The Final Solution ?
10:28pm MDST
Former DWP ministers could face police investigation over fit-to-work tests
10:28pm MDST
Is Debbie Wasserman Schultz Fit To Be A Member Of Congress?
Watch the video above, where Steve Kornacki veers ever so slightly away from MSNBC's usual soft ball treatment of Establishment Democrats and freaks out DNC chair, #DebtTrapDebbie Wasserman Schultz, who promptly goes into zombie mode. The corrupt South Florida politician has never had a real electoral contest before and is petrified to debate Tim Canova, an economic policy expert driven by values and a policy agenda premised on helping ordinary working families, not by an agenda based on careerism like Wasserman Schultz's own. As Michael Sainato reported for *The Observer* last w... more »
Is Vladimir Putin The 21st Century’s Greatest Statesman?
Russian President Putin. TASS *Stephen Cohen, The Nation:* *Vladimir Putin: The 21st Century’s Greatest Statesman or Its Greatest Threat?* The demonization of Putin seems to answer the question, but is it balanced and factual? Nation contributing editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com). This installment focuses on Putin’s policies at home and abroad since he became Russia’s leader in 2000. Cohen argues that a factual and balanced evaluation is of vital importance beca... more »
Checking Out RuneQuest 2 and Glorantha as a Grizzled Glorantha Newbie
In the dark ages prior to the internet, learning about new games was extremely challenging. If no one in your circle was familiar with a game you depended on magazine reviews, advertisements, or your own purchases to learn about new games. My circles did not have anyone familiar with RuneQuest. There was a lot D&D and its variations and some people I knew played a lot of FASA Star Trek. I found my way to Chaosium games through a roundabout journey. The March 1985 issue of Dragon magazine featured "The Dolphins of Known Space", detailing Dolphins for Chaosium's *Ringworld *game. I ... more »
Putin And The Door Handle
*Reuters*:* Faulty door handle sabotages Putin's inspection of military equipment* An effort to show off the superiority of Russian military equipment backfired on Thursday when the door handle of a jeep fell off just as President Vladimir Putin was inspecting the vehicle. The Kremlin leader was being shown an array of military vehicles parked outside his residence in the southern resort of Sochi, including a Russian-made UAZ Patriot pick-up truck equipped with heavy machine guns. When Putin tried to open the front passenger-side door, it would not budge, according to a Reuters r... more »
The Census and the National Debt – Keeping the Slaves on the Plantation
*Christina Sarich* - We the people are collateral for debt held by the Federal government.
What Purpose Does A U.S. Military Build-Up In Europe Serves?
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) attends a conference at the main operation centre of the Russian armed forces, with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and armed forces Chief-of-Staff Valery Gerasimov (R) in Moscow, June 6, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Michael Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin *Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg:* *U.S. Build-Up in Europe Serves No Purpose* While showing off some new UAZ Patriot pickup trucks armed with machine guns and grenade launchers to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, a general couldn't open the door of one of the trucks and, in his desperate... more »
Handy Dandy Icons Cheat-Sheet
In the Icons games I've run thus far I've found myself stumbling a bit on task resolution levels of success and in adjudicating slams, stuns, and kill results. Additionally I've found we've not been doing much with Determination. While Determination isn't as important in Icons as Fate Points are in Fate, I'd still like to get some use out of them. With that in mind I've gone ahead and made a simple PDF capturing these essentials. I figured it might be handy for other folks so enjoy! Icons Screen
So, Wakanda is Basically Uganda... How Interesting...
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Zionism/Uganda.html Zionist Congress: The Uganda Proposal(August 26, 1903) ------------------------------ ------------------------------ When Theodor Herzl began his quest to establish a homeland for the Jewish people, he sought out the support of the great powers to help achieve his goal. In 1903, Herzl turned to Great Britain and met with Joseph Chamberlain, the British colonial secretary and others high ranking officials who agreed in principle to Jewish settlement in East Africa. At the Sixth Zionist Congress at Basel on August 26, 190... more »
Friday Nerd Blogging: Superhero Oversight
Every time I think I am out, they pull me back in. No, not leading the mafia. Principal-agent theory. Yep, and I blame Stan Lee. How so? I saw the new Captain America: Civil Wars movie… explanation below the break: The entire movie is essentially about who guards the guardians (a title used more than […]
Islamic State Declares A State Of Emergency In Raqqa
*CNN*: *U.S. official: ISIS declares state of emergency in self-declared capital* (CNN)U.S. military officials are closely watching social media and news reports that say ISIS believes it may soon come under siege in Raqqa, Syria, its self-declared capital. "We have seen this declaration of emergency in Raqqa, whatever that means," Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition, told reporters Friday. "We know this enemy feels threatened, as they should." Media reports have indicated that ISIS is moving personnel around the city and trying to put up covers ... more »
Saving Private Ryan The True Story (Documentary)
*From YouTube*: Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" is one of the greatest war films ever made, capturing the sheer horror and brutality of combat. The film is famous for its realism, but how much of this epic drama is truly accurate? Was there a real Private Ryan? Uncover the real story behind this Hollywood blockbuster as we conduct tests with weapons experts and gain insights from war historians. Then hear the moving testimony of soldiers who landed at Normandy and meet the families whose tragic stories inspired the film.
Another California Election, Another Power Grab By Eli Broad And The Rest Of The Anti-Public Schools Billionaires
I live in the Los Feliz neighborhood of L.A. Our state Assemblyman, Mike Gatto, is termed out and we have a hot election here in the 43rd district. The favored candidate is Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian, a values-driven, long-time progressive, but he's coming under all the withering fire a secret SuperPAC can provide, this one from the charter school billionaires and their puppet candidate, Laura Friedman. This week I've gotten an average of one mailer per day from a completely fake parents-teachers astroturf outfit paid for by L.A.'s grand arch-villain Eli Broad, each maile... more »
Follow Up on Odd Contraption at Fukushima Daiichi
Its pulling something
Odd Contraption Hanging from Fukushima Crane
Atmospheric emissions have looked moderate on the webcams recently at Fukushima Daiichi. No reports available on ocean contamination as press coverage on Fukushima has dried up almost entirely. Webcam 1 today revealed something odd: It flashed red/yellow and white in no regular pattern: Very strange looking and the flashes were very bright.
Man Attacks Pro-Life Activists While Shouting He is ‘Not Violent’
[image: assault - 900] A pro-life activist group has released a video that shows a man angrily assaulting them for their anti-abortion activities while declaring his actions were "non-violent," and then being slapped with a criminal citation by police. The incident occurred May 10, 2016 near Gahanna... more »
Poll: Public Say Facebook is a Left-Wing Echo Chamber
[image: Facebook - 900] Facebook users widely perceive a left-wing bias on their news feeds regardless of whether they are politically left, right or center. Facebook has vigorously denied allegations its news curators regularly block conservative news stories from trending. According to a former employee, stories... more »
An Old Phone Recording Surfaces of a Trump PR Guy Bragging About Trump — And He Sounds Like Trump
[image: PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER OUT: Donald Trump listens to a question during a break in the taping of MSNBC's 'Hardball with Chris Matthews,' at the University of Pennsylvania's Irvine Auditorium, Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999, in Philadelphia. Trump talked about the prospects of his running for President as the Reform Party candidate.] A lot of questions -- and a few eyebrows -- are being raised over a 25-year-old recording of a reporter at People magazine interviewing a man claiming to be a new PR spokesman for Donald Trump. Seems the guy who called himself “John Miller” and... more »
Thousands Line Streets to Honor US Navy SEAL Killed in Iraq
[image: FILE - This undated U.S. Navy file photo shows Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating IV, 31, of San Diego. The Navy SEALs are inviting people to line the streets in the military town of Coronado, to honor fallen SEAL Keating, as his remains are transported across the Coronado Bridge to San Diego to be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, in Calif. The special warfare operator was killed May 3, 2016, in a gunbattle with Islamic State fighters in Iraq and is the third service member to die in the country since U.S. forces returned there in 2014. (U.S. Navy ... more »
Is What's Going On in Brazil Politics A (Soft, Light, Parliamentary, Peaceful, Constitutional, Democratic) Coup?
Few, I assume, have missed the high level political developments in Brazil, where this night the Brazilian senate voted to impeach president Dilma Rousseff. Otherwise, some updates are here, here, here, here, to provide just a few. The process have been truly bizarre, as Dilma is ousted by and to the benefit of truly much more corrupt politicians than herself, for a sin which looks like a minor thing in context, not least the fact that the trick of hiding a budgetary deficit has been an accepted practice of Brazilian governments for a long time. In any case, the immediate result is... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 13, 2016
*Robert S. Ford, Real Clear World*: *The Next President’s Big Iraq Problem* By the time President Barack Obama departs the White House in January 2017, the Islamic State’s territory in Iraq will be further reduced. Its fighters will formally control only a few isolated pockets, probably around Mosul in northwestern Iraq. The outgoing Obama administration can at least take comfort in the fact that its actions drained the Islamic State's resources and helped fighters claw back ISIS-held territory. However, Iraq will remain far from a success story, or at least not what Obama had hope... more »
The Ongoing Erosion of the Occult Agenda
*Zen Gardner* - The parasitic “powers that want to be” have a very real respect for people who “get it”.
Economic News , Data & Views ( May 13 , 2016 ) Overview For Friday The 13th ( 1. Markets & Market Related News - Quite A Disconnect From Friday's Retail Sales Report & Earning From The Major Retailers Themselves , US Treasury Yield Curve Flattening Underway 2's & 10's Compression Continues , S&P 500, Dow Sell Off, Log 3rd Straight Weekly Drop , China Stocks Drop For 4th Week In A Row , Accompanied By Commodities Carnage & Additional Items Of Note . 2. Brexit News For Friday. 3. EU-Turkey Refugee Crisis Deal On Life Support As Both Turkey And EU Dig Into Their Positions Deeper. 4. Greece In Focus - Creditor Talks Updates , Updates On Banks & NPL , Economic Data. 5. Libya In Focus . 6. Odds & Ends. )
Markets..... *Charlie Bilello, CMT* @MktOutperform 8h 8 hours ago Retail Sales, year-over-year (%) Overall: +3.0% ex-Autos: +3.0% ex-Autos/Gas: +4.4% *Charlie Bilello, CMT* @MktOutperform 7h7 hours ago The Amazon Economy... $AMZN *zerohedge* @zerohedge 2h 2 hours ago Stocks Bloody On Friday 13 As Treasury Curve Crashes To 9 Year Lows http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-1 3/stocks-bloody-friday-13-treasury-curve-crashes-9-year-lows … *Charlie Bilello, CMT* @MktOutperform 8h 8 hours ago US Yield Curve near the flattest level of the expansion: 95 ... more »
OBAMA VISITS JAPAN / THREE GIFTS FOR AN IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY
*Fuji the magnificent empowers all in its spiritual glow* *President Obama* *will **visit Japan** in late May for a Group of Seven summit but will enjoy an incredible opportunity to earn his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize by visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He must visit with some of the survivors and then offer sincere condolences with the promise to the world that we must never allow our national aims or differences to reach the point where the only answer is nuclear war: Allen L Roland, PhD* To experience Mount Fuji, which I have as a carrier based Navy high Altit... more »
Brazil Punished by Western Capitalists
The decision to oust Dilma Rousseff won't just rip Brazil apart politically, it will also threaten democracy and destabilize the region. Meanwhile, the U.S. stands to gain from the weakening of Dilma's leftist government. This is a tragic development and another indication that Washington continues to roll the dice like a riverboat gambler in its quest for global domination. Brazil's particular crime of course was participation in the alternative global economic development system called BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). So regime change is underway in Braz... more »
Michael Hudson has long believed to me and others as the top economist looking after the rights of the people of the US and Europe. However, my attention to this particular Hudson column was thanks to ace economist Paul Craig Roberts, who summerized it in this way: "In his May 9, 2016, speech to European medical professionals, Michael Hudson points out that the result of TTIP for Europe will be the privatization of health care systems with the associated much higher costs. Hudson’s accurate description of TTIP shows that politically powerful corporations have gained the power in Western “democracies” to sacrifice the welfare of all populations to corporate greed for profit regardless of the cost to peoples, countries, and societies."
------------------------------ MAY 11, 2016 The Dangers of Free Trade Agreements: TTIP's Threat to Europe's Elderly by Michael Hudson Buy his book The most obvious approach to look at how European care for the elderly will evolve is to project technological trends and the costs of people living longer as diagnostic equipment, drug treatments and other medical science continues to improve. This kind of projection shows a rising cost to society of pensions and health care, because a risin... more »
They're Perseverating
Just before Mike Duffy's acquittal, the leader of the Conservative caucus in the Senate, Leo Housakas, released the following statement: “In the event Senator Duffy is acquitted on all counts, he will immediately be reinstated to the Senate as a member in full standing with full pay and access to all office resources. Senator Duffy will be allowed to take his seat in the Chamber at the next scheduled sitting.” Now he's changed his tune. Even though Justice Viallancourt found Duffy's expenses legitimate, Housakas wants to review them. Michael Harris writes: Instead of turning th... more »
World News Briefs -- May 13, 2016 (Evening Edition)
*The Guardian:* *Thousands gather for funeral of Hezbollah's Mustafa Badreddine* Lebanese group buries its military commander in Beirut as it investigates his death in large explosion in Syria Hezbollah says it will soon reveal who it believes killed its military commander, Mustafa Badreddine, in a large explosion in Syria, the biggest blow to the militant Lebanese group in the past eight years. Ahead of the findings of an investigation launched by Hezbollah members at the scene of the explosion near Damascus airport, leaders of the political bloc cum powerful militia were on Fri... more »
Royal Dutch Shell Spills Over 88,000 Gallons of Crude Oil in the Gulf of Mexico
Royal Dutch Shell Spills Over 88,000 Gallons of Crude Oil in the Gulf of Mexico Spills Occurs as Gulf Coast Citizens Prepare to Speak Out Against Offshore Drilling in Washington DC Royal Dutch Shell Spills Over 88,000 Gallons of Crude Oil in the Gulf of Mexico Spills Occurs as Gulf Coast Citizens Prepare to Speak Out Against Offshore Drilling in Washington DC By Indigenous
May 13: Christopher Plummer, Oscar Peterson, and me.
This may be a little short because I got bogged down at the library, reading the autobiography of Christopher Plummer. It caught me because Plummer and I were (almost) classmates in high school. Plummer was from a VERY wealthy family, and went to high school at Montreal High. This was in the school's last days as the school for Montreal's anglo elite. Indeed, the unthinkable was already happening. One of Plummer's best friends at school was Oscar Peterson. (This was the time when blacks lived in a ghetto not far from Montreal High; but few were permitted to enter its sacred halls.)... more »
Obama Strings Public School Principals as Transgender Puppets. Trump Absent From Fight.
[image: Transgender restrooms in schools.] Every time we think the culture warriors of the Left have overplayed their hand, conservatives prove to be mistaken -- as apparent natural allies melt away, pro-business lobbyists throw us under the nearest bus, and proposals that would have been... more »
What's Hiding In Trump's Tax Returns That Makes The GOP So Nervous?
When journalists start a report with "Trump said..." it should only be the introduction of a sentence about lying or flip-flopping. It doesn't *matter* what Trump says. What Trump says is a moment in time without relevance to anything past or future and just another example of how he lies and cheats. And, as Greg Sargent pointed out yesterday in the *Washington Post*, all he'd have to do-- if he wasn't so grand and pig-headed-- is learn how to talk like a Republican political automaton and his party establishment would be instantly united behind him. For instance, posits Sargent, ... more »
BWorld 58, INDCs and PH energy realities
* This is my article in BusinessWorld last Thursday. Energy poverty can kill today, not 30 or 100 years from now because of “man-made” warming or climate change. Dark streets at night because of expensive electricity and unstable energy mean more road accidents, more crimes. Or households using candles are courting more fires, more destruction to private property. And households using traditional biomass for cooking endure indoor pollution and invite various respiratory diseases. Thus, it is unwise for governments to institute measures that will make electricity even more expensive... more »
As We Shift - Your Brilliant Light
Some moments are like long, stretched out rubber bands. You know the ones? They are poised at their limit, pulled within a hair’s breadth of their breaking point; the slightest movement and they’ll “SNAP”!!! One of my sons was terrified of the book you see pictured here (“How far will a rubber band stretch”); he couldn’t stand the tension ‘til the *BOING!!! * The funny thing was, he’d ask for it every night. *(Spoiler alert!!) *In the story, the last place the little boy reaches is the moon. As he steps off the rocket, the *BOING *snaps him and the rubber band right back to hi... more »
Nestle Granted Control Of Town’s Groundwater For Up To 45 Years
Nestlé has secured the rights to the groundwater under the town of Fryeburg in Maine for up to 45 years, thanks to the efforts of the state’s Tea Party Republican Governor Paul LePage. LePage helped Nestlé secure a contract giving Poland Springs, a Nestlé subsidiary, permission to take the small town of Fryeburg’s groundwater for the next 25 years for their own profit, in a deal that could stretch to 45 years due to built-in extensions. Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court quashed efforts bu activists to appeal the deal by ruling in favor of Nestle on Thursday. US Uncut reports: There has... more »
A Look At The Critical Role That Iran Is Playing In The Syrian War
Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Reuters *Kristen Daily, Foreign Policy*: *Iran Has More Volunteers for the Syrian War Than It Knows What to Do With* *As Syrian troops sustain heavy losses, Iranian militias are ramping up their role.* TEHRAN — When 59-year-old Asghar Abyari learned that his son Abbas would soon head off to war in Syria in late December 2015, he was furious. But not for the reason one might expect. Since November, Asghar and Abbas, 24, both members of Iran’s voluntary Basij militia, had been undergoing military training in hopes of joining Tehran’s advisory mission t... more »
Obama blackmails all schools: you will lose funding if you don't allow perverts in restrooms of their choice
These news sound just like the stories in The Onion but they seem real. North Carolina's lawmakers saw some confusion about the meaning of the words "men" and "women" (and the corresponding logos) written on restrooms. So they have adopted a special law saying that "men" are those who have a little limb in between the two legs while "women" have a slit over there. This knowledge may be trivial for most kids in the kindergarten but it seems that the perverts in assorted city halls (which decided to boycott North Carolina!) and the folks in the White House haven't mastered these ins... more »
The Queen Delighted To Win a £50 Tesco Voucher
Her Majesty the Queen appeared to be in high spirits after winning a Tesco gift voucher at the Royal Windsor horse show. Or perhaps she just found it amusing, after all for a woman with a massive personal fortune, a £50 Tesco voucher is hardly a life-changing windfall. Still, as the company’s slogan says, ‘Every Little Helps’ particularly when your weekly shopping bill is an average £25,000. The Guardian reports: The monarch grinned as she clutched the credit card-sized voucher at the Royal Windsor horse show. Her horse Barber’s Shop won the Tattersalls & RoR Thoroughbred Ridden Show... more »
We Must Defy Obama’s School Bathroom Decree at All Costs
[image: Fox-TG-Starnes_1000] The Obama administration declared on May 9th that forcing people to use bathroom facilities based on their God-given plumbing was state-sponsored discrimination. Four days later they dropped an even bigger cultural bombshell. The president issued a directive requiring every public school... more »
Why Afghanistan And Pakistan Cannot Cooperate To Defeat The Taliban
Pakistani Taliban fighters, who were arrested by Afghan border police, stand during a presentation of seized weapons and equipment to the media in Kabul, Afghanistan on January 5, 2016. *Ayesha Tanzeem, VOA*: *Why Pakistan Won't Go After Afghan Taliban* ISLAMABAD—Pakistan is hesitant to take action against the Afghan Taliban on its soil because of concerns the group will redirect its violence against Pakistan and Afghan intelligence will support it, a senior Pakistani official said. “We have to think twice before taking action. Anybody we take action against is immediately support... more »
Border Tensions Between Afghanistan And Pakistan Results In The Border Being Closed And Troops Deployed
*IBTimes*: *Pakistan, Afghanistan deploy tanks, troops at border crossing over fencing dispute* Tensions over fencing disputes along the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan have led to both sides deploying tanks and troops in the region in recent days. The border has remained closed for the last three days due to tensions, leaving thousands stranded on both sides, according to local media. The dispute began when Pakistan started fencing some parts of the border to prevent illegal crossings, but Afghanistan objected to the move. Negotiators from both sides rep... more »
Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson Has Become The First Woman Ever To Lead A U.S. Military Combatant Command
Gen. Lori Robinson in July 2015 at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. (Photo by Senior Airman Katrina M. Brisbin/Air Force) *Washington Post:** Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson becomes first woman ever to lead U.S. combatant command* PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson became the first woman ever to lead a U.S. military combatant command Friday, taking over U.S. Northern Command at a time when the Pentagon is bolstering security at home in light of threats posed by the Islamic State and homegrown terrorism. Robinson, previously the commander of Pacific Air F... more »
How A Top U.S. Navy SEAL Admiral Was Forced Out
*Photo:* Rear Admiral Brian Losey. Wikipedia *Kimberley Dozier, Daily Beast:* *Inside the Takedown of the Top Navy SEAL* *When an admiral is accused of threatening to ‘bury’ whistleblowers, and those whistleblowers are embroiled in scandal, a straightforward story of right and wrong is anything but.* It seemed like a simple David and Goliath story. Three military whistleblowers took on a powerful and vindictive admiral, accusing him of retaliating against them after he thought they were daring to speak up. And with the help of a few brave senators, the whistleblowers ended the car... more »
Is There A Problem With The U.S. Navy SEAL Training Program?
From left, Seaman Daniel DelBianco, Seaman James “Derek” Lovelace and Petty Officer 2nd Class Caplen Weare. (Courtesy of DelBianco family, U.S. Navy and the Weare family) *Washington Post*: *Three deaths linked to recent Navy SEAL training classes* A sailor has died in three out of the last four Navy SEAL training classes, with one drowning days ago during a pool exercise and another committing suicide in April after failing to complete one of the U.S. military’s most demanding training programs. A third sailor, who had been drinking heavily, died in November after his pickup tru... more »
Russian President Putin Warns NATO Missile Shield Is A Threat To Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia, May 13, 2016. Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters *The Australian/The Times*:* New NATO missile shield angers Vladimir Putin* A US-built missile defence site in Romania has been officially opened under the banner of NATO amid angry opposition from Russia. The $US800 million ($1.1 billion) defensive battery at a former Soviet military base, with missiles said to be capable of shooting down rockets fired at Europe, opened on T... more »
Is Turkey Providing Medical Treatment For Wounded Islamic State Fighters?
*Photo:* Ersin Arslan. © SPUTNIK/ HİKMET DURGUN *Sputnik*: *EXCLUSIVE: Daesh Terrorists Secretly Treated at Turkish Hospital (PHOTOS)* Four wounded Daesh fighters have been treated at the Ersin Arslan regional hospital, located in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, an unnamed source told Sputnik. They were admitted on May 5, the medical worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added. One of them, named Bagur Ferhad, is an Afghan national born in 1993, the source said. "I examined Daesh fighters. They had gunshot wounds. None of them received life-threatening injuries," the medica... more »
Is Facebook Shutting Down Critics of The Turkish Government?
Civil liberties groups have called on Facebook to reinstate Zed’s page Photograph: Thomas White/REUTERS *The Guardian*: *Publisher's Facebook page deleted after posting criticism of Turkish government* The UK-based Zed Books’ page was removed with no warning after it ran a series of posts about its books on the Turkish government. Facebook has denied involvement in the deletion of the page of a London-based academic publisher who had published articles that criticised the Turkish government and discussed the outlawed (in Turkey) Kurdistan Workers party. The deletion sparked accus... more »
Heavy Fighting Reported Between The Turkish Military And Kurdish Militants
A woman stands in front of a house which was damaged in the last night's explosion, near the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey May 13, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar *Hurriyet Daily News*:* 9 soldiers, 15 militants killed in clashes, ops in Turkey’s southeast* A total of six soldiers were killed in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) while two pilots died as a military helicopter which was dispatched to pursue militants crashed in the eastern province of Hakkari early on May 13. Meanwhile, a ninth soldier died in eastern Thrace when a mili... more »
World News Briefs -- May 13, 2016
*VOA:* *Economic Stagnation Is Least of Worries for Brazil's New President* Brazil's interim President Michel Temer begins his new administration Friday as hundreds of supporters of his beleaguered predecessor continue street demonstrations and regional leaders denounce the senate's vote for an impeachment trial as a literal coup. The former vice president installed a business-friendly Cabinet Thursday, just hours after senators voted to temporarily remove his former ally-turned-political enemy, Dilma Rousseff, from power for alleged corruption. *Read more* .... *MIDDLE EAST* R... more »
Ofelia Rivas: 'Oppose US/Israeli spy towers, respect O'odham burial places'
Israel's Elbit Systems, responsible for apartheid security in Palestine, has targeted Tohono O'odham burial places with US/Israeli spy towers U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is accepting critical comments until May 16, 2016, on a project of vital concern to the Tohono O'odham Nation. Your support is welcome and may be significant. By Ofelia Rivas, O'odham O'odham VOICE
Obama: Shut Up, Girls and Let the Boys In — No One Cares if You’re Uncomfortable
[image: Girl in Locker Room Sad - 900] In the wake of King Barack’s hardly-veiled new threat against every public school in America, I have to marvel at the screaming silence from liberal feminists. I suppose this means concern for women is sooo yesterday. All over this country,... more »
Anonymous Hackers Shut Down Bank of England
Anonymous hackers claim they have taken down the Bank of England’s internal email server as part of an operation dubbed ‘OpIcarus’ The hacktivist collective Anonymous said they were launching cyber-attacks on major financial institutions across the world, including the Bank of England, in order to “start an online revolution.” RT reports: Mail.bankofengland.co.uk was down for part of Friday. Hackers affiliated with Anonymous also claimed to have shut down several international banks over the past four days, including the National Reserve Bank of Tonga, the Federal Reserve Bank of Bo... more »
March for Lies 2016, Part 2: UMPTY-GAZILLION ATTENDEES!
There were great expectations for this year's March for Lies. First, its traditional organizer, Catholic Campaign Life, graciously invited all anti-choice groups to participate. And second, Parliament is debating and will pass the tragically flawed medical assistance in dying act, which one would have thought would rev up the "womb to tomb" gang. So the turn-out was going to be MASSIVE, yes? In Part 1 of our annual Delusion Watch, we compared the size of yesterday's rally to April's 4/20 marijuana rally. Doing this again. Compare rallies. 4/20 on left #MarchforLife #m4l on righ... more »
March for Lies 2016, Part 1
Clever me. I saved screen shots of the 4/20 marijuana rally from the Hill Cam to compare with March for Lies, Futility on the Hill Bunfest. Top image today at 1:26, just before the marching, at max attendance. Bottom image 4/20 at 4:20. Compare. Speakers at today's bunfest claimed there were 20,000 people there. David Akin, veteran reporter of these events, estimated 4,500, adding that that might be generous. Or as I said: If that's 20K people I'll eat a Knights of Columbus hat. #MarchforLies #m4l — Fern Hill (@fernhilldammit) May 12, 2016 Part 2 will be a report on the... more »
Lt. Gov: Texas Will Forgo Funds Over Obama’s Transgender Mandate
[image: Lt. Gov - 900] DALLAS (AP) -- Texas’ lieutenant governor said Friday that the state is prepared to forfeit billions of federal dollars in public school funding in defiance of an Obama administration directive requiring schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and... more »
Obama’s Public School Transgender Bathroom Mandate: Insane, and Unlawful
[image: Obama Smug Smile Transgender Madate - 900] The Obama administration has issued a new directive to the nation’s public schools stating that they must allow boys who identify as girls to share restrooms and locker rooms with girls. Ditto girls who identify as boys. It’s executive overreach at... more »
Mosul Dam Evacuation Plan? Warning Leaflets dropped over Mosul? Questionable.
*This latest batch of news scares me:* *"Mosul dam is in danger of collapsing"* *From Kurdistan24:* A Peshmerga fighter looks out into the water flowing away from the Mosul Dam * As an Italian company began repairing the Mosul dam*, the Iraq government warned citizens about the possible collapse of the dam. *The Italian Company has not begun to repair the dam*- *Not from anything I have read. Anywhere*. *I noted yesterday!* *"A delegation from Trevi visited the dam in March to begin preparing a nearby site to host the engineers and soldiers, which a source said could take up to s... more »
IMF Says Brexit Would Trigger Stock Market And House Price Crash
The International Monetary Fund is warning that a vote to leave the European Union next month could prompt a stock market crash and steep fall in house prices. Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director and the Bank of England governor Mark Carney also warn that Britain could fall into recession following a Brexit vote. All that’s on top of the world war that British prime minister David Cameron has warned about should Britain decide to leave the EU… Brexit fear mongering? or are we really doomed if we vote ‘out’? The Guardian reports: Lagarde, who was in London on Friday to prese... more »
Sea Levels In The Holocene
By Paul Homewood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise Perhaps the alarmist scare which gains most traction is that of catastrophic sea level rise. The idea that at some undefined point in the future our coastal cities will be under several meters of water. It is, however, one that is easy to dismiss. Quite simply, we know that […]
Actor John Ratzenberger Tells House: Killing Shop Class Helped Kill Desperately Needed Supply of Skilled Laborers
[image: John Ratzenberger - 900] House lawmakers expressed their concern over the growing shortage of skilled workers to fill manufacturing jobs in the United States during a House Committee on Small Business hearing Thursday. Chairman Steve Chabot said between baby boomers retiring and economic expansion, there... more »
WikiLeaks -Brazil’s Acting President Used To Be Informant For US Intel
WikiLeaks has revealed that Michel Temer, who has taken over as Brazil’s interim president, was an embassy informant for US intelligence Temer, who was the vice president, replaced Dilma Rousseff as soon as she was suspended from office earlier this week, after the Senate voted to impeach her. RT reports: According to the whistleblowing website, Temer communicated with the US embassy in Brazil via telegram, and such content would be classified as “sensitive” and “for official use only.” Two cables were released, dated January 11, 2006 and June 21, 2006. One shows a document sent fr...more »
Donald Trump Will Be The Last Ever U.S. President : Johnny Depp
Actor Johnny Depp predicts that Donald Trump would be the last president of the United States if elected. Johnny Depp has been nominated for many awards, playing various roles in film, but is yet to win an Oscar from the establishment in Hollywood. The talented actor is a good judge of character, playing the role of Edward Scissorhands in the 1990 film by the same title. Depp says that if Trump should win the presidency then it is curtains for America. “It just won’t work after that,” according to Depp. Huffington Post reports: While doing press for his latest film, “Alice Through ... more »
"It strains all logic ... to ignore the warning signs about Hillary Clinton"
*Is the Democratic Party establishment just rolling the dice with Clinton? Do they know it's what they're doing (source)?* *by Gaius Publius* The quote in the headline is from a recent piece by Shaun King, who looks at the mounting "impossible for the Party to ignore" list of incredulities about the Clinton candidacy. In particular, King looks at three pieces, bulleted below. - The inconsistency of her position on her speeches vs. her position on Trump's tax returns. King (my emphasis): "Yesterday, she openly mocked Donald Trump for not releasing his tax returns and state... more »
A Call for National Civil Disobedience to Obama’s Public School Transgender Bathroom Mandate
[image: Obama Transgender Restroom Mandate - 900] There are times in history when obedience to God means disobedience to man. This is one of those times. Now that the Obama administration has announced that public schools must allow boys who identify as girls to use the girls'... more »
Pope to Visit Genocide Memorial During June Trip to Armenia
[image: Pope - 900] VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis’ trip to Armenia in June will include a visit to the genocide memorial complex, a monastery stop in the city of Gyumeri and a meeting with the president. The Vatican released details of the... more »
Vladimir Putin ....restoring sanity on earth.... one practical rational thought at a time
*Putin - Matrix Blue or Red Pill?* In my recent post about Putin's Palmyra concert, I referred to it as an exorcism and to Putin as an Exorcist ridding the ancient ruins of the evil spirits of the USrael created, funded and trained ISIS terrorists. In this post, I'd like to expand on the concept of Putin "exorcising" today's world of evil--by bringing back the lost art of rational thinking. I remember when we lost rational thinking in the geopolitical world forever...it was when Bush II's Secretary of State Condolezza Rice gave a speech about "the new unipolar world". My jaw droppe... more »
Charter Schools Week, Part 2: ESSA's Crucial Support Role
In April 2015 Diane Ravitch, AFT, NEA, and FairTest surrendered after a brief skirmish against NCLB 3.0, which came to be known as ESSA before it passed with flying colors in December 2015. It was in April 2015 that Ravitch declared about the Alexander/Murray compromise bill, One may quibble with details, but the bottom line is that this bill defangs the U.S. Department of Education; it no longer will exert control over every school with mandates. This bill strips the status quo of federal power to ruin schools and the lives of children and educators. . . .This is a far better bill ... more »
Gaia Portal: Scatterings of impulses wanes upon the morrow
*Scatterings of impulses wanes upon the morrow*by ÉirePort [image: gaia_energy1]Scatterings of impulses wanes upon the morrow. Settlings portray elements of Light. Fortresses are vanquished as columns dissolve. Spartanized mountains unveil the full view. *ÉirePort* | May 13, 2016 at 08:08 | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p2sFUY-yr
Dangerously wrong
'Blairite @PCollinsTimes gets to defend the #BBC in a paper owned by #Murdoch' #thatllconfuseTwitter pic.twitter.com/8A4MOAmPZg — Ben Fuller (@politicsastar) 13 May 2016 *To call the BBC biased is dangerously wrong* “Now that bias is the assumed vice of all media, I feel bound to confess how angry I used to be with Nick Robinson. Back in 2005, when I was in the Blair bunker, we were convinced that the BBC’s political editor was embedded with the Brown team. Day after day we were certain that BBC output was dictated verbatim by our sworn enemies. They may as well have let Ed Ball... more »
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 13, 2016
Photo: World Affairs Board *Quartz:* *Beijing is setting the stage for war in the South China Sea* All any nation needs to go to war is a good provocation, and China is no exception. With its sweeping territorial claims, island-building, militarization, patriotic fervor, and prickly rhetoric, Beijing is setting itself up to be repeatedly provoked in the South China Sea—it might even be counting on it. Consider the nation’s manmade, militarized island at Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly archipelago. Though it didn’t even exist a few years ago, and for decades ships from other nation... more »
Top U.S. And Chinese Generals Discuss Ways To Calm Tensions In The South China Sea
U.S. Navy captains and commanders held quiet discussions with the Chinese navy earlier this week, amid tensions over Beijing's claims to the South China Sea. Above, dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, May 21, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS/U.S. NAVY/HANDOUT *Reuters: **China, U.S. should manage South China Sea differences constructively - Chinese general* China and the United States should manage their differences over disputed waters in the South China Sea constructively, one of China's top milit... more »
Facebook Responds To Allegations That Its News-feed Is Biased
*The Guardian*: *Facebook trends: Zuckerberg invites top conservatives to talk and denies bias* As Facebook battles a report accusing it of suppressing conservative news, CEO says he plans to ‘invite leading conservatives ... to share their point of view’ Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he plans to invite “leading conservatives and people from across the political spectrum” to talk with him about accusations of political bias at the social media company. Zuckerberg made the announcement Thursday evening in a Facebook post that continued to deny the allegations of ...more »
The Confessions of Congressman X
*Daily Mail:* *'Screw the next generation' and 'Harry Reid's a pompous a**': Democratic congressman writes Anonymous tell-all book slamming 'nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep' as he admits he never reads bills he votes on* * 'My main job is to keep my job, to get reelected. It takes precedence over everything,' an anonymous member of Congress writes in a new book * 'Voters are incredibly ignorant and know little about our form of government and how it works,' he writes * 'It's far easier than you think to manipulate a nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep who crave instant gratifi... more »
A New Image Of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un And The Country's Party-Military Leaders?
*BBC:* *What the new photos of North Korea's leaders say* North Korea has released a new set of photos of Kim Jong-un and party and military leaders. The BBC spoke to US-based North Korea expert Michael Madden about what the pictures tell us, after the recent and rare party congress. "Kim Jong-un is putting himself on the cover of the party newspaper, warts and all," says Mr Madden, of the photo of the leader. But he says media reports that this is the first time North Korea has released unedited images of its leaders are "nonsense". For example, a group of photos released in 200... more »
Lebanon TV Blames Israel For The Assassination Of Hezbollah's Top Military Commander In Syria
Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine, purportedly assassinated by an Israeli strike near Damascus on May 13, 2016. (Twitter screenshot) *The Guardian*: *Leading Hezbollah commander killed in Syria 'by Israeli military'* Mustafa Badreddine, dubbed the ‘untraceable ghost’, had fought against Israel for decades and was killed in an explosion in Damascus A leading commander of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah has been killed in Syria, in an attack being blamed on the Israeli military. Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that Mustafa Badreddine, 55, who was believed to have been the sec... more »
Peace Bonds
A peace bond is a court order in which a person who has threatened or harmed you agrees to stop the threatening or harmful behaviour and to stay away from you. Broadly put it is an order to keep the peace and be on good behaviour for a period of a year or less. Peace bonds usually have other conditions too, such as not having any weapons or staying away from a person or place. A peace bond gives some level of protection for people who have a genuine fear for their safety; while not perfect they are reasonably effective. Someone who signs a peace bond is not admitting to a crime. Mo... more »
Exporting Emissions To China
By Paul Homewood In an earlier post, Ash left this comment: You realise China is emitting on behalf of us wealthier nations in manufacturing for us. https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/david-attenborough-the-population-matters-organisation/#comment-69150 Of course, as we import stuff from China, it is true that we are to an extent exporting our emissions. But it is important that […]
In major shift, medical journal to publish protocols along with clinical trials
A major medical journal has updated its instructions to authors, now requiring that they publish protocols of clinical trials, along with any changes made along the way. We learned of this change via the COMPare project, which has been tracking trial protocol changes in major medical journals — and been critical of the Annals of Internal Medicine‘s […] The post In major shift, medical journal to publish protocols along with clinical trials appeared first on Retraction Watch.
ONCE AGAIN, THAT'S RICH: All the narratives that are fit to consider!
*THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016Part 5—The New York Times colors the schools:* If we might borrow the language of Hughes, life for the good decent black kids of Berkeley ain't been no golden stair—relatively speaking, of course. In a massive new study, Stanford's Sean Reardon has compared the academic achievement of kids in our public schools to their socioeconomic advantage as assessed through reference to six different measures. In determining children's SES, Reardon considered measures of family income and employment. He also recorded the number of kids from two-parent homes, and the e... more »
Train Driver Risks His Life Warning Passengers Of Impending Crash
Video shows a Polish train driver warning his passengers to take cover before his train smashes into a lorry stuck on the tracks. The driver left his cabin just seconds before the crash at a level crossing in Western Poland and ran down carriages warning passengers to brace themselves. The Daily Mail reports: The driver can first be seen on the video dashing into a carriage, startling around a dozen passengers. He runs between the sets of red seats, and before passengers have time to wonder why he isn’t in the cabin, he appears to shout to them Presumably warning them to brace for ... more »
Trump’s White Supremacy Alt-Right Fans Must Not Be Allowed to Discredit Legitimate Worries
[image: Alt-Right Graffiti - 900] Some of the loudest supporters of Donald Trump belong to an online network loosely described by journalists as "Alt-Right," which contains a dizzying array of those who dissent from current conservative politics for a wide variety of reasons. It is... more »
Setback To Clearing Iraq’s Ramadi Of IEDs
In the middle of April2016 the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) stopped people returning to the recently liberated city of Ramadi. Religious and political leaders in Anbar had been encouraging people to move back to score political points even though it was completely unsafe. More than 200 people ended up dead and wounded as a result of IEDs left behind by the Islamic State. The time when people will be able to move back has just faced a major setback when the contract to clear the city was terminated. Ramadi was freed at the beginning of February and almost immediately there were cle... more »
Charles IV: 700th birthday
On May 14th, 1316, Charles IV, the Czech king and the Holy Roman Emperor, was born. A decade ago, the Czech public chose him as the "Greatest Czech" in a poll, after the universal genius Jára da Cimrman was eliminated because of some anti-quantum zealous complaints concerning his "reality". ;-) Charles IV was extremely educated, did a lot of uncontroversially great things for this golden era of the Czech kingdom, and equally importantly, he did quite something to grow the fame and imperial influence of our kingdom, too. Just to be sure, we're not one of those nations that consider ... more »
Untitled
*From* *Jenna Orkin* 28% of US bees wiped out this winter, suggesting bigger environmental issues There's a 'very dangerous situation' taking place in the Comex's gold vault Why Trump won't release his tax returns No answers, of course. Germany just approved Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as 'safe' to make deportations easier BAE: The $81 million virtual Bangladesh Bank heist is linked to the Sony hack A Syrian woman has explained perfectly why so many refugees have smartphones Raw Venezuela: Looter Burned Alive, While "Streets Filled With People Killing Animals For Food" First Ca...more »
Police Vow To Continue Investigating Ted Heath Child Sex Abuse Claims
Despite MP’s raising concerns over the cost of the inquiry, Police have announced they will continue their investigation into allegations of child sex abuse by late Prime Minister Edward Heath. Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Mike Veile has confirmed that the investigation is ongoing and said he is content with the scope of the inquiry. Russia Today reports: In a separate revelation, the police watchdog has found no evidence Wiltshire cops covered up alleged abuse by Heath in the 1990s. In a letter to the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC), Veile said the investigation’s priorit... more »
ISIS Counter Offensive On Palmyra May Draw Russia Into Protracted War
ISIS militants have launched a drive to recapture the world heritage site of Palmyra. Islamists have cut the road between Homs and Palmyra to disrupt supply routes used by Syrian government forces, according to the London-based organization Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A professor from the Russian State University for the Humanities, says Moscow could be drawn into a new phase of the Syrian conflict where control over Palmyra will be the main key. The military campaign to save what remains of the world heritage site from Islamists could become protracted, with “unpredictable...more »
Russia Forced To Neutralise Threats From NATO Anti-Missile Shield
Russia is being forced to look for ways to neutralise threats to its national security following the deployment of the NATO anti-missile shield in Europe. “Now, after the deployment of those anti-missile system elements, we’ll be forced to think about neutralizing developing threats to Russia’s security” Russian President Vladimir Putin said adding that Russia is making every effort to maintain the strategic balance of power to avoid the outbreak of large-scale conflicts. The alliance launched the missile defense site in Romania on Thursday. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Russ... more »
After painful retraction, authors republish replicated findings five years later
It was one of the most difficult posts we’ve ever written: A researcher’s eagerness to publish a paper before asking all co-authors for their permission forced him to retract the article, wasting a postdoc’s time and destroying a professional relationship in the process. This 2011 post wasn’t difficult to write because the facts were complex; […] The post After painful retraction, authors republish replicated findings five years later appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Donald Trump Full Interview on Sean Hannity 5/12/16...
*interesting.*
UN Climate Chief Pays Herself to ‘Offset’ CO2 Emissions
[image: Global Warming Climate Change Money - 900] Christiana Figueres, the outgoing head of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, has put out a video asking people to buy UN carbon offsets to help fight global warming -- it's so easy, she says, she's bought offsets for herself... more »
(Trump Out-Lie Strategy Triumphs) Bernie Sanders Has Already Won? It's a Sweet Argument But . . . (Repubs In Charge of Dem Convention - PayDay Lender Deb Was Shltz Leads Way) Unelected NeoLib Takes Brazil's Elected Leader's Place
Feeling a little bit funny about that Trump out-liar candidacy yet? Ever since he entered the presidential race, Donald Trump has been upsetting assumptions. And now the overarching question is whether his approach to landing the nomination will work as well for him in the general election. There’s little point in studying the maps of past electoral college results, in particular that of
Obama’s Hiroshima Trip Rekindles Decades-Old Controversies
[image: Obama Hiroshima] WASHINGTON (AP) -- When President Barack Obama tours Hiroshima’s haunting relics of nuclear warfare, he will be making a trip that past administrations weighed and avoided. For good reason: The hollowed core of the city’s A-Bomb Dome and old photos... more »
Amnesty Says Syrian Rebels ‘May Have’ Committed War Crimes In Aleppo
Amnesty International have said that Syrian rebels may have committed war crimes in a Kurdish-controlled area of Aleppo, killing dozens of innocent civilians. They say they collected evidence which suggest that at least 83 civilians, including 30 children, were killed between February and April by indiscriminate shellfire on the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Syria’s former commercial hub. Russia Today reports: “Armed groups surrounding the Sheikh Maqsoud district…have repeatedly carried out indiscriminate attacks that have struck civilian homes, streets, markets and mosques, killing... more »
Nanette Barragán's Battle Against The Corrupt Political Machine Gets A Huge, Unexpected Boost
*Nanette Barragán* Janice Hahn sees herself as a future governor and realized Congress isn't the stepping stone taking her in that direction. So she's leaving the safe deep, deep blue 44th congressional district seat-- Obama won it with 85% against Romney and it is likely to be even *more* Democratic in November-- for a seat on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Vaguely liberal, Hahn isn't really about values or even issues as much as she is about Hahn. As part of her unending lust for higher office she made a deal to back Sacramento's most corrupt Democrat, Isadore Hall, for the... more »
Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 12th May)
Anti-Money Laundering: Cameron to name secret foreign property owners Foreign firms that own property in the UK will have to declare their assets publicly in a bid to stamp out money-laundering, the government says. Companies will have to be on a new register if they hold property or want to compete for government contracts. The register would mean "corrupt individuals and countries will no
Friday Nerd Blogging: Return of An Old Theme
It has been awhile, but with the end of the term, we are due for some Friday Nerd Blogging. How some definitive proof that adding a little bit of Empire makes ordinary dancing much better?
Cernette: a bound state of 12 top quarks?
Willmutt reminded me of a paper I saw in the morning, Production and Decay of \(750\GeV\) state of 6 top and 6 anti top quarks by two experienced physicists, Froggatt and (co-father of string theory) Nielsen, that proposes that the \(750\GeV\) cernette could be real – and it could be a part of the Standard Model. They've been talking about the bound state (now proposed to be the cernette) since 2003. At that time, the particle was conjectured to be so heavily bound that it would be a tachyon, \(m^2\lt 0\). I actually think that composite tachyons can't exist in tachyon-free theories... more »
7 Apps Every New Mom Needs
Becoming a mom is one of the most exciting and terrifying things I have ever experienced. There was so much to learn and so many firsts. Between nursing, first illnesses, and trouble sleeping, the first few months can be a rough time, but luckily there's an app for that. Many apps, in fact. These apps have made being a mom so much easier for me. 1. *Intermountain Connect Care (free, iOS/Android) –* The Intermountain Connect Care app lets you visit a provider without ever leaving your home. These TeleHealth visits can be done from the app, or on your computer. It is open 24/7/365... more »
Trump ‘Surprised’ Ryan Didn’t Endorse Him, Expects He Will
[image: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Friday, May 6, 2016, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump is winning over his Capitol Hill critics after a one-day charm offensive that demonstrates the power of his personality to drive his White House bid. Yet he’s still not ruling out going “my separate way”... more »
Boehner Thinks Clinton Will Withdraw From Presidential Race
Former US Speaker John Boehner has said that it is very likely that Hillary Clinton will withdraw from the presidential race due to her email scandal. Boehner has been speculating that Hillary Clinton’s legal troubles are so serious that it’s possible we will see Vice President Joe Biden “parachuting” into the race at the last minute Speaking at the SALT conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, Boehner said that Democrats may need to turn to Biden to be their 2016 nominee. Press TV reports: Republicans have long speculated that the federal investigation into Clinton’s use of a private e... more »
Fearing Trump, Some Democrats Up Pressure on Sanders to Exit
[image: Sanders and Clinton - 900] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pressure is mounting on Bernie Sanders to end his campaign for president, with Democratic Party leaders raising alarms that his continued presence in the race is undermining efforts to beat presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump this fall.... more »
One Big Cultural Reason for Trump’s Success and What It Means for Our Future
[image: Donald Trump] There's this scene at the end of the movie of The Truman Show where Jim Carrey, who plays the unwitting star of a reality show about his life, finally figures out that none of it is real. Like the voice... more »
Is Donald Trump Considering Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer for VP?
[image: Is Donald Trump Considering Jan Brewer for VP?] Donald Trump hinted during an interview on Fox News Wednesday night that former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer may be on his short list for vice president. When asked by Greta Van Susteren, host of On the Record, whether he was considering Oklahoma... more »
Don’t Kid Yourself: Of Course Trump Can Win
[image: Supporters of Donald Trump attend a campaign rally at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 22, 2016.] Last July, Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison threw an entire ABC News roundtable for a loop with just one line: "People terrified of the possibility of President Trump better vote, better get active, better get involved," he said. "Because this man... more »
Graham, Who Called Trump a ‘Nut Job,’ Softens His View But Still Won’t Endorse
[image: U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham speaks with attendees at the 2015 Iowa Growth & Opportunity Party in Des Moines, Iowa on October 31, 2015.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican senator who called Donald Trump a “nut job” and a “loser as a person” softened his stance on Thursday as the GOP sought to set aside their differences and unify the party. Lindsey Graham of... more »
Metro Killer hastily executed because politics
*Band on campus.* The justice minister said it herself: “It was I who decided to carry out the execution of Cheng Chieh ahead of other pending cases. This case damaged our society and made people fear for their personal safety in public places, so it had to be prioritized ahead of other cases. My colleagues in the justice ministry all supported this decision,” Luo said. ...... Luo also said she was doing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) minister of justice-designate Chiu Tai-shan (邱太三) a favor by carrying out the execution. * “I know that quite a few DPP officials are in favor ... more »
Report: Airstrikes, Intel Failed to Stop Paris Attacks Plot
[image: This undated image taken from a Militant Website on Monday Nov. 16, 2015 showing Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud. A French official says Abdelhamid Abaaoud is the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks was also linked to thwarted train and church attacks. (Militant video via AP)] PARIS (AP) -- A French newspaper says France changed its military strategy last year and started airstrikes in Syria because of concerns months before the attacks on Paris that ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud was plotting to target a concert and take... more »
Obama Administration Mandates Transgender Bathroom Access in All Public Schools
[image: A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California September 30, 2014. The University of California will designate gender-neutral restrooms at its 10 campuses to accommodate transgender students, in a move that may be the first of its kind for a system of colleges in the United States. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES - Tags: EDUCATION SOCIETY POLITICS) (Newscom TagID: rtrlsix674661.jpg) [Photo via Newscom]] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Public schools must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with the... more »
BREXIT - The Full Length Film
*Published on May 12, 2016* The full-length Brexit: The Movie - the crowdfunded film making the case for Britain to LEAVE the EU on June 23rd. Segments of the film available on this channel and at: *http://www.brexitthemovie.com/#!the-movie/c2sa*
Political Chaos in Australia
A letter sent to our political leaders by *Dr Judy Ryan* Dr. Judy Ryan is a retired scientist living in Canberra. Judy has been holding prominent alarmist academics accountable in the media. And holding ABC and others accountable. And doing so methodically and strongly yet respectfull Dear Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt and Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, Respectfully, we raise the following issues for your consideration. On September 7th, 2013 the Australian people voted in the Abbott Liberal Coalition government. As opposit... more »
Senate Panel Calls for Women to Sign Up for Military Draft
[image: Women in Combat, Women in Infantry, U.S. Military, Armed Forces] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee has seconded a call by its counterpart in the House to require women to register for a military draft, setting the stage for a significant cultural change triggered by the Pentagon’s... more »
Bill Nye At It Again
By Paul Homewood https://twitter.com/BillNye/status/730405932933496832 Bill Nye the “Science” Guy has been at it again! Meanwhile, back in the real world, tornadoes are so far year this year below average. http://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/#data And in the longer term, there has been a clearly declining trend in stronger tornadoes. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology/trends […]
The Tourism Numbers: Do they tell Reuters' story?
*Cyclists on the ocean in Miaoli.* Reuters, currently vying with BBC and AFP for the top spot in the Xinhua 2.0 sweepstakes, says ZOMG TOURISTS ARE BEING CUT: Now the Chinese tourists who visit Taiwan - 4.2 million last year - have become the focus of discord. * The number fell 10 percent on month to 363,878 in March, according to Taiwan's Tourism Bureau.* That is still up on a year ago, but those who service the visitors, including the bus companies that shuttle tour groups around, say they are feeling the pinch. "Chinese tourists took about 4,000 tour buses a month this time ar... more »
Whisky and Liberty, Jules Maaten's farewell party
Last night, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) Philippines Country Director Jules Maaten conducted and hosted a "whisky workshop". My first time to attend such kind of activity as I am a barbarian when it comes to some high end drinks, European whisky brands. It also served as Jules' farewell party to some friends. To my right here will be his successor, incoming Country Director Wolfgang BL Heinze. I talked to Eva, Jules' wife, she said she wished they won't leave the Philippines because of so many friends they have developed the past 6 years (though it seemed like 3-... more »
Steven & Evan Strong - not Out of Africa - The Seven Sisters and two human gene lines
*Neolithic 2,000**°C + knife = lines on melted rock surface* over the last few days, I've been stunned... literally stunned... by the stunning work of two Australian researchers Steven & Evan Strong. *"One thing many people don't know is, Rebecca Caan and Allan Wilson the original proponents of the Out of Africa (Mitochondrial Eve) theory RECANTED." It's Australia...* [source STRONG] You can search for Steven & Evan Strong yourselves, there are lots of more-detailed video presentations out there (one of my favourites is on the Dr Rita Louise website, I have to admit I'm a bit obse...more »
Mike Philbin - Dichotomy Paintings - one death, five new births
*May 13th 2016R.I.P.* let's call it one death, it's actually the three 100x50cm canvases above, this set of three... I'd already destroyed a set of three 100x50cm four-colour'd paintings. I'd already destroyed a set of three 40x60cm three-colour'd paintings. It's been a while since I looked at my paintings and thought, "Yeah, you'll have to go in the next cull." I realised there was something wrong with the above set of three, INSTANTLY, because I'd tried too hard to Thinky Them into existence, little sketches and measurements and everything, "I know what I was trying to do when ... more »
Whoa Baby Giveaway!
Is there any time more exciting than when you're welcoming a new baby into your family? We've teamed up with some of our favorite parenting blogs to bring you a HUGE giveaway with products to enhance life with your bundle of joy. Check out the great brands that are participating and the items one lucky winner will receive: *Step2*: The Step2 Company, headquartered in Streetsboro, Ohio, is the largest American manufacturer of preschool and toddler toys and the world's largest rotational molder of plastics. Their mission is to be the leading innovator of children's products that b... more »
What an odd idea of 'fun'
'The British supermarket where an international terror suspect was filmed brandishing an assault rifle has been revealed to be a store in a Birmingham suburb. It came as Hakim Nasiri said last night that he had posed for fun and that the weapon was a fake.' What an odd idea of 'fun'. More here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3587681/The-Birmingham-supermarket-Afghan-terror-suspect-posed-military-assault-rifle-working-road-car-wash.html but not on the BBC where protecting suspected Islamist terrorists from scrutiny appears to be policy now.
Military Photo of the Day: Countermeasure Flares from a C-17A
[image: C-17] A C-17A Globemaster III expends countermeasure flares to defeat a simulated surface-to-air missile during a training mission at Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania on March 24, 2016. Wow! Thanks to Senior Airman William Johnson for capturing this image.
The Collapse Of Venezuela
*Moises Naim and Francisco Toro, The Atlantic*: *Venezuela Is Falling Apart* *Scenes from daily life in the failing state.* When a Venezuelan entrepreneur we know launched a manufacturing company in western Venezuela two decades ago, he never imagined he’d one day find himself facing jail time over the toilet paper in the factory’s restrooms. But Venezuela has a way of turning yesterday’s unimaginable into today’s normal. The entrepreneur’s ordeal started about a year ago, when the factory union began to insist on enforcing an obscure clause in its collective-bargaining agreement... more »
Carbon Nanotube Self Assembly Demostrated
This is an excellent application of Tesla coils. That we can induce the self assembly of carbon nanotubes happens to also be important as this leads directly to cable making which can only become better as the art improves. This is a step along the road to potentially producing a space elevator. That may never be built but large span bridges will be. Our pillar and stay system is naturally expandable depending on cable strength and these cables go well beyond present expectations. All good. *"Electric fields have been used to move small objects, but only over ultrashort... more »
Lost' Medieval Music Performed for the First Time in 1,000 Years
We have lost so much of the ancient musical repertory and some we barely know about. At least we now have dedicated artist trying to restore and even recreate some of that music. At the same time i suspect that drum culture was universal for all peoples during their hunter gatherer phase. It is just too convenient for sending information to adjacent villages and repetition is easy at those villages allowing a huge extended population to understand the content. A vastly more directed method used by the Gauls in particular to send messages hill top to hill top was the alpen ho... more »
Two peas in a pod
A top Hezbollah terrorist has apparently been killed by Israel: The early photo of Amine Badreddine used by the BBC website shows the dead 'militant' to have borne and uncanny resemblance to the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen (in his younger, slimmer days):
U.S. Navy Fires Commander Of The 10 Sailors Who Were Detained By Iran
*Reuters*: *U.S. Navy fires commander of sailors who were held by Iran* The U.S. Navy said on Thursday that it had fired the commander of the 10 American sailors who wandered into Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf in January and were briefly held by Iran in an incident that risked becoming an international crisis. The Navy said in a statement that it had lost confidence in Commander Eric Rasch, who was the executive officer of the coastal riverine squadron that included the 10 sailors. Rasch became the first person to be publicly singled out after a preliminary investigation... more »
Tweet For Today
After report that it downplays conservative issues, Facebook issues statement explaining "trending topics." https://t.co/OYZMZmYCtW — The Associated Press (@AP) May 13, 2016
Another contrast
Further to an earlier post, here's another example of the contrast in treatment between those two potentially game-changing developments in the EU referendum: Mark Carney's intervention (helpful to Remain) and those 1.5 million extra EU migrants revealed by the NI numbers (helpful to Leave). Last night's BBC One *News at Ten* dealt with both stories. It led with Mark Carney and devoted more than 5 minutes of its its time to that story. In contrast the EU immigration story was treated as a 'news in brief' item and given just 23 seconds in the middle of the bulletin. BBC One viewers... more »
Iranians Will Miss This Year's Hajj Pilgrimage Because Of Conflict With Saudi Arabia
*Al Jazeera*: *Saudi Arabia, Iran trade blame over failed Hajj talks* Officials blame each other over talks' failure that may see Iran's Muslims miss out on annual pilgrimage. Muslims in Iran could miss out on the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia this year as Tehran and Riyadh trade blame over a failure to agree organisational details, according to media reports. A delegation from Tehran held four days of talks in Saudi Arabia last month, aimed at reaching a deal for Iranians to go for Hajj, which will take place in September. Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Tehran'... more »
Your Awakening Counts More Than Your Vote
*Dylan Charles* - You cannot change the world unless you first change yourself.
Picture Of The Day
*(Click on Image to Enlarge)* Cars drive past the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow on May 5, 2016. © AFP 2016/ JOEL SAGET
Millennials Embrace Socialism, But Do They Know What It Is?
[image: Bernie Sanders Supporters, Millennials] Socialism is having a moment. I’m not just referring to Bernie Sanders’ surprisingly strong showing in the Democratic primaries. Various polls show that millennials have a more favorable view of socialism than of capitalism. And millennials generally are the only... more »
Does The Islamic State Have A Plan 'B'?
Photo Credit: Anadolu/Contributor *Brian Michale Jenkins and Colin P. Clarke, Foreign Policy*:* In the Event of the Islamic State’s Untimely Demise…* Even a caliphate needs a Plan B. Here's what Baghdadi's might look like. The power of the Islamic State is waning. With its loss of Ramadi and Palmyra over the past several months, and the steady advance of U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria and Iraq, the group is shedding territory. It is also losing recruits to casualties and desertions, as its finances are being squeezed by coalition strikes on bulk cash storage sites ... more »
Which Florida Politicians Should Be Serving Time In Prison Instead of Congress?
*Patrick Murphy and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, as bad as any Republican* At the end of March PolitiFact weighed into the fight between Tim Canova and Debbie Wassermann Schultz over her career-long practice of soliciting bribes from the finance industry in return for carrying their agenda even when it conflicts with the interests of her own constituents. PolitiFact looked at a statement by Canova that Wasserman Schultz disputed: "After taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street banks, (Debbie Wasserman Schultz) has voted to prevent the Consumer Fi... more »
Of wage slavery which means death to the slaves when the robot mind comes from above
I always like to believe the last chapter in in flux. Last couple of years my flux capacitors have had a total recharge. I just see total chaos comming and that is my area of expertise, I have doged many a imaginary bullet with out wire effects. simply by using my supposedly bullet proof intellect that traveled me so far. Right now I am on some kind of third world skid row with Canadian wages but the same whip of corporate whipsaw mentality where good boys are pitted against Pinoy men in a fight for a dollar. That Girl
Federal Judge Rules That Obamacare May Be Unconstitutional
U.S. district judge Rosemary Collyer has ruled that Obamacare has been unconstitutionally funded without the appropriate approval from Congress. House Republicans have been given the go-ahead to sue the Obama administration for the government’s illegal implementation of Obama’s signature healthcare law. Latimes.com reports: On Thursday, she ruled the administration is violating a provision of the law by paying promised reimbursements to health insurers who provide coverage at reduced costs to low-income Americans. The judge’s ruling, while a setback for the administration, was put ...more »
Teenage Girl Dies After Getting HPV Vaccine
A teenage girl from the UK has died 5 days after receiving the controversial HPV vaccine at her local high school. Shazel Zaman, aged 13, complained of feeling ill and suffering from dizziness and headaches after receiving the HPV jab. Telegraph.co.uk reports: Doctors told the teenager’s family that they believed she might have a stomach bug and told them to bring her back to hospital if her condition worsened, the Manchester Evening News reported. An hour later she was found unconscious with no pulse at her home in Bury. She was declared dead in hospital around four hours later. S... more »
Young Rape Victim Given Euthanasia Drugs By Doctors
A young rape victim has been given euthanasia drugs by doctors in the Netherlands who agreed that the woman in her 20’s had nothing left to live for. The unnamed sex abuse victim says she suffered abuse from the age of five to 15 and, although suffers no severe mental health problems now, has decided she wants to end her life via lethal injection. Independent.co.uk reports: As a result of her abuse, she suffered from post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD), severe anorexia, chronic depression and hallucinations, MailOnline reports. Despite improvements in her mental state after “inte... more »
Elderly Indian Woman Gives Birth
An elderly Indian woman has given birth at the ripe old age of 72 through IVF treatment. Daljinder Kaur and her 79-year-old husband became parents in March following two years of fertility treatment in Haryana, India. Sky News reports: The baby was conceived using the couple’s own egg and sperm and, despite being very small at birth, weighing just two kilograms (4.4lbs), was now “healthy and hearty”, the National Fertility and Test Tube centre said. Mrs Kaur said she did not believe she was too old to be a first-time mother and said she felt very well and fit enough to cope. She s... more »
Caitlyn Jenner Says She Regrets Sex Change
Caitlyn Jenner regrets transitioning from male to female and desperately wants to revert back to being Bruce Jenner, according to a Kardashian biographer. According to Ian Halperin, multiple friends of Caitlyn have said that Jenner wants to re-transition back to male in the next 2 years. Foxnews.com reports: Halperin said while doing research for his book “Kardashian Dynasty: The Controversial Rise of America’s Royal Family,” several sources indicated Jenner is unhappy. “One source confirmed to me Caitlyn has made whispers of ‘sex change regret,’ hinting she might go back to being ... more »
New Evidence Confirms Saudi Arabia’s Role In 9/11 Attacks
The FBI have announced that they were forced to hide up to 80,266 classified papers from the official 9/11 report which strongly implicates Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 terror attacks. A former Republican member of the 9/11 Commission said that the report contains smoking gun evidence that the Saudi regime were involved in the orchestration of the September 11 attacks. Sputniknews.com reports: The remarks by John Lehman, who was Navy Secretary for President Reagan, signaled a split among the 10 commissioners after the 2004 report was initially billed as an exoneration of Saudi Arabia, ... more »
Tories Abolish BBC Independence Amid Privatization Bid
The Conservative government in the UK have begun the process of privatising the BBC, by abolishing its governing body the BBC Trust. Britain’s state broadcaster is to suffer a Tory shakeup which will see the Trust being replaced with a ‘unitary board of governors’, half of which will be government officials. RT.com reports: The overhaul will make the BBC more “accountable to its listeners,” Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said in a statement. However, Shadow Culture Secretary Maria Eagle said the reforms could be seen as a way of exerting government control over the broadcaster.... more »
Turkey To Send Migrants Back Into Europe, Erdogan Warns
Turkey have threatened to send migrants back to Europe if the EU Parliament don’t grant visa-free travel to Turkish citizens. The Erdogan regime issued a stern warning to EU officials, saying that “The European Parliament will discuss the report that will open up visa-free travel in Europe to Turkish citizens. If it makes the wrong decision, we will send the migrants back!” RT.com reports: Kuzu made several statements on Twitter in anticipation of Wednesday’s session of European parliament, at which visa exemption for Turkish nationals in the Schengen zone – as part of a migrant de... more »
If Caitlyn Jenner Reverts to Bruce …
[image: Caitlyn to Bruce Jenner Transition - 900] Although Bruce Caitlyn Jenner's rep is denying it, there are reports claiming that within the next few years, Caitlyn will revert to Bruce, the alleged reasons being that: 1) living as a woman has "been very hard" for him; and... more »
Friday Morning Ramble–13.05.16
*“Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously & the politicians as a joke.” *~Will Rogers. National budgets room for corporate welfare, but none for tax cuts. *The Taxpayers’ Union is fuming after the government rules out tax cuts* – RADIO LIVE *PETITION: Corporate welfare or tax cuts?* – ACTION SPROUT Auckland Council. It just keeps right on borrowing, right on getting further into debt – right on into an ever-lower credit rating, and ever-higher repayments. “Credit rating agencies have warned of a rating downgrade if its debt-to-revenue ratio approac... more »
The Assault To Retake Mosul From The Islamic State Has Been Delayed Again
The wreckage of a car belonging to Islamic State militants lies along a road after it was targeted by a U.S. air strike at the entrance to the Mosul Dam, northern Iraq August 21, 2014. REUTERS/YOUSSEF BOUDLAL *Nancy Youssef, Daily Beast*: *Taking ISIS Stronghold Is Delayed Again* U.S. and Iraqi officials have been promising to topple the Islamic State’s headquarters in Mosul for more than a year, but now the deadline is pushed back again. The war to reclaim Iraq’s second-largest city from the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been pushed back yet again, three Pentagon officials tol... more »
Russia Says U.S. Missile Defense System A “Direct Threat”
Russia have accused America of risking nuclear war by installing a long-awaited missile defense system in Europe. Moscow have said that the American-built system put Russia’s security in danger, suggesting that the country hosting the system, Romania, could be reduced to “smoking ruins” as a result. Nytimes.com reports: “We have been saying right from when this story started that our experts are convinced that the deployment of the ABM system poses a certain threat to the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters in a conference call. “Measures ar... more »
Retired Bishop Explains Why the Church Invented Hell
*Vic Bishop* - The church's survival depends on your belief in the concept of Hell.
better man 4U
Pearl Jam covered this pretty well so its understandable if your thinking you would expect I could not do nearly as well as a rock god when it came to finding a women to love But I did exceed the altitude of even Nirvana waves of pleasure filling the neighbour hood full of love where everybody knows they are there for you no matter what the colours even a few black and blue as long as they were inflicted by distant planets not joined forever by gravity like me and you So I still dont know if I am rocket fuel or just sniffing fumes at Johnny Rockets hamburger emporium where the order is p... more »
better4 u man
Pearl Jam covered this pretty well so its understandable if your thinking you would expect I could not do nearly as well as a rock god when it came to finding a women to love But I did exceed the altitude of even Nirvana waves of pleasure filling the neighbour hood full of love where everybody knows they are there for you no matter what the colours even a few black and blue as long as they were inflicted by distant planets not joined forever by gravity like me and you So I still dont know if I am rocket fuel or just sniffing fumes at Johnny Rockets hamburger emporium where the order is p... more »
Turkey's Visa Deal With The EU Is Unravelling
*AFP*: *Turkey visa deal unravels as Erdogan defies EU on key condition* Ankara (AFP) - A deal to grant Turks visa-free travel to most of the European Union was hanging by a thread Thursday after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defiantly vowed Ankara would not fulfil a key condition set by Brussels. With alarm growing over the deal's future, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker bluntly told Erdogan that Turks would only enjoy travel to the passport-free Schengen area if all conditions were met and it would be "his problem" if this failed to materialise. The promise of vis...more »
Russia, Kenya Track Teams May Miss Rio After Doping Rulings
[image: In this Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 file photo, Kenyan athletes train just after dawn, in Kaptagat Forest in western Kenya. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) officials declared Kenya's drug-fighting agency out of compliance Thursday, May 12, 2016, a move that places the track powerhouse's participation in this summer's Olympics in jeopardy.] MONTREAL (AP) -- Together, Russia and Kenya won 27 medals at the last Olympics in track and field. Their total at the next one could be zero. The Olympic hopes of the powerhouse teams from both countries took serious blows... more »
Is The U.S. Army Exaggerating The Russian Threat?
U.S. military vehicles parading near Russia's border in Narva, Estonia on Feb. 24. (Estonian Defense Forces) *Mark Perry, Politico*: *The U.S. Army’s War Over Russia* Top brass profess to be really worried about Putin. But a growing group of dissenters say they’re overreacting to get a bigger share of the defense budget. During the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864, a unit of Robert E. Lee’s army rolled up some artillery pieces and began shelling the headquarters of Union commander Ulysses S. Grant. When one of his officers pleaded that Grant move, insisting that he knew exactly wh... more »
If The Whole World Could Vote, Hillary Would Trounce Trump In The Biggest Landslide Ever Recorded
Finder.com endeavored to find out who voters-- non-American voters-- in other countries would vote for if they could vote in the U.S. election this November. They asked 18,256 people over the age of 18 from France, Japan, Canada, the U.K., Germany Australia, Spain, Mexico, and Brazil to pick between Hillary, Trump, Cruz and Bernie. Hillary, who has tremendous name-ID overseas, won everywhere but Canada. Canada gets a lot of American media so they are more aware of the intricacies of American politics and of the election cycle and, obviously, they chose Bernie. Across all 9 countri...more »
Secret Service to Investigate Trump’s Former Butler
[image: Donald Trump poses for a photo with longtime butler Anthony Senecal.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump’s former butler has drawn the attention of Secret Service for threats online he’s made against President Barack Obama. Anthony Senecal, who served the presumptive Republican nominee at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, has a Facebook... more »
White House Defends Aide Who Admitting to Creating False Iran Nuke Deal Narrative
[image: President Barack Obama confers about the Cairo speech with Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Denis McDonough, right, and speechwriter Ben Rhodes on Air Force One en route to Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House locked horns on Thursday with a House committee chairman over whether a senior aide should testify before Congress about his role in crafting President Barack Obama’s public relations campaign in favor of the Iran... more »
Iran Declines to Take Part in Hajj Over Dispute With Saudis
[image: Hajj - 900] TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran will not send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year for the annual hajj, an Iranian official said Thursday, the latest sign of tensions between the two Mideast powers after a disaster during the pilgrimage last... more »
Italian Defense Minister in Iraq for Mosul Dam Talks
*Mosul Dam Talks? * *According to the US this dam is in danger of imminent and apocalyptic collapse!* “Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti made an *unannounced* visit to Iraq on Monday to discuss logistics for* deploying 450 troops* near the front line with Islamic State *to protect workers carrying out repairs to the Mosul dam.”* *Unannounced?* *450 more troops? **Because there are already Italian troops stationed at the dam. And the area around the dam is completely militarized. Both points covered more then once here at the blog.* *“Pinotti met in Baghdad* with Prime Min... more »
Russia Talks About Nuclear War
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) and Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos arrive for an official inauguration ceremony at Deveselu air base, Romania, May 12, 2016. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea/via REUTERS *New York Times:* *Russia Speaks of Nuclear War as U.S. Opens Missile Defense System* MOSCOW — As American and allied officials celebrated the opening of a long-awaited missile defense system in Europe with a ribbon cutting and a band, the reaction in Moscow on Thursday was darker: a public discussion of how nuclear war might play out in Europe and the prospect that Roman... more »
Kansas to Toughen Rules on Transgender Birth Certificates
[image: birth certificate - 900] TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas is pursuing regulations that would give it one of the nation’s toughest policies against allowing transgender people to update their birth certificates, prompting anger from advocates and threats of a lawsuit. State health department officials... more »
WW3: U.S. And Russia At Odds Over New Anti-Missile Site In Romania
U.S. and Russia are about to face a nuclear stand-off that has the potential to lead to WW3. The two old super-power rivals are talking past each other when it comes to the deployment of the new U.S anti-missile system in eastern Europe aimed at allegedly stopping Iranian missiles. Russia understandably sees it as a direct threat by the fact of its proximity, likening it to Russia deploying anti-missile systems in Cuba and arguing that it is not directed at the U.S. but a rogue state beyond. The United States and her allies celebrated the opening of a long-awaited ground-based missi... more »
Economic News , Data & Views ( May 12 , 2016 ) Overview For Thursday ( 1. Market Moving News - Fed Reserve Chair Yellen Comments on NIRP , China's Big 4 Banks Cut Back On New Loans By 50 % , US Markets Daily Gyrations - Crude Oil Whipsaw Stocks Generally / Transports Specifically , Gold Back In Favor In Q1 , Global Oil Demand Surprises To Upside. 2. France Gov't Survives No Confidence Vote. 3. EU - Turkey Refugee Deal Unravels A Bit More Today . 4. Brexit News For Thursday. 5. Brazil In Focus - Life After Rousseff For Brazil. , Zika In Focus With Olympics Looming In Ninety Days )
Markets and Market moving news......... *zerohedge* @zerohedge 2h 2 hours ago YELLEN: WOULDN'T RULE OUT NEGATIVE RATES IN VERY ADVERSE CASE *zerohedge* @zerohedge 2h 2 hours ago YELLEN: MUST CONSIDER UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE RATES. When will the Fed consider unintended consequences of ZIRP and QE *zerohedge* @zerohedge 2h 2 hours ago The party is over: CHINA 4 BIG BANKS' APRIL NEW LOANS MORE THAN HALVED M/M: MNI *zerohedge* @zerohedge 2h 2 hours ago Crude Chaos Sparks Stock Schizophrenia, Trannies Trounced http://www. zerohedge.com/news... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 12, 2016
*Washington Times editorial*:* John Kerry’s world without borders* *Utopia sounds nice, but no one has ever found it* “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” wrote poet Robert Frost in a meditation on the competing needs of security and freedom. Borders and boundaries disappear as Planet Earth becomes a smooth blue orb with continents divided only by the seas in the view from space, suggesting that man is one happy family. But down at street level in the world where men and women actually live, there’s something that does love a wall. There’s a name for the society that is... more »
Rest In Peace Dr. Edgar Mitchell
Dr. Edgar Mitchell Dr. Edgar Mitchell interview Apollo 14 Mission To Fra Mauro (1971)
Bob Graham: "Release the Uncensored Truth about 9/11"
Very interesting editorial in The Washington Post that I strongly recommend reading at the link below: Former senator: Release the uncensored truth about 9/11 By Bob Graham The Washington Post, May 11 at 7:10 PM https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/former-senator-release-the-uncensored-truth-about-911/2016/05/11/3ad4a9f6-1620-11e6-9e16-2e5a123aac62_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines As co-chair of the Joint Inquiry Into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, I have read the 28 pages. My oath of confidentiality forbids me from discussing the specifics of that material... more »
8 Secrets to Living Beyond 100 from the World’s Healthiest People
*Christina Sarich* - In a lost kingdom high in the Himalayan mountains, live a people with incredible secrets for longevity.
Forgotten Americans.....
In this corner of the Navajo Nation, just 100 miles west of Albuquerque, N.M., an estimated 40 percent of residents don't have access to running water. Their savior is Darlene Arviso, born and raised on the Reservation, who drives her precious cargo - a tanker truck filled with water - to make monthly deliveries to 250 families. Lee Cowan reports.
U.S. Opens 'Missile Defense' Base in Romania, Breaks Ground on Another in Poland
Reuters reports from Romania: The United States' European missile defense shield goes live on Thursday almost a decade after Washington proposed protecting NATO from Iranian rockets and despite Russian warnings that the West is threatening the peace in central Europe. Amid high Russia-West tension, U.S. and NATO officials will declare operational the shield at a remote air base in Deveselu, Romania, after years of planning, billions of dollars in investment and failed attempts to assuage Russian concerns that the shield could be used against Moscow. The United States will also s... more »
Kristof and Political Scientists Agree!!!: Congress is playing with fire by avoiding Zika
Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed in the New York Times today, Congress to America: Drop Dead, laments Congress’ inaction on appropriating funding requested by the White House for proactive public health measures intended to stem the expected spread of the Zika virus in the United States. In April, I raised similar concerns here on the Duck, Chasing […]
May 12: The Irving Press - Brains in Idle.
When the Panama Papers gave us some insight into the meaning of "tax haven", they revealed the greatest theft in history. And that's only one, small piece of a much larger story of tax havens and other avoidance schemes. But, for the Irving press (and many other newspaper chains), the big, world news story was Jian Gomeshi's apology for a sexual assault. We've read many, many stories about Jian Gomeshi and other meaningless people. A man named Oland springs to mind. But, after the first announcement, not a word about this 'tip of the iceberg' story called the Panama Papers. It is no... more »
Gboard: Google’s New iPhone Keyboard
Gboard is Google’s new cool keyboard for iOS devices. A noteworthy app that is not yet available for Android. Tech Insider reports: Keyboards are increasingly seen as a critical part of mobile operating systems, because they can work across multiple apps, and can collect some of the most personal user data. The key feature for Google’s iPhone keyboard is that it integrates Google Search into the keyboard — one example Google provides is that you can search for an address right from the keyboard, so you don’t have to copy and paste from a separate app. Other banner features include e... more »
Who Should They Serve?
Your local post office used to be a bank -- until 1968. That's when Canada Post got out of the banking business. But, Linda McQuaig writes, there are good reasons for restoring banking services to Canada Post's mandate: As they’ve turned their attention to catering to the wealthy, Canada’s six big banks have shut down more than 1,700 branches across the country in recent years. In many rural communities today, you’re no more likely to see a bank than a buffalo. This has left hundreds of thousands of Canadians without bank accounts, including many low-income city dwellers – notably... more »
Feeling the Brand
Granted that you have take anything you read in* Politico* with a grain of salt, but this little trial balloon sounds plausible enough if you happen to suspect that the Bernie Sanders campaign has already embarked on the first leg of its road to Clinton capitulation: * A group of Bernie Sanders staffers and volunteers is circulating a draft proposal calling on the senator to get out of the presidential race after the final burst of Democratic primaries on June 7, and concentrate on building a national progressive organization to stop Donald Trump.* *Operating under the assumption ... more »
Untitled
*5 Years Later, Deaths Caused by Radiation Leak at Fukushima: 0* *Good disproof of the Leftist contention that there is no safe level of radiation. Moderate doses can even be beneficial* Since the horrific earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan on March 11, 2011, there have been no deaths directly caused by the radiation leak from the nuclear plant in Fukushima, which is located on the northeast side of Japan. The latest update (in April) by the World Nuclear Association on the Fukushima disaster states, “there have been no deaths or cases of radiation sickne... more »
Benghazi Backup Never Got the Order to Deploy
[image: Fox News Anonymous Witness Benghazi Attacks - 900] A member of a U.S. Air Force squadron based in Italy has claimed he and his team could have come to the rescue of U.S. personnel under fire in Benghazi, but they never received the order. The airman, who has... more »
World News Briefs -- May 12, 2016 (Evening Edition)
*Reuters:* *Brazil's Rousseff vows fight; incoming interim president sets sights on economy* Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vowed on Thursday she would fight to prove her innocence after the Senate voted to put her on trial for breaking budget laws, its historic decision fueled by deep recession and a sprawling corruption scandal. In a dramatic changing of the guard that signaled a political shift in Brazil, Rousseff, a leftist who has been in office since 2011, departed Brasilia's Planalto presidential palace just hours after the vote. Centrist Vice President Miche... more »
Pop-Bottle Pseudo-Science for Climate-Scaremongering in the Classroom
The use of misleading experiments with glass boxes, jars or pop bottles in classrooms has been happening for a while: *' **The experiment as presented by Al Gore and Bill Nye “the science guy” is a failure, and not representative of the greenhouse effect related to CO2 in our atmosphere. '*One correspondent to a Canadian web-based news magazine recently reacted to this sort of insidious nonsense with a powerful letter. Reproduced below from 'My Kawartha.com' :Pop bottle science ‘grossly exaggerates’ CO2 Kawartha Lakes This Week To the editor: Re: pop bottle science. One of the half d... more »
Untitled
*Is Harvard risking its reputation? The hits keep coming* Harvard is in the news again, and for all the wrong reasons. On Friday, Harvard Law Professor Mark Tushnet came dangerously close to comparing Christian conservatives to Nazis in a blog post. Specifically, he said this of those who he proclaims “lost” the culture war: “Trying to be nice to the losers didn’t work well after the Civil War, nor after Brown. (And taking a hard line seemed to work reasonably well in Germany and Japan after 1945.)” The comparison speaks volumes about the tolerance of opposing views and the regar... more »
Intellectual overload watch: Now they've even got Friedersdorf!
*THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016Mistaken claim about Trump:* The craziness of Candidate Trump is causing circuits to misfire. Now it's even happened to Conor Friedersdorf. In a brief post at the Atlantic, he quotes Trump's "extravagant praise" for Hillary Clinton, as stated by Trump on Fox in November 2012. Trump told Fox that Clinton is "terrific." This is Friedersdorf's assessment: FRIEDERSDORF (5/11/16): Many Trump supporters feel that their candidate is the only one who says what he really thinks and tells it like it is. That cannot be true, for the simple reason that so much of what ... more »
Turkey Threatens ‘Anti ISIS’ Operations In Syria
Turkey has threatened to launch unilateral “operations” on Syrian soil allegedly against ISIS and amid long-running speculations on Ankara’s covert plans for a military intervention in Syria Last week the Turkish prime minister said that that Ankara was in a position to send ground troops to Syria if necessary Press TV reports: On Thursday, Turkish President Erdogan said Ankara “is doing all the necessary preparations to clean the other side of the border because of the problems in” Kilis Province near the southeastern frontier with Syria, which has come under several rocket attacks... more »
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