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The One Person Archive
http://www.fastcompany.com/3022022/the-incredible-story-of-marion-stokes-who-single-handedly-taped-35-years-of-tv-news
The Incredible Story Of Marion Stokes, Who Single-Handedly Taped 35 Years Of TV News
From 1977 to 2012, she recorded 140,000 VHS tapes worth of history. Now the Internet Archive has a plan to make them public and searchable
In a storage unit somewhere in Philadelphia, 140,000 VHS tapes sit packed into four shipping containers. Most are hand-labeled with a date between 1977 and 2012, and if you pop one into a VCR you might see scenes from the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Reagan Administration, or Hurricane Katrina.
It's 35 years of history through the lens of TV news, captured on a dwindling format.
It's also the life work of Marion Stokes, who built an archive of network, local, and cable news, in her home, one tape at a time, recording every major (and trivial) news event until the day she died in 2012 at the age of 83 of lung disease.
Stokes was a former librarian who for two years co-produced a local television show with her then-future husband, John Stokes Jr. She also was engaged in civil rights issues, helping organize buses to the 1963 civil rights march on Washington, among other efforts. She began casually recording television in 1977. She taped lots of things, but she thought news was especially important, and when cable transformed it into a 24-hour affair, she began recording MSNBC, Fox, CNN, CSNBC, and CSPAN around the clock by running as many as eight television recorders at a time.
She'd feed a six-hour tape into the recorders late at night. She'd wake up early the next day to change them (or conscript family members to do the same if she wasn't home). She'd cut short meals at restaurants to rush home before tapes ended. And when she got too old to keep up, she trained a younger helper named Frank to run the various recording equipment.
But the majority of her days were structured around paying attention to and saving whatever was on the news. "Pretty much everything else took a back seat,” says her son, Michael Metelits. “It provided a certain rhythm to her life, and a certain amount of deep, deep conviction that this stuff was going to be useful. That somehow, someone would find a way to index it, archive it, store it--that it would be useful.”
Stokes bought VHS tapes by the dozen. As she recorded, she made stacks so high they would fall over. The project took over several of the apartments she owned. “It was just a logistical nightmare--that’s really the only way to put it,” Metelits says. When people asked her why her home was filled packed with televisions, recorders, and tapes, she’d tell them, “I’m archiving, that’s all.”
How One Woman’s Eccentric Hobby Became Another Man’s Treasure
To acquaintances, Stokes’s extremely time-consuming and expensive passion for archiving could seem eccentric.
Roger Macdonald thinks it's heroic. He's the librarian who runs the television portion of the Internet Archive, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a free Internet library. Since 2000, his team has been recording national television news to a digital format in hopes of one day making it all part of a searchable archive (broadcasts from the last four years are already available). His system is much simpler than Stokes’ elaborate video cassette juggling act--it’s just a very small rack of computers with discs spinning and cables going in and out--but the visions behind both projects are aligned. “Television has been our most pervasive and persuasive medium,” Macdonald says, “but we’ve never really had much of a pause and rewind button on our experience of it to reflect back on television news, to compare and contrast and mine it for knowledge.”
When Macdonald heard about Stokes’s massive archive, he emailed her son for more information. He got an answer but it only made him more curious. So he called. “Everything I learned would ratchet my eyes ever wider. How many tapes are we talking about? How did that work? How did the family live like that? It’s just an amazing, amazing story.” The Internet Archive had received large collections of 100 or 200 tapes from individuals before, but nothing quite like this.
John Lynch, the director of the Vanderbilt Television News Archive had a similar reaction. “Normally when we get someone who calls in about a collection, we try to send them somewhere else really quick, because the nature of our collection is that we record things ourselves,” he says. But there was a special significance in what Stokes had accomplished.
Early broadcast news isn’t easy to find, Lynch says, because while networks often did a good job of archiving the footage they used to make the show, they were less meticulous about saving the show itself--a pattern he attributes to “a sense of modesty on their part.” More recent news reports are more likely to be available from stations themselves, but stations typically charge an access fee.
The Vanderbilt Television News Archive is one of the most, if not the most, comprehensive collections of television in the world. It has its own news recordings going back to 1968, and researchers can borrow them on DVD for a small fee to cover the costs of operation. Having been sued by a network during its early days, however, the organization is careful about the way it shares its content (“We’ve been doing this for a long time, and we want to be careful to not mess it up,” Lynch explains). It does not post all the footage online for anyone to access instantly.
The Internet Archive does want to make a television news archive available for instant search online. But it can’t simply borrow content from some place like Vanderbilt. It relies on donations for content recorded before 2000. So Macdonald agreed to accept, digitize and index Stokes’s archive.
“Some local news will be lost forever,” he says, “but who knows, because there may be other Marion Stokeses out there who had that similar passion.”
Turning 140,000 VHS Tapes Into An Archive
The Internet Archive wasn’t sure it would be able to digitize some of the older tapes, and Metelits sent them some samples to test. Arrangements have since been made to ship the rest of the tapes to the Internet Archive’s temperature-controlled storage center in Richmond, California. Shipping will cost Stokes's estate about $12,000. When the tapes arrive, they’ll sit until someone puts them into video players, one at a time, and begins to digitize them for the archive, a process almost as arduous as recording them in the first place.
“It will take a long time,” Macdonald says, “Like the little engine that can, we’ll just keep plugging away at it.”
There weren’t any provisions for the tape collection in Stokes’s will, but anyone who knew her knew she wanted them to be used as an archive. She had been born at the beginning of the Great Depression, and like many people of her generation, saved a lot of things. Scattered throughout the family's various properties, she had stored a half-century of newspapers and 192 Macintosh computers. But the tapes were special. “I think my mother considered this her legacy,” Metelits says.
The value of home-recorded newscasts isn’t immediately obvious, but when the collection becomes public, there will likely be many unanticipated ways to use it. Lynch remembers one year, back when students at Vanderbilt still had to physically visit its archive in order to use it, he looked through the list of those who had done so. “Every single school inside the university had used us,” he says, “Which meant the fine-arts school had found a reason why they wanted to look at old TV news. What happens is that when you make a rich collection available, there are the things you thought of, the reasons why you thought it was valuable, and those may be very much right--but what happens is that it turns out it has a life beyond that.”
On a trip to San Francisco in September of this year, when he visited the archive, Metelits saw the first digitization of his mother’s work. There, on a screen, was Ted Koppel talking about the Iranian Hostage Crisis on Nightline. Metelits started to tear up. And he did again when he recounted the story. “The idea that my mother’s project could be useful to someone was really kind of an emotional moment,” he says.
He recalled how Stokes had a habit of watching two televisions at once, and her son says she could pay attention to both at the same time. Plus, there were often several more televisions running without volume in bedrooms and hallways as they recorded other channels. It was a chaotic environment for most everyone but Stokes.
The day she passed away, December 14, was also the first day in a long time that no one changed the tapes. The house was quiet and absent the usual flickering screens casting frantic shadows. “Over time, I came to respect her project, but it wasn’t my project,” Metelits says. “It did feel weird, but it felt oddly kind of... the apartments were kind of peaceful in a way they hadn’t been in a long time.”
Had the TVs been on that day, they would have all carried news of the same event: the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.
"I got to the house and this horrific news was going on," Metelits says. "Kids being killed. Teachers being killed while shielding children, that sort of thing." He takes a pause. After about a minute he breaks the silence. "I remember being very grateful that that wasn’t the last news she saw."
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http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/leonardo-da-vincis-wacky-piano-is-heard-for-the-first-time-after-500-years-20131118-2xpqs.html
Leonardo Da Vinci's wacky piano is heard for the first time, after 500 years
A bizarre instrument combining a piano and cello has finally been played to an audience more than 500 years after it was dreamt up Leonardo da Vinci.
Da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance genius who painted the Mona Lisa, invented the ‘‘viola organista’’ - which looks like a baby grand piano – but never built it, experts say.
The viola organista has now come to life, thanks to a Polish concert pianist with a flair for instrument-making and the patience and passion to interpret da Vinci’s plans.
Full of steel strings and spinning wheels, Slawomir Zubrzycki’s creation is a musical and mechanical work of art.
‘‘This instrument has the characteristics of three we know: the harpsichord, the organ and the viola da gamba,’’ Zubrzycki said as he debuted the instrument at the Academy of Music in the southern Polish city of Krakow.
The instrument’s exterior is painted in a rich midnight blue, adorned with golden swirls painted on the side. The inside of its lid is a deep raspberry inscribed with a Latin quote in gold leaf by 12th-century German nun, mystic and philosopher, Saint Hildegard.
‘‘Holy prophets and scholars immersed in the sea of arts both human and divine, dreamt up a multitude of instruments to delight the soul,’’ it says.
The flat bed of its interior is lined with golden spruce. Sixty-one gleaming steel strings run across it, similar to the inside of a baby grand.
Each is connected to the keyboard, complete with smaller black keys for sharp and flat notes. But unlike a piano, it has no hammered dulcimers. Instead, there are four spinning wheels wrapped in horse-tail hair, like violin bows.
To turn them, Zubrzycki pumps a pedal below the keyboard connected to a crankshaft. As he tinkles the keys, they press the strings down onto the wheels, emitting rich, sonorous tones reminiscent of a cello, an organ and even an accordion.
The effect is a sound that da Vinci dreamt of, but never heard; there are no historical records suggesting he or anyone else of his time built the instrument he designed.
A sketch and notes in da Vinci’s characteristic inverted script is found in his Codex Atlanticus, a 12-volume collection of his manuscripts and designs for everything from weaponry to flight.
‘‘I have no idea what Leonardo da Vinci might think of the instrument I’ve made, but I’d hope he’d be pleased,’’ said Zubrzycki, who spend three years and 5000 hours bringing da Vinci’s creation to life.
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http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/20/21982638-alleged-child-sex-abuser-caught-after-tip-from-burglar?lite
Alleged child sex abuser caught after tip from burglar
A soccer-coach has been arrested in Spain after a thief broke into his house and stole videotapes containing incriminating footage of child sex abuse, Spanish police said.
The thief must have realized what he had taken some days after the break-in and called authorities anonymously from a pay phone to say he had evidence of the alleged crimes, police in the southern city of Jaén said in a statement on Thursday.
The alleged thief left the three videotapes -- which according to police contain footage of the suspect abusing children around 10 years old -- in a brown envelope under a car in the street.
The envelope included an anonymous note with the coach's address and a short message that read: "I've had the misfortune of having the tapes fall into my hands, and feel obligated to present them to you so you can do your job and put him ... in jail for life."
Police searched the address in Jaén and arrested the coach on suspicion of child abuse. They did not release the suspect's name.
Investigators allege the man gained access to minors through his position as a coach and made them watch pornographic films before sexually abusing them.
Four alleged victims have been identified by officers, including a girl under the age of 16 who police said was abused from the age of 10.
The coach reported the burglary nine days before he was arrested. He told police electrical items had been stolen, but did not report the camera or videotapes which allegedly contained the incriminating footage.
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The One Person Archive
http://www.fastcompany.com/3022022/the-incredible-story-of-marion-stokes-who-single-handedly-taped-35-years-of-tv-news
The Incredible Story Of Marion Stokes, Who Single-Handedly Taped 35 Years Of TV News
From 1977 to 2012, she recorded 140,000 VHS tapes worth of history. Now the Internet Archive has a plan to make them public and searchable
In a storage unit somewhere in Philadelphia, 140,000 VHS tapes sit packed into four shipping containers. Most are hand-labeled with a date between 1977 and 2012, and if you pop one into a VCR you might see scenes from the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Reagan Administration, or Hurricane Katrina.
It's 35 years of history through the lens of TV news, captured on a dwindling format.
It's also the life work of Marion Stokes, who built an archive of network, local, and cable news, in her home, one tape at a time, recording every major (and trivial) news event until the day she died in 2012 at the age of 83 of lung disease.
Stokes was a former librarian who for two years co-produced a local television show with her then-future husband, John Stokes Jr. She also was engaged in civil rights issues, helping organize buses to the 1963 civil rights march on Washington, among other efforts. She began casually recording television in 1977. She taped lots of things, but she thought news was especially important, and when cable transformed it into a 24-hour affair, she began recording MSNBC, Fox, CNN, CSNBC, and CSPAN around the clock by running as many as eight television recorders at a time.
She'd feed a six-hour tape into the recorders late at night. She'd wake up early the next day to change them (or conscript family members to do the same if she wasn't home). She'd cut short meals at restaurants to rush home before tapes ended. And when she got too old to keep up, she trained a younger helper named Frank to run the various recording equipment.
But the majority of her days were structured around paying attention to and saving whatever was on the news. "Pretty much everything else took a back seat,” says her son, Michael Metelits. “It provided a certain rhythm to her life, and a certain amount of deep, deep conviction that this stuff was going to be useful. That somehow, someone would find a way to index it, archive it, store it--that it would be useful.”
Stokes bought VHS tapes by the dozen. As she recorded, she made stacks so high they would fall over. The project took over several of the apartments she owned. “It was just a logistical nightmare--that’s really the only way to put it,” Metelits says. When people asked her why her home was filled packed with televisions, recorders, and tapes, she’d tell them, “I’m archiving, that’s all.”
How One Woman’s Eccentric Hobby Became Another Man’s Treasure
To acquaintances, Stokes’s extremely time-consuming and expensive passion for archiving could seem eccentric.
Roger Macdonald thinks it's heroic. He's the librarian who runs the television portion of the Internet Archive, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a free Internet library. Since 2000, his team has been recording national television news to a digital format in hopes of one day making it all part of a searchable archive (broadcasts from the last four years are already available). His system is much simpler than Stokes’ elaborate video cassette juggling act--it’s just a very small rack of computers with discs spinning and cables going in and out--but the visions behind both projects are aligned. “Television has been our most pervasive and persuasive medium,” Macdonald says, “but we’ve never really had much of a pause and rewind button on our experience of it to reflect back on television news, to compare and contrast and mine it for knowledge.”
When Macdonald heard about Stokes’s massive archive, he emailed her son for more information. He got an answer but it only made him more curious. So he called. “Everything I learned would ratchet my eyes ever wider. How many tapes are we talking about? How did that work? How did the family live like that? It’s just an amazing, amazing story.” The Internet Archive had received large collections of 100 or 200 tapes from individuals before, but nothing quite like this.
John Lynch, the director of the Vanderbilt Television News Archive had a similar reaction. “Normally when we get someone who calls in about a collection, we try to send them somewhere else really quick, because the nature of our collection is that we record things ourselves,” he says. But there was a special significance in what Stokes had accomplished.
Early broadcast news isn’t easy to find, Lynch says, because while networks often did a good job of archiving the footage they used to make the show, they were less meticulous about saving the show itself--a pattern he attributes to “a sense of modesty on their part.” More recent news reports are more likely to be available from stations themselves, but stations typically charge an access fee.
The Vanderbilt Television News Archive is one of the most, if not the most, comprehensive collections of television in the world. It has its own news recordings going back to 1968, and researchers can borrow them on DVD for a small fee to cover the costs of operation. Having been sued by a network during its early days, however, the organization is careful about the way it shares its content (“We’ve been doing this for a long time, and we want to be careful to not mess it up,” Lynch explains). It does not post all the footage online for anyone to access instantly.
The Internet Archive does want to make a television news archive available for instant search online. But it can’t simply borrow content from some place like Vanderbilt. It relies on donations for content recorded before 2000. So Macdonald agreed to accept, digitize and index Stokes’s archive.
“Some local news will be lost forever,” he says, “but who knows, because there may be other Marion Stokeses out there who had that similar passion.”
Turning 140,000 VHS Tapes Into An Archive
The Internet Archive wasn’t sure it would be able to digitize some of the older tapes, and Metelits sent them some samples to test. Arrangements have since been made to ship the rest of the tapes to the Internet Archive’s temperature-controlled storage center in Richmond, California. Shipping will cost Stokes's estate about $12,000. When the tapes arrive, they’ll sit until someone puts them into video players, one at a time, and begins to digitize them for the archive, a process almost as arduous as recording them in the first place.
“It will take a long time,” Macdonald says, “Like the little engine that can, we’ll just keep plugging away at it.”
There weren’t any provisions for the tape collection in Stokes’s will, but anyone who knew her knew she wanted them to be used as an archive. She had been born at the beginning of the Great Depression, and like many people of her generation, saved a lot of things. Scattered throughout the family's various properties, she had stored a half-century of newspapers and 192 Macintosh computers. But the tapes were special. “I think my mother considered this her legacy,” Metelits says.
The value of home-recorded newscasts isn’t immediately obvious, but when the collection becomes public, there will likely be many unanticipated ways to use it. Lynch remembers one year, back when students at Vanderbilt still had to physically visit its archive in order to use it, he looked through the list of those who had done so. “Every single school inside the university had used us,” he says, “Which meant the fine-arts school had found a reason why they wanted to look at old TV news. What happens is that when you make a rich collection available, there are the things you thought of, the reasons why you thought it was valuable, and those may be very much right--but what happens is that it turns out it has a life beyond that.”
On a trip to San Francisco in September of this year, when he visited the archive, Metelits saw the first digitization of his mother’s work. There, on a screen, was Ted Koppel talking about the Iranian Hostage Crisis on Nightline. Metelits started to tear up. And he did again when he recounted the story. “The idea that my mother’s project could be useful to someone was really kind of an emotional moment,” he says.
He recalled how Stokes had a habit of watching two televisions at once, and her son says she could pay attention to both at the same time. Plus, there were often several more televisions running without volume in bedrooms and hallways as they recorded other channels. It was a chaotic environment for most everyone but Stokes.
The day she passed away, December 14, was also the first day in a long time that no one changed the tapes. The house was quiet and absent the usual flickering screens casting frantic shadows. “Over time, I came to respect her project, but it wasn’t my project,” Metelits says. “It did feel weird, but it felt oddly kind of... the apartments were kind of peaceful in a way they hadn’t been in a long time.”
Had the TVs been on that day, they would have all carried news of the same event: the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.
"I got to the house and this horrific news was going on," Metelits says. "Kids being killed. Teachers being killed while shielding children, that sort of thing." He takes a pause. After about a minute he breaks the silence. "I remember being very grateful that that wasn’t the last news she saw."
any old school bodybuilding contests?
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http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/31/22124881-dad-files-130m-lawsuit-after-son-in-utah-is-given-up-for-adoption?lite
Dad files $130M lawsuit after son in Utah is given up for adoption
A dad whose newborn son was given up for adoption by the birth mother — without his knowledge — is seeking $130 million in a lawsuit testing the boundaries of a biological father’s rights in Utah.
The adoption of Jake Strickland’s son just after he was born Dec. 29, 2010, was illegal and done “through gross misdirection and … clandestine conduct,” claims the suit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court of Utah.
Strickland alleges the mother, Whitney Pettersson, conspired with the adoptive parents, the adoption agency and attorneys to give up the boy — named “Baby Jack” in the suit — without allowing him to seek custody.
The complaint also strikes at Utah's parenting laws, accusing them of being “pro-adoption and anti-birth father.”
Attorney Wes Hutchins, speaking on behalf of Strickland, said his client just missed his son’s third birthday on Sunday — and is devastated that he can’t share important milestones in the boy’s life.
“It’s pulling him apart,” Hutchins told NBC News on Tuesday.
On his son's birthday, Strickland and his family gathered around a candle to sing “Happy Birthday” to his absent son, Hutchins said.
“They still think about him even though they don't have contact,” he added.
Strickland and Pettersson first met in 2009 as co-workers at a restaurant, according to court documents. Strickland said Pettersson was having problems with her marriage, and she later told him she got divorced. They began dating, and three months later, she texted him that she was pregnant.
Strickland left Utah for a temp job in Texas, but said he assured Pettersson that he wanted to be present in their child’s life, according to the lawsuit. He started a fund for the baby boy. The couple came up with a name: Jack.
But after Strickland returned to Utah, the romance dissolved. They began discussing parenting options. He said he told Pettersson that he would consider signing up with Utah’s putative father registry, which is how unmarried men can document with the state that they want parental rights.
But Strickland didn’t register. According to Hutchins, Pettersson warned him that if he did, she “would view it as an act of distrust” and keep his child from him.
“I don’t know if it was done as an act of vindictiveness,” Hutchins said.
Pettersson couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, and attorneys involved in the adoption weren’t immediately available. The adoption agency, LDS Family Services, operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Strickland continued to financially support Pettersson, who also had a child from another relationship, until her alleged lies about their son began to unravel.
On Jan. 5, 2011, Strickland said he was astonished to learn that Pettersson had given birth a week earlier — unbeknownst to him. He also learned she was still legally married, which meant her estranged husband was the presumed father under state law.
The most devastating discovery, Strickland said in the lawsuit, was that Pettersson had already given up their child for adoption.
She even got her then-husband to agree to the adoption by telling him that he would be the one saddled with child support payments if she kept the boy, according to Hutchins.
Strickland, who now lives in Arizona, mounted a paternity claim. But his fight was complicated because he had never registered with the state for his paternal rights.
Despite contesting the adoption, Strickland learned in November 2011 that it was completed.
After a 2nd U.S. District judge shot down Strickland’s bid to gain custody, he filed an appeal to the state. His case is still under review.
Concurrently, Strickland’s federal lawsuit is seeking $30 million for the loss of the parent-child relationship caused by the adoption and $100 million as a deterrent to ensure another dad doesn't suffer his fate.
Hutchins said Utah’s laws are onerous on biological fathers who try to gain custody, noting that they must file a paternity petition, get a sworn affidavit, create a detailed child care plan and prove they were financially invested in the pregnancy, among other requirements.
Strickland’s custody case, meanwhile, isn’t the only one gaining attention in Utah. In another high-profile petition, Colorado dad Robert Manzanares is fighting for sole custody of his daughter, whom he claims was unfairly given up by her birth mother when the woman fled to Utah.
Utah State Sen. Todd Weiler told NBC affiliate KSL-TV that despite the increased interest in the issue, he’s not persuaded that Utah laws need to be dramatically overhauled.
“What we’re looking at in this lawsuit and a few other high-profile lawsuits are one or two bad examples out of 10,000,” Weiler said. “I don’t think it’s good policy for the state to look at one or two exceptions and say, ‘Let’s change the laws for everyone.’”
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http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/23/22024819-new-jersey-realtors-used-clients-home-for-sexual-escapades-report?lite&lite=obinsite
New Jersey realtors used client's home for 'sexual escapades': report
A pair of realtors are accused in a lawsuit of trying to keep buyers away from a New Jersey home so they could use the place for “sexual escapades,” which were caught on camera, according to a report.
Richard and Sandra Weiner of Denville, N.J., filed a suit in Passaic County on Dec. 6 alleging that former Coldwell Banker realtors Robert Lindsay and Jeannemarie Phelan intentionally priced their house in Wayne above market values so they could use the home as a love nest in late 2011 and early 2012, reports The Record of Bergen County.
"Lindsay and Phelan, through Lindsay’s illegal and dishonest acts, used the Weiners’ home as their play pad to have sexual relations in the Weiners’ bedroom, among other places in the home," the suit states.
Lindsay told the couple repeatedly that their house would sell for $650,000 in early 2010, the news site reports. In December 2011, they had Lindsay list the home.
Then, on Dec. 27, 2011, the home's security cameras caught Lindsay and Phelan kissing and hugging in the kitchen. Afterward, cameras showed the pair of realtors going to the master bedroom and having sex on the bed, the suit states. The pair of realtors were spotted in the home nine more times over the following month.
During the realtors’ last visit on Jan. 23, 2012, The Record reports, Sandra Weiner was checking the house’s video feeds when she saw people inside and what she thought were flashlights. The couple called police, who found Lindsay pulling up his pants when they arrived. Lindsay told officers that he and Phelan were there to prepare for an open house.
Coldwell Banker ended its affiliation with Lindsay and Phelan when the brokerage firm learned about the lawsuit, the newspaper reports.
Neither of the realtors could be reached by the newspaper for comment.
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http://news.yahoo.com/legal-recreational-pot-industry-opens-colorado-150209553.html
Legal recreational pot industry opens in Colorado
DENVER (AP) — Crowds were serenaded by live music as they waited for the nation's first legal recreational pot shops to open. They ate doughnuts and funnel cakes as a glass-blower made smoking pipes. Some tourists even rode around in a limo, eager to try weed but not so eager to be seen buying it.
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And when the sales began, those who bought the drug emerged from the stores, receipt held high and carrying sealed shopping bags, to cheers.
"I'm going to frame the receipt when I go home, to remind myself of what might be possible: Legal everywhere," said musician James Aaron Ramsey, 28, who did some time in jail for pot possession in Missouri and played folk tunes with his guitar for those in line.
Activists hope he's right, and that the experiment in Colorado will prove to be a better alternative to the costly American-led drug war, produce the kind of revenue that state officials hope and save the government costs in locking up drug offenders.
Just on the first day, prices in some places rose to more than $500 an ounce, and some shops announced midafternoon they would close early because of short supply. It's too soon to say whether the price spikes and long lines will persist.
Washington state will open its pot industry later this year. Both states' programs will be watched closely not just by officials in other states, but by activists and governments in other countries because the industries will be the first to regulate the production and sale of the drug.
Some countries have decriminalized the drug, and the Netherlands lets people buy and sell it, but it's illegal to grow or process it.
Just as shops opened Wednesday, the Denver Police Department tweeted, "Do you know the law?" and linked to city websites on state and local laws that include bans on public consumption, driving under the influence, taking marijuana out of state and giving pot to anyone under 21.
Denver police said one person was issued a summons for public consumption. The Colorado State Patrol reported no pot-related incidents. No pot-related incidents were reported at Denver International Airport, where signs warned travelers that they can't take the drug home.
At least 24 pot shops in eight towns opened. In Denver, pot users welcomed the new year and the new industry by firing up bongs and cheering in a cloud of marijuana smoke at a 1920s-themed "Prohibition Is Over" party — a reference to the 1930s-era law that outlawed marijuana.
Shopper Jacob Elliott said he wrote reports in college about the need to end pot prohibition, but never thought it could happen in his lifetime.
"This breaks that barrier," said Elliott, who traveled to Colorado from Leesburg, Va., to be among the first to buy legal weed.
Preparation for the retail market started more than a year ago, soon after Colorado and Washington voters in 2012 approved legal pot industries. Uruguay passed a law in December to become the first nation to regulate pot, but regulatory system isn't in place yet.
Pot advocates, who had long pushed legalization as an alternative to the drug war, had argued it would generate revenue for state coffers — and in Colorado's case to support education — and save money by not locking up low-level drug offenders.
"I feel good about it. The money's going to schools," said shopper Joseph Torres of Denver.
The price for high-quality weed at some shops was around $400 an ounce. That's about four times what smokers are paying on the black market in Colorado, according to crowd-sourced Internet surveys. Much of the extra cost was attributed to state and local taxes in excess of 25 percent.
People who were waiting in line shared their pot incarceration stories over coffee and funnel cakes.
"Trafficking conviction. Nineteen years old. For a plant, how stupid," said 24-year-old Brandon Harris, who drove 20 hours from Blanchester, Ohio.
Colorado set up an elaborate plant-tracking system to try to keep the drug away from the black market, and regulators set up packaging, labeling and testing requirements, along with potency limits for edible pot.
The U.S. Justice Department outlined an eight-point slate of priorities for pot regulation, requiring states to keep the drug away from minors, criminal cartels, federal property and other states in order to avoid a federal crackdown.
With the additional police patrols, the airport warnings and various other measures, officials hoped they have enough safeguards in place to avoid predictions of public health and safety harm from the opening of the pot shops.
A group of addiction counselors and physicians said they're seeing more marijuana addiction problems, especially in youths, and that wider pot availability will exacerbate the problem.
"This is just throwing gas on the fire," said Ben Cort of the Colorado Center for Dependency, Addiction & Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado Hospital.
Some medical marijuana patients groups say they're worried about supply. That's because the retail inventory for recreational use is coming entirely from the preexisting medical inventory. Many in the industry warned patients to stock up before the sales began.
It was too soon to tell whether prices for medical marijuana patients were going up.
For now, they should have plenty of places to shop. Most of Colorado's 500 or so medical marijuana shops haven't applied to sell recreational pot, and many that have plan to serve both recreational and medical patients
The industry has not just given rise to shops, but a whole line of other businesses, including tours.
Addison Morris, owner of Rocky Mountain Mile High Tours, had 10 clients waiting inside a limo who paid $295 for three hours of chauffeuring by a "marijuana concierge" who would help them choose strains and edible pot products.
Morris said she's booked through the end of February with out-of-state clients, who get samples in designer bags. And for the tours, guests are asked to leave cameras at home. She said she's selling discretion.
"We're your grandmother's pot connection," the 63-year-old said.
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http://laughingsquid.com/isaac-asimovs-predictions-for-the-year-2014-that-he-made-in-1964/
Isaac Asimov’s Predictions for the Year 2014 That He Made For 50 Years in the Future in 1964
After visiting the New York World’s Fair in 1964, Isaac Asimov was inspired to make some predictions about the world in the year 2014, 50 years in the future. His predictions, published in the New York Times, included many remarkably accurate forecasts—that robots would be cleaning up around the house, we’d we watching 3-D movies, and riding self-driving cars. He also predicted earth’s population at 6.5 billion (it’s actually 7 billion today). Some of his predictions were a little too optimistic however: moon bases, flying cars powered by compressed air, and the widespread use of the underground home.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-fair.html
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/01/07/trevor-connor-and-austin-bartz-build-16-foot-snow-shark-minnesota
3 Minnesota Brothers Build 16-Foot Snow Shark!
Three Minnesota brothers made the most of the extreme weather, building a 16-foot-high shark out of snow.
It took Trevor, Connor and Austin Bartz 95 hours to make the massive sculpture, which is on display in their parents' front yard.
Living in Minnesota, they probably get a lot of practice with snow-sculpting.
The three brothers had previously made a pufferfish and a walrus..
The Bartz brothers explained how they make the snow sculptures this morning on America’s Newsroom.
If you're in the New Brighton, Minnesota area and want to check it out, it should be there for a while. The current temperature is -8 degrees Fahrenheit.
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http://compliancex.com/dozens-of-former-new-york-police-and-firemen-in-911-disability-fraud/?utm_source=CompliancEX+Newsletter+January+8%2C+2014&utm_campaign=Got+a+Swiss+Bank+Account%3F&utm_medium=email
Dozens of former New York police and firemen in 9/11 disability fraud
Dozens of US former emergency service workers have been arrested in a sweeping fraud investigation involving federal disability benefits, New York authorities say.
Prosecutors say 72 police officers, eight firefighters and five corrections officers are among those charged.
Some reportedly falsely claimed disabling conditions arising from the 11 September 2001 attacks.
The fraud is believed to have cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The brazenness is shocking,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said on Tuesday.
“Many participants cynically manufactured claims of mental illness as a result of September 11, dishonouring the first responders who did serve their city at the expense of their own health and safety,” he added.
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http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/14/travel/china-titanic-replica/
Chinese theme park to reenact Titanic iceberg collision
(CNN) -- A Chinese company plans to build a full-scale replica of RMS Titanic, complete with a simulation of an iceberg collision, at a theme park in Daying County, Sichuan Province, China.
The RMB 1 billion ($165 million) model will be one of the key attractions at the Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort, which will also feature a museum dedicated to the 1912 maritime tragedy, a man-made beach, Turkish baths and what is being called a "6D cinema."
The park is slated to open in 2016.
The ship's design will be based on the blueprint of Titanic's sister ship, RMS Olympic, and produced in a shipyard in Hubei Province, developer Seven Star Energy Investment Group said in an interview with Xinhua news.
The sinking of the Titanic, on its maiden journey from Southampton to New York, resulted in more than 1,500 deaths and inspired James Cameron's hit film.
The South China Morning Post said the replica will be permanently docked on the Qi River, some 930 miles from the nearest coast. But visitors will get to safely experience an iceberg "collision" thanks to a high-tech simulation involving light and sound effects.
"There are museums dedicated to Titanic in the U.S. and Europe," said Su Shaojun, chairman of Seven Star. "It's time for China to honor the spirit of human responsibility -- how passengers tried to save one another as the ship sank."
Last year Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced he would be funding a working replica of the Titanic -- the Titanic II cruise. That ship is also being made by a Chinese shipyard and plans to set sail in the same year the theme park opens.
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/01/11/weight-lifting-grandma-tackles-purse-thief
Caught on Camera: Weight Lifting Grandma Tackles Purse Thief
Don’t mess with this grandma! A weight-lifting grandmother of six, Shirley Rupp, tackled a man who tried to steal her purse.
The incident was caught on a surveillance camera. The 64-year-old said the man snuck up behind her in Tucson, Arizona on New Year’s Day.
Rupp credits her weight-lighting with being able to take him down. The thief dropped her wallet before running away. He is still on the loose.
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http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/31/22124881-dad-files-130m-lawsuit-after-son-in-utah-is-given-up-for-adoption?lite
Dad files $130M lawsuit after son in Utah is given up for adoption
A dad whose newborn son was given up for adoption by the birth mother — without his knowledge — is seeking $130 million in a lawsuit testing the boundaries of a biological father’s rights in Utah.
The adoption of Jake Strickland’s son just after he was born Dec. 29, 2010, was illegal and done “through gross misdirection and … clandestine conduct,” claims the suit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court of Utah.
Strickland alleges the mother, Whitney Pettersson, conspired with the adoptive parents, the adoption agency and attorneys to give up the boy — named “Baby Jack” in the suit — without allowing him to seek custody.
The complaint also strikes at Utah's parenting laws, accusing them of being “pro-adoption and anti-birth father.”
Attorney Wes Hutchins, speaking on behalf of Strickland, said his client just missed his son’s third birthday on Sunday — and is devastated that he can’t share important milestones in the boy’s life.
“It’s pulling him apart,” Hutchins told NBC News on Tuesday.
On his son's birthday, Strickland and his family gathered around a candle to sing “Happy Birthday” to his absent son, Hutchins said.
“They still think about him even though they don't have contact,” he added.
Strickland and Pettersson first met in 2009 as co-workers at a restaurant, according to court documents. Strickland said Pettersson was having problems with her marriage, and she later told him she got divorced. They began dating, and three months later, she texted him that she was pregnant.
Strickland left Utah for a temp job in Texas, but said he assured Pettersson that he wanted to be present in their child’s life, according to the lawsuit. He started a fund for the baby boy. The couple came up with a name: Jack.
But after Strickland returned to Utah, the romance dissolved. They began discussing parenting options. He said he told Pettersson that he would consider signing up with Utah’s putative father registry, which is how unmarried men can document with the state that they want parental rights.
But Strickland didn’t register. According to Hutchins, Pettersson warned him that if he did, she “would view it as an act of distrust” and keep his child from him.
“I don’t know if it was done as an act of vindictiveness,” Hutchins said.
Pettersson couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, and attorneys involved in the adoption weren’t immediately available. The adoption agency, LDS Family Services, operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Strickland continued to financially support Pettersson, who also had a child from another relationship, until her alleged lies about their son began to unravel.
On Jan. 5, 2011, Strickland said he was astonished to learn that Pettersson had given birth a week earlier — unbeknownst to him. He also learned she was still legally married, which meant her estranged husband was the presumed father under state law.
The most devastating discovery, Strickland said in the lawsuit, was that Pettersson had already given up their child for adoption.
She even got her then-husband to agree to the adoption by telling him that he would be the one saddled with child support payments if she kept the boy, according to Hutchins.
Strickland, who now lives in Arizona, mounted a paternity claim. But his fight was complicated because he had never registered with the state for his paternal rights.
Despite contesting the adoption, Strickland learned in November 2011 that it was completed.
After a 2nd U.S. District judge shot down Strickland’s bid to gain custody, he filed an appeal to the state. His case is still under review.
Concurrently, Strickland’s federal lawsuit is seeking $30 million for the loss of the parent-child relationship caused by the adoption and $100 million as a deterrent to ensure another dad doesn't suffer his fate.
Hutchins said Utah’s laws are onerous on biological fathers who try to gain custody, noting that they must file a paternity petition, get a sworn affidavit, create a detailed child care plan and prove they were financially invested in the pregnancy, among other requirements.
Strickland’s custody case, meanwhile, isn’t the only one gaining attention in Utah. In another high-profile petition, Colorado dad Robert Manzanares is fighting for sole custody of his daughter, whom he claims was unfairly given up by her birth mother when the woman fled to Utah.
Utah State Sen. Todd Weiler told NBC affiliate KSL-TV that despite the increased interest in the issue, he’s not persuaded that Utah laws need to be dramatically overhauled.
“What we’re looking at in this lawsuit and a few other high-profile lawsuits are one or two bad examples out of 10,000,” Weiler said. “I don’t think it’s good policy for the state to look at one or two exceptions and say, ‘Let’s change the laws for everyone.’”
Wow,
OMG Poor guy. :'( That woman is some piece of work. She appears to be one heckuva manipulative woman
But Strickland didn’t register. According to Hutchins, Pettersson warned him that if he did, she “would view it as an act of distrust” and keep his child from him.
“I don’t know if it was done as an act of vindictiveness,” Hutchins said.
I'm shaking my head in disbelief over this statement. She threatened to keep his child from him if he didn't do what she wanted, ...and he questions whether or not she is vindictive?
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http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/31/22527053-woman-put-fecal-matter-in-husbands-iv-police-say?lite
Woman put fecal matter in husband's IV, police say
An Arizona woman has been accused of trying to kill her hospitalized husband by injecting fecal matter into his IV line, police in suburban Phoenix said Friday.
Rose Mary Vogel of Sun Lakes was arrested Thursday on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder after a nurse found the 65-year-old handling her husband's IV line, which was found to contain a brown substance, police said. Police don't have a possible motive.
A hospital lab test identified the brown substance in the IV line as fecal matter, and a trace amount of a brown substance also was found in the needle of an otherwise empty syringe found in Vogel's purse, police said.
When it was searched in the hospital, Vogel's purse contained a total of three syringes, including two with a clear liquid, police said. Police documents said Vogel is a retired registered nurse who formerly worked at the hospital, Chandler Regional Medical Center.
Investigators plan to conduct forensic tests on all the materials involved over the next week or two, police Sgt. Joe Favazzo said However, the hospital had to test the brown substance in the IV line immediately for treatment purposes.
"The lab came back with fecal matter," he said.
The incident occurred after the 66-year-old man had undergone a heart procedure. He's expected to survive that, as well as the alleged attempt on his life.
Vogel declined to be interviewed by police and asked for an attorney. Favazzo said he didn't know whether she has one yet. Her bond was set at $100,000 at her initial court appearance Friday.
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http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/former-300-pound-nfl-lineman-runs-356-marathon?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-News-_-NFLLinemanMarathon
Former 300-Pound NFL Lineman Runs 3:56 Marathon
Alan Faneca made debut at Sunday's New Orleans Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
After dropping more than 100 pounds since retiring from the NFL in 2011, former offensive lineman Alan Faneca ran his first marathon Sunday in 3:56:17.
Faneca, 37, started training for the New Orleans Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon back in October after chatting with his former Pittsburgh Steelers. He followed a training plan made by a friend but said he was still nervous on race day.
“I was very nervous about going from the slow long run pace to all of a sudden running 30-45 seconds faster,” he said. “I got the adrenaline thing but adrenaline doesn’t last for four hours.”
During his training, Faneca focused on running for time instead of distance and incorporated intervals and long runs in order to meet his goal of breaking 4 hours. He said his discipline from his football days helped keep him on track while training for the marathon.
“I was always very strict in my training, taking notes and writing things down,” he said. “I had something to lean on.”
He picked the New Orleans race because it’s close to his home just outside the city limits and his 8-year-old daughter Annabelle, and 2-year-old son Burton could go.
“They made the signs and everything,” he said. “They made it to the finish line five minutes before I came across.”
Faneca celebrated his 26.2-mile accomplishment with an Abita beer at the finish line.
“A lot of people ask me, do I miss football? I don’t miss football but what I do miss is that first beer after a game," he said. "I had the same feeling after the race.”
Faneca was a first round draft pick in 1998 when he was drafted from Louisiana State University to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Faneca, who now lives in Louisiana, also played professionally for the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, earning nine-time All Pro and Pro Bowl selection as well as a Super Bowl ring in 2006 with the Steelers.
Faneca went from weighing 320 pounds to 215 after his football career ended. He said that by cutting back on his daily calories and sticking to a six-days-a-week cardio plan, he was able to take the weight off easily.
“For athletes, when you stop [playing] you have to realize you can’t keep eating the things you were eating because you’re not doing the things you were doing,” said Faneca, who reduced his calorie intake to 1,800 calories a day after he retired.
Faneca said his family tried the paleo diet for three and a half months and while they don’t eat strictly paleo anymore, they stick to the diet’s principles of clean eating.
“We stay away from heavy carbs and gluten, but we’re heavy on vegetables and protein,” he said.
Faneca said he doesn’t have any other marathons on his schedule soon, but is considering a duathlon.
“I just want to mix it up and have some fun,” he said.
(http://www.runnersworld.com/sites/default/files/steelersmarathon_0.jpg)
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http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/31/22527053-woman-put-fecal-matter-in-husbands-iv-police-say?lite
Woman put fecal matter in husband's IV, police say
He's now justified to stand his ground.
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http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304626804579363013633022416?mod=dist_smartbrief
Port Authority Funds PATH Link to Newark Airport
$1.5 Billion Project is in Capital Spending Plan, Along With Airport Renovations
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will forge ahead with a $1.5 billion plan to connect its PATH train system to the rail station at Newark Liberty International Airport, officials said Tuesday.
The PATH extension to the airport from its current terminus in downtown Newark is a key priority of New Jersey officials at the bistate authority. It also has drawn support from real estate interests in downtown Manhattan, who believe a quicker connection to a key regional airport will boost the competitiveness of a rebounding residential and office district.
The announcement comes as part of the Port Authority's proposed 10-year, $27.6 billion capital spending plan, which was unveiled Tuesday morning at a committee meeting of the authority's Board of Commissioners. The spending plan had been delayed for months by wrangling within the agency, as representatives of New York and New Jersey negotiated over which of the states' respective priorities would get funding, officials said.
Among the other big-ticket projects the authority will commit to completing by 2023 are $8 billion in upgrades to two of its most-maligned facilities: the Central Terminal Building at La Guardia Airport and Terminal A at Newark. The authority will also spend to upgrade PATH stations, improve access to container port facilities and continue major repair operations, such as the $1.2 billion project to replace the 85-year-old suspender cables that support the roadways across the George Washington Bridge.
Officials hailed the plan as part of a continuing effort to return the authority to its core mission: building and maintaining the transportation infrastructure that links the states and the region. The agency recently endured more than a decade of politically contentious efforts to rebuild the World Trade Center complex and continues to absorb criticism after apparently politically motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge last year.
The authority will focus on keeping its costs in balance and managing its debts as the capital plan is adjusted over the next decade, Vice Chairman Scott Rechler said. If costs increase, some projects will have to "exit" the authority's agenda, or new sources of capital will have to be developed to pay for them, he added.
"We're going to pay as we go, and if we can't afford to do something, we're not going to do it," Commissioner David Steiner said.
New Jersey officials have lobbied hard for the PATH extension, including the now-departed deputy executive director of the authority, Bill Baroni, who resigned in the bridge scandal. In September, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Baroni, in negotiations to bring major air-carrier service to Atlantic City International Airport, had suggested that the authority would be willing to complement new service by building the rail link to Newark.
United Airlines eventually announced a decision to extend service to Atlantic City, and an airline spokesman said at the time that discussions of the PATH extension project were "irrelevant to the Atlantic City service." United is the dominant airline at Newark, carrying about 70% of the passengers who use the airport annually.
The project has strong support from groups that have lobbied to improve the region's airports, such as the nonprofit Global Gateway Alliance.
"Extending PATH from the World Trade Center stop directly to Newark Airport is affordable," the group's Chairman, Joe Sitt, said Tuesday. "It is doable, requiring a less than two mile track extension from Newark Penn Station, rather than having to dig a new tunnel or build flyovers. It is good for New York. It is good for New Jersey."
Officials inside and outside the authority have questioned whether the PATH spending should be as high a priority as it has been in the new capital plan. Several pointed to ongoing state-of-good-repair needs at the authority's two tunnels and four bridges.
A port spokesman said that about $1.2 billion of the $1.5 billion total PATH project cost will be spent over the decade covered by the plan.
Meanwhile, the authority still must cope with its most eye-catching and politically delicate project of all: in the next five years, it will spend $4.9 billion to complete the development of the World Trade Center complex in lower Manhattan, officials said.
(http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-CV283_NYPATH_G_20140204182406.jpg)
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/02/18/caught-tape-sleepy-bus-driver-goes-road-slams-boise-idaho-building
Some scary video was shown this morning on Fox and Friends out of Boise, Idaho, where a bus driver fell asleep at the wheel.
You can see the bus veer off the road and slam into several lampposts and street signs. Then it careens through a parking lot and eventually crashes through the Idaho Power headquarters, causing significant damage.
Luckily no one was walking in the path of the bus. Nine people were aboard during the crash last month, but no one was seriously hurt.
The driver originally claimed the brakes had failed, but he was later charged with misdemeanor negligent driving after the video showed him falling asleep.
Officials released the dashcam video yesterday.
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http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/most-interesting-man-in-the-world--mexican-skier-hubertus-von-hohenlohe-100207496.html
Most interesting man in the world: Mexican skier Hubertus von Hohenlohe
He is a German pop star who has put out eight albums, with his newest record featuring the single, "Higher Than Mars." He's also an award-winning photographer whose work has been featured in galleries and commercial campaigns. Fluent in five languages, an heir to an automotive fortune and a former friend to Andy Warhol during the days of Studio 54, 55-year-old six-time Olympian Hubertus von Hohenlohe, ahem, Prince Hubertus von Hohenlohe (he is a descendent of German royalty), is representing Mexico on the Alpine ski course in Sochi. He has never medaled, but von Hohenlohe is the second-oldest Winter Olympian ever in the history of the Games.
Von Hohenlohe is the real-life most interesting man in the world.
Although he grew up in Europe, von Hohenlohe was born in Mexico and spent the first four years of his life there. He has dual citizenship in Austria and the Latin American country, which allows him to represent Mexico at the Games.
The prince began competitively skiing while a student in Austria, and at 21, he won the university downhill championship and then began participating in the World Cup circuit. In 1981, the citizen of the world founded the one-man Mexican Ski Federation and then represented Mexico at his first Winter Games in the 1984 Sarajevo Games.
"I hope Mexicans are proud to have someone at the Olympics and, through that, hopefully they get to know who I am,” Von Hohenlohe told NBC.
Von Hohenlohe has become more known for his popular garb on the slopes than his final Olympic results, though. In Vancouver, he wore a ski suit inspired by Mexican banditos, which featured fake pistols and bandoliers. Last week, he showed off his newest outfit -- a Mariachi-style ski uniform that he will wear in this year's game. The skier said the suit is meant to pay homage for the country he is representing.
"We [in Mexico] are 100 million people and the only chance we have [of winning a medal] is up to me, but we don't have to look at it like that, you have to see it as I'm an ambassador of this country, an ambassador with style and a human force that goes beyond the result, " he told CNN.
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http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/31/22124881-dad-files-130m-lawsuit-after-son-in-utah-is-given-up-for-adoption?lite
Dad files $130M lawsuit after son in Utah is given up for adoption
A dad whose newborn son was given up for adoption by the birth mother — without his knowledge — is seeking $130 million in a lawsuit testing the boundaries of a biological father’s rights in Utah.
The adoption of Jake Strickland’s son just after he was born Dec. 29, 2010, was illegal and done “through gross misdirection and … clandestine conduct,” claims the suit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court of Utah.
Strickland alleges the mother, Whitney Pettersson, conspired with the adoptive parents, the adoption agency and attorneys to give up the boy — named “Baby Jack” in the suit — without allowing him to seek custody.
The complaint also strikes at Utah's parenting laws, accusing them of being “pro-adoption and anti-birth father.”
Attorney Wes Hutchins, speaking on behalf of Strickland, said his client just missed his son’s third birthday on Sunday — and is devastated that he can’t share important milestones in the boy’s life.
“It’s pulling him apart,” Hutchins told NBC News on Tuesday.
On his son's birthday, Strickland and his family gathered around a candle to sing “Happy Birthday” to his absent son, Hutchins said.
“They still think about him even though they don't have contact,” he added.
Strickland and Pettersson first met in 2009 as co-workers at a restaurant, according to court documents. Strickland said Pettersson was having problems with her marriage, and she later told him she got divorced. They began dating, and three months later, she texted him that she was pregnant.
Strickland left Utah for a temp job in Texas, but said he assured Pettersson that he wanted to be present in their child’s life, according to the lawsuit. He started a fund for the baby boy. The couple came up with a name: Jack.
But after Strickland returned to Utah, the romance dissolved. They began discussing parenting options. He said he told Pettersson that he would consider signing up with Utah’s putative father registry, which is how unmarried men can document with the state that they want parental rights.
But Strickland didn’t register. According to Hutchins, Pettersson warned him that if he did, she “would view it as an act of distrust” and keep his child from him.
“I don’t know if it was done as an act of vindictiveness,” Hutchins said.
Pettersson couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, and attorneys involved in the adoption weren’t immediately available. The adoption agency, LDS Family Services, operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Strickland continued to financially support Pettersson, who also had a child from another relationship, until her alleged lies about their son began to unravel.
On Jan. 5, 2011, Strickland said he was astonished to learn that Pettersson had given birth a week earlier — unbeknownst to him. He also learned she was still legally married, which meant her estranged husband was the presumed father under state law.
The most devastating discovery, Strickland said in the lawsuit, was that Pettersson had already given up their child for adoption.
She even got her then-husband to agree to the adoption by telling him that he would be the one saddled with child support payments if she kept the boy, according to Hutchins.
Strickland, who now lives in Arizona, mounted a paternity claim. But his fight was complicated because he had never registered with the state for his paternal rights.
Despite contesting the adoption, Strickland learned in November 2011 that it was completed.
After a 2nd U.S. District judge shot down Strickland’s bid to gain custody, he filed an appeal to the state. His case is still under review.
Concurrently, Strickland’s federal lawsuit is seeking $30 million for the loss of the parent-child relationship caused by the adoption and $100 million as a deterrent to ensure another dad doesn't suffer his fate.
Hutchins said Utah’s laws are onerous on biological fathers who try to gain custody, noting that they must file a paternity petition, get a sworn affidavit, create a detailed child care plan and prove they were financially invested in the pregnancy, among other requirements.
Strickland’s custody case, meanwhile, isn’t the only one gaining attention in Utah. In another high-profile petition, Colorado dad Robert Manzanares is fighting for sole custody of his daughter, whom he claims was unfairly given up by her birth mother when the woman fled to Utah.
Utah State Sen. Todd Weiler told NBC affiliate KSL-TV that despite the increased interest in the issue, he’s not persuaded that Utah laws need to be dramatically overhauled.
“What we’re looking at in this lawsuit and a few other high-profile lawsuits are one or two bad examples out of 10,000,” Weiler said. “I don’t think it’s good policy for the state to look at one or two exceptions and say, ‘Let’s change the laws for everyone.’”
It's a hard life for a dad. You have no say in an abortion, or for custody and support.
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http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-57619421-78/htc-chairwoman-our-smartwatch-will-be-ready-by-christmas/?ftag=CAD9f89b0c
HTC chairwoman: Our smartwatch will be ready by Christmas
Here's one more potential item for your holiday wish list: a smartwatch that HTC promises will be fashionable. Another project for HTC: Tablets
BARCELONA, Spain -- HTC's smartwatch is indeed real, and it'll be here in time for the Christmas shopping season.
That's according to HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang, who confirmed to CNET that the company is working on a smartwatch and that it will be ready for the holiday season.
"It's natural for us to have wearables because we're a design company," Wang said.
Wang agreed with this reporter's assessment that many of the current smartwatches in the market lack aesthetic appeal, and promised that HTC's offering will be fashionable.
"People think watches are jewels," she said, making the point that any wearable would have to match that design standard.
HTC knows a thing or two about design, and its metal-clad HTC One is considered one of the best-looking smartphones in the market, in some ways outdoing even the iPhone 5S's nearly all-metal body.
In addition to aesthetics, Wang said that HTC will focus on battery efficiency, noting that people don't want to have to take off their watch to charge it all the time.
Wang added that HTC's smartwatch will likely tether to a smartphone via Bluetooth, rather than work independently with its own cellular radio.
Another area that HTC is looking at is tablets. She said it makes sense for the company to be in this area, and that it is something we could see this year.
Wang and CEO Peter Chou held their Mobile World Congress press conference to unveil two new mid-tier phones, the Desire 610 and 816, which the company hopes will make it more competitive with consumers who are more budget-conscious.
Many, of course, were hoping for the successor to the HTC One. But the company made it clear it will launch the phone at a separate event on March 25. Wang declined to give any details on the next phone, only asking for a little bit of patience.
Another HTC executive did note that the next flagship will be significantly different than the HTC One, although the person noted that it won't be as big of a jump as between the HTC One X and HTC One.
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/03/05/pregnant-mom-drives-minivan-3-kids-ocean-daytona-beach
'Mommy's Trying to Kill Us': Pregnant Mom Drives Minivan With 3 Kids Into Ocean
It was a terrifying scene at Daytona Beach in Florida on Tuesday afternoon. A pregnant mother drove her minivan with her three children inside into the ocean.
Steve Harrigan reported that the incident happened yesterday around 5:00 p.m. ET. It is legal to drive on parts of Daytona Beach, but beachgoers were startled when the minivan turned toward the surf.
Video above shows people running toward the minivan to help. One person was able to pull two of the kids, ages 9 and 10, to safety. Before the vehicle submerged, a lifeguard pulled out a three-year-old girl strapped to a car seat. That lifeguard became stuck in the van and had to be rescued by another lifeguard.
The mother escaped through the window.
Witnesses say that one of the older kids was screaming that their mom was trying to kill them.
WESH 2 in Orlando spoke to Tim Tesseneer, of North Carolina, who said he was one of the people who helped rescue the family.
Tesseneer told WESH 2, "The two in the back seat was crying, with their arms out saying 'Our mommy's trying to kill us, please help.”
Police say the woman is being cooperative and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. The three kids were held overnight in the hospital, but reportedly suffered no serious physical injuries. Officials say they could be placed in their grandparents’ custody.
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http://laughingsquid.com/new-world-trade-center-transportation-hub-in-new-york-city-well-on-its-way-to-completion/
New World Trade Center Transportation Hub In New York City Well On Its Way To Completion
The tragic events of September 11, 2001 have taken an enormous toll on so many people across the country and around the world. New Yorkers are reminded everyday of the tragedy when they look south and don’t see the Twin Towers that so definitively graced the Manhattan skyline. Even 13 years later, one can’t help but look for them. Slowly, however, the World Trade Center is being rebuilt, a piece at a time. One World Trade Center is now the tallest building in the United States. The new WTC Transportation Hub is also being built with a stunning modern design to serve an incredible number of visitors. The showpiece of the hub will be the Oculus, which will serve as the hub’s main concourse containing multi-level retail and restaurants.
The state-of-the-art World Trade Center Transportation Hub, when completed in 2015, will serve over 200,000 daily commuters and millions of annual visitors from around the world. At approximately 800,000 square feet, the Hub, designed by internationally acclaimed architect Santiago Calatrava, will be the third largest transportation center in New York City, rivaling Grand Central Station in size. In a joint venture with the Westfield Group, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will develop, lease and operate a major retail space at the WTC site, including in the Transit Hub.
(http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WTC-66-Oculus-Segments-76-Upper-Portals-640x474.jpg)
(http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WTC-Hub-Exterior-640x394.jpg)
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http://www.guy-Climbs-World-Trade-Center-Spire-Security-Photos-Trespass-Freedom-Tower-251176781.html?partner=xfinity1
New Jersey Boy, 16, Slips by Security, Climbs to Top of 1 World Trade Center to Take Photos
A New Jersey teenager fascinated by the construction of 1 World Trade Center scrambled though a hole in a fence at ground zero in the middle of the night and made his way past several layers of security to the top of the tower, where he took pictures for hours.
According to court papers, 16-year-old Justin Casquejo told authorities he first canvassed the construction site and figured out the best way to get to the roof.
Around 4 a.m. Sunday, Casquejo sneaked out of his home and headed to lower Manhattan. He crawled through a hole in the fence at the World Trade Center site, then got on an elevator, and, even though he had no identification on him, the operator took him to the 88th floor, the New York Post reported.
The teen then climbed the stairs to the 104th floor, where the Post says he passed a sleeping guard assigned to cover the top of the tower, got out to the roof and made his way up to the antenna.
Casquejo wasn't caught until he was coming back down from his two-hour photo excursion. A construction worker spotted him and alerted authorities. He was taken into custody by Port Authority police and charged with misdemeanor trespassing. His camera and cellphone were seized after authorities obtained a search warrant.
Officials believe the teenager may have donned a hard hat to try to disguise himself as a construction worker, the Post reports. He told the Post he wasn't allowed to talk about the case.
He waved to an NBC 4 New York reporter outside his home Thursday morning but didn't answer questions. Casquejo is next due in court April 2.
His Facebook page is filled with photos of him posing near 1 World Trade Center and mentions a litany of past daredevil exploits. But the fact he was able to get by a security system designed to protect a terror target raises other concerns.
The Port Authority Police Department, the NYPD and a private security company all are responsible for securing the outside of the site. A private company patrols the interior.
Joe Dunne, chief security officer for the Port Authority, told the Associated Press that any security breaches are taken seriously and will be prosecuted.
"We continue to reassess our security posture at the site and are constantly working to make this site as secure as possible," Dunne said.
According to the Post, the guard who was sleeping at the top of the tower was fired. The elevator operator who took the teenager to the 88th floor has been re-assigned.
Neither the NYPD nor the private companies responded to the Post's requests for comment.
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(http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WTC-Hub-Exterior-640x394.jpg)
impressive
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http://www.today.com/moms/mom-insane-pumping-skills-sets-guinness-record-breast-milk-donation-2D79408678?__source=xfinity|mod&par=xfinity
Mom with 'insane' pumping skills sets Guinness record for breast milk donation
Amelia Boomker is a mom of four who has nourished thousands of children, even as she had trouble breast-feeding her own.
Boomker has just set the Guinness World Record for breast milk donation by giving 16,321 fluid ounces of milk, more than 127 gallons, to the Indiana Mothers' Milk Bank in Indianapolis between 2008 and 2013.
That’s the breast milk equivalent of 816 Venti lattes at Starbucks or 241 2-liter bottles of Coke, the milk bank has calculated, calling it a rare feat.
Boomker, who lives in Bolingbrook, Ill., said she’s proud she’s been able produce plenty of milk for her kids, and have plenty to share.
“We joke that there was probably a wet nurse somewhere in the family tree,” Boomker, 36, told TODAY Moms.
“I hope that the record continues to get beaten because frankly that means much more milk is getting donated.”
She’s actually broken that record already – unofficially – since she previously donated 7,000 ounces to another milk bank, though that donation wasn’t documented.
For all of that abundance, Boomker was never able to successfully breast-feed her own four boys. Her oldest son Danny was born with a heart condition nine years ago and had to be tube-fed, so she spent lots of time in the hospital’s lactation room to provide milk.
Liam, 6, had a high palate and couldn’t latch. Ryan, 4, never took to breastfeeding, while Connor, who is 18 months old, was only able to do it for a few weeks.
Boomker pumped after each pregnancy to ensure the boys were fed with her breast milk and she donated any excess. She’s planned her life around pumping and said consistency is the key to keep her supply up.
Experts are in awe. The Indiana Mothers' Milk Bank approves some 500 moms for donation each year and only about 1 percent of them are as skilled as Boomker, said spokeswoman Carissa Hawkins.
“Our goal is for our moms to be pumping in a healthy manner. So it’s not as though we encourage moms to pump an excess amount of milk to go for something like the world record,” Hawkins noted.
“It just so happens that Amelia — she has some pumping skills… it’s just insane.”
Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank provides pasteurized donor human milk by prescription or physician order to hospitals throughout the Midwest, with priority given to premature and ill infants in neonatal intensive care units. The milk is processed and dispensed according to guidelines established by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America.
Boomker’s collective donation translates into 4,000 milk bottles, helping save lives and feeding thousands of children, Hawkins said.
Meanwhile, Boomker — who is an IT professional — credits her employer’s flexibility and understanding for the continued donations. She’s been able to work while pumping in a lactation room, she said, and continues to express milk three times a day for her youngest son.
The previous Guinness World Record holders for breast milk donation were Karen Merheb of Dallas, Texas, who gave more than 14,200 ounces and Alicia Richman of Granbury, Texas, who donated 11,115 ounces.
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http://laughingsquid.com/an-incredible-point-of-view-video-of-a-base-jump-from-one-world-trade-center-at-3am/
On September 30, 2013, three men — now identified as James Brady, Andrew Rossig, and Marco Markovich — climbed to the top of One World Trade Center and performed a BASE jump from it at 3:00 AM. In this video recorded by Brady’s helmet camera during the act, he watches as one of his fellow jumpers takes the leap, and then jumps himself before quickly opening his parachute to land safely on the street below. The group, including lookout Kyle Hartwell, surrendered to authorities on March 24th, 2014.
NYC Freedom Tower B.A.S.E. Jump
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/04/02/pennsylvania-tree-cutter-survives-after-chain-saw-gets-stuck-his-neck
PA Tree Cutter Survives After Chain Saw Gets Stuck in His Neck
As Martha MacCallum said this morning: Angels must have been watching over this Pennsylvania man. In a horrifying accident, a tree cutter was rushed to the hospital after his chain saw became embedded in his neck.
According to AP, 21-year-old James Valentine was in a harness working in a tree when his saw slipped and struck him.
As you can see in the X-ray above, the saw was lodged in Valentine's chest and neck when he arrived at the hospital. He underwent emergency surgery and is now recovering.
Doctors said the blade struck mostly muscle, missing Valentine's major arteries. Police said Valentine is lucky that his co-workers reacted as quickly as they did.
Watch the segment from America's Newsroom above.
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http://guyism.com/weird-news/angelina-jolie-lookalike-knifepoint.html
Woman claiming to look like Angelina Jolie forces cabbie to have sex at knifepoint
A woman claiming to look like Angelina Jolie is being charged with forcing a cabbie to have sex with her at knife point.
Luminita Perijoc, 31, reportedly pounced on Nicolae Stan after he delivered wine to her apartment in Tulcea, eastern Romania, back in 2012. She forced the guy to go down on her and then got pissed that his sexual prowess wasn’t that of a porn star.
The woman pulled a 4-inch blade on the shocked cabbie and forced him to undress. He then performed oral sex and had intercourse with Perijoc at knife point. Things turned foul for Stan when he was unable to perform a third time. Perijoc took her knife and stabbed the taxi driver six times before he managed to escape and lock himself in the bedroom.
A third time! I’m not sure what’s more unfair — the fact she wanted him to go three times or that she’s passing herself off as an Angelina lookalike.
A Romanian court found her guilty this week. They tossed her a four-year suspended sentence. She claimed in court that she’d been taking strong medication at the time of the attack.
Stan feels she got off easy. In an interview with a Romanian news agency Stan said he had “been given a life sentence because of the teasing he’s endured since the attack.
“It is terrible. I am now a local celebrity, everyone is talking about me. They don’t understand why I refused her, but they do not know what it is like to have a mad woman yelling at you at knife point.”
Noted.
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/04/14/utah-woman-megan-huntsman-arrested-after-bodies-7-babies-were-found-garage
Utah Woman Arrested After Bodies of 7 Babies Were Found in Garage
A Utah neighborhood was left in shock this weekend after the arrest of a woman who police say had the remains of seven dead babies at the home where she used to live. The gruesome discovery was made by 39-year-old Megan Huntsman's ex-husband.
Neighbors were at a loss after hearing of Huntsman's arrest, with one woman saying she "loved" the family and believed them to be good people.
Investigators believe that Megan Huntsman, 39, who lived in the Pleasant Grove home until 2011, gave birth to the babies before killing them at various times between 1996 and 2006.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that police were called to the house Saturday by Huntsman's ex-husband, who had discovered the body of a newborn infant who appeared to be at full term. Police obtained a search warrant for the house and discovered the bodies of six more babies packed in boxes in the garage.
Police Capt. Michael Roberts told the paper that investigators are still working on DNA tests, but Huntsman's ex-husband, identified by family and neighbors as Darren West, is believed to be the father of all seven children. The Associated Press reported that West discovered the bodies while cleaning out the garage after recently getting out of prison. Authorities do not believe West was aware of the killings and is not a person of interest at this time.
Roberts said police believe West and Huntsman were together when the babies were born.
"We don't believe he had any knowledge of the situation," Roberts told The Associated Press
Asked how the man could not have known about the situation, Roberts replied, "That's the million-dollar question. Amazing."
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/04/22/prep-school-grads-busted-allegedly-running-pa-drug-ring
Prep School Grads Busted for Allegedly Running PA Drug Ring
Prep school grads were arrested in a massive drug ring operation in Pennsylvania. The accused drug dealers supplied marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy to students at three colleges and five high schools in Philadelphia’s affluent Main Line suburbs.
The two suspected ringleaders, 25-year-old Neil Scott and 18-year-old Timothy Brooks, even peddled drugs to their alma mater, Haverford School, an all-boys prep school that costs $35K a year.
Nine "sub-dealers" working for the men at the various schools were also arrested. Each dealer was reportedly told to move at least one pound of marijuana per week. The goal was to create a monopoly on the drugs sold to local schools, police say.
Scott was said to be in charge of getting the drugs from California, while Brooks allegedly oversaw the dealers.
The 18-year-old reportedly told police he got into the drug business because he had trouble finding pot as a student. According to the court affidavit, Scott outlined his business plan for investigators and told them it was successful “because everyone between 15 and 55 loves good weed.”
In one text message conversation, Brooks says, “I’m trying to start a business and learning how to run this.” To which Scott replied, “Just keep finding customers and we’ll both make more than enough money.”
The arrests came after four months of investigation. Police had confidential informants inside all of the schools. In addition to drugs, authorities also discovered guns, ammunition and bags of cash.
District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said in a press conference, “This is a dangerous business. This was not a game. These people were … in business to make money and they were going to do whatever they needed to do to make sure that no one threatened their business.”
Ferman said Scott worked in a medical marijuana dispensary in San Diego after he left college. He later moved back to Pennsylvania and began having drugs mailed to his home in 2013. Brooks’ attorney says he was depressed after leaving college.
Both ringleaders and the dealers are said to be facing significant jail time.
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http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/coke-turns-terrible-working-conditions-in-the-middle-east-fo?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BuzzFeed+510&utm_content=BuzzFeed+510+CID_2e5891594202c2e6c66a6ed78bd09945&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=and%20a%20lot%20of%20people%20are%20angry%20about%20it
Coke Uses Terrible Working Conditions In Dubai For PR Opportunity
In an ad posted by Coca-Cola this week, the company shows how they installed a phone booth in Dubai so that poor South Asian workers could pay for a three-minute international phone call home using Coke bottle caps.
The polarizing ad has caused people to criticize the soft drink company for capitalizing on an area known for terrible working conditions, where men trying to earn a meager wage die in the hundreds.
The men like those shown in the ad are brought into the Middle East in large groups, working in scorching weather in an attempt to earn a higher wage than what they would make at home, and send money back to their families.
The laborers fit into a broader culture of wealthy Gulf Countries importing jobs from Southeast Asia, specifically Filipino women flown in to work as maids, and South Asia, but ultimately often work in conditions that have been described as “21st century slavery,” according to the International Trade Union Confederation.
This isn’t the only intersection with questionable international conditions Coke has attempted this week — another recent project had drones dropping cans of Coke on guest workers at construction sites around Singapore. An ad last month encouraged people in Bangladesh to use coke bottles for an arcade game.
Many commenters on Coke’s phone booth ad are unaware of the human rights issues at play while the company romanticizes the Gulf’s exploited laborers, and are lauding their efforts as admirable.
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/05/15/caught-tape-ohio-teacher-barb-williams-grabs-kindergartner-face
CAUGHT ON TAPE: Teacher Grabs Boy By Face, Slams Him Into Wall
An Ohio kindergarten teacher is under investigation after surveillance video showed her violently grabbing a six-year-old boy by the face and slamming him against a wall.
The incident happened months after Ian Nelson's parents had confronted officials at the Riverdale Schools about the teacher, Barb Williams.
“We asked for him to be moved to a different classroom. ... The principal told us at the time that she’s a highly recommended teacher and they are unwilling to transfer him to a different class,” said Anthony Nelson said.
The school superintendent, Eric Hoffman, said he suspended the teacher for 10 days without pay.
“To tell you the truth we haven’t dealt with this much at Riverdale and first of all I apologize to the parents. This should not happen to students,” Hoffman said.
The Nelson family, however, argues that the punishment is not severe enough and police are looking into criminal charges. Williams has reportedly hired an attorney.
Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl weighed in on The Real Story and highlighted the fact that corporal punishment is illegal in Ohio.
“You cannot do that if you’re a teacher in that position. It’s breaking the law,” Wiehl said.
Watch the tape above and hear Wiehl’s full legal analysis, including on why the school chose not to fire Williams after seeing the video.
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http://www.nerdist.com/2014/05/new-order-of-marine-creatures-found-masquerading-as-sea-anemones/
New Order of Marine Creatures Found Masquerading as Sea Anemones
When you see this beautiful creature unfurling its six foot-long tentacles near the seabed like ribbons in the current, you’d be forgiven in thinking that it was an extraordinary sea anemone and moving on. You’d miss an entirely new order of animals.
Reporting in PLOS ONE, an international team of researchers has uncovered a new order of Cnidaria—a group that includes coral, sea anemones, and jellyfish—using DNA analysis. Originally, the researchers set out on a four-year study to classify species of sea anemones according to their evolutionary connections. But when the team looked at 112 species’ DNA, it turned out that one wasn’t a sea anemone at all.
Originally discovered in 2006, the species Boloceroides daphneae (pictured above) was classified as one of the largest anemones known. The new genetic evidence instead shifts the creature outside of Actiniaria (where sea anemones are placed) and into the sub-class Hexacorallia, which includes stony corals. Now named Relicanthus daphneae, the creature is the only species in its own order, separate and no longer able to impersonate anemones. (Here’s a chart to get your phylums, classes, and orders straight.)
Moving a creature that basically looks and acts like a sea anemone into a new order may seem pointless, but the re-ordering is actually a big deal.
“The discovery of this new order…is the equivalent to finding the first member of a group like primates or rodents,” said Estefania Rodriguez, an assistant curator in the Museum’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology and the lead author of the new publication in a press release.
Putting Relicanthus daphneae in a new order is like putting a chameleon in the same order as crocodiles or finding the first species of primate, only more difficult. If it’s squishy, round, and has stinging tentacles, it’s probably a sea anemone, right?
Not so fast. Because anemones are very simple creatures, they have been grouped by what they lack, instead of what they share. Anemones don’t have skeletons or build colonies, for example (unlike another order such as corals). While sea anemones and Relicanthus daphneae both lack the same characteristics, Relicanthus daphneae never had the characteristics that sea anemones lost in the first place.
“Putting these animals in the same group would be like classifying worms and snakes together because neither have legs,” said Rodríguez.
When animals adapted to life in the deep sea—animals that are often alien and inaccessible to us—aren’t easily classified based on how they look, we need more sensitive methods. New forms of DNA analysis are making this possible, allowing us to see species on a molecular level. Without these methods, we are bound to group organisms together that don’t belong.
Because what creates branches on the tree of life isn’t something you can always see, who knows how many new species are out there, hiding in plain sight.
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http://news.yahoo.com/red-sox-broadcasters-son-pleads-guilty-murder-142710031.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory
Red Sox broadcaster's son pleads guilty to murder
WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — The son of longtime Boston Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder for fatally stabbing his girlfriend last year while the couple's 4-year-old daughter screamed and three neighbors tried to stop him.
Jared Remy, 35, was sentenced to a mandatory life without parole for killing Jennifer Martel, 27.
Remy admitted he killed Martel on Aug. 15 at their Waltham apartment and said he wanted to take responsibility for what he had done.
He described himself as "the bad apple" and called Martel "an angel," but also appeared to blame Martel.
"I would like you to know that I always told Jen she could leave, but don't threaten me with my daughter," he read from a hand-written statement. "That night, Jen had a knife in her hand and threatened me with my daughter, so I killed her."
His father, a former Red Sox second baseman who has been a color analyst on team broadcasts on the New England Sports Network since 1988, was not in court. Remy's lawyer, Edward Ryan Jr., said Remy had asked his parents not to attend the hearing.
Remy defended his parents against criticism leveled at them since Martel's killing and a Boston Globe article earlier this year detailed Remy's long criminal record and minimal punishment.
"I would like to say blame me for this and not my family," he said.
Remy said his family members did everything they could to help Martel, whom he said "helped me clean up my act," but ultimately could not cure him of his "love of drugs." Remy was referring to his use of steroids and painkillers, his lawyer said after the hearing.
Remy also said, "If you ask my family, they'd rather have me dead than her."
Remy, a former Red Sox security staffer, was fired by the team in 2008 during a steroid investigation.
"We continue to be heartbroken over Jenn's death. That will never change," Remy's parents, Jerry and Phoebe, said in a statement issued through Ryan.
"No words can express the sorrow we feel for the Martel family," they said. "We are now focusing our attention on our grandchildren and doing what is best for them."
Besides the murder charge, Jared Remy pleaded guilty to assault and battery and violating a restraining order. He also pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon for lunging at a man who tried to help Martel as Remy was stabbing her.
Assistant District Attorney Lisa McGovern said the attack came minutes after Martel changed her status on Facebook to read "in a complicated relationship." She said it is unclear whether Remy saw her posting but, shortly afterward, a neighbor heard the couple's young daughter scream.
The neighbor said she saw Martel crawling on the patio outside their apartment, with Remy behind her, and heard her say, "Help me, please help me," McGovern said. Three neighbors tried to stop him, but he fended them off, the prosecutor said.
Remy stabbed Martel in the throat, legs, arms and torso, and punched her in the face, McGovern said.
Martel's parents, who attended the hearing, said in a statement read by an attorney that they hope to help others recognize the signs of domestic violence. They said Remy would call Martel repeatedly in what they now see was "more like an obsession than love."
The family also asked for privacy for themselves and the Remy family.
"Together we will do our best to raise our granddaughter as her mother would have raised her," they said in a statement read by a family spokeswoman. Martel's brother and sister-in-law are raising the girl.
Remy was initially arrested Aug. 13 after he allegedly pushed Martel into a mirror. He was released on his own recognizance and stabbed Martel on Aug. 15.
The case prompted questions about whether Remy's violent history had been overlooked by the criminal justice system. It led state lawmakers to propose an overhaul of the state's domestic violence laws, including new bail guidelines and tougher penalties for abusers.
Also, an independent review criticized prosecutors' handling of abuse allegations against Remy.
Since Remy has been in jail, he has been accused of attacking another inmate, throwing hot coffee in his face, hitting him with a plastic chair and punching him.
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http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Buzzsaw-Hits-Pedestrian-Midtown-Manhattan-Hells-Kitchen-260821381.html?partner=xfinity1
Pedestrian Hit by Flying Buzzsaw in Midtown Manhattan
A woman walking past a crew tearing up a Manhattan street was struck by a flying buzzsaw Tuesday, police said.
The construction company, which was doing work for the city, was tearing up the roadway to fix a water main at 48th Street and Ninth Avenue when the saw flew into the air.
Matthew Bisi was walking by when the 3-foot blade "came shooting down the sidewalk."
"I was on the right side of the sidewalk, suddenly everyone started yelling 'Get down! Move!'" he said. "It was just like crazy chaos. People screaming, all the construction workers."
"I just turned, kinda ducked, put my head down," he said. "Thing came flying right by my head, missed me by that much. You could hear it coming and it went right by me," he said.
Another witness, Sean Kuilan, also recalled the sound of the blade.
"I hear the blade and see the blade literally coming off the machine," he said. "It was huge. It looked like it was from a horror flick. I couldn't believe it."
It traveled about 100 feet before hitting a tree and then sliced into a woman "straight on," according to Bisi.
"It took her right down, gashes on the side of the thigh," he said. "The force of that coming in was pretty hard."
Kuilan said the woman was knocked to the ground screaming. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital with a gash on her leg, police said.
"It was scary," said Bisi. "I'm like twitching now just thinking about it. You don't expect to see that or have that happen to you."
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It would probably not have made news if it had been the finger.
http://www.guy-games/
Thailand Protestors Using Salute from THE HUNGER GAMES
If you’ve seen The Hunger Games, you’re familiar with the three fingered salute from District 12. The gesture appeared in the story by Suzanne Collins in the first book and film after Katniss Everdeen volunteers as tribute for the Hunger Games. Katniss explains the meaning of the sign in the book:
“It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means goodbye to someone you love.”
The residents of District 12 send Katniss off with that sign and she later performs the salute in front of all of Panem while on screen during the games after another tribute’s death. That moment sparked an uprising in District 11 where the dead tribute, Rue, was from. In Catching Fire (the second book/film) when Katniss and Peeta visited District 11 during their victory tour, the citizens made the sign and the man who did it first was shot.
The sign became associated with rebellion in the series, and now, residents of Thailand are using the gesture as a symbol of peaceful protest against the May 22nd Thai military coup. Time reports that some using the salute have been dragged away by troops which is uncomfortably like the scene in fictional District 11.
In an opinion piece on The Bangkok Post, Atiya Achakulwisut writes that protestors are using the symbol to get the word out: “They are creating signs of resistance which pique people’s interest and look good on Facebook and Instagram. They try to draw attention from members of the press, especially foreign media, so that they an expose the junta as being heavy-handed and totalitarian in its lining up of thousands of armed soldiers to fight small groups of peaceful protesters.”
If the sign from The Hunger Games is indeed being used for that purpose, the protestors are successful. Branding their actions with a recognizable symbol from a popular pop culture franchise is effective, and it just so happens that District 12′s salute is suited for their cause.
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http://www.guy-hurricane-warnings-place-along-coast-n147101
As Arthur Grows Stronger, Hurricane Warnings in Place Along Coast
As Tropical Storm Arthur steadily moved north along the East Coast Wednesday, gathering strength and nearing hurricane force, several warnings were in place across North Carolina and residents of one barrier island in the Outer Banks were ordered to evacuate. Arthur is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane by Thursday, according to The Weather Channel, and hit the coast the hardest late Thursday into Friday.
Arthur has already registered maximum winds of 70 mph. Hurricane warnings covered four counties: Carteret, Onslow, Dare and Hyde. Dare County emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks scheduled to begin at 5 a.m. Thursday.
"Coastal areas will likely see periods of heavy rains and gusty winds Thursday and Friday," Pamela Walker of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said in a statement. "Coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents, heavy surf, and moderate beach erosion are also expected."
Late Friday or early Saturday, Arthur is expected to make its closest approach to Massachusetts' Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island.
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http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/04/14/utah-woman-megan-huntsman-arrested-after-bodies-7-babies-were-found-garage
Utah Woman Arrested After Bodies of 7 Babies Were Found in Garage
A Utah neighborhood was left in shock this weekend after the arrest of a woman who police say had the remains of seven dead babies at the home where she used to live. The gruesome discovery was made by 39-year-old Megan Huntsman's ex-husband.
Neighbors were at a loss after hearing of Huntsman's arrest, with one woman saying she "loved" the family and believed them to be good people.
Investigators believe that Megan Huntsman, 39, who lived in the Pleasant Grove home until 2011, gave birth to the babies before killing them at various times between 1996 and 2006.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that police were called to the house Saturday by Huntsman's ex-husband, who had discovered the body of a newborn infant who appeared to be at full term. Police obtained a search warrant for the house and discovered the bodies of six more babies packed in boxes in the garage.
Police Capt. Michael Roberts told the paper that investigators are still working on DNA tests, but Huntsman's ex-husband, identified by family and neighbors as Darren West, is believed to be the father of all seven children. The Associated Press reported that West discovered the bodies while cleaning out the garage after recently getting out of prison. Authorities do not believe West was aware of the killings and is not a person of interest at this time.
Roberts said police believe West and Huntsman were together when the babies were born.
"We don't believe he had any knowledge of the situation," Roberts told The Associated Press
Asked how the man could not have known about the situation, Roberts replied, "That's the million-dollar question. Amazing."
Motive Given to Utah Mom Accused of Killing Six Babies
A Utah mother's motive for killing six of her newborns and storing them in a garage was that she was addicted to methamphetamine and other drugs and didn't want to deal with the responsibility, authorities said Tuesday.
Megan Huntsman, 39, was heavily into a meth addiction when she strangled or suffocated the infants from 1996 to 2006, Pleasant Grove Police Capt. Mike Roberts told The Associated Press. She wasn't worried about potential health problems caused by her drug abuse while pregnant, she simply didn't want to care for them, he said.
"It was completely selfish. She was high on drugs and didn't want the babies, or the responsibility," Roberts said. "That was her priority at the time."
Authorities think a seventh baby found in her Pleasant Grover garage was stillborn. Police had previously declined to discuss a motive, which they say was uncovered during interviews with Huntsman. Huntsman is in jail on $6 million bail, charged with six counts of first-degree murder. She is due back in court in Provo on July 21 and has not yet entered a plea. Her lawyer, public defender Anthony Howell, declined comment Tuesday. He said office policy precludes him from discussing open cases.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/motive-given-utah-mom-accused-killing-six-babies-n151216
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http://guyism.com/weird-news/man-arrested-after-multiple-jars-of-penises-found-in-his-home.html
Man arrested after multiple jars of penises found in his home
Grab your junk in sympathy pain for this tale of “whoa!”
A 52-year-old Croatian man was arrested last week after authorities found jars of human penises soaking in formaldehyde throughout his apartment.
The man, now nicknamed “the penis collector” because Croatians aren’t stellar at nicknames, works as a registered nurse at a local hospital. The penis collector has no previous criminal record. He’s been described as “a family man” by those who knew him well but a few coworkers claim the man often showed up for shifts drunk.
“On behalf of all employees of the hospital, I have to say that we are very unpleasantly surprised by an event that threw a shadow over this hospital,” a hospital spokesperson said. “Our apologies to families of the deceased.”
And exactly how would those people know they’re loved one is missing a dong?
Authorities aren’t sure how the man got so many penises. I don’t think we care to know anyway.
If you’re interested in seeing a shelf full of dicks in a jar, here’s a photo of the man’s collection.
(http://beforeitsnews.com/contributor/upload/106013/images/2273566473_e30cc4e95a-360x240.jpg)
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http://www.history.com/news/amphipolis-tomb-may-belong-to-alexander-the-greats-mother/?cmpid=Social_Facebook_HITH_09272014_1
Amphipolis Tomb May Belong to Alexander the Great’s Mother
Speculation has been running wild in recent weeks over who might be buried in the massive tomb complex currently being excavated at Amphipolis, located in the region of Macedonia in northern Greece. Now, in a breakthrough discovery, archeologists excavating the site have exposed two 7-foot-tall marble statues inside the tomb, guarding the entrance to its main chamber. According to some scholars, the presence of these sculpted female figures, known as caryatids, strongly suggests that the tomb may belong to Olympias, the mother of the great warrior-king Alexander the Great.
The Kasta Hill archeological site at Amphipolis, located some 370 miles north of Athens and 65 miles east of the city of Thessaloniki, is believed to be the largest burial site ever discovered in Greece. Dating to between 325-300 B.C., near the end of the reign of Alexander the Great, the burial mound and tomb complex was partially destroyed during the Roman occupation of Greece, but then appears to have survived without looting for more than 2,000 years.
A team of archeologists led by Katerina Peristeri began work at the site in 2012. Last month, they announced that they had unearthed a 1,600-foot-long marble wall encircling the tomb complex, a size that dwarfs the burial site of Philip II, Alexander’s father, in Vergina. Along with a long vaulted corridor leading to the tomb, the archeologists discovered two headless, wingless sphinxes guarding its entrance. They believe the tomb was originally crowned by a 16-foot-tall marble statue known as the Lion of Amphipolis, which was discovered a few miles away in the bed of the Strymonas River in 1912.
Speculation has been running wild as to the occupant of the tomb, including claims that it might actually be Alexander the Great himself. Archeologists and historians have joined forces in dismissing this possibility, however, as the historical record indicates that Alexander died in Babylon (modern-day Iraq) in 323 B.C. and was most likely buried in Egypt after Ptolemy, one of his former generals, stole the corpse while it was en route to Macedonia. (Alexander’s sarcophagus was later moved from Memphis to Alexandria, the capital of his kingdom, but by the fourth century A.D., its exact location was unknown.)
The discovery of the two caryatids, which virtually mirror one another on either side of a marble doorway, is now fueling claims that the tomb belongs to a prominent female figure from Alexander’s time: specifically, Olympias, Philip II’s wife and the mother of the celebrated warrior-king. Caryatids, a common feature of Greek and Roman architecture, are pillars formed from sculptures of female figures. The ones flanking the entrance in the Amphipolis tomb stand more than seven feet tall, and are clothed in sleeved tunics and thick-soled shoes. Each caryatid has one arm outstretched, as if to block entrance to the tomb’s main chamber.
According to Andrew Chugg, author of “The Quest for the Tomb of Alexander the Great,” the figures may not depict ordinary women, but Klodones, priestesses of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. As Chugg writes in the Greek Reporter, the ancient Greek historian Plutarch recorded in his “Life of Alexander” that Olympias used to participate in Dionysiac rites and orgies with these Klodones. The baskets on their heads, Chugg recounts, held Olympias’ pet snakes, which would often rear their heads out to scare the men participating in the rites. To further support his argument, Chugg points out that the archeologists excavating at Kasta Hill found a marble block painted with rosettes that resemble those on the coffin of Philip II at Vergina.
Apart from Olympias, the most likely candidate to have been buried in the massive tomb at Amphipolis appears to be Roxana, Alexander the Great’s wife. The Macedonian general Cassander murdered Roxana in 311 B.C., along with her son Alexander IV, his father’s rightful heir to the throne. Other possible candidates include Alexander’s admirals Androsthenes, Laomedon and Nearchus; his generals Hephaestion and Antigonus Monophthalmus; and even Cassander himself. Chugg disagrees with these latter possibilities, arguing that the presence of the caryatids as guardians of the tomb means the occupant could not be male.
The discovery of the caryatids, though suggestive, has done little to end the debate surrounding the true purpose of the Amphipolis site. Olga Palagia, chair of the archaeology department at Athens University, tells Discovery News that caryatids of the style and scale found guarding the tomb were not used until the first century B.C. As such, she believes the burial mound at Amphipolis is “not a Macedonian tomb, because such tombs disappear in the mid-second century B.C. when Macedonia was conquered by the Romans.” In fact, Amphipolis is not far from the site where, in 42 B.C., the forces of Octavian, later known as Augustus, and Mark Antony defeated those of Brutus and Cassius, Julius Caesar’s assassins. The tomb, Palagia argues, could very well hold cremated remains of Roman generals killed in that battle.
Other observers suggest that it could not be a tomb at all, but a cenotaph, a tomblike monument built to commemorate Alexander, even though his body’s final resting place is elsewhere. Meanwhile, the team of archeologists continues their excavations at Amphipolis, hoping that further discoveries will shed more light on the questions that have captivated the world’s attention.
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http://insider.foxnews.com/2014/10/22/dc-drivers-getting-thousands-dollars-fines-small-e-zpass-violations
Man Gets $17K E-ZPass Fine for $30 in Missed Tolls and He's Not Alone
E-ZPass is supposed to make life easier for commuters, but that doesn't appear to be the case for some in the D.C. area.
Emily Miller of FOX's WTTG-TV has been reporting extensively on drivers who are being hit with amazingly high fines for much small violations.
Miller reported this morning on "Fox and Friends" on the case of Joe Mischler, who received $17,000 in fines for $36 in missed tolls!
"They don't care," said Mischler, alleging that in his eyes, it's all about "shaking down" ordinary citizens.
Mischler argued that his transponder wasn't being read properly, causing the violations to add up.
Mischler tried to resolve it on his own, but when he was summoned to appear in a Virginia civil court, he contacted WTTG.
The company that manages E-ZPass lanes and violations, Transurban, called the case "rare" and eventually agreed to reduce the fines to a few hundred bucks.
But Miller reports that Mischler's ordeal is not rare at all because when her story aired, she began getting calls from many others who have dealt with similar predicaments.
Elise Pizarro, for example, was facing more than $9,500 in fines for $28 in missed tolls. She says the issue is again related to the E-ZPass transponders failing to read her tag in express lanes.
“This is happening all the time. I'm not the only one it's happening to. Obviously it happened to Joe Mischler. It's happened to other people," she said.
Pizarro accepted an out-of-court settlement with the company, agreeing to pay $2,000 and had to take out a loan on her 401(k) to pay for it.
Transurban maintains the cases are rare and almost all of these cases are resolved before court.
"About 96 percent of our customers are using the Express Lanes and not having issues -- 99.9 percent of them are solving any issues before court,” said a Transurban spokesperson.
But Pizarro notes that 96 percent sounds like a good figure until you realize that about a million drivers use E-ZPass on the D.C. area's 495 express lanes, meaning around 4,000 people could be experiencing these problems.
Watch Miller's full report above, and if this has happened to you, contact "Fox and Friends" at friends@foxnews.com.
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It Was Literally Freezing In All 50 States On Tuesday
http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/it-was-literally-freezing-in-all-50-states-on-tuesday?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BuzzFeed+1119&utm_content=BuzzFeed+1119+CID_d323f376ff018c8749eb1ca0d20f278f&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=it%20was%20literally%20freezing%20in%20all%2050%20states%20on%20Tuesday
Ice, ice, baby.
The temperature in every U.S. state hit 32 degrees or lower on Tuesday.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2ucF_fCUAAHBTE.png)
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http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/buffalos-roofs-creak-after-winter-storm-dumps-seven-feet-snow-n252401[/url]
Buffalo's Roofs Creak After Winter Storm Dumps Seven Feet of Snow
welve deaths are now blamed on a massive snowstorm that dumped up to seven feet of snow on western New York, leaving roofs creaking and raising concerns about potential flooding.
The latest victims of the historic storm were two residents of a Cheektowaga nursing home who passed away after they were evacuated because of worries about a sagging roof, NBC News affiliate WGRZ reported.
A second band of lake-effect snow battered cities and towns near Buffalo on Thursday, heaping more misery on people whose cars and even houses were buried. The looming threat of rain and higher temperatures through the weekend could mean melting, which could, in turn, cause floods. The specter of roofs collapsing under the heavy loads was also a worry.
Speaking to Reuters, Erie County Deputy Executive Richard Tobe warned that "there are buildings that are in danger."
The storm had already dumped more snow than many places see in a full season ? even in wintry western New York. Some homes had the equivalent weight of two or three pickup trucks bearing down on their roofs.
"It's getting heavier," Cheektowaga resident Thomas Mudd Jr. told The Associated Press as he spent several hours with his wife shoveling 4 to 5 feet off their roof. "It's supposed to warm up and we're supposed to get rain on the weekend, which will make it even heavier. So I didn't want my roof collapsing."
Because the Buffalo area is so snowy, building codes require homes and businesses to be able to handle up to 50 pounds per square foot on their roofs, which would be about as heavy as a slab of concrete 4 inches thick, structural engineer Mark Bajorek told The Associated Press.
Little or no snow was expected in the area on Friday, and the forecast called for a chance of rain on Saturday and more on Monday along with temperatures approaching 60 degrees.
NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins warned that "rapid snowmelt and localized flooding" was likely in parts of western New York into early next week.
Meanwhile, authorities said Thursday that a 60-year-old man with a history of heart problems had a fatal heart attack while retrieving his snowblower in Cheektowaga and that two other people died outside their homes from apparent exposure to the cold, one in the Erie County town of Boston and the other in Niagara County. The early winter blast had been linked to a total of 10 deaths by early Friday.
States of emergency were in effect for 10 counties.
The storm dumped an estimated 220,000 tons of snow on Ralph Wilson Stadium outside Buffalo, piling it halfway to the crossbar in each end zone and forcing the National Football League to move Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. The league said Thursday that a new location hadn't yet been determined.
"If you ask me today, right now, my two cents would be it's impractical to do the game because it could jeopardize public safety," Cuomo told reporters. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he couldn't guarantee that the usual complement of law enforcement officers and emergency vehicles would be available for the game.
The Bills had offered $10 an hour and free tickets to the game to anyone who volunteered to shovel out the stadium.
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Which Country Is The Happiest In The World? Hint: It's Not The U.S.
Ever consider packing up and moving to a different country, whether to get away from it all or simply to try something new? If so, you may want to seriously consider Costa Rica as your getaway destination. MoveHub recently used the Happy Planet Index (HPI) to create maps charting the level of contentment in various countries around the world, and according to the data, Costa Rica is officially the happiest country on Earth.
As MoveHub explains, the maps were created using the latest statistics from HPI, a global measure of sustainable well-being that advocates the premise that happiness is not about wealth, but about “living long lives with a high experience of well-being within the environmental limits of the planet.” As reflected in the maps, the countries are ranked by their overall index scores, which are factored from three main components: life expectancy, experienced well-being, and ecological footprint.
Based on that method, Costa Rica has been named the happiest country with an index score of 64.6, followed by Vietnam (64.0), Colombia (59.8), and Belize (59.3). On the lower end of the spectrum are several African nations, like Botswana (22.6), Chad (24.7), and Central African Republic (25.3), as well as several places in Asia and the Middle East, including Qatar (25.2), Mongolia (26.8), and Kuwait (27.1).
Where does the U.S. fall on the list? Per MoveHub, it ranks as the 105th happiest country in the world, with an index score of 37.3 — significantly lower than neighboring Canada (43.6) and Mexico (52.9).
An interesting map from MoveHub reveals how happy people are around the world.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/50585-which-country-is-the-happiest-in-the-world-hint-its-not-the-us?utm_source=FBTraffic&utm_medium=fijifrost&utm_campaign=CMfacebook
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http://laughingsquid.com/state-of-california-begins-construction-of-a-high-speed-rail-system-that-will-link-los-angeles-and-san-francisco/
State of California Begins Construction of a High-Speed Rail System That Will Link Los Angeles and San Francisco
Tuesday marked the official groundbreaking of California’s high-speed rail, a $68 billion project to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco with passenger trains capable of traveling at 200 MPH. Supporters of the system say the electric trains, powered by renewable energy, will provide a greener alternative to road and air travel. The trains, managed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, are also expected to cut transit time on the 520-mile trip between downtown Los Angeles and downtown San Francisco to three hours. Present-day rail service takes 11 to 19 hours, while a flight takes one hour and 15 minutes (plus, of course, transit to and from airports, security lines, etc.). Ticket prices are projected to be comparable to air travel. California’s high-speed rail system is set to open in 2029.
(http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FLV_California_train-750x423.jpg)
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I can`t breath.
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Ice Shards Are Falling From the Top of the World Trade Center
Oh, what a season it's been!
Sure, we haven't had as much snow as Chicago, but we did have a city-crippling blizzard, slush puddles of doom, and manholes are exploding all over the place (read: Park Slope). And in a great new twist, SHARDS OF ICE fell from the top of the World Trade Center on Monday.
According to the Daily News, foot-long ice shards started falling from 7 and 4 World Trade Center at noon, Monday Feb. 2. Officials noted that the walkways around 4 World Trade Center and parts of Vesey St were shut down for a number of hours. Panic ensued, because... shards of ice... falling... but thankfully, no injuries were reported. Though, just to be safe, maybe we should all stop going places and doing things until like, July.
http://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/financial-district/shards-of-ice-fall-from-world-trade-center
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Baltimore's creaking real-time tracking system for city buses just got a major upgrade thanks to a group of civic-minded hackers who figured out a way to convert the city's tortured transit data into a machine-readable application programming interface. That feat, which Baltimore officials had said would cost $600,000, was completed gratis by the hackers in an afternoon, allowing the data to be fed into existing smartphone transit-tracking apps.
https://medium.com/@transitapp/how-we-saved-baltimore-600-000-in-one-day-f8311e487e58
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Ice Shards Are Falling From the Top of the World Trade Center
Oh, what a season it's been!
Sure, we haven't had as much snow as Chicago, but we did have a city-crippling blizzard, slush puddles of doom, and manholes are exploding all over the place (read: Park Slope). And in a great new twist, SHARDS OF ICE fell from the top of the World Trade Center on Monday.
According to the Daily News, foot-long ice shards started falling from 7 and 4 World Trade Center at noon, Monday Feb. 2. Officials noted that the walkways around 4 World Trade Center and parts of Vesey St were shut down for a number of hours. Panic ensued, because... shards of ice... falling... but thankfully, no injuries were reported. Though, just to be safe, maybe we should all stop going places and doing things until like, July.
http://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/financial-district/shards-of-ice-fall-from-world-trade-center
Buildings with edges and projection on which ice can form and fall are supposed to have heating elements to preclude ice forming.
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Exclusive: Lost City Discovered in the Honduran Rain Forest
In search for legendary “City of the Monkey God,” explorers find the untouched ruins of a vanished culture.
http://news-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150302-honduras-lost-city-monkey-god-maya-ancient-archaeology/
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Tropical Storm Ana making landfall in the Carolinas. The season officially starts June 1. Not a good sign.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
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let me know when they find some good porn in that footage.
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Torontonians create memorial for dead raccoon
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/07/09/torontonians-create-memorial-for-dead-raccoon.html?utm_source=Mr+Hyde&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5918126_MH+130715&dm_i=25MP,3IUGE,GCGNO7,CMSYU,1
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Last hurricane season was pretty weak for the east coast. Perhaps not this year: La nina conditions are possible.
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/april-2016-el-ni%C3%B1ola-ni%C3%B1a-update-what-goes-%E2%80%A6
(https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/ENSOTypicalLaNina_610.jpg)
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April The Giraffe Has An Unfortunate Response When A Vet Tries To Take A Look At Her New Baby
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/april-the-giraffe-has-an-unfortunate-response-when-a-vet-tries-to-take-a-look-at-her-new-baby/
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Puerto Rico after Maria
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Police Hunt For Bandits Who Played Porn on Detroit Freeway Electronic Billboard
Police in Detroit are on the hunt for two bandits who played porn on an electronic billboard above a freeway on Saturday night.
Drivers traveling through Auburn Hills had to do a second and probably third and fourth take when they passed the sign on the Interstate 75, which in place of the usual advertisements displayed a very NSFW video instead.
Calls began flooding in around 11pm as motorists reported the steamy show; miraculously there were no crashes reported.
Officers immediately called the sign's owners Triple Communications, who managed to shut down the display— which is double sided, so on view from both directions — after about 20 minutes.
Twitter users posted the shocking footage from their cars as they drove past, with some even pulling into the hard shoulder and getting out for a better look.
"I kinda almost got in an accident," one driver told NBC 15. "I came across the billboard, and there was something unusual. I saw two girls, you know... lesbian porn."
"I could kinda see people had started to brake a lot behind me; I think they we're doing the same thing, like a double take," he added. "You don't see that every day."
On Monday, Auburn police released a video of two suspects breaking into the building beneath the sign which houses the computer equipment that operates the sign.
The pair, two white males wearing hoodies and glasses, spent just 15 minutes in the building allegedly committing the dastardly deed.
Promoting pornography and/or promoting pornography for minors by disseminating any pornographic material, images, videos, etc carries a possible penalty of 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine, police said.
"These suspects now face potential burglary charges for forcing entry into the building to gain access to the computer system, which is a felony offense," officers added, appealing for the public's help in tracking them down.
https://toofab.com/2019/10/01/police-hunt-for-porn-bandits-detroit-freeway-billboard/?fbclid=IwAR0Qn4fAD11UWGv77f1-VkxmeV17EJ273ezVtBJjndIzBkg0ZYuq27oaKDw
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Police Hunt For Bandits Who Played Porn on Detroit Freeway Electronic Billboard
Police in Detroit are on the hunt for two bandits who played porn on an electronic billboard above a freeway on Saturday night.
Drivers traveling through Auburn Hills had to do a second and probably third and fourth take when they passed the sign on the Interstate 75, which in place of the usual advertisements displayed a very NSFW video instead.
Calls began flooding in around 11pm as motorists reported the steamy show; miraculously there were no crashes reported.
Officers immediately called the sign's owners Triple Communications, who managed to shut down the display— which is double sided, so on view from both directions — after about 20 minutes.
Twitter users posted the shocking footage from their cars as they drove past, with some even pulling into the hard shoulder and getting out for a better look.
"I kinda almost got in an accident," one driver told NBC 15. "I came across the billboard, and there was something unusual. I saw two girls, you know... lesbian porn."
"I could kinda see people had started to brake a lot behind me; I think they we're doing the same thing, like a double take," he added. "You don't see that every day."
On Monday, Auburn police released a video of two suspects breaking into the building beneath the sign which houses the computer equipment that operates the sign.
The pair, two white males wearing hoodies and glasses, spent just 15 minutes in the building allegedly committing the dastardly deed.
Promoting pornography and/or promoting pornography for minors by disseminating any pornographic material, images, videos, etc carries a possible penalty of 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine, police said.
"These suspects now face potential burglary charges for forcing entry into the building to gain access to the computer system, which is a felony offense," officers added, appealing for the public's help in tracking them down.
https://toofab.com/2019/10/01/police-hunt-for-porn-bandits-detroit-freeway-billboard/?fbclid=IwAR0Qn4fAD11UWGv77f1-VkxmeV17EJ273ezVtBJjndIzBkg0ZYuq27oaKDw
Ha ha ha
That’s Funny
Yet Not Funny - as could’ve caused deaths & young kids seeing that.
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Hong Kong Police Shot a Protester at Point-Blank Range, Here's What Happened
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Russia Bombed Four Syrian Hospitals. We Have Proof.
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U.S. Troops Are Leaving Syria, Here's What It Looks Like
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Class Bias: Interviewers Will Hire And Pay More For A Job Applicant From A Higher Social Class Compared To A Lower-Status Candidate
In America, we’d like to believe that there is no such thing as class distinctions. Compared to many other countries, we pride ourselves on treating everyone equally under the law and in social and business settings. It doesn’t matter if you’re the offspring of a billionaire CEO in Manhattan or janitor in rural Mississippi, since social class shouldn’t matter. They both have the same rights, privileges and chances to succeed in America.
A new Yale University study brings to light a level of discrimination that dispels this belief. Unfortunately, we are too familiar with all sorts of discrimination in the workplace, such as ageism, sexism, racism and a host of other prejudices. The Yale study reveals that people who interview for jobs are judged based upon their social status seconds after they start to speak.
Based solely on a brief listening to an interviewee’s speech, the study shows that the interviewer can immediately spot someone’s socioeconomic level. This includes a person’s income, education and career status. Moreover, snap decisions are made about the person, which then influences hiring decisions. According to the study, interviewers pick job applicants from higher social classes compared to other candidates.
Michael Kraus, assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management, claims, "Our study shows that even during the briefest interactions, a person's speech patterns shape the way people perceive them, including assessing their competence and fitness for a job." “While most hiring managers would deny that a job candidate's social class matters, in reality, the socioeconomic position of an applicant or their parents is being assessed within the first seconds they speak—a circumstance that limits economic mobility and perpetuates inequality,'' Kraus added.
As an example of this prejudice and preference for high-status people, listen to the voices used in tech products, like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant. It's the same reason why, when you call a certain high-end company in New York City, you’ll hear a recording or live person with an upscale, British accent.
Growing up in pre-hipster Brooklyn, I was well aware of the negative stereotypes attached to the borough’s local accent. People with a thick Brooklyn accent were portrayed in the media as thugs, gangsters, low class, unsophisticated and lacking in intelligence. They were often the butt of jokes, especially to the Manhattan elites. As a teen, I became keenly aware of this bias and worked hard at losing the accent, so I wouldn’t be lumped into this group—being mocked and overlooked.
We can say similar things about people in the southern part of the U.S., which people will associate with the lower working class.
A person’s speech, per the study, reflects their social status more than what they actually say. Candidates were asked to briefly describe themselves and record it. More than 200 hiring professionals listened to the audio. The hiring managers were then tasked with assessing the applicants’ professional qualities, including salary and signing bonus. The hiring managers chose candidates from the perceived higher social classes. They marked them as more likely to be competent for the job and a better fit compared to those believed to be from the lower social classes. Moreover, they assigned the applicants from higher social classes larger salaries and signing bonuses than the candidates with lower social status.
The findings confirm that hiring managers forsake a class of candidates due to their inherent biases. While we tend to focus on certain types of prejudices and discrimination, we hardly talk about social class. Kraus concludes, "If we want to move to a more equitable society, then we must contend with these ingrained psychological processes that drive our early impressions of others. Despite what these hiring tendencies may suggest, talent is not found solely among those born to rich or well-educated families. Policies that actively recruit candidates from all levels of status in society are best positioned to match opportunities to the people best suited for them."
It's clear that as much ground as we’ve gained within the corporate world and in society, we still have a lot more work to do to ensure that people are treated fairly without any preconceived prejudices. Social-class bias unfairly holds large groups of people back and, simultaneously, pushes others forward without merit.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/10/28/class-bias-interviewers-will-hire-and-pay-more-for-a-job-applicant-from-a-higher-social-class-compared-to-a-lower-status-candidate/#1d356a5471c4
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Interesting posts.
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Inside Northeast Syria: What U.S. Troop Withdrawal Cost the Kurds
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Class Bias: Interviewers Will Hire And Pay More For A Job Applicant From A Higher Social Class Compared To A Lower-Status Candidate...
Based solely on a brief listening to an interviewee’s speech, the study shows that the interviewer can immediately spot someone’s socioeconomic level. This includes a person’s income, education and career status. Moreover, snap decisions are made about the person, which then influences hiring decisions. According to the study, interviewers pick job applicants from higher social classes compared to other candidates...
We can say similar things about people in the southern part of the U.S., which people will associate with the lower working class.
Therefore "Received Pronunciation" for the British...
"Received Pronunciation".
and "Transatlantic" for us Yanks.
Transatlantic speech:
- Designed to be understood by the widest number of North American English speakers regardless of where in North America they are from.
- Designed to sound "refined". (But not imitating British)
- Hides the economic/class circumstances of your upbringing.
Some writers claim that Transatlantic speech fell out of favor after World War II...They are wrong...It changed after the War...but it is still there...Just different.
Here is an example of "Prewar Transatlantic":
Here is "Postwar Transatlantic" (1:15 mark if you are impatient)
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Rajasthan Man Burns to Death as Onlookers Film the Incident Instead of Helping Him
Premchand Jain from the city of Kota in Rajasthan was driving on the Kota-Udaipur highway at around 10 AM on Wednesday, October 30, when his car suddenly broke down. Passersby in the area at the time reported seeing fumes of smoke emerge from the car as the man desperately tried to escape, failing to do so due to his car’s central locking system. Eventually, the car burst into flames and the man was burnt to death right in the middle of the road in broad daylight. But what makes this death even more horrifying is that it was probably preventable by those around. Except, instead of trying to help the man escape, onlookers whipped out their phones and began filming the incident.
According to Assistant Fire Officer at the Kota Municipal Corporation, Devendra Gautam, the fire department was informed about the incident around 10.25 AM, after which two fire engines were rushed to the spot. However, by then it was too late and the man had already burnt to death by the time the flames were doused. He also said that had any of the passersby tried to shatter the windowpane of the car before it caught fire instead of simply standing by and filming the whole thing, they might have even been able to save him. The cops were late able to identify the man only on the basis of the number plate of his car.
Not only does this feel exactly like the narrative of the Black Mirror episode White Bear, in which the main character is forced to live in a park where she is tortured as onlookers film everything instead of helping her, but it’s important to note that there’s no such thing as an innocent onlooker, especially in a situation like this that actually seems avoidable and could’ve saved a man’s life. Police have now registered a case under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedures related to suspicious deaths and are investigating the matter. But this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
In May 2019, a similar incident occurred in which passersby did nothing but film the horror when a 55-year-old man caught fire because of a short circuit at his workstation in Pune. In an equally appalling instance in Mumbai that same month, a bike burst into flames on the highway, but onlookers simply stood by and filmed the whole thing instead of trying to rescue the biker. In fact, a 2013 survey conducted by SAVELife foundation found that 74 percent of Indians said they were unlikely to help an accident victim, even if there were several bystanders around. This is probably because they’re afraid of being falsely implicated and say the police will assume they are involved or guilty if they do try to help. It’s also to avoid taking on the responsibility of being a witness if a court case were to happen because of how tedious and long legal proceedings can be in India. They were also worried that taking the victim to a hospital would put pressure on them to pay the medical bills, and thus prefer to look on instead of involving themselves in the incident.
https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/qvga95/rajasthan-man-burns-to-death-as-onlookers-film-the-incident-instead-of-helping-him?utm_source=viceasiafb&utm_campaign=global&fbclid=IwAR0Bb1VtJWv_LRWKWjLm6auYFvyoaA6gqOIIHSYDfYr1tpzLHPDqZBTy8W4
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Rajasthan Man Burns to Death as Onlookers Film the Incident Instead of Helping Him
Premchand Jain from the city of Kota in Rajasthan was driving on the Kota-Udaipur highway at around 10 AM on Wednesday, October 30, when his car suddenly broke down. Passersby in the area at the time reported seeing fumes of smoke emerge from the car as the man desperately tried to escape, failing to do so due to his car’s central locking system. Eventually, the car burst into flames and the man was burnt to death right in the middle of the road in broad daylight. But what makes this death even more horrifying is that it was probably preventable by those around. Except, instead of trying to help the man escape, onlookers whipped out their phones and began filming the incident.
According to Assistant Fire Officer at the Kota Municipal Corporation, Devendra Gautam, the fire department was informed about the incident around 10.25 AM, after which two fire engines were rushed to the spot. However, by then it was too late and the man had already burnt to death by the time the flames were doused. He also said that had any of the passersby tried to shatter the windowpane of the car before it caught fire instead of simply standing by and filming the whole thing, they might have even been able to save him. The cops were late able to identify the man only on the basis of the number plate of his car.
Not only does this feel exactly like the narrative of the Black Mirror episode White Bear, in which the main character is forced to live in a park where she is tortured as onlookers film everything instead of helping her, but it’s important to note that there’s no such thing as an innocent onlooker, especially in a situation like this that actually seems avoidable and could’ve saved a man’s life. Police have now registered a case under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedures related to suspicious deaths and are investigating the matter. But this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
In May 2019, a similar incident occurred in which passersby did nothing but film the horror when a 55-year-old man caught fire because of a short circuit at his workstation in Pune. In an equally appalling instance in Mumbai that same month, a bike burst into flames on the highway, but onlookers simply stood by and filmed the whole thing instead of trying to rescue the biker. In fact, a 2013 survey conducted by SAVELife foundation found that 74 percent of Indians said they were unlikely to help an accident victim, even if there were several bystanders around. This is probably because they’re afraid of being falsely implicated and say the police will assume they are involved or guilty if they do try to help. It’s also to avoid taking on the responsibility of being a witness if a court case were to happen because of how tedious and long legal proceedings can be in India. They were also worried that taking the victim to a hospital would put pressure on them to pay the medical bills, and thus prefer to look on instead of involving themselves in the incident.
https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/qvga95/rajasthan-man-burns-to-death-as-onlookers-film-the-incident-instead-of-helping-him?utm_source=viceasiafb&utm_campaign=global&fbclid=IwAR0Bb1VtJWv_LRWKWjLm6auYFvyoaA6gqOIIHSYDfYr1tpzLHPDqZBTy8W4
:o Damn !!
India is clearly not the place to have a accident or Expect to be Helped.
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A New Jersey bill would require schoolchildren to be taught cursive handwriting
Should children be required to learn cursive?
A New Jersey legislator says so. Assemblywoman Angela McKnight has introduced a bill that would require elementary schools to teach kids how to read and write in the graceful, flowing loops taught to previous generations as a matter of course.
You remember cursive handwriting. It's what we use to sign our names on, say, a check or other legal document. It's fallen out of favor in the digital age, even getting dropped from Common Core standards in 2010.
Since then, many schools have stopped teaching it, New Jersey Assembly Democrats say.
"In some cases, children are entering middle school without knowing how to sign their own name in cursive," McKnight (D-Hudson) said in a statement. "We are doing our children a disservice by not teaching them a vital skill they will need for the rest of their lives."
California, Texas, North Carolina and other states have moved to encourage cursive in recent years.
"Our world has indeed become increasingly dependent on technology, but how will our students ever know how to read a scripted font on a word document, or even sign the back of a check, if they never learn to read and write in cursive?" McKnight said.
Even in the days of texting, some research shows cursive still can improve cognitive development, spelling and writing speed.
"When writing cursive, the word becomes a unit, rather than a series of separate strokes, and correct spelling is more likely to be retained," says the International Dyslexia Association. "The Declaration of Independence and many other important archival documents are written in cursive. A cursive signature is more difficult to forge than a printed one."
Research also shows that we learn more when taking notes in longhand compared to taking notes on, say, a laptop.
"Knowing how to write in cursive isn't only for writing 'thank you' cards to Grandma — research suggests it can boost kids' reading and writing skills, too," says publishing company Scholastic.
The bill was introduced in the state legislature last month and is heading to the education committee for review.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/08/us/new-jersey-cursive-bill-trnd/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=bb28838633-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_12_09_03_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-bb28838633-95217593
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Sheriff: One dead, one seriously injured in avalanche at Lake Tahoe ski resort
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A New Jersey bill would require schoolchildren to be taught cursive handwriting
Should children be required to learn cursive?
A New Jersey legislator says so. Assemblywoman Angela McKnight has introduced a bill that would require elementary schools to teach kids how to read and write in the graceful, flowing loops taught to previous generations as a matter of course.
You remember cursive handwriting. It's what we use to sign our names on, say, a check or other legal document. It's fallen out of favor in the digital age, even getting dropped from Common Core standards in 2010.
Since then, many schools have stopped teaching it, New Jersey Assembly Democrats say.
"In some cases, children are entering middle school without knowing how to sign their own name in cursive," McKnight (D-Hudson) said in a statement. "We are doing our children a disservice by not teaching them a vital skill they will need for the rest of their lives."
California, Texas, North Carolina and other states have moved to encourage cursive in recent years.
"Our world has indeed become increasingly dependent on technology, but how will our students ever know how to read a scripted font on a word document, or even sign the back of a check, if they never learn to read and write in cursive?" McKnight said.
Even in the days of texting, some research shows cursive still can improve cognitive development, spelling and writing speed.
"When writing cursive, the word becomes a unit, rather than a series of separate strokes, and correct spelling is more likely to be retained," says the International Dyslexia Association. "The Declaration of Independence and many other important archival documents are written in cursive. A cursive signature is more difficult to forge than a printed one."
Research also shows that we learn more when taking notes in longhand compared to taking notes on, say, a laptop.
"Knowing how to write in cursive isn't only for writing 'thank you' cards to Grandma — research suggests it can boost kids' reading and writing skills, too," says publishing company Scholastic.
The bill was introduced in the state legislature last month and is heading to the education committee for review.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/08/us/new-jersey-cursive-bill-trnd/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=bb28838633-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_12_09_03_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-bb28838633-95217593
Teach basic skills in schools. This includes handwriting.
Take that electronic whiteboard and trash it.
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If you think that’s dumb, we’ve got a statue to sell ya
The police in India caught someone trying to offload the “Statue of Unity” -- the world’s tallest, at almost 600 feet -- for $4B, claiming the proceeds would go toward fighting the virus.
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Police in India lodged a case this week against an unknown online fraudster who tried selling the world’s largest statue for $4 billion, claiming the proceeds would be used to help the Gujarat state government fund its fight against the coronavirus.
While the plot to sell the ‘Statue of Unity”, a monument that is nearly twice the height of New York’s Statue of Liberty, is among the most brazen cases, police say cybercrimes have surged since the health scare gripped the country.
With scams ranging from free mobile recharges, to offers of free Netflix subscriptions, federal home ministry officials say there has been 86% percent rise in cyber crime in the past four weeks.
Police and internal security officials said scammers have created fake versions of the flagship ‘PM CARES Fund’ payments interface that look deceptively similar to the original and many Indians and Non-Residents Indians (NRIs) have fallen prey.
“We have received over 8,300 complaints from individuals across India and NRIs who have donated thousands of dollars into fake accounts,” said a senior home ministry official, adding the retrieval process is a complex task.
“We have already blocked all handles with permutations and combinations of the ‘PM Cares Fund’ that were illegitimate and we are being watchful and ensuring that the handles for donations get verified,” said Dilip Asbe, CEO of National Payments Corporation of India, an umbrella organisation for retail payments.
Police have registered cases against fake offers that Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) telecom arm Jio and streaming service Netflix Inc were offering discounted services at a time when over 1.3 billion people were forced to live indoors for 21 days to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Officials at Netflix and Jio declined to comment on the fraud conducted under their company’s name.
CERT-In, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team and ReBIT, the technology arm of Reserve Bank of India recently issued warnings about online threats and scams and asked financial institutions to be aware.
“The U.S. Secret Service has also warned nations that during time of uncertainty and increased online activity, cyber criminals are actively working to exploit the current COVID-19 story with attacks aimed at taking advantage of the situation,” said Nitin Bhatnagar, a senior official at PCI Security Standards Council, a global standards body for the payment card industry.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-india-fraud-idUSKBN21P0KH
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South Carolina Restaurant Allegedly Resold Costco Pizza At 700% Markup
Yes, having a Costco membership can be a godsend in some regards. You can stock up on frozen foods to last you until the end of time. But if you were a restaurant, would you go as far as to buy some Costco brand frozen pizza and pass it off as your own?
Apparently that's what a restaurant in South Carolina did, reports The Post and Courier.
Coquin, a wine bar in Charleston, is selling "Roman-style" pizzas for $18 and $20 depending if they are plain or have toppings as a way for the restaurant to transition into delivery during this worldwide pandemic. However, the Post and Courier had been alerted by both patrons and employees of the restaurant that the pizza they were offering for delivery had in fact been pre-purchased from Costco's frozen food section .
According to the Post and Courier, a reporter spotted the owner of Coquin receive a delivery order and walk up to his private residence leaving with "Fresh Pizza, Oven Baked" boxes. Afterwards the reporter discovered four-pack boxes of Kirkland's Signature Cheese Pizzas with Breadcrumb Crusts (about $10 for four pizzas) in the restaurant's dumpster.
When asked directly, however, the owner denied that the pizzas sold for delivery were from Costco.
Even with fresh toppings thrown onto Costco's already existing $2.50 cheese base, this comes out to about a 700% markup. Which is arguably just as bad as hoarding toilet paper and disinfectant and selling it at a higher price during these times.
Coquin's website for pizza delivery is currently down at the time of publication.
https://www.foodbeast.com/news/costco-frozen-pizza-resell/?utm_source=partnerships&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=thrillist&fbclid=IwAR30xUmeZS6oTv-ALOQ70dNSOEemSwCpYCePYRsMhUQUichPfzCDBLUrU14
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Jobless claims undo decade's worth of employment gains
Millions of Americans join unemployment line as coronavirus savages economy
A stunning 26.5 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits since mid-March, confirming that all the jobs gained during the longest employment boom in U.S. history have been wiped out as the novel coronavirus savages the economy.
The deepening economic slump amid nationwide lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19, the potentially lethal respiratory illness caused by the virus, was underscored by other data on Thursday showing business activity sinking to an all-time low in April. In addition, new home sales decreased by the most in more than 6-1/2 years in March.
“At this point it would take a miracle to keep this recession from turning into the Great Depression II,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. “The risks to the outlook are that the economy is digging itself such a big deep hole that it will become harder and harder to climb back out of it.”
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 4.427 million for the week ended April 18, the Labor Department said. That compared to 5.237 million in the prior week. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 4.2 million claims in the latest week.
Since March 21, 26.453 million people have filed claims for unemployment benefits, representing 16.2% of the labor force. That has led to dire predictions of 30 million job losses during the COVID-19 pandemic and an unemployment rate at levels not seen since the Great Depression. The economy created 22 million jobs during the employment boom which started in September 2010 and abruptly ended in February this year.
The rising tide of grim economic numbers has been met with protests, which have largely been viewed as political, for states and local governments to reopen non-essential businesses. President Donald Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House in November’s general election, has also been growing anxious to restart the paralyzed economy.
A handful of Republican-led states are reopening their economies, despite warnings from health experts of a potential new surge in infections. Economists also warn that there is no guarantee that Americans will feel safe to visit shopping malls.
“Today’s report shows the labor market is almost certainly pushing into new territory, jolting the unemployment rate up above the Great Recession’s 10% peak and wiping out more jobs than we’ve gained in the recovery,” said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor, a website recruitment firm.
In a separate report on Thursday, data firm IHS Markit said its flash U.S. Composite Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, plunged to a reading of 27.4 this month, the lowest since the series began in late-2009, from 40.9 in March.
New home sales fell 15.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 627,000 units in March, the Commerce Department said in another report. The percentage decline was the largest since July 2013.
RAPID DETERIORATION
The deteriorating economic data reinforces economists’ contention that the economy entered recession in March.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, the private research institute regarded as the arbiter of U.S. recessions, does not define a recession as two consecutive quarters of decline in real GDP, as is the rule of thumb in many countries. Instead, it looks for a drop in activity, spread across the economy and lasting more than a few months.
Last week’s claims report covered the period during which the government surveyed business establishments for the nonfarm payrolls component of April’s employment report. Economists are forecasting as many as 25 million jobs were lost in April after the economy purged 701,000 positions in March, which was the largest decline in 11 years.
Though weekly jobless filings remain very high, last week’s 810,000 decrease in claims marked the third straight weekly decline in applications, raising hopes that the worst may be over. Weekly claims appeared to have peaked at a record 6.867 million in the week ended March 28.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher as investors focused on the weekly decline in claims. The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices were trading mostly lower.
Florida, which together with Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia is reopening businesses this weekend, continued to see a surge in claims last week. But New York and Michigan reported fewer applications. Georgia reported a drop in claims.
The overall decrease in claims has been attributed to difficulties by states in processing large volumes of applications and a historic $2.3 trillion fiscal package, which made provisions for small businesses to access loans that could be partially forgiven if they were used for employee salaries.
An additional $484 billion in a fresh relief package for small business loans is expected soon. The handful of states easing restrictions could serve as a barometer for the overall economy when it reopens.
“We would assume jobless claims will fall back sharply here, but if consumers remain reluctant to go shopping or visit a restaurant due to lingering COVID-19 fears, then employment is not going to rebound quickly,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York.
“As such it would be another signal that a V-shaped recovery for the U.S. economy is highly unlikely.”
With weekly claims stabilizing, the focus is shifting to the number of people on unemployment benefits rolls. The so-called continuing claims data is reported with a one-week lag.
Continuing claims jumped 4.064 million to a record 15.976 million in the week ending April 11. Continuing claims have not increased at the same pace as initial jobless applications.
Economists believe some people thrown out of work because of state-mandated “stay-at-home” orders found employment at supermarkets, warehouses and delivery services companies. They expect the unemployment rate will shatter the post-World War Two record of 10.8% touched in November 1982.
The jobless rate shot up 0.9 percentage point, the largest single-month change since January 1975, to 4.4% in March.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/record-u-s-jobless-claims-wipe-out-post-great-recession-employment-gains-idUSKCN2250CS
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After A 17-Year Siesta, Millions Of Cicadas Are About To Emerge In Parts Of The US
Undeniably, 2020 has had a bit of an “end of the world” kind of vibe about it. First there were the fires, then the plague (read: global pandemic), and just to top it off (we're not even halfway through the year) there’ll soon be swarms of insects in their millions in parts of America. Instead of locusts however, May will see the return of millions of cicadas of the genus Magicicada that have been biding their time underground for 17 years.
Periodical cicadas are so named owing to their timely appearance above ground. "They are generational events,” entomologist Gene Kritsky, who developed an app for tracking these insects, told West Virginia's Register-Herald. “And many people use the emergence to mark the passage of time, recall key events in their lives and just remember where they were and what they were doing the last time the cicadas came out."
The brood emerging in 2020, called brood XI, hasn’t been seen since 2003. The length of time needed for cicada larvae to mature into adults underground varies across the genus, with some making an appearance after just one year while for others, like brood XI, it can be as long as 17 years. The life cycle of periodic cicadas is one of the great mysteries for biological scientists and exactly why they take so long still isn’t fully understood.
One thing we do know is that when the cicadas, which are buried in the soil during this time of maturation, are ready to emerge, breed, and lay eggs, they come out when the soil warms up, usually during May. Their numbers continue to increase, with peak emergence usually hitting by June. Once they reach the surface, the race is on to shed their underground coats and start finding a partner, as they have a brief life expectancy of around 4 to 6 weeks, and in their haste to get going these animals are not shy.
The tsunami of brood XI spells a noisy few weeks for Southwest Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia as the males sing to find themselves a female. Periodical cicadas are one of the noisiest insects on Earth, creating a vibrating sound using membranes on the side of their body to kick up a racket that can reach over 90 decibels, about the level of a lawnmower. With as many as 1.5 million cicadas expected per acre in the above-mentioned states, residents should steel themselves for an earful.
"Communities and farms with large numbers of cicadas emerging at once may have a substantial noise issue," warned entomologist Eric Day at Virginia Tech in a statement. "Hopefully, any annoyance at the disturbance is tempered by just how infrequent – and amazing – this event is."
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/after-a-17year-siesta-millions-of-cicadas-are-about-to-emerge-in-parts-of-the-us/?fbclid=IwAR0DgXzTmjpfH7qRh2ruLpw4z_jtwKQT9VS5-eW0zztP7QM3zKkGQu-ZsZk
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A Black Widow Delivered Some Harsh Truths To A Trio Of Aspiring Spider Men
Three boys in Bolivia learned the hard way that with great power comes fevers, tremors, and muscle pains as they tried to inherit the powers of Spider-Man by letting a black widow spider bite them. The boys aged 8, 10, and 12 fortunately didn’t succumb to the unfortunate incident and were released from hospital a week later, sadly sans superpowers.
According to a report from Ministry of Health officials, the three boys from Chayanta, Bolivia, were herding goats when eight-legged inspiration struck as they discovered a spider whose black and red markings reminded them of the superhero. Spurred on by the allure of spidey senses, the ability to climb walls, and shoot webs, they decided to try and make the spider bite them so they could be like the famed hero. Unaware of the creature’s potent venom, they decided to poke the spider with a stick in an attempt to goad it into biting them. The angry black widow took the bait and bit all three boys who were later found crying by their mother.
She rushed the boys to a nearby health center where, as no medications seemed to be improving their condition, it was decided they should be transferred to hospital. By the time they reached the Children’s Hospital in La Paz they were experiencing fevers, tremors, and muscle pains. After a week of treatment, the boys were eventually discharged from the hospital and sent home to recover from their less than Marvel-ous adventure.
According to a post on Telemundo, the officials reported the incident as a lesson for parents to "be careful" because "for children everything is real, movies are real, dreams can be real, and they are the illusion of our lifetime."
While highly dangerous with venom 15 times more powerful than that of a rattlesnake, black widow spiders will only bite when they feel threatened. They are perfectly safe if left well alone but goading them with a stick will probably end unfavorably for you. If bitten, most healthy adults will feel unwell and experience some pain but eventually recover. However, for young children as well as the elderly or those with health problems the bite can sometimes prove fatal.
As much as we’d all like to swing, climb, and predict future events like our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, there’s unfortunately no scientific evidence that getting bitten by spiders, or any other animals for that matter, does much beyond risking pain, sickness, and infection. However, if the first result in Google is to be believed, we might be closer to sharing a spidey sense than we realized…
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/a-black-widow-delivered-some-harsh-truths-to-a-trio-of-aspiring-spider-men/?fbclid=IwAR0ZkHDND4b0MUyq50O8o6Cah9phm6HX5zN-I-KEWWk4YZ-LAOSL4wY5JHo
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How a Night of Chaos in Minneapolis Unfolded
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How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody
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How India’s Police Used a Pandemic to Boost Its Image
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Funeral Homes in Mexico Show Coronavirus’ Hidden Death Toll
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Retired Clark Teacher in Search of Former Students to Open Time Capsule
CLARK, NJ - If the silver vessel pictured above looks familiar, chances are you were a fourth grade student in Ms. Barbara Jean Delnero's fourth grade class at Frank K. Hehnly Elementary School in the year 2000. It's 20 years later and according to the directions clearly labeled on the front of that shiny container, it is due to be opened on June 20, 2020.
Delnero is searching for students from her 1999-2000 class to join her in opening a time capsule the class prepared at the turn of the century. "The items students put in there don't reflect today's technology or many of the major events that have happened since that time like 9/11 or Superstorm Sandy and more, it was a different time," she said.
Now retired, Delnero kept the time capsule in her possession as promised for the planned opening. She is hoping her class will join her.
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/clark/sections/education/articles/retired-clark-teacher-in-search-of-former-students-to-open-time-capsule
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How Toilet Paper Companies Dealt With The 845% Demand Spike
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Interesting.^
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Nevada OKs $200M in bonds for Vegas-to-SoCal high-speed train
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Nevada officials have approved issuing up to $200 million in state bonds for a high-speed train project connecting Las Vegas with Southern California.
The State Board of Finance unanimously approved the bond financing for XpressWest, the parent company of the Virgin Trains project, during a meeting Friday.
XpressWest will be able to issue the bonds at up to four times the state allocation, meaning they could be worth as much as $800 million.
The bonds could only be used for designing, developing and building facilities for the high-speed rail, and not for the trains themselves, said Terry J. Reynolds, director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, during Friday's meeting.
The project also received approval for up to $750 million in bond allocation from the federal government.
A spokesman for the Nevada Treasurer's office said the bonds won't use any taxpayer dollars and wouldn't impact the state's ability to finance any future projects.
"This project is a long time coming to Nevada and I'm pleased to take this step forward to bring this vision to reality and bring additional jobs to our state," Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said in a statement.
The proposed high-speed train would begin at a station near Blue Diamond Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, run south along Interstate 15 and end in Victorville, California.
State officials expect the project to result in $2 billion in economic impact, with $325 million in new tax revenue for Nevada, according to a press release from the treasurer's office.
Clark County commissioners gave their approval for the bond financing earlier this week. The rail system is pegged for completion in 2023.
https://news3lv.com/news/local/200-million-in-nevada-bonds-approved-for-high-speed-train-to-california
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USPS Plans to Slash Hours at Many Post Offices, Hoping to Save A Buck
Post offices around the country are slashing their hours—including during the busiest times of day—with little notice as yet another abrupt cost-saving measure, according to interviews with union officials conducted by Motherboard and various local news reports. The USPS had also planned to close some offices entirely with just three weeks’ notice, likely in violation of federal law, but appears to be backtracking.
The sudden changes come as part of a slate of policies instituted by the new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump donor with a history of anti-union practices at his private logistics firm New Breed Logistics, that are ostensibly about fiscal responsibility but have contributed to mail being delayed across the country and have postal workers concerned they’re no longer being allowed to do their jobs. Many postal employees also believe the changes will only make the post office’s financial situation worse.
“A lot of this has been dropped on us with little or no communication,” said Elizabeth Coonan, a steward for the American Postal Workers Union Local 3264 in the Clarksburg, West Virginia area. “The times that they’re slating [the offices] to close is when they do a lot of business.”
When asked about the hours reductions and closures, USPS spokesperson Kim Frum provided the same written statement the USPS has been providing to most national media inquiries over recent weeks regarding the USPS’s cost-cutting measures. The statement uses broad language about “developing a business plan to ensure that we will be financially stable and able to continue to provide dependable, affordable, safe and secure delivery of mail and packages to all Americans as a vital part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.” Frum then provided a link to DeJoy’s similarly vague “Statement on Operational Excellence.” Pressed for details on the closures, Frum said she could not provide any further information.
As a result, it’s difficult to get a complete picture of how many of the post office’s 31,322 retail locations nationwide are impacted by the new hours. Coogan told Motherboard that in her region of West Virginia 26 offices are being forced to reduce hours from the typical eight-hour weekday schedule to under four hours per day. Another 31 offices are being forced to close during lunch hours, typically among the busiest times of day at a post office. Frank Bollinger, the business agent for APWU Local 526 in southern New Jersey, told Motherboard that 10 offices in his region are dropping from nine open hours per weekday to four, while another 30 are slated to close during lunch hours.
Included in those 10 offices is one in East Camden, a low income neighborhood with many unbanked residents who rely on the post office’s money order processing. Bollinger says that at the beginning of the month, that office typically fields “well above” $35,000 in money orders per day, which is now in jeopardy thanks to the reduced hours.
“If I can’t make it to the post office,” Bollinger said, “I’m not going to use the post office.”
In addition to West Virginia and New Jersey, post offices in Berkeley, California; Petersburg, Alaska, Youngstown, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tennessee have announced similar plans to reduce hours. All of the changes Motherboard has reviewed were announced only by signs hanging on the post office doors.
On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia sent a letter to DeJoy regarding the “imminent closure or significant reduction in hours and services” as post offices “in my state and across the nation.” Manchin’s letter noted that “this would likely be a violation of both federal law and United States Postal Service (USPS) rules that prescribe a specific closure process which requires, at minimum, 120 days’ notice,” a far cry from the three weeks under the current plan. By Tuesday evening, Coonan told Motherboard the post office had “walked back its position on closing the offices” and they are “currently reevaluating the situation.”
This is not the first time the USPS has moved to abruptly close post office locations without following the legally prescribed procedures for doing so. In 2011, the Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway protested in a letter to then-Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe that the USPS was closing offices nationwide without informing the PRC as they are required to do by law.
For her part, Coonan doesn’t think DeJoy—who has never worked for the USPS before becoming postmaster general in June—is putting the USPS on a path to success or that his cost-cutting measures will do anything positive. “Slashing and hacking has already been tried,” she said. “It’s not going to work.”
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wxq47q/usps-plans-to-slash-hours-at-many-post-offices-hoping-to-save-a-buck?utm_content=1596043804&utm_medium=social&utm_source=VICE_facebook&fbclid=IwAR3XZ7IO4RDy6T4LaOWaY-R_0n7Uqa8wzWn5p3agQeEcyRBTq6uCtihz_3g
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North Carolina hit by 5.1 magnitude earthquake, the strongest since 1916
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USPS Workers Don’t Know What to Make of So-Called ‘Friday Night Massacre’
Around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time on Friday afternoon, postal workers around the country started seeing a post on the internal post office network announcing yet another seemingly massive and confusing change to the United States Postal Service.
The new policies, which were first reported by the Washington Post, amount to an executive and management shakeup. The memo announced a management-level hiring freeze and the beginning of a process to accept voluntary early retirement from non-union employees in the management class. The USPS will also consolidate by enlarging regions and operations areas. For example, instead of dividing the U.S. into seven retail and delivery operations areas, it will now be divided into four.
Typically, such changes to any government entity would barely be noticed by most of the employees within the organization, much less those outside of it. But these are not typical times at the USPS. Its every move has become highly politicized due to the critical role it will play in the upcoming election and the suspicion that the new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a longtime Republican fundraiser and Trump donor, is intentionally disrupting the USPS so as to aid in his preferred candidate’s re-election. And DeJoy has wasted no time making lots of moves.
DeJoy made one of his first orders of business desecrating the sacred notion that every piece of mail gets delivered every day no matter what, causing widespread mail backups and package delays across the country. At Friday’s Board of Governors meeting, DeJoy called on Congress to “enact reform legislation that addresses our unaffordable retirement payments” while also promising to make more changes in the future to “focus on improving operational efficiency and pursuing other reforms in order to put the Postal Service on a trajectory for long-term financial stability.”
But Democrats don’t see a small-business Republican cutting costs from a bloated bureaucracy—which lost $2.2 billion in the most recent quarter, roughly on par with the $2.3 billion lost in the same quarter last year—as DeJoy would have them believe. Instead, they see a “trojan horse” sabotaging the postal service.
Pennsylvania Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon called the new policies another “Friday night massacre” by the Trump administration, even though it does not appear anyone lost their job. “The announcement on Friday set forth a change to organizational structure only,” USPS spokesman David Partenheimer told Motherboard. “The announcement did not include any terminations or layoffs and very specifically stated that the changes did not initiate a reduction in force and there were no immediate impacts to USPS employees.”
But the term made headlines over the weekend nonetheless. Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly tweeted it was “deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election.” Senator Elizabeth Warren asked “How many ways can the new Postmaster General sabotage the USPS?” In a press release, Congresswoman Alma Adams of North Carolina and Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon called for DeJoy to resign or be removed from office.
While many postal workers are wary of DeJoy’s actions and motivations, the three postal workers at various levels Motherboard spoke to don’t know what to make of the changes announced Friday, partly because the changes are so vague it’s hard to know what the changes really mean. But they’re also leaving open the possibility the changes could have some positive effects. A bloated, wasteful management structure that obstructs productivity rather than enabling it has been one of the most consistent complaints among postal employees for decades, according to dozens of interviews conducted with postal workers over recent weeks.The question is whether the new changes address that or merely shuffle the problem around.
At the surface level, DeJoy’s reorganization echoes what has occurred in the private sector as logistics management has become more sophisticated. A 2010 blog post by the USPS Office of Inspector General explained that, since 1992, the USPS conducted an increase in the number of regions and areas of management from five to nine in 2006 (it has since been reduced to seven). But private sector companies like UPS and Walmart did the opposite, reducing the number of operational regions over that same time.
What, exactly, these changes mean for the USPS’s ability to deliver mail, packages, medication, and ballots remains to be seen. A powerpoint presentation obtained by Motherboard lays out a four week “transition plan” schedule beginning today, August 10, and ending September 4.
While some have criticized Trump for appointing DeJoy as postmaster general even though he’s never worked for the post office, the new divisions will at least be headed by longtime Post Office employees for now, according to the PowerPoint presentation. For example, the head of delivery operations, Joshua Colin, has worked for the USPS since 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile. The new Vice President of retail, Angela Curtis, has worked there since 2011. Mike Barber, the new head of processing and maintenance operations, is in his 40th year at the organization.
That being said, the current postal workers Motherboard spoke to—on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak to the media—are worried not so much by what is being done as they are the speed with which it is occurring, especially when it’s implemented by a postmaster general with questionable motives, who has been on the job for less than two months. As one person familiar with the reorganization plan put it, there have been “too many major changes for DeJoy who has not had the time at the helm to fully understand the organization, which is not like any other business.”
Likewise, the USPS also announced a “new organizational structure” broken down into three units: Retail and delivery operations, logistics and processing operations, and commerce and business solutions.
This announcement confused some postal workers who don’t understand how it’s different than what currently exists. “We do have a separation between retail and delivery services and processing services and commercial services,” said a postmaster from New England. “Those are all different people in my district.” This person is unsure how a reorganization that doesn’t change anything can lead to efficiency and savings.
Even more concerning is the degree to which these changes have been seemingly coming out of nowhere. Typically the postmaster in New England will get some details from the district manager about what changes are coming before they’re announced. But that’s not how it’s happened under DeJoy. “I didn’t have any sense this was going to happen at all.”
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3az48n/usps-workers-dont-know-what-to-make-of-so-called-friday-night-massacre?utm_content=1597078819&utm_medium=social&utm_source=VICE_facebook&fbclid=IwAR1kYKzZRI_7PqA_4D15hE3hlw8rOs9ECa01DY4dwSDM4WwnEggeIIbrbvs
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The Post Office Is Deactivating Mail Sorting Machines Ahead of the Election
Good thing nobody's predicting a huge surge in mail any time soon.
The United States Postal Service is removing mail sorting machines from facilities around the country without any official explanation or reason given, Motherboard has learned through interviews with postal workers and union officials. In many cases, these are the same machines that would be tasked with sorting ballots, calling into question promises made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that the USPS has “ample capacity” to handle the predicted surge in mail-in ballots.
Motherboard identified 19 mail sorting machines from five processing facilities across the U.S. that either have already been removed or are scheduled to be in the near future. But the Postal Service operates hundreds of distribution facilities around the country, so it is not clear precisely how many machines are getting removed and for what purpose.
Even to local union officials, USPS has not announced any policy, explained why they are doing this, what will happen to the machines and the workers who use them. Nor has management provided a rationale for dismantling and removing the machines from the facility rather than merely not operating them when they’re not needed.
“I’m not sure you’re going to find an answer for why [the machines being removed] makes sense,” said Iowa Postal Workers Union President Kimberly Karol, “because we haven’t figured that out either.”
The postal workers Motherboard spoke to said having machines removed, replaced, or modified is nothing new, but this time it seems to be more widespread, include a larger number of machines at their respective facility, and potentially impacts the facility’s ability to process large numbers of mail, including ballots, in a short time span.
“Look at it this way: Your local grocery store was forced to cut 1/3 of its cash-out lines, but management expected the same productivity, quality, and speed for the customer,” said an employee at a Buffalo distribution facility, which they said is set to lose six out of 21 mail sorting machines. “It’s just never going to happen.”
After publication, USPS spokesperson David Partenheimer told Motherboard, “The Postal Service routinely moves equipment around its network as necessary to match changing mail and package volumes. Package volume is up, but mail volume continues to decline. Adapting our processing infrastructure to the current volumes will ensure more efficient, cost effective operations and better service for our customers.”
While the consequences of this new policy are mostly unclear for now, it neatly fits with the sudden, opaque, and drastic changes made by DeJoy, a longtime Republican fundraiser and Trump donor, in the less than two months he’s been postmaster general. Like his other changes, including the curtailing of overtime resulting in the widespread mail delays and sudden reorganization of the entire USPS, it is possible to see some semblance of corporate logic while second-guessing the decision to make drastic changes on the eve of the presidential election in which the USPS will play a critical role.
Most of the machines being dismantled in the facilities Motherboard identified are delivery bar code sorters (DBCS), into which letters, postcards and similarly sized mail (but not magazines and large envelopes, which are categorized as “flats” and sorted differently) are fed. The DBCS sorts the mail into one of hundreds of “stackers,” a slot about a foot long. Each slot is for a different destination, be it another post office or distribution facility.
A DBCS typically requires two workers to operate: one to feed the mail into the machine, and the other to collect the mail from the stackers and put them in the appropriate bins for transport. Running at peak efficiency, the machines can sort about 35,000 pieces of mail per hour, a remarkable and oddly mesmerizing feat. But during times of short staffing or low mail volume—both of which have occurred during COVID—DBCSs can be run with one and a half or even just a single worker, albeit less productively.
Marketing mail is down more than 15 percent through June of this year compared to last year. While this is a much steeper drop than recent years, it is continuing a decade-long trend of mail volume decline for everything but packages. In other words, DBCSs have less mail to sort than they ever have before and it’s far from clear how much of that mail is ever coming back. So it stands to reason the USPS might not need as many of them.
The postal workers interviewed by Motherboard understood this, and in some cases even made the argument some DBCS machines might be of better use at other facilities. But they had other concerns about removing the machines altogether. If something goes wrong with the DBCSs they have left, there are fewer machines to pick up the slack.
“When you take out one of the machines, it takes away our ability to respond to unforeseen things that may happen,” said Karol, who added that although her facility in Waterloo will have other DBCSs, having fewer of them “limits our ability to respond” by making adjustments and moving mail around.
Paul McKenna, president of Milwaukee Area Local 3 of the American Postal Workers Union, said that some of the DBCSs staying will have about 50 more stackers added to them, meaning the machines can sort mail to a larger number of destinations. This will help alleviate the pressure during high mail volume periods like the Christmas rush—when there is simply more mail in general to all places—as well as provide advantages during lower-volume periods like the dead of summer. But it won’t necessarily help the unique challenge of election mail. In that case, the mail surge stays local.
Some letter carriers and distribution facility employees told Motherboard election mail is often sorted by hand to ensure it gets handled promptly and properly, but this seems to vary by location.
That being said, this would only be a problem for voters who waited until the last minute to send back their ballots. If mail-in ballots are sent and returned over a period of weeks instead of days, it is unlikely, the postal workers said, to stress the machines even if some are taken away.
“We would have the capacity to run the volume of ballots that are expected if we have it in a longer period of time,” said Paul McKenna, president of Milwaukee Area Local 3 of the American Postal Workers Union. He likened it to flattening the curve of coronavirus. Now, he said, Americans have to flatten a different curve.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/n7wk9z/the-post-office-is-deactivating-mail-sorting-machines-ahead-of-the-election?utm_content=1597338019&utm_medium=social&utm_source=VICE_facebook&fbclid=IwAR2Uq_r1hR9EyWVm8ObIClZKGtwdppXwY2WBzDjEtDENXt7f84q0-ZARenQ
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U.S. Postal Service shakeup sparks election fears
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Mailboxes Removed in NYC as President Trump's USPS War Rages On
A United States Postal Service truck in NYC hauled away mailboxes ... an ominous sign in the middle of a voter war over mail-in ballots ... a war waged by President Trump.
The USPS mailbox removal in NYC comes on the heels of a similar move in Portland and Eugene, OR this week ... which a Postal Service spokesperson passed off as necessary because of declining mail volume and duplicate boxes in the area.
Many Americans are growing more concerned, as the President has been a foe of mail-in voting and the USPS in general ... and recently made alarming comments about putting the brakes on funding.
Trump also met with U.S Postmaster General Louis DeJoy -- a longtime ally and supporter -- earlier in the month amid his increasing attacks on the USPS ... and shortly after DeJoy made the decision to eliminate overtime for postal workers.
Oh, and the Postal Service also recently removed some mail sorting machines
All of this has sparked big worries and outrage ... that the goal here is to make mail delivery slow and in some cases impossible, 'cause of delays. Of course, the operating theory is that mail-in ballots help Democrats and Trump will stop at nothing to blunt it.
It's pretty outrageous ... in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic where lots of people want to vote by mail because they fear for their safety and the safety of others, 45's focus is winning re-election.
UPDATE:
9:29 AM PT -- Barack Obama's weighed in on the Postal Service situation ... and took a major shot at Trump in the process.''
The former president says EVERYONE depends on the USPS, and they "can't be collateral damage for an administration more concerned with suppressing the vote than suppressing a virus."
https://www.tmz.com/2020/08/14/usps-mailboxes-removed-manhattan-president-trump-post-office-fight/?fbclid=IwAR1_K3_dWoIpVm-FZava_TdP0WKzFRxUIG4-iJfBWZECjkpO35UJGhGCOtI
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The Post Office Is the New Battleground for Trump's War on Mail-In Voting
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Trump campaign sues N.J. to stop Murphy’s vote-by-mail order, calling it ‘brazen power grab'
Accusing Gov. Phil Murphy of a “brazen power grab,” President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has asked a federal judge to overturn the state’s plan to send ballots to all 6.2 million registered voters this fall.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court by the Trump campaign, joined by the Republican National Committee and the New Jersey Republican State Committee. Among their lawyers is state Sen. Michael Testa, R-Cumberland, a frequent Murphy critic.
“In the state of New Jersey, where their universal vote-by-mail system has already resulted in fraud and disenfranchisement, Governor Murphy continues to remove safeguards against abuse,” Trump campaign counsel Matt Morgan said.
“With a stroke of his pen, the governor told his people their votes may not count – they may even be stolen – and that’s fine by him.”
Murphy has sought to expand mail voting due to the coronavirus pandemic, and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Tuesday said the state will sue the U.S. Postal Service over concerns the Trump administration is purposely crippling the agency ahead of the surge in mail-in ballots.
The postmaster general on Tuesday backed off on making changes blamed for delaying mail delivery, but Grewal said the lawsuit would proceed and the House is to vote Saturday to rescind the adjustments to mail operations already made.
“Governor Murphy has consistently put people ahead of politics and protected the health and safety of New Jersey residents throughout the pandemic, and his decision to allow universal mail in voting in the November election is no different,” state Democratic chairman John Currie said. “President Trump’s lawsuit is another clear attack on our democracy and on our voting rights, just like his efforts to destroy the Post Office and delegitimize the electoral process.”
Trump and other Republicans, though, claimed that more absentee balloting would lead to more vote fraud.
“We said every option was on the table,” state Republican Chairman Doug Steinhardt said. “We picked one. Governor Murphy, we’ll see you in court, again.”
The Trump campaign also has sued Pennsylvania, Nevada and Iowa, which also have sought to expand vote by mail, according to Rick Hasen a professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine, and author of a blog on election law.
Trump last week said he opposed House Democratic efforts to provide $25 billion to the Postal Service and $3.6 billion to states to help them handle an expected surge of mail ballots. The funds are in the House-passed $3.4 trillion stimulus bill that the president has threatened to veto.
“They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump told the Fox Business Network last Thursday. “If they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting because they’re not equipped to have it.”
Studies have shown vote by mail has not prompted widespread fraud, as Republicans have claimed. A 2017 study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that the rate of voter fraud for mail-in ballots was 0.00004% to 0.0009%.
And the Washington Post found possible double voting or voting on behalf of dead people in just 372 of 14.6 million ballots cast in Colorado, Oregon and Washington, which send ballots to all registered voters as New Jersey plans to do this fall.
Still, there were cases of voter fraud in Paterson’s municipal elections in May, where 800 ballots were thrown out and state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal brought charges against four individuals.
“In New Jersey’s primary election, dead people voted, a mail truck carrying ballots actually caught fire, countless voters saw their ballots rejected, and the Democrat attorney general is prosecuting multiple people for fraud, yet Democrats still want to implement a rushed transition to an all-mail election,” Republican National Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.
Murphy acknowledged some problems with the July 7 primary, the first election conducted primarily by mail, but said that the system overall worked well and county clerks will have a lot more time to prepare for the general election.
Primary turnout was 26% of New Jersey’s registered voters, the same percentage as the presidential primary four years ago. Both recorded the highest percentage turnout since 2008, when 35% of New Jersey voters cast ballots.
“We think largely it was a very good result, particularly balancing the sacred right to vote at the center of democracy along with public health and respecting people’s health and the combination of vote-by-mail and in-person,” Murphy said Aug. 10 at his coronavirus press briefing.
He also contended that the fact that the Paterson voter fraud was easily found showed that systems are in place to prevent ballots from being cast illegally.
“I view that data point in Paterson as a positive one,” Murphy said during his coronavirus press briefing Monday. “People tried to mess with the system and they got caught and they’ve been indicted, and that’s the way it should be.”
Trump and other Republicans have cited fear of fraud in fighting efforts across the country by states to send out ballots to all registered voters or count votes postmarked by Election Day but received later.
They’ve been able to be so active because this is the first presidential election in almost four decades where the Republican National Committee’s voter activities are not encumbered by court-ordered restrictions stemming from the 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election.
Those activities had been limited by a court decree after the state GOP was accused of targeting heavily minority communities that tend to support Democratic candidates.
https://www.nj.com/politics/2020/08/trump-campaign-sues-nj-to-stop-murphys-vote-by-mail-order-calling-it-brazen-power-grab.html?utm_content=nj_facebook_njcom&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=njcom_sf&fbclid=IwAR0q1M_47BqPWYsA7__vxgQogLsFk0os_8u7lFVXfgYOqGLkj4YOyuWjyww
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Stealthy Thieves Stole $9,400 From Japan’s Ninja Museum
A popular ninja museum in Japan was caught off guard when stealthy thieves broke into its office and ran away with $9,400.
The staff at the Iga-ryu Ninja Museum, a tourist attraction in central Japan, called the police as the alarm set off at 1:15 am on Monday, August 19.
But it was too late as the thieves left with a safe containing one million yen (about $ 9,400) collected from admission fees over a busy weekend when the museum got over a thousand visitors.
It took the thieves only three minutes to lift a safe believed to have weighed 150 kilograms (330 lbs) out of a one-story wooden office, according to local media.
Police said that the museum’s office was pried open, possibly with a crowbar.
"We are very disappointed as we have just been slowly recovering from the coronavirus effects on our museum," a museum staff told Japanese state broadcaster NHK.
Located in the city of Iga, the museum is famous for featuring a traditional ninja house and offering an interactive experience to visitors like throwing _shuriken_—a ninja’s iconic star-shaped weapon.
According to Kyodo news agency, Iga is home to two of the most renowned ninja clans. The ninjas were black-clad warriors of feudal Japan who are known for their stealthy moves and surprise attacks on enemy forces.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkywvy/stealthy-thieves-stole-dollar9400-from-japans-ninja-museum?utm_content=1598067001&utm_medium=social&utm_source=VICE_facebook&fbclid=IwAR2Dfhi4dfTl8hOT76Db54N19SGtR4E2G56qHEenE4Yd7dAd6qVvilt-cq8
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Tacoma Post Office Reconnects Mailing Machines In Defiance Of DeJoy’s Order
Some mail-processing plants in Washington state are reconnecting their high-speed letter-sorting machines again, despite a national order from U.S. Postal Service headquarters not to reinstall the machines that had been dismantled over the past month.
In defiance of the order, the Postal Service plants in Tacoma and Wenatchee have done just that, local NPR station KUOW reported, citing USPS employees.
As noted by the station, “forty percent of the letter-sorting machines in the Seattle-Tacoma area had been disconnected by Tuesday, when the Postal Service announced a halt to a nationwide machinery purge until after the November election.”
“I have seen a lot of machinery that has been taken out,” Postal Service truck driver Bob Bockman of Tacoma said.
The Tacoma plant lost eight of its 18 machines that sort and postmark the mail, according to workers there. The equipment was disconnected and pushed into a corner.
“Some of that machinery is going back in!” Bockman said.
By Wednesday night, five of the machines in Tacoma had been reconnected. Parts of two others had been scavenged and incorporated into the plant’s existing machines to boost their mail-sorting capacity.
The mail-processing plant in Wenatchee has also reconnected its one recently disconnected letter sorter, workers told the station.
A regional manager on Tuesday had ordered the Tacoma and Wenatchee plants to get their machines ready to run again as soon as possible, using overtime if necessary, according to the report.
The news comes less than a day after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters during a Senate hearing that he had no intention of reinstalling the dismantled machines.
“They are not needed, sir,” DeJoy said.
DeJoy acknowledged that mail deliveries have slowed, but he attributed most of the slowdown to the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://dailyboulder.com/tacoma-post-office-reconnects-mailing-machines-in-defiance-of-dejoys-order/?fbclid=IwAR2XfOOZHKCbfFrxPJaUVL_RsKi4NFqPnEIYS9IZQF7-xMH1TUQgH1lSVCg
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How to Actually Get Your Vote Counted in This Hellscape of an Election
On November 3, Americans will vote in the 2020 general election to choose a president and, to a significant degree, determine the political course of the country. But this year, as is becoming rapidly clear as Election Day approaches, the process of voting itself will look vastly different than it has in the past.
Due to the pandemic, in-person voting (like taking part in any public activity, especially indoors) may carry risk for vulnerable populations, and/or in places where COVID-19 transmission is high. As a result, many states are allowing voters to cast their ballots by mail. Regardless of where you live, you can request an absentee ballot and return it by mail in order to avoid physically going to the polls. (A heads' up, though: A few states require you to have a reason other than the pandemic to request a mail-in ballot.) You can also track the status of your vote online to ensure it’s been received and accounted for.
Still, you might have some other voting concerns outside of COVID-19: The president has admitted he’s withholding funding to the United States Postal Service to prevent mail-in ballots from being counted; the closure of polling places, creating long lines at the polls; the fact that Black and Latino voters disproportionately and frequently experience voter suppression.
While there’s no one foolproof way to vote this year, having more than one option may quell some fears, or at least help you pick the best option for you. Vote by mail, and you avoid contracting or spreading COVID-19. Fill out your mail-in ballot at home and drop it off at your local elections office or other vote drop boxes, and you avoid any USPS delays. Vote in-person and avoid filling out the paperwork for a mail-in ballot, and ensure your vote is counted then and there. While both in-person and vote-by-mail options are valid, they each come with rules and potential restrictions to consider as you make a voting plan.
Although each state has its own protocols for voting, here are some general answers to a bunch of common questions about making sure your ballot is safely and effectively cast and counted, including resources for figuring out which voting method might be best for you.
How do I check if I'm registered to vote—or even register for the first time?
If you’re at least 18 years old and a citizen of the United States, you’re eligible to vote. (The exceptions are if you’re a permanent legal resident, have certain mental disabilities, and if you’re an incarcerated felon in states like Colorado, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.) On hand, you’ll need to know your address as it’s printed on your ID and a form of identification (this includes a driver's license, passport, current bank statement, or current utility bill).
Can I register to vote online, or through the mail?
Most states and Washington D.C. offer online voter registration, where you fill out a form online with your information (name, birthdate, address) and your state-issued driver’s license or identification card number.
For those states that require your voter registration form to be delivered by mail or dropped off to the county registrar, like Arkansas, Maine, and South Dakota, you can find the form here. You’ll need to print it out, fill it out by hand, and complete the boxes for your name, address, birthdate, ID number, choice of party, race or ethnic group, and signature. Then, mail the application to your state’s board of elections, which you can find the location of here.
What is the deadline for registering to vote?
Based on where you live, you’ll need to register as early as October 5, like Indiana. Other states, like California, allow for day-of-election registration and voting, where you’ll need a form of identification, a social security number, or proof of residency. Find out what the voter registration deadline is where you live here.
How to Vote in Person on Election Day
If you’ve voted in an election in person before, heading to the polls is probably the method of voting with which you’re most familiar and comfortable, or the simplest-feeling option available to you, since it takes the least amount of paperwork. If you’re in a high-risk category or community transmission of COVID-19 is high in your area, if you have a disability, or if you fear voter suppression at the polls, voting in person may not feel like the safest or surest option—in that case, skip to the next section, where there's plenty of information about your other choices.
Where is my polling place?
If you decide to vote in person on the day of the election, first confirm the location of your polling place and check public transit schedules or shore up your ride to make sure you’ve got plenty of time to get there and that there are no interruptions to your route.
What time of day can I vote, and how long should I plan to wait in line?
The polls are open between as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 9 p.m. depending on where you live. (Find your polling place and their hours of operation here.) Some states have reduced the number of polling places, like Maryland, which has cut the number of polling places by nearly 80 percent to 282 voting centers where residents of any county can vote. This may create long lines, so make sure you’ve carved out enough time in your day—during the primaries, some voters reported waiting as long as six hours to cast their ballot—in case you run into any potential delays.
While there’s no federal law that mandates employers give workers time off to vote, thirty states have laws requiring employers to offer time off on Election Day. In Tennessee, for instance, an employee can take three paid hours off of work to go vote.
Remember, if you’re in line to vote by closing time, you are allowed to vote. Studies have shown long wait times at the polls to deter voters—and previous elections have resulted in accounts of poll workers turning away voters after polls closed. Hang tight, stay in line, and call 866-OUR-VOTE, an election protection hotline, if anyone gives you trouble about it.
How do I protect myself from COVID-19 if I vote in person?
Wear a mask, wash and/or sanitize your hands before and after voting, and practice social distancing as you wait to vote and inside your polling place. As Michelle Obama advised in her DNC speech, “We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks.... [and] be willing to stand in line." So, anticipate the possibility of more waiting time than usual and be prepared accordingly.
Aside from safety precautions and the potential reduction of polling locations and volunteers, in-person voting will largely look the same, only with more sanitizing and plexiglass: Just show up, check in, step into a socially distanced booth, and cast your vote.
What ID am I going to need to bring with me in order to vote in person?
Some states, like New Hampshire, Washington, and Mississippi, require you to provide identification in order to vote, so make sure you’ve got a form of ID on hand. If you have a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, state-issued identification card, military ID, tribal ID, or a passport, you should be good. A recent utility bill or bank statement showing your address is also valid in states like Colorado and Hawaii.
What are some issues people have faced in the past when it comes to in-person voting, and how do I report them if I encounter them?
When a voter encounters increased scrutiny or questioning from a poll worker, it may amount to voter suppression, which disproportionately affects communities of color. Your rights as a voter include asking for a paper ballot if the machines are down at your polling place, asking for a new ballot if you make a mistake, having access to a voting machine for people with disabilities, and receiving in-person assistance if you have a disability or have difficulty reading or writing in English.
Additionally, if a poll worker says your name is not on the list of registered voters, you should ask for a provisional ballot for you to complete while election officials investigate the issue. Your vote will be counted when the issue is resolved.
If anyone is questioning your citizenship, criminal record, your race, or spreading disinformation (like needing to speak English in order to vote): That’s voter suppression and you should report the incident to 866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (for Spanish-speaking voters).
How to Vote Early in Person or by Drop-Off
In order to avoid potential crowds, lines, or technological glitches with voting machines, you can opt to either vote early or by mail. In many states, you’ll need to request a mail-in ballot by completing an application. Since every state has different protocols for early voting and voting by mail, it’s extremely important that you confirm the regulations for where you, specifically, live—here's help with how to find that information.
How do I know if I can vote early in person?
Many states allow for early voting, which allows registered voters to cast their ballot in person at the office of the election supervisor, county clerk, or other municipal building before November 3. Dates, hours, and locations vary by state and county, so you’ll need to check with your local election officials to get the details.
Where and how can I drop off a ballot early?
In states like Delaware and Pennsylvania, which do not offer early in-person voting, you can physically drop off your absentee ballot in person at your local county election office by November 3. Check with your local election office website in a few weeks to see where those drop boxes are located (since it’s likely they haven’t been announced yet).
How do I get a drop-off ballot, and will I need to do or provide anything special to do that?
The ballot you’d drop off in secure drop boxes is the absentee ballot you might have to apply for that is delivered to you by mail, which may be an option for you depending on where you live.
How to Vote by Mail With an Absentee Ballot
The safest way to avoid crowds and minimize your exposure to or participation in the spread of COVID-19 is to vote by mail. You may have seen the terms “absentee ballot” and “mail-in ballot”—and they both essentially mean the same thing: You receive your ballot in the mail and send it back through the mail, too (unless you choose to drop your absentee ballot off, as described just above).
Will I have to apply for an absentee ballot before I get one?
Every state offers some form of voting by mail. A handful (Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) require a valid excuse to request an absentee ballot, like being over the age of 65, sick, or traveling on Election Day. States verify the information on an absentee ballot request by cross-checking the information on the application with the statewide voter registration database, by comparing the signature on the application with the voter registration signature, or applicants must submit a copy of their ID (in states like Alabama and South Dakota).
A few of these states which do not list the pandemic as an excuse to request an absentee ballot, like Indiana, have legal cases in the works in order to eliminate these excuses so everyone can request an absentee ballot—it remains to be seen whether these will be resolved by Election Day.
So far, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York and West Virginia have announced that pandemic-related excuses are valid for requesting an absentee ballot.
If I don't need a special reason to apply for an absentee ballot, how do I request one?
In the states where you don’t need a verifiable reason to vote by mail—or where the pandemic is enough of an excuse, like those mentioned above—you must request your mail-in ballot by filling out a form online or physically filling it out and returning it by mail. Just be aware of the deadline for when election officials need to receive your application. (It’s usually some time in late October through Election Day, but again, this depends on what state you live in.) The best course of action is to request your ballot as early as you can—starting right now.
Other states, such as Nevada, California, and New Jersey, are automatically mailing ballots to registered voters, so you don’t need to fill out an application for one. Elsewhere still, like Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, voters will automatically be mailed applications for absentee ballots—it’s up to the voter to complete and return them. Again, do this as soon as possible to avoid any delays in getting your mail-in ballot.
What do I do once I have my absentee ballot?
Following the instructions included, fill out your ballot completely, sign where noted, and package it in the return envelope. States like Alabama and North Carolina require witnesses or a notary to sign your ballot, so make sure the witness or notary signs in the appropriate spot on your ballot. Double-check to see if your envelope has pre-paid return postage or if you’ll need to supply your own postage.
Look into signature-matching—the people counting your votes may cross-reference the one you sign on your ballot with others on file with the government, like the signature on your driver's license or previous ballots. If you have questions about making sure yours lines up, call your election officials.
Is my mail-in vote going to be affected by the political attacks against the USPS?
While the general sentiment surrounding the United States Postal Service has been largely anticipatory panic at the likelihood for the agency to deliver and return ballots in time for the election, don’t lose trust in the Postal Service’s ability to safely get your vote to the right place—it's dealt with higher volumes of mail traffic than this before.
OK, but still: When should I vote to make sure my ballot arrives in time to be counted?
Place your ballot in your residential mailbox or a USPS collection box as soon as possible to ensure it reaches the election office on time. (Mail it at least a week before Election Day to account for any potential delays, according to the USPS.)
Depending on the state, your ballot must be received by the election office by November 3 (Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, and others), be postmarked on or before November 3 and arrive at the election office sometime thereafter, even as late as November 13 in some states (Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, and more). Other states are accepting mail-in ballots even later, like California: Those absentee ballots must be postmarked by November 3, but they don’t have to be received until November 20.
What do I do if I accidentally wait too long to mail my ballot?
You could physically drop off your ballot at an in-person delivery site, like the local clerk’s office, your local polling center on Election Day, and other locations where drop-off boxes are provided. Check with your county elections office to find out where they are. Just make sure you’ve dropped it off on or before November 3.
How can I make sure my mail-in vote was counted?
You can track your ballot online via your respective state’s website to see when it was mailed, received and counted. California, for instance, allows voters to sign up to receive emails, texts, or voice call notifications about the status of their ballot. In Pennsylvania, you can fill out an online form to see where your ballot is. If you don’t feel confident your mail-in ballot got to its appropriate destination by Election Day, you can always show up to your polling place and fill out a provisional ballot. If your mail-in ballot was indeed counted, the provisional ballot will be tossed. If not, the provisional ballot will be your vote.
OK, that was a lot. But a lot’s at stake here! Do your research, be sure you're registered, and if you're voting by mail, fill out the appropriate forms and get your ballots in the mail ASAP.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/4ayp9p/how-to-get-your-vote-counted-2020-general-election?utm_content=1598373006&utm_medium=social&utm_source=VICE_facebook&fbclid=IwAR2SfpfeKfciHKL7gAccpi0hmHxXvb1eUT-nfL4aEYsl2jAOR7FGNyCMJd0
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Germany Starts Universal Basic Income Trial Giving Some Citizens $1400 A Month For 3 Years
What Happened: Germany is starting a universal basic income trial where volunteers will get a $1400 dollar payment every single month as part of a study that will compare the experiences of 120 volunteers who receive it to 1,380 people who won’t. A total of 140,000 people have come together to help fund the study after the idea of a universal basic income continues to gain popularity. Germany is not the only country who has begun such initiatives, Finland also did something similar a few years ago, and proponents of the initiative believe it would improve peoples’ lives and reduce inequality, among other things. Opposition arguments to this type of initiative suggest that it would simply be unaffordable, too expensive and also discourage work.
Jürgen Schupp, who is leading the study, told the German newspaper Der Spiegel that it would improve the debate about universal basic income by producing new scientific evidence.
“The debate about the basic income has so far been like a philosophical salon in good moments and a war of faith in bad times,” he told the newspaper.
Universal basic income is not really supported by any of the major political parties across the globe, especially in Germany.
Why This Is Important: A quote often attributed to Henry Ford reads as follows, “It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” Isn’t it odd that the financial elite can simply print money at will? How come when we do it it’s called counterfitting, but when they do it it’s called increasing the money supply? These people can literally create money out of thin air, and the more I understand the concept of fractional reserve banking, the more I realize that money is simply a tool to in-slave and control the human race while benefiting a select few. This becomes easier to see when you follow the money.
Do we not have the potential to create something better on our planet? Is money really needed, or could we all come together, cooperate and find a better way? If we are going to use this creation of ours, could it not be used in a better and more efficient way?
IN BRIEF
The Facts:A small trial in Germany is set to take place giving participants $1400 a month for three years. They will compare the lives of those who receive it, and the participants who don't.
Reflect On:Why is the concept of universal basic income rejected by the major political parties in most developed nations? Why do we have a private company like the Federal Reserve printing/creating money at will? Is centralized banking the best way?
What Happened: Germany is starting a universal basic income trial where volunteers will get a $1400 dollar payment every single month as part of a study that will compare the experiences of 120 volunteers who receive it to 1,380 people who won’t. A total of 140,000 people have come together to help fund the study after the idea of a universal basic income continues to gain popularity. Germany is not the only country who has begun such initiatives, Finland also did something similar a few years ago, and proponents of the initiative believe it would improve peoples’ lives and reduce inequality, among other things. Opposition arguments to this type of initiative suggest that it would simply be unaffordable, too expensive and also discourage work.
From the Web
Jürgen Schupp, who is leading the study, told the German newspaper Der Spiegel that it would improve the debate about universal basic income by producing new scientific evidence.
--> Help Support Collective Evolution: Become a member of CETV and get access to exclusive news and courses to help empower you to become an effective changemaker. Click here to join.
“The debate about the basic income has so far been like a philosophical salon in good moments and a war of faith in bad times,” he told the newspaper.
Universal basic income is not really supported by any of the major political parties across the globe, especially in Germany.
Why This Is Important: A quote often attributed to Henry Ford reads as follows, “It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” Isn’t it odd that the financial elite can simply print money at will? How come when we do it it’s called counterfitting, but when they do it it’s called increasing the money supply? These people can literally create money out of thin air, and the more I understand the concept of fractional reserve banking, the more I realize that money is simply a tool to in-slave and control the human race while benefiting a select few. This becomes easier to see when you follow the money.
Do we not have the potential to create something better on our planet? Is money really needed, or could we all come together, cooperate and find a better way? If we are going to use this creation of ours, could it not be used in a better and more efficient way?
“As I followed the money I’ve learned that everything I once believed about money is simply not true.” – Foster Gamble
If you want to learn more about the system, you can refer to this article that goes into more detail: The Real Purpose of the Federal Reserve Banking System.
I believe these questions are important, as many of us have been made to believe that our financial system is for the greater good, and that it’s efficient and the only possible way to operate here on our planet. When it comes to the world of finance, our minds are stuck inside of a box.
When it comes to universal basic income, is it really too expensive? For those who believe it is not feasible, did you know that Mark Skidmore, a Michigan State University economist teamed up with multiple researchers, including Catherine Austin Fitts, former assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and found trillions of unaccounted for dollars missing from housing & D.O.D? Did you know that trillions of dollars are going into “black budget” programs that the president, for example, has no idea about? Did you know that there is no branch or agency of government that can overrule actions that the Federal Reserve takes? It’s simple, if you control the money supply, if you are the printer and the maker of money, you control the population and can create the experience you want humans to live inside.
The researchers found documents indicating a total of $20 trillion of undocumented adjustments had been made, from 1998 to 2015. The original government documents and a report describing the issue can be found here where updates are continually provided.
Imagine if this $21 trillion was allocated to a universal income package? Big financial institutions seem to have no issue with constantly printing money when they need it, but when it comes to concepts of universal income, there are always excuses. Ask yourself, is it really too expensive when this type of misallocation of money is happening?
The problem doesn’t really seem that we don’t have enough money, the issue is that the monetary system is used for control and money is allocated, both legally and illegally, to projects that don’t have the best interests of humanity at hand. The system would work better of the world of finance was not dominated by global elitist agendas seeking control and power. Perhaps it would work better if these people were actually making decisions based on what’s best for humanity.
It’s a complicated topic, a deep one that I would have to go in depth into the fraud, corruption and intentions behind our modern day banking system.
I believe humanity is more than capable of creating a human experience that doesn’t require money. We are extremely advanced, and we already have the means to create an experience where everybody’s basic needs can be met without the requirement for work. This can come as a result of various technological advancements, cooperation not competition, and more.
This is why shifting human consciousness is so paramount.
I believe that solutions exist, yet any type of solution that threatens to uproot our economy and how it currently operates never sees the light of day, and some of these developments are kept from public eye due to ‘national security’ concerns. Today, national security has become an umbrella term to classify technology and information that threatens corporate interests. This is why Julian Assange is in jail.
For example, most countries have an Invention Secrecy Act. Are certain technologies that threaten our current economic system that’s based on the idea that resources are scarce, a threat to scarcity? Is technology that could provide abundance to all hidden from the public simply because they threaten those with large amounts of power? What type of technology is under restriction under the Invention Secrecy Act? We don’t really know, but a previous list from 1971 was obtained by researcher Michael Ravnitzky. Most of the technology listed seems to be related to various military applications. You can view that list HERE.
As Steven Aftergood from the Federation of American Scientists reports:
“The 1971 list indicates that patents for solar photovoltaic generators were subject to review and possible restriction if the photovoltaics were more than 20% efficient. Energy conversion systems were likewise subject to review and possible restriction if they offered conversion efficiencies in “excess of 70-80%.” (source)
You can read more about the Invention Secrecy Act here.
There have been even more efficient developments.
There is significant evidence that scientists since Tesla have known about this energy, but that its existence and potential use has been discouraged and indeed suppressed over the past half century or more. – Dr. Theodor C. Loder, III (source)
What if I told you all of our homes could be powered by nature, without the need to be reliant on the corporation, without the need for gas, coal, oil, fossil fuels etc…These are a few of many examples that would be included in a world that would operate without the need to pay for your life, or services that should be everybody’s birth right.
“Much to my surprise, these concepts have been proven in hundreds of laboratories throughout world and yet they have not really seen the light of day.” – Former NASA astronaut and Princeton physics professor. (source)
There are many examples of this, Paramahamsa Tewari, a physicist and inventor, who won early commendation by Nobel Laureates in physics for his revolutionary Space Vortex Theory, published a paper in Physics Essays (2018) explaining his theory, from which he built an electrical generator capable of achieving over-unity efficiency. You can watch a video of him and his machine here. Why isn’t humanity exploring these concepts that could lift our dependence on big energy corporations and eliminate scarcity of resources, openly, freely and transparently?
Again, energy generation is one of many examples, there are many solutions to all of our issues from food, to environmental degradation and more.
It seems that when it comes to solutions that can help ‘free’ the human race, even just a little bit with the idea of universal basic income, it is sharply opposed by all major political parties, just like it is in Germany.
Any type of bartering system, or monetary system that is controlled by the citizenry, like Bitcoin for example, also always faces harsh opposition, or an attempt to gain control over it ensues. There are people out there who desire power and control above anything else, and the money supply represents the center of that control.
The truth is, a thriving society will be one that’s devoid of any reliance on governments/federal regulatory agencies. Our various systems are put in place and structured in a way to make it easy for us to be controlled, and for the “1 percent” to thrive. Right now, we are their worker bees and we choose to uphold the system and are taught, through education, to justify it and see it as necessary without ever using our imagination to ponder how it could be different.
We have so much potential, and we can do much better than we are currently doing.
The Takeaway
I often think about how absurd it is to live on a planet where you can die if you are unable to pay for your life. Having worked in this field for a number of years now, and as stated above, solutions exist to change our world and kick our dependence on corrupt governments and organizations. We could be in the stars by now. Life doesn’t have to be this way, if we continue operating from our current level of consciousness our planet will continue to be destroyed. There are better ways to do things here, and providing all citizens with a basic income, whether they are currently earning or not, is a fantastic place to start as it is clearly possible given all of the money that’s spend on measures that don’t really make sense.
https://www.collective-evolution.com/2020/08/26/germany-starts-universal-basic-income-trial-giving-some-citizens-1400-a-month-for-3-years/?fbclid=IwAR1HcfQsVLuZG0hRdaX_k1pIPvw04gnH1rqAFbJLBTz66fhbtGFJqInochI
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Why Louis DeJoy's One Big Change to the USPS Backfired
DeJoy testified that his only big change at the post office was to order mail trucks to run on time. But that was never the problem to begin with.
On Monday, embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before a House subcommittee about the changes he's made at the USPS, the post office's ability to handle the election, and his qualifications for the job. During the hearing's approximately six hours of back-and-forth, we learned very little. But, about halfway through the hearing, there was a brief moment that shed light on how the post office has gone horribly wrong under DeJoy's tenure.
About three and a half hours into Monday's hearing, Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) had an extended and pointless monologue interrupted by committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) because his time had expired. Per custom, Maloney let DeJoy "answer the question," even though there technically wasn't one. This allowed DeJoy to do something he had, thus far, not been allowed to do: explain himself.
His explanation only lasted about 90 seconds, but it was the clearest picture yet about the story DeJoy is telling himself regarding what he has done to the post office and why, something that has been surprisingly difficult to pin down over recent weeks, as speculation has swirled about whether he's a Trump stooge out to sabotage the post office ahead of the election, a small government Republican hastening the privatization of the post office, or a brilliant logistics expert shaking things up.
DeJoy's story is a simple one, and it even sounds sensible on the surface, intended to address very real problems in the way the USPS functions. But it's also easy to see how it screwed up the post office so badly. And at the heart of the problem is a conflict over what is more important: keeping costs down or delivering the mail on time.
During DeJoy's second day on the job, the USPS Office of Inspector General published a damning report about how mail is processed. It found, among many other things, the USPS was late processing almost one in five mailpieces at distribution facilities.
When mail isn't processed in time to make the last scheduled truck trips from the distribution facilities to your local post office, USPS managers have two options. They can dispatch another truck which costs the USPS more money. Or they can hold the mail for the next day, which slows delivery and risks creating a backlog that can snowball into even more delays.
Before DeJoy, managers typically opted to dispatch extra trucks, because, as the OIG report put it, "Generally, management prioritized high-quality service above the financial health of the Postal Service and are making decisions daily to meet service performance goals that are significantly increasing costs."
But late trips beget more late trips, and overtime begets more overtime. If the workers processing mail are late finishing up, then the trucks run late, which causes the mail carriers to leave late on their routes, and thus work late finishing deliveries. Perhaps the mail arrives unsorted by address to your local post office because they didn't have time to do so at the distribution facility, meaning delivering the mail will take even longer because it has to be sorted at the local post office or even on the road. And all that overtime adds up. The OIG found USPS "spent $1.1 billion in mail processing overtime and penalty overtime, $280 million in late and extra transportation, and $2.9 billion in delivery overtime and penalty overtime costs" just in the latest fiscal year.
So in came DeJoy, a man who has worked decades in the logistics and trucking business. He saw late trucks, and, according to the story he told the House committee, he ordered no more late trucks.
"People ask why do trucks matter, why do on-time trucks matter? They do matter," he said during his 90-second monologue. "It is a fundamental premise how the whole mail network is put together. If the trucks don't run on time then the mail carriers cannot leave on time, they are out at night, have to come back to get more mail, the collection process is late, the plant process is distorted. I see several billion dollars in potential savings in getting the system to connect properly and that's why we ran out and put a plan together to really get this fundamental basic principle: run your trucks on time."
According to the USPS, trucks are now running on time thanks to DeJoy's policy, at least more so than they used to. DeJoy said USPS has seen a 70 percent reduction in extra or late trip costs over the last four weeks, eliminating some 4,500 such trips per day. Indeed, the very concept of doing otherwise seemed anathema to him. "I find it really—I would not know how to reverse that now. Am I to say, 'Don't run the trucks on time?' Is that the answer that we're looking to get me to say here today?"
The problem, according to employees working in the processing and distribution facilities, as well as a closer reading of the OIG report, is that the late and extra truck trips were a symptom of the problem, not the cause. Remember, the trucks were being held—or called to make extra trips entirely—because the mail wasn't ready. Now, the mail still isn't ready, but the trucks are leaving anyway.
"The truck leaving on time is a good thing if the mail is in it," one employee at a distribution facility told Motherboard. "But this is not the case." Under DeJoy, the USPS has accomplished its goal of spending less money—by delivering less mail.
So what is causing the late mail sorting in the distribution facilities? There are two main problems. First, processing facilities are understaffed, according to both postal management interviewed by the OIG and unionized employees interviewed by Motherboard. Short staffing, high turnover rates, and employees taking time off for legitimate reasons—and slightly less legitimate reasons such as to attend a football game, as mentioned in the OIG report—results in facilities not having enough workers to run the machines and load the trucks. And these site visits were before the pandemic which has made the problem even worse.
One reason the USPS doesn't have enough workers is because of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), a bipartisan effort which saddled the USPS with tens of billions of dollars in unnecessary debt in the form of future retiree benefits that had to be funded immediately, torpedoing its finances and forcing it to undertake austerity measures such as slashing its workforce through attrition. From 2008 to 2018, the USPS reduced the number of employees by 11 percent while also increasing the number of "non-career" employees (ones with few benefits, low pay, and an annual turnover rate of one in three) by 54 percent, according to a separate OIG report. Now, overtime is a key part of the USPS's operational model, because hiring these non-career employees and relying on them to pick up the slack to move the mail is cheaper than hiring more "career" employees with better pay and solid benefits.
The second issue at the distribution facilities is what the OIG called "management oversight issues" due in part to short-staffing, lack of adequate management training, and turnover. As a result, management simply doesn't sound like they're doing a very good job. The OIG report says they don't communicate with workers, use available software to make sure mail was not being processed either too early or too late, or take an active role in monitoring conditions on the floor.
Frankly, it is astounding that out of all the lessons in this report, the one DeJoy chose to hone in on was the truck trips. It is possible he did so because his expertise is in trucking and logistics, so that's what his brain gravitated towards. It is also possible this is what he noticed because they are the main statistics presented in the "Highlights" section, while most of the other findings are buried in the report itself.
But the most telling element of DeJoy's plan is that, despite his fondness for citing this report as the impetus for his disruptive changes, he did not follow the report's recommendations. There are two different "Recommendations" sections, and neither of them suggests a sudden mandate to run all truck trips on time. Instead, the report recommends a slate of extremely mundane bureaucratic tweaks to get the distribution facilities to run better, such as putting signs on or near the machines that clearly lay out mail processing schedules and truck departure times.
Moreover, the report specifically advised USPS to wait to develop a plan until "the impacts of COVID-19 begin to subside." DeJoy did not do this. His now infamous "Pivoting For Our Future" memo, which outlined the elimination of late or extra trips, was issued on July 10, right in the middle of the nationwide spike in cases that began in mid-June and peaked around July 20.
All this is to say, even stipulating DeJoy's intentions are as innocent and civic-minded as he claims they are, the one major decision he has made in his time as postmaster general does not accord with the advice he says he's following. Even his claim that he identified billions of dollars in savings by running the trucks on time isn't in line with the OIG report he says is his evidence for it. The report says potential savings would be just $385.6 million, because so much of the overtime identified in the report is unavoidable without hiring more employees.
DeJoy says he is trying to fix an unsustainable postal service, one that could not continue to operate the way it did. No doubt, there are numerous problems within the postal service worth addressing, and he correctly identified an important oversight report that has a lot of helpful suggestions in it. But DeJoy's actions raise a lot of questions, including whether he actually read the entire report.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bv8axw/why-louis-dejoys-one-big-change-to-the-usps-backfired?utm_content=1598475608&utm_medium=social&utm_source=VICE_facebook&fbclid=IwAR0s6fqH7zrCEWS_Z0dk95Dcx4lf1Y1my1A4wLMuirzfN7_TfX-vnefK25U
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Chadwick Boseman Visited Terminally Ill Kids While Battling Colon Cancer
Chadwick Boseman was doing more than just putting on a brave face during his 4-year battle with cancer -- the guy was actively visiting and inspiring kids while privately suffering with the same disease.
St. Jude's Children's Hospital paid tribute to the fallen star, reminding folks he popped into their facility in 2018 to meet with patients ... bringing gifts and words of inspiration for the kids.
They write, "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our friend Chadwick Boseman. Two years ago, Chadwick visited the St. Jude campus and brought with him not only toys for our patients but also joy, courage and inspiration." The organization sang his praises, adding ... "He was an incredible role model for our patients and children from all around the world. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time."
At the time, St. Jude's posted more photos from the face-to-face ... and it's clear the guy made the rounds and met with a bunch of kids who couldn't have looked more overjoyed to meet a Marvel superhero. The fact he was right in the thick of his own cancer battle just makes this gesture all the more heartbreaking, especially considering he didn't utter a word about his battle.
Chadwick discussed meeting some of these kids and how much of an impact it had on him -- he even broke down during the Sirius XM interview while talking about two terminally ill children who passed before the next Marvel movie could come out. Dude was a true saint.
As we reported ... Chadwick succumbed to his illness and died Friday, shocking the entertainment world -- scratch that, shocking the entire world. He was just 43 years old.
RIP
https://www.tmz.com/2020/08/29/chadwick-boseman-visited-terminally-ill-kids-colon-cancer-st-jude/?fbclid=IwAR2UIsd65RXuWjARsL6p48tFV5lp16ZTi_b1xgWHFPb9MpLAZRb_Xw0pDHU
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Teenager "Degloves" Penis And Inverts Scrotum In Bike Crash
A new medical case report tells the story of how a teenager “degloved” his penis and ripped open his scrotum after suffering a freak accident on his bicycle.
As reported in BMJ Case Reports, the 14-year-old boy was cycling one-handed at walking pace along pavement while holding a drink when he collided with a parked car. Somehow, the handlebars ended up impaling his groin.
He was rushed to A&E at John Radcliffe Hospital in the British city of Oxford, where doctors found a large gash extending across his groin, the pubic bone, and down into the perineum, a part of the body between the anus and the genitals. The injury also ripped and inverted his scrotum, and “partially degloved” the penis. For those blissfully unaware of what “degloving” means, it describes an injury when the skin is completely torn off the underlying tissue and its blood supply is severed.
The teenager’s injuries were so severe, doctors were able to see his corpus cavernosa (part of the penis’ sponge erecticle tissue) and tunica vaginalis (the membrane that covers the testicle).
Pediatric surgeons managed to close the wound successfully and no significant neurovascular damage was found. Remarkably, the teenager was discharged from the hospital the following day with a course of antibiotics. During a 4-week follow-up appointment, he reported having normal sensation in the area and experienced no problems peeing. It’s unclear whether the injury will affect his sexual function.
The moral of the story, according to the teenager’s doctors, is to put a plastic covering on the end of your bike handlebars. They cite a previous study that looked at over 800 bicycle injuries in children, 21 of which were caused by handlebars. Out of the 10 cases that resulted in life-threatening trauma to the lower abdomen, 10 of them were caused by handlebars that had no plastic covering on the ends.
As far as they can tell, the doctors believe this is the first known case of such an injury caused by bike handlebars, although the case report does note an incident with a 49-year-old man who suffered a similar penis injury after crashing a snowmobile. They also write that the majority of penile degloving injuries are the result of dog attacks, industrial machine accidents, and “sexual misadventure.”
"Handlebar injuries causing blunt abdominal trauma are well described in the literature; however, reports of impalement or degloving injuries are sparse," the study authors write. "It is relatively unique in the series of handlebar-related injuries in existing literature and serves to broaden our
experience of impalement injuries caused by bicycle handlebars."
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/teenager-degloves-penis-and-inverts-scrotum-in-bike-crash/?fbclid=IwAR2gAjmnPYDZxDhZVIY_OsZc8yb9QZ8-beyCCyqCpHLJthd6ddWPhc8XT1k
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From Fraud Claims to a Capitol Riot: A Historic Week in Washington
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Inside NYC's ornate new Penn Station train hall
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How Biden Plans to Tackle the $1.6 Trillion Student Loan Debt
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Swiss DJ found dead in lake attached to 90-pound weight
Police have identified a Swiss woman who was found dead Jan. 17 at the bottom of a lake with a 90-pound weight attached to her body.
Jasmin Probst, 31, was a DJ from the Basel area, Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten reported. Authorities are still investigating her cause of death.
Probst’s body was found in Lake Thun, about 15 miles south of Bern in western Switzerland, according to 20 Minuten.
Cops initially could not identify her body, so they shared a photo of her back tattoo, which included the name of Singaporean DJ Gayle San. San then shared the photo on her social media pages.
“I wish I could help the Swiss police and journalist who contacted me, but I don’t know anyone...who has this tattoo,” San wrote in a Jan. 20 Instagram post. “Nevertheless, it’s still very shocking to read about the news. I hope they will be able to identify the woman soon and solve the case, and I’m sending my deepest condolences to her family and friends.”
After San’s post, police received a tip and confirmed Probst’s identity.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/swiss-dj-found-dead-in-lake-attached-to-90-pound-weight/ar-BB1d7PPW?ocid=anaheim-ntp-feeds
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How Joe Biden Defeated Donald Trump
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Magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits Japan off Fukushima coast
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Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker Says He Held Remaining Pup as He Bled
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How a $15 Federal Minimum Wage Might Affect the Economy
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Iran’s Nuclear Program: What We Know About Tehran’s Key Sites
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What's Inside Biden's $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Plan?
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The Most Expensive Spice In the World Comes From Kashmir
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If you grew up in America, you've probably used Arabic numerals pretty much every day of your life in some way. Same if you're English, French, or from most other countries.
Even in China and Japan, where other numerals are used (零,Yī, 二, Èr, 三, for example), Arabic numerals are still regularly employed. Unless you're reading this in ancient Rome, you probably use them too.
Nevertheless, a survey conducted by poll company Civic Science has found that 56 percent of Americans would like Arabic numerals (which are the numbers 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, and 9, used in every number right up until infinity) banned in schools. America, your prejudice is showing.
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/56-percent-of-americans-dont-think-we-should-teach-arabic-numerals-in-school/?fbclid=IwAR1T5qZzgbKW9zzolUuaAlmFQD-L3vkPBWwvR2FNa2e4NHeZHPWvLJqkQp8
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How America Could Fall Like Rome
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When it Rains, This Town Floods With Sewage
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A Giant, Stranded Cargo Ship Is Blocking All Traffic Through the Suez Canal
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Living in a Country Where the Internet Sucks
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Andy Warhol computer artwork rescued from Amiga floppy disks
Previously unknown Andy Warhol artwork, made on a 1985 Commodore Amiga computer, was recently extracted from obsolete floppy disks.
The Andy Warhol Museum said in a statement released Thursday that a forgotten cove of computer graphic art made by the pop artist was found in the museum’s archive collection.
Artist Cory Arcangel initiated a search with the Carnegie Museum of Art and The Warhol Museum’s chief archivist, Matt Wrbican, to retrieve the lost artwork after he came across a YouTube clip of Warhol presenting at a Amiga 1000 computer launch event. At the time, Commodore International commissioned Warhol to “demonstrate the [Amiga 100’s] graphic arts capabilities.”
Warhol’s digital experiments include several doodles, a three-eyed Venus, a portrait of punk rock singer Debbie Harry and variations of classic Warhol fascinations — from the banana and Marilyn Monroe to a Campbell’s soup can.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/warhol-computer-artwork-rescued-amiga-floppy-disks?fbclid=IwAR3Szq17aNBA3PWWWdOPh7aTFijy21uI1R5Tsk3x-q1puqJoEJ9lh0_N_T4
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Germany's Far Right is Surging
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How Lithium Became a Hot Commodity
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How tax laws disadvantage Black Americans but subsidize white Americans
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Russian Mercenaries Are Allegedly Raping and Murdering Central African Civilians
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Cop Under Investigation After Video Shows Him Kicking Suspect in Head
A Sheriff's deputy in Southern California is under investigation due to a video of him winding up and kicking a suspect in the head AFTER the guy appeared to surrender.
Surveillance footage from a Toyota dealership in Victorville, CA captured Wednesday's violent interaction on camera ... you see the suspect roll out from under a parked car before he's confronted by a deputy with a flashlight, who appears to order the suspect on the ground.
The man complies, but then the cop takes a big step and unloads a couple kicks to the suspect's face.
Video shows the cop stand over the man for a few seconds before beginning to slap some handcuffs on him as another deputy arrives to assist.
The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department tells TMZ the incident started with an attempted traffic stop of a motorcycle. Police say the driver led cops on a high-speed chase, and ditched his bike near the dealership before fleeing on foot. Cops say they found the suspect hiding in the dealership lot, and admit there was a "use of force" during the arrest.
The Sheriff says a review of the footage raised immediate concerns about the deputy's actions and he's on leave while under investigation.
https://www.tmz.com/2021/06/18/cop-under-investigation-kick-suspect-head-surrender-video-san-bernardino-sheriff-deputy/?fbclid=IwAR1bdl76w05eBtN_Vkp2Z4izBN0_lXkSqcqhhBC0pqV1jDHNejEPiY0uGdc
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Windows 11 first impressions: Android apps, widgets, and more
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Pita Taufatofua has made headlines every time he's appeared at the Olympics. The Tongan flag bearer is best known for the shirtless, oiled-up look he has sported during each opening ceremony during his three Olympic appearances. He even did it at the 2018 Winter Olympics, despite it being the Winter Olympics.
It's obviously impressive to make it to any Olympic competition, but Taufatofua has now entered the record books. Following his appearance in men's +176 lbs tournament in tea kwon do, he is the first athlete to appear in three straight Olympic Games—summer and winter—since the introduction of the Winter Olympics in 1924, per NBC.
He has competed at Rio 2016, Pyeongchang 2018, and, now, Tokyo 2020. In Rio, he also competed in tea kwon do, losing in the first round of competition. Then he became the first-ever Winter Olympics athlete from Tonga when he qualified for cross-country skiing. Fortunately, the Olympic record books don't have a "no shirt, no shoes, no service" policy.
(https://assets3.thrillist.com/v1/image/2996954/1584x1056/crop;jpeg_quality=60;progressive.jpg)
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/shirtless-tongan-pita-taufatofua-first-athlete-three-olympic-games
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Millions of tenants at risk as federal eviction ban ends
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The US Carefully Documented Its Total Failure in Afghanistan for 12 Years
For 12 years, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan issued grim and detailed reports about America’s failures in the country. No one listened.
"Whenever I think about the U.S. government's failure in Afghanistan, I remember the goats. In 2013, a government project meant to kickstart Afghanistan's economy granted Colorado State University $1.5 million to start a goat farm in Herat Province, Afghanistan. It bought five cashmere-producing Italian goats and transported them to Afghanistan for the purposes of breeding them in large numbers and turning Afghanistan into a cashmere-producing hotspot.
But CSU ran into problems immediately. It had 300 goats, only nine of them the expensive cashmere goats from Italy. The college was bad at farming and the expensive Italian goats caught a disease that killed most of them. Worse, they were spending $50,000 a year to feed the rest, an incredible amount of cash to spend on an animal that will eat almost anything.
When CSU tried to turn the farm over to locals and told them what it was spending to feed the goats, the Afghan called the farm a “poisoned chalice.” Keep in mind that Afghan farms have been raising goats for generations and already had cashmere-producing animals.
According to a goat expert who testified in the fallout, the college “had no idea what they were doing and the CSU staff determined what the project should cost, despite no one at CSU having any experience with cashmere.”
https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvzaxz/the-us-carefully-documented-its-total-failure-in-afghanistan-for-12-years?utm_medium=social&utm_source=vice_facebook&fbclid=IwAR2t3kn7OqTJFlP7bdh3T7RqtrnckD3oi9wKkZ7GT-0rP0zDDWYWZE2K1ns
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NYC Ferry is starting its first-ever ferry service on the Hudson River
NYC Ferry, which shuttles New Yorkers up and down the East River, is finally expanding to the Hudson — and to Staten Island.
Not only will it be the first NYC Ferry route on the Hudson but it'll be the first connecting to Staten Island, allowing those in midtown and higher to skip catching the Staten Island Ferry downtown and for those coming from Staten Island to be taken right to midtown rather than stopping at Whitehall Terminal.
The new St. George route between St. George on Staten Island and Midtown West at West 39th Street takes just 35 minutes, with a scenic stop in Battery Park City along the way. It'll only take 18 minutes to get to Manhattan from Staten Island.
(https://media.timeout.com/images/105804885/image.jpg)
Commuters will also be able to connect to other NYC Ferry routes by getting off at Battery Park City and walking 25 minutes (or taking a taxi/bus) to Wall Street Pier 11, where all ferry routes make a stop. You can also hop on the free Downtown Connection shuttle provided by the Downtown Alliance that can transport you between the landings within 11 minutes.
And remember, tickets to ride the ferry start at the same price as a ride on the MTA— $2.75 per trip.
All in all, the new ferry service is a welcome addition to the transit map. Thankfully, getting to Staten Island will be less of a long journey.
The St. George Route officially launches on Monday, August 23.
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/nyc-ferry-is-starting-its-first-ever-ferry-service-on-the-hudson-river-081621?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&cid=~newyork~natsoc~facebook~echobox&fbclid=IwAR1hMkpjICgp1h_Auej438KojByZ_jnv7wdc3eWcoW66Z26i-fDF29g24KE#Echobox=1629146377
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Biden visits Louisiana as Gulf Coast, Northeast recover from Ida's toll
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Middletown lost the most residents on 9/11 after NYC. Here's how the community is healing
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Many Afghans haven't eaten in weeks as Taliban rule triggers humanitarian crisis
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Millions of sleep apnea machines recalled over potential cancer risk
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A delayed transportation infrastructure project moves forward in the Northeast Corridor
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California High School Is Teaching Teens to Drive 18-Wheelers
At first glance, it may sound odd to hear that high schoolers are learning to drive big rigs, but that’s exactly what’s happening at California’s Patterson High School. As NPR reports, Patterson High recently began offering a students the opportunity to attend a truck driving school as part of its Career Technical Education Program.
To be clear, it’s an elective course, so students who don’t want to go into commercial trucking aren’t expected to participate. But seniors who are interested have the opportunity to learn about the industry itself, proper safety practices, and how to obtain their commercial driver’s license all before they graduate high school.
According to the school’s website, after completing the year-long class, students will need to apply to a partner trucking company for real-world training before they can earn their CDL. It’s not all classroom instruction for the high schoolers, though. They also spend time in a lab setting, including about 20 hours on a simulator where they learn basics such as how to shift, reverse, and drive defensively.
“A lot of [students] who enroll in the course have never considered trucking as a career. Trucking doesn’t have a great reputation and it comes with a lot of misconceptions about what exactly a truck driver is,” said instructor Dave Dein in an interview with NPR. “If we don’t start promoting trucking to our youth, they only can make decisions on the information that they have.”
Speaking to NPR, senior Eduardo Dominguez-Sotelo — one of those aforementioned students who previously had no interest in trucking — said, “It was not an elective I would’ve chosen because I didn’t think that truck driving was for me. In the end, it actually ended up being a good fit for me.”
That doesn’t mean he plans to make trucking his entire career. Instead, Dominguez-Sotelo said he thinks it will be a good way to earn money part-time while studying computer engineering. Even if he only drives over the summer, he can expect to make quite a bit more than he would in food service or retail. Potentially as much as $12,000 according to the school’s website.
https://jalopnik.com/california-high-school-is-teaching-teens-to-drive-18-wh-1847895765
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Navient plans to cancel some student borrowers' loan debt. Who qualifies?
Student borrowers who took out loans that were serviced by Navient, one of the largest student loan collection companies in the country, were cautiously celebrating Thursday's announcement that tens of thousands of them would get their loans canceled under an agreement with more than three dozen states.
The total amount of debt to be canceled, as well as an accompanying restitution agreement, is major — a deal worth about $1.85 billion.
A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general are calling the resolution "a victory for student loan borrowers" in holding Navient accountable, after suing the company for allegedly misleading borrowers with deceptive lending practices and offering risky subprime loans. For its part, Navient is denying it violated consumer protection laws or caused borrowers harm, insisting it is settling the agreement "to avoid the additional burden, expense, time and distraction to prevail in court."
But for the average Navient customer hoping for immediate relief, they may be left disappointed, said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, a consumer advocacy group.
"Yesterday was a very big deal for certain people that have really been forgotten in our national conversation in the student debt crisis," Pierce said. "This will be life-changing for a specific group of those people. But for everyone else, the fight continues."
Who qualifies for debt cancellation?
About 66,000 student borrowers with Navient loans may see their debts forgiven.
These are borrowers with private loans — specifically, subprime student loans taken out through Navient's predecessor company, Sallie Mae, between 2002 and 2014. (Navient was formed in 2014 after Sallie Mae split into two business entities.)
In addition, those borrowers must have had more than seven consecutive months of delinquent payments prior to June 30, 2021.
Student borrowers who don't have subprime loans may still qualify if their private loans were made between 2002 and 2014 and they attended a for-profit school that was later the subject of state or federal law enforcement actions. Those schools include Corinthian Colleges, DeVry University and ITT Educational Services. A full list can be found on a website for the agreement.
Who qualifies for a restitution payment?
About 350,000 federal student loan borrowers whom Navient placed into a long-term forbearance plan would be eligible for a payment — about $260 per borrower.
State attorneys general say those forbearance arrangements had driven student borrowers further into debt because while those borrowers were able to pause or reduce their payments temporarily, their loans still continued to accrue interest.
Certain conditions apply to get the restitution, such as having at least one federal loan that was eligible for income-driven repayment and the borrower not having enrolled in income-driven repayment prior to the forbearance period.
Borrowers whose federal loans were recently transferred to another servicer, Aidvantage, may still be eligible for restitution.
Which states were involved in the settlement?
Qualifying residents of the following states will be covered under the restitution agreement: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Washington, D.C., is also included.
In addition, borrowers who qualify for debt cancellation must also reside in one of the aforementioned states or in the following states: Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and West Virginia.
What actions should borrowers take?
If a borrower qualifies for either debt cancellation or a restitution payment, they will be contacted directly.
A settlement administrator is expected to send those borrowers a postcard in the mail this spring, and checks would go out in mid-2022.
For those borrowers who are set to get their private loans forgiven, they would be contacted in writing by July 2022.
The agreement among Navient and the states is still awaiting final court approval.
In the meantime, should borrowers keep paying off their loans?
Pierce recommends borrowers with private loans to keep paying or, if they can, consult an attorney about their situation.
Those with federal students loans are still benefiting from a moratorium on such payments through May 1, after the Biden administration extended the pause last month.
But there is permanent good news for those whose debt is forgiven, including under this latest settlement agreement with Navient, Pierce said.
Student loan forgiveness is tax-free as part of the White House's coronavirus stimulus package signed into law last year. Previously, any student loan debt canceled by the government was taxable.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/navient-plans-cancel-student-borrowers-loan-debt-qualifies-rcna12229?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma#anchor-Whoqualifiesforarestitutionpayment
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:o
Florida woman impregnated with doctor's sperm in artificial insemination awarded $5.25 million
A federal court jury in Vermont on Wednesday awarded a Florida woman $5.25 million from a doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate her during an artificial insemination procedure in 1977.
The federal court jury in Burlington began deliberating on Tuesday and returned the verdict on Wednesday.
The verdict form filed in federal court in Burlington said the jury awarded plaintiff Cheryl Rousseau $250,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Dr. John Coates III.
Rousseau's attorney Celeste Laramie said in an email Wednesday after the verdict was announced, the jury awarded the amount they had requested and the jurors found Coates' behavior “to be wrongful and offensive."
“The jury through its punitive damages verdict sent a message to any physicians who might think about lying to their patients or using their own semen to inseminate their patients," she said. "Such behavior will have serious consequences.”
Laramie said Rousseau's husband, Peter, was initially a party to the lawsuit, but the judge ultimately found that Peter Rousseau had failed to prove he had suffered damages. His claims did not go to the jury for consideration.
Coates' attorney did not say if they planned to appeal the verdict.
“We were surprised and disappointed with the verdict," Defense attorney Peter Joslin said in an email.
Last month, the Vermont Medical Practice Board permanently revoked Coates' medical license. Coates, who practiced obstetrics and gynecology in the central Vermont area in the 1970s, is now retired.
Coates is also facing a second, similar lawsuit filed last year that remains pending in U.S. District Court in Vermont.
The original complaint says Coates agreed to inseminate Cheryl Rousseau with donor material from an unnamed medical student, who resembled Rousseau’s husband and had characteristics that she required.
Rousseau had wanted a child with her husband but he had a vasectomy that could not be reversed, according to the complaint.
Coates performed the artificial insemination but inserted his own genetic material, the lawsuit said.
The Rousseau lawsuit said they discovered what had happened when their now-grown daughter sought information about her biological father through DNA testing. The daughter determined Coates was her father, according to the lawsuit.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/03/31/florida-woman-impregnated-doctor-sperm/7233106001/?fbclid=IwAR2_9pFu7XhiI5pQYQiSb8EhjFyTzmoS5sj9jVLq5CHE8hvdSm0oQMLpXR4
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‘Just to Stop Black People from Getting the Justice’: An Estate Attorney Attempted to Block Transfer of Stolen Land Back to Bruce Beach Family Heirs; A Judge Said Not So Fast
A Black California family is on track to reclaim their beachfront property stolen from them by the government with racist motivations. Descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce are breathing a sigh of relief after a recent court ruling helped save land that rightfully belongs to them from slipping out of their hands.
“There’s only four living heirs left,” said Bruce family spokesman, Chief Duane Yellow Feather Shepard. Widely known as ‘Bruce Beach,’ is a three-acre beachfront property located on Manhattan Beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Los Angeles County, California.
Last October when Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed Senate Bill 796 into law, it cleared the way for the state to return stolen land to descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce.
At the time, the family thought they were on the verge of taking back their land, until Palos Verdes Estates Attorney, Joseph Ryan filed a lawsuit trying to block the land transfer just a few weeks after the legislation was signed.
“We knew there would be folks who didn’t want to see the Bruces get this property back and Mr. Ryan proved us right,” said George Fatheree, attorney representing the Bruce family in its land reclamation fight.
Shepard feels the lawsuit field by Ryan was racially motivated.
“Yes, it was racially motivated, he had no other reason to do it, there wasn’t any money out of his pocket, he wasn’t going to get any money from it, it was just to stop Black people from getting the justice they deserve,” Shepard said.
Ryan did not return Atlanta Black Star’s calls for comment, but claimed in his suit, transferring the land over to the Bruce family did not serve a public purpose and it would be unconstitutional. The judge disagreed.
“What the law says is the government can transfer its property, transfer its funds or use its resources in a way that serves a public interest,” Fatheree said of the judge’s decision. He went on to say the land transfer would be of public interest because of how it was stolen in the first place.
“Doing so does serve a public purpose and that public purpose is addressing past racial discrimination by the government,” he said.
Fatheree highlighted a portion of Judge Mitchell Beckloff’s comments on the case by saying, “Righting a government wrong perpetrated in breach of our core and fundamental constitutional principles works to strengthen governmental integrity, represents accountability in government and works to eliminate structural racism and bias. The government’s act of rectifying a prior egregious wrong based on racism fosters trust and respect in government.”
Charles and Willa Bruce bought their beachfront property in 1912 for a little more than $1,200. The couple built a business on their beachfront property which served as a place of refuge for African-Americans seeking beach access without fear of racism and harassment, but the Ku Klux Klan and other racists at the time routinely terrorized Black patrons and the Bruce family.
Shepard says the city of Manhattan Beach seized the Bruce property in 1924 through eminent domain, claiming they would turn it into a park, and despite years of fighting to keep their land, by 1929 the Bruce family only received $14,000 for their property once it was taken. The couple died just a few years later.
Shepard is grateful Senate Bill 796 was signed into law. He says without it the family could have lost their 100-year fight to reclaim the land amid attorney Ryan’s lawsuit.
“He mounted a serious opposition to us getting that land and he brought up the right statutes had it not been for the legislation we got passed, that would have stopped the transfer of that land,” Shepard said.
Now with the latest hurdle crossed, the Bruce family hopes they can focus their attention on what to do with the land. “The plan for the land is to allow the county to keep their lifeguard training stations there for at least 30 years and pay us at least fair market value rent,” Shepard said.
Although the Bruce family has a plan in place to move forward, they hope Los Angeles County moves quickly with the land transfer before someone else upset the wrongs of a racist past are being corrected presents another roadblock.
“We’re nervous someone else may pick up and file a suit so there’s a lot going on so there’s good reason for us to want this expedited,” Shepard said nervously of any future lawsuits possibly preventing the Bruce family from land ownership.
Shepard says the direct descendants with rights to the land are the grandsons of Charles and Willa Bruce and one of the grandsons’ sons, making up the four direct living heirs.
https://atlantablackstar.com/2022/05/02/just-to-stop-black-people-from-getting-the-justice-an-estate-attorney-attempted-to-block-transfer-of-stolen-land-back-to-bruce-beach-family-heirs-a-judge-said-not-so-fast/
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Burger King Employee Trending After Receiving Goodie Bag for 27 Years of Perfect Attendance
An unidentified Burger King employee is trending right now due to a video of them receiving a goodie bag after working at the company for 27 years, with no days missed.
The viral video first appeared on Reddit's ABoringDystopiaPage, as it showed the employee displaying to the camera a goodie bag he received as a reward for his nearly three decades of service at Burger King. Its contents were a movie ticket, a bag of Reese’s Pieces, a Starbucks tumbler, a lanyard, two pens, some keychains and two packs of Lifesavers.
Despite the worker appearing genuinely grateful for the reward, many on social media were upset at how modest it seemed in comparison to 27 years of perfect attendance at Burger King.
And though some assumed that the goodie bag gift was from his co-workers, the comments section was still fiercely opinionated, with thoughts ranging from being appalled at how Burger King allegedly treated this employee's loyalty to admiration of the humble and thankful attitude the man showed.
One person tweeted,"We trying to figure out why after 27 years of loyalty you gifted one of your most loyal employees some back to school supplies."
Another chimed in, "People are talking down on him, it’s weird. Some people really don’t need much in life and y’all forget it was only a few hundred years ago where all we did was hunt and gather."
https://www.foodbeast.com/guy-king-employee-goodie-bag-reward-trending-video/?fbclid=IwAR1f62vqlClCMH9JS4xSczCC5z6GvoJUEO11y0fiJ82Vpvk1bp24ajGwklk
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David Spade Donates Thousands to Viral Burger King Employee
David Spade seems moved by the Burger King employee who got a mediocre goodie bag in recognition of 27 years without missing work ... giving him money and making him laugh.
Kevin Ford, who went viral this week after showing off his company gifts, tells TMZ ... his daughter let him know someone named David Spade donated $5,000 to his GoFundMe, but he wasn't sure it was the comedian himself, until he checked his Instagram inbox.
(https://imagez.tmz.com/image/08/4by3/2022/06/23/0899bb9766fb4ad2b22fbe096cb737e4_md.jpg)
David slid in Kevin's direct messages ... telling him to keep it up after 27 years on the job without a break, and even cracking a joke about waiting a few more years before finally taking a day off.
Kevin tells us he's a huge fan of David's, so to get a donation plus some fun back and forth with Spade is surreal.
With David's $5k donation, Kevin's GoFundMe has now raised over $30,000 ... with the money going to help him visit his daughters and grandkids in Texas. He also says he wants to use the dough to buy a new Ford hybrid.
Kevin's going to take a day off eventually ... and hopefully before David's deadline.
https://www.tmz.com/2022/06/24/david-spade-viral-burger-king-employee-27-years-donates-gofundme-instagram-dm-joke/
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Millions of sleep apnea machines recalled over potential cancer risk
Still waiting for my replacement almost a year later. ::)
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NTSB to investigate Missouri Amtrak train derailment crash