nourishing obscurity

You know the people I feel sorriest for? Of course we feel sorry for visible victims of the rapes, the violence, the honour killings, the oppression within the home, the Africans – but these are known victims and many feel sorry for them – they have Live Aid concerts and the like, hospices, refuges and [...]

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Filed under: Society & human issues

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Filed under: JD, Society & human issues

There was an article on the ability of bugs to mutate to overcome toxins embedded in crops: Dr Heasley writes “BT corn, which contains the DNA for Bacillus thuringensis toxin, was once hailed as the final solution for insect predators on this valuable crop. Now it turns out that insects, and evolution, are smarter than [...]

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Filed under: Earth and cosmos, haiku, Politics & economics

Just this: “As I’ve argued before, the greatest division in the Western world today lies not between rich and poor, working class and upper class, or Left and Right, but between on the one hand the rapacious, unaccountable Bankster/Corporatist/Political establishment and on the other everybody else. Why then, aren’t I standing with the Occupy St [...]

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Filed under: Politics & economics

This is close to my heart, particularly the last clip and final words. ……….. While sport might leave you cold, Aussie sport particularly so, something happened between 2009 and 2011 which has all the elements of high drama – if it had happened over here, it would have been the stuff of legend. There were [...]

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Filed under: History & Culture, Leisure, travel & sport

If left and right are increasingly obsolete terms, in the sense that it is more Statism v free enterprise and liberty today, they’re still understandable terms for the society and therefore still legitimate to use.  This is especially so in France, where the RS has conducted a study. The results are predictable: Les jeunes votent [...]

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Filed under: Politics & economics

The short answer to: “Who needs teachers?” in today’s environment is “no one”. The human cost of so many bad teachers who are more interested in pushing socially correct garbage down kids’ throats rather than actually teaching them the basics, soundly, is now critical. Sadly, in throwing out the baby with the bathwater, one point [...]

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Filed under: History & Culture, Society & human issues

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Filed under: Humour, JD, Music

This Michele Mone raises some issues.  Red flag 1:  It was in the Mail.  Red flag 2: not sure if this blog should be running yet another post appearing to criticize the female of the species but hell, surely this sort of thing is a prime issue in marriages and therefore legit to discuss.

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NNWer – have to admire this: I don’t intend to stop insulting them and fighting them however I lawfully can and neither, I’m sure, will you. Bill Sticker on Scrooge: Personally, I feel that Dickens unfairly traduced the character of poor Mister Scrooge, painting him as villain rather than victim. Chase:

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Filed under: Politics & economics

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Filed under: Dearieme, Music

In the dry lakebed of Racetrack, Death Valley stones as big as 700 pounds mysteriously slide across the surface of the earth without any notable external forces acting upon them. While some researchers believe a combination of natural events, such as wind and ice, cause these stones to “sail”, others question this theory pointing out [...]

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Filed under: Earth and cosmos

Consider this: The “real market,” Martin explains, is the world in which factories are built, products are designed and produced, real products and services are bought and sold, revenues are earned, expenses are paid, and real dollars of profit show up on the bottom line. That is the world that executives control—at least to some [...]

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Filed under: History & Culture, Politics & economics

A giant outdoor escalator measuring 1,260 feet long has been built in one of Colombia’s poorest neighbourhoods. For generations, the 12,000 residents of the barrio known as Comuna 13 in Medellín have had to climb hundreds of steps to and from the City – the equivalent of walking up a 28-story building – but now [...]

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Filed under: JD, Society & human issues

Summarizing Al Fin and its commenters: What kind of trade goods should you stockpile, in case the world ends? What sort of items are nearly indispensable in a crisis, but are compact and easy to store and transport? Survival Blog offers a list of 25 candidates for high value trade goods in a post-apocalyptic society: [...]

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Filed under: Earth and cosmos, Society & human issues