Monsanto (Portugal) and its granite houses. Français : Monsanto et ses maisons de granite. Norsk (bokmål)‬: Monsanto. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Parque Florestal de Monsanto, Lisboa, Portugal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Aldeia de Monsanto, vista geral (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Russian Coverage of Ukraine Workshop in New York
One Russian TV station covered the UNAC workshop I participated in during last Saturday's Left Forum event in New York City. We talked about the situation in Ukraine with emphasis on the May 2, 2014 massacre in Odessa by the neo-Nazis. Of course we had no coverage by any media from the US - mainstream or alternative. No surprise there. At the end of the news video the reporter mentions the Odessa Mothers Council petition calling for an international independent investigation of the May 2 massacre. You can sign the petition *here *
Supreme Court Allows Monsanto To Sue Farmers
The US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Monsanto, allowing the agricultural giant to relentlessly pursue and sue farmers whose fields are inadvertently contaminated with Monsanto’s GM seeds. The ruling left in tact a federal appeals court decision to throw out a 2011 lawsuit rom the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association that sought to prevent Monsanto from claiming patents on genetically-modified seeds. The suit would have prevented Monsanto from destroying the lives of thousands of farmers. RT.com reports: The group of plaintiffs, which included many individual American a...more »
China To Replace Dollar System With Gold Standard
China is silently preparing to replace the U.S. dollar system with a new gold standard, as Western currencies such as the Euro and Dollar plunge. The Chinese government have begun purchasing gold mines around the world in an effort to dominate the market. Veteranstoday.com reports: If we look more closely at all the steps of the Beijing government since the global financial crisis of 2008 and especially since their creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the BRICS New Development Bank, the bilateral national currency energy agreements with Russia bypassing the dollar,... more »
Putin Tells Merkel To Stop Shelling Donbass
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a heated telephone conversation with various European leaders recently, demanding that they end the attacks on settlements in Donbass. According to the Kremlin, Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to immediately end the attacks on settlements in Donbass from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The four leaders discussed issues of a political settlement in southeastern Ukraine. “They noted the importance of strictly observing the ceasefire, improving the efficiency of t... more »
Abused Camel Bites Off Owners Head In Revenge
A camel which was left out in the soaring heat by its owner got revenge by biting its owners head off in a village in Rajasthan, India on Saturday. It took 25 villagers over 6 hours to calm the angry camel down after the incident. The Times of India reports: Urjaram of Mangta village was entertaining guests at his house on Saturday night when he suddenly realised that his camel had been out in the heat all day with its legs tied. He was attacked when he tried to untie the annoyed animal. “The animal lifted him by the neck and threw him on to the ground, chewed the body and severed ... more »
UK Government Green Light Yorkshire Fracking, Despite Protests
North Yorkshire County Council have approved a bid by Third Energy to start fracking operations, despite fierce protests from members of the public. The local government voted seven to four in favour of allowing the first fracking operation in England since a 2012 country-wide ban was lifted. BBC News reports: Hundreds of protesters attended a meeting in Northallerton to voice anger at the project, which had been recommended for approval. The council’s planning committee voted seven to four in favour. A number of objections from people opposed to the plans were heard over the course... more »
Geek Squad Employee Spied On Customers For The FBI
An IT employee from Best Buy who worked in the companies ‘Geek Squad’ department was put in place by the FBI in order to spy on members of the public, a court has heard. The employee has become the central issue in a case involving a Newport Beach doctor facing child porn charges which came about as a result of the FBI plant at the company. The doctor’s lawyer says the FBI effectively recruited the employee to act as a spy for them, performing warrantless searches on electronic devices. Latimes.com reports: Since 2009, “the FBI was dealing with a paid agent inside the Geek Squad wh... more »
Four-Way Race for President Not Out of the Question
[image: Bernie Sanders] Could Bernie Sanders put Mitt Romney in the White House? I haven’t gotten my 2012 and 2016 wires crossed; I have a theory that’s slightly more realistic than a Donald Trump presidency seemed a year ago. As it stands now,... more »
That Lindsey Graham Magic
Lindsey Graham has always had a tart tongue and he was one of the first of the Deep Bench Republican losers who hissed back at Trump (before dropping out of the race with approximately zero percent support... give or take. He must have been traumatized to see Trump win all 50 South Carolina delegates-- with 32.5%, 10 points higher than second-place finisher Marco Rubio. Trump won every congressional district in the state and every county except Charleston and Richalnd-- and they were both pretty close. Earlier Lindsey got fewer voters than Jim Gilmore's 12 votes in Iowa and just 7... more »
Describing economic collapse
Some folk recently on a local Facebook group called ‘Anarkiwi’ were discussing socialism and how (and here I paraphrase a little just to make the point clear), libertarians have been very poor in describing the process of collapse of a socialist country (here, for example), and further: that the world’s more socialist countries are not even collapsing as we libertarians say they will. *I mean, NZ's a socialist country, right? And I'm not scavenging for food, in fact I just purchased and enjoyed a Moa Five Hop English ale at the local supermarket.* And who wouldn’t enjoy that? ... more »
Harvard Analyst Accuses Clinton’s Of Monumental Charity Fraud
A financial analyst from Harvard University says he has evidence that the Clinton’s have committed the largest charity fraud in American history. Charles Ortel has investigated the Clinton Foundation, and his findings threaten to destroy Hillary’s bid in the Democratic nomination for President. Wallstreetonparade.com reports: In a 9-page letter dated yesterday and posted to his blog, Ortel calls the Clintons’ charity the “largest unprosecuted charity fraud ever attempted,” adding for good measure that the Clinton Foundation is part of an “international charity fraud network whose e... more »
The Syrian Army Is A Shell Of Its Former Self
Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad get briefed before being deployed from the al-Sabaa Bahrat district to the old souk of Aleppo February 21, 2013. REUTERS/GEORGE OURFALIAN *Tom Cooper, War Is Boring*: *What’s Left of the Syrian Arab Army?* *Not much* The general impression is that the Syrian Arab Army remains the largest military force involved in the Syrian Civil War, and that — together with the so-called National Defense Forces — it remains the dominant military service under the control of government of Pres. Bashar Al Assad. Media that are at least sympathetic... more »
‘I Was Wrong': Three Words That Could Change Donald Trump’s Life
[image: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club, Tuesday, March 8, 2016, in Jupiter, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)] Since my open letter to Donald Trump on August 27th, 2015, I've raised many concerns about his candidacy, feeling strongly that there were other Republican candidates who were far more qualified for the job. I urged voters to consider these... more »
(Don't Take this Election Unseriously) The Fixers? (Largest Unprosecuted Charity Fraud Ever Attempted: Clintons') Ever-Sharpening Di(a)mon(d)/Bloomberg Police State While Smugly Ill-Educating Lessers (and Being Awarded Obscene Bonuses After Failures) Robin Hood Backwards (Mortgage Fraud/Rigged Economy Back on Steroids) Greater Systemic Risk Than Ever
“It Is Happening Again:” David Dayen on the Epidemic of Mortgage Fraud and the Rigged Economy that Sets It in Motion Earlier this week the "New York Times" featured a depressing story about homeless people living in the foreclosed and abandoned houses that still dot the landscape in Nevada, reminding everyone of that awful time just a few years ago when families all over the country lost
Smokers Should Lose Custody Of Their Kids, Says Nation’s Top Anti-Tobacco Lawyer
[image: Parents smoking] Parents who smoke around their kids should be challenged for custody, according to the country's leading anti-tobacco lawyer. John F. Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University Law School and founder of Action on Smoking and Health, touted the proposal Monday at the North... more »
Donald Trump Would Ask The U.S. Congress To Formally Declare War To Fight Terror
*Politico*: *Trump: I may ask Congress to formally declare war to fight terror* President Donald Trump would have no problem asking Congress for a declaration of war to fight terrorism, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee told Fox News host Bill O’Reilly in an interview that will air Monday evening. “It wouldn’t bother me at all doing that,” Trump said, according to a transcript of the interview. “We probably should have done that in the first place.” The real estate mogul said fighting terrorism isn’t the same as traditional war, noting that terrorists don’t wear un... more »
Cyprus Reconciliation Talks Break-Down Even Before They Start
Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus April 7, 2016. REUTERS/YIANNIS KOURTOGLOU *Reuters:* *Cyprus president cuts short Turkey trip after protocol row* Cyprus's president canceled scheduled peace talks and cut short a visit to Turkey on Tuesday, his spokesman said, after a United Nations summit treated the rival Turkish Cypriot leader as a head of state. The protocol row underscored the sensitivity and complexity of the Cyprus conflict, a decades-old conundrum that generations of diplomats and an army of ... more »
Cuba to Legalize Small and Medium-Sized Private Businesses
[image: Private jeweler and electronics technician Gabriel La O repairs a mobile phone inside a government store where he rents work space in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, May 24, 2016. Cuba says it will legalize small and medium-sized private businesses by adding a category of small, mid-sized and “micro” private business to the Communist party’s master plan for social and economic development. The government currently allows private enterprise by self-employed workers in several hundred job categories. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)] HAVANA (AP) -- Cuba announced Tuesday that it will legaliz... more »
Bernie's Never Taken Any Bribe Money From Trump-- But Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid And Hillary Clinton Sure Have
Who was Trump talking about when he talked openly about bribing politicians? The two most corrupt Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid, have always gotten Trump to write sizable checks to the DSCC-- $60,000 in 1998, $25,000 in 2002, $25,000 in 2004, $30,000 in 2008... What happened in 2006? Rahm Emanuel got him to give $20,000 to the DCCC-- and then-- literally, another $15,000 on the same day (June 19, 2006). And he gave the Schumer and Reid $7,500 for the DSCC 3 months later, up from the $5,000 checks he had given them in 2000 and 2005. Some of the corrupt Democrats, ... more »
Egypt Air MS804 Update: Baffle 'em with Bull$h!t
*Kinda like the Plane that flew into the Pentagon on 9/11* *except not so much. THAT pilot was waaaaaaaay * *better at the controls...considering his flight time exp.* * with big jets ("0" hrs.)* The mainstream media and particularly its flagstaff production, the *notorious *BBC, is working overtime to spread dysinfo regarding the tragic loss of Egypt Air flight MS804 that went down over the Mediterranean between Paris and Cairo last week. Why do they want everyone to be lied to? Well, firstly because they are compulsive liars and the truth just doesn't get them "off" if you know ... more »
Charter Schools More Segregated w/Fewer Learning Opps
Another page from the new GAO Report that reports the segregating and dumbing down effects of charters, when compared to neighborhood public schools and magnet schools. This shows the inequity with regards to advanced courses and gifted and talented programs. From Figure 7, p. 21:
A Pro-Choice Cause Celebre, Woman Convicted of Feticide Appeals Sentence
[image: fetus - 900] An appeals court is considering whether to overturn the 2015 felony conviction of a 33-year-old woman who committed a late-term self-abortion, left her child to die when it was born alive and then lied about it when she went to... more »
US Seeking Death Penalty in Charleston Church Massacre Case
[image: Dylann Roof (R), 21, listens to proceeding with assistant defense attorney William Maguire during a hearing at the Judicial Center July 16, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. Roof is charged with murdering nine worshippers at a historic black church in Charleston last month.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department intends to seek the death penalty against Dylann Roof, the man charged with killing nine black parishioners last year in a church in Charleston, South Carolina, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Tuesday. “The nature... more »
Untitled
*Are SQUID the big winners from climate change?* *This is data-less speculation. I have read the original article (Global proliferation of cephalopods) and confirm that the researchers had NO data on global warming or ocean temperature in their study. What they examined was what fishermen have been catching and they found that catches have shown increasing percentages of cephalopoda as time has gone by. That is all they found. And ANY explanation of that is speculative. The obvious explanation would seem to be that bony fish are a more attractive catch so fishermen go... more »
Economic News , Data & Views ( May 24 , 2016 ) Overview For Tuesday (1. Market Moving News - JAPAN’S ABE TO DELAY TAX HIKE, RULE OUT DOUBLE POLL , API - Oil Draw Data , US Market Action Today , ECB Continues Ramp Up Of Balance Sheet , Asia Evening News Updated As Released . 2 Eurogroup News For Tuesday - Greece First Review Updates , Tranche Size Under Discussion and Debt Relief Updates. 3. EU Turkey Deal Wobbling - Erdogan Strikes Back Verbally But Hasn't Gone Any Further Yet. 4. Europe Protests De Jour - Protests In Brussels ( Austerity ) & France ( Rebellion Over Labor Law Forced Through By Hollande ) Today. 5. Refugee Crisis Updates - Greece and Macedonia In Focus. Odds & Ends. )
Markets and market moving news..... *zerohedge* @zerohedge 20m 20 minutes ago FTW: JAPAN’S ABE TO DELAY TAX HIKE, RULE OUT DOUBLE POLL: YOMIURI *zerohedge* @zerohedge 2h 2 hours ago Inventory draw: -5.137MM Gasoline: +3.606MM Distillate: -2.922MM Cushing: -0.189MM *zerohedge* @zerohedge 2h 2 hours ago Gold Drops, Oil Pops As Another Volumeless Buying-Frenzy Strikes Stocks http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-2 4/gold-drops-oil-pops-another-volumeless-buying-frenzy-strikes-stocks … *Holger Zschaepitz* @Schuldensuehner 2h 2 hours ago #ECB ramps up bala... more »
Thousands Of Migrants Rescued Off The Coast Of Libya Today
Migrants arrive by the Italian coastguard vessel Peluso in the Sicilian harbour of Augusta, Italy, in this May 13, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/ANTONIO PARRINELLO *Reuters:* *Thousands of migrants saved in 23 rescue operations off Libya* Some 3,000 migrants were saved off the Libyan coast on Tuesday in 23 separate rescue missions, the Italian coastguard said in a statement. The coastguard said this meant more than 5,600 migrants had been rescued from various boats and dinghies in the southern Mediterranean in just two days, with every ship in the area being called on to help with the c... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 24, 2016
*Michael Semple, Special to CNN:* *Top priorities for successor to Afghan Taliban's killed leader Mansour* (CNN)In the year that he openly led the Afghan Taliban Movement, Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, who was killed by a U.S drone strike Saturday, proved to be a consummate political actor. After seizing power in a rapidly summoned conclave, he proceeded to consolidate his hold over the movement, deflect attempts by the pro-Taliban clergy (ulema) to question his authority, co-opt or eliminate dissidents, renew the Taliban's war strategy and defy all efforts to maneuver the Taliban int... more »
Musical Interlude: Guy Farley, “Drawing”
Guy Farley, “Drawing” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOlTKEdzM54
"A Look to the Heavens"
“That's not lightning, and it did not strike between those mountains. The diagonal band is actually the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, while the twin peaks are actually called the Spanish Peaks- but located in Colorado, USA. Although each Spanish peak is composed of a slightly different type of rock, both are approximately 25 million years old. *Click image for larger size.* This serene yet spirited image composite was meticulously created by merging a series of images all taken from the same location on one night and early last month. In the first series of exposures, the bac... more »
The Poet: David Whyte, "One Day"
*"One Day"* "One day I will say the gift I once had has been taken. The place I have made for myself belongs to another. The words I have sung are being sung by the ones I would want. Then I will be ready for that voice and the still silence in which it arrives. And if my faith is good then we'll meet again on the road, and we'll be thirsty, and stop and laugh and drink together again from the deep well of things as they are." - David Whyte "Where Many Rivers Meet" "The poem is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful. And in the end, the poem is not a thing we see - it ... more »
"Only One Question..."
"There's only one question that matters, and it's the one you never get around to asking. People are capable of varying degrees of truth. The majority spend their entire lives fabricating an elaborate skein of lies, immersing themselves in the faith of bad faith, doing whatever it takes to feel safe. The person who truly lives has precious few moments of safety, learns to thrive in any kind of storm. It's the truth you can stare down stone-cold that makes you what you are. Weak or strong. Live or die. Prove yourself. How much truth can you take?" - Karen Marie Moning
"The Biggest Fools on the Planet"
*"The Biggest Fools on the Planet"* by Bill Bonner BALTIMORE, Maryland – "Readers reacted strongly to reports from the ranch. Many have clearly gone over to the enemy’s side – including some members of our own family. More on the insurrection at the ranch tomorrow… *Gassy Hacks and Big Quacks: *Today, we recall the “commencement” at the end of four years at the University of Vermont. The university itself is imposing and a little intimidating. The rest of the world works in warehouses or common office spaces. Academia labors in hallowed “halls” and prestigious “centers.” People in... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Ten Mile, Tennessee, USA. Thanks for stopping by!
Midday Musical Interlude: Juzzie Smith, “Bluesberry Jam”
Juzzie Smith, “Bluesberry Jam” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vikmUQZpGQ
"The Responsibility They Evade..."
"If some men do not choose to think, but survive by imitating and repeating, like trained animals, the routine of sounds and motions they learned from others, never making an effort to understand their own work, it still remains true that their survival is made possible only by those who did choose to think and to discover the motions they are repeating. The survival of such mental parasites depend on blind chance; their unfocused minds are unable to know whom to imitate, whose motions it is safe to follow. They are the men who march into the abyss, trailing after any destroyer who... more »
The Economy: "Delinquent Debt At Levels Worse Than 2008: “Exact Same Thing Is Happening Again”
*"Delinquent Debt At Levels Worse Than 2008:* * “Exact Same Thing Is Happening Again”* by Michael Snyder "You are about to see more very clear evidence that a new economic crisis has already begun. During economic recoveries, business debt delinquencies generally fall, and during times of economic recession business debt delinquencies generally rise. In fact, you will see below that business debt delinquencies shot up dramatically just prior to the last two recessions, and the exact same thing is happening again right now. In 2008, business debt delinquencies increased at a very fri... more »
"How It Really Is"
Drunk and delusional again Hilly? Even Americans aren't stupid enough to fall for this insanity. Right? Ummm... *right?* Fix things for yourselves pretty well though: “Largest Unprosecuted Charity Fraud Ever Attempted” Did the Clinton Foundation Have a Storefront Accountant Like Madoff? - http://wallstreetonparade.com/ Facts, not childish sound bite idiocy like "Fighting For Us"...
Politics: “Lower Away!”
*“Lower Away!”* by James Howard Kunstler “I hope you’re enjoying these horse latitudes of the political year, when the seas suddenly turn glassy and the Berning sun begins to roast all the diverse and inclusive hands on Hillary’s deck, who wait in anxiety for the first sign of a fresh breeze to push them toward landfall, while, meanwhile, full fathom five below the dead calm waters the leviathan Trump waits in his comfortable darkness, circling forward, circling back, solitary, malevolent, content in his bulking grievances, patiently waiting his moment to rise and smash his rival. ... more »
“Sleep Deprivation Increases Risks of Strokes, Heart Attacks”
*“Sleep Deprivation Increases Risks of Strokes, Heart Attacks”* by University of Warwick "New research from Warwick Medical School published in the European Heart Journal shows that prolonged sleep deprivation and disrupted sleep patterns can have long-term, serious health implications. Leading academics from the University have linked lack of sleep to strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular disorders which often result in early death. Professor Francesco Cappuccio from the University of Warwick Medical School, explained: "If you sleep less than six hours per night and have disturb...more »
"The Inescapable Truth..."
"We are all dying, every moment that passes of every day. That is the inescapable truth of this existence. It is a truth that can paralyze us with fear, or one that can energize us with impatience, with the desire to explore and experience, with the hope- nay, the iron-will!- to find a memory in every action. To be alive, under sunshine, or starlight, in weather fair or stormy. To dance with every step, be they through gardens of flowers or through deep snows." - R.A. Salvatore ○
“Moody's Downgrades Deutsche Bank; Now Two Steps From Junk- Another Lehman Crisis To Hit The World?”
*“Moody's Downgrades Deutsche Bank; Now Two Steps From Junk-* * Another Lehman Crisis To Hit The World?”* by Newsroom “Folks are literally starving to death in Venezuela from economic collapse (“Hungry Venezuelans Hunt Dogs, Cats, Pigeons as Food Runs Out”), and if Deutsche Bank goes under, starvation will hit Europe and the USA too. Here's the likely trigger: Deutsche Bank. Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded the ratings of Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and affiliates, including: • the bank's long-term deposit rating, to A3 from A2, • its senior unsecured debt rating to Baa2 from... more »
Musical Interlude: Daniel Kobialka, “Gift of Dreams”
Daniel Kobialka, “Gift of Dreams” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtxqlvOyo34
Musical Interlude: Muddy Waters, "You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had"
Muddy Waters, "You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Gh2dbPp5o
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5 million year young star cluster NGC 602. Surrounded by natal gas and dust, NGC 602 is just below center in this telescopic field of view with the angular size of the Full Moon on the sky. The cluster itself is about 200 light-years in diameter. *Click image for larger size.* Glowing interior ridges and swept back shapes strongly suggest that energetic radiation and shock waves from NGC 602's massive young stars have eroded the dusty material and triggered a progression ... more »
Chet Raymo, "As Time Goes By"
* "As Time Goes By"* by Chet Raymo "Is time something that is defined by the ticking of a cosmic clock, God's wristwatch say? Time doesn't exist except for the current tick. The past is irretrievably gone. The future does not yet exist. Consciousness is awareness of a moment. Or is time a dimension like space? We move through time as we move through space. The past is still there; we're just not there anymore. The future exists; we'll get there. We experience time as we experience space, say, by looking out the window of a moving train. Or is time… Physicists and philosophers have... more »
The Economy: “We're in the Eye of a Global Financial Hurricane”
*“We're in the Eye of a Global Financial Hurricane”* by Charles Hugh Smith *"The Keynesian gods have failed, * *and as a result we're in the eye of a global financial hurricane.* *The Keynesian god of growth has failed.* *The Keynesian god of borrowing from the future to fund today's consumption has failed.* *The Keynesian god of monetary stimulus/financialization has failed.* Every major central bank and state worships these Keynesian idols: *1. *Growth. (Never mind the cost or what kind of growth- all growth is good, even the financial equivalent of aggressive cancer). *2.* Borrowing... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Aurora, Colorado, USA. Thanks for stopping by!
“Bread, Circuses, Violence and War”
*"Bread, Circuses, Violence and War”* by Chris Campbell “If you really want to find out where this system is broken, stop paying your taxes and see what happens next. Violence. Your liberty, property, and if you resist, your life, will be taken from you through the use of force and violence. When it comes down to really understanding the fractured system we live in, it’s not about the money. It's not about who has what. It's about violence. (In the absence of institutionalized violence, many of the “unsolvable” issues facing America would slowly disappear.) That's the REAL problem.... more »
"Comforting Fairy Tales..."
"Uncertainty, in the presence of vivid hopes and fears, is painful, but must be endured if we wish to live without the support of comforting fairy tales." - Bertrand Russell
"Intel Officials Urge Fast Report on Clinton’s Emails"
*"Intel Officials Urge Fast Report on Clinton’s Emails"* by WashingtonsBlog *MEMORANDUM FOR:* The President *FROM: *Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity *SUBJECT:* Those “Damn Emails” – “Really a Concern” *Introduction: *Last Wednesday Robert Gates, CIA Director under President Bush-41 and Defense Secretary under President Bush-43, publicly commented that Secretary Hillary Clinton’s “whole email thing… is really a concern in terms of her judgment,” adding, “I don’t know what originally prompted her to think that was a good idea.” What originally prompted her does not matter... more »
May 24: And the state of the world is not my fault.
Let's not even pretend that section A has any news. The headline, the big story YOU need to know, is that city councils in New Brunswick are sworn in with pipers, poets and cadets. And it doesn't get better. There's also a big story that a three legged cat still likes to jump. So, as a public service, I offer these suggestions for stories that the irving press might consider for the future. 1. We are facing climate change - and that means we have to make changes in the way we live. One of those changes is in our housing. A city of tinder dry, wooden housing in the middle of a fore... more »
World News Briefs -- May 24, 2016 (Evening Edition)
*Reuters:* *U.S.-backed Syrian alliance launches new attack near Islamic State capital* A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian militias launched a new offensive against Islamic State fighters near their de facto capital of Raqqa city on Tuesday, a monitoring group and an official said. The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance is the main Syrian partner for the U.S.-led alliance battling the Islamic State group that controls large areas of northern and eastern Syria. Its most powerful component is the Kurdish YPG militia. Aided by U.S.-led air strikes, the YPG has driven Islamic State... more »
GOP Leaders Say Welfare Is Keeping Americans Trapped in Poverty
[image: Financial Hardship Application - 900] GOP lawmakers said the nation's welfare system is keeping Americans trapped in poverty during the Ways and Means Committee hearing on the welfare system in 10 years Tuesday. "The current system is a disjointed maze of more than 80 different programs that... more »
Amid Turmoil, Chess Helps Ferguson Kids Cope, Excel
[image: Playing Chess, Chess Game] ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Ten-year-old Tyson Stegall stared intently at the chess board as his opponent, grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez, pondered a move. The fourth-grader gave a little grimace, then a smile, when Ramirez finished him off with a checkmate. “He... more »
CDC Forced to Release Proof They Knew Vaccine Preservative Causes Autism
*Christina Sarich* - Thimerosal is a vaccine preservative that has long been suspected of causing autism.
Upstream Color not enough pallete I am afaid
ndng ng Hi Alien overload I have a friend who is a character from a Cavil novel. He introduced me to Mick Jaggers girlfriend and all I could do was the chicken dance. His worst job was working on a Pineapple plantation in Hawaii. His best job doing something in the Pines. The place even 20 years ago was on lockdown 24 seven and its worse now. Some Muslim hoe trying to give him Aids for Allah is how he last described it. He was there for two years and the visitor log registers 600 visitors to his gated community. To the best of my knowlege he is still single today. Maybe that exp... more »
I am another smartest guy on the planet
Like Al Gore I did not do anything you should believe in but I could be right We need to bend the curve choose a future change course but we are led by the investors in Captiona Queeg fine technocrat that he was
Samoa May Ban Islam To Promote Christianity
The Pacific island nation of Samoa in Polynesia is considering amending its constitution to better reflect its Christian values. A Donald Trump type leader of the Samoa Council of Churches wants Islam to be banned in the country. The Independent reports: Reverend Ma’auga Motu, secretary general of the Samoa Council of Churches, said the council was pressing the government to prohibit the religion on the Pacific island. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi last week called for a review of religious freedom provisions in the Samoan Constitution. He indicated that the island’s s... more »
Democrats Demand GOP Stop Investigating Fetal Harvesting Industry
[image: Paul Ryan v PP - 900] Nearly every Democrat in the House of Representatives has signed a letter demanding Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) disband the committee investigating the abortion industry and its connection to the fetal harvesting industry. “From the beginning, Chair Marsha Blackburn has used her... more »
Blood, Bacon, and Freedom
[image: Stand Up for Religious Freedom - 900] Imagine if, after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law, the Department of Health and Human Services decided to add a clause mandating that to receive health insurance, every adult in the United States would have... more »
Gary Biltcliffe - Legacy of the Etruscans - Khymry Khumry Cymru Umbria Cumbria Northumberland
*Etruscan walls like the Peruvian polygonal walls.* in the closing moments of the following video presentation titled Legacy of the Etruscans, Gary Biltcliffe seems to be channeling the ever-contentious Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett team who claim to have translated all the thus-far-discovered Etruscan engravings, carvings and texts using the Coelbren Alphabet and an ancient Welsh (or Cwmryc) dictionary. Their claim is 'reasonable translations' fall out of such a weird process... but not as weird as Biltcliff's claim that 'maybe the Etruscans or their Pelasgian forefathers helped c... more »
Dr Carmen Boulter - Matriarchal Societies In Prehistory - Full Lecture
Dr Carmen Boulter shares her personal insights into matriarchal societies in ancient Egypt and other cultures, giving a detailed analysis of the power of the feminine and how this was crushed by the patriarchy. *FURTHER VIEWING:* and on the subject of the 'real date of the pyramids' and/or the sphinx... let's really open this debate up, "Not 10,500 BC as the earliest date, but maybe 26,000 years earlier," because of how the last date of Leo coincides with the end of the Last Ice Age.... are we really saying that a sphinx construction age of 36,000 years ago is valid? Weather... more »
Obama Raided $500M for Zika to Finance UN’s Green Climate Fund
[image: President Barack Obama delivers remarks at a ceremony honoring 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey on Sept. 25, 2015 at the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Washington, D.C.] Last week, the Senate passed legislation to address and prevent the spread of the Zika virus. However, the Senate failed to pay for it, and instead approved a $1.1 billion "emergency" spending supplemental bill that is not subject to the...more »
Alleged Islamic State Sympathizer Arrested on Terror Charge
[image: Kashmiri demonstrators hold up a flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a demonstration against Israeli military operations in Gaza, in downtown Srinagar on July 18, 2014. The death toll in Gaza hit 265 as Israel pressed a ground offensive on the 11th day of an assault aimed at stamping out rocket fire, medics said. AFP PHOTO/Tauseef MUSTAFA (Photo credit should read TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images)] NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York City man rejected twice trying to enter the United Kingdom after his camouflage clothing, nunchakus and Islamic State flag im... more »
Arizona City Bars Satanic Temple Prayer at Council Meeting
[image: Satanic Temple, Secularists Step up Attacks on Prayer in Arizona] SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Officials say Scottsdale will bar the Satanic Temple from leading a scheduled prayer at a City Council meeting in July. City spokesman Kelly Corsette says Scottsdale informed the Satanic Temple’s Arizona chapter that only representatives from... more »
Iran’s Top General Is In Iraq To Help Liberate Fallujah From ISIS
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Qassem Soleimani is helping to coordinate the battle to retake Fallujah from ISIS. Fallujah has been the scene of some of the worst atrocities of war since the U.S. invasion in 2003. It was twice attacked viciously by the occupying army after the fall of Saddam Hussein, where the population and the environment suffered radioactive poisoning from the ammunition used by the American forces. It was then left to simmer in a state of neglect and injustice while the Shia were empowered and the Sunnis (Saddam Hussein’s sect of Islam) de...more »
Seniors Now the Fastest Growing Demographic of Cannabis Users
*Alex Pietrowski* - While only 14% of the population, seniors account for 30% of the nation's prescription drug use.
Senior White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett Claims President Obama Ended 'Two Wars'
*FOX News*: *White House adviser says Obama ended 'two wars' – despite new battles, strikes* Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett is still listing “ending two wars” as one of the major accomplishments of the Obama administration, despite deepening U.S. involvement overseas – including the recent U.S. drone strike that took out Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Akhtar Mansour. Jarrett, one of President Obama’s closest aides, made the remarks in an interview aired Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” Asked whatever happened to the president’s call for “hope and change,” she cited a slew...more »
Why Did President Obama Order The Assassination of Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour
*Dan De Luce and John Hudson, Chicago Tribune/Foreign Policy*: *Obama rolls the dice with killing of Taliban chief* The Obama administration's decision to kill Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in his Pakistani sanctuary signals that the White House has given up on peace talks for the moment and is willing to roll the dice on trying to undercut the insurgency by decapitating its leadership. The operation represented a break in the administration's approach to the war, as it had never launched a concerted effort to take out Taliban leaders based in Pakistan despite repea... more »
Alienating Voters... A Rigged System
The big headline over the weekend is how all these polls came out showing that the electorate is pretty surly and taking it out on Trump and Clinton, both of whom they dislike. More and more Americans are becoming familiar with the term "lesser of two evils." The NBC/*Wall Street Journal* poll, for example, shows them as the "two most unpopular presidential nominees in history." Thirty four percent of registered voters have a positive opinion of Clinton, versus 54 percent who have a negative opinion (-20)-- a slight uptick from her minus-24 score last month. Trump's rating is e... more »
Some more lessons for Budget Week
*Another Budget Day, another advance auction of stolen goods, another opportunity to post some classic thoughts and quotes on the nature of taxation:* "To steal from one person is theft. To steal from many is taxation." ~ Jeff Daiell "I think coercive taxation is theft, and government has a moral duty to keep it to a minimum." ~ former Massachusetts Governor (and 2016 Libertarian Party VP candidate) William Weld "See, when the Government spends money, it creates jobs; whereas when the money is left in the hands of Taxpayers, God only knows what they do with it. Bake it in... more »
Stranger than Fiction News
*Separated at birth?* *Michel Temer - the newly appointed USrael-chosen President of Brazil* and *Mr. Reptilian* I guess there isn't a lot of choice between USrael puppets in Brazil. Apparently, the only suitable candidate for the job is a guy who looks just like the reptile that he most likely IS. *Canada - the Supposed Land of the Free* Mysterious Information Lock-Down on Fort MacMurray in aftermath of "Forest Fire". They don't want anyone sniffing around for signs of accelerants? *Fort MacMurray - Got to Sign a Non-Disclosure* *Agreement to get in. Got something to Hide?* An... more »
US Considers Infecting Mosquitoes With Bacteria To Stop Zika Virus
The US could soon become the first country to approve the commercial use of a bacterium to fight the spread of mosquito borne viruses such as Zika. The strategy involves infecting mosquitoes with the bacterium and releasing the males into the environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing an application from a Biotech start up firm RT reports: The idea, currently being reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), comes from MosquitoMate, a biotechnology startup which hopes to use the Wolbachia pipientis bacteria as a tool against the Asian tiger mosq... more »
Public school watch: Concerning the role of Advanced Placement classes!
*TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016Lexington versus Detroit:* On May 3, Motoko Rich wrote a puzzling report in the New York Times about the state of the public schools. She focused on a new Stanford study; the study compares academic achievement by public school students with a measure of their socioeconomic status. At one point, Rich tickled the keys of one of our top pet peeves. In what follows, Rich makes an important point about a type of relative disadvantage faced by some middle-class black and Hispanic kids. In our view, she's also working from script in the highlighted passage: RICH (... more »
Tennessee Gets the Green Light to Sue Obama Over Refugee Plans
[image: Syrian Refugees] Gov. Bill Haslam won't stop the state from suing President Obama over his plan to resettle refugees in Tennessee, he announced Friday. The state legislature has passed a resolution to sue the government for resettling refugees in Tennessee without first obtaining... more »
The Stream‘s First Podcast UpNext Premieres
[image: White Background Gabrielle - 900] The Stream celebrates the launch today of our new Podcast section with the premiere of our first podcast, UpNext. Hosted by 27-year-old entrepreneur and speaker Gabrielle Bosche, UpNext covers the challenges in society and culture that the Millennial Generation faces and lays out what millennials are... more »
Ryan to Block Surprise Amendments After Gay Rights Flap
[image: Paul Ryan - 900] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Speaker Paul Ryan is taking steps to bring greater order to the House floor after a Democrat-authored gay rights amendment caused chaos last week. Ryan told House Republicans Tuesday that in the future, such amendments will have... more »
Monsanto Rejects Inadequate $62 Billion Offer From Bayer
GMO giant Monsanto has rejected a $62bn (£43bn) offer from German pharmaceutical giant Bayer saying the price was too low. Hugh Grant, Monsanto’s chief executive, said the offer was “financially inadequate”, leaving the door open for a potentially higher bid. He said the proposal significantly undervalued the company but said they were open to engage further in negotiations RT reports: Monsanto can “see the logic” of combining with the German corporation, and believes the merger could get the required approval from regulators, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. However, t... more »
Quote without comment
... in our modern world it does not take too much time to learn enough about almost any topic to be able to recognize propaganda and sift interest group messaging from more accurate information. You don’t need fancy degrees or position titles. You don’t even more than very moderate resources. All you need is honest curiosity and the ability to pay attention to the world around you. — Rod Adams
Possible alien life-form watch: "Josh Marshall" tries to explain Trump's attacks!
*TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016What have they done with Josh Marshall:* Down through the years, we've occasionally asked a fairly obvious question. Anyone who watches the press corps would end up asking this obvious question. Here's the question to which we refer: Are the life forms known as "mainstream pundits" actually human? Is it possible that we're surrounded by some form of alien beings? Is it even possible that we're here all alone? Eventually, everyone who follows the press corps ends up asking such questions. Their incompetence is so overwhelming that the question asks itself. ...more »
AIM West: 'Broken Rainbow' film and Louise Benally: Oakland May 25, 2016
. . . . "Broken Rainbow" hosted by AIM-WEST, for elders of Big Mountain, Arizona. Special Guest Big Mountain Resistor: Louise Benally"Broken Rainbow" hosted by AIM-WEST, for elders of Big Mountain, Arizona. Special Guest Big Mountain Resistor: Louise Benally Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Time: 6 - 9:30 pm Place: inter-tribal Friendship House, 523
More Details Revealed On How The U.S. Tracked And Killed Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour
*FOX News*: *Afghan Taliban leader reportedly was in Iran hours before US strike killed him* The leader of the Afghan Taliban who was killed in a U.S. airstrike over the weekend reportedly visited Iran just hours before his death. Mullah Akhtar Mansour, an Afghan citizen, was carrying a Pakistani passport when he entered the country Saturday at the Taftan transit point in western Pakistan, a popular crossing for cargo trucks, VOA news reports. The passport reportedly had the name Wali Muhammad on it, but also had Mansour’s photo. It wasn’t immediately clear why Mansour was in Ira... more »
U.S. Backed Forces Begin Offensive Near The Islamic State De-Facto Capital Of Raqqa
*VOA:* *US Allied Forces Launch Operation to Liberate Raqqa* Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have launched an operation to capture areas north of Raqqa, the Syrian de-facto capital of Islamic State, with the aim of eventually liberating the city. The U.S. allied group made the announcement in a video statement posted online Tuesday. “We’re launching this campaign with the help of (U.S.-led) coalition forces in northern Raqqa,” said Rojda Felat, a female Kurdish commander. A senior SDF commander told VOA his forces are advancing from three different directions. "[Kurdish] YPG... more »
Fall-Out From the Assassination Of Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour
*Mark Landler and Matthew Rosenberg, New York Times*: *U.S. Strike on Taliban Leader Is Seen as a Message to Pakistan* WASHINGTON — Early on Saturday, a middle-aged Pashtun man used forged documents to cross from Iran into Pakistan. A few hours later, on a lonely stretch of highway, he was incinerated by an American drone. It is not exactly clear how the Americans tracked Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, leader of the Afghan Taliban, to a white sedan rattling across the arid expanse of Baluchistan Province. The United States picked up a mix of phone intercepts and tips from sources... more »
7 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed In Eastern Ukraine
*Reuters:** Surge in eastern fighting kills seven Ukrainian soldiers: official* Ukraine said on Tuesday seven of its servicemen had been killed in the past 24 hours as a result of increased attacks by pro-Russian rebels, the highest reported daily casualty figure since August. International efforts are under way to end a conflict that has contributed to the worst tensions between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. A ceasefire signed in February 2015 has failed to quell all fighting in Ukraine's separatist eastern territory, with each side accusing the other of violations. O... more »
Author threatens to sue Elsevier if paper remains retracted
An author is prepared to sue Elsevier if it doesn’t un-retract his paper. Computational Materials Science published two papers by the same author just eight months apart; nearly four years later, the journal pulled one for duplication. Author Masoud Panjepour, affiliated with Isfahan University of Technology in Iran, told us that he is working with a lawyer to negotiate a […] The post Author threatens to sue Elsevier if paper remains retracted appeared first on Retraction Watch.
My Presentation for the Governance of Emerging Technologies Conference
This week I'll be attending the 4th annual Governance of Emerging Technologies Conference in AZ. It is my third time attending this excellent conference. Here is my presentation: New Technologies and Catastrophic Risk: Hubris in the Anthropocene: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4pr8162epwy6h6i/New%20Technologies%20and%20Catastrophic%20Risks%20Hubris%20in%20the%20Anthropocene%20Emerge%202016%20FINAL.pdf?dl=0
Fukushima Decommissioning Chief Admits 600 Tonnes of Melted Fuel "Missing"
Mark Willacy. Fukushima clean-up chief still hunting for 600 tonnes of melted radioactive fuel. ABC, May 24, 2016, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-24/fukushima-operator-reveals-600-tonnes-melted-during-the-disaster/7396362 In an exclusive interview with Foreign Correspondent, the Tokyo Electric Power Company's chief of decommissioning at Fukushima, Naohiro Masuda, said the company hoped to pinpoint the position of the fuel and begin removing it from 2021. But he admitted the technology needed to remove the fuel has to be invented. "Once we can find out the condition of the melt... more »
Goodbye, Empty Nest: Millennials Staying Longer With Parents
[image: millennials - 900] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Many of America’s young adults appear to be in no hurry to move out of their old bedrooms. For the first time on record, living with parents is now the most common arrangement for people ages 18... more »
Chaos in Baghdad. Keeping Iraqi forces away from the NATO/PKK Operation to Take Mosul
I’ve alluded to this possibility a couple of times in two previous posts: *Here (with reference back to yet another post) * * "Clearly the US is moving on Mosul sooner, rather then later, as I expect"It appears to me as if all this confusion, discord and chaos (in Baghdad) is part of the prep work for the move on Mosul. * Since the US and company intend to annex Mosul, as has been stated here repeatedly. And the *involvement of the Iraqi forces aka nationalist forces could impede/slow down or prevent this annexation from happening.* *Here* * The momentum to annex, ethnically ... more »
Saving Mosul Dam from Afar? Sweden of all places?
* A conference in Sweden to save a dam in Iraq? I'm having some troubles with this narrative.* *Saving Mosul Dam, from afar* Engineer: We can assure you that the dam will fail (5:38 min) Bizarre signage "most dangerous dam in the World" I didn't think engineers were so dramatic I find the article and interviews rife with contradictions And where there are contradictions- Their are lies. *Engineers, academics and politicians* *( looks more like an NGO gathering)* gathered in central* Stockholm Tuesday* to help diffuse an ongoing crisis in northern Iraq where a crumbling hydro-d... more »
Artists To Save The World
By Paul Homewood h/t Stewgreen http://www.cultureandclimatechange.co.uk/newsletters/announcement-of-award-winners/ Pass around the good news – we’re all saved! From the Culture and Climate Change organisation: We are delighted to announce Emma Critchley, Lena Dobrowolska & Teo Ormond-Skeaping and Zoë Svendson as the selected artists for Climate Change in Residence: Future Scenarios. Working […]
Does studying history put things into perspective?...
*yes it does.* I've been reading a delightful biography on *Louisa Catherine Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams,* who was the sixth president of the U.S. His father, John Adams, was the second president of the U.S. and served only one term when he was defeated by Thomas Jefferson. It would be impossible to write about John Quincy Adams' wife without delving into the politics of the day, which in many ways mirror much of what is going on today. Some of the machinations make our present day politicians look tame by comparison. It was during this period that Aaron Burr killed Alexande... more »
Why Did The U.S. Invite An Al Qaeda Linked Leader In Syria With Ties To ISIS To Visit The U.S.?
*McClatchy News*: *Syrian rebel whose group is linked to al Qaida visited U.S.* * Ahrar al Sham is an Islamist rebel force that works with al Qaida * Though controversial, Ahrar al Sham is not a designated terrorist group * Rebels say U.S. inaction leaves them no choice but to work with jihadists WASHINGTON - A senior figure from a Syrian rebel group with links to al Qaida was allowed into the United States for a brief visit, raising questions about how much the Obama administration will compromise in the search for partners in the conflict. Labib al Nahhas, foreign affairs directo... more »
Iranian Revolutionary Commander Qassem Soleimani Spotted In Fallujah
Qassem Suleimani with Shiite military commanders, reportedly near Fallujah. Photo: Al-Masdar. *Threat Matrix*: *Iranian Qods Force leader reportedly in Fallujah* Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force – the external operations wing of the Revolutionary Guards – has been spotted near the Iraqi city of Fallujah. As the military operation to dislodge the Islamic State from one of its last remaining strongholds in Anbar province continues, the in-demand Soleimani is reportedly helping direct operations for the plethora of Iranian-backed militia... more »
The Battle For The Iraqi City Of Fallujah
*Al Jazeera:* *Iraqi army suffers losses with Fallujah assault* At least 15 deaths reported so far as UN expresses concern about fate of 50,000 civilians still in ISIL-controlled city. Iraqi forces have shelled targets in Fallujah, entering the second day of an assault to retake the city just west of Baghdad. Although the offensive was launched on Monday, Iraqi government forces have besieged the city and its suburbs for several months now, resulting in shortages of food and medicines. At least 15 Iraqi soldiers have died so far in the assault on the city in Anbar province. On T... more »
Report: Islamic State 'Destroyed A Syrian Airbase' Used By Russia
*Stratfor:* *Discerning Damage to a Crucial Syrian Air Base* In war, even the most advanced aircraft can be shot down, special operations forces can be ambushed, and well-defended airports and army bases can be shelled and weakened from afar by simple, indirect-fire weapons. Such was the case in an attack claimed by the Islamic State on a strategic loyalist air base in central Syria. Satellite imagery acquired by Stratfor in partnership with AllSource Analysis verifies that the T4 air base was severely damaged by an Islamic State artillery attack. In particular, four Russian Mi-24... more »
World News Briefs -- May 24, 2016
*Reuters*: *Iraq forces keep up shelling of Falluja, U.N. concern mounts for civilians* Iraqi forces shelled Islamic State targets in Falluja on Tuesday, the second day of an assault to retake the militant stronghold just west of Baghdad, as international concern mounted for the security of civilians. Residents in the city, 50 km (30 miles) from the capital, reported sporadic shelling around the city centre, but said it was less intense than on Monday. "No one can leave. It's dangerous. There are snipers everywhere along the exit routes," one resident told Reuters by internet. *... more »
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 24, 2016
Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, left, commander of U.S. Central Command, and Gen. John F. Campbell, the outgoing commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, participate in a passing of the colors during a change-of-command ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 2, 2016. Campbell turned over command to Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr., center, during the ceremony. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tony Coronado *FOX News/WSJ*:* US military wants more power to strike Taliban in Afghanistan* WASHINGTON – The death of the Taliban’s leader in a U.S. drone strike has s... more »
Coca-Cola Halts Production In Venezuela
*DW*: *Sugar shortage forces Coca-Cola to halt production in Venezuela* A shortage of raw materials in Venezuela is hitting one sector after another. The country's economic and political crisis has raised concerns about political violence. First Venezuela stopped producing beer, now Coca Cola. The world's largest beverage company on Monday said it would halt production of sweetened beverages in Venezuela, as the oil rich country's duel economic and political downward spiral continues unabated. A spokesperson from the company said sugar suppliers "will temporarily cease operations... more »
Top U.S. General Responds To Critics On The U.S. War Strategy Against The Islamic State
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, listens to a local Iraqi Army commander at al-Asad Air Base on Jan. 8. (Dominique A. Pineiro/ Defense Department) *Washington Post:* *Top general rejects notion that Pentagon is ‘putting Band-Aids’ on the ISIS problem* ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — Flying home from Brussels last week in a silver trailer fastened to the inside of a C-17 cargo jet, the U.S. military’s top general appeared in an easygoing mood. He had just spent two days meeting with his counterparts from other NATO nations, and was travelling to a su... more »
Iran's Supreme Leader: US ‘Can’t Do A Damn Tthing’ About Our Missile Program
An Iranian Tondar missile was test-launched in central Iran last year. The West remains highly concerned about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions. Ali Shayegan/Fars News/Reuters/File *Times of Israel*: *Khamenei: US ‘can’t do a damn thing’ about our missile program* Supreme leader: West ‘extremely sad’ about failure to curb Iran’s military development; Guards chief: US forced to back down in region. Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday said the United States cannot “do a damn thing” about the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program. “They have engaged in a lot ... more »
Rare Photos Show Life Inside North Korea's Top-Secret Military
*Tech Insider:* *Rare photos show life inside North Korea's top-secret military* Little is known about North Korea, and maybe even less is known about the country's military. And while photos can be instrumental in learning about everyday life in the hermit kingdom, they can be extremely difficult to get past the border and out of the country. But a recent Reuters package has a set of rare photos of North Korea's military, ranging from 2006 to 2015, which reveal a snapshot of life as a soldier in North Korea. *Read more* .... *WNU Editor:* A lot of info and pictures on the Nor... more »
Saddam Hussein Wanted Star Wars Storm Troopers
Photo from GMIC *Farah Halime, OZY*:* How Saddam Hussein Modeled A Paramilitary Unit After Darth Vader* On a dusty Baghdad avenue, less than a day before the Gulf War kicked off in 1990, hundreds of Iraqi soldiers marched in sync with Star Wars–themed music — a show of defiance against the American troops who would soon start bombing the country. The Iraqi soldiers passed under the city’s Victory Arch, a giant pair of 141-foot crossed swords resembling Darth Vader’s famous Empire Strikes Back pose with light sabers. The patriotic procession, broadcast live to millions of stunned v... more »
Untitled
*Female Student Said, 'I'm Fine and I Wasn't Raped.' University Investigated, Expelled Boyfriend Anyway* *Wrongfully suspended male athlete is suing the university and the Education Department* Colorado State University-Pueblo suspended a male athlete for years after he was found responsible for sexually assaulting a female trainer. But the trainer never accused him of wrongdoing, and said repeatedly that their relationship was consensual. She even stated, unambiguously, "I'm fine and I wasn't raped." That's according to the athlete's lawsuit against CSUP, which persuasively ar... more »
Video: The Government’s Insane War On Tiny Homes
Officials in Los Angeles have started seizing the tiny homes made by a local builder and donated to homeless people in the city The City of Los Angeles considers the compact homes a blight. Los Angeles city council member Curren Price recently requested that sanitation officials confiscate and destroy a number of tiny homes. But the situation has been growing even worse…. In this video Luke Rudkowski travels to California to talk to Elvis Summers, the man behind the ” Tiny Houses For The Homeless in Los Angeles.” The story that Elvis shares in this video is insane… with government i...more »
Global Warming In Alberta?
By Paul Homewood https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/the-fort-mcmurray-disaster-getting-beyond-is-it-climate-change As I noted at the time, it did not take Jeff Masters long to link the Alberta wildfire to climate change, helped along by statements like The hot weather struck at an uncommonly bad time for wildfire risk: after winter snows had disappeared, but before the summer green-up had […]
A Desperate And Drowning Wasserman Schultz Tries To Politicize The Iran Deal
One of the Wasserman Schultz's top henchmen, Steve Paikowsky, has organized a groups of people to creep around whispering to the growing number of Wasserman Schultz detractors that Tim Canova isa threat to Israel and that his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal proves it. I guess he hopes that no one remembers that Israel also opposed that treaty and that plenty of sincere progressives-- Ted Lieu is a perfect example-- were also very skeptical. Wassermann Schultz voted for it and Canova was very critical of the deal. This morning, I mentioned to Canova that the Paikowsky squad kee... more »
DiCaprio’s Recent Flight From France to NY Burned Enough Carbon to Power 20 Homes for a Year
[image: Leonardo DiCaprio - 900] Leonardo DiCaprio burned the equivalent of about 90 tons of coal when he took a private jet on an 8,000-mile round-trip flight from France to New York City on his way to pick up an environmental award, according to calculations... more »
VA Gov. — and Hillary BFF — Terry McAulliffe Under Investigation For Suspected Campaign Violations
[image: McAulliffe - 900] Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is under federal investigation for possible campaign finance violations, CNN reported Monday. The probe, conducted by the FBI and the Department of Justice's public integrity unit, has been underway since at least last year and is looking... more »
Human Head Transplants: Possibly Possible, Certainly Repugnant
[image: movie poster - 900] Italian transplant surgeon Dr Sergio Canavero wants to perform head transplants. He was recently interviewed by Barry Morgan on CJAD 800 Montreal Radio and said he was hoping to carry out the surgery in China, before the end of 2017.... more »
Paper plagiarizes from handwritten manuscript
This case of plagiarism is a little weirder than usual. A paper has been retracted from Semigroup Forum because it includes material taken from another researcher’s manuscript — which was handwritten. In fact, the same journal had already published a paper by the plagiarized researcher, also based on the same manuscript. The journal editor told us that, although the two papers […] The post Paper plagiarizes from handwritten manuscript appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Russia Tells US To Stop Endangering Civilian Passenger Flights
The Russian Defense Ministry has called on the US Air Force to avoid endangering civilian passenger flights with their “unprofessional” actions. A US defense attache has been summoned after an incident over the Sea of Japan near Russia’s eastern borders, where an American spy plane was detected flying too close to civilian aircraft. According to Interfax, at least two passenger jets belonging to major European airlines were endangered over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan on Sunday Press TV reports: On Monday, the ministry issued a statement criticizing the flight of a US reco... more »
Dear Mr. Trump: If Everything’s Negotiable, Let’s Negotiate
[image: Hillary Clinton Donald Trump - 900] At this point, I am not going to announce support for Donald Trump, though I am not #NeverTrump and am emphatically #NeverHillary. To restate my position without social media lingo, I would never vote for Hillary Clinton and, though I... more »
Hoax Bomb Threats Force Schools To Evacuate Across US And UK
Hoax bomb threats lead to lockdowns and evacuations in dozens of elementary and high schools across both the US and UK on Monday. In the UK thousands of children in at least 21 schools were evacuated after bomb threats were phoned in to police. One anonymous caller said that the resulting shrapnel would “take children’s heads off.” Classes resumed only after police failed to find any explosives or other dangerous items. Today, nine more UK schools in Devon, North Wales, Northern Ireland, South Lanarkshire and across central Scotland were evacuated following malicious phone threats. ... more »
Security In Iraq, May 15-21, 2016
The Islamic State was still in the midst of its spring offensive in the third week of May. Attacks actually went down, but casualties remained high because of a number of mass casualty bombings that mark the current insurgent campaign. There were 121 incidents reported in Iraq from May 15-21. That was the fewest incidents since the second week of February when there were 119. There were 67 attacks in Baghdad, 16 in Anbar, 11 each in Diyala and Ninewa, 7 in Salahaddin, 4 in Kirkuk, 2 in Babil, and one each in Basra, Dhi Qar, and Qadisiyah. Despite those low figures casualties we... more »
Chilean Artist Steals $500 Million in Student Debt Papers and Burns Them
*Alex Pietrowski* - To combat the exploitation of Chile's students by a for-profit education system, this artist did the unthinkable.
Should ‘Never Trump’ People Get Over It?
[image: #NeverTrump - 900] Washington state’s Republican Party just defied the stampede toward “unity.” Meeting over the weekend, they awarded 40 of the state’s 41 delegates to Ted Cruz. Washington’s Republicans have refused to be sheep. The past few days have featured hectoring demands... more »
Writings by Mother Teresa to Be Published in August
[image: In this Aug. 25, 1993, file photo Mother Teresa, head of Missionaries of Charity, is photographed, in New Delhi, India. A collection of previously unreleased writings by Mother Teresa is coming out in August 2016, weeks before the late Nobel Peace Prize winner is to be canonized.] NEW YORK (AP) -- A collection of previously unreleased writings by Mother Teresa is coming out in August, weeks before the late Nobel Peace Prize winner is to be canonized. Image, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, told The... more »
RESURGENCE OF THE MUSIC MEN: Just for starters, Maddow and Trump!
*TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016Part 1—Along with the Washington Post:* Two striking reports in the Washington Post point to an existential threat—an existential threat which has been posed by the nation's resurgent "music men." Tomorrow, we'll define the term. For today, let's consider those two reports in the Post. Also, let's consider the way the reports have been treated by two of our top "music men." Is Donald J. Trump a "music man?" As always, that's a matter of judgment. That said, Joe Scarborough denounced Candidate Trump this morning for his "reprehensible" discussion of the death... more »
Tony Blair Calls For A ‘Proper’ Ground War Against ISIS
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned that “a proper ground war” is the only way to defeat ISIS terrorists. Speaking at an event in London on Tuesday, the man who lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq said “There is no way of defeating these people without defeating them on the ground. Airstrikes are not going to defeat ISIS” Press TV reports: The former Labour PM said an air campaign alone would not destroy the extremist group, calling for more Western troops on the battlefield. “Do not be under any doubt at all. If we want to defeat these people we are goin... more »
Target Stock Continues to Plummet in Wake of Transgender Bathroom Policy Announcement
[image: US-ECONOMY-TARGET] Target’s stock has fallen nearly 20% -- roughly $16 dollars per share -- since announcing its transgender bathroom policy on April 19. The drop would appear connected to a boycott organized by the American Family Association. Over 1.28 million thus far have... more »
Why Space Is The Next Military Flashpoint
X-37B. Air Force *News.com.au*: *US, Russia, China: Why space is the next military flashpoint* TENSIONS between the super powers are high and the race is on to dominate. But if you think the next major military battle for dominance will be over land or sea, or any other piece of the Earth, then think again. Experts predict the world’s global powers will soon be taking their battles into space. Not only is the space race becoming more competitive but global powers are continuing to militarise what has long been considered to be the final frontier. Writing for global intelligence a... more »
The NSA's Whistle Blower Program Needs To Be Overhauled
*The Guardian*: *How the Pentagon punished NSA whistleblowers* Long before Edward Snowden went public, John Crane was a top Pentagon official fighting to protect NSA whistleblowers. Instead their lives were ruined – and so was his * Snowden calls for whistleblower shield after claims by Pentagon source * Exclusive: Pentagon source goes on record against whistleblower program By now, almost everyone knows what Edward Snowden did. He leaked top-secret documents revealing that the National Security Agency was spying on hundreds of millions of people across the world, collecting the ph... more »
Tweet For Today
China’s middle class vents over growing list of grievances https://t.co/5gIAqiC3vy pic.twitter.com/qMsfPFwvSH — Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 24, 2016
Visualizing 200 Years Of US Immigration (Video)
*WNU Editor:* For more info go here .... Here’s Everyone Who’s Immigrated to the U.S. Since 1820 (Microcosm)
Picture Of The Day
*Parachute Pattern* Soldiers descend over Malemute drop zone during airborne training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 19, 2016. The soldiers are paratroopers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne). Air Force photo by Alejandro Pena
Fukushima: 600 Tons Of Melted Radioactive Fuel Still Missing
The clean up team at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has revealed that 600 tonnes of radioactive reactor fuel melted during the disaster, and that the exact location still remains a mystery. The company hopes to locate and start removing the missing fuel from 2021, Naohiro Masuda, TEPCO’s chief of decommissioning told ABC’s Foreign Correspondent program. He added that Japan does not yet possess the technology to extract the melted uranium fuel. RT reports: Following the tsunami-caused 2011 meltdown at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant uranium fuel of three power generatin... more »
Researcher who sued to stop retractions gets his sixth
A sixth retraction has appeared for a diabetes researcher who previously sued a publisher to try to stop his papers from being retracted. Mario Saad‘s latest retraction, in PLOS Biology, stems from inadvertent duplications, according to the authors. Though an investigation at Saad’s institution — the University of Campinas in Brazil — found no evidence of misconduct, a critic […] The post Researcher who sued to stop retractions gets his sixth appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Is The TPP Dead?
Michael Geist thinks it might be. He writes: First, the TPP may not have sufficient support to take effect, since under the terms of agreement both Japan and the United States must be among the ratifying countries. Implementation has been delayed in Japan where politicians fear a political backlash and seems increasingly unlikely in the U.S., where the remaining presidential candidates have tried to outdo one another in their opposition to the deal. Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have been outspoken critics of the TPP from start of their campaigns. Meanwhile, Hillary Clint... more »
Facebook Drops News Outlet Input in ‘Trending Topics’ Review
[image: In this April 12, 2016, file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the keynote address at the F8 Facebook Developer Conference in San Francisco. Facebook said Monday, May 23, that it is dropping its reliance on news outlets to help determine what gets posted as a "trending topic" on the giant social network, a move adopted after a backlash over a report saying it suppressed conservative views.] LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Facebook says it is dropping its reliance on news outlets to help determine what gets posted as a “trending topic” on the giant social network, a move a... more »
Ex-NATO Chief Predicts Russia Will Start WW3…. Next Year
A senior retired NATO general has predicted that Russia will start a world war in exactly a year from now. General Sir Richard Shirreff, who served as Nato’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe said that a Russian attack on Estonia, Lithuania or Latvia, which are all Nato members, was a serious possibility and that the West should act now to avert “potential catastrophe”. A Russia insider report: BRACE YOURSELF: Ex-Deputy NATO Commander Predicts Russia Will Start WW3 in May 2017 We’re not kidding, he is actually that specific General Sir Richard Shirreff This is unbelievable. ... more »
When "Good Guys" Do Bad Things
*The way they finance their campaigns, Donald Norcross and Patrick Murphy are not just dancing with the devil, they're changing costumes, doing flips and ending the routine with a dip and kiss* We've been writing for almost a year about how the righteous-*sounding* PAC, End Citizens United is a scam. It was set up and is run by a gaggle of DCCC and DSCC losers to primarily funnel money to their corrupt conservative candidates and campaign finance criminals like Patrick Murphy, Lacy Clay, Ami Bera, Pete Gallego, Monica Vernon, Steny Hoyer, Val Demings, Scott Peters and Lon Johnson. ... more »
Freddie Gray Case: Baltimore Prosecutor Criticized for Overreach After Officer Acquittal
[image: In this March 3, 2016 file photo, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, left, arrives at Maryland Court of Appeals in Annapolis, Md. The Baltimore's top prosecutor is facing criticism that she moved too quickly to file charges against six officers in the death of Freddie Gray without first ensuring there was enough evidence to bring them to bear. A judge on Monday, May 23, acquitted Officer Edward Nero of the assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment charges in the April 2015 arrest of the African-American man. Legal experts say the acquittal in the raciall... more »
Obama Pushes for Better Rights in Vietnam After Arms Deal
[image: President Barack Obama winks as he arrives for a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Monday, May 23, 2016, at the International Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam.] HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday pressed Vietnam to allow greater freedoms for its citizens, arguing that better human rights would improve the communist country’s economy, stability and regional power. On his second full day in the... more »
Media Still Ignoring Scientific Evidence That Preborn Humans Feel Pain by 20 Weeks
[image: Pregnant Woman, Pregnancy] The legislatures of Utah and South Carolina recently passed bills concerning abortions at 20 weeks after fertilization. This is the stage of development shown in the photograph below. Before performing abortions, the Utah bill requires physicians to anesthetize or give... more »
House Panel Hearing From Lawmaker Who Wants IRS Chief Impeached
[image: In this Feb. 10, 2016 file photo, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The IRS says the agency's commissioner won't appear at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, May 24, 2016, examining whether he deserves to be impeached.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- A sympathetic House Judiciary Committee is giving a high-profile forum to a top Republican who wants to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, a cause that excites conservatives but seems unlikely to go far in Congress this election... more »
From The Green Revolution To GMOs: Living In The Shadow Of Global Agribusiness
Countercurrents, Global Research, CounterPunch, RINF Don't take free content on the web for granted. Please read *this. * What can we do about the powerful transnational agribusiness companies that have captured or at the very least heavily influence regulatory bodies, research institutes, trade agreements and governments? How can we assess the safety and efficacy of GMOs or their other technologies and products when narratives and decision-making processes have become distorted by these companies? Through the 'green revolution' chemical-intensive model of agriculture these corporat... more »
Tsai Speaks on Friday
*April export orders: US is leader, but the making will happen in China. Over half of orders have been made there for several years now. * Friday was a deeply emotional day for me. President-elect Tsai became President Tsai, a tremendously satisfying event. I managed to watch a bit of the ceremony. Then came home in the afternoon and found out our beloved Golden Retriever's kidneys had failed and he had to be euthanized. That was wretched. So I didn't post on Saturday. Kinda took the wind out of my blogging sails. There is actually not that much to say, everyone already said it....... more »
Untitled
*From* *Jenna Orkin* Vote all you want. The secret government won’t change - Boston Globe(!). *From FAS (Federation of American Scientists) SOME STATE SECRETS CASES MAY STAY SECRET* A definitive accounting of the number of lawsuits in which the U.S. Government has invoked the state secrets privilege cannot be provided because some of those cases may be too sensitive to acknowledge or disclose, the Department of Justice told Congress in newly released correspondence from 2013. Columbia law professor shreds the 'don't ask, don't tell' code of insider trading in NYT op-ed Brazil m... more »
Hillary Clinton ‘Lying For 13 Minutes Straight’ Video, Goes Viral
The following footage shows Hillary Clinton ‘changing her mind’ on a number of key issues like the same-sex marriage, universal healthcare, links to big banks and foreign policy experience. (Scroll down for video) The Independent reports: The video starts off on same sex marriage, and how Ms Clinton did not publicly support it until 2013. In 2004, she said marriage is “a sacred bond between a man and a woman”. A decade later, she said: “I support it personally and as a matter of policy.“ Ms Clinton also claimed she had landed in Bosnia in the 1990s “amid sniper fire”, contrary to ne... more »
North Yorkshire Fracking
By Paul Homewood http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36366302 As mentioned earlier, from the BBC: Approval for fracking in North Yorkshire has raised the prospect of the controversial technique being allowed at other sites and restarted an intense debate. Councillors in North Yorkshire on Monday voted to allow fracking near the village of Kirby Misperton. The decision, […]
Breyer Says Supreme Court Not Diminished with Only 8 Members
[image: Supreme Court Breyer] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Justice Stephen Breyer said Monday that the Supreme Court has not been diminished by having only eight members since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. Breyer suggested in response to questions at an awards ceremony... more »
Facebook Drops News Outlets In ‘Trending’ After Backlash
[image: FILE - In this March 15, 2013, file photo, a Facebook employee walks past a sign at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook reports financial results on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)] LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Facebook says it is dropping its reliance on news outlets to help determine what gets posted as a “trending topic” on the giant social network, a move adopted after a backlash over a report saying it... more »
Sanders: Democratic Convention Could Be ‘Messy’
[image: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Monday, May 23, 2016, in Los Angeles.] LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and his push to make the party more inclusive could get “messy” but asserts in an interview with The Associated Press: “Democracy is not... more »
Hawaii Could Be First to Put Gun Owners in Federal Database
[image: FILE - In this May 10, 2016, file photo, Jerry Ilo holds a gun that he uses to teach the Hawaii Department of Natural Resources hunter education training course in a classroom in Honolulu. Ilo was one of several Hawaii residents to speak out against a bill passed by lawmakers to allow Hawaii gun owners to be registered in a federal database that will automatically notify police if an island resident is arrested anywhere else in the country. (AP Photo/Marina Riker, File)] HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii could become the first state in the United States to enter gun owners into an FBI ... more »
Bank of America Did Not Commit Fraud Leading Up to 2008 Crash: Appeals Court
[image: Settlement Bank Money Gavel - 900] NEW YORK (AP) -- Bank of America Corp. was not liable for fraud and subject to a penalty of more than $1.2 billion for its actions before the economy collapsed in 2008 despite a jury’s finding to the contrary, a... more »
Standing Up To Multinational Big-Ag: Nepal, Monsanto, & USAID
*May 24, 2016* (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Throughout history, controlling India was the key to controlling Nepal. British control over the landlocked nation was an extension of its control over India itself. Today, imperialism is far from a distant memory. It did not go "extinct," rather, it merely "evolved." Today, imperialism looks like national and international "aid programs" which are used as fronts and vectors for corporate special interests. USAID, the World Food Programme, and others, for instance, serve as fronts and vectors for corporations like Monsanto. In turn, Monsant... more »
An interview with Klára Samková
EuroNews.cz has published an interview with Klára Samková. *Samková for EuroNews: Ambassador of Turkey has behaved as an old woman. Muslims are expecting that their ideology will be tolerated.* *An interview: It is quite appropriate to compare Islam with totalitarian ideologies and the Turkish ambassador has escaped the hall as a pubertal boy, attorney Klára Samková says in an interview for EuroNews.cz. She has ignited passions by its speech directed against Islam. Does she expect some further repercussions of the story? And why did she voluntarily help to Muslims years ago?* *I... more »
Forensic Official: EgyptAir 804 Human Remains Suggest Blast
[image: U.S. Navy LT. JG Dylon Porlas uses binoculars to look through the window of a U.S. Navy Lockheed P-3C Orion patrol aircraft from Sigonella, Sicily, Sunday, May 22, 2016, searching the area in the Mediterranean Sea where the Egyptair flight 804, en route from Paris to Cairo, went missing on May 19. Search crews found floating human remains, luggage and seats from the doomed EgyptAir jetliner Friday but face a potentially more complex task in locating bigger pieces of wreckage and the black boxes vital to determining why the plane plunged into the Mediterranean.] CAIRO (AP) -- ... more »
Fort McMurray Fire Photos
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my ordeal with being caught up in the evacuation from Fort McMurray. It wasn't until this evening however that I was finally able to get some of the photos I managed to take posted to the blog. By now, I'm sure you've seen tons of video and stills in the media. At the risk of simply adding more to the mix, here are a few photos from one person's experience. This was the sky to the west from my back deck around mid-afternoon. By the time the mandatory evacuation order was issued, this was the view from my front door. Another photo taken fro... more »
Howard McCoy and Roswell
In the search for documentation about the Roswell UFO crash, some evidence has surfaced, though it is not the sort of thing that the proponents were looking for. Though the documentation is not definitive, meaning that it does not mention Roswell specifically (nor does it mention Aztec for that matter) it does affect the overall notion that something alien fell out of the sky back in the late 1940s. Colonel Howard McCoy This is a letter, originally classified as “Secret,” written by Colonel Howard McCoy, who, at that time in late 1940s, was an intelligence officer who operated at th... more »
Learning to Appreciate the Psalms in a Whole New Way
[image: The Book of Psalms - 900] I'm learning to appreciate the Psalms in a whole new way. You might be surprised at the reason -- or you might be experiencing the same thing. I've always loved the Psalms. I think of Psalm 42, which begins, As... more »
Fracking In N Yorks Gets Go Ahead
By Paul Homewood http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07btkh0/look-north-yorkshire-23052016 Fracking got the go yesterday from North Yorkshire County Council, on which more later. But you really must watch this gem from Look North, the BBC regional news programme, last night. Energy expert, Professor Ian Fells is interviewed at 5 minutes in. Watch the po-faced interviewer get her cumuppance! […]
WikiLeaks reveals: Hillary Clinton plotted corporate charter school colonialism for Haiti
*“Worse, Clinton’s “boarding school” socialization and structure idea sounds more like assimilation than education. Shocking and scarily reminiscent of other U.S. ventures in segregating classes of “other” people. Native Americans were also thought to be in need of “education” to work differently in groups and to be in need of structure.”— Daun Kauffman* WikiLeaks released the Hillary Clinton Email Archive mid-March 2016. Many users were searching for terms like hedge fund manager, Goldman Sachs, or, as the example in the WikiLeaks boolean tutorial: "syria libya will show results…... more »
How Does a Mathematician's Brain Differ from That of a Mere Mortal?
This reports actual progress on this issue. After all it is the one specific mental skill in which differences are most obvious to the point that the teaching profession has retreated from advancing the average talents. They should not of course but then should also recognize that the talented will need to advance faster and need additional pathways as well. Now we have a protocol to apply and this is good. Perhaps average talents can also be advanced well enough. . *How Does a Mathematician's Brain Differ from That of a Mere Mortal?* *Processing high-level math concepts u... more »
How does one define a “Native American”?
Oh well here we go again. Let us all understand something. Most native Americans did not die out except locally through nasty epidemics that took plenty but always spared many as well. And yes, the general population hugely contracted for about two centuries mostly through epidemics and also sometimes through been dislodged from their livlihood and through slave trading. However please understand that these populations rebounded the moment that all passed. Except now they rebounded often through intermarriage and the ethnic blend kept changing. Thus we then go to look at al... more »
Unbelievable Scam of Cancer Industry Blown Wide Open
I do want to say that the underlying premise of chemo therapy is seriously suspect and the absence of outright cures needs to be carefully considered. Many other protocols have had good success and have produced outright cures not least because they normally support the body's own efferts to heal. Chemo's successes are also no recommendation for the general application of the protocol across a broad spectrum of disease. Recall that former Toronto mayor Bob Ford was subjected to six separate programs of chemo before been sent home to die. In my experience a number of friend... more »
12 Plants Native Americans Used to Cure EVERYTHING
First i suspect that we need to be more aggressive using these plants. By that i mean using strong teas mashed up poultices to absorb through the skin and larger doses of the raw plant itself. We are so used to playing around with pills that we think that will provide a sufficient dose applied to a plant when that cannot be true at all. Secondly all traditional medicines were arrived at through channeling rather than empirical means which are labor intensive and hugely subjective. This a way of saying that the best science needs to know the answer before designing an experi... more »
Military Photo of the Day: Close Air Support Training
[image: Airman] A U.S. Air Force special tactics airman searches the area during close air support training over Eglin Range in Florida on May 11, 2016. Thank you to this airman for volunteering to protect our nation!
Robert De Niro To Produce Film Proving Vaccines Cause Autism
Robert De Niro has announced plans to produce a new documentary exposing the dangers of vaccines and their connection to autism. In a recent interview with entertainment website Vulture, the Goodfellas star discussed the recent decision to shelve a screening of anti-vaccine film “Vaxxed: From Catastrophe to Coverup” from his Tribeca film festival. Well, what I learned, first of all, there was a big reaction, which I didn’t see coming, and it was from filmmakers — supposedly, I have yet to find out who it was. I wanted to just know who they were, because to me there was no reason not... more »
Japan Asks U.S. To Stop Military-Related Rapes And Deaths
Japan has formally asked the U.S. to end all military-related rapes, deaths and other violence in their country. The Japanese Prime Minister said that he has “no words to express” his horror at an incident involving the disappearance of a Japanese woman, and the involvement of an American working on a U.S. military base who was arrested in connection with her disappearance. Pressfortruth.ca reports: The Japanese leader told the public that he urged the U.S. to “take thorough measures to prevent the recurrence” of any similar events in the future. It’s alleged that there is increasi... more »
Sponsored Post: FT Pub Quiz Takes Look at Wacky 2016 Election Season
*By MARC McDONALD* As many pundits have noted, this has been one of the most wacky and bizarre political campaign seasons in decades. And I sometimes wonder if we've ever faced an election where the voters were less informed on the issues, and the candidates, than they are today. I recall reading once about the early days of television. The great TV pioneer Philo Farnsworth, among others, had high hopes for the new medium. *"He thought it would wipe out the need for war, that it would end ignorance and illiteracy. He thought it was an educational tool,"* Farnsworth biographer Evan... more »
Congressional Candidate Busted For Growing Marijuana
Democratic congressional candidate Florence ‘Flo’ Matheson was busted by police for possessing marijuana last Friday. Police raided Matheson’s home in Crossville, Tennessee and found a full-scale cultivation operation in a barn in her backyard. Thelastamericanvagabond.com reports: The structure was separated into two tropical grow environments housing over 180 plants, complete with grow lights and a remote wireless surveillance system – a setup that probably cost thousands of dollars in monthly electric bills to maintain. Additionally, police found two ounces of pot, a pistol, a han...more »
Blast from the Past + Links
The image above shows US pilots strafing near the Confucius Temple in Changhua (Google maps). A close friend posted to Facebook: American pilots strafing Changhua near the Confucius Temple in Changhua. When I lived in Hemei, in Changhua County my boss' husband was a KMT politician, and he liked to take me out drinking with his constituents. One night we were drinking 蒸餾酒 (I'm guessing at the characters, I had no clue then. It was moonshine made from grapes from near Fengyuan I was told, and 60% or higher alcohol) with a guy who walked with a limp. Turns out the guy had been hit by a... more »
I don't feel frightened not knowing things
The most recent exchange about the extraterrestrial life made me think of this monologue of Richard Feynman, especially its last minute. Why? Because it seems to me that some people are so frightened not knowing things that they prefer quickly chosen wrong answers over the admission that they're ignorant or uncertain. In these sentences (taken from The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, BBC/NOVA, 1981), Feynman said that some people are searching for answers to deep questions that science can't answer or basically labels as unphysical, so they may get disappointed and turn to religio...more »
A Response to My Conservative #NeverTrump Friends
[image: Trump - 900] When you differ from people you admire, you have to question yourself. After all, what is the purpose of admiring people if they aren’t capable of influencing you? So, I have had to challenge my position -- stated since the... more »
Commencement Season: The Toxic Annual Ritual
[image: NEW LONDON, CT - MAY 20: U.S. President Barack Obama gives the keynote address at commencement exercises at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on May 20, 2015 in New London, Connecticut. Obama used the occasion to speak about the dangers of global warming to both America and international security. This was the 134th commencement exercises at the prestigious academy. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)] This is the season of college Commencement speeches -- an art form that has seldom been memorable, but has increasingly become toxic in recent times. Two themes seem to dominate C... more »
Austrian Voters Narrowly Decide Not To Revisit Their Country's Nazi Past By Electing Their Version Of Trump
*DWT* readers weren't taken by surprise by the near win this weekend-- counting 700,000 absentee ballots flipped the final outcome today-- that would have put a neo-Nazi in Austria's presidential race. Sunday it looked as though Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer won 51.9% of the vote in a run-off with an independent backed by the Green Party, Alexander Van der Bellen, the two corrupt mainstream p[arty candidates having been eliminated in April. But after the absentee ballots were counted, the final result was 50.3% for Van der Bellen and 49.7% for Hofer. Voters were sick of the... more »
Crone proposes more blancmange for Auckland
Oh alright, mayoral candidate Crone’s chosen headline states “Crone proposes more transparency for Auckland.” But what does this alleged transparency amount to? Ephemera like “opening the books,” (something that is done anyway after every election), monthly report cards, something she calls an Independent Budgetary Office (who will apparently cook up cost-benefits analyses for the mayor). She says these things are “much needed” because there is “serious concern” around “the strength of advice” behind council’s large-scale multi-million dollar investments. There sure are plenty... more »
Duh! Health-cost inflation a reflection of rising health spending.
In trying to demonstrate his credentials for a portfolo for whiche is wholly unqualified, Labour’s Grant Robertson argues that because health-cost inflation rises faster than all others measure of inflation, the Government should radically raise the health budget this year. This is simply absurd. Has this financial genius ever wondered about the main reason for health costs rising so rapidly? Has he considered for example that government is virtually a monopsony buyer in health – that is, virtually all the multi-billion-dollar spending in healthcare in New Zealand is undertake... more »
Ben Shapiro Fights Back Against College Campus Free Speech Crackdowns
[image: Ben Shapiro - 900] The censorship of free speech on a college campus has caused a legal fight to brew in California. A lawsuit filed Thursday against numerous staff at California State University-Los Angeles claims that the university discriminated against free speech by trying... more »
Clinton Reneges on California Debate
[image: Sanders and Clinton2 - 900] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Monday declined an invitation from Fox News to participate in a debate with rival Bernie Sanders in California before that state’s June 7 primary. Clinton and Sanders are competing aggressively in... more »
TSA’s Head of Security Operations Sent Packing
[image: A K9 security officer and his dog walk through a terminal at O'Hare International Airport on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 in Chicago. The airport attack in Brussels highlights one of the most vulnerable stages of aviation security: the time travelers spend between the curb and the checkpoint.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House committee said Monday that the head of security operations at the Transportation Security Administration has been replaced. “Kelly Hoggan has been removed from his position as head of security at TSA,” the House Committee on... more »
Jim DeMint: Why I Met With Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
[image: Jim DeMint: Why I Met With Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg] This election season has made many Americans even more cynical about our democratic system of government. There is clearly political upheaval underway in America and around the world. This massive disturbance of the status quo has been fueled in large... more »
Israel Did 9-11: Turnabout Is Fair Play As Saudis Are Now Blaming The US For The 9-11 Attacks!
We have seen over the last month as the US Government released a totally bullshit report called the "28 Pages" that supposedly blamed the Saudi Arabian government for "financing" the supposed "terrorists" involved in the Israeli Mossad operation of September 11th, 2001 that murdered some 3000 innocent American civilians and plunged that once free nation into the perpetual "war on terror".... It is again a sad commentary to make here that the US government has been trying desperately to deflect the blame for the 9-11 attacks away from their Jewish masters and the Israeli Mossad agent... more »
The Egyptair Flight 804 Controversy: Some Of The Best Evidence (So Far) Of What Really Happened!
**I figure it was about time I got back into writing articles at this blog.... I have been spending an enormous amount of time with other projects, family, work, etc etc... And of course this blog has been taking a back seat to all those other activities.... I have neglected so much that has been happening and I feel it is time to finally give my own two cents worth of current events...* We just witnessed another airplane disaster where Egyptair flight 804 suddenly 'disappeared' off of radar on its final approaches to its expected landing at Cairo Egypt last Thursday morning at 0030... more »
More Montessori, more child progress
New research confrirms that parents who send their children to a ‘Montessori school’ that attempts to have “some” of the Montessori system which they combine, somehow, with “the best” elements of other pedagogies are tryin to have their cake and eat it too – with their children being the ones to miss out. Not only do children not experiencing the full Montessori programme miss out on the opportunity for the ”big work” that integrates in their final year all the work they *would* have done in a fully-integrated Montessori programme (but haven’t been able to), but because the Mon... more »
20,642 New Regulations Added in the Obama Presidency
[image: President Barack Obama addresses the media in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room after meeting with Secretary of Defense Ash Carter at the Pentagon on July 6, 2015.] The tide of red tape that threatens to drown U.S. consumers and businesses surged yet again in 2015, according to a Heritage Foundation study released on Monday. More than $22 billion per year in new regulatory costs were imposed on... more »
The Red Hunt planned an October Carbon Tax
*The Hunt for Red October* *or* *The Red Hunt planned an October Carbon Tax* Greg Hunt has said that: “Bill Shorten has announced a massive new electricity tax – but he didn’t have the courage or the honesty to tell Australian families how much it will cost them.“ Greg Hunt didn’t have the honesty to tell the Australian populace that he introduced a carbon tax scheme, very similar to the Rudd/GillardRudd government’s scheme into parliament last October…AND it has been approved by the parliament and the Senate. Greg Hunt's Sneaky Electricity Tax starts the day before the ele... more »
How Active Will The Mafia Be In The Presidential Election This Cycle?
John Catsimatidis interviewed two former GOP governors on his radio show yesterday, Jon Huntsman (UT) and George Pataki (NY). Huntsman said he'd support "the party's nominee," but said he has "concerns about some of the things he's said and his stylistic approach, but then I say OK, he has a unique opportunity to bring together constituents under the Republican banner that really have never joined before." So... another Republican putting party over country. Pataki told Catsimatidis he's not prepared to endorse Trump yet. He said he's "not overly concerned about things he’s said d... more »
‘The Tempest,’ by Aleah Chapin
[image: Aleah-Chapin_The-Tempest_2013] In the tradition of and with a similar spirit to Auguste Rodin’s ‘She Who Was Once the Helmet-Maker’s Beautiful Wife,’Aleah Chapin paints strong older women. And she does it with a stunning technique. *These intimate, arrestingly realistic oil-on-canvas nudes focus on the shapes and patterns the women's bodies create as they interact and the emotions their movements convey. As a result, each gives voice to the personal histories its subjects share, from past pains and scars to moments of childlike happiness. The feelings that words so ofte... more »
Houma Native to Speak out at Shell Annual Meeting: Netherlands May 24, 2016
Photo Monique Verdin by Andy Cook Keep it in the Ground: Intervention from Gulf of Mexico Indigenous Delegate at Shell Annual General Meeting Photo opportunity outside the Annual General Meeting (AGM): Circustheater, Circusstraat 4, The Hague, The Netherlands, Tuesday, May 24, 2016, 9 am local time. For interviews with delegate contact: Suzanne Dhaliwal, UK Tar Sands Network 0044
ECUADOR: Palm Oil Companies Focus of First Case on Rights of Nature
A mass amount of dead fish piled together on the surface of the Chiquita River the same day, when that Los Andes Extractor threw its residual waste waters into the river after extracting the palm oil UPDATE: Constitutional-based civil suit of the ancestral communities Guadualito, La Chiquita, and Nature Dear Supporters, We write to you with an update about the
Untitled
*Top Scientist Resigns: 'Global Warming is a $Trillions Scam — It has Corrupted Many Scientists'* The following is a letter to the American Physical Society released to the public by Professor Emiritus of physics Harold 'Hal' Lewis of the University of California at Santa Barbara. From: Hal Lewis, University of California, Santa Barbara To: Curtis G. Callan, Jr., Princeton University, President of the American Physical Society Dear Curt: When I first joined the American Physical Society sixty-seven years ago it was much smaller, much gentler, and as yet uncorrupted by the money f... more »
May 23: not a nice day
The big, front-page story in the irving press is that Moncton's mayor wants a solution to the car-booting issue. That's nice, even commendable. But it's scarcely a big story of the day. And it gets worse. Its companion on front page is a story that New Brunswick needs a new generation of truckers. Think about that. The world is going under to climate change. And our great need is a whole new generation of truckers so we can burn lots of fossile fuels for forty years to come. And the rest of section A doesn't get any better. The editorial left me hopelessly confused. "Celebrate Queen... more »
Economic News , Data & Views ( May 23 , 2016 ) Overview ( 1.Puerto Rico Gets Caught In US Presidential Politics As Sanders Rejects House Of Representatives Deal , Puerto Rico Budget - No New Taxes Or Layoffs . 2. IMF Calls For Immediate Greece Debt Release. 3.Saudi 'Quietly " In Financial Distress - Contractors Facing Being Paid In IOUs. 4. Venezuela Crisis De Jour - Coca Cola Stops Making Coca Cola In Venezuela Because Of Sugar Scarcity. 5. China Lose Resolve to Revamp Currency - Everyone Confused And Running Quietly Scared. 6. Greece - Eurogroup Meeting Set For Tuesday - First Review Completion and Next Tranche / Debt Relief On Agenda , Privatization , Refugee Situation . 7. Brazil Political Corruption Crisis Escalates - Budget Minister Steps Aside . 8. Germany / Austria In the News , Various Items , Polling Data , Austria Election. 9. Turkey News De Jour. 10. Odds & Ends - MENA Top Items. )
Markets & Market Moving News.... *Dividend Master* @DividendMaster 1h1 hour ago PUERTO RICO BUDGET WILL CONTAIN NO NEW TAXES NOR WILL THERE BE ANY LAYOFFS; EAT SHIT @GOP GRINGOS : GOV GARCIA *Reuters BusinessVerified account* @ReutersBiz 2h 2 hours ago Bernie *Sanders* rejects House deal on *Puerto Rico*, calling it a concession to Wall Street. http://reut.rs/20s16C6 *Frances Coppola* @Frances_Coppola 2h2 hours ago The full horror is here. IMF DSA on *Greece*, just released. http://www. imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2016/cr16130.pdf … *Kathimerini E... more »
Lake of Mummies
Photos by Nick Brandt Lake Natron has accrued some amount of notoriety for its purported ability to turn any living creature that comes into contact with it a “living fossil.” This effect, while being somewhat overplayed in the media, has some basis in fact. It is not an instantaneous effect, but rather a gradual process. Animals that die here have the tendency to become petrified statues over time, a rare preservation phenomenon caused by the unique chemical makeup of the lake, which encrusts the carcasses with layers of salt, sodium carbonates, and sodium bicarbonates. The car... more »
Untitled
*Local Artists to Play Benefit for Leigh “Little Queenie” Harris ~Sam D'arcangelo, offBeat*
THE ULTIMATE GRADUATION SPEECH BY OLIVER STONE
*Oliver Stone / Filmmaker* *Oliver Stone just gave the ultimate commencement address at the University of Connecticut and it was remarkable for both its candor and cold hard truth ~ for what the average college graduate of today will most likely be facing in our interconnected world is that the ultimate gift they are searching for may just be the act of finding themselves and making a difference: Allen L Roland, PhD* *"I am done with great things and big things and great institutions and big successes, and I am for those tiny invisible molecular moral forces that wo... more »
Police Officer Found Not Guilty In Freddie Gray Trial
A Maryland police officer has been found not guilty on all charges relating to the death of Freddie Gray who died last year from injuries sustained while being transported under police custody in a van. Gray, a 25-year-old African American man, died a week after his arrest from injuries sustained while in police custody Edward Nero is the first of six officers charged to receive a verdict since Gray’s death sparked uprising in the city more than a year ago. Russia Today reports: The verdict was delivered on Monday morning by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams. Prosecut... more »
UK Gov’t Buries Report on Islamic Extremism in Prison
[image: Prison Fence - 900] The United Kingdom's government buried a report showing the extent to which extremist Muslims have infiltrated and influenced the prison system, and just how afraid employees are to challenge them. The report, conducted by Ian Acheson, found there is a total of 120,000... more »
Putin Can Destroy Hillary Clinton’s Political Career
The US Presidential election is turning into a game of high stakes poker as Trump ups the ante and Clinton hopes to limp over the line. But there may be a new active player in the game – his name is Vladimir Putin and he is holding the aces. The word from the Kremlin is that the cyber-intelligence department are sitting on over 10,000 of Hillary Clinton’s emails. Think this is a bluff? Let’s look at the facts. The Romanian hacker Guccifer (real name Marcel-Lehel Lazar) was interviewed by the New York Times in November 2014 from a Romanian prison where he was serving jail time. Th... more »
Some lessons to remember on Budget Week, so listen up
Why do democracies fail? *“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always vote for the candidate promising the most benefits from the treasury…”* ~ Attributed to Alexander Tytler (unverified) You’ll hear all the ‘good’ reasons on Budget Week for looting… *"There is always good and sufficient reason for more and more taxes. Solomon's temple, the roads of Rome, the rearing of 'infant industries,' military ... more »
U.S. Continues to Destabilize Moldova - Confronted by Locals
Vineyard of the Saker reports in part: Recently, Robert D. Kaplan, a former Stratfor *Chief* Geopolitical Analyst, and currently a senior fellow at the *Center for a New American Security* (CNAS) published a book “*In Europe’s Shadow*” where he lays out a plan to reunite Romania with “its lost province of Moldova.” US Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland [who ran the 2014 coup in Ukraine] visited Moldova back in January, with the task to coerce Moldova’s government and its oligarchs to change the country’s Constitution provision of neutrality. Before ... more »
Editor's Note
Today is a national holiday in Canada. So in the spirit of being a Canadian I am off to a Bar-BQ. Blogging will return tonight .... unless I consume too many alcoholic beverages. *Update 8:25 EST*: I drank too many alcoholic beverages. Thank God the GF was the designated driver for me last night .... otherwise I would still be at my friend's place .... passed out on the floor .... naked .... and with a tattoo somewhere on my body. Blogging will return as soon as the cobwebs are clear from my brain.
Turkey Is Threatening To Suspend Agreements With The EU
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, May 23, 2016. © Kayhan Ozer / Reuters *Ekathimerini/Reuters*: *Erdogan adviser warns Turkey could suspend EU agreements* Turkey could suspend all of its agreements with the European Union, including a customs union, if the bloc continues its "double standards" in talks with Ankara, an adviser to President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. Speaking on state broadcaster TRT Haber, Yigit Bulut, who advises Erdogan on the economy, warned that if Europe... more »
Iranians Are Watching The U.S. Election Race Closely
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump on January 14, 2016, and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton on February 4, 2016. (AFP/DSK) *WNU Editor*: Apparently the Iranian public is interested in the U.S. Presidential election .... *Wild US election fascinates, worries Iran after nuclear deal* (AP). As for the Iranian leadership .... apparently they like Senator Bernie Sanders .... *Iran's Mullahs Love Bernie Sanders, Worry About Trump And Clinton* (Daily Caller). Hmmmm .... someone should tell the Mullahs that US Senator Bernie Sanders is Jewish.
North Korean Official: No Donald Trump - Kim Jong Un Meeting
A combination photo shows a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) handout of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un released on May 10, 2016, and Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump posing for a photo after an interview with Reuters in his office in Trump Tower. REUTERS/KCNA HANDOUT VIA REUTERS/FILE PHOTO & REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON/FILE PHOTO *Reuters*: *North Korean envoy rejects Trump overture to meet leader* U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a "kind of propaganda or advertisement" in his election race, a s... more »
U.S. Embassy In Venezuela Has Stopped Issuing First-Time Visas
A view shows the U.S. embassy building in Caracas March 4, 2015. REUTERS/CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS *FOX News*: *U.S. Embassy in Venezuela halts new visas because of overwhelming demand* CARACAS, VENEZUELA – The U.S. Embassy in Venezuela has temporarily stopped scheduling appointments for first-time visa seekers because of the overwhelming demand, the consular office announced. The measure applies to all new tourist and business visas, for which an average of 1,800 applications were being filed daily. Officials at the embassy said they simply don’t have enough staff to serve that kind... more »
President Obama's 'New Way Forward'
*Kevin Liptak, CNN White House Producer:* *Obama confronts past wars with new way forward* (CNN)President Barack Obama, who entered office vowing to end wars but who has now presided over U.S. military conflicts in a number of countries, arrives in Asia this week to confront aspects of America's wartime past. In a trip meant to further advance his Asia pivot, Obama is opting to embrace the historic symbolism of stops in Vietnam and Hiroshima, Japan — sites filled with complex moral lessons for an involuntary war president. Born 16 years after the Hiroshima atomic blast -- and hims...more »
A Discussin With All 12 Living CIA Directors
*48 Hours CBS:* *The Spymasters -- CIA In The Crosshairs* "48 Hours" Presents: How far should the CIA go to keep America safe? All 12 living CIA directors share their passionate disagreements about the agency's past, its current mission, and its future. *Read more* .... *WNU Editor*: A long video .... but for those who follow the CIA .... a must see.
White House Prepares To Publish Report On How Many Militants And Noncombatant Civilians Have Been Killed Since 2009
*Washington Post: **The foggy numbers of Obama’s wars and non-wars* As the Obama administration prepares to publish a long-delayed accounting of how many militants and noncombatant civilians it has killed since 2009, its statistics may be defined as much by what is left out as by what is included. Release of the information was first envisioned three years ago this month, as part of strict new guidelines President Obama announced for the United States’ controversial use of drones and other forms of lethal force to battle terrorism abroad. Such operations, Obama said in a 2013 spee... more »
Did President Obama's Negative View On U.S. Engagement In The Middle East Produce The Disaster That Is Now Unfolding?
President Obama meeting in the Oval Office in late August with his national security advisers to discuss strategy on Syria, in a photo released by the White House. Credit Pete Souza/White House *Fred Hiatt, Washington Post:* *Obama’s fatal fatalism in the Middle East* Surveying the wreckage of the Middle East and the fraying of Europe, President Obama understandably would like us to believe that no other policy could have worked better. The United States has tried them all, his administration argues: massive invasion, in Iraq; surgical intervention, in Libya; studied aloofness, in ... more »
The U.S. Drone Strike Against Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour Crossed A Number Of 'Red Lines'
*Kathy Gilsinan, The Atlantic:* *The Drone War Crosses Another Line* *America took an unprecedented step over the weekend.* Following the death of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour in an American drone strike in Pakistan on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry remarked that “Peace is what we want” in Afghanistan. “Mansour,” he said, “was a threat to that effort.” Confirming Mansour’s death on Monday, President Barack Obama said the Taliban’s chief, who had held the position officially for less than a year, had “rejected efforts by the Afghan government to serio... more »
The U.S. Reluctantly Supports The Kurds In The War Against The Islamic State
Female fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) stand at attention at a military camp in Ras a-Ain January 30, 2015. Picture taken January 30, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said *David Ignatius, Washington Post*: *The new coalition to destroy the Islamic State* The raw Sunni recruits in crisp camouflage uniforms, popping off rounds at the firing range at a U.S. training camp here, illustrate the dilemma for the United States as it seeks to form a strong military force to drive the Islamic State from its capital, Raqqah. The United States could try to build the Sunni army it wo... more »
World News Briefs -- May 23, 2016
*Wall Street Journal:* *Iraq Begins Assault on Islamic State in Fallujah* Fallujah one of Islamic State’s most significant remaining strongholds in Iraq BAGHDAD—Iraqi forces have begun their assault on Islamic State in Fallujah, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said late Sunday, an operation that aims to evict the extremists from one of their last major territorial holdings in Iraq. “The moment of real victory has come, and Daesh has no option but to flee,” Mr. Abadi told state TV, using an Arabic acronym for the Sunni extremist group. The operation follows months of planning and ... more »
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 23, 2016
*L.A. Times*: *Obama on Taliban leader's death: U.S. strike doesn't change military role in Afghanistan* President Obama said Monday he made the call to kill Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in Pakistan this week because the Taliban leader was specifically targeting U.S. troops and other personnel in Afghanistan. But the strike does not mean the U.S. is jumping back into regular combat operations in the region, Obama said during a news conference on a trip through Asia. “This does not represent a shift in our approach,” Obama said, emphasizing that the U.S. mission is to “help Afgh... more »
VA Secretary McDonald Compares Health-Care Lines to Disney
[image: In this photo taken, Nov. 7, 2014, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald speaks about his efforts to improve veterans services during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. McDonald told reporters on Monday, May 23, 2016, that the VA should not use wait times as a measure of success because Disney doesn't either.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans criticized Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald Monday after he compared wait times to receive VA health care to the hours people wait for rides at Disney theme parks. McDonald told reporters that the VA... more »
Graham Hancock - Lost Civilisation 10,500 BC - A species with Amnesia
*Where did our Clever Ancestors go?* in case you haven't already seen it, here's Graham Hancock delivering his full lecture A SPECIES WITH AMNESIA at the Megalithomania Conference in Johannesburg, March 13th-14th 2011 co-hosted by Michael Tellinger.
Off Duty Israeli Police Brutally Attack Palestinian Worker
Two Israeli border police in plain clothes, viciously attacked a Palestinian worker outside a supermarket in central Tel Aviv worker on Sunday. The incident which was caught on security camera began when the man refused to show his ID to the off duty cops, because he didn’t know who they were Later the injured man, 19 year old Maysam Abu Alqian, who was lucky to survive, was accused of violence towards his attackers for biting an officer. Haaretz reports: The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon at the Super Yuda supermarket on Ibn Gabirol Street, opposite the Tel Aviv municipality... more »
Saudi Arabia: U.S. Orchestrated 9/11 To Create Fake ‘War On Terror’
Saudi Arabia have issued a scathing attack on the U.S. government, accusing them of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks in order to justify an on-going “war on terror” in the Middle East. The Saudi press have hit back at the U.S. Senate’s vote approving a bill that allows the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi regime for their deaths. Al-Hayat daily newspaper published an article this week saying that the U.S. government planned the attacks on the World Trade Center in order to create a fake war on terror. Breitbart.com reports: The article, written by Saudi legal expert Katib al... more »
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