According to social media, he is a US citizen, born in 1986, from Port Saint Lucie, FL. and both his parents are from Afghanistan. He was a registered democrat with a security officer and firearms license. The Orlando Mayor says he used an assault rifle, while Florida Congressman Alan Grayson adds that he believes the attack is “more likely than not” ideologically motivated.
CBS added that the FBI is currently checking if he was linked to extremists.
According to BBC, Mateen was not on any terrorism watch list, although as CBS also adds Islamic terrorism is being investigated as one of the possible motives behind the mass shooting.
‘He got angry when he saw two men kissing’: Father of New York-born shooter Omar Mateen, 29, says son responsible for worst mass shooting in US history was homophobic
Suspected Islamic extremist opened fire inside Pulse gay club in Orlando in the early hours of this morning
Law enforcement sources have identified the shooter as US citizen Omar Mateen, from Port St. Lucie in Florida
He killed at least 50 people and injured 53 and took party-goers hostage before being killed by police
Shooter, 29, was carrying a suspicious device, possibly a suicide vest, when he began shooting in the nightclub
Police used an explosive device to distract the gunman and rescue around 30 people who had been taken hostage
Police engaged in gunfire with the man and an officer was shot in the head, but he was saved by his helmet
FBI says gunman may have 'leanings to radical Islamic terrorism’ and it is being investigated as 'an act of terrorism’
Took place four miles from where The Voice singer Christina Grimmie, 22, was shot dead at The Plaza Live on Friday
Police officers in Orlando, Fla., directing people away from a nightclub where they said a gunman opened fire early Sunday. CreditPhelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press
About 20 people were killed and at least 42 people were wounded when a gunman armed with an assault rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a downtown Orlando nightclub about 2 a.m., Police Chief John Mina said.
The police said they had classified the attack as a “terror incident.” The gunman was not from the Orlando area and was organized and well-prepared, they said.
The gunman was found dead inside the Pulse nightclub, one of the largest in Orlando, about 5 a.m. after a shootout with the police, Chief Mina said.
The chief said it was difficult to assess the number of clubgoers who were killed because, as of 7:15 a.m., many of the bodies had not been removed.
The shooting began inside the club, the chief said, and continued outside when an officer working at Pulse attempted to confront him. The gunman then went back into the club, resumed shooting and took hostages.
At 5 a.m., Chief Mina said, the police decided to rescue the hostages, detonating a “controlled explosion” to help clear the club. At least nine officers were involved in the shooting with the gunman. One of them was slightly injured, the authorities said.
The police called it a “mass casualty” event. The wounded were taken to three area hospitals.
”
- THE NEW YORK TIMES DESCRIBING THE INITIAL AFTERMATH OF THE ORLANDO TERROR NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING
Investors believing they need to have gold in their portfolio as a hedge against the outcome of easy central bank policies and for other safety reasons are fueling a run in the metal. Some analysts say gold could easily climb above $1,300 an ounce.
“I think that the you’ve got ‘Brexit’ coming at you. You have a Spanish election coming at you in a week and a half and that is terribly confusing. It looks like the left is going to win. You have rising nationalism in France. You have the strike in France. You have one thing after another,” said Dennis Gartman, publisher of The Gartman letter. Other worries include rising tensions with China in the South China Sea, and Nigeria where militants have shut down oil production.
It will be fascinating to see if England votes to leave the EU.. right now polls put the anti EU ahead by 10 points.. Still some time before the referendum but all eyes will be watching.
This is quite sad actually.. a beautiful sky and vast array of starlit nights dead because of pollution on the planet earth.
From the LA TIMES (LA, being no stranger to light pollution)
Across the globe, light pollution is making the night sky lighter and the stars harder to see, according to a new study.
In a paper published Friday in Science Advances, researchers reveal that 1 in 3 people worldwide are unable to see the Milky Way when they gaze at the heavens in their hometown. In addition, a whopping 83% of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies.
In Singapore – the country with the most light pollution in the world – the skies never go dark, the authors write. Even at 1 a.m. the sky more closely resembles the warm glow of twilight then the inky blackness of a true night.
Get this!
In the U.S. and Europe, 99% of people live under light-polluted skies..
Scientists have found dangerous drug-resistant “super bacteria” off beaches in Rio de Janeiro that will host Olympic swimming events and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete when the Games start on Aug. 5.
The findings from two unpublished academic studies seen by Reuters concern Rio’s most popular spots for tourists and greatly increase the areas known to be infected by the microbes normally found only in hospitals.
They also heighten concerns that Rio’s sewage-infested waterways are unsafe.
ZIKA. Super bacteria .. political strife.
The real gold medal may have to go to the person who survives Rio 16..
Kerri Little was going to address the assembly about bullying. Feeling censored by her school, she skipped the whole thing and caused waved in Pennsylvania media by doing so.
She also had a tremendous and well thought out statement she posted to Facebook.
“A Lego block … just lifted itself out of the box and hurled itself across the room at me. There would be the most icy draft come past you as if someone had opened the freezer door. It was all too deep, too slurred and too consistent for the kids to make it up.”
-
All of these words from reporter Michael Hellicar about his experience in the CONJURING 2 (REAL) house ..
New Line’s Conjuring 2 is beating its projections from earlier in the week with a No. 1 take of $37.1M at 3,343 theaters. It’s down 11% from its 2013 predecessor’s $41.9M opening ..
That is actually a good opening for a sequel in the box office world – sequelitis is a very real thing.
Even TMNT2 was less than projected earlier..
But CONJURING is beating the predictions a bit..
It is also one of the few movies right now on ROTTEN TOMATOES with a decent score from both critics and viewers..
A shock story was sent across news wires last night..
VOICE star shot to death at her own concert, blazed headlines..
More information came to light moments afterwards..
Singer Christina Grimmie, who starred in NBC’s “The Voice,” died early Saturday after a gunman shot her following a performance in Florida, authorities said. According to what s known so far: A man armed with two guns walked up to the 22-year-old singer as she was signing autographs late Friday night and opened fire, Orlando Police spokeswoman Wanda Ford said. The gunman fatally shot himself after Grimmie’s brother tackled him, according to authorities.
Grimmie was not alone on stage during the show that proceeded her death. The singer had performed at The Plaza Live theater Friday night, along with the band Before You Exit..
BEFORE YOU EXIT.. A strange and bizarre name given the circumstances of what happened after the show.
The singer had a large social media following–and those fans are saddened by the news of the singer’s untimely demise. Even for those who are not fans, it’s shocking to hear.. It’s actually quite revolting.
Muhammad Ali died Friday at age 74, according to a statement from the family. He was hospitalized in the Phoenix area with respiratory problems earlier this week, and his children had flown in from around the country.
Doin’t be too shocked by what they are.. You may actually realize they match what makes a good STORY or movie in general.
Nonetheless, Jakarta Post figured it was breaking news worthy enough of posting a link.. and I will share too since it has to do with James Wan.
The list, as follows:
Characters that people care about. The cases should be relatable to the audience. The sound design. (Just like IT FOLLOWS, one of the best.) Atmosphere. And good story.
Think of your favorite films or TV shows. They all have the above. Even comedies.
Fears an American werewolf on the prowl - in HULL: A strange story from the UK EXPRRESS.. The Hull creature with glowing eyes and sharp claws.. Prowling late at night under the moonlight sky. A paranormal tale that some believe and now even more are taking about thanks to the story running across the world..
A few days after it was revealed the persons who carried a gun to the White House and was shot by secret service was from Ashland PA, now this news of the syndicated program filming in the coal region is released..
Awful notoriety. We used to be famous for halupkies, block parties, and Centralia. Those were the days.
The 3,340-meter Turrialba Volcano is located in Cartago Province of central Costa Rica, only 30 km from the country’s capital, San José. The volcanic activity started Wednesday and the first eruptions were recorded Friday, according to local media.
Pictures are circulating online of the enormous smokestack and scene of ‘hell’ ..
Photos taken on Sunday showed evidence of pyroclastic flows — a fast-moving cloud of hot volcanic gases, rocks and ash — in the village. Dead and injured animals were lying on the ground, around them scorched homes and smoky vegetation. Soldiers were setting up roadblocks and people were carrying their belongings and leading farm animals to safety.
THE FIGHT FOR FALLUJAH YEARS AFTER THE AMERICAN VERSION..
THIS FROM CNN:
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi took to live television early Monday to announce the start of an operation to recapture the city of Falluja from ISIS.
Speaking on Iraqi state TV from the military’s Joint Operations Command in Baghdad, Abadi said Iraqi security forces would provide safe passage for civilians to leave the city during the operation.
Abadi’s overnight announcement came hours after Iraq’s military implored residents of ISIS-held Falluja to flee their homes ahead of the operation to wrest the metropolis from the terror group.
Iraqi planes have dropped thousands of leaflets – safe passage cards ..
Families who are unable to flee the city have been told to raise a white flag above their homes. The military has told families to call or text an emergency line to seek evacuation.
Al-Abadi spoke by phone with U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday and “agreed on the critical importance of improving the security” of Baghdad and the Green Zone, according to a White House statement. It added that the two leaders also discussed progress being made in the campaign against the Islamic State group.
Lake Mead reached the all-time low Wednesday night, slipping below a previous record set in June 2015.
The downward march of the reservoir near Las Vegas reflects enormous strains on the over-allocated Colorado River. Its flows have decreased during 16 years of drought, and climate change is adding to the stresses on the river.
As the levels of Lake Mead continue to fall, the odds are increasing for the federal government to declare a shortage in 2018, a step that would trigger cutbacks in the amounts flowing from the reservoir to Arizona and Nevada. With that threshold looming, political pressures are building for California, Arizona and Nevada to reach an agreement to share in the cutbacks to avert an even more severe shortage.
Egypt has deployed a submarine to the Mediterranean Sea to search for the so-called black boxes from EgyptAir Flight 804, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said Sunday.
Searchers have recovered parts of the plane wreckage – passengers’ personal belongings, life vests, aircraft chairs and even body parts – but are still scouring the Mediterranean for the fuselage and flight data and cockpit voice recorders that would likely reveal what went wrong on the flight.
Residents in a Mexican city woke in fright before dawn on Saturday to bright light in the sky and then a thunderous noise, fearing a nearby volcano had suddenly erupted.
But officials said Popocatepetl volcano had not stirred and no earthquake had registered.
Instead, the phenomena witnessed by the inhabitants of Puebla de Zaragoza, a city of three million people 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Mexico City, was “most likely a meteor,” the local Astronomic Society tweeted.
Social media was captivated by the strange weekend sights and sounds–lots of scared people below felt the sky was falling.
People were terrified.. So many thought it was an explosion.. The upper atmosphere glowed. And the booms resounded through the city.
If a visitor to Venezuela is unfortunate enough to pay for anything with a foreign credit card, the eye-watering cost might suggest they were in a city pricier than Tokyo or Zurich.
Chaos explained.. chaos described: A nation in turmoil and financial ruin..
A hamburger sold for 1,700 Venezuelan bolivares is $170, or a 69,000-bolivar hotel room is $6,900 a night, based on the official rate of 10 bolivares for $1.
But of course no merchant is pricing at the official rate imposed under currency controls. It’s the black market rate of 1,000 bolivares per dollar that’s applied.
But for Venezuelans paid in hyperinflation-hit bolivares, and living in an economy relying on mostly imported goods or raw materials, conditions are unthinkably expensive.
Even for the middle class, most of it sliding into poverty, hamburgers and hotels are out-of-reach excesses.
“Everybody is knocked low,” Michael Leal, a 34-year-old manager of an eyewear store in Caracas, told AFP. “We can’t breathe.”
Wood making a splash of headlines with this news–he thinks that a child sex scandal was and is continuing to plague Hollywood at the core..
Wood described it. The UK TELEGRAPH reported it:
The 35-year-old former child actor said paedophiles had been protected by powerful figures in the movie business and that abuse was probably still taking place.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Wood said he had been protected from abuse as he was growing up, but that other child actors had been regularly “preyed upon” at parties by industry figures.
“You all grew up with Savile – Jesus, it must have been devastating,” he said.
“Clearly something major was going on in Hollywood.
“It was all organised.
“There are a lot of vipers in this industry, people who only have their own interests in mind.
“There is a darkness in the underbelly – if you can imagine it, it’s probably happened.”
The Saville sex scandal in the UK was abhorrent. It also had tentacles that made its way into many parts of political, media, and entertainment in the UK. Accomplices were widespread and the horror victims had to endure was awful..
More from the UK report:
“That’s the tragedy of attempting to reveal what is happening to innocent people,” he said.
“They can be squashed but their lives have been irreparably damaged.”
Allegations that senior Hollywood figures have been protecting child abusers have gathered pace in recent years.
Anne Henry, co-founder of Bizparents, a group set up to help child actors, said Hollywood is currently sheltering around 100 active abusers and said a “tsunami” of claims was beginning.
Corey Feldman, another former child actor who started in films such as Gremlins, the Goonies and Stand by Me in the 1980s , has said that as a young teenager he was “surrounded” by abusers.
Americans’ belief in heaven remains about the same as always. But new data shows that the belief in hell has dropped considerably.. 70ish percent down to the 50s and falling.. this to coincide with other research showing millennials have stopped going to church.
“What if the muting of hell is due neither to emotional weakness nor loss of Gospel commitment?” writesEdward Fudge, whose 1982 book, The Fire That Consumes, is widely regarded as the scholarly work that jump-started the current debate. “What if the biblical foundations thought to endorse unending conscious torment are less secure than has been widely supposed?”
Fudge is among those who endorse an alternative doctrine, known as “annihilationism” or “conditional immortality,” which holds that, after death, sinners simply cease to exist, while those who are saved enjoy eternal life under God’s grace. Although it’s not a positive outcome for the wicked—in fact, it amounts to spiritual capital punishment—it’s deemed a far more merciful and just fate than an eternity of torture.
HELL.. That merciless place where sinners burn.
I went through Catholic school. My initial upbringing with harsh Ukrainian nuns who held nothing back when it came to hell. Hell! I was afraid I’d burn forever if I had one impure thought or forgot to dot an I on homework. As time went on, I switched schools and eventually had more humane sisters. And finally in high school mostly lay teachers since nuns and priests got busy with other things.
But even now in life I know several people with varied religions predilections. Often, the ‘non denominational’ I know argue with the Jehovah Witnesses I know.. who argue with the Protestants I know. And all whom seem to look down on my for being a member of the Roman Empire Catholic Church–though I remind them I am technically born into a Ukrainian Catholic church and was confirmed and baptized in one fell swoop in my first month of employment with life.
“We need a fresh wave of great awakeners—those who will unapologetically preach hell fire in today’s dire end times,” writes John Burton, a pastor and speaker. “To the shame of much of today’s church there has been a firm and steadfast rejection of any truth that doesn’t result in people feeling happy affection for God.” The narcissistic belief that God loves us so much that he couldn’t bear inflicting eternal punishment, Burton argues, encourages evil to expand unchecked.
A traditionalist view of hell, however, does not necessarily mean fire and brimstone. “I certainly wouldn’t agree that hell is a place of literal fire or torment,” says Galli. “I tend to be more favorable toward the metaphors that talk about hell as the absence of a love of God and that would be a miserable existence.”
Not necessarily hell or heaven, but this topic fascinates me the most: Is there life after death.
I have been searching for an answer since I figured out I could have independent thoughts and meditate. I have yet to find an answer, or come across someone who could give me proof. I read MOODY and his near death experiences.. I paged through MY DESCENT about a supposed trip to the fires of hell.. I have constantly been informing myself of the many theories of what we are and where we go. Nothing has satisfied my thirst.. nothing quenched my hunger. I need more information. I want more theory. And I want to find that magical cave or hidden document that houses the information I need: Does an afterlife exist? Do my trips to graveyards amount to an actual conversation or am I just looking a little ‘off’ talking to headstones?
While I am at it, I’d sure like to know more about heaven and hell too if they exist. I wouldn’t want to rock any boats so much on earth that I burn in eternal fire.
Proving again that we hardly know anything about our universe and certainly nothing about the potential for how abundant life may be ‘out there’ in the cosmos.. enter this study.
The research, published in the journal Astrobiology last week, suggests that more planets in the Milky Way galaxy may harbor advanced civilizations than we previously imagined.
Study co-authors Adam Frank and Woodruff Sullivan looked at recent discoveries of potentially habitable exoplanets and considered the odds of whether sophisticated civilizations existed on them in the past or present.
“What we showed was the ‘floor’ on the probability for a civilization to form on any randomly chosen planet,” Frank, a University of Rochester physics and astronomy professor, told The Huffington Post in an email. “If we are the only civilization in cosmic history, then that what we calculated is the actual probability nature has set. But if the actual probability is higher than that floor, then civilizations have happened before.”
According to the theory, the amount of life on planets beyond ours is potentially staggering.
“Even if you are pretty pessimistic and think that you’d have to search through 100 billion (habitable zone) planets before you found one where a civilization developed, then there have still been a trillion civilizations over cosmic history!” Frank wrote. “When I think about that, my mind reels — even if there is just a one in a 100 billion chance of evolution creating exo-civilizations, the universe still has made so many of them that we are swamped by histories other than our own.”
So there you have your “feeling small on Sunday morning” post.. The notion that we are just existent in a universe abundant in other civilizations like this. Or maybe hopefully NOT like us at all..
In an interview with the BBC’s This Week, Icke defended the outlandish reptilian theory.
When Neil asked: “Do you still think the Royal Family were shape shifting lizards?”
Icke replied: “Yes, I do.”
Neil then asked Icke if he still wanted people to believe that 9/11 is a conspiracy.
“Yes,” he replied.
“I can see the point that you might that you have some questions about 9/11, but if you also think that Buckingham Palace is inhabited by lizards, it kind of undermines you,” Neil said in bemusement.
However, Icke defended his claims.
“It’s not that simple. The whole big back story before you get to what I’m saying, if you deliver it in one line - ‘the world is run by reptiles’ - you meet on one level, ‘Oh that’s crazy’ - immediate reaction.
“But when you see the back story and the evidence to support this, ancient and modern, you see that one throwaway line in a completely different context.”
Earlier in the interview, Neil pressed Icke to give recent examples of conspiracies in the world.
“Ironically, we’ve had [Chancellor] George Osborne this week trying to ridicule conspiracies, involving the EU by likening them to believing in the Loch Ness monster,” Icke said.
“And in the same week, we’ve had the Daily Mail exposing the PM for conspiring, in effect, with big business to frighten the public into staying in the EU, while publicly, to Parliament as well, saying he would come out if the negotiations, renegotiations, don’t work.”
If you have listened to conspiracy radio over the past 20 years, none of this should come as any form of a shock. David Icke has been saying this for some time.. nothing notable is new in the interview. With the exception that now the mainstream is able to hear the conspiracy theory of the lizard face morphing royals and politicians..
The views were in the millions.. Even KOHL’s send toys for the entire family (Good marketing Kohls) ..
She captioned the video ‘the simple joys.’ And her video makes you just…happy!
The comments I have seen on the videos have been kind and fun. No one degenerating it into some needless debate. Nothing talking politics.. no one laughing or bullying her..
No, instead, it would seem that her Chewbacca mask is exactly what America needs right now. Something to bridge the numerous gaps that divide us on so many levels.
Just a happy woman in her car, sneaking a video of her in Chewy attire. Completely innocent and completely beautiful as she laughs. And her laugh is actually quite contagious.
A Secret Service spokesman said the incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. ET when a man carrying a gun approached a checkpoint on E Street near the White House. The suspect was given verbal commands to stop and drop the gun, and when he failed to comply, he was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody. Secret Service officers and an agent provided medical aid to the suspect, and the city’s EMS said he was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries.
The president wasn’t there at the time, instead he was away golfing. Oliver was shot in the abdomen. He is in critical condition at last report.
Rumors fly in small town.
While we were eating out food and discussing the high degree of embarrassment that an entire town feels with an indictment like this, another customer announced that he received word a street in town was closed and that the FEDs swooped in to the home of Oliveri and were conducting searches. While I have no idea if that was true or not, it seemed reasonable that someone who just showed off a gun at the Presidential mansion and then got shot would have searches performed at his house.
And that’s the story. Surely there is MORE to the story yet to be heard. But at this point, it’s blemish on an already blemished town.
For hours I hoped the news got it wrong and they meant Ashland, Kentucky..
Bloody Disgusting reminded us all today: 13 years ago was when Buffy the Vampire slayer ended.. I never really liked Buffy much, except the show Once more with Feeling. My friend, a big Buffy fanatic, a fairly wrote a series on my website heh where he used the pseudonym ‘Mr Benson.’
I think the most alarming thing is to contemplate the quick massive of time–and 13 years went fast.
There is a massive fire in my home town of Ashland Pa this morning.. These photos appearing on Skook News look alarming. Most likely a substantial portion of the block is lost. Hoping all got out safe and the effects are helped by compassion of neighbors..
Biting the dust. Time’s up. An antique store going as brick and mortar shopping centers become antiques of today.. Reconcile the books while we may, old time is still a flyin. The same mall that opens today tomorrow will be dyin (at Schuylkill Mall)
The immediate effect of drug manufacturer Pfizer’s announcement Friday that it will no longer sell its drugs for use in executions is obvious: States are about to have a tougher time finding the necessary ingredients for a lethal injection cocktail. Pfizer and other drug makers have long expressed concern about products that are designed to be “life-saving” instead used for the opposite purpose, and the New York-based manufacturer has taken a clear stand.
“Pfizer makes its products to enhance and save the lives of the patients we serve,” the company said in a statement. “Consistent with these values, Pfizer strongly objects to the use of any of our products in the lethal injection process for capital punishment.”
This is not May weather.. Temperatures cold this morning in the East.. it will be so all day.. the POLAR VORTEX, I suppose? Even in the early parts of when summer heat should be reigning?
BOISE, Idaho - As Idaho’s population grows, there has been an influx of new construction, new restaurants, and oddly enough, and increased amount calls for exorcisms.
“Many times we get calls because people are having activity in their homes or businesses,“ exorcism expert and founder of Apparitions Paranormal Investigations Jeff Mason explained. "We actually had the entity identify itself as a demon attached to a resident of one exorcism.”
Despite the doubt and sometimes laughable portrayals of exorcisms in Hollywood movies, Pastor Mike Freeman said that the issue is a reality for some people – especially those living in Third World countries.
“You step into the Third World and it’s definitely a ‘We’re not in Kansas’ anymore moment,” Freeman explained.
“To assume our way of viewing reality as the only way is to limit ourselves.“
There is an inundation of talk about exorcisms as of late throughout the world. Creepy stories of demon possession, house possession, and Pope Francis calling on more priests to battle evil.
Participants were “smudged,” meaning the smoke from the sweetgrass was wafted over them before they could enter the sacred circle and begin a Wiccan ritual to support Sanders ahead of Oregon’s primary on Tuesday.
“Welcome to the ‘Feeling the Bern ritual,’” Leigha Lafleur, 41, told the gathering as she prepared to lead them in the “amplification of positive energy of Bernie Sanders and the progressive movement.”
CANNES FEAR: FALSE TERROR SCARE FREAKS HOTEL GUESTS!
MORE.. FROM PAGE SIX:
Wealthy guests at the exclusive Hotel du Cap in Antibes during the Cannes Film Festival were terrified when men wearing what looked like suicide vests arrived by boat bearing a black, ISIS-like flag.
The men, clad entirely in black, descended on the posh hotel while a helicopter hovered overhead as diners enjoyed a gourmet lunch on the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean on Friday.
Sources said some guests flew into a panic, fearing a terrorist attack, but were later told it was just a “joke.”
One witness said: “A helicopter and men with suicide vests and a fake ISIS flag pulled up by boat on the water in front of the Hotel du Cap’s Grill restaurant. Diners including [Vanity Fair editor in chief] Graydon Carter and his wife Anna, plus [Alice + Olivia designer] Stacey Bendet were sitting in shock. Hotel security got rid of the men but everyone was stunned.
MORE..
It was reported that former Israeli General Nitzan Nuriel was brought in to oversee security during the glamorous film festival. Cannes Mayor David Lisnard hired the counter-terrorism expert and former brigadier general to mount a security operation to preempt a “multi-terror event” like the one that left 130 victims dead in Paris. The beefed-up security includes over 200 armed police as well as hundreds of officers brought in from the National Police and Gendarmerie.
Jeff Harp, a KPIX 5 security analyst and former FBI special agent said, “They put microphones under rocks, they put microphones in trees, they plant microphones in equipment. I mean, there’s microphones that are planted in places that people don’t think about, because that’s the intent!”
FBI agents hid microphones inside light fixtures and at a bus stop outside the Oakland Courthouse without a warrant to record conversations, between March 2010 and January 2011.
Federal authorities are trying to prove real estate investors in San Mateo and Alameda counties are guilty of bid rigging and fraud and used these recordings as evidence.
I have been experiencing some strange jaw pains lately.. stress induced TMJ is the prognosis. The dentist even agreed after a series of X rays were conducted late this evening. I don’t know yet if I will choose the mouth guard for sleep–seems unlikely–but I will surely attempt something. Maybe just yoga for stress relief, I don’t know yet. I would love to hear what YOU do if you have this condition..
Nonetheless, I had a little bit of a panic attack during the appointment.. I guess this is why my stress level is high and grinding of teeth is often. Anyway, while sitting in the chair, I looked over at the X ray of my mouth before the dentist walked in to study it..
Here is A MOUTH, stock image.. Google. It’s not mine, but I guess it looks familiar besides those wisdom teeth. Mine are out.
The reason for the photo freakout: The skeletal view of my face.. I sat there in a motionless stare at the X ray.. thinking to myself: That is how my mouth will look long after I die. After I perish. After my mortal existence has extinguished and flesh and bones become just bones.. And it will happen to me. And you. And all of us.
Mortal thought is so often depressive, especially if you feel you have much more to accomplish. I feel like I do. I want to see more of the world, branch out and enjoy life. Watch my son play and learn and live to an old age with my wife… …but the angel of mortality is lurking. Always. That X ray, for all its miracle science, is a reminder of what lurks beneath the surface. What is under the skin.. what is deep beneath the muscle. The soul may be the final thing that cannot be measured—some say we have them. But the bones are there… within the bag containing them.
A slight reminder, in a dentist chair, of the fleeting moments of time. Enjoy them all and smile often. Your teeth are beautiful as are you.
On a day when news stories pointed to a study showing parts of the southeast were falling into the planet causing tremors, this new article comes out..
I can only picture the response on LA to the TIMESAVER headline quoting an expert who says the first major quake since he 1800s will soon his the San Andreas and it will be big.. Either extreme fear or an over abundance of complacency ..
For a month now, relatively large quakes have taken place across the earth in the ring of fire (more than one thousand alone in Japan).. But few quakes have been striking the west coast. Nothing major.
That has given rise to the worry that when things do start moving, the strings will be wound so tight it’s going to be big.
These words of caution from an expert in the field are not encouraging.
Maybe the Rock doesn’t have to get his helicopter ready for the southeast.. But the San Andreas in real life could eventually be another story..
While the headline from the UK DAILY MAIL sounds alarming, there’s no need to call in the Rock yet. The sky isn’t falling but over a long period of time the ground may fail..
The study concluded by the University of North Carolina suggests that a rash of quakes more than one thousand miles away from the North American plate is because chunks of the mantle are falling back into the earth.. The overall weakening can lead to shaking, explaining with at least one probably theory as to why the unexplained quakes occur..
Of course it’s conjecture at this time, bit if the theory has credibility more weird quakes may take place in the vicinity over coming years…
This should be no surprise to parents who often try to break their children from mindless staring into their smart devices..
Fifty percent of teens feel they are addicted to their mobile devices, according to the poll, which was conducted for Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on helping children, parents, teachers and policymakers negotiate media and technology.
A larger number of parents, 59%, said their teens were addicted. The poll involved 1,240 interviews with parents and their children, ages 12 to 18.
But where I think the study has not gone far enough: The adults who so often more are also addicted.. Maybe even in bigger numbers..
Your love is a drug. Turn it off for a while. Unplug. Addictions however are hard to break..
Nothing conclusive yet.. But the study was undertaken from 2010 to 2015 in central New York, where spraying is voluminous.. And the link, the researchers seem to implicate by the way of data and evidence, is the high degree of pesticide spraying..
Agribusiness and Monsanto PR employees in overdrive at this time. Lots of press to blitz with information to attempt to speak to the contrary of the study..
The entire nation has been filled with vitriolic hate.. should transgender men be permitted to use the lady’s room at Target. It has reached epic proportions.. store debates… politicians parade.. and not hundreds of thousands boycotting the store altogether.
Meanwhile, during the ultimate of diversions that has little consequence over the nation’s future, Target is doing something else which should potentially cause more consternation and debate than anything else..
Men may be using the lady’s room..but employees may soon be out of jobs altogether. The major impact of economic reality hitting Target like a target.
FORTUNE reported just 48 hours ago that the store is doing something to change its future and bottom. And it has nothing to do with culture wars..
Clerks told Fortune that Target is trying to assess how accurate the robot is at scanning shelves during this week-long trial run. One clerk reportedly said that the robot “seemed slow.”
Human nature being what it is is, I’m very worried about this lil’ robot as it traverses Target’s aisles. It looks like a moving target for mischief. One Racked editor wondered how long it would be before someone’s kid breaks it.
Another Racked editor said, “I want to put a hula skirt on that so bad it hurts.”
For as advanced as robotics seems, it is all in the infancy of evolution right now..
And while minimum wage workers across the United States band together in a non organized way to demand $15 per hour, there is something lurking beneath the rotten core of economic politics: The chances that so many of them wanting higher wages may soon have none. Replaced by tech.. done in by bots. And handy bots at that. Never getting an order wrong.. never stocking more on shelves than should be. People … are you buying? ?
The retail giant is conducting a one-week trial at one of its department stores in downtown San Francisco, according to a source familiar with the matter and confirmed by three store clerks.
Simbe Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup, built the robot called Tally that it says can roll autonomously around the store while scanning products to determine if they have been misplaced, mispriced, or are low in stock.
Just a test right now. But a test and threat–a threat of the inferior man. The threat of losing income.. While we argue about where a human should urinate, the carpet is being swept away.. slowly at first.. Quickly after.
And in a glance the future will change. A future that is now.
A Tennessee high school teacher was suspended Thursday after students reported to school officials last week that they were shown an “inappropriate film” in class.
Jackson-Madison Consolidated School District Superintendent Verna Ruffin told The Jackson Sun Wednesday that the film shown in class was “Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence).”
“Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)” is the sequel to the horror picture “Human Centipede.” In this film, a man gets obsessed with the “Human Centipede” movie and tries to create his own centipede.
While some people may choose to not see the film, chances are several of the kids in the high school class already did see it.. those who didn’t will find it themselves now after the uproar..
A press release: “
This investigation is ongoing. At the time the incident was reported, the teacher was immediately suspended and remains suspended pending the outcome of the investigation” …
While it may not have done much with coursework, can we get a reality check? We are still talking about a legally produced and released horror movie, right? We aren’t talking about children being given illegal drugs.. or too much sugar.
One of four suspects arrested received orders from ISIS-controlled territory, investigators say. ..
Italian authorities arrested four people suspected of extremism on Thursday and issued arrest warrants for two more operating in Syria, according to the Milan prosecutor.
Authorities said one of the suspects is a Moroccan-born national living in Italy who had received orders from the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) to conduct an attack in Rome during the Holy Year, a period announced by Pope Francis that lasts from December 2015 to November 2016….
All of this talk of CERN eating up the universe, and suddenly a real life weasel actually caused havoc!!
A weasel shut down the world’s most powerful particle smasher when it wandered onto a 66,000-volt transformer and caused a short circuit, Europe’s physics lab CERN said Saturday.
Dispatched to eliminate a compound swarming with Taliban fighters, the AC-130 gunship circled above the Afghan city, its crew struggling to figure out where exactly to direct the aircraft’s frightening array of weaponry. Missile fire had forced it off course, and now the gunship’s targeting systems were pointing it to an empty field, not an enemy base.
About 1,000 feet to the southwest, however, the crew spotted a collection of buildings that roughly matched the description of the Taliban compound provided by American and Afghan forces on the ground. Nine men could be spotted walking between the buildings.
Suicide rates among non-Hispanic American Indians and Alaska Natives were, in 1999, already the highest of any ethnic group, despite being widely underreported. By 2014, roughly 1 in 2,000 men in this ethnic group committed suicide, a 60% increase over the suicide rate among male American Indians and Alaska Natives that prevailed in 1999.
Among all men under 75, suicides surged. In the age group most prone to fatal self-harm – 45 to 64 – almost 30 in 1,000 men committed suicide in 2014, a 43% increase over 1999’s rate. Non-Hispanic black males were the only racial or ethnic group of either gender to have a lower suicide rate in 2014 than in 1999.
All since the class of 99… Since Columbine. 9/11. War. Economic collapse. Suicide and escapism…
As the days tragic events unfold, yet again TMZ is leading the charge with salacious details of the pop star’s death.. Some already labeling it a ‘purple haze.’ .
The body hasn’t even gone cold yet! But the tumors are flying! Chemtrails coughs.. Overdoses..
All this On a day of death. April is cruel.. It started with the 9th wonder of wrestling, Chyna, meeting an early date.. And the Prince of music also leaving he earthly realm.
Guitars gently weep this eve’.. Doves cry. Rains fall.. And a clamor arises from the stammer of masses: How did our pop star die?
Now it’s official.. Elections CAN BE canceled.. No more conspiracy theory but conspiracy fact..
Colorado just did a wink and nod to Ted Cruz. The former anti establishment candidate picked up all the delegates .. But due to a ‘rule change,’ the party decided that there would be no election or caucus and awarded all of the delegates to Cruz over Trump. Trump erupted in anger. As you’d expect, on Twitter.
Oh, this weekend, Bernie Sanders handedly won another state but regardless a whole bunch of the Democratic delegates went to Hillary anyway..
It would appear now, in the strangest election of modern history, that the Empire on both sides is Striking back. But will the Jedis return? Or are they going to be grounded by the Emperors of Donkey and Elephant attire?
Why is trusting your gut so powerful? Because your gut has been cataloging a whole lot of information for as long as you’ve been alive. “Trusting your gut is trusting the collection of all your subconscious experiences,” says Melody Wilding, a licensed therapist and professor of human behavior at Hunter College.
Ask most successful people who actually took a chance .. and made it..? It was their gut. And yes some luck–but luck comes when the universe comes together for you.
Now as for me? Time to start learning how to trust my gut more than second and third and fourth guessing all of my hunches..
This is the cover of the SUNDAY Boston Globe.. it features some fake news about President Trump deporting people, market chaos, and global turmoil.. It’s all fake and representative of what some may have deemed comical and protest satire against the candidate..
Well thanks TIME magazine.. before this week’s cover story was unleashed into my mailbox, my son actually was beginning to look at it with some interest.. He’s only 5. A tender age.. But now with the new Ted Cruz cover photo, he became resulted and disgusted at the sight. This could have seriously set me back three years in his development..
In case you’re not free at 8pm or just cannot stomach the show.. Winners here:
Movie of the Year Avengers: Age of Ultron Creed Deadpool Jurassic World WINNER: Star Wars: The Force Awakens Straight Outta Compton
Best Female Performance Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect 2) WINNER: Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road) Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) Jennifer Lawrence (Joy) Morena Baccarin (Deadpool)
Best Male Performance Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) WINNER: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) Matt Damon (The Martian) Michael B. Jordan (Creed) Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) Will Smith (Concussion)
Breakthrough Performance Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) Brie Larson (Room) WINNER: Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey) John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton)
Best Comedic Performance Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) Kevin Hart (Ride Along 2) Melissa McCarthy (Spy) Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect 2) WINNER: Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) Will Ferrell (Get Hard)
Best Action Performance WINNER: Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) Dwayne Johnson (San Andreas) Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2) John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) Vin Diesel (Furious 7)
Best Hero Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road) Chris Evans (Avengers: Age of Ultron) Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) Dwayne Johnson (San Andreas) WINNER: Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2) Paul Rudd (Ant-Man)
Best Villain WINNER: Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) Ed Skrein (Deadpool) Hugh Keays-Byrne (Mad Max: Fury Road) James Spader (Avengers: Age of Ultron) Samuel L. Jackson (Kingsman: The Secret Service) Tom Hardy (The Revenant)
Best Virtual Performance WINNER: Amy Poehler (Inside Out) Andy Serkis (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda 3) James Spader (Avengers: Age of Ultron) Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) Seth MacFarlane (Ted 2)
True Story Concussion Joy Steve Jobs WINNER: Straight Outta Compton The Big Short The Revenant
Documentary WINNER: Amy Cartel Land He Named Me Malala The Hunting Ground The Wolfpack What Happened, Miss Simone?
Ensemble Cast Avengers: Age of Ultron Furious 7 WINNER: Pitch Perfect 2 Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 Trainwreck
Best Kiss Amy Schumer & Bill Hader (Trainwreck) Dakota Johnson & Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey) Leslie Mann & Chris Hemsworth (Vacation) Margot Robbie & Will Smith (Focus) Morena Baccarin & Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) WINNER: Rebel Wilson & Adam DeVine (Pitch Perfect 2)
Best Fight WINNER: Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) vs. Ajax (Ed Skrein) — Deadpool Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) vs. The Bear — The Revenant Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) vs. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) — Mad Max: Fury Road Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) vs. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) — Avengers: Age of Ultron Rey (Daisy Ridley) vs. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) — Star Wars: The Force Awakens Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) vs. Lia (Nargis Fakhri) — Spy
A box on a pole. A camera. Allegations that someone is being watched.. And the company name on the box not showing up on any Google results. Welcome to the age of no privacy.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A link to a website which publishes photos without authorisation of the author does not in itself constitute a copyright infringement, an adviser to Europe’s top court said on Thursday.
A good ruling. Sound.. Hope it extends globally. Drudge should be happy too
A massive methane leak in Southern California was expected to have lasting impacts, but a new announcement by energy officials suggests prolonged blackouts – as long as 14 days – could also be coming as temperatures soar this summer.
State agencies studied the effects of the Aliso Canyon gas storage field’s partial shutdown after a natural gas blowout last year that crippled a major energy supply for the region. These officials proposed a plan to prevent power outages but concluded they "will reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of gas shortages this summer that are large enough to cause electricity interruptions for the region’s residents and businesses.“
