Meet the New Underclass ...

... People With Ph.D.s in Science

Once upon a time, newly-minted science Ph.D.s would get research jobs at a senior scientist's laboratory, to train and hone the ideas they would explore at their own labs. But now the supply of post-doctoral students is outpacing demand, creating a new, hyper-educated underclass.

Cartoon by Hal Mayforth

As the Boston Globe reports:

In the Boston area, where more than 8,000 postdocs — largely in the biosciences — are estimated to work, tough job prospects are more than just an issue of academic interest. Postdocs are a critical part of the scientific landscape that in many ways distinguishes the region — they are both future leaders and the workers who carry out experiments crucial for science to advance.

The plight of postdocs has become a point of national discussion among senior scientists, as their struggles have come to be seen as symptoms of broader problems plaguing biomedical research. After years of rapid growth, federal funding abruptly leveled off and even contracted over the last decade, leaving a glut of postdocs vying for a limited number of faculty jobs. Paradoxically, as they've gotten stuck, the pursuit of research breakthroughs has also become reliant on them as a cheap source of labor for senior scientists.

This wasn't such an issue decades ago, but universities have expanded the number of PhD students they train — there were about 30,000 biomedical graduate students in 1979 and 56,800 in 2009. That has had the effect of flooding the system with trainees and drawing out the training period.

It has also had the effect of turning a healthy competition for scientific resources into a frantic "hypercompetition," according to four prominent scientists who recently published a journal article, "Rescuing U.S. Biomedical Research From its Systemic Flaws." For example, only 10% of grant applications are successful compared to 30% in recent times, due to ever-increasing applications and a continual decline in funding.

According to the authors, the result has been applications that don't make bold, creative proposals. Instead, they take the safer route, relying on "translational research" that focuses on curing disease (or the promise of doing so) rather than studying the underlying problems of biology that could truly advance the field.

In Zero Gravity, A Drop of Water Becomes a Fisheye Lens

Commander Reid Wiseman (USN) is one of the astronauts currently on board the International Space Station. He loves to post amusing and informative Vines that show us unique views from low Earth orbit. For example, a few months ago, he showed this mesmerizing video of a thunderstorm from the other side of the clouds.

Reid informs us that in very low gravity, water forms a sphere and turns into "the ultimate fish-eye lens."

McMansion built on wrong lot

Mark and Brenda Voss learned that the 5,300-square-foot vacation house they built at a cost of $680,000 "actually sits on the lot next to the one they own in the gated Ocean Hammock resort community" of Daytona Beach. The result? Lots of lawyers and finger-pointing.

Photos Of The Largest Ship In The World Being Built In South Korea

The Maersk Triple E is the largest ship ever built by mankind and is operated by the largest container shipping company in the world. Back in 2011, Maersk signed a contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding in South Korea to have 20 of these gigantic vessels made for $3.8 billion dollars.

Exposing the Horrifying Truth About Liberals

by Allen Clifton

I give in, wingnuts have beaten me. They’ve finally convinced me the horrors that might come from a nation ruled by liberal ideology. And let me tell you, it would be a nightmare.
Could you imagine if the United States was a country where we had universal health care and millions of people weren’t saddled with thousands of dollars in medical bills they can’t afford? It would be awful.
Even worse, imagine if all of our electricity came from sun or wind energy? You know how terrible it would be to no longer have to pay for expensive electricity? I don’t know about all of you, but I love paying high electric bills.
And I don’t know about you, but who needs vehicles with high MPG’s? Personally, I love paying for gasoline as frequently as possible.
Speaking of that horrible “green liberal initiative,” who needs clean water? I’d much rather continue to pay exorbitant prices to companies to pour filtered water into plastic bottles than have it flow straight into my home for safe consumption.
And safe food, who needs that either? I ask you, did our Founding Fathers eat clean, FDA-approved foods? Exactly!
Then when it comes to religion, we definitely need it in our schools. Math, science, history – all liberal garbage, get rid of them. There’s nothing in this world that can’t be solved by simply looking to the Bible. It offers great parenting tips and relationship advice. It even has a nifty plan on how to deter adultery. Spoiler alert: It involves stones.
Liberals want to create a world where religion is kept private or in church. What kind of horrific country would this be if we couldn’t force our religious views on people who don’t follow them?
As far as gun regulations go, please. We all know some of the safest, and least violent, times in United States history were the good ol’ days of the old west where everyone openly carried a gun with them at all times. Back then people solved disputes in a civilized, rational manner. Besides, I’m not sure how liberals don’t seem to understand that we need more guns to counter the guns we’ve already easily allowed to get into the hands of criminals. Because the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun… to shoot the bad guy after they’ve already claimed a victim or two. If these sissy liberals got their way we’d have a society where guns were highly regulated, making it much more difficult for criminals to get guns.
Don’t you see the scam? If criminals don’t have guns, and people don’t need them for self defense, then we won’t need more guns! Hello. Don’t you see how dastardly their plan is to get rid of our Second Amendment?
And taxes, who needs taxes? I’m absolutely sure if it were left up to private, for-profit corporations that basic services in this country such as emergency care, roads, education and other public services would be provided at very affordable prices. You know, just like how our for-profit health care system has provided extremely affordable care for decades.
After all, corporations are the backbone on which ethics and morals are built. If we just put our faith in them, Wall Street and corporate America, everything would be fine. It’s those darn liberal regulations like safe working conditions, the minimum wage and overtime pay that prevent these companies from trickling down their excess profits to American workers. Instead, these liberal regulations force these companies to give it to the high-level executives.
In the liberal world, they’d probably do something outrageous like raise the minimum wage so that corporate executives are burdened with having to take slightly smaller bonuses.
And women’s rights? Those are real simple – just go ask a man, duh. Nearly half this country is made up of men. All women have to do is go up to one of them and ask them what rights they can have. Seems simple, right? Why do liberals have to complicate things by trying to give women equal rights, allow them to have control over their own bodies and fight for equal pay in the workplace? It’s absurd. If liberals got their way, women would have all the rights men have. And we all know that’s just silly.
As for gay rights, that’s just a ridiculous thought altogether. Honestly, could you imagine a country where people are treated equally no matter their sexual orientation? Because that’s what liberals want. It’s a terrifying thought, isn’t it?
Heck, in the liberal world, war would be used as an option of last resort. Can you imagine that? Anyone with a brain knows you start a war first, then ask questions later. As the old wingnut saying goes, the only good Middle Eastern country is one we’ve invaded, occupied and have no exit strategy for.
Can’t you see how horrible life would be if liberals got their way in this country? A nation with cleaner water, affordable health care, better pay, greener methods of energy, a cleaner environment, safer food, less war, equal rights – what an absolute nightmare.

***

Now for any wingnut who is confused by the piece above and thinks I have 'come around' to your delusion, please understand the above is SATIRE. And no I will not explain to you what satire is ...
For all the normal people out there reading Carolina Naturally, have good chuckle at the wingnuts' expense and carry on and have a great day.

Americans living along the Mexican border say militia patrols make the feel less safe - not more

"We don't know who these people are," said Maria Cordero, an ACLU community organizer who lives near the Rio Grande. "They're carrying high-powered weapons. It makes us feel less safe, not more safe, to have them here. I just hope they leave soon."Even some of the militia volunteers themselves have left the camps, which were set up during the summer to stem the tide of migrants flooding across the border in recent months, over safety and legal concerns.
Rob Chupp, who helped organize a recent border crossing "shutdown" that drew just five people, said he left Camp LoneStar after a Border Patrol officer fired gunshots at a convicted felon carrying a firearm on patrol.
"We asked several of the guys to leave that we found out were felons," Chupp told the Southern Poverty Law Centers Hatewatch blog. "We have a Second Amendment to protect your right to bear arms, but we are also a nation of laws - and there's a reason we don't let felons own guns."
Chupp said he and some other militia volunteers voiced their concerns about the possibility that felons were illegally carrying guns at the camp.
"It came to be a problem, and it was loud, and 'We don't care what the gun laws are,' and, 'If we want to have this weapon even if it's illegal, we're going to have it,'" Chupp said. "It just turned south, and we pulled out."
Militia members also posted video of themselves detaining three migrants after they crossed the border.

Unregulated militia detains migrants, frightens locals, warns of muslim invasion

Documents Show NYPD Has Paid $428 Million in Settlements Since 2009

According to documents published yesterday by investigative news site MuckRock, the NYPD has paid almost half a billion dollars in settlements in the last five years.

The source of that information, a spreadsheet titled "NYPD Closed Actions Commenced in 2009-2014 to Date," was given to MuckRock by the NYPD in response to a routine Freedom of Information request. It lists over 10,000 police-related settlements made by the city, ranging from $1 to $11,500,000.
Those numbers are in line with the findings of a 2010 AP investigation, which discovered nearly $1 billion in NYPD payouts over the previous decade. In 2012, Bloomberg News found the City of New York planned to spend $735 million on settling lawsuits, police and otherwise, almost six times what Los Angeles pays per capita.
 

Random Celebrity Photos

Myrna Loy

Jailed woman walked out front door of courthouse

A woman escaped being sent to jail from a court in West Auckland, New Zealand, on Monday afternoon by simply walking out the front door. The woman was being sentenced in Courtroom Three at Waitakere District Court at about 2.30pm when, upon hearing she would be jailed on charges relating to dishonesty offending, she simply walked out of the sentencing box and out the front door, a witness who was in the courtroom at the time said.
"The judge said 'someone stop that woman' and she just kept on going," the witness, who declined to be named, said. "It's quite embarrassing for them really." No police or court security staff were in the courtroom at the time, however a lawyer attempted to apprehend the woman, only to be pushed aside, the witness said.
Court security were not believed to have been monitoring the court's entrance at the time the woman escaped. Court security staff declined to comment on the incident. A police spokeswoman said the woman had still not been located. She was described as a "low risk" offender.

14-year-old boy arrested for dressing up as a clown and chasing and scaring other children

A 14-year-old boy was arrested in Bakersfield, California, on Thursday for dressing as a clown and scaring younger children.

Officers were dispatched in the afternoon to reports of a clown chasing children. Police said one child "was clearly scared as a result of being chased by the clown."
Investigators found the suspect, whose name was withheld, at a home in Pacheco. Police said he admitted to the acts and said he did it to perpetuate a sinister clown hoax he had seen online.

YouTube link.

The suspect was booked into Kern County Juvenile Hall and could face a charge of annoying a minor, according to police.

Disgruntled employee stole and crashed train

A rail worker is facing charges for protesting at working conditions by stealing a train and taking it on a joy ride before crashing it into another locomotive on Thursday. 22-year-old Derek Skyler Brux was charged on Friday with reckless endangering, felony destruction of property and felony destruction, obstruction or removal of railroad track or fixtures after allegedly stealing a train from the North Antelope Rochelle mine in Wyoming and driving it 13 miles before plowing it into another train. Deputies were called out to the mine at about 8:55 am. The incident started when Brux, a utility coal operator for Rail Link, allegedly became upset about his supervisor’s response to working conditions, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Circuit Court. The disgruntled employee then unhooked some cars and drove the locomotive around what is described as a “loop” at the site and “pretty much squashed the ‘expletive’ outta their scales,” Brux said.

Brux then called his supervisor and asked her if she wanted to play chicken. He hung up the phone and then called the rail dispatch, advising personnel there he was going onto the main rail line. Brux said he estimated he was going 60 mph for about 15 minutes. He told deputies he did not know where he was headed and that he wanted to make Rail Link pay. Brux said he headed south on the main line. When asked how fast he was going, he responded that he didn’t know if he “quite got up to 70 mph,” but estimated he was going 50 mph for a good part of the trip. Employees from Peabody Energy Corp. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC. attempted to stop the locomotive but were unsuccessful. At least one person, Royce Biegler, was reported to be working on the train tracks at the time of the incident. When Biegler heard Brux call dispatch and say he was going on the main line, Biegler moved his pickup off the track before the oncoming train arrived. No injuries were reported.
At some point in his journey, Brux passed through an area where construction was occurring near a highway crossing. Brux told deputies he blew his horn while passing and said that there were “a lot of workers there.” When asked if he scared the workers Brux said, “They were probably (expletive) scared. They probably (expletive) themselves. Whatever.” During the ride, Rail Link employees tried contacting Brux on his employee phone, Brux told investigators. He got mad and said he was not an Apple fan and smashed the phone for something to do. He took the train to Nacco Junction before backing out onto the main line and approaching a train near an oil field crossing. Brux finally crashed the train into another. “I wanted to see what it was like to hit something, so I hit at it,” Brux said. Brux then backed up and hit the train again.
He estimates the speed of both collisions was under 10 mph. Kerby Caves, a Rail Link Employee, arrived at the scene of the crash as Brux was attempting to leave the area. Caves hit the emergency shut-off switch on the fuel tank, disabling the train. Brux then fled on foot before being caught by deputies. He stated that he was having a bad day and trying to prove a point. When asked if he had thought about taking his own life, Brux replied, “a couple of times.” The affidavit reports Brux said he would do so by hitting “another train, putting possibly other lives in danger ...” The total cost of the damages is not known. Reckless endangering is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to $750 or both. Felony destruction of property is punishable by imprisonment of not more than 10 years, a fine of up to $10,000 or both. Destruction, obstruction or removal of railroad track or fixtures is a felony punishable by a imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than 20 years, a fine of up to $10,000 or both. Brux could also face additional federal charges from the Federal Railroad Administration.

Misunderstood man accused of armed robbery

To avoid any misunderstanding, Jonathan Warrenfeltz has broadcast his status in life with ‘Misunderstood’ tattooed across his forehead. And the word was there in all its glory when, police said, Warrenfeltz and a companion robbed five beach-goers at gunpoint in Dania Beach, Florida.

In fact, the tattoo was how the victims readily identified him as their assailant. Warrenfeltz, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, along with Joshua Zeaya, 23, reportedly approached the women who were sitting on the beach at around 6am on Wednesday and demanded their cash and valuables. The women, in fear for their lives, handed over what they had.
Warrenfeltz and Zeaya then ran to a waiting car driven by Kaitlyn Florez and sped off, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office. A short time later, Warrenfeltz was picked up at a motel on Dania Beach Boulevard trying to rent a room. One of the women from the beach was driven to the motel and clearly identified him as the man who had robbed them.
Seven witnesses identified Warrenfeltz from several facial tattoos, including "Misunderstood" in cursive script. Warrenfeltz has been convicted of cocaine possession, battery and trespassing, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He is scheduled to be sentenced next week for a cocaine conviction. Warrenfeltz and Zeaya are being held without bond on five counts each of robbery with a firearm.

Patient escaped from hospital in hijacked ambulance

A patient escaped from a hospital in Goodyear, Arizona, on Sunday by hijacking an ambulance parked outside the facility, police officers said.

A firefighter sitting in the back of the vehicle was able to jump out safely, according to Goodyear police spokesman Lisa Kurtis. Michael Lopez, 40, of Avondale, took off from West Valley Hospital and failed to pull over.
Officers tracked the vehicle to his home, where he was arrested. Lopez was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix on charges of theft of means of transportation, felony flight, failure to yield to police and disorderly conduct.
When asked why he escaped, Lopez told police he thought he was being held against his will. It's not known why Lopez was being hospitalized. West Valley Hospital is an acute-care community facility. The ambulance was returned to the Buckeye Valley Fire Department.

LA bus passenger: "Don't mess with me, I have Ebola."

The Los Angeles bus passenger is not believed to have actually contained this virus within his person

Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputies spent Monday searching for a man in a surgical mask who boarded a bus and told the driver, “Don’t mess with me; I have Ebola.” When he got off the bus, the man took off his mask and dropped it on the floor of the bus.
The bus driver kicked everyone off the bus and drove the bus to a yard, where both the bus and the driver were sequestered for two hours. The driver was taken to a local hospital where he was examined and released. The bus remained taped off until hazmat crews and officials concluded an investigation.
LA County Metro officials are reviewing surveillance video from inside the bus to help apprehend the man, and are treating the scare as a terrorist threat. Reuters | LA Times

Diabetes News

Light-activated drug could reduce side effects of diabetes medication  

Scientists have created a drug for type 2 diabetes that […]

Childhood Psychological Abuse

Psychological Abuse the Most Common Childhood Trauma

Emotional abuse of children is the most prevalent and challenging form of neglect. So says the American Academy of Pediatrics. Why doesn't it seem to get the same attention as more visible forms of abuse?

Hitler's Highs

Adolf Hitler Was a Regular Meth User

During World War II, Adolf Hitler regularly took methamphetamines, a report suggests.

Classic Pin Up

How a Cemetery Ends Up Underground

In America’s colonial era, thousands of people were buried in a cemetery that is now the Green in New Haven, Connecticut. The Center Church on the Green, as it is called now, was built in 1814 right over top of a section of the cemetery! They set up pillars in the cemetery, and built the church on top, then put fill dirt around the church to make it ground level. That left a “basement’ of sorts for the remaining graves, complete with their original headstones. And it is there still. But that was only part of the large cemetery on the Green. What of the bodies outside of the church?

Yet in true Poltergeist-fashion, when in the 1820s the graveyard was relocated to the new Grove Street Cemetery, only the headstones were moved. By some estimates there are between 5,000 to 10,000 souls still buried below the Green, although one was disturbed during 2012's Hurricane Sandy when a tree was dislodged from the ground, and a skeleton was found coiled in the roots. Specifically, a skull was spotted just before Halloween with its jaw swung open as if in a silent howl, while a spine and rib cage remained attached.

You won’t see that, but you will see plenty of pictures of the Center Church on the Green and its underground cemetery-turned-crypt that is open to visitors, at Atlas Obscura.

Dracula: 'I Vant To Be A Star'

Long before Dracula became a pop icon, he was just a character in a not-very-popular novel by novelist Bram Stoker... but everyone's got to start somewhere. Here's the story of how Dracula made his way into pop culture through the stage and screen.

The Fatal Attraction Of Lead

For millennia lead has held a deep attraction for painters, builders, chemists and winemakers - but it's done untold harm, especially to children. And while it's no longer found in petrol, you've still got several kilograms of it in your car.
The oldest pure lead, found in Turkey, was made by early smelters more than 8,000 years ago. But lead is also toxic. And so history is littered with examples of horrendous consequences for the health of people.

Ancient Cult Complex

Ancient Cult Complex Discovered in Israel

A massive cult complex, dating back about 3,300 years, has been discovered at the site of Tel Burna in Israel.

Ancient Maritime Sacrifice

Ancient Sailors Made Sacrifices on Ships

A large incense burner found aboard a 2000-year-old shipwreck suggests that ceremonies and sacrifices were a regular part of sailors' lives.

The First Spacewalk

Alexei Leonov did not feel as if he was in motion as he clambered on to the outside of the spacecraft, 500km above the Earth. But in reality, he was hurtling around our planet at speeds that are many times faster than a jet aircraft. The vast, vivid geography of our planet stretched out before him - a giant canvas of contrasting colours and textures. He was the first of his species to see our planet in such glorious aspect.

How the first human to take steps in outer space nearly didn't return to Earth.

Jumbo squids attack Greenpeace submarine

A pair of Greenpeace submariners have had their own "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" experience on an expedition in the Bering Sea -- in a scaled down sort of way. Rather than the Nautilus and a giant squid, the pair were in a Dual Deep Worker submersible when the encounter occurred.And their attackers weren't a squid of the giant variety, but a pair of Humboldt squids, nicknamed "jumbo squid" or "red devil" for their famed aggression and the red colour the squids turn when in hunting or attack mode.
Although these squids can get pretty big -- up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in mantle length and up to 50 kg (100 lb) in weight, these guys are relatively titchy -- no longer than a few feet in length, maximum. Their size, however, is no indication of courage: coloured a brilliant red, they have a brave go at the sub before swimming off in a puff of ink.
The Humboldt squid's tentacle suckers are lined with tiny, sharp teeth that can do some serious damage, so the Greenpeace divers were lucky to be protected by the submarine -- though there are some scientists who believe that the cephalopods aren't usually aggressive, and might have been set off in the first place by flashing or bright lights like the one on the Dual Deep Worker.
Check out this terrifying attack in the Vine below.

Man being attacked by grizzly bear accidentally shot by hunting partner trying to rescue him

A 56-year-old man is recovering in a Calgary, Canada, hospital after being mauled by a grizzly bear while hunting on Sunday morning near the southern B.C. town of Fernie.

A spokesman for STARS air ambulance says a crew responded to an emergency call just before 9:30am. David Fairbanks says the man was not only attacked, but also shot by his hunting partner who was trying to neutralize the animal.
B.C.’s environment ministry says the hunting partner managed to kill the bear and was not injured in the incident. Conservation officers and other first responders rushed to the scene.
The victim was driven out of the forested area on an ATV, then flown by helicopter to a Calgary hospital. The man was in stable condition when he was flown from the area and his injuries are described as non life-threatening. Provincial conservation officers from Fernie and Cranbrook, B.C., are examining the scene.

They're Out There ...

North America's Top Five Cryptids

North America covers over nine million square miles; plenty of space for things that go bump in the night. Like every landmass, North America houses some of nature's darkest secrets, and crypto-zoologists (those who study animals not yet proven to exist) would probably have a field day wandering its terrain.
Here are some of the continents most provocative and contemplated mysteries.

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

 Better? ...!

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 200 countries around the world daily.   

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Today is  - International Day Of Rural Women Day 
 

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Some of our readers today have been in:

The Americas

The Bottoem, Sint Eustatius-Saba

Montreal, Quebec, Vancouver and Ottawa, Canada

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Europe

Eastbourne, London, Huddersfield and Derby, England

Lagoa and Cacem, Portugal

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Cerny, Rouen, Lyon, Velizy-Villacoublay and Roubaix, France

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Treviso, Pescara, Rome and Naples, Italy

Bucharest, Romania

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Madrid, Spain

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Frankfurt Am Main and Widdern, Germany

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Kolkata, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Mumbai and Panipat, India

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Harbin, China

Tokyo, Japan

Rangoon, Burma

Africa

Ogembo, Kenya

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The Pacific

Homebush and Millers Point, Australia

Makati and Sampaloc, Philippines

Today in History

1529		Ottoman armies under Suleiman end their siege of Vienna and head back to Belgrade.
1582		The Gregorian (or New World) calendar is adopted in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal; and the preceding ten days are lost to history.
1783		Francois Pilatre de Rozier makes the first manned flight in a hot air balloon. The first flight was let out to 82 feet, but over the next few days the altitude increased up to 6,500 feet.
1813		During the land defeat of the British on the Thames River in Canada, the Indian chief Tecumseh, now a brigadier general with the British Army (War of 1812), is killed.
1863		For the second time, the Confederate submarine H L Hunley sinks during a practice dive in Charleston Harbor, this time drowning its inventor along with seven crew members.
1878		Thomas A. Edison founds the Edison Electric Light Co.
1880		Victorio, feared leader of the Minbreno Apache, is killed by Mexican troops in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico.
1892		An attempt to rob two banks in Coffeyville, Kan., ends in disaster for the Dalton gang as four of the five outlaws are killed and Emmet Dalton is seriously wounded.
1894		Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, is arrested for betraying military secrets to Germany.
1914		Congress passes the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, which labor leader Samuel Gompers calls "labor's charter of freedom." The act exempts unions from anti-trust laws; strikes, picketing and boycotting become legal; corporate interlocking directorates become illegal, as does setting prices which would effect a monopoly.
1924		German ZR-3 flies 5000 miles, the furthest Zeppelin flight to date.
1941		Odessa, a Russian port on the Black Sea which has been surrounded by German troops for several weeks, is evacuated by Russian troops.
1945		Vichy French Premier Pierre Laval is executed by a firing squad for his wartime collaboration with the Germans.
1950		President Harry Truman meets with General Douglas MacArthur at Wake Island to discuss U.N. progress in the Korean War.
1964		Nikita Khrushchev is replaced by Leonid Brezhnev as leader of the Soviet Union.
1966		Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale establish the Black Panther Party, an African-American revolutionary socialist political group, in the US.
1969		Rallies for The Moratorium to End the War  in Vietnam draw over 2 million demonstrators across the US, a quarter million of them in the nation's capital.
1987		The Great Storm of 1987 strikes the UK and Europe during the night of Oct 15-16, killing over 20 people and causing widespread damage.
1989		Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky makes his 1,851st goal, breaking the all-time scoring record in the National Hockey League.
1990		Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the USSR, receives Nobel Peace Prize for his work in making his country more open and reducing Cold War tensions.
1997		Andy Green of the UK becomes the first person to break the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere, driving the ThrustSSC supersonic car to a record 763 mph (1,228 km/h).
2003		China launches its first manned space mission, Shenzhou I.
2007		New Zealand police arrest 17 people believed to be part of a paramilitary training camp.
2008		Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 733.08 points, the second-largest percentage drop in the Dow's history.
2011		Protests break out in countries around the globe, under the slogan "United for Global Democracy."

The Top 50 Cities To See In Your Lifetime

From the great ancient capitals to the modern cities of Asia, the Americas, and beyond, here are the 50 cities you must see during your lifetime.

Inside the Confusing Origins of David Letterman's Top Ten List

Brian Abrams has published a book called AND NOW…An Oral History of "Late Night with David Letterman," 1982-1983, available at Amazon Kindle Singles. It’s full of stories from those who were there at the beginning, responsible for the show that became a late night institution. Part of that institution was Letterman’s Top Ten List, although there is some dispute about who came up with the idea. In a book excerpt, we get to hear from all sides.

By the summer of 1985, head writer Steve O’Donnell was no longer scouring for new personnel to come up with remote concepts and “Viewer Mail” pieces. (Monologue material stayed plentiful, as staffer Gerry Mulligan continued to oversee that part of the show.) Including co-creators Merrill Markoe and David Letterman, 13 individuals populated the writers’ room, and submissions from prospective writers continued to stack high on O’Donnell’s desk. An unassuming 23-year-old Tufts University grad named Rob Burnett wangled an internship in the talent department. And, at 30 Rock, the days of finding bored New Yorkers to fill up Studio 6A’s 200 or so seats at 5 p.m. tapings were ancient history.

But of all of Late Night’s much adored ironic obsessions that transformed comedy forever and enabled a generation of writers and comedians to flourish, there is one recurring bit that to this day has multiple writers claiming credit for its creation: The “Top Ten.”

Was it Merrill Markoe, Randy Cohen, Kevin Curran, Steve O’Donnell, Bob Morton, or Jim Downey? Every one of them had some claim to the idea, as you can read at Splitsider, or in the Abrams book. 

A Woman Banned From Women’s Sports

Banned from competition due to high testosterone levels, Indian sprinter Dutee Chand is taking her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Dutee Chand is an 18-year-old sprinter from India. She was on the roster for July’s Commonwealth Games until somebody at June’s Asian Junior Athletics Championship requested that she be tested for hyperandrogenism. Those tests revealed Chand to have a naturally occurring high testosterone level and she has been banned from competition.
Juliet Macur profiled Chand for the New York Times and joined Bill Littlefield to discuss Chand’s current predicament.
What has Chand been told she needs to do to return to competition and why has she said she will not do it?
Basically, by the rules of the International [Association of] Athletics Federations (IAAF), which is under the umbrella of the International Olympic Committee, they say that her testosterone levels have to be just below, or way below, what they call the “male level.” And to do that, she has to take either hormone-suppressing drugs or have surgery to have her body stop producing the testosterone.
And she has said she will not do that.

Who is a woman and who is a man isn’t as easy as we think it is, especially when it comes to sports.

– Juliet Macur, New York Times

She was basically shocked that anyone would ask her to change for sports, that people would actually say the body that you were born with is not enough, we need you to change this and that. And what she considers her natural advantage, perhaps, is something that needs to be changed. So even as an 18-year-old, she’s pretty confident that she won’t change for anybody, and that’s why she’s taking this case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is basically the Supreme Court in the sports world.
Athletes such as South Africa’s Caster Semenya have reportedly undergone treatment to fit the international standard. Chand might have made the same choice if not for Payoshni Mitra, a researcher and activist on gender and sports. What did Mitra do when she learned of Chand’s case?
Payoshni Mitra took a train and a bus and anything she could to get to Dutee Chand’s side and say, “Listen, you don’t have to go through this surgery or you don’t have to take these drugs. You can fight this.” And in many cases, the athlete hasn’t had these advocates. That’s why we haven’t heard about them in the news, they haven’t complained about it.
The IAAF, which is track and field’s governing body, uses testosterone levels to determine whether an athlete is considered a female. What are the limits of that rule?

Caster Semenya After The Controversy

It’s been five years since runner Caster Semenya became the center of a debate about gender and sports. In May, Deadspin reported on what’s happened to Semenya since the controversy.

JM: I just want to make sure that this is said correctly. It’s not actually a gender test; they’re not saying that you’re a female or you’re a male. Those tests, because of what happened to Caster Semenya, were thrown out because the Caster Semenya case was a disaster. It embarrassed her, it really embarrassed the IAAF. They actually have done away with it and went to this testosterone testing. And basically they’re saying, “You have too much testosterone to compete as a woman.” This is really one of the most complicated issues I’ve ever written about. There’s so many nuances to it, they’re not saying that she’s not a woman, but she can’t compete with other women, which sounds actually quite nonsensical when you think about it.
Hyperandrogenism is relatively rare in the general population. But it’s found in seven out of every 1000 female elite track athletes, most of whom quietly have surgery or leave sports altogether. But a study released last year found that those who chose surgery are also undergoing treatment which has nothing to do with their testosterone levels. What’s that all about?
Exactly — actually a lot of people involved in this case, whether it’s the sports world or the advocates for people like Dutee Chand were shocked when they saw this study that came out about four athletes who were identified at the 2012 London Olympics for having hyperandrogenism. Basically they were whisked away to one of these clinics in France. And not only did they end up getting surgery, but they also got basically plastic surgery of their genital area to make them look more like women. And of course that had nothing to do with their high testosterone levels at all.
People are saying this has gone way too far. Dutee Chand is certainly proud of how she was born, and they might be able to make her lower her testosterone level but they don’t have to suggest plastic surgery to make her look more like a stereotypical woman.
Chand has asked the CAS to review her case, and in your story for the New York Times, you question whether the body can come to a fair decision. So I’m going to put you on the spot: Is there any solution that could be considered fair to all involved and by all involved?
[Laughing] Thanks a lot. I’m really, really interested in following this case because I don’t know what the answer is. And in fact some of these scientists don’t know what the answer is. Who is a woman and who is a man isn’t as easy as we think it is, especially when it comes to sports. And I’m glad it’s the CAS and not me deciding where to make that line. I’m not even sure if it’s possible to make that line.

Democrats Listen to Liberals, Hitting repugicans for Their Dangerous CDC Cuts

Democrats listened to liberals. The DCCC blamed House repugicans for cutting funds to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in online ads starting Monday. …

If you liked the ad liberals cut blaming repugican budget cuts for Ebola deaths, you’re going to love this. Because, you see, Democrats are listening to liberals and beginning to fight fire with fire.

The DCCC blamed House repugicans for cutting funds to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in online ads starting Monday (see above). The CDC fights things like the Ebola virus repugicans keep desperately trying to blame on either President Obama or the Mexican border or ISIL (in other words, anyone they hate).

Jason Easley highlighted the hidden danger posed by the cuts in his article about the liberal ad coming after repugicans for their cuts:

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins admitted that there would already be an Ebola vaccine ready if Congress would not have slashed the NIH budget, “NIH has been working on Ebola vaccines since 2001. It’s not like we suddenly woke up and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we should have something ready here…Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would’ve gone through clinical trials and would have been ready.”

Democrats are also pointing out that repugicans made these cuts while they protected tax cuts for their buddies like big oil. So, your health, 0 : rich guys getting richer, 10.

DCCC Chairman Steve Israel called out repugians in a statement, “Few issues better illustrate House repugicans’ out-of-whack priorities than their determination to protect special interest tax breaks, even when they come at the expense of our ability to fight the spread of diseases like Ebola – that’s why the DCCC is launching a national paid online effort to hold repugicans accountable for their dangerously misguided priorities.”

No more simpering Mr Nice Guy while repugicans destroy America and place us at risk abroad and at home, and then deny that cutting funding had anything to do with (insert disaster they are blaming on Obama). This is a Democratic Party with some fire, but remaining deeply rooted in their comfort zone of policy and fact.

This is not he said/she said. This is about policy and facts. There are records of votes and the records show that repugicans did this. It’s therefor not a distraction or a blame game, but a very real policy issue that voters should consider at the polls. The repubgicans should be able to defend their choice to endanger the entire country simply because they don’t believe in science and government.

Do you want to have a country that funds disease prevention in advance or would you rather play catch up after Ebola gets here? To be a person of common sense or to be an idiot, is basically the choice.

After years of liberals getting beaten up by repugicans regardless of facts while Democrats apologized from the corner, this is a welcome change. Oh, new Democratic Party, how long the liberals have waited (and by liberals, I mean reality based people of some humanity and common sense). Welcome.

Rachel Maddow Crushes repugicans for Trying to Rig Our Elections

As most liberals are well aware of, repugicans have been doing just about everything they possibly can the last few years to rig our election process. Sure, they mask these attempts in these new laws meant to “curb voter fraud” (which doesn’t exist), but anyone with even a shred of common sense knows what these laws are meant to do – disenfranchise voters who typically vote for Democrats.
Because these laws haven’t just been about ID, they’ve also made registering to vote more difficult and limited early voting times. In other words, these laws haven’t just been about simply making sure that votes are valid, they’ve been about limiting the accessibility many Americans have normally utilized to vote.
And like I’ve said countless times, anyone who’s trying to make it harder for Americans to vote should never be trusted. It’s not even debatable. I don’t care which political party you support, they shouldn’t be making it more difficult for Americans to vote – period.
But that’s exactly what many repugican-controlled state legislatures have been doing since 2010.
Well, Rachel Maddow tore into this behavior that’s become commonplace by these repugicans.
Now, I would normally transcribe a few things that she said, but then I’d be transcribing the entire video. It’s really something everyone should watch from beginning to end.
But what caught my eye is she also mentioned a study cited by Senator Bernie Sanders that was conducted by the GAO, which proved these new voter ID laws are decreasing voter turnout. In particular, among young voters and African-Americans.
Two demographics that often vote for Democrats.
Though I think the point she made which was most alarming was that these laws aren’t having any impact on voter fraud (because it doesn’t exist). Instead, they’re lowering overall voter turnout. And that’s a massive issue – even if Republicans want to try to downplay it.
Voter turnout in this country is already a big enough issue. We shouldn’t have state legislatures passing laws that lower the number of people who are turning out to vote. But that’s exactly what’s happening.
Not only that, but courts are finding these laws to be unconstitutional. As we’ve seen recently in Wisconsin and Texas where these new strict voter ID laws have been overturned by our court system. Showing that there’s a clear attempt by repugicans to skirt our Constitutional rights as much as possible to limit voting access for many Americans.
And this is an issue about which more liberals need to be outraged. We’re literally seeing repugicans rigging our elections before our very eyes. And as long as liberals sit idly by allowing this to go on, repugicans are going to keep doing it.
It’s up to us to stop them, and that starts this November. But, unfortunately, I have a feeling far too many liberals are going to “sit this one out” like they do during too many midterm elections.
Watch the segment via MSNBC:

The repugicans Attack and Mock Disabled Young Man Who Spoke Out For Wendy Davis

The repugicans were frothing so hard to get Wendy Davis that they are attacking Lamar White, a law student in his final year at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School …

A foolish Greg Abbott (r-TX) has fallen right into the trap Wendy Davis (D-TX) set for him. And I say this because there’s a particular genius Obama strategist at work on the Davis campaign, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they deliberately took the risk to roll out the wheelchair ad to get people talking about the issue, knowing that repugicans can’t resist being outraged about anything and everything as a way to avoid discussing the issues.

But as the dust settles from the outrage repugicans tried to drum up, what’s left is an ongoing debate about Greg Abbott opposing and blocking other disabled people from the same benefits he enjoyed. To make matters even worse, repugicans were frothing so hard to get Wendy Davis that they are attacking Lamar White, a law student in his final year at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School, after he advocated for state Senator Wendy Davis at a press conference she held Monday morning.

The repugicans called Mr.White a political prop and mocked him over his disability. They even highlighted a video of him being moved across the stage. Can you imagine if Wendy Davis’ ad showed Greg Abbott being carried out of his chair?

Seriously.

You see, campaign folks helped to move Mr. White’s chair across the stage when he was done speaking. Apparently repuhican media has never been around someone with a disability before, because they are clutching pearls today. A bit of the ugly:

People were not impressed, because you see, he wanted to move and asked them to move him. Apparently these wingnuts aren’t accustomed to alternatively-abled people moving in different ways than they do.

“I’m clumsy, and I fall sometimes. I didn’t want to fall on camera, so I personally asked them to slide me over in the chair… I asked them to move me. Because I was worried that if I stood up, I’d fall down on camera,” Mr. White explained to the Chron. “These critics have obviously never met someone with cerebral palsy before. Our movements are awkward. It’s part of the condition.”

Mr. White is having none of it, and is demanding an apology:

For the hypocrisy, Attorney General Greg Abbott got his and now he works actively to oppose ADA access complaints:

Attorney General Greg Abbott, who has said he supports the Americans with Disabilities Act, has tenaciously battled to block the courthouse door to disabled Texans who sue the state.

In a series of legal cases in his three terms, Abbott’s office has fought a blind pharmacy professor in Amarillo who wanted reflective tape on the stairs to her office; two deaf defendants in Laredo who asked for a qualified sign language interpreter in their courtroom; and a woman with an amputated leg. In that case, the state argued she was not disabled because she had a prosthetic limb.

Abbott, who has used a wheelchair since a tree fell on him while he was jogging and crushed his spine almost 30 years ago, applauds the 1990 federal law. It has helped provide the ramps, wide doors and access that allow him to give speeches and meet with constituents.

While Abbott, the leading repugican contender for governor, benefits from the ADA mandates that guide businesses, builders and cities, he believes it is unconstitutional to force the state to comply. He has argued that his duty is to protect the state’s autonomy and its taxpayers by using all legal tools available to him — including the argument that the state is immune from disability lawsuits brought under the ADA.

If repugicans gave a crap about alternatively-abled people, they would realize that access is king and without laws to demand access, few businesses would comply because profit rules. Thanks to the ADA, we live in a world where an alternatively-abled person can be independent, can fly, can go to college, can attend a sporting event…

The repugicans are supposed to be for freedom, but as we all know by now, if that freedom means a business might have to spend a few dollars, repugicans are against it. This leaves repugicans in the awkward position of only being able to defend their crap policies by spewing hate at random people who dare to have an opinion that differs with theirs. And so we have the hits on Mr. Lamar White, a patriot who exercised his right of free speech, much to the chagrin of the wingnuts, who seem to believe that disabled people shouldn’t or can’t have political opinions unless their name is Greg Abbott.

The wingnuts are now actively mocking the way an alternatively-abled person moves, in their attempt to smear Wendy Davis for having the temerity to show a wheelchair in her ad. This leaves us thinking that repugicans are really outraged at seeing a wheelchair mainstreamed. They’d rather not discuss it, unless Greg Abbott can use it to define his character. Which he has.

Greg Abbott got his, but no one else should.

This Video Explaining The Evidence For Evolution Will Drive wingnut ‘christians’ Crazy

Stephen D Foster Jr Across the country, wingnuts are crusading to mandate teaching 'creationism' in science class. It’s a threat to our education system that would cause science scores in America to plunge and make our nation even more of an international laughingstock among the academic community than it already is.
'Creationism' agitators inaccurately believe that all of world history occurred within a span of 6,000 years and that humans actually rode on the backs of dinosaurs. They claim there is absolutely no evidence proving the validity of evolution. But perhaps wingnuts just haven’t been taught in the correct way.
In a video created by Stated Clearly, a group of science advocates, an examination of the evidence proving the validity of evolution will likely cause any rwingnut with a jesus delusion to scream bloody murder. Clearly, the video was made with wingnuts in mind because it includes simple and colorful images that any five-year-old can understand.
As the video begins, group founder and narrator Jon Perry states that, “Thousands of observable facts from completely independent fields of study have come together to tell us the exact same story: all living things on Earth are related.”
Perry explains that Earth’s various creatures have developed and adapted for millions of years in order to survive. Using the fossil record and the findings of experts across multiple fields of scientific study, Perry and his group literally demonstrate why evolution is fact. However, because there are over eight million different species of animals on the planet, this particular video focuses on cetaceans, a group of sea animals that includes whales and dolphins.
Perry explains that biologists agree that all of these creatures evolved from a single four-legged land animal and then goes one to look at the list of evidence from comparative anatomy, embryology, fossils, DNA, species distribution, etc…
At one point, Perry describes how the evidence shows that hippos and whales have a common ancestor.

They both have multi-chambered stomachs, which is common for herbivores, but is almost unheard of for meat-eating mammals. They are both missing a coat of fur, and here’s a fun fact: whales and hippos are among the only mammals on Earth that have internal testicles.

You know, science and facts. Not a story from a 2,000 year old religious text that has absolutely zero evidence supporting it.
Here’s the entire video:

Video Link

The fact is, evolution is based on real scientific evidence while 'creationism' is not. That’s why it only belongs in cult and not in our schools. Teaching 'creationism' would only confuse students and violate the religious liberty of students who are not fundamentalist 'christians'. The only reason wingnuts are railing against evolution is because they hate anything that challenges their narrow world view. To them, it’s about keeping kids stupid so that they are easier to manipulate and indoctrinate, thus creating the next generation of ignorance.
So go ahead, show this to wingnuts and watch as they learn something or their heads explode. Either way, it should be damn entertaining.