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Thomas Paine

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

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

8 April - Blogs I'm Following

10:35pm MDST

Picture Of The Day

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 5 minutes ago
Twelve U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron taxi onto the runway during the Forceful Tiger exercise on Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 1, 2015. During the aerial exercise, the Stratotankers delivered 800,000 pounds of fuel to approximately 50 aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Marcus Morris)

What The World's Religious Landscape Will Look Like In 2050

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 34 minutes ago
A heat map of the world's Muslim landscape in 2050 *The Telegraph:* *Mapped: What the world's religious landscape will look like in 2050* *Christianity will remain the world's top religion despite the growth of Islam and atheism increases in the West. Click on the map to find out what the status of the world's faiths will be 35 years from now .Islam is the world's fastest growing religion but despite the increasing numbers, Christians will still outnumber Muslims in 2050, a new report has found.Religion, despite its decline in the West as the map above shows, is proliferat... more »

A Look At The Slow U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 39 minutes ago
*CNN:** The last Americans: What's left behind after the U.S. pulls out of Afghanistan* *Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN)It is a strangely detached scene for the close of America's longest war: military trainers bouncing between multi-million dollar, high security bases, on Black Hawks, miles from the front line.* *But it is how Washington wants this to be. And even though the departure of American troops will be fractionally slower, they will all be inside the U.S. Embassy by the end of next year, making these some of their last weeks outside of the wire.* *We are near Jalalabad, at a r... more »

Federal judge halts expansion of Navajo coal mine

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 40 minutes ago
Contact:            Shiloh Hernandez, Western Environmental Law Center, hernandez@westernlaw.org Sarah White, Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment Mike Eisenfeld, San Juan Citizens Alliance, mike@sanjuancitizens.org Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org Nellis Kennedy-Howard, Sierra Club, nellis.khoward@sierraclub.org Rachel

Obama puts up the DUKES!

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 1 hour ago
Obama bought his bristol board from the same ACME shop that both Wile E Coyote and Benji Netanyahoo shop at. Drop the mike Barack! Then he gives his other planetary nemesis a swift kick of time pressure on a decision that Harper had hoped to punt until after the election. No such luck. So you can free trade and sign the disaster for the citizens TPP, or you can put an end to Canada's supply management and definitely lose the election. Barak says " Hey Steve"

Real Purpose of Chemtrails Revealed by Ex Government Employee

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 1 hour ago
*Video -* A short compelling interview with ex-government employee, the late AC Griffith, who discusses military use of the covert aerosol program that we know as chemtrails. The post Real Purpose of Chemtrails Revealed by Ex Government Employee appeared first on Waking Times.

The Pentagon Is Returning To The Cheyenne Mountain Complex

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 hour ago
The entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain base in Colorado. (Photo : Twitter Photo Section) *Daily Mail:* *Why is the military moving back into 'Stargate' base deep under the Rocky Mountains a decade after it was abandoned? * * * Cheyenne Mountain Complex being refurbished by Pengaton * High tech communications being installed that are impervious to electromagnetic pulses * The bunker is build under 2,000 feet of the Rocky Mountains and is able to withstand a hit by a 30 megaton nuclear blast * Decommissioned 10-years ago because 'the Russians were no longer a threat' The Che... more »

New directions in academic publishing

Josh Busby at Duck of Minerva - 2 hours ago
I’ve wrote a post today with Bethany Albertson for The Monkey Cage. The post reports the findings from a recent article we wrote for the relatively new academic journal Research and Politics. The article includes a survey experiment we conducted to assess what messages, if any, the American public finds persuasive on climate change. Both represent interesting departures in the academic blogosphere […]

The Honda Crosstour is Dead:Why was it ever alive?

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 2 hours ago
I love the Honda Motor Company. To me they are the Montreal Canadiens of Car Companies. Yet they have drafted and played a lot of visual trash in their lineup over the years. The Honda Crosstour was their Aztec.A temple of car designed with Meth in mind. Why not just make a beautiful wagon instead of an aborted foetus of car design? H/T Jalopnik The Montreal Canadiens of Car Blogs

A Look At Why Last Week's Iranian Nuclear Talks Did Not Collapse

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 2 hours ago
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini arrive to deliver statements after nuclear talks April 2 in Lausanne, Switzerland. (Pool/Reuters) *Carol Morello and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post*: *At the talks on Iran’s nuclear program, near-collapse and then a breakthrough* *At 10 p.m. on March 27, Secretary of State John F. Kerry strode through the carpeted hallways of the Beau-Rivage Palace hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland, to speak with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. As the two m... more »

Stan Freberg (1926-2015)

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 2 hours ago
*Episode 1, "Musical Sheep," July 14, 1957. (There's supposed to be an audio clip here. If the player doesn't load, you can listen to it here.)* *"There must be something wrong when a satirist has fans in the Pentagon."* *-- Stan Freberg, in 1999, recalling a call "asking him tosay it wasn't so" from the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staffwhen he'd announced a hiatus from his Stan Freberg Here* *by Ken* Stan Freberg was so funny, it's not funny. And he had an amazing career being funny, one he carved out in his own unique image -- because being funny the way he was funny didn't... more »

Musical Interlude: Vangelis, “Fields Of Coral”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 2 hours ago
Vangelis, “Fields Of Coral” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrwSnc3y4O0

MNN. RED-X: ZERO HEROES

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 2 hours ago
RED-X: ZERO HEROES RED-X: ZERO HEROES   Please post & distribute. Nia:wen. MNN. APR. 8, 2015. Red-X, our ancient medicine man, travels inter-dimensionally and reports to us from his perch on t... View on mohawknationnews.com Preview by Yahoo

A Travesty Of Justice: Innocent Patsy For Fraud Boston Bombing Found "Guilty" For Crime He Did NOT Commit!

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 2 hours ago
**One quick note for everyone... I have been suffering from a bit of a head cold the last few days, and only now beginning to feel a bit better...It goes with living in this part of Canada at this time of year when temperatures do fluctuate wildly....Thanks for your patience...* The Boston Bombing of April 15th, 2013 was a fraud and a complete set up... There should be no doubt in anyone's minds when they do look over all the evidence and not the bullshit coming out of the Jew spew media to see for themselves that what occurred was indeed a very elaborate drill where absolutely NO O... more »

Musical Interlude: Susan Boyle First Audition, “Britain's Got Talent” - "I Dreamed A Dream"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 2 hours ago
*Susan Boyle First Audition, “Britain's Got Talent” - "I Dreamed A Dream"* “This video is so inspiring that I wanted to add it to my channel. This video simply proves that if you have a will, you can find a way. When this video was shot, Susan Boyle was 48 years old. She was unemployed and had never performed in front of a large crowed. Today she has a recording contract and recently was able to sing a duet with her hero. I'm posting this video as a fan of a woman that never gave up. Age is simply a number. Looks do not count. Having self-confidence is more important than what othe... more »

Randi and, Then, Reality

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 3 hours ago
The NYTimes had this precious quote by Randi Weingarten, who is pumping hard to keep the fire going under the new ESEA Senate bill, which should be called the Charter School Empowerment Act: “This is a big deal,” said Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers. “It goes back to the original intent of the law, to level the playing field for at-risk kids.” Obviously, she did not read the Bill. It includes this final states rights provision, Sec. 6302: "Nothing in this title shall be construed to mandate equalized spending per pupil for a State, local ed... more »

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 3 hours ago
*City, New Orleans firefighters back at odds after negotiations break down ~Jeff Adelson, N.O. Advocate * *Plans for private lot along Mandeville lakefront stir controversy ~WVUE* *Pearl River On 'Top 10' List Of Most Endangered Rivers ~WWNO* *Nick of Time: Films at FQF ~NOLA DEFENDER*

Is Yemen Becoming A Proxy War For The Regional Powers In The Middle East?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 3 hours ago
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com *FOX News:** US, Iran support for dueling sides in Yemen raises prospect of proxy fight* *Intervention by the U.S. and Iran in Yemen is raising the prospect of a proxy war even as the Obama administration tries to reach a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic – with Iran sending two ships to waters near Yemen, as the U.S. speeds up military aid to the Saudi-led coalition striking Tehran-backed rebels there. Iran's English-language state broadcaster Press TV quoted Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari as saying the ships, dispatched for the G... more »

U.S. Defense Chief: Al Qaeda Is Gaining Territory In Yemen

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 3 hours ago
*New York Times*: *U.S. Defense Chief Warns of Al Qaeda’s Gains in Yemen* *TOKYO — The new American defense secretary acknowledged Wednesday that Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen had exploited the tumult partly created by the Saudi-led airstrikes there to capture territory, in what has become a broad expansion by the Sunni extremist group.* *Calling the situation “obviously very unsettled,” Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said that the war in Yemen had left a number of groups vying for power, including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as A.Q.A.P., an enemy of the Unit...more »

Yemen War News Updates -- April 8, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 4 hours ago
*CNN:* *The war in Yemen is getting worse -- and a civilian catastrophe is looming* *For nearly two weeks, Saudi fighter-bombers have pounded Houthi rebel positions and convoys around Yemen, but so far the offensive has forced them neither to retreat nor sue for peace.* *Yemen's chaos is quickly becoming a catastrophe, for its people and the future of the country. As a kaleidoscope of factions are fighting for turf, some Yemenis have become so desperate they have fled by sea to Somalia, of all places.* *Yemen War News Updates -- April 8, 2015* Houthi rebels fight street battles ... more »

what i learned at the cupe library conference

laura k at wmtc - 4 hours ago
What did I learn at the CUPE Ontario Library Conference? Technically, nothing. If learning means encountering something new, then no, this was not a learning experience. But learning must also mean living with knowledge, absorbing it, seeing your theoretical knowledge translated into action. Understanding new configurations of that knowledge. Digesting it, assimilating it into our sense of ourselves. In that sense, I'm learning this union stuff every day. So here's what I "learned". (I learned that people are still overusing air quotes!) All libraries everywhere have the same pro... more »

Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 9th April)

Hari at Ripped-off Britons - 5 hours ago
Drug firm Novartis tried to 'scupper' trials of a cheaper version of eye medicine Avastin, which costs just $50 (£34) a dose, could save the NHS £102m if used instead of the standard treatment, ranibizumab, or Lucentis, which costs $1098. The drugs giant Roche holds the intellectual property rights for both, but Novartis has the rights to market Lucentis in Europe. In one of several examples

Green Party Candidates UK General Election 2015

Phil at All That Is Solid ... - 5 hours ago
If you thought the far left candidate list was big, wait until you see this. As far as I know, below in the most complete list of Green Party candidates for the forthcoming general election you will find anywhere. It is provisional, subject to last minute selections and withdrawals and will be revised when new information becomes available. Also, I have lumped in the Green Parties of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Yes, they're separate (albeit fraternal) entities but they'll do as one for my purposes. I shall return soon to say a few words about the Greens' campaign, but whichever ... more »

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
"While most spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way, have two or more spiral arms, NGC 4725 seems to have only one. In this sharp color image, the solo spira mirabilis is tightly wound, traced by bluish, newborn star clusters. The odd galaxy also sports obscuring dust lanes, a prominent ring, and a yellowish central bar structure composed of an older population of stars. *Click image for larger size.* NGC 4725 is over 100 thousand light-years across and lies 41 million light-years away in the well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. Computer simulations of the formation of s... more »

"An Impossibility..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
“There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.” - Mark Twain

The Poet: Sylvia Plath, "Black Rook in Rainy Weather"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
*"Black Rook in Rainy Weather"* by Sylvia Plath "On the stiff twig up there Hunches a wet black rook, Arranging and rearranging its feathers in the rain. I do not expect a miracle Or an accident To set the sight on fire In my eye, not seek Any more in the desultory weather some design, But let spotted leaves fall as they fall, Without ceremony, or portent. Although, I admit, I desire, Occasionally, some backtalk From the mute sky, I can't honestly complain: A certain minor light may still Leap incandescent Out of the kitchen table or chair, As if a celestial burning took Possession of t... more »

Chet Raymo, "Mysticism"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
*"Mysticism"* by Chet Raymo "Talk about the "mystical experience" in the company of scientists and you'll often get looked at as if you were going on about crop circles or astrology. This not quite fair, I think. The "mystical experience" is too well documented in the religious literature of the world to be so easily dismissed. Granted, people who report these experiences often invoke the language of supernaturalism, and the language is properly suspect. But we use the descriptive categories we are familiar with, and supernaturalism is deeply ingrained in our culture. Is there a w... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
Thorndale, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by.

"The Statistics On Sanity..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they are okay, then it's you." - Rita Mae Brown

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 8, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 5 hours ago
*Henry Gass, CSM:* *Tsarnaev guilty of Boston bombings. Where does trial go from here?* *Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty Wednesday of the Boston Marathon bombings. But the jury could be facing another three months of emotional testimony in the sentencing phase, raising questions about how juries cope. Boston — The jury in the Boston Marathon bombing trial on Wednesday did what it was expected to do, returning guilty verdicts on all 30 counts. Defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is now eligible to be sentenced to death in the second phase of the trial, which could begin next week an... more »

"Love Or Fear..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
"Every human thought, and every human action, is based in either love or fear. There is no other human motivation, and all other ideas are but derivatives of these two." - Neale Donald Walsch

"What is Plan B?"

Alison at Creekside - 6 hours ago
asked Armine Yalnizyan of Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on CBC's The Current this morning. "What if your plan is not oil?" I'll get back to Yalnizyan's Plan B in a moment, but preceding her on the program was TD Bank VP and chief economist Craig Alexander. He spoke to that Bank of Canada survey of 100 executives that came out this week, 62% of whom called for diversification to reduce Canada's dependence on the energy sector as oil prices collapse. "Energy plus metals and minerals mining amounts to less than 10% of Canadian economy but 25% of the entire Albertan economy,"... more »

World News Briefs -- April 8, 2015 (Evening Edition)

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 6 hours ago
*The Guardian*:* Houthi rebels fight street battles with militias in Yemeni city of Aden* *With scores of people killed and hundreds wounded, the Red Cross warns of humanitarian catastrophe in southern port city* *Houthi rebels fought street-by-street battles with local militias in the old centre of Aden on Wednesday, as the first boatloads of emergency medical aid arrived in the south Yemeni port city where aid workers say a humanitarian catastrophe looms. * *MIDDLE EAST* Saudi-led planes strike air base* north of Aden: residents*. Yemen crisis:* Rebels push into central Aden*.... more »

Two Unusual Discoveries in Russia – Proof of Alien Intervention or Hype?

Waking Times at Waking Times - 6 hours ago
*Video - *Two discoveries of ancient artifacts that some call proof of alien life on Earth, while others consider this hype created by extremely speculative and dramatic interpretations. The post Two Unusual Discoveries in Russia – Proof of Alien Intervention or Hype? appeared first on Waking Times.

Could you by chance be a terrorist? I dunno, you look kind of suspicious -- let's tally up your terrorist points!

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 6 hours ago
*The Intercept* *by Ken* I originally thought of springing this on you on April Fool's Day, but worried that you would think it was some sort of April Fool's joke, demanding to know whether you could by chance be a terrorist. Sorry, buster, this is no joke. Or are you one of those terrorist-loving Islamofascist-lovers who would like nothing better than to see us patriotic Americans let down our guard? Get real there, friend. Are we supposed to believe you're not a terrorist *just 'cause you say so*? You expect us *to just take your word for it*? Really? Isn't that just how a terr... more »

“19 Signs That American Families Are Being Economically Destroyed”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
*“19 Signs That American Families Are Being Economically Destroyed”* By Michael Snyder “The systematic destruction of the American way of life is happening all around us, and yet most people have no idea what is happening. Once upon a time in America, if you were responsible and hard working you could get a good paying job that could support a middle class lifestyle for an entire family even if you only had a high school education. Things weren’t perfect, but generally almost everyone in the entire country was able to take care of themselves without government assistance. We worked ... more »

Another BBC audience

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 7 hours ago
(h/t Geoff at *Biased BBC* for spotting this tweet): This audience clearly more left than last night's audience. Why? — Andrew Neil (@afneil) April 8, 2015 Good question, Andrew. Time and time again, the topic of "biased BBC audiences" crops up. Why do these strange beasts appear to be so heavily dominated by the left, especially when the BBC claims to make strenuous efforts to balance them out and ensure a fair range of opinion? This week's two Scottish leaders' debates will only serve to raise that question again. By all accounts last night's STV audience wasn't a typical BBC... more »

The Saudi's Are Continuing To Pump Oil To Depress The Price Even More

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 7 hours ago
An oil well pump jack is seen at an oil field supply yard near Denver, Colorado February 2, 2015. Reuters/Rick Wilking *Reuters: **Oil dives 6 percent from 2015 high as stocks swell, Saudis pump* *(Reuters) - Oil prices dived 6 percent on Wednesday after closing at their highest this year, as a mammoth rise in U.S. crude stockpiles and news of record Saudi oil production scuttled talk of a sustained recovery.U.S. crude oil inventories surged 10.95 million barrels - three times more than expected - to a modern-day record 482.39 million last week, U.S. government data showed, the... more »

A Libertarian Coalition?

Greg Mankiw at Greg Mankiw's Blog - 7 hours ago
Paul Krugman says there aren't enough libertarians in the U.S. to make a libertarian candidate like Rand Paul viable. I am not so sure about the paucity of libertarians, but even so, I doubt that Rand Paul is the best representative of that group. Similar to Krugman, I would define a libertarian voter as one who leans left on social issues (such as same-sex marriage) and right on economic issues (such as taxes and regulation). I certainly put myself in that camp, and I don't think I am as lonely as Krugman suggests. I meet lots of students with similar views (though, admittedly, Ha... more »

The EU Re-Imposes Sanctions On Iran

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 7 hours ago
*Reuters:* *EU re-imposes sanctions on Iranian bank, 32 shipping firms* *(Reuters) - The European Union re-imposed sanctions on an Iranian bank and 32 Iranian shipping companies on Wednesday, using new legal grounds, after the measures were struck down by a European court.* *Coming days after Iran and six major powers reached a framework agreement to end a long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, the EU's move is a signal that the 28-nation bloc will keep up sanctions pressure on Iran until a final nuclear deal is sealed.* *The EU's second-highest court annulled an EU... more »

Haven’t they suffered enough?

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 7 hours ago
[image: image]In a desperate bid to achieve a Middle-Eastern peace, the UN warns that Syria is only ‘weeks away’ from a Bono charity single. As the world continues to reel from the latest harrowing revelations from Syria’s ongoing civil war, a fresh terror is now driving urgent efforts to find a lasting solution: the news U2 frontman Bono has ‘taken to the studio’ with the aim of producing a stirring ballad to highlight the suffering… The mere thought of [Bono] looking earnestly into the camera, pulling a pained expression and rhyming something with Aleppo should be enough to ... more »

And Here We Go.....Again.

Way Way Up at Fort McMurray Adventures - 7 hours ago
In what is easily the biggest non-secret in recent days, Premier Prentice kicked off an anticipated election campaign yesterday. Anticipated but not necessarily wanted. I don't see the need for an election when the government already holds a super majority of seats and find it odd that the Premier has been preaching fiscal prudence but will now hand us a bill for what is reportedly the most expensive election campaign in Alberta history. It doesn't make much sense for Prentice to be seeking a mandate for his budget when the reality is that each Opposition MLA could vote 3 or 4 tim... more »

Transpicuous News Midweek report

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 8 hours ago
Transpicuous News Midweek report LIVE Stream on CCN tonight at 11pm in whatever timezone I currently am in (London/Morocco)- which is 6pm EST/EDT/Whatever, I think> .... it's in an hour and a half. http://www.consciousconsumernetwork.tv/ccn-live/

Thoughts in motion VS words carved in Stone

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 8 hours ago
Iran is the philosophical ally of the west in the middle east. Like Western Christianity and Judaism, Iranians are fundamentally people of the thought not the word. The Tea Party, Lukid and Wahabism are united behind faith in ancient words that only a leader can interpert. When the people of thought and people of the word do battle, reason always wins in our history. Perhaps for previous civilisations faith did bring Armageddon, that ultimate victory for the true believer.

Je Suis Valentina

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 8 hours ago
Penny put it all together and I am riffing off that. Harper said you will not recognize Canada when I am finished. We are now seeing just what that means in terms of soft power projection. Harper's use of wedge and attack, silence and dismiss, act and not think now has a public profile. The unlikely spear carrier; the flat note played by Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Its clearer ever day that Harper must be stopped: Oct 2015 the people take back their country, and restore the culture of democracy to our society. All Valentina has been saying is that war is wrong, the Maiden movement... more »

Confusion Between President Obama Admiting The Iran Nuclear Breakout Could Quickly Occur After The Deal Ends, And The U.S. State Department Saying No

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 8 hours ago
*Algemeiner:* *‘Open Confusion’ at State Department as Marie Harf Tries to Walk Back Obama’s Zero Breakout Time Admission (VIDEO)* *“Open confusion” reigned today at the State Department after spokeswoman Marie Harf tried to withdraw a quote from President Barack Obama regarding Iran’s nuclear breakout time, advocacy group The Israel Project said. * *In the interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, the President acknowledged that, after year 13, the current deal being worked out with Iran would not provide the international community with the promised 1-year warning should Iran decid...more »

Thinking about the intellectual future of higher education

Jarrod Hayes at Duck of Minerva - 8 hours ago
Recently, articles have emerged in both the United States and the United Kingdom concerned over the current politico-intellectual trend toward diminishing the importance and funding of the humanities and social sciences (HSS). For all the reasons the authors indicate, this trend is problematic. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) disciplines are of course incredibly important. But […]

Supplemental: Professor Cooper explains public schools!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 8 hours ago
*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015A look at the shape of our world:* The Columbia School of Journalism has reviewed the journalistic debacle created by Rolling Stone. In our view, the review is best understood as an insider sham. Tomorrow, we’ll show you why we say that. For today, let’s discuss the latest from Professor Cooper at Salon. Today, our loudest liberal professor is shooting her mouth about the public schools. More specifically, she discusses the cheating scandal in the Atlanta schools, which has now produced the arrest and conviction of eleven teachers. Last week, we noted ... more »

Norman grabs Labour by its Balls

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 8 hours ago
After years of calling Norman Smith things like "anti-Tory Norm" and, from time to time, suggesting a pro-Labour bias on his part, it would be completely remiss of me *not* to point out that Norman providing a fine bit of counter-evidence today: As far as I can see from the subsequent reporting, he rather ruined Labour's day!

The Roswell Slides and Stan Friedman

KRandle at A Different Perspective - 9 hours ago
While many seem to be tired of the Roswell Slides nonsense, there has been one additional announcement. Stan Friedman, who now labels himself as the “first civilian investigator of Roswell,” was invited to participant in the Mexico City extravaganza by Jaime Maussan and then Don Schmitt. Friedman, who had remained somewhat silent as the controversy swirled finally chimed in. In a well-publicized statement he wrote: My first thought was since I would be asked my views, as the first civilian investigator of the Roswell crashed saucer event, it would be nice to have first hand [sic] ... more »

“Owner’s Manual for a Child”

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 9 hours ago
Here’s what every parent needs: an owner’s manual for a child, written by a Montessorian, in the guise of an open letter from a child. The key: less is more; but make it the *right* less… Dear Parent, I want to be like you. I want to be just like you, but I want to become like you in my own way, in my own time, and by my own efforts. I want to watch you and imitate you. I do not want to listen to you except for a few words at a time, unless you don’t know I’m listening. I want to struggle, to make a grand effort with something very difficult, something I cannot master immedia... more »

Every first minister needs a Willy

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
Just while I'm on the subject of last night's BBC One *News at Ten *(and sorry it's so late but it's been a very long day at work)... Before its close [at about 10.25pm] the UK-wide programme featured a report on last night's STV leaders' debate in Scotland. As the reporter was BBC Scotland's James Cook, looking unscathed after his savaging by cybernats, it understandably avoided editorialising. In spite of everything, the London/Salford-based BBC still doesn't seem to have a particularly good grasp of Scottish politics. Their caption accompanying the contribution of Scottish Libe... more »

One Nation Under Siege

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 9 hours ago

"Two young people now far from home"

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
Further to the last post... Last night's BBC One *News at Ten **did* provide some of the background material found in *The Times - *noting that one of the young jihadis is the grandson of "a well-known and respected cleric" and that that his brother had been convicted of a terrorism charge in 2006, aged 15, having downloaded instruction on how to make napalm. The report went no further than that though, and the chosen angle (it probably won't surprise you to hear) concerned the plight of the "young people" and the suffering of their families. This is how the introduction to the ... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 9 hours ago

HAWAI'I Kanaka Maoli Warriors: Governor's Temporary Halt to Desecration

brendanorrell@gmail.com at CENSORED NEWS - 9 hours ago
KANAKA MAOLI WARRIORS OF THE GROUP SACRED MAUNA KEA HUI RELEASE STATEMENT ABOUT HAWAII GOVERNOR IGE’S HALT OF THE TMT PROJECT CONSTRUCTION FOR ONE WEEK Kaiulani Milham                                      Kamahana Kealoha                                        sacredmaunakea@gmail.com MAUNA KEA, Hawai’i Island, April 7, 2015 — Kanaka warriors representing several islands in the

Robert Peston gets carried away

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
There was an odd contribution to last night's *News at Ten *on BBC One from Robert Peston. He was commenting on Tony Blair's warnings about holding an EU referendum in the UK during the next parliament. It began: Well, the UK is an economy particularly dependent on big multinationals; in fact, it's been a point of government policy for about 30, 40 years to attract them here. Why do they base themselves here? Well, it's for access to the single market of the European Union - the biggest market in the world of its sort. Now, in the couple of years or so, if the Tories win the e... more »

give it away

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 9 hours ago
"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." Pablo Picasso

Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Found Guilty

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 9 hours ago
*New York Times*:* Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Is Guilty in Boston Marathon Bombing Trial* *BOSTON — After 11 hours of deliberations over two days, a federal jury on Wednesday found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a failing college student and the youngest child in a dispersed Russian immigrant family, guilty of the 2013 bombings at the Boston Marathon, the worst act of terrorism on American soil since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.* *The bombings almost two years ago transformed one of the world’s most prestigious road races on a glorious spring afternoon into a scene of carnage with bodies strewn acr...more »

How Growers Are Gaming the California Drought

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 9 hours ago
*by Gaius Publius* I was going to write about the collapse of the Democratic Party in the Senate (thanks, Harry Reid; you too, Patty Murray), but I think I'll save that. The other news is this — the battle over water in California. This isn't a drought story. It's a story about money, power and the "next oil" — in other words, another "free" market story. First bottom line — If you live in Los Angeles or San Diego, your governor is giving your water to the growers. Because, capitalism. I'll explain why after the quote. Also, bribery. You'll see why if you read the quote. (That Hay... more »

It's official...

Graeme Decarie at The Moncton Times@Transcript - Good and Bad - 10 hours ago
...the US is no longer a democracy. Big business, especially the banks, are in control of social policy, foreign policy, everything. It's been that way, except for blips almost since the start - and most certainly since World War 1. Real power has been in the hands of the big banks have been in charge for a very long time. Much the same is true in Canada. They are the ones to create money, to decide who can borrow it, and on what terms. Increasingly, they share their power with big business all over the world. With free trade deals, like the one Canada is completing with the Pacific ... more »

The Economy: “Fed Rate Rise Would Smoke Derivatives”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 10 hours ago
*“Fed Rate Rise Would Smoke Derivatives”* By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com “Financial writer Bill Holter says don’t expect the economy to get better anytime soon. Holter says, “We’re probably in recession again... the economy has been quite weak. It looks to me we could be breaking down in the stock market. This is going to be a really critical week.” On the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, Holter contends, “From a credibility standpoint, the Fed has to raise rates. In a real world, I don’t think they can raise rates. If they raise rates, my guess within two weeks you will ... more »

U.S. Raises Concerns On China's Militarization Of Territorial Disputes In Asia

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 10 hours ago
(*Click on Image to Enlarge*) Australia Defense Association *Reuters:* *U.S. defense chief warns against militarization of territorial rows in Asia* *(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter kicked off his first Asian tour on Wednesday with a stern warning against the militarization of territorial rows in a region where China is at odds with several nations in the East and South China Seas.Carter's visit to Japan coincides with growing U.S. concern over China's land reclamation in the Spratly archipelago of the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing has rival claims ... more »

How Do The Americans And Japanese See Each Other

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 10 hours ago
*Ankit Panda, The Diplomat:* *How Do the United States and Japan See Each Other?* *A new study sheds light on public attitudes in the United States and Japan.* *The alliance between the United States and Japan is turning out to be one of the more important geopolitical features of the Asia-Pacific region amid China’s rise. Over the past 40 some years, the alliance has been central to Asia’s security architecture. As times change in the region, so has the alliance. Japan, long a pacifist state without much of an interest in military matters, is redefining the role of its Self-Def... more »

Dozens of Monster Hurricanes Hit Cape cod in last 2000 Years.

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 10 hours ago
The serious take home here is that the Atlantic Seaboard needs to be Hurricane proofed. That means many things. The best solution will be to grow barrier reefs everywhere possible. This also controls sand erosion as well. Once fully built up they will break the weight of most storm surges unless extremely unlucky. The same needs to be done on the Gulf coast as well. The impact has been sorely under estimated due to a now obvious quiet period which is showing signs of ending. Other than that we need to charge insurance commensurate with the newly appreciated risk. This... more »

The Economy: “Only Delusional Stockbrokers Could Love This Market”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 10 hours ago
*“Only Delusional Stockbrokers Could Love This Market”* by Bill Bonner Gualfin (“End of the Road”), Argentina - "It’s my party, and I'll cry if I want to, Cry if I want to, cry if I want to..." – “It’s My Party,” Lesley Gore* “I would like to thank the many dear readers who wrote with advice for our ranch foreman, Jorge. Jorge suffers from what doctors think is arthritis. It’s forcing him to retire from the ranch sooner than he would like. We are at the end of an isolated valley in Argentina. And we are not sure which of the proposed remedies will be available here. But we will pa... more »

U.S. And Japan To Expand Their Defense Ties

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 10 hours ago
*VOA:* *Defense Secretary Hails US-Japan Alliance * *TOKYO - Beginning his first Asia tour, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter laid out the U.S. commitment to Japanese security Wednesday in Tokyo, urging restraint in territorial disputes between Japan and China. * *China’s dispute with Japan over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea and its controversial actions in the South China Sea set the backdrop for U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s talks with Japan’s defense minister.* *"We don't, as we frequently say, take a stand in any of those territorial dispu... more »

AEC 7: AAA Law's Forum on Post-2015 ASEAN Integration

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 10 hours ago
Last night, April 08, I attended a presentation by *Luis T. Cruz*, DFA Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs, held at Shangrila Hotel Makati. He was one of two speakers. The next speaker after him was *Laura Q. Del Rosario*, DFA UnderSecretary for International Economic Relations, who spoke about the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and PH commitments and engagements. The event was a networking forum on Post-2015 Integration of the ASEAN, also the formal launch of AAA trade law office. I was invited by Atty. Tony Abad, one of the partners. His two partners in the new law of... more »

Wazzup with the P5+1 ~ April Fools

Geezer Power at GEEZERPOWER - 10 hours ago
Hailong Wu of China, Laurent Fabius of France, Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Federica Mogherini of the European Union, Javad Zarif of Iran, an unidentified official of Russia, Philip Hammond of the United Kingdom and John Kerry of the United States in the "Forum Rolex" auditorium of the EPFL Learning Centre, Écublens-Lausanne, Switzerland on 2 April 2015.Source: wikipedia Why the GOP is Sabotaging the Iran Talks The Big Picture RTPublished on Apr 1, 2015 Jamal Abdi, National Iranian American Council (NIAC) & Gareth Porter, Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran N... more »

Germanwings Update: GC's "Bitchslap" Theory gets support from Millennium Report Blog

greencrow at Greencrow As The Crow Flies - 11 hours ago
*Aerial photographs of Germanwings Wreckage show the Plane was Shot Down **in Mid-air* *and NOT Crashed as Official Version reports* Did two French fighter jets shoot down the ‘autopiloted’ Germanwings airliner? The Millennium Report April 6, 2015 *The Germanwings crash has all the hallmarks of a CIA and MI5 false flag operation, which seems to be designed to intimidate French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and stop them adopting policies opposed to the interests of the Global banking cartel.* *The motive for using a weaponized German commercial a... more »

Images of Cannabis Under the Microscope

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 11 hours ago
*Images -* A stunning visual exploration of medicinal Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Indica. The post Images of Cannabis Under the Microscope appeared first on Waking Times.

Quasi Legal Sports Viewing Portal

Steve at Thinking Aboot - 12 hours ago
Attention Sports Fans and Man detractors: Sports Devil was made for you and me. Once you have Kodi installed its just another simple add on. Simpley search Google for SportsDevil watch the UTUBE. Then find this link. Click on *download Sports Devil. *On my system the zip file went straight to my downloads folder, you may be given the option of selecting a directory. Now open Kodi, open System and two clicks and SportsDevil is the lastest weapon in your personal jihad against the MAN. Open SportsDevil add on using our Videos tab click on live sports. You will find an old friend ... more »

NORAD Chief: North Korea Now Has The Ability To Reach The U.S. With A Nuclear Warhead Launched On A Mobile ICBM

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 12 hours ago
Musudan-class intermediate-range missiles are displayed during a military parade in honor of the 100th birthday of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang, April 15, 2012. Press TV *Voice of America*:* N. Korea Capable of Nuclear Strike at US, Military Leader Says* *PENTAGON - Top U.S. military officials believe North Korea is now capable of launching a nuclear-armed missile at the United States.* *“Our assessment is that they have the ability to put a nuclear weapon on a KN-08 and shoot it at the homeland,” Admiral William Gortney, commander of the U.S. Northern Co... more »

NCLB, the States Rights Version

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 12 hours ago
Since yesterday's release of Lamar Alexander's Senate Committee's new atrophied version of NCLB (this one is less than 600 pages), Arne Duncan must be feeling entirely unappreciated this morning. After all, Duncan has been a loyal licker of oligarchic boots for years now, having begun at the top as the golden boy trainee of none other than Paul Vallas in Chicago. His rise to the edu-apex was quick, having been picked in 2008 by Gates and Broad to be the front man in Washington for the monstrous facelift of public education into a hideous image that only a profiteering whoremonger co... more »

World News Briefs -- April 8, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 12 hours ago
*Reuters:* *Yemen's Houthis battle over central Aden, first medical aid arrives* *(Reuters) - Houthi forces fought battles street by street with local militia in the old center of Aden on Wednesday, as the first boatloads of emergency medical aid arrived to the south Yemeni port city which aid workers say faces a humanitarian catastrophe.Residents saw a dozen bodies strewn on the streets and said several buildings were burnt or demolished by rocket fire. Mosques broadcast appeals for jihad against the Houthis, Iran-allied fighters who have taken over large areas of Yemen.By m... more »

LIBERALLY LOATHING: Eight more letters about Indiana!

bob somerby at the daily howler - 12 hours ago
*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015Part 3—Assuming the worst about Them:* Last Tuesday, David Brooks wrote a column about Indiana’s newly-passed “Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” Two days later, the New York Times published eight letters about his column. All eight letters challenged some part of the column. All eight echoed the Times editorial line, which had been stated in this editorial on that same Tuesday morning. We thought those letters provided intriguing examples of contemporary “liberal” instincts. But first, let’s summarize the basic points in Brooks’ column, with most of whi... more »

Business 360 25: Reducing Construction and Electricity Permits

Nonoy Oplas at Government and Taxes - 13 hours ago
* This is my article for the monthly magazine published in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 2015 issue. ----------- *Simplifying Construction and Electricity Permits* In March 2013 issue of Business 360, this column wrote about “Reducing Construction and Electricity Bureaucracies”. The basis of the discussion was the result of the WB’s *Doing Business 2013 Report.* Nepal was among the developing countries that did not score well in that annual report. Societies develop and modernize mainly because of innovation introduced by private enterprises and individuals in a competitive environment. ... more »

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 8, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 13 hours ago
*Anna Nemtsova, Daily Beast:* *Russian Nuclear Submarine Goes Up in Flames* *The disaster aboard the Orel is just the latest in a string of mishaps aboard Russia’s nuclear fleet.* *It happened again: A Russian nuclear submarine caught fire. Reports said that the blaze was a result of welding repairs on the vessel, christened the Orel, which was parked in a shipyard for maintenance in the Arctic town of Severodvinsk. The rescue operation took hours, as people were evacuated while the Orel continued to burn. Luckily, the Orel’s reactor was shut off before the accident occurred, acc... more »

10 Things to Throw Away for Better Health

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 13 hours ago
*Dr. Mercola* - Each and every day, you come into contact with a large number of items—many of which have health risks that can accumulate over time. The post 10 Things to Throw Away for Better Health appeared first on Waking Times.

“It’s Just a Training Exercise”: Army Special Ops Shoot Down Jade Helm Conspiracy Theories

Mars Daniels at GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING - 13 hours ago
Mac Slavo The Special Operations Command for the U.S. Army may be preparing to blend in during its mock engagement of hostile populations in the U.S. Southwest this summer, but first it is going on the offense to counter the claims of “conspiracy theorists” about the true nature of the controversial Jade Helm 15 exercises. The Army Times reported: U.S. Army Special Operations Command says that, contrary to reports circulating on conspiracy websites, it has no plans to invade Texas. Some fringe websites have paraded a PowerPoint presentation, reportedly from USASOC, as evidence ... more »

Science & Politics Lessons from Ernest Moniz in the Iran Talks

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Pielke, Jr.) at Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog - 13 hours ago
At The Guardian today I have an essay on the role of US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (pictured in one of the photos above) in the Iran nuclear talks, and what we can learn from it for thinking about "science advice." Here s an excerpt: The good news is that beyond the few issues that occupy the attention of those fighting the latest science wars – over climate change or GMOs to name two of the most prominent partisan battlefields – science is well established in high level politics. That doesn’t mean that we cannot improve how we make use of experts in the political process, bu... more »

Islamic State Launches New Car Bomb Wave In Iraq

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 13 hours ago
After a three year low in monthly car bombs in December 2014, the Islamic State (IS) has been ramping up their use. From January to March 2015 there was a steady increase in the number of vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) per month. There has also been a new focus upon hitting military targets instead of primarily civilian ones. This points to IS rebuilding its networks after they were disrupted by recent security operations, and returning to their previous level of activity. December 2014 saw the fewest number of VBIEDs since 2012. There were just 21 car bombs ... more »

U.S. Soldier Killed, 2 Wounded In Afghan ‘Insider Attack’

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 14 hours ago
*Reuters*:* American, Afghan killed in firefight between Afghan and NATO soldiers* *(Reuters) - An American soldier and an Afghan soldier were killed when a firefight broke out between Afghan and NATO coalition forces at a compound where a senior U.S. diplomat met a provincial governor in eastern Afghanistan, police and U.S. sources said.A handful of others from both sides were wounded in the shooting, which erupted shortly after the diplomat left the compound aboard a helicopter, according to U.S. and Afghan sources.The NATO soldiers involved in the incident were American, a... more »

Do you have a right to discriminate?

Mars Daniels at GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING - 14 hours ago
By Adam Kokesh Indiana's new Religious Freedom Act is causing quite the controversy. How should a libertarian approach this tricky issue? Adam shows how you can change someone's position in just a few minutes. Visit TheFreedomLine.com *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

California Water Authorities Using Smart Meter Data as Evidence to Impose Fines

Mars Daniels at GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING - 14 hours ago
Melissa Melton The smart grid isn’t coming. It’s already here. Everywhere people’s houses are being fitted if they already haven’t with smart electric meters and smart water meters. These meters communicate real-time usage data via radio frequency (which comes with its own set of health problems). Essentially, consumption of utilities in your home is being big brother tracked and traced at all times on the smart grid. Sure, it was sold to everyone as a “smart” solution for keeping consumption in check, that it would decrease utility bills because people could use it to check out... more »

25 Rules for Medical Propagandists and Vaccine Disinfo Agents

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 14 hours ago
*Marco Torres* - Propagandists have infiltrated every segment of academia and social media to confuse consumers who seek accurate information about health... The post 25 Rules for Medical Propagandists and Vaccine Disinfo Agents appeared first on Waking Times.

Freeman Dyson- Earth Growing Greener because of Carbon

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 14 hours ago
Earth growing greener.... makes perfect sense because all life on earth is Carbon based. I am a carbon based life form, as are you! Shine on you crazy diamond: why humans are carbon-based lifeforms *It would be impossible for life on earth to exist without carbon. Carbon is the main component of sugars, proteins, fats, DNA, muscle tissue, pretty much everything in your body.* *So what does Freeman Dyson have to say about the AGW/Carbon "problem"?* *Give a listen below:* Conversations That Matter: Freeman Dyson from OhBoyProductions on Vimeo. Feel free to skip the first three minut...more »

Sitting is Killing You- Get up and Move!

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 14 hours ago
Of course, I adore all my daily readers, but, remember don't sit too long, not even here :)

California Drought, Fracking, and Waste-Water Contaminated Aquifers

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 14 hours ago
Read the headlines and discover how much water drought-wracked California wastes on fracking, while ALLOWING injection of fracking waste into potable fresh aquifers: Rory Carroll (2015, April 3) Exclusive: California used 70 million gallons of water in fracking in 2014 (2015, April 3). Reuters, http:// www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/03/us-california-drought-fracking-exclusive-idUSKBN0MU01M20150403 Center for Biological Diversity (2014, October 6 ). Documents Reveal Billions of Gallons of Oil Industry Wastewater Illegally Injected into Central California aquifers. http://www.biol...more »

Emissions at Fukushima

Majia's Blog at Majia's Blog - 14 hours ago
Emissions at Fukushima seem to be reduced from the major steam event this weekend and radiation levels are trending downwards in Japan, although still elevated in places:

Philadelphia Mayor's Race-- Meet Jim Kenney

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 14 hours ago
*Yesterday, having forced Wall Street faux Democrat Rahm Emanuel into a runoff, progressives came up short-- although doing far better than pundits had predicted. Chuy Garcia raised $5.2 million, a substantial amount... but Rahm had over $30 million to spend, most of it from just a few super-wealthy families benefiting financially from his administration. That Chuy did as well as he did is a testament to local field organizers and an ability to raise small contributions from a wide audience.* *The next great American city struggling to get out from under the grip of corrupt gover... more »

Remembering the Important Hainan Island Story

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 14 hours ago
A top US military commander says he is concerned about China’s ballistic missile submarines capable of attacking the United States with nuclear weapons. Commander of the US Northern Command Admiral William Gortney said on Tuesday that any time a country has nuclear weapons and delivery systems that can reach the US homeland, “it’s a concern of mine,” the Washington Free Beacon reported. The US said that the Chinese submarines are deployed in the South China Sea at a base on Hainan Island. Actually China has very few nuclear weapons which they use as a deterrent force. In the pa... more »

Memories of Rumsfeld’s Snowflakes

Steve Saideman at Duck of Minerva - 14 hours ago
I have written before about my Rummy experiences, but wanted tor revisit after seeing this post yesterday at vox. I was able to dig through Rummy’s website and found the document that spawned a heap of paperwork at my desk on the Joint Staff. In the aftermath of 9/11, many allies, partners and others offered […]

Iran Deploys Warships Off The Coast of Yemen

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 14 hours ago
Tasnim News Agency *Reuters:* *Iran deploys warships off Yemen's coast* *Reuters) - Iran sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, state media reported, establishing a military presence off the coast of Yemen where Saudi Arabia is leading a bombing campaign to oust the Iran-allied Houthi movement.* *The Alborz destroyer and Bushehr support vessel sailed from Bandar Abbas on a mission to protect Iranian shipping from piracy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in comments cited by Press TV.* *Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies have imposed an air and naval blockade ... more »

Progressive Music Classics. Fela Kuti: "Shuffering and Shmiling"

Marc McDonald at BeggarsCanBeChoosers.com - 15 hours ago
. . *By MARC McDONALD* Welcome to another edition of Progressive Music Classics, a salute to left-leaning music that champions the cause of working-class people around the world. It's interesting how, for such a supposedly discredited philosopher, so much of Marx's teachings hold up well today. Case in point: Marx's famous statement, *"Religion is the opium of the people."* The great Nigerian musician *Fela Kuti* also took aim at organized religion in his masterful 1978 track, *"Shuffering and Shmiling,"* (sic). Specifically, Kuti was targeting imported religions like Christianity... more »

NCIS Report: Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Had 'Deliberate Plan To 'Offer Himself Up' To The Taliban

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 15 hours ago
*FOX News:* *NCIS investigation reportedly shows Bergdahl had 'deliberate plan' to 'offer himself up' to the Taliban* *A 2009 NCIS investigation into Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s activities while in Afghanistan reveal that there is clear evidence Bergdahl was “going over to the other side with a deliberate plan,” Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer said on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" Monday night.* *Shaffer, a former military intelligence officer and Fox News contributor, said two senior sources told him that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation included a forensic review of h... more »

$75 Million

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 15 hours ago
http://welcometoladyville.com/ That's what the Harper government paid for advertising last year. That figure is up from $69 million in the previous year. They've cut funding for health care and veterans offices; but they've increased funding for self promotion. Jeffrey Simpson writes: The explanation given for this spending is shameless, the kind of explanation that gives politicians a bad name everywhere as systematic liars. We need to spend the money, the government says, in order to explain how taxpayers’ money is being spent. Y... more »

Capitalism Is The Big Problem Just Now

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 15 hours ago
I might be wrong, but I believe that some forms of liberal representative democracy are substantially better than feudalism, or fascism, or Stalinism. But we don't have those forms of liberal representative democracy. We're settling in to a stultifying, ultimately disastrous system of "Inverted Totalitarianism." Representative institutions no longer represent voters. Instead, they have been short-circuited, steadily corrupted by an institutionalized system of bribery that renders them responsive to powerful interest groups whose constituencies are the major corporations and wealthi... more »

CorpEd Assails Opt Out In Desperate Attempt to Protect House of Cards

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 15 hours ago
*Ken Derstine has this fine piece on the latest exploits of the inimitable Eduwank:* --> Is Corporate Education Reform trying to Coopt the Opt Out movement? by Ken Derstine *Bellwether** - The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram (a wether) leading his flock of sheep. The movements of the flock could be noted by hearing the bell before the flock was in sight.* In typical Orwellian fashion, a corporate education reformer tries to flip the narrative of the Opt Out movement in the April 7, ... more »

U.S. plan to shut down cell phones and internet in energency. Court ruled no disclosure. Flashback: U.S. condemns cell phone and internet shut down in Egypt and Syria

Sherrie at Sherrie Questioning All - 15 hours ago
It seems the courts through a Freedom of information act lawsuit is standing by the U.S. government and not allowing the release of the U.S. governments plan to shut down the internet and cell phone service (plan SOP303) in times of emergencies. In other words if there was civil unrest. The reason why the lawsuit was filed in the first place was due to when all cell phone service was cut

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jonjayray at EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL - 15 hours ago
*UK: Faith school fears as union says teachers must promote gay lifestyle: Leaders call for 'positive portrayal of same sex relationships' to be made 'compulsory' * Schools should be forced to promote gay relationships in sex education lessons, union leaders say. The National Union of Teachers has called for a ‘positive portrayal of same sex relationships’ in lessons to be made ‘compulsory’ under the next government. It said MPs had a duty to tackle ‘homophobia, biphobia and transphobia’ in schools and create a ‘positive climate of understanding about sexuality’. But critics ac... more »

The Next U.S. President Will Need To Address The Decline Of The U.S. Military

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 15 hours ago
*Matthew Rolfes, Daily Signal:* *Can the Next President Deliver Better Defense?* *There are more than a few signals indicating President Obama has been a poor steward of the nation’s defense.“Continuing to slash defense invites greater danger to national security while shamefully asking the country’s military men and women to do their jobs with shrinking resources,” wrote the chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Service Committees. “Without a course change, history’s judgment will be harsh, and rightfully so,” they concluded.Congress isn’t the only one waving red flags. In F... more »

A Look At How Iran Would Go To War Against The U.S.

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 15 hours ago
Fars News/Reuters *Harry Kazianis, Real Clear Defense:* *How Iran Would Go to War Against America* *While all sides here in Washington battle to shape public opinion over the Iran nuclear deal, we should not kid ourselves—this is not Obama’s “Nixon goes to China” moment, nor should we expect Air Force one to touch down in Tehran anytime soon.Call me a pessimist, but I am not that impressed. There is a long way to go from a “framework” to an actual hard deal—with decades of mistrust making the road to a deal even longer and tougher. So before we start awarding Nobel Prizes, a har... more »

The Coalition Air Campaign Against The Islamic State (The Numbers)

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 15 hours ago
*(Click on Image to Enlarge)* *Defense One:* *The 5,548 ISIS Targets Struck By Coalition Air Forces, in 3 Charts * *The Pentagon’s latest data release finally includes airplanes that were destroyed in fall 2014.* *The U.S. military’s share of the air campaign against ISIS is holding steady. In both February and March, American forces carried out about 70 percent of the coalition’s air attacks against targets in Iraq and 93 percent of them in Syria, according to figures released today by CENTCOM officials.* *Since the air campaign began on Aug. 8 last year, U.S. and coalition f... more »

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JR at GREENIE WATCH - 15 hours ago
*We will not be moved, says American Physical Society leadership* *A lot of their members are not happy with the APS endorsing Warmism so it remains to be seen what the next meeting of the society will produce. Will the proposed new statement get a majority in favour?* Frequently Asked Questions Q: Why is APS revising its climate change statement? A: The American Physical Society formally reviews its statements every five years. The APS Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) formed a subcommittee in fall 2013 to review its 2007 Climate Change Statement and 2010 Climate Change Commentary.... more »

Shit Happens

Karen Garcia at Sardonicky - 16 hours ago
A letter doesn't get mailed because it has a stamp on it. A letter gets mailed because you wrote it. Or maybe somebody else wrote it and you accidentally on purpose signed your name to it. And since millions of postage stamps, especially the forever ones, don't get recalled or retracted just because of a little plagiarism issue, let's just call it a day and put a stamp on it. Let's not relitigate the past. We must look forward, not backward. We must progress to the next chapter of our long national nightmare narrative. As we have recently learned so sadly and so painfully, a Rol... more »

Communications not Product and Services is the 21st Century Opportunity: Part 2

Martyn Daniels at Brave New World - 16 hours ago
*Part 2: * *The Organisational Impact of Communications in Today’s World?* A company may have the best product or service and the smartest technology, but these alone no longer guarantee success. They may have a significant marketing budget, but billboards, page adverts, glossy catalogues and call centres now longer guarantee sustainable success. The supply chain may be well oiled and automated, but reducing waste and delivering to just in time models are by themselves now longer offer unique value and guarantee success. The sales and marketing messages may be slick and focused, b... more »

Parry: Group Think on Ukraine in Washington

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 16 hours ago
Robert Parry, Iran-Contra affair journalist & Consortium News, talks at the World Russia Forum in DC.

Economic News , Data and Views ( April 8 , 2015 ) ...... Greece updates ( Tsipras in Russia for Meetings there including with Putin , Voaroufakis in Paris for meetings there with French FN M Sapin and OECD's Gurria , EWG conference call on Greece -1300 GMT with Greece officials looking for a positive signal , Greco-Russia fruit trade data , Austria's FN M warns Greece on Russian ties , various additional items of note ) ...... Spain retail sales fall for second month .... German Manufacturing orders fall almost as fast as 2 year Schatz ( new low 0.2756 this morning ) ..... France exports show weakness as share of EZ drops to 12 in 2015 .....Russia on the bounce and on the mend , ruble continues its tear along with brent price bounce ..... More items to consider !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 16 hours ago
Updates during the day at tweet feed.... Evening tweets..... Market Elf retweeted *Eleni Varvitsiotis* @Elbarbie · 2h2 hours ago #Greece FinMin Secretary Theocarakis told in Euroworking Group in Brussels that state funds last only until April 24. *Manos Giakoumis* @ManosGiakoumis · 2h2 hours ago #EWG gave a 6-working-days ultimatum to #Greece to present proposals that would be accepted by lenders (via @kathimerini_gr) #ec #ecb #imf *Kathimerini English *@ekathimerini · 2h2 hours ago Tsipras-Putin talks yield pledge for better ties but no results http:// dlvr.it/9Jc3SH ... more »

Freeman Dyson on the gas that we call life

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 16 hours ago
If you can sacrifice 23 minutes, here is a fun interview with Freeman Dyson (who is 91 now) Video: Conversations that matter - Earth is actually growing greener (Vancouver Sun) They introduced Dyson as a monster mind. In fact, he is so smart that he was once in the same building with Albert Einstein, they say. ;-) *In 1981-2006, a quarter of a century, the Earth was mostly getting greener (green color on the map).* Dyson argues that CO2 has many direct and staggering consequences for the life on Earth that are more important than the indirect and questionable influences via the ... more »

I Wish I Could Show You.......by Hafiz

Stranger in a Strange Land at Stranger in a Strange Land - 19 hours ago

U.S. Navy outfitting MH-60R "Romeo" Seahawks with digital rocket launchers for APKWS

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: MH-60R APKWS]After integrating “smart” rocket launchers on MH-60S helicopters last year, the U.S. Navy is now equipping the MH-60R with the same modernized capability. The Navy delivered the Digital Rocket Launchers (DRLs) on March 25 as part of an Early Operational Capability (EOC). A Rapid Deployment Capability Team, comprised of employees from the H-60 Multi-Mission Helicopters (PMA-299) and the Direct Time and Sensitive Strike Weapons (PMA-242) program offices, was challenged to complete the project within 12 months after the MH-60S EOC. Read more

Thales proposes weaponised Watchkeeper for Polish tactical UAV requirement

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: Watchkeeper UAV]Thales has proposed teaming with Polish industry to offer a weaponised version of the WK450 Watchkeeper unmanned air vehicle for Warsaw’s tactical UAV requirement. Under the proposal, the British Army’s surveillance UAV would be adapted by Polish partners – potentially Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, the Institute of Aviation, WB Group, WZL-2 and Mesko – to integrate Thales’ free-fall lightweight multirole missile (LMM). Matt Moore, head of Thales UK's UAS business, says that Watchkeeper would be able to carry four free-fall LMMs on two underwing hardpoints. Read ... more »

Turkey’s jammer plane may take off soon

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
Looking to improve its defense capability, Turkey has launched a tender for a stand-off jammer, an aircraft equipped with a jamming system. Several companies have proposed bids for the production of the plane. The stand-off jammer will have the capability to paralyze air defense systems from a distance of 400 kilometers, an effective assistance in air raids. For instance, a jammer plane can render long-range, radar-guided missiles from the Syrian regime and S-300 missiles Greece deployed on the Aegean islands ineffective. The aircraft can jam radar, radio and phone systems effectiv... more »

GE seeks to supply engines for KF-X program

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
General Electric (GE) wants to supply state-of-the-art aircraft engines for Korea's next-generation indigenous fighter jet program. The world's leading infrastructure and technology firm plans to offer Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), a preferred bidder for the Korean Fighter experimental (KF-X) program, to use its F414-GE-400 engine. The F414 has been selected to power fighter jets in six countries ― Australia, Brazil, India, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Read more

Japan to test fly F-3 stealth fighter this summer

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: F-3 stealth fighter jet]The highly anticipated F-3, Japan's first domestically-made stealth jet, is aiming to conduct test flights this summer, reports the PLA Daily, a China-based media outlet for the People's Liberation Army. If the tests are successful, the F-3 will represent a breakthrough for Japan in terms of stealth capabilities and high-powered engine technology, the report said. The advanced fifth-generation fighter, which originates from Japan's advanced technology demonstrator-experimental (ATD-X) program, has been designed to deliver superior performance in the... more »

Russia, Indonesia begin talks on Sukhoi Su-35 deliveries

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: Su-35 Flanker-E]Indonesia has taken an interest in buying Russia's brand new multirole fighter jet Sukhoi Su-35, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) head Yuri Slyusar told Interfax in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday. "Indonesian colleagues are interested in buying this plane. The negotiations are at their beginning," Slyusar said. It was reported earlier that the Indonesian Air Force wished to replace outdated U.S. fighters F5 by Russian multirole fighters of generation 4++ Sukhoi Su-35. Read more

Researchers find a 250 million year old microchip in Russia

Mike Philbin at Mike Philbin's free planet blog - 20 hours ago
*if we dig it out, we might find it's a 3-dimensional circuit* have scientists in Russia *really* discovered an ancient/alien *microchip* in a 250 million year old rock? *This “ancient microchip” was discovered in the Krasnodar region, and ufologists have already tagged this discovery as a fragment of technology previously unknown to science. Like many other discoveries, this remarkable artifact was found by chance by a local fisherman by the name of Viktor Morozov who donated his curious finding to scholars from the University of Southern Polytechnic Nowoczerkaskiej who performed s... more »

Pratt & Whitney has retro fit for engine of F-35 Joint Strike Force Fighter jet

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: F-35B Lightning II]The F-35 fighter jet, plagued with more problems and cost over-runs than its predecessor, the beleaguered F-22 Raptor, will be getting a fix for its F-135 engine. In a release out today, it was announced that Pratt & Whitney, an American aerospace giant, is installing a retrofit for the engine of the F-35 Joint Strike Force jet; a fix that should be completed fleet wide by first part of 2016. On June 23, 2014, a Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter caught fire on the runway at Eglin Air Force Base. Read more

Largest Kadena flying exercise successfully completed

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
[image: Twelve Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers]Kadena Air Base pulled off their most aggressive exercise to date with Forceful Tiger off the coast of Okinawa, April 1. Forceful Tiger was a large force exercise (LFE) designed to demonstrate the 18th Wing's combat capabilities to defend Okinawa and had more participation from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron than ever before. "What we accomplished was an integration of all the mission sets at Kadena over an extended period," said Lt. Col. Jack Flynt, the 909th ARS commander. "This is so we could actually exercise multiple different ta... more »

Exercise Joint Warrior attracts international aircraft to RAF Lossiemouth

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 20 hours ago
Military planes and helicopters from across the world will converge on Moray airspace as part of a mass training exercise. Aircraft from the Canadian, German, French and US air forces and the US Navy are beginning to arrive at RAF Lossiemouth ahead of a Nato Exercise Joint Warrior. Training exercises get underway next Monday and will run until Friday, April 24. Read more

Senators Protest Delay in Survival Test for New Aircraft Carrier

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
[image: Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)]Two of the U.S. Senate’s top lawmakers on defense policy are protesting a Navy decision to postpone for as long as seven years survival testing on its new class of aircraft carriers, the costliest warships ever built. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain and ranking Democrat Jack Reed wrote March 31 to complain that delaying shock tests until the second vessel, which isn’t scheduled for delivery until 2022, while skipping them for the first adds “a great deal of risk in this program.” Subjecting the first ship, the USS Gerald R. Ford, ... more »

TPP as Important as Another Aircraft Carrier: US Defense Secretary

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
[image: Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)]On April 6, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter delivered a speech at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University on ‘the next phase’ of the US rebalance to the Asia-Pacific. The speech began with a customary nod to the Asia-Pacific’s growing importance, a brief assessment of America’s strengths in the region, and an overview of the rebalance. Carter then went on say what ‘the next phase’ of the US rebalance might entail on the defense side, focusing on four components: investments; capabilities; posture; and partnerships and alliances. ... more »

China, Vietnam must manage sea dispute well to keep peace: Xi

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
[image: Ly Thai To (HQ-012)]Chinese President Xi Jinping told the visiting head of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party on Tuesday that the two countries must manage their dispute over the South China Sea well to maintain peace and stability, state media reported. Communist parties rule both countries and trade has swelled to $50 billion annually, but Vietnam has long been suspicious of its giant neighbor, especially over Beijing's increasingly assertive claims to almost the entire South China Sea. Anti-Chinese violence flared in Vietnam last year after a $1-billion deepwater rig owned... more »

China is right to be alarmed by Japan's new 'helicopter destroyer

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
[image: JS Izumo (DDH 183)]Two weeks ago, Japan commissioned its largest naval vessel since the end of World War II. Sleek and with the clean lines of a ship designed for stealth, JS Izumo pulled into Yokosuka Naval Base, her new home port, and officially joined the Maritime Self Defense Force. Izumo is a sign of the times, a weapons system that pushes the boundaries of Japan's war-adverse culture and increasing tensions with China. Officially, she's a "helicopter destroyer" — a destroyer designed to carry helicopters. But Izumo is no ordinary destroyer. Destroyers are not 800 feet ... more »

Russia Can’t Stop Its Submarines From Catching On Fire

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
A docked Russian nuclear submarine caught fire during repairs in the northern province of Arkhangelsk Tuesday. The submarine, a 500-foot-long K-266 Oryol, was docked at the Zvezdochka shipyard and began to burn when welding scorched the insulation between the vessel’s inner and outer hulls. It was reportedly not bearing any nuclear weapons. Tuesday’s fire was apparently the result of “a violation of safety procedure” while its missile systems were being upgraded. Read more

China's new submarines could create problems for the US Navy

Ko Savonije at Naval Open Source INTelligence - 21 hours ago
[image: Type 093 (Shang) class SSN]Beijing is commissioning an upgraded version of a nuclear attack submarine that would be capable of carrying supersonic missiles designed to take down enemy aircraft carriers, The Diplomat reported citing China Daily. China is commissioning three upgraded Type-093 Shang-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. The new Type-093G "is reported to be an upgraded version of Type-093 … With a teardrop hull, the submarine is longer than its predecessor and has a vertical launching system," the China Daily reported. The redesign of the submarine would allo... more »

Iraqi And U.S. Forces Are Now Preparing For An Offensive Into Islamic State Controlled Anbar Province

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 21 hours ago
*New York Times:* *After Beating ISIS in Tikrit, Iraq and U.S. Seek Fighters for Next Front* *Emboldened as they mop up the last Islamic State forces in the city of Tikrit, Iraqi military leaders are already vowing to follow up that operation with a much more ambitious one: marching into the vast Sunni heartland in western Iraq to root out some of the most significant militant strongholds.* *Iraqi and American officials say some progress in that region, Anbar Province, will be necessary before a serious effort is mounted to retake the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State,... more »

Warrior Code

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 21 hours ago
This is a lovely story of two men who did their duty and survived to meet again. It is also a reminder that there is a fine, fine line between a human being and a weasel. Men and women do become kill crazy and weak leaders take advantage of that but it is ultimately a breakdown of discipline. Today we face an enemy that fails to honor mercy at all. That horror means that negotiation is almost impossible and true peace is less so. We have seen it demonstrated for a century in the Israeli Islamic conflict. Israel just happens to be the test platform to educate us what awaits ... more »

Blueberries Protect Against Top 2 Killer Diseases

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 21 hours ago
Generally if you have the good sense to eat blue berries, you are already doing a lot of things right in terms of diet. Yet the sheer comparitive strength of blue berries tells us that it needs to become a staple. Fresh is typically available year round but in do think preserved product needs to be hugely expanded. Blueberry raisins are a natural while powders will need preparation knowledge. Yet i do think that the idea of a fruit acting as a diet staple needs to be advanced. We are beginning to break away from reliance on grains and this is the time to think this through... more »

Why I am a Climate Change Skeptic

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 21 hours ago
Patrick has been a provocateur for decades in the enviro game with little traction. now he is been paid to do the same for corporate clients to better effect. And yes he does normally make some sense in terms of the science he gets behind or opposes. Now he is been paid to speak sense to the climate change agenda. Since almost everyone else has been tackling the propaganda machine without pay, i actually welcome a paid shill in the game. In case you do not understand the blinding problem with global warming it is this, it is now almost twenty years since the globe actuall... more »

MENA Report ( April 8 , 2015 ) - Yemen War Updates - Chaos which is Yemen continues although airstrikes seem to have lessened in intensity , Yemen citizens have become numb to the two week war ...... Iraq / Syria Regional War Campaign Updates .......Iran Framework Deal Political Updates ....... Libya Updates..... Odds and Ends

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 22 hours ago
Links.... *US Ups Arms Shipments for Saudi War on Yemen* *ISIS Not Only Suspect in War Crimes at Tikrit* *Senate Dems Bill Aimed at Killing Iran Deal* *Turkey Endorses Iran's Call to End Saudi War on Yemen* *US Struggles to Find Sunni Tribal Allies in Iraq**Iran's Revolutionary Guard Praises Nuclear Framework* *Red Cross: Catastrophic Situation in Yemen Port of Aden* Jordan Circulates UN Resolution Aimed at Ending Yemen Fight Yemen Crisis: Saudi Arabia's Border Troops Fear More Attacks by the Houthi Militia 158 Killed as Focus Turns to Militia Violence 2 Deadly Car Bombs Hit Reb... more »

FBI Agents Must Now Get Into Shape

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 22 hours ago
F.B.I. agents jogging at the National Mall in Washington on Friday, part of their fitness training. Credit Zach Gibson/The New York Times *New York Times:* *Battling Crime and Calories at F.B.I. (Fit Bureau of Investigation)* *WASHINGTON — F.B.I. agents are on the front lines of the fight to protect the United States from Islamic terrorists, Russian hackers and Chinese spies.* *Now they have something far more personal to worry about: their waists.* *For the first time in 16 years, the F.B.I. is requiring that its agents pass a fitness test.* *“The lives of your colleagues an... more »

Musical Interlude: Clannad, "Mystery Game"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 22 hours ago
Clannad, "Mystery Game" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIDzqVRFr5c

During President Obama's Story Telling A Bee Swarm Causes Mass Panic

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 23 hours ago
*WNU Editor: *I have learned the following simple rule in life .... you never get in the way of red army ants and BUMBLE BEES!!!!!

Has China Weaponized The Internet?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
China Telecom has denied any highjacking of U.S. internet traffic. Photo from CNN *The Diplomat:** Has China Weaponized the Internet?* *China’s internet censorship went on the offensive this week, enlisting computers around the world in a DDoS attack.* *Last week, China’s internet censorship apparently began playing offense – GitHub was the target of a massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack beginning last Thursday. The attack targeted two specific pages on GitHub’s site: the page for the Chinese-language version of the New York Times and the page for GreatFire.org, a g... more »

Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) - Legumes

Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints - 1 day ago
Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)! Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet. Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World! If this is your first visit, please click *HERE* for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far. This post contains great information and I encourag... more »

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"Star clusters are among the most visually alluring and astrophysically fascinating objects in the sky. One of the most spectacular nestles deep in the southern skies near the Southern Cross in the constellation of Crux. The Kappa Crucis Cluster, also known as NGC 4755 or simply the "Jewel Box" is just bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye. It was given its nickname by the English astronomer John Herschel in the 1830s because the striking color contrasts of its pale blue and orange stars seen through a telescope reminded Herschel of a piece of exotic jewelry. IMAGE: The FORS1...more »

These 6 Countries Have Blocked Social Media

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*Business Insider:* *6 countries that block social media* *Political censorship is alive and well in countries throughout the world.In 2014, Reporters Without Borders designated 19 countries as "enemies of the internet" for actions ranging from Britain's distributed denial of service attack against Anonymous to North Korea having building its own internal internet and walling its citizens off from the global web. However, despite the "enemies of the internet" moniker, only six countries actively block social media networks around the world, as shown by the following graphic fr... more »

"Passive Acceptance..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Poet: gk thomas, “Wretched of the Earth”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*“Wretched of the Earth”* By gk thomas “Poor kids, wretched of the earth, why should we feed you? Why shouldn't we empty our sea of bullets into your swollen bellies or poison you with toxic chemicals or depleted uranium? Why should we care, we who are living well? Where is it written in stone that you deserve better? Or that we are not animals subject to the law of nature: kill or be killed? You suspect us of being cruel, but we are kind. Our god tells us so. It is yours that lies. So you cry at night, shivering in the cold or sell yourselves for a slice of bread. What is that to thos... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

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

Psychology: “The Bystander Effect”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*“The Bystander Effect”* by smartknowledgeu “In the 1960s, Columbia University researchers, John Darley and Bibb Latané, conducted a now famous study of a phenomenon that they coined “the Bystander Effect” in which they sought to prove that people made their most important decisions by observing social cues of their peers and would not dissent from these cues if the majority of their peers conformed to a uniform “norm”. To test their thesis, Darley and Latané falsely informed subjects, the “marks”, that they were being recruited to take part in a study about the many problems tha... more »

"Rules For Thinking And Believing"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*"Seven Rules for Believing"* by Chet Raymo "I was reading again recently Richard Dawkins' letter to his daughter Juliet on her tenth birthday, urging her to avoid tradition, authority and revelation as reasons for believing. Ask for evidence, he writes - evidence that is at least potentially available to all. Good advice, and I wouldn't mind passing on Dawkins' letter to my own children or grandchildren. But there is further advice I would add. Previousy I proposed here Four Rules of Rational Thinking, and had some savvy comments by readers. Let me now propose Seven Rules of Belie... more »

Amnesty International's Sunjeev Bery on the Yemen crisis + Yemeni Journalist Zaid al-Alaya’a On Saudi Airstrikes On Civilians

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
*Title: Sunjeev Bery on the Yemen crisis. Source: CCTV America. Date Published: April 7, 2015. Description:* For more on the Yemen humanitarian crisis, CCTV spoke to Sunjeev Bery, Advocacy Director, Middle East North Africa, Amnesty International USA. *Title: Yemen Security. Source: TV2Africa. Date Published: April 7, 2015. Description:* Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to gain ground in the southern city of Aden Sunday, despite a Saudi-led airstrike campaign. The French News Agency reports the rebels have taken the provincial government headquarters, including the governor's offi... more »

Council Housing Strategy a Failure

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 1 day ago
*Guest post by Stephen Berry* Len Brown’s admission that only 170 homes have been built in Special Housing Areas since he was elected Mayor proves the Council’s housing strategy is a total failure. Unprecedented sales activity in March has seen Auckland’s residential housing market establish new records for prices and sales numbers. The average house price is even more expensive than in Sydney, with the gap widening as a stronger Kiwi dollar heads towards parity. Auckland houses are still the second-most overpriced in the world. Over thirty suburbs in Auckland now have a median h... more »

DCCC Surrenders NY-11 To GOP

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
The DCCC has one skill-- losing congressional races Last February we explained that the "new" Luján-run DCCC threw in the towel on the Staten Island congressional race even faster than the DCCC usually gives up. NY-11 is Michael Grimm's old seat, which has a growing Democratic edge. In 2008 Obama lost to McCain, 51-48%, but four years later Obama beat Romney 52-47%, a pretty significant swing. A competent DCCC would immediately recognize something to build on. Steve Israel and his puppet, Ben Ray Luján, aren't even vaguely competent and they've decided to just surrender without a fi...more »

The U.S. Justice Department Has Been Monitoring All Americans’ Overseas Phone Calls Since 1992

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*USA Today:* *U.S. secretly tracked billions of calls for decades* *Starting in 1992, the Justice Department amassed logs of virtually all telephone calls from the USA to as many as 116 countries, a model for anti-terror surveillance after Sept. 11, 2001.WASHINGTON — The U.S. government started keeping secret records of Americans' international telephone calls nearly a decade before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, harvesting billions of calls in a program that provided a blueprint for the far broader National Security Agency surveillance that followed.For more than two decades,... more »

The Heat discusses the Iran nuclear deal

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
*President Obama to the New York Times: "It's not as if in all these conversations, I'm leaving all my, you know, rifles at the door." * *An excerpt from,** "Iran and the Future of America’s Middle East Strategy" **by Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, April 6, 2015:* *The National Interest *has published our latest article, “Reality Check: America Needs Iran,” see here; we’ve also appended the text below. The piece argues that by trying to pursue a narrow arms control agreement with Tehran, while doubling-down on failed policies of offensively and unconditionally arming an... more »

Russian Hackers Succeeded In Hacking Into The White House

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*CNN*: *How the U.S. thinks Russians hacked the White House* *Washington (CNN)Russian hackers behind the damaging cyber intrusion of the State Department in recent months used that perch to penetrate sensitive parts of the White House computer system, according to U.S. officials briefed on the investigation.* *While the White House has said the breach only ever affected an unclassified system, that description belies the seriousness of the intrusion. The hackers had access to sensitive information such as real-time non-public details of the president's schedule. While such inform... more »

Money won’t do it

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 1 day ago
Sometimes there is more foolishness written in the papers than it’s possible to properly countenance. The *Otago Daily Times* has taken up the cudgels on behalf of a “regional solution to housing” that appears part of a new regionalism post-Northland that is well trumpeted by other commentators, including Interest.Co.NZ. The ODT calls for government action to recognise the regions and to make them more attractive. How, somehow? Dunedin, Invercargill, Timaru and Nelson are seen as very affordable places for first-home buyers, but the consistent drift north of jobs and government ... more »

NASA Information on UFOs Exposed

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 1 day ago
*Video -* A Briton accused of hacking into NASA and US military computer networks has spoken out about his experiences and findings regarding UFOs. The post NASA Information on UFOs Exposed appeared first on Waking Times.

Pakistan Wants To Lay Murder Charges Against The Former CIA Station Chief And A CIA Lawyer For A U.S. Drone Strike That Killed 3 Civilians In 2009

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*The Guardian:* *Pakistan court says former CIA station chief will face charges over drone strike* *Islamabad high court orders murder charges be brought against Jonathan Banks and former CIA lawyer John A Rizzo for 2009 strike that killed at least threeThe former head of the CIA in Pakistan should be tried for murder and waging war against the country, a high court judge ruled on Tuesday.Criminal charges against Jonathan Banks, the former CIA station chief in Islamabad, were ordered in relation to a December 2009 attack by a US drone which reportedly killed at least three pe... more »

PBS: What drove a small sect to take control of Yemen?

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
What drove a small sect to take control of Yemen? Source: PBS NewsHour. Date Published: April 7, 2015.

"Alas..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
“Alas, regardless of their doom, the little victims play! No sense have they of ills to come, nor care beyond today.” - Thomas Gray

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

FBI Agents Must Now Get Into Shape

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
F.B.I. agents jogging at the National Mall in Washington on Friday, part of their fitness training. Credit Zach Gibson/The New York Times *New York Times:* *Battling Crime and Calories at F.B.I. (Fit Bureau of Investigation)* *WASHINGTON — F.B.I. agents are on the front lines of the fight to protect the United States from Islamic terrorists, Russian hackers and Chinese spies.* *Now they have something far more personal to worry about: their waists.* *For the first time in 16 years, the F.B.I. is requiring that its agents pass a fitness test.* *“The lives of your colleagues an... more »

Commentaries, Analysis And Editorials -- April 7, 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
A Saudi Arabia-led coalition continues to bombard Yemen in an effort to stop the advance of an Iran-backed Houthi militia. The conflict is increasingly becoming a proxy war for regional supremacy. Here, followers of the Houthi group demonstrate against the Saudi-led air strikes in the capital city of Sanaa. Reuters *Dieter Bednarz, Christoph Reuter and Bernhard Zand, Spiegel Online*: *Proxy War in Yemen: Saudi Arabia and Iran Vie for Regional Supremacy* *On recent evenings, as Western foreign ministers negotiated fervently with the Iranian leadership in Lausanne, Switzerland, two y... more »
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Politics Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets break away after refueling with a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014 over Iraq. (Staff Sgt. Perry Aston/The Canadian Press) Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets break away after refueling with a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the ...


Finland is assigning two to four F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters to the training sorties while the United States is operating with F-16 Fighting Falcons and Sweden with JAS-39 Gripens. It is also possible that a USAF KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft flying out of Great Britain will take part in the ...
Each year photography gives its "best of the year" in numerous categories. Today, here is the 2014 best military pictures took by the forces of order themselves. These images, each more striking than each others, will take you to the heart of the training, fighting or celebrations. Staff Sgt. Kyle McGann, ...






Fill'er Up Please Posted 3/13/2015 An F-16 Fighting Falcon approaches for air refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker March 4, 2015, during exercise Iron Hand over southern France. The aircraft were participating in a combined training event designed to enhance interoperability and refine techniques and procedures. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kate Maurer) ...

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