July 9, 2017


News and Views


FROM EVERYTHING I HAVE SEEN OF THIS WAR, IT HAS BEEN AS INDICATIVE OF DEVASTATION IN IRAQ AS THE SHELLS OF BUILDINGS ALL ACROSS EUROPE WERE AFTER WWII. THERE IS ONE PHOTOGRAPH THAT STICKS IN MY MIND OF A HALF-DESTROYED CHURCH IN FRANCE WITH TWO LITTLE GIRLS, 8 TO 10 YEARS OLD, STANDING IN FRONT OF IT, APPARENTLY POSING FOR THE CAMERA. THEY WERE SHOELESS, DIRTY, AND HAD SHABBY LOOKING DRESSES ON. THE LOOK ON THEIR FACES WAS UNFORGETTABLE. IT WAS PURE EMPTINESS. THE OLD TERM “SHELL-SHOCKED” WAS REALLY DESCRIPTIVE OF THE MENTAL CONDITION OF THOSE EXPOSED TO ONGOING AND INESCAPABLE HORROR.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/prime-minister-haider-al-abadi-congratulates-troops-mosul-declares-victory-over-isis/
CBS/AP July 9, 2017, 2:30 PM
Iraqi PM congratulates troops in Mosul, declares victory over ISIS

MOSUL, Iraq -- Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi celebrated with Iraqi troops Sunday in Mosul after they drove Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants from some of their last strongholds in a nearly nine-month campaign, although heavy fighting by holdouts continued in parts of the Old City neighborhood.

Dressed in a black military uniform, a smiling al-Abadi walked amid the soldiers, at one point grabbing an Iraqi flag and briefly draping it on his shoulders. Other troops waved flags and pointed their weapons in the air nearby.

Images posted to al-Abadi's official Twitter account Sunday showed the leader shaking hands with members of the armed forces.

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Haider Al-Abadi ✔ @HaiderAlAbadi
القائد العام للقوات المسلحة الدكتور حيدر العبادي يصل مدينة الموصل المحررة ، ويبارك للمقاتلين الابطال والشعب العراقي بتحقيق النصر الكبير
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Haider Al-Abadi ✔ @HaiderAlAbadi
PM Al-Abadi arrives in Mosul to announce its liberation and congratulate the armed forces and Iraqi people on this victory pic.twitter.com/bUtkj7z88A
8:18 AM - 9 Jul 2017
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Haider Al-Abadi ✔ @HaiderAlAbadi
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PM Al-Abadi meets with ISF commanders and forces who led the Mosul liberation campaign
11:28 AM - 9 Jul 2017
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Al-Iraqia TV quoted al-Abadi as saying he "congratulates the heroic fighters and the people on the big victory" in Iraq's second-largest city, even as fighting rang out in pockets near the militants' last stand at the Tigris River.

The loss of Mosul would mark a major defeat for ISIS, which has suffered a series of major setbacks over the past year.

"Stench of death" from bodies of ISIS fighters fills Mosul

The militants control less than a square kilometer, less than a mile, of territory in the shattered city in northern Iraq, but they were using human shields, suicide bombers and snipers in a fight to the death.

ISIS militants seized Mosul in the summer of 2014 when they swept across northern and central Iraq. That summer, the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, appeared at Mosul's al-Nuri Mosque and declared a caliphate on territory it seized in Iraq and Syria.

U.S. faces challenges backing battle against ISIS
Play VIDEO
U.S. faces challenges backing battle against ISIS

Iraq launched the operation to retake Mosul in October, backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition. The fierce battle has killed thousands and displaced more than 897,000 people.

Last month, as Iraqi troops closed in on Mosul's Old City, the militants destroyed the al-Nuri Mosque and its famous leaning minaret to deny the forces a symbolic triumph.

Lt. Gen. Jassim Nizal of the army's 9th Division said his forces achieved "victory" in their sector, after a similar announcement by the militarized Federal Police. His soldiers danced to patriotic music atop tanks even as airstrikes sent up plumes of smoke nearby.

Nizal acknowledged that many of his men were among those who fled the city when ISIS forces seized Mosul in 2014 in a humiliating defeat for the Iraqi armed forces. "Some things happened here, that's true," he said. "But we have come back."

Ex-ISIS recruits reveal what drew them into war
Play VIDEO
Ex-ISIS recruits reveal what drew them into war

Much of the Old City and surrounding areas have been devastated by the grueling urban combat. On Sunday, a line of weary civilians walked out of the Old City, past the shells of destroyed apartment blocks lining the cratered roads.

Heba Walid held her sister-in-law's baby, which was born into war. The parents of the 6-month-old, along with 15 other family members, were killed last month when an airstrike hit their home. When Walid ran out of formula, she fed the baby a paste of crushed biscuits mixed with water.

In neighboring Syria, U.S.-backed Syrian forces have encircled and pushed into ISIS' de facto capital of Raqqa after a month of fighting, although a long battle lies ahead.

More than 2,000 militants are holed up with their families and tens of thousands of civilians in Raqqa's center, the city's most densely populated districts.

The extremists still hold several smaller towns and villages across Iraq and Syria.



KKK VS CIVILIZATION – THIS IS AN OLD WAR. IF WE COULD REALLY EDUCATE OUR POPULATION MUCH MORE THOROUGHLY IN THE LIBERAL ARTS TRADITION, WE MIGHT HAVE A STAB AT CHANGING THIS, BUT AFTER HOPING FOR IT MY WHOLE LIFE AND NOW SEEING TRULY VIRULENT RACISM -- NOT THE SNEAKIER AND QUIETER KIND -- ERUPTING AGAIN MAKES ME TIRED. VILENESS LIVES! I’M NOT GIVING UP, THOUGH. THAT’S DEADLY; SO, I’LL BLOG ON!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/at-virginia-kkk-rally-counter-protesters-show-up-in-droves/
By BO ERICKSON CBS NEWS July 8, 2017, 3:38 PM
Counter-protesters dwarf KKK at rally for Confederate statue

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- About 50 Ku Klux Klan members protested Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, after the city decided to sell a park statue of Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee but they were dwarfed by an estimated 1,000 counter-protesters.

The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan organized to protest the city's decision to take down the statute and rename the park around it, and orginally [sic] expected 80 to 100 Klan attendees. While there was no reason given for the smaller turnout, the Anti-Defamation League says the group has been diminished by infighting and high turnover, CBS News' Paula Reid reports.

A total of 23 people were arrested Saturday, according to the city. Some counter-protesters were reluctant to leave the space when the rally's designated time slot ended which prompted law enforcement to declare an unlawful assembly. Both the Virginia State Police and the Charlottesville Police Department were on the scene with more than 100 officers.

Some of the Klan members were armed with guns and some wore Klan robes at Saturday's rally.

2017-07-08t221828z-1830901599-rc1e646d52c0-rtrmadp-3-virginia-klan.jpg
Counter-protesters shout at members of the Ku Klux Klan, who are rallying in opposition to city proposals to remove or make changes to Confederate monuments, in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. July 8, 2017. REUTERS / JONATHAN ERNST

In April, the Charlottesville City Council voted 3-2 to sell the statue of General Lee; however, the statue is not currently for sale because in May, Charlottesville judge Richard Moore ruled that in the public's interest, the Lee statue cannot be moved for a period of six months. A court decision is expected sometime in November.

On the eve of the planned protest, the statue was vandalized with red paint.

The Klan requested a logistical permit and the city staff worked with the Klan to find an appropriate place.

"People are guaranteed the right to assemble, and the park is a public place," said Miriam Dickler, communications director for the city. "Folks are allowed to come and say their piece."

2017-07-08t210741z-492943736-rc195914a7d0-rtrmadp-3-virginia-klan.jpg
Riot police protect members of the Ku Klux Klan from counter-protesters as they arrive to rally in opposition to city proposals to remove or make changes to Confederate monuments in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. on July 8, 2017. REUTERS / JONATHAN ERNST

Throughout the city of Charlottesville, the group "Unity C-Ville" held counter-programming efforts to encourage locals to not attend the rally. One Unity C-Ville organizer, local brewery owner Hunter Smith, said that many in the city had a "visceral response" when they heard about the KKK rally, so community leaders wanted to "bring people together in a peaceful way," away from the park demonstration.

The Charlottesville statue is one of many recently in the news as cities try to grapple with the legacy of such monuments. In St. Louis in June, a Confederate memorial was removed from Forest Park after an agreement was reached between the city and the Civil War Museum. In New Orleans, four statues were removed after two years of court battles.

One protester wearing a Confederate flag hat told Reid that taking down these statues is an effort to re-write history. "You can't erase history," he said.

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Klan protesters at a rally in Charlottesville, Va., on July 8, 2017. BO ERICKSON

According to a report from the Anti-Defamation League, the organized Ku Klux Klan movement in the United States currently "consists of just over 40 active Klan groups, a slight increase from early 2016. More than half of the current Klans have formed in the last three years.

Charlottesville, a small city of about 43,000 people, is home to former President Thomas Jefferson's Monticello residence and the university he founded, the University of Virginia.

"The Klan and the NAACP have a deep history," said Janette Martin, president of the local NAACP chapter. "I never thought we would go down this path again in 2017."

CBS News' Paula Reid and Kelsey Micklas contributed to this report.



OUR SOCIETAL PROBLEM HAPPENS WHEN OUR POLICE OFFICERS VIEW THEIR WORK AS “A WAR,” -- AND I DID SEE THAT PHRASE TWICE COMING FROM AN OFFICER’S MOUTH DURING THESE TWO YEARS OR SO THAT I’VE BEEN DOING NEWS STORIES. AMERICANS JUST DON’T WANT TO HEAR THAT GOOD OFFICER SELECTION, GOOD HUMAN TRAINING AS WELL AS SHOOTING RANGE ACCURACY, GOOD ARREST TECHNIQUES, AND GOOD JUDGEMENT ON THE STREET, ALL NEED TO BE IMPROVED IN MOST PARTS OF THE USA. IT ISN’T JUST THE SOUTH. LARGE NORTHERN CITIES HAVE AS MUCH OF IT AS WE DO IN FLORIDA, GEORGIA, ETC. AS FOR THE TASER AND THE CHOKE HOLD TECHNIQUE, THOSE ARE REALLY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED. I LOOKED UP TASERS NOT TOO LONG AGO, AND POLICE TASERS ARE THE STRONGEST ON THE MARKET.

WE HAVE LARGELY LEFT THE POLICE UP TO THEIR OWN DEVICES, AND THAT IS 2/3 OF OUR PROBLEM IN MY VIEW. “OVERSIGHT” SHOULDN’T BE A DIRTY WORD, AND SPEAKING OF “DIRTY,” DIRTY HARRY WAS NOT, NOT A “GOOD COP.” THAT CHARACTER IS EXCITING AND ENTERTAINING, BUT A SOCIOPATH. THANKS TO THOSE HATED “VIRAL VIDEOS,” PEOPLE ARE BECOMING MORE AWARE AND CONCERNED AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THEM (AND OF THE ACTIONS OF THE EQUALLY HATED “BLACK LIVES MATTER” GROUP). IF IT HADN’T BEEN FOR THE LEADERSHIP AND ACTIONS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, NO LAWS WOULD HAVE BEEN REWRITTEN TO PRODUCE FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE AT THAT TIME. LYNDON JOHNSON WAS A GOOD LIBERAL IN SOME WAYS, BUT HE WAS A TEXAN, AND -- ONE ARTICLE SAID --
BIASED RACIALLY; BUT THERE’S SOMETHING CONVINCING ABOUT TEN OR TWENTY THOUSAND PEOPLE OUT IN THE STREET OUTSIDE THE CAPITOL. AS SOME LIKE TO SAY, “THAT ISN’T A THREAT – IT’S A PROMISE.”

I AM GRATEFUL TO THE HIGHER POWER THAT SOME CITIES ARE COOPERATING WITH THE DOJ INVOLVEMENT AND SHOWING REAL IMPROVEMENT IN ALL THOSE AREAS. I HAVE SEEN HALF A DOZEN OR SO ARTICLES ON THAT SUBJECT. NOT ALL POLICE AND CITY GOVERNMENTS ARE HARDHEARTED SONS OF A GUN. I CAN ONLY THANK SUCH OFFICERS FOR THEIR EFFORTS AT BEING FAIR AND HONEST, IN ADDITION TO THEIR ABILITY TO SHOOT STRAIGHT. NOW WHEN THEY SEE A DERANGED INDIVIDUAL, MAYBE THE BACKUP THAT THEY CALL IN WILL BE AN AMBULANCE, TWO BURLY HOSPITAL ATTENDANTS, AND A MEANS OF RESTRAINING THE PERSON SUCH AS TRANQUILIZER DARTS AND A STRAIGHT JACKET. THEY DO THAT FOR ANIMALS, SO WHY NOT FOR HUMANS?

I DON’T DENY AT ALL THAT POLICE HAVE A GENUINE PROBLEM DEALING WITH MANY PEOPLE WHOM THEY COME ACROSS, BUT IT’S CLEAR TO ME THAT WE ALL NEED TO VIEW THE PROBLEM DIFFERENTLY. OUR SOCIETY AS A WHOLE, AS WELL AS CITY HALLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ARE MUCH TOO EASY ON ROGUE OFFICERS. THIS ISN’T DODGE CITY, AND MARSHALL DILLON ISN’T AROUND.

I ALMOST FORGOT TO SAY THIS: FORMER CHIEF DAVID BROWN IS ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS. THE VIDEO OF HIS INTERVIEW IS VERY MOVING. PEOPLE ARE GOOD OR BAD FROM THE INSIDE OUT. THE TROUBLE WITH SO MANY OF THE REALLY HARSH THINGS IN OUR SOCIETY IS THAT THEY DO GREAT HARM TO PEOPLE’S PSYCHE, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF CHILDREN. I FORGIVE FLAWS AND EVEN STUPIDITY. I JUST DON’T FORGIVE EVIL. WHEN I SEE DECENCY, I DO TRY TO MENTION IT.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-police-chief-david-brown-policing-is-a-people-business-not-enforcement-business/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS July 9, 2017, 2:21 PM
Former Police Chief David Brown: Policing is a "people business," not "enforcement business"

David Brown, former chief of the Dallas Police Department, said Sunday that policing is a "people business" and not an "enforcement business."

"If you take away people from this formula, you lose the very nature of what policing is supposed to be about," Brown said. "We're supposed to be protecting people."

Speaking on "Face the Nation" one year after an attack on Dallas police killed five officers, Brown said that in the wake of the Dallas shooting and numerous officer-involved shootings of primarily black men, the conversation about the role of policing in the 21st century and communities of color remains divided.

"It seems that every time we see some progress take a step there are two steps we take back with another viral video or a court proceeding that didn't end in the way that I think the public expected," said Brown, who was chief of the Dallas police from 2010-2016.

Transcript: Former Dallas Police Chief David Brown on "Face the Nation"

Last July, police say a lone gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson, who was angry about a string of fatal police shootings involving black men, ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers and wounding seven. The officers were guarding a peaceful demonstration against the killings in Louisiana and Minnesota. During the hours-long standoff, the gunman informed them he was targeting white officers.

When asked what he says to people who say that policeman seem to get off free from incendiary events, Brown said that officers are willing to sacrifice their lives for communities they serve, and that "they give their all."

"Particularly white cops," he said. "There's still in many departments a majority white officers are -- are on the police force. And they go into these communities, and they risk their lives."

"There's no question that the cop on the beat is sacrificing and -- and committing their life to protect all of us, you know, including communities of color," he said. "But at the same time, and I don't think there's a contradiction in saying that communities of color do get treated differently by those few officers that don't deserve to be in the profession. And there's a small number. But for these communities, this becomes their world view."

Brown added that as prison populations continue to suffer from mental health issues, it falls on officers to handle those with mental illnesses.

"The prisons aren't meant to be mental health providers. And that translates to cops having to deal with people who are mentally ill. Who- We don't have the training for that. And we just kind of by default take on that task," he said.

He added that "mass incarceration is not first affordable nor is it smart because you have to make a distinction between people who are mentally ill, drug addicted so we can have space in jail for people who are truly violent, and would hurt all of us, and need to be in jail. But if you mix them all in the same bag, you don't have enough jail space. It's just not practical to do that."




MCCAIN DOES NOT BOW DOWN TO POWER. I LIKE THAT. HE’S ALSO NO DUMMY, NOR DOES HE LACK RESPECT AND EMPATHY FOR PEOPLE OF ALL CLASSES. IF HE TURNS OUT TO BE OUR PRESIDENT, I WON’T GRIEVE.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mccain-putin-got-away-with-election-interference/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS July 9, 2017, 1:08 PM
McCain says Putin "got away with" interference in U.S. election

Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, said Sunday on "Face the Nation" that Russian President Vladimir Putin "got away with" trying to change the result of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and that there has been "no penalty" for those attempts.

"We know that Russia tried to change the outcome of our election last November. And they did not succeed," McCain said. "But there was really sophisticated attempts to do so. So far they have not paid a single price for that."

"If you were Vladimir Putin, who I've gotten to know over the years, you're sitting there and you got away with literally trying to change the outcome not just of our election. French election. Tried to overthrow the government of Montenegro, a beautiful little country," McCain said.

"And there has been no penalty whatsoever," he added.

McCain's comments came after President Trump issued a series of tweets Sunday morning saying it's time "to move forward" in working with Russia. Mr. Trump said that during his recent meeting with Putin, he "strongly pressed" the president on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and that Putin "vehemently denied it."

"I've already given my opinion," Mr. Trump tweeted. He continued: "We negotiated a ceasefire in parts of Syria which will save lives. Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!"

Transcript: Sen. John McCain on "Face the Nation"

McCain said that while he agrees with Mr. Trump that it is time to move forward, there still has to be a price to pay, otherwise Putin will be "encouraged to do so again."

"I mean, does anyone doubt his intentions of undermining American supremacy, undermining democracy, the principles of freedom, and all of the things that have epitomized Europe and the world since the end of World War II? For the last 70 years we've had a new world order. And that is now under severe stress not only in Europe but all over the world," McCain said.

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Sen. John McCain on "Face the Nation." CBS NEWS

When asked about one of Mr. Trump's tweets Sunday morning in which the president said he and Putin "discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit," McCain laughed at the notion of such a plan, saying "I am sure Putin could be of enormous assistance, since he's doing the hacking."

"I mean it's, look, I support this president. I did not support him, okay? But he is the president. I've tried to work with him wherever I can," said McCain.

Meanwhile, as the Trump administration hailed the efforts of negotiating a cease-fire in Syria with their Russian counterparts, McCain commented on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's remarks that the U.S. had the "wrong approach" in regard to handling the Russians, saying "you can't make that up."

An emotional McCain told Dickerson, "These are the same people that use precision-guided weapons to strike hospitals in Aleppo where sick and wounded people are." He added, "I've met the White Hats. I know what the slaughter has been like. I know that the Russians knew that Bashar Assad was going to use chemical weapons. And to say that maybe we've got the wrong approach?"

Asked if he had any regrets in voting to confirm Tillerson to lead the State Department, McCain said, "Sometimes I do. But I'm still torn by the fact that the American people chose this president. And he ought to be able to have his team."



JUST IN CASE YOU’RE LIKE ME AND THINK OF THIS SCENARIO FROM TIME TO TIME, THIS STORY HOLDS A HOPE OF DOING SOMETHING USEFUL ABOUT THE PROBLEM. FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DEFLECTION TECHNIQUE, SEE : http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nasa-earth-bullet-asteroid-protection-dart-binary-didymos-impact-protect-earth-armageddon-a7829651.html. DO READ THIS “BULLET” ARTICLE ABOVE. BY THE WAY, THE “BULLET” IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A REFRIGERATOR, AND MOVING ABOUT NINE TIMES AS FAST AS A BULLET; THE TECHNIQUE IS CALLED THE “KINETIC IMPACTOR TECHNIQUE.” THE IMPACT IS HOPED TO BE ENOUGH TO PUSH THE ASTEROID OUT OF ITS’ TRAJECTORY. AS THE AUSTRALIANS WOULD SAY, “GOOD ON THEM!” IF THIS DOESN’T WORK WE’LL HAVE TO PULL OUT OUR OLD BRUCE WILLIS FILMS.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-asteroid-defense-dart-double-asteroid-redirection-test/
CBS NEWS July 8, 2017, 2:09 PM
How NASA plans to knock asteroids heading toward Earth off course

Since one of the biggest asteroids to strike Earth nearly 65 million years ago, our planet has been unarmed -- until now.

On the front lines of defending the planet is the newest technological advancement by NASA's Planetary Defense team: the Double Asteroid Redirection Test*, otherwise known as DART.

DART's mission? To knock asteroids flying close to Earth off-course by striking them at a speed about nine times faster than a bullet.

NASA plans on testing the DART system on the moon of the asteroid Didymos. The satellite launches into space in 2020 with plans for impact in 2022.

"That's why we're doing this demonstration on the moon of an asteroid because we can change its orbit around Didymos much more easily and be able to measure the change we make much more easily," said Andy Rivkin, co-lead of the DART investigation team.

0708-satmo-nasa.jpg
Small meteors hit Earth everyday, breaking up in the upper atmosphere and mostly going unnoticed. But several have been caught shooting across the sky.

The damage they can cause isn't just the stuff of fiction. In 1908 an asteroid flattened hundreds of square miles of forest in Siberia. In 2013 a meteor about 65 feet wide exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, injuring about 1,500 people and damaging thousands of buildings.

"There are no threatening asteroids that we know of but… the way that that probability works, we don't think that we're due, but it's not the sort of thing you can predict like that," Rivkin said.


THIS ISN’T SCIENCE FICTION! ON ONE OF MY MANY DOCUMENTARY TAPES I HAVE AN HOUR-LONG EPISODE ON THE TUNGUSKA EVENT IN SIBERIA IN 1908; THE FILM INCLUDES SCIENTISTS, AND MOST INTERESTINGLY TO ME, SOME ELDERLY RUSSIAN PEOPLE IN THE AREA WHO TALKED ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES AT THE TIME. NO ONE SAW A FLASH OF LIGHT, BUT ALL HEARD THE NOISE, WHICH LITERALLY RATTLED THE WINDOW GLASS. IN THAT DOCUMENTARY, THOUGH, THE TWO VISITING SCIENTISTS EXPLAINED THAT THE SHAPE OF THE PATTERN OF FALLEN TREES SHOWED WHAT WAS MORE LIKELY AN AIR BLAST RATHER THAN A SOLID HIT, WHICH MORE LIKELY WOULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY A MIDAIR EXPLOSION -- AN EXPLODING COMET, PERHAPS -- RATHER THAN AN ASTEROID. THEY DUG DOWN A FAIRLY LONG DISTANCE INTO THE GROUND AND NEVER FOUND ANY SOLID MATTER.

THINGS OF THAT SORT ARE ALL PROFOUNDLY DANGEROUS, OF COURSE, SO OUR GOVERNMENT ALWAYS ANNOUNCES AHEAD OF TIME THE POSSIBILITY OF A HIT OR THE LACK OF IT. LUCKILY, OBJECTS CAN PASS WHAT SOUNDS MUCH TOO CLOSELY TO ME, AND YET NOT HIT. THAT’S THE GOOD NEWS. THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT MAKES MY BASIC STOICISM COME OUT. I JUST TRY TO ENJOY LIFE WHILE I'M HERE AND DON'T DO REALLY EVIL THINGS. STILL, I’M GLAD THAT OUR SCIENTISTS THINK THEY HAVE A TECHNOLOGY THAT MIGHT SAVE THE EARTH FROM A HIT. NOT ONLY ARE WE NOT ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE, WE ARE NOT SAFE, EITHER. READ THIS BBC ARTICLE ABOUT THE GREAT “TUNGUSKA EVENT.” GO TO:
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160706-in-siberia-in-1908-a-huge-explosion-came-out-of-nowhere.


“SOME JACK WAGON” IS A REALLY GREAT SLUR, EVEN THOUGH IT PROBABLY HAS AN OLD VULGAR MEANING. RIGHT? NOT SO!

HTTP://WWW.YOURDICTIONARY.COM/JACKWAGON, NOUN: THE DEFINITION OF JACKWAGON IS A SLANG INSULT MEANING WORTHLESS OR LAZY THAT MAY HAVE ORIGINATED FROM THE NICKNAME OF 19TH CENTURY CHOW WAGONS IN A WAGON TRAIN. AN EXAMPLE OF A “JACKWAGON” IS AN INSULT YOU WOULD CALL SOMEONE WHO YOU THOUGHT WAS A LOSER.”

AS FOR THE SERIOUS MATTER IN THIS STORY, IN MY VIEW AS A MEAT EATER, I DON’T THINK A TRULY ANIMAL PROTEIN FREE DIET IS HEALTHY; MILK, CHEESE, AND IN SOME OLD TRADITIONAL CULTURES, BLOOD OR A SHOCKING VARIETY OF CREATURES THAT WE WOULDN'T TOUCH EXCEPT IN DESPERATION, ARE ALL GOOD ANIMAL PROTEIN. WHEN MY SISTER WAS IN THE PEACE CORPS IN ETHIOPIA SHE BECAME ANEMIC, AND ONE OF THE LOCALS HELPFULLY SAID TO HER, “EAT BLOOD!”

MY FIRST HUSBAND THE ZOOLOGIST SAID THAT THE PROBLEM WITH PLANT PROTEIN IS THAT IT ISN’T COMPLETE WITH ALL OF THE NEEDED AMINO ACIDS FOR OUR BODY TO FORM “COMPLETE PROTEIN.” THE TRICK IF YOU’RE VEGETARIAN IS TO EAT A GRAIN WITH A BEAN IN THE SAME MEAL. ALSO, REMEMBER THAT PLANT MATERIAL, CELLULOSE, IS NOT DIGESTIBLE INTO USEFUL NUTRIMENT UNLESS YOU'RE A COW OR HORSE, SO CHEW YOUR VEGETARIAN MEAL WELL TO CRUSH THE CELLULOSE.

ON THE SUBJECT OF STRICTLY VEGETARIAN DIETS, I KNEW A WOMAN YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS IN MY THIRTIES WHO WAS ON A RIGID NO MEAT DIET OF SOME KIND (MACROBIOTIC, MAYBE) AND NOT ONLY WAS SHE SKINNY AS A RAIL, BUT HER HAIR WAS FALLING OUT. JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING BECOMES A POPULAR IDEA IN A SEGMENT OF SOCIETY, DOESN’T MEAN THAT IT IS HEALTHY OR WISE.

AS FOR CRUEL WAYS OF RAISING, TREATING AND KILLING ANIMALS, HOWEVER, I DO HATE THAT, AND I EMPATHIZE WITH PETA MEMBERS’ COURAGEOUSLY INFILTRATING FARMS TO GET PROOF OF HIDEOUS PRACTICES, EXPOSING THEM TO THE SUNLIGHT OF POPULAR AND LEGAL ATTENTION. BEING CALLED JACK WAGON IS THE LEAST HARMFUL THING THAT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN TO THEM IF THEY ARE CAUGHT. IT’S GREAT TO SEE COURTS INTERVENING TO OVERTURN THE AG GAG LAWS.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/08/536186914/judge-overturns-utahs-ag-gag-ban-on-undercover-filming-at-farms
Judge Overturns Utah's 'Ag-Gag' Ban On Undercover Filming At Farms
July 8, 20174:13 PM ET
BILL CHAPPELL

Photograph -- A farm sits at the foot of sandstone formations in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument on May 11, 2017 outside Escalante, Utah.
George Frey/Getty Images

A federal judge has ruled Utah's ban on secretly filming farm and slaughterhouse operations is unconstitutional, striking down what critics call an "ag-gag" law that Utah enacted in 2012.

The ban violates the First Amendment's free-speech protections, U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby said.

Shelby rejected the state's defense of the law, saying Utah had failed to show the ban was intended to ensure the safety of animals and farm workers from disease or injury.

In his ruling, Shelby noted that one of the bill's sponsors in the state legislature, Rep. John Mathis, said the ban was a response to "a trend nationally of some propaganda groups ... with a stated objective of undoing animal agriculture in the United States." The judge noted that another sponsor, Sen. David Hinkins said it targeted "vegetarian people that [are] trying to kill the animal industry."

A farmer who supported the ban had said he and his colleagues "don't want some jack wagon coming in taking a picture of them," according to the court's citation of state records.

The challenge to Utah ban was filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, PETA, and Amy Meyer, the director of the Utah Animal Rights Coalition. Meyer was arrested in 2013 while she filmed workers using heavy machinery to move a sick cow at a slaughterhouse in Draper City. At the time, Meyer was on public property; the charges against her were later dismissed.

"I was shocked when I was the one charged with a crime instead of that animal's abusers," Meyer said after the court ruled in her favor Friday. "It should never be a crime to tell the story of an animal who is being abused and killed, even if it's for food."

After acknowledging the importance of the agricultural industry in the U.S. — and the government's longtime interest in supporting the industry — Shelby wrote:

"Utah undoubtedly has an interest in addressing perceived threats to the state agricultural industry, and as history shows, it has a variety of constitutionally permissible tools at its disposal to do so. Suppressing broad swaths of protected speech without justification, however, is not one of them."

It's the second time a federal court has overturned a ban on filming at farms: In 2015, a district court judge ruled that Idaho's "ag-gag" law was unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause.

The Idaho case — Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Wasden — is currently pending in the Ninth Circuit, after Idaho filed an appeal.

Since the 1990s, at least 16 states have adopted "ag-gag" laws, from Kansas, Montana, and North Dakota to Iowa and North Carolina.


SOME RIGHTIST PEOPLE MAY VIEW ME AS A “SNOWFLAKE,” BUT ACTUALLY WHAT I AM IS AN SJW, A “SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR.” SO, GET YOUR XENOPHOBIC INSULTS RIGHT!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/whos-the-snowflake-faith-salie-a-chilly-riposte-to-political-insults/
CBS NEWS July 9, 2017, 10:50 AM
Who's the snowflake? A chilly riposte to political insults

It's the political put-down of the moment: "Snowflake." And to its fans, Faith Salie has one word of advice: CHILL!

Even though it's the middle of summer, there's an awful lot of talk about snowflakes. This is the "it" insult that's caused a blizzard on the political landscape.

Snowflake, Loser, and Other Political Jabs (Slate)
"Poor little snowflake" -- the defining insult of 2016 (Guardian)

The dig in its current use stems from the '90s book and movie "Fight Club," in which the narrator informs his listeners, "You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake."

Some started calling today's youth "Generation Snowflake," bemoaning their perceived hyper-sensitivity. And then "snowflake" became a word-weapon to express a broad kind of anti-intellectualism aimed at campuses and communities where cultural sensitivity is a must.

Cut to the 2016 election, when "snowflake" emerged as the knee-jerk conservative gibe to shut down political opponents, especially during debates around tolerance.

How "Snowflake" became America's inescapable tough-guy taunt (New York Times)
Clinton supporters and snowflakes distraught, country no longer a "safe space" (iheartradio)
Why Trump supporters love calling people "Snowflakes" (GQ)

More recently, some liberals have taken up the snowball fight by calling out the current president for being a thin-skinned, self-perceived victim.

Van Jones: Trump is "President Snowflake" (CNN)
President Snowflake: Trump needs a safe space in Europe (Daily Beast)
Jennifer Granholm: Trump a "snowflake" for tweet attacking Mika Brzezinski (CNN)

Now seems a good time to melt this trend by saying:

I'm a snowflake. And so are you. Your children are snowflakes. And so are mine. And those who protest the loudest about not being snowflakes? I can see your six-fold ice crystals from here!

Because every person, empirically, is unique. And special. And flawed. And we are all, at times, fragile. Snowflakery is simply being human, which makes it a pretty flakey insult.

Look, a bunch of snowflakes creates a storm -- a white blanket that covers things so you can't get to what's underneath.

So to those on the right and the left, enough with "snowflake." It's not a cool insult.

"You're fragile and melty!" "No, you're fragile and melty!" is really just another way of saying, "I know you are, but what am I?"

It's fitting that an insult largely aimed at youth has made children of those who use it. "Snowflake" reminds us how much we need climate change … in politics.



I HAVE INCLUDED THIS ARTICLE FROM TODAY’S NEWS BECAUSE THE ERIE CANAL SONG IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES. SOME OF THOSE BALLADS FROM THE 1950S AND 60S ARE REALLY BEAUTIFUL. TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD SANG MANY OF THEM. MY FAVORITE OF HIS IS “SIXTEEN TONS,” WHICH IS A TRUE-TO-LIFE SONG ABOUT THE PAINFUL LIFE OF COAL MINERS IN THE OLD DAYS. I THINK THEY HAVE MORE MACHINERY TO HELP NOW, BUT THEY TOOK PICKS INTO THE MINE AND WHACKED AWAY AT THE COAL SEAMS, AND SOMETIMES THE CEILING WOULD COLLAPSE, KILLING THE MINERS. THE OTHER, AND MORE INSIDIOUS DANGER, IS THAT OF CARBON MONOXIDE*, WHICH CAN FORM SPONTANEOUSLY IN LOW TEMPERATURES FROM THE COMBINATION OF CARBON AND OXYGEN, OR SIMPLY COME INTO THE MINE FROM THE EXHAUST OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES BEING USED THERE.

SO LIFE IN POOR APPALACHIAN AREAS IS OFTEN JUST AS PERILOUS AND DESPERATE AS THE POVERTY IN NON-WHITE MINORITY COMMUNITIES. THAT’S WHY WE NEED TO KEEP SOME GOOD PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS AROUND, HOPEFULLY TO KEEP KOCH BROTHERS’ ETHICS FROM KILLING US SLOWLY (OR RAPIDLY, PERHAPS.) SEE ALSO: HTTPS://ARLWEB.MSHA.GOV/ILLNESS_PREVENTION/HEALTHTOPICS/CARBONMONOXIDE.HTM.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/all-hail-the-erie-canal-200th-anniversary/
CBS NEWS July 9, 2017, 9:09 AM
All hail the Erie Canal

THE WAY WEST became a lot easier for 19th century Americans thanks to the canal they started to build 200 years ago this past Tuesday ... so much easier, in fact, that people are STILL singing its praises. Our Sunday Morning Cover Story is reported by Richard Schlesinger:

Even though the Erie Canal quite literally helped shape this nation, this is what so many people think of first when the canal comes up in conversation:

"I've got an old mule and her name is Sal,
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal…"

But except for the fact that mules did indeed drag boats along the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo, even singer and historian Dave Ruch will tell you the song actually has very little to do with it.

Web extra: "The Erie Canal Song"
Play VIDEO
Web extra: "The Erie Canal Song"

Was it ever actually sung on the Erie Canal? "Turns out, it's a 20th century song," Ruch said. "It's actually written by a professional songwriter who was from, of all places, Massachusetts.

"Thomas S. Allen, he comes to Rochester, New York around 1910, sees the canal for the first time, hears the phrase 'low bridge,' and he ends up composing the song. It's the only canal song he wrote. Not only was he not a canal man, but no one ever sang the song, at least on the 19th century canal."

The canal, which turned 200 years old last Tuesday, was championed by a man who was as stubborn as a mule: Dewitt Clinton, a mayor of New York City who became governor of the state. He spent 10 years fighting to sell this project to a deeply skeptical public. "It was not an easy sell," said Brad Utter, a New York State Historian.

erie-canal-boat-and-mule-lockport-620.jpg
THE HISTORY CENTER OF THE NIAGARA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Presidents Jefferson and Madison refused to help fund the canal, so Clinton had to raise the $7 million needed to build it.

Some people thought it was a great idea. "But not with my money," said Utter. "You're a little crazy, because you're trying to go through swamps and virgin forests, and there's no labor, there's no machinery to do that kind of thing. This is all new!"

It was a gargantuan undertaking for a nation just 41 years old. The canal would be dug by hand, every inch of it -- 40 feet wide, 4 feet deep -- for 363 miles. Eighty-three locks would have to be built.

But Clinton kept at it -- financed the project with some state money and by selling bonds -- and construction began July 4, 1817.

It was completed in just eight years -- in advance and under budget.


<b>A trip that could have taken six weeks before the canal now took less than one week, and cost one-tenth of an overland trip. So as soon as it opened, the canal was overwhelmed with traffic, and it paid for itself with tolls in just 10 years.

"Sometimes there was a day or two wait just to get through the locks," said John McKee, who operates the locks in Lockport, N.Y. "Boats would be packed up on both sides of the banks. And of course while they were lined up, waiting to go through, they would spend their time and money in town here. And that added to the population here in Lockport."

Population grew in towns all along the canal. Rochester, N.Y. Mayor Lovely Warren traces the beginnings of her city to the canal.

"The Erie Canal was the foundation of Rochester," Mayor Warren said. "It was the foundation of our industry. We were a flour mill city, and that's the way that Rochester first started to build itself up. Population started to grow once the Erie Canal came into fruition."

view-on-the-erie-canal-john-william-hill-1830-1832-nypl-620.jpg
"View on the Erie Canal" (1830-32) by John William Hill. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

But the canal also accelerated the western expansion of the nation. People and commerce were able to reach and develop what would become the American Midwest. A region that was isolated and landlocked was now connected, via the canal and the Hudson River, down to New York City and the world.

Within just a year or two, Utter said, there were calls to make the Erie Canal even bigger.

And they did. By 1862 the canal was almost twice as wide and twice as deep. People, goods and ideas flowed 24 hours a day in both directions.

erie-canal-mules-at-lyons-620.jpg
"The impact that the Internet has had on our culture and our society is very similar to the impact that the canal had -- sharing ideas, making things faster," said Utter.

The canal was also a link in the Underground Railroad: "Frederick Douglass would bring slaves here and actually lead them to freedom," said Mayor Warren.

The first women's rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, a canal town; and Joseph Smith started the Mormon religion in Palmyra, along the shores of the canal.

But the progress and prosperity was not shared by all. The canal was dug right through traditional Native American land, displacing many who lived there, to make way for the commerce that grew steadily for decades ... until the next great advance: railroads.

"The Iron Horse was there to compete," said Utter. "The canal was more efficient; you could pull more with less energy, and it's cheaper. But the railroad was fast."

The railroad took passenger traffic first, leaving the canal boats to haul mostly freight. But by the 1950s, most of the freight traffic was gone, too.

Today most of the boats John McKee puts through the locks are pleasure-craft. The gates are operated by motors that are a century old.

McKee and most everyone who works on the canal system feels the history of what in its early days was derided as "Clinton's Ditch."

Josh Pagan keeps digging today to keep the canal deep enough. "I realize that I worked at a museum that's stretched from the Hudson River to the Niagara River in Buffalo and connected us to Lake Ontario," Pagan said.

The value of the canal cannot be measured anymore in tons of freight or numbers of passengers that it moves. But it is hard not to be moved by the canal itself -- and the achievement, two centuries ago, of just getting it dug.

"What it represents," said singer Dave Ruch, "is American ingenuity and American spirit. And so the fact that we still have this canal here today, I think it should be celebrated as long as we can keep it here."