Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from November, 2015

Why Don't We Just Throw All Our Garbage Into Volcanoes?

Even before the rockfall, the lava lake was bubbling, splattering onto the sides of the lava lake. This photo of lava splatter was taken at Kilauea on April 23. Great question. Glad you asked.

Ben Carson’s campaign made a U.S. map and put a bunch of states in the wrong place

Happy Geography Awareness Week! Recognizing that "too many young Americans are unable to make effective decisions, understand geo-spatial issues, or even recognize their impacts as global citizens," National Geographic created this annual observance to "raise awareness to this dangerous deficienc

Breakfast actually boosts children’s school grades, our new study suggests

Eating breakfast has long been believed to benefit children’s education, leading to the widespread adoption of breakfast clubs throughout the UK, particularly in poorer areas.

The heat from the manhole created a smiley face in the snow

The Human Concern

by my friend: Pendarvis H. “Hey, my name is Pen. I’ve been traveling around the Bay Area asking people what makes them mad and what they’re doing to fix it. May I interview you?” I recited this phrase, or some variation thereof, so many times last Wednesday, that it started to lose meaning. Twelve hours of asking the same question to people, and even more time asking it to myself. It reminded me of that one day I said the word ‘spoon’ a million times and ended up thinking: Why in the hell did they call it that in the first place? What does it really mean? What does it all really mean!?! At one point, I got mad at the question. At another point, I got angry with the premise of the project. The distance traveled pissed me off. The time it took to conduct the interviews annoyed me. The technology I was using made me frustrated a couple of times. And the people who wouldn’t speak to me — especially those who shut me down before I could fully state the aforementioned phrase — gave

Enya

photo by Simon Fowler When I was twelve, Enya released her oeuvre-establishing record A Day Without Rain. The album came out on November 21, 2000, went on to  sell over 15 million copies , and became the top-selling New Age album of that entire decade. It won the Grammy for Best New Age Album, an honor she’s earned four separate times now, and spawned her highest-charting single to date, “Only Time.” The song was released in November of 2000 as the lead single for the album, but unexpectedly rose to even higher prominence a year later in the wake of September 11th. Enya was one of the most prevalent artists in the zeitgeist, and news outlets began  organically incorporating  her healing-focused track into their reports on the tragedy. Remember, this was when user-generated videos and memes were just beginning to emerge; we did not yet know what this would bring, we did not yet know how loudly the caged hotline could bling. After this, the most devastating terrorist

Why a Climate Deal Is the Best Hope for Peace

Soon after the horrific terror attacks in Paris, last Friday, our phones filled with messages from friends and colleagues: “So are they going to cancel the Paris climate summit?” “The drums of war are beating. Count on climate change being drowned out.” The assumption is reasonable enough.

The Economics of Syrian Refugees

 the wake of last Friday’s attacks on Paris, much has been written about Syrian refugees, and the (remote) possibility that ISIS-affiliated jihadis might slip into the United States among the ten thousand displaced people (many of them children) that the Obama Administration has committed to taking in during the next year. In contrast with discussions about immigration generally, there has been less comment about the economics of the issue. There are many arguments in favor of settling refugees here—not least what President Obama, responding to the announcement by some state governors that they would not accept Syrians fleeing their country’s civil war, called “our values”—but from a financial perspective, too, there is little doubt that the U.S. has the capacity to absorb many more Syrian refugees, and that the long-term impact of such a policy would be positive. Let’s start with an obvious point: With up to seven million Syrians having been displaced by the civil war, many countr

News

BRUSSELS — As the French authorities continued DNA tests to determine whether the suspected organizer of the Paris terrorist attacks was killed in a raid, Belgium conducted its own sweep in Brussels on Thursday.

Report: Assad regime bombing hospitals, other civilian targets

As the world focuses its attention on the Islamic State's terror attacks in Paris and the Syrian refugee crisis, one issue is being overlooked, according to a new report: With the help of Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been bombing hospitals and other civilian targets.

Brazil toxic mudslide devastates local water supply – in pictures

The toxic mud has polluted the Rio Doce

New York City's $3-billion homelessnes plan: What's included?

Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to announce a $3-billion investment Wednesday to combat homelessness in New York City. The initiative will give nonprofit groups and developers subsidies to construct 7,500 supportive-housing apartments, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Czech to Send Millions of Rounds of Ammunition to KRG and Iraq

PRAGUE – The Czech Republic will send more ammunition to Baghdad and Erbil in the near future. The first cargo of the ammunition will be loaded in Czech airports in the presence of Deputy Defence Minister Jakub Landovsky on Wednesday.

China vows justice after ISIS executes national, East Asia News & Top Stories

BEIJING (REUTERS) – China vowed on Thursday (Nov 19) to“bring to justice” those responsible for executing one of its citizens after Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) said it had killed a Chinese captive, the first and so far only known Chinese hostage held by the group.

355 ISIS targets in Syria destroyed by Russian air force in last 48 hours

Russia’s Armed forces staff said Wednesday that Russian air force carried out air raids against oil sites for ISIS terrorist organization, destroying 500 oil tanks that were smuggling oil from Syria to Iraq.

Syrian man kills judge at ISIS Sharia Court for beheading his brother

A Syrian young man killed a judge from the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) along with two of his escorts in the city of Manbij in Aleppo province, north Syria, local sources reported on Wednesday.

Putin Puts $50 Million Bounty on Heads of Metrojet Bombers

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered a $50 million bounty for anyone who can find those responsible for blowing up a Russian plane over Egypt last month, sparking a global manhunt for the terrorists.

Company which raised price of AIDS drug by 5500% reports $14m quarterly losses

The drug company which hiked up the price of a drug used to treat AIDS-related infections has reported a $14.6 million quarterly loss.

Paris attacks ringleader 'died in raid'

The suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, has been identified as one of those killed in a raid in Saint Denis, the Paris prosecutor says. His body was found riddled with bullets and shrapnel in an apartment in the northern Paris suburb on Wednesday.

Portrait of a baby and a bulldog who were born on the same day

Source :  Retratos de un bebé y un dogo que nacieron en el mismo día