Suspect Eats Evidence During Arrest .. Cops get OWNED

AP Throws Pity Party for Overwhelmed Obama: Oil Spill Just One Priority

On Saturday, the Associated Press informed its readers that President Obama cannot be expected to focus all of his attention on the Gulf Coast oil spill.

The reason? Presidents have to juggle a number of pressing issues at a time, and what with America being in a recession, Obama simply cant afford to give sole focus to this disaster.

Too bad the AP wasnt so understanding in 2005 when President Bush was perceived as being detached from the suffering in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Back then, the wire service was quick to mention vacation plans and peddle accusations of the federal government not caring about the poor.

But what a difference with a Democrat in the White House: as BPs efforts to plug the leak continue to fail, there is increasing danger of Americans putting partial blame on an ineffective government - and we just cant have that.

In 2006, Rendell said that he didn?t exactly offer Hoeffel a job quid pro quo but rather dangled the prospect of a job in front of him to convince him not to run. ?I said come back and see me if you do it,? Rendell explained. ?He came back and saw me, and he was out of public service.  I appointed him as a deputy secretary of commerce.  He did a great job.?

But Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, attempted to draw a distinction between the two examples. He said on ?Fox News Sunday? that Rendell?s offer to Hoeffel was different because the Pennsylvania governor ?carefully made sure he did not offer [Hoeffel] a job as a quid pro quo.?

?Gov. Rendell just made the point for us.  If he had offered a job in order to get out of the race, it would have been a crime, a crime under a law signed, of all things, by President Clinton during his administration,? Issa said.

Black Panthers Prepare for War Against Tea Party

Here are some recent underreported headlines that you may have missed:

* Underemployment Hits 20% in Mid-March

* Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs

* As economic fears rise, families on verge of unraveling

* Bad economy blamed for high suicide rate in U.S.

* Arizona budget cuts education, health care for the poor

* Kansas City closing nearly half its schools

* Illinois budget crisis sharpens - measures being planned will severely impact students, teachers

* US food charities overwhelmed by demand

* ?I Borrow Money to Buy Food,? Says City Employee as Detroit Mayor Prepares for Draconian Pay Cuts

* Small town must choose between cops and bankruptcy

* Social Security Payout to Exceed Revenue This Year

* Are Pension Liabilities Set to Explode?

* Obama Packs Debt Commission with Social Security Looters

* Nevada budget cuts worsen the social crisis

* Vallejo, California struggles to keep city safe during bankruptcy, heavy cuts to police force

The ?top kill? procedure for choking off the gushing seabed well in the Gulf of Mexico was not quite the last best chance, but close. Now that it has failed, BP, with authorization from the Obama administration, is moving to cut away the tangle of pipe from the well and install a small containment cap, called the ?lower marine riser package.?

Hundreds die in Indian heatwave

Death toll expected to rise as India faces record temperatures of up to 122F in hottest summer on recor

Record temperatures in northern India have claimed hundreds of lives in what is believed to be the hottest summer in the country since records began in the late 1800s.

The death toll is expected to rise with experts forecasting temperatures approaching 50C (122F) in coming weeks. More than 100 people are reported to have died in the state of Gujarat where the mercury topped at 48.5C last week. At least 90 died in Maharashtra, 35 in Rajasthan and 34 in Bihar.

Hospitals in Gujarat have been receiving around 300 people a day suffering from food poisoning and heat stroke, ministers said. Officials admit the figures are only a fraction of the total as most of the casualties are found in remote rural villages.

Charlie Rose Brain Series Episode One. Tonight?s introductory topic-- The Great Mysteries of the Human Brain: consciousness, free will, perception, cognition, emotion and memory with a roundtable of brain researchers. Co-Host Eric Kandel from Columbia University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Cornelia Bargmann from Rockefeller University, Tony Movshon from New York University, John Searle from University of California Berkeley and Gerald Fischbach of the Simons Foundation

RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

California Mom Finds Kidnapped Daughter on Facebook

A father is behind bars, arrested for allegedly kidnapped his own children from California 14 years ago, and bringing them to Central Florida to live.

For years, investigators have been searching for him, but it was the social networking website Facebook that delivered the break it took more than a decade to get, MyFoxOrlando reports.

Faustino Utrera is now charged with two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of violating child custody orders.

According to the Osceola County Sheriffs Office, Utrera was at a bus stop on Wednesday at about 2:30 in the afternoon, waiting to pick up his 16-year-old son from school, when he was taken into custody.

Faustinos 16-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter had been attending celebration high school. Investigators said the family of three had actually been living in the palm key mobile home park in Polk County.

When the moon passes between the earth and the sun, it casts a huge shadow over the earth as it blocks out the sunlight. For those at the edge of the shadow (the penumbra) the eclipse is partial; the moon seems to take a bite out of the sun as it passes. But observers standing in the center of the shadow (the umbra) see a spectacular solar eclipse.

Unfamiliar and beautiful features become visible around the edge of the sun. The prominences-the reddish spikes that protrude from the sun beyond the dark edge of the moon-are columns of incandescent hydrogen; they extend thousands of miles above the sun?s surface. The sun?s halo, the pearly white corona, also becomes visible.

For less than eight minutes these wondrous aspects of the sun are revealed in an eerie twilight. Then the moon continues inexorably in its orbit around the earth, and the spectacle is over.

Sure, it?s a holiday Monday, but that doesn?t mean the news just stops.

We came upon this video over the weekend, of a kitten smothering a Boston Terrier ? with more kisses than we could count.

We?ll get back to all the depressing news of the day in a moment. But for all of you still enjoying your Memorial Day weekend, go ahead and grab your coffee, call the kids around, and bask in the unlikely, giddy spectacle of a dog and cat, making out on the couch.

Enjoy:

Pat Martin is the NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre. Last week he told reporters that members of the Catholic lay order, Opus Dei, "give me the creeps".

Im sure thats true. Martin doesnt like Christians in general, even when theyre doing social services in his own decrepit downtown, a downtown that has got more decrepit under his watch as MP. Martin would rather have urban decay than development, if the developers are Christian. Heres his own hometown paper calling him out as "irrational" for his anti-Christian outburst earlier this year.

But Martin went further this time. In response to news that fifteen or so MPs and staff had a meeting in the Parliamentary restaurant with the Canadian vicar of Opus Dei, Martin didnt just call conservative Catholics creepy, he expressed his objection that any MP would invite such people to soil the sacred precincts of Parliament Hill. Martin "certainly wouldnt attend anything associated with them," he said. Heres a video of Martins comments:

More than 10 people have been killed after Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army says.

Armed forces boarded the vessels overnight, clashing with some of the 600 protesters on board.

It happened about 40 miles (64 km) out to sea, in international waters.

Israel says its soldiers were shot at and attacked with bars and knives; the activists say Israeli troops came on board shooting.

The European Union has called for an inquiry to establish what happened.

Turkish TV pictures taken on board the Turkish ship leading the flotilla appeared to show Israeli soldiers fighting to control passengers.

Al-Jazeera TV reported from the same ship that Israeli navy forces had opened fire and boarded the vessel, wounding the captain.

Israeli government minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed his "sorrow over all the deaths".

Most of the people on board the boats were Turkish.

They are better known for wallowing in swamps rather than their surfing skills but this hippo clearly had a whale of a time splashing around in the ocean.

Spotted in the water near the holiday town of Ballito, near Durban in South Africa, the rare sighting of a hippo catching some waves fascinated residents and wildlife experts alike.  

The hippos life is at risk as he moves further south because he is coming closer to humans and may run out of food

The hippo was swimming dangerously close to the shore and even wandered around the beach in between swims

How Sydneys iconic Opera House is at risk of financial tragedy

SYDNEYS global icon the Opera House is in such severe financial straits it could face permanent closure, sources claimed last night.

The cash crisis is so desperate, performers lives are at risk from ancient stage machinery because there is no money to update it, damning internal reports reveal.

Desperate government action was needed to keep the venue operating, a senior Opera House source said.

"The nation has used and abused the Opera House since day one but very few governments have put their hand up to to contribute to overall maintenance," the source said.

"The reports clearly indicate if something radical isnt done here, the Opera House will have to close."

In April last year Prime Minister Kevin Rudd reportedly hit the roof after The Daily Telegraph revealed former premier Nathan Rees planned a $900 million rebuild.

Gulf Oil Spill Update: Obama Spends 3 Hours in Louisiana, Regularly Spends 5 Hours on Golf Course

Keep in mind during the first 36 days of Katrina Bush made 7 visits to the Gulf Coast, in 39 days Obama has made two?

Last forever!

Harvard Study: More Government Spending Means Fewer Jobs

The Second Amendment

NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT | Charles Durning | PBS

A Michigan lawmaker wants to license reporters to ensure they?re credible and vet them for ?good moral character.?  

Senator Bruce Patterson is introducing legislation that will regulate reporters much like the state does with hairdressers, auto mechanics and plumbers. Patterson, who also practices constitutional law, says that the general public is being overwhelmed by an increasing number of media outlets--traditional, online and citizen generated--and an even greater amount misinformation.

?Legitimate media sources are critically important to our government,? he said.

He told FoxNews.com that some reporters covering state politics don?t know what they?re talking about and they?re working for publications he?s never heard of, so he wants to install a process that?ll help him and the general public figure out which reporters to trust.

Patterson said he wants a central place where members of the public can go to find out about reporters? credentials, background and experience.

The desperate ongoing operation to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster is not deterring the Canadian government from ?soliciting bids? for offshore drilling, according to press reports.

Yet despite US president Obama?s six-month freeze on offshore drilling, the Canadian government is ?moving ahead with plans to grant new offshore oil-exploration licences in Canadas Arctic,? according to a separate Vancouver Sun report, Canada still inviting offshore drilling bids. It states:

Moreover, any company granted an exploration licence in Canadas portion of the
Beaufort Sea will be subjected to less environmental scrutiny than companies
wishing to explore on the U.S. side, critics say.

Some conservative talk show hosts and pundits have mounted an effort to politicize Memorial Day by questioning President Obamas plan to visit a national cemetery in Illinois instead of attending the annual ceremony at Arlington.

Lets set the record straight. Mr. Obama will participate today in a ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois, about 50 miles south of Chicago. He is not the first president to be away from Washington on a patriotic holiday.

This is far from a complete list, but presidents have been at places other than Arlington on Memorial Day.

Some of Mr. Obamas conservative critics have also used his Memorial Day plan to question his commitment to the military.

She noted, "Our heroes are interred all over the nation. The President of the United States should be remembering and honoring the men and women who have fought for this country. It doesnt matter where he does that as long as he never forgets them."

How the police can seize your stuff when you have not been proven guilty of anything

Calgary boy to return after 2 years in U.S.

A United States judge has ruled a 12-year-old Calgary boy can return to Canada after being shuffled through a series of foster homes in Oregon for nearly two years.

Lisa Kirkman says her son Noah Kirkman, who was 10 years old at the time, was picked up by Oregon police for not wearing his bike helmet while on a summer vacation with his stepfather in 2008.

U.S. officials didnt recognize Noahs stepfather as a legal guardian, so the boy was sent to a foster home.

After a long legal battle, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday that Noah would be allowed to return to Canada.

?Im elated,? Kirkman said. ?Finally. Its been so long and we finally have a solid yes, he is going home, absolutely for sure he is going home.?

Kirkman said the news is hard to believe after waiting so long to bring Noah home.

A date for Noahs return has not yet been set, but his family says it likely wont be until at least the end of June, when the school year is finished.

Deep Water Horizon Moments after Explosion Live Footage

Whistleblower provides data on CIA-front Evergreen Airlines-- A population control spray plane company

Five Awesome Free Android Apps for Photo Editing

Given how quickly Android is catching up with the iPhone, here are five great and free Android apps if you are into photography.

1. Camera Illusion:

2. PicSay

3. Photoshop.com Mobile

4. FxCamera

5. Vignette

One of the key aspects of the emerging Internet of Things - where real-world objects are connected to the Internet - is the massive amount of new data on the Web that will result. As more and more things in the world are connected to the Internet, it follows that more data will be uploaded to and downloaded from the cloud. And this is in addition to the burgeoning amount of user-generated content - which has increased 15-fold over the past few years, according to a presentation that Google VP Marissa Mayer made last August at Xerox PARC. Mayer said in that presentation that this "data explosion is bigger than Moores law."

Like Mayer, Ranganathan compared the online data growth rate to Moores Law. He told me that its rising significantly faster than Moores Law. HP CEO Mark Hurd put it this way in June 2009: "more data will be created in the next four years than in the history of the planet."

Last Position Received

Voyage Related Info (Last Received)

Recent Port Calls:

Scientists say an Aboriginal rock art depiction of an extinct giant bird could be Australias oldest painting.

The red ochre painting, which depicts two emu-like birds with their necks outstretched, could date back to the earliest days of settlement on the continent.

It was rediscovered at the centre of the Arnhem Land plateau about two years ago, but archaeologists first visited the site a fortnight ago.

A palaeontologist has confirmed the animals depicted are the megafauna species Genyornis.

Archaeologist Ben Gunn said the giant birds became extinct more than 40,000 years ago.

"The details on this painting indicate that it was done by someone who knew that animal very well," he said.

He says the detail could not have been passed down through oral storytelling.

"If it is a Genyornis, and it certainly does have all the features of one, it would be the oldest dated visual painting that weve got in Australia," he said.

Up to 25 Bodies Found in Mexican Silver Mine

MEXICO CITY  -- Between 20 and 25 bodies were recovered from an abandoned silver mine in southern Mexico, apparently victims of drug gang violence, federal police commissioner Facundo Rosas said Sunday.

The corpses appear to have accumulated over an undetermined time as they were tossed over a 300-foot  precipice into the abandoned mine, located near Taxco, a colonial-era city popular with international tourists. The region is dotted by hundreds of mines.

Rosas said authorities were alerted to the mass grave by a suspect and they began pulling bodies from the mine late Saturday and continued their work Sunday. He didnt give the identities or causes of death of the victims.

Police and military crews exploring the underground site wore breathing equipment to guard against the possible noxious gases in the mine.

Giant Mosquito Swarm to Hit East Coast

Maher: Obama Not Acting Like A "Real Black" President

HBOs Bill Maher: "I thought when we elected a black president, we were going to get a black president. You know, this [BP oil spill] is where I want a real black president. I want him in a meeting with the BP CEOs, you know, where he lifts up his shirt where you can see the gun in his pants. Thats -- (in black man voice) weve got a motherfu**ing problem here? Shoot somebody in the foot."

London, May 31 (ANI): Talks are on between the British Government and Royal Palace aides on providing a multi-million-pound pay-hike to Queen Elizabeth.

The request is likely to anger of British taxpayers in the wake of the coalition government recently announcing cuts of six billion pounds to revitalise the economy.

The Queen currently receives 7.9 million pounds annually for her official duties.

According to The Sun, her official budget is estimated to be overspent by 6 million pounds a year. It is being covered by a 35million pound emergency reserve, which is expected to run out by 2012.

Considering the surrounding circumstances, the request couldn?t have been more ill-timed.

?By sheer chance, the timing is delicate and no one knew that it would be announced so soon after a change of government,? said a senior royal source. (ANI)

Perhaps the Queen should take a cut like the rest of us

Ar...

It should come as no surprise that experts in avoiding and stopping blowouts of oil and gas wells long ago saw the deep-ocean drilling frontier as particularly dangerous terrain.

Back in 1997, an offshore-drilling newsletter ran an article by  Larry Flak, a veteran well blowout expert, at Boots & Coots at the time, listing a variety of paths leading to a seabed blowout and stated flatly that stopping one would be an enormous challenge.

His bottom line? ?Options are limited, so prevention and fast action are critical.?

Flak, who later  moved to Signa Engineering, would have been great to have on hand right now, but sadly he died last year in a recreational boating accident. (Flak?s 1997 article was brought to my attention by a Dot Earth reader, Ike Solem.)

Very, very smoggy Shanghai

Israel kills activists as forces storm flotilla bound for Gaza

Israel today stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid to Gaza, killing 10 pro-Palestinian activists and injuring dozens.

The ships, several of them Turkish, were carrying medical equipment and other aid to highlight the three-year-old Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory. The attack took place 40 miles out to sea, in international waters.

The Israel Defence Forces confirmed that at least 10 protesters were killed and four naval officers wounded, one seriously. Israeli Arab groups say a prominent activist is among the wounded.

The two sides offered conflicting versions of events, with a reporter on one of the boats saying the Israelis fired at the vessel before boarding it.

According to tweets from activists on board the ships, Israeli forces dropped from helicopters on to the deck of the Turkish passenger ship, the Marvi Mamara, at around 4.30am, and immediately opened fire. The ship was surrounded by navy vessels.

Speaker: Mark Regev.

?I hope you people in the media all get the message! Israel is innocent. As usual.

Its soldiers, arriving on an early morning goodwill visit to the convoy carrying teddy bears and chocolates, were attacked, yes attacked I say, by those vicious terrorists on the Aid Convoy, all 800 of them, even the children.

The terrorists, wearing red body armor, carried flame throwers, maces, broadswords, crossbows, spears. Some were even armed with machine guns, grenade launchers, Apache helicopters, F-16s, missiles, boiling oil, scorpions, etc.

The IDF, the most moral army in the world, showing their normal restraint, tried to fight back with their bears but they were largely overcome, but not entirely. Unfortunately, 19 of the terrorists fell over and broke their necks while some others, nearly 60, had heart problems or slipped discs.

?Would I lie to you??

The Vatican official in charge of catching paedophile priests has said their punishment in hell would be worse than receiving the death penalty on earth.

Monsignor Charles Scicluna issued the warning to seminarians at St Peters basilica, in Rome, during prayers for abuse victims.

Quoting Gregory the Great, an early pope and monk who laid down rules for the clergy, he said a paedophile priest who exploited his office would get tougher treatment in hell than a layman.

"It would be really better for him that his evil deeds cause him death" under secular laws, he said.

Scicluna added that those who hurt children should be thrown into the sea with a millstone around their neck.

In his sermon, he also suggested that priests who covered up abuse committed by colleagues would also face the fires of hell.

In recent years astronomers have realized that some of the billions of galaxies scattered through space-a few in every hundred-are in violent turmoil at their cores. Huge quantities of light, heat radiation, radio waves, and X-rays pour out from the centers of these active galaxies.

In recent years astronomers have realized that some of the billions of galaxies scattered through space-a few in every hundred-are in violent turmoil at their cores. Huge quantities of light, heat radiation, radio waves, and X-rays pour out from the centers of these active galaxies.

What is responsible for the jets is a quasar. Through an optical telescope, quasars look like ordinary stars. But they pour out far more energy-actually more than many a galaxy, from an area no larger than the solar system. Quasar 3C 273, for example, is 20 times brighter than the galaxy in which it is embedded.

Paul McGeough, Kate Geraghty on convoy boat during Israeli attack

Fairfax journalist Paul McGeough and photographer Kate Geraghty were on board the MV Samoud.

Israels army said more than 19 people died when its forces stormed a flotilla of aid-carrying ships.

"Theyre on assignment covering the flotilla," the Fairfax spokesman said earlier.

"He said they (Israeli forces) were beginning to jam communications and we havent been able to communicate with them since."

US Navy Veterans Association Shut Down by Ohio Attorney General

Ohio Slams Door on Charity 

Senator Webb calls for IRS Investigation

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray yesterday ordered the US Navy Veterans Association to immediately cease all fund raising in the state. This follows a lengthy investigation and a series of news stories by The St. Petersburg Times which raised a thick cloud of suspicion about the legitimacy of the ?charity.?

The AG?s Charitable Law section sent a letter signed by Chief Investigator Pete Thomas to the group and to various individuals named as its directors. The letter cites a long list of violations of Ohio?s registration requirements, including:

China Flexes Supercomputing Muscle in Top 500 Rankings

China flexed its computing muscle with a supercomputer called Nebulae, rocketing to second place on the biannual Top500 list, which ranks the most powerful computers in the world.

The new supercomputer, which was made by Dawning and installed at Chinas National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen, combines Nvidia graphics processors and Intel Xeon CPUs to provide 1.27 petaflops of performance. However, it could not top the Jaguar supercomputer at the U.S. Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which held on to the top spot in the Top500 list with 1.76 petaflops of performance

The list was published on Monday at the International Supercomputing Conference 2010 conference in Hamburg, Germany. The list is published twice a year by Top500.org.

How regulators can look the other way at non-human trading, a/k/a high-frequency trading (which is over 73% of Wall Street volume) - and figure its OK to pit a machine against small investors has always been something of a financial miracle to me. 

Until, of course, I got hip to the term "captive regulators"; the regulators who work for government for a while then go to work in the private sector for phatkat deals offered by those they once held accountable on the publics behalf. 

And if thats not a reason, the real lowdown is in Ellen Browns savory Counterpunch article "Computerized Front-Running" which Max Keiser whos commentaries I catch on the Russian-owned RTV free satellite channel which somehow doesnt appear on most American systems because it, er, well, free and we cant have that can we?

Sleep plays a major factor in students? performance. Sleep deprivation affects memory, learning ability and behavior. Studies show that we have to sleep at least 8 hours for our minds to be in shape. But we all know that when we are young, it?s usual not to do it, at least all the time. Partying, drinking too much coffee or alcohol, too much television watching, going top bed late are usual between students.

These are the main reasons to easily fall asleep during classes and that?s why we can see so much cases like those in this picture collection.

Have a smile but be aware of the causes of these behaviors in class (or at work).

UK research into teenagers brains shows their mental processes are like those of younger children

Parents who despair over their teenagers lack of concentration in class, inability to sit still long enough to finish homework or plan ahead, should take solace. Their children are not being lazy or careless ? they are hapless victims of neurobiology.

New research has found that teenagers brains continue developing far longer into adulthood than previously thought. Adolescents may look like young adults but their brain structure resembles that of much younger children, according to the study to be published in the Journal of Neuroscience on Wednesday.

Power and the media are not just about cosy relationships between journalists and political leaders, between editors and presidents. They are not just about the parasitic-osmotic relationship between supposedly honourable reporters and the nexus of power that runs between White House and state department and Pentagon, between Downing Street and the foreign office and the ministry of defence. In the western context, power and the media is about words - and the use of words.

It is about semantics.

It is about the employment of phrases and clauses and their origins. And it is about the misuse of history; and about our ignorance of history.

More and more today, we journalists have become prisoners of the language of power.

Man almost has his penis amputated after 27 hour erection

A man tried to escape from a hospital in the Dominican Republic where he had been hospitalized for priapism, a condition characterized by a prolonged and painful erection not associated with sexual desire after learning that doctors planned to amputate his penis because he may have gangrene.

Luis Rodríguez Taveras, 45, had been admitted more than three weeks in a hospital of the north of the Dominican Republic because of this problem, which was caused by eating a lot of sexual stimulants. In statements given to local journalists later, Rodriguez declared that he had ingested drugs.

?In the hospital they told me that they had to cut my penis because I was turning black, and I could not even urinate,? he told to the Dominican media. ?That caused me terror.? Me without a penis? ?No? he said. Doctors who attended him found him in the outskirts of Santiago, 160 kilometers north of Santo Domingo.

On Sunday May 30 2010 while the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the Walk For Israel march in Toronto, members of the Canadian anti Zionist Jewish communities joined hundreds of pro Palestinian protesters. Rabbi Weiss from Neturei Karta was invited to speak among other local activists.

I wouldnt be surprised to hear that this is the same guy who used a trampoline to dress himself. After all, both tricks showed the same levels of creativity and athleticism, and were executed to perfection.  Come to think of it, I would be surprised to hear that it wasnt the same guy!

Hmmm...I wonder if this is how he gets into his house?  If so, I just hope he doesnt forget to leave the window open before leaving.

He Did What? (GIF)

In new research, Beaman & Williams (2010) asked 103 participants aged 15-57 all about their earworm experiences. Heres what they found:

• Many earworms were pop songs, although adverts and TV/film themes and video game tunes were also mentioned.
• One-third generally experienced the chorus or refrain over and over again, but almost half said that it varied.
• 10% of participants reported that earworms stopped them doing other things.
• Contrary to popular belief those with musical training were no more likely to experience earworms.

"The worsening humanitarian situation calls for an immediate, comprehensive and lasting end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza". This was the statement of a cross party group of European Parliament Members just back from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. They returned prior to the storming of an international aid ship bound for Gaza by Israeli commandos which has been condemned by Parliaments President Jerzy Buzek.

The delegations visit in Gaza was made possible thanks to the support of the Egyptian authorities, the Israeli authorities denying access to the Gaza strip.

The delegation points out that the siege has completely isolated the people of Gaza, condemning them to a life of extreme poverty, with 80% of the population dependant on food aid. Not only is the blockade hurting the population and creating a black market, it is also playing into the hands of the most radical factions and empowering them by providing them with extra funds.

More than four years ago, before time-lapse had become the exhausted animation cliché it is today, one guy lived every reluctant Los Angelano?s dream of escapism ? he spent seven days driving from LA to New York ? and compressed it in 4 brilliantly time-lapsed minutes.

Flotilla Civilians Under Attack by Israel

(Cyprus, June 1, 2010, 6:30 am) - Under darkness of night, Israeli commandoes boarded the Turkish passenger ship, Mavi Marmara, and began to shoot. According to the live video from the ship, two have been killed, and 31 injured. Al Jazeera has just confirmed the numbers. Israel says they are taking over the boats.

Streaming video shows the Israeli soldiers shooting at civilians, and our last SPOT beacon said, ?HELP, we are being contacted by the Israelis.? 

The coalition of Free Gaza Movement (FG), European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG), Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, Ship to Gaza Greece, Ship to Gaza Sweden, Gaza Freedom March, and the International Committee to Lift the Siege on Gaza appeal to the international community to demand that Israel stop their brutal attack on civilians delivering vitally needed aid to the imprisoned Palestinians of Gaza and permit the ships to continue on their way.

Seventy percent of children are suffering from trauma-related symptoms according to a study of 10,000 primary school students in the Shaab section of north Baghdad, conducted by the Iraqi Society of Psychiatrists and the World Health Organization. "Were now finding an elevation of mental health disorders in children -- emotional, conduct, peer, attention deficit," according to Iraqi psychiatrist Hashimi. "A number are even resulting in suicide."^[67]

Why Isnt BP Under Criminal Investigation?

Why hasnt the government launched a criminal investigation into BP?

Thats the question several former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials have been asking in the aftermath of the catastrophic explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig last month that killed 11 employees and ruptured a newly drilled well 5,000 feet below the surface and has spewed tens of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf if Mexico, which now stands as the largest spill in US history.

Like previous BP-related disasters in Alaska and Texas, evidence has emerged that appears to show BP knowingly cut corners on maintenance and safety on Deepwater Horizons operations, which, according to blogger bmaz, who writes about legal issues at Emptywheel, could amount to criminal violations of the Clean Water Act. Additionally, because people were killed, BP and company officials could also face prosecution for negligent and reckless homicide.

Mairead Corrigan Maguire founded the Community of the Peace People in 1976 along with Betty Williams and Ciaran McKeown. Mairead was the aunt of the three Maguire children who were hit by a getaway car after its driver was shot by a soldier. The deaths prompted a series of marches throughout Northern Ireland and further afield, all demanding an end to the violence. Mairead and Betty went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976.

iPad Sales Reach Two Million

Lack of Flash not hurting iPad sales with 2 million sold in under 60 days

The pro-Palestinian organizers had described the fleet with which they had hoped to break through the Israeli sea blockade of the Gaza Strip on Monday morning as a "humanitarian aid convoy." But as the Israeli army stormed the largest ship, the Mavi Marmara, the activists they encountered were in no way exclusively docile peaceniks. Some of the "peace activists" received the Israelis with crow bars and sling shots. Some of the self-professed "human rights activists" reportedly even tore the weapons from soldiers and began to shoot.

Amazing shot of ISS and Jupiter? during daytime!

The amazing pictures of the space station taken by ground-based amateur astronomers keeps on coming. On May 29th, Anthony Ayiomamitis used a 16 cm (6?) telescope to capture a phenomenal image of the International Space Station passing Jupiter? in broad daylight!

Wow! Note the color of the sky; it was about 9:00 a.m. local time when he took this shot, with the Sun well above the horizon. This is actually two images added together; the first shows the ISS to the lower right, and in the second shot it had moved to the upper left. Jupiter shows its disk near the center of the frame, it being easily bright enough to be seen using a telescope in daylight.

And one more, but it?s a link: Universe Today is reporting that an amateur got shots of the Air Force X37-B in orbit!

Scientists say an Aboriginal rock art depiction of an extinct giant bird could be Australias oldest painting.

The red ochre painting, which depicts two emu-like birds with their necks outstretched, could date back to the earliest days of settlement on the continent.

It was rediscovered at the centre of the Arnhem Land plateau about two years ago, but archaeologists first visited the site a fortnight ago.

"Either the painting is 40,000 years old, which is when science thinks Genyornis disappeared, or alternatively the Genyornis lived a lot longer than science has been able to establish."

The traditional owners of the land in the Northern Territory say they are excited the painting could be Australias oldest dated rock art.

The Jawoyn Associations Wes Miller says the painting is one of thousands rediscovered across Arnhem Land in recent years.

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to others is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken,
because the greatest hazard in life is to do nothing.

The person who risks nothing,
does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.

They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.

Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave,
they forfeited their freedom.

Only the person who risks can be free

THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

JEWS BEING HUNTED DOWN IN COPENHAGEN

Photo Gallery: Attack at Dawn

One prominent member of the convoy is Swedish crime novelist Henning Mankell. Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire from Northern Ireland and the 85-year-old Holocaust survivor and activist Hedy Epstein are also on board. Dozens of European politicians were reported to be on the flotilla, including two members of the German parliament.

More than 2,000 people in Amman protested what Jordans Information Minister Nabil Sharif dubbed a "heinous crime".

An armoured dinosaur with 4ft horns - the longest known among the extinct reptiles - has been unearthed in Mexico.

The 72 million-year-old rhino-sized plant-eater Coahuilaceratops magnacuerna was an ancestor of the famous three-horned Triceratops.

Like other horned dinosaurs, or ceratopsids, it had a large bony plate behind its head which would have acted as a shield.

Coahuilaceratops most notable feature are the two enormous horns that jut out from above its eyes.

Fossil bones of an adult animal, which weighed four to five tons, measured around 22ft, and stood six to seven feet tall at the shoulder and hip, were recovered from a site in the state of Coahuila, southern Mexico, in 2003.

Scientists believe the horns were most probably used in mating contests rather than to fight off predators.

Also discovered: An artists impression of a new pterosaur, named Alanqa saharica, which has been found during a dig in the Sahara desert

In a way, this book is the opposite of Barack Obamas famous memoir Dreams from My Father. The future President of the United States wrote of how he had tried to understand all of the non-American bits of his background, especially the Kenyan family of his father. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, on the other hand, is an African brought up in Africa. She comes from Somalia, and has also lived in Ethiopia and Kenya. Her fame derives from the fact that she boldly and absolutely rejected the Muslim faith in which she grew up. She sought asylum in Holland and became, for a time, a politician there. She collaborated with Theo Van Gogh, who was later murdered by an Islamist fanatic, on a film called Submission, about Islams oppression of women.

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The massive sand storm swept along at 70ft a minute

ISRAEL, Ideology of Trauma

MANY AMERICANS OF JEWISH DESCENT find themselves torn in two by the tyrannical and cruel actions Israel levels upon the Palestinians. Perversely, for these people, it is not so much rampant Anti-Semitism that causes us shame at our roots, but the actions of the Israel state. I am one.

Nothing to be proud of.