Stuff below the fold

Teens launch balloon to the edge of space.

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Catholic newspaper in Cuba shuts down one of the few open speech forums.

and they say the church shut them down:

The former editors of Espacio Laical magazine, Roberto Veiga and Lenier Gonzalez, used the Internet to promote debate on political issues such as the need for a multiparty system, internet expansion, reintegration with the diaspora and the strengths and weaknesses of reforms under President Raul Castro.
They quit last week after 10 years on the job, saying in their resignation letter it was because of pressure from inside the Church hierarchy, not the government, from people who did not want the Church to get involved in politics.

Calling Cardinal Sin...calling Cardinal Sin...

Does this mean the gov't is pressuring the bishops and they caved, or does it mean that the new "vatican" is trying to make nice with the communists, a la John XXIII, rather than oppose tyranny a la JPII?

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On the ground report on Baghdad: The media is getting it wrong.

the Sunni terror groups will have to take on the Shiites if they try to take Baghdad, and the tribal elements who are giving them cover will reap the whirlwind.

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 The Mullahs passed a law banning women politicians, so Dr E is no longer is on the city Council but she is still is active in ecological NGO's...and now she reports that the Iranian team at the world cup has followed her suggestion to use the Persian Cheetah as their mascot.

I formally delivered the ball to the Captain last week , before  their departure to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Our team was named "Persian Cheetah" after these events and the issue recieved much publicity.
Iran is taking part in the World Cup with a message of Peace and Protection of our global environment. We hope that all teams will join us in this campaign and spread the message.

yeah, but just protect yourself against all that radiation when the Mullahs explode their bomb.

on the other hand, the present president is trying to limit the tyranny of the Mullahs.

He also appeared to agree that social rules - in a country where morality police patrol the streets to detain women they deem to be showing too much hair - should be eased, saying: "We can't take people to heaven by force and with a whip."
But reformist Iranians say those words have not been followed by policy changes. "All the nice words have expired," Alinejad said.
With Rouhani pushing for a nuclear deal with the West to lift crushing economic sanctions, and civil wars raging in Iran's regional allies Syria and Iraq, personal freedoms and women's rights are unlikely to be high on his agenda.
But Alinejad doubts Rouhani would ease the hijab rules even if he were able to in a system where the ultimate say lies with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Camouflage only works when you use the right colours, so caterpillars who eat too many different leaves are at risk, reports the LATIMES.

I mainly link for this cute photo.

Caterpillars that feed on a variety of plant species are more likely to get eaten by birds because they lack specialized camouflage, a new study concludes. The tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) pictured here feeds only on black cherry (Prunus serotina). (Michael Singer / Wesleyan University)

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related item:

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the tax hunt against Americans is making more people renounce their citizenship.Yeah, they are now taxing our income here, and asking our banks to report interest income

.Helping boost the exodus, experts say, is a five-year-old U.S. campaign to hunt for undeclared accounts held by Americans abroad. Since 2009, the government campaign has collected more than $6 billion in taxes, interest and penalties from more than 43,000 U.S. taxpayers. Federal prosecutors have filed more than 100 criminal indictments, including the high-profile case of Beanie Babies inventor Ty Warner, who last year pleaded guilty to tax evasion involving secret Swiss bank accounts.The tax dragnet has also swept up many middle-income Americans living abroad, prompting some to give up their U.S. citizenship. While people who renounce aren't freed of taxes due for past years, they don't want to risk sizable taxes and penalties for them and their children in the years ahead, 

 Note however that the numbers are miniscule.

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Instapundit on the 18 minute gap:

DESPITE THE “MISSING” EMAILS, NEWS IS STILL COMING OUT: “In fact, the documents showed Lerner wanted to make an example out of someone with charges in order to chill all of the groups in the tea party movement.”I think it’s fair at this point to assume that the “missing” emails are missing because someone in the White House was behind this.

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: Sarah Hoyt on the coming economic demise, 

she's a sci fi writer, but irascible enough to say what no one dares to say.

Oh well: Lolo promised me if I move to the Philippines we would always have rice to eat. So most of our money is invested in growing and selling organic brown rice. The bad news is that a typhoon at the wrong time can wipe us out financially as it did last year...

St Anthony's fire

A different St Anthony, (the hermit) but the disease was caused by ergot fungus growing on rye.

from medievalistblog:

The Annales Xantenses reports that in the year 857 “a great plague of swollen blisters consumed the people by a loathsome rot, so that their limbs were loosened and fell off before death.” Ina Lipkowitz explains that the
victims suffered from hallucinations, insanity, vomiting, and gangrene of the hands and feet due to constriction of blood flow to the extremities. Those afflicted felt as if they were being burned at the stake as their fingers and toes split open and dropped off, one by one. A late medieval chronicler wrote of an “invisible fire that separated the flesh from the bones and consumed it.”It was said that 40 000 people in northern Germany were killed by the disease in the year 994. In the eleventh-century a group of lay people created an order to take care of people afflicted by the disease. They declared Saint Anthony of Egypt to be the patron saint of the order, and the disease became known as St.Anthony’s Fire. Ergotism is much rarer in the modern world, but outbreaks have occurred in less developed countries even in recent years

Ode to the fishies

St Anthony's fiast day was a few days ago, and here is his sermon to the fishies, put to song by Mahler



headsup ThePlough.

 One story tells how, disgusted by the obduracy of his listeners, Saint Anthony went to the mouth of the Marecchia river and called the fish, who all swam to the surface and formed ranks to hear his sermon. The Little Flowers of Saint Francis includes this account of his message:

My brothers the fishes, you are bound, as much as is in your power, to return thanks to your Creator, who has given you so noble an element for your dwelling; for you have at your choice both sweet water and salt; you have many places of refuge from the tempest; you have likewise a pure and transparent element for your nourishment. God, your bountiful and kind Creator, when he made you, ordered you to increase and multiply, and gave you his blessing. In the universal deluge, all other creatures perished; you alone did God preserve from all harm. 

Stories below the fold

 The backstory of what's going on in Iraq can be found on StrategyPage, 

summary: A mile wide and an inch deep. They won't win because both the Saudis and the Iranians will help defeat them. The American policy is mainly to stop the Shiites from ethnic cleansing to drain the swamp (the innocent Sunni civilians). And many of the fighters are non Iraqis, mainly from Saudi.

one of the few places that actually note the malignant strain in Islam that is being pushed via Saudi "Charity" money". And one of the few sites that actually reports on the corrosive effect of corruption.

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Professor Mary Beard has a new book, this one on Greece. I doubt I can afford the book, but usually they make miniseries on her stuff.

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Peter Burger has a long analysis of China's Christian problem.

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Epilog has an article on "weird Ice Cream flavors" now available in the US. Some of the flavors originated in Japan: Altogether now: WASABI

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Is BPA making you fat? MomJones says uh oh: other plastics do it too.

and it's not just plastic bottles.

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Mummies of folks who died from the Plague of Cyprian have been found in Egypt\\ 

Known as the “Plague of Cyprian,” the series of epidemics, thought to be some form of smallpox or measles, is credited with weakening the Roman Empire and hastening its fall,

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3D printing of human organs? BBC Horizon has a series of short reports.

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IRS Scadal emails were "lost" when the computer crashed?

This is as obvious a lie as Nixon's 18 minute gap...but don't expect the press to notice.

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 From Wired: Ten fun facts about seapigs.

Happy Father's day

this is from Father Vega's church in Pampanga.

Hobbit Metaphors

At the OneRingNet:

nine visual metaphors in the Hobbit: including:
Blind mice and lesser lives.From the cat to the mouse. We have something of a double metaphor here: Beorn uses the word “blind” just as we see the mouse (as in “Blind Mice”); then picks up the mouse when he says that Dwarves are blind to those whose lives they deem “lesser than their own”.

And the lake will shine and burn.As Bard speaks this line from the prophecy, we see the sunlight shining on the lake, making it look on fire. 

Family News

We took Lolo and Joy's parents to a restaurant for Father's day. We went to the favorite restaurant, but it was packed by the time we got there, so we went to the Philippino food restaurant in the mall.

Later, Ruby's church had an opening party for their new hall, so we lent them our "swamp cooler" for the party (but we stayed home). It remains hot, but not as bad as before.

Family news

With the onset of Monsoon season, it's a little cooler, and Lolo has more energy.

So yesterday we went to the lawyers for him to sign a waiver so I can get my pension. Afterward, we went to Waltermart to eat at McDonalds. Yes, not a big deal, you say? Well, they are clean and fast and the burgers are the same as in the USA (although they also sell rice instead of fries on some meals, and have spaghetti meals).

Lots of deliveries in Manila, so we are short of help. Luckily, we now have a little man pushing a large bin who collects our trash every morning, so we don't have to haul it up to the county dump or even to the dump near the Palenke. When I see him, I give him 20 pesos (about fifty cents), and sometimes he will clean out the trashcans if I ask him to do it.

Ruby is busy with school, and her church is putting on an extension so on holidays (e.g. Independence day last Thursday) the kids are there helping build it.

The pastor is a good guy, but I worry because it's pentecostal and don't want too much religious influence...but luckily their religion is singing and dancing for the Lord, and one in awhile speaking in tongues. Nothing hard like helping care for the poor or cleaning up the house or helping Lolo. Those things are left to the help all of whom are non believers like me (read Catholics who think doing a good days' work and caring for family is more important than speaking in tongues or sprouting bible verses, or even not stealing little things from their rich employers).

Yes, three hail marys for me for being snotty.

Mark your calenders

Grumpy cat the movie premiers at Christmas time.

Family news

Rain all night... a low pressure area is going through. Hopefully we'll have enough water for rice planting, and the local hydroelectric dams will fill up so no more brownouts.

Chano is still waiting for payment for a large Christmas delivery. Which is why the Philippines isn't yet a good place to invest.
most of the headlines are about pork (investigating all the diverted money, bribes, kickbacks, fake NGOs. smuggling etc)

 If they jail everyone who is guilty, they won't be able to run the country. Sigh.

Lolo is okay, and I am fine, but my arthritis kicks in when it rains. Oh well.

Stuff below the fold

Plough magazine is back.

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Snide remark of the day (From Anne Althouse):

Samantha Power lets slip the hashtags of war.

presumably hashtags are the civilized way of confronting warmongers, replacing that Nasty letter (see Team America World Police).

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Brian Sibley has several posts on Ray Bradbury, and links to his short stories on the BBC to download.

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Spiked has a book review on UKIP's rise as a grassroots revolt against the elites.

just as this social stratum has come to dominate British public life, to fill public space with its sense of progressive self-righteousness, so other sections of society, from older generations of Britain’s working class to shire Tories, have experienced a shutting out, a quick-quick-slow assault on their values, attitudes and experiences... And not only do they feel under cultural attack, not only do they feel that even raising the issue of immigration, for example, is ‘politically incorrect’, not only do they feel that they are constantly being told that their values and beliefs are wrong, or backward; politically they have no representation, no voice.

Sounds like the problems of the working class Reagan democrats, who are no longer welcome in the Democratic party: Which is why demonizing the republicans is their only hope of keeping us voting correctly.

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It's not just the NSA: Google takes over the world.

did I tell you that our house is easy to find on Google Earth? Just look up the city square...

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Antarctic ice melt might be due to volcanic activity.

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the WAGD post of the day: blame bird flu links here.

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for your eating pleasure: Chocolate chip cookie recipes.

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YUM! deviled ostich eggs...

actually, Chano knows a local farmer who raises ostriches for food and eggs.

When Idiots are smarter than the experts.

Joe Biden was right: It would be better to divide Iraq into three separate countries.

So now, not only could the Kurds get their own country, but Iran is helping the Iraqi government. Well, what do you expect? Obama turned them down when they requested airstrikes on the bad guys last month.

on the other hand, this could unite another Shiite/Sunni war, or another Persian/Arab war, complete with massacres.

Uh, Sarah Palin was right too? drill baby drill? North Dakota to the rescue?

maybe if the MSM wasn't so busy ridiculing these working class politicians, they might actually ANALYZE if they were making sense.

Insomnia downloads of the day

A Guide to Modern Cookery (Le Guide Culinaire) Part I: Fundamental Elements

Auguste ESCOFFIER (1846 - 1935), 

• Title
  

  Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes and Home Made Candy Recipes

  Maria PARLOA (1843 - 1909) and Janet McKenzie HILL (1852 - 1933)

  Complete | Solo | English
  Download76MB
• Title
  

  Selected Recipes (in Coffee Break Collection 004 - Hodge Podge )

  VARIOUS ( - )

  Complete | Collaborative | English
  Download49.4MB
• Title
  

  Joe Tilden's Recipes for Epicures

  Joe TILDEN ( - )

  Complete | Solo | English
  Download45.3MB
• Title
  

  Selections from Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes (in Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 004 )

  VARIOUS ( - )

  Complete | Collaborative | English

For Later reading

Housecleaning day today, so I'll link to articles I want to read in depth (via my tablet. My computer's battery is kaput so I have to let it plugged in to use, and if the cat/dog/myself accidentally jigs the wire, it crashes).

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TeaAtTrianon links to several articles debunking the the Irish orphanage scandal. The press lied? No, but it was very bad reporting and one suspects it was deliberate to follow the meme.

Spiked! has their sarcastic take on the feeding frenzy, and notes other overblown stories that turned out to be only mildly true.

I was going to make a rant about third world country orphanages today, and the high mortality in any institution that housed the poor before the days of penicillin but never mind.

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Iraq has a problem thanks to the Syrian rebels funneling money and terrorists there. Who wudda thot?
Ah, but it could help the Kurds regain Mosul, which was their city before Saddam threw them out.
StrategyPage has a long analysis here.

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The Diplomad2.0 has a multipart series on corruption in American embassies.
Hmm...maybe they should make a movie about it.

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So smartphones affect sperm?

Yes, but wait til they find so do chemicals.

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How to persuade kids to become atheists.

For later reading

the anthropology of China.

and an article on China's expansion here.

We only stand to lose our fishing (oil/gas) rights off the coast, but Vietnam was once part of a greater China, and remembers they could be coopted similar to what happened in Tibet.

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I remember when Carter said they would allow any Cuban who got to the US to stay, and 100 thousand plus arrived, including a lot of criminals freed by Castro from their jails.

So now Obama stopped deporting arrivals from Mexico, and said the "dream children" would have a pass. So guess what?

Presumably they will open the closed military bases to house and integrate them, as they did with the Cubans or with the Vietnamese mass influx after the fall of Saigon.

One story not picked up: Mexico's economy is booming so many Mexicans are returning home, and many of those arriving are women and children from central America.

Now, if they would only let my son get a visa to visit his brother in Florida...and I wonder if local Pinoys have figured out how to get in the rush...

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News you can use

What Can You Do About Bed Bugs in Your Laptop?

Factoid of the day

HOPS!

London drinkers initially resisted beer, as they preferred ale’s familiar sweet flavor to the bitter taste added by hops. The social perception of beer as a foreign import also worked to its disadvantage. Over time, taste preferences changed and beer grew in popularity, but it was the brew‟s greater marketability that allowed it to gain superiority over ale. Hops not only imparted the bitter flavor, but the resins contained within hops provided protection against bacterial infection, resulting in a more durable brew.

Family news

Lolo got up and took a shower to go to church, but by the time he was finished, it was already 7:20 and since it is now 82 degrees and church started at 7 am, I suggested we skip it until next week.

We now have three yellow kitties: all from the same litter but found separated in the vacant lot (by our dog George, but I stopped him before he could kill them). There is a yellow cat that makes her home there, so I figure they are hers. They can't quite figure how to eat, but are almost old enough to be on their own. Lots of dogs visit the lot, so if I didn't get them out of there they'd be dead. No names, but I call them Mukha (face, for a scar on her face), tail (a full tail) and half tail (there is a genetic half tail in some local feral cats).

Ruby visited a theme part on Friday and has the photos on her face book page.

The dogs got their rabies vaccine yesterday: I had to chase a couple of them who didn't like the sound of the upset dogs downstairs. We now have seven dogs, three of whom bite a lot, and two who have bitten but usually are okay.

there are feral dogs and rabies here, so any one bitten by a dog gets the vaccine, and the city vaccinates for free at certain times....but it's hard to get 7 dogs into the car.

The Heroic quest

 I downloaded Professor Hughes lectures on Greek mythology awhile back via iTunesU, but now he has a new course, LLT 180 The Heroic Quest, that should be good.

Joe Kieyoomia

A couple posts down, I discussed the death of the original code talkers, Chester Nez. LINK

and mentioned a Navajo who was a NMNG POW who refused to help them break the code.

His name was Joe Kieyoomia. From Wikipedia.

When the "Navajo Code" had the Japanese baffled, Kieyoomia was questioned and then tortured, although he could only understand bits and pieces of what trained Navajo Code Talkers were saying, the code was so sophisticated that he eventually told the Japanese that it sounded like nonsense to him.
Kieyoomia was not trained as a code talker and did not know about the code. Stripped naked and made to stand for hours in deep snow until he talked, Joe Kieyoomia's feet froze to the ground. Finally allowed to return to his cell, a guard shoved him, causing the soles of his feet to tear.
After surviving the prison camps, the "hell ships" and the torture, Kieyoomia was a prisoner in Nagasaki when that city was the target of the second atomic bomb dropped by the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF). Kieyoomia survived the attack saying he was protected by the concrete walls of his cell. After 3½ years as a prisoner of war, he was abandoned for three days after the bombing, but says a Japanese officer finally freed him. He returned to the United States.