Belgium lockdown//
Prime Minister Charles Michel said the decision to raise the threat level was taken “based on quite precise information about the risk of an attack like the one that happened in Paris … where several individuals with arms and explosives launch actions, perhaps even in several places at the same time.”
Belgium has raised its terrorism level to ‘4′.. that indicates a serious and ‘imminent’ threat..
Maybe the kids are alright.. the NEW YORK TIMES is running some student political cartoons..
Very talented.. a nice way to end a Friday night. Perhaps the kids are paying attention after all.
Facebook says it will begin to experiment with new tools that will help people better manage these complicated relationships. The tools will be designed to give users the option to digitally distance themselves from their former loved ones without having to take drastic measures.
And this: There’s a red dwarf about 35 light-years from here that’s spewing powerful, life crushing solar flares into space. These types of stellar objects are fairly common, leading to speculation that our galaxy is less habitable than we thought.
I don’t know if I buy into the argument that the universe is teaming with life.. And likewise don’t buy that there’s none.
But what if–what if!–we really are the only planet in the entire universe that has life! What if it’s us.. Just us. And accidental mishap causing a creation of life and eventually creatures who love and hate.
Perhaps the idea we are alone is a million times more frightening than the prospects we are not..
As politicians rush to curb refugee intake, research reveals 80% of people indicted over alleged Isis ties have been US citizens, and none came from Syria..
Not sexy information but factual..
Saudi Arabia’s justice system is based on Sharia Islamic law and its judges are clerics from the kingdom’s ultra conservative Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam. In the Wahhabi interpretation of Sharia, religious crimes including blasphemy and apostasy incur the death penalty.
Oh … Don’t forget they are an ally of the U.S..
DEVELOPING: Mali special forces storming besieged Bamako hotel;
3 hostages reported killed, about 20 freed;
Gunmen reportedly let go those who could recite Koran;
More
LIVE UPDATES https://twitter.com/RT_com
And now it is the site of the newest terror attack on the planet earth..
This was reported only minutes ago in a UK TELEGRAPH article:
Hostages freed from siege hotel if they can recite Qur'an versesSecurity sources are reporting that some gunmen at the Mali hotel are freeing hostages who are able to recite verses of the Qur'an.
Two women have been escorted from the besieged Bamako hotel.
The website BLOODY DISGUSTING today reminded me of something I completely forgot about from my youth.. the Freddy Kreuger 1-900 number..
Like Brad Miska, I never called when I was a kid. I remember my cousins and I watching these commercials late at night and thinking about doing it.. but that was the 20th century. The time of TOLL calls and no internet.. such a strange and different time compared to now.
Nonetheless, check out the article from B-D that also includes plenty of Youtube nostalgia of people actually calling the number.
So .. did anyone ever win that ‘contest’ to appear in a movie??
A THE VIEW segment turns into a debate about creationism
AS though the news of the world wasn’t freaky enough, Pope Francis is adding fodder to the already mighty load of end times porn that has overloaded our society from all religious perspectives.. From a report November 15 (I missed it until now), this information:
Francis unequivocally recognized the Islamist ideology behind the attacks, denouncing the use of God’s name to justify the brutal attacks as “blasphemy.”
Commenting on Sunday’s Scripture readings, the Pope said that Jesus’ preaching about the end of the world contains “apocalyptic elements, like war, famine, and cosmic catastrophes.”
“In those days,” Francis repeated, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”
This year has seen a plethora of information concerning the Pope and threats to the Vatican from ISIS terrorists.. Since the French horror last week, the United States State Department has issued a warning to Americans to stay away from the Vatican.. From that report:
The November 18 notice is billed as a “Security Message for U.S. Citizens” regarding a potential for terrorist attacks, and arrived punctually into the email boxes of all Americans registered with the embassy, including that of Breitbart News.
Along with the Vatican, the State Department singles out the Duomo (cathedral) and La Scala opera house in Milan. It goes on to note that general venues “such as churches, synagogues, restaurants, theatres, and hotels” in both Rome and Milan are possible targets as well.
The embassy notice says: “Terrorist groups may possibly utilize similar methods used in the recent Paris attacks,” meaning bombs and assault rifles.
If we make it through December we’ll be (hopefully) fine..
I think.
This end of the world talk.. well, we have heard it before for sure. Countless times after all..
And each time a religious figure pointed out that “Jesus may come today,” it was tomorrow..
The earth has been through very ghastly days before.
People have faced down villains of dramatic proportions.
It would seem that those days are again coming.
Ignoring religious connotations, I will only say this: It would appear there is something strange in the air of late.. Something that seems foreboding. I have felt this tingle since the late summer. Back then, September was rumored to be the ‘end times’ for the planet. Then, I highly dismissed those claims and wrote articles on here protesting the very inclusion with such rumors into your lives.
But since that time, things have increasingly become more tense.
Chinese vs US.. Russia vs US.. Russia vs ISIS.. ISIS vs rebels.. Rebels vs Assad. China vs ISIS.. Saudis vs Assad. US vs… ?
The plotline is written.. the table is set. The deck chairs feel arranged.
And yes, it would seem like the chess game of world war is being played. Pawns in a larger picture are now picked and we are just moved away from … what?
One more time.
If we make it through December we’ll be (hopefully) fine..
Who’ll love the devil?…
Who’ll song his song?…
Who will love the devil and his song?…
I’ll love the devil!…
I’ll sing his song!…
I will love the devil and his song!… Who’ll love the devil?… Who’ll kiss his tongue?… Who will kiss the devil on his tongue?… I’ll love the devil!… I’ll kiss his tongue!…
I will kiss the devil on his tongue!…
Who’ll love the devil?…
Who’ll sing his song?…
I WILL LOVE THE DEVIL AND SING HIS SONG!…
These were the words being sung as the Paris terror attack began in the packed concert hall in France.. The band was from the United States called Eagles of Metal Death. The song is ‘Kiss the devil.’
I offer it as fodder for thought, not really food.. but fodder. Fodder perhaps for debate. There have been more than a few people who have pointed to these lyrics in hopes of finding some metaphysical connection between the earthly terror and the otherworldly forces some believe are fighting in the other realm.
BUT BUT BUT..
take a breather from the Bible.
Get this shocker.. the EAGLES OF DEATH METAL? They aren’t really a ‘death metal’ band as some sites have claimed.. their name and even the lyrics of this song are parody.. They are actually parodying bands who sing about Satan and fans who like them..
But silly facts don’t matter.
So keep on .. condemn the band..
IT SHALLETH ONLY MAKETH THEM STRONGER
Mothers of ISIS.. abandoned by their children.. now all they have is each other.
SHOCK ACT OF PROTEST
Trade union leader sets himself on FIRE to protest the looming sale of Mongolian coal mines to Chinese companies ..
Before doing it, he said:
“The government no longer supports our company, families of the workers are forced to starve, this is why I will burn myself for the people of Mongolia and our children”
Then the fire..
He was put out..
A split second later, the speaker appears to burst into flame. In the terrifying moment that follows, screams can be heard as his companions rip off their jackets and immediately start beating the engulfing flames from the man, who has fallen, agonizing, to the floor. The blaze was finally suppressed with a fire extinguisher.
Now that is a protest with flare.
France has invoked an EU treaty collective defense article requesting military help from its European partners in response to the terror attacks in Paris. EU officials say the mutual defense article is being used for the first time.
The assistance would come from 28 European partners under Article 42.7 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty
It’s called the mutual defense clause..
And now it’s going to be put to the test
DOGS OF WAR
x x x
A 7-year-old police dog named Diesel was killed by the attackers during the raid, according to police. The dog was a German shepherd sniffer dog.
The police also tweeted, “Assault and explosives search dogs are indispensable in the missions of the operators of the raid” with a photo showing an unidentified police dog.
POOTIE POOT AND BARRY NOW FRIENDS?
Love grows when terror throws?
EXTRA EXTRA: A RELATIONSHIP BUDS?
Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin had a markedly warmer exchange at the G20 in Turkey this week than in other recent encounters, and both sides indicated a willingness to do more to work together.
At a meeting Monday, the two men flashed toothy smiles at each other and erupted in quick bursts of laughter – a far cry from virtually every photographed interaction between the leaders in the past several years, including an awkward handshake shared just six weeks ago at the United Nations General Assembly.
And this from the Washington POST reporting on,
Hanover Police Chief Volker Kluwe told local broadcaster NDR that officials received “a concrete tip that an explosives attack was planned against this international match in the stadium.” A high-level European security official said the evacuation, which took place shortly before the match was due to begin, was related to the Paris attacks.
While no explosives were immediately located, the appearance of another suspected plot to wreak havoc at a crowded public event underscored the formidable challenge facing European nations as they seek to detect and prevent terrorist attacks.
Europe is on edge..
The TNT network isn’t airing an episode of its drama “Legends” on Monday because it depicts a terrorist shooting into a crowd in Paris.
The network instead re-aired a rerun of “Legends” that was originally shown a few weeks ago…
This seems to be an unending pattern.
Remember this year when that horrid live shooting occurred where a newscaster died? A show was called off then, too..
With all major disasters and terror attacks in recent memory, there is either a show about it before it occurs or pulled after it happens.
Life imitating art?
Art being ahead of the curve?
Or a sign we’re in a controlled matrix with nothing but predictable endings all around. Maybe that’s extreme.
Look At These Photos Before You Say We Can’t Take In Syrian Refugees
If we close our borders to Syrians, this is what we’re leaving them to face.
This article appearing on the HUFFINGTON POST offers up images to stir emotions..
Emotions are running high in the United States.. several governors have declared that they don’t want Syrian refugees..
My governor from Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, will not join the chorus of mostly Republican governors who have declined the warfare fleeing Syrians..
My Facebook page is lit up this evening by people on both sides of the fence.. declaring their opinions.. illuminating their profile pictures in French colors.. signing petitions for and against the refugee influx..
One person even humorously posted the Tom Petty song dealing with such topics..
Catholics and evangelicals are stepping into the fray..
The debate goes on..
The beat goes on..
The war rages on..
Hatred flares on..
Social media opines.
Just another day in the life of the planet Earth.
From the UK TELEGRAPH:
Wikileaks released audiotapes on Monday purporting to reveal that appointees of the Bush and Obama administrations corruptly misappropriated funds intended to encourage the hiring of disabled people.
The tapes are intended to provide evidence that billions of dollars meant for disabled people went instead to defence contractors and other major corporations without large proportions of disabled employees.
The accusations centre on a government programme called AbilityOne, which awards about $3 billion annually in government contracts. Most of that money is distributed by SourceAmerica, a non-profit.
CBS NEWS reports: Several experts in immigration and constitutional law told CBS News that states are not empowered to reject immigrants granted refugee status by the United States.
Immigration law is federal.. This is becoming a controversial and delicate issue now is all states where governors are either attempting to stop, or increase the flow of Syrian refugees..
From the FOX NEWS report:
“Separately, Fox News has learned that four credible, ISIS-linked social media accounts began sharing messages 72 hours before the Paris attack, including images of weapons, the Eiffel tower, as well as blessings for the attackers’ mission. A military intelligence source says the social media traffic is now seen as evidence the three teams had gone operational.”
The Russian plane crash in Sinai, Egypt, was caused by a terrorist attack as traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of the plane, Federal Security Service director Aleksandr Bortnikov told President Vladimir Putin.
It took a bit for it to happen but Russia has now come to the table of terrorism concerning the plane crash, something other nations did before them..
Meanwhile Russian missiles are currently firing from the Mediterranean into Syria..
It just feels all pieces are now in place on the chess board of World War III ..
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has called for an ‘immediate halt’ to the intake of migrants into France following the deadly jihadist attacks on Paris which left 129 people dead.
Le Pen’s National Front (FN) party said in a statement that one of the attackers, known only as Ahmed al-Mohammed, had arrived in Greece last month 'among the mass of migrants who flow into Europe each day.’
The statement, issued three weeks ahead of regional elections in France, added: 'As a precaution, Marine Le Pen calls for the immediate halt of all intake of migrants in France.’
France is in turmoil.. A national change in psyche.. The president of France today declared that his nation was at war and the parliament stood up and sang their national anthem..
War I suppose it now is..
Despite POLITICO admitting there’s no evidence that Snowden led to Paris, they write a long article insinuating that he is ..
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/blaming-edward-snowden-for-paris-215954
LA TIMES REPORTING:
Caitlyn Jenner, who as Bruce Jenner was a Drake Relays champion in 1976, was in Des Moines visiting the university campus with her reality show producers. Although a Republican, she asked for a ticket to the debate. The request went all the way up to CBS News President David Rhodes.“Our person told her person that we don’t have any tickets left, which happens to be factual.” Rhodes said.
(Jenner told The Times that she did not get into the debate hall but that she was able to watch it on television with students on the Drake University campus. She said she still planned to vote Republican. “They didn’t convince me,” she said.)
The UK GUARDIAN is beginning a series of special reports about the poorest places in the United States.. they begin in the state of Kentucky, a coal town named Beattysville, that they label America’s poorest white town.. abandoned by coal and swallowed by drugs. That headline gave me the interest needed to go forward–interest because the place I was born and raised, the coal region of Pennsylvania, has also seen the same insanity.. poverty rising and drug abuse gaining..
From the UK GUARDIAN, a few noteworthy points.. the article by reporter Chris McGreal begins:
Karen Jennings patted her heavily made up face, put on a sardonic smile and said she thought she looked good after all she’d been through.
“I was an alcoholic first. I got drunk and fell in the creek and broke my back. Then I got hooked on the painkillers,” the 59-year-old grandmother said.
Over the years, Jennings’ back healed but her addiction to powerful opioids remained. After the prescriptions dried up, she was drawn to the underground drug trade that defines eastern Kentucky today as coal, oil and timber once did.
Jennings spoke with startling frankness about her part in a plague gripping the isolated, fading towns dotting this part of Appalachia. Frontier communities steeped in the myth of self-reliance are now blighted by addiction to opioids – “hillbilly heroin” to those who use them. It’s a dependency bound up with economic despair and financed in part by the same welfare system that is staving off economic collapse across much of eastern Kentucky. It’s a crisis that crosses generations.
More from the same woman who was profiled for the article:
It was at the local food bank that Jennings spilled out her story.
“There are lots of ways of getting drugs. The elderly sell their prescriptions to make up money to buy food. There are doctors and pharmacies that just want to make money out of it,” she said. “I was the manager of a fast food place. I used to buy from the customers. People could come in for a hamburger and do a drug transaction with me and no one would ever notice.”
Even as Jennings related the toll of drug abuse – the part it played in destroying at least some of her five marriages, the overdose that nearly cost her life and the letter she wrote to her doctor begging for the help that finally wrenched her off the pills – she spoke as if one step removed from the experience.
On the death of coal:
People in eastern Kentucky still call it “coal country”, even though the decline continued largely unabated and the number of jobs in the industry fell with the passing of each presidency. There were 31,000 under Bill Clinton but fewer than 14,000 by the time George W Bush left power.
The number of people employed in mining in eastern Kentucky has fallen by half since Barack Obama came to power, although the long history of decline has been conveniently set aside in the clamour to blame the current president. The more cautious critics say Obama is anti-coal because of his environment policies. But a no less popular view in the region is that it is part of president Obama’s war on white people.
The employer:
The largest employer in the county is now the school system. There are five times as many healthcare workers in eastern Kentucky as miners. “Coal country” is today little more than a cultural identity.
The office of Ed Courier’s Sturgeon Mining Company is on the high street. Its few remaining mines involve people digging coal out of hillsides. “I’ve been in the coal business since ’78 and the last five years I’ve been trying to get out of the coal business. There’s no future for it here,” he said
The story goes on.. and on..
Read it
You may be from a town next profiled by the UK media.. you may be a part of the great unraveling of American society.. the “Great society” turning into the land of the addiction…..
It’s now. It’s real.
And you cannot deny it..
Now we just have to wonder if anything will actually fix it.
If you think about it, the majority of victims last night are music fans,“ he said in a Saturday phone interview with Irish radio host Dave Fanning. "This is the first direct hit on music that we’ve had in this so-called War on Terror. And it’s very upsetting. These are our people. … The cold-blooded effect of this slaughter is deeply disturbing and that’s what I can’t get out of my head
I went to an auction today.. a bit of an emotional roller coaster sort of began and ended at the right time in my life.. at the moment when I understand things better than before.. at a point where I can forgive, forget, and focus nostalgic memories when needed for perspective.
I went to the great auction of Cardinal Brennan Jr/Sr/ High School in Fountain Springs, PA.. my alma mater.. the place I called home for four short years ending with a graduation as the century turned in 1999..
To give a quick history.. the school was once for all women. It changed to a Catholic high school later.. it housed my antics… and the diocese of Allentown PA chose to close the school in 2007..
Years later–this year–North Schuylkill, the district the vacant building resides in, bought it .. some considered it sold for pennies on the dollar. Others felt it was an investment gone wrong.
Today there was a public auction.. and a Betsy Ross piano was included. I just about walked away bidding on this for $1 … My failure become notable when I got into a bidding war with a fellow piano lover.. I gave up after the price went too high ($120, however.. perhaps not too high for a baby grand) .. Nonetheless, before I left the building, I had one last shot to dish out a song.. And what better one to choose than the Cardinal Brennan high school Alma Mater..
I am proudly boasting and will always relish in this fact: I was the final person who had the chance to blast out the school alma mater on a piano in this building. Forever. It will never happen again. The ghosts of the past perhaps had one last chance to sing their praise.. or maybe those ghosts have been gone for a long time anyway.
We sing our praise to alma mater the school we all love.
We raise heart and voice in joyous acclaim.
We cherish you and all you teach us.
Blue and gold your colors our fame.
We will be true to the ideals that are strong heritage.
From on high you reign our true beacon light;
Now let’s sing out in happy chorus.
Praise to our dear school,
Cardinal Brennan High!
Nonetheless, that is this video.. that is this song..
That’s the show, folks.
School is out. Forever.
SATURDAY NIGHT SNOOZEFEST..
CBS brought in the second Democratic debate seven minutes under time, giving Iowa Democrats the chance to catch the end of the No. 5-ranked Hawkeyes’ game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The candidates began their closing statements with more than 10 minutes to go until the scheduled 11 p.m. conclusion, with Bernie Sanders finishing his at 9:52 p.m. local time. Moderator John Dickerson cut to a commercial break, returning with final thoughts from the panel and a teaser for the next debate on CBS for the Republicans on Feb. 13 in South Carolina.
As usual, my friend Anghus has written a must read column about the week in entertainment.. sit back and enjoy.
Not from the ONION:
Sian Jameson is a little breathless as she describes her first night of passion with her lover, an amorous apparition of an artist who had died more than 100 years ago.
That’s right.. The UK DAILY MAIL goes ‘deep,’ exploring the ‘20 somethings’ who are NOT crazy, but just longing for the touch of a spirit from another world..
More.. Greek police on Saturday said at least one man with a possible connection to the Paris attacks had registered as a refugee with Greek authorities earlier this year…
France is warning Francis to cancel a trip to Africa.. MORE
France will not provide any soldiers for Pope Francis’s security if he goes ahead with the visit on 29-30 November, sources told Wednesday’s Le Monde newspaper.
The 900-strong Sangaris contingent has a clearly defined mission, they say, and that is to provide security for the airport and help evacuation if necessary.
Officials have told the Vatican that the visit is “high-risk”, French defence officials at the Africa security forum in Dakar told the paper.
and this
Not only do the French fear that the Pope’s visit could revive sectarian tensions, they also believe that the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Christians from neighbouring countries would be too much for the country’s ruined infrastructure.
The Pope hopes to open a “holy door” in Bangui’s Notre Dame Cathedral to show that the Church is standing by an “afflicted and tormented” people.
There have been longstanding warnings to the Pope about the threat from ISIS.. and there is no doubt that any Pope, but especially this one, is the target of terror attacks. However with the recent Paris attacks being increasingly close to the heart of Catholicism, these new fears and warnings should be taken seriously..
As the flow of migrants continues..
“You have to understand that Swedes are really scared when an asylum house opens in their village. They can see what has happened in other places.” — Salesman for alarm systems in the nation
News networks in the United States have gone wall to wall with coverage–as have international news sources like the BBC, SKY NEWS, and French sources..
SKY NEWS has been broadcasting its coverage live on YOUTUBE..
There is a CBS presidential debate TONIGHT (Saturday 11/14) .. Hillary Clinton will be joined by Sanders and O’Malley. The network is rethinking its questions based on the terror attack. This is going to be a major moment for Hillary Clinton and a time to shine as the leading presidential contender..
Some of the best coverage and series of photographs relative to the Paris attacks comes from the UK DAILY MAIL, linked here..
All of the UK media have (obviously) put this story on their covers..
SALON used the moment to say Republicans should ‘tone down’ ‘violent’ rhetoric..
MORE//
ISIS used social media to celebrate the attacks in Paris.. More:
On Twitter, one of the main hashtags about the attacks, #ParisIsBurning, seems to have been co-opted by supported of ISIS..
One World Trade Center is lit in the Blue, White and Red colors of the French flag in honor of the victims of the attacks in Paris, in the Manhattan borough of New York November 13, 2015. New York, Boston and other cities in the United States bolstered security on Friday night after deadly gun and bomb attacks on civilians in Paris, but law enforcement officials said the beefed-up police presence was precautionary rather than a response to any specific threats. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Just think of the history..
9/11.. Bush.. anti war protests all over Paris .. “Freedom fries” and French hatred.. Years later, a rebuilt trade center with colors in solidarity with Paris after a series of terror attacks in that nation.. How things change.. or how they stay the same..
A journalist who was at a concert at the Bataclan concert venue and escaped after the shooting started told CNN: “We lied down on the floor not to get hurt. It was a huge panic. The terrorists shot at us for 10 to 15 minutes. It was a bloodbath.” Julien Pearce didn’t hear the attackers speak, but he said one friend who escaped heard them talk about Iraq and Syria. Later, he said the men were speaking French.
CNN affiliate BFMTV, citing French officials, said gunmen were still at large.
You’re looking at the first picture in a new series I want to sort of kind of start.. ‘I saw you today.’ It will be my artistic rendition of someone I saw today.. Could be someone I know .. Could be a stranger .. Could be a background noise person. Heck chances are it could be you!
Either way this will sort of coincide with my daily doodle ..
So here’s my first. I saw her today.
I grew up Catholic and went through Catholic school .. And school masses, even played the piano at a few.
And that’s when church music was good. Had soul. Made you get the tingly feeling that the Old Testament God would go crazy on us at any moment.. Visiting church now is a bit different.. It was interesting to read his perspective from a Catholic site on just how bad Catholic music got..
I say bring back the fiery tunes of yesterday.. The songs that had a cross sound of a polka and a battle March.
Like the song ‘and they know we are Christians by our love,’ which is a type of triumphant March song I can almost picture being sung during the crusades.
Nbc news reports this:
“
A transgender man was found dead with his face skinned off, local media reported.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police told NBC News that 38-year-old Yoshi Tsuchida’s body was discovered wrapped in a blanket at his apartment in the Fussa City area on the outskirts of the Japanese capital on Thursday
”
There are several Japanese news sources getting this out to the world but at this time those same sources have not been verified completely ..
This is a disturbing story..
I sense mental issue at play or perhaps something more devilish..
At this point, the property’s former resident, a 45-year-old woman, has not been found, but police are questioning several other people..
It was unclear how long the babies had been dead or who, if anyone, was living there at the time of the discovery.
And so far that’s the story.. Sure to change and update as more information becomes known..
One of these days everything we have ever known about ‘life’ will change in an instant.. We are just buying time until the great unveiling ..
A part of this time purchase:
Commenting on one of the planets, Brad Tucker, an astronomer from Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra, Australia who was not involved in the research, said it “probably gives us the best chance for life outside our solar system right now.”
“One of the goals of astronomy and astrophysics and finding these planets is firstly to really find another Earth,” he added. “And part of the reason of finding another Earth is that we ultimately do want to find life in the universe. It’s a question that weighs on everyone’s mind.
It’s called GJ 1132b.
And it’s the best place to find life –at least known at the current moment..
Donald Trump has seized on the Drudge headlines about a wig on Hillary.. You can listen here.
At what point should hair be an issue?
hair
Gone today.
Hidden tomorrow.
Tonight on Midnight in the Desert
Warren Faidley – Storm Chasing
NOVEMBER 11, 2015
StormChaser.com Warren Faidley was the first person to pursue severe weather and natural disasters in full-time capacity, as a journalist, consultant, cinematographer, and photographer. He has been labeled as “Americas Top Storm Chaser”
Sounds good to me..
This is something important to remember when designing a blog.
And just think about it the next time you go to a website.. Chances are you figure the ads are at the top and you quickly scroll right through . Here on Coal Speaker you miss my cartoon mug.. Other than that, content is king. People want content and what is real..
And what is real is so often ignored by web designers just lagging behind the times of modernism.
Which means.. above the fold doesn’t exist.
There is a secret about Matt Drudge.. He posted this as his headline today along with Twitter messages showcasing his belief that Hillary Clinton wears a wig. The top image shows her with a ravaged look, tired and old.. the perfect hair with smiles below is the most modern Clinton campaigner we have seen in 2015..
The truth is: Matt Drudge is secretly longing for Hillary to win. It would be four to eight years of his brand only becoming more branded.. four to eight years of his ability to utilize the Clintons’ most likely scandals for his endeavors online.
And let’s face it.. Drudge has been running since the mid 90s. IF he chooses to give it up sooner rather than later, what else would be perfect but ending his website at the same time the second term of Hillary completes?
A storybook journalistic ending…
You can be he judge.. Photoshopped and published or the Earth getting ready to sneeze..
From the AP:
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A former child actor who was the voice of Charlie Brown in beloved “Peanuts” TV specials has pleaded guilty to making criminal threats.
Fifty-nine-year-old Peter Robbins of Oceanside entered pleas Tuesday. He’s facing four years and eight months in prison.
Authorities say Robbins threatened to harm a mobile home park manager and San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore, offering $50,000 to have Gore killed.
Robbins said the threats stem from his bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.
Two years ago, Robbins pleaded guilty to threatening a former girlfriend and her plastic surgeon.
From age 9 to 13, Robbins was the voice of Charlie Brown in a series of 1960s animated classics, including “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”
Pretty fascinating article from the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC in its December edition: How the Virgin Mary became the most powerful woman in the world..
Along with the article: A map of the world and every location where the Virgin Mary was spotted or sighted, or where she was said to appear to give a message.. places like Rwanda.. places like
Medjugorje..
People in my local area in Pennsylvania think she even appeared on a garage door in 2007. Which I assume made the map.
Coffee creamer..
Cancer in a cup.
The AFP reported that one.
Real stuff..
People are getting weird everywhere.
Every year.. it’s something. This year it’s cups. Cups of coffee from Dunkin feature holiday themes.. Starbucks changed to red but eliminated the ‘joy.’ A crisis has begun.. presidential candidates have put off talking about things that matter and delved deep into this issue.. It’s all the rage to be enraged.
From one societal realm to the next, we’re angry. Angry about what we saw online.. angry about television shows. Angry at, yes even this, the cardboard future-pollution we are holding in our life-stained hands..
Atrocious things that mean something are ignored..
Missiles are launching over the West Coast with continuous silent marches towards World War III.. starving people. Children suffering. . endless awful atrocities..
Is this the media paying attention to what we are paying attention to, or diverting us from what needs to be seen? It’s a mystery to me.
Me and my red cup.
seriously? this is why @staff took away the ability to comment directly on a post?
how about *not* taking away functionality that i used, and i used it a lot (regardless of what @support told @david about it “rarely being used”). how about instead of degrading the service, perhaps choose to *add* to it instead.
fine. we have this chat thing. great. lovely.
but give us back post replies.
i’m not a change-averse cranky hack. 8.5 years as a tumblr, 20 years as a UX professional, and a lifetime waiting for the community i’ve so happily found here. this is where i’m coming from.
give us back our replies. i enjoy getting them, i enjoy leaving them.
it wasn’t broken.
I concur with this from @notentirely .. It’s a point well made and I could not have said it better myself..
I’m always considering moving this to a self hosted blog.. That just became a higher probability likelihood given the circumstances that the few still cool things about Tumblr are being Yahoo!ed away..
Karl-e-diem! Seize the replies. Make our posts extraordinary again..
A big splash from the UK SUN.. Hollywood rocked they say.. An unnamed A lister womanizer with HIV known to them but not reported in print … Tinseltown tizzy..
More here : http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/6737076/Superstar-Hollywood-womaniser-has-HIV.html
Turn off the GOP debate.. Art Bell’s guest this fine evening .. Jim Elvidge on the possibility that we are all living in a simulated world..
Some nights it’s so good to have Art Bell back on the radio.
There have been varied opinions from a lot of sources.. People confused by the recent missile tests—one Saturday night that lit up the sky over the West Coast and another one yesterday during daytime hours, obviously without the fanfare a night test would bring.
The Navy was forced into admitting that they set off a Trident missile for what they labeled a “routine” test. The routine nature of the situation is questionable. Routine? When an entire area around Los Angeles is put into a de facto no fly zone? Routine, when you launch a missile during the evening hours for eyewitnesses to see and become freaked out collectively? Routine? When you launch a missile that typically has a nuclear payload?
An article by Peter Holley in the Washington POST describes what I also wonder (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/11/09/california-missile-test-social-media-nightmare-or-exactly-what-the-navy-wanted/) :
Did the Navy think the test would go largely unnoticed by the public? Did officials underestimate social media’s ability to turn a routine event into front-page fodder?
Or was that the plan all along, using the inevitable influence of social media to flex America’s military might for observers in Beijing and Moscow?
The conclusion that Holley makes: It’s complicated..
Some may wonder if this whole thing was something more than a test of military prowess but also a trigger of social media triggering.. How war in the social media era may work.. How an entire city seeing missile strikes could potentially go to Twitter or Facebook and describe it for the masses.. Maybe this was seeing what the implications were when closely associated with densely populated areas. After all, most of the places that see this missile fly into the night sky were cities filled with people out and about for Saturday night social hours..
And what message is being sent? Beyond the borders of America? To China, perhaps. That nation has developed its Navy and is upgrading. We may not have done the same at the pace they have.. but perhaps we’re showing a missile of defiance in the night sky. As the sun sets on America. Perhaps our Navy timed it perfectly at that minute to showcase that the land of the Rising Sun isn’t the world’s leader yet.
Military games across the world.
Sure feels like World War III’s chess pieces are all lining up in the predicted location.
