11:27 pm MST
It's Cold Out There!!!
Temperatures hovering around -27C haven’t stopped 500 daredevils from joining an annual winter Moscow bike parade. These brave-hearts all managed to do it and no one got chilblains! *RT:* *From Istanbul to Moscow, cold snap wreaks havoc across Europe (PHOTOS)* Bone-freezing cold, heavy snowstorms, and floods have been plaguing the European continent this week, causing power outages, traffic jams, cancelled flights, and even a stream of plastic eggs with toys washing up on a German island. On Saturday, heavy precipitation paralyzed Istanbul, Turkey. Around 6,000 passengers found th... more »
Picture Of The Day
A C-17 Globemaster III aircraft sits idle on the runway before crews load equipment into it at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Dec. 13, 2016. The aircraft and crew are assigned to Travis Air Force Base, Calif. A contingency response team traveled to the base to support the Army’s Rapid Alaska Airlift Week exercise. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks
China Threatens To Break Ties With The U.S. If They End The One China Policy
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen exits at the Omni Houston Hotel during a 'transit stop' enroute to Central America, in Houston, Texas, U.S., January 7, 2017. REUTERS/James Nielsen *Reuters: **Chinese state tabloid warns Trump, end one China policy and China will take revenge* State-run Chinese tabloid Global Times warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that China would take "take revenge" if he reneged on the one-China policy, only hours after Taiwan's president made a controversial stopover in Houston. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met senior U.S. Republican lawmakers during ... more »
Google Leads the Charge with Fake News
By John Stone Age of Autism is a sufficiently visited and prominent website to qualify for coverage by Google News but over the years I have come to view this stoically since my articles have a remarkable tendency to disappear,...
Transit Watch: "The Second Avenue Subway is open for service!" (more or less -- give or take)
*In related news: NYS Gov. Andrew M. * *Cuomo eats dirt (pass it on)* *By the Numbers* *•* Workers excavated 583,600 cubic yards of rock & 460,300 cubic yards of soil (more than half the Empire State Building by volume) *•* Cubic yards of concrete used in construction: 261,038 *•* Pounds of rebar used in construction: 48.9 million *•* Pounds of structural steel used in construction: 40.7 million *•* The new line features 35 new escalators, 12 new elevators, and 22 new stairways *•* The new line features 200,000 square feet of floor tiles, 130,000 square feet of ceiling tiles, and 692... more »
The BBC's 'soft boycott' of Israel
Citing again the ever-vigilant Alan at *Biased BBC *for pointing this out... The eminently sensible Stephen Pollard of the *Jewish Chronicle *published a powerful piece a few days ago about the BBC and its attitude to Israel. Please read it for yourselves and see what you think. *I *think it raises a serious question mark over the BBC's reporting. To summarise Stephen's case: You may have heard reports this past week of a potentially transformative treatment for prostrate cancer. It was widely reported. Radio 4's *Today *reported it, but what *Today didn't *mention was that much... more »
MEMO TO DEPLORABLES: YOUR PARTY STILL HATES YOU
A report at *The Hill* has the man-bites-dog headline "Red States Mull Higher Taxes." What?! Republican states have broken with long-standing GOP policy after realizing that tax cuts for the wealthy don't cure all ills? Well, not exactly: Legislators in some of the nation’s most conservative states are considering new ways to boost revenue -- including tax increases.... It is a reversal, in many ways, of recent trends toward deep tax cuts, led by states like Kansas, where Gov. Sam Brownback (R) and the Republican-dominated legislature slashed rates on individuals and businesses in ... more »
Ron Paul: President Obama Is The First President In U.S. History To Be At War Every Single Day Of His Eight Year Administration.
From *Ron Paul*:* Barack Obama started with a Nobel Peace Prize and is ending his presidency with the Pentagon's Distinguished Public Service Medal.* *Sounds about right for a president who bombed 7 nations and became the first in U.S. history to be at war every single day of his eight year administration.* *WNU Editor:* President Obama (of course) did not start the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan .... but it is a sobering fact that for everyday of his administration U.S. forces have been engaged in warfare .... in addition to the 7 years and 4 months of the Bush administration. And... more »
Inside The KGB Playbook To Recruit Americans
*Michael Weiss, Daily Beast:* *RAW RECRUITING - Inside the KGB Playbook to Recruit Americans* An old Soviet field manual for spies tells us a lot about the mindset of today’s agents, and not only the Russians. Could an American president be the ultimate “dangle”? *“In studying Americans, our Residency in Italy identified a number of places visited by Americans working in target installations of interest to our Intelligence Service. It was possible to determine that Americans in Rome systematically frequent the same bars, restaurants, and places of recreation. Americans feel almost... more »
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Special Government Departmental Funds Recently the Treasury Department sent a report to the Egyptian parliament regarding the special financial boxes. During the past few years, there has been so much talk in public about public officials misusing that fund. The money in such boxes is not part of the yearly government budget. The report sent to parliament estimated the money at 52 billion Egyptian pounds in 7,282 special boxes. The best and most effective policy for such funds is to close such boxes and allocate the 52 billion pounds to build badly needed schools all over Egypt. A... more »
Meet AILA, The German Robot That’s Controlled From Russia
It was designed by the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. The post Meet AILA, The German Robot That’s Controlled From Russia appeared first on Futurism.
Searching deep and dark: Building a Google for the less visible parts of the web
Christian Mattmann, Director, Information Retrieval and Data Science Group and Adjunct Associate Professor, USC and Principal Data Scientist, NASA at Science + Technology – The Conversation - 3 hours ago
A geographical map depicting hotbeds of dark web activity related to illegal products. Larger circles indicate more activity. Christian Mattmann, CC BY-SA In today’s data-rich world, companies, governments and individuals want to analyze anything and everything they can get their hands on – and the World Wide Web has loads of information. At present, the most easily indexed material from the web is text. But as much as 89 to 96 percent of the content on the internet is actually something else – images, video, audio, in all thousands of different kinds of nontextual data types. Fur... more »
It Looks Like I Am Not The Only One Who Is Disappointed With The U.S. Intel Report On Russian Hacking
The official Russian response to U.S. election meddling allegations and retaliations is measured but not entirely surprising. Reuters *Kevin Rothrock, Moscow Times*: *American Unintelligence on Russia (Op-ed)* *Washington's long-awaited, deeply disappointing assessment of alleged meddling by the Kremlin* U.S. officials released a declassified intelligence report on Friday repeating the monumental accusations against the Kremlin that have been circulating in the American media for months. The New York Times called the document “a damning and surprisingly detailed account of Russia’... more »
Interfering In Other Countries' Domestic Politics-- What Monsters Do That?
One of the excuses many of the Trump-Putin useful idiots give for dismissing Putin’s hacking of the U.S. elections is that governments do it all the time— especially the U.S. Well, they are certainly right about governments doing it all the time, but that doesn’t make Putin’s coup against America any more palatable than, say, the U.S.-British coup against Iran in 1953. Glen Yeadon's book, *Nazi Hydra In America* includes a chapter about how the CIA recruited a whole lot of Nazis after the World War II to work for it in various capacities, including that of helping overthrow gover... more »
what i'm reading: four realistic youth novels
Young-adult publishers' mania for series, with the emphasis on fantasy, has finally ebbed. There are still plenty of fantasy series to go around, but the new crop of youth novels is chock full of individual titles in the realistic mode. (In YA land, "realistic" means the opposite of fantasy: set in the existing world with real humans only.) I've recently read four such novels. I chose three of them because the titles and covers intrigued me, and one based on the author's previous novel. Here are my impressions. *Girl Mans Up* by M-E Girard On the ever-expanding LGBTQ youth bookshelf... more »
Trump Finally Acknowledges Russia Role in US Election Hacking; Russia Needs ExxonMobil Technology So Badly?
Reuters reported that (finally) “Trump acknowledges Russia role in U.S. election hacking: aide” Sun, 08 Jan 2017. He actually asked … Continue reading →
Musical Interlude: George Winston, “Variations on Pachebel”
George Winston, “Variations on Pachebel” - https://www.youtube.com/
"A Look to the Heavens"
"M78 isn't really hiding in planet Earth's night sky. About 1,600 light-years away and nestled in the nebula rich constellation Orion, the large, bright, reflection nebula is well-known to telescopic skygazers. But this gorgeous image of M78 was selected as the winner of the Hidden Treasures 2010 astrophotography competition. Held by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the competition challenged amateur astronomers to process data from ESO's astronomical archive in search of cosmic gems. *Click image for larger size.* The winning entry shows off amazing details within bluish M78... more »
Paulo Coelho, “The Black Man (A True Story)”
*“The Black Man (A True Story)”* by Paulo Coelho "We are at the restaurant of a German University. A red haired student, and undeniably German, takes her tray and sits down at her table. She then realizes she has forgotten her cutlery and gets up again to pick it up. Coming back, she sees with astonishment that a black man, possibly sub-Saharan by his appearance, is sitting there and is eating from her tray. Straight away, the young woman feels lost and stressed, but immediately changes her thought and presumes that the African is not familiar with European customs concerning priva... more »
The Poet: Wendell Berry, "The Wish to Be Generous"
*"The Wish to Be Generous"* "All that I serve will die, all my delights, the flesh kindled from my flesh, garden and field, the silent lilies standing in the woods, the woods, the hill, the whole earth, all will burn in man's evil, or dwindle in its own age. Let the world bring on me the sleep of darkness without stars, so I may know my little light taken from me into the seed of the beginning and the end, so I may bow to mystery, and take my stand on the earth like a tree in a field, passing without haste or regret toward what will be, my life a patient willing descent into the grass." ... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Horton, Michigan, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
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*"Bill Holter: * *Global Economic System Is Going to Look Like Caveman Times Soon"* by Investor’s Hub “For years, the world’s most renowned economists have tried to warn people about the economic tsunami that is currently cresting, and which many refer to as the coming “Global Reset,” but despite all the detailed warnings, very few people have chosen to listen, and begin to prepare for that eventuality. Men like Bill Holter, Jim Rogers, Jim Rickets, Dr. Jim Willie, Peter Schiff, Harvy Dent, and so many other masters in the field of economics have been sounding the alarm bell for as... more »
Great Wedding Moment
There is a great tradition that we witnessed during Julian and Emily's wedding. The parents and bride and groom go from table to table to have a toast with the people. Each table can ask the groom to do a particular thing - one table for example had him drain a full glass of wine in one chug. Julian is a debate coach in Taipei and a group of his students and their moms made the trip south for the wedding. When we reached their table one of the moms told Julian to stand on a chair and then she gave Emily a raw egg and instructed her to run the egg up the inside of one of Julian'... more »
A Rift Between Al Qaeda And The Islamic State?
Al-Qaeda's chief Ayman al-Zawahiri at an undisclosed location making an announcement *IBTimes:** Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri calls Islamic State and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'liars'* *The Egyptian leader denied allegations made by Isis that al-Qaeda was against attacks on Shias.* Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has rejected recent allegations made by the Islamic State (Isis) group that al-Qaeda opposes attacks on Shias and was prepared to partner with Christian leaders. He also called the rival group and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, "liars", according to an audio me... more »
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Special Government Departmental Funds Recently the Treasury Department sent a report to the Egyptian parliament regarding the special financial boxes. During the past few years, there has been so much talk in public about public officials misusing that fund. The money in such boxes is not part of the yearly government budget. The report sent to parliament estimated the money at 52 billion Egyptian pounds in 7,282 special boxes. The best and most effective policy for such funds is to close such boxes and allocate the 52 billion pounds to build badly needed schools all over Egypt. Ac... more »
Need for January
I need about $500 for the month of January, if you can help out please use the PayPal button on the left. Many thanks to all of you who helped out in December! Google ads are getting next to nothing in what they pay these days I am may remove them entirely soon. I am not too thrilled at enriching Google anymore with very little sharing of the revenue. I had one guy who wanted to send a donation via Bitcoin in December, for those who are Bitcoin afficiandos, if you go to the tab at the top of the page, the BITCOIN address for donations is in there. I think I have only ever ha... more »
Untitled
Special Government Departmental Funds Recently the Treasury Department sent a report to the Egyptian parliament regarding the special financial boxes. During the past few years, there has been so much talk in public about public officials misusing that fund. The money in such boxes is not part of the yearly government budget. The report sent to parliament estimated the money at 52 billion Egyptian pounds in 7,282 special boxes. The best and most effective policy for such funds is to close such boxes and allocate the 52 billion pounds to build badly needed schools all over Egypt. Ac... more »
Taiwan's President Is In The U.S. On A Stopover To Central America
*South China Morning Post:* *Taiwan’s ‘wise’ Tsai makes low-key US stop, ‘reduces risk of riling Beijing’* Taiwanese president heads to Central America without holding any meetings with Trump and his team during stopover in Houston Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen did not meet US president-elect Donald Trump or members of his team during her stopover in the United States on the weekend, avoiding a move that would have riled a jittery Beijing. A spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, Jessica Ditto, said in an email on Saturday there would be no meetings between Tsai and officials... more »
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Foreign Political Interference During the past few months, prior to the election of the United States president, the mass media was focusing on Russian interference in the American election. The Los Angeles Times reported (1/17/2017) that president Obama slapped Russia for meddling in the United States presidential election. He ordered dozens of Russian diplomats to leave the United States. It is of interest to notice that what the Russians have done was not unusual by comparison to what the United States has been doing for many years. The United States has a long his... more »
An Analysis On The Rise And Possible Future Of U.S. Special Forces And Operations
America’s most elite troops deployed to 138 nations in 2016, according to U.S. Special Operations Command. The map above displays the locations of 132 of those countries; 129 locations (blue) were supplied by U.S. Special Operations Command; 3 locations (red) -- Syria, Yemen and Somalia -- were derived from open-source information. (Nick Turse) *Nick Turse, Tom Dispatch:* *The Year of the Commando * *U.S. Special Operations Forces Deploy to 138 Nations, 70% of the World’s Countries* Don’t think the fad for “draining the swamp” began on the campaign trail with Donald Trump. It didn... more »
U.S. Tanks And Weaponry Arrive In Germany For NATO Deployment To Eastern Europe
U.S. tanks, trucks and other military equipment, which arrived by ship, are unloaded in the harbour of Bremerhaven, Germany January 8, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimme *Reuters:* *U.S. military vows more complex training in Europe to deter Russia* The U.S. military on Sunday vowed to increase the scope and complexity of its European training exercises to deter Russian aggression, as more U.S. tanks, trucks and other equipment arrived in Germany for a big buildup on NATO's eastern flank. "Let me be clear: This is one part of our efforts to deter Russian aggression, ensure the territoria... more »
Theresa May and the Shared Society
When you're a leading politician and especially a Prime Minister, the pressure is on to stand for something. And as the real choices in politics truncated to who could best run the Thatcherite/neoliberal settlement, necessity and expediency dictated that one must pretend to be something more than a manager of that consensus. John Major had his Back to Basics campaign, married to the Citizen's Charter and Cones' Hotline wheeze. His Blairness got no less a figure than Anthony Giddens to cook up "The Third Way", the impossibility of marrying market fundamentalism to half-recognisable ... more »
"In This New Year..."
"In this new year, may you have a deep understanding of your true value and worth, an absolute faith in your unlimited potential, peace of mind in the midst of uncertainty, the confidence to let go when you need to, acceptance to replace your resistance, gratitude to open your heart, the strength to meet your challenges, great love to replace your fear, forgiveness and compassion for those who offend you, clear sight to see your best and true path, hope to dispel obscurity, the conviction to make your dreams come true, meaningful and rewarding synchronicities, dear friends who truly... more »
"Know What's Weird?"
"Know what's weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change, but pretty soon... everything's different." - Calvin, from "Calvin and Hobbes"
Anti-Propaganda Propaganda
I'll give credit where it's due. A *New York Times *"explainer" piece about how Russian propaganda gets done in the United States is a pretty slick piece of propaganda itself. The headline blares out its piercingly shrill dog-whistle of a warning to the reading public: *Russian Hackers Find Ready Bullhorns in the Media. *In other words, the media outlets that published DNC and Clinton campaign emails are, if not exactly traitorous, extremely careless and naive. And if you the reader don't want to be considered traitorous or careless or naive yourself, you'll be very, very careful ab... more »
U.S. Total Debt Is Just Days Away From Reaching $20 Trillion
*Next Big Future*: *US is within days of $20 trillion in national debt* Federal outlays were projected to rise by 6 percent in 2016 —to $3.9 trillion, or 21.2 percent of GDP. That increase is the result of a nearly 7 percent rise in mandatory spending, a 3 percent increase in discretionary outlays (which stem from annual appropriations), and a 14 percent jump in net interest spending. *Read more* .... *WNU Editor:* And it looks like it is going to get worse .... *What are conservatives doing voting to increase debt by $9 trillion?* (Sacramento Bee). *Update: *The U.S. national d... more »
Nazi Pact with Russia: “The Devils’ Alliance: Hitler’s Pact with Stalin, 1939-41” (Review)
Book Review from H-Diplo, H-Net: “REVIEW published on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 Author: Roger Moorhouse Reviewer: Steven M. Miner Miner on Moorhouse, … Continue reading →
Trump’s Pick for Commerce Secretary Conflicts of Interest: Steel Industry, Russia, China
From ProPublica: Trump’s Pick for Commerce Secretary May Have the Biggest Conflicts of Them All by Derek Kravitz, Dec. 16, … Continue reading →
Iran's Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani Dies At 82
*Reuters*: *Former Iran president Rafsanjani dies in blow to moderates* Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday at the age of 82, a big blow to moderates and reformists deprived now of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment. He had been described as "a pillar of the Islamic revolution". His pragmatic policies – economic liberalization, better relations with the West and empowering elected bodies - appealed to many Iranians but were despised by hardliners. Few have wielded such influence in modern Iran but since 2009 Rafsanjani and h... more »
Ivory Coast Calm After Two-Day Mutiny By Soldiers
*BBC:* *Ivory Coast unrest: Calm reported after two-day mutiny* A rebellion in Ivory Coast over soldiers' pay appears to have passed. Residents and correspondents in the second city, Bouake, described calm on the streets - a day after troops briefly seized the defence minister. The rebellion had spread from there to other cities, including the commercial hub, Abidjan, but that city, too, is now quiet. A deal was struck between the mutinous soldiers and the government on Saturday, though details are scant. A correspondent for AFP news agency in Bouake said on Sunday that there had ... more »
UP TWSC turns 40 years
The UP TWSC is now 40 years old, wow. I was part of TWSC before, among my niche places in my Marxist-socialist formation in UP Diliman in the early 80s or 3+ decades ago. I will attend their 2-days international conference next month. Not to renew my vow to socialism of course, but to see how modern socialists in UP, other universities view the present world. In 1983, I worked as student assistant of Prof. Ed Tadem in his "Mindanao research project" at TWSC for 1 year. I was getting P300/month salary, plus my Philsucom scholarship allowance of P500/month, so P800/month it was someh... more »
Collard Greens, So Good For You
Dandelion Salad Updated: Sept. 7, 2012 added another video recipe Photos by Dandelion Salad Text from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_greens May 20, 2011 “Nutritional information Widely considered to be a healthy food, collards are good sources of vitamin C and soluble fiber and contain multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as diindolylmethane and sulforaphane.[citation needed] Roughly a […]
Food Watch: An interesting exchange between the NYT critic and a Bay Area restaurateur
*LocoL creators Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi [click to enlarge]* by Ken I don't know quite what to make of this story, but I know there's something interesting about it, something worth thinking about a little, and so I'm just going to dish the story out in its three steps and leave it to you to make of it what you will. It's certainly possible that *Tasting Table* and *TT* correspondent Alison Spiegel have it right. They clearly know what *they* think about the story, as we know right away from the head on Alison's January 4 *TT* post: "Roy Choi Had the Perfect Response to NYT's... more »
#TopTen | #2: John Key had an unbelievable solution for affordable housing
*Today I’m blogging last year’s second-most popular post here at EnZed’s fourth-most read political blog, with the strange tale that John Key not only knew that New Zealand had a problem of unaffordable housing, not only did he know the problem was urgent, but he had already announced an unbelievable solution to fix it.Trouble, was, this was way back in 2007 in one of his major election speeches …* ------------------------------ *John Key has had an unbelievable solution for affordable housing11 October, 2016* John Key has an unbelievable solution for affordable housing, which... more »
Antarctica Video
Some interesting data on Antarctica. Use discernment... as to some details...
Not a Shred of Evidence that Russia Hacked Emails or Served as a Source for WikiLeaks by David Swanson
by David Swanson Writer, Dandelion Salad Let’s Try Democracy January 8, 2017 The U.S. government has now generated numerous news stories and released multiple “reports” aimed at persuading us that Vladimir Putin is to blame for Donald Trump becoming president. U.S. media has dutifully informed us that the case has been made. What has been […]
GAIA PORTAL: Preludes have finished
*Preludes have finished* by ÉirePort Preludes have finished. Marshalls are released. Statics are removed. Gaia flows enrich the New Earth. ÉirePort | January 8, 2017 at 10:10 | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p2sFUY-Bj
Jumping The Shark?
It's intriguing how famous deaths get reported. My Twitter timeline (self-selected of course) is full of people saying that the just-dead Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 'The Shark', former president of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1989-1997), was the Islamist regime's mastermind at its bloodiest era - a dark age of mass executions, torture and fear - and that Rafsanjani was very much one of the bad guys. They say they won't celebrate his death, but they won't give his life a good gloss either. The BBC's main report on his death, in contrast, presents him as a leading revolutionary w... more »
The Left Unity Masturbation at Work Debate
We've had the Trotskyism vs BDSM debate and split, but in truth that is small beer compared to the finest sectariana below. This was a debate that took place on a *public* Facebook forum of Left Unity, the sort of Ken Loach vehicle that has since largely dissolved itself into Labour. Many thanks to @ursusocculta for unearthing it. All further comment is superfluous.
Twenty-Five (or so) Questions for Senate Hearings on Trump National Security Appointees
I used to be a Senate staffer, and one of the most interesting parts of my job was helping Senators prepare for hearings. If I were a Senate staffer now, here’s hearing questions I’d recommend for President-Elect Trump’s national security nominees, Rex Tillerson (Secretary of State), General James Mattis (Secretary of Defense), and General John […]
Who are the real purveyors of 'fake news'?
https://youtu.be/IUoOU3xvqU8 Who are the real purveyors of 'fake news'? Is it the alt-right or the main stream media?
We have to talk about Ofcom
As Alan at *Biased BBC* notes, even the *Guardian* - in the shape of its former long-term editor Peter Preston - sees that there's potentially a huge problem with Ofcom. And the problem is, to quote Alan paraphrasing Peter Preston, that Ofcom is "jampacked to the gills with BBC types". And, as you'll know, this very ex-BBC-stuffed Ofcom is about to take over from the BBC Trust as the BBC's main watchdog. And that *isn't *encouraging. Here's PP, being somewhat mocking (at the expense of the *Mail *and the *Sun*) but making a serious point: So it’s instructive to play Dacre of t... more »
Holy Sardine, Batman - Kellyanne Conway blows Jake Tapper and Chuck Todd, not just out of the water, but off the planet...
*this woman not only has nerves of steel, but is as smart as a cocker spaniel on steroids.* Both Chick Chuck Todd and Jake Tapper sound like the fools and the shills they are. Russia Russia, Russia. Is that their only focus? Apparently so. No matter how hard they try, they can't drive Kellyanne off topic. Todd, with the girly facial hair, is particularly obvious and smarmy.
Another View of Events
*You can't always get what you want* Progs and those with round the clock armed protection - like Barack and the Clintons - would prefer that the "basked of deplorables" be disarmed once and for all. The Constitution and the Second Amendment has been an annoying hindrance to the progressive movement and all of those nasty people in fly-over country, clinging to God and guns is compounded when they vote. Clearly, anyone who didn't vote for Hillary (anointed by the progs and confirmed by the media) hates women in much the same way that anyone who didn't vote for Barack is a racist. ... more »
Music round
At the risk of continuing to make this blog more about '...and any other matters that take our fancy' than 'Is the BBC biased?', my Twitter feed tells me that BBC Radio 4 is asking which five *Desert Island Discs *guests have chosen songs by the Sex Pistols. The answer is: Hanif Kureishi, Kathy Burke, Noel Gallagher, Paul Whitehouse and Ricky Gervais. The 'Search' function on the *Desert Island Discs *website is very useful for answering such questions, if such trivia interests you. My favourite classical composer, Sibelius, has been chosen by about 72 guests for example, includi... more »
CHAOS REIGNS / TRUMP TWEETS ONLY HE CAN BE BELIEVED / OBAMA LEGACY QUESTIONED
*The seeds of **Authoritarianism has been officially planted in America with the Election of Donald Trump along with strong central power, limited political freedoms and little constitutional accountability. Only the authoritarian tweeter voice of president-elect Trump can be seen and heard, the mainstream corporate media is thoroughly disqualified and small voices of truth such as Amy Goodman remain as reminders of a paradise lost and squandered: Allen L Roland, PhD* *A Twitter voice in the Dark* *Glenn Greenwald:** Mainstream US Media Is Culpable for Di... more »
We Pay £25 Million For Smart Meter Advertising!
By Paul Homewood h/t Patsy Lacey http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/07/smart-meters-choir-pr-stunt-hits-bum-note-industry-critics/ From the Telegraph: Smart Energy GB, the official campaign to drive take-up of smart gas and electricity meters, has sparked industry debate over its tactics after commissioning a professionally-recorded song about the controversial £11bn scheme. The organisation, set up by the Government to raise […]
300 U.S. Marines Are Being Deployed To Afghanistan's Helmand Province To Assist In The War Against The Taliban
*Reuters*: *U.S. to send 300 Marines to Afghanistan's Helmand province* About 300 U.S. Marines will be sent to Afghanistan's Helmand province to assist Afghan security forces battling Taliban insurgents in intelligence and logistics matters, the unit's commander said over the weekend. The deployment to Helmand will be the Marines' first to the southern province since they left in 2014 as the U.S. declared an end to its combat mission. Since then, Afghan security forces, still backed by Washington in the form of air strikes and hundreds of advisors, have struggled to contain the Ta... more »
Angst
Regular readers of this blog might recall that I'm a fan of comedian Jake Yapp, defending him against all comers. If you don't remember Jake, he's the guy behind this very funny take on Radio 4: Well, Radio 4 has now given him his own series and he started his pilot show by gave the BBC studio audience an abbreviated version of that very routine. Interestingly, he dropped his open mockery of Jane Garvey, a gay-themed *Woman's Hour *drama and Radio 4 comedy, especially *The Now Show - *the latter perhaps wisely as he started (very occasionally) appearing on *The Now Show *soon a... more »
North Korea Claims That It Can Test-Launch An ICBM At Any Time
*Reuters*:* North Korea says can test-launch ICBM at any time: official news agency* North Korea declared on Sunday it can test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any time from any location set by leader Kim Jong Un, saying a hostile U.S. policy is to blame for its arms development. Kim said on Jan. 1 that his nuclear-capable country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). "The ICBM will be launched anytime and anywhere determined by the supreme headquarters of the DPRK," an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by ... more »
South Korea And The U.S. Are Quickly Setting-Up A Special Brigade To Elimate The North Korean Leadership In The Event Of War
*CNN*: *South Korea speeds up creation of Kim Jong Un 'decapitation unit'* Seoul (CNN)South Korea is ratcheting up its rhetoric against Pyongyang with a new threat: Come at us, and we'll cut off the head of the snake. The country is speeding up plans to set up what some call a "decapitation unit," a brigade specifically tasked with targeting North Korea's "wartime command," including leader Kim Jong Un, according to a South Korea Defense Ministry official. The unit will be activated in the "event of war," the official said. Technically, South Korea and North Korea are still at war... more »
Who are the real terrorists? Palestinian resistance targets soldiers, while Israelis massacre women and children
My book Questioning the War on Terror explores the question of what "terrorism" means, whether it's really a threat to Americans, and who's really behind itBy Kevin Barrett, TruthJihad.com Was the Palestinian who drove a truck into a crowd of Israeli soldiers a "terrorist"? Of course not. The word "terrorism" means "attacking civilians to incite fear." The Palestinian truck driver did not attack civilians. He attacked soldiers. So call him a "resistance fighter" or "freedom fighter" or "anti-occupation combatant" or whatever else you want. But the one thing he obviously is NOT is... more »
A Nuclear War Scenario Broadcast By The BBC (This Is A Fictional Account On What Happens If War Breaks Out In Europe Today)
*WNU Editor*: I discovered this video by accident this morning. This is a nuclear war scenario broadcast by the BBC. It is very realistic .... and scary .... very scary.
Syrian War News Updates -- January 8, 2017
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (centre) meets French lawmakers in the Syrian capital Damascus on January 8, 2017 (AFP Photo/) *AFP*:* Syria's Assad 'optimistic' on new peace talks: French MP* Damascus (AFP) - Syria's President Bashar al-Assad told visiting French lawmakers on Sunday that he was "optimistic" about new peace talks planned for later this month, a member of the delegation told AFP. Lawmaker Thierry Mariani said the Syrian president also declared himself willing to negotiate with nearly 100 rebel groups fighting against his government, excluding jihadist organisations... more »
Good King Christian
Here, totally randomly, is an extraordinary piece of wartime footage showing the elderly King Christian X of Denmark inspiring his people in Nazi-occupied Denmark by riding out, through the streets of his capital, unguarded and unarmed, every day: King Christian X on one of his solo morning rides through Copenhagen. He did this throughout the Nazi occupation of Denmark. pic.twitter.com/2ze2vlw9vZ — Dan Jackson (@northumbriana) January 8, 2017 The king's back story is fascinating. The myth that he wore a Star of David whilst riding through Copenhagen to show his solidarity with Eur... more »
Some of my best Amazon purchases...
*out of many.* I purchase a lot of merchandise online. I've never liked to shop, and quit doing so many, many years ago. I learned early on if you want to keep your budget under control, one of the best ways to do so was to stay the heck out of stores and always shop with a list. I only purchase on Amazon after doing a local search for the same item which, in many cases, is less expensive than Amazon. Here are some of my best Amazon buys: I don't think any of you are surprised by this first one - the *Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker. * It's used almost every day around here... more »
Why Can't The Republicans Compete In America's Cities?
A lot has been made about how Hillary and other Democrats have failed to address the needs of rural America and have failed electorally in rural areas. Democratic policy for rural America is actually far better than Republican policy but that isn’t where Democrats have failed. They’ve failed culturally in areas where social conservatism and religionist superstition is still powerful, something that would be hard to avoid while sweeping fear more progressive areas, the big cities. This past cycle, Hillary kicked ass in urban America, while losing in under-populated rural districts—... more »
Peace Prize-Winning Obama Gets DoD’s Highest Honor for Dropping 50K Bombs on Muslims in 2 Years
[image: bombs]The Nobel Peace Prize recipient was just given the DoD's highest honor for dropping tens of thousands of bombs on Muslims.
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. - James Wilt writes that the PR campaign pushing pipelines is based largely on the false claim that the only other choice is to allow even more dangerous means of facilitating the burning of fossil fuels. And David Suzuki argues that the cost of addressing obvious environmental problems including climate change is only increasing as we delay acting on them. - Jim Stanford notes that an intelligent response from Canada (as opposed to one based solely in free-trade dogma) could secure some advantages out of Donald Trump's expected trade policies.... more »
HOW MANY DIVISIONS DOES JENNIFER LAWRENCE HAVE?
Right-wingers are upset about celebrities again: Can't wait to have to star fucker out of the White House. Obama was a groupie who denigrated the office. https://t.co/WD7Yduo4Rb — Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) January 8, 2017 That's in response to a *Daily Mail* story about a White House farewell party Friday night: Dozens of celebrities turned out to party until 4am at the White House in a farewell bash that saw the likes of Paul McCartney, Meryl Streep and SJP tear up the dancefloor.... The bash was well attended by artists, philanthropists, activists, and executives, many o... more »
Musings On Iraq In The News
I was mentioned in “Iraqi coalition forces ‘won’t be able to defeat Isis’ until summer,” in The Independent, and Breitbart re-did a Rudaw article I was interviewed in.
Mosul Campaign Day 83, Jan 7, 2017
For the first time new areas of Mosul were freed by the Iraqi forces (ISF). January 6 Muthanna in the northeast was declared freed by the Golden Division, but there was still fighting there the next day. That was followed by Atibaa 1 and 2 and Rafaq being taken next door. The housing district in Hadbaa farther north was also liberated. In the southeastthe Salah and Shafaa Hospitalsin Wahda were freed by the Federal Police and Rapid Reaction forces, and the adjoining Ghufran neighborhood by the Golden Division. That unit was also securingthe roads leading to the Fourth Bridge the s... more »
Yemen War News Updates -- January 8, 2017
The Bab Al-Mandeb strait has oil tankers squeezing between Yemen and Djibouti. Photo: CIA World Factbook *AFP:* *Yemen clashes leave scores killed in battle for strategic strait* Aden (AFP) - At least 68 fighters have been killed in two days of fierce battles between Yemeni forces and Shiite Huthi rebels near the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, military officials said Sunday. Government forces launched on Saturday an assault to recapture the coastal Dhubab district, just 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Bab al-Mandab which links the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Since then at lea... more »
On litmus tests
Gregory Beatty raises some noteworthy possibilities as to how Ryan Meili's entry into the Saskatoon-Meewasin by-election may reverberate in Saskatchewan's broader political scene. But there are a few more potential effects worth pointing out. For some time, there's been a generally-unexplained combination of dismissiveness and negativity toward Meili in some corners of the media, typically backed by anonymous NDP sources. And the point most frequently used to challenge him as a potential leader has been the lack of a seat in the Legislature (generally combined with some comment abou... more »
Mark McKim : METRO | Protest the Trump inauguration in Austin
Join the One Resistance Rally and Protest Friday, March 20, from Auditorium Shores to the Capitol. By Mark McKim | The Rag Blog | January 8, 2016 America faces a crisis. Donald Trump’s campaign promises threaten millions. We must rally, … finish reading Mark McKim : *METRO* | Protest the Trump inauguration in Austin
Driverless vehicles
Honest Reporting highlights the BBC’s habit of attributing terror attacks to inanimate objects. It’s something to do with avoiding the dreaded value judgement. (Mustn’t use the term ‘terror’ re Israel unless it’s to quote verbatim.) So we have a series of headlines : *Jerusalem ‘lorry attack’ injures 15.* I’m not quite sure why they’ve put *lorry attack* in single quotation marks - perhaps they’re using droll humour and satirising themselves. Next example - scare quotes are gone, and the headline is: *Jerusalem lorry attack injures soldiers.* Finally they acknowledged the presen... more »
Jerusalem attack: Four dead after lorry driver rams soldiers per BBC News
One line from this BBC report http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38546740 struck me: 'The Palestinian leadership has blamed frustration rooted in decades of Israeli occupation.' The institutionally anti Israel don't explain what the Palestinian leadership mean by occupation. It's the same as the anti Israel protesters mean when they chant "From the river to the sea..." The Palestinian leadership, people and presumably the institutionally anti Israel BBC, see the whole of Israel as being on occupied land.
Taxpayers Hit For $4.4mn After Cops Shot Innocent Food Delivery Man 14 Times — Cops NOT Fired
[image: settlement]The city of Philadelphia has reached a $4.4 million settlement with a deliveryman which 2 officers say they mistakenly shot 14 times.
Tanker Bomb Blast Kills 48 In Rebel-Held Syrian Town
*Al Jazeera*: *Bomb kills dozens in northern Syrian city of Azaz* *At least 48 people killed and many others wounded in northern stronghold of Turkey-backed Syrian rebels.* A fuel truck exploded in the busy centre of a rebel-held town near Syria's border with Turkey on Saturday killing dozens of people and wounding dozens more. The blast struck near a bustling market and in front of a courthouse in Azaz killing at least 48 people - a death toll expected to rise, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Observatory, said the explosio... more »
Four Israelis Soldiers Have Been Killed And 15 Wounded In A Terrorist Truck Attack In Jerusalem
*Daily Mail*:* ISIS blamed for Israel attack: Horrifying moment a truck driver mows down soldiers in Jerusalem, killing four and injuring 15, before being shot dead at the wheel in copycat of Berlin massacre * * Four Israelis soldiers have been killed and 15 wounded in a terrorist truck attack in Jerusalem * The victims had disembarked a bus on a sightseeing tour when the truck driver veered into them * Israeli police confirmed the suspected terrorist had been 'neutralised' * Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ISIS is to blame but provided no further details A Pales... more »
Blame Displacement of Jobs on Automation, Not Offshoring and Immigration
There's been a lot of talk about globalization and immigration and the displacement of jobs, but the real threat is technological unemployment caused by automation. Some see in this a cause for fear; others see it as an opportunity and inevitable historic transition. Whatever the case, we're in for a bumpy ride. The post Blame Displacement of Jobs on Automation, Not Offshoring and Immigration appeared first on Futurism.
The Future Is Here. Robots Can Now 3D Print…Themselves.
University of Oslo is developing a system that can 3D print customized robots. The post The Future Is Here. Robots Can Now 3D Print…Themselves. appeared first on Futurism.
More Than Human: Scientist is Building Animal-Like Machines to Save Lives
A robotics engineer is pioneering the use of robotics for first responders. This new breed of machines could help save lives in situations where human responders are unable to safely reach victims. The post More Than Human: Scientist is Building Animal-Like Machines to Save Lives appeared first on Futurism.
BWorld 101, Christmas lights, energy mix and electricity production in Asia
* This is my article in BusinessWorld last December 21, 2016. The holiday season, among others, is marked by the presence of so many lighted streets, buildings, malls, and houses. These sparkling and glittering Christmas lights and decors -- besides adding smiles and happiness -- also indicate continuing and rising material prosperity of the Philippines and its cities. The change in the energy mix policy by the Department of Energy (DoE) is better appreciated in this context. Not only do people want cheaper electricity, they also want 24/7 energy with no brownout even for one minu... more »
Is Russia Planning To Invade And Escalate The War In Ukraine?
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a December 23 press conference. Credit: Kremlin.ru *Alexander J. Motyl, Atlantic Council:* *Is Russia Planning a Major Land War against Ukraine?* Recent evidence suggest that Russia may be planning a major land war against Ukraine. While Russian President Vladimir Putin talks peace, several leading Russian analysts have explicitly endorsed the “Syrian variant” with respect to Ukraine. Are they speaking for themselves or are they acting on behalf of the regime, sending out trial balloons in order to test the popular, and overseas, respons... more »
A Mother Reflects on Cannabis Therapy for her Autistic Son
In the excerpt below, a mother of a son with autism describes her success in treating her son's violent outbursts with marijuana, which has allowed him to gain the self control necessary for social learning. I remember when my son with a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome used to have violent outbursts. It was terrible. There was no treatment beyond the risperdal proposed by doctors who knew nothing about autism and nothing about that particular drug, which has the demonstrated capacity to turn kids into corpulent zombies. See my posts linked below about the ugly politics of risperda... more »
The Biggest Bombshell since Clarkson quit Top Gear
Now that the dust is beginning to settle, a bit more on the story that Craig posted earlier. It’s very sad that the UK media has pounced on this story - some would call it a non-story - about Al Jazeera’s undercover ‘revelations’ which they are presenting as evidence that Israel is controlling the UK government. Apparently this ‘scoop’ forms part of a four-episode propaganda documentary by Qatari-based TV channel Al Jazeera. Why hasn’t anyone shown any interest in that? If you’re interested in lobbying, surely you’ll be interested in that? The fact that the BBC and Sky (the only ... more »
Alice Embree : METRO | Mourn, then organize
By Alice Embree | The Rag Blog | January 8, 2016 AUSTIN — In 1915, when Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organizer Joe Hill was awaiting execution before a Utah firing squad, he wrote the following to his fellow … finish reading Alice Embree : *METRO* | Mourn, then organize
CNN Retracts their Own “Fake News” as Americans Label them Least Trusted Cable News Network
[image: cnn]Wikileaks founder Julian Assange goes after CNN and forces them to apologize for calling him a pedophile.
Over 100 Children Accuse UN Peacekeepers of Rape — Not a Single Soldier Charged
[image: un]Does the UN expect the world to believe that all of these children are lying?
US Military Fueling Big Ambitions For PKK/YPG Terrorists
*WaPo being pretty out in the open here with the arming, training and indoctrination of and by PKK/YPG. Long term readers here won't be shocked by any of the information contained in the Washington Post article- Since I've long spoken of the middle east remake. * *Washington Post* *TAL ABYAD, Syria —In a former high school classroom in this northeastern Syrian town, about 250 Arab recruits for the U.S.-backed war against the Islamic State were being prepped by Kurdish instructors to receive military training from American troops. * *Most of the recruits were from villages surround... more »
Caveat Lector
"Let the reader beware" is especially important in this new age of McCarthyism, Trumpism and consolidated corporate-sponsored churnalism setting the agendas and formulating the group-think narratives. Of course, discerning truth from lies, truth from truthiness, opinion from fact, fact from factoid and ad infinitum is difficult even in so-called normal times. We tend to seek information from sources that confirm our own biases. For example, if we want to be reassured that Trump voters really are a basket of deplorables, we look no further than* Salon. *If we're convinced that everyb... more »
This is The World This Weekend that Was
Mark Mardell has consistently attempted to turn *The World This Weekend *into Radio 4's most intellectually hefty news programme, and today's edition was no exception. There were professors and authors galore. Its heavy focus on matters on matters relating to both Brexit and the future of the EU was just as typical. And the guest list was no less characteristic in being strongly pro-EU biased. Only one out of the six voices heard from was a Eurosceptic one. The first interview was with the (Remain-voting) shadow foreign secretary Sir Keir Starmer, who stuck surprisingly close... more »
Research on CBE and Personalized Learning
*Competence-based education and educational effectiveness: A critical review of the research literature on outcome-oriented policy making in education * The paper assesses the empirical evidence for outcomes of competence-based education which are envisaged by policy-makers, and gives some interpretations of how the topic is handled in the political processes. This is achieved by a review of the research literature as documented in bibliographical databases which cover academic publications and in more practical material. The searches were generic, and included not only specific c... more »
Horse Lays His Head On Coffin In Grief As He Says Goodbye To His Best Friend
This is the moment a horse showed a remarkable sense of loss as it neighed at the funeral of its owner, shocking family and friends as it appeared to bid him an emotional goodbye. The creature added to mourners’ amazement when, at one stage, it laid its head on the coffin of its cowboy owner, Wagner de Lima Figueiredo, 34, and sighed as if it was crying. Sereno the horse was taken to the funeral by Wagner’s brother, Wando de Lima, on Tuesday in Paraiba, north east Brazil. Mr de Lima said: “This horse was everything to [Wagner], it was as if the horse knew what was happening and w... more »
President Obama Has Not Presided Over A ‘Retrenchment’ In U.S. Foreign And War Policy
President Barack Obama is photographed through the window as he speaks in the Oval Office during a conference call at the White House in Washington, June 2, 2014. *Daniel Larison, The American Conservative: **Obama Hasn’t Presided Over ‘Retrenchment’* Kori Schake *tries* to keep the myth of “retreat” and “retrenchment” under Obama alive: *Once in office, Obama made it clear that his commitment to retrenchment extended much further. Time and again, he sought to limit or reduce U.S. involvement in conflicts overseas, even when circumstances changed in ways that led many—including s... more »
WATCH: Hero Cops Set the Bar — Disarm Mentally Ill Marine Vet WITHOUT Killing Him
[image: killing]Mentally ill Marine veteran dares cops to kill him as he threatens them with a knife. Lives to tell about it after cops take him in without killing him.
South Dakota Artist Turns Scrapyard Junk Into Amazing Landscape Art
John Lopez uses the landscape, wildlife, and history of his South Dakota home as inspiration for his sculptures. During the time of Manifest Destiny and westward expansion, pioneers had to make do with their own grit, guts, and gumption to survive. The wilderness is a tough place to live, even under the best of circumstances. It’s this sort of history that South Dakota artist John Lopez uses as inspiration for his beautiful and iconic work. John doesn’t use paint or ink to create his masterpieces. Instead, he scours scrapyards and farms for discarded equipment—but it’s what he crea... more »
Man Kidnapped and Caged for Days After Cops Mistake Kitty Litter for Meth
[image: kits]Incompetent cops, using known faulty kits, mistook kitty litter for meth and kidnapped an innocent man -- then bragged about it on social media.
Despite Being Illegal in Most of the US, Legal Pot Sales Booming More than Dot-Com Era
[image: legal]Legal cannabis sales experienced unprecedented growth in 2016, and is on track to do continue — topping $20 billion by 2021.
Why President-elect Trump's Call For Congress To Investigate NBC On Who Leaked The Intelligence Report To Them Should Not Be Ignored
How did NBC get "an exclusive look into the top secret report he (Obama) was presented?" Who gave them this report and why? Politics! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017 How did NBC get "an exclusive look into the top secret report he (Obama) was presented?" Who gave them this report and why? Politics! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017 *Callum Borchers, Washington Post*: *Why the media can’t dismiss Trump’s call on Congress to investigate an NBC report* President-elect Donald Trump is upset that NBC News on Thursday previewed the substance of a... more »
While we were distracted by terrorists a coup over our election process took place...
*the Homeland Security takeover of US elections* *On a scale of importance from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important, this breaking development is a 500.* By Jon Rappoport On Friday, the traditional day of the week for quietly releasing big news that will hopefully be ignored by the public—and also obscured by the Fort Lauderdale Airport shooting—the chief of Homeland Security announced that his office will be taking over US elections. If you can’t see the coup in progress, you need to keep looking until the message comes through. Read carefully—ABC News reports. My comments ar... more »
Tweet For Today
Queen Elizabeth II appears in public after heavy cold https://t.co/ZcBd51uO30 — AFP news agency (@AFP) January 8, 2017
Can Beto O'Rourke Beat Ted Cruz In 2018?
In 2012, when Beto O’Rourke decided to challenge corrupt, entrenched establishment Democrat Sylvester Reyes in El Paso (TX-16) it was a real David vs Goliath contest. The entire Democratic establishment rallied behind Reyes, powerful— if somewhat doddering— chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Beto, a former alternative rocker in the band Foss and a city councilman best known for being pro-pot, anti-war on drugs and for fighting crackpot xenophobes. In the primary, all the big guns came out for Reyes, not just Pelosi, Hoyer and both congressional and K Street big guns but... more »
When Autism Crosses the Line
By Cathy Jameson I shared this photo (above) and short story with family and friends while we were on our Christmas vacation: At Ronan's happy place. He was so happy, so very happy. I was, too. Until he crossed the...
Untitled
*From Jenna Orkin *A 1,000-foot-thick ice block about the size of Delaware is snapping off of Antarctica * Dutch Trains Getting 100% Energy from Wind: * Climate Change: Science, Mitigation & Adaptation. Airport Shooter Said He Was "Mind Controlled" By A U.S. Intelligence Agency The suspect in the Fort Lauderdale Airport shooting was known to the FBI * Ya don't say. *The police are using 'super-recognizer' detectives to identify suspects from grainy video footage New bill could force states to allow visiting gun owners to pack heat without a permit We went inside the first fast-foo... more »
Untitled
*Betsy DeVos: Opening The Hearts And Minds Of America* by Paul Hannosh President-Elect Donald Trump’s new Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, is the best pick in the history of the Department of Education since its inception, in this veteran teacher’s opinion. With her school choice prescription, she is just the medicine that a failing educational system needs to restore it to health. Her long time support of the Charter school movement is one key reform element, but the one that will be transformational will be vouchers or tax credits for any private school a parent decides t... more »
Untitled
*The usual gullibility from Kristoff of the Times* *Kristoff has discovered that a lot of Southern Africa is in drought at the moment and has gone there with photographers to savor it. He rediscovers that drought kills a lot of people in poor countries. Australia has tremendous droughts but they don't kill anyone. Kristoff takes no account of that.Kristoff is just echoing some crooked science from people at AMETSOC who should know better. They say that the cause of the drought is El Nino -- which may be true -- but their further claim that the effect was amplified by... more »
Survivor
*Sunday *included a feature about a 14th Century alabaster statue of the Virgin and Child - a rare survivor of the tsunami of iconoclasm that struck England in the wake of the Reformation, when most religious images were either destroyed or lost. The British Museum acquired it last month and Ed Stourton talked to curator Lloyd de Beer about it. It does look a very lovely thing. The statue, made in the Midlands around 1350, shows the standing Virgin crowned as the Queen of Heaven, holding a flowering branch in one hand and the Christ-Child in the other. Christ is holding a golden o... more »
And finally...
Tim Montgomerie sent out a hopeful tweet yesterday in response to Rob Burley, editor of *The Andrew Marr Show*: Hopefully Ms Sturgeon will be quizzed on her educational and SNP's other policy failings and not just tell rest of UK what Scotland wants... He was still holding out hope this morning: Any minute now on #marr @NicolaSturgeon will be held accountable for her SNP govt's performance... almost certainly... perhaps... isn't she? But, alas, his hopes were shattered: No, only questions that followed her agenda. Disgraceful. She got away scot-free on the SNP's record Yes, it w... more »
More And More Pungent
Conservatives have railed for decades about the evils of debt. Now *The Wall Street Journal *reports that they have elected the Debtor-in-Chief. Lauren McCauley writes: An analysis by the Wall Street Journal published Thursday found that the incoming president owes at least $1.85 billion in debt to as many as 150 Wall Street firms and other financial institutions. According to the examination of legal and property documents, “Hundreds of millions of dollars of debt attached to Mr. Trump’s properties, some of them backed by Mr. Trump’s personal guarantee, were packaged into securi... more »
Reality-based climate forecasting by Paul Driessen
*Reality-based climate forecasting* Continuing to focus on carbon dioxide as the driving force will just bring more bogus predictions Paul Driessen These days, even shipwreck museums showcase evidence of climate change. After diving recently among Key West’s fabled ship-destroying barrier reefs, I immersed myself in exhibits from the *Nuestra Senora de Atocha*, the fabled Spanish galleon that foundered during a ferocious hurricane in 1622. The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum now houses many of the gold, silver, emeralds and artifacts that Mel and Deo Fisher’s archeological team recover... more »
Opinion Time
Andrew Marr to Ken Clarke re his friend Sir Ivan Rogers: The question is whether senior diplomats are absolutely up to make that happen, to help that happen, and the extent to which people like Sir Ivan - *who is a very distinguished public servant. I agree with that* - are not entirely enthusiastic about the project they are being asked to lead. Andrew Marr to Julia Hartley-Brewer about Theresa May's *Sunday Telegraph * article: What is behind this *glorious glossy verbiage*? Andrew Marr to Justine Greening (who knows a thing or too about 'verbiage' if her performance this morn... more »
Pablo and Politics (a sermonette)
*Welcome to the Sunday polemic:* The Netflix Series, NARCOS is now in its second season. It retells the life and times of Pablo Escobar, who built an empire on the drug trade. I give the series a solid *7* out of a possible 10. That means that I didn't binge watch it, but I still watched it and found it entertaining. There are lessons that we can learn from both Pablo and from all "bad guys" (which would include people like Hillary Clinton and her coterie of freaks and misfits) who consider themselves "anointed". 1. They use all of the tools at their disposal. 2. They work to gain... more »
A little list?
Does the editor of *The Times*'s Red Box have a point here? - Ken Clarke - Sir Craig Oliver - Nicola Sturgeon - Steve Richards *P.S. *For fans of irony: Ken Clarke began by complaining about a "hardline core of Eurosceptics", calling them "very hardline" and "real zealots". He said they believe in conspiracy theories and are on "a zealot crusade to leave the continent of Europe". His main complaint about them? That they are "turning everything into personal abuse", and that's "an unfortunate feature of our post-Brexit politics".
Yes, America is Descending in Totalitarianism
“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. … Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie … http://ieet.org/archive/Hannah-Arendt.jpg
Blockchain Tech Can Redistribute Power and Erase Borders
Imagine a world where governments compete for your citizenships. Bitcoin and Blockchain expert Toni Lane Casserly explains how this technology could anoint people over institutions.
For lovers of Twitter conversations everywhere...
*Julia Hartley-Brewer (talkRADIO)*: I'll have to drink heavily today. Tomorrow I'm on #Marr with Remoaners-in-chief Craig Oliver (sorry, Sir Craig) & Steve Richards. Dear lord. *Richard Osman (Pointless)*: If you go through the whole of the Marr show tomorrow without saying 'remoaner' I'll donate to the charity of your choice. *Julia Hartley-Brewer*: How much? *Richard Osman*: Depends on the value of the pound. *Julia Hartley-Brewer*: Very good. Can I say Remainiac instead? *Richard Osman*: Yep, that's much funnier. *Julia Hartley-Brewer*: How about you double it if any of the contest...more »
Very special
Given that the BBC News website has been splashing reports and articles about Donald Trump's tweets with gay abandon (there's even one now among the main stories on the BBC's home page), it will be interesting to see if the U.S. President-elect's latest tweet gets the full BBC treatment: (Some wag - an Ozzie journalist - tweeted back, "Please don't grope her.") The tweet was sent forth into the world some six hours ago but there's nothing yet from the BBC website - though that Ozzie journalist's quip might tempt BBC Trending to cover it in time! On the same subject, James Naughtie... more »
Lead story
The BBC, unlike Sky News or ITV, is leading its news website this morning with: An undercover investigation by Al Jazeera (Qatar's answer to Russia's RT) recorded a junior Israeli Embassy employee and an MP's aide joking and bigging themselves up in a London restaurant. The *Mail on Sunday *splashed with the story under the lurid headline 'Israel plot to 'take down' Tory minister' and gave it the full sensationalist treatment ("The Israeli Embassy made a shocking vow to ‘take down’ Boris Johnson’s Foreign Office deputy, a secret film reveals today. The bombshell footage...", etc... more »
President-Elect Trump's Personal Bodyguard Gets A Top White House Job
*Politico:* *Trump taps private security director for White House job* President-elect Donald Trump has tapped his private security director, Keith Schiller, to be deputy assistant to the president and his director of Oval Office operations, confirming that he’ll bring at least one member of his personal security detail with him to the White House. Schiller has worked with Trump since 1999, when the real estate mogul hired him as a part-time bodyguard. He now leads his private security force, a group that recently drew some scrutiny when POLITICO reported that Trump had opted to c... more »
Picture Of The Day
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a Christmas service at the St. George's Monastery, Novgorod Region. © SPUTNIK/ MICHAEL KLIMENTYEV *WNU Editor:* For a photo gallery of Russian Christmas by Sputnik, *go here* *.*
U.S. Army Has Eased Rules On Making It Easier For Religious Troops To Wear Beards, Turbans and Hijabs
*Time*: *The U.S. Army Just Made It Easier for Religious Troops to Wear Beards, Turbans and Hijabs* Hair braids, cornrows, twists and locks are also allowed under the new rules U.S. service men and women who wish to wear a turban, beard or hijab for religious reasons will be able to gain approval thanks to revised uniform regulations that aim to better accommodate religious minorities serving in the military. The revisions — outlined in a memorandum signed by U.S. Army Secretary Eric Fanning earlier this week — allow brigade-level commanders to approve religious accommodations, R... more »
A B-52 Loses One Of Its 8 Engines During Training Mission
April 9, 2016: A pair of U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, taxi after landing at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. (Reuters/Air Force) *Defense News*: *Air Force Secretary: Catastrophic Engine Failure Likely to Blame for Minot B-52 Mishap* MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. — A catastrophic engine failure is the likely cause of a Jan. 4 incident in which a B-52 lost one of its eight engines, top Air Force leaders confirmed to Defense News on Thursday. A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress assigned to Minot Air Force Base’s 5th Bomb Wing was conducting a ... more »
KMT Chairmanship, China relations in the news...
*Unloading a giant water tank as fields are burnt off in the background.* This week, with pro-China gangsters and thugs attacking Joshua Wong and other Hong Kong democracy activists arriving in Taiwan, a former Vice Chair of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) was being interviewed in a Chinese paper. saying that the chaos in the KMT was destabilizing cross-strait relations... (Taipei Times): Regarding Taiwanese politics, Wang said there no longer exists a force within Taiwan that could counterbalance the pro-Taiwan independence faction, *adding that the only such force now lay in ... more »
2017 Preview— Guest Post From Alice Marshall... + Battleground Virginia
If Democrats are to retake the House in 2018, they will need to start work now, in elections of 2017. In spite of gerrymandering, in spite of voter suppression, Democrats can make major gains in local elections that will set them up for success in 2018. And if Democrats are not interested in the job, that creates the opportunity for emergent parties to step forward and fill the vacuum. I encourage progressives to take a look at the record of Virginia's Attorney General, Mark Herring. Herring is best known outside of Virginia for changing Virginia's ban on same sex marriage; but he... more »
President-Elect Trump: 'Only Stupid People Or Fools Think Having Good Relations With Russia Is Bad'
Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only "stupid" people, or fools, would think that it is bad! We..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017 have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am President, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017 both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017 *Bloomberg: **Trump Sa... more »
After All The News And Commentary .... My Take On The Russian Hacking Story
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr. takes his seat to testify before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on "Foreign Cyber Threats to the United States" on Capitol Hill, Jan. 5, 2017. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters *WNU Editor*: Is Russia pursuing cyber intelligence operations against the U.S. (and other countries) .... of course they are. So are the Americans, Chinese, the Israelis, and probably everyone else. Did the Kremlin favour Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton .... this blog gave many examples where Russian officials gave their opinions on who they pref... more »
Trump Sec. of State Pick Rex Tillerson Needs to Be Investigated in the Context of the Boy Scout Sex Abuse-Pedophile Scandals
Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, has spend most of his life deeply involved in two institutions – … Continue reading →
Summing up My New Semi-Empirical Neutrino Physics Ideas from 2016 Year, and some further clarifications
Summing up My New Semi-Empirical Neutrino Physics Ideas from 2016 Year read more
Wonderful Wedding in Taiwan
*Pre-wedding ceremony at Emily's grandfathers house to get blessings of the passed on relatives.* *The parents of the bride and groom on stage for a toast* Two days ago we took a 90-minute high-speed rail ride from Taipei to the southern Taiwanese coastal city of Kaohsiung were Emily is from. Her parents picked us up at the rail station and took us to her grandfather's home where the elders blessing ceremony was held. After a huge traditional lunch we made our way to the Grand Hotel in Kaohsiung were we stayed for two nights. The wedding was also held at this beautiful place. ... more »
AIPAC Wins One— With The Help Of Most Democratic Freshmen
*Ruben Kihuen and Pramila Payapal passed the first congressional courageousness test* Orange County right-wing nut Ed Royce offered a resolution Thursday objecting to the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2334, the one condemning Israeli expropriation of Palestinian land for settlements in the occupied territories. It has no force of law and is just an expression of wing nut ideology but it passed overwhelmingly, 342-80. There’s not much to learned from it, but it’s worth looking at how the freshmen voted. (The Democratic freshmen; obviously all the newly-elected Republicans are brai... more »
Musical Interlude: Elton John, "Border Song"
Elton John, "Border Song" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRh_QjJPFM8
"A Look to the Heavens"
"NGC 6188 is an interstellar carnival of young blue stars, hot red gas, and cool dark dust. Located 4,000 light years away in the disk of our Galaxy, NGC 6188 is home to the Ara OB1 association, a group of bright young stars whose nucleus forms the open cluster NGC 6193. These stars are so bright that some of their blue light reflects off of interstellar dust forming the diffuse blue glow surrounding the stars in the above photograph. *Click image for larger size.* Open cluster NGC 6193 formed about three million years ago from the surrounding gas, and appears unusually rich in close... more »
Chet Raymo
*“In The Morning Of The World” * by Chet Raymo “We knew the morning was special when we saw the blue meadow. Oh, yes, we knew- Bailey, Greg and I- that the grass in the meadow beyond the trees was green, but on that particular morning, with sunlight streaming aslant through honey-colored leaves, the meadow was indisputably, undeniably, stop-in-your-tracks-and-take-a-deep-breath blue. And in some corner of our minds- as happens to all who attend the world and write- we scribbled mental notes: morning light, honey dew, blue meadow. I've introduced Greg and Bailey on this site before,... more »
"Who Are You?
"Go without a coat when it's cold; find out what cold is. Go hungry; keep your existence lean. Wear away the fat, get down to the lean tissue and see what it's all about. The only time you define your character is when you go without. In times of hardship, you find out what you're made of and what you're capable of. If you're never tested, you'll never define your character." - Henry Rollins
"The Absurdity Of Life..."
"Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people ... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Thanks for stopping by!
"Hall of Mirrors: The Psychology of False Flags"
*"Hall of Mirrors: The Psychology of False Flags"* By Richard Hugus "Have you ever met someone in a narrow passage and found it difficult to get around them because they kept moving the same way as you? Did you ever see a bird attacking his reflection in a window, thinking it was another bird? What about the foretelling of an experience in déjà vu? These are instances of the uncanny. They involve the phenomenon of mirroring. There is something about mirrors that undermines human rationality. We are presented with a logical impossibility – something is apparent to our senses, but it... more »
Europe Shivers Due to AGW Aka “Human Forced “ Global Warming? Ontario's Junta Picks Pockets
*Global Warming/ "Human Forced" of course- Oh wait a minute it's freakin' freezing!* "Human Forced" Just taking note of yet another rebrand... as *Ontario begins the new year with a big fat carbon tax- Driving up costs across the board- And further impoverishing Ontarians.* *Ontario being the biggest have not province in Canada- 3rd world like is the best way to describe it!* * The latest tax grab from the junta in Ontario* *>* * Unfortunately the small hydro rebates Premier Kathleen Wynne is doling out, as she finds herself at 13 per cent in the polls largely because her green ... more »
Alaska's Inupiat elders use video gaming to keep culture alive
"Never Alone is an amazing testament to our elders who embraced the game because they saw that it could help young people connect to the stories and the culture," said Hope. Alaska's indigenous Inupiat people have long used oral and written storytelling to pass down life lessons and values. Their stories, rooted in folklore and mythology, include tales of overcoming obstacles faced by the community, located in the northern most region of Alaska. Winter is brutal and sunlight disappears from mid-November until the end of January. But as much as storytelling is integral to Inupiat ... more »
Let’s Stop With the Carbon Con Already
[image: let-s-stop-with-the-carbon-con-already] The side that defines the vocabulary of a debate, wins the debate. So we could ask: as we fight the global-warming scam, why are we using the language of the scammers?
Session with Loie 1/5/17: Gender, past, present and future - Intentional Conception, limitless choices of appearance
This excerpted from a conversation with Loie on 1/5/17 in which she showed me what it felt like to be formless, since that discussion doesn't translate well into a blog post (being largely felt and experienced) I thought I'd post this portion which concerns the history of gender. When we enter the Complete Earth, or what some called "ascension" many limitations depart and indeed are departing now. It will be possible for one to change one's gender to the one that is preferred. Also a number of things will change with female reproduction become a much less burdensome than it i... more »
Happy New Year?
It’s now 2017, and we get to soon face what a United States run by a sympathizer to Vladimir Putin will look like. And it’s not looking good. I’m not going to comment on the national politics here though. You can read about that elsewhere. Just remember that Trump always lies, even when the declassified […]
Planet Perfecto - Bullet in the Gun
This remains Oakenfold's finest moment.
Airport Shooter Said He Was “Mind Controlled” By A U.S. Intelligence Agency
[image: mind]The Fort Lauderdale airport shooter admits he was ‘mind controlled’ by intelligence agency, eyewitness claims there were at least three other “sleepers.”
Hey, cartoon-caption-writing compulsives, for the first time in a decade "The New Yorker" is staging a Reverse Caption Contest
*by Ken* What you see above is one example provided by *New Yorker* cartoon editor Bob Mankoff of the process of a Reverse Caption Contest. Of course in the standard weekly *New Yorker* Caption Contest, one of the magazine's formidable roster of cartoonists provides a drawing minus a caption, and readers are invited to submit their best efforts. In the "reverse caption" process, cartoonists are provided with a caption for which, as Bob puts it, they have to "come up with an unusual image that makes it into a punch line." As, for example, the line "No wonder we could get tickets." ... more »
Water protectors from across Turtle Island shut down Pipeline in Texas
Dozens of self-described water protectors flooded a construction site in Far West Texas this morning, shutting down construction on a high-pressure natural gas pipeline for more than two hours. Members of the Society of Native Nations and Big Bend Defense Coalition, two of several groups fighting the construction of the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, chained themselves beneath an excavator while others ran deeper into the easement and occupied sections of the disjointed pipeline itself. The Trans-Pecos Pipeline is a Texas intrastate pipeline designed to transport 1.4 billion cubic feet per ... more »
KATHLEEN PARKER HAS MADE SOME PROGRESS SINCE 2008
Kathleen Parker's latest column is titled "If Obama Is a Muslim, Is Trump a Russian Spy?" She starts with that glib premise -- hey, if conservatives could call Barack Obama a Kenyan-born Muslim all those years, shouldn't liberals return the favor and make the equally absurd charge that Donald Trump a spy for the Russkies? -- but as the column progresses, she expresses increasing alarm at the fact that Trump really does seem to be acting in Russia's best interest rather than America's: Obviously, Trump wants to preserve the narrative that he won fair and square. And, clearly, claims ... more »
Chris Hedges: Liberal Elites Spoke The Language Of Values While Thrusting A Knife Into The Backs Of The Underclass
Dandelion Salad with Chris Hedges RT America on Jan 7, 2017 On this week’s episode of On Contact, Chris Hedges discusses strategies of resistance with Michael Gecan, author of “Going Public: An Organizer’s Guide to Citizen Action”. RT Correspondent reports on the godfather of community organizing, Saul Alinsky. from the archives: What Would Happen If […]
"War With Who?"
*"War With Who?"* by JWMJR "The Democrats have quite insanely been trying to stir up a war with Russia for quite some time now. Thankfully they have been unsuccessful so far. If we are concerned about a war, realistically we had best look south rather than east. Former Mexican President Vincente Fox bitching about who is going to pay for "The Wall" was a pretty clear signal. Not that he is concerned about who pays but rather that he and the rest of Mexico's political establishment is undoubtedly coming under huge pressures from the country's criminal cartels. The long standing co... more »
Shadows (and light) from science fiction: drowned worlds and brightnesses
Before discussing dark dystopias, here’s something more uplifting... The perfect, thought-provoking pre-order! Chasing Shadows is an anthology edited by David Brin and Stephen Potts -- in partnership with the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination -- with stories and essays by William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Cat Rambo, Vernor Vinge, Ramez Naam, Scott Sigler, Neal Stephenson, Aliette de Bodard, John Perry Barlow, Robert J. Sawyer and other science fiction luminaries—available January 10th from Tor Books ( pre-order now). Already posted at Tor’s site is the book’s Introductio... more »
How the FL Shooting Will Be Used to Bolster War, Usurp Freedom, & Create More Terrorism
[image: shooting]In the wake of another mass shooting, don't let crafty politicians use this tragedy as a weapon against you.
Jan. 7: A bad day for the world.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/global-warming-hiatus-never-happened-say-climate-scientists-1.3922378 The story above is rather an important one. Climate change is happening; and the results will be quite terrible for all life on earth. But the above story was not important enough to make the pages of the newspapers in this province. Those papers are all owned by an oil billionaire. Coincidence. _________________________________________________________________________________ This one was sent by a reader. It raises serious doubts about the official story that Putin interfered with ... more »
FAKE NEWS---> FORT LAUDERDALE ( FLORIDA ) "SHOOTING" WAS A HOAX OR A FALSE FLAG
*UPDATE* *HA!!! I TOLD YOU!!! The government BRAINWASHED the "shooter"!!! So it was a FALSE FLAG or HOAX like I said!!!* *CBS: “The federal government already knew about this for months, they had been evaluating him for a while, but they didn’t do anything.” * "the brother said: “The federal government already knew about this for months, they had been evaluating him for a while, but they didn’t do anything.” " "Santiago, 26, had trouble controlling his anger after serving in Iraq and told his brother that he felt he was being chased and controlled by the CIA through secret onl... more »
The Curse of Oak Island - The Fourth Season
I have been waiting for something to happen on *Curse of Oak Island* before I made comments about it. There seemed to be great promise this season. They had millions to spend on the Money Pit (reaffirming the idea that the term referred to throwing money into a pit rather than taking money out of it). They hinted of things to come, have found some coins that seem to have been minted by the Oak IslandEnglish, a hint that part of that stone allegedly found 90 feet down with strange symbols on it had been recovered, and that the shiny, glittering thing found so far beneath the surface... more »
Gary Biltcliffe - Etruscans - Pelagasi and Early Egyptians
okay, here's an image of ancient Brythonic (British) carving on the megalithic lintel of a door opening. It's not in Wales or Briton, it's in Etruria that's upper Italy ... the language though is ancient Khumric and can be translated into auld-Welsh. What is going on? Gary Biltcliffe *featured before on free planet* has lots and lots and lots of interesting info to share about Etruris, Pelagasi and early Egypt...
Lakota Solar Team builds sustainable solar-powered houses at Standing Rock
Jan 7, 2017: Henry Red Cloud knelt down on the snow-packed ground at the Standing Rock Reservation in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. He didn’t seem to mind the frigid cold as he used his bare hands to secure an outlet to a solar air heater, one of 11 he installed one December day at the Oceti Sakowin Camp to help protectors there stay warm as temperatures dipped below zero. “They’re outside all day,” Red Cloud, 57, later told ABC News in an interview. “And we still have 120 days of winter left here in the Northern Plains.” Many have left since the Army’s announcement, but hundreds s... more »
Snow Trends At Woburn–Update
By Paul Homewood I looked at snowfall trends at Woburn last week, using the Snow Survey of Great Britain, which gave data from 1947 to 1992. It showed the number of days when snow was lying. I asked the Met Office if there was more recent data, and they sent me data up […]
Cops Kill Paralyzed Man in a Wheelchair On Video — No Charges
[image: wheelchair]Police corporals who fatally shot an already-wounded, wheelchair-bound African-American man in September 2015 will not be charged.
Peter Diamandis Thinks We’re Evolving Toward “Meta-Intelligence”
Peter Diamandis, founder and chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, thinks the human species is headed for an evolutionary transformation. The evolution of life has slowly unfolded over 3.5 billion years; but its pace has rapidly increased in recent years. Diamandis believes this heralds the next, exciting stages of human evolution. The post Peter Diamandis Thinks We’re Evolving Toward “Meta-Intelligence” appeared first on Futurism.
“Massive Food Riots, Shoot-Outs Erupt In Mexico"
*“Massive Food Riots, Shoot-Outs Erupt In Mexico"* by Newroom "The country of Mexico appears nearing social collapse. Food Riots are hitting Mexico City because the value of the currency (the Peso) has fallen so dramatically, everything has become too expensive to buy. The solution for locals is simply to STEAL anything they need. The video above, from Tlahuac, Mexico, on the south side of Mexico City, shows the chaos. Shoppers rampantly looting a Walmart, then numerous gunshots ringing out as things get much uglier." - https://www.superstation95.com/ ◆ *Related:* • "No Food, No Medi... more »
"A Little Parenthesis In Eternity..."
"We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity." - Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist"
"35 Pieces of Wisdom That Take Sixty Years to Learn"
*"35 Pieces of Wisdom That Take Sixty Years to Learn"* by The Hearty Soul "When we’re young, we think we know it all. I have it all figured out, you think. It’s extremely sobering to understand that you, in fact, don’t have all the answers. Time and again, the people who have lived full lives and can look back on those life experiences will acknowledge that they knew very little in their earlier years. With that wisdom, here are some quotes so that we don’t have to wait until the end of our lives to put them into action. *35 Snippets of Wisdom to Reflect and Act Upon* *Live by Exa... more »
The lowlifes gather in the White House to celebrate their hero Obama...
*and if you support any of these people that makes you part of the problem.* The only reason these people have any claim to celebrityhood is because people pour money into their coffers. Is it really that hard to say "no" to their movies and "music?" I haven't got time to list some of the attendees. They're available at Daily Mail. Pictures inside the bash were forbidden, but the photos of arrivals and departures was enough to know that the White House was trashed. The Odumbo family couldn't wait to have a party in their new rented home - you know, the one where workers are busy ... more »
Popular Show “Breaking the Set” Listed as One of the Justifications for Russia Punishment
[image: russia]The United States says they are punishing Russia because of TV show that was cancelled two years ago that called out US corruption.
Advice For The Age Of Trump: Observe - Orient - Decide - Act
Backbone Campaign’s artful activism is bold, principled, powerful and invigorates social movements striving for equity and justice. And Bill Moyer is their Executive Director. Below is a guest post by Bill exploring a simple concept— that our "No!" is only as powerful as our "Yes!" is compelling. *Backbone Campaign’s Resistance And Resilience StrategyBy Bill Moyer* Fundamentally, I'd say that we are for a world/paradigm in which things of ultimate importance are simply not for sale. Our co-authorship in life's journey, conviviality of community, well being of the natural world th... more »
Our Time at Monster Jam
We just got back from Monster Jam and it was an absolute blast! It was the first time we brought the two year old with us and she had the best time! There is still another one tonight so hurry and get tickets, bring ear protection and have a blast! We always do! Monster Mutt, My girls favorite driver of the night. *Monster Jam Triple Threat Series Rings in the New Year Full Throttle with Three Action-Packed Salt Lake Events on January 6th & 7th* **Ultimate Showdown of Eight Extreme Monster Jam Teams Going Head-to-Head in Seven Endurance Competitions Driving Three Different Vehi... more »
Why would big journalists do it this way?
*SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017The New York Times tries to report on the Russkies and on the wall:* At the top of this morning's front page, the New York Times tries to describe the new report about that Russian misconduct. Shear and Sanger did the report. Below, you see the way it begins, hard-copy headline included. This all appears on the Times front page. Why on earth would a major newspaper offer that weird fifth paragraph? SHEAR AND SANGER (1/7/17): *Putin Led Scheme to Aid Trump, Report Says* President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia directed a vast cyberattack aimed at denying Hil... more »
First of Its Kind Study Shows that Change in Diet Alone — Not Drugs — is Curing Diseases
[image: diet]Big Pharma isn't going to like this. Diet alone was able to bring patients with active disease into clinical remission, avoiding the need for harmful meds.
Mosul Campaign Day 82, Jan 6, 2017
The Iraqi forces (ISF) shifted their focus to northeast Mosul on January 6. The 16th Division seized Mazareneighborhood, while the Golden Division took neighboring Muthanna. That effort began with a surprise night attack into Muthanna that was quickly surrounded. Army brigades also moved into the Hadbaa housing district, which is farther north. In the southeast the Federal Police finally took the Salam Hospital in Wahda. Next to it the Jund al-Khalifah headquarters of the Islamic State was also seized. The ISF had been targeting the facility since the start of December. Hopefully... more »
Only probabilities, not observables, are spherically symmetric around singlet states
Physicist and spy Klaus Fuchs has expressed the opinion that Born's rule (squared complex amplitudes are interpreted as probabilities or probability densities) could be derived from something deeper. I think that this wishful thinking is demonstrably impossible. Why? We just don't have any method or theorem in mathematics or physics that could allow us not to assume any statement of the sort the probability is \(f(\theta)\) and deduce the conclusion of the form the probability is \(f(\theta)\) For example, think about an electron whose spin is prepared to be aligned "up" with res... more »
Trump's Two Big Lies in Press Release Yesterday
1. Trump said that the Intelligence Report showed the Russian interference had no effect on the election results. The Report, in fact, did not ask that question in its investigations, nor did the assessments by the three agencies attempt to answer whether or not the Russian interference affected the presidential election outcome. 2. Trump said that Republican computers were not hacked by Russians when, in fact, the Report clearly indicates they were--but the Russians did not share any juicy details about what the RNC was doing. Why? Because, as the ... more »
Saturday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading. - Owen Jones highlights the need for social democratic parties to present a real popular alternative to neoliberal government, and offers his suggestions as to how UK Labour can accomplish that: Political leadership means saying, here’s what’s wrong with society, here’s what our vision of what society is instead, here’s how we get there. It means hammering at key messages ad infinitum, backed up with policies that are indicative of where the party is coming from. It means speaking in an everyday language that resonates beyond politico... more »
What Kate Humble Forgot To Tell You About Yellowstone
By Paul Homewood http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b087vjh4/yellowstone-wildest-winter-to-blazing-summer-3-the-blazing-summer Kate Humble and the BBC have been at it again. Hotfoot from their polar bear deception, they have now been up to their necks in global warming propaganda in Yellowstone Park. The series ostensibly looks at how wildlife copes with the enormous extremes between winter and summer there. However, […]
Brexit, Trump, Brexit, Trump...
One of Scotland's funniest performers, alongside Susan Calman *The Times *(h/t Sue) published a piece today called Who are you laughing at? The funniest faces of 2017, featuring a selection of comedians telling us what they are going to be joking about this year. Nearly all of the featured comedians are BBC regulars and they intend to joke about Trump and Brexit. Susan Calman sums the comedic consensus up: I have approached 2017 with some alacrity, as it’s doubtful that the new year could suck the hope from my soul in the way that 2016 did. In saying that, it’s entirely plausi... more »
FBI Exposed for Letting Child Predators Walk Free Just to Keep its Hacking Tool Secret
[image: fbi]Pedophiles are going free because the FBI refuses to reveal its data gathering evidence machine and methods.
THAT FEELING WHEN A HORRIBLE MASS SHOOTING FAILS TO CONFORM TO YOUR ISLAMOPHOBIC MASTER NARRATIVE
A man opened fire at the airport in Fort Lauderdale yesterday, killing five and wounding eight others before surrendering to police. The suspect, Esteban Santiago, was born in New Jersey, grew up in Puerto Rico, and served in the National Guard before moving to Anchorage, Alaska. Given his name and background, right-wingers eager to blame the shooting on the usual targets of conservative hate didn't seem to have much to work with. However: NEW: In Nov. 2016, FLL suspect walked into FBI office in Anchorage, claiming he was being forced to fight for ISIS, sources tell CBS News. — CBS ... more »
Untitled
*From Jenna Orkin*NATO and Russia are locked in a game of cat and mouse in the Baltic skies The CIA has identified Russian officials who fed stolen DNC documents to WikiLeaks London exceeded its annual air pollution limit in just 5 days France is trying to gas 800,000 ducks to death to prevent bird flu from spreading At least 33 more Brazilian prisoners have died — just days after 60 were killed in rebellions Macy's is closing 68 stores — here's where they will shut down Former CIA director James Woolsey has split with Trump, 'effective immediately' In Obama's Final Jobs repo... more »
Rescued Grey Headed Flying Fox Loves Snuggling With Teddy Bear
Not only is this one incredibly rare, but they believe he might just be the only one who exists! Tal'ngai Dha'run - a very unique Grey Headed Flying Fox in care with Australian Bat Clinic & Wildlife Trauma Centre. Tal’ngai Dha’run would be hard to forget as he is so incredibly breathtaking. It’s believed this little one has leucism, a condition that causes partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes. Not only is he rare, but they believe he might just be the only one who e... more »
Boudicca - Bodecia - Buddug the Amazonian Warrior?
Ukranian Boudicea?this is a quickie, because I can't find any reliable biographical details for Boudicca and I'm too lazy to go looking all over the internet all day, I'm going to delve into historical mythology and speculation involving the Trojan army helped by the Ukranian 'amazon' female warriors. This also refers to the legend of Dungi king of Ur who married his daughters into various territories over which they ruled. My suspicion is that Boudica (spell it however you want) was one of these AMAZON-like Ukranian warrior women sold by any number of easter-European kings to an... more »
Mainstream Media Reports Elites Can Ingest The Blood Of Children To Prevent Aging — Seriously
[image: blood]A recent report from corporate media suggests the elite taking blood from children to prolong their lives may soon be mainstream.
We have to talk about Laura
The other thing the BBC is in the news for is a row over impartiality. It concerns every Corbynista's least favourite BBC journalist, Laura Kuenssberg. A draft BBC Trust ruling on a Laura K reports on BBC One's *News at Six *about Jeremy Corbyn was leaked to *The Herald *newspaper and the draft ruling found: There was a significant difference between what Mr Corbyn said and what the report inferred. This led to a failure of due accuracy. Trustees considered that the effect of the failures to observe due accuracy had, on this occasion, also resulted in a failure of impartiality... more »
'Like a cup of cold sick’
The BBC itself is in the news at the moment. Theresa May has snubbed the BBC by giving her first TV interview of the year to Sky News. It's apparently been a 'convention' that the BBC, in the shape of *The Andrew Marr Show*, gets the first bite of the prime ministerial cherry every year (so to speak). But not this year. The papers quote a government spokesman saying: The BBC have such a sense of entitlement that they couldn’t believe the PM would want to sit down with anyone else for the start of the year interview. This will be a good lesson for them. According to *The Specta... more »
Start With Community
Progressives are pretty pessimistic these days. That's because, Murray Dobbins writes, they've forgotten the importance of community. Margaret Thatcher famously said, "There's no such thing as society, only individuals." That notion -- with a misguided push from Ayn Rand -- became the prime directive behind neo-liberalism. Dobbins believes that renewal does not begin with a search for individual leaders but with a search for community: Peter Block in his insightful 2008 book, *Community: The Structure of Belonging*, dissects the preoccupation of citizens with leaders and leadersh... more »
update from the land of the missing white dog
We miss Tala a lot. Of course. Need it even be said. Somehow I have gone from abject grief to poignant acceptance quicker than I expected. I have no idea why this is. With each dog we have said goodbye to, eventually I get to a place where, thinking of them, I feel sad but at peace -- fortunate to have had their love, assured that we did everything we could for them, and a kind of happy-sadness at their memories. My heart still aches for Tala, but somehow I'm at peace with it. Everyone is asking about Diego. He is doing really well. He seemed "off" for a couple of days -- he seemed ... more »
Weekend reads: Pseudoscience in the literature; a world without journals; “invisible and abandoned” trials
The week at Retraction Watch featured the heartfelt response of a researcher when she found out a paper she’d reviewed had been retracted, and a new member of our leaderboard. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: “Recent years have seen the appearance of journals from mainstream publishers that are based entirely on pseudoscience.” Steven Salzberg, Forbes) Romain […] The post Weekend reads: Pseudoscience in the literature; a world without journals; “invisible and abandoned” trials appeared first on Retraction Watch.
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