January 11, 2016


News Clips For The Day


http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2016/student-built-experiment-integrated-onto-nasa-s-osiris-rex-mission
16-02
Student-Built Experiment Integrated onto NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission
Jan. 7, 2016

Photograph -- Two people in protective gear examine hardware
Photograph -- MIT graduate students Pronoy Biswas (left) and Mark Chodas prepare the Regolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) instrument for flight.
Credits: William Litant/MIT


A student-built experiment aboard NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission has been integrated onto the spacecraft.

The Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) will determine elemental abundances on the surface of asteroid Bennu, complementing the mineral and chemical mapping capabilities provided by two other instruments on the spacecraft.

"The students worked incredibly hard to get to this point,” said Mike Donnelly, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It is quite an accomplishment to develop a flight instrument and have it integrated to a spacecraft that's headed to an asteroid."

REXIS will observe the solar X-rays and their interaction with the asteroid’s surface material, or regolith. The surface responds to this incoming energy by glowing faintly, or fluorescing, by emitting X-rays. These X-rays have an energy that is uniquely characteristic of the elements. REXIS is a telescope that images this X-ray fluorescence, allowing the production of maps of the different elements present on Bennu's surface.

REXIS brings together students and faculty from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, both in Cambridge. After a competitive process REXIS was selected as a student collaboration experiment as part of OSIRIS-REx.

The instrument will involve more than 100 students throughout the mission. Students at Harvard and MIT will perform data analysis as part of their coursework.

“The REXIS instrument has already achieved its primary objective – to train the next generation of scientists and engineers,” said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “This team should be proud of all they have accomplished. I look forward to seeing the REXIS data from Bennu and using it to learn more about the chemistry of the asteroid surface.”

OSIRIS-REx will be the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid. After launch in September 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will travel to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu and retrieve at least 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of surface material and return it to Earth for study. Scientists expect that Bennu may hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of the water and organic molecules that may have made their way to Earth. OSIRIS-REx’s investigation will also inform future efforts to develop a mission to mitigate an asteroid impact on Earth, should one be required.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta is the mission's principal investigator at the University of Arizona. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver is building the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages New Frontiers for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information on OSIRIS-REx visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
and
http://www.asteroidmission.org
Nancy Neal Jones
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland



Republicans may not believe in science or planning for the future, but NASA surely does. This reminds me of that great scifi movie made in the last year or two, Avatar. If that rogue asteroid is headed straight for us, the heads of state and several male/female pairs including humans can possibly get into our fleet of space ships and leave our dear Earth for a habitable asteroid or planet. Likewise it will be useful for the climatic disasters that may be in the works as well, such as “Waterworld” of “Snowball Earth.” Meanwhile it’s very interesting to see what’s up there for theoretical and economic purposes, such as mining and discovering more about the origins of life and the universe. The interesting thing to me about certain scifi stories is that they are based on scientific fact or reasonable speculation that is not considered fiction. Scientific discoveries do come from speculation.


See also the following article on the matter of dangerous asteroids:


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasas-planetary-defense-coordination-office-will-protect-earth-from-asteroids/

NASA forms office to protect Earth from asteroids
By AMY KRAFT CBS NEWS
January 11, 2016

Photograph -- This image of asteroid 2015 TB145, a dead comet, was generated using radar data collected by the National Science Foundation's 1,000-foot (305-meter) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The radar image was taken on Oct. 30, 2015, and the image resolution is 25 feet (7.5 meters) per pixel. NAIC-ARECIBO/NSF
Play VIDEO -- New developments in the U.S. plan against rogue asteroids


NASA is taking a new step to help detect and track asteroids hurtling near Earth. The space agency announced the creation of a Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) to coordinate efforts.

The central office will manage all NASA-funded projects to detect, monitor and characterize asteroids and comets that pass near Earth's orbit. If an actual impact threat is detected, the office will also coordinate NASA's response with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies.

"Asteroid detection, tracking and defense of our planet is something that NASA, its interagency partners, and the global community take very seriously," John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said in a statement. "While there are no known impact threats at this time, the 2013 Chelyabinsk super-fireball and the recent 'Halloween Asteroid' close approach remind us of why we need to remain vigilant and keep our eyes to the sky."

NASA says there have been more than 13,500 Near Earth Objects [NEOs] of varying sizes discovered since NASA-funded surveys began in 1998. According to current NASA data, roughly 1,500 NEOs are detected each year.

"NEOs hit the Earth every day. Asteroid and comet fragments, mostly the size of grains of sand, bombard the Earth at the rate of more than 100 tons a day," Dr. Kelly Fast, acting program manager for NASA's Near Earth Object Observations Program in Washington, D.C., told CBS News in an email. "Although the vast majority of NEOs that enter Earth's atmosphere disintegrate before reaching the surface, those that are larger than around 30 to 50 meters in size may survive the descent and cause widespread damage in and around their impact sites. Keeping track of such objects that closely approach Earth's orbit is a primary role of PDCO."

Most asteroid detection is done with Earth-based telescopes by scientists, astronomers and even amateur observers. NASA also uses its space-based NEOWISE infrared telescope. Tracking data is sent to a global database that is managed by the Minor Planet Center. The Center for NEO Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California, predicts and monitors the orbits of all NEOs.

If needed, further research is conducted at facilities such as NASA's InfraRed Telescope Facility, Spitzer Space Telescope and the National Science Foundation. (Any further research into NEOs is organized and funded by NASA's NEO Observations program, which will become a research program under the new office.)

NASA believes researchers have already discovered more than 90 percent of NEOs larger than 3,000 feet. The new office will focus on finding mid-sized but still potentially hazardous objects that are 450 feet or larger.

The organization's long-term planetary defense goals will focus on developing technologies and techniques for deflecting or redirecting objects that pose a threat of impacting Earth. Such techniques include NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission, which plans to launch a spacecraft to an asteroid where it will capture a boulder for later analysis and redirect the asteroid to a stable orbit around the moon. The joint NASA-European Space Agency Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission scheduled for 2022 will test the ability to redirect an asteroid by hitting it with a spacecraft.

If the new office finds that there is no way to intervene with an asteroid impacting Earth, NASA would provide expert advice and data to FEMA and other government agencies so that they can prepare for an emergency response.

"FEMA is dedicated to protecting against all hazards, and the launch of the coordination office will ensure early detection and warning capability, and will further enhance FEMA's collaborative relationship with NASA," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, said in a statement.

The National Science Foundation, which supports research and education in science, says that greater transparency in asteroid detection and mitigation efforts will be helpful. "NSF welcomes the increased visibility afforded to this critical activity," Nigel Sharp, program director in the agency's Division of Astronomical Sciences, said in a press release. "We look forward to continuing the fruitful collaboration across the agencies to bring all of our resources -- both ground-based and space-based -- to the study of this important problem."




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/flint-michigans-poisoned-water-is-under-federal-investigation-following-disastrous-cost-cutting-attempt_568c49d0e4b0a2b6fb6daecf

Justice Department Investigating Toxic Tap Water In Flint
High lead levels in Flint's water could have harmed thousands of city kids.
Arthur Delaney
Senior Reporter, The Huffington Post
01/05/2016

Photograph -- CARLOS OSORIO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) faces ongoing fallout after thousands of local children in Flint were exposed to dangerous levels of lead.


Days after Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) apologized for toxic tap water in the city of Flint and accepted the resignations of multiple state officials, the U.S. Justice Department said it has opened an investigation into what went wrong.

"In an effort to address the concerns of Flint residents, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District is working closely with the EPA on the investigation into the contamination of the city of Flint's water supply," Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, told HuffPost on Tuesday.

The Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped expose the poisoning of Flint's water, was the first to report the Justice Department investigation, highlighting it as an "unusual step."

Last week, a task force appointed by Snyder squarely blamed the high lead levels in Flint's water on the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The agency failed to address the water's corrosiveness after switching the city's water source to the Flint River as a cost-saving measure in 2014. At the time, Flint was under the authority of an emergency manager appointed by the state of Michigan.

The new water absorbed lead from Flint's aging pipes, and researchers discovered a corresponding increase of lead levels in the bloodstreams of local children. The MDEQ continued to deny a lead poisoning problem even as evidence mounted last year.

“I want the Flint community to know how very sorry I am that this has happened," Snyder said in a statement last week. In that statement, the governor also announced the resignation of MDEQ director Dan Wyant. Flint switched back to Detroit's water supply in October after high blood lead levels came to light.

Snyder spokeswoman Laura Biehl said Tuesday that the governor's office would cooperate with the Justice Department.

“We will cooperate fully with any requests from the U.S. Attorney’s Office as it looks into Flint’s water challenges," Biehl said, noting that the Snyder-appointed task force is still reviewing the water crisis.

Curt Guyette, an investigative reporter with the Michigan ACLU, welcomed the news of the DOJ's investigation, saying "it means that we're not gonna have to only rely on a panel appointed by Gov. Snyder to find out what really happened and if laws were violated."

The Environmental Protection Agency opened an investigation into Flint's water situation in November.

Lead is a deadly neurotoxin, and exposure is especially dangerous for children, who may experience stunted growth, behavioral problems and permanently decreased IQs.

This story has been updated to include additional details about the city's switch to the Flint River as its water source.



The following from Michael Moore says it all. He really doesn't "pull any punches," and as a result some hate him, but I love him. Read his letter on Michigan's water supply below.



FROM: Michael Moore
TO: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder

Dear Governor Snyder:

Thanks to you, sir, and the premeditated actions of your administrators, you have effectively poisoned, not just some, but apparently ALL of the children in my hometown of Flint, Michigan.
And for that, you have to go to jail.

To poison all the children in an historic American city is no small feat. Even international terrorist organizations haven't figured out yet how to do something on a magnitude like this.
But you did. Your staff and others knew that the water in the Flint River was poison -- but you decided that taking over the city and "cutting costs" to "balance the budget" was more important than the people's health (not to mention their democratic rights to elect their own leaders). So you cut off the clean, fresh glacial lake water of Lake Huron that the citizens of Flint (including myself) had been drinking for decades and, instead, made them drink water from the industrial cesspool we call the Flint River -- a body of "water" where toxins from a dozen General Motors and DuPont factories have been dumped for over a hundred years. And then you decided to put a chemical in this water to "clean" it -- which only ended up stripping the lead off of Flint's aging water pipes, placing that lead in the water and sending it straight into people's taps. Your callous -- and reckless (btw, "reckless" doesn't get you a pass; a reckless driver who kills a child, still goes to jail) -- decision to do this has now, as revealed by the city's top medical facility, caused "irreversible brain damage" in Flint's children, not to mention other bodily damage to all of Flint's adults. Here's how bad it is: Even GM won't let the auto parts they use in building cars touch the Flint water because that water "corrodes" them (link). This is a company that won't even fix an ignition switch after they've discovered it's already killed dozens of people. THAT's how bad the situation is. Even GM thinks you're the devil.

Maybe you don't understand the science behind this. Lead, in water -- now, bear with me, this involves a science lesson and you belong to the anti-science party, the one that believes there's not a climate problem and that Adam and Eve rode on dinosaurs 6,000 years ago. Lead is toxic to the human body. There's no way to fully eliminate it once it's in your system, and children are the most damaged by it.

By taking away the city's clean drinking water in order to "cut costs," and then switching the city's water supply to Flint River water, you have allowed massively unsafe levels of pollutants and lead into the water that travels in to everyone's home. Every Flint resident is trapped by this environmental nightmare which you, Governor, have created.

Like any real criminal, when you were confronted with the truth (by the EPA and other leading water experts across America), you denied what you did. Even worse, you decided to mock your accusers and their findings. As I said, I know you don't like to believe in a lot of science (after all, you used to run Gateway Computers, and that, really, is all anyone needs to know about you), but this time the science has caught up with you -- and this time, I hope, it's going to convict you.

The facts are all there, Mr. Snyder. Every agency involved in this scheme reported directly to you. The children of Flint didn't have a choice as to whether or not they were going to get to drink clean water. But soon it will be your turn to not have that choice about which water you'll be drinking. Because by this time next year, if there is an ounce of justice left in this land, the water you'll be drinking will be served to you from a tap inside Jackson Prison.

I am calling upon my fellow Michiganders -- and seekers of justice everywhere -- to petition U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, asking her to arrest you for corruption and assault (i.e., the physical assault you committed against the children of Flint when you knowingly poisoned them).
Yesterday, the federal prosecutor in Flint, after many of us had called for months for this action, finally opened up an investigation into the matter (link). Now we need your arrest, prosecution and conviction.

And who will be cheering on that day when you are fitted with a bright orange jumpsuit? The poor and minority communities of Michigan who've endured your dictatorial firing of their mayors and school boards so you could place your business friends in charge of their mostly-black cities. They know you never would have done this to a wealthy white suburb.

I welcome all to look at the appalling facts of this case, which have been reported brilliantly here, here, and especially here by the great Rachel Maddow. Thank you, Rachel, for caring so deeply when the rest of the national television media didn't.

I'm asking everyone who agrees with me to sign on to this petition and call for your arrest, Governor Snyder. You are not allowed to run amok in my hometown like you have done. The children whom you have poisoned have to endure a life of pain and lower IQ's from your actions. You have destroyed a generation of children -- and for that, you must pay.

It is time for you to go to prison. Out of mercy, I'll ask that you have in your cell your own personal Gateway computer.

Sincerely,
Michael Moore
Flint native
Michigan resident and voter

P.S. For everyone wanting to sign on to this petition calling for the IMMEDIATE resignation of Governor Snyder AND for the FBI to arrest him, please sign the petition petition below...


Sign the petition. #ArrestGovSnyder

Dear Attorney General Lynch:
We, the undersigned, call upon you to investigate and, if warranted, arrest and prosecute the Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, for violating the Environmental Protection Agency's regulations in cutting off clean drinking water to the city of Flint and making the citizens, instead, drink polluted water from the Flint River; for fraud and political corruption; and for covering up the criminal actions of his administration. The children of Flint, already amongst the poorest in the U.S., will now have to endure a life of pain, irreversible brain damage and lower IQ's because of Governor Snyder's actions. There is no way to totally reverse the effects of lead in a child's blood stream. At the very least, justice must be served -- and other elected officials must be put on notice, by the actions you will take against the Governor, that people's lives are more important than balancing a budget.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-bowie-dead-at-69-his-online-outlets-say/

David Bowie dead at 69
CBS/AP
January 11, 2016

Photograph -- David Bowie and wife Iman in November 7, 1995 file photo REUTERS
Photograph -- David Bowie 1947-2016
Play VIDEO -- Looking back at David Bowie's life and career


Music icon David Bowie, whose illustrious career lasted five decades with hits like "Fame," ''Heroes" and "Let's Dance," died Sunday at the age of 69, his U.S. agent, Steve Martin, confirmed to CBS News in London.

Bowie's website, davidbowie.com, says the innovative singer, songwriter and actor "died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief."

His official Twitter and Facebook accounts carry the same news, as does the official Twitter account of Bowie's son, Duncan Jones:

Bowie turned 69 on Friday, the same day he released an album called "Blackstar."

Bowie, who was born David Jones, came of age in the glam rock era of the early 1970s.

He had a striking androgynous look in his early days and was known for changing his looks and sounds.

The stuttering rock sound of "Changes" gave way to the disco soul of "Young Americans," co-written with John Lennon, to a droning collaboration with Brian Eno in Berlin that produced "Heroes."

He had some of his biggest successes in the early 1980s with the stylist "Let's Dance," and a massive American tour.

"My entire career, I've only really worked with the same subject matter," Bowie told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. "The trousers may change, but the actual words and subjects I've always chosen to write with are things to do with isolation, abandonment, fear and anxiety -- all of the high points of one's life."

His performance of "Heroes" was a highlight of a concert for rescue workers after the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.

"What I'm most proud of is that I can't help but notice that I've affected the vocabulary of pop music. For me, frankly, as an artist, that's the most satisfying thing for the ego."

Bowie kept a low profile in recent years after reportedly suffering a heart attack in the 2000s.

He made a moody album three years ago called "The Next Day" -- his first recording in a decade which was made in secret in New York City.

"Blackstar," which earned positive reviews from critics, represented yet another stylistic shift, as he gathered jazz players to join him. He released a music video on Friday for the new song "Lazarus," which shows a frail Bowie lying in bed and singing the track's lyrics.

The song begins with the line: "Look up here, I'm in heaven."

Tributes poured in for the singer. British astronaut Tim Peake tweeted about his sadness from outer space aboard the International Space Station, saying "his music was an inspiration to many."

British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted that Bowie's death is "a huge loss." He wrote he had grown up listening to and watching Bowie and called the singer a "master of reinvention" and a pop genius who kept on getting it right.

Kanye West said on Twitter that Bowie "was one of my most important inspirations, so fearless, so creative, he gave us magic for a lifetime."

Bowie was married to international supermodel Iman since 1992.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, but he didn't attend the ceremony.

Madonna, another artist who knew something about changing styles to stay ahead of the curve, accepted for him and recounted how a Bowie concert changed her life when she attended it as a teenager.

David Byrne, of the art rockers Talking Heads, inducted Bowie and said he gave rock music a necessary shot in the arm. "Like all rock 'n' roll, it was visionary, it was tasteless, it was glamorous, it was perverse, it was fun, it was crass, it was sexy and it was confusing," Byrne said.




"Like all rock 'n' roll, it was visionary, it was tasteless, it was glamorous, it was perverse, it was fun, it was crass, it was sexy and it was confusing," Byrne said.” This is a fascinating statement, and it may boil down the appeal of what I call ROCK, not rock ‘n’ roll. Elvis Pressley was rock ‘n’ roll. That was a raucous mixture of rhythm and blues and country. The Beatles and some other British groups, plus some in the US like The Rolling Stones were “Rock.” They had a different message, musicality and poetic style in their lyrics, and the two musical styles really didn’t sound alike to me.

To me, David Bowie was very much a Rock performer. His songs were often downright eerie in their sound, but tuneful and not the shouting sound of so many others. I sometimes wonder if I loved those sounds of the 70s because I was young and in love, or because they really were “great music” in their highly individualistic and modernistic way. I maintain that they were great, and that he was a very, very good singer. He could have sung other forms as well. Many Rock ‘n’ Roll singers weren’t, in my view, particularly good singers, and their music was more about loudness and quick and dirty lyrics. Both genres never failed, however, to carry me away to another place, whether or not they were truly “great art” and I miss them.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-iran-removes-core-from-arak-nuclear-reactor/

Report: Iran removes core from nuclear reactor
CBS NEWS
January 11, 2016

Photograph -- A general view of the water facility at Arak on January 15, 2011. HAMID FOROUTAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Play VIDEO -- GOP warns Iran nuclear deal could jeopardize U.S. oil and gas industry


Iran has ripped the core out of its Arak heavy water nuclear reactor so that it cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium, the Fars news agency reported, a crucial step that would make sanctions relief happen soon.

CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan reported in July that a central part of the Iran nuclear deal called for the Arak reactor - a heavy water facility that could be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium - to be converted, with its core removed.

The State Department said Monday that it was aware of the reports but could not independently confirm that the core had been removed.

"Once the IAEA confirms that this step has been done, this will eliminate completely the plutonium pathway to enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon," State Department Spokesperson Rear Admiral John Kirby said. "We will leave it to the IAEA to make a final confirmation of all the steps that Iran has committed to take to reach Implementation Day, including the steps on the Arak reactor. We believe that Iran continues to move forward on all of those steps."

If it were allowed to continue to operate, the reactor would be capable of producing one or two weapons' worth of weapons-grade plutonium each year, Brennan reported. According to terms of the deal, Iran will also pay for an international partnership to redesign and rebuild the facility.

Last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the U.N. nuclear agency's decision to close the books on a decade-long probe of allegations that Tehran worked on nuclear weapons is a "big success."



“Iran has ripped the core out of its Arak heavy water nuclear reactor so that it cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium, the Fars news agency reported, a crucial step that would make sanctions relief happen soon. …. "Once the IAEA confirms that this step has been done, this will eliminate completely the plutonium pathway to enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon," State Department Spokesperson Rear Admiral John Kirby said. "We will leave it to the IAEA to make a final confirmation of all the steps that Iran has committed to take to reach Implementation Day, including the steps on the Arak reactor. We believe that Iran continues to move forward on all of those steps." …. According to terms of the deal, Iran will also pay for an international partnership to redesign and rebuild the facility. Last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the U.N. nuclear agency's decision to close the books on a decade-long probe of allegations that Tehran worked on nuclear weapons is a "big success."


Though this is only one step, it is very good news. I have felt much more secure about Iran since Rouhani took over. Mahmūd Ahmadinezhād before him was highly objectionable, as Donald Trump is to me. Rouhani seems to be educated, calm and gentlemanly. On issues like whether or not a country several thousand miles away and not easy to monitor is conducting secret manufacture of nuclear bombs, I think that up to a certain point at least, we have to trust them. I trust them more easily if their leader does not seem to be a raving maniac with no scruples. When Ahmadinezhad in one of his rants reiterated the claim that the whole story of the Holocaust of WWII was actually a hoax, I was disgusted, but not very surprised. The rancor against the Jews among Islamic nations is at least as severe as it is among European and American Neo-Nazis. At this time, I do not believe that Iran is still carrying a constant grudge against us over the Shah’s being allowed into the US for cancer treatment, and I am hoping for the best. We have enough wars going on without adding another one.



http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/stagnant-wages-linked-gop-outrage-2016-race-n494116

Stagnant Wages Linked to GOP Outrage in 2016 Race
POLITICS by DANTE CHINNI
JAN 11 2016


It's been more than six years since the Great Recession ended. The stock market has bounced back and unemployment is as low as it's been in the last eight years. And yet economic uncertainty and anger persist as 2016 presidential election topics, driving the campaigns of outsider candidates like Donald Trump.

One big factor in that angst is wages. Stories of flat or negative wage growth have been a consistent part of economic news coverage in the past decade - or more - but wage stagnation is not a problem everywhere. Data shows it is closely tied to where people live and, indirectly, their politics - with big city, Democratic-leaning places generally doing better overall.

There were 238 counties in America where the average annual pay topped $50,000 in 2014, according to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (That's pay per job, not household.) And 84% of those counties saw an increase in average pay between 2004 and 2014.

One other note about them, 51% of those counties voted for President Barrack Obama in 2012.

But the numbers look different as you go down through the income levels. The lower the wage level, the less likely that county has seen an increase in wages. That is places with lower average wages are having a hard time keeping up with the economy as a whole.


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, annual figures 2004 and 2014. 2012 Election Results
Driving the numbers in the table is a crucial fact in the makeup of the modern U.S. economy. The most vibrant and dynamic aspects of job and wage growth are occurring in around the nation's big cities.

Increasingly, those places are hubs for industries like tech, finance, media and real estate - think of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver, all of which have seen upticks in average pay over the period. Politically speaking, they hold a lot of votes and tend to be strongly Democratic in their voting habits. Everyone one of those big cities, and many others, went for President Obama in 2012.

Conversely, in that top group of 238 counties, many of the Republican-voting entries are more sparsely populated places that saw a spike in wage growth with the oil and gas extraction boom. On the list are counties such as Williams, Slope and Dunn counties in North Dakota, all of which have populations of less than 30,000.

The wage point is further driven home when you look at the top and bottom 10 counties for average wages in 2014.

The comparisons here aren't perfect, of course. This is a survey of employers, not employees. So these are wages paid in these places. But the geography are politics are still striking.

Note the three Bay Area counties sit in the top four in wages, all of which have seen average pay grow by more than 10,000 in the last decade. And New York and Washington DC sit in that top 10 as well.

And on the second table, note the more rural locales, from Delta County, population 5,200, to Keweenaw, population 2,220 to Arthur, population 453. Rural places, particularly those without strong agricultural sectors, have long been falling behind economically.

But the bigger point in these numbers is that wage growth, or lack of it, actually has a strong urban-rural and political dimension in 2016. And some of that voter anger, particularly on the Republican side is tied to very real economic concerns regardless of what the unemployment numbers say.



"One big factor in that angst is wages. Stories of flat or negative wage growth have been a consistent part of economic news coverage in the past decade - or more - but wage stagnation is not a problem everywhere. Data shows it is closely tied to where people live and, indirectly, their politics - with big city, Democratic-leaning places generally doing better overall. .... Rural places, particularly those without strong agricultural sectors, have long been falling behind economically. .... Increasingly, those places are hubs for industries like tech, finance, media and real estate - think of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver, all of which have seen upticks in average pay over the period. Politically speaking, they hold a lot of votes and tend to be strongly Democratic in their voting habits. Everyone one of those big cities, and many others, went for President Obama in 2012. .... Conversely, in that top group of 238 counties, many of the Republican-voting entries are more sparsely populated places that saw a spike in wage growth with the oil and gas extraction boom. But the bigger point in these numbers is that wage growth, or lack of it, actually has a strong urban-rural and political dimension in 2016. And some of that voter anger, particularly on the Republican side is tied to very real economic concerns regardless of what the unemployment numbers say."


My father always claimed that Republicans aren't good for the overall economy because they "tighten up the money" and end up causing recessions when they are in power too long. I think he's right. They simply don't like for the working people to have good wages because the businesses do have to spend more to continue in business. I have no sympathy with them, because they are usually making money hand over fist and can afford higher wages. It is a simple fact that people who make very little money are in fact a drag on the economy because they have no money to spend on all those fabulous Republican goods and services.

He said that in the 1930s Great Depression, goods and services were inexpensive but the man on the street had no money to buy them. The barter system was actually in use in places like rural Southern counties due to a lack of cash flow. As he put it, "You could buy a lot with a dime, if you had a dime!" Europe in the last few years has been laboring under a policy of belt-tightening, and in the US Congress has been progressively reducing the national budget. That is putting some of us in the mood for a Democratic Socialist such as Bernie Sanders. I hope he gets the nomination, because Clinton simply isn't as liberal economically as he is. I think he has a real chance to be elected President, though some predict that he is unelectable. the same claim is made about Hillary, though, and both of them if they go up against a jerk like Trump or some of the others as well may do better than the Tea Partiers. I don't know what will happen, but I do have hope. I can't wait for the primaries. It's always good fun for me.




http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/europes-border-crisis/many-germans-views-foreigners-change-after-cologne-sex-attacks-n494036

Many Germans' Views on Foreigners Change After Cologne Sex Attacks
by CARLO ANGERER EUROPE'S BORDER CRISIS
JAN 11 2016

NEXT STORY -- Pope Warns Migrant Influx Threatens Europe's 'Humanistic Spirit'
Related: One Family's Journey From Hell to Happiness
Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed -- FROM JAN. 5: Women Voice Concern After Mass Sex Assaults in German City 0:43
Related: Right-Wing Protests in Germany Turn Violent After Assaults
Image: Right-wing groups rally following sex attacks
Related: Anti-Islam Protests Get 'Angrier' Amid Migrant Crisis


LEIPZIG, Germany — More than one-third of Germans said their view of foreigners had worsened following a New Year's Eve spate of at least 200 alleged sex assaults carried out mostly by North African men in Cologne, according to a new survey.

The poll by the Forsa Institute highlighted a sudden negative shift in how Germans perceive people from abroad after their country last year emerged as an optimistic champion of migrants and refugees.

German leader Angela Merkel's open-door policy and slogan "We Can Do It" accompanied the arrival of some 1.1 million people into the country last year — including many Syrians fleeing war in the homeland.

However, Sunday's poll said 37 percent of Germans had a more negative outlook on foreigners following the alleged Cologne assaults, while 60 percent said their view remained unchanged. The poll also found that 57 percent feared refugee arrivals would trigger a rise in crime.

Authorities say groups of men roamed New Year's Eve crowds in the city of Cologne and groped women.

Officials in the city said by Sunday they had recorded over 500 complaints related to the events between Cologne's main train station and the city's famed cathedral.

Some 40 percent of these were related to allegations of sexual assault and at least two rapes. Other complaints also included pick-pocketing and battery.

In statements, police said the suspects were "mostly from North African countries" and "asylum-seekers and persons who are currently in Germany illegally."

The allegations have dominated headlines in Germany for days and sparked discussion on the influx of refugees.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas told "Bild" on Sunday that he believed the attacks were "coordinated and prepared," adding that this would "add another dimension [to the crimes]."

However, police objected to Maas' assessment and told Spiegel Online on Monday there was no evidence to suggest the incidents were pre-planned.

According to police, at least 20 suspects have been identified.

A 19-year-old male was arrested on Saturday night. He is allegedly connected to a cellphone that was stolen on New Year's Eve. Police did not specify if he was also wanted for sexual assault.

Police in Cologne have been criticized for a slow response after receiving the first reports of sexual assaults on New Year's Eve, and for not informing the public early on.

On New Year's Day, the force published a press release saying the atmosphere was festive and there were no major incidents. Cologne's police chief was later forced into retirement but the investigation into their handling of the matter is ongoing.

Despite the Cologne suspects' backgrounds, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Monday urged Germans to to not treat all refugees and migrants with suspicion.

"Such crimes ... and overstepping boundaries in such a way maybe were not totally new in Germany as a phenomenon," he said. "It is completely unacceptable and not to be tolerated."

Right-wing organizations have been trying to capitalize on the attacks. On Saturday, the anti-immigration and anti-Islam PEGIDA movement demonstrated in Cologne.

The protest was dispersed by police after members of the crowd threw firecrackers and beer bottles at officers.




“However, Sunday's poll said 37 percent of Germans had a more negative outlook on foreigners following the alleged Cologne assaults, while 60 percent said their view remained unchanged. The poll also found that 57 percent feared refugee arrivals would trigger a rise in crime. Authorities say groups of men roamed New Year's Eve crowds in the city of Cologne and groped women. …. In statements, police said the suspects were "mostly from North African countries" and "asylum-seekers and persons who are currently in Germany illegally." …. Justice Minister Heiko Maas told "Bild" on Sunday that he believed the attacks were "coordinated and prepared," adding that this would "add another dimension [to the crimes]." However, police objected to Maas' assessment and told Spiegel Online on Monday there was no evidence to suggest the incidents were pre-planned. According to police, at least 20 suspects have been identified. …. Police in Cologne have been criticized for a slow response after receiving the first reports of sexual assaults on New Year's Eve, and for not informing the public early on. On New Year's Day, the force published a press release saying the atmosphere was festive and there were no major incidents. Cologne's police chief was later forced into retirement but the investigation into their handling of the matter is ongoing.


"Such crimes ... and overstepping boundaries in such a way maybe were not totally new in Germany as a phenomenon," he said. "It is completely unacceptable and not to be tolerated." Yesterday’s news article said specifically that this type of incident has been going on for several years on holidays in a number of German cities, before the main group of refugees came, and that police in this case failed to allow women into the station to protect themselves. They also didn’t make reports in a number of cases when women did in fact complain to them about purse snatching and sexual assaults. They also failed to notify the public that a dangerous situation existed, so that women could have chosen to stay home or otherwise protect themselves.

There was no information about drug and alcohol use as a factor in any of the articles I’ve seen so far, but the German holiday Octoberfest is all about drinking and general carousing. I imagine New Years Eve would be similar. I think Germany needs to compare notes with other European countries on possible similar problems being linked to the refugees; specifically identify, arrest and deport the guilty parties; and prevent vendetta bound groups such as PEGIDA from harassing the whole Islamic community over the misbehavior of some. I do think that those from North Africa should perhaps be reexamined for criminal records and sent back home if they have a violent past.

Men – including police officers -- have a tendency to consider “groping” a minor crime, but I can assure you all that while it isn’t lethal, it is disgusting, infuriating and uncivilized. Men who do that in public will do worse if they have a little privacy. That’s why I’ve always planned to fight back, and do it immediately, rather than let the animal get me into his car to go elsewhere.




http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/ringling-bros-retire-all-circus-elephants-may-2-years-early-n493986

Ringling Bros. to Retire All Circus Elephants in May — 2 Years Early
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JAN 11 2016

Image: Circus elephants
Photograph -- Elephants walk during a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2015. Alex Brandon / AP File



ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its elephant acts a year and a half early, and will retire all of its touring elephants in May.

The move comes amid increasing scrutiny on circus elephant acts with local governments passing "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" ordinances in response to concerns over animal cruelty.

The circus's parent company, Feld Entertainment, told The Associated Press exclusively that all of the iconic elephants will be permanently retired to the company's 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida. There are currently 11 elephants on tour with the circus.

"They'll be joining the rest of the herd," said Alana Feld, Ringling's executive vice president and show producer, who is also part of the family that owns Feld Entertainment. Feld owns the largest herd of Asian elephants in North America. In addition to those still touring, there are 29 elephants on the property now, and two additional animals are on breeding loans to zoos, Feld said.

It costs about $65,000 yearly to care for each elephant, she said, and the company had to build new structures to house the retiring elephants at the center, located between Orlando and Tampa.

Oregon Zoo Workers Contracted Tuberculosis From Elephants, CDC Says

Last year, Feld Entertainment announced that the elephants would be phased out and eventually retired by 2018. Once the company began planning, it realized it could retire the elephants a lot sooner, Feld said.

Elephant acts have been showcased by Ringling for more than a century and have often been featured on its posters.

But because so many cities and counties have passed "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" ordinances, it became difficult to organize tours of three traveling circuses to 115 cities each year, Feld Entertainment CEO Kenneth Feld said last year. Fighting legislation in each jurisdiction is expensive, he said.

Los Angeles and Oakland prohibited the use of bull-hooks by elephant trainers and handlers last April. The city of Asheville, North Carolina, also nixed wild or exotic animals from performing in the municipally owned, 7,600-seat U.S. Cellular Center.

Ringling's new show will begin in July without the giant pachyderms.

"We're looking at a lot of new ways of doing things," Feld said.

She said the retired elephants at the CEC will also be part of cancer research.

Why Elephants Don't Get Cancer

Cancer is much less common in elephants than in humans, even though the big animals' bodies have many more cells. That's a paradox known among scientists, and now researchers think they may have an explanation — one they say might someday lead to new ways to protect people from cancer.

Compared with just one copy in humans, elephants' cells contain 20 copies of a major cancer-suppressing gene, two teams of scientists reported in October. The gene helps damaged cells repair themselves or self-destruct when exposed to cancer-causing substances.

The findings aren't proof that those extra p53 genes make elephants cancer-resistant, but if future research confirms it, scientists could try to develop drugs for humans that would mimic the effect.

Dr. Joshua Schiffman, a pediatric cancer specialist at the University of Utah, is one of the researchers trying to find clues in the blood samples of some of the Ringling elephants.

"There's so much to be learned from their DNA," Feld said.

Animal rights activists have long alleged that circuses have mistreated elephants.

In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from a number of animal-rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year legal battle over allegations that Ringling circus employees mistreated elephants.

Elephants have been a symbol of the Ringling circus for decades. P.T. Barnum brought an Asian elephant named Jumbo to America in 1882.



“The circus's parent company, Feld Entertainment, told The Associated Press exclusively that all of the iconic elephants will be permanently retired to the company's 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida. There are currently 11 elephants on tour with the circus. …. Los Angeles and Oakland prohibited the use of bull-hooks by elephant trainers and handlers last April. The city of Asheville, North Carolina, also nixed wild or exotic animals from performing in the municipally owned, 7,600-seat U.S. Cellular Center. …. Feld owns the largest herd of Asian elephants in North America. In addition to those still touring, there are 29 elephants on the property now, and two additional animals are on breeding loans to zoos, Feld said. It costs about $65,000 yearly to care for each elephant, she said, and the company had to build new structures to house the retiring elephants at the center, located between Orlando and Tampa. …. Compared with just one copy in humans, elephants' cells contain 20 copies of a major cancer-suppressing gene, two teams of scientists reported in October. The gene helps damaged cells repair themselves or self-destruct when exposed to cancer-causing substances. The findings aren't proof that those extra p53 genes make elephants cancer-resistant, but if future research confirms it, scientists could try to develop drugs for humans that would mimic the effect.”


I have been to a performance of the Ringling Brothers Circus a number of year ago, and the magnificent-looking German trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams entered the ring with each leg atop the back of an elephant to the rapid thrumming of kettle drums. Very exciting! He was known for his gentle training techniques, and for his big cats especially. It was an exciting and beautiful experience, but I have since heard too many stories of some training methods that are not at all gentle. Several years back an elephant decided he had had enough and attacked one of the men, perhaps a trainer or a caretaker. I don’t remember if the man was killed, but an angry elephant is not a joke. I’m glad to see from this article that other exotic animals also will no longer be used in the show, and that they will live their remaining years in a beautiful open area in rural Florida. When I saw the Cirque du Soleil on TV I was interested to see that though they present an absolutely enthralling show, it contains no animals. Thank you, Ringling Brothers!