10:45 pm MST
Picture Of The Day
Members of the Iraqi rapid response forces fire a missile toward Islamic State militants during a battle in Somer district of eastern Mosul. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani *WNU Editor*: A photo gallery on the battle for Mosul can* be seen here.*
This Professor Is Teaching The NSA's Best Hackers
PPP group photo after winning @Defcon CTF 2016 pic.twitter.com/BpDYmMH7nA — David Brumley (@thedavidbrumley) August 8, 2016 *Cyber Scoop*: *Meet the man responsible for teaching some of the NSA’s best young hackers* The National Security Agency is an enormous organization by nearly any corporate standard, with more than 35,000 employees. Former Deputy Director Chris Inglis once joked that the spy agency is “the biggest employer of introverts.” More frequently though, the NSA refers to itself as the largest employer of mathematicians. In recent years, while the U.S. has continuous... more »
Inauguration Day Weather Forecast: 54 Degrees, Coudy, Light Wind, Chance Of Golden Showers
*-by Skip Kaltenheuser* If the as yet unverified and unsubstantiated report on Russian spies with Trump scandals in their pockets turns out to be even half true, I’ll be gobsmacked. It would be hard to comprehend that when Trump-- a global traveler with insights into the underworld and anything-goes weasels like Roy Cohn-- was traveling in Russia he didn’t quickly grasp that many hotels, loaded with hookers with mobster supervisors, would have rooms wired for surveillance. That could only be ignored by someone with no control over his appetites and/or is a risk-adrenaline junkie a... more »
Irradiated Sailors and the USS Ronald Reagan's Operation Tomodachi
A friend sent a link to a recent update on US sailors' efforts to bring attention to their radiation exposure while serving on the USS Ronald Reagan while it was responding to the earthquake and tsunami damage. The sailors have an unexpected ally in a former prime minister: MOTOKO RICH. January 2, 2017. Ex-Leader of Japan Turns Nuclear Foe. The Asahi Shimbun (originally published in New York Times) http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/SDI201701026164.html TOKYO--William Zeller, a petty officer second class in the U.S. Navy, was one of hundreds of sailors who rushed to provide assis... more »
Trump Never Got 2-page Summary of Allegations; Intel Director Backpedals
[image: trump-never-got-2-page-summary-of-allegations-intel-director-backpedals] The intelligence community and the liberal mainstream media have used the existence of a document that no one has verified to attack President-elect Donald Trump. As more of the story comes out, that attack appears to be backfiring. CNN is quickly losing what credibility it had left and the intelligence community appears to be attempting to distance itself from the document it considered worthy of adding to the official report on the — also unproven — allegations of a Russian campaign to influence the e... more »
White House Expands The Power Of The NSA
James R. Clapper, center, the director of national intelligence, with Adm. Michael S. Rogers, right, director of the National Security Agency, during a Senate hearing last week. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times *New York Times*: *N.S.A. Gets More Latitude to Share Intercepted Communications* WASHINGTON — In its final days, the Obama administration has expanded the power of the National Security Agency to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections. The new rules significantly r... more »
‘Neoliberalism’? What the hell *is* that?
I’m always fascinated to see what it is that opponents like to characterise as “neoliberal.” I say “opponents” because as far as I know no-one ever at any time or place in history has characterised *themselves *as a neoliberal. It’s always a way of characterising “the other” (did you see what I did there?) – and, by noticing who shovels out the term, an excellent way to identify an idiot. And here’s one right here: Martyn Martin Bradbury, writing this afternoon that Bill English’s Big Idea of so-called ‘Social Investment’ “is simply mass surveillance of beneficiaries designed ... more »
U.S. Ends Special Immigration Policy For Cubans
*Reuters:* *Obama administration ends special immigration policy for Cubans* The Obama administration on Thursday announced the repeal of a measure granting automatic residency to virtually every Cuban who arrived in the United States, whether or not they had visas, ending a longstanding exception to U.S. immigration policy. The end of the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, which allowed any Cuban who reached U.S. soil to stay but returned any picked up at sea, is effective immediately. Cuban officials had sought the change for years. The shift had been in the works for months. It was a... more »
Musical Interlude: 2002, “A Gift of Life”
2002, “A Gift of Life” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7NsHlYVL6s
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Large spiral galaxy NGC 891 spans about 100 thousand light-years and is seen almost exactly edge-on from our perspective. In fact, about 30 million light-years distant in the constellation Andromeda, NGC 891 looks a lot like our Milky Way. *Click image for larger size.* At first glance, it has a flat, thin, galactic disk of stars and a central bulge cut along the middle by regions of dark obscuring dust. But remarkably apparent in NGC 891's edge-on presentation are filaments of dust that extend hundreds of light-years above and below the center line. The dust has likely been blown ... more »
Chet Raymo, "To Each His Own"
*"To Each His Own"* by Chet Raymo "Since I wrote about Elizabeth Mayer's book "Extraordinary Knowing" I've been engaged in several discussions about the possibility, or even likelihood, that so-called paranormal phenomena might be real- ESP, remote viewing, communication with the dead, astrology, divinely answered prayers, miracles, and so on, all of which I have in one place or the other dismissed as- ah, bunk. Isn't it presumptuous of science to diss what it doesn't understand? say my critics. Elizabeth Mayer says as much in her book when she quotes Shakespeare's Hamlet: "There a... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Como, Lombardia, Italy. Thanks for stopping by!
The Poet: Langston Hughes, "Mother To Son"
*"Mother To Son"* "Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor- Bare. But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on, And reachin' landin's, And turnin' corners, And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light. So, boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps. 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard. Don't you fall now- For I'se still goin', honey, I'se still climbin', And life for me ain't been no crystal stair." - Langston Hughes
"Compromise..."
“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"How Stress Can Cause A Heart Attack"
*"How Stress Can Cause A Heart Attack"* by Carolyn Gregoire "A stressful, high-octane lifestyle is probably one of the worst things you can do for your heart, and cardiologists now have a better understanding of why. In a large-scale longitudinal study, published Wednesday in the medical journal "The Lancet," a team of cardiologists at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found that stress increases heart attack risk by way of an overactive amygdala in the brain. The amygdala is the brain’s fear center. The small, almond-shaped region in the temporal lobe lights u... more »
BREAKING: Syria Accuses Israel of Bombing Airport, Vows to Retaliate
[image: israel]Minutes ago, Syria's state news channel announced that Israel bombed the Mezzeh Military airport, accusing Tel Aviv of supporting terrorism.
F. William Engdahl: Strategic denial of oil in Haiti? + The Fateful Geological Prize Called Haiti
dandelionsalad at F. William Engdahl: Strategic denial of oil in Haiti? + The Fateful Geological Prize Called Haiti – Dandelion Salad - 3 hours ago
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/ TheRealNews February 19, 2010 Engdahl: Geo-physics suggest there could be massive oil and mineral deposits in Haiti on vodpod: Strategic denial of oil in Haiti? *** The Fateful Geological Prize Called Haiti by F. William Engdahl Global Research, January 30, 2010 President becomes UN Special Envoy to earthquake-stricken Haiti. A born-again neo-conservative US business […]
C-Span Was Hacked By A Russian News Website
Here's the moment Russia Today took over the C-SPAN1 feed. Unclear what happened. RT aired for about ten minutes before C-SPAN1 came back. pic.twitter.com/mhWVgCoFxF — Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 12, 2017 *Politico*: *C-SPAN 'investigating' why congressional livestream switched to Russia Today* On Thursday afternoon, C-SPAN's online live video coverage of Congress abruptly abruptly switched to a live feed of the Kremlin-backed news channel Russia Today. The livestream continued to show RT for about 10 minutes, before switching back to C-SPAN. The sudden cut to RT, an Engl... more »
Communist Chinese Dictator to Push Globalism at World Economic Forum
[image: communist-chinese-dictator-to-push-globalism-at-world-economic-forum] A mass-murdering communist dictator, some billionaire crony capitalists, mega-bankers, and a gaggle of out-of-touch globalist politicians walk into a summit. Unfortunately, there is no punch line, and it is not a joke — it is actually a description of the upcoming World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the controversial annual gathering of globalists and establishment types. But at least the mask is finally coming off. With the globalist establishment in the United States on defense amid a historic uprising... more »
Crime Watch: Incoming! Beware of flying cheese!
*Um, weaponized cheese?* There are 8 million stories in the Naked City, and some of them are stories you know are serious but you nevertheless can't resist, you know, smiling at. Possibly even guffawing. Like this story from our Crime Watch team. *-- Ken* UPPER EAST SIDE and ROOSEVELT ISLAND Crime and Mayhem *Man Chucks Block of Cheese at Morton Williams Shopper, Police Say* By Shaye Weaver | Updated January 9, 2017 8:29am *The Morton Williams at 1066 Third Ave.* UPPER EAST SIDE -- A man threw a block of cheese at a Morton Williams shopper during an argument outside the groc... more »
BREAKING NEWS: Israeli Airstrikes Target Military Airport Near Damascus
BREAKING: Explosions hit Damascus military airport by Israeli military, according to Syrian media. pic.twitter.com/PAXj8zzprC — Jewish Feed (@JewishFeed) January 12, 2017 *Haaretz:* *Syrian Army Accuses Israel of Attacking Strategic Military Airport Near Damascus* *Army command says Israel fired rockets at air base, warns or repercussions over ' flagrant' attack.* Several major explosions hit Mezzah military airport compound near the Syrian capital Damascus, and ambulances were rushed to the area, Syrian state television said on Friday. Syrian army command said Israel had fired ... more »
Breaking: Israel Attacks Syria... Yet Again
*RT as it unfolds* *Undoubtedly in support of their terrorists.. * Syrian state news agency SANA says Israeli jets have bombed the Mezzeh military airport west of Damascus, accusing Tel Aviv of supporting terrorism. The airport was rocked by multiple explosions, with ambulances rushing to the scene. *The Syrian Arab Army has warned that there will be repercussions for Israel for the “flagrant attack” *on the military base, state TV said, citing a Syrian army command spokesman. It also linked the alleged strike t*o Israel’s “support of terrorist groups.”* The army said several missi... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 12, 2017
*Riyadh Mohammed, Foreign Affairs:* *The Fight for Mosul* *Why It's Taking Longer Than Expected* As the battle to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) stretches into its fourth month, the Iraqi army has won applause from the far corners of the globe. U.S. Brigadier General Rick Uribe said the Iraqi forces are “at their peak” and “will continue to improve because of the lessons they are learning on a daily basis.” Nevertheless, the battle is expected to last many more months. *AN ISIS STRONGHOLD* In June 2014, ISIS captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city in ... more »
Turkey, Russia sign agreement of coordinating air operations in Syria
Link Turkey and Russia signed an agreement on Thursday to establish mechanisms and coordination for the safety of military aviation in Syria, the Turkish army said. The meetings were held in Moscow between the Russian and Turkish military representatives to ensure the flight security during operations in Syria, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on its website. "The purpose of the deal is to specify the mechanisms for coordination and cooperation for flight safety of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Turkish Air Force during offensive against terrorist targets," the stateme... more »
Climate Change: The Potential Impacts of Collective Inaction by Graham Peebles
dandelionsalad at F. William Engdahl: Strategic denial of oil in Haiti? + The Fateful Geological Prize Called Haiti – Dandelion Salad - 6 hours ago
by Graham Peebles Writer, Dandelion Salad London, England January 12, 2017 In the early 1900s when the idea that industrialisation could potentially result in global warming was first posited, the consensus was that it was unlikely, and in any case, an increase in temperature was to be welcomed. What possible harm could it do? Well, […]
Sen. Markey vs. Tillerson Round 1: Exxon’s International Holdings and Ethics
Link: http://youtu.be/sG8hvoOhdmE All Caps Text from C-Span, emphasis our own: >> SENATOR MARKEY: >> MR. TILLERSON, DURING YOUR TENURE AS … Continue reading →
Jan.12: A long one. Sorry.
Get used to it. Last night, I watched interviews with U.S. senators and other notables. The (unintentional) message was clear. Get used to it. American democracy is over; and it's not likely to come back. Trump is a part of this collapse. But he isn't the cause of it. The cause happened decades ago. Trump (and Clinton) are products of a collapsed democracy. But neither of them is the cause of it. This final stage of collapse began with George Bush jr., though he was really no more than a puppet for American big business. Obama, for all his image, followed the Bush path. So will Tru... more »
Senate Passes First Step To Repeal ObamaCare, Rand Paul Goes His Own Way
[image: senate-passes-first-step-to-repeal-obamacare-rand-paul-goes-his-own-way] Every Republican except Rand Paul voted on January 12 to approve a budget resolution that would dismantle the Affordable Care Act — popularly known as ObamaCare.
World News Briefs -- January 12, 2017
*New York Times*:* ‘Symbol of Hope’: U.N. Chief Says Deal to End Cyprus Conflict Could Be Near* GENEVA — Could the conflict in Cyprus, one of the world’s longest-running stalemates, be finally coming to an end? The foreign ministers of Britain, Greece and Turkey met in Geneva on Thursday with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, the first time such a high-level gathering had taken place in the four decades since the island’s partition, in 1974. The meeting — coming one day after the two sides detailed their visions of how internal boundaries might be redrawn, another first ... more »
The Doors drummer John Densmore to Barack Obama: Apologize to Native Americans
In an op-ed, the Doors drummer salutes Standing Rock protectors and advocates for the pardon of activist Leonard Peltier The Doors' John Densmore calls on Barack Obama to apologize to Native Americans for centuries of injustice and pardon activist Leonard Peltier in a passionate new op-ed for Rolling Stone. Densmore has long advocated on behalf of Native Americans and even immersed himself in their music (he joined the group Burning Sky on their 2002 record, Spirits In the Wind). As he notes in his piece, he also previously lobbied Bill Clinton on behalf of Peltier While Clinton ... more »
Quote of the Day: On ‘renewable energy’
*“Suggesting that renewables will let us phase rapidly off fossil fuels .. is almost the equivalent of believing in the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy.”* ~ former NASA scientist and current uber-climate-alarmist James Hansen (quoted in ‘James Hansen Smacks Renewable Energy’) . Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Permission to republish is granted, with attribution.
Rivendell, by Laurie Virr
[image: img_04] Architect Laurie Virr has lived worked in Canberra most of his life, where he has been something of an apostle for organic architecture, especially that practiced by Frank Lloyd Wright. His first house in 1969 was (and still is) *an unusual Canberra example of the late twentieth century organic style of architecture based on a triangular module. The house was Laurie’s first commission in Canberra and displays the themes he would explore in his residential projects over the next three decades: the use of massing, geometric forms and deep roof overhangs in an en... more »
Research Confirms this Holistic Treatment is Safer and More Effective than Morphine
*Anna Hunt* - Acupuncture is again confirmed as a highly effective treatment for pain with no negative side-effects. The post Research Confirms this Holistic Treatment is Safer and More Effective than Morphine appeared first on Waking Times.
National Academy of Sciences Issues Landmark Statement on Medical Cannabis
*Alex Pietrowski* - It completely contradicts the DEA's position on this natural medicine. The post National Academy of Sciences Issues Landmark Statement on Medical Cannabis appeared first on Waking Times.
History of Econ Summer Camp
Graduate students with an interest in the history of economic thought should consider this opportunity.
The Electoral College: The Best Way to Pick a President
[image: the-electoral-college-the-best-way-to-pick-a-president] Most Americans would be at a loss to explain why the Electoral College is important, even as liberals rage against it. Here’s why.
And Not a Shot Is Fired: Baltimore City Council Assents to Federal Consent Decree Over Its Police Department
[image: and-not-a-shot-is-fired-baltimore-city-council-assents-to-federal-consent-decree-over-its-police-department] In the consent decree that was forced on the city of Baltimore by the federal government, for those with eyes to see, the pattern of the takeover is clear.
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- January 12, 2017
*Daily Mail*:* Intelligence chief calls Trump after his fury at spies over fake dossier: President-elect says James Clapper got in touch to 'denounce false and fictitious report'* * Trump says James Clapper phoned him about 'illegally circulated' document full of 'phony facts' * President-elect's tweet does not make clear if bitter split with intelligence community is healed * Clapper said he conveyed his 'dismay' to Donald Trump during a discussion on Wednesday evening * He said that the media had obtained the document before the U.S. intelligence community had seen it * The U.S.... more »
Republican Person Of The Year Nominee #5 -- and Winner!
*2016 In Review: America Off The Rails, Part 10* *"A mind sequestered in its own delusions is to reason invincible."* *-- Dante* [*You can click on nearly all the cartoons to enlarge.*] *by Noah* You know who it has to be. There can only be one winner in the race to total republican douchebaggery. The winner has to be someone who exemplifies and embodies a lionshare of the delusional dysfunction, insanity, anger born of frustration of all kinds, wackjob qualities, and bigotries that make up the republican ideal. Many felt called; the republican primary race alone had 17 or 18 con... more »
Untitled
*Louisiana's disappearing wetlands, seen through decades of environmental photojournalism ~Ted Jackson*
It doesn't look good for John McCain...
*some times the best ways to find the truth is to ask questions.* My first question about anything reported in the "news", is always "cui bono (who benefits)?" Certainly, McCain benefits by undermining Trump. But so do a gazillion other people. However, the question that keeps popping up in my little pea brain is, "Why McCain?" Why was McCain, out of all the people who could have been given the so-called explosive dossier on Trump, singled out to be the recipient? Except, was he? It seems this dossier has been floating around for quite some time. At least that's what we're now... more »
Iraq's War Against The Islamic State -- News Updates January 12, 2017
*DW*: *Civilian casualties soared in Iraq in 2016* *The year 2016 proved to be a violent one for Iraq. A nongovernmental organization reports that thousands of civilians were killed last year.* It was a bloody conclusion to a bloody year: A suicide bombing at a busy market in the Al-Sinek district in Baghdad killed 27 people on New Year's Eve and injured over 50. Iraq had not seen peaceful times since the US invasion in 2003. Violence was still commonplace in 2016. According to a report drawn up by the project "Iraq Body Count"(IBC), in the past year, a total of 16,361 civilians ... more »
One factual error corrected
The BBC's Corrections and Clarifications page now carries the following 'clarification': This is a partial success for BBC Watch whose complaint brought that brief summary (on the BBC's Corrections and Clarifications page) about. They are still pursuing other parts of their complaint. The BBC's response to BBC Watch (re Shaun Ley on *The World Tonight*) is worth sharing - though you will have to click on it to enlarge it in order to read it!:
Flight of the Gossamer Condor
Gossamer Albatross Short The Light Stuff (part 1 of 3)
space cowboy
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." Albert Einstein
Germaphobia
"I'm also very much of a germaphobe by the way. Believe me". So said Donald Trump yesterday. After playing a clip of him saying so this on this lunchtime's *The World at One*, Martha Kearney said (with a droll laugh): Coining a new word there I think! Now Martha really should have Googled around before saying that. Just because Donald Trump knows a word she doesn't know doesn't necessarily mean that silly Mr Trump has just made it up. Google tells me that 'germaphobe' is the informal word for someone suffering from 'Mysophobia'. Its growth in popularity (as a word) rose steeply ... more »
Economics in the time of Trump... plus Dylann "Eratratos" Roof
Toward the end of this posting, I will comment on how the Dylann Roof trial perfectly illustrates one of my ongoing themes called the "Erastratos Effect." But first... *== A jumble: economics, politics and the future ==* Evonomics chose my essay - The Ultimate Answer to Government is Useless - to cap off a tumultuous year, and to welcome one that might be much better. That is, if we choose to remember where all our good stuff came from. All our wealth, comforts, adventures, illuminations, fun and progress came from a civilization that (till recently) encouraged negotiation based o... more »
Syrian War News Updates -- January 12, 2017
*DW*: *UN warns of 'imminent danger' of escalation in Syria* Regime forces have launched an offensive to retake water sources near Damascus, independent monitors have reported. But the UN cautioned warring parties of escalating the situation as a ceasefire holds across the nation. The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Thursday said a nationwide ceasefire was "largely holding with some exceptions" as independent war monitors reported airstrikes near Damascus. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces stepped up a campaign to wrestle Wadi Barada on... more »
Midday Musical Interlude: Kevin Kern, “Another Realm”
Kevin Kern, “Another Realm” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oSOMLWvHuI
“Obama: War Criminal, Butcherer of Women and Children”
*“Obama: War Criminal, Butcherer of Women and Children”* by Paul Craig Roberts "There is no doubt that US President Barack Obama is a war criminal as are his military and intelligence officials and most of the House and Senate. Obama is the first president to keep the US at war for the entirety of his eight-year regime. During 2016 alone the US dropped 26,171 bombs on wedding parties, funerals, kid’s soccer games, hospitals, schools, people in their homes and walking their streets, and farmers tilling their fields in seven countries: Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia a... more »
The Economy: "The One Thing Team Trump Will Fight Hardest to Prevent"
*"The One Thing Team Trump Will Fight Hardest to Prevent"* by Bill Bonner "Bloomberg reports that a panel of Nobel Prize-winning economists has given Donald Trump’s economic policies the thumbs down. Professor and former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz summed up the views of the panel, ‘which included his fellow Columbia University professor Edmund Phelps and Yale University’s Robert Shiller’: ‘There is a broad consensus that the kind of policies that our president-elect has proposed are among the polices that will not work.’ Some of the guff coming out in the press is i... more »
“IQ: A Skeptic’s View”
*“IQ: A Skeptic’s View”* by Fred Reed "Intelligence is worth talking about because both the reality of intelligence and perceptions regarding intelligence set limits on the possible and influence policy. For example, if the population of India on average really is below borderline retardation, the country can never amount to anything. If Latino immigrants really are as stupid as white nationalists hope, then they will always inhabit an underclass and, through intermarriage, enstupidate the American population. IQists– those who believe that IQ is a reliable measure of intelligence... more »
State Law Will Fine Schools $1,500 if They Fail to Force 100% of Students to Say Pledge
[image: pledge]One state legislator is now sponsoring a bill to fine schools $1,500 for not forcing students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in the first hour of the day.
Map of stereotypes of the UK
From Amazing Maps (and one likely to slightly crash into our side bar):
Tillerson’s True Self Emerged Under Merkley Grilling re Sanctions: Tillerson Doesn’t Care About US Policy Goals But Only Letter of the Law
Tillerson made it clear that he only believes in letter of the law sanctions, whereas Senator Merkley tried to get … Continue reading →
Europe Erecting Defenses To Counter Possible Russian Cyber Attacks And Disinformation
*Reuters:* *Europe erects defenses to counter Russia's information war* Nations in Europe, where Germany and France this year hold elections, are erecting defenses to counter possible Russian cyber attacks and disinformation to sway Western politics, but intelligence experts say this might be too little and too late. The issue of Russian "influence operations" has taken on new urgency after U.S. intelligence agencies released a non-classified assessment that President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to move the U.S. election in favor of Donald Trump. European nations and NATO ar... more »
Rex Tillerson Clashes With Neocons At Confirmation Hearing
Though former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson faced some sharp questions on climate change, the real clashes during his confirmation hearing for secretary of state came from neoconservative senators-principally Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ). Both demanded Tillerson accept their line on a number of issues. Due The post Rex Tillerson Clashes With Neocons At Confirmation Hearing appeared first on Shadowproof.
A TALE OF TWO REPORTS!
Starting with the bold exclamation quoted in the title of this post, Number 88 at *Biased BBC* has spotted an absolutely astonishing pair of contrasting reports about a special away-day session at the University of Oxford held by Parliament's Education Select Committee. He has in mind the respective accounts from the BBC and the *Daily Telegraph*, and I'd urge you to read both of them back-to-back. Number 88 is not wrong when he writes: MSM reporting of the proceedings is diametrically opposed and the differences in the account of the evidence given by this man, Professor Alistai... more »
Intelligence Community and Media Threaten Liberty in Maligning Trump
[image: intelligence-community-and-media-threaten-liberty-in-attacking-trump] As the spurious allegations of the intelligence community — including an unconfirmed litany of ridiculous claims of bizarre sexual goings-on — against President-elect Trump continue to fill headlines, they appear to say more about those making and repeating the allegations than they do about the man being so unceremoniously maligned.
Officers’ Lawsuit Against Marilyn Mosby in Freddie Gray Case Allowed to Proceed
[image: officers-lawsuit-against-marilyn-mosby-in-freddie-gray-case-allowed-to-proceed] The discovery process in the case against Baltimore's state attorney Marilyn Mosby for malicious prosecution of six officers in the Freddie Gray case has the potential to uncover much of Mosby's intentions, connections, and deliberate assault on the judicial process in Baltimore.
Russia Says US Troops Being Deployed To Poland Are A Threat To National Security
*BBC*: *US tanks and troops in Poland a threat, Russia says* Russia says it views the arrival of more than 3,000 US soldiers in Poland as a threat to its own security. The troops are part of President Barack Obama's response to reassure Nato allies concerned about a more aggressive Russia. It is the largest US military reinforcement of Europe in decades. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC that the move "threatens our interests and our security". "It's a third country that is building up its military presence on our borders in Europe," he said. "It isn... more »
IQ: A Skeptic’s View
Intelligence is worth talking about because both the reality of intelligence and perceptions regarding intelligence set limits on the possible and influence policy. For example, if the population of India on average really is below borderline retardation, the country can … Continue reading →
US Deploys Sea-Based X-Band Radar Ship To Monitor North Korean Missile Launches
The Sea-based, X-band Radar (SBX 1) is seen as it transits the waters of Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam, Hawaii, US in this file photoCourtesy Daniel Barker/U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS) *IBTimes: **Pentagon deploys high-tech radar in response to North Korea's ICBM threat, says official* Earlier this month, Kim Jong-un said his country was close to test-launching a long-range missile. The Pentagon has deployed a high-tech military radar to watch for a possible North Korean Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch in the coming months, a US defence official said. Th... more »
China Unveils Its Newest 'Spy Ship'
The People's Liberation Army Navy holds a ceremony to celebrate the commissioning of the CNS Kaiyangxing on Tuesday.Provided To China Daily *Reuters*: China launches new electronic intelligence naval ship China's Navy has launched a new electronic reconnaissance ship, state media said on Thursday, the latest addition to an expanding fleet and as Beijing's new assertiveness to territorial claims in the South China Sea fuels tensions. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) now operates six electronic reconnaissance vessels, the official English-language China Daily newspaper said, noti... more »
CIA NeoCons pulling out all stops against Trump Presidency - including using Canada?
*Video of entire President-Elect Trump* *Press Conference in New York* In the last days leading up to the Trump inauguration, the CIA/DEEP STATE has led Washington and Trump on a reckless rollercoaster ride from one media-fueled crisis to another...each one more fantabulous and desperate than the last. Some even doubt whether the inauguration will be allowed to take place at all. Yesterday's press conference by Trump (see video of entire press conference above. This is a "must watch") was a masterful performance by Trump in debunking their latest attempt to nullify his electoral ... more »
The Mental Health of Smart Cities
Not the mental health of the people living in smart cities, but that of the cities themselves. Why not? We are building smart cities to be able to sense, think, and act; their perceptions, thoughts, and actions won’t be remotely human, or even biological, but that doesn’t make them any less real.
WATCH: Cop Kills Unarmed Mentally Ill Man for Holding an E-Cig — No Charges
[image: olango] The officer who fatally shot a distressed black man, Alfred Olango, who was "acting erratically" and holding a vape pen will not be charged with a crime
Hendry Review Backs £1.3bn Swansea Bay White Elephant
By Paul Homewood http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-38571240 As expected, Charles Hendry’s supposedly independent review has come out in favour of the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project. From the BBC: Plans for a £1.3bn tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay have been backed by a government-commissioned review. Charles Hendry’s independent report into the technology’s viability said it […]
JARED KUSHNER, THUG LANDLORD
Be thankful you don't have Jared Kushner as your landlord. *The Village Voice* reports: For tenants in Jared Kushner’s buildings, seeing their landlord get a top position in the White House is as nightmarish as Donald Trump becoming president is for most New Yorkers. "It’s disgusting. It’s insane. It’s ludicrous," Mary Ann Siwek, who’s lived at 170 East 2nd Street for more than thirty years, said after Trump, Kushner’s father-in-law, tapped him to be an official senior adviser. "I don’t know how to tell you how despicable this man is." Kushner bought the East Village building three... more »
Should Rex Tillerson's Appointment To U.S. Secretary Of State Be Denied Because He Did Not Call Putin A 'War Criminal'?
*Daily Mail:* *Tillerson nomination hangs in the balance after clash with Marco Rubio - who now says he could vote against him: 'I'm prepared to do what's right'* * The most controversial of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominees took his grilling from lawmakers on the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee * Rex Tillerson, Trump's nominee for secretary of state, just retired from Exxon * Came under assault from Democrats on the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee today as well as Florida Republican Marco Rubio * The GOP lawmaker would not commit to voting for the Republica... more »
Pentagon Admits That A Battle With The Taliban Killed 33 Civilians In Afghanistan
Afghans in Kunduz protest against civilian casualties in November. *Washington Post*: *U.S. military says battle with Taliban killed 33 civilians in Afghanistan* KABUL — An investigation into a November firefight between Taliban insurgents and joint U.S. and Afghan forces has concluded that 33 civilians were killed in the operation, the U.S. military said Thursday. The battle took place in northern Kunduz province, and two U.S. soldiers and three Afghan troops were also killed. The operation, in Boz Kandahari village, targeted Taliban leaders the U.S. military said were responsible... more »
China Did Not Answer The Hotline When South Korea Called When China's Bombers Flew Into South Korea's Aid Defense Zone
*UPI:* *South Korea military: China hotline wasn't working when bombers deployed* SEOUL, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A military hotline between China and South Korea was not working when Beijing dispatched 10 strategic bombers to Korea-claimed airspace on Monday. While China eventually told Seoul the planes were dispatched for training purposes, South Korea's military said the hotline was not functioning when it initially reached out to Beijing, South Korean news service News 1 reported Thursday. China told Seoul the planes were dispatched for training purposes, but a South Korea defense o... more »
Thoughts (for “both sides”) on the academic boycott
In the wake of the failed attempt at passing a boycott resolution (of Israeli academic institutions) at the recent MLA conference, here are some thoughts. (Readers of the Duck might be aware that last year’s ISA conference saw a modest attempt at bringing a discussion on BDS forward. That proposal was also voted down.) Let’s […]
It Looks Like The The A-10 Is Here To Stay
*USAF* *Business Insider:* *The legendary A-10 looks like it's here to stay after being upgraded by the Air Force* In another positive sign for the beloved A-10, Air Force maintainers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona have outfitted the Warthog with an upgrade for combat search and rescue missions, or CSAR. Dubbed the lightweight airborne recovery system, the upgrade helps A-10 pilots "communicate more effectively with individuals on the ground such as downed pilots, pararescuemen, and joint terminal attack controllers," according to an Air Force statement. Of all the fi... more »
Who’s Blackmailing the President & Why Aren't Democrats Upset About It?
*Deep State to Trump: "You know what you have to hide. So do we. Are you feeling lucky?"* *by Gaius Publius* Until now, getting into the news and reports about Russia and Trump meant getting into some rather dense weeds (PDF of declassified report here), but with the recent release by Buzzfeed of the full 35-page dossier on Trump and Russia (the explosive one, with the women peeing on Obama's former hotel room bed), which was distilled into a two-page appendix in the classified version of the report, the road to clarity just presented itself. So I offer the text of three tweets (... more »
Happy Full Wolf Moon 2017: What You Need to Know About January's Full Moon
The start of 201*7* brings with it a new year of skywatching, and lunar enthusiasts are gearing up for a stunning lineup of full moons. But, where does the tradition of full moon names come from? Full moon names date back to Native Americans of a few hundred years ago, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. To keep track of the changing seasons, these tribes gave distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There were some variations in the moon names, but in general, the same ones were used thr... more »
Julian Assange - did Russia hack the US Presidential Election?
https://youtu.be/-ix0bsAXygo
Rex Tillerson, a lukewarmer, stands out like a sore thumb in the new era
Donald Trump has said that global warming was a hoax invented by the Chinese in order to weaken America. And believe me, Trump isn't a great fan of China so this link between China and the man-made global warming movement wasn't meant to be a compliment for the latter. He has chosen numerous folks for his administration whose climate realist credentials seem indisputable: Scott Pruitt for the EPA, Cathy McMorris Rodgers for the Interior Department, and Rick Perry for the Department of Energy. Given the fact that Rex Tillerson has served as a CEO of ExxonMobil, you would think that i... more »
Regarding The Greta, no fish today!
*THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017We're fact-checking Cooper v. Conway:* We expect to spend the day fact-checking this week's Wednesday night fight. We refer to last evening's dispiriting battle between CNN's Anderson Cooper and Donald Trump's Kellyanne Conway. To watch the tape of the fight, click here. The full interview lasted 25 minutes. Broken into chunks, it ate up most of Cooper's 8 PM hour. Cooper and Conway were debating the accuracy of a Tuesday report by CNN. This is the way last night's battle got started: COOPER (1/11/17): At today's press conference, [Trump spokesman] Sean... more »
The "Harassed Rancher" Roswell Article
Over at *UFO Conjectures*, hosted by Rich Reynolds, he reproduces the July 9, 1947, newspaper, article from the *Roswell Daily Record*, “Harassed Rancher Who Located ‘Saucer’ Sorry He Told About It,” suggesting that this is the final nail in the Roswell coffin. But I say, “Not so fast.” There are some disturbing things in that article, things that make no sense when you think about them. According to the article, “Brazel related that on June 14 he and an 8-year-old son, Vernon were about 7 or 8 miles from the ranch house of the J.B. Foster ranch, which he operates, when they came u... more »
BREAKING: Trump Says Head of US Intel Admitted to Him Russia Report is ‘Made Up, Phony Facts’
[image: trump]Director of National Intelligence James Clapper spoke with President-elect Trump and said the intelligence community has not deemed a dossier published by BuzzFeed as 'reliable.'
VIDEO: High School Kid Threatened with Taser & Handcuffed — for Jogging — While Black
[image: jogging]A high school teenager was targeted, falsely accused of being a robbery suspect, and handcuffed — for jogging while black.
Dilemma in Mexico
*Mexican Business Update* Since the election of President Trump, my business with Mexican clients has been off the charts. There is a lot of concern south of the border that their economy will continue to tank. It's not just the Mexicans themselves who are concerned, but the global investors are abandoning them as a bad bet. 80% of Mexican exports end up in the United States, and with President Trump's promise to repudiate NAFTA and renegotiate trade (tariffs will help pay for the wall). (Wall Street Journal) Global investors are fleeing Mexico’s financial markets, sending the peso... more »
Journal retracts gastric cancer study with multiple duplications, authors MIA
An oncology journal has decided to retract a 2012 paper on gastric cancer after discovering duplicated data in multiple figures. According to the retraction notice, the journal’s editorial board received a tip from a reader regarding the potential figure issues. Oncology Reports launched an investigation, which confirmed the allegations. The authors failed to respond to […] The post Journal retracts gastric cancer study with multiple duplications, authors MIA appeared first on Retraction Watch.
Fake Food vs. Real Food – A Question of Life or Death
*Julian Rose* - The great majority of supermarket foods are just a brilliant con trick. The post Fake Food vs. Real Food – A Question of Life or Death appeared first on Waking Times.
Editor's Note
Finishing up on some personal stuff right now. Nothing special. Blogging will return at 14:00 EST. Military and Intelligence News Briefs and World news Briefs will be posted later today.
Mosul Campaign Day 87, Jan 11, 2017
More and more neighborhoods are falling to government forces. The Federal Police tookSalam for the third time and Sahiron in the southeast. The Golden Division freed Nisan 7 in the northeast, and began its assaultupon Mosul University. Elements of that unit liberated Sihain the east for the third time, Maliyain the south along the Tigris River and Sadiqfor the second time along with the Rapid Reaction Forces in the south. Sumer, which was declared liberated twice this month, was actually still contested, but the Federal Police saidthey were now in control of 75% of it. The Iraqi f... more »
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. - Alex Hemingway highlights the similarities between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump in pushing infrastructure plans designed primarily to turn the promise of public services into long-term corporate profit centres: But as I described recently in the Canadian context, these “partnerships” have proven enormously costly: “P3s are simply less efficient – on average costing dramatically more than the public sector alternative. And it’s not hard to understand why… Traditional publicly-funded and operated projects… don’t require paying out profits ... more »
TRUMP KICKS JOURNALISTS, AND JOURNALISTS KICK OTHER JOURNALISTS
Of course Trump is going to win his battle with the press if the press won't take its own side in the battle. Here's *New York* magazine's Gabriel Sherman: *At His First News Conference As President-elect, Trump Owns the Press* ... observed as spectacle, Trump came away with a resounding victory. That’s because Trump won even before he stepped before the microphone, by making the media the story. Last night, BuzzFeed published a salacious 35-page oppo-research dossier on Trump that alleged Russia possessed sexual and financial dirt on Trump that could be used to blackmail him.... B... more »
Wild Leopard Obsessed With His Reflection in Jungle Mirror
An imposing male leopard soon became addicted to his own reflection. He would rub his reflection, coating the mirror with the oils, grease from of his paw pads and dribble French photographer Xavier Hubert-Brierre set up a large mirror and hidden cameras in the Gabon rainforest to see how animals would react to their reflections. An imposing male leopard soon became addicted to his own reflection and started to visit the mirror frequently. He would rub his reflection, coating the mirror with the oils that protect his fur, grease from of his paw pads and dribble. During one of hi... more »
Leave Us Poor Plutocrats Alone!
It's been quite the week for rich and powerful people whining about how oppressed they are, hasn't it? Most recently and famously, Celebrity Apprentident Donald Trump complained Wednesday that he feels like he's in Nazi Germany, what with that John LeCarré fan-fic of a dossier alleging that he'd enjoyed a "golden shower" from Russian prostitutes on a Moscow hotel bed once occupied by Michelle and Barack. This claim is ridiculous on its face, said Trump, because he is a well-known germophobe. And that, in turn, reveals Trump's profound scientific ignorance, given that normal urine is... more »
China's Aircraft Carrier Aircraft Carrier Passes Through The Taiwan Strait
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier with accompanying fleet conducts a drill in an area of South China Sea in this undated photo. REUTERS/Stringer *DW*:* Chinese aircraft carrier sails out of Taiwan Strait* China and Taiwan have reported that China's Liaoning aircraft carrier sailed out of the Taiwan Strait. Its passage through the waters dividing the mainland from the island had raised tensions. In a statement posted on the Chinese defense ministry's website, a spokesman for China's army said the Liaoning carrier group was "visiting the South China Sea to conduct cross-maritime regi... more »
Czech Anti-Terror Plan: Arm Citizens to Battle Jihadists
[image: czech-anti-terror-plan-arm-citizens-to-battle-jihadists] After witnessing disarmed French civilians cowering before a few Islamists rampaging through Paris with illegal guns, top officials in the Czech Republic are determined to ensure that similar tragedies do not strike in their own country.
New column day
Here, on how a change in government hasn't done anything to slow the spread of Canada's surveillance state - both in terms of intrusive new legislative proposals, and a continued determination to operate even outside the law. For further reading... - Again, Dave Seglins and Rachel Houlihan reported on the Cold War-era wiretapping approvals which are still being officially denied by the federal government. - Justin Ling documented the history of "lawful access" legislation, along with the more recent effort of Ralph Goodale and the RCMP to repackage the same intrusions in a new mess... more »
Top U.S. Intelligence Chief Calls President-Elect Trump To Tell Him That The Leaks Did Not Come From The Intel Community
James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts.Too bad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017 *Politico*: *Spy chief trashes leaks, assures Trump of loyalty* James Clapper says the intelligence community 'stands ready to serve his administration.' The outgoing U.S. director of national intelligence has extended an olive branch of sorts to Donald Trump — denouncing media leaks, casting skepticism on a report that Russia has damaging material on the president-elect, and assuring Trump... more »
Unencumbered By The Thought Process
Wherever Donald Trump goes, salacious details follow. Jonathan Manthorpe doesn't believe the salacious stuff. He writes: Intelligence reports don’t work that way. They’re usually a jigsaw puzzle of hints and scraps that require much sorting out by highly experienced analysts to form a consistent picture. Even then, the analysts can’t be sure they’ve got it right. And there are many unbelievable elements within the documents themselves. For example, the repeated claim that Putin “fears” a Clinton presidency doesn’t ring true. It’s known that Putin despises Clinton, blaming her fo... more »
A New Way To Clear Mines?
*Brothers' Sweeper* Brothers Massoud (on the right) and Mahmud (on the left) Hassani test out a Mine Kafon Drone. Courtesy of the Hassani brothers *Popular Science*: *These Brothers Built A Mine-Sweeping Drone To Clear Land Mines Without Casualties* Brothers Massoud and Mahmud Hassani grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan, knowing that one wrong step could end their lives. “When we walked to school, we had a special path to follow—otherwise we would end up in a minefield,” Massoud says. Mines are cheap to manufacture and deploy, but slow and expensive to remove. An estimated 110 million la... more »
Is the US Positioning Itself for Military Presence in Myanmar?
*January 12, 2017 *(Joseph Thomas - NEO) - The governments of the United States and United Kingdom have spent decades and millions of dollars creating the political opposition fronts that constitute support for Myanmar's new (and first ever) State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. This support includes backing Suu Kyi's saffron-clad street fronts who make up a nationwide network of "monk" alliances and associations. And it is these alliances and associations that have served at the forefront of persecution against Myanmar's Rohingya minority. Also for years, this violent persecution has... more »
Mike Philbin art - 2017 abstracts - new re-paintings
the first painting(s) of the new year have been done, and they were quite a Nature Event. First: I paint out on the back lawn in t-shirt and joggers, no shoes/socks - it's part of what/why I do... Second: it was about zero degrees to begin with, before the wind picked up... Third: I'd just untaped the first series from the card board - a three-painting repaint - when it started to spit with rain. Only tiny dots, for sure, but I was out there anyway, and I thought I'm not rushing to get these back into the dry any time soon ... let's see what's happen'd when the paintings have drie... more »
Pelosi Upping The Democrats' Game At The House Judiciary Committee For The Age Of Trump
Last week, we predicted that Pelosi would appoint the biggest Wall Street shill among the new freshmen, Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), to the biggest fount of congressional corruption, the House Financial Services Committee. The Finance Sector and the Wall Street banksters financed Gottheimer's election and they expect him to return the favor going forward. Yesterday, Pelosi, gave Wall Street and Gottheimer what they wanted. Placing a corrupt scumbag on the committee, along with two other freshmen sleaze bags, Charlie Crist (FL) and Vicente Gonzalez (TX). One watch dog type, not there fo... more »
Nearly
Last night's *Newsnight **was *going to talk about "Mark Carney's surprising announcement on the effects of Brexit" - as this screengrab from the BBC iPlayer shows: In the end, however, they chose to drop the item and *not *report it at all. They discussed pre-teenage transgender issues instead.
VA Whistleblower Received Death Threats for Supporting Troop Who Died Awaiting Care
[image: veterans]The Chief of Specialty Care Clinics for the VA says he received death threats after exposing the massive corruption involving dead veterans.
Hero Cops Bust Elderly Man for Visiting His Dying Grandchild Because He Had an Illegal Plant
[image: possession]A California grandfather and legal marijuana patient was arrested and charged with felony possession of medical marijuana while traveling in Texas.
An Introduction to Logic by H.W.B. Joseph
*An Introduction to Logic* *H.W.B. Joseph* I recently listened to Leonard Peikoff’s lecture on Aristotelian logic: "Introduction to Logic" (available on Ayn Rand eStore). In his course, Peikoff covers several standard topics in the logical theory, such as the Informal Fallacies, Deductive Reasoning, Aristotelian Syllogism, Definitions, and Inductive Generalization. In the course, Peikoff recommends two books for further information on the Aristotelian logical theory: Lionel Ruby’s *Logic: An Introduction* and H.W.B. Joseph’s *An Introduction to Logic*. The second book, Joseph’s *A... more »
Untitled
*Scotland: Parents left baffled and excluded by jargon in school reforms* Parents say they have been left puzzled and excluded by the Scottish government’s school reforms which were intended to give them more power over their children’s education. They have also rejected John Swinney’s moves to give greater responsibility to head teachers, saying they have not been given any evidence that this works, and called for control to remain with councillors. The Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) also says that hundreds of people keen to express their views were baffled by jargon in t... more »
Uluburun ship wreck - Turkey 1,300 B.C. - bronze age shipping + trade
here's a quickie, involving the widespread (* potentially global) bronze-age mediterranean trade shipping routes. Surely, there's nothing stopping certain Sea Faring Nations originating from ancient Turkey and other pre-Christian ports in the eastern Mediterranean from trading with or settling in Britain, circa 1300 BC. Was the Coelbren language, and/or remnant Welsh i.e. Khumric, the trade-speak *Esperanto* of its time? * *New World cocaine and nicotine found in (a large percentage of) Egyptian mummies.*
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*EPA Moves To Fine Alaskans For Burning Wood To Keep Warm* Sadly, this is not from The Onion. For satire to work it has to be believable and no one with commonsense would believe that the federal government would intervene to fine people living in Alaska for using wood-burning stoves in the winter. But the advantage that the federal government has is that it does stuff that is so profoundly stupid that no one would ever believe they would do it. And that is their greatest defense mechanism. Just like ‘Verbal’ Kint/Keyser Sose says in The Usual Suspects, “The greatest trick the Dev... more »
Science Magazine Interview with Robert Kennedy
By Anne Dachel This is a follow-up interview with Robert Kennedy, Jr. yesterday after the announcement that he would head a vaccines safety panel for President Trump. Notice that Kennedy emphasizes the importance of safe vaccines. Already there has been...
Czech president allowed to say many things in WaPo interview
In recent months, *The Washington Post* has emerged as a flagship among the media outlets that don't hesitate to aggressively promote the misleading and sometimes utterly ludicrous memes associated with the outgoing politically correct U.S. administration. They published an interview with someone on the opposite side of these cultural wars, Czech president Miloš Zeman. And I would praise the interview for one important quality: Zeman gave his answers to some of the most important questions or questions most often associated with him. One may say that he was not being censored. Howev... more »
Untitled
*From Jenna Orkin *China Announces That It Will Cover Nearly A Quarter Of The Country In Forest By 2020 The one they chopped down in Indonesia? Or the one in Malaysia? Or Gabon or Borneo?… Intel chiefs tell Trump: Russia claims to have something on you Trump and Pence both attack BuzzFeed after it publishes damaging, unverified documents Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife wrote a letter condemning Jeff Sessions in 1986 In a world first, Norway is starting to switch off FM radio today — even though most citizens are dead against it This stunning Australian cloud phenomenon has co... more »
Tara Haelle: Vaccine True Believer
By Anne Dachel Seriously, I don't think there's a chemical on the market that Tara Haelle is worried about. Her comment about DEMANDING A FLU SHOT WITH MERCURY WHILE PREGNANT was the best example of a real true believer I’ve...
Perú: Strange Object Recorded Over the Ocuviri District - a UFO?
*Source: PLANETA UFO and Diario CorreoDate: January 11, 2017* *Perú: Strange Object Recorded Over the Ocuviri District - a UFO?* The images caused some fear among local residents. A camera employed by a resident of the Ocuviri District, Province of Lampa, Puno (Perú) raised doubts yet again as to whether we are alone in the universe. The object was taken on the morning of January 1, 2017 at approximately 7:00 a.m.. The image shows an unidentified flying object (UFO) in the Puna skies. The images caused some fear among local residents, who at first thought they were looking at a... more »
Last Akwesasne Living Mohawk Code Talker Honored in Rochester
The Rochester Knighthawks honored the last surviving WWII Akwesasne Mohawk code talker, Louis Levi Oakes, before its game Saturday night. Veterans Outreach Center Executive Director Todd Baxter accompanied the 91-year-old from the North Country. Baxter knows how important Native American code talkers were during the war and stresses the sacrifices they made by going across enemy lines to relay messages using their native language. “The code talkers what a special thing that they did, the Native Americans coming forward and fighting for a country that may not have treated them that... more »
China & THAAD, Yemen, Russia is Staying
*TRUMP!* Most of you either saw President Trumps news conference in real time or a recorded version -- or you heard it summarized on blogs or on the news. I enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed CNN’s Jim Acosta howling because the President would not take his question by saying, “You are fake news.” Well of course CNN broadcasts fake news. Anything to discredit the president. It was CNN that leaked the debate questions to Hillary Clinton. They are an advocacy agent of influence for the Democrat Party and the corrupt progressive elitist establishment. The media was incensed that Presi... more »
"Why Has The White House Suddenly Released A Strategy For Dealing With The Threat Of A Catastrophic Meteor Impact?"
*"Why Has The White House Suddenly Released A Strategy* * For Dealing With The Threat Of A Catastrophic Meteor Impact?"* By Michael Snyder "Does the White House know something that the rest of us do not? As the Obama administration draws to a close, the White House has suddenly released a major document that details a multi-pronged strategy for dealing with the threat of a catastrophic meteor impact. Most of us remember movies such as “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon” that attempted to depict what such a crisis would look like, but up until fairly recently the U.S. government has never... more »
US-NATO Turning Poland into War Hub
US-NATO tanks on their way (at the level crossing of Gruenwalder Street in Guben, Germany) to Poland for the ultimate war with Russia. US-NATO want to try to finish what Hitler was not able to do when he invaded the Soviet Union during WW II. Over 27 million were killed in the Soviet Union as they barely (with not much help from the US) defeated the Nazi Army. This is not being reported in the mainstream media as we are all distracted with everything Trump. People, even in the peace movement, are not yet taking this seriously. Just like Okinawa, where I am now protesting at US b... more »
Can We Evolve Fast Enough to Survive?
In response to my post, “Yes, America Is Descending Into Totalitarianism,” the computer game designer Chris Crawford, shared some good news in yesterday’s post—Trump may be impeached. Later he shared his bad news: http://ieet.org/archive/evolution-1295256_960_720.png
Scientist Who Co-Discovered the DNA Says Our Genes Were Brought Here by Aliens
The general rule that i wish to enunciate is that the principal home for all life happens to be inside the inner surface of the planetary shell. Our presence on the exterior shell is the actual exception. This provides a natural benign home for chemical evolution operated by lifeforms constructed in the second tier of matter. Obviously if this insane conjecture happens to be true and i can get there from first physical principles, not possible in today's physics, then we have a large number of working and occupied habitats just in this solar system. My own mind still refuses to... more »
Behind Xi Jinping’s ‘Crushing Momentum’ in Cleaning up Corruption
*[image: Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Dec. 2, 2016. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)]* What becomes clear is that a culture of corruption was allowed that developed throughout the governing apparatus and used by Zemin to support his long term control. It has all fallen apart now, but the process seems unnaturally slow because so many are involved and real instability needs to be avoided. Yet it is also clear that such a culture will also arise again simply because we have a pyramid of power system. In the meantime we now get a generatio... more »
Why Obama Failed
Obama failed for exactly the reason i expected him to fail. Worse than that he also hauled in a socialist indoctrination prevalent amount the sociology academics of his era along with a clear Muslim bent as well about which we have been lied to. It was obvious in his choice of his christian pastor who is a so called converted Muslim who misses all the nuances. Fortunately his economic blindness turned his avocations into mere meddling. He was never truly competent which i suspect is a mercy. I actually did not expect much from him simply because his record is terribly light an... more »
Dr. James Hughes On Moral Enhancement Through Neurotech & Uploading The Mind To Computers
One of IEET’s projects is Cyborg Buddha, which explores the role neurotechnology will have on spirituality, happiness, and alternate states of mind. In this interview, Warrior pick Dr. Hughes’ brain on how technology can be used to engineer virtue – something all religions throughout time have stressed is the key to a good life. They also get into technology allowing us to upload our minds computers, a possibility available sooner than most realize. [Listen Here]
Wal Thornhill - 2017 statement - Electric Universe and Thunderbolts of the Gods
*BIG SCIENCE, TODAY, IS A TRAIN WRECK IN SLOW MOTION* the above headline comes from Australian physicist Wal Thornhill's stunning and revelatory 2017 Electric Universe statement, contained in the following video: Enjoy, thinkers and researchers and dreamers alike...
A Ringside Seat to the Debt Ceiling Fight
[image: a-ringside-seat-to-the-debt-ceiling-fight] With our debt about to explode, the debt limit is more needed than ever. Congress needs to resist the calls to dispose of it.
2 hours of blogtalk radio(January 11th/2017)
The archive is now up..... https://t.co/JSaCQNg3tC LNG - A Bridge Fuel Too Far with Grant G - Broadcast in Politics - 4 hours ago [image: canadianglen] canadianglen follow h:711695 s:9737507 archived Play - - - - - - - - - - bcpoli - bcelxn - LNG - propaganda - spin - BCLibs - Grant G - The Straight Goods We are back on the BC Series with Grant G (@Realmediavoices) returning with more of The Straight Goods. The fantasy world of LNG being the saviour of British Columbia, and the Clark government, has never been... more »
In racially divided times, Obama's farewell address swings for the middle
Cynthia Young, Department Head and Associate Professor of African American Studies, Pennsylvania State University at Politics + Society – The Conversation - 23 hours ago
Obama arrives to give his presidential farewell address. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast On Jan. 10, President Barack Obama delivered a farewell address to the nation in his adopted hometown of Chicago. As he often did during his presidency, Obama struck a middle path, one that had moments of real power but ultimately fell short of a full-throated defense of Democratic Party policies. In a decidedly immoderate time, with his signature domestic achievement, the Affordable Care Act, on the chopping block, Obama’s speech was a model of moderation. In a season defined by Pussygate and Rus... more »
Does your smartphone make you less likely to trust others?
Kostadin Kushlev, Research Associate in Psychology, University of Virginia at Science + Technology – The Conversation - 23 hours ago
Does our dependence on smartphones harm our social fabric? Alone with phone via shutterstock.com Imagine you are visiting a new city and get lost on your way to that famous must-see museum. In times of yore – actually just about 10 years ago – you might have had to consult a friendly local to direct you. Today, with all the friendly locals still very much around you on the street, you might find yourself reaching for the powerful fountain of information in your pocket – your smartphone. Directions to the museum, recommendations for the best places to have lunch and much more are lit... more »
Influenza: The search for a universal vaccine
Amyn Murji, Ph.D. Student, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University at Science + Technology – The Conversation - 23 hours ago
No one wants to catch the flu, and the best line of defense is the seasonal influenza vaccine. But producing an effective annual flu shot relies on accurately predicting which flu strains are most likely to infect the population in any given season. It requires the coordination of multiple health centers around the globe as the virus travels from region to region. Once epidemiologists settle on target flu strains, vaccine production shifts into high gear; it takes approximately six months to generate the more than 150 million injectible doses necessary for the American population. ... more »
Getting a scientific message across means taking human nature into account
Rose Hendricks, Ph.D. Candidate in Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego at Science + Technology – The Conversation - 23 hours ago
Yeah, I'm not hearing that. Woman picture via www.shutterstock.com. We humans have collectively accumulated a lot of science knowledge. We’ve developed vaccines that can eradicate some of the most devastating diseases. We’ve engineered bridges and cities and the internet. We’ve created massive metal vehicles that rise tens of thousands of feet and then safely set down on the other side of the globe. And this is just the tip of the iceberg (which, by the way, we’ve discovered is melting). While this shared knowledge is impressive, it’s not distributed evenly. Not even close. There ar... more »
Fighting online trolls with bots
Saiph Savage, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, West Virginia University at Science + Technology – The Conversation - 23 hours ago
Troll image from shutterstock.com The wonder of internet connectivity can turn into a horror show if the people who use online platforms decide that instead of connecting and communicating, they want to mock, insult, abuse, harass and even threaten each other. In online communities since at least the early 1990s, this has been called “trolling.” More recently it has been called cyberbullying. It happens on many different websites and social media systems. Users have been fighting back for a while, and now the owners and managers of those online services are joining in. The most re... more »
Tweet For Today
NEWSGRAPHIC Corruption remains a major hurdle in Afghanistan https://t.co/EKZ2rc4S3W pic.twitter.com/5iCGXhHs6Z — AFP news agency (@AFP) January 12, 2017
Guantanamo Bay Prison Turns 15 Years Old Today
The Guantánamo, Cuba, prison where the American government holds dozens of terrorism suspects. Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times *DW*: *Guantanamo at 15: Doomed or resurrected?* President Bush opened it amid global protest, President Obama vowed to close it. After 15 years the Guantanamo Bay prison camp does not just remain open, it could even experience a revival under President Trump. What began on January 11, 2002, with the transfer of 20 prisoners suspected of belonging to the Taliban and al Qaeda terrorist groups from Kandahar in Afghanistan to the US detention facili... more »
Picture Of The Day
A sailor directs an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter to lower supplies to the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson in the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 7, 2017. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean M. Castellano
China Wants To Promote It's Version Of The 'New World Order'
China's President Xi Jinping looks on before meeting with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (not pictured) at the Great Halll of the People in Beijing, China December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Nicolas Asouri *Reuters*: *China's Xi to promote globalization at Davos, not 'war and poverty'* China's President Xi Jinping will promote "inclusive globalization" at this month's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and will warn that populist approaches can lead to "war and poverty", Chinese officials said on Wednesday. This year's forum, from Jan. 17-20, is expected to be dominated by ... more »
Shouldn't Senators Who Took Big Contributions From Trump Nominees Recuse Themselves From Confirmation Hearings?
*Oh, look who led us astray... again* California Senator Kamala Harris could set a good example for Republican senators-- maybe even shame them-- by recusing herself from voting on Trump's Treasury Secretary nominee, Steven Mnuchin. Mnuchin, who 2016 saw giving $10,000 pops to a very specific group of state Republican parties-- Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina and Arkansas-- as well as over $300,000 to the RNC, only donated directly to one U.S, Senate candidate, corporate Democrat Kamala Harris ($2,000 on February 10, 2016). Many people feel... more »
On Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Thomas Paine published his famous pamphlet *Common Sense* on January 9, 1776. In context of the 18th century, *Common Sense* was the superb articulation of liberty oriented ideas of the Age of Enlightenment. In just 48-pages, Paine made a “commonsensical” political argument for liberty; he proposed that people have the right to choose their own government, and to revolt against it. The pamphlet was widely read and galvanized support for armed rebellion against the monarchy. Here’s a quote from the pamphlet: “*O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but ... more »
The U.S. Intelligence Community Is Predicting More 'Donald Trumps' Coming To Power Around The World
MIKE SEGAR / REUTERS *Kimberley Dozier, Daily Beast*: *U.S. Spies See a World of Trumps Ahead* The popular rage that propelled Donald Trump to the White House is only getting started, American intelligence analysts say. Rising need, fewer resources, fewer jobs—and more campaigns like Donald Trump’s. That’s the world ahead, according to America’s intelligence agencies. Analysts from U.S. spy services predict a darker world to come over the next five years, with rising populations, falling incomes, and ever more technology to spread anger at the speed of a tweet—all trends that help... more »
KMTers still distancing themselves from the KMT
Newly opened office of a KMT politician in Fengyuan. But... where is the familiar KMT logo? Yup. Buried at the bottom of the sign. And of course the big characters at the top above "Forward Together" say "Taiwan". Next to the KMT logo is his title "Legislator" and name. But nothing on the sign except the blue color and the tiny non-standard KMT logo signal his party affiliation. _______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and for... more »
The Black Community and Crime
[image: the-black-community-and-crime] Today's level of lawlessness and insecurity in many black communities is a relatively new phenomenon. In the 1930s, '40s and '50s, people didn't bar their windows. Doors were often left unlocked. People didn't go to bed with the sounds of gunshots.
The Political Ecology of Land Subsidence: A Solar Energy Farm
[image: DSC03836] *Farms in Tainan* I found *The Political Ecology of Land Subsidence: A Case Study of the Solar Energy-Farming Scheme, Pingtung County, Taiwan *by Shew-Jiuan Su, which is Chapter 7 in the book Geomorphology and Society (Eds. Meadows and.Lin, Springer, 2016). In 2009 typhoon Morakot absolutely wrecked southern Taiwan, flooding low-lying areas and sweeping away infrastructure. The governments both central and local put in place new policies to address some of the water issues, though the basic understanding that the construction-industrial state could wreck Taiwan co... more »
This Is How President-Elect Trump Learned That The U.S. Intelligence Community Are The Ones Who Are Responsible For The Leaks
*Daily Mail**: Trump conducts his own sting operation to ensnare intelligence briefers – and says he caught them leaking * * President-elect Donald Trump described a sting operation he says he conducted after growing frustrated at a series of leaks about his own classified briefings * He says he decided to tell no one about a particular briefing, shielding even his longtime scheduling aide, Rhoda, to rule out the possibility leaks were coming from his staff * When word got out anyway, Trump concluded it was the intelligence community who was putting out information * He described t... more »
Iran Nuclear Deal — Alive or Dead?
[image: iran-nuclear-deal-alive-or-dead] Though every Republican in Congress voted against the Iran nuclear deal, "Tearing it up ... is not going to happen," says Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
GREENWALD: THE EXTREMELY EVIL DEEP STATE IS ALL-POWERFUL AND, SIMULTANEOUSLY, INCOMPETENT
Glenn Greenwald warns us that the greatest force for evil on the planet has been unleashed, thanks to the folly of the mainstream media and liberals: IN JANUARY, 1961, Dwight Eisenhower delivered his farewell address after serving two terms as U.S. president; the five-star general chose to warn Americans of this specific threat to democracy: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Th... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“The beautiful Andromeda Galaxy is often imaged by planet Earth-based astronomers. Also known as M31, the nearest large spiral galaxy is a familiar sight with dark dust lanes, bright yellowish core, and spiral arms traced by blue starlight. A mosaic of well-exposed broad and narrow-band image data, this colorful, premier portrait of our neighboring island universe offers strikingly unfamiliar features though, faint reddish clouds of glowing ionized hydrogen gas in the same wide field of view. Click image for larger size. Still, the ionized hydrogen clouds likely lie in the foreground ... more »
“Experiences We Don’t Understand: Hidden Gems”
*“Experiences We Don’t Understand: Hidden Gems”* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM “All of the events in our lives lead to other events, they are all connected. Sometimes we have an experience that we don’t understand, but if we look deeply, or wait long enough, a reason for that experience will usually reveal itself. All the events in our lives lead to other events, and all that we have manifested in this present moment is the result of past events and experiences. We cannot easily tease apart the many threads that have been woven together to create our current reality. Experiences t... more »
Chet Raymo, “Roofs”
*“Roofs”* by Chet Raymo "It would be well, perhaps, if we were to spend more of our days and nights without any obstruction between us and the celestial bodies, if the poet did not speak so much from under a roof, or the saint dwell there so long." Good advice, Mr. Thoreau. I came here to this island for its unobstructed sky. Built a house called Starlight House. I'm no poet or saint, but I settled in to nurse what slender gifts I have. The sky has not disappointed. Except occasionally. We have just come off a rare four-day string of cloudy days, and the celestial bodies have been... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Thessaloníki, Thessaloniki, Greece. Thanks for stopping by.
"The Mind-blowing AI Announcement From Google That You Probably Missed"
*"The Mind-blowing AI Announcement From Google That You Probably Missed"* by Gil Fewster Disclaimer: I’m not an expert in neural networks or machine learning. Since originally writing this article, many people with far more expertise in these fields than myself have indicated that, while impressive, what Google have achieved is evolutionary, not revolutionary. In the very least, it’s fair to say that I’m guilty of anthropomorphising in parts of the text. I’ve left the article’s content unchanged, because I think it’s interesting to compare the gut reaction I had with the subsequent ... more »
Carbon Dioxide is NOT a pollutant.
The two truthful expression that the Alarmists hate are - There has been a twenty-year plateau in global warming; and - Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Twenty-Year Plateau in Global Warming Roy Spencer, PhD, points out on his UAH blog that *Global Satellites: 2016 not Statistically Warmer than 1998 * Strong December Cooling Leads to 2016 Being Statistically Indistinguishable from 1998 The Version 6.0 global average lower tropospheric temperature (LT) anomaly for December 2016 was +0.24 deg. C, down substantially from the November value of +0.45 deg. C (click for full ... more »
CIA Whistleblower: Obama Must Declassify Torture Report For Future Generations
A coalition, including CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, demanded President Barack Obama declassify and release the full report on CIA torture produced by the Senate intelligence committee in 2013. In 2014, only a summary of the torture report was released. Obama remains opposed to releasing the full 6,300-page report. Kiriakou told The post CIA Whistleblower: Obama Must Declassify Torture Report For Future Generations appeared first on Shadowproof.
Best Books of 2016
Today, I am joining Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings to discuss our favorite books of the year! You can find hers here and join us tomorrow on FB for a live discussion of them. *How many books did you read in 2016?* About 50, I forgot to mark them all on my Goodreads this year. I need to update it! What were the top 5 books you read?In no particular order *Rebel of the Sands - Alwyn Hamilton- * *Kids of Appetite by David Arnold*- Two deaths set Mad and Vic on a path. The death of Vic's father leads to a mission to scatter his ashes in all the places that were important to his father... more »
Ukraine Efforts To Support Hillary Clinton During The U.S. Presidential Election By Sabotaging Donald Trump Is Backfiring
© Twitter: Ukrinform_news *Politico:* *Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire* Kiev officials are scrambling to make amends with the president-elect after quietly working to boost Clinton. Donald Trump wasn’t the only presidential candidate whose campaign was boosted by officials of a former Soviet bloc country. Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office. They also disseminated documents implicating a top Trump aide in corruption and suggested they were investigating the matter, only to back... more »
Republican Of The Year Nominee #4: It’s A Sad Thing When Cousins Marry Edition
*2016 In Review: America Off The Rails, Part 9* *Um, Rudy, near the end there, do you realize what you're saying?* *by Noah* Before I get to the winner of my little Republican Of The Year contest (in tomorrow's installment), I thought it would be downright mean of me to leave out some other participants. I call them not just deplorables but also *Dishonorable Mentions*. I also want to mention that I am not one who believes in that every-participant-gets-a-trophy nonsense. But I *do* want to give my No. 4 pairing below an award. I did, after all, declare Michigan's own Lex Luthor,... more »
Ex-British Intelligence Officer Who Compiled Donald Trump 'Dossier Has Been Identified And Is Now In Hiding
*Daily Mail:* *NAMED: The former British spy behind 'dirty Kremlin dossier' that claimed Trump was in bed both with Putin - AND pervert prostitutes. Hunt on for former UK ambassador who handed report to US politician* * Christopher Steele is alleged to be ex-MI6 agent behind 'Fake' dossier * 35-page salacious file featured claims about Mr Trump's links with Russia * It also includes gossip about a 'golden shower' sex game in a Moscow hotel * Dossier has been widely discredited and is littered with spelling mistakes * Mr Steele, 52, runs private security and investigations firm in Lond... more »
Bill Nye Thinks Paris Treaty Will End Floods
By Paul Homewood https://twitter.com/BillNye/status/818942013743710213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw According to Bill Nye, floods in California have never happened before, and must be due to global warming. Of course, it is not that long since we were told that California was in a permanent state of drought! Most of California’s rain tends to come during winter months, […]
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 11, 2017
*David Graham, The Atlantic*: *Donald Trump Meets, and Assails, the Press* In his first formal press conference since July, the president-elect blamed Russia for hacks, offered a plan to resolve conflicts of interest, and scolded the media for its reporting on him. In his first press conference since July 2016, President-elect Donald Trump took only a few questions but made news on several fronts, saying he accepted the conclusion that Russia conducted hacks on top Democrats, bashing the press, and refusing once again to release his tax returns. Trump also refused to answer questi... more »
Cheyenne River Chairman Urges Obama to Grant Clemency for Leonard Peltier
. President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama: Please grant Executive Clemency to Leonard Peltier! Leonard Peltier is a 71 year old elder who was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for aiding and abetting in the deaths of two FBI agents. Leonard has maintained his innocence
The Poet: John O’Donohue, "For The Time Of Necessary Decision"
*"For The Time Of Necessary Decision"* "The mind of time is hard to read. We can never predict what it will bring, Nor even from all that is already gone Can we say what form it finally takes; For time gathers its moments secretly. Often we only know it’s time to change When a force has built inside the heart That leaves us uneasy as we are. Perhaps the work we do has lost its soul, Or the love where we once belonged Calls nothing alive in us anymore. We drift through this gray, increasing nowhere Until we stand before a threshold we know We have to cross to come alive once more. May we h... more »
Musical Interlude: 2002, “Timeless”
2002, “Timeless” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL7b_avTk38
"Hope..."
"Time has taught me not to lose hope, yet not to trust too much in hope either." - Carlos Ruiz Zafón
X22Report, “Doesn't Matter If The Market Goes Up Or Down, The Economy Is Toast”
X22Report, “Doesn't Matter If The Market Goes Up Or Down, The Economy Is Toast” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqWPAtcnkdQ
“Ignorance Is Bliss”
*“Ignorance Is Bliss”* by Michael Brenner “Factual information is out of fashion. American society now devalues it. Subjective attitude and opinion are considered to be as worthy as accurate renderings of reality. Many wear their ignorance as a badge of honor. The ultimate freedom for them is to avoid needless bother in knowing the truth and distinguishing it from falsity. Some of this behavior is calculated and intentional; much of it is blind indulgence of convenience and prejudice. These behaviors are commonplace among our officials, politicians, commentariat, and the citizenry... more »
“69% of Americans Have $1,000 or Less in Bank”
*“69% of Americans Have $1,000 or Less in Bank”* Here’s Why U.S. Economy Could Enter into Recession in 2017 By Moe Zulfiqar "The U.S. economy is performing poorly. Truth be told, a recession seems a very likely scenario in 2017 for the U.S. economy, instead of robust growth. If you are just paying attention to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)- currently standing near the 20,000 level- and other indices like the NASDAQ Composite index at their all-time highs as an indicator of the U.S. economy, you could be making a big mistake. Pay attention to how consumers in the U.S. econo... more »
The Economy: “The Man Who Could Have Stopped the Bubble”
*“The Man Who Could Have Stopped the Bubble”* by Bill Bonner "Again, the Dow was scheduled to go over the psychologically important 20,000-point mark yesterday. And again, it backed off. We are studying the life and times of former Fed chief Alan Greenspan. Not that we expect to discover anything new. We were more or less awake and alert during his entire public career; there is little that isn’t known about the man and his times already. ‘The best-known public official since Pontius Pilate’ is how we described him in one of our books. But it’s helpful to go back over the story, th... more »
Bonus #TopTen: Gareth Morgan goes full retard
[image: henrymorgan-e1481508131473] *One of these men is correct …* I CONFESS THAT THE ABOVE HEADLINE IS not totally accurate. Sam Morgan’s dad actually went full retard a long time ago. The latest manifestation of his retardness (and mind you it’s not even lunchtime yet, so there may be further incidents) is his response to Paul Henry’s confrontational interview with him and Jamie Whyte’s on-the-button critique of Morgan’s hoped-for tax grab from home-owners. (Good advice may be not to feed the troll, since he’s only enjoying the attention. But since his sins are so egregious, ... more »
Israel-Turkey pipeline hangs on Cyprus peace talks- A Fail Benefits Russia
*JP* *A behind the scenes peek into some wranglings over resource control. Share some thoughts?* *The greatest beneficiary of a failure in Geneva would be Russia and its efforts to further expand its widening strategic footprint in the Eastern Mediterranean. * "Israel hopes to market its natural gas to Turkey, and via Turkey to the EU, but this aim may hang on the outcome of the potentially historic Cypriot peace negotiations currently underway in Geneva. Since an undersea gas pipeline from Israel’s Leviathan natural gas field to Turkey requires crossing Cyprus’s economic exclusio... more »
Zapatistas 'And the Earth Trembled! A Report from the Epicenter'
AND THE EARTH TREMBLED! A REPORT FROM THE EPICENTER… AND THE EARTH TREMBLED! A REPORT FROM THE EPICENTER… To the Originary Peoples of Mexico: To Civil Society of Mexico and the World: To the National and International Sixth: To the Free Media: Brothers and Sisters: This is the time of the originary peoples, the time for us to replant and rebuild ourselves. It is time to go on the
From Russia With Love
Donald Trump's first presser in almost six months was everything as advertised: Lots of sound and fury, signifying nothing. All that was missing were for the table to his right to be conspicuously loaded with Trump water, Trump steaks and plastered on the flags behind him fake degrees from Trump University. And I'm just taking a stab in the dark here but I suspect more than one Trump voter is getting this uneasy feeling with which one would see a toddler next door picking up his father's loaded handgun. You know it'll wind up badly for someone but you're confident it won't... more »
World News Briefs -- January 11, 2017 (Evening Edition)
*Daily Mail*: *Donald Trump says he was NEVER briefed on fake dirty dossier and NEVER shown it by intelligence chiefs and ridicules its claim he was taped with Moscow hookers by confessing he's a 'germophobe' * * President-elect Donald Trump held his first press conference in 167 days on Wednesday – the first since his electoral win * Spoke after the release of report that top intelligence officials were presented with information that Russia may have gained compromising information on him * Went on offense immediately and called report fake - and slammed those who published it fir... more »
Syrian Peace Talks : January 23rd Kazakhstan
*TASS* ASTANA, January 11. /TASS/. Kazakhstan confirms its readiness to host the talks on the Syrian settlement in Astana, the country’s Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said during the open debate in the UN Security Council on Tuesday. "Once again the Kazakh leadership’s readiness was confirmed to provide a venue for talks in Astana on establishing peace in Syria," the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. During the debate on conflict prevention and sustaining peace, the Kazakh side drew the attention of participants to "the importance of joint efforts of preventive... more »
Obituary: Zygmunt Bauman
I was sorry to hear leading social theorist Zygmunt Bauman passed away on Sunday. For a generation of sociologists who came of age between the late 80s and, well, now, Bauman was a permanent presence in the specialist journals and book catalogues. From around his important *Modernity and the Holocaust* in 1989, Bauman churned out one or two books a year and came to be regarded as one of Britain's A-list thinkers. As a Polish exile and a Jew, he was eventually reviled among the nationalist right back home - for a reactionary politics premised on nostalgia and essential national char... more »
Psst! Wanna Buy Some Truth?
*Psst! Wanna Buy Some Truth?* In case anyone has missed my many articles on the topic of global warming-induced climate change: I am totally convinced that humans have been causing global warming to an ever-increasing extent since we discovered the use of fire*1*. I am also totally convinced that global warming has caused the global climate to change from the average conditions prevailing over thousands of years. A change from the average is bad because it is making seasonal weather conditions less predictable for farming, fishing and food production generally. read more
Afghanistan War News Updates -- January 11, 2017
*FOX News*: *Afghanistan's 'ghost soldiers' take scary toll on US taxpayers, says watchdog* The U.S. government is paying the salaries of “tens of thousands” of non-existent Afghan soldiers, police, teachers and civil servants, a top Pentagon official said Wednesday in reporting on the scale and variety of misspent U.S. money. John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), said the salaries of “ghost soldiers” is just one of many ways Americans' money is wasted in Afghanistan – all for rather modest gains. His comments summarize a SIGAR report that ... more »
Video Reveals USCIS Complacency Regarding Fake Passports for Syrians
[image: video-reveals-uscis-complacency-regarding-fake-passports-for-syrians] A video recorded at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office revealed that officials are willing to admit illegal aliens with fake passports to the United States.
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