Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Carol Kuruvilla: Heartsick Boy Asks If Atheist Dad Is In Heaven. Pope Francis Reveals The Answer With A Hug. (Huffington Post)
A sobbing child told the pontiff his dead father was a good man, but he wondered if a nonbeliever could be in heaven.
Garrison Keillor: The true story of last weekend's blizzard
A yuge blizzard descended on Minnesota over the weekend and all of our people who went south for the winter got back home in time to experience it. It was truly yuge, a fabulous blizzard and the snow was up to the housetops and the highway patrol said, "Stay in your homes. Do not drive on account of rabid wolves and jackals running loose." But some of us went out anyway because that's how we are. America was not settled by the timid.
Stanley Cloud: "'A political volcano just erupted': is the US on the brink of the next Watergate?" (The Guardian)
As Trump threatens to fire Mueller, a journalist who was reporting during Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre reads the warning signs.
Dr. Michael Gregor: Antioxidant Supplements Increase Mortality (NutritionFacts.org)
As one study pointed out, "An obvious conclusion is that isolated nutrients are drugs, but not studied or regulated as drugs, and perhaps they should be. Food, on the other hand, needs to be treated in a different way, cognisant of the food synergy concept." The whole food is greater than the sum of its parts.
Charlotte Salley: Idle Hands Are the Dreamer's Tools (American Scholar)
Why lolling about is a worthwhile pursuit.
Chris Scott and Mike Bedard: 5 Reasons Growing Old In 2018 Is A Total Nightmare (Cracked)
Good news: People are living longer than ever. Bad news: what we just said. It turns out that our world wasn't made to take care of this many old people, leading to unexpected and unfortunate consequences for those foolish enough to stick with this whole "life" thing ... Wait, crap! That's us!
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Presenting
Michael Egan
replied:
= Hamster Dance
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
Stuart shared the attached.
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda (& Stuart)!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
THE "CRIMINAL IN CHIEF".
NUNERS.
GET OUT THE VOTE.
GOOD ADVICE.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and almost seasonal.
Tribeca
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro is still as anti-Trump as ever. Months after criticizing Donald Trump in an impassioned speech at the National Board of Review awards, the veteran actor continues to speak out against the reality star-turned-president. De Niro, who on Wednesday kicked off the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival with co-founder Jane Rosenthal in New York City, tells The Hollywood Reporter why it was important to highlight Trump's tense relationship with the press in this year's lineup.
"[Closing night doc] The Fourth Estate is an obvious one and a necessary film to see. ... It's about The New York Times and following the various reporters around and what they're dealing with on a daily basis," he says of the Liz Garbus-directed documentary, which will close out Tribeca on April 28. "It's just important to watch that, to see how they deal with the truth, and how the truth is distorted, and to see how they're just trying to keep things in balance."
De Niro adds: "It's insanity with Trump and his gang. They all buy into it. The only one I think who has any kind of dignity in his whole group is [Secretary of Defense James] Mattis. The rest are all hopeless."
According to Rosenthal, The Fourth Estate takes a closer look at the stories that Trump has irresponsibly labeled "fake news" since taking over the Oval Office in January 2017.
Echoing Rosenthal, De Niro tells THR that Trump "has no respect for [the truth]. … It's very dangerous what he's doing." "America's being run by a madman who won't recognize the truth. … When he doesn't like what he hears, he dismisses it by saying it's un-American and damning it as 'fake news.' But we know the truth. All thinking people do know the truth. Your job is difficult enough without being attacked by our lowlife-in-chief," he quipped. "That's the new name I have for him."
Robert De Niro
Comey Talk
ABC
Before airing George Stephanopoulos' interview with former FBI Director James Comey, ABC News made the unusual decision of releasing a full transcript of its nearly five-hour talk, including all the material that was not included in the broadcast.
ABC News President James Goldston said in an interview Monday that it was an important example of transparency, and that it had paid off with the transcript becoming by far the most popular item on ABC News' website.
Comey's interview, the first on the media tour to promote his book "A Higher Loyalty," was seen by 9.8 million viewers on Sunday night, the Nielsen company said. That's a good number for the network, which reached 3.6 million viewers in the same time slot the week before with the drama "Deception."
It was less than half of the 22 million people who watched adult film star Stormy Daniels talk on "60 Minutes" last month about her alleged affair with President Donald Trump, which he denies. Comey probably would have drawn more viewers if he gave his first interview to "60 Minutes"; the CBS show reached 10.4 million people on Sunday. But Comey reportedly sought more time on the air for his first interview, and ABC offered the full hour.
ABC
Renews 11 Series
CBS
CBS announced Wednesday that is has renewed 11 more of its current series.
The new renewals are: "Blue Bloods," "Bull," "Hawaii Five-O," "Madam Secretary," "MacGyver," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "NCIS: New Orleans," "Survivor," "The Amazing Race," "48 Hours," and "60 Minutes."
That brings CBS up to 17 renewed shows total, having previously renewed "The Big Bang Theory," "Young Sheldon," "Mom," "NCIS," "SEAL Team," and "SWAT." The network has therefore renewed their entire Tuesday and Friday night lineups at this point.
Noticeably absent are any of CBS' Monday shows, specifically "Kevin Can Wait," "Man With a Plan," "Superior Donuts," and "Scorpion," with the long-running drama series "Criminal Minds" also not yet renewed. Freshman comedies "9JKL" and "Living Biblically" are also awaiting official word on second seasons, though both of those shows have not been stellar ratings performers. "Life in Pieces," currently in its third season, has not yet been renewed as well.
Sunday drama "Instinct" and Saturday drama "Ransom" are also awaiting second season orders. "Instinct" sagged in the ratings after NCAA basketball ended, but has since bounced back. "Ransom," meanwhile, has sunk even lower in the ratings for its second season, but the show is a Canadian-Hungarian co-production, making it a relatively low cost acquisition for CBS.
CBS
First New Cinema
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday unveiled its first cinema in over 35 years with a private screening of the blockbuster "Black Panther", the first in a series of trial runs before movie theatres open to the wider public.
The invitation-only gala event comes after the conservative kingdom lifted the ban on cinemas last year as part of a far-reaching liberalisation drive, with US giant AMC Entertainment granted the first licence to operate movie theatres.
Anticipation had been building after the authorities announced earlier this month that Saudi Arabia's first cinema in over three decades would open on Wednesday, but officials dubbed the event at Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District a "dry run".
AMC chief executive Adam Aron said ticket sales will commence on Thursday for the first public shows on Friday.
The move to reopen cinemas is part of a modernisation drive by reformist Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is seeking to balance unpopular subsidy cuts in an era of low oil prices with more entertainment options -- despite opposition from hardliners.
Saudi Arabia
Pressuring Congress to Act on Dreamers
Koch-Backed Groups
The political machine backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch is stepping in to urge lawmakers to pass legislation to help the so-called Dreamers, the class of immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents and who benefitted from an Obama-era program that President Trump axed.
The Koch-backed LIBRE Initiative and Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce are launching a seven-figure campaign, including national broadcast, cable, and digital ads, to push for a permanent solution for Dreamers. Implicit in the decision is the choice to take on Trump and his base on the divisive Dreamers issue.
Starting Thursday, 30-second ads featuring clips of former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama discussing immigration reform in speeches will begin airing regionally. By Sunday, the ad will appear nationally.
"There is a bipartisan path forward on immigration that offers a permanent solution for our dreamers and a stronger border," a narrator says in the ad. "What are we waiting for?"
"Washington must come together and approve a bipartisan solution that provides certainty for Dreamers and security improvements along our border."
Koch-Backed Groups
Why Congressman Resigned So Abruptly
Farenthold
It's been a mystery why Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Oink) abruptly resigned earlier this month.
The House Ethics Committee was about to rule against Farenthold in its investigation into whether he sexually harassed members of his staff, used official money for campaign purposes and lied in previous testimony to the committee, according to the office of Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.).
The committee gave Farenthold a heads-up about its ruling, which it is legally required to do before issuing a decision, so he quit, per Speier's office. Speier, who is not a member of the committee, has been one of Farenthold's biggest critics and a vocal advocate for changing how sexual harassment allegations are handled in Congress.
By stepping down, Farenthold was able to avoid whatever punishment the committee would have handed down.
It's not clear what Farenthold's penalty would have been if the committee finished out its process. It might have required him to pay back the $84,000 in taxpayer money he spent to settle a previous sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a former female aide. The Texas Republican promised in December that he would pay back that money immediately, but he never did. By quitting Congress, he has even less incentive to pay it back.
Farenthold
Lawmakers Punish Memphis
Tennessee
The Republican-dominated House in Tennessee voted Tuesday to punish the city of Memphis for removing Confederate monuments by taking $250,000 away from the city that would have been used for a bicentennial celebration next year.
The retaliation came in the form of passage of a last-minute amendment attached to the House appropriations bill that triggered heated debate on the House floor and stinging rebukes from lawmakers from Memphis.
Rep. Antonio Parkinson began to call the amendment vile and racist before being cut off by boos from fellow lawmakers.
Last year the city of Memphis, which is majority black, was able to find a legal loophole to get rid of two Confederate statues and a bust by selling city parks to a nonprofit, which swiftly removed the monuments. Taken away under cover of darkness were statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was a general in the confederacy, a slave owner and a leader in the Ku Klux Klan. A bust of a Confederate soldier was also removed.
The amendment that stripped the money away from Memphis was sponsored by Matthew Hill, a Republican from Jonesborough.
Tennessee
Mysterious 'Dark Zone'
Greenland
From above, Greenland's ice sheet looks like a vast field of brilliant white - for the most part. In the summer months, the western margin is shaded by a dark zone that seems to have gotten darker in recent years, threatening to speed up the rate of melting.
A new study offers an explanation for the phenomenon, putting the blame on impurities like carbon and ice-dwelling algae.
The ice sheet covers more than 80 percent of Greenland's landmass -about 656,000 square miles (1.7 million square kilometers), an area three times the size of Texas, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The ice is more than a mile thick on average, and it holds 8 percent of the world's fresh water. If it melts completely, global sea levels would rise about 23 feet (7 meters), according to NASA.
Because of that disastrous prospect, scientists have been trying to understand why the shrinking of Greenland's ice sheet has been accelerating over the past few decades.
Blindingly white snow and ice have high reflectivity, or albedo, meaning they reflect more of the sun's energy than they absorb. Dark patches and meltwater, however, absorb more energy and can induce a positive feedback that leads to even more melting in an ice sheet. So, the dark zone in Greenland has become a focus of some recent research.
Greenland
Work Together To Escape
Baboons
Four baboons held at a Texas biomedical research facility briefly escaped on Saturday after figuring out how to use a large barrel to break free.
The baboons live at the Southwest National Primate Research Center, which is part of Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio. The facility houses around 2,500 animals - including about 1,100 baboons - used in studies about obesity, heart disease and insulin resistance, among others.
The escapees were inside an open-air enclosure, part of a group of 133 male baboons not currently being used for any tests.
The enclosure is surrounded by walls that fold inward to prevent the monkeys from jumping out. That wall, however, was apparently no match for four of the baboons, who rolled a 55-gallon barrel into an upright position, then climbed up on it and jumped out of the enclosure, according to a statement from TBRI.
The large blue barrels, which were filled with grains, were inside the enclosure as enrichment items for the baboons - the idea being that the animals could roll the barrels to dispense food to "help mimic foraging behaviors," the statement said. The enclosure and the blue barrels can be seen in this video uploaded to YouTube by TBRI:
Baboons
In Memory
Bruno Sammartino
He was professional wrestling's ultimate good guy. The son of Italian immigrants, Bruno Sammartino fled the Nazis as a child and built a career beating a string of bad guys that thrilled fans and made him reign as the conscientious champ for more than a decade.
Before the flash of The Hulkster, the electricity of The Rock and the foul-mouth of Stone Cold, all Sammartino required to become wrestling's biggest box office draw was a pair of tights, boots and an honest promo that made fans believe in the most illegitimate of sports.
Sammartino, professional wrestling's "Living Legend" and one of its longest-reigning champions, has died. He was 82.
Sammartino's name on the marquee about guaranteed a squared circle sellout in the 1960s and 1970s and he held the World Wide Wrestling Federation championship for more than 11 years (4,040 days) over two title runs.
Sammartino's Italian heritage, brute strength and good-guy charisma helped make him an instant star in the northeast. He had rivalries with Killer Kowalski, Gorilla Monsoon and George "The Animal" Steele during his title runs and later wrestled famous grudge matches at Shea Stadium against Pedro Morales, Stan Hansen and Larry Zbyszko.
Sammartino's family fled a Nazi invasion of his village in Italy and he hid with his mother in a mountain during the German occupation. They eventually joined his father in Pittsburgh in 1950.
Bullied because he spoke little English, Sammartino, who had suffered from rheumatic fever in childhood, dedicated himself to bodybuilding and eventually authored "The Bruno Course of Bodybuilding." The WWE said he once bench-pressed 569 pounds in 1959 which was noticed by promoter Vincent J. McMahon.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Sammartino was one of the city's greatest ambassadors. Sammartino's name joined Dan Marino and Andy Warhol on two signs welcoming people to South Oakland.
Bruno Sammartino
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