Soldiers from the XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C., sit aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III airplane from the 16th Airlift Squadron, before a non-tactical proficiency jump at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. This photo appeared on www.army.mil. by Staff Sgt. Jacob Bailey July 14, 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)My Yahoo!
10:45pm MDST
Review - Stress-Free Sustainability by Adam Hammes
Those of us who live green tend to be passionate about the environment. We share what we know, we blog, we want to convert the world because, to us, it just makes sense to live the way we do. The trouble is, not everyone agrees. In fact, there are a fair number of people who don't believe there's any cause for concern. There are others who choose to ignore the warnings because it affects their bottom line. Governments won't take necessary steps to improve conditions and even experts debate whether or not we can make a difference. Green living can be very stressful! [image: Review... more »
Qatar Extends Travel Ban For 'Taliban 5' Who Were Released For Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl
*CNN:* *Qatar extends travel ban for 'Taliban 5'* *(CNN)Qatar has agreed to temporarily extend a travel ban for the five senior Taliban leaders who have lived there since being released in a prisoner exchange with the United States, a senior U.S. official told CNN.* *The ban will stay in place while discussions between the United States, Qatar and Afghanistan continue for a long-term solution. The Taliban members, who were traded for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, will still not be able to travel and will be subject to monitoring, the official said.* *The prisoner swap happened in May 2014.*... more »
75 Percent Of U.S. Bombing Runs Targeting The Islamic State Have Returned To Base With Their Bombs
A pair of U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles fly over northern Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria, in this U.S. Air Force handout photo taken early in the morning of September 23, 2014. (Reuters/U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Matthew) *Washington Times*: *U.S. bombers hold fire on Islamic State targets amid ground intel blackout* *Nearly 75 percent of U.S. bombing runs targeting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria returned to base without firing any weapons in the first four months of 2015, holding their fire mainly because of a lack of ground intelligence and raising questio... more »
With Default Looming A Sense of Panic And Chaos Is Growing in Greece
*Financial Times*: *Tsipras accuses bailout monitors of making ‘absurd’ demands* *Greece’s chances of striking a deal to access a much-needed €7.2bn in rescue aid looked even bleaker on Sunday after Alexis Tsipras, prime minister, accused bailout monitors of making “absurd” demands and seeking to impose “harsh punishment” on Athens.* *Mr Tsipras’s accusations, made in Le Monde newspaper, came only days after his government claimed an agreement was imminent. They have increased the sense of chaos around negotiations in the week many believe a deal is needed to avoid a Greek defaul... more »
We Todd did
I am we Todd did I am Sofa King we Todd did repeat
A Look At What U.S. Nuclear Tests Have Done To The Marshall Islands
*Robert Alvarez, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:* *The Marshall Islands and the NPT* *Tony DeBrum, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) provided a dose of reality to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference recently by asking: “How many in this room have personally witnessed nuclear weapon detonations?” * *On March 1, 1954, a 9-year-old DeBrum was fishing with his grandfather near the Likiep atoll, one of the islands in the Marshalls group. As his grandfather cast his net, there was a sudden intense flash that lit up the... more »
Do They REALLY Think That We Believe Bradley Chelsea Manning Has A TWITTER Account ???
Remember whistle-blower Bradley Manning? He passed classified information to whistle-blower Julian Assange and Assange's WIKILEAKS site. He leaked this information because he felt what the military was doing was immoral. Besides documents he leaked, he leaked this video that showed a U.S. Apache helicopter in Baghdad opening fire on a group of individuals that the crew believed to be insurgents. Among the dead were Iraqi children and two journalists: Bradley Manning was incarcerated by the corrupt U.S. government (corrupt military and corrupt judicial branch). He was sentenced t... more »
The Growth Of Medical Marijuana As A Salient Political Issue
The video above is from a hearing of the Michigan state legislature not the U.S. Congress. And the hearing is about abuse of forfeiture laws, not about medical marijuana itself. On April 30 the House voted on an amendment offered by Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) that was meant to "prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce Veterans Health Administration directive 2011-004 with respect to the prohibition on 'VA providers for completing forms seeking recommendations or opinions regarding a Veteran's participation in a State marijuana program.'" Yes, medical professional... more »
India Warns That The Islamic State Could Get A Nuclear Weapons From Pakistan
Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Are Not Safe: Former Foreign Minister -- DNA *The Independent:* *Isis could obtain nuclear weapon from Pakistan, warns India * *Comments by Defence Minister Rao Inderjit Singh follow Isis's own 'far-fetched' claims it could obtain a Pakistani nuclear device via corrupt officials* * India's defence minister has voiced concern that the radical Islamist group Isis could obtain a nuclear weapon from "states like Pakistan".* *Rao Inderjit Singh made the comments on the sidelines of the Shangri-La regional security conference in Singapore, Bloomberg has re... more »
“Rightwing Nuthouse: The Right's 5 Biggest Disasters This Week”
*“The Right's 5 Biggest Disasters This Week”* By Janet Allon *“1. Scott Walker becomes early front-runner for the Todd Akin “legitimate-rape” award. *Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker thinks that women who want to have abortions should be required to have medically unnecessary ultrasounds first because they are “lovely.” Not the women, the ultrasounds. They are, the GOP presidential aspirant said, “a cool thing.” He shared this deep thought with conservative radio host Dana Loesch, then bragged that, of course, his end game is to prevent abortions altogether. Because forcing women t... more »
Most Censored: US tragic fictional theater before UN Human Rights Council
By Brenda Norrell Censored News The United States is like that pretty girl in high school that thrives on her own self-promotion. But eventually the stardom wanes, the wrinkles take over, and well, its all down hill from there. The US has a partner in self promotion at the United Nations, an ally in its cheerleading to distract from its human rights violations. Its fellow chum is Saudi
At commencement time, we celebrate the new "capitalist" spirit in higher education
*DOONESBURY by G. B. Trudeau* [*Click to enlarge.*] *"We're capitalists, and we have to look at what the demand is, and we have to respond to the demand."* *-- Steven B. Long, vice chair of the academic planning committeeof the University of North Carolina Board of Governors* *by Ken* You may think that Oh!-That-Garry Trudeau is just being snippy again today, but it's hard not to look at this strip without thinking of a Daily Kos post earlier this week by LamontCranston, "46 Degree Programs Eliminated Across UNC College System," from which I gleaned the above-highlighted quo... more »
Musical Interlude: Tron Syversen, “Moonlight Reflections”
Tron Syversen, “Moonlight Reflections” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1EZ30fUHLA
"A Look to the Heavens"
"Seen one galaxy, seen 'em all? Not on your life: The Hubble Space Telescope has captured lots of fantastic pictures of spiral galaxies during its 20-plus years of operation, as you can see in our lineup of "Hubble's Greatest Hits." But I have a feeling that today's image of the galaxy NGC 4911 will be joining the hit parade. This jewel and the other gems in the setting are part of the Coma Cluster, a gathering of galaxies 320 million light-years away from Earth in the northern constellation Coma Berenices. You can make out the wispy tracks of NGC 4911's outer spiral arms, which are... more »
"What We Might Have Been..."
“No star is ever lost we once have seen, We always may be what we might have been.” - Adelaide Anne Procter
"Time Passes..."
"Time passes in moments. Moments which, rushing past, define the path of a life, just as surely as they lead towards its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path, to see the reasons why all things happen? To consider whether the path we take in life is our own making, or simply one into which we drift with eyes closed? But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes? Might we then see the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life? And, seeing those choices, choose another path?" - Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, "The X-Files"
"The Time of Your Life: Learning to Slow Down"
*"The Time of Your Life: Learning to Slow Down"* by The DailyOm "Throughout our lives, we are taught to value speed and getting things done quickly. We learn that doing is more valuable than merely being, and that making the most of life is a matter of forging ahead at a hurried pace. Yet as we lurch forward in search of some elusive sense of fulfillment, we find ourselves feeling increasingly harried and disconnected. More importantly, we fail to notice the simple beauty of living. When we learn to slow down, we rediscover the significance of seemingly inconsequential aspects of ... more »
"A Dent In The Universe..."
"Listen to me. We're here to make a dent in the universe. Otherwise why even be here?" - Steve Jobs
Chet Raymo, “Salt And Nerves”
*“Salt And Nerves”* by Chet Raymo “I like to think that every day offers at least one unique revelation, some one thing seen or experienced that has not been seen or experienced before, at least not in the same emotional state, in the same context, in the same slant of light. So I walk wary, as the poet Sylvia Plath says, "ignorant/ Of whatever angel may choose to flare/ Suddenly at my elbow." Nature seldom disappoints. Let me introduce you to another poet, my colleague here at the college, Anna Ross. In the particular poem I want to share she is walking with a companion and comes... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Reading, United Kingdom. Thanks for stopping by.
"A Gathering of the Tribe"
"A Gathering of the Tribe" by Charles Eisenstein "Once upon a time a great tribe of people lived in a world far away from ours. Whether far away in space, or in time, or even outside of time, we do not know. They lived in a state of enchantment and joy that few of us today dare to believe could exist, except in those exceptional peak experiences when we glimpse the true potential of life and mind. One day the shaman of the tribe called a meeting. They gathered around him, and he spoke very solemnly. "My friends," he said, "there is a world that needs our help. It is called Earth, a... more »
"All Is Not Lost..."
"If you can't answer a man's arguments, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names." - Elbert Hubbard
Psychology: "If You're Busy, You're Doing Something Wrong"
*"If You're Busy, You're Doing Something Wrong*: *The Surprisingly Relaxed Lives of Elite Achievers"* by "*The Berlin Study:* In the early 1990s, a trio of psychologists descended on the Universität der Künste, a historic arts academy in the heart of West Berlin. They came to study the violinists. As described in their subsequent publication in Psychological Review, the researchers asked the academy's music professors to help them identify a set of stand out violin players - the students who the professors believed would go onto careers as professional performers. We'll call this g... more »
The Poet: William Stafford, "Ask Me"
*"Ask Me"* by William Stafford "Some time when the river is ice ask me mistakes I have made. Ask me whether what I have done is my life. Others have come in their slow way into my thought, and some have tried to help or to hurt: ask me what difference their strongest love or hate has made. I will listen to what you say. You and I can turn and look at the silent river and wait. We know the current is there, hidden, and there are comings and goings from miles away that hold the stillness exactly before us. What the river says, that is what I say."
Churchill in the 1950s : Guayana
*"I have not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire. ...* *I am proud to be a member of that vast commonwealth and society of nations and communities gathered in and around the ancient British monarchy, without which the good cause might well have perished from the face of the earth. * *Here we are, and here we stand, a veritable rock of salvation in this drifting world...." -**Winston Churchill, 1942* *"We ought surely to get American support in doing all that we can to break the Communist teeth in British Guiana.* *Perhaps... more »
IPCC's Rajendra K Pachauri GUILTY in sexual harassment case
Remember this? : IPCC Rajendra K. Pachauri accused of sexual harrasement- resigns Resigned from the IPCC- Resigned from the Prime Ministers's council and on indefinite leave from The Energy and Resources Institute The Energy & Resource Institute- Brought to us all by TATA chemicals Hmmm...conflicts of interest abound.... *Here is the latest!* * TERI's internal panel finds RK Pachauri guilty in sexual harassment case* Psycho pervert An internal committee of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) found its director general RK Pachauri guilty in a sexual harassment case. Report... more »
The two Andys
Now that the election is but a distant memory, the Andrew Marr Show and The Sunday Politics have lost their lustre. Both now seem directionless. Andrew Marr tries to generate some vitality by punching the air with his good arm, but it’s no good. I suppose the Labour leadership is vaguely interesting to Labour voters. As I watched Yvette Cooper a huge amount of indifference and gloom descended. She seemed to be saying a whole lot of words and sentences that had no meaning. I was trying to read an article in the Times by Tom Holland (£) at the same time, but I did observe that Yve... more »
May 31: No paper today. But things to talk about.
Some days ago, I promised to take a look at why New Brunswickers are so passive in matters of public affairs. And, trust me, they are passive. They don't know what's going on; and most don't want to know. I have more than a thousand times spoken on public affairs at large assemblies in other parts of Canada, The Netherlands, even China to audiences of hundreds each time. Yes, I know those are all bigger than Moncton. But, usually, the audience was from a much, much smaller potential audience than Moncton provides. Very often, it was in a synagogue or a church or a library with a m...more »
MacKay and the road dishonestly taken
I gather that Peter MacKay is leaving politics, and some folks appear to be doing the dutiful "nice opponent" farewell hymns. For my part, I have absolutely zero respect for Peter MacKay -- and not just because he's been a loyal Harper toady as well as being a completely embarrassing clown and incompetent. Rather, every single moment of his career since he signed the agreement with David Orchard that he never intended to keep has been bought with that very colossal lie. If he felt he could not keep that agreement with Orchard, he should have resigned and left politics. We would, me... more »
Transnistria
People of Transnistria to Ask Putin for Protection From External Threat TIRASPOL (Sputnik) — The meeting participants decided to add to the text of the appeal before June 1 and then send it to Transnistria’s President Yevgeny Shevchuk for him to hand it to Vladimir Putin. [image: Border between Transnistria and Moldova] © Flickr/ Dieter Zirnig Border between Transnistria and Moldova “We would like to appeal to Vladimir Putin so that in case of an emergence of some threat to Transnistria he, being a guarantor of peace on the territory of Transnistria … would take all the measures nee... more »
U.S. Army Shifts Its Training To Fighting Big Wars
U.S. Army Soldiers participate in tactical range training using M-9 Berretta handguns on Normandy Range Complex in Basra, Iraq, July 15, 2009. The Soldiers are assigned to Company B, 445th Civil Affairs Battalion. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt Chrissy Best *Norwalk Reflector*: *Army Begins Training for Next War, Which May Be Much Different, Bigger* *For more than a decade, troops here have been schooled in counterinsurgency.* *"Mission-specific" training, they call it: going house to house, busting down doors, rooting out terror cells, recognizing crude explosives.* *Now, aft... more »
The Roswell Slides and the Mummy's Placard
You would have thought that once the placard in the slide had been read, and once that there was nearly universal acceptance of the translation suggesting that the body in the slide is that of a young boy, the debate would have ended. But this is ufology when nothing is ever ended no matter what the proof might be. It doesn’t matter what can be shown because there are those who won’t believe anything unless it reinforces their own belief structures. Such are the Roswell Slides and the placard. We are now told that it doesn’t matter what the placard says because we have all that “sci... more »
A George Galloway joke
After all that, here's a bit of semi-light relief (h/t Nick Cohen's Twitter feed), featuring a certain over-litigious ex-MP:
The Rushdie Deception : Timeline of Events
*Feb. 1981 - Soviet Airspace : *Israeli military transport carrying U.S.-made spares and war materiel destined for Iran crash lands on Soviet territory. *April 6th 1986 - West Berlin : *Labelle Discoteque Bombing; 2 fatalities. A 48th Tactical Fighter Wing F-111F aircraft retracts its landing gear as it takes off from RAF Lakenheath, East Anglia England, to participate in a retaliatory air strike on Libya. *April 14-15th 1986 : *Operation Eldorado Canyon - joint U.S.-U.K. Military Operation to Assassinate Col.Gaddaffi and affect Reigime Change in Libya via a decapitation strike ... more »
Vibrant Images that Give Voice to the Animal Kingdom
*Video - *Nature photographer Frans Lanting uses vibrant images to take us deep into the animal kingdom. The post Vibrant Images that Give Voice to the Animal Kingdom appeared first on Waking Times.
Is the BBC Trust biased in favour of anti-Israel complainants?
Moving onto the latest batch of Editorial Standards Findings (every complaint and appeal being, as usual, "not upheld")... Among the published rulings, there's one attacking the BBC for being pro-Israel (p.38) and another for being anti-Israel (p.25) - just the way the BBC seems to like it so they can claim to be 'getting it about right'. The BBC has thrown both complaints out, but there's a notable difference between their rulings: The one criticising Jeremy Bowen's reporting (the one where he said “After the attack on the centre for the disabled it is clear that the Israelis hav... more »
B-52s Conduct A Massive Carpet Bombing Exercise In Jordan
*Joseph Trevithick, War Is Boring*: *B-52s in Massive Mid-East Carpet Bombing Exercise* *But don’t expect the heavy bombers to join the war in Iraq* *On May 18, two American B-52H bombers flew non-stop from Louisiana to a range in Jordan, dropped a massive payload of bombs, then turned around and flew back home.* *The non-stop round trip — 30 hours and 14,000 miles in total — culminated in the twin bombers blasting a target range in full view of observers and public affairs cameras.* *It was a rare display of the bomber’s full combat power. B-52s often fly training missions arou... more »
Meeting with Okinawan Mayors
Nago City, Okinawa Mayor Susumu Inamine, joined by mayors from three other island communities, shared his deep opposition to US base expansion with peace group leaders yesterday in Washington. Mayor Inamine told those assembled for the late afternoon meeting, "We are walking on the edge of life" as they witness growing destruction of their beautiful island home. The US is forcing the Japanese government to build a new Marine base called Henoko in Nago City. The airfield for the new base would extend out into Oura Bay where coral and endangered sea mammals are being threatened. ... more »
U.N. REPORT ASSERTS ENCRYPTION AS A HUMAN RIGHT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
*U.N. REPORT ASSERTS ENCRYPTION AS A HUMAN RIGHT IN THE DIGITAL AGE* BY DAN FROOMKIN THURSDAY AT 6:46 PM *Encryption is not the refuge of scoundrels, as Obama administration law-enforcement officials loudly proclaim – it is an essential tool needed to protect the right of freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age, a new United Nations report concludes.* *Encryption that makes a communication unintelligible to anyone but the intended recipient creates “a zone of privacy to protect opinion and belief,”* says the report from David Kaye, who as Special Rapporteur on the p... more »
Future Chairman Of The NATO Military Committee: 'Russia Could Occupy The Baltics In 2 Days'
Czech General Petr Pavel *Noviny*:* Russia would be able to occupy Baltics in two days- Czech general* *Prague - Russia would be able to occupy the Baltic countries in two days, a period during which NATO would not be capable of reacting adequately, Czech general Petr Pavel, who will take up the post of the NATO Military Committee head in June, said at a Prague conference on security affairs today. * *Pavel warned that NATO´s political representation is incapable of reacting to a changed situation fast enough.* *He said the measures Europe has taken in face of the threats of Ru... more »
Terror Suspect Arrested In Cyprus Linked To Hezbollah Leader
A policeman stands guard at a house where police discovered almost two tonnes of ammonium nitrate, in Larnaca, Cyprus, May 29. (photo credit:REUTERS) *Jerusalem Post*: *Cyprus arrest of Hezbollah man 'uncovered large-scale Iranian terror plot across Europe' * *Israeli security sources believe Hezbollah kept a storeroom hiding massive quantity of explosives in Cyprus for an Iranian-orchestrated terror campaign against Israel. * *Israeli security sources are closely monitoring the arrest and investigation of a suspected Hezbollah operative in Larnaca, Cyprus, who was caught in pos... more »
The Most Important Thing Putin has ever told the World
*Putin has accused the U.S. of * *blackmailing world leaders* *"There are reports that a number of world leaders are getting undisguised blackmailed. It is not without reason that the 'Big Brother' is spending billions of dollars on surveillance around the world, including on their closest allies."* *Vladimir Putin, October 2014* The missing piece of the geopolitical puzzle was handed to the world on a silver platter by Vladimir Putin back in October of 2014 when he revealed why every western country is falling into line behind the Ziofascist warmongering cabal. Everyone is being... more »
The longest journey
Thirty years ago, I was helping a friend move into her Jimmy Carter house, and noticed a pile of apple tree prunings by the road, put there by the people who cleaned up the lot for construction. One small branch appeared to be quite straight and potentially useful, so I purloined it and threw it in the back of the pickup. At home I trimmed off the tip and twigs, peeled the bark, waited a few days, then painted and varnished it and added a crutch tip. It has faded and been touched up and faded again over the decades, but it's my go-to walking stick. Handy for hiking, walking the dog... more »
Sunday Classics snapshots: Look, it's Violetta!
*Joan Sutherland as Violetta in Act I of La Traviata* *Act I of La Traviata ends with Violetta's great solo scene* [in English] *Valerie Masterson (s), Violetta Valéry; John Brecknock (t), Alfredo Germont; English National Opera Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras, cond. EMI, recorded Aug.-Oct. 1980* *by Ken* Last week I tried to explain that in order to continue with the second example I promised of Verdi depicting a conspicuously aging parent, we really needed to give some attention to the composer's triumphs and tribulations with the "double aria" form carried over from the *bel c... more »
"An unfortunate coincidence"
Sticking with those latest batch of BBC Complaints appeals... The one on the Patagonian episode of *Top Gear* appears in this month's offerings. If you recall, the issue arose because of a confrontation with Argentinian locals arising from the said Argentinians noticing Clarkson and Co's registration plate and not taking a liking to it: Many saw it as implying '1982 Falklands' and read it as a typically un-PC (and rather funny) *Top Gear *joke. The Argentinians saw it the same way (though they didn't find it at all funny) and complained...and complained...and complained... The ... more »
The Coming Tabloid Assault on Charities
A couple of straws in the wind, perhaps, but I have a feeling something's a-brewing. Exhibit one: Olive Cooke, a 92-year-old poppy seller and giver to charitable causes took her own life after, apparently, being repeatedly pestered by cold callers asking for more cash (she already gave to 27 charities every month) *and* receiving dozens of begging letters, week in, week out. Exhibit two: Robert Newman, a 80-year-old pensioner received a begging letter from The Children's Society asking him to cough up a cool £100k over three-year monthly installments. The charity explained this ha... more »
You Can't Call Me 'Mo'
The latest batch of BBC Complaints appeals are out (for April). Among them I spotted someone complaining about having their comment 'moderated' off a BBC thread (on an article by Dominic Casciani entitled *Analysis: Can extremism plan work?*). Here's how the BBC describes what happened: The complainant had posted several comments on the article. During a thread which was discussing Islamic State (IS), the complainant had posted a reference to a verse from Sahih Bukhari, a collection of sayings and deeds of Prophet Mohammed: “Check your facts. Islam does allow killing of anyone w... more »
CRPE: Making Functional Public Schools Dysfunctional to Expand Charters
CRPE and the creeps who make up this Gates sludge tank are concentrated on expanding segregated corporate charter schools that will impose the Broken Windows model of schooling that KIPP made infamous. They are all about corporate exploitation of public space and dehumanization and control of the poor. Coming up with new ways to make functional public schools dysfunctional is necessary to carry out their mission. Read the story here from *The Progressive.*
Iran Is Looking For Ways To Block 'Nuclear Inspections' In Current Talks On Its Nuclear Program
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif pose for a photograph before resuming talks over Iran's nuclear programme in Lausanne March 16, 2015. *Reuters: **Iran says will discuss 'other solutions' to nuclear inspections deadlock* *Iran will discuss "other solutions" to Western demands that it allow U.N. inspectors access to its military sites and to interview its nuclear scientists, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted on Sunday as saying.* *The question of access for international inspectors has become one of the main sti... more »
ANONYMOUS FEAR MONGERING ABOUT THE PATRIOT ACT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE AND NEW YORK TIMES
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/28/anonymous-fear-mongering-patriot-act-nyt-wh/ *ANONYMOUS FEAR MONGERING ABOUT THE PATRIOT ACT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE AND NYT* BY GLENN GREENWALD THURSDAY AT 1:00 PM (updated below) Several of the most extremist provisions of the 2001 Patriot Act are going to expire on June 1 unless Congress reauthorizes them in some form. Obama officials such as Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and new Attorney General Loretta Lynch have been engaged in rank fear-mongering to coerce renewal, warning that we’ll all be “less safe” if these p... more »
China Indicates That It May Set Up An Air Defense Zone In The South China Sea
*New York Times*: *China Says It Could Set Up Air Defense Zone in South China Sea* *BEIJING — A Chinese admiral said on Sunday that Beijing could set up an air defense zone above disputed areas of the South China Sea if it felt it was facing a large enough threat, according to Chinese news media.* *Adm. Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army, told a regional security forum in Singapore that China had not said it would create a so-called air defense identification zone, but that any decision would be based on an aerial threat assessment and the general ... more »
Northerntruthseeker Rant For Sunday, May 31st, 2015
[image: rant-jpeg-b] Yes, it is Sunday again.... I am back from a much needed rest for a few days, and time again for my rant... As I said on Friday's Turbulent Times show, the rest was indeed a time to recharge my batteries and catch up on so many things that I have neglected to do around here due to a very busy schedule at work.....I again have had to put this blog on the back burner from time to time to concentrate on family and my many other projects..... Last year in several of my rants I informed everyone of a colleague of mine from work suffering from Lymphoma which is one ... more »
Keep swallowing that 'Tablet'
Damian Thompson of *The Spectator *and *The Catholic Herald* did a 'me' and speculated yesterday about what would be on this morning's *Sunday *on Radio 4: Wonder if the wildly biased @BBCR4Sunday is planning a hatchet job on Cardinal #Pell tomorrow. Stourton is friends with Pell’s opponents. — Damian Thompson (@holysmoke) May 30, 2015 No such hatchet job on Cardinal Pell took place; although he was mentioned. Damian, however, shares my much-repeated belief that *Sunday *tends to sound like the audio equivalent of the liberal Catholic magazine *The Tablet* - of which the programm... more »
Travel Ban For 'Taliban 5' Set To End Today
*Voice of America*: *Travel Ban Ends Sunday for 5 Taliban Freed for US Soldier * *ISLAMABAD - A travel ban on five senior Afghan Taliban officials freed by the United States in a prisoner exchange last year will expire Sunday.* *The five Taliban officials have been in Qatar since last year, when they were released in exchange for the return of an American soldier held by insurgents in Afghanistan for nearly five years.* *The approaching end of the travel ban has concerned American lawmakers and Afghan peace negotiators who worry that the former Taliban fighters will return to t... more »
An Aurora Borealis in Norden
Press/licensing/projects contact: tsophotography@gmail.com Terje Sørgjerd I spent a week capturing one of the biggest aurora borealis shows in recent years. Shot in and around Kirkenes and Pas National Park bordering Russia, at 70 degree north and 30 degrees east. Temperatures around -25 Celsius. Good fun. Visit my Facebook page tesophotography.com for more information. If you are interested in hiring me or licensing my clips contact me at: terjes@gmail.com *To find an aurora in Norden:* *http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forecast/*
Islamic State Now Targeting Saudi Arabia
*Kristin Roberts, National Journal: **The Coming ISIS Assault on Saudi Arabia Means Awful Things for Washington* *ISIS has its next target, and it’s one that threatens U.S. interests in the region more than anything you’ve seen from the terrorist group so far.Two weeks. Two suicide bombings. Both targeting Shiites in a Sunni land. And both claimed by ISIS.If this were Iraq or Syria, these attacks—sadly—wouldn't be surprising. But it's not. It's Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's most precious sites and the region's most powerful Sunni rulers—a relatively vast territory, kept rema... more »
Rich Maryland New Dem John Delaney Is On The Attack Again-- Against Progressives
John Delaney spent $2,370,556 in 2012 to buy himself a seat, the third most-- after Suzan DelBene and Scott Peters-- among the wealthy Democratic freshmen (all of whom immediately joined the extremely corrupt, pro-business/anti-family New Dems). Now a Maryland congressman in a safe blue seat, Delaney is often a fount of Republican ideas-- like forbidding the EPA from protecting clean drinking water in streams and lakes and raising the retirement age for the working poor and forcing chained CPI down the throats of Social Security recipients. He was at it again yesterday-- another o... more »
Entrenching The Corporate Agenda
http://www.perspectives.com/ Stephen Harper is a man of inconsistencies. But, if there is one thing he's been consistent about, it's putting his signature to free trade deals. Each of those deals contains an ISDS (Investor-State Dispute Settlement) clause. Murray Dobbin writes: This is not hyperbole -- that is the actual, stated objective of ISDS: if a new law affects the expected future profits of a foreign-owned company, it can sue the federal government for damages. And the decision is made by a panel of trade lawyers whose bias is, n... more »
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Suffers Broken Leg In Bike Accident In France
*New York Times:* *Secretary of State John Kerry Cuts Trip Short After Bike Crash* *GENEVA — Secretary of State John Kerry has cut short his trip to Europe after suffering an accident while bicycling on Sunday and is returning to Boston for medical care.* *The State Department said that Mr. Kerry, 71, had suffered a broken leg when his bike struck a curb while cycling near Scionzier, France. He was transported to a hospital in Geneva and never lost consciousness.* *Mr. Kerry had been scheduled to fly to Madrid this afternoon for an official visit there. He was then set to travel ... more »
Could the KMT really go with Hung? + Linkfest
*Found this glorious beetle decked out in aboriginal colors.* Solidarity translated two reports from the local news today. First, an Apple Daily piece saying that the KMT is courting destruction following its rules and going with Hung. Visit the countryside and ask a KMT legislative candidate, still straining to keep a wisp of a smile on his face, how he feels right now. Having heard that for the sake of its system the party will nominate a “systemic” presidential candidate, he shakes his head and waves his hands and says, “*We’ll fight our campaign on our own. I can’t possibly put... more »
Untitled
*A Modest Proposal for Education Reform* Before he passed away recently, John M. Templeton, the distinguished physician and philanthropist, questioned: “Should we tolerate a public educational system with its entrenched self-interest which virtually every inner-city parent knows is destroying any hope or possibility of their children achieving meaningful opportunity in a 21st-century economy?” A growing number of parents say no. Now critics of the public school system are coming forward with alternatives to it, and many of them are parents, often parents of disadvantaged students,... more »
Carpe diem
Radio 4's* Broadcasting House*, coming live from a tent at the Hay Festival (though sounding as if it were being broadcast from inside a tin drum), paused for thought for a moment today. We heard extracts from one of Clive James's latest poems, *Sentenced to Life* - read by the man himself. It was so good I thought I'd share it with you. (The full poem can be found here). My daughter’s garden has a goldfish pool With six fish, each a little finger long. I stand and watch them following their rule Of never touching, never going wrong: Trajectories as perfect as plain song. Once, I... more »
Untitled
*You knew it! The Indian heatwave is caused by global warming* *"The Guardian" (below) is being entirely predictable. Just one problem: Even Warmist scientists admit that there has been no terrestrial warming for 18 years. So how can something that doesn't exist cause anything?* Roads have twisted in the heat. Hospitals are overwhelmed by thousands of dehydrated people, the poor, the elderly and children among the worst hit. Urgent instructions to wear wide-brimmed hats and light-coloured cotton clothes, use umbrellas and drink lots of fluid have been issued by the government.... more »
THE CERN DECEPTION ~ THE EVIL OF DARK MATTER 2015
[image: Creatrix13] Creatrix13 The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has restarted again this April 2015 in the search for Dark Energy and possible extra dimensions in our Universe. Will Cern Create Black Holes this time, or find the key to the Universe? The GOD particle... So many questions and so few answer's. Galaxies in our universe seem to be achieving an impossible feat. They are rotating with such speed that the gravity generated by their observable matter could not possibly hold them together; they should have torn themselves apart long ago. The same is true of galaxies... more »
Economic News and Views ( May 31 , 2015 ) - Greece Updates ( Greece may be edging to a tentative agreement on an Interim Deal with the Troika - take with a grain of salt naturally , Varoufakis denies tht he's about to resign , Sunday Teleconference between Tsipras / Merkel and Hollande on deck ) ....... Italy to cast votes in Regional Elections today ( 7 Regions in play - bigger test for Renzi or Berlusconi ? )
Tweets.... Greece.... *Keep Talking Greece* @keeptalkingGR 15m 15 minutes ago #*Greece* Tsipras to talk with Merkel & Hollande via teleconference Sunday evening *Keep Talking Greece* @keeptalkingGR 27m 27 minutes ago #*Greece*’s Creditors’ Crazy Commands: austerity measures €4-7billion, pensions just 53% of salary http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2015/05/31/gre eces-creditors-crazy-commands-austerity-measures-e4-7-billion-pensions-just-53-of-salary/ … *Greek Reporter* @GreekReporter 1h 1 hour ago Poll: 6 out of 10 Greeks Believe a New Memorandum Is Coming http://... more »
Relaxing and Simple DIY Detox Bath
*Meme - *All-natural inexpensive detox bath that may help your body relax and may relieve several health issues. The post Relaxing and Simple DIY Detox Bath appeared first on Waking Times.
Buying Your Vote
Rumours circulating that Harper will extend the official campaign period by *calling the election early* may well have some merit given that his “Fair” Election Act specifically allows more spending on advertising during such extended period. *The Fair Elections Act** also increases election spending for political parties, candidates and nomination contestants. Using last election’s numbers, it would mean slightly more than $1 million for each political party that runs candidates in each riding ($0.735 for every elector instead of $0.70) * *But the real change is that election expens... more »
Karen Hudes - World Bank Whistleblowers - Plural
A group of World Bank Whistleblowers dishing dirt on corporate corruption and global money laundering? Let's let Former World Bank Senior Council i.e. top-tier lawyer, Karen Hudes explain it all so she can take the legal rap for her claim that "all the major (supposedly competing) financial institutions are JUST ONE BIG BANK". *FURTHER HUDESING:* uploaded a couple of days ago to her own Youtube channel, here's Hudes opening up about The Network of Global Corporate Control and the Use of the Military in such Global Overlording.
Russia's Admiral Nakhimov Battle Cruiser to Return to Service by 2018
[image: Kirov class Battle Cruiser]Earlier reports suggested that Russia may finish the modernization of the warship by the end of 2019. "You must have heard about our heavy aircraft [guided missile] cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, it is being modernized now… It will be a modern powerful ship in the old hull meeting all present-day requirements, and will be handed over to the Navy in 2017-2018," Capt. 1st Rank Vladimir Tryapichnikov told Ekho Moskvy radio. The reconstruction works include the upgrade of the life support systems, missile systems and artillery weapons, as well as electronic... more »
Missile base plan disclosed in art project document
[image: Patriot PAC-3]The planning of a missile base in Kaohsiung has been inadvertently exposed in a military document sent out to invite bidders for a project to install works of public art there, a report said yesterday. The defense ministry said it would not comment on sensitive and confidential matters such as military deployments and facilities. The United Evening News said the military is constructing its first Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile base in Southern Taiwan. Read more
GAO Report: US Anti-Missile Interceptors Have Serious Technical Flaws
[image: Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system]Anti-missile interceptors that would be used to defend the United States against a nuclear attack from North Korea have at least one of two serious technical flaws that could leave them susceptible to experiencing "failure modes" that would result in "an interceptor fleet that would not work as intended," a Government Accountability Office report reveals. The Pentagon was informed of the issues last summer, reports the Los Angeles Times, but postponed corrections, telling federal auditors that acting immediately would slow down an ... more »
Russian aircraft head off U.S. destroyer in Black Sea
[image: Su-24 Fencer]Russian military aircraft were scrambled to head off a U.S. warship that was acting "aggressively" in the Black Sea, state news agency RIA reported on Saturday, but the Pentagon denied any unusual behavior. RIA quoted an anonymous source in Russia's armed forces in Crimea as saying that the guided missile destroyer USS Ross was moving along the edge of Russia's territorial waters and heading in their direction. "The crew of the ship acted provocatively and aggressively, which concerned the operators of monitoring stations and ships of the Black Sea Fleet," RIA ... more »
A-10's backers battling for its survival
For this year — and perhaps longer — the A-10s that fly over Tucson almost daily may escape the budget ax with help from a longtime ally with new power. The Air Force wants to retire the entire fleet of A-10 “Warthogs,” including three squadrons at D-M, by 2019 to save some $4 billion. But Arizona Sen. John McCain, a former Navy pilot who ascended to the chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee in January, has vowed to halt the A-10’s retirement. McCain argues that no other plane offers the low-level, sustained close air support the A-10 delivers. Read more
Undocking of INS Vikrant Postponed
[image: INS Vikrant]The much-anticipated ‘undocking’ of INS Vikrant, the indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) being built at the Cochin Shipyard for the Indian Navy, was postponed on Saturday due to siltation following high-tide. Undocking means that the work that needs to be carried out in the dry dock has been completed. Now, all the underwater works of the IAC have been completed, and the ship is ready to float out of the dry dock. The remaining work can be completed while the ship is floating. Read more
Local Council By-Elections May 2015
Party Number of Candidates Total Vote % +/- Apr Average/ contest +/- Apr +/- Seats Conservative 72 124,822 36.1% +17.9% 1,773 +1,614 +9 Labour 76 112,813 32.6% -4.1% 1,484 +1,004 -4 LibDem 50 29,493 8.5% -6.5% 590 +197 -2 UKIP 42 31,659 9.2% -4.5% 754 +595 -3 Green 36 17,394 5.0% +5.0% 483 +483 -1 SNP* 3 12,197 3.5% +3.5% 4,066 +4,066 +1 PC** 5 3,154 0.9% -6.2% 631 +446 0 TUSC 7 506 0.1% +0.1% 72 +72 0 Ind*** 20 11,115 3.2% ... more »
Russia to Take Part in South China Sea Naval Exercises
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[image: USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54)]Russia will take part in South China Sea counter-terrorism exercises as it becomes increasingly concerned with security and stability in the region. Russia will conduct naval exercises in the South China Sea in 2016, together with its partners in the Asia Pacific Region, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said at a defense summit in Singapore on Saturday. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit of defense ministers, Antonov said that Russia is increasingly concerned for its security, citing US missile shield deployments, terrorism ... more »
Lest We Forget: Parliament waited until after the 2015 General Election to confirm they would pocket their bumper payrise. What else did they forget to tell us before we voted in May 2015?
In December 2013 the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) gave MPs a pay rise to £74,000 per year starting from immediately after the May 2015 General Election. (The payrise will come into force in the autumn, but will be backdated to the General Election). We say "gave" and not "recommended" because ministers say they don't have the power to overrule IPSA and reject the extra
Australia to Continue Military Patrols in South China Sea
[image: AP-3C Orion]The Australian government has asserted its right to fly military patrols over contested South China Sea islands claimed by Beijing, but said on Sunday it hadn’t had formal talks with the U.S. on naval missions as a direct challenge to Chinese muscle-flexing. Australia’s Defense Minister Kevin Andrews, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal from Singapore, said Canberra had sent long-range maritime patrol aircraft over the South China Sea and Indian Ocean, and would continue to do so despite the potential for obstruction from China. “We’ve been doing it for ... more »
Germany Lobbies India To Buy Eurofighters, Submarines
[image: EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon]Germany’s defence minister held out the prospect of more talks on a possible sale of Eurofighter jets to India and, on a visit to New Delhi, said Berlin stood ready to back a multi-billion-dollar Indian submarine project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has just marked his first year in office, cut through an impasse over a troubled tender for high-end combat jets by announcing a deal in France last month to buy 36 Rafales from Dassault. India has since said the original tender, launched by the last government to acquire 126 Medium Multi-Role Co... more »
4th Russian-built submarine set to arrive in Vietnam next month
[image: MS Rolldock Storm]The fourth of the six Kilo-class submarines that Vietnam has contracted to buy from Russia is scheduled to arrive in Vietnam next month. The submarine codenamed HQ-185 Da Nang is currently carried by the Dutch-registered cargo ship Rolldock Storm which is on its way to Vietnam. It is docking at a port in the Canary Islands off the southern coast of Morocco for fuel filling. Read more
Ceres - cratered - electrically?
*bright flash of light on Ceres*Ceres, the 1,000 kilometres across *dwarf planet* or largest resident of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is uniformly littered with far too many craters that are QUOTE *ninety degrees axial to the centre of the body* UNQUOTE. There are virtually no GICs or Glancing Impact Craters where an impactor has come in at any angle other than the perpendicular or ninety degree impact. Considering Ceres' low gravitational influence on its impactors, this is (statistically) highly improbable considering the arbitrary impact locations and directions of... more »
Another insane wave of anti-Russia spin in Western media
Lots of the mass media write emotional stories about Russia's new anti-EU blacklist. For example, the BBC claims that there is The European Union anger at Russian travel blacklist. The list of 89 EU politicians (list here) banned in Russia is clearly just a revenge for a totally analogous list of more than 100 people that was imposed by the EU. And I think it is totally sensible for Russia to say that Russia is being kind and building the mutual credibility when it makes the list public. If someone has *missed* that the EU, the U.S., and others have *started* with similar hostile ex... more »
There Is No White House Plan To Stop The Islamic State
Larry Downing/Reuters *Nancy A. Youseff, Daily Beast:* *Obama’s New ISIS War Plan: Nothing* *Defeats? What defeats? The terror group may have romped in Ramadi and Palmyra, but the Obama administration isn’t changing its strategy, despite growing doubts in the Pentagon.The self-proclaimed Islamic State has claimed a major provincial capital in Iraq and taken over another strategically key city in Syria. In response, the Obama administration plans to do—well, not much of anything new.Four defense officials told The Daily Beast that there’s still strong resistance within the Oba... more »
Islamic State Is Targeting OPEC Arab States
*The Telegraph*: *Opec under siege as Isil threatens world's oil lifeline* *As the bloc’s 12 oil ministers meet in Vienna, the march of Isil jihadists in the Middle East is putting Iran and Saudi Arabia on a collision course with explosive consequences.* *Thick black smoke rising from the Baiji oil refinery could be seen as a dirty smudge on the horizon as far away as Baghdad after fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) set fire to the enormous processing plant just over 100 miles north of the capital last week.* *The decision to torch the refinery, which ... more »
The Curious Incident of the Panorama Episode that Disappeared in the Night
The fates have conspired against me here. I checked out an old episode of *Panorama *on iPlayer yesterday - the one where* Panorama *brought in famous U.S. pollster Nate Silver before the election to answer the question, Who Will Win the Election? I wanted to check how well Nate did, given how effusive presenter Richard Bacon had been about his astonishing accuracy as a pollster. The answer is that he was no better or worse than anyone else. If I remember the numbers correctly, he predicted the Conservatives would have 282 seats, Labour 270, the SNP 48, the Lib Dems 24 and UKIP 1. ... more »
HACKING ONLINE POLLS AND OTHER WAYS BRITISH SPIES SEEK TO CONTROL THE INTERNET
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/07/14/manipulating-online-polls-ways-british-spies-seek-control-internet/ HACKING ONLINE POLLS AND OTHER WAYS BRITISH SPIES SEEK TO CONTROL THE INTERNET BY GLENN GREENWALD @ggreenwald 07/14/2014 Featured photo - Hacking Online Polls and Other Ways British Spies Seek to Control the Internet The secretive British spy agency GCHQ has developed covert tools to seed the internet with false information, including the ability to manipulate the results of online polls, artificially inflate pageview counts on web sites, “amplif[y]” sanctioned messag... more »
Musical Interlude: Justin Hayward, “The Way of the World”
Justin Hayward, “The Way of the World” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1QUrpqOAXY
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Massive stars, abrasive winds, mountains of dust, and energetic light sculpt one of the largest and most picturesque regions of star formation in the Local Group of Galaxies. Known as N11, the region is visible on the upper right of many images of its home galaxy, the Milky Way neighbor known as the Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC). *Click image for larger size.* The above image was taken for scientific purposes by the Hubble Space Telescope and reprocessed for artistry by an amateur to win the Hubble's Hidden Treasures competition. Although the section imaged above is known as NGC 17...more »
The Islamic State Has Perfected The Use Of Multiple Massive Car Bomb Attacks To Overrun Cities
*Jeremy Bender, Business Insider*: *ISIS' favorite tactic for overrunning cities is brilliant, devastating, and insane* *Since ISIS exploded onto the scene in Iraq in June 2014, the group has managed to overrun cities garrisoned by contingents of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) that were multiple times larger than the attacking militant forces. * *In May, ISIS seized control of Ramadi after months of battles against the ISF, Iraqi police, and members of Sunni tribes who opposed ISIS.* *Altogether, the ISF had assembled a force of about 2,000 soldiers in Ramadi who were fighting a... more »
The Poet: Rolf Jacobsen, "When They Sleep"
*"When They Sleep"* "All people are children when they sleep. There's no war in them then. They open their hands and breathe in that quiet rhythm heaven has given them. They pucker their lips like small children and open their hands halfway, soldiers and statesmen, servants and masters. The stars stand guard and a haze veils the sky, a few hours when no one will do anybody harm. If only we could speak to one another then when our hearts are half-open flowers. Words like golden bees would drift in. God, teach me the language of sleep." - Rolf Jacobsen, "The Roads Have Come to an End Now"
Chet Raymo, “Thinking Like A Tortoise”
*“Thinking Like A Tortoise”* by Chet Raymo “The average lifespan in a hunter-gatherer society is 32 years. If you think you'd like the simplicity and ecological integrity of a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, be sure to take your mobile phone and not wander too far away from a hospital. Culture, medical and biological science in particular, changed things dramatically. A century-and-a-half ago life expectancy at birth was 50 years, with child mortality being the most significant limiting factor. By the time I was born, life expectancy at birth was pushing 70 years, with the age-range 14-... more »
Prayers for Beau Biden. May he rest in peace...
*sad.* No father should have to endure such a tragic event. RIP Beau.
Report: US Anti-Missile Ground-Based Interceptors Have Serious Technical Flaws
An interceptor missile being hoisted at Fort Greely, Alaska. U.S. Army *L.A. Times*:* Serious flaws revealed in U.S. anti-missile nuclear defense against North Korea* *Two serious technical flaws have been identified in the ground-launched anti-missile interceptors that the United States would rely on to defend against a nuclear attack by North Korea.* *Pentagon officials were informed of the problems as recently as last summer but decided to postpone corrective action. They told federal auditors that acting immediately to fix the defects would interfere with the production of n... more »
Life On The Front Lines In Ukraine
*BBC:* *Ukraine's stubborn frontline civilians defy bombardment* *It was a perfect afternoon in early summer.* *Somebody had placed a garland of fresh flowers on the rusting wreckage of a tank. Men died here and were remembered. Although the fields were empty it was possible to imagine them filled with workers harvesting the sunflower crop.* *This was the lull, the space between bombardments when the land reminded us of its true purpose: not a battlefield but a place of abundance.* *I remarked to a colleague that the calm was our greatest enemy here. It lulled us into a false ... more »
"An Exquisite Balance..."
“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas… If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you… On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones.” - Carl Sagan
The Secret of the Walking 82-ton Statues of Easter Island
*Film - *One of the greatest mysteries of the world are the statutes called Moai, which stand on Easter Island. The post The Secret of the Walking 82-ton Statues of Easter Island appeared first on Waking Times.
Diplomacy To Settle The Ukraine Crisis Is Failing
A woman with a boy looks at a tank as it drives through the settlement Khutor Chkalova on its way to the Russian military training ground ‘Kuzminsky’ on the Russians side of the border with Ukraine, May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Maria Tsvetkova *Lucian Kim, Reuters*: *Vladimir Putin is not planning annexation of Ukraine enclaves, but diplomacy is flailing* *Karl-Georg Wellmann, a representative in the German parliament, flew to Moscow Sunday night on a behind-the-scenes mission to help break the deadlock in eastern Ukraine. But when he landed at Sheremetyevo Airport, border officials deni... more »
We Want France Out of NATO
Polls show that the French are even more opposed to being in NATO today than they were in 2009, but mainstream politicians like Socialist President Francois Hollande show no inclination to re-evaluate France’s membership. It’s yet another issue where Hollande is perceived as failing to protect France’s national interests.
Has The Psychotic State Of Israel Used Tactical Nuclear Weapons In Yemen? You Decide!
To this day, most people in the gullible United States of America, and even right here in Canada, are still refusing to look at all of the evidence and instead still continue to believe that the criminal and psychotic state of Israel does not possess nuclear weapons... These fools are of course brainwashed by the Jew spew media that continues to promote the absolute LIE that the peaceful state of Iran and others in the middle east are the ones wanting nuclear weapons, and refuse to even look at the true elephant in the room, which is of course the psycho state of Israel with its est... more »
Somebody has to flack for the British Ministry of Defence at the embassy in Washington -- why shouldn't it be you?
*The British Embassy on Observatory Circle in Washington, DC -- does it look as if the neighborhood would have a lot of delis or other places to buy a breakfast bagel on the way to work and, say, a decent sandwich for lunch?* *by Ken* Wouldn't you know it would be our "In the Loop" pal Al Kamen coming up with word of this job opening posted by the British Embassy in Washington? The pay is nothing special, but the benefits are OK, and it looks like a pleasant enough place to work, though it doesn't look as if the neighborhood would have a lot of delis or other places to pick up a ... more »
Russian Fighter Jets Warn U.S. Destroyer To Not Approach Russian Waters
© Flickr/ CNE CNA C6F *Sputnik News:* *Russian Jets Force US Navy Destroyer Away From Territorial Waters* *Russian Navy jets forced a US Navy ship into the eastern Black Sea after it was noticed heading into Russia's territorial waters.* *Russian Navy Su-24 jets forced US Navy destroyer USS Ross to go into neutral waters in the Black Sea, a source in Crimea's security forces told RIA Novosti.* *The US Navy ship was noticed heading directly toward Russian waters after leaving the Romanian port of Costanta. The incident comes on the same day as fugitive Georgian ex-leader Mikheil... more »
Energy Econ 36, The Visayas grid and coal power plant in Negros
There was a report in interaksyon.com last April 6, 2015 on P15.5-billion coal-fired power plant in northern Negros proposed. For me, it is good news for the two Negros provinces and the Visayas grid. When that 150 MW coal plant starts operating a few years from now, it should help expand electricity supply for Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental provinces which currently are dependent on an old geothermal plant in southern Negros and coal plants from Cebu. In the May 2010 population census nationwide, Negros Occidental including Bacolod City has 2.9 million people while Negros... more »
"A Mad World..."
“Where does one go from a world of insanity? Somewhere on the other side of despair.” - T.S. Eliot
Max Ehrmann, "A Prayer"
"A Prayer" "Let me do my work each day; and if the darkened hours of despair overcome me, may I not forget the strength that comforted me in the desolation of other times. May I still remember the bright hours that found me walking over the silent hills of my childhood, or dreaming on the margin of a quiet river, when a light glowed within me, and I promised my early God to have courage amid the tempests of the changing years. Spare me from bitterness and from the sharp passions of unguarded moments. May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit. Though the world knows me...more »
May 30: ?????? What is news?
Think about that word.News. It doesn't mean sentimentality. It doesn't mean nostalgia. It doesn't mean reminiscence. Note the first three letters of it - NEW. It's about something very, very recent - like NOW. It's about information that we need to function as a society. Yes, in other sections you can have Ann Landers and comics. But these don't appear in news sections. And they certainly don't appear as a banner headline on A1. Except in the Irving press where Brent Mazerolle has a sentimental high school essay about the police killings of June 4. Continued on A11, it takes up a t... more »
Untitled
*The Use of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Frozen Fund* On May 25, 2015, the Almasry al-youm newspaper revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood leadership has adopted terrorism as a strategy to attack the Egyptian government in an effort to regain the political control they lost in 2013. Nevertheless, such a strategy is not a new policy. It has been part of their political ideology since its inception in 1928. Recently, some western writers began to confirm that terrorism is part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political ideology. In an article published in The Foreign Affairs Journey in May 2... more »
"Your Radiation This Week, May 29, 2015"
*"Your Radiation This Week"* by Bob Nichols (San Francisco) May 29, 2015 – "Good Day, this is “Your Radiation This Week.” These are the recorded Radiation Highs that affected people this week around the United States and in your neighborhood. Let’s get right to it. *Listed in Counts per Minute, a Count is One Radioactive Decay Registered by the Instrument. Partial Counts are noted. Uncounted radiation would make the actual Count higher. *50 CPM is an alert level.* *RADIATION CPM* CITY STATE* 398 CPM Concord, NH Gamma and Beta Radiation Combined. 320 CPM Boston, MA Partial ... more »
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Appointed Governor Of The Ukraine Region Of Odessa
*CNN*: *Ukraine gives former Georgian president citizenship, governor's job* *Kiev, Ukraine (CNN)Ukraine's leader has given former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship and appointed him governor of the country's southwestern Odessa province, in a move that may needle Russia's Vladimir Putin.* *Photographs posted on President Petro Poroshenko's official website showed the pair smiling as he welcomed Saakashvili to the role in Odessa on Saturday.* *Presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko told CNN that Poroshenko had suggested that the Cabinet nominate Saa... more »
Hundreds will rally as oil spill fouls Santa Barbara 'marine protected areas'
Hundreds will rally as oil spill fouls Santa Barbara 'marine protected areas'by Dan Bacher Censored NewsAs the Santa Barbara Oil Spill fouls the controversial "marine protected areas" created under the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, Californians Against Fracking announced they will march with local residents at the site of the tragic spill to call on
joseph mitchell, master writer of the master city
*My desire is to get the reader, well, first of all to read it. That story [“The Bottom of the Harbor”] was hard to write because I had to wonder how long can I keep developing it before the reader’s going to get tired of this. Here and there, as I think a fiction writer would, I put things that I know—even the remark the tugboat men make, that you could bottle this water and sell it for poison—that are going to keep the reader going. I can lure him or her into the story I want to tell. I can’t tell the story I want to tell until I’ve got you into the pasture and down where the she... more »
No cultish refusal here
As you may recall from the previous post... Nick Cohen, denouncing people like us for our "cultish refusal to allow one good word to be said about the corporation", must have missed *Is the BBC biased? *(I know. It's not exactly hard to miss us, is it?). We've praised good BBC programmes from the start. And, despite fleeting qualms about its "protected species" badger coverage (in the light of the must-discussed cull of badgers over TB in cattle), I'm happy to add my voice to the chorus on praise for this year's *Springwatch* on BBC Two. Part of the reason I was so quiet, blog-wi... more »
What is Geopolitics and Why Does It Matter?
*Video Title: What is Geopolitics and Why Does It Matter? Source: Foreign Policy Research Institute. Date Published: February 26, 2015. Description:* February 25, 2015 Stan and Arlene Ginsburg Family Foundation Lecture Series Ronald J. Granieri Executive Director, FPRI Center for the Study of America and the West To celebrate FPRI's 60th Anniversary, we have devoted this year’s Ginsburg Series to lectures on geopolitics and how it can be used to understand the greatest challenges facing the United States today. FPRI’s founder, Robert Strausz-Hupé, introduced the term, “geopolitics,... more »
This problem's a snap to solve -- just change the name of the joint to 'Big Valley 'Cretin' Science 'Museum' "
*Welcome to the Big Valley (Alberta) Creation Science Museum. Edgar Nernberg, the man who discovered five 60-million-year-old fish fossils, serves on the board of the "museum."* *"This can go down as one of the best examples ever of why it's downright impossible to convince someone who's 'opposed' to evolution that it's a basic fact: If you think the very tenets of science are misguided, pretty much any evidence presented to you can be written off as fabricated or misinterpreted."* *-- the* Washington Post*'s Rachel Feltman, in* "Whoops! A creationist museum supporter stumbled upon ... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials On The War Against The Islamic State -- May 30, 2015
Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect flee violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State. (Reuters/Rodi Said) *Jesse Rosenfeld, The Nation*: *Massacre and Reprisal in a Shattered Iraq* *The refugee crisis is growing as civilians flee a war that is drawing ethnic and religious borders in blood.* *Erbil— Ali Ahmed Hassan, 31, sits on the floor of his one-room portable metal home in the sprawling Baharka refugee camp on the northern outskirts of Erbil, reflecting on the sectarian warfare that has forced him to flee with his family to the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq. ... more »
The Islamic State Has A Better Intelligence Network Than The U.S. In Iraq And Syria
Photo from Islamic State Media’s twitter profile, 7/2/14 *VOA: Experts*:* IS Skilled at Gathering Intelligence, Adjusting Tactics * *While U.S. and coalition partners pluck intelligence on Islamic State extremists from the militants’ communications or movements and then bomb them from the air, the militant group is gathering its own intelligence from city streets and preparing the ground for its next battlefield moves.* *The result, according to experts, is that Washington is consistently lagging behind in its effort to destroy the Islamic State group.* *“We are about 60 to 90 days... more »
Iraq's War Against The Islamic State -- News Updates May 30, 2015
*VOA:* *Thousands Fleeing Ramadi Are Stuck at Baghdad Checkpoint * *GENEVA - The United Nations refugee agency reports thousands of Iraqis who have fled the bloody takeover of Ramadi by so-called Islamic State militants are stuck at checkpoints in Anbar province and barred from entering the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The UNHCR is appealing to Iraqi authorities to ease restrictions.* *The U.N. refugee agency estimates 85,000 people have fled the latest escalation of violence by IS militants in Ramadi since May 15. It says the majority of this latest wave of displaced individuals remai...more »
Thought for a Sunday ...
[Hat tip Greg Davis & For the New Intellectuals] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Hilberg
*"In 1976, I went to a small town in Bavaria, Ludwigsburg, which has the headquarters for investigations of so-called National Socialist crimes, an office maintained by the provinces of the Federal Republic of Germany. About thirty prosecutors were housed in that particular building, and I went there to study court records, various affidavits, and other materials. But one afternoon, they said, “We’re having a party today, would you join us?” Why, yes. They said, “we have one bottle of wine for each person.” * *(laughter from the audience). * *And after a while I chanced to talk to... more »
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