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Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Today in History
1246
Henry Raspe is elected anti-king by the Rhenish prelates in France.
1455 King Henry VI is taken prisoner by the Yorkists at the Battle of St. Albans, during the War of the Roses.
1804 The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially begins as the Corps of Discovery departs from St. Charles, Missouri.
1856 U.S. Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane for Sumner's earlier condemnation of slavery, which included an insult to Brooks' cousin, Senator Andrew Butler.
1863 Union General Ulysses S. Grant's second attack on Vicksburg fails and a siege begins. 1868 The "Great Train Robbery" takes place as seven members of the Reno Gang make off with $98,000 in cash from a train's safe in Indiana.
1872 The Amnesty Act restores civil rights to Southerners.
1882 The United States formally recognizes Korea.
1908 The Wright brothers register their flying machine for a U.S. patent.
1939 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini sign a "Pact of Steel" forming the Axis powers.
1947 The Truman Doctrine brings aid to Turkey and Greece.
1967 The children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood premiers.
1972 Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka as its constitution is ratified.
1985 Baseball player Pete Rose passes Hank Aaron as National League run scoring leader with 2,108. 1987 An Iraqi missile hits the American frigate USS Stark in the Persian Gulf.
1990 In the Middle East, North and South Yemen merge to become a single state.
1455 King Henry VI is taken prisoner by the Yorkists at the Battle of St. Albans, during the War of the Roses.
1804 The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially begins as the Corps of Discovery departs from St. Charles, Missouri.
1856 U.S. Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane for Sumner's earlier condemnation of slavery, which included an insult to Brooks' cousin, Senator Andrew Butler.
1863 Union General Ulysses S. Grant's second attack on Vicksburg fails and a siege begins. 1868 The "Great Train Robbery" takes place as seven members of the Reno Gang make off with $98,000 in cash from a train's safe in Indiana.
1872 The Amnesty Act restores civil rights to Southerners.
1882 The United States formally recognizes Korea.
1908 The Wright brothers register their flying machine for a U.S. patent.
1939 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini sign a "Pact of Steel" forming the Axis powers.
1947 The Truman Doctrine brings aid to Turkey and Greece.
1967 The children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood premiers.
1972 Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka as its constitution is ratified.
1985 Baseball player Pete Rose passes Hank Aaron as National League run scoring leader with 2,108. 1987 An Iraqi missile hits the American frigate USS Stark in the Persian Gulf.
1990 In the Middle East, North and South Yemen merge to become a single state.
Couple ended up on wrong continent after airline error
Two US holidaymakers found themselves a long way from their intended destination
after an airline confused two airport codes. Sandy Valdiviseo and her husband Triet Vo were intending to fly from Los Angeles
to Dakar in Senegal with Turkish Airlines.
However, instead they ended up almost 7,000 miles away – on an entirely different continent – in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, after the airport codes were mixed up. The airport code for Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is DKR, while the code for the airport in Dhaka, which is the capital of Bangladesh, is DAC.
After arriving in Istanbul, the couple had boarded a connecting flight. It was only after seeing the route map of the flight’s progress, which showed the plane over the Middle East, that they realized the error. “When the flight attendant said we were heading to Dhaka, we believed that this was how you pronounced 'Dakar' with a Turkish accent," Ms Valdivieso said.
When they arrived in Bangladesh, the pair informed Turkish Airlines about the mistake, and tried to arrange a transfer to Senegal. The airline then insisted on tracking down the recording of the initial booking before acknowledging the error and installing the couple on flights to West Africa, 12 hours after their arrival in Bangladesh. Their baggage arrived in Senegal two days after they did. "We are very, very sorry that this happened," a Turkish Airlines spokeswoman said.
However, instead they ended up almost 7,000 miles away – on an entirely different continent – in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, after the airport codes were mixed up. The airport code for Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is DKR, while the code for the airport in Dhaka, which is the capital of Bangladesh, is DAC.
After arriving in Istanbul, the couple had boarded a connecting flight. It was only after seeing the route map of the flight’s progress, which showed the plane over the Middle East, that they realized the error. “When the flight attendant said we were heading to Dhaka, we believed that this was how you pronounced 'Dakar' with a Turkish accent," Ms Valdivieso said.
When they arrived in Bangladesh, the pair informed Turkish Airlines about the mistake, and tried to arrange a transfer to Senegal. The airline then insisted on tracking down the recording of the initial booking before acknowledging the error and installing the couple on flights to West Africa, 12 hours after their arrival in Bangladesh. Their baggage arrived in Senegal two days after they did. "We are very, very sorry that this happened," a Turkish Airlines spokeswoman said.
Drunken moon blamed for car rollover
A drunken "moon" has almost cost two lives in Australia's Northern
Territory. Watch Commander Garry Smith said he hoped the 24-year-old man
had learned his lesson - "don't do bum flashes". "It was a complete act
of stupidity," he said.
He said an 18-year-old woman was overtaking a semi-trailer traveling at 100km/h on the Stuart Highway, in Virginia, when her passenger suddenly un-clipped his belt and dropped his pants. "The passenger decided it would be a great idea to 'moon' the driver of the semi-trailer," he said. But Senior Sergeant Smith said the bare-arsed man distracted the driver when he lost his balance as he was trying to get himself into the right position.
He said the man then fell on the driver which caused her view to be blocked and she lost control of the car, at about 2.20am. "She veered off the road and traveled for about 100m through the scrub, hitting a large rock which caused it (the car) to roll over on to its roof," he said. He said the pair narrowly missed crashing into a large gum tree that could have had "dramatic results".
Palmerston Police and St John Ambulance attended the scene before the pair was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for minor injuries. Sen-Sgt Smith said: "If it wasn't so dangerous, it could have been quite funny. But under the circumstances, we were lucky we weren't telling a family of a death." The man will be summonsed to appear in court for not wearing a seatbelt, interfering with the driver's control of the vehicle and obstructing their view.
He said an 18-year-old woman was overtaking a semi-trailer traveling at 100km/h on the Stuart Highway, in Virginia, when her passenger suddenly un-clipped his belt and dropped his pants. "The passenger decided it would be a great idea to 'moon' the driver of the semi-trailer," he said. But Senior Sergeant Smith said the bare-arsed man distracted the driver when he lost his balance as he was trying to get himself into the right position.
He said the man then fell on the driver which caused her view to be blocked and she lost control of the car, at about 2.20am. "She veered off the road and traveled for about 100m through the scrub, hitting a large rock which caused it (the car) to roll over on to its roof," he said. He said the pair narrowly missed crashing into a large gum tree that could have had "dramatic results".
Palmerston Police and St John Ambulance attended the scene before the pair was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for minor injuries. Sen-Sgt Smith said: "If it wasn't so dangerous, it could have been quite funny. But under the circumstances, we were lucky we weren't telling a family of a death." The man will be summonsed to appear in court for not wearing a seatbelt, interfering with the driver's control of the vehicle and obstructing their view.
More poor people now live in U.S. suburbs than cities
The change is
posing a challenge to some traditional U.S. approaches to fighting
poverty, which were aimed primarily at poverty in urban settings, the Brookings Institution study found.
The number of poor people living in suburbs rose 64
percent between 2000 and 2011, reaching 16.4 million, it showed. The
number of poor people living in urban areas increased 29 percent to 13.4
million.
"Despite the fact that 'poverty in America'
still conjures images of inner-city slums, the suburbanization of
poverty has redrawn the contemporary American landscape," authors
Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube wrote in "Confronting Suburban
Poverty in America."
Did you know ...
That U.S. hospital billing varies wildly
Of the alarming trend: military family survivors committing suicide
That the secret service is looking into the wingnut internet host who said he to shoot Hillary Clinton in the vagina
Here's 6 facts about Mr. Rogers you'd love to know
A Faux News Correspondent Gets Busted as ‘Criminal Co-Conspirator’ in CIA Leak
The repugicans demanded investigations into press leaks.
They’re getting them. Sadly for them, one of the leaks came from a Faux
News reporter who has been outed as a co-conspirator in a leak of
classified documents. DER.
The repugican cabal PR network issued a statement today condemning the fact that the Obama administration took repugicans’ demands to heart. Actually, they started investigating those leaks before the repugicans demanded it. Faux’s statement: “We are outraged to learn today that James Rosen was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter. In fact, it is downright chilling. We will unequivocally defend his right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press.”
The Washington Post dropped the bombshell on Monday that a federal judge had found probable cause that Faux News Chief Washington Correspondent (and historical revisionist and Nixon defender) James Rosen was a co-conspirator. Rosen reportedly solicited a top-secret CIA report on North Korea from government adviser Stephen Jin-Woo Kim in 2009, and unauthorized leaks are not covered under freedom of the press.
It looks like Faux’s man broke the law, which puts the propaganda outlet at risk for being a target. FBI agent Reginald Reyes wrote that “there was evidence Rosen had broken the law, ‘at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator.’ That fact distinguishes his case from the probe of the AP, in which the news organization is not the likely target.”
However, WaPo notes:
Let us not forget that alleged concerns for intelligence matters and national security led repugicans on their election time charge against the Obama administration:
Faux News said they are “outraged”. I’ll bet they are. Benghazi gate is dead, although the real Benghazi scandal about just which repugicans deliberately misled the public, Congress, and the press about the content and meaning of Obama administration emails is just getting warmed up.
IRS gate is close to dying since wingnuts weren’t actually targeted anymore than they should have been save perhaps for a two “rogue” agents (that’s “bad apple” to you, wingnuts), and proportionately not more than liberals were. What is scandalous is just how much certain conservative groups are getting away with under the guise of “social welfare”.
AP gate came about because repugicans demanded an investigation into the “Obama administration leaks”, which leads us to their outrage today over the free press. At least we can now confirm that repugicans are behind the leak scandal, as well.
I’m sure Faux News does not qualify for the shield law, or as “free press”, since technically, they are second majority shareholder foreign owned and also, a public relations arm of a political party, as proven by their free air time to candidates, undisclosed donations and undisclosed bias. Perhaps we ought to have the Obama administration investigate Faux’s license to be sure they qualify. Oh, I kid. Nixon only dreamed of doing that. Right?
The repugican cabal PR network issued a statement today condemning the fact that the Obama administration took repugicans’ demands to heart. Actually, they started investigating those leaks before the repugicans demanded it. Faux’s statement: “We are outraged to learn today that James Rosen was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter. In fact, it is downright chilling. We will unequivocally defend his right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press.”
The Washington Post dropped the bombshell on Monday that a federal judge had found probable cause that Faux News Chief Washington Correspondent (and historical revisionist and Nixon defender) James Rosen was a co-conspirator. Rosen reportedly solicited a top-secret CIA report on North Korea from government adviser Stephen Jin-Woo Kim in 2009, and unauthorized leaks are not covered under freedom of the press.
It looks like Faux’s man broke the law, which puts the propaganda outlet at risk for being a target. FBI agent Reginald Reyes wrote that “there was evidence Rosen had broken the law, ‘at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator.’ That fact distinguishes his case from the probe of the AP, in which the news organization is not the likely target.”
However, WaPo notes:
The case of Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, the government adviser, and James Rosen, the chief Washington correspondent for Faux News, bears striking similarities to a sweeping leaks investigation disclosed last week in which federal investigators obtained records over two months of more than 20 telephone lines assigned to the Associated Press.In June of 2011, the New York Times revealed that in August of 2010, Stephen J. Kim “was charged with violating the Espionage Act — not by aiding some foreign adversary, but by revealing classified information to a Faux News reporter.” (Perhaps it’s time we name Faux as a foreign adversary.)
Let us not forget that alleged concerns for intelligence matters and national security led repugicans on their election time charge against the Obama administration:
The numerous national-security leaks reportedly originating out of the executive branch in recent months have been stunning,” they (repugicans) wrote to Holder.But now that a federal judge has found a Faux News correspondent a co-conspirator in a leak of classified documents, repugicans are outraged that the horrible Obama administration took their advice. Lush Dimbulb went ballistic, high on his usual fumes of misinformation and ignorance. Screaming that Nixon only dreamed of taking bugging this far, because he only bugged himself (?), Lush continued:
“If true, they reveal details of some of our nation’s most highly classified and sensitive military and intelligence matters, thereby risking our national security, as well as the lives of American citizens and our allies. If there were ever a case requiring an outside special counsel with bipartisan acceptance and widespread public trust, this is it,” they wrote.
“According to the Washington Post, upon hearing learning of Rosen’s report, the White House launched what many believe is an unprecedented leak probe that went so far as to criminalize standard news-gathering. Because the Justice Department believes the source of the leak to Rosen was Jin-Woo Kim, a government adviser, he is facing federal charges that could land him a 10-year prison sentence.” What happened here is that the regime intercepted the reporter’s e-mails. They basically bugged the reporter to find out his sources.Lush called it a banana republic, among other insults best left to soggy tea bags and children’s playgrounds.
Faux News said they are “outraged”. I’ll bet they are. Benghazi gate is dead, although the real Benghazi scandal about just which repugicans deliberately misled the public, Congress, and the press about the content and meaning of Obama administration emails is just getting warmed up.
IRS gate is close to dying since wingnuts weren’t actually targeted anymore than they should have been save perhaps for a two “rogue” agents (that’s “bad apple” to you, wingnuts), and proportionately not more than liberals were. What is scandalous is just how much certain conservative groups are getting away with under the guise of “social welfare”.
AP gate came about because repugicans demanded an investigation into the “Obama administration leaks”, which leads us to their outrage today over the free press. At least we can now confirm that repugicans are behind the leak scandal, as well.
I’m sure Faux News does not qualify for the shield law, or as “free press”, since technically, they are second majority shareholder foreign owned and also, a public relations arm of a political party, as proven by their free air time to candidates, undisclosed donations and undisclosed bias. Perhaps we ought to have the Obama administration investigate Faux’s license to be sure they qualify. Oh, I kid. Nixon only dreamed of doing that. Right?
A tea party group Screams IRS Persecution, But Judge Ruled They Illegally Aided the repugican cabal in 2012
“The IRS treatment of us lends to the appearance of a
politically-motivated abuse of power and an assault on free speech.” She
continued, “We applied for nonprofit C-3 status early in 2010. Since
that time the IRS has run us through a gauntlet of analysts and hundreds
of questions over and over again.”
Actually, it’s not an assault on “free speech”, it’s an assault on the unlawful behavior of True the Vote, but Breitbart left that part out because it doesn’t fit their agenda. Who cares if True the Vote donates to repugicans or gets busted as NOT A NONPROFIT, but rather a PAC, eh? Oh, the screeching, hysterical persecution!
On March 28, 2012, Chron reported that a Texas tea party group with the word “Patriot” in its title was found by a judge to be a PAC and not a nonprofit. The judge ruled that as such, it illegally aided the repugican cabal in poll watching efforts during the 2010 elections. The King Street Patriots/True the Vote are not a nonprofit, but a PAC:
AlterNet was not impressed, writing in October of 2012 that True the Vote urged poll workers in key Ohio counties “to supplement their official state training with TrueTheVote materials.” Of course, as they point out, “it is a crime in Ohio to interfere with conducting an election. Moreover, after the 2004 presidential election the state signed a federal consent decree that, among other things, established uniform poll worker training.”
True the Vote, operating as the misnamed Voter Integrity Project in Ohio, was barred from Franklin County after allegations of falsified signatures. Falsifying the forms is a fifth degree felony, and even a neophyte is expected to be able to read this warning, which is handily placed right on the form.
Hannah Giles of James O’Keefe pimp and prostitute deceptively edited ACORN videos infamy is now palling around with True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht. They’ve formed Citizen Patriot Response. Spot the trend? If you were looking for folks who violated the law, and you needed a shortcut for it, what words would you pick out just based on the actions of True the Vote/King Street Patriots?
I’ve been pointing out that since Citizens United, the influx of conservative groups seeking tax exempt status blew up, yet conservative groups made up only 1/3 of all of the groups “targeted”. But another reason why conservatives may have been drawing the eye of the IRS is that with the growth of the tea party, many “neophytes” got involved, and they didn’t understand the rules. Mother Jones explained:
True the Vote also claims to be nonpartisan, but gave $5,000 to the repugican State Leadership Committee. “The RSLC is the largest caucus of repugican state leaders and the only national organization whose mission is to elect down ballot, state-level repugican office-holders.” The IRS expressly prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations from engaging in political activity. So, you can see why the IRS would have to be asleep on the job to fail to scrutinize True the Vote and King Street Patriots and their offshoots of Patriot this and Patriot that.
Southern Studies reported:
It should surprise no one that Breitbart is defending a group that has run into legal trouble before. However, in reality land, it’s not persecution when you have been ruled by a judge to have violated the law, pretending to operate as a nonprofit when you are really operating as a PAC. It’s not persecution; it’s whining that special rules aren’t made for you and your group, and that you must conduct yourselves by the same standards as everyone else.
Actually, it’s not an assault on “free speech”, it’s an assault on the unlawful behavior of True the Vote, but Breitbart left that part out because it doesn’t fit their agenda. Who cares if True the Vote donates to repugicans or gets busted as NOT A NONPROFIT, but rather a PAC, eh? Oh, the screeching, hysterical persecution!
On March 28, 2012, Chron reported that a Texas tea party group with the word “Patriot” in its title was found by a judge to be a PAC and not a nonprofit. The judge ruled that as such, it illegally aided the repugican cabal in poll watching efforts during the 2010 elections. The King Street Patriots/True the Vote are not a nonprofit, but a PAC:
A Travis County district court judge ruled this week that a Houston-based tea party group is not a nonprofit corporation as it claims, but an unregistered political action committee that illegally aided the Republican Party through its poll-watching efforts during the 2010 elections.You might be thinking, well, heck, that’s just one state. And you’d be correct, except that the King Street Patriot’s True the Vote operates all over the country, and has run afoul of the law and ethics numerous times.
The summary judgment by Judge John Dietz upheld several Texas campaign finance laws that had been challenged on constitutional grounds by King Street Patriots, a tea party organization known for its “True the Vote” effort to uncover voter fraud.
The ruling grew out of a 2010 lawsuit filed by the Texas Democratic Party against the King Street Patriots. The Democrats charged that the organization made unlawful political contributions to the Texas Republican Party and various Republican candidates by training poll watchers in cooperation with the party and its candidates and by holding candidate forums only for GOP candidates.
AlterNet was not impressed, writing in October of 2012 that True the Vote urged poll workers in key Ohio counties “to supplement their official state training with TrueTheVote materials.” Of course, as they point out, “it is a crime in Ohio to interfere with conducting an election. Moreover, after the 2004 presidential election the state signed a federal consent decree that, among other things, established uniform poll worker training.”
True the Vote, operating as the misnamed Voter Integrity Project in Ohio, was barred from Franklin County after allegations of falsified signatures. Falsifying the forms is a fifth degree felony, and even a neophyte is expected to be able to read this warning, which is handily placed right on the form.
There were charges yesterday that the candidates’ names had either been falsified or merely copied on forms requesting observer status for the True the Vote at several Franklin County polling places. Many are in predominantly African American neighborhoods.There were allegations of True the Vote intimidating minorities as well. Targeting minorities also runs afoul of election law and tends to be frowned upon. True the Votes “voter fraud” allegations were tossed out in Florida. Turns out, that didn’t happen either.
Hannah Giles of James O’Keefe pimp and prostitute deceptively edited ACORN videos infamy is now palling around with True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht. They’ve formed Citizen Patriot Response. Spot the trend? If you were looking for folks who violated the law, and you needed a shortcut for it, what words would you pick out just based on the actions of True the Vote/King Street Patriots?
I’ve been pointing out that since Citizens United, the influx of conservative groups seeking tax exempt status blew up, yet conservative groups made up only 1/3 of all of the groups “targeted”. But another reason why conservatives may have been drawing the eye of the IRS is that with the growth of the tea party, many “neophytes” got involved, and they didn’t understand the rules. Mother Jones explained:
Since 2009, the tea party non-patriots, a large national umbrella group, has claimed no fewer than 3,500 affiliates. Many applied for nonprofit status with the IRS, a prime reason the agency was so overwhelmed with applications. The people leading these groups were often neophytes politically and organizationally—or, as Dan Backer, a lawyer for Theteaparty.net, explained in an interview with Mother Jones this week, “they didn’t understand the complexity of what’s involved.”Ignorance is not an excuse in the eyes of the law. You are expected to operate within the law, no matter how ignorant you claim to be, or your behavior suggests that you are.
True the Vote also claims to be nonpartisan, but gave $5,000 to the repugican State Leadership Committee. “The RSLC is the largest caucus of repugican state leaders and the only national organization whose mission is to elect down ballot, state-level repugican office-holders.” The IRS expressly prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations from engaging in political activity. So, you can see why the IRS would have to be asleep on the job to fail to scrutinize True the Vote and King Street Patriots and their offshoots of Patriot this and Patriot that.
Southern Studies reported:
True the Vote’s tax status has been a source of ongoing controversy. In their 2010 tax returns, True the Vote and the Houston-based tea party group that founded it, King Street Patriots, claimed to be a 501(c)(3) organization. However, the IRS doesn’t consider either group to be a 501(c)(3), a fact which the True the Vote website implicitly admits by saying its 501(c)(3) status is “pending.”There has been no proof that the IRS targeted these groups for political reasons, and that is the only evidence that would create a scandal. There is ample evidence that True the Vote and King Street Patriots have repeatedly invited scrutiny due to their repeated and blatant disregard for the law.
It should surprise no one that Breitbart is defending a group that has run into legal trouble before. However, in reality land, it’s not persecution when you have been ruled by a judge to have violated the law, pretending to operate as a nonprofit when you are really operating as a PAC. It’s not persecution; it’s whining that special rules aren’t made for you and your group, and that you must conduct yourselves by the same standards as everyone else.
The Constitution Is Under Attack as the wingnuts Try to Establish A State Religion
Wingnuts of all stripes have been crying tyranny over the past
four-and-years informing that they have little comprehension of what
tyranny entails, but this nation has suffered tyranny defined as a “rigorous condition imposed on the people by some outside agency or force”
over the past thirty years. The Founding Fathers recognized that
without certain guaranteed rights, the people would be subjected to
tyranny from outside forces attempting to impose, by government fiat,
their own agenda without legal cover, and for the past thirty years a
group has violated the Constitution with impunity. The Constitution has
been under a sustained attack by forces in, and outside, the government
and it was announced
on Monday that the Supreme Court will hear arguments to decide if the
Constitution’s prohibition on the establishment of religion should be
stricken down and whether Americans will live under a theocracy.
The High Court agreed to rule on whether or not christianity is the established state religion, and if non-christians are protected by the 1st Amendment. Many christians have panted to eliminate 1st Amendment protections against religious tyranny, and the issue the Justices will decide on is if government entities have the right to force all Americans to suffer through mandated supplications to Jesus Christ despite the Constitution’s clear directive that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The Establishment Clause has been interpreted as meaning the U.S. government is prohibited from giving one religion preference over another, and yet that Establishment Clause has been desecrated with near impunity in Congress, local governments, and public schools as christians regularly conduct prayers at school functions, public meetings, and at all levels of government.
Last year, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a New York Town Board violated the Constitution’s Establishment Clause and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court by an Arizona-based christian group, the Alliance Defending Freedom, with support from over 40 repugican members of Congress and 18 state attorneys general who have written separate briefs advocating for eliminating the Establishment Clause. The implications of a favorable High Court ruling will be the first step in establishing christianity as the state religion and eliminating religious freedom for any American who does not adhere to the christian religion. It also protects the religio-wingnuts that often wage campaigns of harassment, intimidation and violence against Americans who support the 1st Amendment’s separation and establishment clause(s), and puts non-believers religious liberty, and their lives, in jeopardy that is typical of harsh Islamic Sharia Law as enforced by the Taliban.
For a religion founded on christ’s teachings of peace, many of its extreme adherents are guilty of intimidation to force non-believers who adhere to the Constitution to acquiesce to christians whose efforts to inject christian dogma into government are thwarted in the courts. The Freedom from Religion Foundation reports that when non-believers file suit to have religious symbols removed from public buildings, public schools, and stop christian prayers at public meetings, they often request, and are granted, anonymity to protect themselves and their families from violence and intimidation. In just one out of hundreds of cases across America, plaintiffs begged the court to keep their names out of the public record because they feared retaliation from the community. The court granted their request.
The plaintiffs were threatened on social media (Facebook) with christians asking “Have the families involved in the lawsuit been identified? Someone needs to send that group back to Wisconsin with several black eyes!” Another commenter encouraged others to seek out the plaintiff’s identity and “slam the shit out of the bitch” who filed the lawsuit. The court granted the plaintiffs anonymity because “this basis upon which the “Does” fear disclosure is substantial and that there is a substantial public interest in ensuring that litigants not face such retribution in their attempt to seek redress for what they view as a Constitutional violation, a pure legal issue.” To give the violent christians access to the plaintiff’s identity, repugican state representative Tim Krieger filed a bill that would eliminate the right of plaintiffs to sue anonymously over religious symbols on public property so the christian-Taliban can follow through with their violent threats.
In another case, a high school activist who spoke out against an illegal prayer banner in her public school prevailed in court, and besides violent threats on social media and a handwritten letter, police took the threats so seriously they began giving her a police escort for protection. Another case in 2000 when the Supreme Court struck down school-endorsed prayer at a Texas high school football games in Santa Fe, the school district went on a crusade to determine who the anonymous plaintiff was and it forced the judge to issue an order threatening criminal contempt if there was “any further attempt on the part of District or school administration… parents, students or anyone else, overtly or covertly to ferret out the identities of the Plaintiffs in this cause, by means of bogus petitions, questionnaires, individual interrogation, or downright ‘snooping.’”
In 1981, two women who did not want their children exposed to baptist preaching on school time filed a lawsuit and faced instant retribution as one woman was assaulted by a school employee who smashed her head repeatedly against a car door, and after being fined for assault, the community came to his defense and raised money to pay the fine. The other woman’s home was burned to the ground, her son’s goats were slashed and mutilated with a knife, and one fine christian phoned to warn her he would break into her home house, rape her in front of her children, and then “bring her to jesus.” The school district’s superintendent justified the violence saying, “The only people who have been hurt by this thing are the plaintiffs who chose to create their own hell on earth.” These are not isolated cases by any means, and it is the primary reason many writers, including this author, use pseudonyms to protect their homes and families. Two years ago after being stalked, accosted, and suffering repeated vandalism at home over one article about prayer in public school, the local chief of police advised to write a retraction, repent, and “get close to Jesus or face righteous retribution now and for eternity.”
America has given christians a sense of entitlement to impose their religion on the entire population, and the government, for too long and it defies the Founders’ intent in the 1st Amendment. When it was announced the Supreme Court would hear arguments on whether or not christian prayer is the law of the land, advocates for religious tyranny released a statement entitled “Prayer will be heard on high,” and noted there is “unambiguous and unbroken history” of such prayers. Senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom said, “A few people should not be able to extinguish the traditions of our nation merely because they heard something they didn’t like,” and that this “tradition shouldn’t suddenly be deemed unconstitutional.” However, slavery was a tradition, women were traditionally prohibited from voting, gays were traditionally imprisoned, and mixed-race marriages were traditionally prohibited, but those “traditions of our nation” were all Constitutional violations that were struck down. Mandating jesus prayers at school functions, public meetings, and even in the halls of Congress is a blatant violation of the 1st Amendment and the High court has little choice but to strike down the practice with extreme prejudice.
The only reason the religio-wingnutst feel entitled to force its traditions and beliefs on the rest of the population is because the 1st Amendment’s Establishment and Separation Clauses have never been strictly adhered to at all levels of government. It is why evangelicals attempt to impose their marriage definition on gays, and why women’s reproductive rights are the purview of wingnut christians in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, and why speaking out for separation of church and state is likely to result in acts of violence. America is not a christian nation going all the way back to Founding Father John Adams’ statement to Muslims in 1797, and yet christians are emboldened and empowered to take a blatantly unconstitutional matter before the Supreme Court for adjudication. No American denies christians the right to pray themselves silly in the privacy of their homes and cults, but when they force Americans to listen to their supplications to jesus christ at public school events, city council meetings, or in legislative chambers they are violating the Constitution, imposing religious tyranny, and following Taliban Sharia Law
The High Court agreed to rule on whether or not christianity is the established state religion, and if non-christians are protected by the 1st Amendment. Many christians have panted to eliminate 1st Amendment protections against religious tyranny, and the issue the Justices will decide on is if government entities have the right to force all Americans to suffer through mandated supplications to Jesus Christ despite the Constitution’s clear directive that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The Establishment Clause has been interpreted as meaning the U.S. government is prohibited from giving one religion preference over another, and yet that Establishment Clause has been desecrated with near impunity in Congress, local governments, and public schools as christians regularly conduct prayers at school functions, public meetings, and at all levels of government.
Last year, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a New York Town Board violated the Constitution’s Establishment Clause and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court by an Arizona-based christian group, the Alliance Defending Freedom, with support from over 40 repugican members of Congress and 18 state attorneys general who have written separate briefs advocating for eliminating the Establishment Clause. The implications of a favorable High Court ruling will be the first step in establishing christianity as the state religion and eliminating religious freedom for any American who does not adhere to the christian religion. It also protects the religio-wingnuts that often wage campaigns of harassment, intimidation and violence against Americans who support the 1st Amendment’s separation and establishment clause(s), and puts non-believers religious liberty, and their lives, in jeopardy that is typical of harsh Islamic Sharia Law as enforced by the Taliban.
For a religion founded on christ’s teachings of peace, many of its extreme adherents are guilty of intimidation to force non-believers who adhere to the Constitution to acquiesce to christians whose efforts to inject christian dogma into government are thwarted in the courts. The Freedom from Religion Foundation reports that when non-believers file suit to have religious symbols removed from public buildings, public schools, and stop christian prayers at public meetings, they often request, and are granted, anonymity to protect themselves and their families from violence and intimidation. In just one out of hundreds of cases across America, plaintiffs begged the court to keep their names out of the public record because they feared retaliation from the community. The court granted their request.
The plaintiffs were threatened on social media (Facebook) with christians asking “Have the families involved in the lawsuit been identified? Someone needs to send that group back to Wisconsin with several black eyes!” Another commenter encouraged others to seek out the plaintiff’s identity and “slam the shit out of the bitch” who filed the lawsuit. The court granted the plaintiffs anonymity because “this basis upon which the “Does” fear disclosure is substantial and that there is a substantial public interest in ensuring that litigants not face such retribution in their attempt to seek redress for what they view as a Constitutional violation, a pure legal issue.” To give the violent christians access to the plaintiff’s identity, repugican state representative Tim Krieger filed a bill that would eliminate the right of plaintiffs to sue anonymously over religious symbols on public property so the christian-Taliban can follow through with their violent threats.
In another case, a high school activist who spoke out against an illegal prayer banner in her public school prevailed in court, and besides violent threats on social media and a handwritten letter, police took the threats so seriously they began giving her a police escort for protection. Another case in 2000 when the Supreme Court struck down school-endorsed prayer at a Texas high school football games in Santa Fe, the school district went on a crusade to determine who the anonymous plaintiff was and it forced the judge to issue an order threatening criminal contempt if there was “any further attempt on the part of District or school administration… parents, students or anyone else, overtly or covertly to ferret out the identities of the Plaintiffs in this cause, by means of bogus petitions, questionnaires, individual interrogation, or downright ‘snooping.’”
In 1981, two women who did not want their children exposed to baptist preaching on school time filed a lawsuit and faced instant retribution as one woman was assaulted by a school employee who smashed her head repeatedly against a car door, and after being fined for assault, the community came to his defense and raised money to pay the fine. The other woman’s home was burned to the ground, her son’s goats were slashed and mutilated with a knife, and one fine christian phoned to warn her he would break into her home house, rape her in front of her children, and then “bring her to jesus.” The school district’s superintendent justified the violence saying, “The only people who have been hurt by this thing are the plaintiffs who chose to create their own hell on earth.” These are not isolated cases by any means, and it is the primary reason many writers, including this author, use pseudonyms to protect their homes and families. Two years ago after being stalked, accosted, and suffering repeated vandalism at home over one article about prayer in public school, the local chief of police advised to write a retraction, repent, and “get close to Jesus or face righteous retribution now and for eternity.”
America has given christians a sense of entitlement to impose their religion on the entire population, and the government, for too long and it defies the Founders’ intent in the 1st Amendment. When it was announced the Supreme Court would hear arguments on whether or not christian prayer is the law of the land, advocates for religious tyranny released a statement entitled “Prayer will be heard on high,” and noted there is “unambiguous and unbroken history” of such prayers. Senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom said, “A few people should not be able to extinguish the traditions of our nation merely because they heard something they didn’t like,” and that this “tradition shouldn’t suddenly be deemed unconstitutional.” However, slavery was a tradition, women were traditionally prohibited from voting, gays were traditionally imprisoned, and mixed-race marriages were traditionally prohibited, but those “traditions of our nation” were all Constitutional violations that were struck down. Mandating jesus prayers at school functions, public meetings, and even in the halls of Congress is a blatant violation of the 1st Amendment and the High court has little choice but to strike down the practice with extreme prejudice.
The only reason the religio-wingnutst feel entitled to force its traditions and beliefs on the rest of the population is because the 1st Amendment’s Establishment and Separation Clauses have never been strictly adhered to at all levels of government. It is why evangelicals attempt to impose their marriage definition on gays, and why women’s reproductive rights are the purview of wingnut christians in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, and why speaking out for separation of church and state is likely to result in acts of violence. America is not a christian nation going all the way back to Founding Father John Adams’ statement to Muslims in 1797, and yet christians are emboldened and empowered to take a blatantly unconstitutional matter before the Supreme Court for adjudication. No American denies christians the right to pray themselves silly in the privacy of their homes and cults, but when they force Americans to listen to their supplications to jesus christ at public school events, city council meetings, or in legislative chambers they are violating the Constitution, imposing religious tyranny, and following Taliban Sharia Law
The repugicans will bring down the US government
Do we have a revolution in the making? What will Obama do to maintain
the well-being of the U.S. government when the repugicans do nothing
about the debt limit come this summer?
We have every indication that repugican cabal obstructionism is becoming more firmly implanted in Congress and we are going to get hit hard. Hang on to your hats, folks.
Here are two other indications of how obstructionist the conservatives are becoming...
From Daily Kos
Senate repugicans continue on the road to intentionally shutting down the National Labor Relations Board this summer. The labor board, which protects workers' right to organize or not as they choose, can't function without a three-member quorum, which it won't have once a current member's term expires. The board is in legal limbo, in any case, with two appeals courts having overturned recess appointments President Obama made to allow it to function despite repugicans blocking his nominations. Obama has renominated the NLRB's current members, including recess appointees Richard Griffin and Sharon Block, and has nominated two repugicans. Mitch McConnell is having none of it:
And the following is from Crooks and Liars
Heritage Foundation To repugican cabal: Attack Obama, Don't Govern
Jim DeMint's Heritage Foundation is busy at work figuring out how to make sure repugicans are completely marginalized in 2014. As their faux scandals fall apart as rapidly as they're concocted, DeMint's minions are instructing Eric Cantor and John Boehner to please, please just keep attacking the president and forget about governing altogether.
We have every indication that repugican cabal obstructionism is becoming more firmly implanted in Congress and we are going to get hit hard. Hang on to your hats, folks.
Here are two other indications of how obstructionist the conservatives are becoming...
From Daily Kos
Senate repugicans continue on the road to intentionally shutting down the National Labor Relations Board this summer. The labor board, which protects workers' right to organize or not as they choose, can't function without a three-member quorum, which it won't have once a current member's term expires. The board is in legal limbo, in any case, with two appeals courts having overturned recess appointments President Obama made to allow it to function despite repugicans blocking his nominations. Obama has renominated the NLRB's current members, including recess appointees Richard Griffin and Sharon Block, and has nominated two repugicans. Mitch McConnell is having none of it:
And the following is from Crooks and Liars
Heritage Foundation To repugican cabal: Attack Obama, Don't Govern
Jim DeMint's Heritage Foundation is busy at work figuring out how to make sure repugicans are completely marginalized in 2014. As their faux scandals fall apart as rapidly as they're concocted, DeMint's minions are instructing Eric Cantor and John Boehner to please, please just keep attacking the president and forget about governing altogether.
US military continues to abuse and abandon wounded soldiers
In 2010, The New York Times uncovered systemic abuse within
units meant to help wounded Army soldiers transition through
months-and-years-long treatment and rehabilitation. Today, The Colorado Springs Gazette has a profile about one of the soldiers who stood up for Warrior Transition Units back then.
The abuses exposed by the Times weren't fixed and Jerrald Jensen ended
up becoming a victim himself. After questioning the mistreatment in the
system, he was nearly given a less-than-honorable discharge, which would
have cost him long-term Veteran's benefits — a pattern that the Gazette
has found happening over and over among the most-vulnerable wounded
Army men and women who need the most care in order to rehabilitate from
their service injuries. The treatment described here is disgusting, all
the more so when you compare it to Jensen's service in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Exposing this kind of crap is why journalism exists.
Congressional panel: Apple avoided billions in US taxes with global workarounds
"Even as Apple became the nation’s most profitable technology
company, it avoided billions in taxes in the United States and around
the world through a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents
and surprised experts, a Congressional investigation has found." An extensive investigation in the New York Times today.
Chinese hackers who breached Google gained access to US surveillance data
Ellen Nakashima at the Washington Post:
"Chinese hackers who breached Google’s servers several years ago gained
access to a sensitive database with years’ worth of information about
U.S. surveillance targets, according to current and former government
officials." The hack was reportedly intended to root out the identities
of Chinese intel operatives in the US believed to be under surveillance
by the US.
Yahoo buys Tumblr
Yahoo announced that it is buying blogging site Tumblr
for $1.1bn, mostly in cash. In the posting, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer
made clear that the cooler, younger company would not be smothered by
her firm's notorious corporate culture, under which many other purchases
have withered and died.
Amid the announcement's language of respect and cultivation, however, Reuters' Ant DeRosa spotted a purple sheep already making itself comfortable:
Indeed, what DeRosa calls the "scary part" actually bodes well for the heightened efficiency of Yahoo!'s usually—tardy purchase management and integration efforts. In the past, it's often taken several months or even years before any change at all is heralded in one of its many acquisitions.
Here, though, it took mere a mere 24 seconds to read from the introductory paragraph to Yahoo!'s announced intention to make a curiously unappetizing, corporate—sounding revision to the product. Using this as a normalizing metric for future developments, I feel confident that we can offer the following predictive timetable for the ongoing evolution of Tumblr.
8 a.m., Monday, May 20, 2013 — Official announcement.
9:32 a.m. — First implementation of traditionally unappetizing, corporate-brained, systematic revision of the product.
9:40 p.m. — Reports filter in of infant seizures, nightmares, following the first major apperance on national television of Tumblr CEO's eyes.
10 a.m. — First big revision to Tumblr's terms of service. Yahoo reports in a press release that the company had observed "positive uplifting sharp intakes of breath" from users paid to read them.
12 p.m. — Brunch.
1:15 p.m. — It is observed that there has yet to be a second unappetizing, corporate-brained, systematic revision of the product. People start getting nervous.
2:18 p.m. — Yahoo! announces that Tumblr! will be profitable by 3 p.m.
2:50 p.m. — EXIF data stripped from photos; it is Terry Semel's fault.
3:40 p.m. — Tumblr! press releases start to contain the phrase "a good fit" with alarming regularity.
4 p.m. — Just when everyone thought it would never happen, a great mobile app is launched. In the resulting flurry of excitement and social activity, long-dormant accounts are reused for the first time since the morning. Embarassing hours-old avatars are updated.
4:45 p.m. — Tumblr! logo appears in a leaked powerpoint under the heading "Sunset."
4:47 p.m. — Yahoo! denies that Tumblr! is to be sunsetted.
4:55 p.m. — Yahoo! announces that Tumblr! is to be sunsetted.
4:55:07 p.m. — Buzzfeed runs a list titled "40 bizarre Tumblr pages from the web's good old days."
4:56 p.m. — Yahoo! announces that Tumblr! is to be turned off in three minutes.
4:58 p.m. — The Internet Archive completes a massive project to backup Tumblr before it goes away.
5 p.m. — Yahoo! announces its acquisition of Medium.
I’m delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr! We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve. Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster.Yahoo! even set out to prove its noble intentions with a amusing animated GIF, adorning its post with a flashing remix of the "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON POSTER", edited to say "NOW PANIC AND FREAK OUT."
Amid the announcement's language of respect and cultivation, however, Reuters' Ant DeRosa spotted a purple sheep already making itself comfortable:
This is the first scary part of the new post—Yahoo Tumblr: Marissa Mayer writes: “Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!’s personalization technology”But as we all know, Tumblr's users have been clamoring for Yahoo personalization technology. This pressure from within surely played a strong role in shareholders' calculations. Meyer also promised seamless advertising opportunities that enhance the user experience, another well—defined idea that's sure to please the crowd.
Indeed, what DeRosa calls the "scary part" actually bodes well for the heightened efficiency of Yahoo!'s usually—tardy purchase management and integration efforts. In the past, it's often taken several months or even years before any change at all is heralded in one of its many acquisitions.
Here, though, it took mere a mere 24 seconds to read from the introductory paragraph to Yahoo!'s announced intention to make a curiously unappetizing, corporate—sounding revision to the product. Using this as a normalizing metric for future developments, I feel confident that we can offer the following predictive timetable for the ongoing evolution of Tumblr.
8 a.m., Monday, May 20, 2013 — Official announcement.
9:32 a.m. — First implementation of traditionally unappetizing, corporate-brained, systematic revision of the product.
9:40 p.m. — Reports filter in of infant seizures, nightmares, following the first major apperance on national television of Tumblr CEO's eyes.
10 a.m. — First big revision to Tumblr's terms of service. Yahoo reports in a press release that the company had observed "positive uplifting sharp intakes of breath" from users paid to read them.
12 p.m. — Brunch.
1:15 p.m. — It is observed that there has yet to be a second unappetizing, corporate-brained, systematic revision of the product. People start getting nervous.
2:18 p.m. — Yahoo! announces that Tumblr! will be profitable by 3 p.m.
2:50 p.m. — EXIF data stripped from photos; it is Terry Semel's fault.
3:40 p.m. — Tumblr! press releases start to contain the phrase "a good fit" with alarming regularity.
4 p.m. — Just when everyone thought it would never happen, a great mobile app is launched. In the resulting flurry of excitement and social activity, long-dormant accounts are reused for the first time since the morning. Embarassing hours-old avatars are updated.
4:45 p.m. — Tumblr! logo appears in a leaked powerpoint under the heading "Sunset."
4:47 p.m. — Yahoo! denies that Tumblr! is to be sunsetted.
4:55 p.m. — Yahoo! announces that Tumblr! is to be sunsetted.
4:55:07 p.m. — Buzzfeed runs a list titled "40 bizarre Tumblr pages from the web's good old days."
4:56 p.m. — Yahoo! announces that Tumblr! is to be turned off in three minutes.
4:58 p.m. — The Internet Archive completes a massive project to backup Tumblr before it goes away.
5 p.m. — Yahoo! announces its acquisition of Medium.
Aspartame has been Renamed and is Now Being Marketed as a Natural Sweetener
Artificial sweeteners especially
aspartame has gotten a bad rap over the years, most likely due to
studies showing they cause cancer. But not to worry Ajinomoto the
company that makes
Aspartame has changed the name to
AminoSweet. It has the same toxic ingredients but a nice new sounding
name. And if you or your child happens to be allergic to Aspartame, well
don’t take it personally it’s just business.
Despite the evidence gained over the
years showing that aspartame is a dangerous toxin, it has remained on
the global market . In continues to gain approval for use in new types
of food despite evidence showing that it causes neurological brain
damage, cancerous tumors, and endocrine disruption, among other things.
Most consumers are oblivious to the fact
that Aspartame was invented as a drug but upon discovery of its’ sweet
taste was magically transformed from a drug to a food additive. HFA
wants to warn our readers to beware of a wolf dressed up in sheep’s
clothing or in this case Aspartame dressed up as Aminosweet.
Over 25 years ago, aspartame was first
introduced into the European food supply. Today, it is an everyday
component of most diet beverages, sugar-free desserts, and chewing gums
in countries worldwide. But the tides have been turning as the general
public is waking up to the truth about artificial sweeteners like
aspartame and the harm they cause to health. The latest aspartame
marketing scheme is a desperate effort to indoctrinate the public into
accepting the chemical sweetener as natural and safe, despite evidence
to the contrary.
Aspartame was an accidental discovery by
James Schlatter, a chemist who had been trying to produce an anti-ulcer
pharmaceutical drug for G.D. Searle & Company back in 1965. Upon
mixing aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two naturally-occurring amino
acids, he discovered that the new compound had a sweet taste. The
company merely changed its FDA approval application from drug to food
additive and, voila, aspartame was born.
G.D. Searle & Company first patented
aspartame in 1970. An internal memo released in the same year urged
company executives to work on getting the FDA into the “habit of saying
yes” and of encouraging a “subconscious spirit of participation” in
getting the chemical approved.
G.D. Searle & Company submitted its
first petition to the FDA in 1973 and fought for years to gain FDA
approval, submitting its own safety studies that many believed were
inadequate and deceptive. Despite numerous objections, including one
from its own scientists, the company was able to convince the FDA to
approve aspartame for commercial use in a few products in 1974, igniting
a blaze of controversy.
The 10 Worst Civilian Nuclear Accidents In History
Moreover, controversy still surrounds nuclear technology, even when it is used for nonviolent purposes - for example, as a source of power. For the doubters, these 10 civilian nuclear accidents won't be very reassuring.
Modified Liberator 3D printed gun made with cheap printer, fires 9 shots
The gun printed by Joe, which he’s nicknamed the “Lulz Liberator,” was printed over 48 hours with just $25 of plastic on a desktop machine affordable to many consumers, and was fired far more times. “People think this takes an $8,000 machine and that it blows up on the first shot. I want to dispel that,” says Joe. “This does work, and I want that to be known.”
Eight of Joe’s test-fires were performed using a single barrel before swapping it out for a new one on the ninth. After all those shots, the weapon’s main components remained intact–even the spiraled rifling inside of the barrel’s bore. “The only reason we stopped firing is because the sun went down,” he says....
...Still, Joe’s cheap homemade gun isn’t without its bugs. Over the course of its test firing, Joe and Guslick say it misfired several times, and some of its screws and its firing pin had to be replaced. After each firing, the ammo cartridges expanded enough that they had to be pounded out with a hammer. “Other than that, it’s pretty much confirming that yes, Defense Distributed is correct that this functions,” says Guslick. “And it’s possible to make one on a much lower cost printer.”
Ameica's Lost Submarine
Needed: Breakup of physician, drug co. relationship
A new report suggests that improved health care and significant
reductions in drug costs might be attained by breaking up the age-old
relationship between physicians and drug company representatives who
promote the newest, more costly [...]
How bilinguals switch between languages
Individuals who learn two languages at an early age seem to
switch back and forth between separate “sound systems” for each
language, according to new research conducted at the University of
Arizona. The research, to [...]
Could Humans Be Cloned?
Although it would be unethical, experts say it is likely possible to clone a human.
Science News
Do science: The life you save may be your own
One of the people who developed the pacemaker is now 86. And he has a pacemaker.Your very fallible memory
Your memories can be manipulated and changed. In fact, this happens often. And you're the one doing it to yourself.Who are these crazy people out chasing tornadoes?
National Geographic News has an interview with Tim Samaras — an engineer, a scientist who studies severe storm systems, and a tornado chaser. Not all chasers are professionals like this. For many people, it's a hobby often motivated by a desire to help keep other people safe. Personally, I see a lot of similarities between hobbyist tornado chasers and the HAM radio folks — in fact, there's a lot of overlap between the two communities. And, as Samaras explains, if you want to get involved, there's training you really ought to do first.The Ruins Of Super Science
Take a look at some record-setting and awe-inspiring scientific ruins that seem too unbelievable to have been built, much less forgotten.
Stunning Ice Formations From Around The World
Ice is an important component of the global climate, particularly in regard to the water cycle. Glaciers and snowpacks are an important storage mechanism for fresh water; over time, they may sublimate or melt.
Incredible Cryptids that Attack from the Air
Cryptids
are rarely seen, but when they are, their legends grow and grow with
each retelling. That's because cryptids don't exist, except in legends.
It's a good thing, too, because the Aloo has a ten-foot wingspan, the
Kongamato robs human graves, and the Popobawa sodomizes its victims.
Read about ten flying creatures of your nightmares at Environmental
Graffiti.
Animal News
A Navy dolphin discovered a museum-worthy torpedo on the seafloor off the coast of San Diego.
Ants use antennae to slow their tumbles, could robots do the same?
The birds evolved into diving hunters and the need for flight lessened.
The great ecological success of spiders is often substantiated
by the evolution of silk and webs. Biologists of the Kiel University and
the University of Bern now found an alternative adaptation to hunting
prey: hairy [...]
How ants always land on their feet
As they move through tunnels dug in a wide variety of soils, ants do sometimes slip and fall down their own shafts. But they catch themselves, with their limbs and even with their antenna. Scientists are studying the ways ants brace against a fall to help design better robotos for search-and-rescue missions.
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