The facts surrounding the Snowden disclosure is already known as well as the dialogue that lead to changes in government attitudes and law.

The Obama administration should be able to come to a conclusion and offer Edward Snowden a reason to return home.

Carlyle is already off the hook for their invasion of privacy. Let's face it the entire scenario was about the license Carlyle took with American's information. Edward Snowden is a whistleblower and nothing more.

How did Americans think nearly a decade of government intelligence abuse would end, by saying pretty please?

The ONLY Americans demanding an outcome for treason of Edward Snowden are FOX News propagandists. Edward Snowden's life and freedom should not be determined by propagandists.

May 30, 2016
By Michael Biesecker

Washington (AP) — Edward Snowden (click here) performed a "public service" in stoking a national debate about secret domestic surveillance programs, but he should still return to the U.S. to stand trial, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a podcast released on Monday.
As a National Security Agency contractor, Snowden leaked classified details in 2013 of the U.S. government's warrantless surveillance of its citizens before fleeing the country. He now lives in Russia and faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.
In a podcast interview with CNN political commentator David Axelrod, Holder said that Snowden had grown concerned that the domestic spying programs weren't providing a "substantial" return of useful intelligence even before even before he revealed the secrets.
Axelrod is a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, while Holder served as attorney general from 2009 to 2015.
"We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate we engaged in and by the changes that we made," Holder said. "Now, I would say doing what he did in the way he did it was inappropriate and illegal."...

Empathy is set aside when a child's well being is in question.

The Cincinnati mother who's child fell into the Gorilla enclosure is not guilty of neglect. It was an accident and the child is fine.

Is there any chance the barrier was altered in any way?

There is no second guessing the zookeepers and their experience with Harambe. They have the greatest exposure in knowing him and there is no greater knowledge than those caring for him. They are educated people that handle these animals. They don't do this work without empathy for the animal.

The question could be asked if with such a safety record did the staff at the Cincinnati zoo overreact. I don't think so. There could have been a tranquilizer used to bring about a good end for Harambe to these bizarre circumstances, but, I think peers have already responded with sympathy and in support of an excellent decision. Children are important people. There is just no doubt who's life was paramount when the staff came to their decision.

May 30, 2016
Saturday was first barrier breach in Cincinnati Zoo's Gorilla World since 1978 Opening (click here)

...The boy crawled under a railing and through wires and bushes to make it into Gorilla World before falling 15 feet into a moat surrounding the yard. Once there, a 17-year-old male gorilla spotted the boy and approached him.

After about 10 minutes of the gorilla handling the boy, the animal was shot dead by zoo officials to protect the boy, the zoo said....

I am sure at Harambe's age he had contributed to the existing gene pool of the Lowland Gorilla. It is sad loosing him. People invest a great deal into the protections of animals classified endangered. They invest financially, but, they also invest more importantly emotionally. This is a tragedy and can be equivalent to losing a beloved pet. The Cincinnati Zoo obviously respects that fact.

In all honesty, Harambe was acting magnificently in the circumstances he was faced with, but, he was a strong gorilla. There is no doubt the chance for injury would have become greater than had taken place. Administering tranquilizers would have resulted in a greater confusion by Harambe while trying to handle the circumstances before him in the only way he knew how. His lack of sophistication as a gorilla caused his death. There is no way of mitigating that. If that was the case, Harambe would still be alive with a successful rescue of the very young child.

Animals are not people, at times sadly so. They have strong instincts and rightfully so. I can't image the grief over the lose of Harambe, but, the professionalism is completely evident.

I might add, Harambe was at an excellent zoo with an incredible safety record. That was no mistake for this endangered species. The world lost Digit to poachers and the species could not sustain more losses like that. I am sure this placement of Harambe was not simply by chance.

Where does the "One Percent" live?

The best part of One57 is the "Pet Wash Room." (click here)

May 30, 2016

Billionaires' Row. (click here)
That's what New York real estate experts have dubbed a lineup of a half-dozen new superluxury skyscrapers overlooking Central Park that are home to some of the world's most expensive apartments.
One penthouse on the 89th and 90th floors of a skyscraper near Carnegie Hall that went for more than US$100 million seems almost a bargain compared to what will appear next year in a high-rise being built on Central Park South (click here for ground view living): a 2136 sq m, four-storey apartment offered at a US$250 million.
That jaw-dropping price was contained in documents the developer filed with the state attorney-general's office. Floor plans show 16 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, five balconies and a massive terrace....

How are the public school infrastructures holding up?

A single Air Force F-35A (click here) costs a whopping $148 million. One Marine Corps F-35B costs an unbelievable $251 million. A lone Navy F-35C costs a mind-boggling $337 million. Average the three models together, and a “generic” F-35 costs $178 million.

In all fairness there are the advocates for the spending on this junk. Shh, don't use the word propagandists, because, the truth is otherwise they might tout their credentials as 'good enough' justification for the propaganda.

When the story broke (click here) about the Joint Strike Fighter’s shortcomings as a dogfighter, the reaction among JSF advocates was swift and predictable. Most objected that the F-35’s poor performance is perfectly acceptable and even expected because that jet was never supposed to do air-to-air combat anyway. That claim does not hold up well to scrutiny and rather begs the question of why the Air Force staged the mock air battle between an F-35 and an F-16 in the first place. Probably because, as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Mark Welsh explained in December of 2013, “You have to have the F-35 to augment the F-22 to do the air superiority fight.” In other words, the USAF needs the F-35 to be a dogfighter....

On the Monday before Memorial Day...

When we separate the soldier from the war it is possible to create propaganda that supports illegal wars.

It is stated one percent of Americans protects the USA. There should be less and not more to deploy them into regions of combat where we don't belong. 

Jack Jacobs is a propagandist. He states if there were more Americans that served in the military, PTSD would not be such an issue in the American landscape. That is a complete lie. PTSD is not caused by society. It shows up while military personnel are in the society and have issues they didn't in battle. Having more people effected by PTSD is not the answer to not noticing it.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter stated, "Security is like oxygen, you don't notice it until it is gone." This is a quote from Joseph Nye, (click here) a professor on international relations, writer, and political advisor. He’s a bit of a personal hero for all of the positive things he’s done to make the world a better place, and it was interesting to hear Taiwanese quote him this week....

Joseph Nye was a writer, not a soldier. I think those words apply more to "W"s administration than any war that could be fought. The freedoms removed from Americans has been completely hideous.

Osama bin Laden is dead and the war in Afghanistan is a civil war as are the conflicts in Iraq. The outbreak of anarchy in Syria in the manifestation of Daesh is a foregone conclusion a result of the illegal war of the USA into Iraq. And who is suffering the most in The West from the outbreak of anarchy in the form of Daesh? Mainland Europe is suffering because Daesh and the USA's illegal invasion into Iraq. Allies such as Turkey and Jordan have far more refugees as the result of Daesh's rise to prominence in the middle east.

The words "...the last full measure of devotion..." comes from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 

Does anyone want to explain how the USA Civil War relates at all to the mess the USA military is involved today?

Memorial Day is NOT about veterans. Politics takes advantage of the living when attending Memorial Day ceremonies. Propaganda and the loss of the focus on our dead.

Propagandists. That is who is speaking today on the Monday before Memorial Day 2016.

I should state the traditional Memorial Day is May 30th. This year is simply happenstance and nothing more. No one should confuse the issue with respect or the USA war dead.

From "Fortune" magazine, the news about cancer is nothing to worry about.

The death of Johnnie Cochran at the age of 67 was a surprise to everyone. According to his family the brain tumor that killed him was very rare. Ever since then cell phones have been investigated for causing brain tumors. I think people that disregard reasonable concern open themselves up for danger and in this case it is brain AND heart cancer. Why heart cancer? Because cell phones are frequently carried in left hand pockets in a shirt or inside a jacket.

I think Fortune magazine is irresponsible. They should publish the facts, but, with a tone that cancers are still a concern.

No one can simply look the other way when brain tumors AND heart cancer (not necessarily in the same person) are finding common factors in cell phones. Heart cancer was extremely rare.

May 29, 2016
For a start, (click here) while there were slight increases in some types of cancer in male rats in the study, Carroll points out that female rats were treated to the same signals—and there was no increase in their cancer rates. And a statistically significant increased incidence of brain cancer for male rats was only found for CDMA signals, not GSM.

That’s surprising because, while real-world GSM phones emit more radiation than CDMA phones, the experimental radiation exposure levels were held constant between parallel groups. And since the main difference between GSM and CDMA is their data standard, there should only be different impacts if DNA could be corrupted by binary code....

The study. Rodent are used for such studies for important reasons.

National Toxicology Program (click here)

May 26, 2016  (PDF - click here)
Authors: Michael Wyde, Mark Cesta, Chad Blystone, Susan Elmore, Paul Foster, Michelle Hooth, Grace Kissling,David Malarkey, Robert Sills, Matthew Stout,  View ORCID ProfileNigel Walker, Kristine Witt, Mary Wolfe, John Bucher

The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) (click here) has carried out extensive rodent toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) at frequencies and modulations used in the US telecommunications industry. This report presents partial findings from these studies. The occurrences of two tumor types in male Harlan Sprague Dawley rats exposed to RFR, malignant gliomas in the brain and schwannomas of the heart, were considered of particular interest, and are the subject of this report....

Okay, this is outrageous. A game developer is getting death threats on PlayStation?

This is how completely stupid the world has become. A game is more important than life. There needs to be arrests and convictions. Next thing will be court awards for disappointment.

May 30, 2016

One of the developers (click here) of the highly-anticipated No Man's Sky says he has received death threats after confirming a six-week delay to the release date of his game.

Confirming last week's rumour, Hello Games developer Sean Murray wrote on the PlayStation Blog that "some key moments needed extra polish".

As a result, the space exploration game is releasing on August 9 on Playstation 4 and PC, rather than the original date of June 21.

"We understand that this news is disappointing," wrote Murray. "We hope you'll accept our sincere apology and I am humbly asking that you'll still look forward to exploring our universe despite the slight delay."

Following the announcement, Murray says he received death threats from gamers angry about the delay....

Vanishing from an airport.

May 30, 2016

By Marnie O'Neill

As the mystery deepens (click here) over the disappearance of Australian mining worker Rye Hunt, it turns out he's not the only person to vanish from an airport.

Hundreds go missing at airports around the world every year but most of those cases are resolved quickly with the subject found safe.

Usually the "lost" person ended up missing their flight or simply changed their plans without telling anyone and in the meantime their loved ones have called the cavalry.

A handful of others, however, disappear in more sinister circumstances. The most baffling is that of Lars Mittank, a 28-year-old tourist who disappeared in Bulgaria in 2014.

The investigation of Lars Mittank takes a very odd turn. What would make a man scale a fence with barbed wire?

...His friends were interviewed. (click here) They wanted to stay but he said it's ok and they should leave first.

There is no footage of him running into the woods but to the fence close to the woods and eye witnessess saw him climbing this fence (with barbwire)....

04.06.2015

Munich - I've done it to the airport " (click here) - these are the last words heard Sandra Mittank of her son Lars . It is almost a year ago that the then 28 -year-old had called his mother by mobile phone from Bulgaria.

On July 8, 2014 , he wanted to fly back to Germany . But he got into any machine . Shortly before the start , he ran in panic without a cell phone and luggage out of the airport building , climbed over a two and a half meter high fence with barbed wire and disappeared into a densely vegetated terrain . Since Lars Mittank is gone....

Rye Hunt's personal effects were found. It doesn't seem like it was robbery. Foreign airports, including Rio de Janaeiro, have problems that seem occasional, but, on a global scale, is it?

29 May 2016

by Jennifer Smith

Rye Hunt (left) and Michael Sheppard (right) argued at an airport in Rio de Janeiro about whether they should fly to Bolivia moments before Mr. Hunt vanished in a taxi.

Missing backpacker Rye Hunt (click here) argued with his friend about where they should go next on their world trip before he vanished from an airport in Rio de Janeiro, it has emerged.

The 25-year-old from Hobart has not been seen or heard from since getting in to a taxi at Galeão International Airport on May 21 after rowing with Mitchell Sheppard over their next destination.

Mr Hunt wanted to go to Bolivia but his friend was less interested and the pair exchanged 'heated' words before deciding to split up to cool off, his sister revealed on Monday.

They arranged to meet up again after 30 minutes but Mr Hunt never appeared, having fled the airport in a taxi at around 2.30pm.

Police in the Brazilian city have found the backpack he was carrying when he left the airport but refused to tell his distraught family where it was discovered....

They are all about the same age. I find that fact really odd. How does someone age 25 to 30 simply disappear?

Sierra Shields was a flight attendant for United Airlines and Delta Airlines who mysteriously vanished from New York's La Guardia Airport on January 14 this year.

Governor Gary Johnson remains the best hope for the Libertarian Party.

May 29, 2016

By the AP

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — The Libertarian Party (click here) again nominated former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson as its presidential candidate Sunday, believing he can challenge presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton because of their poor showing in popularity polls.

Johnson, 63, won the nomination on the second ballot at the party's convention in Orlando, Florida, defeating Austin Petersen, the founder of The Libertarian Republic magazine; and anti-computer virus company founder John McAfee. The delegates selected former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld to be his vice presidential running mate....           

How is the boy doing?

Cincinnati - A 4-year-old boy (click here) was hospitalized with serious injuries and a gorilla was shot dead after officials said the boy climbed through a railing and fell into a moat at the Cincinnati Zoo's gorilla enclosure.
A 17-year-old, 400-pound male lowland gorilla, Harambe, was shot and killed by the zoo's dangerous animal response team about 10 minutes after the boy made it into the enclosure.
Zoo director Thayne Maynard said that the boy crawled through the railing and fell into the moat just before 4 p.m. Saturday. A Cincinnati fire department incident report says that the gorilla "was violently dragging and throwing the child" when they were called.
The child was in between the gorilla's legs when the gorilla was shot, fire officials said....

Gorillas are extremely strong. Harambe obviously identified the child as a young one that needed his protection. I don't believe for one minute Harambe was going to kill or maim the little boy, but, he wasn't a good baby sitter and the child had already been injured from his fall and from the rough handling of the boy.

The zoo's personnel did the right thing. The real question is why was this necessary at all. It is unfortunate such problems occur at zoos. These are wild animals. These odd occurrences are simply because wild animals come in contact with vulnerabilities no one realized existed. The zoo has been in existence for a long time. This was one of those dangers no one realized existed.

What’s one of the first things you notice about gorillas? (click here) Probably their great size. These are the largest living primates (a group that includes monkeys, apes, and humans). A fully-grown male gorilla weighs up to 400 pounds and measures about 5 ½ feet tall. Females are just a bit shorter (about five feet) but weigh considerably less (about 200 pounds).

Despite their formidable size, gorillas are gentle animals. In fact, thousands of tourists in Africa every year walk safely within a few yards of wild gorillas. These apes are aggressive only when fighting over females or protecting their family from predators and hunters....

The child is as much a teacher in this instance as a victim, but, it was an extremely dangerous way to learn of vulnerabilities to both a boy and a rare gorilla. It raises many questions, including whether wild animals belong in zoos at all. Harambe was a day or so away from being 14 years old. I doubt he would have achieved that age in the wild. That is the reality of these animals. They are hunted by poachers and with that understanding comes praise of zoos that take on the challenge of protecting them.

Zoos and zoo keepers have to find ways to insure visitors are safe no matter their age. Zoos are the place where people come to learn about the larger world where we all live. It is important they and the animals are safe.