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Thomas Paine

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

27 Dec - Blogs I'm Following

10:25pm MST

Russia To Supply Coal And Electricity To Ukraine Without Prepayment

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 2 minutes ago
ITAR-TASS *Russia Says To Supply Coal, Electricity To Ukraine -- Reuters* (Reuters) - Russia has agreed on a new deal to supply coal and electricity to Ukraine, which is struggling with a lack of raw fuel for power plants due to a separatist conflict in the industrial east, Russian officials said on Saturday. The move comes a day after Kiev said it would suspend train and bus services to Crimea, effectively creating a transportation blockade to and from the region annexed by Moscow in March this year. Kiev has briefly cut off electricity to Crimea before. Russia will supply coal ... more »

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 From Indonesia To Singapore Is Reported Missing (News Roundup)

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 14 minutes ago
*AirAsia Flight QZ8501 From Indonesia To Singapore Missing -- BBC* An AirAsia flight travelling from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control, the company has said. Indonesian media say more than 160 people were on board the Airbus A320-200. The aircraft, flight number QZ8501, lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24 (00:24 GMT), AirAsia tweeted. The company said that search and rescue operations were under way for the missing plane. *Read more* .... *More News On AirAsia Flight QZ8501 From Indonesia To Singapore* AirAsia plane... more »

The Interview’s Lost Joke

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 24 minutes ago
-By A Democratic Political Operative (@CaliOp215) Last week, *The Interview* was bigger news than the guilty plea of Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm guilty plea. The Tokyo-based decision to not show the movie on American screens shocked corporate CE’s and pot-heads alike. “How could this happen in a capitalist society,” some questioned. “We must retaliate and bomb Pyongyang,” cried others. The American media framed North Korea’s position as a powerful one. In a nut shell, they warned Americans that the North Korean Government was so taken aback by the film’s supposed premise of killi... more »

On Christmas Eve The NSA Releases Documents Detailing 12 Years Of Spying Violations

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 28 minutes ago
*U.S. Spy Agency Reports Improper Surveillance of Americans -- Bloomberg* The National Security Agency today released reports on intelligence collection that may have violated the law or U.S. policy over more than a decade, including unauthorized surveillance of Americans’ overseas communications. The NSA, responding to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, released a series of required quarterly and annual reports to the President’s Intelligence Oversight Board that cover the period from the fourth quarter of 2001 to the second quarter of 2... more »

One More Instance of Uneducated (Or Just Naive?) U.S. Citizens Hearing "Socialist!" or "Communist!" and Not Thinking Too Hard (Again)

The holiday fund-raiser has begun and all contributions to this blog's maintenance are welcomed! I'm not that farsighted. But I always appreciate people who are. It's never too early to be put on alert about changes that may affect your ability to live well. Or live at all. Saturday, December 27, 2014 Here's The Jimmy Stewart Scene That Inspired The FBI To Warn Americans That "It's A

A Day In The Life Of Global Warming

rc at GlobaLove Think Tank - 1 hour ago
Courtesy of: Infographic World A Day In The Life Of Global Warming

Schools Matter 2014 Awards

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 1 hour ago
Schools Matter 2014 Awards *Most Unconvincing Ideologue In the Role as Scholar* Mike Petrilli *Most Flagrant Political Organization Posing as a Legitimate Research Association* NCTQ *Lifetime Achievement Award* Walt Gardner *Self-Aggrandizement Award 2014 (tie)* David Coleman Michelle Rhee *Education Book of the Year* *Fear and Learning in America, *John Kuhn *Biggest Corporate Losers of the Year* Amazon Autozone *Most Dangerous Pseudo-Science Title* *Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence, *Laurence Steinberg *Most unread Twitter posts* Larry Ferlazzo ... more »

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Wigner, Fukushima, Tesla, And The Brains Of A Gerbil

Northerntruthseeker at Northerntruthseeker - 1 hour ago
*NTS Note: I took the last few days off as I had planned to spend some time with family and friends for this Christmas… It is good to get away from writing at this blog from time to time to recharge the batteries! But now I am back…..* It has been a while since I last reported about the ongoing situation at Fukushima… But there is not much new to report…. The disaster is still going strong with little resolution any where in site… There was a recent report that the spent fuel rod pool sitting above reactor #4 was FINALLY emptied of all its spent nuclear fuel rods… But that report i... more »

Another Missing Jet Liner ( December 28 , 2014 ) --Air Asia Flight QZ 8501 Goes Missing After Requesting An Unusual Route ? Keep the passengers and crew ( 155 - 162 ) in your prayers !!

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 1 hour ago
*RT* ‏@RT_com 1m1 minute ago MORE: Search and rescue operation underway for missing #AirAsia flight # QZ8501 http://on.rt.com/i84tw7 [image: Embedded image permalink] *zerohedge* ‏@zerohedge 3m 3 minutes ago Air Asia Confirms Lost Contact With Indonesia Flight After Crew Asked For "Unusual Route", 155 Passengers On Board http://www. zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-2 7/air-asia-confirms-lost-contact-indonesia-flight-after-crew-asked-unusual-route-155-p … zerohedge [image: View this content on zerohedge's website] Air Asia Confirms Lost Contact With Indonesia Flight After Crew Aske... more »

Musical Interlude: Medwyn Goodall, “Dolphin Companion”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 2 hours ago
Medwyn Goodall, “Dolphin Companion” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZXZJB_1UV8

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 2 hours ago
“At the top right, large spiral galaxy NGC 1055 joins spiral Messier 77 in this sharp cosmic view toward the aquatic constellation Cetus. The narrowed, dusty appearance of edge-on spiral NGC 1055 contrasts nicely with the face-on view of M77's bright nucleus and spiral arms. Both over 100,000 light-years across, the pair are dominant members of a small galaxy group about 60 million light-years away. *Click image for larger size.* At that estimated distance, M77 is one of the most remote objects in Charles Messier's catalog and is separated from fellow island universe NGC 1055 by at ... more »

Dec. 27: Reverend Harper leads in a Christmas prayer...

Graeme Decarie at The Moncton Times@Transcript - Good and Bad - 2 hours ago
(foreign news at the bottom just below the line ###################################) Sorry to be late with this one. I spent much of the day at the worship services for Boxing Day at Walmart's cathedral. . Now back to Canada's spiritual leaders, Stephen Harper. He asks us to pray for our military in Iraq. Now, I'm not big on praying for anybody or anything. However, if one is going to be doing it, it should be done in accordance with one's religion. Pray for our side? Most religions, if they believe in prayer at all, believe in loving one's neighbour. So they don't just pray for... more »

Friendships

theozarker at The Conflicted Doomer - 2 hours ago
December 27, 2014 There will be no more life lessons from Little Cat on the blog. Sadly, she passed away on my lap last Sunday morning, while I stroked her fur, talked to her and offered her every enticement I … Continue reading →

Chet Raymo, "Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 3 hours ago
"Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright..." By Chet Raymo "Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet." You may recall these words from Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." There is nothing intrinsically cheerful about the world, she says. To live is to die; it's all part of the bargain. Stars destroy themselves to make the atoms of our bodies. Every creature lives to eat and be eaten. And into this incomprehensible, unfathomable, apparently stochastic melee stumbles... Y... more »

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 3 hours ago
Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Thanks for stopping by.

"The Paradox of Revenge"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 3 hours ago
*"The Paradox of Revenge"* by Emotionalcompetency “The passion for revenge is strong and sometimes almost overwhelming. But our intuitive logic about revenge is often twisted, conflicted, parochial, and dangerous. Revenge is a primitive, destructive, and violent response to anger, injury, or humiliation. It is a misguided attempt to transform shame into pride. Many governments, religions, traditions, and cultures provide guidance on when revenge may and may not be sought. Unfortunately this guidance is often unsatisfactory because it excludes groups of people, often mistreats women... more »

Is anybody yet doing a reality-game show called "Masterputz"?

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 3 hours ago
*To the observant visitor, says Mitch Waxman, his home turf of Astoria, Queens, offers "a cornucopia of visual stimuli," such as "occult altars, weird neighbors, even puzzling tableaus like the one presented above."* *by Ken* For a special Boxing Day edition of his "Newtown Pentacle" blog yesterday, our pal Mitch Waxman found himself scouting the "cornucopia of visual stimuli" to be found in his home base of Astoria, Queens, including the "puzzling tableau" we see above. And then there was a parked truck that drew his attention, not so much for the un-extraordinary truck itself, "... more »

Dostoevsky, "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 3 hours ago
"For I have seen the truth; I have seen and I know that people can be beautiful and happy without losing the power of living on earth. I will not and cannot believe that evil is the normal condition of mankind. And it is just this faith of mine that they laugh at. But how can I help believing it? I have seen the truth- it is not as though I had invented it with my mind, I have seen it, seen it, and the living image of it has filled my soul for ever. I have seen it in such full perfection that I cannot believe that it is impossible for people to have it. And so how can I go wrong? I ... more »

Washington And Hollywood Use Entertainment To Demean Enemy And Ally Alike

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 4 hours ago
*The leaders of North Korea and Pakistan are afraid of Hollywood trash.* If the incompetent and corrupt leaders of North Korea and Pakistan cared more about providing freedom and prosperity to their people rather than stupid movies and TV shows produced in Hollywood who knows where the development of these countries would be by now. They care more about what brainwashed audiences of Hollywood products think of their countries than their own countries. Pathetic Pakistani officials *are crawling to Hollywood and begging the makers of the show 'Homeland'* to paint a better picture of... more »

"The Interview" It is America and Americans that should be offended !

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 5 hours ago
[image: Seth Rogen and James Franco star in the controversial, banned comedy, 'The Interview.']Two very unfunny actors It is mind boggling to consider the fact this movie had a score of nearly 10 on the IMDB- So the *'activists'* had to be out in full force- Also interesting is that the movie appeared on line in China. *"The New York Times found that the film had mostly favorable reviews in China. "Perfect, the greatest film in history, all hail Sony," read one online comment"* * (Hence my comment about the activists (NED etc) being out in full force!)* *The movie was a total pi... more »

Top Local Foods Stories of 2014

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 5 hours ago
*Cole Mellino* - 2014 was an impressive year for local food. This is great news for human health, animal well being and for the overall health of the planet... The post Top Local Foods Stories of 2014 appeared first on Waking Times.

How to Access Superconsciousness

Waking Times at Waking Times - 5 hours ago
*Film -* Through authentic meditation, we can explore the ultimate knowledge about human existence. The post How to Access Superconsciousness appeared first on Waking Times.

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago

Untitled

New Orleans Ladder at New Orleans Ladder - 5 hours ago
*2014 Saints take their ‘last ride’ against Tampa ~Brian Pavek, Saints Nation*

6 Ways to Open Your Life up to Cosmic Energy

Waking Times at Waking Times - 5 hours ago
*Anna Hunt* If you want to invite positive energy into your life and bathe in its abundance, here are some ideas on what to do. The post 6 Ways to Open Your Life up to Cosmic Energy appeared first on Waking Times.

Urban Farming Guys MakerSpace

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 5 hours ago
Discovered at: http://www.cryptogon.com/ December 24th, 2014 Via: Urban Farming Guys:

"The Jar"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
*"The Jar"* by IdeaChampions "A college professor stood before his philosophy class at the start of a new semester. Silently, he picked up a very large jar and filled it with golf balls. Then he asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly, pebbles settling into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. He asked once... more »

"Your Path..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 5 hours ago
“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path.” - Joseph Campbell

Paulo Coelho, "Time Shifting- Slow Down For a Better Life"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
*"Time Shifting- Slow Down For a Better Life" * by Paulo Coelho "Time is not a measure: but rather a quality. When we look at the past we are not rewinding a tape but remembering a gift of our passage on Earth. Time is not measured like a road is measured, since we take gigantic leaps backwards (memories) and forwards (projects). Consider the following: Managing is not living: “Time is money” is nonsense. We have to be aware of each moment and know how to take advantage of each single moment in what we are doing (with love) or in just contemplating life. A day has 24 hours and an... more »

“The Story of the Chinese Farmer”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 6 hours ago
Alan Watts, “The Story of the Chinese Farmer” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX0OARBqBp0#t=118

Frederick Douglass explained the truth about social change

Denis Rancourt at Activist Teacher - 6 hours ago
Frederick Douglass's "West India Emancipation" speech of 1857 is possibly the most incisive description of the true mechanism of social change ever written. The speech is brilliant like only works resulting from liberation praxis can be. LINK TO SPEECH

Serfdom In The 21st Century-- Korea

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 6 hours ago
Too big to fire My favorite part of the on-going Korean Air scandal is how it exposed the relationship between the plutocracy and the working class. First, meet Cho Hyun-ah, an heiress-- daughter of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho. Part of her patrimony, apparently is an executive vice presidency at the airline-- and an attitude towards the little people that would make Leona Helmsley blush. As for her very own little people, Cho flew to Hawaii last May to give birth to twin sons so that they would have U.S. citizenship-- something wealthy South Koreans like to do... just in case som... more »

The Opponent

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 6 hours ago
*The True Opponent* By American Kabuki There is an opponent to every human on the planet. Its been externalized by gnostics as Archons and the Demiurge, by Christians, Muslims, Zarathustrism as a devil, demons and jinns. In families, tribes, sports and nations its been externalized as simply "the other". Hurray for our team and "lets get out there and kill!". Seemed logical, if you are not for us you are against us, and since we serve God/King/Money/Power and you don't believe what we do, off with your head. Over time the weapons got bigger and nastier. The Chinese boiled u... more »

And finally...

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 6 hours ago
...before I go to bed... ...yet more examples of BBC reporters tweeting from the Left, courtesy of the ever-diligent DB at *Biased BBC*. First, here's BBC Senior Broadcast Journalist Megha Mohan: My aunt got me @NaomiAKlein 's book on link between capitalism & climate change for Xmas. Read it in 2 days. Buy it. pic.twitter.com/LKk7ADiKx5 — Megha Mohan (@meghamohan) December 27, 2014 And, second, here's one from one of the BBC's regional Middle East editors, Lina Sinjab (familiar from her reporting from Libya - her home country if memory serves me right): #Cuba #Havana, for the fi... more »

'Dateline London' - the end of year edition

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 7 hours ago
As I've spent many a year writing about *Dateline London - *proving its past bias (if I say so myself) whilst conceding that it has got somewhat less biased over time - I felt duty bound to tune in to today's end-of-year edition and found, thankfully, that it was one of those (increasingly common) episodes where people actually disagree with each other. In the past, the programme's largely left-leaning guests would simply congregate around a left-of-centre fulcrum on any issue and see-saw around it with nary a dissenting right-wing voice in sight (except Janet Daley every six or s... more »

Sony Hack Updates ( December 27 , 2014 ) - North Korea has become the favorite whipping boy for the attack - despite a lack of solid evidence connecting the attack to North Korea .... And who has been knocking out North Korea's Internet for the past few days and Cell Phones today - Work of US Government Agencies or some unidentified Hackers ? ? Meanwhile the inane drama continues - as the " crisis " may be a great opportunity to advance other agendas as well as distract the sheeple .......

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 7 hours ago
Tweets...... *NBC News* ‏@NBCNews 5m5 minutes ago North Korea's Internet, 3G mobile network 'paralyzed' http:// nbcnews.to/1JVtOVz [image: Embedded image permalink] *missmaybell* ‏@missmaybell 4m 4 minutes ago Obama is using the *Sony* *hack* as justification to renew a push for internet regulations that would censor online... http://fb.me/1vEVT1YoO Ruth Earlene Perry and 15 others follow *NPR News* ‏@nprnews 54m 54 minutes ago Another Internet outage has hit N. Korea. Meanwhile, experts are skeptical the *Sony* *hack* came from there: http://n.pr/13LPthM ... more »

what i'm reading: four classic graphic novels for adults who think they don't like graphic novels

laura k at wmtc - 7 hours ago
Despite the increased attention given to graphic novels in recent years, many readers don't consider graphic novels when thinking about what to read next. In this "what i'm reading" post, I highlight four graphic novels considered classics of the form. At least three of these books are included on high school and university curricula, and taken seriously as literature. These are certainly not the only graphic novels to achieve that standing, but if you asked a bunch of non-graphic-fiction readers to name some well-known and influential graphic novels, these would likely top the list... more »

Beyond space-time: Welcome to phase space

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 8 hours ago
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128241.700-beyond-spacetime-welcome-to-phase-space.html?full=true#.VJ8bDsgFA Beyond space-time: Welcome to phase space 08 August 2011 by Amanda Gefter Magazine issue 2824. Subscribe and save For similar stories, visit the Cosmology Topic Guide A theory of reality beyond Einstein's universe is taking shape – and a mysterious cosmic signal could soon fill in the blanks IT WASN'T so long ago we thought space and time were the absolute and unchanging scaffolding of the universe. Then along came Albert Einstein, who showed that different observers... more »

Haslam's Crony Protector, Brad Martin, Pushed for David Rudd's Appointment as U of M President

Jim Horn at Schools Matter - 8 hours ago
Bill and BradDuring a dicey political year, 2013, that found the Haslams paying $92 million to keep its Pilot J employees out of jail for fraud, Bill Haslam and Brad Martin were entirely preoccupied with scratching each other's backsides. Brad is an old family connection, going back to the day when Bill was wasting away in the family truck stop business over piles of oil and gas receipts. Brad made little Bill a big shot with Saks in New York, thus launching him into a political world that likes its predatory capitalists to look like aging schoolboys. See Bill Gates. See Bill ... more »

P.S.

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
Oh, and while I'm getting things off my chest, like some BBC-obsessed Chippendale... I was driving home from work the other day listening to, of all things, Michael Rosen's *Word of Mouth* on Radio 4. As I was listening, it suddenly struck me - in a Chippendale-like revelatory flash - that I must surely be listening to exactly the kind of rarefied, politically-correct conversation that goes on prior to some logic-defying, self-righteous, right-on, Right-baiting pronouncement of the kind beloved of local councils, student bodies, arts councils, BBC committees, etc - i.e. just the ... more »

From Their Own Correspondent

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
Please imagine for a minute that the BBC is biased, and biased in the way we and Sue believe it to be... Then please imagine what kind of stories such a genuinely biased BBC would choose for its Christmas edition of the never-ending *From Our Own Correspondent...* Were I to guess blind, I'd guess that it would *have* to include a report from Bethlehem which blames the numerical decline of Christians in Bethlehem purely, and without balance, on the adverse effects of "the Israeli occupation". My experience of past BBC behaviour leads me to expect that - Yolande Knell, for exampl... more »

NSA Abuse of Spy Power

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 9 hours ago
On Christmas Eve, the National Security Agency released a trove of documents detailing 12 years’ worth of illegal activity by the spy agency. Included in the files are stories of employees using electronic surveillance tools to snoop on spouses, the collection of American citizens’ communications and other widespread abuses. RT’s Lindsay France breaks down the documents.

Feliz Año Nuevo 2015 - Happy New Year (30 Wallpapers Gratis)

José Luis Ávila Herrera at FOTOFRONTERA - 9 hours ago
*CODIGO HTML PARA PONER ESTA IMAGEN EN TU PÁGINA WEB* (Un click para seleccionar, Control C para copiar y Control V para pegar) Imagenes Gratis para Navidad y Año Nuevo 
2014 Haga usted click sobre la imagen para ampliar su tamaño [image: Feliz Año Nuevo 2015 postal con men... more »

IRISH: THE FORGOTTEN WHITE SLAVES

Obi-Wan Kabuki at AMERICAN KABUKI - 9 hours ago
*IRISH: THE FORGOTTEN WHITE SLAVES* *Source: http://goo.gl/LQ9JTW* They came as slaves: human cargo transported on British ships bound for the Americas. They were shipped by the hundreds of thousands and included men, women, and even the youngest of children. Whenever they rebelled or even disobeyed an order, they were punished in the harshest ways. Slave owners would hang their human property by their hands and set their hands or feet on fire as one form of punishment. Some were burned alive and had their heads placed on pikes in the marketplace as a warning to other captives. ... more »

DARPA Wants To Develop Super Agile Flying Drones

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 10 hours ago
*DARPA Taking Inspiration From Birds Of Prey To Create Agile UAVs -- Endgadget* The US military would like to use small drones a lot more, especially to gather intelligence inside buildings and other structures. The problem? Most drones aren't fast or maneuverable in tight places, to the point that even a kangaroo can take one out. Enter DARPA: the gadget arm of the military has just created the Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program to build fully autonomous UAVs that can get through "a labyrinth of rooms, stairs and... other obstacle filled environments." The drones would also ... more »

Here's The Jimmy Stewart Scene That Inspired The FBI To Warn Americans That "It's A Wonderful Life" Was Commie Propaganda

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 10 hours ago
Today the 1946 Frank Capra film is universally considered a Christmas classic but when it was first released, the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee tried to label it Communist propaganda. In 1947, an FBI document, *Communist Infiltration of the Motion Picture Industry,* went after two of the screen writers, Frances Goodrich and her husband Albert Hackett for, among other things, "eating lunch daily with" known Communist screen writers. According to Michael Winship, Bill Moyers senior writer, the FBI-- which was working with Ayn Rand on this crackpot project-- was ... more »

Greece Presidential Election Update ( December 27 , 2014 ) - Samaras hold press conference with two State TV Employees as Monday looms large !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 10 hours ago
Tweets..... *zerohedge* ‏@zerohedge 6m 6 minutes ago Greek Prime Minister: "It's Best For The Country" To Do Away With Democracy http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-2 7/greek-prime-minister-its-best-country-do-away-democracy … zerohedge [image: View this content on zerohedge's website] Greek Prime Minister: "It's Best For The Country" To Do Away With... During a state-TV View on web *Kathimerini English *@ekathimerini · 1h1 hour ago Samaras appeals to MPs ahead of third vote as early elections loom http:// dlvr.it/7xc0g1 *Kathimerini English *@ekathimerini · 4h4 hours ago G... more »

Syria Ready To Enter Into Peace Talks With Rebel Groups

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 10 hours ago
Hadi al-Bahra (L), head of the Syrian National Coalition, talks with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby (R) during their meeting in Cairo December 27, 2014. Credit: REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih *Syria Ready To Discuss Russia Peace Plan Talks, Opposition Dismissive -- Reuters* (Reuters) - Syria said on Saturday it was willing to participate in "preliminary consultations" in Moscow aimed at restarting talks next year to end its civil war but the Western-backed opposition dismissed the initiative. Two rounds of peace talks this year in Geneva failed to halt the conflict which has ... more »

Musings On Iraq In The News

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 11 hours ago
My article on Kataib Hezbollah was reprinted by Business Insider, and I was cited in "Coalition Airstrike Destroy A Massive ISIS Truck Bomb in Iraq" by Armin Rosen in that same publication. I was also cited in "Australia In America's Third Iraq War" by Richard Tanter for Global Research. I was quoted in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's "What's Next For Islamic State?"

Kobane Under Islamic State Siege (Photo Gallery)

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 11 hours ago
Three YPG fighters meet in the streets. Entire areas of the city are abandoned, except for by YPG fighters hiding out. VICE News *In Photos: 48 Hours Under Siege by Islamic State Militants In Kobane -- Danny Gold, VICE News* On December 19, VICE News entered the besieged Syrian Kurdish city of Kobane with the help of smugglers and the Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG). The city was preparing to enter its 100th day of fighting a fierce siege by the Islamic State (IS). Fighters with IS had been pushed back by a combination of US airstrikes and heav... more »

UN Squadron for the Super Nintendo

Phil at All That Is Solid ... - 11 hours ago
Nintendo's Super Famicom (SNES for the rest of us outside of Japan) was a relatively late entry into the 16 bit console market. As such, it came to the party with tech specs that, on paper, outclassed its main opposition: the PC Engine in Japan, Sega's MegaDrive everywhere else. Yet it was as true then as it is now: to win a console war a contender needs a decent library of games. In the SNES's case, it just so happened that incredible games came by the bucketload. Sitting at home, feeling slightly insecure with my own beloved MegaDrive and seeing amazing after amazing title featur... more »

Top Al-Shabab Militant Leader Surrenders

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 11 hours ago
*Al-Shabab Militant Wanted by U.S. Surrenders in Somalia -- Bloomberg* A senior al-Shabab militant commander wanted by the U.S. surrendered to Somali authorities. Zakariya Ismail Hersi phoned the Somali army in advance to announce his plan to surrender, Colonel Hassan Abdi, a Somali army officer, said today in a phone interview. “This is the first high-profile surrender from the group and the reason behind his capitulation is that he feared for his life after he fell out with the group’s leadership,” Abdi said without elaborating. The U.S. State Department in 2012 offered a $3 mil... more »

Cultivating Consciousness in an Unconscious World

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 11 hours ago
*Richard Smoley* - Who exactly is doing the watching? It is not the body; the body is part of what is being observed... The post Cultivating Consciousness in an Unconscious World appeared first on Waking Times.

10 Powerful Benefits of Adding Turmeric to Your Diet

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 12 hours ago
*Anna Hunt* - Turmeric is a powerful medicine and ally in good health. Here are 10 of the best reasons to check it out... The post 10 Powerful Benefits of Adding Turmeric to Your Diet appeared first on Waking Times.

U.S. Military Imposters Are Becoming An Epidemic

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 12 hours ago
*Military Posers Are 'An Epidemic,' Says Soldier Who Outs Them -- People* Anthony Anderson has been unmasking "military posers" on his website Guardian Of Valor for the past three years. But the moment he glimpsed the video of a former infantryman angrily confronting a wannabe serviceman trying to pass himself off as an Army ranger at a shopping mall in Pennslyvania on Black Friday, he knew a few fans of his site might find it interesting. "It really holds your attention," Anderson recalls thinking while viewing the clip of Army veteran Ryan Berk denouncing a pudgy 30-year-old man... more »

China: North Korea's Internet And Its 3G Mobile Network Has Stopped Working (Again)

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 12 hours ago
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspects production of new touch-screen mobile phones. CNN *North Korean Internet, 3G Mobile Network 'Paralyzed:' Xinhua -- Reuters* (Reuters) - North Korea's Internet and 3G mobile networks were paralyzed again on Saturday evening, China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, with the North Korean government blaming the United States for systemic instability in the country's networks. Internet connectivity had not returned to normal as of 21:30 local time, Xinhua reported, citing reporters in the country that had confirmed the situatio... more »

Potential Hack alert ( December 26 , 2014 ) - Tor hacked while the world focuses on " The Interview " Shenanigans ! The seriousness of the alleged breach remains an open question , but take this as a fwiw caution !

Fred Walton at Catharsis Ours - 13 hours ago
Tweets... *BigBooyaw* ‏@BigBooyaw 2h 2 hours agoGainesville, TX Anonymous To 'Lizard Squad': Stop Attacking *Tor*#*hacked* #politics # technology #tech #Hacking #money #programmer #lawhttp://www. businessinsider.com/anonymous-to-lizard-squad-stop-attacking-tor-2014-12 … *BI: Tech* [image: View this content on SAI's website] Anonymous To 'Lizard Squad': Stop Attacking Tor By *BI: Tech* @SAI Anonymous: "Stand down." Lizard Squad: "Do something." View on web *Jethro Perkins* ‏@JethroPerkins 5h 5 hours ago http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/3142 9/hacking/who-hacked-a-cluster-tor-se... more »

A Tracey (rose) between two 'Today' presenters (thorns)

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 13 hours ago
This morning's *Today *was a curious hybrid. Guest-edited by ex-Everything But the Girl singer Tracey Thorn, part of the show seemed like business-as-usual *Today, *with stuff about the Middle East and cyber attacks, and a typically over-aggressive interview with a Tory minister from Jim Naughtie... ...but for much of the time, thanks to Tracey, it seemed as if *Today *had been taken over by Radio 1's *Newsbeat. * Tracey chose subjects which (in her 52-year-old eyes) reflect the concern of young adults - subjects such as fanmail, whether the internet can help young gay people com... more »

2014: The Year Propaganda Came Of Age

D ... Breaking The Silence at Removing The Shackles - 13 hours ago
Yes, 2014 was definitely the year that the propaganda machine reached Mach 1 and left a sonic boom of deafening questions behind it. It IS time to change that. It is time to take back the "media" and destroy the propaganda apparatus that is holding the public in a drooling trance. At midnight on December 31 we are celebrating the launch of CCN- The Conscious Consumer Network- full live stream broadcasting for the alternative media. I will be continuing my weekly Transpicuous News show- live- covering financial and government fraud, and will be part of the One People's Round Table... more »

Should President Obama Attend Russia's 70th Anniversary Victory Day Celebrations?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 13 hours ago
*Obama Makes Mistake Turning Down Invitation For Victory Day Celebrations - Morozov -- ITAR-TASS* *It means that in his “struggle for global leadership” Obama puts not only himself but his country “above the humanitarian values respected across the globe,” the Russian lawmaker said* MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. The president of the United States is making a big strategic mistake by turning down Moscow’s invitation to attend celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. This way he openly demonstrates that he puts his ambitions above the ... more »

15 Toxic Beliefs You Should Give Up to Be Happy

WakingTimes at Waking Times - 13 hours ago
*Luminita Saviuc* - There are so many limiting and toxic beliefs we hold on to, beliefs that keep us from living the happy, joyful and meaningful life we all deserve to live. The post 15 Toxic Beliefs You Should Give Up to Be Happy appeared first on Waking Times.

How Cynical Have We Become?

Owen Gray at Northern Reflections - 14 hours ago
Stephen Harper passed his best before date long ago. If he paid attention to history, he would have misgivings about running in the next election. Jeffrey Simpson writes: Think of the prime ministers with majorities since 1968. Pierre Trudeau served 11 years (1968 to 1979) before being defeated. Brian Mulroney served a bit less than nine years before resigning. Jean Chrétien was prime minister for 10 years and a month before resigning. But, in our first past the post system, all Harper needs is 40% of the votes to form a government: He has an unshakable core vote of 30 to 32 per... more »

Did Putin Save Russia From Disintegration?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 14 hours ago
Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev (L) signs autographs during a presentation of his new book "After Kremlin" in Moscow December 26, 2014. (Reuters / Sergei Karpukhin) *Gorbachev: Putin Saved Russia From Disintegration -- RT* Russian President Vladimir Putin saved the country from falling apart, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said during the presentation of his new book 'After the Kremlin.' Gorbachev also commented on the situation in Ukraine and NATO expansion. “I think all of us – Russian citizens – must remember that [Putin] saved Russia from the beginning of a c... more »

What Putin May Do In 2015

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 14 hours ago
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) attends a conference at the main operation centre of the Russian armed forces, with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and armed forces Chief-of-Staff Valery Gerasimov (R) in Moscow, June 6, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Michael Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin *Beware Putin’s Special War in 2015 -- The XX Committee* December 2014 is the month Putin’s Russia was plunged into undeniable crisis. Between the dramatic drop in oil prices and the collapse of the ruble, under Western sanctions pressure, Russians are going into the new year in a dramatically dif... more »

Johannes Kepler: an anniversary

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 14 hours ago
Johannes Kepler was born prematurely near Stuttgart on 12/27/1571. His grandfather was a mayor of their town but once Johannes was born, the family's fortunes were already dropping. His father was a mercenary and left the family when Johannes was five. His mother was a healer and a witch which has also led to some legal problems. Johannes was a brilliant child with early inclinations to astronomy. In Graz (1594-1600), he was defending the Copernican heliocentric system. At that time, there was no clear difference between astronomy and astrology. Therefore, Kepler also invented the A... more »

I Interrogated the Top Terrorist in US Custody. Then The CIA Came to Town

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 15 hours ago
[image: torture hands illustration] I think what bothers me most here is the willful loss of institutional knowledge that takes place for petty political reasons. Perhaps it is time to reward failure with a full press charge of treason. This seems draconian, but men grabbing for the brass ring need to know that they can succeed. We only have to look at the example of General MacArthur to understand what is needed. That should be our baseline. No one over the past two decades came close to him. This tells a story of political grabbing with no clue how to proceed, and then go... more »

Cannabis Oil Unveiled

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 15 hours ago
Cannabis oil appears to be coming into its own as a useful method to use this drug. There are now several different methods to use this drug without inhaling smoke which is naturally a lousy idea. We are still a long way from full legal acceptance which is unfortunate. What we have instead is a trend line that can be kicked over any minute. At least the benefits of cannabis is gaining wide publicity and that means experimentation by all sorts of folks who otherwise would have avoided it. Hopefully we can have this sorted out in the next two years before it gets caught up in... more »

Meet the The Mushroom Of Immortality & The King of All Herbs

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 15 hours ago
- - - Something else we need to add to our tool kit. It is pretty impressive although we would love to identify a condition which it completely kills. Yet much of our herbivorium is also just like that. It is certainly a useful tonic at least. Rather interesting though is that the beverage actually tastes good - sort of like a vanilla tea. Thus it needs to be more in use as we all have little expectation of herbal tastes. This at least will likely stay on the shelf. I notice it helps those with some form of bowel disease and as there is scan... more »

Sugar Disease Was Killing Me Slowly

arclein at Terra Forming Terra - 15 hours ago
[image: Photo: For all of the above I stick close to my family and to my friends and co-workers. It is through my love of my wife and kids that I am able to project out my passion for life to the world in my writings. I have had to shield my wife from the negativity and pain I read and write about on a daily basis, 365 days a year without fault. It is her love that sustains me and keeps my heart from being crushed by it all. In addition, my love is a river of unending passion that provides me with the strength and stamina to continue my work.] I think that we are all converted. I... more »

Ukraine And Pro-Russian Rebels Exchange Hundreds Of Prisoners

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 15 hours ago
*Ukraine, Pro-Russian Rebel Prisoner Exchange Continues -- Voice of America* Several Ukrainian prisoners are set to be handed over to Kyiv Saturday by pro-Russian separatists, a day after the two sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners. Saturday's exchange will complete a prisoner swap. The office of Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko says Ukraine handed over 222 rebel captives Friday, while separatists released 146 Ukrainian servicemen in the largest exchange of prisoners since separatists launched their uprising in April. "As a president and as an ordinary citizen my heart is f... more »

Would You Hide Ed Snowden In Your Home?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 15 hours ago
Ever hear someone bitterly decrying "all Germans" as Nazis? I heard plenty of that growing up in a Jewish community in Brooklyn and later I heard plenty of it when I lived in Amsterdam. But there was always one response that could stop anyone going down that path in their tracks-- something about a family that took a Jew or a resistance fighter in and hid them from the Nazis in their home. The state of Israel has an honorific for such people: "Righteous Among the Nations." There are even rules and regulations governing who gets the term applied to them. For example, assistance has ... more »

North Korea Calls President Obama 'A Monkey', Blames U.S. For Internet Outages

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 15 hours ago
*North Korea Calls Obama 'A Monkey' In Latest Hacking Salvo -- The Telegraph* Pyongyang issues furious statement accusing US of shutting down its internet services as row over The Interview shows no sign of easing North Korea called President Barack Obama "a monkey" and blamed the US on Saturday for shutting down its internet services amid the hacking row over The Interview. North Korea has denied involvement in a crippling cyberattack on Sony Pictures but has expressed fury over the comedy depicting an assassination of its leader Kim Jong-un. After Sony Pictures initially calle... more »

Can Yoga Awaken the Deeper Kundalini Energy?

Waking Times at Waking Times - 15 hours ago
*Video -* Krishnamurti discusses if yoga will awaken deeper kundalini energy within a person. The post Can Yoga Awaken the Deeper Kundalini Energy? appeared first on Waking Times.

"Muslim viewers want more programmes... where they see themselves"

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 16 hours ago
When the BBC appointed a Muslim to be its Head of Religion in 2009, concerned voices (at blogs like *Biased BBC*) wondered whether he might start advancing his own Muslim faith. Bearing that in mind, Ian Burrell of the *Independent* has a scoop: *BBC’s head of religion Aaqil Ahmed calls for more ‘literacy’ at the top* *"Muslim viewers want more programmes... where they see themselves"* IAN BURRELL MEDIA EDITOR Friday 26 December 2014 The head of religious programmes at the BBC has complained that a lack of diversity and religious literacy at the top of British public service ... more »

Misdirection Watch - or are folks losing their minds at the same time all over the place ? ( December 21 , 2014 ) --Geopolitical instability abounds , domestic strife brewing , Sony affair - could it lead to further cyber disruptions internationally as well as here in the US ? But the better question - who wants to see the world burn ?

Catharsis Ours - 16 hours ago
I have been carefully watching this before commenting..... here's what I see. For initial context , we are living in dangerous times. US involved in expanding conflicts in Iraq and Syria . We are going to be in Afghanistan for a long time and things are quite unsettled there . Libya is a mess . CIA Torture report quite controversial . Yemen is a mess too. Saudis seeing stirrings of terror. Foreign policy disaster Ukraine looks likely to siphon US taxpayers funds . Bond markets ( US / Japan / Germany / UK ) indications reveal " recovering economies " memo not exactly accurate glo... more »

Untitled

jonjayray at EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL - 16 hours ago
*‘Public Education’ Should Fund Any Education, Not Just Government-Run Schools* “Are you saying public education is just a funding mechanism? … Is all education now public [and parents] can just choose?” asked Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Nancy Rice during oral arguments over the constitutionality of Douglas County’s Choice Scholarship Pilot Program. The case has brought forth a question that has been at the forefront of state and national debates over school choice: What is the definition of “public education,” anyway? “It is important to distinguish between ‘schooling’ ... more »

Untitled

JR at GREENIE WATCH - 16 hours ago
*How solar power and electric cars could make suburban living awesome again* *Chris Mooney is at it again. He's a science popularizer without one of the most important things in science: A critical mind. Regurgitating hokum is his thing. This time he is living in a fantasy world where everyone drives electric cars. Good luck with that! Didn't the Chevy Volt teach anyone anything?* The suburbs have had it rough in the last few years. The 2008-2009 economic collapse led to waves of foreclosures in suburbia, as home prices plummeted. More recently, census data suggest that Ame... more »

JT rules out a coalition with the NDP

thwap at thwap's schoolyard - 16 hours ago
Now, the real reason that Mulcair has found a coalition to be palatable is because the NDP is running a distant third place to the Liberals and the harpercon scum. Why should the dreamy, vapid air-head Justin Trudeau sully himself by publicly contemplating associating with those radical nutbar socialists? For that reason, Trudeau sniffed that the very major policy differences betwixt the two parties made a Liberal-NDP coalition very unlikely. Certainly there are differences between the Liberals' neo-liberalism and the NDP's neo=liberalism/"social democracy." But is Trudeau saying th... more »

Why Hugh Sykes no longer likes 'Newsnight'

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 17 hours ago
Here's a Twitter discussion you may have missed. In it a veteran BBC reporter reveals his feelings about Ian Katz's new-look 'Newsnight': "There's a lot of foreign news today." @BBCNewsnight. Was that an apology?!! — HughSykes (@HughSykes) December 17, 2014 @HughSykes @BBCNewsnight It sounded a bit "The One Show" to me :o/ — Shark (@156Sharknose) December 17, 2014 @156Sharknose @BBCNewsnight There was another weird remark: "You may have read about this in the newspapers." — HughSykes (@HughSykes) December 17, 2014 @HughSykes Because, in my view as a punter, @BBCNewsnight has ceased t... more »

To blend, or not to blend: that is the question

Angel Cintron Jr. at @ THE CHALK FACE - 17 hours ago
Originally posted on Blended Teaching DC: To blend, or not to blend: that is the question: Whether it’s nobler in the mind to labor The time and commitment to differentiate instruction, Or to take arms against the antiquated system, And by opposing end them? To question: to innovate; No more; and by a test score…

Laughing at North Korea and sexist jokes

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 18 hours ago
Steve Evans, the BBC's correspondent in Seoul, was on *Today *this morning talking about North Korea's latest fulminations against that U.S. comedy film which mocks its (very) big baby of a leader. The North Koreans have gone too far this time though, way beyond minor things like mass executions, horrific gulags, three-generation family punishments, threats of nuclear war, and the like. Yes, they've said something racist about President Obama and not even the BBC feels it can be neutral in the face of that level of offensiveness. It's wrong, and BBC reporters like Steve Evans are s... more »

U.S. Wants To Transfer Dozens of Guantanamo Detainees In The Next 6 Months

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 21 hours ago
*U.S. Hopes To Transfer Dozens From Gitmo In 6 Months, Official Says -- CNN* (CNN) -- The Obama administration hopes to transfer dozens of detainees from Guantanamo Bay in the next six months as part of a stepped-up effort to reduce the population there, according to a U.S. official. As many as five detainees are expected to be moved from the detention facility in the next few days, with several more transfers anticipated in early 2015, the official said on condition of anonymity. The news comes less than a week after the United States announced it had repatriated four detainees f... more »

The F-35 Falls Short When Compared To Older Jets In 'Seeing The Battlefield'

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 21 hours ago
Reuters *Newest U.S. Stealth Fighter ‘10 Years Behind’ Older Jets -- Dave Majumdar, Daily Beast* America’s $400 billion, top-of-the-line aircraft can’t see the battlefield all that well. Which means it’s actually worse than its predecessors at fighting today’s wars. When the Pentagon’s nearly $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter finally enters service next year after nearly two decades in development, it won’t be able to support troops on the ground the way older planes can today. Its sensors won’t be able to see the battlefield as well; and what video the F-35 does capture, it... more »

Russian Military Innovations For 2014

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 21 hours ago
What arms and military equipment have Russia's armed forces received in 2014? *Best Of 2014: Russian Military Innovations -- Russia Beyond the Headlines * For the Russian defense industry, 2014 has been a complicated year. Yet despite numerous difficulties, some examples of military technology successfully underwent state testing and were transferred to the armed forces for future use. RBTH presents five additions to the armed forces that went into service in 2014 – the newest innovations of the defense industry. *Yasen multipurpose nuclear submarine* The first Yasen submarine t... more »

Belarus Has Imposed State Control On The Economy

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 21 hours ago
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko *State Control Of Prices In Belarus Will Remain Forever - Lukashenko -- Interfax* MINSK. Dec 26 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that state control over prices will remain in place in the republic and urged businesses not to count on a liberalization of the price policy after the scraping of a package of emergency measures from the government and the National Bank. "I was told, and saw it for myself, that some of our scoundrel-officials have been telling entrepreneurs, businessmen and all sorts of thieves tha... more »

US Armed Rebels Gave TOW missiles to Al Qaeda

Land Destroyer at Land Destroyer - 23 hours ago
*December 27, 2014 *(Maram Susli - NEO) - US supplied TOW anti-tank missiles have ended up in the hands of Jabhat Al Nusra, Syria’s branch of Al Qaeda. The US provided the missiles to CIA vetted Syrian rebel faction Harakat Hazm in May. A video posted by Al Nusra shows the weapons being used to take over Syrian military bases, Wadi Deif and Hamidiyeh in Idlib province. A story that should have been headline news of Obama’s arming of Al Qaeda across all US media, largely went unnoticed. The only evidence of the story in the mainstream media can be found in the International Business... more »

The Consistency of Official Iranian Commentary, Part IV:Javad Zarif and the Detrimental Perception of Nuclear Intentions

Nima Shirazi at Wide Asleep in America - 23 hours ago
In an extensive interview with Jacob Heilbrunn, senior editor at The National Interest, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated Iran's consistent commitment never to build or acquire nuclear weapons. In presenting Iran's categorical rejection of such arms, Zarif explained that Iran had "every reason not to have a nuclear bomb." He continued: If you look at Iran’s security

the time is now

Oberon at GlobaLove Think Tank - 23 hours ago
there is no past there is no future there is only the eternal now the will of god

Food Watch: Latest sign that civilization is drawing (has drawn?) to a close: SpaghettiOs-topped pizza

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
*"A gourmet meal" -- yum!* *by Ken* Yeah, yeah, you're not supposed to knock it if you haven't tried it. But I'm here to tell you that I have no intention of trying pizza topped with SpaghettiOs. Sometimes you have to wonder what people think pizza is about. On the one hand there are the micro-thin pizza fetishists, who don't seem to grasp that we're talking about a form of bread here, and that the crust is an integral part of the package. (I always think they would do better to spread some sauce on their arm and stick it in a wicked-hot pizza oven for a *really* thin crust.) Of... more »

The Afghan Army Is Still Using Soviet Era Tanks In Their War Against The Taliban

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*Afghan Army's Rusty Tank Relics Still Roll Into Battle -- Stars and Stripes* KABUL — With a collective belch of black smoke, the line of old Soviet tanks rattles to life. No two vehicles have the same fading paint scheme, and some still feature the insignia of Afghanistan’s communist government of the 1980s. Fenders are bent and rusted. In the treads of one tank are the tangled coils of the last barbed-wire fence it drove through. Amid the haze and the clanking of metal tracks, the hulking machines barely look ready to drive around the block, let alone fight a war. Once a commo... more »

China To Purge Foreign Technology And Replace It With A China Only Made Policy

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*China Is Planning to Purge Foreign Technology and Replace With Homegrown Suppliers -- Bloomberg* China is aiming to purge most foreign technology from banks, the military, state-owned enterprises and key government agencies by 2020, stepping up efforts to shift to Chinese suppliers, according to people familiar with the effort. The push comes after a test of domestic alternatives in the northeastern city of Siping that was deemed a success, said the people, who asked not to be named because the details aren’t public. Workers there replaced Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Windows with a ... more »

2015 & Beyond: The Denuclearization And Break-Up of Pakistan, An Attack On Iran, And The Further Disintegration of Syria

Saman Mohammadi at The Excavator - 1 day ago
"Talk about unintended consequences. Could the Palestinians’ pursuit of statehood at the United Nations finally put an end to the movement of so-called non-aligned nations, who have nursed Arab grievances against Israel for decades? That certainly seems to be the implication of a report that India is considering a change to its pattern of supporting the Palestinians at the United Nations. *Instead, the country, under new leadership and with growing ties to Israel, may abstain on votes regarding the Middle East peace process."* - *Seth Lipsky, "India’s shift away from Palestine cou... more »

Is China About To Become The World's New Bank?

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*China Steps In As World's New Bank -- William Pesek, Bloomberg* Thanks to China, Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund, Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank and Takehiko Nakao of the Asian Development Bank may no longer have much meaningful work to do. Beijing's move to bail out Russia, on top of its recent aid for Venezuela and Argentina, signals the death of the post-war Bretton Woods world. It’s also marks the beginning of the end for America's linchpin role in the global economy and Japan's influence in Asia. What is China's new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank if... more »

Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, "My Orchid Spirit (Extragalactic)"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
Liquid Mind, "My Orchid Spirit (Extragalactic)" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK_2fgj_Vts

"Nobody knows it," says Paul Krugman, "but 2014 was the year of 'Yes, we can' "

KenInNY at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
*"[O]ver the past year, a U.S. government subjected to constant bad-mouthing, constantly accused of being ineffectual or worse, has, in fact, managed to accomplish a lot. On multiple fronts, government wasn't the problem; it was the solution. Nobody knows it, but 2014 was the year of 'Yes, we can.' "* *-- Paul Krugman, in his NYT column today,* "Tidings of Comfort" *by Ken* "All year," says our Paul in this column reflecting on what he says seemed to him an "unusually subdued" Christmas, "Americans have been bombarded with dire news reports portraying a world out of control and a ... more »

Chna's Corruption Purge Is Spreading Fear And Retribution

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*Special Report: Fear And Retribution In Xi's Corruption Purge -- David Lague , Benjamin Kang Lim and Charlie Zhu, Reuters* (Reuters) - Chen Zhenggao, a member of the Communist Party's elite Central Committee, clearly has enemies. While Chen was visiting Hong Kong last year, his adversaries were preparing a detailed dossier on his travel and entertainment spending. Soon after the visit, mainland businessmen passed the documents to Reuters. Among the materials was video surveillance footage of the powerful politician, then the governor of China’s Liaoning province, stepping out of ... more »

7 Ways To Reduce Electrical Pollution In Your Home or Office

Waking Times at Waking Times - 1 day ago
*Video -* If you're concerned about electrical and EMF pollution, here are some ideas on how to protect yourself. The post 7 Ways To Reduce Electrical Pollution In Your Home or Office appeared first on Waking Times.

Musical Interlude: Chuck Wild, "Liquid Mind VII: Reflection - In The Stillness"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
Chuck Wild, "Liquid Mind VII: Reflection - In The Stillness" Photos, animations courtesy of ESA, NASA and The Hubble Space Telescope. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahc16ZFXrTo

"A Look to the Heavens"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"About 40,000 light-years across, pretty, irregular galaxy NGC 3239 lies near the center of this lovely field of galaxies in the galaxy rich constellation Leo. At a distance of only 25 million light-years it dominates the frame, sporting a peculiar arrangement of structures, young blue star clusters and star forming regions, suggesting that NGC 3239 (aka Arp 263) is the result of a galaxy merger. Appearing nearly on top of the pretty galaxy is a bright, spiky, foreground star, a nearby member of our own Milky Way galaxy almost directly along our line-of-sight to NGC 3239. *Click im... more »

The Door In The Wall"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out. He will be wiser but less sure, happier but less self-satisfied, humbler in acknowledging his ignorance yet better equipped to understand the relationship of words to things, of systematic reasoning to the unfathomable mystery which it tries, forever vainly, to comprehend.” – Aldous Huxley

The Daily "Near You?"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
Abilene, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by.

"Our Fate..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
"It seems to me that almost all our sadnesses are moments of tension, which we feel as paralysis because we no longer hear our astonished emotions living. Because we are alone with the unfamiliar presence that has entered us; because everything we trust and are used to is for a moment taken away from us; because we stand in the midst of a transition where we cannot remain standing. That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into its innermost chamber and is no longer even there, - is already in our b... more »

"No Regret…Leave it All On The Field"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*"No Regret…Leave it All On The Field"* by Bonnie Ware "Many years ago I heard an athlete, who had just lost a huge game, being interviewed by a reporter. This reporter asked the tough question “So what’s it going to be like living with all the regret of losing this big game?” The athlete immediately snapped back, “Regret! I don’t have any regret, I left it all on the field…” I know all of us have heard that expression before but I found it to be a very good preface for this particular blog post. Regret…tough word for some of us because of broken relationships or worse yet, maybe a... more »

Chet Raymo, “The Audacity Of Hope”

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*“The Audacity Of Hope”* by Chet Raymo “In the middle of the last century, Teilhard de Chardin wrote: "A great many internal and external portents (political and social upheaval, moral and religious unease) have caused us all to feel, more or less confusedly, that something tremendous is at present taking place in the world. But what is it?" What, indeed? There are two prevailing opinions: *1)* We are going to hell in a hand basket. Global warming, ecological disaster, tribal genocide, overpopulation, economic collapse, nuclear annihilation, moral decay: the future looks bleak, if ... more »

"How It Really Is"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago

Tonight's Movie Is Silent Night

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
From *YouTube*: Fact-based World War II story set on Christmas Eve, 1944, finds a German Mother and her son seeking refuge in a cabin on the war front. When she is invaded by three American soldiers and then three German soldiers, she successfully convinces the soldiers to put aside their differences for one evening and share a Christmas dinner.

Trillion dollar war in Afghanistan- "Achieved it's goal"- Obama

Penny at Penny for your thoughts - 1 day ago
*Well, I made it!* * 48 hours away from the blog except for responding to comments* Obama addressing troops spouting nonsense *Trillion-dollar war in Afghanistan achieved its goal* *US troops first arrived in Afghanistan *less than a month after the 9/11 attacks* on New York and Washington DC, unseating the Taliban before bedding in for a conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 US military personnel. * *Some 13 years later, and after *spending more than $1 trillion on the war, * the US is preparing to pull most of its combat troops out before the end of this year* ... more »

Psychology: "The Illusion of Truth"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
* "The Illusion of Truth"* by PsyBlog "We see ads for the same products over and over again. Politicians repeat the same messages endlessly (even when it has nothing to do with the question they've been asked). Journalists repeat the same opinions day after day. Can all this repetition really be persuasive? It seems too simplistic that just repeating a persuasive message should increase its effect, but that's exactly what psychological research finds (again and again). Repetition is one of the easiest and most widespread methods of persuasion. In fact it's so obvious that we someti... more »

The Poet: Amelia Peart Macdonald, "Upward Reaching"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*"Upward Reaching"* "The soul of man, to what end is it striving? What is the destiny, what is the goal? This constant upward reaching of the soul– What force behind it does the ceaseless driving? Upward reaching but implies a quest Unending, for the things we deem the best, For that which goes to make the perfect whole– Insatiable striving for a better role. With what speed, then, is man’s success arriving? Endowed with instincts meant to goad him on Toward the infinite, from dawn to dawn, From his struggle, how much good deriving? Man’s speed, or progress, toward that holier sphere, Is... more »

"All Paths..."

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
“All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence, in order to reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song- but in this dance or in this song there are fulfilled the most ancient rites of our conscience in the awareness of being human and of believing in a common destiny.” - Pablo Neruda

"Singing To The Deer"

noreply@blogger.com (CoyotePrime) at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 1 day ago
*"Singing To The Deer"* by Patricia Monaghan “At solstice, the woods were bright in a snowy way, the sky pearl gray above the stately maples and gnarled burr oaks. An Alaskan marooned in the urban Midwest, it took me years to find this nearby patch of relatively undisturbed land where I can sense the power of wildness. Now I go there often, watching the seasons unfold their changeful unchanging patterns in the increasingly familiar forest. I especially like to walk among the sleeping trees in the half-lit silence of winter dawns. The trail I follow winds and twists, new patches of ... more »

U.S., South Korea And Japan Have Agreed To Pool Their Intelligence Against North Korea

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*US, Japan, S. Korea to Share Intel On N. Korea -- Voice of America* South Korean officials say Seoul, the U.S. and Japan have agreed on a trilateral intelligence-sharing pact to deal with North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. Officials said on Friday that the deal would enable the three allies to quickly respond to any North Korean provocation at a time of increasing tensions with Pyongyang. It would apply to intelligence sharing only on the North's missile and nuclear progress. South Korean officials say the formal signing of the pact by the South Korean vice defense mini... more »

U.S. Conducts Drone Strikes In Pakistan. 'Mastermind' Behind Attack On Pakistan School Killed In Shootout

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com *As Pakistan Considers Counter-Terrorism Strategy, More Airstrikes Kill Militants -- Washington Post* ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Two suspected U.S. drone strikes in northwestern Pakistan killed at least eight militants on Friday, and Pakistani forces also killed a Taliban commander who helped carry out last week’s school massacre in Peshawar. According to Pakistani intelligence officials, a U.S. drone fired two missiles into a compound in North Waziristan used by militants from the Punjabi Taliban. The group is an offshoot of the Pakistan Tali... more »

Will Steve Stockman Be The Next Republican Criminal Not Locked Up In Prison After Mikey Suits?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 1 day ago
The Honorable Steve Stockman (R-TX), domestic terrorist Steve Stockman made a name for himself the first time he somehow wound up in Congress. The ex-drug addict and derelict-turned right-wing extremist, involved himself with fringe anti-American militia groups and domestic terrorists and had some connection-- one that was quickly hushed up-- with Timothy McVeigh and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people and caused over half a billion dollars in physical damages. The next year, Democrat Nick Lampson defeated Stockman's reelection bid 53-47%. He ran several unsuccessfu... more »

Not bashing the Archbishop

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 1 day ago
Though the colour scheme and layout of our blog may not change very much (which gives Sue cause for concern, as she's got much better visual taste than me and would very much like to improve its somewhat make-do-and-mend look), the second part of the blog's title does vary from time to time. As you may (or may not) have noticed, it now reads "...and any other matters that take our fancy", thus freeing us forever from having to peg every post to the theme of BBC bias and allowing us to bang on about any old random stuff that crosses our minds. This post, therefore, will contain ... more »

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 26, 2014

War News Updates Editor at War News Updates - 1 day ago
*Aceh Ten Years After the Tsunami -- Sebastian Strangio, The Diplomat* *The region has made impressive progress on rebuilding infrastructure, but the mental scars remain.* BANDA ACEH – One thing people invariably recall about the Indian Ocean tsunami is the terrifying sound the tidal wave made as it surged towards shore. Rahmadullah, 31, remembered “a sound like a cyclone.” Mohammad Saleh, a 54-year-old primary school principal, said the wave made a noise “just like a bomb” as it swept trees, homes, and buildings aside like so many cardboard boxes. “It was high as the coconut tree... more »

North Korea Didn't Do It

Bruce K. Gagnon at Organizing Notes - 1 day ago

what i'm reading: pro: reclaiming abortion rights by katha pollitt

laura k at wmtc - 1 day ago
Katha Pollitt's new book, *Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights*, is a powerful gust of fresh, clean air that blows away the toxic stench of the current discourse about abortion. *Pro* is a thorough, no-holds-barred takedown of the hypocrisy of anti-abortion-rights movement - not only in the most obvious sense that people who claim to be "pro-life" also (usually) support war and the death penalty, oppose gun control, and encourage lethal terrorism against abortion providers and clinic staff, and of people who claim to care about women and children, but oppose all social supports that m... more »

Defence of Absolute Privilege not extended to Municipal Councillors

James C Morton at Morton's Musings - 1 day ago
Gutowski v. Clayton, 2014 ONCA 921: [20] Nothing in this record supports an extension of absolute privilege to municipal councillors, in my opinion. [21] In this regard, I do not accept the appellants' argument that the absence of the protection of absolute privilege is "presumed" to have a "chilling effect" on the ability of councillors to perform their function. They rely on *Grant v. Torstar Corp.**, *2009 SCC 61, [2009] 3 S.C.R. 640, for their submission that no evidence is required to establish the chilling effect flowing from the lack of a defamation defence. ... more »

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