End of an era, no Jerry on Labor Day, Russian rowers embrace nude statute banned by Stalin, Gadhafi & CIA have been pals for years

Good Morning Humboldt County!

Thanks for stopping by this Labor Day weekend. Grab a cup of Joe, get comfortable, and we’ll check out three stories from the headlines:

Jerry Lewis: MIA this Labor Day

Labor Day this year promises to be bland by comparison, with the 85-year-old Lewis now banished from the annual rite he built from scratch and molded in his image.

As if deflated by the absence of its larger-than-life host, "The 46th Annual MDA Labor Day Telethon" will fill just six hours (Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight in each time zone; check local listings for station), rather than the grueling 21½-hour endurance contest that Lewis used to churn through with his viewers in tow.

On Aug. 3, with no elaboration, MDA announced that Lewis had "completed his run" as national chairman, and that he would not be appearing on the telethon, as promised earlier.

Lewis has provided no insight into the matter. But it's hard to imagine how wronged he must feel after bonding with the telethon for so long. As Levy writes in "King of Comedy," Lewis "had conflated America's charitable instincts with love for himself as a public figure and even as one more lonely child."

Too sexy for Stalin: Russian rowers embrace oar girl statue

The artist may have been a favorite of Stalin, but Ivan Shadr's statue "Girl With an Oar" proved too sexy for the Soviet dictator.

The 23-foot nude statue, sculpted in 1934, was banished from pride of place in Moscow's Gorky Park to Ukraine in 1936 and replaced with a less sensual version, The Wall Street Journal reported.

However, a copy of the original was due to be unveiled Saturday on the bank of the Moskva River in the park at the finish line of an international regatta course, the paper said.

The model for the statue, Vera Voloshina, was captured and killed by German forces, the WSJ reported.

 

Documents reveal close CIA ties to Gadhafi spy unit

Documents found at the abandoned office of Libya’s former spymaster appear to provide new details of the close relations the Central Intelligence Agency shared with the Libyan intelligence service — most notably suggesting that the Americans sent terrorism suspects at least eight times for questioning in Libya despite that country’s reputation for torture.

Photo: CIA agent Edwin P. Wilson recruited Gadaffi in 1977, and the CIA shipped Libya over 2000 pounds of explosives," says former CIA agent Lester Coleman.

Time to walk on down the road…

How did 9000 pot plants avoid biggest fire in New Mexico history?

Fireproof pot? A new fire-resistant strain developed by locals? How did those 9000 plants survive the fiery holocaust? Even more interesting is how did they come up with a street value of $10 million for outdoor? So many questions.

This summer's Las Conchas fire in New Mexico scorched tribal lands, threatened one of the nation's premier nuclear facilities and pushed bears into nearby cities. But it somehow spared more than 9,000 marijuana plants in a remote area of Bandelier National Monument.

Did a higher power save those plants? Too bad the divine protection didn’t extend to cops in fatigues. They were all over that crop like stink on shit. It was a first big pot bust in the Bandelier National Monument. Or so the feds say. They claim they are going to destroy all but a little bit for evidence. Yeah right…I’ll bet some people are getting high tonight!    photo

Guest Opinion: How To Honor the True Spirit of 9/11: First, Ignore Limbaugh

By Joe Conason

If volunteerism is suddenly unpatriotic and even "socialist," that will come as a nasty surprise to many of the Republicans and conservatives who always have supported such efforts, notably including both presidents named Bush.

And if stepping up to help our neighbors and community on 9/11 would somehow dishonor the Americans killed in those infamous attacks — as feverish critics of President Barack Obama now scream — then what do they think actually happened on that day 10 years ago?

The latest outbreak of phony outrage began when the president, following a tradition established by George W. Bush, announced that he and the first lady will mark the upcoming anniversary as a "National Day of Service and Remembrance" and urged Americans to "come together, in their communities and neighborhoods, to honor the victims of 9/11 and to reaffirm the strength of our nation with acts of service and charity."

To Rush Limbaugh and assorted lesser cogs in the right-wing noise machine, that was a deeply controversial statement and an attempt to "politicize" the event — as if the White House had ordered everybody to put on blue caps, join a local Obama for America chapter and then build a solar house for the poor.

Yes, according to the furious wingers, Obama's attempt to inspire volunteerism was in fact a barely disguised appeal to "serve the state," as well as an un-American distraction from what should be, in their minds, a more militaristic commemoration.

But leaving aside their usual bizarre theories about the president and his motives, this pseudo-controversy shows how little these so-called conservatives understand what really happened on 9/11, in New York and then across the country.

On that day and the days that followed, we saw a demonstration of the highest American values, which are apparently no longer comprehensible to the denizens of the right-wing swamp. Read More Here

7.1 Quake off Alaska, college professor accused of leading motorcycle gang, and federal agency set to sue U.S. banks

Good Morning Humboldt County!

Good to see you this Friday morning. Pull up a seat and have a cup of coffee with me and we’ll look at what’s happening in the world around us.

7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Alaska

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Friday in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, prompting a brief tsunami warning for a portion of Alaska's coast. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck in the waters at about 6:55 a.m. ET. There were no reports of injuries or damage, according to Alaska's KTUU.com.

 

Professor allegedly led motorcycle gang and drug ring

A university professor suspected of leading a motorcycle gang and methamphetamine drug ring is wanted for arrest in California, authorities say. Steve Kinzey, 43, believed to be the president of the local chapter of the Devils Disciples motorcycle club, has been the target of a 6-month narcotics and weapons trafficking investigation, sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller said.

Authorities said the probe stemmed from a federal undercover operation of another biker gang, the Mongols, in which Kinzey was identified as being involved in criminal activity.

US set to sue big banks over bad mortgages

The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation.

Time to walk on down the road…

Can’t get high enough – Bobcat leaps 50 feet to escape enemy

This bobcat leapt 50 feet up a prickly cactus and stayed there for six hours to escape from a mountain lion in the Sonoran Desert, Gold Canyon, Arizona, United States.

The terrified feline climbed to the top of the Giant Saguaro Cactus and was so scared it stayed on top of the cactus for several hours.

Picture: Curt Fonger/solent

The Bobcat’s situation reminded me of this song:

I know she wasn’t singing about terrified felines…was she?

 

 

 

Somewhere in the backround Diana Ross is singing to this lonely Bobcat…or the Bobcat is thinking there’s no mountain high enough so he had to get on top of this damn Giant Saguaro Cactus!

Glacier breaking up at ‘astonishing’ speed, purple potatoes good for blood pressure, and a man sneaks snakes in his pants

 

Second giant ice island set to break off Greenland glacier

New photographs taken of a vast glacier in northern Greenland have revealed the astonishing rate of its breakup, with one scientist saying he was rendered "speechless."

In August 2010, part of the Petermann Glacier about four times the size of Manhattan island broke off , prompting a hearing in Congress.

Purple potatoes may help lower blood pressure

Pity the potato. It's widely blamed for the fattening of America . But a new study found that daily consumption of a certain type of potato -- purple ones, that is --- can help lower blood pressure, without causing weight gain.

While eating potatoes, most of the subjects -- even those on anti-hypertensive medications -- experienced lower blood pressure, and none of the subjects gained weight. The study, not yet published, was presented this week at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in Denver.

 

Man nabbed at U.S. airport with snakes in his pants

Never mind ants in your pants, what about snakes and tortoises?

That's what authorities at Miami's international airport said they found inside the trousers of a passenger as he tried to board a flight for Brazil.The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said the man had seven exotic snakes and three tortoises wrapped in nylon bags that had been stuffed into his pants.

He was discovered as he went through a body scanner at one of the airport's security checkpoints on Thursday and arrested by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials for violating animal trafficking laws.  photo

Time to walk on down the road…

Reflection: there’s little hope of compromise coming from Congress

Top congressional Republican John Boehner told the president to delay a planned jobs speech to a joint session of Congress by a day in order to avoid "impediments." Meaning the Republican presidential debate was set that day.

The House historian labeled Boehner's public rebuff as unprecedented. I guess this gives us all an idea what it’s going to be like when Congress is back in session. The partisanship will continue and Americans will once again be the losers.

Are we having fun yet? Snake fails to amuse children at park

Rich Shulman writes… “As a parent, I know that young children will cry about anything. But you have to wonder, isn't the natural fear of snakes a good thing?”

Arab Israeli children pose with a pet snake at an amusement park in the northern Israeli city of Acre on August 31 as Muslims celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.     Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images     

Happy 37th Anniversary Shirley! ‘You’re still the one’…

You may be in Washington D.C. reading this, but we’re really not that far apart – because we’re in each others heart! You’ll always be my “Brown-Eyed Girl.” I love you, and here’s a few thoughts for the day:

“To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.”
Ogden Nash

Our wedding was many years ago.The celebration continues to this day. ~Gene Perret

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity.  The order varies for any given year.  ~Paul Sweeney

It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.  ~Rita Rudner

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow.  ~Author Unknown

Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away.  ~Dinah Craik

A good marriage is like a casserole, only those responsible for it really know what goes in it.
- Anonymous

Marriage is a partnership in which each inspire the other, and brings fruition to both of you.
Millicent Carey McIntosh

Believe it or not: some Catholics still insist Galileo was wrong

It’s hard to believe that people can be so blinded by religious dogma that they would refute facts over their fantasies. Yet, here we have a perfect example:

“Some people believe the world revolves around them — and their belief is born not of selfishness but of faith.
A few conservative Roman Catholics are pointing to a dozen Bible verses and the church's original teachings as proof that Earth is the center of the universe, the view that was at the heart of the church's clash with Galileo Galilei four centuries ago.” source

(Photo - Brother Guy Consolmagno of the Vatican Observatory takes a modern view of Earth's place in the universe)

This subject is, as far as I can see, an embarrassment to the modern church because the world more or less looks upon geocentrism, or someone who believes it, in the same boat as the flat Earth.

“Those promoting geocentrism argue that heliocentrism, or the centuries-old consensus among scientists that Earth revolves around the sun, is a conspiracy to squelch the church's influence.” source

That figures. Science is the enemy of church extremists trying to refute reality in favor of their fevered interpretation of things. This is one reason, among many, that church and state need to be separated. This kind of thinking turns the clock back to 1200 A.D.

"Heliocentrism becomes dangerous if it is being propped up as the true system when, in fact, it is a false system," said Robert Sungenis, leader of a budding movement to get scientists to reconsider. "False information leads to false ideas, and false ideas lead to illicit and immoral actions — thus the state of the world today.… Prior to Galileo, the church was in full command of the world, and governments and academia were subservient to her." source

These statements sum up the longing for the church to once again rule most of the world. These “believers” see themselves as “enlightened” while in fact they are demonstrating just the opposite. In my opinion, the Bible is neither geocentric or heliocentric. It does not give any specific information about the structure of the solar system.

 

New Series Part I: Stupid Laws in the United States of America

Good Morning Humboldt County!

Good to see you. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this special edition of stupid laws in California. I’ve selected three cities for you. My favorite is the fine (in Chico) for setting off a nuclear devise in the town limits – only $500! Enjoy…

EUREKA

Persons may not sleep on a road.

Full text of the law.                                                                                                          graphic source

One must seek written permission from the Director of Public Works before playing baseball in a city park.

Full text of the law.

Men who wear moustaches are forbidden from kissing women.

A man with a moustache may not kiss a woman.

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CHICO

It is illegal to own a green or smelly animal hide.

Full text of the law.

Bowling on the sidewalk is illegal.

Full text of the law.

Driving a herd of cattle down a street is against the law.

Full text of the law.

It is illegal to plant a garden in any public street.

Full text of the law.

Detonating a nuclear device within the city limits results in a $500 fine.

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INDIAN WELLS

It is illegal for a trumpet player to play his instrument with the intention of luring someone to a store.

Full text of the law.

Drinking intoxicating cement is prohibited.

Full text of the law.

Fortelling the future for donations is illegal.

Full text of the law.

Crushing rocks in the city limits is forbidden.

Full text of the law.

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