The ASSOCIATED PRESS has rocked the 2016 campaign..
Directly from their dispatch filed late last night:
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money — either personally or through companies or groups — to the Clinton Foundation. It’s an extraordinary proportion indicating her possible ethics challenges if elected president.
At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far to The Associated Press. Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million.
Narratives quickly changing. One day offense and pickle jars. The next day defense and email wars ..
Germany’s European Southern Observatory will hold a press conference Wednesday to discuss a new discovery, which a source familiar with the announcement talked about to German media.
“The still nameless planet is believed to be Earth-like and orbits at a distance to Proxima Centauri that could allow it to have liquid water on its surface — an important requirement for the emergence of life,” the source told Der Spiegel. “Never before have scientists discovered a second Earth that is so close by.”
The first thought I had! If pyshics changes ever so slightly and we discover a faster way to move through out solar system and the universe, we can potentially reach this “close” planet during MAYBE my lifetime, but more likely my young son’s.
The second thought.. And the frightening one.. What if this planet is the bizarro world version of us!? What if it’s the upside down of earth, where things are reversed.. or it’s a parrellel us and there’s some alternate ME and YOU reading this now?
Maybe we can observe.. but not contact.
But it sure would be amazing to see what exists on a planet very similar in size to our home. With water. And maybe land. And probably life?
Stunning news coming to rock your normalcy bias VERY VERY SOON.
This is a scene from central Italy where a stong quake has struck.. Both the living and dead are being pulled from rubble with more many suspected as being trapped.. The death toll has quickly risen and will most likely continue to do so throughout the next 24 hours …
There are hamlets destroyed, buildings decimated, and shocks felt as far as Rome..
Initial reports say aftershocks continue and buildings continue to sway with each shake..
As I wrote before, my prayers go out to friends and readers within Italy..
A few days ago I wrote that the current flooding in Louisiana would become even more tragic if a hurricane hit this year as well..
Cue the weather model. Look at this one, which blows up a hurricane big time in the Gulf and brings the storm in over the same locations that both Katrina hit and the latest round of extreme flooding ..
Praying that this does not happen. But it’s something people in the area need to be paying attention too starting immediately..
This is a potential storm and potential track to watch for in Florida, the gulf coast states, and the east coast. The target on this is 240 hours from now..
The track and intensity are both still completely Unknown..
I came across the linked article by searching online whether people think cicadas are louder this year than other years. I think they are ..
What I found however showcases the reasons they scream in terror when the sun goes down..
By joining their voices, male cicadas reach a volume that repels birds on the prowl for their next meal.
But escaping death-by-bird only sets cicadas up for a far worse fate. The bugs are also hunted by the cicada killer wasp, which, frankly, sounds like a sociopath.
If you’ve ever seen a cicada carried off by the Hannibal Lecter of the wasp family, thank your lucky stars you’re human, because what happens next is the stuff of nightmares.
After delivering a paralyzing sting, female cicada-killers drag their immobilized prey to an underground chamber of horrors.
The cicada is placed in a torture cell, where the wasp lays an egg on it. When a larva hatches from the egg, it immediately begins feasting on the cicada.
Horrific to say the least. The Hannibal Lector comparison hit the nail for me..
This is an image of Ground Zero radio host Clyde Lewis at a conerence this weekend.. He looks good. He lost 100 pounds, recently broadcasting that a diet change and infusion of nutrients is helping with weight loss..
That is encouraging. Whatever he is doing hopefully it continues. His radio show is getting bigger by the day and his voice is the best since Art Bell..
Here is to your health Clyde! And decades more as the voice of late night paranormal radio!
This is a photo of Tim Burton in 1967 showcasing a Halloween costume made for him by his mother.. Perhaps we can see the vivid inspiration that eventually would go on to become the NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS..
The photo source is REDDIT, and there is where lots of commentary about the picture was exchanged (http://ift.tt/2bzF4xv)
Bill Clinton is preparing to be “first dude,” and that includes the quadrennial tradition of presidential candidate spouses submitting cookie recipes.
The former president of the United States, along with Melania Trump, Donald Trump’s wife, submitted cookie recipes for Family Circle magazine’s Presidential Cookie Poll, where readers pick between the two cookie recipes.
The poll, which has been held during the fall of every general election year since 1992, is the latest sign in Clinton’s historic candidacy, where the traditional responsibilities of the first lady could fall to a man for the first time.
The script centers on a man (Pena) who is investigating a woman’s death set in the notorious and infamous Cecil Hotel. Brandon and Phillip Murphy wrote the initial script, which landed on the 2014 Black List and 2014 Blood List. Evan Dickson also worked on the project with the most recent draft being written by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, the duo behind the 2014 horror thriller Starry Eyes.
Matt Tolmach is producing as is Daniela Cristina Cretu. David Manpearl is also producing. Matt Milam and Dan Kagan is overseeing for the studio.
This show has been on for as long as I have been alive. When I was young, my mom and dad loved politics. They debated at the dinner table—those old adages of religion and politics not being discussed was certainly not true in my family..
And from an early age in life, I recall the voice of John McLaughlin signing off the weekly Sunday show with a “bye bye”… As I turned 13, this show featuring old farts bantering about presidents and Congress became one of the chief reasons I eventually got interested in politics and current events…
I even vividly recall one hot summer morning when I was out riding bikes with friends. . looking at my watch and realizing it was 11:25 am.. And I burned two-wheeled rubber just to make it home in time for the half hour dedication to the absurdity that is American politics..
The show was a must see every week. As tech roared in and time wore out, I normally caught the show on Monday, after Sunday, online…
But the impact is clear. On my life and so many others.
John McLaughlin was a lighthouse during turblent times. He made sense of nonsense and political intrigue. He wore bow ties on New Years and had one of the quickest and yet most amazing shows I have ever seen.
If you wanted to know anyting about politics, the McLaughlin Group outlived them all. Outlived the Capitol Gang. Outlived Brinkley.. Russert.. it was a perplexing thing to understand for some new to it.. but after a few weeks, it all made perfect sense.
This Sunday will be the last day. The final show.. And without John McLaughlin, no more “bye byes” … or Gobble Gobbles on Thanksgiving..
The surveillance video from Duffy’s Sports Grill in Jupiter has been released Friday, giving new insight into what led up to the deadly cannibal attack near Tequesta.
It’s at that restaurant where investigators say 19-year-old
Austin Harrouff
had dinner with relatives and stormed out following an argument with his father.
This is the second cannibal attack in Florida in just a few years..
There are people blaming this on drugs. But .. what if it’s not..
This is a naked sculpture of Donald Trump. I am saving your eyes and only showcasing the top up. A Google search can provide you with the REST of the story down below. This is a protest sculpture that has been popping up throughout the country..
The reason I show it: It gave me and my computer an interesting twist in life tonight…
While combing through news articles I stumbled across a Huffington Post story about how seeing that can force one to not unsee it.. it’s forever imprinted into your brain.
For me, it froze the computer immediately. The screen actually froze–embarassing I know–on the Full Monty version of the Trump statue. And then to complicate matters further, the computer actually is not even turning on now!
It is the curse of the Trump package, perhaps.
I broadcast this short dispatch with a warning: Avoid looking at the images at all costs! Your computer hardware may depend on it.
Brazil captain Neymar was in tears after he delivered the country’s first Olympic men’s soccer gold medal with the winning penalty in a 5-4 shootout victory over Germany in a thrilling final at the Maracana stadium on Saturday.
They lost a few times before during the games, mostly in the 80s …
You may have to indulge me a bit over the next few weeks.. Or longer.
Tonight my son Ayden began to swim on his own, without fear, at the tender age of 5.. he had his floaties, but still realized the proper way to move his arms and legs. He was confident and sure of himself.. It was a growing moment.
Next week will be the same. He begins kindergarten. Unfortunately I cannot bring myself to realize that truly, just yet. The idea has not reached fruition in my mind.
Kindergarten.. My God.. Five years .. all gone.
The emotions are going to run high. And there will be lows.. Growing pains. For children. And parents all the same.
This is a screen grab from a video that many believe shows an either REAL or staged human sacrifice on the capus of CERN!
Conspiracy theories rage in the night..
The video appeared on August 11th on YouTube and on the Facebook page ofStranger Than Fiction News. It shows what appears to be a staged human sacrifice ritual performed on CERN grounds at night. Most of the people are in black cloaks and a woman appears to be stabbed. The French news agency AFP reports that it contacted CERN about the video and an unnamed official confirms some aspects of it..
The money quote:
“These scenes were filmed on our premises, but without official permission or knowledge,” a CERN spokeswoman told AFP in an email.
“CERN does not condone this type of spoof, which can give rise to misunderstandings about the scientific nature of our work,” she added.
The “investigation” under way was an “internal matter”, she said.
The video has raised questions about security on CERN’s campus.
Asked to detail the security procedures surrounding access to the campus, the CERN spokeswoman said: “CERN IDs are checked systematically at each entry to the CERN site whether it is night or day.”
She further indicated that those responsible for the prank had access badges.
We had a rough one today for the 5 year olds.. Four of our players did not make it.. The three that remained played the entire game without too many breaks. Ayden, my son, had a run in with his child crush.. And her kept allowing her to steal the ball from him without figthing back much. But my team perservered.. the they not give up.. they kept strong and they ended up on the losing end of the goal race but victorious in their ablity to work together and be a team. Loved seeing it, and my wife and I especially had some pride knowing that the weeks of coaching may be paying off..
Metallica released a new song.. and is releasing a brand new album..
The listing:
Disc One Hardwired Atlas, Rise! Now That We’re Dead Moth Into Flame Am I Savage? Halo On Fire
Disc Two Confusion Dream No More ManUNkind Here Comes Revenge Murder One Spit Out The Bone
Metallica always had and always will have a special place in my heart. There were some people from my past who I shared memories with over a song or two.. and even today there are times my son jams out to songs from last century when he hears them..
Pre-orders for Hardwired…To Self Destruct are available through Metallica.com.
This is the GFS model *(run today)* for 276 hours from now.. it shows a pretty substantial tropical system developing along the East Coast of the United States.
If this holds true, get ready.. An early warning for weather watchers along he coast.. There is lots of time for this to change. Or for you to get ready.
There have been a ton of opinions about what should happened to the shuttered and sad former high school Cardinal Brennan (my alma mater in the coal region of the Eastern mines) .. North Schuylkill school district purchased it, auctioned off the internals.. The building is vacant. Some believe it should be knocked down, others say keep it.
Some encouraging news took place recently from the camp keep it..
Substantial optimism was expressed at the latest North Schuylkill School Board meeting for the possibility of saving the main Cardinal Brennan High School building–built in 1926.. an all girl’s school then that eventually become an integrated Catholic high school that closed in the mid 2000s..
During a presentation to the board, a professional expert advised he believed the building is structurally sound and can be rehabilitated much more inexpensively than if it were razed and replaced by a new school building.
A decision is still to come. But this is giving many hope that the building which once houses voices and laughter of children will once again do the same..
A blast from the coal region past.. The “Ashland Daily News” doesn’t exist anymore.. but in 1949 it reported that homes were demolished – homes in the path of proposed stripping.. The road mentioned in the brief snippet is what is now called “Snake road” that ties together Ashland and Mt Carmel..
All the stripping left the landscape vanquished. What exists now? Dirt, rubbish, couches, and just about any piece of garbage people can dump along a highway.
Now that the flood waters ravaging Louisiana are receding, it’s time for President Barack Obama to visit the most anguished state in the union.
Last week, as torrential rains brought death, destruction and misery to Louisiana, the president continued his vacation at Martha’s Vineyard, a playground for the posh and well-connected.
We’ve seen this story before in Louisiana, and we don’t deserve a sequel. In 2005, a fly-over by a vacationing President George W. Bush became a symbol of official neglect for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The current president was among those making political hay out of Bush’s aloofness.
I feel like a certain new chapter in life has just started.. But I can’t yet close the old one. I need the right line to finish this current states before moving on.. But time doesn’t wait for an author to create the perfect word. And if I don’t finish the book, someone else will.. The beat goes on.
Florida: Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters that Austin Harrouff may have been on hallucinogenic drugs when he attacked Michelle Mishcon, 53, and John Stevens III, 59, at their Tequesta, Florida, home.
Militi insists his replies are a cross-section of voters in age, gender and geography. “These are the same results we saw when he (Trump) was in the primaries,” he says. He contends that most media polls are just flat-out wrong and that smartphone answers are the future.
A car burns after violence erupted during a standoff between police and an angry crowd near N. 44th St. and W. Auer Ave.(Photo: Calvin Mattheis / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
A standoff between police and an angry crowd turned violent Saturday night in the hours after a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed an armed suspect during a foot chase.
After an hours-long confrontation with officers, police reported at 10:15 p.m. CT that a gas station was set on fire. Police said firefighters could not get close to the blaze because of gunshots.
The incident started in the afternoon when two officers stopped two people in a car in the city’s north side, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.
Shortly after, both occupants fled on foot and officers pursued them, police said. During the chase, one officer shot a 23-year-old man who was armed, according to authorities.“He (officer) ordered that individual to drop his gun, the individual did not drop his gun,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. “He had the gun with him and the officer fired several times."The man died at the scene.
Saturday nights are made for fighting.. But this is no way to handle anything..
In a post to his WordPress blog, the vandal–who previously provided nearly 20,000 Democratic National Committee e-mails to Wikileaks–uploaded an Excel file that includes the cell phone numbers and private e-mail addresses of nearly every Democratic member of the House of Representatives.
The Excel file also includes similar contact information for hundreds of congressional staff members (chiefs of staff, press secretaries, legislative directors, schedulers) and campaign personnel.
In announcing the leak of the document, “Guccifer 2.0” reported that the spreadsheet was stolen during a hack of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “As you see I wasn’t wasting my time! It was even easier than in the case of the DNC breach,” the hacker wrote.
Scenes from America during an election.. Anger during a political campaign.. And a sudden burst of anti CNN furor over their coverage of the election of 2016..
The United States’s women’s soccer team lost at the Rio games today.. penalty kicks.. it was intense.
After the match remained tied at 1-1 through 120 minutes, it went to penalty kicks for the first time in Olympic women’s soccer ..
Victory parties were already planned back stateside.. but the anti-US Olympics fans, most yelling “ZIKA” at Hope Solo for the duration of the games so far, seemingly had the last laugh..
The aftermath seems more brutal than other Olympics losses..
HOPE SOLO garnered the most attention post loss.. she called Sweden cowards.. explaining why:
“Sweden dropped off. They didn’t want to open play. They didn’t want to play great soccer. It was a combative game, a physical game. Exactly what they wanted and exactly what their game-plan was. They dropped into a 50. They didn’t try and press. They didn’t want to open the game. And they tried to counter with long balls. We had that style of play when Pia [Sundhage] was our coach. I don’t think they’re going make it far in the tournament. I think it was very cowardly. But they won. They’re moving on, and we’re going home.”
The conviction of Brendan Dassey, a Wisconsin man who appeared in the documentary “Making a Murderer,” has been overturned by a federal judge in Milwaukee, according to court documents obtained by CNN…
Austerity has eroded young men’s traditional means of value-creation so they have become increasingly reliant on their bodies as a means of feeling valuable in society,” said study author Jamie Hakim, a professor at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. “In theoretical terms, so-called ‘spornosexuality’ is an embodied response to material changes brought about by neoliberal austerity.”
The study found that the most significant increase for gym attendance from 2006 to 2013 was among 16- to 25-year-old men. Hakim denied the growing interest in bodybuilding simply reflects a new craze.
As reported during the attempted coup in Turkey.. my home state is making international news .. This from CNN:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the United States “an ultimatum,” demanding the extradition of the cleric he believes is behind the failed July 15 coup attempt.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Erdogan had said the US had to choose between its relationship with Turkey and Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who has been in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for decades.
The Fountain Springs Country Club and Golf Links in Ashland PA as it once was.. Way way back.. before it closed.. before it turned into a public restaurant (and the place I worked for some time and got married at in October 2007) ..
The golf course is now gone as well.. so is the tennis course. In place of it, a new housing community …
This is as big an election scandal if ever heard.. Wikileaks is not only saying that they’ll give $20,000 to anyone with I formation about the murder of Seth Rich but that Rich was also the source of the emails from inside the DNC.. Shattering rumors it was Russia .. And raising a whole whole whole bunch of new one..
Another interesting tidbit reported late evening yesterday: Roger Stone appears to be in touch with Wikileaks… We will watch where that goes..
As the campaign turns. The wildest election in modern history continues..
An old postcard of Immaculate Heart Academy. Which then turned into Cardinal Brennan high school, my Alma mater.. which now sits dormant and vacant. Purchased by North Schuylkill school district, no plans have yet been announced for the building. But everything in it was sold at a public auction earlier in 2016..
The once famed Loeper Hotel in Ashland PA .. I have heard some rumors from old timers of how amazing the restaurant and bar were in the heyday of coal..
Now the building is the site of a senior citizen high rise …
This is a PBS documentary on the Centralia mine fire from 1982.. and these images, the smoke and houses and end of times feel, is exactly what I remember from my very early youth..
These are scenes from the 1980s SEARS Christmas catalog … The catalog was normally sent to houses around this time of year through September in the mail.
My wife and I were trying to tell my son today that this is how we used to do Christmas toys.. just get the book and circle what we wanted..
Ayden actually has already begun his summer list. Sure it’s early August, but why not..
And after looking through image searches for old nostalgic toy ads from paper books, I miss it…
Despite dismal reviews, Warner Bros. “Suicide Squad” is heading for an impressive $140 million opening weekend at the North American box office, early estimates showed Friday. The supervillain tentpole, playing at 4,255 locations, will wind up in the top 20 domestic launches of all time.
It is having an enormous box office weekend.. And doing very well in Mexico and the UK along with the United States..
Critics be damned.. this movie is huge. Perhaps a strike back against movie reviewers in a big way: With dollars.
About 42 percent of likely voters favored Clinton, to Trump’s 39 percent, according to the July 31-Aug. 4 online poll of 1,154 likely voters. The poll had a credibility interval of plus or minus 3 percentage points, meaning that the results suggest the race is roughly even.
Among registered voters over the same period, Clinton held a lead of five percentage points, down from eight percentage points on Monday, according to the poll.
KDKA received some calls into our newsroom about it, starting around 8 p.m.
People reported seeing a shiny, silver object in the sky. The reports were coming from areas west of downtown.
“Around 8 p.m., we were looking up into the northern sky and saw what looked like just to be a bright, silver object in the sky, and then after we got a telescope on it, it looked like it was a clear balloon that was catching the light as it moved from west to east,” said Russ Moll, of McKees Rocks.
Moll says it was it a very odd sight in the evening sky.
“It stood out because it was before dusk and so the stars weren’t out yet, so it just really caught our eye,” Moll said. “You noticed it as being something out of the ordinary.”
And this..
The National Weather Service sends balloons up to measure atmospheric conditions; however, they said they had no issues Thursday night.
In a statement, they say: “We’ve had no issues with the launch this evening or any calls about objects floating/glowing in the sky.”
Look to the sky! You’ll never know what you will see..
The Post is using homegrown software to automatically produce hundreds of real-time news reports about the Olympics. Starting tomorrow morning, those items will appear, without human intervention, on the Post’s website, as well as in outside channels like its Twitter account.
The idea is to use artificial intelligence to quickly create simple but useful reports on scores, medal counts and other data-centric news bits — so that the Post’s human journalists can work on more interesting and complex work, says Jeremy Gilbert, who heads up new digital projects for the paper.
“We’re not trying to replace reporters,” he said. “We’re trying to free them up.”
Gilbert and Sam Han, the paper’s head of data science, have a team of three engineers working full-time on Heliograf, the Post’s AI software. A few more product analysts are spending about half of their time on the project, and four or five newsroom staffers are also spending time shaping the software.
This is what a STRANGER THINGS VHS cover art box would have looked like if it would have been released in the 1980s.. And since the show is based with the 80s as the setting, the cover art and photo just feel right. Like it WAS made in the Reagan era..
Critics have lambasted the film.. some have called for the website ROTTEN TOMATOES to actually be shut down because of the negative press that has been linked on the SUICIDE SQUAD page..
What is noteworthy about the aforementioned article linked here: My friend Anghus Houvouras from Flickering Myth got quoted by CNBC about the movie and controversy:
“I think they believe the potential is there. Take (2016’s) ‘Ghostbusters’ which pushed a very strong misogynist narrative. It became less about the quality of the film and more about the 'importance’ of a blockbuster with an all-female leading cast,” Anghus Houvouras, movie maker and writer for the pop culture website Flickering Myth, told CNBC via email.
“Sony and Paul Feig got on board and beat that horse to death. But it didn’t end up resulting in the kind of cultural zeitgeist they were hoping for. Those who benefit from feuds are the media and websites that proliferate a binary narrative. Conflict breeds clicks,” he said.
On Friday, the FDA released a final environmental assessment of the trial, finding that it “will not have significant impacts on the environment.” The project, led by Oxitec, a biotech company that focuses on insect control, calls for the release of thousands of genetically engineered male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The lab insects are bred so that over time they could kill off much of the local mosquito population by passing on a gene fatal to any offspring they have with wild females.
“NEWS ACCESS RULES APPLICABLE FOR THE BROADCAST OF THE GAMES OF THE XXXI OLYMPIAD, RIO DE JANEIRO, 5-21 AUGUST 2016”
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The title of the document from the
International Olympic Committee that is prohibiting without exception the use of GIFs of memorable Olympics moments..
The full text reads:
“Internet and Mobile Platforms Notwithstanding any other applicable limitation included in these NARs, Olympic Material must not be broadcast on interactive services such as “news active” or “sports active” or any other related Video on Demand services, which would allow the viewer to make a viewing choice within a channel and to thereby view Olympic Material at times and programs other than when broadcast as part of a News Program as set out in Clause 1 above. Additionally, the use of Olympic Material transformed into graphic animated formats such as animated GIFs (i.e. GIFV), GFY, WebM, or short video formats such as Vines and others, is expressly prohibited.”
and with that.. the GIFs are banned.. Done. Edited out. Down the memory hole. Nonexistent.
