Friday, February 13, 2015

Where’s Brian Williams?

Again Brian Williams? Again?

"What was my wow … I’ve been so fortunate. “I was at the Brandenburg Gate the night the wall came down."

Williams went on to tell a possible whopper at the Gipper’s Ronald Reagan museum in 2008..

The only problem with him standing at the Brandenburg Gate is that he really didn’t. Tom Brokaw did. Williams arrived 12 hours after it came done. But it was a long time ago, right?

I figured six months would be ample time to find the other Williams whoppers ..

I love it..

Me and my son are now fighting over who gets the last Cadbury Mini Egg in the bag..

A strong magnitude 6.9 earthquake has struck in the open waters of the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge; the quake struck within the last 30 minutes

The NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER says this:

"A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data. However, there is the small possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a hundred kilometers from the earthquake epicenter."

Just to add some more levels to your triskadekaphobia..

9 reasons Philly is suddenly 'hot'

Get ready America..

Coors light..
Hoagies..
Cheesteaks with fake meat..
Philly faces.

Mullets and boots.

And the Pope.

All coming to the city of Brotherly Love.


9 reasons Philly is suddenly 'hot'

Governor Wolf Announces Temporary Hold on Death Penalty in PA

Pretty big deal here in the keystone state..

Paterno didn't abuse the children. He reported the story of abuse (abuse he did not actually even witness) to his superior, which is what university policy instructed him to do. Maybe Paterno had an opportunity to be a hero, hindsight is 20/20, but he was not particularly knowledgeable about the issue at large OR the actual events, so he did what he thought he was supposed to do. He was an extremely accomplished and well loved man - merely following protocol is not a reason to take that all away

I know for a fact that my Paterno statue post would cause some commentary.. This one being shown here is among the most innocent, a few others detailed some awful things I should do to myself..Unprintable things. Sandusky things..

And you’re right, anonymous, Paterno didn’t do the wretched deeds that others did.. 

But for some record, I’d like to place a number of news items from the memory hole back into the cyberworld of today:

Penn State’s Rap Sheet Way Longer Than Sandusky Scandal

Why did Penn State hire the president of football-rape-probe-cover-up U? 

And we also cannot forget the Freeh report: Freeh Report Slams Joe Paterno

All of this does not matter to some fans, though.. But it matters to  me.. Just as any group of highly placed people abusing their rights or the decency of their human presence, it bothers me..

The devil with roses: Many nations are now banning Valentine's Day

You may have already guessed which ones: Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia prohibit it. And many more in Central Asia.. the theory is that it runs completely opposite to Islam..


The devil with roses: Many nations are now banning Valentine's Day

Until I saw—quite literally—a black cat walk underneath a ladder this morning, I completely forgot the calender read Friday the 13th.. 

So for all of those out there with that sick sense of doom lurking behind every bad event, happy day to you all..

In 2004, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC detailed the horror that some people face when they wake up on the 13th when it’s on a Friday.. the fear.. the refusal to even get out of bed!  In that report 11 years ago, NAT GEO said that over $800 mil was lost in productivity because of people neglecting to live their normal lives, instead fearing the 13th..

I would imagine that fear is only amplified as time goes on.. 

For those with triskadekaphobia, it’s going to be a long day.

It’s a tweet that ultimately fell on deaf ears: “#ServicioPublico Infalgan solution of 10 Mg for injection is needed for Vanessa Chacón.” S ent from San Rafael del Piñal, a small town in Venezuela near the border with Colombia, the tweet was sent on behalf of Chacón, 22, who needed the medicine to survive a severe coronary condition.  Unfortunately, it’s simply not available there — and isn’t likely to be anytime soon.

Think for a second of the utter horror that many are now feeling in this nation.. Several hundred tweets—at this point—are being posted daily asking for the same help. Oil prices dropped.. an economy crashed.. This nation seems to be teetering on the brink of destruction..

The ECONOMIST is summing up what it calls mismanagement and an oil slump as the main culprits for the decaying social fabric of the nation.. The publication reports,

About this, at least, Mr Rondón is correct. Sixteen years after Hugo Chávez took power in Venezuela, and two years after he died, his “Bolivarian Revolution” faces the gravest threats yet to its survival. The regime is running out of money to import necessities and pay its debts. There are shortages of basic goods, from milk and flour to shampoo and disposable nappies. Queues, often of several hundred people, form each day outside supermarkets. Ten patients of the University Hospital in Caracas died over the Christmas period because of a shortage of heart valves.


Another aspect of the trouble in the nation: Education is at risk of becoming meaningless there as the LATIN AMERICAN HERALD TRIBUNE writes in an editorial:

If something has been evident during 16 years of “socialism of the 21st century” is that education has stopped being a priority, unless the State finds it useful to get its ideology into the heads of citizens.
Evidence of this contempt for education is there for everyone to see: schools and educational centers have collapsed; professors and teachers are poorly paid and poorly prepared; curricular changes eliminated basic subjects, distorted reality and introduced indoctrinating concepts and materials; evaluations and automatic promotions were eliminated, among others.


Meanwhile: Bonds are tumbling.. 

And as mentioned above: The pharmacy shelves are empty and barren..

Welcome to America: Grandfather visiting ALABAMA from India stopped by cops for walking on the street,bodyslammed and left partially paralyzed..


The crime of yoga pants? A Montana legislative panel moved to kill an indecent exposure bill Wednesday after the lawmaker who introduced it said he thinks yoga pants should be illegal…


Massive hurricanes used to strike New England. Now scientists are worried that will happen again

Monster hurricanes once plagued New England.. new predictions today that the history of horror may repeat itself.. While Europe was going through the Middle Ages, America’s East Coast was being pummeled by hurricanes at least as intense as Katrina every 40 years or so.. Such storms would be catastrophic if they hit the northeast U.S. today, according to lead author Jeff Donnelly of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution… 

Is this simply a plant of a story to mentally prep us for something they know is coming?


Two completely alternate views of the current measles and vaccine controversy.. One from WIRED on anti-vaxxers in Silicon Valley; another from TRUTHOUT on Merck itself..

WIRED magazine argues the case: How to get Silicon Valley anti-vaxxers to change their minds.. But quick the alternate argument was presented in TRUTHOUT with a piece written by ALEX JAMES, who says the dangers presented by recent revelations about MERCK are much more troubling than anti-vaxxers.

NBC expands 'SNL 40th Anniversary Special' to more than three hours

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 40th anniversary special will be more than three hours long.. Which I think is well worth it. The show, for all its troubles through time, has given us memorable pop culture moments.. sadly most cast members were forgettable. 

Maybe it was because it was when I was younger and dumber, but I think some of the best humor on the show came from the 92-94 seasons and then the 97-2004 years.. The most recent few have showcased how the program is quickly losing its influence as the power of television wanes..



NBC expands 'SNL 40th Anniversary Special' to more than three hours

Seems like the entire state of Pennsylvania forgot about the crime of children being molested, having their dignity and innocence stolen, and have a head coach who couldn’t care less.. A new poll shows that a vast majority of Pennsylvanians want the Joe Paterno statue to return to Penn State..


Thursday, February 12, 2015

More on Carr's death: Just hours before his death he had moderated a "Times Talks" conversation with Edward Snowden, director Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald about the documentary "Citizenfour," which chronicles Snowden's leak of National Security Agency documents. Carr, engaged as always, drew them out with pointed questions and wry observations to speak candidly about the film.

Yep. Getting creepy.


More on Carr's death: Just hours before his death he had moderated a "Times Talks" conversation with Edward Snowden, director Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald about the documentary "Citizenfour," which chronicles Snowden's leak of National Security Agency documents. Carr, engaged as always, drew them out with pointed questions and wry observations to speak candidly about the film.

Islamic State fighters reportedly seized most of a western Iraqi town on Thursday, in fighting taking place mere miles from an air base where hundreds of U.S. Marines are training Iraqis.

Islamic State fighters reportedly seized most of a western Iraqi town on Thursday, in fighting taking place mere miles from an air base where hundreds of U.S. Marines are training Iraqis.

Musingsinhtx is referring to this just posted tonight.. 

And to answer: Indeed I did hear Clyde Lewis—I also sent him the link tonight through Twitter of the most recent two deaths, and he spoke about it on his show only moments ago..

The ‘brain drain’ he is talking about is interesting.. He compared it to the way the Dirty War was fought in Argentina.

There’s one thing about Clyde Lewis that I love.. he makes me think differently than any other host or program out there.

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