Fair Use Note

WARNING for European visitors: European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies. You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. Learn more about this notice and your responsibilities.

Thomas Paine

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

Sunday, December 15, 2019

15 December - Blogs I'm Following - 2 of 5

My Yahoo! - 1 of 2     2 of 2

10 pm MST

Is Jeremy Corbyn a troll?

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 6 hours ago
Hmm. Jeremy Corbyn has posted a video today (apparently, he's 100% right, but life's a bitch): Our time will come. pic.twitter.com/VAr9rAdA0f — Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) December 15, 2019 As you'll see from the caption heading his tweet, his message is "Our time will come". Now, as *pugnazious* at Biased BBC notes, "Our time will come", however innocuous it sounds, is actually a major Irish republican slogan, Tiocfaidh ár lá. Sinn Fein and the IRA repeatedly used it - and Sinn Fein still uses it - as a rallying cry. So, the obvious questions is: would Jeremy Corbyn - or who... more »

Poll: Most people prefer annihilation by killer tsunami than being lectured by climate change activists

greencrow at Greencrow As The Crow Flies - 6 hours ago
*Tsunami or Greta - You Choose* Greencrow is hosting a craft afternoon with a Christmas theme in an hour or so. Sadly, posting has to take a backseat to crafting at this time of year. For your reading pleasure, however I have copied this article from SOTT.net about how fed up people are with the climate alarmists. In the middle ages they used to have a similar methodology to terrorize the population and keep them compliant. They were always saying that the world was coming to an end. The dominant religions of the day were in cahoots with the government and the aristocracy to p... more »

Warning: Lacquer Thinner No Longer Methanol

E.M.Smith at Musings from the Chiefio - 6 hours ago
You can not any longer depend on "Lacquer Thinner" to be Methanol for use in your camping stove. Continue reading →

Can Supreme Court Extend Trump’s Term by 3 Years If He’s Acquitted in Senate?

Snopes Staff at Snopes.com - 6 hours ago
A routine review of content labeled satire.

Harvard University Students Host Sit-In, Demand Ethnic Studies Department

Sarah Wood at Diverse - 6 hours ago
Around 50 Harvard University students hosted a sit-in Thursday demanding the establishment of an ethnic studies department on campus. The students occupied Harvard’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid shortly after the school’s early action admissions decisions were released. The students argued that the university needed to increase its commitment to diversity beyond race-conscious admissions, […]

Time Person Of The Year

tonyheller at Real Climate Science - 6 hours ago
Tony Heller on Twitter: “- @GretaThunberg rides first class, then takes a posed picture sitting on the floor. https://t.co/9ahyWX3iRu” / Twitter (29) DRUDGE REPORT on Twitter: “Greta Thunberg Apologizes After Call To Put Politicians ‘Against The Wall’… https://t.co/Wiv7gXgKlV” / Twitter

Warming Twice As Fast

tonyheller at Real Climate Science - 6 hours ago
Canada warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, report says – BBC News Arctic warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, according to NOAA’s report card – UPI.com Mountains Are Warming Twice as … Continue reading →

The 'See Something, Say Nothing' Culture of Mental Health Problems

Bandy X. Lee at The National Interest - 7 hours ago
*Bandy X. Lee* *Health, Americas* [image: Reuters] Many employees with mental illnesses don’t get the help they need for fear of discrimination. Even though mental illness affects one in five adults – and depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide – secrecy and stigma around the issue continue. The problem is especially acute in the workplace. While individuals with mental illness often wish to work and are able to, their unemployment rates remain three to four times those of individuals without mental illness. I’m an expert on mental health, and I have found that t... more »

Why 'Organic' Regulations Falls Short of Protecting Pigs

Michael Haedicke at The National Interest - 7 hours ago
*Michael Haedicke* *Environment, Americas* [image: Reuters] These federal regulations require outdoor access for livestock – but don’t specify how much. This holiday season, Americans will buy some 20 million turkeys and 300 million pounds of ham. Some of these turkeys and hams will be certified organic, reflecting the common belief that organically raised animals live happier, more natural lives. The reality, though, is more complicated. Government regulations for organic farming contain few specific protections for pigs, poultry, egg-laying hens and other animals raised for h... more »

Technology Explains Why America's Free Market Is Falling Behind Europe's

Bret Swanson at The National Interest - 7 hours ago
*Bret Swanson* *Technology, * What can we do about it? In a new book, Thomas Philippon of New York University makes the contrarian case that the free market is thriving in Europe and faltering in the United States. This may startle observers focused on top-line output figures. Over the past three decades, for example, annual US GDP growth has averaged around 2.6 percent, compared to 1.4 percent for the Eurozone. Since 2010, US growth has averaged 2.2 percent, outpacing Europe’s mere 1.3 percent. *The Great Reversal*’s key arguments, however, are more granular. Philippon makes th... more »

China's History Shows Us How Elites Can Stop A Society From Progressing

James Pethokoukis at The National Interest - 7 hours ago
*James Pethokoukis* *Economics, * The history of progress is mostly a history of false starts and a retreat. For some reason, a great 2016 essay by economic historian Joel Mokyr, “Progress isn’t natural,” recently popped into my Twitter feed. In it, Mokyr reminds that the idea of progress — that through its actions and agency humanity can make the world a bit better tomorrow than it is today — is a fairly recent concept. And when people moved from thinking progress is possible to actually attempting to make progress happen, well, that’s when the modern world really began, Mokyr w... more »

Pakistan Won in Afghanistan (While America Lost)

Michael Rubin at The National Interest - 7 hours ago
*Michael Rubin* *Security, Middle East* [image: https://pictures.reuters.com/archive/AFGHANISTAN-NATO-CEREMONY-GF10000330361.html] How did this happen? *Key point:* It's impossible to disentanlge Pakistani influence from Afghanistan. The U.S. war in Afghanistan is winding down, and Pakistan has won. The basic outline of the agreement negotiated by U.S. Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is nothing new: The United States withdraws its forces in exchange for a Taliban pledge not to associate with terrorism or allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe-haven for terror groups. There prob... more »

ACTION ALERT!! New Jersey S2173 12/16 Signing to Remove Religious Vaccine Exemption

Age of Autism at AGE OF AUTISM - 7 hours ago
Act Now to Protect Religious Exemptions in New Jersey New Jersey Residents: Click HERE before 1:00pm 12/16 The NJ legislature has moved like lightning to pass a law that will ELIMINATE the religious exemption for ALL children in daycare and... more »

Sunday Talks: Gowdy and Strassel Respond to James Comey Interview…

sundance at The Last Refuge - 7 hours ago
Former Congressman and Fox News contributor Trey Gowdy and the Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel react to Jim Comey’s wounded tender sensibilities during Fox News Sunday “interview” with Chris Wallace.

Wind Turbines Traumatizing Animals As Well As People

Hifast at Climate Collections - 7 hours ago
Originally posted on PA Pundits - International: By James Taylor ~ The same wind turbines that are causing reports of severe health harms to people around the world appear to be having a similar or more severe impact on dogs and other animals. This is especially troubling because dogs and other domesticated animals rely on…

Wild Free and Happy Sample 28

What Is Sustainable at What Is Sustainable - 7 hours ago
[Note: This is the twenty-eighth sample from my rough draft of a far from finished new book, *Wild, Free, & Happy*. I don’t plan on reviewing more books for a while. My blog is home to reviews of 202 books, and you are very welcome to explore them. The Search field on the right side will find words in the full contents of all rants and reviews, if you are interested in specific authors, titles, or subjects.] *Sheep* Mouflon are the wild ancestors of sheep, and they still survive because they are faster than Olympic athletes on steroids. They excel at racing across steep, roc... more »

Bias, Camera, Action!

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 7 hours ago
Blimey. As Paul Mason would say, it's all kicking off on Twitter tonight between ITN veteran Alastair Stewart and *Newsnight*'s incoming policy editor Lewis Goodall: *Lewis Goodall*: Am going to write something about the cataclysm of the Lab results in next few days. But as tempting as it is to get consumed by Labour watching and recrimination (as most on here now are) we shouldn’t forget the govt hardly covered itself in glory in the conduct of the election. *Alastair Stewart*: I earnestly hope you include a thought or two about how we, in the media, performed... *Lewis Goodall*: ... more »

Lebanon News Links 30 November – 15 December 2019

barovsky at The New Dark Age - 7 hours ago
15 December 2019 — The New Dark Age Global Warfare: “We’re Going to Take out 7 Countries in 5 Years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan & Iran..” https://www.globalresearch.ca/we-re-going-to-take-out-7-countries-in-5-years-iraq-syria-lebanon-libya-somalia-sudan-iran/5166 US-Backed Parties Infiltrated Lebanon’s Protests, Pushing Country Toward War Amid Economic Collapse https://popularresistance.org/us-backed-parties-infiltrated-lebanons-protests-pushing-country-toward-war-amid-economic-collapse/ Security forces fire tear gas as protests in Beirut turn ugly http://feedproxy.... more »

Who will pay the $250+ billion reconstruction cost in Syria?

Eric Zuesse at The Duran - 7 hours ago
Eric Zuesse, originally posted at strategic-culture.org, and now updated here On November 25th, America’s International Crisis Group (ICG) headlined “Ways out of Europe’s Syria Reconstruction Conundrum” and urged the U.S. Government’s European allies to follow America’s lead and refuse to contribute any funds towards reconstruction of Syria unless and until a government of that country […] More The post Who will pay the $250+ billion reconstruction cost in Syria? appeared first on The Duran.

Gosia Duszak and Billy Meier

KRandle at A Different Perspective - 7 hours ago
Looks like Billy Meier has some competition. Seems that a woman, Gosia Duszak, who will be speaking at an upcoming UFO conference, says that she has been in communication with the Pleiadeans. The Pleiades It seems, according to the information published about her, she is an owner of a YouTube channel “through which the Taygetean Pleidain communication is shared… Since 2017 in almost daily direct live written contact with Swaruu (the Leader) and the Taygetean Pleidian crew in orbit of the Earth, assisting humans with the planetary liberation, liberation from the ‘Matrix’ and remova... more »

Are Democrats Going To Finally Get Behind Public Education For Real-- And Leave Charter Schools To The Republicans?

DownWithTyranny at DownWithTyranny! - 8 hours ago
This week I left my house for something that isn't part of my normal routine. While I braved rush-hour freeway traffic-- something I have avoided for at least a decade-- my friend drove straight from work to meet me at the Broad in downtown Los Angeles (DTLA), where it costs $8 to park-- every 15 minutes. My friend had to drive from Compton where he teaches elementary school. When we got to the imposing building that multi-billionaire Eli Broad built to house his contemporary art collection, my friend stopped for a moment. He's a teacher's union activist and he wanted to remind me... more »

How the sun affects temperatures on Earth (w/ Valentina Zharkova, Northumbria University)

Russ Steele at The Next Grand Minimum - 8 hours ago
Conversations That Matter, with Stuart McNish The sun is going through a stage known as a solar or Maunder Minimum.’This is where the solar activity that ignites solar flares or sun spots has decreased. It’s a normal cycle and one… Continue reading →

Sunday Talks: Sanctimonious James Comey -vs- Insufferable Chris Wallace…

sundance at The Last Refuge - 8 hours ago
Former FBI Director James Comey appears on Fox News for a defensive narrative building session with his ally in fraud, Chris Wallace. The topic is how the FBI under Comey’s leadership manipulated the FISA process and lied, repeatedly, to the … Continue reading →

Musical Interlude: Ludovico Einaudi, “In Un'Altra Vita”

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
Ludovico Einaudi, “In Un'Altra Vita”

"A Look to the Heavens"

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
“This alluring all-skyscape was taken 5,100 meters above sea level, from the Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes. Viewed through the site's rarefied atmosphere at about 50% sea level pressure, the gorgeous Milky Way stretches through the scene. Its cosmic rifts of dust, stars, and nebulae are joined by Venus, a brilliant morning star immersed in a strong band of predawn Zodiacal light. *Click image for larger size.* Still not completely dark even at this high altitude, the night sky's greenish cast is due to airglow emission from oxygen atoms. Around the horizon the dish antenna... more »

Chet Raymo, “Cosmic Silence”

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
*“Cosmic Silence”* by Chet Raymo "I mentioned here before that a refurbished Hubble Space Telescope will almost certainly give us an Ultra Ultra Deep Field Photograph, the deepest look yet into cosmic space and time. This prompts a reprise of a post from three years ago. Click image for larger size. As I calculate it, it would take 16 million Hubble Ultra Deep Field Photographs to cover the entire celestial sphere. At 10,000 galaxies per photograph, we are talking 160 billion galaxies that the same application of technology might potentially reveal. Having taken aboard a universe of... more »

"A Thoroughly Shell-shocked Species...

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
“We are a thoroughly shell-shocked species. Though we have not all suffered abuse as children, we have all endured experiences that we perceived as terrifying, and that utterly exhausted our tender attempts to comprehend and cope. Instead of receding harmlessly into the past, the darkest, most frightening events from our childhood and adolescence gain power and authority as we grow older. The memory of such events causes us to depart from ourselves, psychologically speaking, or to separate one part of our awareness from the others. As a result of our histories, and of our inborn d... more »

Nadler says that impeachment is about Democrats winning in 2020

trinko at Conversations about the obvious - 8 hours ago
The Constitution says that impeachment is about removing a President who has committed high crimes and misdemeanors. *The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.* But now Democrat Jerry Nadler said: *Impeachment is not a punishment for past behavior. * That of course directly contradicts the Constitution that says that impeachment is about removing a President from office who has been convicted of crimes. But it supports what De... more »

"The Real Tragedy Of Life..."

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
"With things like this, when people don't really understand what has happened, they'll assume the worst long before they have to. It's a little like when people are afraid of the dark. Often it's not the darkness they're afraid of, it's the fact that they don't know what's in it. And because they can't see, because they're not sure, they start to imagine there are more sinister things afoot than there ordinarily would be." - Craig Silvey ○

The Poet: Stanley Kunitz, "The Layers"

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
*"The Layers"* "I have walked through many lives, some of them my own, and I am not who I was, though some principle of being abides, from which I struggle not to stray. When I look behind, as I am compelled to look before I can gather strength to proceed on my journey, I see the milestones dwindling toward the horizon and the slow fires trailing from the abandoned camp-sites, over which scavenger angels wheel on heavy wings. Oh, I have made myself a tribe out of my true affections, and my tribe is scattered! How shall the heart be reconciled to its feast of losses? In a rising wind the m... more »

"Advice From A Tree"

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago

"Progress does not happen automatically, it must be made to happen." #QotD

Peter Cresswell at Not PC - 8 hours ago
*"Each generation has to fight the same old battles afresh in their own unique way. Unless they live up to this duty, improvement is impossible and decline almost inevitable. Progress does not happen automatically, it must be made to happen."* ~ historian Tom Brooking summarising the "historicism" of Benedetto Croce . Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Permission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.

Judith Brown Clarke Named Chief Diversity Officer at Stony Brook University

Jessica Ruf at Diverse - 8 hours ago
Dr. Judith Brown Clarke has been appointed chief diversity officer at Stony Brook University, where she will serve on the university’s council and work to promote a culture of equity and inclusion. Clarke is currently serving as diversity director of the Bio-Computational Evolution in Action Consortium Science and Technology Center at Michigan State University. In […]

UH Hilo Program Supports Minority Students in Behavioral, Biomedical Sciences

Sarah Wood at Diverse - 8 hours ago
Biomedical and behavioral science students from the University of Hawai’i at Hilo (UH Hilo) recently presented their research at a national conference in Anaheim, California. There were 5,500 participants from over 350 institutions in attendance at the conference, which focused on research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The undergraduates were part of […]

ABA: Total Law School Enrollment Rises by 2%, But Not For Minorities

Jessica Ruf at Diverse - 8 hours ago
Law school enrollment rose 2% or by 132,684 students in 2019, but not for minorities, the American Bar Association (ABA) reported. Minority enrollment, which had decreased by .2% or by 11,879 students, equaled about a third of the data, meaning minority students remain underrepresented. The findings arrive as the law industry, having been called one […]

LeMoyne-Owen College Receives Interim Accreditation Review

Sarah Wood at Diverse - 8 hours ago
After submitting a five-year interim accreditation report, LeMoyne-Owen College was found to be in compliance by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), according to the Daily Memphian. SACSCOC requires colleges to submit the report as part of a 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation cycle, as a way to access the institution’s quality. […]

Virginia Governor Releases Free Community College Plan

Sara Weissman at Diverse - 8 hours ago
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam proposed a plan to make community college free for residents from low- or middle-income backgrounds going into particular fields with skilled labor shortages in Virginia.

WA harvest 'finished before it really started' as tonnage plummets after bumper crop

Mark Bennett at Just In - 8 hours ago
WA's farmers say this year's harvest was all but over before it began, with the yield falling significantly short of 10-year averages, not to mention last season's record-breaking crop.

The curious story behind the ousting of a high-flying female CEO

Ian Verrender at Just In - 8 hours ago
As one of only 12 female leaders of a top 200 Australian company, Jayne Hrdlicka's departure attracted far more attention than usual, Ian Verrender writes.

“How We Support Our False Beliefs”

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
*“How We Support Our False Beliefs”* by University at Buffalo "In a study published in the journal "Sociological Inquiry," sociologists from four major research institutions focus on one of the most curious aspects of the 2004 presidential election: the strength and resilience of the belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Although this belief influenced the 2004 election, they claim it did not result from pro-Bush propaganda, but from an urgent need by many Americans to seek justification for a war already in progress. The findi... more »

"They Couldn't Have Known..."

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
"They couldn't have known that even this was a lie - that we never really choose, not entirely. We are always being pushed and squeezed down one road or another. We have no choice but to step forward, and then step forward again, and then step forward again; suddenly we find ourselves on a road we haven't chosen at all. But maybe happiness isn't in the choosing. Maybe it's in the fiction, in the pretending: that wherever we have ended up is where we intended to be all along." - Lauren Oliver

The Daily "Near You?"

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
Farnham, Surrey, United Kingdom. Thanks for stopping by!

"The Directive In Life..."

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
"You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: *Look. Listen. Choose. Act."* - Barbara Hall

"Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression"

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
*"Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression"* by David Martin "Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a candidate or a government. When the candidate or government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party. *1.* Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen. *2.* Wax indignant. This is also known as the "How dare you?" gambit. *3.* Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, bet... more »

"Why Else..."

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 8 hours ago
"We Americans are not usually thought to be a submissive people, but of course we are. Why else would we allow our country to be destroyed? Why else would we be rewarding its destroyers? Why else would we all - by proxies we have given to greedy corporations and corrupt politicians - be participating in its destruction? Most of us are still too sane to piss in our own cistern, but we allow others to do so and we reward them for it. We reward them so well, in fact, that those who piss in our cistern are wealthier than the rest of us. How do we submit? By not being radical enough. Or... more »

How sweet!

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
You'll like this. Not a lot. (As Anna Soubry - remember her? - used to say). Here's blog favourite John Simpson sharing a moment with Sir Michael White, ex-political editor of the *Guardian* - and, in days gone by, on blogs like this, the absolute epitome of the BBC/*Guardian *left-liberal axis: *John Simpson*: Downing Street is putting out the word that it is boycotting Radio 4's *Today* because of its, and the BBC’s, ‘bias’ against Boris Johnson & the Conservatives during the campaign. *Sir Michael White*: Interesting, isn’t it, John, that the Global Britain crew have spent a de... more »

And lead me not into temptation

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 9 hours ago
Talking of *Broadcasting House, *the paper review today featured Richard Wilson. The famous Labour-supporting actor told the programme, with passion: What always upset me during the election was that Corbyn must have known how hated he was and yet he decided to carry on. That's what I can't forgive. Now, having posted that tardy scoop, I really need to just leave it there and not continue this post. I mustn't let Sue down, myself down or you down by giving in to base temptations. But it's so hard. Yet I must stop myself. I so, so, so desire to rewrite the above as: What always... more »

Free Download: Edward Bernays, "Propaganda"

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 9 hours ago
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country." - Edward Bernays, "Propaganda" "Bernays' honest and practical manual provides much insight into some of the most powerful and influential institutions of contemporary industrial state capitalist democracies." - Noam Chomsky "Edward Louis Bernays (November 22, 1891 – March 9, 1995) nephew of psychoanalyst S... more »

Magnetic north pole moving faster than in at least 400 years – MUCH faster  

Robert at Ice Age Now - 9 hours ago
Earth’s magnetic field also weakening dramatically. Could even lead to magnetic reversal. Scientists don’t know why. Earlier this year, both the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the British Geological Survey (BGS) were forced to update the World Magnetic Model* due to the speed with which the magnetic north pole is moving out ... Read moreMagnetic north pole moving faster than in at least 400 years – MUCH faster The post Magnetic north pole moving faster than in at least 400 years – MUCH faster appeared first on Ice Age Now.

"How It Really Is"

CoyotePrime at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly - 9 hours ago
And the very predictable result... And we're paying for all this?!

After Brexit: 5 Winston Churchill Films You Need to Watch

James Jay Carafano at The National Interest - 9 hours ago
*James Jay Carafano* *History, Europe* [image: https://external-preview.redd.it/yppup1Jo-KnAHeFVEluLIe3hHLKwqQe-h6eJNCz3Xys.jpg?auto=webp&s=5fd48aed489ec66fb9f168e6d6162b45ad867580] Learn all about the man who stopped Hitler and may have saved Western Civilization. After Thursday’s elections in the UK, there is no question old Albion is entering a new day. Hopefully that new day will see a U.S.-UK Free Trade Agreement placed on a fast track. The Brits have once again chosen a bold leader, something they tend to do at decisive moments. In 1979, after suffering through decades of ... more »

NATO Nightmare: A Russian Invasion of Iceland?

Robert Beckhusen at The National Interest - 9 hours ago
*Robert Beckhusen* *Security, Europe* You've got to be kidding (but we're not). *Key Point:* If war broke out, seizing Iceland would have been one of the Soviet's first initiatives. Tom Clancy’s 1986 novel *Red Storm Rising* depicts a conventional war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. It’s one of Clancy’s best books and, interesting for a story about a Third World War, doesn’t involve a nuclear apocalypse. It does describe a ground war in Germany, naval and air battles in the North Atlantic and — central to the plot — an invasion of Iceland by a regiment of Soviet troops. Clan... more »

Too Cool for School: Why Parents Should Communicate Better With Educators

Ann M. Ishimaru, Megan Bang, Michelle Valladares at The National Interest - 9 hours ago
*Ann M. Ishimaru, Megan Bang, Michelle Valladares* *Education, Americas* [image: Reuters] A new way is needed for schools to engage with parents. Text messages, email alerts, open houses, fundraising appeals, robocalls – parents know the drill. They are inundated with requests from children’s schools. These missives aren’t really asking for engagement. Rather they can be viewed as ways for educators to tell parents what they should do to support their students or the school. These experiences can inadvertently communicate that schools alone know what’s best for children – and pa... more »

We Have Questions: How Did Humans Learn How to Speak

Thomas R. Sawallis, Louis-Jean Boë at The National Interest - 9 hours ago
*Thomas R. Sawallis, Louis-Jean Boë* *History, Americas* [image: Reuters] Baboons make sounds, but how does it relate to human speech? Sound doesn’t fossilize. Language doesn’t either. Even when writing systems have developed, they’ve represented full-fledged and functional languages. Rather than preserving the first baby steps toward language, they’re fully formed, made up of words, sentences and grammar carried from one person to another by speech sounds, like any of the perhaps 6,000 languages spoken today. So if you believe, as we linguists do, that language is the foundatio... more »

The 'Goldilocks' tactic that retailers use to make you buy today

Just In - 9 hours ago
Retailers can bombard you with offers that are highly customised and super-short — a deal, perhaps, for something you might have been searching online for, and now available at a discount only until midnight. But there's a catch, writes Daniel Zizzo.

Extreme heat is getting worse, but scientists urge caution over nightmare predictions

Ben Collins And Sam Tomlin at Just In - 9 hours ago
Climate scientists have warned of the dangers of 'crying wolf' on climate predictions, as new research suggests the Kimberley could be hit with more than 60 days a year above 40C within the next century.

World 'loses an important opportunity' as UN climate talks end with disappointment

Just In - 9 hours ago
The UN general-secretary says "we must not give up" after marathon international climate talks in Madrid end with major polluters resisting calls to ramp up efforts to keep global warming at bay.

Christmas won't be the same for many still recovering from February floods

Sofie Wainwright at Just In - 9 hours ago
For Townsville locals still recovering from devastating floods in February this year, they are having a tough time gearing up for Christmas in a different or still-damaged house.

Canberra's newest school has no classrooms and no teachers

Jake Evans at Just In - 9 hours ago
The Margaret Hendry school in Canberra's north has flipped the traditional classroom on its head — the old subjects, year groups, school desks and even teachers are all gone. They hope dumping the "factory" model of schooling will prepare these children for an unpredictable future.

'Australian soft power': A look back at how the ABC once ruled the Asia Pacific's airwaves

Michael Vincent And Michael Walsh at Just In - 9 hours ago
The history of the ABC is a story of Australia's relationship with Asia and the Pacific. For eight decades now, ABC broadcasts have reached lonely atolls in the Pacific as well as some of the planet's largest population centres in Asia.

Thousands of unfair VET FEE-HELP debts could be wiped — if students knew how

Paul Farrell at Just In - 9 hours ago
When Bianca Hackett's training college collapsed she was left with no diploma and thousands of dollars in debt. Finally she has some redress.

Pelosi's Lies Show Criminal Intent Behind Coup to Oust Trump, The Issue is War and Peace

Alicia at LaRouchePAC Feed - 9 hours ago
Stop WWIII Pelosi's Lies Show Criminal Intent Behind Coup to Oust Trump, The Issue is War and Peace Video of Pelosi's Lies Show Criminal Intent Behind Coup to Oust Trump, The Issue is War and Peace With the release of the Horowitz report last week -- as false as its final conclusion of no "political bias" of the FBI may be -- there are more people now speaking clearly about the criminal intent of the coup plotters in launching impeachment efforts against President Trump. In her weekly webcast, Helga Zepp LaRouche reviewed comments to an LPAC audience of Bill Binney and Larry ... more »

Big Pharma Empire Behind OxyContin Now Selling Overdose Cure

AP News at Snopes.com - 9 hours ago
The Sackler family’s pharmaceutical empire has long considered whether it might make money treating addiction, according to lawsuits filed against Purdue and the family.

Greta’s Corbyn Moment!

Paul Homewood at NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT - 9 hours ago
By Paul Homewood h/t Joe Public Apparently poor little Greta is doing a Corbyn! (*) https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1205969006982815751?s=20 Like Jezza, it seems Greta has been telling a few porkies, if the German train company are to be believed: Golly gosh, Greta. First Class travel! Not very planet friendly is it? * […]

Russia wants to clear terrorists from Idlib, but with support from Turkey

News Desk at AMN – Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - 10 hours ago
BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:30 P.M.) – The Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that Russia is still concerned about the presence of terrorists in the Idlib Governorate, stating that the Russian Federation hopes to liberate the area from them, but it does not see a substitute for cooperation with Turkey. “This cooperation continues, and […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - The Arab Source

Ex-Syrian opposition leader enters Turkish politics

News Desk at AMN – Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - 10 hours ago
BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:10 P.M.) – The ex-president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (2015-2016), Khaled Khoja, has adopted his Turkish name and entered Turkish politics. The former Syrian opposition leader adopted the Turkish translation of his name, Halit Alptekin Hocaoğlu, and founded a new political party in Turkey with former Prime […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - The Arab Source

Turkey signs military agreement to provide Libya with ‘rapid reaction force’

News Desk at AMN – Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - 10 hours ago
BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:45 P.M.) – Turkey took another step towards providing military support to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord last night when they signed a bilateral agreement, including provisions for launching a “rapid reaction force.” Both Ankara and Tripoli reportedly signed the security agreement to prevent the Benghazi-based Libyan National Army (LNA) from taking […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - The Arab Source

Jihadist group moves to southern Idlib front-lines to take on Syrian Army

News Desk at AMN – Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - 10 hours ago
BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:00 P.M.) – A new report from Sputnik Arabic on Sunday said that the jihadist rebels from Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham had handed over some of their positions to the Al-Qaeda linked Rouse the Believers group. Citing local sources in the Idlib Governorate, Sputnik Arabic reported that HTS handed over some of their bases […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - The Arab Source

Large US military convoy enters northeastern Syria from Iraq: photos

News Desk at AMN – Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - 10 hours ago
BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:30 P.M.) – Several U.S. military vehicles entered Syria’s Al-Hasakah Governorate on Sunday after crossing into the Levantine country from neighboring Iraq. According to state-owned Al-Ikhbariya, the U.S.military vehicles made their way to several of their posts in the Deir Ezzor Governorate. The Al-Ikhbariya report said of the spread of American military vehicles […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز - The Arab Source

Andrew Neil TOTALLY DESTROYS Channel 4 News

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago
I hold in contempt any YouTube video headlined like this post is headlined, but still... By focusing on the BBC's election night coverage I missed Channel 4's Big Reveal of the exit poll: The reaction of the Channel 4 audience to the GE exit poll is exactly how you would imagine, that wasn't the sound boo's, but the sound of a Remain London bubble bursting live on TV. 🥳😍pic.twitter.com/uMj3JSiIm9 — The People’s Chris Rose (@ArchRose90) December 15, 2019 Very Channel 4! I finally got round to watching that after seeing a tweet, this very hour, from the BBC's Andrew Neil (yes,* t... more »

Impeachment Pattern: Diversity vs. The White Men

Emil Guillermo at Diverse - 10 hours ago
The biggest news of the day in our country — no matter what your individual concerns or endeavors — is impeachment. And if the support for it isn’t diverse along party, race and class lines, then we definitely need a check-up as to what it means to be an American living in the model democracy.

Barrett Aiming to Put Students First at Northeast Community College

Sarah Wood at Diverse - 10 hours ago
Dr. Leah Barrett, recently named president of Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, always saw herself as someone who was going to lead an organization. She has found her calling in the world of community colleges, despite working at four-year institutions for most of her career.

Why Liberalism Must Be Crushed

GunnyG at 'Nox & Friends - 10 hours ago
and set back 500 years. Consider the plight in Sweden now after literally decades of Liberalism. Sweden, like their neighbor Norway, was once the center of a vibrant culture that had very low crime rates, men who were warriors first and foremost, and women who were as beautiful as Freya! Indeed, they were a culture to be emulated, back then that is. Now, they are in the final stages of a nation set on self-destruct, in just a few years. Why? Two words, Diversity and Multi-culturalism. Throw in the EU and the UN and you have a recipe for a … Continue reading →

Does Uber Have a Sexual Assault Problem?

Liberty Vittert at The National Interest - 10 hours ago
*Liberty Vittert* *Security, Americas* [image: Reuters] What’s your safest option for a ride home? Since Uber released its first ever safety report on Dec. 5, the media has raised alarms for the 5,981 instances of sexual assault included in the document. This also includes 464 reports of rape over a two-year period – 2017 to 2018. Uber also reported 97 fatal car accidents and 107 total deaths during the same period. From my perspective as a data scientist, however, the numbers may not be as alarming as some reports have claimed. *On the road* In 2018, 36,560 people lost their... more »

School Officers Have a Track Record of Solving Sexual Misconduct Crimes

F. Chris Curran at The National Interest - 10 hours ago
*F. Chris Curran* *Security, Americas* [image: Reuters] Trust is key for school resource officers to be effective, research shows. The presence of law enforcement in schools – better known as school resource officers – has become increasingly common. These officers, who have full law enforcement powers, are supposed to keep students safe. Earlier this year, however, a former Michigan school resource officer – Matthew Priebe – was convicted and sentenced to one year in jail for doing just the opposite. Instead of protecting students from threats, Officer Priebe had been sexually ... more »

Federal Reserve Fallout: Why Paul Volcker's Dream Might Be Dying

Michael Klein at The National Interest - 10 hours ago
*Michael Klein* *economy, Americas* [image: Reuters] Paul Volcker was a courageous central banker. Paul Volcker, who died on Dec. 8, is the poster boy for central bank independence and why it matters. One of his legacies, as you may have read in the many obituaries published since his death, is taming the runaway inflation that posed an existential threat to the U.S. economy in the late 1970s. Less discussed is just how important he was to establishing the principle of an independent Federal Reserve, which he led from 1979 to 1987. As a graduate student in the early 1980s and a... more »

What NAFTA Will Look Like in the Afterlife

Amanda M. Countryman at The National Interest - 10 hours ago
*Amanda M. Countryman* *economy, Americas* [image: Reuters] The 3 most important changes in the new NAFTA and why they matter. President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders agreed on a deal to pass a new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada that will update NAFTA. Passing the new trade accord, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, would be a substantial win for both Trump – given it’s one of his campaign promises – and Democrats, who want to show they’re legislating even as they prepare to impeach the president. So how is the USMCA different from the North A... more »

Can Killer Drones Really Be Stopped in a War?

Michael Yekple at The National Interest - 10 hours ago
*Michael Yekple* *Security, Americas* [image: Reuters] What can drones do to protect civilians in armed conflict? Drones are usually in the news for bad reasons, like controversial killings of suspected terrorists in the Middle East, bombings of Saudi oil facilities or an assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. What many people may not know is that United Nations peacekeepers use drones to protect civilians from violence. These drones are different: They don’t carry weapons. I have followed the U.N.‘s use of drones since its beginning in 2013 and have spoke... more »

You're So Dead: The Top 5 Most Lethal Stealth Weapons

Kyle Mizokami at The National Interest - 10 hours ago
*Kyle Mizokami* *Security, * [image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_B-2_Spirit#/media/File:B-2_Spirit_(cropped).jpg] Yes, even underwater. *Key Point*: Stealth is more than just aircraft. Stealth, or the idea of reducing the ability of the enemy to detect a weapon, has been around since the first caveman sewed a pocket into his clothing and hid a rock in it. Thousands of years later, with the ability to detect objects on the ground, in the air and at sea using electromagnetic radiation, hiding weapons in plain sight has become much harder. The idea of making an... more »

In Trump We Trust: Why Donald Will End the War in Afghanistan

Daniel L. Davis at The National Interest - 10 hours ago
*Daniel L. Davis* *Security, Middle East* [image: Reuters] Both of Trump’s predecessors had two terms each to make the “America first” call and both failed. Across the street from my old headquarters building on Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, President Donald Trump addressed about fifteen hundred U.S. troops on a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit. “We don’t play for ties,” he told the cheering crowd. “We are winning like we haven’t won in a long time.” The quickest and surest way Trump could turn that claim into ground-truth reality, however, would be to set the date for our full... more »

"The hard Brexiteer of the ERG who insults Muslim women in print or the centrist London mayor who marches with Gay Pride?"

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago
As regular readers will know, I don't mind a bit of Paddy on a Sunday morning, but not even I can defend him over* this *part of his narrative this morning: After millions of us picked a candidate, so too must the Prime Minister. Which Boris Johnson will he choose? *The hard Brexiteer of the ERG who insults Muslim women in print* or *the centrist London mayor who marches with Gay Pride*? How's that for a loaded dichotomy! And, of course, Boris was actually defending Muslim women's right to dress as letterboxes in that article, and he was actually joking about the item of clorhin... more »

Blowing bubbles

Craig at Is the BBC biased? - 10 hours ago
I'd missed Amol Rajan's BBC online piece *General election 2019: Five lessons from the 'social media' election *until reading *pugnazious*'s comment about it at B-BBC. It's quite something: No two Twitter users have the same experience, because all follow different people. But I think Piers Morgan was correct to say "Twitter loses another election" last night, though perhaps for more complex reasons than he implied. *[ed - Nice attempt to appear intellectually superior to Piers there, Amol!] * What he and others believe is that Twitter has a liberal bias, and that it can too often... more »

Deutsche Bahn seated Greta to a first-class coupé

Luboš Motl at The Reference Frame - 10 hours ago
I actually find it amusing that Greta Thunberg has been found to become the personification of evil. We may follow her every day and see the answer to the question "what did evil do today?". On Friday 13th, she participated at the Fridays for Future events in Turin, Italy. She said that We will make sure that we put them against the wall – "they" were the world politicians – and they will have to do their job and protect our (Greta's and comrades') futures. Greta later apologized for these Gestapo-like plans, claiming that the comment was too straightforward a translation of a Swedi... more »

Musings On Iraq In The News

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 10 hours ago
I contributed to this article on Iran sending missiles to Iraq and what the U.S. can do about it "Amid Reports That Iran Is Moving Short-Range Missiles Into Iraq to Hit U.S. Forces, How Can Washington React?" for the Carnegie Middle East Center. Was also mentioned by Aaron Zelin in "After Losses, Islamic State Plots Comeback" for the Wilson Center. Here is a link to all of Musings On Iraq's citations.

This Day In Iraqi History - Dec 15

Joel Wing at MUSINGS ON IRAQ - 10 hours ago
1932 League of Nations Mandate Comm rejected Assyrian petition for autonomy Said Iraqi govt would settle Assyrians within country or outside of it (Musings On Iraq book review of *The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq*) (Musings On Iraq book review *State and Society in Iraq*) 1940 Foreign Minister Said wrote memo to PM Gaylani and Regent that Iraq had to back England during WW2 (Musings On Iraq book review of *Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq*) (Musings On Iraq book review of *Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 19... more »

No comments:

Post a Comment