. Yet it still makes me chortle...sporadically. It's back again for the election. Alan at *Biased BBC* isn't a fan. His point - that the cruelest satire on this week's edition, including imputations of racism and wrongdoing, was directed at th... more »
April 11: up your daffodil
The front page has a big photo of preparations for the daffodil ball, when rich husbands buy expensive gowns for their rich wives, and pay for an expensive meal - all to help the poor. God bless --somebody. A 6 has a fawning story about the ball (which looks remarkably like the story the TandT carried yesterday.) Well, I'm sure it won't hurt us to read it again. And, again, in this rerun of yesterday's story, we are told that corporation heads. business board members, etc., are the leaders of our society. What the hell makes them leaders in a democratic society? Well, they're our l... more »
A bold Member of the German Parliament lashes Chancellor Merkel for abandoning Germany's post-war priorities of unity for Europe and a good neighbor policy with Russia. She remined the Chancellor that the influential think-tank Stratfor had recently explained the US interest in Europe, i.e., to prevent coordination between Germany and Russia, since, literally “united they are the only power that can threaten us.” Furthermore, as a result of bowing to the US "Ukraine has lost the great part of its industry. Today, the country is a bankrupt state, where people go hungry, shiver, and have salaries lower than people have in Ghana." And that "...the confrontation with Russia has not only destroyed Ukraine, it has damaged all of Europe." "Here in Germany meanwhile, in consequence of these policies, three million people, in spite of having a job, are so poor they can’t stay warm, haven’t enough to eat — let alone afford going on a vacation!"
------------------------------ Bundestag speech by MP Sahra Wagenknecht: EU policy has destroyed Ukraine and damaged Europe Posted on *Fort Russ Original Here* Speech in Bundestag by Sahra Wagenknecht. March 19, 2015 April 9, 2015 *Translated from German by Tom Winter* Mr President, honored ladies and gentlemen, Frau Chancellor. At your best times, German foreign policy had two priorities: Unity for Europe and a good neighbor policy with Russia. It should give you food for thought, Fr... more »
Weight Watch: Packing a few extra pounds? It may mean you've got a better shot at maintaining your marbles
*"Patients were an average 55 years old and 45,507 of them developed dementia over an average of nine years. The risk of dementia fell steadily as their weight rose, the researchers found."* *-- from* "Being fat in middle age reduces risk of developing dementia, researchers say" *by Ken* A bit of the way into her report, *Washington Post* reporter Daniela Deane makes the point that "obesity levels, like dementia levels, are soaring worldwide." But according to the study that's the subject of Daniela's report, contrary to what you might assume, the two are not traveling on parallel... more »
"Drunken night of temptation"
Not BBC-bias-related in any way - and at the risk of sounding like a BBC reporter on Twitter or a BBC comedian - but... Oh...My....God...The.Daily.Mail! I've been wanting to post something about their splash headline for most of the day but only just remembered now that our blog's official title ends with the words "...and any other matters that take our fancy", and this takes my fancy, so... Oh...My....God...The.Daily.Mail!: Caught on camera: Married Lib Dem 'feminist' who is running for Parliament is filmed with stripper in drunken night of temptation You've got to admire the ... more »
More Neo-Nazi Attacks on the Public in Eastern Ukraine
*"Krivbas" battalion attacked the dwellers of Krivoy Rog* *Viktoriya Shylova, the leader of "Antivoyna" (Anti-War) movement appealed to her countrymen on her page in Facebook:* Dear fellow citizens! Today it is dangerous to honestly fulfill the duties of a member of the Regional Council in the Dnepropetrovsk Region. It is much more dangerous than in Kiev. In the capital of Ukraine the rally of protest against the rising of utility prices went peacefully, and in Krivoy Rog it was scattered by the mercenaries from "Krivbas" battalion and the radical scum from the Right Sector. Let... more »
Woe on the Border(s)
By a curious coincidence, both ITV News and BBC Radio 4's *Today* broadcast election reports from the same constituency with a day of each other this week. That constituency was Penrith and the Border. As that's both my childhood and my ancestral stamping ground, I was very interested in both reports. Oddly, the BBC chose, consistently, to misname the constituency 'Penrith and the Borders'. There's, in fact, no 's' on the last word of the constituency's name - something ITV got right. (Quite why a lavishly-resourced media outlet like the BBC can't even get the name of the const... more »
Inca’s Treasure – Peruvian Maca Can Boost Your Sexual Energy and Vitality
*Sarah Williams* - You may have heard of maca root as nature’s form of Viagra. The post Inca’s Treasure – Peruvian Maca Can Boost Your Sexual Energy and Vitality appeared first on Waking Times.
Australia Becomes First Country to Ban Lion Trophies
*Jeremy Hance* - "You don’t deserve the right to celebrate the slaughter of these amazing creatures." The post Australia Becomes First Country to Ban Lion Trophies appeared first on Waking Times.
Smashing Atoms… for God
*Julian Rose* - For most people it remains the case: we were given free will and we chose to be slaves. The post Smashing Atoms… for God appeared first on Waking Times.
Not So Happy Trails
So, it all ended up with a hilarious Nigerian banker-type email I got from someone through Craigslist. The story doesn't begin so humorously. But I'm deliberately putting the cart before the ox. (Sometimes when listening to generic surf music, I fancy I'm the Quentin Tarantino of bloggers. But enough time displacement.) It started two days ago when my formerly even-tempered landlord of just over six years and I got into a completely unnecessary pissing match via text messaging. It stemmed from a separate pissing match he'd gotten into with his (now former) waste removal co... more »
Exposing Putin TV
I've not had much time to follow BBC-related matters in recent days, but I did spot a post by Gene at *Harry's Place *which praised a familiar BBC journalist - namely former BBC Middle East correspondent Natalia Antelava - for a piece she did from Ukraine. This admirably debunked Russian media claims that Ukrainian bombing resulted in the death of a young girl. It certainly is a compelling piece of reporting and one that, on Twitter, has sent the Krembots into a state of malicious frenzy. It's a shame, however, that Natalia's determination to expose Putiwood (as it might be cal... more »
Lee sard brains here ther and everywhere
Do you know John Prine if not this is a discuion wanderig off on some hope you know your a living thing Some times I think I am an artist then I hear John Prine sing and realize that even with the best crayons I could not bring colour to to the world about which he sings. God love you John Prine the rednecks Bob Dylan and to say that without context would be a crime no where in any of your lyicvs d do I read that hanging Niggers should be a part of the social compact They usesd to hang Niggers every day and now to be polictical correct they will say something elese but the niggers that h... more »
The Original Roswell Slides will not be In Mexico City
Well, there is a new development in the saga of the Roswell Slides announced over at the UFO Conjectures blog. It seems that the originals will not put in an appearance in Mexico City. Instead, those who shell out their cash, and any media who show up, will be treated to copies. I’m sure that they’ll be high quality copies, much better than the screen grabs that we’ve been saddled with for the last several weeks but they will still be copies. But here’s the thing. Without the originals, there will be no real way to prove that the slide film was manufactured in 1947, there will be n... more »
Complaining about 'PM' - A Cautionary Tale
Please brace yourselves for a very long post, but as we've been quiet for a few days (for various reasons)... You may recall a post we did recently about an edition of Radio 4's *PM* (3 April) where UKIP appeared to be on the receiving end of an unusually high number of attacks (well, unusual for a single edition of a BBC current affairs programme during a general election that is.) You may also recall Rod Liddle's take on the same programme at the *Spectator*: I caught Radio 4 PM programme on the way home, on Friday. Its coverage of the debate consisted of taking three stateme... more
CC Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 license
Size: 350x233px
CC Attribution 2.5 license
Size: 350x513px
State-run oil company Petrobras has purged corrupt managers and put a graft scandal behind it, while hitting record output levels from offshore deposits, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said Thursday. The indictment of former senior executives of Petroleo Brasileiro SA and the investigation of dozens of political allies of Rousseff in the ...
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The Obama administration has again invited Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff for a state visit to Washington, a diplomatic breakthrough that both sides hope will lead over time to greater trade between the two biggest economies in the Americas. The post Exclusive - U.S. bets on ...
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Hundreds of thousands of chiefly white middle class protesters took to the streets in Brazil on 15 March in an organized upsurge of hatred against the federal administration led by President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores,... Vía Global Research http://ift.tt/1DjhFZW ...
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment