By Ian Millhiser | Think Progress | October 22, 2013

 The Serpent and the Red Line

William A. Cook
“Our only path to liberation is resistance, and saving Jerusalem…We need to take a clear stance, Jerusalem is a Red Line. Jerusalem is the soul of the cause” (Khaled Meshaal, Hamas political bureau chief).

Sigh.. what else can one expect from a criminal cabal?This post finds me both angered and filled with sadness

How many Democrats are running for Congress advocating the end of prohibition?This week Gallup released a national poll reporting that, for the first time ever, a majority (not just the usual plurality) of Americans favos legalizing marijuana. Democrats and Independents favor it by wide margins.

ALRAY | October 23, 2013

Gaza – The Palestinian Government stressed that the Palestinian people and resistance have the right to defend themselves by all possible means against Israel’s undeterred war crimes and aggressions.
Spokesman for the Palestinian Government, Ihab AL-Ghusain, stated on his facebook page “No one can deny the Palestinians thinking of new ways to confront the high-tech military apparatus of the Israeli occupation.”

Trend News Agency
October 23, 2013
Georgia, Portugal discuss military cooperation
N. Kirtzkhalia

Tbilisi: Georgian Defense Minister Irakliy Alasaniya within the meeting of Defence Ministers in NATO Headquarters in Brussels holds bilateral meetings with foreign counterparts. In particular, he met with the Portuguese Defence Minister Jose Pedro Aguiar Branco.

You already know the reason why economists and politicians cannot tell you in simple words why we have Depressions, Bubbles, Booms and Busts. They are owned by the Bankers.
Compare the talking heads on TV to this: A Depression cancels debts. There are historically three ways to cancel Unpayable Debts. First. Massive bankruptcies and layoffs when factories and businesses shut down. In the Great Depression of 1929-1939 at least 3 million Americans died from starvation. This is according to the demographer Borisov.

This is part one of a series about the Trivium Method for self-teaching. Gene Odening will accompany us through the next three episodes.

Covered today:
-The Classical Trivium vs the Trivium Method
-What is General Grammar?
-The Lost Tools of Learning, by Dorothy Sayers
-Examples of how Gneral Grammar is applied to the study of a subject
-What happened to the seven liberal arts?
-the servile arts vs. the liberal arts
-General Grammar vs. Special Grammar

This is part one of a series about the Trivium Method for self-teaching. Gene Odening will accompany us through the next three episodes.Covered today:-The Classical Trivium vs the Trivium Method-What is General Grammar?-The Lost Tools of Learning, by Dorothy Sayers-Examples of how Gneral Grammar is applied to the study of a subject-What happened to the seven liberal arts?-the servile arts vs. the liberal arts-General Grammar vs.

This is part one of a series about the Trivium Method for self-teaching. Gene Odening will accompany us through the next three episodes.

Covered today:
-The Classical Trivium vs the Trivium Method
-What is General Grammar?
-The Lost Tools of Learning, by Dorothy Sayers
-Examples of how Gneral Grammar is applied to the study of a subject
-What happened to the seven liberal arts?
-the servile arts vs. the liberal arts
-General Grammar vs. Special Grammar

Kirsty Duncan's Facebook page says she's been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Being 1 of 39 people involved in one chapter (out of 11) of an obscure report is apparently all it takes.

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 089.  This is my appearance earlier today (10/23/2013) on  Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock radio show. We talked intellectual property, including libertarian sci-fi author L. Neil Smith’s pro-IP views (see The L. Neil Smith – FreeTalkLive Copyright Dispute; Smith, Unanimous Consent and the Utopian Vision or I Dreamed I Was […]

The warm waters of the Gulf look quiet from where I am sitting, but such tranquility hardly reflects the conflicts this region continues to generate. The euphoria of the so-called Arab Spring is long gone, but what remains is a region that is rich with resources and burdened with easily manipulated history that is in a state of reckless transition. No one can see what the future will look like, but the possibilities are ample, and possibly tragic.

This is – of course – the TIP of the iceberg! Who else is monitoring you? You may be a “law abiding citizen” but do you really want all that weirdness you hide documented by strangers?  Do you want that info used against you in a divorce / custody trial? Could this info be used against you when applying for your next job? Or… Could that info be used to convict you of a crime as circumstantial evidence (see the Memphis 3 trial) There is no doubt this should be illegal! BOYCOTT corporations who engage in this style of behavior! Trust no one.

Al-Akhbar | October 23, 2013

Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainees accused of the 9/11 attacks said Tuesday their defendants’ rights were violated because they are prevented from open discussion of alleged mistreatment in secret prisons.

"The real scandal in Washington isn't what's illegal; it's what's legal." It's why I'm always writing about "legalistic bribes" and it's how 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft began his report Sunday on how congressmembers skirt the law to profit from their offices.

Recent reports on US drone strikes by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN have heightened international awareness about civilian casualties and have resulted in new calls for redress. The Amnesty International drone report “Will I be next?” says the US government should ensure that victims of unlawful drone strikes, including family members, have effective access to remedies, including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation.

By David Ray Griffin

There have been several good films and videos about 9/11. But the new film by award-winning film-maker Massimo Mazzucco is in a class by itself.
For those of us who have been working on 9/11 for a long time, this is the film we have been waiting for.
Whereas there are excellent films treating the falsity of particular parts of the official account, such as the Twin Towers or WTC 7, Mazzucco has given us a comprehensive documentary treatment of 9/11, dealing with virtually all of the issues.

When the State Department revoked Edward Snowden’s passport four months ago, the move was a reprisal from a surveillance-and-warfare state that operates largely in the shadows. Top officials in Washington were furious. Snowden had suddenly exposed what couldn’t stand the light of day, blowing the cover of the world’s Biggest Brother.

By Nathan Freed Wessler | ACLU | October 23, 2013

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an interesting Constitutional amendment this week:

RT | October 23, 2013

Everyday communications of Italians are also on the watch list of the US National Security Agency, a new report has revealed. While an Italian parliamentary committee seeks clarification of NSA activities, local security sources defend the snooping.
Italy’s spy watchdog COPASIR has recently learned details of large-scale monitoring of Italians by the US intelligence agency NSA, according to a report published by Corriere della Sera.

by Mark Goldstone On October 21st UN climate chief Christiana Figueres made the unusual statement that the bushfire crisis in NSW is “absolutely” linked to climate change. Figueres prefaced her comments by noting that the World Meteorological Organisation had not … Continue reading →

By Laura Carlsen  |  CIP Americas Program | October 21, 2013

The latest analysis of Snowden leaks from the German magazine Der Spiegel is a bombshell for Mexico.
“The NSA has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years,” reads the opening line in the Oct. 20 issue.

Voice of Russia
October 23, 2013
After 70 years, Germany and Japan meet in Georgia – Rick Rozoff
Audio

I always flirt with death
I could kill, but I don't care about it
I can face your threats
Stand up tall and scream and shout about it

I think I'm on another world with you
I'm on another planet with you

You always get under my skin
I don't find it irritating
You always play to win
I don't need rehabilitating

Another girl, another planet
Another girl, another planet

Space travels in my blood
And there ain't nothing I can do about it
Long journeys wear me out
Oh God we won't live without it

Another girl is loving you now
Another planet, forever holding you down
Another planet

Ministry of Defence of Georgia
October 22, 2013
NATO Defence Ministerial in Brussels

NATO HQ is hosting a Defence Ministerial on October 22-23.
Defence Minister of Georgia Irakli Alasania will participate in the Ministerial.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will open the working session.

By Trevor Timm | EFF | October 22, 2013

====
Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Arnold Zweig: Selections on war
====
Arnold Zweig
From The Crowning of a King (1937)
Translated by Eric Sutton

The intellectual and political degeneration of the "progressive" wing of the Democratic party continues apace, as Tom Watson – a prominent spokesman for the movement – attacks the upcoming "Stop Watching Us" rally, to be held in Washington this coming weekend (Saturday, October 26). Although he claims to support the goals of the rally – […]

Recently, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that they had agreed on key provisions of a security arrangement that could allow some American forces in Afghanistan to remain after the NATO combat mission ends at the end of 2014. Yet no details were released on the deal, and remaining […]

Durham County Soil & Water District Supervisor Danielle Adams, a young and promising YEO from North Carolina has decided to withdraw her candidacy for Congress. This is bad news for progressives because it leaves the Democratic nomination open to some hack garden variety Democrat with no chance of winning the seat.

A number of suicide car bombers and other gunmen took their toll across the country today. At least 47 people were killed and 97 more were wounded.

Peres suffering from Portnoy’s Complaint?
Shimon Peres’ guilt-edged insecurity these days is far more important when it comes to the masking—and unmasking—of an abettor of racist Zionism. His complaint, like Portnoy’s Complaint, is also emblematic of the times during which he has lived and his uncertainty as to whether he has squandered his life in an evil cause.
 

 
Franklin Lamb
Beirut

Are these some of those "classically tailored denim trousers," or are they just, you know, jeans? Remember, lives could be changed by the answer. (But whatever you do, don't talk to Mr. X.)by KenI sometimes do and sometimes don't take the time, while perusing the washingtonpost.com "round-up"-type e-mails, to glance at the highlighted items for the Style section's 15 or 20 advice columnists.

By davidswanson | War is a Crime | October 22, 2013

DOE!
Mr Cheney noticed that anytime he disagreed with David Rockefeller, he would immediately double over with Chest Pains….
 
LA Daily News
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he once feared that terrorists could use the electrical device that had been implanted near his heart to kill him and had his doctor disable its wireless function.

No racism here, right Politico?No offense to the few other excellent Members of Congress, but Alan Grayson is, far and away, the best Member. Somebody's got to be #1… it might as well be the guy who represents DisneyWorld.

Writing in Foreign Affairs, two George Washington University professors note the strange inability of “the U.S. establishment” to substantiate their claims that leakers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning pose an enormous threat to national security.

ACA / “Obamacare” will follow the way of past govt “healthcare” funding, and the escalated, unabated drugging of our children (and adults) FOR PROFIT AND CONTROL… will continue!
(Also see: “Confessions of an RX drug Pusher“)

LETTERS FROM GENERATION RX – Teaser-01 from Kevin P. Miller on Vimeo.

Vimeo

United States European Command
October 18, 2013
Hagel, Romania’s Defense Chief Reach Significant Agreements
American Forces Press Service

Standard Missile-3 launch

 
 
by Stephen Lendman
 
Outgoing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ranks 13th among Forbes magazine’s global billionaires. He’s America’s 10th richest.
 
He’s worth an estimated $31 billion. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Larry Ellison, Charles and David Koch, as well as four Walton family members alone best him.
 

It is improper for a UN official to criticize Australia's 6-week-old election results.

Oh it isn't just 'al  Qaeda' complicating the drive for peace. Pay attention to what John Kerry is saying.

by Judith Curry Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Chasing Ice is a documentary that was screened at the White House for Earth Day … Continue reading →

By Cyrus Safdari | Iran Affairs | October 21, 2013

“Other optimists claim that the likes of Goldberg et al would not be trying so hard to position this as a victory over Iran unless the US did in fact plan to reach a deal with Iran this time around. In other words, they’re pre-emptively trying to prepare the public for a deal with Iran…”

The Pentagon’s inspector general found defense contractor Boeing deliberately overcharged for military equipment four times in the past five years, according to Bloomberg News.
In 2008, for example, Boeing charged an extra $16.6 million on a $4.4 billion CH-47F Chinook Helicopter contract by invoicing new and updated parts while “primarily install[ing] used parts instead.”

MEMO | October 22, 2013

The Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet, reported that Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will meet Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow at the end of November, when discussions will focus on the Syrian crisis.

Unlike Benghazi! and the rest of the nonsense Darrell Issa's Witch-Hunt Committee "investigates," Boehner is eager to try to get some serious attention focused on the flaws in the roll out of the Affordable Care Act.