English: The Harry S. Truman Building located at 2201 C Street, NW in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the headquarters of the United States Department of State. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Caption: "The old state department building in Washington, as it was in 1865. (Where the Alaskan treaty was signed.)" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)igoogle portal II
10:32pm MDST
Musical Interlude: Medwyn Goodall, “The Enlightened”
Medwyn Goodall, “The Enlightened” - https://www.youtube.com/
U.S. Congress Moves To Slash CIA Funding For Rebels In Syria
Free Syrian Army fighters (Reuters/Mohamed Kaddoor/Shaam News Network/Handout) *Washington Post*:* Secret CIA effort in Syria faces large funding cut* *Key lawmakers have moved to slash funding of a secret CIA operation to train and arm rebels in Syria, a move that U.S. officials said reflects rising skepticism of the effectiveness of the agency program and the Obama administration’s strategy in the Middle East.* *The House Intelligence Committee recently voted unanimously to cut as much as 20 percent of the classified funds flowing into a CIA program that U.S. officials said has ... more »
The Islamic State Is Winning The Social Media War
Screenshot PBS *New York Times:* *ISIS Is Winning the Social Media War, U.S. Concludes* *WASHINGTON — An internal State Department assessment paints a dismal picture of the efforts by the Obama administration and its foreign allies to combat the Islamic State’s message machine, portraying a fractured coalition that cannot get its own message straight.* *The assessment comes months after the State Department signaled that it was planning to energize its social media campaign against the militant group. It concludes, however, that the Islamic State’s violent narrative — promulgated ... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“The well known Pleiades star cluster is slowly destroying part of a passing cloud of gas and dust. The Pleiades is the brightest open cluster of stars on Earth's sky and can be seen from almost any northerly location with the unaided eye. *Click image for larger size.* The passing young dust cloud is thought to be part of Gould's belt, an unusual ring of young star formation surrounding the Sun in the local Milky Way Galaxy. Over the past 100,000 years, part of Gould's belt is by chance moving right through the older Pleiades and is causing a strong reaction between stars and dust. ... more »
Chet Raymo, “The Radiance Of What Is”
*“The Radiance Of What Is”* by Chet Raymo “In the summer of 1936, as I nestled snug in my mother's womb, Fortune magazine sent the young writer James Agee and the photographer Walker Evans to rural Alabama to report on how the Great Depression was affecting the poorest of the poor. For eight weeks they lived with three impoverished sharecropper families. (Pictured below is the family of Bud Fields. Click to enlarge.) Their combined work never appeared in Fortune, but it was published as a book- “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”- in 1941. The book was not an immediate success, but dec...more »
The Poet: W.H. Auden, "Atlantis"
*"Atlantis"* "Being set on the idea Of getting to Atlantis, You have discovered of course Only the Ship of Fools is Making the voyage this year, As gales of abnormal force Are predicted, and that you Must therefore be ready to Behave absurdly enough To pass for one of The Boys, At least appearing to love Hard liquor, horseplay and noise. Should storms, as may well happen, Drive you to anchor a week In some old harbour-city Of Ionia, then speak With her witty sholars, men Who have proved there cannot be Such a place as Atlantis: Learn their logic, but notice How its subtlety betrays Their... more »
"The Stubborn Hope..."
"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work... you don't give up." - Anne Lamott
"The Other L-Word"
*"The Other L-Word"* by Christopher Hitchens "When Caroline Kennedy managed to say “you know” more than 200 times in an interview with the New York Daily News, and on 130 occasions while talking to The New York Times during her uninspired attempt to become a hereditary senator, she proved, among other things, that she was (a) middle-aged and (b) middle class. If she had been a generation younger and a bit more déclassé, she would have been saying “like.” When asked if the Bush tax cuts should be repealed, she responded: “Well, you know, that’s something, obviously, that, you know, ... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Eufaula, Oklahoma, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
History: "Boudicea And The Battle of Watling Street"
"Boudicea And The Battle of Watling Street" by Wikipedia "In AD 43, Rome invaded south-eastern Britain. The conquest was gradual. While some kingdoms were defeated militarily and occupied, others remained nominally independent as allies of the Roman empire. One such people was the Iceni in what is now Norfolk. Their king, Prasutagus, secured his independence by leaving his lands jointly to his daughters and to the Roman emperor, Nero, in his will. But when he died, in 61 or shortly before, his will was ignored. The Romans seized his lands and violently humiliated his family: his w... more »
"Somewhere..."
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." - Blaise Pascal
"The Philosophy Of Being"
* "The Philosophy Of Being"* By E D Detetcheverrie "Outrageous to some, clarifying for others, a strange conversation meant to provoke further thought... Now I know why they explain it in metaphors. The truth seems surreal. We are inadequate to describe it concisely. Ask not if you have strayed from the path; there is only one path, one way, and you are always on it... *Do they call it enlightenment because there is a light?* It is not mere photons, and light is only one part of it. *Who is in charge of it all?* Yes, we are. *Do the wicked receive their just reward?* We shall all, u... more »
"We Like To Think..."
"We like to think that we are rational beings; humane, conscientious, civilized, thoughtful. But when things fall apart, even just a little, it becomes clear we are not better than animals. We have opposable thumbs, we think, we walk erect, we speak, we dream, but deep down we are still routing around in the primordial ooze; biting, clawing, scratching out an existence in the cold, dark world like the rest of the tree-toads and sloths." - "Grey's Anatomy"
“Your Radiation This Week, 6/12/2015”
*“Your Radiation This Week, 6/12/2015”* by Bob Nichols "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. *Normal Background is 5-20 CPM. 50 CPM is an Alert level.* *RADIATION CPM* CITY/STATE * 374 CPM Concord, NH Gamma and Beta Radiation Combined. 342 CPM Boston, M... more »
OMG, you can go to prison for illegal campaign coordination! Who knew?
*Hmm, back in February 2011 (the same month that "Hosni Mubarak stepped down from power") Fox Noise couldn't seem to figure out whether Tyler Harber was "President, Wilson Research Strategies" or -- as he was identified in a graphic seconds later -- "VP AND DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION AT WRS." The following year Elections and Campaigns magazine would name the Republican consultant a "Rising Star."* *"It was something I had seen other people do."* *-- Republican political operative Tyler Harber, at his sentencinghearing yesterday in Federal District Court in R... more »
Still funny?
Story: ‘The Strange Case of Rachel Dolezal’ [Hat tip Political Correctness Watch] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Yemen
Confirmed - Israeli-Saudi Tactical Nuclear Strike : Yemen May 20th 2015 from Spike EP on Vimeo. Analysis by Jeff Smith who is a nuclear physicist and former IAEA inspector: A video received from Yemen, believed to be taken May 20, 2015, of an explosion, when analyzed by nuclear weapons experts is, by very high probability, a neutron bomb that could only have been an Israeli attack. The analysis: A. Its not a conventional 2k lb bomb. It’s much bigger. B. Its either a very large MOAB bigger than 4,000 lbs. or; ???? Max weight for an F-15 / 16 is about 2,000 lb payload per bomb rack... more »
Top reading at this top blog
So these were the most popular posts here on NOT PC this week. Did you miss any? - Quote of the Day: “The Greens are as dead in the water as Labour…” - What Led to the Magna Carta? War and Taxes - So why would you want to amalgamate councils anyway? - LEAKY HOMES, Part 2: What’s going on inside your walls? - Quote of the Day: On traffic jams - “Real wages are, virtually to their full extent, the product of past labour” And this was the one I most enjoyed myself: - Technology Needs Capital To Produce Economic Growth Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com ... more »
The Neutron Bomb
Confirmed - Israeli-Saudi Tactical Nuclear Strike : Yemen May 20th 2015 from Spike EP on Vimeo. Analysis by Jeff Smith who is a nuclear physicist and former IAEA inspector: A video received from Yemen, believed to be taken May 20, 2015, of an explosion, when analyzed by nuclear weapons experts is, by very high probability, a neutron bomb that could only have been an Israeli attack. The analysis: * A. Its not a conventional 2k lb bomb. It’s much bigger. B. Its either a very large MOAB bigger than 4,000 lbs. or; ???? Max weight for an F-15 / 16 is about 2,000 lb payload per b... more »
Pipe Dreams - The Struggle for Caspian Oil (1998)
*Azerbaijan's Riches Alter the Chessboard* [image: T. Don Stacy] Amoco's T. Don Stacy educated U.S. officials on the Caspian's wealth. *First of three articles* *By Dan Morgan and David B. Ottaway* Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, October 4, 1998; Page A1 BAKU, Azerbaijan – The message that Amoco Corp.'s T. Don Stacy took to a small political gathering on the morning of Aug. 6, 1996, seemed hopelessly obscure compared with the usual concerns of the lobbyists and business tycoons assembled at the White House. Stacy, who directed Eurasian operations for the Chicago-based oi... more »
The Republican War Against... Bikes And Against Local Government
Congressman Lieu... real person I'm sure you remember Michele Bachmann. Confronted with another typical Republican fundraising scandal, she agreed to retire from Congress in return for making the whole ugly mess go away. Her replacement, Tom Emmer, is just as crazy and extreme as she is. Wednesday every single Democrat voted against Emmer's fringy amendment to the 2016 Transportation Bill that would have inserted Big Government into the prerogatives of local communities. Specifically, Emmer doesn't want bike lanes-- or at least doesn't want any federal funds spent on bike lanes. Eve... more »
Senator warns of another attempt to pass Obamatrade
*ummm . . . this is NAFTA & GATT 2.0 and the door for absolute World Government which is already in effect, but not completely. . and the Republicans are all for it , as well as Obama . . and you, nor the Congress are really "allowed" to see what is in the bill . . sounds great, eh? . . but, since there are so many Republicans for it, there will be many who will assume that it's a good bill, you know, for the economy . . and that the evil Democrats blocked it . . and vice-versa . . *WND EXCLUSIVEPreparing 'to force through new executive powers' for ObamaJune 13th, 2015 - Art Moore ... more »
“Traditional marriage" according to the Bible
For everyone who condemns other’s marriage because “their Bible” says their marriages are unBiblical … And did you know in the tales told of Jesus Christ that he himself condemned divorce? Hat tip , who says of many bashers of *Bible*s: *At a certain point, the ignorance of their own faith and HATRED toward people different from themselves is so transparent that even they must feel SOME guilt.* Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Ignoring Reality, Subverting Morality: GMOs And The Neoliberal Apologists
RINF, Countercurrents, Global Research Monsanto is often called one of the most ‘evil’ companies on the planet. It has a history of knowingly contaminating the environment and food with various poisons, cover ups and criminality (see this, outlining the company’s appalling history). In recent times, there has been much focus on its promotion and patenting of GMOs, the deleterious impacts of its glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup and how GMOs pose a threat to human and animal health, ecology and the environment (see this, for example). Campaigners and activists have described how gl... more »
Christy Clark and Her Cabinet Moved Champix Research To "In-House" The Smoking Gun
John Horgan on Voice of BC with Vaughn Palmer. https://vimeo.com/130491898 Question period in the British Columbia Legislature, July9th/2013 Oral Questions *THERAPEUTICS INITIATIVE AND DRUG REVIEW PROCESS* A. Dix: My question is to the Minister of Health. Dr. Arnold Relman and Dr. Marcia Angell, both past editors of the *New England Journal of Medicine*, have praised UBC's therapeutics initiative as an outstanding drug watchdog. They credit the TI for saving lives and the health care system money. [ Page 276 ] TI's research protected British Columbians from Vioxx year... more »
More mere prose
Do you know, I don't think I could care less about being topical tonight! So... I have our windows open this evening, as it's hot up north, and some blackbirds are singing, others sounding alarm calls. The swifts are repeatedly tttssseeeessissing overhead. The collared doves are adding their usual three-note coo too (too), and the loud young lasses whose voices have dominated a fair part of this evening have just been dispatched indoors by their parents (though not entirely of their own accord, from what I've just heard). The seagulls are still giving it their all too (having o... more »
Turbulent Times Show Is Back! Live Show TONIGHT At 8PM CDT (9PM EDT) On Blogtalk Radio
We are back.... Whitewraithe and I are going to have a live Turbulent Times show tonight at 8PM Central Daylight Time... I have been extremely busy these last few weeks with so many projects on the go... That and Whitewraithe herself is still trying to recover from the accident she suffered a few weeks back.... Our Turbulent Times shows have therefore fallen by the wayside.... But we are going to give this a go, and we do indeed have so much "catching up" to do..... I want to present WW's article here that explains what the show is all about: Turbulent Times back on-air tonight at... more »
June 13: A very long blog...
...made necessary by my response to a reader. It was too long to go as a direct reply to the question. So you'll find it at the end of this post. ____________________________________________________________________________ Section A news is full of exciting stuff about the FIFA games. Two teams have arrived early in Moncton for their game on Monday. ( Well, yeah. I guess they didn't want to miss the shuttle bus). And you can't bring bottles to the game. And visitors might spend $250 each. (or they might not). There's over a half page about a Moncton soccer coach who is all the way ... more »
Experiment Confirms That Reality Doesn’t Exist If You’re Not Looking at It
*Anna LeMind* - New experiments suggest that reality may not even exist without an observer. The post Experiment Confirms That Reality Doesn’t Exist If You’re Not Looking at It appeared first on Waking Times.
Trooping the Clare
I don't know if you've noticed this (you probably haven't, as it's been very gradually done and I don't think anyone's noticed), but...just between us...I think the BBC is using Clare Balding quite a bit these days. From rugby to tennis, from rambling to religion, Clare seems to be everywhere on the BBC. She was even helping Her Majesty to give the Colour its annual Trooping today by doing a spot of presentation for the BBC (and a fine Trooping it was too, Ma'am). Now, perhaps unlike some of you, I rather like Clare but... As a big *Springwatch *fan I'm a bit worried that Chris ... more »
That reminds me...
Talking of Yolande Knell... We still haven't heard an explanation for why Yolande Knell chaired a Q&A session at a promotional event for Palestinian director Leila Sansour last year: I'm no longer surprised at hearing about BBC presenters and reporters trading on names as BBC employees and engaging is a spot of moonlighting from time to time. Just as long as they take the money and don't say anything they shouldn't say (as prominent BBC representatives), that seem's fair enough to me - and admirably entrepreneurial of them too. However, what if they take part in an event that pro... more »
The banksters probably aren't even half as smart as they think they are -- and a lot less smart than Elizabeth Warren
*"The problem is not that I don't understand the global banking system. The problem for these guys is that I fully understand the system and I understand how they make their money. And that's what they don't like about me."* *-- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, on HuffPost's "So That Happened" podcast* *by Ken* Can you guess which financial-sector genius Senator Warren was responding to on the HuffPost podcast? If you guessed Jpmorganchase's Jamie "I'm So Smart, I Make Myself Sick" Dimon: right the first time. And as ThinkProgress's Bryce Covert put it in the title of his post yesterday: "... more »
"Messrs Desmond, Dacre and Murdoch"
Just to put on record an accidental discovery from the BBC Academy's *YouTube *feed that I mentioned on a previous comments thread... Here's the start on a BBC Academy video entitled 'Mark Easton - Reporting Race'... The first one of the six primary purposes laid down in our charter is 'to sustain citizenship and civil society'. The fourth purpose is that the BBC must 'represent the UK, its nations, its regions and its communities'. These are clearly noble ambitions, obligations upon us. But it does mean that the principles which guide *our* reporting of the world around us are ... more »
6 Million
*How the "Holocaust" was faked* *John Niems - 6 Million*
"Texas" Reporting from Donbass--Another child is murdered by NAZI's
*Palestinian child killed while playing on beach last year* *...Israel has just exonerated itself of the crime* The *NAZI's* have declared open season on children and nobody is speaking up against it in the West. Here'is "Tex" (an American who is fighting for Novorossiya) reporting on yet another murder of a child. This time, a five year old boy "Vanya", who was playing in a sand hill across the street from his home in a quiet Donetsk neighbourhood. Suddenly, some rockets were fired from the Ukraine military (signatories of the Minsk 2 Agreement--which *committed *them *NOT* to fir... more »
Kate Upton Topless - A Saturday night Rule 5 post - NSFW
Thanks to TMZ for the spot.
MENA Report - June 13-14 , 2015 Weekend Edition - the usual round up of news and views - Iraq - Syria War Theatre , Yemen Regional Proxy War , Libya ISIS Campaign , Iran Nuclear Talks......
Links..... *Obama's Legal Rationale for ISIS War 'Very Thin'* *Tensions Rise Between Kurdish and Shi'ite Forces in Iraq* *US 'Concerned' by Kurds in Syria Expelling Arabs* *Are There Any 'Moderate' Rebel Groups Left in Syria?* *Deadline in Jeopardy as Iran Talks 'Virtually Stalled'* *Saudi Strikes Destroy World Heritage Site in Yemeni Capital* *7 Killed, 30 Wounded Marching on ISIS HQ in Libya* Devastation in Yemen: Historic District of Sanaa Before and After: in Pictures Prospects Look Dim for Yemeni Peace Talks Kurds and Shi'ites Clash; 131 Killed Across Iraq Syria Retakes ... more »
Is the BBC biased in favour of genetically modified food?
Is the BBC biased in favour of genetically modified food? That's a question you've probably never asked yourselves before today. (I know I haven't.) I ask because quite a few anti-GM activists are spitting feathers over last Monday night's *Panorama*. They think it was heavily biased in favour of GM and against the environmentalist organisations that oppose it. The programme's title was 'GM Food - Cultivating Fear' and, yes, it was green groups like Greenpeace and the Soil Association who were firmly placed in the dock by presenter Tom Heap and accused of stoking up groundless... more »
Top US Army General: 'It Is Futile To Send '150,000 U.S. Soldiers' To Defend An Unreformed Iraq
*Dam Murphy, CSM:* *US Army chief: Futile to send '150,000 soldiers' to defend unreformed Iraq* *Gen. Ray Odierno said in an interview aired today that a massive US military effort in Iraq would defeat the Islamic State – and leave them hanging unless Iraqi politicians changed course.It's not every day that an American officer goes on television to emphasize a global crisis can't be fixed by the US military. But that's exactly what Gen. Ray Odierno just did on CBS This Morning. The US Army chief of staff, who spent over six years in Iraq, including as the head of all foreign... more »
Ukraine War News Updates -- June 13, 2015
*The Guardian:* *Ukraine says six soldiers killed by rebels and 14 wounded in last 24 hours* *Military spokesman says situation is particularly tense around Donestsk airport as skirmishes continue despite four-month ceasefireThe Ukrainian military says six of its soldiers have been killed and 14 wounded in the past 24 hours in the separatist east of the country despite the current ceasefire.The situation is particularly tense around the airport near the city of Donetsk, which is controlled by the rebels, the military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.“The enemy threw tanks, ar... more »
What Rachel Doležal's transracial success primarily implies
*Requirements for a university/activism career are lower for blacks* The Czech media are already describing the story but Cynthia was the first source from which I learned about Rachel Doležal's [literally] colorful life . *A black girl who has been oppressed by evil white racists for 30+ years* Rachel Doležal is about 37 years old and for 7 years or so, she has made quite some career. She became a *university lecturer* in a department of whining blacks as well as an influential civil rights leader, namely the NAACP president in Spokane, Washington state. (No, NAACP doesn't officia... more »
Six Detainees That Includes Two Of Osama Bin Laden's 'Bodyguards' Have Been Released From Guantanamo Bay Prison To Oman
*FOX News:* *Obama transfers six more Gitmo detainees, including alleged bin Laden bodyguards* *Six detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, including two alleged Osama bin Laden bodyguards, have been transferred to Oman, the Pentagon said Saturday.* *The terror-related detainees are all from neighboring and embattled Yemen. They departed Friday from the U.S. detention center, at a Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, created in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to get terror-suspects off battlefields.* *This is the first time in roughly the past five months that Guantana... more »
Iranian President: Agreement Is Near. Nuclear Inspections Will Not Jeopardize State Secrets'
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani leaves after delivering a speech at plenary session during the Asian African Conference in Jakarta April 22, 2015. Reuters/Beawiharta/Files *Reuters:* *Iran won't allow nuclear inspections to jeopardise state secrets - Rhouhani* *(Reuters) - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he would not put state secrets at risk in the country's nuclear negotiations, becoming the latest senior official to express reservations about intrustive inspections sought by world powers.* *The question of inspectors' access to Iran's nuclear sites and militar... more »
Taliban Overrun Police Base In Afghanistan. 20 Police Officers Killed
*New York Times*: *Taliban Overrun Police Base in Southern Afghanistan* *KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s police force took another severe blow from the Taliban on Saturday, as 17 police officers were killed in a clash with the insurgents in the southern province of Helmand, officials said.* *The insurgents overran a police base near the center of the strategically important district of Musa Qala, the officials said. Local police officers and witnesses described a large-scale attack that began after midnight and continued until daylight.* *“There are also casualties to the Taliba... more »
Untitled
*Bill to add landlord to HANO board passes Legislature ~Jaquetta White, N.O. Advocate * *La. business community and film industry unhappy with final session results ~WWL *
The Third Annual Paul Revere Award...
*nominate your favorite "little guy."* For every large, splashy, and heavily promoted "news" site, there are hundreds of "little guys" who keep plugging away year after year. These little guys don't always have the advantage of lots of tech knowledge or a big budget to hire tech experts for constant flashy updates to their sites. In most cases, I prefer to read the little guys. These are people who still live in the real world with real world problems. Three years ago, Curmudgeon, of Political Clown Parade, thought these indefatigable souls needed to be honored, so she gave bi... more »
Soaked in Bleach
Soaked in Bleach - Trailer from Montani Productions on Vimeo. SOAKED IN BLEACH reveals the events behind Kurt Cobain's death as seen through the eyes of Tom Grant, the private investigator that was hired by Courtney Love in 1994 to track down her missing husband (Kurt Cobain) only days before his deceased body was found at their Seattle home. Cobain's death was ruled a suicide by the police (a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound), but doubts have circulated for twenty years as to the legitimacy of this ruling, especially due to the work of Mr. Grant, a former L.A. County Sheriff'... more »
The Final Curtain for the Roswell Slides
In what I hope will truly be the end of the Roswell Slides nonsense, a picture of the mummy, during excavation in 1897 has been located in documents supplied by the National Park Service. Shepherd Johnson filed a FOIA request and according to an email, “The National Park Service just released to me 186 pages of documents concerning the Montezuma Castle / Mesa Verde child mummy. Thought you might be interested in these. The photo of the child mummy is on page 176.” The 1897 photo found in the documents recovered by Shepherd Johnson from the National Park Service. Johnson also wrote... more »
The New Dems And Backward Trade Policies-- TPP
Wall Street and Big Business, usually thought of as an integral part of the Republican Party, finances The New Dem faction of the House Democratic caucus to ensure that they have their fingers in the internal affairs of both parties. Currently there are 46 New Dems in the House and, generally speaking, they tend to be the most conservative Democrats in the House, the ones who back corporate/Wall Street policies and the Republican agenda. Among the 20 Democrats who vote most frequently with the GOP on crucial roll calls are 13 reactionary New Dems-- Gwen Graham (FL), Kyrsten Sinema ... more »
US Probes Reports of Kurdish YPG Militias PURGING Arabs
*No doubt the US will completely down play or obfuscate the ethnic cleansing being conducted by their Kurdish allies as part of the intended remaking the Middle East agenda* The Purging of Syrians by the Kurdish(is) tells us very clearly the Kurds are NOT fighting ISIS- their partners in crime. The Kurds are doing that which they have done before. Stealing other people's land, raping, pillaging etc., along the way So much for the western media spin/lies/fabrication about the other perpetual victims *STATE DEPARTMENT—* The United States is looking into allegations that* Kurdish fo... more »
I.S. in Gaza and the inevitable problems of self policing
A recent series of reports by Yolande Knell concerning the presence of Islamic State in Gaza, (a filmed report, a web article and an extended audio report on BBC World Service Newshour) made me curious. BBC Watch deconstructed one of them a few days ago. “*BBC News gets round to mentioning some of the missile fire from the Gaza Strip” *Yolande’s report seems to pose various questions: - Is Hamas too weak to restrain I.S. from a) attacking Israel and b) attacking Hamas? - Is I.S. a *new* phenomenon in Gaza? - Can Israel really hold Hamas responsible for all acts of aggre... more »
Washington Dems Function: Media Calls it Dysfunction
The NYTimes has a story today reporting the smackdown Obama and the Republicans suffered yesterday when the Senate voted against NAFTA 2.0. The Times paints Senate Democrats who voted against TPP as petulant children, who usually go along with their leader when he has lunch with them and tells them stories. And since Obama didn't bother to do so this time (perhaps he could not look them in the eye), the angry children stuck out their bottom lip and voted No. What bullshit! The headline should have read, "Dems Listen to Constituents Rather than Global Corporations." This is o... more »
Conservative MP Declines Debate
Bruce Grey Owen Sound MP Larry Miller is declining an invite to take part in an all candidates debate sponsored by the Owen Sound and District Chamber of Commerce. He says he will be declining to participate in any all-candidates meeting that follows the traditional format, one he says simply does not work. He says he would prefer a format where each candidate is given a few minutes for opening statements and then they go to a corner and take questions directly from voters. And so it starts where Conservative candidates, many of whom avoided all candidates debates in 2011, play foll...more »
Untitled
*Mayhem Rules in St. Paul Schools* Teachers, parents and students in the school district of St. Paul, Minnesota, are learning firsthand what happens when educators embrace ideologically driven, crackpot solutions for the achievement and disciplinary issues involving black students who are “victims” of “white privilege”: anarchy. That anarchy comes courtesy of the district’s voluntary affiliation with Pacific Educational Group (PEG), an entity founded in 1992 by self-described “diversity expert” Glenn Singleton. As PEG’s website declares, it is their belief that “[s]ystemic racism... more »
Untitled
*Derisive conference comments about global warming -- and the Pope* *I like the quote from Inhofe at the end of the article below. Inhofe said that the Pope should stick to his own specialties and leave the climate to people who know something about it. Pope Frank would only be taking his own advice if he did that. In his apostolic exhortation of late 2013, Frank said that the church needs to stop talking about homosexuality etc. and start talking about salvation. I quote from *Evangelii gaudium: *"34. If we attempt to put all things in a missionary key, this will also aff... more »
Partly Missing the Point: Rethinking US and EU Sanctions on Russia
Recently, Suzanne Nossel published a piece critical of US and EU sanctions against Russia. A number of her points make sense. For US-EU sanctions to really isolate Russia and thus have a chance to change Russian behavior in the short term, they need to have the participation of other major states in the system like […]
Quantum Phase: Time, Parallel Realities and the Brain
*Brendan D. Murphy - *The focus of our awareness creates simple moments in time when it becomes possible to jump from one reality to another. The post Quantum Phase: Time, Parallel Realities and the Brain appeared first on Waking Times.
Greece Updates ( Saturday June 13 , 2015 ) - As Greece meets once again in Brussels with various Representatives of the Troika , here is where things stand as of now !
Tweets .... *NikiKitsantonis* @NikiKitsantonis 3m 3 minutes ago @*fredwalton216* @*ManosGiakoumis* @*NickMalkoutzis* Pact on prim surplus/VAT cd be basis 4 deal,pushing pensions/debt to fall *Nick Malkoutzis* @NickMalkoutzis 2m 2 minutes ago Great @*Elbarbie* & @*telloglou* tick-tock on how, from Samaras to Tsipras, #*Greece*-lenders failure to agree led us here http://www. ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_13/06/2015_550990 … Manos Giakoumis retweeted *Nick Malkoutzis* @NickMalkoutzis 17m 17 minutes ago Greek gov't tells mayors to get on with placing c... more »
Health Facts and Fun Trivia About Garlic
*Infographic - *Here are some important health facts about garlic, as well as some fun trivia. The post Health Facts and Fun Trivia About Garlic appeared first on Waking Times.
The Future Of Medicare
http://theconversation.com/ Boosting the Canada Pension Plan is on the election radar. But we haven't heard a word about medicare. And, Murray Dobbins writes, there are several vultures circling that program. B.C. doctor Brian Day has launched a constitutional challenge to medicare, which would allow medicare corporations to compete with publicly funded medicare. Then there are the investor dispute mechanisms in all of Stephen Harper's free trade deals: The flurry of corporate rights agreements being pursued by the Harper governme... more »
Lithuania’s Air Defenders Get 4th Generation MANPADS
[image: RBS-70]Lithuanian air defense forces received the first batch of the 4th generation RBS70 missile systems with night vision devices, upgraded by the Swedish arms manufacturer SAAB Dynamics, media reported Friday, citing Defense Ministry sources in Vilnius. Members of the Lithuanian Air Force’s air defense battalion are trained to use the upgraded system and will showcase their skills during an upcoming international air defense exercise in the Czech Republic. "The RBS70 modernized missile system enables the battalion to destroy targets at night and at an increased range, and... more »
France tests nuclear air-launched cruise missile
The French military has conducted a successful unit evaluation firing of its air-launched Rafale /ASMPA nuclear cruise missile weapon system. The Air-Sol Moyenne Portée -- Amélioré missile, by MBDA, is an enhanced variant of the ASMP which entered service is 1986. The ASMP has a range of between 50 and 186 miles. It is being replaced by the ASMPA as France's primary air-launched nuclear weapon. A two-seat Rafale fighter of the 01/091 "Gascogne" Fighter Squadron took off from Saint-Dizier's Air Base 113 on Thursday for a test that brought together all the characteristic phases of an... more »
Damaged nuclear submarine leaves shipyard, to be scrapped
[image: USS Miami ((SSN-755)]A nuclear-powered submarine heavily damaged by a fire set by a shipyard worker three years ago departed Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Friday for a final journey to the West Coast, where it'll be cut up for scrap. Shipyard workers completed the inactivation of the former USS Miami, removing equipment and ship systems, before it was towed away by tugboats with assistance from two Navy ships, shipyard spokeswoman Danna Eddy said. The May 2012 fire, which occurred while the submarine was undergoing an overhaul at the shipyard, turned into an inferno that took... more »
On Accepting Knighthoods and Gongs
One twice-yearly spectacle I never look forward to is the New Year's and Birthday Honours List, the occasion where the Queen, at the behest of the establishment, dishes out awards for services rendered. I don't look forward to it because, inevitably, someone ostensibly on the left picks up a knighthood and/or a gong. And so it has happened today. The GMB general secretary from this day forth shall be known as Sir Paul Kenny, and feminist author and campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez shall now be styled with an OBE after her name. As someone whose republicanism is bone deep, I find th... more »
Dassault locks on to fourth Rafale deal
[image: Dassault Rafale]Dassault Aviation’s chief executive is “convinced” he will sign a fourth contract to sell France’s Rafale fighter jet abroad this year, helping to secure the future of the once-struggling aircraft programme. Eric Trappier told the Financial Times that he expected another deal after the summer — in addition to the nearly €10bn worth of contracts signed with Egypt and Qatar this year, and a €4bn agreement with India. A fourth contract would be another coup for the Rafale. Before the Egypt deal in February, the 27-year-old jet — which cost more than €40bn to de... more »
China’s lone aircraft carrier conducts drills as sea dispute heats up
[image: Liaoning CV]China's sole aircraft carrier conducted exercises on Friday, the navy said without specifying its location, amid escalating disputes over maritime territory with some of China's Asian neighbors. The Liaoning conducted drills and tests in the "relevant sea" along with carrier-based fighter jets after setting sail from the coastal city of Qingdao, the Chinese navy said. China wants to develop an ocean-going "blue water" navy capable of defending the growing interests of the world's second largest economy as it adopts a more assertive stance in territorial disputes ... more »
Afloat Forward Staging Base Lewis B. Puller Delivers to Navy
[image: USNS Lewis B. Puller (MLP-3)]The first General Dynamics NASSCO built Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) delivered to the U.S. Navy on Friday, Naval Sea Systems Command said. USNS Lewis B. Puller (MLP-3/AFSB) — based on an Alaska-class commercial crude carrier — is designed to host special operations forces (SOF) and mine countermeasure (MCM) helicopters as part of the Navy, U.S. Military Sea Lift Command and the Marines push to more capability for amphibious forces and capacity for seabasing with less expensive ships. “This ship represents a leap forward in flexible capabili... more »
US, Russian Navies Meet For First Time Since Ukraine Crisis To Discuss Ways To Avoid Accidental Clashes
[image: USS Ross (DDG71)]The U.S. and Russian navies held talks earlier this week to discuss how to avoid accidental clashes between both forces at sea and in the air, a U.S. naval official said Friday. It was the first meeting involving naval officials from both countries since the crisis in eastern Ukraine deteriorated ties between Washington and Moscow. Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, as well as its alleged military involvement in the Ukrainian crisis has led to the worst rift in U.S.-Russia relations since the Cold War. Read more
German-Swedish RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship missile completes operational test
The German-Swedish anti-ship missile RBS15 Mk3 has successfully completed its operational test abroad the German Navy's K130 Braunschweig-class corvette, Magdeburg (F 261), at a test site in Swedish territorial waters. The operational test, which helped the missile to secure qualification, comprises the entire performance record, ranging from target assignment and mission planning, to missile launch and striking the target. Developed jointly by Diehl BGT Defence and Saab Bofors Dynamics, the RBS15 Mk3 surface-to-surface missile (SSM) is the latest variant of the RBS15 anti-ship mis... more »
Latvia arrests two Russians for entering military base
[image: Two Russian activists]Latvia on Friday arrested two Russian activists after they were caught entering a military base as the country was taking part in U.S.-led military exercises. The men, sporting a black and orange St. George flag of the Russian military and holding anti-NATO leaflets, climbed over a wall of the Adazi base on Wednesday, the Latvian military said. They were caught minutes later but formally arrested on Friday. Their detention, and a hacking incident in Lithuania on Wednesday, will add to tensions between former-Soviet Baltic states and Russia which have be... more »
Congressmen: Ohio Replacement Might Now Have Much-Needed Stability in Funding
[image: Successor class SSBN]The Navy needs about $100 billion to buy its upcoming class of ballistic missile submarines. And it needs a lot of support from Congress to secure that funding. In the world of politics, where change is the only constant – where support for various departments goes in and out of style – finding long-term stability for something as big as the Ohio Replacement Program (ORP) submarines is vital to its success. This week, the House may have achieved that stability. Read more
U.S. Navy's Worst Nightmare: Submarines May No Longer Be Stealthy
[image: Seawolf class SSN]S’pose Bryan Clark has it right. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) analyst and retired U.S. Navy commander postulates that a technological revolution is about to overtake undersea warfare, rendering the wine-dark sea transparent to hostile antisubmarine (ASW) forces for the first time. This would be a bad thing from the standpoint of U.S. naval mastery. It would place in jeopardy America’s capacity to execute an ambitious foreign policy in distant waters, preside over the liberal maritime order, or accomplish all manner of worthy go... more »
The U.S. Navy Wants To Delay 'Shock Tests' On Its Newest Aircraft Carrier
© REUTERS/ Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc *Bloomberg*: Delaying Shock Tests on Costliest Ship Opposed in Pentagon *The Navy should conduct combat shock tests on its new aircraft carrier that could disclose serious vulnerabilities in the costliest U.S. warship before it’s deployed in 2019, three top Pentagon officials said.* *The officials, including Stephen Welby, the Defense Department’s head of systems engineering, wrote on May 27 that a Navy plan to delay the tests at sea until as late as 2025, when they’d be performed on the second of three planned carriers, “is not accepta... more »
Russia Disposes of 195 Decommissioned Soviet-Era Nuclear Submarines
[image: RFS Volodarsky]Currently, 195 of the 201 decommissioned submarines have been recycled. The demolition of the rest submarines and 14 technical support vessels is due to be completed by 2020. Russia’s Rosatom Corporation is nearing to complete the recycling of Soviet-made decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines and support vessels. Currently, 195 of the 201 decommissioned submarines have been recycled. The demolition of all the decommissioned nuclear submarines and 14 technical support vessels is due to be completed by 2020. Read more
DCNS delivers multi-mission frigate Provence, the second FREMM for the French Navy
[image: FS Aquitane (D650)]On June 12th in Brest, DCNS delivered the FREMM multi-mission frigate Provence to the French Navy, as stipulated in the contract. This frigate is the second of the series ordered by OCCAR on behalf of the DGA (French armament procurement agency). Delivery of the FREMM multi-mission frigate Provence is the result of a design and construction process managed by DCNS in close cooperation with the French Navy, DGA and OCCAR teams. All DCNS sites, its partners and subcontractors took part to this technological and industrial success to ensure compliance with t... more »
Resistance and Rebellion III. Subcomandante Moises
Resistance and Rebellion III. Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés The Word of Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés May 8, 2015 Good afternoon compañeros, compañeras, brothers and sisters. Perhaps by continuing our explanation of how resistance and rebellion are weapons for us you will better understand some of the things that our compañeros and compañeras here at the table have talked about.
"Quiet news day today"
Last night's *Newsnight *led with the Rachel Dolezal story (American white woman pretending to be black). Yes, led with it. *Newsnight *editor Ian Katz anticipated what some people's reaction might be: It was a somewhat surreal discussion, with the U.S. professor (Laurie Shrage) risking being taken for Godfrey Elfwick in a wig by saying that race is a social construct and not biological, before clarifying matters when challenged: "We're born with certain pigment but how we understand the meaning of that pigment changes from social setting to social setting". The other studio g... more »
Anonymous 'Message to the San Carlos Apache Tribe'
Anonymous sends message of support to Apache defending sacred Oak Flat, and a message to Sen. John McCain, responsible for sneaking the theft of this sacred land for copper mining into the defense bill.
A new jazz song on Heisenberg, beauty of uncertainty
Some of the readers may suffer from hay fever. You're not the only one. These days, well, on June 7th, it's been exactly 90 years when Werner Heisenberg left for the island of Heligoland in the North Sea which has no trees and no pollen. It's a wonderful place to memorize Goethe's poems and think about noncommuting observables. His first groundbreaking paper was already ready in July 1925 and ended the "Old Quantum Theory" epoch. Portland-based jazz pianist, songwriter, and children’s music maverick Lori Henriques recorded a new song "Heisenberg’s Aha!" about these events 90 years a... more »
Musical Interlude: Tron Syversen, “Rivers”
Tron Syversen, “Rivers” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2Md9bnh2Uo
First Images of Plasma Tubes Drifting Over Earth
This is totally unexpected and that we have tubes powerfully suggests magnetic lineaments as well. It is a great beginning however and will forever alter our representations of this space. Extending coverage to the entire globe will take a long time but seems worthwhile. Applying these same lessons to other planets will also be worthwhile. All great science and reminds us of just how blind we really are.. . *First images of plasma tubes drifting over Earth* * Chris Pash Jun 1 2015, 12:50 PM 1 367 * *Tubular plasma structures in the inner layers of the magnetosphere. Image... more »
The Varangian Guard
There is one truth long forgotten by western historians and it needs to be revisited. It is that the Byzantium state was an intact christian civilization from the fall of the western roman world which was complete through essentially the discovery of America and the route to India. Those discoveries ended its economic foundation and it withered to be knocked off by the Turks although the Turks got there mid fifteenth century and it can be argued that that threat fueled the search for alternative routes. While it was intact, it was the richests state in the western world and the... more »
Ancient Alien Gods: Huang-Di
Important clues come out of this outline of the reign of the first emperor. The most important clue though is that we have critical dates to work with. This coincides with the rise of the Atlantean metal trade empire that peaked around 2400BC with the building of the great pyramid. Thus it is reasonable that cultural innoculators likely arrived at much the same time worldwide. We have here a model reign of such an individual. It was certainly replicated in Sumer for which we have reports and likely in Egypt, Peru, the Amazon, perhaps Mexico and India. We do not need to com... more »
WWII Sea Monster Attack
This is a remarkable report because it is about an actual attack as well. Better yet, although all reports are likely lost, telling this story at home base would trigger a serious investigation that would inspect the damage and confirm the nature of the attack itself. We can not ask for a better quality for reports of this nature. We continue to tentatively identify all such sightings as that of a Mososaur and it is the unusual head that provides confirmation. At the same time it is easy to understand that most of the time such a sighting would be identified as a shark or som... more »
China's Aircraft Carrier Conducts Sea Drills As Sea Disputes Continue
The Liaoning coordinates with vessels in the training. (Photo/ Li Jing) *Reuters*: *China's lone aircraft carrier conducts drills as sea disputes fester* China's sole aircraft carrier conducted exercises on Friday, the navy said without specifying its location, amid escalating disputes over maritime territory with some of China's Asian neighbours. The Liaoning conducted drills and tests in the "relevant sea" along with carrier-based fighter jets after setting sail from the coastal city of Qingdao, the navy said. China wants to develop an ocean-going "blue water" navy capable of d... more »
Red Cross: The World Is Facing Conflict On An "Unprecedented" Scale
*Photo:* Dominik Stillhart, deputy director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, speaks during a press conference in Datu Odin Sinsuat in southern Philippines on September 6, 2008 (AFP Photo/) *AFP*: *UN Security Council is 'failing' war-wracked world says Red Cross* *Dakar (AFP) - The Red Cross has warned that the world is facing conflict on an "unprecedented" scale, fuelled by the international community's failure to work together to end wars and humanitarian crises.* *Dominik Stillhart, director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Far beyond the local group of galaxies lies NGC 3621, some 22 million light-years away. Found in the multi-headed southern constellation Hydra, the winding spiral arms of this gorgeous island universe are loaded with luminous young star clusters and dark dust lanes. Still, for earthbound astronomers NGC 3621 is not just another pretty face-on spiral galaxy. Some of its brighter stars have been used as standard candles to establish important estimates of extragalactic distances and the scale of the Universe. *Click image for larger size.* This beautiful image of NGC 3621 traces the... more »
The Poet: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "A Psalm of Life"
"A Psalm of Life" "Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! — For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each tomorrow Find us farther than today. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivoua... more »
"Four Noble Buddha Quotes"
"Four Noble Buddha Quotes" by Perry Garfinkel "Isn't it - I can't decide whether to say "ironic" or "appropriate" - that modern technology now brings us wisdom that would otherwise have been considered oh so 2,500 years ago? I refer here to sharing timeless tips from one Siddhartha Gautama, the prince who lived 500 years before the Common Era, a.k.a. the Buddha. But sage as he was, as relevant today as when he lived, quoting the Buddha is dangerous business. Nothing he said was written down until some 300 years after his death; it was all passed down orally. By the time it got to u... more »
THe Daily "Near You?"
Port-of-spain, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and TobagoThanks for stopping by.
"Nothing Lasts Forever"
"Nothing Lasts Forever" by David Grayson "Friends, if you get downhearted about the way the world is and that might always seems to be right, keep in mind that nothing lasts forever. The image above portrays an aspect of the might of the Roman Empire, the invincibility of their legions, the spread of their conquests from Britain in the west to Asia Minor in the East. Yet, they fell and all that is left of what was Rome and its empire are a few ruins here and there in Turkey, in Bath in England, etc. All the rest of the seemingly Eternal Empire has fallen into dust and the illustriou... more »
"All You'll Ever Have..."
“The dead sun drew a smile of blood across my face, spoke to me through the shadow of my voice: Man, it said, this might be next to nothing and drawn through a bitter tap, but it's all you'll ever have. Don't spill a drop.” - John Glenday, “Grain”
"8 Things to Remember When Everything Goes Wrong"
*"8 Things to Remember When Everything Goes Wrong"* by “The best way out is always through.” - Robert Frost “Today, I’m sitting in my hospital bed waiting to have both my breasts removed. But in a strange way I feel like the lucky one. Up until now I have had no health problems. I’m a 69-year-old woman in the last room at the end of the hall before the pediatric division of the hospital begins. Over the past few hours I have watched dozens of cancer patients being wheeled by in wheelchairs and rolling beds. None of these patients could be a day older than 17.” That’s an entry fr... more »
Here’s What This Line On Your Hand Reveals About Your Personality And Life
*Higher Perspectives - *For thousands of years, people have read palms to try to tell a person’s character and emotions. What does the heart line actually mean? The post Here’s What This Line On Your Hand Reveals About Your Personality And Life appeared first on Waking Times.
Keep your Eyes on the Magician's Hands
US President Barack Obama's ambitious trade agenda has been dealt a severe blow by the House of Representatives. The Lower House has blocked a workers aid programme - part of a package to strengthen trade ties with Asia-Pacific nations.President Obama went to Capitol Hill, but failed to convince fellow Democrats to back him. Al Jazeera's White House correspondent Patty Culhane reports. The bottom line is this ain't over yet. Obama, on behalf of corporate globalization, is pulling out all the stops on this one. Keep the phone calls and emails going to Congress - the Democrats ha... more »
"We've done this experiment successfully in Canada"
We don't often get to see into the minds of cross border American conservative political operatives working in Canada. Here is one such snapshot, but first ... CBC reported today on "CIMS-to-Go" or C2G, a new mobile app for the Cons Constituent Information Management System that allows party canvassers to collect and sort voter information faster than ever before - smiley face, frowny face - while keeping close tabs on candidates' and canvassers' efficiency. Someone in the Cons IT dept, who is presumably right now clearing out their desk, blabbed to CBC that some Con ridings are "a... more »
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